I
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AN
ENCYCLOPAEDIA
OF
AGRICULTURE;
COMPRISING THE
THEORY AND PRACTICE
OF THE VALUATION, TRANSFER, LAYING OUT, IMPROVEMENT, AND
MANAGEMENT OF
LANDED PROPERTY;
AND THE CULTIVATION AND ECONOMY OF
THE ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS
OF AGRICULTURE,
INCLUDING
ail t%t latent 3Imptot)emcnt0 ;
A GENERAL HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE IN ALL COUNTRIES,-
AND A STATISTICAL VIEW OF ITS PRESENT STATE.
WITH SUGGESTIONS FOR ITS FUTURE PROGRESS IN THE
BRITISH ISLES.
By J. C. LOUDON, F.L.S., H.S., &c.
AUTHOR OF THE ENCTCtOPEDIA OF UARDEMNG.
ILLUSTRATED WITH
UPWARDS OF EIGHT HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD BY BRANSTOK.
, LONDON
PRINTED FOR
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, BROWN, AND GREEN,
PATERNOSTER-ROW ;
AND SOLD BY CAREY AND LEA, PHILADELPHIA.
1826.
c; Dc\
i
London : i
Printed by A. & R. Spottiswoode,
New-Street- Square.
PREFACE.
Though the title of this work is sufficiently comprehensive, it
may not be improper to state the grounds on which it lays claim
to being the most complete body of Agriculture hitherto submitted
to the public.
The subject of Agriculture admits of two grand divisions ; the im-
provement and general management of landed property, which may be
termed Territorial Economy ; and the cultivation and treatment of its
more useful animal and vegetable productions, which is called Husbandry,
or Agriculture in a more limited sense of the term. Numerous as have
been the publications on rural matters during the last twenty years,
there are but two or three of them, whose titles might lead to a sup-
position that they embraced both of these departments. Of these, two
may be cited : the Complete Farmer, as the most extensive, and the
Code of Agriculture, as the most recent. The Complete Farmer, or
Dictionary of Husbandry, in two thick quarto volumes, with numerous
plates, was published in 1807; it is copious to an excess, containing
an immense mass of matter, new and old, good and bad. As a diction-
ary of Husbandry, it was the best of its kind at the time of its publica-
tion : but the rapid progress of Agriculture since its date, renders it at
the present time quite an obsolete work. The Code of Agriculture, in
one volume octavo, published in 1817, professes to be " a general view
of the principles of the art, and an account of its most approved prac-
tices." {Pref. p. xi.) By inspecting the contents of the work, however,
it will be found limited to the Husbandry Department ; and of that
to contain little more than a general outline. That it never was
intended as more than a book on Farming, its first chapter, " On the
Preliminary Points which a Farmer ought to consider, &c.," and an ob-
servation of its author in his preface, sufficiently shews : " in addition,"
he states, " (to the Code) it would certainly be desirable to have a
separate work on the Minutiae of Farming," " which," he continues,
*' might be accomplished in another volume of a similar size." {Pref,
p. xi.) The Code of Agriculture, therefore, has no other pretensions
to being a complete view of the subject, than what the imagination may
confer from the quaintness of its title. By this title it has been alleged,
the author probably intended, " some allusion to the Code Napoleon,
some mysterious reference to a body of laws, and some modest preten-
A 2
iv PREFACE.
sions to the character of an Agricultural Lawgiver." (Farmers Mag.
vol. xviii. p. 78.) The Code, however, has great merit as a collection
of useful precepts on Farming ; but not being a complete view of its
subject ; and the Complete Farmer being obsolete, there remained ample
room for a performance such as we have undertaken.
This work, which we have termed an Encyclopcedia of Agriculture,
on account of its comprehensiveness, professes to embrace every
part of the subject; and what has never hitherto been attempted, a
general History of Agriculture in all countries, and a condensed survey
of its present state in every county of the British Isles. We have
adopted a systematic arrangement as by far the best for instruction,
and also as best admitting of compression ; and we have at the same
time supplied a copious General Index to render the whole of the
easiest access as a book of reference. All this could only be accom-
plished by a very copious page, and the liberal use of engravings. By
these means, much verbal description is avoided, ideas more forcibly
expressed, and such a body of useful matter included in one volume
as, by the system of detached copperplate engravings, and ordinary letter
press, would have occupied half a dozen, and been high priced in pro-
portion.
Throughout this work, we have kept in view the following objects :
in Part I., to depict Agriculture in the most universal sense, by giving
a view of that of all countries ; in Part II., to depict the principles on
which the operations and results of the Agriculture of all countries are
founded ; and in Parts III. and IV., to apply these principles to that
particular Agriculture which is practised in Britain, and similar climates.
In pursuing these objects, we have aimed at language sufficiently free
from provincial or obscure technology to be understood by all classes
of readers. In depicting the Agriculture of Britain, we have held up
to view that of the northern counties of Northumberland, Berwickshire,
and East Lothian as examples, in most things, to the other parts of the
empire. In addressing landlords, superior agents, valuators, and patrons,
to point out the advantages of equitable and liberal conduct to their te-
nants and dependants ; in discussing the duties of land stewards, bailiffs,
and other serving agriculturists, to recommend habits of order, vigilance,
and economy ; and finally, submitting to all classes of readers, the advan-
tages of enlightening the minds and ameliorating the condition of the
operative classes, by facilitating the attainment of instruction : pointing
out the evils of early marriages increasing the comfort and improving the
appearance of their cottages and gardens ; and, especially, by repaying
their labor to a certain extent in productions calculated for their
chief support. (See § 3841. and 44.96.) For in our opinion the peculiar
comfort of all those engaged in agriculture as a profession, from the
laborer to the gentleman farmer, will ever consist more in the possession
ivithin themselves of the essential means of comfortable existence, than of
PREFACE. V
the power of accumulating fortunes, such as manufacturers and com-
mercial men frequently acquire.
As much of the value of a work of this kind will depend on the
knowledge it conveys of the modern improvements in implements and
buildings, particular attention has been paid to these subjects. Three-
fourths of the implements and edifices of which engravings are given
in Dr. Dickson's Practical Agriculture, and the Complete Farmer,.
may be considered as obsolete, or greatly altered by subsequent im-
provements. Many of these improvements have not found their way
into any books, and for them we have had recourse to the originals,
and to the most eminent Agricultural mechanics and manufacturers
of implements : Our thanks in this respect are particularly due
to the proprietors of Weir's Agricultural Repository, Oxford- Street,
London, for permitting us to take sketches from their extensive collec-
tion, and more particularly of those implements and machines which
the late Mr. Weir invented or greatly improved. Our best thanks are
also due to Mr. Morton, Leith-walk, Edinburgh, who is equally eminent
as an Agricultural mechanist in Scotland. There is no implement or
machine mentioned in this work which will not be found on sale, or may
not be made to order in the establishments alluded to, in the best
manner, and at an equitable charge.
For important assistance in the Veterinary part of this work, our best
thanks are due to an eminent professor. Through the kind assistance of
this gentleman we have been enabled to bring together a body of
popular information on the anatomy, physiology, pathology, breed-
ing, rearing, and general treatment of the horse, the ox, the sheep, and
other domestic animals, even to dogs and poultry, as we can safely
assert is not to be found in any other Agricultural publication.
It remains only to mention as a key to this work, that such technical
terms as are used in a more definite sense than usual, are explained at
the end of this preface ; such as are not common in general language,
in the index ; and the abridged titles of books, or of proper names, are
there also given at length. The systematic nomenclature of plants
adopted, is that of our Encyclopcedia of Plants and Hortus Britannicus,
now in great part through the press, with some exceptions which are
noted where they occur. In the specific names of animals, we have
followed Turton's edition of the Sy sterna Naturcc of Linnaeus : such
chemical, mineralogical, and geological terms as occur, are those used
by Sir H. Davy in his Agricultural Chemistry, and by Professor
Brande in his Geology: and the weights and measures are always
after the standard of England, unless otherwise expressed. More
accuracy and consistency, it is hoped, has been attained in these par-
ticulars, than is usual in even the best Agricultural works ; the dry rot
is not here described as " a plant with leaves like the misletoe," as in
A3
vi PREFACE.
the Complete Farmer ; clover is not called a grass, the Scotch pine a
fir, or tubers roots, as in the Code ; earth, soil, and mould are not con-
founded as in most farming books ; and no cultivator is here told, as he
is in Arthur Young's Farmers Kalendar {May, art. Hemp, 1st edit. 1790,
12th edit. 1823.) to make the rent per acre a criterion in choosing a
soil for any plant.
The recent changes, indeed, which have taken place in the market
value of currency, render price a criterion of much too temporary a
nature to be employed in any work which aims at general and perma-
nent utility. For this reason we have in the Encyclopaedia generally
avoided money calculations, indicating the value of objects or
operations by the quantity of materials and labor requisite to pro-
duce them ; or by stating their cost relatively to the cost of other
articles.
We have also avoided entering on the subject of state policy, as to the
relative protection of Agriculture and manufactures, or of the protection
of the home against the foreign grower of corn. Natural prices will
always be safer for the farmer than artificial ones, and with low prices the
farmer haa the chance of deriving a greater benefit on an extraordinary
rise, and sustaining less loss on an extraordinary fall. If the prices of
corn were one half lower than they are, neither farmers nor proprietors
would find their comforts diminished; for the value of manufac-
tures and importations would fall in proportion to that of Agricultural
produce. Price, it is true, is not always value ; but they are never
materially different for any length of time.
By referring to the Kalendarial Index, those parts of this work which
treat of farm and forest culture, and management, may be consulted
monthly as the operations require to be performed ; and by recurring to
the General Index, any particular subject may be traced alphabetically
through all its ramifications of history, theory, practice, and statistics.
Thus we have here combined an Agricultural Treatise, a Husbandman's
Kalendar, and a Dictionary of Rural Affairs.
J.C.L.
Bai/sumter, June 19, 1825.
vu
THE FOLLOWING TERMS
Being frequently used in a vague and indefinite manner, it will be of advantage
to the reader to know beforehand the sense in which they are applied in this
work. Other terms of less frequent use, or of various meaning, are explained
in an alphabetical order in the General Index.
Agriculture is used in its most extensive sense in the third line of the title page, and
generally in the Historical part of the work (Parti.) as including territorial economy
and husbandry.
In most parts of this work, for example, in the words of the title page, " animal and
vegetable productions of Agriculture," as synonymous with husbandr)\
In s<?i)era/ ;)faces as synonymous with aration, that is, the culture of arable lands, as
opposed to pasturage, or what may be called Agriculture proper. In every case the
reader will be able to gather from the scope of the sentence or paragraph containing this
term, in which of these three senses it is meant to be understood.
Territorial ecoixomy, what relates to the valuation, purchase, sale, exchange, arrange-
ment, improvement by roads, canals, drainage, &c., of territorial surface, including
interposing waters, as rivers, lakes, and also mines and minerals. Territorial improve-
ments are mostly effected by the proprietors of lands or their agents and stewards, and
not to any great extent by renters of land, or farmers.
Husbandry, the culture of arable grass and woodlands, the management of live stock,
the dairy, poultry, &c., and, in general, what constitutes the business of the head of a
family living by agricultural industry in the country.
Rural economy, rural affairs, geoponics, agronomics, terms considered as synonymous
with husbandry.
Farming, renting land and cultivating it, or employing it for the purposes of hus-
bandry.
Farmer (from Jermier, Fr.), farming agriculturist, farnnng cultivator, profes-
sional farmer, commercial farmer, rent-paying farmer, &c. ; a proprietor cultivating
his own estate, is not " correctly speaking a farmer, to be such he must pay a rent. A
proprietor who cultivates his own soil may be a gentleman or yeoman agriculturist or
husbandman, a j)roprietaire cultivateur, but not a farmer.
Husbandman, one who farms generally ; that is, who both produces corn and cattle, and
attends to the dairy, the poultry, the woodlands, and the orchard. A farmer may con-
fine himself to grazing, or to breeding or haymaking, or milking or raising green crops
for the market, &c., but in none of these cases can he with propriety be called a husband-
man. This term husbandman therefore is not exactly synonymous with farmer.
Grasses, all the natural order of Gramineae, of Linnaeus and Jussieu.
Cereal grasses, those grown for bread corn.
Pasture grasses, those grown chiefly for pasturage.
Foeniculous grasses, those grown chiefly for hay. ^^
Herbage plants, clover and other plants cultivated chiefly for the herb, to be used
either green or made into hay.
Foliage crops, plants cultivated for their leaves to be used green, and which will not
make into hay, as the cabbage tribe.
Root crops, esculent plants cultivated for their tubers, bulbs, or other enlarged parts
produced under or immediately on the ground, and chiefly connected with the root, as
the potatoe, turnip, carrot, &c.
Roots, the fibres and other ramifications of a plant imder ground, and by which it
imbibes nourishment. Tubers, bull)s, and other fleshy protuberances under ground,
ai-c employed by nature for the purposes of propagation or continuation, and therefore
A 4
vni
ought never to be confounded with common roots, which serve to nourish these tubers,
bulbs, &c., in common with other parts of the plant.
Earth, as applied to the surface of the globe, one or more of the earths, as lime, clay,
sand, &c., in a friable or divided state, and either alone or mixed; but without the
addition of much organic matter.
Soil, earth, either of one, or of several sorts, mixed with decomposed organic
matters.
Mould, organic matter in a finely divided and decomposed state, with a little earth
mixed, as vegetable mould, leaf mould, peat mould, &c.
Loam, any soil in which clay and organic matter exist in considerable proportions, and
so as to render it neither very adhesive or hard, or soft and loose.
Land ; ground, earthy surface in opposition to water or rocks ; the term ground is
generally applied to a comparatively limited extent of surface, as garden grounds, hop
grounds, &c. in opposition to arable lands, wood lands, &c.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
AGRICULTURE CONSIDERED AS TO ITS ORIGIN, PROGRESS, AND PRESENT STATE,
AMONG DIFFERENT NATIONS, GOVERNMENTS, AND CLIMATES.
BOOK I.
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE AMONG ANCIENT
AND MODERN NATIONS.
Chap. I. Page
Of the History of Agriculture in the Ages of
Antiquity ; or from the Deluge to the Esta-
blishment of the Roman Empire in the cen-
tury preceding the vulgar »ra - - 4
I. Of the Agriculture of Egypt - - 5
I L Of the Agriculture of the Greeks - 7
III. Of the Agriculture of the Jews, and other
Nations of Antiquity - - - 9
Chap. II,
History of Agriculture among the Romans, or
from the Second Century B. C. to the Fifth
Century of our aera - - - 12
I. Of the Roman Agricultural Writers - ib.
II. Of the Proprietorship, Occupancy, and
General Management of Landed Pro-
perty among the Romans - - 13
III. Of the Surface, Soil, Climate, and other
Agricultural Circumstances of Italy,
during the time of the Romans - - 16
IV. Of the Culture and Farm Management of
the Romans - - - - 17
1. Of the Choice of a Farm, and of the Villa
or Farmery - . . ib.
S. Of the Servants employed in Roman Agri-
culture - - - . - 19
3. Of the Beasts of Labor used by the
Romans - - - - 21
4. Of the Agricultural Implements of the
Romans - - - . -23
5. Of the Agricultural Operations of the
Romans - . - - 25
6. Of the Crops cultivated, and Animals
reared by the Romans - - - 29
7. Of the General Maxims of Farm Manage-
ment among the Romans - - 30
V. Of the Produce and Profit of Roman Agri-
culture - - - - - 31
VI. Of the Roman Agriculturists, in respect to
general Science, and the Advancement
of the Art ... 32
VII. Of the Extent to which Agriculture was
carried in the Roman Provinces, and of
its Decline - - - - 33
Chap. III.
History of Agriculture during the Middle Ages,
or from the Fifth to the Seventeenth Cen-
tury - - - - . ib.
I, History of Agriculture in Italy during the
Middle Ages - - - - 34
I I. History of Agriculture in France from the
Fifth to the Seventeenth Century - 3l'>
HI. Of the Agriculture of Germany and other
Northern States from the Fifth to the
Seventeenth Century ... ib.
IV. History of Agriculture in Britain from the
Fifth to the Seventeenth Century - 36
1. History of Agriculture in Britain during
the Anglo-Saxon Dynasty, or from the
Fifth to the Eleventh Century - ib.
Page
2. Of the State of Agriculture in Britain
after the Norman Conquest, or from the
Eleventh to the Thirteenth Century - 37
3. History of Agriculture in Britain from
the Thirteenth to the Seventeenth Cen-
tury - - - . - 40
4. History of Agriculture from the Death
of Henry VIII. in 1547, to the Revo-
lution in 1688 - - .41
V. History of Agriculture in ultra European
Countries during the Middle Ages - 47
Chap. IV.
Present State of Agriculture in Europe . 48
I. Of the Present State of Agriculture in Italy ib.
1. Of the Agriculture of Lombardy . ib.
2. Of the Agriculture of Tuscany . sf
3. Of the Agriculture of the Maremmes, or
the District of Pestilential Air _ 55
4. Farming in the Neapolitan Territory, or
the Land of Ashes - . .57
II. Of the Present State of Agriculture in
Switzerland - - . - 59
1. Of the Agriculture of the Swiss Cantons ib.
2. Agriculture of the Duchy of Savoy - 62
III. Of the present State of Agriculture in
France - - - - 65
1. Progress of French Agriculture from the
time of Louis XIV. to the present Time ib.
2. Of the general Circumstances of France
in respect to Agriculture - . QQ
3. Of the common Farming of France - 67"
4. Farming in the warmer Climates of France 70
IV. Present State of Agriculture in Holland
and the Netherlands - - - 72
1. Present State of Agriculture in Holland ib.
2. Present State of Agriculture in the Ne-
therlands - - - - 73
V. Present State of Agriculture in Germany 87
1. General View of the Agricultural Circum-
stances of Germany - - . ib.
2. Agriculture of the Kingdom of Denmark,
including Greenland and Iceland - 89
3. Agriculture of the Kingdom of Prussia 90
4. Agriculture of the Kingdom of Hanover 93
5. Present State of the Agriculture of Saxony 95
6. Present State of the Agriculture of the
Kingdom of Bavaria - - - 96
' 7. Present State of the Agriculture of the
Empire of Austria - . . ib.
VI. Of the present State of Agriculture in the
Kingdom of Poland ... IQO
VII. Present State of the Agriculture of
Russia - - - .104
VIII. Present State of the Agriculture of Swe-
den and Norway - . _ lOg
IX. Present State of the Agriculture of Spain
and Portugal - - - - 113
1. Present State of Agriculture in European
Turkey - - . - ,120
Chap. V.
Modern History and present State of Agricul-
ture in the British Isles - . 122
I. Political History of Agriculture in Britain
from tlie Revolution in 1668, to the pre-
sent Time - - - .123
CONTENTS.
Page
1. Professional History of Agriculture, from
the Revolution to the present Time - 125
2. Of the Literature of British Agriculture
from the Revolution to the present Time 130
3. Of the Rise, Progress, and present State of
Agriculture in Ireland - - 132
Chap. VI.
Present State of Agriculture in Ultra European
Countries - - - - - 138
I. Present State of Agriculture in Asia - ib.
1. Present State of Agriculture in Asiatic
Turkey - - - 139
2. Present State of Agriculture in Persia ib.
3. Present State of Agriculture in Independ-
ent Tatary - - - .143
4. Present State of Agriculture in Arabia U).
5. Present State of Agriculture in Hindustan 145
6. Of the Agriculture of the Island of Ceylon 151
7. Present State of Agriculture in the Bir-
man Empire, in Java, Malacca, Siam,
Cochin China, Tonquin, Japan, &c. - 152
8. Present State of Agriculture in the Chi-
nese Emi)ire - . . . 157
9. Present State of Agriculture in Chinese
Tatary, Thibet, and Bootan - . 165
10. Present State of Agriculture in the
Asiatic Islands, including also those of
Australasia and Polynesia - - 166
II. Present State of Agriculture in Africa 170
1. Present State of Agriculture in Abyssinia ib.
2. Present State of Agriculture in Egypt 171
3. Present State of Agriculture in the Maho-
metan States of the North of Africa - 175
4. Present State of Agriculture on the West-
ern Coast of Africa - . . I77
5. Present State of Agriculture at the Cape
of Good Hope - . .178
6. Present State of Agriculture on the East-
em Coast of Africa, and the African
Islands - - - . . 182
III. Present State of Agriculture in North
America - - - .184
1. Present State of Agriculture in the United
States . . . : .if,,
2. Present State of Agriculture in Mexico - 189
3. Present State of Agriculture in the British
Possessions of North America . 191
4. Present State of Agriculture in the West
India Islands . - - .192
IV. Present State of Agriculture in South
America - - . ,198
BOOK II.
AGRICULTURE AS INFLUENCED BY GEOGRA-
PHICAL, PHYSICAL, CIVIL, AND POLITICAL
CIRCUMSTANCES.
Chap. I.
Agriculture as influenced by Geographica
Circumstances - - 202
Chap. II.
Agriculture as influenced by Physical Circum-
stances - . . . .203
Chap. III.
Agriculture as affected by Civil, Political, and
Religious Circumstances - - 205
Chap. IV.
Of the Agriculture of Britain - - 207
PART II.
AGRICULTURE CONSIDERED AS A SCIENCE.
BOOK I.
OF THE STUDY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM
WITH A VIEW TO AGRICULTURE.
Chap. I.
Of the Study of Systematic Botany
-208
Chap. II.
Vegetable Anatomy, or the Structure and Or-
ganization of Plants . _ _ 210
I. Of the External Structure of Perfect Plants ib\
II. Of the External Structure of Imperfect
Plants - . - . . 211
III. Of the Internal Structure of Plants - 213
1. Decomposite Organs . - . id.
2. Composite Organs ... 214
3. Elementary or Vascular Organs . 215
Chap. III.
Vegetable Chemistry, or Primary Principles of
Plants - - . . .216
I. Compound Products . . .217
II. Simple Products ■• - . . 226
Chap. IV.
Functions of Vegetables - - . n,,
I. Germination of the Seed - - - ii,\
II. Food of the Vegetating Plant - . 228
III. Process of Vegetable Nutrition . 233
IV. Process of Vegetable Developcment . 240
V. Anomalies of Vegetable Developcment . 244
VI. Of the Sexuality of Vegetables - _ 248
VII. Impregnation of the Seed - . 249
VIII. Changes consequent upon Impregnation 250
IX. The Propagation of the Species - .251
X. Causes limiting the Propagation of the
XI. Evidence and Character of Vegetable Vi-
tality
Chap. V.
Vegetable Pathology, or the Diseases and Ca-
sualties of Vegetable Life - - 258
I. Wounds and Accidents - - , ib.
Page
II. Diseases - - - . - 259
HI. Natural Decay - - - .262
Chap VI,
Vegetable Geography and History, or the Dis-
tribution of Vegetables relatively to the Earth
and to Man . - - . _ 263
I. Geographical Distribution of Vegetables . 264
II. Physical Distribution of Vegetables . ib.
III. Civil Causes affecting the Distribution of
Plants . - - - - 269
IV. Characteristic or Picturesque Distribution
of Vegetables - - - - 270
V. Systematic Distribution of Vegetables - 271
VI. Economical Distribution of Vegetables . 272
VII. Arithmetical Distribution of Vegetables 273
VIII. Distribution of the British Flora, indi-
genous and exotic - - . ib.
Chap VII.
Origin and Principles of Culture as derived
from the Study of Vegetables - - 277
BOOK II.
OF THE STUDY OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM
WITH REFERENCE TO AGRICULTURE. '
Chap. I.
Systematic Zoology, or the Language, Nomen-
clature, Description, and Classilication of
Animals 280
Chap II.
Animal Anatomy . - . - 282
I. External Anatomy of Animals - «/>».
II. Internal Anatomy of Animals . -284
1. Osseous Structure of Animals - ib.
2. Muscular Structure of Animals - 285
3. Structure of the Nervous System 287
Chap III.
Animal Chemistry ; or the Substances which
enter into thu Composition of the Bodies of
Animals - . - . .288
CONTENTS.
Chap. IV. Page
Animal Physiology .... 291
I. Ot' tiie Digestive System - - - ib.
II. Of the Circulating System - - ib.
III. Of the reproductive System of Animals - 292
Chap. V.
Animal Pathology ; or the Duration, Diseases,
and Casualties of Animal Life . - 293
Chap. VI.
Of the Distribution of Animals
Chap. VII.
Of the Economical Uses of Animals
295
298
pIAP. VIII.
Principles of improving the Domestic Animals
used in Agriculture . . . . 299
I. Of improving the Breed of Animals - ib.
II. Of the general Principles of rearing, ma-
naging, and feeding Domestic Animals 302
III. Of Feeding for Extraordinary Purposes 305
IV. Of the Modes of killing Animals . 307
BOOK III.
OF THE STUDY OF THE MINERAL KINGDOM
AND THE ATMOSPHERE, WITH REFERENCE
TO AGRICULTURE.
Chap. I.
Of Earths and Soils . . . .
I. Of the Geological Structure of the Globe
and the Formation of Earths and Soils -
II. Classification and Noemnclature of Soils -
III. Of discovering the Qualities of Soils
1. Of discovering the Qualities of Soils by
means of the Plants which grow on them
2. Of discovering the Qualities of Soils by
Chemical Analysis
3. Of discovering the Qualities of a Soil me-
chanically and empirically
IV. Of the Uses of the Soil to Vegetables
V. Of the Improvement of Soils
1. Pulverisation
2. Of the Improvement of Soils by Compres-
sion - - - . .320
3. Of the Improvement of Soils by Aeration
or Fallowing - - , . ib.
4. Alteration of the constituent Parts of Soils 321
5. Changing the Condition of Lands, in res-
pect to Water - . .323
6. Changing the Condition of Lands, in res-
pect to Atmospherical Influence - 325
7. Rotation of Crops ... 326
Chap. IL
Of Manures ... . .327
I. Of Manures of Animal and Vegetable Origin
1. The Theory of the Operation of Manures
of Animal and Vegetable Origin
2. Of the different Species of Manures of
Animal and Vegetable Origin - ;
3. Of the fermenting, preserving, and apply-
ble
ib.
ing of Manures of Animal and Vegetabl
Origin . . - .334
II. Of Manures of Mineral Origin . .336
1, Theory of the Operation of Mineral Ma-
nures - - - . - ib.
2. Of the diflferent Species of Mineral Manures 337
Chap. III.
Of the Agency of Heat, Light, Electricity, and
Water, in Vegetable Culture - - 342
I. Of Heat and Light . . . ib.
II. Of Electricity - . -346
III. Of Water . . . ib.
Chap. IV.
Of the Agency of the Atmosphere in Vegeta-
tion - - - . .347
I. Of the Elements of the Atmosphere - ib.
II. Of the Means of prognosticating the Wea-
ther - - . . . pi^i'j
III. Of the Climate of Britain - . 3e0
BOOK IV.
OF THE MECHANICAL AGENTS EMPLOYED
IN AGRICULTURE.
Chap. I. Pagc
Of the Implements of Manual Labor used in
Agriculture - - , . 3^1
I. Tools used in Agriculture - - _ ^j,
II. Instruments - _ _ 3^54
1. Instruments of Labor . . if,
2. Instruments of Science ... 355
III. Utensils used in Agriculture - -368
IV. Hand Machines used in Agriculture - ib.
Chap. II.
Of Agricultural Implements and Machines
drawn by Beasts of Labor
I. Of Tillage Implements and Machines
1. Of Swing Ploughs, or such as are con-
structetl without Wheels
- 2. Wheel Ploughs - - - .
3. Of the Tillage Implements, known as
Scarifiers, Scufflers, Cultivators, and
Grubbers -
4. Of Tillage Implements of the Hoe Kind
II. Of Machines for Sowing and Planting
III. Of Harrows - . . .
IV. Of Rollers
V. Of Machines for laying Land even, and
other occasional or anomalous Tillage
Machines - - . .
VI. Of Machines for reaping and gathering the
Crop . - . .
1. Of Horse Rakes and Haymaking Ma-
chines - - _ .
2. Reaping Machines - _ .
VII. Machines of Deportation
1. Carts - - - .
2. Waggons - - . _
VIII. Machines for threshing and otherwise
preparing Corn for Market
IX. Mechanical and other fixed Apparatus, for
the Preparation of Food for Cattle, and
grinding Manure
372
373
ib.
Sffl
402
- 406
Chap. IIL
Edifices in use in Agriculture . . 408
I. Buildings for Live Stock . . jj,
II. Buildings as Repositories, and for perform-
ing in-door Operations . . 4J4,
III. Of the Farmer's Dwelling- House .417
IV. Of Cottages for Farm Servants . . 419
V. Of the Stack-yard, Dung-yard, and other
Enclosures immediately connected with
Farm Buildings ... 422
VL Of the Union of the different Farm Build-
ings and Enclosures in a Farmery . 425
Chap. IV.
Of the Fences used in Agriculture . -430
I. Of the Situation or Emplacement of Fences 431
II. Of the different Kinds of Fences . 432
1. Ditch or Drain Fences . . ih
2. Of Hedge Fences
3. Of Compound Hedge Fences
4. Paling Fences
5. Wall Fences
-433
- 438
- 439
- 443
Chap. V.
Of Gates appropriate to Agriculture
BOOK V.
or THE OPERATIONS OF AGRICULTURE.
Chap. I.
Manual Labors and Operations . . 450
I. Mechanical Operations common to all Arts
of Manual I.iabor ... /g
II. Agricultural Labors of the Simplest Kind 451
III. Agricultural Operations with Plants . 453
IV. Mixed Operations performed by Manual
Labor .... 4^
Chap. II.
Agricultural Operations requiring the Aid of
Laboring Cattle - - . , 45s
CONTENTS.
I. Operations for the Care of Live Stock
II. Labors witli Cattle on the Soil
III. Labors and Operations with the Crop
Page
- 468
- 470
- 474
Chap. III.
Scientific Operations, and Operations of Order
and general Management - ."'*''
I. Scientific Operations required of the Agri-
culturist
1. Of Measuring relatively to Agriculture
Pago
2. Of taking the Levels of Surfaces . 479
3. Of the Division and Laying out of Lands 480
4. Of estimating Weight/Powcr, and Quan-
tities - - - - 482
5. Of estimating the Value of Agricultural
Labor and Materials . - . 433
G. Of the Professional Etiquette of Land
Surveyors, Appraisers, and Valuators, in
making up their Plans and Ke|)orts .. 487
I. Operations of Order and Management ^ i'Jl
PART III.
AGRICULTURE AS PRACTISED IN BRITAIN.
BOOK I.
OF THE VALUATION, PURCHASE, AND TllANS-
FER OF LANDED PROPERTY.
Chap. I. Page
Of the different Kinds and Tenures of laiulcd
Property in the British Isles - - 494
I. Of the" Kinds of landed Property, and its
different Tenures in England - - ib.
II. Of the Kinds and Tenures of landed Pro-
perty in Scotland ... 495
III. Of the Kinds and Tenures of landed Pro-
perty in Ireland , - - - - 49(5
Chap. II.
Of the Valuation of landed Property - - ib.
Chap. IIL
Of the PurcTiase or Transfer of landed Property 500
BOOK II.
OF THE LAYING OUT, OR GENERAL AR-
RANGEMENT OF LANDED ESTATES.
Chap. I.
Of consolidating Detached Property - - 502
Chap. II
Of appropriating Commonable Lands
- 503
I. Of the Origin and different Kinds of Com-
monable Lands . - - ib,
II. Of the general Principles of appropriating
and dividing Commonable Lands - 505
Chap. III.
Of the Choice of the Demesne or Site for the
Proprietor's Residence - - . 508
Chap IV.
On the Formation of Roads - . 510
I. Of the different Kinds of Roads - -511
II. Of the Line of Direction or laying out of
Roads - - . . 512
III. Of the Form and Materials of Roads - 516
1. Of the P'ormation of Roads, and of their
Wear or Injury - - - - H,,
2. Of M' Adam's Theory and Practice of
Road-making • - - - - 518
3. Road-making as treateil of and practised
by various eminent Engineers and Sur-
veyors - - - - - 520
IV. Of paved Roads - - - . 536
V. Of Railroads - - - . 539
VI. Of the Preservation and Repair of Roads - 542
Chap. V.
Of the Formation of Canals - . - -550
I. Utility of Navigable Canals - - ^ - ib.
II. Of discovering the most eligible Rout for a
Line of Canal - - . . 551
III. Of the Powers granted to Canal Com-
panies by Gbvernnient - - 553
IV. Of the Execution of the Works
Page
- 554
Chap. VI.
Of the Improvement of Estates by the Estab-
lishment of Mills, Manufactories, Vil-
lages, Markets, &c. 556
Chap. VII.
Of Mines, Quarries, Pits, and Metalliferous
Bodies .. . - - 500
Chap. VI IL
Of the Establishment of Fisheries - -563
I. Of Marine Fisheries - - - ib.
II. Of River, Lake, and other Inland Fisheries 565
Chap. IX,
Of Plantations and Woodlands - - 568
I. Of the Soils and Situations which may be
most profitably employed in Timber
Plantation - - . . 5G0
II. Of the Trees suitable for different Soils,
Situations and Climates - - ib.
III. Of forming Plantations - - 571
IV. Of the Mixture of Tree« in Plantations - 578
V. Of the Culture of Plantations. - - 580
1. Of the Culture of the Soil among Trees - ib.
2. Of the Filling up of Blanks or Failures in
Plantations - - . ib.
5. Of Pruning and Heading Down Trees in
Plantations . - . .'JSl
4. Of Thinning Young Plantations -584
VI. Of the Improvement of Neglected Plan-
tations - - . - 586
VII. Of the Treatment of Injured and Dis-
eased Trees - - . - 587
VIII. Of the Products of Trees and their Pre-
paration for Use or Sale. - - 589*
IX. Of estimating the Value of Plantations
and their Products, and of exposing them
to Sale . - . - 595
Chap. X.
Of the Formation and Management of Orchards 596
I. Of the Soils and Situations most suitable for
Orchards - - - - 597
IL Of the Sorts of Trees and Manner of
Planting . . - - //;.
I I I. Of the Cultivation of Farm Orchards - 6(il
IV. Of the Gathering and Keeping of Orchard
Fruits - - . . em
V. Of the Manufacture of Cider - -603
VI. Of the Machinery and Utensils necessary
for Cider making . . . 606
Chap. XL
Of the laying out of Farm and other Culturable
Lands - - . - . 608
I. Of the Extent or Size of Farm and Cottage
Lands - ..... ib.
II. Of laying out Farms and Farmeries - 611
1. Of the Situation and Arrangement of the
Farmery .... ib.
2. Of laying out Cottages - . - 619
3. Of laying out the Farm Lands - .621
CONTENTS.
BOOK III.
OF IMPROVING THE CULTURABLE LANDS OF
AN ESTATE.
CUAP. I.
Page
Of Draining Watery Lands - - 625
I. Of the Natural Causes of Wetness in Lands
and the general Tlicory of DVaining - ib.
II. Of the Methods of Draining Boggy Land - 628
III. Of the Methods of Draining Mixed Soils 634
IV. Of the Methods of Draining Retentive
Soils - - - - -GS5
V. Methods of Draining Mines, Quarries, and
Pits - - - - 637
VI. Of tlie Formation of Drains, and the Ma-
terials used in Filling them - - 638
VII. Of the Implements peculiar to Draining (y):o
Chap. II.
Of Embanking and otherwise protecting Lands
from the Overflowing or Encroachment of
Rivers or the Sea . - - - 645
I. Of Embanking Lands from Rivers or the
Sea - - - • H).
1. General Principles of designing Embank-
ments - - - - - ib.
2. Of the different Descriptions of Banks in
general Use for excluding Waters - 647
II. Of guarding the Banks, and otherwise im-
proving the Course of Rivers and Streams 650
1. On guarding River Banks - - 651
2. Of Changing the Course of Rivers - 653
Chap. III.
Of Irrigation, or the Improvement of Cultur-
abie Lands and Farmeries by the Means of
Water - - - - 654
I. Of Irrigation or the Preparation of the Sur-
face of Lands for the profitable Applica-
tion of Water .... ib.
\. Of the Soils and Situations suitable for the
Purposes of Watering Lands - - ^5
2. Of the Implements made Use of in Wa-
tering Lands ; and of the Terms of Art
peculiar to Works of that Kind - 656
3. Of the Preparation of Surfaces for Irriga-
tion - - - , ^ : ^^^
II. Of Warping, or the Improvement of Land
by Muddy Water - - - 665
1. Of the Irrigation of Arable Lands and of
Subterraneous Irrigation - - 667
III. Of the Artificial Means of procuring Wa-
ter for the Use of Live Stock - - ib.
Chap. IV.
Of the Improvement of Lands lying Waste, so
as to tit them for Farm Culture - - 673
I. Of mountainous and hilly Grounds and their
Improvement . _ . «7;.
II. Of rocky or stoney Surfaces - - ib.
III. Of improving woody Wastes or Wealds - 675
IV. Of Moors and their Improvements - 676
V. Of Peat Mosses, Bogs, and Morasses, and
their Improvements - - 677
VI. Of Marshes and their Improvement - 679
VII. Of Downs and other Shore Lands - 680
Chap. V.
Of the Improvement of Lands already in a
State of Culture - - - 681
I. Of the general Principles and Modes of Pro-
cedure in improving Estates already
more or less improved - - ib.
II. Of the Improvement of Farmeries and
Farm Lands _ - . - ib.
Chap. VI.
Of the Execution of Improvements - 688
I. Of the different Modes of procuring the
Execution of Improvements on Estates ib.
II. General Cautions on the Subject of execut-
ing Improvements - - - 690
BOOK IV.
OF THE MANAGEMENT OF LANDED rUOrEUry.
Chap. I. Page
Of the Superintendants, or Executive Establish-
ment of an Estate - - _ 692
I. or the Steward or Manager of an Estate,
and his Assistants - . _ ib,
II. Of the Land Steward's Place of Business,
and what belongs to it - - 694
Chap. II.
Of the Duties of Managers of Estates . 695
I. Of the general Principles of Business con-
sidered relatively to Land-Stewardship - ib.
II. Of the Management of Tenants - -696
1. Of the proper Treatment of Tenants - ib.
2. On the Business of letting Farms - 697
3. Of the different Species of Tenancy ib.
4. Of the Rent and Covenants of a Lease - 700
5. Of receiving Rents - . _ 702
III. Of Keeping and Auditing Accounts - 703
BOOK V.
OF THE SELECTION, HIRING, AND STOCKING
OF FARMS.
Chap. I.
Of the Circumstances of a Farm necessary to
be considered by a proposed Tenant - 704
I. Of Climate in respect to Farming Lands - 705
II. Of Soil in respect to Farming Lands - 708
III. Of Subsoil relatively to the Choice of a
Farm - - - .710
IV. Of the Elevation of Lands relatively to
Farming - . - . . 711
V. Character of Surface in regard to Farming
Lands - - - .712
VI. Of Aspect in respect to Farming Lands - ib.
VII. Of the Situation of Farm Lands in regard
to Markets - - . . n,,
VIII. Of the Extent of Land suitable for a
Farm - - - .713
IX. Of the Tenure on which Lands are held
for Farming - - - 714
X. Of Rent - - - - - ib.
XI. Of Taxes and other Burdens which affect
the Farmer ... 716
XII. Of other Particulars requiring a Farmers
Attention, with a view to renting of
Land - - - -717
Chap. II.
Considerations respecting himself, which a
Farmer ought to keej) in view in selecting
and hiring a Farm .... yjg
I. Of the personal Character and Expectations
of a professional Fanner - . iff.
II. Of the Capital required by the Farmer - 719
Chap. III.
On the Choice of Stock for a Farm - - 720
I. Of the Choice of Live Stock . - ib.
1. Live Stock for the Purposes of Labor - 721
2. Of the Choice of Live Stock for the Pur-
poses of breeding or feeding - . 722
II. Of the Choice of Agricultural Implements,
Seeds, and Plants - - - 725
III. Of the Choice of Servants - .726
Chap. IV.
Of the general Management of a Farm . 728
I. Of keeping Accounts - - - ib.
II. Management of Servants - - -732
III. Of the Arrangement of Farm Labor - 734
IV. Of domestic Management and personal
Expenses - - - 736
BOOK VI.
OF THE CULTURE OF FARM LANDS.
Chap. I.
Of the general Processes common to Farm
Lands
- ib.
CONTENTS.
Page
I. Of the Rotations of Crops suitable to dif-
ferent Descriptions of Soils - - 737
II. Of the Worliing of Fallows - - 740
III. Of the general Management of Manures 742
1. On the Management of Farm-yard Dung ib.
2. Of Lime and its Management as a Manure 744
IV. Of Composts of Earth, Lime, and Dung - 745
Chap. II.
Of the Culture of the Cereal Grasses
I. Wheat
II. Rye -
III. Barley
IV. The Oat
-746
- ib.
-756
- ib.
- 760
V. Cereal Grasses cultivated in Europe, some
of which might be tried in Britain
-763
Chap. III.
Of the Culture of Leguminous Field Plants
I. The Pea - . . . - to.
II. The Bean - - - - 769
III. The Tare - - . , . TJ3
IV. Of other Leguminous Grains which might
be cultivated in British Farming - 775
- 765
Chap. IV.
Of Plants cultivated for their Roots or Leaves
776
I. The Potatoe
-777
II. The Turnip ....
-785
III. The Carrot -
-793
IV. The Parsnep
-797
V. The Field-Beet
-798
VI. The Cabbage Tribe
-799
VII. Of some other Plants which might
be
cultivated in the Fields for their Roots
or
Leaves - . _
-800
Chap. V.
Of the Culture of Herbage Plants
- ib.
I. The Clover Family
-801
II. Lucern ....
. 806
III. Saintfoin
-809
IV. Of various Plants which are or may be
cultivated as Herbage and for Hay
-812
Chap. VI.
Of the cultivated Grasses ... 817
I. Of the tall growing or Hay Grasses - ib.
1. Of tall or Hay Grasses of temporary Du-
ration - - - - 818
2. Of tall or Hav Grasses of permanent Du-
ration -" - - - - 820
II. Grasses chiefly adapted for Pasturage - 824
III. General View of the Produce, Uses, Cha-
racter, and Value of the principal British
Grasses, according to the result of John
Dake of Bedford's Experiments at Wo-
burn - - - - 826
Chap. VII.
Of the Management of Lands permanently
under Grass .... 832
I. Perennial Grass Lands fit for mowing, or
Meadow Lands - . . ib.
II. Of permanent Pastures - .838
1. Of rich or feeding pastures - . ib.
2. Of hilly and mountainous Pastures - 841
III. Of the Improvement of Grass Lands, by a
temporary Conversion to Tillage - 842
1. Of Grass Lands that ought not to be bro-
ken up by the Plough - . 843
2. Of the Advantages and Disadvantages of
breaking up Grass Lands - . . 844
3. Of breaking up Grass Lands, and after-
wards restoring them to Grass _ ib.
Chap, VIIL
Of Plants cultivated on a limited Scale for
various Arts and Manufactures - . 846
I. Of Plants grown chiefly for the Clothing
-, m^""*^ . - . . if,^
1. The Flax
2. Hemp ...
3. The Fuller's Thistle, or Teazle
4. Madder ...
5. Woad
6. Weld or Dyer's Weed
7. The Bastard Saffron -
ib.
- 851
- 852
- 854
- 855
- fV>6
- 857
Page
8. Of various Pkints which have been pro-
posed as Substitutes for the Thread, and
dyeing Plants grown in Britain . 857
II. Plants cultivated for the Brewery and Dis-
tillery . . . .858
1. The Hop if,
2. Of the Culture of the Coriander and Ca-
raway . . . -866
0. Of Plants which may be substituted for
Brewery and Distillery Plants . - ib.
in. Of Oil Plants . . . .867
IV. Plants used in Domestic EoMiomy . 869
1. Mustard . . . - 870
2. The Canary Grass . . - - ib.
3. Buck- Wheat - . -871
4. Of other Plants used in Domestic Eco-
nomy ; which are or may be cultivated
the Fields - . . .872
V. Of Plants which are or may be grown in the
Fields for Medicinal Purposes - - 874
Chap. IX.
Of Marine Plants used in Agriculture - 876
Chap. X.
Of Weeds or Plants which are injurious to
those cultivated in Agriculture - . 877
BOOK VIT.
THE ECONOMY OF LIVE STOCK AND THE
DAIRY.
Chap. I. •
Of the Horse '. . . . 880
I. Of the Varieties of the Horse - - ib.
II. Organology or exterior Anatomy of the
Horse . . . .885
III. The Anatomy or Osseous Structure of the
Horse . . . . .892
1. Anatomy of the Head . . ib.
2. The Anatomy of the Trunk . . 894
3. The Anatomy of the Extremities - 895
IV. Of the Physiology or Functions of the
Horse . . .896
1. General Functions of the Bony Skeleton - ib.
2. The Blood Vessels of the Horse - 898
3. The Absorbents of the Horse - - ib.
4. Nerves and Glands of the Horse - 899
5. Integuments of the Horse's Body - ib.
6. The Head generally - - - 900
7. The Ear ib.
8. The Eye and its Appendages - - ib.
9. The Nose and Sense of Smelling . 902
10. The Cavity of the Mouth - . ib.
11. The Neck . . . . 903
12. The Thorax or Chest - - -904
13. The Abdomen . . . ib.
14. The Organs of Generation - .907
15. The Foot - - - . ib.
V. Of the Diseases of the Horse - 908
1. General Remarks on the healthy and dis-
eased State of the Horse
2. Inflammatory Diseases of the Horse
3. Diseases of the Head
4. Diseases of the Neck
5. The Chest
6. Diseases of the Skin
7. Glanders and Farcy
8. Diseases of the Extremities
9. Diseases of the Feet
VI. Veterinary Operations
1. Treatment of Wounds
2. Balls and Drinks
3. Fomentations and Poultices
4. Setons and Rowels
5. Blistering and Firing
6. Clystering and Physicking
7. Castration, Nicking, Docking, &c.
8. Bleeding ...
VII. The Veterinary Pharmacopeia
V III. The Shoeing of Horses
IX. Criteria of the Qualities of
various purposes
X. Of Breeding Horses
XI Of Rearing Horses
XII. Of Training Horses
XIII. Of the Art of Horsemanship
ib.
- 909
911
- 912
- ib.
- 916
- ib.
- 917
- 919
- 920
- ib.
- 921
- ib.
- ib.
- 922
- ib.
- ib.
- 923
- ib.
- 926
Horses for
- 929
- 9'32
935
- 937
- 940
CONTENTS.
Page
XIV. Of the Feeding of Horses - - 941
XV. Of the Stabling and Grooming of Horses 943
XVI. Of the Management and Woirking of
Horses - - - - 94.'5
1. Management and Working of Race Horses ib.
2. Of the Management and Working of the
Hunter - - - - 946
3. Of the Working and Management of
Riding Horses - - - 947
4. Of Horses in Curricles and Coaches - 948
5. Working of Cart, Waggon, and Farm
Horses • - - - ib.
Chap.
The Ass
950
Chap. III.
Of the Mule and Hinny, Hybrids of the Horse
and Ass
- 952
Chap. IV.
Of Neat or Horned Cattle - - - 953
I. Of the Ox - - . - ib.
1. Of the Varieties and Breeds of the Bull - ib.
2. Criteria of Cattle for various Objects and •.
Purposes .... 959
3. Of the Breeding of Horned Cattle . 961
4. Of rearing Horned Cattle - - 962
5. Of fattening Calves by Suckling - -963
6. Of fattening Horned Cattle - - 965
7. Of the Management of Cows kept for the
Dairy . - - -966
8. Of Working Horned Cattle - . 970
9. Of the Anatomy and Physiology of the
Bull and Cow . - - 972
10. Of the Diseases of Horned Cattle . 973
II. Of the Buffalo - - - .977
Chap. V.
Of the Dairy and its Management - ib.
I. Of the Chemical Principles of Milk, and the
Properties of the Milk of different Ani-
mals - - - .978
II. Of the Dairy House, its Furniture, and
Utensils . - . .979
III. Of Milking, and the general Management
of Milk - . . .0^3
IV. Of Making and Curing Butter . . 984
V. Of the Process of Cheese-making - -98(5
VI. Catalogue of the different Sorts of Cheeses
and other Preparations made from Milk 989
Chap. VI.
- 992
The Sheep
I. Of the Varieties of Sheep - - - ib.
II. Criteria of Properties in Sheep - -996
III. Of Breeding Sheep . - .997
IV. Of the rearing and general Management
of Sheep 1000
1. Of the rearing and Management of Sheep
on rich Grass and arable Lands - 1001
2. Of the rearing and general Management
of Sheep on Hilly and Mountainous
Page
Districts, or what is generally termed
Store Sheep Husbandry - . 1003
V. Of the Folding of Sheep - - - 1007
VI. Of Fatting Sheep and Lambs - 1008
VII. On the probable Improvement which
may be derived from Crosses of the
Merino Breed of Sheep - - 1010
VI II. Of the Anatomy and Physiology of
Sheep .... 1012
IX. The Diseases of Sheep . - - ib.
Chap. VII.
The Swine .... 1014
I. Of the Varieties of the common Hog - 1016
II. Of Breeding and Rearing of Swine - 1018
III. Of Fattening Swine - - -1019
IV. Of curing Pork and Bacon - -1020
V. Of the Diseases of Swine - - ib.
Chap. VIII.
Of the Goat, Rabbit, Hare, Dormouse, Deer,
and various other Animals, that are or may
H)e subjected to British Agriculture - 1021
Chap. IX.
Of Animals of the Bird kind employed in
Agriculture .... 1034
I. Of Poultry Houses, and their Furniture
and Utensils .... ib.
II. Of Gallinaceous Fowls, their Kinds,
Breeding, Rearing, and Management - 1035
HI. Anserine, or .-^.quatic Fowls - . 1043
IV. Diseases of Poultry - - - 1048
V. Of Birds of Luxury, which are or may be
cultivated by Farmers - . - ib.
Chap. X.
Of Fish and Amphibious Animals subjected
to Cultivation - -
1055
Chap. XI.
Of Insects and Worms which are or may be
subjected to Culture ... 1058
Chap. XII.
Of Animals Noxious to Agriculture
I. Of Noxious Mammalia . . .
II. Birds injurious to Agriculture
III. Insects injurious to Agriculture
1. Of the Physiology of the Insect Tribes -
2. Of Coleopterous Insects
3. Of Hemipterous Insects
4. Of Lepidopterous Insects
5. Of Neuropterous, or Nerve-winged In
sects -
6. Of Hymenopterous Insects
7. Of Dipterous Insects
8. Of Apterous Insects
9. Gyrations for subduing Insects
IV. Of the Worm Tribes injurious in Agrl
culture ...
1063
ib.
1065
1066
ib.
1068
1069
- 1071
1072
1073
ib.
1075
ib.
PART IV.
STATISTICS OF BRITISH AGRICULTURE.
BOOK I.
OP THE TRESENT STATE OF AGRICULTURE IN
THE BRITISH ISLES.
Chap. I, Page
Of the different Descriptions of Men engaged
in the Practice or Pursuit of Agriculture - 1076
I. Of Operators or serving Agriculturists - 1077
II. Commercial Agriculturists . - 1078
IlL Agricultural Counsellors, Artists, or Pro.
fessors . ... 1079
IV. Patrons of Agriculture . . 1080
Chap. II. Page
Of the different Kinds of Farms in Britain
relatively to the different Classes of Society
who are the Occupiers - . . 1081
Chap. III.
Topographical Survey of the British Isles in
respect to Agriculture . - - 1082
I. Agricultural Survey of England • - ib.
II. Agricultural Survey of Wales -1130
III. Agricultural Survey of Scotland - 1134
IV. Agricultural Survey of Ireland - 1154
CONTENTS.
Chap. IV. Page
Of the Literature and Bibliography of Agri-
culture - - - - 1162
I. The Bibliography of British Agriculture - ib.
II. Bibliography of Agriculture in Foreign
Countries _ _ _ 1171
1. Bibliography of French Agriculture - tb.
2. Bibliography of German Agriculture - 1175
3. Bibliography of Italian Agriculture - 1177
4. Of the Bibliography of the Agriculture
of the other Countries of Europe - 1178
5. Agricultural Bibliography of North
America - - - 1179
Chap. V.
Of the Professional Police and Public Laws
relative to Agriculturists and Agriculture - ib.
KALENDARIAL INDEX
GENERAL INDEX
BOOK II.
OF THK FUTURE PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE
IN BRITAIN.
Chap. I. Page
Of the Improvement of Agriculture by refin-
ing the Taste of the Purchasers of its Pro-
ducts, and increasing the Knowledge of
Agricultural Patrons - - - 1181
Chap. II.
On the Improvement of Agriculture by the
better Education of those who are engaged
in it as a Profession - - . 1182
I. On the Degree of Knowledge which may
be attained by Practical Men, and on
the general Powers of the human Mind
as to Attainments . . - ib.
II. Of the Professional Education of Agricul-
turists - . - - 1184
III. Of the Conduct and Economy of an Agri-
culturist's Life •. - - 1186
- 1197
f not
ENCYCLOPAEDIA
OF
AGRICULTURE.
THE first want of man is food, and his first resource for it the ground. Whether
herbs or fruits were resorted to, must have depended on their relative abundance
in the country where man found himself; but the latter would probably be preferred,
till the use of fire was discovered in the preparation of the former. The first care and
labor of man would thus be bestowed on fruit-trees, and hence gardening may be said
to be the art of earliest invention. But man is also a carnivorous animal, and this pro-
pensity of his nature would soon induce him to attempt domesticating such beasts of the
earth as he found most useful in aflPording milk, clothing, or food ; or in performing
labor. Hence the origin of pasturage, and the management of live stock. The in-
vention of tillage would be coeval with the discovery of the use of the cereal grasses, and
may be considered as the last grand step in the invention of husbandry, and the most im-
portant, as lealding to the establishment of property in territorial surface.
In the earlier stages of civilisation, these branches of economy, in common with
all the arts of life, would be practised by every family for itself; but the advantages of
separating occupations would soon present themselves, and the result of this principle
in regard to rural culture and management, — the res rustica of the Romans and hus-
bandry of old English authors, — is, that all their operations are now classed under
the two designations of agriculture and gardening.
Agriculture^ the art to which we here confine ourselves, as compared to gardening,
is the culture and management of certain plants and animals for the food and service of
man ; but relative to the present improved state of the art, it may be defined, the cultiva-
tion and management of territorial surface on an extended scale, by manual and animal
labor, for the production of objects and materials used for the food and service of man,
and for various important purposes, in arts, manufactures, and civilised life.
The importance of agriculture is obvious, not only by its aflPording the direct
supply of our greatest wants, but as the parent of manufactures and commerce. With-
out agriculture there can be neither civilisation nor population. Hence it is not only
the most universal of arts, but that which requires the greatest number of operators : tlie
main body of the population in every country is employed in the pursuit of agriculture ;
and the most powerful individuals in almost all nations, derive their wealth and conse-
quence from their property in land.
In the earliest ages of mankind, before tillage was invented, the surface of the
earth would be common to all the inhabitants, and every family would pasture their
flock, and pitch their tent, or erect their hut, where they thought fit. But when tillage
came in use, it became necessary to assign to each family a portion of territory, and of
this portion that family became the proprietor, cultivator, and the consumer of the pro-
ducts. Hence the invention of property in land, and progressively of purchased cultivators,
B
or slaves ; of hired cultivators, or laborers ; of commercial agriculturists, or farmers ;
and of the various laws and customs in regard to the proprietorship and occupation of
landed property.
The practice of agriculture, however rude in early times, or in countries still com-
paratively uncivilised, assumes a very different character among the most advanced
nations. Not to mention the peculiarities of implements, machines, and domestic ani-
mals, and the different kinds of culture and management requisite for the different
countries and climates of the world, the local variations requisite even in Britain, are so
considerable that an agriculturist whose experience and observation had been confined to
one district, may be comparatively unfit to exercise his profession in another. The sheep
farming of the North Highlands, the d dry farming of Gloucestershire, the hop culture of
Kent, the woodlands of Buckinghamshire, and the hay management of Middlesex, have
given rise to commercial agriculturists of very distinct varieties from the common corn
farmer. The previous preparation of land for culture, by enclosure, drainage, embanking,
road.making, &c, demands considerable science; and has given rise to artist agricul-
turists, known as land-surveyors, and land-engineers. The relative changes as to rent and
occupancy which take place between land-owners and farmers, and the valuation and
transfer of landed property among monied men, have produced land-valuators and land-
agents; from the direction of extensive estates, and the management of small concerns
and farms, liave originated the serving agriculturists, known as land-stewards and bailiffs ;
and the operators are shepherds, herdsmen, ploughmen, carters, spades«men, and hands of
all work.
The practice of agriculture, from having been chiefly confined to men of humble
station, who pursued it as a matter of business or profit, has of late years been engaged
in by men of rank, and other opulent or amateur practitioners, as matter of taste and
recreation. The contrast between the simple and healthy pursuits of the country, and
such as require intense application, and confine men chiefly to towns and cities, gives
them a peculiar charm to the industrious and active citizen, while the idle and the opu-
lent find relief in it from the ennui of inaction or a frivolous waste of time. Some
magnificent displays of the art have thus been made by great landed proprietors on their
demesne or home farms ; and very neat and tasteful specimens of culture, by retired
citizens and other possessors of villas, farms, awAfermes ornees. These circumstances may
be said to have raised the pursuit of agriculture to a comparatively dignified state to that
in which it was formerly held ; while tlie political advantages which are enjoyed by all
classes in a free and commercial country, have improved the circumstances of agricul-
turists of every grade, and tended to raise them in the scale of society.
The recent discoveries in chemistry and physiology have led to the most important
improvements in the culture of plants, and the breeding and rearing of animals ; agri-
culture is in consequence no longer an art of labor, but of science ; hence the
advantage of scientific knowledge to agriculturists, and the susceptibility of the art of
progressive advancement. " Agriculture," Marshal observes, " is a subject which,
viewed in all its branches and to their fullest extent, is not oily the most important and
the most difficult in rural economies, but in the circle of human arts and sciences. "
For the purpose oragricultural improvement, societies have been established in every
country of Europe, and in almost every county of Britain. Most of these, as well as se-
veral eminent individuals, have stimulated cuitivators and breeders to exertion, by the offer
of premiums, and other honorary rewards. Professorships of rural economy have also been
instituted in some colleges ; and other independent georgical institutions have been
established for public instruction, especially on the continent: — to which we may add,
the publication of numerous books on the subject of agriculture and territorial im-
provement.
Such is the origin, the extent, the importance, and the interest of the subject of
agriculture; from which it cannot be surprising that a varied and voluminous mass
of knowledge has been accumulated on the subject, and is consequently more or less
necessary for every one who would practise the art with success himself, or understand
when it is well practised for him by others. To combine as far as practicable the whole
of this knowledge, and arrange it in a systematic form, adapted both for study and
reference, is the object of the present work. The sources from which we have selected,
are the modern British authors of decided reputation and merit ; sometimes we have re-
curred to ancient and to Continental authors, and occasionally, though rarely, to our
own observation and experience : — observation chiefly in Britain, but partly also on
the Continent ; and experience in Scotland, under the paternal roof, during our early
years, — during some years' occupancy of two extensive farms in England, — and in the
engineering and surveyyig departments during our practice for twenty years as a land-
scape-gardener.
{1. Th
2. Th
3. Th
4. Th
5. Th
Part I. ORIGIN, &c. OF AGRICULTURE. jS,
With this purpose in view, agriculture is here considered, in
Part Book
I. As to its origin, progress, and Tl. Among ancient and modern nations.
present state, (.2. Under different geographical, physical, and political circumstances.
The study of the vegetable kingdom.
The study of the animal kingdom.
I. As a science founded on -^ 3. The study of the mineral kingdom and the atmosphere.
1. The study of the mechanical agents employed in agriculture.
5. The study of the operations of agriculture.
'1. The valuation, purchase, and transfer of landed property.
2. The laying out, or general arrangement, of landed property.
3. The improvement of culturable lands.
4. The management of landed estates.
5. The selection, hiring, and stocking of farms.
6. The culture of farm lands.
.7. The economy of live stock, and the dairy.
IV. Staflstically in Britain, ' g It S S fS'^^^es.. :
A Kalendarial Index to those parts of the work which treat of culture and management, points out
the operations as they are to be performed in the order of time and of the season : and
A General Index explains the technical terms of agriculture, the abbreviations here made use of, and
presents an analysis of the whole work in alphabetical, as the Table of Contents does in systematic, order.
III. As an art comprehending
PART L
AGRICULTURE CONSIDERED AS TO ITS ORIGIN, PROGRESS,
AND PRESENT STATE, AMONG DIFFERENT NATIONS, GOVERN-
MENTS, AND CLIMATES.
1. The history of Agriculture may be considered chronologically, or in connection
with that of the different nations who have successively flourished in the different parts
of the world ; politically, as influenced by the different forms of government which have
prevailed; geographically, as affected by different climates ; and physically, as influenced
by the characters of the earth's surface. The first kind of history is useful, by displaying
the relative situation of different countries as to agriculture ; instructive, as enabling
us to contrast our present situation with that of other nations and former times ; and
curious, as discovering the route by which agriculture has passed from primitive ages and
countries to our own. The political and geographical history of the art derives its value
from pointing out causes, favorable and unfavorable to improvement ; and countries and
climates favorable qr unfavorable to particular kinds of cultivation and management.
; BOOK L
HISTOR7 OF AGRICULTtTRE AMONG ANCIENT AND MODERN NATIONS.
2, Traditional history traces man back to the time of the deluge. After that catastfoplie,
of which the greater part of the earth's surface bears evidence, man seems to have re-
covered himself (in our hemisphere at least) in the central parts of Asia, and to have
first attained to eminence in arts and government, on the alluvial plains of the Nile.
Egypt colonised Greece, Carthage, and some other places on the Mediterranean sea ;
and thus the Greeks received their arts from the Egyptians, afterwards the Romans from
the Greeks, and finally the rest of Europe from the Romans. Such is the route by
which agriculture is traced to our part of the world ; how it may have reached the
eastern countries of India and China, is less certain ; though from the great antiquity of
their inhabitants and governments, it appears highly probable that arts and civilisation
were either coeval there, or, if not, that they travelled to the east fully more rapidly than
they did to the west.
3. Jlie early history of man in America rests on very indistinct traditions : there arts
and civilisation do not seem of equal antiquity as in Asia ; in North America they are
*B 2
/ HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
of very recent introduction ; but of the agriculture of either division of that continent,
and of India and China, we shall attempt little more than some sketches of the modern
history, and its present state.
4. The history of agriculture among the nations of what may be called classic antiquity
is involved in impenetrable obscurity. Very few facts are recorded on the subject pre-
viously to the time of the Romans. That enterprising people considerably improved the
art, and extended its practice with their conquests. After the fall of their empire, it
declined throughout Europe ; and during the dark ages was chiefly preserved on the
estates of the church. With the general revival of arts and letters, which took place
during the sixteenth century, agriculture also revived ; first in Italy, and then in France
and Germany ; but it flourished most in Switzerland and Holland ; and finally, in recent
times, has attained its highest degree of perfection in Britain. The modern agriculture
of America is copied from that of Europe ; and the same may be said of the agriculture
of European colonies established in different parts of the world. The agriculture of
China, and the native agriculture of India, seem to have undergone no change for many
ages. — Such is the outline which we now proceed to fill up by details, and we shall adopt
the usual division of time, into the ages of antiquity, the middle ages, and the modern
times.
Chap. I.
Of the History of Agriculture in the Ages of Antiquity ,• or from the Deluge to the Establish-
ment of the Roman Umpire in the century jyreceding the vulgar cera.
5. The world as known to the ancients consisted of not more than half of Asia, and
of a small part of Africa and Europe. During the inundation of the deluge, a rem-
nant of man, and of other animals, is related to have been saved on the top of
the high mountain of Ararat, near the Caspian sea, (j^^. 1.) and when the waters sub-
sided, to have descended and multiplied in the plains of Assyria. As they increased in
numbers they are related to have separated ; and after an unknown length of time to
have formed several different nations and governments. Of these the principal are those
of the Assyrian empire, known as Babylonians, Assyrians, Medes, and Persians, in Asia;
the Jews and the Egyptians, chiefly in Africa ; and the Grecians, chiefly in Europe.
Least is known of the nations which composed the Assyrian empire ; of the Jews more
is known of their gardening and domestic economy, than of their field culture : the
Egyptians may be considered the parent nation of arts and civilisation, and are supposed
to have excelled in agriculture ; and something is known of that art among the Greeks.
6. The authors whose writings relate to the period under consideration are few, and the
relations of some of them very contradictory. The earliest is Moses, who flourished
B. C. 1 600 ; Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus, who wrote more particularly on the
history and geography of Egypt, lived, the former in the fifth, and the latter in the sixth
century, B. C. ; and Hesiod, the ancient Greek writer on husbandry, in the tenth cen-
tury preceding our aera.
7. Estimating the value of the writers of antiquity on these principles, they may be con-
sidered as reaching back to a period 1600 years before our a;ra, or nearly 3500 years
from the present time ; and it is truly remarkable, that in the Eastern countries, at that
period, the state of agriculture and other arts, and even of machinery, does not appear to
have been materially different to what they are in the sunic countries at the present day.
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF ANTIQUITY. 5
Property' in land was recognised, the same grains cultivated, and the same domestic
animals reared or employed; some led a wandering life and dwelt in tents like the
Arabs ; and others dwelt in towns or cities, and pursued agriculture and commerce like
the fixed nations. It is reasonable indeed, and consistent with received opinions, that this
should be the case ; for admitting the human race to have been nearly exterminated at the
deluge, those who survived tliat catastrophe would possess the more useful arts, and
general habits of life of the antediluvian world. Noah accordingly is styled a husband-
man, and is said to have cultivated the vine and made wine. In little more than three
centuries afterwards, Abraham is stated to have had extensive flocks and herds, slaves of
both sexes, silver and gold, and to have purchased a family sepulchre with a portion of
territory around it. Isaac his son, during his residence in Palestine, is said to have sown
and reaped a hundred fold. Corn seems to have been grown in abundance in Egypt;
for Abraham, and afterwards Jacob, had recourse to that country during times of famine.
Irrigation was also extensively practised there, for it is said (Gen. xiii. 10.) that the plain
of Jordan was watered everywhere, even as the garden of the Lord, the land of Egypt.
Such is the amount of agricultural information contained in the writings of Moses, from
which the general conclusion is, that agricultiy-e, in the East, has been practised in all or
most of its branches from time immemorial. The traditions of other countries, however,
as recorded by various writers, ascribe its invention to certain fabulous personages; as
the Egyptians to Osiris; the Greeks to Ceres and Triptolemus; the Latins to Janus; the
Sect. I. Of the Agriculture of Egypt.
8. The origin of agriculture has been sought by modern philosophers in natural cir-
cumstances. Man in his rudest state, they consider, would first live on fruits or roots,
afterwards by hunting or fishing, next by the pasturage of animals, and lastly, to all of
these he would add the raising of corn. Tillage, or the culture of the soil for this pur-
pose, is supposed to have been first practised in imitation of the effects produced by the
sand and mud left by the inundations of rivers. These take place more or less in every
country, and their effects on the herbage which spontaneously spring up among the de-
posited sand and mud must at a very early period have excited the attention of the coun-
tryman. This hypothesis seems supported by the traditions and natural circumstances
of Egypt, a country overflown by a river, civilised from time immemorial, and so
abundant in corn as to be called the granary of the adjoining states. Sir Isaac Newton
and Stillingfleet accordingly, considered that corn was first cultivated on the banks of the
Nile. Sir Isaac fixes on Lower Egypt ; but as Herodotus and other ancient Greek
writers assert that that country was once a marsh, and as Major Rennel in his work on
the geography of Herodotus is of the same opinion, Stillingfleet ( Works, vol. ii. 524. )
considers it more probable that the cultivation of land was invented in Upper Egypt, and
proceeded downwards according to the course of the Nile.
S. The situation and natural phenomena of Upper Egypt, Stillingfleet considers,
rendered it fitter for the inveiition of cultivation than the low country ; " for while
Lower Egypt was a marsh, formed by the depositions of the Nile, the principal part of
Upper Egypt was a valley a few leagues broad, bounded by mountains, and on both sides
declining to the river. Hence it was overflowed only for a certain time and season ; the
waters rapidly declined, and the ground, enriched by the mud, was soon dry, and in a
state fit to receive seed. The process of cultivation in this country was also most obvious
and natural ; for the ground being every year covered with mud brought by the Nile,
and plants springing up spontaneously after its recess, must have given the hint, that
nothing more was necessary than to scatter th ' seeds, and they would vegetate. Secondly,
the ground was prepared by nature for rec nving the seed, and required only stirring
sufficient to cover it. From this phenominon the surrounding nations learned two
things : first, that the ground before sowing should be prepared, and cleared from plants;
and secondly, that the mixture of rich mould and sand would produce fertility. What
is here stated may appear without foundation as to Upper Egypt ; because at present, in
the vicinity of Thebes, water is raised by art. But this objection is obviated by the tes-
timony of Dr. Pococke, who is of opinion that formerly Upper Egypt was overflowed, in
the same manner as Lower Egypt was afterwards, and is to this
day." {StiUingJleei' s Life and Works, &c. ii. 524.)
10. The invention of agricultural implements, must have
been coeval with the invention of aration ; and accordmgly
they are supposed to have originated in Egypt. Antiquarians
are agreed, that the primeval implement used in cultivating
the soil, must have been of the pick kind. (fg. 2.) A
medal of the greatest antiquity, dug up at Syracuse, con-
tained an impression of such an instrument (Encyc. <f Gard. &s» 77.) i and its pro>
B 3
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
gress till it became a plough has been recognised in a cameo, published by Menestrier, on
which a pick-like plough is
drawn by two serpents {Jig^
3. a) : it may be also seen on
a medal from the village of
Enna, in Sicily, published by
Combe (6); in a figure given
by Spon, as found on an an-
tique tomb (c); in an Etrus-
can plough, copied from a
fragment in the Roman col-
lege at Rome, by Lasteyrie
(rf) ; and as we still see in
the instrument depicted by
Niebuhr, as used for plough-
ing in Egypt and Arabia at the
present day. (e) Whatseems
to confirm these conjectures
is, that the image of Osiris
is sculptured with a similar
plough in each hand (^fig. 4.
abed), and with a harrow (e)
suspended by a cord ( /* )
over the left shoulder. This
plough there can be little
doubt was used in war as well
as in agriculture, and seems to have been of that kind with which the Israelites fought
against their enemies the Philistines (I Sam xiii. 19- 23.) ; it is thought by some to be
the archetype of the letter alpha (the hieralpha of
Kircher) : and by others the sounds necessary to
conduct the processes of culture are thought to have
founded the origin of language. Thus it is that agri-
culture is considered by some antiquarians, as not only a,
the parent of all other arts, but also of language and
literature. f^l
11. Whether the culture of corn was invented in
Egypt or not, all testimonies concur that cultivation
was carried to a higher degree of perfection there
than in any other country of antiquity. The canals
and banks which still remain in Lower Egypt, and
especially in the Delta, are evidences of the ex-
tent to which embanking, irrigation, and drainage
have been carried. These works are said to have been greatly increased by Sesostris,^
in the 17th or 18th century B.C. Many of the canals 'and drains have been
long obliterated ; but there are still reckoned eighty canals, like rivers, all excavated by
manual labor, several of which are twenty, thirty, and forty leagues in length. These
receive the inundations of the Nile, and circulate the waters through the country, which
before was wholly overflown by them. The large lakes of Moeris, Rehire, and Mareotis,
formed vast reservoirs for containing the superfluous waters, from which they were con-
ducted by the canals over the adjacent plains. Upon the elevated ridges, and even on
the sides of the hills which form the boundary to the flat alluvial grounds, the water was
raised by wheels turned by oxen ; and by a succession of wheels, and gradations of
aqueducts, it is said some hills, and even moun-
tains, were watered to their summits. All the
towns at some distance from the Nile were sur-
rounded with reservoirs for the supply of the
inhabitants, and for watering the gardens. For
this last purpose the water was raised in a very
simple manner by a man walking on a plank with
raised edges, or on a bamboo or other tube..
This is the machine alluded to by Moses, when
he speaks of sowing the seed and watering it
<•' with the foot," {Deut. xi. 10.) They also
raised it by swinging it up in baskets [Jig. 5.) ;
a mode which, like the others, remains in use at the present day. The water is lifted
in a basket lined with leather. " Two men, holding the basket between them, by a cord
in each end fastened to the edge of it, lower it into the Nile, and then swing it between
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF ANTIQUITV. 7
them, till it acquires a velocity sufficient to enable them to throw the water over a bank
into a canal. They work stark naked, or if in summer only with a slight blue cotton
shirt or belt. " {Clarke s Travels, Sec.)
12. Of these immense embajikments, some of which served to keep in the river, and
others to oppose the torrents of sand which occasionally were blown from the Great Desert,
and which threatened to cover the country as effectually as the waters of the Nile, the
ruins still remain. But in spite of these remains, the sand is accumulating, and the
limits of cultivated Egypt have been annually decreasing for tlie last 1200 years; the
barbarous nations to which the banks of the Nile have been subject during this period
having paid no attention to cultivation, or the preservation of these noble works of
antiquity.
1 3. Landed property, in ancient Egypt, it would appear, was the absolute right of the
owners, till by the procurement of Joseph, in the eighteenth century B, C, the paramount
or allodial property of the whole was transferred to the government. The king, however,
made no other use of that right, than to place the former occupiers in the situation of
tenants in capite ; bound to pay a rent: or land-tax of one fifth of the produce. This,
Moses says, continued to be the law of Egypt down to his time ; and the same thing in
confirmed by the testimony of Herodotus and ^trabo.
14. The soil of Egypt is compared by Pliny to that of the Leontines, formerly regarded
as the most fertile in Sicily. There, he says, corn yields a hundred for one ; but Cicero,
as Gouguetobserves, has proved this to be an exaggeration, and that the ordinary increase
in that part of Sicily is eight for one. Granger (Relat. du Voy.fait en Egypte, 1730.),
who paid much attention to this subject, says that the lands nearest to the Nile, which
during the inundation were covered with water forty days, did not, in the most favorable
seasons, yield more than ten for one ; and that those lands which the water covered only
five days, seldom gave more than four for one. This, however, is probably owing to
their present neglected state.
15. Of the animal or vegetable products of Egyptian agriculture^ very little is known.
The ox seems to have been the chief animal of labor from the earliest period ; and rice
at all times the principal grain in cultivation. By a painting
discovered in the ancient Elethia, (^fig. 6.) it would appear
the operation of reaping was performed much in the same way
as at present, the ears being cropped by a hook, and the prin-
cipal part of the straw left as stubble. Herodotus mentions,
that, in his time, wheat was not cultivated, and that the bread
made from it was despised, and reckoned not fit to be eaten.
Beans were also held in abhorrence by the ancient inhabitants :
but it is highly probable, that in latter times, when they began
to have commerce with other nations, they would lay aside
these and other prejudices, and cultivate what they found best
suited to the foreign market.
1 6. Agriculture was no doubt the chief occupatio7i of the Egyptians : and though they
are said to have held the profession of shepherd in abhorrence, yet it appears Pharaoh
not only had considerable flocks and herds in his own possession, but was desirous of in-
troducing any improvement which might be made in their management : for when Jacob,
in answer to his questions, told him, that he and his family had been brought up to the
care of live stock from their youth, he expressed a wish to Moses to have a Jewish
bailiff' for the superintendence of his grazing farm : " if thou knowest any men of activity
among them, then make them rulers over my cattle." (Ge7i. xlvii. 6.)
Sect. II. Of the Agriculture of the Greeks.
17. T'he aboriginal Greeks or Pelasgi were civilised by colonies from Egypt, and re-
ceived from that country their agriculture, in common with other arts and customs.
Some of the ancient Greeks pretend that the culture of corn was taught them by
Ceres ; but Herodotus and most of the ancients concur in considering this divinity as the
same with the Egyptian Isis. There is no particular evidence that the Greeks were
much attached to, or greatly improved agriculture ; though Homer gives us a picture of
old King Laertesj divested of wealth, power, and grandeur, and living happy on a little
farm, the fields of which were well cultivated. [Odyssey, lib. xxiv.) On another occa-
sion, he represents a king standing amongst the reapers, and giving them directions by
pointing with his sceptre. (Ibid. v. 550.) Xenophon highly commends the art; but
the practical instances he refers to, as examples, are of Persian kings.
18. JVhat we knoiv of the agriculture of Greece, is chiefly derived from the poem of
Hesiod, entitled Works and Days. Some incidental remarks on the subject may be
found in the writings of Herodotus, Xenophon, Theophrastus, and others. Varro, a
Roman, writing in the century preceding the commencement of our aera, informs us,
that there were more than fifty authors, who might at that time be consulted on the sub»-
B 4
8 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
ject of agriculture, all of which were ancient Greeks, excepting Mago the Carthaginian.
Among them he includes Democritus, Xenophon, Aristotle, Theophrastus, and Hesiod.
The works of the other writers he enumerates, have been lost ; and indeed all that remains
of Democritus are only a few extracts preserved in the Geoponika, an agricultural
treatise published at Constantinople by the Greeks of the fourth or fifth centuries of our
a!ra. Xenophon, Aristotle, Homer, and others, touch on our subject but very slightly.
Xenophon, after his banishment to Scillus, is said to have spent his time in literary pur-
suits, and in improving and decorating his estate ; he wrote a treatise expressly on rural
and domestic affairs, the third book of which is devoted to agriculture, entitled CEcono-
mics^ in the form of a dialogue, and is even said to have given lessons on the subject.
Of his treatise, Harte (Essoj/s, p. 201.) says, " I take it to be one of the plainest and
most sensible performances amongst the writings of the ancients." Theophrastus, a
disciple of Aristotle, wrote on natural history, and his history of plants possesses an as-
tonishing degree of merit, for the age in which it was written. He is justly considered
the father of botany, and his work contains some curious observations on soils and
manures, and on various parts of agriculture and gardening.
1 9. But the writings of Hesiod are the chief resource for details as to Grecian agri-
culture. This author flourished in the tenth century B. C., and was therefore contem-
porary with Homer. He lived at Askra, a village at the foot of Mount Helicon, in
Boeotia. There he kept a flock, and cultivated a soil, which he describes as " bad in
winter, hard in summer, and never good," probably a stiff clay. As a poet who had
written on various subjects, Hesiod was held in great veneration ; and Aristotle states,
that when the Thesprotians destroyed the village of Askra, and the Orchomenians re-
ceived the fugitives who escaped, the oracle ordered them to send for the remains of the
poet who had given celebrity to the place.
20. The works of Hesiod, which constitute the first parts of his Poem, are not
merely details of agricultural labors, but comprise directions for the whole business of
family economy in the country. The poem sets out by describing the state of the world,
past and present, for the purpose of exemplifying the condition of human nature. This
condition entails on man the necessity of exertion to preserve the goods of life, and
leaves him no alternative but honest industry or unjust violence ; of which the good and
evil consequences are respectively illustrated. Dissension and emulation are repre-
sented as two principles actively at work : much is said of the corruption of judges, and
the evils of litigation : contentment is apostrophised as the true secret of happiness ;
virtue and industry strongly recommended. The poet now proceeds to describe the
prognostics of the seasons of agricultural labor, and gives directions for providing a
house, wife, slaves, and two steers : how and when to cut down timber ; to construct
carts and ploughs, and make clothes and shoes; when to sow, reap, dress the vine,
and make wine. He then treats of navigation, and gives cautions against risking
every thing in one voyage : he describes the fit seasons for the coasting trade, and ad-
vises taking great care of the vessel at such time as she is not in use, and hanging up the
rudder and other tackle in the smoke of the chimney. He concludes the " works" with
some desultory precepts of religion, personal propriety, and decorum ; and enjoins some,
curious superstitious observances relative to family matters. The Dai/s contains a
division of the lunar month into holy, auspicious, and inauspicious, mixed and inter-
mediary days, the latter being such as are entitled to no particular observance.
21. Property in land, among the Greeks, seems to have been absolute in the owner, or
what we would term freehold. The manner of inheritance seems to have been that of
gavel-kind ; the sons dividing the patrimony in equal portions. One of Solon's laws
forbade that men should purchase as much land as they desired. An estate containing
water, either in springs or otherwise, was highly valued, especially in Attica : and there
a law existed relating to the depth of wells ; the distance they were to be dug from
other men's grounds; what was to be done when no water was found; and other
matters to prevent contentions as to water. Lands were enclosed, probably with a
ring-fence, or boundary-mark ; or, most likely the enclosed lands were such as sur-
rounded the villages, and were in constant cultivation ; the great breadth of country
being, it may be presumed, in common pasture. Solon decrees, that " he who digs a
ditch, or makes a trench nigh another's land, shall leave so much distance from his
neighbor, as the ditch or trench is deep. — If any one makes a hedge near his neigh-
bor's ground, let him not pass his neighbor's land-mark ; if he builds a wall, he is to
leave one foot between him and his neighbor ; if a house, two feet. A man building
a house in his field must place it a bow-shot from his neighbor's." {Potter's Antiq.)
22. The surface of Greece was, and is, irregular and hilly, with rich vales, and some
rocky places and mountains : the soil is various ; clayey in some places, but most gene-
rally light and sandy, on a calcareous subsoil.
23. The operations of culture, as appears by Hesiod, required to l)e adapted to the
season : summer fallows were in Use, and the ground received three plougliings, one in
{
Book I. AGaiCXJLTURE OF ANTIQUITY. 1»
autumn, another in spring, and a tliird immediately bdbre sowing the seed-. Manures
were applied : in Homer, an old king is found manuring his fields with his own hands ; ;
and the invention of manures is ascribed by Pliny to the Grecian king Augeas. The-
ophrastus enumerates six different species of manures ; and adds, that a mixture of soils
produces the same effects as manure. Clay, he says, should be mixed with sand, and
sand with clay. The seed was sown by hand, and covered with a rake. Corn was reaped
with a sickle ; bound in sheaves ; carted to a well-prepared threshing-floor, in an airy
situation, where it might be threshed and fanned by the wind, as is still practised in
niodern Greece, Italy, and other countries of the continent Afterwards it was laid up
in bins, or chests, or granaries, and taken out as wanted by the family to be pounded in
mortars, or quern-mills into meal. Thorns and other plants for hedges were procured
from the woods, as we find from a passage in Homer, in which he represents Ulysses as
finding Laertes digging and preparing to plant a row of quick-sets. {Odyss. lib. xxiv.)
24. The imj^lements enumerated by Hesiod, are a plough, of which he recommends
two to be provided in case of accident ; a cart with two low wheels, and ten spans
(seven feet six inclaes) in width. The plough consisted of three parts; the share-beam,
the draught-pole, and the plough-tail. The share-beam is to be made of oak, and tlie
other parts of elm or bay : they are to
be joined firm with nails. Antiquarians
are not agreed as to the exact form of 7
this implement. Gouguet conjectures
it may not have been unlike one still
in use in the same countries, and in the
south of France : others, with greater
probability, refer to the more simple
plough still in use in Magna Grecia and
Sicily (Jig. 7.), originally Greek colonies.
The rake, sickle, and oxen-goad, are men-
tioned ; but nothing said of their construction, or of spades, or other manual implements.
25. The beasts of labor mentioned, are oxen and mules : the former were most common ;
and it would appear, from a passage in Homer (11. lib. xiii. v. 704.) were yoked by the
horns. Four and a half years is recommended as the best age for purchasing oxen : in
winter, both oxen and mules were fed under cover, on hay and straw, mast, and the
leaves of vines and various trees.
26. Tfie most desirable age for a ploughman is forty : he must be well fed, go naked in
summer, rise and go to work very early, and have a sort of annual feast, proper rest, and
good food and clothing : — coats of kid skins, worsted socks, and half boots of ox hides
in winter. He must not let his eye wander about while at plough, but cut a straight
furrow ; nor be absent in mind when sowing the seed, lest he sow the same furrow twice.
The vine is to be pruned and staked in due season ; the vintage made in fine weather, and
the grapes left a few days to dry, and then carried to the press.
, 27. The products of Grecian agriculture, were sheep, goats, swine, cattle, mules, asses,
and horses : the grains and legumes at present in cultivation ; and the vine, fig, olive,
apple, date, and other fruits. It does not appear that artificial grasses or herbage plants
were in use ; but recourse was had, in times of scarcity, to the mistletoe and the cytisus :
what plant is meant by the latter designation is not agreed on ; some consider it the
medicago arborea, Linn. , and others the common lucerne. Hay was, in all probability,
obtained from the meadows and pastures, which were used in common : flax, and pro-
bably hemp, was grown. Wood for fuel, and timber for construction, were obtained from
the natural forests, which, in Solon's time, abounded with wolves. Nothing is said of
the olive or fig by Hesiod; but they were cultivated in the fields for oil and food, as well
as the vine for wine. One of Solon's laws directs, that olive and fig trees must be
planted nine feet from a neighbour's ground, on account of their spreading roots : other
trees might be planted within five feet.
28. In Hesiod^ s time almost every citizen was a husbandman^ and had a portion of land
which he cultivated himself, with the aid of his family, and perhaps one or two slaves ;
and the produce, whether for food or clothing, appears to have been manufactured at
home. The progress of society would, no doubt, introduce the usual division of labor
and of arts ; and commercial cultivators, or such as raised produce for the purpose of
exchange, would in consequence arise ; but when, and to what extent this was carried, at
the time Greece became a Roman province (B. C. 100), the ancient writers afford us no>
means of ascertaining.
Sect. III. Of Ike jigricvltnre of the Jews, and other nations of Antiquity.
29. Of the agriculture of the nations contemporary ivith the EgyjHians and Greeks nothing
is distinctly known ; but assuming it as most probable that agriculture was first brought
into notice in Egypt, it may be concluded that most other countries, as well as Greece,
would begin by imitating the practices of that cojiintry.
*B 5
10 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
SO. On the agriculture of the JewSy we find there are various incidental remarks in the
books of the Old Testament. On the conquest of Canaan, it appears that the different
tribes had their territory assigned them by lot ; that it was equally divided among the
lieads of families, and by them and their posterity held by absolute right, and impartial
succesion. Thus every family had originally the same extent of territory ; but as it
became customary afterwards to borrow money on its security : and as some families-
became indolent and were obliged to sell, and others extinct by death without issue,
landed estates soon varied in point of extent. In the time of Nehemiah a famine
occurred, on which account many had ** mortgaged their lands, their vineyards, and
houses, that they might buy corn for their sons and daughters ; and to enable them ta
pay the king's tribute." (^JVehem. v. 2.) Some were unable to redeem their lands other-
wise than by selling their children as slaves, and thereby " bringing the sons and daugh-
ters of God into bondage." Boaz came into three estates by inheritance, and also a
wife, after much curious ceremony. (Ruth i. 8. iv. 16.) Large estates, however, were
not approved of. Isaiah pronounces a curse on those " that join house to house, that
lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst."
While some portions of land near the towns were enclosed, the greater part was in
common, or in alternate proprietorship and occupation, as in our common fields. This
appears botli from the laws [and regulations laid down by Moses as to herds and flocks j
and from the story of widow Naomi, who in the progress of her manoeuvres to ingratiate
herself with Boaz, " came and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and her hap was
to light on a j)art of the field, (that is, of the common field,) belonging unto Boaz."
(Ruth a. 3.)
31 . It would appear that every proprietor cultivated his own lands, however extensive ;
and that agriculture was held in high esteem even by their princes. The crown-lands,
in King David's time, were managed by seven oflScers : one was over the store-houses,
and others over the work of the field, and tillage of the ground — over the vineyards and
wine-cellars — over the olive and oil-stores, and sycamore (Ficus'si/camorus, Linn.) plant-
ations— over the herds— over the camels and asses — and over the flocks. (1 Chron.
xxvii. 25.) King Uzziah " built towers in the desert, and digged many wells ; for he had
much cattle both in the low country and in the plains ; husbandmen also and vine-
dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel, for he loved husbandry." (2 Chron. xxvi. 10.)
JEven private individuals cultivated to a great extent, and attended to the practical part
of the business themselves. Elijah found Elisha in the field with twelve yoke of oxen
before him, and himself with the twelfth. Job had five hundred yoke of oxen, and five
hundred she-asses, seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels. Both asses and
oxen were used in ploughing ; for Moses forbade the Jews to yoke an ass with an ox,
their step or progress being different, and of course their labors unequal.
32. Among the operations of agriculture are mentioned watering by machinery, plough-
ing, digging, reaping, threshing, &c. ** The ploughman plougheth all day to sow ; he
openeth and breaketh the clods of his ground. When he hath made plain the face
thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin [Cuminum cyminum,
Linn.), and cast in the principal wheat, and the appointed barley, and the rye, in their
place?" (/saiaA XX viii. 24, 25.) The plough was probably a clumsy instrument, re-
quiring the most vigilant attention from the ploughman, for Luke (ch. ix. 62.) uses the
figure of a man at plough looking back as one of utter worthlessness. Covered thresh-
ing-floors were in use ; and as appears from the case of Boaz and Naomi, it was no
uncommon thing to sleep in them during harvest. Corn was threshed in different ways,
*' the fitches," says Isaiah, " are not threshed with a threshing-instrument, neither is a
cart-wheel turned about upon the cummin ; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff,
and cummin with a rod (flail) ; bread-corn is bruised, because he will not be ever
threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horse-
men." (Ch. xxviii. 27, 28.) The bread-corn here mentioned was probably thenar of
the Romans (mahe, Zea mays, L.), which was commonly separated by hand-mills, or
hand-picking, or beating, as is still the case in Italy and other countries where this
corn is grown. Corn was " winnowed with the shovel and with the van." (Id. xxx. 24.)
Sieves were also in use, for Amos says, " I will sift the house of Israel as corn is sifted
in a sieve." (Ch. ix. 9.) And Christ is re-
presented by St. Luke as saying, ** Simon,
Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that
lie may sift you as wheat." Isaiah men-
tions (vii. 25.) the *' digging of hills with the
THattock :" to which implement the original f^
pick (Jig. 2.) would gradually arrive, first,
by liaving the head put on at right angles,
and pointed (fg. 8. a) ; next, by having it
flattened, sharpened, and shod with iron (b,c);
and lastly, by forming the head entirely of
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF ANTIQUITY. II
metal, and forked (ci), such probably as we see it in use in Judea, and the land of Canaan,
at the present day.
33. Vineyards were planted on rising grounds, fenced round, the soil well prepared, and
a vintage-house and watch-tower built in a centrical situation (Isaiah v. 2.), as is still
done in European Turkey and Italy. Moses gives directions to the Jews for culti-
vating the vine and other fruit-trees ; the three first years after planting, the fruit is not
to be eaten ; the fourth, it is to be given to the Lord; and it is not till the fifth year
that they are ** to eat of the fruit thereof." (Levit. xix. 25.) The intention of these
precepts was to prevent the trees from being exhausted by bearing before they had ac-
quired suflScient strength and establishment in the soil.
34. Of other agricultural operations and customs^ it may be observed with Dr. Brown,
{Antiq. of the Jews, vol. ii. part xii. sect. 5, 6. ), that they differed very little from the-
existing practices in the same countries as described by modern travellers.
35. The agricultural produce of the Jews was the same as among the Egyptians; com,
wine, oil, fruits, milk, honey, sheep, and cattle, but not swine. The camel then, as now,
was the beast of burden, and long journeys {Jig. 9.) ; and the horse, the animal of war and
luxury. The fruit of the sycamore-fig was abundant, and in general use ; and grapes
attained an astonishing size, both of berry and bunch ; the melon and gourd tribes were
common. The returns of corn were in general good ; but as neither public stores, nor
corn monopolisers, seem to have existed, dearths, and their attendant miseries, happened
occasionally. A number of these are mentioned in Scripture, and some of extraordinary
severity.
36. Of the agriculture of the other civilized and stationary nations of this period, scarcely
any thing is known. According to Herodotus, the soil of Babylon was rich, well cul-
tivated, and yielded two or three hundred for one. Xenophon, in his book of (Eco~
nomicSf bestows due encomiums on a Persian king, who examined, with his own eyes,
the state of agriculture throughout his dominions ; and in all such excursions, according
as occasion required, bountifully rewarded the industrious, and severely discountenanced
the slothful. In another place he observes, that when Cyrus distributed premiums with
his own hand to diligent cultivators, it was his custom to say, ** My friends, I have a like
title with yourselves to the same honors and remuneration from the public ; I give you
.^o more than I have deserved in my own person ; having made the self-same attempts
with equal diligence and success." ((Econom. c. iv. sect. 16.) The same author else-
where remarks, that a truly great prince ought to hold the arts of war and agriculture in
the highest esteem ; for by such means he will be enabled to cultivate his territories
effectually, and protect them .when cultivated. (Harte's Essays, p. 19.)
87. Phoenicia, a country of Asia, at the east of the Mediterranean, has the reputation
of having been cultivated at an early period, and of having colonised and introduced
agriculture at Carthage, Marseilles, and other places. The Phoenicians are said to
have been the original occupiers of the adjoining country of Canaan ; and when driven
out by the Jews, to have settled in Tyre and Sidon (now Sur and Saida), in the fifteenth
century B. C. They were naturally industrious ; and their manufactures acquired such a
superiority over those of other nations, that among the ancients, whatever was elegant,
great, or pleasing, either in apparel or domestic utensils, was called Sidonian ; but of their
agriculture it can only be conjectured that it was Egyptian, as far as local circumstances
would permit.
38. The republic of Carthage included Spain, Sicily, and Sardinia, and flourished for
upwards of seven centuries previous to the second century B. C. Agriculture was
practised at an early period in Sicily ; and, according to some, Greece received that art
from this island. It must have been also considerably advanced in Spain, and in the
Carthaginian territory, since they had books on the subject. In 147 B. C, when Car-
thage was destroyed by Scipio, and the contents of the libraries were given in presents to
the princes, allies of the Romans, the senate only reserved the twenty-eight books on
agriculture of the Carthaginian general Magon, which Decius Syllanus was directed to
translate ; and of which the Romans preserved, for a long time, the original and the
translation. (Encyc. Methodique, art. Agriculture.)
39. Italy, and a part of tlie south if France, would probably be partially cultivated
from the influence of the Carthaginians in Sicily and Marseilles ; but the north of
France, and the rest of Europe, appear to have been chiefly, if not entirely, in a wild
*i$ 6
1» HISTCJ^Y OF A GEICTLTyHEi I'^rx I.
state, a^d the scene of ihe paatoml and hunting employments of the ftoihaidic nations^
the Kelts or Celts, the Goths, and the Slaves.
40." The Indian, and Chinese nations appear to be of equal antiquity with the Egyptians.
Joseph de Guigpes, an eminent French Oriental scholar, who died in the first year of
the present century, has written a memoir (in 1759, 12mo.), to prove that the Chinese
were a colony from Egypt : and M. de Guignes, a French resident in China, who pub-
lislied at Paris a Chinese dictionary in 1813, is of the same opinion. The histories of
the Oriental nations, however, are not yet sufficiently developed from the original sources,
to enable us to avail ourselves pf the information they may contain as to tiie agriculture
of so remote a period as that how under consideration.
41. Withr respect to ths American nations during this period, there are no facts on
licord to prpv^ either their existence or their civilisation, though Bishop Huet, and the
Abb6 Clavigero, think that they also are descendants of Noah, who, while in a nomadic
stale, arrived in the western, through the northern parts of the eastern continent.
Chap. II.
iSistor^ of Agriculture among the Romans, or from the Second Centwy B. C, to ihe Fiflk
Century of our tera.
42. We have now arrived at a period of our history where certainty supplies the place
of conjecture, and which may be considered as not only entertaining but instructive.
The attention of the Romans to agriculture is well known.- The greatest men amongst
them applied themselves to the study and practice of it, not only in the first ages of the
state, but after they had carried their arms into every country of Europe, and into many
countries of Asia and Africa. Some of their most learned men, and one of their greatest
poets wrote on it ; and all were attached to the things of the country. Varro, speaking
of the farms of G* Tremellius Scrofa, says, " they are to many, on account of their
culture, a more agreeable spectacle than the royally ornamented edifices of others."
(^Var. de R. R. lib. i. cap. 2.) In ancient times, Pliny observes, the lands were culti-
vated by the hands, even of generals, and the earth delighted to be ploughed with a share
adorned with laurels, and by a ploughman who bad been honored with a triumph. (JVat.
Hist. lib. xviii. c. 3.) The Romans spread their arts with their conquests; and their
agriculture became that of all Europe at an early period of our aera.
43. TTie sources from which we have drawn our information being first related, we
shall review, in succession, the proprietorship, occupancy, soil, culture, and produce of
Roman agriculture.
Sect. I. Of the Roman Agricultural Writers,
44. The Roman authors on agriculture, whose works have reached the present age,
are Cato, Varro, Virgil, Columella, Pliny, and Palladius. There were many more,
whose writings are lost. The compilation of Constantine Poligonat, or, as others
consider, of Cassius Bassus, entitled Geoponicka, already mentioned (18.), is also to be
considered as a Roman production, though published in the Greek language at Constan-
tinople, after the removal thither of the seat of government.
45. M. Porcius Cato, called the Censor, and the father of the Roman rustic writers,
lived in the seventh century of the repubhc, and died at an extreme old age, B. C. 150.
He recommended himself, at the age of seventeen, by his valor in a battle against
Annibal ; and afterwards rose to all the honors of the state. He particularly distinguished
himself as censor, by his impartiality and opposition to all luxury and dissipation ; and
was remarkably strict in his morals. He wrote several works, of which only some
fragments remain, under the titles of Origines and De Re Rustica. The latter is the
oldest Roman work on agriculture : it is much mutilated, and more curious for the
account it contains of Roman customs and sacrifices, than valuable for its georgical
information.
46. M. Terentius Varro died B. C. 28, in tlie 88th year of his age. He was a learned
writer, a distinguished soldier both by sea and land, and a consul. He was a grammarian,
a philosopher, a historian, and astronomer ; and is thought to have written five hundred
volumes on different subjects, all of which are lost, except his treatise De Re Rustica,
This is a complete system of directions in three books, on the times proper for, and the
different kinds of, rural labour ; it treats also of live stock, and of the villa and ofl'iccs.
As Varro was for some time lieutenant-general in Spain and Africa, and afterwards retired
and cultivated his own estate in Italy, his experience and observation must have been very
considerable.
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. IS
47. Publius Virgilius Maro, called the prince of the Latin poets, was born at a village
near Mantua in Lombardy about 70 B.C., and died B.C. 19, aged 51. He culti-
vated his own estate till he was 30 years old, and spent the rest of his life chiefly at
the court of Augustus. His works are the Bucolics, Georgics, and jEneid. The
Geor"ics is to be considered as a poetical compendium of agriculture, taken from the
Greelc and Roman writers then extant, but especially from Varro.
48. Luc. Jun. Moderatus Columella was a native of Gades, now Cadiz, in Spain,
but passed most of his time in Italy. The time of his birth and death are not known,
but he is supposed to have lived under Claudius in the first century. His work De
Re Rustica, lib. xii. is a complete treatise on rural affairs ; including field operations,
timber-trees, and gardens.
49. C. Plinius Secundus, surnamed the elder, was born at Verona in Lombardy, and
suflbcated at the destruction of Pompeii in his 56th year, A.D. 79. He was of a noble
family ; distinguished himself in the field and in the fleet ; was governor of Spain ; was a
o-reat naturalist, and an extensive writer. Of the works which he composed none are
extant but his Natural History in thirty-seven books ; a work full of the erudition of the
time, accompanied with much erroneous, useless, and frivolous matter. It treats of the
stars, the heavens, wind, rain, hail, minerals, trees, .flowers, and plants; an account of
all living animals, birds, fishes, and beasts ; a geographical description of every place
on the globe ; a history of every art and science, commerce, and navigation, with their
rise, progress, and several improvements. His work may be considered as a compen-
dium of all preceding writers on these subjects, with considerable additions from his
personal experience and observation.
50. Rutilius Taurus Emilianus Palladius is by some supposed to have lived under
Antoninus Pius, in the second, and by others in the fourth century. His work De Re
Rustica is a poem in fourteen books, and is little more than a compendium of those which
preceded it on the same subject. The editor of the article Agriculture, in the Encyclo^
jiedie Methodique, says it is too dull to be read as a poem, and too concise to be useful as
a didactic work.
51. These works have been rendered accessible to all by translations; and a judicious
and instructive treatise comjyosedfrom them by Adam Dickson, a Scotch clergyman, was
published in 1788, under the title of The Husbandry of the Ancients. To this last
work we are indebted for the greater part of what we have to submit on Roman
agriculture.
52. The Roman authors, as Rozier has observed {Diet, de VAgr. art. Hist.), do not
enable us to trace the rise and progress of agriculture, either in Italy or in any other country
under their dominion. What they contain is a picture of their rural economy in its
most perfect state : delivered in precepts, generally founded on experience, though some-
times on superstition ; never, however, on theory or hypothesis. For, as the Rev. Adam
Dickson states, *' instead of schemes produced by a lively imagination, which we receive
but too frequently from authors of genius unacquainted with the practice of agriculture,
we have good reason to believe that they deliver in their writings, a genuine account of
the most approved practices ; practices, too, the goodness of which they had themselves
experienced." (Husb. of the Anc. p. 16.) He adds, that if in the knowledge of the
theory of agriculture, the Roman cultivators are inferior to our modern improvers ; yet
in attention to circumstances and exactness of execution, and in economical manage-
ment, they are greatly superior.
Sect. II. Of the Proprietorship y Occupancy, and General Managem£nt of Landed Property
among the Romans.
53. The Roman nation originated from a company of robbers and runaway slaves, who
placed tliemselves under their leader Romulus. This chief having conquered a small
part of Italy divided the land among his followers, and by what is called the Agrarian
Law, allowed 2 jugera or li acre to every citizen. After the expulsion of the kings in the
6th century B. C, 7 yoke, or 3f acres were allotted. The custom of distributing the
conquered lands, by giving 7 jugera to every citizen, continued to be observed in latter
times ; but when each soldier had received his share, the remainder was sold in lots of
various sizes, even to 50 jugera ; and no person was prevented from acquiring as large
a landed estate as he could, till a law passed by Stolo, the second plebeian consul, B. C.
377, that no one should possess more than 500 jugera. This law appears to have remained
in force during the greater period of the Roman power. "Whatever might be the size of
the estate, it was held by the proprietor as an absolute right, without acknowledgment
to any superior power ; and passed to his successors, agreeably to testament, if he made
one ; or if not, by common law to his nearest relations.
54. In the first ages of the commonwealth, the lands were occupied and cultivated by
the rtroprietors themselves ; and as this state of things continued for four or five centuries,
it was probably the chief cause of the agricultural eminence of the Romans. When a
14 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
person has only a small portion of land assigned to him, and the maintenance of his
family depends entirely upon its productions, it is natural to suppose that the culture
of it employs his whole attention. A person who has been accustomed to regular and
systematic habits of action, such as those of a military life, will naturally carry those
habits into whatever he undertakes. Hence, it is probable, a degree of industrious appli-
cation, exactness, and order in performing operations, by a soldier-agriculturist, which
would not be displayed by men who had never been trained to any regular habits of
action. The observation of Pliny confirms this supposition : he asserts that the Roman
citizens, in early times, " ploughed their fields with the same diligence that they pitched
their camps, and sowed their corn with the same care that they formed their armies
for battle." {A^at, Hist. lib. xviii. c. 3.) Corn, he says, was then both abundant and
cheap.
55. Afterwards, when Rome extended her conquests, and acquired large territories,
rich individuals purchased large estates; the culture of these fell into different hands,
and was carried on by bailiffs and farmers much in the same way as in modern times.
Columella informs us that it was so in his time, stating, that " the men employed in
agriculture are either farmers or servants ; the last being divided into free servants
and slaves." (Col. lib. i. cap. 7.) It was a common practice to cultivate land by slaves
during the time of the elder Pliny ; but his nephew and successor let his estates to
farmers.
r)(i. In the time of Cato the Censor, the author of The Husbandry of the Ancients observes, though the
operations of agriculture were generally performed by servants, yet the great men among the Romans
continued to give a particular attention to it, studied its improvement, and were very careful and exact
in the management of all their country affairs. This appears from the directions given them by this
most attentive farmer. Those great men had br»th houses in town, and villas in the country ; and as they
resided frequently in town, the management of their country affairs was committed to a bailiff or over-
seer. Now their attention to the culture of their lands and to every other branch of husbandry, appear
from the directions given them how to behave upon their arrival from the city at their villas. " After the
landlord," says Cato, " has come to the villa, and performed his devotions, he ought that very day, if pos-
sible, to go through his farm; if not that day, at least the next. When he has considered in what
manner his fields should be cultivated, what work should be done, and what not ; next day he ought to
call the bailiff, and enquire what of the work is done, and what remains ; whether the laboring is far
enough advanced for the season, and whether the things that remain might have been finished ; and
what is done about the wine, com, and all other things. When he has made himself acquainted with all
these, he ought to take an account of the workmen and working days. If a sufficiency of work does not
appear, the bailiff will say that he was very diligent, but that the servants were not well; that there
were violent storms ; that the slaves had run away ; and that they were employed in some public work.
When he has given these and many other excuses, call him again to the account of the work and the
workmen. When there have been storms, enquire for how many days, and consider what work might be
done in rain ; casks ought to have been washed and mended, the villa cleaned, corn carried away, dung
carried out, a dunghill made, seed cleaned, old ropes mended, new ones made, and the servants' clothes
mended. On holidays, old ditches may have been scoured, a highway repaired, briers cut, the garden
digged, meadows cleared from weeds, twigs bound up, thorns pulled, far (bread-corn, maize) pounded, all
things made clean. When the servants have been sick, the ordinary quantity of meat ought not to have
been given them. When he is fully satisfied in all these things, and has given orders that the work that
remains be finished, he should inspect the bailiff's accounts, his account of money, of corn, fodder, wine,
oil, what has been sold, what exacted, what remains, %vhat of this may be sold, whether there is good
security for what is owing. He should inspect the things that remain, buy what is wanting for the year,
and let out what is necessary to be employed in this manner. He should give orders concerning the
works he would have executed, and the things he is inclined to let, and leave his orders in writing.
He should inspect his flocks, make a sale, sell the superfluous oil, wine, and corn ; if they are giving a
proper price, sell the old oxen, the refuse of the cattle and sheep, wool, hides, the old carts, old iron tools,
and old and diseased slaves. Whatever is superfluous he ought to sell ; a farmer should be a seller,
not a buyer." {Cat. cap. ii.)
57. The landlord is thus supposed by Cato to be perfectly acquainted ivith every kind of
work proper on his farm, and the seasons of performing it, and also a perfect judge how
much work both without and within doors ought to be performed by any number of
servants and cattle, in a given time ; the knowledge of which is highly useful to a farmer
and what very few perfectly acquire. It may be observed likewise, that the landlord
is here supposed to enquire into all circumstances, with a minuteness of which there is
scarcely even an actual farmer in this age that has any conception.
58. Varro complains that, in his time, the same attention to agriculture was not given
as in former times ; that the great men resided too much within the walls of the city,
and employed themselves more in the theatre and circus, than in the corn-fields and
vineyards. (Var. de R. R. lib. i. Prof,)
59. Columella complains that, in his time, agriculture was almost entirely neglected.
However, from the directions which he gives to the proprietors of land, it appears that
there were still a few that continued to pay a regard to it ; for, after mentioning some
things, which he says, by the justice and care of the landlord, contribute much to im-
prove his estate, he adds, " But he should likewise remember, when he returns from the
city, immediately after paying his devotions, if he has time, if not, next day, to view his
marches, inspect every part of his farm, and observe whether in his absence any part
of discipline or watchfulness has been dispensed with ; and whether any vine, any other
tree, or any fruits are missing. Then likewise he ought to review the cattle and servants,
all the instruments of husbandry, and household furniture. If he continues to do all these
things for some years, he will find a habit of discipline established when he is old ; and
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. 15
at no age will he be so much impaired with years as to be despised by his servants."
{Col. lib. i. cap. 9.)
60. The earliest farmers among the Bomans seem not to have been upon the same
footing as in Britain. The stock on the farm belonged to the landlord, and the farmer
received a certain proportion of the produce for his labor. The farmer, who possessed
a farm upon these terms, was called politor or polintor, from his business, being the
dresser of the land ; and partuai'ius, from his being in a kind of co-partnership with his
landlord, and his receiving a part of the produce of the farm for his labor. Cato takes
notice of this kind of farmers only, and it is probable that there were no others in his time.
" The terms," says he, " upon which land ought to be let to a. politor ; in the good land
of Casinum and Venafrum, he receives the eighth basket ; in the second kind of land he
receives the seventh ; in the third kind he receives the sixth. In this last kind, when the
grain is divided by the modius, he receives the fifth part ; in the very best kind of land
about Venafrum, when divided by the basket, he receives only the ninth. If the land-
lord and politor husk the far in common, the politor receives the same proportion after
as before ; of barley and beans divided by the modius, he receives a fifth." (Ch. xl.
xli.) The small proportion of the produce that the politor received, makes it evident
that he was at no expence in cultivating the land, and that he received his proportion
clear of all deductions.
61. The coloniy or farmers mentioned by Columella, seem to have paid rent for their
farms in the same manner as is done by the farmers in Britain. The directions given by
this author to landlords concerning the mode of treating them, are curious as well as im-
portant. A landlord, he says, ought to treat his tenants with gentleness, should show
himself not difficult to please, and be more vigorous in exacting culture than rent, because
this is less severe, and upon the whole more advantageous. For, where a field is care-
fully cultivated, it for the most part brings profit, never loss, except when assaulted by a
storm or pillagers ; and therefore the farmer cannot have the assurance to ask any ease of
his rent. Neither should the landlord be very tenacious of his right in every thing to
which the farmer is bound, particularly as to days of payment, and demanding the wood
and other small things which he is obliged to, besides paying his rent, the care of which
is a greater trouble than expense to the rustics. Nor is every penalty in our power to
be exacted, for our ancestors were of opinion, that the rigor of the law is the greatest op-
pression. On the other, the landlord ought not to be entirely negligent in this matter;
because it is certainly true, what Alpheus the usurer used to say, that good debts become
bad ones, by being not called for. I remember to have heard it asserted by L. Volusius,
an old rich man, who had been consul, that an estate was most advantageous to the land-
lord, which was cultivated by farmers, natives of the country, and born upon the lands,
for these are attached to it by a strong habit from their cradles. So, indeed, it is my
opinion, that the frequent letting of a farm is a bad thing ; however, it is still worse to
let one to a farmer who lives in town, and chooses rather to cultivate it by servants
than by himself. Saserna used to say, that from such a farm a lawsuit was got in place
of rent. For which reason, we ought to be careful to retain in our farms the same in-
dustrious farmers that, have been bred in the country, when it is not in our power to
cultivate them ourselves, or convenient to do it by domestics ; which, however, cannot
happen except in those countries that are laid waste by the severity of the climate, or
barrenness of the soil. For wherever the climate is moderately healthful, and the soil
moderately good, lands never produce so much under the care of a farmer, as under the
care of a landlord, or even of a bailiff, unless his very great negligence or rapaciousness
prevent it, both of which are, for the most part, owing to the fault of the landlord ;
for it is in his power to prevent such a person from having the management of his affairs,
or to remove him if placed in that office. However, in farms that lie at a distance, to
which the landlord has not easy access, as all kinds of them are better under the manage-
ment of free farmers than under bailiffs, so particularly corn farms, which a farmer cannot
destroy, as he can a vineyard and other plantations ; for when such farms are cultivated
by distant landlords, the oxen are greatly harassed, these and the other cattle ill fed, the
land ill ploughed, and much more seed charged than sown. Besides these things, the
produce of the land is not managed in such a manner as to turn out to any account ;
for, when the corn is brought to the threshing-floor, during the threshing it is daily
lessened by fraud or negligence ; tlie servants themselves carry it off*, and they allow it
to be carried off" by thieves ; nor even after it is laid up, is it faithfully accounted for ;
so that, when the manager and servants are in the fault, the land is rendered infamous.
Wherefore a farm of this kind, if, as I have said, the landlord cannot be on the spot, in
my opinion ought to be let. (^Col. lib. i.cap. 7.)
62. These directions are valuable even with reference to the present times; and they
instruct us respecting the general management of landed property among the Romans.
It appears that the landlord was considered as understanding every thing respecting the
usbandry of his estate himself ; and that there was no agent, or intermediate person,
16 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
between him and the farmer. The farmers paid rent for the use of their farms, and were
bound to a particular kind of culture, according to the conditions of their lease ; but
they were perfectly free and independent of their landlords ; so much so, as sometimes to
enter into lawsuits with them. On the whole they seem to have been upon the same
footing as the farmers of Britain in modern times.
Sect. III. Of the Surface, Soil, Climate, and other Agricultural Circumstances of Italy ^
during the time of the Romans.
63. The agriculture qf any country must necessarily take its character from the nature
of that country. The extent and manner of cultivating the soil, and tlie kind of plants
cultivated, or animals reared, must necessarily be regulated by the surface of the soil, the
natural productions, the climate, the artificial state, and the habits of the people.
64. The climate of Italy is regular, dry, clear, and, as every body knows, considerably
warmer than that of Britain, At the bottoms of the mountains, it is subject to severe
storms of hail in summer, and snow in winter, which often do considerable damage ;
but these are but accidental disadvantages ; and in the champaign lands and gentle
declivities, the vine, the fig, and the olive, ripened anciently, as now, in open plantations
from one extremity of Italy to the other.
65. The surface of Italy, as every reader knows, is very irregular. A ridge of hills
and mountains passes through its whole length, forming numerous valleys of different
degrees of extent ; some elevated and narrow, others low and watered by a river, a stream,
or by lakes. The immense plain of the Po constitutes a capital feature towards the north-
east ; the sandy plain of Calabria towards the south ; the marshy plain of Terracino, and
the rocky coast of Genoa, towards the western shore. Columella and Palladius agree in
stating, that the best situation of lands, is not so much on a level as to make the water
stagnate, nor so steep as to make it run off with violence; nor so low as to be buried in
the bottom of a valley ; nor so exposed as to feel the violence of storms and heats ; but
that in all these a mediocrity is always best ; champaign lands exposed, and whose declivity
affords the rain a free passage, or a hill whose sides gently decline, or a valley not too
much confined, and into which the air has easy access, or a mountain defended by a
higher top, and thereby secured from the winds tliat are most pernicious, or if high and
rugged, at the same time covered with trees and grass. {^Col. lib. ii. cap. 2. ; Pal.
lib. i. cap. 5. ) The situation of lands which Cato reckons the best, is at the foot of a
mountain with a south exposure. Varro and Pliny concur in this opinion, and the latter
states that the best lands in Italy are so situated.
66. The soil of Italy is as varied as the surface. About Genoa a yellow marly clay
forms a base to schistous cliffs and hilly slopes; a blue clay containing sulphur and
alum on the west coast, between Florence and Venice ; volcanic earth about Rome and
Naples ; sand about Florence, and at the estuaries of most of the rivers ; rich black
loam in the central parts of Tuscany ; rich, deep, soft, moist earth, and mild marly clay,
in Lombardy. Columella divides the soils of Italy into six kinds ; fat and lean, free
and stiff, wet and dry : these mixed with one another, he says, make great varieties. In
common with all the other writers, he prefers a free soil.
67. The native productions of Italy, in an agricultural point of view, are, timber on the
mountains, pastures on the hill sides, and meadow or very luxuriant grass-lands in the
alluvial plains. The rich, low, and yet dry lands do not produce a close pasture, but
a rough herbage, unless they are covered with trees ; the sandy soils produce little of
any thing ; and the fens and marshes reeds and other coarse aquatics. Such were the
productions of Italy antecedent to culture.
68. The artificial state of the country, in respect to agriculture, during the time of the
Romans, seems to have differed less from its present state than will be imagined. The
cultivated lands were open, and enclosures only to be seen near the villas. These were
of small size, and chiefly gardens and orchards, excepting in the case of parks for game,
formed by the wealthy, which never were very numerous. With the exception of part
of Tuscany and Lombardy, this is still the case ; and the landscape, as Daniel Malthus
has observed [Introd. to Girardin's Essay), which Pliny observes as seen from his villas,
does not appear to have been different two thousand years ago, from what it is at this
day. But the roads, canals, markets, and artificial water-courses for the irrigation both
of arable and grass lands, are undoubtedly greatly increased since the time of the
Romans : though they also practised irrigation.
69. The habits of a people take their rise, in a great degree, from the climate in which
they lire, and the native or cultivated productions with which the country abounds. As
respects agriculture, it may be sufficient to mention, that the great heat of the climate, by
relaxing the frame, naturally produces indolence in many, and leads to a life of plunder
in some. Hence then, as now, the danger from thieves and robbers in that country ;
and hence, also, the custom of performing field labors early in the morning, and in the
evening, arid resting during the mid-day heat. The general use of oil and wine as
Book 1. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. 17
food and drink, and also of the fig as an article of nourishment, are hal)its which arise
mediately from the circumstance of these articles being the artificial produce of the
country ; but are ultimately, like most other habits, to be referred to the climate.
70. These liints respecting the natural and agricultural geography of Italy, during the time
of the Romans, are confessedly too scanty to be of more use than to recal to the reader's
recollection the information on the same subject with which his mind is already stored ;
and by this means to enable him to form a due estimate of the nature and merits of the
agriculture which we are about to describe.
Sect. IV. Of the Culture and Farm Management of the Romans.
1 1 . The Roman authors are much more copious in describing farm culture and economy f
than in relating the state of landed property as to extent and proprietorship. Their
directions, being founded on experience, are in great part applicable at the present day :
they are remarkable for their minuteness ; but we can only give a very brief compen-
dium, beginning with some account of the farm and the villa, or farmery, and taking in
succession the servants, beasts of labor, implements, operations, crops cultivated, animals
reared , and profit produced.
SuBSECT. 1. Of the Choice of a Farm, and of tlie Villa or Farmery,
72. In the choice of a farm, C-Bio recommends a situation where there are plenty of
artificers, and good water ; which has a fortified town in its neighbourhood ; is near the
sea, or a navigable river, or where the roads are easy and good. (^Cat. cap.l.) ,To these
requisites Varro adds, a proper market for l)uying and selling, security from thieves and
robbers, and the boundaries planted with useful trees. The interior of the farm was
not subdivided by inclosures, which were seldom used but for their gardens, and in the
villas of the wealthy, to form a park.
73. The soil preferred by Columella and all the Roman authors, is the fat and free, as
producing the greatest crops, and requiring the least culture ; next, fat, stiff soil ; then,
stiff and lean soil, that can be watered; and, last of all, lean, dry soil.
74. The state of a farm preferred by Cato and some other writers is that of pasture,
meadow, and watered grass-lands, as yielding produce at least expence; and lands
under vines and olives, as producing the greatest profit according to the expence.
The opinions of the Roman agriculturists, however, seem to disagree on the subject of
meadows, apparently from confounding a profitable way of management, with a capacity
of yielding great profit with superior management, and none without.
75. The word Villa originally denoted a farm-house and its appurtenances. In the
first age of the commonwealth, these were very plain and small, suitable to the plain
manners of the people, and adapted to the small size of their farms : but, when the
Romans had extended their empire, when they had become rich and luxurious, and
particular persons were possessed of large landed estates, then the villas became large
and magnificent. In the time of Valerius Maximus, there were villas that covered more
ground than was in the estates of some of the ancient nobles. " Now," says he, " those
think themselves very much confined whose houses are not more extensive than the
fields of Cincinnatus." ( Val. Max. lib. iv. cap. 4. sect. 7.) In the days of Cato, it is probable
that they had begun to extend their villas considerably, which makes him give a caution
to the proprietors of land not to be rash in building. He recommends to them to sow
and plant in their youth, but not to build till somewhat advanced in years. His words
are remarkable : " A landholder," says he, " should apply himself to the planting of
his fields early in his youth ; but he ought to think long before he builds. He ought
not to think about planting ; but he ought to do it. When he is about thirty-six years
of age, he may build, provided his fields are planted." (^Cat. cap. 3.)
76. Men should plant in their youth, and 7iot build till their fields are planted; and
even then ought " not to be in a hurry, but take time to consider. It is best, according
to the proverb, to profit by the folly of others." (Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. xviii. cap. 5.)
The reason why these authors recommend greater attention to planting than building
is, that the labouring oxen in Italy, in the time of the Romans, were fed, for several
months in the year, with leaves and mast ; and the vine, the fig, the olive, and other
trees, were cultivated for their fruit.
77. Build in such a manner that your villa may not need a farm, nor your farm
need a villa. (Cat. cap. 3.) Varro assigns proper reasons for this. " In not attending,"
says he, " to the measure of the farm, many have gone wrong. Some have made
the villa much smaller, and others much larger than the farm required. One
of these is contrary to a man's interest, and the other hurtful to the produce of his
lands. For we both build and repair the larger buildings at a greater expense than is
necessary ; and, when the buildings are loss than what the farm requires, the fruits are
in danger of being destroyed." (Var. de R.R. lib. i. cap. 11.) Columella expresses
himself to the same purpose, and mentions two persons in particular who had fallen into
C
18 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
each of the extremes. " I remember," says be, " that many have erred in this point,
as these most excellent men did, L. LucuUus and Q. Scaevola, one of whom built a
villa much larger, and the other much less than the farm required." (Col. lib. i.
cap, 4.)
78. Plini/, noticing this remark of Cato's, observes that Lucullus had thereby rendered himself liable
to the chastisement of the censors, having less occasion to plough his lands than to clean his house.
" In this case," says he, " to plough less than to sweep, was a foundation for the chastisement of the
censors." {PHn. Nat. Hist. lib. xviii. cap. 6.)
79. Proportion the expence of the building to the rent, or the projtts arising from
the farm. " An edifice should be built according to the value of the farm and fortune
of the master, which, immoderately undertaken, it is commonly more difficult to sup-
port than to build. The largeness of it should be so estimated, that, if any thing shall
happen to destroy it, it may be rebuilt by one, or at most by two years' rent or profits
of the farm in which it is placed." (Pal. lib. i. tit. 8.)
80. The position of the villa, and the situation of its different parts, are also noticed by
some of these authors. " Some art," says Pliny, " is required in this. C. Marius, of a
very mean family, seven times consul, placed a villa in the lands of Misenum, with such
skill in the contrivance, that Sylla Felix said, that all others in this respect were blind, when
compared to him." (Pliyi. Nat. Hist. lib. xviii. cap. 7.) All of them advise that it shall
not be placed near a marsh, nor fronting a river. Pliny cites the authority of Homer
for this. Varro says, that such a situation is cold in winter and unhealthful in summer;
that, in such a place, there are many small insects that, though invisible, enter the body
at the mouth and nostrils, and occasion diseases. ( Far. de R. R. lib. i. tit. 12. ) Palladius
gives reasons of the same kind. {Pal. lib. i. tit. 7.) Besides this, Varro directs, that, if
possible, it shall be placed at the foot of a mountain covered with woods, in such a
manner as to be exposed to the most healthful winds, and to enjoy the sun in winter and
the shade in summer. An east exposure, he thinks, is the best for this purpose. ( Var,
de R.R. lib. i. cap. 12.) Palladius proposes, that for the same purpose, the villa shall
front the south-east ; that the prcetorium, or master's house, shall be a little higher than
the rest of the villa, both to secure the foundations, and to have a more agreeable pros-
pect. [Pal. lib. i. tit. 8.) It is probable that both these authors have Italy particularly
in view. But Pliny extends his views further ; for he says, that the villa in warm
climates ought to front the north, in cold climates the south, and in temperate climates
the east. (Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. xviii. cap. 7.) Columella is more particular than any of
the other authors, both in giving directions as to the situation of the villa, and giving
reasons for the situation he recommends. [Col. lib. i. cap. 5.)
81. The villa is divided into three parts, the urbana, the rustica, and the fructuaria ;
all the particulars of these. Columella says, ought to be properly placed with respect
to each other. The urbana contained the apartments of the landlord ; the rustica con-
tained the kitchen, the houses of the labouring servants, the stables, piggeries, and poultry
houses, ponds for water, dunghills, on which, says Varro, som'e persons place necessary
con veniencies for the family. (§ xii.) Adjoining the villa rustica, in the residence of
opulent Romans, was placed the aviary, apiary, a place for dormice, a warren for
hares and rabbits, a place for snails, and a large enclosure or park of fifty acres or more
for retaining live deer and wild beasts taken in the chace. The fructuaria contained
the oil and wine cellars, the places for the oil and wine presses, the corn-yards, barns,
granaries, store-houses, repositories for roots and fruits, &c.
82. Both Columella and Palladius give directions how all these parts should be situated
and constructed ; but though minute, they are not so explicit as to enable any one to
delineate their ground plan. The same may be said as to the directions given by these
authors, and by Pliny {Nat. Hist. lib. xviii. ), respecting the laying out of the villa urbana ;
and the apartments for summer and winter. The subject of designing villas for the
opulent belongs no doubt more to architecture than to agriculture ; and therefore we
shall refer for details to the plans given by Castel {fig. 10.), and other modern authors,
who have attempted to embody the descriptions of the ancient writers.
83. CasteC s general Arrangement of a Grand Roman Villa and its Environs, is as follows :
(1) Praetorium. (11) OmithonofVarro. (20) Mill driven bywater.
i^} l^^"'"?"''""'*^^"^^®?^- , (1'4 Vivarium, or park for wild beasts. (21) Temple of Ceres.
(3) Canal, partmg the farm from the (13) Small woody islands for peacocks. (22 Corn-fields,
^retorium. (14) Place for turkeys (!!), rather swans, (23) Vineyards.
(4) htone-bankstothecanal. and their keepers: turkeys being (24) Olive grounds.
(5) Bridges. natives ofAmerica, and consequently (25) Meadows.
(6) Museum. unknown to the Romans. (26) Orchard.
II! S*"^"" ^'"i'^-. , . ^.. (15) For geese and their keeper. 27 Garden.
(8) Part of the island surrounded by (16) Cochlearium. (28) Osier ground,
that river. (17) Dormice. (29) Woods, &c.
(9) The other river. (18) Apiary. (30) Connices.
10) Walk on the bank of that river. (19) Threshing floor and barn. ^'
84. It is remarkable that no directions are given as to the materials of which the villa
should be built. 'ITiese would, in all probability, depend on local circumstances; rammed
earth, timber, brick burned, or only dried in the sun, or stone, would be taken according
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS.
19
to convenience. The remains of villas which have reached modern times, are chiefly
of brick stuccoed over. Pliny mentions walls in Africa and Spain, called formacii, the
10
formation of which, by cramming the earth between two boards, exactly agrees with the
French mode of building mud walls, called eri pise. He also mentions walls of unburnt
brick, of mud, of turf, and frames filled up with bricks and mud. (Xat. Hist. lib. xxxv.
cap. 14.)
SuBSKCT. 2. Of the Servants employed in Roman Agriculture,
85. The servants employed in Roman agriculture were of two sorts, freemen and slaves.
When the proprietor or farmer lived on the farm and directed its culture, these were
directly under his management ; in other cases there was a bailiff or overseer, to whom
all the other servants were subordinate. This was the case so early as Cato's time, who
is very particular in his directions respecting the care a bailiflT ought to take of the
servants, the cattle, the laboring utensils, and in enacting his master's orders.
86. The bailiff^ was genei'ally a person who had received some education, and could
write and keep accounts ; and it was expected that he should be careful, apt to learn,
and capable to execute his master's orders with a proper attention to situations and
circumstances. Columella, however, says, that * « the bailiff may do his business very well,
though he is illiterate." Cornelius Celsus says, that " such a bailiff will bring money to
his master oftener than his book ; because, being ignorant of letters, he is the less capable to
C 2
20 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt I.
contrire accounts, and is afraid to trust another, being conscious of fraud." (Co/, lib. i.
cap. 8.) There are some other things mentioned by this author, with respect to tfje
bailiff, that are very proper, and shew particularly the attention of the Romans. " He
ought not," says he, " to trade upon his own account, nor employ his master's money in
purchasing cattle or any other goods ; for this trading takes off his attention, and prevents
him from keeping square accounts with his master. But when he is required to settle
them, he shows his goods in the place of money. This, above all, he should be careful
of, not to think he knows any thing he does not know ; and always be ready to learn
what he is ignorant of. For as it is of great advantage to do a thing well, so it is most
hurtful to have it ill done. This one thing holds true in all rustic work, to do but once
what the manner of culture requires ; because, when imprudence or negligence in work-
ing is to be set to rights, the time for the work is already wasted ; nor are the effects of
the amendment such as to make up the lost labour, and balance the advantages that
might have been gained by improving the season that is past." (Col. lib. i. cap. 8.)
87. The qualities of the other villa servants are represented by the same author in this
manner: " The careful and industrious," says he, " should be appointed masters of
the works ; these qualities are more necessary for this business than stature, or strength
of body; for this service requires diligent care and art." Of the ploughman he says,
88. In the ploughman, though a degree of genius is necessary, yet it is not enough, " There should be
joined to it a harshness of voice and manner, to terrify the cattle : but he should temper strength with
clemency ; because he ought to be more terrible than cruel, that so the oxen may obey his commands,
and continue the longer at their work, not being spent, at the same time, both with the severity of
labour and stripes. But what the offices of masters of works and of ploughmen are, I shall mention in
their proper places. It is sufficient at present to observe, that tallness and strength are of great use in the
one, and of very little in the other; for we should make, as I have said, the tallest man a ploughman,
both for the reason I have already mentioned, and because there is no rustic work by which a tall man is
less fatigued than by ploughing ; because, when employed in this, walking almost upright, he may lean
upon the handle of the plough." Of the common laborer he says, " The common laborer may be of any
size, provided he is able to endure fatigue." And of the vme-dresser, *' Vineyards do not require such
tall men, provided they are thick and brawny ; for this constitution of body is most proper for digging,
pruning, and the other culture necessary for them. In this work diligence is less necessary than in the
other works of husbandry ; because the vine-dresser ought to perform his work in company and under
the eye of a director. Commonly wicked men are of a quicker genius, which this kind of work requires ;
and, as it requires not only a stout servant, but one of an active contrivance, vineyards are commonly
cultivated by slaves in chains." {Col. lib. i. cap. 9.) Thus we see, that, among the Romans, laborers were
appointed to the different works of husbandry, according to their strength, size, and genius.
89. With respect to the wages of agricultural labor among the Romans, very little benefit
can be derived from knowing the absolute sum of money paid for any article, unless it
can be compared with the price of other commodities. The price of a slave in Cato's
time, was about 501. ; in the time of Columella it had risen to 60/. ; or to the price of
eight acres of good land. A good vine-dresser cost 661. 1 3s. 4d. and a good ploughman
or laboser not less than 60/. The interest of money at this time was 61. per cent, per
annum ; therefore, in stating the expence of farm labor, a slave must be rated at not less
than 12/. percent, as being a perishable commodity ; so that one who cost 60/. would
fall to be charged at the rate of 7/. 4s. per annum, besides his maintenance and clothing.
This may give some idea of the wages that would be paid to a free servant who hired him-
self by the year ; of which, however, there appears to have been no great number, their
wages not being stated. Two reflections which arise from these statements may be men-
tioned incidentally : the first, that a much greater proportion of capital was required to
carry on Roman agriculture, than in Britain or any free country where the capital of
labor was not purchased, but only the interest paid as the labor is performed ; and,
secondly, that our farm servants, who in some places are paid from 15/. to 20/. per an-
num, besides food and lodging, would, if they were to be purchased, cost the farmer
from 150/. to 200/. each. A farmer, therefore, who occupied three hundred acres, and
employed a capital of 3000/. and six servants, would require an addition to his capital of
at least one third, if he were obliged to purchase those servants.
90. All the servants were maintained and clothed by the farmer or proprietor; and as
may be supposed, it was the interest of the latter that this should be done in a good and
sufficient manner. Columella mentions what he calls an old maxim, concerning the
bailiff: " That he should not eat but in the sight of all the servants, nor of any other
thing but what was given for the rest." He mentions the reason of this : " For thus,"
says he, " shall he take care that both the bread be well baked, and the other things pre-
pared in a wholesome manner." (Co/, lib. i. cap. 8.) The same author mentions the
treatment that masters ought to give their slaves: '* So much the more attentive," says
he, "ought the master to be in his inquiry concerning this kind of servants, that they
may not be injured in their clothes and other things afforded them, inasmuch as they
are subject to many, such as bailiffs, masters of works, and gaolers ; and the more they
are liable to receive injuries, and the more they are hurt through cruelty or avarice, the
more they are to be feared. Therefore a diligent master ought to inquire, both at them-
selves, and likewise the free servants in whom he may put greater confidence, whether
they receive the full of what is allowed them ; he himself ought likewise to try, by tasting
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. 21
the goodness of the bread and drink, and examining their clothes, mittens, and shoes."
(Col. lib. i. cap. 8.) In another place, he says, "That the bailift' should have the
family dressed and clothed rather usefully than nicely, and carefully fortified against the
wind, cold, and rain ; all which they will be secured from, by sleeved leathern coats,
old centones (thick stuff' used as bed-quilts) for defending their heads ; or cloaks with
hoods. If the laborers are clothed with these, no day is so stormy as to prevent them from
working without doors. " i6W. lib. i. cap. 8.) Cato likewise makes particular mention
of the clothes of the slaves : "The vestments of the family," says he, "a coat and a
gown three and a half feet long should be given once in two years; whenever you give a
coat or a gown, first receive the old one ; of these make centones. Good shoes should
be given once in two years." [Cat. cap. 59.)
91. Cato informs us what quality of bread and tvifie, and what other kinds qf meat were', given
to laborers. Of bread, he says, each laborer was allowed at the rate of three pounds avoirdupois,
or of three pounds twelve ounces avoirdupois in the day, according to the severity of their labor. " During
the winter," says he, "the bailiff should have four modii of wheat each month, and during the summer
fourmodii and a half; and the housekeeper, or the bailiff's wife, and the shepherd, should have three.
During the winter, the slaves should have four pounds of bread each in the day ; from the time that they
begin to dig the vineyard, to the ripening of the figs, they should have five pounds each ; after which
they should return again to four." {Cat. cap. 56.) To this bread, there was a daily allowance of wine;
during the three months that immediately followed the vintage, the servants drank a weak kind of wine
called lora. The manner in which this liquor was made, is described both by Pliny and Columella ; and
from the description given by them, it may well be supposed to be as good as the small beer given to
servants in Britain. (Plin. 2^at. Hist. lib. xiv. cap. 10.) It does not appear that the Roman slaves were
much restricted in the quantity ; Cato mentions no measure ; he only says, that they have this to drink
for three months after the vintage ; he proceeds in this manner : " In the fourth month, each should get
a hemina of wine in the day, which is at the rate of two and a half con^ii in the month ; in the fifth,
sixth, seventh, and eighth months, each a sextary in the day, which is hve congii in the month ; in the
ninth, tenth, and eleventh, each three hemince in the day, which is an amphora in the month. More
than this, at the saturnalia and compitalia, to each man was given a congius. The quantity of wine for
each man in the year is eight quadrantals ; however, as addition must be made according to the work in
which the slaves are employed, it is not too much for each of them to drink ten quadrantals in the year."
This allowance of wine, it must be acknowledged, was not inconsiderable, being at least seventy-four
gallons in the year, or at an average 1.62 parts of a pint in the day.
92. Besides bread and wine, the slaves got what was called jjulmentarium, which
answers to what in some parts of the country is called kitchen dripping or fat. (Plin.
Nat. Hist. lib. xviii. cap. 8.) For this purpose Cato recommends the laying up as
many fallen olives as can be gathered ; afterwards the early olives from which the smallest
quantity of oil is expected ; at the same time observing that these must be given sparingly,
that they may last the longer. When the olives are finished, he desires salt fish and
vinegar to be given, and besides, to each man a sextarius of oil in the month, and a
viodius of salt in the year. ( Cat. cap. 18.) Columella, for this purpose, directs apples,
pears, and figs, to be laid up : he adds, if there is a great quantity of these, the rustics
are secured in no small part of their meat during the winter, for they serve for dripping
or fat. (Col. lib. xii. cap. 14.)
ScBSECT. 3. Of the Beasts of Labor used by the Romans.
9S. The laboring cattle used by the Romans, as well as all the ancient nations, were
chiefly the ox, the ass sometimes, the mule for burdens, and but very rarely the horse.
The horse, however, was reared ; but almost exclusively for the saddle, the chace, or
for war. The respect for the ox which existed among the Egyptians, Jews, and Greeks,
was continued among the Romans, so much so that Varro, and after him Columella and
Pliny, adduces an instance of a man having been indicted and condemned for killing one
to please a boy who longed for a dish of tripe.
94. The breeding, breaking, feeding, and working of the ox is very particularly treated
of by the ancient authors.
95. Bulls, says Palladius, " should be tall, with huge members, of a middle age, rather young as old,
of a stern countenance, small horns, a brawny and vast neck, and a confined belly." {Pal. lib iv'
sect. 11.)
96. The cows. Columella "most approves of, are of a tall make, long, with very large belly, very
broad forehead, eyes black and open, horns graceful, smooth and black, hairy ears, strait jaws, very
large dewlap and tail, and moderate hoofs and legs." (Col. lib. vi. cap. 21.)
97. Breeders both of horses and cows, Virgil observes, should attend principally to the
make of the female. " If any one," says he, " fond of the prize at the Olympic games,
breeds horses; or if any one breeds stout bullocks for the plough, he chiefly attends to
the make of the mother, who ought to be large in all her parts.^' ( Georg. iii. v. 49.) The
same maxim is attended to by the best breeders of the present day ; and the reasons have
been most satisfactorily and scientifically given by Cline. (Commun. to Board of Ag.
&c. vol. iv.)
98. For breaking and training cattle to the yoke, Varro and Columella give very par-
ticular directions. " To break bullocks," says Varro, «<put their necks between forked
stakes ; set up one for each bullock, and give them meat from the hand ; they will be-
come tractable in a few days: then in order that by degrees they may become accustomed
to the yoke, let an unbroken one be joined with a veteran, whom he will imitate; then
C 3
22 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I
let them go upon even ground without a plough ; then yoked to a light plough in a sandy
soil. That they may be trained for carriages, they should first be put to empty carts, and
driven, if convenient, through a village or town ; the habit of hearing frequent noise,
and seeing a variety of objects, will soon make them fit for use. " ( Var. lib. i. cap. 20.)
99. Trammg commences with the calve state; and "calves," says Virgil, "which
you intend for country labor, should be instructed while their youthful minds are
tractable, and their age manageable : first bind round their necks wide wreaths of tender
twigs ; then, when their free necks have been accustomed to servitude, put real collars
upon them ; join bullocks of equal strength, and make them step together ; at first let
them frequently be employed in drawing along the ground wheels without any carriage
upon them, so that they may print their steps only upon the top of the dust ; afterwards
let the beechen axle groan under the heavy load, and the pole draw the wheels joined to
the weighty carriage. " (Georg. iii. v. 163.)
100. The food of laboring oxen was the mast or nuts of the beech or sweet chestnut, grape
stones, and husks after being pressed, hay, wheat and barley straw, bean, vetch, and lupine
chaff, all parts of corn and pulse, grass, green forage, and leaves. The leaves used
were those of the holm oak, ivy, elm (considered the best), the vine, the poplar, &c.
The poplar leaves were mixed with the elm leaves to make them hold out, and when there
was no elm leaves, then oak and fig leaves were used. (Cat. cap. 54.) The food pre-
ferred before all others by Columella, is good pasturage in summer, and hay and corn in
winter, but he says the food and manner of feeding, differ in different countries.
101. Oxen were worked in pairs abreast, both in the cart and plough, and stood in the
stables also in pairs, in bubilia or stalls formed on purpose. They were carefully
matched, in order that the stronger might not wear out the weaker. They were yoked
either by the horn or neck ; but the latter mode was greatly preferred.
102. Yoking by the horns. Columella observes, " is condemned by almost all who have written on hus-
bandry ; because cattle can exert more strength from the neck and breast, than the horns ; as in the one
way, they press with the whole weight and bulk of their bodies ; whereas in the other way, they are tor-
mented with having their heads drawn back and turned up, and with difficulty stir the surface of the
earth with a light plough." {Col. lib. ii. cap. 11. 22.)
103. 0x671, when in the plough, were not allowed to go a great way without turning;
one hundred and twenty feet was the length fixed upon, and further than this, it was
thought improper for them to pull hard without stopping. The Reverend A. Dickson
thinks it probable, that " the breaks or plats for the different kinds of corn and pulse
were laid out nearly of this length and breadth" [Husb. of the Ana. ii. 452.) ; and there
appears grounds for concluding that the case was the same among the Jews and Greeks.
It was thought proper that oxen in ploughing should be allowed to stop a little at the
turning, and when they stopped, that the ploughman should put the yoke a little forward,
that so their necks might cool. " Unless their necks are carefully and regularly cooled,"
says Columella, " they will soon become inflamed, and swellings and ulcers will arise."
The same author directs, that " the ploughman when he has unyoked his oxen, must rub
them after they are tied up, press their backs with his hands, pull up their hides, and not
suffer them to stick to their bodies ; for this is a disease that is very destructive to working
cattle." No food must be given them till they have ceased from sweating and high
breathing, and then by degrees, in portions as eaten ; and afterwards they are to be led to
the water, and encouraged by whistling." {Col. lib, ii. cap. 3.)
104. In purchasing working oxen, Varro directs to choose such as have " spacious horns,
rather black than otherwise, a broad forehead, wide nostrils, a broad chest, and thick
dewlap." (Lib. i. cap. 20.) All the Roman authors agree that the best color of the body
is red or dark brown ; that the black are hardier, but not so valuable : that the hair should
be short and thick, and the whole skin very soft to the touch ; the body in general very
long and deep, or, as Columella and Palladius express it, compact and square. The par-
ticular parts they also describe at length in terms such as would for the most part be
approved by experienced breeders of cattle ; making due allowance for the difference be-
tween choice for working, and choice for fatting. They all concur in recommending
farmers to rear at home what oxen they want ; as those brought from a distance often
disagree with the change of soil and climate.
105. The ass was the animal next in general use. Varro says, they were chiefly used to
carry burdens, or for the mill ; or for ploughing where the land is light, and that they
were most common in the south of Italy, especially in Campania. (Lib. ii. cap. 6.) He
gives directions for breeding and rearing of them : and states that the female should not
be allowed to work when in an advanced state of impregnation ; but that the male does
not improve by indulgence in labor. The foal is removed from the dam a year after being
foaled, and broke for labor in the third year.
106. Mides, Columella says, " are very proper both for the road and the plough, provided
they are not too dear, and the stiff lands do not require the strength of the ox." " Mules
and hinni." Varro observes, '* are of two kinds; the first being the offspring of a mare and
an ass, and the second of a horse and an ass. A hinnus is less than an ass in the body, com-
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. 23
monly of a brighter color ; his ears, main, and tail like those of the horse. The mule is
larger than the ass, but has more of the character of that animal in its parts than the
hinnus. To breed mules, a young jack ass is put under a mare when he is foaled, and
being reared with her is admitted to her the third year ; nor does he despise the mare on ac-
count of former habits. If you admit him younger he soon gets old, and his offspring is
less valuable. Persons who have not an ass which they have brought up under a mare,
and who wish to have an ass for admission, choose the largest and the handsomest they
can find, from a good breed." (Varro, lib. ii. cap. 8.) Mules are fed like the ass, on
spray, leaves, herbage, hay, chaff, and corn.
107. The horse was scarcely, if at all, used in Roman agriculture, but was reared for the
saddle, and the army, by some farmers. Varro and Columella are particular in their direc-
tions as to the choice of mares, and breeding and rearing their young ; but as these contain
nothing very remarkable, we shall pass over most of them. " When a horse," says
Varro, '* is admitted to a mare and is fastidious, they pound a squill with water to the
consistence of honey, tliey rub the mare with it ; they then apply it to the nostrils of the
horse." (Lib. ii. cap. 7.) The same author relates a case after Aristotle, and which is
also noticed by Pliny, of ** a horse which could not be induced to cover his dam, and
when the groom had brought him with his head covered, and compelled him to do it,
when he uncovered the horse's eyes, he attacked and killed him." {Id.) He recom-
mends large horses for admission, which is contrary to modern practice. The signs of
future merit in a colt are a small head, well formed limbs, and contending with other
colts or horses for superiority in running, or any other thing.
108. The dog is a valuable animal in every unenclosed country, and was kept by the
Roman farmers for its use in assisting the shepherd, and also for watching. Varro men-
tions two kinds ; one for hunting, which belongs to tierce and savage beasts ; and one for
the shepherd, and the watch box. The latter are not to be bought from hunters or
butchers, because these are either lazy, or will follow a stag rather than a sheep. The
best color is white, because it is most discernible in the dark. They must be fed in the
kitchen with bread and milk ; or broth with bruised bones, but never with animal food,
and never allowed to suffer from hunger, lest they attack the flock. That they may not
be wounded by other beasts, they wear a collar made of strong leather set with nails, the
inward extremity of which is covered with soft leather, and that the hardness of the iron
may not hurt their necks. If a wolf or any other beast is wounded by these, it makes
other dogs that have not the collar remain secure. ( Var. lib. ii. cap. 9. )
SuBSECT. 4. Of the Agricultural Implements of the Romans.
109. The Romans used a great many instruments in their culture and farm management ;
but their particular forms and uses are so imperfectly described, that very little is known
concerning them.
110. The plough, the most important instrument in agriculture, is mentioned by Cato as
of two kinds, one for strong, and the other for light soils. Varro mentions one with two
mould boards, with which, he says, " when they plough after sowing the seed, they are said
to ridge." Pliny mentions a plough with one mould board for the same purpose, and
others with a coulter, of which, he says, there are many kinds. It is probable indeed, as
the Rev. A. Dickson has remarked, that the ancients had many different kinds of ploughs,
though, perhaps, not so scientifically constructed as those of modern times. " They had
ploughs," he says, " with mould boards, and without mould boards ; with and without coul-
ters ; with and without wheels ; with broad and narrow pointed shares ; and with shares not
only with sharp sides and points, but also with high raised cutting tops." [Husb. of the
An. ii. 388.) But amidst all this variety of ploughs, no one has been able to depict the
simplest form of that implement in use among the Romans. Professor John Martyn, in
his notes to Virgil's Georgics, gives a figure of a modern Italian plough to illustrate
Virgil's description. Rosier says, the Roman plough was the same as is still used in the
south of France {Jig. 11. j. Some authors have made fanciful representations of it of the
It, 11
rudest construction ; others have exhibited more refined pieces of mechanism, but most
improbable as portraits.
111. From the diff'erent parts of the plough mentioned by the Roman authors, a
figure has been imagined and described by the author of the Husbandry of the
C 4
24
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
Ancients, which from his practical knowledge of agriculture, and considerable
classical learning, it is to be regretted he did not live to see delineated. A plough in
use from time immemorial in Valentia, (Jig. 12.) is supposed to come the nearest to
the common Roman imple-
ment. In it we have the bu-
rls or head (a) ; the temo,
or beam (6) ; the stiva, or
handle (c) ; the dentales, or
share head {d) ; and the ro-
mer or share [e). The other
parts, the aura or mould
board, and the culler or
coulter, composed no part
of the simplest form of Ro-
man plough ; the plough-
staff, or paddle, was a detached part ; and the manicula, or part which the ploughman
took hold of, was a short bar fixed across, or into the handle, and the draught pole (f)
was that part to which the pxen were attached.
112. The plough described by Virgil, had a mould board, and was used for
covering seed and ridging ; but that which we have depicted, was the common form
used in stirring the soil. To supply the place of our mould boards, this plough required
either a sort of diverging stick (g), inserted in the share head, or to be held obliquely and
sloping towards the side to which the earth was to be turned. The Romans did not
plough their fields in beds, by circumvolving furrows, as we do ; but the cattle re-
turned always in the same
furrow. cv ^ ^3
113. JFheel ploughs, Las-
teyrie thinks, were invented
in or not long before the
time of Pliny, who attri-
butes the invention to the
inhabitants of Cisalpine
Gaul. Virgil seems to
have known such ploughs
and refers to them in his
Georgics. In the Greek
monuments of antiquity are
only four or five examples
of these. Lasteyrie has
given figures of three wheel
ploughs from Caylus's Col-
lection of Aniiquities (Jig.
13. a and 6), and from a Si-
cilian medal (c).
114. 2'he urpex or irpex, seems to have been a plank with several teeth used as our brake
or cultivator, to break rough ground, and tear out roots and weeds.
14 115. The crates seems to have been a kind of harrow.
116. The rastrum, a rake used in manual labour : and
117. The sarculum, a hand hoe, similar to our draw hoe.
118. The marra, a hand hoe of smaller size.
119. The bidens(hl dens) seems to have been a two-pronged hoe of large size,
and with a hammer at the other end used to break clods. These were used chiefly
in cultivating vineyards.
120. The ligo seems to have been aspade {Jig. 14.), and the;)a^a a shovel or sort
of spade, or probably a synonyne. The ligo and pala were made of wood only,
of oak shod with iron, or with the blade entirely of iron.
121. The securis seems to have been an axe, and the same term was applied to
the blade of the pruning knife, which was formed like a crescent.
122. IVie dolabre was a kind of adze for cutting roots in tree culture.
1 23 . The reaping hook seems to have been the same as that in modern use : some wxre
used for cutting off the ears of far or maize, and these, it may be presumed, were not
serrated like our sickles; others for cutting wheat and barley near the ground, like our
reaping hook. In the south of Gaul, Pliny informs us, they had invented a reaping ma-
chine : from his description this machine must have borne a considerable resemblance to
that used in Suffolk, for cropping the heads off clover left for seed, and not un-
like other modern attempts at an engine of this description. [See Jig. 16.) This may seem
truly remarkable : but man is every where, and at all times, the same animal ; and the
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. SB
operation of similar circumstances produces in him similar results, however distant in time
or place.
1 24. There were threshing implements for manual labor, and for being drawn by horses ;
and some for striking oflf the ears of corn {Jig. 15.), like what are called rippling combs,
for combing off the capsules of newly pulled flax.
125. A variety of otfwr instruments for cleaning corn, and for the wine and oil press,
are mentioned ; but too obscurely to admit of exact description. j^
SuBSECT. 5. Of the Agricultural Operations of the
Romans.
126. Of simple agricultural operations, the most im-
portant are ploughing, sowing, and reaping; and of such
as are compound, or involve various simple operations, are
fallowing, manuring, weeding, and field watering.
127. Ploughing is universally allowed to be the most
important operation of agriculture. " What," says
Cato, " is the best culture of land ? Good ploughing.
What is the second? Ploughing in the ordinary way.
What is the third ? Laying on manure. " ( Cap. Ixi.) The <
season for ploughing was any time when land was not wet ;
in the performance, the furrow is directed to be kept equal in breadth throughout, one furrow
equal to another ; and straight furrows. The usual depth is not mentioned, but it was
probably considerable, as Cato says corn-land should be of good quality for two feet in
depth. No scamni or balks (hard unmoved soil) were to be left, and to ascertain that
this was properly attended to, the farmer is directed, when inspecting the work done, to
push a pole into the ploughed land in a variety of places. The plough was generally
drawn by one pair of oxen, which were guided by the ploughman without the aid of a
driver. In breaking up stiff land, he was expected to plough half an acre j and in free
lands, an acre ; and light lands, one and a half acre each day. Land, as already noticed ( 1 03. ),
was ploughed in square plots of 120 feet to the side, two of which made a jugerum or acre.
A similar practice seems to have existed among the eastern nations, and is probably alluded
to in the book of Samuel (chap. xiv. 5. 14.), where Jonathan and his armour-bearer are
said to have slain about twenty men within half an acre, or literally " half a furrow of an
acre of land. "
128. Fallovdng was a universal practice among the Romans. In most cases, a crop and
a year's fallow succeeded each other ; though, when manure could be got, two crops or
more were taken in succession ; and on certain rich soils, which Pliny describes as
favorable for barley, a crop was taken every year. In fallowing, the lands were first
ploughed after the crop was removed, generally in August ; they were again cross-
ploughed in spring, and at least a third time before sowing, whether spring corn or win-
ter corn was the crop. There was, however, no limit to the number of ploughings and
sarclings, and when occasion required manual operations ; the object being, as Theo-
phrastus observes, " to- let the earth feel the cold of winter, and the sun of summer, to
invert the soil, and render it free, light, and clear of weeds, so that it can most easily
afford nourishment." (Theo. de Caus. Plant, lib. iii. cap. 25.)
129. Manuring was held in such high esteem by the Romans, that immortality was
given to Stercutius for the invention. They collected it from every source which has
been thought of by the moderns, vegetable, animal, and mineral, territorial, aquatic, and
marine. Animal (Jung was divided into three kinds, that which is produced by birds,
by men, and by cattle. Pigeon-dung was preferred to all, and next human ordure and
urine. Pigeon-dung was used as a top-dressing ; and human dung, mixed with clean-
ings of the villa, and with urine, was applied to the roots of the vine and the olive. " M.
Varro," says Pliny, " extols the dung of thrushes from the avaries, as food for swine
and oxen, and asserts that there is no food that fattens them more quickly." Varro pre-
fers it also as a manure ; on which Pliny observes, " we may have a good opinion of the
manners of our times, if our ancestors had such large aviaries, as to procure from them
dung to their fields." {Nat. Hist. lib. xvii. cap. 9.) Dunghills were directed to be
placed near the villa, their bottoms hollowed out to retain the moisture, and their sides
and top defended from the sun by twigs and leaves. Dung usually remained in the
heap a year, and was laid on in autumn and spring, the two sowing seasons. No more
was to be spread than could be ploughed in the same day. Crops that were sickly were
revived by sowing over them the dust of dung, especially that of birds, that is, by what is
now called a top-dressing. Frequent and moderate dungings are recommended as pre-
ferable to occasional and very abundant supplies. Green crops, especially lupines, were
sown, and before they came into pod ploughed in as manures : they were also cut and
buried at the roots of fruit-trees for the same purpose. Trees, twigs, stubble, &c. were
burned for manure. Cato says, «* If you cannot sell wood and twigs, and have no
26
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
stone that will burn into lime, make charcoal of the wood, and burn in the corn-fields the
twigs and small branches that remain." Palladius says, '* that lands which have been
manured by ashes of trees will not require manure for five years." (Lib. i. 6.) Stubble
was very generally burned, as it was also among the Jews. Lime was used as a manure,
especially for vines and olives. Cato gives particular directions how to form the kiln
and burn it. He prefers a truncated cone, ten feet diameter at the bottom, twenty feet
high, and three feet diameter at the top. The grate covers the whole bottom ; there is a
pit below for the ashes, and two furnace -doors, one for drawing out the burnt stone, and
the other for admitting air to the fire. The fuel used was wood or charcoal. (Cap. 38.)
130. Marlwas known to the earlier Roman authors, but not used in Italy. Iiis mentioned
by Pliny as having been " found out in Britain and Gaul." '< It is a certain richness of
earth," he says, " like the kernels in animal bodies that are increased by fatness."
Marl, he says, was known to the Greeks, " for is there any thing," he adds, « that has
not been tried by them ? They call the marl like white clay leucargillon, which they use
in the lands of Megara, but only where they are moist and cold." (Nat. Hist. lib. xvii.
cap. 5 — 8.) But though the Romans did not use marl, because they had not dis-
covered it in Italy, they were aware, as Varro and others inform us, of its use. " When
I marched an army," says Varro, " to the Rhine, in transalpine Gaul, I passed through
some countries where I saw the fields manured with white fossil clay." (Lib. i.
cap. 7.) This must have been either marl or chalk.
131. Solving was performed by hand from a basket, as in modern times; the hand, as
Pliny observes, moving with the step, and always with the right foot. The corns and
leguminous seeds were covered with the plough, and sometimes so as to rise in drills ; the
smaller seeds with the hoe and rake.
132. In reaping corn, it was a maxim, that it is " better to reap two days too soon than
two days too late." Varro mentions three modes of performing the operation; cutting
close to the ground with hooks, a handful at a time ; cutting off their ears with a curved
stick, and a saw attached ; and cutting the stalks in the middle, leaving the lower part or
stubble to be cut afterwards. Columella says, *' Many cut the stalks by the middle, with
drag-hooks, and these either beaked or toothed : many gather the ears with mergas, and
others with combs. This method does very well where the crop is thin ; but it is very
troublesome where the corn is thick. If, in reaping with hooks, a part of the straw is cut
off with the ears, it is immediately gathered into a heap, or into the nubilarium, and after
being dried, by being exposed to the sun, is threshed. But if the ears only are cut off*, they
are carried directly to the granary, and threshed during the winter." (Col. lib. ii. cap. 21.)
To these modes, Pliny adds, that of pulling up by the roots, and remarks generally that
*' where they cover their houses with stubble, they cut high, to preserve this of as great a
length as possible ; when there is a scarcity of hay, they cut low, that straw may be added
tothechalF." {Nat. Hist. lib. xviii. cap. 30.) .^
133. A reaping-machine is mentioned
■ by Plit - " - -
plains of Gaul, which is
both
liny and Palladius, used
thus described by the latter. " In
the plains of Gaul, they use this
quick way of reaping, and, with-
out reapers, cut large fields with
an ox in one day. For this purpose
a machine is made, carried upon two
wheels ; the square surface has boards
erected at the sides, which, sloping
outwards, make a wider space above ;
the board on the fore part is lower
than the others ; upon it there are a
great many small teeth, wide set in a
row, answering to the height of the
ears of the corn, and turned upwards
at the ends; on the back part of this
machine, two short shafts are fixed,
like the poles of a litter; to these an
ox is yoked, with his head to the ma-
chine, and the yoke and traces like-
wise turned the contrary way : he is well trained, and does not go faster than he is driven. When this ma-
chine is pushed through the standing com, all the ears are comprehended by the teeth, and heaped up
in the hollow part of it, being cut off from the straw, which is left behind ; the driver setting it liigher
^h-^ ',.fl 1 '* necessary; and thus, by a few goings and returnings, the whole field is reaped.
I i-.^ ^^fh Jl "''^pT' 1" ^"^l". o^*^ 'I"''°th fields, and in places where there is no necessity for
134. The Romans did not hind their corn into sheaves, as is customary in northern cli-
mates. When cut it was in general sent directly to the area to be threshed ; or if the
ears only were cropped, sent in" baskets to the barn. Among the Jews, Egyptians,
and Greeks, the corn was bound in sheaves ; or at least some kinds were so treated, as
appears from the story of Ruth *' gleaning among the sheaves;" of Joseph's dream, in
which his « sheaf arose ;" and from the harvest represented by Homer, on one of the
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. 27
compartments of Achilles's shield. (//. lib. xviii. 550.) Reapers wer« set in bands on
the opposite side of the field or plat, and worked towards the centre. As the land was
ploughed in the same manner from the sides to the middle, there was an open furrow
left there, to which the reapers hastened in the way of competition. A reaper was ex-
pected to cut down a jugerum of wheat in a day and a half; barley, legumes, and medica
or clover, in one day, and flax in three days.
1B5. Threshing was performed in the area or threshing Jloor, a circular space of 40 to
60 feet in diameter, in the open air, with a smooth hard surface. The floor was generally
made of well wrought clay mixed with amurca or the lees of oil ; sometimes it was
paved. It was generally placed near the nubilarium or barn, in order that when a
sudden shower happened, during the process of threshing, the ears might be carried in
there out of the ra'n. Sometimes also the ears or unthreshed corn of the whole farm
were first put in this barn and carried out to the area afterwards. Varro and Columella
recommended that the situation of the area should be high and airy, and within sight of
the farmer or bailiff's house, to prevent fraud; distant from gardens and orchards,
because, though dung and straw are beneficial to the roots of vegetables, they are de-
structive when they fiall on their leaves." {Var. lib. i. cap. 51.)
136. The corn Ixing spread over the area a foot or two
in thickness, was threshed or beaten out by the hoofs
of cattle, or horses driven round it, by their dragging
a machine. The machine, Varro informs us, was
" made of a Ixjard, rough with stones or iron, with a
driver or great weiglit placed on it." A machine com-
posed of rollers studded with iron knobs, and furnished
with a seat for the driver, [,Jig. 17.) was used in the
Carthaginian territory. Sometimes also they threshed
with rotls or flails : far or Indian com, {Zea Mays, L.)
was generally hand picked, or passed through a
handmill.
1 37. Com was cleansed or winnowed by throwing it from one part of the floor to another j
(in the wind when there was any,) with a kind of shovel called ventilarium ; another im-
plement, called a van, probably a kind of sieve, was used when there was no wind. After
being dressed, the corn was laid in the granary, and the straw either laid aside for litter,
or, what is not a little remarkable, " sprinkled with brine; then, when dried, rolled up in
bundles, and so given to the oxen for hay." {Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. xviii. cap. 30.)
138. Hay-making among the Romans was performed much in the same way as in
modern times. The meadows were mown when the flowers of the grass began to fade ;
" as it dries," says Varro, " it is turned with forks ; it is then tied up in bundles of four
pounds each, and carried home, and what is left strewed upon the meadow is raked
together, and added to the crop." " A good mower," Columella informs us, "cuts a
jugerum of meadow, and binds twelve hundred bundles of hay." It is probable that this
quantity, which is nearly two tons, was tlie produce per acre of a good crop. A second
crop was cut, called cordum, and was chiefly used for feeding sheep in winter. Hay
was also made of leafy twigs for the same purpose. Cato directs the bailifi" to ** cut
down poplar, elm, and oak spray, and put them up in time, not over dry, for fodder to
the sheep." (Cap. 5.)
139. Weeding and stirring the soil were performed, the first by cutting with a hook, or
pulling the weeds up with the hand ; and the second by sarcling or hoeing. Beans were
hoed three times, and corn twice ; the first time they were earthed up, but not the second or
third; "for," says Columella, "when the ccrn ceases to tiller, it rots if covered with
eartli." Lupines were not sarcled at all, " because so far from being infested with weeds,
they destroy them." Horse hoeing was also practised, the origin of which is thus given
bv Pliny. " We must not omit," says he, "a particular method of ploughing, at this
time practised in Italy beyond the Po, and introduced by the injuries of war. The
Salassi, when they ravaged the lands lying under the Alps, tried likewise to destroy the
panic and millet that had just come above ground : finding that the situation of the crop
prevented them from destroying it in the ordinary way, they ploughed the fields ; but
the crop at harvest being double of what it used to be, taught the farmer to plough
amongst the corn." This operation, he informs us, was performed, either when the stalk
was beginning to appear, or when the plant had put forth two or three leaves. The
corn being generally sown in drills, or covered with the plough, so as to come up in
rows, readily admitted this practice.
140. Pasturing and harroiving com, when too luxuriant, were practised. Virgil says,
*' What commendation shall I give to him, who, lest his corn should lodge, pastures it
w»hile young, as soon as the blade equals the furrow." {Geor. i. 1. 111.) Pliny directs
to comb the corn with a harrow before it is pastured, and sarcle it afterwards.
141. jraten'n.gonalargescale was applied both to arable and grass lands. Virgil advises
to " bring down the waters of a river upon the sown corn, and when the field is parched,
and the plants drying, convey it from the brow of a hill in channels." ( Geor. i. 1. 106.)
Pliny mentions the practice, and observes that the water destroys the weeds, nourishes
38 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
the corn, and serves in place of sarcling. Watering grass lands was practised wherever
an opportunity offered. " As much as in your power," says Cato, " make watered
meadows." Land that is naturally rich and in good heart, says Columella, " does not
need to have water set over it, because the hay produced in a juicy soil is better than
tliat excited by water ; when the poverty of the soil requires it, however, water may be
set over it. The same author likewise describes very particularly the position of the
land most proper for water meadows. *' Neither a low field," says he, " with hollows,
nor a field broken with steep rising grounds, are proper. The first because it contains
too long the water collected in the hollows ; the last, because it makes the water to run
too quickly over it. A field, however, that has a moderate descent, may be made a
meadow, whether it is rich or poor, if so situated as to be watered. But the best situation
is, where the surface is smooth, and the descent so gentle, as to prevent either showers, or
the rivers that overflow it, from remaining long ; and, on the other hand, to allow the
water that comes over it gently to glide off. Therefore, if in any part of a field intended
for a meadow, a pool of water should stand, it must be let off by drains ; for the loss is
«qual, either from too much water or too little grass." [Col. lib. ii. cap. 17.)
142. Old water meadows were renewed hy breaking up and sowing them, with com for
three years ; the third year they were laid down with vetches and grass seeds, and then
watered again, but " not with a great force of water, till the ground had become firm and
bound together with turf." (Col. lib. ii. cap. 18.) Watering, Pliny informs us, was
commenced immediately after the equinox, and restrained when the grass sent up flower
stalks ; it was recommenced in mowing grounds, after the hay season, and in pasture
lands at intervals.
143. Braining, though an operation of an opposite nature to watering, is yet essential
to its success. It was particularly attended to by the Romans, both to remove surface
water, and to intercept and carry off under the surface the water of springs.
Cato gives directions for opening the furrows of sown fields, and clearing them so as the
water might find its way readily to the ditches ; and for wet-bottomed lands he directs
to make drains three feet broad at top, four feet deep, and one and a quarter feet wide
at the bottom ; to lay them with stones ; or if these cannot be got, with willow rods, placed
contrarj' ways, or twigs tied together. (Cap. 43.) Columella directs both open and
covered drains to be made sloping at the sides, and in addition to what Cato says respecting
the water way of covered drains, directs to make the bottom narrow, and fit a rope made
of tvvigs to it, pressing the rope firmly down, and putting some leaves or pine branches
over it before throwing in the earth. Pliny says, the ropes may be made of straw, and
that flint or gravel may be used to form the water-way, filling the excavation half full,
or to within eighteen inches of the top.
144. Fencing was performed by the Romans, but only to a limited extent. Varro
says, ♦* the limits of a farm should be fenced (rendered obvious) by planting trees, that
families may not quarrel with their neighbours, and that the limits may not want the
decision of a judge. " (Lib, i. 15.) Palladius directs to enclose meadows, and gardens,
and orchards. Columella mentions folds for enclosing the cattle in the night-time ; but
the chief fences of his time were the enclosures called parks for reserving wild beasts, and
forming agreeable prospects from the villas of the wealthy. 'Pliny mentions these, and
says they were the invention of Fulvius Lupinus. (Nat. Hist. lib. viii.) Varro de-
scribes fences raised by planting briars or thorns, and training them into a hedge, and
these, he says, have the advantage of not being in danger from the burning torch of the
wanton passenger ; fences of stalks interwoven with twigs, ditches with earthen dykes and
walls of stone or brick, or rammed earth and gravel. (Lib. i. cap. 14.)
145. Trees were pruned and felled at different tinnes according to the object in view.
The olive was little cut ; the vine had a winter dressing and one or two summer
dressings. Green branches or spray, of which the leaves were used as food for oxen and
sheep, were cut at the end of summer. Copse wood for fuel in winter, and timber trees
generally m that season. Cato, however, directs that trees which are to be felled for tim-
ber should be cut down at different times according to their natures ; such as ripen seeds,
when the seed is ripe ; such as do not produce seeds, when the leaves drop ; such as pro-
duce both flowers and seeds at the same time, also when the leaves drop, but if they are
evergteens, such as the cypress and pine, they may be felled at any time.
146. Fruits were gathered by hand. The ripest grapes were cut first ; such as were se-
lected for eatmg were carried home and hung up ; and those for the press were put in
baskets and earned to the wine-press to be picked and then pressed. Olives were plucked
by hand, and some selected for eating ; and the rest laid up in lofts for future bruising, or
they were immediately pressed. Such as could not be reached by ladders, Varro directs
to be « struck with a reed rather than with a rod, for a deep wound requires a physician."
It does not appear that green olives were pickled and used as food as in modern times.
147. Such are the dmf agricultural operations of the Romans, of which it cannot fail to
be observed as most remarkable, that they differ little from what we know of the rural
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS.
29
operations of the Jews and Greeks on the one hand, and ft-om the practices of modern
times on the other.
SuBSECT. 6. Of the Crops cultivated^ and Animals reared by the Romans.
148. The cereal grasses cultivdAeA. by the Romans were chiefly the triticum or wheat, the
far, or Indian corn {Zea), and the hordeum or barley : but they sowed also the siligo or
rye, the holcus or millet, the panic grass (Panicum miliaceum), and the avena or oat.
149. Of legumes they cultivated the f aba or bean, the pisum or pea, the lupinus or
lupin, the ervum or tare, the /ens or flat-tare {Lathyrus cicera) ; the chickling vetch {La-
thyrus sativis) ; the chick or mouse pea {Cicer arietinum) ; and the kidney bean ( Phaseolus).
The bean was used as food for the servants or slaves ; the others were grown principally
for food to the laboring cattle. 18
150. The sesamum, or oily grdiva. (Sesamum Orientate , L.)
{fig. 18.) was cultivated for the seeds from which an oil was
expressed, and used as a substitute for that of olives, as it
still is in India and China ; and as the oil of the poppy is
in Holland, that of the walnut in Savoy, and of the hemp
in Russia. '
151 . The herbage plants were chiefly the trifolium or clover,
the medic or lucern, and the cytissus. What the latter plant
is, has not been distinctly ascertained. They cultivated also
the ocymum and fcenum grcecum, with several others, which
from the descriptions left of them cannot now be identified.
The napus or turnip, and rapa or rape, were much esteemed
and carefully cultivated. Pliny says, *'they require a dry'
soil ; that the rapa will grow almost any where ; that it is nou-
rished by mists, hoar-frosts and cold, and that he has seen some
of them upwards of forty pounds weight. The napus," he
says, " delights equally in colds, which make it both sweeter
and larger, while by heat they grow to leaves." He adds,
" the more diligent husbandmen plough five times for the napus, four times for the rapa,
and apply dung to both." {Nat. Hist, xviii. cap. 13.) Palladius recommends soot and
oil as a remedy against flies and snails, in the culture of the napus and rapa. While the
turnips were growing, it appears persons were not much restricted from pulling them.
Columella obsei-ves, that in his time, the more religious husbandmen still observed an
ancient custom, mentioned by Varro as being recorded by Demetrius, a Greek. This
was, that while sowing them they prayed they might grow both for themselves and
neighbours. Pliny says the sower was naked.
152. Of crops used in the arts may be mentioned the flax, the sesamum, already men-
tioned, and the poppy ; the two latter were grown for their seeds, which were bruised for oil.
153. The ligneous crops were willows, both for basketmaking, and as ties and poles for
olives and vines. Copse wood was grown in some places for fuel ; but chiefly in natural
woods, which were periodically cut. Timber was also procured from the natural forests,
which were abundant both of oak, elm, beech, pine, and larix. 1 9
154. The fruit frees cultivated extensively, were the vineandthe
olive. The fig was grown in gardens and orchards, and also the |
pear ; and in the gardens of the wealthy were found most fruitsj
in present use, with the exception of the pine apple, the goose-
berry, and perhaps the orange, though the lemon seems to have"
been know in Palladius' time. The vine was supported by
elms or poplars (fig. 19.), or tied to different sorts of trellises/
{fig. 20.), as in Italy at the present day.
155. Such are the principal fi£ld crops of Roman agriculture^"
from which, and from the list of cultivated vegetables given by Pliny, it appears they had
most plants and trees now in use, with the exception of the 20
potatoe, and one or two others of less consequence.
156. Of animals reared, the quadrupeds were of the same kinds
now in use ; and to the common sorts of poultry they added
thrushes, larks, peacocks, and turtle' doves ; they also reared
snails, dormice, bees, and fish. The care of the poultry was chiefly
committed to the wife of the farmer or bailiff ; and it was chiefly
near Rome and Naples where the more delicate birds were ex-<
tensively reared. When Rome was at her greatest height in the time of the Cesars, the
minor articles of farm produce bore a very high price. Varro informs us, that <' fat birds,
such as thrushes, black-birds, &c. , were sold at two shillings, and sometimes 5000 of
them were sold in a year from one farm. ( Far. lib. iii. cap. 2. ) Pea-fowls were sold at
1/. 13«. 4d, ; an egg was sold at 3s. 4d. A farm sometimes produced as many of these
so HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
fowls as to sell at 5001. ( Far. lib. iii. cap. 6.) A pair of fine doves were commonly of
the same price with a peacock, 1/. 13s. 4d. If very pretty, they were much higher in
the price, no less than 8/. 6s. 8d. L. Anius, a Roman knight, refused to sell a pair
under 13^. 6s. 8d." (Far. lib. iii. cap. 7.) Some kinds of fishes were very highly valued
among the Romans in the time of Varro. Hortensius, whom Varro used frequently
to visit, would sooner have parted with a pair of his best coach -mules, than with a bearded
mullet. ( Var. lib. iii. cap. 17.) Herrius's fish-ponds, on account of the quantity offish,
were sold for 33,333/. 6s. 8d. (Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. ix. cap. 55.) LucuUus's likewise
at the same price. {Id. lib. ix. cap. 54.)
SuBSECT. 7. Of the General Maxims of Farm Management among the Romans.
157. In evert/ art that has been long practised, there are maxims of management
which have been handed down from one generation to another ; and in no art are there more
of these than in agriculture. Maxims of this sort were held among the Romans in the
greatest estimation, and their writers have recorded a number derived from the lost
Greek writers, and from their own traditionary or experimental knowledge. A few of
these shall be noticed, as characteristic of Roman economy, and not without their use
in modern times.
158. To sow less and plough belter was a maxim indicating that the extent of farms
ought to be kept in their proper bounds. Pliny and Virgil consider large farms as pre-
judicial, and Columella says, one of the seven wise men has pronounced that there
should be limits and ineasures in all things. *' You may admire a large farm, but cul-
tivate a small one ;" and the Carthaginian saying, " that the land ought to be weaker
than the husbandman," were maxims to the same effect.
159. The importance of the master s presence in every operation of farming was in-
culcated by many maxims: " Whoever would buy a field ought to sell his house, lest
he delight more in the town than in the country," was a saying of Mago, *' Wherever the
eyes of the master most frequently approach," says Columella, "there is the greatest
increase." It is justly remarked by the Rev. A. Dickson, that though *' every person
knows that the presence and attention of the master is of great importance in every
business ; yet every person does not know, that in no business are they so important as
in farming." {Hist of the An. i. 206.)
160. That more is to be gained by cultivating a small spot well than a large space indiffev'.
ently, is illustrated by many sayings and stories. ** A vine-dresser had two daughters
and a vineyard ; when his eldest daughter was married, he gave her a third of his vine-
yard for a portion ; notwithstanding which, he had the same quantity of fruit as formerly.
When his younger daughter was married he gave her the half of what remained, and still
the produce of his vineyard was not diminished. " {Col. lib. iv. cap. 3.) Pliny mentions
a freedman, who having much larger crops than his neighbours, was accused of witchcraft
and brought to trial. He produced in the forum a stout daughter, and his excellently
constructed iron spades, shears, and other tools, with his oxen, and said, " These, Romans,
are my charms." He was acquitted. {Nat. Hist, xviii. 6.)
161. Ostentatious or profuse culture is not less condemned than imperfect culture.
** The ancients," says Pliny, " assert that nothing turns to less account than to give land a
great deal of culture." •' To cultivate well is necessary, to cultivate in an extraordi-
nary manner is hurtful." " In what manner then," he asks, " are lands to be culti-
vated to the best advantage?" To this he answers, " In the cheapest manner if it is
good ;" or " by good bad things," which, he says, were the words the ancients used to
express this maxim.
162. Industry is recommended by numerous maxims. " The ancients," says
Pliny, " considered him a bad husbandman who buys what his farm can produce to
him : a bad master of a family, who does in the day-time what he may do at night, ex-
cept in the time of a storm : a worse, who does on common days what is lawful on
holidays : tlie worst of all, who on a good day is employed more within doors than in
the fields." {Nat. Hist, xviii. 6.)
163. Kindnessandhumanity to servants and slaves is^tron^yrecommQndiedi. " Slaves,"
says Varro, " must not be timid nor petulant. They who preside must have some degree
of learning and education ; they must be frugal, older than the workmen, for the latter are
more attentive to the directions of these, than they are to those of younger men. Besides,
it must be most eligible that they should preside, who are experienced in agriculture ;
for they ought not only to give orders, but to work, that they may imitate him, and that
they may consider that he presides over them with reason, because he is superior in
knowledge and experience : nor is he to be suffered to be so imperious to use coercion
with stripes, rather than words, if this can be done. Nor are many to be procured of the
same country, for domestic animosities very often arise from this source. You must en-
courage them who preside, by rewarding them, and you must endeavour to let them have
some privilege, and maid servants wedded to them, by whom they may have a family j
Book L AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. SI
for by these means they become more steady and more attached to the farm. On account
of these connections, the epirotic families are so distinguished and attaclied. To give the
persons who preside, some degree of pleasure, you must hold them in some estimation ;
and you must consult with some of the superior workmen concerning the work that is to
be done : when you behave thus, they think that they are less despicable, and that they
are held in some degree of esteem by their master. They become more eager for work
by liberal treatment, by giving them victuals, or a large garment, or by granting them
some recreation or favor, as the privilege of feeding something on the farm, or some such
thing. In relation to them, who are commanded to do work of greater drudgery, or who
are punished, let somebody restore their good will and aifection to their master by aflbrd-
ing them the benefit of consolation.
164. Knowledge in matters relative to agriculture is inculcated by all the rustic authors.
*« Whoever," says Columella, " would be perfect in this science, must be well acquaint-
ed with the qualities of soils and plants ; must not be ignorant of the various climates,
that so he may know what is agreeable, and what is repugnant to each ; he must know
exactly the succession of the seasons, and the nature of each, lest, beginning his work when
showers and wind are just at hand, his labor shall be lost. He must be capable to ob-
serve exactly the present temper of the sky and masons ; for these are not always regular,
nor in every year does the summer and winter bring the same kind of weather, nor is the
spring always rainy, and the autumn wet. To know these things before they happen,
without a very good capacity, and the greatest care to acquire knowledge, is, in my
opinion, in the power of no man." [Col. lib. i. jyrcef.) To these things mentioned by
Columella, Virgil adds several others. " Before we plough a field to which we are
strangers," says he, " we must be careful to attain a knowledge of the winds, from what
points they blow at the particular seasons, and when and from whence they are most
violent ; the nature of the climate, which in different places is very different ; the cus-
toms of our forefathers ; the customs of the country ; the qualities of the different soils ;
and what are the crops that each country and climate produces and rejects." (^Virg,
Georg. i. 1. 1 . )
1 65. The making experiments is a thing very strongly recommended to the farmer by
some of our authors. " Nature," says Varro, " has pointed out to us two paths, which lead
to the knowledge of agriculture, viz. experience and imitation. The ancient husband-
men, by making experiments, have established many maxims. Their posterity, for the
most part, imitate them ; we ought to do both, imitate others and make experiments our-
selves, not directed by chance, but reason." ( Far, lib. i. cap. 18.)
Sect. V. Of the Produce and Profit of Roman Agriculture.
166. The topics of produce and profits in agriculture, are very difficult to be discussed sa-
tisfactorily. In manufactures the raw material is purchased for a sum certain, and the
manipulation given by the manufacturer can be accurately calculated ; but in farming,
though the rent of the land and price of seed-corn, which may be considered the raw ma-
terials, is known ; yet the quantity of labor required to bring forth the produce, de-
pends so much on seasons, accidents, and other circumstances, to which agriculture is
more liable than any other art, that its value or cost price cannot easily be determined.
It is a common mode to estimate the profits of farming by the numerical returns of the
seed sown. But this is a most fallacious ground of judgment, since the quantity
of seed given to lands of different qualities, and of different conditions, is very dif-
ferent ; and the acre, which, being highly cultivated and sown with only a bushel of seed,
returns forty for one, may yield no more profit than that which being in middling con-
dition requires four bushels of seed, and yields only ten for one.
1 67. The returns of seed sown mentioned by tlje ancients, are very remarkable. We
have noticed Isaac's sowing and reaping at Gerar, (7.) where he received a hundred
for one. In Mark's gospel, ♦* good seed sown upon good ground, is said to bring forth
in some places thirty, in others forty, in others sixty, and in others even an hundred fold."
(Mark iv. 8.) A hundred fold, Varro informs us, was reaped about Garada in Syria,
and Byzacium in Africa. Pliny adds, that from the last place, there were sent to
Augustus by his factor nearly 400 stalks, all from one grain ; and to Nero, 340 stalks.
He says, he has seen the soil of this field, " which when dry the stoutest oxen cannot
plough ; but after rain I have seen it opened up by a share, drawn by a wretched ass on
the one side, and an old woman on the other." {^Nat. Hist, xviii. cap. 5.) The returns
in Italy were much less extraordinary. Va^^ro says, there are sown on a jugerum, four
modii (pecks) of beans, five of wheat, six of barley, and ten of far (maizej ; more or less
as the soil is rich or poor. The produce is in some places ten after one, but in others, as
in Tuscany, fifteen after one." (Lib. i. cap. 44.) This, in round numbers, is at the rate
of twenty-one and thirty-two bushels an English acre. On the excellent lands of Leon-
tinum in Sicily, the produce, according to Cicero, was no more than from eight to ten for
one. In Columella's time, when agriculture had declined, it was still less.
32 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
168. Tkefarmer^sproJU cannot be correctly ascertained ; but, according to a calculation
made by the Rev. A. Dickson, the surplus produce of good land in the time of Varro,
was about fifteen pecks of wheat per acre ; and in the time of Columella, lands being worse
cultivated, it did not exceed three and one-third pecks per acre. What proportion of this
went to the landlord cannot be ascertained. Corn, in Varro's time, was from 4rf. to 5^d.
per peck : seventy years afterwardvS, in the time of Columella, it had risen to I5. 9rf. per
peck. Vineyards were so neglected in the time of this author, that they did not yield
more to the landlord as rent, than 145. or 15s. per acre.
1 69. The price of land, in the time of Columella and Pliny, was twenty -five years' pur-
chase. It was comjnon, both these writers inform us, to receive 4 per cent, for capital so
invested. The interest of money was then 6 per cent. ; but this 6 per cent, was not what
we would call legal interest ; money among the Romans being left to find its value, like
other commodities, of course the interest was always fluctuating. — Such is the essence of
what is known as to the produce, rent, and price of lands among the Romans.
Sect. VI. Of the Roman Agriculturists, in respect to general Science, and the
Advancement of the Art.
170. The sciences cultivated hy the Greeks and Romans were chiefly of the mental and
mathematieal kind. They knew nothing of chemistry or physiology, and very little of
other branches of natural philosophy ; and hence their progress in the practical arts was
entirely the result of observation, experience, or accident. In none of their agricultural
writers is there any attempt made to give the rationale of the practices described ; abso-
lute directions are either given, as is frequently the case in Virgil and Columella ; or the
historical relation is adopted, and the reader is informed what is done by certain persons,
or in certain places ; as is generally the case with Varro and Pliny.
171. Wherever the phcenomena of nature are not accounted for scientifically, recourse is
had to supernatural causes ; and the idea of this kind of agency once admitted, there is
no limit that can be set to its influence over the mind. In the early and ignorant ages
good and evil spirits were supposed to take a concern in every thing ; and hence the
endless and absurd superstitions of the Egyptians, some of which have been already
noticed, and the equally numerous though perhaps less absurd rites and ceremonies of the
Greeks, to procure their favor, or avert their evil influence. Hesiod considered it of
not less importance to describe what works were to be done, than to describe the
lucky and unlucky days for tlieir performance. Homer, Aristotle, Theophrastus, and
all the Greek authors, are more or less tinctured with this religion, or superstition as
we are pleased to call it, of their age.
172. As the Romans made few advances in science, consequently they made equally few in
divesting themselves of the superstitions of their ancestors. These, as most readers
know, entered into every action and art of that people, and into none more than agri-
culture. In some cases it is of importance for the general reader to be aware of this,
before perusing their rustic authors ; as in the case of heterogeneous grafting, and the
spontaneous generation and transmutation of plants, which, though stated by Virgil
and Pliny, and others, as facts, are known to every physiologist to be impossible : but
other relations are too gross to be entertained as truths by any one. Of these we may
mention the lunar days, the impregnation of animals by particular winds, &c. It is
impossible not heartily to concur with Lord Kaimts in congratulating the present age
in the delivery from such " heavy fetters." It is curious to observe the religious eco-
nomy of Cato : after recommending the master of the family to be regular in perform-
ing his devotions, he expressly forbids the rest of the family to perform any, either by
themselves or others, telling them that they were to consider that the master performed
suflficient devotions for the family. (^Cat. cap. 43.) This was probably intended not
only to save time, but also to prevent such slaves as had naturally more susceptible
imaginations than the others, from becoming religious enthusiasts.
173. What degree of improvement agriculture received from the Romans, is a question
we have no means of answering. Agriculture appears obviously to have declined
from the time of Cato and Varro to Pliny ; and therefore any improvement it received
must have taken place antecedently to their era. As these authors, however, generally
refer to the Greeks as their masters in this art, it appears very doubtful whether they
did any thing more than imitate their practice. As a more luxurious people, they
introduced new fruits, and probably improved the treatment of birds, and other minor
products ; but these belong more to gardening and domestic economy, than to field
cultivation. In the culture of corn, herbage, plants, and fruit-trees, and in the
breeding and rearing of cattle, Noah and his sons, the Jews, the Babylonians,
Egyptians, and Greeks, may have been as far advanced as the Romans, for any
thing that appears to the contrary. The great agricultural advantages which mankind
have derived from the Romans, is the diftusion of the art by their almost universal
conquests.
Boot I. AGRICULTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 53
Sect. VII. Of the Extent to uhich Agriculture was carried in the Roman Provinces^
and of its Decline.
174. The art of agriculture tias not only familiar to, but held in estimation by every Roman
soldier. It was practised by him in every foreign country wliere he was stationary ; and
taught to the inhabitants of such as were uncultivated. In some countries, as in
Carthaginia, great part of Spain, and a part of the south-east of France, agriculture
was as far advanced as in Italy ; because at Carthage and Marseilles, the Greeks had
planted colonies, who flourished anterior to the Romans, or at least long before they
extended their conquests to these countries : but in Helvetia, Germany, and Britain, it
was in a very rude state or unknown.
175. In Germany, excepting on the borders of the Rhine, agriculture was never
generally practised. The greater part of the country was covered with forests; and
hunting and pasturage were the chief occupations of the people when not engaged in
war. The decline of the Roman power in that country, therefore, could make very
little difference as to its agriculture.
176. In Britain, according to Caesar, agriculture was introduced by colonies from
Belgium, which took shelter there from the encrdachments of the Belgae from Germany,
about B. C. 150. These colonies began to cultivate the sea coasts ; but the natives of the
inland parts lived on roots, berries, flesh, and milk. It appears from Dio Niceus, that
they never tasted fish, though, in Ossian's time, they were acquainted with catching
birds with hawks trained for that purpose. Pliny mentions the use of marl as being
known to the Britons ; and Diodorus Siculus describes their method of preserving corn,
by laying it up in the ear in caves or granaries.
177. But the general spread of agriculture in ^ntorn was no doubt effected by the Romans.
The tribute of a certain quantity of corn, which they imposed on every part of the
country, as it fell under their dominion, obliged the inhabitants to practise tillage ; and
from the example of the conquerors, and the richness of the soil, they soon not only
produced a sufficient quantity of corn for their own use and that of the Roman troops,
but afforded every year a very great surplus for exportation. The emperor Julian, in
the fourth century, built granaries to receive this corn, and on one occasion sent a fleet
of eight hundred ships, " larger than common barks," to convey it to the mouth of the
Rhine, where it was sent up the country for the support of the plundered inhabitants.
178. Agriculture among the Romans themselves had begun to decline in Varro's time, and
was at a low ebb in the days of Pliny. Many of the great men of Rome, trusting
to their revenues from the provinces, neglected the culture of their estates in Italy ;
others, in want of money to answer the demands of luxury, raised all they could upon
credit or mortgage, and raised the rents of their tenants to an oppressive height to
enable them to pay the interest. The farmer was in this manner deprived of his capital ;
his spirits were broken, and he ceased to exert himself, or became idle and rapacious like
his landlord. The civil wars in the end of the second century ; the tyrannic conduct of
the emperors in the third ; the removal of the seat of empire to Constantinople in the
middle of that which followed ; prepared the way for the entrance of the Goths in the
beginning of the fifth century, which completed the downfal of agriculture and every
peaceful art. It declined at the same time in all the western provinces : in Africa,
and Spain, by the incursions of the Moors ; in France, from the inroads of the Germans ;
in Germany and Helvetia, from the inhabitants leaving their country and preferring
a predatory life in other states ; and in Britain, from the invasion of the Saxons, and
the inroads of the Scots and Picts.
Chap. IIL
History of Agriculture during the Middle Ages, or from the Fifth to the Seventeenth
Century.
179. In the ages of anarchy and barbarism which succeeded the fall of the Roman power
in Europe, agriculture appears to have been abandoned, or at least extremely neglected.
Pasturage, in troublesome times, is always preferred to tillage, because sheep or cattle
may be concealed from, or driven away on the approach of an enemy ; but who would
sow without a certainty of being able to reap ? Happily, the weziknesses of mankind
sometimes serve to mitigate the effects of their vices. Thus, the credulity of the bar-
barians of these times led them to respect the religious establishments, and in these were
preserved such remains of letters and of arts as had escaped from utter destruction.
These institutions were at first very limited, both in their buildings and possessions, and
the inhabitants frugal and virtuous in their habits ; but in a very few years, by the grants
of the rich warriors, they acquired extensive possessions ; erected the most magnificent
D
34 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
buildings, and lived in abundance and luxury. Their lands were cultivated by servants,
under the direction of the priests, who would have recourse for information to the
Roman agricultural writers, which, in common with such other books as then existed,
were almost exclusively to be found in their libraries. We know little of the progress
of agriculture under these circumstances for nearly ten centuries, when it began to
revive throughout Europe among the lay proprietors. We shall notice some particu-
lars relative to this revival, first in Italy, and next in Germany, France, and England.
So little is known of the husbandry of Spain and the Netherlands during this period,
that we shall defer what we have to say of those countries till we treat of their modern
state.
Sect. I. History of Agriculture in Italy during the Middle Ages.
180. Little is known of the agriculture of Italy from the time of Pliny till^ that of
Crescenzio, a senator of Bologna, whose work Li Commodium Ruralium, written in
1300, was first printed at Florence in 1478. He was soon followed by several of his
countrymen, among whom Tatti, Stefano, Augustino Gallo, Sansovino, Lauro, and
Torello deserve to be mentioned with honor. From some records, however, it appears
that irrigation had been practised in Italy previously to 1037. The monks of
Chiarevalle had formed extensive works of this kind, and had become so celebrated as
to be consulted and employed as hydraulic engineers by the Emperor Frederic I. in
the thirteenth century. Silk worms were imported from Greece into Sicily by Roger,
the first king of that island, in 1 146 ; but they did not extend to the continental states
for many years afterwards.
181. In the early part of the fourteenth century, the inhabitants of the south of Italy
were strangers to many of the conveniences of life ; they were ignorant of the proper
cultivation of the vine, and the common people were just beginning to wear shirts.
The Florentines at that time were the only people of Italy who traded with England
and France. The work of Crescenzio is obviously a compilation from the Roman
authors, and therefore cannot be considered as giving an account of the agriculture of
his time; but an edition published at Basil in 1548, and illustrated with figures, may
probably be considered as indicating the implements then in use. The plough is
drawn by only one ox : but different kinds to be drawn by two and four oxen are
described in the text. A driver is also mentioned, which shows that the ploughmen of
those days were less expert than during the time of the Romans, who used none. A
waggon is described with a wooden axle and low wooden wheels ; each yff)^^ oi
wheel formed either out of one piece or of four pieces joined together. '^
Knives, scythes (fg, 21.), and other grafting tools, as well as the mode of
performing the operation, are figured. Sowing was then performed ex-
actly as it was among the Romans, and is still in most parts of
Europe, where a sowing machine is not employed. The various hand (j\ 11
tools for stirring and turning the soil are described and exhibited; and 'J''"^^"
the Roman bidens shown as in use for cultivating the vine. All the
agricultural and horticultural plants described by Pliny are treated of, but no others.
182. Towards the end of the sixteenth century, Tarello's Ricordo d' Agricultura vvas
published. In 1584, Pope Sixtus, according to Harte (£ssay,i.), forced his subjects
to work, that they might pay the heavy taxes imposed on them ; and by this means
rendered them happy and contented, and himself rich and powerful. He found them
sunk in sloth, overrun with pride and poverty, and lost to all sense of civil duties ; but
he recovered them from that despicable state, first to industry, and next to plenty and
regularity. He effected this by a plain maxim, the practice of which however none
but a great genius could have enforced, which was that " a people not pressed by taxes
are apt to grow indolent, and that industry is the only source of riches and plenty to
a state."
183. Naples being at this period a Spanish province, the wars in which Spain was en-
gaged obliged her to put a tax upon fruit; and as fruits were not only the chief de-
licacies but articles of subsistence among the Neapolitans, this imposition is said to
have rendered them industrious. But though some agricultural books were published
at Naples during the sixteenth century, there is no evidence that they ever made much
progress in culture. Tlieir best lands are in Sicily ; and on them a corn crop and a
fallow was and is the rotation, and the produce seldom exceeded eight or ten for one,
as in the time of the Romans. This is the case in Sicily at present ; and it is not
likely to have been different or at least not better from the fifth to the seventeenth
centuries.
1 84. The greatest agricultural improvements in Italy which took place during the
period in question, were in Tuscany and Lombardy. In the former country the culture
of the vine and the olive were brought to greater perfection than any where else in Europe.
The oil of Lucca and the wines of Florence became celebrated in other countries, and
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 35
the commerce in these articles enriched the inhabitants, and enabled the proprietors to
bestow increased attention to the cultivation of their estates. Lombardy excelled in the
culture of corn and cattle as well as of the vine. The butter, cheese, and beef of the
country, were esteemed the best in Italy. The pastures were at that time, and still are,
more productive than any in Europe, or perhaps the world, having the three advantages
of a climate so temperate in winter that the grass grows all the year ; a soil naturally
rich ; and an abundant supply of river water for irrigation. The irrigation of Lom-
bardy forms the chief feature of its culture. It was begun and carried to a considerable
extent under the Romans, and in the period of which we speak extended and increased
under the Lombard kings and wealthy religious establishments. Some idea may be
formed of the comfort of the farmers in Lombardy in the thirteenth century, by the
picture of a farm-house given by Crescenzio, who lived on its borders, which, as a French
antiquarian (Paullnag) has observed, differ little from the best modern ones of Italy,
but in being covered with thatch.
Sect. II. History of Agriculture in France from the Fifth to the Seventeenth
Century.
185. The nations who conquered France in the fifth century were the Goths, Vandals,
and Franks. The two former nations claimed two-thirds of the conquered lands
[Leges Burgundiorum, tit. 54.), and must of course have very much altered both the
state of property, and the management of the affairs of husbandry. The claim of the
Franks is more uncertain ; they were so much a warlike people, that they probably
dealt more favorably with those whom they subjected to their dominion.
1 86. All that is known of the agriculture of these nations and of France till the ninth
century is derived from a perusal of their laws. These appear to have been favorable
to cultivation, especially the laws of the Franks, Horses are frequently mentioned, and
a distinction made between the war horse and farm horse, which shews that this animal
was at that period more common in France than in Italy. Horses, cattle, and sheep,
were pastured in the forests and commons, with bells about the necks of several of them,
for their more ready discovery. The culture of vines and orchards was greatly
encouraged by Charlemagne in the ninth century. He planted many vineyards on the
crown lands which were situated in every part of the country, and left in his capitularies
particular instructions for their culture. One of his injunctions prohibits an ox and an
ass from being yoked together in the same plough.
187. During great part of the ninth and tenth centuries, France was harassed by
civil wars, and agriculture declined ; but to what extent, scarcely any facts are left us
to ascertain. A law, passed in that period respecting a farmer's tilling the lands of his
superior, enacts that if the cattle are so weak that four could not go a whole day in the
plough, he was to join these to the cattle of another and work two days instead of one.
He who kept no cattle of his own was obliged to work for his superior three days as
a laborer.
188. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the country enjoyed more tranquillity, and
agriculture was improved. Judging from the Abbe Suger's account of the abbey lands
of St. Dennis, better farm-houses were built, waste lands cultivated, and rents more
than doubled. The church published several canons for the security of agriculture
during this period, which must have had a beneficial effect, as the greatest proportion of
the best lands in every country were then in the hands of the clergy.
189. In the thirteenth century little alteration took place ; but the number of holidays
were diminished, and mills for grinding corn driven by wind introduced.
1 90. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries agriculture suffered greatly by the
English wars and conquests, and by political regulations relatively to the export and
market price of corn.
191. About the middle of the sixteenth century the first agricultural work produced in
France made its appearance. It was entitled, Les Moyens de devenir riche, and was written
by Bernard de Pallisy, a potter, who had written on various subjects. It is a very short tract,
composed of economical remarks on husbandry, or rural and domestic economy. Towards
the end of this century, under Henry IV., and his virtuous minister Sully, considerable
enterprise was displayed. Canals were projected and one begun, and according to
Sully, France in his time abounded with corn, grain, pulse, wine, cider, flax, hemp,
salt, wool, oil, dyeing drugs, cattle great and small, and every thing else, whether neces.
sary or convenient for life, both for home consumption and exportation. {Mem.
b. xvi. 225. Rankens Hist, of France, i. 433.)
Sect. III. Of the Agriculture of Germany and other Northern States from the Fifth
to the Seventeenth Century.
192. The nations north of the Rhine and the Danube, during the first half of these
centuries, were chiefly employed in making inroads or conquests on their southern neigh-
D 2
36 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
bors ; and during the whole period they were taiore or less engaged in attacking one
another. Under such circumstances, agriculture must either have remained in the state
which we have already described (178.), or it must have declined. In some states or
kino-doms it may have been less neglected than in others, or may even have improved ;
but during the whole of this period, nothing was effected which demands particular
attention.
1 93. The earliest German author on husbandry is Conradus Heresbachius, who was
born in 1508, and died in 1576. His work, De Re Rustica, was published after his
death. It is an avowed compilation from all the authors who had preceded him, and
contains no information as to the state of agriculture around him. It is a dialogue in
four books, and includes also gardening. The persons are Cono, a gentleman retired
tothe country ; Rigo, a courtier ; Metelea, wife of Cono ; and Hermes, a servant.
The conversation is carried on in Cono's house, and on his farm, and the different
speakers are made to deliver all that has been said by all the Greek and Roman writers,
from Hesiod to Pliny, by Crescenzio and other Italians, and by various writers on
general subjects : they converse on the advantages of agriculture as a pursuit ; on its
general maxims and practices ; on the culture of particular plants, and the economy of
the house and garden.
194. No other hooks on agriculture of any note appeared in Germany during the period
under review. About the middle of the sixteenth century, the Elector of Saxony,
Augustus II., is said to have encouraged agriculture, and to have planted the first vine-
yard in Saxony ; but from the implements with which he worked in person, which are
still preserved in the arsenal of Dresden, he appears to have been more a gardener than
a farmer. It is to be regretted that the histories K the arts in the northern countries
during the middle ages are very few, and so little known or accessible, that we cannot
derive much advantage from them.
Sect. IV. History of Agriculture in Britain from the Fifth to the Seventeenth Century.
1 95. Britain, on being quitted by the Romans, was invaded by the Saxons, a ferocious
and ignorant people, by whom agriculture, and all other civilized arts, were neglected.
In the eleventh century, when the Saxons had amalgamated with the natives, and con-
stituted the main body of the English nation, the country was again invaded by the Nor-
mans, a much more civilized race, who introduced considerable improvement. These
two events form two distinct periods in the history of British agriculture, and two
others will bring it down to the seventeenth century.
SuBSECT. 1. History of Agriculture in Britain during the Anglo-Saxon Dynasty, or
from the Fifth to the Eleventh Century,
1 96. At the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons this island, according to Fleury, (History,
vol. iv. p. 97.) abounded in numerous flocks and herds, which these conquerors seized,
and pastured for their own use ; and after their settlement they still continued to follow
pasturage as one of the chief means of their subsistence. This is evident from the great
nnmber of laws that were made in the Anglo-Saxon times, for regulating the prices of all
kiuds of tame cattle, directing the manner in which they were to be pastured, and for
preserving them from thieves, robbers, and beasts of prey. ( Wilkins, Leges Saxon,
passim.)
1 97. The Welsh in thisperiod, from the nature of their country, and other circumstances,
depended still more on their flocks and herds for their support ; hence their laws res-
pecting pasturage were more numerous and minute than those of the Saxons. (Leges
WalliccB, passim. ) From these laws we learn, among many other particulars, which need
not be mentioned, that all the cattle of a village, though belonging to different owners,
were pastured together in one herd, under the direction of one person (with proper
assistants) ; whose oath, in all disputes about the cattle under his care, was decisive.
198. By one of these laws, they were prohibited to plough with horses, mares, or cows,
but only with oxen. (Leges WalliccB, p. 288.) Their ploughs seem to have been very
slight and inartificial ; for it was enacted, that no man should undertake to guide a
plough who could not make one ; and that the driver should make the ropes of twisted
willows, with which it was drawn. (Id. p. 283.) But slight as these ploughs were,
it was usual for six or eight persons to form themselves into a society for fitting out one
of them, and providing it with oxen, and every thing necessary for ploughing ; and
many minute and curious laws were made for the regulation of such societies. This is
a sufficient proof both of the poverty of the husbandmen, and of the imperfect state of
agriculture among the ancient Britons in this period.
199. Certain privileges were allowed to any person who laid dung on a field, cut down
a wood, or folded his cattle on another's land for a year. Such was the state of agri-
culture during this period in AVales ; it was probably in a still more imperfect state
among the Scots and Picts, but of this we have no means of ascertaining.
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 37
200. Our Anglo-Saxon ancestors derived their origin and manners from the ancient
Germans, who were not much addicted to agriculture, but depended chiefly on their
flocks and herds for their subsistence. [Strabo, 1. vii. Ceesar de Bel. Gal. 1. vi.) These
restless and haughty warriors esteemed the cultivation of their lands too ignoble and
laborious an employment for themselves, and therefore committed it wholly to their
women and slaves. (Tacit, de Morib. German, c. 15.) They were even at pains to con-
trive laws to prevent their contracting a taste for agriculture, lest it should render them
less fond of arms and warlike expeditions. {Id. c. 26.)
201 . The division of landed estates into what are culled inlands and outlands, originated
with the Saxon princes and great men, who, in the division of the conquered lands, ob-
tained the largest shares, and are said to have subdivided their territory into two parts,
which were so named. The inlands were those which lay most contiguous to the mansion-
house of their owner, which he kept in his own immediate possession, and cultivated by
his slaves, under the direction of a bailiff, for the purpose of raising provisions for his
family. The outlands were those which lay at a greater distance from the mansion-
house, and were let to the ceorls or farmers of those times at a certain rent, which was
very moderate, and generally paid in kind. (Reliqute Spelmaniamef p. 12.)
202. The rent of land in these times was established by law, and not by the owners of
the land. By the laws of Ina, king of the West Saxons, who flourished in the end of
the seventh and beginning of the eighth century, a farm consisting of ten hides or plough
lands was to pay the following rent, viz. ten casks of honey, three hundred loaves of
bread, twelve casks of strong ale, thirty casks of small ale, two oxen, ten wethers, ten
geese, twenty hens, ten cheeses, one cask of butter, five salmon, twenty pounds of
forage, atid one hundred eels. {Wilkins, Leges Saxon, p. 25.) The greatest part of the
crown lands in every county was farmed in this manner by ceorls or farmers, who in
general appear to have been freemen and soldiers.
203. Very little is known of the implements
or operations of husbandry during this period.
In one of Strutt's plates of ancient dresses,
entitled, Saxon Rarities of the Eighth Cen-
tury, may be seen a picture of a plough and
ploughman, {fig. 22.) This is suflSiciently'
rude, though it has evidently undergone some
improvement by the art of the delineator.
The laborers were no doubt slaves, and the
animals of draught, oxen. The lands be-
longing to the monasteries were by much the
best cultivated; because the secular canons
who possessed them, spent some part of their
time in cultivating their own lands. The venerable Bede, in his life of Easterwin
Abbot of Weremouth, tells us, " That this abbot, being a strong man, and of a humble
disposition, used to assist his monks in their rural labors, sometimes guiding the plough
by its stilt or handle, sometimes winnowing corn, and sometimes forging instruments
of husbandry with a hammer upon an anvil." {Bedce, Hist. Abbat. Weremath. p. 296.)
For in those times the husbandmen were under a necessity of making many implements
of husbandry with their own hands.
SuBSECT. 2, Of the State of Agriculture in Britain after the Norman Conquest, or from
the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Centuries.
204. That the conquest of England by the Normans contributed to the improvement of
agriculture in Britain is undeniable. " For by that event many thousands of husband-
men, from the fertile and well cultivated plains of Flanders, France, and Normandy,
settled in this island, obtained estates or farms, and employed the same methods in the
cultivation of them that they had used in their native countries. Some of the Norman
barons were great improvers of their lands, and are celebrated in history for their skill
in agriculture." " Richard de Rulos, lord of Brunne and Deeping," says Ingulphus,
*' was much addicted to agriculture, and delighted in breeding horses and cattle. Be-
sides inclosing and draining a great extent of country, he imbanked the river Wielland
(which used every year to overflow the neighboring fields) in a most substantial manner,
building many houses and cottages upon the bank ; which increased so much, that in a
little time they formed a large town called Deeping, from its low situation. Here he
planted orchards, cultivated commons, converted deep lakes and impassable quagmires
into fertile fields, rich meadows, and pastures ; and, in a word, rendered the whole
country about it a garden of delights." {Hist. Ingulphi. Oxon. edit. 1684, torn. i.
p. 77, 78.) From the al?ove description, it appears that this nobleman (who was
chamberlain to William the Conqueror) was not only fond of agriculture, but also that
he conducted his improvements with skill and success.
D 3
33
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
205. The Norman clergy^ and particularly the monks, were still greater improvers than
the nobility ; and the lands of the church, especially of the convents, were conspicuous
for their superior cultivation. For the monks of every monastery retained such of their
lands as lay most convenient in their own possession, which they cultivated with great
care, under their own inspection, and frequently with their own hands. It was so much
the custom of the monks of this period to assist in the cultivation of their lands, especially
in seed-time, hay-time, and harvest, that the famous Thomas Becket, after he was
Archbishop of Canterbury, used to go out to the field, with the monks of the monasteries
where he happened to reside, and join with them in reaping their corn and making their
hay. [Chron. Gervas. col. 1400.) This is indeed mentioned by the historian as an act
of uncommon condescension in a person of his high station in the church ; but it is
sufficient proof that the monks of those times used to work with their own hands, at
some seasons, in the labors of the field : and as many of them were men of genius and
invention, they no doubt made various improvements in the art of agriculture. The
twenty-sixth canon of the general council of Lateran, held A.D. 1179, affords a further
proof that the protection and encouragement of all who were concerned in agriculture,
was an object of attention to the church. For by that canon, it is decreed, " That all
presbyters, clerks, monks, converts, pilgrims, and peasants, when they are engaged in
the labors of husbandry, together with the 23
cattle in their ploughs, and the seed
which they carry into the field, shall
enjoy perfect security ; and that all who
molest or interrupt them, if they do not
desist when they have been admonished,
shall be excommunicated." {Id. col.
1456. )
206. The implements of husbandry, in
this period, were of the same kind with
those that are employed at present ; but
some of them were less perfect in their
construction. One sort of plough, for ex-
ample, had but one stilt or handle, which
the ploughman guided with one hand, having in his other hand an instrument which
served both for cleaning and mending his plough, (j?g. 23.) and breaking the clods.
This implement was probably intended for breaking up strong lands ; for such a purpose
the wheels would contribute much to its steadiness, which would render two handles
unnecessary, and thus leave the holder with one hand at liberty to use his axe-
' like instrument in clearing away roots and clods, or otherwise aiding the
operation of the plough. Another plough {fig. 24.) seems to have been without
wheels, and was probably intended for light soil. (See Strutt's Complete View
of the Manners, ^c. of England, vol. ii. p. 12.)
wheels; and, in the light soil of Nor-
mandy, was commonly drawn by one
ox, or two oxen; but in England a
greater number, according to the nature
of the soil, was often necessary. [M.
Montfaucon, Monumens de Monarchie
Francois, torn. i. plate 47. Girald.
Cambrens. Descript. Cambrice, c.l7.) In
Wales, the person who conducted the"^
oxen in the plough, walked backwards. ^
(Id. ibid. ) Their carts, harrows, scythes, sickles, and flails, from the figures of them still
remaining, appear to have been nearly of the same construction with those that are
now used. {Strutt's View, vol. i. plate 26. 32. 33. and V /^-^ 25
o\xr Jig. 25.) In Wales, they did not use a sickle in^
reaping their corn, but an instrument like the blade
of a knife, with a wooden handle at each end. ( Girald.
Cam., ibid.) Water-mills for grinding corn were very
common, but they had also a kind of mills turned
by horses, which were chiefly used in their armies, and
at sieges, or in places where running water was scarce.
{Gaufrid Vinisauf. iter Hierosolymit. I. i. c. 33. M.
Paris. Vit. Abbot, p. 94. col. 2.)
207. The various oj)erations of husbandry, as
manuring, ploughing, sowing, harrowing, reaping,
threshing, winnowing, &c. are incidentally mentioned by the writers of this period ;
but it is impossible to collect from them a distinct account of the manner in which
The Norman plough had two
24
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES.
39
these operations were performed. Marl seems to have been the chief manure next to
dung, employed by the Anglo-Norman, as it had been by the Anglo-Saxon and British
husbandmen. {M. Paris. Hist. p. 181. In Vit. Abbot, p. 101. col. 1.) Summer-
fallowing of lands designed for wheat, and ploughing them several times, appears to
have been a common practice of the English farmers of this period. For Giraldus
Carabrensis, in his description of Wales, takes notice of it as a great singularity in the
husbandmen of that country, " that they ploughed their lands only once a-year, in March
or April, in order to sow them with oats ; but did not, like other farmers, plough them
twice in summer, and once in winter, in order to prepare them for wheat." (^Giral. Cam-
breiis. Descript. Cambria;, c. viii. p. 887.) On the border of one of the compartments
in the famous tapestry of Bayeux, we see the figure of one man sowing with a sheet about
his neck, containing the seed under his left arm, and scattering it with his right hand;
and of another man harrowing with one harrow, drawn by one horse. (Montfaucouy
Monumens de Monarchic Francois, tom. i. plate 47. ) In two plates of Strutt's very
curious and valuable work {Jigs. 26, 27.), we perceive the figures of several persons en-
gaged in mowing, reaping, threshing, and winnowing ; in all which operations there
appear to be little singular or different from modern practice. {^Strutt's Complete View
of the Manners, Customs, ^c. of England, vol. i. plates 11, 12.)
208. Agriculture in Scotland seems to have been in a very imperfect state towards the
end of this period. For in a parliament held at Scone, by king Alexander II. A.D.
1214., it was enacted, that such farmers as had four oxen or cows, or upwards, should
labor their lands, by tilling them with a plough, and should begin to till fifteen days
before Candlemas ; and that such farmers as had not so many as four oxen, though they
could not labor their lands by tilling, should delve as much with hand and foot as would
produce a suflRcient quantity of corn to support themselves and their families. (Regiam
Majestatum, p. 307.) But this law was probably designed for the highlands, and most
uncultivated parts of the kingdom. For in the same parliament a very severe law was
made against those farmers who did not extirpate a pernicious weed called guilde (^Chrysan-
themum segetum, L. ) out of their lands, which seems to indicate a more advanced state
of cultivation. (7rf. p. 335.) Their agricul-
tural operations, as far as can be gathered
from old tapestries and illuminated missals,
were similar to those of England. Thresh-
ing appears to have been performed by women
(Jig. 28.), and reaping by the men (Jig. 29.),
which is the reverse of the modern practice
in that and in most countries. Such is the account of Henry.
{History of Britain, vol. vi. p. 173.)
209. Thejield culture of the vine, m hich had been commenced by
the monks for their own use, was more extensively spread by the
Normans. William of Malmsbury, who florished in the early part of the twelfth
century, says, there were a greater number of vineyards in the vale of Gloucester than
D 4
40 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
any where else, and that from the grapes was produced a wine very little inferior to
that of France. Orchards and cyder were also abundant, and the apple trees, it is said,
lined the roads in some parts of the country, as they still do in Normandy, whence in
all probability the plants or at least the grafts would be imported.
SuBSECT. 3. History of Agriculture in Britain from the Thirteenth to the Seventeenth
Century.
210. Agriculture in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, it appears, was still carried on
with vigor. Sir John Fortescue, in a work in praise of the English laws, mentions the pro-
gress that had been made in planting hedges andhedge-row trees before the end of the four-
teenth century. Judge Fortescue wrote his Legum AngliEe in the fifteenth century, but it
was not published till the reign of Henry VIII. In the lawbook called Fleta (supposed
to have been written by some lawyers, prisoners in the Fleet in 1340), very particular direc-
tions are given as to the most proper times and best manner of ploughing and dressing
fallows. [Fleta, lib. ii. chap. 73. p. 163.) The farmer is there directed to plough no
deeper in summer than is necessary for destroying the weeds ; nor to lay on his manure
till a little before the last ploughing, which is to be with a deep and narrow furrow.
Rules are also given for the changing and choosing seed ; — for proportioning the
quantity of different kinds of seed to be sown on an acre, according to the nature of the
soil, and the degree of richness ; — for collecting^and compounding manures, and accom-
modating them to the grounds on which they are to be laid ; — for the best seasons for
sowing seeds of different kinds on all the variety of soils ; — and in a word, for performing
every operation in husbandry, at the best time, and in the best manner. {Fleta, lib. ii.
chap. 72, 73. 76.) In the same work, the duties and business of the steward, bailiff, and
overseer, of a manor, and of all the other persons concerned in the cultivation of it, are
explained at full length, and with so much good sense, that if they were well performed
the manor could not be ill cultivated. {Ibid. ch. 72. 88. Henry, viii. 267.) This work
as well as others of the kind is written in Latin, and even the farming accounts were those
days kept in that language, as they still are in the greater part of Hungary.
211. During the greater part of the Jfteenth century England was engaged in civil wars,
and agriculture as well as other arts declined. The laborers, called from the plough by
royal proclamation or the mandates of their lords, perished in battle or by accident and
fatigue, in immense numbers. Labor rose in price notwithstanding various laws for its
limitation, and this at last produced a memorable revolution in the state of agriculture,
which made a mighty noise for many years. The prelates, barons, and other great
proprietors of land, kept extensive tracts around their castles, which were called their
demesne lands, in their own immediate possession, and cultivated them by their villains,
and by hired servants, under the direction of their bailiffs. But these great landholders
having often led their followers into the fields of war, their numbers were gradually
diminished, and hired servants could not be procured on reasonable terms. This obliged
the prelates, lords, and gentlemen to enclose the lands around their castles, and to con-
vert them into pasture grounds. This practice of enclosing became very general in
England about the middle of this period, and occasioned prodigious clamors from those
who mistook the efl'ect of depopulation for its cause.
212. The habit of enclosing lands and converting them to iiasture continued after the cause
had ceased, and an act was passed to stop its progress in the beginning of the reign of
Henry VII. The dearths of this period are another proof of the low state of agriculture.
Wheat in 1437 and 1438, rose from 4s. or 45. 6d., the ordinary price per quarter, to
1/. 6s. 8rf., equivalent to 13/. 6s. 8d. of our money. Stow observes that in these
extremities the common people endeavored to preserve their wretched lives by drying the
roots of herbs and converting them into a kind of bread. Land in those days were sold
for ten years' purchase, so great was the insecurity of possession.
213. Agriculture in Scotland was at a low ebb during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and
fifteenth centuries, on account of the long and ruinous wars in which the country was
engaged. A law passed in 1424 enacts, that every laborer of "simple estaste" dig a
piece of ground daily, of seven feet square. Another in 1457, that farmers who had
eight oxen should sow every year one firlot (bushel) of wheat, half a firlot of pease, and
forty of beans, under the pain often shillings to be paid to the baron; and if the baron
did not do the same thing to the lands in his possession, he should pay the same penalty to
the king.
214. Fj'om the accession of Henry VII. in 1485, to nearly the middle of the seventeenth
century, England enjoyed peace. The effects of former wars, however, required a
considerable time to remove. The high price of labor, and the conversion of so much
land to tillage, gave rise to different impolitic statutes, prohibiting the exportation of
corn ; wliile a great demand was created for wool by the manufacturers of the Nether-
lands, which tended to enhance the value of pasture lands, and depopulate the country.
The flocks of individuals, in these times, sometimes exceeded twenty thousand ; and
an act was passed by Henry VIII., restricting them to a tenth of that number, ap-
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 41
parently eluded by the partial exception of hereditary opulence. Had the restraints
imposed on the exportation of corn been transferred to wool, the internal consumption
would have soon regulated the respective prices of those articles ; the proportion between
arable and pasture lands would soon have been adjusted, and the declining cultivation
of the country prevented. An improved cultivation was reserved, however, for a future
period, when persecutions extirpated manufactures from the Netherlands ; when the
exportation of English wool had subsided, and its price diminished, the farmer or land-
holder, disappointed of his former exuberant profits, discovered the necessity of resuming
the plough, and again restoring his pastures to culture. [Henry ^ xii. 261.)
215. The first English treatise on husbandry appeared during Henry VIII. 's reign, by
Sir A. Fitzherbert, judge of the common pleas. It is entitled The Book of Husbandry y
and contains directions for draining, clearing, and enclosing a farm ; and for enriching
and reducing the soil to tillage. Lime, marl, and fallowing are strongly recommended.
The landlords are advised to grant leases to farmers who will surround their farms, and
divide them by hedges into proper enclosures ; by which operation, he says, '' if an acre
of land be worth six pens (folds of sheep), before it be enclosed, it will be worth eight pens
when it is enclosed, by reason of the compost and dunging of the cattle." Another
reason is, that it will preserve the corn without the expence of a herdsman. From the
time of the appearance of this work, in 1534, Harte dates the revival of husbandry in
England.
216. The culture of hops in the present period was either introduced or revived in
England ; and flax was attempted, but without success, though enforced by law. {Hol-
inshead, p. 110, 111. 24 Hen. 8. c. 4.) Legislature at that time endeavored to exe-
cute, by means of penalties, those rational improvements which have since been fostered
and cherished by bounties ; or what is better pursued from the common motive of self-
interest.
217. The breeding of horses was now much encouraged. To the passion of the age,
and the predilection of the monarch for splendid tournaments, may be attributed the
attention bestowed on a breed of horses of a strength and stature adapted to the
weight of the complicated panoply with which the knight and his courser were both
invested. Statutes of a singular nature were enacted, allotting for deer parks a certain
proportion of breeding mares, and enjoining, not the prelates and nobles only, but
those whose wives wore velvet bonnets, to have stallions of a certain size for their
saddle. The legal standard was, fifteen hands in horses, thirteen in mares, and
"unlikely tits" were, without distinction, consigned to execution. (27 Hen. 8. cap. 6.
36 Hen. 8. cap. 13. Vide Barringtons Observations 07i the Statutes, p. 443.) James
the Fourth, with more propriety, imported horses from foreign countries to improve the
degenerate breed of his own. (Pitscottiey p. 153.) Artificial grasses for their winter
provender were still unknown ; nor were asses propagated in England till a subsequent
period. (Holinshead, p. 220. Polydore, Virgil, p. 13. Henry, xiu 268.
218. Of the state of agriculture in Scotland during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
little can be stated. According to Major (Historia Uritannicce, Paris, 1526.), a native
of Berwick, " the peasants neither enclosed nor planted, nor endeavored to ameliorate
the sterility of the soil." Such wheat as was required, must have been supplied from
other countries; for, according to Fynnis Moryson, the produce of the country con-
sisted chiefly of oats and barley. Diflferent laws were enacted for planting groves and
hedges, and pruning orchards, gardens, and parks for deer : but it is not the barren
injunctions of statutes that will excite a spirit of improvement in a country.
SuBSECT. 4. History of Agriculture from the Death of Henry VIII. in 1547, to the
Revolution in 1688.
219. Agriculture, so&n after the beginning of the sixteenth century, partook of the general
improvement which followed the invention of the art of printing, the revival of lite-
rature, and the more settled authority of government ; and, instead of the occasional
notices of historians, we can now refer to regular treatises, written by men who engaged
eagerly in this neglected, and hitherto degraded, occupation.
220. The first and best of early agricultural works is, The Book of Husbandry, already
mentioned (215.), printed in 1534. This was followed, in 1539, by The Book of
Surveying and Improvements, by the same author. In the former treatise we have a
clear and minute description of the rural practices of that period ; and from the latter
may be learned a good deal of the economy of the feudal system in its decline. The
author of The Book of Husbandry writes from his own experience of more than forty
years ; and, if we except his biblical allusions, and some vestiges of the superstition
of the Roman writers about the influence of tlie moon, there is very little of his work
that should be omitted, and not a great deal that need be added, in so far as regards the
culture of corn, in a manual of husbandry adapted to the present time. It may sur-
prise some of the agriculturists of the present day, an eminent agricultural writer re-
marks, to be told, that, after the lapse of almost three centuries, Fitzherbert's practice,
42 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
in some material branches, has not been improved upon ; and that in several districts
abuses still exist, which were as clearly pointed out by him at that early period as
by any writer of the present age. His remarks on sheep are so accurate that one might
imagine they came from a storemaster of the present day. Those on horses, cattle, &c.
are not less interesting ; and there is a very good account of the diseases of each species,
and some just observations on the advantage of mixing different kinds in the same
pasture. Swine and bees conclude this branch of the work. He then points out the
great advantages of enclosures ; recommends " quycksettynge, dychynge, and hedgyng;"
and gives particular directions about the settes, and the method of training a hedge, as
well as concerning the planting and management of trees. We have then a short inform-
ation " for a yonge gentylman that intendeth to thryve," and a "prolouge for the wives'
occupation," in some instances, rather too homely for the present time. Among other
things, she is to " make her husband and herself some clothes;" and "she may have
the lockes of the shepe, either to make blankettes and coverlettes, or both." This is not
so much amiss ; but what follows will bring our learned judge into disrepute, even with
our most industrious housewives. " It is a wive's occupation to wynowe all manner or
cornes, to make make, to washe and wrynge, to make heye, shere corne, and, in time of
nede, to helpe her husbande to fyll the muckewayne or dounge carte, drive the ploughe,
to loade heye, corne, and suche other. And to go or ride to the market, to sel butter,
chese, mylke, egges, chekyns, capons, hennes, pygges, gese, and all manner of cornes."
The rest of the book contains some useful advices about diligence and economy ; and
concludes, after the manner of the age, with many pious exhortations. (^Encyc. Brit.
art. Jgr.)
221. The state of agriculture in England in the early part of the sixteenth century , and
probably for a long time before, is thus ascertained ; for Fitzherbert no where speaks of
the practices which he describes or recommends as of recent introduction. The Book of
Surveyinge adds considerably to our knowledge of the rural economy of that age.
" Four maner of commens" are described ; several kinds of mills for corn, and other
purposes, and also " quernes that goo with hand ;" different orders of tenants, down to
the " boundmen," who, " in some places contynue as yet;" — " and many tymes, by
color thereof, there be many freemen taken as boundmen, and their lands and goods is
taken from them." Lime and marl are mentioned as common manures; and the
former was sometimes spread on the surface to destroy heath. Both draining and irri-
gation are noticed ; though the latter but slightly. And the work concludes with an
inquiry " How to make a township that is worth XX marke a yere worth XX li. a-
year :" this is to be done by enclosing, by which, he says, live stock may be better kept
and without herds ; and the closes or fields alternately cropped with corn, and " let lye"
for a time.
222. Agriculture had attained a considerable degree of respectability during the reign of
Elizabeth. According to Tusser, who wrote in that age, and whose work will be after-
wards noticed, agriculture was best understood in Essex and Suflblk ; at least enclosures
were more common in these counties than in any other, which is always a proof of
advancement. A farmer, according to Harrison the geographer, " will thinke hisgaines
very small towardes the end of his terme if he have not six or seven years rent lieing
by him, therewith to purchase a new lease ; beside a fair garnish of pewter on his cup-
board, with as much more in odd vessels going about the house ; three or four feather-
beds ; so many coverlets, and carpets of tapestrie ; a silver salt ; a bowle for wine, if not
a whole neast; and a dozen of spoones to furnish owte the sute." (^Harrisons De-
scription of England, p. 188.)
223. The condition of a yeoman before or about Elizabeth's time, is exemplified in the
case of Bishop Latimer's father. " My father," says Hugh Latimer, " was a yeoman,
and had no land of his own ; only he had a farm of three or four pounds by the year at
the utmost; and hereupon he tilled so much as kept half a dozen men. He had a walk
for a hundred sheep ; and my mother milked thirty kine, &c. He kept his son at
school till he went to the university, and maintained him there ; he married his daugh-
ters with five pounds, or twenty nobles a-piece ; he kept hospitality with his neighbours,
and some alms he gave to the poor ; and all this he did out of the said farm." (Gilpin's
Life of Latimer.)
224. Cattle were not plentiful in England at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign. In
1 563 it was enacted, that no one should eat flesh on Wednesdays or Fridays, on for-
feiture of three pounds, unless in case of sickness, or of a special licence, neither of
which was to extend to beef or veal. (Stnt. 5 Eliz. cap. 4.) Great pains were taken in
the act to prove that it was a political, not a religious measure,
225. The vast number of parks in the kingdom are complained of by Harrison. ** There
are not less," he says, '* than an hundred in Essex alone, where almost nothing is kept
but a sorte of wilde and savage beasts, cherished for pleasure and delight." And pur-
suing the same subject, he says, " that if the world last a while after this rate, wheate
and rie will be no graine for poore men to feed on." {Description of Britaine, p. 168.)
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 43
226. In Scotland the civil dissensions, and even anarchy, v^hich prevailed until a late
period in the sixteenth century, operated as a harsh check on every improvement in
agriculture. Even the total expulsion of ecclesiastical landholders increased this evil ;
as the monks were easy landlords, and frequently not uninstructed in georgical know-
ledge. The tillers of the earth in Scotland had at least their full share of their country's
misfortunes, when private vengeance for private wrongs superseded the regular but timid
proceedings of public justice. A statute was then formed for their particular benefit,
whereby {Stat. 110. Pari. 7 Jac. 6.) '' the slayers and houchers (houghers) of horses
and uther cattel," with their employers and maintainers, are declared *'to have incurred
the paine of death, and confiscation of alle their gudes movvabil." A second act passed
in 1587 for the further protection of husbandmen, declaring all such as destroyed or
maimed horses, oxen, &c., cut or destroyed ploughs or plough-geers (in time of tilling),
or trees and corn, should suffer death. {Stat. 83. Pari. 2 Jac. 6.) Several acts
of parliament were made to protect the farmers from petulant tithe-gatherers ; the proper
times of notice were herein pointed out, and liberty given to the tiller of the land to pro-
ceed in his work if this notice was neglected. The last {Stat. 84. Pari. 2 Jac. 6.)
confirmed and explained the others. {Andrew's Continuation of Henry s Hist. ii. 124.)
227. Great attention was still paid to the breed of horses in England; but during
the reign of Elizabeth it was found necessary to lower the standard appointed by
Henry VIII. for stallions, from fourteen hands to thirteen. This modification, how-
ever, was only to take place in the counties of Cambridge, Huntingdon, Northampton,
Lincoln, Norfolk, and Suffolk. {8 Uliz. cap. 8.) No stallion of less height could be
turned out on commons, forests, &c. for fear of diminishing the breed. Harrison extols
the height and strength of the English draught-horses ; five or six of them, he says,
will with ease draw three thousand weight of the greatest tale for a long journey. As
to the number of horses in the realm, some judgment may be formed from the quota
which Elizabeth, when she moved her place of residence, demanded from the country in
the neighborhood of her palace. This was 24,000 ; " a far less traine," says the reverend
writer, " than those of the kings of other nations." {Description of Britaine, p. 220. )
228. An English traveller, who visited Scotland in 1598, observed a great abundance of all
kind of cattle, arid many horses ; not large, but high-spirited and patient of labor. {Mory-
sorCs Itin. part iii. p. 154.) Great care, indeed, was taken by the English, while the
kingdoms were separate, to prevent the Scots from improving their breed by southern
stallions; it was even made felony to export horses thither from England. (1 Eliz.
cap. 7.) This unneighborly prohibition was answered by a reciprocal restriction in
1567, as to the exportation of Scottish horses {Stat. 22, Pari. 1 Jac. 6.); but France,
rather than England, seems to be pointed out by that statute. One circumstance
pointed out by a curious antiquary {Paper apud Transactions of Sc. Aut. Soc. vol. i.
p. 171.), is a convincing proof of the modern improvement in the breed. For many
years past eight nails have been used to each horse's shoe in the north ; six used to be the
number.
229. The proper season for turning; horses to grass was thought a consideration worthy the attention of
the Scottish government, avowedly to prevent the waste of corn. All horses were, therefore, ordered to
be put to grass from May 15 to Oct. 15, on pain of forfeiting each horse, or its value, to the king. Gen-
tlemen of 1000 marks, yearly rent, and all upwards, are excepted. {Stat. 122. Pari. 1 Jac.Q.)^ The
1st of June was substituted in a subsequent act {Stat. 56. Pari. 2 Jac. 6.) for the 15th of May.
230. The vine in England continued to be cultivated for wine ; but not generally, for
the vineyards of the Lords Cobham and Williams of Thames, are pointed out by Bar-
naby Gooch as emimently productive. It is probable this branch of culture declined
with the suppression of the monasteries, and the more general culture of barley ; as far-
mers and others would soon find that good beer was a cheaper and better drink than any
wine that could be made in this country. Though the potatoe was introduced in this
reign by Capt. Hawkins from Santa F6 in 1 565, yet it did not come into general use,
even in gardens, for nearly two centuries afterwards.
23 1 . The jmncipal agricultural authors of Elizabeth's reign are, Tusser, Googe, and
Sir Hugh Piatt. Thomas Tusser was born at Rivenhall in Essex, in 1527. Having
a fine voice, he was impressed for the royal chapel, and sang in St. Paul's, under a
celebrated musician. " Afterwards he was a scholar at Eton, and next a student at
Cambridge. He next became, by turns, musician, farmer, grazier, and poet ; but al-
ways unsuccessfully, although guilty neither of vice nor extravagance. " His Five Hun-
dred Points of Husbandry was published in 1562, and has been recommended bv Lord
Molesworth to be taught in schools. {Some Considerations for the promoting of Agricul-
ture and employing the Poor, Dublin, 1 723. ) It is written in hobbling verse, and contains
some useful notices concerning the state of agriculture in different parts of England.
Hops, wliich had been introduced in the early part of the sixteenth century, and on the
culture of which a treatise was published, in 1574, by Reynolde Scott, are mentioned as
a well-known crop. Buck-wheat was sown after barley. It seems to have been the
practice then, in some places, to " geld fillies" as well as colts. Hemp and flax are
mentioned as common crops. Enclosures must have been numerous in several counties;
44
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Pajit I.
and there is a very good " comparison between champion (open fields) country, and
severall." There is nothing to be found in Tusser about serfs, or bondmen, as in Fitz-
herbert's works. {Encyc. Brit. art. Jgriciil.)
232. The next writer is Barnaby Googe, a Lincolnshire gentleman, whose Whole Art of Husbandry was
printed in 1758. It is, for the most part, made up of gleanings from all the ancient writers of Greece and
Rome, whose absurdities are faithfully retained ; with here and there some description of the practices of
the age, in which there is little novelty or importance. Googe mentions a number of English writers
who lived about the time of Fitzherbert, whose works have not been preserved.
233. Sir Hugh PlatVs Jewel Houses of art and nature was printed in 1594. It is chiefly a compilation
from other writers. The author appears to have been a lawyer of Lincoln's Inn, but he had a seat in
Essex, and another in Middlesex, where he spent great part of his time. The Rev. William Harrison,
a cotemporary of Piatt, and chaplain to baron Cobham, wrote a description of Britain, and translated
Bcethius's History of Scotland. In the former work are many valuable hints on the progress of hus-
bandry in the early part of the reign of Elizabeth. Among other curious things he asserts that the
Spanish, or Merino sheep, was originaUy derived from England.
234. The seventeenth century is distinguished by some importantimprovements in agricul-
ture, among which are the introduction of clovers and turnips in England ; of hedges
in Scotland and Ireland; and the execution of extensive embankments and drainages.
Some useful writers also appeared, especially Norden, Gabriel Plattes, Sir Richard
Weston, Hartlib, and Blythe, to which may be added Evelyn.
235. For the adoption of the clover and turnip as agricultural plants, we are indebted to
Sir Richard Weston, who, in 1 645, gives an account of their culture in Flanders, where
he says, he " saw it cutting near Antwerp on the 1st of June 1644, being then two feet
long, and very thick ; that he saw it cut again on the 29th of the same month, being
twenty inches long ; and a third time in August, being eighteen inches long." Blythe,
in 1653, is copious in his directions for its cultivation; and Lisle (Obs. on Husbandry),
in the beginning of the eighteenth century, speaks of it as commonly cultivated in Hamp-
shire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and other counties.
236. Turnips, the same patriotic author observes, '* are cultivated for feeding kine
in many parts of England ; but there is as much difference between what groweth in
Flanders and here, as is between the same thing which groweth in a garden and that
which groweth wild in the fields." It is probable the English turnips he alludes to, were
rape, which is mentioned by. Googe, in 1586 : but though Gerarde, in 1597, and Par-
kinson, in 1629, mention the turnip as a garden vegetable, yet neither of these authors
give the least hint of their field culture ; be that as it may, Ray, in 1686, informs us,
that they are sown every where in fields and gardens both in England and abroad for the
sake of their roots. Lisle also, in 1707, mentions their being common in Norfolk,
Hampshire, Berkshire, and various counties. The common story, therefore, that their
culture was first introduced by Charles Lord Viscount Townsend, cannot be true ; but
their culture was probably greatly improved by him, when he retired from public busi-
ness to Rainham in Norfolk, in 1730.
237. Thejirst notices of sheep beingfed on the ground with turnips, is given in Houghton's
Collections on Husbandry and Trade, a periodical work begun in 1681. In 1684, Wor-
lidge, one of Houghton's correspondents, observes, '* sheep fatten very well on turnips,
which prove an excellent nourishment for them in hard winters, when fodder is scarce ;
for they will not only eat the greens, but feed on the roots in the ground, and scoop them
hollow even to the very skin." *' Ten acres," he adds, *' sown with clover, turnips, &c.
will feed as many sheep as one hundred acres thereof would before have done." [Hough-
ton s Collections, vol. iv. p. 142 — 144.) .
238. Potatoes, first introduced in 1565, (230.) were at this time beginning to attract no-
tice. *' The potatoe," says Houghton, " is a bacciferous herb with esculent roots, bearing
winged leaves, anda 5e/Z flower." — " This, I have been informed, was brought first out of
Virginia by Sir Walter Raleigh ; and he stop-
ping at Ireland, some was planted there,
where it thrived very well, and to good pur-
pose ; for in their succeeding wars, when all
the corn above ground was destroyed, this
supported them; for the soldiers, unless they'
had dug up all the ground where they grew,
and almost sifted it, could not extirpate them.
From thence they were brought to Lanca-
shire, where they are very numerous, and now '
they began to spread all the kingdom over. '
They are a pleasant food, boiled or roasted,
and eaten with butter and sugar. There
is a sort brought from Spain that are of a
longer form, {Convolvulus batatas), {fig.
30.), and are more luscious than ours
they are much set by, and sold for sixpence'
or eightpence the pound." [lb. vol. ii. p. 468.)
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 45
239. Embankments were made on the eastward of England, in various places by
the Romans, when in possession of the country, and afterwards by some wealthy
religious houses, and the government. Considerable exertions were made at Boston
durino- the reigu of Henry VII., under the direction of Mayhave Hake, a Flemish
engineer, and fourteen masons : but the principal effort, as far as respects gaining
land for agricultural purposes, was made under Cromwell's reign, by Col. Vermuy-
den, a Fleming, who served in his army. Speaking of this engineer's exertions, Harte
observes, *' if my account stands right (and it comes from the best authority extant), our
kingdom in the space of a few years, till the year 1651 only, had recovered, or was
on the point of recovering, in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, and
Kent, 425,000 acres of fens and morasses, which were advanced in general, from
half-a-crown an acre to twenty and thirty shillings. So that, perhaps, few statesmen and
generals have better deserved a statue or monument from this country than Vermuyden,
the principal undertaker."
240. The exportation of corn was regulated by various laws, during the sixteenth cen-
tury; and importation was not restrained even in plenty and cheapness. In 1663 was
passed the first statute for levying tolls at turnpikes. Enclosures by consent and by act
of parliament began also to be made during this century.
241. The agriculture of Scotland during the Jifteenth and sixteenth centuries continued
to languish, especially upon the estates of the barons, where the profession of a soldier
was regarded as of greater importance than that of a cultivator of the ground ; but the
ecclesiastical lands were considerably improved, and the tenants of them were generally
much more comfortably circumstanced than those upon the estates of laymen. The re-
formation of religion, beneficial as it was in other respects, rather checked than promoted
agricultural improvement ; because the change of property, which then occurred, occa-
sioned a similar change of tenantry, and almost took husbandry out of the hands of the
monks, the only class of people by whom it was practised upon correct principles. The
dissolution of the monasteries and other religious houses was also attended by injurious con-
sequences in the first instance ; though latterly the greatest benefit has been derived from
tithes and church lands having come into the hands of laymen. It is probable, had not these
circumstances occurred, that the tithe system would have still remained in force, and
Scottish husbandry have continued under a burthen, which sinks and oppresses the cul-
tivator of England and Ireland. But tithes having got into the hands of lay titulars, or
impropriators, were in general collected or farmed with such severity as to occasion the
most grievous complaints, not only from the tenantry, but also from the numerous class
of proprietors, who had not been so fortunate as to procure a share of the general spoil.
ITiis, added to the desire shown by the crown to resume the grants made when its power
was comparatively feeble, occasioned the celebrated submission to Charles L, which ended
in a settlement, that in modern times has proved highly beneficial, not only to the interest
of proprietors, but likewise to general improvement. Tithes, in fact, are a burthen, which
operate as a tax upon industry, though it was a long time before the beneficial conse-
quences of withdrawing them were fully understood. (Edin. Encyc. art. Agr.)
242. Of the state of agriculture in Scotland during the greater part of the seventeenth
century very little is known ; no professed treatise on the subject appeared till after the
revolution. The south-eastern counties were the earliest improved, and yet, in 1660,
their condition seems to have been very wretched. Ray, who made a tour along the
eastern coast in that year, says, " We observed little or no fallow grounds in Scotland ;
some ley ground we saw, which they manured with sea wreck. The men seemed to be
very lazy, and may be frequently observed to plough in their cloaks. It is the fashion of
them to wear cloaks when they go abroad, but especially on Sundays. They have neither
good bread, cheese, nor drink. They cannot make them, nor will they learn. Their
butter is very indifferent, and one would wonder how they could contrive to make it so
bad. They use much pottage made of coalwort, which they call kail, sometimes broth
of decorticated barley. The ordinary country houses are pitiful cots, built of stone, and
covered with turfs, having in them but one room, many of them no chimneys, the win-
dows very small holes, and not glazed. The ground in the valleys and plains bears very
good corn, but especially bears barley or bigge and oats, but rarely wheat and rye."
{Select Remains of John Ray. Lond. 1760.)
243. It is probable that no great change had taken place in Scotland from the end of the fifteenth century
except that tenants gradually became possessed of a little stock of their own, instead of having their
farms stocked by the landlord. " The minority of James V., the reign of Mary Stewart, the infancy of
her son, and the civil wars of her grandson Charles I., were all periods of lasting waste. The very laws
which were made during successive reigns for protecting the tillers of the soil from spoil, are the best
proofs of the deplorable state of the husbandman." {Chalmers^ Caledonia, vol ii. p. 732. Encyc. Brit.
art. Agr.
244. The accession of James V. to the crown of England is understood to have been
unfavorable to the agricultural interest of Scotland ; inasmuch as the nobles and gentry
46 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
being by that event led into great expenses, raised the rents of the tenantry considerably,
whilst the very circumstance which occasioned the rise, contributed to lessen the means
of the tenant for fulfilling his engagements. Scotland, however, was much benefited by
the soldiers of Cromwell, who were chiefly English yeomen, not only well acquainted with
husbandry, but, like the Romans at a former period, studious also to improve and en-
lighten the nation which they had subdued. The soldiers of Cromwell's army were
regularly paid at the rate of eightpence per day, a sum equal at least to the money value
•f two shillings of our currency ; and as this army lay in Scotland for many years, there
was a great circulation of money through the country. Perhaps the low country districts
were at that time in a higher state of improvement than at any former period. In the
counties of Lanark, Renfrew, Ayr, and Kickcudbright, the rentals of various estates
were greater in 1660 than they were seventy years afterwards ; and the causes which
brought about a declension in value are ascertained without difficulty. The large fines
exacted from country gentlemen and tenants in these counties, during the reign of
Charles II. and his brother James, were almost sufficient to impoverish both proprietors
and cultivators, had they even been as wealthy as they are at the present day. In addi-
tion to those fines, the dreadful imprisonments, and other oppressive measures pursued by
those in power, equally contrary to sound policy and to justice and humanity, desolated
large tracts, drove the oppressed gentry and many of their wealthy tenants into foreign
countries, and extinguished the spirit of industry and improvement in the breasts of those
who were left behind.
245. Yet in the seventeenth century were those laws made which paved the way for the
present improved system of agriculture in Scotland. By statute 1633, landholders were
enabled to have their tithes valued, and to buy them either at nine or at six years pur-
chase, according to the value of the property. The statute 1685, conferring on landlords
a power to entail their estates, was indeed of a very different tendency, in regard to its
effects on agriculture. But the two acts in 1695, for the division of commons, and separ-
ation of intermixed properties, have facilitated in an eminent degree the progress of im-
provement. (Ency. Brit. art. Agr.)
246. The literary history of agriculture during the seventeenth century is of no great
interest till about the middle of that period. For more than fifty years after the ap-
pearance of Gooche's work, there are no systematic works on husbandry, though several
treatises on particular departments of it. From these it is evident, that all the different
operations of the farmer were performed with more care and correctness than formerly ;
that the fallows were better worked ; the fields kept free of weeds, and much more
attention paid to manures of every kind. A few of the writers of this periqd deserve to
be shortly noticed.
247. Sir John Norden's Surveyor's Dialogue ^ printed in 1607, is a work of consider-
able merit. The first three books of it relate to the rights of the lord of the manor, and
the various tenures by which landed property was then held, and the obligations which
they imposed : among others, we find the singular custom, so humorously described in
the Spectator, about the incontinent widow riding upon a ram. In the fifth book, there
are a good many judicious observations on the " different natures of grounds, how they
may be employed, how they may be bettered, reformed, and amended." The famous
meadows near Salisbury are mentioned ; and when cattle have fed their fill, hogs, it is
pretended, " are made fat with the remnant, namely, with the knots and sappe of the
grasse." So many extravagant assertions have been made about these meadows by
several of our early writers, that we ought to receive their statements with some degree
of scepticism, wherever they seem to approach the marvellous. " Clover grass, or the
grass honeysuckle," (white clover), is directed to be sown with other hayseeds.
** Carrot-roots" were then raised in several parts of England, and sometimes by farmers.'*
London street-dung, and stable-dung, was carried to a distance by water ; though it ap-
pears from later writers to have been got almost for the trouble of removing. And
leases of twenty-one years are recommended for persons of small capital, as better than
employing it in purchasing land ; — an opinion that prevails very generally among our
present farmers.
248. Bees seem to have been great favorites with these early writers ; and among
others, there is a treatise by Butler, a gentleman of Oxford, called the Feminine Monar-
chie, or the History of Bees, printed in 1 609, full of all manner of quaintness and
pedantry.
249. Markham, Mascall, Gabriel Plattes, Weston, and other authors belonged to
this period. In Sir Richard Weston's Discourse on the Husbandry of Brabant and
Flanders, published by Hartlib, in 1645, we may. mark the dawn of the vast improve-
ments which have since been effected in Britain. This gentleman was ambassador from
England to the Elector Palatine and King of Bohemia, in 1619, and had the merit of
being the first who introduced the great clover, as it was then caUed, into English
Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 47
agriculture, about 1655, and probably turnips also. In less than ten years after its in-
troduction, that is, before 1 645, the culture of clover, exactly according to the present
method, seems to have been well known in England ; and it had then made its way even
to Ireland.
250. A great many works on agriculture appeared during the time of the common-
wealth, of which Blythe's Improver Improved, and Hartlib's Legacy, are the most
valuable. The first edition of the former was published in 1649, and of the latter in
1 650 ; and both of them were enlarged in subsequent editions. In the first edition of
the Improver Improved, no mention is made of clover, nor in the second of turnips ; but,
in the third, published in 1662, clover is treated of at some length ,- and turnips are re-
commended as an excellent cattle crop, the culture of which should be extended from
the kitchen garden to the field. Sir Richard Weston must have cultivated turnips before
this ; for Blythe says, that " Sir Richard affirmed to himself, he did feed his swine with
them ; they were first given boiled, but afterwards the swine came to eat them raw,"
and, " would run after the carts and pull them forth as they gathered them;" an ex-
pression which conveys an idea of their being cultivated in the fields.
251. Blythe's book is the first systematic work in which there are some traces of the convertible husbandry,
80 beneficially established since, by interposing clover and turnip between culmiferous crops. He is a
great enemy to commons and common fields ; and to retaining land in old pasture, unless it be of the
best quality. His description of different kinds of ploughs is interesting ; and he justly recommends such
as were drawn by two horses (some even by one horse), in preference to the weighty clumsy machines
which required four horses or oxen, or more. Almost all the manures now used seem to have been then
well known ; and he brought lime himself from a distance of twenty miles. He speaks of an instrument
which ploughed, sowed, and harrowed at the same time ; and the setting of com was then a subject of
much discussion. " It was not many years," says Blythe, " since the famous city of London petitioned
the parliament of England against two anusancies or offensive commodoties, which were likely to come
into great use and esteem ; and that was Newcastle coal, in regard of their stench, &c. ; and hops, in
regard they would spoyle the taste of drinck, and endanger the people !"
252. Hartlib's Legacy is a very heterogeneous performance, containing among some very judicious
directions, a great deal of rash speculation. Several of the deficiencies which the writer (R. Child)
complains of in English agriculture, must be placed to the account of our climate, and never have been
Bor can be supplied.
253. Houghton's valuable collections of husbandry have been already mentioned. (237. )
254. Worlidge's Systema Agricultura was published in 1668; it treats of improve-
ments in general, of inclosing of meadows and pastures, and of watering and draining
them. Of clovers, vetches, spurry Wiltshire long-grass, (probably that of the meadows
of Salisbury-iorin), hemp, flax, rape, turnips, &c. A Persian wheel was made by his
direction in Wiltshire, in 1 665, that carried water in good quantity above twenty feet
high, for watering meadows, and another near Godalming in Surrey. Sowing clover and
other seeds, preserved the cattle in the fatal winter of 1673, in the southern parts of
England ; whereas in the western and northern, through defect of hay and pasture,
the greater part of their cattle perished. Hops enough were not planted, but we im-
ported them from the Netherlands of a quality not so good as our own. The authors he
chiefly quotes are Weston, Hartlib, and Blythe.
255. Among other writers of this century may be mentioned Bacon, who, in his natural
history, has some curious observations on agriculture; Ray, the botanist, whose works
are rich in facts ; and Evelyn, a great encourager of all manner of improvements, as
well as a useful writer on planting.
256. Som£ of the works of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are now very scarce,
and most of them little known to agriculturists of the present day. In almost all of
them there is much that is now useless, and not a little trifling and foolish ; yet the
labor of perusal is not altogether fruitless. He who wishes to view the condition of
the great body of the people during this period, as well as the cultivator who still ob-
stinately resists every new practice, may, each of them, be gratified and instructed, in
tracing the gradual progress of improvement, both in enjoyment and useful industry.
{Encyc. Brit. art. Agr.)
Sect. V. History of Agriculture in ultra European Countries during the Middle Ages.
251. Tlie general history of the old ultra European countries during this period, is not
known with sufficient precision and detail to enable us to give a progressive account of
their agriculture. There is no evidence of any improvement having been made in the
agriculture of the Indian and Chinese nations from the earliest period of their known
history to the present time. The agriculture of Persia, of the African shores of the
Mediterranean sea, and of all the countries under the Turks, seems, if any change has
taken place, rather to have declined than advanced during the latter centuries of the
middle ages.
258. The history of the new ultra European countries of America and Australasia only
dates its commencement (with the exception of part of America) from the latter end of the
period under notice ; and thferefore cannot furnish sufficient materials for any useful
account of their agriculture. Under these circumstances we think it better to defer an
48 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part L
Recount of the origin and progress of ultra European agriculture till the succeeding
chapter, where it will precede some account of its present state. We have adopted the
same plan with respect to the agriculture of some of the northern European nations, as
Russia, Sweden, and Spain, and also of Ireland.
Chap. IV.
Present State of Agriculture in Europe.
259. Agriculture began to be studied as a science in the principal countries of Europe
about the middle of the 16th century. The works of Crescenzio in Italy, Liebault in
France, Heresbach in Germany, Herera in Spain, and Fitzherbert in England, all
published about that period, supplied the materials of study, and led to improved prac-
tices among the reading agriculturists. The art received a second impulse in the middle
of the century following, after the general peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. Then, as Harte
has observed (Essai/s, i. p. 62.), *' almost all the European nations, by a sort of tacit
consent, applied themselves to the study of agriculture, and continued to do so, more
or less, even amidst the universal confusion that soon succeeded. " During the 18th
century, the march of agriculture has been progressive throughout Europe, with little
exception ; and it has attained to a very considerable degree of perfection in some
districts of Italy, in the Netherlands, and in Great Britain. In Spain it has been least
improved, and it is still in a very backward state in most parts of Hungary, Poland,
and Russia. We shall, in the following sections, give such notices of the agriculture
of these and the other countries of Europe as our limits permit, and refer our readers to
original works containing more ample information.
Sect. I. Of the present State of Agriculture in Italy.
260. Italy is the most interesting country of Europe in respect to its rural economy.
Its climate, soils, rivers, and surface are so various, as to have given rise to a greater
variety of culture than is to be found throughout the rest of Europe ; while the number
of governments and petty states into which it is divided have occasioned an almost
equally great variety in the tenure of land, and the political circumstances which affect
the cultivator. The great advantage which Italy possesses over the rest of Europe, in
an agricultural point of view, is its climate ; for though, as professor Symonds has
shewn (Annals ofAgric. vol. i.), it is, in point of health and agreeableness, one of the
worst in the world ; yet, the cool temperature of some of the northern districts admits
of the finest pastures ; while, from the warmth of others, the rocky sides of hills are as
productive of grapes and olives as the plains are in corn. It is the only country in
Europe, with the exception of some parts of Spain, where corn, grass, butchers' meat,
cheese, butter, rice, silk, cotton, wine, oil, and fruits are produced, all in the highest
degree of perfection. Only a fifth of its surface is considered sterile ; while only a
fifth of the surface of France is considered fertile. The population of Italy is greater in
proportion to the surface, than that of either France or Britain.
261 . The writers on the rural economy of Italy are, Arthur Young, in 1 788 ; Sigismondi,
in 1801 ; and, Chateauvieux, in 1812. From the works of these authors, from
those of Forsyth, Wilson, and other recent tourists, and from our own observations
in 1819, we shall select some of the most characteristic traits as to the agriculture of
Italy, adopting the division of Chateauvieux of the region of irrigation, and the rotation
of crops, in Lorabardy ; the region of vines and olives exemplified in Tuscany ; the
region of insalubrious air, or the states of the church ; and the region of volcanic ashes,
or the Neapolitan culture.
SuBSECT. 1 . Of the Agriculture of Lombardy.
262. The climate of Lombardy is less irregular than that of some other districts. It
is temperate on the declivities of the mountains in Piedmont, where the richest sheep-
pastures are produced ; subject to great vicissitudes and to severe storms at the base of the
Alps, and warm and humid in the plain of the Po. In some parts the olive and the
orange endure the open air throughout the year, as in the islands of the lakes ; in other
places, at Milan for example, they require nearly as much protection in winter as in
England.
263. The soil of the plain of the Po has evidently been formed by the recession or
deposition of water, and is a rich black mould, deep, and every where perfectly level.
264. These lands are every where enclosed, either with hedges and ditches, or with open
water-courses, for irrigation. The hedges, however, are not very well kept ; they are a
mixture of different plants ; often chiefly of willows ; occasionally of the mulberry for
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN ITALY.
49
feeding the silkworms, and sometimes of reeds. The hedge -plants of the country are
the Christ's thorn (zizt/phns paliwnis, Ij. Jig' 31.), common hawthorn, and pomegranate.
265. The lands are generally farmed by metayers
(from meta, Lat. one half.) The landlord pays the
taxes, and repairs the buildings. The tenant provides
cattle, implements, and seed ; and the produce is di-
vided. In some cases the landlord's half is delivered
to him in kind ; in others it is valued annually at
harvest, and paid in money, or partly in money, and
partly in produce. There are some farmers who"
have leases, generally for short periods, not exceed-
ing nine years, and pay fixed rents. The size of farms '
is from ten to sixty acres ; but there are a few of two
or three hundred acres. These, however, are chiefly
cultivated by the proprietors. Farm-houses are of
brick, sometimes stuccoed, and covered with tiles. They are not always detached ;
but two, three, or more farmeries are often grouped together, and their united build-
ings might be mistaken for those of one large ferm. One side of a square contains
the houses of the farmers, the stables, and cattle-sheds ; and the three others are sheds,
supported by columns, and open on all sides, for implements and produce. The metayers
never get rich, and are seldom totally ruined; they are not often changed; the same
farm passes from father to son, like a patrimonial estate.
266. Landed property is generally managed by a steward or factor (fattore), whose
business it is to inspect the cultivation of the lands, to direct repairs, pay taxes and
tithes, and see that the landlord has his proper share of the produce. Tithes have
been greatly lessened by the sale of a great part of the church lands at the revolution ;
but are still taken in kind, or commuted for, in order to suj)port the parish clergy.
There is no poor-rate here, nor indeed in any part of the world but in Britain.
267. The irrigation of Lombardy is its most remarkable feature. The antiquity of the
practice has been already noticed (180.) In most states of Italy, the right and property
of all rivers; and in some, as Venice, that even of springs and rain, are considered as
vested in the king or government. All canals taken from rivers are, therefore, purchased
from the state, and may be carried through any person's lands, provided they do not pass
through a garden, or within a certain distance of a mansion, on paying the value of
the ground occupied. Such canals, indeed, are generally considered as enhancing the
value of the property they pass through, by enabling them to purchase water, which is
sold by the hour, half-hour, or quarter ; or, by so many days' run at certain fixed times
in the year. The right to water from such canals may even be purchased ; and Arthur
Young mentions that the fee-simple for an hour's run per week, through a sluice of
a certain dimension, near Turin, was, in 1788, 1500 livres. The water is not only used
for grass-lands, which, when fully watered, are mown four and sometimes five times a
year, and in some cases (<?. g. Prato Marcila) as early as March ; but is conducted between
the narrow ridges of corn-lands, in the hollows between drilled crops, among vines,
or to flood lands, a foot or more in depth, which are sown with rice. It is also used for
combles, or depositing a surface of mud, in some places where the water is charged with
that material ; and this is done somewhat in the manner of what we call warping. The
details of watering, for these and other purposes, are given in various works ; and col-
lected in those of professor Re. In general, watered lands let at one-third higher than
lands not irrigated.
268. The implements and operati4)ns of agriculture in Lombardy are both very imper-
fect. The plough is of very rude contrivance, with a handle thirteen or fourteen feet
ng. It is drawn by two oxen without a driver or reins, the ploughman using a long
light rod or goad. The names given to the different parts
the plough are corruptions or variations of the Roman
terms already mentioned (111.) Corn is generally beaten
out by a wheel or large fluted cylinder (Jig. 32.), which is
turned in a circular tract somewhat in the manner of a
bark-mill in England.
269. The cattle of Piedmont are, in some cases, fed with extraordinary care. They
are tied up in stalls ; then bled once or twice ; cleaned and rubbed with oil ; after-
wards combed and brushed twice a day : their food in summer is clover, or other green
herbage ; in winter a mixture of elm-leaves, clover-hay, and pulverized walnut-cake
over which boiling water is poured, and bran and salt added. Where grains (pouture)
can be procured, they are also given. In a short time, the cattle cast their hair, grow
smooth, round, fat, and so improved as to double their value to the butcher. (Mem. delta
Sac. Agr. vol. i. p. 73.)
£
50
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
270. The dairies on the j^lain of the Po, near Lodi, produce the Parmesan cheese. The
peculiar qualities of this cheese depend more on the
manner of making than on any thing else. The cows
are a mixed breed, between the red Hungarian, or
Swiss cow^, and those of Lombardy. The chief pecu-
liarity in their feeding is, that they are allowed to
eat four or five hours in the twenty-four ; all the rest
of the time they are stalled, and get hay. Both their
pasture and hay are chiefly from irrigated lands. The
cheeses are made entirely of skimmed milk ; half of
that which has stood sixteen or seventeen hours, and
half of which has stood only six hours. The milk is
heated and coagulated in a cauldron [Jig. 33.), placed r;
in a very ingenious fire-place, being an inverted semi- jl
cone in brick-work, Avell adapted for preserving heat '\.
and the use of wood as fuel. Without being taken
out of the cauldron, the curd is broken very small by ?t-^i5^'M
an implement, consisting of a stick with cross wires
it is again heated, or rather scalded, till the curd, now a deposition from the whey, has
attained a considerable degree of firmness ; it is then taken out, drained, salted, and
pressed, and in forty days is fit to put in the cheese-loft. The peculiar properties of this
cheese seem to depend on the mode of scalding the curd ; though the dairyists pre-
tend that it also depends on the mode of feeding the cows. Where one farmer has not
enough of cows to carry on the process himself, it is common for two or more to join and
keep a partnership account, as in Switzerland.
271. Sheep are not common in Lombardy : there are flocks on the mountains, but in
the plains only a few are kept in the manner pigs are in England, to eat refuse vegetables.
The Merino breed was introduced, and found not to succeed.
272. The rotations of crops are not so remarkable for preserving fertility as for profitable
produce, provided a great return is obtained. That, however, is not often the case. As
examples, we may mention; 1. maize drilled ; 2. 3. and 4. wheat; 5. maize drilled ; 6. 7.
and 8. wheat. Anotheris; I. fallow; 2. 3. and 4. rice; 5. fallow; 6. wheat and clover, &c.
Hemp, flax, lupins, rape, millet, panic, rye, and sometimes oats, with other crops, enter
into the rotations. Ilice is reckoned the most profitable crop; and next, wheat and millet.
The rice-grounds receive but one ploughing, which is given in the middle of March, and
the seed sown at the end of the same month, sometimes in water up to the seedsman's
knees ; but more frequently the water is not let on till the rice is come up. The water is
then admitted, and left on the ground till the beginning of June, when the crop is weeded
by hand, by women half naked, with their petticoats tucked to their waists, wading in the
water ; and they make so droll a figure, that parties are
often made at that season to go and view the rice-grounds.
When the weeding is finished, the water is drawn off for^
eight days, and it is again drawn off when the ear begins
to form, till formed ; after which it is let in again till the
rice is nearly ripe, which is about the end of August or
beginning of September. The produce is from ten to
twenty fold.
273. Among the herbage crops cultivated, may be men-
tioned chiccory ( fig. 34. ), very common in the watered
meadows, rib-grass, also very common, oat-grass, and some
other grasses ; but not nearly the variety of grasses found in
the English meadows and pastures; fenugreek [Trigonella,
L.), clovers, lucerne, saintfoin, and in some places burnet
and spurry.
274. Among the trees grown hy the farmer, the mulberry
predominates, and is pollarded once or oftener every year
for the silkworm. The tree is common in the hedge-rows,^
and in rows along with vines parallel to broad ridges. The-
vine is generally cultivated ; trained or rather hung on mulberry, maple, or flowering
ash pollards, or climbing up tall elms, or in the hedges, or against willow-poles or rude
espalier rails, ifg. 35.) The olive is not very common, but is .
planted in schistous declivities in warm situations; apple, pear, I Vk
and greengage plums are common. " ^ ^
275. Though the agriculture of Lombardy appears to
jrractised more for subsistence than for the employment of
capital, and the acquisition of riches ; yet, from the effect of
irrigation in producing large crops of grass, the profits of
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ITALY. 51
rearing silk, and the rigid economy of the farmers, it is thought by Chateau rieux that
it sends more produce to market than any district of Italy. [ItcUi/^ &c. Let. iv.)
SuBSECT. 2. 'Of the Agriculture of Ttiscany.
276. The jncture nf the agriculture of Tuscany given by Sismondi, a distinguished
literary character of Geneva, who resided five years as a cultivator in that country, is well
known. Sismondi arranges the rural economy of this district into that of the plains, the
slopes, and the mountains ; and we shall here state the most interesting or characteristic
circumstances which occur in his work, or that of Chateauvieux, under these heads. Ac-
cording to Forsyth, one half of Tuscany is mountains which produce nothing but
timber; one-sixth olive and vine hills, and the remaining third plain. The whole is
distributed into eighty thousand fattorie, or stewardships. Each fattorie includes, on an
average, seven farms. This property is divided among forty thousand families or cor-
porations. The Riccardi, the Strozzi, the Feroni, and the Benedictines rank first in the
number. The clergy keep the farmers well disciplined in faith, and through the terror of
bad crops, they begin to extort the abolished tithes. This was in 1802 : tithes are again
fully established imder the Austrian power.
277. The climate of Tuscany is esteemed the besfcin Italy, with the exception of that
of its maremme, or pestilential region on the sea-coast. The great heats commence at
the end of June, and diminish in the middle of September ; the rest of the year is a per-
petual spring, and vegetation in the plains is only interrupted for two or three weeks in
the middle of winter. On the mountains, there is snow all the year ; and the hilly dis-
tricts enjoy a temperate but irregular weather in summer, and a winter of from one to
three months.
278. The soil of the plains is either sand or a mud of ** inexpressible fertility ;" some
parts were marshy, but the surface is now comparatively elevated and enriched (as was
that of the Delta) by combles, or warping, a process ably described by Sismondi.
(Agr. Tuscan. § ii-)
279. Irrigation in tlie plains is practised in all the different modes as in Lombardy,
but on a smaller scale correspondent with their extent.
280. The plain is every where enclosed ; the fields are parallelograms, generally one
hundred feet broad, and four or five hundred feet long, surrounded by a ditch
planted with Lombardy poplars and vines, with rows lengthways, of mulberries, maple or
the flowering or manna ash, also interspersed with vines ; and 36
often by the way-sides, hanging in festoons, from taH elms ~
(fig. 36.). The poplars supply leaves for feeding heifers,
rods wliich are sold for making espaliers for vines, and spray
for fuel. Every now and then a few are cut down for timber,
as at twenty years they are found to be too large for the situ
ation. The top of the ash and maple is used for fuel ; the
timber for implements of husbandry. The mulberry is pol-
larded every other year for the leaves, which are stripped off
for the silkworms, and the spray used as fuel. The produce
of raw silk is one of the most important in Tuscany, and is almost the only article
the farmer of the plains has to exchange for money. He has wine also, it is true, but
that, though produced in abundance, is of so wretched a quality, compared with that of
the hills, that it brings but little. Hedges are only planted on the road sides to keep off
beggars and thieves, who are very numerous, and who steal the grapes and the ears of
maize. Sometimes the grapes next the road are sprinkled with mud or lime-water to
deter them ; at other times a temporary dead fence of thorns is used during the ripening
season and taken down afterwards. The hedge plants are the hawthorn, sloe, bramble,
briar, evergreen rose, ilex, service, myrtle, pomegranate, bay, laurel, &c.
281. In the arable lands of the plains the row and mostly the raised drill-culture is
generally followed, or the land is ploughed into beds of three or four feet broad, between
which water is introduced in the furrows. Every year a third of the farm is turned
over with a spade to double the depth of the plough, so as to bring a new soil to the sur-
face. The sort of trenching which effects this is performed differently from that of any
other country; the spade being thrust in horizontally or obliquely, and the trench formed
by taking off successive layers from the top of the firm side, and turning them regularly
over in the trench. In this way the surface is completely reversed.
282. The rotation of crops in the plain includes a period of three or five years, and five
or seven crops. There are, for a three-year's course ; 1. wheat or other grain, and lupins
in the autumn ; 2. corn of some sort, and turnips or clover in the autumn ; 3. maize,
panic, or common millet, and Indian or black millet [Holcus sorghum) . Corn is cut
about the end of June close to the earth, left to dry a day or two, and then tied in bundles
(hottes), and put in cocks for a week or two. At the end of this period the ears are cut
off and beaten out on a smooth prepared piece of ground in the farm-.yard. The straw
E 2
52
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
is stacked, and the corn cleaned by throwing it with shovels, &c. The corn is laid up
till wanted in oval excavations in dry ground, which are covered with tiled roofs. The
excavations are lined with straw ; one holds from twenty to an hundred sacks, and being
covered with straw, is heaped over with earth. In this way it is kept in perfect pre-
servation a year or longer, and untouched by insects. The lupins sown after wheat, are
often ploughed-in for manure ; sometimes French beans are substituted and the ripe seeds
used as food, or turnips are sown for cattle. They have few sorts of turnips that are
good ; and Sismondi complains that half of them never bulb. Maize is sown in drills,
and forms a superb crop in appearance, and no less important, constituting the principal
food of the lower classes in every part of Italy where the chestnut does not abound.
When the male flowers of the maize begin to fade, they are cut off by degrees, so as not
to injure the swelling grain ; the leaves are also cut off about that time, cattle being re-
markably fond of them. In the plain of Bologna, hemp, flax, and beans, enter into the
rotation.
283. Cattle in the plains are kept constantly in close warm houses, and fed with weeds,
leaves, or whatever can be got. The oxen in Tuscany are all dove colored ; even those
which are imported from other states, are said to change their coat here. They are guided
in the team by reins fixed to rings which are inserted in their nostrils ; sometimes two
hooks, jointed like pincers, are used for the same purpose. In general, only one crop
in four is raised for the food of cattle, so that these are not numerous ; it may thus appear
that manure would be scarce, but the Tuscan farmers are as assiduous in preserving
every particle both of human and animal manure as the Flemings.
284. The farm-houses of the plain of ^^iti^ 3 7
Tuscany, according to Lasteyrie {^Coll.
de Mach, &c. ), are constructed with more
taste, solidity, and convenience than
in any other country on the Continent.
They are built of stones generally, in
rubble work, with good lime and sand,
which becomes as hard as stucco, and
they are covered with red pantiles.
The elevation {fg. 37.) presents two.
deep recesses, the one a porch or com-"'
mon hall to the ground floor, or husban-
dry part of the edifice (a) ; and the other
above it to the dwelling family apartments.
The ground floor consists of this porch,
which is arched over (a), a work-shop
(i), a harness and tool-room (c), pigstye
(rf), poultry house (e), a stove (/),
staircase (g), stable (A), cow or ox house
(i), and sheep house (k). The dwelling
floor consists of the upper gallery or
open hall (Z , which serves as a sort of
kitchen work-room or scullery, a kitchen
(m), a master and mistress' room (n), a
girls' room (o), and a boys' room ( ;;), a
store room (5-), and silkworm room (r).
285. The peasants, or farmers, of the
plains are for the most part metayers ; their
farms are from five to ten acres, each hav-
ing a house and oflSces, like that just de-
scribed, towards its centre. Some pay a
fixed rent on short leases ; and some hold
farms on improving leases which extend
to four generations. They are more than
economical; never taste butcher meat
but on Sunday. The three repasts of
the other days are either of porridge of
maize, and a salad ; porridge of bread
and French beans, seasoned with olive
oil ; or some sort of soup. In general the whole family remains at home, and aid their
parents in performing the labors of the farm. Seldom any but the oldest son marries ;
and when the father dies he succeeds in his turn, and his brothers and sisters serve him as
they did their father till they die oS, and are replaced by their nephews and nieces. Such
s the stateof things which, as Chateauvieux has observed, is the result of early civilization
and excessive population.
72^
TT
M
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN ITALY.
53
286. The culture of the hills and declivities, Chateauvieux supposes to have been
introduced from Canaan at the time of the crusades. But though that culture, and
also the irrigation system, have, no doubt, been originally copied from that country and
Egypt ; yet some think it more likely to have been imported by the Romans or the priests,
than by the chivalric adventurers of the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
287. The soil of the hills is in general either schistous or calcareous on a pliable rocky
or gravelly bottom. It is cut into horizontal terraces of different widths according to the
steepness of the declivity, and each terrace is supported by a wall or sloping bank of turf
or stones. Intercepting gutters are formed every sixtj' or seventy feet in the direction of
the slope to carry off the waters which do not smk in the rainy season. Sismondi
considers the turfed terraces of the hills of Nievole (^fg. 38. ) the most elegant. On the
38
terraces of the most rapid and least favorably exposed slopes, olives are planted ; on the
best exposure, vines. Where the terrace is broad, one or more rows of mulberries, and
sometimes of fig trees, are planted, and between these, where the soil is not too dry, early
crops of grain or legumes are taken. The walls of turf are mown.
288. The olive being an evergreen and in a state of growth all the year, requires a more
equable climate than the vine ; but it will grow on any dry soil, and in an inferior ex-
posure, because the fruit never ripens till the hoarfrosts have commenced. The young
plants are raised from cuttings or suckers in a nursery, and in the same manner in
which it was during the time of the Romans. " An old tree is hewn down, and the
* ceppo' or stock (that is, the collar or neck between the root and the trunk, where m all
plants the principle of life more eminently resides,) is cut into pieces of nearly the size
and shape of a mushroom, and which from that circumstance are called * novali ;'
care at the same time is taken that a small portion of bark shall belong to each * novalo •'
these, after having been dipped in manure, are put into the earth, soon throw up shoots,
are transplanted at the end of one year, and in three years are fit to form an olive yard."
( Blunt' s Vestiges, &c. 216.) They are planted in rows generally fifteen feet apart, and
the same distance between the rows.
289. The olive is of very slow growth but of great duration. Some plantations exist, which
are supposed to be those mentioned by Pliny, and therefore must have existed nearly two
thousand years, if not more. In one of these, which we have seen in the vale of
Marmora near Terni, the trunks of many trees have rotted at the core, and the cir-
cumference split open and formed several distinct stems. Though in ruins, these trees
still bear abundant crops. The olive requires little pruning, and is seldom otherwise
manured than by sowing lupins under it, and digging them in. The fruit becomes
black in November ; is gathered in the course of that and the three following months •
and ground in a stone trough by a stone turned by a water-wheel. The paste formed by
the fruit, and its kernels, is then put in a hair cloth and pressed, and the oil drops in a tub
of water somewhat warm, from which it is skimmed and put in glass bottles for sale, or
glazed jars for liome consumption. The paste is moistened and pressed a second and
third time for oils of inferior quality. The crop of olives is very uncertain ; sometimes
one that yields a profit does not occur for six or eight years together, as in the culture
of wine and cider : and these departments of culture on the Continent are considered
as injurious to the peasant, because in the year of plenty he consumes his superfluous
profits without laying any thing aside to meet the years of loss. Hence the remark
common in France and Italy, that wine and oil farming is less beneficial than that of
corn.
E 3
54 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt I.
290. The vine on the hills is generally raised where it is to remain by planting cuUings ;
but it is also planted with roots procured by layering : in either case, it seldom bears fruit
till the fifth year after planting. It is trained on trees, poles, and trellised roofs, over
paths, and different kinds of espalier rails. The poles are of barked chestnut, and the lesser
rods used are generally of reeds {Arundo donax, L.j, the latter forms a profitable article
of culture on 'the brink of water-courses for this purpose. These reeds last from one to
four years, according to their size. The ties made use of both in the hills and plains are
of willow, often the yellow or golden sort. The general maxim in pruning
is to leave as much wood to a single root as possible, in order to prevent two
shoots from proceeding from one eye, in which case both are generally barren.
They give no summer pruning ; but when the fruit is nearly ripe, they cut off
the extremities of the shoots for the sake of the leaves as forage, and to admit
the sun and air more directly to the fruit. The pruning hook they use {Jig. 39. )
is not unlike a hand-hedgebill. The fruit is gathered by women, and put
into baskets and hampers ; carried to a tub or cistern of masonry, where it hes^.
and ferments, being frequently stirred, but not pressed, as in France and other parts of
Italy. The management of the wine is not considered good ; and there are but few
sorts of Tuscan wine that will keep above a year.
291. The potatoe, little known in Lombardy, was introduced in the hills of Tuscany
by Sismondi, but was little cultivated or esteemed. It is only known, he says, to the gar-
deners of Florence and Leghorn. If not taken up about the middle of July the tubers
are either burned and rotted by the heat, or they germinate at every bud. An early sort,
he thinks, might be introduced both in the plain and hill culture with great advantage.
292. The hill farmers, like those of the plains, are generally metayers, and rent their
farms, which seldom exceed seven or eight acres ; and the most general conditions of their
lease (bail), according to Mr. Simonds, are the following : 1 . The farmer engages to
cultivate the lands, and find the requisite props for the vines. 2. To advance the' half of
the seed, and the half of the dung that is obliged to be purchased. 3. To deliver to
the proprietor half the crop, or sell it for his account. 4. To divide with the proprietor
the profit made on cattle, and to deliver a certain number of eggs, chickens, and capons
in lieu of that on poultry. 5. To wash the whole or a part of the proprietor's linen,
he finding soap. The proprietor on his part engages to advance the other half of the
seed, and of the manure which must be purchased ; to be at the expence of making up
new grounds and other radical improvements, to effect repairs, &c., and to find the first
props for newly planted vines. This contract goes on from year to year, and can only
be dissolved by a year's notice ; changes, however, very seldom take place. The con-
ditions in some places are more severe for the farmer ; and on oil and certain other
articles he only recovers a third of the profits.
293. The culture of the mountains of Tuscany consists of the harvesting of chest-
nuts, the management of live stock, and of forests. The chestnut trees, Sismondi is of
opinion, have been originally planted, but they now receive no other care than that of
replacing a worn-out tree by a young one, and cutting out dead wood, which is done
more for the sake of fuel than any thing else. The fruit is gathered in November, after
it drops on the turf: it is eaten either in its natural state, or it is ground into meal and
prepared as flour. Such as are to be ground, are first kiln dried ; next, the chest-
nuts are put into small bags, which hold half a bushel each, and these are beat against
the ground till the outer husk is removed ; they are then taken out, the outer husks
separated, and the chestnuts replaced, and beat as before till the inner husk comes off';
they are then cleaned in the wind, and sent to a corn-mill to be ground. The flour
they produce has no bran, and is mild and sweet, and keeps well. Lands covered with
chestnuts are valued not by their extent, but by the number of sacks of fruit annually
produced. Chestnut flour is chiefly used in the form of porridge or pudding. In
the coffee houses of Lucca, Pescia, and Pistoia, pates, muflSns, tarts, and other articles
are made of it, and are considered delicate.
294. The culture of sheep in the viountains is rude and unprofitable, and so little is
mutton esteemed in Tuscany that it always sells at two or three sous a pound under
every other meat. The sheep are pastured all the summer under the chestnut trees ; but
in October, when the fruit begins to fall, they are then sent to the maremmes, where they
remain till the May or June following, at the cost of not more than a penny a head.
A wretched cheese is made from the milk ; but bad as it is, it is better than what is
made from the milk of goats or cows. The Tuscans, indeed, are so averse to believe
that good cheese can be produced from the latter animals, that they consider the Dutch
and other excellent foreign cheeses which they purchase at Leghorn, as all made from the
milk of sheep.
295. Forests of timber trees cover the highest parts of the mountains. From these the
peasants derive their sources of profit, independently of the sale of timber, which is very
limited, owing to the difficulty of carriage. Hogs are pastured there, left to thqmselves
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ITALY. 55
the whole year, and only sought for when wanted for the butcher. Their flesh is excel-
lent, and being very abundant in the markets of most parts of Italy, is not dear. Acorns
are collected in some places, and sold to the farmers of the plains for feeding swine.
The cones of the Pinus pinea {Jig. 40.) are
collected, and the seeds taken out ; these are
much esteemed, and bear a high price. The
same thing is, in spme places, done with the
cones of the wild pine^ commonly but erro-
neously called the Scotch fir [Pinus sylves-
tris, L. ), whose seeds are equally good, though
smaller. Strawberries, bramble berries, goose-
berries, currants, raspberries, and other wild
fruits, are collected and either sold publicly
in the markets of the plains, or privately to
the confectioners for flavoring ices ; an article
in great demand throughout all Italy. Sismondi seems to have been the first who
noticed that the black mulberry was grown in the mountains for its leaves, being consi-
dered as hardier than the white. The fruit was only eaten by children. In the plains
and gardens of Italy the mulberry is scarcely known as a fruit tree, though the white
species is every where grown for the silkworm.
296. The mountain farmers are generally proprietors of their farms. They live
together in villages, which are very numerous; many of them hire themselves to the
farmers of the maremmes when there is a scarcity of population, to assist in their harvests ;
and with the money saved in this way, and by ^sending fruits, collected by their wives
and children, to the towns in the plains, they are generally better off" than the farmers
of the hills, or of the low country.
297. The agricultural establishment of Rossore may be mentioned as belonging to
Tuscany. It is situated at the gate of Pisa, and was founded by the family of Medici, in
the time of the crusades, and now belongs to government. A league square of ground,
which was so poor and sandy as to be unfit for culture, was surrounded by a fence, and
having been left to itself, has now the appearance of a neglected park. A building was
erected in its centre as a lodge, and interspersed in the grounds were built stables and sheep
houses. The park was stocked with an Arabian stallion and a few mares, and some Asiatic
camels ; and these were left to breed and live in a state of nature. About the beginning
of the present century a flock of Merino sheep was added. The horses have formed
themselves into distinct tribes or troops, each of fifteen or twenty mares governed by a
stallion. These tribes never mix together, each has its quarter of pasture which they
divide among themselves without the interference of shepherds. The shape of these
horses is wretched, and the spare or superfluous ones are sold only to fuel drivers
(coalmen, Carbonari,) and the post. There are more than two hundred camels which
associate together, and multiply at pleasure. They are worked in the plough and cart,
and the spare stock supplies all the mountebanks of Europe, who buy them at the low
price of six or seven louis each. The next feature of this establishment is a herd of 1800
wild bulls and cows, fierce and dangerous : the superfluous stock of these is either hunted
and killed for their hides and flesh , or sold alive to the farmers to be fed or worked. The
flock of Merinos are but lately introduced. Such are the chief features of this establish-
ment ; which Chateauvieux terms a specimen of Tatar culture : it is evident it has no
other art or merit than that of allowing the powers and instincts of nature to operate in
their own way : it forms a very singular contrast to the highly artificial state of rural
economy in Tuscany.
SuBSECT. 3. Of the Agriculture of the Maremmes ^ or the District of Pestilential Air.
298. The extent of this district is from Leghorn to Terracina in length ; and- its
widest part is in the states of the church; it includes Rome, and extends to the base of
the Appennines.
299. The climate of the maremmes is so mild that vegetation gOfes on during the whole
of the winter ; but so pestilential that there are scarcely any fixed inhabitants in this
immense tract of country, with the exception of those of the towns or cities on its
borders. ,
300. T/ie surface is flat or gently varied ; and tlie soil in most places deep and rich.
In the maremmes of Tuscany it is in some places a blue clay abounding in sulphur and
alum, and produces almost nothing but coltsfoot [tussUago).
301. The estates are generally extensive, and let in large farms at fixed rents, to men
of capital. The maremmes of Rome, forty leagues in extent^ are divided only into a
few hundred estates, and let to not more than eighty farmers. These farmers grow
corn, and jjasture oxen of their own ; and in winter they graze the wandering flocks of
the mountains of Tuscany and other states at so nmch a head. The corn grown is
E 4
56
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I-
chiefly wheat, which is reaped by peasants from the mountains, some of whom also stay
and assist in sowing the succeeding crop ; whence, the whole disappear ; and the ma-
remmes remain a desert with a few men, whom Chateauvieux designates as « halt
savages, who run over these solitudes like Tatars, armed with long lances, and covered
with coarse woollens and untanned skins." The lance they use in huntmg down the
oxen when any are to be caught for the butcher, or to break-m for labor ; and the
clothing alluded to has been recommended by the medical men of Rome, as the most
likely to resist the attacks of the malaria (bad air), or pestilence.
302 The agricultural impler^ients and operations differ little from those of other parts
of Italy. The plough, or araire, of Rome {fig. 41.), is a rude implement, with a broad
flat share, on the hinder end of which the .. ^
ploughman stands; and thus drawn along,
his weight makes a deeper furrow. Two
strips of wood (the bin(B auris of Virgil),
about eighteen inches long, are often attached
to the share, diverging a little from each other,
and these serve to lay open the furrow like
our mould-board. In the operation of pro-
pagating the vine, cuttings are planted in
trenches four feet deep, into which stones have been previously thrown, for the alleged
purpose of encouraging moisture about the roots. The same mode was practised in
42
Virgil's time. {Georg.
ii. 346.) The common
Roman cart {f,g. 42.),
is supposed to have
been originally design-
ed by the celebrated
Michael Angelo, in his«
quality of engineer and
wheeler. — Buonarotti.
(See Lasteyrie, Col. des
Mah. ^c )
303. The farm of
Campo Morto (field of death) includes the whole property of St, Peter's church in
Rome, which is supported from its sole revenue. This vast estate is situated in the
Pontine marshes, and the following outline of its management is taken from a letter of
Chateauvieux, written in July 1813 ; —
304. The farmery, the only building on an estate of many thousand acres, consists of a central building
and two wings, the ground-floor of the central part consists of an immense kitchen and five large rooms,
the latter without windows, and unfurnished. The first story consists of six rooms, used as corn-
chambers, with the exception of one, which was furnished, and served to lodge the principal officers.
The two wings contained large vaulted stables, with hay-lofts over. One female lived in the house, in
order to cook for the officers or upper servants, whose wives and familieslive in the towns as do those of
the shepherds. There was no garden, or any appearance of neatness or cleanliness, and not a fence or a
hedge, and scarcely a tree on the whole farm.
305. The fattore, or steward, was an educated man, and a citizen of Rome, where his family lived ; he and
all the other officers, and even shepherds, always went out mounted and armed.
306. The reapers were at work in a distant part of the estate, when Chateauvieux went over it : they
were an immense band, ranged as in the order of battle, and guarded by twelve chiefs or overseers on
horseback, with lances in their hands. These reapers^;had - lately arrived from the mountains; half
were men and the rest women. " They were bathed in sweat ; the sun was intolerable ; the men were
good figures, but the women were frightful. They had been some days from the mountains, and the foul air
had begun to attack them. Two only had yet taken the fever ; but they told me, from that time a
great number would be seized every day, and that by the end of harvest the troop would be reduced at
least one half. What then, I said, becomes of these unhappy creatures ? They give them a morsel of
bread, and send them back. But whither do they go ? They take the way to the mountains ; some re-
main on the road, some die, but others arrive, suffering under misery and inanition, to come again the
following year."
307. The corn is threshed fifteen days after being cut : the grain is trodden out under the feet of horses,
cleaned, and carried to Rome. The straw was formerly suffered to be dispersed by the wind ; but it is
now collected in heaps at regular distances over the country, and always on eminences : there it lies
ready to be burned on the approach of " those' clouds of grasshoppers which often devastate the
whole of this country."
308. 7%e live stock of the farm consisted of a hundred working oxen ; several hundreds of wild cows and
bulls kept for breeding, and for the sale of their calves and heifers : two thousand swine, which are fatted by
nuts and acorns in the forests belonging to the estate ;* a hundred horses for the use of the herdsmen. There
were four thousand sheep on the low grounds, and six hundred and eighty thousand on the mountains
belonging to the estate. Of the latter, eighty thousand were of the Negretti breed, whose wool it was
intended to have manufactured into the dresses of all the mendicant monks in Italy, and into the great-
coats of the shepherds : the rest were of the Pouille breed, which produces a white wool, but only on the
upper part of the body. As mutton is not good, and but little eaten in Italy, they kill most of the tup-
lambs as soon as they are born, and milk the ewes to make cheese. The temporary flocks had not ar-
rived when Chateauvieux was at Campo Morto, the fields not being then cleared of their crops.
309. The farmer of' this extensive domain is M. Trucci, who pays a rent for it
of 22,000 piastres (4950/.). This, said M, Trucci to Chateauvieux, *• supposes an
extent of three thousand rubbi, or six thousand acres, of culturable land. I have nearly as
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ITALY. 57
much that is not fit for the plough, and it is there ray pigs and my cows principally feed.
My three thousand rubbi are divided into nearly nine equal parts of three hundred and
thirty rubbi each : one of these is in fallow, another in corn, and the seven others in pas-
ture. On the two thousand three hundred rubbi, which remain in grass, I support four
thousand sheep, four hundred horses, two hundred oxen, and I reserve a portion for hay.
In the macchie (bushy places, woody wastes) I have seven hundred cows, and sometimes
nearly two thousand pigs.
310. Myerpences " are limited to paying the rent of the farm, to purchasing bread for
the workmen, and to the entire maintenance of my army of shepherds, superintendants,
and the fattore ; to paying for the work of the day-laborers, of the harvest-men, &c. ; and,
in short, to the expense of moving the flocks, and to what, in large farms, is called the
extra charges, the amount of which is always very high. There must also be deducted from
the gross profits of the flock about one-tenth, which belongs, in different proportions, to
my chiefs and to my shepherds, because I support this tenth at my expense. We have
also, in this mode of culture, to sustain great losses on our cattle, notwithstanding which
I must acknowledge that our farming is profitable.
311. Of annual profit., " I average about five thousand piastres, besides five per cent,
on the capital of my flocks. You see, then, that tl^e lands in the Campagna of Rome, so
despised, and in such a state of Mildness, let at the rate of eighteen francs (fifteen shillings)
the Paris acre : there is an immense quantity in France, which does not let for so much.
They would, doubtlessly, let for more if they were divided and peopled, but not in the
proportion supposed, for the secret in large farms consists in their economy ; and nothing
on the subject of agricultural profit is so deceptive as the appearance they present to our
view, for the profit depends solely on the amount of the economical combinations, and
not on the richness of the productions displayed to the eye." {Letters on Italy ^ &c.)
SuBSECT. 4. Farming in the JVenpolitan Territory^ or the Land of Ashes.
312. The fanning on the volcanic soil, in the neighborhood of Vesuvius, belongs to
the valley farming of Tuscany ; but as it varies a little, and as the farmers are much
more wretched, we shall give the following relation, as received by Chateau vieux, from
a Neapolitan metayer : —
313. We, poor metayers, he said, " occupy only so much land as we can cultivate by
our own families, that is to say, four or five acres. Our condition is not a good one,
since we get for our trouble only a third of tlie produce, two-thirds belonging to the
owner, which we pay in kind into the hands of the steward. We have no ploughs, and
the whole is cultivated by the spade. It is true that the soil, being mixed with ashes,
is easily stirred ; and even our children assist us in this work. At times the mountain,
hence named Vesuvius, pours forth showers of ashes, which spread over our fields and
fertilize them.
314. The trees which you see on the land, " are not without their use ; they support
the vine, and give us fruit ; we also carefully gather their leaves : it is the last autum-
nal crop, and serves to feed our cattle in the winter. We cultivate, in succession,
melons, between the rows of elms, which we carry to the city to sell ; after which we
sow wheat. When the wheat crop is taken off, we dig in the stubble, which is done by
our families, to sow beans or purple clover. During six months, our children go every
morning to cut a quantity of it with the sickle, to feed the cows. We prefer the females
of the buffaloes, as they give most milk. We have also goats, and sometimes an ass, or
a small horse, to go to the city and carry our burthens ; but this advantage belongs only
to the richer metayers.
315. We plant the maize " the following spring, after clover or beans. We manure the
land at this time, because this plant is to support our families; this crop, therefore, in-
terests us more than all the others, and the day in which it is harvested is a day of festivity
in our country. All the villagers assemble together, the young women dance, and the
rest of us walk slowly, being laden with our tools : arrived at our dwellings, each family
goes into its own ; but they are so near each other, that we can still converse together.
316. We often gather seven ears from one stalk of m^ize, " and many of them are three
palms long. When the sun is high, the father of the family goes into the adjoining field
to get some melons, while the children gather fruit from the surrounding fig-trees.
The fruit is brought under an elm-tree, round which the whole family sits ; after this
repast the work begins again, and does not cease until the close of day. Each family
then visits its neighbors, and tells of the rich crop the season has bestowed upon them.
317. We have no sooner gotten in the maize than the earth is again dug, to be sown once
more with loheat ; after this second crop, we grow in the fields only vegetables of dif-
ferent kinds. Our lands thus produce wine and fruit, corn and vegetables, leaves and
grass for the cattle. We have no reason to complain of their fertility ; but our conditions
are hard, little being left for dur pains j and if the season is not propitious, the metayer
has much to complain of. " {Letters, &c.)
5S
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
318. The cotton plant {Gossypium herhaceum) {Jig. 43.) is beginning to be cultivated
in the neighborhood of Vesuvius, and in Sicily. It is sown in
March, in lines at three feet distance, and the plants tvpo feet
apart in the lines. The earth is stirred by a one-horse
plough, or by hoes, and carefully vs^eeded. As soon as the
flowering season is over, about the middle of September, the
ends of the shoots are nipped off, to determine the sap to the
fruit. The capsules are collected as they ripen; a tedious
process, lasting two months : the cotton and the seeds are then
separated; an operation still more tedious. The most ex-
tensive cotton farmers are in the vale of Sorento. There the
rotation is, 1. maize ; 2. wheat, followed by beans, which
ripen next March ; 3. cotton ; 4. wheat, followed by clover ;
5. melons, followed by French or common beans. Thus, in
five years, are produced eight crops. In this district, wherever
water can be commanded, it is distributed, as in Tuscany and
Lombardy, among every kind of crop.
319. The tomato, or love ajyjde {Solanum lycopersicum, L),
so extensively used in Italian cookery, forms also an article of
field-culture near Pompeii, and especially in Sicily, from whence they are sent to Naples,
Rome, and several towns on the Mediterranean sea. It is treated much in the same way
as the cotton plant.
320. The orange, lemon, peach, Jig, ^c, with various other fruits, are grown in the
Neapolitan territory, both for home use and exportation : but their culture we consider
as belonging to gardening.
321. The Neapolitan maremmes, near Salerno, to the evils of those of Rome, add
that of a wretched soil. They are pastured by a few herds of buffaloes and oxen ; the
herdsmen of which have no other shelter during the night than reed huts ; these desert
tracts being without either houses or ruins. The plough of this ancient Greek colony is
thought to be the nearest to that of Greece, and has been already adverted to (24.)
322. The manna, a concrete juice, forms an article of cultivation in Calabria. This
substance is nothing more than the exsiccated juice of the flowering ash-tree {Ornus
rotundifolia), which grows there wild in abundance. In April or May, the peasants
make one or two incisions in the trunk of the tree with a hatchet, a few inches deep ;
insert a reed, round which the sap trickles down, and after a month or two they return,
and find this reed sheathed with manna. The use of manna, in medicine, is on the
decline.
323. TheJUherts and chestnuts of the Calabrian Appennines are collected by the farmers,
and sold in Naples for exportation or consumption.
324. The culture of indigo and sugar was attempted in the Neapolitan territory, under
the reign of Murat. The indigo succeeded ; and time had not elapsed to judge of the
sugar culture when it was abandoned. The plants, however, grew vigorously, and their
remains may still (1819) be seen in the fields near Terracina.
325. Oysters have been bred and reared in the kingdom of Naples from the time of the
Romans. The subject is mentioned by Nonnius (De Reb. Cib. 1. iii. c. 37.); and by
Pliny, {Nat. Hist. b. xviii. c.54.) Count Lasteyrie {Machines, ^c.) describes the place
mentioned by the latter author, as it now exists in the lake Facino, at Baia. This lake
{Jig. 44. ) communicates with the sea by a narrow passage : on the water near its mar-
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN SWITZERLAND. 59
gin, a house (c) is constructed for those who take care of the oysters, and who sell thsm to
the dealers in Naples, or to those who come and eat them on the spot. Adjoining the
house is a covered enclosure (6), where the oysters are kept till wanted; and along the
margin of the lake, and in most parts of it, are placed circles of reeds, with their summits
above the water (a). The spawn of the oysters attaches itself to these reeds, and grows
there till of an edible size : they are then removed to the reserve i6), and kept there till
wanted. In removing them the reeds are pulled up one by one, examined, and the
full-grown oysters removed and put in baskets, while the small sized and spawn are suf-
fered to remain, and the reed is replaced as it was. The baskets are then placed in the
reserve, and not emptied till sold. In two years from the spawn, Lasteyrie observes, the
oyster is fully grown.
Sect. II. Of the present State of Agriculture in Switzerland.
326. The agriculture of Switzerland, though of a very primitive kind, is not witlj-
out interest from the nice attentions required in some paits of its operations. The
surface, soil, and climate of the country, are so extraordinarily irregular and diversified,
that in some places grapes ripen, and in many others corn will not arrive at maturity ; on
one side of a hill the inhabitants are often reaping, while they are sowing on "the other;
or they are obliged to feed the cattle on its summits with leaves of evergreens while they
are making hay at its base. A season often happens in which rains during harvest pre-
vent the corn from being dried, and it germinates, rots, and becomes useless ; in others it
is destroyed by frost. In some cases there is no corn to reap from the effect of summer
storms. In no country is so much skill required in harvesting corn and hay as Switzer-
land ; and no better school could be found for the study of that part of Scotch and Irish
farming. After noticing some leading features of the culture of the cantons which form
the republic, we shall cast our eye on the mountains of Savoy.
SuBSECT. 1. Of the Agriculture of the Swiss Cantons,
327. Agriculture began to attract public attention in Switzerland about the middle of
the eighteenth century. In 1759 a society for the promotion of rural economy esta-
blished itself at Berne : they offered premiums and have published some useful papers in
several volumes. Long before that period, however, the Swiss farmers were considered
the most exact in Europe. (^Stanyans Account of Switzerland m 1714.) Chateauvieux at-
tributes the progress which agriculture has made, near Vevay, on the lake of Geneva, to
the settlement of the protestants, who emigrated thither from France, at the end of the
seventeenth century. They cut the hills into terraces, and planted vines, which has so
much encreased the value of the land, that what was before worth little, now sells at
10,000 francs per acre. {^Let, xxi.) Improvement in Switzerland is not likely to be
rapid ; because agriculture there is limited almost entirely to procuring the means of
subsistence, and not to the employment of capital for profit.
328. Landed property in Switzerland is minutely divided, and almost always farmed
by the proprietors and their families : or it is in immense tracts of mountain belonging
to the bailiwicks, and -pastured in common : every proprietor and burgess having a right
according to the extent of his property. These peasants are, perhaps, the most frugal
cultivators in Europe : they rear numerous families, a part of which are obliged to emi-
grate, because there are few manufactures ; and land is excessively dear, and seldom in
the market.
329. Thevallies of the alpine regions of Stvitzerland are subject to very peculiar injuries
from the rivers, mountain-rocks, and glaciers. As the rivers are subject to vast and
sudden inundations, from the thawing of the snow on the mountains, they bring down
at such times an immense quantity of stones, and spread them over the bottoms of the
vallies. Many a stream, which appears in ordinary times inconsiderable, has a stoney
bed of half a mile in breadth, in various parts of its course ; thus a portion of the finest
land is rendered useless. The cultivated slopes at the base of the mountains are subject
to be buried under eboulements, when the rocks above fall down, and sometimies cover
many square miles with their ruins.
330. Eboulement (Fr.), denotes a falling down of a mountain or mass of rock, and consequent covering
the lower grounds with its fragments ; when an immense quantity of stones are suddenly brought down
from the mountains by the breaking or thawing of a glacier, it is also called an eboulement. [Bakewell,
vol. i. p. 11.) Vast eboulements are every year falling from the enormous precipices that overhang the
valley of the Rhone : many of these are recorded which have destroyed entire villages.
331. One of the most extraordinary eboulements ever known was that of Mont Grenier, five miles south
of Chamberry. A part of this mountain fell down in the year 1248, and entirely buried live parishes, and
the town and church of St. Andre. The ruins spread over an extent of about nine square miles, and are
called les Abi/tnes de Myans. After a lapse of so many centuries, they still present a singular scene of
desolation. The catastrophe must have been most awful when seen from the vicinity ; for Mont Gre-
nier is almost isolated, advancing into a broad plain, which extends to the valley of the Iscre.
332. Mont Chenicr rises very abruptly upwards of 4<)(X) feet above the plain. Like the mountains of
Ives Echelles, with which it is connected, it is capped with an immense mass of limestone strata, not less
than 600 feet in thickness, which presents on every side the appearance of a wall. The strata dip gently
to the side which fell into the plain. This mass of limestone rests on a foundation of softer strata, pro-
60 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
bably molasse. Under this] molasse are distinctly seen thin strata, probably of limestone, alternating
with soft strata. There can be little doubt that the catastrophe was caused by the gradual erosion of the
soft strata which undermined the mass of limestone above, and projected it into the plain ; it is also pro-
bable that the part which fell had for some time been nearly detached from the mountain by a shrinking
of the southern side, as there is at present a rent at this end, upwards of two thousand feet deep, which
seems to have cut off a large section from the eastern end, and that now " Hangs in doubtful ruins o'er its
base," as if prepared to renew the catastrophe of 1248.
333. Avalanches (avaler, to swallow), or falls of immense masses of snow from the mountains, often occa-
sion dreadful effects. Villages are overwhelmed by them ; and rivers, stopped in their course, inundate
narrow valliesto a ruinous extent. In February 1820, the village of Obergestelen, with eighty-eight of its
inhabitants, were overwhelmed by an avalanche.
334. The glaciers, or ice-hills, or ice-heaps, slide down into the mountain vallies, and form dams across
them, which produce large lakes ; by the breaking up of the glacier, these lakes are sometimes suddenly
poured into the lower vallies, and do immense mischief. Man, in such a country, as Bakewell has ob-
served, is in a constant state of warfare with the elements, and compelled to be incessantly on his guard
against the powers that threaten his destruction. This constant exposure to super-human dangers is
supposed to have given the aged inhabitants, especially of the Vallais, an air of uncommon seriousness
and melancholy.
335. The Swiss cottages are generally formed of wood, with projecting roofs, covered
with slates, tiles, or shingles. A few small enclosures surround or are contiguous to
them, some of which are watered meadows, others dry pasture; and one or more is al-
ways devoted to the raising of oats, some barley, and rye, or wheat, for the family con-
sumption. In the garden, which is large in proportion to the farm, are grown hemp,
flax, tobacco, potatoes, white beet to be used as spinach and asparagus, French beans,
cabbages, and turnips. The whole has every appearance of neatness and comfort. There
are however some farmers who hire lands from the corporate bodies and others at a fixed
rent ; or on the metayer system ; and in some cases both land and stock are hired ; and
peasants are found who hire so many cows and their keep, during a certain number of
months either for a third or more of the produce, or for a fixed sum.
336. The villages of Switzerland are often built in lofty situations, and some So high
as 5000 feet above the level of the sea. " In a country where land is much divided, and
small proprietors cultivate their own property on the mountains, it is absolutely necessary
that they should reside near it, otherwise a great part of their time and strength would
be exhausted in ascending and descending, as it would take a mountaineer four hours
in each day, to ascend to many of these villages and return to the valley. In building
their houses on the mountains, they place them together in villages, when it can be done,
and at a moderate distance from their property, to have the comforts of society, and be
more secure from the attack of wolves and other wild animals. Potatoes and barley can
be cultivated at the height of 4500 feet in Savoy, and these, with cheese and milk, and
a little maize for porrirlge, form the principal part of the food of the peasantry. The
harvest is over in the plains by the end of June, and in the mountains by the end of
September. Several of the mountain villages, with the white spires of their churches,
form pleasing objects in the landscape, but on entering them the charm vanishes, and
nothing can exceed the dirtiness and want of comfort which they present, except the
cabins of the Irish." [BakeivelVs Travels, vol. i. 270.) Yet habit, and a feeling of in-
dependence, which the mountain peasant enjoys, vinder almost every form of govern-
ment, makes him disregard the inconveniences of his situation and abode. Damsels
and their flocks form pleasing groups at a distance, but the former viewed near,
bear no more resemblance to les bergeres des Alpes of the poets, than a female Hot-
tentot to the Venus de Medicis.
337. The vine is cultivated in several of the Swiss cantons on a small scale ; and either
against trellises, or kept low and tied to short stakes as in France. The grapes seldom
ripen well, and produce a very inferior wine. The best in Switzerland are grown in the
Pays de Vaud round Ve^y. They are white, and Bakewell says, "as large and fine-
flavored as our best hot-house grapes.*' The physicians at Geneva send some of their
patients here during the vintage, to take what is called a regular course of grapes ; that
is, to subsist for three weeks entirely on this fruit, without taking any other food or drink.
In a few days a grape diet becomes agreeable, and weak persons, and also the insane,
have found great relief from subsisting on it for three or four weeks. {BakewelVs
Travels, &c. ii. 206.)
338. Of fruit trees, the apple, pear, cherry, plum, and walnut, surround the small
field or fields of every peasant. The walnut tree also lines the public roads in many
places, and its dropping fruit often is the only food of the mendicant traveller.
339. The management of woods and forests forms a part of Swiss agriculture. The
herbage is pastured with sheep and swine as in Italy ; the copse wood and lop are used
for fuel, as in all countries ; and when a mode of conveyance and a market can be found
the timber is sold, but in many places neither is the case. A singular construction was
erected for the purpose of bringing down to the lake of Lucerne the fine pine trees
which grow upon Mount Pilatus, by the engineer Rupp. The wood was purchased by
a company for 3000/., and 9000/. were expended in constructing the slide. The length of
the slide is about 44,000 English feet, or about eight miles and two furlongs ; and the
difference of level of its two extremities is about 2600 feet. It is a wooden trough.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN SWITZERLAND.
61
about five feet broad and four deep, the bottom of which consists of three trees, the middle
one being a little hollowed; and small rills of water are conducted into it, for the pur-
pose of diminishing the friction. The declivity, at its commencement, is about 22§°.
The large pines, with their branches and boughs cut off, are placed in the slide, and
descending by their own gravity, they acquire such an impetus by their descent through
the first part of the slide, that they perform their journey of eight miles and a quarter in
the short space of six minutes ; and, under favourable circumstances, that is, in wet
weather, in tlu-ee minutes. Only one tree descends at a time, but, by means of signals
placed along the slide, another tree is launched as soon as its predecessor has plunged in-
to the lake. Sometimes the moving trees spring or bolt out of the trough, and when
this happens, they have been known to cut through trees in the neighborhood, as if it
had been done by an axe. When the trees reach the lake they are formed into rafts, and
floated down the Reuss into the Rhine.
340. Timber is alsojioated down mountain torrents from a great height. The trees are
cut down during summer and laid in the then dry bed of the stream : with the first heavy
rams in autumn they are set in motion, and go thundering down among the rocks to the
vallies, where what arrives sound is laid aside for construction, and the rest is used as fuel.
341. The chamois abound in some of the fojests, 4^5
and are hunted for their fat, flesh, and for their
skins, which are valuable as glove and breeches
leather. They herd in flocks, led by a female ; live
on lichens and on the young shoots and bark of
pines, are remarkably fond of salt, and require great
caution in hunting. {^Simond's Switzerland y vol. i.
p. 245.) The common goat is frequently domes-
ticated for the sake of its milk, and may be seen
near cottages, curiously harnessed i^Jig' 45.) to pre-
vent its breaking through, or jumping over fences.
342. The Swiss dairy is famous for its Gruyere
cheese, so named after a valley, where the best of that '.
kind is made. Its merit depends chiefly on the herb- "^H^e,
age of the mountain pastures, and partly on the custom of pressing the flowers or bruised
seeds of Melilotus officinalis {jig, 46.), with the curd before it is pressed. The mountain
pastures are rented at so much per cow's feed from the 15th
of May to the 1 8th of October ; and the cows are hired from
the peasants at so much for the same period. On the precise
day both land and cows return to their owners. It is estimated
that 15,000 cows are so grazed, and 30,000 cwt. of cheese made
fit for exportation, besides what is reserved for home use.
343. The establishment at Hofwyly near Berne, may be con-^
sidered as in great part belonging to agriculture, and deserves
to be noticed in this outline. It was invented, and is conducted
at the sole expense of M. Fellenberg, a proprietor and agricul-
turist. His object was to apply a sounder system of education^
for the great body of the people, in order to stop the progress of
error and corruption. Upwards of twelve years ago he undertook
to systematize domestic education, and to shew on a large scale
how the children of the poor might be best taught, and their
labor at the same time most profitably applied ; in short, how
the first twenty years of a poor man's life might be so employed
as to provide both for his support and his education. The
peasants in his neighborhood were at first rather shy of trusting their children for a new
experiment ; and being thus obliged to take his pupils where he could find them, many
of the earliest were the sons of vagrants, and literally picked up on the highways : this
is the case with one or two of the most distinguished pupils.
344. Their treatment is nearly that of children under the paternal roof. They go out
every morning to their work soon after sun rise, having first breakfasted, and received a
lesson of about half an hour : they return at noon. Dinner takes them half an hour,
a lesson of one hour follows ; then to work again till six in the evening. On Sunday
the different lessons take six hours instead of two ; and they have butcher meat on that
day only. They are divided into three classes, according to age and strength ; an entry
is made in a book every night of the number of hours each class has worked, specifying
the sort of labor done, in order that it may be charged to tlie proper account, each par-
ticular crop having an account opened for it, as well as every new building, the live stock,
the machines, the schools themselves, &c. &c. In winter, and whenever there is not out-of-
doors' work, the boys plait straw for chairs, make baskets, saw logs with the cross-saw and
62 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
split them, thrash and winnow corn, grind colors, knit stockings, or assist the wheel"
wright and other artificers, of whom there are many employed in the establishment. For
all which different sorts of labor an adequate salary is credited to each boy's class.
345. The boys never see a newspaper, and scarcely a book ; they are taught, viva voce, a few matters of
fact, and rules of practical application : the rest of their education consists chiefly in inculcating habits of
industry, frugality, veracity, docility, and mutual kindness, by means of good example, rather than pre-
cepts ; and, above all, by the absence of bad example. It has been said of the Bell and Lancaster schools,
that the good they do is mostly negative : they take children out of the streets, employ them in a harm-
less sort of mental sport two or three hours in the day, exercise their understanding gently and pleasant-
ly, and accustom them to order and rule, without compulsion. Now, what these schools undertake to do
for a few hours of each week, during one or two years of a boy's life, the School of Industry at Hofwyl,
does incessantly, during the whole course of his youth ; providing, at the same time, for his whole
physical maintenance, at a rate which must be deemed excessively cheap for any but the very lowest of
people.
346. The practicability of this scheme for inculcating individual prudence and practical
morality, not only in the agricultural, but in all the operative classes of society, M.
Simond considers as demonstrated ; and it only remains to ascertain the extent of its
application. ** Two only of the pupils have left Hofwyl, for a place, before the end of
their time ; and one, with M. de Fellenberg's leave, is become chief manager of the
immense estates of Comte AbafFy, in Hungary, and has, it is said, doubled its pro-
ceeds by the improved method of husbandry he has introduced. This young man, whose
name is Madorly, was originally a beggar boy, and not particularly distinguished at
school. Another directs a school established near Zurich, and acquits himself to the
entire satisfaction of his employers. M. Fellenberg has besides a number of pupils of
the higher classes, some of whom belong to the first families of Germany, Russia, and
Switzerland. They live enfamille with their master, and are instructed by the different
tutors in the theory and practice of agriculture, and in the arts and sciences on which
it is founded. (See SimoncCs Account of Switzerland, vol. i. Ed, Rev. 1819, No. 64.
Des Institutes de Hofwyl depar Cte. L. de V. Paris, 1821.)
SuBSECT. 2. Agriculture of the Duchy of Savoy.
347. Of the agriculture of Savoy, which naturally belongs to Switzerland, a general
view, with some interesting details, is given by Bakewell. ( Travels in the Taranlaise, &c.
1820-22.) Landed property there is divided into three qualities, and rated for a land-
tax accordingly. There is an office for registering estates, to which a per centage is paid
on each transfer or additional registering. There is also an office for registering all
mortgages, with the particulars ; both are found of great benefit to the landed interest
and the public, by the certainty which they give to titles, and the safety both to borrowers
and lenders on land.
348. Land in Savoy is divided into very small farms, and is occupied by the proprietors
or paysans, who live in an exceedingly frugal manner, and cultivate the ground with the
assistance of their wives and children ; for in Savoy, as in many other parts of Europe,
the women do nearly as much field labor as the men.
349. The lands belonging to the monasteries were sold during the French revolution, when Savoy was
annexed to France. The gradual abolition of the monasteries had been begun by the.old government of
Sardinia before the revolution, for the monks were prohibited from receiving any new brethren into their
establishments, in order that the estates might devolve to the crown, on the extinction of the different
fraternities. This measure, though wise in the abstract, was not unattended with inconvenience, and
perhaps we may add, injustice. The poor, who had been accustomed to fly to the monasteries for relief
in cases of distress, were left without any support, except the casual charity^ their neighbors, who had
little to spare from their own absolute necessities. The situation of the poor is therefore much worse in
Savoy, than before the abolition of the monasteries. The poor in England suffered in the same manner on
the abolition of the monasteries in the reigns of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, before the poor's rates were
enacted. The charity of the monks of Savoy lost much of its usefulness by the indiscriminate manner in
which it was generally bestowed : certain days and hours were appointed at each monastery, for the dis-
tribution of provisions, and the indolent were thereby enabled to support themselves during the whole
week, by walking to the different monasteries on the days of donation. This was offering a premium to
idleness, and was the means of encreasing the number of mendicants, which will, in every country, be
proportionate to the facility of obtaining food without labor.
3i50. The peasantry in Savoy are very poor, but they cannot be called miserable. In the neighborhood
of towns, their situation is worse than at a distance ; and not far from Chamberry, may be .seen a few
families that might almost vie in squalid misery, rags, and filth, with the poor of Ireland ; but the general
appearance of the peasantry is respectable. Having learnt the price of labor in various parts of Savoy,
Bakewell proposed the following question : Is it possible for a laborer, with a family, to procure a sufficient
quantity of wholesome food for their consumption ? One of the answers was, Cela est tres-facile, (" It is
very easy ;") the other was, " The laborer lives very frugally," {tres-sobrement.) " In general he eats very
coarse, but wholesome, bread, and, except in the mountains, he eats very little meat, and rarely drinks
wine, but he has a great resource in potatoes.
351. One day's labor of a farming man wiU purchase about twelve pounds avoirdupoise of wheat, or from
four to five pounds of beef, veal, or mutton ; but these are dainties which he rarely tastes ; potatoes,
rye-bread, chestnuts, and milk, form the principal part of the food of the poor. The day-laborer in Savoy
has to deduct, from the amount of his labor, about seventy days in the year, including saint-days and
Sundays, on which he receives no wages," {Bakewell's Travels, vol. i. 314.)
352. Tliere are four modes of occupying land for cultivation in Savoy — by the pro-
prietors ; by farmers ; by grangers ; and by tacheurs.
35S. Land very near to towns is generally cultivated by the proprietors, who either keep cattle, or take
them in to graze at so much per head.
Book 1. AGRICULTURE IN SWITZERLAND. 6S
354. By farming land, is understood, letting it at a fixed rent, to be paid according to the value of the
produce, taken at an average of ten years.
"i^5. By grangers, or renting l^nd d, moitie fruit, is understood, that the proprietor takes half of all
the grain and fruit, half the produce or encrease of the cows, half the eggs, and, in short, half of
every thing which is productive.
356. Bytacheurs, is another mode of cultivating land, in the immediate vicinity of towns. The pro-
prietors, to avoid keeping too many servants in their own houses, place a father of a family in the house
upon the farm. This man is called le tacheur : he takes care of the cows, for half their produce : he
ploughs the ground, receiving for every pair of oxen employed, or for three horses, from seventy to eighty
francs per annum : he has half the wine : the share hereceives of thewheat and grain is in the proportion
of two parts for every nine taken by the proprietor. The latter pays all the taxes, and keeps the accounts :
the tacheur may be changed every year : when he is employed in repairing fences, &c. he is paid by the
day ; this is always undertaken when he enters the farm.
357. The leases granted to i/ie /armers and grangers, are on terms of three, six, or
nine years ; but when the leases are for six or nine years, a reservation is always made,
that at the expiration of every three years the proprietor may revoke the lease, by giving
three months' notice, if he be not satisfied with the tenant. The proprietor always
supplies the farmer or granger with a sum of money without interest, called chajUal
(capital), to aid him in buying oxen; for a farm of two oxen it is generally about
twenty louis ; for a farm of four oxen, forty louis and so on. The proprietor, for this
sum, has an exclusive right to seize the cattle^of the farmer, should he sell them clan-
destinely.
358. The mode of j^aslurage in Chamouny will apply, with little variation, to all the
Alpine communes in Savoy. " The rich peasants in the Alps possess meadows, and
even habitations at different heights. In winter they live in the bottom of the valley,
but they quit it in spring, and ascend gradually, as the heat pushes out vegetation. In
autumn they descend by the same gradation. Those who are less rich have a resource in
the common pastures, to which they send a number of cows, proportionate to their re-
sources, and their means of keeping them during the winter. The poor, who have no
meadows to supply fodder for the winter, cannot avail themselves of this advantage.
Eight days after the cows have been driven up into the common pasture, all the owners
assemble, and the quantity of milk from each cow is weighed. The same operation is
repeated one day in the middle of the summer, and at the end of the season, the quantity
of cheese and butter is divided, according to the quantity of milk each cow yielded on
the days of trial.
859. There are chalets, or public dairies, near the mountain pastures in Savoy, as well as in Switzerland;
persons reside in these chalets during the summer months, to make cheese and butter. In many situ-
ations it is the labor of a day to ascend to these chalets, and return to the valleys immediately below
them. There are also public dairies in some of the villages, where the poorer peasants may bring all the
milk they can spare, from the daily consumption of their families. The milk is measured, and an account
kept of it ; and at the end of the season the due portion of cheese is allotted to each, after a small deduction
for the expense of making.
360. Of sheep. No large flocks are kept in Savoy, as it is necessary to house them during the winter,
at which time they are principally fed with dried leaves of trees, collected during the autumn. Many
poor families keep a few sheep to supply them with wool for their domestic use. These little flocks are
driven home every evening, and are almost always accompanied by a goat, a cow, a pig, or an ass, and
followed by a young girl spinning with a distaff. As they wind down the lower slopes of the mountains,
tliey form the most picturesque groups for the pencil of the painter, and seen at a distance, carry back the
imagination to the ages of pastoral simplicity, sung by Theocritus and Virgil.
361. The vineyards' in Azyoy are cultivated for half the produce of the wine. The
cultivator pays the whole expense, except the taxes, which are paid by the proprietor.
362. Walnut-trees, of immense size and great beauty, enrich the scenery of Savoy, and
supply sufficient oil for the consumption of the inhabitants, and for the adjoining canton
of Geneva. "Walnuts have been called the olive of the country. The trees belong
principally to the larger proprietors. They are planted by nature, being scattered over
the fields, and in the woods and hedge-rows, intermixed with chestnut and forest trees of
various kinds. (Bakewell.)
363. The walnut-harvest at Chateau Duing commences in September : " they are beaten
off the trees with long poles ; the green husks are taken off as soon as they begin to de-
cay ; the walnuts are then laid in a chamber to dry, where they remain till November,
when the process of making the oil commences. The first operation is to crack the nuts,
and take out the kernel : for this purpose several of the neighboring peasants, with their
wives and elder children, assembled at the chateau of an evening, after their work was
done. The party generally consisted of about thirty persons, who were placed around
a long table in the kitchen ; one man sat at each end of the table, with a small mallet to
crack the nuts by hitting them on the point : as fast as they are cracked, they are dis-
tributed to the other persons around the table, who take the kernels out of the shell, and
remove the inner part ; but they are not peeledf. The peasants of Savoy are naturally
lively and loquacious ; and they enliven their labor witli facetious stories, jokes, and
noisy mirth. About ten o'clock the table is cleared to make room for the goute, or sup-
per, consisting of dried fruit, vegetables, and wine ; and the remainder of the evening
is spent in singing and dancing, which is sometimes continued till midnight. In a
favorable season the number of walnuts from the Duing estate is so great, that the party
assemble in this manner every evening for a fortnight, before all the walnuts are cracked ;
64
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
and the poor people look forward to these meetings, from year to year, as a kind of
festival. They do not receive any pay ; but the goutd and the amusements of the evening
are their only rev^ard." (Bakewell.)
364. The walnut kernels are laid on cloths to dry, and in about a fortnight are carried to the crushing,
mill, where they are ground into a paste ; this is put into cloths, and undergoes the operation of pressing
to extract the oil. The best oil, which is used for salads and cooking, is pressed cold ; but an inferior
oil for lamps is extracted by heating the paste. Thirty people in one evening will crack as many walnuts
as will produce sixty pounds of paste ; this yields about fifteen wine quarts of oil. The walnut-shells are
not lost among so frugal a people as the Savoyards, but are burned for the ashes, which are used in wash-
ing. Two pounds of these ashes are equal in strength to three of wood-ashes; but the alkali is so
caustic, that it frequently injures the linen. The paste, after it is pressed, is dried in cakes, called pain
amer ; this is eaten by children and poor people, and it is sold in the shops in Savoy and Geneva.
365. The best walnut ml, pressed cold, has but very little of the kernelly taste ; but it may be easily dis-
tingushed from the best olive oil, which it resembles in color. If the peel were taken off the walnuts, the
oil would probably be quite free from any peculiar flavor; but this operation would be too tedious. {lb.)
366. Tobacco, which is much used in Savoy, was cultivated with success in the neigh-
borhood of Ramilly ; but on the restoration of the old despotism, its culture was pro-
hibited, and the implements of manufacture seized.
367. The culture of artificial grasses is spreading in Savoy, but is not yet very general.
In tlje neighborhood of Aix, Ramilly, and Annecy, wheat is succeeded by rye. The
rye-harvest being over in June, they immediately sow the land with buck-wheat (Sar-
rasi'n), which is cut in September ; the following year the land is sown with spring-corn.
368. The grass-lands are always mown twice, and the latter mowing is sufficiently
early to allow a good pasturage in the autumn. Water-meadows are occasionally
found near towns : the water is generally let down from mountain-streams ; but some-
times it is raised from rivers by a sort of bucket-wheel (Jig- 47.), which is called the Noria
of the Alps. This wheel is raised or lowered by means of a loaded lever (a), which turns
on a fulcrum (b), formed by a piece of wood, with its end inserted in the river's bank.
369. Agricultural improvement in Savoy must be in a very low state, if the answers
Bakewell received respecting the average quantity of the produce be correct. One of
the answers stated the average encrease of wheat to be from three to five on the quantity
sown, and near the towns from five to seven. Another agriculturist stated the average
encrease on the best lands to be nine, and in the neighborhood of Annecy thirteen fold.
One part of Savoy is, perhaps, the finest corn-land in Europe ; and the very heavy crops
Bakewell saw in the neighborhood of Aix and Annecy, made him doubt the accuracy of
the above statements. But on referring to Arthur Young's account of the agriculture of
France before the revolution, it appears that four and a half was regarded as the
average encrease in that country, which is very similar in climate to Savoy. ( Travels,
i. 328.) _ ^ .
370. The salt-works ofMoutiers, in the valley of the Isere, in the Tarantaise, are par-
ticularly deserving attention, being perhaps the best conducted of any in Europe, with
respect to economy. Nearly three million pounds of salt are extracted annually from a
source of water which would scarcely be noticed, except for medical purposes, in any
other country.
371. The springs that supplf/ the salt-works at Moutiers, rise at the bottom of a nearly perpendicular rock
of limestone situated on the south side of a deep valley or gorge. The temperature of the strongest
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN FRANCE. 65
spring is ninety-nine Fahrenheit, it contains 1.83 per cent, of saline matter. It may seem extraordinary
that the waters at Moutiers, which have only half the strength of sea-water, should repay the expense of
evaporation ; but the process by which it is effected is both simple and ingenious, and might be introduced
with great advantage on many parts of our own coast, should the salt-duty be entirely removed. It is
obvious that water, so weakly impregnated with salt as to contain only one pound and a half in every
thirteen gallons, could not repay the expense of evaporating by fuel in any country. The water of the
north-sea contains two and a quarter per cent, of salt, and yet it has never been attempted, to make
salt from it by evaporation with coal-tires, even on the coast of Northumberland or Durham, where
refuse coal, suited to the purpose, might be purchased for one shilling and sixpence per ton. In order to
make salt from the saline water at Moutiers, it was necessary to concentrate it by natural evaporation ;
and to effect this speedily, it was required to spread the surface of the fluid over as large a space as
possible, the ratio of evaporation being, cceteris paribus, in proportion to the extent of the surface exposed
to the action of the atmosphere. The.first attempt at Moutiers was made in 1550, by arranging pyramids of
rye-straw in open galleries, and letting the water trickle tlirough the straw gradually and repeatedly. This
was abandoned, and faggots of thorns were substituted : these faggots are suspended on frames, the water
is rai.sed to their height, and spread by channels so as to trickle through them : it passes through three
separate sets of frames of thorns, and has then become so concentrated as to contain nearly 22 per cent.
of salt : it is then boiled in pans in the usual manner.
372. Evaporating on va-tical cords, erected in a house open on all sides, is a third method, which suc-
ceeds even better than the mode by thorns. The water, by repeatedly passing over the cords, is found in
forty-five days to deposit all its salt on them, and the saline cylinder is then broken off. The cords are
renewed once in twenty or thirty years, and the faggots once in seven years. Minute details of these
simple but very ingenious processes will be found in the very scientific Travels of Bakewell. ( Vol. i. 230.)
Sect. III. Of the present State ny Agricvlture in France.
373. The first agricultural survey of France was made in 1787, 8 and 9. by the cele-
brated Arthur Young. Since that period no similar account has been published either
in France or England ; but several French writers have given the statistics and culture
of different districts, as the Baron de la Peyrouse ; and others, general views of the whole
kingdom, as the Abbe Rozier, and Professor Thouin. From such works, some recent
tours of Englishmen, and our own observations in 1815 and 1819, we have drawn the
following outline of it progress since the time of Louis XIV.; its general circumstances
in respect to agriculture ; its common agriculture ; its culture of vines and maize ; and
its culture of olives and oranges.
SuBSECT. 1. Progress of French Agriculture from the time of Louis XIV, lo the present
Time.
374. That France is the most favorable country in Europe for agriculture is the opinion
both of Professor Thouin and Arthur Young. Its climates are in great variety, and all
excellent ; and its soils are not less varied than its climates. It admits of the culture of
most of the useful plants, and of the rearing of most of the profitable animals. It
has a numerous population for home consumption, and rivers and sea-shores favorable
for exportation.
375. French agriculture began to forish in the beginning of the seventeenth century,
under Henry IV., and its precepts at that time were published in the work of Olivier de
Serres. In 1621, great quantities of corn were exported to England, in consequence of
a wise ordinance of Sully, permitting a free commerce in corn. In 1641, the draining
of fens and bogs was encouraged ; and in 1 756, the land-tax taken off newly broken-
up lands for the space of twenty years. Colbert, during the minority of Louis XIV.,
prohibited the exportation of corn, and checked the progress of its culture. This circum-
stance, and the wars of that king, greatly discouraged agriculture, and produced several
dearths. Fleury, under Louis XV., was not favorable to agriculture; but in 1754,
an act was passed for a free corn trade, which effected its revival. The economists
at this time, however mistaken in their views, inspired a taste for the art; and agri-
cultural societies were first established in France under the patronage and at the expense
of government. In 1761, there were thirteen of such societies in France, and nineteen
co-operating societies. Those of Paris, Lyons, Amiens, and Bourdeaux, have distin-
guished themselves by their published memoirs. At Tours a georgical society was
established, and directed by the Marquis of Tourbili, a patriot and agricultural writer.
Du Hamel and BufFon gave ecl4t to the study of rural economy, and many other writers
might be mentioned as having contributed to its improvement. M. de Trudaine in-
troduced the Merino breed of sheep in 1776, and Comte Lasteyrie has studied that
breed in Spain, and written a valuable work on the subject.
376. Agriculture in France was not altogether neglected during the revolution. Bup-
naparte established many new agricultural societies and professorships ; botanic and
economical gardens for the exhibition of different modes of culture, and the dissemin-
ation of plants ; and he greatly enlarged and enriched that extensive institution, " tlie
national garden," whose professor of culture, the Chevalier Thouin, is one of the
most scientific agriculturists in Europe. But after all this exterior show, Chateauvieux
seems correct in stating that little was gained to the art either from these institutions, or
political changes.' The domains seised by the nation, he says, were sold at a low price,
and a great many proprietors created, the greater number of whom do the labor of
their farms for their own profit or subsistence. " It is probable, in time, these families
may enjoy the state of prosperity which they expect to derive from their new situations,
F
66
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
but, at present, they have done nothing for the improvement of agriculture. The
national property is not in sufficient estimation in public opinion to have attracted the
manufacturing capital necessary to call forth its real value. This is every where per-
ceptible in France : it is neglected, the buildings are badly kept up, the enclosures
broken down, the young trees in the orchards destroyed, the dressed vines in ruins. We
see, every where, the purchasers too much in haste to take possession, the natural con-
sequence of the circumstances in which they were placed ; in short, it appears incon-
testable, that within the last twenty years the lay purchasers have cultivated the land
worse than when it was in the hands of the monks ; even then, when time, which
influences every thing, shall have given the purchasers a secure possession, I doubt
whether the class of proprietor cultivators will effect any useful improvements in the
land. Every thing requisite is wanting to accomplish it, — talent and capital. These
little farmers seem placed in a country to check the progress of innovation, and to pre-
vent all improvement in agriculture.
377. That there has been considerable imjyrovement in France, he continues, " cannot,
however, be doubted ; but it is entirely produced by persons who have been thrown out
of their situations by the revolution, and whose exertions and leisure have been directed
to agriculture. They have spread a taste for it from one to another, in consequence of
the success of their experiments ; but still I cannot think it has been effected by throwing
national domains into the capital of the nation." [Letters, &c.)
378. M. Chateauvieux is an agriculturist of great experience, and an able political economist. He has
been in most parts'of Europe at different times, and seems a very impartial writer : his opinion, therefore,
as to French agriculture may be considered as the nearest the truth of any that has yet appeared.
SuBSECT. 2. Of the general Circumstances of France in respect to Agriculture.
379. The surface of France has been divided by geographers into what are called
basins, or great plains, through which flow the principal rivers, and which basins are
separated by original or secondary ridges of mountains. The chief basins are that of
the Loire, {fig. 48. a); of the Seme, [b] ; of the Garonne, (c) ; and of the Rhone and
Saone, (d). [Journal de Physique, tom. xxx.)
380. The soil of France has been divided by A. Young into the mountainous district
of Languedoc and Provence (e ) ; the loaniy district of Lemosin (f) ; the chalky districts
of Champagne and Poitiers {g\; the gravelly district of Bourbonnois (h) ; the stony-
district of Lorraine and Franche Comte (i) ; the rich loam of Picardy and Guyenne [k) ;
and the heathy surface on gravel, or gravelly sand of Bretagne and Gascoigne (/).
{Agr. France, chap, ii.)
381. The climate of France has been most ingeniously divided by A. Young into
that of corn and common British agriculture, (fg. 48. 1, b, k) ; that of vines, mulberries,
and common culture ( y, o, h, g, i) ; that of vines, mulberries, maize, and common culture
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN FRANCE. 67
(c,/, rf,i,) ; that of olives, vines, mulberries, maize, oranges, and common culture (oe).
It is singular that these zones (m m, n n, and o o) do not run parallel to the degrees of
latitude, but obliquely to them to such an extent that the climate for vines leaves off
at 47 on the west coast (1/ m), but extends to 49^ on the east (g m). These zones, as
may naturally be expected, extend into Germany, in which the vi^e is cultivated as far
north as lat. 52-'.
S82. The central climate, that admits vines without being hot enough for maize, (5/, a,h,gf i).
Young considers as the finest in the world, and the most eligible part of France or of
Europe as to soil. " Here," he says, " you are exempt from the extreme humidity
which gives verdure to Normandy and England ; and yet equally free from the burning
heats which turn verdure itself into a russet brown : no ardent rays that oppress with their
fervor in summer, nor pinching tedious frosts that chili with their severity in winter,
but a light, pure, elastic air, admirable for every constitution except consumptive ones."
This climate, however, has its drawbacks; and is so subject to violent storms of rain and
hail, that "no year ever passes without whole parishes suffering to a degree of which we
in Britain have no conception." It has been calculated, that in some provinces the
damage from hail amounts, on an average of years, to one-tenth of the whole produce.
Spring frosts are sometimes so severe as to kill the broom : few years pass that they do
not blacken the first leaves of the walnut trees ; the fig-trees are protected with straw.
383. Of the vine and maize climates (c,f, d, i) , some account is given by M. Picot, baron
de Peyrouse, an extensive and spirited cultivator. He kept an accurate account of the
state of the crops and seasons in his district for twenty years from 1800 ; and the result
is, that he has had twelve years of fair average crops ; four years most abundant ; and
four years attended with a total loss.
384. In the olive climate (0, e) insects are incredibly
numerous and troublesome, and the locust is injurious
to corn crops ; but both the olive -tmd maize district
have this advantage, that two crops a year, or at least
three in two years, may be obtained. The orange is
cultivated in so small a proportion of the olive climate
as scarcely to deserve notice. The Caper (Capparis
spi?iosa) (Jig. 49.) is also an article of field culture, and
the Fig.
385. The climate of Picardy and Normandy is the
nearest to that of England, and is rather superior.
The great advantage France possesses over Britain in
regard to climate is, that by means of the vine and olive,
as valuable produce may be raised on rocky wastes as
on rich soils. (Young^s France, ch. iii. )
386- The lands of Fra7ice are not generally enclosed
and subdivided by hedges or other fences. Some fences are to be seen near towns*
and in the northern parts of the kingdom more especially, but in general the whole
country is open ; the boundaries of estates being marked by slight ditches or ridges,
with occasional stones or heaps of earth, rows of trees, or occasional trees. Depredations
from passengers on the highways are prevented by gardes champetre, which are established
throughout all France. Farms are sometimes compact and distinct, but generally
scattered, and often alternating in the common field manner of England, or run-rig, of
Scotland. From the operation of the present law of inheritance, estates and farms
are continually breaking down into smaller divisions, so that the number of farms
may be said to encrease every year. The farm-houses of large farms are generally
placed on the farm ; of smaller ones in villages often at some distance from the lands.
387. The value of landed property is in general lower than in England, being at present
(1823) sold from twenty-two to twenty-six years' purchase.
388. The farming of lands in France, according to Professor Thouin, naturally di-
vides itself into three kinds r 1. The grand culture, in which from two to twelve ploughs
are employed, and corn chiefly cultivated. 2. The middle culture, including the me-
tayers who also grow corn, but more frequently rear live stock, maintain a dairy, or
produce silk, wine, cider, or oil, according to tlie climate in which they may be situated :
and 3. The minor culture, or that which is done by manual labor, and into which live
stock or corns do not enter. The middle culture is by far the most common. There
are very few farms of six or eight ploughs in France, and equally few farmers who do
not labor in person at all times of the year. It is acknowledged by Professor Thouin,
that each of these divisions is susceptible of very great improvement.
SuBSECT. 3. Of the common Farming of France.
389. The corn farming in France is carried on in the best manner in Picardy and
Alsace. The first may be considered as equally well cultivated with Suffolk ; and the
F 2
68
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
latter produces three crops in two years, or five in three years. Their crops are wheat,
beans, turnips, maize, and buckwheat. The rotations are, generally, two corn crops
and a fallow, or an alternation of corn and green or pulse crops, without a naked
fallow. In the heath district, broom enters into the rotation for fuel, and is cut the
fourth year ; buckwheat is also extensively sown, and rye and oats. After lands have
borne crops, it is usual to let them rest a year or two, during which they produce nothing
but grass and weeds, and they are afterwards broken up with a naked fallow. Potatoes
enter more or less into the field culture of the greater part of France, and especially of
the northern districts ; but in Provence and Languedoc they are still little known. Irri-
gation, both of arable and grass lands, is adopted wherever it is practicable. It is most
common in the south, and remarkably well conducted in the lands round Avignon, for-
merly for many miles the property of the church.
390. The meadows of France contain nearly the same herbage, plants, and grasses
as those of England ; but though clovers and lucerne are cultivated in many places,
yet rye-grass and other grasses, either for hay crops or temporary or permanent pasture,
are but rarely resorted to.
391. To sheep the French have j)aid considerable attention from the time of Colbert;
and there are now considerable flocks of short-wooled and Spanish breeds in some
places, besides several national flocks. That of Rambouillet (established in 1786 by
Louis XIV.) is managed by M. Tessier, a well known writer on agriculture, and when
visited by Birkbeck, in 1814, was in excellent order. Sheep are housed, and kept in
folds and little yards or enclosures, much more than in England. One-third of the
sheep of France are black. Some curious attempts have lately been made to inoculate
them for the claveau and the scab, but a definite result has not yet been ascertained, at
least as to the latter disease. Birkbeck considers the practice of housing as the cause
why the foot-rot is so common a disease among sheep in France. Where flocks remain
out all night, the shepherd sleeps in a small thatched hut or portable watchhouse, placed
on wheels. He guides the flock by walking before them, and his dog guards the flock
from the wolves, which still abound even in Picardy. During summer, and in the
hottest districts, they are fed during the night, and housed during the heat of the day.
Hay is the general wmter food ; and in some parts of the Picardy climate, turnips. In
1811, Buonaparte monopolized the breeding of Merinos; and from that time to the
passing of an act for the exportation of wool and rams in 1814, they have declined.
392. The beasts of labor are chiefly the ox on small farms, and the horse on the larger.
Both are kept under cover the greater part of the year. The breeds of oxen are
very various ; they are generally cream-coloured. The best oxen are in Normandy,
which furnishes also the best breed of working horses ; as Limousin does those for the
saddle. In the south of France the ass and mule are of frequent use in husbandry.
There, as in many parts of Italy, the poor people collect the stolones of agrostis, and
creeping roots of couch, and sell them in little bundles to the carriers and others who keep
road horses.
393. A royal stud of Arabians has been kept up at Aurillacin Limousin, for a century;
and another has been lately formed near Nismes, from an extensive importation by an
Englishman, purchased by government at great expense.
394. The best dairies are in Normandy ; but in this department France does not excel.
In the southern districts olive, almond, and poppy oil supply the place of butter ; and
goats' milk is that used in cookery.
395. Poultry is an important article of French husbandry, and well understood as far
as breeding and feeding. Birkbeck thinks the consumption of poultry in towns may
be equal to that oi' mutton. The smallest cottage owns a few hens,
and a neat little roost [fig. 50.), in which they pass the night se-
cure from dogs, wolves, and foxes.
396. The breed of swine is in general bad ; but excellent hams are
sent from Bretagne, from hogs reared on acorns, and fatted off
with maize. Pigeon-houses are not uncommon.
397. The management offish-ponds is well understood in France,
owing to fish in all catholic countries being an article of necessity.
In the internal district there are many large artificial ponds, as well
as natural lakes, where the eel, carp, pike, and a few other species,
arereared, separated, and fed, as in the Berkshire ponds in England.
398. The implements and operations of the common farms of
France are in general rude. The ploughs of Normandy resemble
the large wheel-ploughs of Kent. Those farther south are generally
without wheels ; often without coulters ; and an iron mould-board
is rare. In many parts of the south the ploughs have no mould-
board, and turn the earth in the manner of the simplest form of
Roman plough. (110.) Harrows are generally wholly of wood;
and instead of a roUer, a plank is generally used. Large farmers.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN FRANCE.
69
as in Normandy, plough with four or six oxen : small farmers with two, or even one ;
or, when stiff' soils are to
be worked out of season,
they join together, and form
a team of four or six cattle.
Their carts are narrow and
long, with low wheels, *" —
seldom shod, in the remote
parts of the country. The
gvimbarde of the Seine and
Oise (Jig. 51.) is a light
and useful machine. Corn is reaped with sickles, hooks, the Brabant, and cradle
scythe (Jig. 52.). Threshing, in ^v ^2
Normandy, is performed by the flail '
in houses, as in England ; in the
other climates in the open air by
flails, or the tread of horses. There
are few permanent threshing-floors ;
a piece of ground being smoothed in '
the most convenient part of the field
is found sufficiently hard. Farmers,
as we have already observed, perform
most of their operations without ex-
tra laborers ; and their wives and
daughters reap, thresh, plough, dig, and perform every part of the farm and garden work
indiflferently. Such farmers "prefer living in villages; society and the evening dance
being nearly as indispensable to them as their daily food. If the farm be distant, the
farmer and his servants of all descriptions set off" early in the morning in a light waggon,
carrying with them their provisions for the day." (Neill.) Hence it is, that a traveller
in France may pass through ten or twenty miles of corn-fields, without seeing a single
farm-house.
399. Large farms have generally farmeries on the lands; and there the labor is in
great part performed by laborers, who, as well as the tradesmen employed, are paid
chiefly in kind.
400. All the plants cultivated'm British farming are also grown in that of France; the
turnip not generally, and in the warm districts scarcely at all, as it does not bulb ; but
it is questionable, as Birkbeck remarks, whether, if it did bulb, it would be so valuable
in these districts as the lucerne, or clover, which grow all the winter. Of plants not
usually cultivated in British farming may be mentioned^ the chiccory for green food,
fuller's thistle for its heads, furze and broom for green food, madder, tobacco, poppies
for oil, rice in Dauphine, but now dropped as prejudicial to health, saffron about An-
gouleme, lathyrus sativus, the pois Breton or lentil of Spain, lathyrus setifolius, vicia
lathyroides, vicia sativa,' cicer arietinum, ervum lens, melilotis siberica, coronilla varia,
hedysarum coronarium, &c. They have a hardy red wheat, called Vepautre (spelt J, said
to be a distinct species found wild in Persia by Michaux and Olivier, which grows on
the worst soil and climates, and is common in Alsace and Suabia. They grow the millet,
the dura or douro of Egypt, (Holcus sorghum^ L.) in the maize district. The flower-
stalks and spike of this plant are sold at Marseilles and Leghorn, for making chamber-
besoms and clothes brushes. The hop is cultivated ; the common fruit-trees ; and the
chestnut is used as food in some places. An oil used as food, and also much esteemed by
painters, is made from the walnut. The other fruits of field-culture, as the almond, fig,
vine, caper, olive, and orange, belong to the culture of the southern districts.
401. The forest culture of France is scientifically conducted, both in the extensive
national forests, and on private estates. The chief object is fuel, charcoal, bark ; and
next, timber of construction ; but in some districts other products are collected, as acorns,
mast, nuts, resin, &c. The French and Germans have written more on this department
of rural economy than the English.
402. A remarkable feature in the agriculture of France, and of most warm countries,
is the use of leaves of trees as food for cattle. Not only are mulberry, olive, poplar,
vine, and other leaves gathered in autumn, when they begin to change color, and acquire
a sweetness of taste ; but spray is cut green in July, dried in the sun or in the shade of
trees in woods, faggoted, and stacked for winter use. During that season they are given
to sheep and cattle like hay ; and sometimes, boiled with grains or bran, to cows. The
astringency of some sorts of leaves, as the oak, is esteemed medicinal, especially for
sheep. Such are the outlines of that description of agriculture which is practised more
or less in all the districts of France.
F .3
70
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Pakt I.
SuBSECT. 4. Farming in the warmer Climates of France.
403. Ihe culture peculiar to the vine, maize, olive, and orange climates, we shall extract
from the very interebting work of Baron La Peyrouse. The estate of this gentleman
is situated in the maize district at Pepils, near Toulouse. Its extent is 800 acres ; and
he has, since the year 1788, been engaged, and not without success, in introducing a
better system of agriculture.
404. IVie farm-houses and offices in the warm districts are generally built of brick ;
frame-work tilled up with a mixture of straw and clay ; or, en pise ; and they are
covered with gutter-tiles. The vineyards are enclosed by hawthorn hedges, or mud-
walls ; and the boundaries of arable farms by wide ditches ; and of grass-Jands by fixed
stones, or wild quince-trees. Implements are wretched, operations not well performed,
and laborers, and even overseers, paid in kind, and al- JUsi5==^ 53
lowed to sow flax, beans, haricots, &c. for themselves. '
The old plough /tij. 53.) resembles that used by the _
Arabs, and which die PVench antiquarian Gouguet '-^0^^-^- -^
(Origine des Lois, &c.) thinks very probably the —— -'^^■^..^.s:''*^^^'^ -'
same as that used by the ancient Egyptians. They have also a light one-handled
plougli for stirring fallows, called the ^ j^
araire (Jig. 54. ) A plough with coul-
ters was first employed at Pepils ; and
a Scotch plough, with a cast-iron
mould board, was lately sent there,
and excited the wonder of the whole
district. In nothing is France so
deficient as in agricultural imple-
ments.
405. Fallow, wheat, and maize is the
common rotation of crops.
406. The live stock consists chiefly of oxen and mules ; the latter are sold to the
Spaniards. Some flocks of sheep are kept ; but it is calculated that the rot destroys
them once in three years. Beans are the grain of the poor, and are mixed with wheat
for bread. The chickpea [Cicer arietinum,) (fg.SS.) is]
a favorite dish with the provencals, and much cultivated
Spelt is sown on newly broken-up lands. Potatoes were
unknown till introduced at Pepils from the Pyrenees, where
they had l)een cultivated fifty years. In the neighborhood
they are beginning to be cultivated. Turnips and rutabaga
were tried often at Pepils, but did not succeed once in ten
years. Maize is reckoned a clearing crop, and its grain is'
the principal food of the people.
407. The vine is cultivated in France in fields, and on
terraced hills, as in Italy, but managed in a different man-
ner to what it is in that country. Here it is kept low,
and treated more as a plantation of raspberries or currants
are in England. It is either planted in large plats, in
rows three or four feet apart, and the plants at two or
three feet distance in the row ; or it is planted in double
or single rows alternating with ridges of arable land. In
some cases also two close rows, and a space of six or seven
feet alternate, to admit a sort of horse-hoeing culture in the'vvide interval. Most gene-
rally, plantations are made by dibbling in cuttings of two feet in length ; pressing the
earth firmly to their lower end, an essential part of the operation, noticed even by
Xenophon. In pruning, a stem or stool of a foot or more is left above ground, and
the young shoots are every year cut down within two buds of this stool. These
stools get very unwieldy after sixty or a hundred years, and then it is customary, in
some places, to lay down branches from them, and form new stools, leaving the old
for a time, which, however, soon cease to produce any but weak shoots. Tlie winter
pruning of the vine generally takes place in February : a bill is used resembling that of
Italy {Jig. 37.) ; the women faggot the branches, and their value, as fuel, is expected to
pay the expense of dressing. In summer, the ground is twice or thrice hoed, and the
young shoots tied to short stakes with wheat or rye straw, or whatever else comes
cheapest. The shoots are stopped, in some places, after the blossom has expanded, and
the tops given to cows. In some places, also, great part of the young wood is cut ofi'
before vintage for feed to cows, and to let the sun directly to the fruit. The sorts cul-
tivated are almost as numerous as the vineyards. Fourteen hundred sorts were collected
from all parts of France, by order of the Comte Chaptal, and are now in the nursery
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN FRANCE.
71
of the Luxembourg ; but little or no good will result from the collection, or from at-
tempting to describe them ; for it has been ascertained, that after a considerable time
the fruit of the vine takes a particular character from the soil in which it was planted ;
so that fourteen hundred sorts, planted in one soil and garden, would in time, probably in
less than half a century, be reduced to two or three sorts; and, on the contrary, two
or three sorts planted in fourteen hundred different vineyards, would soon become
as many distinct varieties. The pineau of Burgoyue, and the auvernat of Orleans, are
esteemed varieties; and these, with several others grown for wine -making, have small
berries and branches like our Burgundy grape. Small berries, and a harsh flavor, are
universally preferred for wine-making, both in France and Italy. Tlie oldest vines
invariably give the best grapes, and produce the best wines. The Baron Peyrouse
planted a vineyard twenty years ago, which, though in full bearing, he says, is still too
vigorous to enable him to judge of the fineness and quality of the wine, which it may
one day afford. " In the Clos de Vogois vineyardy in which the most celebrated Bur-
gundy wine is produced, new vine plants have not been set for 300 years : the vines
are renewed by laying the old trunks ; but the root is never separated from the stock.
This celebrated vineyard is never manured. The extent is 160 French arpents. It
makes, in a good year, from 160 to 200 hogsheads, of 260 bottles each hogshead. The
expense of labor and cooperage, in such a year, has arisen to 33,000 francs ; and the
wine sells on the spot at five francs a bottle. The vineyard is of the pineau grape. The
soil, about three feet deep, is a limestone gravel on a limestone rock." (Peyrouse, 96.)
408. The white mulberry is very extensively cultivated in France for feeding the silkworm. It is not
placed in regular plantations, but in corners, rows along roads, or round fields or farms. The trees
are raised from seeds in nurseries, and sold generally at five years, when they have strong stems. They
are planted, staked, and treated as pollards. Some strip the leaves from the young shoots, others cut these
ofi^" twice one year and only once the next ; others pollard the tree every second year.
409. The eggs of the nioth {Bombyx mori), {fig.Bii.) are hatched in rooms heated by means of stoves to
18° of Reaumur. (72i« Fah.) One ounce of eggs requires one hundred weight of leaves, and will pro-
duce from seven to nine pounds of raw silk. The hatching commences about the end of April, and
with the feeding is over in about a month. Second broods are procured in some places. The silk is wound
off the coccoons or little, balls by women and children. This operation is reserved for leisure days
throughout the rest of the season, or given out to women in towns. The eggs {a) are small round
objects ; the caterinllar [b) attains a considerable size ; the chrysalis (c) is ovate ; and the male (rf) and
female (e) are readily distinguishable.
410. The olive is treated in France in the same way as in Italy. The most luxuriant plantations
are between Aix and Nice. The fruit is pickled green, or when ripe, crushed for oil, as in that
country.
411. Thefis is cultivated in the olive district as a standard tree; and dried for winter use, and ex-
portation. At Argenteuil it is cultivated in the gardening manner for eating green. {See Encyc. of
Gard. art. Fig.)
412. The almond is cultivated about Lyons and in different parts in the department of the Rhone as
standards in the vineyards. As it blossoms early, and the fruit is liable to injury from fogs and rains,
it is a very precarious article of culture, and does not yield a good crop above once in ten years.
413. The caper {JigA9.) is an article of field culture about Toulon ;
it has the habit of a bramble bush, and is planted in squares, ten
ortwelvefeetplant from plant every way. Standard figs, peaches,
and other fruit trees are intermixed with it.
414. The culture of the orange is very limited ; it is conducted in
large walled enclosure at Hieres and its neighborhood. The
fruit, like that of Geneva and Naples, is very inferior to the St.
Michel's and Maltese oranges, as imported to Britain, but the
lemons are good.
415. The winter melon {fig. 57.) is cultivated in different parts of
Provence and I.,anguedoc, and especially in the orange orchards of
Hieres. It forms an article of exportation.
4 1 6. Various other fndts are cultivated by the small
proprietors in the southern and in all the districts of
France, and sold in the adjoining mai'kets ; but this
department of rural economy belongs rather to garden-
ing than to agriculture.
F 4
72
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
Sect. IV. Present State of Agriculture in Holland and the Netherlands.
417. The agriculture of the low countries, and especially of Flanders, has been cele-
brated by the rest of Europe for upwards of 600 years ; that of Holland for its
pasturage, and of the Netherlands for tillage. We shall notice a part of the agricultural
circumstances of the two countries.
SuBSECT. 1. Present State of Agriculture in Holland.
418. The climate of Holland is cold and moist. The surface of the country towards the
sea is low and marshy, and that of the interior sandy, and naturally barren. A considerable
part of Holland, indeed the chief part of the seven provinces comprising the country,
is lower than the sea, and is secured from inundation by immense embankments ; while
the internal water is delivered over these banks into the canals and drains leading to the
sea, by mills, commonly impelled by wind. In the province of Guelderland and other
internal parts, the waste grounds are extensive ; being overrun with broom and heath ; and
the soil a black sand. The marshes, morasses, and heaths, which are characteristic of the
different provinces, are, however, intermixed with cities, towns, villages, groves, gardens,
and meadows to a degree only equalled in England. There are no hills ; but only
gentle elevations, and no extensive woods ; but almost every where an intimate combi-
nation of land, water, and buildings. The soil in the low districts is a rich deep sandy
mud ; sometimes alluvial, but more frequently silicious, and mixed with rotten shells.
In a few places there are beds of decayed trees ; but no where rough gravel or rocks.
The soil of the inland provinces is in general a brown or black sand, naturally poor, and
wherever it is productive, indebted entirely to art.
419. The landed property of Holland is in moderate or rather small divisions, and in the
richer parts, generally in farms of from twenty to one hundred and fifty or two hundred
acres, often farmed by the proprietor. In the interior provinces, both estates and farms
are much larger ; and instances occur of farms of five hundred or seven hundred acres,
partly in tillage, and partly in wood and pasture.
420. The agriculture of Holland is almost entirely confined to a system of pasturage
and dairy management for the production of butter and cheese ; the latter well known
in every part of the world. Almost the only objects of tillage are some madder, tobacco,
and herbage plants and roots for stall feeding the cattle. The pastures, and especially
the lower meadows, produce a coarse grass, but in great abundance. The cows are
allowed to graze at least a part of the day throughout the greater part of the year, but
are generally fed in sheds once a day or oftener, with rape cake, grains, and a great variety
of other preparations. Their manure is preserved with the greatest care, and the
animals themselves are kept perfectly clean. The breed is large, small legged, generally
red and white, with long, but small horns ; they are very well known in England as the
Dutch breed. The fuel used in Amsterdam and most of the towns is peat, and the
ashes are collected and sold at high prices, chiefly to the Flemings, but also to other
nations. A considerable quantity has been imported to England ; they are found ex-
cellent as a top dressing for clovers and other green crops, and are strongly recom-
mended by Sir John Sinclair and other writers. Other particulars of Dutch culture
and economy correspond with the practice of the Netherlands.
421. The field implements, buildings, and operations of Holland, are more ingeniously
contrived and better executed than those of any other country on the Continent. The
best plough in the world (the Scotch plough) is derived from the Rotheram or Dutch
implement. The farmeries, and especially the cow-houses and stables, are remarkable
for arrangements which facilitate and economise manual labor, and ensure comfort to the
animals and general cleanliness. Even
the fences and gates are generally found
in a better state than in most other
countries. They have a simple field
gate {fig. 58.) constructed with few rails,
and balanced so as it may be opened
and shut without straining the posts or
hinges, and which deserves imitation.
Their bridges, foot-planks, and other
mechanical agents of culture, are in general indicative of more art and invention than is
usual in continental agriculture.
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN HOLLAND. 73
SuBSECT. 2. Present State of Agriculture in the Netherlands.
422. The Netherlands and Holland, from the tenth to the fifteenth century, were the
great mart of manufactures and commerce in the west of Europe ; and at the same
time made distinguished progress in other arts. The particular causes which first con-
tributed to the advancement of agriculture are not exactly known at this distance of
time ; but it is certain that even in the thirteenth century the art was in an advanced
state, and ever since, the culture of the low countries, both agricultural and horticultural,
has been looked up to by the rest of Europe.
423. About the beginning of the sevetiteenth century, according to Harte, the Flemings
dealt more in the practice of husbandry, than in publishing books upon the subject :
so that, questionless, their intention was to carry on a private lucrative trade without
instructing their neighbors ; and hence it happened, that whoever wanted to copy their
agriculture, was obliged to travel into their country, and make his own remarks ; as
Plattes, Hartlib, and Sir R. Weston actually did.
424. To make a farm resemble a garden as nearly as. j)0ssible was their principal idea
of husbandry. Such an excellent principle, at first setting out, led them of course to
undertake the culture of small estates only, which they kept free from weeds, continually
turning the ground, and manuring it plentifully and judiciously. Having thus brought
the soil to a just degree of cleanliness, health, and sweetness, they ventured chiefly upon
the culture of the more delicate grasses, as the surest means of acquiring wealth in
husbandry, upon a small scale, without the expense of keeping
many draught horses or servants. After a few years experi-
ence, they soon found that ten acres of the best vegetables for
feeding cattle, properly cultivated, would maintain a larger stock
of grazing animals, than forty acres of common farm-grass : and
the vegetables they chiefly cultivated for this purpose were
lucerne, saintfoin, trefoils of most denominations, sweet fenu-
greek (TngoneZ/a), buck and cow wheat (^Melampyrum j)ratense
Jig. 59. ), field turnips, and spurry [Spergula), by them called
Marian-grass.
425. The political secret of Flemish husbandry was, the letting
farms on improvement. Add to this, they discovered eight or
ten new sorts of manures. They were the first among the
moderns, who ploughed in living crops for the sake of fertilis-
ing the earth, and confined their sheep at night in large sheds
built on purpose, whose floor was covered with sand, or earth,
&c. which the shepherd carted away every morning to the
compost-dunghill. Such was tlie chief mystery of the Flemish
husbandry.
426. The present state of agriculture in the Netherlands corresponds entirely with the
outline given by Harte, and it has probably been in this state for nearly a thousand
years. The country has lately been visited with a view to its rural economy by Sir
John Sinclair, and minutely examined and ably depicted by the Rev. Thomas RadclifF.
To such British farmers as wish to receive a most valuable lecture on the importance of
a proper frugality and economy in farming as well as judicious modes of culture, we
would recommend the latter work ; all that we can do here, is to select from it the leading
features of Flemish farming.
427. The climate of Flanders may be considered as the same as that of Holland, and
not materially different from that of the low parts of the opposite coast of England.
428. The surface of the country is every where flat, or very gently elevated, and some
extensive tracts have been recovered from the sea. The soil is for the most part poor,
generally sandy ; but in various parts of a loamy or clayey nature. " Flanders," Radcliff
observes, '< was in general believed to be a soil of extreme natural richness ; whereas with
the exception of some few districts, it is precisely the reverse." He found the strongest
and best soil near Ostend ; and between Bruges and Ghent some of the worst, being little
better than a pure sand.
429. From confounding the Dutch Netherlands with the Flemish Netherlands, a good deal
of confusion in ideas has resulted. Radcliff, on arriving in Flanders, was informed that,
" with respect to culture, not only the English, but the French, confounded under the
general name of Brabant or Flanders, all the provinces of the low countries, however dif-
ferent might be their modes of cultivation ; but that in Flanders itself, might best be seen,
with what skill the farmer cultivates a bad soil {un sol ingrat), which he forces to return to
him, with usury, a produce that the richest and strongest lands of the neighboring pro-
vinces of Holland refuse to yield." The districts described as East and West Flanders,
are bounded on the east by Brabant and Hainault ; on the west by the German ocean ; on
the north by the seas of Zealand, and the west Scheldt ; and on the south by Picardy,
74
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
or French Flanders. It is about ninety miles long, and sixty broad, and abounds with
towns and villages.
430. The landed property of Flanders is not in large estates : very few amount to
2000 acres. It is generally freehold, or the property of religious or civil corporations.
When the proprietor does not cultivate his own lands, which, however, is most frequently
the case, he lets it on leases; generally of seven, fourteen, or twenty-one years indurance,
at a fixed money rent, and sometimes a corn and money rent combined. The occupier is
bound to live on the premises, pay taxes, effect repairs, preserve timber, not to sublet
without a written agreement ; and to give the usual accommodations to an incoming
tenant at the end of the lease. Leases of fourteen or twenty-one years are most com-
mon : there are scarcely any lands held from year to year, or on the metayer system.
Estates are every where enclosed with hedges, and the fields generally small.
431. Farmeries are convenient, and generally more ample in proportion to the exten-
of the farm than in England. On the larger farms a distillery, oil mill, and sometimes
a flour mill, are added to the usual accommodations. The buildings on a farm of
150 acres of strong soil, enumerated by RadclifF, are : 1. The farm house, with an arched
cellar used as a dairy, an apartment for churning, with an adjoining one for a horse
wheel to turn the churning machinery. 2. A small building for the use of extra laborers,
with a fire-place for cooking. 3. The grange or great barn, 130 feet long, by 35 feet
wide. The ground floor of this structure, besides accommodating by its divisions all the
horses and cows of the farm in comfortable stables, and furnishing two threshing floors
for the flail, is suflScient also for a considerable dep6t of corn in the sheaf, in two ex-
tensive compartments to the height of twelve feet, at which elevation an open floor of
joists, supported by wooden pillars, is extended over the entire area of the barn, and is re-
peated at every five feet in height, to the top. Each floor is braced from the pillars, and
not only forms a connection of strength throughout the whole, but separates at the same
time, without much loss of space, the difl'erent layers of corn, securing them from damage,
by taking off the pressure of the great mass. 4. A house for farming implements, with
granary over, and piggery behind. In the centre is the dunghill ; the bottom of which
is rendered impervious to moisture.
432. A plan of a Flemish farmery, is given by Sir John Sinclair, as suited to a farm
of 300 acres : it is executed with great solidity and a due attention to salubrity, being
vaulted and well aired. Sir John mentions, that he saw in some places, " a mode of
making floors by small brick arches, from one beam to the other instead of using deals,
and then making the floor of bricks," a mode now generally adopted in British manu-
factories ; the beams which serve as abutments being of cast iron, tied together with
transverse wrought iron rods,
433. The accommodations of this farmery {Jig. 60.) are,
(1) The vestibule, or entrance of the farm-house.
{'I) The hall.
(3, 4, and 5) Closets.
(6) Sheds destined for different purposes, but more espe-
cially for elevating or letting down grain trom the granaries, by
machinery.
(7) Kitchen.
(8) Washing-house.
(9) Chamber for female servants.
(10) Hall.
a\ and 12) Closeu.
(13) Necessaries.
^14) Room for the gardener.
(15) Shed for fuel.
(16) Kitchen garden.
(17) Hoggery.
(18) Poultry. yard.
(19 and 20) Stables for cows and calves.
(21) Necessaries for the servants, connected wilh the cis-
terns.
(22 and 23) Sheep folds.
(24 and 251 Sheds for carte.
(26) Bam for the flax.
(27) Area.
(28) Flax barn.
(29 and 7>0) Sheep-houses.
(51 and 32) Stables for the horses and foals.
(33, 34, 35, and 36) Places for the hogs
(37 and 38) Cisterns destined to receive the urine of the
cattle.
(39) Well.
(401 Dung-pit, concave in the middle.
(41) Pool serving to receive the super-abundant waters of
the dung.pit, the weedings of the garden, &c.
(42J Reservoirs to receive the waters of the farm-yard.
(43) Entrance gateway, with dove-cote over.
(44) Small trenches, or gutters.
(45) Sheds destined for clover, cut green in summer, or'drv
in winter.
(46) Cistern for the wash-houses.
(47) Situations of the com stacks, in years of abundance.
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Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN HOLLAND.
75
Four elevations i^fig. 61. a, b, c, d,) represent the four internal sides of the quadrangle.
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434. Vrlne cisterns are formed in the fields, to receive purchased liquid manure; but for that made in
the farm-yard, generally in the yard, or under the stables. In the latter case, the urine is conducted from
each stall to a common grating, through which it descends into the vault ; from thence it is taken up by
a pump : in the best regulated farmeries there is a partition in the cistern, with a valve to admit the con-
tents of the first space into the second, to be preserved there free from the more recent acquisition, age
adding considerably to its eflScacy. This species of manure is relied on beyond any other, upon all the
light soils throughout Flanders, and even upon the strong lands (originally so rich as to preclude the ne-
cessity of manure), is now coming into great esteem, being considered applicable to most crops, and to all
the varieties of soil.
435. The arable lands of Flanders include by far tlie greater part of the surface of the
country. The crops raised are the same as those in Britain; but from local circumstances
flax, hemp, chiccory, rape, spurry, madder, vs'oad, tobacco, and some others enter more
generally into rotations. ^
436. Fallows, according to Sir John Sinclair, are in a great measure abolished, even on strong land ; by
means of which, produce is encreased, and the expense of cultivation, on the crops raised in the course of
a rotation, necessarily diminished; and by the great profit they derive from their flax and rape, or colsat,
they can afford to sell all their crops of graip at a lower rate. Notwithstanding this assertion of Sir John,
it will be found that a fallow enters into the rotation on all the clayey soils of Flanders.
437. In regard to soil and culture, RadclifF arranges Flanders into eleven agricultural
divisions, and we shall notice the soil and rotations, and some other features of culture, in
the first six of these divisions.
438. Thejirst division extends along the north sea, and includes Ostend. This dis-
trict consists of the strongest and heaviest soil which Flanders possesses, and a similarity
of quality prevails generally throughout, with some occasional exceptions. It may be re-
presented as a clay loam of a greyish colour, and yields the various produce to be expected
from a strong soil ; rich pasture, wheat, beans, barley, and rape, considered as pri-
mary crops ; and as secondary (or such as are not so generally cultivated), oats, carrots,
potatoes, flax, and tares. In this division, however, though the nature of the soil may be
stated under the general description of a clay loam, yet there are of this three degrees of
quality, not to be marked by regular limits, but to be found throughout the whole, in
distinct situations. It becomes the more necessary to remark this, as the succession of
crops depends on the quality of the soil ; and as there are here three different degrees
of quality, so are there three different systems of rotation.
439. Upon thejirst quality of soil, the succession is as follows : first year, barley ;
second, beans ; third, wheat ; fourth, oats; fifth, fallow. For the second quality of soil,
the succession is as follows . first year, wheat ; second, beans or tares ; third, wheat or
oats ; fourth, fallow. For the third quality of soil, the succession is as follows : first
year, wheat ; second, fallow ; third, wheat ; fourth, fallow. Besides these three qualities
of strong soil, another of still superior fertility prevails in this district in considerable ex-
tent, known by the denomination of Polders.
440. The polders, or embanked lands of Flanders, are certain areas of land reclaimed
from the sea by embankment, whose surface, once secured from the influx of the tide,
becomes the most productive soil," without requiring the assistance of any description of
manure. They owe their origin partly to the collection of sand in the small branches of
rivers, gradually increasing, so as naturally to embank a portion of land, and convert it
into an arable and fertile soil. They also have proceeded from the contraction of the
river itself, which, by the effect of the tides, is diminished in one place, wiiilst an alluvial
soil is formed in another by its overflow. Hence it is, that within a century, entire
polders in certain situations have been inundated, whilst, in others, new and fertile land
has appeared, as if from the bosom of the water. These operations of nature pointed out
facilities many centuries back, which excited the industry of the low countries, and has
been rewarded by the acquisition of their richest soil. Tliese newly formed lands, before
76 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
their embankment, are called schorres. They are flooded at every tide by the water of
the sea, and are augmented by mire, bits of wood, rushes, sea-weeds, and other marine
plants decayed and putrid, also by shells and lishy particles which the ebb always leaves
behind in considerable quantity. This growing soil soon produces various plants and
grasses, and improves daily. When such lands have acquired a crust or surface of black
earth, three or four inches deep, they may be embanked and fallowed. Those are always
the most productive which have been deepened in their soil by the augmentations of the
sea ; and experience proves, that in the corners and hollows where, from an obstructing
boundary, the greatest quantity of mire has been deposited, the soil is doubly rich and
good, and cannot be impoverished by the crops of many years. In some instances, the
embankments are made on the part of government, in others, by companies or individuals,
under a grant of a specific tenure, (generally twenty-one years), rent free, or according
to circumstances, at some moderate annual payment.
441. The polder of Snaerskirke, near Ostend, contains about 1300 acres. It is of late
formation, and was overflowed by a creek with its minor branches every spring tide. By
constructing two banks and a flood-gate at the creek the sea is excluded, and the space
subdivided by roads, and laid out in fields of thirteen acres each, surrounded by ditches.
The bank is fifteen feet in height, thirty feet in the base, and ten feet across the top : the
land which has been reclaimed by it, was let for a sheep pasturage at 600 francs (25/.) per
annum, and was thrown up by the farmer as untenable. Upon being dried by this sum-
mary improvement, the lots of which are one hundred, of thirteen acres each, and were
sold by auction at an averaage of 7000 francs (29H. 135. 4rf.) each, would now
bring nearly double that rate. They are let to the occupying farmers at 36 guilders the
mesure, or about 21. 15s. the English acre, and are now producing superior crops of rape,
of sucrion, (winter barley), and beans, which constitute the usual rotation ; this, how-
ever, is varied according to circumstances, as follows : — 1 . oats, or rape ; 2. winter
barley, or rape ; 3. winter barley ; 4. beans, pease, or tares.
442. Other examples of reclaimed lands are given. One called the Great Moor, reco-
vered through the spirited exertions of M. Hyrwein, contains 2400 acres. Attempts had
been made to recover it by the Spaniards, in 1610, but without success. This marsh was
seven feet below the level of the surrounding land ; therefore, to drain it, the following
operations became necessary :
443. To surround the whole with a bank of eight feet in height, above the level of the enclosed ground,
formed by the excavation of afossee, fifteen feet wide and ten feet deep, which serves to conduct the water
to the navigable canal.— 7b construct mills to throw the water over the bank into the fossee.— To intersect
the interior by numerous drains from eight to twelve feet wide, with a fall to the respective mills, to which
they conduct all the rain water, and all the sokeage water which oozes through the banks,
444. The mills in use for raising the water, are of a simple but effectual construction,
and are driven by wind. The horizontal shaft above works an upright shaft at the bottom,
of which a screw bucket, twenty -four feet in length, is put in motion by a l)evil wheel, at
such an angle as to give a perpendicular height of eight feet from the level of the interior
drain to the disgorging of the water, which is emptied with great force into the exterior
canal. With full wind, each mill can discharge 150 ^owweawx of water every minute. The
height of the building from the foundation is about fifty feet, one half of it above the level
of the bank. The whole is executed in brick- work, and the entire cost 36,000 francs, about
1500/. British. It is judiciously contrived that the drains, which conduct the water to the
mills, constitute the divisions and subdivisions of the land, forming it into regular oblong
fields of considerable extent, marked out by the lines of ozier which ornament their banks.
Roads of thirty feet wide lead through the whole in parallel directions.
445. The soil of this tract, which has been formed by the alluvial deposit of ages, is a clay
loam, strong and rich, but not of the extraordinary fertility of some polders, which are
cropped independent of manure for many years. The first course of crops commencing
with rape, is obtained without manure, and the return for six years is abundant ; the
second commences and proceeds as follows .
1st Year, fallow, with manure from farm-yard. 5th Year, clover.
•id Ditto, sucrion (winter barley) 6th Ditto, beans and pease mixed.
3d Ditto, beans. 7th Ditto, oats.
4lh Ditto, wheat.
446. The second division adjoins Picardy, but does not extend to the sea. The soil
may be described as a good loam of a yellowish colour, mixed with some sand ; but is
not in its nature as strong as that in the former division. Its chief produce is wheat,
barley, oats, hops, tobacco, meadow, rape-seed and flax, as primary crops; and as se-
condary, buck- wheat, beans, turnips, potatoes, carrots, clover. This division, unlike the
former in this respect, is richly wooded.
447. The general course of crops in this division is as follows :
1 . Wheat upon manured fallow. 7 Beans
i' nV^^' 'T ^^'^^^ *''*^ ^'•^^- ' Or in lieu of the last three crops, thus :
4 xf.rnin^ 1 same year, without manure, •''• Fallow manured.
"*• lurrupSyj ' ^ Ryp-
y Flax, highlj manured with urine and rape take. 7'. Wheat.
6. Wheal. ^_ j^ manured.
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN HOLLAND. 77
!). Wheat. H. Wheat.
10. Oats. l."}. Hops, with abundant marmre.
11. Turnips. - "^ This last crop remains fceneralljr five years, and the ground
12. Rye. is afterwards nt for any kind of produce.
13. Tobacco, three times ploughed, and richly manured.
448. In another part of this division, where hops are not grown, the following rotation
is observed :
1. Potatoes, with manure. 9. Wheat.
2. Wheat. 10. Oats, 1 ..„_ „.,_
3. Beans, with manure. 11. Turnips, J ^""^ ■^^^•
4. Rve. 12. Fallow, without manure.
5. VVheat, with manure. 13. Rye.
6. Clover, top-dressed with fishes. 14. Tobacco, richly manured.
7. Turnips, with manure. 15. Wheat.
8. Flax, highly manured with urine and rape cake.
449. In addition to those crops in some part of the district, particularly in the line be-
tween Woomen and Ypres, magnificent crops of rape are cultivated, and are relied on
as a sure and profitable return. Flax is also a crop upon which their best industry is
bestowed, and their careful preparation of the soil is scarcely to be surpassed by that of
the neatest garden.
450. In the fourth division the soil is a good sandy loam, of a light color, and is in a
superior state of cultivation ; it yields a similai; produce to the foregoing division, with
the same quality of hay ; but plantations are here more numerous. The succession is
as follows :
1. Wheat, with dung. 10. Clover, with ashes, seed sometimes saved.
2. Clover, with ashes, seed sometimes saved. 11. Oats, without manure.
3. Flax, with urine and rape cake. 12. Flax, with urine and rape cake.
4. Wheat, with compost of short dung and various sweepings. 13. Wheat, with dung.
.5. Potatoes, with farm-yard dung or night soil. CBeans, with dung.
6. Rye, with urine. 14.< Beet root, with rape cake, or
7. Rape seed, with rape cake and urine. t Tobacco, with rape cake in great quantities.
8. Potatoes, with dung. Turnips are also grown, but are taken as a second crop after
9. Wheat, with manure of divers kinds. ~ " rape, flax, wheat, or rye.
451. Passing over the other divisions to the eighth and ninth, we find the reporter describes
them as of considerable extent, and in the poverty of their soil and abundance of their pro-
duce, bearing ample testimony to the skill and perseverance of the Flemish farmers. The
soil consists of a poor light sand, in the fifteenth century exhibiting barren gravel and
heaths. The chief produce here is, rye, flax, potatoes, oats, buck-wheat, rape-seed, and
wheat in a few favorable spots ; clover, carrots, and turnips generally.
452. On the western side of these districts, and where the soil is capable of yielding
wheat, there are two modes of rotation : one comprising a nine years' course, in which
wheat is but once introduced ; and the other a ten years' course, in which they contrive
to produce that crop a second time ; but in neither instance without manure, which, in-
deed, is never omitted in these divisions, except for buck-wheat, and occasionally for
rye. The first course alluded to above, is as follows :
1st Year, potatoes or carrots, with four ploughings, and twelve 5th Year, oats with clover, with two ploughings, and ten tons
tons of farm-yard dung, per English acre. and a half of farm-yard dung, per English acre,
^d Year, Jlax, with two ploughings, and 105 Winchester 6th Year, clover, top-dressed, with 105 Winchester bushels
bushels of ashes, and 48 .hogsheads, beer measure, of of peat or Dutch ashes, per English acre.
urine, per English acre. 7th Year, rtye, with one ploughing, and 52 hogsheads, beer
3d Year, reheat, with two ploughings, and ten tons and a measure, of night soil and urine.
half of farm-yard dung, v%x English acre. 8th Year, oats, with two ploughings, and 52 hogsheads, beer
4th Year, rye and turnips, with two ploughings, and ten tons measure, of night soil and urine.
and a naif of farm-yard dung, per English acre. 9th Year, buck wheat, with four ploughings, and without any
manure.
453. Of the Flemish mode of cultivating some particular crops, we shall give a few ex-
amples. The drill husbandry has never been generally introduced in the low countries.
It has been tried in the neighbourhood of Ostend, forty acres of beans against forty acres
of drilled crop, and the result was considered to be in favor of the system. But the row
culture, as distinguished from the raised drill manner, has been long known in the case of
tobacco, cabbages, and some other crops.
454. Wheat is not often diseased in Flanders. Most farmers change their seed, and
others in several places steep it in salt water or urine, and copperas or verdigrise. The
proportion of verdigrise is half a pound to every six bushels of seed ; and the time in
which the latter remains in the mixture is three hours, or one hour if cows' urine be used,
because of its ammonia, which is considered injurious. The ripest and plumpest seed is
always preferred for seed.
455. Rye is grown both as a bread corn, and for the distillery. In Flanders fre-
quently, and in Brabant very generally, the farmer, upon the scale of from one hundred
to two hundred acres of light soil, is also a distiller, purely for the improvement of the
land by the manure of the beasts, which he can feed upon the straw of the rye, and the
grains of the distillery.
456. Buck-wheat enters into the rotations on the poorest soils, and is sown on lands
not got ready in time for other grain. The chief application of buck- wheat is to the
feeding of swine and poultry, for which it is pre-eminent ; it is also used in flour ; as a
constituent in the liquid nourishment prepared for cattle and horses ; and bears no incon-
siderable share in the diet of the peasant. Formed into a cake without yeast, it is a very
wholesome, and not a disagreeable species of bread ; but it is necessary to use it while
78
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
fresh, as, if kept, it would turn sour sooner than bread made of barley, rye, or wheaten
flour. Its blossom is considered to afford the best food for bees. If cut green, it yields
good forage, and if ploughed in when in flower, it is thought one of the best vegetable
manures in use. It is also said to be used in distillation ; but this is not generally ad-
mitted to be the case.
457. Rape, colza, colsat, or cole seed, (not the brassica napus of Linnaeus, but the
JE?. campestris of DecandoUe, and which he thinks a distinct species,) is considered an
important article of Flemish agriculture. It is sometimes sown broad-cast, but the
general and approved method is, by transplanting, which they allege, and apparently
with great justice, to have many advantages : one is, that the seed-bed occupies but a
small space, whilst the land which is to carry the general crop is bearing corn. By
having the plants growing, they have time to harvest their corn, to plough and manure
the stubble intended for the rape, which they put in with the dibble, or the plough, from
the latter end of September to the second week of November, without apprehending
any miscarriage.
458. The seed-bed is sown in August, and even to the middle of September. In October, or sooner,
the stubble is ploughed over, manured, and ploughed again. The plants are dibbled in the seams of the
ploughing, (each furrow slice being twelve inches broad,) and are set out at twelve inche&<iistance in the
rows. Instead of dibbling upon the second ploughing, in many cases they lay the plants at the proper
distances across the furrow, and as the plough goes forward, the roots are covered, and a woman ibllows
to set them a little up, and to give them a firmness in the ground where necessary. Immediately after
the frost, and again in the month of April, the intervals are weeded and hand-hoed, and the earth drawn
up to the plants, which is the last operation till the harvest. It is pulled rather green, but ripens in the
stack ; it is threshed without any particular management ; but the application of the haulm, or straw,
is a matter of new and profitable discovery : it is burned for ashes, as manure, which are found to be so
highly valuable beyond all other sorts which have been tried, that they bear a price as three to one above
the other kinds, and it is considered, that upon clover, a dressing of one-third less of these is amply
sufficient.
459. The seed is soldfor crushing ; or, as is frequently the case, crushed by the farmer
himself; an oil mill being a very common appendage to a farmery.
460. The oilette or poppy (Papaver somniferum), is cultivated in some parts, and
yields a very fine oil ; in many instances, of so good a quality, as to be used for salad
oil. The seed requires a rich, and well manured soil. The crop is generally taken
after rape, for which the ground has been plentifully manured; and for the oilettes it
receives a dressing not less abundant. The seed is sown at the rate of one gallon to the
English acre, and is lightly covered by shovelling the furrows. The average produce
is about thirty Winchester bushels to the English acre. The seed is not so productive as
rape, in point of quantity, but exceeds it in price, both as grain and as oil, by at least
one-sixth. The measure of oil produced from rape, is as one to four of the seed ; that
produced from the seed of the oilettes, is as one to five.
461. Poppi/ seed is sown both in spring and autumn, but the latter is considered the best season ; great
attention is given to the pulverisation of the soil, by frequently harrowing, and (if the weather and state
of the soil permit,) sufficient rolling to reduce all the clods.
462. The harvesting of the poppy is performed in a particular manner, and requires a great number of
hands. The laborers work in a row, and sheets are laid along the line of the standing crop, upon which,
bending the plants gently forward, thev shake out the seed. When it ceases to fall from the capsules,
that row of the plants is pulled up, and placed upright in small sheaves, in the same, or an adjoining
field, in order to ripen such as refused to yield their seed at the first operation.
The sheets are then again drawn forward to the standing crop, and the same pro-
cess is repeated, till all the plants be shaken, pulled up, and removed. In two or
three days, if the weather has been fine, the sheets are placed before the rows of
the sheaves, which are shaken upon them, as the plants were before ; if any seed
remain, it is extracted in the barn by the flail ; and if the weather be unpromising,
the plants are not left in the field after the first operation, but are placed at once
under some cover to ripen, and yield the remainder of their seed, either by being
threshed or shaken.
463. The red clover is an important and frequent article in the
Flemish rotations. The quantity of seed sown does not exceed six
pounds one quarter to the English acre. The soil is ploughed deep
and well prepared, and the crop kept very clear of weeds. Their
great attention to prevent weeds, is marked by the perseverance prac-
tised to get rid of one, which occasionally infests the clover crop,
and is indeed most difficult to be exterminated. The orobanche or
broom rape ( Orobanche major) (Jig. 62.) is a parasitical plant,attaching
itself to the pea tribe, which, in land where clover has been too fre-
quently sown, stations itself at its root, and if suffered to arrive at its
wonted vigor, will spread and destroy an entire crop. The farmer
considers the mischief half done, if this dangerous plant be permitted
to appear above the surface; and he takes the precaution to inspect
his clover in the early spring. The moment the orobanche establishes
itself at the root, the stem and leaf of the clover, deprived of their
circulating juices, faden to a sickly hue, which the farmer recognises,
and, with true Flemish industry, roots up, and destroys the latent
enemy. If this be done in time, and with great care, the crop is saved ;
if not, the infected soil refuses to yield clover again for many years.
I
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN HOLLAND. 79
464. The turnip is not generally cultivated as a main crop, but generally after rye,
or rape, or some crop early removed. The turnip is sown broad-cast, thinned, and
hoed with great care ; but it affords a very scanty crop of green food, generally eat off^
with sheep in September or later. The Swedish turnip is unknown, and indeed the
turnip husbandry, AS practised in Britain, cannot be considered as known in Flanders.
465. I'lie potatoe was introduced early in thfe seventeenth century, but attracted little
notice till the beginning of the eighteenth. It is cultivated with great care. The ground
is trenched to the depth of nearly two feet ; and small square holes having been formed
at about eighteen inches from each other, the set is deposited therein, the hole nearly
filled with dung, and the earth thrown back over all. As the stalks rise they are earthed
up from the intervals, and manured with liquid manure ; and as they continue to rise,
they receive a second earthing round each distinct plant, which, with a suitable weeding,
terminates the labor. Notwithstanding the distance between the plants, the whole surface
is closely covered by the luxuriance of the stems, and the return is abundant. If the
seed be large, it is cut ; if small, it is planted whole : in some parts of the Payes de
Waes they drop the potatoe sets in the furrow as the plough works, and cross-hoe them
as they rise ; but the method first mentioned is the most usual, and the produce in many
cases amounts to ten tons and one-sixth, by th^ English acre.
466. Potatoes are the chief food of the lower classes. They are prized in Flanders, as
being both wholesome and economical, and are considered there so essential to the sub-
sistence of a dense population, that at one time it was in serious contemplation to erect
a statue, or some other monument of the country's gratitude, to the person who first
introduced amongst them so valuable a production. They are also very much used in
feeding cattle and swine ; but for this purpose, a particular sort, much resembling our
ox-noble, or cattle potatoe, is made use of, and the produce is in Flanders, as with us,
considerably greater than that of the other kinds intended for the table.
467. The carrot is a much valued crop in sandy loam. The culture is as follows :
after harvest they give the land a moderate ploughing, which buries the stubble, and
clearing up the furrows to drain off the waters, they let the field lie so for the winter ;
early in spring they give it a second plou^ing very deep, (from eleven to twelve
inches,) and shortly after they harrow the surface well, and spread on it ninety-six carts
of manure to the bonnier, about twenty-one tons to the English acre. This manure is
in general half from the dunghill, and half of what is termed merde, or a collection from
the privies, which being ploughed, in, and the surface made smooth, they sow the seed
in the month of April, broad-cast, and cover it with a harrow. The quantity sown is
estimated at eleven pounds to the bonnier, or about three pounds to the English acre.
The average produce, about one hundred and sixty bushels to the English acre.
468. The carrot, as nutritive food both for cattle afid horses, is a. croj) extreraely valuable. In Flanders
it is generally substituted in the room of hay, and a moderate quantity of oats is also given. To each
horse, in twenty-four hours, a measure is allotted, which weighs about twenty-five pounds. This appears
a great quantity, but it makes hay-feeding altogether unnecessary. To each of the milch cows, a similar
measure is given, including the tops, and this is relied on for good butter, both as to quantity and
quality.
469. The white heeCor mangold-wurzel is not in use in Flanders as food for cattle, but
was orlce cultivated very extensively for the production of sugar. At the time the
French government encouraged the manufacture of sugar from this root, experiments
were made on a considerable scale, and with great success, in the town of Bruges. The
machinery was unexpensive, and the remaining cost was merely that of the manual
labor, and a moderate consumption of fuel. The material itself came at a very low
rate, about ten shillings British by the ton ; and to this circumstance may be chiefly
attributed the cessation of the manufacture. Instead of encouraging the cultivator, the
government leaned altogether to the manufacturer, and made it imperative on every
farmer to give up a certain proportion of his land to this root, without securing to him
a fair remuneration. The consequence was, that the manufacturers, thus supported,
and taking advantage of the constrained supply, have in many instances been known to
refuse payment even of the carriage of a parcel, in other respects sent in gratuitously ;
and a consequence still more natural was, that the farmers, wherever they had the op-
portunity of shaking off so profitless a crop, converted the space it occupied to better
purposes.
470. To the manvfactursr of beet root sugar the profit was ample : an equal quantity of sugar with that
of the West Indies, which at that time sold for five shillings a pound, could be produced on the spot from
mangold-wiirzel, at less than one shilling by the pound : and to such perfection had the sugar thus made
arrived, that the prefect, mayor, and some'of the chief persons of Bruges, who were invited by a manu-
facturer to witness the result of his experiments, allowed the specimens which he produced to exceed
those of the foreign sugar.
471. The process of manufacturing beet root sugar, as then in use, was simple : a cylindrical grater of
sheet-iron was made to work in a trough, prepared at one side in the hopper form, to receive the clean-
washed roots of the beet, which, by the rotation of this rough cylinder, was reduced to a pulp. This pulp,
when placed in bags of linen or hair-cloth, and submitted to a pressure resembling that of a cider-press,
yielded its liquor in considerable quantity ; which, being boiled and subjected to a proportion of lime, the
saccharine matter was precipitated ; the liquor being then got rid of, and a solution of sulphuric acid
80 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part 1.
being added, and boiled again, the lime was disengaged ; the saccharine matter being then freed from the
liquor, granulated, and was ready for the refiner. The pulp has been found to yield, upon distillation,
a wholesome spirit, very inferior, but not very unlike to geneva. It has been proved excellent as a
manure, but not valuable as food for cattle, beyond the first or second day from the press. The foregoing
process required but a fortnight to complete it.
472. Flax is cultivated with the utmost care. The field intended for this crop, after
two or three ploughings and harrowings, is again ploughed, commencing in the centre,
and ploughed round and round to the circumference, so as to leave it without any
furrow. The heavy roller is drawn across the ploughing by three horses ; the liquid
manure is then spread equally over the entire surface, and when well harrowed in by
eight or nine strokes of the harrow, the seed is sown, which is also harrowed in by
a light harrow, with wooden pins of less than three inches; and the surface, to conclude
the operation, is again carefully rolled. Nothing can exceed the smoothness and culti-
vated appearance of fields thus accurately prepared.
473. The manure universally used for the Jlax crop, demands particular notice : it is
termed liquid manure, and consists of the urine of cattle, in which rape-cake has been
dissolved, and in which the vidanges conveyed from the privies of the adjoining towns
and villages, have also been blended. This manure is gradually collected in subter-
raneous vaults of brick-work, at the verge of the farm next to the main road. Those
receptacles are generally forty feet long, by fourteen wide, and seven or eight feet deep,
and in some cases are contrived with the crown of the arch so much below the surface of
the ground, as to admit the plough to work over it. An aperture is left in the side,
through which the manure is received from the cart by means of a shoot or trough, and
at one end an opening is left to bring it up again, by means of a temporary pump, which
delivers it either into carts or tonneaus.
474. The liquid is carried to the field in sheets or barrels, according to the distance.
Where the cart plies, the manure is carried in a great sheet called a voile, closed at the
corners by running strings, and secured to the four uprights of the carts : two men,
standing one on each side of the cart, scatter it with hollow shovels upon the rolled
ground ; or where the tonneaus are made use of, each is carried by two men with poles,
and set down at equal intervals across the field in the line of the rolling. There are two
sets of vessels, which enable the men, who deposit the loaded ones, to bring back the
others empty. One man to each vessel, with a scoop, or rather a kind of bowl with a
long handle, spreads the manure, so as to cover a certain space ; and thus, by preserving
the intervals correctly, they can precisely gauge the quantity for a given extent of surface.
For the flax crop they are profuse ; and of this liquid mixture, in this part of the coun-
try, they usually allow at the rate of 2480 gallons, beer measure, to the English
acre.
475. Spurry (Spergula arvensis) {fig, 63.) is cultivated ^(■^■.vJ'j
on the poorest soils. It is so quick of growth and short of
duration, that it is often made to take an intermediate
place between the harvest and the spring sowing, without
any strict adherence to the regularity of succession. It
is sown sometimes in the spring, but in general in the au-
tumn, immediately after harvesting the corn crops. One
light ploughing is sufficient ; and as the grain is very
small, it is but very lightly covered. About twenty-four
pounds of seed to the acre is the usual quantity. Its growth
is so rapid that in five or six weeks it acquires its full
height, which seldom exceeds twelve or fourteen inches.
The crop is of course a light one, but is considered of great
value, both as supplying a certain quantum of provender "^^"'"'^ \[ *
at very little cost, and as being the best food for milch cows, to improve the quality
of the butter. It lasts till the frost sets in, and is usually fed off by milch cows tethered
on it, but is sometimes cut and carried to the stalls.
476. Where spurry is sown in spring the crop is occasionally made into hay ; but from
the watery nature of the plant, it shrinks very much in bulk, and upon the whole, is much
more advantageously consumed in the other manner. It is indigenous in Flanders j and,
except when cultivated, is looked on as a weed, as in this country.
477. The hop is cultivated on good soils, and generally after wheat. The land being
four times ploughed, the plants are put in in the month of May, in rows with intervals
of six feet, and at six feet distance in the row. In the month of October they raise the
earth round each plant, in little mounds about two feet and a half high, for the purpose
of encouraging a number of shoots, and of preserving them from the frost. When all
harsh weather has disappeared, about the beginning of April in the second year, they
level those little heaps, and take away all superfluous shoots at the root, leaving but
four or five of the strongest. They then spread over the entire surface, at the rate of
twelve carts of 1500lbs. each, by the English acre, of dung, either of cows, or of cows
Book f. AGRICULTURE IN HOLLAND. 81
and swine mixed ; but they avoid the heat and fermentation of horse-dung. This dress-
ing is given when the shoots begin to appear ; at which time also, they fix in the earth
close to each hill, a polo of dry wood, about eighteen feet in length, for the vines to
cling by. In the month of July, they give the surface another dressing with urme, at
the rate of 1000 gallons the English acre. In the month of August, the crop has
nearly arrived at its full growth, and florishes in all its beauty.
478. The crop is ready to gather in the month qf September, when they cut the runners at about three
feet from the ground, and in November they cut them to the earth ; they then heap up the soil about
each plant as before, to the height of two feet and a half, and follow precisely the same course as above-
mentioned, each year, during five, which is the usual time they suffer the plantation to continue, and at
the expiration of which the land is in the highest condition, and suited to the reception of any other
crop.
479. Madder is sometimes cultivated, but only on land of the best quality, and with
plenty of manure. At the end of April or May,- according as the young plants are
large enough to be transplanted, the land must be ploughed in beds of two feet and two feet
and a half wide ; the beds are then to be harrowed and raked, and the young suckers of the
roots or plants are to be put down in rows, at intervals of a foot or a foot and a half, and
at six or eight inches distance in the row.
480. During the entire summer the land should be frequently stirred, and kept free from weeds. In the
month of November, when the leaves are faded, the plants are covered with two inches of earth by a
plough, having the point of the coulter a little raised or rounded, so as not to injure the young 'plants.
481. In the following spring, when the young shoots are four or five inches long, they are gathered or
torn off, and planted in new beds, in the same manner as has been pointed out above ; and then in the
month of September or October, after the faded leaves have been removed, the old roots are taken up.
482. The madder thus taken up should be deposited under cover, to protect it from the rain ; and after
ten or twelve days, placed in an oven moderately heated. When dried sufficiently, it is gently beaten
with a flail, to get rid of any clay that may adhere to the plants ; and by means of a small windmill, is
ground and sifted, to separate it from any remaining earth or dirt. It is then replaced in the oven for a
short time, and when taken out is spread upon a hair-cloth to cool; after which it is ground and
cleaned once more. It is then carried to a bruising-mill, and reduced to a fine powder, and is packed in
casks or barrels for market.
483. The culture of woad, though not general, has been practised in Flanders. It
-was an object with the French government to spread the cultivation of it, and a con-
siderable quantity of seed was sent gratis into the country for that purpose.
484. Woad thrives onhj on gravelly and sandy soils, which must be well pulverized,
manured, and formed into beds, as in the case of madder culture. It is sown in March
or April in rows, or broad-cast and harrowed or covered with a rake. All weeds are
cleared away, and the plants thinned, if a careful culture is followed. Tlie leaves are the
part of the plant which is used by the indigo manufacturer. They should be gathered
singly like those of spinach, as soon as they begin to shew signs of maturity, and the
mature leaves taken off from time to time as they grow. This operation goes on from
June to September in the first year, and from June to August in the second ; when the
plant being a biennial, shoots into flower stems. The leaves are fermented, and the dye
precipitated from the liquor and dried, &c. in a manner analogous to what is prac-
tised in India with indigo ; but with great improvements made at the instigation of the
French government, which, in 1810, called forth the process described in a French
work, and translated in 'the appendix to Radcliff's report. At present it is to be con-
sidered more as matter of curious historical information, or of local adoption than of
general utility ; because no mode of cultivating or preparing woad could bring it into
competition , either in the European or American market, with indigo,
485. With ordinary vegetables the Flemish markets are abundantly supplied. Most of
these are grown by the small farmers, and are of excellent quality. To every cottage
in Flanders a garden of some description is attached ; and according to the means, the
leisure, and the skill of the possessor, is rendered more or less productive. The general
principles of management with all are, frequent digging, careful weeding, ample ma-
nuring, and immediate succession. The notation depends on circumstances. The
chief vegetables in common use are, parsnip, carrot, turnip, scorzonera, savoy, jettechou
cabbage (Brussels sprouts), onions, leeks, pease, beans, and all kinds of salading, with
another vegetable called feve haricot, a large species of French bean, which has a place
in the field or garden of almost every farmer, and being sliced down, pod and seed, is
made a chief ingredient in all farm-house cookery.
486. The treatment of asparagus here, and generally in Flanders, differs considerably
from our method : in forming their beds, they are not by any means particular as to
very deep trenching, or a profusion of manure ; nor, as they grow up, do ihey cover the
beds with litter for the winter, nor fork and dress them in the spring : in the furrows
they form a rich and mellow compost of earth and dung, with which, before winter
sets in, they dress up the beds to the height of nearly eighteen inches from the level of
the crowns, and without any further operation (except supplying the furrows again for
the ensuing year), as soon as the buds appear, they cut them nine inches under the
surface, by which means, having but just reached the light, the whole of the stock is
blanched and tender.
G
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
487. The frequent manurings given by the Flemish farmer astonish a stranger ; the
difficulty is the sources whence it is obtained in sufficient quantity, and this can only be
resolved by referring to the practice of soiling; — to the numerous towns and villages; and
to the care with which every particle of vegetable or animal refuse is saved for this
purpose. Manure in Flanders as in China is an article of trade. The selling price
of each description is easily ascertained : the towns let the cleaning of the streets and
public retiring places at great rents. Chaptal says there are in every town sworn brokers,
expressly for the purpose of valuing night soil ; that these brokers know the exact degree
of fermentation in that manure which suits every kind of vegetable, and at the different
periods of their growth. [Chimie appliquee a I'agnculture, <^c. 1. 137.)
488. Every substance that constitutes, or is convertible to manure, is sought after with
avidity, which accounts for the extreme cleanliness of the Flemish towns and pavements,
hourly resorted to, with brooms and barrows, as a source of profit. Even the chips
which accumulate in the formation of wooden shoes worn by the peasantry, are made to
constitute a part of the compost dung-heap ; and trees are frequently cultivated in bar-
ren lands, merely to remain till their deciduous leaves shall, in course of time, have
formed an artificial surface for the purpose of cultivation. The manures in general use
are,
489. The farm-yard dung, which is a mixture of every matter that the farm-yard produces, formed into
a compost, which consists of dung and litter from the stables, chaff, sweepings, straw, sludge, and rub-
bish, all collected in a hollow part of the yard, so prepared as to prevent the juices from being wasted j
and the value of this, by the cart-load of 1500 lbs. of Ghent, is estimated at five francs.
490. The dung of sheep, pigeons, or poultry) By the same cart-load, five francs and a half.
491. Sweepings of streets and roads. Same quantity, three francs.
492. Ashes of peat and wood mixed. Same quantity, eight francs.
493. Privy manure and urine. Same quantity, seven francs.
494. Lim^. Same quantity, twenty-four francs.
495. Rape cake. Per hundred cakes, fifteen francs.
496. Gypsum, sea-mud, and the sediment of the canals, have been all tried experimentally, and with
fair results ; but the two former have been merely tried ; the latter is used successfully in the vicinity of
Bruges.
497. Bone manure was altogether unknown in Flanders ; but, at the suggestion of Radcliff, is now under
experiment in that country.
498. The agricultural implements of Flanders are by no means such as the excellence
of the Flemish culture would lead us to suspect. They are in general of rude work-
manship, but constructed with attention to strength, durability, and cheapness.
499. Theplotigh has a rude appearance, but works easily and makes excellent work in
loose friable soil ; though it would not make a sharp angled furrow-slice in breaking up
pastures. It is never drawn by more than two horses, and on light sands often by one,
or by a single ass.
500. The binot or waloon plough used in Brabant, described by Sir John Sinclair, is a plough with a
double or scuffler share, two mould-boards, but no coulter. It is chiefly used for breaking up lands. If
the soil is foul, they employ it two or three times, for the purpose of cleaning it thoroughly. The land
is not turned over, as by the plough, and the weeds buried, but the soil is elevated into small ridges, by
means of which the couch and other root-weeds are not only cut, but they are exposed to the frost in
winter, and to the drought of spring, and when the land becomes dry, which it does quickly when thus
elevated, these weeds are collected by the harrow, by a trident (or large pitch -fork), by a rake, or by the
hand. After the binot, the land is always ploughed for the seed furrow. This implement and its appli-
cation are strongly recommended to the British farmer, by Sir J. Sinclair, as improvements ; but as the
editor of the Farmer's Magazine observes, the implement is nothing more than a double mould-board
plough, and the operation of ridging with it is the justly exploded practice of " ribbing." The late
machinist Weir informed us, that he had orders for several binots from Sir J. S. and others, and that he
used exactly the same form, as when a double mould-board plough was ordered.
501. The mouldebaert (Jig. 64.), is a curious and useful implement. It resembles a
large square malt or cinder shovel, strongly prepared with iron on the cutting edge, and
J
Book 1.
AGRICULTURE IN HOLLAND-
8;?
is drawn by a pair of horses with swingle trees. It is used to lessen inequalities of
surface, by removing a part of the soil from the heights to the hollows, which it does in
an easy and expeditious manner. The person who drives with long reins, by pressing
moderately on the handle(a) as the horses go forward, collects, and transports about five
hundred weight of earth to the place where it is to be deposited ; which is effected in the
most summary manner by his letting go the handle : tiiis causes the front, or edge of
the machine, (A) to dip, and catch against the ground, whereby it is at once inverted and
emptied of its load. The extremity of the handle, to which a rope c) is affixed, by this
inversion strikes against, and rests upon the swingle-tree bar, and in this manner the
mouldebaert is drawn along towards the accumulated earth, (^ 63
when, by taking up the rope, the driver draws back the handle,
collects his load as before, proceeds to the spot which is to
receive it, and the horses are never for a moment delayed. The
saving of time and labor, in filling and emptying, gives this
implement a decided superiority over the cart ; nor is the ground
so much injured by this, as by wheels.
502. TheHainault. scythe {fig. 65.) is the general reaping instrument. The
handle is fourteen inches, with a shield for the hand of four and half inches, (
in all eighteen and a half inches : the blade is two feet three inches in length,
the point a little raised, and the entire edge bevelled upwards so as to avoid
the surface of the ground, and the frequent use of the sharpening stone. The
handle of the crook being of hard wood, is used as a scythe board.
503. The great Brabant scythe (fig. 66.), differs little from the British implement, and is in general use for
mowing clover.
504. The ki/landerle, to which Radcliff* seems to attach unmerited importance, is
nothing more than a screen for freeing grain from vermin, dust, or small seeds. It
resembles a gravel screen and is used in the same manner.
505. The trenching spade consists of a blade of iron fifteen inches long, and a han-
dle of two feet. The laborer standing ni the last formed trench, with his left hand at
the bottom of the handle, and his right near the top, by the weight of his body, and
without the assistance of his foot, sinks the spade about eigliteen inches, and
standing sideways, throws off" the soil with a peculiar sleight and turn of the wrist,
so as to lodge it in an oblique position in the trench, and against the preceding line
of work, retiring as he casts it from the spade, and thereby effecting some little mix-
ture of the two strata, though the upper surface is at the same time placed below the
other.
506. The pronged hoe has a pronged blade on one side, and a common plate on tlie
other ; it is exceedingly useful ; one side may be used for cutting weeds where they
prevail, and the other for stirring a surface already clean.
507. The chariot, or great cart, (fig. 61.) is tne only machine of the Flemish farmer
which appears to transgress the bounds of a rigid economy. This, as it is not only
to be used for the transport of grain, but of the farmer and his family occasionally,
to the market-town, is more ornamentally finished than any other, and is painted
in showy colours, chiefly green and red ; an awning also is very ingeniously contrived as an occasional de-
fence against the rain and sun. From the natural spring of so long a perch, the centre part of this machine
is by no means an uneasy conveyance ; and there the farmer sits in all solemnity, whilst a well-appointed
boor acts as a postillion, and his fine and spirited pair of well-trained horses bring him home from market
at a rapid trot.
508. Agricultural operations of every kind are performed with particular care in
Flanders. The most remarkable feature in the operations of culture is the frequent
ploughings given on all soils ; in strong soils, for the sake of pulverization as well as
cleanliness; in the latter, chiefly for the destruction of weeds, and blending the manure'
with the soil. But considering that but one pair of horses is in general allowed to about
thirty acres, it is surprising how (with the execution of all the other farming work)
time can be found for the numl)er of ploughings which are universally given. Very
generally, the number, for the various crops respectively, is as follows :
G 2
84 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
Vfa Wheat, Two ploughings, with two harrowlngs. ; , For Oitelles, Two or three ploughings.withtwoharrowings.
Rye, Two or three ditto, ditto. Tobacco, Four ditto, ditto.
datt. Three ditto, ditto. Hemp, Four ditto, ditto.
Potatoes, Four ditto, ditto. Turniv T Three as a first crop, ditto, ditto.
Carrots, Four ditto, ditto. " lOne as asecond crop, ditto, ditto.
Flax, Two ditto, ditto. Sourru X Three as a first crop, ditto, ditto.
• Buckwheat, Four ditto, ditto. '^ ^'1 One as a second crop, ditto, ditto.
Rape, Three ditto, ditto. Beans, Two, ditto, ditto.
Barley, Three ditto. ditto. Fallows, Four or five ditto, ditto.
509. Trenching is a feature almost peculiar to Flemish farming, and that of Tuscany.
This remarkable practice is confined to the lighter soils, and is unused where the strong
clay prevails. In the districts in which it is adopted, the depth of the operation varies
with that of the soil; but till this shall have arrived at nearly two feet of mellow surface,
a little is added to it at each trenching, by bringing to the top a certain proportion
of the under stratum, which, being exposed to the action of the atmosphere, and
minutely mixed with a soil already fertilised, gradually augments the staple till the
sought-for depth be required.
510. The live stock of Flanders, though good, is not so eminently exemplary as their
tillage culture. The cattle are the short-horned Dutch breed ; the color generally black,
or black and white. Little attention is given to the improvement of the form by selec-
tion. The sheep are long wooled, long legged, and afford a coarse fleece, and very
indiiferent mutton. They are housed at night, and in the day-time follow the shepherd
and his dog through pathways and along the verges of the fields and roads, picking up
a mere subsistence, and never enjoying the range of a sweet and wholesome pasture. In
winter they are let out but once a day, and are fed on rye in the sheep houses, and hay,
&c. A cross with the Merino breed has been tried ; but,, as might have been predicted
from the incongruous parentage, with no benefit. The swine are long legged, narrow
backed, and flat ribbed ; not easily fatted, but M'hen well fed and long kept, making
excellent pork and bacon.
511. The horse is the animal for which Flanders has long been noted for the excellence
of its working breed ; and that of England has been considerably improved by the
frequent importation from thence, of stallions and mares, previous to the French
revolution. The SuflTolk punch horse comes nearest to the most prevalent variety in
Flanders ; the resemblance is strong not only in color, but in some of the essential
points of form ; however, though the prevailing color is chestnut in all its shades, yet
other colors are likewise to be met with ; and, with very few exceptions, the Flemish
horses are of superior strength, and of the true working character. The chief, indeed
almost the only defects to be observed in any are, a want of depth in the girth, and a
dip behind the withers ; for symmetry, perhaps the shoulder also, at the top, should be a
little finer ; but in all other respects they possess the best shapes.
512. Every farmer breeds his own work-horses, and disposes of the redundance. Even the total absencf>
of pasture is not suffered to jirevent it; and the foals are found to thrive remarkably well in a close house.
For this purpose, as well as for the general keep of the stock, a regular dietary is observed. The manger
is formed of well-cemented brick-work, and in summer, clover, and in winter, carrots, are usually
given; hay in very small quantities, but in all cases chopped straw mixed with com or beans, or both,
and water aired by keeping in the stable, and whitened with a pretty strong proportion of barley-meal.
"With every symptom of sufficient spirit, they are docility itself; and besides being obedient to the
word, are guided in intricate cases, in a manner surprising to a stranger, by a single cord ; this rein is
never thick, and, in some instances, is as small as a stout whipcord, and yet in the deeper soils
three powerful horses abreast (the bridles of the middle and ofF-side horses being connected with
that upon the near-side horse, to which this rein is alfixed,) are guided by it at all the turnings, the
ploughman holding the rein in one hand, and his single-handed plough in the other, and performing his
work with the most accurate straightness and predision. Of corn to market, a pair of horses generally
draw two tons ; of manure to the field, one ton and half; and on the pavement in the towns, three tons,
without appearing to be overloaded.
513. The shoeing of horses in Flanders is attended to with particular care,
and in that country has long been practised the mode of preserving the bars of the
hoof, and of letting the frog come in contact with the ground, recommended in
England by Freeman and Professor Colman. The use of cockers, or turned heels, is,
excepting in part, entirely abandoned. In two respects, however, the shoeing in Flanders
differs from any of the methods in use with us. In one, that to prevent ripping, the
hoofs of the fore-feet are pared away towards the toe, and the shoes so fitted, that the
fore part shall not touch (within three-fourths of an inch) the same level surface, upon
which the heel and middle of the shoe shall rest.
514. This preparation of the foot is in general use ; the horses are not thereby in any degree injured,
and are particularly surefooted. The other point of difference is, that the shoe is nailed on flat and close
to the foot, which, in depriving the iron of all spring, and all unequal pressure against the nails, may be
in part the cause of the durability of the shoeing.
515. For shoeing vicious horses every precaution is taken by the use of the forge machine, a common
appendage to the smiths in Flanders. If the horse is not altogether unmanageable his hind foot is tied
to a cross bar, or his fore leg to a stilt and bracket ; but if he is extremely vicious indeed, he can be raised
from the ground in a minute, by means of a cradle-sling of strong girth web, hooked to the upper side-
rails, which, with a slight hand-spike, are turned in the blocks that support them (the extremities of the
sling thereby coiling round them), till the horse is elevated to the proper height, and rendered wholly
powerless.
516. The Flemish and Dutch dairies are more remarkable for the abundance than the
excellence of their products; owing to the inferiority of their pastures, and the cows
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN HOLLAND. 85
being kept the greater part of the winter in the house. In summer the principal article
of food in Flanders is clover, cut and carried to the stall. On a small scale when
pasturage is to be had, they are left at liberty ; when this is not the case, each cow is
led by a rope, and permitted to feed round the grassy borders of the corn-fields, which
are left about ten feet wide for this purpose.
517. The food for one cow in winter for twenty-four hours, is straw, eighteen pounds ; turnips, sixty
pounds. Some farmers lx)il the turnips for them ; others give thera raw, chopping them with the spade :
one or other operation is necessary to obviate the risk ot the animal being choked, where the turnips,
which is usually the case in Flanders, are of too small a size. In lieu of turnips, potatoes, carrots, and
grains, are occasionally given; bean-straw likewise, and uniformly a whit/:? drink, prepared both for
t:ows and horses, and consisting of water in which some oilcake has been dissolved, and whitened with rye-
meal, oatmeal, or the flour of buckwheat.
518. Iti the Dutch dairies the summer feed is pasturage day and night; in winter,
hay, turnips, carrots, grains from the breweries, cakes of linseed, rapeseed, bean and
other meals, and the white drink before mentioned. For the sake of cleanliness, the
tails of the cows are tied to the roof of the cow-house with a cord during the time of
milking. The cow-houses both in Flanders and Holland are kept remarkably clean and
warm; so much so that a gentleman "spoke" to Radcliff ♦« of having drank coffee
with a cowkeeper in the general stable in winter, without the annoyance of cold, of
dirt, or any offensive smell." The Dutch are particularly averse to unfolding the
secrets of their dairy management, and notwithstanding the pointed queries of Sir John
Sinclair on the subject, no satisfactory idea was given him of their mode of manu>
facturing butter or cheese.
519. The woodlands tf Flanders are of considerable extent ; but more remarkable for
the care bestowed on them than for the bulk of timber grown. For the latter purpose,
indeed, the soil is too poor ; most of these woods having been planted or sown on land
considered too poor for tillage.
520, Informing artificial plantations, the general mode is to plough the ground three or four times , and
take a crop of buckwheat ; afterwards the plants or seeds are inserted and hoed for a year or two, till they
cover the surface. For the Scotch pine, which is sometimes sown alone on tlie poorest soils, the most com-
mon and simplest mode, is that of burning the surface, to which process its heathy quality gives great fa-
cility. The ashes being spread, tlie ground is formed into beds from six to fifteen feet wide, according to
circumstances j the seed sown at the rate of six pounds to the English acre, and covered by a light shovel-
ling from the furrows, which are sunk about two feet, not only to supply covering to the beds, but as drains
to carry off the surface water.
521. Extensive artificial woods have been created in this manner, converting a barren
soil into a state of production, the least expensive, very profitable, and highly ornamental.
Of six years' grov/th, there exist florishing plantations (treated in this manner), from
five to nine feet in height. At about ten years from its formation, they begin to thin the
wood, and continue to do so annually, with such profit by the sale, as at the end of thirty
years to have it clear of every charge ; a specific property being thus acquired, by indus**
try and attention merely, without the loss of any capital.
522. Pine woods are often sotvn, and with great success, without the labor of burning
the surface, as at Vladsloo, in the neighborhood of Dixmude, where a luxuriant crop of
but five years' growth, and seven feet in height, had been cultivated by Madame de Cleir,
by merely ploughing the heathy surface into beds of fifteen feet, harrowing, sowing at the
rate of six pounds to the English acre, raking in the seed, and covering the beds lightly
from the furrows, which are sunk about eighteen inches deep.
523. Another inodc of sowing, practised by the Baron de Serret, in the vicinity of Bruges, was productive
of a growth not less luxuriant, merely by sowing the seed upon sand (taken from the excavation for «
building) which was spread over the heathy surface, the secit raked in, and the furrows shovelled up.
524. The sowing of pine seed in many cases is adopted for the purpose of bringing waste land into an arable
state, which, when the timber has been disiKJsed of, is found to yield admirable crops, from a surface soil
formed by the accumulation of the leaves which have fallen for so many years. For this purpose also, the
broom is frequently sown upon waste lands of a similar description, and at the end of four or live years is
pulled away, leaving the soil capable of yielding crops of com.
525. The preservatio7i of trees is attended to in the strictest manner, not only by pro-
prietors, but the government. As an example of this, Radcliff mentions, that at a
certain season of the year, when the caterpillars commence their attack upon the trees,
every farmer is obliged to destroy those upon his own premises, to the satisfaction of the
mayor of his particular commune, or to pay the cost of having it done for him. As a
proof of the strictness with which this is enforced, the governor sends round a circular
letter annually, reminding the sous intendants and mayors of the obligations and
penalties for non-performance.
526. There are a 7iumber (f royal forests in Flanders ; and besides these, all the trees on
the sides of the public roads belong to the government. In West Flanders there are five,
amounting together to nearly 10,000 acres. They are superintended by eighteen persons,
an inspector, resident at Bruges; a deputy inspector, resident at Vpres; two gardes
generaux^ and fourteen particidiers, or privates. The inspector is answerable for all ; from
liim the garde general takes his instructions, and sees that they are enforced by the pri-
vates, to whom is committed the regulation of tlae necessary labor.
G 3
86 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
527. The cuttings take place periodically with respect to small trees and fire- wood, so as to secure an an-
"nual produce ; but reserves are always left to become, eventually, large and valuable timber.
•■ 528. The cutting of the taillis or coppice, chiefly used as tiro- wood, takes place every eleventh year ; that
of the high and grosser coppice, every twenty-fillh year ; the felling of the half-grown forest trees every
sixtieth year j and that of the full-grown forest trees, once in a hundred years.
529. In the management of coppices, it is considered essential to preserve the roots from
stagnant water; the trenches originally formed for that purpose are from time to time
cleared out ; and the sediment and manure from the falling leaves, vvrhich have accumu-
,lated in them, is carefully spread upon tne ridge, or rounded set, which the wood occu-
pies. A second branch of regular attention is to remove all brambles and briars, A
-third, to replace the old and fading stocks by new plantations. A fourth, to thin the
stems with regularity and care.
530. The sorts of trees arc b\xc\\,oa.'k, service, ash, maple, elm, beech, poplar, aspen, wild pine, Wey-
mouth pine, plane, lime, larch, Spanish chestnut, alder. A variety of pine, called the P«(M5 maritimum,
has been tried on the sea-coast, and found to resist the sea breeze. It is said extensive plantations
have been made of this tree on the coast of France, at Bourdeaux, and that it produces excellent
timber ; but whether it is a distinct species, or a variety possessing any particular qualities, or merely
the common wild or Scotch pine, in a favorable situation, does not appear. Most probably the latter
circumstance is the case. The pine is liable to the attacks of tlie Dermestes pini- y^
perda, L. (Jig. 68.) on the wood of the old branches, and the larva of a species of 10/ '
moth, on the loading young shoots. The moth deposits its eggs among the buds at their
extremities : the turpentine or rosin which oozes from the buds, protects the eggs till the
insect is brought out by the warmth of the atmosphere, when vegetation commences ;
it then inserts itself into one of the buds, which at this time begins to shoot, and lodging
itself in the centre of it, perforates the young shoot up and down, till it either breaks off; or withers.
531. The domestic circumstances of the Flemish farmer and his servants are depicted
by Radcliff in a favorable point of view. " Nothing," he says, " tends more to the
uniform advancement of good farming, than a certain degree of ease and comfort in those
who occupy the soil, and in the laboring classes whom they employ. Without it, an
irregular, speculative, and anticipating extraction of" produce, always followed by eventual
loss, is resorted to, in order to meet the emergencies and difficulties of the moment ;
whereas, under different circumstances, the successive returns of a well regulated course,
become the farmer's object, rather than the forced profit of a single year ; whilst he him-
self is thus intrinsically served, his landlord secured, and his ground ameliorated.
532. The laborious industry of the Flemish farmer is recruited by intervals of decent
and comfortable refreshment; and the farm- servants are treated with kindness and re-
spect. They uniformly dine with the farmer and his family, at a clean table-cloth, well
supplied with spoons, with four-pronged forks, and every thing necessary for their
convenience. In Flanders, the gentlemen are all farmers, but the farmers do not aspire
to be gentlemen ; and their servants feel the benefit. They partake with them of a
plentiful and orderly meal, which varies accordmg to circumstances. One standing dish,
however, is universal, a soup, composed of buttermilk, boiled and thickened with flour,
or rye-bread, potatoes, salt pork, salt fish, various vegetables, and eggs : fresh meat and
fresh fish occur occasionally, though not for daily consumption ; add to these, a plen-
tiful supply of butter, or rendered lard, which is sometimes substituted; and when it is
recollected that those articles of provision are always made palatable by very tolerable
cookery, it will be allowed that the farmer's table is comfortably supplied. The potatoes
are always peeled, and are generally stewed in milk ; a particular kind of kidneybean,
as mentioned before, the feve haricot, sliced and stewed in milk also, is a frequent dish.
No farmer is without a well-cultivated garden, full Qf the best vegetables, which all ap-
pear at his own table ; and apples are also introduced into their cookery. The great
fruit and vegetable markets of the towns are supplied by gardeners, who make that their
subsistence ; but the gardens of the farmers, unless in case of redundance, are cultivated
wholly for their own consumption."
533. The farm-servants partake of their master's fare, except in his refreshments of tea, coffee, and
beer.
534. The day-laborers are not so well provided : they have, however, rye-bread, potatoes, buttermilk,
and occasionally some salt pork. The laborer is, in general, very well able to support himself by his
work: in a country where so much manual labor is required in weeding, the laborer's family is
occupied pretty constantly in summer ; and in winter they spin. Each day-laborer has, in most cases, a
small quantity of land, from a rood to half an acre, for his own cultivation.
.53.5. Beggars in common times are scarcely to be seen, except in the towns, and but few there. In
the country, habits of industry are kept up till health fails ; and to meet the inlirmilies of age, the poor
possess a revenue trom pious donations, regulated by the government, and vested by them in commissions,
ofw^hich the mayors of the diflbrent communes are presidents, respectively, in right of their oltice.
5o6. The clothing <f the peasantry is warm and comfortable, good shoes, stockings, and frequently
gaiters of leather or strong linen, which are sold very cheap ; their innate frugality leads them, however,
to economise in those articles, substituting on many occasions coarse flannel socks and wooden sabots,
both of which are supplied in all the public markets, at about eightpence cost. Their comfortable supply
of linen u remarkable; there are few of the laboring classes without many changes. In riding with a
landed proprietor through a part of the country in which his property was situated, a neat cottage pre-
sented Itself: the dipped lieuge v.liich surrounded the garden, covered with linen very white, suggested
an enquiry, " whether it did not belong to a washer-woman ?" The answer was, " That it was occupied
by a laborer and his family, and that the linen was all their own." It must, however, be observed, that
universally m proportion to the supply, is the postponement of the washing, which causes the greater dis-
play, and particularly at the beginning of May, which is a chosen season for this purpose. Any circum-
fctance connected. With the deanhness, health, and comfor^ of the lower classes, is interesting; and to
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN GERMANY. 87
this of which we have been speaking, a peculiar degree of decency is attached. If the laborer is comfort-
able in point of apparel, the farmer is still more so. In home-work, the farmer generally protects his
clothes by a smock-frock of blue linen : a great attention to cleanliness prevails throughout
537. Jrit/i respect to the faryn-house, the exterior is for the most part ornamented by
cfeepers, or fruit-trees trained against the walls ; and within, the neatness which pre-
vails is quite fascinating. Every article of furniture is polished ; the service of pewter
displays a peculiar brightness ; and the tiled floor is purified by frequent ablutions.
538. The cottage of the laborer, though not so well furnished, is, however, as clean ; a
frequent and periodical use of water, and the broom, pervades every house, great and
small, in the country and in towns ; originating, perhaps, in the necessity of cleanliness,
and the public enforcement of it, when Flanders was visited by the plague.
539. The Flemish far r)\er seldom amasses riches, but is rarely afflicted by poverty : in-
dustry and frugality are his characteristics ; he never looks beyond the enjoyment of
moderate comforts ; abstains from spirituous liquors, however easily to be procured ;
never exceeds his means ; pays his rent punctually ; and, in case of emergency, has al-
ways somewhat to command, beyond his necessary disbursements.
540. From this outline of Flemish rural economy, confessedly the best in the climate to
which it belongs with the exception of Britain, what are the general conclusions to be
drawn by a British farmer ? Sir John Sinclair", who visited the country with the avowed
purpose of " ascertaining whether it was not in our power to put an end to that extraor-
dinary difference between the prices of grain in Britain and Flanders (p. 1. and 83.)
which exists at present (1815), or at any rate to bring it nearer its former standard, thus
concludes : " that this may be accomplished, there is every reason to hope will be the
case, provided proper attention is paid to the variou.s particulars enumerated in the pre-
ceding pages, and more especially to the foilowing : To a change of seed from the Con-
tinent ; — the importation of Dutch ashes for our clover, and other crops ; — the use of
salt for agricultural purposes ; — a diminution of fallows ; — more attention to weeding
and to manures ; — a more general culture of flax and rape; — and, above all, to the
means by which the diseases of wheat, and the mildew in particular, can be most effec-
tually prevented." [Tract on Flemish Agriculture, p. 85.)
54 1 . Our opinion on this subject is different : to us, the means to which, according to
Sir John Sinclair, proper attention must be paid, appear most inadequate for the end
proposed, and more especially " the use of salt, Dutch ashes, diminution of fallows, and
a more general culture of flax and rape." The doctrine of the diminution of fallows,
so much insisted on, we consider to be one of the most ruinous ever held forth to
practical farmers. Happily, the most intelligent of these know better than to adopt it in
practice. Economy, industry, and cleanliness, are the words which indicate the gleanings
to be made by the British farmer in Flanders : — but as to lowering the price of grain by
adopting any of these Flemish practices, the idea is ridiculous.
542. The improvements which might be adopted from Great Uritain, by Flemish
farmers, enumerated by Sir John Sinclair, entirely coincide with our views, and we
shall therefore barely enumerate them. They are the adoption of the drill-machine, and
plough combined for. beans and pease; the threshing machine; iron pillars for corn
stacks ; rye-grass to sow with the red clover ; an improved breed of sheep ; the same of
hogs and cows ; lime ; salt (to a certain extent, and principally for seasoning the food
of cattle) ; the Swedish turnip, the improved sorts of potatoe, drilled turnips, and
temporary pastures.
Sect. V. Present State of Agriculture in Germxtny.
543. The agriculture of Germany is, in many respects, less different from that of Britain
than is the agriculture of France or Italy. It is, however, but very imperfectly known in
this country ; partly from the numerous petty states into which the German empire is
divided, which greatly encreases the variety of political circumstances affecting agriculture ;
but principally from the German language being less generally cultivated by Britons, than
that of France or of Italy. The outline which we submit, is drawn chiefly from the pub-
lished journals of recent travellers, especially Jacob, Hodgson, and Bright, and from our
own observations made in 1813 and 1814. We might have rendered it much more
copious by availing ourselves of some knowledge of the German language, and consulting
original works ; but the very contracted statements which we must have given, in order
not to exceed our limits, would not have compensated either the writer or the reader. We
have, therefore, only noticed the general circumstances of the country as to agriculture ;
its common or corn and cattle culture ; and the culture of the warmer climates.
SuBSECT. 1. General View of the Agricultural Circumstances of Germany.
544. A great variety of soil, surface, climate, and culture, must necessarily exist in a
country so extensive as Germany. From the south of Hungary to the north of Den-
mark, arc included upwards of twelve degrees of latitude, which alone is calculated to pro-
G 4
88 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
duce a difference of temperature of twenty degrees -. and the effect of this difference of geo-
graphical position is greatly encreased by the variations of surface ; the immense ridges of
mountains ; inlets of the sea, lakes, and rivers, and extensive plains. The winters in
Denmark and Prussia are very severe, and last from six to eight months ; the winters in
the south of Hungary are from one to three months. The south and south-east of Ger-
many, comprising part of Bohemia, Silesia, and Hungary, are the most mountainous :
and the north-east, including Prussia and part of Holstein and Hanover, presents the
most level surface. The richest soil is included in the interior and south-western parts ;
in the immense plain of the Danube, from Presburg to Belgrade, an extent of three
hundred miles ; and great part of Swabia, Franconia, and Westphalia. The most bar-
ren parts are the mountains and sandy plains and heaths of the north, and especially of
Prussia ; and that country, and part of Denmark and Holstein, abounds also in swamps,
marshes, and stagnant lakes.
545. Landed property throughout Germany is almost universally held on feudal
tenure, and strictly entailed on the eldest son. It is generally in estates from one hun-
dred acres upwards, which cannot be divided or encreased. Most of the sovereigns liave
large domains, and also the religious and civil corporations.
546. The farmers of Germany are almost every where metayers; but the variety of
this mode of holding is much greater there than in France and Italy. In many cases the
farmer does not even find stock ; and in others, as in Hungary and part of Prussia, he
and his family are little better ofi'than the slave cultivators of Russia. In Brandenburg,
Saxony, and part of Hanover, the farmers hold on the meyer tenure, or that of paying a
fixed rent of corn or money, unalterable either by landlord or tenant. In Mecklen-
burg, Friesland, and Holstein, most of the^ property is free, as in Britain, and there
agriculture is carried to great perfection. Tithes are almost universal in Germany;
but are not felt as any great grievance. Poor-rates are unknown.
547. The consequence of these arrangements of landed property in Germany is a com-
paratively fixed state of society. The regulations which have forbid an augmentation
of rent, or a union of farms, and which have secured to the owner the full enjoyment
of the use of the land, have prevented any person, except the sovereign, from amassing
an enormous quantity, and have preserved among the inhabitants a species of equality as
to property. There are, comparatively, few absolutely destitute laborers. The mass
of the people do not live in such affluence as Englishmen ; but this is more than compen-
sated to them by all being in some measure alike. In civilised society, it is not desti-
tution, but the craving wants which the splendor of other persons excites, which are
the true evils of poverty. The meyer regulations have hindered improvement; but they
have also hindered absolute destitution and enormous accumulation.
548. From the regulations concerning landed property in Germany, it has resulted that
fewer paupers are found there than in our country. Some other regulations are known,
which have probably assisted in protecting Germany from the evil of pauperism to the
same extent in which it exists with us. There is no legal provision for paupers. A
law of the guilds, which extended to most trades, forbad, and still forbids, where guilds
are not abolished, journeying mechanics from marrying ; and, in most countries of
Germany, people are obliged to have the permission of the civil magistrate before it is
legal for the clergyman to celebrate a marriage. The permission seems to be given or
withheld as the parties soliciting it are thought by the magistrates to be capable of main-
taining a family. At least, it is to prevent the land from being overrun with paupers
that the law on this subject has been made.
549. The agricidtural j^rnduce of Germany is for the greater part consumed there ;
but excellent wines are exported from Hungary and the Rhine ; and also wool, flax,
timber, bark, hams, salted and smoked, geese, goose quills, the canary, goldfinch, and
other singing birds, silk, &c.
550. The culture of the mulberry and rearing of the silkworm in Germany, is carried
on as far north as Berlin ; that of the vine, to Dresden ; and that of the peach, as a
standard in the fields, to Vienna. The maize is little cultivated in Germany ; but patches
of it are to be found as far north as Augsburg, in Swabia. Rice is cultivated in a few
places in Westphalia. The olive is not planted, because to it, even in the warmest part
of Germany, the winters would prove fatal.
551. The common cultivation includes a\l the different corns ; and many or most of
the legumes, roots, herbage, and grasses, grown in Britain. They grow excellent hemp,
llax, and oats ; and rye is the bread-corn of all Germany. They also cultivate turnips,
rapeseed, madder, woad, tobacco, hops, saffron, teasle, carroway ; many garden vegetables,
such as white beet, French beans, cabbage, carrot, parsnip, &c. ; and some medicinal
plants, as rhubarb, lavender, mint, &c., independently of their garden culture of fruits,
culinary vcgetablch, and herbs for apothecaries. The most common rotation in Ger-
many is two corn crops and a fallow ; or, in poor lands, one or two corn crops, and two
"-f-^^--
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN GERMANY/ 89
or three years' rest ; but in rich lands, in the south-western districts, green crops or
legumes intervene with those of corn.
552. The best pastures and meadows are in Holstein, and along the margin of the Ger-
man Ocean ; and for the same reasons as in Holland and Britain; viz. the mildness and
moisture of the winters. There are also good pastures and meadows on the Danube, in
Hungary ; but the great heats of summer stimulate the plants too much to send
up flowers ; and the culture there is not so perfected as to regulate this tendency by
irrigation. Irrigation, however, is very scientifically conducted in some parts of Hol-
stein, and on the Rhine and Oder.
553. The operations and iinplements of German agriculture vary exceedingly. They
are wretched in Hungary, and some parts of Bohemia, where six or more oxen may be
seen drawing a clumsy plough, entirely of wood, and without a mould-board. In
Denmark, Hanover, and in Prussia, they use much better ploughs, some of which have
iron mould-boards ; and in many places they are drawn by a pair of oxen or horses.
The plough, in the more improved districts, has a straight beam, two low wheels, a share,
which cuts nearly horizontal, and a wooden mould-board, sometimes partially shod with
iron : it is drawn by two horses. In Friesland, and some parts of Holstein, the Dutch
swing-plough is used. The common waggon ' ^g
is a heavy clumsy machine on low wheels {Jig.
69.) The theoretical agriculturists are well
acquainted with all the improved implements
of Britain, and some of them have been in-
troduced, especially in Holstein, Hanover, and £^^
Westphalia ; but these are nothing in a gene- ^^i^^:^^^^~ ^\ if^"
ral view. Horses are the most common ^??-£=a™sssS=^s2*S<^j^J**-^
animals of labor in the north and west of
Germany, and oxen in the south. Fallows are rarely well cultivated ; and nothing can
be worse than the mode of resting lands, and leaving them to be covered with weeds
during two or three years in succession.
554. Of the live stock of Germany, the best breeds of working horses and of oxen are
in Holstein, and some districts between Hamburg and Hanover. The best saddle-
horses are reared in Hungary. There are also excellent oxen and cows reared in that
country, and exported to Italy and Turkey. The best sheep are in Saxony and
Prussia, where the Spanish breed has been naturalised. Swine are common ; but the
breed is every where very inditlerent. Goats are reared in the mountains; and also
asses and mules. The forests are stocked with wild deer, boars, stags, hares, and other
game. Fish are carefully bred and fattened in some places, especially in Prussia ; and
poultry is every where attended to and carried to a high degree of luxury at Vienna.
Bees are attended to in the neighborhood of the forests ; and silkworms in the
southern districts, as far as Presburg. Canary and other singing birds are reared in
Westphalia, and exported to most parts of Europe.
555. The culture afforests is particularly attended to in Germar^y, for the same reasons
as in France, and tlie details in both countries are nearly the same. The number of
German books on Forst-Wissenschaft is astonishing, and most of the writers seem to
consider woodlands in that country as a more eligible source of income than any
other.
556. The common agriculture of Geiinany may be considered as every where in a state
of gradual improvement. Both governments and individuals have formed institutions for
its promotion by the instruction of youth in its principles and most enlightened practices ;
or for the union of men of talent. The Imperial Society of Vienna ; the Georgical
Institution of Presburg, and that of Professor Thaer, in Prussia, may be mentioned
as recent efforts. The farmers in Germany are particularly deficient in breeding and
rearing of horses, cattle, sheep, and swine. Of the two latter, they require new breeds
from judicious crosses; and the former require also selection, and much more care in
rearing. The implements of husbandry require also to be improved, and the importance
of working fallows in a very different manner from what is now done inculcated. If
peace continues, there can be no doubt that these, and every other amelioration, will go
rapidly forward, for the spirit of agricultural improvement is at present, perhaps, more
alive in Germany than in any other country of Europe.
557. In noticing some traits (f agriculture in the different states of Germany, we shall
begin with Denmark at the most northerly extremity, and proceed in the order of geo-
graphical position, to Hungary in the south.
SuBSECT. 2. Agriculture of the Kingdom of Denmark ^ including Greenlayid and Iceland,
558. The improveynent of the agriculture of Denmark may be dated from 1660, when
tlie king became depostic, and was enabled to carry measures of national benefit into
♦execution without the jarring interference of councils. The slaves of the crown were
90 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
immediately made free, and the example followed by several wealthy proprietors.
Acts were passed for uniting and consolidating landed property by equitable exchanges ;
and for preventing the right of freeway ; both which led to enclosures, draining, and ir-
rigation. There are now better meadows, and more hedges and walls in Denmark than
in any country of Germany of the same extent. Various institutions for instruction and
reward were formed, and among others, in 1686, the first veterinary school founded in
Germany. Artificial grasses and herbage plants enter into most rotations, and rye-grass
is perhaps more sown in Holstein than any where, excepting in England. In a word,
considering the disadvantages of climate, the agriculture of Denmark is in a more ad-
vanced state than that of any other kingdom of Germany.
559. The Danish farm-houses are described by Dr. Neale, in 1805, as " generally built upon the same plan,
having externally the appearance of large barns, with folding doors at each end, and of sufficient size to
admit loaded waggons ; on one hand are the apartments occupied by the farmer and his family ; on the
other, the stable, cow-house, dairy, and piggery ; in the centre, a large space, set apart for the waggons,
ploughs, harrows, and other implements of husbandry ; and over head, the granary and hay.loft." As
the postmasters are generally farmers, it is customary to drive in at one end; change horses, and then
drive out at the other, which is the case in the north of Germany and in Poland, and more or less so
in every part of the north of Europe.
560. Of the farmer's family^ the same accomplished traveller observes, " we were often agreeably
surprised at finding the living apartments furnished with a degree of comfort and neatness bordering
upon luxury ; every article was substantially good in itself, and was preserved in the greatest order and
cleanliness. Thus, white muslin curtains, with fringes and draperies, covered the windows; looking
glasses and chests of drawers were placed around ; excellent large feather beds, and a profusion of the
best well bleached linen displayed the industry of the good housewives, while their dinner tables were
equally well supplied with damask cloths, and snowy white napkins ; and near the doors of the dairies
were ranged quantities of large, singularly shaped, brass and copper vessels, bright as mirrors.
561. The dimensions of some of their buildings, he says, c.y^ 70
is surprising ; one measured 110 yards long, resembling in
extent the area of Westminster Hall. On the tops
of their roofs are generally displayed a set of antlers, ^ j. |i|i"^^V\^.v ^'^^v ^K-^^* m
and a weathercock; on others, two horses' heads Ar ^ m ^^v.^^V^-.^^^'l^v^^^Nr^Ss!*-— r — U.
are carved out in wood, and announce the rank of the^
inhabitants; the antlers, or rather bulls' horns, denot-1
ing the house of a tenant ; and the horses' heads, that
of a landed proprietor. This form of building {fig. 70.)-J
seems to have been adopted from the earliest ages:;
amongst the inhabitants of Northern Germany," as
similar ones are described by Joannes Lasicius in the
middle of the sixteenth century. {Travels through Germany, Poland, &c. 13.) '
562. The rural economy of Greenland and Iceland has been given, the former by
Crantz, and the latter by Sir G. Mackenzie. Only a small part of Greenland produces
pasture, and a still smaller part grain. The culture of the last, however, is now given
up. Cabbages and turnips grow well in the gardens, and there are some oak trees,
brambles, and junipers between the 60-* and 65'^ N. lat. Sir G. Mackenzie thinks
potatoes and barley might succeed in some places. There are considerable pasture
farms, a good and hardy breed of horses, and herds and flocks of cattle and sheep.
Farmers have no leases, but pay rent in kind, and cannot be removed from the land
unless it can be proved that they have neglected its culture : that is, they hold on the meyer
system. The stock of cattle and sheep are considered as belonging to the soil of the
landlord. A tenant may quit his farm whenever he chooses, but must leave the proper
amount of stock to be taken by his successor.
SuBSECT. 3. Agriculture of the Kingdom of Prussia.
, 563. The agriculture of Prussia was considerably advanced by its second king,
Frederick William, who is said to have imported 16,000 men from Saltzburg, and ex-
pended 25 millions of francs in building villages and distributing lands among them.
His successor, Frederick the Great, after having conquered a peace, made exertions in
agriculture as extraordinary as in war and architecture. He drained and brought into
cultivation the borders of the lakes of the Netz and the Wasta, and established 3500
families on what was before a marsh. He drained the marsh of Fridburg, and established
on it 400 families. He made extensive drainages, enclosures, and other improvements
in the mark Brandenburg, and in Pomerania, and built the extensive embankments of
Dallast, in Friesland, by which, by degrees, a large tract of land was recovered, which
the sea submerged in 1724. He formed a council of woods and waters for managing
the national forests, and regulating rivers and lakes. He established the Royal Economical
Society of Potsdam, and other societies, and cultivated a farm. He created a market for
agricultural produce, by the establishment of manufactures ; and, in short, he left
nothing unattempted that might benefit his kingdom.
564. Tlie successors of the great Frederick have not distinguished themselves as en-
couragers of agriculture, with the exception of the present king Frederick William I.
who about fifteen years ago established the agricultural institution of Moegelin on the
Oder, conducted by Von Thaer, justly celebrated in Germany as an agricultural
^riter. This institution was visited by Jacob in 181^; and from his work we shall
give a short account of it.
Book 1. AGRICULTURE IN GERMANY. 91
565. The agricultural institution of Moegelin is situated in the country or march of
Brandenburg, about forty-five miles from Berlin. The chief professor, Von Thaer, was
formerly a medical practitioner at Celle, near Luneburg, in the kingdom of Hanover ;
and had distinguished himself by the translation of various agricultural works from the
French and English, and by editing a Magazine of Rural Ecoiiomy. About 1804, the
King of Prussia invited him to settle in his dominions, and gave him the estate of
Moegelin to improve and manage as a pattern farm.
566. This estate consists of 1200 acres. Thaer began by erecting extensive buildings
for himself, three professors, a variety of tradesmen, the requisite agricultural buildings,
and a distillery. The three profei^sors are, one for mathematics, chemistry, and geology;
one for veterinary knowledge ; and a third for botany, and the use of the diflerent vegetable
productions in the Materia Medica, as well as for entomology. Besides these, an ex-
perienced agriculturist is engiged, whose office it is to point out to the pupils the mode
of applying the sciences to the practical business of husbandry. The course commences
in September. During the winter months, the time is occupied in mathematics, and
the first six books of EucUd are studied ; and in the summer, the geometrical knowledge
is practically applied to the measurement of land, timber, buildings, and other objects.
The first principles of chemistry are unfolded. By a good but economical apparatus,
various experiments are made, both on a large and small scale. For the larger experi-
ments, the brew-house and still-house, with their respective fixtures, are found highly
useful.
567. Much attention is paid to the analj/sation of various soils, and the different
kinds, with the relative quantity of their component parts, are arranged with great order
and regularity. The classification is made with neatness, by having the specimens of
soil arranged in order, and distinguished by different colors, llius, for instance, if the
basis of the soil be sandy, the glass has a cover of yellow paper ; if the next predominating
earth be calcareous, the glass has a white ticket on its side ; if it be red clay, it has a
red ticket ; if blue clay, a brown one. Over these tickets, others, of a smaller size,
indicate by their color the tiiird greatest quantity of the particular substance contained
in the soil. This matter may appear to many more ingenious than useful, and savoring
too much of the German habit of generalising. The classification of Von Thaer is,
however, as much adopted, and as commonly used on the large estates in Germany,
where exact statistical accounts are kept, as the classification of Linnaeus in natural
history, is throughout the civilised world.
568. There is a large botanical garden, arranged on the system of the Swedish
naturalist, kept in excellent order, with all the plants labelled, and the Latin as well as
German names. An herbarium, with a good collection of dried plants, which is
constantly encreasing, is open to the examination of the pupils, as well as skeletons of
the different animals, and casts of their several parts, which must be of great use in
veterinary pursuits. Models of agricultural implements, especially of ploughs, are pre-
served in a museum, which is stored as well with such as are common in Germany, as
with those used in England, or other countries.
569. The various implements used on the farm are all made by smitlis, wheelers, and
carpenters, residing round the institution; the workshops are open to the pupils, and
they are encouraged by attentive inspection, to become masters of the more minute
branches of the economy of an estate.
570. T'he sum paid by each pupil is four hundred rix dollars annually, besides which
they provide their own beds and breakfasts. In this country, such an expense precludes,
the admission of all but youths of good fortune. Each has a separate apartment. They
are very well behaved young men, and their conduct to each other, and to the professors^
was polite, even to punctilio.
571. Jacob's opinion of this institution is, that an attempt is made to crowd too mucb
instruction into too short a compass, for many of the pupils spend but one year in the
institution ; and thus only the foundation, and that a very slight one, can be laid in so-
siiort a space of time. It is, however, to be presumed, that the young men come here
prepared with a considerable previous knowledge, as they are mostly between the ages,
of twenty and twenty-four, and some few appeared to be still older.
572. Thefar/nat Moegelin was examined by Jacob in the autumn. The soil is light
and sandy, and the climate cold. The wheat was put in the ground with a drill of
Thaer's invention, which sows and covers nine rows at once, and is drawn by two horses.
The saving of seed Thaer considers the only circumstance which makes drilling prefer-
able to sowing broad-cast, as far as respects wheat, rye, barley, and oats. The average
produce of wheat is sixteen bushels per acre : not much is sown in Prussia, as rye is the
bread corn of that country ; it produces, with Thaer, twenty-two bushels and a half to
the acre. The usual rotation of crops is, potatoes or peas, rye, clover, and wheat.
Winter tares are killed by the frost, and the summer species come to nothing, owing
lo the dry soil and drought. The spurry {Spergula) is therefore grown for the winter
92 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
food of sheep : it is sown on the stubbles immediately after harvest, and in six weeks
furnishes a herbage of which the sheep are very fond, and which is said to be very
nutritious. Potatoes are a favorite crop ; and the small tubered and rather glutinous ill-
flavored sort, common in France and Germany, is preferred, as containing more starch
in proportion to bulk, than the large kinds. Thaer maintains, that beyond a certain
size, the encrease of the potatoe is only water and not nutriment. The produce per
acre is 300 bushels or five tons, which Thaer contends contains more nutriment than
twenty tons of turnips, because the proportion of starch in potatoes to that in turnips is
more than four to one. The soil is excellent for turnips, but the long series of dry
weather, common on the Continent in the beginning of summer, renders them one of the
most uncertain of crops.
573. A brewery and distillery are the necessary accompaniments of every large farming
establishment in Germany. The result of many experiments in the latter, proved that
the same quantity of alcoliol is produced from 100 bushels of potatoes as from twenty-
four bushels of wheat, or thirty-three of barley. As the products of grain, or of pota-
toes, are relatively greater, the distillery is regulated by that proportion. During the
enforcement of the continental system, many experiments were tried in making sugar
from native plants. Yon Thaer found, after many trials, that the most profitable
vegetable from which sugar could be made, was the common garden turnip, (of which
variety Jacob did not ascertain,) and that whilst sugar was sold at a rix dollar the pound, it
was very profitable to extract it from that root. The samples of sugar made during that
period from different roots, the processes, and their results, are carefully preserved in
the -museum, but would now be tedious to describe. They are certainly equal ia
strength of sweetness, and those refined, in color and hardness, to any produced from the
sugar-cane of the tropics.
574. The improvement of the- breed of sheep, which has been an important object
of this establishment, as far as regards the fineness of the wool, has admirably succeeded.
By various crosses from select Merinos ; by sedulously excluding from the flock every
ewe that had coarse wool, and, still more, by keeping them in a warm house during
the winter. Von Thaer has brought the wool of his sheep to great fineness, far greater
than any that is clipped in Spain ; but the improvement of the carcase has been neglected ;
so that his, like all other German mutton, is very indifferent.
575. The various kinds of wool have been arranged by Von Thaer, with the assistance
of the professors of the institution, on cards; and the fineness of that produced from
different races of sheep, is discriminated with geometrical exactness. The finest, are
some specimens from Saxony, his own are the next. The fine Spanish wool from
Leon is inferior to his, in the proportion of eleven to sixteen. The wool from Botany
Bay, bf which he had specimens, is inferior to the Spanish. He had arranged, by a
similar mode, the relative fineness of the wools produced on the different parts of the
body of the sheep, so as to bring under the eye, at one view, the comparative value of
the difierent parts of the fleeces ; and he had, also, ascertained the proportionate weight
of those difterent parts. The application of optics and geometry,, by which the scales
that accompany the specimens are constructed, is such as to leave no doubts on any
mind of the accuracy of the results. The scales, indeed, show only the fineness, and
not the length of the fibre ; which is, I believe, of considerable importance in the
process of spinning. The celebrity of the Moegelin sheep is so widely diffused, that
the ewes and rams are sold at enormous prices to the agriculturists in East Prussia,
Poland, and as far as Russia.
576. The breeding of cows and the rnanagement of a dairy are secondary objects, as far
as regards the mere farming ; but it is attended to with care, for the sake of the pupils,
who thus have before their eyes that branch of agricultural practice, which may be bene-
ficial on some soils, though not adapted to this. The cows are in good order, of an
excellent breed ; and, considering that they are, like the sheep, fed only on potatoes and
chopped straw, are in good condition. They yield when in full milk, from five to six
pounds of butter weekly. The custom of killing the calves, when only a fortnight or
three weeks old, prevails here as well as elsewhere in Germany. There is no disputing
about taste ; but though veal is a favorite food in Germany at the tables of the rich, it
always seems very unpleasant to an Englishman.
577. The ploughs at Moegelin are better constructed than in most parts of Germany. They resemble
our common swing-plough, but with a broader fin at the point of the share. The mould-board is con-
structed on a very good principle, and with great skill ; the convexity of its fore-part so gradually
changing into concavity at the hinder-part, as to turn the soil completely upside down. The land is
cleanly and straightly ploughed to the depth of six and a half or seven inches, with a pair of oxen,
whose usual work is about an acre and a quarter each day.
578. A threshing-machine is rarely used, and only to show the pupils the principle on which it is con.
structed, and the,effect it produces ; but having neither wind nor water machinery to work it, the flail is
almost exclusively used, the threshers receive the sixteenth bushel for their labor. The rate of wages
to the laborers is four groschen a day, winter and summer, besides which, they are provided with
habitations and fuel. The women receive from two to three groschen, according to their strength and
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN GERMANY. 93
skill. They live on rye-bread or potatoes, thin soup, and scarcely any animal food but bacon, and a
very small portion even of that ; yet they look strong and healthy, and tolerably clean.
579. The culture of the vine, and the rearing of the silkworm, is carried on in the more
southerly of the recent territorial accessions which has been made by I*russia. The
culture of culinary vegetables is carried on round Erfurth, and other towns furnished
with them whose neighborhoods are less favorable for their growth. Garden seeds are
also raised at Erfurth, and most of the seedsmen of Germany supplied with them. Anise,
canary, coriander, mustard, and poppy seeds, are grown for distillers and others, and
woad, madder, teasle, saffron, rhubarb, &c., for dyers and druggists.
580. The present king of Prussia has done much for agriculture, and is said to design
more, by lessening the feudal claims of the lords; by permitting estates even of
knightly tenure to be purchased by burghers and non-nobles ; by simplifying the modes
of conveyance and investiture ; by setting an example of renouncing most of the feudal
dues on his vast patrimonial estates; and by making good communications byroads,
rivers, and canals, through his extensive territories. (^Jacob's Travels, &c. 189.)
SuBSECT. 4. Agriculture of the Kingdom of Hanover.
581. The agriculture of the kingdom of Hanoner has been depicted by Hodgson as it
appeared in 1817. The territory attached to the free town of Hanover previously to its
elector being made king of Britain, was very trifling ; but so many dukedoms and other
provinces have been since added, that it now contains upwards of 11,045 square geo-
graphical miles, and 1,314,104 inhabitants.
582. An agricultural society was founded in Hanover in 1751, by Geo. II., and
about the same time one at Celle in Luneburg. The principal business of the latter
was to superintend and conduct a general enclosure of all the common lands ; it was
conducted by Meyer, who wrote a large work on the subject. The present Hanove-
rian ministry are following up the plans of Meyer, and, according to Hodgson, are
*' extremely solicitous to promote agriculture."
583. The landed projierty of Hanover may be thus arranged : One-sixth belongs to
the sovereign, possibly three-sixths to the nobles, one-sixth to the corporations of towns
and religious bodies, and less than one-sixth to persons not noble. The crown lands are let
to noblemen, or rather favored persons, at very moderate rents, who either farm them or
sub -let them to farmers. There are six hundred and forty- four noble properties, but
few of them with mansions ; the proprietors living in towns. For a nobleman to live in
the country without being a magistrate, or without holding some oflSce, is looked on
as degrading. Hodgson met with only three instances of nobles cultivating their own
estates, and then they lived in towns. The farmers of these estates are bauers or
peasants, who hold from ten to eighty acres each, at old fixed rents and services long since
established, and which the landlord has no power to alter. " It may be from this
cause that so few nobles reside in the country. They have in truth no land but what is
occupied by other people. The use of these small portions of land on certain condi-
tions, is the property of the occupier, which he can sell, as the stipulated rent and
services are the property of the landlord. The bauer has an hereditary right to the use ;
the landlord an hereditary right to be paid for that use.
584. The land of religious corporations is let in the same manner as the crown lands.
That of towns is generally divided into very small lots of twelve or ten acres, and let to
the townsmen as gardens, or for growing potatoes and corn for their own consumption.
Almost every family of the middling and poorer classes in towns as well as in the
country has a small portion of land. Most of the towns and villages have large com-
mons, and the inhabitants have certain rights of grazing cows, &c.
585. The occupiers of land may be divided into two classes, meyers and leibeigeners.
The first occupy from eighty to twenty acres, and pay a fixed corn or money rent, which
the landlord cannot alter, nor can he refuse to renew the lease on the death of the
occupier. The money rent paid by such farmers varies from seven to twelve shillings
per acre. The term leibeigener, signifies a slave, or a person who owns his own body
and no more. He also holds his land on fixed terms, independently of the will of his
lord. His conditions are a certain number of days' labor at the different seasons of
sowing, reaping, &c., bringing home his lord's fuel; supplying coach or cart horses when
wanted, and various other feudal services. The stock of the leibeigener is generally the
property of the landlord, who is obliged to make good all accidents or deaths in cattle,
and to supply the family with food when the crops fail. This wretched tenure the
governments of Hanover, Prussia, and Bavaria are endeavoring to mitigate, or do away
altogether ; and so much has already been done that the condition of the peasants is said
to be greatly superior to what it was a century back.
586. The free landed jn-oj^erty of the kingdom of Hanover lies principally in Fries-
land and the marsh lands. There it is cultivated in large, middling, and small farms as
in England, and the agriculture is evidently superior to that of the other provinces.
94 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
587. The large farmers of Hanover have in general extensive rights of pasturage ;
keep large flocks of sheep, grow artificial grasses, turnips, and even florin ; and have
permanent pastures or meadows. Sometimes a brewery, distillery, or public house, is
united with the farm.
588. The farm of Coldingen, within eight miles of Hanover, was visited by Hodgson.
It contained two thousand six hundred acres, with extensive rights of pasturage : it
belonged to the crown, and was rented by an amptman or magistrate. The soil was a
free brown loam, and partly in meadow, liable to be overflown by a river. The rota-
tion on one part of the arable lands was, 1. drilled green crop; 2. wheat or rye;
3. clover; 4. wheat or rye ; 5. barley or pease, and 6. oats or rye. On another portion,
fallow, rape, beans, and the cabbage turnip or kohl-riibe ; flax and oats were introduced.
Seven pair of horses and eight pair of oxen were kept as working cattle. No cattle
were fattened ; but a portion of the land was sub-let for feeding cows.
589. Of sheep there were two thousand two hundred, of a cross between the Rhenish or Saxon breed
and the Merino. No attention was paid to the carcase, but only to the wool. The " shepherds were all
dressed in long white linen coats, and white linen smallclothes, and wore large hats cocked up behind,
and ornamented by a large steel buckle. They all looked respectable and clean. They were paid in pro-
portion to the success of the flock, and had thus a considerable interest in watching over its improvement.
They received a ninth of the profits, but also contributed on extraordinary occasions; such as buying oil-
cake for winter-food, when it was necessary, and on buying new stock, a ninth of the expenses. The
head-shepherd had two-ninths of the profits.
590. Of the workmen on this farm, some were paid in proportion to their labor. The threshers, for
example, were paid with the sixteenth part of what they threshed. Other laborers were hired by the
day, and they received about sevenpence. In harvest-time they may make eightpence. Some are paid
by the piece, and then receive at the rate of two shillings for cutting and binding an acre of corn.
591. The farming of the cultivators of free lands re%emh\Q& that of England, and is
best exemplified on the Elbe, in the neighborhood of Hamburg. A distinguishing
characteristic is, that the farm-houses are not collected in villages ; but each is built on
the ground its owner cultivates. " This," Hodgson observes, " is a most reasonable
plan, and marks a state of society which, in its early stages, was different from that of
the rest of Germany, when all the vassals crowded round the castle of their lord. It is
an emblem of security, and is of itself almost a proof of a different origin in the people,
and of an origin the same as our own. So far as I am acquainted, this mode is fol-
lowed only in Britain, in Holland, on the sea-coast, from the Ems to the Elb, to which
Holstein may be added, and the vale of Arno in Italy. It is now followed in America ;
and we may judge that this reasonable practice is the result of men thinking for them-
selves, and following their individual interest." (^Travels, &c. vol. i. p. 247.) We may
add that it is also followed in great part of the mountainous regions of Norway, Sweden,
and Switzerland. ( See Clarke's Scandinavia and BakewelVs Tarentaise, &c. )
592. Mani/ proprietors of free lands near Hamburg also farm them. Speaking of
these farmers, Hodgson observes, " compared with the other farmers of Germany, they
live in affluence and splendor. They eat meat three or four times a-day, and instead of
being clad in coarse woollen, which has been made by their wives, they wear fine English
clothes, and look like gentlemen. Their sons go for soldier officers, and the daughters
are said to study the Journal des Modes, The proprietors ride into 'town to take their
coffee and play at billiards, and hear and tell the news, and at home tliey drink their
wine out of cut glass, or tea out of china. Their houses are all surrounded by lofty
trees and handsomely laid-out gardens ; the floors are carpeted, and the windows of
plate glass. The dwelling apartments, the barns, and the places for the cattle, are all
covered with one immense roof, and every house looks something like a palace sur-
rounded with a little park. The proprietors direct the agriculture, without working a
great deal themselves, and resemble much in their hearty manners English farmers.
593. In Friesland they use a swing-plough, known in England as the Dutch plough,
the mediate origin of the Rotherham plough, and remotely of Small's Scotch plough.
Even the cottagers who rent free lands are totally different from the bauers. Their
cottages are white-washed ; and they have gardens neatly enclosed, planted with fruit-
trees, and carefully cultivated. Such is the influence of liberty and security.
594. The farming of the bauers, like that of the meyers, is prescribed by the lease,
and consists of two crops of corn and a fallow. " Sometimes," Hodgson observes, " they
may sow a little clover, lucerne, or spergel (spurry) ; but they seldom have meadows,
and keep no more cattle than is necessary for their work, and those tlie common lands
can feed : sheep are only kept where there are extensive heaths ; one or two long-legged
swine are common; and poultry. The large farmers sometimes plough with two oxen ;
but the bauers, except in the sandy districts, invariably use horses. When they are very
poor, and have no horses, they employ their cows. Two or more join their stock, and,
with a team of four cows, they plough very well. Sometimes they work their land with
the spade. The houses of the bauers in Hanover, as in most parts of Germany, are
built of whatever materials are most readily come at, put together in the coarsest man..
ner. They are seldom either painted or white-washed, and are unaccompanied by
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN GERMANY. 95
either yards, rails, gates, gardens, or other enclosures. They seem to be so much
employed in providing the mere necessaries of life, that they have no time to attend
to its luxuries. A savage curiously carves the head of his war-spear, or the handle of
his hatchet, or he cuts his own face and head into pretty devices ; but no German
bauer ever paints his carts or his ploughs, or ornaments his agricultural implements."
(Vol. i. 246.)
595. To improve the agriculture of Hanover, Hodgson justly observes, " the sim-
plest and most effectual way would be for government to sell all the domains by auction
in good-sized farms, as the Prussian government has done in its newly-acquired domi-
nions. This would end in introducing the Northumberland husbandry, to which, ac-
cording both to Jacobs and Hodgson, the soil and climate are well adapted, and double
the present produce would be produced." To these improvements we may suggest
another, that of limiting the rank of noble to the eldest son, so as the rest might, without
disgrace, engage in agriculture or commerce. This last improvement is equally wanted
for the whole of Germany.
SuBSECT. 5. Present State of the Agriculture of Saxony.
596. The husbandry and state of landed property in Saxony has so much in common
with that of Hanover and Prussia, that it will only be requisite to notice the few fea-
tures in which they differ.
597. The culture of the vine and the silkworm are carried on in Saxony, and the latter
to some extent. The vine is chiefly cultivated in the margravate, or county of Theissen,
and entirely in the French manner. (407.) The mulberry is more generally planted
and chiefly to separate properties, or fields, or fill up odd corners, or along roads, as in
the southern provinces of Prussia and Hanover, and in France.
598. The ivool of Saxony is reckoned the finest in Germany. There are three sorts,
that from the native short- wooUed Saxon sheep ; that from the produce of a cross be-
tween this breed and the Merino; and that from the pure Merino. In 1819, Jacob
inspected a flock of pure Merinos, which produced wool that he was told was surpassed
by none in fineness, and the price it brought at market. It was the property of the
lord of the soil, and managed by the amptman, or farmer of the manorial and other
rights. Till the year 1813, it consisted of 1000 sheep; but so many were consumed
in that year, first by the French, and next by the Swedes, that they have not been able to
replace them further than to 650. The land over which they range is extensive and
dry; not good enough to grow flax, but a course of 1. fallow, 2. potatoes, 3. rye or
barley, was followed, and the show of the rye and barley with the potatoes, constituted
the winter food of the sheep. [Travels, &c. p. 265.)
599. The general rotation of crops in Saxony, according to Jacob, is two corn crops,
and a fallow, or two corn crops and pease. There are some exceptions ; and cab-
bages, turnips, and kohl rube are occasionally to be seen. The plough has two
wheels, and is drawn by two oxen ; " and sometimes, notwithstanding the Mosaic
prohibition, with a horse and a cow." There are some fine meadows on the borders
of the brooks near the villages; but they are in general much neglected, and for
want of draining yield but coarse and rushy grass. The houses of the farmers are
in villages, the largest for the amptman, and the next for the meyers and leibeigeners.
** The whole tract of land, from Meissen to within two English miles of Leipsic, is a
sandy loam, admirably calculated for our Norfolk four-course system, by which it
would be enabled to maintain a great quantity of live-stock, and produce double or
treble the quantity of corn it now yields. In the whole distance from Wurzen, about
fifteen miles, I saw but three flocks of sheep ; two were small, the other, which I ex-
amined, consisting of about one thousand ewes, wedders, and tags, belonged to a count,
whose name I did not ascertain. As he is lord of a considerable tract of country, the
flock has the range of many thousand acres in the summer, and in the winter are fed
• with chopped straw and potatoes. Upon our system, which might be advantageously
introduced, the same quantity of land would maintain ten times as many sheep, and
still produce much more corn than it does at present." {Jacob's Travels, 301. )
600. The cows near the villages, between Meissen and Leipsic, were numerous compared with the sheep,
but generally looked poor. " As I saw," continues Jacob, " no hay or corn-stacks in the whole distance,
I had been puzzled to conceive in what manner their cows could be supported through the winter. Upon
inquiring, I learnt a mode of keeping them, which was quite new to me, but which I cannot condemn.
The land is favorable to the growth of cabbages, and abundant quantities are raised, and form a mate-
rial article of human sustenance ; the surplus, which this year is considerable, is made into sour-krout,
with a less portion of salt than is applied when it is prepared as food for man. This is found to be very
good for cows, and favorable to the encrease of their milk, when no green food, or any thing but straw
can be obtained." {Travels, 8cc. 303.)
601. The land mithin two miles of Leipsic is almost wholly in garden-culture, and is vastly productive of
every kind of culinary vegetable. The fruit-trees and orchards, notwithstanding many of them showed
vestiges of the war, surprised Jacob by their abundance. The inhabitants subsist much less on animal
than we do, but a larger quantity of fruit and vegetables is consumed ; and hence they have greater
inducements to improve their quality, and to encrease their quantity, than exist in those rural districts
of Great Britain which are removed from the great towns.
96 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
€02. Jacobus opinion of the agriculture of Saxony is, that it is equal to that of Prussia.
In one respect he thinks it superior, as no portion of the soil is wholly without some
cultivation ; but that cultivation is far below what the land requires, and the produce
much less than the inhabitants must need for their subsistence.
SuBSECT. 6. Present State of the Agriculture of the Kingdom of Bavaria.
603. Bavaria is one of the most backward countries of Germany, in regard to every kind
of improvement. A bigotted and ignorant priesthood, not content with possessing a
valuable portion of the lands of the country, have insisted on the expulsion of the
. protestants, and on the strict observance of the endless holidays and absurd usages whicli
impede the progress of industry among their followers. " Hence a general habit of
indolence and miserable backwardness in all arts, and especially in agriculture ; and
in point of learning, a complete contrast to the north of Germany." During the
electorate of Bavaria, one of its electors, contemporary with Joseph II. of Austria,
desirous of introducing improvements, abolished monastic orders in some parts of his
dominions ; but the people were by no means ripe for such a change, notwithstanding
tlie existence of masonic societies, supposed (but ignorantly) to have rendered them ripe
for any sort of revolution.
604. The surface of Bavaria is mountainous toward the south ; the ground rising in
the direction of the Alps, and containing a number of lakes and marshes, with little
that has as yet been brought under tillage. To the northward are extensive plains, and
also wooded mountains. Indeed, the greater part of the country is either in mountain
or underwood.
605. The crops cultivated are the usual corns, legumes, and roots ; but potatoes and
turnips are not very common. Excellent wine is produced on the hills ; but little silk
or maize even in the warmest parts.
606. Improvements, we are told, are now taking place even in Bavaria.
SuBSECT. 7. Present State of the Agriculture of the Empire of Austria,
607. Agriculture is in a very bachvard state throughout the whole (f the Austrian
dominions. The soil, surface, and climate are almost every where favorable for hus-
bandry ; but the political circumstances of the country, and the ignorance of its in-
habitants, which is greater than in most other parts of Germany, have kept it in nearly a
fixed state for several centuries. Various attempts have been made during the eighteenth
century to improve the condition of the peasantry, and simplify the laws relating to
landed property, especially by Joseph II.; but they have produced no effect, chiefly, as
it appears, because too much was attempted at once. There are agricultural societies at
Vienna, Pesth, Prague, and other places ; and a very complete agricultural school or
georgicon has been established at Kesztheley in Hungary, by a highly patriotic indi-
vidual, Graf Festetits. A copious account of it has been given by Dr. Bright (Travels
in Hungary, in 1814. 361. et seq,), by which it appears considerably more extensive
than those of Hofwyl or Moegelin.
608. The landed property of Austria is under similar circumstances of division and
occupation with that of the rest of Germany. Perhaps the number of large estates is
greater in proportion to the small properties. In Hungary they are of immense extent, and
cultivated almost entirely by their proprietors. " In considering a Hungarian property,"
Dr. Bright observes, "we must figure to ourselves a landed proprietor possessing ten,
twenty, or forty estates, distributed in different parts of the kingdom, reckoning his
acres by hundreds of thousands, and the peasants upon his estates by numbers almost as
great; and remember, that all this extent of land is cultivated, not by farmers, but by
his own stewards and officers, who have not only to take care of the agricultural manage-
ment of the land, but to direct, to a certain extent, the administration of justice
amongst the people : and we must further bear in mind, that perhaps one-third of this
extensive territory consists of the deepest forests, affording a retreat and shelter, not
only to beasts of prey, but to many lawless and desperate characters, who often defy ,
for a great length of time, the vigilance of the police. We shall then have some faint
conception of the situation and duties of a Hungarian magnat."
609. To conduct the business of such extensive domains, a system of officers is formed,
and governed by a court of directors ; and on well-regulated estates, this band of
managers exhibit, in their operations, all the subordination of military, and the accuracy
of mercantile concerns. For this purpose an oflSce is established at or near the estate
on which the magnat resides, in which a court of directors is held at stated periods,
usually once a week. This court consists of a president or plenipotentiary, a director
or solicitor, a prefect, auditor, engineer or architect, a fiscal for law affairs, the keeper
of the archives, besides a secretary, clerks, &c. Its business is to review all that has
taken place on the different estates, whether of an economical or judicial nature, to
examine accounts, and regulate future proceedings. The steward of each separate estate
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN GERMANY.
97
has also a weekly court. It consists of the fiscal or lawyer, the bailifT, the forest master,
the engineer, the treasurer, foremen and sub-foremen, police officers to guard jmsoners and
keep them at work, forest keeper, rangers, and a gaoler. The estates of Prince Ester-
hazy, which are the largest in Europe ; of Graf Festetits, and Prince Ballhyani, are
examples of this mode of government and culture ; of which it may be observed, that, like
many German plans, it is very accurate and systematic, but very unproductive of profit.
610. The crown has immense tracts of lands, especially in Gallicia ; and, independ-
ently of these, the personal estates of the reigning family amount to upwards of
100,000/. sterling a year, all of which are farmed by stewards. In the Moravian, Bo-
hemian, and Austrian districts, however, where the estates are not so large as in Hun-
gary, and the people rather in better circumstances as to property and knowledge, they
are frequently farmed on the meyer system.
611. The Austrian dominions, like the rest of Germany, are unenclosed, with the
usual exceptions ; the farm-houses and cottages are usually built of wood, and thickly
covered with thatch or with shingles. The cottages are remarkably uniform in Hun-
gary, and village scenery there, according to Dr. Bright, must be the dullest in Europe.
Not less so is their cultivated plains : speaking of a plain near Presburg, he says,
" The peasants were employed in ploughing 71
the land, and my driver {Jig- 71.) cheered the
way by a Sclavonian song. But let no one
be induced, by these expressions, to figure to
his imagination a scene of rural delight. The
plain is unenlivened by trees, unintersected by
hedges, and thinly inhabited by human beings ;:
a waste of arable land, badly cultivated, and
yielding imperfect crops to proprietors, who are scarcely conscious of the extent of
territory they possess. It is for some branch of the families of Esterhazy or Palfy, known
to them only by name, that the Sclavonian peasants who inhabit these regions are em-
ployed. Their appearance bespeaks no fostering care from the superior, — no independent
respect, yielded with free satisfaction from the inferior. It is easy to perceive that all sti-
mulus to invention, all incitement to extraordinary exertion, is wanting. No one peasant
has proceeded in the arts of life and civilisation a step farther than his neighbor. When
you have seen one, you have seen all. From the same little hat, covered with oil, falls
the same matted long black hair, negligently plaited, or tied in knots ; and over the same
dirty jacket and trowsers is wrapped on each a cloak of coarse woollen cloth, or sheep-
skin still retaining its wool. Whether it be winter or summer, week-day or sabbath,
the Sclavonian of this district never lays aside his cloak, or is seen but in heavy boots.
612. Their instruments of agriculture {fig. 72.) are throughout the same; and in all
their habitations is observed a perfect uniformity of design. A wide, muddy road separates
two rows of cottages,
which constitute a vil-
lage. From amongst
them, there is no possi-
bility of selecting the best
or the worst; they are
absolutely uniform. In
some villages the cottages
present their ends ; in _
others, their sides to the *^^^|"'
road ; but there is sel- ..^^^^^
dom this variety in the
same village. The in-
terior of the cottage is in
general divided into three small rooms on the ground floor, and a little space in the roof
destined for lumber. The roof is commonly covered with a very thick thatch ; the walls
are white-washed, and pierced towards the road by two small windows. The cottages
are usually placed a few yards distant from each other. The intervening space, defended
by a rail and gate, or a hedge of wicker-work towards the road, forms the farm-yard,
which runs back some way, and contains a shed or outhouse for the cattle. Such is the
outward appearance of the peasant and his habitation. The door opens in the side
. of the house into the middle room, or kitchen, in which is an oven, constructed of clay,
well calculated for baking bread, and various implements for household purposes, which
generally occupy this apartment fully. On each side of the room is a door, communicating
on one hand with the family dormitory, in which are the two windows that look into the road.
This chamber is usually small, but well arranged ; the beds in good order, piled upon each
other, to be spread out on the floor at night; and the walls covered with a multiplicity of
pictures and images of our Saviour, together with dishes, plates, and vessels of coarse
earthenware. The other door from the kitchen leads to the store-room, the repository of
the greater i)art of the peasant's riches, consistinsr of baffs of grain of various kinds, both
98
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
for consumption and for seed, bladders of tallow, sausages, and other articles of provision,
in quantities which it would astonish us to find in an English cottage. We must, however,
keep in mind, that the harvest of the Hungarian peasant anticipates the income of the whole
year ; and, from the circumstances in which he is placed, he should rather be compared with
our farmer than our laborer. The yards or folds between the houses are usually much
neglected, and are the dirty receptacles of a thousand uncleanly objects. Light carts and
ploughs {Jig, 72. \ with which the owner performs his stated labor, — his meagre cattle,
— a loose rudely formed heap of hay, — and half a dozen ragged children, — stand there
in mixed confusion ; over which three or four noble dogs, of a peculiar breed, resembling
in some degree the Newfoundland dog, keep faithful watch." (Trav. in Hung. &c. 19.)
613. The agricultvral produce of Austria is the most varied of any part of Germany.
Excellent wheat is cultivated in Gallicia, where the soil is chiefly on limestone, and in
the adjoining province of Buckowine ; and from both immense quantities are sent down
the Vistula to Dantzic Wheat, rye, and all the other corns, are grown alike in every
district, and the quantity might be greatly encreased if there were a sufficient demand.
Maize is cultivated in Hungary and Transylvania ; millet in Hungary, Sclavonia, and
Carinthia ; and rice in the marshy districts of Temeswar. Tobacco is extensively cul-
tivated in Hungary, and excellent hops are produced in Moravia and Bohemia. It is
estimated that about a sixth part of the Austrian dominions is under tillage. The
most common rotation is two corn crops, and fallow or rest.
614. The vine is cultivated to the greatest extent in Hungary. The well known
Tokay is raised on the last chain of the Carpathian hills in the neighborhood of the
town of Tokay. The district extends over a space of about twenty English miles.
" Throughout the whole of this country it is the custom to collect the grapes which
have become dry and sweet, like raisins, whilst hanging on the trees. They are ga-
thered one by one ; and it is from them alone that the prime Tokay, or, as it is termed,
Tokay Ausbruch, is prepared, which, in 1807, sold for 100 florins the cask of 180
halbes on the spot. They are first put together in a cask, in the bottom of which holes
are bored to let that portion of the juice escape which will run from them without any
pressure. Tliis, which is called Tokay essence, is generally in very small quantity, and
very highly prized. The grapes are then put into a vat, and trampled with the bare
feet, no greater pressure being permitted. To the squeezed mass is next added an
equal quantity of good wine, which is allowed to stand for twenty-four hours, and is
then strained. This juice, without further preparation, becomes the far-famed wine of
Tokay, which is difficult to be obtained, and sells in Vienna at the rate of 121. sterling
per dozen. The greater part of these vineyards is the property of the emperor ;
several, however, are in the hands of nobles." (Bright' s Travels.)
615. Another species of Hungarian wine, called Meneser, is said to equal Tokay ; next
to that in value comes the wines of (Edenburg, Rusth, St. Gyorgy, and Ofen, followed
by a great variety, whose names are as various as the hills which produce them. The grape
which is preferred for making the Tokay and other Hungarian wines of that character,
is a small black or blue grape, figured and described by Sickler in liis Garten Magazine
of 1804, as the Hungarian blue.
616. P/wms are cultivated, or rather planted and left to themselves ; and an excellent
brandy is distilled from the fermented fruit.
617. The culture of silJc is in the least florishing state in Hungary ; but succeeds well
in Austria and Moravia. That of cotton was tried, but left off chiefly on account of the
unfavorableness of the autumns for ripening the capsules. The mountain rice (Oryza
mutica), from the north of China, was cultivated
vrith success, but neglected during the late wars.
" The greatest advantages which it promised
arose from the situations in which it would florish,
and the fact of its not requiring marshy lands,
which are so destructive to the health of those
who are engaged in the cultivation of common
rice. " The rhus cotinus is extensively collected
from the wastes, and used as a tanning plant,
especially in the preparation of morocco leather.
Woad is cultivated as a substitute for indigo ;
the cyperus esculentus i fig. 7S a.), and the as-
tragalus bceticus, (6), as substitutes for coffee ;
the seeds of the latter, and the tubers of the for-
mer, being the parts used. The acer campestre,
platanoides, and pseudo-platanus, have been
tapped for sugar, and the A. saccharinura ex-
tensively cultivated for the same purpose, but
without any useful result. It was found cheaper
to make sugar from the grape. The culture of Coffee, olives, indigo, and other exotics,
has been tried, but failed. ,.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN GERMANY.
99
618. The rearing and care of bees was much attended to during the latter part of the
eighteenth century. A public school was opened at Vienna, and some in the pro-
vinces; and great encouragement was given to such as kept hives. Some proprietors
in Hungary possessed 300 stock -hives. It is customary there to transport them from
place to place, preferring sites where buckwheat or the lime-tree abounds. The honey,
when procured, is greatly encreased in value by exposure to the open air for some weeks
durin<>- winter ; it then becomes hard, and as white as snow, and is sold to the manu-
facturers of liquors at a high price. The noted Italian liqueur, rosoglio, made also in
Dantzic, is nothing more than this honey blanched by frost, and spirit : though
the honey used is said to be that of the lime-tree, which is produced only in the forests
of tliat tree near Kowno on the Niemen, and sells at more than three times the price
of common honey.
619. The live stock of Austria consists of sheep, cattle, horses, pigs, and poultry.
Considerable attention has lately been paid to the breeding of sheep, and tlie Merino
breed has been introduced
on the government estates,
and those of the great pro
prietors. The original Hun-
garian sheep {Ovis strepsi-
cero5)(_/i5. 74.) bears upright
spiral horns, and is covered
with a very coarse wool.
" Improvementon this stock
by crosses," Dr. Bright in-
forms us, *' is become so
general, that a flock of the
native race is seldom to be
met with, excepting on the
estates of religious establish-
ments." Baron Giesler has
long cultivated the Merino
breed in Moravia. In Hun-
gary, Graf Hunyadi has
paid great and successful attention to them for upwards of twenty years. His flock,
when Dr. Bright saw it in 1814, amounted to 17,000, not one of which whose family
he could not trace back for several generations, by reference to his registers.
620. The horned cattle of the Austrian dominions are of various breeds, chiefly Danish
and Swiss. The native Hungarian breed are of a dirty white color, large, vigorous,
and active, with horns of a prodigious length. The cow is deficient in milk ; but where
dairies are established, as in some places near Vienna, the Swiss breed is adopted.
621. The Hungarian horses have long been celebrated, and considerable attempts
made from time to time ^o improve them by crosses with Arabian, English, and Spanish
breeds ; and, lately, races have been established for this purpose. The imperial breeding
shed, or huras of MezChegyes, established in 1783, upon four commons, is the most
extensive thing of the kind in Europe. It extends over nearly 50,000 acres ; employs
500 persons ; and contains nearly 1000 breeding mares of Besarabian, Moldavian,
Spanish, or English extraction.
622. The breed of swine in some parts of Hungary is excellent.
623. Poultry are extensively reared near Vienna, and also frogs and snails. Townson
has described at length the method of treating these reptiles, and of feeding geese for their
livers. ( Travels in Hungary in 1196.)
624. The land tortoise likewise occurs in 7.5
great numbers in various parts of Hungary,
more particularly about Fuzes -Gyarmath,
and the marshes of the river Tlieiss ; and
being deemed a delicacy for the table, is
caught and kept in preserves. The preserve
of Kesztheley encloses about an acre of land,
intersected by trenches and ponds, in which
the animals feed and enjoy themselves. In
one corner was a space separated from the
rest by boards two feet high, forming a pen .
for snails. The upper edge of the boards was|
spiked with nails an inch in height, and ^^^^^^j^/^f^^^f^f^^^^^J^ Z
intervals of half an inch, over which these
animals never attempt to make their way.
This snail {Helix pomatia) {fig. 15 a.) is in
H 2
100 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
great demand in Vienna, where sacks of them are regularly exposed to sale in the market,
alternating with sacks of beans, lentils, kidneybeans, and truffles. [Jig. 15 b.)
625. The implements and operations of the agriculture of Austria differ little from those
of Saxony. Dr. Bright has given a figure of the Hungarian plough and cart, [Jig. 72.),
and blames their mode of depositing their corn in holes in the ground, lined with
straw, by which it acquires ^a strong mouldy smell. Vineyards are carefully dug and
hoed, and the shoots of the vines, in places where the winter is severe, laid down and
covered with earth to protect them from the frost. Many of the great proprietors are
introducin*'- the most improved British implements on their estates, and some have
taken ploughmen from this country to instruct the natives in their use. Prince Esterhazy
has English gardeners, bailiffs, grooms, and other servants.
626. The forests of the Austrian dominions are chiefly in Hungary, and on the
borders of Gallicia on the Carpathian mountains. They contain all the varieties of needle
or pine-leaved, and broad leaved- trees, which are indigenous north of the Rhine. The
oaks of Hungary are perhaps the finest in Europe. The forest of Belevar on the
Drave, was visited by Dr. Bright. It consists chiefly of different species of oak, the
most luxuriant he ever beheld. Thousands measured at several feet above the root,
more than seven feet in diameter ; continue almost of the same size without throw-
ing out a branch, to the height of thirty, forty, and fifty feet, and are still in the most
florishing and healthy condition. Timber there is of little value, excepting for the
buildings wanted on the estate, or for hoops and wine barrels. In some cases the bark
is not even taken from oak-trees ; but in others the leaf galls, and the Knoppern, or
smaller galls, which grow on ^ the calyx of the acorn, are collected and exported for
being used in tanneries.
627. The improvement of the agriculture of Austria seems anxiously desired both by
the government and the great proprietors. Various legislative measures are accordingly
adopted from time to time, societies formed and premiums offered. These will no
doubt have a certain quantum of effect ; but the radical want, in our opinion, is inform-
ation and taste for comfortable living among the lower classes ; and this can only be
brought about by the general diffusion of village schools ; and by establishing easy rates,
at which every peasant might purchase his personal liberty or freedom from the whole,
or a certain part of the services he is now bound to render his lord.
Sect. VI. Of the present State of Agriculture in the Kingdom of Poland.
628. Poland was formerly called the granary of Europe ; but this was when its
boundaries extended from the Baltic to the Black Sea ; and when the Ukraine and
Lithuania were included. At present its limits are so circumscribed, and its arable sur-
face so indifferently cultivated, or naturally so infertile, that the kingdom of Poland,
strictly speaking, furnishes little more corn than supplies its own population. The
immense supplies of wheat sent to Dantzic are chiefly from the detached provinces
of Gallicia, united to Austria, and from Volhynia and Podolia, now belonging to
Russia.
629. The landed estates of Poland are almost every where large, and either belong to
the crown, to the nobles, or to religious corporations. They are farmed by the pro-
prietors, by means of stewards ; or let out in small portions on the meyer or leibeigener
tenure. There are scarcely any free farmers or cottagers. Buonaparte passed an edict,
while Poland was under his protection as a duchy, to annul the leibeigener tenure ; but
it is said the peasants were too much afraid to trust to their own industry to take ad-
vantage of it ; and it was never carried into effect. The nobles have generally houses
on their estates, which they occupy, at least, part of the year ; at other periods it is taken
care of by the steward, who is always admitted at the table of his lord, being himself
what is called of noble descent. The estates of religious houses are of great extent :
they are sometimes let to nobles or others on a corn rent, who generally sublet them ;
and in a few cases they are farmed by the corporation. The postmasters on the different
main roads invariably rent a considerable portion of land for the support of their horses.
Most of these are meteyers, but some are free men, and pay a money rent ; and there
are one or two instances of nobles farming the post.
630. The houses and offices of these noble postmasters {fig. 76.) afford the only distant
resemblance to a British farm-yard, that is to be met with in Poland. The farm-
house and farmery of the peasant postmaster are both included in an immense shed or barn,
with a small apartment at one end for the master's dwelling, the remaining space di-
vided for live stock and implements of every description, and for the cattle, carriages,
and lodging place of travellers who may stop during night. Most of these places are
sufficiently wretched as inns, but in the present state of things they answer very well
for the other purposes to which they are applied, and are superior to the hovels of the
farmers who are not postmasters, and who are clustered together in villages, or in the
outskirts of towns. Some villages, however, in the south of Poland are almost entirely
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN POLAND.
76
101
composed of Jews ; there the houses are generally of a superior construction, {Jig. 77.),
77
but still on the same general plan of a living room at one end of a large bam, the main
area of which serves for all the purposes of a complete farmery. The buildings in Po-
land, excepting those of the principal towns, are constructed of timber and covered with
shingles. The sheds and other agricultural buildings are boarded on the sides ; but the
cottages are formed of logs joined by moss or clay ; of frames filled up with wicker work
and clay ; or of other modes and materials still more rude. The commonest kind have
no chimnies or glass windows.
631. The climate of Poland, though severe, is much less precarious than that of the
south of Germany or of France. A winter of from five to seven months, during the
greater part of which time the soil is covered with snow, is succeeded by a rapid spring
and warm summer; and these are followed by a short cold wet autumn. Under such
a climate good meadows and pastures cannot be expected ; but arable culture is singularly
easy on free soils, which the frost has rendered at once clear from most sorts of weeds,
and soft and mouldy on the surface.
632. The surface of Poland is remarkably even, and the soil almost every where
sandy to a great depth. In many places this sand is calcareous, and produces
abundance of white clover naturally ; in others it is sterile, and only produces
heath or stunted shrubs. On the borders of some of the rivers, as the Bog and the Narew,
it is marshy, and abounds in acorus, iris, typha, and other aquatics or marsh plants.
In no part of the present kingdom of Poland can it be called either hilly or stony,
unless we except some parts on the borders of Silesia and Gallicia. It is almost need-
less to observe, that enclosures are rarely seen in Poland. To the traveller, passing
through the country, it appears an interminable forest, with here and there glades of
coarse pasture, or small tracts of ploughed ground.
633. The arable culture of Poland is abundantly simple : the course of crops is, in
most places, 1st, wheat, barley, or rye ; 2d, oats; 3d , fallow, or several years rest to commence
with fallow. In a very few places clover is sown, and also beans or pease, but only in
small quantities. The digitaria sanguinalis is sown as a plant of luxury in a few places,
and the seeds used as rice : the buckwheat is also sown, and the seeds ground and used as
meal. Almost every farmer sows linseed or hemp, to the extent required for home use,
and some for sale. Rye is the bread corn of the country. Potatoes are now becoming
general ; and succeed well in every part of the country. The mangold, or white beet,
was cultivated in many places in 1811 and 1812, by order of Buonaparte, in order that
the natives might grow their own sugar ; but that is now 'eft off, and the peasants have
not even learned its value as a garden plant, producing chard and spinnage. Turnips or
cabbages are rarely seen even in gardens ; few of the cottagers, indeed, have any garden ;
those who have, cultivate chiefly potatoes, and kohl riibe. Many species of mushrooms
grow wild in the woods and wastes, and most of these are carefully gathered, and cooked
in a variety of ways as in Russia. The wastes or common pastures are left entirely to
nature. There are some tracts of indifferent meadow on the Vistula, at Warsaw,
Thorn, and Craccovie, and some on the tributary streams, which afford a tolerable hay
in summer, and would be greatly improved by draining.
H 3
102 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
634. The implements and operations are incredibly rude. We have seen lands plough-
ed (after their manner) by one cow, tied by the horns to a sharpened pole j in other
instances a pair of oxen drag a wretched .^^ ^^ ^^ '?8
implement (jig. 78. ) formed by the peasant,
who is in all cases his own plough and
wheel-wright, as well as liouse carpenter
and builder. Their best or usual plough
has no mould-board; and the crop is in
many cases more indebted to the excellence ^^
of the soil, and the preceding winter's ^i^SI
frost, than to the farmer. Horses are their
general beasts of labor ; their harness is very rude, often of straw ropes, and twisted
willow shoots. The body of their best mar- ^^^ ^^ ^^ 79
ket carts, in which even the lesser nobles
visit each other, are of wicker-work {jig-19. ),
and the axle a;nd wheels are made without
any iron.
635. The live stock consists chiefly of |^
horses : there are few oxen ; not many
cows, and very few sheep. Poultry are
abundant, and swine ; but the latter of the
yellow long-legged breed. The horses are very hardy animals, and of better shapes than
might be expected from their treatment. Warsaw and Cracow are supplied with beef
and veal, chiefly from the Ukraine. Mutton is little used.
636. The extensive forests of Poland are little attended to, excepting on the banks of
the principal rivers, and where oak abounds, from which bark and whtel spokes may be
procured. These are cut over regularly at intervals, and standards left in the usual way.
The wild or Scotch pine forests, are the most extensive ; these perpetuate themselves
by semination ; and the trees are often so crowded as to be of little use but as fuel. The
chief proprietor of these forests is the crown, and the religious corporations, who,
whenever they can find purchasers, are glad to let them thin out the best trees at a certain
j-ate, and float them down the nearest stream, to the Vistula Pregel or Nieraen. A good
deal has been said about the importance of felling timber at particular seasons. In Po-
land, the operation generally takes place in summer, but not, as far as we could learn,
from any regard to the effect on the timber. The trees are often notched half through a
year or two before, in order to obtain resin. The other products of forests, as fuel, char-
coal, ashes, hoops, poles, &c. are obtained in the usual manner. Game is abundant in
them, and bears, polecats, &c. are to be seen in some places.
637. The manageinent of bees is a material article in the forest culture of Po-
land. The honey is divided into three classes, namely lipiec, leszny, and stepowey
prasznymird, thus described by How. {Gen. Rep. Scot, app.)
638. /-ip«?c is gathered by the bees from the lime-tree alone, and is considered on the Continent most
valuable, not only for the superiority of its flavor, but also for the estimation in which it is held as an
arcanum, in pulmonary complaints, containing very little wax, and being consequently less heating in its
nature ; it is as white as milk, and is only to be met with in the lime-forests, in the neighborhood of the
town of Kowno, in Lithuania. The great demand for this honey occasions it to bear a high price, inso-
much, that a small barrel, containing hardly one pound weight, has Iwen known to sell for two ducats on
the spot. This species of the lime-tree is peculiar to the province of Lithuania ; and is quite different from
all the rest of the genus tiUa, and is called Kamienna lifsa, or stone-lime. The inhabitants have no
regular bee-hives about Kowno ; every peasant who is desirous of rearing bees, goes into the forest and
district belonging to his master, without even his leave, makes a longitudinal hollow, aperture or apertures
in the trunk of a tree, or in the collateral branches, about three feet in length, one foot broad, and about
a foot deep, where he deposits his bees, leaves them some food, but pays very little further attention to
them, until late in the autumn ; when, after cutting out some of their honey, and leaving some for their
maintenance, he secures the aperture properly with clay and straw against the frost and inclemency of the
approaching season ; these tenements (if they may be so called), with their inhabitants, and the produce
of their labor, are then become his indisputable property ; he may sell them, transfer them ; in short, he
may do whatever he pleases with them ; and never is it heard that any depredation is committed on them,
(those of the bear excepted). In Poland, the laws are particularly severe against robbers or destroyers
of this property, punishing the offender, when detected, by cutting out the navel, and drawing out his
intestines round and round the very tree which he has robbed.
639. JVhen spring arrives, the proprietor goes again to the forest, examines the bees, and ascertains
whether there is sufficient food left, till they are able to maintain themselves ; should there not be a suf-
ficient quantity, he deposits with them as much as he judges necessary till the spring blossom appears.
If he observes that his stock has not decreased by mortality, he makes more of these apertures in the colla-
teral branches, or in the trunk of the tree, that in case the bees should swarm in his absence, they may
have a ready asylum. In the autumn he visits them again, carries the June and July work away with
him, which is the lipiec, and leaves only that part for their food which was gathered by them before the
commencement, and after the decay of the flowering of the lime-tree.
640. The leszny, the next class of honey, which is inferior in a great degree to the lipiec, being only for
the common mead, is that of the pine forests ; the inhabitants of which make apertures in the pine-trees,
similar to those near Kowno, and pay the same attention, in regard to the security of the bees, and their
maintenance. The wax is also much inferior in quality} it requires more trouble in the bleaching, and is
only made use of in the churches.
641. The third class of honey is the stepoiuey prasx^nymird, or the honey from meadows or places where
there is an abundance of perennial plants, and hardly any wood. The province of Ukraine produces the very
best, and also the very best wax. In that province the peasants pay particular attention to this branch of
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN POLAND. 103
economy, as it is the only resource they have to enable them to defray the taxes levied by Russia; and
they consider the produce of bees equal to ready money ; wheat, and other species of com, being so very
fluctuating in price, some years it being of so little value, that it is not worth the peasant's trouble to gather
it in : this has happened in the Ukraine, four times in twelve year* : but honey and wax having always a
great demand all over Europe, and even Turkey, some of the peasants have from four to five hundred ule,
or logs of wood in their bee-gardens, which are called paniekOy or bee-hives ; these logs are about six feet
high, commonly of birch wood, (the bees prefer the birch to any other wood,) hollowed out in the middle
for about five feet; several lamina of thin boards are nailed before the aperture, and but a small hole left
in the middle of one of them, for the entrance of the bees. As the bees are often capricious at the begin-
ning of their work, frequently commencing it at the front rather than the back, the peasants cover the
aperture with a number of these thin boards, instead of one entire board, for fear of disturbing them,
should they have begun their work at the front. It may appear extraordinary, but it is nevertheless true,
that in some favorable seasons, this aperture of five feet in length, and a foot wide, is full before August ;
and the peasants are obliged to take the produce long before the usual time, with the view of giving room
to the bees to continue their work, so favorable is the harvest some summers.
642. The process of brewing mead in Poland is very simple : tlii' proportion is three
parts of water to one of honey, and 50 lb. of mild hops to IGS gallons, which is
called a waar, or a brewing. When the water is boiling, both the honey and hops
are thrown into it, and it is kept stirring until it becomes milk warm ; it is then put into
3 large cask, and allowed to ferment for a few days ; it is then drawn off into another
cask, wherein there has been aqua-vitae, or whisky, bunged quite close, and afterwards
taken to the cellars, which in this country are excellent and cool. This mead becomes
good in three years time; and by keeping, it improves like many sorts of wine. The
mead for immediate drink is made from malt, hops, and honey, in the same proportion,
and undergoes a similar process. In Hungary, it is usual to put ginger in mead. There
are other sorts of mead in Poland, as wisniak, dereniak, maliniak ; they are made of
honey, wild cherries, berries of the cornus mascula, and raspberries ; they all undergo the
same process, and are most excellent and wholesome after a few years keeping. The lipiec is
made in the same way ; but it contains the honey and pure water only. The honey gathered
by the bees from the azalea pontica, at Oczakow, and in Potesia in Poland, is of an in-
toxicating nature ; it produces nausea, and is used only for medical purposes, chiefly in
rheumatism, scrophula, and eruption of the skin, in which complaints it has been attend-
ed with great success. In a disease among the hogs called weugry, (a sort of plague
among these animals,) a decoction of the leaves and bu^s of azalea is given with the
greatest effect, and produces almost instantaneous relief. The disease attacks the hogs
with a swelling of their throat, and terminates in large hard knots, not unlike the plague,
on which the decoction acts as a digestive, abates the fever directly in the first stage, and
suppurates the knots. It is used in Turkey, with the same view, the cure of the plague.
643. Such is lhej)resent state of agriculture in Poland, as it appeared to us in 1813 ;
but it must always be recollected, that it does not include either that of Lithuania, or of
Gallicia, which is of a much superior description. Since the middle of the 1 8th century
some of the principal Polish nobles have occasionally made efforts for the improvement
of the agriculture of their country ; but they have not been designed and directed in the
best manner, and what is much worse, not steadily pursued. Splendid wooden houses
and villages have been built, and foreign farmers induced to settle and cultivate the lands.
In the first heat of the business, all went on well ; but the proprietors soon began to cool,
to neglect their new tenants, and leave them to the mercy of their stewards, who, in
Italy and Poland, are known to be the most corrupt set of men that can be met with.
The oppression of these stewards, and the total disregard of their masters to their pro-
mises and agreements made to and with these strangers, have either forced the latter to
return home, or reduced them to the necessity of becoming servants in the towns, or
in Germany ; and we know of instances where it has ruined men of some property
There are one or two exceptions ; but we could produce names and dates in proof of the
general truth of w^hat we have asserted. The failure of a dairy establishment, and of a
brewery, both established before the commencement of the French revolution, is attribut-
able to this sort of conduct in the proprietors.
644. The efforts to introduce a better culture inta Poland since the peace, have been
more general, and conducted on more moderate and rational principles. British imple-
ments have been imported in considerable numbers, and even six or more threshing ma-
chines. Improved breeds of cattle and sheep have been procured from Prussia and Saxony ;
scientific managers are obtained from the German agricultural schools, and what will contri-
bute essentially to improvement, encouragement is given to foreigners to settle by letting or
selling the crown lands, at moderate rates, and not only free from all feudal services for ever,
but for a certain period exempted from government taxes. Add to this, that the leibeigeners
and meyers of every description may buy up the services which they now render their lords,
at very easy rates established by law ; and thus, according to their ambition and means,
render themselves partially or wholly free-men. In short, the most judicious measures
have been taken by the new government of Poland, for the improvement of the country ;
and they have been followed up with considerable vigor by the proprietors. These pro-
prietors are now a different and very superior class of men, to what they were fifty or sixty
years ago.^ They have mostly been officers in the French army, and with it traversed the
104 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
greater part of Europe ; better educated than many of the French, and more engaging in
their manners than the Germans, they may be considered among the first gentlemen of
the Continent. The Polish peasantry are naturally a much more lively and ingenious
race than those of Russia, with whom they are generally compared ; and they will gra-
dually participate in the improvement of their masters.
^ SscT. VII. Present State of the Agriculture of Russia.
645. The rural economy of the Russian empire was first described by Professor Pallas
in his travels to explore that country, made by order of the Empress Catherine. It has
also been incidentally noticed by various travellers, as Tooke, Coxe, Clarke, and several
French and German authors. From these and other works, and a personal residence
which occupied nearly a year, in 1813 and 1814, we shall present a very concise state-
ment of the agricultural circumstances of that semi-barbarous country.
646. The territory of Russia which may be subjected to aration, commences at the
43'' and ends at the GS*^ of north latitude. Farther north, the summers are too short
for ripening even barley, and the climate too severe for the growth of pasture or trees.
It is a black waste, productive of little more than lichens, and supporting a few rein-
deer The southern extremity of Asiatic Russia, on the other hand, admits the culture
of Italy, and even the southern parts in Europe, that of the maize district of France.
647. The climate of Russia has been divided into four regions, the very cold, cold, tem-
perate, and hot. The very cold extends from 60° to 78 of N. latitude, and includes Arch-
ano-el. In many of its districts there is scarcely any summer ; the spring has in general
much /rost, snow, and rain, and the winter is always severe. In this region there is
no agriculture.
648. The cold climate extends from 55^ to 60° N. latitude, and includes Cazan,
Moscow, Petersburg, and Riga ; the summer is short, yet in many districts so warm,
and the days so long, that agricultural crops usually come to perfect maturity, in a much
shorter space of time than else where. The winters are long and severe, even in the
southern parts of the region. The ground round Moscow is generally covered with snow
for six months in the year, and we have seen it covered to the depth of several inches in
the first week of June.
649. The moderate region extends from 50^ to 55° and includes Kioff, Saratoff, "Wilna,
and Smolensko. The Siberia part of this region being very mountainous, the winters
are long and cold ; but in the European part the winter is short and tolerably temperate,
and the summer warm and aigreeable. The snow, however, generally lies from one to
three months, even at Kiolf and Saratoff.
650. The hot region reaches from 43° to 50°, and includes the Taurida, Odessa,
Astracan, and the greater part of Caucasus and the district of KiofF. Here the winter
is short and the summer warm, hot and very dry. The atmosphere in all the different
climates is in general salubrious, both during the intense colds of the north and the
excessive heats of the southerly regions. The most remarkable circumstance is the
shortness of the seasons of spring and autumn, even in the southern regions ; while in
the very cold and cold regions they can hardly be said to exist. About Moscow the ter-
mination of winter and the commencement of summer generally take place about the
end of April. There the rivers, covered a yard in thickness with ice, break up at once
and overflow their banks to a great extent ; in a fortnight the snow has disappeared, the
rotten-like blocks of ice dissolved, and the rivers are confined to their limits. A crackling
from the bursting of buds is heard in the birch forests ; in two days afterwards, they are in
leaf; corn which was sown as soon as the lands were sufficiently dry to plough, is now
sprung up, and wheat and rye luxuriant. Reaping commences in the government of
Moscow in September, and finishes by the middle of October. Heavy rains and sleet
then come on, and by the beginning of November the ground is covered with snow, which
accumulates generally to two or three feet in thickness before the middle of January, and
remains with little addition till it dissolves in the following April and May. The cli-
mate of Russia therefore, though severe, is not so uncertain as that of some other coun-
tries. From the middle of November till April it scarcely ever snows or rains ; and if
the cold is severe it is dry, enlivening, and at least foreseen and provided for. Its greatest
evils are violent summer rains, boisterous winds, and continued autumnal fogs. Late
frosts are more injurious than long droughts ; though there are instances of such hot and
dry summers, that fields of standing corn and forests take fire and fill whole provinces
with smoke. (TooJce's View of the Russian Empire.)
651. The surface of Russia is almost every where flat, like that of Poland, with the
exception of certain ridges of mountains which separate Siberia from the other provinces,
and which also occur in Siberian Russia. In travelling from Riga, Petersburg, Wilna, or
Brody, to Odessa, the traveller scarcely meets with an inequality sufficiently great to be
termed a hill ; but he will meet with a greater proportion of forests, steppes or immense
plains of pasture, sandy wastes, marshy surfaces, and gulleys or temporary water
courses, than in any other country of Europe.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN RUSSIA.
105
652. The soil of Russia is almost every where a soft black mould of great depth, and
generally on a sandy bottom. In some places it inclines to sand or gravel j in many it
is peaty or boggy from not being drained; but only in Livonia and some parts of Lithu-
ania was it inclined to clay, and no where to chalk. The most fertile provinces are
those of Vladimir and Riazane east of Moscow, and the whole country of the Ukraine on
the Black Sea, and of the Cossacks on the Don. In Vladimir thirty fold is often produced,
and still more in Riazane. In many parts of the Ukraine no manure is used ; the
straw is burned ; successive crops of wheat are taken from the same soil, and after a
single ploughing each time, the stalks are so tall and thick that they resemble reeds,
and the leaves are like those of Indian corn.
653. Landed j)roperty in Russia is almost every where in large tracts, and is either
the property of the emperor, the religious or civil corporations, or the nobles. There
are a few free natives who have purchased their liberty, and some foreigners, especially
Germans, who have landed estates, but these are comparatively of no account. In the
Ukraine, within the last thirty years, have been introduced on the government estates a
number of foreigners from most countries of Europe, who may be considered as pro-
prietors. These occupy the lands on leases of a hundred years or upwards, at little or no
rent, on condition of peopling and cultivating them and residing there. In the country
parts of Russia, there is no middle class between the nobles, including the priests, and
the slaves. Estates are therefore either cultivated directly by the proprietors acting as
their own stewards ; indirectly by letting them to agents or factors, as in Poland and Ire-
land, or by dividing them in small portions among the peasantry. In general the pro-
prietor is his own agent and farmer for a great part of his estate ; and the rest he lets to his
slaves at certain rates of labor, corn, personal services, and sometimes a little money. These
slaves, it is to be observed, are as much his property as the soil ; and in seasons of scarcity
or in the event of any disaster, the lord is bound to provide them, and indeed deeply
interested in doing so, in order at least to maintain the population, and if possible to
obtain a surplus for sale, or for letting out to the towns. As in Poland the lands are
everywhere unenclosed.
654. The farmeries attached to the houses of noblemen and the cottages of the paysants
resemble those of Poland. They are almost every where constructed of timber ; the
stove and its chimney being the only part built of brick or of mud and stones. The
noblemen generally reside on their estates, and their houses are surrounded by the village
which contains their peasants. These villages (^g. 80.) are in general dull and miserable
80
assemblages of log-houses all of one size and shape, with a small wooden church.
The mansions of the poorer kind are merely cottages on a larger scale, with two apart-
ments ; one used for all the purposes of the kitchen and other domestic offices, and the
other for all the purposes of the family living rooms. The more wealthy nobles have
wooden or brick houses stuccoed, or mudded and white washed. One nobleman in
the neighborhood of Moscow has a British steward, who has drained, enclosed, and greatly
improved his estate, and has built some farmeries (^fig, 81.), which might be mistaken
for those of another country.
81
106 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pari I.
655. The agricultural products of Russia may be known from its climates. The
vegetables of the most northerly region are limited to lichens, some coarse grass, and
some birch, abele, and wild pine forests. The animals are the reindeer, bear, fox, and
otlier animals of the chace, or valued for their furs or skins. Some cows and sheep are
also pastured in the northern parts of that region during the summer months.
656. The farming crops of the more southern regions are the same as in similar climates
and countries. Winter and summer rye and oats are cultivated in every part of th6
empire, south of latitude 60^ ; winter wheat only in Russia as far as the Kama ; summer
wheat both in Russia and Siberia ; barley and spelt plentifully in Russia. Pease, vetches,
and beans are not cultivated in great quantities ; but buckwheat is extensively grown, and
there is a large variety, called the tartarian millet ; panicum germanicum, and maize are
grown in Taurida. Rice is cultivated in some parts of Taurida, and what is called manna
{Festucafuitans) grows wild in most places that are occasionally overflown with water,
particularly in the governments of Novogorod, Twer, Polotsk, and Smolensk. But
the grain the most universally cultivated in Russia is rye, which is the bread corn of the
country ; next oats, which furnishes the spirit in common use, and then wheat and barley.
657. The culture of herbage plants, of grasses, clover, turnips, &c., is rare in Russia.
Hay is made from the banks of rivers or lakes ; and pasture obtained from the steppes,
forests, grass lands in common, or arable lands at rest.
658. The clothing and other economical plants in cultivation, are flax, which is culti-
vated to a great extent on the Volga; hemp is indigenous, and is cultivated both for
its fibre and its seed. From the latter an oil is expressed much used as food during the
time of the fasts. Woad is abundantly grown, madder and cotton has been tried in
Astracan and Taurida. Hops grow wild in abundance in some parts of Siberia, and
are cultivated in some European districts. Tobacco is planted in great abundance, and
the produce in the Ukraine is of excellent quality. The potatoe is not yet in general
cultivation, but has been introduced in different districts. Water melons, cabbages,
turnips, and a variety of garden vegetables, are cultivated in the Ukraine and Taurida.
Asparagus is extensively cultivated in the government of Moscow for the Petersburg
market, and also turnips, onions, and carrots. Mushrooms are found in great plenty in
the steppes and forests. About thirty species are eaten by the peasants, exclusive of our
garden mushroom, which is neglected. Theirnames and habitats are given by Dr. Lyall.
{History of Moscow, 1824. ) The common, and Siberian nettle, are found wild on the Ural
mountains, and their fibres are prepared and wove into linen by the Baschkirs and
Tatars. The rearing of silkworms has been tried in the Ukraine, and found to answer,
as has the culture of the caper, and various other plants.
659. Of fruits grown on a large scale, or plentiful in a wild state in Russia, may be
mentioned the raspberry, currant, strawberry, and bilberry. The hazle is so plen-
tiful in Kazan, that an oil used as food is made from the nuts. Sugar, musk, and
water melons thrive in the open air as far north as lat. 52^. Pears are wild almost every
where, and cherries found in most forests. On the Oka and Volga are extensive
orchards, principally of these fruits and apples. The apricot, almond, and peach succeed
as standards in Taurida and Caucasus, and other southern districts. The quince is
wild in forests on the Terek. Chestnuts are found singly in Taurida and districts
adjacent. The walnut abounds in most southern districts. Figs and orange trees
grow singly in Kitzliar and in Taurida, planted no doubt by the Tatars before they
were driven out of that country. Lemons, oranges, and olives, according to Pallas,
would bear the winter in Taurida ; and have been tried by Stevens, the director of a
government nursery at Nikitka, in that country. The vine is cultivated in the govern-
ments of Caucasus, Taurida, Ekatorinoslaf, and other places, and it is calculated that
nearly one fourth part of the empire is fit for the culture of this fruit for wine. An
account of the products of the Crimea is given by Mary Holderness, (Notes, &c., 1821.)
from which it appears that all the fruits of France may be grown in the open air there,
and that many of our culinary vegetables are found in a wild state. The Tatar inhabi-
tants, who were driven out by the ambitious wars of Catherine, had formed gardens and
orchards round their villages which still exist, and present a singular combination of
beauty, luxuriance, and ruin. The gardens of the village of Karagoss form a wilder-
ness of upwards of three hundred and sixty English acres, full of scenes of the greatest
beauty, and through which, she says, it requires a little experience to be able to find one's
way. [jVotes, 8ic., 125 — 135.)
660. The live stock of the Russian farmer consists of the reindeer, horse, ox, ass,
mule, and camel as beasts of labor; the ox, sheep, and swine, and in some places the
goat and rabbit, as beasts of clothing and nourishment. Poultry are common, and
housed with the family to promote early laying, in order to have eggs by Easter, a great
object with a view to certain ceremonies in the Russian religion. Bees are much attended
to in the Ural, in some parts of Lithuania, and in the southern provinces. The Russian
working horses are remarkably strong and hardy ; rather small, with large heads, long
flabby ears, not handsome, but not without spirit. The best saddle horses are those of the
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN RUSSIA. 107
Cossacks and Tatars in the Crimea. The horned cattle of the native breeds are small and
brisk ; the cows give but little milk, which is poor and thin. A Dutch breed was intro-
duced by Peter the Great, near Archangel, and do not degenerate. Oxen are much less
used than horses as beasts of labor. 'J^he original Russian sheep is distinguished by a
short tail about seven inches in length. The Merinos and other breeds from Germany
have been introduced in a few places and promise success. The great graziers and breeders
of horses, cattle, and sheep in Russia, are the Cossacks of the Don, the Kalmucks, and
other Nomadic tribes. These supply the greater part of the towns both of Russia and
Poland with butcher's meat ; and it is their hides and tallow that form so material an
article of export. In the northern districts of Russia and Siberia, the chace is pursued
as an occupation for a livelihood or gain. The chief object is to entrap by dogs and
snares tliose animals whose skins are used as furs, and especially the sable. Next to the
latter animal, the grey squirrel is the most valuable ; but the skins of foxes', martins,
fish, otters, bears, wolves, lynxes, gluttons, ferrets, polecats, and a variety of others, are
taken. The hunters pay a rent or tribute to government in sable skins, or in other furs
regulated by the value of those.
661. The forests of Russia are least abundant in the southern districts; but the cold
region may, like Poland, be described as one entire forest, with extensive glades. Forests
of pine leaved trees (or needle leaved trees, as the German expression is,) are chiefly
indigenous in the very cold, and cold regions. These include the spruce fir, the wild,
and black pine, and the Siberian cedar or stone pine (Pinus cembra). The larch grows
on most of the Siberian mountains. Among the leafy trees, the birch is the most com-
mon, next the trembling poplar, willow, lime, and ash. The oak is not indigenous in
Siberia ; the beech, elm, maple, and poplar, are found chiefly in the southern districts.
Timber of construction, fuel, charcoal, bark, potashes, barilla, rosin, tar, pitch, &c.,
are obtained from these forests, which can hardly be said to have any sort of culture
applied to them.
662. The implements and operations of Russian husbandry are the most simple and art-
less that can well be imagined. Pallas has given figures of ploughs and other articles ;
the former mere crooked sticks pointed, and drawn by horses, attached by ropes of bark
or straw. Speaking of the operations, he says, " the cultivator sows his oats, his rye, oir
his millet, in wastes which have never been dunged ; he throws down the seed as if he
meant it for the birds to pick up ; he then takes a plough and scratches the earth, and
a second horse following with a harrow terminates the work ; the bounty of nature
supplies the want of skill, and an abundant crop is produced." This applies to the
greater part of ancient Russia and Siberia ; but in Livonia and other Baltic provinces,
and also in some parts of the Polish provinces of the Ukraine, the culture is performed
in a superior manner with implements equal to the best of those used in Germany. In
the Crimea, Mary Holderness informs us that the men dig in a sitting posture, and also
that smiths work in the same manner, both smoking all the time ; they never grease the
axles of tlieir carts, which, in consequence, make a disagreeable creaking noise,
heard at a great distance ; when asked the reason, they answer, " we are not thieves and
are therefore not ashamed that the world should ^2 ^^ ,^
hear of our movements." The most improved form
of their carts [fig' 82.) in use round Petersburg, is
evidently copied from those of the Dutch, and was
probably introduced by Peter the Great. In the ;^
Ukraine they thresh out their corn by dragging
boards studded with flints over it, and preserve it
in pits in dry soil. In the northern provinces it is often dried on roofed frames of
different sorts {fig. 83.) as in Sweden ; and about Riga and Mittau it is even kiln dried
in the sheaf, before it can be stacked or threshed. The manner of 83
performing the operation of kiln drying in the sheaf, as it may :-t- j."- "'^=^.
sometimes be applical)le in North Britain or Ireland in very
late and wet seasons, we shall afterwards describe. (Part III.
Book V. Ch.II.)
663. In no part of Europe are the field operations performed with
such facility as in Russia, not only from the light nature of the
soil, but from the severity and long continuance of the winters,
which both pulverizes the surface and destroys weeds. The same
reasons prevent grass lands, or lands neglected or left to rest, from
ever acquiring a close sward, or tough rooty surface, so that even
these are broken up with a very rude plough and very little labor.
In short, there is no country in Europe where corn crops may be
raised at so little expense of labor as in Russia, and as no more Qi^^*'
than one corn crop can be got in the year in almost any country, so Russia may be
said to be, and actually is, even with her imperfect cultivation, better able to raise im-
108 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pam L
mense quantities of corn than any part of the world, excepting perhaps similar parts of
North America.
664. The improvement of Russian agriculture was commenced by Peter the Great,
and continued by Catherine, and the present emperor. The peasants, on many of the
government estates, were made free ; some of these estates were let or sold to freemen,
and foreign agriculturists encouraged to settle on them. Rewards and premiums were
given, and professorships of rural economy established in different parts of the empire.
Some of the principal nobles have also made great efforts for the improvement of agri-
culture. Count Romansow, about the end of the last century, procured a British
farmer (Rogers), and established him on his estate near Moscow, where he has intro-
duced the improved Scotch husbandry, drained extensively, established a dairy, and
introduced the potatoe there, and on other estates belonging to his master. Others have
made similar efforts, and several British farm bailiffs are now settled in Russia. The
foreigners, merchants in Petersburg, or Riga, or in the employ of government, have also
contributed to the improvement of agriculture. Many of these intending to establish
their families in Russia, purchase estates, and some receive presents in land from the
emperor. On these they in general introduce the culture of their native country, which,
if only in the superiority of the live stock and implements, is certain of being better
than that of the natives. In short, from these circumstances, and from the comparatively
rational views of the present emperor, there can be no doubt of the rapid encrease of
agriculture and population in Russia.
Sect. VIII. Present State of the Agriculture of Sweden and Norway.
665. Sweden and Norway are not agricultural countries ; but still great attention has
been paid to perfect such culture as they admit of, both by the government and indi-
viduals. From the time of Charles XI., in the end of the seventeenth century, various
laws for the encouragement of agriculture have been passed, professorships founded,
rewards distributed, and the state of the kingdom, in respect to its agricultural resources,
examined by Linnaeus and other eminent men. Norway, till lately under the dominion
of Denmark, is chiefly a pastoral country ; but its live stock and arable culture have
been much improved during the end of the last, and beginning of the present century,
by the exertions of the Patriotic Society established in that country, which gives pre-
miums for the best improvements and instructions in every part of farming. Our notice
of the rural economy of these countries are drawn from Clarke, Thomson, James, and
our own memoranda, made there in 1813.
666. The climate of Sweden and Norway is similar to that of the cold and very cold
regions of Russia, but rather milder in its southern districts, on account of the numer-
ous inlets of the sea. The lands on the sea-coast of Norway are not on this account so
cold as their latitude would lead us to expect ; still the winters are long, cold, and dreary ;
and the summers short and hot, owing to the length of the day and the reflection of the
mountains. So great is the difference of temperature, that at Sideborg, in the latitude of
Upsal, in June or July, it is frequently eighty or eighty-eight degrees, and in January
at forty or fifty below the freezing point. The transition from sterility to luxuriant
vegetation is in this, as it is in similar climates, sudden and rapid. In the climate of
Upsal, the snow disappears in the open fields from the 6th to the 10th of May; barley
is sown from the 13th to the 15th of that month, and reaped about the middle of August.
In some parte of Norway corn is sown and cut within the short period of six or seven
weeks. According to a statement published in the Amcen. Acad. vol. iv., a Lapland
summer, including also what, in other countries, is called spring and autumn, consists
of fifty-six days, as follows : —
June 23, snow melts.
July 1, snow gone.
9, fields quite green.
17, plants at full growth.
25, plants in full blow.
Aug. 2, fruits ripe.
10, plants shed their seeds.
18, snow.
From this time to June 23, the ground is every
where covered with snow, and the waters with ice.
In such a climate, no department of agriculture can be expected to florish. The cul-
ture of corn is only prevalent in two districts. East Gothland, and the eastern shores of
the Gulph of Bothnia, now belonging to Russia.
667. The surface of Sweden every body knows to be exceedingly rocky and hilly, and
to abound in fir and pine forests, and in narrow green vallies, often containing lakes or
streams. " Sweden," Dr. Clarke observes, " is a hilly, but not a mountainous country,
excepting in its boundary from the Norwegian provinces. It has been remarked, that in
all countries, the abutment of the broken strata, which constitute the earth's surface every
where, causes a gradual elevation to take place towards the north-west ; hence, in all
countries, the more level districts vnW be found upon the eastern, and the mountainous
or metalliferous region upon the western side ; either placed as a natural boundary
against the territory occurring next in succession ; or terminating in rocks of primary
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN SWEDEN AND NORWAY.
lOd
formation opposed as cliffs towards the sea." (darkens Scandinavia.) This is precisely
the case with Sweden : the south-eastern provinces are level and cultivated ; a ridge
of mountains on the west separate it from Norway, and the intermediate space, from
Gothenberg to Tornea, may be considered as one continued forest, varied by hills, rocks,
lakes, streams, glades of pasture, and spots of corn culture. Norway may be consi-
dered as a continuation of the central country of Sweden, terminated by cliffs opposed
to the ocean, " The tops and sloping sides of the mountains," Dr. Clarke observes,
** are covered with a verdure ; farms are stationed on a series of tabular eminences,
and grazing around them the herds of cattle all the way from the top to the bottom,
and sometimes in places so steep, that we wonder how they could find a foot-
ing. In some places the elevation of
these farms is so extraordinary, that the
houses and flocks appear above the clouds,
and bordering on perpetual snow, and
the actual sight of them is hardly to be
credited. Every hanging-meadow is pas-
tured by cows and goats ; the latter often
brousinguponjutties, so fearfully placed,
that their destruction seems to be inevit-
able ; below is seen the village- church'
with its spire, the whole built of plank
(Jig. 84,); the cheerful bleatings of
the sheep, mingled at intervals with the
deep tones of the cow-herds' lures
(Jig. 85. j, resounding from the woods,
of wood, bound together by withy.
85
The lure is a long trumpet made of splinters
668. Of Finland, which we have included with
Sweden and Norway, a considerable part is under
corn culture ; the forests cleared, the lands enclosed,
and population encreased. The whole country ap-
pears decked with farm-houses, and village churches,
rising to the view or falling from it, over an undulat-
'ing district, amidst woods and water, and rocks, and
r^ri' large loose masses of granite : it may be called
"^ Norway in miniature. Farther up the country,
towards the north, there are scenes which were de-
scribed to Dr. Clarke as unrivalled in the world.
Every charm which the effect of cultivation can give
ijl j^ to the aspect of a region where Nature's wildest
■^ features — headlong cataracts, lakes, majestic rivers,
and forests — are combined, may there be seen." {Scandinavia, sect. ii. p. 459.)
669. The soil of the yallies is, in general, good friable loam, but so mixed with stones
as to render it very troublesome to plough or harrow ; and in many places so much so,
that where the vallies are cultivated it is chiefly with the spade. The only exception to
these remarks is a considerable tract of comparatively even surface in South and East
Gothland, where the soil inclines to clay and is well cultivated, and as prolific in corn
crops as any in Europe.
670. The landed jyroperty of Sweden is generally in estates of a moderate size; in
many cases their extent in acres is unknown ; their value being estimated by the number
of stock grazed in summer. The proprietors almost constantly farm their own estates,
or let them out at fixed rents, in money or grain, to cottagers or farmers. The largest
arable farms not occupied by the proprietors are in Gothland ; but few of these exceed
two hundred acres. The farm-build- r-^ 86
ings and cottages are there almost al-
ways built of timber and thatched, on
account of the warmth of these materials,
though stone is abundant in most places.
There are a few small enclosures near
the farm-yard ; but to enclose generally
could be of no use in a country where
the snow, during six or eight months
of the year, renders them nugatory both
as shelters and fences. The fence in
universal use is made of splinters of^.
deal, set up in a sloping position, and
fastened by withys to upright poles
(Ji^. 86.) This is the only fence used in Sweden, Norway, Lapland, and Finland:
and it is very common in Poland, Russia, and the northern parts of Germany.
110
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
671. The Swedish cottages are built of logs, like those of Poland (Jig. 87,), but
they are roofed in a different manner. Above the usual covering of boards is laid birch
bark, in the manner of tiles, and on that a layer of turf, so thick
that the grass grows as vigorously as on a natural meadow. The
walls are often painted red : they are very small, and gene-
rally very close and dirty within^ at least in winter. There are
various exceptions, however, as to cleanliness, especially among
the post-masters, who are all farmers. The post-house at Yfre,
north of Stockholm, was found by Dr. Clarke and his party so
" neat and comfortable, and every thing belonging to it in such
order," that they resolved to dine there. '* The women were
spinning wool, weaving, heating the oven, and teaching children to
read, all at the same time. The dairy was so clean and cool, that^
we preferred having our dinner there, rather than in the parlor.
For our fare they readily set before us a service consisting of
bacon, eggs, cream, curd, and milk, sugar, bread, butter, &c. ; and our bill of fare for the
whole amounted only to twenty pence; receiving which they were very thankful.
Cleanliness in this farmer's family was quite as conspicuous as in any part of Switzer-
land. The tables, chairs, and the tubs in which they kept their provisions, were as
white as washing could make them ; and the most extraordinary industry had been
exerted in clearing the land, and in rendering it productive. They were at this time
employed in removing rocks, and in burning them for lajvigation, to lay the earth again
upon the soil." (Scandinavia, sect. i. p. 179.)
672. The cottages in Norwai/ are formed as in Sweden, covered with birch, bark, and
turf. On some of the roofs, after the hay was taken. Dr. Clarke found lambs pas-
turing ; and on one house he found an excellent crop of turnips. The galleries about
their houses remind the traveller of Switzerland.
673. The cottages of the Laplanders are round huts of the rudest description (^fig. 88.)
674. The agricultural
produce of Sweden are
the common corns. Wheat
and rye are chiefly grow-
in South and East Goth-
land ; oats are the bread-
corn of the country ; and
big or Scotch barley is
the chief corn of Lapland
and the north of Norway.
The bean and pea are
grown in Gothland, and'
the potatoe, flax, and'
enough of tobacco for
home consumption, by every farmer and cottager. Only a few districts grow sufficient
corn for their own consumption, and annual importations are regular.
675. The Lichen rangiferinus, or reindeer moss,
(Jig. 89.), is not only used by the reindeer,
but also as fodder for cows and other horned .
cattle. It adds a superior richness to the milk .
and butter. It is sometimes eaten by the inha- ^f^t^^^^JM/ ^^M^^ %JiL^J
bitants ; and Dr. Clarke having tasted it, found '!^^'^^^'^^(, HW^ ^
it crisp and agreeable .
676. The Lichen roccella, which abounds near
Gottenburg and othei^ parts of Sweden, was in
considerable demand in the early part of last war .^^^^^K^^^^^JL^ffSM'i^i!^.
as a scarlet dye.
677. The Lycopodium complanatum (Jig. 90.) ^'Vi-^ts.^'W/' v-o' 1
is employed in dyeing their woollen. Even the ^^ML'^^y^f ^O^j
leaves, as they fall from the trees, are carefully ••^- • ^ *''" - -
raked together and preserved, to encrease the
stock of fodder. (Scandinavia, chap, xviii.)
678. Tar in Sweden is chiefly extracted from
the roots of the spruce fir, and the more marshy
the forest the more the roots are said to yield. Roots or billets of any kind are packed
close in a kiln, made like our lime-kilns in the face of a bank. They are covered
with turf and earth, as in burning charcoal ; at the bottom of the kiln is an iron pan
into which the tar runs during the smothered combustion of the wood. A spout from
the iron pan conveys the tar at once into the barrels, in which it arrives in this country.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN SWEDEN AND NORWAY.
Ill
079. The native trees and plants afford important products for the farmer. " Tlie industry
of the Norwegians," Dr. Clarke observes, " induces them to appropriate almost every
thing to some useful purpose. Their summum bonum seems to
consist in the produce of the fir (i. e. the wild pine, not the
spruce fir). This tree affords materials for buildinj^ their
houses, churches, and bridges; for every article of their
household furniture; for constructing sledges, carts, and
boats ; besides fuel for their hearths. With its leaves (here
the spruce fir is alluded to) they strew their floors, and after-
wards burn them and collect the ashes for manure. The
birch affords in its leaves and tender twigs a grateful fodder
for their cattle, and bark for covering their houses. The
bark of the elm in powder, is boiled up with other food, to
fatten hogs; sometimes, but rarely, it is mixed in the com-
position of their bread. The flowers of the haeg-ber (Cornus
mascula) flavor their distilled spirits. The moss, as a sub-
stitute for mortar, is used in caulking the interstices be-
tween their under walls. The turf covers their foofs.
680. The berries of the Cloud-berry {Rubus chameBmorus)
{fig. 91.) are used in Lapland and the north of Sweden and
Norway like the strawberry, and are esteemed as wholesome as they are agree-
91 VfeSs5 4^t'<AV»v _ Ah\e. Dr. Clarke was cured of a
bilious fever chiefly from eating freely
of this fruit. They are used as a sauce
to meat, and put into soup even, in
Stockholm.
681. The live-stock of the Swedish
: farmer consists chiefly of cows. These
are treated in the same manner as in
Switzerland. About the middle of
May they are turned into meadows;
towards the middle of June driven to
the heights, or to the forests, where
they continue till autumn. They are
usually attended by a woman, who
inhabits a small hut, milks them twice a-day, and makes butter and cheese on the spot.
On their return, the cattle are again pastured in the meadows, until the snow sets in
about the middle of October, when they are removed to the cow-houses, and fed during
winter with four-fifths of straw and one of hay. In some places, portions of salted
fish are given with the straw. The horses are the chief animals of labor ; they are a small,
hardy, spirited race, fed with hay and oat-straw the greater part of the year, and not
littered, which is thought to preserve them from diseases. Sheep are not numerous,
requiring to be kept under cover so great a portion of the year. Pigs and poultry are
common.
682. The implements and oper-
ations of Swedish agriculture are
simple, and in many places of
an improved description. The
swing plough, with an iron
mould-board, is general through-
out Gothland, and is drawn by
two horses. The plough of Oste-
robothnia (Jig. 92.) is drawn by
a single horse, and sometimes
by a peasant, and called to Dr. Clarke's mind " the old Samnite plough, as it is still
^^ used in the neighborhood of Beneventum, in Italy; where
a peasant, by means of a cord passed over his shoulder,
draws the plough, which his companion guides. It only
differs from the most ancient plough of Egypt, as we see
it represented upon images of Osiris (Jig. 93.), in having a
double instead of a single coulter." {Scandinavioy ch. xiii.)
They have a very convenient cradle-scythe for mowing oats
and barley, which we shall afterwards describe, a smaller scythe,
not unlike that of Hainault, for cutting grass and clovers; and
among other planting instruments, a frame of dibbers (Jig, 94.)
for planting beans and pease at equal distances.
683. Farming operations are, in general, as neatly performed
as any where in Britain. The humidity of the climate has given
112
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Eatit I.
rise to various tedious but ingenious processes for making hay and drying corn. The
latter often remains in the fields in shocks, or in small
ricks, after the ground is covered with snow, till the
clear frosts set in, when it becomes dry, and may be
taken home. Besides the common mode of placing
the sheaves astride with the ears downwards on horizon-
tal fir poles {Jig. 95. ), there are a variety of others.
In some places young fir trees, with the stumps of the
branches left on, are fixed in the ground, and the
sheaves hung on them, like flowers on a maypole, the ■■?S^^^^^"f?2P^=
topmost sheaf serving as a cap or finish to all the rest. Sometimes covered rails or racks
are resorted to (Jig. 83. ) : at other times skeleton roofs or racks are formed, and the sheaves
distributed over them (Jig. 96.) Often in Norway the corn is obliged to be cut green,
from the sudden arrival of winter. Dr. Clarke found it in this state in October ; and
near Christiana it was suspended on poles and racks to dry, above fields covered with
ice and snow. Corn is threshed in the north of Sweden by passing over it a threshing-
96 carriage, which is sometin^es
made of cast-iron, and has twenty
wheels, and sometimes more.
The sheaves are spread on a floor
of boards, and a week's labor of
one cart, horse, and man, will
not thresh more than a ton of
corn, the crop being always cut
before it is fully ripened, and then
dried on racks. The hay is some-
times dried in the same manner.
After all, they are in some seasons obliged to dry both, especially the corn, in sheds or
barns heated by stoves, as in Russia (662. ). In mowing hay in Lapland the scythe,
the blade of which is not larger than a sickle, is swung by the mower to the right and
left, turning it in his hands with great dexterity.
684. The forests of Sweden are chiefly of the wild pine and spruce fir; the latter
supplies the spars, and the former the masts and building timber so extensively exported.
The roads in Norway, as in some parts of Russia, are formed of young trees laid across
and covered with earth, or left bare. Turpentine is extracted : the outer bark of the
beech is used for covering houses, and the inner for tanning. The birch is also tapped
for wine ; and the spray of this tree, the elm, the alder, and willow, are dried with their
leaves on in summer, faggotted and stacked for winter fodder. The young wood and
inner bark of the pine, fir, and elm, are powdered and mixed with meal for feeding swine.
It is remarkable, that neither the inhabitants of Russia nor of Sweden have learned to
eat the seeds of the pine and fir tribe, which are both wholesome and agreeable, and
esteemed a delicacy in Italy.
685. The chace is pursued as a profitable occupation in the northern parts of Sweden,
and for the same animals as in Russia.
686. If any one, says Dr. Clarke, wishes to see what English farmers once were^ and
how they fared, he should visit Norway. Immense families, all sitting down toge-
ther at one table, from the highest to the lowest. If but a bit of butter be called for in
one of these houses, a mass is brought forth weighing six or eight pounds ; and so highly
ornamented, being turned out of moulds, with the shape of cathedrals, set off with
Gothic spires and various other devices, that, according to the language of our English
farmers' wives, we should deem it « almost a pity to cut it." (Scandinavia^ ch. xvi.)
They do not live in villages, as in most other countries, but every one on his farm, how-
ever small. They have in consequence little intercourse with strangers, excepting
during winter, when they attend fairs at immense distances for the purpose of disposing
of produce, and purchasing articles of dress. ** What would be thought in England,"
Dr. Clarke asks, « of a laboring peasant, or the occupier of a small farm, making a
journey of nearly 700 miles to a fair for the articles of their home consumption ?"
Yet he found Finns at the fair at Abo, who had come from Torneo, a distance of 679
miles, for this purpose.
687. With respect to imjirovement the agriculture of Sweden is perhaps susceptible of
less than that of any of the countries we have hitherto examined ; but what it wants will
be duly and steadily applied, by the intelligence and industry of all ranks in that country.
It must not be forgotten, however, that it is a country of forests and mines, and not of
agriculture.
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 113
Sect. IX. Present State of the Agriculture of Spain and Portugal,
688. Spaiuy when a Roman province^ was undoubtedly as far advanced in agriculture
as any part of the empire. It was overrun by the Vandals and Visigoths in the be-
ginning of the fifth century, under whom it continued till conquered by the 3Ioors in
the beginning of the eighth century. The Moors continued the chief possessors of Spain
until the middle of the thirteenth century. They are said, during this period, to have
materially improved agriculture ; to have introduced various new plants from Africa,
and also bucket-wheels for irrigation. Professor Thouin mentions an ancient work by
Ebn-al-Awam of Seville, of which a translation into Spanish was made by Banquieri
of Madrid, in 1802, which contains soine curious particulars of the culture of the Moors
in Spain. The Moors and Arabs were always celebrated for their knowledge of plants ;
and, according to Harte, one fourth of the names of the useful plants of Spain are of
Arabian extraction.
689. Agriculture formed the principal and most honorable occupation among the Moors,
and more especially in Granada. So great was their attention' to manure, that it was
preserved in pits, walled round with rammed earth to retain moisture : irrigation was
employed in every practicable situation. The Moorish or Mahomedan religion forbade
them to sell their superfluous corn to the surrounding nations ; but in years of plenty it
was deposited in the caverns of rocks, and in other excavations, some of which, as Jacob
informs us (Travels, let. xiii.), are still to be seen on the hills of Granada. These ex-
cavations were lined with straw, and are said (erroneously, we believe, ) to have preserved
the corn for such a length of time that when a child was born a cavern was filled with
corn, which was destined to be his portion when arrived at maturity. -^^ Moors were
particularly attentive to the culture of fruits, of which they introduced all the best kinds
now found in Spain, besides the sugar and cotton. Though wine was forbidden vines
were cultivated to a great extent ; for forbidden pleasures form a main source of 'eniov-
ment in every country. An Arabian author, who wrote on agriculture about the ycM"
1140, and who quotes another author of his nation, who wrote in 1073, gives the follow-
ing directions for the cultivation of the sugar-cane : —
690. The canes " should be planted in the month of March, in a plain, sheltered from the east winrf anH
near to water ; they should be well manured with cow-dung, and watered every fourth day till the slinni
are one palm in height, when they should be dug round, manured with the dung of sheep and wai^; <?
every night and day till the month of October. In January, when the canes are ripe, rhev should ho ;M.f
into short pieces and crushed in the mill. The juice should be boiled in iron cauldrons and left fn ^n i
till it becomes clarified ; it should then be boiled again, till the fourth part only remain' when if shn,,M
be put into vases of clay, of a conical form, and placed in the shade to thicken ; afterwards the «n^i^
must be drawn from the canes and left to cool. The canes, after the juice is expressed are oreservpH f
the horses, who eat them greedily, and become fat by feeding on them." {Ebn-al-Awam bu Bnnn,yJZ^
Madrid, 1801, fol.) From the above extract it is evident sugar has been cultivated in Snain iinmf/^=
of 700 years, and probably two or three centuries before. ' "pwdras
691. About the end of the fifteenth century the Moors were driven out of Spain and
the kingdom united under one monarchy. Under Charles V., in the first half of the
sixteenth century. South America was discovered ; and the prospect of making fortunes
by working the mines of "that country is said to have depressed the agriculture of Spain
to a degree that it has never been able to surmount. {Heylin's Cosmographia, Lond. 1657. )
Albyterio, a Spanish author of the seventeenth century, observes, " that the people who
sailed to America in order to return laden with wealth, would have done their country
much better service to have staid at home and guided the plough ; for more persons
were employed in opening mines and bringing home money, than the money in effect
proved worth." This author thinking with Montesquieu, that those riches were of a
bad kind which depend on accidental circumstances, and not on industry and an
plication. - ^'
692. The earliest Spanish work on agricidture a.^\iQaxedi in 1569, byHerrera; it is a
treatise in many books, and, like other works of its age, is made up of extracts from the
Roman authors.
693. The agriculture of Spain in the middle of the eighteenth century was in a very neg-
lected state. According to Harte, " the inhabitants of Spain were then too lazy and proud
to work. Such pride and indolence are death to agriculture in every country. Want of
good roads and navigable rivers (or, to speak more properiy, the want of i^akino- rivers
navigable), have helped to ruin the Spanish husbandry. To which we may add another
discouraging circumstance, namely, ' that the sale of an estate vacates the lease : Venta
deschaze renta.' Nor can corn be transported from one province to another. The
Spaniards plant no timber, and make few or no enclosures. With abundance of ex-
cellent cows, they are strangers to butter, and deal so little in cows' milk that at
Madrid, those who drink milk with their chocolate, can only purchase goats' m'ilk
What would Columella say, ^having written so largely on the Andalusian dairies,) if it
were possible for him to revisit this country ? For certain it is, that every branch of
114 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
rural economics, in the time of him and his uncle, was carried to as high perfection in
Spain as in any part of the Roman empire. Though they have no idea of destroying
■weeds, and scratch the ground instead of ploughing it, yet nature has been so bounti-
ful to them, that they raise the brightest and firmest wheat of any in Christendom."
(^Essat/s, &c. i.)
694. ^ general spirit for improvement seems to have sprung up in Spain with the nine-
teenth century, though checked for a while by the wars against Buonaparte ; subsequently
retarded by internal discords; and again by the cruel interference of the French in 1823.
In the midst of these troubles, economical societies have been established at Madrid, Valen-
cia, and Saragossa. That of the latter place is connected with a charitable bank in favor
of distressed farmers. Money is advanced to defray the expenses of harvest, and two years
allowed for returning it. It commenced its operations in June 1801, and then dis-
tributed 458/. 2s, to one hundred and ten husbandmen. In the August following
it had furnished sixty-two horses to as many indigent farmers. The Patriotic Society
of Madrid has distinguished itself by a memoir on the advancement of agriculture,
and on Agrarian laws, addressed to the supreme council of Castile in 1812. It
was drawn up by a distinguished member, Don G. M. Jovellanos, who recommends the
enclosure of lands, the enactment of laws favorable to agriculturists, the prevention of the
accumulation of landed property in mortmain tenure ; exposes the noxious state of the
estates of the clergy, of various taxes on agricultural productions, and of restrictions on
trade and the export of corn. His whole work breathes the most liberal, enlightened,
and benevolent spirit, and was in consequence so offensive to the clergy, that they pro-
cured his condemnation by the inquisition. (Ed. Rev. Jacob's Travels, &c.)
695. The climate of Spain is considered by many as superior to that of any country in
Europe. It is every where dry, and though the heat in some provinces is very great in
the day, it is tempered during the night by breezes from the sea, or from the ridges of
high mountains which .intersect the country in various directions. In some provinces
the heat has been considered insalubrious, but this is owing to the undrained marshes,
from which malignant effluvia are exhaled. The mean temperature of the elevated
plains of Spain is 59^ ; that of the coasts from 41° to 36^ of latitude, is between
683° and 68' ; and is therefore suitable for the sugar-cane, coffee, banana, and all plants
of the West India agriculture, not even excepting the pine-apple. The latter is cultivated
in the open air in some gardens in Valencia and at Malaga.
696. The surface 0^ Spain is more irregular and varied by mountains than that
either of France or Germany. These intersect the country at various distances from
east to west, and are separated by valleys or plains. The strata of the mountains is
chiefly granitic or calcareous ; but many are argillaceous, some silicious, and Mont-
serrat, near Cardova, is a mass of rock salt, A remarkable feature in the surface of
Spain, is the height of some of its plains above the level of the sea. According to
Humboldt, the plain of Madrid is the highest plain in Europe that occupies any
extent of country. It is 309§ fathoms above the level of the ocean, which is fifteen
times higher than Paris. Tliis circumstance both affects the climate of that part of the
country, and its susceptibility of being improved by canal or river navigation. The rivers
and streams of Spain are numerous, and the marshes not very common. Forests, or
rather forest-wastes, downs, and Merino sheep-walks, are numerous, and, with other un-
cultivated tracts and heaths, are said to amount to two-thirds of the surface of the
country. Some tracts are well cultivated in the vine districts, as about Malaga ;
and others in the corn countries, as about Oviedo. The resemblance between the
Asturias and many parts of England is very striking. The same is the aspect of the
country, as to verdure, inclosures, live hedges, hedge-rows, and woods; the same
mixture of woodlands, arable and rich pasture, the same kind of trees, and crops, and
fruit, and cattle. Both suffer by humidity in winter, yet, from the same source, find
an ample recompence in summer; and both enjoy a temperate climate, yet, with this
difference, that as to humidity and heat, the scale preponderates on the side of the
Asturias. In sheltered spots, and not far distant from the sea, they have olives, vines,
and oranges. (Townsend's Spain, i. 318.)
697. The soil of Spain is in general light, and either sandy or calcareous, reposing on
beds of gypsum or granite. The poorest soil is a ferrugineous sand on sandstone rock,
only to be rendered of any value by irrigation. The marshes, and also the best meadow
soils, are along the rivers.
698. The landed property of Spain till the late revolution was similarly circumstanced
to that of France and Germany ; that is, in the possession of the crown, great nobles,
and religious and civil corporations. Tithes were more rigidly exacted by the clergy
of Spain than by those of any other country of Europe, {Jacob's Travels, 99.)? and a
composition in lieu of tithes was unknown in most provinces. Great part of the
lands of the religious corporations are now sold, and a new class of proprietors are ori-
ginating, as in France, Some of tliese estates are of immense extent. The monks of
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.
115
Saint Hieronymo told Jacob that they could travel twenty-four miles from Seville on
their own property, which is rich in corn, oil, and wine. Such was the corruption
of this convent, that notwithstanding all their riches, they were deeply in debt. Lands
were, and are cultivated in great part by their proprietors ; and even the monasteries
held large tracts in hand before their dissolution. What is farmed, is let out in small
portions of arable land, with large tracts of pasture or waste, and a fixed rent is gene-
rally paid, chiefly in kind. The lands are open every where, excepting immediately
round towns and villages. Many persons in Granada are so remote from the farmeries,
that during harvest the farmers and their laborers live in tents on the spot both when
they are sowing the corn, and cutting and thresliing it. The hedges about Cadiz are
formed of the soccotrine aloe and prickly pear ; the latter producing at the same time
an agreeable fruit, and supporting the cochineal insect. Farm-houses and cottages are
generally built of stone or brick, and often of rammed earth, and are covered witli
tiles or thatch.
699. A bad feature in the policy of the ancient regime, considered highly injurious to
agriculture and the improvement of landed property, deserves to be mentioned. This
is, the right which the corporation of the mesta or Merino proprietors possess, to drive
their sheep over all the estates which lie in their r6ute, from their summer pasture in the
north to their winter pasture in the south of the kingdom. This must of course
prevent or retard enclosing and aration. In Catalonia, as in many parts of the conti-
nent, there exists what is called the emfiteutic contract. By the emfite^itic contract the
great proprietor, inheriting more land than he can cultivate to profit, has power to
grant any given quantity for a term of years ; either absolute or conditional ; either for
lives, or in perpetuity ; always reserving a quit rent, like our copyhold, with a relief on
every succession, a fine on the alienation of the land, and other seignioral rights
dependant on the custom of the district ; such as tithes, mills, public-houses, the obliga-
tion to plough his land, to furnish him with teams, and to pay hearth-money, with other
contributions, by way of commutation for ancient stipulated services. One species of
grant for uncultivated land, to be planted vnth vines, admitted foraierly of much dis-
pute. The tenant holding his land as long as the first planted vines should continue to
bear fruit; in order to prolong this term, he was accustomed to train layers from the
original stocks, and by metaphysical distinctions between identity and diversity, to plead,
that the first planted vines were not exhausted, claiming thus the inheritance in perpetuity.
After various litigations and inconsistent decisions of the judges, it was finally deter-
mined, that this species of grant should convey a right to the possession for fifty years,
unless the plantation itself should previously fail.
700. The agricultural products of Spain include all those of the rest of Europe, and
most of those of the West Indies ; besides all the grains, for the production of which
some provinces are more celebrated than others, and most of them are known to produce
the best wheat in Europe. Flax hemp, esparto, palmetto (Chamcerops humUis),
madder, saffron, aloe, cork-tree ( Quercus suber). The kermes grana, a species of coccus,
whose body, in the grub state, yields a beautiful scarlet color, and which forms its nidus
on the shrub quercus coccifera. Soda from the salicornea and other plants of the salt
marshes; honey from the forests; dates {Phcenix dactylif era), coffee j almonds, filberds,
figs, olives, grapes, peaches, prickly pears, carob beans, (the locust trees of scripture,
Ceratonia siliqua), oranges, lemons, pomegranates, and other fruits.
701 . The esjyarto rush (Stipa tenacissimo, L.) grows wild on the plain, and is made into
a variety of articles for common use. It is employed for making ropes and cables, and
is particularly calculated for the latter purpose, as it swims on the water, and the cables
formed of it, are consequently not so liable to
rub against the rocks as those which are made
of hemp. , It is also woven into floorcloths and
carpets, and made into baskets or panniers, for
carrying produce to market, or manure to the
fields. In Pliny's time this plant was used by
the poor for beds, by the shepherds for gar-
ments, and by the fishermen for nets ; but is it
now superseded for these and various other ends
by the hemp and flax.
702. The pita, or aloe, {Aloe soccotrina,
Jig' 97 a.) is an important plant in the hus-
bandry of Spain. It grows by the leaf, which
it is only necessary to slip off and lay on the
ground with the broad end inserted a little way
in the soil : it makes excellent fences ; and the
fibres, separated from the mucilage, have been
twisted into ropes, and woven into cloth.
I 2
116
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
Bowles, the best Spanish writer on natural history, says, the mucilage might easily be
made into brandy. The same plant is used as the boundary fence for villages in the
East Indies, and is found a powerful obstacle to cavalry.
703. The hina, or Indian fig, {Cactus opuntia, Jig. 97 6.) is cultivated in the plains
of Seville for its fruit, and also for raising the cochineal insect. It is either grown
on rocky places or as hedges.
704. The palmetto, or fan palm (Chamcerops humilis) , is grown near Seville. From
the foot-stalks of the leaves, brushes and brooms of various kinds are formed both for
home use and exportation.
705. Thepotatoe is grown, but not in large quantities ; nor so good as in England.
The Irish merchants of the seaports import them for themselves and friends. The
batatas, or sweet potatoe {Convolvulus batatas), turnips, carrots, cabbages, carrots,
broccoli, celery, onions, garlic, melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, &c., are grown in large
quantities.
706. Though the olive is grown to greater
perfection in Spain than in Italy, yet the
oil is the worst in Europe ; because the
growers are thirled, that is, obliged to grind
their fruit at certain mills. To such mills
(Jig. 98.), all the olives of a district are ob-
liged to be carried, and as they cannot all
be ground alone, they are put into heaps to
wait their turn : these heaps heat and spoil,
and when crushed, produce only an acrid
rancid oil.
707. The vine is cultivated in every pro-
vince of Spain, and chiefly in those of
the east and south. The old sherry wine, xeres seco, the sherry sac of Shakspeare,
is produced in Valencia and Granada, and especially near Malaga. On the hills
surrounding this city are upwards of seven thousand vineyards, cultivated by the pro-
prietors, or by petty tenants, who pay their rent monthly when in money ; or during
harvest when in kind. The first gathering of grapes commences in the month of June,
and these are dried in the sun, and form what are known in Europe as Malaga raisins.
A second crop is gathered in September, and a wine made from it resembling sherry ;
and a third in October and November, which furnishes the wine known on the continent
as Malaga, and in England as mountain. In Valentia the grapes for raisins are steeped
in boiling water, sharpened with a ley made from vine stems, and then exposed in the air,
and suspended in the sun till they arc suflBciently dry.
708. The sugar-cane {Saccharum officinarum) is cultivated to a considerable extent in
Malaga and other places, and the ground is irrigated with the greatest care. The sugar
produced resembles that of Cuba, and comes somewhat cheaper than it can be procured
from the West India islands. Sugar has been cultivated in Spain upwards of seven
hundred years ; and Jacob is of opinion that capital only is wanted, to push this branch
of culture to a considerable extent.
709. The white mulberry is extensively grown for rearing the silkworm, especially
in Murcia, Valentia, and Granada. The silk is organised into stuffs and ribbons in
Malaga.
710. Of other fruits cultivated may be mentioned the fig, which is grown in most parts
of Spain^ and the fruit used as food, and dried for exportation. The gum cistus {Cistus
ladaniferus, fg. 99.) grows wild, and the gum which exudes from it is eaten by the
common people. The caper shrub grows wild, and is culti- Ilk y ^ 99
vated in some places. The orange and lemon are abundant,
and also the pomegranate.
711. Other productions, such as coffee, cotton, cocoa,
indigo, pimento, pepper, banana, plantain, &c., were culti-
vated in Granada for many ages before the West Indies or
America was discovered, and might be carried to such an'f
extent as to supply the whole or greater part of Europe.
712. The rotations of common crops varies according to
the soil and climate. In some parts of the fertile plains of
Malaga, wheat and barley are grown alternately without
,either fallow or manure. The common course of crops
about Barcelona, according to Townsend, is, 1. wheat,
which, being ripe in June, is immediately succeeded by/
2. Indian corn, hemp, millet, cabbage, kidneybeans, or
lettuce. In the second year the same crops are repeated;}
and in the third, barley, beans, or vetches takes place of
Ihe wheat., In this way six valuable crops are obtained
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 117
in three years. Wlieat produces ten fold ; in rainy seasons fifteen ; and in some places as
much as fifty for one. Near Carthagena the course is^ wheat, barley, and fallow. For
wheat they plough thrice, and sow from the middle of November to the beginning of
December ; and in July they reap from ten to one hundred for one as the season happens
to be dry or humid. The Huerta, or rich vale, of Alicant, yields a perpetual suc-
cession of crops. Barley is sown in September, and reaped in April ; succeeded by
maize, reaped in September, and that by a mixed crop of esculents. Wheat is sown
in November, and reaped in June ; flax sown in September is pulled in May. In the
vale of Valentia, wheat yields from twenty to forty ; barley from eighteen to twenty four
fold ; oats from twenty to thirty fold ; maize, one hundred fold ; rice, forty fold.
713. The live stock of the Spanish agriculturist consists of oxen, asses, and mules, as
beasts of labour ; sometimes, also, horses are used on the farm, but those are chiefly
reared for the saddle and the army. During the reign of Philip II. an act was passed
forbidding their use even in coaches. The horses of Andalusia are celebrated : they
are deep-chested, somewhat short-backed ; rather heavy about the legs, but with a good
shoulder. In general their appearance is magnificent when accoutred for the field.
But for the last half century their numbers have been diminishing. The mules and
asses are large, and carry heavy loads. The Spanish cows are an esteemed breed, re-
sembling those of Devonshire. They are used chiefly for breeding, there being little
use made of cows' milk in most parts of Spain : they are sometimes also put into the
plough and cart. Goats are common about most towns, and furnish the milk used in
cookery.
714. The sheep of Spain have long been celebrated. Pliny relates, that in his time
Spanish clothes were of an excellent texture, and much used in Rome. For many
centuries the wool has been transported to Flanders, for the supply of the Flemish
manufactories, and afterwards to England, when the same manufacture was introduced
there. By far the greater part of Spanish sheep are migratory, and belong to what is called
the mesta or Merino corporation ; but there are also stationary flocks belonging to
private individuals in Andalusia, whose wool is of equal fineness and value. The carcase
of the sheep in Spain is held in no estimation, and only used by the shepherds and poor.
715. The term mesta, (meslin, Eng.) in general signifies a mixture of grain ; but in a
restricted sense an union of flocks. This collection is formed by an association of pro-
prietors of lands, and originated in the time of the plague in 1350. The few persons
who survived that destructive outrage, took possession of the lands which had been
vacated by the death of their former occupiers ; united them with their own ; converted
nearly the whole to pasturage ; and confined their attention principally to the care and
increase of their flocks. Hence, the immense pastures of Estramadura, Leon, and other
provinces; and the prodigious quantity of uncultivated lands throughout the kingdom.
Hence, also, the singular circumstance of many proprietors possessing extensive estate
without any titles to them.
716. The Jiocks which form the mesta usually consist of about 10,000 sheep.
Each flock is under the care of a directing officer, fifty shepherds, and fifty dogs. The
whole flocks composing the mesta, consist of about five millions of sheep, and employ
about 45 or 50,000 persons, and nearly as many dogs. The flocks are put in motion the
latter end of April, or beginning of May, leaving the plains of Estramadura, Andalusia,
Leon, Old and New Castile, where they usually winter; they repair to the mountains
of the two latter provinces, and those of Biscay, Navarre, and Arragon. The sheep,
while feeding on the mountains, have occasionally administered to them small quantities
of salt. It is laid upon flat stones, to which the flocks are driven, and permitted to eat
what quantity they please. During the days the salt is administered the sheep are not
allowed to depasture on a calcareous soil, but are moved to argillaceous lands, where
they feed voraciously.
717. At the end of Jtdy the evies axe X)\xtioi\ie rams, after separation has been made of those ah^ady
with lamb. Six or seven rams are considered sufficient for one hundred ewes.
718. In September the sheep are ochred, their backs and loins being rubbed with red ochre, or ruddle,
dissolved in water. This practice is founded upon an ancient custom, the reason of which is not clearly
ascertained. Some suppose, that the ochre uniting with the oleaginous matter of the fleece, forms a kind
of varnish, which defends the animal from the inclemency of the weather. Others think the ponderosity
of this earth prevents the wool growing too thick and long in the staple. But the more eligible opinion is,
that the earth absorbs the superabundant perspiration, which would otherwise render the wool both harsh
and coarse.
719. Tmxjards the end of September the flocks recommence their march. Descending from the moun-
tains, they travel towards the warmer parts of the country, and again re{xiir to the plains of Leon, Estra-
madura, and Andalusia. The sheep are generally conducted to the same pastures they had grazed the
preceding year, and where most of them had been yeaned : there they are kept during the winter.
,720. Sheep- shearing commences the beginning of May, and it is performed while the
sheep are on their summer journey, in large buildings called esquileos. Those, which are
placed upon the road, are capable of containing forty, fifty, and some sixty thousand sheep.
They are erected in various places ; but the principal are in the environs of Segovia, and
the most celebrated is that of Ilurviaca. Tlie shearing is preceded bv a pompous prepjt-
I 3
118
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
ration, conducted in due form, and the interval is considered a time of feasting and recre-
ation. One hundred and twenty-five men are usually employed for shearing a thousand
ewes, and two hundred for a thousand wethers. Each sheep affords four kinds of wool,
more or less fine according to the parts of the animal whence it is taken. The ewes pro-
duce the finest fleeces, and the wethers the heaviest : three wether fleeces ordinarily weigh
on the average twenty-five pounds ; but it will take five ewe fleeces to amount to the same
weight.
721. The journey which the flocks make in their peregrination is regulated by particu-
lar laws, and immemorial customs. The sheep pass unmolested over the pastures be-
longing to the villages and the commons which lie in their road, and have a right to feed
on them. They are not, however, allowed to pass over cultivated lands ; but the pro-
prietors of such lands are obliged to leave for them a path ninety varas, or about forty
toises (eighty-four yards), in breadth. When they traverse the commonable pastures, they
seldom travel more than two leagues, or five and a half miles a day ; but when they walk
in close order over the cultivated fields, often more than six varas, or near seventeen miles.
The whole of their journey is usually an extent of one hundred and twenty, thirty or forty
leagues, which they perform in thirty or thirty-five days. The price paid for depasturing
the lands, where they winter, is equally regulated by usage, and is very low ; but it is
not in the power of the landed proprietors to make the smallest advance.
722. The mesta has its particular laivs, and a tribunal before which are cited all per-
sons who liave any suit or difference with the proprietors. The public opinion in Spain
has long been against the mesta, on account of the number of people it employs, the ex-
tent of land it keeps uncultivated, the injury done to the pasture and cultivated lands of
individuals, and the tyranny of the directors and shepherds. These have been grievances
for time immemorial. Government yielding to the pressing solicitations of the people,
instituted a committee to enquire into them about the middle of the eighteenth century ;
but it did no good, and it was not till the revolution of 1810, tliat the powers and pri-
vileges of the mesta were greatly reduced.
723. The implements of Spanish agriculture are very simple. The common plough of
Castile, and most of the provinces, {Jig. 1 00. ) -^qq
is supposed to be as old as the time of the
Romans. It is thus described by Townsend :
" The beam is about three feet long, curved,
and tapered at one end, to receive an addi-
tional beam of about five feet, fastened to it
by three iron collars ; the other end of the
three-foot beam touches the ground, and has
a mortise to receive the share, the handle,
and a wedge." From this description it is evident that the beam itself supplies the place
of the sheath ; the share has no fin, and instead of a mould-board, there are two wooden
pins fastened near the heel of the share. As in this plough, the share, from the point to its
insertion in the beam, is two feet six inches long, it i strengthened by a retch. That
used near Malaga, is described by Jacob, as " a cross, with the end of the perpendicular
part shod with iron. It penetrates about six inches into the soil, and is drawn by two
oxen with ropes fastened to the hqrns. The plough of Valentia, on the eastern coast, we
have already given {flg. 12.), as coming the nearest to that described by Virgil. There
are many wheels and other contrivances used for raising water ; the most general, as well
as the most primitive, is the noria (flg. 101.}, or bucket- wheel, introduced by the Moors,
and from which our __ jq,
chain pump is evident-
ly derived. A vertical
wheel over a well has a
series of earthen jeers,
fastened together by
cords of esparto, which
descend into the water,
and fill themselves by
the motion of the
wheel, they rise to the
surface, and then by
the same motion empty
themselves into a
trough, from which
the water is conveyed
by trenches into the
different parts of the
garden or field. The
t
Book I. ^ AGRICULTURE IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 119
vertical wheel is put in motion by a horizontal one, which is turned by a cow."
{Jacob's Travels, 152.) The construction of dung-pits has already been mentioned,
(689.) as introduced by the Moors, and the practice of preserving the dung in that
manner is still continued in Granada and Valentia. Threshing-floors are made in the
fields, and paved with pebbles or other stones.
724. Few of the operations of Spanish agriculture afford any thing characteristic.
No hay is made in Spain ; but so dry and brittle is the straw, that in the process of tread-
ing out, which is generally done by mares and colts, it is broken to pieces and the grain
separated, the straw put in stacks, and preserved for litter, or mixed with barley as food
for cattle. Irrigation is carefully performed, and is the only effectual mode of insuring a
crop of grain, or any sort of herbaceous vegetable. On some fanns on the Vega in Malaga,
scarcely any attention is paid to stirring the soil, but by the Very complete irrigation which
can be there given, the lands yield fifty bushels per acre. Where the soil is naturally
light, situated in a warm climate, and not irrigated, it is remarkably free from weeds ;
because from the latter end of May, or the beginning of June, when the crop is harvested
till October or November, they have no rain ; and the heat of the sun during that period
destroys every plant, and leaves the soil like a fallow which only requires the seed furrow.
In effect it gets no more ; and thus under such circumstances, one crop a year after only
one ploughing, may be raised for an 'endless period. — In the Asturias, after the women
milk the sheep, they carry it home in leather bags, shaking it all the way till by the time
of their arrival butter is formed. (Townsend's Travels, i. 273.)
725. The laboring man of Spain adopts a custom which might be useful to the
reapers and haymakers of Britain, in many situations. The labor and heat of hay time
and harvest excite great perspiration and consequent thirst, which is often obliged to be
quenched with sun-warmed water. To cool such water, the Spanish reaper puts it in a
porous earthen pitcher (alcarazas), the surface of which being constantly moist with the
transudation of the fluid, its evaporation cools the water within. The frequent applica-
tion of wet cloths to a bottle or earthen vessel, and exposure to the sun and wind, effects
the same object, but with more trouble.
726. The culture of forests is very little attended to in Spain. The best charcoal is
made from heath, chiefly the erica mediterranea, which grows to the size of a small
tree, and of which there are immense tracts like forests. ^02
The cork-tree (Quercus suber, fig. 102.) affords the most
valuable products. The bark is taken off for the first time
when the tree is about fifteen years old ; it soon grows
again, and may be re -barked three times, the bark improving
every time till the tree attains the age of thirty years. It is
taken off in sheets or tables, much in the same way as oak
or larch bark is taken from the standing trees in this country.
After being detached, it is flattened by presenting the convex
side to heat, or by pressure. In either case it is charred
on both surfaces to close tne transverse pores previously to
its being sold. This charring may be seen in bungs and
taps ; but not in corks, which, being cut in the length way
of the wood, the charring is taken off in the rounding.
727. The exertions that have been made for the improvement
of the agriculture of Spain, we have already noticed, and
need only add, that if the late government had maintained
its power, and continued in the same spirit, perhaps every
thing would have been effected that could be desired. Time, Jndeed,'woui3
requisite ; but improvement once heartily commenced, the ratio of its increase is astonish-
ing. But the French invasion of Spain has spoiled every thing, and for the present al-
most annihilated hope.
728. The agricultural circumstances of Portugal have so much in common with those
of Spain, that they do not require separate consideration. The two countries differ in the
latter, having a more limited cultivation. The sugar-cane, and most of the West India
plants grown in Spain, requiring a warmer climate than that of Portugal. The vine
and orange are cultivated to great perfection ; but common agriculture is neglected.
The breed of horses are inferior, and there are few cows or sheep. Swine is the most
abundant live-stock, and fatten, in a half wild state, on the acorns of the numerous oak-
forests which cover the mountains.
I 4
120
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
SuBSEcr. 1. Present Slate of Agriculture in European Turkey.
729. The Turkish empire includes a variety of climates and countries, of most of which
so little is correctly known, that we can give so satisfactory account of their agriculture.
Asiatic Turkey is nearly three times the extent of the European part ; Ijut the latter is
better cultivated and more populous. European Turkey, Thornton observes, depends
upon no foreign country for its subsistence. The labor of its inhabitants produces in
an abundance unequalled in the other countries of Europe, all the alimentary productions,
animal and vegetable, whether for use or enjoyment. The corn countries, in spite of the
impolitic restrictions of the government, besides pouring plenty over the empire, secretly
export their superfluities to foreign countries. Their agriculture, therefore, though
neglected and discouraged, is still above their wants." (Present State of Turkey, vol. i. 66.)
730. The climate and seasons of European Turkey vary with the latitude and local cir-
cumstances of the different provinces from the Morea, in lat. 37 , and surrounded by
the Mediterranean sea, to Moldavia, between Hungary and Russia, in lat. 48°. The
surface is generally mountainous, with plains and vales ; some rivers, as the Danube
in Wallachia, and numerous gulfs, bays, estuaries, and inlets of the Adriatic, the
^ Archipelago, Mediterranean, and Black Seas. The soil is in general fertile, alluvial in
some of the richest plains of Greece, as Thessaly ; and calcareous in many parts of Wal-
lachia and Moldavia. These provinces produce excellent wheat and rich pasture ; while
those of the south produce maize, wheat, and rice. The vine is cultivated in most
provinces ; and there are extensive forests, especially in the north. The live stock is the
horse, ox, camel, sheep, and swine.
73 1 . Some traits of the agriculture of the Morea , the southernmost province of European
Turkey, has been given by Dr. Pouqueville. The climate holds the exact medium
between the scorching heat of Egypt and the cold of more northern countries. The
winter is short, but stormy ; and the summer is hot, but tempered by breezes from the
mountains or the sea. The soil of the mountains is argillaceous ; in some places in-
clining to marl, and in otiiers to peat or vegetable earth : the richest parts are Arcadia
and Argos. The plough consists of a share, a beam, and a handle, (Jig. 103.) ; the
share is shaped somewhat like the claw of an anchor, and the edges armed with iron.
In some cases it has two wheels. It is drawn by ^^^^_ IO3
one horse, two asses, or by oxen or buffaloes,
according to the nature of the soil. The corn
grown is of excellent quality, though no at-
tention is paid to selecting the seed. The rice
of Argolis is held at Constantinople the next in
excellence to that of Damietta. The vine is
successfully cultivated ; but at Corinth, " situated in a most unwholesome atmosphere,"
the culture of that sort which produces the raisins of Corinth is less attended to than
formerly. The olive-trees (Olea Europeea, fig. 104.) are the .q.
finest in the world ; the oil of Maina is the best, and held in
esteem at all the principal markets of Europe. The white
mulberry is extensively cultivated for the support of the silk-
worm. Ellis yields the best silk. The cotton is cultivated in
fields, which are commonly divided by hedges of Nepal or |
Indian fig, which is eaten, but is here more vapid than in Egypt.
732. The figs of the Morea " are perhaps the most exquisite
that can be eaten. " The tree is cultivated with particular care,
and the practice of caprification adopted. They collect the
little figs which have fallen from the trees while very young, and
which contain numbers of the eggs of the gnat insect, (Cynips).
Of these they make chaplets, which are suspended to the branches
of the trees. The gnats are soon hatched, and spread themselves
over the whole tree. The females, in order to provide a nidus
for their eggs, pierce the fruit with their sting, and then deposit
them. From this puncture a gummy liquor oozes ; and after
this the figs are not only not liable to fall, but grow larger and
finer than if they had not undergone this operation. It is doubted by some modem
physiologists whether this process is of any real use, it being now neglected in most fig
countries where it was formerly performed. Some allege that it is merely useful as fecun-
dating the blossoms, which most people are aware are situated inside of the fruit, (fg. 1 05. ) ;
others that it promotes precocity, which the puncture of an insect will do in any fruit,
and which any one may have observed in the gooseberry, apple, or pear.
733. The almond-tree is very productive. The orange tribe abound ; and the pomegra-
nates, peaches, apricots, grapes, &c. are of the finest flavor. The banana is cultivated
in tlie gardens, as are melons, dates, and many other fruits. Carobs (Ceralonia),
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN EUROPEAN TURKEY.
121
quinces, medlars, cherries, &c. are wild in abundance. Bees are found in the
hollows of trees ; and their excellent white honey is exported.
734. The oxen of the Morea are low, and have long white hair. The most fleshy
do not weigh more than from 3 to
400 pounds. The cows give little
milk, and are much injured by the
jackals, who tear away their teats ;
and by large serpents, which suck
away all tlie milk. The sheep
are small, and have large horns ;
wool is considered of the second
quality of the wool of the East,
Cheese is made from their milk,
and that of goats. The horses of
the Morea are of a breed between
the Moravian and Thracian : their
form is not admired ; but they
are full of fire and courage ; and
so vigorous, that they run with a
firm and rapid step over the moun-
tains without ever stumbling. The
asses are miserable.
735. The forests of the Morea produce the cork-tree ; the Kermes oak, the quercus esculus or Vallony
oak, the acorns of which are eaten, and their cups used as oak-galls, in preparing black dye. The
azarole, plane, larch, wild olive, sweet chestnut, manna ash, grains d' Avignon, (rhamnus infectorius,
L ), from the grains or seeds of which a fine yellow dye is prepared. Lawsonia inermis, which furnishes
a fine aurora color, and with which the women of the East dye their nails, the turpentine tree, barren
date trees, silk-tree, (mimosa julibrisia), with its beautiful tufts, pine,^fir, and a variety of others. Chest-
nuts were at one period the temporary food of nearly the whole country. In mount Pholoe, where the
peasants are half savages, they form their principal food for the whole year. A variety of plants used in
the arts, and in pharmacy, grow wild in the wastes, and there are venison, game, and fishes, in the
woods, rivers, lakes, and the surrounding ocean. The Morea, Dr. Pouqueville concludes, is " a fine
country:" and though one does not find the golden age here renewed, yet, "under a better order of
things it would produce abundantly every thing necessary to supply the wants of man." {Travels, Sfc.
Transl. by A. Plumtree, p. 206.)
736. Some notices of the agriculture of Thessaly and Albania have been given by Dr.
Holland. The plain of Thessaly ^ __ _ 106
(Jig. 106.) is an immense tract 'U
of level country, with a fineallu- ^
vial soil; which tradition and ex-
ternal appearance concur in tes- J
tifying, was once covered withi
water. " The capabilities," Dr. |
Holland observes, " are great^
throughout the whole of this fine
province ; and it would not be _
easy to fix a limit to the amount and variety of produce which might be raiseil from its
surface. In their present state, the plains of Thessaly form one of the most productive
districts of the Grecian peninsula, and their annual produce, in grain of different kinds^
cotton, silk, wool, rice, and tobacco, allows a very large iq-j
amount of regular export from the province. The culti-
vation is not deficient in skill or neatness. Their plough is
of a primitive form ; and their carts are small cars, some of,
them, as Dr. Clarke observes, simple enough {fg. 107.);
both are drawn by oxen, or buffaloes. The wool of the
sheep is moderately fine ; the mulberry is grown in dwarf
pollards ; and the cotton in drills, well hoed. The men are a stern looking race
108 /^^ iJ^- 108. )> a^d the women iuy
{fg. 109.) well made, and
not unlike the antique. « The
circumstances by which the
amount of produce might be
increased, are chiefly, per-
haps, of a more general na-
ture— a better form of go-
vernment ; greater security
to private property ; a more
uniform distribution of the
inhabitants; and the pre-
vention of those monopolies
in the export of grain, which
122
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
have hitherto been exercised by the Turkish rulers of the country. " ( TravelSf ^c,
2d edit. p. 281.
737. The agriculture of Albania differs in nq essential particular from that of Tliessaly.
The common tenure on which land is let, is that of paying to the landlord half the
produce. The vale of Deropuli is the most fertile and populous in Albania. The
tillage, generally speaking, is remarkable for its neatness. The products are chiefly
wheat, maize, tobacco, and rice. The returns afford a considerable surplus for exporta-
tion ; and the tobacco is esteemed the best in Albania. Large flocks of sheep feed on
the declivity of the mountains j and afford much coarse wool for the manufactures of the
country.
738. The agriculture of Moldavia and Wallachia, two of the most northerly provinces
of European Turkey, has been given by various authors, as Carra, Bauer, and Thornton.
The climate of those provinces is very severe in winter. Spring begins in April ; sum-
mer in June ; and in July and August the days are excessively hot, and the nights cold.
Heavy rains begin in September, and snows in November. The surface is generally
mountainous ; but the vallies dry and rich. The usual grains are cultivated, and also
maize. They plough deep with six oxen, and never employ manure. They take a crop,
and leave the land to rest alternately. The corn is trodden out by horses, and then
laid up in pits. Flax and hemp are sown for local manufacture. Newly broken-up
lands are planted with cabbages, which grow to a great size. The vine is cultivated on
the southern declivities of hills, and the wine is said to equal that of Hungary. The mul-
berry is cultivated for the silkworm ; and forests are extensive on the mountains. The
common fruit trees are abundant, and an excellent variety of apple, called the doiniasca,
grows wild. The olive and fig are too delicate for the climate.
739. But thejiasture lands are the most valuable parts of these provinces. The oxen are
large and fleshy, and so numerous, that they form a principal article of export to Russia,
Poland, and Germany. The buffalo thrives better here than in most parts of Europe ;
and is valued for its strength and milk. The sheep winter on the Danube, and pass the
summer on the Carpathian mountains ; their mutton is excellent, and the annual export-
ation of the wool into Germany is very considerable. There are various breeds of
horses ; they are brought up in great numbers, for the Austrian and Prussian cavalry.
They are well formed, spirited, docile, and remarkable for the soundness of their hoofs.
The carriage and draught horses are small but active, and capable of resisting fatigue. They
live in the open air in all seasons, though in winter they are often attacked by wolves.
Domestic fowls and game abound, especially hares. The honey and wine are of the finest
quality. One author (Curra) mentions a kind of green wax, which, when made into
tapers, diffuses an excellent perfume when lighted. Many of the cottages partake of the
Swiss character, and are more ^.rvcr-^ 110
picturesque than those of Hun-
gary or Russia {Jig. 110.)
740. The poorest agriculture
in European Turkey is that of
Romelia, including the coun-
try round Constantinople. The
surface is hilly, and the soil dry
and stony, chiefly in pasture or
waste. " The capital of the
empire," Thornton observes,
*< as the soil in its immediate
vicinity is barren and ungrateful,
receives from the neighbouring
villages, and from the sur-
rounding coasts of both the seas which it commands, all the culinary herbs and fruits f
excellent flavor, which the most fastidious appetites can require ; and from the Asiatic
coasts of the Black Sea, all materials necessary for fuel, or for the construction of ships
and houses."
Chap. V.
Modern History and present State of Agriculture in the British Isles.
741. Having, in the preceding chapter, brought down the history of British
agriculture to the revolution, we shall resume it at that period, and continue our view to
the present time. As this period may be considered the most interesting of the whole
series, we shall, for the sake of distinctness, arrange the matter under the separate sec-
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN THE BRITISH ISLES. 123
tions of the political, professional, and literary history of agriculture in Britain, and sub-
mit a separate view of the progress and present state of agriculture in Ireland.
Sect. I. Political History of Agriculture in Britain from the Revolution in 1668, to
the present Time.
742. That the agriculture and general prosjieritt/ of this country were greatly benefited hy
the revolution is an indisputed point. That prosperity, as far as respects agriculture, is
chiefly to be ascribed to the judicious corn-laws then promulgated. " In 1 670," a masterly
writer on the subject remarks, " exportation was permitted, whatever the price might
be ; and importation was virtually prohibited, by a duty of 165. per quarter, when wheat
did not exceed 53s. 4d. ; of 85. when above that, and not exceeding 80s. ; and when
above 80s. the duty of 5s. 4d., imposed by the act 1663, continued to be payable. Still,
however, as there was a duty payable on exportation ; and as importation, from some
defect in the law respecting the mode of ascertaining the prices at which the different
duties were exigible, still continued at the low duty, the system by which exportation was
encouraged, and importation in ordinary cases prohibited, was not completely established
till 1688 and 1700. In the former of these years, a bounty of 5s. a quarter was given on
exportation, when the price of wheat did not exceed 48s. , and in the latter the duties
on exportation were wholly repealed. Under these laws, not only was the excess of
exports very considerable, but the prices of grain, down to 1765, were much
lower than during an equal number of years preceding 1688. This is not the place to
inquire how far these laws had an influence in producing this phenomenon ; but the facts
themselves are indisputable. Yet the mere circumstance of large exportations of grain
does by no means prove the prosperity of agriculture ; far less is its cheapness in the
home markets any evidence of the comfortable subsistence of the lower orders. Corn
seems to have been raised in such abundance, not merely because the market was ex-
tended by means of the bounty, but because there was little demand for other products
of the soil, which have, since that time, withdrawn a large portion of the best arable
land from the growth of corn. And the price was low, because neither the number nor
wealth of the consumers had increased in a proportion corresponding to the supply.
Before the accession of his present majesty, the number of acts for inclosure was only
two hundred and forty-four ; — a clear proof that agricultural improvements proceeded
raiuch more slowly than they have done since. And it cannot be disputed, that, owing
to the imperfect culture of that period, when ameliorating crops did not enter largely
into the courses of management, any given extent of land did not produce so much corn
as under the improved rotations of modern husbandry."
743. The exportation of wool was prohibited in 1647, in 1660, and in 1688; and the
prohibition strictly enforced by subsequent statutes. The effect of this on its price,
and the state of the wool trade, from the earliest period to the middle of last century,
are distinctly exhibited by the learned and laborious author of Memoirs on Wool,
printed in 1747.
744. In 1765, the corn-laivs^established in the end of the seventeenth century began to be repealed, and ex-
portation was prohibited, and importation permitted, without payment of duties, by annual acts, during
the seven subsequent years. " A new system was established in 1773, allowing importation when the price
of wheat jvas at or above 48s. per quarter, at the low duty of 6d. Exportation was prohibited when the
price was 44s. ; and below that, the former bounty of 5s. per quarter continued to be payable."
743. By an act passed in 1791, the boiuity on exportation, when the price was under 44s. per quarter,
remained unaltered ; but " exportation was permitted till the price was 46s. Importation was virtually pro-
hibited by high duties when the price was below 50s. ; and permitted, on payment of a duty of Qd., when at
or above 54s."
746. In 1804, " the corn-laws were altered for the third time, and the bounty on exportation was paid
till the price of wheat was 48s. per quarter; and at 54s. exportation was prohibited. The high duty of
24s. M. was payable on importation till the price was 63s. ; above 63s. and under 66s., a duty of 2s. 6rf. ;
and above 66s. the low duty of 6rf. By an act in 1805, importation into any part of Britain is to be regu-
lated by the aggregate average price of the twelve maritime districts of England. Importation was
never stopt under the law of 1804, till February 1815.
747. During the twenty-two years preceding 1821, about sixty millions of pounds sterling have been
paid for foreign grain. " In bad seasons the prices have been enhanced to a most alarming degree, not-
withstanding large bounties have been paid on importation. The average price of every successive period
of ten years since 1765, has risen considerably ; and since 1795, the price has been seldom less than
double the average of the first sixty years of the last century."
748. The corn-laws have recently undergone another change, after much discussion in par-
liament, and a very general opposition on the part of the manufacturing and commercial
classes, with a great number of publications on both sides, which will probably be not
more lasting than those that have preceded it. By the 54th of the king, c. 69., (17th
June, 1814,) the exportation of corn, meal, malt, and flour, from any part of the
united kingdom, is permitted at all times, without payment of any duty, or receiving
any bounty; and by the 55th, c. 26., (23d March, 1815,) importation is prohibited,
(except for the warehouse, from whence it may be taken out for sale, when the prices
are such as would permit importation,) till the price of wheat is 80s. ; rye, pease, and
beans, 53s.; barley, bear, or bigg, 40s.; and oats 27s. per quarter. Above these prices,
these difierent kinds of corn are admitted, without payment of any duty whatever.
124 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Paet I.
From the British colonies in America, corn may be imported for home-consumption,
without payment of any duty, when the prices are at or above, wheat, 675.; rye, pease,
and beans, 44s. ; barley, bear, or bigg, 33s. ; and oats, 22s. per quarter. Ahnost
all the restrictions on the inland corn trade were removed by the act, 1772 ; and the
more just views of the present age have given freedom to the trade, in point of fact,
though some of the old laws against forestalling, &c,, are still unrepealed. Yet it is not
many years since punishments were inflicted for these imaginary crimes. {Ency. Brit,
art. ^gr.)
749. Jgriculture in Scotland was at a low ebb at the period of the revolution. " The
calamity of that evil had so oppressed the tenantry of Scotland, that many farms re-
mained unoccupied. Proprietors were then as eager in searching after tenants who were
able to stock and cultivate the ground, as farmers are now assiduous in seeking after
farms. Improvements began to be made soon after the union, especially by some gentle-
men of East Lothian, and by the efforts of the agricultural society of Scotland, established
in 1723. It was now found beneficial to grant long leases, which were found greatly
to increase the skill and industry of the tenants, by rendering them secure of enjoying
the benefit of their improvements. A great stimulus was also given to farmers by the
money circulated during the rebellion of 1745, which raised prices, and increased the
tenants' capital stock.
750. A desire to imjrrove the roads of Scotland now began to manifest itself among the
proprietors. The first act of parliament for collecting tolls on the highways in Scotland,
was passed in 1750, for repairing the road from Dunglass bridge to Haddington. In
ten years after, several acts followed for the counties of Edinburgh and Lanark, and for
making the roads between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The benefit which agriculture has
derived from good roads it would not be easy to estimate. The want of them was one
great cause of the slow progress of the art in former times. At present, all the improve-
ments introduced by M'Adam in the construction and preservation of the roads of
England, are spreading with equal rapidity and good effect in Scotland.
751. The relaxing nf the rigor of entails, and abrogating the feudal system greatly bene-
fited the agriculture of Scotland. The first was eflfected by an act in 1770, which re-
laxed the rigor of strict entails, and extended the powers of proprietors, in so far as
regards the improvement of their estates, and the granting of leases. The legal ab-
rogation of the feudal system, by passing the jurisdiction act, was of material ad-
vantage, in so far as the security of cultivators was thus increased, and their situation
rendered infinitely more independent than in former times.
752. But the general progress of agriculture in Britain from the revolution to the
middle of the eighteenth century, was by no means so considerable as from the great
exportation of corn we should be led to imagine. The gradual advance in the price of
land produce, soon after the year 1 760, occasioned by the increase of population, and
of wealth derived from manufactures and commerce, has given a more powerful stimulus
to rural industry, augmented agricultural capital in a greater degree, and called forth
a more skilful and enterprising race of cultivators, than all the laws for regulating the
corn trade could ever have effected. Most of the inventions for increasing produce and
ecbnomising labor have either been introduced, or improved and greatly extended since
that time ; and by means of both, the free surplus has been vastly increased for the supply
of the general consumption. The passing of more than three thousand bills of inclosure,
in the late reign, is a proof how much more rapidly the cultivation of new land has
proceeded than in the former period ; and the garden-like appearance of the country, as
well as the striking improvement in the condition of all classes of the rural population,
display, in the most decided manner, the skill and the success with which this great
branch of national industry is now followed throughout the greater part of Britain."
753. Since the conclusion of the American war in 1782, ** improvement has pro-
ceeded with singular rapidity in every district ; and while the rental rolls of proprietors
have been doubled, tripled, and quadrupled, the condition of the tenantry, and of the
lower ranks, has been ameliorated almost in a proportional degree." {Ed. Encp. art.
Agr.)
754. Since the peace of 1815, agriculture has sustained a severe shock from the fall of
prices, occasioned by the lessened circulation of currency, the necessary preliminary to a
return to a currency of the precious metals. In this shock many hundreds of farmers lost all
their capital, and were obliged to become operatives to others ; while some, more fortunate,
contrived to retain as much of the wreck of their property as enabled them to emigrate to
other countries. Cleghorn, whose pamphlet on the depressed state of agriculture was
honored with the prize of the Highland Society of Scotland, thinks this loss cannot have
been less than one year's rental of the whole island. " The replies sent to the circular
letter of the Board of Agriculture, regarding the agricultural state of the kingdom, in
February, March, and April, 1 8 1 9, furnish a body of evidence which cannot be contro-
verted, and exhibit a picture of widely spread ruin among the agricultural classes, and of
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN THE BRITISH ISLES. 125
distress among all that immediately depend upon them, to which there is probably no par-
allel." [See Cleghom on the Dq)ressed State of Agriculture, 1822.) After seven or eight
years of severe suffering, both by landlords and tenants, things have now assumed a
more stationary condition. Rents have been greatly lowered every where, in proportion
to the fall of prices and the rise of parochial burdens, and both farmers and landlords are
beginning gradually to recover themselves.
SuBSECT. 1. Professional History of Agriculturej from the Revolution to the
present Time.
755. From the restoration down to the middle of the eighteenth century, very little improve-
ment had taken place, either in the cultivation of the soil, or in the management of live
stock. Even clover and turnips (the great support of the present improved system of agri-
culture,) were confined to a few districts, and at the latter period were scarcely cultivated at
all by common farmers in the northern parts of the island. From the Whole Art of Hus-
handry, published by Mortimer in 1706, a work of considerable merit, it does not
appear that any improvement was made on his practices till near the end of last century.
In those districts where clover and rye-grass were cultivated, they were cut green and
used for soiling as at present. Turnips were sown broadcast, hand-hoed, and used for
feeding sheep and cattle, as they were used in Houghton's time, and are still in most
districts of England.
756. In the beginning of the eighteenth century, a considerable improvement in the
process of culture was introduced by Jethro Tull, a gentleman of Berkshire, who
began to drill wheat and other crops, about the year 1701, and whose Horse-hoeing
Husbandry was published in 1731. " In giving a short account of the innovations of
this eccentric writer, it is not meant to enter into any discussion of their merits. It will
not detract much from his reputation to admit, that, like most other men who leave the
beaten path, he was sometimes misled by inexperience, and sometimes deceived by a
too sanguine imagination. Had Tull confined his recommendation of the drill hus-
bandry to leguminous and bulbous-rooted plants generally, and to the cereal gramina
only in particular circumstances ; and had he, without puzzling himself about the food
of plants, been contented with pointing out the great advantage of pulverizing the soil
in most cases, and extirpating weeds in every case, he would certainly have deserved a
high rank among the benefactors of his country. A knowledge of his doctrines and
practice, however, will serve as a necessary introduction to the present approved modes
of culture."
757. TuU's theory is promulgated with great confidence ; and in the controversy which he thought
proper to maintain in support of it, he scrupled not to employ ridicule as well as reasoning. Besides the
Roman writers de Re Rustica, Virgil in particular, whom he treats with high disdain ; he is almost equally
severe on Dr. Woodward, Bradley, and other writers of his own time.
758. Tull begins by showing that the roots of plants extended much farther than is commonly believed ;
and then proceeds to inquire into the nature of their food. After examining several hypotheses, he de-
cides this to be fine particles of earth. The chief, and almost the only use of dung, he thinks, is to
divide the earth ; to dissolve the " terrestrial matter which affords nutriment to the mouths of vegetable
roots ;" and this can be done.more completely by tillage. It is therefore necessary, not only to pulverize
the soil by repeated ploughings before it be seeded ; but as it becomes gradually more and more compressed
afterwards, recourse must be had to tillage while the plants are growing, or horse-hoeing j which also
destroys the weeds that would deprive the plants of their nourishment.
759. The leading features of TuWs husbandry, are his practice of laying the land into narrow ridges of five
or six feet, and upon the middle of these, drilling one, two, or three rows ; distant from one another about
seven inches, when there were three ; and ten inches, when only two. The distance of the plants on one
ridge from those on the contiguous one, he called an interval ; the distance between the rows on the
same ridge a space, or partition : the former was stirred repeatedly by the horse-hoe, and the latter by the
hand-hoe.
' 760. The extraordinary attention Tull gave to his mode of culture is, perhaps, without a parallel. " I for-
merly was at much pains," he says, " and at some charge, in improving my drills, for planting the rows at
very near distances ; and had brought them to such perfection, that one horse would draw a drill with
eleven shares, making the rows at three inches and a half distance from one another; and, at the same
time, sow in them three very different sorts of seeds, which did not mix ; and these two at different depths.
As the barley-rows were seven inches asunder, the barley lay four inches deep. A little more than three
inches above' that, in the same channels, was clover ; betwixt every two of these rows, was a row of saint-
foin, covered half an inch deep. I had a good crop of barley the first year ; the next year two crops of
broad clover, where that was sown ; and where hop clover was sown, a mixed crop of that and saintfoin ;
but I am since, by experience, so fully convinced of the folly of these, or any other mixed crops, and more
especially of narrow spaces, that I have demolished these instruments (in their full perfection) as a vain
curiosity, the drift and use of them being contrary to the true principles and practice of horse-hoeing."
{Horse-hoeing Husbandry, p. 62. London, 1762.)
761. In the culture of wheat he began with ridges six feet broad, or eleven on a breadth of sixty-six feet ;
but on this he afterwards had fourteen ridges. After trying different numbers of rows on a ridge, he at
last preferred two, with an intervening space of about ten inches. He allowed only three pecks of seed for
an acre. The first hoeing was performed by turning a furrow from the row, as soon as the plant had put
forth four or five leaves ; so that it was done before, or at the beginning of winter. The next hoeing was
in'spring, by which the earth was returned to the plants. The subsequent operations depended upon the
circumstances and condition of the land, and the state of the weather. The next year's crop of wheat
was sown upon the intervals which had been unoccupied the former year ; but this he does not seem to
think was a matter of much consequence. " My field," he observes, "whereon is now the thirteenth
crop of wheat, has shown that the rows may successfully stand upon any part of the ground. The ridges
of this field were, for the twelfth crop, changed from six feet to four feet six inches. In order for this al-
teration, the ridges were ploughed down, and then the next ridges were laid out the same way as the for-
mer, but one foot six inches narrower, and the double rows drilled on their tops ; whereby, of consequence,
there must be some rows standing on every part of the ground, both on the former partitions, and on
126 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
every part of the intervals. Notwithstanding this, there was no manner of diflference in the goodness of
the i-ows ; and the whole field was in every part of it equal, and the best, I believe, that ever grew on it. It
is now the thirteenth crop, likely to be good, though the land was not ploughed cross ways." {lUd.
p. 424.)
762. According to Tulip a rotation of crops of different species was altogether unnecessary ;
and he labors hard to prove against Dr. Woodward, that the advantages of such a change,
under his plan of tillage, were quite chimerical ; though he seems to admit the benefit of
a change of the seed itself. But the best method of determining the question would have
been, to have stated the amount of his crops per acre, and the quality of the grain, instead
of resting the superiority of his management on the alleged saving of expence, when com-
pared with the common broadcast husbandry.
763. On the culture of the turnip, both his principles and his practice are much more correct. The ridges
were of the same breadth as for wheat ; but only one row was drilled on each. His management, while
the crop was growing, difFers very little from the present practice. When drilled on the level, it is im-
possible, he observes, to hoe-plough them so well as when they are planted upon ridges. But the seed was
deposited, at different depths, the half about four inches deep, and the other half exactly over that, at the
depth of half an inch. " Thus planted, let the weather be never so dry, the deepest seed will come up ;
but if it raineth immediately after planting, the shallow will come up first. We also make it come up at
four times, by mixing our seed, half new and half old, the new coming up a day quicker than the old.
These four comings up give it so many chances for escaping the fly; it being often seen, that the seed
sown over night will be destroyed by the fly, when that sown the next morning will escape, and vice versa :
or you may hoe-plough them when the fly is like to devour them : this will bury the greatest part of those
enemies : or else you may drill in another row without new ploughing the land."
764. Drilling, and horse and hand-hoeing, seem to have been in use before the publi-
cation of TuU's book. " Hoeing," he says, " may be divided into deep, which is one
horse-hoeing ; and shallow, which is the English hand-hoeing ; and also the shallow
horse-hoeing used in some places betwixt rows, where the intervals are very narrow, as
sixteen or eighteen inches. This is but an imitation of the hand-hoe, or a succedaneum
to it, and can neither supply the use of dung, nor of fallow, and may be properly called
scratch-hoeing." But in his mode of forming ridges, his practice seems to have been
original ; his implements display much ingenuity ; and his claim to the title of father of
the present horse-hoeing husbandry of Great Britain seems indisputable. A translation of
TuU's book was undertaken at one and the same time in France, by three different per-
sons of consideration, without the privity of each other. Two of them afterwards put
their papers into the hands of the third, M.Du Hamel duMonceau, of the Royal Academy
of Sciences, at Paris, who published a treatise on husbandry, on the principles of
Tull, a few years after. But Tull seems to have had very few followers in England for
more than thirty years. The present method of drilling and horse- hoeing turnips was
not introduced into Northumberland till about the year 1780, [Northumberland Survey,
p. 100.) ; and it was then borrowed from Scotland, the farmers of which had the merit of
first adopting TuU's management in the culture of this root about 1 760, and from whom
it has since made its way, but slowly, in the southern part of the island.
765. In the live stock of British agriculture, very little improvement had been made pre-
viously to the middle of the eighteenth century, or later. About this time, the best breed
of cattle and sheep were about Doncaster, in Yorkshire, and in Leicestershire, and the first
grand and successful effort to improve them was made by Robert Bakewell, of Dishley
in the latter county. Bakewell was born about 1730; and soon after arriving at the
years of maturity, took an interest in improving the breed of sheep. His father was a
farmer, and died in 1772 ; but the son had taken an active management of the farm for
many years before that period, for we find him letting out rams in 1762. (^Hunth Agricul-
tural Memoirs, 35. )
766. By BakewelV s sJcil^ul selection at first, and constant care afterwards to breed from
the best animals, without any regard to their consanguinity, he at last obtained a variety
of sheep, which, for early maturity, and the property of returning a great produce of
mutton for the food they consume, as well as for the small proportion which the weight
of the offal bears to that of the four quarters, are altogether unequalled either in this or
any other country. The Dishley or New Leicester sheep, and their crosses, are now
spread over the principal corn districts of Britain ; and, from their quiet domesticated
habits, are probably still the most profitable of all the varieties of sheep, on farms where
the rearing and fattening of live stock are combined with the best courses of tillage
crops.
767. The jiractice of Bakewell and his followers J&irhishes an instance of the benefits
of a division of labor, in a department of business, where it was little to be expected.
Their male stock was let out every year to breeders from all parts of England ; and thus,
by judiciously crossing the old races, all the valuable properties of the Dishley variety de-
scended, after three or four generations, to their posterity. By no other means could
this new breed have spread so rapidly, nor have been made to accommodate itself so easily
to a change of climate and pasture. Another recommendation of this plan was, that the
ram-hirer had a choice among a number of males, of somewhat different properties, and
in a more or less advanced stage of improvement ; from which it was his business to select
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN THE BRITISH ISLES.
127
such as suited his particular object. These were reared by experienced men, who gave
their principal attention to this branch alone ; and having the best females as well as males,
they were able to furnish the necessary supply of young males in the greatest variety, to
those farmers whose time was occupied with other pursuits. The prices at which
Bakewell's rams were hired, appear enormous. In 1789, he received twelve hundred
guineas for the hire of three brought at one birth ; two thousand for seven; and, for his
whole letting, at least three thousand guineas. {Encyc. Brit. art. Agr.)
768. Bakewell died in the iKginning of the present century : his chief coadjutors in the improvement of
stock were Cully, and Bailey of Northumberland, whose valuable works on live stock, and other subjects,
with some notices of their lives, will be found in the proper place in Part IV. of this work.
769. Merino sheep were first brought into England in 1788, when his majesty procured
a small flock by way of Portugal. In 1791, another flock was imported from Spain. In
1804, when his majesty's annual sales commenced, this race began to attract much notice.
Dr. Parry, of Bath, has crossed the Ryeland or Herefordshire sheep, with the merinos,
and brought the wool of the fourth generation to a degree of fineness not excelled by that
of the pure merino itself; while the carcase, in which is the great defect of the merinos,
has been much improved. Lord Somerville, and many other gentlemen, have done them-
selves much honor by establishing this race, so necessary to the prosperity of our woollen
manufactures, and in removing its defects by their judicious management. [Encyc. Brit.
art. Jgr.)
770. The other advances made in agriculture subsequently to the middle of the eighteenth cen-
tury ^axe the general improvement of implements, especially of the swing plough, (Jig.lll.)
Ill
by Small, about 1790 ; the invention of the best description of threshing machine, (^.112.)
by Meickle, soon afterwards; the improvement j|2
of the one horse cart (^fig. 113.) the invention
of several reaping machines, by various artists ;
the improved method of draining, by Elkington,
in 1 760 ; the introduction of the ruta buga, or
Swedish turnip, in 1 790 ; of the potatoe tuber
into field culture, in 1788 ; of the rotation of
crops, gradually from 1 700 ; the use of summer
wheat, in 1800 ; and the sowing of winter wheat
in spring, from 1795. Of these, and a variety
of other topics, the historical details will be
found where they are respectively treated of, in
the course of this work.
771. The agriculture of Scotland, as we have
seen (749.), was in a very depressed state at the revolution, from political circumstances.
It was not less so in pointof professional knowledge. Lord Kaimes, that excellent judge
of mankind, and sound agriculturist, declares, in strong terms, that the tenantry of Scot-
113
128 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
land, at the end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth century, were so be-
numbed with oppression or poverty, that the most able instructor in husbandry would have
made nothing of them. Fletcher of Salton, who lived in tlie best part of Scotland, and in
the end of the seventeenth century, describes their situation as truly deplorable. In
fact, many farms remained unoccupied ; even tenants rarely accepted of leases, at least
they were shy, unwilling to accept them for any considerable number of years : hence
improvement of every kind was totally neglected, and the general poverty ol" the te-
nantry necessarily occasioned landed property to be of little value ; because, while rents
were trifling, they were also ill paid, which of course placed many proprietors in some-
thing like a state of mendicity.
772. John Cockbum, of Ormiston, East Lothian, a spirited individual, who arose at
this time, and to whom the agriculture of Scotland is much indebted, deserves to be
mentioned. He was born in 1685, and succeeded to the family estate of Ormiston in
1714. Cockbum, at an early period of his life, saw th© evils of the feudal system;
and justly considered the qualities supposed to compose the character of a feudal
chieftain as badly calculated to promote internal improvement. He saw that this was
only to be done by forming and extending a middle rank of society, and increasing
their prosperity. In fact, as an able writer, Brown, the founder of the Farmer s
Magazine, has remarked, '* the middling ranks are the strength and support of every
nation. In former times, what we now call middling classes were not known, or at
least little known in Scotland, where the feudal system reigned longer than in England.
After trade was introduced, and agriculture improved, the feudal system was necessarily
overturned ; and proprietors, like other men, began to be estimated according to their
respective merits, without receiving support from the adventitious circumstances under
which they were placed.
773. When Cockbum succeeded to the estate of Ormiston, in 1714, the art of agriculture was imperfectlyi
understood, and the condition of the tenantry was so reduced, that it could not be expected to see im-
provements undertaken, unless the strongest encouragement was previously held out. This was done
by Cockbum, even in his father's lifetime. As Robert Wight, one of the Ormiston tenants, had early
shown an uncommon spirit to enter into Cockburn's views, being one of the first farmers in Scotland
who inclosed by ditch and hedge, and planted hedgerow trees at his own proper charge, he was singled
out for favour, and in 1718 received a lease of the Murrays, or Muir-house farm, of an uncommon long
endurance. The lease was for thirty-eight years, and the rent 750^. Scottish money ; but upon paying a
fine or grassum of 1200/. Scots, at the expiration of that term, a renewal of the lease was to be gsanted
for nineteen years more, and so on from nineteen to nineteen years in all time coming. The two sub-
scribing witnesses to the deed were Sir John Inglis of Cramond, Bart., and John Hepburn, Esq. of
Humble, gentlemen invited on the occasion by Cockbum, in order that his example might animate them
with the like liberal and patriotic desire to improve the agriculture of their respective properties. Alex-
ander Wight, eldest son of Robert above named, possessed the house of Muir farm by tacit recolation till
17£5, at which period, agreeable to the plan adopted for encouraging substantial improvements,, a lease
was.granted to him for thirty-eight years, and three lives therein named. This tenant, like his father,
having entered warmly into Cockburn's measures, got that lease cancelled in 1734, when a new one was
granted for nineteen years, renewable for every nineteen years in all time coming, upon payment of a
fine equal to one years' rent of the premises. These were leading examples to Scottish landlords, and
held out to other tenants of the Cockbum estate a noble encouragement to undertake improvements,
seeing that their benevolent landlord was so ready to reward them.
774. Thus the foundation of Scottish improvement was laid by granting long leases.
Many people at this time may think, that such a length of lease was unnecessary, and
that the distinguished personage of whom we are speaking might have accomplished his
object by granting leases of a more limited endurance. We would request such persons
to reflect upon the state of the country, and the actual condition of the tenantry at the
period under consideration. We ought not to judge of the prosperity of measures
then employed, to introduce and encourage improvement, according to the rules of
the present day, when tenants possess knowledge and capital sufficient for carrying
through the most difficult and arduous undertakings. Let it also be remembered, that
both knowledge and capital were the undoubted result of the ameliorated system then
introduced. Cockbum laid the first stone of the system ; his brethren in different
quarters assisted in rearing the fabric, though, perhaps, their aid was not in one instance
so munificent. The success which accompanied it served, however, to convince almost
the whole landholders of Scotland, that the surest way of extending improvements
was to give the tenantry an interest in their accomplishment. Hence the bond of
connection betwixt proprietors and tenants in Scotland is formed upon more liberal
principles than prevail in any other country with which we are acquainted. No man
in Scotland, at least very few men, will enter to the possession of land unless the
security of a lease is previously granted ; and proprietors in general are so sensible
of the benefit of that tenure, that few of them refuse to grant it for such a number of
years as both parties may consider best adapted to the system of management meant to
be exercised. {Ed. Encyc. art. Agr.)
773. In 1723, a number of landholders formed themselves into a Society of Improvers in
the Knowledge of Agriculture in Scotland. The Earl of Stair, one of their most active mem-
bers, is said to have been the first who cultivated turnips in that country. This society had
exerted itself in a very laudable manner, and apparently with considerable success, in intro-
Book L
AGRICULTURE IN THE BRITISH ISLES.
^29
ducing cultivated herbage and turnips, as well as in improving on the former methods of
culture. But there is reason to believe, tliat the influence of the example of its members
did not extend to the common tenantry, who are always unwilling to adopt the practices of
those who are placed in a higher rank, and supposed to cultivate land for pleasure, rather
than profit. Though this society, the earliest in the united kingdom, soon counted
upwards of three hundred members, it existed little more than twenty years. Maxwell
delivered lectures on agriculture for one or two sessions at Edinburgh, which, from the
specimens he has left, ought to have been encouraged.
776. Draining, enclosing, summer-fallowing, sowing Jlax, hemp, rape, turnip, and grass
seeds, planting cabbages after, and potatoes with the plough, in fields of great extent, are
practices which were already introduced ; and, according to the general opinion, more corn
was now grown where it was never known to grow before, than perhaps a sixth of all that
the kingdom was in use to produce at any former period.
777. The Jirst notice of a threshing machine is given by Maxwell in his Trans-
actions of the Society of Improvers, ^c. ; it was invented by Michael Menzies, advocate,
and he obtained a patent for it. Upon a representation made to the society, that it was to
be seen at work in several places, they appointed two of their number to inspect it : and
in their report they say, that one man would be sufficient to manage a machine which
would do the work of six. One of the machines was " moved by a great water wheel
and treddles ;" and another, " by a little wheel of three feet in diameter, moved by a
small quantity of water," This machine the society recommended to all gentlemen and
farmers. {Encyc.Brit. and Ed, Encyc. art. Agr. Brown s Treatise on Rural AffairSt
Introduction, ^c. )
■ 778. Hope, of Rankeillor, was an active and indefatigable member of the Society of Improvers. He had
studied agriculture both in England and foreign countries. Among other patriotic and skilful exertions
of this gentleman, he drained the morass in the neighborhood of Edinburgh, then known as Straiton'a loch j
114
(1. Barn
2. Show-room
3. MiU-shed
4. Common stable
5. Riding horse do-
6.0x feeding-house
7. Cow-house
8. Hos])ital stable
9. Root and steam-
ing-house
10. Cattle-sheds
11. Cart-shed
la.Carpenter's shed
13. Smith's forge
14. Tool-house
15. Piggeries
16. Poultrj-
17. Well and cis
tern
■^jlS. Farmers kit-
' chen;
19. Common par
lor
20. Business room
21. Entrance)
(rt. Com-bani
/). Straw end
c. Mill-shed
d. Common stable
e. Riding horse do,
f. Hosvilal
g. Cattle-shed
/». Cart-ihed
!. Piggeries
y. Poultry
■fc. Piggeries
;. Tool -house
m. Carpenter
n. Smith
o. Cattle-sheds
ji. Root-house
II. Cow-house
r. Ox tecdmg-housf
». Wa»hing-pond
t. Side road
i(. Entrance to rick-
yard
r. Pond
UK Side road
a-. Maiaentranc
130
HISTORY OF AGRICULTRE.
Part I.
and hje projected the walks over the grounds now known as the meadow walks, which were long the most
fashionable place of resort for the citizens.
779. The Dukes of Hamilton and Athol, Lords Stair, Hopeton, and Islay, were active members of this
society, and especially Cockburn of Ormiston, already mentioned (772.), who was one of its principal pro-
moters and founder.
780. Dawson, of Frogden in Roxburghshire, is a man to whom modern agriculture is more indebted than
perhaps any other. Dawson studied the Norfolk agnculture for several years, and conceived the happy
idea of combining it with the system of Tull,and improving on both. The result was his invention of the
culture of turnips on raised drills, with the dung buried directly under the plants. He also extended the
use of lime, and of artificial grasses and clovers, and on better principles ; and was the first to introduce
the practice of ploughing with two horses without a driver. On these improvements depend the superior
excellence of what is known as the convertible or Berwickshire husbandry. It is this husbandry which
has thrown capital into the hands of the farmers of Scotland, and rendered the profession of farming
there more respectable than in England. Scotland also has set the example, not only in improved modes
of culture, and in implements and machines ; but in the more expensive department of the farm house and
offices, numerous examples of which may be there found, both commodious in plan and disposition
{f^s. 114. and 115.), and elegant in elevation, [fig. 116.) The laying out of the fields of .farms, the roads.
fences, and water-courses, and especially the management of hedges, has been greatly improved ; and
the breed of working horses {fig. 117.) cannot be equalled in any other country for strength, activity.
docility, and hardiness. While we state'these particulars, we freely admit that the improvement of fatting
animals has made incomparably greater
progress in England, and also that the A 18
cottages ofthe laboring classes {fig. 118.)
are in general more comfortable and
neat in the latter country, and their
gardens are also better cultivated. But
the system of paying farm servants in
kind, or chiefly so, almost peculiar to
Scotland, far more than counterbalances
every advantage which the English cot-
tager at present possesses. We shall
describe the practice at length in our
survey of the agriculture of East Lo-
thian, in the statistical department
of this work. (See Part IV. Book I.
Chap. S. Sect 3., and Index.
SuBSECT. 2. Ofthe Literature if British Agriculture from the Bevolution to the
present time.
781. The literature of English agriculture from the revolution is rich in excellent works*
We have already, in detailing the professional improvements, noticed the writings of
Mortimer and Tull. To these we now add the numerous works of Bradley, which
appeared from 1717 to his death in 1732. They are all compilations, but have been of
very considerable service in spreading a knowledge of culture, and a taste for rural
improvement. Stephen Switzer, a seedsman in London, in 1729; Dr. Blackwell, in
1741 ; and Hitt, a few years afterwards, published tracts recommending the burning
of clay as manure, in the manner recently done by Governor Beatson, of Suffolk ;
Craig, of Cally in Kircudbrightshire, and some others. Lisle's useful Observatiom
on Husbandry, were published in 1757 ; Stillingfleet's Tracts, in which he shows the
importance of a selection of grasses for laying down lands, in 1759; and the excellent
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN THE BRITISH ISLES. 131
Essaj/s of Harte, canon of Windsor, in 1764, The celebrated Arthur Young's first
publication on agriculture, entitled, The Farmer s Letters to the People of England, &c.
appeared in 1767; and was followed by a great variety of excellent works, including
the Tour in France, and the Annals of Agriculture, till his pamphlet on the utility of
the Board of Agriculture, in 1810. Marshall's numerous and most superior
agricultural works commenced with his Minutes of Agriculture, published in 1787, and
ended with his Revien) of the Agricultural Reports, in 1816. The last works we shall
mention are those of Dr. R. W. Dickson, whose Practical Agriculture appeared in two
quarto volumes, in 1 806, and may be considered as giving a complete view of the
present state of agriculture at the time. Other works have appeared subsequently.
In this sketch a great number of useful and ingenious authors are necessarily omitted ;
but they will all be found in their places in the Literature of British Agriculture, given
in the Fourth Part of this work.
782. The Scottish writers on agriculture in that country confirm our view of the
low state of the art in the beginning of the eighteenth century The first work,
written by James Donaldson, was printed in 1697, under the title of Husbandry Anato-
mised ; or, an Enquiry into the present Manner of Teiling and Manuring the Qround
in Scotland. It appears from this treatise that the state of the art was not more advanced
at that time in North Britain, than it had been in England in the time of Fitzherbert.
Farms were divided into infield and outfield ; corn crops followed one another, without
the intervention of fallow, cultivated herbage, or turnips, though sometlung is said
about fallowing the outfield ; enclosures were very rare ; the tenantry had not begun to
emerge from a state of great poverty and depression ; and the wages of labor, com-
pared with the price of corn, were much lower than at present ; though that price, at
least in ordinary years, must appear extremely moderate in our times. Leases for a term
of years, however, were not uncommon ; but the want of capital rendered it impossible
for the tenantry to attempt any spirited improvements.
783. The Countrynuins Rudiments ; or, an Advice to the Farmers in East Lothian,
how to labor and improve their grounds, said to have been written by Lord Belhaven,
about the time of the union, and reprinted in 1723, is the next work on the husbandry
of Scotland. In this we have a deplorable picture of the state of agriculture, in what
is now the most highly improved county in Scotland. His lordship begins with a
very high encomium on his own performance. " I dare be bold to say, there never
was such a good, easy method of husbandry as tliis, so succinct, extensive, and me-
thodical in all its parts, published before." And he bespeaks the favor of those to
whom he addresses himself, by adding, " neither shall I affright you with hedging,
ditching, marling, chalking, paring and burning, draining, watering, and such like,
which are all very good improvements indeed, and very agreeable with the soil and
situation of East Lothian ; but I know ye cannot bear as yet such a crowd of improve-
ments, this being only intended to initiate you in the true method and principles of
husbandry." The farm lands in East Lotliian, as in other districts, were divided into
infield and outfield, the former of which got all the dung. ** The infield, where
wheat is sown, is generally divided by the tenant into four divisions or breaks, as they
call them, viz. one of wheat, one of barley, one of peas, and one of oats; so that the
wheat is sowed after the pease, the barley after the wheat, and the oats after the barley.
The outfield land is ordinarily made use of promiscuously for feeding their cows, horses, "
sheep, and oxen : it is also dunged by their sheep, who lay in earthen folds ; and some-
times, when they have much of it, they fauch or fallow part of it yearly." Under
this management, the produce seems to have been three times the seed ; " and yet," says
his lordship, « if in East Lothian they did not get a higher stubble than in other places
of the kingdom, their grounds would be in a much worse condition than at present
they are, though bad enough. A good crop of corn makes a good stubble, and a good
stubble is the equallest mucking that is." Among the advantages of enclosures, he ob-
serves, " you will gain much more labor from your servants, a great part of whose
time was taken up in gathering thistles, and other garbage, for their horses to feed
upon in their stables ; and thereby the great trampling and pulling up, and otlier de-
struction of the corns, while they are yet tender, will be prevented." Potatoes and
tqrnips are recommended to be sown in the yard (kitchen-garden). Clover does not
seem to have been known. Rents were paid in corn ; and, for the largest farm, which
he thinks should employ no more than two ploughs, the rent was " about six chalders
of victual, when the ground is very good, and four in that which is not so good. But
I am most fully convinced, they should take long leases or tacks, that they may not be
straitened with time in the improvement of their rooms (farmsj ; and this is profitable
both for master and tenant."
784. Maxwell's Select Transactions of the Society qf Improvers of the knowledge of Agriculture in
Scotland, was published in 1743, (see 775.) and his Practical Husbandman, in 1757, including an Essay on
the Husbandry of Scotland. In the latter he lays it down as a rule, that it is bad husbandry to take two
crops of grain successively, which marks a considerable progress in the knowledge of modern culture ;
K 2
132 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
though he adds, that in Scotland, the best husbandmen after a fallow take a crop of wheat ; after the
wheat, pease, tlien barley, and then oats ; and after that they fallow again. The want of enclosures was
still a matter of complaint. The ground continued to be cropped so long as it produced two seeds for one ;
the best farmers were contented with four seeds for one, which was more than the general produce.
785. In 1 765, a treatise on agriculture was published by the Rev. Adam Dicksc^n, minister
of Dunse, in Berwickshire, which is decidedly the best work on tillage which has
appeared in the English language, and was and still is held in universal esteem among
the practical formers of Scotland.
786. Jn 1777, Lord Xaimes published The Gentleman Parmer, being an attempt to improve
agriculture by subjecting it to the test of rational principles. His lordship was a native
of Berwickshire ; and had been accustomed to farm in that country for several years, and
afterwards at Blair Drummond, near Stirling. This work was in part a compilation and
in part the result of his observation ; and was of essential service to the cause of agricul-
ture in Scotland.
787. In 1778, appeared Wight's Present State of Husbandry in Scotland. This is a
valuable work ; but the volumes not appearing but at intervals of some years, it was of
less benefit than might have been expected.
788. In 1783, Dr. Anderson published his Essays relating to agriculture and rural
affairs : a work of science and ingenuity, wloich did much good both in Scotland and
England.
789. In 1800 appeared The Farmer* s Magazine ; a quarterly work, exclusively devoted
to agriculture and rural affairs ; and which has done more to enlighten both the proprietory
and tenantry of Scotland than any other book which has appeared. It was at first con-
ducted jointly by Robert Brown, farmer of Markle; and Robert Somerville, M. D. of
Haddington. Afterwards, on Dr. Somerville's death, by Brown alone; and subsequently,
on the latter gentleman's declining it, by Cleghorn, W. S., one of the most scientific agri-
culturists of Scotland. The frequent recurrence that will be made to The Farmer s
Magazine in the course of this work, will shew the high value which we set on it.
The Husbandry of Scotland is the next work deserving of notice in this sketch of Scottish
authors, published by Sir John Sinclair in 1810; and which may very properly
complete the series, as it fulfils in an able and complete manner what the title
790. The rapid progress of agriculture in Britain is shown by nothing more clearly than
the great number of societies that have been lately formed ; one or more in almost every
county, for the diffusion of knowledge, and the encouragement of correct operations, and
beneficial discoveries. Among these, the Bath and West of England Society, established
in 1777, and the Highland Society ojf Scotland, in 1784, hold a conspicuous rank, and
the establishment of the Board of Agriculture, in 1793, ought to form a new era in the
history of the agriculture and rural economy of Britain.
791. j4 professorship of agriculture was established in the university of Edinburgh, in
1790, and the professor, Dr. Andrew Coventry, is well known as a man of superior
qualifications for fulfilling its duties.
792. Professorships of agriculture, and even of horticulture, or rather of culture in ge-
neral, are said to be partly provided for, and partly in contemplation, both in Oxford and
Cambridge.
793. The rqwrts of the different counties, many of them surveyed a second time, and
now reprinted, according to an uniform plan, have been followed by the General Report
of the Agricultural State and Political Circumstances of Scotland ; and a similar work
for England was understood to be in the contemplation of the board. But the con-
tinuation of that institution was deemed unnecessary by parliament ; and its annual
vote for its support being withdrawn, it ceased to exist in 1819.
794. The Code of Agriculture, published in 1819, by Sir John Sinclair, may be con-
sidered as giving a succinct view of the most improved practices of British husbandry as
actually practised by professional farmers. It is a work which has already been translated
into several foreign languages, and passed through more than one edition in this
country.
SuBSECT. 3. Of the Risey Progress, and present State of Agriculture in Ireland.
795. Of the agriculture of Ireland very little is known up to a recent period. With a
soil singularly prolific in pasture, and rather humid for the easy management of grain,
it is probable that sheep and cattle would be the chief rural products for many centuries.
In the twelfth century and earlier, various religious establishments were founded, and
then it is most probable tillage on something like the Roman mode of culture would be
introduced. The monks, says O'Connor, fixed their habitations in deserts which they culti-
vated with their own hands, and rendered them the most delightful spots in the kingdom.
796. During the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, the English were obliged
to suppress the numerous rebellions of their Irish subjects by war, and the forfeited estates
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN THE BRITISH ISLES. 133
of the rebels would in part be divided among the troops. This might end in introducing
some agricultural improvements ; but there is no evidence that such was effected before
the time of Elizabeth, when the enormous demesnes of the Earl of Desmond were for-
feited, and divided amongst a number of English undertakers, as they were called, who
entered into a stipulation to plant a certain number of English families on their estates,
in proportion to the number of acres. Among others who received portions were, Sir
Walter Raleigh, and Spenser, the poet. The former is said to have then introduced the
potatoe.
797. The reign of James I. was one of comparative tranquillity for Ireland : the power
of the judges, and of the English government, was extensively fixed ; the Irish laws and
customs were abolished, and the English laws were established in all cases without ex-
ception, through the whole island. Numerous colonies were also sent from England
and Scotland, especially the latter, to occupy the forfeited estates j and seven northern
counties were wholly allotted to undertakers. This was called the "plantation of
Ulster," and was attended by the introduction of an improved agriculture, and by the
linen manufacture, which is still carried on by the descendants of the first colonists in the
same counties.
798. The city of London participated in this distribution of land, the corporation
having accepted of large grants in the county of Derry. They engaged to expend
20,000/. on the plantation ; to build the cities of Derry and Colerain, and at the same
time stipulated for such privileges as might make their settlement convenient and re-
spectable. Under a pretence of protecting this infant settlement, or perhaps with a
view of raising money, the king instituted the order of Irish baronets, or knights of
Ulster ; from each of whom, as was done in Scotland with respect to the knights of Nova
Scotia, he exacted a certain sum, as the price of the dignity conferred. {Wakefield.)
799. Of the husbandry of Londonderry, a curious account was published about a
century ago, by the archbishop of Dublin. He states that there was little wheat grown,
and that of very inferior quality ; the soil being considered as unsuitable to its production.
Potatoes remained three or four years in the ground, reproducing a crop, which at the
best was a very deficient one. Lime was procured by burning sea shells. The ap-
plication of them in an imburnt state arose from accident. A poor curate, destitute of
the means for burning the sea shells v/hich he had collected, more with a view to remove
an evidence of his poverty, than in any hope of benefit, spread them on his ground.
The success which attended the experiment occasioned surprise, and ensured a rapid and
general adoption of the practice. ( Wakefield. ) The improvements made since the period
of which the Archbishop treats, Curwen remarks, are undoubtedly very considerable : and
whilst we smile at the very subordinate state of agriculture at that time, may we not on
reasonable ground expect that equal progress will at least be made in this century as in
the last? {Letters on Ireland, vol. ii. p. 246.)
800. A considerable impulse was given to the agriculture of Ireland after the rebellion of
164], whicli was quelled by Cromwell, as commander of the parliamentary army in
1652. Most of the officers of this army were yeomen, or the sons of English country
gentlemen ; and they took pleasure in instructing the natives in the agricultural practices
to which they were accustomed at home. Afterwards, when Cromwell assumed the
protectorship, he made numerous grants to his soldiers, many of whom settled in Ire-
land ; and their descendants have become men of consideration in the country. Happily
these grants were confirmed at the restoration. Some account of the state of culture in
that country at this time, and of the improvements which it was deemed desirable to in-
troduce, will be found in Blythe's Improver Improved. Blythe was a colonel in the
parliamentary army.
801. The establishment of the Dublin Society in 1749, gave the next stimulus to agri-
culture and general industry in Ireland. The origin of the Dublin Society may be dated
from 1731, when a number of gentlemen, at the head of whom was Prior of Rath-
downey, Queen's county, associated themselves together for the purpose of improving
the agriculture and husbandry of their country. In 1749, Prior, through the in-
terest of the then lord lieutenant, procured a grant of 10,000/. per annum, for the
better promotion of its views. Miss Plumtree considers this the first association ever
formed in the British dominions expressly for such purposes ; but the Edinburgh Agri-
cultural Society, as we have seen (775.), was founded in 1723.
802. Arthur Young s. Tour in Ireland was published in 1780, and probably did more
good than even the Dublin Society. In this work he pointed out the folly of the bounty
on the inland carriage of corn. His recommendation on this subject was adopted; and
according to Wakefield, "from that hour may be dated the commencement of ex-
tended tillage in Ireland." ( Wakefield's Statistical Account, and Curwen s Letters.)
803. The present state of the agriculture of Ireland is gi\en with great clearness and
ability in the supplement to the Encyclopedia Britannica ; and from that source we have
selected the following condensed account: —
Ks
134 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
804. The climate of Ireland is considerably more mild than that of England, and the
southern and western part of the island greatly more so than the northern. The difference
in this respect, indeed, is greater than can be explained by the difference of latitude ;
and is probably owing to the immediate vicinity of the Western ocean. On the mountains
of Kerry, and in Bantry Bay, the arbutus and some other shrubs grow in great luxu-
riance, which are not to be met with again till the traveller reaches the Alps of Italy. The
snow in these parts of the island seldom lies for any time, and frost hardly ever continues
beyond a few days, and while it lasts it is by no means intense. The mildness and hu-
midity of the atmosphere produce a luxuriance and rapidity of growth in vegetation, to
which no other part of the empire can afford any parallel ; and this appears in the most
remarkable manner in the ivy and other evergreens, with which the kingdom abounds.
These are not only much more plentiful, but far more luxuriant, and of much quicker
growth, than in the most favored parts of Great Britain. To those who are accustomed
to the dry weather of this island, the continued rains of the south and west of Ireland are
extremely disagreeable : but it is to this peculiarity in their climate, that the Irish have
to attribute the richness of their pasturage, an advantage which, coupled with the re-
markable dryness and friability of the soil, points, in an unequivocal manner, to a
rotation of crops, in which grazing should occupy a principal place.
805. The territorial surface of Ireland affords a pleasing variety, consisting in some
parts of rich and fertile plains, in others of little hills and acclivities which succeed one
another in frequent succession. The most elevated ground is to be found in the bog of
Allan. Its height above the sea does not exceed 270 feet, yet, from this ridge, the
waters of the river run to the different seas. This elevated ground is connected with
the principal mountains of Ireland, diverging in the north from the hills of Tyrone, and
leading in the south to those of Sleeve Bloom and the Galtees. The chains of moimtains
are neither numerous nor considerable ; the most remarkable are, the Kerry mountains,
those of Wicklow, the Sleeve Bloom chain between the King's and Queen's county,
and the mountains of Mourne, in the south of the province of Ulster.
806. The soil of Ireland is, generally speaking, a fertile loam, with a rocky sub-
stratum ; although there are many exceptions to this description, and many varieties.
Generally speaking, it is rather shallov/ ; to which cause the frequent appearance of
rocks near the surface, or at no considerable depth, is to be attributed. It possesses a much
greater proportion of fertile land, in proportion to its extent, than either England or Scot-
land. Not only is the island blessed with this extent of cultivateable ground, but it is
almost all of such a quality as to yield luxuriant crops, with little or no cultivation. Sand
does not exist except on the sea shore. Tenacious clay is unknown, at least near the
surface. Great part of the land of Ireland throws up a luxuriant herbage, without any
depth of soil, or any skill on the part of the husbandman. The county of Meath, in
particular, is distinguished by the richness and fertility of its soil ; and, in Limerick and
Tipperary, there is a dark , friable sandy loam, which, if preserved in a clean state, will
yield crops of corn several years in succession. It is equally well adapted for grazing as
for arable crops, and seldom experiences either a winter too wet, or a summer too dry.
The vales in many of the bleakest parts of the kingdom, as Donegal and Tyrone, are
remarkable for their richness of soil and luxuriance of vegetation, which may be often
accounted for by the deposition of the calcareous soil, washed down by the rains of
winter, which spreads the richest manure over the soil below, without subjecting the
farmer to any labor. ( Wakefield, i. 79, 80.)
807. The bogs, or peat mosses, of Ireland, form a remarkable feature of the country,
and have been proved by the parliamentary commissioners to be of great extent. They
estimate the whole bogs of the kingdom at 2,330,000 acres, English. These bogs, for
the most part, lie together. In form, they resemble a great broad belt, drawn across the
centre of Ireland, with its narrowest end nearest to the capital, and gradually extending
in breadth as it approaches the Western Ocean. The bog of Allan is not one contiguous
morass, but this name is indiscriminately applied to a great number of bogs, detached
from each other, and often divided by ridges of dry country. These bogs are not, in
general, level, but most commonly of an uneven surface, swelling into hills, and di-
vided by vallies, which afford the greatest facility to their being drained and improved.
In many places, particularly in the district of Allan, the rivulets which these inequalities
of surface produce, have worn their channels through the substance of the bog down to
the clay, or limestone gravel beneath ; dividing the bog into distinct masses, and pre-
senting, in themselves, the most proper situations for the main drains, and which, with
the assistance of art, may be rendered effectual for that purpose.
808. The commissioners employed by government to report on the boss of Ireland, found three distinct
growths of timber immersed below three distinct strata of bog. The timber was perfectly sound, though
deprived of its bark, which has communicated its antiputrescent quality to the water, and of course has
preserved every thing imbedded in the mass ; though, as Miss Plumtree remarks, without " any thing
like a process of tanning ever taking place." The bogs of Ireland are never on low ground, and have
therefore evidently originated from the decay of woody tracts. (Plumtrce's Residence in Ireland.)
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN THE BRITISH ISLES. 135
809. Landed property in Ireland is more generally in large estates of some thousands
of acres, than in small ones ; but in its occupation it is subdivided in a degree far beyond
any thing which occurs in any other part of the empire. In some counties, as Mayo for
example, there are upwards of 15,000 freeholders on properties of not more than
40s. value, and who are perhaps not worth 10^. each. These are, for the most part,
tenants of the great proprietors possessing a life interest in their little farm.
810. In Ireland there are no inanorial rights separable from the right to the soil, as
in England, nor legal poor rates, wliich are circumstances materially in favor of the former
country. (Wakefield, i. 242.)
811. Leases are generally of long endurance ; and three lives, or thirty-one years, is a
common rate. The price of land varies in different parts of Ireland. In the neighbor-
hood of Belfast, and thence to Armagh, it brings thirty years purchase ; in the greatest
part of the island, it does not exceed twenty ; and, in the richest districts, it may often
be bought for sixteen or eighteen. The exposure of landed estates to public sale takes
place very seldom, which is, perhaps, one cause of their not bringing so high a price as
they would otherwise do. (Wakejield.)
812. Farming in Ireland is, generally speaking, in a very backward state. With
a few exceptions, such as the county of Meath, and some other well- cultivated
districts, the farmers are destitute of capital, and labor small crofts, which they
hold of middlemen, interposed between them and the landlord. The fact that the
landlord never, in Ireland, lays out any thing upon repairs or buildings, coupled with
the general inability of the farmer to do either in a substantial manner, is very signifi-
cant as to the state of agriculture. ( Tighe's Survey of Kilkenny, 412.; Wakefield, i. 244.)
But the worst features of the rural economy of this island are the entire want of capital
in the farmers, and the complete indifference of the landlord to the character, wealth, or
industry of his tenant. " Capital," says Wakefifeld, " is considered of so little im-
portance in Ireland, that advertisements constantly appear in the newspapers, in which
it is stated, that the preference will certainly be given to the highest bidder. Bargains
are constantly made with a beggar, as a new tenant, who, offering more rent, invariably
turns out the old one, however industrious. Even if the unfortunate wretch has a little
ready cash to begin with, it only serves, in ninety nine cases out of one hundred, as a
temptation to the landlord, who, when the fact becomes known to him, finds means to
obtain it under the name of a fine for possession." ( Vol. i. p. 587.) Regard to present
gain, without the least attention to the future, constitutes the principal object of the Irish
landlord. {Ibid. i. 304.)
813. The rent of land in Ireland from these causes, coupled with the excessive com-
petition of the peasantry for small farms, as their only means of subsistence, has risen to
a great height. (Townsend's Cork, 218. ; Wakefield,!. 582.)
814. Ireland is divided, by Wakefield, into nine agricultural districts, in each of wliich
the mode of culture is somewhat different from what it is in the others.
815. The first district comprehends the flat parts of Antrim; the eastern side of
Tyrone, Down, Armagh, Monaghan, and Cavan. Throughout this district, the farms
are extremely small, and the land is generally dug with the spade. Potatoes, flax, and
oats, are the crops usually cultivated, and these are grown till the land is exhausted, and
suffered to " lie at rest," as they term it, till its strength is recruited by the cow, the
goat, two or three sheep, and the poultry lying upon it, for some years. The ploughs
used in tliis district are of the rudest structure, and perform their work in the most
slovenly manner. Three or four neighbors unite their strength to each plough, every
one bringing his horse, his bullock, or his cow. All the other operations of agiiculture
are performed in an equally slovenly manner. The little wheat that is raised is " lashed,"
as they call it ; that is, the grain is knocked out by striking the sheaf across a beam
placed above a cloth ; it is, however, afterwards threshed with a flail. This operation
of threshing usually takes place in the highway, and 119
it is dressed by letting it fall from a kind of sieve,
which, during a pretty strong wind, is held breast-
high by a woman . Many cottars in this district have
a cabin {fig. 119.) with no land attached to it. They
hire an acre or two, for grass or potatoe land, from
some cottar in their vicinity. The custom of hiring
labourers is unknown. The neighbours all assist
each other in their more considerable occupations,
such as sowing, and reaping. The dwellings here
are miserably small ; often too small to contain the numerous families that issue from
their doors. Land is every where divided into the 'most minute portions. {Wake-
field, i. 363. ; Dubourdieus Down, 39.)
816. Under the second district may be comprised the northern part of Antrim, Londonderry, the north
and wc§t of Tyrone, and the whole of Donegal. Agriculture here is in a worse state than in the pre-
K4
136 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
ceding district. There is no clover, and hardly any wheat. Clover is unknown, and the only mill for the
preparation of grain is in Derry. {Ibid. i. S72.)
817. The third district comprehends the northern parts of Fermanagh. Here the farms are much larger
than in the fonner, and the agricultural system pursued far superior. They plant potatoes on a lea,
twice reversing the lands ; and the course is flax, oats, and weeds. Some wheat is grown, but oats is
still the prevalent crop. In the neighborhood of Enniskillen, the farmers are so rich as to be able to
eat butcher meat daily, and drink smuggled wine {Wakefield, i. 379.)
818. The fourth district comprehends Sligo, Mayo, Gahvay, Clare, and parts of Roscommon, and
Longford. In some parts of this district the spade culture is pursued ; but, in general, the land is cul-
tivated by a plough drawn by four horses abreast. In Roscommon, the old custom of yoking the horses
by the tail is still continued, although, so early as 1634, an act of parliament was passed against this
absurd practice. {Life of the Duke of Ormond, i. 79.) Oats are chiefly raised in this district, and, along
the coast, barley is cultivated. A large portion of the rent depends on the illegal distilleries, and much
of the district is let on lease to several persons jointly, according to the village system. {Ibid.
i. 381.)
, 819. In the fifth district, which comprehends Limerick, Kerry, the south side and nortliern part of
Cork, and the county of Waterford, cultivation is in a very rude state ; little corn is grown here, with
the exception of the southern part of Cork. Land is extremely divided, and the farms very small. The
greater part is a grazing country. {Ibid. i. 387.)
820. The sixth district includes the southern parts of Cork. The spade culture is here almost universal,
and the farms unusually small. Hogs constitute the main support of the poor. {Townsend's Cork, 194.)
821. The seventh district includes part of Tipperary, with Queen's county and King's county. The best
farming in Ireland is observable in this district ; a systematic course of husbandry being pursued, by
which the land is kept in good heart. Oxen and horses are used in the plough, and hedgerows and good
wheat fallows are to be seen. Near Roseria the cultivation of turnips is followed, and they succeed well.
Ninety acres is considered a large farm. Leases are generally for three lives. {Wakefield, i. 398.)
822. The eighth district comprises Wexford and a part of Wicklow. Beans are here sometimes intro-
duced into cultivation, but they are sown broadcast, and never hoed. The mode of ploughing is very
awkward; one man holds the plough, another leads the horse, and a third sits on it to keep it down.
Notwithstanding this rude culture, however, the rents are enormous, owing to the demand for land created
by an excessive population, who if they had not a portion of land to grow potatoes (getting no employ-
ment) could not live. {Ibid. i. 407.)
823. The ninth district comprehends the northern part of Kilkenny, Kildare, the cultivated parts of
Westmeath, Meath, and Lowth. Wheat here enters into the system of culture, but the preparatory
fallows are very bad. Clover has been introduced into the district, but under the bad system of sowing
it upon land exhausted, and covered by weeds. Farms are large, and the mode of culture similar to what
is pursued in England, though the details are executed in a much more slovenly manner. {Ibid. i. 413.)
824. The agricuUuralimplements and operations used in Ireland are all of the rudest
construction. The plough, the spade, the flail, the car, all equally partake of imper-
fections and defects. The fallovi^s are not well attended to ; three ploughings are usually
deemed sufficient, and, from the imperfection of the plough, the ground at the end is
generally full of weeds. Trenching land is very general ; they form it into beds, and
shovel out a deep trench between them, throwing up the earth. The expense of this
operation is about eight shillings an acre. Wheat, as will be seen from the preceding
details, is not by any means generally cultivated. It is unknown in Monaghan, Tyrone,
Derry, Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Leitrim, and Cavan, though it is grown to a consider-
able extent in Kilkenny, Carlow, Dublin, Meath, Lowth, and parts of Limerick,
Tipperary, Clare, and Cork. It is generally sown after potatoes or fallow. The Irish
wheat is, for the most part, coarse and of inferior quality, and does not yield so much
saccharine matter by twenty per cent, as the English. ( Wakefield, i. 429. 442.)
825. Barley is more generally cultivated in Ireland than wheat, and it is generally
sown after potatoes. Oats, however, constitute the species of grain most extensively
raised ; it is calculated, that throughout the whole kingdom there are ten acres of oats
sown for one of any other species of corn. The Irish oats, however, are decidedly
inferior to the English.
826. The potatoes of Ireland have long been celebrated, both on account of their
quantity and excellent qualities : they are cultivated on every species of soil, either in
drills or lazy beds. Potatoe land lets from six pounds six shillings to ten pounds ten
shillings per acre ; and the expense of culture, including rent, varies from thirteen
pounds to sixteen pounds per acre. The produce is from eight hundred stone to one
thousand stone the acre, at twenty-one pounds to the stone; that is, from sixteen
thousand eight hundred to twenty-one thousand pounds. {Ibid. i. 450.)
827. The indigenous grasses of Ireland are not of any peculiar excellence. Notwith-
standing all that has been said of the florin grass, its excellence and utility may be called
in question. Their hay is seldom from sown grasses, generally consisting of the
spontaneous produce of the soil. Clover is almost unknown. Newenham calculates
that there are not five thousand acres under this crop in the v/hole island. (Newenham,
.314.; JFakeJield, i. 467.)
828. There are few live hedges in Ireland; in the level stone districts, stone walls, and
in other places turf banks, are the usual fences.
829. The dairy is the most extensive and the best managed part o^ Irish husbandry.
Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Carlow, Meath, West Meath, Longford, and Fermanagh, as
well as the mountains of Leitrim and Sligo, are principally occupied by dairy farms.
Butter is tlie chief produce. 'J he average number of co\vs on a dairy farm is thirty or
forty ; three acres of land, of middling quality, are deemed necessary for the subsistence
<)f each cow. The average produce of a cow is eight quarts in twenty-four hours in
summer, and five in winter; four good milkers will yield half a cwt.'of butter in a
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN THE BRITISH ISLES. 137
week. The best butter is made in Carlow; the worst in Limerick and Meath.
Generally speaking, the Irish are very clean in making this article ; and it is exported to
England, the East and West Indies, and Portugal. (Wakefield,!. 325., etseq.) The
art of salting butter, Chaptal observes, is better known in Ireland than in any other
country. (Chimie appliguS a V agriculture.) The grazing of Ireland is not, as in
England, a part of the regular rotation of crops, but is carried on in a country exclusively
devoted to the breeding of cattle, like the highlands of Scotland. Great tracts of the
country also are devoted to the grazing of sheep. Roscommon, Galway, Clare, Limerick,
and Tipperary are the chief breeding counties for sheep ; and Galway, Clare, Roscommon,
Tipperary, and Meath, are the places where they are fattened. The sheep are of the
long-wooled kind, and very large : they are never kept in sheep-folds, and hardly ever
fed on turnips ; wliich is chiefly owing to the very limited demand for mutton among the
labouring people. [Ibid.i. 341.)
830. The depressed slate of the agriculture of Ireland is considered as proceeding from
the depressed state of the people. The main cause of their sufferings is traced by most
writers (Young, Dewar, Newenham, Wakejield, Curwen, &c.) to the redundancy of
population. In 1791, the population of the whole kingdom amounted to 4,200,000 per-
sons, and it increases at the rate of one forty-sixth part per annum ; or, in other words,
it doubles itself every forty-six years. As might be expected in a country where the
increase in the number of mankind has so far outstripped the progress of its wealth, and
the increase of its industry, the condition of the people is in every department marked by
extreme indigence. (D^war, 91 ; Young, ii. 123.) The houses in which they dwell,
the furniture in their interior, their clothing, food, and general way of life, all equally
indicate the poverty of the country. The dress of the people is so wretched, that, to
a person who has not visited the country, it is almost inconceivable. The Irish poor,
indeed, have no conception of the comforts of life ; and if they felt their full value, they
could not afford them, for though necessaries are cheap, conveniences of all sorts are very
dear.
831. But while the Irish poor are in general destitute of all the accommodations, they
hardly ever, except in years of extraordinary distress, know what it is to want the absolute
necessaries of life. The unsparing meal of potatoes, at which the beggar, the pig, the
dog, the poultry, and the children, seem equally welcome,' seldom fails the Irish
laborer.
832. Hence the laziness of the lower Irish. Limited as their wants are to the mere sup-
port of animal life, they do not engage in labor with that persevering industry which
artificial desires inspire ; and the mode in which they are often paid, that is, the giving
them a piece of potatoe land by the year, at once furnishes the means of subsistence, and
takes away every stimulus to farther exertion. The farm-servants of the English or
Scotch farmers, who carry on agriculture upon the improved system, are constantly em-
ployed in some species of labor ; but after the potatoes of the Irish cottar are planted,
there is hardly any tiling to be done abojit his little croft till the season of digging ar-
rives. During a great portion of the year he is doomed to idleness, and the habits he
acquires during the long'periods of almost total inaction, are too strong to be overcome
when he is transferred to a more regular occupation. Such is the condition of the
laboring classes.
833. Ireland exhibits an assemblage of the most contradictory circumstances. It is a
country in which, under the most distressing circumstances, population has advanced
with the most rapid pace, in which cultivation has advanced without wealth, and education
without diffusing knowledge ; where the peasantry are more depressed, and yet can ob-
tain subsistence with greater facility, than in any other country of Europe. Their
miserable condition will not appear surprising when the numerous oppressions to which
they are subject are taken into consideration.
834. In the foremost rank of their many grievances, the general prevalence of middle-
men must be placed. It is difficult to estimate the extent of the misery which the system
of letting and subletting land has brought upon the Irish cultivators. Middlemen have,
in every country, been the inseparable attendants of absent proprietors : and in such a
country as Ireland, where there are numbers of disaffected persons in every quarter, the
vigilant eye of a superior inspector is more particularly required.
8;)5. The si/stem of under-letting lands often proves a great evil in Ireland. By the law of England, the
landlord is entitled to distrain for payment of rent, not only the stocking which belongs to his immediate
tenant, but the crop or stocking of a subtenant ; on the principle, that whatever grows on the soil ought
to be a security to the landlord for his rent ; and in Scotland the same rule holds where the landlord has
not authorized the subtack ; but if he has, the subtenant is free when he has paid to the principal tenant.
There is little hardship in such a rule in England, where the practice of subletting is, generally speaking,
rare ; but when applied to Ireland, where middlemen are universal, it becomes the source of infinite in-
justice ; for the cultivator being liable to have his crop and stocking distrained on account of the tenant
from whom he holds, and there being often many tenants interposed between him and the landlord, he
is thus perpetually liable to be distrained for arrears not his own. The tenant, in a word, can never be
.secure, though he has faithfully paid his rent to his immediate superior ; because he is still liable to have
every thing which he has in the world swept off'by an execution for arrears due by any of the many lease-
138 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
holders who may be interposed between him and the landlord. It is obvious that such a system must pre-
vent the growth of agricultural capital : this, joined to the exertions of the middlemen, has been the
true cause of the universal prevalence of the cottage system, and the minute subdivision of farms.
836. The tithes in Ireland have long been collected with a severity of which hardly
any European state furnishes an example. This has arisen from the wealth and influence
of the clergy, joined to the destitute situation of their parisliioners. They fall, by the
law of that country, only on the tillage of land ; the greater part of which is held by
cottar tenants ; and thus the rich are exempted from bearing their share of the burden.
837. Another grievance^ though not so extensive, is the fine imposed upon a township,
for having had the misfortune to have a seizure for illicit distillation made within it&
bounds.
838. These evils have been attended with the usual depressing effects of oppression. They '
have prevented the growth of any artificial wants, or any desire of bettering their con-^
dition among the mass of the people. Despised by their superiors, and oppressed by all
to whom they might naturally have looked for protection, the Irish have felt only the
natural instincts of their being. Among the presbyterians of the north, and in the
vicinity of manufacturing towns, highei" notions of comfort may have imposed some
restraint on the principle of population ; but the poor humiliated catholics, enjoying no
respectability or consideration in society, have sought only the means of subsistence ;
and finding, without difficulty, potatoes, milk, and a hovel, have overspread the land
with a wretched offspring.
839. To these causes of a redundant population, of which the government of the
country is, directly or indirectly, the source, are to be added others of a different kind.
840. The first, is the influence of the parish priests, who encourage marriage, in order to increase their
own emoluments, and the superstition of the people, who regard it as a religious duty.
841. The second cause, is the general ignorance of the people.
842. On the influence of education in restraining the tendency to early and imprudent marriage, it
would be superfluous in this place to enlarge.
843. Various other circumstances have combined to multiply to a great degree the
facilities of population, and to expand, in this country, beyond almost any other, the
means of subsistence.
844. The fertility of the country may be mentioned as one of the most obvious of these
circumstances. The soil of Ireland is in general so rich, that it will yield an alternate
crop of wheat and potatoes for ever, without any very great labor, and with little manure.
The introduction of the potatoe, and its singular adaptation to the soil and climate of
Ireland, is another concurring cause. An acre of potatoes, according to Newenham, will
yield four times as much nourishment as one of wheat. By thus expanding the means
of human subsistence, the potatoe has greatly promoted the population of Ireland ; but
as the able writer, from whom we have selected the above remaks, observes, " unless
the people are predisposed, from other causes, to press upon the means of subsistence,
it has no tendency to augment their redundance. Under the government and political
institutions of the Irish, the population of the country would have been equally redundant,
though much smaller than it now is, if they had lived on oats or wheaten bread. The
introduction of the potatoe may be the cause why the population is now six in place of
three millions : but it is not the cause why, during the whole period of this increase,
the numbers of the people have been greater than, under existing circumstances, could
be comfortably maintained." {Sup, Encyc. Brit. art. Ireland.)
Chap. VI.
Present State of Agriculture in Ultra European Countries.
845. In this department of our history the reader will not expect more than a very slight
outline ; not only from our limited space and the comparative scarcity of materials, but
because the subject is less interesting to general readers. We shall notice in succession
the principal countries of Asia, Africa, Australasia, and America.
Sect. I. Present State of Agriculture in Asia.
846. The agriculture of Asia is of a very different character from that of Europe,
owing chiefly to the great difference of climate, and partly to the difference in civili-
zation. The culture of this division of the globe is chiefly of two kinds, water culture
and pasturage. Very little can be done without artificial watering, excepting in the
northern and mountainous parts, where the climate resembles that of Europe. Even
the palm and other fruit trees are watered in some parts of Persia and Arabia, and
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA. 139
several fruit-trees are regularly irrigated in India. The grand bread corn of Asia is rice,
a watered grain ; and the most valuable fruits, those of the palm family ; the most
useful agricultural laborer is the ox, and his family are also the most valuable as pasturage
animals.
SuBSECT. 1 . Present State of Agriculture in Asiatic Turkey.
847. Asiatic Turkey extends from the Archipelago 1050 miles to Ararat in Persia on
the east, and from the Euphrates 1100 miles to the Caucasian mountains on the north.
It contains a number of provinces differing materially from each other in natural circum-
stances, and artificial culture ; but, unfortunately for us, very little is known of their
agriculture. In general, the Asiatic Turks are to be considered as a wandering and pas-
toral people, cultivating no more corn than what is suj9icient for their own maintenance ;
and scarcely half civilized.
848. The climate of Asia Minor has been always considered as excellent. The heat of
the summer is tempered by numerous chains of high mountains, some of which are covered
constantly with snow. The aspect of Asiatic Turkey is mountainous, intermingled with
spacious and beautiful plains, which afford pasture to the numerous flocks and herds of the
Turkomans. The soil is various ; but the chief agricultural products are wheat, liarley,
and doura (millet). It abounds also with grapes, olives, and dates. In Syria, the agri-
culture is deplorable, and the peasants are in a wretched condition, being sold, as in
Poland, with the soil, and their constant fare being barley bread, onions, and water.
849. The numerous mountains of Asiatic Turkey are frequently clothed with immense
forests of pines, oaks, beeches, elms, and other trees ; and the southern shores of the Black
Sea present many gloomy forests of great extent. The inhabitants are hence supplied with
abundance of fuel, in defect of pit-coal, which has not been explored in any part of Asiatic
Turkey. Sudden conflagrations arise from the heedless waste of the caravans, which,
instead of cutting off a few branches, often set fire to a standing tree. The extensive pro-
vinces of Natolia, Syria, and Mesopotamia, have been little
accessible to European curiosity, since their reduction under
the Turkish yoke. In Pinkerton's Geography we have a
catalogue of those plants and trees that have been found wild
in the Asiatic part of the Ottoman territory. Several dyeing
drugs and articles of the materia medica are imported from
tlie Levant, among which are madder, and a variety called
alizan, wliich grows about Smyrna, and affords a much finer
red dye than the European kind ; jalap, scammony, sebesten,
the ricinus {Ricinus communis, fg. 120.), yielding by ex-
pression castor-oil, squirting cucumber, coloquintida, opium
poppy, and spikenard. The best horses in Asiatic Turkey
are of Arabian extract ; but mules and asses are more gene-
rally used. The beef is scarce and bad, the mutton superior,
and the kid a favorite repast. Other animals are the bear,
tiger, hyaena, wild-boar, jackal, and dogs in great abundance.
On the summits of Caucasus is found the ibex, or rock-
goat ; at Angora, singular goats and cats ; the gazel, deer,
and hares in great abundance are found in Asia Minor. The partridges are generally
of the red-legged kind, larger than the European ; fish is plentiful and excellent.
SuBSECT. 2. Present State of Agriculture in Persia.
850. The climate of Persia is various in different parts ; depending less on difference
of latitude than on the nature and elevation of the country, so that it is said to be the
country of three climates. The northern provinces on the Caspian are comparatively cold
and moist : in the centre of the kingdom, as Chardin observes, the winter begins in
November, and continues till March, commonly severe, with ice and snow, the latter
falling chiefly on the mountains, and remaining on those three days' journey west of Ispahan
for eight months in the year. From March to May high winds are frequent ; but from
May to September the air is serene, refreshed by breezes in the night. The heat, how-
ever, is during this period excessive in the low countries, bordering on the India ocean
and Persian gulf, in Chusistan, the deserts of Kerman, and also in some parts of the
interior, particularly at Tehraun, the capital. From September to November the winds
again prevail. In the centre and south the air is generally dry ; thunder and lightning
are uncommon, and a rainbow is seldom seen ; earthquakes are almost unknown; but
heat is often destructive in the spring. Near the Persian gulf the hot wind, called
** samiel," sometimes suffocates the unwary traveller. The summers are, in general,
very mild, after ascending the mountains. To the north of Shiraz the winters are severe,
insonuich, that in the vicinity of Tehraun and Tabreez, all communication is cut off for
140
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
several successive weeks between these cities and the adjoining villages. The climate,
notwithstanding this sudden transition from heat to cold, is singularly healthy, with
the exception of the provinces of Ghilan, and Mazanderam. The air is dry ; the dews
not insalubrious. The atmosphere is always clear, and at night the planets shine with a
degree of lustre unknown in Europe ; and as it seldom rains, here are none of those
damps or pestiferous exhalations so common in the woody parts of Hindustan.
851. The surface of Persia is distinguished by a deficiency of rivers and a multitude of
mountains ; its plains, where they occur, are generally desert. So that Persia may be
divided into two parts by deserts and mountains ; and this division, it is said, has generally
influenced its history and destinies in all ages. It is every where open, and no where
presents a thriving populous appearance. Even the cities and their environs have some-
thing of desolation and decay in their aspect, and many of them are actually ruined or
neglected, of which Buschire and its territory {fig. 121.) is an example. The most
fertile and thriving provinces arc those on the north.
852. The soil may be regarded as unfertile, and, according to Chardin, not more than
one-tenth part was cultivated in his time. The mountains of this country, which are for
the most part rocky, without wood or plants, are interspersed with vallies, some of which
are stony and sandy, and some consisting of a hard dry clay, which requires continual
watering; and hence the Persian cultivator is much employed in irrigation. In
generalthe soil of Persia is light and sandy in the south and east j hard and gravelly in
the west, and rich and loamy on the borders of the Caspian sea.
853. The landed j}ro})erty of Persia, like that of other despotic countries, is considered
as wholly the property of the sovereign ; and held by the proprietors and occupiers on
certain conditions of military service, and supplies of men and provisions in time of
war.
854. The agricultural products of Persia are as various as the climate and soils. The
wheat is excellent, and is the common grain used in bread making. Rice, which is in
more universal use, is produced in great perfection in the northern provinces, which are
well watered. Barley and millet are sown, but oats are little cultivated : in Armenias
there is some rye. The vine is generally cultivated ; but in the north-west countries they
are obliged to bury the shoots to protect them from the frost. The silkworm is
cultivated in most parts of the country ; cotton and indigo are also grown, and na
122
country in the world equals Persia in the number
and excellence of its fruits.
855. The date tree is grown in plantations in
the proportion of fifty females to two males. The
natives begin to impregnate the females with the
blossoms of the male in March and April, alleging,
that their proximity is not sufficient to ensure
the produce of fruit : this practice has been car-
ried on among them from the earliest ages.
{Scot Waring" s Persia, chap, xxix.)
856. The most esteemed of the cultivated fi'uits
of Europe are indigenous in Persia, and have pro-
bably been diffused from hence over the western
world. These are the fig, the pomegranate,
the mulberry, the almond, peach, and apricot.
Orange-trees {fig. 122.) of an enormous size, are
found in the sheltered recesses of the mountains
and the deep, warm sand on the shore of the Cas-
pian is peculiarly favorable to the culture of the citron {fig. 123.), and the leguminous
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN ASIA.
141
fruits. Apples, pears, cherries, walnuts, melons, besides the
fruits already mentioned, are everywhere to be procured
at very low prices ; the quinces of Ispalian are the
finest in the East; and no grape is more delicious than
that of Shiraz. In the provinces bordering on the Caspian
sea, and mount Caucasus, the air is perfumed with roses
and other sweet-scented flowers. Among the vegetable j J
productions we may enumerate cabbages, cucumbers, tur- / //
nips, carrots, pease, and beans; and the potatoe, which has /
been lately introduced, thrives remarkably well. Poppies, \\
from which an excellent opium is extracted, senna, rhubarb, 7
saffron, and assafcetida are produced in many parts of the
kingdom. The vine grows here luxuriantly, and further to
the south cotton and sugar are articles of common cultivation.
Poplars, large and beautiful, and the weeping- willow, border
the course of the streams, and the marshy tracts abound with
the kind of rush that serves for the Persian matting.
Ornamental shrubs or herbaceous plants are little known ;
but the jasmine, the blue and scarlet anemone in the thickets, and the tulip and ranunculus
in the pastures, are abundant and beautiful, and give an air of elegance to the country.
857. The saline deserts of Persia are for the most part destitute of trees, and sup-
port hardly any plants except those that are also found on the sea-shore. On the
high mountains they are much the same as those observed on the alps of Switzer-
land and Italy. The plants on the hills and plains adjoining the Caspian are better
known.
858. The live stock of Persia are the same as in European countries with some
additions. According to Chardin, the Persian horses are the most beautiful in the
East; but they yield in speed, and, as some say, in beauty also, to the Arabian;
however, they are larger, more powerful, and all things considered, better calculated for
cavalry than those of Arabia. There are several breeds of horses, but the most valu-
able is that called the Turkoram, which are so hardy that they have been known to
travel nine hundred miles in eleven successive days. The Arabian blood has also been
introduced into this country. Their usual food is chopped straw and barley ; their bed
is made of dung, dried and pulverised, and every morning regularly exposed to the sun.
They are clothed with the greatest attention, accoriling to the climate and season of the
year ; and during the warm weather kept in the stable during the day, and taken out at
night.
859. Mules are also here in considerable request ; and the ass resembles the European ;
but a breed of this animal has been brought from Arabia, of an excellent kind, the hair
being smooth, the head high, and the motion spirited and agile. Although the mules
are small, they are fairly proportioned, carry a great weight, and those that are intended
for the saddle are taught a fine amble, which carries the rider at the rate of five or six
miles an hour. The camel (Jig. 124.) is also common; and the animals which are ex-
ported from Persia
to Turkey, have, as
Chardin says, only
one hunch, while
those of India and
Arabia have two.
Tlie Persian cattle
in general resem-
ble the European.
Swine are scarce,
except in the north-
west provinces.
The flocks of sheep,
among which are those with large tails, are most numerous in the northern provinces of
Erivan, or the Persian part of Armenia, and Balk. The few forests abound with deer
and antelopes ; and the mountains supply wild-goats, and probably the ibex, or rock goat.
Hares are common. The ferocious animals are chiefly concealed in the forests, such as
the bear and boar, the lion in the western parts, the leopard, and, as some say, the small
or common tiger. Seals occur on the rocks of the Caspian. The hyaena and jackal
belong to the southern provinces. The seas abound with fish of various descriptions; the
Caspian affords sturgeon, and delicious carp. The most common river fish is the barbel.
The same sorts of wild and tame fowl are common in Persia and in Europe, with the
exception of the turkey, whose nature does not seem to be congenial to this climate, Pi-
124
142
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
geons are numerous, and partridges are large and excellent,
nightingale, enlivens the spring vdth his varied song.
The Persians have been long accustomed to tame
beasts of prey and even to hunt with lions, tigers,
leopards, panthers, and ounces.
The bool-beell, or oriental
.25
860. The Persians hunt the quail in a curious manner {fig. 125.);
they stick two poles in their girdle, upon which they place either
their outer coat or a pair of trowsers, and these at a distance are
intended to look like the horns of an animal ; they then with a
hand-net prowl about the fields, and the quail seeing a form
more like a beast than a man, permits it to approach so near as
to allow the hunter to throw his net over it : in this manner they catch these birds with astonishing
rapidity.
861. Of the impalements and operations
of Persian agriculture little is known
with precision. The plough is said to
be small, and drawn by lean cattle, so
that it merely scratches the ground.
The plough of Erzerum {fiir. 126.), is a
clumsy implement, on the share of which
the driver stands, both for the sake of
being carried along and of pressing down
the wedge. After the plough and har-
row the spade is used for forming the
ground into squares, with ledges or
little banks to retain the water. The
dung used is chiefly human, and that of pigeons, mingled with earth and preserved for
two years, to diminish its heat.
862. The dung of
pigeons is so highly ^ ^
prized in Persia that "
many pigeon-houses
{fig. 1 27. ) are erect-
ed at a distance from
habitations for the
isole purpose of col-
lecting their manure.
They are large round
towers, rather broad-
er at the bottom than
at the top, and
crowned by conical
spiracles through which the pigeons descend. Their interior resembles a honeycomb,
forming thousands of holes for nests ; and the outsides are painted and ornamented.
The dung is applied almost entirely to the rearing of melons, a fruit indispensable to
the natives of warm countries during the great heats of summer, and also the most rapidly
raised in seasons of scarcity ; and hence the reason that during the famine of Samaria a
cab of dove's dung was sold for five pieces of silver. (2 KingSy vi. 25. ) The Persians do
not eat pigeons. {Moriers Second Journey, die. 141.,
863. No arable culture is carried on in Persia without artificial watering ; and various
modes are adopted for raising the element from wells and rivers for this purpose. The
Persian wheel is well known. The deficiency of rivers in Persia has obliged the natives
to turn all their ingenuity to the discovery of springs, and to the bringing of their streams
to the surface of the earth. To effect this, when a spring has been discovered, they dig a
well until they meet with the water ; and if they find that its quantity is suflScient to
repay them for proceeding with the work, they dig a second well, so distant from the other as
to allow a subterranean communication between both. ' They then ascertain the nearest line
.of communication with the level of the plain upon which the water is to be brought into
use, and dig a succession of wells, with subterranean communications between the whole
suite of them, until the water at length comes to the sur-
face, when it is conducted by banked-up channels into
the fields to be irrigated. The extent of country through
which such fields are sometimes conducted is quite ex-
traordinary. In making the wells {fig. 128,) a shaft is
first dug, then a wooden handle is placed over it, from;
which is suspended a leathern bucket, which is filled with [
the excavated matter by a man below, and wound up
by another above. Where the soil is against the mouth of the wells, they are secured by
128
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA. 143
masonry. Tliis mode of procuring water is common to the whole of Persia, and has the
great defect of being easily destroyed by an enemy. (Moriers Second Journey, 164.)
864. The forests of Persia are few, and chiefly in the mountains of Mazanderam and
Ghilan, and those towards Kurdistan. The trees are several kinds of pines, the cedar and
cypress, limes, oaks, acacias, and chestnuts ; the sumach is also abundant, and used for
tanning ; manna is also procured from the fraxinus ornus. Very little fuel, and not
much timber is used in Persia ; in the castles and principal houses, arches are employed
instead of timber floors.
SuBSECT. 3. Present State of Agriculture in Independent Tatary.
865. The extent of Inde^iendent Tatary can hardly be considered as well defined ;
but Pinkerton measures it from the Caspian sea on the west to the mountains of Belus
on the east, a space of 870 miles ; and from th mountains of Gaur to the Russian boun-
daries on the north of the desert of Issim, a distance of 1500 miles. It is occupied by
the Bucharian, Tungusian, Kirgusian, and other Tatar hordes, and is a celebrated and
interesting country, as being the probable seat of the most ancient Persian kingdoms,
and as having given birth to Zoroaster and other names eminent in oriental literature.
Modern travellers represent the more civilized of tliis nation as indolent, but good-
natured. They are easily recognised among other va- (^ 129
rietiesof man {fig. 129.)
866. The climate of this extensive country appears to
be excellent, the heat even of the southern provinces
being tempered by the high mountains capped with per-
petual snow; and though situated in the parallel of|
Spain, Greece, and Asiatic Turkey, the proximity of
the Siberian deserts and the lofty alps render the sum-
mer more temperate.
867. The surface of the country presents a great
variety ; and there are numerous rivers, hills, and moun-
tains.
868. The soil near the rivers is very productive, so that the grass exceeds the height of
a man. In any other hands but those of the Tatars, this country might rival any Euro-
pean region.
869. All that is known of the tillage of the Tatars, is, that rice and other grains are cul-
. livated near the towns ; but that the great dependence of the people is upon their flocks^
and herds. Bucharia is the richest country, both in corn and cattle. There they have
horses, camels, oxen, sheep, and goats, which some individuals reckon by thousands, and
make large sales, especially of horses, to the Persians and Turks, They have also drome-
daries, which furnish a considerable quantity of woolly hair, which they clip olFperiodically
and sell to the Russians. The lambskins are celebrated, being damasked as it were by
clothing the little animal in coarse linen ; but the wool of the sheep is coarse, and only
used in domestic consumption for felts and thick cloths. The steppes, which are of im-
mense extent, supply them with objects of the chace, 130
wolves, foxes, badgers, antelopes, ermines, weasels, mar
, mots, &c. In the southern and eastern mountains are
found wild sheep [Oids musimon), the ox of Thibet (JBos
grunniens, fig. 130.), which seems to delight in snowy,
alps ; with chamois, tigers, and wild asses. Therei
seems throughout the whole of Tatary to be a defi-
ciency of wood ; and the botany of this immense region^
is as little known as its agriculture.
SuBSECT. 4. Present State of Agriculture in Arabia,
870. The extent of Arabia is somewhat greater than that of Independent Tatary. The
climate is hot, but there-is a regular rainy season, from the middle of June to the end of
September, in some mountainous districts, and from November till February in others.
The remaining months are perfectly dry ; so that the year in Arabia consists only of two
seasons, the dry and the rainy. In the plains, rain is sometimes unknown for a whole
year. It sometimes freezes in the mountains, while the thermometer is at 86^ in the
plains, and hence at a small distance are found fruits and animals which might indicate
remote countries.
871. The general surface presents a central desert of great extent, with a few fertile
oases or isles, and some ridges of mountains, chiefly barren and unwooded. The flor-
ishing provinces, are those situated on the shores of the Red and Persian seas, the interior
of the country being sterile for want of rivers, lakes, and perennial streams. The soil is
in general sandy, and in the deserts is blown about by the winds.
872. The agricultural products are wheat, maize, doura, or millet, barley, beans, lentiles.
144
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
and rape, with the sugar-cane, tobacco, and cotton. Rice seems unknown in Yemen,
and oats throughout Arabia : the horses being fed with barley, and the asses with
beans. They also cultivate " uars," a plant which dyes yellow, and is exported in great
quantities from Mocha to Oman; and " fua," used in dyeing red; likewise indigo.
The wheat, in the environs of Maskat, yields little more than ten for one ; and in the best
cultivated districts of Yemen, fifty to one ; but the durra sometimes much exceeds this
ratio, yielding in the highlands 140, and in the Tehama, or plain, from 200 to 400. By
tlieir mode of sowing, and watering this grain, the inhabitants of Tehama reap three suc-
cessive crops from the same field in the same year. The plough [Jig. 131 . ) is simple, and
the pick is used instead of the spade.
873. The indigenous, or partially cultivated plants and trees of Arabia are numerous,
and several of them furnish important articles of commerce. The vegetables of the dry
barren districts, exposed to the vertical sun, and refreshed merely by nightly dews, belong
for th6 most part to the genera of aloe, mesembryanthemum, euphorbia, stapelia, and
salsola. On the western side of the Arabian desert, nunterous rivulets, descending into
the Red Sea, diffuse verdure ; and on the mountains from which they run vegetation is
more abundant. Hither many Indian and Persian plants, distinguished for their beauty
or use, have been transported in former ages, and are now found in a truly indigenous
state : such is the case probably with the tamarind, the cotton tree (inferior to the Indian),
tJje pomegranate, the banyan tree, or Indian fig, the sugar-cane, and many species of
melons and gourds. Arabia Felix may peculiarly boast of two valuable trees, namely,
the coffee {Coffea Arahica), found both cultivated and wild ; and the amyris opobalsamum,
which yields the balm of Mecca. Of the palms, Arabia possesses the date, the cocoa-nut,
and the great fan-palm. It has also the sycamore fig, the plantain, the almond, apricot,
peach, the papaw, the bead tree, the mimosa nilotica, and sensitiva, and the orange.
Among its shrubs and herbaceous plants may be enumerated the ricinus, the liquorice,
and the senna, used in medicine ; and the balsam, globe, amaranth, the white lily, and the
greater pancratium, distinguished for their beauty and fragrance.
874. The live stock of Arabia is what constitutes its principal riches, and the most
valuable are those species of animals that require only succulent herbs for their nourish-
ment. The cow here yields but little milk ; and the flesh of the ox is insipid and juice-
less. The wool and mutton of the sheep are coarse. The bezoar goat is found in the
mountains. The buffalo 132
is unknown ; but the
camel and dromedary
{fig' 132.) are both in use
as beasts of burden. The k^
civet cat, musk rat, and -^ ^ '
other mountain animals,
are valuable in commerce.
Pheasants, partridges,and
common poultry, abound
in Yemen ; and there are
numerous ferocious animals, birds of prey, and pestiferous insects.
875. But the horse is of all the animals of Arabia the most valuable. This animal is said
to be found wild in the extensive deserts on the north of Hadramant : this might have been
the case in ancient times, unless it should be thought more probable, that the wild horse
of Tatary has passed through Persia, and has been only perfected in Arabia. The horses
here are distributed into two classes, viz. the kadischi, or common kind, whose genealogy
has not been preserved, and the kochlani, or noble horses, whose breed has been ascertain-
ed for 2000 years, proceeding, as their fables assert, from the stud of Solomon. They
are reared by the Bedouins, in the northern deserts between Bassora, Merdin, and the
frontiers of Syria ; and though they are neither large nor beautiful, their race and here-
ditary qualities being the only objects of estimation, the preservation of their breed is
carefully and authentically witnessed ; and the offspring of a Kochlain stallion with an
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA, 145
ignoble race is reputed kadischi. These will bear the greatest fatigues, and pass whole
days without food, living, according to the Arabian metaphor, on air. They are said to
rush on a foe with innpetuosity ; and it is asserted that some of them, when wounded in
battle, will withdraw to a spot where their master may be secure ; and if he fall, they will
neigh for assistance ; accordingly, their value is derived from their singular agility, an
extreme docility, and an uncommon attachment to their master. The Arabian steeds are
•sometimes bought at excessive rates by the English at Mocha. The duke of Newcastle
asserts, that the ordinary price of an Arabian horse is 1000/., 2000/., or even 3000/. ; and
that the Arabs are as careful in preserving the genealogy of their horses, as princes in re-
cording that of tlieir families : the grooms are very exact in registering the names of the
sires and dams of these animals ; and some of them are of very ancient date in tiiis species
of pedigree. It is affirmed that Arabian colts are brought up with camels' milk.
876. Of the agricultural implements and operations of Arabia almost nothing is known.
Their plough, as we have seen (872. ), is a poor implement, and instead of a spade they use
the pick. The principal exertion of the husbandman's industry is to water the lands from
the rivulets and wells, or by conducting the rains. Barley is reaped near Sana in the
middle of July ; but the season depends on the situation. At Maskat, wheat and barley
are sown in December, and reaped in March ; but doura is sown in August, and reaped
in the end of November. The Arabians pull up their ripe corn by the roots ; but the
green corn and grass, as forage for their cattle, are cut with the sickle. In threshing
their corn, they lay the sheaves down in a certain order, and then lead over them two
oxen dragging a large stone.
SuBSKCT., 5. Present State of Agriculture in Hindustan.
877. T/e^c/ma^eanriseflsowsofthis extensive region are considerably diversified by differ-
ence of latitude and local situation ; nevertheless, through the wide regions of Hindustan
there is some similarity of climate. Although in Thibet the winter nearly corresponds with
that of Switzerland and other parts of Europe, in the whole extent of Hindustan, except
in Cashmere, there can hardly be said to be a vestige of winter, except the thick fogs of our
November ; and excessive rains, or excessive heats, form the chief varieties of the year.
878. The surface of the country is much diversified; but there are no mountains
of any very great height ; the ghauts not being estimated at above three thousand feet.
The vast extent of Hindustan consists chiefly of large plains, fertilized by numerous
rivers and streams, and interspersed with a few ranges of hills. The periodical rains
and intense heats produce a luxuriance of vegetation almost unknown to any other
country in the globe; and the variety and richness of the vegetable creation delight the
eye of every spectator. Bengal is a low, flat country, like Lower Egypt, watered and
fertilized by the Ganges, as the former country is by the Nile; and which, like the lat-
ter river, forms an immense delta, before it falls into the sea. The interior of the coun-
try is so flat, that water runs only at the rate of three miles an hour ; and the ground
rises from the sea towards the interior, at not more than four inches in a mile.
879. The soil varies, but is in most places light and rich: that of Bengal is a
stratum of black vegetable mould, rich and loamy ; extending to the depth of six feet,
and in some places fourteen, and even twenty feet ; lying on a deep sand, and inter-
spersed with shells and rotten wood, which indicate the land to have been overflowed,
and to have been formed by materials deposited by the rivers. It is easily cultivated
without manure, and bad harvests seldom occur. In this country they have two
harvests ; one in April, called the "little harvest," which consists of the smaller grains,
as millet ; and the second, called the " grand harvest," is only of rice.
880. Landed jn-operty in Hindustan, as in all the countries of Asia, is held to be the
absolute right of the king. The Hindu laws declare the king to be the lord and proprie-
tor of the soil. All proprietors, therefore, paid a quitrent, or military services to the
king or rajah, excepting some few, to whom it would appear absolute grants were
made. In general, the tenure was military ; but some lands were appropriated to the
church and to charitable purposes, and in many places commons are attached to villages
as in Europe. Lands in Hindustan, and in Bengal more especially, are very much
divided, and cultivated in small portions by the ryots, or peasants, who pay rent to
subordinate proprietors, who hold of others who hold of the rajah. The actual culti-
vators have hardly any secure leases ; they are allowed a certain portion of the crop for
the maintenance of their families and their cattle ; but they are not intrusted with the
seed, which is furnished by the proprietor or superior holder. The ryot, or cultivator^
is universally poor; his house, clothing, and implements of every kind, do not amount
to the value of a pound sterling ; and he is considered as a sort of appendage to the land,
and sold along with it, like his cattle. So little attention is paid to any agreement made
with him, that in a good season. Dr. Tennant informs us, the zemindar, or superior holder,
raises his demands to a fourth more than the rent agreed on. Custom has rendered this
evil so comrnon that the miserable ryot has no more idea of obtaining redress fjgjn it
L
146
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
tlian from the ravages of the elements. Since Bengal was conquered by the British,
the government is, properly speaking, the proprietor of all the lands; and Tennant
accordingly observes, that *' nine tenths of all the rent of Bengal and the provinces con-
stitute the revenue of the company ; who are, in room of the Mogul emperor, the true
proprietors of the soil, " (Recreations, il. 184.)
881. The agricultvral products of Hindustan are very various. Rice, wheat, and
maize are the common grains ; but barley, pease, a species of tare or cytissus, called dohl,
and millet, are also cultivated. Next to them the cotton plant and the sugar-cane
are most extensively grown. To these may be added indigo, silk, hemp, poppy for
opium, palma christi, sesamum, mustard, the cocoa-nut. which supplies a manufacture of
cordage, and also a liquor called toddy ; guavas, plantains, bananas, pomelos, limes,
oranges, and a great variety of other fruits besides what are cultivated in gardens, where
the settlers have all the vegetables of European horticulture. The potatoe has been in-
troduced, and though it does not attain the same size as in
Europe, is yet of good quality. It is not disliked by the na-
tives, but cannot be brought to market at so low a price as rice.
882. Tlie sugar-cane {Saccharum officinarum, fig. 133.) is cultivated in low
grounds that may be flooded. The ground being cleaned and pulverized
by one or two years fallow, is planted with cuttings of two or three buds,
in rows of four feet apart and eighteen inches wide in the row : as they
grow, each stool, consisting of three or more shoots, is tied to a bamboo
reed, eight or ten feet long, the lower leaves of each cane being first
carefully wrapt round it so as to cover every part, and prevent the sun
from cracking it, or side shoots from breaking out. Watering and flooding
in the dry season, and keeping open the surface drains during the pe-
riodical rains, are carefully attended to. Nine months from the time of
planting the canes are ten feet high, and ready to cut. The process of
sugar making, like all others in this country, is exceedingly simple : a
stone mortar and wooden pestle turned by two small bullocks, expresses
the juice, which is boiled in pots of earthenware, sunk in the ground,
and heated by a flue which passes beneath and around them, and by which
no heat is lost. The whole expense of growing and bringing to market
does not require above a third of the time, and a tenth of the money,
which it does in the West Indies.
883. The indigo (Indigo/era tinctoria. Jig. 134.) is one of the most profitable articles of
culture in Hindustan ; because an immense extent of land
is required to produce but a moderate bulk of the dye ; be-
cause labor and land here are cheaper than any where else ;
and because the raising of the plant and its manufacture may
be carried on without even the aid of a house. The first
step in the culture of the plant is to render the ground,
which should be friable and rich, perfectly free from weeds,
and dry if naturally moist. The seeds are then sown in
shallow drills about a foot apart. , Tlie rainy season must be
chosen for sowing, otherwise if the seed is deposited in dry
soil, it heats, corrupts, and is lost. The crop being kept
clear of weeds, is fit for cutting in two or three months,
and this may be repeated in rainy seasons every six weeks.
The plants must not be allowed to come into flower, as the
leaves in that case become dry and hard, and the indigo pro-
duced is of less value ; nor must they be cut in dry weather, as
they would not spring again. A crop generally lasts two
years. Being cut, the herb is first steeped in a vat till i has
become macerated and parted with its coloring matter ; then the liquor is let off into
another, in which it undergoes the peculiar process of beating to cause the fecula to
separate from the water. This fecula is let off into a third vat, where it remains some
time, and is then strained through cloth bags, and evaporated in shallow wooden boxes
placed in tlie shade. Before it is perfectly dry it is cut in small pieces of an inch
square; it is then packed in barrels, or sowed up in sacks for sale. Indigo was
not extensively cultivated in India before the British settlements were formed there ; its
profits were at first so considerable, that as in similar cases its culture was carried too
far, and the market glutted with the commodity. The indigo is one of the most pre-
carious of oriental crops ; being lialile to be destroyed by hail storms, which do com-
paratively little injury to the sugar-cane and other plants.
884. The mulherry is cultivated in a different manner from what it is in Europe. It is raised from cut-
tings, eight or ten of which are planted together in one pit, and tlie pits are distributed over the field at
the distance of two or three feet every way. These cuttings being well firmed at the lower ends, soon fonn
stools about the height of a raspberry bush, and from these the leaves are gathered. The stools are cut
over once a year to encoui-age the production of vigorous shoots from the roots.
88.7. Thepoppif {Papavcr somniferum) is cultivated on the best soil, well manured. The land sometimen
receives as many as fifteen stirrings, and the seed is then dropped into shallow drills about two feet apart.
During the growth of the plants tl)e soil is stirred, well watered, and sometimes top-dressed. In two
months from the time of sowing, the capsules are ready for incision, which process goes en for two or
three weeks, several horizontal cuts being made in the capsule one day, and the next the milky juice
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN ASIA.
147
which had oozed out, being congealed, is scraped off. This operation Ls generally repeated three times on
each capsule ; and then the capsules are collected for their seed. The raw juice is kneaded with water
evaporated in the sun, mixed with a little poppy oil, and lastly, formed into cakes, and covered with leave*
of poppy, and packed in chests with poppy husks and leaves.
886. Tobacco in Hindustan is cultivated in the same manner as in Europe ; the soil must be rich and
well pulverized ; the plants transplanted, and the earth stirred during their growth ; the main stems are
broke oft", and the leaves are dried by being suspcmled on beds of withered grass by means of ropes, and
shaded from the sun and protected from nightly dews. The leaves afford a much weaker odour than those
of tlie tobacco of Europe or America.
887. The mustard, sesamum orientafis, flax, palma christi, and some other plants
are grown for their seeds, which are crushed for oil. The use of the flax as a cloth-
ing plant is not understood in India, hemp supplying its place. The mustard and
sesamum are sown on the sand left by the overflowings of the rivers without any other
preparation or culture than that of drawing a bush over the seeds to cover them. The
palma christi is sown in patches three or four feet apart, grows to the size of a little tree,
and is cut down with an axe when the seeds are to be gathered. The mill for bruising
the seeds of these plants is simply a thick trunk of a tree hollowed into a mortar, in which
is placed the pestle, turned by one or two oxen.
888. Palm trees of several species are in general cultivation in Hindustan. The
most useful is the cocoa-nut tree (Cocos nuci-
Jera, Jig. 135.) which grows almost perfectly
straight to the height of forty or flfty feet ; and
is nearly one in diameter. It has no branches,
but about a dozen leaves spring immediately from
the top : these are about ten feet long, and nearly
a yard in breadth towards the bottom. The leaves V\
are employed to cover the houses of the natives ; ""
and to make mats either for sitting or lying upon.
The leaf when reduced to fine fibres, is the mate-
rial of which a beautiful and costly carpeting is
fabricated, for those in the higher ranks ; the
coarser fibres are made into brooms. After these
useful materials are taken from this leaf, the stem
still remains, which is about the thickness of the
ancle, and furnishes firewood.
889. The wood qf this paltn, when fresh cut, is spongy ;
but becomes hard, after being seasoned, and assumes a dark-
brown color. On the top of the tree a large shoot is pro-
duced, which when boiled resembles brocoli, but is said to
be of a more delicate taste ; and though much liked, is seldom used by the natives ; because on cutting
it off the pith is exposed, and the tree dies. Between this cabbage-like shoot and the leaves, there spring
several buds, from which, on making an incision, there distils a juice differing little from water, either
in color or consistence. It is the employment of a certain class of men to climb to the top of the trees
hi the evening, with earthen pots tied to their waists, which they fix there to receive the juice, which
is regularly carried away before the sun has had any influence upon it. This licjuor is sold at the bazars
by the natives, under the name of toddy. It is used for yeast, and forms an excellent substitute. In thi.s
state it is drank with avidity, both by the low Europeans and the natives ; and it is reckoned a cooling and
agreeable beverage. After being kept a few hours, it begins to ferment, acquires a sharp taste, and a
slight intoxicating quality. By boiling it, a coarse kind of sugar is obtained ; and by distillation, it yields
a strong ardent spirit, which being every where sold, and at a low price, constitutes one of the most
destructive annoyances to our soldiers. The name given to this pernicious drink by Europeans, is pariah
arrack, from the supposition that it is only drank by the pariahs, or out-casts, that have no rank.
890. The trees from which the toddy is drawn do not bear any fruit, on account of the destruction of
the buds ; but if the buds be Icfl entire, they produce clusters of the cocoa-nut This nut, in the husk,
is as large as a man's head ; and when ripe falls with the least wind. If gathered fresh, it is green on
the outside; the husk and the shell are tender. The shell, when divested of the husk, may be about
the size of an ostrich's egg, and is lined with a white pulpy substance, which contains about a pint and a
half of liquor like water ; and though the taste be sweet and agreeable, it is different to that of the toddy.
891. In proportion as the fruit groivs old, the shell hardens, and the liquor diminishes, till it is at last
entirely absorbed by the white milky substance; which gradually acquires the hardness of the kernel of
the almond, and is almost aH easily detached from the shell. The natives use this nut in their victuals ;
and from it they also express a considerable quantity of the purest and best lamp oil. The substance
which remains after this operation supplies an excellent food for poultry and hogs. Cups and a variety
of excellent utensils are made of the shell.
892. The husk of the cocoa-md is nearly an inch thick, and is, perhaps, the most valuable part of the tree ;
for it consists of a number of strong fibres, easily separable, wliich furnishes the material for the greatest
part of the Indian cordage ; but is by no means the only substitute which the country affords for hemp.
This the natives work up with much skill.
893. The palmyra, a species of corypha, is taller than the cocoa tree ; and affords still
greater supplies of toddy; because its fruit is of little request from the smallness of its
size ; the produce of the tree is therefore generally drawn ofi' in the liquid state. This
tree, like the cocoa, has no branches ; and, like it too, sends forth from the top a number
of large leaves, which are employed in thatching houses, and in the manufacture of
mats and umbrellas. The timber of the tree is much used in building.
894. The date tree {Phoenix dacli/Ufera), being smaller, makes not so conspicuous a
figure in the Indian forest as the two last described. Its fruit never arrives at maturity
in India owing to the heat : toddy is drawn from it, but not in such quantity, nor of so
good a quality, as that which is produced by the other species of the same genn<;.
L 2
148
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
895. The bamboo {Amndo bambos) is, perhaps, one of the most universally useful trees
in the world ; at all events it is so in the tropical regions. There are above fifty varieties,
all of which are of the most rapid growth, rising from fifty to eighty feet the first year,
and the second perfecting its timber in hardness and elasticity. It grows in stools, which
are cut over every two years, and thus the quantity of timler furnished by an acre of
bamboos is immense. Its uses are almost without end. In building it forms entire
houses for the lower orders, and enters both into the construction and furniture of those
of the higher classes. Bridges, boats, masts, rigging, agricultural and other implements,
and machinery, carts, baskets, ropes, nets, sailcloth, cups, pitchers, troughs, pipes for
conveying water, pumps, fences for gardens and fields, &c., are made of it. Macerated
in water it forms paper ; the leaves are generally put rovmd the tea sent to Europe ; the
thick inspissated juice is a favorite medicine, is said to be indestructible by fire, to resist
acids, and by fusion with alkali to form a transparent permanent glass.
896. The fruits of Hindustan may be said to include all those in cultivation ; since
the hardier fruits of Europe, as the strawberry, gooseberry, apple, &c. are not only
grown by the European settlers in cool situations, but even by the native shahs. The
indigenous sorts include the mango, the mangostan (Jig. 136.), and the durion
(Jig. 137.}, the noblest of known fruits next to the pine apple.
897. The natural pastures of Hindustan are every where bad, thin and coarse, and
there is no such thing as artificial herbage plants. In Bengal, where the soil is deep
and loamy to the depth of nioe and ten feet, a coarse bent, or species of juncus, springs
up both in the pastuVe and arable lands, which greatly deteriorates the former as food
for cattle, and unfits the latter for being ploughed. This juncus, Tennant observes,
pushes up a single seed stem, which is as hard ds a reed, and is never touched by cattle
so long as any other vegetable can be had. Other grasses of a better quality are some-
times intermixed with this unpalatable food ; but during the rain their growth is so rapid
that their juices must be ill fitted for nutrition. In Upper Hindustan, during the dry
season, and more particularly the prevailing of the hot winds, every thing like verdure
disappears ; so that on examining a herd of cattle, and their pasture, you are not so
much surprised at their leanness, as that they are alive. The grass cutters, a class of
servants kept by Europeans for procuring food for their horses, will bring provender
from a field where grass is hardly visible. They use a sharp instrument, like a
trowel, with which they cut the roots below the surface. These roots, when cleared of
earth by washing, afford the only green food which it is here possible to procure.
898. The live stock of Hindustan consists chiefly of beasts of labor ; as the natives are
by their religion prohibited the use of animal food. The horses are chiefly of Persian or
Arabian extraction. The Bengal native horse is thin and ill-shaped, and never equals the
Welsh or Highland poney, either in figure or usefulness. The buffalo is common, both
tame and wild, and generally jet black, with semicircular horns, laid backwards upon the
neck. They are preferred to the ox for jcarrying goods, and kept in herds for the sake
of their milk, from which ghee, an universal article of Hindoo diet, is made.
899. The common ox of Hindustan is white, and distinguished by a protuberance on
the shoulder, on which the yoke rests. Those kept for travelling-coaches are capable
of performing long journies nearly in the same time with horses ; those kept by the
poor ryots work patiently in the yoke beneath the vertical sun, for many hours,"^ and
upon the most wretched food, chaff or dried straw. The cow is held sacred, and wor-
shipped ; and paintings are made on the walls with her dung, which are objects of
superstition.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN ASIA.
149
900. The sheep is small, lank, and thin ; and the wool chiefly black or dark grey. The
fleece is harsh, thin, and hairy, and only used for a kind of coarse wrappers or blanket-
ing. A somewhat better breed are found in the province of Bengal ; but the mutton
of neither is good till the animals are improved by a year's good keeping.
901. The goat is kept for its milk, which is commonly used at the breakfast table ; and
also for the flesh of the kids, which is more tolerable than mutton.
902. Swine are not very common, though herds may be seen in Bengal. They might
be reared in abundance ; but the natives are strictly forbidden the use of pork ;
and it is only eaten by the Europeans, and some of the 138
out-casts. Wild hogs are abundant, and do so much in-
jury to the rice fields, that it is a material part of the
ryot's business to watch them, which he does night and day,
on a raised platform of bamboos {Jig. 138.)
903. The elephant is chiefly used in war, but is also
kept by a few European gentlemen, for hunting or show.
He is taken by stratagem, and by feeding and gentle
usage soon becomes tame, docile, and even attached to
his keeper ; but does not breed in a domesticated state.
His food is the leaves and smaller branches of trees, and
an allowance of grain. It is a singular deviation from
general nature, that an old elephant is easier tamed than
one taken young.
904. The camel is used chiefly as a beast of burden,
and is valued for its uncommon power of abstinence from
drink. He is also patient of fatigue, hunger, and watching to an incredible degree.
These qualities have recommended the camel, as an auxiliary to British officers for carry-
ing their baggage ; and from time immemorial, he has been used by merchants for con-
veying goods over extensive tracts of country.
905. r/ie/jret/afori/ animals are numerous. Of 139
these the jackal {Jig. 139.) is the most remarkable. ,/'^''''*''"**'*'^-^-__,^,,,..,,,4^
He enters at night every farm-yard, village, and
town, and traverses even the whole of Calcutta.
His voracity is indiscriminate, and he acts as a sca-
venger in the towns ; but, in the farm-yards he is
destructive to poultry, if he can get at their roosts;
and in the fields the hare and the wild pig r,ome-
times become his prey. The numerous parish ^^^^^
dogs, which in general are mangy, are almost as
troublesome as the jackal. Apes of different kinds
haunt houses, and pilfer food and fruits. The crow, kite, mino, and sparrow hop
about the dwellings of man with a familiarity unknown in Europe, and pilfer from
the dishes of meat, even- as they are carried from the kitchen to the eating room. The
stork is common ; and toads, serpents, lizards, and other reptiles and insects, are
greatly kept under by him and other birds.
906. The implemeyits and operations of Hindustan^e agriculture are as simple as can
well be imagined. The
plough, of which Major
Beatson has given several
forms (Jig. 140.), is little
better than a pointed stick,
and is carried to the field
on the shoulder like the
spade. It scratches the
sandy uplands, or the mud
left by the rivers in a toler-
able manner; but the
strong lands of Bengal,
that send up the juncus
already mentioned (897.),
appear as green after one ploughing as before;
^
only a few scratches are perceptible
here and there, more resembling the digging of a mole than the work of the plough."
To accomplish the work of pulverization, the ploughman repeats the operation from five
to fifteen times, and at last succeeds in raising mould enough to cover the seed : one
plough and pair is allowed to five acres. From this mode of repeatedly going over the
same surface, and effecting a little each time, governor Beatson has drawn some inge-
nious arguments in favor of the use of the cultivator in this country, which will be after-
wards noticed.
L 3
J50 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Parx I.
907. The early or hackery, has two wheels, and is drawn by two bullocks. The wheels
-are under three feet in diameter, and the body of the carriage consists of two bamboos,
united by a few cross bars, also of bamboo, and approaching each other the whole length
of the machine, till they meet at a point between the necks of the cattle, where they are
supported by a bar projecting sideways over the shoulders of both. By this the oxen or
buffalos are often galled in a shocking manner, and the suppuration which takes place in
consequence is, perhaps, not perfectly cured during the whole life of the animal ; the evil
being aggravated by the crows, which set upon him as soon as he is relieved from the
yoke. Reaping is often performed by pulling by the roots instead of cutting or mowing,
and the grain or seed is separated from the strav/ or stalks, by treading with oxen_ on a
smooth part of the field.
908. As no deparlmeiit of aration can be carried on without artificial watering, that
operation becomes very expensive, and troublesome in elevated districts. In the Mong-
heer district of Bengal, a deep well is dug in the highest part of the field. The fields,
after beino- ploughed, are divided into little square plots, resembling the chequers of a
backgammon table. Each square is surrounded with a shelving border, about four
inches high, capable of containing water. Between the square chequers thus corlBtructed,
small dykes are formed for conveying a rivulet over the whole field. As soon as the water
has stood a sufficient time in one square for it to imbibe moisture, it is let off into the
adjoining one, by opening a small outlet throuoh the surrounding dyke. Thus one
square after another is saturated, till the whole field, of whatever extent, is gone over.
909. The tvater is raised in large leathern bags, pulled up by two bullocks, yoked to a
rope. The cattle are not driven in a gin as ours, but retire away from the well, and re-
turn to its mouth, according as the bag is meant to be raised, or to descend. The rope is
kept perpendicularly in the pit, by a pulley, over which it runs. From the mouth of the
well thus placed, the rivulets are formed to every part of a field.
910. In the district of Patna the wells are not so deep. Here the leathern bags are
raised by long bamboo levers, as buckets are in several parts of this country. In a few
places rice is transplanted, which is done with pointed sticks, and the crop is found to be
better than what is sown broadcast.
911. In the hilly districts they neither plough nor sow ; what grain they raise is intro-
duced'into small holes, made with a peg and mallet, in a soil untouched by the plough.
The only preparation given it is turning away the jungle, and thus depositing the seed.
In the vicinity of Rajamahl there are many tribes of peasants, who subsist partly by
digging roots, and by killing birds and noisome reptiles. In these savage districts
ninety villages have been taxed for two hundred rupees ; and yet this paltry sum could
only be made up by fruits peculiar to the situation. The wretched state of these peasants.
Dr. Tennant observes, outdoes every thing which an European can imagine.
912. Harvests are made at diflferent seasons of the year; and as often as a par-
ticular crop is collected, the ryot sends for the brahmin, or parish priest, who burns
ghee, arid says prayers over the collected heap, and receives one measure of grain for his
trouble.
913. The selections we have now submitted will give some idea of the aboriginal agri-
culture of Hindustan ; not in its details, but as to its peculiar features. It is evidently
wretched, and calculated for little more than the bare sustenance of an extensive popula-
tion; for though the revenue of the state is in fact the land rent ; that revenue, notwith-
standing the immense tract of country from which it is collected, is known to be very
little. The state of agriculture, however, both politically and professionally, is capable
of great improvement ; and it is believed, the present government has already effected
material benefits, both to the natives and itself. Wherever the British influence is pre-
eminent, there Europeans settle, and introduce improvements ; and even the more indus-
trious Asiatics find themselves in greater se-
curity. The Chinese are known to be a re-
markably industrious people, and many of
them have established themselves in British- '
Indian seaports. Wathen ( Voyage, ^;-c. 18 14. J
mentions, a corn-mill, combining also a bake-
house, both on a large scale, and driven by a
powerful stream of watgr, at Penang, near
Madras, as having been established by Amee,
a Chinese miller. The building ib in the^
Chinese taste, and forms a very picturesque'
group in a romantic spot {Jig. 141.) About;;
bixty people are employed; though great partj
of the labor is done by machinery, and amons
other things the kneading of the dough. The shipping ib the chief source of con-
iiimptjon. '
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN ASIA.
151
SuBSECT. 6, Of the jigriculture of the Island if Ceylon.
914. The agriculture of Ceylon is noticed at some length by Dr. Davy, who says the
art is much respected by the Singalese. The climate of that country is without seasons,
and differs little throughout the year in any thing but in the direction of the wind, or
the presence or absence of rain. Sowing and reaping go on in every month of the year.
915. The soil of Ceylon is generally sUicious, seldom with more than from one to three per
cent, of vegetable matter. Dr. Davy {Account, <^c.) found the cinnamon tree in a state
of successful culture in quartz sand, as white as snow on the surface, somewhat grey be-
low, containing one part in one hundred of vegetable matter ; five-tenths of water, and
the remainder silicious sand. He supposes the growth of the trees may be owing in a
considerable degree to the situation being low and moist.
916. The cultivation in the interior of Ceylon is almost exclusively of two kinds ; the
dry and wet. The former consists of grubbing up woods on the sides of hills, and sow-
ing a particular variety of rice and Indian corn ; the latter is carried on in low flat sur-
faces, wliich may be flooded with water. Rice is the only grain sown ; the ground is
flooded previously to commencing the operation of ploughing, and is kept under water
while two furrows are given ; the water is then let off, and the rice being previously
steeped in water, till it begins to germinate, is sown broadcast. When the seed has taken
root, and before the mud has had time to dry, the water is re-admitted : when the plants
are two or three inches high the ground is weeded, and any thin parts made good by
transplating from such as are too thick. The watpr remains on the field till the rice be-
gins to ripen, which is commonly in seven months : it is then let off and the crop cut
down with reaping hooks, and carried to the tlireshing floor, where it is trod out by
buffaloes.
917. The agricultural implements of the Singalese are few and simple; they consist of
jungle hooks, {Jig. 142 a.), for cutting down trees and underwood; an axe (6) ; a sort of
French spade or beche (c) ; a plough of the lightest kind (d), which the ploughman holds
with one hand, the beam being attached to a pair of buflTaloes, by a yoke (e), and with
the other, he carries a long goad (/), with which, and his voice, he directs and stimu-
lates the animals. A sort of level ( g) is used for levelling the ground after plough-
ing, which, like the plough, is drawn by a pair
of buffaloes, the driver sitting on it to give it
momentum. For smoothing tlie surface of
the mud preparatory to sowing, a sort of
light scraper (/<) is employed. The reaping
hook (i) is similar to ours ; their winnow (k)^
is composed of strong matting, and a frame of
rough twigs. The threshing floor is made of beat
clay ; and previous to commencing tlie oper-
ation of treading out, a charm {fg. 143 I.)
is drawn on tlie middle of the floor. A forked
stick (m) is used to gather and stir up tlie straw
under the buffaloes' feet. (Davys Ceylon, 278. )
L 4
152 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
918. A Singalcse farm-yard bears some resemblance to one of tliis country {Jig.
144.) : but fewer buildings, and no barn is required.
144
919. An etnbaTikment, or retaining mound, by which an artificial lake of three or four
miles in circumference is dammed up, is described by Dr. Davy. It is nearly a straight
line across the valley, twenty feet high, and 150 or 200 feet wide; the side next the water
forming an angle of 45°, and faced with large stones, in the manner of steps. This
must have been a work of great labor to so rude and simple a people.
SuBSECT. 7. Present State of Agriculture in the Jiirman Empire, in Java, Malacca, Siam,
Cochin China, Tonquin, Japan, <^c.
920. The agriculture of these countries and others of minor note adjoining them, differs
little as far as it is known from that of Hindustan. In all of them the sovereign is the
lord of the soil ; the operative occupier is wretchedly poor and oppressed. The chief pro-
duct is rice ; the chief animal of labor the buffalo or ox ; the chief manure, water ; and
the chief material for buildings and implements, the bamboo.
921. The Birman empire is distinguished for the salubrity of its climate, and the health
and vigor of the natives. In this respect tliey possess a decided pre-eminence over the
enervated natives of the East j nor are the inhabitants of any country capable of greater
bodily exertions than the Birmans.
922. The seasons of this country are regular, and the extremes of heat and cold are
seldom experienced ; at least the duration of that intense heat which immediately precedes
the commencement of the rainy season, is so short that the inconvenience of it is very
little felt. The forests, however, like some other woody and uncultivated parts of India,
are extremely pestiferous ; and an inhabitant of the champaign country considers
a journey thither as inevitable destruction. The wood-cutters, who are a particular
class of men, born and bred in the hills, are said to be unhealthy, and seldom attain
longevity.
923. The soil of the southern provinces of the Birman empire is remarkably fertile,
and produces as luxuriant crops of rice as are to be found in the finest parts of Bengal.
Towards the north, the face of the country is irregular and mountainous, with headlong
torrents and rivers in yawning chasms, crossed by astonishing bridges ; but the plains
and valleys are exceedingly fruitful ; they yield good wheat and various kinds of small
grain which grow in Hindustan, together with most of the esculent legumes and
vegetables of India. Sugar-canes, tobacco of a superior quality, indigo, cotton, and
the different tropical fruits in perfection, are all indigenous products of this country.
Besides the teak tree [Tectoria grandis), which grows in many parts of the Birman
empire, as well to the north of Ummerapoora, as in the southern country, there is
almost every description of timber that is known in India.
924. The cattle used in some parts of the country for tillage and draught, are remarkably
good ; they put only a pair of them to the plough, which is little diflerent from the
plough of India, and turns up tlie soil very superficially. In their large carts they yoke
four stout oxen, which proceed with the speed of a hand-gallop, and are driven by a
country girl, standing up in her vehicle, who manages the reins and a long whip
with ease and dexterity. Many of the rising grounds are planted with indigo; but the
natives suffer the hills for the most part to remain uncultivated, and only plough the
rich levels. They every where burn the rank grass once a year to improve the pasture.
The Birmans will not take much pains; they leave half the work to nature, which has
been very bountiful to tliem. In the neighbourhood of Loonghe many fields are planted
with cotton, which thrives well ; sesamum is also cultivated in this soil, and is found to
answer better than rice, which is most productive in low and moist grounds. In the
suburbs of Pagahm, there are at least two hundred mills employed in expressing oil
from the sosamuni seed. In this operation the grain is put into a deep wooden trough,
and pressed by an uiiright timber fixed in a frame ; the force is increased by a long
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA. 153
lever, on the extremity of which a man sits and guides a bullock that moves in a circle ;
thus turning and pressing the seed at the same time. The machine is simple, and yet
effectually answers the purpose.
925. Among the vegetable jrroduclions of this country, we may enumerate the white
sandal-tree, and the aloexylura verum, producing the true jet black ebony wood ; the
sycamore fig, Indian fig, and banyan tree; the bignonia indica, nauclea orientalis^
corypha scribus, one of the loftiest of the palm trees, and excoecaria cochinchinensis,
remarkable for the crimson under surface of its leaves. To the class of plants used in
medicine and the arts, we may refer the ginger and cardamum, found wild on the sides
of rivers, and cultivated in great abundance ; the turmeric, used by the natives of the
coast to tinge and flavor their rice, and other food ; the betel pepper, fagara piperitae,
and three or four kinds of capsicum ; the justicia tinctoria, yielding a beautiful green
tinge ; morinda umbellata, gamboge, and carthamus, furnishing yellow dyes ; the red
wood of the lawsonia spinosa, and cisalpina sapan, and the indigo. The bark of the
nerium antidysentericum, called codagapala, and that of the laurus culilavan, the fruit
of the strychnos nux vomica, the cassia fistula, the tamarind, and the croton tiglium, the
inspissated juice of the aloe, the resin of the camphor tree, and the oil of the ricinus,
are occasionally imported from this country for the European dispensaries. The cin-
namon laurel, sometimes accompanied by the nutmeg, the sugar-cane, bamboo, and
spikenard, are found throughout the whole country; the last on dry hills; and the
bamboo and sugar cane in rich swamps. The sweet potatoe, ipomcea tuberosa, mad-
apple, and love-apple (solanum melongena, and lycopersicon), nymphaea, nelumbo, gourds,
melons, water-melons, and various other esculent plants, enrich, by cultivation, this
country ; and the plantain, cocoa-nut, and sago palm, are produced spontaneously.
The vine grows wild in the forests, but its fruit is indifferent for want of cultivation,
and through excess of heat, to that of the south of Europe; but this country is amply
supplied with the mango, pine-apple, sapindus edulis, mangostan plum, averrhoa, caram-
bola, custard- apple, papaw-fig, orange, lemon, and lime, and many other exquisite fruits.
926'. The animals of the Birman empire correspond with those of Hindustan. The
wild elephants of Pegu are very numerous ; and, allured by the early crops of rice,,
commit great devastation among the plantations that are exposed to their ravages. The
king is the proprietor of these animals; and one of his Birman majesty's titles is " lord
of the white elephants and of all the elephants in the world." The forests abound with
tigers. Their horses are small, but handsome and spirited, hardy and active ; and are
frequently exported in timber-ships bound for Madras and other parts of the coast, where
they are disposed of to considerable advantage. Their cows are diminutive, resembling
the breed on the coast of Coromandel ; but their buffaloes are noble animals, much
^superior to those of India, and are used for draught and agriculture : some of them are of
a light cream colour, and are almost as fierce as tigers, who dare not molest them. The
ichneumon, or rat of Pharaoh, called by the natives ounbaii, is found in this country :
but there is no such animal as the jackal in the Ava dominions, though they are very
numerous in the adjoining country. Among the birds, which are the same with those
of other parts of India, is one called the henza, the symbol of the Birman nation, as the,
eagle was of the Roman empire. It is a species of wild fowl, called in India the
Bramin goose ; but the natives of Ava do not deify this bird.
927. The agriculture of Java has been noticed by Thunberg, and more fully des-
cribed by Sir Stamford Raffles.
928. The climate of Java, like that of other countries situated within about ten degrees
of the equator, presents a perpetual spring, summer, and harvest. The distinction of
weather is into wet and dry, never hot and cold, and rain depends on the winds.
929. The surface of the country is low towards the coast, but hilly in the interior ;
Vnhealthy about Batavia, but in most other parts as salubrious as any other tropical
country.
930. The soil is for the most part rich, and remarkable for its depth ; probably, as
Governor Raffles conjectures, owing to its volcanic origin.
931. Landed property in Java is almost exclusively vested in the king, between whom
and the cultivator there are no intermediate holders; and the cultivator is without lease or
right beyond the will of the sovereign. The manner in which the king draws his
income from the whole surface of the country is by burdening certain '* villages or
estates with the salaries of particular officers, allotting others for the support of his
relatives or favorites, or granting them for the use of particular charitable institutions ; in
the same manner as before the consolidation act in Britain, the interest of particular loans
was paid upon the produce of specific imports." Tradesmen, government oflScers,
priests, and the government, are all alike paid in kind.
932. The crops raised by the farmer for home consumption are chiefly rice and maize,
some wheat is also grown; but the staple article is rice, of which one pound and a half
Picr day is considered sufficient nourishment for an adult.
154
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE
Part I.
93S. The crops raised by the colonists are coffee, sugar, cotton, tobacco, and a variety of
Other productions of the East. One of the principal articles is coffee, which is first
raised in seed-beds, then transplanted under an open shed for the sake of shade, and then
in about eighteen months removed into the garden or plantation where they are destined
to yield their fruit. A plantation is laid out in squares, the distance of plant from plant
being commonly about six feet, and in the centre of each four trees, is placed a dadap tree,
for the purpose of affording shade, which in Java seems necessary to the health of the
coffee plant. It is never pruned, grows to the height of sixteen feet ; will bear for
twenty years : but a plantation in Java is seldom continued more than ten years. In
general three crops of berries are produced in a season.
934. The live stock of the Java farmer, is the ox and buffalo, used in ploughing ; and
the horse for burden : they have a few sheep, and goats, and poultry.
935. The i7iiplements are the plough, of which they have a common, or rice-ground,
sort ; a dry-soil plough, and a garden or plantation plough, all of which are yoked to a
pair of buffaloes, or oxen, in the same manner. The harrow ( Rg. 145 a), on which the
driver sits, is a sort of rake ; and they have a sort of strong hoe, which they use as a
substitute for a spade {b), and a lighter one, used as a draw hoe (c). Their knives for
weeding, pruning, and reaping
{Jig. 1 46 rt to/), are very curious ;
one of them (g), is used both
as an axe and bill, and another
(A), as a thrust hoe and prun-
ing hook. It is observed by Go-
vernor Raffles, that in reaping
they crop off " each separate
car along with a few inches of
the straw ;" an " operose process' '
which he was informed had its
origin in some religious notions.
Crops are generally dibbled or
transplanted : no manure is even required or given in Java excepting water. In
ploughing for rice, the land is converted into a semifluid mire, in which the plants are
inserted. A curious mode is made use of to scare the birds from ripening crops. An
elevated shed is raised in the middle of the plantation or field, within which a child on
the watch touches from time to time a series of cords extending from the shed to the
extremities of the field like the radii of a circle, and thus prevents the ravages of
birds. The native cart of Java is a clumsy conjunction of boards, running on two
solid wheels from five to six feet in diameter, and only from one to two inches broad on
a revolving axle. It is drawn by two buffaloes.
936. The upas or poison tree, {Rhus, sp. ?) has been said to be a native of and pecu-
liar to Java ; but Dr. Horsfield and other botanists have ascertained that there is no
tree in the island answering its description : there are two trees used for poisoning war-
like instruments, but neither are so powerful as to be used alone ; and, indeed, they are
in no way remarkable either as poison plants or trees. The rafflesia arnoldii, the most
extraordinary parasitic plant known to botanists, is believed to be a native of this island
as well as of Sumatra, where it was originally found.
937. The roads of Java, Sir Stamford Raffles observes, are of a greater extent and
of a better description than in most countries. A high road, passable for carriages at all
seasons of the year, runs from the western to the eastern extremity of the island, a
distance of not less than eight hundred English miles, with post stations and relays of
horses every five miles. The greater part of it is so level that a canal might be cut
along its side. There is another high road which crosses the island from north to south,
and many intersecting cross roads. The main roads were chiefly formed by the Dutch
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN ASIA.
155
as military roads, and " so far," Governor Raffles continues, *' from contributing to the
assistance of the agriculture or trade of Java, their construction has, on the contrary, in
many instances been destructive to whole districts. The peasant who completed them by
his own labor, or the sacrifice of the lives of his cattle, was debarred from their
use, and not permitted to drive his cattle along them, while he saw the advantages they
were capable of yielding reserved for his European masters, who thus became enabled
to hold a more secure possession of his country." [History of Java, ^c. i. 198.)
938. Of the peninsula of Malacca very little is known. Agriculture is carried on in
the marginal districts of the country ; but the central parts are covered with unexplored
forests, which swarm with wild men and women, -^.^ 247
(Jig. 147.) monkies, tigers, wild boars, elephants, and
other animals. Tiie chief grain cultivated is rice;
and the chief exports are, pepper, ginger, gum, and
other spices, raisins, and woods. Game and fruits
abound, " The lands (Le Pouvre observer.) are of a
superior quality ; and covered -with odoriferous woods;
but the culture of the soil abandoned to slaves, is
fallen into contempt- These wretched laborers,
dragged incessantly from their rustic employments by
their restless masters, who delight in war and mari-
time enterprises, have rarely time, and never resolu- ,
tion, to give the necessary attention to the laboring
of their grounds."
939. The kingdom of Siam may be described as a
wide vale between two high ridges of mountains;,
but compared with the Birman empire, the cultivated
land is not above half the extent either in breadth or length.
940. 2'he agriculture of the Siamese does not extend far from the banks of the river, or
its branches ; so that towards the mountains there are vast aboriginal forests filled with
wild animals, whence they obtain the skins which are exported. The rocky and varie-
gated shores of the noble gulf of Siam, and the size and inundations of the Meinam,
conspire with the rich and picturesque vegetation of the forests, illumined at night by
crowds of brilliant fire-flies, to impress strangers with admiration and delight.
941. The soil towards the mountains is parched and infertile ; but on the shores of the
river consists, like tliat of Egypt, of a very rich and pure mould, in which a pebble can
scarcely be found; and the country would be a terrestrial paradise if its government were
not so despotic as to be justly reckoned far inferior to that of their neighbors the
Birmans. Rice of excellent quality is the chief product of their agriculture ; wheat is
not unknown ; pease and other vegetables abound ; and maize is confined to their gardens.
The fertility of Siam depends in a great degree, like that of Egypt or the Nile, on tlieir
grand river Meinam and its contributary streams.
942. The kingdom of Laos borders on China, and is surrounded by forests and deserts,
so as to be of difficult access to strangers. The climate is so temperate, and the air so
pure, that men are said to retain their health and vigor, in some instances, to tlie age of
one hundred years. The flat part of the country resembles Siam, [fg. 148.) The soil
on the east bank of the river is more fertile than that on the west. The rice h prcftned
156
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
to that of other oriental countries. Excellent wax and honey are produced in abundance,
and the poppy, ginger, pepper, and other plants are cultivated, and their products ex-
changed with the Chinese for their cloths.
943. Cambodia, like Siam, is enclosed by mountains on the east and west ; and fertilised
by an overflowing river. ITie climate is so hot that the inhabitants are under the neces-
sity of residing on the banks of the rivers and lakes, where they are tormented by mus-
quitos. The soil is fertile, and produces abundance of corn, rice, excellent legumes,
sugar, indigo, opium, camphor, and various medicinal drugs. The most peculiar product
is the gamboge-gum (Stalagmitis cambogioides), which yields a fine yellow tint. Ivory,
also, and silk, are very plentiful, and of little value. Cattle, particularly of the cow
kind, are numerous, and cheap. Elephants, lions, tigers, and almost all the animals of the
deserts of Africa, are found in Cambodia. It has several precious woods, among which are
the sandal and eagle-wood, and a particular tree, in the juice of which they dip their
arrows ; and it is said, that though a wound from one of the arrows proves fatal, the juice
itself may be drank without danger. The country, though fertile, is very thinly peopled.
944. Cochin China presents an extensive range of coast, but few marks of tillage.
Besides rice and other grains, sugar, silk, cotton, tobacco, yams, sweet potatoes, pumpkins
(Jig. 149.), melons, and other culinary vegetables, are cultivated ;
and cinnamon, pepper, ginger, cardamoms, silk, cotton, sugar,
aula wood, japan wood, Columba and other woods and spice
plants abound in the woods and copses. The horses are small,
but active ; and they have the ox, buffalo, mules, asses, sheep,
swine, and goats. Tigers, elephants, and monkies abound in
the forests, and on the shores are found the edible swallows' nests,
esteemed a luxury in the East, and especially in China. These
nests are ascertained to be formed of a species of sea-weed, the
fucus lichnoides of botanists. Almost every kind of domestic
animal, except sheep, appears to be very plentiful. In Cochin
China they have bullocks, goats, swine, buffaloes, elephants,
camels, and horses. In the woods are found the wild boar, tiger,
rhinoceros, with plenty of deer : they account the flesh of the
elephant a great dainty, and their poultry is excellent. They
pay little attention to the breeding of bullocks, as the tillage of
their land is performed by buffaloes, and their flesh is not es-
teemed as food. The sea, as well as the land, is a never-failing
source of sustenance to those who dwell on the coast. Most of the marine worms
distinguished by the name of molusca, are used as articles of food by the Cochin
Chinese. All the gelatinous substances derived from the sea, whether animal or vege-
table, are considered by them the most nutritious of all aliments ; and on this principle
various kinds of sea-weeds, particularly the Jtixi and algce, are included in their list of
edible plants. The Cochin Chinese collect likewise many of the small succulent, or
fleshy plants, which are usually produced on salt and sandy marshes, which they either
boil in their soups, or eat in a raw state, to give sapidity to their rice, which with them
is the grand support of existence. In Cochin China they are almost certain of two
plentiful crops of rice every year, one of which is reaped in April, the other in October.
Fruits of various kinds, as oranges, bananas, iigs, pine apples, pomegranates, and others
of inferior note, are abundantly produced in all parts of the country. They have very
fine yams, and plenty of sweet potatoes. Their small breed of cattle does not appear
to furnish them with much milk ; but of this article they make a sparing use, even with
regard to their young children.
945. Tonquin, in regard to surface, may be divided into two portions, the moun-
tainous and the plain. The mountains are neither rocky nor precipitous, and are partly
<:overed with forests. The plain is flat like Holland, being intersected by canals and
dykes, and varied by lakes and rivers. The chief agricultural product is rice, of which
there are two harvests annually in the low country, but in the high lands only one.
Wheat and wine are unknown. The nmlberry-tree is common ; and the sugar-cane is
indigenous ; but the art of refining the juice is unknown. The live stock are chiefly
oxen, buffaloes, and horses ; swine abound, and there are a few goats ; but asses and
sheep are unknown. Dogs, cats, and rats
are eaten. Poultry, ducks, and geese
abound, and are found wild in the forests.
The eggs of ducks are heated in ovens,
and produce young, which swarm on the
canals and ponds. The forests contain
deer, boars, peacocks, a peculiar kind of
partridge, andquails. (Jig. 150.) Thetigers^^^
are large and destructive ; one of which ~
is said to have entered a town, and to have destroyed eighty -five people.
The wild
"■tL
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA. t57
elephants are also very dangerous; apes are found in these forests, and some of ihem of
large size : these and the parrots are not a little destructive to the rice and fruits.
The Tonquin plough consists of three pieces of wood, a pole, a handle, and a third
piece, almost at right angles with the last, for opening the ground ; and they are siraply
fixed with straps of leather : this plough is drawn by oxen or buffaloes.
946. The agriculture of Japan is superior to that of most eastern countries.
947. The climate of Japan is variable. In summer the heat is violent ; and, if it
were not moderated by sea breezes, would be intolerable. The cold in winter is severe.
The falls of rain commence at midsummer, and to these Japan owes its fertility, aneF
also its high state of population. Thunder is not unfrequent : tempests, hurricanes,
and earthquakes are very common. From Thunberg's thermometrical observations it
appears that the greatest degree of heat at Negasaki was 98* in August, and the severest
cold in January, 35". The face of the country presents some extensive plains, but
more generally mountains, hills, and valleys ; the coast being mostly rocky and pre-
cipitous, and invested with a turbulent sea. It is also diversified with rivers and
rivulets, and many species of vegetables.
948. The soil of Japan, though barren, is rendered productive by fertilizing showers
and manure, and by the operation of agriculturalindustry.
949. Agriculture, Thunberg informs us, is here well understood, and the whole country,
even to the tops of the hills, is cultivated. Free from all feudal and ecclesiastical im-
pediments, the farmer applies himself to the culture of the soil with diligence and vigour.
Here are no commons ; and it is a singular circumstance, that if any portion be left
uncultivated, it may be seized by a more industrious neighbor. The Japanese mode
of manuring is to form a mixture of all kinds of excrements, with kitchen refuse, which
is carried in pails into the field, and poured with a ladle upon the plants, when they
have attained the height of about six inches ; so that they thus instantly receive the whole
benefit. They are also very attentive to weeding. The sides of the hills are culti-
vated by means of stone walls, supporting broad plats, sown with rice or esculent roots.
Rice is the chief grain ; buckwheat, rye, barley, and wheat being little used. A kind
of root, used as the potatoe {^Convolvulus edulis), is abundant, with several sorts of
beans, pease, turnips, cabbages, &c. From the seed of a kind of cabbage, lamp oil is
expressed ; and several plants are cultivated for dyeing ; with the cotton shrubs and
mulberry- trees for the food of silkworms. The varnish and camphor trees, the vine,
the cedar, the tea tree, and the bamboo reed, not only grow wild, but are planted for
numerous uses.
950. In respect to live stock, there are neither sheep nor goats in the whole empire of
Japan; and, in general, there are but few quadrupeds. The food of the Japanese con-
sists almost entirely of fish and fowl, with vegetables. Some few dogs are kept from
motives of superstition ; and cats are favorites of the ladies. Hens and common
ducks are domesticated for the sake of their eggs.
SuBSECT. 8. Present State of Agriculture in the Chinese Empire,
951. Agricultural improvement in China has, in all ages, been encouraged and
honored. The husbandman is considered an honorable as well as a useful member of
society ; he ranks next to men of letters or officers of state, of whom he is frequently
the progenitor. The soldier, in China, cultivates the ground. The priests also are
agriculturists, whenever their convents are endowed with land. Notwithstanding all
these advantages, however, tlie Chinese empire is by no means so generally cultivated
as Du Halde and other early travellers asserted. Some districts are almost entirely
under cultivation ; but in many there are extensive wastes.
952. Dr. Abel is of opinion that that part of China passed through by Lord Amherst's
embassy, the land " very feebly productive in food for man, fully equalled that which
afforded it in abundant quantity." He never found extensive tracts of land in general
cultivation, but often great industry and ingenuity on small spots ; and concludes that
** as horticulturists the Chinese may perhaps be allowed a considerable share of merit ;
but on the great scale of agriculture, they are not to be mentioned with any European
nations." {Narrative, ^c. 127.)
953. Barrow says, few families cultivate more than is sufficient for their own use ;
that there are no teams, or dairies ; that they are ignorant of the art of fatting cattle ;
and of the art of forming rotations of crops ; that their implements are barbarous ; and
in short, that their agriculture, much as it has been vaunted by the Jesuits and some
French philosophers, would be despised in Europe.
954. Livingstone, an intelligent resident in China, observes, ** The statement in the
Encyclopcedia Britannica, that * Chinese agriculture is distinguished and encouraged
by the court beyond all other sciences,' is incorrect, since it is unquestionably sub-
ordinate to literature ; and it may be well doubted whether it ought to be considered
as holding among the Chinese the rank of a science ; for, independently of that routine
158
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I,
which has been followed, with little variation, from a very high antiquity, they seem to
be entirely ignorant of all the principles by which it could have been placed on a scientific
foundation." {Hort. Trans. V. 49.J
955. The climate of China is in general reckoned moderate, though it extends from
the 50th to the 21st degree of south latitude, and includes three climates. The northern
parts are liable to all the rigors of an European winter. Even at Pekin, at that season,
the average of the thermometer is under 20° during the night, and in the day consi-
derably below the freezing point. The heat of those parts which lie under the tropics
is moderated by the winds from the mountains of Tatary. In the southern parts there
is neither frost nor snow, but tliey are very subject to storms, especially about the time
of the equinoxes ; all the rest of the year the sky is serene, and the earth covered with
verdure.
956. The surface of the countri/, though in general flat, is inuch diversified by chains of
granite mountains, hills, rivers, canals, and savage and uncultivated districts, towns
innumerable, villages, and cottages covered with thatch, reed, or palm leaves, and in
some places with their gardens, or forecourts, fenced with rude pales, as in England.
{Jig. 151.) China, Dr. Abel observes, from the great extent of latitude contained in its
boundaries, and from its extensive plains and lofty mountains, partakes of the advan-
tages and defects of many climates, and displays a country of features infinitely varied
by nature. Every thing artificial, however, has nearly the same characters in every
province.
957. The soil varies exceedingly : it is in many parts not naturally fertile ; but has
almost every where been rendered so by the application of culture and manure for suc-
cessive ages.
958. The landed property of China is considered as the absolute right of the emperor :
but the sub-proprietor, or first holder, is never turned out of possession as long as he
continues to pay about the tenth part of what his farm is supposed capable of yielding.
And, though the holder of lands is only considered as a tenant at will, it is his own
fault if he is dispossessed. If any one happens to hold more than his family can con-
veniently cultivate, he lets it to another, on condition of receiving half the produce, out
of which he pays the whole of the emperor's taxes. The greater part of the poor pea-
santry cultivate land on these terms. In China there are no immense estates, no mono-
polizing farmers, nor dealers in grain. Every one can bring his produce to a free
and open market ; no fisheries are here let out to farm. Every subject is equally
intitled to the free and uninterrupted enjoyment of the sea, of the coasts, of the es-
tuaries, of the lakes and rivers. There are no manor lords with exclusive privileges,
nor any game laws.
959. The agricultural jtroducts of China extend to every useful vegetable. There
is scarcely a grain, a fruit, a tree, or a culinary vegetable of Europe, or the rest of the
world, that they do not cultivate ; and they have a number peculiar to themselves.
Fowl and fish are not extensively reared, as the chief articles of diet are vegetables ;
and they are ignorant of the use of milk, butter, or cheese. Rice is the common grain of
the country ; a species of cabbage, the universal culinary vegetable ; swine, the most
abundant live stock ; and tea, the chief plant of export.
960. The tea districts of China extend from the 27th to the 31st degree of latitude.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN ASIA.
159
According to the missionaries, it thrives in the more northern provinces ; and from
Kcempfer it appears to be cultivated in Japan as far north as lat. 45''. It seems, according
to Dr. Abel's observation, to succeed best on the sides of mountains, where there can be
but little accumulation of vegetable mould. The soils from which he collected the
best specimens consisted chiefly of sandstone, schistus, or granite. The land forming
the Cape of Good Hope consisting of the same rocks, and its geographical position
corresponding to that of the tea districts of China, Dr. Abel considers it miglit be
grown there, if desirable, to such an extent as to supersede the necessity of procuring
it from China. It grows well in St. Helena and Rio Janeiro, and will grow anywhere
in a meagre soil and moderate temperature.
961. The culture of the tea plant in China has been given by various authors. It is
raised from seeds sown where the plants are to remain. Three or more are dropped into
a hole four or five inches deep; these come up without further trouble, and require
little culture, except that of removing weeds, till the plants are three years old. The
more careful stir the soil, and some manure it ; but the latter practice is seldom adopted.
The third year the leaves are gathered, at three successive gatherings, in February,
April, and June, and so on till the bushes become stinted or tardy in their growth,
which generally happens in from six to ten years. - They are then cut-iii to encourage
the production of fresh shoots.
962. The gathering of the leaves is performed with care and selection. The leaves
are plucked off one by one : at the first gathering only the unexpanded and tender are
taken ; at the second those that are full grown ; and at the third the coarsest. The
first forms what is called in Europe imperial tea ; but as to the other names by which
tea is known, the Chinese know nothing ; and the compounds and names are supposed
to be made and given by the merchants at Canton, who, from the great number of
varieties brought to them, have an ample opportunity of doing so. These varieties,
though numerous, and some of them very different, are yet not more so than the dif-
ferent varieties of the grape ; they are now generally considered as belonging to one species ;
the thea bohea, now camellia bohea ifg. 152 «.) of botanists. Formerly it was thought
that green tea was gathered exclusively from
thea viridis ; but that is now doubtful, though
it is certain there is what is called the green
tea district, and the black tea district ; and
the varieties grown in the one district differ
from those grown in the other. Dr. Abel
was unable to satisfy himself as to there being
two species or one ; but thinks there are two
species. He was told by competent persons
that either of the two plants will afford the
black or green tea of the shops, but that the^
broad thin-leaved plant (C. viridis) is pre-
fi^red for making the green tea.
963. The tea leaves being gathered, are-
cured in liouses which contain from five to
ten or twenty small furnaces, about three
feet high , each having at the top a large flat
iron pan. There is also a long low table covered with mats, on which the leaves are
laid, and rolled by workmen, who sit round it: the iron pan being heated to a certain
degree by a little tire made in the furnace underneath, a few pounds of the fresh-gathered
leaves are put upon the pan ; the fresh and juicy leaves crack when they touch the pan,
and it is the business of the operator to shift them as quick as possible with his baro
hands, till they become too hot to be easily endured. At this instant he takes off the
leaves with a kind of shovel resembling a fan, and pours them on the mats before the
rollers, who, taking small quantities at a time, roll them in the palm of their hands in
one direction, while others are fanning them, that they may cool the more speedily, and
retain their curl the longer. This process is repeated two or three times, or oftener,
before the tea is put into the stores, in order that all the moisture of the leaves may be
thoroughly dissipated, and tlieir curl more completely preserved. On every repetition
the pan is less heated, and the operation performed more slowly and cautiously. The
tea is then separated into the different kinds, and deposited in the store for domestic use
or exportation.
964. The different sorts of black and green are not merely from soil, situation, and
age of the leaf ; but after winnowing the tea, they are taken up in succession as the
leaves fall; those nearest the machine, being the heaviest, is the gunpowder tea;
the Hght dust the worst, being, chiefly used by the lower classes. That which is brought
down to Canton undergoes there a second roasting, winnowing, packing, &c,, and
many hundred women are employed for these purposes.
160
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
965. As more select sorts of tea, the blossoms of the camellia sasanqua {fig. 152, b.)
appear to be collected ; as they are brought over land to Russia, and sold by Chinese
and Armenians in Moscow at a great price. The buds also appear to be gathered in
some cases. By far the strongest tea which Dr. Abel tasted in China, was that called
Yu-tien, used on occasions of ceremony. It scarcely coloured the water, and on ex-
amination was found to consist of the half expanded leaves of the plant.
966. As substitutes for tea used by the Chinese may be mentioned a species of moss
common to the mountains of Shan-tung ; an infusion of ferns of difi'erent sorts, and
Dr. Abel thinks the leaves of the common camellia and oil camellia may be added.
Du Halde observes, that all the plants called tea by the Chinese, are not to be considered
as the true tea plant ; and Kaempfer asserts that in Japan a species of camellia as well
as the olea fragrans, is used to give it a high flavor.
967. The oil bearing tea plant (Camellia oleifera) is cultivated for its seeds, from which
an oil is expressed, in very general use in the domestic economy of China. It grows
best in a red sandy soil, attaining the height of six or eight feet, and producing a pro-
fusion of white blossoms and seeds. These seeds are reduced to a coarse powder, either
in a mortar by a pestle acted on by the cogs of a
water-wheel {fig. 153.), or by a horizontal wheel,
having small perpendicular wheels, shod with iron,
fixed to its circumference, and acting in a groove
lined with the same metal. The seeds wlien
ground, are stewed or boiled in bags, and then
pressed, when the oil is yielded. The press is a hollow cylinder, with a piston pressed
against one end, by driving wedges at the side ; it is very simple and yet powerful.
{Dr. Abel's Nar. 176.) An oil used as a varnish is extracted from another variety of
the camellia, or tea plant (the Dryandria cordata of Thunb.) which is used as a varnish
for their boats, and coarser articles of furniture.
' 968. The tallow-tree {Croton sebiferum) resembles the oak in the height of its stem and
the spread of its branches, and its foilage has the green md lustre of the laurel; its
flowers are small and yellow, and its seeds white. The latter are crushed either as the
camellia seeds, or in a hollow trunk of a tree, lined with iron, by means of a wheel laden
with a heavy weight, (^g. 154.), and suspended ■^.■y/<.^'^:^^
from a beam. The bruised matter next
undergoes nearly the same process as the
camellia seeds, and the oily matter is found to
have all the propctties of animal tallow. It is
mixed with vegetable oil and wax, to give
it consistence, and then made into candles,
which burn with great flame, emit much
smoke, and quickly consume. f***^^ V ,«.^ ^e=a*i.\N.;!fc
969. The wax-tree^ or Pe-la, is a term which
is not applicable to any one species of tree,
but to such as are fastened on by a small
worm, which runs up, and fastens to its leaves,
covering them with combs. When these worms are once used to the trees of any district,
they never leave them, unless Sdmething extraordinary drives them away. The wax pro-
duced is hard, shining, and considerably dearer than that of bees.
970. The Sesamum orientale and the Ricinus communis, or castor oil plant, are cultivated for the
esculent oils extracted from their seeds. They appear to have some method of depriving the castor oil
of its purgative qualities, but Dr. Al)el thinks not completely.
971. Thecamphire tree {Laurus camphora) grows to the size of our elms or oaks. The
camphire is procured by boiling the fresh-gathered branches of the tree, and stirring the
whole with a stick, till the gum begins to adhere to it in the form of a white jelly.
The fluid is then poured off into a glazed vessel, and left to concrete. " The crude
camphire is then purified in the following manner : a quantity of the finely-powdered
materials of some old wall, built of earth, is put as a first layer at the bottom of a
copper basin ; on this is placed a layer of camphire, and then another of earth, and so on
till the vessel is nearly filled ; the series being terminated with a layer of earth : over
this is laid a covering of the leaves of the plant Po-tio, perhaps a species of mentha.
A second basin is now inverted over the first, and luted on. The whole thus prepared,
is put over a regulated fire, and submitted to its action for a certain length of time ; it is
then removed and suffered to cool. The camphire is found to have sublimed, and to be
attached to the upper basin, and is further refined by repetitions of the same process."*
{Narrative, ^-c. 179.)
972. The oak is as much prized in China as in other countries, and is styled the tree of
inheritance. There are several species in general use for building, dyeing, and fuel ; and
the acorns are ground into a paste, which mixed with the flour of corn is made into cakes.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN ASIA.
161
973. The maidenhair tree (Salisburia adiantifolia) is grown for its fruit, which Dr.
Abel saw exposed in quantities ; but whether as a fruit, a culinary vegetable, or a
medicine, he could not ascertain. Kaempfer says, the fruit assists digestion.
974. The cordage plant {Sida tiluefolia) is extensively cultivated for the manufacture of
cordage from its fibres. The common hemp is used for the same purpose, but the sida
is preferred. A species of musa is also grown in some places, and its fibres used for
rope and other purposes.
975. The common cotton, and also a variety bearing a yellow down, and from which,
without any dyeing process, the nankeen cloths are formed, is also grown in different
places. The mulberry is grown in a dwarf state, as in Hindustan.
976. The ground nut {Arachis hypogcea) ; the arum esculentum, or eatable arum ; the
trapa bicornis ; the scirpus tuberosus, and nelumbium, all producing edible tubers, are
cultivated in lakes, tanks, or marshy places.
977. The Nelumbium, Dr. Abel observes, with its pink and yellow blossoms, and
broad green leaves, gives a charm and productiveness to marshes, otherwise unsightly
and barren. The leaves of the plant are watered in the summer, and cut down close
to the roots on the approach of winter. The seeds are in size and form like a small acorn
without its cup ; are eaten green, or dried as nuts, and are often preserved in sweetmeats ;
they have a nut-like flavor. Its roots are sometimes as thick as the arm, of a pale-green
without, and whitish within ; in a raw state they arc eaten as fruit, being juicy and of
a sweetish and refreshing flavor ; and when boiled arc served as vegetables.
978. The Scirjms tuberosus, or water chestnut,
(J,gA55.) is a stoloniferous rush, almost without
leaves, and the tubers are produced on the stolones.
It grows in tanks, which are manured for its re-
ception about the end of March. A tank being
drained of its water, small pits are dug in its
bottom ; they arc filled with human manure, and
exposed to the sun for a fortnight ; their contents
are next intimately blended with the slimy bottom
of the tank, and slips of the plant inserted. The
water is now returned to the tank, and the first
crop of tubers comes to perfection in six months.
(Rox. Coromandel.)
979. The millet {Hdcus) is grown on the banks of rivers,
and attains the height ot sixteen feet. It is sown in rows, and
after it comes up, panicum is sown between, which comes to
perfection after the other is cut down.
980. Among the many esculent vegetables cul-
tivated in China, the petsai, a species of white cabbage, is in most general use. The
quantity consumed of it over the whole empire, is, according to all authors, immense ;
and Dr. Abel thinks it may be considered to the Chinese, what the potatoe is to the
Irish. It is cultivated with great care, and requires abundant manuring, like its
congeners of the brassica tribe. Boiled, it has the flavor of asparagus ; and raw, it
eats like lettuce, and is not inferior. It often weighs from fifteen to twenty pounds,
and reaches the height of two or three feet. It is preserved fresh during winter by
burying in the earth ; and it is pickled with salt and vinegar.
981. Almost every vegetable of use j as food, in the arts, or as medicine, known to the
rest of the world, is cultivated in China, with perhaps a very few exceptions of equatorial
plants. The bamboo and cocoa-nut tree, as in Hindustan, are in universal use :, in-
digo is extensively cultivated ; sugar also in the southern provinces ; but it is rather
a luxury than an article of common consumption. It is used mostly in a coarse
granulated form ; but for exportation, and for the upper classes, it is reduced to its
crystallized state. Tobacco is every where cultivated, and in universal use, by all
ages, and both sexes. Fruits of every kind abound, but mostly bad, except the orange
and the lee-tchee, Dimocarpus litchi, both of which are probably indigenous. The art
of grafting is well known, having been introduced by the missionaries ; but they do not
appear to have taken advantage of this knowledge to the improvement of their fruits.
They have also an art which enables them to take off bearing branches of fruit, par-
ticularly of the orange and peach, and transfer them, in a growing state, to pots, for
their artificial rocks and grottos, and summer-houses. It is simply by removing a ring
of the bark, plastering round it a ball of earth, and suspending a vessel of water to drop
upon it, until the upper edge of the incision has thrown out roots into the eartli.
982. The live stock of Chinese agriculture is neither -abundant nor various. The
greater part of their culture being on a small scale, and performed by manual operations,
does not require many beasts of labor : their canals and boats supply the place of beasts
of burden : and their general abstemiousness renders animals for the butcher less neccs-
M
162 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
sary. They rear, however, though in comparatively small number, all the domestic
animals of Europe ; the horse, the ass, the ox, the buffalo, the dog, the cat, the pig ; but
their horses are small and ill-formed. The camels of China are often no larger than our
horses ; the other breeds are good, and particularly that of pigs. The kind of dog most
common in the south from Canton to Tong-chin-tcheu, is the spaniel with straight ears.
More to the north, as far as Pekin, the dogs have generally hanging ears and slender
tails.
983. The Chinese are exceedingly sparing in the use of animal food. Those important
articles of milk, butter, and cheese, are wholly unknown to them. The broad-tailed
sheep are kept in the hilly parts of the country, and brought down to the plains ; but
the two animals most esteemed, because they contribute most to their own subsistence,
and are kept at the cheapest rate, are the hog and the duck. Whole swarms of the
latter are bred in large barges, surrounded with projecting stages covered with coops,
for the reception of these birds, which are taught, by the sound of the whistle, to
jump into the rivers and canals in search of food, and by another call to return to
their lodgings. They are usually hatched by placing their eggs, as the ancient Egyp-
tians were wont to do, in small ovens, or sandbaths, in order that the same female may
continue to lay eggs throughout the year, which would not be the case if she had a
young brood to attend. The ducks, when killed, are usually split open, salted, and
dried in the sun ; in which state they afford an excellent relish to rice or other
vegetables.
984. The wild animals are numerous. Elephants are common in the south of China,
and extend as far as the thirtieth degree of north latitude in the provinces of Kiangnau
and of Yiyi-nau. The unicorn rhinoceros lives on the sides of the marshes in the pro-
vinces of Yun-nau and Quan-si. The lion, according to Du Halde and Trigault,
is a stranger to China ; but the animal figured by Neuhoff, under the name of the tiger,
seems to be the maneless lion known to the ancients, described by Oppian, and seen by
M. Olivier on the Euphrates. Marco Polo saw lions in Fo-kien : there were some at the
court of Kublai Khan. Tlie true tiger probably shows himself in the most southerly pro-
vinces, where there are also various kinds of monkies, the long-armed gibbou or Simia
longimana ; the Simia injiuens, or ugly baboon, and the Simia silvana, which mimics the
gestures and even the laughter of men. The musk animal, which seems peculiar to
the central plateau of Asia, sometimes goes down into the western provinces of China.
The deer, the boar, the fox, and other animals, some of which are little known, are
found in the forests.
985. Several of the birds of the country are distinguished for beauty of form and
brilliancy of colour ; such as the gold and silver pheasants, which we see often painted
on the Chinese papers, and which have been brought to this country to adorn our
aviaries ; also the Chinese teal, remarkable for its two beautiful orange crests. The
insects and butterflies are equally distinguished for their uncommon beauty. Silkworms
are common, and seem to be indigenous in the country. From drawings made in China,
it appears to possess almost all the common fishes of Europe; and M. Bloch, and M.
de Lacepede had made us acquainted with several species peculiar to it. The Chinese
gold-fish (Cyjyrinus auratus)^ which, in that countrj', as with us, is kept in basins as an
ornament, is a native of a lake at the foot of the high mountain of Tien-king, near
the city of Tchang-hoo, in the province of Tche-kiang. From that place it has been
taken to all the other provinces of the empire, and to Japan. It was in 1611 that it was
first brought to England.
986. The Jtsheries of China, as already noticed, are free to all ; there are no restric-
tions on any of the great lakes, the rivers, or canals. The subject is not once men-
tioned in the Leu-lee ; but the heavy duties on salt render the use of salt-fish in China
almost unknown. Besides the net, the line, and the spear, the Chinese have several
ingenious methods of catching fish. In the middle parts of the empire, the fishing
corvorant {Pelicanus piscator) is almost universally in use; in other parts, they catch
them by torch light ; and a very common practice is, to place a board painted white
along the edge of the boat, which, reflex;ting the moon's rays into the water, induces
ithe fish to spring towards it, supposing it to be a moving sheet of water, when they fall
into the boat.
987. The imjflements of Chinese agriculture are few and simple. Tlie plough has one
handle, but no coulter; there are different forms: some may be drawn by women,
(Jig. 156 a), others are for stirring the soil under water, (i), and the largest is drawn by
a, single buffalo or ox (c). Horses are never employed for that purpose. The carts
are low, narrow, and the wheels so diminutive as often to be made without spokes. A
large cylinder is sometimes used to separate the grain from the ear, and they have a
winnowing machine similar to that which was invented in Europe about a century ago.
The mosti ngenious machines are those for raising water for the purposes of irrigation ;
3 very ingenious wheel for this purpose has been figured by Sir George Staunton ; but
I.
AGRICULTURE IN ASIA.
163
the most universally used engine is the chain-pump, worked in various ways by oxen,
walking in a wheel, or by ^^-^ . -^
the hand ; and next to it ^'"^^
buckets worked by long
levers, (fg. 157.), as in the
gardens round London,
Paris, Constantinople, and
most large cities of Eu-
rope. For pounding olei-
ferous seeds they have also
very simple and economi-
cal machines, in which pes-
tles on the ends of levers
are worked by a horizontal
shaft put in motion by
a water-wheel, (fig. 15S.)
The chief thing to admire
in the implements and
machines of India and
China is their simplicity,
and the ease and little
expence with which they
may be constructed.
I ^7 ^^^ 988. The operations of Chinese agriculture are numerous,
and some of them curious. Two great objects to be pro-
cured are water and manure. The. former is raised from
rivers or wells by the machines already mentioned, and dis-
tributed over the cultivated surface in the usual manner, and
the latter from every conceivable source.
989. The object of their (illfige, Livingstone observes, " appears to be, in
the first instance, to expose the soil as extensively as possible ; and this
is best effected by throwing it up in large masses, in which state it is
allowed to remain till it is finally prepared for planting. When sufficient rain has fallen to
allow the husbandman to flood his fields, they are laid under water, in which state they are commonly
ploughed again, in the same manner as for fallow, and then a rake, or rather a sort of harrow, about
three feet deep and four feet wide, with a single row of teeth, is drawn, by the same animal that draws
their plough, perpendicularly through the soil, to break the lumps, and to convert it into a kind of ooze ;
and as the teeth of this rake or harrow are not set more than from two to three inches apart, it serves
at the same time, very effectually to remove roots, and otherwise to clean the ground For some pur-
poses, the ground thus prepared is allowed to dry; it is then formed into beds or trenches; the beds are
made of a convenient size for watering and laying on manure. The intermediate trenches are com ■
monly about nine inches deep, and of the necessary breadth to give to the beds the required eleva-
tion ; but when the trenches are wanted for the cultivation of water plants, some part of the soil
is removed, so that a trench may be formed of the proper dimensions.
99(). For these operations they use a hoe, commonly ten inches deep, and five inches broad, made of
iron, or of wood with an iron border, and for some purposes it is divided into four or five prongs. By
constant practice the Chinese have acquired such dexterous use of this simple instrument, that they form
their beds and trenches with astonishmg neatness and regularity. With it they raise the ground which
has not been ploughed, from the beds and trenches, by only changing it from a vertical to a horizontal
direction, or employing its edge. It is also used for digging, planting, and in general for every purpose
which a Chinese husbandman has to accomplish.
991. The collection of manure is an object of so much attention with the Chinese, that a prodigious
number of old men, women, and children, incapable of much other labor, are cont>tantly employed about
the .streets, public roads, and banks of canals and rivers, with baskets tied before them, and holding ia
M 2
164 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pam I.
their hands small wooden rakee to pick up the dung of animals, and offals of any kind, that may answer
the purpose of manure: this is mixed sparingly with a portion of stiff loomy earth, and formed into
cakes, dried afterwards in the sun. It sometimes becomes an object of commerce, and is sold to farmers,
who never employ it in a compact state. Their first care is to construct very large cisterns for containing,
besides those cakes, and dung of every kind, all sorts of vegetable matter, as leaves, or roots, or stems of
plants ; mud from the canals, and oHals of animals, even to the shavings collected by barbers. With all
these they mix as much animal water as can be collected, or of common water, as can dilute the whole ;
and, in this state, generally in the act of putrid fermentation, they apply it to the ploughed earth. In
various part^ of a farm, and near the paths and roads, large earthen vessels are buried to the edge in the
ground for the accommodation of the labourer or passenger who may have occasion to use them. In
small retiring-houses, built also upon the brink of the roads, and in the neighborhood of villages, reser-
voirs are constructed of compact materials, to prevent the absorption of whatever they receive, and straw
is carefully thrown over the surface from time to time, to prevent evaporation. Such a value is set upon
the principal ingiedient, called ta-feu, for manure, that the oldest and most helpless persons are not
deemed wholy useless to the family by which they are supported. The quantity of manure collected by all
means is still inadequate to the demand.
992. Vegetable or wood ashes, according to Livingstone, are esteemed the very best
manure by the Chinese. The weeds which were separated from the land by the harrow,
with what they otherwise are able to collect, arc carefully burnt, and the ashes
spread. Tlie part of the field where this has been done is easily perceived by tlic most
careless observer. Indeed the vigor of the productions of those parts of their land
where the ashes have been applied is evident, as long as the crop continues on the
ground. The ashes of burnt vegetables are also mixed with a great variety of other
matters in forming the compositions which are spread on the fields, or applied to indi-
vidual plants.
993. The plaster of old kitchens is much esteemed as a manure ; so that a farmer will replaster a cook-
house for the old plaster, that he may employ it to fertilize his fields.
994. Of night-soil (ta-feu), the Chinese have a high notion : and its collection and formation into cakes,
by means of a little clay, clay and lime, or similar substances, gives employment to a great number of indi-
viduals. They transport these cakes to a great distance. This manure in its recent state is applied to the
. roots of cauliflowers, cabbages, and similar plants, with the greatest advantage.
995. T/te dung aiul urine qf all animals is collected with great care; they are used both mixed and
separately. The mixture is less valuable than the dung, and this for general purposes is the better, the
oraer it is. Horns and bones reduced to powder, the cakes left after expressing several oils, such as
of the ground-nut, hemp-seed, and the like, rank also as manures. Small crabs, the feathers of fowls
and ducks, soot, the sweepings of streets, and the stagnant contents of common sewers, are often
thought sufficiently valuable to be taken to a great distance, especially when water carriage can be
obtained.
996. Lime is employed chiefly for the purpose of destroying insects ; but the Chinese are also aware of
its fertilizing properties.
997. The C/iinese often manure the plant rather than the soil. The nature of the climate in the
southern part of the empire seems to justify fully this very laborious but economical practice. Rain com-
monly falls in such quantities and force as to wash away all the soluble part of the soil, and the manure
on which its fertility is supposed to depend ; and this often appears to be so effectually done, that nothing
meets the eye but sand and small stones. It is therefore proper that the Chinese husbandman should
reserve the necessary nourishment of the plant to be applied at the proper time. For this purpose reser-
voirs of the requisite dimensions are constructed at the corner of every field, or other convenient places.
998. With the seed or young jflant its proper manure is invariably applied. It is then
carefully watered in dry weather night and morning, very often with the black stagnant
contents of the common sewer ; as tlie plants advance in growth the manure is changed
in some instances more than once, till their advance towards maturity makes any further
application unnecessary.
999. The public retiring-houses are described by Dr. Abel, as rather constructed for
exposure than concealment, being merely open sheds with a railway, over the reservoir.
1000. The mixture of soils is said to be a common practice as a substitute for manure :
" they are constantly changing earth from one piece of ground to another ; mixing sand
with that which appears to be too adhesive, and loam where the soil appears to be too
loose, &c."
1001. The terrace cultivation is mentioned by Du Halde and others, as carried to great
perfection in China ; but the observations of subsequent travellers seem to render this
doubtful. Lord Amherst's embassy passed through a hilly and mountainous country for
many weeks together : but Dr. Abel, who looked eagerly for examples of that system of
cultivation, saw none that answered to the description given by authors. Du Halde' s
description, he says, may apply to some particular cases ; but the instances which he ob-
served lead him to conclude that terrace cultivation is in a great measure confined to their
ravines, undulations, and gentlest declivities.
1002. Rows, or drills, are almost always adopted in planting or sowing ; and for this pur-
pose the lands are laid flat, and not raised into ridges with intervening furrows. They
are said to be particular in having the direction of their rows from north to south, which
other circumstances being suitable is certainly a desirable practice. Before sowing, seeds
are generally kept in liquid manure till they germinate. Barrow frequently saw in the
province of Keang-see a woman drawing a light plough with a single handle (Jig. 156 a),
through ground previously prepared ; while a man held the plough with one hand, and
with the other cast the seed into the drills.
1003. Forests of immense extent exist on the mountains of the western districts of
China, and abound in almost every species of tree known in Europe, and many others
unknown. Besides timber and fuel, these forests supply many valuable products as
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA. 165
barks, gums, oils, and resins, used in the arts. Rosewood, ebony, sandalwood, Ironwood,
and a great variety of others are sent to Europe for cabinet work. The Chinese aloe has
the height and figure of an olive tree. It contains within the bark three sorts of wood ; the
first, black, compact, and heavy, is called eagle-wood ; it is scarce ; the second, called
calambooc, is light like rotten wood; the third, near the centre, is called calamba wood,
and sells in India for its weight in gold ; its smell is exquisite ; it is an excellent cordial
in cases of fainting, or of palsy.
1004. Tlie national agricultural fete of the Chinese deserves to be noticed. Every year
on the fifteenth day of the first moon, which generally corresponds to some day in the
beginning of our March, the emperor in person goes through the ceremony of opening
the ground ; he repairs in great state to the field appointed for this ceremony. The
princes of the imperial family, the presidents of the five great tribunals, and an immense
number of mandarins attend him. Two sides of the field are lined with the officers of
the emperor's house, the third is occupied by different mandarins ; the fourth is reserved
for all the laborers of the province, who repair thither to see their art honored, and prac-
tised by the head of the empire. The emperor enters the field alone, prostrates himself,
and touches the ground nine times witli his head in adoration of Tien^ the God of heaven.
He pronounces with a loud voice a prayer prepared by the court of ceremonies, in which
be invokes the blessing of the Great Being on his labor, and on that of his whole people.
Then, in the capacity of chief priest of the empire, he sacrifices an ox, in homage to
heaven as the fountain of all good. While the victim is offered on the altar, a plough is
brought to the emperor, to which is yoked a pair of oxen, ornamented in a most mag-
nificent style. The prince lays aside his imperial robes, lays hold of the handle of the
plough with the right hand, and opens several furrows in the direction of north and
south ; then gives the plough into tlie hands of the chief mandarins, who, laboring in
succession, display their comparative dexterity. The ceremony concludes with a distri-
bution of money, and pieces of cloth as presents, among the laborers ; the ablest of whom
execute the rest of the work in presence of the emperor. After tlie field has received all
the necessary work and manure, the emperor returns to commence tlie sowing with simi-
lar ceremony, and in presence of the laborers. These ceremonies are performed on the
same day by the viceroys of all the provinces.
SuBSECT. 9. Present State of A gnculture in Chinese Tatar y^ Thibet, and Bootan.
1005. Chinese Tatary is an extensive region, diversified with all the grand features of
nature, and remarkable for its vast elevated plain, supported like a table, by the moun-
tains of Thibet in the south, and Allusian chain in the north. This prodigious plain is
little known ; its climate is supposed to be colder than that of France ; its deserts to consist
chiefiy of a black sand ; and its agriculture to be very limited and imperfect. Wheat,
however, is said to be grown among the southern Mandshurs.
1006. Thibet or Tibet is an immense tract of country little knovvn. It consists of two
divisions, Thibet and Bootun. The climate of Thibet is extremely cold and bleak to-
wards the south, for though on the confines of the torrid zone it vies in this respect with
the Alps of Italy. That of Bootan is more temperate j and the seasons of both divisions
are severe to those of Bengal.
1007. JrUh respect to surface, Bootan and Thibet exhibit a very remarkable contrast.
Bootan presents to tlie view nothing but the most misshapen irregularities ; mountains
covered with eternal verdure, and rich with abundant forests of large and lofty trees.
Almost every favorable aspect of them, coated with the smallest quantity of soil, is cleared
and adapted to cultivation, by being shelved into horizontal beds : not a slope or narrow
slip of land between the ridges lies unimproved. There is scarcely a mountain whose base
is not washed by some rapid torrent, and many of the loftiest bear populous villages,
amidst orchards and other plantations, on their summits and on their sides. It combines
in its extent the most extravagant traits of rude nature and laborious art.
10()8. Thibet, on the other hand, strikes a traveller, at first sight, as one of the least favored countries
under heaven, and apjwars to be in a great measure incapable of culture. It exhibits only low rocky hills,
witiiout any visible vegetation, or extensive arid plains, both of the most stern and stubborn aspect, pro-
mising full as little as tiiey produce.
1009. The agriculture of Thibet has many obstacles to contend with. Its common pro-
ducts are wheat, pease, and barley. Rice grows only in the southern parts. Turnips,
pumpkins, and cucumbers are abundant. The greater part of the plants wliicli travellers
have noticed arc such as are met with also in Europe and in Bengal. At the foot of the
mountains are forests of bamboos, bananas, aspens, birches, cypresses, and yew-trees. The
ash is remarkably large and beautiful, but the firs small and stunted. On the snow-clad
mounUiins grows the rheum undulatum, which the natives use for medicinal purposes.
TIic country contains, both in a wild and cultivated state, peaches and apricots, apples,
pears, oranges, and pomegranates. The cacalia saracenica serves for tliu manufacture of
chongf a spirituous and slightly acid liquor.
M 3
ie6
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part 1.
1010. Thibet abounds in animals, partly in herds and flocks ; but chiefly in a wild state.
The tame horses are small, but full of spirit and restive. The cattle are only of middling
height. There are numerous flocks of sheep, generally of a small breed ; their head
and legs are black, their wool fine and soft, and their mutton excellent ; it is eaten in a
raw state, after having been dried in the cold air, and seasoned with garlic and spices.
The goats are numerous, and celebrated for their fine hair, which is used in the manu-
facture of shawls; this grows under the coarser hair. The yak, or grunting ox, fur-
nished with long and thick hair, and a tail singular for its silky lustre and imdulating
form, furnishes an article of luxury common in all the countries of the East. Tlie musk
ox, the ounce, a species of tiger, the wild horse, and the lion, are among the animals of
the country.
101 1. That elegant specimens of civil archi-
tecture, both in the construction of mansions
(fg. 159. ), or palaces, and in bridges and other
public works, should be found in such a'
country is rather singular. In Turner's jour-
ney through this mountainous region, he found
bridges of various descriptions generally of
timber. Over broad streams, a triple or
quadruple row of timbers project one over the
other, their ends inserted into the rock. Piers
are almost totally excluded, on accoount of
the exreme rapidity of the rivers. The widest
river has an iron bridge, consisting of a num-
ber of iron chains which support a matted platform {fig. 160. ], and two chains are stretched
above parallel with the sides, to allow of a matted border for the safety of the passenger.
Horses are permitted to go over this bridge, one at a time. There is another bridge of a
more simple construction, formed of two parallel chains, round which creepers are loosely
twisted, sinking very much in the middle, where suitable planks are placed for a path.
Another mode of passing rivers is by two ropes, of rattan, or stout osier, stretched from
one mountain to another, and encircled by a hoop of the same. The passenger places
himself between them, sitting in the hoop, and seizing a rope in each hand, slides him-
self along with facility and speed over an abyss tremendous to behold. Chain and wire
bridges, constructed like those of Thibet, are now becoming common in Britain ; and it
is singular, that one is described in Ijutchinson's Durham (Newcast. 1785.) as having
been erected over the Tees.
SuBSECX. 10. Present State if Agriculture in the Asiatic Islands, including also those of
Australasia and Polynesia.
101 2. The islands of Asia and Australasia form a great and important part of our globe ;
and seem well adapted by nature for the support of civilized man, though at present they
are mostly peopled by savages. Some European colonies have been made, especially in
New Holland and Van Diemans Land, which will probably after a^ long and indefinite
period, civilize the whole. The immense population, agriculture, commerce, power, and
refinement, which may then exist in these scarcely known regions, are too vast and various
Book!. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA. 167
for contemplation. We shall notice these islands in the order of Sumatra, Borneo, the
Manillas, the Cclebezian isles, New Holland, New Guinea, New Britain, New Zealand,
Van Diemans Land, the Pelew isles, the Landrone isles, Caroline isles. Sandwich isles,
the Marquesas, the Society isles, including Otaheite, and the Friendly isles.
1013. Sumatra is an island of great extent, with a climate more temperate than that of
Bengal, a surface of mountains and plains, one third of which is covered with impervious
forests, and a soil consisting of a stratum of red clay, covered with a layer of black mould.
The most important agricultural product is rice, which is grown both for home consump-
tion and export. Next may be mentioned the cocoa-nut, the areca-palm, or betel nut
tree, and the pepper. Cotton and coffee are also cultivated ; and the native trees afford the
resin benzoin, cassia or wild cinnamon, rattans or small canes (Arundo rotang), canes for
walkingsticks, turpentine, and gums ; besides ebony, pine, sandal, teak, manchineel, iron
wood, banyan, aloe, and other woods.
1014. The pepper plant {Piper 7iigrum,Jig. 161 a.) is a slender climbing shrub, which also
roots at the joints. It is extensively cultivated
at Sumatra, and the berries exported to every
part of the world. According to Marsden
(Hist, of Surnatra), the ground chosen by the
Sumatrans for a pepper-garden, is marked
out into regular squares of six feet, the in-
tended distance of the plants, of which there
are usually a thousand in each garden. The
next business is to plant the chinkareens,
which serve as props to the pepper-vines,
and are cuttings of a tree of that name, which
is of quick growth. When the chinkareen
has been some months planted, the most
promising perpendicular shoot is reserved for
growth, and the others lopped off": this
shoot, after it has acquired two fathoms in
height, is deemed sufllicientiy high, and its top
is cut oft'. Two pepper- vines are usually planted to one chinkareen, round which the
vines twist for support ; and after being suffered to grow three years (by which time
they acquire eight or twelve feet m height), they are cut off" about three feet from tlie
ground, and being loosened from the prop, are bent into the earth in such a manner
that the upper end is returned to the root. This operation gives fresh vigor to the
plants, and they bear fruit plentifully the ensuing season. The fruit, which is pro-
duced in long spikes, is four or five months in coming to maturity : the berries are at
first green, turn to a bright red when ripe and in perfection, and soon fall off" if not
gathered in proper time. As the whole cluster does not ripen at the same time, part of
the berries would be lost in waiting for the latter ones ; the Sumatrans, therefore,
pluck the bunches as soon as any of the berries ripen, and spread them to dry upon mats,
or upon the ground ; by drying they become black, and more or less shrivelled, according
to their degree of maturity. These are imported here under the name of black pepper.
1015. IVhUe pepper is the ripe and perfect berries of the same species stripped of their outer coats. For
this purpose the berries are steeped for about a fortnight in water, till by swelling their outer coverings
burst ; after which they are easily separated, and the pepper is carefully dried by exposure to the sun ;
or the berries are freed from their outer coats by means of a preparation of lime and mustard-oil, called
*' chinam," applied before it is dried. Pepper, which has fallen to the ground over-ripe, loses its outer
coat, and is sold as an inferior sort of white pepper.
1016. The betel leaf {Piper betle,Jig. 161 b.) is also cultivated to a considerable extent. It
is a slender-stemmed climbing or trailing plant, like the black pepper, with smooth-pointed
leaves. These leaves serve to enclose a few slices of the nut of the areca palm (erro-
neously called the betel nut) . The areca being wrapped up in the leaf, the whole is covered
with a little chunam or shell-lime to retain the flavor. The preparation has the name of
betel, and is chewed by the better sort of southern Asiatics to sweeten the breath and
strengthen the stomach ; and by the lower classes, as ours do tobacco, to keep off" the calls
of hunger. The consumption is very extensive.
1017. The areca palm {Areca catechu) grows to the height of forty or fifty feet with
a straight trunk, and is cultivated in the margins of fields for its nut or fruit, which
is sold to prepare betel.
1018. Three sorts of cotton are cultivated, including the silk cotton {Bombax ceiba), a
handsome tree, which has been compared by some to a dumb waiter, from the regularity
of its branches.
1019. The live stock of Sumatra are horses, cows, bufililoes, sheep, and swine. They
are all diminutive. The horse is chiefly used for the saddle, and the buffalo for labor.
The wild animals are numerous, and include the civet cat, monkey, argus pheasant, the
jungle or wild fowl, and the small breed found also at Bantom on the west of Java, and
well known in Britain by that name.
M 4
168
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
1020. Borneo is the largest island in the world next to New Holland. It is low and
marshy towards the shore, and in this respect and in its climate, is similar to Java.
The soil is naturally fertile ; but agriculture is neglected, the inhabitants occupying
themselves in searching for gold, which they exchange with the Japanese for the neces-
saries of life.
1021. The ava, or intoxicating ])epper (Piper methysticum), is cultivated here. It is a
shrub with a forked stem and oblong leaves, bearing a spike of berries, and having thick
roots. The root of this plant, bruised or chewed in the mouth, and mixed with the saliva,
yields that nauseous, hot, intoxicating juice, which is so acceptable to the natives of the
South Sea islands, and which is spoken of with so much just detestation by voyagers. A
similar drink is made in Peru from the meal of the maize. They pour the liquor of the
cocoa-nut, or a little water, on the bruised or masticated matter, and then a small quantity
produces intoxication and sleep. After the use of it for some time, it produces inflam-
mation, leprous ulcers, and consumption. It is cultivated in all the South Sea islands,
excepting the New Hebrides and New Caledonia. {Spix's Travels.)
1022. The Manillas^ or Philijyjnne Islands, are a numerous group, generally fruitful in
rice, cotton, the sugar-cane, and cocoa. The bread-fruit also begins to be cultivated here.
1023. The Celebezian Islands are little known. They are said to abound in poisonous
plants; and the inhabitants cultivate great quantities of rice.
1024. The Moluccas, or Spice Islands, are small, but fertile in agricultural products.
In some the bread-fruit is cultivated, also the sago palm, with cloves and nutmegs.
The nutmeg-tree (Myristica moschata) grows to the size of a pear-tree, with laurel-like
leaves ; it bears fruit from the age of ten to one hundred years. Tlie fruit is about the
size of an apricot, and when ripe nearly of a similar color. It opens and discovers the
mace of a deep red, growing over and in part covering the thin shell of the nutmeg,
which is black. The tree yields three crops annually ; the first in April, which is the
best ; the second in August ; and the tliird in December ; yet the fruit requires nine
months to ripen it. When it is gathered, the outer coriaceous covering is first stripped
off, and then the inner carefully separated and dried in the sun. The nutmegs in the
shell are exposed to heat and smoke for three months, then broken, and the kernels
thrown into a strong mixture of lime and water, which is supposed to be necessary for
their preservation, after which they are cleaned and packed up ; and with the same in-
tention the mace is sprinkled with salt water.
1025. New Holland, or what may be called the continent of Australasia, has a fine and
salubrious climate ; and being on the southern side of the equator, the seasons are the
reverse of those in Europe. The surface is in general low and level, and little occu-
pied by mountains. TTie country is naturally rather barren than fertile ; the soil is
sandy, and many of the lawns or savannahs are rocky and barren. Woods occur fre-
quently, but there appear to be few or none of those extensive forests which cover such
immense tracts in most new countries. The inhabitants being savages of the lowest
grade, have no kind of agriculture or cultivation. That art, however, is making rapid
progress round the British colony of Botany Bay.
1026. Papua, or New Guinea, partakes of the opulence of the Moluccas, and their
singular varieties of plants and animals. The coasts
are lofty, and abound with cocoa-trees ; in the interior, ^ » ^^^
mountain rises above mountain, richly clothed with
woods of great variety of species, and abounding in--i^^
wild swine {Jig. 162.) Birds of paradise and elegant;
parrots abound: they are shot with blunt arrows, or^
caught with bird-lime or nooses.
The bowels and
breast being extracted, they are dried with smoke and sulplmr, and sold for nails or bits
of iron to such navigators as touch at the island.
1027. New Britain, New Ireland, the Solomon Isles,
New Caledonia, aiid the New Hebrides, are litttle known.
They are mountainous and woody, with fertile vales and
beautiful streams. The nutmeg, cocoa, yam, ginger,
pepper, plantains {Jig. 163.) sugar-canes, and other
fruits and spice-trees abound.
1028. iVetoZea/awf/ has scarcely any agriculture; but
plantations of yam, cocoa, and sweet potatoe. There
is only one shrub or tree in this country which pro-
duces fruit, and that is a kind of a berry almost taste-
less ; but they have a plant (Phormium tenax), which
answers all the uses of hemp and flax. There are two
kinds of this plant ; the leaves of one of which are yel-
low, and the other deep red ; and botli of them re-
semble the leaves of flags ; of these leaves they make
163
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN ASIA.
169
lines and cordage, and much stronger than any thing of the kind in Europe. These
leaves they likewise split into breadths, and tying the slips together, form their fishing-
nets. Their common apparel, by a simple process, is made from these leaves ; and their
liner, by another preparation, is made from the fibres. This plant is found both on high
and low ground, in dry mould and deep bogs ; but as it grows largest in the latter, that
seems to be its proper soil. It has lately been
planted, and found to prosper, in the south of
Ireland.
1029. Van Diemans Land is without indi-
genous agriculture ; but its climate being similar
to that of England, its surface and soil favorable
for culture, and there being few natives, it is
rapidly colonizing with British farmers. As a
country to emigrate to, it appears the most desi-
rable in Australasia, and superior to any in Asia.
1030. The Pellew Isles are covered with wood,
and encircled by a coral reef. None of these
islands have any sort of grain or quadruped ;
but they are rich in the most valuable fruit and
spice trees, including the cabbage-tree {^Areca
oleracea. Jig, 164.), cocoa, plantain, and orange;
and abound with wild cocks and hens, and many
otlier birds. The culture of the natives only
extends to yams and cocoa-nuts.
1031. The Ladrones are a numerous col-
lection of rocky fragments, little adapted to
agriculture. The isles of Guam and Tinian
are exceptions. The latter abounds in cattle
and fruits, the bread-fruit, and orange ; but is
without agriculture.
1 032. The Carolines are a large group, inha-
bited by savage ■, and without agriculture.
1033. The Marquesas are in general rocky
and mountainous, and but very few spots are
fit for cultivation. The inhabitants are savages,
but cultivate rudely the yam in some places.
They have, however, the ava, or intoxicating
pepper (1021.); and procure also a strong
liquor from the root of ginger for the same
general purpose of accumulating enjoyment, for-
getting care, and sinking into profound sleep.
1034. The Sandwich Isles resemble those of the West Indies in climate, and the rest
of the South Sea islands in vegetable productions. The bread-fruit tree attains great
perfection. Sugar-canes grow to an unusual size, one being brought to Captain Cook
eleven and a quarter inches in circumference, and having fourteen feet eatable. Dogs,
hogs, and rats, are the only native quadrupeds of these islands, in common with all
others that have been discovered in the South Sea. The king is a civilized being,
and in the time of Geo. II., and again in 1824, visited England.
1035. The island of Otaheite is surrounded by a reef of coral rocks. The surface of
the country, except that part of it which borders upon the sea, is very uneven ; it rises
in ridges, that run up into the middle of the island, and there form mountains, which
may be seen at the distance of sixty miles : between the foot of these ridges and the sea
is a border of low land, surrounding the whole island, except in a few places where
t he ridges rise directly from the sea : the border of low land is in different parts of
dillerent breadths, but no where more than a mile and a half.
103G. The soil of Otaheite, except on the very tops of the ridges, is extremely rich and
fertile, watered by a great number of rivulets of excellent water, and covered with fruit-
trees of various kinds. The low land that lies between tlie foot of the ridges and the sea,
and some of the valleys, are the only parts of the island that are inhabited, and here it is
populous : the houses do not form villages or towns, but are ranged along the wholie
border, at the distance of about fifty yards from each other, with little plantations of
plantams, the tree which furnishes them with cloth.
1037. The produce of Otaheite is the bread-fruit, {Artocorpus integrifoliayjig. 165.) cocoa-
nuts, bananas of thirteen sorts, plantains, a fruit not unlike an apple, which, when
ripe, is very pleasant; sweet potatoes, yams, cocoas {Aruvi colocassia, and Caladium
esculenlum, both propagated by the leaves); a fruit known here by the name of jambu,
and reckoned most delicious; sugar-cane, which the inhabitants tat raw; a root of
170
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
the saloop kind, which the inhabitants call pea ; a plant called ethee, ef which the
root only is eaten ; a fruit that grows in a ^^^K W^^^^^IH 1 ^/ 1 03
pod, like that of a large kidney bean, which, "^ ^^
when it is roasted, eats very much like a
chestnut, by the natives called whee ; a tree
called wharra, called in the East Indies
pandanes, which produces fruit something
like the pine apple ; a shrub called nono ;
the morinda, which also produces fruit ; a
species of fern, of which the root is eaten,
and sometimes the leaves: and a plant
called theve, of which the root also is eaten :
but the fruits of the nono, the fern, and
the theve, are eaten only by the inferior
people, and in times of scarcity : all these,
which serve the inhabitants lor food, the
earth produces spontaneously, or with little
culture. They had no European fruit, gardenstuff, pulse, or legumes, or grain of
any kind, till some seeds of melons and other vegetables were given them by Captain
Cook.
1038. Of tame animals, the Otaheitans have only hogs, dogs, and poultry ; neither is
there a wild animal in the island, except ducks, pigeons, parroquets, with a few other
birds, and rats, there being no other quadruped, nor any serpent. But the sea supplies
them with great variety of most excellent fish, to eat which is their chief luxury, and to
catch it their principal labor. '
1039. The Friendly/ Islands are in most respects similar to Otaheite. Tongataboo ap-
pears to be a flat country, with a fine climate, and universally cultivated. The whole
of this island is said to consist of enclosures, with reed fences about six feet high, inter-
sected with innumerable roads. The articles cultivated are bread fruit, plantains,
cocoa-nuts, and yams. In the other islands, plantains and yams engage most of their
attention ; the cocoa-nut and bread fruit-trees are dispersed about in less order than the
former, and seem to give them no trouble. Their implements of culture consist of
pointed sticks of different lengths and degrees of strength.
Sect. II. Present State of Agriculture in Africa.
1040. The continent of Africa in point of agricultural, as of political and ethical es-
timation, is the meanest of the great divisions of the earth ; though in one corner of it
(Egypt) agriculture is supposed to have originated. The climate is everywhere hot,
and intensely so in the northern parts. The central parts, as far as known, consist of
ridges of mountains and immense deserts of red sand. There are very few rivers, inland
lakes, or seas, and indeed fully one half of the whole of this continent may be considered
as either desert, or unknown. Some of the African islands are fertile and important,
especially Madagascar, Bourbon, Mauritias, &c. We shall take tne countries of Africa
in the order of Abyssinia, Egypt, Mahometan states of the north, western coast, Cape
of Good Hope, eastern coast, Madagascar, and other isles.
SuBSECT. 1. Present State of Agriculture in Abyssinia.
1041. The climate of Abyssinia, though exceedingly various in different parts, is in
general temperate and healthy. The surface of the country is generally rugged and
mountainous ; it abounds with forests and morasses ; and it is also interspersed with
many fertile valleys and plains, that are adapted both
to pasture and tillage. The rivers are numerous
and large, and contribute much to general fertility.
The soil is not naturally good, being in general thin
and sandy ; but it is rendered fertile and productive
by irrigation and the periodical rains.
1042. The agricultural irroducts are wheat, barley,
millet, and other grains. They cultivate the vine,
peach, pomegranate, sugar-cane, almonds, lemons|
{jig. 166.), citrons, and oranges; and they have many!
roots and herbs which grow spontaneously, and theirs
soil, if properly managed, would produce many
more. However, they make little wine, but content
themselves with the liquor which they draw from
the sugar-cane, and their honey, which is excellent
and abundant. They have the coffee-tree, and a
plant called ensete, which produces an eatable nou-
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA. 171
rishing fruit. The country also produces many other plants and fruits, that are adapted
both for domestic and medicinal uses. Here is plenty of cotton, which grows on
shrubs, like the Indian. Their forests abound with trees of various descriptions, parti-
cularly the rock, baobab, cedar, sycamore, &c.
1043. The live stock of Abyssinia includes horses, some of which are of a very fine
breed; mules, asses, camels, dromedaries, oxen of different kinds, [Jig. 167.) cows,
sheep, and goats ; and these constitute the
])rincipal wealth of the inhabitants. Amongst
the wild animals, we may reckon the ante-
lope, the buffalo, the wild boar, the jack-
al, the elephant, the rhinoceros, the lion, ,
the leopard, the hyaena, the lynx, ape, and '
baboon, which are very destructive to the
fields of millet, as well as the common rat ;
the zecora, or wild mule, and the wild ass ;
the jerboa, the fennic, ashkoko, hare, &c.
The liare, as well as the wild boar, is deemed
unclean, and not used as food. Bruce saw
no sparrows, magpies, nor bats ; nor many
water-fowl, nor any geese, except the golden
goose, or goose of the Nile, which is com-
mon in every part of Africa ; but there are snipes in the marshes. The locusts of this
country are very destructive; they have also a species of ants, tliat are injurious; but
from their bees they derive a rich supply.
1 044. The agriculture of Abyssinia is of far less use to the inhabitants than it might be
for want of application and exertion. There are two, and often three harvests in the
year ; and where they have a supply of water, they may sow in all seasons ; many of
their trees and plants retain their verdure, and yield fruit or flowers throughout the year;
the west side of a tree blossoms first, and bears fruit, then the south side, next the north
side, and last of all the east side goes through the same process towards the beginning of
the rainy seasons. Their pastures are covered with fiocks and herds. They have grass in
abundance, but they neglect to make hay of it ; and therefore they are obliged to supply
this defect by feeding their cattle with barley, or some other grain. Notwithstanding
the plenty, and frequent return of their crops, they are sometimes reduced almost to
famine, either by the devastations of the locusts or grasshoppers which infest the country,
or by the more destructive ravages of tlieir own armies, and those of their enemies.
SuBSECT. 2. Pre:ieid State of Agriculture in Egypt.
1045. The climate of Egypt has a peculiar character from the circumstance of rain being
very uncommon. The heat is also extreme, particularly from March to November;
while the cool season, or a kind of spring, extends through the other months.
1046. The surface of the country is varied in some regions, but is otherwise flat and
uniform. Far the greater part presents a narrow fertile vale, pervaded by the Nile, and
bounded on either side by barren rocks and mountains. Tlie soil of Egypt has been
variously described by different travellers, some representing it as barren sand, only-
rendered fertile by watering, and others as '* a pure black mould, free from stones, of a
very tenacious and unctuous nature, and so rich as to require no manure." The latter
appears to prevail only in the Delta.
1047. The fertility of Egypt has been generally ascribed to the inundations of the Nile,
but this is applicable in a strict sense only to parts of the Delta ; whereas, in other dis-
tricts there are canals, and the adjacent lands are generally watered by machines. Gray's
description of Egypt, as immersed under the influx of the Nile, though exquisitely
poetical, is far from being just. In Upper Egypt the river is confined by high banks,
which prevent any inundation into the adjacent country. This is also the case in Lower
Egypt, except at the extremities of the Delta, where the Nile is never more than a few
feet below the surface of the ground, and where of course inundation takes place. But
the country, as we may imagine, is without habitations. The fertility of Egypt, ac-
cording to Browne, an intelligent traveller, arises from human art. The lands near the
river are watered by machines ; and if they extend to any width, canals have been cut.
The soil in general is so rich as to require no manure. It is a pure black mould, free
from stones, and of a very tenacious unctuous nature. When left uncultivated, fissures
have been observed, arising from extreme heat, of such depth that a spear of six feet
could not reach the bottom.
1048. The limits of cultivated Egypt are encroached upon annually, and barren sand is
accumulating from all parts. In 1.517, the era of the Turkish conquest, lake Mareotis
was at no distance from the walls of Alexandria, and the canal which conveyed the waters
into the city was still navigable. At this day the lake has disappeared, and tlie lands
172 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
watered by it, wliich, according to historians, protluccd abundance of corn, wine, and
various fruits, arc changed into deserts, in which are found neither shrub, nor plant, nor
verdure. The canal itself, the work of Alexander, necessary to the subsistence of the
inhabitants of the city, which he built, is nearly choked up, and preserves the waters only
when the inundation is at its greatest height, and for a short time. About half a century
ago, part of the mud deposited by the river was cleared out of it, and it retained the
water three months longer. Schemes have lately been adopted for opening and per-
fecting this canal. The Pelusiac branch, which discharges itself into the eastern part of
the lake of Tanais, or Menzal6, is utterly destroyed. With it perished the beautiful
province which it fertilized, and the famous canal begun by Necos, and finished by
Ptolemy Philadelphus. The famous works executed by kings, who sought their glory
and happiness in the prosperity of the people, have not been able to resist the ravages of
conquerors, and that despotism, which destroys every thing, till it buries itself under the
wreck of the kingdoms whose foundation it has sapped. The canal of Amrou, the last
of the great works of Egypt, and which formed a communication between Fostat and
Colzoum, readies at present no farther than about four leagues beyond Cairo, and loses
itself in tlie lake of Pilgrims. Upon the whole, it may be confidently aflSrmed that
upwards of one-third of the lands formerly in cultivation is metamorphosed into dreary
deserts.
1049. Landed properti/ in Egypt is for the most part to be considered as divided between
the government and the religious bodies, who perform the service of the mosques, and
have obtained possession of what they hold by the munificence of princes and rich men, or
by the measures taken by individuals for the benefit of their posterity. Hence, a large
proportion of the tenants and cultivators hold either of the government, or the procurators
of the mosques. But there is one circumstance common to both, viz. that their lands,
becoming unoccupied, are never let but upon terms ruinous to the tenants. Besides the
property and influence of the beys, the mamelukes and the professors of the law are so
extensive, and so absolute, as to engross into their own hands a very considerable part :
the number of the otlier proprietors is extremely small, and their property liable to a
thousand impositions. Every moment some contribution is to be paid, or some damage
repaired ; there is no right of succession or inheritance for real property, except for
that called *' wakf," which is the property of the mosques ; every thing returns to
government, from which every thing must be repurchased. According to Volney, the
peasants are hired laborers, to whom no more is left than what is barely sufficient to
sustain life ; but Browne says, that tliese terms can be properly applied to very few of
them.
1050. The occupier of the land, assisted by his family, is the cultivator; and in the
operations of husbandry scarcely requires any other aid. And the tenant of land com-
monly holds no more than he and his family can cultivate, and gather the produce of.
When, indeed, the Nile rises, those who are employed to water the fields are commonly
hired laborers. The rice and corn they gather are carried to their masters, and nothing
is reserved for them but dourra, or Indian millet, of which they make a coarse and taste-
less bread without leaven ; this, with water and raw onions, is their only food through-
out the year ; and they think themselves happy if they can sometimes procure a little
honey, cheese, sour milk, and dates. Their whole clothing consists in a shirt of coarse
blue linen, and in a black cloak. Their head-dress is a sort of cloth bonnet, over which
tliey roll a long handkerchief of red w6ollen. Their lgg
arms, legs, and breasts are naked, and some of them do
not even wear drawers. Their habitations {fig. 168.)
are mud-walled huts, in which they are suffocated with
heat and smoke, and in which, besides the experience
of other inconveniences, they are perpetually distressed
with the drea<l of the robberies of the Arabs, and the <^.
extortions of the mamelukes, family feuds, and all the'
calamities of a ])erpetual civil war.
1051. The agricultural products of Egy])t are grain of most sorts, and particularly rice.
Barley is grown for the horses, but no oats are seen. In the Delta a crop of rice and a
crop of barley are obtained within the year on the same ground. Sometimes instead of
barley a fine variety of the soil {Trifolium Alexandrinum of Forskal) is sown without
ploughing or harrowing. The seed sinks to a sufficient depth in the moist soil, and pro-
duces three cuttings before the time for again sowing the rice.
1052. Rice is sown from the month of March to that of May ; and is generally six months in coming to
maturity. In reaping, it is most commonly pulled up by the roots ; and as the use of the flail is unknown
in Egypt, the rice plants are spread in thick layers on floors, formed of earth and pigeon's dung, which are
■well beaten, and very clean ; and then, in order to separate the grain from the straw, they make use of a
sort of carts, constructed like our sledges, with two pieces of wood joined together by two cross bars;
between the lojiger sides of this sledge are fixed transversely three rows of small wheels, made of solid
iron, and narrowed off towards their circumference. On the fore part is fixed a high seat, on which a
man sits, fpr the purpose of driving two oxen that are harnessed to the machine, and thus moving it in a
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA.
17S
circular direction over every part of the heap of rice, till the grain Is completely separated from the straw ;
the grain is then spread in the air to be dried. The dried rice is carried to the mill, where it is stripped
of its chaff' or husk. This mill consists of a wheel turnetl by oxen, which sets several levers in motion ;
and at their extremity is an iron cylinder, about a foot long, and hollow imderneath ; these cylinders
bent in trougiis, which contain the grain ; and at the side of each trough there stands a man, whose business
it is to place the rice under the cylinders. The next oixjration is to sift the rice in the oix;n air, by filling
a small sieve, which a man lifts over his head, and thus lets fall, with his face turned to the wind, which
blows away the small chaff or dust. This cleaned rice is put a second time into the mill, in order to
bleach it ; it is afterwards mixed up in troughs with some salt, which contributes very much to its white-
ness, and also to its preservation ; and in this state it is sold. Rice is furnished in great quantities in the
Delta ; and that which is grown in the environs of Rosalta is more esteemed on account of its preparation,
than that which is produced in the vicinity of Damietta. The produce of the one and the other is equally
wonderful. In a good season, that is, when the rise of the Nile occasions a great expansion of its wateis,
the profit of the proprietors of rice fields is estimated at fifty per cent, clear of all expenses. Savary says,
that it produces eighty bushels for one.
1053. Wheat is sown as soon as the waters of the Nile have retired from the lands appropriated to it ; the
seed-time varies with the latitude, and also the harvest, which is earlier in Upper than in Lower Egypt.
Near to Syene they sow the barley and the com in October, and reap it in January. Towards Girge they
cut in February, and in the month of March in the vicinity of Cairo. This is the usual progress of the
harvest in the Said. There is also a number of partial harvests, as the lands are nearer or at a greater
distance from the river, lower or more elevated. In the Lower Egyi)t they are sowing and reaping all the
year. Where the waters of the river can be procured, the earth is never idle, and furnishes three crops
annually. In descending from the cataracts in January, the com is seen almost ripe ; lower down it i» in
ear, and advancing further, the plains are covered with verdure. The cultivator, in general, merely
casts the seed upon the moistened earth ; the com soon springs up from the mud ; its vegetation is rapid,
and four months after it is sown it is fit to be reaped. In performing this operation, the sickle not being
used, the stalks are pulled up by the roots, and carried to large floors, like those which are used for treading
out rice ; and by a similar oj)eration the corn is separated from the ear. Unripe ears of com are dried
and slackly baked in an oven, and being afterwards bruised and boiled with meat, (opn a common dish in
Lower Egypt, called "ferik."
1054. Flax has been cultivated in Egypt from the most remote period, and is still
grown in considerable quantities. Indigo is also grovvn for dyeing it, the color of the
shirt in this country being universally blue.
1055. Of the hempf which is abundantly cultivated in this country, the inhabitants
prepare intoxicating liquors ; and also by pounding the fruits into thin membranous
capsules, they form a paste, which answers a similar purpose j and they also mix the
capsules with tobacco for smoking.
1056. The sugar-cane is also one of the valuable productions of Egypt. The common
people do not wait for the extraction of the sugar, but cut the canes green, which are
sold in bundles in all the towns. They begin to ripen in October, but are not in general fit
to be cut till November or December. The sugar-refiners are in a very imperfect state.
1057. Fruit trees of various species abound in this country. Among these we may reckon the olive-tree,
fig-trees which yield figs of an exquisite flavor, and the date-tree, which is to be found every where in the
Thebais and in the Delta, in the sands as well as in the cultivated districts, requiring little or no culture,
and yielding a very considerable profit, on account of the immense consumption of its fruit. The species
of palm-tree that furnishes dates produces also a bark ; which, together with its leaves and the rind of it»
fruit, attbrd filaments from which are manufactured roixjs and sails for boats. The leaves are also used
for making baskets and other articles. The very long rib of the branches is employed, on account of its-
lightness and solidity, by the mamelukes, in their miUtary exercises, as javelins, which they throw at each
other from their horses when at full speed. A species of cyperus, which produces a fruit resembling the
earth-nut, but of a much more agreeable flavor, is cultivated in the environs of Rosetta ; and the
small tubercles arc sent to Constantinople and other towns of the Levant, where they are much valued.
The Egyptians press from them a milky juice, which they deem pectoral and emollient; and give them to
nurses, in order to increase the quantity of their milk. The banana trees, though not natives of the
soil of Egypt, are nevertheless cultivated in the northern parts of that country. The papa w, or custard
apple-tree, {Anona), is also transplantetl into the gardens of Egypt, and yields a fruit equally gratifying
to the taste and smell. In the shade of the orchards are cultivated various plants, the roots of which
are refreshed by the water that is conveyed to them by little trenches ; each enclosure having its well or
reservoir, from which the water is distributed by a wheel, tumed by oxen. The mallow {Matva rotun-
tUfolia) grows here in abundance : it is dressed with meat, and is one of those herbs that are most
generally consumed in the kitchens of Lower Egypt. Two other plants used as food, are the garden
Jew's mallow, and the esculent hibiscus. Another tree, which appears to be indigenous in this country,
is the "atle,''a si>ecies of larger tamarisk {TaTuarix orientalis, Forskal.) The wood of this tree serves for
various purposes ; and among others, for charcoal. It is the
only wood that is common in Egypt, either for fuel or for
manufactures. Fenu-greek is cultivated for fodder, though
for this use a plant called barsim, is preferred. The plant
called " helbe," is cried about for sale in November in the
streets of the towns ; and it is purchased and eaten with
incredible avidity, without any kind of seasoning. It is pre-
tended, that it is an excellent stomachic, a sjiecific against
worms and the dysentery, and, inshort, a preservation
against a great number of disorders. Lentils form a consider-!^
able article of food to the inhabitants of Upi>er Egypt, who ^
rarely enjoy the luxury of rice. The Egyptian onions are
remarkably mild, more so than the Spanish, but not so large.
They are of the purest white, and the lamina are of a
softer and looser contexture than that of any other species.
They deteriorate by transplantation ; so that much must de-
pend on the soil and climate. They remain a favorite article
of food with all classes ; and it is usual to put a layer or two
of them, and of meat, on a spit or skewer, and thus roast
them over a charcoal fire. We need not wonder at the
desire of the Israelites for the onions of Egypt. Leeks are also
cultivated and eaten in this country ; and almost all the species
of European vegetables abound in the gardens of Rosetta.
Millet and Turkey corn, the vine, the hennt5 or Egyi>tian
privet, the water-melon (fig- 169.) are cultivated in Egyirt ;
169
174
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
and the country furnishes a variety of medicinal plants, as carthatnus, tinctorius {fig. 170.), senna,
coloquintida, &c., and that curious rooted plant the mandrake (^g. 171.) ^^^
must at least be a native of the island of Canaan. * '^ '
1058. The live-stock of Egyptian agriculture is princi-
pally the ox, the buffalo, the horse, ass, mule, and camel.
The oxen of Egypt are employed in tillage, and in giving
motion to a variety of hydraulic machines ; and as they are
harnessed so as to draw^ from the pitch of the shoulder, their
withers are higher than those of our country ; and, indeed,
they have naturally some resemblance to the bison {Bosferus)y
or hunched ox. It has been said that the cows of Egypt
bring forth two calves at a time ; an instance of fecundity
which sometimes happens; but is not reckoned very com-
mon. Their calves are reared to maturity, as veal, whicli is
forbidden by the law of the Mahometans, and the Copts
also abstain from the use of it, is not eaten in Egypt.
1059. The buffalo is more abundant than the ox, and is
equally domestic. It is easily distinguishable by the con-
stantly uniform colour of the hair, and still more by a remnant
of ferocity and intractability of disposition, and a wild lower-
ing aspect, the characteristics of all half-tamed
animals. The females are reared for the sake of
the milk, and the males to be slaughtered and
eaten. The flesh is somewhat red, hard, and dry ;
and has also a musky smell, which is rather un-
pleasant.
1060. The horses of Egypt rank next to those
of the Arabians, and are remarkable for their
valuable (jualities. Here, as in most countries of
the East, they are not castrated either for domestic
use or the cavalry.
1061 . The nsses of Egypt have no less a claim to
distinction than the horses ; and these, as well as
those of Arabia, are esteemed for their vigor and
beauty the finest in the world. They are some-
times sold for a higher price than even the horses.
They are more hardy than horses, less difficult as
to the quality and quantity of their food, and
are therefore preferred in traversing the deserts.
Tlie handsomest asses seen at Cairo are brought
from Upper Egypt and Nubia. On ascending
the Nile, the influence of climate is perceptible
in these animals, which are most beautiful irt
the Said, but are in every respect inferior towards
the Delta. With the most distinguished race
of horses and asses, Egypt possesses also the finest
mules; some of which, at Cairo, exceed in value
the price of the most beautiful horses.
1062. The camel and dromedari/ , as every body knows, are the beasts of burden in
Egypt, and not only answer all the purposes of our waggons and public conveyances,
but bear the conveyances of luxury {Jig. 172.), in which the females of the higher classes
pay their visits on extraordinary occasions.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA.
m
10G3. The agricultural implements of Egypt are simple ; but some of them, particularly
the contrivances for raising water, very ingenious. The plough is of the rudest kind,
as are the cart and spade.
1064. The operalions of threshing and sowing have been already described (1052-3,).
That of irrigation is performed as in other countries. At present there are reckoned eighty
canals in use for this purpose, some of them twenty, thirty, and forty leagues in length.
The lands near the -river, as the Delta, are watered directly from it ; the water is raised
by wheels in the dry season ; and when the inundation takes place, it is retained on the
fields for a certain time by ^ a ^ 1*^3
small embankments made
round them.
1065. iVuftia, the Ethiopia
of the ancients, is amiserable
country or desert, thinly in-
habited by a wretched people,
who live chiefly on millet,
and dwell in groups of mud«
huts, {Jig. 173.)
SuBSECT. 3. Present State of Agriculture in the Mahometan States of the North of Africa.
1066. These are Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco; territories chiefly on the
southern shore of the Mediterranean, rich, and celebrated in the ages of antiquity, but
at present depressed by the barbarism and fanaticism of their rulers, who are in general
tributary to the Porte.
1067. Tripoli is generally distinguished into maritime and inland. In neither is there
much agriculture, for the inhabitants of countries on the coast live chiefly by commerce
and piracy ; and those of the inland parts on plunder and robbery. There are a few
fields of grain, chiefly rice, round the capital, date palms, olives, and what is called the
lotus-tree {Zizyphus lotus), whose fruit is reckoned superior to the date, and makes
excellent wine.
1068. The kingdom of Tunis was formerly the chief seat of Carthaginian power. The
soil is in general impregnated with marine salt and nitre, arid springs of fresh water are
more rare than of salt. But the Tunisians are much more agriculturists than their
neighbors either of Tripoli or Algiers. The southern parts of the country are sandy,
barren, and parched by a burning sun : the northern parts enjoy a better soil and tem-
perature, and are more under cultivation : near the sea, the country is rich in olive-
trees. The western part abounds in mountains and hills, and is watered by numerous
rivulets ; it is extremely fertile, and produces the finest and most abundant crops. The
first rains commonly fall in September, and then the farmers break up the ground, sow their
grain, and plant beans, lentils, and garvancos. By May following, harvest commences;
and we may judge of its productiveness by what the Carthaginians experienced of old
(38. ) The ox and the buffalo are the principal beasts of labor, and next the ass, mule,
and horse. Both the first and the last have here degenerated in size. They have a
curiously-shaped cow (fg. 174.), which some consider a distinct species from the bos
taurus, fcem. or common cow.
1069. The territory of Algiers, in an agricultural
point of view, is chiefly distinguished by the fertile
plain of Mettijiah, a vast country, which stretches fifty
miles in length, and twenty in breadth, to the foot of
one of the branches of Mount Atlas. This plain is
watered by several streams ; the soil is light and fertile,
and it is better cultivated than any other district of the
kingdom. The country-seats and masharcas, as they
call the farms of the principal inhabitants of Algiers,
are found in these plains ; and it is chiefly from them
that the metropolis is supplied with provisions. Flax,
alhenna, roots, potherbs, rice, fruit, and grain of all
kinds are produced here to such perfection, that the Metijiah may be justly reckoned
the garden of the whole kingdom.
1070. In the inland provinces are immense tracts of country wholly uninhabited and
uncultivated. There are also extensive tracts of brushwood, and some timber-forests.
The fertility of the soil decreases in approaching Sahara or the Desert, although in its
borders, and even in the desert itself there are some districts which are capable of culti-
vation, and which produce corn, figs, and dates. These regions are inhabited by no-
madical tribes, who, valuing themselves on their independence, endure with fortitude
and resignation the inconvehiences attending their condition, and scarce regret the want
of those advantages and comforts that pertain to a civilised state of society.
176 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
107 1. The seed-time hero, as in Tunis, Is during the months of October and November,
when wheat, barley, rice, Indian corn, millet, and various kinds of pulse, are sown. In
six months, the crops are harvested, trod out by oxen or horses, winnowed by throwing
with a shovel against the wind, and then lodged in subterraneous magazines.
1072. The empire of Morocco is an extensive territory of mountains and plains, and
chiefly an agricultural country. The mountains consist of limestone or clay, or a mix-
ture of both, and no vestiges appear of granite, on which they are supposed to rest. The
climate is temperate and salubrious, and not so hot as its situation would lead us to
suppose. The rains are regular in November, though the atmosphere is not loaded with
clouds : January is summer ; and in March barley -harvest commences. The soil consists
either of pure sand, often passing into quicksand, or of pure clay ; often so abundantly
mixed with iron ochre, that agricultural productions, such as wax, gum, wool, &c. are
distinguished by a reddish tint, which, in the wool, cannot be removed by washing or
bleaching. Cultivation, in this country, requires little labor, and, in general, no ma-
nure ; all other weeds and herbaceous plants, not irrigated, are, at a certain season, burnt
up by the sun, as in some parts of Spain (696.) ; the ground being then perfectly
clean and dry, is rendered friable, and easily pulverised by the rains ; and one rude stir-
ring suffices both for preparing the soil and covering the seed. The produce in wheat,
rice, millet, maize, barley, chick-peas (^Cicer arietinum)y is often sixty fold; thirty fold is
held to be an indiflerent harvest.
1073. In general they make use of no manure, except that which is left on the fields by
their flocks and herds. But those people who inhabit places near forests and woods,
avail themselves of another method to render the soil productive. A month or two
before the rains commence, the farmer sets fire to the underwood, and by this confla-
gration clears as much land as he intends to cultivate. The soil, immediately after this
treatment, if carefully ploughed, acquires considerable fertility, but is liable soon to be-
come barren, unless annually assisted by proper manure. This system of burning down
the woods for the sake of obtaining arable land, though not generally permitted in states
differently regulated from this, is allowable in a country, the population of which bears
so small a proportion to the fertility of the soil, and in which the most beautiful tracts
are suffered to remain unproductive for want of hands to cultivate them. In this man-
ner the nomadic Arab proceeds in his conflagrations, till the whole neighborhood
around him is exhausted ; he then packs up his tents and travels in search of another
fertile place where to fix his abode, till hunger again obliges him to continue his migra-
tion. Thus it is computed, that at one and the same time no more than a third part of
the whole country is in a state of cultivation.
1074. Tfie live stock of Morocco consists of numerous flocks and herds. Oxen of a
small breed are plentiful, and also camels ; the latter animal being used both in agri-
culture, for travelling, and its flesh as food. The horses are formed for fleetness and
activity, and taught to endure fatigue, heat, cold, hunger, and thirst. Mules are much
used, and the breed is encouraged. Poultry is abundant in Morocco ; pigeons are ex-
cellent ; partridges are plentiful ; woodcocks are scarce ; but snipes are numerous in the
season ; the ostrich is hunted both for sport and for profit, as its feathers are a consider-
able article of traflBc ; hares are good ; but rabbits are confined to the northern part of
the empire, from Saracha to Tetuan. Fallow deer, the roebuck, the antelope, foxes, and
other animals of Europe, are not very abundant in Morocco ; lions and tigers are not
uncommon in some parts of the empire : of all the species of ferocious animals found in
this empire, the wild boar is the most common : the sow has several litters in the year,
and her young, which are numerous, serve as food for the lion.
1075. The nomadic agriculturists form themselves into incampments, called douhars,
(Jig. 175.) and composed of numerous tents, which form a circle or crescent, and their
175 ^
flocks and herds returning from pasture occupy the centre. Each douhar has a chief,
who is invested with authority for superintending and governing a number of these en-
campments ; and many of the lesser subdivisions are again reunited under the govern-
ment of a " bashaw ;" some of whom have 1000 douhars under their command. Their
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA.
177
tents, of a conical form, and about eight or ten feet high in the centre, and from twenty
to twenty five in length, are made of twine, composed of goat's hair, camel's wool, and
the leaves of the wild palm, so that they keep out water; but being black, their ap-
pearance at a distance is not agreeable. In camp the Moors live in the utmost simpli-
city, and present a faithful picture of the earth's inhabitants in the first ages. In the
milk and wool of their flocks, they find every thing necessary for their food and cloth-
ing. It is their custom to have several wives, who are employed in all domestic affairs.
Beneath their ill-secured tents they milk their cows and make butter ; they sort
and sift their wheat and barley, gather vegetables, grind flour with a mill composed of
two round stones, eighteen inches in diameter ; in the upper one of which is fixed a
handle by which it is made to turn upon an axle. They daily make bread, which they
bake between two earthen plates, and very often on the ground heated by fire.
1076. N^o alteration in the agriculture of Morocco seems to have taken place for several
centuries, owing to the insecurity of its government; every thing being despotic; and
property in land, as well as the person and life, being subject to the caprice of the
sovereign, and the laws of the moment.
SuBSECT. 4. Present State of Agriculture on the Western Coast of Africa,
1077. Of the innumerable tribes wliich occujri/ tltis west coast of Africa, the principal are
the Jalefs and Foulahs, and of the former little is known. The remaining part of the
country consists of the territories of Benin, Loango, and ,7^ / ->.
Congo. ''^ (Q^/¥\
1078. The soil of the Fouiah countri/ is {ettile. The inhabitants are said
to be diligent as farmers and graziers, and to raise millet, rice, tobacco, -
cotton, pease, carob beans (Ceratonia siliqua,fig. 176.), roots, and fruits in
abundance. Their live stock, however, constitutes their chief wealth,
and accordingly they roam, pursuing a kind of wandering life, from field
to field, and from country to country, with large droves of cows, sheep,
goats, and horses ; removing, as the wet and dry seasons require, from the
low to the high lands, and continue no longer in one place than the
pasture for their cattle will allow. The inconvenience and labor of this
roving life are augmented by the defence they are obliged to provide
against the depredations of the Merce animals with which the countrya
abounds ; as they are molested by lions, tigers, and elephants, from the^
land, and crocodiles from the rivers. At night they collect their herds *
and flocks within a circle of huts and tents in which they live, and where
they light fires in order to deter these animals from approaching them.
During the day they often place their children on elevated platforms of
reeds (Jig. 177.) for security from wild beasts, while they are hunting or
pursuing other labors. The elephants are so numerous, that they appear
in droves of 200 together, plucking up the small trees, and destroying
whole fields of corn ; so that they have recourse to hunting, not merely
as a pastime, but as the means of self-preservation.
1079. The English settleinent of Sierra-leone is situated to the west of the country of
the Foulahs, on the river Senegal. It was formed in 1787, for the benevolent purpose
of promoting African civilisation. A tract of land was purchased from the prince of
the country, and a plantation established, in which is cultivated rice, cotton, sugar,
pepper, tobacco, and other products; and gum arable (Mimosa niloticOf fg. 178.), and
177 " 178
other valuable articles are procured from the native woods. In tliese woods the pine
apple grows wild in tlie greatest abundance and luxuriance. The fruit is large and
highly flavored, and, when in season, may be purchased by strangers at less than a
halfpenny each. A meal in common use by the natives is made from the pounded roots
of the manioca (Jatropha manihot). This meal, after being first ground from the roof,
IS made into a pulp and pressed to get rid of a poisonous juice. It is then re-dried
and constitutes a wholesome farina, which forms almost the entire food of the slaves.
N
178
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
1080. Benin is an extensive country,- very productive of fruits, trees, and plants ; including the orange,
cocoa, cotton, &c. and abounding in animals, among which is enumerated civet cats, and a sort of hairy
sheep. Agriculture, however, is little attended to, the chief object being the commerce of slaves.
- 1081. The inhabitants of Loango, instead of cultivating the land, content themselves with bread and fish,
and such fruits, greens, and pulse, as the soil naturally produces. Cocoas, oranges, and lemons, are not
much cultivated ; but sugar-canes, cassia, and tobacco, as well as the palm, banana, cotton, and pimento-
trees, grow here plentifully. They have also a great variety of roots, herbs, fruits, grain, and other
vegetables, of which they make bread, and which thoy use for food. They have few quadrupeds for
domestic use, except goats and hogs, but poultry and various sorts of game are abundant : among the
wild beasts they have the zebra, and a great number of elephants, whose teeth they exchange with the
Europeans for iron.
■ 1082. Congo is an extensive and very fertile country ; but the inhabitants are indolent, and neglect its
culture. The operations of digging, sowing, reaping, cutting wood, grinding corn, and fetching water,
they leave to their wives and slaves. Under their management, several sorts of grain and pulse is culti-
vated, especially maize, of which they have two crops in a year ; but such is the heat of the climate, that
Wheat will not produce plump seeds ; it shoots rapidly up into the straw and ear ; the former high enough
to hide a man on horseback, and the latter unfilled. Grass grows to a great height, and afibrds sheltering
places for a number of wild animals and noisome reptiles and insects. The Portuguese have introduced a
variety of palm and other fruit trees, which are better adapted for producing human food in such a climate.
1083. The boabab {Adansonia digitata) is a native of Congo. This tree, discovered by the celebrated
French botanist, Adanson, is considered the largest in the world : several, measured by this gentle-
man, were from sixty-five to seventy-eight feet in circumference, but not extraordinarily high. The
trunks were from twelve to fifteen feet high, before they divided into many horizontal branches, which
touched the ground at their extremities ; these were from forty-five to fifty-five feet lovig, and were .so
large, that each branch was equal to a monstrous tree ; and where the water of a neighboring river had
washed away the earth so as to leave the roots of one of these trees bare and open to the sight, they
measured one hundred and ten feet long, without including those parts of the roots which remained covered.
It yields a • fruit which resembles a gourd, and which »
serves for vessels of various uses; the bark of which fur- ^ '^
nishes them with a coarse thread, which they form into
ropes and into a cloth, with which the natives cover their
middle from the girdle to the knees ; and the small leaves
of which supply them with food in a time of scarcity, while
the large ones are used for covering their houses, or by
burning for the manufacture of good soap. At Sierra-leone,
this tree does not grow larger than an orchard apple
tree.
1084. Of the bark qf the infanda tree, and also of the
mulemba, resembling in many respects our laurel, they
form a kind of stuff or cloth, which is fine, and used for
cloaks and girdles by persons of the highest rank. The
oil of their palm-trees is used instead of butter ; with the
moss that grows about the trunk, the rich commonly
stuff their pillows ; and the Giagas apply it to their wounds
with gped effect : with the leaves the Moors cover their
houses, and they draw from these trees, by incision, a
pleasant liquor like wine, which, however, turns sour in
five or six days.
1085. Among other fruits and roots, they have the vine,
which was brought thither from Candia, and yields grapes
twice a year.
1086. The live stock common to other agricultural coun-
tries, are here much neglected ; but , the Portuguese
settlers have directed their attention to cows, sheep, and
goats, chiefly on account of their milk. Like most parts
of Africa, this country swarms with wild animals. Among
these, the zebra, buffalo, and wild ass, are hunted, and
made useful as food or in commerce. The dante, a kind
of ox, whose skins are sent into Germany to be tanned and
made into targets, called "dantes," abounds, and also the
cameleon, a great variety of monkies, {fig. 179.), and all the
sorts of domestic poultry and game.
SuBSECT. 5. Present State of Agriculture at the Cape of Good Hope.
1087. TAe Dutch colonized the Cape of Good Hope in 1660, and the English obtained
possession of it in 1795.
1088. The climate of this cape is not unfriendly to vegetation ; but it is so situated,
within the influence of periodical winds, that the rains are very unequal, descending in
torrents during the cold season, though hardly a shower falls to refresh the earth in the
hot summer months, when the dry south-east winds prevail. These winds blast the
foliage, blossom, and fruit, of all those trees that are not well sheltered ; nor is the human
constitution secure against their injurious influence. As a protection from these winds
the colonists who inhabit the nearest side of the first chain of mountains, beyond which*
their effect does not very sensibly extend; divide that portion of their ground which
IS appropriated to fruit groves, vineyards, and gardens, by oak screens; but they leave
their corn lands altogether open. The temperature of the climate at the Cape is re-
markably affected by local circumstances. In summer the thermometer is generally be-
tween 70 and 80°/ and sometimes between 80« and 90°, but scarcely ever exceeds 95^
1089. The surface of the country consists of some mountains and extensive barrenl
like plains. The upper regions of all the chains of mountains are naked masses of sand-
stone ; the vallies beneath thetn are clothed with grass, with thickets, and in some cases
with impenetrable forests. The inferior hills or knolls, whose surfaces are generally
composed of loose fragments of sandstone, as well as the wide sandy plains that connect
them, are thinly strewed over with heaths and other shrubby plants, exhibiting to the
eye an uniform and dreary appearance. In the lowest part of these plains, where the
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA. 179
waters subside, and, filtering through the sand, break ooit in springs upon the surface,
vegetation is somewhat more luxuriant. In such situations the farm-houses are generally
'.placed ; and the patches of cultivated ground contiguous to theiu, like the " oases" in
the sandy deserts, may be considered as so many verdant islands in the midst of a bound-
less w^aste.
1090. Soils, in this tract of 'countiy, are generally either a stiff clay, impenetrable by
the plough till they are soaked by much rain ; or light and sandy, tinged with red, and
abounding with small round quartzose pebbles. A black vegetable mould seldom ap-
pears, except in patches of garden-ground, vineyards, and orchards, that surround the
habitations, where, by long culture, manure, and the fertilizing influence of springs or
rills of water, the soil is so far mellowed as to admit the spade at all seasons of the year.
The extensive plains, known in the colony by the Hottentot name of " Karroo," which
are interspersed between the great chains of mountains, exhibit a more dismal appearance
than the lower plains, which are chequered with patches of cultivated ground ; and their
hard surfaces of clay, glistening with small crystals of quartz, and condemned to per-
petual drought and aridity, are ill adapted to vegetation. The hills that break tiiese
barren plains, are chiefly composed of fragments of blue slate, or masses of feltspar, and
argillaceous limestone. However, in those Kjarroo plains that are tinged with iron, and
that are capable of being watered, the soil is extremely productive. In such situations,
more especially in the vicinity of the Cape, they have the best grapes, and the best fruit
of every sort. The great scarcity of water in summer is much more unfavorable to an
extended cultivation than either the soil or the climate.
1091. Landed property was held by the original Dutch from the government of the Cape
on four different tenures. The first tenure was that of an yearly lease, renewable for ever
on condition of payment of a certain rent, not in general exceeding eight-tenths of. a
farthing per acre: the second tenure a sort of perpetual holding, subject to a small
rent : the third a holding on fifteen years leases at a quit-rent, renewable : and the
last was that of " real estate " or freehold, the settler having purchased his farm at once for
a certain sum. The second tenure is the most common in the colony. The lands were
originally measured out and allotted in the following manner : a stake was stuck as
near the centre of the future estate as could be guessed, and a man, starting from thence,
walked for half an hour in a straight line, to each of the four points of the compass ;
giving thus the radii of a circle that comprised a space of about 60C0 acres.
1092. Of these extensive farms, the greater partis, of course, mere sheep and cattle
walks. They break up for tillage, patches here and there, where the plough can be
directed with the least difficulty, or the soil is most inviting for the purpose. A slight
scattering of manure is sometimes used, but more frequently none at all ; and it is
astonishing to see the crops this soil, and even the lightest sands, will produce, with so
little artificial stimulus. Seventeen successive crops of wheat without any manure have
been taken. When the land is somewhat exhausted by a succession of crops, they break
up fresh ground, and the old is suffered to lie fallow, as they term it, for many years ;
that is, it is permitted to throw up plentiful crops of huge bushes and heath till its turn
comes round again,- which may be in about seven years, when there is the trouble of
breaking it up anew. The sheep and cattle are permitted to stray at pleasure, or are,
perhaps, intrusted to the care of a hottentot.
1093. The agriciiitural products of the Cape farmers are chiefly wheat and other grains,
pulse, wine, and brandy, wool, hides, and skins, dried fruits, aloes, and tobacco. The
returns of grain and pulse are from ten to seventy, according to the nature of the soil
and the sup{)ly of water. Barley, i. e. bear or bigg, is very productive, and is used only
for feeding horses. Rye and oats run much to straw, and are chiefly used as green
fodder, Indian corn thrives well, and is very productive ; and various kinds of millet,
kidneybeans, and other pulse are extensively cultivated. The wheat is generally heavier, and
yields a finer flour than that of England. It is all spring-wheat, being sown from the
month of April to June. The returns are very various in the different soils : some
farmers declare that they have reaped sixty and eighty for one ; the average may be from
twenty to thirty ; but it is impossible to come to a true estimate upon this point, as no
farmers can tell you the exact quantity sown upon a given quantity of acres.
1094. The vine, however, is the most profitable, and what may be considered the staple artiple of culture.
Better grapes are not produced in any part of the world ; but the art of making wine and brandy from them
admits of much improvement. Ten or twelve different kinds of wine are at present manufactured,
having a distinct flavor and quality, according to the farms on which they are produced.
1095. The celebrated Constantia wine is made on two farms of that name, close under the mountains
between Table bay and False bay. The white wine of that name is made on the farm called Little Con-
stantia, and the other produces the red. The grape is the muscadel, and the rich quality of the wine is
owing partly to the situation and soil of the vineyards, and partly to the care taken in manufacturing the
wine. No stalks and no fruit but such as is fully ripe, are suttfered to go under the press j precautions
rarely taken by the other farmers of the Cape. The muscadel grape grows at every fanti, and at some
farms in Drakenstein, the wine pressed from it is equally good, if not superior, to the Constantia, though
sold, on account of the name of the latter, at one sixth-part of the price. When they find that the wine
i.s to be sent abroad, they adulterate it witli some other wine : for, according to their own returns, th«
N 2
180 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. . Part I.
quantity exported and consumed in Cape Town, as in the case of Madeira wine, greatly exceeds the
quantity manufactured.
1096. The almond is a very productive tree at the Cape ; the tree thrives in the driest and worst soil,
and the fruit, though small, is of excellent quality. Dried peaches, apricots, pears, and apples, are not
only plentiful, but good of their kind ; dried grapes, or raisins, are not so well managed. Potash is pro-
cured from a species of salsola which grows on the deserts ; and with this and the fat of sheeps' tails, the
farmers make their soap. The berries of the candleberry myrtle {Myrica cerifera) supply a vegetable
wax sold at Cape Town in large green cakes, from which odoriferous candles are made.
1097. The aloe soccotrhui'^and perjoli ta, cover large tracts of ground, and these afford the inspissated
juice or resin of the apothecaries. The leaves of the plant are cut off one by one, and as they are cut,
thrown into tubs. In a day or two after they are thrown in, the juice will have run out of itself, when
the leaves are taken out and used as manure. The juice is then either clarified in the sun or by boiling,
and when dry, cut into cakes and packed up for sale.
1098. The tobacco grown at the Cape is said to be as good as that of Virginia. Enough is grown for
home consumption, which is considerable ; but none for exportation.
1099. The live stock of the Cape farmers is chiefly oxen, horses, sheep, swine, and
poultry. There are only some districts adapted to grazing ; and the farmers who follow
this department are in a much less civilized state than the others. The flocks and herds
wander over immense tracts, for the use of which a rent or tax according to the
number of beasts is paid. At night they are brought home to folds or kraals, which are
close to the huts of the farmers, and are represented as places of intolerable filth and stench.
1100. The native cattle of the Cape are a hardy, long-legged, bony animal, more in the
coach-horse line than fitted for the shambles. They are bad milkers, probably from
the bad quality and scanty supplies of forage.
1101. The sheep are wretched beasts, more resembling goats, with wool that might be taken for frisly
hair, and is in fact only used for stuffing chairs, or such like purposes ; the other parts of the body seem
drained to supply the accumulation of fat upon the tail, which weighs from six to twelve pounds.
11C2. The Merinos, of which there are a few flocks, do very well : they are much degenerated for want
of changing, and a proper selection of rams.
1103. The Ryelandy or Southdown sheep, would be a great acquisition here ; for the Cape mutton forms
a detestable food.
1104. The Cape horse, which is not indigenous, but was introduced originally from Java, is a small,
active, spirited animal ; a mixture of the Spanish and Arabian, capable of undergoing great fatigue ; and,
as a saddle-horse, excellently adapted to the country. As a draught-horse for the farmer, he is too small j
and the introduction of a few of the Suffolk-punch breed, would be a real benefit to the colony, as well as
a source of profit to the importer.
1105. Pigs are scarce in the colony amongst the farmers. It is difficult to say why, excepting that there
is more trouble in feeding them ; and they cannot be turned to graze like sheep. Poultry is, for the same
reason, neglected. Indeed, bad mutton may be said to be the only food of the colonists.
1 106. The agricultural implements and operations of the Cape farmers are said to be
performed in the rudest manner, and their crops are thought to depend principally on
the goodness of the soil and climate. The plough of the Dutch farmers is a couple
of heavy boards nailed together, and armed with a clumsy share, which it requires a
dozen oxen to work. Their harrow, if they use any at all, is a few brambles. Their
waggons (which will carry about thirty Winchester bushels, or a ton weight, and are
generally drawn by sixteen and sometimes twenty oxen) are well constructed to go
tilting up and down the precipitous passes of the kloofs with safety ; but they have no
variety for the different roads. Burchell has given a portrait of one of these impos-
ing machines {Jig. 180.). Their method of beating out the corn is well known; the
sheaves are spread on a circular floor, surrounded by a low wall, with which every
farm is supplied. The farmer's whole stock of brood mares and colts are then turned
in, and a black man, standing in the centre, with a long whip to enforce his authority,
the whole herd are compelled to frisk and canter round till the corn is trampled out
of the ear. This is termed " tramping out." The winnowing is performed by
tossing the trampled grain and dung in the air with shovels, or by exposing it to the
wind in a sieve.
1107. The agriculture of the Cape appears capable of much improvement, were the
farmers less indolent, and more ambitious of enjoying the comforts and luxuries of
existence. Barrow is of opinion there might be produced an abundance of corn, cattle,
and wine, for exportation ; but that to effect this, " it will be necessary to procure a new
race of inhabitants, or to change the nature of the old ones." At the suggestion of
this writer, an attempt was recently made by government to settle a number of British
families at the Cape, as cultivators; but after they had gone out and remained there
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA.
181
above a year, they either died or returned completely ruined and disappointed- Neither
the climate or mode of culture, indeed, are at all calculated for liritons : for French,
German, or Italian peasantry, they may do much better.
1108. In the interior of the -country are many tribes of whom little or nothing is
known ; but some of which are every now and then brought into notice by modern
travellers. Some have been visited, for the first time, by the missionary Campbell ; and
the account he gives of their agriculture, manufactures, and customs is often very
181 curious. It is astonishing how
ingenious he found some tribes
in cutlery and pottery; and
the neatness and regularity of
rhe houses of others is equally
temarkable. In one place the
^houses were even tasteful ; they
[were conical, and enclosed by
large circular fences, {jig. 181.);
and he found them threshing out the corn on raised circular threshing-floors («j, with
flails, much in the same manner as we do.
1 109. The unimproved Hotten-
tots form their huts {Jig. 182.)
of mats bound on a skeleton of
poles or strong hoops (Jig. 183.)
Their form is hemispherical ; j
they are entered by a low door,
which has a mat shutter, and the\
are surrounded by a reedor mat!
fence to exclude wild animals'
and retain fuel and cattle. At-
tempts to introduce European
forms of cottages have been
made by the missionaries, which,
with a knowledge of the mere
useful arts, will no doubt in time humanize and refine them. The missionary Kiishe
183 conducted Burchell along tlie valley of
Genadendal, to exhibit the progress which
the Hottentots under his instruction had
made in horticulture and domestic order.
The valley is a continued maze of gardens
and fruit trees. *' The huts {Jig. 184,), une
like those of Hottentot construction, ar-
a rude imitation of the quadrangular build-
ings of the colonist. They are generally
from ten to fifteen feet long, and from eight to ten wide, having an earthen floor and
walls white- washed • ■==^=,.=^;=^^^~ .-_- ~-^-==^=^:==^ 184
on their inside, com-
posed of rough un-
hewn poles, filled up
between with reeds
and rushes plastered
with mud, and the
whole covered with
a roof of thatch
The eaves being in
general not higher
from the ground than four or six feet, the doors could not l)e entered without stooping.
A small unglazed window admitted light, but there was neither chimney nor any other
opening in the roof by which the smoke might escape." {BurcheWs Travels, i. 112.)
1110. Tlie cattle of all the Hottentot and other tribes are kept in circular folds during night ;
and it is remarkable that these folds are the only burial places known to be in use among
that people. " Corn is preserved in Avhat may be termed large jars, of various dimen-
sions, but most commonly between four and five feet high and three wide. The shape
of these corn jars is nearly that of an eggshell, having its upper end cut off: sometimes
their mouth is contracted in a manner wliich gives them a great resemblance to an
European oil jar. They are formed with stakes and branches fixed into the ground and in-
terwoven with twigs ; this frame- work being afterwards plastered within and without with
loam and cow.dung. Frequently the bottoms of these jars are raised about six inches or a
foot above the ground ; and the lower part of the stakes being then uncovered gives tJiem
N 3
182
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
the appearance of standing on short legs. Their contents are usually protected by a
covering of skin or str&w." This mode of keeping their corn and beans, Burcliell ob-
serves, shows a degree of ingenuity equal to that which is displayed in the construction
of their houses, and is to be admired for its simpHcity and perfect adequateness to the
purpose. In the dwellings of the richer inhabitants, the back part of the houses is com-
pletely filled with jars of this kind." (Traj^e/s, ii. 520.)
1111. The natives of the south of Africa live much on bulbous roots, of which their
country is naturally more productive than any 185
other. Burchel has enumerated a considerable
number which he saw them use. One of the most
remarkable grows on the mountains of Graf-
reynet, and is called Hottentot's bread i Ele-
phantopus, Willd., Testudenaria, Salisb., _^g. 185.)
Its bulb stands entirely above ground, and grows to
an enormous size, frequently three feet in height ^
and diameter. It is closely studded with angular
ligneous protuberances, which give it some re-
semblapce to the shell of a tortoise. The inside is<
a fleshy substance, which may be compared to a
turnip, both in substance and color. From the top
of this bulb arise f.everal annual stems, the branches
of which have a disposition to twine round any
shrub within reach. The taste of this bulb is
thought to resemble that of the yam of the East
Indies, the plant being closely allied to the genus
Dioscorea. [BurcheWs Travels, ii. 147.)
1 1 12, The JBachapins are a people of the interior
of South Africa, which were visited by Burchell.
Their agriculture, he says, is " extremely simple and artless. It is performed entirely by
women. To prepare the ground for sowing theV pick it up to the depth of about 186
four inches, with a kind of hoe or mattock, which differs in nothing from a
carpenter's adze but in being two or three times larger. The corn they sow
is tlie CafFre corn or Guinea corn, a variety of millet (Holcus Sorghum
Caffrorum). They cultivate also a kind of kidneybean, and eat the ripe seeds,
and also water-melons, pumpkins, and the calabash gourd for the use of its
shell as a domestic vessel for drinking and various uses. They are inordinate
smokers of tobacco, but they do not cultivate the plant. Burchell gave them
some potatoes and peach stones to cultivate, with which they were exceedingly
pleased and thankful. [Travels, n. 518.)
1113. The Bushman spade {fig. 186,) is a pointed stick about three feet long, to which there
is affixod about the middle a stone to increase its power in digging up bulbous roots. This
stone is about five inches in diameter, and is cut or ground very regularly to a round form,
and perforated with a hole large enough to receive the stick and a wedge by which it is lixed
to its place. {BurcheWs Travels, ii. 30.)
SuBsECT. 6. Present State of Agriculture on the Eastern Coast of Africa, and the
African Islands.
1114. Of the various countries on the east coast of Africa the chief is Mocaranga,
whose agriculture may be considered as a specimen of that of the savage tribes of the other
states. The climate is temperate, though tlie mountains called Supata, or the spine of
the world, forming a great chain from north to south, are perpetually covered with snow ;
the air clear and salubrious, and the soil fertile and well watered, so that its pastures feed
a great number of cattle, more valued by the inhabitants than their gold. The inland
parts of the country-, however, are sandy, dry, and barren. The products of the country
on the coast, are rice, millet, and maize, but no wheat; sugar canes and cotton are
found both wild and cultivated. They are without the ox and horse, but elephants,
ostriches, and a great variety of wild animals abound in the forests. According to tfie
doubtful accounts of tiiis country, the king on days of ceremony wears a little spade
hanging by his side as an emblem of cultivation.
1115. The island if Madagascar is celebrated for its fertility, and the variety of its pro-
ductions. Its climate is mild and agreeable ; and the surface of the country is divided
into the east and western provinces by a range of mountains. The summits of these
mountains are crowned with lofty trees of long duration, and the low grounds are
watered by torrents, rivers, and rivulets, which flow from them. The agricultural pro-
ducts arc rice, cotton, indigo, sugar, pulse, the yam, banana, cocoa, pepper, ginger,
turmeric, and a variety of other fruits and spices. There are a great number of raw
fruits and esculent plants, and many curious woods. Oxen and flocks of sheep abound ;
but there arc no horses, elephants, lions, or tigers. The culture is very imperfect, the
soil and the excellence of the seasons supplying the place of labor and skill.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA.
183
1116. The Mauritius^ or Isle of France, is a productive island, chiefly indebted to the
industry of the French, who have inJ:roduced tliere most of the grains, roots, and fruits
of other parts of the world, all of which seem to thrive. The climate is excellent, and
similar to that of the Bourbon and Canary islands. The surface is mountainous towards
tlie sea coast, but within land there are many spots both level and fertile. The soil is,
generally speaking, red and stony. The agricultural products are numerous. A crop
of maize, succeeded by one of wheat, is procured in one season from the same field.
The rice of Cochin- China is extensively cultivated; the manioc, or cassava (Jatropha
Duinikot) of Brazil ; sugar, which is the chief product of export ; cinnamon, clove, and
nutmeg trees, &c. Oranges, citrons, and guavas
{Jig. 187.) abound; and pine apples are said to
grow spontaneously. Many valuable kinds of
woods are found in the forests ; and on the
banks of the rivers are fed the flocks and herds
of the country.
1117. The Isle of Bourhon dx^QYs \\t\\Q in its
natural and agricultural circumstances from that
of the Mauritius.
1118. St. Helena is a rugged, but beautiful
island, dccupied by a few farmers, chiefly English.
Their chief productions are cattle, hogs, and
poultry ; and when the India ships arrive every
house becomes a tavern.
1119. The Cajie Verd Islands are» in general,
hot and unhealthy as to climate, and stony and
barren as to soil. Some, however, produce
rice, maize, bananas, oranges, cotton, and sugar-
canes, with abundance of poultry.
1 1 20. The Canary Islands having been subject to Spain for many centuries, the agri-
culture of the parent country prevails throughout. The climate is temperate, and the soil
generally rich. The stock of the farm belongs to the pro-
prietor of the soil, who lends it to the cultivator, on
condition of getting half of the produce. The products
are, wheat, barley, rice, oats, flax, anise seeds, coriander,
the mulberry, grape, cotton, sugar-cane, dragon's blood-tree
(Draccena) , and a variety of other esculent plants and fruits. '
The celebrated Canary wine is made chiefly in the islands
of Teneritfe and Canary. Potatoes have been introduced
within the last fifty years, and now constitute the chief
food of the inhabitants. The archil {Lichen rocella, Linn.
jig. 188 a.), a moss used in dyeing, grows wild on all the
rocks ; and kali {Salsola kali, Jig. 188 6. ), from which soda is
extracted, is found wild" on the sea-shore. The roots of the
male fern {Pteris aquilina) are, in times of scarcity, ground
into flour, and used as food. The live-stock of the
Canaries consists of cattle, sheep, horses, and asses ; and
the well-known Canary-bird, with a great variety of others
abound in the woods.
1 121. The island of Madeira is chiefly celebrated for its wine. It is the boast of the
islanders, that their country produces the best wheat, the purest sugar, and the finest
wines in the world, besides being blest with the clearest water, the most salubrious air,
and a freedom from all noxious reptiles. The first view of the island is particularly
magnificent; the country rising in lofty hills from every part of the coast so steep as to
bring very distant objects into a foreground. The sides of these hills are clothed with
vines as high as the temperature will admit ; above this they are clothed with woods or
verdure to their summits, as high as the sight can distinguish ; excepting those columnar
peaks, the soil of which has been washed away by the violent rains to which those lati-
tudes, and especially such elevated parts, are liable. Deep ravines or valleys descend
from the hills to the sea, and in the hollow of most of them flows a small river, which
in general is rapid and shallow. The soil is clay on the surface, and large masses of
it as hard as brick, are found underneath. The island, it is said, when discovered by
the Portuguese, was covered with wood; and the first step taken by the new settlers
Avas to set fire to the wood. This conflagration is said to have lasted seven years, and to
have been the chief cause of the fertility of the soil ; but whatever may have been the
effect at first, this fertility could not have lasted for three centuries.
1 122. The lands of Madeira are cultivated on the metayer system : in entailed estates
leases cannot be granted for a longer period than nine years ; but in no case can the
tenant be dismissed till he is paid the full value of his improvements,
N 4
184
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part L
1123. The vine is cultivated cliiefly in the French, but partly in the Italian manner. In the low grounds
it is suffered to grow to a considerable height, and tied to trees, poles, or trellises ; on the sides of the hills
the terrace-culture is adopted, and there the plants are kept lower, and tied to single stakes or low trellises.
The variety of grape cultivated is what in France is called the Rhenish ; a sort of small black cluster ; but its
character is greatly altered since its transplantation to Madeira. The grape from which the Malmsey
Madeira wine is made is the Ciotat of the French, or parsley-leaved muscadine with a white berry. The
quantity of genuine malmsey produced annually is very small; and of that a good deal is supposed to be
manufactured with refined sugar. The quality of the wine here as every where else depends more on
the aspect and soil than on the kind of grape. The best is grown on the south side of the island, on the
lower declivities which point towards the south-east ; the west being always cooled by the sea breeze. ^
1124. Wheat is grown on lands previously prepared by the
culture of common broom. This is cut for fuel, and after
a time, grubbed up and burnt on the soil. By these means,
a crop of wheat is insured for a succession of years, more or
less, according to the soil; after which the same process
is again resorted to. For this purpose, the seeds of the
broom are collected, and generally bear the same price by
measure as wheat.
1125. The live-stock are not ViUmercus. Animals
of all sorts, as in most mountainous countries, are
small. The beef and mutton appears to a Briton
lean and tasteless ; common poultry are small ;
but ducks and turkeys equal those of England.
Pork is rare, but excellent, when well fed.
1126. The tropical fruits are not readily pro-
duced here. In the villages are found guavas,
bananas, oranges, and shaddocks, (^g-. 189.) Pine
apples are reared with great difficulty ; but neitlier
the granadilla nor the aligator pear, though they
grow vigorously, produce fruit.
Sect. III. Present State of ^Agriculture in North America,
1 127. The climate of this region, which extends from the vicinity of the equator to the
arctic circle, is necessarily extremely various. In general, the heat of summer, and the,
cold of winter, are more intense than in most parts of the ancient continent. The middle
provinces are remarkable for the unsteadiness of the weather. Snow falls plentifully in
Virginia, but seldom lies above a day or two. Carolina and Florida are subject to in-
sufferable heat, furious Whirlwinds, hurricanes, tremendous thunder, and fatal light-
nings. The climate of the western parts is least known ; that of California seems to be
in general moderate and pleasant.
1128. The surface o/ North America is nobly diversified with rivers, lakes, mountains,
and extensive plains, covered in many places with forests. Its shores are, in general,
low, irregular, with many bays and creeks ; and the central parts seem to present a vast
fertile plain, watered by the Missouri and its auxiliary streams. New Mexico in surface
is an alpine country, resembling Norway and Greenland ; Labrador, and the countries
round the Hudson sea, present irregular masses of mountain, covered with eternal snow.
In general, all the natural features of America are on a larger scale than of the old world.
1129. The agriculture of North America is chiefly that of the north of Europe; but
in the provinces near the equator the culture of the southern parts of Europe prevails ;
and in the West India islands, that of the warmest climates is followed ; there being no
production of any part of the world which may not be there brought to perfection.
— After this general outline of the agricultural circumstances of North America, we shall
select some notices of the agriculture of the United States, the Spanish dominions in
North America, British possessions, unconquered countries, and North American
islands or West Indies.
Subsect. 1. Present State of Agriculture in the United States.
11 30. The climate of the United States must necessarily vary in its different parts. In
the N.E. the winters are very cold, and the summers hot, changing as you proceed
southward. In the S. E., and along the gulf of Mexico, the summers are very hot, and
the winters mild and pleasant. Among the mountains it is cold towards the N., and
temperate in the S. Beyond the mountains, in the rich valleys of Ohio, Mississippi,
and Missouri, the climate is temperate and delightful, till we approach the rocky moun-
tains, when it is subject to extremes, the winters being very cold. The climate must be
chilled among mountains constantly covered with snow. West of these mountains, the
climate changes, until we reach the shores of the Pacific Ocean, where it resembles that
of the western parts of Kurope. The prevailing winds are from the west, and as they pass
over a wide expanse of Avater, they cool the air in summer, and in winter deluge the
country with frequent rain.
1131. The seasons generally correspond with those in Europe, but not with the equality
to be expected on a continent, as even during the summer heats single days will occur
which require tlie warmth of a fire. The latitude of Labrador corresponds with that of
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN NORTH AMERICA. 185
Stockholm, and that of Canada with France, but the temperature of those places is
widely different.
1132. The surface of the country in the United States presents every variety. The
north-eastern part on the coast is broken and hilly ; and is remarkably indented with
numerous bays and inlets. Towards the S., and along the gulf of Mexico, the land is
level and sandy, interspersed with many swamps, and numerous islands and inlets. At
the outlets of many of the rivers, there is a large portion of alluvial land, which is par-
ticularly the case along the Mississippi. Beyond the head of tide-waters, there is a
tolerably rich and agreeably uneven country, which extends to the mountains. The
mountainous district, on the Atlantic side of the country, is about 150 miles in breadth,
^nd 1200 miles in length. It extends in large ridges, from N.E. to S.W., and is
known as the Allegany mountains. Beyond these the great valley of the Mississippi
presents a surface of the finest land in the world. To the westward of this valley are
the mountains of Louisiana, and beyond these the bold shores of the Pacific ocean.
11 33. The soil of the United States, though of various descriptions, is generally fertile ;
often on the east of the Blue Mountains, in Virginia, a rich, brown, loamy earth; some-
times a yellowish clay, which becomes more and more sandy towards the sea. There
are considerable marshes and salt-meadows, sandy barrens producing only a few pines,
and'sometimes entirely destitute of wood. On the west of the Apulachian mountains,
the siiil is also generally excellent ; and in Kentucky some spots are deemed too rich for
wheat ; but the product may amount to sixty bushels per acre. About six feet below
the surface there is commonly a bed of limestone.
1 134. The landed property of the United States is almost universally freehold, having
been purchased or conquered by the different states or the general government from the
native savages ; and these, either lotted out to the conquering army, or reserved and sold
afterwards according to the demand.
1135. The mode of dividing and selling lands in the United States is thus described by Birkbeck, "The tract
of country, which is to be disposed of, is surveyed, and laid out in sections of a mile square, containing
six hundred and forty acres, and these are subdivided into quarters, and, in particular situations, half
quarters. The country is also laid out in counties of about twenty miles square, and townships of six
miles square, in some instances, and in others eight. The townships are numbered in ranges, from north
to south, and the ranges are numbered from west to east; and, lastly, the sections in each township are
marked numerically. All these lines are well defined in the woods, by marks on the trees. This done, at
a period of which public notice is given, the lands in question are put up to auction, excepting the six-
teenth section, which is near the centre, in every township, which is reserved for the support of schools,
and the maintenance of the poor. There are also sundry reserves of entire townships, as funds for the
support of seminaries on a more extensive scale, and sometimes for other purposes of general interest.
No government lands are sold under two dollars per acre ; and I believe they are put up at this price in
quarter sections, at the auction, and if there be no bidding they pass on. The best lands and most
favorable situations are sometimes run up to ten or twelve dollars, and in some late instances much
higher. The lots which remain unsold are from that time open to the public, at the price of two dollars
per acre ; one-fourth to be paid down, and the remaining three-fourths to be paid by instalments in five
years ; at which time, if the payments are not completed, the lands revert to the state, and the prior
advances are forfeited. When a purchaser has made his election of one, or any number of vacant
quarters, he repairs to the land-office, pays eighty dollars, or as many times that sum as he purchases
quarters, and receives a certificate, which is the basis of the complete title, which will be given him when
he pays all ; this he may do immediately, and receive eight per cent, interest for prompt payment. The
sections thus sold are marked immediately on the general plan, which is always open at the land-office
to public inspection, with the" letters A. P., i. e. advance paid. There is a receiver and a register at each
land-office, who are checks on each other, and are remunerated by a per centage on the receipts."
1 1 36. The price of land, though low when not cleared, rises rapidly in value after a very
slight occupation and improvement. Instances are frequent of a rise of ICOO per cent,
in about ten years. Cobbett, who resided in 1817, in Long Island, which may be con-
sidered the middle climate of the United States, gives the price of a cultivated farm in
that part of the country, " A farm, on this island," he says, " any where not nearer
than thirty miles off, and not more distant than sixty miles from New York, with a good
farm-house, barn, stables, sheds, and styes ; the land fenced into fields with posts and
rails, the wood-land being in the proportion of one to ten of the arable land, and there
being on the farm a pretty good orchard ; such a farm, if the land be in a good state,
and of an average quality, is worth sixty dollars an acre, or thirteen pounds sterling; of
course, a farm of a hundred acres would cost 1300/. The rich lands on the necks and
bays, where there are meadows, and surprisingly productive orchards, and where there
is loater carriage, are worth, in some cases, three times this price. But, what I have said
will be sufficient to enable the reader to form a pretty correct judgment on the subject.
In New Jersey, in Pennsylvania, every where the price differs with the circumstances of
water-carriage, quality of land, and distance from market. — When I say a good farm-
house, I mean a house a great deal better than the general run of farm-houses in Eng-
land ; more neatly furnished on the inside ; more in a parlour sort of style ; though
round about the house, things do not look so neat and tight as in England. "
1 1 37. The agriculture of the United States may be considered as entirely European,
and chiefly British. Not only is the climate better adapted for the British agriculture,
but the great majority of the inhabitants are of British origin. To enter into details
of the products and processes of North American agriculture would therefore be super-
fluous in a worJc principally devoted to British agriculture. All we shall attempt is, to
186
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
notice some of the leading peculiarities of North American agriculture, as resulting
from national, political and civil circumstances.
1138. The natural circumstances of lands not under culture, chie^y affect the com-
mencement of farming operations. In general, the lands purchased by settlers are:
underwood, which must be felled or burned, and the roots grubbed up ; a laborious
operation, which, however, leaves the soil in so rich a state, that it will bear heavy crops
of grain, potatoes, and tobacco, with very little culture, and no manure for several years.
Sometimes they are under grass, or partially covered with brushwood, in which the
operation of clearing is easier. In either case, the occupier has to drain, where neces-
sary ; enclose with a ring fence, if he wishes to be compact, to lay out and make the
farm road, and to build a house and farmery. The latter he constructs of timber,
sometimes plastered with neatness and taste, as in England, (Jig. 190.) but generally
190
•with logs and mud, as in Poland and Russia. (Jig. 191.) With timber also, he ge-
nerally forms his fences, though thorn and other live hedges are
planted in some of the earlier cultivated districts. I
1139. The usual practice of settlers with capital, may be very well exemplified in
the case of Birkbeck. This gentleman having purchased an estate of liw acres,
in the Illinois, and fixed on that part of it which he intended as his future
residence and farm. " The first act was building a cabin, about two hundred
yards from the spot where the house was to stand. This cabin is built of round
straight logs, about a foot in diameter, lying upon each other, and notclied in at
the comers, forming a room eighteen feet long, by sixteen ; the intervals between
the logs ' chuncked,' that is, filled in with slips of wood ; and ' mudded,' that is, daubed \yith a plaster
of mud : a spacious chimney, built also of logs, stands like a bastion at one end : the roof is well covered
with four hundred clap boards of cleft oak, very much like the pales used in England for fencing
parks. A hole is cut through the side, called, very properly, the 'door, (the through)' for which there is
a ' shutter,' made also of cleft oak, and hung on wooden hinges. All this has been executed by contract,
and well executed, for twenty dollars. I have since added ten dollars to the cost, for the luxury of a
floor and ceiling of sawn boards, and it is now a comfortable habitation."
114(). An example of a settler who began with capital only sufficient to pay the first instalment of eighty
dollars of the price of 160 acres of land is given by the same author, who had the information from the
settler himself. Fourteen years ago, he " unloaded his family under a tree," on his present estate ;
wl^ere he has now two hundred acres of excellent land, cleared and in good cultivation, capable of pro-
ducing from eighty to one hundred bushels of Indian corn per acre. The poor emigrant, having col-
lected the eighty dollars, repaired to the land-ofl[icc, and entered his quarter section, then worked his way,
without another ' cent' in his pocket, to the solitary spot, which was to be his future abode, in a two-horse
waggon, containing his family and his little all, consisting of a few blankets, a skillet, his rifle, and his axe.
Arrived in the spring : after putting up a little log cabin, he proceeded to clear, with intense labor, a
plot of ground for Indian corn, which was to be their next year's support ; but for the present, being
without means of obtaining a supply of flour, he depended on his gun for subsistence. In pursuit of tlie
game, he was compelled, after his day's work, to wade through the evening dews, up to the waist, in long
grass or bushes, and returning, finds nothing to lie on but a bear's skin on the cold ground, exposed
to every blast through the sides, and every shower through the open roof of his wretched dwelling,
which he does not even attempt to close, till the approach of winter, and often not then. Under these
distresses of extreme toil and exposure, debarred from every comfort, many valuable lives have sunk,
which have been charged to the climate. The individual whose case is here included, had to carry the
little grain he could procure twelve miles to be ground, and remembers once seeing at the mill, a man
who had brought his corn sixty miles, and was compelled to wait three days for his turn. Such are the
difficulties which these pioneers have to encounter ; but they diminish as settlements approach each
other, and are only heard of by their successors.
1141. The political circumstances of the United States affect the agriculturist both as to
the cost of production and the value of produce. It is evident that the want of popula-
tion mu.st render the price of labor high, and the produce of land low. In this
Parkinson, Birkbeck, Cobbett, and all who have written on the agriculture of America,
agree. ** The simple produce of the soil," Birkbeck observes, "that is to say, grain,
is cheap in America ; but every other article of necessity and convenience is dear in
comparison. Every service performed for one man by another must be purchased at a
high rate, much higher than in England." The cheapness of land affords the posses-
sion of independence and comfort at so easy a rate, that strong inducements of profit
are required to detain men in the condition of servitude. Hence the high price of all
Book L AGRICULTURE IN NORTH AMERICA. 187
commodities, not simply agricultural ; of the labor of mechanics of every description ;
and hence also the want of local markets for grain, because where three-fourths of the
population raise their own grain, (which is the calculation,) the remaining fourth will
use but a moderate proportion of the spare produce. The low rate of land and taxes,
and this want of home markets, is the reason why the American farmer, notwithstanding
the high price of labor, affords his grain so cheap for exportation. Notwithstanding the
low rate of produce, the profits of the American farmers arie high, on account of the
small capital required. With 2000/., Birkbeck calculates that a farm of 640 acres in the
Illinois, may be purchased, stocked, and cultivated, so as to return, after deducting all
expences, twenty-two percent., besides the value of the improvements made on the land,
that is, its increased value, which, as has already been stated, (1138.) is incredible in
a very short time.
1142. The agricultural products of the United States include all those of Britain and
France. The British grains, herbage, plants, and fruits grown in every district. What
appears at first sight very remarkable, is, that in America the native pastures, (excepting
on the banks of the rivers,} consist entirely of annuals; and that is the reason why the
country is generally bare and black in winter; but perennial grasses when sown in the
uplands, are found to thrive in many situations.^ The greatest quantity of wheat is
grown in Pennsylvania and New England. Maize ripens in all the districts, excepting
some of the most northerly. Rice is cultivated in Virginia, and on the Ohio ; and the
vine is indigenous in these and other provinces, though its culture has not yet been much
attempted, and some French cultivators are of opinion, that the American soil and
climate are unfavorable. This, however, is not likely to be the case, it being a native
of the country. The government have established a Swiss colony for its culture, at
Vevay, in Indiana, and another in Louisiana, for the culture of the olive. The mul-
berry, tlie cotton, and the sugar-cane, are cultivated in Virginia, but not extensively.
Sugar is procured plentifully in the woody districts by tapping different species of acer,
especially the saccharinum in spring ; boiling the juice till it thickens, and then granulating
it by letting it stand and drain in a tub, the bottom of which is pierced with small holes.
The sugar obtained does little more than pay for the lalor.
1143. Of the line stock of the United States the breed of horses of English extraction is,
in general, good, as are the cows and hogs. In many cases there is no limit to the
number of these that may be grazed in the unoccupied woods : all that the farmer has
to do, Ls to keep them irom bears and wolves, at particular seasons, and keep them
tame, as in Russia and Switzerland, by giving them salt. Sheep are totally unfit for
t.he climate, and state of the country, though a number of proprietors have been at great
pams to attempt introducing the Merinos. " Mutton," Birkbeck observes, " is almost
a-, abhorrent to an American palate, or fancy, as the flesh of swine to an Israelite ; and
the state of the manufactures does not give great encouragement to the growth of wool
of any kind; — of Merino wool less, perhaps, than any other. Mutton is sold
in the markets of Philadelphia at about half the price of beef; and the Kentuckian, who
would have given a thousand dollars for a Merino ram, wt)uld dine upoh dry bread rather
than taste his own mutton. A few sheep on every farm, to supply coarse wool for
domestic manufacture, seems to be all that ought at present to be attempted in any part
of America that I have yet seen. Deep woods are not the proper abodes of sheep.
Vvhen America shall have cleared away her forests, and opened her uplands to the
breezes, they will soon be covered with fine turf, and flocks will be seen ranging over
them here, as in otiier parts of the world.
1144. Agricultural operations in ^mmca are skilfully performed by the farmers of
capital, who have all the best implements of Europe. By the poorest settlers this is not
the case, for want ol" stock ; and by the native American farmers, from indolence, wliich,
according to all accounts, is their general defect. An American laborer is most expert at
the use of the axe and the scythe ; the spade he handles in a very awkward manner, and
has no idea of banking, hedging, clipping, or cutting hedges, and many other operations
known to every laborer in a highly cultivated and enclosed coUntry like Britain. But
the versatility of talent of an American laborer amply compensates for his inexperience
in these operations, and is more useful in his circumstances. In handling the saw, tlie
hanuner, and even the trowel, the British laborer has no chance with him. Most of them
can build a house, mend a plough or waggOn, and even the harness, and kill and dress
sheep and pigs.
1145. Field labors in America require to be performed with much greater expedition
than in England. The winter is long and severe, and the transition to spring is sudden ;
this season in many provinces only lasts a few weeks, when summer commences, and the
ground becomes too hard and dry for the operations of tillage. The operations of seed-
time must tlierefore be performed with the greatest rapidity. The climate of New York
may be reckoned one of the best in N. America. There the ground is covered with
iJnovv, or rendered black bv frost in the beginning of December, and continues without
188
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
a speck of green till May. Ploughing generally begins in the last week of April ; oats
are sown in that month ; and maize and potatoes about the middle of May.^ By the end
of May the wheat and rye which has stood the winter, the spring-sown corn, the grass,
and the fruit trees appear as forward as they are at the same period in England. There
is very little rain during June. July, and August. Cherries ripen in the last week of
June ; by the middle of July the harvest of
wheat, rye, oats, and barley, is half over;
pears ripen in the beginning of August; maize,
(Jig. 192.) rye, and wheat, are sown during the
whole of October ; is cut in the first week of
September ; peaches and apples are ripe by the
end of the month ; the general crop of potatoes
are dug up in the beginning of November ; and
also turnips and other roots taken up and housed ;
a good deal of rain falls in September, October,
and November, and severe frosts commence in
the first week of December, and as above stated
continue till the last week of April. Such is the
agricultural year in the country of New York.
Live stock requires particular attention during
the long winter; and unless a good stock of
Swedish turnip, carrot, or other roots has been
laid up for them, they will generally be found
in a very wretched state in April and May.
1146. The civil circumstances of the United States are unfavorable to the domestic enjoy-
ments of a British farmer emigrating thither. Many privations must be suffered at first,
and some probably for one or two generations to come. The want of society seems an
obvious drawback ; but this Birkbeck has shewn is not so great as might be imagined.
When an emigrant settles among American farmers, he will generally find them a lazy,
ignorant people, priding themselves in their freedom, and making little use of their
privileges ; but when he settles among other emigrants, he meets at least with people who
have seen a good deal of the world and of life ; and who display often great energy of cha-
racter. These cannot be considered as uninteresting, whatever may be their circumstances
as to fortune; and when there is something like a parity in this respect and in
intellectual circumstances, the social bond will be complete. It must be considered
that one powerfully-operating circumstance must exist, whatever be the difference
of circumstances or intellect ; and that is, an agreement in politics both as to the
country left and that adopted. For the rest, the want of society may be to a
certain degree supplied by the press ; there being a regular post in every part of the
United States, and numerous American and European newspapers and periodical works
circulated there. Birkbeck mentions that the Edinburgh and Quarterly Review, the
Monthly and other magazines, and the London newspapers are as regularly read by him
at the prairie in Illinois, as they were at his farm of Wanborogh in Suffolk, and that all
the difference is, that they arrive at the prairie three months later than they did at his
British residence. We have seen
sketches of the houses erected by
this gentleman, and some others
who have settled around him, and
we consider them as by no means
deficient either in apparent com-
modiousness or effect. They re-
mind us of some of the best
houses of Switzerland and Nor-
way. {Jig. 138.)
1147. The want of domeslio
servants is a considerable drawback
in most parts of the United States ;
but especially in the new settle-
ments. Families who remove into Western America, Birkbeck observes, should bring with
them the power and the inclination to dispense, in a great degree, with servants. To be
easy and comfortable there, a man should know how to wait upon himself, and practise it.
In other respects, this gentleman and his friends hope to live on their estates at the
prairie, " much as they were accustomed to live in England."
1 148. jis a country for a British farmer to emigrate to, we consider the United States as
superior to every other, in two respects. First on account of its form of government :
by which property is secure, — personal liberty greater than any where else, consistently
with public safety j and both maintained at less expence than under any government irt
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN NORTH AMERICA. 189
the world. Secondly, on account of the stock of people being generally British, and
speaking the same language. The only objection we have to America is the climate,
the long and severe winter, and the rapid and hot spring and summer. Equally good
land, and nearly as cheap, may be had in the south of Russia and in Poland, as in
America ; but who that knows any thing of the governments of those countries, or even
of Germany and France, would voluntarily put themselves in their power while the
United States are accessible ? Who would live in a country of tyrannic nobles, often
very deficient of moral principle ; and of a peasantry little better than hogs, and not so
well fed and lodged as that animal is in England ? Who would live in a country of
passports, of spies, and swarming with beggarly gentry, wohlgeborne, hochwohlgeborne,
edilgeborne, hochedelgebome, &c. ; and where exists that precious article hochjagt; being
a description of game which no man may pursue under the rank of prince ? Who would
emigrate to Hanover if he could settle in France ; and who would go there if he could
accomplish the voyage to the United States ?
1 1 49. Van Diemans Land and New Holland, next to the United States, are perhaps the
most desirable places to go to ; and they are superior to America in climate ; but no man
is safe under a delegated and distant administration of government ; and, besides, if a man
is to leave his country, it seems prefe-r' le to emancipate hims'-lf at once from all the good
and evil of the old world state of society and government, and plunge into a new and
superior order of things. No person, however, should determine on so important a step
without making himself, as far as practicable, master of all that has been said, written,
or done on both sides of the question. For this purpose he may consult what has
been published by Parkinson, England, Fearon, Wild, Birkbeck, Cobbett, Mellish,
Helme, Dwight, Hodgson, and a variety of others.
SuBSECT. 2. Present State of Agriculture in Mexico.
1 1 50. The climate of this extensive and recently/ revolutionized country is singularly
diversified, between the tropical seasons and rains, and the temperature of the southern
and even middle countries of Europe. The maritime districts of Mexico are hot and
unhealthy, so as to occasion much perspiration even in January ; the inland mountains, on
the other hand, present snow and ice in the dog-days. In other inland provinces, how-
ever, the climate is mild and benign, with some snow of short duration in winter ; but
no artificial warmth is necessary, and animals sleep all the year under the open sky.
From April to September there are plentiful rains, generally after noon ; hail storms are
not unknown ; thunder is frequent ; and earthquakes and volcanoes occasionally occur.
The climate of the capital, in lat. 19*^ 25', differs much from that of the parts of Asia
and Africa under the same parallel ; which difference seems to arise chiefly from the
superior height of the ground. Humboldt found, that the vale of Mexico is about 6960
feet above the level of the sea, and that even the inland plains are generally as high as
Mount Vesuvius, or about 3600 feet. This superior elevation tempers the climate with
a greater degree of cold ; upon the whole, therefore, it cannot be regarded as un-
healthy.
1151. The surface of the country is diversified by grand ridges of mountains, numerous
volcanoes, some of which are covered with perpetual snow, cataracts worthy of the
pencil of Rosa, delicious vales, fertile plains, picturesque lakes and rivers, romantic
cities and villages, and an union of the trees and vegetables of Europe and America.
1152. The soil is often deep clay, surprisingly fertile and requiring no manure except
irrigation. In some places it is boggy or composed of a soft black earth, and there are
barren sands and stony soils in the elevated regions.
1153. Of the agriculture of Mexico some account is given by the abbe Clavigero and
the baron de Humboldt. According to the first author, agriculture was from time
immemorial exercised by the Mexicans, and almost all the people of Anahuac. The
Toltecan nation employed themselves diligently in it, and taught it to the Thechemecan
hunters, With respect to the Mexicans, we know that during the whole of their pere-
grination, from their native country Atzlan, unto the lake where they founded Mexico,
they cultivated the earth in all those places where they made any considerable stop, and
lived upon the produce of their labor. When they were brought under subjection to
the Colhuan and Tepanecan nations, and confined to the miserable little islands on the
lake, they ceased for some years to cultivate the land, because they had none, until
necessity and industry together, taught them to form moveable fields and gardens,
which floated on the waters of the lake.
1154. The method of forming floating fields, and which they still practise, is extremely simple. They
plait and twist willows, and roots of marsh plants, or other materials, together, which are light, but
capable of supporting the earth of the field firmly united. Upon this foundation they lay the light
bushes which float on the lake, and over all, the mud and dirt which they draw up from the bottom of
the same lake. Their regular figure is quadrangular; their length and breadth various; but in
general, they are about eight perches long, and not more than three in breadth, and have less than a
foot of elevation above the surface of the water. These were the first fields which the Mexicans owned
190 ; HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
after the foundation of Mexico* tliere they first cultivated the maize, great pepper, and other plants,
necessary for their support. In progress of time as those fields grew numerous from the industry of those
iieople there were among them gardens of flowers and odoriferous plants, which were employed in the
worship of their gods, and served for the recreation of the nobles. At present they cultivate flowerr,, and
every sort of garden herbs upon them. Every day 'of the year, at sun-rise, innumerable vessels loaded
with" various kinds of flowers and herbs, which are cultivated in those fields and gardens, are seen arriving
by the canal, at the great market-place of that capital. All plants thrive there surprisingly ; the mud of
the lake is an extremely fertile soil, and requires np water from the clouds. In the largest islands there
is commonly a little tree, and even a little hut to shelter the cultivator, and defend him from rain or the
sun. When the owner of an island, or the chinampa, as he is usually called, wishes to change his situa-
tion to remove from a disagreeable neighbor, or to come nearer to his own family, he gets into his
little vessel and by his own strength alone, if the garden is small, or with the assistance of others, if it is
large he tows it after him, and conducts it wherever he pleases with the little tree and hut upon it.
That'part of the lake where those floating fields are, is a place of infinite recreation, where the senses
receive the highest possible gratification. These floating fields, Humboldt informs us, still exist : they are
of two sorts; the one mobile and blown here and there by the winds, and the others fixed and united
to the shore. The former alone merit the appellation of floating, and they are diminishing day by day.
He assigns to them the same origin as the abbe Clavigero ; but thinks it probable that nature also may have
suggested the first idea, and gives instances of small pieces of the surface, netted with roots and covered
with plants, being detached from the marshy shores of other American lakes, and 'floating about in the
water. The bean, pea, apple, artichoke, cauliflowers, and a great variety of other culinary plants are
cultivated on them.
1155. A floating island, in a small lake in Haverhill, in New England, is mentioned by Dr. Dwiglit. It
has, he was informed, immemorially floated from one shore to another, whenever it was impelled by a
violent wind. Lately it has adhered for a considerable time to a single spot ; and may perhaps be so
firmly fixed on the shelving bottom, as to move no more hereafter. Several trees and shrubs grow on its
surface, and it is covered by a fresh verdure. {Travels, &c. vol. i. p. 371.)
1156. Having neither ploughs nor oxen, nor any other animals proper to be employed in the culture of the
earth, the Mexicans, when they had shaken off the Tepanecan yoke, supplied the want of them by labor,
and other more simple instruments. To hoe and dig the ground they made use of the confl, or coa,
which is an instrument made of copper, with a wooden handle, but different from a spade or mattock.
They made use of an axe to cut trees, which was also made of copper, and was of the same form with
those of modern times, except that we put the handle in the eye of the axe, whereas they put the axe
into an eye of the handle. They had several other instruments of agriculture ; but the neghgence of
ancient writers on this subject has not left in our power to attempt their description.
1157. They irrigated their fields with the water of rivers and small torrents which came from the moun-
tains, raising dams to collect them, and forming canals to conduct them. Lands which were high, or on
the declivity of mountains, were not sown every year, but allowed to lie fallow until they were over-run
with bushes, which they burned, to repair by their ashes the salt which rains had washed away. They
surrounded their fields with stone enclosures, or hedges made of the penguin, which make an excellent
fence ; and in the month Panquetzaliztli, which began on the third of December, they were repaired if
necessary.
1158. In sowing of maize, the method they observed, and which they still practise in some places, is
this: the sower makes a small hole in the earth with a stick, or drill probably, the point of which is
hardened by fire ; into this h»)le he drops one or two grains of maize from a basket which hangs from his
shoulder and covers them with a little earth by means of his foot ; he then passes forward to a certain
distance, which is greater or less according to the quality of the soil, opens another hole, and continues so
in a straight line unto the end of the field ; from thence he returns, forming another line parallel to the
first. The rows of plants by these means are as straight as if a line was made use of, and at as equal
distances from each other as if the spaces between were measured. This method of sowing, which is now
used by a few of the Indians only, though more slow, is, however, of some advantage, as they can more ex-
actly proportion the quantity of seed to the strength of the soil ; besides that there is almost none of the
seed lost which is sown : in consequence of this, the crops of the fields which are cultivated in that
manner are usually more plentiful. When the maize springs up to a certain height, they cover the foot
of the plant round with earth, that it may be better nourished, and more able to withstand sudden gusts
of wind.
1159. In the labors of the field the men were assisted by the women. It was the business of the men to
dig and hoe the ground, to sow, to heap the earth about the plants, and to reap ; to the women it belonged
to strip off" the leaves from the ears, and to clear the grain ; to weed and to shell it was the employment
of both.
1160. They had places like farm-yards, where they stripped off the leaves from the ears, and shelled
them, and granaries to preserve the grain. Their granaries were built in a square form, and generally
Of wood. They made use of the ojameth for this purpose, which is a' very lofty tree, with but a few
slender branches, and a thin smooth bark ; the wood of it is extremely pliant, and difl^cult to break
or rot. These granaries were formed by placing the round and equal trunks of the ojameth in a square,
one upon the other, without any labor except that of a small notch towards their extremities, to adjust
and unite them so perfectly as not to suffer any passage to the light. When the structure was raised to
a suflScient height, they covered it with another set of cross-beams, and over these the roof was laid
to defend the grain from rains. Those granaries had no other door or outlet than two windows, one below
which was small, and another somewhat wider above. Some of them were so large as to contain five or
six thousand, or sometimes more /an^g-fls of maize. There are some of this sort of granaries to be met
with in a few places at a distance from the capital, and amongst them some so very ancient, that they
appear to have been built before the conquest ; and, according to information had from persons of
intelligence, they preserve the grain better than those which are constructed by the Europeans.
1161. A little tower of wood, branches and mats they commonly erected close to fields which were sown,
in which a man defended from the sun and rain, kept watch, and drove away the birds which came in
flocks to consume the young grain. Those little towers are still made use of even in the fields of the
Spaniards on account of the excessive number of birds.
1162. The woods which supphed them with fuel to burn, timber to build, and game for the diversion of
the king, were carefully preserved. The woods of king Montezuma were extensive, and the laws of king
Nezahualcojotl concerning the cutting of them particular and severe in their penalties. It would be of
advantage to that kingdom, says Clavigero, that those laws were still in force, or at least that there was
not so much liberty granted in cutting without an obligation to plant a certain number of trees ; as many
people, preferring their private interest and convenience to the public welfare, destroy the wood in order to
enlarge their possessions.
1 163. The breeding of animals was not neglected by the Mexicans : though there were
no sheep, they bred up innumerable species of animals unknown in Europe. Bullock
{Travels, 1824) informs us, that they are very curious in rearing and feeding swine ; and
that an essential requisite in a Mexican swineherd is an agreeable voice ; in order that
he may sing or charm the animals into peace when they quarrel and fight, and lull them
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN NORTH AMERICA.
191
to sleep at proper times, to promote their fatting. Wind and sounds of every kind have
been long known to have a powerful effect on this genus of animals. Private persons
brought up techichis, quadrupeds, similar to little dogs ; turkeys, quails, geese, ducks,
and other kinds of fowl. In the territories of the lords were bred fish, deer, rabbits,
and a variety of birds ; and at the royal residences, almost all the species of quadrupeds,
and winged animals of those countries, and a prodigious number of water animals and
reptiles. We may say that in this kind of magnificence Montezuma II. surpassed all
the kings of the world, and that there never has been a nation equal in skill to the
Mexicans in the care of so many different species of animals, which had so much know-
ledge of their dispositions, of the food which was most proper for each, and of all the
means necessary for their preservation and encrease.
1164. The Mexican cochineal, so greatly valued in Europe on account of its dyes of scarlet and crimson,
demands a great deal more care from the breeder than is necessary for the silkworm. Rain, cold, and
strong winds destroy it. Birds, mice, and worms, persecute it furiously, and devour it ; hence it is neces-
sary to keep the rows of opuntia, or nopal, where those insects are bred, always clean ; to attend constantly
to drive away the birds, which are destructive to them ; to make nests of hay for them among the
opuntia, by the juice of which they are nourished; and when the season of rain approaches, to raise
them with a part of the plants, and guard them in houses. Before the females are delivered they cast their
skin, to obtain which spoil, the breeders make use of the tail of the rabbit, brushing most gently with it
that they may not detach the insects from the plants, or do them any hurt. On every lobe they make three
nests, and in every nest they lay about fifteen cochineals. Every year they make three gatherings, reserv-
ing, however, each time, a certain number for the future generation ; but the last gathering is least
valued, the cochineals being smaller then, and mixed with the prickles of the opuntia. They kill the
cochineal most commonly with hot water. On the manner of drying it afterwards the quality of the colour
which is obtained from it chiefly depends. The best is that which is dried in the sun. Some dry it
in the conialli, or pan, in which they bake their bread of maize, and others in the temazcalli, a sort of
oven. {Clavigero, vol. i. p. 357 to 381.)
1165. The fruits of Mexico are very numerous, the banana, (Jig. 194.) and granadilla,
(Jig. 195.) are very common. The bread-fruit and cocoa are extensively cultivated ;
and a number of sorts of anona, or custard apple, (Jig. 196.), and especially the cheri-
moyer (A. tripetala), which is much esteemed. In short, all the fruits of Europe and
most of those of both Indies are to be found in the gardens of the nobles and the priests.
SuBSECT. 3. Present State of Agriculture in the British Possessions of North America.
1 1 66. The principal British provinces in America
are Canada, New 13runswick, Nova Scotia, Cape
Breton, and the adjacent islands of Newfound-
land and the Bermudas.
1167. Canada is an extensive country, and the
only British province in which agriculture is
generally pursued. The climate of this country
is extremely irregular ; in July and August, the
heat is often 96', while in winter the mercury
freezes. The ground is covered with snow from
November till May, when it thaws suddenly,
and vegetation is instantaneous. The surface of
the country is generally mountainous and woody ;
but there are savannas, and plains of great beauty
towards Upper Canada.
1168. The soil consists principally of a loose
dark-coloured earth, ten or twelve inches deep,
lying on a bed of cold clay. This thin mould,
however, is very fertile, and yields plentiful
192 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
crops, although it is worked every year by the French Canadians, without being
ever manured. The manures chiefly used, since the practice of manuring has been in-
troduced, by those who are the best farmers, are marie and gypsum, the former is found
in great quantities in many places along the shores of the river St. Lawrence.
1 169. With respect to the jrroducts of Canada, the low country is peculiarly adapted to
the growth of small grain. Tobacco also thrives well in it, but the culture is neglected,
except in private use ; and more than half of what is used is imported. The snuff pro-
duced from the Canadian tobacco is held in great estimation. Culinary vegetables arrive
at great perfection in Canada, which is also the case with most of the European fruits.
The currants, gooseberries, and raspberries are very fine ; the latter are indigenous, and
are found very abundantly in the woods. A kind of vine is also indigenous ; but the
grapes produced by it in its uncultivated state are very poor and sour, and not much larger
than fine currants. In the forest there is a great variety of trees; such as beech, oak, elm,,
ash, pine, sycamore, chestnut, and walnut ; and the sugar maple-tree is found in almost
every part of the country. Of this tree there are two kinds; the one called the swamp
maple, being generally found on low lands, and the other, the mountain or curled maple,,
from its growing upon high dry ground, and from the grain of its wood being beauti-
fully variegated with little stripes and curls. The former yields more sap than the latter,
but its sap affords less sugar. A pound of sugar is frequently procured from two or
three gallons of the sap of the curled maple, whereas no more than the same quantity
can be had from six or seven gallons of that of the swamp tree. The maple sugar is the
only sort of raw sugar used in the country parts of Canada, and it is also very generally
used in the towns.
1170. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are intensely cold countries, and only partially
civilised. The vale of St. John's river is the principal scene of cultivation in New
Brunswick. The upland parts of the country are chiefly covered with forests of pines,
hemlock, and spruce fir, beech, birch, maple, and some oak. The pines on St. John's
river are the largest in British America, and afford a considerable supply of masts for
the royal navy. Nova Scotia produces little grain ; supplies being sent from England.
The soil is thin and barren, excepting on the banks of the river, where it produces grass,
hemp, and flax.
1171. In the island of Cape Breton the soil is mere moss, and has been found unfit for
agriculture. Newfoundland seems to be rather hilly than mountainous, with woods of
birch, pine, and fir, numerous ponds and morasses with some dry barrens. The chief
produce of these islands, as well as the other British possessions in America, is furs and
skins ; and the same remark will apply to the Bermudas and other unconquered countries,
which need not be further noticed.
SuBSECT. 4. Present Slate of Agriculture in the West India Islands.
1172. The jnincipal West India islands are Cuba, St. Domingo, Jamaica, and Porto
Rico ; and next the Windward islands, Trinidad, the Leeward islands of the Spanish,
and the Bahamas.
1173. Cuba is an extensive and naturally fertile island, but from the indolence of the
Spaniards not above a hundredth part of it is cleared and cultivated. Like most islands in
the West Indies, it is subject to storms, but the climate is, upon the whole, healthy, and even
temperate ; for though in this latitude there is no winter, the air is refreshed with rains and
cooling breezes. The rainy months are July and August ; the rest of the year is hot. A
chain of mountains extends the whole length of the island from east to west, and divides
it into two parts; but the land near the sea is in general "^^^^ 197
level, and flooded in the rainy season. Tlie soil is equal in
fertility to any in America, producing ginger, long pepper,
and other spices ; aloes, mastich, cassia fistula, manioc, maize,-"
cocoa, &c. Tobacco is one of its principal productions, and
it is supposed to have the most delicate flavor of any produced
in the new world. The cultivation of sugar has lately been"
introduced ; but the indolence of the inhabitants renders it
in every respect much less productive than it otherwise might
be. The quantity of coffee is inconsiderable. The chief^
plantations are in the plains, and are cultivated by about
25,000 slaves. Among the trees are oaks, firs, palms, ^
cotton trees, ebony, and mahogany, (Swietenia Mahogani,
Jig. 197.) In 1763 bees were introduced by some
emigrants from Florida, and they multiplied so much in
the hollows of old trees, that they soon obtained honey,
enough for their annual consumption. In 1777 they'
exported honey to the amount of 715,000 pounds. The
Book I. AGRICULTURE IN NORTH AMERICA. 193
island abounds with mules, horses, sheep, wild boars, hogs, and fine black cattle. Tlie
horned cattle have increased so much that the forests are filled with droves of them,
which run wild, and are hunted and killed for their hides and tallow. The chief birds
are paroquets, turtle doves, and partridges; water-fowl are numerous; and on the
coast turtles are abundant ; mullets and shads are the principal fish.
1 174. Jamaica has been in possession of' the English since the middle of the seventeenth
century. The climate is extremely hot throughout the year, though mitigated by various
causes. The surface of the country is very irregular : a ridge of mountains from east to
west divides it into two parts. At a small distance from the shore it rises into hills with
gentle acclivity, which are separated from each other by spacious vales and romantic in-
equalities. On the southern side of the island there are precipices and inaccessible cliffs,
amidst which are vast plains, covered with extensive cane fields. To the inequalities of
surface that distinguish this island it is owing, that, although the soil in many jjarts of the
island is deep and very fertile, yet the productive land is but of small extent, in pro-
portion to the whole. That which is actually cultivated is of a middling quality, and
requires labor and manure to make it yield liberally.
1175. Landed property in Jamaica is in general freehold without manorial rights, and is chiefly in the
enjoyment of individuals, though there is some government and corporation territory. Estates are
generally small, few exceeding 1(X)0 acres : formerly they were managed by resident proprietors ; but at
present, and for some time past, by far the greater number have been managed by agents or attorneys,
who are represented by Roughley as a selfish, grasping, unprincipled set of men, " too ignorant to be
planters, and too ostentatious, proud, and supine, to contribute to the good of their constituents."
{Planter's Guide, p. 8.) They often contrive, by getting estates in debt and mortgaging them, ultimately
to become the proprietors themselves. Some proprietors are so over-careful as to have what is called a
planting attorney, and a mercantile attorney, the latter for the sale of produce, and the purchase of im-
ported stores for the slaves. Besides these there are travelling agents who visit different estates, and
make annual or biennial voyages to Europe to the proprietors ; an overseer for each estate, who has both
free white men and slaves under him ; a head driver, a slave ; the head cattle and mule man ; the head
boiler or manufacturer of sugar ; head carpenters, coopers, masons, coppersmiths, and watchmen ; a
hot-house or hospital doctor or doctress midwife; the great gang of able men and women ; the second
gang of rather weakly habits ; and the third, or weeding gang, composed of children ; cattle and mule boys,
watchmen, invalids, and superanimated, and young children and infants. The qualifications, duties,
and treatment of all these classes are discussed at length by Roughley, who gives a picture of culture
and management very different from any thing belonging to the management of landed property, or the
culture of farm lands in Britain.
117fi. The overseer, who is generally known by his hat and pipe {fig. 198.), should be a man of intelli-
gence, tempered with experience, naturally humane, steadfast in well-devised pursuits, of settled sober
habits, not given to keeping indiscriminate company, or suffering his subor-
dinate white people to do so, thereby vitiating their manners ; presenting a
gentleman-like appearance, keeping a regular, well-supplied comfortable table,
without profusion, not only for himself and the white people under him, but for
the benefit of such sick and convalescent slaves as require salutary and restor-
ing nourishment. His bus'.ness hours will be fully occupied by the concerns of
the estate, his leisure ones in the innocent enjoyment of some domestic amuse-
ment. He must be kind and courteous to the young men under him, but giving
or allowing them no opportunity to treat him with disrespei^t ;, attentive and hos-
pitable to respectable strangers, cautious and wary how he suffers strollers to tempt
his benevolence. He must not capriciously or suddenly discharge his white people
(as is very often the case), taking care that no envious or jealous sentiment or
idea arises in his mind, if his young men have merit on their side, or are
caressed by their superiors. He must keep the slaves strictly to their work, yet
not imposing on them unusuqj hours, or inflicting punishment for every trifling=l^
offence; but when punishment for crimes is necessary, to temper it with pru-
dent mercy. He must be attentive to their real wants, not suffering them to4
tease him with their trifling complaints, or tamper with him by their arts, but"
promptly satisfy them, by enquiring into their serious grievances. Above all things, he must not en-
courage the spirit of Obea in them (which is horrible), or dishearten them by cohabiting with their wives,
annulling thereby their domestic fehcities. He must not suffer their provision-grounds to be neglected,
trespassed on, or ruined, or their houses to be out of repair or uncomfortable ; for it very often hapiwjns,
that well-disposed slaves, by such freedoms taken with their wives, their well-established grounds ruined
by thieves or cattle, their domestic quiet and comfort intruded upon, or their houses rendered unhabit-
able by storm or casualty, become runaways. Their conduct influences others, till at last the strength of
.the estate vanishes, the evil becomes notorious, and the plantation, of course, becomes neglected. The
magistrates are then obliged to take this growing evil into serious consideration. Hunting parties are
sent out (perhaps with little success) to bring in the fugitives ; martial law is at last proclaimed throughout
the diseased district ; all sorts of people are harassed ; public trials are instituted ; some of the runaways
are never caught ; others who are brought in undergo trial, and are convicted and sentenced to death or
transportation for life. {Roughley, 40. 43.)
1177. The head driver is seen carrying with him the emblems of his rank and dignity, a polished staff or
wand, with prongy crooks on it to lean on, and a sliort-handled flexible whip; his ottice combining
within itself a power, derived principally from the overseer, of directing all conditions of slaves, relative
to the precise work he wishes each gang or mechanic to undergo or execute. The great gang is comprised
of the most powerful field negroes, and is always under his charge. These are the strength with which
principally to carry into effect the main work in the field, and manufacture the sugar and rum. There
are so many points to turn to, so many occasions for his skill, vigilance, steadiness, and trust- worthiness,
that the sclv'ction of such a man, fit for such a place, requires circumsiwction, and an intimate knowledge of
liis talents and capacity. A bad or indifferent head driver sets almost every thing at variance ; injures the
negroes, and the culture of the land Ho is like a cruel blast that pervades everything, and spares nr-
thing ; but when he is well-disposed, intelligent, clever, and active, he is the life and soul of an estate. He
very often is an elderly or middle-aged negro, who has long been so «>mployetl. If it siiould be so ordered,
that a new head driver is requisite to be put in commission, I must beg leave to lay before my readers my
opinion of the proper choice of one. I may err, but hope not irretrievably. He should, in my judgment,
be an athletic man ; sound and hardy in constitution ; of well-earned and reputed good character ; of an
age, and, if possible, an appearance to carry respect; perhaps about thirty-five years old ; clean in his
person and apparel ; if possible a native or Creole of the island, long used to field work, and marked for
his sobriety, readiness, and putting his work well out of his hands. His civility should be predominant.
194 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I.
his patience apparent, his mode of inflicting punishment mild. He should be respectful to white people ;
suffering no freedoms from those under him, by conversation or trifling puerile conduct. It is rare, in-
deed to find this mass of perfection in a negro ; but you obtain a combination of most of these virtues ;
and 'as to petty vices, always inherent in some measure in human nature, they must be looked over, when
not too full of evil. The junior drivers likewise, if possible, should be men of this description ; but having
a good master over them in the head driver, they will be induced to behave tolerably. (Bmighley, 79. 82.)
1178. T/ie laborers on a sugar Jamaica estate consist almost entirely of slaves, Creoles, natives, or
Africans, with some free blacks and men of color or mixed progeny. The overseers are almost always
whites, and sometimes also the head drivers.
1179. The buildings required fm- a sugar plantation are numerous and extensive. In a centrical situation
by a stream or other supply of water, " an extensive .set of works, including an overseer's house, hospital
or hot-house, mill-house, large mill-yard, mule stable, trash or fuel house, cooper and carpenter's shops,
boiling and curing houses, a distilling house, tanks, cisterns, &c. should be built and so arranged as all
to be seen from -the overseer's house.
1180. The overseer^s house, it would appear, must be both a comfortable and elegant building. It should be
■built compact and convenient, not over roomy; and raised sufliciently high from the foundation, with
good ma.sonry work, to admit of suitable stores underneath, to keep all the plantation stores and supplies
in. It should be placed so, that all the works can be seen from it, and not far from the boiling-house.
The rooms should be all on the same floor, and closely boarded with seasoned stuff. Each white man
should have a small bed-room to himself, with a glazed sash window on hinges, and a shutter to it. The
bed-rooms should be eleven feet by nine each, of which five should be in every overseer's house on a sugar
estate, leaving the overseer's room somewhat larger than the book-keeper's. A large well-covered
piazza, with comfortable glazed windows, (to rise and fall occasionally,) will answer all the purpose of a
dining and breakfast hall, and for walking in. Large centre halls in such houses are of very little use,
take up a great deal of room, are very expensive, and make the house large, without any real convenience.
A small back piazza, made comfortable by moving blinds with stops, would be proper for the servants.
I think every dwelling-house on a plantation should have a small fire-place in it, with a well-raised
chimney, for fire occasionally in damp weather to be made in ; it will be wholesome and preservative. The
lire-place should be in an extreme angle of the dining piazza, and the overseer's cooking-room, washing-
room, &c., should be apart from the house, though not far off, conveniently fitted up, and of moderate
size The little appendages of a hog-stye, fowl-house, &c., to raise small stock in, are easily built at a
small expense. [lb. 184, 185.)
1181. A lime kiln is an essential building for a sugar estate, a considerable quantity of lime being wanted
to neutralize the acid of the expressed juice of the cane.' A fixed kiln at the works is best, as what lime is
wanted can then be burnt at any time ; but it often happens that temporary kilns, composed of layers of
stones and wood, with a funnel in the centre, are made in the woods, lighted and burnt, and the produce
carried home. Such a kiln, twenty feet in diameter, and ten or twelve feet high, will produce lime enough
to make sixteen hogsheads of sugar. (76. 314.)
1182. The houses of the slaves are grouped together on some estates, and scattered in different places in
others, generally on the outskirts of the estate. They are low cottages of one or two apartments, with
open sheds, and pieces of garden ground of from one-eighth to one-quarter of an acre attjiched to each,
and some of them are kept neat, and have a clean, not uncomfortable appearance ; they are generally
built with stone, and covered with shingles.
1183. Every building composing the works of a sugar estate should be composed of the most substantial
materials, durable, hard, well-seasoned timber, well put together, and supported by the best mason
work. They should be shingled instead of being thatched, and kept free from the hungry, destructive
ant, who, by his mighty though diminutive efforts, will level a substantial building to the ground
in a short time. Poisoning by arsenic is the most expedient mode of getting rid of them, as the living
will feed on the dead, so that the whole nest, (.by devouring one another,) are thus killed. {lb. 194).
1184. The live stock of a sugar estate are chiefly oxen, spayed heifers, and mules, as beasts of labor : the
overseer generally keeps a riding horse, as does the resident agent or proprietor if there are such ; and
there are pigs and poultry, with some sheep for consumption. The cattle and mules are kept on the
savannahs or open waste pastures, and on Guinea grass {Panicum) and Scotch grass [Panicum hirtellum,
fig.199 a.) on which they are folded, tethered, or soiled. Mares and Spanish or Maltese jackasses are
kept for breeding the mules ; and the cattle are in general reared on the estate. A jack should be from
ten to twelve hands high, and either stubbled or put into a close pasture, with high, firm walls and gates
to it. He should be regularly corned once a day at least ; should have pure water to drink, and not
suffered to cover more than one mare daily. The mares should be put to him in season, and attended by an
experienced groom. A proper covering pit should be made for the mare to stand in, with a surmounting
stage for the jack to stand on. They should be daily taken and led out to exercise, kept well cleaned, and
bv no means allowed to stay out in bad weather, but comfortably stabled, foddered, and littered.
(lb. 141, 142.)
1185. The agricultural operations of Jamaica are for the most part performed by the
'manual labor of indigenous slaves, but natives are also imported from different parts of
the coast of Africa. ITie soil is seldom either ploughed or dug, but generally worked
with the hoe pick. The spade the negroes are awkward at using ; and they are not less
expert at the plough. White ploughmen have been imported by some cultivators; but
the prejudices of the overseers, the awkwardness of the oxen and negro drivers, and the
effects of the climate in wearing out the spirits of the ploughman, are said to have dis-
couraged its use. Long in 1774, Dr. Stokes, {Young's Annals of Agr. xviii. 148.) and
others, have tried the plough, and strongly recommend it as doing the work better and
lessening the necessity of having so many slaves. Roughley, however, who was " nearly
twenty years a sugar planter in Jamaica," {Jamaica Planter s Guide, 1823.) is decidedly
against it, whether drawn by negroes or cattle ; both because it does not do the work so
well as the hoe, and because of the difficulty of getting ploughmen and properly trained
beasts. It is probable, however, that necessity may ultimately lead to the use of the
plough drawn by oxen, and that the operative man in the West India islands will in
time assume the same attitude as in Europe.^
1186. Tlie agricultural productions of Jamaica of the greatest importance are
sugar, indigo, coffee, and cotton. The several species of grain cultivated in this
island are maize or Guinea corn, yielding from thirty to sixty bushels an acre ; and
various kinds of calavances, a species of pea ; and rice, but in no great quantity.
The island abounds also with different kinds of grass, of excellent quality : the arti-
ficial grass, called " Scots grass" {Panicum hirtellum^ fig. 199 a.) grows sponta-
neously in most of the swamps and morasses of the West Indies ; and it is so pro-
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN NORTH AMERICA.
195
ductive, that a single acre of it will maintain five
horses for a whole year. The <* Guinea-grass"
(P. polt/gonuniy fig. 199 b.) is next in importance
to the sugar-cane, as the grazing and breeding
farms are chiefly supported by it. Hence arises
the plenty of homed cattle, both for the butcher
and planter; which is such, that few markets in
Europe furnish beef of better quality, and at a
cheaper rate than that of Jamaica. Mutton also \
is cheap and good. The seeds of the Guinea-
grass were brought from the coast of Guinea, as
food for some birds which were presented to
Ellis, chief justice of the islands. The several
kinds of kitchen-garden productions, that are
known in Europe, thrive in the mountains of this
island ; and the markets of Kingston and Spanish
Town are supplied with cabbages, lettuces, carrot?,
turnips, parsnips, artichokes, kidney-beans, green
pease, asparagus, and various sorts of European
herbs, in the greatest abundance. Other indi-
genous productions, that may be classed among
the esculent vegetables, are plantains, bananas,
yams of several varieties, calalaa (a species of spin-
age), eddoes (Arum and Caladium), cassavi, and
sweet potatoes. Among the more elegant fruits
of the island we may reckon the anana, or
pine-apple, tamarind, papaw, guava, sweet-sop,
cashew-apple, custard-apple, Akee tree [Jig. 200.), cocoa-nut, star-apple, grenadilla,
avocado-pear, hog-plum, pindal-nut naesberry,
mammee-sapota, Spanish gooseberry prickly-pear,
anchovy-pear {Jig. 201 a.), and some others, for
which Jamaica is probably indebted to the bounty
of nature. For the orange, the lemon, lime, shad-
dock, vine, melon, fig, and pomegranate, the
West India islands are perhaps obliged to their
Spanish invaders. The cinnamon has been lately
introduced, and the mango {fig. 201 b.) is become
almost as common as the orange. The mountains
are generally covered with extensive woods, con-
taining excellent timber ; such as the lignum vitae,
log- wood, iron-wood, pigeon -wood, green-heart-
braziletto, and bully-trees ; all of which are to a
great degree heavy, as well as compact and
impenetrable. Of softer kinds, for boards and
shingles, the species are innumerable; and there
are many beautiful varieties for cabinet-work;
and among these we may enumerate the bread-
nut, the wild lemon, and the well-known mahogany.
O 2
196 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. ' Part I.
1187. The culture of the sugar-cane in Jamaica in some respects resembles that of the hop in this
country. The ground being cleared and worked a foot or more in depth, the sets or cuttings of
cane, which are the tops of the shoots cut off about a foot long, are planted in rows, generally five
feet distant, and from two to five feet apart in the row, according to the quality of the soil ;
more plants being allowed for poor soil than rich. The ground is kept clear of weeds, frequently stirred,
and some earth drawn up to the plants. From each hill a number of shoots are produced : in six or
more months these will generally be from seven to ten feet high ; the skin smooth, dry, and brittle,
heavy with a gray or brown pith, and sweet glutinous juice. In this state the canes are cut, tied in bun-
dles or sheaves, and taken to the mill to be divested of their leaves and decayed parts, and then passed
through rollers to express their juice, &c. Cane plantations are made twice a-year, in May and June,
or December and January, these being the rainy seasons. The first cutting of the canes often does not
take place till a year after planting ; but an established plantation is cut over every six months. In
good soil, the plants will last twenty years : in inferior soils not more than half the time. {Lett, to a
Young Planter, Sfc. Lond. 1785. Martin's Essay on Plantership, in Young's Annals, xviii. p. 236. Rough-
ley's Jamaica Planter's Guide, 1823.)
1188. The cotton plant cultivated in Jamaica is a different species from that grown in Italy, Malta,
and the Levant. It is the gossypium barbadense, Linn, a suffruticose biennial, growing from six
to fifteen feet in height, with lobed leaves and yellow flowers. It is propagated by the seed, which is
set in rows, about five feet asunder, at the end of September, or beginning of October ; at first but slightly
covered, but after it is grown up, the root is well moulded. The seed is subject to decay, when it is
set too deep, especially in wet weather. The soil should not be stiff nor shallow, as this plant has a
tap-root. The ground is hoed frequently, and kept very clean about the young plants, until they rise to a
moderate height ; otherwise they are apt to be destroyed by caterpillars. It grows from four to six feet
high, and produces two crops annually ; the first in eight months from the time of sowing the seed ; the
second, within four months after the first ;and the produce of each plant is reckoned about one pound
weight. The branches are pruned or trimmed after the first gathering; and if the growth is over-
luxuriant, this should be done sooner. When great part of the pods are expanded, the wool is picked,
and afterwards cleared from the seeds by a machine called a gin, composed of two or three smooth
wooden rollers of about one inch diameter, ranged horizontally, close and parallel to each other, in a
frame ; at each extremity they are toothed or channelled longitudinally, corresponding one with the
other ; and the central roller, being moved with a tradel or foot-lath, resembling that of a knife-grinder,
makes the other two revolve in contrary directions. The cotton is laid, in small quantities at a time, upon
these rollers, whilst they are in motion, and, readily passing between them, drops into a sack placed
underneath to receive it, leaving the seeds, which are too large to pass with it, behind. The cotton
thus discharged from the seeds, is afterwards hand-picked, and cleansed thoroughly from any little ])articles
of the pods or other substances which may be adhering to it. It is then stowed in large bags, where it is
well trod down, that it may lie close and compact ; and the better to answer this purpose, some water is
every now and then sprinkled upon the outside of the bag, the marketable weight of which is usually three
hundred pounds. An acre may be expected to produce from two hundred and forty pounds to that quantity,
or two hundred and seventy pounds on an average. {Long's Jam. vol. iii. p. 686, &c. and Browne.)
1189. The indigo cultivated in the West Indies is the same species as that grown in the East Indies
and other places' {Indigofera tinctoria), though there are various species and varieties which
affbrd a similar dye. Indigo thrives best in a free rich soil, and a warm situation, fre-
quently refreshed with moisture. Having first chosen a proper piece of ground, and cleared it, hoe
it into little trenches, not above two inches, .or two inches and a half in depth, not more than
fourteen or fifteen inches asunder. In the bottom of these, at any season of the year, strew the
seeds pretty thick, and immediately cover them. As the plants shoot, they should be frequently weeded,
and kept constantly clean, until they spread sufficiently to cover the ground. Those who cultivate great
quantities, only strew the seeds pretty thick in little shallow pits, hoed up irregularly, but generally
within four, five, or six inches of one another, and covered as before. Plants raised in this manner
are observed to answer as well, or rather better, than the others ; but they require more care in the
weeding. They grow to full perfection in two or three months, and are observed to answer best
when cut in full blossom. The plants are cut with reaping hooks, a few inches above the root, tied in
loads, carried to the works, and laid by strata in the steeper. Seventeen negroes are sufficient to manage
twenty acres of indigo ; and one acre of rich land, well planted, will, with good seasons and proper
management, yield five hundred pounds of indigo in twelve months, for the plant ratoons (stools, stoles,
or tillers ; i. e. it sends out stolones, or new growths), and gives four or five crops a-year ; but must be re-
planted afterwards. {Browne.)
1900. The cojfee.tree {Jig. 202.) is less cultivated in Jamaica than in Bar-
badoes, Domingo, and some other islands : the richness of the soil is found
to lessen the flavor of the berry, when compared with those produced in the
sandy, dry, hot soil, and arid climate of Arabia. In a rich soil and cool
situation in Jamaica, Browne informs us that it produces so great a
quantity of fruit, that the branches can hardly sustain the weight ; the
fruit large and succulent, and the berries lax and clammy. Some affirm,
that by keeping these, and other West India berries, for ten or fourteen
years, they will become equal to the best now brought from Turkey.
Small-grained coffee, or that which is produced in a dry soil and warm
situation, will in about three years be as good as that in general use in
London.
1191. In cultivating the coffee, the berries are sown immediately after
being gathered, as they are found to retain their vegetative quality
only a few weeks. In three months they are fit to transplant, either to
a nursery or to a final plantation. In the low lands they are planted five
feet apart, and in the mountains ten feet or more. In three years the plants
will produce a crop, and contiime bearing a number of years. The ber-
ries are gathered when they are just about to drop ; and are immediately
carried to sheds, where they are dried upon cloths or mats, till the husk
shrivels. They are then passed through between wooden rollers turned |
by a mule, which separates the husk, after which they are winnowed,
sifted, cleaned, exposed to the sun for a few days, and then barrelled up
for sale. The produce of a good tree is from one pound and a half to two
pounds weight. {Browne's Hist. ofJatn. p. 161.)
1192. The cocoa-root or eddoe, {Arum esculentum) and also a species of caladium, produce a root some-
thing like the Indian yam {Dioscorea saliva, Jig.203.), but differ from them in lasting for several years.
Both the cocoa root and yam are cultivated inuch in the same way as our potatoe. They have what
thev call Bourbon cocoas and country cocoas, and Negro and white yams ; the yams have a stake driven
in at each hill for the vines to twine on after the manner of hops.
1193. The plantain {Musa paradisiaca) is cultivated in rows ten feet apart, and the plants seven feet
asunder in the row. The following account of the manner of planting and managing will give some idea
of the mode in which agricultural operations are carried on by a slave population, and how they are
described by a writer who has been " nearly twenty years" at the business. " The ground being all
cleared from grass, bushes, and weeds, and lined out and pegged every seven feet, the great gang
should be put in with hoes to dig the plaintain holes at every peg, ajNegro to each row. The holes should
Book I.
AGJIICULTURE IN NORTH AMERICA.
197
be dug deep, two feet long by sixteen inches broad, to give room for the large ponderous plantain
sucker to be placed in them. The moukl must be hauled
up to the edge of the hole, and broke if too large. The
plantain suckers being ready and trimmed, each negro
should take some, and place one good sucker at every hole
in the piece, and begin to plant them, by taking a sucker,
and placing it with the butt, or rooty end, in the bottom
of the hole; make the sucker lie in a leaning, reclining, or
half horizontal position in the hole, with the small, or sucker
end of the plant, a little above the ground ; and when thus
placed, draw the mould from the bank, and cover the plant
well with it, leaving a little of the plant above the ground.
In this manner the plantain walk should be formed. In a
few weeks (if the weather is favorable) the young plantain-
shoot will be seen rearing its perpendicular head, perhaps
three or four growing from the same stock. They should
then be carefully moulded, and cleared of grass and weeds
when they are a few inches high. No cavities, or water-
logging holes, should be near them. The banks must be le-
velled about them, the holes filled, and properly closed up,
and some fine mould given them, to encourage their growth.
There will be no occasion to give them more than two
mouldings till they are established ; but they must be care-
fully kept clear from weeds or grass ; and when any dry
trash happens to be hanging about them, it should be gentjy
cut off with a knife, and placed about their roots, to keep
them either free from too much sun or chill. A plantain-walk, well taken care of, will be in bearing
twelve months after it is planted, amply repaying for the labor and trouble of planting it, and giving
an almost inexhaustible supply of fine provisions, if the vicissitudes of hurricanes or storms (which this
climate is unhappily subject to) does not destroy it, and which no human foresight or care can pre-
vent. When a plantain-walk is made, there may be a row of cocoas (1192.) in the middle of the ten feet
Slices, which will yield a crop by the time the plantain-walk bears fruit, but they must then be pulled
up. A few banana {Musa sapientutn) suckers can be planted in the plantain. row, instead of plantain-
suckers ; sometimes they are much in request, as a luscious, wholesome fruit, and for the strong, fine-
flavored vinegar which is produced from them. After this piece of ground is thus planted, the whole
of it may be sown with com (maize), which will not injure the plaintain-suckers, or trees, if it is not
too close or thick. {Roughley, p. 413. 416.)
1194. The Indian arrow-root {Maranta arundinacea) is cultivated, and yields an annual supply of roots,
which being washed, bruised, and compressed, yield a starch esteemed as a very light wholesome food
for invalids.
1195. Other plants, in great variety, are cultivated both for culinary and medicinal purposes, and in the
gardens of the overseers and agents almost every fruit in the world may be raised.
119P. The penguin {Broinelia penguin) is grown on the tops of ditches, and forms an impenetrable fence.
1197. Maize is grown among the canes, and in fields by itself in rows, four feet and a half apart, and the
corn dibbled or set in patches of four seeds in a space six inches square.
1198. Guinea grass {Panicum polygonum, fig. 199 b.), and Scotch grass (fig. 199 a.), are the clovers or
artificial herbage plants of Jamaica. They are i^erennial, and grow in small enclosures, which are either
eaten down or mown. Cane tops, the leaves of maize, millet, and a variety of other herbage, is given to
the mules or cattle.
1 1 99. Rats, mitSy and other vermiriy greatly annoy the canes : ticks (aestrus ?) of dif-
ferent kinds, and flies, greatly annoy the cattle, and a great variety of evil propensities
' and diseases' assail the negroes and their children : among others Obea, and what Rough-
ley calls " eating dirt," which he thus characterises: — " Too much tenderness gives the
child a fretful longing for the mother, and her scanty milk engendering disease, and,
what is worse than all, often (though secretly) giving it a growing liking for the hateful,
fatal habit of eating dirt, than which nothing is more horribly disgusting, nothing more
to be dreaded, nothing exhibiting a more heart-rending, ghastly spectacle, than a negro
child possessed of this malady. Such is the craving appetite for this abominable cus-
tom, that few, either children or adults, can be broken of it, when once they begin to
taste and swallow its insidious slow poison. For if by incessant care, watchfulness, or
keeping them about the dwelling-house, giving them abundance of the best nourishing
food, stomachic medicines, and kind treatment, it is possible to counteract the effects
and habit of it for some time, the creature will be found wistfully and irresistibly to steal
an opportunity of procuring and swallowing the deadly substance. The symptoms
arising from it are a shortness of breathing, almost perpetual languor, irregular throbbing,
weak pulse, a horrid cadaverous aspect, the lips and whites of the eyes a deadly pale
(the sure signs of malady in the Negro), the tongue thickly covered with scurf, violent
palpitation of the heart, inordinate swelled belly, the legs and arms reduced in size and
muscle, the whole appearance of the body becomes a dirty yellow, the flesh a quivering
pellucid jelly. Tlie creature sinks into total indifference, insensible to every thing
around him till death at last declares his victory in his dissolution. This is no exag-
gerated account of the effects and termination of this vile and hateful propensity. (/6.
118. 120.)
1200. The agriculture of the other West India islands may be considered as similar to that
of Jamaica. So many different kinds of East India fruits have not yet been introduced
in them ; but the great articles of sugar, coffee, cotton, indigo, pepper, &c. are every
where cultivated. One of the richest of these islands is St. Domingo, now independent,
and known by its original name of Hayti.
O 3
1D8 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. ]Part I.
Sect. IV. Present State of AgricuUiire in South America.
1201. Tke climate of South America combines the most opposite extremes. The
southern parts are subject to all the horrors of the antarctic frosts ; Terra del Fuego
being subject to the almost perpetual winter of Greenland. Even under the torrid
2;one the cold is extreme on the Andes, and the heat and moisture equally extraordinary
in the plains. The surface of the country is remarkably irregular : there are immense
chains of mountains which stretch along the western coast from the one extremity of the
country to the other. Many parts of the interior are still obscure; wide regions on the
great river of Amazons being covered with impenetrable forests, and others flooded by
the inundations. In the south there are vast saline plains, and small sandy deserts
and savannahs. This country being, or having been, almost entirely under the Spa-
niards and Portuguese, the cultivated parts display a slovenly agriculture, something
like that of Spain ; the varied and abundant products of the soil depending more on
nature than on man. Indeed minerals have always been more the objects of European
nations in South America than vegetables. — After this general outline we shall, without
regard to the recent political changes, offer such slight notices of South American agri-
culture as we have been able to collect, under the divisions of Terra Firma, Peru, Chili,
Paraguay, Brazil, Cayenne, Surinam, Amazonia, and Patagonia.
1202. The climate of Terra Firma is extremely hot throughout the year. From the
month of May to the end of November, the season called winter by the inhabitants, is
almost a continual succession of thunder, rain, and tempests ; the clouds precipitating
the rain with such impetuosity, that the low lands exhibit the appearance of an ocean.
Great part of the country is of consequence almost continually flooded ; and this, toge-
ther with the excessive heat, so impregnates the air with vapors, that in many of the pro-
vinces, particularly about Papayan and Portobello, it is extremely unwholesome. The
soil of this country is very different, the inland parts being exceedingly rich and fertile,
while the coasts are sandy and barren. It is impossible to view, without admiration,
the perpetual verdure of the woods, the luxuriancy of the plains, and the towering height
of the mountains. This country produces corn, sugar, tobacco, and fruits of all kinds ;
the most remarkable is that of the manzanillo tree ; it bears a fruit resembling an apple,
but which, under this appearance, contains a most subtile poison. The bean of Car-
thagena is the fruit of a species of willow, about the bigness of a bean, and is an excel-
lent remedy for the bite of the most venomous serpents, which are very frequent all over
this country.
1203. In Peru the soil is dry, and has no rain, vegetation being supported by immense
dews. The only spots capable of cultivation are the banks of the rivers, and other places
susceptible of being artiflcially irrigated. The improvement of the mines is or ought to
he the first object of attention in this singular country.
1204. Chili is an extensive, rich, and fertile country. The climate is the most deli-
cious in the new world, and is hardly equalled by that of any region on the face of the
earth. Though bordering on the torrid zone, it never feels extreme heat, being screened
on the East by the Andes, and refreshed on the west by cooling sea-breezes. The tem-
perature of the air is so mild and equable, that the Spaniards give it the preference to
that of the southern provinces in their native country. The fertility of the soil corre-
sponds with the benignity of the climate, and it is wonderfully accommodated to Euro-
pean productions. The most valuable of these, corn, wine, and oil, abound in Chili, as
if they had been native to the country. The soil, even that part of it which has been
long in tillage, is so little degenerated by producing successive crops, that no manure is
necessary. The grain, as some say, yields from 100 to 1 50 ; but by a more moderate
and just estimate, as it is stated both by Molina and in Peyrouse's VoyagCy from
60 to 70 in the midland country, and in the maritime 40 or 50.
1205. Many of the plants of Chili are the same with those
of Europe, and almost all the pot-herbs and fruits of our
continent flourish there. The northern provinces produce
the sugar-cane, the sweet potatoe, and other tropical plants.
Maize is common and abundant ; the magu is a kind of
rice, and the tuca a species of barley, both of which were
cultivated before the arrival of the Spaniards. Pease and
potatoes were also well known to the Chilese. Of the latter
they have thirty different kinds : and it is even conjectured
that this valuable root was first brought into Europe from
this country. The large white strawberry of Chili is well
known in English gardens. Many of its plants are valuable
as dyes, and otliers as medicinal. Tiie vira-vira expels the
ague ; the payco is excellent for indigestion. Wild tobacco
abound.s in Chili, and also the annotto [Bixa orellana, fig.
204.) The beautiful flowers and shrubs are infinite. In-
cense, not inferior to that of Aral^ia, is produced by a shrub,
distilling tears of a whitish yellow, and of a bitter aromatic
taste. The trunk of the puvi supplies excellent cork; the
salsola kali is plentiful on the shores; and Chili induces seven kinds of beautiful myrtles, one of
which yields an excellent stomachic wine i)rcarrcd by strangers to any muscatel. The crelon furnishes
BpQK I.
AGRICULTURE IN SOUTH AMERICA.
199
a tea, which is known as a vertrifuge. An acacia of the province of Quillota yields a balsam, that is
used in the cure of wounils ; and the palqui is esteemed as a febrifuge, superior to the Peruvian bark.
The cassia senna grows on the banks of the rivers Maypo and Salvia. Of ninety-seven kinds of trees
that diversify the beautiful forests of Chili, only thirteen lose their leaves in winter. Cypresses, pines,
and red and white cedars grow in the valleys of the Andes; the red cedars, particularly in the isle of
Chiloe, are of an enormous size, so that from 700 to 800 planks, twenty feet long, may be cut from one"
tree. The cinnamon-tree, that yields what is called winter's bark, is regarded as sacred by the Araucans,
who present it as a token of peace. Beautiful woods of various colors are supplied by the Chilese forests.
Vines, thougn none appear to be natives, flourish admirably well : they are found in the forests, arising
from seeds deposited by the birds : on the confines of the river Mauli they are three or four feet high, and
supported by stakes ; but further to the south they are left loose on the sides of the hills. The best wine
is that which is obtained from the banks of the river Itati, and is commonly called wine of Conception ;
it is red, generous, of an excellent flavor, and equal to the best in Europe. Muscatel wines are also ex-
cellent. The vintage is April and May. All the other European fruits attain the greatest perfection.
Most of tlie European animals have improved in this delicious climate and fertile country. The cele-
brated Spanish sheep have not lost any of their distinguished qualities; the horned cattle are larger than
those of Spain ; and the breetl of horses surpasses both in beauty and spirit the famous Andalusian race
from which they spring.
1206. Paraguay is a fertile province, and singularly prolific in native vegetables. The
climate is extremely hot : the surface of the country consists generally of extensive plains ;
but some tracts are very mountainous. The soil is every where rich and deep ; and the
native pastures so excellent, that the immense herds of wild oxen which feed on them are
only valued for their skins ; the flesh being left tp be consumed by ravenous beasts and
birds. Among the agricultural products may be mentioned the potatoe, of which they
have several sorts of a large size, red, white, and yellow cotton, maize, wheat, and the
vine. The latter is greatly injured by the ants ; but where that insect is kept under, the
wine of Paraguay is excellent. The bean, pea, melon, cucumber, lettuce, turnip, mus-
tard, cress, leek, onion, asparagus, and other European vegetables are found wild in the
plains. The forests abound in the most valuable trees, among which is the cinchona,
or Jesuits' bark, so called because the society of Jesus settled there had originally the
monopoly of this medicine : the sarsaparilla, sassafras, guaiacum, dragon's blood, nux
vomica, vanilla, theobroma, or chocolate plant {Jig. 205.), several z05
species of the ceratonia, the seeds of which are ground and made
into bread. Palms, figs, peaches, pomegranates, lemons, oranges,
are cultivated ; and the jujube, mulberry, granadilla, banana,
pine -apple, and a great variety of other fruits, are found in
a wild state. Of the live stock, the most abundant are the ox |
and the camel ; but there are horses, asses, sheep, many wild
swine {jig. 206.), and poultry. The bear, elk, deer, ostrich, and
others, are in a wild state.
1207. Brazil is a country growing fast into opulence and im-
portance. Its climate has been described by two eminent natu-
ralists, Piso and Margrave, who observed it with philosophical ac-
curacy, as temperate and mild, when compared with that of Africa.
This they chiefly ascribe to the refreshing wind which blows
continually from the sea. The air is not only cool,
\ / ^'CV ^^^ chilly through the night, insomuch that the natives
-^.\--M ^\tfJ) kindle fires every evening in their huts. Nieuhofi^,
^gwho resided long in Brazil, and Spix and Martins,
^recent travellers, confirm their description. The
'rivers in this country annually overflow their banks,
and, like the Nile, leave a sort of slime upon the lands ; so that the soil, especially in the
vicinity of the rivers, is extremely rich. The northern provinces are subject to heavy
rains and storms ; but those of the south are more temperate and fertile.
1208. Among the vegetable productions of Brazil,
we may reckon Indian corn, wheat, rice, manioc,
sugar-canes, coffee, cocoa or chocolate, indigo,
pepper, cactus, on which is bred the insect furnish-
ing cochineal, and the noted Brazilian tobacco. The
red, or Brazil wood, imported into this country, for
the purpose of dyeing, is the property of the crown.
To the class of esculent plants, we may refer those
that are common to all the tropical regions of Ame-
rica, such as, besides the cocoa and chocolate nut,
tlie plantain, the banana, palms, the yam, potatoe,
casava, together with many species of melons and
gourds. The principal fruits are the pine-apple,
the mango, and the tamarind. The warm aromatic
plants found here in a truly indigenous state, and
much used by the inhabitants as condiments to
their food, or as the basis of various drinks, are
the oranges and limes {Jig, 207.), the grapes, ginger, the turmeric, several species
O 4
200
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
of pepper, American coffee, capsicum or Guinea pepper, and the wild cinnamon
(Laurus canella). Several medicinal plants of high estimation grow here spontaneously,
and in great abundance, such as the contraycrva, tlie Indian pink, the mechoacan,
the jalap, the amyris which yields the gum clemi, and the guiacum. Besides the
Brazil wood, this country furnishes for ornamental use, or for the purpose of dyeing,
logwood, fustic, mahogany, ebony, rose-wood, satin-wood, and many others. Among
its ornariiental plants are the Brazilian myrtle, the scarlet fucshia, and the amaryllis
formosissima.
1209. Tlie genuine Ipecacuanha root {Cephaelis ipecacuana) grows wild in groups on the woody moun-
tains of Serra de Mar, north from Riode Janiero to Bahia. The roots are pulled up by the negroes in the
rainy season, dried in the sun, tied in bundles, and sold to the dealers of roots in Rio. The savages use an
infusion of these roots as a vomit, much in the same way as we do. {Spix and Martius' Travels in Braxily
ii. 221.)
1210. The pot tree [Lecythis ollaria) is one of the greatest ornaments of the woods ; its immense stem
is above a hundred feet high, and spreads into a majestic ana vaulted crown, which is extremely beau-
tiful in the spring when the rose-coloured leaves shoot out, and in the flowering season, by the large white
blossoms. The nuts, which have a thick shell, are of the size of a child's head, with a lid which is loose
all round, and which at length, when the weight of the fruit turns it downwards, separates, and lets the
seed fall out. In a high wind it is dangerous to remain in the woods on account of these heavy nuts fall-
ing from so great a height. The seeds are collected in great quantities by the Indians, who are extremely
fond of them, and either eat them raw, or preserve them roasted and pounded, in pots, and the shells
themselves are used as drinking cups. {Spix, vol. ii. p. 222.)
1211. Several species of Bromelia, or Paullinia, afford thread called gravata and imb^, which is prepared
by maceration as in Sicily from the Agave Americana, and wove into cloth, or twisted into ropes and
cordage.
1212. Mandiocca {Jatropha) is cultivated for the flour made from its roots : the Mandubi bean, for its
seeds : Paraguay tea, which is used as a substitute for that of China, and broad beans, tobacco, maize,
and other plants of Europe.
1213. The live stock of Brazil are chiefly horned cattle, which are abundant, and hunted
merely for their hides : of these hides 20,000, it is said, are annually sent to Europe.
These cattle are taken and killed more for the sake of their hides and tallow than their
flesh ; though great quantities of the latter are applied to the use of such ships as sail
from Pernambuco, Bahia, Todos os Santos, and Rio de Janeiro, to Guinea. The places
which are chiefly frequented for procuring these cattle are Rio Grande and Rio Paraiba,
lying to the northward of Pernambuco; and they are inhabited by Indians, called
'lapuyes; many of whom send annually large droves of cattle through the Tupipue
nation.
1214. The musk, ox, deer, bear, hog, hare, and other useful animals, abound in the
forests ; and there is some danger also from those of a noxious description, to guard
against which the natives light fires, £08
and when they can afford it sleep
in hammocks suspended from the
trees. (Jig. 208.)
1215. Cayenne or French Guiana,
is a fertile country, and has been
long well cultivated by the colonists.
The climate is salubrious ; the sur-
face of the country is not moun-
tainous, but abounds in hills and
forests ; the soil is in general un-
commonly fertile ; and the produc-
tions it yields are of excellent quality.
The Cayenne pepper [Capsicum annuum, and other species) is a noted produce of this
country, and with sugar, cocoa, coffee, indigo, maize, cassia, and vanilla, form the chief
articles of its commerce. The interior parts, though much neglected, and remaining
obstructed by thick forests and underwood, feed nevertheless a great numbtr of horses,
sheep, goats, and cattle, which roam at pleasure : the beef and mutton are reckoned ex-
cellent. (Maison Ruslique de Cayenne, ^c, Paris, 1763.)
1216. Surinam is <r)^q
a low moist country,
which has been in
part studded with
wooden houses, (Jig.
209. ) and well culti- ,
valed by the Dutch.
Tlie climate is hot,
but tempered by the
sea breeze. The '
surface of the country is little varied by inequalities. The uncultivated parts are
covered with immense forests, rocks, and mountains ; some of the latter enriched with
a great variety of mineral substances ; and the whole country is intersected by very
deep marshes or swamps, and by extensive heaths or savannahs. Tlie soil is, La general.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE IN SOUTH AMERICA.
201
very fertile ; and all the appearances of fertility may be ascribed, not only to the rains
and warmth of this climate, but also to the low and marshy situation of the country,
which prevents the intense heats from destroying vegetation, and to the extreme richness
of the soil, particularly in those parts that are cultivated by European industry.
1217. The principal products of Surinam are tobacco, sugar, coffee, cocoa, cotton, and
indigo. The Quasia tree, or bitter drug, used by the porter brewers, grows wild in
the woods, and was first exposed for ^
sale by a native called Quas, after >^'^^^^^^~^^^^^^^S,_ 210
whom the tree is named. The cab- z^^^^^^^^^^^^^/^'^^^'^*
bage tree is abundant, and besides ^^^IZzH' I? ,||j/J^ /[
the tender leaves produces a beetle ^^^^^^^^"^ ^^^ /4 v
(fig. 210 a.) the larva of which (6) ^^V^^^J^ ^^
is eaten by the natives as a luxury. ^ — ^
A very interesting account of this colony is given by captain Sfedman, (Journal, tt-c.
2 vols. 4to. 1 794.) who filled an important military situation there for several years. This
gentleman, in the midst of the most arduous duties, contrived to make himself tolerably
comfortable. He built a country house there (Jig. 211.); kept a wife, pigs, bees, sheep,
and cattle, and had
children and slaves. He
lived by turns with his
family in a house, and
with strange women in
the woods, where he
slept in hammocks
(fg. 212.) and adopted
many of the practices
of the natives. He
made many sketches,
and kept a journal ; and
after many years full of
interesting adventures with the rebellious natives, and of endearing scenes with Joanna
211
212
C^
his local wife, he came home and wrote a very entertaining account of what he had seen
and done. (See Siedmans Surinam, 2 vols. 4to. 1794.)
1218. Amazonia is an extensive, unconquered, or at least uncivilized country. In so
far as it is known, its climate is more temperate than might be expected from its geogra-
phical position. The surface of the country is clothed in most places by interminable
forests, and its immense river is well known. The soil of a small settlement formed by
the Portuguese, is very fertile, and produces corn, grain, and all kinds of tropical fruits ;
besides a variety of timber, as cedar, brazil-wood, oak, ebony, iron-wood, log-wood, and
other dyeing woods ; and also cocoa, tobacco, sugar-canes, cotton, cassava root, potatoes,
yams, sarsaparilla, gums, raisins, balsam of various sorts, pine-apples, guavas, bananas,
&c. The forests abound with wild honey, and also with tigers, wild boars, buffaloes,
deer, parrots, and other curious birds {Jig. 213.), and game of va-
rious kinds. The rivers and lakes afford an ample supply of fish,
sea-cows, and turtles ; but the alligators and water serpents render
fishing a dangerous employment. The trees, fields, and plants, are
verdant throughout the year.
1219. Patagonia consists for the greatest part of open deserts and
savannahs, with a few willow trees on the rivers. It seems t6 en-
joy a temperate, but rather cool climate; but separated in tlie
middle by the vast mountains of the Andes, one part of it differs
widely from the other. To the northward of La Plata, this part of
South America is covered with wood, and stored with an inexhaus- ^^^
tible fund of large timber : but to the southward of that river, the l.J
eye can scarcely discover a smgle tree or shrub fit for any mechani-
213
20» HISTORY OF AaRICULTURE. Pari I.
cal purpose ; but even this seemingly barren country has some good pastures, and nu-
merous droves of wild horned cattle, and every district abounds with horses, which are
supposed to have been brought hither by the Spaniards.
1220. Of the south American islands, that of Juan Fernandez abounds in pasture, cattle,
and woods ; and Terra del Fuego, amidst its horrible snows, exhibits a variety of plants.
The Falkland islands contain a variety of fowls and plants, somewhat resembling those
of Canada. Georgia is a field of ice, in which, or in any of the other islands, there is no
cultivation whatever.
BOOK II.
AGRICULTURE AS INFLUENCED BY GEOGRAPHICAL, PttVSICAL, CIVIL, AND POLITICAL
CIRCUMSTANCES.
1221. Agriculture, considered in regard to climate^ territorial surface, and society, presents
some features, which it may be instructive to recognize. Whoever has perused with
attention the outline which we have now concluded of the field culture of the different
nations of the world, must have a general and enlarged view of that art ; and must ne-
cessarily have observed, that there are different species of territorial culture, founded on
difference of geographical position or climate ; difference of physical circumstances or
surface, and differences of civilization or human wants. The object of the present Book
is to characterize these different species, and to refer to them the proper districts through-
out the world.
Chap. I.
Agriculture as influenced hy Geographical Circumstances.
1222. The influence of climate extends not only to the kind of plant and animals
to be cultivated, but to the mode of culture. A few useful plants are universal, and but
a few. Of those belonging to agriculture, we may enumerate most of the pasture or
hay grasses which are annuals, and of the cereal grasses, the wheat, rye, and barley. The
oat, the pea, bean, turnip, potatoe, and the perennial pasture grasses, will neither thrive in
veiy hot, nor in very cold climates ; the maize, millet, and rice can only be grown in
warm countries, and the oat in temperate regions. The roots and fruits of what are de-
nominated hot climates, as the yam, plantain, bread-fruit, &c. are limited to them ; and
equally so the timber trees of temperate and torrid regions, as the oak and pine, the ma-
hogany or teak-tree.
1 223. Animals as well as plants are similarly affected by climate. Some animals are
universal, as the ox and swine, which are found in every latitude ; others are limited in
their range, as the rein-deer, camel, elephant, and, considered as a cultured animal, the
sheep. The horse and ass are nearly universal, but cannot be substituted for the rein-
deer. The sheep will exist in India and also in Greenland, but lose their useful charac-
ter in both countries ; in Greenland they require protection during nine months of the
year, and in India their wool is changed to hair, and the carcase is too lean for the
butcher.
1 224. The culture required for both plants and animals depends materially on climate.
It is not easy for a person who has never been out of Britain to conceive a just idea of
the aquatic culture even of Italy or Spain. In these countries though most crops,
whether of grain or roots, require watering, yet some in the rainy season may be obtained
in the usual way, as melons in Italy and onions in Spain. But in Arabia, Persia, and
India no culture can be undertaken without water, excepting in the upper regions of
mountains. The fundamental process of culture in these countries is to prepare the
surface for the reception of water, and its circulation in trenches and gutters, and to
procure the water by raising it from wells or rivers by machinery. Wherever the surface
cannot be irrigated, no regular culture need be attempted or corn crop expected. Nature
in such situations produces periodical crops of annual succulents or bulbous rooted plants;
and man might, perhaps, to a certain extent, turn this circumstance of climate to account,
by changing the sorts of annual bulbs, &c. from such as are useless, to such as are
useful. The onion or edible crocus or cyperus might, perhaps, be substituted for the
ixiaof the Cape; and the sesamura, or some rapid annual, furnishing useful seeds or
Book II. AGRICULTURE UNDER VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. 20^
herbage, for numerous annual weeds, and the cochineal cactus for the shewy but useless
Mesembryantheraums and Stapelias of the African wastes. These, however, are only
suggestions.
1225. Culture in the north of jBwro;)e depends for the most part more on draining lands
oif their superfluous water, than on artificial supplies of that element. When irrigation
is applied it is limited entirely to grass lands ; and that not for the purpose of supplying
such lands with moisture, but for stimulating by manure held in solution by the water,
and for increasing or maintaining heat. The greatest care is requisite to prevent this
mode of watering from proving more injurious than useful ; but little danger results
from the application of water in hot countries, and there it is valuable by moderating
rather than increasing the temperature of the soil. Water in the north of Europe is
generally supplied in more than sufficient quantity by the atmosphere ; and therefore one
great object of the cultivator is to keep the soil thoroughly drained by surface gutters
and subterraneous conductors ; to keep it pulverized for the moisture to pass through,
and the roots to extend themselves ; well stocked with manure to supply nourishment ;
freed from weeds, to prevent any of this nourishment from being wasted ; and to
admit the light, air, and weather to the useful plants. In the hot countries keeping the
soil free from weeds is generally a duty easily performed, and often rendered un-
necessary; for whenever water is withheld even in the south of Spain (724.), every
living thing is burned up with drought. It is remarkable that in the most northerly
parts of Europe and America the same effect, especially as to fibrous rooted perennials,
is produced by cold, and in Russia and New England, where there is scarcely any
spring, the agriculturist has only to plough once, and sow in the same way as in the
hot valleys of the south of Spain, and South America, where vegetation is equally rapid
from the accession of moisture as it is in the cold plains of Russia from the influence of
the sun during the long days of a northern summer. In hot countries putrescent
manures are not altogether neglected, but they are much less necessary than in cold
countries, and can be done without where there is abundance of water ; — there water,
intense heat, and light, a consequent moist atmosphere, and a well pulverised soil, supply
every thing necessary for luxuriant vegetation.
1226. Hence it is that agriculture considered geographically admits of two grand divisions,
that of the cold climates, which may be called agriculture by draining and manures ;
and that of the hot climates, which may be called agriculture by irrigation. To the
former belongs the greater part of Europe, the north of Asia, the north of America, and
part of the Australasian isles ; to the latter, Egypt, Persia, India, China, Africa, and
great part of the south of America, and part of Australasia. As intermediate between
agriculture by waterings and agriculture by draining^ may be mentioned that mixed culture
by watering and manuring which prevails in the south of France, Spain, and Italy ; and
as opposed to the aquatic culture of the torrid zone may be placed the rural economy of
the arctic circle, which, from the prevalence of cold and ice, precludes all culture of the
soil, admits little else than the growth of mosses and lichens, and is therefore limited to
fishery and the chase.
1227. These leading'dixisions of culture are by no means so absolute as to be determinable
by degrees of latitude^ so much depending on physical circumstances ; as elevation, soil,
aspect, island, or continent, &c. ; but as an approximation which may impress some
general ideas in the mind of the practical agriculturist, we submit the following :
1228. The agriculture of irrigation la&y be considered as extending thirty-five degrees
on each side of the equator.
1229. The agriculture of manures and irrigation from the thirty-fifth to the forty-fifth
degree north and south of the equator.
1230. The agriculture of draining and manures from the forty-fifth degree, north and
south of the equator, to the sixty-seventh degree or arctic circle.
1231. The arts of fishing and huntings as the only means of subsistence, from the sixty-
seventh degree, or arctic circle, to the pole.
Chap. II.
Agriculture as inflitenQed by Physical Circumstances.
1232. The physical circumstances which principally affect agriculture are temperafure
and light, elevation, moisture, and soil.
1233. Temperature and light have the most powerful influence on the culture both of
plants and animals. Elevation, when not considerable, admits of being rendered sub-
servient to the processes of culture, and to the habits of dilFerent plants and animals ;
204
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
moisture may be moderated or increased, soil improved ; but temperature and light are
in a great measure beyond human control. Hence it is that the plants and animals culti-
vated by the agricultor, do not altogether depend on his skill or choice, but on his local
situation. Not only the maize, rice, and millet, which are such valuable crops in Asia
and Africa, cannot be cultivated in the north of Europe, but even within the extent of the
British isles, some kinds of grain, pulse, and roots, cannot be grown to such perfection
in certain districts as in others. Thus the Angus variety of oat will not come to the same
perfection, south of London, that it does north of York ; and of different varieties the
Dutch, Polish, and potatoe oat will succeed better in a warm climate, than the Angus,
black, or moorland oat, which answer best for cokU moist, and elevated districts. The
turnip arrives at a greater size in Lancashire, Berwickshire, and Ayrshire, than it does in
Kent, Surrey, or Sussex, even admitting the best possible management in both countries.
The pea requires a dry soil and climate, and more heat than the bean, and consequently
thrives much better in the south of England, in Kent, and Hampshire, than in Scotland
or Ireland. It is certain that the perennial grasses thrive best where the temperature and
light is moderate throughout the year, as on the sea-coast in various countries, where mild-
ness is obtained from the influence of the sea, and light from the absence of a covering of
snow ; and also in the south of England, where the snow seldom lies, and where the tem-
perature is moderate, and the nights not so long as they are farther north. It is equally
certain that in America and Russia, where the cold is intense during winter, and the plants
on the surface of the ground are deprived of light for six or seven months together by a
covering of snow, all herbaceous vegetation is destroyed. Contrasted with these facts, may
be mentioned as equally well ascertained, that annual plants in general attain a greater
size, and a higher degree of perfection, where the winters are long, and the summers hot
and light ; the reason of which seems to be that the alternate action of heat and cold,
rain and ice, meliorates the soil and prepares it better for the nourishment of annuals
than it can well be in countries where the soil is not only harder naturally, (for all coun-
tries that have long winters have soft soils,) but more or lesS occupied by perennial weeds,
insects, and vermin. In cold countries the insects are generally of that kind whose eggs
go through the processes of the larva and chrysalis state under water, and land reptiles are
generally rare.
1234. Elevation, when considerable, has an absolute influence on agriculture. Tlie
most obvious effect is that of obliging the agriculturist to isolate his dwelling from
those of other cultivators or villagers in the plains, and to reside on his farm. This is
well exemplified in Switzerland and Norway. We have already noticed the judicious
reflections of Bakewell on the subject as referable to the former country (336.), and have
also referred to those of Dr. Clarke respecting Norway (591.). The latter author has
depicted these alpine farms, both with his elegant pen and habile pencil {fg. 214.) . The
^^-^-^liilif:::^^
214
farmeries are generally built with fir planks, and covered with birch bark, and turf. The
inhabitants chiefly live by the dairy, and seldom see their neighbours or any human being
beyond their own fire-side, excepting on the Sunday morning when they go to church,
and on the Sunday afternoons in summer when they meet to dance (Jig. 215.), and amuse
themselves.
BodKlI. AGRICULTURE UNDER VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. 205
1235. As elevation is known to lessen
temperature in regular gradation ac-
cording to the altitude above the sea,
its influence on plants and animals
must correspond. Three hundred feet
in height are considered nearly equal
to half a degree of latitude, and occa-
sion a difference of temperature of
nearly twelve degrees of Fahrenheit.
Hence it is that the agriculture of the
temperate may sometimes be adopted in
the torrid zone, and that some of the
mountains of Jamaica will produce be-
tween their base and summit, almost all the plants of the world. Hence, also, that
even in the limited extent of the island of Britain, a given elevation on mountains in
Devonshire will be adapted for a different agriculture to the same elevation on tlie
Cheviot, Grampian or Sutherland mountains ; and while wheat ripens at six hundred
feet above the level of the sea in Cornwall, oats will hardly ripen at that height in the
Western isles.
1 236. Elevation exposes plants and animals to the powerful operation of wind, and in
this respect must influence the disposition of the fields, fences, plantations, and buildings
of the agriculturist, as well as the plants and animals cultivated. It has some influence
also on the density of the air and the supplies of water and vapour, and even in these
respects must aftect the character of the agriculture. In Switzerland and Norway the
upper mountain farms are completely above the mere dense strata of clouds, and their oc-
cupiers are often for weeks together without getting a view of the plains or valleys below.
1237. That soil must influence the agriculture of a country appears at first sight very-
obvious ; though if climate be favorable, time and art will render the soil fit for any
species of culture. Naturally, however, soil has a powerful influence ; and the period
under ordinary management will be considerable, before strong deep clays on a flat
surface, can be rendered equally fit for the turnip or potatoe, with friable loams, or more
gravelly or sandy soils.
1238. The influence of moisture on the state of lands, is naturally very considerable,
and though draining and irrigation can effectually remove excess or supply deficiency,
yet fen lands and chalk hills, such as we find in Huntingdonshire, Surrey, and other
counties, will ever have a peculiar character of agriculture ; the marsh perennial hay-
grasses will be the characteristic plants of the former, and saintfoin of the latter.
1239. As the general result of this outline of the influence of physical circumstances on
agriculture, we may form a classification of that of any particular country to whichever
of the four universal divisions (1228. to 1231.) it belongs. We submit the following : —
1240. The agriculture of water-fed lands, including fens, marshes, and marsh
meadows.
1241. The agriculture of sun-burnt lands, including chalk, gravel, and sandy hills, where
vegetation is annually more or less burned up during two or more of the summer
months.
1 242. The agriculture of mountains, in which the farmery is placed on the farm, as
distinguished from those cases in which the mountain lands or a part of them are appended
to lands on the plain.
1243. Common agriculture, or that of the plains, valleys, and hills of a country in which
all the crops and all the animals suitable tp the climate may be profitably cultivated and
reared.
Chap. III.
Agriculture as affected by Civil, Political, and Religious Circumstances,
1 244. The influence of the state of society and government on agriculture, nmst obviously
be very considerable, as well as climate and situation ; for it will signify little what a
country is capable of producing, if the inhabitants are too barbarous to desire, too igno-
rant to know, or too much oppressed to attain these products. Some of the finest
lands in the world, capable of producing wheat, maize, rice, and the grape, are in-
habited by savages, who live on game, wild fruits, or native roots ; or by half civilized
tribes who cultivate maize, and yams, or some other local root. Even in Ireland,
where the soil is better than in Britain, and with very moderate culture will produce
excellent wheat and other corns, with beef, mutton, and wool, the greater part of the
inhabitants from ignorance, oppression,, and in part as we have seen (840. j religious
206
HISTORY OF AGRICULTl/RE.
Part I.
slavery, fcontent themselves with roots and rags, the latter often the cast off refuse of other
countries (830).
1 245. The state of civilization and refinement of a people not only influences agriculture
by the nature of the products such a state requires, but also by the means it affords of pro-
ducing these products. By the superiority of the means of information on every subject ;
by the existing state of knowledge, for example, in mechanics, chemistry, and physiology,
by which the implements and machines are improved, the operations of soils and manures
regulated, the influence of water, the atmosphere, and the functions of plants and animals
understood. The difference in the means taken to effect the same end in a poor but yet
ingenious country, and in one rich and enlightened, is exemplified in China and India,
compared with Britain ; and between a comparatively poor and intelligent country, and
a rich ignorant country, in comparing Scotland and England, at least as far as agriculture
is concerned. Wealth and ignorance, as contrasted with poverty and ingenuity, may also be
exemplified in comparing the farmer of Hindustan with the English farmer. The latter
to stir the soil, employs an unwieldly implement drawn by several oxen or horses ; the
former uses a small light implement drawn by one ox or buffalo, but effects his object by
repeating the operation many times. The Englishman effects it at once, often in spite of
the worst means, by main force. The processes of Chinese manufacture are exceed-
ingly curious and ingenious, and form a remarkable contrast to the rapid and scientific
processes of Britain. There are many curious "''^ >«c^-^
practices in France and Germany, the result
of poverty and ingenuity. In Brittany the
whin is used as horse provender : to bruise
the spines one man operates on a simple but
ingenious machine {jig, 216.), and effects his
purpose completely. Here the same thing is
done by a couple of iron rollers turned by a
horse or by water. But the farmer of Brittany,
who would purchase a pair of whin bruising-
rollers, must first sell the greater part of his
stock and crop.
1246. The political state of a country will
powerfully affect its agriculture. Where se-
curity, the greatest object of government, is pro-
cured at too high a rate, the taxes will depress
the cultivator, and not only consume his profits,
but infringe on his capital ; where security,
either relatively to external circumstances, or
internal laws, is incomplete, there the farmer
wlio has capital will be unwilling to risk it ; <
few who have capital will engage in that pro-
fession ; and if any finds it profitable, the fear
of exposing himself to exactions from government or his landlord, will prevent him
from making a proper use of his profits either in the way of employment or consump-
tion. Many instances of this state of things are to be found in the foregoing history.
Wherever the metayer system, or short leases prevail, whatever may be the nature or
practice of the government, these remarks will apply. Security and liberty at a moderate
price are essential to the prosperity of agriculture, even more so than to manufactures
or commerce.
1247. iie/i^w may be thought to have very little influence on agriculture: but in a
Catholic or Mahommedan country where the religion enjoins a frequent abstinence from
animal food , and long periodical fasts from even the produce of the cow, surely the
rearing and feeding of stock for the shambles or the dairy cannot prosper to the same ex-
tent as in a country less enslaved by prejudice, or whose religious opinions do not inter-
fere with their cookery. The number of holidays is also a great grievance.
1248. The natural character of a people may even have some influence on their agri-
culture, independently of all the other circumstances mentioned. The essential character
of a people is formed by the climate and country in which they live, and their factitious
or accidental character by their government and religion for the time being. The latter
may alter, but the original or native character remains. Thus the French appear to be
the same gay people which they were in the time of Julius Caesar ; and as far as history
enables us to judge, the Greeks and Romans have only lost their accidental character.
The love of society and social amusements inherent in every class of Frenchmen, will
probably long prevent their agriculturists from isolating their farmeries, as in the vale of
Arno and the Alpine regions of Europe, and indeed of every mountainous country.
French and Italian farmers, in general, live together in villages, sometimes five or six miles
distant from their farms : early in the morning the household set out with the cattle and
Book II. AGRICULTURE CONSIDERED AS A SCIENCE. 207
implements, and their food for the day ; they work till near mid-day, and then refresh
themselves, and repose under a tree, or in winter under a temporary shed ; at night they
return, meet their neighbours, make a protracted supper, and amuse themselves in fiddling
and dancing, till they have exhausted their superfluous spirits.
1249. The agriculture of the world in regard to the state of society may perhaps admit of
the following divisions. —
1250. The agriculture of science y or modern farming, in which the cultivator is secure
in his property or possession, both relatively to the government and landlord under which
he lives, as generally in Britain and North America.
1 25 1 . The agriculture of habit, or feudal culture, in which the cultivator is a metayer, or
a tenant at will, or on a short lease, or has covenanted to pursue a certain fixed system of
culture.
1 252. Barbarian agriculture, or that of a semi-barbarous people who cultivate at ran-
dom, and on land to which they have no defined right of possession, roots or grain
without regard to rotation, order, or permanent advantage.
1 253. The economy of savages, such as hunting, fishing, gathering fruits, or digging
up roots.
Chap. IV.
Of the Agriculture of Britain*
1 254. To which of these geographical, physical, and social divisions of agriculture that of
the Bi-itish isles may be referred, is the next object to be determined, and we submit the
following as its classification.
1255. Geographically it is the agriculture of draining and manures.
1256. Physically, those of water-fed and sun-burnt lands, mountains, and variable
plains.
1257. Socially considered, it is the agriculture of science.
1258. The following parts of this work, therefore, are to be considered as treating of a
kind of agriculture so characterized ; that is, of the agriculture of our own country. Who-
ever has paid a due attention to what has preceded, can scarcely fail to have formed an idea
of the agriculture of every other part of the world, suflScient to enable him to determine
that very little in our art is to be learned any where else than among ourselves.
PART 11.
AGRICULTURE CONSIDERED AS A SCIENCE.
1 259. All knowledge is founded on exj^erience ; in the infancy of any art, experience
is confined and knowledge limited to a few particulars ; but as arts are improved and
extended a great number of facts become known, and the generalization of these, or the
arrangement of tliem according to some leading principle, constitutes the theory, science,
or law of an art.
1260. Agriculture, in common with other arts, may be practised without any knowledge
of its theory ; that is, established practices may be imitated ; but in this case it must ever
remain stationary. The mere routine practitioner cannot advance beyond the limits of
his own particular experience, and can neither derive instruction from such accidents as
are favorable to his object, nor guard against the re-occurence of such as are unfavorable.
He can have no resource for unforeseen events but ordinary expedients ; while the man
of science resorts to general principles, refers events to their true causes, and adapts his
measures to meet every case.
1261. The object of the art of agriculture is to increase the quantity and improve the
quality of such vegetable and animal productions of the earth as are used by civilized
man ; and the object of the agriculturist is to do this with the least expenditure of means ;
or, in other words, with profit. The result of the experience of mankind as to other ob-
jects may be conveyed to an enquiring mind in two different ways : he may be instructed
in the practical operations of the art, and their theory, or the reasons on which they are
founded, laid down and explained to him as he goes along ; or he may be first instructed
in genei-al principles, and then in the practices which flow from them. The former
2oa SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
mode is the natural or actual mode in which every art is acquired (in so far as acquire-
ment is made) by such as have no recourse to books, and may be compared to the natural
mode of acquiring a language without the study of its grammar. The latter mode is by
much the most correct and effectual, and is calculated to enable an instructed agricul-
turist to proceed with the same kind of confidence and satisfaction in his practice tliat a
grammarian does in the use of language.
1262, In adopting what we consider as the preferable mode of agricultural instruction,
we shall, as its grammar or science, endeavour to convey a general idea of the nature of
veg'etables, of animals, of minerals, mixed bodies, and the atmosphere, as connected
witli agriculture ; of agricultural implements and other mechanical agents ; and of
agricultural operations and processes.
^ 263. The study of the science of agriculture may be considered as implying a regular
education in the student, who ought to be well acquainted with arithmetic and mensur-
ation, have acquired the art of sketching objects, whether animal, vegetable, or general
scenery, of taking off, and laying down geometrical plans ; but especially he ought to
have studied chemistry, hydraulics, and something of carpentry, smithery, and the other
building arts : and as Professor Von Thaer observes, he ought to have some knowledge
of all those manufactures to which his art furnishes the raw materials.
BOOK I.
OF THE STUDY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM WITH A VIEW TO AGRICULTVRE.
1264. The various objects with which we are surrounded ?Lre either organized, having
several constituent parts which united form a whole capable of increase by nourishment ;
or they are inorganized, and only increased by additions to their external parts. To the
first division belong the animal and vegetable kingdom, and their study is founded
chiefly on observation ; to the second belongs the mineral kingdom, the study of which
in masses, or geology and mineralogy, is also founded chiefly on observation ; and in re-
gard to composition and elements, on experiment or chemistry.
1265. Vegetables are distinguished from animals as not being endowed with sentiment
or a consciousness of existence. Their study has employed the attention of mankind from
a very early period ; and has been carried to a high degree of perfection within the last
century ; and more especially by the exertions of Linnaeus, Jussieu, Mirbel, and some
other French philosophers. This study comprehends systematic botany, vegetable
anatomy, vegetable chemistry, physiology, pathology, the distribution of vegetables, and
vegetable culture. The study of these branches is of the ut^nost importance to the agri-
culturist, especially that of vegetable physiology ; and though the limits of this work do
not permit us to enter into the subject at great length ; yet we shall direct his attention
to the leading points, and refer him to the best books.
Chap. I.
Of the Study of Systematic Botany.
1266. Glossology y or the study of the names of the parts of plants, is the first step in
this department.
1267. All the arts and sciences require to express with brevity and pefspicuity a crowd of ideas unused in
common language, and unknown to the greater part of men. Whence that multitude of terms, or tech-
nical turns, given to ordinary words which the public turn often into ridicule, because they do not feel
the use of them, but which all those are obliged to make use of, who apply themselves to any study what-
ever. Botany having to describe an immense number of beings, and each of these beings having a great
variety of organs, requires a great variety of terms. Nearly all botanists are agreed as to these terms,
and in order that they may be universally understood and remain unchanged in meaning, they are taken
from a dead or fixed language.
1268. A plant in flmver surveyed externally^ may be perceived to be composed of a variety of obvious
parts, such as the root, the stem, the branch, the'leaf, the flower, the fruit, and perhaps the seed ; and
other parts less obvious, as buds, prickles, tendrils, hairs, glands, &c. These, with their modifications,
and all the relative circumstances which enter into the botanical description of a plant, constitute
the subject of glossology, or the study of the language of botany. The reader may consult Smith's
Introduction to Botany, or almost any recent work on the elements of botanical science.
1269. Phytography, or the na?ning and describing qf plants, is the next part of the subject to be considered.
Before botany became a regular science, plants were named as individual beings, without regard to any re-
lation which they had to one another. But from the great number of names to be retained on the memory,
and the obvious affinities existing among certain individuals or natural families, some method was soon
found necessary, and it was then deemed requisite to give such composite names as might recal to mind
something of the individuals to which they were applied. Thus we have Anagalis flore caruleo. Mespilus
aculeata pyrifolia, &c. In the end, however, the length of these phrases became inconvenient, and Linnaus,
Book I. THE STUDY OF SYSTEMATIC BQTANY. 209
struck with this inconvenience, proposed that the names of plants should henceforth consist of two words
only, the one the generic or family name, and the other the specific or individual name.
1270. The na?ncs of c/asscs and orders were originally primitive, or without meaning, as the Grasses
of Tragus, Poppies of Bauhin, &c. ; and afterwards so compounded as to be long and complex, as the
Polloplostemonopetalce, Eleutheronwcrastemones, &c. of Wachendorf. Linntcus decided, that the names
of classes and orders should consist of a single word, and that word not simple or primitive, but expressive
of a certain character or characters, found in all the plants which compose it.
1271. In applying natnes to plants, three rules arc laid down by botanists : 1st. That the languages chosen
should be fixed and universal, as the Greek and Latin. 2d. That these languages should be used accord-
ing to the general laws of grammar, and compound words always composed from the same language, and,
not of entire words, &c. 3d. That the first who discovers a being, and enregisters it in the catalogue of
nature, has the right of giving it a name ; and that that name ought to be received and admitted by
naturalists, unless it belong to a being already existing, or transgress the rules of nomenclature. Every
one that discovers a new plant may not be able to enregister it according to these laws, and in that case
has no right to give it his name ; but the botanist who enregisters it, and who is in truth the discoverer,
may give it the name of the finder, if he chooses.
1272. The whole vegetable kingdom is divided into classes, orders, genera, species, and varieties. A class .
is distinguished by some character which is common to many plants ; an order is distinguished by having
some character limited to a few plants belonging to a class ; a still more limited coincidence constitutes a
genus J and each individual of a genus, which continues unchanged when raised from seed, is called a spe-
cies. A variety is formed by an accidental deviation from the specific character, and easily returns by
seed to the particular species from which it arose.
1273. For the purposes of recording and co7nmunicating botanical knowledge, plants are described, and this
is done either by the use of language alone, or by language and figures, models or dried plants, conjoined.
The description of plants may be either abridged or complete. The shortest mode of abridgment is that
employed in botanical catalogues, as in those of Donn or of Sweet. The most exact descriptions are
deficient without figures or an herbarium. Hence the advantage of being able to see plants at pleasure, by
forming dried collections of them. The greater part of plants dry with facility between the leaves of
books, or other paper, the smoother the better. If there be plenty of paper, they often dry best without
shifting ; but if the specimens are crowded, they must be taken out frequently, and the paper dried before
they are replaced.
1274. The language of botany may be acquired by two methods, analogous to those by which common
languages are acquired. The first is the natural method, which begins with the great and obvious classes
of vegetables, and distinguishes trees, grasses, &c. ; next individuals among these, and afterwards their
parts or organs. This knowledge is acquired insensibly, as we acquire our native tongue. The
second is the artificial method, and begins with the parts of plants, as the leaves, roots, &c. ascending to
nomenclature and classification, and is acquired by particular study, aided by books or instructors, as one
acquires a dead or foreign language. This method is the fittest for such as wish to attain a thorough
knowledge of plants, so as to be able to describe them ; the other mode is easier, and the best suited for
cultivators, whose object does not go beyond that of understanding their descriptions, and studying their
physiology, history, and application. A very good method for a person at a distance from botanists, is to
form a collection of dried specimens of all the plants which he wishes to know the names of, and to send
them to the curator of the nearest botanic garden, requesting him to write the name below each speci-
men, and refer to some work easily procured, such as Withering or Gray's Arrangement of British
Plants, in which is given its description, uses, history, &c. Smith's Introduction, and the Elements
of Decandolle and Sprengel, may be referred to as the best works on phytography and nomenclature.
1275. Taxonomy, or the classification of plants, is the last part of the study -ef'techno-
logical botany. It is very evident, that, without some arrangement, the mind of man
would be unequal to the task of acquiring even an imperfect knowledge of the various
objects of nature. Accordingly, in every science, attempts have been made to classify
the different objects that it embraces, and these attempts have been founded on various
principles. Some have adopted artificial characters ; others liave endeavoured to detect
the natural relations of the beings to be arranged, and thus to ascertain a connection by
which the whole may be associated. In the progress of zoology and physiology, the fun-
damental organs on which, to found a systematic arrangement have been finally agreed on.
In both, those which are essential, and which discover the greatest variety, form the
basis of classification. Animals are found to differ most from each other in the organs of
nutrition, and plants in the organs of reproduction.
1276, Two kinds of methods of arranging vegetables have been distinguished by botanists, the natural
and the artificial. A natural method is that, which, in its distribution, retains all the natural classes ;
that is such into which no plants enter that are not connected by numerous relations, or that can be dis-
joined without doing a manifest violence to nature. An artificial method is that whose classes are not
natural because they collect together several genera of plants which are not connected by numerous
relations although they agree in the characteristic mark or marks, assigned to that particular class or
assemblage to which they belong. An artificial method is easier than the natural, as in the latter it
is nature in the former the writer, who prescribes to plants the rules and order to be observed in their
distribution. Hence, likewise, as nature is ever uniform, there can be only one natural method ; whereas
artificial methods may be multiplied almost ad infinitum, according to the several different relations
under which bodies are viewed. ^,, ,. ^
1277 The object of the natural method is to promote our knowledge of the vegetable kmgdom by gener-
alizing facts and ideas ; the object of the artificial method is to facilitate the knowledge of plants as indi-
vidual objects The merits of the former method consist in the perfection with which plants are grouped
together in natural families or orders, and these families grouped among themselves ; the merits of the
latter consist in the perfection with which they are arranged according to certain marks by which
their names may be discovered. Plants arranged according to the natural method may be compared to
words arranged according to their roots or derivations ; arranged according to an artificial method they
may be compared to words in a dictionary. The success attending attempts at botanical arrangement,
both naturally and artificially, has been singularly striking. Linnaeus has given the most lieautiful artifi-
cial system that has ever been bestowed by genius on mankind; and Jussieu has, with unrivalled ability,
exhibited the natural alfinities of the vegetable kingdom. For the study of this department we refer to
the works of Smith, Decandolle, and Gray, already mentioned, ,
210
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
Chap. II.
Vegetable Anatomy, or the Structure and Organization of Plants.
1278. Vegetables may he classed for the study of their anatomy and physiology, according
as they are distinguished by a structure or organization more complicated or more simple.
The former will constitute what may be denominated perfect plants, and will form a
class comprehending the principal mass of the vegetable kingdom. The latter will con-
stitute what may be denominated imperfect plants, and will form a class comprehending
all such vegetables as are not included in the foregoing class. We shall first consider
their external, and next their internal organization.
Sect. I. Of the External Structure of Perfect Plants.
1279. The parts of perfect plants may be distributed into conservative and reproduc-
tive, as corresponding to their respective functions in the economy of vegetation.
1 280. The conservative organs are such as are absolutely necessary to the growth and
preservation of the plant, and include the root, trunk, branch, leaf, and frond.
1281. The root is that part of the plant by which it attaches itself to the soil in which it grows, or to
the substance on which it feeds, and is the principal organ of nutrition.
1282. The trunk is that part of the plant which, springing immediately from the root, ascends in a
vertical position above the surface of the soil, and constitutes the principal bulk of the individual.
1283. TTie branches are the divisions of the trunk, originating generally in the upper extremity, but
often also along the sides.
1284. The leaf, which is a temporary part of the plant, is a thin and flat substance of a green color,
issuing generally from numerous points towards the extremities of the branches, but sometimes also imme-
diately from the stem or root, and distinguishable by the sight or touch into an upper and under surface,
a base and apex, with a midrib and lateral nerves.
1285. The frond, which is to be regarded as a compound of several of the parts already described, con-
sists of an union or incorporation of the leaf, leaf-stalk, and branch or stem, forming as it were but one
organ, of which the constituent parts do not separate spontaneously from one another by means of the
fracture of any natural joint, as in the case of plants in general, but adhere together even in their decay.
It is found in palms and ferns.
1286. The conservative apjyendages are such accessory or supernumerary parts as are
found to accompany the conservative organs occasionally, but not invariably. They are
permanent in whatever species they are found to exist ; some being peculiar to one
species, and some to another. But they are never found to be all united in the same
species, and are not necessarily included in the general idea of the plant. They are
denominated gems, glands, tendrils, stipulae, armature, pubescence, and anomalies.
1287. Gems or bulbs are organized substances issuing from the surface of the plant, and containing the
rudiments of new and additional parts which they protrude; or the rudiments of new individuals which
they constitute by detaching themselves ultimately from the parent plant, and fixing themselves in the
soil.
1288. Glands are small and minute substances of various different forms,'found chiefly on the surface of
the leaf and petiole, but often also on the other parts of the plant, and supposed to be organs of secretion.
1289. The tendiil is a thread-shaped and generally spiral process issuing from the stem, branch, or
petiole, and sometimes even from the expansion of the leaf itself, being an organ by which plants of
weak and climbing stems attach themselves to other plants, or other substances for support ; for which
purpose it seems to be well fitted by nature, the tendril being much stronger than a branch of the same
size.
1290. The stipulcE are small and foliaceous appendages accompanying the real leaves, and assuming the
appearance of leaves in miniature.
1291. Ramenta are thin, oblong, and strap-shaped appendages of a brownish color, issuing from the
surface of the plant, and somewhat resembling the stipulte, but not necessarily accompanying the leaves.
1292. The armature consists of such accessory and auxiliary parts as seem to have been intended by
nature to defend the plant against the attacks of animals.
1293. The pubescence is a general term, including under it all sorts of vegetable down or hairiness,Vith
which the surface of the plant may be covered, finer or less formidable than the armature.
1294. Anomalies. There
are several other appen-
dages proper to conser-
vative organs, which are
so totally different from •
all the foregoing, that
they cannot be classed
with any of them ; and
so very circumscribed in
their occurrence, that
they do not yet seem to
have been designated by
any peculiar appellation.
The first anomaly, as af-
fects the conservative ap-
pendages, occurs in dio-
ncea mnscipula or Venus's
fly-trap (M 211 a). A
second is. that which oc-
curs in sarracenia pur-
purea or purple side-sad-
dle-flower (6). A third, which is still more singular, occurs in nepenthes distillatoria (c). The last anomaly
Book I. EXTERNAL STRUCTURE OF PLANTS. m
is that of a small globular and membranaceous bag, attached as an appendage to the roots and leaves of
some of the aquatics. It is confined only to a few genera, but is to be seen in great abundance on the
roots or leaves of the several species of utricularia inhabiting the jwnds and ditches of this country ; and
on the leaves of aldrovanda vesiculosa, an inhabitant of the marshes of Italy. In utricularia vulgaris
this appendage is pear-shapetl, compressed with an open border at the small end, furnished with several
slender fibres originating in the margin, and containing a transparent and watery fluid, and a small bubble
of air, by means of which it seems to acquire a buoyancy that suspends it in the water.
1295. Tfie rejyroductive organs are such parts of the plant as are essential to its propaga-
tion, whose object is the reproduction of the species, terminating the old individual, and
beginning the new. It includes the flower, with its immediate accompaniments or
peculiarities, the flower-stalk, receptacle, and inflorescence, together with the ovary
or fruit.
1296. TJie fiower, like the leaf, is a temporary part of the plant, issuing generally from the extremity of
the branches, but sometimes also from the root, stem, and even leaf, being the apparatus destined by
nature for the production of the fruit, and being also distinguishable, for the most part, by the brilliancy
of its coloring or the sweetness of its smell.
1297. The flower-stalk is a partial trunk or stem, supporting one or more flowers, if the flowers are not
sessile, and issuing from the root, stem, branch, or petiole, and sometimes even from the leaf.
1298. The receptacle is the seat of the flower, and point of union between the different parts of the flower,
or between the flower and the plant, whether immediate and sessile, or mediate and supported upon a
flower-stalk.
1299. The inflorescence, mode of flowering, is the pecuBar mode of aggregation in which flowers are
arranged or distributed upon the plant.
1330, The fruit is the rii)ened ovary, or seed-vessel which succeeds the flower. In popular language the
term is confined chiefly to such fruits as are esculent, as the apple, the peach, and the cheiry ; but with
the botanist the matured ovary of every flower, with the parts contained, constitutes the fruit.
1301. Appendages. The reproductive organs, like the conservative organs, are often
found to be furnished with various additional and supernumerary parts, not at all essential
to their constitution, because not always present, and hence denominated appendages.
Many of them are precisely of the same character with that of the conservative appen-
dages, except that they are of a finer and more delicate texture. Such are the glands,
down, pubescence, hairs, thorns or prickles, with one or other of which the parts of the
fructification are occasionally furnished. But others are altogether pecuh'ar to the repro-
ductive organs, and are to be regarded as constituting, in the strict acceptation of the
term, true reproductive appendages. Some of them are found to be proper to the flower,
as the involucre, spathe, bracte, &c., aiid others to the fruit as the persisting calyx,
exemplified in the pomegranate.
Sect. II. Of the External Structure of Imperfect Plants.
1302. Plants apparen^lT/ defective in one or other of the more conspicuous parts or
organs, whether conservative or reproductive, are denominated imperfect. The most
generally adopted division of imperfect plants is that by wliich they are distributed into
filices, equisitacese, lycopodinse, musci, hepaticae, algae, lichenae, and fungi.
1303. The filices, equisitacece, andlycopodiTi^, are for the tnost part herbaceous, and die down' to the
ground in the winter, but they are furnished with a perennial root, from which there annually issues a
frond bearing the fructification. The favorite habitations of many of them are heaths and uncultivated
grounds, where they are found intermixed with furze and brambles; but the habitations of such as are
the most luxuriant in their growth are moist and fertile spots, in shady and retired situations, as on
mossy dripping rocks, or by fountains and rills of water. Some of them will thrive even on the dry and
torren rock, or in the chinks and fissures of walls ; and others only in wet and marshy situations where
they are half immersed in water.
1301. The tnossea {fig. 218.) are a tribe of imperfect plants of a small and diminutive size, consisting often
merely of a root, surmounted with a tuft of minute leaves, from the centre of which the fructification
springs, but furnished for the most part with a stem and branches, on which the leaves are closely imbri-
cated, and the fructification terminal or lateral. They are perennials and herbaceous, aj)proaching to
shrubby ; or annuals, though rarely so, and wholly herbaceous, the perennials being also evergreens.
1305. The hepaticee are a tribe of small and herbaceous plants resembling the mosses, but chiefly consti-
tuting ftronds, and producing their fruit in a capsule that .splits into longitudinal valves. In their habits-
P 2
M
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
tions, they affect for the most part the same Bort of situations as the mosses, being found chiefly In wet
and shady spots, by the sides of springs and ditches, or on the shelvnig brinks of rivulets, or on the trunks
of trees. Like the mosses, they thrive best also in cold and damp weather, and recover their verdure
though dried, if moistened again with water. ,, . j i * ,. ^ i
1306 The also;, or sea-weeds, include not merely marine and many other immersed plants, but also a
great variety of plants that are not even aquatics. All the algae, agree in the common character of
having their herbage frondose, or but rarely admitting of the distinction of root, stem, and leaf
1 307. The utilily of the algoe is obviously very considerable, whether we regard them as
furnishing an article of animal food, or as appli-
cable to medicine and the arts. The fucus sac-
charinus {fig. 219 o.), palmatus (6), and edulis
(c), and several other fuci, are eaten and much
relished by many people, whether raw or dressed,
and it is likely that some of them are fed upon '
by various species of fish. The fucus lichenoides
(Turnery c. 1 18.) is now believed to be the chief
material of the edible nests of the East India
swallows, which are so much esteemed for
soups, that they sell in China for their weight in
gold. When disengaged from their place of
growth and thrown upon the sea-shore, the
European algse are often collected by the far-
mer and used as manure. They ai-e often also
employed in the preparation of dyes, as well as
in the lucrative manufacture of kelp, a commo-
dity of the most indispensable utility in the im-
portant arts of making soap and glass.
1308. The utility of the lichence is also worthy of notice. The lichen rangiferinus forms
the principal nourishment of the reindeer during the cold months of winter, when all
other herbage fails. The lichen islandicus is eaten by the Icelanders instead of bread,
or used in the preparation of broths, and, like the lichen pulmonarius, has been lately
found to be beneficial in consumptive affections. Many of them are also employed in
the preparation of some of our finest dyes, or pigments ; and it is from the lichen parel-
lus that the chemical analysist obtains his litmus. The lichens and the mosses seem in-
stituted by nature to provide for the universal diffusion of vegetable life over the whole
surface of the terrestrial globe. The powdery and tuberculous lichens attach themselves
even to the bare and solid rock. Having reached the maturity of their species, they die
and are converted into a fine earth, which forms a soil for the leathery lichens. These
again decay and moulder into dust in their turn ; and the depth of soil, which is thus
augmented, is now capable of nourishing and supporting other tribes of vegetables. The
seeds of the mosses lodge in it, and spring up into plants, augmenting also by their decay
the quantity of soil, and preparing it for the support of plants of a more luxuriant growth,
so that in the revolution of ages even the surface of the barren rock is covered witli a
soil capable of supporting the loftiest trees.
1309. The fungi are a tribe of plants whose herbage is a frond tf a fleshy er pulpy texture, quick in its
growth, and fugacious in its duration, and
bearing seeds or gems in an appropriate
and exposed membrane, or containing them
interspersed throughout its mass. They
are also a tribe of plants that may be re-
garded as the lowest in the vegetable scale,
exhibiting a considerable resemblance to
the tribe of zoophites, and thus forming
the connecting link between the vegetable
and animal kingdoms. The habitations
they affect are very various, many of them
vegetating on the surface of the earth
{fig. 220 a), and some of them even buried
under it ; others on stumps and trunks of
rotten trees (6) ; others on decayed fruit ;
others on damp and wet walls j and others
on animal ordure.
1310. Uses of the fungi. The pow-
der of the lycoperdons is said to be
an excellent optic ; and is remarkable also for its property of strongly repelling moisture.
If a basin filled with water, and a little of the powder strewed upon the surface so as to
cover it only, the hand may be plunged into it and thrust down to the bottom without
being wetted with a single drop of water. Several of the boleti, when dried, afford
a very useful tinder ; and several of the agarics and tubers are used as articles of food,
or as ingredients in the preparation of seasoning. The truffle (^.221.) is much
Book I.
INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF PLANTS.
213
esteemed for the rich and delicate flavor which it imparts to soups and sauces ; and the
mushroom {Jig. 222.) and morel {Jig. 223. ) for their esculent property, and utility in the
preparation of ketchup. ~ 223
\
Sect. IIL Of the Internal Structure of Plants.
1311. llie organs ofjdants discoverable by external examinaiioji, are themselves reducible
in component organs, which are again resolvable into constituent and primary organs.
These are called the decomposite, the composite, and the elementai-y.
SuBSECT. 1. Decomposite Organs.
1312. The decomposite organs constitute the vegetable individual, and are distinguishable
on external examination ; to the dissection of which we will now proceed, in the order of
the seed, pericarp, flower, leaf, gem, and caudex, or branch, stem, and root, with their de-
composite appendages.
1313. The seed. The mass of the seed consists of two principal parts, distinguishable without much dif-
ficulty ; namely, the integuments and nucleus, or embryo and its envelopes.
1314. The integuments proper to the seed are two in number, an exterior integument and an interior in-
tegument.
1315. The exterior integument, or testa, is the original cuticle of the nucleus, not detachable in the early
stages of its growth, but detachable at the period of the maturity of the fruit, when it is generally of a
membranaceous or leathery texture ; though sometimes soft and fleshy, and sometimes crustaceous and
bony. It may be very easily distinguished in the transverse or longitudinal section of the garden-bean or
any other large seed.
1316. The interior integmneni,'or suh-testa, lines the exterior integument, or testa, and immediately en-
velopes the nucleus. Like the testa, to which indeed it adheres, it may be easily distinguished in the
garden-bean {fig. 224.), or in a ripe walnut ; in which last it is a fine transparent and net-like membrane.
1317. The nucleus is that part of the seed which is
contained within the proper integuments, consisting
of the albumen with the vitellus, when present, and
embryo.
1318. The albumen is an 'organ resembling in its
consistence the white of an egg, and forming, in most
cases, the exterior portion of the nucleus, but always
separable from the interior or remaining portion.
1319. The vitellus is an organ of a fleshy but firm
contexture, situated, when present, between the al-
bumen and embryo; to the former of which it is
attached only by adhesion, but to the latter by incor-
l)oration of substance, so as to be inseparable from it,
except by force.
1320. The embryo [a), which is the last and most
essential part of the seed and final object of the
fructification, as being the germ of the future plant, is a small and often very minute organ, enclosed
within the albumen and occupying the centre of tiie seed.
1321. The cotyledon or seed-lobe (ft), is that portion of the embryo that encloses and protects the plant-
let, and springs up during the process of germination into what is usually denominated the seminal leaf,
if the lobe is solitary ; or seminal leaves, if there are more lobes than one. In the former case the seed
is said to be monocotylcdonous ; in the latter case, it is said to be dicotyledonous. Dicotyledonous seeds,
which constitute by far the majority of seeds, are well exemplified in the gardon-bean. As there are
some seeds whose cotyledon consists of one lobe only, falling snort of the general number, so there are
also a few whose cotyledon is divisible into several lobes, exceeding the general number. They have been
denominated polycotyledonous seeds, and are exemplified in the case of lepidium sativum or common
garden-cress, in which the lobes are six in number ; as in that also of the different species of the genus
pinus, in which they vary from three to twelve.
1322. The plantlet, or future plant in miniature, is tlie interior and essential portion of the embryo, and
seat of vegetable life. In some seeds it is so minute as to be scarcely perceptible ; while in others it is so
large as to be divisible into distinct parts, as in the gardeu-bean.
1323. The pericarp,.iN\\\ch in ditterent species of fruit assumes so many varieties of contexture, acquires
its several aspects, not so much from a diversity of substance as of modification.
1324. The valves of the capsule, but particularly the partitions by which it is divided into cells, are com-
posed of a thin and skinny membrane, or of an epidermis covering a pulp more or less indurated, and in-
r 3
S14
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part 11.
terspersed with longitudinal fibres. The capsule of the mosses is composed of a douMe and net-Mice mem-
brane, enclosed within a fine epidermis.
1325. The pome is composed of a fine but double epidermis, or, according to Knight, of two skins, enclosing
a soft and fleshy pulp, with bundles of longitudinal fibres passing through it, contiguous to, and in the
direction of, its longitudinal axis.
1326. The valves qf the legume are composed of an epidermis enclosing a firm but fleshy pulp, lined for the
most part with a skinny membrane, and of bundles of longitudinal fibres, forming the seam.
1327. The mitshell, whether hard or bony, or flexible and leathery, is composed of a pulp more or less
highly indurated, interspersed with longitudinal fibres, and covered with an epidermis.
1328. The drupe is composed of an epidermis enclosing a fleshy pulp, which is sometimes so interwoven
with a multiplicity of longitudinal fibres as to seem to consist wholly of threads, as in the cocoa-nut.
1329. The berry is composed of a very fine epidermis enclosing a soft and juicy pulp.
1330. The scales of the strobile are composed of a tough and leathery epidermis, enclosing a spongy but
often highly indurated pulp interspersed with longitudinal fibres that pervade also the axis.
1331. The flower-stalk, or peduncle supporting the flower, which is a prolongation of the stem or branch,
or rather a partial stem attached to it, if carefully dissected with the assistance of a good glass, will be
found to consist of the following several parts : — 1st, An epidermis, or external envelope ; 2dly, A paren-
chyma, or soft and pulpy mass ; 3dly, Bundles of longitudinal threads or fibres, originating in the stem or
branch, and passing throughout the whole extent of the parenchyma. The several organs of the flower
are merely prolongations of the component parts of the flower-stalk, though each organ does not always
contain the whole of sMch component parts, or at least not under the same modifications. The epidermis,
however, and parenchyma are common to them all ; but the longitudinal threads or fibres are seldom, if
ever, to be found, except in the calyx or corolla.
1332. The leafstalk, or petiole supporting the leaf, which is a prolongation of the branch or stem, or rather
a partial stem attached to it, exhibits upon dissection the same sort of structure as the peduncle, namely,
an epidermis, a pulp or parenchyma, and bundles of longitudinal threads or fibres.
1333. Gems. There exists among the diflferent tribes of vegetables four distinct species of gems, two
peculiar to perfect plants, the bud and bulb, and two peculiar to imperfect plants, the propago and gongylus ;
the latter being denominated simple gems, because furnished with a single envelope only ; and the former
being denominated compound gems, because furnished with more than a single envelope.
1334. Buds are composed externally of a number of spoon -
shaped scales overlapping one another, and converging towards
a point in the apex, and often cemented together by means of a
" ■ ■■ ■ > substance exudingfrom their surface.
glutinous or mucilagii
ippea
cope, they will be found to consist, like the leaves or divisions of
If these scales are stripped off and dissected under the micros-
the calyx, of an epidermis enclosing a pulp interspersed with a
net-work of fibres, but unacc<,mpanied with longitudinal
threads. If the scales of a leaf-bud are taken and stripped off,
and the remaining part carefully opened up, it will be found to
consist of the rudiments of a young branch terminated by a
bunch of incipient leaves imbedded in a white and cottony
down, lieing minute but complete in all their parts and pro-
portions, and folded or rolled up in the bud in a peculiar and
aeterminate mamier. •
1335. Bu/6», which are either radical orcaulinary, exhibit In
their external structure, or in a part of their internal structure
that is easily detected, several distinct varieties, some being
solid, some coated, and some scaly ; but all protruding in the
process of vegetation the stem, le^, and flower, peculiar to
their species.
1336. The propago, which is a simple gem, peculiar to some
genera of imperfect plants, and exemplified by tia^rtner in
the lirfiens, consists of a small and pulpy mass forming a gra-
nule of no regular shape, sometimes naked, and sometimes
covered with an envelope, which is a fine epidermis.
1337. The goiifrfflus, which is aLso a simple gem peculiar to
some genera of imperfect plants, and exemplified by Gaertner
in the fuci, consists of a slightly indurated pulp moulded into a
small and globular granule of a firm and solid contexture, and
invested with an epidermis.
225
1338. The caudex includes the whole mass or body both of the trunk and
root ; its internal structure, like its external aspect or habit, is materially dif-
ferent in different tribes of plants.
1339. The first general mode of the Internal structure of the caudex is that in
which an epidermis encloses merely a homogeneous mass of pulp or slender
fibre. This is the simplest mode of internal structure existing among vege-
tables ; it is exemplified in the lower orders of imperfect plants, particularly
the algjE and fungi.
1340. TJie second general mode of internal structure of the caudex is that in
which an epidermis encloses two or more substances, or assemblages of sub-
stances, totally heterogeneous in their character. A very common variety of
this mode is that in which an epidermis or bark encloses a soft and pulpy mass,
interspersed with a number of longitudinal nerves or fibres, or bundles of
fibres, extending from the base to the apex, and disposed in a peculiarity of
226 manner characteristic of a tribe or genus. This mode prevails chiefly in herbaceous
and annual or biennial plants, (fig. 225.) A second variety of this mode is that in
which a strong and often thick bark encloses a circular layer of longitudinal fibres, or
several such circular and concentric layers, interwoven with thin transverse and diver-
gent layers of pulp, so as to form a firm and compact cyliYider, in the centre of which is
lodged a pulp or pith. This mode is best exemplified in trees and shrubs (/g-. 226. j,
though it is also applicable to many plants whose texture is chiefly or almost wholly
herbaceous, forming as it were the connecting link between such plants as are purely
herbaceous on the one hand, and such as are purely woody on the other. In the latter
casethe wood is perfect; in the former case it is imperfect. The wood being imper-
feet in the root of the beet, the common bramble, and burdock ; and perfect in the oak
or alder.
1341. The appendages of the plant, whether consen'ative or reproductive, exhibit
nothing in their internal structure that is at all essentially different from that of the
organs that have been already described.
ScBSECT. 2. ComposUe Organs.
1342. The composite organs are the epidermis, pulp, pith, cortical layers, ligneous
layers, and vegetable fibre, which may be further analysed, as being still compound, with
a view to reach the ultimate and elementary organs of the vegetable subject.
1343. Structure of the vegetable e/ddcrmis. The epidermis of the vegetable, which, from its resemblance
to that ot the animal, has been designated by the same name, is the external envelope or integument of
the plant, extending over the whole surface, and covering the root, stem, branches, leaves, flower, and
fruit, with their appendages ; the summit of the .pistil only excepted. But although it is extended over
the whole surface of the plant, it is not of equal consistence throughout In the root and trunk it is a
tough and leathery membrane, or it is a crust of considerable thickness, forming a notable portion of the
bark, and assuming some peculiar shade of color; while in the leaves, flowers, and tender shoots, it is a
fine, colorless, and transparent film, when detached ; and when adherent, it is always tinged with some
peculiar shade, which it borrows from the parts immediately beneath it.
1344. The pulp is a soft and juicy substance, constituting the principal mass of succulent plants, and a
notable proportion of many parts even of woody plants. It constitutes the principal mass of many'
of the fungi and fuci, and of herbaceous plants in general. Mirbel compares it to clusters of small and
Book I.
INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF PLANTS.
215
hexagonal colls or bladders, containing for the most part a colored juice, and formed apparently of the
foldings an;l doublings of a fine and delicate membrane, in which no traces of organization are to
be distinguished. _ ^
1345. The pith is a soft and spongy, but often succulent substance, occupying the ^■^i
centre of the root, stem, and branches, and extending in the direction of their longitu-
dinal axis, in which it is enclosed as in a tube. The structure of the pith is precisely
similar to that of the pulp, being composed of an assemblage of hexagonal cells con-
taining a watery and colorless juice, or of cellular tissues and a parenchyma.
1346. The cortical layers, or interior and concentric layers, constituting the mass of
the bark, are situated immediately under the cellular integument, where such integu-
ment exists, and where not, immediately under the epidermis ; or they are themselves
external. They are distinguishable chiefly in the bark of woody plants, but particularly
in that of the lime-tree. They are composed of two elementary parts — bundles of
longitudinal fibres constituting a network {fig. 227.), and a mass of pulp more or less
indurated, filling up the meshes. The innermost of the layers is denominated the
liber, and was used by the ancients to write on before the invention of paper. It is
the finest and most delicate of them all, and often most beautifully reticulated
{fig. 228 «), and varied by bundles of longitudinal fibre {b). But the liber of daphne lagetto is remarkable
beyond that of all other plants for the beauty and delicacy of its network,
which is not inferior to that of the finest lace, and at the same time so very
soft and flexible that in countries of which the tree is a native the lace of the
liber is often made to supply the place of a neckcloth. If the cortical layers are
injured or destroyed by accident, the part destroyed is again regenerated, and
the wound healed up without a scar ; but if the wound penetrates beyond the
liber, the part destroyed is no longer regenerated. Or if a tree is bent so as to
break part of the cortical fibres, and then propped up in its former position,
the fractured fibres will again unite. Or if a portion of the stem is entirely
decorticated and covered with a piece of bark, even from another tree, the two
different barks will unite. Hence the practicability of ascertaining how far the
liber extends. And hence also the origin of grafting, which is always effected
by a union of the liber of the graft and stock.
1347. The ligneous layers, or layers constituting the wood, occupy the
intermediate portion of the stem between the bark and pith ; and are
distinguishable into two different sorts, — concentric layers and divergent
layers. {Fig. 227.)
1348. The concentric layers, which constitute by far the greater part of the
mass of the wood, are sufficiently conspicuous for the puriJOse of exemplifica-
tion on the surface of a horizontal section of most trunks or branches, as on that of the oak and elm.
But though they are generally described as being concentric, they are not always strictly so. For they are
often found to extend more on the one side of the axis of the stem or branch, than on the other. Some
authors say the excess is on the north side, but others say it is on the south side. The former account
for it by telling us it is because the north side is sheltered from the sun ; and the latter by telling us it is
because the south side is sheltered from the cold; and thus from the operation of contrary causes alleging
the same effect, which has been also thought to be sufficiently striking and uniform to serve as a sort of
compass, by which the bewildered traveller might safely steer his course, even in the recesses of the most
extensive forest. But Du Hamel has exposed the futility of this notion, by showing that the excess is
sometimes on the one side of the axis, and sometimes on the other, according to the accidental situation
of the great roots and branches ; a thick root or branch producing a proportionably thick layer of wood on
the side of the stem from which it issues. The layers are indeed sometimes more in number on the one
side than on the other, as well as thicker. But this is the exception, and not the rule. They are thickest,
however, on the side on which they are fewest, though not of the same thickness throughout. Du
Hamel, after counting twenty layers on the one side of the transverse section of the trunk of an oak,
found only fourteen on the other. But the fourteenth exceeded the twenty in thickness by one fourth
part. But the layers thus discoverable on the horizontal section of the trunk are not all of an equal
consistency throughout, there being an evident diminution in their degree of solidity from the centre,
where they are hardest, to the circumference, where they are softest. The outermost layer, which is the
softest of all, is denominated the alburnum, perhaps from its being of a brighter white than any of the
other layers, either of wood or bark ; from which character, as well as from its softer texture, it is also
easily distinguished. It does not acquire its utmost degree of solidity till after a number of years ; but if
a tree is barked a year before it is cut down, then the alburnum is converted into wood in the course of
that year.
1349. The divergent layers which intersect the concentric layers in a transverse direction, constitute also
a considerable proportion of the wood, as may be seen in a horizontal section of the fir or birch, or ot
almost any woody plant, on the surface of which they present an appearance like that of the radii of a
circle.
1350. TJie structure of the concentric layers will be found to consist of several smaller and component
layers, which are themselves composed of layers smaller still, till at last they are incapable of farther
division. The concentric layers are composed of longitudinal fibres, generally forming a network ; and
the divergent layers, of parallel threads or fibres of cellular tissue, extending in a transverse direction,
and filling up the interstices of the network.
1351. The structure of the stem in plants that are purely herbaceous, and in the herbaceous parts of woody
plants, is distinguished by a number of notable and often insulated fibres passing longitudinally throughout
its whole extent, as in the stipe of apsidium filix mass, or leaf-stalk of the alder. These fibres, when
viewed superficially, appear to be merely individuals, but when inspected minutely, and under the
microscope, they prove to be groups or bundles of fibres smaller and minuter still, firmly cemented
together, and forming in the aggregate a strong and elastic thread, but capable of being split into a
number of component fibres, till at last you can divide them no longer. If the fibres of the bark are
separated by the destruction of a part, the part is again regenerated, and the fibres are again united,
without leaving behind them any traces of a wound. But if the fibres of the wood are separated by the
destruction of a part, the part is never regenerated, and the fibres are never united.
SuBSECT. 3. Elementary or Vascular Organs.
1352. Fibre, cellular tissue with or without parenchyma, and reticulated membrane , are
the ultimate and elementary organs of which the whole mass of the plant is composed.
If it is asked of what the elementary organs are themselves composed, the reply is, they
are composed, as appears from the same analysis, of a line, colorless, and transparent
membrane, in which the eye, aided by the assistance even of the best glasses, can discover
no traces whatever of organisation ; which membrane we must also regard as constituting
the ultimate and fundamental fabric of the elementary organs themselves, and, by conse-
quence, of the whole of the vegetable body. It has been asked by some phytologistt
P 4
216 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
whether or not plants are furnished with vessels analogous to the blood-vessels of the
animal system. But if it is admitted that plants contain fluids in motion, which cannot
possibly be denied, it will follow, as an unavoidable consequence, that they are furnished
with vessels conducting or containing such fluids. If the stem of a plant of marigold is
divided by means of a transverse section, the divided extremities of the longitudinal fibres,
arranged in a circular row immediately within the bark, will be distinctly perceived, and
their tubular structure demonstrated by means of the orifices which they present, particu-
larly when the stem has begun to wither. Regarding it, therefore, as certain that plants
are furnished with longitudinal tubes, as well as with cells or utricles for the purpose of
conveying or containing their alimentary juices, we proceed to the specific illustration of
both, together with their peculiarities and appendages.
1353. The utricles are the fine and membranous vessels constituting the cellular tissue of the pith and
pulp already described, whether of the plant, flower, or fruit. Individually they resemble oblong bladders
inflated in the middle, as in the case of some plants; or circular or hexagonal cells, as in the case of
others. Collectively they have been compared to an assemblage of threads of contiguous bladders, or
vesicles, or to the bubbles that are found on the surface of liquor in a state of fermentation.
1354. The tubes are the vessels formed by the cavities of the longitudinal fibres, whether as occurring in
the stem of herbaceous plants, or in the foot-stalk of the leaf and flower, or in the composition of
the cortical and ligneous layers, or by longitudinal openings pervading the pulp itself, as in the case of
the vine.
1355. rA«far^e<«fce« are tubes distinguishable by the 229 twisted from right to left, or from left torijjht, in
superior width of the diameter which they j)resent on .^-m»u^ **^^ iotm of a cork screw. They occur in most
the horizontal section of the several parts of the ^SSS^Si ^''""4*"ce in herbaceous plants, particularly in
1356. Simple tubes (fig.^29.) are the largest of all the ||l|j|l|||lf|1|f| U ^^^S- ^'^^'^ tpiral tubes are tubes apparently spiral
large tubes, and are formed of a thin and entire mem- IHW |i||| 1 °" ^ slight inspection, but which, upon minute
brane, without any percentible disruption of con- liii I flJIi examination, are found to derive their appearance
tinuity, and are found chiefly in the bark, though not ii ]i|l |i|l 0 ""^''ely from their being cut transversely by parallel
confined to it, as they are to be met with also in the H»i|| l||||| fissures.
alburnum and matured wood, as well as in the fibres NiiiRII till H 13G0. Mixed tubes are tubes combining in one In-
of herbaceous plants. Ilillll III V dividual two or more of the foregoing varieties.
1357. Porous tubes resemble the simple tubes in their lUillll 111 I Mirbel exemplifies them in the case of the butomus
general aspect ; but differ from them in being pierced |lini|i||| I umbellatus, in which the porous tubes, spiral tubes,
■with smalt holes or pores, which are often distributed HUlf ilullll il ^""^ *^^'se spiral tubes, are often to be met with united
in regular and parallel rows. They are fuund in ffiffllHHtSlllSII i" one.
most abundance in woody plants, and particularly in l|MD|||ill|i 1561. T^imaW <uftcsaretuhescomposedofasucces-
■wood that is firm and compact, like that of the oak : IRnlHlllllill sion of elongated cells united, like those of the
but they do not, like the simple tubes, seem destined ||i|ii||lil i I cellular tissue. Individually they may be compared
to contain any oily or resinous juice. ^'lililll i|r to the stem of the grasses, which is formed of several
1358. Spiral tubes are fine, transparent,'and thread- ^^fllfjjjjfr internodia,] separated.lby transverse diaphragms ; and
like substances, occasionally interspersed with the other collectively to a united assemblage of parallel and collateral
tubes of the : plant, but distinguished from them by being reeds.
1362. Pores are small and minute openings of various shapes and dimensions, that seem to be destined to
the absorption, transmission, or exaltation of fluids. They are distinguishable into perceptible pores and
imperceptible pores.
1363. Gaps, according to Mirbel, are empty, but often regular and symmetrical spaces formed in the in-
terior of the plant by means of a partial disruption of the membrane constituting the tubes or utricles.
In the leaves of herbaceous plants the gaps are often interrupted by transverse diaphragms formed of a
portion of the cellular tissue which still remains entire, as may be seen in the transparent structure of the
leaves of typha and many other plants. Transverse gaps are said to be observable also in the bark of some
plants, though very rarely.
1364!. There are various appendages connected with the elementary organs, such as internal glands,
internal pubescence, &c. : the latter occurs in dissecting the leaf or flower-stalk of nymphaea lutea.
Chap. III.
Vegetable Chemistry ^ or Pritnart/ Principles of Plants.
1365. As plants are not merely organized beings, but beings endowed ivith a species of
life, absorbing nourishment from the soil in which they grow, and assimilating it to their
own substance by means of the functions and operations of their different organs, it is
plain that no progress can be made in the explication of the phenomena of vegetable
life, and no distinct conception formed of the rationale of vegetation, without some
specific knowledge of the primary principles of vegetables, and of their mutual action
upon one another. The latter requisite presupposes a competent acquaintance with the
elements of chemistry ; and the former points out the necessity of a strict and scrupu-
lous analysis of the several compound ingredients constituting the fabric of the plant,
or contained within it. If the object of tlie experimenter is merely that of extracting
such compound ingredients as may be known to exist in the plant, the necessary appara-
tus is simple, and the process easy. But if it is that of ascertaining the primary and
radical principles of which the compound ingredients are themselves composed, the
apparatus is then complicated, and the process extremely difficult, requiring much time
and labor, and much previous practice in analytical research. But whatever may be the
object of analysis, or particular view of the experimenter, the processes which he employs
are either mechanical or chemical.
\^. The mechanical processes are such as are affected by the agency of mechanical powers, and are
often mdeed the operation of natural causes ; hence the origin of gums and other spontaneous exudations.
But the substances thus obtained do not always flow sufficiently fast to satisfy the wants or necessities of
man. And men have consequently contrived to accelerate the operations of nature by means of artificial
aid in the application ol the wimble or axe, widening the passages which the extravasated fluid has
forced, or opening up new ones. But it more frequently hapiKJns that the process employed is wholly
Book I. VEGETABLE CHEMISTRY. 217
artificial, and altogether effected without the operation of natural caueee. When the Juices are enclosed
in vesicles lodged in parts that are isolated, or may easily be isolated, the resides may be opened bv means
of rasps or graters, and the juices expressed by the hand, or by some other fit instrument. Thus the
volatile oil may be obtained that is lodged in the rind of tlie lemon. When the substance to be extracted
lies more deeply concealed in the plant, or in parts which cannot be easily detached from the rest, it may
then become necessary to pound or bruise the whole, or a great part of the plant, and to subject it, thus
modified, to the action of the press. Thus seeds are sometimes treated to express their essential oils.
And if by the action of bruising or pressing heterogeneous ingredients have been mixed together, they
may generally be separated with considerable accuracy by means of decantation, when the substances
held in suspension have been precipitated. Thus the acid of lemons, oranges, gooseberries, and other
fruits, may be obtained in considerable purity, when the mucilage that was mixed with them has
subsided.
1367. The chemical processes are such as are affected by the agency of chemical powers, and may be
reduced to the following : distillation, combustion, the action of water, the action of acids and alkalies,
the action of oils and alcohols, and lastly fermentation. They are much more intricate in their nature
than the mechanical processes, as well as more difficult in their application.
1368. Of the products of vegetable analysis, as obtained by the foregoing processes, some consist of several
heterogeneous substances, and are consequently compound, as being capable of further decomposition ;
and some consist of one individual substance only, and are consequently simple, as being incapable of
further decomposition.
Sect. I. Compound Products.
1369. The compound products of analysis are very numerous in themselves, and much
diversified in their qualities. They are gum, sttgar, starch, gluten, albumen, fibrina,
extract, tannin, coloring matter, bitter principle, narcotic principle, acids, oils, wax,
resins, gum resins, balsams, camphor, caoutchouc, cork, woody fibre, sap, proper juice,
charcoal, ashes, alkalies, earths, metallic oxides.
1370. Gum is an exudation that issues spontaneously from the surface of a variety of plants in the
state of a clear, viscid, and tasteless fluid, that gradually hardens upon being exposed to the action of
the atmosphere, and condenses into a solid mass. It issues copiously from many fruit-trees, but especially
from such as produce stone-fruit, as the plum and cherry-tree. From plants or parts of plants containing
it, but not discharging it by spontaneous exudation, it may be obtained by the process of maceration in
water.
1371. The uses of gum are considerable. In all its varieties it is capable of being used as an article of
food, and is highly nutritive, though not very palatable. It is also employed in the arts, particularly in
calico-printing, in which the printer makes choice of it to give consistency to his colors, and to prevent
them from spreading. The botanist often uses it to fix his specimens upon paper, for which purpose it is
very well adapted. It forms likewise an ingredient in ink ; and in medicine it forms the basis of many
mixtures, in which its influence is sedative and emollient.
1372. Sugar is the produce of the saccharum officinarum. The canes or stems of the plant, when ripe,
are bruised between the rollers of a mill, and the expressed juice is collected and put into large boilers, in
which it is mixed with a small quantity of quicklime, or strong ley of ashes, to neutralise its acid, and is
then made to boil. The scum which gathers on the top during the process of boiling is carefully cleared
away ; and when the juice has been boiled down to the consistence of a syrup, it is drawn off and allowed
to cool in vessels which are placed above a cistern, and perforated with small holes, through which the
impure and liquid part, known by the name of molasses, escapes ; while the remaining part is converted
into a mass of small and hard granules of a brownish or whitish color, known by the designation of raw
sugar, which when imported into Europe is further purified by an additional process, and converted by
filtration or crystallization into what is called loaf sugar, or refined sugar, or candied sugar. The juice of
the acer saccharinum, or American maple, yields sugar in such considerable abundance as to make it an
object with the North American farmer to manufacture it for his own use. A hole is bored in the trunk
of the vegetating tree early in the spring, for the purpose of extracting the sap ; of which a tree of ordi-
nary size, that is, of from two to three feet in diameter, will yield from one hundred and fifty to two
hundred pints and upwards, in a good season. The sap, when thus obtained and neutralised by lime,
deposits, by evaporation, crystals of sugar in the proportion of about a pound of sugar to forty pints of
X It is not materially ditterent in its properties from that of the sugar-cane. The juice of the grape,
ien ripe, yields also a sugar by evaporation and the action of pot-ashes, which is known by the appella-
tion of the sugar of grapes, and has been lately employed in France as a substitute for colonial sugar,
though it is not so sweet or agreeable to the taste. The root of beta vulgaris, or common beet, yields
also, by boiling and evaporation, a sugar which is distinguished by a peculiar and slightly bitter taste,
owing perhaps to the presence of a bitter extractive matter which has been found to be one of the con-
stituents of the beet. Sugar has been extracted from the following vegetables also, or from their produc-
tions : from the sap of the birch, sycamore, bamboo, maize, parsnep, cow-parsnep, American aloe, dulse,
walnut-tree, and cocoa-nut-tree ; Irom the fruit of the common arbutus, and other sweet-tasted fruits ;
from the roots of the turnip, carrot, and parsley ; from the flower of the euxine rhododendron j and from
the nectary of most other flowers.
1373. The utility of sugar, as an aliment, is well known ; and it is as much relished by many animals
as by man. By bees it is sipped from the flowers of plants, under the modification of nectar, and con-
verted into honey ; and also seems to be relished by many insects, even in its concrete state ; as it is also
by many birds. By man it is now regarded as being altogether indispensable, and though used chiefly to
give a relish or seasoning to food, is itself highly nutritive. It is also of much utility in medicine, and
celebrated for its anodyne and antiseptic qualities, as well as thought to be peculiarly efficacious in pre-
venting diseases bv worms.
1374. Starch. If a quantity of wheaten flour is made into a paste with water, and kneaded and
washed under the action of a jet, till the water runs off colorless, part of it will be found to have been
taken up and to be still held in suspension by the water, which will, by-and-by, deposit a sediment that
may be separated by decantation. This sediment is starch, which may be obtaiiied also immediately from
the grain itself, by means of a process well known to the manufacturer, who renders it finally fit for the
market by washing and edulcorating it with water, and afterwards drying it by a moderate heat. Starch,
when thrown upon red-hot iron, burns with a kind of explosion, and leaves scarcely any residuum behind.
It has been found by the analysis of Gay Lussac and Thenard, to be composed of carbon 43-55 ; oxygen
49-68 ; hydrogen 6-77 ; total 100-. This result is not very widely different from that of the analysis of
sugar, into which, it seems, starch may be converted by diminishing the proportion of its carbon, and
increasing that of its oxygen and hydrogen. This change is exemplified in the case of the malting of
barley, which contains a great proportion of starch, and which absorbs during the process a quantity of
oxygen, and evolves a quantity of carbonic acid ; and accordingly part of it is converted into sugar
Perhaps it is exemplified also in the case of the freezing of potatoes, which acquire in consequence a sweet
and sugary taste^ and are known tp contain a great deal of starch, which may be obtained as follows : let
the potatoes be taken and grated down to a pulp, and the pulp placed upon a fine sieve, and water made
■ to pass through it : the water will be found to have carried off with it an infinite nmnbcr of particles.
ap.
the
218 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
which it will afterwards deposit in the form of a fine powder, separable by decantation ; which powder is
starch, possessing all the essential properties of wheaten starch. It may be obtained from the pith of
several species of palms growing in the Moluccas and several other East India islands, by the following
process : the stem, being first cut into pieces of five or six feet in length, is split longitudinally so as to
expose the pith, which is now taken out and pounded, and mixed with cold water, which after being
well stirred up, deposits at length a sediment that is separated by decantation, and is the starch which
the pith contained, or the sago of the shops. ^ r.
1375. Salop is also a s/imes 0/ storcA that is prepared, in the countries of the East, from the root of
the orchis morio, mascula, bifoho, and pyramidalis, and in the isle of Portland, from the arum maculatum.
So also is cassava, which is prepared from the root of jatropha manihot, a native of America, the ex-
pressed juice of which is a deadly poison, used by, the Indians to poison their arrows; but the sediment
which it deposits is a starch that is manufactured into bread, retaining nothing of the deleterious pro-
perty of the juice ; and so also is sowans, which is prepared from the husk of oats, as obtained in the
process of grinding. , „ ,
1376. Starch mat/ be extracted from a number of plants ; as arctium lappa, atropa belladonna, polygo-
num bistorta, bryonia alba, colchicum autumnale, spiraea filipendula, ranunculus bulbosus, scrophularia
nodosa, sambucus ebulus and nigra, orchis morio and mascula, imperatoria ostruthium, hyoscyamus
niger, rumex obtusifolius, acutus, and aquaticus, arum maculatum, iris pseudacorus and fcetidissima,
orobus tuberosus, bunium bulbocastanum. It is found also in the following seeds : wheat, barley, oats,
rice, maize, millet-seed, chestnut, horse-chestnut, peas, beans, acorns.
1377. Starch is an extremely nutritive substance, and forms one of the principal ingredients in almost all
articles of vegetable food used, whether by man or the inferior animals. The latter feed u^wn it in the
state in which nature presents it ; but man prepares and purifies it so as to render it pleasing to his taste,
and uses it under the various modifications of bread, pastry, or confectionery. Its utility is also consider-
able in medicine and in the arts ; in the preparation of anodyne and strengthening medicaments, and in
the composition of cements ; in the clearing and stiffening of linen ; and in tlie manufacture of hair-
powder.
1378. GMen is that part of the paste formed from the flour of wheat that remains unaffected by the
water after all the starch contained in it has been washed off. It is a tough and elastic substance, of a
dull white color, without taste, but of a very peculiar smell. It is soluble in the acids and alkalies, but
insoluble in water and in alcohol. Gluten has been detected, under one modification or other, in a very
considerable number of vegetables or vegetable substances, as well as in the flour of wheat.
1379. Gluten is one qf the most important of all vegetable substances, as being the principle that renders
the flour of wheat so fit for forming bread, by its occasioning the panary fermentation, and making tlie
bread light and porous. It is used also as a cement, and capable of being used as a varnish, and a ground
for paint.
1380. Albumen, which is a thick, glary, and tasteless fluid, resembling the white of an unboiled egg, is a
substance that has been but lately proved to exist in the vegetable kingdom. Its existence was first an-
nounced by Fourcroy, and finally demonstrated by the experiments of Vauquelin on the dried juice of the
papaw-tree. It is nearly related to animal gluten.
1381. Fibrina is a peculiar substance which chemists extract from the blood and muscles of animals. This
substance constitutes the fibrous parts of the muscles, and resembles gluten in its appearance and elasticity.
A substance possessing the same properties has been detected by Vauquelin in the juice of the papaw-
tree, which is called vegetable fibrina.
1382. Extract. When vegetable substances are macerated in water, a considerable portion of them is
dissolved ; and if the water is again evaporated, the substance held in solution may be obtained in a sepa-
rate state. This substance is denominated extract. But it is evident that extract thus obtained will not
be precisely the same principle in every different plant, but will vary in its character according to the
species producing it, or the soil in which the plant has grown, or some other accidental cause. Its dis-
tinguishing properties are the following : — it is soluble in water as it is obtained from the vegetable, but
becomes afterwards insoluble in consequence of the absoriition of oxygen from the atmosphere. It is solu-
ble in alcohol ; and it unites with alkalies, and forms compounds which are soluble in water. When
distilled it yields an acid fluid impregnated with ammonia, and seems to be composed principally of hydro-
gen, oxygen, carbon, and a little nitrogen. Extract, or the extractive principle, is found in a greater
or less proportion in almost all plants whatever, and is very generally an ingredient of the sap and bark,
particularly in barks of an astringent taste. But still it is not exactly the same in all individual plants,
even when separated as much as possible from extraneous substances. It may therefore, be regarded as
constituting several different species, of which the following are the most remarkable :
\Z9>:5. Bxlrad of catechu. This extract is obtained from an ljS5. Extract (\f guinijttina. This extract was obtained by
infusion of the wood or powder of catechu in cold water. Its Fourcroy, by evaporating a decoction of the bark of the quin-
color is pale brown ; and its taste slightly astringent. It is quina of St. Domingo in water, and again dissolving it in
precipitated from its solution liy nitrate of lead, and yields by alcohol, which finally deposited by evaporation the peculiar
distiUation carbonic and carburetted hydrogen gas, leaving a extractive. It is insoluble in cold water, but very soluble in
IHJrous charcoal. boiling water ; its color is brown, and its taste bitter. It is
11384. Extract nf senna. This extract is obtained from an in- precipitated from its solution by lime water, in the form of a
fusion of the dried leaves of cassia senna in alcohol. The color red powder ; and when dry it is black and brittle, breaking
of the infusion is brownish, the taste slightly bitter, and the with a polished fracture.
smell aromatic. It is precipitated from its solution by the 158G. Extract uf .tqfpron. This extract is obtained in great
muriatic and oxymuriatic acids ; and when thrown on burning abundance from tjfie summits of the jjistils of crocus sativus,
coals consumes, with a thick smoke and aromatic odor, leaving which are almost wholly soluble in jvater.
behind a spongy charcoal.
1387. Extracts were formerly much employed in medicine; though their efficacy seems to have been
overrated. But a circumstance of much more importance to society is that of their utility in the art of
dyeing. By far the greater part of colors used in dyeing are obtained from vegetable extracts, which
have a strong affinity to the fibres of cotton or linen, with which they enter into a combination that is
rendered still stronger by the intervention of mordants.
1388. Coloring matter. The beauty and variety of the coloring of vegetables, chemists have ascribed to
the modifications of a peculiar substance which they denominate the coloring principle, and which they
have accordingly endeavored to isolate and extract ;"„ first, by means of maceration or boiling in water,
and then by precipitating it from its solution. The chemical properties of coloring matter seem to be as
yet but imperfectly known, though they have been considerably elucidated by the investigations of Ber-
tholet, Chaptal, and others. Its affinities to oxygen, alkalies, earths, metallic oxides, and cloths fabri-
cated, whether of animal or vegetable substances, such as wool or flax, seem to be among its most striking
characteristics. But its afliinity to animal substances is stronger than its affinity to vegetable substances ;
and hence wool and silk assume a deeper dye, and retain it longer than cotton or linen. Coloring matter
exhibits a great variety of different tints, as it occurs in different species of plants ; and as it combines
with oxygen, which it absorbs from the atmosphere, it assumes a deeper shade ; but it loses at the same
time a portion of its hydrogen, and becomes insoluble in water ; and thus it indicates its relation to ex-
tract. Fourcroy reduced colors to the four following sorts ; extractive colors, oxygenated colors, carbo-
nated colors, and hydrogenated colors ; the first being soluble in water, and requiring the aid of saline or
metallic mordants to fix them-upon cloth ; the second being insoluble in water, as altered by the absorp-
tion of oxygen, and requiring no mordant to fix them upon cloth ; the third containing in their compo-
sition a great proportion of carbon, but soluble in alkalies ; and the fourth containing a great proi)ortion
of reain, but soluble in oils and alcohol. But the simplest mode of arrangement is that by which the dif-
Book I. VEGETABLE CHEMISTRY. 219
ferent species of coloring matter are classed according to their effect in the art of dyeing. The principal
and fundamental colors in this art are the blue, the red, the yellow, and the brown.
\3S0.The finest of all vepetahlehlaesh that which hi-nownhy blue by the action of the atmosphere. The blue color of In-
the name of indigo. It is the produce of the indigofera tinctoria, digo, therefore, is owing to its combination with oxygen.
lAn., a shrub which is cultivated for the sake of the dye it l.'SOO. The principal red colors are such as are found to exist
affords, in Mexico and the East Indies. The plant reaches in the root, stem, or flower, of the five following plants : rubia
maturity in about six months, when its leaves are gathered tinctorum, lichen, roccella and parellus, carthamus tinctorius,
and immersed in vessels filled with water till fermentation caesalpinia crista, and haamatoxylon campechianum.
takes place. The water then becomes opaque and green, ex- 1.191. Yellow, which is a color of very frequent occurrence
haling an odor like that of volatile alkali, and evolving bubbles among vegetables, and the most permanent among flowers, is
of carbonic acid gas. When the fermentation has been con- extracted for the purpose of dyeing, from a variety of plants,
tinned long enough, the liquid is decanted and put into other It is extracted from the reseda luteola, Lin., by the decoction of
vessels, where it is agitated till blue flakes begin to appear. its dried stems. The coloring matter is precipitated by
Water is now poured in, and flakes are precipitated m the means of alum, and is much used in dyeing wool, silk, and
form of a blue powdery sediment, which is obtained by de- cotton. It is also obtained from the morns tinctoria, bixa
cantation ; and which, after being made up into small lumps orellana or amotta, serratula tinctoria, genista tinctoria, rhus
and dried in the shade, is the indigo of the shops. It is insolu- cotinus, rhamnus infectorius, and quercus tinctoria, or quer-
ble in water, though slightly soluble in alcohol. But its true citron, the bark 'of which last affords a rich and (lermanent
solvent is sulphuric acid, with which it forms a fine blue dye, yellow that is at present much in use.
known by the name of liquid blue. It affords by distillation 1392. The brmvn coloring vmiter of vegetables \& very abundant,
carbonic acid gas, water, ammonia, some oily and acid matter, particularly in astringent plants. It is obtained from the root
and much charcoal ; whence its constituent principles are of the walnut-tree, and rind of the walnut ; as also from the
most probably carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. sumac and alder, but chiefly from nut-galls, which are ex-
Indigo may be procured also from several other plants besides crescences formed upon the leaves of a species of quercus,
indigofera tinctoria, and particularly from isatis tinctoria or indigenous to the south of Europe, in conseqiience of the punc.
woad, a plant indigenous to Britain, and thought to be the ture of insects. The best in quality are brought from the
plant with the juice of which the ancient Britons stained their Levant. They are sharp and bitter to the taste, and extremely
naked bodies, to make them look terrible to their enemies. If astringent ; and soluble in water by decoction when ground or
this plant is digested in alcohol, and the solution evaporated, grated to a powder. The decoction strikes, with the solution
while crystalline grwns, somewhat resembling starch, will be of iroft, a deep black, that forms the basis of ink, and of most
Aeh behind ; which grains are indigo, becoming gradually dark colors used in dyeing cloths.
1393. Tannin. If a quantity of pounded nut-galls, or bruised seeds of the grape, is taken and dissolved in
cold water, and the solution evaporated to dryness, there will be left behind a brittle and yellowish sub-
stance of a highly astringent taste, which substance is tannin, or the tanning principle. It is soluble both
in water and alcohol, but insoluble in ether. With the salts of iron it strikes a black. And when a so-
lution of gelatine is mixed with an aqueous solution of tannin, the tannin and gelatine fall down in com-
bination, and form an insoluble precipitate. When tannin is subjected to the process of distillation, it
yields charcoal, carbonic acid, and inflammable gases, with a minute quantity of volatile alkali, and seems
accordingly to consist of the same elements with extract, from which, however, it is distinguished by the
peculiar property of its action upon gelatine. Tannin may be obtained from a great variety of other vege-
tables also, as well as those already enumerated, but chiefly from their bark ; and of barks, chiefly from
those that are astringent to the taste. The following table exhibits a general view of the relative value
of different species of bark, as ascertained by Sir Humphry Davy. It gives the average obtained from
4801b. of the entire bark of a middle-sized tree of the several different species, taken in the spring, when
the quantity of tannin is the largest.
Oak - . -
lb.
Beech
Spanish chestnut
- 21
Horse-chestnut
I^eicester willow (large)
- 3.3
Sycamore
Elm
- 13
Lombardy poplar
Common willow (large)
- 11
Birch • .
Ash - - .
- 16
Hazel
Black thorn - • - 16
Coppice oak - - - - 32
Inner rind of oak-bark - - 72
Oak cut in autumn - - - 21
Larch cut in autumn - • - 8
1394. Tannin is of the very first utility in its application to medicine and the arts ; being regarded by
chemists as the general principle of astringency. The medical virtues of Peruvian bark, so celebrated as
a febrifuge and antiseptic, are supposed to depend upon the quantity and quality of its tannin. In conse-
quence of its peculiar property of forming an insoluble compound with gelatine, the hides of animals are
converted into leather, by the important art of tanning. The bark of the oak-tree, which contains tannin
in great abundance, is that which is most generally used by the tanner. The hides to be tanned are pre-
pared for the process by steeping them in lime-water, and scraping off the hair and cuticle. They are then
soaked, first in weaker and afterwards in stronger infusions of the bark, till at last they are completely
impregnated. This process requires a period of from ten to eighteen months, if the hides are thick j and
four or five pounds of bark are necessary on an average to form one pound of leather.
1395. Bitter principle. The taste of many vegetables, such as those employed in medicine, is extremely
bitter. The quassia of the shops, the roots of the common gentian, the bark and wood of common broom,
the calyx and floral leaves of the hop, and the leaves and flowers of chamomile, may be quoted as ex-
amples. This bitter taste has been thought to be owing to the presence of a peculiar substance, different
from every other vegetable substance, and has been distinguished by the name of the bitter principle.
When water has been digested for some time over quassia, its color becomes yellow, and its taste in-
tensely bitter ; and if it is evaporated to drj-ness, it leaves behind a substance of a brownish yellow, with
a slight degree of transparency, that continues for a time ductile, but becomes afterwards brittle. This
substance Dr. Thomson regards as the bitter principle in a state of purity. It is soluble in water and in
alcohol ; but the solution is not much affected by re-agents. Nitrate of silver and acetate of lead are the
only two that occasion a precipitate. The bitter principle is of great importance, not only in the practice
of medicine, but also in the art of brewing ; its influence being that of checking fermentation, preserving
the fermented liquor, and when the bitter of the hop is used, communicating a peculiar and agreeable
flavor. The bitter principle appears to consist principally of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a little
nitrogen.
139a Narcotic principle. There is a species of medical preparations known by the name of narcotics,
which have the property of inducing sleep ; and if administered in large doses, of occasioning death.
They are obtained from the milky and proper juices of some vegetables, and from the infusion of the
leaves or stem of others, all which have been supposed to contain in their composition some common in-
gredient, which chemists have agreed to designate by the name of the narcotic principle. It exists in
great abundance in opium, which is the concrete juice of papaver album, or the white poppy, from which
it is obtained pure, in the form of white crystals. It is soluble in boiling water and in alcohol, as well as
in all acid menstrua ; and it appears that tne action of opium on the animal subject depends on this prin-
ciple. When distilled it emits white vapors, which are condensed into a yellow oil. Some water and
carbonate of ammonia pass into a receiver ; and at last carbonijc acid gas, ammonia, and carburetted
hydrogen, are disengaged, and a bulky charcoal left behind. Many other vegetable substances besides
opiiun possess narcotic quaUties though they have not yet been minutely analysed. The following are
the most remarkable : — the inspissated juice of lettuce, which resembles opium much in its appearance, is
obtained by the same means, and possesses the same medical virtues ; the leaves of atropa belladonna, or
deadly nightshade, and indeed the whole plant ; the leaves of digitalis purjjurea, or foxglove ; and lastly,
the following plants, hyoscyamus niger, conium maculatum, datura stramonium, and sedum palustre, with
many others belonging to the Linnaean natural order of Luridfe.
1897. Acids. Acids are a class of substances that may be distinguished by their exciting on the palate
the sensation of sounicss. They exist, not only in the animal and mineral, but also in the vegetable
kingdom ; &nd such of them as are peculiar to vegetables have been denominated vegetable acids. Of
acids peculiar to vegetables chemists enumerate the following : — the oxalic, acetic, citric, malic, gallic,
tartaric, benzoic, and prussic, "which exist ready formed in the juices or organs of the plant, and are ae-
220 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
cordfngly denominated native adds ; together with the mucous, pyromucous, pyrotartarous, pyrollgnous,
camphoric, and suberic, which do not exist ready formed in the plant, and are hence denominated arti-
ficial acids. They are consequently not within the scope of the object of the present work.
1598. Oxalic acid. If the expressed juice of the oxalis aceto- blues. It is soluble both in water and alcohol; andisdistln-r
sella is left to evaporate slowly, it deposits small crystals of a pushed by its property of communicating to solutions of iron
yellowish color and saltish taste, wliich are known by the a deep purple color. When exposed to a gentle heat it sub-
name of the acidulum of sorrel, that is, a salt with excess of limes without alteration, but a strong heat decomposes it.
acid, from which the acid may be obtained pure by processes Nitric acid converts it into the malic and oxalic acids. It is of
■well known to the chemist. It is not used in medicine or ereat utility in the art of dyeing, and forms the basis of all
the 'arts, except in its state of acidulum, in which it is em- nlack colors, and of colors with a dark ground. It forms also
ployed to make a sort of lemonade, and to discharge stains of the basis of ink ; and chemists use it as a test to detect the
ink. It has been found also in oxalis corniculata, geranium presence of iron.
acidum, in the several species of rumex, and in the pubescence 1403. Tartaric acid. If wine is kept for a length of time in a
of cicer arietinum. cask or other close vessel, a sediment is precipitated which
1399. Acetic acid. The acetic acid, or vinegar, which is ge- adheres to the sides or bottom, and forms a crust known by the
nerally manufactured from wine in a certain stage of ferment- name of tartar, which is a combination of potass and a pecu-
ation, has been found also ready formed in the sap of several liar acid in excess. The compound is tartarite of potass, and
trees, as analysed by Vauquelin ; and also in the acid juice the acid, in its state of purity, is the tartaric acid. It is cha-
of the cicer arietinum, of which it forms a constituent part. racterised by the property of its forming with potass a salt that
It was obtained also by Scheele from the sap of the sambucus is soluble with difficulty. It has been found in the following
nigra ; and is consequently to be regarded as a native vegetable vegetable substances also : in the pulp of tamarinds, in the
acid. It is distinguished from other vegetable acids by its juice of the grape, and mulberries, sorrel, and sumac, and
forming soluble salts with the alkalies and earths. the roots of triticum repens, and leontodon taraxacum. It is
1400. Ciiruradrf. Citric acid is lhe|acid that exists in the juice not much used except among chemists. But the tartarite
of lemon. Its taste is very sour in a state of purity, but ex- from which it is usually obtained is well known for its medical
ceedingly pleasant when diluted with water. By a red heat it virtues under the name of cream of tarur.
yields carbonic acid gas and carbonatedlhydrogene gas, and is 1404. 'Benzoic acid. From the styrax benzoin there exudes a re-
reduced to a charcoal ; nitric acid converts it into oxalic and sinous substance, known in the shops by the name of benzoin,
acetic acid, and with lime it forms a salt insoluble in water. and in which the benzoic acid is contained. It is distinguished
It has been found unmixed with other acids in the following from the other acids by the aromatic odor and extreme volati-
vegetable substances : in the juice of oranges and lemons, and lity. It has been obtained also from the balsams of tolu and
in the berries of vaccinium oxycoccus, and vitis idfea, prunus storax ; and is used in pharmacy, in the preparation of boluses
]iadus, solanum dulcamara, and rosa canina. It has been found and electuaries,
also in many other fruits, mixed with other acids. 1405. Prussic acid. The prussic acid is generally classed
1401. Malic acid. Malic acid is found chiefly inthe juice of among the animal acids, because it is obtained in the greatest
unripe ap^>les, whence it derives its name. But it is found also abundance from animal substances. But it has been proved
in the juice of barberries, alderberries, gooseberries, plums, to exist in vegetable substances also, and it is procured by dis-
and common house-leek. tilling laurel leaves, or the kernels of the peach and cherry, or
1402. Gallic add. Gallic acid, as it is obtained in the greatest hitter.almonds. When pure it exists in the form of colorless
abundance, so it derives its name from the nut-gall, from fluid, with an odor resembling that of jpeach-tree blossoms. It
which it may be extracted by exposing a quantity of the powder does not redden vegetable blues. But it is characterised by its
of nut-galls to a moderate heat m a glass retort ; and the acid property of forming a bluish -green precipitate, when it is
will sublime and form crystals of an octahedral figure. Its poured, with a little alkali added to it, into solutions containing
taste is austere and astringent. It strongly reddens vegetable iron.
1406. All vegetable acids contain carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, in one propm-tion or other ; and the
prussic acid contains also a portion of nitrogen. The gallic acid contains more of carbon than any other
vegetable acid, and the oxalic more of oxygen.
1407. Vegetable oils are of two kinds, the fixed and the volatile. The former are
not suddenly affected by the application of heat ; the latter are very inflammable,
1408. Fixed oils. Fixed oils are but seldom found, except in the seeds of plants, and chiefly in such as
are dicotyledonous. They are found also, though rarely, in the pulp of fleshy fruits, as in that of the olive,
which yields the most abundant and valuable species of all fixed oils. But dicotyledonous seeds, which
contain oil, contain also at the same time a quantity of mucilage and fecula, and form, when bruised in
water, a mild and milky fluid, known by the name of emulsion. And on this account they are sometimes
denominated emulsive seeds. Some seeds yield their oil merely by means of pressure, though it is often
necessary to reduce them first of all to a sort of pulp, by means of pounding them in a mortar. Others
require to be exposed to the action of heat, which is applied to them by means of pressure between warm
plates of tin, or of the vapor of boiling water, or of roasting before they are subjected to the press. Fixed
oil, when pure, is generally a thick and viscous fluid, of a mild or insipid taste, and without smell. But it
is never entirely without some color, which is for the most part green or yellow. Its specific gravity is to
water as 9403 to 1000. It is insoluble in water. It is decomposed in the acids, but with the alkalies it
forms soap. When exposed to the atmosphere it becomes inspissated and opaque, and assumes a white
color and a resemblance to fat. This is in consequence of the absorption of oxygen ; but owing to the
appearance of a quantity of water in oil that is exjwsed to the action of the air, it has been thought that
the oxygen absorbed by it is not yet perhaps assimilated to its substance. When exposed to cold it con-
geals and crystallizes, or assumes a solid and granular form ; but not till the thermometer has indicated a
degree considerably below the freezing point. When exposed to the action of heat it is not volatilized till
it begins to boil, which is at G00° of Fahrenheit. By distillation it is converted into water, carbonic acid,
and carburetted hydrogen gas, and charcoal ; the product of its combustion is nearly the same ; and hence
it is a compound of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Fixed oils are generally divided into two sorts, fat
oils and drying oils. The former are readily inspissated by the action of the air, and converted into a sort
of fat. The latter are capable of being dried by the action of the air, and converted into a firm and trans-
parent substance.
1409. The principal species of fat oils are the following : —
1410. Olive-oil, which is expressed from the pulpy part of the pounded to a paste in mortars of marble, which is afterwards
fruit of olea europea. The fruit is first broken in a mill, and subjected to the action of the press ; and the oil is now ob-
reduced to a sort of i>aste. It is then subjected to the action of tained as in the olive.
a press, and the oil, which is now easily separated, swims on the 1412. Rapcsced-oil, which is extracteil from the brassica napus
top of the water in the vessel beneath. It is manufacturetl and campestris. It is less fixed and less liable to become ran-
chiefly in France and in Italy, and is much used throughout cid than the two former, and is manufactured chietly in
Europe instead of butter, and to give a seasoning to tbod. Flanders.
1411. Oi/ (ifahnonrfi, which is extracted from the fruit of the 1413. Oil of bchen, which is extracted from the fruit of the
amygdalus communis or common almond. The almonds are guilandina mohringa, common in Egypt and Africa. It is apt
first well rubbetl or shook in a coarse bag or sack, to separate a to become rancid ; but it is without odor, and is on tliis ac-
bitter powder which covers their epidermis. They are then count much used in jierfumery.
1414. The principal species of drying oils are linseed-oil, nut-oil, poppy-oil, and hempseed-oil.
1415. Linseedoil is obtained from the seeds of flax, which are 1417. Poppy-nil is extracted from the seeds of papaver somni-
Renerally roasted before they are subjected to any other process, fenim, which is cultivated in France and Holland for this pur-
for the purpose of drying up their mucilage and separating pose. It is clear and transparent, and dries readily ; and when
more oil. ^vite it is without taste or odor. It is used for the same pur-
1416. Nul-oil is extracted from the fruit of corylus avellana, poses as the olive-oil, for which it is often .sold, and possesses
or juglans regia. The kernel is first slightly roasted, and the nothing of the narcoUc properties of the poppy.
oil then expressed. It is used in paintings of a coarser sort; 1418. Hempseed-oil is extracted from the seed of the hemp,
and also in the seasoning of food by many of the inhabitants of It has a harsh and disagreeable taste, and is ased by painters in
the middle .departments of France ; but it is apt to become this country, and very extensively for food in Russia,
rancid.
1419. Volatile oils. Volatile oils, which are known also by the name of essential oils, are of very common
occurrence in the vegetable kingdom, and are found in almost all the different organs of the plant. They
are found in many roots, to which they communicate a fragrant and aromatic odor, with a taste somewhat
acrid. ^ The roots of inula helenium, genista canariensis, and a variety of other plants, contain essential
oils. They are found also in the bark of laurus cinnamomum, of lauriis sassafras, and pinus ; in the leaves
ofjabiateplants, such as mint, rosemary, marjoram j and of the odorous umbcllifcra;, such as chervil.
Book I. VEGETABLE CHEMISTRY. 221
fennel, angelica ; and of plants witli compound flowers, such as wormwood. They are found also tn the
flower itself, as in the flowers of chamomile, and the rose ; and in the fruit, as in that of pepper and ginger,
and in the external integuments of many seeds, but never in tlie cotyledon. They are extracted by means
of expression or distillation, and are extremely numerous; and perhaps every plant {assessing a peculiar
odor possesses also a peculiar and volatile oil. The aroma of plants, therefore, or the substance from which
they derive their odor, and which is cognisable only by the sense of smell, is perhaps merely the more
volatile and evaporable part of their volatile oil, disengaging itself from its combinations. Volatile oils
are characterised by their strong and aromatic odor, and rather acrid taste. They are soluble in alcohol,
but are not readily covcrted into soaps by alkalies. They are very inflammable, and are volatilised by a
gentle heat. Like fixed oils, their specific gravity is generally less than that of water, on the surface of
which they will float ; though in some cases it is found to be greater than that of water, in which they
consequently sink. They are much in request on account of their agreeable taste and odor, and are pre-
pared and sold by apothecaries and perfumers, under the names of distilled waters or essences ; as well as
employed also in the manufacture of varnishes and pigments.
1420. Wax. On the upper surface of the leaves of many trees there may often be observed a sort of Tar-
nish, which, when separated by certain chemical processes, is found to possess all the properties of bees'-
wax, and is consequently a vegetable wax. It exudes, however, from several other parts of the plant
besides the leaf, and assumes a more waxy and concrete form, as from the catkins of the poplar, the alder,
and the fir ; from the fruit of the myrica cerifera and croton sebiferum ; but particularly from the antherae
of the flowers, from which it is probable that the bees extract it unaltered. It was the opinion of Reaumur,
however, that the pollen undergoes a digestive process in the stomach of the bee before it is converted into
wax, though a late writer on the subject endeavours to prove that the wax is elaborated from the honey
extracted by the bee, and not from the pollen. It is found also in the interior of many seeds, from which
it is extracted, by means of pounding them and boiling them in water. The wax is melted and swims on
the top. Wax, when pure, is of a whitish color, but without taste and without smell. The smell of
bees'- wax is indeed somewhat aromatic, and its color yello\fr: But this is evidently owing to some foreign
substance with which it is mixed, because it loses its smell and color by means of bleaching, and becomes
perfectly white. This is done merely by drawing it out into thin stripes, and exposing it for some time to
the atmosphere. Bleached wax is not affected by the air. Its specific gravity is 0'9600. It is insoluble in
water, and in alcohol. It combines with the fixed oils, and forms with them a composition known by the
name of cerate. It combines also with the fixed alkalies, and forms with them a compound possessing
the properties of common soap. The acids have but little action on it, and for this reason it is useful as a
lute to confine them, or to prevent them from injuring cork. When heat is applied to wax it becomes
soft, and melts at the temperature of 142" if unbleached, and of 155" if bleached, into a colorless and trans-
parent fluid, which, as the temperature diminishes, concretes again and resumes its former appearance.
At a higher temperature it boils and evaporates, and the vapor may be set on fire by the application of red
heat. Hence its utility in making candles. And hence an explication of the singular phenomenon ob-
servable in the dictamnus fraxinella. This plant is fragrant, and the odor which it diffuses around forms
a partial and temporary atmosphere, which is inflammable ; for if a lighted candle or other ignited body
is brought near to the plant, especially in the time of drought, its atmosphere immediately takes fire.
This phenomenon was first observed by the daughter of the celebrated Linnaeus, and is explained by sup-
posing the partial and temporary atmosphere to contain a proportion of wax exuded from the plant, and
afterwards reduced to vapor by the action of the sun. The result of its combustion in oxygene gas was,
according to Lavoisier, carbonic acid and water, in such proportion as to lead him to conclude tiiat 100
parts of wax are composed of 8228 of carbon and 1772 of hydrogen. But owing to the little action of
acids upon it, there seems reason to believe that it contains also oxygen as an ingredient.
1421. fVax possesses all the essential properties of a fixed oil. But fixed oils have the property of becom-
ing concrete, and of assuming a waxy appearance when long exposed to the air, in consequence, as it seems,
of the absorption of oxygen. Wax therefore may be considered as a fixed oil rendered concrete, perhaps
by the absorption of oxygen during the progress of vegetation. But if this theory is just, the wax may be
expected to occur in a considerable variety of states according to its degree of oxygenation ; and this is ac-
cordingly the case. Sometimes it has the consistency of butter, and is denominated butter of wax, as
butter of cocoa, butter of galam. Sometimes its consistency is greater, and then it is denominated tallow,
as tallow of croton ; and when it has assumed its last degree of consistency, it then takes the appellation
of wax. The following are its principal species : butter of cacao, butter of cocoa, butter of nutmeg, tallow
of croton, and wax of myrtle.
1422. The butter of cacao \% extracted from the seeds of the 1424. Butter of mitmeg is obtained from the seeds of the
theobroma cacao or chocolate plant, either by boiling them in myristica officinalis, or nutmeg-tree.
•water, or by subjecting them to the action of the press after 1425. Tallom of croton is obtained from the fruit of the croton
having exposed them to the vapor of boiling water. sebiferum.
1423. Butter of cocoa is found in tne fruit of cocos nucifera or 1426. The tvax.qf mj/rtte is obtained from the berry of the
cocoa-nut-tree. It is expressed from the pulp of the nut, and is myrica cerifeia.
even said to separate from it when in a fluid state, as cream
separates from milk.
1427. Resins. Resins are volatile oils, rendered concrete Igr fmeans of the absorption of oxygen, or
rather perhaps by the abstraction of part of their hydrogen. They have a slight degree of transparency,
and their color is generally yellowish. Their taste is somewhat acrid ; but they are without smell when
pure. Their specific gravity varies from I'OISO to 1*2289. They are non-conductors of electricity, and
when excited by friction their electricity is negative. The species of resins are numerous.
1428. Ronn is a species of resin, of which there are several 1435. Op<Aalsamtim,or iMlmqf GUead, yrhichhas been so much
varieties From different species of the pine, larch, and fir- famed for its medical virtues, is the produce of the amyris
tree, there exudes a juice which concretes in the form of tears. gileadensis, a shrub which grows in JudiEa and in Arabia ; but
Its extrication is generally aided by means of incisions, and it it is so much valued by the Turks that its importation is pio-
receives different apjiellations, according to the species from hibited. This is the balm of Gilead so much celebrated in
which it is obtained. If it is obtained from the pinus syl- Scripture. Pliny says it was first brought to Rome by the
vestris, it is denominated omtrnon turpentine ; from pinus generals of Vespasian. It is obtained in a liquid state from in-
larix, Venice turpentine ; from amyris balsamea, baliam of cisions made in the bark, and is somewhat bitter to the taste.
Canada. It consists of two ingredients oil of turpentine and 1436. Co/witia, orfcaiiawKj/'copait'a, is obtained from the co-
rosin. The oil is extricated by distillation, and the rosin re. paifera officinalis.
mains belUnd. If the distillation is continued to dryness, the 1437. Draeon's blood is obtained from the dracoena draco,
residuum is comnum ronn or colophonium ; but if water is pterocarpus draco, and calamus rotang.
mixed with it while yet fluid, and incorporated by violent 1438. Guai/ic is the produce of the gualacum officinale,
agitation, the residuum is yellow rosin. The yellow rosin is 1439. Bo/nnt/ Bni/reiin, the produce of the acarois resinifera,
the most ductile, and the most generally used in the arts. a native of New Holland, and found in great abundance about
1429. Pitch and tar are manufactured from the resinous juices Botanv Bay •
of the fir. The trunk is cut or cleft into pieces of a conve- 1440. Greenrennconstitutesthecoloring matter oftheleaves
nient size, which are piled together in heaps, and covered of trees, and of almost all vegetables. It is insoluble in water,
•with turf. They are then set on fire, and the resinous juice but soluble in alcohol. UTien treated with oxymuriatic acid,
•which is thus extricated, being prevented from escaping in a it assumes the color of a withered lejif, and exhibits the re-
volatile state by means of the turf, is precipitated and collected sinous properties more distinctly.
in a vessel beneath. It is partly converted into an empyreu- 1441. Cujtal is the produce of the rhus copallinum, a tree
raatic oil, and is now tar, which, by being further inspissated, which is tbund in North America.
is converted into pitch. 1442. Anim^, is obtained from the hymensBa coubaril, or
1430. Mastich is extracted from the jiistacia lentiscus. locust-tree, a native of North America.
9 1431 . Handarach is obtained from the juniperis communis, by 1443. Lac is the produce of the croton lacciferum, a native of
spontaneous exudation. the East Indies.
1432. Biemi is extracted from the amyris elemifera. 1444. Bloom. Upon the'epidermis of the'leaves and fruit oT
1433. Tacambac is the produce of thd fagara octandra and certain species of plants, there is to be found a fine, soft, and
— '--- balsamifera. glaucous powder. It is particularly observable upon cabbage.
Labdamm is obtained firem the ciitus cretious. leaves, and upon plum?, to which it conununicatet a pe«i».
222 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Paet If.
Uar diade. It is kitoira to gardeners by the name of bloom. When ruMied ofT, it is again reproduced, ttM»agh slowly. It
It is easily rubbed off by the fingers ; and when viewed un- resists the action of dews and rjiins, and is consequently inso-
der the microscope seems to l>e composed of small opaque luble in water. But it is soluble in spirits of wine ; from
nnd unpolished granules, somewhat similar to the powder of which circumstance it has been suspected, with some pro-
i^arcb; out with a high magnifying power it appears transparent. bability, to be a resin.
1445. The use qf resins in the arts is very considerable ; but their medical virtues are not quite so great
as has been generally supposed. They are employed in the arts of painting, varnishing, embalming, and
perfumery 5 and they furnish us with two of the most important of all materials to a naval power, pitch
and tar.
1446. Gum-resins. This term is employed to denote a class of vegetable substances, which have been
regarded by chemists as consisting of gum and resin. They are generally contained in the proper vessels
of the plant, whether in the root, stem, branches, leaves, flowers, or fruit. But there is this remarkable
difference between resins and gum-resins, that the latter have never been known, like the former, to ex-
ude spontaneously from the plant. They are obtained by means of bruising the parts containing them,
and expressing the juice, which is always in the state of an emulsion, generally white, but sometimes of a
different color ; or they are obtained by means of incisions from which the juice flows. This juice, which
is the proper juice of the plant, is then exposed to the action of the sun, by which, in warm climates, it is
condensed and inspissated, and converted into the gum-resin of commerce. Gum-resins, in their solid
state, are brittle, and less transparent than resins. They have generally a strong smell, which is some-
times alliaceous, and a bitter and nauseous taste. They are partially soluble both in water and in alcohol.
When heated, they do not melt like the resins, nor are they so combustible. But they swell and soften by
heat, and at last burn away with a flame. By distillation they yield volatile oil, ammonia combined with
an acid, and have a bulky charcoal. The principal species of gum-resins which have been hitherto applied
to any useful purpose are : —
1447. Galbanum, obtained from the rteni of the bubon gal- 1455. Myrrh, the plant yielding which grows in Abyssinia
banum. and Arabia. Bruce says, it belongs to the genus mimosa ;
1448. .^nrnionioc, brought from Africa in the form of small but however this may be, myrrh is the juice of the plant
tears ; the plant wliich yields it is thought to be a species of concreted in the form of tears. Its color is yellow, its odor
ferula. strong but agreeable, and its taste bitter ; it is employed in
1449. Scammony, the produce of the conTolvulus scammonia. medicine, and is esteemed an excellent stomachic.
1450. Opoponax, obtamed from the pastlnaca opoponax. 145C. Assafatida, a. substance which is well known for its
1451. Euphorbium, the prodOce of the euphorbia officinalis ; strong and fetid smell, is obtained from the ferula assafwtida.
Its taste is caustic ; it is considered as a poison, but is occa- At four years old the plant is dug up by the root. The root
sionally employed in medicine. is then cleaned, and the extremity cut off; a milky juice
1452. Olibanum is obtained from the juniperus lycia, which exudes, which is collected ; and when it ceases to flow an-
grows in Arabia, particularly by the borders of the Red Sea. other portion is cut off, and more juice extricated. The pro-
It is the frankincense of the ancients. It exudes from in- cess is continued till the root is exhausted. The juice which
cisions made in the tree, and concretes into masses about the has been collected soon concretes, and constitutes assafoetida.
size of a chestnut. It is brought to Europe in small agglutinated grains of dif-
1453. Sa/?ai)enu>n is supposed to be obtained from the ferula fierent colors, white, red, yellow. It is hard, but brittle. Its
persica. taste is bitter, and its smell insufferably fetid; the Indians
1454. Gamboge, or gumgutt, the produce of the mangostana use it as a seasoning for their food, and call it the food of
cambogia. the gods. In Europe, it is used in medicine as an antispas-
modic.
1457. Balsams. The substances known by the name of balsams are resins united to the benzoic acid.
They are obtained by means of incisions made in the bark, from which a viscous juice exudes, which is
afterwards inspissated by the action of the fire or air, or they are obtained by means of boiling the part
that contains them. They are thick and viscid juices, but become readily concrete. Their color is brown
or red ; their smell aromatic when rubbed ; their taste acrid ; their specific gravity 1'090. They are un-
alterable in the air after becoming concrete. They are insoluble in water, but boiling water abstracts part
of their acid; they are soluble in the alkalies and nitric acid. When heated they melt and swell, evolv-
ing a white and odorous smoke. The principal of the balsams are the following : benzoin, storax, styrax,
balsam of tolu, balsam of Peru.
1458. Benzoin is the produce of the styrax benzoin. 1461.'Ba/«am o/<o/u is obtained from the toluiferabalsamum.
1459. Storcuc is obtained from the styrax officinale. 1462. Baliam of Peru is obtained from the myroxylon perui-
1460. Styrax is a semi-fluid juice, the produce of a tree said ferum.
to be cultivated in Arabia.
1463. Camphor. The substance known by the name of camphor is obtained from the root and stem of
the laurus camphora, by distillation. When pure it is a white brittle substance, forming octagonal crystals
or square plates. Its taste is hot and acrid ; its odor strong but aromatic ; its specific gravity 09887.
When broke into small fragments and put into water, on the surface of which it swims, a singular
phenomenon ensues. The water surrounding the fragments is immediately put into commotion, advanc-
ing and retiring in little waves, and attacking the fragments with violence. The minuter fragments are
driven backwards and forwards upon the surface as if impelled by contrary winds. If a drop of oil is let
fall on the surface of the water it produces an immediate calm. This phenomena has been attributed to
electricity. Fourcroy thinks it is merely the effect of the affinities of the camphor, water, and air, enter-
ing into combination. Though camphor is obtained chiefly from the laurus camphora, yet it is known to
exist in a great many other plants, particularly labiate plants, and has been extracted from the roots of
Eodoary, sassafras, thyme, rosemary, and lavender.
1464. Caoutchouc. The substance denominated caoutchouc was first introduced into Europe about the
beginning of the eighteenth century. But from a use to which it is very generally applied of rubbing out
the marks made upon paper by a black-lead pencil, it is better known to most peojjle in this country by the
name of Indian rubber. It is obtained chiefly from haevca caoutchouc and jatropha elastica, trees indi-
genous to South America ; but it has been obtained also from several trees which grow in the East Indies,
such as ficus indicus, artocarpus integrifolia, and urceola elastica. If an incision is made into the bark of
any of these plants a milky juice exudes, which, when exposed to the air, concretes and forms caoutchouc.
As the object of the natives in collecting it had been originally to form it into vessels for their own use, it
IS generally made to concrete in the form of bags or bottles. This is done by applying the juice, when
fluid, in thin layers to a mould of dry clay, and then leaving it to concrete in the sun or by the fire. A
second layer is added to the first, and others in succession, till the vessel acquires the thickness that is
wanted. The mould is then broken and the vessel fit for use, and in this state it is generally brought in-
to Europe. It has been brought, however, even in its milky state, by being confined from the action of
the air. If the milky juice is exposed to the air, an elastic pellicle is formed on the surface. If it is con-
fined in a vessel containing oxygene gas, the pellicle is formed sooner. If oxymuriatic acid is poured into
the milky juice, the caoutchouc precipitates immediately. This renders it probable that the formation of
the caoutchouc is owing to the absorption of oxygene. Caoutchouc, when pure, is of a white color, with-
out taste and without smell. The black color of the caoutchouc of commerce is owing to the method of
drymg the different layers upon the moulds on which they are spread. They are dried by being exposed
t© smoke. The black color of the caoutchouc, therefore, is owing to the smoke or soot alternating with
its different layers. It is soft and pliable like leather, and extremely elastic, so that it may be stretched
to a very great length, and still recover its former size. Its specific gravity is 0-9335. Gough, of Man-
chester, has made some curious and important experiments on the connection between the temperature
ofcaoutchouc and its elasticity, from which it results that ductility as well as fluidity is owing to latent
heat. Caoutchouc is not altered by exposure to the air. It is perfectly insoluble in water ; but if boiled
in water for some time its edges become so soft that they will cement, if pressed and kept for a while close-
ly together. It is insoluble in alcohol, but soluble in ether. It is soluble also in volatile oils and in alka-
Book I. VEGETABLE CHEMISTRY. 223
lies. And from the actlcm operated upon by acids it is thought to be compoeed of carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen, and azote. It seems to exist in a great variety of plants combined with other ingredients. It
may be separated from resins by alcohol. It may bo separated from the berries of the misseltoe by means
of water, and from other vegetable substances by other processes. It is said to be contained both in opium
and in mastic. But from these substances it cannot be extracted in sufficient quantities to make it worth
the labor. It is applied to a great many useful purposes both in medicine and the arts, to which, from
its great pliability and elasticity, it is uncommonly well adapted. In the countries where it is produced
the natives make boots and shoes of it, and often use it by way of candle.
1465. Cork. The substance known by the name of cork is the outer and exfoliated bark of the quercus
suber or cork-tree, a species of oak that grows in great abundance in France, Spain, and Italy. But to
prevent its natural exfoliation, which is always irregular, and to disengage it in convenient portions, a
longitudinal incision is made in the bark from the root to the top of the stem; and a transverse and cir-
cular incision at each extremity. The outer layer, which is cork, is then stripped off, and to flatten and
reduce it to sheets it is put into water and loaded with weights. The tree continues to thrive, though it
is thus stripped of its cork once in two or three years. Cork is a light, soft, and elastic substance, dis-
tinguished by the following properties : — Its color is a sort of light tan. It is very inflammable, and
burns with a bright white flame, leaving a black and bulky charcoal behind. When distilled it yields a
small quantity of ammonia. Nitric acid corrodes and dissolves it, changing its color to yellow, and finally
decomposes it, converting it partly into an acid, and partly into a soft substance resembling wax or resin.
The acid which is thus formed is denominated the suberic acid, and has been proved by the experiments
of Lagrange to be an acid of a peculiar nature. It seems probable that cork exists in the bark of some
other trees also, as well as the quercus suber. The bark of the ulmus suberosa assumes something
of the external appearance of cork, which it resembles in its thickness, softness, and elasticity, and in its
loose and porous texture, as well as also in its chemical properties. Fourcroy seems, indeed, to regard the
epidermis of all trees whatever to be a sort of cork, but does not say on what grounds his opinion is
founded. '
1466. Woody fibre. The principal body of the root, stem, and branches of trees, is designated by the
appellation of wood. But the term is too general for the purpose of analytical distinction, as the part
designated by it often includes the greater part of the substances that have been already enumerated. It
remains, therefore, to be ascertained whether there exists in the plant any individual substance different
from those already described, and constituting more immediately the fabric of the wood. If a piece of
wood is well dried and digested, first in water and then in alcohol, or such other solvent as shall produce
no violent effects upon the insoluble parts ; and if the digestion is continued till the liquid is no longer
colored, and dissolves no more of the substance of the plant, there remains behind a sort of vegetable
skeleton, which constitutes the basis of the wood, and which has been denominated woody fibre. It is
composed of bundles of longitudinal threads, which are divisible into others still smaller. It is somewhat
transparent. It is without taste and smell, and is not altered by exposure to the atmosphere. It is inso-
luble in water and alcohol ; but the fixed alkalies decompose it with the assistance of heat. When heated
in the open air it blackens without melting or frothing, and exhales a thick smoke and pungent odor,
leaving a charcoal that retains the form of the original mass. When distilled in a retort it yields an em-
pyreuraatic oil, carburetted hydrogene gas, carbonic acid, and a portion of ammonia, according to Four-
croy, indicating the presence of nitrogen as constituting one of its elementary principles ; and yet this
ingredient does not appear in the result of the later analysis of Gay Lussac and Thenard, which is, car-
bon, 52-53 ; oxygen, 4178 ; hydrogen, 5-69; total 100.
1467. Charcoal. When wood is burnt with a smothered flame, the volatile parts are driven off by
the heat, and there remains behind a substance exhibiting the exact form, and even the several layers of
the original mass. This process is denominated charring, and the substance obtained, charcoal. As it is
the woody fibre alone which resists the action of heat, while, the other parts of the plant are dissipated, it
is plain that charcoal must be the residuum of woody fibre, And that the quantity of the one must depend
upon the quantity of the other, if they are not rather to be considered as the same. Charcoal may be ob-
tained from almost all parts of the plant, whether solid or fluid. It often escapes, however, during com-
bustion, under the form of carbonic acid, of which it constitutes one of the elements. From a variety of
experiments made on different plants and on their different parts, it appears that the green parts contain
a greater proportion of charcoal than the rest. But this proportion is found to diminish in autumn, when
the green parts begin to be deprived of their glutinous and extractive juice. The wood contains more
charcoal than the alburnum, the bark more than both. But this last result is not constant in all plants,
because the bark is not a homogeneous substance, the outer parts being affected by the air and the inner
parts not. The wood of the quercus robur, separated from the alburnum, yielded from 100 parts of its
dried substance 19.75 of charcoal ; the alburnum, 17.5 ; the bark, 26 ; leaves gathered in May, 80 ; in
September, 26. But the quantity of charcoal differs also in different plants, as well as in different parts
of the same. According to the experiments of Mushet, 100 parts of the following trees afforded as
follows : —
Lignum vitae - - 26'8
Mahogany .... 25-4
Laburnum . • - - 24-.5
Chestnut 23-2
Oak 22-6
American black birch . - 21"4
Walnut 20-6
Holly 19-9
Beech 19-9
American maple .... 19'9
Elm 19-5
Norway fir . . . - 19-2
Sallow ...... I8.4
Ash ...... 17.9
Birch - .... 17.4
Scotch pine ..... 16.4
1468. 7%t^pro/)e>-^/cs o/cArtrcoflZ are insolubility in water, of which, however, it absorbs a portion when
newly made, as also of atmospheric air. It is incapable of putrefaction. It is not altered by the most
violent heat that can be applied, if all air and moisture are excluded; but when heated to about 800 it
burns in atmospheric air or oxygene gas, and if pure, without leaving any residuum. It is regarded by
chemists as being a triple compound, of which the ingredients are carbon, hydrogene, and oxygene.
Charcoal is of great utility both to the chemist and artist as a fuel for heating furnaces, as well as for a
variety of other purposes. It is an excellent filter for purifying water. It is a very good tooth-powder ;
and is also an indispensable ingredient in the important manufacture of gunpowder.
1469. The sap. If the branch of a vine is cut asunder early in the spring, before the leaves have begun
to expand, a clear and colorless fluid will issue from the wound, which gardeners denominate the tears of
the vine. It is merely, however, the ascending sap, and may be procured from almost any other plant by
the same or similar means, and at the same season ; but particularly from the maple, birch, and walnut-
tree, by means of boring a hole in the trunk. It issues chiefly from the porous and mixed tubes of the
alburnum ; though sometimes it does not flow freely till the bore is carried to the centre. A small branch
of a vine has been known to yield from twelve to sixteen ounces, in the space of twenty-four hours. A
maple-tree of moderate size yields about 200 pints in a season, as has been already stated ; and a birch-
tree has been known to yield in the course of the bleeding-season, a quantity equal to its own weight. In
the sap of fagus sylvatica, Vauquelin found the following ingredients : — Water, acetate of lime, with ex-
cess of acid, acetate of potass, gallic acid, tannin, mucous and extractive matter, and acetate of alumina.
In 1039 parts of the sap of the ulmus campestris, he found 1027 parts of water and volatile matter, 9*240 of
acetate of potass, 1-060 of vegetable matter, 0-796 of carbonate of lime, besides some slight indications of
the presence of sulphuric and muriatic acids ; and at a later period of the season he found the vegetable
matter increased, and the carbonate of lime and acetate of potass diminished. From the above experi-
ments, therefore, as well as from those of other chemists, it is plain that the sap consists of a great
variety of ingredients, differing in different species of plants ; though there is too little known concerning
it to warrant tlie deduction of any general conclusions, aa the number of plants whose sap has beea hithet.
224 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
to analysed \s yet but very limUed. It is the grand and principal source of vegetable aliment, and may be
regarded as being somewhat analogous to the blood of animals. It is not made use of by man, at least in
its natural state. But there are trees, such as the birch, whose sap may Ix? manufactured into a very
pleasant wine ; and it is well known that the sap of the American maple-tree yields a considerable
quantity of sugar.
1470. The proper juice. When the sap has received its last degree of elaboration from the different or-
gans through which it has to pass, it is converted into a peculiar fluid, called the proper juice. This fluid
may be distinguished from the sap by means of its color, which is generally" green, as in periwinkle ; or
red, as in logwood ; or white, as in spurge ; or yellow, as in celandine ; from the two last of which it may
readily be obtained by breaking the stem asunder, as it will then exude from the fracture. Its principal
seat is in the bark, where it occupies the simple tubes ; but sometimes it is situated between the bark and
wood, as in the juniper-tree ; or in the leaf, as in the greater part of herbs ; or it is diffused throughout
the whole plant, as in the fir and hemlock ; in which case, either the proper juice mixes with the sap, or
the vessels containing it have ramifications so fine as to be altogether imperceptible. It is not, however,
the same in all plants, nor even in the different parts of the same plant. In the cherry-tree it is mucila-
ginous ; in the pine it is resinous ; in spurge and celandine it is caustic, though resembling in appearance
an emulsion. In many plants the proper juice of the bark is different from that of the flower ; and the
proper juice of the fruit different from both. Its appearance under the microscope, according to Senebier,
is that of an assemblage of small globules connected by small and prism-shaped substances placed between
them. If this juice could be obtained in a state of purity, its analysis would throw a considerable degree
oflight upon the subject of vegetation. But it seems impracticable to extract it without a mixture of
sap. Senebier analysed the milky juice of euphorbia cyparissias, of which he had procured a small
quantity considerably pure, though its pungency was so great as to occasion an inflammation of the eyes
to the person employed to procure it. It mixed readily with water, to which it communicated its color.
When left exposed to the air a slight precipitation ensued ; and when allowed to evaporate a thin and
opaque crust remained behind. Alcohol coagulated it into small globules. Ether dissolved it entirely, as
did also oil of turj^entine. Sulphuric acid changed its color to black ; nitric acid to green. The most ac-
curate experiments on the subject are those of Chaptal. When oxymuriatic acid was poured into the
peculiar juice of euphorbia, a very copious white precipitate fell down, which, when washed and dried,
had the appearance of starch, and was not altered by keeping. Alcohol, aided by heat, dissolved two
thirds of it, which the addition of water again precipitated. They had all the properties of resin. The
remaining third part possessed the properties of woody fibre. The same experiment was tried on the juice
of a variety of other plants, and the result uniformly was that oxymuriatic acid precipitated from them
woody fibre.
1471. The virtues of plants have generally been thoiught to reside in their proper juices, and the opinion
seems indeed to be well founded. It is at least proved by experiment in the poppy, spurge, and fig. The
juice of the first is narcotic, of the two last corrosive. The diuretic and balsamic virtues of the fir reside
in its turjientine, and the purgative property of jalap in its resin. If sugar is obtained from the sap of the
sugar-cane and maple, it is only because it has been mixed with a quantity of proper juice. The bark
certainly contains it in greatest abundance, as maybe exemplified in cinnamon and quinquina. But the
peach-tree furnishes an exception to this rule : its flowers are purgative, and the whole plant aromatic ;
but its gum is without any distinguished virtues. Malpighi regarded the proper juice as the principle
of nourishment, and compared it to the blood of animals ; but this analogy does not hold very closely.
The sap is, perhaps, more analogous to the blood, from which the proper juice is rather a secretion. • In
one respect, however, the analogy holds good, that is, with regard to extravasated blood and peculiar
juices. If the blood escapes from the vessels it forms neither flesh nor bones, but tumors ; and if the pro-
per juices escapes from the vessels containing them, they form neither wood nor bark, but a lump or
deposit of inspissated fluid. To the sap or to the proper juice, or rather to a mixture of both, we must re-
fer such substances as are obtained from plants under the name of expressed juices, because it is evident
that they can come from no other source. In this state they are generally obtained in the first instance
whether with a view to their use in medicine or their application to the arts. It is the business of the
chemist or artist to separate and purify them afterwards according to the peculiar object he may happen
to have in view, and the use to which he purposes to apply them. They contain, like the sap, acetate of
potass or of lime, and assume a deeper shade of color when exposed to the fire or air. The oxymuriatic
acid precipitates from them a colored and flaky substance as from the sap, and they yield by evaporation
a quantity of extract. But they differ from the sap in exhibiting no traces of tannin or gallic acid, and
but rarely of the saccharine principle.
1472. Ashes. When vegetables are burnt in the open air the greatest part of their substance is evapo-
rated during the process of combustion ; but ultimately there remains behind, a portion which is alto-
gether incombustible, and incapable of being volatilised by the action of fire. This residuum is known by
the name of ashes. Herbaceous plants, after being dried, yield more ashes than woody plants ; the leaves
more than the branches ; and the branches more than the trunk. The alburnum yields also more ashes
than the wood ; and putrified vegetables yield more ashes than the same vegetabtes in a fresh state, if the
putrefaction has not taken place in a current of water. The result of Saussure's experiments on 1000 parts
of different plants was as follows : —
Gathered in May, dried leaves of the oak - . ... 53 farta qf athei.
preen leaves of the oak • - ... 13
dried leaves of the rhododendron - - - 50
dried leaves of the ffisculus hiiipocastanum 72
trunk and branches of assculushippocastanum 35
Gathered in September, dried leaves of the a»culus hipiK)castanum 86
dried leaves of the oak - ... 55
green leaves of the oak - - • - 24
Go/Aered n'Aen in^ortjer, leaves of pisum sativum - - - 95
Gathered tv hen in /ruzV, leaves of pisum sativum - • • 81
leaves of vicia juba - - - - 20
Ga<Aerc(Z6f/orecom:»^ m<oJ?ofwer, the leaves of the viciafaba . 16
Oak, the dried bark 60, the alburnum 4, wood ... - 2
1473. The analysis qf the ashes of plants, with a view to the discovery of the ingredients of which they
are composed, produces alkalies, earths, and metals, which must therefore be considered as ingredients in
the composition of the vegetable. But vegetable ashes contain also a variety of other principles, occur-
ring, however, in such small proportions as generally to escape observation. Perhaps they contain all sub-
stances not capable of being volatilised by the action of fire.
1474. Alkalies. The alkalies are a peculiar class of substances, distinguished by a caustic taste and
the property of changing vegetable blues to green. They are generally regarded as being three in num-
ber, potass, soda, and ammonia, of which the two former only are found in the ashes of vegetables. Am-
monia is, indeed, often obtained from vegetable substances by means of distillation, but then it is always
formed during the process. If the ashes of land vegetables, burnt in the open air, are repeatedly washed
in water, and the water filtered and evaporated to dryness, potass is left behind. The potass of commerce
is manufactured in this manner, though it is not quite pure. But it may be purified by dissolving it in
spirits of wine, and evaporating the solution to dryness in a silver vessel. When pure it is white and semi-
transparent, and is extremely caustic and deliquescent. It dissolves all soft animal substances, and changes
vegetable blues into green. It dissolves alumina, and also a small quantity of silex, with which it fuses
into glass by the aid of fire. It had been long suspected by chemists to be a compound substance ; and
according to tbe notable discovery by Sir H.Davy, its component parts are at last ascertained to be a
Book I. VtiGETABLE CHEMISTRY. 32^
highly inflammable metal, which he denominates potassium, and oxygen — one proportion of each. Sod.i
is found chieHv in marine plants, from the ashes of which it is obtained by means of Uxiviation. It exists
in great abundance in salsola soda, zostera maritima, and in various species of fuci. It is generally ob-
tained in the state of a carbonate, but is purified in the same manner as potass, to which it is similar in its
properties ; but from which it is easily distinguished by its forming a hard soap with oil, while potass forms
a soft soap. It con.sists, according to Sir H. Davy, of one proportion of a metal which he denominates
sodium, and two proportions of oxygen. Such are the only vegetable alkalies, and modes of obtaining
them. They are found generally in the state of carbonates, sulphates, or muriates, salts that form beyontf
all comparison the most abundant ingredient in the ashes of green herbaceous plants whose parts are in a
state of vegetation. The ashes of the golden rod, growing in an uncultivated soil, and of the bean, turn-
sol, and wheat, were found by Saussure to contain at least three 'fourths of their weight of alkaline salts.
This was nearly the case also with the leaves of trees just bursting from the bud. But the proportion of
alkaline salts is found to diminish rather than to augment as the parts of the plant are developed.
The ashes of the leaves of the oak, gathered in May, yielded 47 parts in the 100 of alkaline salts ; and in
September, only 17.
14-75. The utility of tfw alkalies, as obtained from vegetables, is of the utmost importance in the arts,
particularly in the formation of glass and of soaps. If a mixture of soda or potass, and silex or sand, in
certain proportions, is exposed to a violent heat, the ingredients are melted down into a fluid mass, which
is glass in a state of fusion. In this state it may be moulded into almost any form at the pleasure of the
artist. And accordingly we find that it is manufactured into a great variety of utensils and instruments,
under the heads of flint-glass, crown-glass, bottle-glass. Bottle-glass is the coarsest ; it is formed of soda
and common sand, and is used in the manufacture of the coarser sort of bottles. Crown-glass is composed
of soda and fine sand: it is moulded into large plates for the purpose of forming window-glasses and
looking-glasses. Flint-glass is the finest and most transparent of all : that which is of the best quahty is
composed of 120 parts of white siliceous sand, 40 parts of pearl-ash, .^ of red oxide of lead, 13 of nitrate of
potass, and 25 of black oxide of manganese. It is known afto by the name of crystal, and may be cut and
polished so as to serve for a variety of ornamental purposes, as well as for the more important and more
useful purposes of forming optical instruments, of which the discoveries of the telescope and the micro-
scope are the curious or sublime results. If a quantity of oil is mixed with half its weight of a strong
solution of soda or potass, a combination takes place which is rendered more complete by means of boiling.
The new compound is soap. The union of oil with potass forms soft soap, and with soda hard soap ; sub-
stances of the greatest efficacy as detergents, and of the greatest utility in the washing and bleaching of
linen. The alkalies are used also in medicine, and found to be peculiarly efiicacious in the reduction of
urinary calculi.
1476. Earths. The only eaiths which have hitherto been found in plants are the
following : lime, silica, magnesia, alumina.
1477. Litne is by far the most abundant earth. It is generally combined with a portion of phosphoric,
carbonic, or sulphuric acid, forming phosphates, or carbonates, or sulphates of lime. The phosphate of
lime is, next to the alkaline salt, the most abundant ingredient in the ashes of green herbaceous plants,
whose parts are all in a state of vegetation. The leaf of a tree, bursting from the bud, contains in its ashes
a greater proportion of earthy phosphate than at any other period : 1(X) parts of the ashes of the leaves of
the oak, gathered in May, furnished 24 parts of earthy phosphate ; in September, only 18-25, In annual
plants the proporti«^n of earthy phosphate diminishes from the period of their germination to that of their
flowering. Plants of the bean, before flowering, gave 145 parts of earthy phosphate ; in flower, only 13-5.
Carbonate of lime is, next to phosphate of lime, the most abundant of the earthy salts that are found in
vegetables. But if the leaves of plants are washed in water the proportion of carbonate is augmented.
This is owing to the subtraction of their alkaline salts and phosphates in a greater proportion tiian their
lime. In green herbaceous plants, whose parts are in a state of increase, there is but little carbonate of
lime ; but the ashes of the bark of trees contain an enormous quantity of carbonate of lime, and much
more than the alburnum, as do also the ashes of the wood. The ashes of most seeds contain no carbonate
of lime ; but they abound in phosphate of potass. Hence the ashes of plants, at the period of the maturity
of the fruit, yield less carbonate of lime than at any previous period
1478. SUica is not found to exist in a great proportion in the ashes of vegetables, unless they have been
previously deprived of their salts and phosphates by washing; but when the plants are washed in water,
the proportion of their silica augments. The ashes of the leaves of the hazel, gathered in May, yielded
2-5 parts of silica in 100. The same leaves, washed, yielded four parts in 100. Young plants, and leaves
bursting from the bud, contain but little of silica in their ashes; but the proportion of silica augments as
the parts are developed. But perhaps this is owing to the diminution of the alkaline salts. The ashes of
some stalks of wheat gathered a month before the time of flowering, and having some of the radicle leaves
withered, contained 12 parts of silica and &5 of alkaline salts in 100. At the period of their flowering, and
when more of their leaves were withered, the ashes contained 32 parts of silica and 54 of alkaline salts .
Seeds divested of their external covering, contain less silica than the stem furnished with its leaves ; and
it is somewhat remarkable that there are trees of which the bark, alburnum, and wood, contain scarcely
any silica, and the leaves a great deal, particularly in autumn. This is a phenomenon that seems inexpli-
cable. The greater part of the grasses contain a very considerableproportion of silica, as do also the plants
of the genus equisetum. Sir H. Davy has discovered that it forms a part of the epidermis of these plants,
and in some of them the principal part. From 1(X) parts of the epidermis of the following plants the pro-
portions of silica were, in bonnet cane, 90 ; bamboo, 714; common reed, 48-1 ; stalks of corn, 6G-5. Owing
to the silica contained in the epidermis, the plants in which it is found, are sometimes used to give a polish
to the surface of substances where smoothness is required. The Dutch rush, equisetum hyemale, a plant
of this kind, is used to polish even brass.
1479. Magnesia does not exist so abundantly in the vegetable kmgdom as the two preceding earths. It
has been found, however, in several of the marine plants, particularly the fuci ; but salsola soda contains
more of magnesia than any other plant yet examined. According to Vauquelin, 100 parts of it contain
17 '929 t)f magnesia.
1480. Alumina has been detected in several plants, but never except m very small quantities.
1481. Metallic oxides. Among the substances found in the ashes of vegetables, we must class also metals.
They occur, however, only in small quantities, and are not to be detected except by the most delicate ex-
periments. Tlie metals hitherto discovered in plants are iron, manganese, and perhaps gold. Of these
iron is by far the most common. It occurs in the state of an oxide, and the ashes of hard and woody plants,
such as the oak, are said to contain nearly one twelfth of their own weight of this oxide. The ashes of
salsola contain also a considerable quantity. The oxide of manganese was first detected in the ashes of
vegetables by Scheole, and afterwards found by Proust in the ashes of the pine, calendula, vine, green oak,
and fig-tree. Beccher, Kunckel, and Sage, together with some other chemists, contend also for the ex-
istence of gold in the ashes of certain plants ; but the very minute portion which they found, seems more
likely to have proceeded from the lead employed in the process than from the ashes of the plant. It has
been observed by Saussure, that the proportion of the oxides of iron and of manganese augments in the
ashes of plants as their vegetation advances. The leaves of trees furnish more of these principles in au-
tumn than in spring. It is so also with annual plants. Seeds contain metals in less abundance than the stem ;
antl if plants are washed in water, the proportions of their metallic oxides is augmented.
1482. Such are the principal ingredients that enter into the vegetable composition. They are indeed
numerous, though some of them, such as the metallic oxides, occur in such small proportions as to render
Q
326 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Fawc II.
it doubtful whether they are In reality vegetable productions or no. The same thing may be said of some
of the other ingredients that have been found in the ashes of plants, which it is probable they have ab-
sorbed ready formed by the root, and deposited unaltered, bo that they can scarcely be at all regarded as
being the genuine products of vegetation.
1483. Otfier substances. Besides the substances above enumerated, there are also several others that have
been supposed to constitute distinct and peculiar genera of vegetable productions, and which might have
been introduced under such a character ; such as the mucus, jelly, sarcocol, asparagin, inulin, and ulmin,
*^<}f Dr. Thomson, as described in his well known System of Chemistry ; but as there seems to be some dif-
ference of opinion among chemists with regard to them, and a belief entertained that they are but va-
rieties of one or other of the foregoing ingredients, it is sufficient for the purposes of this work to have
iperely mentioned their names. Several other substances of a distinct and peculiar character have been
suspected to exist in vegetable productions : such as the febrifuge principle of Seguin, as discovering itself
in Peruvian bark; the principle of causticity or acridity of Senebier, as discovering itself in the roots of
Ranunculus bulbosus, scilla maritima, bryonia alba, and arum maculatum, in the leaves of digitalis pur-
purea, in the bark of daphne mezereon, and in the juice of the spurges, to which may be added the fluid
secreted from the sting of the common nettle, the poisons inherent in some plants, and the medical virtues
inherent in others ; together with such peculiar principles as may be presumed to exist in such regions of
the vegetable kingdom as remain yet unexplored. The important discoveries which have already re-
sulted from the chemical analysis of vegetable substances encourage the hope that further discoveries will
be the result of further experiment ; and from the zeal and ability of such chemists as are now directing
their attention to the subject, every thing is to be expected.
Sect. II. Simple Products.
1484, A very few constituent and uncompouhded elements include all the compound in-
gredients of vegetables. The most essential of such compounds consist of carbon,
oxygen, and hydrogen ; a small proportion of nitrogen is said to be found only in cru-
ciform plants. The remaining elementary principles which plants have been found to
contain, although they may be necessary in the vegetable economy, yet they are by no
means principles of the first importance, as occurring only in small proportions, and
being dependent in a great measure on soil and situation ; whereas the elements of car-
bon, oxygen, and hydrogen, form as it were the very essence of the vegetable subject,
and constitute by their modifications the peculiar character of the properties of the plant.
This is conspicuously exemplified in the result of the investigations of Gay Lussac, and
Thenard, who have deduced from a series of the most minute and delicate experiments
the three following propositions, which they have dignified by the name of Laws of Ve-
getable Nature (Traite de Cliem. Element, torn. iii. chap, iii.) : — 1st, Vegetable sub-
stances are always acid when the oxygen they contain is to the hydrogen in a greater
proportion than in water ; 2dly, Vegetable substances are always resinous, or oily, or
spirituous, when the oxygen they contain is to the hydrogen in a smaller proportion than
in water ; Sdly, Vegetable substances are neither acid nor resinous, but saccharine, or
mucilaginous, or analogous to woody fibre or starch, when the oxygen and hydrogen they
contain are in the .same proportion as in water. (See Dr. Thomsons System of Chemistry.)
Chap. IV.
Functions of Vegetables..
1485. The life, growth, and propagation of plants necessarily involves the several
following topics : germination, nutriment, digestion, growth and developement of parts,
anomalies of vegetable developement, sexuality of vegetables, impregnation of the
vegetable germen, changes consequent upon impregnation, propagation and dispersion
of the species, causes limiting the dispersion of the species, evidence and character of
vegetable vitality.
Sect. I. Germination of the Seed.
1486. Germination is that act or operation of the vegetative principle by which the
embryo is extricated from its envelopes, and converted into a plant. This is univer-
sally the first pait of the process of vegetatioji. For it may be regarded as an indu-
bitable fact, that all plants spring originally from seed. The conditions necessary to
germination relate either to the internal state of the seed itself, or to the circumstances
in which it is placed, with regard to surrounding substances.
1487. The first condition necessary to germination is, that the seed must have reached maturity. Un-
ripe seeds seldom germinate, because their parts are not yet prepared to form their chemical combinations
on which germination depends. There are some seeds, however, whose germination is said to commence
in the very seed-vessel, even before the fruit is ripe, and while it is yet attached to the parent plant.
Such are those of the tangekolli of Adanson, and agave vivipara of East Florida, as well as of the cyamus
nelumboof Sir J. E. Smith, or sacred bean of India; to which may be added the seeds of the common
garden-radish, pea, lemon, &c. But these are examples of rare occurrence ; though it is sometimes
necessary to sow or plant the seed almost as soon as it is fully ripe, as in the case of the coffee-bean ;
which will not germinate unless it is sown within five or six weeks after it has been gathered. But
most seeds, if guarded from external injury, will retain their germinating faculty for a period of many
years. This has been proved by the experiment of sowing seeds that have been long so kept ; as well as
by the deep ploughing up of fields that have been long left without cultivation. A field that was thus
ploughed up near I>unkeld,.in Scotland, after a period of forty years' rest, yiel<Jed a considerable bl^de of
ffoOK I.
GERMINATION OF THE SEED.
227-
black oats without sowing. It could have been only by the plough's bringing up to the surface; seeds that
had been formerly too deeply lodged for germination.
1488. The second condition is, that the seeds sown must be defended frotn the action of the rays of tight.
This has no doubt been long known to be a necessary condition of germination, if we regard the practice
of the harrowing or raking in of the grains or seeds sown by the farmer or gardener as being founded
upon it
1489. A third condition necessary to germination is the access of heat. No seed has ever been known
to germinate at or below the freezing point. Hence seeds do not germinate in winter, even though
lodged in their proper soil. But the vital principle is not necessarily destroyed in consequence of this
exposure ; for the seed will germinate still, on the return of spring, when the ground has been again
thawed, and the temperature raised to the proper degree. But this degree varies considerably in dif-
ferent species of seeds, as is obvious from observing the times of their germination, whether in the same
or in different climates. For if seeds which naturally sow themselves, germinate in different climates at
the same period, or in the same climate at different periods, the temperature necessary to their germi-
nation must of consequence be different. Now these cases are constantly occurring and presenting them-
selves to our notice ; and have also been made the subject of particular observation. Adanson found
that seeds which will germinate in the space of twelve hours in an ordinary degree of heat may be made
to germinate in the space of three hours by exposing them to a greater degree of heat ; and that seeds
transported from the climate of Paris to that of Senegal, have their periods of germination accelerated
from one to three days. {Families des Plantes, vol. 1. p. 84.) Upon the same jjrinciple, seeds transported
from a warmer to a colder climate, have their periods of germination protracted till the temperature of
the latter is raised to that of the former. This is well exemplified in the case of green-house and hot-
house plants, from which it is also obvious that the temperature must not be raised beyond a certain
degree, otherwise the vital principle is totally destroyed.
1490. A fourth condition necessary to germination is the^ access of moisture. Seeds will not germinate
if they are kept perfectly dry. Water, therefore, or some liquid equivalent to it, is essential to germi-
nation. Hence rain is always acceptable to the farmer or gardener, immediately after he has sown his
seeds; and if no rain falls, recourse must be had, if possible, to artificial watering. But the quantity
of water applied is not a matter of indifference. There may be too little, or there may be too much. If
there is too little, the seed dies for want of moisture ; if there is too much, it then rots. The case is not the
same, however, with all seeds. Some can bear but little moisture, though others will germinate even
when partially immersed ; as was proved by an experiment of Du Hamel's, at least in the case of pease,
which he placed merely upon a piece of wet sponge, so as to immerse them by nearly the one-half, and
which germinated as if placed in the soil. But this was found to be the most they could bear ; for when
totally immersed in the water they rotted. There are some seeds, however, that will germinate even
when wholly submersed. The seeds of aquatics must of necessity germinate under water j and pease
have been also known to do so under certain conditions.
1491. AJjfth condition necessary to germination is the access of atmospheric air. Seeds will not germi-
nate if placed in a vacuum. Ray introduced some grains of lettuce-seed into the receiver of an air-pump,
which he then exhausted. The seeds did not germinate. But they germinated upon the re-admission of
the air, which is thus proved by consequence to be necessary to their germination. Achard proved that
no seed will germinate in nitrogene gas, or carbonic acid gas, or hydrogene gas, except when mixed with a
certain proportion of oxygene gas ; and hence concluded that oxygene gas is necessary to the germination
of all seeds, and the only constituent part of the atmospheric air which is absolutely necessary. Hum-
boldt found that the process of germination is accelerated by means of previously steeping the seed in
water impregnated with oxymuriatic acid. Cress-seed treated in this manner germinated in the space
of three hours, though its ordinary period of germination is not less than thirty-two hours.
1492. The period neceasary to complete the process of germination is not the same in all
seeds, even when all the necessary conditions have been furnished. Some species require
a shorter, and others a longer period. The grasses are among the number of those plants
whose seeds are of the most rapid germination ; then perhaps cruciform plants ; then
leguminous plants; then labiate plants; then umbelliferous plants; and in the last
order rosaceous plants, whose seeds germinate the slowest. The following table in-
dicates the periods of the germination of a considerable variety of seeds, as observed by
Adanson : —
Wheat, Millet-seed
Spinage, Beans, Mustard
Lettuce, Aniseed
Melon, Cucumber, Cress- \
seed
Days.
Days.
1
Radish, Beet-root
6
3
Barlej
- 7
4
Orache
- 8
5
Purslajn
. 9
Cabbage
. 10
Days.
Hyssop .... 30
Parsley • - - - 40 or 50
Almond, Chestnut, Peach 1 year
Rose, Hawthorn, Filbert - 2 years.
1493. Physical phenomena. When a seed is committed to the soil under the conditions
that have been just specified, the first infallible symptom of germination is to be deduced
from the prolongation of the radicle (Jig. 230 a. ;, 230
bursting through its proper integuments, and direct-
ing its extremity downwards into the soil. The next
step in the process of germination is the evolution of
the cotyledon or cotyledons (c), unless the seed is al-
together acotyledonous, or the cotyledons hypogean,
as in the oak i b). The next step, in the case of seeds
furnished with cotyledons, is that of the extrication
of the plumelet (c), or first real leaf, from within or
from between the cotyledon or cotyledons, and its
expansion in the open air. The last and concluding
step is the developement of the rudiments of a stem
(rf), if the species is furnished with a stem, and the
plant is complete. Wliatever way the seed may be
deposited, the invincible tendency of the radicle is to
descend and fix itself in the earth ; and of the plumelet to ascend into the air. Many
conjectures have been oflTered to account for this. Knight accounts for it on the old
but revived principle of gravitation. Keith conjectures that it tajces place from a power
Q 2
228 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
inherent in the vegetable subject, analogous to what we call instinct in the animal sub-
ject, infallibly directing it to the situation best suited to the acquisition of nutriment and
consequent developement of its parts.
1494. The chemical phenomena of germination consist chiefly in the changes that are effected in the
nutriment destined for the support and developement of the embryo till it is converted into a plant.
This nutriment either passes through the cotyledons, or is contained in them ; because the embryo dies
when the]( are prematurely cut off But the farinaceous substance of the cotyledons, at least in exal-
buminous seeds, is a proof that they themselves contain the nutriment. They are to be regarded, therefore,
as repositories of the food destined for the support of the embryo in its germinating state. And if the
seed is furnished with a distinct and separate albumen, then is the albumen to be regarded as the repo-
sitory of food, and the cotyledon or cotyledons as its channel of conveyance. But the food thus contained
in the albumen or cotyledons is not yet fitted for the immediate nourishment of the embryo. Some
previous preparation is necessary ; some change must be effected in its properties. And this change is
effected by the intervention of chemical agency. The moisture imbibed by a seed placed in the earth is
immediately absorbed by the cotyledons or albumen, which it readily penetrates, and on which it imme-
diately begins to operate a chemical change, dissolving part of their farina, or mixing with their oily
particles, and forming a sort of emulsive juice. The consequence of this change is a slight degree of
fermentation, induced, perhaps, by the mixture of the starch and gluten of the cotyledons in the water
which they have absorbed, and indicated by the extraction of a quantity of carbonic acid gas, as well as
by the smell and taste of the seed. This is the commencement of the process of germination, which
takes place even though no oxygene gas is present. But if no oxygene gas is present, then the process
stops ; which shows that the agency of oxygene gas is indispensable to germination. Accordingly, when
oxygene gas is present it is gradually inhaled by the seed ; and the farina of the cotyledons is "found to
have changed its savor. Sometimes it becomes acid, but generally sweet, resembling the taste of sugar ;
and is consequently converted into sugar or some substance analogous to it. This is a further proof that
a degree of fermentation has been induced ; because the result is precisely the same in the process of the
fermentation of barley when converted into malt, as known by the name of the saccharine fermentation ;
in which oxygene gas is absorbed, heat and carbonic acid evolved, and a tendency to germination indi-
cated by the shooting of the radicle. The effect of oxygen, therefore, in the process, is that of converting
the farina of the albumen or cotyledons into a mild and saccharine food, fit for the nourishment of the
infant plant by diminishing the proportion of its carbon, and in augmenting^ by consequence, that of its
oxygen and hydrogen. The radicle gives the first indications of life, expanding and bursting its integu-
ments, and at length fixing itself in the soil : the plumelet next unfolds its parts, developing the rudi-
ments of leaf, branch, and trunk : and, finally, the seminal leaves decay and drop off; and the embryo
has been converted into a plant, capable of abstracting immediately from the soil or atmosphere the
nourishment necessary to its future growth.
Sect. II. Food of the vegetating Plant.
1495. The substances whichplants abstract from the soil or atmosphere, or the food of the
vegetating plant, have long occupied the phytological enquirer. What then are the com-
ponent principles of the soil and atmosphere ? The investigations and discoveries of
modern chemists have done much to elucidate this dark and intricate subject. Soil, in
general, may be regarded as consisting of earths, water, vegetable mould, decayed animal
substances, salts, ores, alkalies, gases, perhaps in a proportion corresponding to the order
in which they are now enumerated ; which is at any rate the fact with regard to the three
first, though their relative proportions are by no means uniform. The atmosphere has
been also found to consist of at least four species of elastic matter — nitrogen, oxygen,
carbonic acid gas, and vapor ; together with a multitude of minute particles detached
from the solid bodies occupying the surface of the earth, and wafted upon the winds.
The two former ingredients exist in the proportion of about four to one ; carbonic acid
gas in the proportion of about one part in 100 ; and vapor in proportion still less.
Such then are the component principles of the soil and atmosphere, and sources of vege-
table nourishment. But the whole of the ingredients of the soil and atmosphere are not
taken up indiscriminately by the plant and converted into vegetable food, because plants
do not thrive indiscriminately in all varieties of soil. Part only of the ingredients are
selected, and in certain proportions : as is evident from the analysis of the vegetable sub-
stance given in the foregoing chapter, in which it was found that carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen, and nitrogen, are the principal ingredients of plants ; while the other ingredients
contained in them occur but in very small proportions. It does not however follow, that
these ingredients enter the plant in an uncombined and insulated state, because they do
not always so exist in the soil and atmosphere ; it follows only that they are inhaled or ab-
sorbed by the vegetating plant under one modification or another. The plant then does
not select such principles as are the most abundant in the soil and atmosphere ; nor in
the proportions in which they exist ; nor in an uncombined and insulated state. But
what are the substances actually selected ; in what state are they taken up ; and in what
proportions ? In order to give arrangement and elucidation to the subject, it shall be
considered under the following heads : Water, Gases, Vegetable Extracts, Salts, Earths,
Manures.
1496. Water. As water is necessary to the commencement of vegetation, so also is it
necessary to its progress. Plants will not continue to vegetate unless their roots are
supplied with water ; and if they are kept long without it, the leaves will droop and
become flaccid, and assume a withered appearance. Now this is evidently owing to the
loss of water ; for if the roots are agaiij well supplied with water, the weight of the plant
is increased, and its freshness restored. But many plants will grow, and thrive, and
effect the developement of all their parts, if the root is merely immersed in water,
though not fixed in the soil. Tulips, hyacinths, and a variety of plants with bulbous.
Book I. FOOD OF THE VEGETATING PLANT. 229
roots, may be so reared, and are often to be met with so vegetating ; and many plants
will also vegetate though wholly immersed. Most of the marine plants are of this de-
scription. It can scarcely be doubted, therefore, that water serves for the purpose of a
vegetable aliment. But if plants cannot be made to vegetate without water ; and if
they will vegetate, some when partly immersed without the assistance of soil ; and some
even when totally immersed, so as that no other food seems to have access to them ; does
it not follow that water is the sole food of plants, the soil being merely the basis on
which they rest, and the receptacle of their food ? This opinion has had many advo-
cates ; and the arguments and experiments adduced in support of it were, at one time,
thought to have completely established its truth. It was indeed the prevailing opinion
of the seventeenth century, and was embraced by several philosophers even of the eight-
eenth century ; but its ablest and most zealous advocates were Van Helmont, Boyle,
Du Hamel, and Bonnet, who contended that water, by virtue of the vital energy of
the plant, was sufficient to form all the different substances contained in vegetables.
Du Hamel reared in the above manner plants of the horse-chestnut and almond to some
considerable size, and an oak till it was eight years old. And, though he informs us
that they died at last only from neglect of watering : yet it seems extremely doubtful
whether they would have continued to vegetafe much longer, even if they had been
watered ever so regularly ; for he admits, in the first place, that they made l,ess and less
progress every year ; and, in the second place, that their roots were found to be in a
very bad state. The result of a great variety of experiments is, tliat water is not the
sole food of plants, and is not convertible into the whole of the ingredients of the veget-
able substance, even with the aid of the vital energy ; though plants vegetating merely
in water, do yet augment the quantity of their carbon.
1497. Gases. When it was found that water is insufficient to constitute the sole food
of plants, recourse was next had to the assistance of the atmospheric air ; and it was
believed that the vital energy of the plant, is at least capable of furnishing all the dif-
ferent ingredients of the vegetable substance, by means of decomposing and combining,
in different ways, atmospheric air and water. But as this extravagant conjecture is
founded on no proof, it is consequently of no value. It must be confessed, however,
that atmospheric air is indispensably necessary to the health and vigor of the plant,
as may be seen by looking at the different aspects of plants exposed to a free circulation
of air, and plants deprived of it : the former are vigorous and luxuriant ; the latter
weak and stunted. It may be seen also by means of experiment even upon a small
scale. If a plant is placed under a glass to which no new supply of air has access, it soon
begins to languish, and at length withers and dies ; but particularly if it is placed under
the exhausted receiver of an air-pump ; as might indeed be expected from the failure of
the germination of the seed in similar circumstances. The result of experiments on this
subject is, that atmospheric air and water are not the only principles constituting the
food of plants. But as in germinatiorf, so also in the progress of vegetation, it is part
only of the component principles of the atmospheric air that are adapted to the purposes
of vegetable nutrition, and selected by the plant as a food. Let us take them in the
order of their reversed proportions.
1498. The effect of the application of carbonic acid gas was found to be altogether prejudicial in the pro-
cess of the germination of the seed. But in the process of subsequent vegetation its application has been
found, on the contrary, to be extremely beneficial. Plants will not indeed vegetate in an atmosphere of
pure carbonic acid, as was first ascertained by Dr. Priestley, who found that sprigs of mint growing in
water, and placed over wort in a state of fermentation, generally became quite dead in thesjiace of a day,
and did not even recover when put into an atmosphere of common air. Of a number of experiments the
results are — 1st, That carbonic acid gas is of great utility to the growth of plants vegetating in the sun, as
applied to the leaves and branches j and whatever increases the proportion of this gas in their atmo-
sphere, at least within a given degree, forwards vegetation ; i.'d. That, as applied to the leaves and
branches of plants, it is prejudicial to their vegetation in the shade, if administered in a proportion beyond
that in which it exists in atmospheric air; 3d, That carbonic acid gas, as applied to the roots of plants, is
also beneficial to their growth, at least in the more advanced stages of vegetation.
1499. As oxygen is essential to the commencement and progress of germination, so also it is essential to
the progress of vegetation. It is obvious, then, that the experiment proves that it is beneficial to the
growth of the vegetable as applied to the root ; necessary 'to the developement of the leaves ; and to the
developement of the flower and fruit. The flower-bud will not expand if confined in an atmosphere de-
prived of oxygen, nor will the fruit ripen. Flower.buds confined in an atmosphere of pure nitrogen
faded without expanding. A bunch of unripe grapes introduced into a globe of glass which was luted by
its orifice to the bough, and exposed to the sun, ripened without effecting any material alteration in its
atmosphere. But when a bunch was placed in the same circumstances, with the addition of a quantity of
lime, the atmosphere was contaminated, and the grapes did not ripen. Oxygen, tliereforc, is essential to
the developement of the vegetating plant, and is inhaled during the night.
1500. Though nitrogene gas constitutes by far the greater part of the mass of atmospheric air, it does not
seem capable of affording nutriment to plants ; for as seeds will not germinate, so neither will plants
vegetate in it, but for a very limited time, such as the vinca minor, lythrum salicaria, inula dysenterica,
epilobium hirsutum, and polygonum persicaria, that seem to succeed equally well in an atmosphere of
nitrogene gas as in an atmosphere of common air. Nitrogen is found in almost all vegetables, particularly
in the wood, in extract, and in their green parts, derived, no doubt, from the extractive principle of veget-
able mould.
1501. Hydrogene gas. A plant of the epilobium hirsutum, which was confined by Priestley in a receiver
filled with inflammable air or hydrogen, consumed one third of its atmosphere and was still green.
Hence Priesrtey inferred, that it serves as a vegetable food, and constitutes even the true and projK'r
pabulum of the plant. But the experiments of later phytologists do not at all countenance this opiniou.
Q 3
330. SCIENCE OF A GUI CULTURE. Part IL
Our conclusion from various experiments is, that hydrogen Is unfavorable' to vegetation, and does not
serve as the food of plants. But hydrogen is contained in plants as is evident from their analysis ; and if
they refuse it when presented to them in a gaseous state, in what state do they then acquire it ? To this
question it is sufficient for the present to reply, that if plants do not acquire their hydrogen in the state of
gas, they may at least acquire it in the state of water, which is indisputably a vegetable food, and of
which hydrogen constitutes one of the component parts.
1502. Vegetable extract. When it was found that atmospheric air and water are not,
even conjointly, capable of furnishing the whole of the aliment necessary to the de-
velopement of the plant, it was then alleged that, with the exception of water, all sub-
stances constituting a vegetable food must at least be administered to the plant in a
gaseous state. But this also is a conjecture unsupported by proof; for even with
regard to such plants as grow upon a barren rock, or in pure sand, it cannot be said that
they receive no nourishment whatever besides water, except in a gaseous state. Many of
the particles of decayed animal and vegetable substances, which float in the atmosphere
and attach themselves to the leaves, must be supposed to enter the plant in solution with
the moisture which the leaves imbibe ; and so also similar substances contained in the
soil must be supposed to enter it by the root : but these substances may certainly con-
tain vegetable nourishment; and they will perhaps be found to be taken up by the
plant in proportion to their degree of solubility in water, and to the quantity in which
they exist in the soil. Now one of the most important of these substances is vegetable
extract. When plants have attained to the maturity of their species, the principles of
decay begin gradually to operate upon them, till they at length die and are converted
into dust or vegetable mould, Which, as might be expected, constitutes a considerable
proportion of the soil. The chance then is, that it is again converted into vegetable
nourishment, and again enters the plant. But it cannot wholly enter the plant, because
it is not wholly soluble in water. Part of it, however, is soluble, and consequently
capable of being absorbed by the root, and that is the substance which has been denomi-
nated extract.
1503. Saussure filled a large vessel with pure mould of turf, and moistened it with distilled or rain
water till it was saturated. At the end of five days, when it was subjected to the action of the press,
10 OOO' parts in weight of the expressed and filtered fluid yielded, by evaporation to dryness, 26 parts of ex-
tract. In a similar experiment upon the mould of a kitchen-garden which had been manured with dung,
10 000 parts of a fluid yielded 10 ot extract. And in a similar experiment upon mould taken from a well-
Cu'ltivated corn-field, 10,000 parts of fluid yielded four parts of extract. Such was the result in these par-
ticular cases. But the quantity of extract that may be separated from the common soil is not in general
very considerable. After twelve decoctions, all that could be separated was about one eleventh of its
weight ; and yet this seems to be more than suflScient for the purposes of vegeUtion : for a soil containing
this quantity was found by experiment to be less fertile, at least for peas and beans, than a soil that con-
tained only one half or two thirds the quantity. But if the quantity of extract must not be too much,
neither must it be too little. Plants that were put to vegetate in soil deprived of its extract, as far as re-
peated decoctions could deprive it, were found to be much less vigorous and luxuriant than plants vegetating
HI soil not deprived of its extract ; and yet the only perceptible difference between them is, that the former
can imbibe and retain a much greater quantity of water than the latter. From this last experiment, as
well as from the great proportion in which it exists in the living plant, it evidently follows that extract
constitutes a vegetable food. But extract contains nitrogen ; for it yields by distillation a fluid impregnated
with ammonia. The diflficulty, therefore, of accounting for the introduction of nitrogen into the vegeta-
ting plant, as well as for its existence in the mature vegetable substance, is done away ; for, although the
?lant refuses it when presented in a gaseous state, it is plain that it must admit it along with the extract,
t seems also probable that a small quantity of carbonicf acid gas enters the plant along with the extractive
principle, as it is known to contain this gas also.
1504. Salts, in a certain proportion, are found in most plants, such as nitrate, muriate,
and sulphate of potass or soda, as has been already shown. These salts are known to
exist in the soil, and the root is supposed to absorb them in solution with the water by
which the plant is nourished. It is at least certain that plants may be made to take up
by the roots a considerable proportion of salts in a state of artificial solution. But if
salts are thus taken up by the root of the vegetating plant, does it appear that they are
taken up as a food ? Some plants, it must be confessed, are injured by the application of
salts, as is evident from the experiments of Saussure ; but others are as evidently benefited
by it. Trefoil and lucerne have their growth much accelerated by the application of sul-
phate of lime, though many other plants are not at all influenced by its action. The
parieftaria, nettle, and borage will not thrive, except in such soils as contain nitrate of lime,
or nitrate of potass ; and plants inhabiting the sea-coast, as was observed by Du Hamel,
• will not thrive in a soil that does not contain muriate of soda. It has been thought, how-
ever, that the salts are not actually taken up by tiie root, though converted to purposes of
utility by acting as astringents or corrosives in stopping up the orifices of the vessels of the
plant, and preventing the admission of too much water : but it is to be recollected that
the salts in question are found by analysis in the very substance of the plant, and must
consequently have entered in solution. It has been also thought that salts are favorable
to vegetation only in proportion as they hasten the putrefaction of vegetable substances
contained in the soil, or attract the humidity of the atmospliere. But sulphate of lime is
not deliquescent ; and if its action consist merely in accelerating putrefaction, why is its
beneficial eflTect confined but to a small number of plants? Grisenthwaite (A^ezv Theory
of Agriculture, 1819, p. 111.) answers this question by stating, that as in the principal
grain-crops which interest the agriculturist, there exists a particular saline substance, pe-
Book I. FOOD OF THE VEGETATING PLANT. ' Ssi
culiar to each, so, if we turn our attention to the clovers arid turnips, we shall still find
the same discrimination. Saintfoin, clover, and lucerne, have long been known to con-
tain a notable quantity of gypsum (sulphate of lime) ; but such knowledge, very strange
to relate, never led to the adoption of gypsum as a manure for those crops, any more than
that of phosphate of lime for wheat, or nitrate of soda, or potassa for barley. It is true
that gypsum has been long, and in various places, recommended as a manure, but its uses
not being understood, it was recommended without any reference to crop, or indeed to
the accomplishment of any fixed object. It is very well known that some particular ingre-
dient may be essential to the composition of a body, and yet constitute but a very small
proportion of its mass. Atmospheric air contains only about one part in the 100 of
carbonic acid ; and yet no one will venture to affirm that carbonic acid gas is merely an
adventitious and accidental element existing by chance in the air of the atmosphere, and
not an essential ingredient in its composition. Phosphate of lime constitutes but a very
small proportion of animal bodies, perhaps not one part in 500 ; and yet no one doubts
that it is essential to the composition of the bones. But the same salt is found in the
ashes of all vegetables ; and who will say that is not essential to their perfection ?
1505. Earths. As most plants have been found by analysis to contain a portion of
alkaline or earthy salts, so most plants have been found to contain also a portion of
earths : and as the two substances are so nearly related, and so foreign in their character
to vegetable substances in general, the same enquiry has consequently been made with
regard to their origin. Whence are the earths derived that have been found to exist in
plants ? Chiefly from the soil. But in what peculiar state of combination do they enter
the vessels of the plant? The state most likely to facilitate their absorption is that of their
solution in water, in which all the earths hitherto found in plants are known to be in a
slight degree soluble. If it be said that the proportion in which they are soluble is so
very small that it scarcely deserves to be taken into the account, it is to be recollected
that the quantity of water absorbed by the plant is great, while that of the earth
necessary to its health is but little, so that it may easily be acquired in the progress of
vegetation. Such is the manner in which their absorption seems practicable : and
Woodward's experiments afford a presumption that they are actually absorbed by the
root.
1506. The proportion of earths contained in the ashes of vegetables depends upon the nature of the soil in
which they grow. The ashes of the leaves of the rhododendron fernigineum, growing on Mount Jura, a
calcareous mountain, yielded 43'25 parts of earthy carbonate, and only 075 of silica. But the ashes of
leaves of the same plants, growing on Mount Breven, a granitic mountain, yielded two parts of silica, and
only 1675 of earthy carbonate. It is probable however, that plants are not indebted merely to the soil
for the earthy particles which they may contain. They may acquire them partly from the atmosphere.
Margray has shown that rain-water contains silica in the proportion of a grain to a pound ; which, if it
should not reach the root, may possibly be absorbed along with the water that adheres to the leaves. But
although the earths are thus to be regarded as constituting a small proportion of vegetable food, they are
not of themselves sufficient to support the plant, even with the assistance of water. Giobert mixed
together lime, alumine, silica, and magnesia, in such proportions as are generally to be met with in fertile
soils, and moistened them with water. Several different grains were then sown in this artificial soil,
which germinated indeed, but did not thrive ; and perished when the nourishment of the cotyledons was
exhausted. It is plain, therefore, that the earths, though beneficial to the growth of some vegetables,
and perhaps necessary to the health of others, are by no means capable of affording any considerable de-
gree of nourishment to the plant.
1 507. Supply of food by manures and culture. With regard to the food of plants derived
from the atmosphere, the supply is pretty regular, at least, in as far as the gases are con-
cerned ; for they are not found to vary materially in their proportions on any part of the
surface of the globe ; but the quantity of moisture contained in the atmosphere is con-
tinually varying, so that in the same season you have not always the same quantity,
though in the course of the year the deficiency is perhaps made up. From the atmo-
sphere, therefore, there is a regular supply of vegetable food kept up by nature for the
support of vegetable life, independent of the aid of man : and if human aid were even
wanted, it does not appear that it could be of much avail. But this is by no means the
case with regard to soils ; for if soils are less regular in their composition, they are at
least more within the reach of human management. The supply of food may be in-
creased by altering the mechanical or chemical constitution of soils ; and by the addi-
tion of food in the form of manures. The mechanical constitution of soils may be
altered by pulverisation, consolidation, draining, and watering; their chemical properties
by aeration and torrification ; both mechanical and chemical properties, by the addition
of earths or other substances ; and manures, either liquid or solid, are supplied by irri-
gation and distribution of dungs and other nourishing matters, with or without their
interment. (See Book III.)
1 508. Soils in a state of culttire, though consisting originally of the due proportion of
ingredients, may yet beco7ne exhausted of the principle of fertility by means of too frequent
cropping ; whether by repetition or rotation of the same, or of different crops. In this
case, it should be the object of the phytologist, as well as of the practical cultivator,
to ascertain by what means fertility is to be restored to an exhausted soil, or commu-
nicated to a new one. In the breaking up of new soils, if the ground has been wet or
Q4
932 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
marsliy, as is frequently the case, it is often sufficient to prepare it merely by means of
draining off the superfluous and stagnant water, and of paring and burning the turf upon
the surface. If the soil has been exhausted by too frequent a repetition of the same
crop, it often happens that a change of crop will answer the purpose of the cultivator ;
for although a soil may be exhausted for one sort of grain, it does not necessarily follow
that it is also exhausted for another. And accordingly, the practice of the farmer is to
sow his crops in rotation, having in the same field a crop, perhaps, of wheat, barley,
beans, and tares in succession ; each species selecting in its turn some peculiar nutriment,
or requiring, perhaps,, a smaller supply than the crop that has preceded it. But even
upon the plan of rotation, the soil becomes at length exhausted, and the cultivator obliged
to have recourse to other means of restoring its fertility. In this case, an interval of re-
pose is considerably efficacious, as may be seen from the encreased fertility of fields that
have not been ploughed up for many years, such as those used for pasture ; or even from
that of the walks and paths in gardens when they are again broken up. Hence also the
practice of fallowing, and of trenching or deep ploughing, which in some cases has nearly
the same effect.
1509. The fertility of a soil is restored, in the case of draining, by means of its
carrying off all such superfluous moisture as may be lodged in the soil, which is well
known to be prejudicial to plants not naturally aquatics, as well as by rendering the
soil more firm and compact. In the case of burning, the amelioration is effected by
means of the decomposition of the vegetable substances contained in the turf, and sub-
jected to the action of the fire, which disperses part also of the superfluous moisture, but
leaves a residue of ashes favorable to future vegetation. In the case of the rotation of
crops, the fertility is not so much restored as more completely developed and brought into
action ; because the soil, though exhausted for one species of grain, is yet found to be
sufficiently fertile for another, the food necessary to each being different, or required in
less abundance. In the case of the repose of the soil, the restored fertility may be owing to
the decay of vegetable substances that are not now carried off in the annual crop, but left to
augment the proportion of vegetable mould ; or to the accumulation of fertilising particles
conveyed to the soil by rains ; or to the continued abstraction of oxygen from the atmo-
sphere. In the case of fallows, it is owing undoubtedly to the action of the atmospheric
air upon the soil, whether in rendering it more friable, or in hastening the putrefaction
of noxious plants ; or it is owing to the abstraction and accumulation of oxygen. In
the case of trenching, or deep ploughing, it is owing to the increased facility with which
the roots can now penetrate to the proper depth, and thus their sphere of nourishment is
increased. But it often happens that the soil can no longer be ameliorated by any of the
foregoing means, or not at least with sufficient rapidity for the purposes of the cultivator ;
and in this case there must be a direct and actual application made to it of such sub-
stances as are fitted to restore its fertility. Hence the indispensable necessity of manures,
which consists chiefly of animal and vegetable remains that are buried and finally decom-
posed in the soil, from which they are afterwards absorbed by the root of the plant, in a
state of solution.
1510. But as carbon is the principalingredient furnished hy manures, as contributing to
the nourishment of the plant, and is not itself soluble in water, nor even disengaged by
fermentation in a state of purity ; under what state of chemical combination is its solu-
tion effected ? Is it effected in the state of charcoal ? It has been thought, indeed, that
carbon in the state of charcoal is soluble in water; because water from a dunghill, when
evaporated, constantly leaves a residuum of charcoal, as was first ascertained by the ex-
periments of Hassenfratz. But there seem to be reasons for doubting the legitimacy of the
conclusion that has been drawn from it ; for Senebier found that plants whose roots were
immersed in water took up less of the fluid in proportion as it was mixed with water from
a dunghill. Perhaps then the charcoal of water from a dunghill is held merely in sus-
pension, and enters the plant under some other modification. But if carbon is not
soluble in water in the state of charcoal, in what other state is it soluble ? It is soluble
in the state of carbonic acid gas. But is this the state in which it actually enters the
root? On this subject phytologists have been somewhat divided in opinion. Senebier
endeavors to prove that carbonic acid gas, dissolved in water, supplies the roots of plants
with almost all their carbon, and founds his arguments upon the following facts : — In the
first place, it is known that carbonic acid gas is soluble in water ; in the second place, it
is known to be contained in the soil, and generated by the fermentation of the materials
composing manures ; and, in the next place, it is known to be beneficial to vegetation
■when applied artificially to the roots, at least in a certain degree. This is evident from
the following experiment of Ruckert, as well as from several experiments of Saussure's,
previously related. Ruckert planted two beans in pots of equal dimensions, filled with
garden-mould ; the one was moistened with distilled water, and the other with water im-
pregnated with carbonic acid gas. But the latter appeared above ground nine days
sooner than the former, and produced twenty-five beans; while the former produced only
Book I. PROCESS OF VEGETABLE NUTRITION. 23S
fifteen. Now tlie result of this experiment, as well as the preceding facts, is evidently
favorable to the presumption of Senebier, and shows that if carbonic acid is not the state
in which carbon enters the plant, it is at least a state preparatory to it ; and there are
other circumstances tending to corroborate the opinion, resulting from the analysis of the
ascending sap of plants. The tears of the vine, when analysed by Senebier, yielded a
portion of carbonic acid and earth ; and as the ascending sap could not be supposed to
have yet undergone much alteration, the carbonic acid, like the earth, was probably taken
up from the soil. But this opinion, which seems to be so firmly established upon the
basis of experiment, Hassenfratz strenuously controverts. According to experiments
which he had instituted with an express view to the investigation of this subject, plants
which were raised in water impregnated with carbonic acid differed in no respect from
such as grew in pure water, and contained no carbon that did not previously exist in the
seed. Now if this were the fact, it would be decisive of the point in question. But it
is plain from the experiments of Saussure, as related in the preceding section, that Has-
senfratz must have been mistaken both with regard to the utility of carbonic acid gas as
furnishing a vegetable aliment, and with regard to the augmentation of carbon in the
plant. The opinion of i^enebier, therefore, may still be correct. It must be acknow-
ledged, however, that the subject is not yet altogether satisfactorily cleared up ; and that
carbon may certainly enter the plant in some state different from that either of charcoal
in solution, or of carbonic acid gus. Is not carbonic acid of the soil decomposed before
entering the plant ? This is a conjecture of Dr. Thomson's, founded upon the fol-
lowing facts : — the green oxide of iron is capable of decomposing carbonic acid ; and
many soils contain that oxide. Most soils, indeed, contain iron, either in the state of the
brown or green oxide, and it has been found that oils convert the brown oxide into
green. But dung and rich soils contain a quantity of oily substance. One effect of
manures, therefore, may be that of reducing the brown oxide of iron to the green, thus
rendering it capable of decomposing carbonic acid gas, so as to prepare it for some new
combination, in which it may serve as an aliment for plants. All this, however, is
but a conjecture ; and it is more probable that the carbonic acid of the soil enters the
root in combination with some other substance, and is afterwards decomposed within the
plant itself.
Sect. III. Process of Vegetable Nutrition.
1511. Plants are nourished in a manner in some degree analogous to the animal econo-
my. The food of plants, whether lodged in the soil, or wafted through the atmosphere,
is taken up by intro-susception in the form of gases or other fluids : it is then known as
their sap ; this sap ascends to the leaves, where it is elaborated as the blood of animals is
in the lungs ; it then enters into the general circulation of the plant, and promotes its
growth.
1512. Intro-susception. As plants have no organ analogous to the mouth of animals,
they are enabled to take up the nourishment necessary to their support only by absorp-
tion, or inhalation as the chyle into the animal lacteals, or the air into the lungs. The
former term is applied tb the intro-susception of non-elastic fluids ; the latter to that of
gaseous fluids. The absorption of non-elastic fluids by the epidermis of plants does not
admit of a doubt. It is proved, indisputably, that the leaves not only contain air, but do
actually inhale it. It was the opinion of Priestley that they inhale it chiefly by the upper
surface. And it has been shown by Saussure, tliat their inhaling power depends entirely
upon the organisation. It has been a question, however, among phytologists, whether
it is not also effected by the epidermis of the other parts of the plant. We can scarcely
suppose it to be effected by the dry and indurate epidermis of the bark and aged trunks,
of which the original organisation is obliterated ; nor by that of the larger and more aged
branches. But it has been thought there are even some of the soft and succulent parts
of the plant by which it cannot be effected, because no pores are visible in their epidermis.
Decandolle found no pores in the epidermis of fleshy fruits, such as pears, peaches, and
gooseberries ; nor in that of roots, or scales of bulbs ; nor in any part not exposed to
the influence of air and light. It is known, however, that fruits will not ripen, and that
roots will not thrive, if wholly deprived of air ; and hence it is probable that they inhale
it by their epidermis, though the pores by which it enters should not be visible. In the
root, indeed, it may possibly enter in combination with the moisture of the soil : but in
the other parts of the plant it enters no doubt in the state of gas. Herbs, therefore, and
the soft parts of woody plants, absorb moisture and inhale gases from the soil or atmo-
sphere by means of the pores of their epidermis, and thus the plant effects the intro-
susception of its food.
1513. Ascent of the sap. The means by which the plant effects the intro susception
of its food, is chiefly that of absorption by the root. But the fluids existing in the soil
when absorbed by the root, are designated by the appellation of sap or lymph ; which,
before it can be rendered subservient to the purposes of vegetable nutrition, must either
234 SCIENCE Of AGRICULTURE. Part II.
be intermediately conveyed to some viscus proper to give it elaboration, or immediately
distributed throughout the whole body of the plant. Our present object, therefore, is
tliat of tracing out the progress of its distribution or ascent. The sap is in motion in
one direction or other, if not all the year, at least at occasional periods, as the bleeding of
plants in spring and autumn sufficiently illustrates. The plant always bleeds most freely
about the time of the opening of the bud ; for in proportion as the leaves expand the sap
flows less copiously, and when they are fully expanded it entirely ceases. But this sus-
pension is only temporary, for the plant may be made to bleed again in the end of the
autumn, at least under certain conditions. If an incision is now made into the body
of the tree, after the occurrence of a short but sharp frost, when the heat of the sun or
mildness of the air begins to produce a thaw, the sap will again flow. It will flow
even where the tree has been but partially thawed, which sometimes happens on the south
side of a tree, when the heat of the sun is strong and the wind northerly. At the seasons
now specified, therefore, the sap is evidently in motion ; but the plant will not bleed
at any other season of the year. It has been the opinion of some phytologists, that the
motion of the sap is wholly suspended durfng the winter. But though the great cold of
winter, as well as the great heat of summer, is by no means s "favorable to vegetation as
the milder though more changeable temperature of spring and autumn, yet it does not
wholly suspend the movement of the sap. Palms may be made to bleed at any season of
the year. And although this is not the case with plants in general, yet there is proof suffi-
cient that the colds of winter do not, even in this climate, entirely prevent the sap from
flowing. Buds exhibit a gradual developement of parts throughout the whole of the
winter, as may be seen by dissecting them at different periods. So also do roots. Ever-
greens retain their leaves ; and many of them, such as the arbutus, laurustinus, and the
beautiful tribe of the mosses, protrude also their blossoms, even in spite of the rigor of the
season. But all this could not possibly be accomplished, if the motion of the sap were
wholly suspended.
1514. Thus the sap is in perpetual motion with a Tnore accelerated or more diminished
velocity throughout the whole of the year ; but still there is no decided indication, exhibited
in the mere circumstance of the plant's bleeding, of the direction in which the sap is
moving at the time ; for the result might be the same whether it was passing from the
root to the branches, or from the branches to the root. But as the great influx of the
sap is effected by means of the pores of the epidermis of the root, it follows that its mo-
tion must, at least in the first place, be that of ascent ; and such is its direction at the
season of the plant's bleeding, as may be proved by the following experiment : — If the
bore or incision that has been made in the tnmk is minutely inspected while the plant yet
bleeds, the sap will be found to issue almost wholly from the inferior side. If several
bores are made in the same trunk, one above another, the sap will begin to flow first from
the lower bore, and then from those above it. If a branch of a vine be lopped, the sap
will issue copiously from the section terminating the part that remains yet attached to the
plant ; but not from the section terminating the part that has been lopped off. This
proves indubitably that the direction of the sap's motion, during the season of the plant's
bleeding, is that of ascent. But if the sap flows so copiously during the season of bleed-
ing, it follows that it must ascend with a very considerable force ; which force has accord-
ingly been made the subject of calculation. To the stem of a vine cut off about two feet
and a half from the ground, Hales fixed a mercurial gauge which he luted with mastic ;
the gauge was in the form of a syphon, so contrived that the mercury might be made to
rise in proportion to the pressure of the ascending sap. The mercury rose accordingly,
and reached, at its maximum, to a height of thirty-eight inches. But this was equivalent
to a column of water of the height of forty-three feet three and one-third inches ; demon-
strating a force in the motion of the sap that, without the evidence of experiment, would
have seemed altogether incredible.
1515. Thus the sap in ascending from the lower to the upper extremity of the plant is
propelled with a very considerable force, at least in the bleeding season. But is the as-
cending sap propelled indiscriminately throughout the whole of the tubular apparatus, or
is it confined in its course, to any particular channel ? Before the anatomy of plants had
been studied with much accuracy, there was a considerable diversity of opinion on the
subject. Some thought it ascended by the bark ; others thought that it ascended by the
bark, wood, and pith indiscriminately ; and others thought it ascended between the bark
and wood. The first opinion was maintained and supported by Malpighi ; and Grew
considers that the sap ascends by the bark, wood, and pith, indiscriminately. Du Hamel
stript several trees of their bark entirely, which continued, notwithstanding, to live for
many years, protruding new leaves and new branches as before. Knight stript the trunk
of a number of young crab-trees of a ring of bark half an inch in breadth, but the leaves
were protruded, and the branches elongated, as if the operation had not been performed.
Du Petit Thouars removed the central wood and pith from the stems of several young
sycamore trees, leaving the upper part to be supported only by four pillars of bark : in
Book I. PROCESS OF VEGETABLE NUTRITION. 235
others he removed the bark, liber, and alburnum, leaving the upper part of the tree to be
supported solely by the central wood. In both cases the trees lived, so that he concludes
the bark and wood can alternately act as the sap's conductor. (Hist, d'un Morceau de JBois,
Hort. Tour. 481.)
1516. That the sap does not ascend exclusively hy the hark is thus rendered sufficiently
evident. But it is equally evident that it does not ascend by the pith, at least after the
first year; for then, even upon Grew's own supposition, it becomes either juiceless
or wholly extinct: and even during the first year it is not absolutely necessary, if at ali
subservient to the ascent of the sap, as is proved by an experiment of Knight's. Having
contrived to abstract from some annual shoots a portion of their pith, so as to interrupt
its continuity, but not otherwise materially to injure the fabric of the shoot, Knight found
that the growtli of the shoots which had been made the subject of experiment was not at
all affected by it.
1517. The sap ascends neither by the hark nor pith, but by the wood only. But the
whole mass of the wood throughout is not equally well adapted for the purpose of con-
veying it. The interior and central part, or that part that has acquired its last degree of
solidity, does not in general afford it a passage. This is proved by what is called the
girdling of trees, which consists in making a circular gap or incision quite round the stem,
and to the depth of two or three inches, so as to cut through both the bark and alburnum.
An oak-tree on which Knight had performed this operation, with a view to ascertain the
channel of the sap's ascent, exhibited not the slightest mark of vegetation in the spring
following. The sap then does not ascend through the channel of the matured wood.
But if the sap ascends neither through the channel of the bark, nor pith, nor matured
wood, through what other channel does it actually ascend ? The only remaining channel
tlirough vvhich it can possibly ascend is that of the alburnum. In passing through the-
channel of the alburnum, does the sap ascend promiscuously by the whole of the
tubes composing it, or is it confined in its passage to any peculiar set? The earliest
conjectures recorded on this subject are those of Grew and Malpighi, who, though they
maintained that the sap ascends chiefly by the bark, did not yet deny that it ascends alsa
partly by the alburnum or wood. It occurred to succeeding phytologists that the
progress of the sap, and the vessels through which it passes, might be traced or ascer-
tained by means of making plants vegetate in colored infusions. Du Hamel steeped
the extremities of branches of the fig, elder, honeysuckle, and filbert in common ink.
In examining the two former, after being steeped for several days, the part immersed
was found to be black throughout, but the upper part was tinged only in the wood, which
was colored for the length of a foot, but more faintly and partially in proportion to the
height. The pith, indeed, exhibited some traces of ink, but the bark and buds none.
In some other examples the external layers of the wood only were tinged. In the honey-
suckle the deepest shade was about the middle of the woody layers ; and in the filbert there
was also observed a colored circle surrounding the pith, but none in the pith itself, nor ia
the bark.
1518. Thus it is proved that the sap ascends through the vessels of the longitudinal Jibre
composing the alburnum of woody jilants, and through the vessels of the .several bundles of
longitudinal Jibre constituting the woody part of herbaceous plants. But it has been already
shown that the vessels composing the woody fibre are not all of the same species. There
are simple tubes, porous tubes, spiral tubes, mixed tubes, and interrupted tubes. Through
which of these, therefore, does the sap pass in its ascent ? The best reply to this enquiry
has been furnished by Knight and Mirbel. Knight prepared some annual shoots of the
apple and horse-chestnut, by means of circular incisions, so as to leave detached rings of
bark with insulated leaves remaining on the stem. He then placed them in colored
infusions obtained by macerating the skins of very black grapes in water ; and, on
examining the transverse section at the end of the experiment, it was found that the
infusion had ascended by the wood beyond his incisions, and also into the insulated
leaves, but had not colored the pith nor bark, nor the sap between the bark and wood.
From the above experiment. Knight concludes that the sap ascends through what are
called the common tubes of the wood and alburnum, at least till it reaches the leaves.
Thus the sap is conveyed to the summit of the alburnum. But Knight's next ob
ject was to trace the vessels by which it is conveyed into the leaf. The apple-tree and
horse-chestnut were still his subjects of experiment. In the former the leaves are
attached to the plants by three strong fibres, or rather bundles of tubes, one in the.
middle of the leaf-stalk, and one on each side. In the latter they are attached by means
of several such bundles. Now the colored fluid was found in each case to have passed
through the centre of the several bundles, and through the centre only, tinging the tubes
throughout almost the whole length of the leaf-stalk. In tracing their direction from the
leaf-stalk upwards, they were found to extend to the extremity of the leaves ; and in
tracing their direction from the leaf-stalk downwards, they were found to penetrate
the bark and alburnum, the tubes of which they join, descending obliquely till they.
236. SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
reach the pith which they surround. From their position Knight calls them central
tubes, thus distinguishing them from the common tubes of the wood and alburnum, and
from the spiral tubes with which they were every where accompanied as appendages, as
well as from a set of other tubes which surrounded them, but were not colored, and
which he designates by the appellation of external tubes. The experiment was now
transferred to the flower-stalk, and fruit-stalk, which was done by placing branches
of the apple, pear, and vine, furnished with flowers not yet expanded, in a decoction
of logwood. The central vessels were rendered apparent as in the leaf-stalk. When
the fruit of the two former was fully formed, the experiment was then made upon the
fruit-stalk, in which the central vessels were detected as before ; but the coloring matter
was found to have penetrated into the fruit also, diverging round the core, approaching
again in the eye of the fruit, and terminating at last in the stamens. It was by means
of a prolongation of the central vessels, which did not however appear to be accom-
panied by the spiral tubes beyond the fruit-stalk. Such then are the parts of the plant
through which the sap ascends, and the vessels by which it is conveyed. Entering by the
pores of the epidermis, it is received into the longitudinal vessels of the root by which it
is conducted to the collar. Thence it is conveyed by the longitudinal vessels of the albur-
num, to the base of the leaf-sstalk and peduncle ; from which it is further transmitted
to the extremity of the leaves, flower, and fruit. There remains a question to be
asked intimately connected with the sap's ascent. Do the vessels conducting the sap
communicate with one another by inosculation or otherwise, so as that a portion of their
contents may be conveyed in a lateral direction, and consequently to any part of the plant ;
or do they form distinct channels throughout the whole of their extent, having no sort of
communication with any other set of tubes, or with one another ? Each of the two
opinions implied in the question has had its advocates and defenders. But Du Hamel and
Knight have shown that a branch will still continue to live though the tubes leading
directly to it are cut in the trunk ; from which it follows that the sap, though flowing
the most copiously in the direct line of ascent, is at the same time also difiused in a trans-
verse direction.
1519. Causes of the sajy^s ascent. By what power is the sap propelled ? Grew states
two hypothesis : its volatile nature and magnetic tendency, aided by the agency of ferment-
ation. Malpighi was of opinion that the sap ascends by means of the contraction and
dilatation of the air contained in the air-vessels. M. De la Hire attempted to account for
the phenomenon by combining together the theories of Grew and Malpighi ; and Borelli,
who endeavoured to render their theory more perfect, by bringing to its aid the influence
of the condensation and rarification of the air and juices of the plant.
1520. Agency of heat. Du Hamel directed his efforts to the solution of the difficulty, by endeavoring
to account for the phenomena from the agency of heat, and chiefly on the following grounds : — because
the sap begins to flow more copiously as the warmth of spring returns ; because the sap is sometimes found
to flow on the south side of a tree before it flows on the north side, that is, on the side exposed to the
influence of the sun's heat sooner than on the side deprived of it ; because plants may be made to vegetate
even in the winter, by means of forcing them in a hot-house ; and because plants raised in a hot-house
produce their fruit earlier than such as vegetate in the open air. There can be no doubt of the great
utility of heat in forwarding the progress of vegetation ; but it will not therefore follow that the motion
and ascent of the sap are to be attributed to its agency. On the contrary, it is very well known that if
the temperature exceeds a certain degree, it becomes then prejudicial both to the ascent of the sap and
also to the growth of the plant. Hales found that the sap flows less rapidly at mid-day than in the
morning ; and every body knows that vegetation is less luxuriant at midsummer than in the spring. So
also, in the case of forcing, it happens but too often that the produce of the hot-house is totally destroyed
by the unskilful application of heat ; and if heat is actually the cause of the sap's ascent, how comes it that
the degree necessary to produce the effect is so very variable even in the same climate? For there are
many plants, such as the arbutus, laurustinus, and the mosses, that will continue not only to vege-
tate, but to protrude their blossoms and mature their fruit, even in the midst of winter, when the temper-
ature is at the lowest. And in the case of submarine plants the temperature can never be very high ; so
that although heat does no doubt facilitate the ascent of the sap by its tendency to make the vessels
expand, yet it cannot be regarded as the efficient cause, since the sap is proved to be in motion even
throughout the whole of the winter. Du Hamel endeavours, however, to strengthen the operation of
heat by means of the influence of humidity, as being also powerful in promoting the ascent of the sap,
whether as relative to the season of the year or time of the day. The influence of the humidity of the
atmosphere cannot be conceived to operate as a jiropelling cause, though it may easily be conceived to
operate as affording a facility to the ascent of the sap in one way or other ; which under certain circum-
stances is capable of most extraordinary acceleration, but particularly in that state of the atmosphere
which forbodes or precedes a storm. In such a state a stalk of wheat was observed by Du Hamel to grow
three inches in three days ; a stalk of barley six inches, and a shoot of a vine almost two feet; but this
is a state that occurs but seldom, and cannot be of much service in the general propulsion of the sap.
On this intricate but important sxibject Linnaeus appears to have embraced the opinion of Du Hamel, or
an opinion very nearly allied to it ; but does not seem to have strengthened it by any new accession of
argument ; so that none of the hitherto alleged causes can be regarded as adequate to the production of
the effect.
1521. Irritability/. Perhaps the only cause that has ever been suggested as appearing to be at all ade-
quate to the production of the effect, is that alleged by Saussure. According to Saussure the cause of the
sap's ascent is to be found in a peculiar species of irritability inherent in the saj)-vessels themselves, and
dependent upon vegetable life ; in consequence of which they are rendered capable of a certain degree of
contraction, according as the internal surface is affected by the application of stimuli, as well as of subse-
quent dilatation according as the action of the stimulus subsides ; thus admitting and propelling the sap by
alternate dilatation and contraction. In order to give elucidation to the subject, let the tube be supposed
to consist of an indefinite number of hollow cylinders united one to another, and let the sap be supposed
to enter the first cylinder by suction, or by capillary attraction, or bv any other adequate means ; then the
first cylinder being excited by the stimulus of the sap, begins gradusilly to contract, and to propel the con-
Book I. PROCESS OF VEGETABLE NUTRITION. 237
tained fluid into the cylinder immediately above it. But the cylinder immediately above it, when acted on
in the same manner, is affected in the same manner ; and thus the fluid is propelled from cylinder to cylin-
der till it reaches the summit of the plant. So also when the first cylinder has discharged its contents into
the second, and is no longer acted upon by the stimulus of the sap, it begins again to be dilated to its ori-
ginal capacity, and prepared for the intro-susception of a new portion of fluid. Thus a supply is constantly
kept up, and the sap continues to flow. The above is by far the simplest as well as most satisfactory of all
theories accounting for the ascent of the sap.
1522. Contraction and dilatation. Knight has presented us with a theory which, whatever may be its
real value, merits at least our particular notice, as coming from an author who stands deservedly high in
the list of phytological writers. This theory rests upon the principle of the contraction and dilatation, not
of the sap-vessels themselves, as in the theory of Saussure, but of what Knight denominates the silver
grain, assisted perhaps by heat and humidity expanding or condensing thie fluids. {Phil. Trans. 1801.)
Keith considers this theory of Knight as beset with many difficulties, and the agency of the alleged cause
as totally inadequate to the production of the effect to be accomplished.
1523. Elaboration of the sap. The moisture of the soil is no sooner absorbed into the
plant than it begins to undergo a change. This is proved by the experiment of making
a bore or incision in the trunk of a tree during the season of bleeding ; the sap that issues
from the wound possesses properties very different from the mere moisture of the soil,
as is indicated by means of chemical analysis, and sometimes also by means of a peculiar
taste or flavor, as in the case of the birch tree. Hence the sap has already undergone a
certain degree of elaboration ; either in passing through the glands of the cellular tissue,
which it reaches through the medium of a lateral communication, or in mingling with
the juices contained in the cells, and thus carrying off a portion of them ; in the same
manner, we may suppose, that water by filtering through a mineral vein becomes im-
pregnated with the mineral through which it passes. But this primary and incipient
stage of the process of elaboration must always of necessity remain a mystery to the
phytologist, as being wholly effected in the interior of the plant, and consequently beyond
the reach of observation. All he can do, therefore, is to trace out its future progress,
and to watch its succeeding changes, in which the rationale of the process of elaboration
may be more evident.
1524. The jrrocess of elaboration is chiefly operated in the leaf: for the sap no sooner
reaches the leaf, than part of it is immediately carried off by means of perspiration,
perceptible or imperceptible ; effecting a change in the proportion of its component parts,
and by consequence a change in its properties.
1525. Hales reared a sun-flower in a pot of earth till it grew to the height of three feet and a half; he
then covered the mouth of the pot with a plate of lead, which he cemented so as to prevent all evaporation
from the earth contained in it In this plate he fixed two tubes, the one nine inches in length and of but
small diameter, left open to serve as a medium of communication with the external air; the other two
inches in length and one in diameter, for the purpose of introducing a supply of water, but kept always
shut except at the time of watering. The holes of the bottom of the pot were also shut, and the pot and
plant weighed for fifteen successive days in the months of July and August ; hence he ascertained not only
the fact of transpiration by the.leaves, from a comparison of the supply and waste ; but also the quantity of
moisture transpired in a given time, by subtracting from the total waste the amount of evaporation from
the pot The final result proved that the absorbing power of the root is greater than the transpiring power
of the leaves, in the proportion of five to two. Similar experiments were also made upon some species of
cabbage, whose mean transpiration was found to be 1 lb. 3oz. per day ; and on some species of evergreens,
which were found, however, to transpire less than other plants. The same is the case also with succulent
plants, which transpire but little in proportion to their mass, and which as they become more firm tran-
spire less. It is known, however, that they absorb a great deal of moisture, though they give it out thus
sparingly; which seems intended by nature for the purpose of resisting the great droughts to which they
are generally exposed, inhabiting, as they do for the most part, the sandy desert or the sunny rock. Along
with his own experiments Hales relates also some others that were made by Miller of Chelsea; the result
of which was that, other circumstances being the same, transpiration is in "proportion to the transpiring
surface ; and is affected by the temperature of the air, sunshine, or drought, promoting it, and cold and
wet diminishing or suppressing it entirely. It is also greatest from six o'clock in the morning till noon,
and is least during the night. But when transpiration becomes too abundant, owing to excess of heat or
drought, the plant immediately suffers and begins to languish ; and hence the leaves droop during the
day, though they are again revived during the night P'or the same or for a similar reason, transpiration
has been found also to increase as the heat of summer advances ; being more abundant in July than in June,
and still more in August than in either of the preceding months, from which last period it begins again to
decrease.
1526. A fluid little different from common water is ea:AaZ<?rf according to the experi-
ments of Hales and Guettard ; in some cases it had the odor of the plant ; but Du
Hamel found that it became sooner putrid than water. Such then are the facts that have
been ascertained with regard to the imperceptible perspiration of plants, from which it
unavoidably follows that the sap undergoes a very considerable modification in its passage
through the leaf.
1527. Perceptible perspiration, which is an exudation of sap too gross or too abundant
to be dissipated immediately, and which hence accumulates on the surface of the leaf, is
the cause of its further modification. It is very generally to be met with in the course of
the summer on the leaves of the maple, poplar, and lime-tree ; but particularly on the
surface exposed to the sun, wliich it sometimes wholly covers.
1528. The physical as well as chemical qualities of perspired matter are very different in different species
of plants ; so that it is not always merely an exudation of sap, but of sap in a high state of elaboration, or
mingled with the peculiar juices or secretions of the plant Sometimes it is a clear and watery fluid con-
glomerating into large drops, such as are said to have been observed by Miller, exuding from the leaves
of the musar arbor, or plantain-tree ; and such as are sometimes to be seen in hot and calm weather ex-
uding from the leaves of the poplar or willow, and trickling down in such abundance as to resemble a
slight shower. This phenomenon was observed by Sir J. E. Smith, under a grove of willows in Italy, and
238 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IL
■aid to occur sometimes even in England. Sometimee It is glutinous, as on the leaf of the lime-tree ;
sometimes it is waxy, as on the leaves of rosemary ; sometimes it is saccharine, as on the orange-leaf; or
resinous, as on the leaves of the cistus creticus. The cause of this excess of perspiration has not yet been
altogether satisfactorily ascertained ; though it seems to be merely an effort and institution of nature to
throw off all such redundant juices as may have been absorbed, or secretions as may have been formed
beyond what are necessary to the due nourishment or composition of the plant, or beyond what the plant
is capable of assimilating at the time. Hence the watery exudation is perhaps nothing more than a re-
dundancy of the fluid thrown off" by imperceptible perspiration, and the waxy and resinous exudations
nothing more than a redundancy of "secreted juices ; all which may be still perfectly consistent with a
healthy state of the plant. But there are cases in which the exudation is to be regarded as an indication
of disease, particularly in that of the exudation known by the name of honey-dew, a sweet and viscid
substance covering the leaves like a varnish, and sometimes occasioning their decay. Such at least seems
to be the fact with regard to the honey-dew of the hop, which, according to the observations of Linna;us,
is the consequence of the attacks of the caterpillar of the ghost-moth injuring the root. And such seems
also to be the fact with regard to the honey-dew of the beech-tree, and jjcrhaps also the honey-dew of the
oak. The sap then in the progress of its ascent from the extremity of the root to the extremity of the
leaf undergoes a considerable change, first in its mixing with the juices already contained in the plant,
and then in its throwing off a portion at the leaf.
1529. The sap is further affected by means of the gases entering into the root along with
itie moisture of the soil, but certainly, by means of the gases inhaled into the leaf; the
action and elaboration of vi^hich shall now be elucidated.
1530. Elaboration of carbonic acid. The utility of carbonic acid gas as a vegetable food has been al-
ready shown J plants being found not only to absorb it by the root along with the moisture of the soil, but
also to inhale it by the leaves, at least when vegetating in the sun or during the day. But how is the ela-
boration of this gas effected ? Is it assimilated to the vegetable substance immediately upon entering the
plant, or is its assimilation effected by means of intermediate steps ? The gas thus inhaled or absorbed is
not assimilated immediately, or at least not wholly : for it is known that plants do also evolve carbonic
acid gas when vegetating in the shade, or during the night. PriestUy ascertained that plants vegetating in
confined atmospheres evolve carbonic acid gas in the shade, or during the night, and that the vitiated
state of their atmospheres after experiment is owing to that evolution ; and Saussure that the elaboration
of carbonic acid gas is essential to vegetation in the sun ; and, finally, Senebier and Saussure proved that
the carbonic acid gas contained in water is abstracted and inhaled by the leaf, and immediately decom-
posed ; the carbon being assimilated to the substance of the plant, and the oxygen in part evolvetl, and
in part also assimilated. The decomposition of carbonic acid gas takes place only during the light of day,
though Saussure has made it also probable that plants decompose a part of the carbonic acid gas which
they form with the surrounding oxygen even in the dark. But the effect is operated chiefly by means of
the leaves and other green parts of vegetables, that is, chiefly by the parenchyma ; the wood, roots, petals,
and leaves that have lost their green color not being found to exhale oxygene gas. It may be observed,
however, that the green color is not an absolutely essential character of the parts decomposing carbonic
acid ; because the leaves of a peculiar variety of the atriplex hortensis, in which all the green parts change
to red, do still exhale oxygene gas.
1531. Elaboration of oxygen. It has been alreadj^ shown that the leaves of plants abstract oxygen from
confined atmospheres, at least when placed in the shade, though they do not inhale all the oxygen that
disappears ; and it has been further proved, from experiment, that the leaves of plants do also evolve a
gas in the sun. From a great variety of experiments relative to the action and influence of oxygen on the
plant, and the contrary, the following is the sum of the results. The green parts of plants, but especially
the leaves, when exposed in atmospheric air to the successive influence of the light and shade, inhale and
evolve alternately a portion of oxygene gas mixed with carbonic acid. But the oxygen is not immediately
assimilated to the vegetable substance ; it is first converted into carbonic acid by means of combining with
the carbon of the plant, which withers if this process is prevented by the application of lime or potass.
The leaves of aquatics, succulent plants, and evergreens consume, in equal circumstances, less oxygen
than the leaves of other plants. The roots, wood, and petals, and in short all parts not green, with the
exception of some colored leaves, do not effect the successive and alternate inhalation and extrication of
oxygen ; they inhale it indeed, though they do not again give it out, or assimilate it immediately, but con-
vey it under the form of carbonic acid to the leaves, where it is decomposed. Oxygen is indeed assimilated
to the plant, but not directly, and only by means of the decomposition of carbonic acid ; when part of it,
though in a very small proportion, is retained also and assimilated along with the carbon. Hence the most
obvious inflitence of oxygen, as applied to the leaves, is that of forming carbonic acid gas, and thus pre-
senting to the plants elements which it may assimilate; and perhaps the carbon of the extractive juices
absorbed even by the root, ia not assimilated to the plant till it is converted by means of oxygen into car-
bonic acid. But as an atmosphere composed of nitrogen and carbonic acid gas only is not favorable to
vegetation, it is probable that oxygen performs also some other function beyond that of merely presenting
to the plant, under the modification of carbonic acid, elements which it may assimilate. It may effect also
the disengagement of caloric by its union with the carbon of the vegetable, which is the necessary result
of such union. But oxygen is also beneficial to the plant from its action on the soil ; for when the ex-
tractive juices contained in the soil have become exhausted, the oxygen of the atmosphere, by penetrating
into the earth and abstracting from it a portion of its carbon, forms a new extract to replace the first.
Hence we may account for a number of facts observed by the earlier phytologists, but not well explained.
Du Hamel remarked that the lateral roots of plants are always the more vigorous the nearer they are
to the surface ; but it now appears that they are the most vigorous at the surface.because they have there
the easiest access to the oxygen of the atmosphere, or to the extract which it may form. It was observed,
also, by the same phytologist, that perpendicular roots do not thrive so well, other circumstances being the
same, in a stiff' and wet soil as in a friable and dry soil ; while plants with slender and divided roots thrive
equally well in both : but this is no doubt owing to the obstacles that present themselves to the passage of
the oxygen in the former case, on account of the greater depth and smaller surface of the root. It was
further observed, that roots which penetrate into dung or into pipes conducting water, divide into immense
numbers of fibres, and form what is called the fox-tail root ; but it is because they cannot continue to ve-
getate, except by encreasing their points of contact, with the small quantity of oxygen found in such
mediums. Lastly, it was observed that plants, whose roots are suddenly overflowed with water remaining
afterwards stagnant, suffer sooner than if the accident had happened by means of a continued current. It
is because in the former case the oxygen contained in the water is soon exhausted, while in the latter it is
not exhausted at all. And hence also we may account for the phenomenon exhibited by plants vegetating
in distilled water under a receiver filled with atmospheric air, which having no proper soil to supply the
root with nourishment, effect the developement of their parts only at the expense of their own proper
substance ; the interior of the stem, or a portion of the root, or the lower leaves decaying and giving up
their extractive juices to the other parts. — Thus it appears that oxygene gas, or that constituent part of
the atmospheric air which has been found to be indispensable to the life of animals, is also indispensable to
the life of vegetables. Butalthoughthepresence and action of oxygen is absolutely necessary to the process
of vegetation, plants do not thrive so well in an atmosphere of pure oxygen, as in an atmosphere of pure or
common air. This was proved by an experiment of Saussure's, who having introduced some plants of
pisum sativum, that were but just issuing from the seed, into a receiver containing pure oxygene gas.
Book I. PROCESS OF VEGETABLE NUTRITION. 239
found that In the space of e\x days they had acquired only half the weight of such as wore introduced at
the same time into a receiver containing common air. From whence it follows that oxygen, though the
principal agent in the process of vegetation, is not yet the only agent necessary to the health and growth of
the plant, and that the proportion of the constituent parts of the atmospheric air is well adapted for the
purposes both of vegetable and animal life.
1532. Decomposition of water. Although the opinion was proved to be groundless,
by which water had been supposed to be convertible into all the different ingredients en-
tering into the composition of the vegetable substance by means of the action of the vital
energy of the plant ; yet when water was ultimately proved to be a chemical compound,
it was by no means absurd to suppose that plants may possess the power of decomposing
part, at least, of what they absorb by the root, and thus acquire the hydrogen as well as a
portion of the oxygen which, by analysis, they are found to contain. This opinion was
accordingly pretty generally adopted, but was not yet proved by any direct experiment.
Senebier pointed out several phenomena from which he thought it was to be inferred, but
particularly that of the germination of some seeds moistened merely with water, and so
situated as to have no apparent contact with oxygen. The decomposition of water was
inferred also by Ingenhouz, from the amelioration of an atmosphere of common air into
which he had introduced some succulent plants vegetating in pure water. Saussure having
gathered a number of plants of the same species, as nearly alike as possible in all circum-
stances likely to be affected by the experiment, dried part of them to the temperature of
the atmosphere, and ascertained their weight ; the rest he made to vegetate in pure water,
and in an atmosphere of pure oxygen for a given period of time, at the end of which he
dried them as before, and ascertained their weight also, which it was thus only necessary
to compare with the weight of the former, in order to know whether the plants had in-
creased in solid vegetable substance or not. But after many experiments on a variety of
plants, the result always was, that plants when made to vegetate in pure water only, and
in an atmosphere of pure oxygen, or of common air deprived of its carbonic acid, scarcely
added any thing at all to their weight in a dried state ; or if they did, the quantity was too
small to be appreciated. But from a subsequent experiment, in which carbonic acid gas
was mixed with common air by the same experiment, the decomposition and fixation of
water by the vegetating plant is legitimately inferred. It does not appear, however, that
plants do in any case decompose water directly ; that is, by appropriating its hydrogen
and at the same time disengaging its oxygen in the form of gas, which is extricated only
by the decomposition of carbonic acid.
1533. Descent of the proper juice. When the sap has been duly elaborated in the leaf
by means of the several processes that have just been described, it assumes the appel-
lation of the cambium, or proper juice of the plant. In this ultimate state of elaboration
it is found chiefly in the bark, or rather between the bark and wood, and may very often
be distinguished by a peculiar color, being sometimes white, as in the several species of
spurge, and sometimes yellow, as in celandine. It is said to be the principal seat of the
medical virtues of plants ; and was regarded by Malpighi as being to the plant what the
blood is to the animal body — the immediate" principle of nourishnlent, and grand support
of life ; which opinions he endeavours to establish by the following analogies : if the blood
escapes from the vessels of the animal body, it forms neither flesh nor bone, but tumors;
if the proper juices of the plant are extravasated, they form neither bark nor wood, but a
lump of gum, resin, or inspissated juice. The disruption of the blood-vessels and conse-
quent loss of blood, injures and often proves fatal to the animal. The extravasation of
the proper juice injures and often proves fatal to vegetables, unless the evil is prevented
by the skill and management of the gardener. Whatever may be the value of these re-
marks as tending to establish the analogy in question, it cannot be doubted that the cam-
bium or proper juice constitutes at least the grand principle of vegetable organisation ;
generating and developing in succession the several organs of the plant, or furnishing the
vital principle with the immediate materials of assimilation.
1534. The proper juice is conveyed to the several parts of the plant by an appropriate set of vessels. One
of the earliest and most satisfactory experiments on this subject, at least as far as regards the return of
the proper juice through the leaf and leaf-stalk, is that of Dr. Darwin, which was conducted as follows :
a stalk of the euphorbia heliscopia, furnished with its leaves and seed-vessels, was placed in a decoction
of madder root, so as that the lower portion of the stem and two of the inferior leaves were immersed in
it. After remaining so for several days the color of the decoction was distinctly discerned passing along
the midrib of each leaf On the upper side of the leaf many of the ramifications, going from the midrib
towards the circumference, were observed to be tinged with red ; but on the under side there was ob-
served a system of branching vessels, originated in the extremities of the leaf and carrying not a red but
a pale milky fluid, which, after uniting in two sets, one on each side the midrib, descended along with it
into the leaf-stalk. These were the vessels returning the elaborated sap. The vessels observable on the
upper surface Darwin calls arteries, and thos« on the under surface he calls veins. To this may be added
the more recent discoveries of Knight, who in his experiments, instituted with a view to ascertain the
course of the sap, detected in the leaf-stalk, not only the vessels which he calls central tubes, through
which the colored infusion ascended, together with their appendages, the spiral tubes; but also another
set of vessels surrounding the central tubes, which he distinguishes by the appellation of external tubes,
and which appeared to be conveying in one direction or other a fluid that was not colored, but that
proved, upon further investigation, to be the descending proper juice. In tracing them upwards they
were found to extend to the summit of the leaf, and in tracing them downwards they were found
to extend to the base of the lejvf-rtalk, and to penetrate even into the inner bark, According
240 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
to Knight, then, there [are three sets of vessels in leaves, the central tubes, the ipiral tubes, and the
external tubes. But by what means is the proper juice conducted from the base of the leaf-stalk to the
extremity of the root? This was the chief object of the enquiry of the earlier phytologists who had not
yet begun to trace its progress in the leaf and leaf-stalk ; but who were acquainted with facts indicating
at least the descent of a fluid in the trunk. Du Hamel stript sixty trees of their bark in the course of the
spring, laying them bare from the upper extremity of the sap and branches to the root; the experiment
proved indee<l fatal to them, as they all died in the course of three or four years. But many of them
had made new productions both of wood and bark from the buds downwards, extending in some cases to
the length of a foot; though very few of them had made any new productions from the root upwards.
Hence it is that the proper juice not only descends from the extremity of the leaf to the extremity of the
root, but generates also in its descent new and additional parts. The experiments of Knight on this sub-
ject are, if possible, more convincing than even those of Du Hamel. From the trunks ofa number of
young crab trees he detached a ring of bark of half an inch in breadth. The sap rose in them, and the
portion of the trunk above the ring augmented as in other subjects that were not so treated, while the
portion below the ring scarcely augmented at all. The upper lips of the wounds made considerable ad-
vances downwards, while the lower lips made scarcely any advances upwards ; but if a bud was protruded
under the ring, and the shoot arising from it allowed to remain, then the portion of the trunk below that
bud began immediately to augment in size, while the portion between the bud and incision remained
nearly as before. WJien two circular incisions were made in the trunk so as to leave a ring of bark be-
tween them with a leaf growing from it, the portion above the leaf died, while the portion below the leaf
lived ; and when the upper part of a branch was stripped of its leaves the bark withered as far as it was
stript. Whence it is evident that the sap which has been elaborated in the leaves and converted into
proper juice, descends through the channel of the bark, or rather between the bark and alburnum to
the extremity of the root, effecting the developement of new and additional parts. But not only is
the bark thus ascertained to be the channel of the descent of the proper juice, after entering the trunk ;
the peculiar vessels through which it immediately passes, have been ascertained also. In the language
of Knight they are merely a continuation of the external tubes already noticed, which after quitting the
base of the foot-stalk he describes as not only penetrating the inner bark, but desceuding along with it
and conducting the proper juice to the very "extremity of the root. In the language of Mirbel they are
the large or rather simple tubes so abundant in tlie bark of woody plants, though not altogether confined
to it ; and so well adapted by the width of their diameter to afford a passage to the proper juice.
1535. Causes of descent. The proper juice then, or sap elaborated in the leaf, de-
scends by the returning vessels of the leaf stalk, and by the longitudinal vessels of the
inner bark, the large tubes of Mirbel and external tubes of Knight, dovj'n to the ex-
tremity of the root.
1536. The descent of the proper juice was regarded by the earlier phytologists as resulting from the
agency of gravitation, owing 'perhaps more to the readiness with which the conjecture suggests itself
than to the satisfaction which it gives. But the insufficiency of this cause was clearly pointed out
by Du Hamel, who observed in his experiments with ligatures that the tumor was always formed
on the side next to the leaves, even when the branch was bent down, whether by nature or art, so
as to point to the earth, in which case the power propelling the proper juice is acting not only in
opposition to that of gravitation, but with such force as to overcome it. This is an unanswerable ar-
gument; and yet it seems to have been altogether overlooked, or at least undervalued in its import-
ance by Knight, who endeavors to account for the effect by ascribing it to the joint operation of
gravitation, capillary attraction, the waving motion of the tree, and the structure of the conducting
vessels; but the greatest of these causes is gravitation. Certain it is that gravitation has considerable
influence in preventing the descent of the sap in young shoots of trees which have grown upriglit, which,
when bent down after being fully grown, form larger buds, and often blossom instead of leaf buds. This
Sractice, with a view to the production of blossom-buds, is frequently adopted by gardeners iHo7-t. Trans.
237.) in training fruit-trees. — These causes are each perhaps of some efficacy ; and yet even when
taken altogether they are not adequate to the production of the effect. The greatest stress is laid upon
gravitation ; but its agency is obviously over-rated, as is evident from the case of the pejident shoots of
the weeping willow ; and if gravitation is so very efficacious in facilitating the descent of the proper
juice, how comes its influence to be suspended in the'case of the ascending sap ? The action of the silver
grain will scarcely be sufficient to overcome it ; and if it should he said that the sap ascends through the
tubes of the alburnum by means of the agency of the vital principle, why may not the .same vital prin-
ciple conduct also the proper juice through the returning vessels of the bark ? In short, if, with Saussure,
we admit the existence of a contracting power in the former case sufficient to propel the sap from ring to
ring, it will be absolutely necessary to admit it also in the latter. Thus we assign a cause adequate to
the production of the effect, and avoid at the same time the transgression of that most fundamental prin-
ciple of all sound philosophy which forbids us to multiply causes without necessity.
Sect. IV. Process of Vegetable Developement.
1537. The production of the different parts and organs of plants is effected by the assi-
milation of the proper juice. The next object of our enquiry, therefore, will be that of
tracing out the order of the developement of the several parts, together with the peculiar
mode of operation adopted by the vital principle. But this mode of operation is not
exactly the same in herbaceous and annual plants, as in woody and perennial plants. In
the former, the process of developement comprises as it were but one act of the vital prin-
ciple, the parts being all unfolded in immediate succession and without any perceptible
interruption till the plant is complete. In the latter, the process is carried on by gradual
and definite stages easily cognisable to the senses, commencing with the approach of
spring, and terminating with the approach of winter ; during which, the functions of the
vital principle seem to be altogether suspended, till it is aroused again into action by the
warmth of the succeeding spring. The illustration of the latter, however, involves also
that of the former ; because the growth of the first year exemplifies at the same time the
growth of annualsj while the growth of succeeding years exemplifies whatever is peculiar
to perennials.
1538. Elementary organs. If the embryo, on its escape from the seed and conversion
into a plant, is taken and minutely inspected, it will be found to consist of a root, plume-
let, and incipient stem, which have been developed in consecutive order ; and if the
plant is taken and dissected at this period of its growth it will be found to be composed
Book I. PROCESS OF VEGETABLE DEVELOPEMENT. 241
merely of an epidermis enveloping a soft and pulpy substance, that forms the mass of
the individual ; or it may be furnished also with a central and longitudinal fibre ; or with
bundles of longitudinal fibres giving tenacity to the whole. These parts have been de-
veloped no doubt by means of the agency of the vital principle operating on the proper
juice ; but what have been the several steps of operation ?
1539. No satisfactory explication of this phenomenon has yet been offered. It is likely, however, that the
rudiments of all the diflfercnt parts of the plant do already exist in the embryo in such specific order of
arrangement as shall best fit them for future developement, by the intro-susception of new and additional
particles. The pellicle constituting the vegetable epidermis has generally been regarded as a membrane
essentially distinct from the parts which it covers, and as generated with a view to the discharge of some
particular function. Some phytologists, however, have viewed it in a light altogether different, and have
regarded it as being merely the effect of accident, and nothing more than a scurf formed on the exterior
and pulpy surface of the parenchyma indurated by the action of the air. It is more probably, however,
formed by the agency of the vital principle, even while the plant is yet in embryo, for the very purpose of
protecting it from injury when it shall have been exposed to the air in the process of vegetation. There
are several respects in which an analogy between the animal and vegetable epidermis is sufficiently
striking : they are both capable of great expansion in the growth of the subject ; they are both easily re-
generated when injured (excepting in the case of induration), and seemingly in the same manner; they
are both subject, in certain cases, to a constant decay and repair ; and they both protect from injury the
parts enclosed.
1540. Composite organs. The elucidation of the developement of the composite
organs involves the discussion of the two following topics : — the formation of the annual
plant, and of the original shoot of the perennial ; and the formation of the subsequent
layers that are annually added to the perennial.
1541. Annuals and annual shoots. If a perennial of a year's growth is taken up in
the I^ginning of winter when the leaves, which are only temporary organs, have fallen,
it will be found to consist of a root and trunk, surmounted by one or more buds. The
root is the radicle expanded into the form peculiar to the species, but the trunk and buds
have been generated in the process of vegetation.
1542. The root or trunk, if taken and cut into two by means of a transverse section, will be found
to consist already of bark, wood, and pith. Here then is the termination of the growth of the annual,
and of the first stage of the growth of the perennial : how have their several parts or organs been
formed ?
1543. The pith seems only a modification of the original pulp, and the same hypothesis that accounts for
the formation of the one will account also for the formation of the other ; but the pith and pulp, or
parenchyma, are ultimately converted into organs essentially distinct from one another; though
phytologists have been much puzzled to assign to each its respective functions. In the ages in which
phytological opinions were formed without enquiry, one of the vulgar errors of the time seems to have
been an opinion by which the function of the pith was supposed to be that of generating the stone of fruit,
and by which it was thought that a tree deprived of its pith would produce fruit without a stone. [Phys,
lies Arb. liv. i. chap. 3.) But this opinion is by much too absurd to merit a serious refutation. Another
early opinion, exhibiting however indications of legitimate enquiry, is that by which the pith was
regarded as being analogous to the heart and brain of animals, as related by Malpighi ; who did not.
himself adopt it, but believed the pith to be like the cellular tissue, the viscera in which the sap is
elaborated for the nourishment of the plant, and for the protrusion of future buds. Magnol thought that
it produces the flower and fruit, but not the wood. Du Hamel regarded it as being merely an extension
of the pulp or cellular tissue, without being destined to perform any important function in the process of
vegetation. But Linn ajus was of opinion that it produces even the wood; regarding it not only as the
source of vegetable nourishment, but as being also to the vegetable what the brain and spinal marrow
are to animals, the source and seat of life. In these opinions there may be something of truth, but
they have all the common fault of ascribing to the pith either too little or too much. M. Lindsay of
Jamaica suggested a new opinion on the subject, regarding it as being the seat of the irritability of the
leaves of the mimo.sa, and Sir J. E. Smith says he can see nothing to invalidate the arguments on which
this opinion is founded. Plenck and Knight regard it as destined by nature to be a reservoir of moisture to
supply the leaves when exhausted by excess of perspiration. Hence it appears that the peculiar function
of the {)ith has not yet been altogether satisfactorily ascertained ; and the difficulty of ascertaining it has
been thought to be increased from the circumsunce of its seeming to be only of a temporary use in the
process of vegetation, by its disappearing altogether in the aged trunk. But although it is thus only
temporary as relative to the body of the trunk, yet it is by no means temporary as relative to the process
of vegetation ; the central part of the aged trunk being now no longer in a vegetating state, and the
pith being always present in one shape or other in the annual plant, or in the new additions that are
annually made to perennials. The pith then is essential to vegetation in all its stages : and from the
analogy of its structure to that of the pulp or parenchyma, which is known to be an organ of elabor-
ation, as in the leaf, the function of the pith is most probably that of giving some peculiar elaboration to
the sap.
1544. The generation of the layer of wood in woody plants, or of the parts analogous to wood in the case
of herbaceous plants, has been hitherto but little attended to. If we suppose the rudiments of all the
different parts to exist already in the embryo, then we have only to account for their developement by
means of the intro-susception and assimilation of sap and projjer juice ; but if we suppose thera to be
generated in the course of vegetation, then the difficulty of the case is augmented : and at the best we
can only state the result of operations that have been so long continued as to present an eftcct cognizable
to the sense of sight, though the detail of the process is often so very minute as to escape even the nicest
observation. All, then, that can be said on the subject, is merely that the tubes, however formed, do, by
virtue of the agency of the vital princii)le operating on the proper juice, always make their appearance flt
last in a uniform and determinate manner, according to the tribe or species to which the plant belongs,
uniting and coalescing so as to form either a circular layer investing the pith, as in woody plants; or a
number of divergent layers intersecting the pith, as in some herbaceous plants ; or bundles of longitudinal
and woody fibre interspersed throughout the pith, as in others. In the same manner we may account for
the formation of the layer of bark. ^
1545. Perennials and their annual layers. If a perennial is taken at the end of the
second year and dissected as in the example of the first year, it will be found to have
increased in height by the addition of a perpendicular shoot consisting of bark, wood,
and pith, as in the shoot of the former year ; and in diameter by the addition of a new
K
242 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
layer of wood and of bark, generated between the wood and bark of the former year, and
covering the original cone of wood, like the paper that covers a sugar-loaf: this is the
fact of the mode of augmentation about which phytologists have not differed, though
they have differed widely with regard to the origin of the additional layer by which the
trunk is increased in diameter. Malpighi was of opinion that the new layer of wood is
formed from the liber of the former year.
K45 The new layer of wood Linnaeus considered as formed from the pith, which is absurd, because the
opinion goes to the inversion of the very order in which the layer is formed, the new layer being always
exterior to the old one. But according to the most general opinion, the layer was thought to be formed
from a substance oozing out of the wood or bark — first, a limpid fluid, then a viscid pulp, and then a thin
layer attaching itself to the former ; the substance thus exuding from the wood or bark was generally re-
garded as being merely an extravasated mucilage, which was somehow or other converted into wood and
bark • but Du Hamel regarded it as being already an organised substance, consisting of both cellular and
tubular tissue, which he designated by the appellation of the cambium, or proper juice.
1547. Knight has thrown the highest degree of elucidation on this, one of the most obscure and intri-
cate processes of the vegetable economy, in having shown that the sap is elaborated, so as to render it fit
for the formation of new parts in the leaf only. If a leaf or branch of the vine is graftetl even on the
fruit-stalk or tendril, the graft will still succeed ; but if the upper part of a branch is stripped of its leaves,
the bark will wither as far as it is stripped ; and if a portion of bark furnished with a leaf is insulated by
means of detaching a ring of bark above and below it, the wood of the insulated portion that is above the
leaf is not augmented : this shows evidently that the leaf gives the elaboration necessary to the formation
of new parts, and that without the agency of the leaf no new part is generated : — Such then is the mode
of the augmentation of the plant in the second year of its growth. It extends in width by a new layer
of wood and of bark insinuated between the wood and bark of the former year ; and in height by
the addition of a perpendicular shoot, or of branches, generated as in the shoot of the first year.
But if the plant is taken and dissected at the end of the third year, it will be found to have augmented in
the same manner ; and so also at the end of the succeeding year as long as it shall continue to hve ; so
that the outermost layer of bark, and innermost layer of wood, must have been originally tangent in the
first year of the plant's growth ; the second layer of bark, and second layer of wood, in the second year ;
and so on in the order of succession till you come to the layer of the present year, which will in like man-
ner divide into two portions, the outer forming one or more layers of bark, and the inner forming one or
more layers of wood. And hence the origin of the concentric layers of wood and of bark of the trunk.
But how are we to account for the formation of the divergent layers, which Du Hamel erroneously sup-
posed to proceed from the pith ? The true solution of the difficulty has been furnished by Knight, who,
in tracing the result of the operation of budding, observed that the wood formed under the bark of the in-
serted bud unites indeed confusedly with the stock, though still possessing the character and properties of
the wood from which it was taken, and exhibiting divergent layers of new formation which originate evi-
dently in the bark, and terminate at the line of union between the graft and stock.
1548. But how is the formation of the wood that now occupies the place of the pith to be accounted for ?
It appears that the tubes of which the medullary is composed do, in the process of vegetation, deposit a
cambium, which forms an interior layer that is afterwards converted into wood for the purpose of filling
up the medullary canal.
1549. Conversion of the alburnum into perfect wood. In consequence of the increase of the trunk by
means of the regular and gradual addition of an annual layer, the layers whether of wood or of bark are
necessarily of different degrees of solidity in proportion to their age; the inner layer of bark, and the
outer layer of wood, being the softest ; and the other layers increasing in their degree of solidity till you
reach the centre on the one hand, and the circumference on the other, where they are respectively the
hardest, forming perfect wood or highly indurated bark, which sloughs or splits into chinks, and falls off
in thick crusts, as in the plane-tree, fir, and birch. What length of time, then, is requisite to convert the
alburnum into perfect wood, or the liber into indurated bark ; and by what means are they so converted ?
There is no fixed and definite period of time that can be positively assigned as necessary to the complete
induration of the wood or bark, though it seems to require a period of a good many years before any
particular layer is converted from the state of alburnum to that of perfect wood ; and perhaps no layer has
received its final degree of induration till such time as the tree has arrived at its full growth. The indura-
tion of the alburnum, and its consequent durability, are .attributed by many to the loss of sap which the
layer sustains after the period of its complete developement ; when the supply from the root diminishes,
and the waste by evaporation or otherwise is still kept up, inducing a contraction or condensation of its
elementary principles that augments the solidity of the layer, in the first degree, and begins the process
that future years finish. But Knight believes the induration of the alburnum as distinguishable in the
winter to be owing rather to some substance deposited in it in the course of the preceding summer, which
he regards as being the proper juice in a concrete or inspissated state, but which is carried oft" again by the
sap as it ascends in the spring.
1550. Circulation of vegetable juices. After the discovery of the circulation of the
blood of animals, phytologists, who were fond of tracing analogies between the animal
and vegetable kingdoms, began to think that there perhaps existed in plants also a circu-
lation of fluids. The sap was supposed to be elaborated in the root. The vessels in
which it was propelled to the summit of the plant were denominated arteries ; and the
vessels in which it is again returned to the root were denominated veins. Du Hamel,
while he admits the ascent of the sap, and descent of the proper juice, each in peculiar
and appropriate vessels, does not however admit the doctrine of a circulation ; which
seems, about the middle of the last century, to have fallen into disrepute. For Hales, who
contended for an alternate ascent and descent of fluids in the day and night, and in the
samevessels, or for a sort of vibratory motion as he also describes it, gave no countenance
whatever to the doctrine of a circulation of juices. But the doctrine, as it appears, has
been again revived, and has met with the support of some of the most distinguished of
modern phytologists. Hedwig is said to have declared himself to be of opinion, that plants
have a circulation of fluids similar to that of animals. Corti is said to have discovered a
species of circulation in the stem of the chara, but confined, it is believed, within
the limits of the internodia. Willdenow has also introduced the subject, and de-
fended the doctrine {Principles of Botani/, p. 85.) ; but only by saying he believes a cir-
culation to exist, and that it is impossible ibr the leafless tree to resist the cold if there be
not a circulation of fluids. Knight has given his reasons somewhat in detail ; and
3ooK I. PROCESS OF VEGETABLE DEVELOPEMENT. 243
tliough his doctrine of a circulation should be false, yet the account which lie gives of tlie
progress and agency of the sap and proper juice, short of circulation, may be true. The
sum of the account is as follows : — When the seed is deposited in the ground under
proper conditions, moisture is absorbed and modified by the cotyledons, and conducted
directly to the radicle, which is by consequence first developed. But the fluid which has
been thus conducted to the radicle, mingling no doubt with the fluid which is now also
absorbed from the soil, ascends afterwards to the plumelet through the medium of the
tubes of the alburnum. The plumelet now expands and gives the due preparation to the
ascending sap, returning it also in its elaborated state to the tubes of the bark, through
which it again descends to the extremity of the root, forming in its jjrogress new bark and
new alburnum ; but mixing also, as he thinks, with the alburnum of the former year,
where such alburnum exists, and so completing the circulation,
1551. Decomposite organs. To the above brief sketch of the agency of the vital
principle in the generation or growth of the elementary and composite organs, there now
remains to be added that of the progress and mode of the growth of the decomposite or-
gans, or organs immediately constituting the plant, as finishing the process of the vegetable
developement. This will include the phenomena of the ultimate developement of the root,
stem, branch, bud, leaf, flower, and fruit. *-
1552. The root. From the foregoing observations and experiments, it appears that the roots of plants,
or at least of woody plants, are augmented in their width by the addition of an annual layer, and in their
length by the addition of an annual shoot, bursting from the terminating fibre. But how" is the develope-
ment of the shoot effected ? Is it by the intro-suscei)tion of additional particles throughout the whole of
its extent ; or only by additions deposited at the extremity ? In order to ascertain the fact, with regard
to the elongation of the root, Du Hamel instituted the following experiment : — Having jiasscd several
threads of silver transversely through the root of a plant, and noted the distances, he then immersotl the
root in water. The upper threads retained always their relative and original situation, and the lowest
thread which was placed within a few lines of the end was the only one that was carrietl down. Hence
he concluded that the root is elongated merely by the extremity. Knight, who from a similar exi)eriment
obtained the same result, deduced from it also the same conclusion. We may regard it then as certain,
that the mode of the elongation of the root is such as is here represented, though in the progress of its
developement, it may affect a variety of directions. The original direction of the root is generaly perpen-
dicular, in which it descends to a considerable depth if not interrupted by some obstacle. In taking up
some young oak-trees that had been planted in a i)oor soil, Du Hamel found that the root had descendeti
almost four feet, while the height of the trunk was not more than six inches. If the root meets with an
obstacle it then takes a horizontal direction, not by the bending of the original shoot, but by the sending
out of lateral shoots. The same effect also follows if the extremity of the root is cut off, but not always
so, for it is a common thing in nursery-gardens, to cut off the tap-roots of drills of seedling oaks without
removing them, by a sharp spade, and these generally push out new tap-roots, though not so strong as the
former. When a root ceases of its own accord to elongate, it sends out also lateral fibres which become
branches, and are always the more vigorous the nearer they are to the trunk, but the lateral branches of
horizontal roots are the less vigorous the nearer they are to the end next the trunk. In the former case,
the increased luxuriance is perhaps owing to the easy access of oxygen in the upper divisions j but in the
latter case, the increased luxuriance of the more distant divisions is not so easily accounted for, if it is not
to be attributed to the more ample supply of nutriment which the fibres meet with as they recede from
the trunk, particularly if you suppose a number of them lying horizontally and diverging like the radii of
a circle. But the direction of roots is so liable to be affected by accidental causes, that there is often but
little 'uniformity even in roots of the same species. If plants were to be sown in a soil of the same density
throughout, perhaps there might be at least as much uniformity in the figure and direction of their roots,
as of their branches ; but this will seldom happen. For if the root is injured by the attacks of insects, or
interrupted by stones, or earth of too dense a quality, it then sends out lateral branches, as in the above
cases ; sometimes extending also in length by following the direction of the obstacle, and sometimes ceas-
ing to elongate, and forming a knot at the extremity. But where the soil has been loosened by digging or
otherwise, the root generally extends itself to an unusual length, and where it is both loosened and en-
riched, it divides into a multiplicity of fibres. This is also the case with the roots of plants vegetating in
pots, near a river, but especially in water. Where roots have some considerable obstacle to overcome they
will often acquire a strength proportioned to the difficulty : sometimes they will penetrate through the
hardest soil to get at a soil more nutritive, and sometimes they will insinuate their fibres into the crevices
even of walls and rocks which they will burst or overturn. This of course requires much time, and does
much injury to the plant. Roots consequently thrive best in a soil that is neither too loose nor too dense ;
but as the nourishment which the root absorbs is chiefly taken up by the extremity, so the soil is often
more exhausted at some distance from the trunk than immediately around it. Du Hamel regards the
small fibres of the root which absorb the moisture of the soil as being analogous to the lacteals of the ani-
mal system, which absorb the food digested by the stomach. But the root is rather to be regarded as the
mouth of the plant, selecting what is useful to nourishment and rejecting what is yet in a crude and indi-
gestible state ; the larger portions of it serving also to fix the plant in the soil and to convey to the trunk
the nourishment absorbed by the smaller fibres, which ascending by the tubes of the alburnum, is thus
conveyed to the leaves, the digestive organs of plants. Du Hamel thinks that the roots of plants are fur-
nished with pre-organised germs by which they are enabled to send out lateral branches when cut, though
the existence of such germs is not proved ; and affirms that the extremities of the fibres of the root die
annually like the leaves of the trunk and branches, and are again annually renewed ; which last peculiarity
Professor Wildenow affirms also to be the fact, but without adducing any evidence by which it apixjars to
be satisfactorily substantiated. On the contrary. Knight, who has also made some observations on this
subject, says, it does not appear that the terminating fibres of the roots of woody plants die annually,
though those of bulbous roots are found to do so. But the fibres of creeping plants, as the common crow-
foot and strawberry, certainly die annually, as do those of the vine.
1553. The stem. The stem, like the root, or at least the stem of woody plants, is also augmented in
width by the addition of an annual layer, and in length by the addition of an annual shoot bursting from
the terminating bud. Is the developement of the shoot issuing from the stem effected in the same man-
ner also ? The developement of the shoot from the stem is not effected in the same manner as that of Uie
root — by additions to the extremity only, but by the intro-susception of additional particles throughout its
whole extent, at least in its soft and succulent state : the longitudinal extension diminishing in projwrtion
as the shoot requires solidity, and ceasing entirely when the wood is perfectly formed ; though often con-
tinuing at the summit after it had ceased at the base. The extension of the shoot is hiversely at its indu-
ration, rapid while it remains herbaceous, but slow in proportion as it is converted into wood. Hence
moisture and shade are the most favorable to its elongation, because they prevent or retard its induration ;
11 2
244 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
and hence the small cone of wood which is formed during the first year of the plant's growth increases no
more after the approach of winter, neither in height nor thickness. Such is the mode of the growth and
developement of the trunk of perennial and woody plants, to which there exists a striking exception in the
growth of the trunk of palms. Their internal structure has been already taken notice of as presenting no
concentric or divergent layers, and no metluUary canal, but merely an assemblage of large and woody fibres,
interspersed without order in a pulp or parenchyma, softer at the centre and gradually becoming harder as
it approaches the circumference. When the seed of the palm-tree germinates, it protrudes a circular
row of leaves, or of fronds, which crowns the radicle, and is succeeded in the following year by a
similar row issuing from the centre or bosom of the former leaves, which ultimately die down to the base.
This process is continued for four or five years successively without exhibiting as yet any appearance of a
stem, the remaining bases of the leaves or frond forming by their union merely a sort of knob or bulb. At
last, however, they constitute by their union an incipient stem, as thick the first year as it ever is after ;
which in the following year is augmented in height as before, and so on in succession as long as the plant
lives, the leaves always issuing from the summit and crowning the stem, which is a regular column, but
decaying at the end of the year, and leaving circular marks at the points of insertion, which furrow the
surface of the plant, and indicate the years of its growth.
1554. The branches, in their mode of growth and developement, exhibit nearly the same appearances
as the trunk from which they issue. They originate in a bud, and form also a cone that consists of pith,
wood, and bark ; or rather they form a double cone. For the insertion of the branch into the trunk
resembles also a cone whose base is at the circumference, and whose apex is at the centre, at least if it is
formed in the first year of the plant's growth, or on the shoot of the present year ; but falling short of the
centre in proportion to the lateness of its formation, and number of intervening layers. Branches in their
developement assume almost all varieties of position from the reflected to the horizontal and upright ; but
the lower branches of trees are said to be generally parallel to the surface of the soil on which they grow,
even though that surface should be the sloping side of a hill — owing, as it has been thought, to the evo-
lution of a greater number of buds on the side that forms the obtuse angle with the soil, in consequence of
its being exposed to the action of a greater mass of air.
1555. The hud, which in the beginning of spring is so very conspicuous on the trees of this country as to
be obvious to the most careless observer, is by no means common to all plants, nor to plants of all
climates ; shrubs in general, and annuals universally, are destitute of buds as well as all plants what-
ever growing within the tropics, the leaf being in them immediately protruded from the bark. It is only
in the woody plants of cold cUmates, therefore, that we are to look for buds ; and in them no new part is
added, whether proper to the leaf or flower, without the intervention of a bud. P'or when the young shoot
is produced, it is at the same time furnished with new buds, which are again extended into new shoots in
the following spring ; and thus the bud is to be regarded as forming, not only the cradle but also the winter
quarters of the shoot, for which its coat of tiled and glutinous scales seems admirably well adapted. It is
found chiefly in the extremity, or on the surface of the young shoot or branch, and but rarely on the stem,
except it be at the collar where it produces suckers. It is also generated for the most part in the axil of
the leaves, as may be seen by inspecting the annual shoot of almost any tree at random, though not uni-
versally so ; for to this rule there exists a curious and singular exception in the bud of the platanus, which
is generated in the very centre of the base of the foot-stalk, and is not discoverable till after the fall of
the leaf But how are the buds formed which are thus developed ? Malpighi thought they were formed
from the pith or cellular tissue, which the latter regarded as viscera destined for the elaboration of the sap
and protrusion of future buds. Du Hamel thinks the exterior scales of the bud originate in the interior
part of the bark, and Knight relates an experiment from which he thinks it follows that the buds
are formed from the descending proper juice. But whatever may be the actual origin of the bud, it
is evident that its developement does not take place except through the medium of the proper juice,
which has been elaborated in the leaves of preceding buds, and originally in those of the plumelet ;
as the young bud does not make its appearance till the leaves of the preceding buds have expanded,
and will not ultimately succeed if deprived of them too soon.
1556. Bulbs are so very similar to buds both in their origin and developement as to require no specific
investigation.
1557. The leaf. When the leaves burst from the expanding bud, and even long before that period, as
may be seen by the dissection of the bud in the winter, they are complete in all their parts. H^nce it is
obvious that the leaf, like the young shoot, effects its final developement by means of the intro-susception
of new particles throughout the whole of its dimensions : and yet this law of developement is not common
to all leaves whatever, for the leaves of Uliaceous plants extend chiefly at the point of their junction with
the bulb. The effect perhaps of their peculiarity of structure, in being formed of parallel tubes which ex-
tend throughout their whole length, without those transverse and branching fibres that constitute what are
called the nerves of the leaves of woody plants
1558. The flower and fruit. When the flower bursts from the expanding bud, and even long before that
period, it is already complete in all its parts, as may be seen also by the dissection of the bud in
winter. Linnaeus represents the pistil as originating in the pith, the stamens in the wood, and the
corolla and calyx in the inner and outer bark respectively: but this account of their origin, though ex-
tremely plausible at first sight, will not bear the test of minute examination, being contradicted by the ana-
tomy of the parts themselves; particularly in the case of compound flowers. Knight in investigating the
organisation of the apple and pear, endeavored to ascertain the origin of the several parts by tracing the
organs of the fruit-stalk to their termination. In the fruit-stalk he thought he could discover the pith the
central tubes, spiral tubes, and tubes of the bark, together with its epidermis : and in tracing them to their
termination, he thought the pith seemed to end in the pistils; the central vessels in the stamens, after
diverging round the core and approaching again in the eye of the fruit ; and the bark and epidermis
in the two external skins. Hence he infers that the flower is a prolongation of the pith, wood, and
bark. A question of some considerable importance has arisen out of this subject : does the flower or
fruit elaborate sap for its own developement, or is it supplied with nourishment from the leaf? By
placing small branches of the apple, pear, and vine, with blossoms not expanded, in a decoction of logwood
Knight found that the central vessels were colored by the decoction. By means of a similar experiment
on the same subjects after the fruit was formed, the coloring matter was traced through the mass of the
fruit to the base of the stamina. And hence ic appears that the flower and fruit do possess the power
of elaborating sap for their own developement. Knight infers from the foregoing data, that the blos-
som is nourished from the alburnum, by means of the mingling of the proper juice, which the alburnum
may be supposed to contain with the sap in its ascent.
Sect. V. Anomalies of Vegetable Developement.
1559. A deviation from the general laws of developement is occasioned by the interven-
tion of some accidental cause ; or of some cause operating permanently in certain sub-
jects. Hence the anomaly may regard the developement either of an individual or a
species, and may occur either in the root, stem, branch, leaf, bud, flower, or fruit, ac-
cording to the circumstances in which it is placed ; or it may effect the habit, duration,
or physical virtues of the plant.
Book I. ANOMALIES OF VEGETABLE DEVELOPEMENT.
245
1560. The root. According to the general laws of vegetable developement, plants of
the same species are furnished with the same species of root — not producing at one time
a woody or fibrous root, and at another time a bulbous root. And yet it is found that
there are cases in which changes of this kind do occur. If part of the root of a tree
planted by a pond or river, protrudes beyond the bank so as to be
partially immersed, it divides at the extremity into innumerable
ramifications, or sends out innumerable fibres from the surface,
which become again subdivided into fibres still more minute, and
give to the whole an appearance something resembling that of the
tail of a fox ; which has accordingly been denominated by Du
Hamel the fox-tail-root. {Jig. 231.)
1561. The root of the Phleum pratcnse, when growing in a moist soil, which
it naturally affects, is uniformly fibrous ; but when growing in a dry soil, where
it is also often to be found, it is furnished with a bulbous root. The same is
the case with the alopecurus geniculatus ; which, when growing in its native
marshes, protrudes a fibrous root, though, when growing in a very dry situation,
as on the top of a dry wall, it is found to be furnished with an ovate and juicy
bulb. This anomaly also seems to be merely the result of a provision of nature
by which the plant is endowed with the capacity of collecting a supply of ^
moisture suited to existing circumstances, and hence of adapting itself to the;
soil in which it grows. ^
1562. The roots of Utricularla mirwr, which consist of a number of slender t
and hair- like filaments, exhibit the singular anoma'y of being furnished with a
multitude of small and membraneous bladders, each containing a transparent
and watery fluid, and a small bubble of air, by means of which the plant is kept floating in the water.
1563. The descending root, an anomaly which attends some perennials, is at first spindle-shaped and per-
pendicular, sending out some lateral fibres : but dying at the luwer extremity in the course of the succeed-
ing winter, and protruding new fibres from the remaining portion, and even from the lower portion of the
stem, in the course of the following spring, which by descending into the soil, draw down the plant with
them, so that part of what was formerly stem is now converted into root. This process is repeated every
year, and by consequence a portion of the stem is made to descend every year into the earth. The
anomaly may be exemplified in the roots of Valeriana dioioa, tanacetum vulgare, and oxalis acetosella;
and will also account for the bitten and truncated appearance of scabiosa succisa, or devil's-bit.
1564. The beet-root, if dissected when about a year old, presents the singular anomaly of being already
furnished with from five to eight distinct and concentric circles of longitudinal tubes or sap-vessels, im-
bedded at regular intervals in its pulp ; whereas other biennial roots form only an individual circle each
year, and are, consequently, at no time furnished with more than two.
1565. Migratory roots depend on a principle similar to the foregoing. If the stem of a descending root
happens to be creeping or procumbent instead of being erect, then the lateral shoots from above are carried
forward in the direction of that procumbency, so that in the course of a few years the plant has actually
changed its place by so much as the stem has been converted into a root. This is well exemplified in the
genus Iris, which, as it enlarges in circumference, dies in the centre and presents a ring of plants instead
of a solitary one. In the case of some aquatics, which float about on the surface of the water as they hap-
pen to be driven by the winds, the whole plant may be said to be migratory, as in the case of the genus
Lemna, and some marine plants.
_ 1566. Roots changed to branches and branches to roots. If the stem of a young plum or cherry tree, but
particularly of a willow, is taken in the autumn and bent so as that one half of the top may be laid in the
earth, one half of the root being at the same time taken carefully out, but sheltered at first from the cold
and then gradually exposed to it, and the remaining part of the top and root subjected to the same process
in the following year, the branches of the top will become roots, and the ramifications of the root will
become branches, protruding leaves, flowers, and fruit in due season.
1567. If the stem of a tree planted by a pond or river is so bent in its growth as to
come near to the surface of the water and to be occasionally immersed in it, it will
sometimes send out from the under surface a multitude of shoots that will descend into
the water, and develope themselves in the manner of the fox-tail-root. Sometimes it
happens that a stem, instead of assuming the cylindrical form common to the species,
assumes a compressed and flattened form similar to the herbage of the cactus as in the
fir- tribe, ash, &c.
1568. The anomaly of the flattened stem {fig. 232.) is accounted for by Du
Hamel by supposing that an unnatural graft must have taken place in the
leaf-bud ; and so united shoots that would otherwise have been distinct.
Sometimes the stem is disfigured by accidental tumors or bunches projecting
from the surface, and forming ultimately what are called knots in the wood.
They are very common in the oak and elm, and are produced perhaps by
means of some obstruction in the channel of the sap's motion, by which the
vessels become convoluted and swell up into a bunch.
1569. But bunches are also to be met with on the stem of herbaceous plants,
as on that of the carduus pratensis ; of which you will often find a portion
near the top swollen out into an egg-shaped or egg-oblong bunch, extending
from an inch to two inches in length, and about an inch across. If this
bunch is cut open in the month of August, it will be found to contain several
large and white maggots. It has consequently been occasioned by the
puncture of the parent insect depositing its eggs. It does not seem to affect
the general health of a vigorous plant, though it might prove seriously in-
jurious to a weak one.
1570. Bundled stem. Sometimes two or more contiguous stems, extending
in the process of their growth till they meet and press against one another,
become incorporated at length into one, and form a sort of bimdle. This is
what may be termed a natural graft, in opposition to an artificial graft, of
which it is the model and prototype. The natural graft is always effected
by means of the union of the liber of the respective stems composing it ; so
that the perfection of the art of grafting consists in applying the liber of the
graft and stock together in such a manner as shall most facilitate their
jncorporation. ,
24«:
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
1 571 . If the branch of a tree is dtuated as in the foregoing case of the stem, 80 as to
be partially or periodically immersed in water, it will send out also the same sort of
brush-like shoots.
Vm Jhlnchcs or knots, exhibitingaplexusof young shoots {fig-^lSQ a.) issuing from nearly the same point,
ossing In ^1 directions, and finally incorporatmg together oy means of a sort ot natural graft, frequently
233
disfigure the branch. These bunches are frequently to be met with ou the branches of the birch-tree, and are
known among the peasantry of Scotland by the name of witches' knots. Thoy are occasioned, like the bun-
ches of the stem, by some obstruction in the channel of the sap or proper juice. A pecuhar sort of knot or
bunch is also formed on the branches of the dog-rose. The - -
nucleus, which is generally from an inch to an inch and a half
in diameter, is covered with a long and winged shag, first of a
green and then of a purple color, presenting the appearance
of a small bunch of moss. {fig. 234.) It has been occasioned
like that of the stem of the thistle, by the puncture of an
insect depositing its eggs in the tender shoot ; for if it is cut
open about the month of August, it contains maggots.
These anomalies remind us always of that singular disease in
the human species, the Plica polonica.
1573. The bud. The regular developement of
the bud is also often prevented by means of the
puncture of insects, and converted into a large
globular tumor.
1574. The gall tumor is very often effected by a species of
Cynips that lances its piercer into the heart of the bud while
yet tender, and penetrates with its saw into the very pith ; in-
jecting at the same time a drop of the corroding liquor con.
tained in its bag, and then laying its eggs. The bud being thus wounded, and the juices corrupted by
the injected poison, the circulation is not only impeded, but a fermentation is induced which bums the
contiguous parts and changes their color. The extravasated juice flows round the egg, and is there accu •
mulated and converted into a sort of spongy lump which vegetates and augments till it forms what is
called a gall. The gall thus formed affords both shelter and nourishment to the young maggot, which,
after being converted into a fly, pierces its enclosure and launches into the open ai'r. The most remark-
able of such galls are those produced on the oak-tree, and known in this country by the vulgar name of
oak-apples, [fig. 2336.) The bud of the willow, particularly salix helix, is apt always to be punctured by
insects and converted into a gall. But the conversion is not always complete ; and in this case the shoot
remains dwarfish, and the leaves, which are now protruded from nearly the same point, assume some-
thing of the figure of a rose. Hence it has obtained the common name of the rose- willow. The galls of
the salvia pomifera, formed in the above manner, are said to be of a very pleasant flavor, and are esteemed
a great delicacy in eastern countries.
1575. The leaves^ like the buds, are also frequently chosen for the nidus of in-
sects, and disfigured with galls or excrescences. But the most remarkable gall
produced on the leaf, and indeed the most remarkable and important of all galls,
is that which is so extremely useful in the arts of dyeing and making ink, the nut-gall
of the shops.
1576. The nut-gall is generated on the leaf of a species of oak that grows plentifully in the Levant, and
is so well known in commerce as to require no particular description. It is occasioned by the puntture of
the Cynips quercifolii, which deposits its egg in the substance of the leaf, by making a small perforation on
the under surface. Galls and tumors are to be found on the leaves of many plants ; and indeed almost all
leaves are liable to deformities, giving them a bUstered, wrinkled, or curled appearance ; and often pro-
ducing disease.
1577. The excess or deficiency of leaves protruded in a group sometimes constitutes the anomaly, as in
the case of the trefoils.
1578. Sometimes in the natural figure of the leaf itself, as in asparagus oificinalis, where they are bristle-
shaped ; salsola kaU, awl-shaped; and alium cepa,.in which they are tubular, tapering to a point.
But one of the most remarkable anomalies of figure is that which occurs in the leaves of the genus
Sarracenia, of which the lower portion is tubular, ascending, and "Bpproaching to funnel-shaped, or
rather pitcher-shaped reversed, with a flattened and concave limb attached by the one side to the orifice of
the tube, and constituting the upper portion of the leaf IJnnaeus, who was acquainted with this singula-
rity of structure, accounted for it by supposing that it was an institution of nature, meant for the purpose«f
furnishing the plant with a sui)ply of water, which it could thus catch and retain in the leaf. But as some
species of the genus do not readily admit water notwithstanding their capacity to retain it, this hypothesis
is regarded by Sir J. E. Smith as being extremely doubtful, who accordingly offers a different solution.
Book I. ANOMALIES OF VEGETABLE DEVELOPEMENT. 247
founded ujion the following facts. An insect of the Sphex or Ichneumon kind, had been observed by one
of the gardeners of the botanic garden at Liverpool, to drag several large flies to a leaf of sarracenia
adunca, and to force them into the tubular part of it. On examination the leaf was found to be about half
filled with water, in which the flies were now struggling ; the other leaves were also examined, and were
found crammed with dead or drowning flies. The leaves of sarracenia purpurea are said to exhibit also
the same phenomena, and seem peculiarly well adapted to entrap and confine flies, by having the margin
beset with inverted hairs, rendering the escape of such insects as may have accidentally fallen into the
watery tube, or are intentionally forced into it, impracticable ; so that the putrid exhalation from the dead
insects contained in the leaf often offends the nostrils, even in passing near the plant. Hence Sir J. E.
Smith infers, that the growth of the plant is perhaps benefited by means of the air evolved by the dead
flies, which the water has been intended to tempt, and the leaves to entrap and retain. This ingenious
conjecture is, no doubt, sufficiently plausible as far as the plant may be affected ; but cannot be regarded as
quite satisfactory till such time as it shall have been shown that the health of the plant is injured when
insects are prevented from approaching it.
1579. The •nepenthes disUllatoria exhibits also an anomaly similar to that of sarracenia, holding
an ounce or two of a fluid which appears to be secreted from the leaf, and to be intended as a
lure to insects, which gain admission either by the spontaneous opening of the lid, or by forcibly raising it
themselves. The consequence is that they fall into the fluid and are drowned, no insect being capable
of living in it except a certain small quilla or shrimp, with a protuberant back, which, according to Hum-'
phius, sometimes crawls inte it and can live there. To this phenomenon Sir J. E. Smith applies the same
explication as above, which is of course liable to the same objection.
1580. The figure of the leaf, however singular, is generally the same throughout the same individual, ex-
cept in the case of accidental deformity, and yet there are exceptions even to this rule. For sometimes
the lower leaves of a plant are entire while the upper leave.s are divided, as occurs in a variety of mountain-
ous plants, such as burnet, saxifrage, anise, coriander ; arid sometimes the lower leaves are divided while
the upper leaves are entire, as in the case of a variety of aquatics, particularly ranunculus aquaticus, in
which the lower leaves are capillary and immersed, and the upper leaves flat and circular, floating on the
surface of the water. But sometimes the dissimilitude of the leaves is still more remarkable. The Chi-
nese mulberry, a Botany Bay tree, has not two leaves alike in form on the whole plant. And lastly, there
are some plants, as in the case of the fungi, that are wholly destitute of leaves, and hence called
aphyllous ; while there are others, as in the case of the fuci, that seem to be wholly leaf.
1581. The principal anomaly of the Jlower, is that by which one of its parts is unduly
augmented, to the exclusion or diminution of some of the rest. The flower is then said
to be luxuriant, and comprises the three following varieties, the multiplicate, the full,
and the proliferous flower.
1582. The multiplicate flower, is sometimes, though rarely, occasioned by an unusual multiplication of the
divisions of the calyx, as in dianthus caryophyllus, and some of the Alpine grasses. But the anomaly
most generally consists in the undue multiplication of the divisions of the corolla, by the conversion of part
of the stamens into petals which is occasionally to be met with both in monofjetalous and polypetalous
flowers. It occurs but seldom, however, in flowers growing in their natural state and habit, though now
and then a double flower is met with even in such circumstances.
1583. The full flower is generally described to be that in which the divisions of the corolla are so multi-
plied as to exclude the stamens and pistils wholly by means of their conversion into petals ; which conver-
sion is most readily effected in polypetalous flowers, such as the tulip, poppy, pink, and ranunculus ; mo-
nopetalous flowers seldom being found full. This complete metamorphose is always either the effect of
cultivation, or of some concurrence of natural circumstances analogous to it ; and is indeed one of the
principal objects of the art of the florist ; the beauty of the flower, according to general estimation, being
thus much augmented. In the full flower the stamens are almost always converted into petals, whence we
should perhaps infer their identity of origin. But the pistil is often converted into a leaf, as may be seen
by inspecting the flower of the double-blossomed cherry, which generally protrudes from the centre a leaf
in miniature. But a flower may become full also by the multiplication of the parts of the nectary, as is
sometimes the case in the genus Aquilegia, which produces full
flowers in three different ways — by the multiplication of the'petals
to the exclusion of the nectaries, by the multiplication of the
nectaries to the exclusion of the petals, and by the multiplication
of the nectaries while the proper petals remain. There are also
some peculiarities in the manner in which compound flowers
become full. Radiated flowers become full sometimes by the
multiplication of the floscules of the ray to the exclusion of
the floscules of the disk, as in helianthus, anthemis, and cen-
taurea ; and sometimes by the multiplication of the floscules of
the disk to the exclusion of those of the ray, as in matricaria and
bellis.
1584. The proliferous flower {fig. 235.) is that out of which
another flower or another shoot is produced. It is seldom
found but in flowers already full ; from the centre of which,
that is, from the ovary or pistil, it sometimes happens that a
new flower and foot-stalk is produced, if the flower is simple, as
in the ranunculus, anemone, and pink ; or several flowers and
foot-stalks, issuing from the common calyx, if the flower is com-
pound, as in the daisy, hawkweed, and marigold ; or a new
umbel issuing from the centre of the original umbel, if the
flower is umbellate, as in cornus. Sometimes the proliferous issue of the full flower is not itself a flower,
but a shoot furnished with leaves, as has been sometimes, though rarely, observed in the case of the
anemone and rose. Such are the several varieties of luxuriant flowers, constituting anomalies of excess :
but it sometimes happens that there is also in the flower an anomaly of defect in the absence of one of its
parts. Examples of this sort are occasionally to be met with in the flowers of cherianthus cheri, cam-
panula pentagonea, and tussilago anandria, in which the corolla is altogether wanting, though proper to
the species ; and in this case the flower is -said to be mutilated. Sometimes the anomaly consists in the
situation of the flower, which is generally protruded from the extremity or sides of the branches. But
the flower of the ruscus is protruded from the surface of the leaf; or it may consist in the relative situ-
ation of the several parts of the flower. In simple flowers the pistil is invariably central with regard to the
stamens ; but in compound flowers the pistils are often situated in the circumference and the stamens in
the centre. This seems to be the case also with some monoecious plants having their flowers on the same
peduncle, as in the examples of the carex and arum, in which the stamens are more central than the pistils.
Sometimes the anomaly consists in the color of the corolla, which will often deviate even in the same
species. The general color of the common cowslip {Primula veris) is a bright yellow ; but an individual
is occasionally to be met with, though very rarely, in which the limb or expansion of the corolla is purple
with a line of yellow around the border. Sometimes the anomaly consists in the time of flowering. The
season proper for the flowering of the apple and pear tree is the month of May ; but trees of that sort have
K 4
248 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
been known to protrude both buds and blossoms even in the month of November. Some plants, however,
blow only in the winter, as in the case of the laurustinus and arbutus unedo ; while others blow only in
the night and refuse to expand their petals to the light of the sun. Sucli is the case of the cactus grandi-
florus, that produces one of the most magnificent of flowers ; but blows only in the night ; undjs hence
known also by the appellation of the night-blowing cereus. Some j^^^ilJI^^\J2S6
plants, such as the ferns, aig£e, and fungi, are altogether destitute
of conspicuous flowers ; and are lience called Cryptognmous ; but
in this respect the fig is perhaps the most singular. The flowers,
which in other cases uniformly precede the fruit, are in this case
concealed within what is generally denominated the fruit ; as may
be proved by cutting open a green fig (//?. 535.) by means :j of a
longitudinal section passing through its axis. Great numbers of
flowers are then discovered lining a sort of cavity in the axis
of the fruit ; and hence what is called the fruit or fig, in common
language, is rather the receptacle of the flower than any thing else.
Most plants have their flowers furnished both with stamens and
pistils, and are hence hermaphrodites; but there are also many genera that have the stamens in one
flower and the pistils in another, both on the same individual ; these are denominated Monoecious plants,
and are exemplified in the oak and hazel. Other genera have the flowers with stamens on one plant, and
the flowers with pistils on another ; these are denominated Dioecious, and are exemplified in the hop and
willow. Others have flowers of all the previous kinds on one and the same plant ; these are denominated
Polygamous, and are exemplified in the genus Atriplex.
1585. The fruit. The anomaUes of the fruit may aflfect either its number, figure, color, or appendages.
The common hazel-nut produces in general but one kernel in one shell ; but in the course of opening a
considerable number, you will now and then meet with one containing two or three kernels in a siiell.
This is perhaps best accounted for by supposing, with Du Hamel, that it is the result of an unnatural graft
effected in the bud ; though some think that the shell does always contain the rudiments of two or more
kernels, although it rarely happens that more than one is developed. But if two apples or pears are de-
veloped in an incorporated state, which is a case that now and then occurs, 237
it is no doubt best accounted for by the graft of Du Hamel. Sometimes
the anomaly consists in the figure of the fruit, which is deformed by
tumors or excrescences, in consequence of the bite of insects, or injuries
of weather producing warts, moles, or specks. Sometimes it consists in
the color, producing green melons and white cucumbers. Sometimes it
consists in an appendage of leaves, {fig. 237.)
1586. HaUt. Somfe plants, which, when placed in a rich soil, grow to a
great height, and affect the habit of a tree, are, when placed in a poor
soil, converted into dwarfish shrubs. This may be exemplified'm. the case
of the box-tree ; and so also in the case of herbaceous plants ; as in that
of myosotis, which in dry situations is but short and dwarfish, wliile in
moist situations it grows to such a size as to seem to be altogether a dif-
ferent plant. The habit of the plant is sometimes totally altered by means
of cultivation ; the pyrus sativa, when growing in a wild and uncultivated
state, is furnished with strong thorns ; but when transferred to a rich and
cultivated soil the thorns disappear. This phenomenon, which was ob-
served by Linnseus, was regarded as being equivalent to the taming of
animals. But this explication is, like some others of the same great
botanist, much more plausible than profound, in place of which Professor Wildenow substitutes the fol-
lowing. The thorns protruded in the uncultivated state of the plant, are buds rendered abortive from want
of nourishment, which when supplied with a sufficiency of nourishment, are converted into leaves and
branches.
1587. Physical virtues. When plants are removed from their native soil and taken
into a state of culture, it alters not only their habit but their physical virtues. Thus the
sour grape is rendered sweet, the bitter pear pleasant, the dry apricot pulpy, the prickly
lettuce smooth, and the acrid celery wholesome. Pot-herbs are also rendered more tender
by means of cultivation, and better fitted for the use of man ; and so also are all our fine
varieties of fruit.
1588. Duration. Plants are either annuals, biennials, or perennials, and the species
is uniformly of the same class. But it has been found that some plants which are
annuals in a cold climate, such as that of Sweden, will become perennials in a hot
climate, such as that of the West Indies ; this anomaly has been exemplified in tro-
paeolum, beet-root, and malva arborica ; and, on the contrary, some plants, which are
perennials in hot climates, are reduced to annuals when transplanted into a cold climate ;
this has been exemplified in mirabilis and ricinus.
Sect. VI. Of the Sexuality of Vegetables.
1589. The doctrine that plants are of di^erc7it sexes, and which constitutes the found-
ation of the Linnaean system, though but lately established upon the basis of logical in-
duction, is by no means a novel doctrine. It appears to have been entertained even
among the original Greeks, from the antiquity of their mode of cultivating figs and palms.
Aristotle and Theophrastus maintained the doctrine of the sexuality of vegetables;
and Pliny, Dioscorides, and Galen, adopted the division by which plants were then
distributed into male and female ; but chiefly upon the erroneous principle of habit or
aspect, and vvithout any reference to a distinction absolutely sexual. Pliny seems to
admit the distinction of sex in all plants whatever, and quotes the case of a palhi-tree as
exhibiting the most striking example.
1590. LinncBus, reviewing witli his usual sagacity the evidence on which the doctrine rested, and perceiv-
ing that it was supported by a multiplicity ot the most incontrovertible facts, resolved to devote his labors
peculiarly to the investigation of the subject, and to prosecute his inquiries throughout the whole extent
of the vegetable kingdom ; which great and arduous enterprise he not only undertook, but accomplished
with a success equalled to the unexampled industry with which he pursued it. So that by collecting into
one body all the evidence of former discovery or experiment, and by adding much that was original of his
own, he found himself at length authorised to draw the important conclusion — that no seed is perfected
Boor I.
IMPREGNATION OF THE SEED.
249
without the previous agency of the pollen ; that the doctrine of the sexes of plants is consequently founded
i n fact.
1591. Proofs from the economy of the aquatics. Many
plants of this class that vegetate for the most jiart wholly
immersed in water, and often at a considerable depth,
gradually begin to elevate their stems as the season of
Howering advances, when they at last rear their heads
above the surface of the water, and present their oj)ening
blossoms to the sun, till the petals have begun to fade,
when they again gradually sink down to the bottom to
ripen and to sow tl)L>ir seeds. This very peculiar economy
may be exemplified in the case of ruppia maritima, and
several species of potamogeton, common in our ponds
and ditches; from which we may fairly infer, that the
flowers rise thus to the surface merely to give the pollen
an opportunity of reaching the stigma uninjured. Eut
the most remarkable example of this kind is that of the
valisneria spiralis {Jig. 238.), a plant that grows in the
ditches of Italy. The plant is of the class Diceda, pro-
ducing its fertile flowers on the extremity of a long and
slender stalk (a) twisted spirally like a corkscrew, which
uncoiling of its own accord, about the time of the open-
ing of the blossom, elevates the flowers to the surface of
the water, and leaves them to expand in the open air.
The barren flowers {Jb) are produced in great numbers upon
short upright stalks issuing from a different root, from
which they detach themselves about the time of the
expansion of the female blossom, mounting up like little air-bubbles, and suddenly expanding when they
reach the surface, where they float about in great numbers among the female blossoms, and often cling to
them in clusters, so as to cover them entirely ; thus bringing the stamens and pistils into immediate con-
tact, and giving the anthers an opportunity of discharging their pollen immediately over the stigma.
When this operation has been performed, the now uncoiled stalk of the female plant begins again to resume
its original and spiral form, and gradually sinks down, as it gradually rose, to ripen its fruit at the bottom of
the water, .We have gathered (in 1819) these stalks, in the canals near Padua, upwards of ten feet long.
Sect. VII.
Impregnation of the Seed.
1592. The stamens and pistils are the male and female organs of vegetable generation, and
the pollen is the substance by which the impregnation of the seed is effected ,- but how^ is the
pollen conveyed to the ovary ? And what is the amount of its action ?
1593. Access of the pollen. When the stamens and pistils are situated near each other, the elastic spring
with which the anther flies open, will generally be sufficient to disperse the pollen, so as that part of it
must infaUibly reach the stigma in such flowers as do not perfect their stamens and pistils at the same
time. The pollen is very generally conveyed from the anther to the stigma through the instrumentality of
bees, and other insects peculiar to a species. The object of the insect in the discovery of honey, in quest of
which, whilst it roves from flower to flower, and rummages the recesses of the corolla, it unintentionally
covers its body with pollen, which it conveys to the next flower it visits, and brushes ott'as it acquired it by
rummaging for honey ; so that part of it is almost unavoidably deposited on the stigma, and impregnation
thus ettected. Nor is this altogether so much a work of random as it at first appears. For it has been
observed that even insects, which do not ujjon the whole confine themselves to one species of flower, will
yet very often remain during the whole day upon the species they happen first to alight on in the morning ;
hence the impregnation of the females of Dioecious plants where no male is near. Hence also a sort of
natural crossing of the breed of plants which might probably otherwise degenerate.
1594. Fecundation of the ovary. Admitting that the pollen is conducted to the ovary
through the channel of the tubes of the style, how after all is the ovary fecundated j or
the seed rendered fertile ? On this subject naturalists have been much divided ; and ac-
cording to their several opinions have been classed under tlie respective appellations of
ovarists, animalculists, and epigenesists.
1595. Ovarist. According to the opinion of the Ovarist, the embryo pre-exists in the ovary, and is
fecundated by the agency of the pollen as transmitted to it through the style.
1596. Ammalculid. But the theory of the ovarists is not without its difficulties ; for as the embryo is
never found to make its appearance till after fecundation, it has been thought that it must necessarily pre-
exist in the pollen of the anther; from which it is conveyed to the ovary through the medium of the style,
and afterwards matured. This theory was founded upon that of Leuwenhoeck, with regard to animal
generation ; which supposes the pre-existence of animalcula in the seminal principle of the male ; the
animalcula being conveyed in coitu to .the ovary of the female, where alone they are capable of
developement.
l.W?. Epigcnesist. The difficulties inseparable from both theories, together with the phenomenon of
hybrid productions, have given rise also to a third ; this is the Theory of the Epigenesists, who maintain that
the embryo pre-exists neither in the ovary nor pollen, but is generated by the union of the fecundating
princii)les of the male and female organs ; the former being the fluid issuing from the pollen when it
explodes, and the latter, the fluid that exudes from the surface of the stigma when mature. But if
the seed is generated from the union of two fecundating principles which form an intermediate offspring,
then female plants of the class Diaecia ought occasionally to produce seeds whose offspring shall be Jler-
inaphrodite, or at least Monoecious, which was never yet known to happen,
1598. Hybrids. Although the arguments of the epigenesists are by no means satis-
factory, yet it cannot be denied, that hybrid productions partake of the properties both of
the male and female liom w hich they spring. This was long ago proved to be the fact
by Bradley, and more recently confirmed by the experiments of Knight; as well as hap-
pily converted to the advantage of the cultivator.
1599. Vegetable crossing. Observing that farmers who rear cattle improve theprogeny by means of crossing
the breed. Knight argued from analogy, that the same improvement might be introduced into vegetables.
His principal object was that of procuring new and improved varieties of the apple and pear to supply the
place of such as had become diseaseil and unproductive. But as the necessary slowness of all experiments
of the kind, with regard to the fruit in question, did not keep pace with the ardor of his desire to obtain in-
formation on the subject, he was induced to institute some tentative exiieriments upon the common |)ea, —
a i)lant well suited to his purpose, both from its quickness, of growth, and from the many varieties in form.
250' SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pint II.
siae, and color, which it afforded. In 1787, a degenerate sort of pea was growing in his garden, which had
not recovered its former vigor even when removed to a better soil. Being th us a good subject of experiment,
the male organs of a dozen of its immature blossoms were destroyed, and the female organs left entire.
"When the blossoms had attained their mature state, the pollen of a very large and luxuriant grey pea was
introduced into the one-half of them, but not into the^other. The pods of both grew equally ; but the seeds
of the half that were unimpregnated withered away without having augmented beyond the size to which
they had attained before the blossoms expanded. The seeds of the other half were augmented and
matured as in the ordinary process of impregnation ; and exhibited no perceptible difterence from those
of other plants of the same variety ; perhaps because the external covering of the seed was furnished
entirely by the female. But when they were made to vegetate in the succeeding spring, the ertect of
the experiment was obvious. The plants rose with great luxuriance, indicating in their stem, leaves, and
fruit, the influence of this artificial impregnation ; the seeds produced were of a dark grey. By im-
pregnating the flowers of this variety with the pollen of others, the color was again changed, and new
varieties obtained, superior in every respect to the original on which the experiment was first made, and
attaining in some cases, to a height of more than twelve feet. {Phil. Trans. 1789.) Knight thinks his
experiments on this subject afford examples of superfoetation, a phenomenon, the existence of which has
been admitted amongst animals, but of which the proof amongst vegetables is not yet quite satisfactory.
Of one species of superfoetation he has certainly produced examples ; that is, when, by impregnating a
white pea-blossom with the pollen both of a white and grey pea, white and grey seeds were obtained.
But of the other species of superfoetation, in vi?hich one seed is supposed to be the joint issue of two males,
the example is not quite satisfactory. Such a production is perhaps possible, and further experiments
may probably ascertain the facti but it seems to be a matter of mere curiosity, and not apparently con-
nected with any views of ytility.
1600. The practicability qf improving the species, is rendered strikingly obvious by these experiments ;
and the ameliorating effect is the same, whether by the male or female ; as was ascertained by impreg-
nating the largest and most luxuriant plants with the ixjUen of the most diminutive and dwarfish, or
tlie contrary. By such means any number of varieties may be obtained, according to the will of the
experimenter, amongst which some will no doubt be suited to all soils and situations. Knight's ex-
periments of this kind were extended also to wheat j but not with equal success. For tiiough some
very good varieties were obtained, yet they were found not to be permanent. But the success of his
experiments on the apple-tree were equal to his hopes. This was, indeed, his principal object, and no
means of obtaining a successful issue were left untried. 'I'he plants which were obtained in this case
were found to possess the good quahties of both of the varieties employed, uniting the greatest health
and luxuriance with the finest and best-flavored fruit.
1601. Improved varieties of every fruit and esculent plant may be obtained by means of artificial impreg-
nation, or crossing, as they were obtained in the cases already stated. Whence Knight thinks, that this
promiscuous impregnation of species has been intended by nature to take place, and that it does in fact
often take place, for the purpose of correcting such accidental varieties as arise from seed, and of con-
fining them within narrower limits. All which is thought to be countenanced from the consideration of
the variety of methods which nature employs to disperse the pollen, either by the elastic spring of the
anthers, the aid of the winds, or the instrumentality of insects. But although he admits the existence
of vegetable hybrids, that is, of varieties obtained from the intermixture of ditterent species of the same
genus, yet he does not admit the existence of vegetable mules, that is, of varieties obtained from the
intermixture of the species of different genera ; in attempting to obtain which he could never succeed,
in spite of all his efforts. Hence he suspects that where such varieties have been supposed to take place,
the former must have been mistaken for the latter. It may be said, indeed, that if the case exists in the
animal kingdom, why not in the vegetable kingdom ? to which it is, perhaps, difhcult to give a satisfactory-
reply. But from the narrow limits within which this intercourse is in all cases circumscribed, it scarcely
seems to have been the intention of nature that it should succeed even among animals. Salisbury is of a
different opinion, and considers {Hart. Trans, i. 364.) that new species may be created both by bees and
the agency of man ; and the recent experiments of Herbert, Sweet, and others, seem to confirm this
opinion. Sweet's experience leads him to conclude that the plants of all orders strictly natural may be
reciprocally impregnated with success, and he has already, in the nursery-gardens of Messrs. Colville,
produced many new geranise and rhoderacese.
1602. A singular or anomalous t^ffect of crossing, or extraneous impregnation, is the change sometimes un-
dergone by the seed or fruit which is produced by the blossom impregnated. These efiects are not uniform
results, but they are of frequent occurrence, and have attracted notice from a very early period. John Tur-
ner observes (Hort.Trans. v. 63.) that Theophrastus and Pliny {Theophrast. Hist.Plant. 1. ii. c.4.; I'liniiHist.
Nat. 1. xvii. c. 25.) seem to allude to it, and that the notion was entertained by Bradley, who, in his
New Improvements in Planting and Gardening, after giving directions for fertilising the female flowers
of the hazel with the pollen of the male, says, " By this knowledge we may alter the property and taste
of any fruit, by impregnating the one with the farina of another of the same class, as, for example, a
codlin with a pearmain, which will occasion the codlin so impregnated to last a longer lime ithan usual,
and be of a sharper taste; or if the winter fruit should be fecundated with the dust of the summer kinds,
they will decay before their usual time ; and it is from this accidental coupling of the farina of one kind with
the other, that in an orchard, where there is a variety of apples, even the fruit gathered from the same tree
differs in its flavor and times of ripening ; and, moreover, the seeds of those apples so generated, being
changed by that means from their natural qualities, will produce different kinds of fruit, if they are sown.
Turner, after quoting several instances, and, among others, one from the Philosophical Transactions
" concerning the effect which the farina of the blossoms of different sorts of apples had on the fruit of
a neighboring tree," states upwards of six cases of hybridised apples, that had come within his own
observation, and concludes with the remark, that if there does exist in fruits such a liability to change,
it will at once be evident to the intelligent cultivator how much care is requisite in growing melons,
cucumbers, &c. to secure their true characters, even without reference to saving seed for a future crop.
In the same volume of the Horticultural Transactions (p. 234.), an account is given of different-colored
peas being produced in the same pod by crossing the parent blossom. All these facts seem to contradict
the generally received opinion, that crossing only affects the next generation ; here it appears to affect
the embryo offspring ; and a gardener who had no keeping apples in his orchard, might communicate that
quality in part to his^summer fruit by borrowing the use of a neighbour's blossoms from a late variety. It
is probable, however, that such counter-impregnations do not take place readily ; otherwise the produce
of a common orchard would be an ever- varying round of monstrosities.
Sect. VIII. Changes consequent upon Impregnation.
1603. The peculiar changes consequent upon impregnation^ whether in the flowers or
fruit, may be considered as external and internal.
1604. External changes. At the period of the impregnation of the ovary the flower has attained to its
ultimate state of perfection, and displayed its utmost beauty of coloring and richness of perfume. But as
it is now no longer wanted, so it is no longer provided for in the economy of vegetation. Its period of
decline has commenced ; as is indicated, first by the decay of the stamens, then of the petals, and then of
the calyx, which wither and shrink up, and finally detach themselves from the fruit altogether, except in
«oine particular cascB in which one or other of them becomes permanent and falls only with the fruit. The
Book I. PROPAGATION OF THE SPECIES. 251
stigma exhibits also similar symptoms of decay, and the style itself often perishes. The part* oontiguoua
to the flower, such as the bractes and floral leaves, are sometimes also aflected ; and finally the whole
plant, at least in the case of annuals, begins to exhibit indications of decay. But while the flower wither*
and falls, the ovary is advancing to perfection, swelling and augmenting in size, and receiving now all the
nutriment by which the decayed parts were formerly supported. Its color begins to assume a deeper and
richer tinge j its figure is also often altered, and new parts are even occasionally added — wings, crests,
prickles, hooks, bloom, down. The common receptacle of the fruit undergoes also similar changes, becom-
ing sometimes large and succulent, as in the fig and strawberry ; and sometimes juiceless and indurated,
as in compound flowers.
IGO.'j. Jnternal changes. If the ovary is cut open as soon as it is first discoverable in the flower, it pre-
sents to the eye merely a pulpy and homogeneous mass. But if it is allowed to remain till immediately
before the period of its impregnation, it will now be found to be divisible into several distinct parts, exhi-
biting an apparatus of cells, valves, and membranes, constituting the pericarp, and sometimes the external
coats of the seed. In this case the umbilical cord is also to be distinguished ; but the embryo is not yet
visible. These changes, therefore, are to be attributed merely to the operation of the ordinary laws of
vegetable developement, and are not at all dependent upon impregnation. But impregnation has no
sooner taken place than its influence begins to be visible ; the umbilical cord, which was tbrmerly short
and distended, is now generally converted into a long and slender thread. Sometimes the position of the
seed is altered. Before impregnation the seeds of caryophyllus aromaticus and netrosideros gummifera,
are horizontal ; after impregnation they become vertical. Before impregnation the magnolia seeds are
erect; after impregnation they become inverted and pendulous. The figure of the seed is often also
altered in passing from its young to its mature state ; changing from smooth to angular, from tapering to
oval, from oval to round, and from round to kidney-shaped. But allseeds are not brought to maturity, of
which the rudiments may exist in the ovary. Lagcecia and hasselquistia, produce uniformly the rudi-
ments of two seeds, of which they mature but one. But the principal changes resulting from impregnation
are operated in the seed itself, which, though previously a homogeneous and gelatinous mass, is now con-
verted into an organised body, or embryo. Such are the phenomena, according to the description of
Gasrtner, accompanying or following the impregnation of all flowers producing seeds ; exceptions occur
where the fecundation is spurious and incomplete ; where the ovary swells, but exhibits no traces of perfect
seed within, as often happens in the vine and tamus; or when barren and fertile seeds are intermingled
together in the same ovary. This proceeds from some defect either in the quantity or quality of the pollen;
but rather in the quality, as it is not^ always plants having the most pollen that produce the most seeds.
The two stamens of the orchids fecundate 800O seeds, and the five stamens of tobacco fecundate 900 : while
the 50 stamens of barringtonia, the 230 of thea, and the 80 of the caryophilli, fecundate only two or three
ovaries.
Sect. IX. The Propagation of the Species.
1606. As the life of the vegetable, like that of the animal, is limited to a definite period,
and as a continued supply of vegetables is always wanted for the support of animals,
what we call art, or nature operating by means of the animal man, has taken care to
institute such means as shall secure the multiplying and perpetuating of the species in
all possible cases.
1607. Equivocal generation. It was long a vulgar error, countenanced even by the philosophy of the
times, that vegetables do often spring up from the accidental mixture of putrid water and earth, or other
putrid substances, in the manner of what was called the equivocal generation of animals ; or at the very
least, that the earth contains the principle of vegetable life in itself, which, in order to develope, it is only
necessary to expose to the action of the air. The former alternative of the error has been long ago re-
futed ; the latter has lost its hold, having been also refuted by Malpighi, who proved that the earth pro-
duces no plant without the intervention of a seed, or of some other species of vegetable germ deposited in
it by nature or by art.
1608. Propagation by seeds. When the seed has reached maturity in the due and
regular course of the developement of its several parts, it detaches itself sooner or later
from the parent plant, either singly or along with its pericarp, and drops into the soil,
where it again germinates and takes root, and springs up into a new individual. Such
is the grand means instituted by nature for the replenishing and perpetuating of the
vegetable kingdom.
1609. Dispersion of seed. If seeds were to fall into the soil merely by dropping down from the plant,
then the great mass of them, instead of germinating and springing up into distinct plants, would grow up
only to putrefy and decay ; to prevent which consequence
nature has adopted a variety of the most efficacious contri-
vances, all tending to the dispersion of the seed. The first
means to be mentioned, is that of the elasticity of the peri-
carp of many fruits, by which it opens when ripe, Avith a sort
of sudden spring, ejecting the seed with violence, and throw-
ing it some considerable distance from the plant. This may be
exemplified in a variety of cases ; the seeds of oats when ripe
are projected from thecalyx with such violence, that in a fine
and dry day you may even hear them thrown out with a
slight and sudden snap in passing through a field that is ripe.
The pericarp ofthcDorsiJerous Ferns [Jig. 239 a.) is furnished
with a sort of peculiar elastic ring (h), intended, as it wwuld
appear, for the very purpose of projecting the seeds. The
capsules of the cucumber, geranium geum, and fraxindla,
discharge their seeds also when ripe with an elastic jerk. But
the pericarj) of impatiens, which consists of one cell with
five valves, exhibits perhaps one of the best examples of this
mode of dispersion. If it is accidentally touched when ripe
it will immediately burst open, while the valves, coiling
themselves up in a spiral form, and springing from the stem,
discharge the contained seeds, and scatter them all around.
The bursting of the pericarp of some species of pines is also
worthy of notice. Ilie pericarp, which is a cone, remains
on the tree till the summer succeeding that on which it was
produced, the scales being still closed. But when the hot
weather has commenced and continued for some time, so as
to dry the cone thoroughly, the scales open of their own
252 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
accord with a sudden jerk, ejecting the contained seeds : and if a number of them happen to burst together,
which is often the case, the noise is such as to be heard at some considerable distance. The twisted awn of
avena fatua {Jig. 240.), or wild oat, as well as that of geranium cicutarium, and some others, seems to have
been intended particularly for the purpo.se of aiding the further dispersion of the seed, alter being discharged
from the plant or pericarp. This spiral awn or spring,
which'is beset with a multitude of fine and minute hairs,
possesses the property of contracting by means of drought,
and of expanding by means of moisture. Hence it remains
of necessity in a perpetual state of contraction or dilatation,
dependent upon change of weather ; from which, as well as
from the additional aid of the fine hairs, which act as so many
fulcra, and cling to whatever object they meet, the seed to
which it is attached is kept in continual motion till it either
germinates or is destroyed. The awn of barley, which is
beset with a multitude of little teeth all pointing to its
upper extremity, presents also similar phenomena. For
when the seed with its awn falls from the ear and lies flat
upon the ground, it is necessarily extended in its dimensions
by the moisture of the night, and contracted by the drought
of the day. But as the teeth prevent it from receding in
the direction of the point, it is consequently made to ad-
vance in the direction of the base of the seed, which is thus
often carried to the distance of many feet from the stalk on
which it grew. If any one is yet sceptical with regard to
the travelling capacity of the awn, let him only introduce
an awn of barley with the seed uppermost between his coat
and shirt sleeve at the wrist, when he walks out in the morn-
ing, and by the time he returns to breakfast, if he has
walked to any great distance, he will find it up at his arm-
pit. This journey has been effected by means of the con-
tinued motion of the arm, and consequently of the teeth of
the awn acting as feet to carry it forward.
1610. Where distance of dispersion is required, nature is
also furnished with a resource. One of the most common modes by which seeds are conveyed to a dis-
tance from their place of growth is that of the instrumentality of animals. Many seeds are thus carried to
a distance from their place of growth merely by their attaching themselves to the bodies of such animals
as may happen accidentally to come in contact with the plant in their search after food ; the hooks or hairs
with which one part or other of the fructification is often furnished serving as the medium of attachment,
and the seed being thus carried about with the animal till it is again detached by some accidental cause, and
at last committed to the soil. This may be exemplified in the case of the bidens and myosotis, in which
the hooks or prickles are attached to the seed itself ; or in the case of galium aparine and others, in which
they are attached to the pericarp ; or in the case of the thistle and the burdock, in which they are attached
to the general calyx. Many seeds are dispersed by animals in consequence of their pericarps being used
as food. This is often the case with the seeds of tlie drupe, as cherries, sloes, and haws, which birds
often carry away till they meet with some convenient place for devouring the pulpy i)ericarp, and
then drop the stone into the soil. And so also fruit is dispersed that has been lioarded for the winter,
though even with the view of feeding on the seed itself, as in the case of nuts hoarded up by squirrels,
which are often dispossessed by some other animal, that not caring for the hoard scatters and disperses it.
Sometimes the hoard is deposited in the ground itself, in which case part of it is generally found to take
root and to spring up into plants. Though it has been observed that the ground-squirrel often deprives the
kernel of its germ before it deposits the fruit it collects. Crows have been also observed to lay up acorns
and other seeds in the holes of fence-posts, which being either forgot or accidentally thrust out, fall ulti-
mately into the earth and germinate. But sometimes the seed is even taken into the stomach of the
animal, and afterwards deposited in the soil, having passed through it unhurt. This is often the case with
the seed of many species of berry, such as the mistletoe, which the thrush swallows and afterwards deposits
upon the boughs of such trees as it may happen to aligiit upon. The seeds of the loranthus americanus,
another parasitical plant, are said to be deposited in like manner on the branches of the cocoloba grandi-
flora, and other lofty trees ; as also the seeds of jthytolacca decandra, the berries of which are eaten by
the robin, thrush, and wild pigeon. And so also the seeds of currants or roans are sometimes deposited,
after having been swallowed by blackbirds or other birds, as may be seen by observing a currant-bush or
young roan-tree growing out of the cleft of another tree, where the seed has been left, and where there
may happen to have been a little dust collected by way of soil ; or where a natural graft may have been
effected by the insinuation of the radicle into some chink or cleft. It seems indeed surprising that any
seeds should be able to resist the heat and digestive action of the stomach of animals ; but it is undoubtedly
the fact. Some seeds seem even to require it. The seeds of magnolia glauca, which have been brought
to this country, are said to have generally refused to vegetate till after undergoing this process, and it is
known that some seeds will bear a still greater degree of heat without any injury. Spallanzani mentions
some seeds that germinated after having been boiled in water : and Du Hamcl gives an account of some
others that germinated even after having been exposed to a degree of heat measuring 9^° of Fahrenheit.
In addition to the instrumentality of brute animals in the dispersion of the seed might be added also that
of man, who, for purposes of utility or of ornament, not only transfers to his native soil seeds indigenous
to the most distant regions, but sows and cultivates them with care.
1611. The agencij of winds is one of the most effiictive modes of dispersion instituted by nature. Some
seeds are fitted for this mode of dispersion from their extreme minuteness, such as those of the mosses,
lichens, and fungi, which float invisibly on the air, and vegetate wherever they hapj)en to meet with a
suitable soil. Others are fitted for it by means of an attached wing, as in the case of the fir-tree and
liriodendron tulipifera, so that the seed, in falling from the cone or capsule, is immediately caught by the
wind, and carried to a distance. Others are peculiarly fitted for it by means ol their being furnished with
an aigrette or down, as in the case of the dandelion, goat's-beard, and thistle, as well as most plants of the
class Si/ngenesia ; the down of which is so large and light in proportion to the seed it supports, that it is
wafted on the most gentle breeze, and often seen floating through the atmosphere in great abundance at
the time the seed is ripe. Some have a tail, as in clematis vita alba. Others are fitted for this mode of
disj)ersion by means of^the structure of the pericarp, which is also wafted along with them, as in the case of
etaphylea trifolia, the inflated capsule of which seems as if obviously intended thus to aid the dispersion
of the contained seed by its exposing to the wind a large and distended surface with but little weight. And
so also in the case of the maple, elm, and ash, the capsules of which are furnished, like some seeds, with
a membranous wing, which when they separate from the plant the wind immediately lays hold of and
drives before it.
1612. The instrumentality of streains, rivers, and currents of the ocean, is a further means adopted by
nature for the dispersion of the seeds of vegetables. The mountain-stream or torrent washes down to
the valley the seeds which may accidentally fall into it, or which it may happen to sweep from its banks
when it suddenly overflows them. The broad and majestic river, winding along the extensive plain, and
traversing the continents of the world, conveys to the distance of many hundreds of miles the seeds that
may have vegetated at its source. Thus the southern shores of the Baltic are visited by seeds which grew
Book I. PROPAGATION OF THE SPECIES. 253
in the interior of Germany, and the western shores of the Atlantic by seeds that have been generated in-
the interior of America. I3ut fruits indigenous to America and the West Indies have sometimes been
found to be swept along by the currents of the ocean to the western shores of Europe. The fruit of
mimosa scandens, dolichos pruriens, guilandina bonduc, and anacardium occidentale, or cashew-nut, have
been thus known to be driven across the Atlantic to a distance of upwards of illKX) miles ; and although
the fruits now adduced as examples are not such as could vegetate on the coast on which they were thrown,
owing to soil or climate, yet it is to be believed that fruits may have been often thus transported to
climates or countries favo'rable to their vegetation.
1613. Propagation by gems. 'I'hough plants are for the most part propagated by means of seeds, yet
many of them are propagated also by means of gems ; that is, bulbs and buds.
1614. The cauUnary bulb is often the means of the propagation of the species : it generally appears in
the axil of the leaves, as in dentaria bulbifera and lilium bulbiferum ; or between the spokes of their
umbels, as in allium canadense ; in the midst of the spike of flowers, as in polygonum viviparum and
poa alpina. As plants of this last kind are mostly alpine, it has been thought to be an institution or
resource of nature to secure the propagation of the species in situations where the seed may fail to ripen.
1615. T/ie bud, though it does not spontaneously detach itself from the plant and form a new individual,
will yet sometimes strike root and develope its parts if carefully separated by art and planted in the earth :
but this is to be understood of the leaf-bud only, for the flower-bud, according to Mirbel, if so treated,
always perishes.
1616. Propagation by the leaves. The species may sometimes be propagated even by means of the
leaves ; as in the aloe, sea-onion, and some species of arum, which if carefully deposited in the soil will
grow up into new plants, by virtue, no doubt, of some latent gem contained in them. The fungi and
lichens, according to Gartner, are all gemmiferous, having no sexual organs, and no pollen impregnat-
ing a germ. In the genus Lycoperdon, the gelatinous substance that pervades the cellular tissue is con-
verted into a proliferous powder ; in clavaria, the fluid contained in the cavities of the plant is converted
into a proliferous powder also ; and in the agarics, hypnum, and poletus, vesicles containing sobolifer-
ous granules are found within the lamina, pores, or tubes. Hedwig, on the contrary, ascribes to the
fungi a sexual apparatus, and maintains that the pollen is lodged in the volva. But here it is to be
recollected, as in the cases of the scutelte of the lichens, that all fungi are not furnished with a volva,
and consequently not furnished with pollen. The confervas and ulvae, together with the genera Blasia
and Riccia, are also, according to Ga;rtner, propagated only by gems ; while marchantia, anthoceros,
jungermannia, and lycoperdon, are said to be propagated both by gems and seeds.
1617. Runners axe young shooKs issuing from the collar or summit of the root, and creeping along the
surface of the soil ; but producing a new root and leaves at the extremity, and forming a new individual,
by the decay of the connecting link, as in the strawberry.
1618. Slips. The process of raising perennials by slips is well known to gardeners, and should perhaps
be regarded as an extension of the old plant, rather than as the generation of a new one ; though it serves
the purpose of the cultivator equally well as a plant raised from seed, with the additional advantage of
bearing fruit much sooner. But how is the root generated which the slip thus produces ? If the trunk of
a tree is lopped, and all its existing buds destroyed, then there will be protruded from between the wood
and bark a sort of protuberant lip or ring formed from the proper juice, and from which there will spring
a number of young shoots. The formation of the root in the case of the slip is effected in the same man-
ner, the moisture of the soil encouraging the protrusion of buds at and near the section ; and the bud that
would have been converted into a branch above ground is converted into a root below.
1619. Layers. The mode of propagation by layers is practised upon trees that are delicate, and which
cannot readily be propagated by means of slips ; in which case the root is generated nearly as in the former
case, the soil stimulating the protrusion of buds which are converted into roots. In many plants, such as
the currant and laurel, this is altogether a natural process, effected by the spontaneous bending down of a
branch to the surface of the soil.
1620. Suckers or off-sets. Many plants protrude annually from the collar a number of young shoots,
encircling the principal stem and depriving it of a portion of its nourishment, as in the case of most
fruit-trees. Others send out a horizontal root, from which thereat last issues a bud that ascends above the
soil and is converted into a little stem, as in the case of the elm-tree and syringa. Others send out a hori-
zontal shoot from the collar or its neighborhood ; or a shoot that ultimately bends down by its own weight
till it reaches the ground, in which it strikes root and again sends up a stem as in the currant-bush and
laurel. The two former are called suckers or off-sets, though the term off-set should perhaps be restricted
to the young bulbs that issue and detach themselves annually from bulbous roots. The latter is not desig-
nated by any particular name, but may be regarded as a sort of natural layer, resembling also, in some
respects, the runner ; from which, however, it is distinguished in that it never detaches itself spontaneously
from the parent plant, as is? the case also with the two former. But if either of them is artificially de-
tached, together with a portion of root or a slice of the collar adherring to it, it will now bear transplant-
ing, and will constitute a distinct plant.
1621. Grafting and budding. The species is also often propagated, or at least the variety is multiplied,
byjmeans of grafting, which is an artificial application of a portion of the shoot or root of one tree or
plant to the stem, shoot, branch, or root of another, so that the two shall coalesce together and form but
one plant. The shoot which is to form the summit of the new individual is called the scion ; the stem to
which it is affixed is called the stock ; and the operation, when eftected, the graft. As thegraft is merely
an extension of the parent plant from which the scion came, and not properly speaking a new individual,
so it is found to be the best method of propagating approved varieties of fruit-trees without any danger
of altering the quality of the fruit, which is always apt to be incurred in propagation from seed, but
never in propagating from the scion. The scion will also bear fruit much sooner than the tree that is
raised from seed ; and, if effected on a proper stock, will be much more hardy and vigorous than if left on
the parent plant. And hence the great utility of grafting in the practice of gardening. Till lately
grafting was confined to the ligneous plants, but it is now successfully practised on the roots and shoots
of herbaceous vegetables ; and the dahlia is grafted by the root j the melon on the gourd ; the love-apple
on the potatoe ; the cauliflower on the cabbage, &c. by the shoot. A very ingenious tract has been pub-
lished on this subject, entitled, Essai sur la Gi(ffe de Vherbe des plantes et des arbres, par Monsr. Le
Baron de Tschoudy, Bourgeois de Claris. Paris, 1819.
Sect. X. Causes limiting the Propagation of the Species.
1622. Though plants are controlled chiejly by animalsy yet they also control one another.
From the various sources of vegetable reproduction, but particularly from the fer-
tility and dispersion of the seed, the earth would soon be overrun with plants of the most
prolific species, and converted again into a desert, if it were not that nature has set
bounds to their propagation by subjecting them to the controul of man, and to the depre-
dations of the great mass of animals ; as well as in confining the germination of their
seeds to certain and peculiar habitations arising from soil, climate, altitude, and other
circumstances. In order to.form an idea of the manner in which these act upon vegeta-
tion ; imagine that every year an enormous quantity of seeds, produced by the existing
254 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. I^art IL
vegetables, are spread over the surface of the globe, by the winds and other causes already
mentioned, all of these seeds which fall in places suitable for their vegetation, and are
not destroyed by animals, germinate and produce plants; then among these plants,
the strongest, and largest, and those to which the soil is best suited, develope themselves
in number and magnitude so as to choke the others. Such is the general progress of
nature, and among plants, as among animals, the strong florish at the expense of the
weak. These causes have operated for such a length of time, that the greater number
of species are now fixed and considered as belonging to certain soils, situations, and
climates, beyond which they seldom propagate themselves otherwise than by the hands
of man.
Sect. XI, Evidence and Character of Vegetable Vitality/.
1623. The power of counteracting the laws of chemical affinity is reckoned the best and
most satisfactory evidence of the presence and agency of a vital principle as inherent in
any subject. This principle, which seems first to have been instituted by Humboldt, is
obviously applicable to the case of animals, as is proved by the process of the digestion
of the food, and its conversion into chyle and blood ; as well as from the various
secretions and excretions effected by the several organs, and effecting the growth and
developement of the individual, in direct opposition to the acknowledged laws of
chemical affinity, which, as soon as the vital principle is extinct, begin immediately to
give indication of their action in the incipient symptoms of the putrefaction of the
deady body. But the rule is also applicable to the case of vegetables, as is proved by the
intro-susception, digestion, and assimilation of the food necessary to their developement ;
all indicating the agency of a principle capable of counteracting the laws of chemical
affinity ; which, at the period of what is usually called the death of the plant, begin also
immediately to act, and to give evidence of their action in the incipient symptoms of the
putrefaction of the vegetable. Vegetables £ire therefore obviously endowed with a species
of vitality. But admitting the presence and agency of a vital principle inherent in
the vegetable subject, what are the peculiar properties by which this principle is cha-
racterised ?
1624. Excitability. One of the most distinguishable properties of the vital principle of vegetables is
that of its excitability or capacity of being acted upon by the application of natural stimuli, imj)elling
it to the exertion of its vegetative powers ; the natural stimuli thus impelling it being light and heat.
1625. The stimulating itifluence of light upon the vital principle of the plant is discoverable, whether
in the stem, leaf, or flower. The direction of the stem is influenced by the action of light, as well as
the color of its leaves. Distance from direct rays of light or weak light produces etiolation, and its
absence blanching. The luxuriance of branches depends on the presence and action of light, as is par-
ticularly observable in the case of hot-house plants, the branches of which are not so conspicuously
directed, either to the flue in quest of heat, or to the door or open sash in quest of air, as to the sun
in quest of light. Hence also the branches of plants are often more luxuriant on the south than on
the north side ; or at least on the side that is best exposed to light. The position of the leaf is also
strongly aflTected by the action of light, to which it uniformly turns its upper surface. This may be readily
perceived in the case of trees trained to a wall, from which the upper surface of the leaf is by con-
sequence always turned ; being on a south wall turned to the south, and on a north wall turned to the
north. And if the upper surface of the leaf is forcibly turned towards the wall and confined in that
position for a length of time, it will soon resume its primitive position upon regaining its liberty, but
particularly if the atmosphere is clear. The leaves of the mallow are said to exhibit but slight indi-
cations of this susceptibility, as also sword -shaped leaves ; and also those of the mistletoe are equally
susceptible on both sides. It had been conjectured that these effects are partly attributable to the
agency of heat ; and to try the value of the conjecture, Bonnet placed some plants of the atriplex in a
stove heated to 25" of Reaumur. Yet the stems were not inclined to the side from which the greatest
degree of heat came; but to a small opening in the stoves. Heat then does not seem to exert any
perceptible influence in the production of the above effects. Does moisture ? Bonnet found that the
leaves of the vine exhibited the same phenomenon when immersed in water, as when left in the open
air. Whence it seems probable that light is the sole agent in the production of the effects in question.
But as light produces such effects upon the leaves, so darkness or the absence of light produces an effect
quite the contrary ; for it is known that the leaves of many plants assume a very different position in the
night from what they have in the day. This is particularly the case with winged leaves, which, though
fully expanded during the day, begin to droop and bend down about sunset and during the fall of the
evening dew, till they meet together on the inferior side of the leaf-stalk, the terminal lobe, if the leaf
is furnished with one, folding itself back till it reaches the first pair; or the two side lobes, if the leaf is
trifoliate, as in the case of common clover. So also the leaflets of the false acacia and liquorice hang
down during the night, and those of mimosa pudica fold themselves up along the common toot-stalk
so as to overlap one another. Linnseus has designated the above phenomenon by the aj)pellation of
The Steep of Plants. The expansion of the flower is also effected by the action of light. 'Many plants
do not fully expand their petals except when the sun shines ; and hence alternately open them" during
the day and shut them up during the night. This may be exemplified in the case of papilionaceous
flowers in general, which spread out their wings in fine weather to admit the rays of the sun, and again
fold them up as the night approaches. It may be exemplified also in the case of compound flowers, as in
that of the dandelion and hawkweed. But the most singular case of this kind is perhaps that of the
lotus of the Euphrates, as described by Theophrastus, which he represents as rearing and expanding its
blossoms by day, closing and sinking down beneath the surface of the water by night so as to be beyond
the grasp of the hand, and again rising up in the morning to present its exi)anded blossom to the sun.
The same phenomenon is related also by Pliny. But although many plants open their flowers in the
morning and shut them again in the evening, yet all flowers do not open and shut at the same time.
Plants of the same species are tolerably regular as to time, other circumstances being the same ; and
hence the daily opening and shutting of the flower has been denominated by botanists The Horologium.
Flora. Flowers requiring but a slight application of stimulus open early in the morning, while others
requiring more open somewhat later. Some do not open till noon, and some, whose extreme delicacy
cannot bear the action of light at all, open only at night, such as the cactus grandiflora, or night-blowing
cereu*. But it seems somewhat doubtful whether or not light is the sole, agent in the present case; for
PooK I. EVIDENCE OF VEGETABLE VITALITY. 255
it has been observed that equatorial flowers open always at the eamc hour, and that tropical Bowers
change their hour of opening according to the length of the day. It has been observed also, that the
flowers of plants that are removed from a warmer to a colder climate expand at a later hour in the latter.
A flower that opens at six o'clock in the morning at Senegal, will not open in France or England
till eight or nine, nor in Sweden till ten. A flower that opens at ten o'clock at Senegal, will not
open in France or England till noon or later, and in Sweden it will not open at all. And a flower
that does not open till noon or later at Senegal, will not open at all in France or England. This seoms as
if heat or its absence were also an agent in the opening or shutting of flowers ; though the opening of
such as blow only in the night cannot be attributed either to light or heat. But the opening or shutting
of some flowers depends not so much on the action of the stimulus of light as on the existing state of
the atmosphere, and hence their opening or shutting betokens change. If the Siberian sow-thistle shuts
at night, the ensuing day will be fine ; and if it opens, it will be cloudy and rainy. If the African mari-
gold continues shut after seven o'clock in the morning, rain is near at hand. And if the convolvulus
arvensis, calendula fluvialis, or anagallis arvensis, are even already open they will shut upon the approach
of rain, the last of which, from its peculiar susceptibility, has obtained the name of the poor man's
weatherglass. But some flowers not only expand during the light of day ; they incline also towards the
Sim, and follow his course, looking towards the east in the morning, towards the south at noon, and
towards the west in the evening ; and again returning in the night to their former position in the morn-
ing. Such flowers are designated by the appellation of Heliotropes, on account of their following the
course of the sun ; and the movement they thus exhibit is denominated their nutation. This phenomenon
had been observed by the ancients long before they had made any considerable progress in botany, and
had even been interwoven into their mythology, having originated, according to the records of fabulous
history, in one of the metamorphoses of early times. Clytie, inconsolable for the loss of the affections of
Sol, by whom she had been formerly beloved, and of whom she was still enamoured, is represented as brood-
ing over her griefs in silence and solitude ; where, refusing all sustenance, and seated upon the cold ground,
with her eyes invariably fixed on the sun during the day, and watching for his return during the night,
she is at length transformed into a flower, retaining, as much as a flower can retain it, the same unaltered
attachment to the sun. This is the flower which is denominated heliotropium by the ancients, and des-
cribed by Ovid as Flos qui ad solem veriitur. But it is to be observed, that the flower alluded to by Ovid
cannot be the heliotropium of the moderns, because Ovid describes it as resembling the violet : much less
can it be the sun-flower of the moderns, which is a native of America, and could not consequently have
been known to Ovid ; so that the true heliotropium of the ancients is perhaps not yet ascertained. Bonnet
has further remarked that the ripe ears of corn, which bend down with weight of grain, scarcely ever
incline to the north, but always less or more to the south ; of the accuracy of which remark any one may
easily satisfy himself by loooking at a field of wheat ready for the sickle ; he will find the whole mass of
ears nodding, as if with one consent to the south. The cause of the phenomenon has been supposed to be
a contraction of the fibres of the stem or flower-stalk on the side exposed to the sun ; and this contraction
has been thought by De la Hire and Dr. Hales to be occasioned by an excess of transpiration on the sunny
side ; which is probably the fact, though there seems upon this principle to be some difficulty in account-
ing for its returning at night ; because if you say that the contracted side expands and relaxes by moisture,
what is it that contracts the side that was relaxed in the day ? The moisture, of which it is no doubt
still full, would counteract the contraction of its fibres, and prevent it from resuming its former position in
the morning.
1626. Heat as well as light acts also as a powerful stimulus to the exertions of the
vital principle. This has been already shown in treating of the process of germination ;
but the same thing is observable with regard to the developement and maturation of the
leaves, flower, and fruit ; for although all plants produce their leaves, flower, and fruit,
annually, yet they do not all produce them at the same period or season. This forms
the foundation of what Linnaeus has called the Calendarium FlorcB, including a view of
the several periods of the frondescence and efflorescence of plants, together with that of
the maturation of the fruit.
1627. Frondescence. It must be plain to every observer, that all plants do not protrude their leaves at
the same season, and that even of such as do protrude them in the same season, some are earlier and some
later. The honeysuckle protrudes them in the month of January ; the gooseberry, currant, and elder,
in the end of February, or the beginning of March ; the willow, elm, and lime-tree, in April ; and the oak
and ash, which are always the latest among trees, in the beginning or towards the middle of May.
Many annuals do not come up till after the summer solstice; and many mosses not till after the com-
mencement of winter. This gradual and successive unfolding of the leaves of different plants seems to
arise from the peculiar susceptibility of the species to the action of heat, as requiring a greater or less
degree of it to give the proper stimulus to the vital principle. But a great many circumstances will
always concur to render the time of the unfolding of the leaves somewhat irregular ; because the mildness
of the season is by no means uniform at the same period of advancement ; and because the leafing of the
plant depends upon the peculiar degree of temperature, and not upon the return of a particular day of
the year. Hence it has been thought, that no rule could be so good for directing the husbandman in the
sowing of his several sorts of grain as the leafing of such species of trees as might be found by observation
to correspond best to each sort of grain respectively, in the degree of temperature required. Linnjeus
(Stillingfleet informs us) instituted some observations on the subject about the year 1750, with a view
chiefly to ascertain the time proper for tlie sowing of barley in Sweden ; he regarded the leafing of the birch-
tree as being the best indication for that grain, and recommended the institution of similar observations
with regard to other sorts of grain, upon the grounds of its great importance to the husbandman, who
may be said to attend to it in a manner instinctively ; but as all the trees of the same species do not come
intoleaf precisely at the same time, and as the weather may alter even after the most promising indi-
cations, no guide natural or artificial can be absolutely depended on with a view to future results.
1628. I^fftot-escence. The flowering of the plant, like the leafing, seems to dej>end upon the degree of
temperature induced by the returning spring, as the flowers are also protruded pretty regularly at the same
successive periods of the season. The mezereon and snowdrop protrude their flowers in February ; the
primrose in the month of March ; the cowslip in April ; the great mass of plants in May and June ; many
in July, August, and September ; some not till the month of October, as the meadow saffron ; and some
not till the approach or middle of winter, as the laurustinus and arbutus. Such at least is the period of
their flowering in this country ; but in warmer climates they are earUer, and in colder climates they are
later. Between the tropics, where the degree of heat is always high, it often happens that plants will
flower more than once in tlie year ; because they do not there require to wait till the temperature is
raised to a certain height, but merely till the developement of their parts can be efTected in the regular
operation of nature, under a temperature already suflScient. For the greater part, however, they flower
during our summer, though plants in opposite hemispheres flower in opposite seasons. But in all climates
the time of flowering depends also much on the altitude of the place as well as on other causes affecting
the degree of heat. Hence plants occupying the polar regions, and plants occupying the tops of the high
mountains of southern latitudes, are in flower at the same season ; and hence the same flowers are later
in opening in North America than in the same latitudes in Euroi>e, because the surface of the eartli i$
higher, or the winters more severe.
256 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
' 1629. Maturation of the fruit. Plants exhibit as much diversity In the warmth and length of time
necessary to mature their fruit as in their frondescence and flowering ; but the plant that flowers the
soonest does not always ripen its fruit the soonest. The hazel-tree, which blows in February, does not
ripen its fruit till autumn ; while the cherry, that does not blow till May, ripens its fruit in June. It
may be regarded, however, as the general rule, that if a plant blows in spring it ripens its fruit in sum-
mer, as in the case of the currant and gooseberry ; if it blows in summer it ripens its fruit in autumn, as
in the case of the vine ; and if it blows in autumn it ripens its fruit in the winter. But the meadow-
saffron, which blows in the autumn, does not ripen its fruit till the succeeding spring.
1630. Such are the primary facts on which a Calendarium Florce, should be founded.
They have not hitherto been minutely attended to by botanists ; and perhaps their
importance is not quite so much as has been generally supposed ; but they are at any
rate sufficiently striking to have attracted the notice even of savages. Some tribes of
American Indians act upon the very principle suggested by Linna;us, and plant their
corn when the wild plum blooms, or when the leaves of the oak are about as large as a
squirrel's ears. The names of some of their months are also designated from the state
of vegetation. One is called the budding month, and another the flowering month;
one the strawberry month, and another the mulberry month ; and the autumn is desig-
nated by a term signifying the fall of the leaf. Thus the proposed nomenclature of the
French for the months and seasons is founded in nature as well as in reason.
1631. Cold. As the elevation of temperature induced by the heat of summer is es-
sential to the full exertion of the energies of the vital principle, so the depression of
temperature consequent upon the colds of winter has been thought to suspend the ex-
ertion of the vital energies altogether. But this opinion is evidently founded on a mistake,
as is proved by the example of such plants as protrude their leaves and flowers in the
winter season only, such as many of the mosses ; as well as by the dissection of the yet
unfolded buds at different periods of the winter, even in the case of such plants as pro-
trude their leaves and blossoms in the spring and summer, and in which, it has been
already shown, there is a regular, gradual, and incipient developement of parts, from
the time of the bud's first appearance till its ultimate opening in the spring. The sap,^
it is true, flows much less freely, but is not wholly stopped. Du Hamel planted some
young trees in the autumn, cutting off all the smaller fibres of the root, with a view
to watch the progress of the formation of new ones. At the end of every fortnight he
had the plants taken up and examined with all possible care to prevent injuring
them, and found that, when it did not actually freeze, new roots were always uniformly
developed.
1632. Energies of life in plants like the process of respiration in animals. Hence it fol-
lows, that even during the period of winter, when vegetation seems totally at a stand,
the tree being stripped of its foliage, and the herb apparently withering in the frozen
blast, still the energies of vital life are exerted ; and still the vital principle is at work,
carrying on in the interior of the plant, concealed from human view, and sheltered from
the piercing frosts, operations necessary to the preservation of vegetable life, or protru-
sion of future parts ; though it requires the returning warmth of spring to give that
degree of velocity to the juices which shall render their motion cognizable to man, as
well as that expression to the whole plant which is the most evident token of life ; in the
same manner as the processes of respiration, digestion, and the circulation of the blood
are carried on in the animal subject even while asleep ; though the most obvious
indications of animal life are the motions of the animal when awake. Heat then
acts as a powerful stimulus to the operations of the vital principle, accelerating the mo-
tion of the sap, and consequent developement of parts ; as is evident from the sap's
beginning to flow much more copiously as the warmth of spring advances, as well as
from the possibility of anticipating the natural period of their developement by forcing
them in a hot-house. But it is known that excessive heat impedes the progress of veget-
ation as well as excessive cold ; both extremes being equally prejudicial. And hence
the sap flows more copiously in the spring and autumn, than in either the summer or
winter ; as may readily be seen by watching the progress of the growth of the annual
shoot, which, after having been rapidly protruded in the spring, remains for a while
stationary during the great heat of the summer, but is again elongated during the more
moderate temperature of autumn.
1 633. Artificial stimnlayits. There are also several substances which have been found to
operate as stimulants to the agency of the vital principle when artificially dissolved in
water, and applied to the root or branch. Oxygenated muriatic acid has been already
mentioned : and the vegetation of the bulbs of the hyacinth and narcissus is accelerated by
means of the application of a solution of nitre. Dr. Barton, of Philadelphia, found
that a decaying branch of liriodendron tulipifera, and a faded flower of the yellow iris,
recovered and continued long fresh when put into water impregnated with camphor;
though flowers and branches, in all respects similar, did not recover when put into
common water.
1634. Irritability. Plants are not only susceptible of the action of the natural stimuli
of light and heat, exciting them gradually to the exercise of the functions of their dif-"
Book I. EVIDENCE OF VEGETABLE VITALITY. 257
ferent organs in the regular progress of vegetation ; they are susceptible also of the action
of a variety of accidental or artificial stimuli, from the application of which they are
found to give indications of being endowed also with a property similar to wliat we
call irritability in the animal system. Tliis property is well exemplified in the genus
Mimosa ,- but particularly in that species known by the name of the Sensitive Plant ,-
and the dionaja muscipula and drosera. But sometimes the irritability resides in
the flower, and has its seat either in the stamens or style. The former case is ex-
emplified in the flower of the berberry, and cactus tuna, and the latter in stylidura
glandulosum.
1635. Sensation. From the facts adduced in the preceding sections, it is evident that
plants are endowed with a capacity of being acted upon by the application of stimuli,
whether natural or artificial, indicating the existence of a vital principle, and forming
one of the most prominent features of its character. But besides this obvious and ac-
knowledged property, it has been thought by some phytologists that plants are endowed
also with a species of sensation. Sir J. E. Smith seems rather to hope that the doctrine
may be true, than to think it so.
1636. Instinct. There is also a variety of phenomena exhibited throughout the extent
of the vegetable kingdom, some of which are common to plants in general, and some
peculiar to certain species, that have been thought by several botanical writers to exhibit
indications, not merely of sensation, but of instinct. The tendency of plants to incline
their stem and to turn the upper surface of the leaves to the light, the direction which
the extreme fibres of the root will often take to reach the best nourishment, the folding
up of the flower on the approach of rain, the rising and falling of the water-lily, and
the peculiar and invariable direction assumed by the twining stem in ascending its prop,
are among the phenomena that have been attributed to instinct. Keith has endeavoured
{Lin. Trans, xi. p. 11.) to establish the doctrine of the existence and agency of an in-
stinctive principle in the plant, upon the ground of the direction invariably assumed by
the radicle and plumelet respectively, in the germination of the seed.
1637. Definition of the plant. But if vegetables are living beings endowed with
sensation and instinct, or any thing approaching to it, so as to give them a resemblance
to animals, how are we certainly to distinguish the plant from the animal ? At the ex-
tremes of the two kingdoms the distinction is easy ; the more perfect animals can never
be mistaken for plants, nor the more perfect plants for animals, but at the mean, where
the two kingdoms may be supposed to unite, the shades of discrimination are so very faint
or evanescent that of some individual productions it is almost impossible to say to which
of the kingdoms they belong. Hence it is that substances which have at one time been
classed among plants, have at another time been classed among animals ; and there are
substances to be met with whose place has not yet been satisfactorily determined. Of
these I may exemplify the genus Corallina (Jig. 241.), which Linnaeus placed among
241
animals, but which Ga;rtner places among plants. Linnaeus, Bonnet, Hedwig, and
Mirbel, have each given particular definitions. According to Keith, a vegetable is an
organised and living substance springing from a seed or gem, which it again produces ;
and effecting the developement of its parts by means of the intro-susception and assimil-
ation of unorganised substances, which it derives from the atmosphere or the soil in which
it grows. The definition of the animal is the coimterpart : an animal is an organised
and living being proceeding from an egg or embryo, which it again produces ; and ef-
fecting the developement of its parts by means of the intro-susception of organised sub-
stances or their products. For all practical purposes, perhaps plants may be distinguished
from animals with suflicient accuracy by means of the trial of burning ; as animal sub-
stances in a state of ignition exhale a strong and phosphoric odor, which vegetable sub-
stances do not'.
258 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
Chap. V.
Vegetable Pathology, or the Diseases and Casualties of Vegetable Life.
1638. As plants are, like animals, organised and living beings, they are, like animals
also, liable to such accidental ..injuries and disorders as may affect the health and vigor,
or occasion the death of tlie individual. These are wounds, accidents, diseases, and
natural decay.
Sect. 1. Wounds and Accidents.
1639. A wound is a forcible separation of the solid parts of the plant effected by means^
of some external cause, intentional or accidental.
1640. Incisions are sometimes necessary to the health of the tree, in the same manner perhaps as
bleeding is necessary to the health of the animal. The trunk of the plum and cherry-tree seldom expand
freely till a longitudinal incision has been made in the bark ; and hence this operation is often practised
by gardeners. If the incision affects the epidermis only, it heals up without leaving any scar ; if it pene-
trates into the interior of the bark, it heals up only by means of leaving a scar ; if it penetrates into the
wood, the wound in the wood itself never heals up completely, but new wood and bark are formed above
it as before.
1641. Boring is an operation by which trees are often wounded for the purpose of making them part
with their sap in the season of their bleeding, particularly the birch tree and American maple. A
horizontal or rather slanting hole is bored in them with a wimble, so as to penetrate an inch or two into
the wood, from this the sap flows copiously ; and though a number of holes is often bored in the same
trunk, the health of the tree is not very materially affected. For trees will continue to thrive though
subjected to this operation for many successive years; and the hole, if not very large, will close up again
like the deep incision, not by the union of the broken fibres of the wood, but by the formation of new bark
and wood projecting beyond the edge of the orifice, and finally shutting it up altogether.
1642. Girdling is an operation to which trees in North America are often subjected when the farmer
wishes to clear his land of timber. It consists in making parallel and horizontal incisions with an axe into
the trunk of a tree, and carrying them quite round the stem so as to penetrate through the alburnum, and
then to scoop out the intervening portion. If this operation is performed early in the s})ring, and before
the commencement of the bleeding season, the tree rarely survives it ; though some trees that are pecu-
liarly tenacious of life, such as acer saccharinum and nyssa integrifolia, have been known to survive it a
considerable length of time.
1643. Fracture. If a tree is bent so as to fracture part only of the cortical and woody fibres, and the
stem or branch but small, the parts will again unite by being put back into their natural position, and well
propped up. Especially cure may be excepted to succeed if the fracture happens in the spring ; but it will
rtot succeed if the fracture is accompanied with contusion, or if the stem or branch is large ; and even
where it succeeds the woody fibres do not contribute to the union, but the granular and herbaceous sub-
stance only which exudes from between the wood and liber, insinuating itself into all interstices and finally
becoming indurated into wood.
1644. Pruning. Wounds are necessarily inflicted by the gardener or forester in the pruning or lopping
off the superfluous branches, but this is seldom attended with any bad effects to the health of the tree, if
done by a skilful practitioner : indeed no ;further art is required merely for the protection of the tree be-
yond that of cutting the branch through in a sloping direction so as to prevent the rain from lodging. In
this case the wound soon closes up by the induration of the exposed surface of the section, and by the pro-
trusion of a granular substance, forming a sort of circular lip between the wood and bark ; and hence the
branch is never elongated by the growth of the same vessels that have been cut, but by the protrusion of
new buds near the point of section.
1645. Grafting. In the operation of grafting there is a wound both of the stock and graft ; which
are united, not by the immediate adhesion of the surfaces of the two sections, but by means of a
granular and herbaceous substance exuding from between the wood and bark, and insinuating itself as a
sort of cement into all open spaces : new wood is finally formed within it, and the union is complete.
1646. Felling is the operation of cutting down trees close to the ground, which certain species will sur-
vive, if the stump is protected from the injuries of animals, and the root fresh and vigorous. In this case
the fibres of the wood are never again regenerated, but a lip is formed as in the case of pruning ; and buds,
that spring up into new shoots, are protruded near the section ; so that from the old shoot, ten, twelve, or
even twenty new stems may issue according to its size and vigor. The stools of the oak and ash-tree will
furnish good examples ; but there are some trees, such as the fir, that never send out any shoots after
the operation of felling.
1647. If buds are destroyed in the course of the winter, or in the early part of the spring, many plants
will again generate new buds that will develope their parts as the others would have done, except that they
never contain blossom or fruit Du Hamel thought these buds sprang from pre-organised germs, which
he conceived to be dispersed throughout the whole of the plant; but Knight thinks he has discovered the
true source of the regeneration of buds, in the proper juice that is lodged in the alburnum. Buds thus re-
generated never contain or produce either flower or fruit. Perhaps because the fruit-bud requires more
time to develope its parts, or a peculiar and higher degree of elaboration ; and that this hasty production
is only the effect of a great effort of the vital principle for the preservation of the individual, and one of
those wonderful resources to which nature always knows how to resort when the vital principle is in
danger. But though such buds do not produce flowers directly, as in the case of plants that bear
their blossoms on last year's wood ; yet they often produce young shoots which produce blossoms and fruit
the same season, as in the case of cutting down an old vine, or pruning the rose.
1648. Sometimes the leaves of a tree are destroyed \iaTt'\al]y or totally as soon as they are protruded from
the bud, whether by the depredations of caterpillars or other insects, or by the browsing of cattle. But if
the injury is done early in the spring, new leaves will be again protruded without subsequent shoots. Some
trees will bear to be stripped even more than once in a season, as is the case with the mulberry-tree,
which they cultivate in the south of France and Italy for the purpose of feeding the silkworm. But if it is
stripped more than once in the season it requires now and then a year's rest.
1649. The decortication of a tree, or the stripping it of its bark, may be either intentional or acci-
dental, partial or total. If it is partial, and effects the epidermis only, then it is again regenerated,
as in the case of slight incision, without leaving any scar. But if the epidermis of the petal, leaf, or
fruit, is destroyed, it is not again regenerated, nor is the wound healed up, except by means of a
scar. Such is the case also with all decortications that penetrate deeper than the epidermis, particularly if
the wound is not protected from the action of the air : if the decortication reaches to the wood, then
new bark issues from between the bark and wood, and spreads till it covers the wound. But the result
is not the same when the wound is covered from the air. In the season of the flowing of the sap Du Hamel
detached a ring of bark, of three or four inches in breadth, from the trunks of several young elm-trees.
Book I. DISEASES OF VEGETABLES. 259
t§klng care to defend the decorticated part firom the action of the air, by surrounding It with a tiilKJ
of glass cemented above and below to the trunk. After a few days the tubes became cloudy within,
particularly when it was hot ; but when the air became cool, the cloud condensed and fell in drops to tlie
bottom. At last there began to appear, as if exuding from between the bark and wood of the up{)er part
of the wound, a sort of rough scurfy substance j and on the surface of the wood, as if exuding from be-
tween the longitudinal fibres of the alburnum, a number of gelatinous drops. They were not connected
with the scurfy substance at the top, but seemed to arise from small slips of the liber that had not been com-
pletely detached. Their first appearance was that of small reddish spots changing by degrees into white,
and finally into a sort of grey, and extending in size till they at last united and formed a cicatrice, which
was a new bark.
16;)0. Abortion or failure in the produce of flowers, fruits, or of perfect seeds, is generally the effect of
accidental injuries, either directly to the flower or fruit, by which they are rubbed off or devoured by in-
sects ; or to the leaves by insects ; or to the roots by exposure to the air or cutting off so much of them as
essentially to lessen their power of drawing up nourishment. Other causes will readily suggest them-
selves ; and one of the commonest, as to seeds and fruits, is want of sufficient impregnation.
1651. Premature inflorescence or fruiting is sometimes brought on by insects, but more generally by
checks produced by cold or injuries from excessive heat, or long continued drought. Fruit is often rii)ened
prematurely by the puncture of insects ; and a pine-apple plant of almost any age may be thrown into
fruit by an hour or two's exposure to a frosty atmosphere in winter, or by scorching the roots in an over-
hot tan-bed at any season.
Sect. II. Diseases.
1652. Diseases are corrupt affections of the vegetable body, arising from a vitiated
state of its juices, and tending to injure the habitual health either of the whole or part of
the plant. The diseases that occur the nnost frequently among vegetables are the follow,
ing : Blight, smut, mildew, honey-dew, dropsy, flux of juices, gangrene, etiolation,
suffocation, contortion, consumption.
1653. Blight. Much has l)een written on the nature of blight ; and in proportion as
words have been multiplied on the subject, the difficulties attending its elucidation have
increased.
1654. n^ blight, or blast, was well known to the ancient Greeks, who were however totally ignorant
of its cause, regarding it merely as a blast from heaven, indicating the wrath of their offended deities, and
utterly incapable of prevention or cure. It was known also to the Romans under the denomination
of rvbigo, who regarded it in the same light as the Greeks, and even beUeved it to be under the direction
of a particular deity, Rubigus, whom they solemnly invoked that blight might be kept from corn and
trees. It is still well known from its effects to every one having the least knowledge of husbandry or gar.
dening ; but it has been very differently accounted for. And, perhaps, there is no one cause that will
account for all the different cases of blight, or disease going by the name of blight ; though they have been
supposed to have all the same origin. If we take the term in its most general acceptation I think it will
include at least three distinct species — blight originating in cold and frosty winds, blight originating in a
sort of sultry and pestilential vapor, and blight wiginating in the immoderate propagation of a sort of small
and parasitical fungus.
1655. Blight, originating in cold and frosty winds, is often occasioned by the cold and easterly winds
of spring, which nip and destroy the tender shoots of the plant, by stopping the current of the juices.
The leaves which are thus deprived of their due nourishment wither and fall, and the juices that are now
stopped in their passage swell and burst the vessels, and become the food of innumerable little insects
that soon after make their appearance. Hence they are often mistaken for the cause of the disease itself;
the farmer supposing they are wafted to him on the east wind, while they are only generated in the extra-
vasated juices, as forming a proper nidus for their eggs. Their multiplication will no doubt contribute to
the spreading of the disorder, as they always breed fast where they find plenty of food. But a similar
disease is often occasioned by the early frost of spring. If the weather is prematurely mild, the blossom
is prematurely protruded, which, though it is viewed by the unexperienced with delight, yet it is viewed
by the judicious with fear. For it very often happens that this premature blossom is totally destroyed by
subsequent frosts, as well as both the leaves and shoots, which consequently wither and fall, and injure if
they do not actually kill the plant. This evil is also often augmented by the unskilful gardener, even in
attempting to prevent it ; that is, by matting up his trees too closely, or by keeping them covered in the
course of the day, and thus rendering the shoots so tender that they can scarcely fail to be destroyed by the
next frost.
1656. Blight, originating in sultry and pestilential vapor, generally happens in the summer when the
grain has attained to its full growth, and when there are no cold winds or frosts to occasion it. Such was
the blight that used to damage the vineyards of ancient Italy, and which is yet found to damage our hop-
plantations and wheat-crops. The Romans had observed that it generally happened after short but heavy
showers occurring about noon, and followed by clear sunshine, about the season of the ripening of the
grapes, and that the middle of the vineyard suffered the most This corresponds pretty nearly to what
is in this country called the fire-blast among hops, which has been observed to take place, most commonly
about the end of July, when there has been rain with a hot gleam of sunshine immediately after ; the
middle of the hop-ground is also the most affected whether the blight is general or partial, and is
almost always the point in which it originates. In a particular case that was minutely observed, the
damage happened a little before noon, and the blight ran in a line forming a right angle with the sun-
beams at that time of the day. There was but little wind, which was however in the line of the blight.
{Hale's Body of Husbandry.) Wheat is also affected with a similar sort of blight, and about the same
season of the year, which totally destroys the crop. In the summer of 1809, a field of wheat, on rather a
light and sandy soil, came up with every appearance of health, and also into ear with a fair prospect of
ripening well About the beginning of July it was considered as exceeding any thing expected from such
a soil. A week afterwards a portion of the crop, on the east side of the field, to the extent of several acresi
was totally destroyed ; being shrunk and shrivelled up to less than one half the size of what it had formerly
been, and so withered and blasted as not to appear to belong to the same field. The rest of the field pro-
duced a fair crop.
1657. Blight, originating in fungi, attacks the leaves or stem both of herbaceous and woody plants,
such as euphorbia cypari'ssias, berberis vulgaris and rhamnus catharticus, but more generally grasses ;
and particularly our most useful grains, wheat, barley, and oats. It generally assumes the appearance
of a rusty-looking powder that soils the finger when touched. In March 1807, some blades of wheat were
examined by Keith that were attacked with this species of blight ; the appearance was that of a number
of rusty-looking spots or patches dispersed over the surface of the leaf, exactly like that of the seeds of
dorsiferous ferns bursting their indusium. Upon more minute inspection these patches were found to con.
sist of thousands of small globules collected into groups beneath the epidermis, which they raised up in a
sort of blister and at last burst. Some of the globules seemed as if imbedded even in the longitudinal
vessels of the blade. TTiey were of a yellowish or rusty brown, and somewhat transparent. But these
groups of globules have been ascertained by Sir J. Banks to be patches of a minute fungus, the seeds of
S 2
260 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
which, as they float in the air, enter the pores of the epidermis of the leaf, particularly if the plant
is sickly ; or they exist in the manure or soil, and enter by the pores of the root. {Si?- J. Banks on
Blisht 1805.) This fungus has been figured by Sowerby, and by F. Bauer, and Grew. It is known
among fanners by the name of red rust, and as it affects the stalks and leaves only it does not materially
which the crop. But there is another species of fungus known to the farmer by the name of red gum,
injure attacks the ear only, and is extremely prejudicial. In the aggregate it consists of groups of minute
globules interspersed with transparent fibres. The globules are filled with a fine powder, which explodes
when they are put into water. It is very generally accompanied with a maggot of a yellow colour, that
preys also upon the grain, and increases the amount of injury. The only means of preventing or lessening
the effect of any of the different varieties of bliglit mentioned is proper culture. Palliatives are to be
found in topical applications, such as flower of sulphur, and where the disease proceetls from, or consists of,
innumerable minute insects, it may occasionally be removed. Grisenthwaite conjectures that in many
cases in which the blight and mildew attack corn-crops, it may be for want of the peculiar food re-
quisite for perfecting the grain ; it being known that the fruit or seeds of many plants contain primitive
principles not found in the rest of the plant. Thus the grain of wheat contains gluten and phosphate of
lime and where these are wanting in the soil, that is, in the manured earths in which the plant grows, it
will be unable to perfect its fruit, which of consequence becomes more liable to disease. (New Theory of
Agr. &c.)
1658. Smut is a disease incidental to cultivated corn, by which the farina of the grain,
together with its proper integuments and even part of the husk, is converted into a black
soot-like powder. If the injured ear is struck with the finger, the powder will be
dispersed like a cloud of black smoke ; and if a portion of the powder is wetted by a
drop of water and put under the microscope, it will be found to consist of millions of
minute and transparent globules, which seem to be composed of a clear and glary fluid
encompassed by a thin and skinny membrane. This disease does not affect the whole
body of the crop, but the smutted ears are sometimes very numerously dispersed through-
out it. Some have attributed it to the soil in which the grain is sown, and others have
attributed it to the seed itself, alleging that smutted seed will produce a smutted crop.
But in all this there seems to be a great deal of doubt. Willdenow regards it as origi-
nating in a small fungus, which multiplies and extends till it occupies the whole ear.
(Princip. of Bot. p. 3.56.) But F. Bauer of Kew, seems to have ascertained it to be
merely a morbid swelling of the ear, and not at all connected with the growth of a fun-
gus. ( Smith'' s Introd. p. 348.) It is said to be prevented by steeping the grain before
sowing in a weak solution of arsenic. But besides the disease called smut there is also
a disease analogous to it, or a diflPerent stage of the same disease , known to the farmer
by the name of bags or smut-balls, in which the nucleus of the seed only is converted
into a black powder, whilst the ovary, as well as the husk, remains sound. The ear is
not much altered in its external appearance, and the diseased grain contained in it vnll
even bear the operation of threshing, and consequently mingle with the bulk. But it is
always readily detected by the experienced buyer, and fatal to the character of the sample.
It is said to be prevented as in the case of smut.
1659. Mildew is a thin and whitish coating with which the leaves of vegetables are
isometimes covered, occasioning their decay and death, and injuring the health of the
plant. It is frequently found on the leaves of tussilago farfara, humulus lupulus, cory-
lus avellana, and the white and yellow dead-nettle. It is found also on wheat in the
shape of a glutinous exudation, particularly when the days are hot and the nights with-
out dew. Willdenow says it is occasioned by the growth of a fungus of great minute-
ness, the mucor erisyphe of Linnaeus ; or by a sort of whitish slime which some species of
aphides deposit upon the leaves. J. Robertson (^Hort. Trans, v, 178.) considers it as a
minute fungus of which different species attack different plants. Sulphur he has found
the only specific cure. In cultivated crops mildew is said to be prevented by manuring
with soot.
1660. Honey-dew is a sweet and clammy substance which coagulates on the surface of
the leaves during hot weather, particularly on the leaves of the oak-tree and beech, and
is regarded by Curtis, as being merely the dung of some species of aphides. This seems
to be the opinion of Willdenow also, and it is no doubt possible that it may be the case
in some instances or species of the disease. But Sir J. E. Smith contends that it is not
always so, or that there are more species of honey-dew than one, regarding it particularly
as being an exudation, at least in the case of the beech, whose leaves are, in consequence
of an unfavorable wind, apt to become covered with a sweet sort of glutinous coating,
similar in flavor to the fluid obtained from the trunk.
1661. It is certum, however, thut saccharine exuda/ionx are found on the leaves of mant/ plants, though
not always distinguished by the name of honey-dew ; which should not perhaps be applied except when
the exudation occasions disease. But if it is to be applied to all saccharine exudations whatever, then we
must include under the appellation Of honey-dew, the saccharine exudations observed on the orange-tree
by De la Hire, together with that of the lime-tree which is more glutinous, and of the poplar which is
more resinous ; as also that of the cistus creticus, and of the manna which exudes from the ash-tree of
Italy and larch of France. It is also possible that the exudation or excrement constituting honey-dew
may occasionally occur without producing disease ; for if it should happen to be washed off soon after bV
rains or heavy dews, then the leaves will not suffer. Washing is therefore the palliative : judicious cuU
ture the preventive.
1 662. Dropsy. Plants are also liable to a disease which affects them in a manner similar
to that of the dropsy in animals, arising from long continued rain or too abundairt wateriug.
Book I. DISEASES OF VEGETABLES. 261
Willdenow describes it as occasioning a preternatural swelling of particular parts, and
inducing putrefaction. It is said to take place chiefly in bulbous and tuberous roots,
which are often found much swelled after rain. It affects fruits also, which it renders
watery and insipid. It prevents the ripening of seeds, and occasions an immoderate pro-
duction of roots from the stem.
1633. S'lccident plants. This disease generally appears in consequence of excessive waterings, and is
generally incurable. The leaves drop, even though plump and green ; and the fruit rots before reaching
. maturity. In this case the absorption seems to be too great in proportion to the transpiration ; but the
soil when too much manured produces similar efFects. Du Hamel planted some elms in a soil that was
particularly well manured, and accordingly they pushed with great vigor for some time ; but at the end of
five or six years they all died suddenly. The bark was found to be detached from the wood, and the cavity
filled up with a reddish-colored water. The symptoms of this disease suggest the palliatives j and the pre-
ventive is ever the same — judicious culture.
1664. Flux of juices. Some trees, but particularly the oak and birch, are liable to a
great loss of sap either bursting out spontaneously, owing to a superabundance of sap, or
issuing from accidental wounds; sometimes it is injurious to the health of the plant, and
sometimes not.
1665. There is a spontaneous extravasation of the sap of the vine, known by the name of the tears of the
vine, which is not always injurious. As it often happens that the root imbibes .sap, which the leaves are
not yet prepared to throw off", because not yet sufficiently expanded, owing to an inclement season, the sap
which is first carried up, being propelled by that which follows, ultimately forces its way through all ob-
structions, and exudes from the bud. But this is observed only in cold climates ; for in hot climates where
the developement of the leaves is not obstructed by cold, they are ready to elaborate the Sap as soon as it
reaches them. There is also a spontaneous extravasation of proper juice in some trees, which does not
seem in general to be injurious to the individual. Thus the gum which exudes from cherry, plum, peach,
and almond trees, is seldom detrimental to their health, except when it insinuates itself into the other
vessels of the plant and occasions obstructions.
1666. But the exudation ofgu?n is sometimes a disease, and one for which there is seldom any remedy.
It is generally the consequence of an unsuitable soil, situation, or climate. Cold raw summers will pro-
duce it in the peach, apricot, and more under-sorts of plum and cherrj' ; or grafting these fruits on diseased
stocks. Cutting out the part and applying a covering of loam or tar and charcoal to exclude the air are
palliatives ; but the only effectual method, where it can be practised, is to take up the tree and place it in
a suitable soil and situation.
- 1667. The extravasation and corruption of the ascending or descending juices, has been known to occa-
sion a fissure of the solid parts. Sometimes the fissure is occasioned by means of frost, forming what is
called a double alburnum ; that is, first a layer that lias been injured by the frost, and then a layer that
passes into wood. Sometimes a layer is partially affected, and that is generally owing to a sudden and
partial thaw on the south side of the trunk, which may be followed again by a sudden frost. In this case
the alburnum is split into clefts or chinks, by means of the expansion of the frozen sap.
1668. Chilblains. But clefts thus occasioned often degenerate into chilblains that discharge a blackish
and acrid fluid to the great detriment of the plant, particularly if the sores are so situated that rain or snow-
will readily lodge in them, and become putrid. The same injury may be occasioned by the bite or punc-
ture of insects while the shoot is yet tender; and as no vegetable Qlcer heals up of its own accord, the
sooner a cure is attempted the better, as it will, if left to itself, ultimately corrode and destroy the whole
plant, bark, wood, and pith. The only palliative is the excision of the part affected, and the application of
acoat of grafting wax. (Wilhknow, p. 35-1.)
1669. Gangrene. Of this disorder there are two varieties, the dry and the wet. The
former is occasioned by means of excessive heat or excessive cold. If by means of cold,
it attacks the leaves of young shoots and causes them to shrink up, converting them from
green to black ; as also the inner bark, which it blackens in the same manner, so that it
is impossible to save the plant except by cutting it to the ground. If by means of heat,
the effects are nearly simflar, as may oftentimes be seen in gardens, or even in forests,
where the foresters are allowed to clear away the moss and withered leaves from the
roots. Sometimes the disease is occasioned by the too rapid growth of a particular
branch, depriving the one that is next it of its due nourishment, and hence inducing its
decay. Sometimes it is occasioned by means of parasitical plants, as in the case of the
bulbs of the saffron, which a species of lycoperdon often attaches itself to and totally
corrupts.
1670. Dry gangrene. The harmattan winds of the coast of Africa kill many plants, by means of
inducing a sort of gangrene that withers and blackens the leaves, and finally destroys the whole plant.
The nopal of Mexico is also subject to a sort of gangrene that begins with a black spot, and extends
till the whole leaf or branch rots oft", or the plant dies. But plants are .sometimes affected with a
gangrene by which a part becomes first soft and moist, and then dissolves into foul ichor. This is confined
chiefly to the leaves, flowers, and fruit. Sometimes it attacks the roots also, but rarely the stem. It
seems to be owing, in many cases, to too wet or too rich a soil ; but it may originate in contusion, and may
be caught by infection. But the nopal is subject also to a disease calletl by Thiery, la dissolution, con-
sidered by Sir J. E. Smith as distinct from gangrene, and which appears to be Willdenow's dry gangrene
A joint of the nojal, or a whole branch, and sometimes an entire plant, changes in the space of a single
hour, from a state of apparent health to a state of putrefaction or <iissolution. Now its surface is verdant
and shining, and in an instant it changes to a yellow, and its brilliancy is gone. If the substance is cut
into, the parts are found to have lost all cohesion, and are quite rotten ; the attemi>t at a cure is by si)eedy
amputation below the diseased part. Sometimes the vital principle collecting and exerting all its energies
makes a stand as it were against the encroaching disease, and throws off the infected part. {Smith's Intro-
duction, p. 340.)
1671. Etiolation. Plants are sometimes affected by a disease M'hich entirely destroys
their verdure, and renders them pale and sickly. This is called etiolation, and may arise
merely from want of the agency of light, by which the extrication of oxygen is effected
and the leaf rendered green. And hence it is that plants placed in dark rooms, or be-
tween great masses of stone, or in the clefts of rocks, or under the shade of other trees,
S 3
268 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
look aJways peculiarly pale. But if they are removed from such situations, and exposed
to the action of light, they will again recover their green color. Etiolation may also en-
sue from the depredation of insects nestling in the radicle, and consuming the food of the
plant, and thus debilitating the vessels of the leaf so as to render them insusceptible of
the action of light. This is said to be often the case with the radicles of secale cereale ;
and the same result may also arise from poverty of soil.
1672. Suffocation. Sometimes it happens that the pores of the epidermis are closed up,
and transpiration consequently obstructed, by means of some extraneous substance that
attaches itself to and covers the bark. This obstruction induces disease, and the disease
is called suffocation.
1673. Sometimes it is occasioned by the iniTnoderale growth of lichens upon the bark covering the whole
of the plant, as may be often seen in fruit-trees, which it is necessary to keep clean by means of scraping
off the lichens, at least from the smaller branches. For if the young branches are thus coated, so as that
the bark cannot perfoim its proper functions, the tree will soon begin to languish, and will finally become
covered with fungi, inducing or resulting from decay, till it is at last wholly choked up.
1674. But a similar effect is also occasionally produced by insects, in feeding upon the sap or shoot. This
may be exemplified in the case of the aphides, which sometimes breed or settle upon the tender shoot in
such multitudes as to cover it from the action of the external air altogether. It may be exemplified also
in the case of Coccus Hesperidum and Acarus tellarius, insects that infest hot-house plants, the latter by
spinning a fine and dehcate web over the leaf, and thus preventing the access of atmospheric air. Insects
are to be removed either by the hand or other mechanical means, or destroyed by excess of some of the
elements of their nutrition, as heat, or cold, or moisture, where such excess does not prove injurious to
the plant ; or by a composition either fluid or otherwise, which shall have the same effects. Prevention
is to be attempted by general culture, and particular attention to prevent the propagation of the insects or
vermin, by destroying their embryo progeny, whether oviparous or otherwise.
1675. Sometimes the disease is occasioned by an extravasation of juices which coagulate on the surface
of the stalk so as to form a sort of crust, investing it as a sheath, and preventing its further expansion.
1676. Sometimes the disease is occasioned from want of an adequate supply of nourishment as derived
from the soil, in which the lower part of the plant is the best supplied, while the upper part of it is starved.
Hence the top shoots decrease in size every succeeding year, because sufficient supply of sap cannot be
obtained to give them their proper developement. This is analogous to the phenomena of animal life,
when the action of the heart is too feeble to propel the blood through the whole of the system : for then
the extremities are always the first to suffer. And perhaps it may account also for the fact, that in bad
soils and unfavorable seasons, when the ear of barley is not wholly perfected, yet a few of the lower grains
are always completely developed. {Smith's Introduction^ p. 344.)
1677. Contortio7i, The leaves of plants are often injured by means of the puncture of
insects, so as to induce a sort of disease that discovers itself in the contortion or convolu-
tion of the margin, or wrinkled appearance of the surface. The leaves of the apricot,
peach, and nectarine, are extremely liable to be thus affected in the months of June and
July.
1678. The leaf that has been punctured soon be^ns to assume a rough and wrinkled figure, and a reddish
and scrofulous appearance, particularly on the upper surface. The margins roll inwards on the under
side, and enclose the eggs which are scattered irregularly on the surface, giving it a blackish and granular
appearance, but without materially injuring its health. In the vine, the substance deposited on the leaf is
whitish, giving the under surface a sort of a frosted appearance, but not occasioning the red and scrofulous
aspect of the upper surface of the leaf of the nectarine. In the poplar, the eggs when first deposited re-
semble a number of small and hoary vesicles containing a sort of clear and colorless fluid. The leaf then
becomes reflected and conduplicated, enclosing the eggs, with a few reddish protuberances on the upper
surface. The embryo is nourished by this fluid ; and the hoariness is converted into a fine cottony down,
which for some time envelopes the young fly. The leaf of the lime-tree in particular is liable to attacks
from insects when fully expanded ; and hence the gnawed appearance it so often exhibits. The injury
seems to be occasioned by some species of puceron depositing its eggs in the parenchyma, generally about
the angles that branch off from the midrib. A sort of down is produced, at first green, and afterwards
hoary ; sometimes in patches, and sometimes pervading the whole leaf; as in the case of the vine. Under
this covering the egg is hatched ; and then the young insect gnaws and injures the leaf, leaving a hole, or
scar of a burnt or singed appearance. Sometimes the upper surface of the leaf is covered with clusters of
wart-like substances somewhat subulate and acute. They seem to be occasioned by means of a puncture
made on the under surface, on, which a number of openings are discoverable, penetrating into the warts,
which are hollow and villous within. The disease admits of palliation by watering frequently over the
leaves ; and by removing such as are the most contorted and, covered by larva.
1679. Consumption. From barren or improper soil, unfavorable climes, careless
planting, or too frequent flowering exhausting the strength of the plant, it often happens
that disease is induced which terminates in a gradual decline and wasting away of the
plant, till at length it is wholly dried up. Sometimes it is also occasioned by excessive
drought, or by dust lodging on the leaves, or by fumes issuing from manufactories which
may happen to be situated in the neighborhood, or by the attacks of insects.
1680. There is a consumptive affection that frequently attacks the pine-tree, called Teredo Pinorum
{Wildenow, Princ. Bat. p. 351.), which affects the alburnum and inner bark chiefly, and seems to proceed
from long continue<l drought, or from frost suddenly succeeding mild or warm weather, or heavy winds.
The leaves assume a tinge of yellow, bordering upon red. A great number of small drops of resin exude
from the middle of the boughs, of a putrid odor. The bark exfoHates, and the alburnum presents a livid
appearance. The tree swarms with insects, and the disease is incurable, inducing inevitably the total
decay and death of the individual The preventive is obviously good culture, so as to maintain vigorous
health : palliatives may be employed according to the apparent cause of the disease.
Sect. III. Natural Decay ,
1681. Although a plant should not suffer from the influence of accidental injury, or
from disease, still there will come a time when its several organs will begin to experience
the approaches of a natural decline insensibly stealing upon it, and at last inducing death.
The duration of vegetable existence is very different in different species. Yet in the
vegetable, as well as in the animal kingdom, there is a term or limit set, beyond which •
Book I. VEGETABLE GEOGRAPHY. 263
the individual cannot pass. Some plants are annuals and last for one season onlj,
springing up suddenly from seed, attaining rapidly to maturity, producing and again
sowing their seeds, and afterwards immediately perishing. Such is the character of the
various species of corn, as exemplified in oats, wheat, and barley. Some plants continue
to live for a period of two years, and are therefore called biennials, springing up the first
year from seed, and producing roots and leaves, but no fruit ; and in the second year
producing both flower and fruit, as exemplified in the carrot, parsnep, and caraway.
Other plants are perennials, that is, lasting for many years ; of which some are called
under-shrubs, and die down to the root every year ; otliers are called shrubs, and are
permanent both by the root and stem, but do not attain to a great height or great age ;
others are called trees, and are not only permanent by both root and stem, but attain
to a great size, and live to a great age. But even of plants that are woody and perennial,
there are parts which perish annually, or which are at least annually separated from the
individual ; namely, the leaves, flowers, and fruit, leaving notliing beliind but the bare
caudpx, which submits in its turn to the ravages of time, and ultimately to death.
1682. The decay of the temporary organs, which takes place annually, is a phenomenon
familiar to every body, and comprehends the fall of the leaf, the fall of the flower, and
the fall of the fruit.
1683. The fall of the leaf, or annual defoliation of the plant, commences for the most part with the colds
of autumn, and is accelerated by the frosts of winter, that strip the forest of its foliage, and the landscajie
of its verdure. But there are some trees that retain their leaves throughout the whole of the winter,
though changed to a dull and dusky brown, and may be called ever-clothed trees, as the beech : and there
are others that retain their verdure throughout the year, and are denominated evergreens, as the holly.
The leaves of both sorts ultimately fall in the spring. Sir J. E. Smith considers that leaves are tlirown off
by a process similar to that of the sloughing of diseased parts in the animal economy ; and Keith observes,
that if it is necessary to illustrate the fall of the leaf by any analogous process in the animal economy, it
may be 'compared to that of the shedding of the antlers of the stag, or of the hair or feathers of other
beasts or birds, which being, like the leaves of plants, distinct and iieculiar organs, fall off, and are rege-
nerated annually, but do not slough.
' 1684. The flowers, which, like the leaves, are only temporary organs, are for the most part very short-
lived ; for as the object of their production is merely that of effecting the impregnation of the germs, that
object is no sooner obtained than they begin again to give indications of decay, and speedily fall from the
plant ; so that the most beautiful part of the vegetable is also the most transient.
1685. The fruit, which begins to appear conspicuous when the flower falls, expands and increases in
volume, and, assuming a peculiar hue as it ripens, ultimately detaches itself from the parent plant, and
drops into the soil. But it does not in all cases detach itself in the same manner : thus, in the bean and
pea the seed-vessel opens and lets the seeds fall out, while in the apple, pear, and cherry, the fruit falls
entire, enclosing the seed, which escapes when the pericarp decays. Most fruits fall soon after ripening,
as the cherry and apricot, if not gathered ; but some remain long attached to the parent plant after being
fully ripe, as in the case of the fruit of euonymus, and mespilus. But these, though tenacious of their
hold, detach themselves at last, as well as all others, and bury themselves in the soil, about to give birth
to a new individual in the germination of the seed. The fall of the flower and fruit is accounted for in
the same manner as that of the leaf.
1686. Decay of the permanent organs. Such then is the process and presumptive ra-
tionale of the decay and detachment of the temporary organs of the plant. But there is
also a period beyond which even the permanent organs themselves can no longer carry
on the process of vegetation. Plants are affected by the infirmities of old age as well as
animals, and are found to exhibit also similar symptoms of approaching dissolution. The
root refuses to imbibe the nourishment afforded by the soil, or if it does imbibe a portion,
it is but feebly propelled, and partially distributed, through the tubes of the alburnum ;
the elaboration of the sap is now effected with difficulty as well as the assimilation of the
proper juice, the descent of which is almost totally obstructed ; the bark becomes thick
and woody, and covered with moss or lichens; the shoot becomes stunted and diminutive;
and the fruits palpably degenerate, both in quantity and quality. The smaller or ter-
minal branches fade and decay the first, and then the larger branches also, together with
the trunk and root ; the vital principle gradually declines without any chance of recovery,
and is at last totally extinguished. " When life is extinguished, nature hastens the de-
composition ; the surface of the tree is overrun with lichens and mosses, v/hicli attract and
retain the moisture ; the empty pores imbibe it, and putrefaction speedily follows. Then
come the tribes of fungi, which florish on decaying wood, and accelerate its corruption;
beetles and caterpillars take up their abode under the bark, and bore innumerable holes
in the timber ; and woodpeckers in search of insects pierce it more deeply, and excavate
large hollows, in which they place their nests. Frost, rain, and heat assist, and the whole
mass crumbles away, and dissolves into a rich mould." (Dial, on Bot, p. 365.)
Chap. VI.
Vegetable Geography and History, or the Distribution of Vegetables relatively to the Earth
and to Man,
1687. The science of the distribution of plants, Humboldt observes (Essai sur la Geo-
graphic dcs IHantes, &c. 1807), considers vegetables in relation to their local associations in
S 4
264 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part It.
different climates. It points out the grand features of the immense extent which plants
occupy, from the regions of perpetual snow to the bottom of the ocean, and to the
interior of the globe, where, in obscure grottoes, cryptogamous plants vegetate, as un-
known as the insects which they nourish. The superior limits of vegetation are known,
but not the inferior ; for every where in the bowels of the earth are germs which develope
themselves when they find a space and nourishment suitable for vegetation. On taking
a general view of the disposition of vegetables on the surface of the globe, independ-
ently of the influence of man, that disposition appears to be determined by two sorts of
causes, geographical and physical. The influence of man, or of cultivation, has intro-
duced a third cause, which may be called civil. The different aspects of plants, in
different regions, has given rise to what may be called their characteristic or picturesque
distribution; and the subject of distribution may be also considered relatively to the system-
atic divisions of vegetables, their arithmetical proportions, and economical applications.
Sect. I. Geographical Distribution of Vegetables.
1688. The territorial limits to vegetation are determined in general by three diiierent
causes : — I. By sandy deserts, which seeds cannot pass over either by means of winds
or birds, as that of Sahara, in Africa ; 2. By seas too vast for the seeds of plants to be
drifted from one shore to the other, as in the ocean ; while the Mediterranean sea, on the
contrary, exhibits the same vegetation on both shores ; and, 3. By long and lofty chains
of mountains. To these causes are to be attributed the fact, that similar climates and
soils do not always produce similar plants. Thus in certain parts of North America,
which altogether resemble Europe in respect to soil, climate, and elevation, not a single
European plant is to be found. The same remark will apply to New Holland, the Cape
of Good Hope, Senegal, and other countries, as compared with countries in similar phy-
sical circumstances, but geographically different. The separation of Africa and South
America, Humboldt considers, must have taken place before the developement of orga-
nised beings, since scarcely a single plant of the one country is to be found in a wild state
in the other.
Sect. II. Physical Distribution of Vegetables.
1689. The natural circumstances affecting the distribution of plants, may be considered
in respect to temperature, elevation, moisture, soil, and light.
1690. Temperature has ih^. raosi ohy'ions influence on vegetation. Every one knows
that the plants of hot countries cannot in general live in such as are cold, and the con-
trary. The wheat and barley of Europe will not grow within the tropics ; the same re-
mark applies to plants of still higher latitudes, such as those within the polar circles, which
cannot be made to vegetate in moTe southern latitudes ; nor can the plants of more southern
latitudes be made to vegetate there. In this respect, not only the medium temperature
of a country ought to be studied, but the temperature of different seasons, and especially
of winter. Countries where it never freezes ; those where it never freezes so strong as to
stagnate the sap in the stems of plants ; and those where it freezes sufficiently strong to
penetrate into the cellular tissue ; form three classes of regions in which vegetation ought
to differ. But this difference is somewhat modified by the effect of vegetable structure,
which resists, in different degrees, the action of frost ; tlms, in general, trees wliich lose
their leaves during winter resist the cold better than such as retain them ; resinous trees
more easily than such as are not so ; herbs of which the shoots are annual and the root
perennial, better than those where the stems and leaves are persisting ; annuals which
flower early, and whose seeds drop and germinate before winter, resist cold less easily than
such as flower late, and whose seeds lie dormant in the soil till spring. Monocotyledonous
trees, which have generally persisting leaves and a trunk without bark, as in palms, are
less adapted to resist cold than dicotyledonous trees, which are more favorably organised
for this purpose, not only by the nature of their proper juice, but by the disposition of the
cortical and alburnous layers, and the habitual carbonisation of the outer bark. Plants
of a dry nature resist cold better than such as are watery ; all plants resist cold better in
dry winters than in moist winters; and an attack of frost always does most injury in a
moist country, in a humid season, or when the plant is too copiously supplied with
water.
1691. Some plants of firm texture, but natives of warm climates, uill endure a frost of
a few hours' continuance, as the orange at Genoa, {^Humboldt, Dc Distributioyie Plan-
tarum) ; and the same thing is said of the palm and pine-apple, facts most important for
the gardener. Plants of delicate texture, and natives of warm climates, are destroyed
by the slightest attack of frost, as the phaseolus, nasturtium, &c.
1692. The temperature of spring has a material influence on the life of vegetables ; the
injurious effects of late frosts are known to every cultivator. In general, vegetation is
favored in cold countries by exposing plants to the direct influence of the sun ; but this
excitement is injurious in a country subject to frosts late in the season ; in such cases, it
is better to retard than to accelerate vegetation.
Book I.
DISTRIBUTION OF VEGETABLES.
265
1693. The temperature of summer, as it varies only by the intensity of heat, is not pro-
ductive of so many injurious accidents as that of spring. Very liot dry summers, how-
ever, destroy many delicate plants, and especially those of cold climates. A very early
summer is injurious to the germination and progress of seeds ; a short summer to their
ripening, and the contrary.
1694. Autumn i^ an important season for vegetation, as it respects the ripening of
seeds ; hence where that season is cold and humid, annual plants, which naturally flower
late, are never abundant, as in the polar regions ; the effect is less injurious to perennial
l)lants, which generally flower earlier. Frosts early in autumn are as injurious as those
which happen late in spring. Tiie conclusion, from these considerations, obviously is,
that temperate climates are more favorable to vegetation than such as are either extremely-
cold or extremely hot. But the warmer climates, as Keith observes, are more favorable
upon the whole to vegetiition than tiie colder, and that nearly in proportion to their
distance from the equator. The same plants, however, will grow in the same degree of
latitude, throughout all degrees of longitude, and also in correspondent latitudes on dif-
ferent sides of the equator ; the same species of plants, as some of tlie palms and others,
being found in Japan, India, Arabia, the West Indies, and part of South America,
which are all in nearly the same latitudes ; and the same species being also found in
Kamschatka, Germany, Great Britain, and the coast of Labrador, which are all also ia
nearly the same latitudes. ( Willdenow, p. 374.)
1 69.5. Tkc most remarkable circumstances respecting the temperature in the three zones, is
exhibited in the following Table by Humboldt. The temperature is taken according to
the centigrade thermometer. The fathom is 6 French feet, or 6,39453 English feet.
1696. Elevation, or the height of the soil above the level of the sea, determines, in a very
marked manner, the habitation of plants. The temperature lessens in regular gradation^
in the same maimer as it does in receding from the equator, and six hundred feet of ele-
vation, De Candolle states, are deemed equal to one degree of latitude, and occasion a
diminution of temperature equal to 23^ of Fahrenheit; 300 feet being nearly equal to
half a degree. Mountains 1000 fatlioms in height, at 46° of latitude, have the mean
temperature of Lapland ; mountains of the same height between the tropics enjoy the
temperature of Sicily ; and the summits of the lofty mountains of the Andes, even where
situated almost directly undqr Uie equator, are covered with snow as eternal as that of the
north pole.
266 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
1697. Hence it is that j)lants of high latitudes live on the mountains of Such as ate much
lower, and thus the plants of Greenland and Lapland are found on the Alps and Pyrenees.
At the foot of Mount Ararat, Tournefort met with plants peculiar to Armenia ; above
these he met with plants which are found also in France ; at a still greater height he
found himself surrounded with such as grow in Sweden ; and at the summit with such
as vegetate in the polar regions. This accounts for the great variety of plants which are
often found in a Flora of no great extent ; and it may be laid down as a botanical axiom,
that the more diversified the surface of the country, the richer will its Flora be, at least in
the same latitudes. It accounts also, in some cases, for the want of correspondence be-
tween plants of different countries though placed in the same latitudes ; because the
mountains or ridges of mountains, which may be found in the one and not in the other,
will produce the greatest possible difference in the character of their Floras. And to this
cause may generally be ascribed the diversity that often actually exists between plants
growing in the same latitudes, as between those of the north-west and north-east coasts
of North America, as also of the south-west and south-east coasts ; the former being more
mountainous, the latter more flat. Sometimes the same sort of difference takes place
between the plants of an island and those of the neighboring continent ; that is, if the
one is mountainous and the other flat; but if they are alike in their geographical
delineation, then they are generally alike in their vegetable productions.
1698. Cold and lofty situations are the favorite habitations of most cryptogamic plants of
the terrestrial class, especially the fungi, algee, and mosses ; as also of plants of the class
Tetradynamia, and of the UmbellatcB and Syngenesian tribes ; whereas trees and shrubs,
ferns, parasitic plants, lilies, and aromatic plants, are most abundant in warm climates ;
only this is not to be understood merely of geographical climates, because, as we have
seen, the physical climate depends upon altitude. In consequence of which, combined
with the ridges and directions of the mountains, America and Asia are much colder in
the same degrees of northern latitude than Europe. American plants, vegetating at forty-
two degrees of northern latitude, will vegetate very well at fifty-two degrees in Europe ;
the same, or nearly so, may be said of Asia ; which, in the former case, is perhaps owing
to the immense tracts of woods and marshes covering the surface, and in the latter, to the
more elevated and mountainous situation of the country affecting the degree of temper-
ature. So also Africa is much hotter under the tropics than America ; because in the
latter the temperature is lowered by immense chains of mountains traversing the equa-
terial regions, while in the former it is increased by means of the hot and burning sands
that cover the greater part of its surface.
1699. Elevation influences the habits of plants in various ways ; — by exposing them to the
wind ; to be watered by a very fresh and pure water from the melting of adjoining
snow ; and to be covered in winter by a thick layer of snow, which protects them from
severe frosts. Hence many alpine plants become frozen during winter in the plains, and
in gardens which are naturally warmer than their natural stations. In great elevations,
the diminution of the density of the air may also have some influence on vegetation. The
rarity of the atmosphere admits a more free passage for the rays of light, which, being in
consequence more active, ought to produce a more active vegetation. Experience seems
to prove this in high mountains ; and the same effect is produced in high latitudes by
tlie length of the day. On the other hand, vegetables require to absorb a certain quantity
of oxygene gas from the air during the night ; and as they find less of that in the rarified
air of the mountains, they ought to be proportionably feeble and languishing. According
to experiments made by Theodore de Saussure, plants which grow best in the high Alps
are those which require to absorb least oxygen during the night ; and, in this point of
view, the shortness of the nights near the poles correspond. These causes, however, are
obviously very weak, compared to the powerful action of temperature.
1700. Great anomalies are found in the comparative height in which the same plant will
grow in different circumstances. In countries situated under the equator, the two sides of
the mountain are of the same temperature, which is solely determined by elevation ; but in
countries distant from it, the warmest side is that towards the south, and the zones of
plants, instead of forming lines parallel to the horizon, incline towards the north. The
reason, in both cases, is sufficiently obvious. In the temperate zone we find the same
plants frequently on low and elevated situations, but this is never the case between the
tropics.
1701. Altitude influences the habits of aquatics ; thus some aquatics float always on the
surface of the water, as lemna, while others are either partially or wholly immersed.
Such aquatics as grow in the depths of the sea are not influenced by climate ; but such as
are near the surface are influenced by climate, and have their habitations affected by it.
1702. The moisture, or mode of watering natural to vegetables, is a circumstance which
has a powerful influence on the facility with which plants grow in any given soil. The
quantity of water absolutely necessary for the nourishment of plants, varies according to
their tissue ;^ some are immersed, others float on its surface ; some grow on the margin
Book I. DISTRIBUTION OF VEGETABLES. 267
of waters, with their roots always moistened or soaked in it, others again live ih soil
slightly humid or almost dry. Vegetables which resist extreme drought most easily
are, 1 . Trees and herbs with deep roots, because they penetrate to, and derive sufficient
moisture from, some distance below the surface ; 2. ]?lants, which, being furnished with
few pores on the epidermis, evaporate but little moisture from their surface, as the sue-
culent tribe.
1703. The qualities of watery or the nature of the substances dissolved in it, must neces-
sarily influence powerfully the possibility of certain plants growing in certain places.
But the difference in this respect is much less than would be imagined, because the food
of one species of plant differs very little from that of another. The most remarkable
case is that of salt-marshes, in which a great many vegetables will not live, whilst a
number of others thrive there better than any where else. Plants which grow in marine
marshes, and those which grow in similar grounds situated in the interior of a country,
are the same. Other substances naturally dissolved m water appear to have much less
influence on vegetation, though the causes of the habitations of some plants, such as
those which grow best on walls, as peltaria, and in lime-rubbish, as thlaspi, and other
cruciferjE, may doubtless be traced to some salt (nitrate of lime, &c.) or other substance
peculiar to such situations.
1704. The nature of the earth's surface affects the habitations of vegetables in different
points of view : 1. As consisting of primitive earths, or the debris of rocks or mineral
bodies ; and, 2. As consisting of a mixture of mineral, animal, and vegetable matter.
1 705. Primitive surfaces affect vegetables mechanically according to their different de-
grees of moveability or tenacity. In coarse sandy surfaces plants spring up easily, but
many of them, which have large leaves or tall stems, are as easily blown about and
destroyed. In fine, dry, sandy surfaces, plants with very delicate roots, as protea and
erica, prosper ; a similar earth, but moist in the growing season, is suited to bulbs. On
clayey surfaces plants are more difficult to establish, but when established are more per-
manent : they are generally coarse, vigorous, and perennial in their duration.
1706. With respect to the relative proportions of the jrrimitive earths in these surfaces,
it does not appear that their influence on the distribution of plants is so great as might
at first sight be imagined. Doubtless different earths are endowed with different degrees
of absorbing, retaining, and parting with moisture and heat ; and these circumstances
have a material effect in a state of culture, where they are comminuted and exposed to the
air : but not much in a wild or natural state, where they remain hard, firm, and covered
with vegetation. The difference, with a few exceptions, is never so great but that the
seeds of a plant which has been found to prosper well in one description of earth, will
germinate and thrive as well in another composed of totally different earths, provided
they are in a nearly similar state of mechanical division and moisture. Thus De Can-
doUe observes, though the box is very common on calcareous surfaces, it is found in as
great quantities in such as are schistous or granitic. The chestnut grows equally well
in calcareous and clayey earths, in volcanic ashes, and in sand. The plants of Aira, a
mountain entirely calcareous, grow equally well on the Vosges or tlie granitic Alps.
But though the kind or mixture of earths seems of no great consequence, yet the presence
of metallic oxides and salts, as sulphates of iron or copper, or sulphur alone, or alum, or
other similar substances in a state to be soluble in water, are found to be injurious to all
vegetation, of which some parts of Derbyshire and the inaremmes of Tuscany (Chateau-
vieux, let. 8.) are striking proofs. But excepting in these rare cases, plants grow nearly
inditterently on all primitive surfaces, in the sense in which we here take these terms ;
the result of which is, that earths strictly or chemically so termed, have much less in-
fluence on the distribution of plants, than temperature, elevation, and moisture. Another
result is, as De Candolle has well remarked, that it is often a very bad method of cul-
ture to imitate too exactly the nature of the earth in which a plant grows in its wild
state.
1707. Mixed or secondary soils include not only primitive earths, or the debris of rocks,
but vegetable matters — not only the medium through which perfect plants obtain their
food, but that food itself. In this view of the subject the term soil is used in a very ex-
tensive acceptation, as signifying, not only the various sorts of earths which constitute
the surface of the globe, but every substance whatever on which plants are found to
vegetate, or from which they derive their nourishment. The obvious division of soils in
this acceptation of the term is that of aquatic, terrestrial, and vegetable soils ; corres-
ponding to the division of aquatic, terrestrial, and parasitical plants.
1708. Jquxitic soils are such as are either wholly or partially inundated with water,
and are fitted to produce such plants only as are denominated aquatics. Of aquatics
there are several subdivisions according to the particular situations they affect, or the
degree of immersion they require.
1709. One of the principal subdivisions of aquatics is that of marine plants, such as the fuci and naany
of the algsB, which are very plentiful in the seas that wash the coasts of Great Britain, and are generally
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IT.
attach&l to the stones and rocks near the shore. Some of them are always immersed ; and others, which
are situated above low water mark, are immersed and exposed to the action of the atmosphere alternately.
But none of them can be made to vegetate except in the waters of the sea. Another subdivision of aqua-
tics is that of river plants, such as chara, potamogeton, and nymphasa, which occupy the bed of fresh
water rivers, and vegetate in the midst of the running stream ; being for the most part wholly immersed,
as well as found onlv in such situations.
1710. A third subdivision of aquatics is that oi paludal or fen plants, being such as are peculiar to
lakes, marshes, and stagnant or nearly stagnant waters, but of which the bottom is often tolerably clear.
In such situations you find the isoetis lacustris, flowering rush, water ranunculus, water violet, and a
variety of others which uniformly affect such situations j some of them being wholly immersed, and others
immersed only in part.
1711. Earthy soils are such as emerge above the water and constitute the surface of
the habitable globe, that is every where covered with vegetable productions. Plants
affecting such soils, which comprise by far the greater part of the vegetable kingdom,
are denominated terrestrial, being such as vegetate upon the surface of the earth, without
having any portion immersed in water, or requiring any further moisture for their
support beyond that which they derive from the earth and atmosphere. This division is,
like the aquatics, distributed into several subdivisions according to the peculiar situations
which different tribes aff'ect.
1712. Some of them are maritime, that is, growing only on the sea-coast, or at no great distance from
it, such as statice, glaux, samolus, samphire, sea-pea.
1713. Some are fluviatic, that is, affecting the banks of rivers, such as lythrum, lycopus, eupatrorium.
1714. Some are chmnpaign, that is, affecting chiefly the plains, meadows, and cultivated tields, such as
cardamine, tragopogon, agrostemma.
171.5. Some are dumose, that is, growing in hedges and thickets, such as the bramble.
1716. Some are ruderate, that is, growing on rubbisii, such as senecio viscosus.
1717. Some are sylvatic, that is, growing in woods or forests, such as stachys sylvatica, angelica sylvestris,
1718. And, finally, some are alpine, that is, growing on the summits of mountains, such as poa alpina,
epilobium alpinum, and many of the mosses and lichens.
1719. Vegetable .soi/s are such as are formed of vegetating or decayed plants them-
selves, to some of which the seeds of certain other plants are found to adhere, as being
the only soil fitted to their germination and developement. The plants springing from
them are denominated Parasitical, as being plants that will vegetate neither in the water
nor earth, but on certain other plants, to which they attach themselves by means of roots
that penetrate the bark, and from the juices of which they do often, though not always,
derive their support. This last circumstance constitutes the ground of a subdivision of
parasitical plants, into such as adhere to the dead or inert parts of other plants, and such
as adhere to living plants, and feed on their juices.
1720. In the first subdivision we may place parasitical mosses, lichens, and fungi, which are found as
often, and in as great perfection on the stumps of rotten trees, and on rotten pales and stakes, as on trees
that are yet vegetating ; whence it is also plain that they do not derive their nourishment from the juices
of the plants on which they grow, but from their decayed parts, and the atmosphere by which they are
surrounded ; the plant to which they cling serving as a basis of support.
1721. In the second subdivision we may place all plants strictly parasitical, that is, all such as do actually
abstract from the juices of the plant to which they cling the nourishment necessary to the developement
of their parts ; and of which the most common, at least as being indigenous to Britain, are the mistletoe,
dodder, broom-rape, and a sort of tuber that grows on the root of saffron, and destroys it if allowed to
spread.
1722. The mistletoe ( Viscum album) is found for the most part on the apple-tree ; but sometimes also
on the oak. If its berry is made to adhere to the trunk or branch of either of the foregoing trees, which
from its glutinous nature it may readily be made to do, it germinates by sending out a small globular body
attached to a pedicle, which after it acquires a certain length bends towards the bark, whether above it or'
below it, into which it insinuates itself by means of a num-
ber of small fibres which it now protrudes, and by which it
abstracts from the plant the nourishment necessary to its
future developement. "When the root has thus fixed itself
in the bark of the supporting tree, the stem of tlie para-
site begins to ascend, at first smooth and tapering, and of
a pale green colour, but finally protruding a multiplicity
of branches and leaves. It seems to have been thought
by some botanists that the roots of the mistletoe penetrate
even into the wood, as well as through the bark. But the
observations of Du Hamel show that this opinion is not
well founded. The roots arc, indeed, often found within
the wood, which they thus seem to have penetrated by
their own vegetating power. But the fact is, that they
are merely covered by the additional layers of wood that
have been formed since the fibres first insinuated themselves
into the bark.
1723. The Cuscuta europcsa, or dodder {fig. 242.), though
it is to be accounted a truly parasitical plant in the issue, is
yet not originally so. For the seed of this plant when it
has fallen to the ground takes root originally by sending
down its radicle into the soil and elevating its stem into
the air. It is not yet, therefore, a parasitical plant. But
the stem which is now elevated above the surface lays hold
of the first plant it meets with, though it is particularly , ..„ „ , „ .„.,
partial to hops and nettles, and twines itself around it, attaching itself by means of little' parasitical roots
at the points of contact, and finally detaching itself from the soil altogether by the decay of the original
root, and becoming a truly parasitical plant. "Withering describes the plant in his arrangement as being
originally parasitical ; but this is certainly not the fact.
1724. The Orobanche, or broom-rape, which attaches itself by the root to the roots of other plants, is
also to be regarded as bemg truly parasitical, though it sometimes sends out fibres which seem to draw
nourishment from the earth. It is found most frequently on the root* of clover aiid common broom.
Booth' DISTRIBUTION OF VEGETABLES. 269
1725. The Epidendron flos acHs is regarded also by botanists as a parasitical plant, because it is generally
found growing on other trees. But as it is found to grow in old tan, it probably derives only support
from the bark of trees, and not nourishment.
1726. Light is a body which has very considerable influence on the structure of vege-
tables, and some also on their habitation. The fungi do not require the usual interludes
of day, in order to decompose carbonic acid gas, and can live and thrive with little or no
light. In green plants, which require the action of light, the intensity required is very
different in different species ; some require shady places, and hence the vegetable inha-
bitants of caves, and the plants which grow in the shades of forests ; others, and the
freater number, require the direct action of the sun, and grow in exposed elevated sites.
)e Candolle considers that the great difficulty of cultivating Alpine plants in the gardens
of plains, arises from the impossibility of giving them at once the fresh tetnperature and
intense light which they find on high mountains.
Sect. III. Civil Causes affecting the Distribution of Plants.
1727. Bi/ the art of man plants may he inured to circumstances foreign to their usual
habits. Though plants in general are limited to certain habitations destined for them by
nature, yet some are, and probably the greater number may be, inured to climates, soils,
and situations, of which they are not indigenous. The means used are acclimating and
culture.
1728. Acclimating seems to be most easily effected in going from a hot to a cold
climate particularly with herbaceous plants. Because it often happens that the frosts of
winter are accompanied with snow, which shelters the plant from the inclemency of tlie
atmosphere till the return of spring. Trees and shrubs, on the contrary, are acclimated
with more difficulty, because they cannot be so easily sheltered from the colds, owing to
the greater length of their stems and branches. The acclimating or naturalisation of
vegetables is to be attempted by two modes : by sowing the seeds of successive genera-
tions, and by the difference of temperature produced by different aspects. The former
is well exemplified in the case of the rice-plant which is grown in Germany, from seeds
raised there, while if seeds from its native country, India, are used they will not vegetate
(Sir J. Banks, in Hort. Trans, vol. i.) ; and the latter in the sloping banks of Professor
Thouin of Paris, as described by Girardin. (^Physiologie Vegetale, vol. i.) Some plants
seem to have the capacity of vegetating in almost all climes, or of naturalising themselves
in almost any. This is particularly the case with the domestic esculents, such as cab-
bages, potatoes, and carrots. (Dialogues on Botany, p. 411.)
1729. Domesticated plants. " Some plants," Humboldt observes " which constitute
the object of gardening and of agriculture, have time out of mind accompanied man
from one end of the globe to the other. In Europe, the vine followed the Greeks ; the
wheat, the Romans; and the cotton, the Arabs. In America the Tultiques carried
with them the maize; and the potatoe and quinoa {Chenopodium quinoa, of which the
seeds are used,) are found wherever have migrated the ancient Condinamarea. The
migration of these plants is evident ; but their first country is as little known as that of
the different races of men, which have been found in all parts of the globe from the ear-
liest traditions." [Geogfaphie des Plantes, p. 25.)
1 730. The general effect of culture on plants is that of enlarging all their parts ; but it
often also alters the qualities, forms, and colors : it never, however, alters their pri-
mitive structure. " The potatoe," as Humboldt observes, " cultivated in Chili, at
nearly twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea, carries the same flower as in
Siberia."
1731. The culinary vegetables of our gardens, compared with the same species in their
wild state, afford striking proofs of the influence of culture on both the magnitude and
qualities of plants. Nothing in regard to magnitude is more remarkable than in the case
of the Brassica tribe ; and nothing, in respect to quality, exceeds the change effected on
the celery and carrot.
1732. The influence of culture on fruits is not less remarkable. The peach, in its wild
state in Media, is poisonous, but cultivated in the plains of Ispahan and Egypt, it be-
comes one of the most delicious of fruits. The effect of culture on the apple, pear,
cherry, plum, and other fruits, is nearly as remarkable ; for not only the fruit and leaves,
but the general habits of the tree, are altered in tJiese and other species. The history of
the migration of fruit-trees has been commenced by Sickler, in a work (Geschictef &c.)
which Humboldt has praised as equally curious and philosophical.
1733. The influence of culture on plants of ornament is great in most species. The
parts of all plants are enlarged, some are numerically increased, as in the case of double
flowers ; and what is most remarkable, even the colors are frequently changed, both in
the leaf, flower, and fruit.
1734. Tfie influence of civilisation and culture^ in increasing the number of jtlants in a
CQuntryt is very considerable, and operates directly, by introducing new species for cul-
270
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
ture in gardens, fields, or timber-plantations ; and indirectly by acclin^ating and final
naturalisation of many species, by the influence of winds and birds in scattering their
seeds. The vine and the fig are not indigenous to France, but are now naturalised there
by birds. In like manner the orange is naturalised in the south of Italy. Many her-
baceous plants of the Levant are naturalised both in France and Britain ; some, as the
cabbage, cherry, and apple, were probably naturalised during the subjection of England
to the Romans. The narrow-leaved elm was brought from the Holy Land during
the crusades. Phaseolus vulgaris, and impatiens balsamina were brought originally
from India ; and datura stramonium, which is now naturalised in Europe, was brought
originally from India or Abyssinia. Buckwheat and most species of corn and peas
came also from the East, and along with them several plants found among corn only,
such as centaurea cyanus, agrostemma githago, raphantiis raphanistrum, and myagrum
sativum. The country from whence the most valuable grasses migrated is not known.
Bruce says he found the oat wild in Abyssinia, and wheat and millet have been found
in a wild state in hilly situations in the East Indies. Rye and the potatoe were not
known to the Romans. The country of the former Humboldt declares to be totally
unknown.
1735. The greatest refinement in culture consists in the success/id formation of artificial
climates for the culture of tropical plants in cold regions. Many vegetables, natives of
the torrid zone, as the pine apple, the palm, &c. cannot be acclimated in temperate
countries. But by means of hot-houses of different kinds they are grown even on the
borders of the frozen zone to the highest degree of perfection ; and in Britain some of
the tropical fruits, as the pine and melon, are brought to a greater size and better flavor
than in their native habitations. Casting our eyes on man, and the effects of his indus-
try, we see him spread on the plains and sides of mountains, from the frozen ocean to
the equator, and every where he wishes to assemble around him whatever is useful and
agreeable of his own or of other countries. The more diflSculties to surmount, the more
rapidly are developed the moral faculties ; and thus the civilisation of a people is almost
always in an inverse ratio with the fertility of the soil which they inhabit. What is the
reason of this ? Humboldt asks. Habit and the love of the site natal.
Sect. IV. Characteristic or Picturesque Distribution of Vegetables.
1 736. The social and antisocial habits of plants is one of their most remarkable charac-
teristics. Like animals they live in two classes : the one class grows alone and scattered,
as solanum dulcamara, lychnis dioica, polygonum bistorta, anthericum liliago, &c. The
other class unites in society, like ants or bees, covers immense surfaces, and excludes other
species, such as fragaria vesca, vaccinium myrtillus, polygonum aviculare, aira canescens,
pinus sylvestris, &c. Barton states that the mitchella repens is the plant most extensively
spread in North America, occupying all the ground between the 28° and 69° of north
latitude. The arbutus uva ursi, extends from New Jersey to the 72° of latitude. On
the contrary, gordonia, franklinia, and dionaea muscipula are found isolated in small
spots. Associated plants are more common in the temperate zones than in the tropics,
where vegetation is less uniform and more picturesque. In the temperate zones, the
frequency of social plants, and the culture of man, has rendered the aspect of the country
comparatively monotonous. Under the tropics, on the contrary, all sorts of forms are
united ; thus cypresses and pines are found in the forests of the Andes of Quindiu, and of
Mexico; and bananas, palms, and bamboos in the valleys. (Jig. 243.) But green meadows
and the season of spring are wanting in the south, for nature has reserved gifts for every
region. " The valleys of the Andes,^' Humboldt observes, "are ornamented with bananaa
Book I. DISTRIBUTION OF VEGETABLES. 271
and palms ; on the noountains are found oaks, firs, barberries, alders, brambles, and a
crowd of genera believed to belong only to countries of the north. Thus the inhabitant
of the equinoctial regions views all the vegetable forms which nature has bestowed around
him on the globe. Earth developes to his eyes a spectacle as varied as the azure vault
of heaven, which conceals none of her constellations." The people of Europe do not
enjoy the same advantage. The languishing plants, which the love of science or luxury
cultivates in our hot-houses, present only the shadow of the majesty of equinoctial vege-
tation ; but by the richness of our language, we paint these countries to the imagination,
and individual man feels a happiness peculiar to civilization.
1737. The features of many plants are so obvious and characteristic, as to strike every
general observer. The scitamineae, tree-heaths, firs, and pines, mimosae, climbers, cacti,
grasses, lichens, mosses, palms, equisitaceae, arums, pothos, dracontium, &c. the chaffy-
leaved plants, raalvaceae, orchideae, liliaceae, &c. form remarkable groups distinguish-
able at first sight. Of these groups, the most beautiful are the palms, scitamineas,
and liliaceae, which include the bamboos and plantains, the most splendid of umbra-
geous plants.
1738. The native countries of plants may often be discovered by their features in the same
manner as the national distinctions which are observable in the looks and color of man-
kind, and which are effected chiefly by climate. Asiatic plants are remarkable for their
superior beauty ; African plants for their thick and succulent leaves, as in the case of the
cacti; and American plants for the length and smoothness of their leaves, and for a sort
of singularity in the shape of the flower and fruit. The flowers of European plants are
but rarely beautiful, a great portion of them being amentaceous. Plants indigenous
to polar and mountainous regions are generally low, with small compressed leaves ; but
with flowers large in proportion. Plants indigenous to New Holland are distinguishable
for small and dry leaves, that have often a shrivelled appearance. In Arabia they are low
and dwarfish ; in the Archipelago they are generally shrubby and furnished with prickles ;
while in the Canary Islands many plants, which in other countries are merely herbs,
assume the port of shrubs and trees. The shrubby plants of the Cape of Good Hope
and New Holland exhibit a striking similarity, as also the shrubs and trees of the
northern parts of Asia and America, which may be exemplified in the platanus orien-
talis of the former, and in platanus occidentalis of the latter, as well as in fagus syl-
vatica and fagus latifolia, or acer cappadocium and acer saccharinum ; and yet the herbs
and undershrubs of the two countries do not in the least correspond. " A tissue of
fibres," Humboldt observes, " more or less loose — vegetable colors more or less vivid,
according to the chemical mixture of their elements, and the force of the solar rays,
are some of the causes which impress on the vegetables of each zone their characteristic
features."
1739. The influence of the general aspect of vegetation on the taste and imagination of a
people — the difference in this respect between the monotonous oak and pine forests
of the temperate zones, and the picturesque assemblages of palms, mimosas, plantains,
and bamboos of the tropics — the influence of the nourishment, more or less stimu-
lant, peculiar to different zones, on the character and energy of the passions : — these,
Humboldt observes, unite the history of plants with the moral and political history of
man.
Sect. V. Systematic Distribution of Vegetables.
1 740. The distribution of jylants, considered in respect to their systematic classificationSf
is worthy of notice. The three grand systematic divisions of plants are acotyledoneae,.
dicotyledoneae, and monocotyledoneaj. A simplification of this division considers plants
as agamous, or phanerogamous, that is, without or with visible sexes.
1741. Plants of visible sexes. Taking the globe in zones, the temperate contain
I part of all the phanerogamous or visible sexual species of plants. The equinoctial
countries contain nearly ^^j, and Lapland only ^^j part.
] 742. Plants with the sexual jmrts invisible or indistinct. Taking the whole surface
of the globe, the agamous plants, that is, mosses, fungi, fuci, &c. are to the pha-
nerogamae or perfect plants, nearly as 1 to 7 ; in the equinoctial countries as 1 to 5 ; in
the temperate zones as 2 to 5 ; in New Holland as 2 to 1 1 ; in France as 1 to 2 ; in
Lapland, Greenland, Iceland, and Scotland, they are as 1 to 1, or even more numerous
than the phanerogamous plants. Within the tropics, agamous plants grow only on the
summits of the highest mountains. In several of the islands of the Gulf of Carpentaria,
having a Flora of phanerogamous plants exceeding 200 species, R. Brown did not ob-
serve a single moss.
1743. In the whole globe, the monocotyledonea, including the grasses, liliaceae, scita-
meneae, &c. are to the whole of the perfect plants as 1 to 6 ; in the temperate zones
(between 36° and 52°,) as 1 to 4 ; and in the polar regions as 1 to 20. In Germany,
the monocotyledoneae are to the total number of species as 1 to 4^ j in France as 1 to
272
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
4| ; in New Holland the three grand divisions of plants, beginning with the acotyledoneae,
are nearly as 1 , 2i, and 7;^.
1744. Dicotyledoneee. In the whole globe, the monocotyledoneae are estimated, by
R.Brown, from Persoon's Synopsis, {Gen. Rem. ontheBot. of Terr. Just. 1814.) to be
to the dicotyledoneac as 2 to 1 1 ; or with the addition of undescribed plants, as 2 to 9.
From the equator to 30° of north latitude, they are as 1 to 5. In the higher latitudes a
gradual diminution of dicotyledonese takes place, until in about 60° nortli latitude and
50° south latitude they scarcely equal half their intertropical proportions. The ferns in
the temperate regions are to the whole number of species as 1,2, and 5 ; that is, in the
polar regions as I , in the temperate countries as 2, and in the intertropical regions as 5.
In France, ferns form ^^^ part of the phanerogamous plants ; in Germany ^'g ; in Lap-
land Jg.
1745. The natural orders of perfect or phanerogamous plants are variously distributed
in different countries. The following Table gives a general view of the relative propor-
tions of several natural orders of perfect plants in France, Germany, and Lapland.
Ratio of each Family to the
Names of Natural Orders.
Number of Species in
different Countries.
wliole of tiie
gamous plants
Countries.
Phanero-
in these
Fran.
Germ.
Lapl.
Fran, i Germ.
Lapl.
Cyperoideae - - -
134
102
55
^y
iv
^
Gramineae - - -
284
143
49
h
T^
i,
Junceae - - -
These three Families together
42
20
20
1
i
460
265
124
Orchideae _ _ -
54
44
11
sV
is
:fe
Labiatae - _ -
149
72
7
51
i
s
Rhinantheae et Scrophuleas -
147
76
17
h
t
Boraginea? _ > _
49
26
6
l\
,\
i.
Ericeae et Rhododendreae -
29
21
20
rk
M
^•o
Compositae _ - -
490
238
38
h
13
Umbelliferse
170
86
9
31
i^
^
Cruciferae _ . .
190
106
22
t'j
I'g
5*3
Malvaceae - - -
25
8
— .
1^3
ik
Caryophylleae - - -
165
71
29
h
27
I
Leguminoseae ...
230
96
14
Va
tV
^
Euphorbeae - - * -
51
18
1
i
T^
t
Amentaceae _ _ ..
69
48
23
55
Conifereae
19
7
3
.k
I
,b
3645
1884
497
1
1746. The most universal plants are the agamous
fatnilies. Their germs are the only ones which nature
developes spontaneously in all climates. The poly-
trychum commune (Jig. 244.) grows in all latitudes;
in Europe and under the equator ; on high moun-
tains and on a level with the sea ; in short, wherever
there is shade and humidity. No phanerogamous
plants have organs sufficiently flexible to accommodate
themselves in this manner to every zone. The alsine
media, fragaria vesca, and solanum nigrum, have been
supposed to enjoy this advantage ; but all that can be
said is, that these plants are very much spread, like the
people of the race of Caucasus, in the northern part of
the ancient continent. (Humboldt.)
Sect. VI. Economical Distribution of Vegetables.
1747. The plants chiefly employed in human economy differ in different climates and
countries ; but some, as the cereal grasses, are in universal use ; and others, as the banana
and plantain, only in the countries which produce them.
Book I. DISTRIBUTION OF THE BRITISH FLORA. 273
1748. The bread-corn of the temperate climates is chiefly wheat and maize ; of the hot
climates rice, and of the coldest climates barley.
1749. The edible roots of the old world are chiefly the yam, sweet potatoe, onion, car-
rot, and turnip ; of the new the potatoe,
1 750. The oleraceous herbs of temperate climates are chiefly the brassica family, and
other cruciferae. In hot climates pot-herbs are little used. Legumes, as the pea, bean,
and kidney-bean, are in general use in most parts of the old world.
1751. The fntUs of the nnrtherii hemisphere belong chiefly to the orders of Pomaceae,
Amygdalinese, Grossulareas, Rosaceae, Viticeas, and Amentaceae.
1752. The fruits of the East Indies belong chiefly to Myrtaceae, Guttifereae, Auranteae, Musacese, Palmse,
Cucurbitaceae, Myristicese, &c.
1753. The fruits of China are chiefly of the orders of Auranteas, Myrtaceae, Rhamneae, Pomaceae,' Amygda-
lineae, Palmae, &c.
1754. The fruits of Africahelong to Sapoteae, Palmae, Chrysobalanese, Guttifereae," A pocineae, Papilionacese,
Musacese, and CucurbitaceEe.
1755. The fruits of South America belong to Annonaceae, Myrtaceae, Terebintaceae, Myristiceae, Palmae,
Bromeliaceae, Sapoteae, Laurinje, Chrysobalaneae, Musaceae, Papilionaceae, and Passifloreae.
1 75^. The most showy herbaceous flowers of the temperate zone belong to Rosaceae,
Liliacea^, Irideae, Ericinae, Ranunculacese, Primulaceae, Caryophylleae, Gentianeae, &c.
Those of the torrid zone belong to the Scitaminese, Amaryllideae, Bignoniacea;, Mela-
stomacese, Magnoliaceas, Papilionaceae, Apocineas, &c.
1757. The most useful timber-trees of temperate climates are of the pine or fir kind ; of warm climates
the palm and bamboo. The universal agricultural order is the Graminece.
Sect. VII. Arithmetical Distribution of Vegetables.
1758. The total number of species of plants known, amounted in 1820 to about
44,000, of which 38,000 have been described. According to Humboldt and R.
Brown, they are thus distributed: in Europe 7000; in temperate Asia 1500; in
equinoctial Asia and the adjacent islands 4500 ; in Africa .SOOO; in temperate America,
in both hemispheres, 4000; in equinoctial America 13,000; in New Holland and the
islands of the Pacific Ocean 5000 ; — in all 38,000. In Spitzbergen there are 30 species
of perfect plants; in Lapland 534; in Iceland 533; in Sweden 1299; in Scotland 900;
in Britain 1400; in Brandenburg 2000 ; in Piedmont 2800 ; in Jamaica, Madagascar,
and the coast of Coromandel, from 4000 to 5000. It is now (anno 1824) believed that
there may be from 100,000 to 200,000 species of plants. Such is the progress of
ideas.
Sect. VIII. Distribution of the British Flora, indigenous and exotic.
1 759. About thirteen thousand plants compose the Hortus Britannicus, or such species
as admit of cultivation. Mosses, Fungi, Fuci, Algae, and Lichens are, with a few excep-
tions, excluded.
1 760. The natives of Britain which enter into this Hortus are upwards of 1 400 species ;
but the native British Flora contains in all above 3300 species. Of these there are about
1437 cotyledonous plants, and nearly 1893 of imperfect, or of what are termed, in the
Jussieuean system, acotyledoneas.
1761. Of the cotyledonous or perfect plants, 182 are trees or shrubs ; 855 are peren-
nials ; 60 are biennials ; and 340 annuals. Of the trees and shrubs, 47 are trees ; 25
above thirty feet high, and the remainder under thirty, but above 10 feet high. Of the
perennials 83 are grasses ; the next greatest number belong to the two first orders of the
class Pentandria ; the next to the Syngenesia ; and the third to Moncecia Triandria, or
the Cyperace£B of Jussieu, comprehending chiefly the genus Carex. Most of the bien-
nials belong to the first order of the 19th class, and the two first orders of Pentandria.
There are 41 annual grasses ; 52 annuals belong to the two first orders of Pentandria ;
and the next greatest number of annuals to Diadelphia Decandria, which includes the
trefoils and vetches.
1762. Of the Cryj)togame<^, or imperfect plants, 800 are fungi ; 18 algse , 373 lichens ;
85 hepaticaj ; 460 musci ; and 130 ferns ; according to an estimate (in Rees's Cycloju
art. Plant,] understood to be made by Sir J. E. Smith.
1763. In regard to the distribution of the perfect plants as to elevation, little or nothing
has been yet generalised on the subject. In regard to soils, 276 are found in bogs, and
marshy or moist places ; 1 40 on the sea-shores ; 1 28 in cultivated grounds ; 121 in mea-
dows and pastures ; 78 in sandy grounds ; 76 in hedges and on hedge-banks ; 70 on
chalky and other calcareous soils ; 64 on heaths ; 60 in woods ; 30 on walls ; 29 on
rocks ; and 19 on salt-marshes; — reckoning from Galpine's Compend. Fl. Brit.
1764. In the distribution of the Cryptogamece, the ferns prevail in rocky places and
wastes ; most of the musci, hepatici, and lichens, on rocks and trees ; most of the fuci
and algee in the sea ; and of the fungi, on decaying vegetable bodies, especially trunks
of trees, manures, &c.
T
274
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part H.
1765. In respect to geographical distribution, the mountainous and|hilly districts of Eng-
land and South Wales are most prolific ; the greatest number, according to extent of sur-
face, are found in England and Wales, and the smallest number in Ireland.
1766. The genera of the native British Flora enter into 23 classes and 71 orders of the
former, and 8 classes and 121 orders of the latter system.
1 767. With respect to the uses or aj)j)lication of the native Flora, there are about 1 8 sorts
of wild fruits which may be eaten, exclusive of the wild apple and pear ; but only the
pear, apple, plum, currant, raspl)erry, strawberry, and cranberry, are gathered wild, or
cultivated in gardens. There are about 20 boiling culinary plants natives, including the
cabbage, sea-kale, asparagus, turnip, carrot, and parsnep. There are about the same
number of spinaceous plants, salading, and pot and sweet herbs, which may be used, but
of which but a few only enter into the dietetics of modern cooks. There are three fungi,
in general use, the mushroom, truffle, and morel ; and various others, as well as about
eight species of sea-weeds, are occasionally eaten. There are about six native plants
cultivated as florists' flowers, including the primula elatior, crocus, narcissus, dianthus,
&c. Nearly 1 00 grasses, clovers, and leguminous plants are used in agriculture, or serve
in their native places of growth as pasturage for cattle. Two native plants, the oat and
the big, or wild barley, are cultivated as farinaceous grains. Most of the trees are used
in the mechanical arts, for fuel, or for tanning : one plant, the flax, not an aboriginal
Dative, but now naturalised, affords fibre for the manufacture of linen cloth. Various
plants yield colored juices, which may be, and in part are, used in dyeing ; and some
hundred species have been, and a few are still used in medicine. About 20 cotyledonous
plants, and above 50 cryptogamese, chiefly fungi, are, or are reputed to be, poisonous,
both to men and cattle.
1768. By the artificial Flora of Britain, we understand such of the native plants as ad-
mit of preservation or culture in gardens ; and such exotics as are grown there, whether
in the open ground, or in different descriptions of plant habitations. The total number
of species which compose this Flora, or Hortus Britannicus, as taken from Sweet's cata-
logue, is about 13,000, including botanists' varieties, and excluding agamous plants.
This is nearly a fourth part of the estimated Flora of our globe, and may be considered
in regard to the countries from whence the plants were introduced ; the periods of their
introduction ; their obvious divisions ; their systematic classification ; their garden habit-
ations ; their application ; and their native habitations.
1769. With respect to the native countries of the artificial Flora or Hortus Britannicus,
of 970 species the native countries are unknown ; the remaining 12,000 species were first
introduced from the following countries : —
EUEOPE.
Asia.
Africa.
America.
Continent.
Continent.
Continent.
S. Continent.
N. Continent
S. of Europe - 659
East Indies - 826
Cape of Good"! ooon
Mexico - -
102 United States
1222
Spain - - 266
Siberia - - 364
ftope - y
--60U
Peru - - -
77 Carolina -
129
Italy ... 202
Levant - - 213
Barbary - -
77
Brazil - - -
74 Virginia - -
49
Hungary - - 173
China - - 205
Egypt - -
Morocco - -
69
Guinea - -
33 Canada - -
28
Austria - - 171
Caucasus - . 67
13
Vera Cruz -
22 Missouri - .
24
Germany - - 134
Persia - - 37
Sierra Leone -
12
Caraccas - -
21 Louisiana - -
18
Switzerland - 117
Japan . . 3&
Guinea -
11
Chili
29 Georgia - -
16
France - ' - 103
Syria - - - 19
Abyssinia - -
8
Buenos Ayres
Various other")
Places - 3
8 Florida . - -
9
Various other"? aar
Parts - j *^
Various other! go
Parts - i ^2
Algiers - * -
8
^^^JrVriff 1
Various other")
Parts - i
51
America and >
111
Islands.
Islands.
5. Islands.
the United
Madeira - - 75
New So. Wales 239
Islands.
Cayenne - -
Falkland ")
Islands - i
9 States - - J
Candia - . 66
New Holland 152
Canaries - -
82
^ N. Islands.
Other Islands. 352
Ceylon - - 31
TenerifFe - -
21
Britain - - 1400
VanDieman's") oi
Land - j 2^
SL Helena -
6 1 Terra del 7
J West Indies -
■^ Jamaica -
435
Cape Verde 1
Islands i
1
Fuego - i
248
Other Islands 73
1 Bahamas -
9
1 Other Islands
55
European plants in the artificial Flora of Britain ...
- - 4169
Asiatic
. - -
- 2365
African
_ - -
. 2639
South America . . - .
.
- - 644
North America . . _ -
.
- - 2353
Native countries unknown
-
- 970
13,140
1 770. With respect to the dates of the introduction of the exotics from those different
countries, the dates of the introduction of none are known before the time of Gerard, in
Henry VIII.'s reign. From this author and Trew, it appears that 47 species were intro-
duced on or before 1548, including the apricot, fig, pomegranate, &c. Those previously
introduced, of which the dates are unknown, may be considered as left here by the Ro-
mans, or afterwards brought over from France, Italy, and S,pain, by the ecclesiastics.
Book I.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE BRITISH FLORA.
275
and preserved in the gardens of the religious houses. Henry died in 1547 j but the
plants introduced in the year after his death, may be considered as properly belonging to,
his reign.
Edw. VI. 1547 to 1553. During this troublous reign, only
seven exotic species were added to tiie Britisii garden, chiefly
by Dr. Turner, director of the Duke of Somerset's (then Lord
Protector) garden at Zion House.
Mary. 155,7 to 1558. No plants introduced.
Elizabeth. 1558 to 1603. 533 species were introduced during "*■". """i ""- "■>^";' "f's '■"^ j«;»' "■ ""'i-ii mc msi lom
this reign. Of these, '^88 are enumerated in the first edition of edition of the Gardeners' and Balanists' Dictionary ap{)eared,
Gerard's Herbal, published 1557. Drake's voyage round the "'" =" '"'''" =-•-»-=-'• •--''"- -^^'= " -^
George I. 1714 to 1727. 182 planU, chiefly through the
Chelsea garden.
Georee II. 1727 to 1760. 1770 plants, almost entirely
through the Chelsea garden, now in its zenith of fame under
Miller. 375 of these plants are stated as introdmed in 1730
and 1731^ the latter being the year in which the first folio
239 in 1739, in which year the 4th edition of the same work
appeared. 196 in 1752, and above 4()0 in 1758 and 1759,
when subsequent editions were publislied. In the last, in
1765, the number of plants cultivated in England is stated to
be more than double the number contained in the edition of
George 111. 1760 to 1817. 6756 plants introduced, or con-
siderably above half the whole number of exotics now in the
gardens of this country. This is to be accounted for firom the
general progress of civilisation, and the great extension of
British power and influence in every quarter of tlie world;
especially in the East Indies, at the tape of Good Hope, and
New South Wales. The increasing liberality of intercourse
whiclj now obuined among the learned of all coimtries,
must also be taken into account, by which, notwithstanding
the existence of political differences, peace reigned and com-
merce florished in the world of science. George III. may
also b^ said to have encouraged botany, aided by the advice,
assistance, and unwearied efforts of that distinguished patron
of science. Sir Joseph Banks, and the garden of Kew, and its
late curator, Aiton, became the Chelsea garden, and the Miller
of this reign. Most of the new plants were sent there, and
first described in the Hortus Kewensis. The next greatest num.
hers were procured bv the activity of the London nurser>men,
especially Lee, and Loddiges, and described in the Botanical
Manazine ; Andrew's Heathery ; the Botanical Register ; Lod-
diges' Cabinet, and other works. The greatest number of plants
introduced in any one year, during thLs period, is 336 in 1800,
chiefly heaths and proteas from the Cape of Good Hope, taken
from the Dutch in 1795. The following are the numbers
annually introduced since that period : —
ISOl.
-. 116
1805.
- 169
1809.
- 48
1813.
- 42
1802.
- 169
1806.
- 224
1810.
- 68
1814.
44
1803.
- 267
1807.
- 61
1811.
- 149
1815.
- 192
1804.
- 299
1808.
- 52
1812.
- .316
1816.
- 301.
«, pu ...
world, Raleigh's discoveries in North America, and the con-
sequent introduction of the tobacco and potatoe, took place
during this reign.
James I. 1603 to 1625. Only 20 plants introduced during
this period.
Charles I. 1625 to 1649. 331 plants introduced, which are
chiefly mentioned bv Parkinson, the first eilition of whose
work was published \\\ 1629. Parkinson was the king's herbalist,
and Tradescant his kitchen-gardener. A taste for plants began
to appear among the higher classes during this reign ; various
private gentlemen had botanic gardens ; and several London
merchants procured seeds and plants for Lobel, Johnston, and
Parkinson, through their foreign correspondents.
O. and R. Cromwell. 1649 to 1658. 95 plants introduced by
the same means as before. Cromwell encouraged agriculture ;
but the part he acted left no leisure for any description of
elegant or refined enjoyment.
C/tarlcs II. 1660 to 1685. 152 plants introduced, chiefly
mentioned by Rav, Morrison, and different writers in the
Transactions of the Royal Society, founded in 1663. The
Oxford and Chelsea gardens were founded, or enlarged, during
this reign. Sir Hans Sloane and Evelyn florished. Many
native plants were now brought into notice by Ray and Wil-
loughby.
Jatnes II. 1685 to 1688. 44 plants introduced.
WiUiam Sc Mani. 1688 to 1702. 298 species introduced,
chiefly from the West Indies, and through Sir Hans Sloane
and the Chelsea garden. Plunkenet succeeded Parkinson as
royal herbalist during this reign; and botanists were sent
from England, for the first time, to explore foreign countries.
As in the two former reigns great additions were now made
to the indigenous Flora, by Ray, Sibbald, Johnson, and
others. Many of the 50 species annually presented to the
Royal Society were natives.
Anne. 1702 to 1714. 230 plants in great part from the
East and West Indies, and through the Chelsea garden. Annual Average of 17 years, ending 1816, 156 species.
1771. With respect to the obvious character of the artificial Floray 350 species are hardy
trees or shrubs ; of these 270 are trees above 10, and 100 trees above SO feet high. Of
these, the larch, spruce fir, silver fir, and Lombardy poplar, sometimes attain the height
of 100 feet. Above 400 species are hardy grasses. Of the tender exotics, the greater
number are trees or shrubs, and the next greatest number annuals and bulbs. The-
colors of the blossoms are generally rich and vivid in proportion to the warmth of the
climate of which the plants are natives.
1772. Purchasable British Flora. The whole of the plants enumerated as forming the
British Flora, are probably not at any one time all in existence in Britain. Many of them,
especially the exotic species, which were introduced at Kew, have been lost there through
accidents or diseases, and are wanting for a time till new seeds or plants are obtained from
abroad. Had they been distributed among the nurserymen they would have been
abundantly multiplied and spread over the country. Casualties happen even to hardy
plants, and a species which at one time is to be found in moderate quantities in the nur-
series is at another period comparatively scarce. Thus, if we reduce the actual number,
of species to be found in cultivation at one time to from 9000 to 10,000, it will be found
nearer the truth. In the public nurseries, varieties are very much cultivated, in order, as
it were, to place the beauties of esteemed species in different points of view ; or to produce
in vegetables something analogous to what are called variations in musical compositions.
The following may be considered as a popular or horticultural distribution of tlie species
and varieties obtainable from British nurseries. It is taken from a catalogue entitled
Prodromus, &c. ; or Forerunner of the collection in Page's Southampton nursery-garden '
drawn up by L. Kennedy, (late of the Hammersmith nursery,) and published in 1818.
It is a work of great practical utility, and with Sweet's Hortus, should be in the hands
of every gardener, who has a collection of plants under his care.
1773. Hardi/ Plants.
Sp.&Var.
Trees above 30 feet high - - 100
Trees under 30 and above 101 onn
feet high . . . j- 20(J
Deciduous shrubs . . - 500
Roses, double and single - . 330
Evergreen shrubs . - 400
Hardy climbing shrubs
Herbaceous plants . . .
Grasses introduced in botanicl
collections - - J
Bulbous-rooted plants
Aquatics
Sp. & Var.
150
1774. Green-house and Dry-stove Plants.
Trees and shrubs
Heaths -
Geraniums
Proteas
8p. & Var.
1450
400
150
Climbers
Succulents
Mesymbryanthemums
'Bulbous-rooted planU
T 2
Sp.&Var.
90
170
160
300
Marsh plants
Biennials
Sp.&Var»
70
- 300
Sp. & Var
Herbaceous and stemless planu 340
276
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
1775. Hot-house Plants.
Trees and shrubs - ...
Climbers - . - -
Succulent plants - • -
Bulbous-rooted planU
Herbaceous . - - -
1776. Annuals, native and exotic.
Sp. & Var.
850
150
Hardy
Half hardy
Tender
Esculent
Sp. & Var.
300
140
100
200
Aquatics
Reedy or scitaminous
Used in agriculture exclusive of grasses
Sp. & Var.
25
55
Sp.&Var.
Total. Hardy, 4580; green-house and dry-stove, 3180 ; hot-house, 1463; annuals,
820; total, 10,043; of these, above 3000 may be considered as varieties, so that the
actual hortus procurable in British nurseries, may be estimated, as to the British hortus
of books, as 7 to 12, or including the cryptogamous plants, as 8 to 12.
1777. With respect to the application of the purchasable Flora of Britain, including
species and varieties, we submit the following as only a rude outline, the subject not
admitting of perfect accuracy from the ever- varying number of varieties.
1778. Varieties
of Fruit-trees, and Fruit^-bearing Plants,
for Sale in British Nurseries.
Sp. & Var.
Sp.&Var.
Sp.&Var.
Apples
300
Apricots ■" -
30
Cranberry
1
Pears
300
Plums
150
Mulberries
2
Medlars
2
Cherries
100
Filberts
6
Quinces
Services
2
Grapes
50
Walnuts
3
3
Figs
30
Chestnuts
3
Oranges and JLemons
Gooseberries
200
Melons
15
Peaches -
'. 100
Currants
4
Pine-apples
20
Neetarines
50
Raspberries
10
Almonds
6
Strawberries
. 20
Total 1417
1779. Esculent Herbaceous Plants, annuals and
perennials, used in Horticulture.
Sp.&Var.
Sp. & Var.
*
Sp. & Var.
Cabbage tribe
- I 35
Pot herbs and gamishings
11 16
Edible wild plants
which! 31 31
Leguminous plants •
3 59
Sweet herbs
- 12 20
may be used -
Esculent roots -
- 10 45
Plants used in confectionary! ,^ ,<,
Edible fungi
Edible ftici . .
- - 3 3
Spinaceous plants
6 10
and domestic medicine
f " ""
. 8 8
Alliaceous plants
7 18
11 18
Plants used as preserves andl ,„ ««
pickles - - - J- 12 26
AsparaginouS plants
Total 154 337
Acetaceous plants
1780. Florists'
25 40
Flowers, used in Floriculture.
Sp.&Var.
Sp. & Var.
Sn.&Var.
Bulboui-rooted Plants.
Colchicums
- 10
Tuberoits rooted Plants'
Hyacinths
. 200
Other sorts
100
Dahlias
400
TuUps -
300
Fibrous rooted Plants,
I'iEonies
20
Crocuses ...
. 100
Auriculas
- 200
Ranunculuses
300
Narcissi
. . 200
Polyanthi
100
Anemonies
200
Irises
60
Primroses
20
Fritillaries -
20
Cowslips
10
Total 2666
Crown-imperials
20
Pinks -
200
Dens canis
6
Carnations
300
1781. Hardy Timber-trees and Shrubs, used in Arboriculture, Floriculture, and
Landscape-gardening.
Sp.&Var.
20
Trees planted for timber
. other useful purposes
Trees planted for ornament
Hedge-plants ...
Sp.&Var.
100 Shrubs planted for various uses, as fuel, charcoal,")
20 bark, firewood, &c. J
180
Total 330
Plants used for dyeing
Plants used for the clothing arts
Sea plants used ...
Mosses used in dyeing ...
for various purposes^in the arts
Used for distillation and perfumery
Sp. & Var.
- 2 2
- 2 2
6 6
- 1 1
- 6 6
Total 65 112
1782. Agricultural Herbaceous Plants, grown for Food for Men and Cattle, and for
use in various Arts.
Sp. & Var.
Grains for human food - - - - - 4 20
leguminous seeds - .----4 10
Roots - - 6 20
Herbage plants, not grasses - - - - 9 15
grasses, and grasses for grains for the infe-"} g,. c.c
nor animals - - - ../■'"•'''
Plants used for furnishing oils and essences - - 5 5
1783. Miscellaneous applications of Hardy Perennials, native and exotic.
Sp. & Var.
Border-flowers, or such as are used in flower-gar- 1 -rnn
dens and shrubberies, in ordinary cases about J
Used in the modem pharmacopeias - - 50 Total 870
Sold by herbalists, and used by quacks and irregu-1 «„ ■
lar pracUtioners - . - J
1784. Ajrplication of curious hot-house exotics, or such plants of ornament as require the
jirotection of glass. Of these there are in ordinary green-houses seldom more than 100
species and varieties, and not more than half that number in most of our plant-stoves.
The remainder of this class are confined to the public and private botanic gardens, and
to eminent public nurseries. Many of this division are of great importance in their na-
tive countries, as the indigo, sugar-cane, tea-tree, cinnamon, &c. ; the mango, durion,
and other excellent fruits, the palms, bamboos, &c. Even some, here treated as entirely
ornamental, afford useful products in their own countries, as the camellia, sun-flower,
&c. from the seeds of which oils are expressed in China and America. The cultivation
Book I. PRINCIPLES OF VEGETABLE CULTURE. 277
or preservation of living specimens of these plants, therefore, in our green-houses and
stoves, is a rational entertainment, and also useful, as many species become in time ac-
climated, and some even naturalised ; and uses may in time also be discovered for such
as are now merely looked on as objects of curiosity. But it is quite enough to justify
much more than all the care that is taken to obtain and preserve them, that they contri-
bute to elegant enjoyment ; for what is life when it does not exceed mere obedience to
the animal instincts?
1785. With respect to the native habitations of the exotic jtart of tfie British HortuSj
little can be advanced with certainty. In general it seems to appear that moist and mo-
derately warm climates, and irregular surfaces, are most prolific in species; and judging
of the whole world from Europe, we should venture to consider half the species of plants
in existence as growing in soft and rather moist grounds, whether low or elevated. The
soil of surfaces constantly moist, or inclining to be moist, whether watered from the at-
mosphere or from subterraneous sources, is almost always found to be minutely divided,
and generally of a black vegetable or peaty nature. Immense tracts in Russia and Ame-
rica are of this description, and even when dry, resist evaporation better than any other.
In such soils, the roots of plants are generally small and finely divided, as in the heaths,
most bog plants, and nearly all the American shrubs. The next sort of habitation most
prolific in species, appears to us to be arenarious soils in temperate climates, and in pro-
portion to their moisture. Here the roots of plants are also small, but less so than in
soils of the former description. On rocky and calcareous soils the roots of plants are ge-
nerally strong and woody, or at least long and penetratiug. In clayey habitations, ex-
clusive of the alluvial depositions of rivers, few plants are found, and these generally
grasses, or strong fibrous-rooted herbaceous plants, or tap-rooted trees. Such at least is
the amount of our generalisations ; but as our observation has been limited to Europe,
and does not even extend to the whole of it, those who have visited Africa and Asia are
much more capable of illustrating the subject. One conclusion we think the cultivator
is fully entitled to draw, that the greater number of plants, native or foreign, will thrive
best in light soil, such as a mixture of soft black vegetable mould or peat and fine sand
kept moderately moist ; and that on receiving unknown plants or seeds, of the native sites
of which he is ignorant, he will err on the safe side by placing them in such soils rather
than in any other ; avoiding, most of all, clayey and highly manured soils, as only fit
for certain kinds of plants constitutionally robust, or suited to become monstrous by
culture.
Chap. VII.
Ori^n and Principles of Culture as derived from the Study of Vegetables.
1786. The final object of all the sciences is their application to purposes subservient
to the wants and desires of vien. The study of the vegetable kingdom is one of tlie
most important in this point of view, as directly subservient to the arts which supply
food, clothing, and medicine ; and indirectly to those which supply houses, machines
for conveying us by land, or by water, and in short almost every comfort and luxury.
Without the aid of the vegetable kingdom, few mineral bodies would be employed
in the arts, and the great majority of animals, whether used by man as laborers, or
as food, could not live.
1787. Agriculture and gardening are the two arts which embrace the whole business
of cultivating vegetables, for whatever purpose they are applied by civilized man.
Their fundamental principles as arts of culture are the same ; they are for the most
part suggested, by nature, and explained by vegetable chemistry and physiology
(Chap. III. and IV.} ; and most of them have been put in practice by man for
an unknown length of time, without much reference to principles. All tliat is neces-
sary, therefore, for effecting this branch of culture, is to imitate the habitation, and to
propagate. This is, or ought to be the case, wherever plants are grown for medical or
botanical purposes, as in herb and botanic gardens. Nature is here imitated as exactly
as possible, and the result is, productions resembling, as near as possible, those of
nature.
1788. To increase the number and improve the qualities of plants, it is necessary to faci-
litate their mode of nutrition by removing all obstacles to the progress of the plant.
These obstacles may either exist under or above the surface ; and hence the origin of
draining, clearing from surface-incumbrances, and tJie various operations, as digging,
ploughing, &c. for pulverising the soil. Nature suggests this in accidental ruptures
of the surface, broken banks, the alluvial depositions from overflowing rivers, and
tlie earth thrown up by underground animals. Many of the vegetables within the
878 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
influence of such accidents are destroyed, but such as remain are ameliorated in
quality, and the reason is, their food is increased, because their roots, being enabled
to take a more extensive range, more is brought within their reach.
1789. It is necessary, or at least advantageous, to supply food artificially; and hence
the origin of manuring. All organised matters are capable of being converted into
the food of plants ; but the best manure for ameliorating the quality, and yet retaining
the peculiar chemical properties of plants, must necessarily be decayed plants of their
own species. It ie true that plants do not differ greatly in their primary principles, and
that a supply of any description of putrescent manure will cause all plants to thrive ;
but some plants, as wheat, contain peculiar substances, (as gluten and phosphate of
lime,) and some manures, as those of animals, or decayed wheat, containing the same
substances, must necessarily be a better food or manure for such plants. Manuring is
an obvious imitation of nature, every where observable by the decaying herbage of
herbaceous plants, or the fallen leaves of trees, rotting into dust or vegetable mould
about their roots ; and by the effect of the dung left by pasturing or other animals.
1790. Amelioration of climate is farther advantageous, in improving the qualities of
vegetables, by increasing or diminishing its temperature according to the nature of the
plant; unless, indeed, it is situated in a climate which experience and observation
§how to be exactly suited to its nature. Hence the origin of shelter and shade, by
means of walls, hedges, or strips of plantation ; of sloping surfaces or banks, to
receive more directly or indirectly the rays of the sun ; of rows, drills, and ridges,
placed north and south in preference to east and west, in order that the sun may shine
on both sides of the row, drill, or ridge, or on the soil between rows and drills every
day in the year ; of soils better calculated to absorb and retain heat ; walls fully ex-
posed to the south, or to the north ; of training or spreading out the branches of trees
on these walls; of hot- walls ; of hot-beds; and finally of all the variety of hot- houses.
Nature suggests this part of culture, by presenting, in every country, different degrees
of shelter, shade, and surface, and in every zone different climates.
1791. The regulation of moisture is the next point demanding attention; for when
the soil is pulverised, it is more easily dried by the penetration of the air ; when an
increase of food is supplied, the medium through which that food is taken up by the
plant should be increased ; and when the temperature is increased, evaporation becomes
greater. Hence the origin of watering by surface or subterraneous irrigation, manual
supplies to the root, showering over the leaves, steaming the surrounding atmosphere,
Sec. This is only to imitate the dews and showers, streams and floods of nature ; and
it is to be regretted that the imitation is in most countries attended with so much labor,
and requires so much nicety in the arrangement of the means, and judgment in the
application of the water, that it is but very partially applied by man in every part of
the world, excepting perhaps a small district of Italy, But moisture may be excessive ;
and on certain soils at certain seasons, and on certain productions at particular periods
of their progress, it may be necessary to carry off a great part of the natural moisture,
rather than let it sink into the earth, or draw it off where it has sunk in and injuriously
accumulated, or prevent its falling on the crop at all ; and hence the origin of surface-
drainage by ridges, and of under-draining by covered conduits, or gutters ; and of
awnings and other covers to keep off the rain or dews from ripe fruits, seeds, or rare
flowers.
1792. The regulation of light is the remaining point. Light sometimes requires to
be excluded and sometimes to be increased, in order to improve the qualities of vege-
tables ; and hence the origin of thinning tlie leaves which overshadow fruits and flowers,
the practice of shading cuttings, seeds, &c., and the practice of blanching. The latter
practice is derived from accidents observable among vegetables in a wild state, and its
influence on their quality is physiologically accounted for by th^ obstruction of per-
spiration, and the prevention of the chemical changes effected by light on the
epidermis.
1793. Increasing the magnitude of vegetables, without reference to their quality, is to
be obtained by an increased supply of all the ingredients of food, distributed in such a
body of well pulverised soil as the roots can reach to ; of heat and moisture ; of a
partial exclusion of the direct rays of the sun, so as to moderate perspiration ; and of
wind, so as to prevent sudden desiccation. But experience alone can determine what
plants are best suited for this, and to what extent the practice can be carried. Nature
gives the hint in the occasional luxuriance of plants accidentally placed in favorable
circumstances, and man adopts it, and improving on it, produces cabbages and turnips
of half a cwt. ; apples of one pound and a half; and cabbage-roses of four inches in
diameter ; productions which may in some respects be considered as diseased.
1794. To increase the number, improve the quality, and increase the magnitude of par-
ticular parts of vegetables. It is necessary, in this case, to remove such parts of the
vegetable as are not wanted, as the blooms of bulbous or tuberous rooted plants, when
Book I. PRINCIPLES OF VEGETABLE CULTURE. 279
the bulbs are to be increased, and the contrary ; the water-shoots and leaf-buds of fruit-
trees ; the flower-stems of tobacco ; the male flowers and barren runners of the cucumis
tribe, &c. Hence the important operations of pruning, ringing, cutting off large
roots, and other practices for improving fruits and throwing trees into a bearing state.
At first sight these practices do not appear to be copied from nature ; but, indepen-
dently of accidents by fire, already mentioned, which both prune and manure, and of
fruit-bearing trees, say thorns or oaks, partially blown out by the roots, or washed out
of the soil by torrents, which always bear better afterwards, why may not the necessity
that man was under, in a primitive state of society, of cutting or breaking off branches
of trees, to form huts, fences, or fires, and the consequent vigorous shoots produced
from the parts where the amputation took place, or the larger fruit on that part of the
tree which remained, have given the first idea of pruning, cutting off roots, &c. It
may be said that this is not nature but art ; but man, though an improving animal, is
still in a state of nature, and all his practices, in every stage of civilisation, are as
natural to him as those of the other animals are to them. Cottages and palaces are as
much natural objects as the nests of birds, or the burrows of quadrupeds ; and all the
laws and institutions by which social man is guided in his morals and politics, are no
more artificial than the instinct which congregates sheep and cattle in flocks and herds,
and guides them in their choice of pasturage and shelter.
1795. To form new varieties of vegetables, as well as of flowers and useful plants of
every description, it is necessary to take advantage of their sexual differences, and to
operate in a manner analogous to crossing the breed in animals. Hence the origin of
new sorts of fruits, grains, legumes, and roots. Even this practice is but an imitation
of what takes place in nature by the agency of bees and other insects, and the wind ;
all the difference is, that man operates with a particular end in view, and selects
individuals possessing the particular properties which he wishes to perpetuate or improve.
New varieties, or rather subvarieties, are formed by altering the habits of plants ; by
dwarfing through want of nourishment : variegating by arenacious soils; giving or
rather continuing peculiar habits when formed by nature, as in propagating from
monstrosities — fasciculi of shoots, weeping shoots, shoots with peculiar leaves,
flowers, fruit, &c.
1796. To propagate and preserve from degeneracy approved varieties of vegetables, it
is in general necessary to have recourse to the different modes of propagating by exten-
sion. Thus choice' apples and tree fruits could not be perpetuated by sowing their
seeds, which experience has shewn would produce progeny more or less different from
the parent, but they are preserved and multiplied by grafting ; others, as the pine-apple,
by cuttings or suckers ; choice carnations by layers, potatoes by cuttings of the tubers,
&c. But approved varieties of annuals are in general multiplied and preserved by se-
lecting seeds from the finest specimens and paying particular attention to supply suitable
culture. Approved varieties of corns and legumes, no less than of other annual plants,
such as garden flowers, can only be with certainty preserved by propagating by cuttings
or layers, which is an absolute prolongation of the individual ; but as this would be too
tedious and laborious for the general purposes both of agriculture and gardening, all
that can be done is to select seeds from the best specimens. This part of culture is the
farthest removed from nature ; yet there are notwithstanding examples of the fortuitous
graft ; of accidental layers ; and of natural cuttings, as when leaves, or detached por-
tions of plants (as of the cardamine hirsuta) drop and take root.
1797. The preservation of vegetables for future use is effected by destroying or render,
ing dormant the principle of life, and by warding off, as far as practicable, the progress
of chemical decomposition. When vegetables or fruits are gathered for use or pre-
servation, the air of the atmosphere which surrounds them is continually depriving them
of carbon, and forming the carbonic acid gas. The water they contain, by its softening
qualities, weakens the aflfinity of their elements ; and heat produces the same effect by
dilating their parts, and promoting the decomposing effect both of air and water.
Hence, drying in the sun or in ovens, is one of the most obvious modes of preserving
vegetables for use, as food, or for other purposes ; but not for growth, if the drying
processes is carried so far as to destroy the principle of life in seeds, roots, or sections of
the shoots of ligneous plants. Potatoes, turnips, and other esculent roots, may be pre-
served from autumn till the following summer, by drying them in the sun, and bury-
ing them in perfectly dry soil, which shall be at the same time at a temperature but a
few degrees above the freezing point. Corn may be preserved for many years by first
drying it thoroughly in the sun, and then burying it in dry cool pits, and closing these
so as effectually to exclude the atmospheric air. In a short time the air within is
changed to carbonic acid gas, in which no animal will live, and in which, without an
addition of oxygen or atmospheric air, no plant or seed will vegetate. The corn is thus
preserved from decomposition, from insects, vermin, and from vegetation in a fi\x more
t>fl[ectual manner than it can be in a granary. In this way the Romans preserved tiieir corn
T 4 ■
280 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
in chambers hewn out of dry rock, the Moors in the sides of hills, the Chinese, at the pre-
sent time, in deep pits, in dry soil, and the aboriginal nations of Africa, as we have seen
(1110.), in earthen vessels hermetically sealed. [Lasteyrie des fosses propres a la Conser-
vation des Grains. Chaptal Chimie applique a V Agriculture, torn. ii. ch. 10.) The origin
of these practices are all obvious imitations of what accidentally takes place in nature,
from the withered grassy tressock to the hedgehog's winter store ; and hence the origin
of herb, seed, fruit, and root rooms and cellars, and packing plants and seeds for sending
to a distance.
1798. The whole of the arts of vegetable culture, is but a varied developement of the
above fundamental practices, all founded in nature, and for the most part rationally and
satisfactorily explained on chemical and physiological principles. Hence the great ne-
cessity of the study of botany to the cultivator, not in the limited sense in which the term
is often taken as including mere nomenclature and classification, but in that extended
signification in which we have here endeavored, proportionately to our limited space, to
present the study of the vegetable kingdom. Those who would enter more minutely
into the subject will have recourse to the excellent work of Keith, from whom we have
quoted at such length ; to Sir J. E. Smith's Introduction ; and to the elementary works
of Willdenow and De CandoUe.
BOOK II.
OF THE STUDY OP THE ANIMAL KINGDOM WITH REFERENCE TO AGRICULTURE.
1799. Animals are distinguished from vegetables by beijig endowed with sentiment or
reason, and locomotive powers. A general knowledge of their nature is of obvious uti-
lity to whoever is engaged in the rearing or management of any department of them ;
but, as they differ much more extensively in their natures than vegetables, that know-
ledge is necessarily very extensive. Few, indeed, can be supposed to attain to any
degree of eminence in every branch ; man is found sufficient for the physician, and the
horse for the veterinary professor ; a slight general knowledge of the whole subject,
and a more particular acquaintance with the names and pliysiology of the quadrupeds,
birds, and insects of Britain, are what the agriculturist should chiefly aspire to.
1800. The subject of zoology has not beeji cultivated with so much success as that of
botany; the systematic part, indeed, was attended to by Linnaeus, in common with the
two other kingdoms of nature; but his arrangement of animals is much less satisfactory
than his classification of plants ; and scarcely any thing was done in comparative anatomy
and physiology till within the last half century. The greatest improvers of this science
are Hunter and Cuvier ; but the most valuable works for the study of the agriculturist
are Dr. Fleming's Philosophy of Zoology, and his British Fauna. It is from the first
of these works that we have extracted the principal part of the following chapters, which
we have arranged as Systematic Zoology, Animal Anatomy, Chemistry, Physiology,
Pathology, Distribution, Uses, and Artificial Improvement, or Animal Culture.
Chap. I.
Systematic Zoology^ or the Language, Nomenclature, Description, and Classijication of
Animals.
1801. The technical terms introduced in zoology are much more numerous than those
of botany, because animals differ more among themselves than plants ; and because the
anatomy of animals is greatly more complicated than that of vegetables. The technical
terms most important for the agriculturist are those made use of in the veterinary art,
and which he ought to study in works on that subject, and in scientific treatises on the
domestic quadrupeds. As the terms of zoology are much less fixed, and have not en-
gaged the attention of naturalists so much as those of botany, the chief dependence of
the student must be on a knowledge of the Latin language, in which they are generally
composed.
1802. In describing animals, naturalists follow the same rules in zoology as in botany ;
but much more attention is requisite to the internal characters than in the latter science.
In all cases the male is considered as the representative of the species. While the female,
in some species, differs remarkably from the male in external characters, there is still an
Book II. SYSTEMATIC ZOOLOGY. 281
agreement in structure, with the exception of the organs of the reproductive system, and
the modifications of some parts subservient to their functions. When a female indivi-
dual comes under notice, it is frequently very difficult, if not impossible, to determine
the species to which she belongs, while external characters alone are employed. This
difficulty, in the case of birds, meets the student at every step ; but it in a great mea-
sure disappears, when the internal characters are chiefly relied on. In Great Britain,
during the latter half of the last century, descriptions of animals were chiefly drawn up
in a very superficial manner. The internal structure was in a great manner over-
looked, and the more obvious varieties of color were selected, rather than the more
characteristic appearances of the shape. Such, generally, are the descriptions of Pen-
nant, Shaw, Donovan, and even Montagu. This is the more surprising, as the eminent
naturalists who florished towards the end of the seventeenth and beginning of the
eighteenth centuries (the golden age of British zoology), excelled in the minute details
with which their descriptions abounded. The writings of Willoughby, Ray, and Ellis,
furnish very striking examples. But descriptions are daily becoming more labored in
their details, from the increase of species, and the necessity of determining the charac-
ters on which their claim depends. This will contribute greatly to the progress of
zoology.
1808. The best descriptions are often insufficient, iviihout the aid of drawings or
specimens. Many relations of parts, and many gradations of form, may be perceived
by the eye, which words are unable to express. Drawings therefore have largely con-
tributed to the progress of zoology. Specimens can only be obtained generally of the
smaller animals, though examples of the largest sorts are to be found in the public
museums. Tliey are generally exhibited in a dried state ; but sometimes immersed in
spirits of wine. Marme objects are prepared by maceration in fresh water. Dried sub-
jects are commonly anointed with some poisonous liquid, to preserve them from the
attacks of insects. In a small tract entitled Taxidermyf will be found plain instruc-
tions for collecting and preserving zoological specimens.
1804. In naming animals, the same principles are followed as in naming plants ; but it
is remarkable, as Dr. Fleming has observed, that while in botany and mineralogy, generic
titles are frequently the names of those naturalists who have contributed to the advance-
ment of these sciences, yet the generic titles of animals are never derived from the same
source, nor similar honors bestowed on zoological observers. Specific names are, as in
botany, adjectives in concord with the generic name as a substantive ; and should express
some circumstance connected with color, form, habit, station, or distribution. In some
cases the specific name is a substantive, and occurs either in the nominative or genitive
case, and without reference to the gender of the name of the genus. This want of con-
cord happens, when a species has been long known by a distinct appellation, and when
this is employed in science as its specific name. Thus, in the genus Tardus, while one
species is distinguished in the ordinary manner, viz. T. torquatus, another, T. merula,
furnishes an example of the exception here referred to. "When the specific name is in
the genitive case, it is always derived from the proper name of the zoologist who dis-
covered it, or who contributed to illustrate its characters. Thus Liparis Montagui was
so named by Donovan {British Fishes, tab. Ixviii.) in honor of the late George Montagu,
Esq. who first detected it on the Devonshire coast. 'ITie application of the proper names
of zoologists, to the construction of the specific names of animals, ought to be restricted
to those who have illustrated the species. Of late years, however, this honor has been
bestowed on observers to whom the species has even been unknown ; and not contented
with using the names of zoologists, those of wives, friends, or patrons, have been exten-
sively employed. To bestow zoological honors on those who are not interested in the
progress of science is ridiculous; and to neglect the original discoverer, in order to do
this, is base. It were better, perhaps, to proscribe the practice.
1805. The classification of animals is by no means established on so firm and philoso-
phical a basis as that of plants. Two different methods have been employed ; the one
founded on a particular system of organs which constitutes the artificial system of
Linnaeus, and the other founded on the joint consideration of all the systems of organs,
external and internal, from which has been established various natural methods, of which
the most generally esteemed at present is that of Cuvier. A mixed method has been
adopted by many naturalists, and is preferred by Dr. Fleming, who suggests some useful
improvements, and has exhibited their application in the general arrangement of animals
to be given in his Fauna, {Phil. Zool. ii. 160.)
262 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
Chap. II.
Animal Anatomy.
1806. The leading organs of animal structure, may be conveniently arranged as ex-
ternal and internal.
Sect. I. External Anatomy of Animals.
1807. All aiiimals agree in possessing an exterior covering, or skin, to modify their sur-
face, regulate their form, and protect them from the action of surrounding elements. In
the more perfect animals, this organ consists of the following parts : the cuticle, — the
Qorpus mucosum, — the corium, — the panniculus, — and the cellular web.
1808. T/ie cuticle is destitute of blood vessels, nerves, and fibres, and usually consists of a thin transparent
membrane possessing little tenacity. In those animals which live on the land, it is more rigid in its tex-
ture, and scaly and dry on its surface, than in those which reside in the water. In aquatic animals, it is in
general smooth, often pliable ; and, in many cases its texture is so soft and delicate, that it appears like
mucus. It assumes, likewise, other appearances, such as scales, nails, shells and plates, which deserve the
attentive consideration of the naturalist, as furnishing him with important characters for the arrangement
of animals.
1809. The mucus web occurs immediately underneath the cuticle, from which, in general, it may be
easily disjoined ; but it is often so closely attached to the true skin below, as not to be separated even by
maceration in water.
1810. The corium {Cutis vera), or true skin, lies immediately underneath the cuticle or mucus web. It
is usually destitute of color. It consists in some animals, as quadrupeds, of solid fibres, which cross one
another in every possible direction, and form a substance capable of considerable extensibility and elasti-
city. It is more obviously organized than the two members by which it is covered. Blood vessels and
nerves penetrate its substance, and may be observed forming a very delicate net work on its surface.
1811. The muscular web varies greatly in its appearance according to the motions which the skin and its
appendices are destined to perform. It consists of a layer of muscles, the extremities of whose fibres are
inserted into the corium externally, and adhere to the body internally in various directions. This layer is
very obvious in the hedgehog and the porcupine, to assist in rolling up the body and moving the spines,
and in birds, in the erection of their feathers. In man it can scarcely be said to exist, unless in the upper
parts, where cutaneous muscles may be observed, destined for moving the skin of the face, cheeks, and head.
Jn the skin of the frog, the only cutaneous muscles which can be observed, are seated under the throat ; the
skin on the other parts of the body being loose and unconnected with the parts beneath. The use of thi»
layer of the integument, is to corrugate the skin, and elevate the hairs, feathers or spines with which
it is furnished.
1812. The cellular weh forms the innermost layer of the common integuments, and
rests immediately on the flesh of the body. It consists of plates crossing one another
in different directions, and forming a cellular membrane, varying in its thickness, tena-
city, and contents, according to the species. In frogs it does not exist. The cells of
this membrane are filled with various substances, according to the nature of the animal.
In general they contain fat, as in quadrupeds and birds. In some of these the layer is
interrupted, as in the ruminating animals, while it is continuous in others, as the boar and
the whale. In birds, while a part of this web is destined for the reception of fat, other
portions are receptacles for air. In the moon-fish the contained matter resembles albu-
men in its chemical characters.
1813. The appendices of the skin are hairs, feathers, horns, scales, shells, and crusts.
1814. Hairs differ remarkably not only in their structure, but likewise in their situation. In some cases
they appear to be merely filamentous prolongations of the cuticle, and subject to all its changes. This is
obviously the case with the hair which covers the bodies of many caterpillars, and which sej^arates along
with the cuticle, when the animal is said to cast its skin. In true hair the root is in the form of a bulb,
taking its rise in the cellular web. Each bulb consists of two parts, an external, which is vascular, and
from which the hair probably derives its nourishment ; and an internal, which is membranous, and forms
a tube or sheath to the hair during its passage through the other layers of the skin. From this bulb, and
enveloped by this membrane, the hair passes through the corium, mucus web, and cuticle. It usually
raises up small scales of this last layer, which soon become dry and fall off, but do not form the external
covering of the hair as some have supposed. The hair itself consists of an external horny covering, and
a central vascular part, termed medulla ox pith. This horny covering consists of numerous filaments placed
laterally, to which different kinds of hair owe their striated appearance. These filaments appear of unequal
lengths, those nearest the centre being longest ; and, consequently, the hair assumes the form of an
elongated cone, with its base seated in the skin. This form gives to the hair that peculiar property on
which the operation of felting depends. In consequence of this structure of the surface, if a hair is seized
at the middle between two fingers, and rubbed by them, the root will gradually recede, while the point of
the hair will approach the fingers ; in other words, the hair will exhibit a progressive motion in the direc-
tion of the root, the imbricated surface preventing all motion in the opposite direction. It is owing to
this state of the surface of hairs, that woollen cloth, however soft and pliable, excites a disagreeable sen-
sation of the skin in those not accustomed to wear it. It likewise irritates sores by these asijerities, and
excites inflammation. The surface of linen cloth, on the other hand, feels smooth, because the fibres of
which it consists possess none of those inequalities of surface by which hairs are characterised.
- 1815. If a quantity of wool be spread upon a table, covered with a woollen cloth, and pressed down in
different directions, it is obvious that each hair will begin to move in the direction of its root, as if it had
been rubbed between the fingers. The different hairs thus moving in every direction become inter-
woven with each other, and unite in a continuous mass. This is the felt with which hats are made. Curled
hairs entwine themselves with one another more closely than those which are straight, though flexible, as
they do not, like these, recede from the point of pressure in a straight line; and hence hatters employ
various methods to produce curl in the short fur of rabbits, hares, and moles, which they employ. This
is accomplished chiefly by applying the solution of certain metallic salts to the fur by a brush; so that,
when the hairs are dry, the surface which was moistened, contracts more than the other, and produces
the requisite curve.
1816. It is owing to the asperities of the surf ace~of hair that the spinning of wool is so difficult. This is
in a great measure removed, by besmearing it with oil, by which the inequalities are filled up, or, at least.
Book II. ANIMAL ANATOMY. 28S
the asperities become less sensible. "When the wool is made into cloth, it is necessary to remove the oil,
which is done by tiie process of fulling. The cloth is placed in a trough, with water and clay, and agitated
for some time. The oil is removed by the clay and water, while the agitation, acting like pressure, brings the
hairs into closer union, and the cloth is taken out, not only cleansed, but felted. The hairs of every thread
entwine themselves with those which are contiguous ; so that the cloth may be cut without being sub-
ject to ravel. It is to this tendency to felt that woollen cloth and stockings increase in density, and con-
tract in dimensions, by being washed. In many places woollen stuffs are felted, on a small scale, by
placing them in running water, or under cascades ; and the Zetlanders expose them to the motions of
the tides, in narrow inlets of the sea.
1817. In general there is a close connection between the color of the hair and that of the mucus web.
This is displayed in those animals which are spotted, in which the color of the skin is generally variegated
like that of the hair.
1818. Hairs differ remarkably in form. In general they are round. Frequently
on the body they are thickest in the middle. Sometimes they are flat, or two-edged j
and, in the whiskers of seals, they are waved on the margins. In many animals they
are long and straight ; while, in others, they are crisped, and are then termed wool.
When stiff, they are termed bristles; and, when inflexible, sjnnes.
1819. Hair grows by the roots. In some species they are renewed annually; and in
all they are readily reproduced.
1820. Hair is the most permanent of all the substances consisting of animal matter,
resistmg putrefaction for a great length of time.
1821. i^ea^/ier* are nearly related to hairs; they consist of the quill, shaft, and web.
The quill, like the hair, takes its rise in the cellular membrane : the central portion of
the shaft has a texture like cork, and the web which usually occupies both sides of it is
composed of what are called barbes, and the sides of these with barbules. Feathers
exhibit great difference as to color : in some birds it varies with the seasons, in others
with food, and in others with the extinction of life. Like hairs, feathers are not only
renewed periodically, but they are readily reproduced, if accidentally destroyed.
1822. Horns take their rise in the same situation as hairs or feathers. They may be
regarded as hairs agglutinated, and forming a hollow cone. The fibrous structure of
horn may be perceived in many animals at the base, where it unites with the skin. At
this part it receives the additions to its growth, the apex of the cone being pushed out in
proportion as the increase takes place at the root, and on the inner surface. But horns
differ remarkably from hair, in having their central cavity filled by a projection of bone
or other solid substance from the body beneath.
1823. The different markings of the horns, particularly the transverse ridges, are indications of thedif.
ferent layers of growth ; and in many cases the number of these ridges corresponds with the years of
life.
1824. The color of the horn is, in general, distributed through the mass ; sometimes, however, it is col-
lected into bands or threads. It seldom experiences much change during the life of the animal. It is
permanent, or does not experience those periodical renovations which we have stated to take place with
hair and feathers. The deciduous horns of the stag are different in their nature from true horns, and
will be afterwards taken notice of. The term horn is usually restricted to the coverings of the projections
of the frontal bones of oxen, sheep, and similar quadrupeds ; but various appendices of the skin, composed
of the same materials, and equally permanent, although seated on other parts of the body, may with
propriety be included under the same appellation; among these may be enumerated beaks, hoofs, claws,
nails, and spurs.
1825. Beaks. The substance of these covers the external surface of the maxillary
bones of birds, and is ccfmposed of horn.
1826. Hoofs resemble horns in their manner of growth, and in containing a central
support, formed by the termination of the extreme bones of the feet. They grow from
the inner surface and base, and are thus fitted to supply the place of those parts which
are worn away by being exposed to friction against hard bodies. Hoofs are peculiar to
certain herbivorous quadrupeds.
1827. Claivs resemble hoofs in structure and situation, deriving their origin from the
skin, having a bony centre, and occurring at the extremities of the fingers and toes.
1828. iVai/* differ from horns and claws, in the circumstance of not being tubular,
but consisting of a plate generally convex on the outer surface, and concave beneath.
1829. Spurs occur chiefly on what is termed the leg {tarsus) of gallinaceous birds.
They are found, likewise, on the ornithorynchus. Like horns, they are supported in
the centre by bone.
1830. Horns, hoofs, and similar parts, bear a close resemblance to one another in che-
mical composition. When heated they soften, and may be easily bent or squeezed into
particular shapes. They consist of coagulated albumen, witli a little gelatine ; and,
when incinerated, yield a little phosphate of lime.
1831. Their use, in animal economy, is to protect the soft parts from being injiired by pressure against
hard bodies. They are in general wanting, where the parts are in no danger of suffering from the in-
fliuencc of such agents. When torn off from the base, they are seldom completely renewed, although
very remarkable exertions are frequently made by the system to reiiair the loss.
1832. Scales vary remarkably in their form, structure, mode of adhesion, and situation
in different animals. In general they are flat plates, variously marked. In some cases
each scale consists of several plates, the lowest of which are largest ; so that the upper
siurface becomes, somewhat imbricated. Some scales adhere by tlie whole of their cen-
tral surface ; while others resemble the human nail, in having the distal extremity free.
284 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
1833. Shells consist of layers of an earthly salt, with interposed membranes of animal
matter, resembling coagulated albumen. They grow by the addition of layers of new
matter to the edges and internal surface. When broken, the animal can cement the
edges and fill up the crack, or supply the deficiency when a portion is abstracted.
1834. The earthy matter of shells is lime, in union with carbonic acid. Phosphate of lime has likewise
been detected but in small quantity. The color is secreted from the animal, along with the matter of the
shell.
1835. Crusts are, in general, more brittle in their texture than shell. They exhibit
remarkable differences as to thickness and composition. They differ from shells chiefly
in containing a considerable portion of phosphate of lime, and in a greater subdivison of
parts. In some cases, however, as the crusts of the bodies of insects, the earthy matter
is almost absent, and they may be regarded as formed of cuticle alone. When they contain
much earthy matter, as in the crusts of lobsters, the epidermis may be detected as a cover,
and the corium beneath may be perceived as a very thin film. In many cases, these
crusts are renewed periodically ; and, in all, they are readily repaired. Crusts occur
in insects, the Crustacea, and the echinodermata, or sea-urchins, and star-fish.
1836. These different appendices of the skin ^ass, by insensible degrees, into one another, as hair into
spines, horns into nails, scales into shells, and crusts into membranes. They have all one common
origin) namely, the skin ; and independent of secondary purposes, they all serve for protection.
1837. The secretions of the skin are of three kinds, one class perfonning the office of
lubricating the skin ; another of regulating the temperature of the body ; and a third of
carrying ofl' the superfluous carbon.
1838. Unctuous secretions are confined to animals which have warm blood, and the cells of the cellular
web filled with fat, mammalia and birds.
1839. Viscous secretions. In the animals with cold blood, secretions are produced, by the skin, of sub-
stances diflfering in quality from those of warm-blooded animals; but destined to serve the same pur-
poses, namely, to protect the skin from the action of the surrounding element.
1840. Sweat, in ordinary cases, exudes from the skin in a state of vapor; and
when condensed consists of water with a small portion of acetic acid and common salt.
This secretion is considered as intended to regulate the degree of animal heat, and pre-
vent its accumulation beyond certain limits.
1841. Carbon is also emitted by the skin, and appears to be in effect a secondary kind of respiration, but
the discovery is but recent. {See Ellis on the Germination of Seeds and Respiration of Animals^ 1807 and
1811.)
1842. Absorption. There are several circumstances which prove, that the skin of
tlie human body, in particular states, is capable of exerting an absorbing power.
Whether the absorption takes place by peculiar vessels, or by the exhaling vessels having
their motions reversed, or whether absorption ever takes place in the state of health, are
questions to which no satisfactory answer has been given.
Sect. II. Internal Anatomy of Animals.
1843. Animal anatomy admits of three divisions, the osseous^ the muscular, and the
nervous structure of animals,
SuBSECT. 1. Osseous Structure of Animals.
1844. The organs of external anatomy are generally considered as destined for pro-
tection ; while those of the interior of the animal, or the bones, give stability to the
power, support the muscles, and afford levers for the execution of locomotion. Bones
may be considered in regard to their composition, articulations, and arrangement. All
bones are composed of the periosteum, cartilaginous basis, earthy matter and fat.
1845. The periosteunt bears the same relation to the bone as the skin to the body,
serving as a covering for its surface, and a sheath for the different cavities which enter it.
It varies in thickness, according to the nature of the bone. Its texture is obviously
fibrous; and it possesses blood vessels. Its sensibility indicates the existence of the
nerves.
1846. The cartilaginous basis consists of gelatine and coagulated albumen. The
earthy matter is chiefly phosphate of lime, and the fat resembles that of the fixed oils.
1 847. Bones increase in size, not as in shells, scales, or horns, by the addition of
layers to the internal surface, but by the expansion of the cartilaginous basis ; which,
when it becomes saturated with earthy matter, is incapable of farther enlargement. This
is the reason why the bones of young animals are soft and flexible, while those of old
animals are hard and brittle.
1848. The projmrlion between the cartilaginous basis, and the earthy matter differs,
not only in every animal according to age, the earthy matter being smallest in youth,
but, likewise, according to the nature of the bone itself, and the purposes which it is
destined to serve. The teeth contain the largest portion of earthy matter. Remarkable
differences are likewise observable, according to the class or species.
Book II. MUSCULAR STRUCTURE OF ANIMALS. 285
1849. Bone is readily reproduced^ in small quantities, especially in youth. In the case of fracture, the
periosteum inflames and swells, the crevice is filled up by a cartilaginous basis, abounding in vessels, and
the earthy matter is at length deposited, giving to the fractured part, in many cases, a greater degree of
strength than it originally possessed. In animals of the deer kind, the horns, which are true bone,
are annually cast off; a natural joint forming at their base, between them and the bones of the cranium,
with which they are connected. They are afterwards reproduced under a skin or periosteum, which the
animal rubs off when the new horns have attained their proper size. In some cases of disease, the
earthy matter is again absorbed into the system, the cartilaginous basis predominates, and the bones be-
come soft and tender. This takes place in the disease of youth termed rickety and in a similar com-
plaint of advanced life, known under the name of mollifies ossium. In other instances, bone is formed
as a monstrous production, in organs which do not produce it in a state of health, as the brain, the heart,
and the placenta. {Monro's Outlines qf Anatomy, p. 63.)
1850. Cartilage can scarcely be said to differ in its nature, from the cartilaginous
basis of the bone. It is of a fine fibrous structure, smooth on the surface, and re-
markably elastic. It covers those parts of bones which are exposed to friction, as the
joints, and is thickest at the point of greatest pressure. By its smoothness, it facilitates
the motion of the joints, and its elasticity prevents the bad effects of any violent con-
cussion. It is intimately united with the bone, and can scarcely be regarded as different
from an elongation of the cartilaginous basis. Where it occurs at a joint with consider-
able motion, it is termed articular or abducent cartilage. In other cases, it occurs as a
connecting medium between bones which have no articular surfaces, but where a variable
degree of motion is requisite. The ribs are united to the breast bone in this manner.
Between the different vertebrae, there are interposed layers of cartilage, by which the
motions of the spine are greatly facilitated. As these connecting cartilages are com-
pressible and elastic, the spine is shortened when the body remains long in a vertical
position, owing to the superincumbent pressure. Hence it is that the height of man is
always less in the evening than in the morning. All these cartilages are more or less
prone to ossification, in consequence of the deposition of earthy matter in tlie interstices.
To this circumstance may be referred, in a great measure, the stiffness of age, the
elasticity of the cartilages decreasing with the progress of ossification.
1851. The articulations of bones, exhibit such remarkable diflferences, in respect to
surface, connection, and motion, that anatomists have found it difficult to give to each
manner of union an appropriate name and character. We shall only notice the most
obvious kinds and motions, and these admit of two divisions, the true joints and the
motionless junctions.
1852. In the motionless junctions, the connecting surfaces come into close and per-
manent contact, as in the serrated edges of the bones of the human skull, or the even
edges of the bones of the heads of quadrupeds and birds. Sometimes a pit in one bone
receives the extremity of another like a wedge ; as in the case of the human teeth : in other
cases the one bone has a cavity with a protuberance at its centre, which receives another
bone, as in the claws of cats, seals, &c. The human ribs are united with the breast-
bone by the intervention of cartilage, as are the two sides of the lower jaw with such
otlier in vertebral animals.
1853. In true joints the articular surfaces are enveloped with cartilage, remarkable
for the smoothness of its free surface, and its intimate union with the bone, of which
it forms a protecting covering. The periosteum is not continued over the surface of
the cartilage, but is prolonged like a sheath over the joint, until it joins that of the
opposite bone. It thus forms a close bag at the joint, in which nothing from without
can enter, and from which nothing can escape. Into this bag the lubricating liquor
termed synocra is conveyed. It is secreted by a mucous membrane on tlie interior, on
which account, as it in some cases appears like little bags, the term cursa mucosa has
been bestowed upon it.
1854. Ligaments. Besides the sheath formed by the continuation of the periosteum, and which is too
slender to retain the bones in their proper place, the joints are furnished with ligaments. These are
membranes of a dense fibrous texture, flexible, elastic, and possessed of great tenacity. They have their
insertion in the periosteum and bone with which they are intimately united. The motions which joints
of this kind are capable of performing, may be reduced to three kinds — flexion, twisting, and sliding.
Inflexion, the free extremity of the bone which is moved, approaches the bone which is fixed, describing
the segment of a circle, whose centre is in the joint In tunsting, the bone which is moved turns round
its own axis, passing through the articulation. In sliding, the free extremity of the bone moved, ap-
proaches the bone which is fixed, in a straight line.
SuBSECT. 2. Muscular Structure qf Aniniqls.
1 855. The muscles are the organs by which motion is executed : they unfold the most
singular mechanism of parts, and an infinite variety of movements. The muscles
appear in the form of large bundles, consisting of cords. ' These, again, are formed of
smaller threads, which are capable of division into the primary filaments. Each muscle,
and all its component cords and filaments, is enveloped by a covering of cellular mem-
brane, liberally supplied by blood-vessels and nerves. — At the extremities of the
muscular fibres, where they are attached to the more solid parts, there are usually threads
of a substance, diflfering in its appearance from the muscle, and denominated tendon
or sinew. The tendons are, in general, of a silvery-white colour, a close, firm fibrous
286 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II-
texture, and possess great tenacity. The threads of which they consist, are attached
on the one extremity to the surface of a bone, or other hard part ; and on the other, they
are variously interspersed among the fibres or bundles of the muscle. — They are consi-
dered as destitute of sensibility and irritability, and form a passive link between the
muscle and the bone, or other point of support.
1856. Muscles are the most active members of the animal frame. They alone possess the power of
irritability and execute all the motions of the body. The causes which excite them to action, maybe
reduced to' two kinds. In the first the will, through the medium of the nerves, excites the irritability of
the fibres • and in the second, the action is produced by the application of external objects, either directly
or by the medium of the nerves. The changes which take place in the tenacity of muscles after death,
are very remarkable. The same force which they could resist with ease, in a living state, is sufficient to
tear them to pieces after the vital principle has departed.
1857. The functions of the rrmsdes are either those of rest or motion. Many animals
protect themselves against the disturbing movements of the air and water, by placing
their bodies in a prone position. To give still greater efficacy to this protecting attitude,
they retire to valleys, woods or dens, on the earth, or to the deepest places in the waters ;
and are thus able, by the weight of their own bodies, and the advantage of their
position, to outlive the elemental war. — But there are other animals, which, while they
are equally cautious to make choice of proper situations for their safety, employ in
addition, peculiar organs with which they are provided, to connect themselves more
securely with the basis on which they rest.
1858. Grasping. — The most simple of these expedients, grasping, is displayed by bats, birds and insects,
in the employment of their toes, with their claws, in seizing the objects of their support. In birds, the
assumption and continuance of this attitude is accomplished by a mechanical process ; so that there is no
expenditure of muscular energy. In every case of this kind, the claws are so admirably adapted to the
station of the animal, that the detention of the body in the same spot during this state of rest, is accom-
panied with little exertion.
1859. Suction. — The third method of fixing themselves employed by animals, is suction. The sucker
varies greatly in its form, and even structure. In the limpet, and other gasteropodous mollusca, its surface
is smooth and uniform ; and the adhesion appears to depend on its close application to every part of the
opposing surface. In other animals, as the leech and the sea-urchin, the sucker is formed at the extremity
of a tube ; the muscular motions of which may serve to pump out any air which may remain, after the
organ has been applied to the surface of the body.
1860. Cementation — The fourth method, termed cementation, employed by animals to preserve them-
selves stationary, consists in a part of their own bodies being cemented to the substance on which they
rest This takes place in the common mussel, by means of strong cartilaginous filaments, termed the
byssus, united in the body to a secreting gland, furnished with powerful muscles, and, at the other extre-
mity, glued to the rock or other body to which it connects itself. In other cases, as in the oyster, the shell
itself is cemented to the rock.
1861. The muscular motions of animals are standing, walking, leaping, flying, and
swimming.
1862. In standing ifiis necessary that the parts of the body be so disposed, as that the centre of gravity
of the whole body fall within the space which they occupy, and that the muscles have suflSicient power to
counteract those movements which might displace the body from that position. It is obvious that the
more numerous the limbs, and the more equally they are distributed on the inferior side of the body, the
more securely will the centre of gravity be retained within the space which these feet include.
1863. Walking is defined by Cuvier, to be a motion on a fixed surface, in which the centre of gravity is
alternately moved by one part of the extremities, and sustained by the other, the body never being at
any time completely suspended over the ground. It is produced by the alternate flexion and extension
of the limbs, aided' by the motions of the trunk, advancing the position of the centre of gravity in the
intended direction.
1 864. In animals with many feet, as the myriapoda, walking is performed by so uniform
a motion, that the body may be said to glide along the surface.
1865. In animals with four feet, " each step is executed by two legs only ; one belonging to the fore
pair, and the other to the hind pair ; but sometimes they are those of the same side, and sometimes
those of the opposite side." {Cuvier's Comparative Anatomy, Lect. vii. a, 1.) The latter is that kind of mo-
tion in horses, which grooms term apace. The right fore-leg is advanced so as to sustain the body, which
is thrownupon it by the left hind-foot, and at the same time, the latter bends in order to its being moved
forward. While they are off the ground, the right-hind food begins to extend itself, and the moment
they touch the ground, the left fore-foot moves forward to support the impulse of the right foot, which
likewise moves forward. The body is thus supported alternately by two legs placed in a diagonal manner.
"When the right fore-foot moves, in order to sustain the body, pushed forward by the right hind-foot, the
motion is then called an amble. The body, being alternately supported by two legs on the same side, is
obliged to balance itself to the right and left, in order to avoid falling ; and it is this balancing movement
which renders the gait so soft and agreeable to women and persons in a weak state of body. (Cuvier's
Comp, Anat. Lect. vii.)
1866. The serpentine motion consists in bringing up the tail towards the head by bending the body into one
or more curves, then resting upon the tail, and extending the body, thus moving forward, at each step,
nearly the whole length of the body, or one or more of the curves into which it was formed. Among
the mollusca, and many of the annulose animals, the same kind of motion is performed by alternate
contractions and expansions, laterally and longitudinally of the whole botly, or of those parts which
are appropriated to progressive motion.
1?&1. Amode of moving analogous to walking, is performed by animals who have suckers, and is
exemplified in the leech, which at every step advances nearly the whole length of its body.
1868. In the action of leaping, the whole body rises from the ground ; and for a
short period is suspended in the air. It is produced by the sudden extension of the
limbs, after they have undergone an unusual degree of flexion. The extent of the leap
depends on the form and size of the body, the length and strength of the limbs. The
myriapoda are not observed to leap. Many of the spiders and insects leap with ease both.
Book IL NERVOUS STRUCTURE OF ANIMALS. 287
forwards, backwards, and laterally. In those, which are femarkable for this faculty,
the thighs of the hind-legs are in general of uncommon size and strength. Among
reptiles the leaping frog is well known, in opposition to the crawling toad. Among
quadrupeds, those are observed to leap best, which have the hind legs longer and thicker
than the fore legs, as the kangaroo and the hare. These walk with difficulty, but leap
with ease.
1869. Serpents are said to leap, by folding their bodies into several undulations, which they unbend
all at once, according as they wish to give more or less velocity to their motion. The jumping maggot,
found in cheese, erects itself upon its anus, then forms its body into a circle, bringing its head to the
tail ; and, having contracted every part as much as possible, unbends with a sudden jerk, and darts
forward to a surjorising distance. Many crabs and podurae bend their tail, or hairs which supply its
place, under their belly, and then suddenly unbending, give to the body a considerable degree of pro-
gressive motion.
1870. Flying. — Flying is the continued suspension and progress of the whole body in
the air, by the action of the wings. In leaping, the body is equally suspended in the
air, but the suspension is only momentary. In flying, on the contrary, the body remains
in the air, and acquires a progressive motion by repeated strokes of the wings on the
surrounding fluid. The centre of gravity of the bodies of flying animals, is always
below the insertion of the wings, to prevent them falling on their backs, but near that
point on which the body is, during flight, as it were suspended. The action of flying is
performed by animals belonging to different classes. Among the Mammalia, bats dis-
play this faculty, by means of wings, formed of a thin membrane extending between
the toes, which are long and spreading, the fore and hind legs, and between the hind
legs and the tail. In birds, the wings, which occupy the place of the anterior extremi-
ties in the mammalia, and are the organs of flight, consist of feathers, which are stronger
than those on the body, and of greater length. Among reptiles, the flying lizard may be
mentioned, whose membranaceous wings, projecting from each side of the body, without
being connected with the legs, enable it to fly from one tree to another in search of food.
A few fishes are likewise capable of sustaining themselves for a short time by means of
their fins ; these are termed flying fish. Spiders are able to move in the air by means
of their threads.
1871. Swimming is the same kind of action in water, as flying is in air. The organs
which are employed for this purpose, resemble the oars of a boat in their mode of action,
and in general possess a considerable extent of surface and freedom of motion. Swim-
ming, however, is not confined to those animals which are furnished with oars or
swimmers. Many animals move with ease in the water by means of repeated undulations
of the body, as serpents, eels, and leeches ; or by varying the form of the body by
alternate contractile and expansive movements, as the medusae.
1872. In these different displays of voluntary motion, the muscles are only able to
continue in exercise for a limited period, during which their irritability diminishes, and
the further exertion of their powers becomes painful. When thus fatigued, animals
endeavor to place themselves in a condition for resting, and fall into that state of
temporary lethargy, denominated sleep.
1873. The positions assumed by animals during sleep, are extremely various. In the
horse, they even differ according to circumstances. In the field he lies down, in the
stable he stands. Dogs and cats form their bodies into a circle, while birds place their
heads under their wings.
IST*. The ordinary shape of sleep is likewise exceedingly various in different animals, and in the same
animal is greatly influenced by habit. It in general depends on circumstances connected with food. It is
probable, that all animals, however low in the scale, have their stated intervals of repose, although we are
as yet unac(juainted either with the position which many of them assume, or the periods during which
they repose.
SuBSECT. 3. Structure of the Nervous System.
1875. The nervous system, by containing the organs of sensation and volition, is that
which distinguishes animal from vegetable beings. It consists in the vertebral animals,
of the brain, the spinal marrow, and the nerves.
1876. The brain, exclusive of its integuments, appears in the form of a soft, compres-
sible, slightly viscous mass. The spinal marrow originates with the brain, and consists of
four cords united in one body. The nerves, also, originate in the brain or spinal mar-
row. Some of them appear to have a simple origin ; but in general, several filaments,
from different parts of the brain or spinal marrow, unite to form the trunk of a nerve.
This trunk again subdivides in various ways ; but the ramifications do not always ex-
hibit a proportional decrease of size. It frequently happens, that the branches of the
same or of different nerves unite and separate repeatedly within a small space, forming a
kind of net- work, to which tlie name jylexus has been applied. Sometimes filaments pass
from one nerve to another ;, and, at the junction, there is usually an enlargement of
medullary matter termed a ganglion. Numerous filaments, from diflferent nerves, often
288 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
unite to form a ganglion, from which proceed trunks frequently of greater magnitude
than the filaments which entered. Thus nerves, very different in their origin, form
communications with one another ; so that the whole nervous system may be considered
as a kind of net-work, between the different parts of which an intimate connection sub-
sists. In consequence of this arrangement, it is often matter of very great difficulty to
ascertain the origin of those filaments, which unite to constitute the trunk of a nerve. In
some instances, they appear to arise from the surface of the brain or spinal marrow ; in
other cases, from the more central parts.
1877. The brain in the animals without vertehrtPs is destitute of the protecting bony
covering, which forms the head and back bone in the vertebral animals. The brain
itself is much more simple in its structure. Independent of very remarkable differences
in the structure of the nervous system in the different genera of invertebral animals, there
may still be perceived two models, according to which, the organs belonging to it are
arranged. In the first, the brain is situated upon the oesophagus. It presents different
forms, according to the species. It appears more like a ganglion, than the brain of the
vertebral animals. It sends off several nerves to the mouth, eyes, and feelers. One on
each side passes round the oesophagus ; these uniting below, form a ganglion ; in some
cases, larger than what is considered the true brain. From this ganglion, nerves are
likewise sent off to different parts of the body. The animals in which this nervous sys-
tem prevails, belonged to the great division termed Mollusca. In the second, the brain
is situated as in the mollusca, sends out nerves to the surrounding parts, and likewise one
nerve on each side, which, by their union, form a ganglion, from which other nerves
issue. This ganglion produces likewise a nervous cord, which proceeds towards the
extremity of the body, forming throughout its length ganglia, from which small nerves
proceed ; this cord, at its commencement, is, in some cases, double for a short distance.
It has been compared to the medulla oblongata, and spinal marrow of the vertebral
animals. This kind of nervous system is peculiar to the annulose animals. There are
usually ganglia on the nervous cord, corresponding with the number of rings of which
tlie body consists.
1878. The functions of the brain and nervous system; the organs of perception, as of
touch, of heat, of light, of hearing, of smell, and of taste; and also the faculties of the
mind, we pass over as belonging chiefly to the anatomy and physiology of the human
frame, and therefore less immediately connected with the animals used in agriculture.
The reader will find these subjects ably treated by Dr. Fleming.
Chap. III.
Animal Chemistry ; or tlie Substances which enter into tlie Composition of the Bodies of
Animals.
1879.' The elementary principles of the animal kingdom have been ascertained with
considerable precision ; but the binary, ternary, or other compounds which these form,
have not been investigated with so much success. As these various ingredients are
brought into union in the animal system by the agency of the vital principle, their state
of combination may be expected to differ widely from the ordinary results of electric
attraction. Wlien such compounds of organization are submitted to analysis, the influ-
ence of the vital principle having ceased, the products obtained may be regarded, in
many cases, as modifications of the elements of the substance, occasioned by the pro-
cesses employed, rather than the display of the number or nature of the ingredients, as
they existed previous to the analytical operations. Hence the great caution requisite in
drawing conclusions regarding the composition of animal bodies.
1880. The elementary stibstances ivhich are considered as entering into the parts of ani-
mals, are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, azote, phosphorus, sulphur, fluoric acid, muriatic
acid, iodine, potash, soda, ammonia, lime, magnesia, silica, iron, and manganese.
1881. Carbon exists in various states of combination in the fluids as well as the solids of every animal,
and has been detected in the form of charcoal in the lungs. When animal substances are exposed to a
high temperature in closed vessels, the charcoal which is produced differs considerably from that which is
obtained by the same means from vegetables. It is more glossy in appearance, and is incinerated with
much greater difficulty.
1882. Hydrogen is universally distributed in the animal kingdom ; it occurs as a constituent ingredient
of all the fluids, and of many of the solids. Tt is invariably in a state of combination with charcoal ; for,
as far as we know, it has never been detected in an uncombined or separate state. It has been found in
the human intestines, in the form of carburetted hydrogen.
1883. Oxygen is equally widely distributed with the preceding, in the fluids and solids of all animals, A
constant supply of it from the atmosphere is indispensably necessary to the continuation of animal life.
It occurs, not only in combination with other bodies, biit probably, likewise in a separate state, in the
air-bag of fishes, in which it is found, varying in quantity, according to the species, and the depth at
which the fishes have been caught. It is common, in union with charcoal, forming carbonic acid.
1884. Azotic gas is very widely distributed as a component part of animal substances. It occurs in almos
all the fluids, and in those solid parts which have carbon as'a base. The almost universal prevalence of thi
principle in animal substances, constitutes one of the most certain marks by which they may be distin
Book II. ANIMAL CHEMISTRY. 289
guished from vegetables. Azote likewise occurg, in an uncomblned state, in the air-bag of swne
nsheg.
1885. Phosphorus. This inflammable body exists, in union witli oxygen, in the state of phosphoric
acid, in many of the solids and fluids of animals. Its existence, however, in an uncombined state, has
not been satisfactorily determined, although there appears a tendency to refer the luminousness of se-
veral animals to the slow combustion of this substance. Even phosphoric acid can scarcely be said to
exist in a separate state, being found in combination with potash, soda, ammonia, lime, or magnesia.
1886. Sulphur, in combination, exists in considerable abundance in animal substances. It can scarcely
be said to occur in a separate state in animals ; at least the experiments which may be quoted as encour-
aging such a supposition, are by no means decisive. United with oxygen, in the form of sulphuric acid,
it exists in combination with potash, soda, and lime.
1887. Fluoric acid has been detected in bones and urine, in a state of combination with lime.
1888. Muriatic acid exists in a great number of the animal fluids, in combination with an alkali, as in
the ammonia and soda of urine.
1889. Iodine has been detected in sponge.
1890. Potash exists in combination with the sulphuric, muriatic, or phosphoric acids ; but it is far from
abundant in animal fluids.
1891. Soda is present in all the fluids in various states of combination, and is more abundant than the
preceding. It gives to many of the secretions the alkaline property of changing vegetable blues into
green. It is found in union with the carbonic, phosphoric, sulphuric, and muriatic acids.
1892. y4/«woni« exists in its elements in all the fluids, and many of the solids of animals, and is fre-
quently produced during putrefaction. These elements are likewise found united in the system, and the
alkali then appears in union with the various acids, as the phosphoric, muriatic, and lactic.
1893. IAme,o{\vh\c\i the hard parts of animals, such as bones and shells, are chiefly composed, is of
universal occurrence. It is always in a state of combination^ and chiefly with the carbonic or phosphoric
acids.
1894. Magnesia occurs sparingly. It has been detected in the bones, blood, and some other substances,
but always in small quantity, and chiefly in union with phosphoric acid.
1895. Silica occurs more sparingly than the preceding. It is found in the hair, urine, and urinarj
calculi.
1896. Iron has hitherto only been detected in the coloring matter of the blood, in bile, and in milk. Its
peculiar state of combination in the blood has given rise to various conjectures 5 but a satisfactory solu-
lion of the question has not yet been obtained. In milk, it appears to be in the state of phosphate.
1897. Manganese, in oxide, has been observed, along with iron, in the ashes of hair.
1898. Such are the simple substances which have been detected by chemists in the
solids and fluids of animals ; but seldom in a free state, and often in such various pro-
portions of combination as renders it extremely difficult to determine their true
condition.
1899. The compounds of organization are gelatine, albumen, fibrin, mucus, urea,
sugar, oils, and acids.
1900. Gelatine occurs in nearly a pure state in the air-bags of different kinds of fishes, as, for example,
isinglass, dissolved in hot water and allowed to cool, forms jelly. When a solution of tannin is dropped
into a solution of gelatine, an union takes place, and an insoluble precipitate of a whitish color falls to the
bottom. It is on the union of the tannin of the oak bark with the gelatine of the hides, that the process
of tanning leather depends. Gelatine exists in abundance in different parts of animals, as bones, muscles,
skin, ligaments, membranes, and blood. It is obtained from these substances, by boiling them in
warm water ; removing the impurities, by skimming, as they rise to the sufface ; or by subsequent
straining and clarifying. It is then boiled to a proper consistency. It is the characteristic ingredient of
the softest and most flexible parts of animals.
1901. Gelatine is extensively used in the arts, under the names of glue and size, on account of its adhesive
quality, and to give the requisite stiffness to certain articles of manufacture. In domestic economy, it is
likewise employed in the form of jelly, and in the formation of various kinds of soup. What is termed
Portable Soup is merely jelly which has been dried, having been previously seasoned, according to the
taste, with different spices.
1 902. Albumen^ the white of an egg, exists in great abundance, both in a coagulated
and liquid state, in the different parts of animals. Hair, nails, and horn, are composed
of it. It appears likewise as a constituent of bone and shells ; and there are few of
the fluid or soft part of animals, in which it does not exist in abundance ; what has
hitherto been termed the Resin of Bile, is, according to Berzelius, analogous to
albumen.
1903. Albumen is extensively used in tlie arts. When spread thin on any body, it soon dries, and forms
a coating of vaniish. Its adhesive power is likewise considerable. When rubbed on leather, it increases
its suppleness. But its chief use is in clarifying liquors. For this purpose, any substance abounding in
albumen, as the white of eggs, or the serum of blood, is mixed with the liquid, and the whole heated to
near the boiling point. The albumen coagulates, and falls to the bottom, carrying along with it the
impurities which were suspended in the fluid, and which rendered it muddy. If the liquor contains
alcohol, the application of heat is unnecessary.
1904. Fibrin exists in the blood, and was formerly called the fibrous part of the
blood. It likewise exists in all muscles, forming the essential part or basis of these
organs. It exhibits many remarkable varieties, as it appears in the flesh of quadrupeds,
birds, and fishes ; but has not hitherto been turned to any particular use.
1905. Extractive exists in the muscles of animals, in the blood and in the brain.
It communicates the peculiar flavor of meat to soups. In the opinion of Fourcroy^
the brown crust of roasted meat consists of it.
1 906. The soft parts of animals are constituted of these Jour substances, which also
enter into the composition of the hard parts and of the fluids. They are readily
distinguishable from one another. Extractive alone is soluble in alcohol ; gelatine is
insoluble in cold, but soluble in hot water ; albumen is soluble in cold, and insoluble
in hot water ; the fibrin is equally insoluble in hot and cold water. They are variously
mixed or united j and as they consist of some elementary principles, cliiefly carbon,
U
990 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTUHE. Part IL
hydrogen, oxygen, and azote, it is probable that they are changed, the one into the other,
in many cases by the living principle, — a transmutation which the chemist has succeeded
in accomplishing, and which may soon be of advantage in the arts. The proportion of
carbon appears to be least in gelatine and greatest in fibrin.
1907. Mucus occurs in a liquid state in the animal economy, as a protecting covering
to different organs. It necessarily differs in its qualities, according to the purposes it is
destined to serve. In the nose it defends the organ of smell from the drying influence
of the air, — in the bladder, it protects the interior from the contact of the acid urine,
— while it preserves the gall-bladder from the action of alkaline bile. It does not
contain any suspended particles like the blood, but is homogeneous. (Dr. Youngy
Annals of Phil. ii. p. 117.) When inspissated, it constitutes, in the opinion of some,
the basis of the epidermis, horns, nails, feathers. But the difficulty of obtaining it in
a pure state, and the discordant characters assigned to it by different chemists, prevent
us from reposing confidence in the accuracy of the analysis of those substances, of
which it is considered as forming an essential ingredient.
1908. Urea is a substance obtained by evaporation and trituration from the urine of
the mammalia when in a state of health. In the human subject it is less abundant
after a meal, and nearly disappears in the disease called diabetes, and in affections of
the liver.
1909. Sugar exists in considerable abundance in milk, and in the urine of persons
laboring under diabetes. In the latter fluid, it is to be considered as a morbid
secretion of the kidneys, occupying the natural situation of the urea. In milk, ho^v-
ever, it exists as a constituent principle, and may readily be obtained by the following
process : evaporate fresh whey to the consistence of honey, dissolve it in water, clarify
with the whites of eggs, and again evaporate to the consistence of syrup. On cooling,
white cubical crystals will be obtained, but less sweet than vegetable sugar.
1910. Oi/s vary greatly as to colour, consistence, smell and other characters. They
possess, however, in common, the properties of the fixed oils, in being liquid, either
naturally or when exposed to a gentle heat, insoluble in water and alcohol, leaving a
greasy stain upon paper, and being highly combustible. They are distinguished as
spermaceti, ambergrease, fat, and common oils.
1911. Spermaceti constitutes the principal part of the brain of the whale, and is freed from the oil which
accompanies it, by draining and squeezing, and afterwards, by the employment of an alkaline lie, which
saponifies the remainder. It is then washed in water, cut into thin pieces with a wooden knife, and
exposed to the air to dry. It is used in medicine and candlemaking.
► 1912. Ambergrease is found in the intestines of the spermaceti whale, and in those only which are in a
sickly state. It appears to be the excrement, altered by a long retention in the intestines, and therefore
scarcely merits a place among the natural ingredients of the animal system. Upon being voided by the
animal, it floats on the surface of the sea, and has been found in various quarters of the globe. It usually
contains the beaks of cuttle fish adhering to it. It is employed in small quantities by druggists and
perfumers.
1913. Fat consists of two substances, suet and oil. It is usually purified by separating the vessels and
membranes which adhere to it, by repeatedly washing with cold water, and afterwards melting it, along
with boiling water.
1914. Tallow is the fat of ruminating animals, and is hard and brittle, while the fat of the hog, called
lard, is soft and semifluid. Its uses as an article of food, in the making of candles, hard soap, and
ointments, and to diminish friction, are well known.
1915. The properties of oils depends in a great degree on the mode of preparation, with the exception of
the odor, which arises from the kind of animal from which the oil has been derived. Spermaceti oil is
considered as the thinnest of the animal oils, and the fittest for burning in lamps. It is obtained from the
spermaceti, by draining and pressure. Train oil is prooured by melting the blubber, or external layer of
fat, found underneath the skin of diffferent kinds of whales and seals. From the process employed, it
contains, besides the oil, gelatine, albumen, and other animal matters, which render it thick, dark^'
colored, and disposed to become rancid. Fish oil is sometimes extracted from the entire fish, (as the
sprat, pilchard, and herring, when they occur in too great quantities to be salted) by boiling in water, and
skimming off the oil, as it appears on the surface. In general, however, the oil is obtained from the livers'
of fish, in which it is lodged in cells.
1916. The acids found in animals consist of various proportions of carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen, and azote. Some of them are peculiar to the animal kingdom, and others exist
in equal abundance in plants.
1917. The uric or lithic acid, abounds in urine, and appears to be a production of the kidneys. The
lactic acid is common in the animal fluids. The amniotic acid has been found in the uterus of a cow.
Tihe formic acid, by distilling ants. The benzoic, oxalic^ acetic, and malic acids, are common both to plants
and animals, but occur but seldom in the latter.
1918. These elementary substances, by combining in different proportions, exhibit a
great variety of separate substances. The earthy salts are likewise abundant ; and when
they occur in a separate state, they strengthen the albuminous framework, and form the
skeleton, giving stability to the body, and acting as levers to the muscles. The alkaline
salts occur in the greatest abundance in the secreted fluids.
1919. The Jluids consist of those juices which are obtained from our food and drink,
such as the chyle, and are termed crude of the blood; or prepared from the crude fluids, and
destined to communicate to every part of the body, the nourishment which it requires,
and of those fluids which are separated from the blood, in the course of circulation, such
Book II. DIGESTIVE AND CIRCULATING SYSTEMS. 291
as the bile, and termed secreted fluids. These are all contained in appropriate vessels,
and are subject to motion and change.
1 920. The solids are derived from the fluids, and are usually divided into the soft and
hard. The soft solids consist chiefly of what is termed animal matter, of combinations
of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and azote. They consist of fibres, which are usually
grouped into faggots ; of plates, which, crossing one another in various directions, give
rise to cellular structure, or of a uniform pulpy mass.
1921. The fibrous texture may be observed in all the muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and in the bones
of many animals, especially before birth. These fibres, however minutely divided, do not appear to be
hollow, like those of the vegetable kingdom.
1922. The cellular texture is universally distributed in the form'of membranes, which invest every
organ, the bundles of fibres in every muscle, and, by forming tubes with the addition of the fibrous
texture, constitute the containing vessels. The substance gives form to all the different parts, and is
that particular portion which is first formed, and which constitutes the frame on and within which the
other materials of the system are deposited. It readily expands by the increase of its contents; and,
with equal ease, contracts when the distending cause is removed.
1923. The pulpy texture is confined to the brain and nerves, the liver, kidneys, and other secreting
organs of the system. Its composition appears to the eye homogeneous, and its form is regulated by its
cellular envelope.
1924. These soft solids are alone capable of possessing the faculty of sensation. By their aid, the nervous
energy is exerted on the different parts of the body j j^nd, through them, the impressions of external
objects are received.
1925. The hard solids consist either of cartilage, which resembles, in its qualities, coagulated albumen ;
or of bone, formed by various combinations of earthy salts. They are destitute of sensation, and are
chiefly employed in defending the system from injury, giving it the requisite stability, and assisting the
muscles in the execution of their movements.
1926. The proportion between the solids and fluids is not only remarkably diffferent in diflferent species,
but in the same species, in the various stages of growth.
CflAP. IV.
Animal Physiology.
1927. The digestive circulation and reirroductive functions of animals come next in order.
Sect. I. Of the Digestive System.
1928. The instinct of animals for foody presides over the organs of the stomach.
Hunger is felt when the stomach is empty ; it is promoted by exercise, cold air applied
to the skin, and cold, acid, or astringent fluids introduced into the stomach. Inactivity,
warm covering, the attention diverted, and warm fluids, have a tendency to allay
the sensation.
1929. Thirst is accompanied with a sensation of dryness in the mouth. This dryness
may be occasioned by excessive expenditure of the fluids, in consequence of the dryness
or saltness of the food which has been swallowed; or to their deficiency, from the state
of the organs.
1930. Both hunger and thirsty besides being greatly influenced by habit, exhibit very
remarkable peculiarities according to the species and tribes of animals.
1 93 1 . Those which live on the spoils of the animal kingdom are said to be carnivorous,
when they feed on flesh ; piscivorous, when they subsist on fishes ; and insectivorous,
when they prey on insects. Again those animals which are phytivorous, or subsist
on the products of the vegetable kingdom, are either granivorous and feed on seeds ;
graminivorous, pasturing on grass ; or herbivorous, browsing on twigs and shrubs.
1932. Besides those substances which animals make vse of as food, wafer is likewise employed as drink,
and as the vehicle of nutritious matter. Salt is necessarily mixed with the drink of the inhabitants of
the ocean, and is relished by man and many other animals. Other inorganic substances are likewise
employed for a variety of purposes. Many savages make use of steatite and clay along with their food.
The common earthworm swallows the soil, from which, in its passage through the intestines, it extracts
its nourishment. •
1933. In some cases, substances are swallowed for other purposes than nourishment. Stones are retained
in the stomach of birds to assist in triturating the grain. The wolf is said to satisfy his hunger, by filling
his stomach with mud.
Sect. II. Of the Circulating System.
1934. The food being reduced to a jmltaceous mass, and mixed with a variety of secreted
fluids, by means of the digestive organs, is in this state denominated chyme. This mix-
ture exhibits a chemical constitution nearly approaching that of blood, into which it is
destined to be converted, by the separation of the useless from the useful part. This is
effected by certain vessels called lacteals, which absorb the nutritious part of the chyme,
and convey it to a particular receptacle. Another set of absorbents, the lymphatics,
take up all the substances which have been ejected from the circulation, and which are
no longer necessary in the particular organs, and communicate their contents to the store
already provided by the lacteals. The veins receive the altered blood from the extremi-
ties of tiie arteries or the glands, in which they terminate, and proceed with it towards
U 2
293 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
the lungs, to be again aerated. In their progress, they obtain the collected fluid of the
other absorbents, and, in the lungs, again prepare the whole for the use of the system.
Thus, during the continuance of life, the arteries supply the materials by which the sys-
tem is invigorated and enlarged, and oppose that tendency to decay, produced by the
influence of external objects. The process continues during the whole of life, new
matter is daily added, while part of the old and useless is abstracted. The addition is
greatest in early life, the abstraction is greatest in old age.
1935. This continued system of addition and subtraction has led some to conclude, that a change in the
corj)oreal identity of the body takes place repeatedly during the continuance of life, that none of the par-
ticles of which it consisted in youth, remain in its composition in old age. Some have considered the
change effected every three, others every seven years. This opinion, however, is rendered doubtful by
many well known facts. Letters marked on the skin by a variety of substances, frequently last for life.
There are some diseases, such as small-pox and measles, of which the constitution is only once susceptible ;i
but it is observed to be liable to the attack of these diseases, at every period of human life.
Sect. III. Of the reproductive System of Animals.
1936. Animals are reproduced in consequence of the functions of certain organs, with
the exception of some of tlje very lowest in the scale. In those animals which possess
peculiar organs for the preparation of the germ or ovum, some are androgynous, (man-
woman) and either have the sexual organs incorporated, and capable of generating
without assistance, or the sexual organs are distinct, and the union of two individuals is
necessary for mutual impregnation : others have the sexual organs separate, and on dif-
ferent individuals. The young of such animals are either nourished at first by the store
of food in the egg, or by the circulating juices of the mother. Those species in which
the former arrangement prevails, are termed oviparous, while the term viviparous is
restricted to the latter.
1937. In all animals it is the business of the female to prepare the ovum or germ, and
bring it to maturity. For this purpose, the germ is produced in the ovarium, farther
perfected in the uterus or matrix, and finally expelled from the system through the
vagina. The oflfice of the male is to impregnate the germ by means of the spermatic
fluid. Tliis fluid is secreted in the testicles, transmitted by the spermatic ducts, and
finally conveyed by the external organ to its ultimate destination.
1938. Among the viviparous animals, the reproductive organs present many points of
resemblance, and ajipear to be constructed according to a common model. It is other-
wise with the sexual organs of the oviparous tribes. They exhibit such remarkable dif-
ferences in the form and structure of all their organs, that it is impossible to collect them
into natural groups, or assign to them characters which they have in common.
1 93 IJ. The manner in which the eggs of birds are impregnated by the male, has not been
satisfactorily determined. With the exception of the cicatricula, a female bird, in the ab-
sence of the male, can produce an egg. The conjunction of the sexes, however, is neces-
sary for the impregnation of the egg, and the effect is produced previous to the exclusion.
1 940. In many kinds of fishes and rej)tUes, the yolks, after being furnished with their
glaire, are ejected from the body of the female, and the impregnating fluid in the male
is afterwards poured over them. Impregnation can be effected readily in such cases, by
the artificial application of the spermatic fluid.
1941. Impregnation in insects appears to take place while the eggs pass a reservoir
containing the sperm, situated near the termination of the oviduct in the volva.
1942. The most simple mode of hatching is effected by the situation in which the eggs are placed by the
mother, after or during their exclusion. In this mode, a place is usually selected where the eggs will be
exposed to a suitable and uniform temperature, and where a convenient supply of food may be easily ob-
tained for the young animals. Such arrangements prevail in the insect tribe.
1943. In the second mode, the mother, aided in some cases by the sire, forms a nest, in which she de-
posits her eggs, and, sitting upon them, aids their hatching by the heat of her body. Birds in general
hatch their young in this manner.
1944. In the last mode, the eggs are retained in the uterus, without any connexion, however, by circu-
lating vessels, until the period when they are ready to be hatched, when egg and young are expelled at the
same time. This takes place in some sharks and mollusca. The animals which exercise this last kind of
incubation, are termed ovoviviparous. In the rana pipa, the eggs are deposited in a bag on the back,
where they are hatched, and where the young animals reside for some time after birth. Some animals, as
the aphis, are oviparous at one season, and ovoviviparous at another.
194.5. The young after being hatched, are, in many cases, independent of their parent, and do not stand
in need of any assistance : they are born in the midst of plenty, and have organs adapted to the supply of
their wants. Thus, many insects are hatched on, or within the very leaves which they are afterwards to
devour. In other cases, the young are able to follow their parents, and receive from them a supply of
appropriate food ; or if unable to follow, their parents bring their food to the nests.
1946. The changes which the young of oviparous ani?nals undergo in passing from infancy to maturity,
have long attracted the notice of the inquisitive observer. The egg of the frog is hatched in the water,
and the young animal spends in that element a part of its youth. While there it is furnished with a tail
and external bronchise ; both of which are absorbed, and disapjjcar, when it becomes an inhabitant of the
land. The infancy of the butterfly is spent in the caterpillar-state, with organs of motion and mastication
which are peculiar to that period. It is destined to endure a second hatching, by becoming enveloped in a
covering, and suffering a transformation of parts previous to appearing in its state of maturity. These
metamorphoses of oviparous animals present an almost infinite variety of degrees of change, differing in
character according to the tribes or genera.
1947. In birds, it is well known that one sexual union suffices for the production of impregnated eggs
during the period of laying. This is a <;ase somewhat analogous to those quadrupeds which produce
several young at a birth with one impregnation, differing, however, in, the circumstance that the eggs are
fiooic II. ANIMAL PATHOtOGY. ^9^
not all produced at the same time, although they are afterwards hatched by the same incubation. In the
aphides, or plant-lice, as they are called, one impregnation not only renders fertile the eggs of the indivi-
dual, but the animals produced from these, and the eggs of those again, unto the ninth generation.
1948. Androgynous animals are of two kinds ; those where impregnatoin takes place
by the mutual application of the sexual organs of two individuals ; and those where tlie
hermaphroditism is complete. The raollusca exhibit examples of both kinds.
1 949. Geinmiparous animals are exemplified in the hydra or fresh water polypus, and
other zoophytes.
1 950. Hybridous animals. In the accomplishment of the important purpose of ge-
neration, it is observed, that in the season of love, individuals of a particular species are
drawn together by mutual sympathy, and excited to action by a common propensity.
The produce of a conjunction between individuals of the same species partakes of the
characters common to the species, and exhibits in due time the characteristic marks of
puberty and fertility. In a natural state, the selective attribute of the procreative instinct
unerringly guides the individuals of a species towards each other, and a preventive
aversion turns them with disgust from those of another kind. In a domesticated state,
where numerous instincts are suppressed, and where others are fostered to excess, in-
dividuals belonging to different species are sometimes known to lay aside their natural
aversion, and to unite in the business of propagation. Instances of this kind occur
among quadrupeds, birds, and fishes, among viviparous and oviparous animals, where
impregnation takes place within, as well as when it is affected without the body. The
product of such an unnatural union is termed a hybridous animal. The following cir-
cumstances appear to be connected with hybridous productions.
1951. The parents must belong to the same natural genus or family. There are no exceptions to this
law. Where the species differ greatly in manners and structure, no constraints or habits of domestication
will force the unnatural union. On the other hand, sexual union sometimes takes place among indivi-
duals of nearly related species. Thus, among quadrupeds, the mule is the produce of the union of the
horse and the' ass. The jackall and the wolf both breed with the dog. Among birds, the canary and
goldfinch breed together, the Muscovv and common duck, and the pheasant and hen. Among fishes,
the carp has been known to breed with the tench, the crusian, and even the trout {Phil. Trans. 1771.
p. 318.)
1952. The parents must be in a confined or domesticated state. In all those hybridous productions which have
yet been obtained, there is no example of individuals of one species giving a sexual preference to those of an-
other. Among quadrupeds and birds, those individuals of different species which have united, have been con-
fined and excluded from all intercourse with those of their own kind. In the case of hybridous fishes, the
ponds in which they have been produced have been small and overstocked, and no natural proportion
observed between the males and females of the different kind. As the impregnating fluid, in such situ-
ations, is spread over the eggs after exclusion, a portion of it belonging to one species may have come in
contact with the impregnated eggs of another species, by the accidental movements of the water, and not
in consequence of any unnatural effort. In all cases of this unnatural union among birds or quadrupeds,
a considerable degree of aversion is always exhibited, a circumstance which never occurs among indi-
viduals of the same species.
1953. The hybridous products are barren. The peculiar circumstances which are required to bring
about a sexual union between individuals of different species, sufficiently account for the total absence of
hybridous productions in a wild state. And, as if to preserve even in a domesticated state the intro-
duction and extension of spurious breeds, such hybridous animals, though in many cases disposed to
sexual union, are incapable of breeding. There are, indeed, some statements which render it probable
that hybrid animals have procreated with perfect ones ; at the same time there are few which are above
suspicion.
Chap. V.
Animal Pathology ; or the Duration, Diseases, and Casualties of Animal Life*
1 954. Each species of animal is destined, in the absence of disease and accidents, to
enjoy existence during a particular period. In no species, however, is this term absolutely
limited, as we find some individuals outliving others, by a considerable fraction of their
whole lifetime. In order to find the ordinary duration of life of any species, therefore,
we must take the average of the lives of a number of individuals, and rest satisfied with
the approximation to truth which can thus be obtained. There is little resemblance in
respect of longevity between the different classes, or even species of animals. There is no
peculiar structure, by which long-lived species may be distinguished from those that are
short-lived. Many species whose structure is complicated, live but for a few years, as
the rabbit, while some of the testaceous moUusca, with more simple organization, have
a more extended existence. If longevity is not influenced by structure, neither is it
modified by the size of the species. While the horse, greatly larger than the dog, lives
to twice its age, man enjoys an existence three times longer than the former.
1 955. The circumstances which regulate the term of existence in different species, ex-
hibit so many peculiarities,, corresponding to each, that it is difficult to oflPerany general
observations on the subject. Health is precarious, and the origin of diseases generally
involved in obscurity. The condition of the organs of respiration and digestion,
however, appears so intimately connected with the comfortable continuance of life, and
TT 1
294 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
the attainment of old age, that existence may be said to depend on the due exercise of
the functions which they perform. Whether animals have their blood aerated by means
of lungs or gills, they require a regular supply of oxygene gas. But as this gas is ex-
tensively consumed in the process of combustion, putrefaction, vegetation, and respi-
ration, there is occasionally a deficiency in particular places for the supply of animal
life. But, in general, where there is a deficiency of oxygen, .there is also a quantity of
carbonic acid, or carburetted hydrogen present. These gases not only injure the system
by occupying the place of the oxygen which is required, but exercise on many species
a deleterious influence. To these circumstances maybe referred the difficulty of pre-
serving many fishes and aquatic moUusca in glass jars or small ponds ; as a great deal
of the oxygen in the air contained in the water, is necessarily consumed by the germi-
nation and growth of the aquatic cryptogamia, and the respiration of the infusory
animalcula. In all cases, when the air of the atmosphere, or that which the water con-
tains, is impregnated with noxious particles, many individuals of a particular species,
living in the same district, suffer at the same time. The disease which is thus at first
endemic or local, may, by being contagious, extend its ravages to other districts.
1956. The endemical and epidemical diseases which attack horses, sheep, and cows, obtain in this
country the name of murrain, sometimes also the distemper. The general term, however, for the pes-
tilential diseases with which these and other animals are infected, is Epizooty.
1957. The ravages which have been committed among the domesticated animals, at various times, in
Europe, by epixooties, have been detailed by a variety of authors. Horses, sheep, cows, swine, poultry,
fish, have all been subject to such attacks ; and it has frequently happened, that the circumstances which
have produced the disease in one species, have likewise exercised a similar influence over others. That
these diseases arise from the deranged functions of the respiratory organs, is rendered probable by the
circumstance, that numerous individuals, and even species, are affected at the same time, and this opinion
is strengthened, when the rapidity with which they spread is taken into consideration.
1958. Many diseases, which greatly contribute to shorten life, take their rise from circumstances con-
nected with the organs of digestion. Noxious food is frequently consumed by mistake, particularly by
domesticated animals. When cows, which have been confined to the house, during the winter season,
and fed with straw, are turned out to the pastures in the spring, they eat indiscriminately every plant
presented to them, and frequently fall victims to their imprudence. It is otherwise with animals in a
wild state, whose instincts guard them from the common noxious substances of their ordinary situation.
The shortening of life, in consequence of the derangement of the digestive organs, is chiefly produced by
a scarcity of food. When the supply is not sufficient to nourish the body, it becomes lean, the fat being
absorbed to supply the deficiency ; feebleness is speedily exhibited, the cutaneous and intestinal animals
rapidly multiply, and, in conjunction, accelerate the downfal of the system.
1959. The 2)ower of fastings or of surviving without food, possessed by some animals,
is astonishingly great. An eagle has been known to live without food five weeks ; a
badger a month ; a dog thirty-six days ; a toad fourteen months, and a beetle three years.
This power of outliving scarcity for time, is of signal use to many animals, whose food
cannot be readily obtained ; as is the case of beasts of prey and rapacious birds. But
this faculty does not belong to such exclusively : wild pigeons have survived twelve
days, an antelope twenty days, and a land tortoise eighteen months. Such fasting,
however, is detrimental to the system, and can only be considered as one of those sin-
gular resources which may be employed in cases where, without it, life would speedily
be extinguished. In situations where animals are deprived of their accustomed food,
they frequently avoid the effects of starvation, by devouring substances to which their
digestive organs are not adapted. Pigeons can be brought to feed on flesh, and hawks
on bread. Sheep, when covered with snow, have been known to eat the wool off each
other's backs.
1 960. The various diseases to which animals are subject, tend greatly to shorten the
period of their existence. With the methods of cure employed by different species, we
are but little acquainted. Few accurate observations appear to have been made on the
subject. Dogs frequently effect a cure of their sores by licking them. They eat grass
to excite vomiting, and probably to cleanse their intestines from obstructions or worms,
by its mechanical effects. Many land animals promote their health by bathing, others
by rolling themselves in the dust. By the last operation, they probably get rid of the
parasitical insects with which they are infected.
1961. But independent of scarcity, or disease, comparatively few animals live to the
ordinary term of natural death. There is a wasteful war every where raging in the
animal kingdom. Tribe is divided against tribe, and species against species, and neu-
trality is no where respected. Those which are preyed upon have certain means which
they employ to avoid the foe ; but the rapacious are likewise qualified for the pursuit.
The exercise of the feelings of benevolence may induce us to confine our attention to
the former, and adore that goodness which gives shelter to the defenceless, and pro-
tection to the weak, while we may be disposed to turn precipitately, from viewing the
latter, lest we discover marks of cruelty, where we wished to contemplate nothing but
kindness.
Book II. DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. 295
Chaf. VI.
Of the Distribution of Animals*
1962. The geographical distribution of each species of animal ^ Dr. Fleming observes,
may be represented by a circle, towards the centre of which, existence may be comfort-
ably maintained ; but as we approach the circumference, restraints multiply, and life at
last becomes impracticable. Each species has a range peculiar to itself, so that the circle
of different species intersect one another in every possible relation. Hitherto the geo-
graphical limits of but few species have been satisfactorily determined. These chiefly
belong to the larger species of quadrupeds, as the African and Asiatic elephants, the ass
and the quagga, the lion, hippopotamus, and polar bear. In the tribes of the less
perfect animals, the species of which have been investigated by few, the extent of their
geographical distribution has been very imperfectly determined. They appear to be
limited to circumstances connected with temperature, food, situation, and foes.
1963. The degree of heat at the equatorial regions appears to be most favorable for the
increase of living beings, and they diminish ii^iiumbers as we approach the poles. There
is no latitude, however, which tlie perseverance of man has yet reached, where living
beings have not been observed. The icy shores of the arctic regions are peopled as well
as the arid plains or shaded forests of tropical climates. When, however, an inhabitant
of the colder regions is transported to a warmer district, the increased temperature is
painful, the functions become deranged, and disease and death ensue. The inhabitants
of the warmer regions, when transported to the colder districts, experience inconvenience
from the change of temperature, equally hurtful to the system, and fatal to its continu-
ance. The polar bear appears to be accommodated to live in a region, whose mean
annual temperature is below the freezing point. In those districts where the individuals
of a species are most vigorous and prolific, the temperature most suitable for existence
prevails. The native country for the horse is probably Arabia. There he exists in a
wild state in the greatest numbers. In the Zetland Islands, where he is nearly in a state
of nature, he is approaching the polar limits of his distribution. He has become a
dwarf. He does not reach maturity until his fourth year, seldom continues in vigor
beyond his twelfth, and the female is never pregnant above once in two years. At the
line, where the energies of the horse terminate, however, the reindeer becomes a useful
substitute. Its equatorial limits do not reach the shores of the Baltic.
1964. To compensate the variations of the seasons a variety of changes take place in the
circumstances of animals. The clothing of animals, living in cold countries, is not
only different from that of the animals of warm regions in its quantity, but in its ar-
rangement. If we examine the covering of swine of warm countries, we find it con-
sisting of bristles or hair of the same form and texture ; while the same animals which
live in colder districts, possess not only common bristles or strong hair, but a fine friz-
zled wool next the skin, over which the long hairs project. Between the swine of the
south of England, and Scottish Highlands, such differences may be observed. Similar
appearances present themselves among the sheep of warm and cold countries. The
fleece of those of England consists entirely of wool ; while the sheep of Zetland and
Iceland possess a fleece, containing, besides the wool, a number of long hairs, which
give to it, when on the back of the animal, the appearance of being very coarse. By
means of this arrangement, in reference to the quantity of clothing, individuals of the
same species can maintain life comfortably in climates which differ considerably in
their average annual temperature.
1965. The process of casting the hair takes place at different seasons, according to the
constitution of the animal with respect to heat. The mole has, in general, finished this
operation before the end of May. The fleece of the sheep, when suffered to fall, is
seldom cast before the end of June. In the northern islands of Scotland, where the
shears are never used, the inhabitants watch the time when the fleece is ready to fall, and
pull it off with their fingers. The long hairs, which likewise form a part of the covering,
remain for several weeks, as they are not ripe for casting at the same time with the fine
wool.
1966. The moulting of birds is another preparation for winter, which is analogous tb
the casting of the hair in quadrupeds.
1967. The distribution o/" co^or in the animal kingdom, appears to be connected with
the latitude as correlative with temperature. In the warmer districts of the earth, the
colors of man, quadrupeds, and birds, exhibit greater variety, and are deeper and
brighter, than in the natives of colder countries. Among the inhabitants of the tem-
perate and cold regioils there are many species which, in reference to the color of their
dress, do not appear to be influenced by tlie vicissitudes of the seasons. In others, a very
marked difference prevails between the color of their summer and winter garb. A few
U 4
296 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
of the more obvious instances of these changes, in British species, may be here pro-
duced.
1968. The alpine hare is a very remarkable example. Its summer dress on the Grampian mountains
is a tawney grey ; but in winter it is a snowy white. The hair of the ermine is of a pale reddish brown
during summer ; in harvest it becomes clouded with pale yellow ; and in November is of a snow-white
color. There are many examples of changes in the color of the clothing in the feathered tribe. The white
grous or ptarmigan is of an ash color in summer, and fine white in winter. The black guillemot {Una
grylle) is of a sooty black during summer ; during winter its plumage is clouded with ash colored spots on
a white ground. This change of color in the dress of animals seems intended to regulate their temperature
by the radiation or absorption of caloric : a black animal will give out its heat by radiation much slower
than one in a white clothing.
1 969. The migration of animals is another circumstance affecting their distribution.
Quadrupeds make only partial migrations ; as the stag and the roe from the mountains
to the plains. The winged and finned quadrupeds migrate more extensively, as the
great bat which inhabits England during summer, and spends its winters in a torpid
state in Italy : and the Greenland seal, which migrates southwards to Ireland in
winter.
1970. The migrations qf the feathered tribe are the most numerous ; but the same species which is
migratory in one country, is in some cases stationary in another ; as the hnnet, which is migratory in
Greenland, but stationary in Britain. Migrating birds are either summer birds of passage, which arrive in
this country in spring : or winter birds of passage, which arrive in autumn and depart in spring.
1971. The summer birds of passage are, among water birds, the terns and gulls ; among land birds, the
swallow, quail, turtle dove, &c. The winter birds of passage chiefly belong to the tribe of water fowls.
The swallow, about whose migrations so many idle stories nave been propagated and believed, departs
from Scotland about the end of September, and from England about the middle of October. In the latter
month M. Adanson observed them on the shores of Africa after their migrations from Europe. He in-
forms us, however, that they do not build their nests in that country, but only come to spend the winter.
M. Prelong has not only confirmed the observations of Adanson, in reference to swallows, but has stated,
at the same time, that the yellow and grey wag-tails visit Senegal at the beginning of winter. The former
(Motacilla flava) is well known as one of our summer visitants. The nightingale departs from England
about the beginning of October, and from the other parts of Europe about the same period. During the
winter season it is found in abundance in Lower Egypt, among the thickest coverts, in different parts of
the Delta. Those birds do not breed in that country, and to the inhabitants are merely winter birds of
passage. They arrive in autumn and depart in spring, and at the time of migration are plentiful in the
islands of the Archipelago. The quail is another of our summer guests, which has been traced in Africa.
A few, indeed, brave the winters of England, and in Portugal they appear to be stationary. But in
general they leave this country in autumn, and return in spring. They migrate about the same time
from the eastern parts of the continent of Europe, and visit and re-visit in their migrations the shores
of the Mediterranean, Sicily, and the islands of the Archipelago. While these birds perform those ex-
tensive migrations which we have here mentioned, others are contented with shorter journeys. Thus the
razor-billed auk {Alca torda), and the puffin {Alca arctica), frequent .the coast of Andalusia during the
winter season, and return to us in the spring.
1972. Our summer birds of passage, thus appear to come to us from southern
countries, and, after remaining during the warm season, return again to milder re-
gions. A few of our summer visitants may winter in Spain or Portugal ; but it
appears that in general they migrate to Africa, that unexplored country possessing every
variety of surface, and consequently great diversity of climate. It is true that we are
unacquainted with the winter retreats of many of our summer birds of passage,
particularly of small birds ; but as these arrive and depart under similar circumstances
with those whose migrations are ascertained, and as the operations which they perform
during their residence with us are also similar, we have a right to conclude that they are
subject to the same laws, and execute the same movements. What gives weight to this
opinion, is the absence of all proof of a summer bird of passage retiring to the north
during the winter season.
1973. In proof oi the accuracy of the preceding conclusion, we may observe that it is a fact generally
acknowledged, that the summer birds of passage visit the southern parts of the country a few days, or
even weeks, before they make their appearance in the northern districts. Thus, the common swallow
{Hirundo rustica,) appears in Sussex about the beginning of the third week of April ; while in the neigh-
borhood of Edinburgh it is seldom seen before the first of May. The cuckoo appears in the same
district about the last week of April; in Edinburgh seldom before the second week of May. The
reverse of this holds true with these summer visitants at their departure. Thus dotterells {Charadiius
nwrinellus) forsake the Grampians about the beginning of August, and Scotland by the end of that month ;
while they return to England in September, and remain there even until November. A difference of
nearly a month takes place between the departure of the goatsucker {Caprimulgus Europceus) from
Scotland and from the south of England.
1974. The torpidity or hybernation qf animals, is evidently designed to afford pro-
tection against the cold of winter. There are several quadrupeds which become torpid,
as the bat, hedgehog, marmot, hamster, dormouse, &c. The torpid animals of Britain
usually retire in October, and re-appear in April. Previous to their entrance into this
state of lethargy, these animals select a proper place, in general assume a particular
position, and even in some cases provide a small stock of lood.
1975. All the torpid animals retire to a place of safety, where, .at a distance from their enemies, and
protected as much as possible from the vicissitudes of temperatures, they may sleep out, undisturbed,
the destined period of their slumbers. The bat retires to the roof of gloomy caves, or to the old chim-
neys of uninhabited castles. The hedgehog wraps itself up in those leaves of which it composes its
nest, and remains at ."the bottom of the hedge, or under the covert of the furze, which screened it,
during summer, from the scorching sun or the passing storm. The marmot and the hamster retire to
their subterranean retreats, and when they feel the first approach of the torpid state, shut the passages to
thejtr habitations in such a manner, that it is more easy to dig up the earth any where else, than in such
Book II. DISTRIBUTION OF ANLMALS. 297
parts which they have thus fortified. Having thus made choice of situations where they are protected
from sudden alterations of temperature, and having assumed a position similar to that of their ordinary
repose, these hybernating animals fall into a state of insensibility to external objects. In this torpid
state they suffer a diminution of temperature ; their respiration and circulation become languid ; their
irritability decreases in energy ; and they suffer a loss of weight.
1976. The abundance or scarcity of food has a powerful influence on the geograpliical
distribution of animals. Many species of insects are restricted in their eating to one
kind of plants, or are parasitical on one species of animal. The distribution of such
animals is thus dependent on their food. The same remark is generally applicable to
carnivorous and phytivorous animals. But, in many species, though the restriction is
absolute as to the nature of the food, it admits of a considerable range with regard to
the variety or kind. Thus, though the lion is restricted to flesh, his cravings are equally
satisfied with the carcase of a horse, a cow, or even of man. The hog in general feeds
on roots, but it is not confined to those of one kind of plant ; hence it can subsist where-
ever the earth is clothed with verdure.
1 ^77. The seasons exercise a powerful influence on animals, directly, in reference to their
temperature, and, indirectly, with regard to the production of their food. Thus, the
insect that feeds on the leaves of a particular tree, can only enjoy its repast during that
part of the season when this tree is in leaf. 'How, then, is life preserved during the
remaining portion of the year ? The resources are numerous. It either exists in the
form of an unhatched egg, an inactive pupa, in the imago state, requiring little food, or
actually becoming torpid.
1978. The birds which feed on insects in summer, in this climate, are, from the absence of this kind of
sustenance in winter, obliged to have recourse to various kinds of vegetable food during that season.
Should this change of diet be unsuitable, migration to other districts, where a proper supply can be
obtained, becomes indispensably requisite. In compliance with these regulations, we observe numerous
mammalia, birds, and fishes, accompany the shoals of herrings in their journeys ; and the grampus and
seal enter the mouths of rivers in pursuit of the salmon. The bats, which feed on insects in summer,
could not in this country obtain a suitable supply of food. Yet the race is preserved, since the fall of
temperature, which is destructive to insect life, brings on the winter torpor. With many quadrupeds,
however, and even insects, especially the bee, where migration to more fertile districts is impracticable,
and where torpidity is not congenial to the constitution, there is an instinctive disposition to be provident
of futurity. Of quadrupeds which possess this disposition, the beaver and the squirrel may be considered
as among the most remarkable.
1979. The influence of situation on the distribution of animals, is considerable. Some
animals reside wholly in water ; others are amphibious. Among terrestrial animals,
there are many which execute all the operations of life in one particular situation, in-
fluenced, however by its various conditions. Such animals are necessarily limited to
those countries where such situations occur. There are others, however, which shift their
situations at particular seasons, without reference either to temperature or food. The
curlew, which can at all times procure a subsistence on the sea-shore, and resist or
counteract the changes of the seasons, retires during the period of breeding, to the
inland marshes. The heron, which is equally successful in procuring food on the shore,
is destined to build its nest on trees, and consequently must belake itself to wooded
districts for the purposes of incubation. Its haunts in Britain are termed heronries or
heronshaws. Many terrestrial animals, especially of the insect kind, pass the first period
of their existence in the water. The old animals in consequence seek after that element
in which to deposit their eggs, however independent they may be of its presence for their
ordinary personal wants.
1980. The rapacity of some awma/s considerably aflTects the distribution and extension
of others. Of all the foes of the animal tribe none is so powerful as man. Against
many species, hostile to his interests, he carries on a war of extermination. Others he
pursues for pleasure, or for the necessaries or luxuries of life which they yield. In
these conquests, the superiority of his mental powers is conspicuously displayed, and his
claim to dominion established. Unable to contend with many species in physical
strength, he has devised the pit-fall and the snare, — the lance, the arrow, and fire arms.
Aided by these, every animal on the globe must yield to his attempts to capture. The
lion, the elephant, and the whale, fall the victims of his skill, as well as the mouse or the
sparrow. Since the use of gunpowder, indeed, the contest is so unequal, that it is in
the power of man to control the limits of almost every species whose stations are ac-
cessible. The havoc which man thus commits in the animal kingdom has occasioned
the extirpation of many species from those countries of which they were formerly the
natural possessors. In this island, since the Roman invasion, some species of quadrupeds
and birds have disappeared ; and others are becoming every year less numerous. Of
those which have been extirpated, the bear and the beaver, the crane and the capercailzie,
may be quoted as well known examples. The same changes are taking place in every
cultivated region of the earth, each having within the very limited period of history or
tradition, lost many of the original inhabitants.
1981. An acquaintance with the laws which regulate the geographical distribution of animals is indis.
pensably necessary in our attempts to naturalise exotic species. The temperature most suited to their
health, — the food most congenial to their taste, and best fitted to their digestive organs, — the situation
to which their locomotive powers are best adapted, — and the foes against which it is most necessary t»
498 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IL
guard them.'are circumstances on which we ought to bestow the most sorupulous attention, in order to in-
sure success. There are many animals which can call forth but few counteracting energies, and, conse-
quently, cease to thrive, upon the slightest alteration taking place in their physical condition. With
others, the case is very different, and these we can easily naturalise. They can accommodate themselves
to a variety of new conditions, and successfully resist the destructive tendency of the changes to which we
subject them.
1982. The change in the condition of the animals we wish to naturalise, should, in all cases, be brought
about as slowly as circumstances may permit. In this manner, the first counteracting effects of the system
grow into organical habits, before all the evils of the situation are experienced, in which they are destined
ultimately to reside. In this gradual manner, man has become fitted to reside in every climate, as well as
many of the animals which he has reclaimed.
1983. The total number of species of animals hitherto described exceeds fifty thousand ;
but of these, upvi^ards of forty thousand are insects or reptiles.
1 984. The British Fauna, or number of species of animals, native or naturalised in
Great Britain, might be arranged as residents, periodical visitants, irregular visitants
extirpated, extinct and naturalised animals. But, as Dr. Fleming has observed, British
zoologists have paid little or no attention to the geographical distribution of the native
animals. Species which really live in the country are associated with such as viftit it
periodically, and with those which have been extirpated, have become extinct, or have
been naturalised. The consequence is, that it is difficult to form a correct view of either
the number or characters of our native animals.
Chap. VII.
Of the Economical Uses of Animals.
1 985. On the importance of animals in the arts as laborers, as furnishing food, cloth-
ing, medicine, and materials for various manufactures, it is needless to enlarge.
1986. As laborers the quadrupeds are almost solely employed ; and of these the most
universally useful is the horse, and next the ox and the ass. Without the constant use
of these animals, the general economy of civilised life in the temperate climates, and
more or less in every climate, would be entirely altered ; as would be the economy of
Arabia, and many parts of Africa without the use of the camel. The dog is valuable as a
messenger and watching animal, and has been and is employed in that capacity in all
ages and countries.
1987. As articles of food man employs animals belonging to every class, from the
quadruped to the zoophyte. In some cases, he makes choice of a part only of an animal,
in other cases, he devours the whole. He kills and dresses some animals, while he
swallows others in a live state. The taste of man exhibits still more remarkable differ-
ences of a rational kind. The animals which are eagerly sought after by one tribe, are
neglected or despised by another. Even those which are prized by the same tribe in one
age, are rejected by their descendants in another. Thus the seals and porpoises, which,
a few centuries ago, were eaten in Britain, and were presented at the feasts of kings, are
now rejected by the poorest of the people.
1988. Those quadrupeds and birds which feed on grass or grain, are generally preferred by man to
those which subsist on flesh or fish. Even in the same animal, the flesh is not always of the same color
and flavor, when compelled to subsist on different kinds of food. The feeding of black cattle with barley
straw, has always the effect of giving to their fat a yellow color. Ducks fed on grain have flesh very
different in flavor from those which feed on fish. The particular odor of the fat of some animals seems to
pass into the system unchanged, and, by its presence, furnishes us with an indication of the food which has
been used.
1989. While many kinds qf animals are rejected as useless, there are others which are carefully avoid-
ed as poisonous. Among quadrupeds and birds, none of these are to be found, while, among fishes and
moUusca, several species are to be met with, some of which are always deleterious to the human constitu-
tion, while others are hurtful only at particular seasons.
1990. The use of skins as articles of dress, is nearly coeval with our race. With ^he
progress of civilisation, the fur itself is used, or the feathers, after having been subjected
to a variety of tedious and frequently complicated processes. Besides the hair of quad-
rupeds, and the feathers of birds used as clothing, a variety of products of the animal
kingdom, as bone, shells, pearls, and corals, are employed as ornaments of dress, in all
countries, however different in their degree of civilisation.
1991. Medicine. The more efficient products of the mineral kingdom have in th6
progress of the medical art in a great measure superseded the milder remedies furnished
by animals and vegetables. The blister-fly, however, still remains without a rival ; and
the leech is often resorted to, when the lancet can be of no avail.
1992. The arts. The increase of the wants of civilised life calls for fresh exertions to
supply them, and the animal kingdom still continues to furnish a copious source of ma-
terials for the arts. Each class presents its own peculiar offering, and the stores whicJ*
yet remain to be investigated, appear inexhaustible.
Book M. IMPROVING THE BREED OF ANIMALS. 299
Chap. VIII.
Principles of imjrroving the Domestic Animals used in Agriculture,
1993. The animals xn use in British agriculture are few, and chiefly the horse, ox,
sheep, swine, and domestic fov/ls. The first is used solely as a laboring animal, and the
rest chiefly as furnishing food. In applying the general principles of physiology to these
animals with a view to their improvement for the use of man, we shall consider in suc-
cession the principles of breeding, rearing, and feeding.
Sect. I. Of improving the Breed of Animals.
1994. By improvement of a breed is to be understood the producing such an alteration
in shape or description, as shall render the animal better fitted for the labors he has to per-
form ; better fitted for becoming fat ; or for producing milk, wool, eggs, feathers, or
particular qualities of these. The fundamental principle of this amelioration is the pro-
per selection of parents. Two theories have obtained notice on this subject, the one in
favor of breeding from individuals of the same parentage, called the in-and-in system,
and the other in favor of breeding from individuals of two different offsprings, called the
system of cross breeding. As is usual in such cases, neither theory is exclusively correct,
at least as far as respects agricultural improvement ; for, as will afterwards appear, the
principles on which a selection for breeding so as to improve the carcase of the animal
depends, will lead occasionally to either mode.
1995. That the breed of animals is imjrroved by the largest males, is a very general
opinion ; but this opinion is the reverse of the truth, and has done considerable mischief.
The great olyect of breeding, by whatever mode, is the improvement of form, and expe-
rience has proved that crossing has only succeeded in an eminent degree, in those in-
stances in which the females were larger than in the usual proportion of females to males ;
and that it has generally failed where the males were disproportionally large. {Culleys
Introduction, &c.) The following epitome of the science of breeding, is by the
late eminent surgeon, Henry Cline, who practised it extensively on his own farm at
Southgate.
1996. The external form of domestic animals has been much studied, and the propor-
tions are well ascertained. But the external form is an indication only of internal
structure. The principles of improving it must, therefore, be founded on a knowledge
of the structure and use of internal parts.
1997. The lungs are of the first importance. It is on their size and soundness that the strength and
health of animals principally depends. The power of converting food into nourishment, is in proportion to
their size. An animal with large lungs is capable of converting a given quantity of food into more
nourishment than one with smaller lungs ; and therefore has a greater aptitude to fatten.
1998. The chest, according to its external form and size, indicates the size of the lungs. The form of
the chest should approacn to the figure of a cone, having its apex situated between the shoulders, and its
base towards the loins. Its capacity depends on its form more than on the extent of its circumference ;
for where the girth is equal in two animals, one may have much larger lungs than the other. A circle
contains more than an ellipsis of equal circumference; and in proportion as the ellipsis deviates from the
circle it contains less. A deep chest, therefore, is not capacious ; unless it is proportionably broad.
1999. The pelvis is the cavity formed by the junction of the haunch bones with the bone of the rump.
It is essential that this cavity should be large in the female, that she may be enabled to bring forth
her young with less difficulty. When this cavity is small, the life of the mother and her offspring is en-
dangered. The size of the pelvis is chiefly indicated by the width of the hips, and the breadth of the
waist, which is the space between the thighs. The breadth of the loins is always in proportion to that of
the chest and i)elvis.
2000. The head should be small, by which the birth is facilitated. Its smallness affords other advantages,
and generally indicates that the animal is of a good breed. Horns are useless to domestic animals, and
they are often a cause of accidents. It is not difficult to breed animals without them. The breeders of
horned cattle and horned sheep, sustain a loss more extensive than they may conceive ; for it is not the
horns alone, but also much bone in the skulls of such animals to support their horns, for which the butcher
pays nothing ; and besides this there is an additional quantity of ligament and muscle in the neck, which
is of small value. The skull of a ram with its horns, weighed five times more than a skull which was
hornless. Both these skulls were taken from sheep of the same age, each being four years old. The great
difference in weight depended chiefly on the horns, for the lower jaws were nearly equal ; one weighing
seven ounces, and the other six ounces and three quarters, which proves that the natural size of the head
was the same in both, independent of the horns and the thickness of bone which supports them. In
horneil animals the skull is extremely thick. In a hornless animal it is much thinner, especially in that
part where the horns usually grow. To those who have reflected on the subject, it may appear of httle
consequence whether sheep and cattle have horns ; but on a moderate calculation it will be found, that
the loss in farming stock, and also in the diminution of animal food, is very considerable, from the pro-
ductions of horns and their appendages. A mode of breeding which would prevent the production of
these, would afford a considerable profit in an increase of meat, wool, and other valuable parts.
2001. The length of the neck should be proportioned to the height of the animal, that it may collect its
food with ease.
2002. The muscles, and the tendons which are their appendages, should be large; by which an animal
is enabled to travel with greater facility.
2003. The bones, when large, are commonly considered an indication of strength ; but strength does not
depend on the size of the bones, but on that of the muscles. Many animals with large bones are weak,
their muscles being small. Animals that have been imperfectly nourished during growth, have their bones
disproportionately large. If such deficiency of nourishment originated from a constitutional delect, whicft^
300 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
is the most fVequent cause, they remain weak during life. Large bones, therefore, gmerally indicate an
imperfection in the organs of nutrition.
2004. To obtain the most improved form, the two modes of breeding described as the in-
and-in and crossing modes, have been practised. The first mode may be the better practice,
when a particular variety approaches perfection in form ; especially for those who may
not be acquainted with the principles on which improvement depends. When the male
is much larger than the female, the offspring is generally of an imperfect form. If the
female be proportionately larger than the male, the offspring is of an improved form.
For instance, if a well formed large ram be put to ewes proportionately smaller, the
iambs will not be so well shaped as their parents ; but if a small ram be put to larger
ewes, the lambs will be of an improved form. The proper method of improving the
form of animals consists in selecting a well formed female, proportionately larger than
the male. The improvement depends on this principle, that the power of the female to
supply her offspring with nourishment, is in proportion to her size, and to the power of
nourishing herself from the excellence of her constitution. The size of the foetus is
generally in proportion to that of the male parent ; and therefore, when the female parent
is disproportionately small, the quantity of nourishment is deficient, and her offspring
has all the disproportions of a starveling. But when the female, from her size and good
constitution, is more than adequate to the nourishment of a foetus of a smaller male than
herself, the growth must be proportionately greater. The larger female has also a larger
quantity of milk, and her offspring is more abundantly supplied with nourishment after
birth.
2005. Abundant nourishment is necessary to produce the most perfect formed animal, from the earliest
period of its existence until its growth is complete. As already observed, the power to prepare the greatest
quantity of nourishment from a given quantity of food, depends principally on the magnitude of the lungs,
to which the organs of digestion are subservient. To obtain animals with large lungs, crossing is the most
expeditious method ; because well formed females may be selected from a variety of large size, to be put
to a well formed male of a variety ; that is, rather smaller. By such a mode of crossing, the lungs and
heart become proportionately larger, in consequence of a peculiarity in the circulation of the foetus, which
causes a larger proportion of the blood, under such circumstances, to be distributed to the lungs than to
the other parts of the body ; and as the shape and size of the chest depend upon that of the lungs, hence
arises that remarkably large chest, which is produced by crossing with females that are larger than the
males. The practice, according to this principle of improvement, however, ought to be limited ; for it
may be carried to such an extent, that the bulk of the body might be so disproportioned to the size of the
limbs as to prevent the animal from moving with sutRcient facility. In animals, where activity is required,
this practice should not be extended so far as in those which are intended for the food of man.
2006. The characters of animals, or the external appearances by which the varieties of
the same species are distinguished, are observed in the offspring ; but those of the male parent
more frequently predominate. Thus in the breeding of horned animals there are many
varieties of sheep, and some of cattle, which are hornless. If a hornless ram be put to
horned ewes, almost all the lambs will be hornless ; partaking of the character of the
male more than of the female parent. In some countries, as Norfolk, Wiltshire, and
Dorsetshire, most of the sheep have horns. In Norfolk the horns may be got rid of, by
crossing with Ryeland rams ; which would also improve the form of the chest, and the
quality of wool. In Wiltshire and Dorsetshire, the same improvements might be made,
by crossing the sheep with South Down rams. An offspring without horns, or rarely
producing horns, might be obtained from the Devonshire cattle, by crossing with horn-
less bulls of the Galloway breed; which would also improve the form of the chest j in
which the Devonshire cattle are often deficient.
2007. Examples of the good effects of crossing may be found in the improved breeds of horses and
swine in England. The great improvement of the breed of horses arose trom crossing with the dimi.
nutive stallions. Barbs and Arabians ; and the introduction of Flanders mares into this country was the
source of improvement in the breed of cart horses. The form of the swine has been greatly improved, by
crossing with the small Chinese boar.
2008. Examples of the bad effects of crossing the breed are more numerous. When it became the fashion
in London to drive large bay-horses, the farmers in Yorkshire put their mares to much larger stallions
than usual, and thus did infinite mischief to their breed, by producing a race of small chested, long legged,
large boned, worthless animals. A similar project was adopted in Normandy, to enlarge the breed of
horses there, by the use of stallions from Holstein ; and in consequence, the best breed of horses in France
would have beew spoiled had not the farmers discovered their mistake in time, by observing the offspring
much inferior in form to that of the native stallions. Some graziers in the Isle of Sheppy conceived, that
they could improve their sheep by large Lincolnshire rams ; the produce of which, however, was much
inferior to the shape of the carcase, and the quality of the wool ; and the flocks were greatly impaired by
this attempt to improve them. Attempts to improve the animals of a country by any plan of crossing,
should be made with the greatest caution ; for by a mistaken practice, extensively pursued, irreparable
mischief may be done. In any country where a particular race of animals has continued for centuries, it
may be presumed that their constitution is adapted to the food and climate.
2009. The pliancy of the animal economy is such, that an animal will gradually
accommodate itself to great vicissitudes in climate, and alterations in food ; and by de-
grees undergo great changes in constitution ; but these changes can be effected only by
degrees, and may often require a great number of successive generations for their accom-
plishment. It may be proper to improve the form of a native race, but at the same time
it may be very injudicious to attempt to enlarge their size ; for the size of animals is
commonly adapted to the soil and climate which they inhabit. Where produce is nutri-
tive and abundant, the animals are large, having grown proportionally to the quantity of
food which, for generations, they have been accustomed to obtain. Where the produce is
PookII/ improving THE BREED OF ANIMALS. 301
scanty, the animals are small, being proportioned to the quantity of food which they were
able to procure. Of these contrasts, the sheep of Lincolnshire and of Wales are examples.
The sheep of Lincolnshire would starve on the mountains of Wales.
2010. Crossing the breed of animals may be attended with bad effects in various ways ;
and that even when adopted in the beginning on a good principle ; for instance, suppose
some larger ewes than those of the native breed were taken to the mountains of Wales,
and put to the rams of that country, if these foreign ewes were fed in proportion to their
size, their lambs would be of an improved form, and larger in size than the native ani-
mals ; but the males produced by this cross, though of a good form, would be dispro-
portionate in size to the native ewes ; and, therefore, if permitted to mix with them,
would be productive of a starveling, ill-formed progeny. Thus a cross, which, at first
was an improvement, would, by giving occasion to a contrary cross, ultimately prejudice
tlie breed. The general mistake in crossing has arisen from an attempt to increase the
size of a native race of animals ; being a fruitless effort to counteract the laws of nature,
2011. The Arabian horses are, in general, the most perfect in the world ; which pro-
bably has arisen from great care in selection, and also from being unmixed with any
variety of the same species ; the males, therefore, have never been disproportioned in
size to the females. s.
2012. The native horses of India are small, but well proportioned, and good of their
kind. With the intention of increasing their size, the India company have adopted a
plan of sending large stallions to India. If these stallions should be extensively used,
a disproportioned race must be the result, and a valuable breed of horses may be
irretrievably spoiled.
2013. From theory, from practice, and from extensive observation, the last more to be
depended on than either, '* it is reasonable," Cline continues, " to form this conclusion:
it is wrong to enlarge a native breed of animals, for in proportion to their increase of
size, they become worse in form, less hardy, and more liable to disease." (^Communica-
tions to the B. of Ag. vol. iv. p. 446.)
2014. The above opinions may be considered as supported by the most eminent prac-
tical breeders, as Bakewell, CuUey, Somerville, Parry, and others, and by most
theorists, as Coventry, Darwin, Hunt, Young, &c. T. A. Knight writes in the Com-
munications to the Board of Agriculture in favor of cross breeding, as do Pitt and others in
the County Surveys, but mostly from very limited experience. Sir J. S. Sebright, in a
letter addressed to Sir Joseph Banks, on improving the breed of domestic animals, 1809,
has taken the opposite side of the question, but the meaning he attaches to the term
breeding in-and-in is so limited, as to render it a very different sort of breeding from
that practised by Messrs. Bakewell and Culley, which has been generally so named and
recommended by Cline and others, who favor, rather than otherwise, the in-and-in sys-
tem. He says, " Magnell's fox-hounds are quoted as an instance of the success of
breeding in-and in ; but upon speaking to that gentleman upon the subject, I found that
he did not attach the meaning that I do, to the term in-and-in. He said that he fre-
quently bred from the father and the daughter, and the mother and the son. This is
not what I consider -as breeding in-and-in ; for the daughter is only half of the same
blood as the father, and will probably partake, in a great degree, of' the properties of
the mother. Magnell sometimes bred from brother and sister ; this is certainly what
may be called a little close : but should they both be very good, and, particularly, should
the same defects not predominate in both, but the perfections of the one promise to
correct in the produce the imperfections of the other, I do not think it objectionable :
much farther than this the system of breeding from the same family, cannot, in my
opinion, be pursued with safety." (p. 10.) John Hunt, surgeon at Loughborough, a
friend of Bakewell and Darwin, in a reply to Sir J. S. Sebright's pamphlet, entitled
Agricidtural Memoirs, ^c. 1812, justly observes, that as Sir John has given no defini-
tion of the term in-and-in, from what may be gathered from the above extract he seems
to have been as near as possible of the same mind as Bakewell, whose practice it is on
. all sides allowed, was " to put together those animals which were most perfect in shape
without regard to affinity in blood. " This, in fact, is the general practice in all the best
breeding districts, and especially in Leicestershire and Northumberland.
2015. George Cutlet/, a Northumberland farmer of great practice in breeding and feeding, in hi»
Observations on Live Stock, not only concurs in this principle as far as respects quadrupeds, but con-
siders it to hold good in the feathered tribe, and, in short, in animals of every kind. His conclusion is,
" That of all animals, of whatever kind, those which have the smallest, cleanest, finest bones, are in
general the best proportioned, and covered with the best and finest grained meat." " I believe," he adds,
" they are also the hardiest, healthiest, and most inclinable to feed ; able to bear the most fatigue while
living, and worth the most per lb. when dead." {Observations, 8(c. 222.)
2016. Cross breeding, under judicious management, might probably be often employed
to correct the faults of particular breeds, or to impart to them new qualities. " Were
I," says Sir J. S. Sebright, ** to define what is called the art of breeding, I should say,
that it consisted in the selection of males and females, intended to breed together, in
reference to each other's pierits and defects. It is not always by putting the best male
302 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IT.
to the best female, that the best produce will be obtained ; for should they both have
a tendency to the same defect, although in ever so slight a degree, it will in general
preponderate so much in the produce, as to render it of little value. A breed of
animals may be said to be improved, when any desired quality has been increased by
art, beyond what that quality was in the same breed, in a state of nature ; the swiftness
of the race horse, the propensity to fatten in cattle, and the tine wool in sheep, are
improvements which have been made in particular varieties of the species to which
those animals belong. What has been produced by art must be produced by the same
means, for the most improved breeds will soon return to a state of nature, or perhaps
defects will arise, which did not exist when the breed was in its natural state, unless
the greatest attention is paid to the selection of the individuals who are to breed
together.
2017. We must observe the smallest tendency to imperfection in our stock, the moment
it appears, so as to be able to counteract it, before it becomes a defect ; as a rope
dancer, to preserve his equilibrium, must correct the balance, before it is gone too far,
and then not by such a motion, as will incline it too much to the opposite side. The
breeder's success will depend entirely upon the degree in which he may happen to
possess this particular talent.
2018. Regard should not only he paid to the qualities apparent in animals selected
for breeding, but to those which have prevailed in the race from which they are
descended, as they will always show themselves, sooner or later, in the progeny : it is
for this reason that we should not breed from an animal, however excellent, unless we
can ascertain it to be what is called well bred; that is, descended from a race of ancestors,
who have, through several generations, possessed in a high degree the properties which
it is our object to obtain. The offspring of some animals is very unlike themselves ;
it is, therefore, a good precaution, to, try the young males with a few females, the
quality of whose produce has been already ascertained ; by this means we shall know
the sort of stock they get, and the description of females to which they are the best
adapted. If a breed cannot be improved, or even continued in the degree of perfection
at which it has already arrived, but by breeding from individuals so selected as to
correct each other's defects, and by a judicious combination of their different properties
(a position that will not be denied), it follows that animals must degenerate, by being
long bred from tlie same family, without the intermixture of any other blood, or froni
being what is technically called, bred in-and-in."
2019. Bakewell and Culley say, " like begets like," therefore breed from the best. Of this, says Sir
J. S. Sebright, there can be no doubt " but it is to be proved how long the same family, hred in-and-in^
will continue to be the best." Crossbreeding appears no doubt more consonant to what takes place in
nature than breeding from very near relationship ; and arguing from analogy, the result of certain
experiments made by T. A. Knight, on the vegetable kingdom, seems to justify us in concluding that
occasional crossing may become not only advantageous, but even necessary for the purpose of correcting
defects. Nevertheless, as the last mentioned writer and Cline observe, it can only be safely resorted to
by„skilful and experienced breeders.
Sect. II. Of the general Principles of rearing^ managing, and feeding domestic
Animals.
2020. Immediately after the birth of every animal, even of such as are domesticated,
the rudiments of its education, as well as its bodily nourishment, are necessarily given
by the mother. For this purpose the latter should, during her pregnancy, have been
daily protected against all extremes of temperature, well provided with shade and
shelter, and abundantly supplied with food and water. When the period of gestation
arrives, she should, in general, also be separated from the rest of the flock or herd, and
by whatever means the case may demand, kept comfortable and tranquil.
2021. After the birth, the first interference on the part of man should be that of
supplying the mother with food of a light and delicate quality, compared to that which
she had been in the habit of using, and also of administering the same description of
food to the offspring, so far as it may by its nature be able to use it. The gentlest
treatment should accompany these operations ; and the opportunity taken of familiarizing
both parent and offspring with man, by gently caressing them, or at least, by familiar
treatment on the part of the attendant.
2022. Js the animals increase in size and strength, they should have abundance of
air, exercise, and food, according to their natures ; and whatever is attempted by man in
the way of taming or teaching should be conducted on mild and conciliating principles,
rather than on those of harshness and compulsion. Caresses, or familiar treatment,
should generally be accompanied by small supplies of food, at least at first, as an
inducement to render the animal submissive to them ; afterwards habit will, even in the
inferior creation, render the familiarities of man agreeable to them for their own sake ;
but even then, to keep up this feeling, small portions of select food should frequently
be employed as a reward. By contrasting this method with that of taming or teaching
animals by fear or compulsion, the advantages of the fonner nrode will be evident.
Book II. REARING, &c. DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 303
■ 2023. Interest is the grand mover of animals, as well as of man. In taming by fear, all the interest which
the animal has is the avoiding an evil ; in taming by caresses and food, it is the attainment of enjoyment.
The most extraordinary results are recorded as having been obtained by the mild mode with almost
every species of animal on which it has been tried : to this may be advantageously joined, in the more
powerful animals, hunger and fatigue. " The breeder Bakewell, surgeon Hunt informs us, at an advanced
period of life, not only conquered a vicious restive horse, but, without the assistance of either grooms or
jockies, taught this horse to obey his verbal orders with as great attention as the most accomplished ani-
mal that was ever educated at Astley's school. Bakewell was accustomed to say, that his horse could do
every thing but speak. The method which he took to conquer this vicious animal was never told, even to
his own domestics. Reordered his own saddle and bridle to be put on this horse, which at that time was
thought to be ungovernable, when he was prepared for a journey of two or three hundred miles ; and,
that no one might be witness to the contest, he led the horse till he was beyond the reach of observation ;
how far he walked, or in what manner this great business was accomplished, was never known ; but,
when he returned from his journey, the horse was as gentle as a lamb, and would obey his master's verbal
orders on all occasions. When what are called irrational animals are taught such strict obedience to the
command of a superior order, it is in general supposed to be the effect of fear ; but Bakewell never made
use of either whip or spur. "When on horseback he had a strong walking-stick in his hand, which he
made the most use of when on foot ; he always rode with a slack rein, which he frequently let lie upon
the horse's neck, and so great was his objection to spurs, that he never wore them. It was his opinion
that all such animals might be conquered by gentle means ; and such was his knowledge of animal
nature, that he seldom failed in his opinion, whether his attention was directed to the body or the mind."
{Agri. Mem. p. 127.)
2024. The jmrposes for which animals are fed or nourished, are for promoting their
enlargement or growth; for fitting them for 4abor; for the increase of certain animal
products ; or for fattening them for slaughter as human food. We shall confine our
remarks to the last purpose as being the most important, and as necessarily including
much of what belongs to the three others. In doing this, the following points require
to be attended to : abundance of proper food, a proper degree of heat, and protection
against extremes of weather; good air, water, moderate exercise, tranquillity, clean-
liness, comfort, and health.
2025. Food, though it must be supplied in abundance, ought not to be given to
satiety. Intervals of resting and exercise must be allowed according to circumstances.
Even animals grazing on a rich pasture have been found to feed faster when removed
from it once a day, and either folded or put in an inferior pasture for two or three
hours. Stall-fed cattle and swine will have their flesh improved in flavor by being
turned out into a yard or field once a day ; and many find that they feed better, and
produce better flavored meat when kept loose under warm sheds or hammels, one or
two in a division, a practice now very general in Berwickshire. (See Hammel.')
Coarser food may be first given to feeding animals ; and as they acquire flesh, that
which is of more solid and substantial quality. In general it may be observed, that i:^
the digestive powers of the animal are in a sound state, the more food he eats, the sooner
will the desired result be obtained ; a very moderate quantity beyond suflficiency con-
stitutes abundance ; but by withholding this additional quantity, an animal, especially
if young, may go on eating for several years, without ever attaining to fatness. Pro-
perly treated, a well fed ox, of moderate size, will feed on a rich pasture in from four to
six months, and in stalls or covered pens, with green or steamed food in a shorter
period.
2026. In young growing animals, the powers of digestion are so great, that they require
less rich food than such as are of mature age ; for the same reason also they require
more exercise. If rich food is supplied in liberal quantities, and exercise withheld, dis-
eases are generated, the first of which may be excessive fatness ; growth is impeded by
very rich food, for experience shows, that the coarsest fed animals have uniformly the
largest bones. Common sense will suggest the propriety of preferring a medium course
between very rich and very poor nutriment.
2027. Mastication and cooking. Unless food be thoroughly deprived of its vegetative
powers before it enters the stomach, the whole nourishment which it is capable of afford-
ing cannot be derived from it. In the case of the leaves and stalks of vegetables, this is
in general effected by mastication ; but it requires some care to accomplish it in the
case of grains. Hence the advantage of mixing corn given to horses or cattle with chaff or
chopped straw ; and hence, it is supposed by some, the intention of nature, in the in-
stinct which fowls have to swallow small stones, is intended for the same object. But
the most effectual mode of destroying the living principle, is by the application of heat ;
and if vegetable food of every kind could be steamed or boiled before it was given to
animals (at least in winter, and for fattening to slaughter, or feeding for edible products),
it is rendered probable by analogy and experiment, that much more nourishment would
be derived from it.
2028. Salt, it appears, from various experiments, may be advantageously given to
most animals, in very small quantities ; it acts as a whet to the appetite, promotes the
secretion of bile, and, in general, is favorable to health and activity. In this way only
can it be considered as preventing or curing diseases ; unless perhaps in the case of
worms, to which all salin^ and bitter substances are known to be injurious.
2029. That degree of heat which is aborigine, or has by habit, and the breeding from
successive generations in a cold climate, become natural to animals, is necessary to their
9m SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part 11.
well being ; and a somewhat increased degree in the cold months, or diminished
degree in such as are oppressively warm, is advantageous in the fattening process.
Where a sufficient degree of warmth to promote the ordinary circulation of the
blood is not produced by the natural climate, or by exercise, it must be supplied
by an artificial climate. Houses and sheds are the obvious resources both for this
purpose, and for protection from extremes of weather. Cold rains and northerly
winds are highly injurious, by depriving the external surface of the body of caloric
more rapidly than it can be supplied from within by respiration, and the action
of the stomach ; and also by contracting the pores of the skin, so as to impede cir-
culation. When an animal happens to shed its covering, whether of hair, wool, or
feathers, at such inclement seasons, the effects on its general health are highly injurious.
The excessive heats of summer, by expanding all the parts of the animal frame, occa-
sions a degree of lassitude, and want of energy even in the stomach and intestines ; and
while the animal eats and digests less food than usual, a greater waste than usual takes
place by perspiration. Nature has provided trees, rocks, caverns, hills and waters, to
moderate these extremes of heat and weather, and man imitates them by hovels, sheds^
and other buildings, according to particular circumstances.
2030. Good air and water it may seem unnecessary to insist on ; but cattle and horses,
and even poultry pent up in close buildings, where there are no facilities for a change of
the atmosphere, often suffer on this account. A slight degree of fever is produced at
first, and after a time, when the habit of the animal becomes reconciled to such a state,
a retarded circulation, and general decay or diminution of the vital energies takes place.
2031. Water ought to fje soft and pure, as being a better solvent than such as is hard and charged with
earthy particles. It ought to be of a moderate temperature, under that of the open air in hot weather,
and exceeding it in winter. Deep wells afford this difference. In particular cases, as in those animals in
a suckling state, or milked by man, warmed water has been found advantageous. Meals, or other light
rich matters, are sometimes mixed with it ; but it does not clearly appear, excepting in the last case, that
liquid food is so generally advantageous for fattening animals, as that which being equally rich is solid.
Some judgment is requisite as to the time most proper for giving water to animals. In general, it does
not appear necessary to supply it immediately after eating, for animals in a natural state, or pasturing in
a field, generally lie down after filling themselves, and after the process of digestion seems to have gone
on some time, they go in quest of water. Perhaps the immediate dilution of food, after being taken into
the stomach with water, may, at the same time, weaken the digestive powers, by diluting the gastric
juice. At all events the free use of water at any time, but especially during meals, is found to weaken
digestion in the human species. As animals of every kind become reconciled to any habit, not ultimately
injurious to health, perhaps for housed animals a stated quantity of water, given an hour, or an hour and
a half after what may be called their meals, may be the best mode.
2032. Moderate exercise ought not to be dispensed with, where the flavor of animal
produce is any object; it is known to promote circulation, perspiration, and digestion,
and by consequence to invigorate the appetite. Care must be taken, however, not to
carry exercise to that point where it becomes a labor instead of a recreation. In some
cases, as in feeding swine and poultry, fatness is hastened by promoting sleep and pre-
venting motion, rather than encouraging it; but such animals cannot be considered
healthy fed ; in fact their fatness is most commonly the result of disease.
2033. Tranquillity is an obvious requisite, for where the passions of brutes are called
into action, by whatever means, their influence on their bodies is often as great as in the
human species. Hence the use of castration, complete or partial separation, shading
from too much light, protection from insects, dogs, and other annoying animals, and
from the too frequent intrusion of man.
2034. Cleanliness is favorable to health, by promoting perspiration and circulation.
Animals in a wild state attend to this part of their economy themselves ; but in pro-
portion as they are cultivated, or brought under the control of man, this becomes out
of their power ; and to ensure their subserviency to his wishes, man must supply by
art this as well as other parts of culture. Combing and brushing stall-fed cattle and
cows is known to contribute materially to health ; though washing sheep with a view to
cleaning the wool often has a contrary effect from the length of time the wool requires
to dry. This often brings on colds, and aggravates tfie liver complaint, so incident to
these animals. Bathing or steeping the feet of stalled animals occasionally in warm
water would no doubt contribute to their health ; bathing swine two or three times a
week in hot water, as in that used for boiling or steaming food, has been found a real
advantage.
2035. Comfort, An animal may be well fed, lodged, and cleaned, without being
comfortable in every respect ; and in brutes, as well as men, want of comfort operates
on the digestive powers. If the surface of a stall in which an ox, or a horse stands,
deviates much from a level, he will be continually uneasy ; and he will be uneasy during
night, if its surface is rough, or if a proper bed of litter is not prepared every evening
for it to repose on. The form of racks and mangers is often less commodious than it
might be. A hay rack which projects forward is bad ; because the animal in drawing
out the hay is teased with the hay seeds falling in its eyes or ears; and this form, it may
be added, is apt to cause the breath of the animal to ascend through its food, which.
Book II. FEEDING FOR EXTRAORDINARY PURPOSES. 305
must after a time render it nauseous. For this reason hay should lie as short a time as
possible in lofts, but when practicable be given direct from the rick. Poultry of dif-
ferent kinds are often crowded together without any regard to the comfort of the parti-
cular kinds by attending to their peculiarities, such as the web feet of the duck tribe,
the proper size of roosting sticks for the toed feet of the other tribes. Even the crowing
of the cock must cause some degree of irritation, and consequently impede health and
fattening by disturbing the repose of quiet fowls, such as the turkey or goose. Various
other instances will occur to a reflecting mind ; and surely it must be a duty as agree-
able as it is conducive to our own interest to promote as much as possible the comfort
of those animals whose lives are shortly to be sacrificed for ours.
2036. Health. A good state of health will, in general, be the result of the mode of
feeding and treatment which we have described ; but in proportion as our treatment,
either of ourselves or other animals, is refined and artificial, in the same proportion
are the functions of nature liable to derangement or interruption from atmospherical
changes, and various accidental causes. When this takes place recourse must be had to
art for relief. This is an obvious, natural, and reasonable practice ; though some
contend that as every disease is only an effort of nature to relieve the being frot» some
evil, it ought to be left to itself. To treat animals when in health artificially, and the
moment when they become diseased to abandon them to nature, is a proposition so in-
congruous and absurd, that one would suppose it would be rejected by the common sense
of mankind. There are, however, some solitary instances of medical men having
adopted this opinion ; but the melancholy result of their acting on it in the human
species, as well as its utter rejection by all rational professors, and men in general, has
reduced it to its intrinsic value. There may be much of quackery in medicine; and un-
questionably there is a great deal in the art as applied to the brute creation by common
practitioners ; but to reject the medical art altogether, becomes on the other hand a
species of quackery just as despisable as the other, and not less dangerous ; for it
cannot be much better for a patient to be left to die through neglect, than to be killed by
over-much care.
2037. Farrienjy as applied to cattle and sheep, is a department of medicine in which
perhaps greater ignorance prevails than in any other. The subject as applied to horses
has, since the establishment of veterinary schools in this country, and in France, be-
come better understood ; but the pupils from these establishments are so thinly scattered,
that as Laurence (veterinary surgeon, and author of a Treatise on Horses) observes, it
were desirable that country surgeons should in their different localities give instructions
to the empirical local practitioners in the country, and to intelligent bailiffs; and that
gentlemen of property might have such a sense of their own interest as to call in a sur-
geon in all cases of the least difficulty. All that we can here do is to repeat our advice
of studying the art of prevention rather than of cure ; to suggest that, in general, an
analogy subsists between the constitution and diseases of the human and brute creation ;
to avoid recipes and specific cures, rarely to bleed animals, unless by regular advice ;
and to confine as much as possible the operations of cow doctors and smiths to giving
warm drinks, gentle" purges, and glysters, which can seldom do any harm. Proprietors
who can afford to employ intelligent bailiffs, or rather who give such men considerable
salaries, should ascertain previously to hiring them, by means of general questions, or
by reference to a professor, whether they know any thing of the subject. By thus creat-
ing a demand for this species of knowledge, it would soon be produced in abund-
ance.
Sect. III. Of Feeding for Extraordinary Purposes.
2038. The extraordinary purposes of feeding may comprehend, promoting the growth,
naturity, or obesity of particular parts of the body ; promoting the produce of milk
or eggs ; or, for fitting an animal for hard labor or long journeys, fasting, and other
privations.
2039. Feeding for extraordinari/ purposes, such as promoting the growth of the liver
in geese ; the heart in turkeys ; producing excessively fat poultry, &c. seems to us utterly
unjustifiable on principles of humanity, and unworthy of enlightened men. The prac-
tice of pulling out the animal's eyes, nailing them to the spot, and cramming or forcing
the food down their throats, is surely as repugnant to good taste and feeling, as the food
so produced must be tasteless and unwholesome. Putting out the eyes of certain singing
birds to improve their voice ; and some practices in the rearing of game cocks, and
fancy pigeons, (at least the two first) seem equally reprehensible.
2040. The fattening qf fowls for the London market is a considerable branch of rural ecomony in some
convenient situations. " They are put up in a dark place, and crammed with a paste made of barley meal,
mutton suet, and some treacle or coarse sugar, mixed with milk, and are found to be completely ripe in a
fortnight. If kept longer, the fever that is induced by this continued state of repletion renders them red
and unsaleable, and frequently kills them." {Agricultural Report of Berkshire, by William Mavor, L.L.D.
8vo. London, 1813.) But fowls brought to this state of artificial obesity are never so well flavored in
X
306 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. PaHh It
the flesh, and probably not so Balubrious as those of the same species, fattened in a more natural way.
The great secret of having fine pullets is cleanliness, and high keeping with the best com.
2041. The process followed in different parts of France to enlarge the liver, is de-
scribed at length by Sonnini {Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle, art. Oie.);
** The object is to cause the whole vital forces to be determined towards this part of the
animal, by giving it a kind of hepatic cachexy. In Alsace, the individual buys a lean
goose, which he shuts up in a small box, so tight that it cannot turn in it. The bottom
is furnished with a wide grating of rods, for the passage of the dung. In the fore part
there is a hole for the head, and below it a small trough is kept always full of water, in
which some pieces of wood charcoal are left to steep. A bushel of maize is sufficient to
feed it during a month, at the end of which time the goose is sufficiently fattened. A
thirtieth part is soaked in water each night, and crammed down its throat next day,
morning and evening. The rest of the time it drinks and guzzles in the water.
Towards the 2 2d day, they mix with the maize some poppy oil, and, at the end of the
month, it is known by a lump of fat under each wing, or rather by the difficulty of
breathing, that it is time to kill it, otherwise it will die of fat. The liver is then found
weighing one or two pounds, and, besides, tJie animal is excellent for the table, and
furnishes, during its roasting, from three to five pounds of fat, which is used in the
cooking of vegetables. Of six geese, there are commonly only four (and these are the
youngest) which answer the expectation of the fattener. They are kept in a cellar, or
place with little light.
2042. The Roman qncures, who prized the livers of geese, had already observed,
that darkness was favorable to this kind of education, no doubt, because it prevents
all distraction, and directs the whole powers towards the digestive organs. The want of
motion, and the difficulty of respiration, may be also taken into consideration ; the first
by diminishing the waste of the system, and both by retarding the circulation in the
vena portarum, of which the blood ought to become hydrogenated, in proportion as its
carbon unites itself to the oxygen, which that liquid absorbs. This favors the formation
of the oily juice, which, after having filled the cellular system of the body, enters into
tlie biliary system and substance of the liver, and gives it that fatness and size wliich is so
delightful to the palates of true gourmands. The liver thus only becomes enlarged
consecutively, and the difficulty of respiration does not appear till the end, when its
size prevents the action of the diaphragm. The leanness of geese subjected to this
treatment is often mentioned ; but it can only occur in those whose eyes are put out,
and feet nailed down to a board, as the consequence of this barbarous treatment. Among
a hundred fatteners, there are scarcely two who adopt this practice, and even these do not
put out their eyes till a day or two before they are killed. And, therefore, the geese of
Alsace, which are free from these cruel operations, acquire a prodigious fatness, which
may be called an oleaginous dropsy, the effect of a general atony of the absorbents,
caused by want of exercise, combined with succulent food, crammed down their throats,
and in an under oxygenated atmosphere." {Encyc. Brit. Sup. art. Food.)
2043. Early lamb. As an instance of both breeding and feeding for extraordinary
purposes, we may mention the practice of those farmers who furnish the tables of the
wealthy with lamb, at almost every season of the year, by selecting certain breeds of
sheep, such as the Dorsetshire, which lamb very early, or by treating them in such a way
as to cause the female to come in heat at an unnatural time. In this way, lamb is pro-
cured as an article of luxury, as early as November and December ; and, on the contrary,
by keeping the ewe on a cold and poor hilly pasture, the lambing season is retarded,
and lamb furnished in September and October.
2044. Feeding for promoting the produce of milk or eggs. That which in plants
or animals is produced for particular purposes in nature, may, by certain modes of
treatment, be rendered, for a time, a habit in the plant or animal, without reference to its
natural end. Thus in many cases annual plants may be rendered perennial by con-
tinually pinching off their flowers as they appear ; and animals which give milk or lay
eggs, may be made to produce both for a much longer time than is natural to them, by
creating a demand in their constitutions for these articles by frequent and regular milk-
ings, and by taking away every egg as soon as produced ; and then furnishing the con-
stitution with the means of supplying this demand by appropriate food, — by rich liquid
food, in the case of milking animals — , and by dry, stimulating, and nourishing food, in
the case of poultry.
2045. Feeding to fit animals for hard labor, or long journeys. It seems agreed on,
that dry rich food is the best for this purpose ; and that very much depends on rubbing,
cleaning, and warmth, in the intervals between labor and rest, in order to maintain
something of the increased circulation ; and, in ^hort, to lessen the influence of the
transition from the one to the other. The quantity of water given should never be
considerable j at least in cold coimtries and seasons. (See Horse.)
Book II. MODES OF KILLING ANIMALS. 307
Sect. IV. Of the Modes of killing Animals.
2046. The mode of killing animals has considerable effect on the flesh qf the arrimal.
Most of those slaughtered for food are either bled to death or are bled profusely imme-
diately after being deprived of life in some other way. The common mode of killing
cattle in this kingdom is, by striking them on the forehead with a pole-axe, and then
cutting their throats to bleed them. But this method is cruel and not free from danger.
The animal is not always brought down by tlie first blow, and the repetition is difiRcult
and uncertain, and if the animal be not very well secured, accidents may happen.
Lord Somerville (General Survey of the Agricidture of Shrojyshire, by Joseph Plymley,
M. A. 8vo. London, 1803, p. 243.), therefore, endeavored to introduce the method of
pithing or laying cattle, by dividing the spinal marrow above the origin of the phrenic
nerves, as is commonly practised in Barbary, Spain, Portugal, Jamaica, and in some
parts of England ; and Jackson says, that the " best method of killing a bullock, is by
thrusting a sharp-pointed knife into the spinal marrow, when the bullock will immediately
fall without any struggle, then cut the arteries about the heart." {Reflections on the
Commerce of the Mediterranean, by John Jackson, Esq. F.S.A. Svo. London, 1804,
p. 91.) Although the operation of pithing is not so difficult but it may, with some
practice, be performed with tolerable certainty ; and although Lord Somerville took a
man with him to Portugal to be instructed in the method, and made it a condition that
the prize cattle at his exhibitions should be pithed instead of being knocked down,
still pithing is not becoming general in Britain. This may be partly owing to prejudice ;
but we have been told that the flesh of the cattle killed in this way in Portugal is very
dark, and becomes soon putrid, probably from the animal not bleeding well, in conse-
quence of the action of the heart being inteiTupted before the vessels of tlie neck are di-
vided. It therefore seems preferable to bleed the animal to death directly, as is practised
by the Jew butchers.
2047. Du Card's observations on pithing, deserve attention. This gentleman, a surgeon
of the Shrewsbury Infirmary, after mature consideration, is against the practice, as causing
more pain than it is intended to avoid. He says, ** Pain and action are so generally-
joined, that we measure the degree of pain by the loudness of the cries, and violence of
the consequent exertion ; and therefore conclude, on seeing two animals killed, that the
one which makes scarcely a struggle, though it may continue to breathe, suffers less than
that which is more violently convulsed, and struggles till life is exhausted. It appears,
however, that there may be acute pain without exertion, perhaps as certainly as there is
action without pain ; even distortions that at the first glance would seem to proceed from
pain, are not always really accompanied with sensation. To constitute pain there must
be a communication between the injured organ and the brain."
2048. In the old method of slaughtering, a concussion of the brain takes place, and therefore the power of
feeling is destroyed. The animal drops, and although convulsions take place generally longer and more
violent than when the spinal marrow is divided, yet there is, I think, reason to believe that the animal
suffers less pain. The immediate consequence of the blow is the dilatation of the pupil of the eye, without
any expression of consciousness or fear on the approach of the hand,
2049. From all thescK^ircurastances, DuGard concludes that the new method of slaughtering cattle is more
painful than the old. The puncture of the medulla spinalis does not destroy feeling, though it renders the
body quiescent, and in this state the animal both endures pain at the punctured part, and suffers, as it were,
a second death, from the pain and faintness from loss of blood in cutting the throat, which is practised in
both methods. Everard Home, in a valuable paper {Shrew. Rep. p. 250.) has suggested a mode of performing
the operation, which would answer completely, could we be sure of having operators sufficiently skilful ;
but we may the less regret the difficulty of getting new modes estabhshed when we thus see the superiority
of an old custom under very improbable circumstances ; and if well meant reformers wanted any additional
motives to care and circumspection, a very forcible one is furnished in the instance of the time and trouble
taken to introduce this operation, and which, as it has been hitherto practised,Js tlio very reverse of what
was intended.
2050. Jewish modes. The Mosaic law so strictly prohibits the eating of blood, that
the Talmud contains a body of regulations concerning the killing of animals j and the
Jews, as a point of religion, will not eat the flesh of any animal not killed by a butcher
of their own persuasion. Their method is to tie all tlie four feet of the animal together,
bring it to the ground, and, turning its head back, to cut the throat at once down to the
bone, with a long, very sharp, but not pointed knife, dividing all the large vessels of the
neck. In this way the blood is discharged quickly and completely. The effect is indeed
said to be so obvious, that some Christians will eat no meat but what has been killed by
a Jew butcher. Calves, pigs, sheep, and lambs, are all killed by dividing at once the
large vessels of the neck.
2051. Animals which are killed by accident, as by being drowned, hanged, or frozen, or
by a fall, or ravenous animal, are not absolutely unwholesome. Indeed, they only
differ from those killed methodically in not being bled, which is also the case witli animals
that are snared, and in those killed by hounds. Animals which die a natural death
should never be eaten, as those are undeniable instances of disease, and even death being
the consequence.
2052. Animals frequently undergo some prqyaration before they- are killed. They are
X 2
308 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
commonly kept without food for some time, as if killed with fbll stomachs their flesh is
considered not to keep well. Oxen are commonly fasted two or three days, smaller
animals a day, but it is evident that the practice must not be carried too far, as the oppo-
site effect will be produced by the animal falling off or getting feverish. Dr. Lister has
stated that nothing contributes more to the whiteness and tenderness of the flesh of calves
than often bleeding them,_ by which the coloring matter of the blood is exhausted, and
nothing but colorless serum remains. A much more cruel method of preparation for
slaughter used to be practised, though now much less frequently, in regard to the bull.
By some ancient municipal laws, no butcher was allowed to expose any bull beef for
sale unless it had been previously baited. The reason of this regulation probably was,
that baiting had the effect of rendering the flesh or muscular fibre much more tender ; for
it is a universal law of the animal economy that, when animals have undergone excessive
fatigue immediately before death, or have suffered from a lingering death, their flesh,
though it becomes sooner ridged, also becomes sooner tender than when suddenly
deprived of life in a state of health. The flesh of hunted animals also is soon tender and
soon spoils {Recherches de Physiologie et de Chimie Patfiologique , jmr. P. iV. Nysten. 8vo.
Paris, 1811.) ; and it is upon this principle only, that the quality of pig's flesh could be
improved by the horrid cruelty, said to be practised by the Germans, of whipping the
animal to death.
BOOK IIL
OF THE STUDY OP THE MINERAL KINGDOM AND THE ATMOSPHERE, WITH REFERENC7E
TO AGRICULTURE.
2053. The nature of the vegetable and animal kingdom having undergone discussion,
the next step in the study of the science of agriculture is to enquire into the composition
and 7iature of material bodies ^ and the laws of their changes. The earthy matters which com-
pose the surface of the earth, the air and light of the atmosphere, the water precipitated
from it, the heat or cold produced by the alternation of day and night, and by che-
mical composition and resolution, include all the elements concerned in vegetation.
These elements have all been casually brought into notice in the study of the vegetable
kingdom ; but we shall now examine more minutely their properties, in so far as they are
connected with cultivation. To study them completely, reference must be had to systems
of chemistry and natural philosophy, of which those of Dr. Thomson {System of Chemis-
try,) axid Dr. Young, [Lectures on Natural Philosophy,) may be especially recommended.
Chap. I.
Of Earths and Soils.
2054. Earths are the productions of the rocks which are exposed on the surface of the
globe, and soils are earths mixed with more or less of the decomposed organised matter
afforded by dead plants and animals. Earths and soils, therefore, must be as various as
the rocks which produce them, and hence to understand their nature and formation it is
necessary to begin by considering the geological structure of the territorial surface, and
the manner in which earths and soils are produced. We shall next consider in succession
the Nomenclature, Quality, Use, and Improvement of Soils.
Sect. I. Of the Geological Structure of the Globe and the Formation of Earths and Soils.
2055. The crust, or under surface of the earth, is considered by geologists as presenting
four distinct series of rocky substances ; the first, supposed to be coeval with the world,
are called primitive, and consist chiefly of granite and marble, below which man has not
yet penetrated. The second series, called by the Wernerians transition-rocks, are of more
recent formation, and seem to have resulted from some great catastrophe, (probably that
to which history gives the name of deluge,) tearing up and modifying the former order
of things. Clay-slate is one of the principal rocks of this class, and next limestone,
sandstone, and trap or whinstone. The third series are called secondary rocks, and
seem to owe their formation to partial or local revolutions, as indicated by their compa-
ratively soft or fragile structure, superincumbent situation, and nearly horizontal position.
They are chiefly limestones, sandstones, and conglomerations of fragments of other rocks,
as plum-pudding-stone, &c. and appear rather as mechanical deposits from water than
as chemical compounds from fusion or solution. A fourth stratum consists of alluvial or
earthy depositions from water, in the form chiefly of immense ^eds of clays, marls, or
sands These strata are far from being regular in any one circumstance ; sometimes one
Book III.
OF EARTHS AND SOILS.
309
or more of the strata are wanting, at other times the order of their disposition seems partially inverted ;
their continuity of surface is continually interrupted, so that a section of the earth almost every where
exhibits only confusion and disorder to persons who have not made geology more or less their study.
2056. The situation of the mineral productions of England, is thus given by BakewelL From the western
sic^e of the county ot Dorset, a waving line to Scarborough {fig. 244. * o, a) will part off, towards the
McmboroughH^
1. York.
7. Northampton
1. Durham
6. Leicester
11.
Lancaster
16. Worcester
1. Richmond
8. Doncaster
8. Oxford
2. Whitby
7. Warwick
VI.
Liverpool
17. Shrewsbury
2. Skipton
3. Lincoln
9. London
3. Scarborough
8. Stow
13
Chester
18. Leommster
3. Aberconwy
4. Yarmouth
10. Winchester
4. Nottingham
9. Bath
14.
Nantwich
19. Monmouth
5. Norwich
6. Huntingdon
11. Brighton
5. Derby
10. Exeter
15.
Stattbrd
20. Caermarthea
S.Bala
6. Bodmin
German ocean, the chalk, calcareous sandstone, and other secondary strata or alluvial earths, in which
no beds of workable coal or metallic veins occur. On the coast of Lincolnshire, and part of Yorkshire,
there is a subterraneous forest (6) about seventeen feet under the present high water mark, and which seems
to have extended eastward in the sea to a considerable distance. West of the line between Scarborough
and Hull, the county is composed of secondary strata of different kinds, in many parts of which are b^s
of ironstone and coal. This district is bounded on the north by mountains of metalliferous limestone,
which terminate in Derbyshire, and extend in the west to the mountains of Wales and Devonshire
(c, CyC, c). No metallic veins are found east of this line (r, c, c, c) in ^ny part of England. Along the
western side of the island the primary and transition mountains are situated, in which metallic ores
occur. They constitute the alpine parts of England, extending from Cornwall and Devonshire, through
Wales, into the north-west parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire, and through Westmoreland and Cumber-
Smith's very valuable County Geological Maps.
^51. The succession of alluvial, secondary, transition, and primary strata, in England, has been illu»>.
trated by Professor Brande {Outlines of Geology) by two sections, supposed to be taken tlirough them.
The first section {fig. 245.) commences with the blue clay of London (1), and proceeding westward through
the counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, and Devoiwhire, terminates at the Land's
♦ X3
310
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
End, in Cornwall. The rocks and earths presented in this line are, the Windsor alluvion (2), Hampshire
and Salisbury-chalk (3;, alluvion (4), sandstone (5), aUuvion (6), Sherborne freestone (7), sandstone (8),
245
blue lias limestone (9), Blackdown sandstone (10), Devonshire red sandstone (11), mountam limestone
(12), Dartmoor slate (13), granite (14), slate again (15), greenstone (16), Cornwall serpentine (17), slate
killas (18), Cornwall granite (19), slate killas (20), and finally Cornwall granite.
2058. The second section {Jig. 246.) commences with the coal strata, and limestone resting upon slate
246
and granite in Cumberland, and thence proceeds towards the metropolis by Yorkshire, Derbyshire,
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, and Hertfordshire. The passage is here exhibited from
the primary rocks of Cumberland to the secondary hills of the southern counties. It shows the Cumber-
Isad coal (a), limestone and slate (6), the Mossdale granite (c), slate (rf), grauwacke (e), Ribblesdale lime-
stone (/), gritstone (e), Ashton coal {h), Derby limestone (i), Derby toadstone (k), gritstone (Z), gypsum
(tw), sandstone (n), bmestone (o), Chamwood slate (»), Mountsorrel granite (q), red sandstone (r), lias
limestone (s), Northampton oolite or freestone (t), Woburn sand (w), Dunstable chalk (v), and terminate*
in the London clay (tu), with which the first section sets out
2059. The surface earth, or that which forms the outer coating of the dry parts of the globe, is formed
by the detritus, or worn off parts of rocks and rocky substances. For in some places, as in chasms and
vacuities between rocky layers or masses, earth occupies many feet in depth, and in otliers, as dn the
summits of chalk hills or granite mountains, it hardly covers the surface.
2060. Earths are therefore variously composed, according to the rocks or strata which have supplied
their particles. Sometimes they are chiefly formed from slate-rocks, as in blue clays : at other times
from sandstone, as in siliceous soils ; and mostly of a mixture of clayey, slatey, and limestone rocks,
blended in proportions as various as their situations. Such we may suppose to have been the state of the
surface of the dry part of the globe immediately after the last disruption of its crust; but in process of
time the decay of vegetables and animals form additions to the outer surface of the earths, and constitute
•what are called soils ; the difference between which and earths is, that the former always contain a por-
tion of vegetable or animal matter.
2061. The manner in which rocks are converted into soils. Sir H. Davy observes {Elem. of Agric. Chem.
188.), may be easily conceived by referring to the instance of soft granite, or porcelain granite. This
substance consists of three ingredients, quartz, feldspar, and mica. The quartz is almost pure siliceous
earth in a crystalline form . The feldspar and mica are very compounded substances ; both contain
silica, alumina, and oxide of iron ; in the feldspar there is usually lime and potassa ; in the mica, lime
and magnesia. When a granite rock of this kind has been long exposed to the influence of air and water,
the lime and the potassa contained in its constituent parts are acted upon by water or carbonic acid ; and
the oxide of iron, which is almost always in its least oxidised state, tends to combine with more oxygen ;
the consequence is, that the feldspar decomposes, and likewise the mica ; but the first the most rapidly.
The feldspar, which is as it were the cement of the stone, forms a fine clay : the mica, partially decom-
posed, mixes with it as sand ; and the undecomposed quartz appears as gravel, or sand of different degrees
of fineness. As soon as the smallest layer of earth is formed on the surface of a rock, the seeds of lichens,
mosses, and other imperfect vegetables which are constantly floating in the atmosphere, and which have
made it their resting-place, begin to vegetate ; their death, decomposition, and decay afford a certain
quantity of organisable matter, which mixes with the earthy materials of the rock ; in this improved soil
more perfect plants are capable of subsisting ; these in their turn absorb nourishment from water and the
atmosphere ; and, after perishing, afford new materials to those already provided : the decomposition of
the rock still continues ; and at length, by such slow and gradual processes, a soil is formed in which even
forest- trees can fix their roots, and which is fitted to reward the labors of the cultivator.
2062. The formation of peaty soils is produced from very opposite causes, and it is interesting to con-
template how the same effect may be produced by different means, and' the earth which supplies almost
all our wants may become barren alike from the excessive application 'of art, or the utter neglect of it.
Continual pulverisation and cropping, without manuring, will certainly produce a hungry barren soil ;
and the total neglect of fertile tracts will, from their accumulated vegetable products, produce peat soils
and bogs. Where successive generations of vegetables have grown upon a soil. Sir H. Davy observes,
unless part of their produce has been carried off by man, or consumed by animals, the vegetable matter
increases in such a proportion, that the soil approaches to a peat in its nature : and if in a situation where
it can receive water from a higher district, it becomes spongy and permeated with that fluid, and is gene-
rally rendered incapable of supporting the nobler classes of vegetables.
2063. Spurious peaty soil. Lakes and pools of Water are sometimes filled up by the accumulation of the
remains of aquatic plants ; and in this case a sort of spurious peat is formed. The fermentation in these
cases, however, seems to be of a different kind. Much more gaseous matter is evolved ; and the neigh-
borhood of morasses, in which aquatic vegetables decompose, is usually aguish and unhealthy ; whilst
that of the true peat, or peat formed on soils originally dry, is always salubrious.
2064. Soils may generally be distinguished from mere masses of earth by their friable texture, dark color,
and by the presence of some vegetable fibre or carbonaceous matter. In uncultivated grounds, soils
occupy only a few inches in depth on the surface, unless in crevices, where they have been washed in by
rains ; and in cultivated soils their depth is generally the same as that to which the implements used in
cultivation have penetrated.
2065. Much has been written on soils, and till lately, to very little purpose. All the Roman authors on
husbandry treated the subject at length ; and in modem times, in this country, copious philosophical
discourses on soils were published by Bacon, Evelyn, Bradley, and others ; but it may be truly said, that
in no department of cultivation was ever so much written of which so little use could be made by prac-
tical men.
Sect. 1 1. Classification and Nomenclature of Soils,
2066. Systematic order and an agreed nomencluture are as necessary in the study of soils as of plants
or animals. The number of provincial terms for soils which have foimd their way into the books on
cultivation, is one reason why so little use can be made of their directions.
2067. A correct classification of soils may be founded on the presence or absence of
organic and inorganic matter in their basis. This will form two grand classes, viz.
primitive soils, or those composed entirely of inorganic matter, and secondary soils, or
those composed of organic and inorganic matter in mixtures. These classes may be
Book III. CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS. 311
subdivided into orders founded on the presence or absence of saline, metallic, and car-
bonic matter. The orders may be subdivided into genera founded on the prevailing
earths, salts, metals, or carbon ; the genera into species founded on their different mix-
tures ; the species into varieties founded on color, or texture ; and sub- varieties founded
on moisture, dryness, richness, lightness, &c.
2068v In naming the genera of soils, the first thing is to discover the prevailing earth
or earths ; either the simple earths, as clay, lime, sand, or thp particular rocks from vv^hich
the soil has been produced, as granite, basalt, &c. When one earth prevails, the generic
name should be taken from that earth, as clayey soil, calcareous soil, &c. ; when two
prevail to all appearance equally, then their names must be conjoined in naming the
genus, as clay and sand, lime and clay, basalt and sand, &c. The great thing is preci-
sion in applying the terms. Thus, as Sir H. Davy has observed, the term sandy soil
should never be applied to any soil that does not contain at least seven eighths of sand;
sandy soils that effervesce with acids should be distinguished by the name of calcareous
sandy soil, to distinguish them from those that are siliceous. The term clayey soil
should not be applied to any land which contains less than one sixth of impalpable
earthy matter, not considerably effervescing with acids ; the word loam should be limited
to soils, containing at least one third of impalpable earthy matter, copiously effervescing
with acids. A soil to be considered as peaty, ought to contain at least one half of
vegetable matter. In cases where the earthy part of a soil evidently consists of the de-
composed matter of one particular rock, a name derived from the rock may with pro-
priety be applied to it. ITius, if a fine red earth be found immediately above decom-
posing basalt, it may be denominated basaltic soil. If fragments of quartz and mica be
found abundant in the materials of the soil, which is often the case, it may be
denominated granitic soil ; and the same principles may be applied to other like
instances. In general, the soils, the materials of which are the most various and
heterogeneous, are those called alluvial, or which have been formed from the deposi-
tions of rivers ; and these deposits may be designated as siliceous, calcareous, or argil-
laceous ; and in some cases the term saline may be added as a specific distinction,
applicable, for example, at the embouchure of rivers, where their alluvial remains are
overflown by the sea.
2069. In naming the species of soils, greater nicety is required to determine distinctions
than in naming the genera ; and there is also some difficulty in applying or devising
proper terms. The species are always determined by the mixture of matters, and never
by the color or texture of that mixture which belongs to the nomenclature of varieties.
Tlius a clayey soil with sand is a sandy clay, this is the name of the species ; if the
mass is yellow, and it is thought worth while to notice that circumstance, then it is
a yellow sandy clay, which express at once the genus, species, and variety. A soil con-
taining equal parts of clay, lime, and sand, would, as a generic term, be called clay,
lime, and sand; if it contained no other mixture in /considerable quantity, the term
entire, might be added as a specific distinction ; and if notice was to be taken of its color
or degree of comminution, it might be termed a brown, a fine, a coiarse, a stiff, or a free
entire clay, lime, and sand.
2070. The following Table enumerates the more common genera, species, and varieties of
soils. The application of the terms will be understood by every cultivator, though to
attempt to describe the soils eitlier chemically, or empirically (as by sight, smell, or touch),
would be a useless waste of time. From a very little experience in the field or garden,
more may be gained in the study of soils, than from a volume of such descriptions. This
table corresponds with the nomenclature adopted in the agricultural establishments
of Fellenberg at Hofwyl in Switzerland, of Professor Thaer at Mcegelin in Prussia, of
Professor Thouin in his lectures at Paris, and in general with that of all the continental
professors. It is therefore very desirable that it should become as generally adopted as
that of the Linnaean system in botany. The principle of the table may be extended sa
as to include any other soil whatever.
X 4
312
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
relay
1
Entire . - - .j
f Earths alone - .
1
Lime
ISand
Entire
.Entire
PritnltlTe i
Ferrugineous -
Soils. relay - - -j
Cupreous
Saline - -
Earths and Salts
Ferrugineous -
L or Metals. iUme
Cupreous
Saline - .
Ferrugineous -
.Sand - -
Cupreous
Saline -
Loamy
Peaty - - ' -
Clay - -
Mouldy
Limy . . •
.Sandy -
Earths and or-
^Claye^
Loamy ...
ganic remains;
T,ime - -
Sandy
alone.
Peat/ . - -
.Mouldy -
Clayey . . -
Loamy ...
.Sand - .
Limy ....
Peaty -
.Mouldy - -
Ferrugineous, loamy,&c.
Ferrugineous, limy,&c.
Ferrugineous, sandy,&c.
•Clay - -
Ferrugineous,mouldy&o
Cupreous, loamy, &c.
Saline, loamy, &c.
<to
Cinereous, loamy, &c.
Secondary
"Ferrugineous,loamy,&c.
Soils.
Ferrugineous, sandy,&c.
Cupreous, Joamy, &c.
Lime . -
Cupreous, sandy, &c.
Saline, loamy, &c.
Saline, sandy, &c.
Cinereous, loamy, &c.
L Cinereous, limy, &c.
Ferrugineous, loamy,&c.
Ferrugineous, limy, &c.
Cupreous, loamy, &:c.
Cupreous, limy, &c.
Sand - -
Saline, loamy, &c.
< -
Saline, limy, &c. . .
Cinereous, loamy, &c.
Earths with or-
-Cinereous, limy, &c.
Ferrugineous, &c.
ganic remains.
Granite -
metals, salts.
Quartzose, &c.
"Ferrugineous, &o.
androclu.
Basalt ■ <
Columnar, &c.
Whinstone, &c.
'Ferrugineous, &c.
Schist - -
Micaceous, &c- . -
.Chlorite, &c. - .
Ferrugineous, &c.
Sandstone -
1 Calcareous, &c.
1 Argillaceous, &c.
Cupreous, &c. -
Chalky, &c. . -
^
Marble, &c. . .
Shelly, &c.
Magnesian, &c^
Limestone
Sulphuric, &c. . -
Ferrugineous, &c.
Cupreous, &c. - .
Argillaceous, &c.
Siliceous, &c. .
Slaty, &c. .
Coal - - -
Pyritic, &c.
Stony, &c.
Woody, &c.
Variety.
Red - - -
Yellow
Coarse
.Pine ...
Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine,
Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine,
Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine.
Black, red, &c.
Black, red, &c.
Black, red
Black, red
Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine.
Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine.
Black
Black
Black, red, yellow, &c.
Black, red, yellow, &c.
Black
Black
Black
Black, red, yellow, &c.
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black, red, yellow, &c.
Black .
Black
Black, red, yellow, &o.
Black .
Black
Black, &c.
Black
Black
Black
Black, red, &c.
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black, red, yellow, &c.
Black
Black - - .
Black
Sttb-VarMy.
Moist
Dry.
Rich.
Poor.
.Sterile.
Moist, dry, &c.
Moist, dry, &c.
Moist, dry, &c.
Moist, dry, &c.
Moist, dry, rich, &c.
Moist, dry, &c.
Moist, dry, &c.
Moist, dry, &c.
Moist, dry, &c
Moist, dry, &c.
Moist, dry, &c.
Moist, dry, rich, &c.
Moist, dry, rich, &c
Moist.
Moist, dry, &c.
Moist, dry, &c.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist, dry.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist,
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist, dry, &c.
Moist.
Moist, dry, &c.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist, &c.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist, &c.
Moisl.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist, dry, &c.
Moist.
Moist.
Moiit.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist,
Moist.
Moist, dry, rich, «i:e.
Moist.
Moist.
Moist.
Sect. III. Of discovering the Qualities of Soils. ^
2071. The value of soils to the cultivator, is discoverable botatiically, chemically, and
mechanically ; that is, by the plants that grow on Ihem naturally ; by chemical analysis ;
and by exterior and interior inspection of handling.
SuBSECT. 1. Of discovering the Qualities of Soils ly means of the Plants which grow
2072. Plants are the most certain indicators of the nature of a soil ; for while no prac-
tical cultivator would engage with land of which he knew only the results of a chemical
analysis, or examined by the sight and touch a few bushels' which were brought to him,
yet every gardener or farmer, who knew the sort of plants it produced, would be at once
able to decide as to its value for cultivation.
2073. The leading soils for the cultivator are the clayey, calcareous, sandy, ferrugineous,
peaty, saline, moist or aquatic, and dry. The following are the plants by which such
soils are distinguished in most parts of Europe : —
2074. Argillaceous. Tussilago farfara, Potentilla anserina, argentea, and reptans.
Thalictrum flavum, Carex, many species. Juncus, various species. Orobus tuberosus,
Book III. ANALYSIS OF SOILS. 31S
Lotus major, and corniculatus. Saponcu-ia officinalis. But the Tussik^ farfara is
a certain and universal sign of an argillaceous soil, and is the chief plant found on the
alum grounds of Britain, France, and Italy.
2075. Calcareous. Veronica spicata. Gallium pusillum, Lithospermum officinale, and
purpuro-caeruleum. Campanula glomerata, and hybrida. Phyteuma orbicularis,
Verbascura lychnitis. Viburnum lantana, Berberis vulgaris, Cistus helianthemum, Ane-
mone Pulsatilla, Clematis vita alba, Hedysarum onobrychis.
2076. Siliceous. Veronica triphyllus, and verna. Echiumitalicum, Hemaria glabra,
and hirsuta. Silene anglica and other species. Arenaria rubra, &c. Spergula arvensis,
Papaver hybridum, Argemone, &c.
2077. Fermgineous. Rumex acetosa, and acetosella.
2078. Peaty. Vaccinium myrtillus, uliginosum, and oxycoccus. Erica 4 sp. Sper-
gula subulata. Tormehtilla officinalis.
2079. Saline. Sal icornea 4 species. Zostera marina, Ruppia maritima, Pulmonaria
maritima, Convolvulus soldanella, Illecebrum verticillatum, Chenopodium maritiraum,
Salsola kali, and fruticosa. Sium verticillatum. Arenaria maritima, &c. AtripleX
laciniata.
2080. Aquatic. Caltha palustris, Hippuns vulgaris. PInguicula vulgaris, LycopuS
europeus, Valeriana dioica, Viola palustris, Samolus valerandi, Silenum palustre, Epilo-
bium tetragonum, Lythrura salicaria, Ranunculus lingula, and flamula.
2081. Very dry. Arenaria rubra, Rumex acetosella, Thymus Serpyllum, Acinos
vulgaris, Tri folium arvense.
2082. Tliese plants are not absolutely to be depended on, however, even in Britain ;
and in other countries they are sometimes found in soils directly opposite. Still, the
saintfoin is almost always an indication of a calcareous soil ; the common coltsfoot
(Tussilago farfara), of blue clay; the arenaria rubra, of poor sand; the small wood-
sorrel of tlie presence of iron, or of peat. The common reed-grass (Arundophragmites),
and the common pond weed {Polygonum amphibitim), grow on alluvial soils, which yield
excellent crops if properly drained ; but where the field horse-tail (Equisetum arvense)
grows freely, it indicates a cold and retentive subsoil. The field pimpernell {Anagallis
arvensis), the field madder {Sherurdia arvensis), the corn gromwell {Lithosjyermum arvense),
and the lamb's lettuce { Fedia olitoria) , grow on cultivated lands, where the soil is a
strong black loam on a dry bottom ; when such a soil is wet, the clown's all-heal (Stachys
palustris) makes its appearance, A light sandy soil is known by the presence of the red
dead nettle (La7niumpurpureum) ; the shepherd's purse ( Thlas^n bursa pastoris). If the par-
sley piert {Aphanes arvensis) is found, the soil is rather unproductive ; if the corn spurry
(Spergula arvensis) grows very thick, the ground has likely been rendered too fine by the
harrow ; the common ragwort (Senecio Jacobeea) , and the corn thistle {Serratula arvensis),
grow indiscriminately on light and strong loams, but always indicate a fertile soil. The
whitlow grass (Draba muralis), and the common knawel (Scleranthus annuus), grow on
soils that are dry, sandy, and poor in the extreme. The common rest harrow (Ononis hir-
cina) is often found, on dry pasture, and where the soil is incumbent on rotten rock. The
aquatic, peaty, and saline soils are almost every where indicated by their appropriate
plants ; a proof, as we have before stated, that the climate and natural irrigation of
plants have much more influence on their habits than mere soil. (See the Stationes
Plantarum of Lin. and the Flora Franqaise of De Candolle ; Galjnne's Compendium,
Flora JBrit.; Smith's Flora Prit. ; KenVs Hints; and Farmers' Mag, Feb. 1819.)
S UBSECT. 2. Of discovering the Qualities of Soils by Chemical Analysis.
2083. Chemical analysis is much too nice an operation for general purjwses. It is not
likely that many practical cultivators will ever be able to conduct the analytic process
with sufficient accuracy, to enable them to depend on the result. But still such a know-
ledge of chemistry as shall enable the cultivator to understand the nature of the process
and its results, when made and presented to him by others, is calculated to be highly
useful, and ought to be acquired by every man whose object is to join theoretical to prac-
tical knowledge. If it so happens that he can perform the operations of analysis him-
self, so much the better, as far as that point is concerned ; but on the whole, such
knowledge and adroitness is not to be expected from men who have so many other points
demanding their attention, and who will, therefore, effect their purpose much better by
collecting proper specimens of the soils to be studied, and sending them for analysis to a
respectable operative chemist.
2084. In selecting specimens, where the general nature of the soil of a field is to be
ascertained, portions of it should be taken from different places, two or three inches below
the surface, and examined as to the similarity of their properties. It sometimes happens,
that upon plains, the whole of the upper stratum of the land is of the same kind, and in
this case, one analysis will be sufficient; but in valleys, and near the beds of rivers, there
are very great differences, and it now and then occurs that one part of a field is calcareous.
314 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
and another part siliceous ; and in this case, and in analogous cases, the portions dif-
ferent from each other should be separately submitted to experiment. Soils, when
collected, if they cannot be immediately examined, should be preserved in phials quite
filled with them, and closed with ground glass stoppers. The quantity of soil most
convenient for a perfect analysis is from two to four hundred grains. It should
be collected in dry weather, and exposed to the atmosphere till it becomes dry to the
touch.
2085. The soil best suited for culture, according to the analysis of Bergman, contains
four parts of clay, three of sand, two of calcareous earth, and one of magnesia ; and,
according to the analysis of Fourcroy and Hassenfratz, 9216 parts of fertile soil con-
tained 305 parts of carbon, together with 279 parts of oil ; of which, according to the
calculations of Lavoisier, 220 parts may be regarded as carbon : so that the whole of the
carbon contained in the soil in question may be estimated at about 525 parts, exclusive
of the roots of vegetables, or to about one sixteenth of its weight. Young observed that
equal weights of different soils, when dried and reduced to powder, yielded by distillation
quantities of air somewhat corresponding to the ratio of their values. The air was a
mixture of fixed and inflammable airs, proceeding probably from decomposition of the
water; but, partly, it may be presumed, from its capacity of abstracting a portion of air
from the atmosphere, which the soil at least is capable of doing. The following is the
analysis of a fertile soil, as occurring in the neighborhood of Bristol : — In 400 grains,
there were of water, 52 ; siliceous sand, 240 ; vegetable fibre, 5 ; vegetable extract, 3 ;
alumine, 48 j magnesia, 2; oxide of iron, 14; calcareous earth, 30; loss, 6. But
Kirwan has shown in his Geological Essays, that the fertility of a soil depends in a great
measure upon its capacity for retaining water ; and if so, soils containing the same in-
gredients must be also equally fertile, all other circumstances being the same; though it
is plain that their actual fertility will depend ultimately upon the quantity of rain that
falls, because the quantity suited to a wet soil cannot be the same that is suited to a dry
soil. And hence it often happens that the ingredients of the soil do not correspond to
the character of the climate. Silica exists in the soil under the modification of sand, and
alumine under the modification of clay. But the one or the other is often to be met
with in excess or defect. Soils in which the sand preponderates retain the least mois-
ture ; and soils in which the clay preponderates retain the most : the former are dry soils,
the latter are wet soils. But it may happen that neither of them is sufficiently favorable
to culture ; in which case, their peculiar defect or excess must be supplied or retrenched
before they can be brought to a state of fertility.
2086. Use of the result of analysis. In the present state of chemical science, Dr. Ure
observes, no certain system can be devised for the improvement of lands, independently
of experiment ; but there are few cases in which the labor of analytical trials will not be
amply repaid by the certainty with which they denote the best methods of melioration ;
and this will particularly happen, when the defect of composition is found in the propor-
tions of the primitive earths. In supplying organic matter, a temporary food only is
provided for plants, which is in all cases exhausted by means of a certain number of
crops ; but when a soil is rendered of the best possible constitution and texture, with re-
gard to its earthy parts, its fertility may be considered as permanently established. It
becomes capable of attracting a very large portion of vegetable nourishment from the
atmosphere, and of producing its crops with comparatively little labor and expense.
{Diet, ofChenu art. Soil.)
SuBSECT. 3. Of discovering the Qualities of a Soil mechanically and emjmically,
2087. The physical properties of soils, and some of their most important constituents
relatively to the cultivator, may be ascertained to a certain extent by various and very
simple means.
2088. The sjiecific gravity of a soil, or the relation of its weight to that of water, may
be ascertained by introducing into a phial, which will contain a known quantity of water,
equal volumes of water and of soil, and this may be easily done by pouring in water till
it is half full, and then adding the soil till the fluid rises to the mouth ; the difference
between the weight of the soil and that of the water will give the result. Thus if the
bottle contains four hundred grains of water, and gains two hundred grains when
half filled with water and half with soil, the specific gravity of the soil will be 2, that is,
it will be twice as heavy as water, and if it gained one hundred and sixty-five grains, its
specific gravity would be 1825, water being 1000.
2089. The presence of clay and sand in any soil is known, the first by its tenacity, the
other by its roughness to the touch, and by scratching glass when rubbed on it.
2090. The presence of calcareous matter in soil may be ascertained by simply pouring
any acid on it, and observing if it effervescea freely. Calcareous soils are also softer to
the touch than any other.
Book III. USES OF SOIL TO VEGETABLES. 315
209 1 . The presence of organised matter in any soil may be ascertained very satisfactorily
by weighing it after being tlioroughly dried ; then subjecting it to a red heat, and weigh-
ing it again, the weight last found will be the proportion of organic matter. The same
object may also be attained by ascertaining the specific gravity of the soil, but with less
accuracy.
2092. 2'he jyresence of metallic oxides in a soil may generally be known by their color.
Ferrugineous soils are red or yellow j cupreous soils, interspersed with greenish
streaks, &c.
2093. Tlie presence of salt, sulphur, coal, &c. may be known by the absence or
peculiarity of vegetation, as well as by color, and the appearance of the water of such
soils.
2094. The capacity of a soil for retaining water may be thus ascertained. An equal
portion of two soils, perfectly dry, may be introduced into two tall glass cylindrical ves-
sels (fig. 247.), in the middle of each of which a glass tube is
previously placed. The soils should be put into each in the ^^^^
same manner, not compressed very hard, but so as to receive a
solidity approaching to that which they possessed when first ob-
tained for trial. If, after this preparation, a quantity of water
be poured into the glass tubes, it will subside; and the capillary
attraction of the soils will conduct it up the cylinders towards
the tops of the vessels. That which conducts it most rapidly, provided it does not rise
from the weight of the incumbent column of water in the tube, may be pronounced to
be the better soil. ( Grisenthwaite. )
Sect. IV. Of the Uses of the Soil to Vegetables.
2095. Soils afford to plants a fixed abode and medium of nourishment. Earths, exclu-
sively of organised matter and water, are allowed by most physiologists to be of no other
use to plants than that of supporting them, or furnishing a medium by which they may
fix themselves to the globe. But earths and organic matter, that is, soils, afford at once
support and food.
2096. The pure earths merelr/ act as Tnechanical and indirect chemical agents in the soil.
The earths consist of metals united to oxygen, and these metals have not been decom-
posed ; there is consequently no reason to suppose that the earths are convertible into the
elements of organised compounds, that is, into carbon, hydrogen, and azote. Plants
have been made to grow in given quantities of earth. They consume very small por-
tions only ; and what is lost may be accounted for by the quantities found in their ashes ;
that is to say, it has not been converted into any new products. The carbonic acid
united to lime or magnesia, if any stronger acid happens to be formed in the soil during
the fermentation of vegetable matter, which will disengage it from the earths, may be
decomposed ; but the earths themselves cannot be supposed convertible into other sub-
stances, by any process taking place in the soil. In all cases the ashes of plants contain
some of the earths of the soil in which they grow ; but these eartlis, as has been ascer-
tained from the ashes afforded by different plants, never equal more than one fiftieth of
the weight of the plant consumed. If they be considered as necessary to the vegetable,
it is as giving hardness and firmness to its organisation. Thus, it has been mentioned
that wheat, oats, and many of the hollow-stalked grasses, have an epidermis principally
of siliceous earth ; the use of which seems to be to strengthen them, and defend them
from the attacks of insects and parasitical plants.
2097. The true nourishment of plants is water, and decomposing organic matter j
both these exist only in soils, not in pure earths ; but the earthy parts of the soils are
useful in retaining water, so as to supply it in the proper proportions to the roots of
the vegetables, and they are likewise efficacious in producing the proper distribution of
the animal or vegetable matter. "When equally mixed with it they prevent it from
decomposing too rapidly ; and by their means the soluble parts are supplied in proper
proportions.
2098. The soil is necessary to the existence of plants, both as afibrding them nourishment,
and enabling them to fix themselves in such a manner as to obey those laws by which
their radicles are kept below the surface, and their leaves exposed to the free atmosphere.
As the system of roots, branches, and leaves, are very different in different vegetables, so
they florish most in different soils ; the plants that have bulbous roots require a looser
and a lighter soil than such as have fibrous roots ; and the plants possessing only short
fibrous radicles demand a firmer soil than such as have tap-roots or extensive lateral
roots.
2099. Tlie constituent parts of the soil ivhich give tenacity and coherence are the finely
divided matters ; and they possess the power of giving those qualities in the highest
degree when they contain much alumina. A small quantity of finely divided matter is
sufficient to fit a soil for the production of turnips and barley j and a tolerable crop of
31^ SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
turnips has been produced on a soil containing 11 parts out of 19 sand. A much
greater proportion of sand, however, always produces absolute sterility. The soil of
Bagshot heath, which is entirely devoid of vegetable covering, contains less than one twen-
tieth of finely divided matter : 400 parts of it, which had been heated red, aflbrded 380
parts of coarse siliceous sand ; 9 parts of fine siliceous sand, and 1 1 parts of impalpable
matter, which was a mixture of ferruginous clay with carbonate of lime. Vegetable or
animal matters, when finely divided, not only give coherence, but likewise softness and
penetrability ; but neither they nor any other part of the soil must be in too great propor-
tion ; and a soil is unproductive if it consist entirely of impalpable matters. Pure alumina
or silica, pure carbonate of lime, or carbonate of magnesia, are incapable of supporting
healthy vegetation ; and no soil is fertile that contains as much as 19 parts out of 20 of
any of these constituents.
2100. A certain degree of friability or looseness of texture is also required in soils, in
order that the operations of culture may be easily conducted ; that moisture may have
free access to the fibres of the roots, that heat may be readily conveyed to them, and that
evaporation may proceed without obstruction. These are commonly attained by the
presence of sand. As alumina possesses all the properties of adhesiveness in an eminent
degree, and silex those of friability, it is obvious that a mixture of those two earths, in
suitable proportions, would furnish every thing wanted to form the most perfect soil as to
water and tlie operations of culture. In a soil so compounded, water will be presented
to the roots by capillary attraction. It will be suspended in it, in the same manner as it
is suspended in a sponge, not in a state of aggregation, but minute division, so that every
part may be said to be moist, but not wet. [Grisenthivaite.)
2101. The water chemically combined amongst the elements of soils, unless in the case of
the decomposition of animal or vegetable substances, cannot be absorbed by the roots of
plants ; but that adhering to the parts of the soil is in constant use in vegetation. Indeed
there are few mixtures of the earths found in soils that contain any chemically combined
water ; water is expelled from the earth by most substances that combine with them.
Thus, if a combination of lime and water be exposed to carbonic acid, the carbonic acid
takes the place of water ; and compounds of alumina and silica, or other compounds of
the earths, do not chemically unite with water ; and soils, at it has been stated, are formed
either by earthy carbonates, or compounds of the pure earths and metallic oxides. When
saline substances exist in soils, they may be united with water both chemically and me-
chanically ; but they are always in too small a quantity to influence materially the rela-
tions of the soil to water.
2102. The power of the soil to absorb water by cohesive attraction depends in great mea-
sure upon the state of division of its parts ; the more divided they are, the greater is their
absorbent power. The diflerent constituent parts of soils likewise appear to act, even by
cohesive attraction, with different degrees of energy. Thus vegetable substances seem to
be more absorbent than animal substances ; animal substances more so than compounds
of alumina and silica ; and compounds of alumina and silica more absorbent than car-
bonates of lime and magnesia : these differences may, however, possibly depend upon the
differences in their state of division, and upon the surface exposed.
2103. The power of soil to absorb water from air is much connected with fertility. When
this power is great, the plant is supplied with moisture in dry seasons ; and the effect of
evaporation in the day is counteracted by the absorption of aqueous vapor from the atmo-
sphere, by the interior parts of the soil during the day, and by both the exterior and in-
terior during the night. The stiff" clays approaching to pipe-clays m their nature, which
take up the greatest quantity of water when it is poured upon them in a fluid form, are
not the soils which absorb most moisture from the atmosphere in dry weather. They
cake, and present only a small surface to the air ; and the vegetation on them is gene-
rally burnt up almost as readily as on sands. The soils that are most eflScient in supply-
ing the plant with water by atmospheric absorption, are those in which there is a due
mixture of sand, finely divided clay, and carbonate of lime, with some animal or vege-
table matter, and which are so loose and light as to be freely permeable to the atmosphere.
With respect to this quality, carbonate of lime, and animal and vegetable matter, are of
great use in soils ; they give absorbent power to the soil without giving it likewise
tenacity ; sand, which also destroys tenacity, on the contrary, gives little absorbent
power. The absorbent powers of soils, with respect to atmospheric moisture, is always
greatest in the most fertile soils ; so that it affords one method of judging of the produc-
tiveness of land.
2104. As examples of the absorbent powers of soils: 1000 parts of a celebrated soil
from Ormiston, in East Lothian, which contained more than half its weight of finely
divided matter, of which 1 1 parts were carbonate of lime, and 9 parts vegetable matter,
when dried at 21 2-, gained in an hour by exposure to air saturated with moisture, at a
temperature of 62^, 18 grains. 1000 parts of a very fertile soil from the banks of the
river Parret, in Somersetshire, under the same circumstances, gained 16 grains. 1000
Booic III. USES OF SOIL TO VEGETABLES. 317
parts of a soil from Mersea, in Essex, gained 13 grains. 11XX) grains of a fine sand,
from Essex, gained 1 1 grains. 1000 of a coarse sand gained only 8 grains. 1000 of a
soil of Bagshot Heath gained only 3 grains.
2105. The absorbent powers of soils ought to vary ivith the climate in which they are si-
tuated. The absorption of moisture ought to be much greater in warm or dry countries,
than in cold and moist ones ; and the quantity of clay, or vegetable, or animal matter in
soils greater. Soils also on declivities ought to be more absorbent than in plains or in tlie
bottom of valleys. Their productiveness likewise is influenced by the nature of the sub-
soil, or the stratum on which they rest. "When soils are immediately situated upon a bed
of rock or stone, they are much sooner rendered dry by evaporation than where the sub-
soil is of clay or marl ; and a prime cause of the great fertility of the land in the moist
climate of Ireland, is the proximity of the rocky strata to the soil. A clayey sub-soil
will sometimes be of material advantage to a sandy soil ; and in this case it will retain
moisture in such a manner as to be capable of supplying that lost by the earth above, in
consequence of evaporation or the consumption of it by plants. A sandy or gravelly
sub-soil often corrects the imperfections of too great a degree of absorbent power in the
true soil. In calcareous countries, where the surface is a species of marl, the soil is often
found only a few inches above the limestone ; and its fertility is not impaired by the
proximity of the rock ; though in a less absorbent soil, this situation would occasion
barrenness ; and the sandstone and limestone hills in Derbyshire and North Wales may
be easily distinguished at a distance, in summer, by the different tints of the vegetation.
The grass on the sandstone-hills usually appears brown and burnt up ; that on the lime-
stone-hills florishing and green.
2106. In a moist climate, where the quantity of rain that falls annually equals from 40
to 60 inches, as in Lancashire, Cornwall, and some parts of Ireland, a siliceous sandy soil
is much more productive than in dry districts ; and in such situations wheat and beanss
will require a less coherent and absorbent soil than in drier situations ; and plants having
bulbous roots will florish in a soil containing as much as 14 parts out of 15 of sand.
Even the exhausting powers of crops will be influenced by like circumstances. In cases
where plants cannot absorb sufficient moisture,, they must take up more manure. And
in Ireland, Cornwall, and the western Highlands of Scotland, corn will exhaust less
than in dry inland situations, Oats, particularly in dry climates, are impoverishing in a
much higher degree than in moist ones.
2107. Many soils are iiopularly distinguished as cold or hot ; and the distinction, though
at first view it may appear to be founded on prejudice, is really just. Some soils are
much more heated by the rays of the sun, all other circumstances being equal, than others ;
and soils brought to the same degree of heat, cool in different times, i. e. some cool much
faster than others. This property has been very little attended to in a philosophical point
of view ; yet it is of the highest importance in culture. In general, soils that consist
principally of a stiff white clay are difficultly heated ; and being usually very moist, they
retain their heat only for a short time. Chalks are similar in one respect, that they are
difficultly heated ; but being drier they retain their heat longer, less being consumed in
causing the evaporation of their moisture. A black soil, containing much soft vegetable
matter, is most heated by the sun and air ; and the colored soils, and the soils containing
much carbonaceous matter, or ferruginous matter, exposed under equal circumstances to
the sun, acquire a much higher temperature than pale-colored soils.
2108. When soils are perfectly dry, those that 7nost readily become heated by the solar raySy
likeivise cool most rapidly ; but the darkest-colored dry soil, (that which contains abund-
ance of animal or vegetable matter ; substances which most facilitate the diminution of
temperature,) when heated to the same degree, provided it be within the common limits
of the effect of solar heat, will cool more slowly than a wet, pale soil, entirely composed
of earthy matter. Sir H. Davy " found that a rich black mould, which contained nearly
onfe fourth of vegetable matter, had its temperature increased in an hour from 65° to 88°
by exposure to sunshine ; whilst a chalk soil was heated only to 69° under the same cir-
cumstances. But the mould removed into the shade, where the temperature was 62'=',
lost, in half an hour, 15° ; whereas the chalk, under the same circumstances, had lost
only 4°. We may also refer to the influence of black earth in melting snow, as prac-
tised empirically on the Alps, and tried philosophically by Franklin and Saussure.
The latter placed on the top of the high Alpine mountain Cramont, a box lined with
black cloth with the side next the sun, closed by three panes of glass at a little distance
apart the one from the other, and found the thermometer rise thirty degrees in two hours
from the concentration of the sun's rays. [Agriculture ajyjdiqu^, ^c. tom. i. 82.) A
brown fertile soil and a cold barren clay were each artificially heated to 88°, having been
previously dried ; they were then exposed in a temperature of 57° ; in half an hour the
dark soil was found to have lost 9° of heat ; the clay had lost only 6°. An equal portion
of the clay containing moisture, after being heated to 88°, was exposed in a temperature
S18 SCIENCE OP AGRICULTURE. Part II.
of 55° ; in less than a quarter of an hour it was found to have gained the temperature of the
room. The soils in all these experiments were placed in ^mall tin-plate trays two inches
square, and half an inch in depth ; and the temperature ascertained by a delicate thermo-
meter. Thus the temperature of the surface, when bare and exposed to the rays of the
sun, affords at least one indication of the degrees of its fertility ; and the thermometer
may be sometimes a useful instrument to the purchaser or improver of lands."
2109. The moisture in the soil and sub-soil materially affects its temperature, and pre-
vents, as in the case of constantly saturated aquatic soils, their ever attaining to any great
degree either of heat or cold. The same observation will apply to moist peaty soils, or
peat-bogs.
2110. Chemical agency of soils. Besides these uses of soils, which may be considered
mechanical, there is, Sir H. Davy observes, another agency between soils and organisable
matters, which may be regarded as chemical in its nature. The earths, and even the
earthy carbonates, have a certain degree of chemical attraction for many of the princi-
ples of vegetable and animal substances. This is easily exemplified in the instance of
alumina and oil ; if an acid solution of alumina be mixed with a solution of soap, which
consists of oily matter and potassa, the oil and the alumina will unite and form a white
powder, which will sink to the bottom of the fluid. The extract from decomposing
vegetable matter, when boiled with pipe-clay or chalk, forms a combination by which the
vegetable matter is rendered more difficult of decomposition and of solution. Pure
silicia and siliceous sands have little action of this kind ; and the soils which contain the
most alumina and carbonate of lime, are those which act with the greatest chemical energy
in preserving manures. Such soils merit the appellation, which is commonly given to
them, of rich soils ; for the vegetable nourishment is long preserved in them, unless
taken up by the organs of plants. Siliceous sands, on the contrary, deserve the term
hungry, which is commonly applied to them ; for the vegetable and animal matters they
contain, not being attracted by the earthy constituent parts of the soil, are more liable to
be decomposed by the action of the atmosphere, or carried off from them by water. In
most of the black and brown rich vegetable moulds, the earths seem to be in combination
with a peculiar extractive matter, afforded during the decomposition of vegetables ; this is
slowly taken up or attracted from the earths by water, and appears to constitute a prime
cause of the fertility of the soil.
2111. Thus all soils are useful to plants, as affording them a fixed abode and a range
for their roots to spread in search of food ; but some are much more so than others, as
better adapted by their constituent parts, climate, inclination of surface and sub-soil
attracting and supplying food.
Sect. V. Of the Improvement of SoUs.
2112. Soils may be rendered more ft for answering the jmrposes of vegetation by pul-
verisation, by consolidation, by exposure to the atmosphere, by an alteration of their
constitutent parts, by changing their condition in respect to water, by changing their
position in respect to atmospherical influence, and by a change in the kinds of plants
cultivated. All these improvements are independently of the application of manures.
SuBSECT. 1. Pulverisation.
2113. The mechanical division of the parts of soils is a very obvious improvement, and
applicable to all in proportion to their adhesive texture. Even a free siliceous soil will,
if left untouched, become too compact for the proper admission of air, rain, and heat,
and for the free growth of the fibres ; and strong upland clays, not sumbitted to the
plough or the spade, will, in a few years, be found in the possession of fibrous-rooted
perennial grasses, which form a clothing on their surface, or strong tap-rooted trees, as
the oak, which force their way through the interior of the mass. Annuals and ramen-
taceous-rooted herbaceous plants cannot penetrate into such soils.
2114. The first object of pulverisation is to give scojie to the roots of vegetables, for with-
out abundance of roots no plant will become vigorous, whatever may be the richness of
the soil in which it is placed. The fibres of the roots, as we have seen (1512.), take up
the extract of the soil by intro-susception ; the quantity taken up, therefore, will not
depend alone on the quantity in the soil, but on the number of absorbing fibres. The
more the soil is pulverised, the more these fibres are increased, the more extract is ab-
sorbed, and the more vigorous does the plant become. Pulverisation, therefore, is not
only advantageous previous to planting or sowing, but also during tlie progress of vege-
tation, when applied in the intervals between the plants. In this last case it operates also in
the way of pruning, and by cutting off or shortening tlie extending fibres, causes them to
branch out numerous others, by which the mouths or pores of tlie plants are greatly in-
creased, and such food as is in the soil has the better chance of being sought after, and
taken up by them. Tull and Du Hamel relate various experiments which decidedly
prove that, ceeteris paribus, the multiplication of the fibres is as the inter-pulverisation ;
Book III. IMPROVEMENT OF SOILS. S19
but the strength of the vegetable, in consequence of this multiplication of fibres, must
depend a good deal on the quantity of food or of extract within their reach. The root of
a willow tree, as we have seen (1560.), has the fibres prodigiously increased by coming in
contact with the water in a river, and so have various other aquatic trees and plants, as
alder, mint, lysimachia thyrsiflora, calla palustris, oenanthe fistulosa, &c. ; but their herbs
or trunks are not proportionally increased unless the water be impregnated with organised
remains.
2115. Pulverisation increases the capillary attractioUy or sponge-like property of soils,
by which their humidity is rendered more uniform. It is evident this capillary at-
traction must be greatest where the particles of the earth are finely divided ; for
gravels and sands hardly retain water at all, while clays, not opened by pulverisation or
other means, either do not absorb water, or when, by long action it is absorbed, they re-
tain too much. Water is not only necessary to the growth of plants as such, but it is
essential to the production of extract from the vegetable matters which they contain ; and
unless the soil, by pulverisation or otherwise, is so constituted as to retain the quantity
of water requisite to produce this extract, the addition of manures will be in vain.
Manure is useless to vegetation till it becomes soluble in water, and it would remain
useless in a state of solution, if it so abounded as wholly to exclude air, for then the fibres
or mouths, unable to perform their functions, would soon decay and rot off. Pulveri-
sation in a warm season is of great advantage in admitting the nightly dews to the roots
of plants : Chaptal, in his Agriculture applique a Chimie, relates the great benefit he
found from the practice in this respect to his corn crops ; and shows of what importance
it is in the culture of vineyards in France.
2116. The temperature of a soil is greatly 2)ro?notedhy pulverisation. Earths, Grisenthwaite
observes, are also among the worst conductors of heat with which we are acquainted,
and consequently, it would be a considerable time before the gradually increasing tem-
perature of spring could communicate its genial warmth to the roots of vegetables, if
their lower strata were not heated by some other means. To remove this defect, which
always belongs to a close compact soil, it is necessary to have the land open, that there
may be a free ingress of the warm air and tepid rains of spring.
2117. Pulverisation contributes to the increase of vegetable food. "Water is known to be
a condenser and solvent of carbonic acid gas, which, when the land is open, can be im-
mediately carried to the roots of vegetables, and contribute to their growth ; but if the
land be close, and the water lie on or near its surface, then the carbonic acid gas, which
always exists in the atmosphere and is carried down by rains, will soon be dissipated.
An open soil is also almost suitable for affecting those changes in the manure itself, which
are equally necessary to the preparation of such food. Animal and vegetable substances,
exposed to the alternate action of heat, moisture, light, and air, undergo spontaneous
decompositions, which would not otherwise take place.
2118. By means of pulverisation a j)ortion of atmospheric air is buried in the soil. This
air, so confined, is decomposed by the moisture retained in the earthy matters. Am-
monia is formed by the union of the hydrogen of the water with the nitrogen of the at-
mosphere ; and nitre'", by the union of oxygen and nitrogen ; the oxygen may also unite
with the carbon contained in the soil, and form carbonic acid gas, and carburetted hydro-
gen. Heat is given out during these processes, and " hence," as Dr. Darwin remarks
[Phytologia, sect. xii. 1,), " the great propriety of cropping lands immediately after they
had been comminuted and turned over; and this the more especially, if manure has been
added at the same time, as the process of fermentation will go on faster when the soil is
loose, and the interstices filled with air, than afterwards, when it becomes compressed with
its own gravity, the relaxing influence of rains, and the repletion of the partial vacuums
formed by the decomposition of the enclosed air. The advantage of the heat thus obtained
in exciting vegetation, whether in a seed or root, especially in spring, when the soil is
cold, must be very considerable."
2119. The great advantages of j)uIverisation deceived Tull, who fancied that no other
assistances were required in the well-management of the business of husbandry. A
knowledge of chemistry, in its present improved state, would have enabled him to discover
that the pulverisation of the soil was of no other benefit to the plants that grow in it than
as it " increased the number of their fibrous roots or mouths by which they imbibe their
food, facilitated the more speedy and perfect preparation of this food, and conducted the
food so prepared more regularly to their roots." Of this food itself it did not produce
one particle.
2120. The dejyth of pulverisation^ Sir H. Davy observes, ** must depend upon the natiu-e
of the soil, and of the subsoil. In rich clayey soils it can scarcely be too deep ; and even
in sands, unless the subsoil contains some principles noxious to vegetables, deep commi-
nution should be practised. When the roots are deep, they are less liable to be injured
eitljer by excessive rain or drought ; the radicles are shot forth into every part of the soil ;
220 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
and the spaM from which the nourishment is derived is more considerable tlian when the
seed is superficially inserted in the soil."
2121. Pulverisation should, in all cases, be accompanied with the admixture of the parts
of soils by turning them over. It is difficult, indeed, to pulverise without effecting this
end, at least by the implements in common use ; but if it could be effected, it would be
injurious, because the difference of gravity between the organised matters and the earths
has a constant tendency to separate them, and stirring a soil only by forks or pronged
implements, such as cultivators, would, in a short time, leave the surface of the soil too
light and spongy, and the lower part too compact and earthy.
SuBSECT. 2. Of the Improvement of Soils hy Compression.
2122. Mechanical consolidation will improve some soils, such as spongy peats and light
dusty sands. It is but a limited source of improvement, but still it deserves to be
noticed.
2123. The proper degree of adhesiveness is best given to loose soils by the addition of
earthy matters ; but mere rolling and treading are not to be altogether rejected. To be
benefited by rolling a soil must be dry, and the operation must not be carried too far. A
peat-bog drained and rolled, will sooner become covered with grasses than one equally
well drained and left alone. Drifting sands may be well rolled when wet, and by re-
peating the process after rains they will in time acquire a surface of grass or herbage.
Every agriculturist knows the advantages of rolling light soils after sowing, or even
treading them with sheep. Gardeners also tread in seeds on certain soils.
SuBSECT. 3. Of the Improvement of Soils by Aeration or Fallowing.
2124. Soils are benefited by the free admission of the weather to their interior parts. This is
generally considered as one of the advantages of fallowing, and its use in gardening is ex-
perienced in compost heaps, and in winter and summer ridging. The precise advantages,
however, of exposure to the air, independently of the concurrent influence of water,
heat, and the other effects mentioned as attendant on pulverisation, do not seem at present
to be correctly ascertained. It is allowed that carbonic acid gas may be absorbed by cal-
careous earths, and Dr. Thomson considers that the earths alone may thus probably
administer food to plants ; but Sir H. Davy seems to consider mere exposure to the at-
mosphere of no benefit to soils whatever. " It has been supposed by some writers," he
says, ** that certain principles necessary to fertility are derived from the atmosphere, which
are exhausted by a succession of crops, and that these are again supplied during the repose
of the land, and the exposure of the pulverised soil to the influence of the air ; but this in
truth is not the case. The earths commonly found in soils cannot be combined with more
oxygen ; none of them unite to azote ; and such of them as are capable of attracting car-
bonic acid, are always saturated with it in those soils on which the practice of fallowing is
adopted."
21 25. Aeration and repose, or summer fallow. " The vague ancient opinion of the use of
nitre, and of nitrous salts in vegetation," Sir H. Davy says, "seems to have been one of
the principal speculative reasons for the defence of summer fallows. Nitrous salts are
produced during the exposure of soils containing vegetable and animal remains, and in
greatest abundance in hot weather ; but it is probably by the combination of the azote
from these remains with oxygen in the atmosphere that the acid is formed ; and at the ex-
pense of an element, which otherwise would have formed ammonia ; the compounds of
which are much more efficacious than the nitrous compounds in assisting vegetation." It
is proper to observe that this reason is more speculative than experimental, and seems in-
fluenced, in some degree, by the opinion adopted by the author, that fallows are of little
use in husbandry. One obvious advantage of aeration in summer, or a summer fallow,
is, that the soil may thus be heated by the sun to a degree which it never could be, if
partially covered with the foliage of even the widest drilled crops. For this purpose, if
the soil is laid up in large lumps, it is evident it will receive more heat by exposing a
greater surface to the atmosphere, and it will retain this heat longer than can be expected,
from the circumstance of the lumps reflecting back the rays of heat radiated by each other.
A clayey soil, in this way, it is said (Farmer s Magazine, 1815), may be heated to 120°,
which may in some degree alter its absorbent powers as to water, and contribute materially
to the destruction of vegetable fibre, insects, and their eggs. By the aeration of lands in
winter, minute mechanical division is obtained by the freezing of the water in the soil ;
for, as water in the solid state occupies more space than when fluid, the particles of
earthy matters and of decomposing stones are thus rent asunder, and crumble down in
a fine mould. Rough stony soils will thus receive an accession to their finer soil every
winter,
2126. Agricultural experience has fully proved that fallows are the only means by
which stiff clays in moist climates can be effectually cleared of weeds. Supposing there-
fore that no other advantage whatever was obtained, tliat no nutritive matter was
imbibed from the atmosphere, and the soil was neither chemically nor mechanically
Book III. ALTERATION OF THE PARTS OF THE SOIL. 321
benefited by aeration, this benefit alone — tlie effectual eradication of weeds — is suf-
ficient to justify the use of fallows on such soils.
2127. Many of the objections to fallows have arisen in consequence of the parties not
previously agreeing as to what a summer fallow is. In England generally, or at least
formerly, a fallow was a portion of land, left a year without culture or cropping, unless
being once or twice ploughed can be denominated the former, and an abundant growth
of coarse grasses and weeds can constitute the latter. The jacheres of the French are
the same thing. In Scotland and the best cultivated districts a summer fallow is a por-
tion of land which is begun to be cultivated after the crop is removed in autumn, and is
frequently, as need requires, ploughed, harrowed, and otherwise comminuted, and freed
from stones, weeds, inequalities, &c., till the autumnal seed-time of the following year: it is
thus for twelve months in a state of constant tillage and movement. The result is that the
land 'is thoroughly freed from roots of weeds ; from many seeds of weeds, which are thus
made to germinate, and are then destroyed; and from many eggs of insects which are
thus hatched, but being without plants to nourish them in their larva state, speedily die.
The land is also thoroughly pulverised, and the top, bottom, and middle, mixed together ;
stones are picked out, inequalities unfavorable to surface drainage removed or lessened,
and various other useful objects attained. Such a fallow can no more be compared with
what usually passes under that name, than the plough of Virgil (112.) with that of
Small.
2128. That fallows of the common kind are much more universal than is necessary,
there can be little doubt ; but there can be as little doubt that fallows such as we have
described, are much less frequent than they should be ; and that wherever they are
practised, the agriculturist's produce and profits will be found far superior to where they
are omitted ; turnip soils are of course to be excepted, because the preparation for that
crop on light soils effects the same purpose in eight months, that the other does in twelve.
2129. T/ie otigin of fallows is commonly traced to the idea, that land naturally requires rest as well as
animals : but a want of hands first, and afterwards a want of manure, is a much more likely cause. Men
must very early have observed, from what took place in the spots they cultivated as gardens, that pul-
verisation and manure would ensure perpetual crops on the same soil ; but they must at the same time
have felt, that they had neither the requisite laborers to bestow the cultivation, nor cattle to produce the
manure. Hence they would find it easier to break up one piece of fresh ground after another, and after
they had gone a round in this way, as extensive as their limits or other circumstances permitted, they would
return to where they began. As their limits became circumscribed by the increase of population, or
other causes, they would return the oftener, till at last, when property became more rigidly defined, and
more valuable, they would return at short intervals regularly. Then it was that the necessity and ad-
vantage of working fallows would be felt, and the practice become systematised as at the present day,
and from the earliest records in civilized countries. The practice of fallowing in Italy, during the time
of the Romans (128.) differed in nothing from that of the same country, and throughout the rest of
Europe at the present day : and if we trace field culture among savage and semibarbarous nations, and
gradually through such as are more wealthy and refined, we shall find the fallow in all its gradations,
from breaking up at random, to the septennial operations of the best British farmers.
SuBSECT. 4. Alteration of the constituent Farts of Soils.
2130. TJie constituent parts of soils may be altered by the addition or syhtraction of in-
gredients in which they are deficient, or superabound, and by the chemical changes of
some constituent part or parts by the action of fire.
2131. In ascertaining the composilioyi of faulty soils with a view to their improvement
by adding to their constituent parts, any particular ingredient which is the cause of their
unproductiveness should be particularly attended to ; if possible, they should be com-
pared with fertile soils in the same neighborhood, and in similar situations, as the dif-
ference of the composition may, in many cases, indicate the most proper methods of im-
provement. If, on washing a sterile soil, it is found to contain the salts of iron, or any
acid matter, it may be ameliorated by the application of quick lime. A soil of good ap-
parent texture, containing sulphate of iron, will be sterile ; but the obvious remedy is a
top-dressing with lime, which converts the sulphate into manure. If there be an excess
of calcareous matter in the soil, it may be improved by the application of sand or clay.
Soils too abundant in sand are benefited by the use of clay, or marl, or vegetable matter.
Light sands are often benefited by a dressing of peat, and peats by a dressing of sand ;
though the former is in its nature but a temporary improvement. When peats are acid,
or contain ferruginous salts, calcareous matter is absolutely necessary in bringing them
into cultivation. The best natural soils are those of which the materials have been de-
rived from different strata, which have been minutely divided by air and water, and are
intimately blended together ; and in improving soils artificially, the cultivator cannot do
better than imitate the processes of nature. The materials necessary for the purpose are
seldom far distant ; coarse sand is often found immediately on chalk, and beds of sand
and gravel are common below clay. The labor of improving the texture or constitution
of tlie soil is repaid by a great permanent advantage, — less manure is required, and its
fertility insured ; and capital laid out in this way secures for ever the productiveness, and
consequently the value of the land.
2132. The removal of superabundant ingredients in soils may sometimes be one of the
SaS SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
simplest and most effectual means of their improvement. It occasionally happens that
the surface of a well proportioned soil is thickly covered with peat, with drifted sand,
with gravel, or with small stones. Extensive examples of the former occur in Stirling-
shire, and of the latter in Norfolk. In such cases, a simple and effectual mode of im-
provement consists in removing the superincumbent strata, and cultivating that below.
This can seldom be put in practice on a large scale, with such heavy materials as gravel
or stones ; but some hundreds of acres of rich alluvial soil, deeply covered by peat, have
been bared and cultivated in Flanders moss in Stirlingshire ; an operation commenced by
the celebrated Lord Kaimes, (Gen. Rep. of Scot. App. v. 5.) copied by his neighbors,
and continued by his and their successors. The moss is floated off by streams of water,
which empty themselves in the Frith of Forth. In this river, by the winds and tides, it
is cast on shore in the bays and recesses, impregnated with salt ; and here it ingenders
vegetation on the encroaching surfaces of sand and gravel. Coatings of sand or gravel
can seldom be removed on a scale of sufficient extent for agriculture, but have, in some
instances, for the purposes of gardening. Sometimes this improvement may be effected
by trenching down the surface, and raising up a stratum of better earth.
. 2133. Incineration' The chemical changes which can be effected in soils by inciner-
ation are considerable. This practice was known to the Romans, is more or less in use
in most parts of Europe, is mentioned as an approved practice by our oldest agricultural
writers, and has lately excited some degree of attention from the successful experiments
Off different cultivators. (Farmer's Magazine, 1810 to 1815, and Farmer^ s Journal,
1814 to 1821.)
2134. The theory of burning soils is thus given by Sir H. Davy. It rests, he says,
entirely on chemical doctrines. The bases of all common soils are mixtures of the
primitive earths and oxide of iron ; and these earths have a certain degree of attraction for
each other. To regard this attraction in its proper point of view, it is only necessary to
consider the composition of any common siliceous stone. Feldspar, for instance, contains
siliceous, aluminous, calcareous earths, fixed alkali, and oxide of iron, which exists in one
compound, in consequence of their chemical attractions for each other. Let this stone be
ground into impalpable powder, it then becomes a substance like clay ; if the powder be
heated very strongly, it fuses, and on cooling forms a coherent mass similar to the original
stone ; the parts separated by mechanical division adhere again in consequence of chemical
attraction. If the powder is heated less strongly, the particles only superficially combine
with each other, and form a gritty mass, which, when broken into pieces, has the characters
of sand. If the power of the powdered feldspar to absorb water from the atmosphere
before, and after the application of the heat, be compared, it is found much less in the
last case. The same effect takes place when the powder of other siliceous or aluminous
stones is made the subject of experiment, and two equal portions of basalt ground into im-
palpable powder, of which one half had been strongly ignited, and the other exposed only
to a temperature equal to that of boiling water, gained very different weights in the same
time when exposed to air. In four hours the one had gained only two grains, whilst the
other had gained seven grains. When clay or tenacious soils are burnt, the effect is of
the same kind ; they are brought nearer to a state analogous to that of sands. In the
manufacture of bricks the general principle is well illustrated ; if a piece of dried brick
earth be applied to the tongue, it will adhere to it very strongly, in consequence of its
power to absorb water ; but after it has been burnt, there will be scarcely a sensible ad-
hesion.
21 35. The advantages of burning are that it renders the soil less compact, less tenacious
and retentive of moisture ; and when properly applied, may convert a matter that was
stiff, damp, and in consequence cold, into one powdery, dry, and warm, and much
more proper as a bed for vegetable life.
2136. The great objection made by speculative chemists to paring and burning, is, that
it destroys vegetable and animal matter, or the manure in soil ; but in cases in which
the texture of its earthly ingredients is permanently improved, there is more than a com-
pensation for this temporary disadvantage. And in some soils where there is an excess
of inert vegetable matter, the destruction of it must be beneficial ; and tlie carbonaceous
matter remaining in the ashes may be more useful to the crop than the vegetable fibre
from which it was produced.
2137. Three specimens of ashes from different lands that had undergone paring and
burning were examined by chemical analysis. Tlie first was from a chalk soil, and 200
grains contained 80 of carbonate of lime, 11 gypsum, 9 charcoal, 15 oxide of iron,
3 saline matter, sulphate of potash, muriate of magnesia, with a minute quantity of ve-
getable alkali. The remainder alumina and silica. Suppose 2660 bushels to be the
common produce of an acre of ground, then, according to this calculation, they would
give 172,900lbs,, containing carbonate of lime 691,60 lbs., gypsum 9509*5., oxide of
iron 12,967-5., saline matter 2593*5., charcoal 7780-5. In this instance there was un-
doubtedly a very considerable quantity of matter capable of being active as manure pro-
Book III. CHANGING THE CONDITION OF LANDS. 323
duced in the operation of burning. The charcoal very finely divided, and exposed on a
large surface, must be gradually converted into carbonic acid. And gypsum and oxide
of iron seem to produce the very best effects when applied to lands containing an ex-
cess of carbonate of lime. The second specimen was from a soil near Coleorton, in
Leicestershire, containing only four per cent, of carbonate of lime, and consisting of
three fourths light siliceous sand, and about one fourth clay. This had been turf before
burning, and 100 parts of the ashes gave 6 parts charcoal, 3 muriate of soda and sulphate
of potash, with a trace of vegetable alkali, 9 oxide of iron, and the remainder the earths.
In this instance, as in the other, finely divided charcoal was found, the solubility of
which would be increased by the presence of the alkali. The third instance was that
of a stiff clay, from Mount's Bay, Cornwall. This land has been brought into cultiva-
tion from a heath, by burning, about ten years before : but having been neglected, furze
was springing up in different parts of it, which gave rise to the second paring and burn-
ing, 100 parts of the ashes contained 8 parts of charcoal, 2 of saline matter, principally
common salt, with a little vegetable alkali, 7 oxide of iron, 2 carbonate of lime, the re-
mainder alumina and silica. Here the quantity of charcoal was greater than in the other
instances. The salt was probably owing to the vicinity of the sea, it being but two miles
off. In this land there was certainly an excess of dead vegetable fibre, as well as un-
profitable living vegetable matter.
21 38. Causes of the effects of burning soil. Many obscure causes have been referred to
for the purpose of explaining the effects of paring and burning ; but they may be re-
ferred entirely to the diminution of the coherence and tenacity of clays, and to the
destruction of inert and useless vegetable matter, and its conversion into a manure.
Dr. Darwin, in iiis Ph?/tologia, has supposed that clay, during torrefaction, may absorb
some nutritive principles from the atmosphere that afterwards may be supplied to plants ;
but the earths are pure metallic oxides, saturated with oxygen ; and the tendency of
burning is to expel any other volatile principles that they may contain in combination.
If the oxide of iron in soils is not saturated with oxygen, torrefaction tends to produce
its further union with this principle ; and hence, in burning, the color of clay changes to
red. The oxide of iron, containing its full proportion of oxygen, has less attraction for
acids than the other oxide, and is consequently less likely to be dissolved by any fluid
acids in the soil ; and it appears in this state to act in the same manner as the earths.
A very ingenious author, Naismith (Elements of Agr.)^ supposes that the oxide of
iron, when combined with carbonic acid, is poisonous to plants ; and that one use of tor-
refaction is to expel the carbonic acid from it ; but the carbonate of iron is not soluble
in water, and is a very inert substance ; and a luxuriant crop of cresses has been raised
in a soil composed of one fifth carbonate of iron, and four fifths carbonate of lime.
Carbonate of iron abounds in some of the most fertile soils in England, particularly the
red hop soil. And there is no theoretical ground for supposing that carbonic acid,
which is an essential food of plants, should, in any of its combinations, be poisonous to
them ; and it is known that lime and magnesia are both noxious to vegetation, unless
combined with this principle.
2139. The soils improved by burning are all such as contain too much dead vegetable
fibre, and which consequently lose from one third to one half their weight by inciner-
ation ; and all such as contain their earthy constituents in an impalpable state of division,
i. e. the stiff clays and marls, are improved by burning : but in coarse sands, or rich
soils containing a just mixture of the earths, and in all cases in which the texture is
suflficiently loose, or the organisable matter sufficiently soluble, tlie process of torrefaction
cannot be useful.
2140. All poor siliceous sands are injured by burning. Young in his Essay on Ma-
nures, states, ** tliat he found burning injure sand ; and the operation is never performed
by good cultivators upon siliceous sandy soils, after they have once been brought into
cultivation."
SuBSECT. 5. Changing the Condition of Lands, in respect to Water.
2141. The water of the soil ivhere superabundant may be uithdrawn, and when deficient
supplied : these operations with water are independent of its supply as a manure, or as
affording the stimulus of heat or cold.
2142. Stagnatit water may be considered as injurious to all the useful classes of plants,
by obstructing perspiration and intro-susception, and thus diseasing their roots and sub-
merged parts. Where the surface-soil is properly constituted, and rests on a subsoil
moderately porous, both will hold water by capillary attraction, and what is not so
retained will sink into the interior strata by its gravity; but where the subsoil is reten-
tive it will resist, or not admit with sufficient rapidity, the percolation of water to the
strata below, which accumulating in the surface-soil, till its proportion becomes exces-
sive as a component part, not only carries off the extractive matter, but diseases the
Y 2
324 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pari II.
plants. Hence the origin of surface-draining, that is, laying land in ridges or beds, or
intersecting it with small open gutters.
2143. Springs. Where the upper stratum is porous in some places, and retentive in
others, and on a retentive base, the water, in its progress along the porous bed or layer,
will be interrupted by the retentive places in a great variety of ways, and there accumu-
lating will burst through the upper surface in the form of springs, which are more in-
jurious than surface-water, as being colder, and generally permanent in their operation.
Hence the origin of under-draining in all its varieties of collecting, extracting, and con-
veying water.
2144. The water of rivers may become injurious to lands on their banks, by too fre-
quently overflowing their surface. In this case the stream may be included by mounds
of earth or other materials impervious to water : and thus aquatic soils rendered dry
and fit for useful herbage and aration. The same may be said of lands occasionally
overflown by the sea. Hence the origin of embanking, an art carried to a great extent
in Holland and Italy. (See Smeatori's Posthumous Works; Sigismondi, Agr. Tosc. ; and
our article Embankment, in Suirp. Encyc. Brit. 1819.)
2145. Irrigation. Plants cannot live without water, any more than they can prosper
in soils where it is superabundant ; and it is therefore supplied by art on a large scale,
either by surface or subterraneous irrigation. In both practices the important points are to
imitate nature in producing motion, and in applying the water in the mornings or even-
ings, or under a clouded sky, and also at moderate intervals, The effects of water con-
stantly employed, would, in most cases, be such as attend stagnated water, aquatic soils,
or land-springs; and employed in hot sunshine, or after violent heats, it may check
evaporation and destroy life, exactly as happens to those who may have bathed in cold
spring water after long and violent exercise in a hot day. {Phytologia, xv. 3. 5. )
2146. In surface irrigation the water is conveyed in a system of open channels, which
require to be most numerous in such grounds as are under drilled annual crops, and
least so in such as are sown in breadths, beds, or ridges, under perennial crops. This
mode of watering has existed from time immemorial. The children of Israel are repre-
sented as sowing their seed and " watering it with their foot ;" that is, as Calmet
explains it, raising the water from the Nile by a machine worked by the feet, from
which it was conducted in such channels as we have been describing. It is general in
the south of France and Italy ; but less required in Britain.
2147. Subterraneous irrigation may be effected by a system of drains or covered
gutters in the subsoil, which, proceeding from a main Conduit, or other supply, can be
charged with water at pleasure. For grounds under the culture of annual plants, this
mode would be more convenient, and for all others more economical as to the use of
water, than surface irrigation. Where the under-stratum is gravelly, and rests on a
retentive stratum, this mode of watering may take place without drains, as it may also
on perfectly flat lands, by filling to the brim, and keeping full for several days, surround-
ing trenches ; but the beds or fields between the trenches must not be of great extent.
This practice is used in Lombardy on the alluvial lands near the embouchures of the
Po. In Lincolnshire the same mode is practised by shutting up the flood gates of the
mouths of the great drains in the dry seasons, and thus damming up the water through
all the ramifications of the drainage from the sea to their source. This was first sug-
gested by G. Rennie and Sir Joseph Banks, after the drainage round Boston, com-
pleted about 1810. A similar plan, on a smaller scale, had been practised in Scotland,
where deep mosses had been drained and cultivated on the surface, but where, in
summer, vegetation failed from deficiency of moisture. It was first adopted by J.
Smith, (See Essay on the Im]>rovement of Peat-Mass, 1795,) on a farm in Ayrshire, and
has subsequently been brought into notice by J. Johnston, the first delineator and pro-
fessor of Elkinson's system of draining.
2148. Manuring by irrigation. Irrigation with a view to conveying additions to the
soil has long been practised, and is an evident imitation of the overflowing of alluvial
lands, whether in meadow or aration. In the former case it is called irrigation or
flooding, and in the latter, warping. Warping is used chiefly as a mode of enriching
the soil by an increase of the alluvial depositions, or warp of rivers, during winter,
where the surface is not under crop, and is common on the banks of the Ouse.
2149. The rationale of irrigation is thus given by Sir H. Davy. " In general in
nature the operation of water is to bring earthy substances into an extreme state of
division. But in the artificial watering of meadows, the beneficial effects depend upon
many different causes, some chemical, some mechanical. Water is absolutely essential
to vegetation ; and when land has been covered by water in the winter, or in the begin-
ning of spring, the moisture that has penetrated deep into the soil, and even the subsoil,
becomes a source of nourishment to the roots of the plants in the summer, and prevents
those bad effects that often happen in lands in their natural state, from a long con-
tinuance of dry weather. When the water used in irrigation has flowed over a calcareous
Book III. CHANGING THE CONDITION OF LANDS. 325
country, it is generally found impregnated with carbonate of lime ; and in this state it
tends, in many instances, to ameliorate the soil. Common river water also generally
contains a certain portion of organisable matter, which is much greater after rains than
at other times ; or which exists in the largest quantity when the stream rises in a
cultivated country. Even in cases when the water used for flooding is pure, and free
from animal or vegetable substances, it acts by causing a more equable diffusion of
nutritive matter existing in the land ; and in very cold seasons it preserves the tender
roots and leaves of the grass from being affected by frost. Water is of greater specific
gravity at 42" Fahrenheit, than at 32°, the freezing point ; and hence, in a meadow
irrigated in winter, the water immediately in contact with the grass is rarely below 40",
a degree of temperature not at all prejudicial to the living organs of plants. In 1804,
in the month of March, the temperature in a water meadow near Hungerford was
examined by a very delicate thermometer. The temperature of the air at seven in the
morning was 29°. The water was frozen above the grass. The temperature of the soil
below the water in which the roots of the grass were fixed, was 43*'." Water may also
operate usefully in warm seasons by moderating temperature, and thus retarding the
over-rapid progress of vegetation. The consequence of this retardation will be greater
magnitude and improved texture of the grosser parts of plants, a more perfect and
ample developement of their finer parts, and, above all, an increase in the size of their
fruits and seeds. We apprehend this to be one of the principal uses of flooding rice-
grounds in the East ; for it is ascertained that the rice-plant will perfect its seeds in
Europe, and even in this country, without any water beyond what is furnished by the
weather, and the natural moisture of a well constituted soil. " In general, those
waters which breed the best fish are the best fitted for watering meadows ; but most of
the benefits of irrigation may be derived from any kind of water. It is, however, a
general principle, that waters containing ferruginous impregnation, though possessed of
fertilising effgcts when applied to a calcareous soil, are injurious on soils that do not
effervesce with acids ; and tliat calcareous waters, which are known by the earthy deposit
they afford when boiled, are of most use on siliceous soils, or other soils containing
no remarkable quantity of carbonate of lime."
SuBSECT. 6. Changing the Condition of Lands, in respect to Atmospherical Influence.
2150. The injluence of the weather on soils may be affected by changing the position of
their surface and by sheltering or shading.
2151. Changing the condition of lands, as to solar influence, is but a limited means of
improvement; but is capable of being turned to some account in gardening. It is
effected by altering the position of their surface, so as that surface may be more or less
at right angles to the plane of the sun's rays, according as heat or cold is to be increased
or diminished. The influence of the sun's rays upon any plane are demonstrated to be
as their number and perpendicularity to that plane, neglecting the effects of the atmo-
sphere. Hence one advantage of ridging lands, provided the ridges run north and
south ; for on such surfaces the rays of the morning sun will take effect sooner on the
east side, and those of the afternoon will remain longer in operation on the west side ;
whilst at midday his elevation will compensate, in some degree, for the obliquity of his
rays to both sides of the ridge. In culture, on a small scale, ridges or sloping beds for
winter-crops may be made south-east and north-west, with their slope to the soutli, at an
angle of forty degrees, and as steep on the north side as the mass can be got to stand ;
and on the south slope of such ridge, ceBteris paribus, it is evident much earlier crops
may be produced than on level ground. The north side, however, will be lost during
this early cropping ; but as early crops are soon gathered, the whole can be laid level in
time for a main crop. Hence all the advantage of grounds sloping to the south south-
east, or south-west, in point of precocity, and of those sloping to the north for lateness and
diminished evaporation. Another advantage of such surfaces is, that they dry sooner
after rains, whether by the operation of natural or artificial drainage ; or in the case of
sloping to the south, by evaporation.
2152. Shelter, whether by walls, hedges, strips of plantation, or trees scattered over
the surface, may be considered generally, as increasing or preserving heat, and lessening
evaporation from the soil. But if the current of air should be of a higher temperature
than that of the earth, screens against wind will prevent the earth from being so soon
heated ; and from the increased evaporation arising from so great a multiplication of
vegetable surface by the trees, more cold will be produced after rains, and the atmosphere
kept in a more moist state, than in grounds perfectly naked. When the temperature of
a current of air is lower than that of the earth, screens will prevent its carrying oflf so
much heat; but more especially scattered trees, the tops of which will be chiefly cooled
whilst the under surfaces of their lower branches reflect back the rays of heat as they
radiate from the surface of the soil. Heat in its transmission from one body to another,
follows the same laws as light : and, therefore, the temperature of the surface in a forest
Y 3
320 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
will, in winter, be considerably higher than that of a similarly constituted soil exposed
to the full influence of the weather. The early flowering of plants, in woods and hedges,
is a proof of this : but as such soils cannot be so easily heated in summer, and are cooled
like others after the sinking in of rains, or the melting of snows, the effect of the reflec-
tion as to the whole year is nearly neutralised, and the average temperature of the year of
such soils and situations will probably be found not greater than that of open lands.
2153. Shading the ground, whether by umbrageous trees, spreading plants, or cover-
ing it with tiles, slates, moss, litter, &c. has a tendency to exclude atmospherical heat and
retain moisture. Shading dry loose soils, by covering them with litter, or slates, or
tiles, laid round the roots of plants, is found very beneficial,
SvBSECT. 7. Rotation of Crops.
2154. Growing different crops in succession is a practice which every cultivator knows
to be highly advantageous, though its beneficial influence has not yet been fully accounted
for by chemists. The most general theory is, that though all plants will live on the same
food, as the chemical constituents of their roots and leaves are nearly the same, yet that
many species require particular substances to bring their seeds or fruits to perfection, as
tlie analysis of these seeds or fruits often afford substances different from those which
constitute the body of the plant. A sort of rotation may be said to take place in
nature, for perennial herbaceous plants have a tendency to extend their circumference,
and rot and decay at their centre, where others of a different kind spring up and succeed
them. This is more especially the case with travelling roots, as in mint, strawberry,
creeping crowfoot, &c.
2155. The rationale of rotation, is thus given by Su* H. Davy. " It is a great advan-
tage in the convertible system of cultivation, that the whole of the manure is employed ;
and that those parts of it which are not fitted for one crop, remain as nourishment for
another. Thus, if the turnip is the first in the order of succession, this crop, manured
with recent dung, immediately finds suflGlcient soluble matter for its nourishment ; and
the heat produced in fermentation assists the germination of the seed and the growth of
the plant. If, after turnips, barley with grass-seeds is sown, then the land, having been
little exhausted by the turnip crop, affords the soluble parts of the decomposing manure
to the grain. The grasses, rye-grass, and clover remain, which derive a small part only
of their organised matter from the soil,' and probably consume the gypsum in the manure
which would be useless to other crops : these plants, likewise, by their large systems of
leaves, absorb a considerable quantity of nourishment from the atmosphere ; and when
ploughed in at the end of two years, the decay of their roots and leaves affords manure
for the wheat crop ; and at this period of the course, the woody fibre of the farm-yard
manure, which contains the phosphate of lime and the other difficultly soluble parts, is
broken down : and as soon as the most exhausting crop is taken, recent manure is
again applied. Peas and beans, in all instances, seem well adapted to prepare ground
for wheat ; and in some rich lands they are raised in alternate crops for years together.
Peas and beans contain a small quantity of a matter analogous to albumen ; but it seems
that the azote, which forms a constituent part of this matter, is derived from the atmo-
sphere. The dry bean-leaf, when burnt, yields a smell approaching to that of de-
composing animal matter ; and in its decay in the soil, may furnish principles capable of
becoming a part of the gluten in wheat. Though the general composition of plants is
very analogous, yet the specific difference in the products of many of them, prove that
they must derive different materials from the soil ; and though the vegetables having the
smallest system of leaves will proportionably most exhaust the soil of common nutritive
matter, yet particular vegetables, when their produce is carried off, will require peculiar
principles to be supplied to the land in which they g?ow. Strawberries and potatoes at
first produce luxuriantly in virgin mould, recently turned up from pasture ; but in a
few years they degenerate, and require a fresh soil. Lands, in a course of years, often
cease to afford good cultivated grasses ; they become (as it is popularly said) tired of
them ; and one of the probable reasons for this is, the exhaustion of the gypsum contained
in the soil."
2156. The powers of vegetables to exhaust the soil of the principles necessary to their
growth, is remarkably exemplified in certain funguses. Mushrooms are said never to
rise in two successive seasons on the same spot ; and the production of the phenomena
called fairy rings has been ascribed by Dr. Wollaston to the power of the peculiar fungus
which forms it, to exhaust the soil of the nutriment necessary for the growth of the
species. The consequence is, that the ring annually extends ; for no seeds will grow
where their parents grew before them, and the interior part of the circle has been ex-
hausted by preceding crops ; but where the fungus has died, nourishment is supplied for
grass, which usually rises within the circle, coarse, and of a dark green color.
2157. A rotation is unnecessary f according to Grisenthimite ; and, in a strict chemical
sense, wliat he asserts .cannot be denied, His theory is a refinement on the common
Book III. MANURES. 327
idea of the uses of a rotation stated above ; but by giving some details of the constituent
parts of certain grains and certain manures, he has presented it in a more clear and
striking point of view than has hitherto been done. To apply the theory in every case,
the constituent parts of all manures and of all plants (1st, their roots and leaves, and
2dly, their seeds, fruits, or grains,) must be known. In respect to manures this is the
case, and it may be said to be in a great degree the case as to the most useful agri-
cultural plants; but, unfortunately for our purpose, the same cannot be said of garden
productions in general, though no branch of culture can show the advantage of a rota-
tion of crops more than horticulture, in the practice of which it is found that grounds
become tired of particular crops, notwithstanding that manures are applied at pleasure.
If the precise effects of a rotation were ascertained, and the ingredients peculiarly neces-
sary to every species pointed out, nothing could be more interesting than the results of
experimental trials ; and whoever shall point out a simple and economical mode by which
the potatoe may be grown successively in the same soil, and produce annually, neglecting
the effects of climate, as dry and well -flavored tubers, or nearly so, as they generally pro-
duce the first and second years on a new soil, will confer a real benefit on society. That
wheat may be grown many years on the same soil by the use of animal manures, or such
as contain gluten, Grisenthwaite's theory would justify us in belienng chemically ; and it
ought to be fairly tried by such cultivators as Coke and Curwen, Till this is done in
the face of the whole agricultural world, and the produce of every crop, and all the par-
ticulars of its culture, accurately reported on annually, the possibility of the thing may
be assented to from the premises, but will not be acted on ; and, in fact, even the best
agricultural chemists do not consider that we are sufficiently advanced in that branch of
the science to draw any conclusion, a priori, very much at variance with general opinion
and experience. It should always be kept in mind, that it is one thing to produce a
crop, and a different thing to grow crops with profit.
2158. The principles of rotations of crops, are thus laid down by Yvart and Ch. Pictet
(Cours complet d' Agriculture, articles Assolement, and Succession de Culture ; and Traiti
des Assolemens. Paris, 8vo.
The first principle, or fundamental point is, that every plant exhausts the soil.
The second, that all plants do not exhaust the soil equally.
The third, that plants of different kinds do not exhaust the soil in the same manner.
The fourth, that all plants do not restore to the soil the same quantity, nor the same quality of
manure.
The fifth, that all plants are not equally favorable to the growth of weeds.
2159. Thefdlowing consequences are drawn, from these fundamental principles :
First. However well a soil may be prepared, it cannot long nourish crops of the same kind in succession,
without becoming exhausted.
Second. Every crop impoverishes a soil more or less, according as more or less is restored to the soil by
the plant cultivated. x
Third. Perpendicular rooting plants, and such as root horizontally, ought to succeed each other.
Fourth. Plants of the same kind should not return too frequently in a rotation.
Fifth. Two plants favorable to the growth of weeds, ought not to succeed each other.
Sixth. Such plants as eminently exhaust the soil, as the grains and oil plants, should only be sown when
the land is in good heart*
Seventh. In proportion as a soil is found to exhaust itself by successive crops, plants which are least ex-
hausting ought to be cultivatsd.
2160. Influence of rotations in destroying insects, Olivier, member of the Institute of
France, has described all the insects, chiefly tipulae and muscse, which live upon the collar
or crown of the roots of the cereal grasses, and he has shewn that they multiply themselves
without end, when the same soil presents the same crop for several years in succession,
or even crops of analogous species. But when a crop intervenes on which these insects
cannot live, as beans or turnips, after wheat or oats, then the whole race of these insects
perish from the field, for want of proper nourishment for their larva.^ {Mem, de la Societi
Roijal et Centrale d Agr, de Paris, vol. vii.)
Chap. II.
Of Manures.
2161. Every specks of matter capable of promoting the growth of vegetables may be con-
sidered as manure. On examining tlie constituents of vegetables, we shall find that
they are composed of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen, or azote, with a small
proportion of saline bodies. It is evident, therefore, that the substances employed
as manure should also be composed of these elements, for unless they are, there will
be a deficiency in some of the elements in the vegetable itself; and it is probable
that such deficiency may prevent the formation of those substances within it, for which its
Y 4
328 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
peculiar organisation is contrived, and upon which its healthy existence depends. The
elementary bodies above enumerated are all contained in animal, and the three first in
vegetable matters. Sometimes vegetables, though very seldom, contain a small quantity
of nitrogen. As certain salts are also constantly found to be present in healthy living
vegetables, manures or vegetable food may, consequently, be distinguished into animal,
vegetable, and saline. The authors whom we have already mentioned (2065.) as produc-
ing the first chemical treatises on soils, were also the first to treat chemically of manures.
Of these, the latest in the order of time is Sir H. Davy, from whose highly satisfactory
work we shall extract the greater part of this chapter.
Sect. I. Of Manures of Animal and Vegetable Origin.
2162. Decaying animal and vegetable substances constitute by far the most important
class of manures, or vegetable food, and may be considered as to the theory of their
operation, their specific kinds, and their preservation and application in practice.
SuBSECT. 1. Tlie Theory of the Operation of Manures of Animal and Vegetable Origin.
2163. The rationale of organic manures is very satisfactorily given by Sir H. Davy,
who, after having proved that no solid substances can enter in that state into the plant,
explains the manner in which nourishment is derived from vegetable and animal sub-
stances.
2164. Vegetable and animal substances deposited in the soil, as is shown by universal ex-
perience, are consumed during the process of vegetation ; and they can only nourish the
plant by affording solid matters capable of being dissolved by water, or gaseous substances
capable of being absorbed by the fluids in the leaves of vegetables ; but such parts of
them as are rendered gaseous, and pass into the atmosphere, must produce a comparatively
small effect, for gases soon become diffused through the mass of the surrounding air.
The great object, therefore, in the application of manure should be to make it afford as
much soluble matter as possible to the roots of the plant ; and that in a slow and gra-
dual manner, so that it may be entirely consumed in forming its sap and organised
parts.
2165. Mucilaginous, gelatinous, saccharine, oily, and extractive Jluids, carbonic acid, and
watery are substances that in their unchanged states contain almost all the principles
necessary for the life of plants ; but there are few cases in which they can be applied
as manures in their pure forms ; and vegetable manures, in general, contain a great ex-
cess of fibrous and insoluble matter, which must undergo chemical changes before they
can become the food of plants.
2166. The nature of the changes on these substances ; of the causes which occasion them,
and which accelerate or retard them ; and of the products they afford, have been scientifi-
cally stated and explained by our great agricultural chemist. If any fresh vegetable matter
which contains sugar, mucilage, starch, or other of the vegetable compounds soluble in
water, be moistened, and exposed to air, at a temperature from 55° to 80°, oxygen will
soon be absorbed, and carbonic acid formed ; heat will be produced, and elastic fluids,
principally carbonic acid, gaseous oxide of carbon, and hydro-carbonate will be evolved ;
a dark-colored liquid, of a slightly sour or bitter taste, will likewise be formed; and if
the process be suffered to continue for a time sufficiently long, nothing solid will remain,
except earthy and saline matter, colored black by charcoal. The dark-colored fluid
formed in the fermentation always contains acetic acid ; and when albumen or gluten
exists in the vegetable substance, it likewise contains volatile alkali. In proportion as
there is more gluten, albumen, or matters soluble in water, in the vegetable substances
exposed to fermentation, so in proportion, all other circumstances being equal, will the
process be more rapid. Pure woody fibre alone undergoes a change very slowly ; but
its texture is broken down, and it is easily resolved into new aliments, when mixed with
substances more liable to change, containing more oxygen and hydrogen. Volatile and
fixed oils, resins, and wax, are more susceptible of change than woody fibre, when ex-
posed to air and water ; but much less liable than the other vegetable compounds ; and
even the most inflammable substances, by the absorption of oxygen, become gradually
soluble in water. Animal matters in general are more liable to decompose than veget-
able substances; oxygen is absorbed and carbonic acid and ammonia formed in the
process of their putrefaction. They produce fetid, compound, elastic fluids and like-
wise azote : they afford dark-colored acid and oily fluids, and leave a residuum of salts
and earths mixed with carbonaceous matter.
2167. The principal animal substances which constitute their different parts, or which
are found in their blood, their secretions, or their excrements, are gelatine, fibrine,
mucus, fatty, or oily matter, albumen, urea, uric acid, and different other acid, saline,
and earthy matters.
2168. General treatment if organic manures. Whenever manures consist principally of
matter soluble in water, it is evident that their fermentation or putrefaction should be
Book III. SPECIES OF MANURES. 329
prevented as much as possible ; and tlie only cases in which these processes can be useftil,
are when the manure consists principally of vegetable or animal fibre. The circum-
stances necessary for the putrefaction of animal substances are similar to those required
for the fermentation of vegetable substances ; a temperature above the freezing point, the
presence of water, and the presence of oxygen, at least in the first stage of the process.
To prevent manures from decomposing, they should be preserved dry, defended from the
contact of air, and kept as cool as possible. Salt and alcohol appear to owe their
powers of preserving animal and vegetable substances to their attraction for water, by
which they prevent its decomposing action, and likewise to their excluding air.
SuBSECT. 2. Of the different Species of Manures of Animal and Vegetable Origin.
2169. The properties and nature of the manures in common use should be known to
every cultivator : for as different manures contain different proportions of the elements
necessary to vegetation, so they require a different treatment to enable them to produce
their full effects in culture.
21 70. All green succulent j^lants contain saccharine or mucilaginous matter, with woody
fibre, and readily ferment. They cannot, therefore, if intended for manure, be used too
soon after their death. Hence the advantage of digging or ploughing in green crops,
whether natural, of weeds, or sown on purpose ; they must not, however, be turned in too
deep, otherwise, as Mrs. Ibbetson has shown (Philos. Mag. 1816), fermentation will be
prevented by compression and exclusion of air. , Green crops should be ploughed in, if it
be possible, when in flower, or at the time the flower is beginning to appear, for it is at
this period that they contain the largest quantity of easily soluble matter, and that their
leaves are most active in forming nutritive matter. Green crops, pond-weeds, the paring
of hedges or ditches, or any kind of fresh vegetable matter, require no preparation to tit
them for manure. The decomposition slowly proceeds beneath the soil; the soluble mat-
ters are gradually dissolved, and the slight fermentation that goes on, checked by the want
of a free communication of air, tends to render the woody fibre soluble without occasion-
ing the rapid dissipation of elastic matter. When old pastures are broken up and made
arable, not only has the soil been enriched by the death and slow decay of the plants
which have left soluble matters in the soil, but the leaves and roots of the grasses, living
at the time, and occupying so large a part of the surface, afford saccharine, mucilagin-
ous, and extractive matters, which become immediately the food of the crop, and the
gradual decomposition affords a supply for successive years.
2171. Rape-cake, which is used with great success as manure, contains a large quantity
of mucilage, some albuminous matter, and a small quantity of oil. This manure should
be used recent, and kept as dry as possible before it is applied. It forms an excellent
dressing for turnip crops ; and is most economically applied by being thrown into the soil
at the same time with the seed.
2172. Malt-dust consists chiefly of the infant radicle separated from the grain. Sir
H. Davy never made any experiment upon this manure ; but has great reason to suppose
it must contain saccharine matter, and this will account for its powerful effects. Like
rape-cake, it should be used as dry as possible, and its fermentation prevented.
2173. Linseed-cake is too valuable as a food for cattle to be much employed as a
manure. The water in which flax and hemp are steeped, for the purpose of obtaining
the pure vegetable fibre, has considerable fertilising powers. It appears to contain a
substance analogous to albumen, and likewise much vegetable extractive matter. It
putrifies very readily. By the watering process, a certain degree of fermentation is ab-
solutely necessary to obtain the flax and hemp in a proper state ; the water to which they
have been exposed should therefore be used as a manure as soon as the vegetable fibre
is removed from it. Washing with soap has been successfully substituted for watering^
by lie.
2174. Sea-weeds, consisting of difierent species of fuci, algse, and confervae, are much
used as a manure on the sea-coasts of Britain and Ireland. By digesting the common
fucus, which is the sea-weed usually most abundant on the coast, in boiling water, one-
eighth of a gelatinous substance, will be obtained, with characters similar to mucilage. A
quantity distilled gave nearly four fifths of its weight of water, but no ammonia ; the
water had an empyreumatic and slightly sour taste ; the ashes contained sea-salt, car-
bonate of soda, and carbonaceous matter. The gaseous matter afforded was small in
quantity, principally carbonic acid, and gaseous oxide of carbon, with a little hydro-car-
bonate. This manure is transient in its effects, and does not last for more than a single
crop ; which is easily accounted for from the large quantity of water, or the elements of
water, it contains. It decays without producing heat when exposed to the atmosphere,
and seems, as it were, to melt down and dissolve away. A large heap has been entirely
destroyed in less than tWo years, nothing remaining but a little black fibrous matter.
Some of the firmest part of a fucus were suffered to remain in a close jar, containing at-
mospheric air for a fortnight : in this time it had become very much shrivelled j the sides
830 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
of the jar were lined with dew. The air examined was found to have lost oxygen, and
contained carbonic acid gas. Sea-weed is sometimes sutFered to cement before it is
used ; but this process seems wholly unnecessary, for there is no fibrous matter rendered
soluble in the process, and a part of the manure is lost. The best cultivators use it as
fresh as it can be procured ; and the practical results of this mode of applying it are
exactly conformable to the theory of its operation. The carbonic acid foraned by its in-
cipient fermentation must be partly dissolved by the water set free in the same process ;
and thus become capable of absorption by the roots of plants. The effects of the sea-
weed, as manure, must principally depend upon this carbonic acid, and upon the soluble
mucilage the weed contains ; some fucus which had fermented so as to have lost about
half its weight, afforded less than one- twelfth of mucilaginous matter ; from which it may
\)e fairly concluded that some of this substance is destroyed in fermentation.
2175. Dry straw of wheat, oats, barley, beans, and peas, and spoiled hay, or any other
similar kind of dry vegetable matter, is, in all cases, useful manure. In general, such
substances are made to ferment before they are employed, though it may be doubted
whether the practice should be indiscriminately adopted. From 400 grains of dry barley-
straw eight grains of matter soluble in water were obtained, which had a brown color, and
tasted like mucilage. From 400 grains of wheaten straw, were obtained five grains of a
similar substance. There can be no doubt that the straw of different crops, immediately
ploughed into the ground, affords nourishment to plants ; but there is an objection to this
method of using straw, from the difficulty of burying long straw, and from its rendering
the husbandry foul. When straw is made to ferment, it becomes a more manageable
manure ; but there is likewise, on the whole, a great loss of nutritive matter. More
manure is perhaps supplied for a single crop ; but the land is less improved than it would
be, supposing the whole of the vegetable matter could be finally divided and mixed with
the soil. It is usual to carry straw that can be employed for no other purpose to the
dunghill, to ferment, and decompose ; but it is worth experiment, whether it may not be
more economically applied when chopped small by a proper machine, and kept dry till it
is ploughed in for the use of a crop. In this case, though it would decompose much more
slowly, and produce less effect at first, yet its influence would be much more lasting.
2176. Mere woody fibre seems to be the only vegetable matter that requires fermentation
to render it nutritive to plants. Tanners' spent bark is a substance of this kind.
A. Young, in his excellent Essay on Manure, states, " that spent bark seemed rather to
injure than assist vegetation ;" which he attributes to the astringent matter that it contains.
But, in fact, it is freed from all soluble substances, by the operation of water in the tan-
pit ; and if injurious to vegetation, the effect is probably owing to its agency upon water,
or to its mechanical eflfects. It is a substance very absorbent and retentive of moisture,
and yet not penetrable by the roots of plants.
2177. Inert j^eaty matter is a substance of the same kind. It remains for years exposed
to water and air without undergoing change, and in this state yields little or no nourish-
ment to plants. Woody fibre will not ferment, unless some substances are mixed with
it, which act the same part as the mucilage, sugar, and extractive or albuminous matters,
with which it is usually associated in herbs and succulent vegetables. Lord Meadowbank
has judiciously recommended a mixture of common farm-yard dung for the purpose of
bringing peat into fermentation : any putrescible or fermentable substance will answer
the end ; and the more a substance heats, and the more readily it ferments, the better will
it be fitted for the purpose. Lord Meadowbank states, that one part of dung is suffi-
cient to bring three or four parts of peat into a state in which it is fitted to be applied to
land; but of course the quantity must vary according to the nature of the dung and of
the peat. In cases in which some living vegetables are mixed with the peat, the ferment-
ation will be more readily effected.
2178. Tanners^ spent hark, shavings of wood, and saw-dust will probably require as
much dung to bring them into fermentation as the worst kind of peat. Woody fibre
may be likewise prepared, so as to become a manure, by the action of life. It is evident,
from the analysis of woody fibre by Gay Lussac and Thenard (which shows that it con-
sists principally of the elements of water and carbon, the carbon being in larger quantities
than in the other vegetable compounds) , that any process which tends to abstract carbo-
naceous matter from it, must bring it nearer in composition to the soluble principles ; and
this is done in fermentation by the absorption of oxygen and production of carbonic acid ;
and a similar effect, it will be shown, is produced by lime.
2179. Wood-ashesy imperfectly formed, that is, wood-ashes containing much charcoal, are
said to have been used with success as a manure. A part of their effects may be owing
to the slow and gradual consumption of the charcoal, which seems capable, under other
circumstances than those of actual combustion, of absorbing oxygen so as to become car-
bonic acid. In April 1803, some well-burnt charcoal was enclosed by Sir H. Davy, in
a tube, half filled with pure water, and half with common air ; the tube was hermetically
sealed. The tube was opened under pure water, in the spring of 1804, at a time when.
Book III. SPECIES OF MANURES. 331
the atmospheric tetiperature and pressure were nearly the same as at the commencement
of the experiment. Some water rushed in ; and on expelling a little air by heat from the
tube, and analysing it, it was found to contain only seven per cent, of oxygen. The
water in the tube, when mixed with lime-water, produced a copious precipitate ; so that
carbonic acid had evidently been formed and dissolved by the water.
2180. Manures from animal substances, in general, require no chemical preparation to
fit them for the soil. The great object of the farmer is to blend them with the earthy
constituents in a proper state of division, and to prevent their too rapid decomposition.
2181. The entire parts of the muscles of land animals are not commonly used as manure,
though there are many cases in which such an application might be easily made. Horses,
dogs, sheep, deer, and other quadrupeds that have died accidentally, or of disease, after
their skins are separated, are often suffered to remain exposed to the air, or immersed in
water, till they are destroyed by birds or beasts of prey, or entirely decomposed ; and in
this case, most of their organised matter is lost for the land in which they lie, and a con-
siderable portion of it employed in giving off noxious gases to the atmosphere. By
covering dead animals with five or six times their bulk of soil, mixed with one part of
lime, and suffering them to remain for a few months ; their decomposition would im-
pregnate the soil with soluble matters, so as to render it an excellent manure ; and by
mixing a little fresh quick -lime with it at the time of its removal, the disagreeable effluvia
would be in a great measure destroyed ; and it might be applied in the same way as any
other manure to crops.
2182. Fish forms a powerful manure, in whatever state it is applied ; but it cannot be
ploughed in too fresh, though the quantity should be limited. A. Young records an
experiment, in which herrings spread over a field, and ploughed in for wheat, produced
so rank a crop, that it was entirely laid before harvest. The refuse pilchards in Corn-
wall are used throughout the county as a manure, with excellent effects. They are
usually mixed with sand or soil, and sometimes with sea- weed, to prevent them from
raising too luxuriant a crop. The effects are perceived for several years. In the fens of
Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk, the little fishes called sticklebacks, are
caught in the shallow waters in such quantities, that they form a great article of manure
in the land bordering on the fens. It is easy to explain the operation of fish as a ma-
nure. The skin is principally gelatine ; which, from its slight state of cohesion, is readily
soluble in water : fat or oil is always found in fishes, either under the skin or in some of
the viscera ; and their fibrous matter contains all the essential elements of vegetable
substances.
2183. Amongst oili/ substances, blubber has been employed as a manure. It is most
useful when mixed with clay, sand, or any common soil, so as to expose a large surface
to the air, the oxygen of which produces soluble matter from it. Lord Somerville used
blubber with great success at his farm in Surrey. It was made into a heap with soil,
and retained its powers of fertilising for several successive years. The carbon and
hydrogen abounding in oily substances, fully account for their effects ; and their dura-
biUty is easily explained from the gradual manner in which they change by the action of
air and water.
2184. Bo7ies are much used as a manure in the neighborhood of London. After being
broken, and boiled for grease, they are sold to the farmer. The more divided they are,
tlie more powerful are their effects. The expense of grinding them in a mill would
probably be repaid by the increase of their fertilising powers ; and in the state of powder
they might be used in the drill husbandry, and delivered with the seed, in the same
manner as rape-cake. Bone-dust and bone-shavings, the refuse of the turning manu-
facture, may be advantageously employed in the same way. The basis of bone is con-
stituted by earthy salts, principally phosphate of lime, with some carbonate of lime and
phosphate of magnesia ; the easily decomposable substances in bone, are fat, gelatine,
and cartilage, which seems of the same nature as coagulated albumen. According to
the analysis of Fourcroy and Vauquelin, ox-bones are composed of decomposable animal
matter 51 ; phosphate of lime 37*7, carbonate of lime 10, phosphate of magnesia 1'3 ; —
total 100.
2185. Horn is a still more powerful manure than bone, as it contains a larger quantity
of decomposable animal matter. From 500 grains of ox-horn, Hatchett obtained only
1-5 grains of earthy residuum, and not quite half of this was phosphate of lime. The
shavings or turnings of horn form an excellent manure, though they are not sufficiently
abundant to be in common use. The animal matter in them seems to be of the nature
of coagulated albumen, and it is slowly rendered soluble by the action of water. The
earthy matter in horn, and still more that in bones, prevents the too rapid decomposition
of the animal matter, and renders it very durable in its effects.
2186. Hair, woollen rags, and feathers, are all analogous in composition, and princi-
pally consist of a substance similar to albumen united to gelatine. This is shown by the
332 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
ingenious researches of Hatchett. The theory of their operation is simikr to that of
bone and horn shavings.
2187. The refuse of the different manufactures of skin and leather form very useful
manures ; such as the shavings of the currier, furriers' clippings, and the offals of the
tan-yard and of the glue-maker. The gelatine contained in every kind of skin is in a
state fitted for its gradual solution or decomposition ; and when buried in the soil, it
lasts for a considerable time, and constantly affords a supply of nutritive matter to the
plants in its neighborhood.
2188. Blood contains certain quantities of all the principles found in other animal sub-
stances, and is consequently a very good manure. It has been already stated that it
contains fibrine ; it likewise contains albumen ; the red particles in it, which have been
supposed by many foreign chemists to be coloured by iron in a particular state of combin-
ation with oxygen and acid matter, Brande considers as formed of a peculiar animal
substance containing very little iron. The scum taken from the boilers of the sugar-
Isakers, and which is used as manure, principally consists of bullocks' blood, which has
been employed for the purpose of separating the impurities of common brown sugar, by
means of the coagulation of its albuminous matter by the heat of the boiler.
2189. The different species of corals, corallines, and sponges, must be considered as sub-
stances of animal origin. From the analysis of Hatchett, it appears that all these
substances contain considerable quantities of a matter analogous to coagulated albumen ;
the sponges afford likewise gelatine. According to Merat Guillot, white coral contains
equal parts of animal matter and carbonate of lime; red coral 46*5 of animal matter,
and 53 "5 of carbonate of lime; articulated coralline 51 of animal matter, and 49 of
carbonate of lime. These substances are never used as manure in this country, except
in cases when they are accidentally mixed with sea-weed ; but it is probable that the
corallines might be advantageously employed, as they are found in considerable quantity
on the rocks, and bottoms of the rocky pools on many parts of our coast, where the land
gradually declines towards the sea; and they might be detached by hoes, and collected
without much trouble.
2190. x\mongst excrementitious animal substances used as manures, urine is the one
upon which the greatest number of chemical experiments have been made, and the
nature of which is best understood. The urine of the cow contains, according to the
experiments of Brande : water 65 ; phosphate of lime 3 ; muriates of potassa and ammonia
15 ; sulphate of potassa 6 ; carbonates, potassa, and ammonia 4 ; urea 4.
2191. The urine of the horse, according to Fourcroy and Vauquelin, contains, of car-
bonate of lime 1 1, carbonate of soda 9, benzoate of soda 24, muriate of potassa 9, urea 7,
water and mucilage 940. In addition to these substances, Brande found in it phosphate
of lime. The urine of the ass, the camel, the rabbit, and domestic fowls, have been
submitted to different experiments, and their constitution have been found similar. In
the urine of the rabbit, in addition to most of the ingredients above mentioned, Vau-
quelin detected gelatine ; and the same chemist discovered uric acid in the urine of do-
mestic fowls. Human urine contains a greater variety of constituents than any other
species examined. Urea, uric acid, and another acid similar to it in nature, called
rosacic acid, acetic acid, albumen, gelatine, a resinous matter, and various salts are found
in it. The human urine differs in composition, according to the state of the body, and
the nature of the food and drink made use of. In many cases of disease there is a much
larger quantity of gelatine and albumen than usual in the urine, and in diabetes it con-
tains sugar. It is probable that the urine of the same animal must likewise differ
according to the different nature of the food and drink used; and this will account for
discordances in some of the analysis that have been published on the subject Urine is
very liable to change, and to undergo the putrefactive process ; and that of carnivorous
animals more rapidly than that of graminivorous animals. In proportion as there is more
gelatine or albumen in urine, so in proportion does it putrefy more quickly The species
of urine that contains most albumen, gelatine, and urea, are the best as manures ; and all
urine contains the essential elements of vegetables in a state of solution. During the
putrefaction of urine the greatest part of the soluble animal matter that it contains is
destroyed: it should consequently be used as fresh as possible; but if not mixed with
solid matter, it should be diluted with water, as, when pure, it contains too large a quan-
tity of animal matter to form a proper fluid nourishment for absorption by tlie roots of
plants.
2192. Putrid urine abounds in ammoniacal salts; and though less active than fresh
urine, is a very powerful manure. According to a recent analysis published by Berze-
lius, 1000 parts of urine are composed of, water 933 ; urea 30*1 ; uric acid 1 ; muriate of
ammonia, free lactic acid, lactate of ammonia, and animal matter 17*14. Tlie remainder
different salts, phosphates, sulphates, and muriates.
2193. Dung of birds. Amongst excrementitious solid substances used as manures, one
of the most powerful is the dung of birds that feed on animal food, particularly the dung of
Book III. SPECIES OF MANURES. 33S
sea-birds. The guano, which is used to a great extent in South America, and which is
the manure that fertilizes the sterile plains of Peru, is a production of this kind. It exists
abundantly, as we are informed *by Humboldt, on the small islands in the South Sea, at
Chinche, Ilo, Iza, and Arica. Fifty vessels are laden with it annually at Chinche, each of
which carries from 1500 to 2000 cubical feet. It is used as a manure only in very
small quantities ; and particularly for crops of maize. Some experiments were made on
specimens of guano in 1805. It appeared as a fine brown powder ; it blackened by heat,
and gave off strong ammoniacal fumes; treated with nitric acid, it afforded uric acid.
In 1806, Fourcroy and Vauquelin published an elaborate analysis of guano. They
state that it contains a fourth part of its weight of uric acid, partly saturated with am-
monia, and partly with potassa ; some phosphoric acid combined with the bases, and
likewise with lime. Small quantities of sulphate and muriate of potassa, a little fatty
matter, and some quartzose sand. It is easy to explain its fertilizing properties: from
its composition it might be supposed to be a very powerful manure. It requires water
for the solution of its soluble matter to enable it to produce its full beneficial effect on crops.
2194. The dung of sea-birds has never been much used as a manure in this country ;
but it is probable that even the soil of the small islands on our coast much frequented by
them would fertilise. Some dung of sea-birds, brought from a rock on the coast of
Merionethshire, produced a powerful, but transient effect on grass. The rains in our
climate must tend very much to injure this species of manure, where it is exposed to
them, soon after its deposition ; but it may probably be found in great perfection in
caverns or clefts in rocks haunted by cormorants and gulls. Some recent cormorants*
dung, when examined, had not at all the appearance of guano ; it was of a greyish-
white colour; had a very fetid smell, like that of putrid animal matter; when acted
on by quick-lime, it gave abundance of ammonia; treated with nitric acid, it yielded
uric acid.
2195. Nv^ht soil, it is well known, is a very powerful manure, and very liable to de-
compose. It differs in composition ; but always abounds in substances composed of
carbon, hydrogen, azote, and oxygen. From the analysis of Berzelius, it appears that a
part of it is always soluble in water; and in whatever state it is used, whether recent or
fermented, it supplies abundance of food to plants. The disagreeable smell of night-
soil may be destroyed by mixing it with quick-lime ; and if exposed to the atmosphere
in thin layers, strewed over with quick-lime in fine weather, it speedily dries, is easily
pulverised, and in this state, may be used in the same manner as rape-cake, and
delivered into the furrow with the seed. The Chinese, who have more practical know-
ledge of the use and application of manures than any other people existing, mix their
night-soil with one third of its weight of fat marl, make it into cakes, and dry it by
exposure to the sun. These cakes, we are informed by the French missionaries, have no
disagreeable smell, and form a common article of commerce of the empire. The earth,
by its absorbent powers, probably prevents, to a certain extent, the action of moisture
upon the dung, and likewise defends it from the effects of air. Desiccated night-soil, in
a state of powder, forms an article of internal commerce in France, and is known under
the name oi poudrette. In London it is mixed with quick-lime, and sold in cakes under
the name of " desiccated night-soil. "
2196. Pigeons^ dung comes next in order, as to fertilising power. 100 grains di-
gested in hot water for some hours, produced 23 grains of soluble matter, which
afforded abundance of carbonate of ammonia by distillation ; and left carbonaceous
matter, saline matter, principally common salt, and carbonate of lime as a residuum.
Pigeons' dung, when moist, readily ferments, and after fermentation, contains less
soluble matter than before; from 100 parts of fermented pigeons' dung, only eight parts
of soluble matter were obtained, which gave proportionably less carbonate of ammonia in
distillation than recent pigeons' dung. It is evident that this manure should be applied
as new as possible; and when dry, it may be employed in the same manner as the other
manures capable of being pulverised. The soil in woods, where great flocks of wood-
pigeons roost, is often highly impregnated with their dung, and it cannot be doubted,
would form a valuable manure. Such soil will often yield ammonia when distilled with
lime. In the winter, likewise, it usually contains abundance of vegetable matter, the
remains of decayed leaves, and the dung tends to bring the vegetable matter into a state
of solution. Manuring was, and still is, in great esteem in Persia.
21 97. The dung of domestic fowls approaches very nearly in its nature to pigeons' dung.
Uric acid has been found in it. It gives carbonate of ammonia by distillation, and im-
mediately yields soluble matter to water. It is very liable to ferment. The dung of
fowls is employed, in common with that of pigeons, by tanners, to bring on a slight degree
of putrefaction in skins that are to be used for making soft leather ; for this purpose
the dung is diffused through water. In this state it rapidly undergoes putrefaction, and
brings on a similar change in the skin. The excrements of dogs are employed by the
tanner with similar effects. In all cases, the contents of the grainer, as the pit is called
in which soft skins are prepared by dung, must form a very useful manure.
S9i SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
2198. Rabbits* dung has never been analysed. It is used with great success as a
manure by some farmers, who find it profitable to keep rabbits in such a manner as to
preserve their dung. It is laid on as fresh as possible, and is found better the less
it has fermented.
2199. The dung of cattle, oxen, and cows, has been chemically examined by Einhof
and Thaer. They found that it contained matter soluble in water ; and that it gave in
fermentation nearly the same products as vegetable substances, absorbing oxygen, and
producing carbonic acid gas.
2200. The recent dung of sheep and of deer affords, when long boiled in water, solu-
ble matters which equal from two to three per cent, of their weight. These soluble sub-
stances, procured by solution and evaporation, when examined, contain a very small
quantity of matter analogous to animal mucus ; and are principally composed of a bitter
extract, soluble both in water and in alcohol. They give ammoniacal fumes by distil-
lation, and appear to diflPer very little in composition. Some blades of grass were
watered for several successive days with a solution of these extracts ; they evidently
became greener in consequence, and grew more vigorously than grass in other respects
under the same circumstances. The part of the dung of cattle, sheep, and deer, not
soluble in water, appears to be mere woody fibre, and precisely analogous to the residuum
of those vegetables that form tlieir food after they have been deprived of all their soluble
materials.
2201. The dung of horses gives a brown fluid, which, when evaporated, yields a bitter
extract, which affords ammoniacal fumes more copiously than that from the dung of
oxen.
2202. In the treatment of the pure dung of cattle, sheep, and horses, there seems no
reason why it should be made to ferment except in the soil, like the other pure dungs ;
or, if suffered to ferment, it should be only in a very slight degree. The grass, in the
neighborhood of recently voided dung, is always coarse and dark green ; some persons
have attributed this to a noxious quality in unfermenting dung ; but it seems to be rather
the result of an excess of food furnished to the plants.
2203. Street and road dung and the sweepings of houses may be all regarded as com-
posite manures ; the constitution of them is necessarily various, as they are derived from
a number of different substances. These manures are usually applied in a proper
manner, without being fermented.
2204. Soot, which is principally formed from the combustion of pit-coal or coal, gene-
nerally contains likewise substances derived from animal matters. This is a very
powerful manure. It aflfbrds ammoniacal salts by distillation, and yields a brown
extract to hot water, of a bitter taste. It likewise contains an empyreumatic oil. Its
great basis is charcoal, in ^ state in which it is capable of being rendered soluble by the
action of oxygen and water. This manure is well fitted to be used in the dry state,
throvm into the ground with the seed, and requires no preparation.
SuBSECT. 3. Of the fermenting, preserving, and applj/ing of Manures of Animal and
Vegetable Origin.
2205. On the management of organic manures depends much of their value as food to
plants. The great mass of manures procured by the cultivator are a mixture of animal
and vegetable matters, and the great source of supply is the farm or stable yard. Here
the excrementitious matter of horses, cattle, swine, and poultry, is mixed with straw,
haulm, chaff, and various kinds of litter. To what degree should this be fermented
before it is applied to the soil ? And how can it best be preserved when not immediately
wanted?
2206. Jl slight incipient fermentation is undoubtedly of use in the dunghill ; for, by
means of it a disposition is brought on in the woody fibre to decay and dissolve, when
it is carried to the land, or ploughed into the soil ; and woody fibre is always in great ex-
cess in the refuse of the farm. Too great a degree of fermentation is, however, very
prejudicial to the composite manure in the dunghill : it is better that there should be no
fermentation at all before the manure is used, than that it should be carried too far.
The excess of fermentation tends to the destruction and dissipation of the most useful
part of the manure ; and the ultimate results of this process are like those of combus-
tion. It is a common practice amongst farmers to suffer the farm-yard dung to ferment
till the fibrous texture of the vegetable matter is entirely broken down ; and till the
manure becomes perfectly cold, and so soft as to be easily cut by the spade. Inde-
pendent of the general theoretical views unfavorable to this practice, founded upon the
nature and composition of vegetable substances, there are many arguments and facts
which show that it is prejudicial to the interests of the farmer.
2207. During the violent fermentation which is necessar)"- for reducing farm-yard
manure to the state in which it is called short muck, not only a large quantity of fluid, but
likewise of gaseous matter is lost ; so much so, that the dung is reduced one half, or two
Book III. SPECIES OF MANURES. S55
thirds in weight ; and the principal elastic matter disengaged, is carbonic acid with some
ammonia ; and both these, if retained by the moisture in the soil, as has been stated
before, are capable of becoming a useful nourishment of plants. In October, 1808, Sir
H. Davy filled a large retort capable of containing three pints of water, with some hot
fermenting manure, consisting principally of the litter and dung of cattle ; he adapted
a small receiver to the retort, and connected the whole with a mercurial pneumatic
apparatus, so as to collect the condensible and elastic fluids which might rise from the
dung. The receiver soon became lined with dew, and drops began in a few hours to
trickle down the sides of it. Elastic fluid likewise was generated ; in three days thirty-
five cubical inches had been formed, which, when analysed, were found to contain
twenty-one cubical inches of carbonic acid, the remainder was hydrocarbonate mixed
with some azote, probably no more than existed in the common air in the receiver. The
fluid matter collected in the receiver at the same time amounted to nearly half an ounce.
It had a saline taste, and a disagreeable smell, and contained some acetate and carbonate
of ammonia. Finding such products given oiF from fermenting litter, he introduced
the beak of another retort, filled with similar dung, very hot at the time, in the soil
amongst the roots of some grass in the border of a garden ; in less than a week a very
distinct effect was produced on the grass ; upon the spot exposed to the influence of the
matter disengaged in fermentation, it grew with much more luxuriance than the grass in
any other part of the garden. — Besides the dissipation of gaseous matter, when ferment-
ation is pushed to the extreme, there is another disadvantage in the loss of heat, which,
if excited in the soil, is useful in promoting the germination of the seed, and in assisting
the plant in the first stage of its growth, when it is most feeble and most liable to disease :
and the fermentation of manure in the soil must be particularly favorable to tiie wheat
crop, in preserving a genial temperature beneath the surface late in autumn and during
winter. Again, it is a general principle in chemistry, that in all cases of decomposition,
substances combine much more readily at the moment of their disengagement, than after
they have been perfectly formed. And in fermentation beneath the soil the fluid matter
produced is applied instantly, even whilst it is warm, to the organs of the plant, and
consequently is more likely to be efficient, than in manure that has gone through the
process ; and of which all the principles have entered into new combinations.
2208. Checking fermentation by covering. *' There are reasons sufficiently strong,*'
Grisenthwaite observes, " to discourage the practice of allovdng dung heaps to ferment
and rot without interruption. It appears that public opinion has slowly adopted the
decisions of chemical reasoning, and dung-pies^ as they are called, have been formed with
a view to save what was before lost ; a stratum of mould, sustaining the heap, being
placed to receive the fluid parts, and a covering of mould being applied to prevent the
dissipation of the aerial, or gaseous products. These purposes and contrivances, unfor-
tunately, like many of the other operations of husbandry, were not directed by scientific
knowledge. To cover is so commonly believed to confine, that there is no wonder that
the practical cultivator adopted it in this instance from such a consideration. But it is in
vain ; the elasticity of the gases generated is such as no covering whatever could possibly
confine. If it were perfectly compact, it could only preserve as much carbonic acid as
is equal to the volume or bulk of air within it ; a quantity too inconsiderable to be
regarded, could it even be saved ; but every particle of it must be disengaged, and lost,
when the covering is removed."
2209. Checking fermentation by watering is sometimes recommended ; but this prac-
tice is inconsistent with just chemical views. It may cool the dung for a short time ; but
moisture, as before stated, is a principal agent in all processes of decomposition. Dry
fibrous matter will never ferment. Water is as necessary as air to the process ; and to
supply it to fermenting dung, is to supply an agent which will hasten its decay. In all
cases when dung is fermenting, there are simple tests by which the rapidity of the pro-
cess, and consequently the injury done, may be discovered. If a thermometer, plunged
into the dung, does not rise to above one hundred degrees of Fahrenheit, there is little
danger of much teriform matter flying off". If the temperature is higher, the dung
should be immediately spread abroad. When a piece of paper, moistened in muriatic
acid, held over the steams arising from a dunghill, gives dense fumes, it is a certain test
that the decomposition is going too far, for this indicates that volatile alkali is
disengaged.
2210. In favor of the application of farm-yard dung in a recent state , a great mass of
facts may be found in the writings of scientific agriculturists. A. Young, in the Essay
on Manures, already quoted, adduces a number of excellent authorities in support of the
plan. Many, who doubted, have been lately convinced ; and perhaps there is no subject
of investigation in which there is such a union of theoretical and practical evidence.
Within the last seven years Coke has entirely given up the system formerly adopted on
his farm, of applying fermented dung ; and his crops have been since as good as
they ever were, and his manure goes nearly twice as far. A great objection against
33<j SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
slightly fermented dung is, that weeds spring up more luxuriantly where ife is applied.
If there are seeds carried out in the dung, they certainly will germinate ; but it is seldom
that this can be the case to any extent ; and if the land is not cleansed of weeds, any
kind of manure, fermented or unfermented, will occasion their rapid growth. If slightly
fermented, farm-yard dung is used as a top-dressing for pastures, the long straws and
unfermented vegetable matter remaining on the surface should be removed as soon as
the grass begins to rise vigorously, by raking, and carried back to the dunghill : in
this case no manure will be lost, and the husbandry will be at once clean and econo-
mical. In cases when farm-yard dung cannot be immediately applied to crops, the
destructive fermentation of it should be prevented as much as possible : the principles
on which this may be effected have been already alluded to. The surface should be
defended as much as possible from the oxygen of the atmosphere ; a compact marl, or a
tenacious clay, offers the best protection against the air ; and before the dung is covered
over, or, as it were, sealed up, it shoidd be dried as much as possible. If the dung is
found at any time to heat strongly, it should be turned over, and cooled by exposure to
the air.
2211. The doctrine of the proper application of manures from organised substances,
offers an illustration of an important part of the economy of nature, and of the happy
order in which it is arranged. The death and decay of animal substances tend to
resolve organised forms into chemical constituents ; and the pernicious effluvia disen-
gaged in the process seem to point out the propriety of burying them in the soil, where
they are fitted to become the food of vegetables. The fermentation and putrefaction of
organised substances in the free atmosphere are noxious processes ; beneath the surface
of the ground, they are salutary operations. In this case the food of plants is prepared
where it can be used ; and that which would offend the senses and injure the health, if
exposed, is converted by gradual processes into forms of beauty and of usefulness ; the
foetid gas is rendered a constituent of the aroma of the flower, and what might be poison
becomes nourishment to animals and to man.
2212. To preserve dung for any time., the situation in which it is kept is of importance.
It should, if possible, be defended from the sim. To preserve it under sheds would be
of great use ; or to make the site of a dunghill on the north side of a wall, 'llie floor
on which the dung is heaped, should, if possible, be paved with flat stones ; and there
should be a little inclination from each side towards the centre, in which there should be
drains connected with a small well, furnished with a pump, by which any fluid matter
may be collected for the use of the land. It too often happens that a dense mucilaginous
and extractive fluid is suffered to drain away from the dunghill, so as to be entirely lost
to the farm.
Sect. II. Of Manures of Mineral Origin.
2213. Earthy and saline manures are probably of more recent invention, and doubtless
of more uncertain use than those of animal and vegetable origin. The conversion of
matter that has belonged to living structures into original forms, is a process that can
be easily understood ; but it is more difficult to follow those operations by which earthy
and saline matters are consolidated in the fibre of plants, and by which they are made
subservient to their functions. These are capable of being materially elucidated by
modern chemistry, and shall here be considered as to the theory of their operation, and
specific kinds.
SoBSECT. I. Theory of the Operation of Mineral Manures,
2214. Saline and calcareous substances form the principal fossil manures. Much has
been written on lime and common salt, both in the way of speculation and reasoning
from facts, which, from want of chemical knowledge, has turned to no useful account,
and cultivators till very lately contented themselves with stating that these substances
acted as stimuli to the soil, something like condiments to the digestive organs of animals.
Even chemists themselves are not yet unanimous in all their opinions ; but still the result
of their enquiries will be found of great benefit to the scientific cultivator.
2215. Various opinions exist as to the rationale of the operation of mineral manures.
<* Some enquirers," Sir H. Davy observes, ** adopting that sublime generalisation of
the ancient philosophers, that matter is the same in essence, and that the different sub-
stances, considered as elements by chemists, are merely different arrangements of the
same indestructible particles, have endeavored to prove, that all the varieties of the prin-
ciples found in plants, may be formed from the substances in the atmosphere ; and that
Vegetable life is a process in which bodies that the analytical philosopher is unable to
change or to form, are constantly composed and decomposed. But the general results
of experiments are very much opposed to the idea of the composition of the earths, by
plants, from any of the elements found in the atmosphere, or in water, and there are
various facts contradictory to the idea." Jacquin states, that the ashes of glass-wort
Book III. SPECIES OF MINERAL MANURES. 337
(Salsola soda)f when it grows in inland situations, afford the vegetable alkali ; when it
grows on the sea-shore, where compounds which afford the fossil or marine alkali are
more abundant, it yields that substance. Du Hamel found that plants which usually
grow on the sea-shore, made small progress when planted in soils containing little com-
mon salt. The sun-flower, when growing in lands containing no nitre, does not afford
that substance ; though when watered by a solution of nitre, it yields nitre abundantly.
The tables of De Saussure show that the ashes of plants are similar in constitution to the
soils in which they have vegetated. De Saussure made plants grow in solutions of dif-
ferent salts ; and he ascertained that, in all cases, certain portions of the salts were
absorbed by tlie plants, and found unaltered in their organs. Even animals do not
appear to possess the power of forming the alkaline and earthy substances. Dr. Fordyce
found, that when canary-birds, at the time they were laying eggs, were deprived of access
to carbonate of lime, their eggs had soft shells ; and if there is any process for which na-
ture may be conceived most likely to supply resources of this kiiid, it is that connected
with the reproduction of the species.
2216. It seems a fair conclusion, as the evidence on the subject now stands, that the dif-
ferent earths and saline substances found in the organs of plants, are supplied by the soils
in which they grow ; and in no cases composed by new arrangements of the elements in
air or water. What may be our ultimate view of the laws of chemistry, or how far our
ideas of elementary principles may be simplified, it is impossible to say. We can only-
reason from facts. We cannot imitate the powers of composition belonging to vegetable
structures ; but at least we can understand them : and as far as our researches have gone,
it appears that in vegetation compound forms are uniformly produced from simple ones :
and the elements in the soil, the atmosphere and the earth absorbed and made parts of
beautiful and diversified structures. The views which have been just developed lead to
correct ideas of the operation of those manures which are not necessarily the result of de-
cayed organised bodies, and which are not composed of different proportions of carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, and azote. — They must produce their effect, either by becoming a
constituent part of the plant, or by acting upon its more essential food, so as to render
it more fitted for the purposes of vegetable life.
SuBSECT. 2. Of the different Sjiecies of Mineral Manures.
2217. Alkaline earths, or alkalies and their combinations, which are found unmixed with
the remains of any organised beings, are the only substances which can with propriety be
called fossile manures. The only alkaline earths which have been hitherto applied in this
way are lime and magnesia ; though potassa and soda, the two fixed alkalies, are both
used to a limited extent in certain of their chemical compounds.
2218. The most common form in which lime is found on the surface of the earth, is in a
state of combination with carbonic acid or fixed air. If a piece of limestone or chalk be
thrown into a fluid acid, there will be an effervescence. This is owing to the escape of
the carbonic acid gas. The lime becomes dissolved in the liquor. When limestone is
strongly heated, the garbonic acid gas is expelled, and then nothing remains but the pure
alkaline earth ; in this case there is a loss of weight ; and if the fire has been very high, it
approaches to one half the weight of the stone; but in common cases, limestones, if well
dried before burning, do not lose much more than 35 to 40 per cent., or from seven to
eight parts out of twenty.
2219. When burnt lime is exposed to the atmosphere, in a certain time it becomes mild,
and is the same substance as that precipitated from lime-water ; it is combined with car«
bonic acid gas. Quick-lime, when first made, is caustic and burning to the tongue,
renders vegetable blues green, and is soluble in water ; but when combined with carbonic
acid, it loses all these properties, its solubility, and its taste : it regains its power of effer-
vescing, and becomes the same chemical substance as chalk or limestone. Very few
limestones or chalks consist entirely of lime and carbonic acid. The statuary marbles,
or certain of the rhomboidal spars, are almost the only pure species ; and the different
properties of limestones, both as manures and cements, depend upon the nature of the in-
gredient mixed in the limestone ; for the true calcareous element, the carbonate of lime,
is uniformly the same in nature, properties, and effects, and consists of one proportion of
carbonic acid 41 -i, and one of lime 55. When a limestone does not copiously effervesce
in acids, and is sufficiently hard to scratch glass, it contains siliceous, and probably
aluminous earth. When it is deep brown or red, or strongly colored of any of the shades
of brown or yellow, it contains oxide of iron. When it is not sufficiently hard to scratch
glass, but effervesces slowly, and makes the acid in which it effervesces milky, it contains
magnesia. And when it is black, and emits a fetid smell if rubbed, it contains coaly or
bituminous matter. Before any opinion can be formed of the manner in which thai
different ingredients in limestones modify their properties, it will be necessary to consider
the operation of pure lime as a manure.
Z
338 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
2220. Quick-lime, in its pure state, whether in powder, or dissolved in water, is injuri-
ous to plants. In several instances grass has been killed by watering it with lime-water.
But lime, in its state of combination with carbonic acid, is a useful ingredient in soils.
Calcareous eartli is found in the ashes of the greater number of plants ; and exposed
to the air, lime cannot long continue caustic, for the reasons that were just now assigned,
but soon becomes united to carbonic acid. When newly-burnt lime is exposed to air, it
soon falls into powder ; in this case it is called slacked lime ; and the same effect is im-
mediately produced by throwing water upon it, when it heats violently, and the water
disappears. Slacked lime is merely a combination of lime, with about one third of its
weight of water ; i. e. fifty-five parts of lime absorb seventeen parts of water ; and
in this case it is composed of a definite proportion of water, and is called by chemists
hydrate of lime ; and when hydrate of lime becomes carbonate of lime by long exposure
to air, the water is expelled, and the carbonic acid gas takes its place. When lime, whether
freshly burnt or slacked, is mixed with any moist fibrous vegetable matter, there is a
strong action between the lime and the vegetable matter, and they form a kind of com-
post together, of which a part is usually soluble in water. By this kind of operation,
lime renders matter which was before comparatively inert, nutritive ; and as charcoal and
oxygen abound in all vegetable matters, it becomes at the same time converted into car-
bonate of lime.
2221. Mild lime, jwwdered limestone, marls, or chalks, have no action of this kind
upon vegetable matter ; they prevent the too rapid decomposition of substances already
dissolved ; but they have no tendency to form soluble matters. It is obvious from these
circumstances, that the operation of quick-lime, and marl, or chalk, depends upon prin-
ciples altogether different. Quick-lime, in being applied to land, tends to bring any
hard vegetable matter tliat it contains into a state of more rapid decomposition and solu-
tion, so as to render it a proper food for plants. Chalk and marl, or carbonate of lime,
will only improve the texture of the soil, or its relation to absorption ; it acts merely as
one of its earthy ingredients. Chalk has been recommended as a substance calculated
to correct the sourness of land. It would surely have been a wise practice to have pre-
viously ascertained the certainty of this existence of acid, and to have determined its
nature, in order that it might be effectually removed. The fact really is, that no soil was
ever yet found to contain any notable quantity of uncombined acid. The acetic and car-
bonic acids are the only two that are likely to be generated by any spontaneous decom-
position of animal or vegetable bodies, and neither of these have any fixity when exposed
to the air. Chalk having no power of acting on animal and vegetable substances, can
be no otherwise serviceable to land than as it alters its texture. Quick-lime, when it
becomes mild, operates in the same manner as chalk ; but in the act of becoming mild,
it prepares soluble out of insoluble matter. Boullion la Grange says, that gelatine
oxygenised becomes insoluble, and vegetable extract we know becomes so from the same
cause ; now lime has the property of attracting oxygen, and, consequently, of restoring
the property of solubility to those substances which have been deprived of it, from a
combination with oxygen. Hence the uses of lime on peat lands, and on all soils con-
taining an excess of vegetable insoluble matter. {Grisenthwaite.)
2222. Effect of lime on wheat crops. When lime is employed upon land where there
is present any quantity of animal matter, it occasions the evolution of a quantity of am-
monia, which may, perhaps, be imbibed by the leaves of plants, and afterwards undergo
some change so as to form gluten. It is upon this circumstance that the operation of
lime in the preparation for wheat crops depends ; and its eflScacy in fertilising peat, and
in bringing into a state of cultivation all soils abounding in hard roots,,or dry fibres, or
inert vegetable matter.
2223. General principles for applying lime< The solution of the question whether
quick -lime ought to be applied to a soil, depends upon the quantity of inert vegetable
matter that it contains. The solution of the question, whether marl, mild lime, or
powdered limestone ought to be applied, depends upon the quantity of calcareous matter
already in the soil. All soils are improved by mild lime, and ultimately by quick-lime,
which do not effervesce with acids ; and sands more than clays. When a soil, deficient
in calcareous matter, contains much soluble vegetable manure, the application of quick-
lime should always be avoided, as it either tends to decompose the soluble matters by
uniting to their carbon and oxygen so as to become mild lime, or it combines with the
soluble matters, and forms compounds having less attraction for water than the pure
vegetable substance. The case is the same with respect to most animal manures ; but
the operation of the lime is different in different cases ; and depends upon the nature of
the animal matter. Lime forms a kind of insoluble soap with oily matters, and then
gradually decomposes them by separating from them oxygen and carbon. It combines
likewise with the animal acids, and probably assists their decomposition by abstracting
carbonaceous matter from them combined witii oxygen ; and consequently it must render
them less nutritive. It tends to diminish, likewise, the nutritive powers of albumen from
Book III. SPECIES OF MINERAL MANURES. 389
the same causes ; and always destroys, to a certain extent, the efficacy of animal nvanures ;
either by combining with certain of their elements, or by giving to them new arrange-
ments. Lime should never be applied with animal manures, unless they are too rich, or
for the purpose of preventing noxious effluvia. It is injurious when mixed with any
common dung, and tends to render the extractive matter insoluble. According to
Chaptal (C/iimie applique, ifc. i. 153.) lime forms insoluble composts with almost all
animal and vegetable substances that are soft, and thus destroys their fermentative proper-
ties. Such compounds, however, exposed to the continued action of the air, alter in
course of time ; the lime becomes carbonate ; the animal or vegetable matters decompose
by degrees, and furnish new products as vegetable nourishment. In this view, lime
presents two great advantages for the nutrition of plants ; the first, that of disposing
certain insoluble bodies to form soluble compounds ; the second, that of prolonging the
action and nutritive qualities of substances, beyond the term which they would retain
them if they were not made to enter into combination with lime. Thus the nutritive
qualities of blood, as it exists in the compound of lime and blood known as sugar baker's
scum, is moderated, prolonged, and given out by degrees : — blood alone applied directly
to the roots of plants will destroy them with few or no exceptions.
2224. Lime promotes fermentation. In thosie cases in which fermentation is useful to
produce nutriment from vegetable substances, lime is always efficacious. Some moist
tanners' spent bark was mixed with one fifth of its weight of quick-lime, and suffered to
remain together in a close vessel for three months ; the lime had become colored, and
was effervescent : when water was boiled upon the mixture, it gained a tint of fawn-color,
and by evaporation furnished a fawn-colored powder, which must have consisted of lime
united to vegetable matter, for it burnt when strongly heated, and left a residuum of
mild lime.
2225. Different kinds of limestones have different effects. The limestones containing
alumina and silica are less fitted for the purposes of manure than pure limestones; but
the lime formed from them has no noxious quality. Such stones are less efficacious,
merely l)ecause they furnish a smaller quantity of quick-lime. There is very seldom
any considerable portion of coaly matter in bituminous limestones ; never as much as
five parts in 100 ; but such limestones make very good lime. The carbonaceous matter
can do no injury to the land, and may, under certain circumstances, become a food of
the plant.
2226. The subject of the application of the magnesian limestone is one of great interest.
It had been long known to farmers in the neighborhood of Doncaster, that lime made
from a certain limestone applied to the land, often injured the crops considerably.
Tennant, in making a series of experiments upon this peculiar calcareous substance,
found that it contained magnesia ; and on mixing some calcined magnesia with soil, in
which he sowed different seeds, he found that they either died or vegetated in a very
imperfect manner, and the plants were never healthy. And with great justice and
ingenuity he referred the bad effiects of the peculiar limestone to the magnesian earth it
contains.
2227. Magnesian limestone is used with good effect in some cases. Magnesia has a
much weaker attraction for carbonic acid than lime, and will remain in the state of caus-
tic or calcined magnesia for many months, though exposed to the air. And as long as
any caustic lime remains, the magnesia cannot be combined with carbonic acid, for lime
instantly attracts carbonic acid fron> magnesia. When a magnesian limestone is burnt,
the magnesia is deprived of carbonic acid much sooner than the lime ; and if there is not
much vegetable or animal matter in the soil to supply by its decomposition carbonic acid,
the magnesia will remain for a long while in the caustic state ; and in this state acts as a
poison to certain vegetables. And that more magnesian lime may be used upon rich
soils, seems to be owing to the circumstance that the decomposition of the manure in them
supplies carbonic acid. And magnesia, in its mild state, i. e. fully combined with car-
bonic acid, seems to be always a useful constituent of soils. Carbonate of magnesia
(procured by boiling the solution of magnesia in supercarbonate of potassa,) was thrown
upon grass, and upon growing wheat and barley, so as to render the surface white ; but
the vegetation was not injured in the slightest degree. And one of the most fertile parts
of Cornwall, the Lizard, is a district in which the soil contains mild magnesian earth.
It is obvious, from what has been said, that lime from the magnesian limestone may be
applied in large quantities to peats; and that where lands have been injured by the
application of too large a quantity of magnesian lime, peat will be a proper and efficient
remedy.
2228. A siiTiple test of rnagnesia in a limestone is its slight effervescence with acids, and
its rendering diluted nitric acid, or aqua fortis, milky. From the analysis of Tennant, it
appears to contain from 20*3 to 22-5 magnesia ; 29*5 to 31 •? lime ; 47-2 carbonic acid ;
0 8 clay and oxide of iron. Magnesia limestones are usually colored brown or pale
yellow. They are found in Somersetshire, Leicestershire, Derbysliire, Shropshire,
Z 2
340 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTlTRE. Part II.
Durham, and Yorkshire ; and in many parts of Ireland, particularly near Belfast. In
general, when limestones are not magnesian, their purity will be indicated by their loss
of weight in burning ; the more they lose, the larger is the quantity of calcareous
matter they contain. The magnesian limestones contain more carbonic acid than the
common limestones ; and I have found all of them lose more than half their weight by
calcination.
2229. Gypsum. Besides being used in the forms of lime and carbonate of lime, cal-
careous matter is applied for the purposes of agriculture in other combinations. One of
these bodies is gypsum or sulphate of lime. This substance consists of sulphuric acid
(the same body that exists combined with water in oil of vitriol, and lime ; and when dry
it is composed of 55 parts of lime and 75 parts of sulphuric acid. Common gypsum or
selenite, such as that found at Shotover Hill, near Oxford, contains, besides sulphuric
acid and lime, a considerable quantity of water ; and its composition may be thus
expressed: sulphuric acid one proportion 75 ; lime one proportion 55'^ water two pro-
portions 34.
2230. The nature of gypsum is easily demonstrated ; if oil of vitriol be added to
quick-lime, there is a violent heat produced ; when the mixture is ignited, water is given
off, and gypsum alone is the result, if the acid has been used in sufficient quantity ; and
gypsum mixed with quick -lime, if the quantity has been deficient. Gypsum, free from
water, is sometimes found in nature, when it is called anhydrous selenite. It is distin-
guished from common gypsum by giving off no water when heated. When gypsum, free
from water, or deprived of water by heat, is made into a paste with water, it rapidly sets
by combining with that fluid. Plaster of Paris is powdered dry gypsum, and its pro-
perty as a cement, and its use in making casts, depends upon its solidifying a certain
quantity of water, and making with it a coherent mass. Gypsum is soluble in about 500
times its weight of cold water, and is more soluble in hot water ; so that when water has
been boiled in contact with gypsum, crystals of this substance are deposited as the water
cools. Gypsum is easily distinguished by its properties of affording precipitates to
solutions of oxalates and of barytic salts. It has been much used in America, where
it was first introduced by Franklin on his return from Paris, who had been much
struck with its effects there. He sowed the words. This has been sown udth gypsum, on
a field of lucern, near Washington ; the effects astonished every passenger, and the use
of the manure quickly became general, and signally efficacious. It has been advan-
tageously used in Kent, but in most counties of England it has failed, though tried in
various ways, and upon different crops.
2231. Very discordant notions have been formed as to the mode of operation of gypsum.
It has been supposed by some persons to act by its power of attracting moisture from the
air ; but this agency must be comparatively insignificant. When combined with water,
it retains that fluid too powerfully to yield it to the roots of the plant, and its adhesive
attraction for moisture is inconsiderable ; the small quantity in which it is used likewise
is a circumstance hostile to this idea. It has been erroneously said that gypsum assists
the putrefaction of animal substances, and the decomposition of manure.
2232. The ashes of saintfoin, clover, and rye-grass, afford considerable quantities of
gypsum ; and the substance probably is intimately combined as a necessary part of their
woody fibre. If this be allowed, it is easy to explain the reason why it operates in such
small quantities ; for the whole of a clover crop, or saintfoin crop, on an acre, according
to estimation, would afford by incineration only three or four bushels of gypsum. The
reason why gypsum is not generally efficacious, is probably because most cultivated soils
contain it in sufficient quantities for the use of the grasses. In the common course of cul-
tivation, gypsum is furr ished in the manure ; for it is contained in stable dung, and in
the dung of all cattle fed on grass ; and it is not taken up in corn crops, or crops of peas
and beans, and in very small quantities in turnip crops ; but where lands are exclusively
devoted to pasturage and hay, it will be continually consumed. Should these statements
be confirmed by future enquiries, a practical inference of some value may be derived from
them. It is possible that lands which have ceased to bear good crops of clover, or artificial
grasses, may be restored by being manured with gypsum. This substance is found in
Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Somersetshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, &c. and requires
only pulverisation for its preparation.
2233. Ujmn the use of sulphate of iron, or green vitriol, which is a salt produced from
peat in Bedfordshire, some very interesting documents have been produced by Dr.
Pearson ; and there is little doubt that the peat salt and the vitriolic water acted chiefly
by producing gypsum. The soils on which both are efficacious are calcareous ; and
sulphate of iron is decomposed by the carbonate of lime in such soils. The sulphate of
iron consists of sulphuric acid and oxide of iron, and is an acid and a very soluble salt ;
when a solution of it is mixed with carbonate of lime, the sulphuric acid quits the oxide
of iron to unite to the lime, and the compounds produced are insipid and comparatively
insoluble.
Book hi. SPECIES OF MINERAL MANURES. 341
2234. Vitriolic impregnations in soils where there is no calcareous matter are injurious ;
but it is probably in consequence of their supplying an excess of ferruginous matter to
the sap. Oxide of iron, in small quantities, forms a useful part of soils ; it is found
in the ashes of plants, and probably is hurtful only in its acid combinations. The ashes
of all peats do not afford gypsum. In general, when a recent peat-ash emits a strong
smell, resembling that of rotten eggs when acted upon by vinegar, it will furnish
gypsum.
2235. Phosphate of lime is a combination of phosphoric acid and lime, one proportion
of each. It is a compound insoluble in pure water, but soluble in water containing any
acid matter. It forms the greatest part of calcined bones. It exists in most excremen-
titious substances, and is found both in the straw and grain of wheat, barley, oats, and
rye, and likewise in beans, peas, and tares. It exists in some places in these islands
native, but only in very small quantities. Phosphate of lime is generally conveyed to
the land in the composition of other manure, and it is probably necessary to corn crops
and other white crops.
2236. Bone-aslies calcined and ground to powder will probably be found useful on
arable lands containing much vegetable matter, and may perhaps enable soft peats to
produce wheat ; but the powdered bone in an uncalcined state is much to be preferred in
all cases when it can be procured.
2237. The saline compounds of magnesia will require very little discussion as to their
uses as manures. In combination with sulphuric acid, magnesia forms a soluble salt.
This substance, it is stated by some enquirers, has been found of use as a manure ; but it
is not found in nature in sufficient abundance, nor is it capable of being made artificially
sufficiently cheap to be of useful application in the common course of husbandry.
2238. Wood-ashes consist principally of the vegetable alkali united to carbonic acid ;
and as this alkali is found in almost all plants, it is not difficult to conceive that it may
form an essential part of their organs. The general tendency of the alkalines is to give
solubility to vegetable matters ; and in this way they may render carbonaceous and other
substances capable of being taken up by the tubes in the radical fibres of plants. The
vegetable alkali likewise has a strong attraction for water, and even in small quantities
may tend to give a due degree of moisture to the soil, or to other manures ; though this
operation, from the small quantities used or existing in the soil, can be only of a second-
ary kind.
2239. The mineral alkali or soda is found in the ashes of sea-weed, and may be pro-
cured by certain chemical agencies from common salt. Common salt consists of the
metal named sodium, combined with chlorine ; and pure soda consists of the same metal
united to oxygen. When water is present, which can afford oxygen to the sodium, soda
may be obtained in several modes from salt. Tlie same reasoning will apply to the
operation of the pure mineral alkali, or the carbonated alkali, as to that of the vegetable
alkali ; and when common salt acts as a manure, it is probably by entering into the
composition of the plant in the same manner as gypsum, phosphate of lime, and the
alkalies. Sir John Pringle has stated, that salt in small quantities assists the decomposi-
tion of animal and vegetable matter. This circumstance may render, it useful in certain
soils. Common salt, likewise, is offensive to insects. In small quantities it is some-
times a useful manure, and it is probable that its efficacy depends upon many com-
bined causes. Some persons have argued against the employment of salt ; because when
used in large quantities, it either does no good, or renders the ground sterile ; but this is
a very unfair mode of reasoning. That salt in large quantities rendered land barren,
was known long before any records of agricultural science existed. We read in the
Scriptures, that Abimelech took the city of Shechem, " and beat down the city, and
sowed it with salt;" that the soil might be for ever unfruitful. Virgil reprobates a salt
soil ; and Pliny, though he recommends giving salt to cattle, yet affirms, that when
strewed over land it renders it barren. But these are not arguments against a proper
application of it. Refuse salt in Cornwall, which, however, likewise contains some of
the oil and exuviee of fish, has long been known as an admirable manure. And the
Cheshire farmers contend for the benefit of the peculiar produce of their county. It is
not unlikely, that the same causes influence the efl'ects of salt, as those which act in
modifying the operation of gypsum. Most lands in this island, particularly those near
the sea, probably contain a sufficient quantity of salt for all the purposes of vegetation ;
and in such cases the supply of it to the soil will not only be useless, but may be
injurious. In great storms the spray of the sea has been carried more than fifty miles
from the shore ; so that from this source salt must be often supplied to the soil. Salt is
found in almost all sandstone rocks, and it must exist in the soil derived from these
rocks. It is a constituent likewise of almost every kind of animal and vegetable
manure.
2240. Other compounds. Besides these compounds of the alkaline earths and alkalies,
many others have been recommended for the purposes of increasing vegetation j such
Z 3
342 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
f
are nitre, or the nitrous acid combined with potassa. Sir Kenelm Digby states, that he
made barley grow very luxuriantly by watering it with a very weak solution of nitre ; but
he is too speculative a writer to awaken confidence in his results. This substance con-
sists of one proportion of azote, six of oxygen, and one of potassium ; and it is not
unlikely that it may furnish azote to fonja albumen or gluten in those plants that contain
them ; but the nitrous salts are too valuable for other purposes to be used as manures.
Dr. Home states, that sulphate of potassa, which was just now mentioned as found in
the ashes of some peats, is a useful manure. But Naismith (Elements of Agriculture,
p. 78.) questions his results ; and quotes experiments hostile to his opinions, and, as he
conceives, unfavorable to the efficacy of any species of saline manure. Much of the
discordance of the evidence relating to the efficacy of saline substances depends upon
the circumstance of their having been used in different proportions, and, in general, in
quantities much too large.
2241. Solutions of saline substances were used twice a week, in the quantity of two
ounces, on spots of grass and corn, sufficiently remote from each other to prevent any in-
terference of results. The substances tried were super-carbonate, sulphate, acetate, nitrate,
and muriate of potassa ; sulphate of soda ; sulphate, nitrate, muriate, and carbonate of am-
monia. It was found, that in all cases when the quantity of the salt equalled one thirtieth
part of the weight of the water, the effects were injurious ; but least so in the instance of
the carbonate, sulphate, and muriate of ammonia. When the quantities of the salts were
one three-hundredth part of the solution, the effects were different. The plants watered
with the solutions of the sulphates grew just in the same manner as similar plants watered
with rain-water. Those acted on by the solution of nitre, acetate, and super-carbonate
of potassa, and muriate of ammonia, grew rather better. Those treated with the solution
of carbonate of ammonia grew most luxuriantly of all. This last result is what might be
expected, for carbonate of ammonia consists of carbon, hydrogen, azote, and oxygen.
There was, however, another result which was not anticipated ; the plants watered with
solution of nitrate of ammonia did not grow better than those watered with rain-water.
The solution reddened litmus paper ; and probably the free acid exerted a prejudicial
effect, and interfered with the result.
2242. Soot doubtless owes part of its efficacy to the ammoniacal salts it contains. The
liquor produced by the distillation of coal contains carbonate and acetate of amonia, and
is said to be a very good manure.
2243. Soapers* waste has been recommended as a manure, and it has been supposed
that its efficacy depended upon the different saline matters it contains ; but their quantity
is very minute indeed, and its principal ingredients are mild lime and quick-lime. In
the soapers' waste, from the best manufactories, there is scarcely a trace of alkali. Lime,
moistened with sea-water, affords more of this substance, and is said to have been used
in some cases with more benefit than common lime.
2244. The result of Sir H. Davy^s discussion as to the extent of the effects of saline sub-
stances on vegetation, is, that except the ammoniacal compounds, or the compounds con-
taining nitric, acetic, and carbonic acid, none of them can afford by their decomposition
any of the common principles of vegetation — carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The
alkaline sulphates and the earthy muriates* are so seldom found in plants, or are found in
such minute quantities, that it can never be an object to apply them to the soil. The
earthy and alkaline substances seem never to be formed in vegetation ; and there is every
reason to believe, that they are never decomposed ; for, after being absorbed, they are
found in their aslies. The metallic bases of them cannot exist in contact with aqueous
fluids ; and these metallic bases, like other metals, have not as yet been resolved into any
other forms of matter by artificial processes ; they combined readily with other elements ;
but tliey remain indestructible, and can be traced undiminished in quantity, through their
diversified combinations.
Chap. III.
Of live Agency of Heat, Light, Electricity, and Water, in Vegetable Culture.
2245. The particular agency of heat, light, and water in vegetation and culture has
been so frequently illustrated, that it only remains to give a general idea of their natures,
and to offer some remarks on electricity.
Sect. I. Of Heat and Light.
2246. Tlie heat of the sun is the cause of growth, and its light the cause of maturity, in the
veo'etable kingdom. This is universally acknowledged : animals will live without or with
very little light ; but no plants whatever can exist for any time without the presence of
this element. The agency of electricity in vegetation is less known.
Book III. HEAT AND LIGHT. 343
2247. Two opinions are current re^)ecting the nature of heat. By some philosophers rt
is conceived to be a peculiar subtile fluid, of which the particles repel each other, but
have a strong attraction for the particles of other matter. By others it is considered as a
motion or vibration of the particles of matter, which is supposed to differ in velocity in
different cases, and thus to produce the different degrees of temperature. Whatever
decision be ultimately made respecting these opinions, it is certain that there is matter
moving in the space between us and the heavenly bodies capable of communicating heat ;
the motions of which are rectilineal : thus the solar rays produce heat in acting on the
surface of the earth. The beautiful experiments of Dr. Herschel have shown that there
are rays transmitted from the sun which do not illuminate, and which yet produce more
heat than the visible rays ; and Ritter and Dr. Wollaston have shown that there are other
invisible rays distinguished by their chemical effects.
2248. Heat is radiated bij the sun to the earth, and if suffered to accumulate. Dr.
Wells observes, would quickly destroy the present constitution of our globe. This evil
is prevented by the radiation of heat from the earth to the heavens, during the night, when
it receives from them little or no heat in return. But through the wise economy of means,
which is witnessed in all the operations of nature, the prevention of this evil is made the
source of great positive good. For the surface of the earth, having thus become colder
than the neighboring air, condenses d, part of the watery vapor of the atmosphere into
dew, the utility of which is too manifest to require elucidation. This fluid appears chiefly
where it is most wanted, on herbage and low plants, avoiding, in great measure, rocks,
bare earth, and considerable masses of water. Its production, too, tends to prevent the
injury that might arise from its own cause ; since the precipitation of water, upon the
tender parts of plants, must lessen the cold in them, which occasions it. The prevention,
either wholly or in part, of cold, from radiation, in substances on the ground, by the
interposition of any solid body between them and the sky, arises in the following man-
ner : the lower body radiates its heat upwards, as if no other intervened between it and
the sky ; but the loss, which it hence suffers, is more or less compensated by what is radi-
ated to it, from the body above, the under surface of which possesses always the same,
or very nearly the same temperature as the air. The manner in which clouds prevent, or
occasion to be small, the appearance of a cold at night, upon the surface of the earth, is
by radiating heat to the earth, in return for that which they intercept in its progress from
the earth towards the heavens. For although, upon the sky becoming suddenly cloudy
during a calm night, a naked thermometer, suspended in the air, commonly rises 2 or 3
degrees : little of this rise is to be attributed to the heat evolved by the condensation of
watery vapor in the atmosphere, for the heat so extricated must soon be dissipated ;
whereas the effect of greatly lessening, or preventing altogether, the appearance of a
superior cold on the earth to that of the air, will be produced by a cloudy sky, during
the whole of a long night.
2249. Dense clouds, near the earth, reflect back the heat they receivejrom it by radiation.
But similar dense clouds, if very high, though they equally intercept the communication
of the earth with the ^ky, yet being, from their elevated situation, colder than the earth,
will radiate to it less heat than they receive from it, and may, consequently, admit of
bodies on its surface becoming several degrees colder than the air. Islands, and parts of
continents close to the sea, being, by their situations, subject to a cloudy sky, will, from
the smaller quantity of heat lost by them through radiation to the heavens, at night, in
addition to the reasons commonly assigned, be less cold in winter, than countries con-
siderably distant from any ocean.
2250. Fogs, like clouds, will arrest heat, which is radiated upwards by the earth, and if
they be very dense, and of considerable perpendicular extent, may remit to it as much as
they receive. Fogs do not, in any instance, furnish a real exception to the general rule,
that whatever exists in the atmosphere, capable of stopping or impeding the passage of
radiant heat, will prevent or lessen the appearance at night of a cold on the surface of
the earth, greater than that of the neighboring air. The water deposited upon tiie
earth, during a fog at night, may sometimes be derived from two different sources, one
of which is a precipitation of moisture from a considerable part of the atmosphere, in
consequence of its general cold ; the other, a real formation of dew, from the condens-
ation, by means of the superficial cold of the ground, of the moisture of that portion of
the air, which comes in contact with it, In such a state of things, all bodies will be-
come moist, but those especially which most i-eadily attract dew in clear weather.
2251. When bodies become cold by radiation, the degree of effect observed must depend,
not only on their radiating power, but in part also on the greater or less ease with which
they can derive heat, by conduction, from warmer substances in contact with them.
Bodies, exposed in a clear night to the sky, must radiate as much heat to it during the
prevalence of wind, as they would do if the air were altogether still. But in the former
case, little or no cold will be observed upon them above that of the atmosphere, as the
frequent application of warm air must quickly return a heat equal, or nearly so, to that
Z 4
344 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
which they had lost by radiation. A slight agitation of the air is sufficient to produce
some effect of this kind ; though, as has already been said, such an agitation, when the
air is very pregnant with moisture, will render greater the quantity of dew, one requisite
for a considerable production of this fluid being more increased by it, than another is
diminished.
2252. It has been remarked, that the hurtful effects of cold occur chiefly in hollow places.
If this be restricted to what happens on the serene and calm nights, two reasons from
different sources are to be assigned for it. The first is, that the air being stiller in such
a situation, than in any other, the cold, from radiation, in the bodies which it contains,
will be less diminished by renewed applications of warmer air ; the second, that from the
longer continuance of the same air in contact with the ground, in depressed places than
in others, less dew will be deposited, and therefore less heat extricated during its
formation.
2253. An observation closely connected with the preceding, namely, that in clear and
still nights, frosts are less severe upon the hills, than in neighboring plains, has excited more
attention, chiefly from its contradicting what is commonly regarded an established fact,
that the cold of the atmosphere always increases with the distance from the earth. But
on the contrary the fact is certain, that in very clear and still nights, the air near to the
earth is colder than that which is more distant from it, to the height at least of 220 feet,
this being the greatest to which experiments relate. If then a hill be supposed to rise
from a plain to the height of 220 feet, having upon its summit a small flat surface
covered with grass ; and if the atmosphere, during a calm and serene night, be admitted
to be 10° warmer there than it is near the surface of the low grounds, which is a less
difference than what sometimes occurs in such circumstances, it is manifest that, should
both the grass upon the hill, and that upon the plain, acquire a cold of 10° by radiation,
the former will, notwithstanding, be 10° warmer than the latter. Hence also the tops
of trees are sometimes found dry when the grass on the ground's surface has been found
covered with dew.
2254. A very slight covering will exclude much cold. I had often, observes Dr. Wells,
in the pride of half knowledge, smiled at the means frequently employed by gardeners,
to protect tender plants from cold, as it appeared to me impossible, that a thin mat, or
any such flimsy substance, could prevent them from attaining the temperature of the
atmosphere, by which alone I thought them liable to be injured. But, when I had
learned, that bodies on the surface of the earth become, during a still and serene night,
colder than the atmosphere, by radiating their heat to the heavens, I perceived imme-
diately a just reason for the practice, which I had before deemed useless. Being desirous,
however, of acquiring some precise information on this subject, I fixed, perpendicularly,
in the earth of a grass plot, four small sticks, and over their upper extremities, which
were six inches above the grass, and formed the corners of a square, the sides of
which were two feet long, drew tightly a very thin cambric handkerchief. In this dis-
position of things, therefore, nothing existing to prevent the free passage of air from the
exposed grass, to that which was sheltered, except the four small sticks, and there was
no substance to radiate heat downwards to the latter grass, except the cambric handker-
chief. The temperature of the grass, which was thus shielded from the sky, was, upon
many nights afterwards examined by me, and was always found higher than that of
neighboring grass which was uncovered, if this was colder than the air. When the
difference in temperature, between the air several feet above the ground and the un-
sheltered grass, did not exceed 5°, the sheltered grass was about as warm as the air. If
that difference, however, exceeded 5°, the air was found to be somewhat warmer than
the sheltered grass. Thus, upon one night, when fully exposed grass was 11° colder
tlian the air, the latter was 3° warmer than the sheltered grass ; and the same difference
existed on another night, when the air was 1 4° warmer than the exposed grass. One
reason for this difference, no doubt, was that the air, which passed from the exposed grass,
by which it had been very much cooled, to that under the handkerchief, had deprived the
latter of part of its heat ; another, that the handkerchief, from being made colder than the
atmosphere by the radiation of its upper surface to the heavens, would remit somewhat
less heat to the grass beneath, than what it received from that substance. But still, as
the sheltered grass, notwithstanding these drawbacks, was upon one night, as may be
collected from the preceding relation, 8°, and upon another 11°, warmer than grass
fully exposed to the sky, a sufficient reason was now obtained for the utility of a very
slight shelter to plants, in averting or lessening injury from cold, on a still and serene
night.
2255. The covering has most effect when placed at a little distance above the plants or
objects to be sheltered. A difference in temperature, of some magniluae, was always
observed on still and serene nights, between bodies sheltered from the sky by substances
touching them, and similar bodies, which were sheltered by a substance a little above
them. I found, for example, upon one night, tliat the warmth of grass, sheltered by a
Book hi. HEAT AND LIGHT. 345
cambric handkerchief raised a few inches in the air, was 3° greater than that of a neighbor-
ing piece of grass which was sheltered by a similar handkerchief actually in contact with it.
On another night, the diiference between the temperatures of two portions of grass,
shielded in the same manner, as the two above mentioned, from the influence of the sky,
was 4°. Possibly, continues Dr. Wells, experience has long ago taught gardeners the
superior advantage of defending tender vegetables, from the cold of clear and calm
nights, by means of substances not directly touching them ; though I do not recollect
ever having seen any contrivance for keeping mats, or such like bodies, at a distance
from the plants which they were meant to protect.
2256. Heat produced by walls. Walls, Dr. Wells observes, as far as warmth is con-
cerned, are regarded as useful, during a cold night, to the plants which touch them, or
are near to them, only in two ways; first, by the mechanical shelter which they afford
against cold winds, and secondly, by giving out the heat which they had acquired during
the day. It appearing to me, however, that, on clear and calm nights, those on which
plants frequently receive much injury from cold, walls must be beneficial in a third way,
namely, by preventing, in part, the loss of heat, which the plants would sustain from
radiation, if they were fully exposed to the sky : the following experiment was made for
the purpose of determining the justness of this opinion. A cambric handkerchief having
been placed, by means of two upright sticks, perpendicularly to a grass-plot, and at right
angles to the course of the air, a thermometer was laid upon the grass close to the lower
edge of the handkerchief, on its windward side. The thermometer thus situated was
several nights compared with another lying on the same grass-plot, but on a part of it
fully exposed to the sky. On two of these nights, the air being clear and calm, the grass
close to the handkerchief was found to be 4° warmer than the fully exposed grass. On
a third, the difference was 6°. An analogous fact is mentioned by Gersten, who says,
that a horizontal surface is more abundantly dewed, than one which is perpendicular to
the ground.
2257. Heat from a covering of snow. The covering of snow, the same author ob-
serves, which countries in high latitudes enjoy during the winter, has been very com-
monly thought to be beneficial to vegetable substances on the surface of the earth, as
far as their temperature is concerned, solely by protecting them from the cold of the
atmosphere. But were this supposition just, the advantage of the covering would be
greatly circumscribed ; since the upper parts of trees and of tall shrubs are still exposed
to the influence of the air. Another reason, however, is furnished for its usefulness, by
what has been said in this essay ; which is, that it prevents the occurrence of the cold,
which bodies on the earth acquire, in addition to that of the atmosphere, by the radiation
of their heat to the heavens during still and clear nights. The cause, indeed, of this
additional cold, does not constantly operate ; but its presence, during only a few hours,
might effectually destroy plants, which now pass unhurt through the winter. Again, as
things are, while low vegetable productions are prevented, by their covering of snow,
from becoming colder than the atmosphere in consequence of their own radiation, the
parts of trees and tall. shrubs, which rise above the snow, are little affected by cold from
this cause. For their uttermost twigs, now that they are destitute of leaves, are much
smaller than the thermometers suspended by me in the air, which in this situation very
seldom became more than 2° colder than the atmosphere. The larger branches, too,
which, if fully exposed to the sky, would become colder than the extreme parts, are, in
a great degree, sheltered by them ; and, in the last place, the trunks are sheltered both by
the smaller and larger parts, not to mention that the trunks must derive heat, by con-
duction through the roots, from the earth kept warm by the snow. In a similar way is
partly to be explained the manner, in which a layer of earth or straw preserves vegetable
matters in our own fields, from the injurious effects of cold in winter. (^Essay on Dew,
&c. 1819.)
2258. The nature of light is totally unknown : the light which proceeds from the sun
seems to be composed of three distinct substances. Scheele discovered that a glass mir-
ror held before the fire reflected the rays of light, but not the rays of caloric ; but when
a metallic mirror was placed in the same situation, both heat and light were reflected.
The mirror of glass became hot in a short time, but no change of temperature took place
on the metallic mirror. This experiment shows that the glass mirror absorbed the rays
of caloric, and reflected those of light; while the metallic mirror, suffering no change
of temperature, reflected both. And if a plate glass be held before a burning body, the
rays of light are not sensibly interrupted, but the rays of caloric are intercepted ; for no
sensible heat is observed on the opposite side of the glass ; but when the glass has reached
a proper degree of temperature, the rays of caloric are transmitted with the same facility
as those of light. And thus the rays of light and caloric may be separated. But the
curious experiments of Dr. Herschel have clearly proved that the invisible rays which
are emitted by the sun, have the greatest heating power. In those experiments, the dif-
ferent colored rays were thrown on the bulb of a very delicate thermometer, and their
846 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
heating power was observed. The heating power of the violet, green, and red rays were
found to be to each other as the following numbers ; — Violet, 16 '0; Green 22-4 ; Red,
55'0. The heating power of the most refrangible rays was least, and this power increases
as the refrangibility diminishes. The red ray, therefore, has the greatest heating power,
and the violet, which is the most refrangible, the least. The illuminating power, it has
been already observed, is greatest in the middle of the spectrum, and it diminishes to-
wards both extremities; but the heating power, which is least at the violet end, increases
from that to the red extremity ; and when the thermometer was placed beyond the limit
of the red ray, it rose still higher than in the red ray, which has the greatest heating power
in the spectrum. The heating power of these invisible rays was greatest at the distance
of half an inch beyond the red ray, but it was sensible at the distance of one inch and a
half.
2259. The influence of the different solar rays on vegetation has not yet been stu-
died ; but it is certain that the rays exercise an influence independent of the heat they
produce. Thus plants kept in darkness, but supplied with heat, air, and moisture, grow
for a short time, but they never gain their natural colors ; their leaves are white and
pale, and their juices watery and peculiarly saccharine : according to Knight they merely
expend the sap previously generated under the influence of light. {Notes to Sir H.
Davy's Agr. Cliem. p. 402.)
Sect. II. Of Electricity.
2260. Electrical changes are constantly taking place in nature, on the surface of the
earth, and in the atmosphere ; but as yet the effects of this power in vegetation have not
been correctly estimated. It has been shown by experiments made by means of the
voltaic battery, that compound bodies in general, are capable of being decomposed by
electrical powers, and it is probable that the various electrical phenomena occurring in
our system, must influence both the germination of seeds and the growth of plants. It
has been found that corn sprouted much more rapidly in water positively electrified by
the voltaic instrument, than in water negatively electrified ; and experiments made upon
the atmosphere show that clouds are usually negative ; and, as when a cloud is in one
state of electricity, the surface of the earth beneath is brought into the opposite state,
it is probable that in common cases the surface of the earth is positive. A similar ex-
periment is related by Dr. Darwin, {P/iytologia, sect. xiii. 2, 3.)
2261. Respecting the nature of electricity different opinions are entertained amongst
scientific men ; by some, the phenomena are conceived to depend upon a single subtile
fluid in excess in the bodies said to be positively electrified, and in deficiency in the
bodies said to be negatively electrified. A second class suppose the eflPects to be pro-
duced by two different fluids, called by them the vitreous fluid and the resinous fluid ;
and others regard them as affections or motions of matter, or an exhibition of attractive
powers, similar to those which produce chemical combination and decomposition; but
usually exerting their action on masses.
2262. A profitable application of electricity , Dr. Darwin observes, to promote the
growth of plants is not yet discovered ; it is nevertheless probable, that in dry seasons,
the erection of numerous metallic points on the surface of the ground, but a few feet
high, might, in the night-time, contribute to precipitate the dew by facilitating the
passage of electricity from the air into the earth ; and that an erection of such points
higher in the air by means of wires wrapped round tall rods, like angle rods, or elevated
on buildings, might frequently precipitate showers from the higher parts of the atmo-
sphere. Such points erected in gardens might promote a quicker vegetation of the
plants in their vicinity, by supplying them more abundantly with the electric ether.
(Phytologia, xiii. 4.) J. Wi\lia.ms (Climate of Great i?ntom, 348.), enlarging on this
idea, proposes to erect large electrical machines, to be driven by wind, over the general
face of the country, for the purpose of improving the climate, and especially for
lessening that superabundant moisture which he contends is yeai'ly increasing from the
increased evaporating surface, produced by the vegetation of improved culture, and
especially from the increase of pastures, hedges, and ornamental plantations.
Sect. III. Of Water.
2263. Water is a compound of oxygene and hydrogene gas, though primarily reckoned
a simple or elementary substance. " If the metal called potassium be exposed in a
glass tube to a small quantity of water, it will act upon it with great violence ; elastic
fluid will be disengaged, which will be found to be hydrogen ; and the same effects will
be produced upon the potassium, as if it had absorbed a small quantity of oxygen ; and
the hydrogen disengaged, and the oxygen added to the potassium, are in weight as 2 to
15 ; and if two in volume of hydrogen, and one in volume of oxygen, which have the
weights of 2 and 15, be introduced into a close vessel, and an electrical spark passed
tlirough them, they will inflame and condense into 17 parts of pure water."
Book III. OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 347
2264. IFater is absolutely necessary to the economy of vegetation in its elastic and fluid
state; and it is not devoid of use even in its solid form. Snow and ice are bad con-
ductors of heat ; and when the ground is covered with snow, or the surface of the soil or
of water is frozen, the roots or bulbs of the plants beneath are protected by the congealed
water from the influence of the atmosphere, the temperature of which, in northern win-
ters, is usually very much below the freezing point ; and this water becomes the first
nourishment of the plant in early spring. The expansion of water during its congela-
tion, at which time its volume increases one twelfth, and its contraction of bulk during a
thaw, tend to pulverise the soil, to separate its parts from each other, and to make it
more permeable to the influence of the air.
Chap. IV,
Of the Agency of the Atmosphere in Vegetation.
2265. The aerial medium which envelopes tfie earth may be studied chemically and phy-
sically ; the first study respects the elements of which the atmosphere is composed ; and
the second their action in a state of combination, and as influenced by various causes,
or those phenomena which constitute the weather.
Sect. I. Of the Elements of the Atmosphere.
2266. Water^ carbonic acid gas, oxygen, and azote, are the principal substances composing
the atmosphere ; but more minute enquiries respecting their nature and agencies are
necessary to afford correct views of its uses in vegetation.
2267. That water exists in the atmosphere is easily proved. If some of the salt, called
muriate of lime, that has been just heated red, be exposed to the air, even in the driest
and coldest weather, it will increase in weight, and become moist; and in a certain time
will be converted into a fluid. If put into a retort and heated, it will yield pure water ;
will gradually recover its pristine state ; and, if heated red, its former weight : so that it
is evident that the water united to it was derived from the air. And that it existed in
the air in an invisible and elastic form, is proved by the circumstances, that if a given
quantity of air be exposed to the salt, its volume and weight will diminish, provided the
experiment be correctly made.
2268. The quantity of%vater which exists in air, as vapor, varies with the temperature. In
proportion as the weather is hotter, the quantity is greater. At 50^ of Fahrenheit,
air contains about one 50th of its volume of vapor ; and as the specific gravity of vapor
is to that of air nearly as 10 to 15 ; this is about one 75th of its weight. At 100°, sup-
posing that there is a free communication with water, it contains about one 14th part
in volume, or one 21st in weight. It is the condensation of vapor by diminution of the
temperature of the atmosphere, which is probably the principal cause of the formation of
clouds, and of the deposition of dew, mist, snow, or hail.
2269. The j)ower of different substances to absorb aqueous vapor from the atmosphere by
cohesive attraction has lieen already referred to (2102.) The leaves of living plants ap-
pear to act upon this vapor in its elastic form, and to absorb it. Some vegetables
increase in weight from this cause, when suspended in the atmosphere and unconnected
with the soil ; such are the house-leek, and different species of the aloe. In very
intense heats, and when the soil is dry, the life of plants seems to be preserved by the
absorbent power of their leaves; and it is a beautiful circumstance in the economy
of nature, that aqueous vapor is most abundant in the atmosphere when it is most
needed for the purposes of life ; and that when other sources of its supply are cut olF,
this is most copious.
2270. The existence of carbonic acid gas in the atmosphere is proved by the following
process : if a solution of lime and water be exposed to the air, a pellicle will speedily
form upon it, and a solid matter will gradually fall to the bottom of the water, and in a
certain time the water will become tasteless ; this is owing to the combination of the lime
which was dissolved in the water with carbonic acid gas, which existed in the atmo^
sphere, as may be proved by collecting the film and the solid matter, and igniting them
strongly in a little tube of platina or iron ; they will give out carbonic acid gas, and
will become quick -lime, which, added to the same water, will again bring it to the state
of lime-water.
2271. The quantity of carbonic acid gas in the atmosphere is very small. It is not easy
to determine it with precison, and it must differ in different situations ; but where there
is a free circulation of air, it is probably never more than one 500th, nor less than one 800th
of the volume of air. Carbonic acid gas is nearly one third heavier than the other elastic
parts of the atmosphere in their mixed state ; hence at first view it might be supposed
348 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
that it would be most abundant in the lower regions of the atmosphere j but unless it
has been immediately produced at the surface of the earth in some chemical process,
this does not seem to be the case ; elastic fluids of different specific gravities have a
tendency to equable mixture by a species of attraction, and the different parts of the
atmosphere are constantly agitated and blended together by winds or other causes. De
Saussure found lime-water precipitated on Mount Blanc, the highest point of land in
Europe ; and carbonic acid gas has been always found, apparently in due proportion, in
the air brought down from great heights in the atmosphere by aerostatic adventurers.
2272. The principal consumption of the carbonic acid in the atmosphere seems to be
in affording nourishment to plants j and some of them appear to be supplied with carbon
chiefly from this source.
2273. The formation of carbonic acid gas takes place during fermentation, combustion,
putrefaction, respiration, and a number of operations taking place upon the surface of the
earth ; and there is no other process known in nature, by which it can be destroyed but by
vegetation.
2274. Oxygen and azote are the remaining constituents of the atmosphere. After a
given portion of common air has been deprived of aqueous vapor and carbonic acid gas,
it appears little altered in its properties; it remains a compound of oxygen and azote,
which supports combustion and animal life. There are many modes of separating these
two gases from each other. A simple one is by burning phosphorus in a confined vo-
lume of air ; this absorbs the oxygen and leaves the azote ; and 100 parts in volume of
air, in which phosphorus has been burnt, yield 79 parts of azote ; and by mixing this
azote with 21 parts of fresh oxygenegas artificially procured, a substance having the ori-
ginal characters of air is produced. To procure pure oxygen from air, quicksilver may
be kept heated in it, at about 600°, till it becomes a red powder ; this powder, when
ignited, will be restored to the state of quicksilver by giving off oxygen.
2275. Oxygen is necessary to some functions of vegetables ; but its great importance in
nature is its relation to the economy of animals. It is absolutely necessary to their life.
Atmospheric air taken into the lungs of animals, or passed in solution in water through
the gills of fishes, loses oxygen ; and for the oxygen lost, about an equal volume of car-
bonic acid appears.
2276. The effects of azote in vegetation are not distinctly known. As it is found in
some of the products of vegetation, it may be absorbed by certain plants from the atmo-
sphere. It prevents the action of oxygen from being too energetic, and serves as a
medium in which the more essential parts of the air act ; nor is this circumstance un-
conformable to the analogy of nature ; for the elements most abundant on the solid sur-
face of the globe, are not those which are the most essential to the existence of the living
beings belonging to it.
2277. The action of the atmosphere on playits differs at different periods of their
growth, and varies with the various stages of the developement and decay of their
organs. If a healthy seed be moistened and exposed to air at a temperature not
below 45°, it soon germinates, and shoots forth a plume, which rises upwards, and a
radicle which descends. If the air be confined, it is found that in the process of germin-
ation the oxygen, or a part of it, is absorbed. The azote remains unaltered ; no carbonic
acid is taken away from the air ; on the contrary, some is added. Seeds are incapable of
germinating, except when oxygen is present. In the exhausted receiver of the air-pump,
in pure azote, or in pure carbonic acid, when moistened they swell, but do not vegetate ;
and if kept in these gases, lose their living powers, and undergo putrefaction. If a seed
be examined before germination, it will be found more or less insipid, at least not sweet ;
but after germination it is always sweet. Its coagulated mucilage, or starch, is converted
into sugar in the process ; a substance difl^icult of solution is changed into one easily
soluble ; and the sugar carried through the cells or yessels of the cotyledons, is the nou-
rishment of the infant plant. The absorption of oxygen by the seed in germination has
been compared to its absorption in producing the evolution of foetal life in the egg ; but
this analogy is only remote. All animals, from the most to the least perfect classes, re-
quire a supply of oxygen. From the moment the heart begins to pulsate till it ceases to
beat, the aeration of the blood is constant, and the function of respiration invariable ;
carbonic acid is given off in the process, but the chemical change produced in the blood
is unknown ; nor is there any reason to suppose the formation of any substance similar to
sugar. It is evident, that in all cases of semination, the seeds should be sown so as to be,
fully exposed to the influence of the air. And oite cause of the unproductiveness of cold
clayey adhesive soils is, that the seed is coated with matter impermeable to air. In sandy
soils the earth is always sufficiently penetrable by the atmosphere ; but in clayey soils
there can scarcely be too great a mechanical division of parts. Any seed not fully sup-
plied with air, always produces a weak and diseased plant. We have already seen ( 1 530. )
that carbon is added to plants from the air by the process of vegetation in sunshine ; and
oxygen is added to the atmosphere at the same time.
Book III.
OF THE ATMOSPHERE.
349
Latitude.
Places.
Range of the Barometer.
Greatest.
Annual.
0" 0»
22 23
33 55
40 55
51 8
53 13
53 23
59 56
Peru - - -
Calcutta - -
Cape Town -
Naples - - .
Dover - - -
Middlewich .
Liverpool - -
Petersburgh -
0 20
0 77
1 00
2 47
3 00
2 89
3 45
"o 89
1 ?0
1 94
1 96
2278. Those changes in the atmos])here which constitute the most important meteorological
2)henomena, may be classed under five distinct heads ; the alterations that occur in the
weight of the atmosphere ; those that take place in its temperature ; the changes produced
in its quantity by evaporation and rain ; the excessive agitation to which it is frequently
subject ; and the phenomena arising from electric and other causes, that at particular
times occasion or attend the precipitations and agitations alluded to. All the above
phenomena prove to demonstration that constant changes take place, the consequences of
new combinations and decompositions rapidly following each other.
2279. With respect to the changes in the weight of the atmosphere, it is generally known
that the instrument called the barometer shows the weight of a body of air immediately
above it, extending to the extreme boundary of the atmosphere, and the base of which is
equal to that of the mercury contained within it. As the level of the sea is the lowest
point of observation, the column of air over a barometer placed at that level is the longest
to be obtained.
2280. The variations of the barometer between the tropics are very trifling, and it does not descend
more than half as much in that part of the globe for every two hundred feet of elevation as it does be-
yond the tropics. The range of the barometer increases gradually as the latitude advances towards the
poles, till in the end it amounts to tv/o or three inches. The following Table will explain this gradual
increase : —
2281. The range of the barometer is considerably less
in North Ainerica than in the corresponding latitudes
of Europe, particularly in Virginia, where it never
exceeds 11. The range is more considerable at the
level of the sea tlian on mountains ; and in the same
degree of latitude it is in the inverse ratio of the
height of the place above the level of the sea. Cotte
composed a table, which has been published in the
Journal de Physique, from which it appears extremely
probable, that the barometer has an invariable ten-
dency to rise between the morning and the evening,
and that this impulse is most considerable from two
in the afternoon till nine at night, when the greatest
elevation is accomj^lished ; but the elevation at nine
differs from that at two by four twelfths, while that of two varies from the elevation of the morning only
by one twelfth, and that in particular climates the greatest elevation is at two o'clock. The observations
of Cotte confirm those of Luke Howard ; and from them it is concluded, that the barometer is influenced
by some depressing cause at new and full moon, and that some other makes it rise at the quarters. This
coincidence is most considerable in fair and calm weather ; the depression in the interval between the
quarters and conjunctions amounts to one tenth of an inch, and the rise from the conjunctions to the
quarters is to the same amount. The range of this instrument is found to be greater in winter than in
summer ; for instance, the mean at York, during the months from October to March inclusive, in the
year 1774, was 1-42, and in the six summer months 1'016.
2282. The more serene and settled the weather, the higher the barometer ranges ; calm weather, with a
tendency to rain, depresses it ; high winds have a similar effect on it ; and the greatest elevation occurs
with easterly and northerly winds j but the south produces a dirictly contrary effect.
2283. The variations in the temperature of the air in any particular place, exclusive of
the differences of seasons and climates, are very considerable. These changes cannot be
produced by heat derived from the sun, as its rays concentrated have no kind of effect on
air ; those, however, heat the surface of our globe, which is communicated to the imme-
diate atmosphere ; it is through tliis fact that the temperature is highest where the place
is so situated as to receive with most effect the rays of the sun, and that it varies in each
region with the season ; it is also the cause why it decreases in proportion to the.height
of the air above the surface of the earth. The most perpendicular rays falling on the
globe at the equator, there the heat of it is the greatest, and that heat decreases gradually
to the poles, of course the temperature of the air is in exact unison ; from this, it appears,
that the air acquires the greatest degree of warmth over the equator, where it becomes
insensibly cooler till we arrive at the poles; in the same manner, the air immediately
above the equator cools gradually. Though the temperature sinks as it approaches the
pole, and is highest at the equator, yet as it varies continually with the seasons, it is im-
possible to form an accurate idea of the progression without forming a mean temperature
for a year, from that of the temperature of every degree of latitude for every day of the
year, which may be accomplished by adding together the whole of the observations and
dividing by their number, when the quotient will be the mean temperature for the year.
The "diminution," says Dr. Thomson, "from the pole to the equator takes place in
arithmetical progression ; or to speak more properly, the annual temperature of all the
latitudes are arithmetical means between the mean annual temperature of the equator and
the pole. And as far as heat depends in the action of solar rays, that of each month is as
the mean altitude of the sun, or rather as the sine of the sun's altitude.
2284. Inconsiderable seas, in temperate and cold climates, are colder in winter and
warmer in summer than the main ocean, as they are necessarily under the influence of
natural operations from the land. Thus the Gulf of Bothnia is generally frozen in
winter, but the water is sometimes heated in the summer to 70°, a state, the opposite
part of tlie Atlantic never acquires ; the German Sea is five degrees warmer in summer
than the Atlantic, and more than three colder in winter ; the Mediterranean is almost
350 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
throughout warmer both in winter and summer, which therefore causes tlie Atlantic
to flow into it ; and the Black Sea being colder than the Mediterranean, flows into the
latter.
2285. The eastern parts of North A7mrica, as appears from meteorological tables, have a much colder
air than the opposite European coast, and fall short of the standard by about ten or twelve degrees. There
are several causes which produce this considerable difference. Thegreatest elevation in North America is
between the 40th and 50th degree of north latitude, and the 100th and 110th of longitude west from Lon-
don ; and there the most considerable rivers have their origin. The height alone is sufficient to make this
tract colder than it would otherwise be ; but there are other causes, and those are most extensive forests,
and large swamps and morasses, each of which ;exclude heat from the earth, and consequently prevent it
from ameliorating the rigor of winter. Many extensive lakes lie to the east, and Hudson's Bay more to
the north ; a chain of mountains extends on the south of the latter, and those equally prevent the accu-
mulation of heat ; besides, this bay is bounded on the east by the mountainous country of Labrador, and
has many islands ; from all which circumstances arise the lowness of the temperature, and the piercing
cold of the north-west winds. The annual decrease of the forests for the purpose of clearing the ground,
and the consumption for building and fuel, is supposed to have occasioned a considerable decrease of cold
in the winter ; and if this should be the result, much will yet be done towards bringing the temperature of
the European and American continents to something like a level.
2286. Continents have a colder atmosphere than islands situated in the same degree of
latitude ; and countries lying to the windward of the superior classes of mountains, or
forests, are warmer than those which are to the leeward. Earth always possessing a cer-
tain degree of moisture, has a greater capacity to receive and retain heat than sand or
stones, the latter therefore are heated and cooled with more rapidity : it is from this cir-
cumstance tliat the intense heats of Africa and Arabia, and the cold of Terra del Fuego,
are derived. The temperature of growing vegetables changes very gradually ; but there
is a considerable evaporation from them : if those exist in great numbers, and congre-
gated, or in forests, their foliage preventing the rays of the sun from reaching the earth, it
is perfectly natural that the immediate atmosphere must be greatly affected by the ascent
of chilled vapors.
2287. Our next object is the ascent and descent of water : the principal appearances of
this element are vapor, clouds, dew, rain, frost, hail, snow, and ice.
2288. Vapor is water rarefied by heat, in consequence of which becoming lighter than
the atmosphere, it is raised considerably above the surface of the earth, and afterwards by
a partial condensation forms clouds. It differs from exhalation, which is properly a dis-
persion of dry particles from a body. When water is heated to 212° it boils, and is ra-
pidly converted into steam ; and the same change takes place in much lower temper-
atures ; but in that case the evaporation is slower, and the elasticity of the steam is
smaller. As a very considerable proportion of the earth's surface is covered with water,
and as this water is constantly evaporating and mixing with the atmosphere in the state of
vapor, a precise determination of the rate of evaporation must be of very great import-
ance in meterology. Evaporation is confined entirely to the surface of the water ; hence
it is, in all cases, proportional to the surface of the water exposed to the atmosphere^
Much more vapor of course rises in maritime countries or those interspersed with lakes,
than in inland countries. Much more vapor rises during hot weather than during
cold : hence the quantity evaporated depends in some measure upon temperature. The
quantity of vapor which rises from water, even when the temperature is the same, varies
according to circumstances. It is least of all in calm weather, greater when a breeze
blows,, and greatest of all with a strong wind. From experiments, it appears, that the
quantity of vapor raised annually at Manchester is equal to about 25 inches of rain. If
to tliis we add five inches for the dew, with Dalton, it will make the annual evapor-
ation 30 inches. Now, if we consider the situation of England, and the greater quantity
of vapor raised from water, it will not surely be considered as too great an allowance,
if we estimate the mean annual evaporation over the whole surface of tlie globe
at 35 inches.
2289. A cloud is a mass of vapor, more or less opaque, formed and sustained at con-
siderable height in the atmosphere, probably by the joint agencies of heat and electricity.
The first successful attempt to arrange the diversified form of clouds, under a few general
modifications, was made by Luke Howard, Esq. We shall give here a brief account of
his ingenious classification.
2290. The simple modifications are thus named and defined : — 1 . Cirrus, parallel,
flexuous, or diverging fibres, extensible in any or in all directions (Jig. 248 a) ;
2. Cumulus, convex or conical heaps, increasing upwards from a horizontal base (6) ;
3. Stratus, a widely-extended, continuous, horizontal sheet, increasing from below (c).
2291. The intermediate modifications which require to be noticed are, 4. Cirro-cumulus,
small, well-defined, roundish masses, in close horizontal arrangement (d) ; 5. Cirro-stratus,
horizontal or slightly inclined masses, attenuated towards a part or the whole of their
circumference, bent downward or undulated, separate or in groups consisting of small
clouds having these characters (e).
2292. The compound modifications are, 6. Cumulo-stratus, or twain cloud ; tlie cirro-'
stratus, blended with the cumulus, and either appearing intermixed witli the heaps of the
Book III.
OF THE ATMOSPHERE.
248
551
latter, or superadding a wide-spread structure to its base (/) ; 7. Cumulo-cirro-stratus,
vel Nimbus ; the rain-cloud, a cloud or system of clouds from which rain is falling.
It is a horizontal sheet, above which the cirrus spreads, while the cumulus enters it
laterally and from beneath (g, g) ; S. The Fall Cloud, resting apparently on the surface
of the ground {h) .
2293. The cirrus appears to have the least density, the greatest elevation, the greatest variety of extent
and direction, and to appear earliest in serene weather, being indicated by a few threads pencilled on the
sky Before storms they appear lower and denser, and usually in the quarter opjwsite to that from which
the storm arises. Steady high winds are also preceded and attended by cirrous streaks, running quite across
the sky in the direction they blow in. - , . ,
2294. The cujnulus has the densest structure, is formed m the Ipwer atmosphere, and moves along with
the current next the earth. A small irregular spot first appears, and is, as it were, the nucleus on which
they increase. The lower surface continues irregularly plane, while the upper rises into conical or hemi-
spherical heaps ; which may afterwards continue long nearly of the same bulk, or rapidly rise into moun-
tains. They will begin, in fair weather, to form some hours after sunrise, arrive at their maximum in
the hottest part of the afternoon, then go on diminishing, and totally disperse about sunset. Previous to
rain the cumulus increases rapidly, appears lower in the atmosphere, and with its surface full of loose
fleeces or protuberances. The formation of large cumuli to leeward in a strong wind, indicates the ap-
proach of a calm with rain. When they do not disappear or subside about sunset, but continue to rise,
thunder is to be expected in the nigiit.
2295. The stratus has a mean degree of density, and is the lowest of clouds, its inferior surface commonly
resting on the earth in water. This is properly the cloud of night, appearing about sunset. It compre-
hends all those creeping mists which in calm weather ascend in spreading sheets (like an inundation of
water) from the bottoms of valleys, and the surfaces of lakes and rivers. On the return of the sun, the
352 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
level surface of this cloud begins to put on the appearance of cumulns, the whole at the same time separat-
ing from the ground. The continuity is next destroyed, and the cloud ascends and evaporates, or {masses
oft' with the appearance of the nascent cumulus. This has long been experienced as a prognostic of fair
weather.
2296. Transition of forms. The cirrus having continued for some time increasing or stationary, usually
passes either to the cirro-cumulus or the cirro-stratus, at the same time descending to a lower station in the
atmosphere. This modification forms a very beautiful sky, and is frequently in summer an attendant on warm
and dry weather. The cirro-stratus, when seen in the distance, frequently gives the idea of shoals of fish.
It precedes wind and rain ; is seen in the intervals of storms ; and sometimes alternates with the cirro-
cumulus in the same cloud, when the different evolutions form a curious spectacle. A judgment may be
formed of the weather hkely to ensue by observing which modification prevails at last. The solar and
lunar halos, as well as the parhelion and paraselene (mock sun and mock moon), prognostics of foul wea-
ther, are occasioned by this cloud. The cumulo-stratus precedes, and the nimbus accompanies rain.
2297. Deiv is the moisture insensibly deposited from the atmosphere on the surface of
the earth. This moisture is precipitated by the cold of the body on which it appears, and
will be more or less abundant, not in proportion to the coldness of that body, but in pro-
portion to the existing state of the air in regard to moisture. It is commonly supposed
that the formation of dew produces cold, but like every other precipitation of water from
the atmosphere, it musf eventually produce heat,
2298. Phenomena of dew. Aristotle justly remarked, that dew appears only on calm and clear nights.
Dr. Wells shows, that very little is ever deposited in opposite circumstances ; and that little only when the
clouds are very high. It is never seen on nights both cloudy and windy ; and if in the course of the night
the weather, from being serene, should become dark and stormy, dew which has been deposited will disap-
pear. In calm weather, if the sky be partially covered with clouds, more dew will appear than if it were en-
tirely uncovered. Dew probably begins in the country to appear upon grass in places shaded from the sun,
during clear and calm weather, soon after the heat of the atmosphere has declined, and continues to be
deposited through the whole night, and for a little after sunrise. Its quantity will depend in some measure
on the proportion of moisture in the atmosphere, and is consequently greater after rain than after a long tract
of dry weather ; and in Europe, with southerly and westerly winds, than with those which blow from the
north and the east. The direction of the sea determines this relation of the winds to dew. For in Egypt,
dew is scarcely ever observed except while the northerly or Etesian winds prevail. Hence also, dew is
generally more abundant in spring and autumn, than in summer. And it is always very copious on those
clear nights which are followed by misty mornings, which show the air to be loaded with moisture. And
a clear morning, following a cloudy night, determines a plentiful deposition of the retained vapor. When
warmth of atmosphere is compatible with clearness, as is the case in southern latitudes, though seldom in
our country, the dew becomes much more copious, because the air then contains more moisture. Dew
continues to form with increased copiousness as the night advances, from the increased refrigeration of
the ground.
2^. Cause of dew. Dew, according to Aristotle, is a species of rain, formed in the lower atmosphere,
in consequence of its moisture being condensed by the cold of the night into minute drops. Opinions of
this kind, says Dr. Wells, are still entertained by many persons, among whom is the very ingenious Pro-
fessor Leslie. {Relat. of Heat and Moisture, p. 37. and 132.) A fact, however, first taken notice of by
Garstin, who published his Treatise on Dew in 1773, proves them to be erroneous ; for he found, that bodies,
a little elevated in the air often become moist with dew, while similar bodies, lying on the ground, remain
dry, though necessarily, from their position, liable to be wetted, by whatever falls from the heavens, as
the former. The above notion is perfectly refuted by the fact, that metallic surfaces exposed to the air in
a horizontal position, remain dry, while every thing around them is covered with dew. After a long
period of drought, when the air was very still and the sky serene. Dr. Wells exposed to the sky,
28 minutes before sunset, previously weighed parcels of wool and swandown, upon a smooth, unpainted,
and perfectly dry fir table, 5 feet long, 3 broad, and nearly 3 in height, which had been placed, an hour
before, in the sunshine, in a large level grassfield. The wool, 12 minutes after sunset, was found to be
149 colder than the air, and to have acquired no weight. The swandown, the quantity of which was much
greater than that of the wool, was at the same time 13° colder than the air, and was also without any ad-
ditional weight. In 20 minutes more the swandown was 14i° colder than the neighboring air, and was
still without any increase of its weight. At the same time the grass was 15" colder than the air four feet
above the ground. Dr. Wells, by a copious induction of facts derived from observation and experiment,
establishes the proposition, that bodies become colder than the neighboring air before they are dewed.
The cold therefore, which Dr. Wilson and M. Six conjectured to be the effect of dew, now appears to be
its cause. But what makes the terrestrial surface colder than the atmosphere? The radiation or pro-
jection of heat into free space. Now the researches of Professor Leslie and Count Rumford have de-
monstrated, that different bodies project heat with very difierent degrees of force. In the operation of
this principle, therefore, conjoined with the power of a concave mirror of cloud, or any other awning, to
reflect or throw down again those caloric emanations which would be dissipated in a clear sky, we shall
find a solution of the most mysterious phenomena of dew.
2300. Rain. Luke Howard, who may be considered as our most accurate scientific
meteorologist, is inclined to think, that rain is in almost every instance the result of the
electrical action of clouds upon each other.
2301. Phenomena of rain. Rain never descends till the transparency of the air ceases, and the invisible
vapors become vascular, when clouds form, and at length the drops fall : clouds, instead of forming
gradually at once throughout all parts of the horizon, generate in a particular spot, and imperceptibly
increase till the whole expanse is obscured.
2302. The cause of rain is thus accounted for by Dalton. If two masses of air of
unequal temperatures, by the ordinary currents of the winds, are intermixed, when
saturated with vapor, a precipitation ensues. If the masses are under saturation, then
less precipitation takes place, or none at all, according to the degree. Also the warmer
the air, the greater is the quantity of vapor precipitated in like circumstances. Hence the
reason why rains are heavier in summer than in winter, and in warm countries than in
cold.
2303. The quantity of rain, taken at an annual mean, is the greatest at the equator, and
it lessens gradually to the poles ; so there are fewer days of rain there, the number of
which increase in proportion to the distance from it. From north latitude 1 2° to 43° the
mean number of rainy days is 78 ; from 43" to 46° the mean number is 103 j from 46°
Booit III.
OF THE ATMOSPHERE.
353
to 50°, IM; and from 51° to 60°, 161. Winter often prodooes a greater number of
rainy days than summer, though the quantity of rain is more considerable in the latter than
in the former season ; at Petersburgh rain and snow falls on an average 84 days of the
winter, and the quantity amounts to about five inches; on the contrary the summer pro-
duces eleven inches in about the same number of days. Mountainous districts are sub-
ject to great falls of rain ; among the Andes particularly, it rains almost incessantly, while
the flat country of Egypt is consumed by endless drought. Dalton estimates the quantity
of rain falling in England at 31 inches. The mean annual quantity of rain for tlie whole
globe is 34 inches.
2304. The cause why less rainfalls in the first six months of the year than in the last six
months is thus explained. The whole quantity of water in the atmosphere in January-
is usually about three inches, as appears from the dew point, which is then about 32°.
Now the force of vapors of that temperature is 0*2 of an inch of mercury, which is equal
to 2*8 or three inches of water. The dew point in July is usually about 58° or 59 ^'j cor-
responding to 0*5 of an inch of mercury, which is equal to seven inches of water ; the
difference is four inches of water, which the atmosphere then contains more than in the
former month. Hence, supposing the usual intermixture of currents of air in both tlie
intervening periods to be the same, the rain ought to be four inches less in the former
period of the year than the average, and four inches more in the latter period, making a
difference of eight inches between tlie two periods, which nearly accords with the pre-
ceding observations.
2305. The mean monthly and annual quantities of rain at various places, deduced from
the average for many years, by Dalton, is given in the following Table.
fl
11
k
fl
ft
f!
Jo
li
It
1"
32
I-"
Is
WS
^s
'H
O^
Inch.
Inch.
Inch.
Inch.
Inch.
Inch.
Inch.
Inch.
Fr. In.
Fr. In.
Inch.
January -
2.310
2.177
2.196
3.461
5.299
3.095
1.595
1.464
1.228
2.477
2.530
February -
2.568
1.847
1.652
2.995
5.126
2.837
1.741
1.250
1.232
1.700
2.295
March . -
2.098
1.523
1.322
1.753
3.151
2.164
1.184
1.172
1.190
1.927
1.748
April - -
May - -
2.010
2.104
2.078
2.180
2.986
2.017
0.979
1.279
1.185
2.686
1.950
2.895
2.573
2.118
2.460
3.4S0
2.568
1.641
1.636
1.767
2.931
2.407
June - -
2.502
2.816
2.286
2.512
2.722
2.974
1.343
1.73,8
1.697
2.562
2,315
July - -
3.697
3.663
3.006
4.140
4.959
3.256
2.303
2.448
1.800
1.882
3.115
August -
3.665
3.311
2.435
4..581
5.089
3.199
2.746
1.807
1.900
2.347
3.103
September
3.281
3.a54
2.289
3.751
4.874
4.350
1.617
1.842
1.550
4.140
3.135
October -
3.922
3.724
3.079
4.1.'>1
5.439
4.143
2.297
2.092
1.780
4.741
3.537
November
3.360
3.441
2.634
3.775
4 785
3.174
1.904
2.222
1.720
4.187
3.120
December-
3.832
3.288
2.569
3.955
6.084
3.142
1.981
1.736
1.600
2.397
3.058
36.140
34.121
27.664
39.714
53.944
36.919
21.331
20.686
18.649
33.977
2306. Frost, being derived from the atmosj)here, naturally proceeds from the upper parts
of bodies downwards, as the water and the earth ; so the longer a frost is continued, the
thicker the ice becomes upon the water in ponds, and tlie deeper into the earth the ground
is frozen. In about 16 or 17 days' frost, Boyle found it had penetrated 14 inches into
the ground. At Moscow, in a hard season, the frost will penetrate two feet deep into
the ground; and Captain James found it penetrated 10 feet deep in Charlton island, and
the water in the same island was frozen to the depth of six feet. Scheffer assures us, that
in Sweden the frost pierces two cubits (a Swedish ell), into the earth, and turns what
moisture is found there into a whitish substance, like ice ; and standing water to three
ells or more. The same author also mentions sudden cracks or rifts in the ice of the
lakes of Sweden, nine or ten feet deep, and many leagues long ; the rupture being made
with a noise not less loud than if many guns were discharged together. By such means
however the fishes are furnished with air, so that they are rarely found dead.
2307. T/ie history of frosts fumi.shes very extraordinary facts. The trees are often scorched and burnt up,
as with the most excessive heat, in consequence of the separation of water from the air, which is therefore
very drying. In the great frost in 1683, the trunks of oak, ash, walnut, and other trees, were miserably
split and cleft, so that they might be seen through, and the cracks often attaided with dreadful noises like
the explosion of fire-arms.
2308. Hail is generally defined as frozen rain, it differs from it in that the hailstones
are not formed of single pieces of ice, but of many little spherules agglutinated together;
neither are those spherules all of the same consistence ; some of them being hard and
solid, like perfect ice ; others soft, and mostly like snow hardened by a severe frost.
Hailstone has a kind of core of this soft matter ; but more frequently the core is solid
and hard, while the outside is formed of a softer matter. Hailstones assume various
figures, being sometimes round, at other times pyramidal, crenated, angular, thin, and
flat, and sometimes stellated witli six radii, like the small crystals of snow. Natural
historians furnish us with various accounts of surprising showers of hail in which the
hailstones were of extraordinary magnitude.
A a
^54 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part It.
2309. Snow is formed by the freezing of the vapors in the atmosphere. It differs from
hail and hoar frost, in being as it were crystallised, which they are not. As the flakes
fall down through the atmosphere, they are continually joined by more of these radiated
spicula, and they increase in bulk like the drops of rain or hailstones. The lightness of
snow, although it is firm ice, is owing to the excess of its surface in comparison to the
matter contained under it ; as gold itself may be extended in surface till it will ride
upon the least breath of air. The whiteness of snow is owing to the small particles
into which it is divided ; for ice when pounded will become equally white.
2310. Snow is of great use to the vegetable kingdom. Were we to judge from appearance
only, we might imagine, that so far from being useful to the earth, the cold humidity of
snow would be detrimental to vegetation. But the experience of all ages asserts the con-
trary. Snow, particularly in those northern regions where the ground is covered with it
for several months, fructifies the earth, by guarding the corn or other vegetables from
the intenser cold of the air, and especially from the cold piercing winds. It has been
a vulgar opinion, very generally received, that snow fertilises the land on which it falls
more than rain, in consequence of the nitrous salts which it is supposed to acquire
by freezing. But it appears from the experiments of Margraaf, in the year 1731, that
the chemical difference between rain and snow-water, is exceedingly small; that the
latter contains a somewhat less proportion of earth than the former ; but neither of
them contain either earth, or any kind of salt, in any quantity which can be sensibly
efficacious in promoting vegetation. The peculiar agency of snow as a fertiliser, in
preference to rain, may be ascribed to its furnishing a covering to the roots of vegetables,
by which they are guarded from the influence of the atmospherical cold, and the
internal heat of the earth is prevented from escaping. The internal parts of the earth
are heated uniformly to the fifty-eighth degree of Fahrenheit's thermometer. This degree
of heat is greater than that in which the watery juices of vegetables freeze, and it is pro-
pagated from the inward parts of the earth to the surface, on which the vegetables grow.
The atmosphere, being variably heated by the action of the sun in different climates, and
in the same climate at different seasons, communicates to the surface of the earth, and to
some distance below it, the degree of heat and cold which prevails in itself. Different ve-
getables are able to preserve life under different degrees of cold, but all of them perish
when the cold which reaches their roots is extreme. Providence has, therefore, in the
coldest climates, provided a covering of snow for the roots of vegetables, by which they are
protected from the influence of the atmospherical cold. The snow keeps in the internal
heat of the earth, which surrounds the roots of vegetables, and defends them from the
cold of the atmosphere.
2311. Ice is water in the solid state, during which the temperature remains constant,
being 32 degrees of the scale of Fahrenheit, Ice is considerably lighter than water,
namely, about one-eighth part ; and this increase of dimensions is acquired with prodi-
gious force, suflScient to burst the strongest iron vessels, and even pieces of artillery.
Congelation takes place much more suddenly than the opposite process of liquefaction ;
and of course, the same quantity of heat must be more rapidly extricated in freezing than
it is absorbed in thawing ; the heat thus extricated being disposed to fly off in all direc-
tions, and little of it being retained by the neighboring bodies, more heat is lost than
is gained by tlie alternation : so that where ice has once been formed, its production is
in this manner redoubled.
2312. The northern ice extends about 9° from the pole ; the southern 18° or 20° ; in
some parts even 30° ; and floating ice has occasionally been found in both hemispheres
as far as 40° from the poles, and sometimes, as it has been said, even in latitude 41° or
42°. Between 54° and 60° south latitude, the snow lies on the ground, at the sea-side,
throughout the summer. The line of perpetual congelation is three miles above the
surface at the equator, where the mean heat is 84° ; at Teneriffe, in latitude 28°, two
miles ; in the latitude of London, a little more than a mile ; and in latitude 80° north,
only 1250 feet. At the pole, according to the analogy deduced by Kirwan, from a
comparison of various observations, the mean temperature should be 31°. In London
the mean temperature is 50° ; at Rome and at Montpellier, a little more than 60° ; in
the island of Madeira, 70° ; and in Jamaica, 80°.
2313. Wind. Were it not for this agitation of the air, putrid effluvia arising from the
habitations of man, and from vegetable substances, besides the exhalations from water,
would soon render it unfit for respiration, and a general mortality would be the conse-
quence. The prevailing winds of our own country, which were ascertained by order of
the Royal Society of London, at London, are,
Winds.
Bays.
112
Winds.
Bays. .
Winds.
Bays.
South-west
West
. 53
South
. 18
North-east
58
South-east
. 32
North .
- 16
North-west .
50
East
. 26
The south wind blows more upon an average in each month of the year than any other,
Winds.
Days.
South-west
. 174
North-west -
40
Book III. OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 355
particularly in July and August ; the north-east prevails during January, March, April,
May, and June, and is most unfrequent in February, July, September, and December ;
the north-west occurring more frequently from November to March, and less so in
September and October than in any other months.
2314. Near Glasgow^ the average is stated as follows : —
Winds. Dam. 1
North-east - - lOl
South-east - . 47
2315. In Irelnnd, the prevailing winds are the west and south-west.
2316. The different degrees of motion of wind next excite our attention ; and it seems
almost superfluous to observe, that it varies in gradations from the gentlest zephyr, which
plays upon the leaves of plants, greatly undulating them, to the furious tempest, calcu-
lated to inspire horror in the breast of the most callous. It is also a remarkable fact,
that violent currents of air pass along, as it were, within a line, without sensibly agitating
that beyond them. An instance of this kind occurred at Edinburgh, where the cele-
brated aeronaut Lunardi ascended in his balloon, which was conveyed with great velo-
city by the wind at the rate of 70 miles an hour, while a perfect calm existed in the city
and neighborhood.
2317. Causes of wind. There are many circumstances attending the operations of the air, which we
term wind, that serve for a basis for well-founded conjectures, and those, united to the result of daily ob-
servation, render the explanation of its phenomena tolerably satisfactory. It must be clear to the most
common capacity, that as the rays of the sun descend perpendicularly on the surface of the earth under
the torrid zone, that part of it must receive a greater proportion of heat than those parts where they fall
obliquely ; the heat thus acquired communicates to the air, which it rarefies, and causes to ascend, and
the vacuum occasioned by this operation is immediately filled by the chill air from the north and south.
The diurnal motion of the earth gradually lessens to the poles from the equator : at that point it moves at
the rate of fifteen geographical miles in a minute : this motion is communicated to the atmosphere in the
same degree ; therefore, if part of it was conveyed instantaneously from latitude 30°, it would not directly
acquire the velocity of that at the equator ; consequently, the ridges of the earth must meet it, and give
it the appearance of an east wind ; the effect is similar upon the cold air proceeding from the north and
south, and this similarity must be admitted to extend to each place particularly heated by the beams of
the sun. The moon, being a large body situated comparatively near the earth, is known to affect the
atmosphere in its revolutions by the pressure of that upon the sea, so as to cause the flux and reflux of it,
which we term tides ; it cannot, therefore, be doubted, that some of the winds we experience are caused
by her motion.
2318. The regular motion qf the atmosphere, known by the name of land arid sea breezes, may be ac-
counted for upon the above principle : the heated rarefied land air rises, and its place is supplied by the
chill damp air from the surface of the sea ; that from the hills in the neighborhood, becoming cold and
dense in the course of the night, descends and presses upon the comparatively lighter air over the sea,
and hence the land breeze. Granting that the attraction of the moon, and the diurnal movement of the
sun afiects our atmosphere, there cannot be a doubt but a westward motion of the air must prevail within
the boundaries of the trade-winds, the consequence of which is an easterly current on each side : from
this, then, it proceeds that south-west winds are so frequent in the western parts of Europe, and over the
Atlantic Ocean. Kirwan attributes our constant south-west winds, particularly during winter, to an oppo-
site current prevailing between the coast of Malabar and the Moluccas at the same period : this, he adds,
must be supplied from regions close to the pole, which must be recruited in its turn from the countries
to the south of it, in the western parts of our hemisphere.
2319. The variable winds cannot be so readily accounted for ; yet it is evident, that though they seem
the effect of capricious causes, they depend upon a regular system, arranged by the great Author of na-
ture. That accurate and successful observer of part of his works, the celebrated Franklin, discovered in
1740, that winds originate at the precise points towards which they blow. This philosopher had hoped to
observe an eclipse of the moon at Philadelphia, but was prevented by a north-east storm, that commenced
at seven in the evening. This he afterwards found did not occur at Boston till eleven ; and upon enquiry,
he had reason to suppose, it passed to the north-east at the rate of about 100 miles an hour. The manner
in which he accounts for this retrograde proceeding, is so satisfactory, that we shall give it in his own
words, particularly as his assertions are supported by recent observations, both in America and Scotland.
He argued thus : — " I suppose a long canal of water, stopped at the end by a gate. The water is at rest
till the gate is opened ; then it begins to move out through the gate, and the water next the gate is put in
motion and moves on towards the gate ; and so on successively, till the water at the head of the canal is in
motion, which it is last of all. In this case all the water moves indeed towards the gate ; but the suc-
cessive times of beginning the motion are in the contrary way, viz. from the gate back to the head of the
canal. Thus to produce a north-east storm, I suppose some great rarefaction of the air in or near the
Gulph of Mexico ; the air rising thence has its place supplied by the next more northern, cooler, and
therefore denser and heavier air ; a successive current is formed, to which our coast and inland mountains
give a north-east direction." According to the observations made by Captain Cook, the north-east winds
prevail in the Northern Pacific Ocean during the same spring months they do with us, from which facts
jt appears the cold air from America and the north of Europe flows at that season into the Pacific and
Atlantic Oceans.
2320. Other descriptions of winds may arise from a variety of causes. As the atmo-
sphere has been ascertained to be composed of air, vapor, and carbonic acid and water, it
is well known these frequently change their aerial form, and combine with different
substances, and the reverse ; consequently partial winds and accumulations must con-
tinually occur, which occasion winds of different degrees of violence, continuance, and
direction.
2321. The principal electrical phenomena of the atmosphere are thunder and lightm'ng.
2322. Thunder is the noise occasioned by the explosion of a flash of lightning passing
through the air : or it is that noise which is excited by a sudden explosion of electrical
clouds, which are therefore called thunder-clouds.
2323. The rattling, in the noise of thunder, which makes it seem as if it passed tlirough arches, is pro-
bably owing to the sound being excited among clouds hanging over one another, and tlie agitated air
passing irregularly between them.
A a 2
556 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
2324. The explosion. If high In the air and remote from us, will do no mischief; but when near, It may,
and has, in a thousand instances, destroyed trees, animals, &c. This proximity, or small distance, may be
estimated nearly by the interval of time between seeing the flash of lightning and hearing the report of the
thunder, estimating the distance after the rate of 114^ feet for a second of time, or 3| seconds to the mile.
Dr. Wallis observes, that commonly the difference between the two is about seven seconds, which at the
rate above-mentioned, gives the distance almost two miles. But sometimes it comes in a second or two,
which argues the explosion very near to us, and even among us. And in such cases, the Doctor assures
us, he has sometimes foretold the mischiefs that happened.
2325. Season of thunder. Although in this country thunder may happen at any time of the year, yet the
months of July and August are those in which it may almost certainly be expected. Its devastations is of
very uncertain continuance ; sometimes only a few peals will be heard at any particular place during the
whole season; at other times the storm will return at the interval of three or four days, for a month, six
weeks, or even longer; not that we have violent thunder in this country directly vertical in any one place
so frequently in any year, but in many seasons it will be perceptible that thunder-clouds are formed in the
neighborhood, even at these short intervals. Hence it appears, that during this particular period, there
must be some natural cause operating for the production of this phenomenon, which does not take place at
other times. This cannot be the mere heat of the weather, for we have often a long tract of hot weather
without any thunder ; and besides, though not common, thunder is sometimes heard in the winter also.
As therefore the heat of the weather is common to the whole summer, whether there be thunder or not,
we must look for the causes of it in those phenomena, whatever they are, which are peculiar to the months of
July, August, and the beginning of September. Now it is generally observed, that from the month of
April, an east, or south-east wind generally takes place, and continues with little interruption till towards
the end of June. At that time, sometimes sooner and sometimes later, a westerly wind takes place ; but
as the causes producing the east wind are not removed, the latter opposes the west wind with its whole
force. At the place of meeting, there is naturally a most vehement pressure of the atmosphere, and friction
of its parts against one another ; a calm ensues, and the vapors brought by both winds begin to collect and
form dark clouds, which can have little motion either way, because they are pressed almost equally on all
sides. For the most part, however, the west wind prevails, and what little motion the clouds have is
towards the east : whence, the common remark in this country, that " thunder-clouds move against the
wind." But this is by no means universally true : for if the west wind happens to be excited by any tem-
porary cause before its natural period when it should take place, the east wind will very frequently get the
better of it; and the clouds, even although thunder is produced, will move westward. Yet in either case
the motion is so slow, that the most superficial observers cannot help taking notice of a considerable resist-
ance in the atmosphere.
2326. Thunderbolts. When lightning acts with extraordinary violence, and breaks or shatters any
thing it is called a thunderbolt, which the vulgar, to fit it for such effects, suppose to be a hard body,
and even a stone. But that we need not to have recourse to a hard solid body to account for the effects
commonly attributed to the thunderbolt, will be evident to any one, who considers those of gunpowder,
and the several chemical fulminating powders, but more especially the astonishing powers of elasticity,
when only collected and employed by human art, and much more when directed and exercised in the course
of nature. "When we consider the known effects of electrical explosions, and those produced by lightning,
we shall be at no loss to account for the extraordinary operations vulgarly ascribed to thunderbolts. As
stones and bricks struck by lightning are often found in a vitrified state, we may reasonably suppose, with
Beccaria, that some stones in the earth, having been struck in this manner, gave occasion to the vulgar
opinion of the thunderbolt.
2327. Thunder-clouds are those clouds which are in a state fit for producing lightning and thunder. The
first appearance of a thunder-storm, which usually happens when there is little or no wind, is one dense
cloud, or more, increasing very fast in size, and rising into the higher regions of the air. The lower sur-
face is black, and nearly level ; but the upper finely arched, and well defined. Many of these clouds often
seem piled upon one another, all arched in the same manner ; but they are continually uniting, swelling,
and extending their arches. At the time of the rising of this cloud, the atmosphere is commonly full of
a great many separate clouds, that are motionless, and of odd whimsical shapes ; all these, upon the appear-
ance of the thunder-cloud, draw towards it, and become more uniform in their shapes as they approach ;
till, coming very near the thunder-cloud, their limbs mutually stretch towards one another, and they
immediately coalesce into one uniform mass. Sometimes the thunder-cloud will swell, and increase
very fast, without the conjunction of any adscititious clouds ; the vapors in the atmosphere forming
themselves into clouds whenever it passes. Some of the adscititious clouds appear like white fringes,
at the skirts of the thunder-cloud, or under the body of it ; but they keep continually growing darker
and darker, as they approach to unite with it. When the thunder-cloud is grown to a great size, its
lower surface is often ragged, particular parts being detached towards the earth, but still connected with
the rest. Sometimes the lower surface swells into various large protuberances, bending uniformly down-
ward ; and sometimes one whole side of the cloud will have an inclination to the earth, and the extre-
mity of it nearly touch the ground. When the eye is under the thunder-cloud, after it is grown large
and well-formed, it is seen to sink lower, and to darken prodigiously ; at the same time that a number of
small adscititious clouds (the origin of which can never be perceived) are seen in a rapid motion, driving
about in very uncertain directions under it. While these clouds are agitated with the most rapid motions,
the rain commonly falls in the greatest plenty ; and if the agitation be exceedingly great, it commonjy
hails.
2328. Lightning. While the thunder-cloud is swelling, and extending its branches
over a large tract of country, the lightning is seen to dart from one part of it to another,
and often to illuminate its whole mass. When the cloud has acquired a sufficient
extent, the lightning strikes between the cloud and the earth, in two opposite places ; the
path of the lightning lying through the whole body of the cloud and its branches. The
longer this lightning continues, the less dense does the cloud become, and the less dark
its appearance ; till at length it breaks in different places, and shows a clear sky. Those
thunder-clouds are sometimes in a positive as well as a negative state of electricity. The
electricity continues longer of the same kind, in proportion as the thunder-cloud is sim-
ple and uniform in its direction ; but when the lightning changes its place, there com-
monly happens a change in the electricity of the apparatus over which the clouds passed.
It changes suddenly after a very violent flash of lightning ; but gradually when the
lightning is moderate, and the progress of the thunder-cloud slow.
2329. Lightning is an electrical explosion or phenomenon. Flashes of lightning are usually seen crooked ,
and waving in the air. They strike the highest and most pointed objects in preference to others, as hills,
trees, spires, masts of ships, &c. ; so all pointed conductors receive and throw off the electric fluid more
readily than those that are terminated by flat surfaces. Lightning is observed to take and follow the
readiest and best conductor ; and the same is the case with electricity in the discharge of the Leyden
phial ; from whence it is inferred, that in a thunder-storm it would be safer to have one's clothes wet than
dry. Lightning burns, dissolves metals, rends some bodies, sometimes strikes persons blind, destroys ani-
Book III. OF THE ATMOSPHERE. S57
mal life, deprives magnets of their virtue, or reverses their poles ; and all these are well known properties
of electricity.
2330. With regard to places of safety in times of thunder and lightning. Dr. Franklin's advice is to sit
in the middle of a room, provided it be not under a metal luetre suspend«l by a chain, sitting on one chair,
and laying the feet on another. It is still better, he says, to bring two or three mattresses or beds into the
middle of the room, and folding them double, to place the chairs upon them; for as they are not so good
conductors as the walls the lightning will not be so likely to pass through them. But the safest place of all
is in a hammock hung by silken cords, at an equal distance from all the sides of the room. Dr. Priestley
observe?, that the place of most perfect safety must be the cellar, and especially the middle of it ; for when
a person is lower than the surface of the earth, the lightning must strike it before it can possibly reach him.
In the fields, the place of safety is within a few yards of a tree, but not quite near it. Beccaria cautions
persons not always to trust too much to the neighborhood of a higher or better conductor than their own
body, since he has repeatedly found that the lightning by no means descends in one undivided track, but
tiiat bodies of various kinds conduct their share of it at the same time, in proportion to their quantity and
conducting power.
Sect. II. Of the Means of jrrogrwsticating the Weather.
2331. The study of atmospherical changes has, in all ages, been more or less attended to
by men engaged in the culture of vegetables, or the pasturage of animals ; and we, in
this country, are surprised at the degree of perfection to which the ancients attained in
this knowledge. But it ought to be recollected, that the study of the weather in the
countries occupied by the ancients, as Egypt, Greece, Italy, and the continent of Europe,
is a very different thing from its study in an island situated like ours. It is easy to foretel
weather in countries where months pass away without rain or clouds, and where some
weeks together, at stated periods, are as certainly seasons of rain or snow. It may be as-
serted with truth, that there is a greater variety of weather in London in one week, than
in Rome, Moscow, or Petersburgh, in three months. It is not, therefore, entirely a
proof of our degeneracy, or the influence of our artificial mode of living, that we cannot
predict the weather with such certainty as the ancients ; but a circumstance rather to be
accounted for from the peculiarities of our situation.
2332. A variable climate, such as ours, admits of being studied, both generally and lo-
cally ; but it is a study which requires habits of observation and reflection like all other
studies ; and to be brought to any useful degree of perfection must be attended to, not as
it commonly is, as a thing bj chance, and which every body knows, or is fit for, but as a
serious undertaking. The weather may be foretold from natural data, artificial data, and
from precedent.
2333. The natural data for this study are, 1. The vegetable kingdom ; many plants
shutting and opening their flowers, contracting or expanding their parts, &c. on ap-
proaching changes in the humidity or temperature of the atmosphere ; 2. The animal
kingdom-; most of which, that are lamiliar to us, exhibiting signs on approaching
changes, of which those by cattle and sheep are more especially remarkable ; and hence
shepherds are generally, of all others, the most correct in their estimate of weather ; 3. The
mineral kingdom ; stones, earths, metals, salts, and water of particular sorts, often show-
ing indications of approaching changes ; 4. Appearances of the atmosphere, the moon^
the general character of seasons, &c. The characters of clouds, the prevalence of parti-
cular winds, and other signs are very commonly attended to.
2334. The influence of the moon on the weather has, in all ages, been believed by the
generality of mankind : the same opinion was embraced by the ancient philosophers ; an4
several eminent philosophers of later times have thought the opinion not unworthy of
notice. Although the moon only acts (as far at least as we can ascertain) on the waters
of the ocean by producing tides, it is nevertheless highly probable, according to the ob-
servations of Lambert, Toaldo, and Cotte, that in consequence of the lunar influence,
great variations do take place in the atmosphere, and consequently in the weather. The
following principles will show the grounds and reasons for their embracing the received
notions on this interesting topic : —
2335. There are ten situations in the moon's orbit when she must particularly exert her influence on the
atmosphere ; and when, consequently, changes of the weather most readily take place. These are, — ■
1. The new, and 2. ihefuM moon, when she exerts her influence in conjunction with, or in opposition to
the sun.
3. and 4. The quadratures, or those aspects of the moon when she is 90° distant from the sun ; or when
she is in the middle point of her orbit, between the points of conjunction and opposition, namely, in the
first and third quarters.
5. The perigee, and 6. The apogee, or those points of the moon's orbit,' in which she is at the least and
greatest distance from the earth.
7. 8. The two passages of the moon over the equator, one of which Toaldo calls, 7. The moon's ascending,
and the other, 8. The moon's descending equinox, or the two lunistices, as De la Lande terms them.
9. The boreal lunistice, when the moon approaches as near as she can in each lunation, (or period
between one new moon and another,) to our zenith (that point in the horizon which is directly over our
heads).
10. The austral lunistice, when she is at the greatest distance from our zenith ; for the action of the
moon varies greatly according to her obliquity. With these ten points Toaldo compared a table of forty-
eight years' observations ; the result is, that the probabilities, that the weather will change at a certain
period of the moon, are in the following proportions : New moon, 6 to 1. First quarter, 5 to 2. Full
moon, 5 to 2. Last quarter, 5 to 4. Perigee, 7 to 1. Apogee, 4 to 1. Ascending equinox, 13 to 4,
Northern lunistice, 11 to 4. Descending equinox, 11 to 4. Southern lunistice, 3 to 1.
2336. That thtr new moon will bring with it a change of weather is in the doctrine of chances as 6 to 1.
Each situation of the moon alters that state of the atmosphere which has been occasioned by the preceding
one : and it seldom happens that any change in the weather takes place without a change in the lunar
Aa 3
35« SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
situations. These situations are combined, on account of the inequality of their revolutions, and the
greatest effect is produced by the union of the syzigies, or the conjunction and opposition of a planet with
the sun, with the apsides, or points in the orbits of planets, in which they are at the greatest and least dis-
tance from the sun or earth. The proportions of their powers to produce variations are as follows : New
moon coinciding with the perigee, 33 to 1. Ditto, with the apogee, 7 to 1. Full moon coinciding with the
perigee, 10 to 1. Ditto, with the apogee, 8 to 1. The combination of these situations generally occasions
storms and tempests ; and this perturbing power will always have the greater effect, the nearer these com-
bined situations are to the moon's passage over the equator, particularly in the months of March and
September. At the new and full moons, in the months of March and September, and even at the solstices,
esi)ecially the winter solstice, the atmosphere assumes a certain character, by which it is distinguished for
three, and sometimes six months. The new moons which produce no change in the weather, are those
that happen at a distance from the apsides. As it is perfectly true that each situation of the moon alters
that state of the atmosphere which has been produced by another, it is, however, observed, that many
situations of the moon are favorable to good and others to bad weather.
2337. The situations of the moon favor able to bad weather are the perigee, new and full moon, passage of
the equator, and the northern lunistice. Those belonging to the former are, the apogee, quadratures,
and the southern lunistice. Changes of the weather seldom take place on the very days of the moon's
situations, but either precede or follow them. It has been found by observation, that the changes
affected by the lunar situations in the six winter months precede, and in the six summer months follow
them.
2338. The octants. Besides the lunar situations to which the above observations refer, attention must be
paid also to the fourth day before new and full moon, which days are called the octants. At these times
the weather is inclined to changes ; and it may be easily seen, that these will follow at the next lunar
situation. Virgil calls this fourth day a very sure prophet If on that day the horns of the moon are
clear and well defined, good weather may be expected ; but if they are dull, and not clearly marked on the
edges, it is a sign that bad weather will ensue. When the weather remains unchanged on the fourth,
fifth, and sixth day of the moon, we may conjecture that it will continue so till full moon, even sometimes
till the next new moon ; and in that case, the lunar situations have only a very weak effect. Many
observers of nature have also remarked, that the approach of the lunar situations is somewhat critical for
the sick. According to Dr. Herschel, the nearer the time of the moon's entrance, at full, change,
or quarters, is to midnight (that is within two hours before and after midnight), the more fair the weather
is in summer, but the nearer to noon the less fair. Also, the moon's entrance, at full, change, or quarters,
during six of the afternoon hours, viz. from four to ten, may be followed by fair weather ; but this is
mostly dependent on the wind. The same entrance during all the hours after midnight, except the two
first, is unfavorable to fair weather ; the like, nearly, may be observed in winter.
2339. The artificial data are the barometer, hygrometer, rain-gauge, and ther-
mometer.
2340. By means of the barometer, Taylor observes, we are enabled to regain, in some
degree at least, that foreknowledge of the weather, which the ancients unquestionably
did possess ; though we know not the data on which they founded their conclusions.
Chaptal considers that the value of the barometer as an indicator of the approaching
weather, is greater than that of the lunar knowledge of the most experienced country-
man, and indeed of all other means put together. (^Agriculture applique h Chimie, ^c.
We shall therefore annex such rules as have hitherto been found most useful in ascer-
taining the changes of the weather, by means of the barometer.
2341. The rising of the mercury presages, in general, fair weather ; and its falling
foul weather, as rain, snow, high winds, and storms.
2342. The sudden falling of the mercury foretels thunder, in very hot weather, especially if the wind
is south.
2343. The rising in winter indicates frost j and in frosty weather, if the mercury falls three or four
divisions, there will follow a thaw : but if it rises in a continued frost, snow may be expected.
2344. When foul weather happens soon after the falling of the mercury it will not be of long duration }
nor are we to expect a continuance of fair weather, when it soon succeeds the rising of the quicksilver.
2345. Jf, in foul weather, the mercury rises considerably, and continues rising for two or three days
before the foul weather is over, a continuance of fair weather may be expected to follow.
2346. When foul weather happens soon after the falling qf the mercury, it will not be of long duration ;
nor are we to expect a continuance of fair weather, when it soon succeeds the rising of the quicksilver.
2347. j(f, in foul weather, the mercury rises considerably, and continues rising for two or three days be-
fore the foul weather is over, a continuance of fair weather may be expected to follow.
2348. In fair weather, when the mercury falls much and low, and continues falling for two or three days
before rain comes, much wet must be expected, and probably high winds.
. 2349. The unsettled motion of the mercury indicates changeable weather.
2350. Respecting the words engraved on the register-plate of the barometer, it may be
observed, that they cannot be strictly relied upon to correspond exactly with the state of
the weather ; though it will in general agree with them as to the mercury rising and
falling. The words deserve to be particularly noticed when the mercury removes from
« changeable' upwards ; as those on the lower part should be adverted to, when the mer-
cury falls from * changeable' downwards. In other cases, they are of no use : for, as its
rising in any part forebodes a tendency to fair, and its falling to foul weather, it
follows that, though it descend in the tube from settled to fair, it may nevertheless
be attended with a little rain, and when it rises from the words * much rain' to * rain' it
shows only an inclination to become fair, though the wet weather may still continue
in a less considerable degree than it was when the mercury began to rise. But if the
mercury, after having fallen to * much rain,' should ascend to ' changeable,' it foretels
fair weather, though of a shorter continuance than if the mercury had risen still
higher ; and so, on the contrary, if the mercury stood at * fair' and descends to * chan-
geable,' it announces foul weather, though not of so long continuance, as if it had
fallen lower.
2351. Concavity of tlie surface of the mercury. Persons who have occasion to travel
much in the winter, and who are doubtful whether it will rain or not, may easily ascer-
Book III. OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 359
tain this point by the following observation : — A few hours before he departs, let the
traveller notice the mercury in the upper part of the tube of the barometer ; if
rain is about to fall, it will be indented, or concave ; if otherwise, convex or pro-
tuberant.
. 2S52. Barometer in spring. Towards the end of March, or more generally in the
beginning of April, the barometer sinks very low, with bad weatlier ; after which, it
seldom falls lower than 29 degrees 5 minutes till the latter end of September or October,
when the quicksilver falls again low, with stormy winds, for then the winter constitution
of the air takes place. From October to April, the great falls of the barometer are from
29 degrees 5 minutes to 28 degrees 5 minutes, and sometimes lower ; whereas during
the summer constitution of the air, the quicksilver seldom falls lower than 29 degrees 5
minutes. It therefore follows that a fall of one tenth of an inch, during the summer,
is as sure an indication of rain, as a fall of between two and three tenths is in the
winter.
2353," Barometer relative to situation. It must, however, be observed, that these
heights of the barometer hold Only in places nearly on a level with the sea ; for expe-
riments have taught us, that for every eighty feet of nearly perpendicular height that the
barometer is placed above the level of the sea, th^ quicksilver sinks one tenth of an inch :
observations alone, therefore, must determine the heights of the quicksilver, which in each
place denotes either fair or foul weather.
2354. The hygrometer is of various sorts, but cord, fiddle-string, and most of the sub-
stances commonly used become sensibly less and less accurate, so as at length not to
undergo any visible alteration from tlie different states of the air, in regard to dryness or
moisture.
2355. A sponge makes a good hygrometer on this account, as being less liable to be
changed by use than cord. To prepare the sponge, first wash it in water, and when dry,
wash it again in water wherein sal ammoniac or salt of tartar has been dissolved ; and let
it dry again. Now, if the air becomes moist, the sponge will grow heavier j and if dry,
it will become lighter.
2356. Oil of vitriol is found to grow sensibly lighter or heavier in proportion to the
lesser or greater quantity of moisture it imbibes from the air. The alteration is so great,
that it has been known to change its weight from three drachms to nine. The other acid
oils, or, as they are usually called, spirits, or oil of tartar per deliquiumy may be substi-
tuted for the oil of vitriol.
2357. Steel-yard hygrometer. In order to make a hygrometer with those bodies which
acquire or lose weight in the air, place such a substance in a scale on the end of a
steel-yard, with a counterpoise which shall keep it in equilibrio in fair weather; the
other end of the steel-yard, rising or falling, and pointing to a graduated index, will
shew the changes.
2358. Line and plummet. If a line be made of good well dried whip cord, and a
plummet be fixed to the end of it, and the whole be hung against a wainscot, and a line
be drawn under it, exactly where the plummet reaches, in very moderate weather it will
be found to rise above such line, and to sink below it when the weather is likely to
become fair.
2359. The whalebone hygrometer, originally invented by De Luc, is esteemed one of
the best now in use.
2360. The rain-gaugCy pluviometer, or hyetometer, is a machine for measuring the
quantity of rain that falls.
2361. A hollow cylinder forms one of the best-constructed rain gauges : it 249
has within it a cork ball attached to a wooden stepi (Jig. 249. ), wliich passes
through a small opening at the top, on which is placed a large funnel. When
this instrument is placed in the open air in a free place, the rain that falls within,
the circumference of the funnel will run down into the tube and cause the cork
to float ; and the quantity of water in the tube may be seen by the height to
which the stem of the float is raised. The stem of tlie float is so graduated, as to
show by its divisions the number of perpendicular inches of water which fell on
the surface of the earth since the last observation. After every observation the
cylinder must be emptied.
2362. A copper funnel forms another very simple rain-gauge : the area of the opening
must be exactly ten square inches. Let this funnel be fixed in a bottle, and the quantity
of rain caught is ascertained by multiplying the weight in ounces by 173, which gives
the depth in inches and parts of an inch.
2363. In fixing these gauges, care must be taken that the rain may have free access
to them ; hence the tops of buildings are usually the best places, though some
conceive that the nearer the rain-gauge is placed to the ground the more rain it will
collect.
Aa 4
300 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
2364. In order to comjxire tlie quantities of rain collected in pluvloineters at diflferent
places, the instruments should ba fixed at the game heights above the ground in all such
places ; because, at different heights, the quantities are always different, even at the same
place.
2365. Thermometer. As the weight of the atmosphere is measured by the barometer,
so the thermometer shows the variations in the temperature of the weather ; for every
change of the weather is attended with a change in the temperature of the air, which a
thermometer placed in the open air will point out, sometimes before any alteration is per-
ceived in the barometer.
2366. The scales of different thermometers are as follow. In Fahrenheit's the freezing point is 32 degrees,
and the boiling point 212 degrees. In Reaumur's tlie freezing point is 0, and the boiling point 80 degrees.
In the centrigrade thermometer, which is generally used in France, and is the same as that of Celsius,
which is the thermometer of Sweden, the freezing point is 0, and the boiling point 100 degrees. As a rule
for comparing or reducing these scales, it may be stated, that 1 degree of Reaumur's scale contains 2^ de-
gress of Fahrenheit, and to convert the degrees of the one to the other, the rule is to multiply by 9, divide
by 34, and add 32. One degree of the centigrade scale is equal to one degree and eight-tenths of Fahren-
heit ; and the rule here is to multiply by 9, divide by 5, and add 32. Any of these thermometers may be
proved by immersing it in pounded ice for the freezing point, and in boihng water for the boiling point, and
if the space between these points is equally divided, the thermometer is correct.
2367. The study of tlie weather from precedent, affords useful hints as to the character
of approaching seasons. From observing the general character of seasons for a long
period, certain general results may be deduced. On this principle, Kirwan, on com-
paring a number of observations taken in England from 1677 {Trans. Ir. Acad. v. 20.)
to 1789, a period of 1 12 years, found :
That when there has been no storm before or after the vernal equinox, the ensuing summer is generally
drv, at least five times in six.
That when a storm happens from an easterly point, either on the 19th, 20th, or Slst of May, the suc-
ceeding summer is generally dry, at least four times in five.
That when a storm arises on the 25th, 26th, or 2^th of March, and not before in any point, the succeed-
ing summer is generally dry, four times in five.
If there be a storm at S. W. or W. S. W. on the 19th, 20tli, 21st, or 22d of March, the succeeding sum-
mer is generally wet, five times in six.
In this country winters and springs, if dry, are most commonly cold; if moist, warm : on the contrary,
dry summers and autumns are usually hot, and moist summers cold ; so that, if we know the moistness
or dryness of a season, we can form a tolerably accurate judgment of its temperature. In this country
also, it generally rains less in March than in November, in the proportion at a medium of 7 to 12. It
generally rains less in April than October, in the proportion of 1 to 2, nearly at a medium. It generally
rains less in May than September ; the chances that it does so, are, at least, 4 to 3 ; but, when it rains
plentifully in May, as 18 inches or more, it generally rains but little in September; and when it rains
one inch, or less, in May, it rains plentifully in September.
2368. The probabilities ofparticvlar seasons beingfollowed by others, has been calculated
by Kirwan, and although his rules chiefly relate to the climate of Ireland, yet as there
exists but little difference between that island and Great Britain, in the general appear-
ance of the seasons, we shall mention some of his conclusions.
In forty-one years there were six wet springs, 22 dry, and 13 variable ; 20 wet summers, 16 dry and
5 variable ; 11 wet autumns, 11 dry, and 19 variable.
A season is accounted wet, when it contains two wet months. In general, the quantity of rain, which
falls in dry seasons, is less than five inches, in wet seasons more ; variable seasons are those, in which
there falls between 30 lbs. and 36 lbs,, a pound being equal to 157639 of an inch.
January is the coldest month in every latitude ; and July is the warmest month in all latitudes above
48 degrees : in lower latitudes, August is generally the warmest. The diflTerence between the hottest
and coldest months increases in proportion to the distance from the equator. Every habitable latitude
enjoys a mean heat of 60 degrees for at least two months ; which heat is necessary for the production of
cora
Sect. III. Of the Climate of Britain,
2369. Tlie climate of the British isles, relatively to others in the same latitude, is tem-
perate, humid, and variable. The moderation of its temperature and its humidity are
owing to our being surrounded by water, which being less affected by the sun than the
earth, imbibes less heat in summer, and from its fluidity is less easily cooled in winter.
As the sea on our coasts never freezes, its temperature must always be above 33° or
34° ; and hence, when air from the polar regions at a much lower temperature passes
over it, that air must be in some degree heated by the radiation of the water. On the
other hand, in summer, the warm currents of air from the south necessarily give out
part of their heat in passing over a surface so much lower in temperature. The vari-
able nature of our climate is chiefly owing to the unequal breadths of watery surface
which surround us ; on one side, a channel of a few leagues in breadth ; on the other,
the Atlantic ocean.
2370. IVie British climate varies materially vdthin itself: some districts are dry, as the
east ; others moist, as the west coast ; in the northern extremity, dry, cold, and windy ;
in the south, warm and moist. Even in moist districts some spots are excessively dry,
as part of Wigtonshire, from the influence of the Isle of Man, in warding off the
watery clouds of the Atlantic ; and, in dry districts, some spots are moist, from the
influence of high mountains in attracting and condensing clouds charged with watery
vapor.
Book IV, IMPLEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE. S61
2371. The deterioration of the British climate is an idea entertained by some; but
whether in regard to general regularity, temperature, moisture, or wind, the alleged
changes are unsupported by satisfactory proofs. It is not improbable but the humidity
of our climate, as Williams alleges (Climate of Britain, &c. 1816J, has of late years
been increased by the increase of evaporating surface, produced by the multiplicity of
hedges and plantations ; a surface covered with leaves being found to evaporate con-
siderably more than a naked surface. If the humidity of the climate was greater
before the drainage of morasses and the eradication of forests for agricultural purposes,
a comparative return to the same state by artificial planting and irrigation, must have a-
tendency to produce the same results. However, it will be long before the irrigation of
lands is carried to such a degree as to produce the insalubrious effects of undrained
morasses ; and as to our woods and hedges, we must console ourselves with the beauty
and the shelter which they produce, for the increase of vapor supposed to proceed from
them.
BOOK IV.
OF THE MECHANICAL AGENTS EMPLOYED IN AGRICULTURE.
2372. Having taken a view of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, as supplying the
subjects of agricultural improvement, and of the mineral kingdom, manures, and the
weather, as the natural agents of their growth and culture ; our next course is to ex-
amine the mechanical agents, or implements, machines, and buildings employed in
agricultural operations. In a rude state of husbandry few implements are required be-
sides the plough and the cart, and few buildings beside the stable and the barn. The
ground is ploughed, and the seed thrown in and covered with a bush ; at harvest it is
cut down and carted to the barn ; and the three grand operations of the farmer are
sowing, reaping, and thrashing. But in our improved state of society, where all the
science of mechanics as well as chemistry, is made to bear on agriculture, the imple-
ments, machines, and buildings become numerous, and equally so the operations. Sa
numerous are the former, indeed, that the theoretical enquirer is often puzzled in mak-
ing a selection. The wbole of the most improved agriculture, however, may be, and in
fact is, carried on with a very limited variety both of implements and buildings : intricate
and complicated machines are not adapted for a rustic art like agriculture, and a great
variety are not required for an art whose operations are so simple as almost to be uni-
versally understood and practised. In our enumeration we shall include a number that
we do not consider of much consequence ; but we shall always distinguish between the
essential, and such as are comparatively objects of superfluous ingenuity and expense.
We shall adopt the or^er of Implements of Manual Labor, Implements or Machines
impelled by quadrupeds or other powers, Structures, and Buildings.
Chap. I.
Of the Implements of Manual Labor used in Agriculture*
2373. Though the most important implements of agriculture are drawn or put in
action by beasts of labor, yet a few are used bi/ man alone, which cannot be dispensed
with. These may be arranged as tools, or simple implements for performing operations
on the soil ; instruments for performing operations on plants or animals, or other more
delicate operations ; utensils for the deportation of materials ; and hand machines for
various purposes.
Sect. I. Tools used in Agriculture.
2374. The lever is an inflexible straight bar of iron or wood, employed in connection
with a prop or fulcrum, on which it is supported. There are three kinds, but the most
common is that in which the fulcrum is between the power and the weight. Its use in the
removal of large stones or other heavy bodies is well known, and the advantage of its
application depends on the distance of the power from the fulcrum, and the proximity of
the weight.
2375. The pick or mattock consists of two parts, the handle, which ought to be
formed of sound ash timber or oak, such as is obtained from the root or butt end of a
middle aged tree j and the head, which should be formed of the best iron and pointed,,
362 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pa^t II.
with steel. The handle ought to be perfectly cylindrical, as in using it one hand slides
along it from the end next the operator towards the head. There are several varieties ;
ttie first the pick, with the ends of the head pointed, used for loosening hard ground,
gravel, &c. ; the second, the pick axe, with the ends wedge-shaped in reversed positions,
used in digging up trees ; the third, the grubber, for grubbing up heath or small brush-
wood ; and there are also the road pick, and some others.
2376. The spade consists of two parts, the handle of ash, generally ^out two feet
nine inches long, and the blade of plate iron. There are several varieties; K with a
curved outline to the extremity of the blade, by which it may be made to enter a stiff
soil with less power ; 2. with a perforated blade, which in adhesive soils frees itself better
from earth in the using ; 3. witli a sub-semicylindrical blade, which enters a stiff soil
easier than the common form, is much stronger as a lever, and also frees itself well from
tlje spitful of earth : this variety is what canal diggers chiefly use, and is called by them
a grafting tool. There are other varieties and subvarieties used in draining, and for
particular purposes ; which will be noticed at the proper place.
2377. The shovel differs from the spade in being made with a broader and thinner
blade ; its use being to lift, rather than cut and separate. There are several varieties
differing in the form and magnitude of the blade. One variety, the barn shovel, has the
blade generally of wood, sometimes edged with iron.
2378. The turf-spade consists of a cordate or scutiform blade, joined to a handle by a
kneed or bent iron shank. It is used for cutting turf from pastures, and in removing
ant-hills and other inequalities. A thin section is first removed, then the protuberance
of earth is taken out and the section replaced,
which, cut thin, and especially on the edges,
readily refits ; and the operation is finished with
gentle pressure by the foot, back of the spade,
or roller. One variety {Jig. 250. ) has one edge
turned up, and is preferable where the turfs are
to be cut square-edged and somewhat thick.
2379. The fork is of several kinds ; the dung-fork for working in littery dung, con-
sisting of a handle like that of the shovel, and three or more prongs instead of a blade ;
the hay or pitch-fork, for working with sheaves of corn or straw or hay, consisting of a
long handle and two prongs ; and the wooden fork consisting of a shoot of willow, ash,
or other young tree or sapling, forked at the extremity, barked and formed into a rude
fork, sometimes used in hay-making, and similar operations. The prongs of forks to
take up loose materials should be made square ; those for sheaves or more compact mat-
ters or very littery dung, will work easiest when the prongs are round.
2380. The rake used in agriculture is of two kinds, the hay-rake and the corn-rake.
Both consist of a handle and head set with teeth ; in the corn rake these are generally of
iron. The garden-rake is sometimes used for covering small seeds.
2381. The hay-rake is usually made of willow that it may be light and easy to work ;
and the teeth should be short, otherwise they are apt to pull up the stubble or roots of
the grass in raking. Sometimes the teeth are made to screw into the head, and fasten
with nuts, w^hich prevents their dropping out in dry seasons,
2382. The corn-rake {Jig. 251.) is of different
dimensions and constructions in different counties.
In general the length of the rake is about four
feet ; and the teeth of iron about four inches
long, and set from one to two inches apart.
Young {Report of Norfolk) mentions one of these
dimensions which had two wheels of nine inches
diameter, and so fixed that the teeth may be kept
in any posture at the will of the holder. It was
used both for hay and com, and answered the
purpose well.
2383. In East Lothian a corn-rake has been
tried, which according to Somerville {Survet/,&c.)
has been found to answer much better than the
common corn rake. In this, the length of the head*^—— 77^— ••-•-- — — -^^^^^
is from ten to fifteen feet, the handle about seven feet, with a piece of wood across the
end of it, by which it is drawn by two men. The teeth are of wood or iron, the
last are the best, as well as the most durable, and are a little bent forward at the
point, which gives them the power of retaining and carrying the ears along with
them much better than they would otherwise do. To make clean work, especially if
the ridges are rounded, the field is raked across ; in that way every thing is taken
up ; but when it is preferred to draw the rake in the direction of the ridges, it may be
tonsiderably improved by cutting the head into two or three lengths {Jig. 252.) j and join-
Book IV. IMPLEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE. 363
ing them with hinges, which will allow it to bend
and accommodate itself to the curvature of the
ridges. The advantage of this kind of rake has
been found considerable, even in cases where
every possible attention has been paid to the cut-
ting of the crop.
2384. Tlie stubble^ or dew rake, is merely a
coarser sort of corn rake.
2385. The daisey rake, has teeth sharpened on
both edges like lancets, and is used for raking oft*
the flower heads or buds of daiseys, and other
plants in grass lawns.
2386. The drill rake is a large headed rake, in
which the teeth are triangular, in section like small
coulters ; they are set at six or twelve inchesa
distance, according to circumstances, and the
implement is used to draw drills across beds or
ridges, for sowing field crops of small seedfe or roots, such as onions, early turnips^
carrots, &c. or for planting saffron or Indian corn.
2387. The dung drag, or dung hack, is a two or three pronged implement, with a long
handle for drawing the dung out of carts in different portions. The form of the prongs
should be flat.
2388. The earth hack resembles a large hoe, and is used for emptying loads of earth or
lime, or other pulverulent matters, in the same manner as the dung drag is used for em-
ptying dung ; it is sometimes also used as a hoe, and for scraping and cleaning.
2389. The hand hoe, commonly used in agriculture, is of two kinds ; that with an
entire and that vvith a perforated blade. The last variety is preferable for thinning crops
or destroying weeds, as it does not collect the soil and the weeds together in heaps ; but
where earthing up is the object, the common square blade is the best. The breadth of
the blade may vary from two to twelve inches, according as the soil is adhesive or loose,
or the plants to be thinned to a greater or lesser distance. An improvement for hoes to
be used in stirring stiff" soils, consists in forming the blade with a prong or prongs on
the opposite side of the broad blade, which can be used in very stiff" places to loosen them,
by the operator's merely altering the position of the handle. The blades of all hoes enter
the soil easier when curved than when straight, the wedge in the former case being narrower.
2390. Various improvements in hoes have been
attempted by agriculturists. One with a trian- dy^ ^Jh,^ ^^^ "^f
gular blade has been recommended as adapted ^T' "y( /Jt~VrziL
to thin either at a greater or lesser distance, ac- ^— ^ ^-^ ^r^v^\±n^
cording to the depth it is thrust into the soil.
Lord Somerville recommends the forked tool
{jig. 253 a.) or heavy hoe, used in the vineyards on
the continent; but it is an implement more op-
pressive to the cultivator than a spade, as it requires him to stoop very low. Ducket, jun.
recommends a treble hoe (6) for thinning ; another of a different description (c) for
making drills by drawing ; one for making them by striking in a line, in order to form
a trench for dung and potatoes {f) ; one for forming a drill in the common way (e) ;
and, lastly, one for hoeing both sides of a drill at once (rfj. It is said that by this last
tool two acres of barley may be hoed in a day, and that it makes good work among
oats or wheat. But such hoeing, even on the slightest soils, can be little more than a
mere scraping of the surface j and though the weeds may be cut, yet this is only one
object of hoeing.
2391. The breast hoe, or breast plough, which is pushed before the operator like
the thrust hoe of gardening ; and M'Dougal's hoe, which is drawn by a man before,
and pushed by another behind, witli other varieties, need not be described.
2392. The scraper may be described as a broad hoe, of treble the usual size and
strength, used in cleaning roads or court-yards, and sometimes in cleaning grassy
surfaces. One with the ends of the blade turned an inch or two, is found more
effective in scraping the mud or dust from roads.
2393. Of weeding tools used in agriculture there are three or four kinds ; one with a
long handle and fulcrum to the blade, for digging docks and other tap rooted plants from
pastures ; a common spud or spadelet for cutting smaller weeds in hedges or standing
corn ; a thistle spud for cutting and rooting out thistles in pastures ; besides short handled
weeders of different kinds, to be used in hand-weeding young and delicate broad cast
crops, as onions, &c. in stiff" soils.
2394. Weeding pincers, or thistle drawers, (fig. 254.) are sometimes used for pulling
thistles out of hedges and from among standing corn ; the handles are about two feet six
364
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
inches long, and the blades faced with plate iron made rough by
cross channels or indentations.
2395. The besoms used in farming are commonly small fag-
gots with handles, formed of birch spray for the stal)les and cattle-
houses, and of broom, heath, straw, &c. for the barns.
2396. The straw rope twister or twisting crook, is used for
twisting straw ropes, and consists of a stick or rod from two to three
feet long, and from one to two inches diameter, either naturally
or artificially crooked. At one end is a ring through which a cord
is, passed, and the implement tied to the waist ; at the other is a^
notch on which the commencement of the rope is made.
2397. The jmtatoe dibber is exclusively used in planting potatoes
in fine moulds ; but drilling is a mode generally to be preferred,
as providing a better bed and a closer covering to the sets.
2398. The common dibber u?,eA. in agriculture, has several teeth or dibbles proceeding
from a head, which having a handle, is pressed into the ground, and forms several holes
at once, according to the number of dibbles, and these are regulated by the hardness of
the soil. In strong clays the common garden dibber, shod with iron, is often used.
2399. The Jlail is a well known implement for beating out corn, now happily going
out of use in the most improved districts, as it would every where, were the value of the
hand threshing machine generally known.
2400. The essential agricultural tools are the pick, the spade, shovel, dung and hay-
fork, hay-rake, common hand hoe, and besom.
Sect. II. Instruments.
2401. The instruments used in agriculture maybe classed as the common and the
scientific ; the former are used in executing, the latter chiefly in designing and laying
out operations.
SuBSECT. 1. Instruments of Labor.
2402. The instruments of labor peculiar to agriculture are few, and chiefly the scythe,
reaping hook, and hay knife ; but there are some others common to agriculture
and gardening, which are occasionally used, and they also shall be enumerated.
2403. The scythe is of three kinds ; one for cutting grass or herbage crops for hay,
which consists of a thin steel blade attached at right angles to a handle of six or eight feet
long; and the other for cutting corn, to which what is called a cradle is attached;
the third is of smaller dimensions, and is exclusively used for cutting corn ; it is called
the Hainault scythe.
2404. The Hainault scythe (fig. 255.) has a wooden handle an inch and a quarter in diameter, and is held
in the mower's right hand by the bent part (a, b) about five inches long. The ^
straight part of the handle(c) is from 16 to 22 inches long, according to the height ^
of the mower. There is a leathern loop (6) through which the fore finger is
passed, and there is a knob (a) at the extremity, which would prevent the
hand slipping off, if the loop should break, or the finger slip out of it. The
blade (d) is about 2 feet long, and 2f inches broad at the middle. The handle
is attached to the blade in such a manner, as that its plane makes an angle
with that of the latter, by which means the mower is able to cut a little
upwards, but almost close to the ground without stooping, while the handle
inclines to the horizon about 60 or 70 degrees. The line of the crooked part
of the handle (a, b) if produced, would nearly pass through the point of the
blade, which thus gives the means of controUing that point ; whilst the fore
finger in the loop commands the heel {e). Along with the scythe a light staff
(/>^)» terminating in an iron hook (A), is used by the mower. With the scythe
in his right hand, he holds the hook in his left by the middle, the curved
part of it over the scythe in a similar position to its blade, and above it,
their points being exactly above each other. In working, the mower moves ^
both together, making the hook to pass behind the straw at about the mid-
dle of its height, to separate and press it slightly down towards the left hand,
while the blade follows with a motion from right to left to cut off the straw
at from two to four inches above the ground. A great advantage of this im-
plement is, that the operator is not required to stoop, by which his strength is
less fflchausted, and he is said to cut double the quantity of corn which can
be cut in the same time with the reaping-hook, and with less loss of straw.
2405. The cradle scytlie (Jig.256. ) is variously constructed :
sometimes the cradle or receptacle into which the corn is
gathered is of net-work, and at other times it consists of
woven laths or wicker work. (See 398.)
2406. The reaping hook is a curved blade of steel, fixed in
a short wooden handle ; it is of two kinds ; one serrated like
a fine saw, which is used in cutting corn by handfulls, and
is called a sickle hook ; the other smooth and sharp like a
scythe, which is used to hack the corn over in the peculiar
manner called bagging, and is called a cutting hook.
2407. Hutton^s improved reaping hook is serrated from the
point through half its length like a sickle, and the remainder
The advantage is, that the straws are not cut in entering the hook,
is smooth and sharp.
Book IV. IMPLEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE. 365
as is the case where tlie point is of the cutting kind, by which means fewer drop and are
lost. With sickles reapers invariably make cleaner work than with the hooks for the
above reason ; with hooks the straws are cut with less labor. ( Trans. Soc. Arts. vol. 28. )
2408. The hay knife consists of a straight blade set at right angles to a short wooden
handle ; both of considerable strength. It is used for cutting hay or straw when con-
solidated in the rick or stack. An improvement of this instrument has been proposed,
which consists in forming the blade like that of a common spade, sharp at the edges, by
which the operator will cut downwards instead of obliquely, and not being obliged to
stoop, will effect the same work with far less trouble.
2409. The wool shears are formed wholly of iron or steel, and worked with one hand.
2410. The hedge shears are of different kinds ; that called the averuncator is to be
preferred for cutting off large shoots, as it makes a clean draw cut like a knife. Shears,
however, are. not used in dressing hedges by the best agriculturists.
2411. The thatching knife consists of a blade similar to that of a scythe, inserted in a
wooden handle like that of a reaping hook. For thatching with reeds, heath, or any
rough and rigid thatch, the blade has a handle affixed to each end to enable the operator
to work it with both hands.
2412. The stack -borer consists of a species, of auger, the cutting part of which is of
very sharp steel, and the stem eight or ten feet long, with a moveable cross handle for
working it. There is also a screw similar to a common bottle screw, which works on or
round the stem of the augur, and is applied at intervals to draw out the cut hay. This
instrument is used by extensive growers of meadow or natural hay to bore holes through
hay ricks when they heat, or to try the quality of the article. The hole made by iJhe
augur is about one foot in diameter.
2413. The hedge bill is of various kinds; most of them have long handles, but what
are called bill-hooks, are a sort of axe with a hooked point and a short handle.
2414. The axe, saw, wedges and hammers, of different kinds and sizes, are used in
agriculture, in felling trees, cutting them up, preparing fuel, driving nails, &c., but
these and other instruments common to various arts need not be described.
2415. Blacklegs improved hatchet and bill-hooks for cutting underwood, faggoting, and
gapstopping, are superior instruments for these purposes. The long handled Berwickshire
hedge-bill for dressing hedges, and the long handled saw for cutting off large branches
of trees, are preferred for cutting over old hedges and undergrowths by the collar.
241 6. The line and reel is occasionally wanted for the manual operations of agriculture,
and should be procured rather stronger and with a longer line than those used in gardens.
2417. The potatoe setscoop is of two kinds ; ^_
one a hollow semiglobe, {Jig. 257 a. ), and
the other (6) a section of that figure.
They are only used when potatoes are very
scarce, as in ordinary cases the larger the set
the more strength and rapidity of growth in
tlie young plant,
2418. The Edinburgh potatoe scoop {Jig. 258.) is by far the best, and indeed the only one deserving of
use. The handle (a) has a round stem
which passes through a piece of metal
(d) and has there a semicircular knife
or cutter {e) fixed to it. This cutter is
sharp on both edges and turns on a
pivot fitted in a ;piece of brass formed
out of a piece of plate {b, c). This
plate forms a shield to hold this instru-
ment firm upon the potatoe, by placing
the thumb of the left hand upon it, and
pressing the points in which the cutter
13 fixed, into the tuber. Then by turning the handle half round with the right hand, the semicircular knife
cuts out a set which is a segment of a small sphere {e,f, g). The only attention necessary in the use of this
instrument is, that it is placed upon the potatoe, with the eye or bud in the centre of the diameter of the
semicircle of the knife when laid flat on the tuber. The advantages of this scoop, besides that it is very quick
in its operation, is that the pieces being aU exactly of one size, that is about an inch in diameter, may be
pbnted by a bean barrow or drill machine, with much less labor and more accuracy than by the hand.
2419. The essential instruments of labor are the scythe, reaping hook, hay-knife,,
wool-shears, hedge-bill, axe, saw, hammer, and line and reel.
SuBSECT. 2. Instruments of Science.
2420. Scientific instrumejits are not much required in agriculture, the principal are
for levelling, boring, and measuring.
2421. The levelis fTequent]y required in agriculture, for arranging surfaces for irri-
gation ; tracing strata in order to cut off springs, well making, and a variety of other
purposes. The simplest form is the common road or mason's level, and the most com-
plete the spirit level, with a telescope and compass, such as is used by land surveyors ; but
when operations of only moderate extent are to be performed, very convenient and
economical substitutes, and if used with care, equally accurate instruments, may be
36Q
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
found iH the road or common levels (f^. 259.), water level, the triangular and the
square level.
259
S=4.
2422. The ivater level is that which shews the horizontal line by means of a surface of
water or other fluid ; founded on this principle, that water always places itself level or
horizontal. The most simple level of this kind is made of a long wooden trough or
canal, which being equally filled with water, its surface shews the line of level. It is also
made with two cups, fitted to the two ends of a straight tube, about an inch in diameter,
and three or four feet long, by means of which the water communicates from the one cup
to the o>;her, and this pipe being moveable on its stand by means of a ball and socket,
when the two cups shew equally full of water, their two surfaces mark the line of level.
It may also be made with two short cylinders of glass, three or four inches long, fastened
at each extremity of the pipe with wax or mastic. The pipe is filled with common or
colored water, which shews itself through the cylinders, by means of which the line of
level is determined ; the height of the water with respect to the centre of the earth, being
always the same in both cylinders. This level is very simple and commodious for level-
ling small distances.
2423. 7%e American or triangular level {fig. 260 a.) is formed of two pieces of thin wood joined by a cross bar,
the whole in the form of the letter A. The manner of using it is simply thus : At the place from where the
level is to be taken, drive a wooden peg into the ground, close in to the top, upon which one of the legs of the
frame or A may rest ; then bringing round the other leg till it touch the ground, there drive in a second peg,
turning round the other leg as before ; and where it touches the ground again, drive in another peg, and so
on along the whole line to be levelled. Thus, with very little trouble, and with as much accuracy as with tlie
finest spirit-level, may the course of a drain be easily ascertained. But as it is necessary that a drain
should have as much declivity as to allow the water to run freely, it will be requisite, in taking the level,
to regulate the direction of the line accordingly. Half an inch fall, in the length of the frame, will be
sufficient For this purpose, it will be expedient to have, besides a number of wooden pegs, one iron pin
with inches and halves marked regularly upon the sides of it from the top downwards. After having drove
in the first wooden peg at the point from whence you mean to conduct the drain, and having rested the one
leg of the frame upon it, turn round the other till it be level with the first peg ; there put in the iron pin,
80 that this leg of the frame may rest on the top of it, when level ; then drive in a wooden peg so far, as
that the top of it may be half an inch lower than that of the iron pin. Place the leg of the frame again
upon this second peg, turn it round to a level, putting in the iron pin till the top of it be equal with the
foot of the frame ; then drive in another wooden peg close by the side of it, till the top of the wooden one
be half an inch lower than that of the iron pin. Proceed in this manner so far as you mean to carry the
drain, which will have the same degree of declivity all the way along. When made on a smaller scale,
it is useful in ascertaining the proper descent along the bottom of a drain, while the workmen are laying
it ; but when made for this purpose, the cross-bar must be fixed to the bottom of the legs, so that the A be-
comes a A, or delta.
2424. The square level (Jig. 260b.), is made of several pieces; the usual length
generally five feet and a half, and the ogQ
height four or four feet and a half. It
may be either used like the water level,
or the American level. According to
Marshal, it has been found " preferable
to any other level now in use, as being
equally accurate in ascertaining the re-
lative heights of distant objects, as in
minutely tracing step by step the required
line of communication, so as to give every
part of it an equal and uniform descent."
2425. T/ie object staff {Jig, 260 c.) is used with the water or square level : for either
it should be exactly of the same height as the leVel ; the cross piece at top should be a
foot or more in length, and three inches broad, painted white on one side for opposing to
dark objects, and black on the other for opposing to such as are white.
2426. The levelling staff is composed of two pieces, {Jig. 260 d, h, and e, e), which slide
on each other : they are each of about five feet in length, so as to form, when fully extend-
ed, a rod often feet. They have a graduated line of feet into hundredth parts. The
index (/) slides firmly on them; and is moved up or down (by signal) by the attendant
who carries the staff, till the observer finds it coincide with the intersecting wires of his
telescope. Its height on the staff, of course, marks the difference of the level. It has
two horizontal and parallel black stripes, which at considerable distances are of use to
direct the eye more readily to tlie fiducial edge (g).
Book IV.
IMPLEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE.
S67
/V
2427. The meamring^chain, measuring-rod, pocket. rvie, Vo\^ ^°'. /trlnTS
lines ; stakes for driving in at fixed points, and a variety of other mstruments, and the r
append^es are occasionally required l,y the agriculturist who lays out estates or effects
territorial improvements : but these not being strictly agricultural implemente do not re-
quire to be described. ^
2428. T/ie Sorer (^g. 261.) is an Instrument mvented tor CA ^
the purpose of searching or exploring the nature of soils. ^ J]!. ^^ d^c
It is composed of two rods of iron (a,/, and h,g\ each six -
feet long, and an inch in diameter. The end of one screws
into the end of the other, after taking out the stopper (c),
the use of which is to hinder either dirt or dust from
getting into the screw. The screw is an inch and a half
long, and three quarters of an inch in diameter: there is a
steel point somewhat blunt (/ ) , to pierce the earth or any
substance it may meet with. It should be about three
inches long, and made with either three, four, or more
sides, as may be thought most convenient. It is screwed
into the rod (a) in the same manner, and with, a screw of
the same size as is used in screwing the rods together. It
has a groove six inches long, a third of an inch wide, and
three quarters of an inch deep, rounded in the bottom, and
intended to bring up part of each different layer through
which it passes. When springs are sought for, a bit of
sponge is put into the groove. At the end of the rod (g),
is a screw to fix into another rod of the same kind, if it be
found necessary to lengthen the instrument ; and this may be repeated, by the addition
of more rods, to any depth desired. The handle of this instrument (/t, i), is two feet and
a half long : this handle is fastened to the rod by means of a clasp ik, 1} lined with steel,
fixed at one end by a hinge, and at the other by a screw (J), so that it may be placed at
any height. A lever handle {m) serves to stop the borer when bringing it up from a
considerable depth, and also to screw and unscrew the several bars or joints as occasion
requires, and to put on or take off the steel point at the bottom. The other handle (i, h)
is that by which the rod is held, and worked into the earth, either by turning it round,
especially at first, or, after it has penetrated to some depth, by lifting it up, and letting
it fall again, which it does with such force as to pierce even the hardest rocks ; especially
if it work at any considerable depth, and has of course been lengthened accordingly ; for
every foot of this rod weighs three pounds. Two men will easily sound the depth of
twelve feet in less than a quarter of an hour, if they do not meet with many stones. When
the rod becomes too heavy to be properly managed by hand, it may be raised by a rope
fastened at one end to the handle, and at the other to a roller, or kind of windlass, erected
at a proper height, perpendicularly over the hole, and turned with either one or two handles :
when let go, it will fall with such weight as to strike each time very deep into the earth.
2429. For making 'this instrument, the toughest iron is the best : it should be well
hammered, till its surface is quite smooth and even ; for the least roughness and inequality
would occasion a friction, which would greatly retard its working. For the same reason,
and also to increase the force of its fall, it is necessary that it should be perfectly straight ;
wor should it ever be struck with a mallet, hammer, &c. to force it down, because a blow
might bend it, and it would easily break aftervi^ards. The female screw must be turned
like that in the breech of a gun-barrel, in a separate piece of iron, cross- ways to the
grain ; and this piece must be afterwards well soldered on to one of the ends of the rod.
The reason for this is, that if the female screw were bored only at the end of the rod, it would,
by being hammered out in the same direction with the grain, be stringy and porous, and
consequently so weak as to give way, or burst, in the working of the rod ; whereas, when
made of a separate piece, taken cross-ways of the grain, the threads of the screw will run
with the grain of the iron, and be thence considerably strengthened. A bit, like that of an
auger, proportioned to the thickness of the rod, may at any time, when necessary, 262
l)e substituted instead of the steel point, to draw up a sample of the substance from
the very bottom of the sounding. If the only thing wanted be to know the na-
ture of the under soil and layers of earth, so far as they may effect the vegetation
of plants, it will be quite suflScient to bore eight or ten feet deep. A greater
depth is only requisite when water, marl, ore, &c. is sought for.
2430. The peat-borer {Jig. 262.), is a larger sort of borer, employed in peaty
soils that are boggy, for the purpose of removing wetness. It has been used
with advantage in some peat-mosses in Lancashire, by Eccleston.
2431. The draining auger, blasting auger, timber measurer, and other scientific
instruments, not in general use in agriculture, will be best described in treating of
the departments in which they are applied.
368 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part 11.
2432. The ordy essential scientific instrument, is the common level, which may be
wanted to level drains, and water furrows, adjust the surface of roads, &c.
Sect. III. Utensils used in Agriculture.
2433. The principal agricultural utensils are sieves, baskets, corn- measures, and
sacks.
2434. Sieves are textures of basket work, wire, gut, or hair stretched on a broad wooden
hoop. Sometimes also they are formed of skins or plate iron pierced with holes, and so
stretched. They are used for separating corn, or other seeds from dust or other extra-
neous matters. There are different varieties for wheat, beans, oats, rape seed, &c.
2435. The corn-screen (Jig. 263.), is a frame filled in with 263
wires, so set as to aHow dust and seeds smaller than corn to
pass through it. It is chiefly used in granaries to free corn
from the weevil.
2436. Baskets are made of wicker work of different
shapes, but generally forming some section of a globose
figure : they vary much in size ; those in most general use
in agriculture, are from twenty inches to two feet diameter,
and are used for carrying roots, chaff, cut straw, &c. from one place to another in the
farmery. 264
2437. The seed carrier, or seed basket, (Jig. 264. ) is sometimes made of
thin veneers of wood, bent into an irregular oval with a hollow to fit the '
seedsman's side, and a strap to pass over his head, and rest on his shoulder.
In some places, a linen bag of a shape adapted to be borne by the right
shoulder, and suspend the seed under the left arm, is used for the same
4)urpose.
2438. The feeding tub or trough, may be of any shape and size ; it is used for giving
short or liquid food to swine, sheep, and other live stock.
2439. The pail is used for carrying water^ or other liquid food.
2440. The turnip tray, is a shallow moveable trough, or box, used to prevent waste
when sheep are fed upon turnips.
2441. Tfie com bin, or corn chest, for containing oats or other grain for horses, may
be an oblong box of any convenient size. Sometimes it is placed in the loft over the
stable, and the corn is drawn out by a hopper below ; but for a farm stable this is need-
less trouble : there it is commonly placed in the broad passage behind the horses, or in
any spare corner. It should be stout, and have good hinges, and a safe lock and key.
2442. The Jlexible tube for relieving cattle that are hoven or choaked, consists of a
strong leathern tube about four feet long and about half an inch in diameter, with a
leaden nozzle pierced with holes at the insertion end. It should be kept in every far-
mery. There is a similar one, on a smaller scale, for sheep, which should be kept by all
shepherds.
2443. Corn measures consist of the lippie, peck, and bushel, with the strike or rolling
pin to pass over the surface, and determine their fulness. The local measures of every
country are numerous ; the Winchester bushel is the standard corn measure of England
and Ireland; and the Linlithgow boll of Scotland. (See Index, article Weights and
Measures.)
2444. Com sacks, or bags, are strong hempen bags, calculated to hold four bushels ;
and in Scotland four firlots.
2445. Other utensils, as those of tlie dairy, poultry, and cyder-house, will be described
in their appropriate places.
2446. The essential agricultural utensils are the sieve, basket, seed carrier, tub, pail,
corn chest, flexible tube, corn measure, and corn sack.
Sect. IV. Hand Machines used in Agriculture.
2447. Agricultural hand machines are generally portable; some are exclusively put
in action by man, as the wheel-barrow ; and others, as the straw-cutter, sometimes by
horses , water , or other pow ers.
2448. The common ladder is the simplest of manual machines, and is in constant use
for forming and thatching ricks, and other purposes ; with or without the use of tressels
and scaffolding. 265
2449. The wheel-barrow is of three kinds; the
new ground work barrow (fig. 265. ) used in mov-
ing earth or stones ; the dung barrow ( fig. 266.) for
the farm yard; and the corn barrow (fig. 267.) for
conveying corn from the stack-yard to the barn.
The body of the latter (l), may be made to separate
from the frame and wheel, and by means of levers (a) to be carried like the hand-barrow.
Book IV.
HAND MACHINES.
369
2450. 7%e sack'barrow is a two handed lever of the first kind, the fulcrum of which
267
2G6
is a pair of low
wheels : it is a con-
venient machine for
moving sacks in a
granary or barn
floor, from one
point to another.
2451. Thehayid-
harrow is in frequent
use in various de-
partments of agriculture, where the soil is soft, or the surface uneven. Its bottom should
be close and strong for carrying stones ; but may be light and open for dung or corn.
268
2452. Tliewinruming-mnchine {fig. 268.)
is in use for cleaning corn, in most of the
improved districts. There are different
forms, but the best is that of Meikle, or
the Berwickshire winnower, which, in-
stead of one screen, has a set of sieves put
in motion by the machine, by which ,
means the corn comes out, in most cases, U
ready to be meted up in sacks. Some Vj;
improvements have lately been made by f.
Weir of London.
2453. The hand threshing machine
(Jig.269.), is worked by two men, and
one woman, and is greatly preferable to
the flail for threshing the corn of a small farm, or for threshing clover, or other small
seeds. The advantage consists chiefly in the
completeness in which the grain is separated
from the straw.
2454. The potatoe cleaner is a hollow cylin-
der, or perforated cylinder, or barrel, with a
wooden axle through its long diameter, and a
handle at one end, by which it is turned like a
barrel churn. A hinged board forms an open-
ing for putting in and taking out the potatoes,
which fastens with an iron hasp and staple.
It is filled one-third with potatoes or other roots,
and then placed in a cistern of water, by
means of a crane or otherwise. In this state,
being two-thirds immersed in the water, and one-third full of potatoes, it is turned
round a few times, when the latter are found cleaned, and the barrel lifted out by the
crane, emptied, filled, and replaced.
2455. The tumip-slicer is of different forms ; the old sort works by hand, like a straw-
cutter of the original construction ; but a better sort consists of a hopper and knives, fixed
upon a fly wheel [fig. 270.). The turnips press against the knife by their own weight,
and a man turning the wheel, will cut a bushel in a minute.
Gardener's turnip slicer is a highly improved form of this
machine.
2456. The Uir nip -chopper is perhaps a more useful im-
plement, than the turnip slicer. It is first made like the
common nine-inch garden-hoc, forming an oblong square,
with an eye to receive the handle : from the centre of the
first hoe, another hoe crosses it at right angles, but this
second hoe is not made solid as in the first common hoe,
but is made like a Dutch hoe, the centre part of it being
open the whole length of it. The turnip being pulled
out of the ground by the angles of the hoe, is immedi-
ately struck with it about the centre, which divides it into
four, and if these four pieces are not small enough, the
stroke is repeated upon each of the pieces until they are
sufficiently so. It is supposed capable of being greatly
improved by having two stoutish })rongs on the back
or reverse part of tlie hoc, proceeding from the neck of the eye ; these prongs would pull
up the turnips with infinitely more expedition, and the increased weight of the hoc would
rather be in its favor by lessening the force necessary to split the roots.
B b
370
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
2457. The rope-twisting -machine (Jig. 271.), is a small wheel,
the prolonged axle or spindle of which terminates in a hook, on
which the rope is commenced. , It is commonly fixed to a port-
able stand ; but is sometimes attached to a threshing-machine.
It is used for twisting ropes of straw, hay, or rushes for tying
^on the thatch of ricks and other similar purposes. It is also
used to form very thick ropes for forming straw drains.
2458. The draught-machine is a contrivance invented for the
purpose of ascertaining the force or power of draught, in
drawing ploughs, &c.
2459. Mare's draught-machine is a spring coiled within a"
cylindrical case, having a dial-plate marked with numbers like
that of a clock, and so contrived that a hand moves with the motion of the spring,
and points to the numbers in proportion as the force is exerted : for instance, when
the draught equals one cwt. over a pulley, the hand points to fig. 1 ; when the draught
is equal to two cwt. it points to fig. 2, and so on. Till this very useful machine was
invented, it was exceedingly difficult to compare tlie draught of different ploughs,
as there was no rule to judge by, but the exertions of the horses as apparent to the
eye ; a very undecisive mode of ascertaining their force.
2460. JBraby^s draught-machine {Jig. 272.), consists of two strong steel plates, joined
at the ends, and forming a spheroidal opening between them. In using it, one end (a) is
hooked on the muzzle of the plough or other implement, and to the other (i) the draught
trees are attached. An indicator (c) points out the power applied in cwts.
2461.. The weighing-cage [Jig. 273.), is a contrivance made in the form of a sort
273
of open box or cage, by which any small animal, as a pig, sheep, calf, &c. may be very
easily and expeditiously weighed, and with sufficient accuracy for the farmer's purpose.
It is constructed on the principle of the common steel-yard, with a strong wooden frame
and steel centres, in which the pivots of the lever are hung. And upon the short side
of the lever is suspended a coop, surrounded by strong net- work, in which the animal
intended to be weighed is placed ; the point of suspension is connected with the coop by
means of two curved iron rods, which at the same time form the head of it. A common
scale being hung on the longer side of the lever.
2462. The weighing-machine is a contrivance of the steel-yard kind, for the purpose
of weighing cattle and other animals alive. A machine of this sort is of importance in
the grazing and fattening systems where they are carried to any considerable extent, in
ascertaining the progress made by the animals, and shewing how they pay for the use of
any paiticular kind of food, or what power it has in promoting the fattening process.
2463. Weir's machine for weighing live bullocks, is by far the simplest and most econo-
mical of these machines.
2464. The weighing-machine for sacks is a convenient piece of barn-furniture on the
steel- yard principle.
2465. The common steel-yard will often be found useful for weighing corn or roots in
large quantities ; for smaller quantities, there are a variety of ingenious contrivances,
among the simplest and easiest managed of which are those of Medhurst and Harriot.
2466. The chaff-cutter is used for cutting hay or straw into fragments not larger than
chaff to facilitate its consumption by cattle. There are numerous forms; one of the most
common is that of M'Dougal {Jig. 274.), which is so formed, that in case of its being
accidentally broken, it may be repaired by any common mechanic. The pressure of the
straw is also capable of being regulated with great facility. But the great im-
Book IV.
HAND MACHINES.
274
371
provement is In having applied a spiral groove, ijistead of the endless screw, by which
friction is much diminished, and the lever may rise to any height, without putting
the machine out of work.
2467. The bruising- machine {Jig. 275.), is contrived
for the purpose of bruising different sorts of grain, pulse,
&c. as well as grinding ipalt. It is a simple imple-
ment, constructed with two iron roUfers, of different dia-
meters, turned true on their axles or spindles, each roller
having a cog or tooth-wheel. A roller with grooves is
fixed under the hopper, .to receive the grain from the
hopper, and lay it on the two rollers. To one of the
rollers is fixed a fly-wheel, 'llie machine is made to be
worked by hand, or any other power. The upper wood
frame is made to slide, and is regulated by a screw, ac-
cording to the size of the grain, and will bruise it more
or less, as may be required.
2468. Of hand-drilling-'/iiachines, there are a great
many different kinds of various degrees of ijnerit. ITie
sort to be recommended in any particular case will
depend on the texture ^of the soil ; one which would
answer well in a soft soil or sand might not succeed,
in a stoney or loamy soil. As the fashions of drills are
continually changing, we advise intending purchasers to
describe their soil and kind of culture, as whether
raised or flat-drilling, &c. to a respectable implement-maker ; in the mean time we sub-
276
mit a few of the establisheE forms
2469. Tfie bean or potatoe dibbling-
machine {Jig. 276. ), consists of a single
wheel, set with dibber points, and which
may be placed wider or closer at plea-
sure. It is pushed along by one man,
and succeeds on friable soils, but can-
not be depended on when the surface
is rough or tenacious. Potatoe sets to
be planted after this machine should be
cut with the improved scoop (2418.).
2470. The common drill-barrow {Jig. 277.), consists of a frame and wheel, somewhat
similar to that of a common barrow, with a hopper
attached to contain the seed. It is used for the
I purpose of sowing horse-beans, turnips, and such
I like seeds, upon small ridges. In using it, tlie
laborer for the most part wheels it before him,
the seed being afterwards covered by means of a
slight harrow, or sometimes by a shallow furrow.
Bb 2
372
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
2471. The bean-drill is a clumsy implement, better substituted by a box and wheel,
to attach between the handles of any common plough, and thus deposit the seed after the
furrow. (See Bean.)
2472. The turnip barrow-drill
sows a single row at a time ; but
is of difficult management on the
tops of ridges ; for this purpose,
it is desirable to have two wheels,
one to go on each side of the
ridge. A greatly improved va-
riety of this machine, in use in
Scotland {jig. 278.), has a barrel
of water («) attached, which, by means of a tube, is dropped among the seed in the tract
made by the coulter. This very useful appendage may
be added to any drill-machine, whether worked by ma-
nual or animal labor.
2473. The hand tumijy-roller (Jig. 279.), is used for
rolling raised drills or ridges previously to and after
sowing turnip-seed by a hand-drill. The use of such a
roller leaves the ridges in a much better form for re-
ceiving the seed than a common cylindrical roller, and
after the seed is sown, when this roller is again used,
the surface is left in the fittest state for retaining mois-
ture, and for commencing the hoeing and thinning
operations.
2474. The root-breaker or bruiser [Jig. 280. ) , is com-
posed of two widely fluted rollers, placed under a hopper,
turned by two men. It is used for breaking or bruising
potatoes, turnips^ carrots, or other raw roots, into small or moderate sized pieces, before
giving them to cattle or horses. The same implement may be set so close by means of
two screws, as to serve for a whin-bruiser, or for breaking beans, or corn of any kind.
2475. Other machines, for particular dqmrtments, will be noticed in their proper
places ; and some will be wanted which are not peculiar to agriculture, such as rat-traps
(Jigs.2Sl. and 282.), mouse and mole-traps (^g. 283.) a fowling-piece for shooting
birds, scares for deterring birds, and similar contrivances.
^03^
283
2476. The essential hand-machines are the ladder, wheel, and hand-barrows, winnow-
ing-machine, band-threshing machine, chaff-cutter, and turnip barrow-drill.
Chap. II.
Of Agricultural Implements and Machines drawn by Beasts of Labor.
2477. The fundamental implements of agriculture are the plough, tjie harrow, and tho
cart : these are common to every country in the slightest degree civilized ; sufficiently
Book IV. SWING PLOUGHS. 373
rude in construction in most countries, and only very lately brought to u high degree of
perfection in Britain. Dr. Anderson (liccrentions in u4griculture, <Jj(-c.), writing in 1802,
observes, *' that there are no sorts of implements that admit of greater improvement than
those of husbaudry, on the principle of diminishing weight without in any degree abating
their strength." Since that very recent period, great improvements have taken place in
almost every agricultural implement, from the plough to the threshing machine, and
though these have not yet found their way into general use, especially in England, they
may be procured at the public manufactories of the capitals of the three kingdoms with
no trouble. It is incredible what benefits would result to agriculture if proper ploughs
iuid threshing machines were generally adopted ; and if the scuffler or cultivator were
applied in suital)le soils, and under proper circumstances, not to mention one and two horse
carts, improved harrows, and the best winnowing machines. But the ignorance and anti-
pathy to innovation of the majority of farmers in almost every country, the backwardness of
laborers to learn new practices, and the expense of the implements, are drawbacks which
necessarily require time to overcome. It may also be observed, that in the progress of
improvement, many innovations which have been made, have turned out of no account,
or even worse than useless ; and this being observed by the sagacious countryman, con-
firms him in his rooted aversion to novelty and change. — In our selection, we shall pass
over a great variety of forms, the knowledge of which we consider of no use, unless it
were to guard against them, and shall chiefly confine ourselves to such as are in use at
the present time by the best farmers of the best cultivated districts. These we shall
arrange as tillage implements, sowing and planting implements, reaping machines,
tlireshing machines, and machines of deportation.
Sect. I. Of Tillage Im2)lemcnts.and Machines.
2178. The tillage implc7nents of agriculture comprise ploughs with and without wheels,
and pronged implements of various descriptions, as grubbers, cultivators, harrows,
rollers, &c. We shall take them in the order of swing ploughs, wheel ploughs, prong-
ed implements, harrows, and rollers, &c.
SuBSECT. 1 . Of Swing Ploughs j or such as are constructed without Wheels.
, 2479. The plough is the first implement in agriculture, and hence the importance of
selecting the most improved form. As ploughing, however, like many otlier operations
in practical husbandry, must often vary in the manner of its being performed, it is evi-
dent, that no one particular sort of plough can be superior to all others, in every season,
and under every variety of soil or inclination of surface. Different soils, situations, and
uses, will of course require different kinds of ploughs, though there are undoubtedly
some that are capable of a much more general application than others.
2480. Ploughs are of two kinds ; those fitted up with wheels, and called wheel ploughs,
and those without wheels, called swing ploughs. The latter are the lightest of draught, but
require an experienced and attentive ploughman to use them ; the former work with greater
steadiness, and require much less skill in the manager : some sorts, indeed, do not require
holding at all, excepting at entering in, and turning on and off" the work at the ends of
the ridges. On the whole, taking ploughmen as they are, and ploughs as they are gene-
rally constructed, it will be found that a district ploughed with wheel ploughs, will show
greater neatness of work than one ploughed with swing ploughs. But on the other
liand, ttvking a district where the improved form of swing ploughs is generally adopted,
the ploughmen will be found superior workmen, and the work performed in a better man-
ner, and with less expense of labor than in the case of wheel ploughs. Northumberland
in this respect may be compared witli Warwickshire. In attemptiiig to introduce the
improved swing plough into any district, it vvill be found a very useful mode to have
wheels applied to it in a temporary manner, so as tliey may be removed altogether when
die operator becomes expert, or in the most favorable soils.
2481. In the coustruclion of ploughs, whatever be the sort used, there are a few gene-
ral principles that ouglit invariably to be attended to ; such as the giving the throat and
breast, or tliat part which enters, perforates, and breaks up the ground, that sort of long,
narrow, clean, tapering, sharpened form (hat affords the least resistance in passing
through the land; and to the mould-board, that kind of hollowed-out and twisted form,
which not only tends to lessen friction, but also to contribute greatly to the perfect turn-
ing over of the furrow-slice. The beam and muzzle should likewise be so contrived, as
that the moving power, or team, may be attached in the most advantageous line of draught.
This ii« particularly necessary whore a immber of animals are employed together, in order
that the draught of the whole may coincide.
' 2482. 2'hc construction of an improved swing jdough is thus given mathematically by
Eailey of Chilliuglmm, iu his Essuj on the Construction of the J.Hougk on MathemalicaL
Bb 3
374 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
Princples, 1795. It had been previously aimed at by Small of Bea-tvick shire, and subse-
quently by Vetch of Inchbonney, near Jedburgh. {Highland Soc. Trans, vol. iv. p. 243.)
5483. Land, when properly ploughed, Bailey observes, must be remo\'ed from a horizontal position,
and twisted over to a certain angle, so that it may be left in that inclining state, one furrow leaning upon
another, till the whole field be completely ploughed. The depth and width of the furrows which is most
approved of by farmers, and commonly to be met with in the best ploughed fields, are in the proportion of
two to three ; or, if the furrow be two deep, it must be three wide, and left at an angle of 45 to 46
degrees.
2484. Various forms have been given to the different parts of the plough, by ingenious persons, according
to their different fancies, in order to diminish the weight of the draught, and to turn over the furrow, and
leave it in its proper position, without tearing or breaking it
2485. To have the line qf draught at right angles to the horse's shoulders, is of great importance in the
formation of a plough, a circumstance of which the greatest part of the plough-makers are totally igno-
rant, although it is well known to everjp one that has the least knowledge of mechanics. If we take the
angle that the horse's shoulders make with a perpendicular from the horizon, and continuejanother line at
right angles to it, or parallel to the draught chain ; the length of this line from the horse's shoulders to
where it meets or crosses the coulter, at half the depth of the furrow, will be thirteen feet two inches for
ordinary sized horses.
2486. Length qfbeam. If the plough be properly m.ade, the line of draught should pass through the
middle hole of the plough bridle at the point of the beam. This requires the beam to be seven feet long,
to give it a proper height at the bridle.
2487. Lejl side plane. That part of the plough next the solid land, should be made a perfect plane, and
run parallel to the line of draught; whereas some of the common ploughs are completely twisted in that
part, and deviate more than two inches from the line of draught ; this throws the plough to the left, and
causes the hinder part of the mould-board to press hard against the furrow, and crush and break it, besides
increasing the labor of the cattle.
24^- TIw position of the coulter must not deviate much from an angle of 45 degrees ; for, if we make it
more oblique, it causes the plough to choke up with stubble and grass roots, by throwing them up against
the beam ; and, if less oblique, it is apt to drive the stones or other obstacles before it, and make it heavier
to draw.
2489. Of swing ploughs, the best, is the implement known in England as tlie Scotch
j)lough. It is almost the only plough used in Scotland, and throughout a considerable
part of England ; it is drawn with less power than wheel ploughs, the friction not being
so great ; and it probably admits of greater variations in regard to the breadth and
depth of the furrow-slice. It is usually drawn by two horses abreast in common til-
lage ; but for ploughing between the rows of the drill culture, a smaller one drawn by
one horse, is commonly employed. A plough of this kind, having a mould-board on
each side, is also used both in forming narrow ridges for turnips and potatoes, and in
laying up the earth to the roots of the plants, after the intervals have been cleaned and
pulverised by the horse and hand-hoe. Tliis plough is sometimes made in such a manner,
that the mould-board may be shifted from one side to the other when working on hilly
grounds ; by which means the furrows are all laid in the same direction ; — a mode of
construction as old as the days of Fitzherbert, who wrote before the middle of the six-
teenth century. This is called a turn-wrest plough.
2490. Sudng-plo7ighs, similar to the Scotch plough, have been long known in Eng-
land. In Blythe's Improver Improved (edit. 1652), we have engravings of several
ploughs; and what he calls the " plain plough," does not seem to differ much in its
principal parts from the one now in use. Amos, in an Essay on Agricultural Machines,
says, that a person named Lummis (whom he is mistaken in calling a Scotchman, see
Maxwell's Practical Husbandman, p. 191.) " first attempted its construction upon
•mathematical principles, which he learned in Holland ; but having obtained a patent for
the making and vending of this plough, he withheld the knowledge of these principles
from the public. However, one Pashley, plough-wright to Sir Charles Turner of Kirk-
lea;them, having a knowledge of those principles, constructed upon them a vast number
of ploughs. Afterwards his son established a manufactory for the making of them at
Rotherham. Hence they obtained the name of the Rotherham plough ; but in Scotland
they were called'the Dutch or patent plough." " At length the Americans, having ob-
tained a knowledge of those principles, either from Britain or Holland, claimed the
priority of the invention ; in consequence of which, President Jefferson, of the United
States, presented the principles for the construction of a mould-board, first to the Insti-
tute of France, and next to the Board of Agriculture in England, as a wonderful disco-
very in mathematics." {Communications to the Board of Agriculture, vol. vi. p. 437.)
According to another writer, the Rotherham plough was first constructed in Yorkshire,
in 1720, about ten years before Lummis's improvements. {Suney of the West Riding of
Yorkshire. Sup. Encyc. Brit. art. Agr.)
2491. The j)resent improved swing plough {fig. 111., p. 127.), was little known in
Scotland till about the year 1764, when Small's method of constructing it began to excite
attention. {SmalVs Treatise on Ploughs and Wheel Carriages, 1784;' and Lord Kaimes^s
Gentleman Farmer. ) This ingenious mechanic formed the mould-board upon distinct
and intelligible principles, and afterwards made it of cast-iron. His appendage of a chain
has been since laid aside. It has been disputed, whether he took the Rotherham, or the
old Scotch plough for the basis of his improvements. The swing plough has been since
varied a little, in some parts of Scotland, from Small's form, for the purpose of adapting
Book IV.
SWING PLOUGHS.
375
it more completely to particular situations and circumstances. Of late tliis plough has
been made entirely of iron. In Northumberland the mould-board is made less concave
than in Berwickshire, and in Berwickshire it is even less concave than Small's plough.
Different degrees of concavity in the mould -board suit different soils : soft and sandy
soil requires most, and a loamy or clayey soil least concavity.
2492. The Sojnerville plough is known by its mould-board, apart of which is ren-
dered moveable by hinges ; the advantage of this is, that the furrow can be laid more
or less flat at pleasure. " Mould-boards," Lord Somerville observes, " formed to lay
furrows in ley, so as to give the most soil to harrows, cannot be of that form best calcu-
lated to make good work in stirring earths, more especially the last, which ought to be
thrown up in small seams, as it were, that the seed may be duly buried. It has hitherto
been held necessary to rip off" the plate for this purpose, and drive in wedges, by which
the mould plate must be injured. From the trouble attending this operation, it has
generally been omitted, and the land, of course, imperfectly worked. But this incon-
venience may be remedied, and the mould-board be adjusted with great facility and
expedition, by the following means : When the mould-board is formed, and its plate
fitted as usual, let the hind part be cut off*, and again connected with the fixed part of
the mould-board by means of flat hinges, or of thin flexible plates of tempered steel, or
of hard hammered iron, so as to admit of that part being set to have different inclinations
■with the fixed part of the mould-board : by means of a screw passing from the insidfe
through the lower parts of the handle of the plough, opposite the back of this moveable
piece, the screw may be made to keep it at any desired degree of inclination, according
to the nature of the work to be performed. — This plough, however, has been but little
used, and does not seem to meet the approbation of the best cultivators.
2493. The tum-wresi swing plough {Jig. 284.), is very useful for working on the side
of steep hills, or in a dia-
gonal direction, where the
furrow-slice may be turned
to the lower side. The
labor, both to men and cattle,
is greatly increased, when
ploughing steep grounds,
straight up hill. In some
cases, where the declivity is
great, a furrow can only be taken down hill, which is a very tedious operation ; whereas
a plough of this form, in which the mould-boards are easily shifted to any side, may be
employed with less labor to the cattle, and with greater expedition ; because the plough-
man, having it in his power to turn the earth of the furrow-slice either to the right or left
hand, according as it answers his purpose, can always turn it to the lower side, where
he is ploughing in a diagonal direction, or straight along the side of a steep hill. The
form of this plough is somewhat different from that of the common plough, and may be made
in different ways. But the beam, head, and sheath must always be placed in the direc-
tion of a line passing' along their middle ; and the two handles must be placed equi-
distant on each side of that line. Tliere are two mould-boards and two coulters, and a
mould-board is produced on either side, at pleasure, by moving the lever (a) between the
plough handles from the one side to the other. The line of draught can be shifted with
equal ease and expedition, and at the same time one of the coulters raised up clear of the
land, and placed along the side of the beam, whilst the other is put down, and placed
in a proper position for cutting off" the furrow-slice from the furrow ground. All this is
performed at once, without the ploughman's changing his position, by means of two
levers (6, c, and d, a). In short, this is one of the best of implements of its kind, and
where the use of a turn-wrest plough is recommendable, no other variety will be found
to equal it, We have already noticed (2489.) the mode in which the double moulding
or earthing-up swing plough, may be rendered a turn-wrest plough, of a less perfect
kind.
2494. Ducket's slim coulter plough (fig. 285.), is considered a valuable implement,
though not much in use. By it the *^-==:::i55--..,^ 285
ground may be opened to any depth
in separate horizontal portions of
earth; and as the weeds or grassy
surface are turned down in the first
operation, and covered by fresh earth
or mould from beneatli, a larger
proportion of nourishment is supposed to be provided for the crop, while at the same
time it is rendered more clean, and the inconvenience of the roots of the grasses or otlier
plants wholly got rid of. It requires a strong team in the heavier sorts of soil, but this
Bb 4
376
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
is in some degree counterbalanced by the circumstance of one such ploughing being
mostly sufficient for the crop. It is, says a late theorist, consequently evident that, con-
sidering the number of ploughings generally given in the ordinary way of preparing
lands for a crop of barley or turnips, and under the fallowing system for wheat, and the
labor and expense in the latter case, in raking, picking, and burning weeds, the advan-
tages of this plough are probably greater than is generally supposed. It has also advan-
tages in another point of view, which is, that the soil is increased in depth, and the parts
of it so loosened and broken down that the fibrous roots of the crops strike and extend
themselves more readily in it, and of course are better fed and supported. In thin and
sandy soils it is more particularly useful, because it cuts off all which is on the surface,
at the depth of an inch or an inch and a half, in order to its being laid in a state of decay,
for a future crop, by which an increased depth of soil is given to every subsequent course
of crops, and which often acts as a support, to keep up manures near the surface, as
their running through such soils too quickly is a disadvantage. It is also capable of
being made use of without a skim-coulter as a common plough.
2495. A skim coulter may be added to any other plough, and may be useful in turning down green croi)s
and long dung, as well as in trench ploughing. But in most instances it is thought a preferable plan,
where the soil is to be stirred to an unusual depth, to make two common swing-ploughs follow each other
in the same track ; the one before taking a shallow furrow, and the other going deeper, and throwing up
a new furrow upon the former.
2496. The double share plough is distinguished by having one share fixed directly over
the other. It is made use of in some of the southern districts, with advantage in putting
in one crop immediately after ploughing down another, as by it a narrow shallow furrow
is removed from the surface, and another from below placed upon it, to such depth as
may be thought most proper, it being capable of acting to ten inches or more. In this
manner many sorts of crops, such as rye and other green crops that have much height of
stem, m'ay be turned down without the inconvenience of any of the parts sticking out
through the seams of the furrow slices, by which the farmer has a clean surface of mould
for the reception of the grain.
2497. The 77iinmg plough, or trenching plough, is sometimes employed for the purpose
of loosening the soil to a great depth, without bringing it up to the surface, a mode of
operation which is particularly useful for various sorts of tap-rooted plants, as well as
for extirpating the roots of such weeds as strike deep into the ground. For these pur-
poses it may be employed in the bottom of the furrow after the common plough. It is
constructed in a very strong manner, having only a share without any mould-board.
2498. The double furrow plough (Jig. 286.), is obviously advantageous in performing
•■286
more labor in a given time with a certain strength of team, than other sorts of ploughs,
as producing two furrows at a time. It has been found useful on the lighter sorts of
land where the ridges are straight and wide, though some think it more confined in its
work than those of tlie single kind. The saving of the labor of one person, and doing
nearly double the work with but little more strength in the team, in the same time, re-
commend it for those districts where four horse teams are in use. This plough has been
brought to its present degree of perfection by Lord Somerville, especially by the intro-
duction of the moveable plates already mentioned (2492.), at the extremities of the
mould-board, as in his Lordship's single plough. But, as observed by an excellent
authority, " witli all the improvements made by Lord Somerville, it can never come
into competition, for general purposes, with the present single furrow ploughs ;" Lord S.
admits, that it would be no object to invade the system already established in well-culti-
vated counties ; though, where large teams are employed, with a driver l)esides the
ploughman, it would certainly be a matter of importance to use this plough, at least,
on light friable soils. " Their horses," he says, " will not feel the difference between
their own single furrow working one acre, or the well constructed two furrow plough,
with two acres per day ; here is no system deranged, and double work done." {Com-
munications to the Board of Agriculttirc, vol. ii. p. 418.)
2499o T'hc Argyleshire plough dillers from Small's, or any single swing plough, in
having no coulter fixed in the beam, but in liey of this, a fin or knife rising from the left
BddK IV. WHEEL PLOUGHS. 377
side of the share, which serves the purpose of slicing ofFth6 furrow as well as the coulter.
This tin or feather must be placed at the same angle as the coulter, and should terminate
in a lance-like shape, in order to furnish the least obstruction to stubble, weeds, or
stones. This plough is not liable to be choaked by stubble, or thrown out by catching
small stones between the points of the coulter and sock. It i» found particularly useful
in taking the earth away from the sides of a drill crop ; as its broad upright feather, which
operates as a coulter, completely shields tlie plants from all risk of earth falling on them
from the left side of the plough, while, at the same time, the ploughman ascertains, to a
certainty, that the part of the plough below ground, approaches no nearer to the roots
of the plants, than the upper part does to their leaves ; so that he can bring the plough
to slice off the earth close in upon their sides, if necessary. In point of draught, it is
precisely the same as the common plough.
2500. The double mould-boarded plough is a kind of plough often used with advan-
tage in clearing out furrows, in setting potatoes, cabbage, and other similar crops, and in
earthing up such as are planted in wide rows. Those whose mould-boards move on
hinges, and may be set wide or narrow at pleasure, are the most convenient.
2501. The ribbing plough or binot is almost the same thing as the^ double mould-
boarded plough, and the one is commonly sold for the other with no loss to the pur-
chaser. It has two mould-boards, one on each side of the beam : it is used on some
soils in forming a ribbed or rigged bed for wheat or other grains, by which when sown
broadcast, it comes up in rows. It is also used in earthing up crops; and sometimes,
but never by the best cultivators, in giving the first furrow to stubbles,
2502. The single hoe plough is also often useful in stirring the mould in the intervals
of different sorts of crops, and laying it to the roots of the plants, and thereby prevent-
ing the growth of weeds. The mould-board in this plough is so constructed that it can
be raised or depressed at pleasure according to the nature of the crop, and the intention
with which it is used.
2503. The marking plough is used in straightening and regulating the distance of
ridges where tlie drill system is practised. Any plough with a rod fixed at right angles
to the beam and a short piece depending from this rod, will trace a line parallel to the
furrow drawn by the plough, which line will serve for a guide as to the width of
ridges, &c.
2504. Finlat/son's rid jilough is Small's plough, formed of iron with a crane-necked
beam rising from the point where the coulter enters it, so as to fonn an easy curve with
the top of the coulter. By this means whatever stubble, roots, or other rubbish the
coulter may collect, rises or is forced upwards, follows the curve till coming under the
beam it drops, and is either buried in the present furrow, or lies to be interred by the
next according to the side on which it drops. It is an implement which may be of use
under particular circumstances, but by no means generally.
2505. Clymcrs plough {fig. 287.), is
a recent modification of the implement,
formed entirely of iron, and chiefly re-*^
markable for the absence of the coulter,
and for the share, mould-board, and other
parts which move under ground, being
composed of distinct pieces of cast iron ;
this is considered as cheaper to commence
with and easier to repair, ])ecause any
one part may be renewed of the same material without deranging the rest ; whereas
renewing or repairing wrought iron shares, mould-boards, or coulters, is found in many
districts both difficult and expensive.
SuBSECT. 2. Wheel Ploughs.
2506. Wheel ploughs in tlieir construction vary considerably in diff*erent places,
according to the nature of soils and other circumstances ; but in every form, and in all
situations, they probably require less skill in the ploughman. Wheels seem, indeed,
to have formed an addition to ploughs, in consequence of the want of experience in
ploughmen ; and in all sorts of soil, but more particularly in those which are of
a stony and stubborn quality, they afford great assistance to such ploughmen, enablin<r
them to perform their work with greater regularity in resjject to depth, and with much
more neatness in regard to equality of surface. From the friction caused by the wheels,
they, however, give much greater resistance, and consequently demand more strength in
the team that is employed ; and, besides, arc more expensive in their construction, and
more liable to be put out of order, as well as more apt to be disturbed in their progress
by clods, stones, and other inequalities that mav be on the surface of tlie ground, tlian
those of the swing kind. It is also observed, " that with wAcf/- ploughs, workmen are
378
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
apt to set the points of their shares too low, so as by tlieir inclined direction to occasion
a heavy pressure on the wheel, which must proceed horizontally:" the effect of this
struggle is an increased weight of draught, infinitely beyond what could be supposed :
for which reason, the wheel is to be considered as of no importance in setting a plough
for work ; but passing lightly over the surface, it will be of material aid in breaking
up old leys, or ground where flints, rocks, or roots of trees occur, and in correcting the
depression of the shares from any sudden obstruction, as well as in bringing it quickly
into work again, when thrown out towards the surface. (^Communications to the Board
of Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 419.)
2507. The Scotch plough, with one or sometimes two wheels (Jig. 288.), fixed near to
the end of the beam, without any carriage, goes very light, and is very useful ; such alter-
ations as are necessary requiring very little time or trouble. Where two wheels are era-
ployed, the plough does very well without a holder on a good tilth or light sward, where
there are few stones, except at the setting in and turning out. Wheel ploughs should,
however, probably be seldom had recourse to by the experienced ploughman, tliough
they may be more convenient and more manageable for those who are not perfectly
informed in that important and useful art. ^
2508. Wilkie's single horse wheel plough {fig. 289.) has the wheel (rf) differently placed. ;lt is adapted
for the lightest description
of soils, and in them only g— '-«^. 289
for the second or sub-
sequent stirrings. The
wheel, besides considera-
bly reducing the weight
of draught, is found to
give a degree of steadi- "\^"-^^ ^ ,~^^^/^;i:y^-''Z„f^ "■~^-,Sl<3f
ness seldom exceeded in
the use of the common
plough, excepting when
quite new, or recently re-
paired witii a new sock
and sole-shoe. At that — — — ^ ^
period, when the back end
of the sole is quite full and square, the common plough, (when well constructed), goes as well as can be
wished for ; but, by the great friction of the sole, the back end of it soon becomes convex ; and, consequently,
the plough loses the steady support of the extremity of the heel, or, in other words, in proportion as the
sole becomes more convex, the fulcrum of the lever is extended considerably forward so as to be too
near the centre of gravity. When that is the case, the least obstruction at the point of the share throws
the plough out of the ground. In order to remedy or counteract that tendency, the ploughman is obliged
to raise the point of draught at the end of the beam ; but this expedient, although it gives the plough
more hold by the point of the share, is attended with another inconvenience fully as bad as the former;
for, when the point of the share meets with an obstruction as before noticed, the heel of the plough is
raised, on account of the point of draught being fixed above the direct line of attraction. Thus, the com-
mon plough, when the sole becomes convex, is made to go very unsteady, and often requires the utmost
attention and exertions of the ploughman to direct it. What is stated above, however, can only apply
to the common plough when out of order by the sole becoming convex.
2509. Placing the wheel. In order to understand in what manner the wheel ought to be placed so as to
reduce the friction, it may be necessary to remark, that one of the first properties of a plough is to be
constructed in such a manner as to swim fair on the sole. This depends principally on the form of the
sole, and position or inclination of the point of the sock, together with the ix)int of draught at the end
of the beam (a). If these are properly adjusted, the pressure or friction of the sole will .be uniform
from the point of the share {b) to the back end of the heel (rf) ; or, in other words, the friction will be
balanced between these two points by means of the beam (a) acting as a lever, the heel (rf) being the
fulcrum, and a point over the share (c) the centre of gravity.
2510. Tfie centre of gravity or of resistance will be extended nearer to the point of the share (b), in
proportion as the soil has acquired a greater degree of cohesion ; as in old pasture ground, or strong clays.
But wherever the point of resistance meets, it is evident that the point of draught at the end of the
beam must be placed, so as to balance the friction of the sole between its extreme points {b and d).
Viewing the machine, therefore, (with regard to the friction of the sole) merely as a sledge carrying a
considerable weight, by which it is pressed equally to the bottom of the furrow at the extreme points
Book IV.
WHEEL PLOUGHS.
379
{b and d} it i« clear that, by substituting a wheel at the one point (d), the one half of the friction of the
sole will be thrown on the wheel. , , ^ ^ ». .
2511 The drauahtis redticcd In/ the wheel from forty to sixty-six pounds, or from one-seventh to one-
fifth (two hundred and eighty iwunds being the power of one horse). The same application of a wheel
has been inade by Plenty in some of his ploughs ; but as the friction of the wheel is but a small part of
the whole friction of the plough, and as in some soils the wheels are very apt to clog without an attached
scraper the improvement has never been much in use either in one or two horse ploughs. Liston, a
clergyman, took out a patent for a wheel so applied to a two horse plough {F. Mag, vol. xiv.), but it never
came into use.
2512. The Beverston plough {Jig. 290.) was one considered a good wheel plough.
It has its principle of draught given
it in a very effective manner by an
ingenious contrivance of iron work,
in which, according to Lord Somer-
ville, *' the point of draught is per-
pendicularly above the point of trac-
tion, or the throat or breast where
the share fits on."
2513. The Hampshire patent two wheel plough is nearly the same as the Beverston
plough. It is made of iron, and is considered a good implement of the kind. In this
manner one or two wheels may be added to any swing plough, and taken away when
not wanted without lessening the value of the implement. ITiere is a variety with one
wheel and another without any.
2514. The Kentish and Herefordshire wheel ploughs are extraordinary clumsy implements
of very heavy draught, and making, especially the former, very indifferent work. They
were figured by Blythe in the beginning of the seventeenth century, and seem to have
received no improvement since. The Kentish plough is generally made with a turn-
wrest, in order always to turn land downwards in ploughing a hill ; but this, as Lord
Somerville remarks, soon renders the summit of the hill or the upper side of the field,
where such a practice is persisted in, destitute of soil. A much better mode is to plough
up and down the steep, or diagonally across it. In either case the double mould-
board plough invented by his lordship, is of singular use, as one furrow only need be
taken in going up and two in coming down.
2515. What is called f/je jn-essing plough h more properly a roller, being a cast-iron
wheel or narrow roller fitted to a frame and shafts, and drawn like a common roller by
one horse. Sometimes two such wheels are applied on one axle, which is prefet-able.
This implement is used to roll clover leys broken up for wheat : two ploughs follow
each other, and after them, one horse with the two pressing wheels, which press down
the two furrows turned by the plough. The advantages of the operation are said to bfe,
tliat a finer bed is thus prepared for the seed, which is covered by a very slight harrow-
ing, and also the wire- worm is said to be kept under by the consolidation of the surface.
Its use is chiefly confined to the west of England.
291 ^ ^^<^ 2516. The Norfolk wheel plough
{fig. 291.) has a clumsy appearance
from the great bulk of its wheels,
and their carriage, but in light friable
soils it does its wofk with neatness,
and requires only a small power of
draught.
2517. The paring plough is of va-
rious forms, though it is an implement seldom required. It is used for paring tlie sur-
face of old grass lands, or leys on clay soil, where the turf is to be burned. A variety
in use in the fen districts {fi^. 292.),
has a wheel (a) which cuts the turf
instead of a coulter, a broad flat share
which raises it, with a sharp fin or turned-
up part at the extremity, which cuts the
turf on that side, thus turning it over
in slices about a foot broad, and two
inches deep. There is a foot (6) from
the forepart of the beam, which serves
as a wheel, to prevent the share from going too deep.
2518. Braining ploughs are of various kinds, but none of them are of much use j the
work can always be done better, and generally cheaper, by manual labor.
2519. Clarke's draining plough {fig.
293.) was found to answer well in
y ajfjo, meadow ground near Belford in North-
umberland, but could not be drawn
in stiff clay with the force of eight
horses.
380
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
11.
2520, Grey s draining plough {Jig. 294.) seems one of the best. The beam is strongly
fortified with iron, and is always kept at a proper distance from the surface of the
ground, and also the depth
of the drain regulated
by two wheels (a a) which
turn on an iron axle, and
roll upon the surface on
each side of the drain.
The middle coulter is made
to cut perpendicular ; con-
sequently, the side coulters
will cut the two sides of
the drain at an equal slope.
When this machine is at
work, the earth of the
drain is cut in the middle
by the foremost coulter,
and on each side by the
other two coulters. Then
the sharp point of the share
will cut up that earth from its bed, and as the macliine advances, it must ascend on the
surface of the inclined plane ; at the same time, the fore-ends of the mould-boards,
following in the track of the middle coulter, will divide the slice of earth as it rises,
into two equal parts, turning these parts gradually to each side j and as the back-ends of
the mould -boards extend farther than the breadth of the drain above, the portion of
earth so raised will be placed upon the firm ground, leaving the drain quite open. The
frame into which the axle is fixed, may easily be cither raised up or depressed, according
as the drain is to be cut deep or shallow ; and the two outside coulters can easily be
placed more or less oblique, so as to cut the sides of the drain at a greater or less slope,
as may be found necessary. [Greys IinplementSj ^c. 4to.)
233 ^^^ 2521. The gutter j)lougfi (Jig.
295.) is made use of for forming
gutter drains in grass lands, where
the soil is of a retentive nature.
The power of six horses is required
in drawing it for the first time ; but
four horses are found sufficient for
opening the old gutters.
2522. The mole plovgh (Jig. 296.)
was invented by Adam Scott, and improved by Lumbert of Gloucesterslure. It is said
to be an implement which in ductable 296
soils and situations, as in pleasure-
grounds, and where much regard is
had to the surface-appearance of the
land, may be of considerable benefit
in forming temporary . drains. It
makes a drain without opening the
surface any more than merely for the D--'-'--"--"-
passage of a thin coulter, the mark of which soon disappears : it is chiefly employed in
such grass-lands as have a declination of surface, and where there are not many obstruc-
tions to contend with ; but some think it may be used in other kinds of land, as on turnip-
grounds that are too wet for the sheep to feed them off, or where, on account of the
wetness, the seed cannot be put into the earth. With tins plough the drains should be
made at the distance of ten or fifteen feet in straight lines, and also contrived so as to dis-
charge themselves into one large open furrow, or grip, at the bottom of the field. As it
re(j[uires great strength to draw this implement, it can only be used where a good team
is kept.
2523. Lumbert not only brought this plough to its present shape, but finding the sur-
face greatly injured by the feet of so many horses as were found necessary to draw it, he
invented a piece of machinery (Jig. 297.) consisting of a vvindlass, frame, and anchor, by
which it is worked by the labor of four men. Young, and other members of tlie Board
of Agriculture, expressed themselves greatly enamoured of this plan ; but it is obvious-
ly too complicate and expensive for general use.
2524. A subsequent improvement, hy Lumbert, consisted in the addition of a ginwheel
and lever, by which the machine was worked by one horse walking round it, as in a com-
mon horse-mill ; and this last form has again been ini])roved by the late mechanist. Weir,
of Oxford-street, London, by the addition of a vertical cylinder; which windb up the chaiu,
Book IV.
SCARIFIERS AND GRUBBERS.
297
381
without any attention from tlie driver. Weir has also simplified and strengthened
^__ 298
-^^
r—MTinr^
b«.
this machine in other respects, so that his modification of it (Jig. 298.) is,
at present, by far the best. Still we think it an implement that very seldom can
be profitably used; that this may be the case, the surface of the field must have a natural
drainage, by lying in one even slope or slopes : it must be in pasture, and the soil must
be of uniform consistency, and free of stones. But even where these favorable circum-.
stances combine, we think two swing ploughs, with finless shares, following in the same
tract, would effect the same object sufficiently well for all agricultural purposes ; and for
drains in ornamental. grounds, no machine will ever equal manual labor.
2525. Various draining ploughs have been invented and tried by Arbuthnot, Makic,
M' Dougal, and others, but they have never found their way among practical men.
252C. The only essential plough to be selected from these three sections, is the Scotch
swing plough, with or without one or two-wheels, according to circumstances, and with
the share and coulter set to suit different soils, as flinty, chalky, gravelly, &c. , or soils in
different states of culture, as old turf, ley, fallow, &c.
SuBSECT. 3. Of the Tillage Implements, known as Scarifiers, Scvfflers, Cultivators, and
Grubbers.
2527. The use of pronged implements as substitutes for the plough, is comparatively. of
recent invention. They differ from the plough, in stirring the soil without reversing its
surface or altering its form, unless, indeed, they in some cases tend to even or level ine-
qualities ; they act both as the plough and harrow at the same time, and on suitable
soils, and at proper seasons, much more labor is effected with less expense of men and
cattle. Wherever therefore lands require to be stirred for any purpose, excepting that of
reversing tlie surface, or laying them into beds or ridges, recourse may be had to pronged
tillage implements, such as we are about to describe.
2528. In estimating the value of pronged tillage implements. General Beatson {New System of Cultivation,
1820.) applies the principle of lessening power and employing time. He says, if we apply the principle of
petty operations to any stiff land, by taking that depth of furrow which can easily be ploughed with two
norses, and repeat the operation, (or plough the land a second time,) we shall arrive at the enti proposed,
that is, the same depth of ploughing, with absolutely less exertion of animal strength, than if we were to
plough the same depth with four horses at one operation.
2529. This may be illustrated by supiwsing the resistances to the plough to be in proportion to the
squares of the depth of the land. If so, and we are to plough at once with four horses, six inches deep,
the resistance at that depth would be 6 jt 6 = 36 ; but if with the same four horses, using two at a time,
we plough the same depth of six inches at two operations, taking only three inches at each, then the square
of the^first depth is nine, and the square of the second, nine — making 18 for the total resistance, or the
power expended by the two horses, in ploughing six inches deep, at two operations.
2530. A farther illustration may be made by supiwsing the same four horses, which had ploughed at once
iix inches deep, and had overcome the resistance of fi it 6 = 36, applied, separately, to four light ploughs,
or other implements, and to plough only 1| inch deep at a time, and to go over tlie same land four times.
In this case the sum of all the resistances to be overcome, or the animal force expendetl, in these repeated
ploughings, would be no more than 9 instead of 36 ; because the square of l\ = 2^, which multiplied by
the four ploughings, gives 9, or only one fourth of the iKJwer expended in ploughing at once six inches deep.
Hence, it appears, that in ploughing six inches deep, witli four horses, each horse exerts a force = 9 ;
whereas, in taking only 1| inch deep, the force he exerts is not more than 2|.
2531. Farther^ supposing that a horse exerts, in drawing a plough, a force of 160 pounds, it is evident
if four horses are ploughing six inches deep, the total force exerted will be 640 pounds, or 160 pounds by
382
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
each ; but if they be required to plough one inch and a half deep at a time, then the total force ex-
pended by the four horses will be only IfiO pounds, or 40 pounds bv each horse.
2532. Application. This leads General B. to the principle on which his small scarifiers are constructetl.
" They have," he says, " four hoe-tines in the hind-bar, and I will suppose that there are four harrow-tines
(instead of three) in the front bar, so that each scarifier may be considered as four small ploughs, with
four shares and four coulters. If we suppose one horse attached to this implement, and that the force he
exerts is 160 pounds, it is obvious that in scarifying to the depth of one inch and a half, he will exert
these 160 pounds upon the four pairs of tines, or a force of 40 pounds upon each pair. But, in fact, the
force required to draw the scarifier will be considerably less than to draw any form of jilough, because
the hoe, or share-tines, being much thinner and sharper than a plough-share and mould-board, will of
course meet with much less resistance in stirring the soil. General B. goes on to relate some experiments
by which he considers he has " clearly proved that the least expensive method of preparing the land for
wheat, after tares, beans, peas, or clover, is simply by using the scarifiers." This we conceive is carrying
the use of the scarifier much too far. We think it is a sufficient illustration of its value that it may be used
in stirring lands on which potatoes or turnips have grown, or that has been ploughed in autumn or during
winter, so that a crop may be sown in spring without farther use of the plough. In working fallows, and
preparing for turnips and potatoes, it may save two or three furrows. {Supp. Encyc. BiiU art. Agr. and
Farm. Mag.)
2533. The Scotch scarifier, cultivator, or grubber (fig. 299.) is considered one of the best
implements of this kind as a substitute for the plough. It consists of two strong rectan-
gular frames, the one including the other, 299
and nine bars mortised into the inner one,
with eleven coulters or prongs with tri-
angular sharp-edged dipping feet, four
cast-iron wheels, and two handles. All the
cutters are fixed in these bars, except two
which are placed in the side beams of the
outer frame, and may be set to go more
or less deep by means of pins and wedges.
It works as deep as the plough has gone,
and by the reclined position of the coulters,
brings to the surface all the weed roots that
lurk in the soil. Beans and peas have been
sown in spring on the winter furrow, after
being stirred by the grubber ; and barley
also after turnips, without any ploughing at all. This implement is made of diflferent
sizes, and may be worked either by four or by two horses, and one man.
2534. Weir*s improved cultivator {,fig. 300.) is a very effective implement of this kind,
with nine coulters or prongs. It may be set to go more or less deep by raising or lower-
ing both the fore and hind wheels.
2535. Parkinson^s cultivator (Jig.
301.) has been found a very useful
implement, both for stirring and clean-
ing land. Its inventor recommends
that where the land is foul from couch,
sods, or any other cause, the number
of teeth or hoes should be reduced to
five or seven, two or three being
placed in the fore bull, and four in
the hindermost, increasing them to
nine as the land becomes in a fine
condition.
Book IV.
HORSE HOES.
383
302
2536. The chain by which this cuhivator or scarifier is drawn*, enables the person that liolds
it to work it better, than if it were drawn by a beam like a plough, and occasions also less
draught by the power being nearer to the claws ; the machine goes more freely than it
would if some of the claws were in the fore bull, the sole use of that bull being to draw by.
When the scarifier was made in a triangular form and with the same number of claws,
it was apt to go on its head, or by raising the hindmost claws out of the ground to work
frequently at one corner only. The claws are formed at the bottom with a point, so as
to push a stone out of the way before the broad part can meet with any obstruction,
which makes the machine cut with much greater ease. As to their width at the foot,
they may be made to cut all the land more clearly than a plough if required, where
thistles, fern, &c. grow, and the claw is so formed by its croooked direction as to raise
every obstruction to the top, rock excepted.
2537. HaywarcC s cultivator (fig.
302. ) or, as it is called, extirpator
or scalp plough, is used on land
already ploughed. Its hoes or
scalps are intended to pierce about
two inches at each operation, so*
that by repeatedly passing it over
the surface, the land will be stirred
as deep as tlie plough has gone. ^
2538. Heatson's cultivator {fig. 303.) is recommended by the inventor for its lightness :
303 it is intended, as before observed (2532.), to effect
by reiterated application what is done by the
, large Scotch cultivator at once ; by which means a
rii".,*3!llll saving of power is obtained, but a loss of time, as is
^"^ "^ usual in all similar cases.
SuBSECT. 4. Of Tillage Implements of the Hoe Kind.
2539. Of horse hoes there is a great variety, almost every implement-maker having
his favorite form. They are useful for stirring the soil in the intervals between rowed
crops, especially turnips, potatoes, and beans. Respecting the construction of horse hoes
it may be observed that soils of different textures will require to be hoed with shares of
different forms, according to their hardness, or mixture of stones, flints, or gravel. The
number of hoes also in hard soils requires to be diminished ; in the case of a stony clay,
one hoe or flat share, with or without one or two coulters or prongs, wUl often be all that
can be made to enter the ground. In using these implements, the operator
should always consider whether he will produce most benefit by merely cutting over or
rooting up the weeds, or stirring the soil ; because the hoe suited for the one purpose is
by no means well adapted for the other. In the former case flat shares are to be preferred,
but pointed, that they may enter the soil easily ; in the latter coulters or prongs, as in the
cultivators, are much more effective, as they will enter the soil^and stir it to a considerable
depth, thus greatly benefiting the plants by the admission of air, heat, dews, and rain,
and by rendering it more permeable by the roots.
2540. The Scotch horse-hoe
{fig. 304.) has three hoes or
shares, and is drawn by a single
horse. By means of the wheel
it can be set to go to any depth,
and in hard surfaces, one 'or
more of the shares can be taken
out, and coulters or bent prongs,
as in the cultivator {fig. 300.),
substituted.
2541. The Northumberland
horse-hoe (see Report, &c. p.
43.) is of a triangular form,
and contains three coulters and
three hoes, or six hoes, accord-
ing to the state of the soil. In
hoeing between drills of turnips, the two side coulters are used of a curved form. A
hoe of the same kind is sometimes attached to a small roller, and employed between rows
of wheat and barley, from nine to twelve inches distant ; it is also used in place of a cul-
tivator, in preparing bean stubbles for wheat in autumn, and in pulverising lands for
barley in spring.
384
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
2542. Wilkie's horse-hoe and drill-j)lough is considered an effective implement. Tlic
mould-boards arc taken off when used as a horse-hoc, and the hoes taken off and tlic
mould-boards replaced, when earthing up the crops; thus combining, in one implement,
a complete horse-hoe and double mould-board plough. A good horse-hoe being the
principal object in the construction of this implement, the method of fixing the hoes
claimed particular atteniion ; in order to combine lightness with strength and firmness,
and admit, at the same time, of being set at different degrees of width and depth ; all of
which are accomplished on an improved principle. The wheel at the point of the beam
regulates the depth ; the right and left hoes are hinged, at the back end, to the handles
of the plough, while by moving on the circular cross bar, on which they are fastened
with wedges, they may l>e set to any width, from about twelve to nearly twenty-four
inches.
2543. Wilkie's horse-hoe and drill-harroiv {fig' 305.), is intended to be introduced be-
tween the drills as soon as the plants appear above ground, and the operation is repeated
at intervals, till the crop is thoroughly cleaned. The centre hoe is stationary, and the
vight and left expand and contract in the same manner as in the horse-hoe. The depth
•js regulated by the wheel at tlie point of the beam, and may be varied from one to six
inches. The hoes cut the bottom of the space between the drills completely, while the
harrow following, pulverises the soil, and rakes out the weeds. Should circumstances
require, the wings of the harrow may be taken off, and the hoes only used ; or the hoes
displaced, and the harrow only employed.
2544. Ulaikics inverted horse-hoe consists of a line of coulters set in a beam, and this
beam attached to the axle of a pair of common wheels. It hoes several rows at once, and
instead of being straight the coulters are all curved or kneed, and set back to back so as
to include a row between each pair. The advantage of the kneed or bent form of the
lower part of the coulter is, that the soil is pared off in a sloping direction from the
plants, which are thus not so liable to be choked up with earth as by a broad hoe or
share ; or to have their roots so much exposed to the air as by cutting perpendicularly
down close to the row by a common coulter. It is chiefly adapted for drilled corn, and
then it works several rows : in turnips it may work one or two according to the soil ; in
all cases where the width between the rows admits, the agricultor should be more anxious
to stir the soil to a good depth than to skim over a great extent of surface, merely cutting
over the weeds.
2545. Morton's universal drill plough and harrow (fig. 306.) answers both as a double
mould-board plough, and a horse-hoe ; is much approved of in the culture of drilled
806
crops ; and with some slight attentions it may be also employed as a small plough for
taking the earth from the sides of the ridglets. When it is used as a horse-hoe, the
mould-boards arc taken off, and two curved cutters or coulters, expand from the beam on
Book IV.
HORSE HOES.
385
each side to a less or greater distance according to the width of the interval between tlie
plants, and approach each other in the bottom of the furrow where the share supplies
their place. This machine is well adapted for light soils, and can be set to work very
near the rows of plants ; it is particularly useful in cutting up annual weeds preparatory
to hand-hoeing, which it greatly facilitates. When it is to be employed as a single or
double mould-board plough, tlie cutters are witlidrawn.
2546. A double mould-board plough is formed of this implement, by applying its two
mould-boards (g,g) ; and a paring plough by applying the expanding wings (b, d), and
curved coulters (;>) ; a scuffler is 307
formed by applying twoscufflers
(f) in places of these coulters ;
a drill harrow by adding a tri-
angular frame with tines (Jig.
307.), and which may be ren-
dered in effect a brake harrow
by increasing their size, or a
horse-hoe by substituting hoes
(k, k, k). Lastly, it may be rendered a paring pfough by substituting a suitable body and
share [h). (Supp. Encyc. Brit. vol. i. p. 200.)
2547. Amos' s expanding horse-hoe and harrow {fig. 308.) is said to be much used in
Lincolnshire. The hoe is constructed with expanding shares («, a,), which can be set to
different distances as may be required, within the limits of twelve and thirty inches.
The harrow which is attached to it, is found advantageous in clearing lands from suc-
cessive crops of weeds, as well as in bringing
them to a proper state for the purpose of cropping ;
serving in this respect as a cultivator.
2548. The hoe and castor ivheel {fig. 309.) is
said to enable the holder to guide the shares more
correctly between narrow rows of corn drilled on
a flat surface. It is not often required, and must be
unnecessary if the rows have been correctly sown. "Z.
2549. The thistle hoe or hoe set/the {fig. 310.) is an invention by Amos. " It is used,"
he says, « for the purpose of cutting over thistles, and other injurious weeds in pasture
lands. In the execution of the work it not only greatly reduces the expense, but
executes it in a much closer manner than by the common scythe. One man and a
horse are said to be capable of cutting over twenty acres in a day. The leading share
(a) is made of cast steel, in the form of an isosceles triangle, whose equal sides are fourteen
mches long, and its base twelve inches; it is about one eighth of an inch thick in the
middle, tapering to a very fine edge on the outsides ; and the scythes {b, b, b) are fixed
to four pieces of ash wood, three inches square, and two feet four inches long. These
scythes are three feet long from point to point, four inches broad at the widest part,
and made of cast steel. The agriculture, where such a machine as this is wanted, must
surely be of a very rude and imperfect kind ; for even supposing the machine to cut over
the thistles, that operation cannot be so efl'ectual as cutting tliem under the collar by
hand with the spade or spud.
C c
386
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
2550. The only essential machine of this class is the hoe plough of Wilkie ; or any
other similar one.
Sect. II. Of Machines for Sowing and Planting.
2551. Machines for sowing or planting i7i rotvs, are very various and often too compli-
cated. Harte says, the first
drill machine was invented by a
German, and presented to the
court of Spain in 1647 ; but it
appears, from a communication
to the Board of Agriculture,
that a sort of rude drill or
drill plough has been in use
in India from time immemo-
rial. Their use is to deposit
the seed in equidistant rows
on a flat surface; on the
top of a narrow ridge ; in
the interval between two
, ridges ; or in the bottom of
a common furrow. Corn
when drilled is usually sown
in the first of these ways;
turnips in the second; and
peas and beans in the third
and fourth. The practice
of drilling corn does not .;
however seem to be gaining ground, and even where it is found of advantage to have
311 n f\„ the plants rise in parallel rows, this is some-
times done by means of what is called ribbing, a
process more convenient in many cases than
sowing with a drilling machine.
2552. Of com drills, Cooke's improved
drill and horse-hoe (Jig. 311.) though not the
most fashionable, is one of the most useful
implements of this kind on light dry soils, even
surfaces, and in dry climates. It has been
much used in Norfolk and Suffolk, and many
other parts of England. The advantages of this
machine are said to consist; 1. In the wheels
being so large that the machine can travel on
any road without trouble or danger of breaking ; also from the farm to the field, &c.
without taking to pieces. 2. In the coulter-beam (a), with all the coulters, moving with
great ease, on the principle of the pentagraph, to the right or left, so as to counteract the
irregularity of the horse's draught, by %vhich means the drills may be made straight : and
where lands or ridges are made four and a half, or nine and a half feet wide, the horse
may always go in the furrow, without setting a foot on the land, either in drilling or
horse-hoeing. 3. In the seed supplying itself regularly, without any attention, from
the upper to the lower boxes as it is distributed- 4. In lifting the pin on the coulter-
beam to a hook on the axis of the wheels ; by which means the coulters are kept out of
the ground at the end of the land, without the least labor or fatigue to the person who
attends the machine. 5. In going up or down steep hills, in the seed-box being elevated
or depressed accordingly, so as to render the
distribution of the seed regular; and the
seed being covered by a lid, and thus screened
from wind or rain. The same machine is
easily transformed into a cultivator, horse-
lioe (^5-^ 12.) 5 scarifier, or grubber, all which
operations it encounters exceedingly well;
and by substituting a corn-rake, stuble-rake,
or quitch-rake, for the beam of coulters, or
hoes (a), it will rake corn-stubbles, or clean
lands of root weeds. When corn is to be sown
in rows, and the intervals hoed or stirred, we
know of no machine superior to this one, and
from being long in a course of manufacture,
few can be made so cheap. But these ad-
vantages, tliough considerable in the process
Book IV.
DRILL MACHINES.
387
of drilling, are nothing, when compared witli tliose which arise from the use of tJie horse-
hoe ; with which from eight to ten acres of land may be hoed in one day, with one man,
a boy, and one horse, at a trifling expense, in a style far superior, and more effectual,
than any hand-hoeing whatever ; also at times and seasons when it is impossible for the
hand-hoe to be used at all.
2553. The Norfolk drill or improved lever drill {Jig. 313. ^ is a corn drill on a larger
scale than Cooke's, as it sows a breadth of nine feet at once : it is chiefly used in the light
soils of Norfolk and Suffolk as being more expeditious thaw Cooke's, but it also costs
about double the sum.
2554. Cooke's three roxu corn drill is the large machine in a diminutive form, and is ex-
ceedingly convenient for small de-
mesne farms where great neatness
is attended to. It can be used as
a cultivator, hoe, rake, &c. like the
other.
2555. Of fMrni;) tZri/Zs. the best,
when this root is cultivated on a
large scale, is the improved Nor-
thumberland drill {fig. 314.). The
roller (a) which goes before the
seed has two concavities, and thus i
leaves the two ridges in the very best
form for the seed (2473.); after
these are sown, two light rollers |
{h, h) follow and cover them. It is |
drawn by one horse, sows two rows
at once, and seldom goes out of I
repair. '
2556. Frenclis turnip drill {Jig.
315. ) is the most perfect implement
of the kind. French was a Nor-
thumberland mechanist, and in-
vented the concavities in the tur-
nip rollers (2473.); soon after
which he died, and it was some-
time before his invention attracted
notice. Concave rollers, however, and curved coulters may be considered as two of the
greatest improvements that have been made in the machines used in turnip culture since
that root was first cultivated in drills. Besides the improvement of the concave rollers,
this machine is easily put in and out of gear by means of a lever {a) ; and since it has
become the fashion to sow pulverised manure with turnip seed , two hoppers {b, b) have
Cc 2
388
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
been added for that purpose. The seed and manure, when deposited in the gutter
315
traced by the coulters (c, c), is covered by two small flat rollers as in the common Nor-
thumberland drill,
2557. The Northumberland one row turnip drill (Jig- 316.) has two wheels which run
in the hollows on each side
of the drill or ridge to be
sown ; by which means the
sower is enabled to keep the
row exactly in the centre of
the drill. The ridges are
' previously rolled, either by
a common or concave roller ;
the latter being preferable,
and as the horse goes in the
furrow at one side of the
drill to be sown, of course
he draws from one side of
the draught-bar of the bar-
row. A small roller follows,
and covers and presses in the
seed. A recent improvement in this machine is the addition of a hopper (a), for pulverised
manure, over which, a barrel of water might easily be suspended if deemed requisite.
2558. Of bean drills there are three kinds, all equally good : one for sowing in prepared
drills or after the plough, which is
pushed by manual labor, and has been
already described (2469.) : one attach-
ed to a light plough, which draws a fur-
row in prepared soil and sows a row at
the same time (Jig. 317.); and one
which can be fixed between the handles
of any common plough for the same
purpose. The former has a wheel (a)
to regulate the depth of the furrow,
and a lever (b) to thro^he drill out of gear on turning at the ends of the ridges.
It is an useful and very effective implement; though a skilful ploughman will eflfect the
same object by a drill placed between the handles of a common swing plough.
2559. Weir s expanding bean drill to sow four rows, is affixed to a pair of wheels and
axle, in the manner of Cooke's drill. The axle which passes through the drill boxes has
four moveable brushes and cylinders, by which means any widths, within tliat of the axle,
can be given. Where ground is prepared and ribbed, and where there is not a Cooke's
drill on the premises, this machine may be resorted to with convenience.
Book IV. DRILL MACHINES. 389
2560. IFeir's manuring one row turnip drill (Jig. 318.) is a remarkable improvement
on llie Northumberland implement. It has a manure hopper (a) and a seed hopper (6),
the same as the other; but the manure, in place of being dropped along with the seed, is
deposited in a deep gutter, made by a coulter (c) which goes before; this manure is co-
vered by a pronged coulter (d) which follows the other ; next comes the coulter which
forms the gutter for the seed (e) . The seed is thus deposited about one inch above the
manure. One roller of the concave kind goes before the machine, and another light one
of the common kind follows after it : or without attached rollers, the drill may be affixed
to one side of the common roller behind, which roller may prepare one drill and cover the
seed sown on another eaqji course.
2561. A machine for dibbling beans, impelled by manual labor, has been already noticed
(2469). A horse dibbling machine {jig. 319.) has been invented, though very little used,
Co 3
ai90
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
and being rather complicated in its movements, it will require considerable simplification
before it can be recommended. A heavy cast iron roller, with protruding angular rings,
might form drills for the beans, and, probably, some machine of tliis sort might distribute
them singly or nearly so, and at regular distances. But the best cultivators prefer sowing
in drills, thicker than in dibbling, in order to admit of a wide interval for culture, so as
not only to clean the surface as between dibbled rows, but to stir and work the soil, and
produce a sort of semi-fallow.
2562. The block plough drill is an equiangular triangular block, SO inches to a side,
with cast iron scuffler teeth and wooden blocks slipped over them. A field being ribbed
or laid up in ridgelets with this implement, is next sown broadcast with wheat and bush-
harrowed, by which the grain rises in rows, as accurately as if sown witli the drill. (^Farm.
Mag. vol. xxiii. p. 406.)
2563. T/ie drill roller is so contrived as to form regular small incisions or drills in the
ground at proper depths for the seed. It is merely a common roller mostly of iron,
about seven feet long, about which are put cutting-wheels of cast iron, that turn round
the common cylinder, each independently of the others, which cylinder generally weighs
about a ton. It is drawn by three or four horses abreast, and driven by a man elevated
behind them ; the cutting- wheels being moveable, may be fixed at any distance, by means
of washers ; but the most common and favorite distances is four to six inches. It is
said to have been found effectually productive of the principal benefits which have been de-
rived from the operation of drill-ploughs, or the practice of dibbling and setting the corn
by hand, with the great advantage of saving both time and expense ; as, by the use of this
simple machine, one man may sow and cover five or six acres of corn in one day, using
for the purpose three horses, on account of its weight. It was at first chiefly used on
clover or other grass-leys on the first ploughing, but may be as properly employed on
land which has been three or four times ploughed. The mode of working it is this : a
clover-ley or other ground being ploughed, which the cultivator intends for setting or
dibbling, this kind of roller is used to save the expense. It is drawn across the furrows,
and cuts the whole field into little drills, four inches asunder; the seed is then sown
broadcast in the common quantity, and the land bush-harrowed ; by which means the
seed is deposited at one equal depth, as in drilling, and that depth a better one than in
setting, and the crop rises free from the furrow-seams, which are the ill effects of common
broadcast sowing, at least on a ley ploughed once." To us this machine, so much
praised by some writers, seems merely an ingenious mode of increasing the expenses of
culture. By the use of a plough, such as Small's, that will cut a square furrow, no machine
of this sort can possibly become necessary. The land when ploughed will be left in little
drills, and being sown broadcast, the seed will come up as if it had been drill-rolled or
ribbed. It is admitted, however, that the pressure of the roller may be useful in soft
lands, and may, possibly, as already mentioned (2515.), keep down the wire-worm.
2564. The drill watering machine (Jig. 320.) is an implement of recent invention by
John Young, a surgeon, in Edinburgh. It is used for watering turnips and other drill
crops in dry seasons; and promises to be a valuable addition to the amateur agricul-
turist, in dry seasons or situations, or where it is an important object to secure a crop. It
has been much approved of by the Highland Society of Scotland and the Dalkeith
Farmer's Society. (See Farm. Mag. vol. xxi. p. 1.) The machine consists of a barrel,
mounted upon a cart frame, which discliarges water from a ball stop-cock, having
four mouths (a) which commimicate by means of a leathern hose, with four horizontal
tubes {b, b, b, h), shut up at the end by a screw (c), which admits of the tube being cleaned.
Book IV. HARROWS. 391
The tubes are placed parallel with the drills, two between the wheels of the cart, and one
on the outside of each wheel ; the distance of the tubes, and their height fVom the surface,
is regulated by hooks and chains; and the water is discharged in small streanris, through
twenty projecting apertures in the under part of the tubes. The tubes are suspended by
chains to the hooks in an iron rod, secured to the fore and back part of the frame of t!ie cart.
The mouth of the funnel on the top of the barrel, is covered with a wire-cloth, to prevent
any thing getting in to clog the apertures. As the quantity of water let out by the
apertures is less than what is received into the tubes, the tubes are always full ; by
which a regular discharge is kept up from all the apertures at the same time. As the
machine advances, the stream which falls from the first aperture upon the plants, is fol-
lowed up by a stream from all the apertures in the tube; therefore each plant must
receive all that is discharged from twenty apertures.
2565. Estimate qf its operation. Supposing the barrel to contain 200 gallons, and the tubes.to be five
feet long, the diameter of the tubes three-eighths of an inch, and the diameter of the apertures in the tubes
to be one-sixteenth of an inch, 200 gallons will be discharged from 80 such apertures in two hours one-third.
The diameter of the mouths of the stop-cock must be equal to the diameter of the tubes. The horse going
at the rate of 2^ miles in one hour, in two hours and twenty minutes will go 5 miles five-sixths. The dis-
tance between four drills is 6 feet 9 inches ; therefore, if we suppose a parallelogram to be 6 feet 9 Inches
broad,and 5 miles five-sixths long, the area of this parallelogram will be 4 acres 3 roods 1-6 perches, which
will be watered by 200 gallons in two hours and twenty minutes : and in one hour it will water 2 acres 7'27
Eerches, supposing the water to flow uniformly ; but the quantity given out upon the drills must be regu-
ited by the progressive movement of the machine.
2566. In construction it is neither complicated nor expensive ; it may be erected upon the frame of a cart
used for other purposes in husbandry; and the barrel and apparatus maybe furnished for about six
pounds sterling, supposing the stop-cock and connecting-screws to be made of brass, and the tubes of copper
or tin. This machine may be used for other purposes ; such as the application of urine as a manure, or
of a solution of muriate of soda, which has been proposed for some crops.
2567. The essential drill machines are French's for turnips, Cooke's for corn, and the
drill attached to a plough (2558.) for beans.
Sect. III. Of Harrows.
2568. The harroio is an implement of equal antiquity with the plough, but it does not
appear to have undergone so much improvement as that implement ; nor, indeed, is it
capable of so much. The chief circumstances in which harrows have been rendered more
applicable and convenient, seem to be in the position and mode of fixing in the tines or
teeth, the direction of the bulls, and the manner in which the horses are attached in
drawing the implements. It has been suggested by the author of The Gentleman
Farmer, that no one harrow, whatever its construction may be, can be suitable for every
sort of soil, or can act with equal effect on such grounds as are rough and smooth, or
firm and loose : they must be adapted to the nature of the land, and the particular pur-
poses the operator has in view. It is sufficiently evident, that in the lighter sorts of land,
a small light harrow, with short tines or teeth, may be suflRcient for the purpose ; but in
strong, heavy, and tenacious soils, or such as have been newly broken up from the state
of old leys, or from a state of nature, such as commons, moors, and wastes, a harrow
which has a much greater weight and longer teeth is to be preferred ; and even where
the land is rough and not easily reduced, as in the fallowing and reducing of strong
clays, two harrows combined with each other may frequently be proper and necessary,
in order to fully separate and break down the cloddy soil. And for these uses, it has
also been found better, especially where the land is stiflT, tenacious, and abounds much
with the roots of weeds, that tlie harrows should not be too thickly set with teeth ; as under
such circumstances, where they have a number of teeth, they not only soon fill and choak
up, which prevents them from working, but are confined too much to the surface, by which
the soil is very imperfectly broken down and reduced into a state of powdery fineness.
2569. The harrows most generally used {fg. .321.) are of an oblong shape, each con-
taining twenty prongs or tines, five or six inches long
beneath the hulls or bars in wliich they are inserted. It
is still common for every harrow to work separately ;
and though always two, and sometimes three, are
placed together, each of them is drawn by its own
horse. The great objection to this method is, that it is
scarcely possible, especially upon rough ground, to
prevent the harrows from starting out of their place,
and riding on one another. To obviate this incon-
venience, the exterior bulls of each are usually sur-
mounted by a frame of wood, raised so high as to j ^"^S^ — -^-^
protect it from the irregular motions of its neighbor ; ^"^^'^^tsJ;^ ^ „ „ „ ■
but in many instances they are connected by chains Tt^ ^r ° « ° « ^^^r^
or hinges, or cross-bars, which is a preferable plan. I' il f ' *
Another objection which has been made to the common harrow is, that the ruts made
by the tildes are sometimes too near and sometimes too distant from one another ;
but this is probably not a great fault when the soil requires io be pulverised as w ell as
C c 4
392
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IT.
tl>e seed covered, especially when they are permitted to move irregularly in a lateral di-
rection. Where the soil is already fine, as it ought always to be before grass seeds are
sown, lighter harrows are used, which are so constructed, that all the ruts are equidistant.
2570. Tlie angular- sided hinged harrow {Jig. 322. ) is one of the best implements of
the kind, as it both operates on the ground with great regularity, and is less liable to
ride or be deranged in turnmg, than the common, or the rhomboidal harrow.
2571. The improved Scotch or rhomboidal harrow [Jig. 323.), consists of two harrows
joined together ; they are generally made heavy c-t*^ 323
or light, according to the purpose for which they are
intended, or the nature of the ground on which they
are to be employed. Iron rods are fixed in two
bulls of each harrovi^, having hasps and hooks ;
by this means the harrows are connected, and the
same distance from one another is preserved, as that
between any two bulls in the harrow ; and though
the teeth are not placed equidistant from each other
in the bulls of this, as well as in the bulls of the
old harrow, nevertheless, the teeth in this harrow
move in lines equidistant from each other, so that
not any two teeth of these harrows move in the
same track ; and, as they divide the surface into
equal small parts, the ground must be pulverised in
a more expeditious and superior manner, than can
Jw done by the old common harrow. This advan-
tage is obtained by forming the harrow not square,
but of a rhomboidal shape, the angle of which must be according to the number of the teeth.
2572. The grass seed harrow is only a lighter construction of the rhomboidal harrow
or of any other approved form.
2573. The brake or levelling harrow (Jg. 324.) is a valuable implement. It consists
of two frames, the one trian-
gular and the other oblong.
By means of the handles, the
oblong part of this brake can
either be raised up or de-
pressed ; so that when the
ground is cut in small pieces
by the teeth of the triangular
harrow, then the cblong har-
row following, its teeth being
i)ressed down into the high
parts, carry or drag part of
the soil off from the heights;
and when they are raised up
by the handles, leave that soil
ooooeiO^
mi
in the hollow or low parts.
By this means, the ground is brouglu nearly to one plain
Book IV.
ROLLERS.
393
surface, wheUicr tljat surFacc bo horizontal or sloping. Sometirries it may be found ne-
cessary to place a greater number of teeth in the oblong part of the brake, so as they may
be nearer to one another, and perform the operation more effectually. The teeth are
made sharp or thin on the fore-edge, for cutting ; broad and thick on the back, for
strength ; and tapering, from a little below the bulls to their joints.
2574. Grai/^ s seed-haiTOW for
wet weather {fig. 325.), pro-
mises to be useful in certain
situations, as in a tenacious re-
tentive soil and moist climate.
The sowing of wheat under ex-
isting circumstances, is one of
the most important branches of
the corn farmer's labor. In
some backward seasons, it is
almost impossible to get wheat
land harrowed according to the
common method, especially land
that has been reduced by sum-
mer-fallow, without subjecting
it to poaching from the horses,
which is not only unfavorable
to the soil, but also occasions a
great waste of seed. Hence it
often happens, that a less quantity of grain is got sown than was intended, or requisite for
the supply of the market. The beam (a) to which the harrows are attached, admits of
being made shorter or longer as the width of the ridge requires ; the shafts have freedom
to turn round either to the right hand or to
the left, and the teeth of the harrows are
placed square in the bulls, so that they can
be drawn from either end at pleasure. The
wheels {Jig, 326.) may be from three to four
feet in diameter if made on purpose ; but for <^
the professional farmer it will be sufficient to
borrow a pair from a one horse cart.
2^75. Harrows of various kinds are now very frequently made of iron, which, when
the material is not too dear, is a desirable circumstance on account of their durability.
2576. The bush harrow (fig. 327.) is used for harrowing grass lands, and covering
grass, or clover seeds ; small rigid branches of spray are interwoven in a frame, consist-
ing of three or more cross-bars, fixed into two end-pieces in such a manner as to be very
327
rough and brushy underneath. To the extremities of the frame before are sometimes
attached two wheels, about twelve inches in diameter, upon which it moves ; sometimes,
however, wheels are not employed, but the whole rough surface is applied to, and dragged
on, the ground.
2577. 3%c' onli/ essential implement (fthe harrow kind is the rhomboidal {fig. 323.).
Sect. IV. Of Rollers.
2578. The roller is constructed of wood, stone, or cast-iron, according to conve-
nience or the purposes for which it is to be used. For tillage lands, the roller is used to
break the lumps of earth, and in some cases to press in and firm the ground about newly-
sown seed ; on grass lands it is used to compress and smooth the surface, and render
it better adapted for mowing. It has been matter of dispute whether rollers with large
or small diameters have the advantage in point of effect upon the land. It is probable
that there may be incouveniencies in both extremes. The roller should not, however, be
so small as to require much loading, as by such means much time and labor is lost. A
394
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part 1L
late writer advises, that in " constructing heavy rollers, the workmen should be careful
that they have not too great a diameter, whatever the material be of which they are form-
ed, as the pressure is diminished where the implement is of very large size, by its resting
on too much surface at once, except an addition of weight in proportion be made. By
having the roller made small, when loaded to the same weight, a much greater effect will
be produced, and a considerable saving of expense be made in the construction of the
implement." And he recommends that " all the larger sorts of rollers should have
double shafts, in order that they may be drawn by two horses abreast ; and such as are
employed for arable lands should have a scraper attached to them. This addition, he
thinks, saves much time, and prevents the driver the trouble of constantly scraping the
machine, especially in wet seasons, and clayey tena- 328 | n
cious lands. Strong frames are also necessary for^^"^f?°'^i=s=:r- ' -»iQ — -iA.
rollers, so that proper weights may be put upon them ; ^
and open boxes or carts (Jig. 328.) placed upon
them may sometimes be requisite, m order to contain
any additional weight that may be thought proper, as
well as to receive stones or other matters that may be picked up from the ground. Pieces
of wood or stone, as heavy as a man can lift, are the most suitable substances for loading
these implements with, where they have not the advantage of boxes" for the purpose of
containing such weighty substances.
2579. The common roller is employed for the common purposes of reducing soils, and
for rolling wheat or other crops in the spring, and grass-seeds. It is generally about
five or six feet long, and from fifteen to thirty inches in diameter ; but those employed
for flattening one-bout ridges, in order to prepare them for drilling turnips upon, are
commonly shorter and of much less diameter.
2580. The j^i^rted cast-iron roller was invented to remedy the inconvenience ex-
perienced in the use of the common implement in turning at the ends of ridges or other
places, where, from their not moving upon their axis, but being drawn along the surface
of the ground, they are liable to bear it up, and make depressions before the cylinder
comes again into the direct line of draught ; and at the same time they are not brought
round without great exertion in the teams. The cylinder, in two pieces (fig. 329. ),
obviates this inconvenience by enabling the two parts to turn round on their own axis,
the one forward, and the other in a retrograde direction.
2581. The spiky or compound roller is occasionally employed in working fallows, or
preparing stiflP bean land for wheat. In stifi* clay-ground, when ploughed dry, or which
has been much trod upon, the furrow-slice will rise in large lumps, or liard clods,
which tlie harrow cannot break so as to cover the seed in a proper manner. In this
state of the ground, the rollers commonly used have little effect in breaking these hard
clods. Indeed, the seed is often buried in the ground, by the clods being pressed down
upon it by the weight of the roller. To remedy this, the spike-roller has been em-
ployed, and found very useful ; but a roller can be made, which, perhaps, may answer
the purpose better than the spike one. This roller is formed from a piece of hard
wood, of a cylindrical form, on which are placed several rows of sharp-pointed darts,
made either of forged iron, or cast metal. These darts, by striking the hard clods in a
sloping direction, cut or split them into small pieces ; and, by this means, they must be
more easily pulverised by the harrow.
Book IV.
LEVELLING MACHINES.
395
2582. The roller and water box (Jig. 329.) is sometimes used for watering spring
crops, or clovers with liquid manure, previously rolling them. It has the advantage of a
more perfect machine, in the holes being easily cleaned when choaked up with the thick-
ened water. Such a machine can seldom require the roller attached.
2583. The furrow-roller (fg.330.), is con-
trived for the purpose of rolling the furrows in
steep hilly situations, and other places where the
common sort cannot be employed.
2584. T/ie Norfolk drill-roller, and the ridge
and furrow concave or scalloped roller attached to
certain turnip-drills, have already been depicted
(2553. and 2556.).
2585. The pressing plough is a term erroneously applied to a machine of the roller
kind, which has been already described (2515.).
2586. The only essential roller for general purposes, is the parted cast-iron roller, with
a scraper, and box over.
Sect. V. Of Machines for laying Land even. Hind other occasional or atwmalous Tillage
Machines.
2587. Various machines for agricultural purposes are occasionally brought into notice
by amateur cultivators, and some even by the professional farmer. It is, indeed, the
privilege and the characteristic of wealth and intelligence, to procure to be made what-
ever particular circumstances may require, in every department of the mechanical agents
of culture. We shall only notice a few, and that chiefly for the purpose of shewing the
resources of the present age.
2588. Of machines for layiyig land level two may be noticed : in the first and best
{fig. 331.), the horses are harnessed
to a pole (a), which is joined to an axle
having a pair of low wheels {b, c). Into
this axletree are mortised two long side-
pieces (rf), terminating in handles (e, e).
Somewhat inclined to these long or up-
per side pieces, shorter lower ones are
joined by cross pieces, and connected by
strong side-boards. The machine has
no bottom ; its back part (/), is strongly attached to an axle {fig. 332 g), and to the
bottom of this the scraper part {h) is firmly screwed. The front ends of the slide
irons (fig. 331 m), turning up, pass easily through mortises
in the upper side-pieces (d), where, by means of pins,
the inclination of the slide irons, and of the back board,
can be adjusted within narrow limits, according to the
nature of the soil to be levelled, and the mass of earth
previously loosened by ploughing. This earth the
back board is intended to collect and force before it,
until the machine arrives at the place where it is in-
tended to be deposited. Here, by lifting up the hinder
part of the machine by its handles (e, e), the contents
are left on the ground, and the machine proceeds to a
fresh hillock. [Supp. Encyc. Brit. i. 25.)
2589. The Flemish levelling machine {fig. 333.) may
be considered as a shovel, on a large scale, to be drawn by
*a pair of horses ; it collects earth at the pleasure of the
holder, who contrives to make the horses turn over the
shovel and empty the contents by merely letting go the handle (a), and recovering it by
means of a cord (6), when emptied, as already described (501. J.
fxscsooobcp
2590. The leveUing harrow (2573.) is adequate for all ordinary purposes.
396
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Paki II.
Sect. VI. Of Machines for reaping and gatftering the Crop.
2591. The horse machines of harvest and hay time are chiefly the threshing macliine,
the hay tedder, and horse rakes.
SuBSECT. 1. (f Horse Rakes and Haymaking Machines.
2592. Raking machines are not in very general use ; but where corn is mown, they
are successfully employed in drawing together the scattered stallcs, and are also of great
use in hay-making. The saving in both cases ^^^
consists in the substitution of animal for manual
labor.
2593. The common or Norfolk horse-rake (Jig.
334.) is employed for barley and oat crops, and
also for hay. One man, and a horse driven by
means of a line or rein, are capable of clearing
from twenty to thirty acres, in a moderate day's
work ; the grain being deposited in regular rows
or lines across the field, by simply lifting up the
tool and dropping it from the teeth, without the horse being stopped.
2594. The horse stubble rake [fig. 335.) is a large
heavy kind of horse rake, having strong iron teeth,
fourteen or fifteen inches in length, placed at five or
six inches from each other, and a beam four inches
square, and eight or ten feet in length. In drawing
it two horses are sometimes made use of, by which it
is capable of clearing a considerable quantity of stub-
ble in a short time. In general, however, it is much
better economy to cut the stubble as a part of the
straw.
2595. The couch-grass rake differs little from the
last, and is employed in fallowing very foul lands, to
collect the couch-grass or other root weeds. It may
be observed, however, that where a good system of
cultivation is followed,, no root weeds will ever obtain such an ascendancy in the soil, as
to render an implement of this kind requisite.
2596. Weirs improved hay or com rake {fig. 336.) is adjusted by wheels, and is readily
put in and out of gear, by means of the handles {a, a) and bent iron stays (Jb,b).
It is drawn by one horse in shafts (c), and is a very elFective implement.
2597. The hay tedding machine [fig. 337.), invented about 1800, by Salmon of Wo-
burn, has been found a very useful implement, especially in making natural or meadow
hay, which requires to be so much more frequently turned, and thinner spread out, than
hay from clover and rye grass. It consists of an axle and pair of wheels, the axle
forming the shaft of an open cylindrical frame, formed by arms proceeding from it,
and from the extremities of which bars are fixed, set witli iron prongs, pointing outwards,
and about six inches long and curved. There is a crank by which this cylinder of prongs is
Book IV.
RAKES AND REAPING MACHINES.
337
397
raised from the ground, when the machine is going to, and rctux-ning from, the field ; or when
it is not wanted to operate. It is drawn by one horse, and, on
the whole, answers as a tedding machine perfectly- In the
neighborhood of London, where meadow hay is so exten-
sively made, it is found to produce a great saving of labor,
and is now coming into very general use.
2598. The hay swoop or sweei) {fig. 338.) is an implement
for drawing or sweeping accumulations of hay to the cart
or rick, or to any larger accumulations. Sometimes a rope
is merely put round the heap, especially if it has been a
few days in the cock, or piled up ; but the most gene-
ral hay-swooj) consists of two curved pieces of wood, six
or eiglit feet long, joined by upright pieces, so as to form
something like the back of a chair. To the four corners
of this, ropes are attached, which meet in the hook of a
one horse Whipple tree («).
SuBSECT. 2. Reaping Machines.
2599. Though reaping machines, as we have seen (133.), are as old as the time of the
Romans, one of an effective description is yet a desideratum in agriculture. The high
price of manual labor, however, will probably in time call forth such a reaping machine
as may be employed in all ordinary situations, and this is, perhaps, all tliat can be desired
or expected. Corn laid down, or twisted and matted by wind and rain, or growing
among trees, or on very irregular surfaces, or steep sides of hills, will probably ever
require to be reaped by hand. But independently of the high price of labor, despatch,
as an able author observes (Supp. Encyc. Brit. i. 118), is a matter of great importance in
such a climate as that of Britain. In reaping corn at the precise period of its maturity, the
advantages of despatch are incalculable, especially in those districts where the difficulty
of procuring hands, even at enormous wages, aggravates the danger from the instability
of the season. It cannot, therefore, fail to be interesting ; and we hope it may be also
useful, to record some of the more remarkable attempts that have been made towards an
invention so eminently calculated to forward this most important operation.
2600. The first attempt at a reaping machine, so far as we have learned, was made by Boyce, who
obtained a patent for a reaping machine fifteen or twenty years ago. This machine was placed in a
two-wheeled carriage, somewhat resembling a common cart, but the wheels were fixed upon the axle, so
that it revolved along with them. A'cog-wheel, within the carriage, turned a smaller one at the upper end
of an inclined axis, and at the lower end of this was a larger wheel, which gave a rapid motion to a pinion
fixed upon a vertical axis, in the fore part of the carriage, and rather on one side, so that it went before
one of the wheels of the carriage. The vertical spindle descended to within a few inches of the surface
of the ground, and had there a number of scythes fixed upon it horizontally. This machine, when
wheeled along, would, by the rapid revolution of its scythes, cut down a portion of the corn growing upon
the ground over which it passed, but having no provision for gathering up the com in parcels and laying
it in proper heaps, it was wholly unsuited to the purjwse.
2601. An i?nprovement on this attempt was made by Plucknet, an agricultural implement maker, of
London, some years afterwards. The principal alteration he made, was in substituting for the scythes a
circular steel plate, made very sharp at the edge, and notched at the upper side like a sickle. This plate
acted in the same manner as a very fine toothed saw, and was found to cut the corn much better than the
scythes of the original machine.
2602. A machine, invented by Gladstones, of Castle Douglas, in the stewartry of Kircudbright, operated
upon nearly the same principles with Plucknet's ; but Gladstone's made its work much better by intro-
ducing a circular table, with strong wooden teeth notched below all around, which was fixed immediately
over the cutter and jjarallel to it. The use of these teeth was to collect the corn and retain it till jt was
operated on by the circular cutter. The corn, when cut, was received upon this table, and, when a suffi-
cient quantity was collected, taken away by a rake or sweeper, and laid upon the ground beneath the
Biachine, in separate parcels. To this machine was added a small circular wheel of wood, covered with
398
SCIENCE OF AGIIICULTURE.
Part II.
emery, which, being always kept in contact with the great cutter at the back ixirt, or opposite side to that
where the cutting was ijerformed, kept it constantly ground to a sharp edge.
2603. Salmon of Woburn iTiade the next attempty and his invention, it is said, promised better than
those we have mentioned. It was constructed upon a totally riitterent principle, as it cut the corn by means
of shears; and it was provided with a very complete apparatus for laying it down in parcels as it was cut.
2604. The latest niachiilc {fig. 3j9.), and by much the most ingenif)us and promising of which we have
received any account, is that constructed by Smith, of the Deanston Cotton Works, Perthshire. Smith's
perseverance, his successive improvements, and ingenious yet simple contrivances for remedying defects,
afford strong grounds to hope that he will ultimately succeed in rendering his machine a most valuable
acquisition to agriculturists. He made the first trial of his machine upon a small scale, during the harvest
of 1811. It was then wrought by two men. In 1812 he constructed one upon a larger scale, to be wrought
by a horse ; but though he cut down several acres of oats and barley with considerable ease, it was found
that, when met by an acclivity, the horse could not move the machine with proper effect. In 1813, he
made a more successful attempt, with an improved machine, worked by one man and two horses ; and
(1814) it was still farther improved by an additional apparatus, tending to regulate the application of the
cutter, when working on an uneven surface. This ingenious machine has been again tried, in September
1815, and with much success. A Scotch acre (1^ acre English) of beans was cut down with ease in an
hour and a quarter. The trials made with it on wheat, though not extensive, were satisfactory ; and in
reaping oats, the com was laid down in the most regular manner. The cutter of this machine is circular,
and operates horizontally ; it is appended to a drum connected with the fore-part of the machine, its blade
projecting some inches beyond the periphery of the lower end of the drum ; and the machine is so con-
structed as to communicate, in moving forward, a rapid rotatory motion to this drum and cutter, by
which the stalks are cut, and, falling upon the drum, are carried round and thrown off in regular rows.
This most ingenious piece of machinery will cut about an English acre per hour, during which time the
cutter requires to be four times sharpened with a common scythe stone. The expense of this machine is
estimated at from thirty to thirty-five pounds. If properly managed, it may last for many years j only
requiring a new cutter every two or three years, a repair which cannot cost much.
2605. A machine for reaping the heads or seed pods of clover (Jig. 340.), where the
second growth of that crop is left to stand for seed, 340
has been used in some parts of Norfolk and Suffolk.
It consists of a comb, the teeth of which are lance-
shaped, very sharp and set close. This comb is affixed
horizontally to the fore -part of the bottom of an open
box or barrow, which is drawn by one horse and
guided by a man, who empties the barrow in regular
lines across the field by means of an implement (a), which serves also to clean the teeth.
2606. A machine for moiving clover hay has frequently been attempted, but not yet
perfected. One by Plucknet, of the Blackfriars Road, London, succeeded tolerably,
but never came into use : it consisted of circular knives put into rapid motion, and the
cut stalks guided to one side by a revolving cradle, like that attached to corn and scythes
(2405.). It never came into use.
Sect. VII. Machines of Deportation.
2607. The carriage or conveyance machines of agriculture are chie^y carts and wag-
gons, and tlieir several varieties.
SuBSECT. 1. Carts.
2608. Carts, like other implements, vary in their forms and modes of construction,
according to the nature and situation of the roads, and many other local circumstances ;
but, for the purposes of farming, those of the single-horse kind are in general the most
advantageous and useful. The advantages of single-horse carts, Lord R. Seymour
observes {Ann. Ag. xxvii.),are universally admitted, wherever they have been attentively
compared with carriages of any other description. A horse, when he acts singly, will
do half as much more work as when he acts in conjunction with another ; that is to say,
that two horses will, separately, do as much work as three conjunctively : this arises, in
Book IV.
CARTS.
399
the first place, from the single horse being so near the load he draws; and, in the ixext
place, from the point or line of draught being so much below his breast, it being usual
to make the wheels of single-horse carts low. A horse harnessed singly, has nothing but
his load to contend wita ; whereas, when he draws in conjunction with another, he is
generally embarrassed by some difference of rate, the horse behind or before him moving
quicker or slower than himself; he is likewise frequently inconvenienced by the greater
or lesser Tieight of his neighbor : these considerations give a decided advantage to the
single-horse cart. The very great ease with which a low cart is filled may be added ; as
a man may load it, with the help of a long-handled shovel or fork, by means of his hands
only ; whereas, in order to fill a higher cart, not only the man's back, but his arms and
whole person must be exerted. To the use of single horses in draught there can be no
objection, unless it be the supposed necessity of additional drivers created by it : the fact
however is, that it has no such eflPect; for horses once in the habit of going singly, will
follow each other as uniformly and as steadily as they do when harnessed together; and
accordingly we see, on the most frequented roads in Ireland, men conducting three,
four, or five, single-horse carts each, without any inconvenience to the passengers : such,
likewise, is the case where lime and coal are generally carried upon pack-horses. In
some of the northern counties of Britain also, one man manages two or three, and
sometimes more, one-horse carts.
2609. Carts drawn by one or two horses, says a writer, whose authority is unquestionable
(Supp. Encyc. Brit. ), are the only farm carriages of some of the best cultivated counties,
and no other are ever used in Scotland, Their load depends upon the strength of the
horses, and nature of the roads ; but in every case, it is asserted that a given number of
horses will draw a great deal more, according to some one-third more, in single-horse
carts than in waggons. Two-horse carts are still the most common among farmers in
Scotland ; but those drawn by one horse, two of which are always driven by one man,
are unquestionably preferable for most purposes. The carriers of the west of Scotland
usually load from a ton, to a ton and a half, on a single-horse cart, and no where does it
carry less than 12 cwt. if the roads are tolerable.
2610. Wheels, such as are broad, with conical or convex rims, are common in England ;
in Scotland the wheels are generally narrow, though broader ones are beginning to be
introduced. Those used for tlie common, or two-horse carts, are usually about 4^ feet
high, and mounted on iron axles. The advantages of broad cylindrical wheels have
been illustrated with much force and ingenuity in several late publications. {Communi-
cations to the Board of Agriculture, vol. ii. and vol. vii. part i.)
2611. The Scotch one-horse cart in general use in husbandry is what is called a close
coup cart, and is either used with-
341
out or with a fi-ame (Jig. 341.)
for corn, straw or hay. On draw-
ing out an iron pin, the fore part
of the body rises up from the
shafts, while the other end sinks
and allows the load, whether of
dung, earth, or stores in the close
cart or of hay, or sheaves of corn
on the cart and frame, to fall to
the ground.
2612. The Scotch two-horse cart differs little from the one-horse cart, excepting in
being larger. To prove the inferiority of double to single horse carts. Gray observes,
" that whatever greater part of the load is placed before the centre of gravity, which is
always in the axle, must rest constantly on the horse that is in the shafts. In going
down hill, this burden must be considerably increased, especially if the load be high above
the centre of the axle, or the descent steep ; and the additional burden upon the shaft-
horse is always in proportion to these two causes united. But there is another disad-
vantage ; for unless the line of the draught of the foremost horse be exactly in the line,
from the hook of his collar to the centre of the axle, (which is hardly possible), he will
perpetually be pulling down the hindmost horse, or, in other words, will be giving him
more weight to carry. For, as the traces of the foremost horse are generally fixed u^jon
the shafts, this throws his line of draught at a considerable angle above the centre of the
axle ; from which it is evident, that although the road be ever so level , yet in every
double or two-horse cart, the foremost horse must either not draw at all, or must brijig
additional weight upon the horse in the shafts, which weight will always be in proportion
to the force with which the trace-horse draws, and the largeness of the angle, which tlie
line of his draught makes with the line from the hook of his collar to the centre of the
axle. Besides, unless the driver be more careful than ordinary, and keep the trace horse
to his duty, the other one has not only this great weight to carry, but also the whole load
to draw. The angle is increased considerably, when the trace horse is of a lower sire
400
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Paut II.
than the one in the shafts, which may frequently happen ; and by this moans, a still
greater burden is laid upon the back of the horse employed in the shafts.
2613. Improved two-harse carts (Jig. 342.). It may be suggested to those who are
fond of employing two-horse carts, that in order to adjust the traces of the fore horse
with as little injury as possible to the one behind, and by this means make both their
powers coincide, two iron frames are fixed into the axle, in each of which is placed a
sheeve or whorle. Upon these sheeves, pass a rope or chain (a). In the outside of each
shaft is fixed a long iron staple ; and on each staple, is placed an iron slider (5), having
liberty to shift either forward or backward ; the chain from the collar of the shaft horse
is hooked into the eye of the slider ; and the chain or rope, by which the foremost horse
draws, passing from his collar (c), round on the sheeve at the axle,'is hooked into tlie
other eye of the slider. By this means, the two horses are so connected, that if the one
shall relax, immediately the exertion of the other horse presses the collar hard upon his
shoulders, so that he must either exert himself, or be pulled backwards. Thus the ex-
ertion of the two horses are united, so as to form one power, applied to the cart, in
place of two powers, working generally against one another, which must be the case in the
common way of attaching two horses to a cart. But, by this way of yoking, the shaft
horse receives no additional burden from the exertion of the trace horse, as they both
draw from one point, which is the centre of the axle, to the hooks of their respective
collars, by which their powers must nearly coincide. If this coincidence does not take
place, it is evident that the two horses will, to a certain degree, be pulling against one
another, which must be extremely distressing to each in his turn, especially to the one in
the shafts.
2614. The corn cart has a longer body than the close cart, and the sides and ends are
open and support two rails along each. It is made to fit the axle and wheels of the
close cart, and is chiefly used in haytime and harvest, when it is supposed to admit of
laying on a larger load of sheaves or hay than the cart and frame.
2615. Lord SomervUles drag-cart {Jig. 343.) is constructed with a contrivance for
343
checking or regulating the rapidity of its motion in going down hills or other declivities.
Tlie method for adjusting the position of the centre of gravity of the load, and to pre-
vent its pressing too much on the cattle in going down hill, is by a toothed rack, screwed
to the front of the cart, and worked by a pinion and handle (a) immediately connected
with the pole. By means of this pinion and rack, the front of the carriage is elevated
more or less, in proportion to the declivity of the hill, by which means the weight of the
load is made to bear more on the axis, and less on the necks of the oxen. A friction
drag (J) is made to press more or less on the side of the wheel, according to the steepness
of the descent ; the one end of it is connected with the tail of the cart by a small chain,
and the other end to the front, by means of a toothed rack, which catches on a staple in the
front of the cart, by which the friction-bar may be made to press on the side of the wheel,
more or less, at the discretion of the driver : the notches or teeth in this rack, it is observed,
should be as close to each other as circumstances will permit.
2616. T7te advantages of the friction-drag, and other contrivances, are said to be, 1st. The method, which
is equally simple and cxi»cdUious, of adjusting the centre of gravity of the load, so as to have a proper
Book IV. WAGGONS. 401
bearing on the horses or cattle, in goincrdown hill. 2dly, The method of applying friction to the *ide of
the wheel, to regulate the motion of the carriage in going down hill (instead of l(x;king the wheels), the
advantages of which method appear to be as follow : namely, first, the pressure and degree of friction may,
with great expedition, be adjusted to the steepness of the declivity, so that the carriage will neither press
forward, nor require much exertion to make itSbllow the cattle ; secondly, the friction is so applied to the
wheel, that a given pressure will have twice the effect in retarding the progress that it would have if im-
mediately applied to the body of the carriage, or to the axis : and by applying the friction on both sides of the
wheel, the risk of heating and destroying the friction-bar is much less than if the same degree of friction
was applied in one place. 3dly, This apparatus is so conveniently placed, that it can be instantly applied
or adjusted, without stopping the carriage, or exposing the driver to the same danger as ;n locking a
wheel. And, 4thly, This contrivance will assume yet a greater importance when applied to both the hind
wheels of waggons, by which means the resistance may always be proportioned to the steepness of the
descent, the tearing up of the road prevented, the unnecessary exertion of the Cattle in drawing the locked
carriage down hill avoided, the danger to which the driver is sometimes exposed in locking the waggon-
wheel totally evaded, and the time now lost in locking and unlocking the wheel saved to the proprietor.
2617. The improved quarry cart has a bend in its iron axle, which brings it within four-
teen inches of the ground, although moving on wheels more than five feet high. The
ease with which it is drawn, loaded and unloaded, is superior to the common cart in tlie
proportion of seven to three.
26 1 8. The three wheel cart is a low machine on wheels about two feet in diameter, the
third wheel placed in the middle before, and gengrally of smaller size than the two others.
It is used for convejdng earth or gravel to short distances, as in canal and road making,
and for these purposes it is a most valuable machine, and in very general use.
SuBSHCT. 2. Waggons.
2619. Waggons constructedi in different forms, and of various dimensions, are made
use of in different districts of the kingdom ; and mostly without much attention to the
nature of the roads, or the articles which are to be conveyed by them ; being, in general^
heavy, clumsy, and inconvenient. Waggons require much more power in the draught
than carts, and are far from being so handy and convenient, which is certainly an ob-
jection to them, though they carry a much greater load. There can be no doubt that
more work may be done in any particular time, with the same number of horses, by carts
than by waggons, in the general run of husbandry business, especially where the distance
is small between loading and unloading. Waggons may perhaps be the most proper sort
of conveyances for different sorts of heavy loads to a considerable distance ; but for home
business, especially harvest and other field work, which requires to be speedily performed,
carts seem decidedly preferable.
2620. Waggons, though they may possess some advantages over carts in long journeys-,
and when fully loaded, the editor of The Farmer s Magazine observes, are now
admitted to be much less convenient for the general purposes of a farm, and particularly
on occasions which require great dispatch, as in harvesting the crop.
2621. The Gloucestershire waggon, according to Marshal, is the best in England. By
means of a crooked side-rail, bending archwise over the hind-wheel, the bodies or frames
of them are kept low, without the diameter of the wheels being much lessened. The
bodies are likewise made wide in proportion to their shallowness, and the wheels run six
inches wider than those of most other waggons, whereby advantages in carrying top -loads
are evidently obtained. Rudge, in his survey of the above district, says, that in many
districts, waggons are the principal carriages employed in getting in the hay, and are
either full-bedded, or with three-quarter beds. The former have the advantage of a
greater length of bed, but are not so convenient for turning ; the latter, though dimi-
nished in size, have the convenience of locking the fore-wheels, and turning in almost as
narrow a compass as a chaise, in consequence of the bed being hollowed out on each
side near the middle, to admit the exterior part, or felloes of the fore-wheels. Botli
waggons are capable of carrying nearly the same weight, though tlie former, being deeper
in tiie bed, is somewhat better adapted for the carriage of heavy articles, such as bags of
corn, &c. For the purpose of harvesting, or carrying hay and straw, their length and
widtlj are increased by light ladders before and behind, and of similar contrivances
called "rathes," the whole length of the sides. The ladders are put on and taken off' at
pleasure, in both kinds, but the side additions are generally fixed, except in tlie strait-
headed, which are in use on the western side of the Severn ; in these tliey axe made
removeable, so as to leave tlie bed quite naked.
2622. The Berkshire waggon^^^^ .^^^^^^^ ^^
{Jig. 344.) is constructed on a sim-
ple and convenient principle, not
having the usual height or weight
of other waggons, while it pos-
sesses sufficient strength, and is
easy in the draught. An im-
provement suggested is that of
leaving the space sufficiently deep in the body or bed for the fore- wheels to lock round
in the shortest curve, as in the present manner of its construction, a great deal of time
Dd
402 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
is lost turning at the ends of the swarths, in carrying hay, and on many other occasions.
In this way, the inconvenience may be removed without doing the smallest injury to the
symmetry or strength of the carriage.
2623. The Norfolk cart and waggon is formed by adding a pair of fore- wheels and
shafts to a common cart, connected by a pole from axle to axle. It is said to be light,
cheap, and convenient, and capable of carrying nearly as much hay or straw as the
Berkshire waggon.
2624. Rood's patent waggon {Jig. 34:5.) is a contrivance whereby the same carriage
b
may, in a few minutes, be changed by the driver into two complete tip-carts of the com-
mon dimensions, and applicable to all the uses of carts in general, or into one waggon,
so complete, that a narrow inspection is necessaiy to distinguish it from a common
waggon. The carts have a contrivance (a, a) to render them more safe and easy to the
horse in going down a hill, and have moveable side-ladders, (6, b,) which will be found of
great use in carrying corn, bark, &c. It may be constructed with perfect facility by the
wheel-wrights of any county ; its shape and particular dimensions can be suited to the
wishes of the owner, or to the local fashion of his neighborhood. The result of consi-
derable experience and inquiries, enables its inventor to state, that it may, in any
county, be completed for about five pounds more than the cost of two common carts.
It must, however, be admitted to be somewhat more clumsy than a common waggon.
Sect. VIII. Machines for threshing and otherwise prejyaring Corn for Market.
2625. Threshing and jrreparatory machines include threshing and winnowing machines,
and awn and smut machines. Threshing machines are common in every part of Scotland,
on farms where the extent of tillage-land requires two or more ploughs ; and they are every
year spreading more and more in England and Ireland. They are worked by horses,
water, wind, and, of late, by steam ; and their powers and dimensions are adapted to
the various sizes of farms. Water is by far the best power ; but as a supply cannot be
obtained in many situations, and as wind and steam require too much expense for most .
farms, horses are employed more generally than any other power. Where wind-mills
are erected, it is found necessary to add such machinery as may allow them to be
worked by horses occasionally in very calm weather ; and the use of steam must be
confined, for the most part, to the coal districts.
2626. The operation of separating the grain front the straw was long performed by the flail, to the manifest
injury of both the fanner and the commimity ; for though, in some cases, the work was tolerably well
performed, yet in a greater majority of instances it was otherwise. A quantity, perhaps, equal to the
seed over the county, was lost even in the best cases ; but where the allowance to tlie thresher was
either a proportion of the produce, known by the name of lot, generally a twenty-fifth part; or, when he
was paid in money, at so much per boll, the temptation to do the work in a slovenly manner was so great,
that a quantity, perhaps double of what was required for seed, was lost upon many farms ; an evil that
did not escape the notice of intelligent men, by several of whom attempts were made to construct ma-
chines that would do the work more perfectly ; this, therefore, seems to have led to the construction and
use of this valuable machine.
2627. The first threshing-machine, as before observed (777.), was invented by Menzies, brother to
the then sheriff-depute of East Lothian ; the machinery was driven by a water-wheel, which put in
motion a number of flails of the same kind with those used in threshing by the hand. Trials made with
these machines were so far satisfactory, that a great deal of work was done in a given time, but owing to
the velocity required to do tlie work perfectly, they soon broke, and the invention fell into disgrace.
2628. Another attempt, some time in the year 1758, was made by a farmer in the parish of Dumblane,
in Perthshire. His machine was constructed upon principles similar to the flax -mill, having an upright
shaft with four arms inclosed in a cylinder, three and a half feet in height, and eight in diameter, within
which the shaft and its arms were turned with considerable velocity by a water-wheel. The sheaves, being
presented by the hand, were let down from the top upon the arms, by which the grain was beat out, and,
together with the straw, descended through an opening in the floor, where they were separated by riddles
and fanners, also turned by the water-wheel.
2629. A third attempt, about twenty years after, was made by Elderton, near Alnwick, and Smart, at
Wark, both nearly about the same time. Their machine was so constructed as to act by rubbing, in place
of beating out the grain. The sheaves were carried between an indented drum, about six feet in dia-
meter, and a number of rollers of the same description ranged round the drum, towards which they are
pressed by springs, in such a way as to rub out the grain, when the drum was turned round. Upon trial.
Book IV. THRESHING MACHINES. 403
this machine was also found ineffectual, as along with its doing very little work in a given time, it bruiscti
the grain, and so materially hurt its appearance, as to lessen its value considerably in the market.
265o. The machine in its then imperfect state, was seen by the late Sir Francis Kinloch, Bart, of Gilmcr-
ton, a gentleman well acquainted with mechanics, and who had paid much attention to country affairs ; it
occurred to him that the machine might be rendered more perfect, by inclosing the drum in a fluted cover,
and fixing on the outside of it four fluted pieces of wood, capable of being raised a little from the circum-
ference by springs, in such a way as to press again.^t the fluted cover, and to rub out the grain as the sheaves
passed between them; but after repeated trials, it was found to bruise the grain nearly as much as the
model from which it was copied. In that state it remained for some time, and was afterwards sent by
Sir Francis to a very worthy and ingenious character, Meikle of Know Mill, in his neighborhood, a
mill-wright by profession, who had for a considerable time employed his thoughts upon the same subject.
After much consideration and several trials, it appeared to Meikle that the purpose of separating ;the
grain from the straw might be accomplished upon a principle different from any that had hitherto been
attempted, namely, by skutches acting upon the sheaves by their velocity, and beating out the grain, in
place of pressing or rubbing it out ; accordingly a model was constructetl at Know Mill, in which the
grain was beat out by the drum, to which it was presented through two plain feeding-rollers, which were
afterwards altered for fluted ones. The first machine on a large scale, executed upon this principle, was
done by a son of jMeikle's, for Stein, of Kilbagie, in the year 1786, which, when linished, i)erformed the
work to the satisfaction of all parties, and established Meikle's principle of beating out the corn as superior
to all others. This superiority it still maintains, and is likely ever to do so.
2631. Many improvements have been made on these machines since their introduction. One of the most
useful of these, perhaps, is the method of delivering the straw, after at has been separated from the
corn by the circular rake, to what is called a travelling-shaker, which carries it to the straw-barn. This
shaker, which revolves like the endless web used in cotton and other machinery, is composed of small
rods, placed so near as to prevent the straw from falling through, while any thrashed corn that may not
liave been formerly separated, drops from it in its progress, instead of falling along with it, where it would
be trodden down and lost.
2632. Improved tnode of yoking the horses. It is well known that the work of horses in thresh ing-mills
is unusually severe, if continued for any length of time ; that they sometimes draw unequally ; that
they, as well as the machine itself, are much injured by sudden jerks and strains, which are almost
iniavoidable ; and that, from this irregularity in the impelling power, it requires much care in the man
who presents the corn to the rollers, to prevent bad thrashing. It is theretbre highly desirable that the
labor should be equalized among the horses, and the movements of the machine rendered as steady as
possible. A method of yoking the horses in such a manner as compels each of them to take his projjer
share of the labor, has accordingly been lately introduced, and the necessary apparatus, which is neither
compUcated nor expensive, can be added to any machine worked by animal iwwer. (Farmer'slMagazine,
vol. viii. p. 279. \ 2638. and fig. 346.)
2633. Winnowing 7nachin€S added. All well-constructed thresh ing-mills have one winnowing machine,
which separates the chaff from the corn before it reaches the ground ; and a second sometimes receives it
from the first, and gives it out ready for market, or nearly so. If the height of the building does not
admit of this last addition, a separate winnowing machine, when the mill is of great power, is driven by
a belt from it. In either of these ways there is a considerable saving of manual labor.
2634. Advantages of threshing machines. With a powerful water-mill, the editor of The Farmer^s
Magazine observes, it cannot be doubted, that corn is threshed and dressed at no more expense than must
l)e incurred for dressing alone, when threshed with the flail. Besides, the corn is more completely
detached from the straw ; and, by being threshed expeditiously, a good deal of it may be preserved in a
bad season which would have spoiled in a stack. The »reat advantage of transferring forty or fifty
quarters of grain in a few hours, and under the eye ot the owner, from the yard to the granary or
market, is of itself sufficient to recommend this invaluable machine, even though there were no saving
of expense.
2635. The specific advantages resulting from Vie use of the thres/dng machine, are thus stated in The
Code of Agriculture : 1. From the 8uj)eriority of this mode, one-twentieth part more corn is gained
from the same quantity of straw, than by the old fashioned method. 2. The work is done more expe-
ditiously. 3. Pilfering Is avoided. 4. The grain is less subject to injury. 5. Seed corn can be procured
without difficulty from the new crops, for those to be sown. 6. The market may be supplied with grain
more quickly in times of scarcity. /. The straw, softened by the mill, is more useful for feeding cattle.
8. If a stack of corn be heated, it may be throshetl in a day, and the grain, if kiln-dried, will be pre-
served, and rendered fit for use. 9. The threshing-mill lessens the injury from smutty grain, the balls of
smut, not being broken, as-when beaten by the flail ; and, 10. By the same maciiine, the grain may be
separated from the chaff and small seeds, as well as from the straw. Before the invention of threshing-
mills, farm-servants and laborers endured much drudgery; the large corn farmer sustained^ much
damage from bad threshing ; and had much trouble, vexation, and loss, from careless and 'wicked
servants; but now, since the introduction of this valuable machine, all his difficulties, in these resi)ects,
are obviated.
2636. The advantage that might be derived by the public, were threshing mills tised in every case, for
seiiarating corn from the straw, is thus estimated by Brown of Markle.
The number of acres producing grain in Great one-twentieth part of the produce, or in quais,
HriUin, at 8,000,000 ters, at 1,200.000
The averaffc produce in quarters, at 3 nrs. per acre. The value of that increased quantity at -lO*. per
at 21,000,000 quarter £.2,400,000
The increaseti quantity of prain produced by The saving in the expense of labor, at 1*. per
tJueshinR-mills, instead of using the flail, at ? I quarter - - . - il,200,000
2G37. A variety of threshing machines have been made in England, both on the
rubbing and beating, or scutching principle, and some combining both modes; but none
have been found to answer the purpose of separating the grain from the straw so well as
those of Meikle, which is the kind exclusively used in Scotland and the north of
England.
26\38. Meikle's two horse threshing viachine ivith the neiu invented yoking apparatus
{Jig. 346. )> is the smallest size of horse engine which is made. From the limbers, or
hanging pieces (a), by which the cattle draw when working this machine, proceed
the chains or ropes to which the horses are yoked, being united by .m iron frame,
placed upon a lever, having liberty to turn on a bolt ; one end of each of two
single ropes is fixed to this iron frame, and upon their other ends are fixed small
blocks ; in each of which is placed a rinming shecve ; aiid over these shceves, pass
double ropes or chains. One horse is yoked to these chains at the one arm, and fhe
other at the other, so that the chains or ropes by which they draw, l>eing connected l)y
the blocks, and the sheeves having lil)erty to move either way, if onr; of the horses relax,
D d 2
404
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
immediately the other presses the collar to his shoulders. For instance, if the horse yoked
to the chains at one arm (Jig. 347 a.) were to relax, then the one yoked at the other (A)
would instantly take up his rope, and pull the collar hard to his shoulders, so that the
lazy horse must either exert himself, or be drawn backward j until tlie hooks, to which
he is yoked, rest on the limbers. Thus each horse spurs up his fellow, they being
both connected by the ropes and sheeves ; their exertions are united, so as to form one
347
power applied to the machine, instead of two powers, independent of one another. By
this means, the draught will always press the collars equally upon the horses' shoulders,
and though they are working in a circle, yet the strains of the draught must press fair,
or equal, on their shoulders, without twisting their body to either side. This advantage
cannot be obtained in the common way of yoking horses in a threshing machine, unless
the draught-chains on each side of the horse be made in exact proportion in length to
the diameter of thp circle in which he walks, or the chain next to the centre of the
walk made a little shorter than the one farthest from it, which is often neglected ; but
in this way of yoking the horses, the strain of the draught will naturally press equal on
his shoulders when pulling, which of course must be less severe on the animal when
walking in a circle.
2639. The advantages of this viethod of yoking horses to a threshing machine, which
was invented by Walter Samuel, blacksmith at Niddry, in the county of Linlithgow, have
been fully ascertained by experience, and acknowledged by the most intelligent farmers
in Scotland. They are as follow :
Book IV.
THRESHING MACHINES.
405
fVl
1st. The very great comparative case obtained for the cattle, in this the heaviest part of their work.
This, without doubt, is a real saving of labor ; for it is no exaggeration to affirm, that five horses, yoked
by this apparatus to a threshing machine, will perform with equal ease the labor of six horses, or equal
strength and weight, yoked in the common way, each horse being independent of the rest.
2dly. A very great saving results in the tear and wear of the machine, from the regularity and unifor-
mity of the movement. This will be acknowledged by any judge of the subject who witnesses the per-
formance. The sudden jerks and strains that generally take place in the usual way, are found to be quite
removed ; the machinery moving with that kind of uniformity as if driven by water. In consequence of
which, the work is better performed, and that in a very perceptible degree.
2640. Meikles water threshing machine {Jig. 348.), is the preferable engine when a
supply of water can be
obtained. The main axle 348
or shaft (a), upon which is
fixed the water-wheel (J),
has placedupon its circum-
ference cast metal seg-
ments fc), the teeth of which
turn the pinion which is
fastened on the axle of
the threshing drum; the
platform, on which the un-
threshed corn is spread,
joins the feeding rollers,
that conduct the corn for-
ward to the threshers ;
next the threshing-drum is LaI^
the straw-shaker, driven by a leathern belt, passing over a sheeve, fixed on an iron
spindle, connected with the axle of the water-wheel, and the sheeve on the axle of the
shaker.
2641. Meikle's threshing machine to be driven hy water or by four horses {Jig. 349.), is
349 Ot.
a powerful and convenient engine, as advantage may be taken of water when it is
abundant, and in dry seasons horses can be applied. To this machine the improved
apparatus for yoking the horses is appended, and by the simple operation of varying the
positions of the pinions on the common shaft (a), which communicate with the water and
horse wheel (6, c), threshing may be carried on without interruption, either with the water or
the horses separately ; or a small quantity of water may be applied to assist the horses
at any time, when a sufficient supply of water cannot be obtained to impel the machine
alone.
2642. Meikle's threshing machine to be driven either by wind or six horses^ {Gray,
PI. XII.) is a powerful but costly erection. On large corn farms, however, it will
answer to erect such machines ; and there are frequent instances in Berwickshire and
Northumberland, of farmers incuring that expense on the security of twenty-one years
leases. The machinery of the wind power of this machine is fitted up with a small
van to turn the large ones to face the wind, and with the machinery necessary to
roll on or oif the sails according as the wind increases or diminishes ; by which means
the naturally unsteady power of wind is rendered as regular as that of horses or water.
The threshing part of this machine contains the usual apparatus, and also a complete
set of fanners and screens for cleaning the corn. To the board upon which the
unthreshed grain is spread, and introduced between the feeding rollers, succeeds the
drum, with the threshers, or beaters, fixed upon the extremity of its arms ; then the
shaker, that receives the straw from the threshing drum, and conveys it to the second
shaker, by which it is thrown down a sloping scarce, either on the low floor, or upon a
sparred rack, which moves on rollers, turned by the machine, and by this means is con-
veyed into the straw-shed, or else into the barn yard. One searce is placed below the
Dd 3
406
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
threshing-drum, while its circular motion throws out the straw at an opening, into the
straw-shaker, which conveys it to the secon<l shaker ; at the same time, the chaff' and
grain pass down through a scarce, or sparred rack, into the hopper, which conveys it
into the fanners, by which the corn is separated from the chaff, the clean grain running
out at the opening, and the chaff", or any light refuse, blown out at the end by the
rapid motion of the fans, which are driven by a band or rope, from a sheeve placed upon
the axle of the threshing-drum, and passing over the sheeve, fixed upon the pivot of
the fans.
2643. Meikle^s threshing machine to be impelled by steam is the same arrangement of inte-
rior machinery with a steam engine outside of the barn connected by a shaft in the man-
ner of the wind and water machines.
2644. Portable threshing machines, to be fixed in any barn, or in the open field, for
threshing the crops of small farms, or for other purposes of convenience, are differently
contrived. Excepting the hand machine, already descril>ed (2453.), all of them work by
horses, and generally with one, or at most two. The most complete have a large frame
of separating beams into which the gudgeons of the larger wheels work„ and which retains
the whole of the machinery in place. In general, there is no fanners j but sometimes a
winnowing machine is driven by a rope from the threshing machinery. Such machines
are considerably more expensive, in proportion to their power, than fixed machines; they
are, therefore, not mucli used, and indeed might often be profitably substituted by the
hand machine.
2645. IV^eir^s jwrtable tivo horse power threshing viachine is one of the best in England.
The corn is threshed on Meikle's skutching principle, and is sometimes fed by fiuted
rollers, and sometimes introduced through a hopper directly over the drum, a mode
which is found not to break the straw so much as the common mode.
2646. Lester's portable threshing machine received the straw without the intervention
of rollers, and separated the corn entirely by rubbing. It was an ingenious, but very
imperfect machine, and never came into use.
2647. Forrest of Shif7iaVs portable threshing machines have been employed in several
parts of Warwickshire, Shropshire, and adjoining counties. It combines the rubbing
and skutching methods, but does not perform either perfectly. Meikle's machines, in
fact, can alone be depended on, for completely separating the grain from the straw ;
though some others may render the straw less ineligible for thatch, or for gratifying the
present taste in litter of the London grooms.
2648. Tfie smut machine{Jig.350. )is the invention
of Hall late of Ewel, in Surrey, now of the Prairie
in the United States. It resembles that used for
dressing flour, and consists of a cylinder per-
forated with small holes, in the inside of which
are a number of brushes, which are driven round
with great rapidity. The wheat infected with
smut is put into the cylinder, by a hopper («),
and the constant friction occasioned by the rapid
motion of the brushes (6), effectually separates the
smutty grain, which is driven out by the holes of
the cylinder. Hall finds that it requires much
more power to clean wheat by this machine, than
to dress flour. A machine on this construction,
might be a very useful appendage to every thresh-
ing machine, for the purpose of effectually clean-
ing all wheat intended for seed, or such wheat,
meant for the market, as had a great proportion of smut in it. (Stevenson s Surrey y-^. 141.)
2649. To take the awns from barley where a threshing machine is used, a notched spar
lined on one side, with plate iron, and just the length of the rollers, is fixed by a screw
bolt at each end to the inside of the cover of the drum, about the middle of it, so as the
edge of the notched stick is about one-eighth of an inch from the arms of the drum
as it goes round. Two minutes are sufficient to put it on, wlien its operation is wanted,
which is, when putting through the barJey the second time; and it is as easily taken oflT.
It rubs off tlie awns completely.
Sect. IX. Mechan^xal and other fixed Apparatus, for the Preparathm of Food for Cattle,
and grinding Manure.
2650. The principal food preparing contnvances, are the steamer, boiler, roaster,
breaker or bruiser, and grinder.
2651. An apparatus for steaming food for cattle, the editor of The Farmer's Magazine
observes, should be considered a necessary appendage to every arable and dairy farm, of
a moderate size. The advaritiige of j)reparing diff\rent sorts of roots, as well as even
350
"ijeeJB
Book IV. STEAMING APPARATUS. 407
grain, chafF, and liay, by moans of steaming apparatus, for the nourishment of cattle, begins
now to be generally understood. It has been long known that many sorts of roots, and
particularly the potatoe, become much more valuable by undergoing this sort of prepara-
tion. And it is equally well known that when thus prepared they have been employed
alone as a substitute for hay, and with cut chaff both for hay and corn, in the feeding of
horses, as well as other animals. To a farmer who keeps many horses or cattle, or even
swine or poultry, the practice of boiling their food in steam is so great a saving, and an ad-
vantage, that it deserves the most particular attention. Though potatoes have often been
given raw to both horses and cattle, they are found to be infinitely preferable when cooked
by steam, as they are rendered thereby much drier, and more nutritive, and better than
when boiled in water ; this has been long since shown by the experiments of Wakefield, of
Liverpool, who in order to ascertain it, fed some of his horses on steamed and some on
raw j)otatoes, and soon found the horses on the steamed potatoes had greatly the advan-
tage in every respect. Those on the steamed potatoes looked perfectly smooth and sleek,
while the others were quite rough. Eccleston also found them useful instead of corn ;
and the extensive and accurate trials of Curwen, have placed the utility and advantage of
them in this way beyond all dispute. Curwen has found that in their preparation in this
way the waste of the potatoe is about one-eighteenth part, and that straw when given
along with them answers equally well as hay, as the horses keep their condition and do
their work equally well.
2652. A steaming apparatus on a grand scale has been erected at Workington, by
Curwen, of which an accurate ground plan and section with a copious description,
are given in The Comj)lete Farmer. (Art. Steaming Apparatus.) Though very extensive, it
is less perfect than some others which we shall describe.
2653. An economical steaming and washing machine has been described by Grey, in
his Implements of Husbandry, iS(C. The parts of this machine are few and simple;
the potatoes are washed and emptied into a large chest to drip ; and when a sufficient
(quantity is washed, this chest, by a motion of the crane, empties itself into a steaming-
box, placed almost immediately over the boiler; by which means a large quantity of po-
tatoes or other materials are steamed at once. The chief advantage attending the use of
tliis simple steaming apparatus, he says, consists in saving manual labor, lifting on and oflf
the tubs for holding the potatoes, or other materials to be steamed; also the expense of erec-
tion and repairs of leaden or cojjper pipes, turn-cocks, &c. Its superiority over one with a
number of steaming tubs, especially in a large operation, will be at once perceived by
those vvho have paid attention to the subject. The steaming boiler may be made of
any approved form, and of a size proportioned to the steaming-box, with a furnace of that
construction which alfords the greatest quantity of heat to tlie boiler, with the smallest
waste of fuel. The steaming-box may be made either of cast metal plates, enclosed in a
wooden frame, or of stout pkmks, well joined, and firmly fixed together. It has been
found by experience, that a box, eight feet in length, five feet wide, and three feet deep,
will serve for cooking, in the space of one hour, with the attendance of one person, a
sufficient quantity of potatoes to feed fifty ordinary horses, allowing each horse thirty-two
pounds weight per day.' The boiler and steaming-box, however, ought to be made of a
size in proportion to the number of cattle to be fed, or the quantity of materials to be
steamed; both boiler and steaming box may be made of any form and proportion that
will best answer the intended purpose, with the least expense.
2654. A steaming 7nachine on a simple and ,,^ -- c^--— y
economical jdan (fig. 351.), consists of a ^"^
boiler and wooden chest or box placed over
or near it. The box may be of any size, and
so placed as to be supplied and emptied by
wheel or hand barrows in the easiest manner, n^""ir-^
either by the end or top, or both, being made /^ >r — S
to open. If the box is made 8 feet by 5, and | r~~
3 deep, it will hold as many potatoes as will I |
feed 50 cows for 24 hours, and these may be I ^ I
steamed in an hour. (i^. Afa^f. vol. xviii. p. 74.) -^
2655. Boilers or boiling machines are only had recourse to in the case of very small
establishments. By means of fixed boilers, or boilers suspended by cranes, on the Lodi
dairy principles (270), roots may be boiled, and chalT, weak corn, and other barn refuse,
rendered more palateable and nutritive to cattle. Hay tea also may be made, which is
a salutary and nutritive drink for horses or cattle when unwell, or for calving cows.
Food for swine and poultry may also be prepared in this way : or water boiled and
salted to half prepare chaff and culmiferous messes for animals.
2656. A baking or roasting oven has been recommended for preparing the potatoe by
Pierrepont {Comm. Board of Ag. vol. iv.), which he states to be attended with superior
advantages ; but as, independently of other considerations, the use of such an oven must
Dd 4
408 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
be limited to potatoes, a steaming machine, which will prepare any sort of fbod, is undoubt-
edly preferable for general purposes. Many speculative plans of this sort, however in-
genious, chietly deserve notice as beacons to be avoided, or to prevent their being invented
and described a second time.
Chap. III.
Edifices in use in Agriculture.
2657. A variety of buildings are necessary for carrying on the business of field cul-
ture ; the nature and construction of which must obviously be different, according to the
kind of farm for which they are intended. Suitable buildings, the editor of The Partner's
Magazine observes, are scarcely less necessary to the husbandman than implements and
machinery; and might, without much impropriety, be classed along with them, and
considered as one great stationary machine, operating more or less on every branch of la-
bor and produce. There is nothing which marks more decidedly the state of agriculture
in any district, than the plan and execution of these buildings.
2658. In erecting a farmery, the first thing that deserves notice is its situation,
both in regard to the other parts of the farm, and the convenience of the buildings them-
selves. In general, it must be of importance on arable farms, that the buildings
should be set down at nearly an equal distance from the extremities ; or so situate,
that tlie access from all tlie different fields should be easy, and the distance from those
most remote, no greater than the size of the farm renders unavoidable. The advantages
of such a position in saving labor, are too obvious to require illustration ; and yet this
matter is not nearly so much attended to as its importance deserves. In some cases,
however, it is adviseable to depart from this general rule ; of which one of the most obvious
is, where the command of water for a threshing-mill, and other purposes, can be better
secured in another quarter of the farni.
2659. The form most generally apj^rovedfor a set of offices, is that of a square, or rather
a rectangular parallelogram ; the houses being arranged on the north, east, and west
sides, and the south side fenced by a stone wall, to which low buildings, for calves, pigs,
poultry, &c. are sometimes attached. The space thus inclosed is usually alloted to young
cattle : these have access to the sheds on one or two sides, and are kept separate accord-
ing to their size or age, by one or more partition-walls. The farmer's dwelling-house
stands at a short distance from the offices, and frequently commands a view of the inside
of the square ; and cottages for servants and laborers are placed on some convenient
spot, not far from the other buildings.
2660. The different buildings required for the occupation of land are chiefly those de-
voted to live stock, as the stable, cow-house, cattle sheds, &c. ; those used as repositories
or for conducting operations, as the cart-shed, barn, &c. ; and human habitations or cot-
tages and farm-houses. After noticing the separate construction of these edifices, we
shall exemplify their combination in different descriptions of farmeries.
Sect. I. Buildings for Live Stock.
2661. Buildings for agricultural live stock are the stable, cow-house, cattle houses and
cattle slieds, sheep houses, pig-styes, poultry houses, rabbitry, pigeonry, and bee-house.
2662. The stable is an important building in most farmeries j it is in general placed
in the west side of tlie square, with its doors and windows opening to the east. No-
tJiing conduces more to the health of horses than the having a good and wholesome
air. The situation of the stable should always be on a firm, dry, and hard ground, that
in winter the horse may go out and come in clean ; and where possible, be built some-
what on an ascent, that the urine and other liquid matters may be easily conveyed away
by means of drains for the purpose. As there is no animal that delights more in clean-
liness than the horse, or that more dislikes bad smells, care should be taken that there be no
hen-roost, hog-styes, or necessary houses near the place where the stable is to be built.
The swallowing of feathers, which is very apt to happen, when hen-roosts are near, often
proves injurious to horses. The walls of a stable ought to be of brick rather than
stone, and should be made of a moderate thickness, two bricks or a brick and a half at
least, or the walls may be built hollow, not only for economy, but for the sake of warmth
in the winter, and to keep out the heat in the summer. The windows should be proportioned
in number to the extent, and made on the east or north side of the building, that the
north wind may be let in to cool the stables in the summer, and the rising sun all the year
round, especially in winter. They should either be sashed or have large casements for
the sake of letting in air enough ; and there should always be close wooden shutters,
Book IV. BUILDINGS FOR LIVE STOCK. 40^
turning on bolts, ttet tlie light may be shut out at pleasure. Many pave the whole stable
with stone, but that part which the horse is to lie on is often boarded with oak planks,
which should be laid as even as possible, and cross- wise rather than length-wise ; and
there should be several holes bored through them to receive the urine and carry it off un-
derneath the floor by gutters into one common receptacle. The ground behind should
be raised to a level with the planks, and be paved with small pebbles. There are mostly
two rings placed on each side of the manger, or stall, for the reins of the horse's halter to
run through, and a logger is to be fixed to the ends of these, sufficient to poise them per-
pendicularly, but not so heavy as to tire the horse, or to hinder him from eating ; the best
place for him to eat his corn in, is a drawer or locker, which need not be large, so that it
may be taken out at pleasure to clean it, by which means tlie common dirtiness of a fixed
manger may be avoided. Many people are against having a rack in their stables ; they
give the horse his hay in a trough bin, formed of boards with an open bottom.
2663. A lofty stable is recommended by White {Treatise on Veter. Med. p. 1.), fifi
teen or twenty but never less than twelve feet high, with an opening in the ceiling for
ventilation. The floor he prefers is brick or limestone, inclining not more from the
manger to the gutter than an inch in a yard. Some litter, he says, should always be al-
lowed for a horse to stale upon, which should be swept away as often as is necessary.
This, with a pail or two of water, thrown upon the floor, and swept off while the horse is
at exercise, will keep the stable perfectly clean, and free from offensive smells.
2661. 7%^ depth of a stable should never be less than twenty feet, nor the height less than twelve. The
width of a stall should not be less than six feet clear. But when there is sufficient room, it is a
much better plan to allow each horse a space of ten or twelve feet, where he may be loose and exercise him-
self a little. This will be an effectual means of avoiding swollen heels, and a great relief to horses that are
worked hard. With respect to the rack and manger. White prefers the former on the ground rising three
feet high, eighteen inches deep from front to back, and four feet long. The manger, eighteen inches
deep, eighteen inches from front to back, and five feet in length. The rack he prefers being
closed in front, though some farmers prefer it open, alleging that horses when lying down will thus be
enabled to eat if they choose, A close-fronted rack, however, is better adapted for saving hay. The back
jwrt of the rack should be an inclined plane made of wood ; should be gradually sloped towards the front j
and should terminate about two feet down. Such a rack will hold more hay than ever ought to be put
before o«e horse. The advantages of this rack are numerous : in the first place, the hay i» easily put
into it, and renders a hay-loft over the stable unnecessary ; which ought to be an inducement to the builder
to make the stable as lofty as it ought to be, and render the ventilation unnecessary. All the hay that is
put into this manger will be eaten, but in the common rack it is well known that a large portion of the
hay is often pulled down upon the litter, and trodden upon, whereby a considerable quantity is often
wasted. It prevents the hay seeds or dust from falling upon the horse, or into his eyes; and what is of
considerable importance, though seldom attended to, there willi)ean inducement to the horse-keeper to give
the horse hay in small quantities at a time, and frequently, from the little trouble which attends putting
it into the rack. The saving in hay that may be effected by the use of this rack is so apparent, that it
need not be dwelt upon. A great saving also may be made in oats by so fastening the horse's head
during the time of feeding that he cannot throw any of them out of the manger. This kind of rack and
manger, from being boarded up in front, will effectually prevent the litter from being kept constantly
under the horse's head and eyes, by which he is compelled to breathe the vapors which arise from it.
It will also prevent him from getting his head under .the manger, as sometimes happens, by which
means, not unfre(|uently, the poll evil is produced. The length of the halter should be only four feet
from the head sUiU to the ring through which it passes : this will admit of his lying down with ease, and
that is all which is required. The ring should be placed close to that side where the manger is, and not in
the centre of the stall. The side of the stall should be sufficiently high and deep to prevent horses from
biting and kicking each other. When tiie common rack and manger are 'preferred, the rack staves
should be perpendicular, and brought nearly down to the manger, and this may easily be done with-
out the necessity of a hay-loft, and the manger may be made deep and wide as describetl.
2665. The window of the stable should be at the south-cast end, and the door at the opposite end. The
window should be as high as the ceiling will admit of, and in size proportioned to that of the stable. In one
of twelve feet high, it need not come down more than four feet, and it will then be eight feet from the
ground, and out of the way of being broken. The frame of the window should be moveable upon a pivot
in the centre, and wpened by means of a cord running over a pulley in the ceiling, and fastened by means
of another cord. With a window of this kind, in a stable of three or four horses, no other ventilation
will be required: a person never need be solicitous about finding openings for the air to enter, where
there is sufficient room above, and means for it to escape. A stable thus constructed will be found con-
ducive to the health and comfort of horses, and will afford an inducement to the horse-keeper to attend to
every little circumstance which may contribute to cleanliness. He will not allow the smallest bit of
dung to remain swept up at one end of the stable, as it commonly is. The pails should be kept outside,
and not standing about the stable, as they commonly are. If it is necessary to take off' the chill from
water, it is much better, and more easily done, by the addition of a little hot water, than by suffering
it to stand in the stable ; and while the horses are at exercise, the litter should be all turned out to dry,
and the brick floor well washed or swept out. A little fresh straw may then be placed for the horses to stale
upon. Litter thus dried during the day will serve again as well as fresh straw for the bottom of the bed,
and be perfectly free from smell. The litter necessary to be kept under a horse that he may stale with
comfort, and without splashing himself, is not considerable, and may be changed once a day. A great
saving may be made in litter by turning it out, and drying it as described; and if a shed were built
adjoining a stable, it might be done at all times, and might serve also to exercise and clean a horse in
wet weather.
2666. Neither dogs, fowls, nor goats, should ever be permitted to enter a stable ; and dung should be kept
at a distance from it. A good contrivance in cleaning horses, is, to have two straps, one oti each side
the stall, about one yard from the head of it. By these the horse may be fastened during the time he is
cleaned, by which he will be effectually prevented from biting the manger or the horse-keeper ; and being
kept back in tlie stall, the mau will be better able to clean the front of his fore-legs, chest, and neck, and
be able to move round him This is better than strapping him to the rack,
2667. Farm stables iti Scotland, the editor of The Farmer s Magazine observes, " are
constructed in such a mauner, that all the horses stand in a line with their heads towards
tlie same side-wall, instead of standing iu two lines, fronting opposite walls, as for-
410
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
merlvi Those lately erecttxl arc at least sixteen feet wide within walls, and sometimes
eighteen, and the width of each stall upon the length of the stable is commonly five feet.
To save a little room, stalls of nine feet are sometimes made to hold two horses, and,
in that case, the manger and the width of the stall are divided into equal parts by what
is called a Iialf trevice, or a partition about half the depth of that which separates one
stall from another. By this contrivance, each horse indeed eats his food by himself; but
tlie expense of single stalls is more j'
than compensated by the greater
ease, security, and comfort of the
horses. The trevices or partitions
which divide the stalls, are of deals
two inches thick, and about five
feet high ; but, at the heads of the
horses, the partition rises to the
height of seven feet {Jig. 352 a),
and the length of the stall is
usually from seven to eight feet. In
many cases the end stall has a door
or frame of boards to fit in between it and the back wall (A), in order to enclose food of
any kind, a sick horse, a foal, or mare and foal, &c.
2668. The manger (c) is generally continued the whole length of the stable. It is about nine inches deep,
twelve inche.s wide at the top, and nine at the bottom, all inside measure, and is placed about two feet
four inches from the ground. Staples or rings are fixed on the breast of the manger, to which the horses
are tied.
2669. Tlie rack for holding their hay or straw, is also commonly continued the whole length of the
stable. It is formed of upright spars {d), connected by cross rails at each end, and from two to two and a
half feet in height. The rack is placed on the wall, about one foot and a half above the manger, the
bottom almost close to the wall, and the top projecting outwards, but the best plan is to place it upright
(c, d, a,). The spars are sometimes made round, and sunk into the cross-rails, and sometimes square.
In a few stables lately built, the round spars turn on a pivot, which facilitates .the horse's access
to the hay, without requiring the interstices to be so wide, as to permit him to draw it out in too large
quantities.
2670. Immediately above the racks is an opening in the hay-loft, through which the racks are filled.
"When it is thought necessary, this may be closed by boards moving on hinges.
2671. The racks in some of the best stables occupy one of the angles between the wall and trevices, and
form the quadrant of a circle. The simrs are perjjendicular, and wider placed than in the hanging
racks. The hay -seed falls into a box below, instead of being dropi)ed on the ground, or incommoding the
eyes and ears or" the horses.
2672. Bchiml the horses, and about nine feet from the front wall is a gutter, having a gentle declivity
to the straw yard or urine pit Allowing about a foot for this, there will remain a width of eight feet to
the back wall, if the stable be eighteen feet wide; a part of which, close to the wall, is occupied with
corn-chests and places for harness.
2673. With a view to save both the hny and the seed, it is an advantage to have tlie hay-stacks so near
the sUible as to admit of the hay being thrown at once upon the loft. In some stables there is no loft,
and the hay is stored in a separate apartment
2674. The stable floor is, for the most part, paved with undressed stoucs ; but in some instances, the
space from the gutter to the back, is laid with flags of freestone.
2675. Horse-hammels, or small sheds, with yards to each, have been used as stables in a
few instances, and with great success in Berwickshire. Each shed holds two horses,
with a nitch for their harness : to each shed there is an open straw-yard, of small size,
with a water trough, and a gate large enough to admit a cart to take out the dung.
John Plerriot, of Ladykirk, has long used these buildings for his horses with great
success. He has lost none by death for a number of years, and tliey seldom have colds
or any other disease. His horses lie in these open hammels in winter ; and it is
remarked, that in frosty weather, when snow is falling, and lying on the ground, the
animals do not go under cover, but prefer to lie out, with their backs and sides covered
with snow. It is well known, that if a horse is kept out in winter, he will have no
grease, nor swelled legs, and perhaps few other diseases. These hammels seem to have
all these advantages, at the same time that they protect the animal from* damp, and
prevent his back from being kept wet by heavy or long continued rains. Every farmer
who keeps a large stock of horses, occasionally loses one by inflammation, brought on
by coughs and colds ; but the horses of the farmer alluded to, become aged, and he has
not had occasion to purchase a young horse for several years. ( Hush, of Scot. i. 26. )
2676. Cattle-sheds are used either for lodging milch cows, or for feeeding cattle for
the butcher. The principal requisites in buildings of this description are, that they be
capable of being well aired ; that they are so constructed as to re<juire the least possible
labor in feeding the cattle, and clearing away the dung ; that the stalls be so formed
as to keep the cattle as dry and clean as possible, with suflicient drains to carry away,
and reservoirs to collect the urine and dung. There are three ways in which the cattle
are placed ; first, in a row towards one of the side walls ; second, in two rows, either
fronting each other, with a passage between, or with their heads towards both side walls ;
and, third, across, or upon the width of the house, in successive rows, with intervening
passages for feeding and removing the dung. In the first place, it is usual to have
openings in the walls, tlirough which they arc supplied with turnips, otherwise they must
Book IV.
BUILDINGS FOR LIVE STOCK.
41
— CT"
^
necessarily be served from behind, with much inconvenience, both to the cattle-feeder
and the cattle themselves. Tlie plan that is most approved, and now becoming general
when new buildings are erected, is to fix the stakes to which the cattle are tied about
two and a half or three feet from the wall, which allows the cattle-man, without
going among them, to fill their trough successively from his wheelbarrow or basket, with
much ease and expedition. It is also a considerable improvement to keep the cattle
separate, by partitions between every two. This will, in a great measure, prevent acci-
dents, and secure the quiet animals from being" injured by the vicious; for in these
double stalls, each may be lied up to a stake placed near the partition, so as to be at some
tlistance from his neighbor ; and it is easy to lodge together such as are alike in size
and in temper. The width of such stalls should not be less than l^ feet, and the depth
must be regulated by the size of the cattle.
2677. Cattle hamvwls {Jig. So3). The practice of feeding cattle in small sheds and
straw-yards, or what is called liam- 353
viels in Berwickshire, deserves to
be noticed with approbation, when
saving of expense is not a para-
mount object. Two cattle are
usually kept together, and go loose,
in which way they are thought
by some to thrive better tlian when
tied to a stake, and, at the same
time, feed more at their ease than
when a number are kept together,
as in the common straw-yards. All
that is necessary is, to run partition-
walls across the sheds' and yards of
tlie farmers ; or if these are allotted
to rearing stock, one side of the
square, separated by a cart-way
from the straw-yards, may be ap-
propriated to these hammels. In
the usual management of a row of
cattle hammels in Berwickshire, there is one hammel (a, b) at one end used as a tem-
porary repository for roots and straw for the cattle ; then each hammel consists of the
open yard (rf, a), and the covered part (c) : the entrance door, of which there is only one
to each hammel, is in the wall of the yard (/), and on each side of it are two troughs
[e, e) for food, and a crib for hay, straw, cut clover, or other herbage in summer.
2678. Cnlf-pens or calf-stages, are common additions to cow-houses, where the feeding
of calves for the butcher is an object of pursuit. The principal thing to be observed in
the construction of calf-pens is, the laying of the floor, which should be made of laths or
spars about two inches broad, laid at the distance of an inch from each other, upon
joists, so as to make the floor about ten or twelve inches from the ground, as the situa-
te e f:^ &
- i r. i r
r r
T 1.
te ^'
-d
1 •' fe ■ »■
z
354
^.
tion will admit (Jig. 354.) This not
only keeps them quite dry, by allow-
ing all the moisture to pass immedi-
ately away, but has the advantage of
admitting fresh air below the bedding,
and thereby preventing that unwiiole-
somc disagreeable smell, too often
found among calves ; for it is to be
understood, that this place below the
floor (a) sliould frequently be cleaned,
as well as the floor itself, whenever it
becomes wet or dirty ; but it is not right to allow the litter to increase to a great thickness,
otherwise the moisture will not so easily pass through. Calf-pens are, however, too often
made without this sparred floor, and the fresh litter always laid on the old, till the calves are
removed, which is a slovenly practice, and not by any means to be recommended. Stalls,
or divisions, are too often neglected in calf-pens. Partitions, about tliree feet high, of
thin deal nailed on small posts, might be so contrived as to be moveable at pleasure, to
increase or diminish the stall, if necessary, according to the age and size of the calf. If
it be thought unnecessary to make the partitions moveable, there might be a small round
trough, in a circular frame, fixed in the corner of each pen, for holding the milk, and a
door in the next adjoining corner. A small slight rack for holding a little hay, placed
at the upper part of the pen^ might also be useful. The troughs should be round, that
the calves may not hurt themselves upon them, which they might probably do on the
angles if they were square. The advantages of this kind of calf-pens are, that the
412 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part li.
calves are all kept separate in a small compass, and cannot hurt each other, as the
stronger ones sometimes do the weaker, when confined promiscuously, and their food
may be much more easily and equally distributed.
2679. The calf-pens in Gloucestershire, Marshal observes, are of an admirable construction ; extremely
simple, yet singularly well adapted to the object. Young calves, fattening calves more especially, require
to be kept narrowly confined : quietness is, in a degree, essential to their thriving. A loose pen,
or a long halter, gives freedom to their natural fears, and a loose to their playfulness. . Clean-
liness, and a due degree of warmth, are likewise requisite in the right management of calves. A
pen which holds seven, or occasionally eight calves, is of the following description : — The house
or roomstead, in which it is placed, measures twelve feet by eight : four feet of its width are occupied
by the stage, and one foot by a trough placed on its front ; leaving three feet as a gangway, into
the middle of whicli the door opens. The floor of the stage is formed of laths, about two inclies square,
lying lengthways of the stage, and one inch asunder. The front fence is of staves, an inch and a half
diameter, 9 inches from middle to middle, and 3 feet high : entered at the/bottom into the front bearer of
the floor (from which cross-joists pass into the back wall), and steadied at the top by a rail ; which, as well
as the bottom piece, is entered at each end into the end wall. The holes in the upper rail are wide enough
to permit the staves to be lifted up and taken out, to give admission to the calves ; one of which is fastened
to every second stave, by means of two rings of iron joined by a swivel ; one ring playing upon the
stave, the other receiving abroad leathern collar, buckled Tround the neck of the calf. The trough is
for barley-meal, chalk, &c. and to rest the pails on. Two calves drink out of one pail, putting their heads
through between the staves. The height of the floor of the stage from the floor of the room, is about one
foot It is thought to be wrong to hang it higher, lest, by the wind drawing under it, the calves should be
too cold in severe weather : this, however, might be easily prevented by litter, or long strawy dung thrust
beneath it. It is observable, that these stages are fit only for calves which are fed with the pail, not for
calves which suck the cow.
2680. Hog-styes for the breeding or fattening of swine, are mostly built in a simple
manner, requiring only warm dry places for the swine to lie in, with small areas before,
and troughs to hold their food. They are generally constructed with shed-roofs, and
seldom above six or seven feet wide, with height in proportion. In order that they may
be convenient, they should be at no great distance from the house ; and the less they
are connected with the other farm-buildings the better. In some cases, it might be of
utility to have them connected with the scullery, in such a way as that all sorts of refuse
articles might be readily conveyed to them by pipes or other contrivances. When at a
distance, they should be so placed as that the servants need not enter the farm-yard in
feeding them. It is a circumstance of vast advantage in the economy of labor, as well
as food, to have them conveniently situated and built. Though swine are generally,
perhaps from a too partial view of their habits, considered as filthy animals, there are no
animals which delight more in a clean and comfortable place to lie down in, and none
that cleanliness has a better effect upon with respect to their thriving and feeding. In order
to keep them dry, a sufficient slope must be given, not only to the inside places where
they are to lie, but to the outside areas, with proper drains to carry off all moisture.
The outsides should also be a little elevated, and have steps up from the areas of at
least five or six inches in height. Hog-styes should likewise have several divisions, to
keep the different sorts of swine separate ; nor should a great many ever be allowed to
go together ; for it is found that they feed better in small numbers, and of equal size,
than when many of equal sizes are put together. Proper divisions must, therefore, be
made ; some for swine when with the boar ; others for brood swine, and for them to
farrow in ; for weaning the pigs, for keeping the store pigs, for fattening, &c. When
convenient, the areas should be pretty large. And where it can be had, it is of great use
to have water conveyed to them, as it serves many useful purposes.
2681. Every sty should have a rubbing-post. " Having occasion," says Marshal, " to shift two hogs out
of a sty without one, into another with a post, accidentally put up to support the roof, he had a full op-
portunity of observing its use. The animals, when they went in, were dirty, with broken ragged coats,
and with dull heavy countenances. In a few days, they cleared away their coats, cleaned their skins,
and became sleekv haired ; the enjoyments of the post were discernible even in their looks, in their live-
liness, and apparent contentment. It is not probable, that any animal should thrive while afflicted with
pain or uneasiness. Graziers suffer single trees to grow, or put up dead posts in the ground, for their
cattle to rub themselves against ; yet it is probable that a rubbing-post has never been placed intention-
ally in a sty ; though, perhaps,for a two-fold reason, rubbing is most requisite to swine." In farm-yards
the piggeries and poultry houses generally occupy the south side of the area, in low.buildings, which may
be overlooked from the farmer's dwelling-house. They should open behind into the straw-yards or dung-
heap, to allow the hogs and fowls to pick up the corn left on the straw, or what turnips, clover, or other
matters are refused by the cattle. They should have openings outwards, that the pigs may be let out to
range round the farmery at convenient times j and that the poultry may have ingress and egress from that
«ide as well as the other.
2682. Poultry houses are generally slight structures for rearing and feeding domestic
fowls. Beatson (Com. to the Board of Ag. vol. \.) is of opinion, that poultry ought
always to be confined, but not in a close, dark, diminutive hovel, as is often the case ;
they should have a spacious airy place, properly constructed for them. Some people are
of opinion, that each sort of poultry should be kept by itself. This, however, is not,
he says, absolutely necessary, for all sorts may be kept promiscuously together, provided
they have a place sufficiently large to accommodate them conveniently, and proper divi-
sions and nests for each kind to retire to separately, which they will naturally do of
themselves. Wakefield of Liverpool keeps a large stock of turkeys, geese, hens, and
ducks, all in the same place : and although young turkeys are in general considered so
difficult to bring up, he rears great numbers of them in this manner every season, with
little or no trouble whatever. For this purpose he has about three quarters, or near a
Book IV.
BUILDINGS FOR LIVE STOCK-
^13
whole acre, inclosed with a fence only six or seven feet high, formed of slabs set on end,
or any thinnings of fir or other trees split and put close together. They are fastened
by a rail near the top and another near the bottom, and are pointed sharp, which he
supposes prevents the poultry flying over, for they never attempt it, although so low.
Within this fence are places done up slightly (but well secured from wet) for each sort
of poultry ; also a pond or stream of water running through it. These poultry are fed
almost entirely witli potatoes boiled in steam, and thrive astonishingly well. The quan-
tity of dung that is made in this poultry place is also an object worth attention : and
when it is cleaned out, a thin paring of the surface is at the same time taken off, which
makes a valuable compost, for the purpose of manure. But for keeping poultry upon a
small scale, it is only necessary to have a small shed or slight building, formed in some
warm sheltered sunny situation, if near the kitchen or other place where a constant fire
is kept so much the better, with proper divisions, boxes, baskets, or other contrivances
for the different sorts of birds, and for their laying and incubation.
2683. When afeiv poultry that take their chance at the barn-door, are kept by the farmer for the conve-
nience of eggs, and not to go to market when a fowl is wanted, no particular attention is requisite ; but
as, in some situations, they may pay well for more food and closer attention, other circumstances may be
noticed. " The poultry-house should," Young says, "contain an apartment for the general stock to roost
in, another for setting, a third for fattening, and a fourth ..for food. If the scale is large, there should
be a fifth, for plucking and keeping feathers. If a woman is kept purposely to attend them, she should
have her cottage contiguous, that the smoke of her chimney may play into the roosting and setting rooms ;
poultry never thriving so well as in warmth and smoke ; an observation as old as Columella, and strongly
confirmed by the quantity bred in the smoky cabins of Ireland. For setting both turkeys and hens, nests
should be made in lockers, that have lids with hinges, toconfine them, if necessary, or two or three will, he
says, in sitting, crowd into the same nest. All must have access to a graveUed yard, and to grass for
range, and the building should be near the farm yard, and have clear water near. Great attention should
be paid to cleanliness and whitewashing, not for appearance, but to destroy vermin."
2684. The interior arrangement of a poultry house for a farm-yard, is generally very
simple, and consists of little more than a number of spars reaching across the building at
different heights, or the same height
with a gangway or ladder attached, for
the fowls to ascend : but where com-
fort and cleanliness is studied, a pre-
ferable mode is to form a sloping stage
of spars {Jig. 355 a, b), for the poultry
to sit on ; beneath this stage may be
two ranges of boxes for nests (c, c) ; the
roof (rf) should have a ceiling to keep
the whole warm in winter, and the
door (e) should be nearly as high as
the ceiling for ventilation, and should
have a small opening with a shutter at bottom, which, where there is no danger from dogs
or foxes, may be left open at all times to admit of the poultry going in and out at plea-
sure, and especially for their early egress during summer. The spars on which the
clawed birds are to roost, should not be round and smooth, but roundish and roughish,
like the branch of a tree." The floor must be dry, and kept clean for the web.footed
kinds.
2685. The rahbitry is a building of rare occurrence in agriculture, and where it is re-
quired diflers little from the piggery, consisting of a yard for exercise and receiving
food, and a covered close apartment connected, for repose, sleep, and the mothers and
young. In the latter are generally boxes a foot or more high and wide, and divided
into compartments of two or more cubic feet for the rabbits to retire into, and bring
forth their young. Where young rabbits are fed for the market, the mother and off-
spring are generally confined to hutches, which are boxes a little larger than the com-
mon breeding boxes, and kept in a separate apartment. In treating of the rabbit
(Part III.) these and other contrivances for the culture of this animal, will be brought
into notice.
2686. The pigeonry is a structure not
more frequent than the rabbitry, being
scarcely admissible in professional agricul-
ture, excepting in grazing districts, where
the birds have not so direct an opportunity
of injuring corn. Sometimes they are made
an ornamental appendage to a proprietor's
farmery, or to a sheep-house in a park
{fg. 556.), or other detached building;
and sometimes a wooden structure, raised
from the ground on one or more posts, is
formed on purpose for their abode. What-
ever may be the external form, the interior
414
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
arrangement consists of a scries of boxes or cavities, formed m or agamst the wall ge-
nerally about a foot high and deep, and two feet or less long; one half of the front is left
open as an entrance, and the other is closed to protect the female during mcubation.
(See Pigeon, Part III.)
2687." T/ie apiary is a building or structure
seldom wanted, excepting to protect hives
from thieves; then a nitch or recess in a
wall to be secured in front by two or more
iron bars, is a simple and effectual mode.
Sometimes apiaries are made ornamental
{Jig. 357.), but the best bee masters set little
value on such structures, and prefer keeping
their bees detached in single hives for suf-
ficient reasons. These hives may be chained to
fixed stools in Huish's manner. (See JBee^
Part IV.)
Sect. II. Buildings as Repositories, and for ]}erforming in-door Operations.
2688. Buildings for dead stock and crop occupy a considerable portion of the farmery,
and include the barn, granary, straw and root-houses, cart-sheds, tool-house, harness -
room, and when farming is conducted on a very extensive scale, the smiths' and carpen-
ters' work-rooms.
2689. Tlie com baniy or building for containing, threshing, and cleaning
corn, has undergone considerable change in form and dimensions in modern times.
Formerly it was in many cases made so large
as to contain at once all the corn grown on
a farm ; and in most cases it was so ample as
to contain a great portion of it. But since the
mode of forming small corn stacks became more
general, and also the introduction of threshing
machines, this description of building is made
much smaller. The barn, especially where the corn
is to be threshed by a machine, is best placed
on the north side of the farmery, as being most
centrical for the supply of the straw yards, as well
as the stables and cattle sheds. In this situation
it has also the best effect in an architectural and
picturesque point of view {fig. 358. ) Suppose an
octagon form chosen for a farmery with the barn
(1), straw-room and granary over (2) ,and mill-shed
(3), to the north; then on the left of tlie barn may
be the stable for work-horses (4), and riding-horse
stable (5), cattle-house (6), cow-house (7), sick
horse (8), sick cow (9), cattle-sheds (10), cart-
shed (11), boiling and steaming house (12), root-
house (13), chaff and other stores for steaming, or
mechanic's work-shop (14), piggeries (15), poultry
and rabbiting ( 16). Tlie yard may be divided in two
by a wall running north and south, with a pump,
well, or other supply of water in the centre (17).
The rick-yard (27), should be to the north of such
a farmery for easy conveyance to the barn:
the main entrance (28) should be from the soutli
opposite the dwelling-house ; side entrances (26)
should lead to different parts of the farm and
to the main roads of the country, and there
should be ponds (25) for washing the horses' feet
and for the poultry. We have elsewhere shown
the same accommodations arranged in a square
and circular outline (780.). ''"'^ — " — ' — ' — ' — ' — ' — ' — ' — '
2690. The English corn barn for containing a large quantity of corn in the straw, and for threshing it out
by flails, may either be constructed on wooden frames covered with planks of oak, or be built of brick or
stone, whichever the country affords in the greatest plenty ; and in cither case there should be such vent-
holes, or openings in their sides or walls, as to afford free admittance to the air, in order to prevent the
mouldiness that would otherwise, from the least dampness,"lodge in the grain. The gable-ends are pro-
bably best of brick or stone, on account of greater solidity ; the whole may be roofed with either thatch or
tiles, as can be most conveniently procured. It should havetwo large folding-doors facing each other, one
in each side of the building, for the convenience of carrying in or out a large load of corn in sheaves ; and
these doors should be of the same breadth with tlie threshing-floor, to afford the more light and air; the
Book IV. BUILDINGS AS REPOSITORIES. 415
former for the thrcehors, and the latter for winnowing. Over the threshing-floor, and a httlc-abovc tlic
reach of the flail, poles are often laid across from one beam to another, to form a kind of upper-floor, upon
which the thresher may throw the straw or haulm, to make an immediate clearing, till he has time to
stow it pro})erly elsewhere : and on the outside, over the great doors, it is sometimes convenient to have
a large pent-house, made to project sufficiently to cover a load of com or hay, in case a sudden storm
should come on before it can be housed ; and also to shelter the poultry in the farm-yard in great heat or
bad weather. It was formerly the custom in countries that abounded in corn to have separate bams for
wheat, for spring-corn, such as barley and oats, and for peas, tares, lintels, clover, saintfoin, &c. but where
the grain can be stacked, the heavy expense of so many buildings of this kind may be avoided. On no
description of farm buildings has so much needless expense been incurred as in barns. The most ostenta-
tious in England are those on Coke's estate in Norfolk ; they are built of fine white'brick, so large and
unscientifically constructed that they cannot be filled with corn from the fear of bursting the side walls. ,^
2691. The tlireshing.-Jioor or space, on which the grain is threshed out by the flail, is an
important object in the English barn. It is for the most part made in the middle of
the building, but may be laid down in any other part, if more convenient, and should al-
ways be so formed as to be perfectly close, firm, and strong. In constructing these
kfnds of floors, various sorts of materials are employed, such as compositions of different
earthy kinds, stones, lumps, bricks, and wood. The last substance, when properly laid
and put together, is probably the best and most secure from damp. When made of wood,
they are sometimes so contrived as to be moveable at pleasure, which is a great conve-
nience in many cases : they are made of different dimensions, but from twelve to fourteen
by eighteen or twenty feet, are in general proper sizes for most purposes.
2692. Threshing-floors in Gloucestershire, Marshal observes, are of a good size, when from 12 to 14 by 18
to 20 feet. The best of oak, some of stone; but a species of earthen floor, which is made there, is thought to
be superior to floors of stone, or any other material, except sound oak-plank. The superior excellency of these
floors is owing in part to the materials of which they are fonned, and in part to the method of making
them. In order to this, in some places, the surface of the intended threshing-place is dug away to the
depth of about six inches, and the earth thus taken out, when of a proper kind, after being well cleared of
"stones, is mixed with the strongest day that can be procured, and with the dung of cattle. This mixture
is then worked together with water, till it is of the consistence of stiff' mortar, and the compost thus made
is spread as smooth as possible with a trowel, upon the spot from whence the earth was taken. As it cracks
in drying, it must frequently be beaten down with great force; or rolled with a heavy roller until all the
crevices are filled up: and this must be continued till it is quite solid, hard, dry, smooth, and firm.
2693. Boarded threshing-floors, made of sound, thick, well-seasoned planks of oak, are excellent for ser-
vice, will last a long time, and may be converted into good flooriVigs for rooms, by plaining them down,
after they are become too uneven for the purpose originally intended.
2694. Earthen threshing-floors should not be advised, except where good materials can be procured, and
the making of them be performed in the most perfect manner, which, as we have noticed (2692.) is only
the case in particular instances and districts.
2695. Brick floors, when well laid down, may, in some cases, make a tolerable floor for many purposes,
but on account of their not only attracting, but retaining moisture, they are not to be recommended, where
grain of any kind is to continue much upon them.
2696. In constructing wooden floors the most usual mode is that of nailing the planks, or boards of
which they are composed, after their edges have been shot true, and well fitted and jointed, close down to
wootlen joists or sleepers, firmly placed and secured upon the ground, or other place for the purpose. But
in the midland districts, instead of the planks being nailed down to sleepers in the ordinary way, the floor
is first laid with bricks, and the planks spread over these, with no other confinement than that of being
" dowled" together, that is, ploughed and tongued, and their ends let into sils or walls, placed in the usual
way, on each side the floor. By this method of putting down the planks, provided the brick-work be left
truly level, vermin cannot have a hiding-place beneath them ; and a communication of damp air being
effectually prevented, floors thus laid are found to wear better than those laid upon sleepers. It is observ-
able that the planks, for this method of laying, ought to be thoroughly seasoned. It is evident, however,
that where bam-floors can be made hollow, they must be much better for the purpose of threshing upon,
than such as are either placed on brick-work, or the ground. From their greater pliability and elasticity in.
threshing upon, the grain is of course threshed out with more ease, certainty, and dispatch.
2697. The threshing-mill barn is not restricted to any size ; but it answers best when
tlie ground-plan is a parallelogram, the width from 20 to 30 feet, according to the size of
the machinery, and the height from 15 to 20 feet, in order to allow one winnowing ma-
chine or even two to be placed under the threshing part of the machinery. The barn in
this case is in three distinct divisions : the first, for the unthreshed corn, should be of such a
size as to contain an ordinary stack, and, if possible, it should be so contrived as to be en-
tered by a loaded cart; which, whether the corn be threshed as carried in, or be laid up
for future operations, is a great saving of labor. The second division contains the ma-
chinery and the corn floor, and should be enclosed with boards so as to be locked up when
not in use. The third division is the straw barn, which should be so large as to admit
of keeping a considerable quantity of different kinds of straw separately, accessible for
fodder and for litter.
2698. The hay-bam is commonly constructed of timber, and sometimes is open on the
south or east, or even on all sides. In Middlesex, there are many hay-barns capable of
holding from 30 to 50, and some even 100, loads of hay. They are found to be ex-
tremely useful and convenient during a catching and unsettled hay-harvest, and also at
otlier seasons of the year. In wet and windy weather, they afford an opportunity of
cutting, weighing, and binding hay ; none of which operations could, at such a time, be
performed out of doors. Most farmers agree that hay may be put together earlier, even by
a day, in a barn, than it would be safe to do in a stack. They advise, however, that the
sides of the mow should be raked or pulled, clear of tlie quartering of the barn ; and,
when thus managed, they are of opinion, that the hay will be as good in the barn as in tlie
416 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
stack. In flie driest seosons, barns are a saving, and, in wet seasons, the ready assistance
which they afford, in speedily securing the hay, has been known to make a difference in
price of twenty shilh'ngs per load. Many persons, on the other hand, think hay is more
apt to heat in a barn than in the open air ; and that they present no advantages which may
not be obtained by the canvass stack cover. If they do not possess considerable advan-
tages, then the loss must be great, as the erection of such barns is a heavy expense.
2699. The granary, in barns with tlireshing machines, is almost always formed imme-
diately above the floor on which the machine works; and which, among other advantages,
admits raising the corn to it directly from the ground-floor, either by the threshing-mill
itself, or a common windlass, easily worked by one man. "When it is to be taken out and
^carried to market, it may be lowered down upon carts, with the utmost facility and dispatch.
There is evidently no greater expense incurred by this arrangement; for the same floor
and height of side- walls that must be added to the barn, are required in wJiatever situ-
ation the granary may be,- and it possesses several advantages. Owing to its being
higher than the adjacent buildings there is a freer circulation of air, and less danger of
pilfering, or of destruction by vermin ; the corn may be deposited in it as it is dressed,
without being exposed to the weather, while the saving of labor is in most cases
considerable.
2700. The construction of the agricultural granary has in it nothing particular ; being,
in fact, only a well ventilated room, where corn is seldom kept more than a month or two,
and generally in sacks.
2701. A detached granary often forms apart of farmeries on a small scale: they should
be built with firmness, and well secured from the entrance of vermin. In order to effect
this last purpose, they should be raised, by means of stone pillars, about eighteen inches
or two feet, and have a frame of some durable wood, with quarterings of timber, so placed
as that they may be filled up closely with brickbats, and the inside made secure by being
lined with thin boards nailed firmly to the different pieces of quartering. The floors must
be made firm, close, and even : the outside may also be covered with boarding, if it be
thought necessary, and the roof well tiled. There may be different floors or stories, ac-
cording to the room required,
2702. Of commercial corn granaries, some of the most extensive are in Dantzic. They
are seven, eight, or nine stories high, having a funnel in the midst of every floor, to let
down the corn from one to another. They are built so securely, that, though every way
surrounded with water, the corn contracts no damp, and the vessels have the convenience
of coming up to the walls for their lading; The Russians in the interior of the empire
preserve their corn in subterranean granaries, of the figure of a sugar-loaf, wide below,
and narrow at top : the sides are well-plastered, and the top covered with stones. They
are very careful to have the corn well dried before it is laid into these store- houses, and
often dry it by means of ovens, their autumn being too short to effect it sufficiently.
2703. A granary to preserve com for many years should be a dry cellar, deeply covered
with earth; and after the corn is put in, hermetically sealed to exclude heat, air, and
moisture, and preclude the possibility of the grain vegetating, or of the existence of
insects or vennin. (See 1797.)
2704. The root-house is used for storing up or depositing potatoes, turnips, carrots,
cabbages, or other roots or tops for the winter feed of cattle. It should always join the
cattle-sheds, and communicate with them by an inner door that opens into the feeder's
walk along the heads of the cattle. The entrance door ought to be so large as to admit
a loaded cart. These houses are essentially necessary wherever there is a number of cows
or other sorts of cattle to be supported on roots of the carrot, parsnip, turnip, and potatoc
kinds, as well as for cabbages, as without them it would not only be inconvenient, but in
many cases in severe weather impossible to provide them for the daily supply of such
stock. Cabbages should not, however, ever be kept long in houses, as they are very apt
to take on the putrid fermentation, and become useless. The master should be careful
that the yard-man constantly keeps such places perfectly clean and sweet, in order that
the roots may contract no bad smell, as cattle are in many cases extremely nice in their
feeding, and when once disgusted with any sort of food, seldom take to it again in a
proper manner.
2705. The steaming-house should be placed next the root-houses for obvious reasons ;
and have an inner door communicating with it in a line with the door of the feeder's
walk,
2706. The straw-house or straw-shed, when there is one distinct from the barn, should
be placed at the end of the cattle-sheds, opposite to the root-house, and like it should
have a cart entrance, and an inner door communicating with the feeder's walk. Straw,
however, is often stacked, in preference to placing it in a straw-house, especifiUy when
large quantities of corn are threshed at one time.
2707. Cart-sheds or lodges, for th^ shelter and protection of. carts ox waggons, and
Book IV. FARM-HOUSES. * 417
other large implements, are generally built close on three sides, with the fourth open,
and the roof supported with posts or pillars. Sometimes they are open on all sides ; but
this admits too much wind, which carries moisture with it in the cold seasons of the year,
and dries up and shrinks wooden articles in summer. Their situation in the square
should be apart from the buildings for live stock, and also the barn, straw, and root-
houses : generally the first part of the east or west side on entering, is devoted to the
purpose of cart-sheds and tool-houses.
2708. The tool-lvotise is used for keeping the smaller implements used in manual labor
in the fields, as spades, rakes, forks, &c. It is essential that this apartment be dry and
free from damps ; and when convenient, it should have a loft for the better preserv-
ation of sacks, cordage, sowing sheets, baskets, spare harness, &c.
2709. Some other buildings, besides those of this and the preceding section, will be
wanted in most farm- yards of any extent, as stables for young horses, riding-horses, an
hospital stable, &c. Particular descriptions of farms also require appropriate buildings,
as dairies, cheese-rooms, hop kilns, and wool-lofts, which will be considered in treat-
ing of dairy farms, hop culture, the management of sheep, &c.
2710. Sleeping-rooms for single men should be made over the stable, and for the
feeder or cow-keeper, over the cattle-sheds, that they may hear any accident
which takes place among the horses or cattle during the night, and be at hand to
remedy it.
2711. A smithy and carpenter's work-room sometimes form part of the buildings on a
large farm. Instead of going to a distance to the residence of these necessary mechanics,
arrangements are made with them to attend at stated periods or when sent for, by which
a saving both of time and money is effected. Sometimes these buildings are set down at
aJittle distance from the square to prevent danger from fire, and lessen the expense of
insurance. The fixtures, as the anvil, bellows, bench, vice, lathe, &;c. and some of the
larger tools, belong to the farmer, but the others the mechanics bring with them. A
small stock of iron, steel, and timber, is kept to be in readiness, and also the cast-iron
work of ploughs, carts, &c. and sometimes the smaller pinions, and other parts of the
threshing machines.
Sect. III. Of the Farmer's Dwelling- House.
2712. The dwelling-house of the farmer is generally detached from the farmery on the
south side, and separated from it by a road, grass-plat, garden, or pond, or all of these,
according to circumstances. In size and accommodations it ought to be proportioned to
the capital requisite for the farm ; that is, it ought to be on a par with the houses of
other members of society of similar property and income. In design it ought to be sim-
ple and unostentatious ; utility and convenience being its recommendatory beauties.
At the same time, as observed in the Code of Agriculture, " every landlord of taste,
in fixing on the site and plan of a new farm-house and offices, ought certainly not to
overlook the embellishment of the country." How much of the beauty of a country,
and of the ideas of the comfort and happiness of its inhabitants, depends on the appear-
ance of its farm-houses and cottages, every traveller is aware ; and every agriculturist
who has travelled through the British isles, can recognize at once a well cultivated
district by the forms of the farm-yards, and the position of the farmer's dwelling-house.
The difference between the best and worst cultivated English counties in this respect
are sufficiently striking ; and the ideas of wealth, comfort, order, and scientific agricul-
ture, which the farmers and cottages of Northumberland and Berwickshire excite in
the mind, are totally unfelt in passing through even Hertfordshire and Essex ; where
the scattered, straggling hovels of all sizes and shapes, the monstrous barns, and rickety,
shapeless farm-houses, indicate a low state of culture, and an ignorant, tasteless set of
occupiers. Even in Norfolk and Suffolk, the want of symmetry in the farmeries of
opulent farmers, is every where conspicuous, and the want of taste and decorum in
setting the dwelling-houses among dung heaps and urine ponds, no less so. But the
farmers in Norfolk, as in most parts of England, though wealthy, are in general
ignorant and gross in their habits and taste. They are accustomed to look on them-
selves as an order of beings different from the trading classes of the community,
superior as possessing houses and land, and inferior as not daring to enjoy wealth or
better their condition beyond a certain extent, lest the landlord should raise their rent.
Till this feeling, which is one among other vestiges of feudal times, and the metayer
system, is more or less done away both on the part of the landlord and tenant, no great
improvement in farm-houses can be expected.
2713. In selecting a few earamp/es of farm-houses the first we shall notice is that of
the smallest size where the farmer keeps no servant and cultivates only a few acres. The
ground plan of such a house {fg. 359.) should contain an entry [a] ; kitchen (/.) ;
dairy and pantry (c) ; parlour (rf) ; light closet off the parlor as a store-room, or for a
Ee
418
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
bed (e) ; tool-house (/) ; stair and cellar under (g) ; water closet, and poultry -house
over (/«) ; there are three bed-rooms in
the roof, and one garret. The dimensions
may be varied at pleasure; but twelve
feet square is the least dimension that can
be given to the kitchen and parlors.
2714. A farm-house of the smallest size (Jig. SCO.), where the poultry and tool house
are in the farm-yard, but where the farmer keeps only one servant, and works and
lives with him, may contain an entrance and stair {a) ; kitchen, closet, and oven [b) ;
back kitchen (c) ; dairy (rf) ; parlor (e) ; bedroom (jf) ; with three bedrooms and a
garret up stairs, and a cellar under. A few of such farm-houses and tenants should be
found in all parts of the country, if for no other reason than to preserve the gradation
from the laborer to the professional farmer, and from the cottage to the farm-
house.
Book IV.
FARM-COTTAGES.
419
2715. A fann-house larger than the preceding {Jig. 361. )> ^'^d for a farmer and his
family rather in a better style, may contain a principal entrance and lobUy (a) ; parlor
(b) ; closets (c) ; store-room for meal, cheese, &c. (rf) ; lumber room for small imple-
ments [e) ; beer cellar (/) ; pantry {g) ; dairy f/j) ; staircase (i) ; kitchen, with an oven
under the stairs, and a boiler on the other side of tlic fire place [k] ; coals or wood, and
back -entry il) ; pig-stye, with a small opening towards the kitchen for throwing in dish-
water, offals, &c. (m) ; and poultry-house {n) ; with two garret bedrooms over the
wings ; two good bedrooms and a closet up stair§, and a garret in the roof.
2716. A farm-house of the second lower scale 'fg. 362.', executed at Burleigh in
Rutlandshire, contains a principal entry (a) ; parlor (h) ; kitchen (c) ; stair (d) ; dairy
(e) ; pantry fy) ; cellar f^ ; and cheese-room (A. The three latter are attached to
the back part of the house by a continuation downwards of the same roof. By making
their ceilings only seven and a half or eight feet high, some small bed-rooms may be
got above them, having a few steps down from the floor of the front rooms, or a few
steps up from the first landing-place. The back-door of the kitchen enters into a brew-
house and wash-house, the fire place and copper being behind the kitchen vent. Beyond
this brew-house is a place for holding firewood, &c. j in the back wall of which are
openings to feed the swine. In the kitchen is an oven ; and below the grate a very
good contrivance for baking occasionally, but principally used for keeping the servants'
meat warm. It consists of a cast-iron plate, and door like an oven. The chamber-
floor is divided into two rooms for wards, and two small ones backwards.
2717. Farmers' dwelling-houses, containing more accommodation and conifort, and
displaying appropriate taste and expression of design, will be found in a succeeding
section, where farmeries are treated of, and also where we treat of laying out farms.
(Part III.)
Sect. IV. Of Cottages for Farm Servants.
2718. Collages for laborers are necessary appendages to every farm or landed estate,
and no improvement is found to answer the purpose better than building these on a com-
fortable and commodious plan. In the southern counties of the island, where the
farmer's laborer is supposed to change his master once a year, or oftener, the whole busi-
ness of cottages is commonly left to accident ; but in the nortli a certain number of
married servants are kept on every farm, and a fixed place near the farmery is appointed
for their situation. These habitations are in the tenure of the farmer, in common with
the other buildings of the farm ; and whenever a married servant changes his master he
changes his habitation.
2719. The accommodation formerly considered suited for farm laborers, consisted of
two rooms. That on the ground floor not being less than twelve feet square, with a
sleeping room of the same size over, and sometimes on the same floor. But this is
justly deemed too small for an ordinary laborer's family. " Humanity," Beatson
observes, "shudders at the idea of an industrious laborer, with a wife, and perhaps
five or six children, being obliged to live, or rather exist, in a wretched, damp, gloomy
room, of 10 or 12 feet square, and that room without a floor ; but common decency must
revolt at considering, that over this wretched apartment there is only one chamber, to
hold all the miserable beds of this miserable family. And yet instances of this kind, to
our shame be it spoken, occur in every country village. How can we expect our
laborers or their families to be healthy, or that their daughters, from whom we are to
take our future female domestics, should be cleanly, modest, or even decent, in such
wretched habitations ?"
2720. Cottages for farm servants, it is observed by the able author of the article
Agriculture, in the Supplement to the Encyc. Britannica, ** are usually set down in a
line, at not an inconvenient distance from the farm-yard. Each of them contains two
apartments, with fire-places and garret sleeping rooms over. Adjoining is commonly a
cow-house, hog-stye, shed for fuel, necessaiy, a small garden, and sometimes other
appendages of comfort and enjoyment. As an example of the minimum of modem
accommodation, we may fi
refer to two cottages on
a farm in Berwickshire,
as described in the re-
port of that county.
They contain each a kit-
chen {fig. 363 «.) small
parlor and store-room
(6), with two good bed-
rooms over, and a dairy
under the staircase —
There is a garden behind
363
1 ff
E e 2
420
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
rr
mmi
364
1 R
'
c
|i
r-m
•M
Hh
i
u
H
3=
Jl,
m
s
a (
y
0
(c), a place for a calf or pigs, or for fuel (d), water-closet (e), and dung-heap (/).
The laborer's cows, in this case, are kept at the farmery along with those of the farmer.
2721 . A double ploughman s cottage and coiu-honse {fig. 3(54. ) may be tlius arranged. Both
may contain a kitchen (a) with
an oven, and there may be a
small parlor or store-room
(i), a dairy and pantry (c),
with two bed-rooms over.
Detached may be a pig- stye
{d), water-closet (e), place
for fuel (/), and cow-house
(^r), with gardens adjoining,
dung-heap, porch, step -up,
&;c. as in the other place.
2722. In regard to the
construction of cottages much
information may be obtained
from a work entitled, A
Series of Plans for Cottages^
by J. Wood, of Bath. This
author lays down the fol-
lowing seven principles, as
the means of obviating the inconveniencies to v-hich cottages, as usually built, are
liable: —
2723. The cottage should be dry and healthy ; this is effected by keeping the floor sixteen or eighteen
inches above the natural ground ; by building it clear of banks, on.an open spot of ground, that has a
declivity or fall from the building; by having the rooms not less than eight feet high — a height that
will keep them airy and healthy ; and by avoiding having chambers in the roof.
2724. They should be warm, cheerful, and comfortable. In order to attain these points, the walls should
be of a sufficient thickness (if of stone, not less than sixteen inches ; if of brick, at least a brick and a
half) to keep out the cold of the winter, or the excessive heat of the summer. The entrance should be
screened, that the room, on opening the door, may not be exposed to the open air ; the rooms should
receive their light from the east or the south, or from any point betwixt the east and the south ; for, if
they receive their light from the north, they will be cold and cheerless ; if from the west, they will be so
heated by the summer's afternoon sun, as to become comfortless to the poor laborer, after a hard day's
work ; whereas, on the contrary, receiving the light from the east or the south, they will be always warm
and cheerful. So like the feelings of men in a higher sphere are those of the poor cottager, that if his
habitation be warm, cheerful, and comfortable, he will return to it with gladness, and abide in it with
pleasure.
2725. They should be rendered convenient^ by having a porch or shed, to screen the entrance, and to
hold the laborer's tools ; by having a shed to serve as a pantry, and store-place for fuel ; by having a
privy for cleanliness and decency's sake ; by a proper disposition of the windows, doors, and chimneys ;
by having the stairs, where there is an upper floor, not less than three feet wide, the rise or height not
more than eight inches, and the tread or breadth not less than nine inches ; and, lastly, by proportioning
the size of the cottage to the family that is to inhabit it ; there should be one lodging-room for the parents,
another for the female, and a third for the male children ; it is melancholy, he says, to see a man and his
wife, and sometimes half a dozen children, crowded together in the same room, nay, often in the same
bed ; the horror is still heightened, and the inconveniency increased, at the time the woman is in child-
bed, or in case of illness, or of death ; indeed, whilst the children are young under nine years of age,
there is not that offence to decency, if they sleep in the same room with their parents, or if the boys and
girls sleep together, but after that age they should be kept apart.
2726. Cottages should not be more than twelve feet wide in the clear, that being the greatest width that
it would be prudent to venture the rafters of the roof, with the collar-pieces only, without danger of
spreading the walls ; ajid by using collar-pieces, there can be fifteen inches in height of the roof thrown
into the upper chambers, which will render dormer-windows useless.
2727. Cottages should be always built in pairs, either at a little distance from one another, or close ad-
joining, so as to appear one building, that the inhabitants may be of assistance to each other, in case of
sickness or any other accident.
2728. For economy, cottages should be built strong, and with the best of materials, and these materials
well put together ; the mortar must be well tempered and mixed, and lime not spared ; hollow walls bring
on decay, and harbour vermin ; and bad sappy timber soon reduces the cottage to a ruinous state.
Although cottages need not be fine, yet they should be regular ; regularity will render them ornaments to
the country, instead of their being, as at present, disagreeable objects.
2729. A piece of ground should be allotted to every cottage, proportionable to its size ; the cottage should
be built in the vicinity of a spring of water — a circumstance to be attended to; and if there be no
S])ring, let there be a well.
2730. On the foregoing seven jrrinciples, he recommends all cottages to be built.
They may be divided into four classes or degrees: first, cottages with one room;
/«econdly, cottages with two rooms; .thirdly, cottages with three rooms ; and, fourthly,
cottages with four rooms; plans of each of which, that have great merit in their dis-
tribution, may be seen in his veiy able work.
2731. An economical mode of constructing the walls of brick-built cottages, is described
by Dearn, in a Tract on Hollow Walls (London, 1820). These walls are only nine
inches wide, and built hollow, by laying the courses alternately lengthways on edge,
and crossways on the broad fac. °. Another description of hollow walls has been
invented by Silverlock of Chiches, ter, and used by him in building garden walls (See
Enci/c of Gardening), in which al I the bricks are laid on edge, but alternately length-
ways and crossways of the wall ; or, in bricklayers' language, header and stretcher.
Book IV.
FARM-COTTAGES.
421.
Either of these modes suit very well for cottages of one story, and if well plastered
inside the house, they will be warmer and dryer than solid walls even of fourteen inches
thickness. Hollow walls of any height may be built by laying the bricks flat ways, and
joining the outer and inner four inch, or single brick walls, by cross bricks at moderate
distances.
2732. jln economical mode of forming staircases to cottages^ is de-
scribed by Beatson, and has been adopted in a few places. Its merit
consists in occupying exactly half the room which is required for
stairs on the ordinary plan. This is effected by dividing every step into
two parts (fig. 365 a and b], and making one part double the height
of another. In ascending such a stair the left foot is set on the left
step (fl), and the right foot on the right step (b,) alternately to the top
of the stair. It is therefore clear, that as the steps for the right and for
the left foot are in the same line, and although neither foot rises each
time higher than seven inches and a half above the other, yet every time
that one foot is moved, it rises fifteen inches higher than it was before.
Suppose in a stair of this kind, that each tread or breadth for the foot
is nine inches, and that each rise of the one foof above the other is seven
inches and a half, consequently as each foot rises the height of two steps, or fifteen
inches, every time it is moved, it is plain that six steps of this kind will rise as high as
twelve in the common way, and will require only one half the size of a hatch or opening
in the floor above, that would be required for those twelve steps as usually constructed.
This will be of considerable advantage, where much is required to be made of little
room, and will of course give more space to the chambers above ; but it has the disad-
vantage of being disagreeable, and even dangerous to descend, especially for pregnant
women and young children.
2733. Mud walls, built in the French manner, or en pise, are recommended by
Beatson, Crocker, and others, and also ** walls composed of soft mire and straw," but
these we consider, with Wood, as the reverse of economical in the end, and totally unfit
for our climate and degree of civilization.
2734. Of what are called ornamental cottages for laborers, we shall say little. Utility
is a beauty of itself, but there are higher degrees of that sentiment excited by the appear-
ance of convenience and abundance ; by the evidence of design or intelligence in the
contriver as displayed in the elevation and general effect, and by classical imitative or
picturesque forms in the masses and details. The great evil, however, is that these
ornamental cottages, as generally constructed, are felt by the occupiers to be very uncom-
fortable habitations, every thing being sacrificed by the designer to external appearance.
This is in the very worst taste, and has, in most parts of the country, brought ornamental
cottages into ridicule. Utility, therefore, is the main consideration, and nothing ought to
be considered as ornamental that is at all at variance with this property.
2735. As an example of a cottage orna-
mented in the least degree (Jig. 366.) we sub-
mit a specimen in the gothic style, by Hol-
land. It contains an entrance lobby, and
stair (a), kitchen (h), small parlour and store-
room (c), cow-house (rf), pig-stye (e), poul-
try (/), and water closet (g). Over the
kitchen is a bed-room with a fire place, and
another communicating with it over the cow-house.
2736. A cottage ornamented in the second degree (fig. 367.), contains an entrance and
lobby (fl), kitchen (6), stair (c), parlor,
or store-room (d), back kitchen (e), cow-
house (/), and water closet [g), with
two good bed rooms over the centre of
the building, and two garrets over the
wings.
fl 2737. A double ornamental cottage,
erected by Lord Penryhn, in Wales
(fi^. 368. ), contains a porch, lobby, and
stair (a), kitchen and living room (6), parlor (c), with cellars and pantry under, and to
each house two bed-rooms over. It must be confessed, however, that this cottage is more
ornamental than convenient. n v -i • tt
2738. A double ornamental cottage, wUh latticed windows (fig. 369.), built m Hert-
fordshire, on a very dry soil, contains, on the ground floor, the kitchen and hving room (a),
pantry (b), and small light closets (c), with a stair up to two good bed-rooms above and
down to a dairy, cellar, fuel-room, and other conveniences beneath. It is placed in a
Ee 3
366
I — ]n-r~ir-iPn
422
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
neat garden, with piggery, bee -house, poultry, dung-pit, water closet, covered seat or
bower, pump-well, and other appendages to each cottage.
2739. A variety of other plans of cottages will be found connected with the plans of
farmeries, and in cur Topograp/it/ of Agriculture (Part IV.)
Sect. V. Of the Stack-yard, Dung-yard, and other Enclosures immediately connected
with Farm Buildings.
2740. The different appendages ivhich are common to farm buildings arc the dung-yards,
pits and reservoirs, the rick-yard, the straw-yard, the poultry-yard, drying yard, garden,
orchard, and cottage-yards. These necessarily vary much, according to situation and
other circumstances, but all of tliem are more or less essential to a complete farmery,
2741. The dung-yard and pit is placed in almost every case in the centre of the main
yard. A pavement, or causeway, ought to be carried round the yard, next to the houses,
of nine or hfteen feet in width, according to the scale of the whole : the remaining part
of the yard should either be enclosed with a wall with various doors to admit cattle, carts,
and wheel barrows, or on a small scale, it may be entirely open. From this space the
earth should be excavated so as to form a hollow deepest at the centre, or at the lower
end if the original surface was not level ; and from the lowest part of this hollow should
be conducted a drain to a reservoir for liquid manure. The bottom of this excavation,
or dung basin, ought to be rendered hard, in order not to take the impression of cart
wheels, in removing the dung, and impervious to moisture, in order to prevent absorption.
2742. For these purposes, it may be either paved, the stones being set on a layer of
clay ; or what will generally answer equally well, it may be covered with a thick coat
of gravel or chalk, if it can be got, and then well-rolled, mixing some loam with the
gravel, if it is found not to consolidate readily. To prevent as much as possible a
superfluity of rain-water from mixing with the dung and diluting its drainings, all ex-
ternal surface-water should be prevented from entering the farm-yard by means of
drains, opened or covered ; and that which collects on the inner slopes of the roofs
should, in every case, be carried off by gutters. Such is the opinion of most agricul-
turists as to the situation of the farm yard, dung-hill, and reservoir ; but, in addition
to these requisites, it is now very properly considered as equally important that there be
urine-pits, either open or covered.
2743. The uritutrium, or urine-pit, is constructed in or near to the stables and
cattle-sheds, for the immediate reception of the drainage of these buildings, un-
mixed with rain-water. It is found from experience that a very considerable addition
of the richest kind of manure is thus obtained on every arable farm. At the same time
it is proper to observe, that no benefit, but a loss, will be sustained if the urine is so com-
pletely drained from the straw, as to leave it too dry for fermentation. Where there are
no stall-fed cattle, an able author {Supp. En. Brit. i. 12] ) is of opinion there will be
no more urine than what will be required for converting the straw into manure. Whea
Book IV.
STACK-STANDS.
423
cattle are fed at the stake, however, he considers a reservoir as essential. Allan, of
Gray crook, near Edinburgh, recommends that there should be two, in order that as
soon as one is full, it should remain in that state till the urine becomes putrid before it
be taken away. The urine is either applied to the land in its liquid state, or mixed with
peat, earth, &c. The reservoirs may be either vaults of masonry, or wells ; in either
case, the hole for the pump should be sufficiently large to admit a man to clean out the
sediment when it accumulates. A very desirable plan seems to be, to have these vaults,
or wells, chiefly within the cattle-house, as in Flanders, but partly also without, to admit
room for the pump-hole, close by the wall on the inside of the surrounding paved road.
It is needless to add, that such constructions ought to be made water-tight by the use of
some cement, or by puddling with clay outside of the masonry.
2744. The stack-yard^ or enclosure within which corn, hay, &c. is stacked, is placed
exterior to that side of the building which contains the barn. Stack-yards should
always be sufficiently spacious and airy, having a Urm dry bottom ; and some advise
them to be ridged up, to prevent the accumulation of surface-water, as by the ridges
being pretty well raised in the middle, and covering the places where the stacks are
to be built, either with rough stones, with a mixture of gravel, or paving them in the
same manner as streets, much advantage would be gained at little expense. But a
much better method is to have them raised considerably above the surface, and placed
upon pillars of wood or stone, with a covering of wood round the circumference, and
beams laid across. The inclosing of stack-yards should be well performed, either by
means of walls or palings, or better with a sunk fence ; as in that way the stacks will
have the full benefit of the air from top to bottom, a circumstance of no small moment,
as it is often found, especially in wet seasons, where the fence of the stack-yards is only
a low wall, that the whole of the stacks are damaged or spoiled as high up as the wall
reaches, while the upper part is perfectly safe. Should any addition be required to the
sunk-fence, a railing upon the top may be quite sufficient. This fully shows the vast
advantage of having stack-yards sufficiently airy. The proper arrangement of the
stands, for their being removed to the threshing-mill, is also a matter of much conse-
quence in the economy of the work that is to be performed in them.
2745. A stack-yard, arranged on principles pectdiarly well planned and Judicious,
has been formed by Mitchell, of Balquharn, near Alloa. His stacks are divided
into regular rows, and there is a road on each
side of every double row, besides a road round
the whole yard. (See our Jig. 114. and 115.)
This plan is attended with the following ad-
vantages ; 1st, by these parallel roads, there is
a greater degree of ventilation ; 2dly, he can re-
move any stack he pleases, as necessity or markets
require ; 3dly, in the hurry of harvest there is no
confusion or loss of time, whatever may be the
number of men or horses employed ; and 4thly,
by having the rows arid the stacks regularly
numbered, there is no difficulty in ascertaining
what each field of the farm produces.
2746. Corn-stands are requisite fixtures of the
stack-yard ; they are basements of timber or ma-
sonry, and sometimes of iron (Jig.SlOa.), on which
to build the stack, and their object is to keep the
370
fcuul
jfii in\
pLM
flUl Ll-U
aji II 11
ffiLJlJl
/I i\ LL1\
lUi \u\
'dJJ \L\\
it n w ]\
jl 1/ il l\
to uuiia tne stacK, ana uieir oujeci i!> lu kccjj uic | [ p - — ^ ■ — pj ■
lower part of the stack dry, and exclude vermin. JvF SjP ^ ^ "^ O*
The usual mode of constructing stands is to place 1 M M J I
a stout frame of timber on upright stones, two jjj, JJX JH. XJ, M^
feet high, and having projecting caps of flat
stones. They are also constructed wholly of stone, of circular or polygonal walls (Jig. 371
«, 6), built to the same height as in the for-
mer case, in a rather slanting manner out-
wards, and covered on the tops with copings
of oak-planking or flat stones, which project
over the edges several inches, and in that
way prevent the ascent of rats and mice
to the stacks. In both these modes, pieces
of timber are placed as a frame in the middle
to support the grain upon, and generally a cone of spars in the centre, to form a column
of air in the heart of the corn. Some suppose the first of these sorts of corn-stands to
be the best for general purposes, as being more easily as well as more cheaply con-
structed, and at the same time permitting the air to enter and circulate with more freedom
Ee 4
424 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
underneath, in the bottom of the stand, which is of much advantage. It is obvious that
the form of these stands or basements must vary according to that in which the stacks are
to be made, which is different in different districts. But wiierever the threshing machine
is introduced, the circular base, as producing a stack of a moderate size, with other ad-
vantages, is generally preferred.
2747. Cast-iron stands for stacks (Jig. 372.) with or
without funnels formed by hollow cones or triangles, have
recently been introduced, and found advantageous in
point of economy, and admitting of stacking the corn,
somewhat earlier. The pillars of these stands are three
feet high, and weigh one-half cwt. each. A stack re-
quires seven pillars, besides the framing, which may either
be made of poles or young trees. In the wet climate of
Clackmannanshire, wheat has been stacked in five days,
beans in eight, and barley and oats in ten days, and some-
times earlier. No vermin can find their way into these
stacks to consume the grain, and the straw is better pre-
served. The cone or triangle keeps up a circulation of
air, and prevents heating, or other damage. (Gen. Rep.
of Scotland, \o\.i\. App.^.'M 9.) ^^^
2748. Hay-stands, according to some, may be formed ""^^^.cs^-
in the same manner as those for corn, only it is seldom necessary to have them made of
such expensive materials. A simple frame of wood is mostly sufficient, with proper
bearers laid across for the support of the stack. These stands are much better than the
common practice of building the ricks on loose pieces of wood laid across in the bottom,
and filled in with brush or faggot wood, as is often the case ; and earthy floors or
foundations should never be thought of for this purpose, as the dampness must injure
a considerable part of the hay at the bottom. Where faggots are not scarce, however,
and the ground on which a hay- stack is built is rather elevated, no stand can ever become
necessary.
2749. The stack-funnel fausse or boss, as it is called in the north, whether the stand be
of wood, iron, or stone, may be formed of a few poles placed on a circular (fig, 370 6. )
square or angular base (fig. 372. i, having a few short spars nailed across (fig. 370 6),
or a straw rope wrapped round.
2750. The stack-cover is a cloth or canvass covering, for suspending over stacks during
the time of their being built to protect them from rain. A simple implement of this sort
has long been in use in Kent ; but it has been improved on by Sir Joseph Banks, so as
to become more manageable, though somewhat more costly. It consists of two long
upright poles fixed into two cart wheels : a rope, managed by blocks and tackle, connects
the poles at top, and supports, raises, or lowers the canvass roof in the usual manner of
managing tents and sails. Its construction and use will be afterwards more particularly
described.
2751. The straw-yard is a term applied to enclosures in or about the fann-yard, in
which cattle are turned in loose to eat straw. In most cases this enclosure occupies the
centre of the farm- yard, and includes the dung-bason, or it is a subdivision of the yard ;
but in some cases enclosures and sheds are erected exterior to the farm -yard, and near
the straw and root-house. The great object in arranging straw-yards of this description,
is to provide a sufficient extent of sheds open to the south for cover to the cattle in severe
weather, and high fences or sheds on the east or west sides according to their position,
relatively to the main yard, for shelter.
2752. The poultry-yard in most cases may be a very small enclosure, as the poultry of
common farmeries should be allowed to range over the straw-yards and most parts of the
premises, to pick up what cannot be got at by swine.
2753. A tradesman's -yard or small enclosure is often appended to the smith's and
carpenter's shops, as well to contain timber as implements in want of repair, &c.
2754. A kitchen-garden is an essential appendage to the dwelling-house. Its situa-
tion should be apart from the farmery, so as not to interfere with it, or be injured by the
blowing in of straws, &c. The size of the garden will, of course, depend somewhat on
that of the house and farm ; but as a small farmer with a large family will require as
many or more vegetables than one of a higher class, there can be no impropriety in the
garden being largq. As potatoes and turnips, and sometimes other vegetables, may be
had of better quality from the field, some abatement of size may be allowed on this
account. In general, the garden need not be under a fourth, nor exceed half an acre.
The best fence is a wall, and next a close oak paling ; but if neither of these can be had,
a thorn hedge will answer, though its roots always rob a portion of the accompanying
border, and it harbours vermin. The best form is a parallelogram, lying east and west,
Book IV. FARMERIES. 425
whicli may be intersected by walks, so as to divide it into four or six other parallelograms,
with a surrounding border as broad as the enclosure fence is high.
2755. An orchard may either be regularly formed on an allotted space ; or fruit trees
may be scattered over a lawn or piece of grass ground which may surround the house.
In a convenient part of this orchard, posts should be fixed as a drying ground, unless
that operation is performed by heated air or steam in the house.
2756. J'Jie gardens appended to the laborer s cottages may contain from one-eighth to
one-sixth of an acre. Their situation should always adjoin the house, but whether they
should surround it or enclose it on one or more sides, must depend on the position of the
cow-house belonging to each cottage. In some cases, and perhaps it is the best plan,
these cow-houses form a range by themselves in a small field devoted to their use, and
placed behind the row of cottages.
Sect. VI. Of tlie Union of the different Farm Buildings and Enclosures in a Farmery,
2757. In fixing the arrangement of a set of farm buildings, the first thing, according to
Beatson, to be taken into consideration, after choosing the situation, is the nature and pro-
duce of the farm. From these may be judgedthe different kinds of accommodation
that will be necessary. For example, every farm must have, first, a dwelling-house ;
secondly, a barn suitable to the extent of arable land in the farm, either with or without
a threshing mill, but always with one, if possible; and it should be endeavored to
place it so that it may go by water, if a supply can be had ; thirdly, stables, the dimen.
sions of which must be determined according to the number of horses necessary for the
farm ; fourthly, cow-houses, or feeding-houses, or both, according to the number of
cows and cattle, and so on, till the whole accommodations, and their dimensions, are
fixed upon. Having ascertained these, and the situation for building on being also settled,
the ground must be carefully and attentively viewed ; and if not very even, the different
levels must be observed, and the best way of conducting all the necessary drains,
and carrying off all superfluous moisture. Also the best situation for dung and
urine-pits, or reservoirs, which will, in a great degree, ascertain at once where the cattle-
houses and stables should be. These being fixed on, the barn should be as near them
as possible, for the convenience of carrying straw to the cattle ; and the barn-yard
should be contiguous to the barn . These main points being deterniined on, the others
will easily be found ; always observing this rule, to consider what is the nature of the
work to be done about each office, and then the easiest and least laborious way to per-
form that work, so far as it is connected with other offices. In case this should not be
sufficiently explicit, suppose, by way of illustration, the situation of a feeding-house is
to be considered of. The nature of the work to be performed here is, bringing food and
litter to the cattle, and taking" away their dung. The place from whence the greatest
part perhaps of their food and all their litter comes, is the barn ; therefore the feeding-
house should be as near the barn as possible. If turnips or other roots, or cabbages,
make a part of their food, the most commodious way of giving these must be determined
on ; whether by having a root -house adjoining the cattle-house, and that filled occasionally,
or by having a place to lay them down in, near the heads of the stall, from whence they are
thrown in at holes left in the walls for tliat purpose. The easiest method of clearing away
the dung must also be considered, and the distance'from the main dung-pit and urine
reservoir. The same general rule being observed in determining on the site of all the
other offices or accommodations, together with a careful examination of the ground to
be occupied (upon which the arrangement of the offices in a great measure should de-
pend), any person conversant in rural affairs, who attends to these particulars, and can,
lay down his ideas in a drawing, may easily direct the planning and building Of a very
commodious set of offices. "With respect to the site of the dwelling-house, it may be
remarked, that, although a house being situate in the middle of a regular front, is in
some points of view the most pleasing way, and in many situations perhaps the best,
yet, unless the ground and otlier circumstances in every respect favor such a disposition,
it should not invariably be adhered to ; for it may often happen, that a much better
situation for the dwelling-house may be obtained at a little distance from the offices, a
pleasing uniformity be observed in them at the same time, and the house be more healthy
and agreeable. In some cases, and for some kinds of farms, it may be particularly ne-
cessary to have the house so placed, in respect to the offices and farm-yard, as to admit
of their being constantly inspected, and the labor that is to be performed in them attended
to and overlooked.
2758. The particular requisites of a farmstead, Marshall observes, " are as various as
the intentions of farms. A sheep-farm, a grazing-farm, a hay-farm, a dairy-farm, and
one under mixed cultivation, may require different situations, and different arrange-
ments of yards and buildings. On a farm of the last species, which may be considered
426
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
as the ordinary farm of this kingdom, the principal requisites are, shelter, water, an
area or site sufficiently flat for yards and buildings ; with meadow land below it, to re-
ceive the washings of the yards ; as well as sound pasture-grounds above it for a grass-
yard and paddocks; with private roads nearly on a level, to the principal arable lands ;
and with suitable outlets to the nearest or best markets." The first of which when
wanting, in the desired situation, may in time be supplied by plantations and mound-
fences. And where there is not a natural supply of water, a well, water-cellar, or arti-
ficial rill may, he says, furnish it.
2759. For a farm under mixed husbandry, the particulars, to be arranged according
to Marshall, may be thus enumerated ; namely, 1 . A suit of buildings, adapted to the
intended plan of management, — as a dwelling-house, barns, stables, cattle-sheds, cart-
shed. 2. A spacious yard, common to the buildings, and containing a receptacle of
stall-manure, whether arising from stables, cattle-sheds, hog-styes, or other buildings ;
together with separate folds, or straw-yards, furnished with appropriate sheds, for par-
ticular stock, in places where such are required. 3. A reservoir, or catchpool, situated
on the lower side of the buildings and yards, to receive their washings, and collect them
in a body for the purpose of irrigating the lands below them. 4. A corn-yard, conve-
nient to the barns j and a hay-yard contiguous to the cow or fatting-sheds. 5. A gar-
den and fruit-ground near the house. 6. A spacious grass-yard or green, embracing
the whole or principal part of the conveniences ; as an occasional receptacle for stock of
every kind ; as a common pasture for swine, and a range for poultry ; as a security to
the fields from stock straying out of the inner yards ; and as an ante-field or lobby,
out of which the home- grounds and driftways may be conveniently entered. In re-
spect to the distribution or management of these different objects, he remarks, that in
order to make it with good effect, great caution, study, and patience are required, that
the most may be made of given circumstances. " An accurate delineation of the site
which is fixed on, requires," says he, " to be drawn out on a scale; the plannist study-
ing the subject, alternately, upon the paper, and on the ground to be laid out ; continuing
to sketch and correct his plan, until he has not a doubt left upon his mind ; and then to
mark out the whole upon the ground, in a conspicuous and permanent manner, before
the foundation of any particular building be attempted to be laid. It may," he thinks,
** be naturally conceived by a person who has not turned his attention to this subject,
that there must be some simple, obvious, and fixed plan to proceed upon. But seeing
the endless variety in the mere dwelling-places of men, it is not to be wondered at, if a
still greater variety of plans should take place where so many appurtenances are required,
and these on sites so infinitely various ; nor that men's opinions and practices should
differ so much on the subject, that on a given site, no two practical men, it is more than
probable, would make the same arrangement." There are, however, he says, "certain
principles which no artist ought to lose sight of in laying out" such buildings and con-
veniences. '* The barns, the stables, and the granary, should be under the eye, —
should be readily seen from the dwelling-house." And "the prevailing idea, at pre-
sent, is, that the several buildings ought to form a regular figure, and enclose an area
or farm-yard, either as a fold for loose cattle, or, where the stalling of cattle is practised,
as a receptacle for dung, and the most prevailing figure is the square. But this form is,
he thinks, more defective than the oval or circle, the angles being too sharp, and the
corners too deep. Besides, the roadway, necessary to be carried round a farm-yard in
order to have a free and easy passage between the different buildings, is inconveniently
lengthened or made at greater expense. The view of the whole yard and buildings
from the house on one side of it, is likewise more confined." He had formerly sug-
gested tlie plan of a polygon, or many-
sided figure, or an irregular serai-octagon,
with the dwelling-house and stables on the
largest side, having ranges of cattle-stalls
opposite. But has since formed one on
the complete octagon {jig- 373.), the
dwelling-house (a) being on one side, and
the entrance gateway and granary oppo-
site, the remaining six sides being occu-
pied by stables and cattle-sheds (c, rf), and
other out-buildings (e), a barn and thresh-
ing machine [f), with a broad-way {g),
dipping gently from the buildings, and
surrounding a wide shallow dung-bason (A),
which occupy the rest of the area of the yard.
Externally is a bason (t), for the drainings of the yard ; and grass enclosures for calves,
poultry, and fruit-trees, and rick-yard. This is given as a hint to those engaged in lay-
Book IV.
FARMERIES.
427
ing out and directing buildings of this sort, which they may adapt to the particular na-
ture of the site or situation of such erections.
2760. An example of tht arrangement of a small farm-house and offices {jig. 374.),
is given by Beatson, which he considers as very convenient. At the north-vrest corner
is the barn (a), with a water threshing-mill ; a straw-house (A) ; being a con-
tinuation of the barn above, for holding a quantity of straw after it is threshed,
or hay, that it may be at hand to give to the cattle in the feeding-house below.
The upper part of this straw-house may
consist of pillars to support the roof, 374
with about eight feet space between
them, whereby a good deal of building
will be saved. In the floor should be
hatches, at convenient distances, to put
down the straw to the cattle below. A
court for the dung-hill (c) has a door to
it from the feeding-house, and a large
entry at the other end to admit carts to
take away the dung : on the outside of
this should be a urine-pit, in the most
convenient place, according to the form
of the ground ; a cow-house (d), has a
door also to the dung-court ; and a calf-
pen (e), with a rail across to keep in the
calves, even though the doors are all
open, adjoins ; there is a stable, with a
harness-room, and a place for keeping
corn [f) ; a root-house {g), over which,
or over the barn, may be a granary ; a
shed for carts {h) ; a place for keeping
large implements, as ploughs and harrows
[i) ; for keeping smaller implements, as ""
spades, shovels, rakes, forks, &c. and for laying by old iron and many other useful
things that might otherwise be lost or thrown away {k) ; a pond for washing the horses*
feet (/) ; which slopes down from each extremity towards the middle, where it is
deepest, that the horses may easily go in at one end, and come out at the other, with a
rail at each end, to prevent them going in during frost, or when not wanted to go ; a
pump, with a trough for the horses or cattle to drink in, especially while other water is
frozen, or when the water in the pond is dirty (m) ; but if it can be contrived so that the
water which drives the mill may run through this pond, it will be preferable as being
at all times clean and wholesome. One material advantage of this arrangement,
Beatson remarks, is, that the fodder consumed upon the farm goes progressively for-
ward from the barn-yard through the cattle houses to the dung-hill, without the
■^
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i a
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b
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b
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tSMM
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428
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Pakt II.
unnecessary labor generally occasioned by carrying it backwards and forwards ; for it
comes from the barn-yard into the barn, where it is threshed. It is then put in the
straw-house, and given to the cattle immediately below ; and after passing through
them, it is thrown into the dung-court. A rick of straw, or hay, built behind the
stable or cow-house, or in a shed contiguous to either, with proper conveniences, will
have the same progressive course to the dung-hill ; for, it will be observed, the coxu-
munication from these is equally easy from without or within ; the rail across the calf-
pen being intended chiefly to keep in the calves, while the doors on each side are open
when conveying the dung that way from the stable to the dung-hill.
2761. The ground plan of the dwelling-house to this farmery (n), has a dairy, pantry,
and various conveniences behind for keeping swine, poultry, coals, &c. The stair to the
upper chambers rises from either side to the same landing-place j from whence are a few
steps up to the chamber-floor.
2762. A convenient Berwickshire farmery (Jig. 375.), has the following accommoda-
tions : a smith's work-shop detached from the court-yard (a) ; straw-rooms (6); barn
with threshing machine driven by water (c) ; cattle sheds (rf) ; root-rooms and imple-
njents, or if preferred, hammels (e) ; stable (/) ; fatting cattle (g) ; cart-shed (h) ; cattle-
sheds for feeding (i) ; riding-horse (k) ; tools (I) ; single men's room or bailiff (w).
2763. As an example f a commodious arrangement for an arable farm managed for a
gentleman farmer by his bailiff, both resident at the farm (fg. 376.), we give the fol-
376
I
-^
-6-
nn
R
□
^ ^ 1^
^
D-
yi
___j ^ . ^ jjij ^ nl...-D D. — Cj^
a Q a
a i a
Tol^
lowing details. The dwelling-house of the master contains two good sitting-rooms on
the parlor floor ; three bed- rooms on the first floor, and attics over them, and over the
cellar two kitchen oflSces. The farmery consists of a cart-shed (a) ; stable (b) ; riding-
horse (c) ; barn (rf) ; mill-shed (e) ; cattle-shed (f); steaming place (g); root-house
(h) ; cow-house (i) j fatting cattle (k) ; bailiff's house (/, m, n) ; piggeries (o).
Book IV.
FARMERIES.
429
2764. As an elegant and commodious design we give the following from the General
Report of the Agricultural State of Scotland. The dwelling-house contains two parlors
(fg. 377 a, b) ; kitchen (c) ; dairy (d) ; pantry (e) ; dining parlor (/) ; bed-rooms
(g, h) ; cellars (i). The farmery consists of cart-sheds and granary over (a) ; riding
horse stable (b) ; common stable (c) ; stalled cattle ((/) ; places for tools and other arti-
cles of the cattle attendant (e) ; entrance from the spacious root or turnip shed (/) ;
straw (g); threshing-machine and water-wheel (A); granaries and straw-lofts over
(gy I, m) ; tools and sundries (i) ; smith's shop ( j), and carpenter (^j.
n nnnnin
^
2765. As an example of a very complete farmery, with a threshing-machine^ driven by
steam, to be formed by a bailiff for the proprietor, we give that of the Dayhouse in Staf-
fordshire {fg. 378.). The lands contain nearly 500 acr«ss of mixed soil, and the
buildings, besides the bailiff's house, which consists of a parlor (a) ; family room (6) ;
brew-house (c) ; kitchen (d) ; pantry (e) ; milk-house (/) ; bed-rooms (g) ; attics {h).
2766. The farmery contains the following accommodaldons. Men servants' day-
rooms (a) ; sleeping ditto, above {b) ; hackney stable (c) ;; shed for implements {d) ;
cart-horse stables (e) ; hay-loft (f) ; tool-house (g) ; barn and steam-engine (h) ; feed-
ing and cow-tyings {i] ; turnip-house (j) ; great granary and hay-room {k) : this room is
used for the annual agricultural dinner given by Lord Stafford. Small granary (/) ;
corn-loft (m) ; straw-lofts (n, o) ; pig-styes, and hen-houses over {p).
430
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
t=5
ja a IS
Feet
Chap. IV.
Of the Fences used in Agriculture.
^ 2767. Fences, next to implements, machinery, and suitable buildings, are in most
situations '* indispensable to the profitable management of arable land. They are not
only necessary to protect the crops from the live stock of the farm, but often contribute,
in no small degree, by the shelter they afford, to augment and improve the produce
itself. On all arable farms, on which cattle and sheep are pastured, the ease, security,
and comfort, which good fences give, both to the owner and the animals themselves, are
Book IV. FENCES USED IN AGRICULTURE. 431
too evident to require particular notice. And as there are few tracts sp rich as to admit
of crops being carried off the land for a succession of years, without the intervention of
green crops consumed where they grow, fences, of some description or other, can very
rarely be dispensed with, even in tlie most fertile and highly improved districts." The
same able author complains of the general mismanagement of this branch of husbandry,
by which means fences not only often become comparatively useless, but even injurious
by the space they occupy, and the weeds they shelter. This, he says, " is particularly
the case with thorn hedges, which are too often planted in soils where they can never, by
any management, be expected to become a sufficient /ence ; and which, even when
planted on suitable soils, are in many cases so much neglected when young, as ever
afterwards to be a nuisance, instead of being an ornamental, permanent, and impenetra-
ble barrier, as with proper training, they might have formed in a few years. (Sup.
Encyc. Brit. art. Ag.) Fences may be considered in regard to their emplacement or
siuation, and their form or kind.
Sect. I. Of the Situation or Emplacement of Fences.
2768. Tlie emplacement or disposition of fences on a farm or an estate, will
depend on the purposes for which they are made. In laying out an estate, their
disposition will depend on the natural surface and situation of roads ; water-courses j on
the lands to be planted with trees, and on a variety of other considerations which will
come under review in the succeding part of this work. The situation of fences on a
farm depends on a great variety of circumstances, as the extent of the farm ; its climate,
whether pasture, or arable, or mixed ; on the inequalities of the surface ;^ on the nature
of the soil ; on the supply of water, and on the course of husbandry to be followed.
2769. In. determimng the subdivisions of an arable farm, the excellent author above
quoted observes, " whatever may be the kind of fence which it is thought advisable to
adopt, we would recommend that particular attention be paid to the course of crops
which the quality of the soil points out as the most advantageous ; and that upon all
farms, not below a medium size, there should be twice the number of enclosures that
there are divisions or breaks in the course. Thus, if a six years' rotation be thought the
most profitable, there should be twelve enclosures, two of which are always under the
same crop. One very obvious advantage in this arrangement is, that it tends greatly to
equalize labor, and, with a little attention, may contribute much to equalize the produce
also. On large farms, where all the land under turnips and clover, for instance, is
near the extremity of the grounds, or at a considerable distance from the buildings, sup-
posed to be set down near the centre, it is clear, that the labor of supplying the house
and straw-yard stock with these crops, as well as the carriage of the manure to the field,
is much greater than if the fields were so arranged, as that the half of each of these
crops had been nearer the offices. But by means of two fields for each crop in the rota-
tion, it is quite easy to connect together one field near the houses, with another at a
distance, and thus to have a supply at hand for the home stock, while the distant crops
may be consumed on the ground. The same equalization of labor must be perceived in
the cultivation of the corti-fields, and in harvesting the crops. The time lost in travelling
to some of the fields, when working by the plough, is of itself a matter of some
consequence on large farms. But the advantages of this arrangement are not confined
to the equalization and economy of labor ; it may also, in a great measure, render the
annual produce uniform and equable, notwithstanding a considerable diversity in the
quality of the soil. A field of an inferior soil may be connected with one that is naturally
rich, and in the consumption of the green crops, as well as in the allowance of manure,
the poor land may be gradually brought nearer, in the quantity and quality of its pro-
duce, to the rich, without any injury to the latter. Thus a field under turnips may be
so fertile, that it would be destructive to the succeeding corn crops to consume the whole
or the greater part on the ground ; while another may be naturally so poor, or so defi-
cient in tenacity, as to make it inexpedient to spare any part for consumption elsewhere.
By connecting these two under the same crop, — by carrying from the one what turnips
are wanted for the feeding-houses and straw-yards, and eating the whole crop of the
other on the ground with sheep, the ensuing crop of corn will not be so luxuriant on the
former as to be unproductive, while the latter will seldom fail to yield abundantly. The
same plan will also be advantageous in tlie case of other crops. Hay or green clover
may be taken from the richer field, and the poorer one depastured ; and on the one
wheat may succeed both turnips and clover, while the more gentle crops of barley and
oats are appropriated to the less fertile field. These observations are particularly applicable
to turnip soils, of such a quality as not to require more than one year's pasturage, and
which are therefore cultivated with corn and green crops alternately ; but the same prin-
ciple may be extended to clay lands, and such as require to be depastured two or more
years in succession.
432 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
2770. Whei'e hedges are emjiloyed as fences, it is of importance that tlie ditches be
drawn in such a direction as to serve the purposes of drains, and also that they may
receive the water from the covered drains that may be required in the fields contiguous.
According as the line of the fence is more or less convenient in this respect, the expense
of draining may be considerably diminished or increased.
Sect. II. Of the diffierent Kinds of Fences.
2771. Fences in regard to kind, may be arranged as live fences, dead fences, and
mixed kinds ; but there are four elementary species which are the foundation of all the
others ; the hedge, the ditch, the wall, and the paling. The hedge, when formed of the
white or black thorn, of the plum, or crab, or of the holly, is the cheapest, tnost dura-
ble, and the handsomest of all fences on a good deep soil : the ditch is the best on low
flat wet lands requiring much drainage ; the wall is the best for farming purposes in
almost all cases whatever; and the paling, whether fixed or temporary (as of hurdles),
is the most convenient as a nurse-fence to hedges for immediate or temporary use, and
for fencing in parks and scenery, where an air of lightness and freedom are objects of
approbation. From these simple or fundamental fences, a variety of compound ones
may be formed, a few of which we shall proceed to enumerate.
SuBSECT. 1 . Bitch or Drain Fences.
2772. Ditch fences, in their simple and original state, were considered rather in the light
of open drains than as fences. In a variety of instances, ditches are made for this
purpose only, where there is no intention whatever to enclose the field. They are, how-
ever, sometimes meant as a fence, but, in such cases, they are made very deep and wide ;
and the earth taken out of them is sometimes formed into a bank, the height of which,
when added to the depth of the ditch, forms a tolerable barrier. In general, however,
the greatest value of the ditch is met with when it is used in conjunction with other
fences.
2773. The form of ditches is various ; some of them being of a uniform width both at top and bottom ;
others are wide above, and have a gradual slope downwards ; a third kind have one side sloping and the
other perpendicular. For whatever purpose the ditch is meant, the sloping form is by much the best ; as
it not only costs less money in the digging, but is at the same time much more durable, and has a neater
appearance. Where open ditches are indispensably necessary for the drainage of the field, the sloping
ditch is preferable to every other ; as the sides are not liable to tumble in or be undermined, or exca-
vated by the current of the water, when properly executed. The slope should be considerable ; perhaps
not less than three times the width at top that it is at bottom.
2774. The open ditch, with a wall or perpendicular sides, is liable to much objection, both in its simple
and compound state : in its simple state the sides are perpetually tumbling in, especially after frosts or
heavy rains, and if the field round which these ditches are made has any considerable declivity, the bottom
is undermined, and large masses tumble down, bringing the hedge along with them.
2775. The simple ditch, with a bank of earth, consists merely of a ditch sloping gradually towards the
bottom ; the earth taken out of it being formed into a bank on one side, leaving a scarcement, or
projecting space, of six or eight inches, on the side where the bank is formed, to prevent the earth from
tumbling in and filling up the ditch.
2776. The double ditch, with a bank between, (Jig. 379.)
is not often used, unless in cases where it is meant either
to plant hedges or trees on the bank between the ditches.
Considered as a fence, either with or without a hedge, it
has an advantage over the single ditch, as the earth taken
out of the two ditches, when properly laid up, will form
a bank of a somewhat formidable appearance, and which
cattle will not very readily attempt to break over. For
the purposes of open drainage, it is well adapted, especially by the sides of highways, where the lands have
a considerable declivity towards the road ; the ditcn next the field, by receiving the water on that side, pre-
vents it from overflowing and washing the road, a circumstance which very frequently happens in such
situations ; while the ditch on the side next the road, by receiving and carrying off the moisture that
falls upon, and which would otherwise lodge there and destroy it, keeps it constantly dry and in good
repair. "Where double ditches are made in the immediate vicinity of high grounds, or on the sides of high-
ways, care should be taken to prevent the water from the furrows, or side-drains, from running into the
main ditch at right angles. "Where this is neglected, much trouble and inconvenience arises ; as when
the water comes from the height, during heavy rains in a straight line into the ditch, it presses with
accelerated force against the sides of it ; and if the soil is of a loose incoherent nature, the bank will be
undermined and washed away in many places. To prevent this, nothing more is requisite than to alter
the direction of the furrows, or small side-ditches, a few yards from their opening into the main ditch.
2777. The bank of earth, with an upright facing of turves, and a slope behind, is a very common sort of
fence, and in some situations extremely useful ; in making folds, for instance, for the confinement of
sheep or cattle. It is also valuable on the sides of highways, for defending the adjoining grounds, and for
laying off clumps or belts of planting in the middle or comers of arable fields, for enclosing stack-yards,
cottages, gardens, &c. The front of the bank is made of a very steep slope, with the turf pared off from
the surface of the sloping ditch, and the mound at the back with the earth taken out of it.
2778. The ha-ha, or sunk fence, is calculated chiefly for -_
fields that require no shelter, and where an uniform unbroken ^.^^'^ 380
prospect is an object, as is the case in gardens and extensive
lawns : but in all situations where shelter is wanted, the sunk- ,
fence ought to be avoided, unless a hedge is planted upon the
top of it. Sometimes a medium between the sunk and raised
fence (^^.380.) is adopted, which makes both a durable and
unobtrusive barrier.
2779. The dovble ditch and hedge is now general in many parts of Britain, especially
upon what are termed cold lands ; from an idea, that a single row of plants would not
Book IV. HEDGE-FENCES. 433
grow sufficiontly strong or tliick to form a proper fence. The atlvocates for this fence
farther allege, that in addition to the two rows of plants forming a more sufficient fence,
an opportunity is alForded of planting a row or rows of trees on the middle of the bank.
'H\^/ fi81 (Jig- 381.). This fence is liable to many objections: the ex-
IP pense of forming the ditches, the hedge-plants made use of, and
^ A I the ground occupied thereby, being double of what is re-
I \f~\/ "i quisite in a single ditch and hedge. From twelve to eighteen
s^ V Y I or twenty feet is the least that is required for a double ditch
and hedge : this space, in the circumference of a large field, is so considerable, that
upon a farm of 500 acres, divided into fifteen enclosures, the fences alone would occupy
above forty acres. By throwing up a bank in the middle, the whole of the nourish-
ment, not only of both hedges, but also of the row of trees, is confined solely to that
space, which, from its being insulated by the ditclies, and elevated so much above the
common surface, not only curtails the nourishment of the hedges and row of trees,
but exposes thein to all the injuries arising from drought, frost, &c. The idea of two
rows of plants making a better fence than one is certainly no good reason for such an
unnecessary waste of land and money ; as, in almost every instance, where the plants
are properly adapted to the soil and climate, dhe row will be found quite sufficient ;
but, if it should be preferred to have two rows, the purpose will be answered equally
well with a single ditch, or even without a ditch at all.
SuBSEcr. 2. Of Hedge- Fences.
2780. Hedge-fences are of two kinds ; either such as are made up of dead materials,
or such as are formed of living plants of some sort or other. 382
278 1 . Dead hedges (Jig. 382.) are made with the prunings of
trees, or the tops of old thorn or other hedges that have been JA
cut down ; and are principally intended for temporary purposes,
such as the protection of young hedges till they have acquired a ™i»vs™™TOmMrw'»c'M'P^\^^^^^ ^
sufficient degree of strength to render them fencible without ^Ww«*M«»'smm
any other assistance. For this purpose the dead hedge is well adapted, and lasts so lono-
as to enable the live fence to grow up and complete the enclosure. In many cases
however, dead hedges are had recourse to as the sole fence, and where there is no inten-
tion of planting quicks, or any other hedge. From their very perishable nature, however,
they are found to be exceedingly expensive ; so much so, indeed, that, after the first or
second year, they cannot be kept in repair at a less expense than from a fifth to a tenth
part of the value of the land, and sometimes more. When dead hedges are meant for
the protection of young live fences, if the quick fence is planted upon the common sur-
face, the dead hedge is made in a trench or furrow immediately behind it, in such a way
as to prevent the sheep or cattle grazing in the enclosed field from injuring it. Where
the quick fence, however, is planted upon the side of a ditch, the dead hedge is for the
most part made on the top of the mound formed by the earth taken out of the ditch :
these are called plain dead hedges, being made by cutting the thorns or brush-wood, of
which they consist, into certain lengths, and putting them into the earth. We call them
plain, in opposition to other descriptions of dead hedges where more art is used : such
as the dead hedge with upright stakes wattled, and the common plaited hedge bound
together at the top with willows.
2782. In respect to live hedges they are made either entirely with one kind of plants, or a mixture of
different kinds ; and for that purpose almost every tree or shrub known in Britain is either wholly or in
part employed. The success of every attempt made to rear good fences will be found ultimately to depend
on the plants being suited to the soil and climate, the preparation of the soil, the time and mode of plant-
ing, the age of the plants, their size, the dressing or pruning of the tops and roots betbre planting, weed-
ing, hoeing, pruning, and after-management.
2783. The proper choice of hedge plants is of the first importance. Many failures in
this part of the business might be enumerated ; especially in the more elevated situations,
where great labor and expense have been employed to raise hedges of hawthorn, which,
after many years' care and attention, were found totally unfit for such inclement regions.
In such situations, experience has now sufficiently proved, that good fences can be
reared in a short time with beech, birch, larch, and the Huntingdon willow : hedges of
these kinds ought, therefore, to be the only ones used in hilly countries, or upon cold
wet soils ; the three first upon the dry soils, and the last, with the addition of poplars,
upon such as are wet or marshy. In the low country, however, and in the less elevated
parts of the uplands, the white thorn will be found the best upon all the dry, or mode-
rately dry, parts of the soil; especially the difterent kinds of loamy, sandy, or gravelly
lands : upon clays, or cold wet soils, however, beech, crab, birch, poplar, willow, and
alder, may be used with advantnge. The birch, poplar, alder, and Huntingdon willow,
are peculiarly calculated for the coldest, wettest, and most marshy parts ; while beech,
crab, &c. will be found to answer best upon the stiff clays. Hazel, sweet-briar, moun-
tain-ash, and indeed all the different kinds of forest-trees that are at present known to
Ff
434 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
delight in dry soils, may also be successfully employed for making hedges in the low
lands ; but whichever of these is used, they should, if possible, be without mixture.
It is seldom that any soil, however good, will be found equally favorable to the growth
of plants opposite in their natures ; this circumstance alone will render their growth
unequal, and of course make the fence faulty and defective. These defects in the fence,
and inequalities in the growth of the plants, will increase with time, become every day
more apparent, and be every day more sensibly felt ; as the plants which have thus ac-
quired the ascendancy will continue to keep it, and not only shade the weaker ones, and
prevent them from enjoying the influence of the sun and air, but also deprive them of
nourishment. Independent of these considerations, there is another, it is observed, of
equal, perhaps greater, moment, that requires to be mentioned ; allowing the soil to be
equally favorable to the growth of the whole plants of which the mixture consists, there
are certain plants which are highly inimical to the growth cf others, when planted in their
immediate vicinity ; ivy and honeysuckle, for instance, when mixed with thorns, or other
plants in a hedge, never fail to destroy such of the hedge-plants as they fasten upon ;
indeed moss, which is known to be one of the worst enemies to all hedges, is not more
dangerous or more certainly ruinous ; even the different kinds of sweet-briar, virgin's
bower, brambles, briony, cleavers, &c. have the same effect ; and in the end never fail
to produce a gap in that part of the edge where they grow, by smothering the other
plants.
2784. The preparation of the soil/or hedges, is one of those points intimately connected
with, and, indeed, essential to, their success. Except in a very few instances, however
poor the soil may be, or however strong the cohesion of its parts, no attempt is made
either to break that cohesion by tillage, or improve its quality by enriching or alterative
manures : the young plants being for the most part laid upon the old surface, which has
perhaps never been opened by the labor of man, and their roots covei-ed with the earth
taken out of the ditch, consisting very often of the poorest and coldest till, or of earths
loaded with iron or other metallic impregnations. To those who have considered the
matter with the smallest attention, the fate of such a hedge will not appear doubtful ;
the surface upon which the plants are laid will be so hard and impervious to the roots, as
to preclude tlie possibility of their penetrating it; of course, their only chance of either
extending themselves, or procuring nourishment, is by spreading out between the surface
and the mound made by the earth taken out of the ditch, or by striking up into the
mound, where, though the soil will be sufficiently open to admit of this, the roots, in
place of finding an establishment in a situation friendly to their growth, will very often
be either starved or poisoned.
2785. With respect to the age at which hedge-plants ought to be used, it is very common,
especially where young hedges are made with thorns, to plant them of one, two, or three
years old, seldom exceeding this last age. Plants of this description, when put into the
earth at a proper season of the year, upon land that is well prepared, and that are after-
wards carefully kept clean, and the eartli soft and loose, by regular weeding and digging,
seldom fail to make good fences ; such young plants, however, are, it is observed, long
in a state of infancy, and require great nursing and the most complete protection to
bring them to perfection, and are liable to be either much hurt or totally destroyed by
many accidents that would produce little or no effect upon older and stronger plants.
Much time might be saved in the rearing of hedges, and the fences be much more perfect
and useful, if older plants were employed for that purpose. Three years old is certainly
the youngest that should be planted, and if they are even six or seven years old, so much
the better : the prevailing idea that plants of that age will not thrive if transplanted, is
totally unfounded. Thorns of six or seven years old, in place of being no thicker than
a common straw, will be at a medium more than an inch in circumference : we leave
those who are judges to determine how far a plant of this last description will be
superior to one of twa years old, and how much sooner it will answer the purposes of a
fence.
2786. In respect to the size of thorns or other hedge-plants, it may be necessary to observe, that, whei>
the plants are once obtained, they should be separated into sorts, according to their size and apparent
strength, picking out the largest first, and so on downwards. This will be attended with several very
material advantages, which those who have made observations on the subject will very readily under-
stand; plants of the same size and strength, when planted together, keep pace with each other ; no one
of them takes from the earth more than its own share of nourishment, of course the growth of the whole
is regular and uniform ; and the hedge, when arrived at a certain age, becomes a substantial efficient fence,
of an equal height throughout, and free of any gaps : whereas, when no pains have been taken in assort-
ing the plants, and they are planted promiscuously, great and small, strong and weak, the consequence
is, that the strongest plants very soon outgrow suth as are weaker, and not only overtop them, but also
deprive them of that nourishment which they so much require: as the hedge advances in age, the evil
becomes greater, small stunted plants and innumerable gaps appearing throughout the whole line of the
fence ; interspersed with others remarkable for their strength and luxuriance.
2787. This assorting of hedge-plants has a farther advantage ; namely, that of putting it in the power of
the person who plants the hedge to put down the large, strong, healthy plants upon the poorest part of the
line of the fence, and to set such as are smaller and weaker upon the richer and more fertile parts. He
has it also in his power, by a more careful preparation of the soil, and bestowing a greater proportion of
manure upon the spaces where the small plants are set, to give^ them that nourishment and assistance
Book IV. HEDGE-FENCES. 4^5
which they require, and which would very soon enable them to form a fence equal tg that part occuiwed
by the strongest plants.
2788. In regard to ths dressing and pruning qf kedgo-jylants before they are put into
the earth f there is perhaps no part of the system of managing them, or forest trees, more
hurtful and defective than that now pursued in the common nurseries. It is a very
common practice with nurserymen, in the spring, when they wish to clear their ground
for other purposes, to take up great quantities of thorns and other hedge-plants ; and
after pruning the tops, and cutting off nearly the whole of the roots, to tie them up in
bundles, and lay these bundles in heaps till they are called for. In that mutilated state
they often remain for many weeks, with the inangled roots naked and unprotected,
exposed to every inclemency of the weather, before they are sold. In place of this
treatment, the defects of which are so obvious, and the consequences resulting from it so
hurtful, no hedge-plants should be lifted out of the nursery-ground till the day or at
least a few days before that on which they are to be replanted, and in place of the severe
pruning and dressing already mentioned, every root, even to the smallest fibre, should
be carefully preserved, and the use of the knife confined entirely to the necessary curtail-
ing of the tops. Where this care is taken, and the plants are put into the ground at a
proper season, they will suffer no kind of check, and when the spring arrives grow
luxuriantly and with vigor.
2789. In tlie ofler-management of the hedge, complete weeding, loosening, and
laying new eartli to the roots, for the first three or four years, are indispensable requisites ;
for, whatever pains may have been previously taken in dunging and summer-fallowing
the soil, unless it is properly attended to and kept clean afterwards, this dunging and
summer-fallow, in place of being useful, will prove hurtful to the fence ; as the manure
and tillage, by enriching and opening the soil, will encourage and promote the growtli
of weeds ; which, under circumstances so peculiarly fortunate, will become so luxuriant,
as either to destroy or materially injure the growth of the hedge, imless they are kept
down by frequent and complete cleanings. In loosening the earth about the roots of
hedges, whetlier old or young, it will be of advantage, if there is soil enough to admit of
it, to lay up a few inches of it to the roots ; doing this frequently encourages them to
push out branches near the bottom, which prevent them from growing thin and open,
a fault to which almost all hedges are liable, if due pains are not taken to prevent it.
2790. On the pruning and after-management of hedges will depend a very consider-
able part of their beauty and future value. There is, perhaps, no part of the subject
upon which a greater contrariety of opinion at present prevails, than the age at which the
pruning of hedges ought to commence, the manner of that pruning, or the season of the
year at which it may be given with the greatest possible advantage and the least risk ; the
practice with some is, to prune, from the first year, not only the lateral branches, but the
tops also ; they give as a reason, that cutting off the extremities of the shoots contributes
to thickening of the hedge, by making them push out a great number of new ones.
The fallacy of this argument, and the mischief with which the practice is attended, we
shall have occasion to notice afterwards. As to tlie manner of pruning, or the form of
the hedge, these seem, Vith many, to be matters of indifference, no attention being paid
to dressing them in such a way as to have them broad at bottom, and tapering gradually
towards the top : many of them being not only of one width from top to bottom, and
not a few much heavier and broader above than they are below, it is obvious that such
hedges can neither look well nor be useful.
2791. The season at tvhich they are trimmed is in many instances an improper one ; for In place of
choosing that time when the plants arc least in danger of suffering from an effusion of their juices, which
is cither at a late period in the autumn, very early in the spring, or about midsummer, the pruning is
given late in the spring season, when the sap is flowing : the check and injury they must receive from
having the whole of their extremities cut oft at that period may easily be conceived. In speaking of the
treatment of hedge-plants before they are put into the ground, notice lias been taken of the necessity of
preserving the roots as much as possible, and at the same time shortening the tops : this last operation has
two good effects ; by curtailing the top and branches, the roots have less to nourish ; and by leaving only
two or three inches of the top above ground, in place of growing up with a single stem, it sends out two or
three; and as these strikeout from the plant so near the earth, each of them has the same effect, and
strengthens the hedge as much as the original stem would have done by itself; with this addition, that, in
place of one prop or support, the hedge will have three or four.
2792. After this first pruning, however, no hedge should be touched, or at least very gently, for some
years ; from an inattention to this circumstance, and the injudicious application of the knife or shears at an
early period, many young hedges are rendered useless, which, under different treatment, would have made
excellent fences, with one half the trouble that was requiretl to destroy them. The practice of cutting
over the tops yearly, which is done with a view to render the hedge thicker and more perfect, is one of
those mistakes which we would naturally have supj)osed common sense and observation would have
sooner corrected ; the effect produced being, in almost every instance, the very reverse of what wa.-*
intended : shortening the main stem of a thorn or any other plant makes it throw out a number of small
stems immediately at the place where it has been cut ; and if this operation is repeated once or twice a-
year, every one of these is again subdivided, as it were, by sending out more branches : thus, in a course
of years, during which the hedge makes very small progress upwards, if it be examined, instead of bein^;
found to consist of strong vigorous plants, with a good main trunk, each reaching from top to bottom df
the hedge, and a sufiicient number of lateral branches throughout the whole length of it, it will be
found, by such repeated cuttings, in the same stunted situation as certain young trees and shrub.<s. that
are frequently cropped by sheep or cattle. From the repeated crops of young shoots which the tops send
F f 2
436 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II
out after every clipping, and the great quantity of nourishment necessary to support such additional
numbers, the lateral shoot at the bottom, upon the strength and numbers of whicl) the value of the hedge
in a great measure depends, are stinted in their growth, and soon diej the hedge, of course, becomes
open and naked at the bottom, and consequently useless as a fence.
2793. From the first year of planting, till the hedge has risen to the height of five or six
feet, the main stems ought to be left untouched, and the pruning confined solely to the
side branches, leaving those next the root pretty long, and gradually tapering towards
the top ; this pruning of the side branches will make them send out many new shoots
from their extremities, which, by repeated trimmings, will become so thick as to fill up
every interstice from top to bottom of the hedge ; while the main stems, by being left un-
touched, continue their growth upward, till they arrive at the necessary height, when they
may have their extremities cut off with perfect safety. When a hedge has attained the
wished for height, all that is requisite afterwards is cutting the sides regular with a hedge-
bill, preserving it pretty broad at bottom, and drawing it gradually to a point at top ;
this form of a hedge is pleasant to the eye, is well calculated to stand the weather, and
becomes every year stronger and thicker. A hedge of this sort in full leaf has the ap-
jjearance of a solid wall ; and, when viewed after the leaves are shed, presents to the eye
ia set of massy growing piles, so strong and formidable as to bid defiance to any attempts
that may be made to break through them.
2794. In the management of old hedges, the above directions and observations apply,
with strict propriety only to such as have been regularly attended to from the time of their
being planted ; as there are, however, innumerable hedges in the kingdom, which, by
being neglected, have grown up to a great height, have become open and naked below,
and bushy and unmanageable at top, it is of consequence to point out the means of re-
ducing such hedges to a moderate scale, and rendering them useful.
2795. This purpose can only be effected by cutting them down, and procuring from
their stumps a growth of new shoots, which, with proper management, will soon make a
perfect fence. If the fields enclosed by such hedges are alternately in pasture and tillage,
the period most proper for cutting them down is when the field is to be ploughed.
Under a corn-crop, the confinement of the stock is no longer an object ; and by the time
the field is again brought under pasture, the hedge, if properly treated, will have acquired
Strength enough to become a good fence. This operation is performed in several dif-
ferent ways ; in the first, the hedge is cut over, about a 353
yard above the surface {fig. 383.), and is left in that state
without any other pains being taken with it ; if it has
originally been good, and the plants thick enough at
bottom, this kind of cutting will answer the purpose per-
fectly well, and in a few years the hedge will, with proper
dressing, become both a neat and an useful fence. But
in this mode, when there has been a deficiency of plants,
and the hedge is cut over in the manner above mentioned, innumerable gaps will appear,
which, without some art, it will be impossible to fill up. It has also this farther disadvan-
tage, that if either horses or cattle attempt to leap into, or out of the enclosure, the
sharp points of the stakes are apt to run into their bellies ; this accordingly often happens,
and many valuable horses and cattle are killed or greatly injured by such means.
2796. A preferable mode of cutting dojvn old hedges is, to cut a fourth part of the plants
over, to the height which the fence is intended to be made ; another fourth about six
inches high, and to bend down and o^,^
warp the remainder with the upright
stems {fig. 384.). This method
very effectually cures the gaps and
. openness below, and with slight at-
tention soon makes a good fence. -
2797. A third way of cutting over old hedges is that of cutting them close by the sur-
face ; this practice, wlien the plants are numerous, and tliere are no gaps in the hedge,
answers very well ; but when tliere is a deficiency of plants in any part of the hedge, the
want will be very apparent. This last mode, though much inferior to the one immedi-
ately preceding, is nevertheless greatly preferable to that first described, as the young
shoots sent out from the stumps, by being so near the ground, will in some measure
remedy the defects occasioned by the want of original plants ; whereas, when the old
plants are cut at the distance of about a yard or four feet above the surface, the young
shoots produced by the cutting will be so high, as to leave the hedge open at the bottom.
2798. The last method of cutting down old hedges, and which is yet but very little prac-
tised, is first to cut them down even with the surface, and afterwards to cover the stumps
completely over, with the earth taken out of tlie ditch, or from the road-side. When
this is carefully done, it is asserted that every single stamp sends out a great num-
ber of young vigorous shoots, each of which, by branching out from below the sur-
face, sends out roots, and acquires an establishment for itself j by that means the bottom
Book IV. HEDGE-FENCES. • 437
of tlie hedge becomes so tliick, tliat neither sheep, cattle, or indeed any animal, can break-
through it.
2799. In whichever of these ways the hedge is cut dowriy the directions formerly given
for the management o^ young hedges should be strictly attended to, as soon as the young,
shoots have made some progress ; the side branches should be trimmed, and the hedge
put into a proper shape, preserving it broad and full at bottom, and tapering gradually
towards the top. The same caution is also to be observed with regard to the upright
shoots, none of which should be shortened till the hedge has attained the wished-for
height. It is sin-prising what close beautiful fences are raised in this way in a few years,
from the stumps of some overgrown useless hedges j which, at the same time with their
being naked below, and of course faulty as fences, occupied four times the space they
ought to have done, to the great loss botli of the proprietor and farmer.
2800. In respect to JUling up gaps in hedges, when young hedges are planted, if the.
plants made use of are of a nature suited to the soil, the hedge may be kept free of gaps
with very little trouble ; for that purpose it is, however, necessary, about the end of the
first autumn after the hedge has been planted, to examine it carefully throughout its
whole extent, take out such plants as are either in a decaying sickly state, or those that
are actually dead, and fill up the spaces they occupied with the strongest and most,
vigorous ones that can be found ; where this care is taken for the first two or three years,,
there will be no defects in the hedge, which will be uniformly thick and strong through-
out. Thus far of young hedges ; but when old hedges are meant to be cut down, that
have many gaps or open spaces in them, so wide as to prevent the possibility of the young
slioots filling them up, some expedient must be had recourse to, in order to render the
fence complete. This purpose may be answered in different ways ; the easiest and in-
deed the most common method is, for the hedger, when he comes to a place where any;
of the plants are wanting, to take one of the strongest plants next to it, and after giving
it a gentle stroke with the" hedge-bill, to bend it across the opening, and entwine it withi
the thorns on the opposite side ; indeed, as has been already stated, some have a custom-
of cutting down only a fourth part of the stems, and warping the remainder with these,,
which appear like stakes driven into the earth. Where the hedge is shortened to withia
three or four feet of the ground, both of these methods answer pretty well ; and the
openings, which would otherwise have been left, are in some degree filled up j but when,
the old hedge is cut close to the earth, other methods of supplying the defects become
necessary. One very simple, and at the same time very effectual mode, consists in first
digging the ground pretty deep with a spade, and taking one of the strongest plants on-
each side of the opening that have been purposely left uncut, removing the earth from their
roots so much as to loosen them, and admit of their being bent down, and laid close to
the earth in the opening ; they should then be fastened down with wooden hooks or pins,
and entirely covered throughout the whole of their length with earth. Where this is.
properly executed, the plants so laid down send up a great number of young shoots,^
which very soon fill up the vacancy ; where it is practised upon a hedge that is cut over
close by the surface, no other care is requisite ; but when it is done with hedges that are-
cut at three or four feet above it, there will be a necessity for placing a temporary paling
in the gap, to protect the young shoots from injury till they acquire a sufficient degree ot*
strength. In cases of emergency the stronger roots of thorns and crabs will, if their ex-
tremities are brought up to the surface and then cut over an inch above it, throw up
vigorous shoots and fill up gaps.
2801. To mend the defects of a7i old /icrfge with success, two things are absolutely
necessary ; the first is, that the whole of the roots of the old plants, which extend them-
selves into the opening, be entirely cut off; the next, that the hedge shall be cut down,
close to the earth, for at least a yard or more on each side of it. By cutting away the
roots which extend themselves into the opening, the young plants are prevented from
being robbed of their nourishment; and cutting down the old ones, for a little distance
on each side, keeps them from being shaded, and allows them to enjoy the full benefit of
the light and air ; cutting down so much of tlie old hedge, no doubt, renders the opening
larger, and of course requires more paling to supply the defect ; but this extra expense
will be more than compensated by the success with which it will be attended. In many
instances, these vacancies are filled up with dead wood ; indeed it is a common practice,
after a hedge is dressed, to cram the greatest part of the prunings into these spaces, and
under the bottom of the hedge, where it is any way open or naked. The most perverse
imagination could hardly suppose any thing more absurd ; for, if it is the wish of the
owner that the plants on each side should send out new branches to fill up the openings,
the purpose is completely defeated by cramming them full of dead brush-wood, which not
only excludes light and air, and prevents the extension of the branches, but, from the
violence and injury that is committed in thrusting in dead thorns, the plants are often
materially hurt ; and when this brush-wood decays, the opening, in place of being
diminished, is considerably enlarged ; the miscliief is the same where they are thrust
Ff 3
438 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
under the liedgo, tlie practice of which, when continued, never fails to render it naked
at Iwttom. The use of stones for mending hedges is equally absurd and pernicious.
• 2802. In everu operation of this kind, where old hedges are either cut over or bent
down, the grounu on each side, as soon as circumstances will admit of it, should be com-
pletely du"-, cleared of weeds, and the earth laid up to the roots of the plants. It is sur-
prising what numerous and luxuriant shoots the stumps send out, when managed in
this way : while, on the contrary, when these necessary operations are neglected, fewer
shoots proceed from the old trunks; and, of these few, a considerable proportion are
choaked and destroyed by the weeds and other rubbish in the bottom of the hedge.
SuBSECT. S. Of Compound Hedge-Fences.
2803. The single hedge and dilch, with or without paling, differs a little in different situ-
ations : the ditch varies in depth and width ; the thorns are for the most part placed upon
the common surface, upon what is termed a scarcement, or projection of six or
seven inches, on which they lean, and which serves as a kind of bed, when they are
cleaned. It is a practice in some parts of Norfolk, in planting hedges in this way, to
coat the face of the bank and the projection with loamy earth from the bottom of the
ditch, made into a puddle Tliis acts for a year or two like a coat of plaster, and prevents
the seeds of weeds, which may be in the soil under it, from germinating. It also re-
tains moisture ; but the difficulty is to meet with a clay or loam that, when puddled and
thus applied, will not crack with the summer's drought and winter's frost. Some have
applied common lime plaster for the same purpose ; others road stuff ; and some plant
in the face of a M'all of stones, or bricks, or between tiles.
2804. The hedge and bank consists of a hedge planted upon the plain surface, with a
bank or mound of earth raised behind it by way of protection.
2805. The hedge in the face of a bank differs from the former, principally in having
the hedge in the front of the bank considerably above the common surface, in place of
having it at the bottom.
• 2806. The Devonshire fence is a sort of hedge and bank, as it consists of an earthen
mound, seven feet wide at bottom, five feet in height, and four feet broad at top, upon
the middle of which a row of quicks is planted ; and on each side, at two feet distance,
a row of willow-stakes, of about an inch in diameter each, and from eighteen inches to
two feet long, are stuck in, sloping a little outwards ; these stakes soon take root, and
form a kind of live fence for the preservation of the quicks in the middle. This fence
nearly resembles the hedge on the top of a bank, and is equally expensive in the erec-
tion : the formation of the bank deprives the adjoining surface of its best soil, and the
plants made use of are liable to every injury that can possibly arise from drought, frost,
and the gradual decay or crumbling down of the mound. The addition of the willows
to this fence is certainly a disadvantage ; if the quicks require protection, dead wood is
equal to every purpose that could be wished or expected ; and at the same time possesses
the additional advantage of requiring no nourishment, and having no foliage to shade
the thorns, or other plants.
2807. In the hedge with posts and rails, the railings are employed for the protection of
hedges, as well those that are planted upon the plain surface, as for the hedge and ditch
united. The addition of a paling is, however, more immediately necessary in cases
where tlie hedge is planted ujion the plain surface, especially when the fields so enclosed
are in pasture.
2808. The hedge and dead hedge is a fence that consists of a row of quicks or other
hedge-plants, set either upon the plain surface, or in the face of a ditch or bank. The
dead hedge answers a dovible purpose, namely, that of protecting the young plants from
the injuries they may receive from cattle, or the inclemency of the weather ; and at the
same time forming a temporary enclosure, which lasts till the hedge is grown up.
2809. The hedge and wall fence is of two kinds, namely, a coarse open wall, built of
loose stones, on the top of the bank formed by the earth taken out of the ditch ; and
when hedges are planted upon the plain surface, a thin and low wall regularly built
alongside, answers the double purpose of sheltering and encouraging the growth of the
plants while they are in a weak tender state, and afterwards prevents the possibility of the
hedge becoming open below. Where gardens are entirely, or in part, surrounded by
hedges, and in the enclosing of fields by the sides of highways, especially in the
vicinity of great towns, where dogs and other destructive vermin are apt to creep into
the enclosures, and annoy the stock, the low wall forms a valuable addition to the fence.
2810. The hedge in the middle, or in the face of a wa//, is executed in the following
manner: — the face of the bank is first cut down with a spade, not quite perpendicular,
but nearly so ; a facing of stone is then begun at the bottom, and carried up regularly,
in the manner that stone-walls are generally built : when it is raised about eighteen
inches, or two feet high, according to circumstances, the space between the wall and the
bank is filled up with good earti), well broken and mixed with lime or compost : the
Book IV. COMPOUND HEDGE-FENCEa 439
thorns are laid upon this earth in such a manner, as that at least four inches of tiie root
-and stem shall rest upon tlio earth, and the extremity of the top shall project beyond the
wall. When the plants are thus regularly laid, the roots are covered with earth, and
the building of the wall continued upwards, filling up the space between the wall and
the bank gradually, as the wall advances upwards : when completed, the wall is
finished with a coping of sod, or stone and lime. When the plants begin to vegetate, the
young shoots appear in the face of the wall, rising in a perpendicular manner.
281 1. The hedge and ditch, with row of trees, differs from those which have been de-
scribed only in having a row of trees planted in the line of the fence along with the
hedge. The advocates for this jiraetice say, tliat, by planting rows of trees in the direc-
tion of the fence, the country is at once sheltered, beautified, and improved ; and that the
interest of the proprietor is ultimately promoted by the increasing value of the timber
raised in these hedge-rows. It is also said, that such trees produce more branches for
stack -wood, knees for ship-builders, and bark for the tanners; and they sell at a higher
price per load than trees grown in woods and groves. Besides, close pruning hedge-row
trees, to the height of twelve or fifteen feet, prevents their damaging the hedge ; the
shelter which they afford is favorable to the vegetation both of grass and corn ; it also
tends to produce an equable temperature in t\\C climate, which is favorable both to the
l)roduction of and greater perfection and beauty in animals, and of longevity to man.
Though the practice of planting hedge-rows of trees is very common, though its advo-
cates are numerous, and though these arguments are urged in its favor, yet the objections
are also entitled to very serious consideration. When trees are planted in the line of a
fence, if that fence is a hedge, the plants of which it consists will not only be deprived of
a great part of their nourishment by the trees, but will also be greatly injured by the shade
they occasion, and the drop that falls from them during wet weather : upon this point
little reasoning is necessary ; for, if we api)eal to facts, we shall find that no good hedge
is to be met with where there is a row of trees planted along with it. The mischief is
not, however, confined solely to hedges ; the effects are equally bad, perhaps worse,
where the fence is a stone wall ; for though in this case the shade or drop of the trees are
hardly if at all felt, yet, when they have attained a certain height, the working and
straining of the roots during high winds is such, that the foundations of the wall arc
shaken and destroyed ; accordingly, wherever large trees are found growing near stone
walls, the fence is cracked and shaken by every gale of wind, is perpetually falling into
large gaps, and costs ten times the expense to keep it in repair, that would otherwise be
required if no trees were near it. Admitting, however, that the trees in hedge-rows were
no way prejudicial to the fence, which we have already shown is by no means the case,
another argument may be succesfully used against the practice. It is seldom, indeed,
that trees planted in hedge-rows arrive at any great size ; on the contrary, they are ge-
nerally low and stunted : and while they occasion a visible loss by the mischief they do
the fence, their utmost worth, when they come to be sold, will seldom be found adequate
to the loss and inconvenience they have occasioned.
2812. The hedge and ditch, or hedge and wall, with belt of planting, in exposed situa-
tions, is strikingly usefuland ornamental, while upon the low grounds it is not only unne-
cessary, but in some instances absolutely hurtful. For instanca, in deep and broad
valleys surrounded by hills, and sheltered from severe blasts, belts of planting are not
only luinecessary, but even hurtful and ruinous by the ground they occupy, wliich could
certainly be employed to greater advantage, and the original expense of inclosing and
planting saved.
2813. The hedge and ditch, or wall, with the corners platited, is employed upon some
estates instead of the belt of planting. According to some, it has a good effect upon
the scenery of the country, and answers tJie purpose of general shelter extremely well : it
is, however, greatly inferior to the belt of planting, for the purpose of sheltering parti-
cular fields : but as in every field there is a space in each angle that cannot be ploughed,
by planting these spaces, which would otherwise be left waste, many valuable trees are
raised with little expense, and with scarce any waste of land.
2814. T/it'yMr;:ey(f«ce may be had recourse to with advantage whenever such plants
are found to grow vigorously ia a soil. Fences of this sort are mostly made upon
mounds or banks of earth, by sowing the seed of the plant. Sometimes the bank is
only sloped on one side, but at others on both ; in the former case the front is per-
pendicular, and faced with turf or stone. From these fences being raised so consider-
ably above the common surface, they are very liable to injury from frost and other
causes in severe winters.
SuBSECT. 4. Paling Fences.
2815. Paling fences are only to be considered in a secondary light; for, of whatever wood
they are made, however substantially they may be executed, or in whatever situation they
are placed, their decay commences the instant they are erected. Where permanent
Ff 4
440 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
use therefore is required, palings ought never to be adopted ; but for ornament in pleasure-
grounds, or for the protection of young thorns, they are highty valuable. In all cases
■where either dead hedges or palings are used, the decay and ultimate loss of the fence is
owing to that part of it which is let into the ground being rotted by the moisture. Where
dead hedges are planted, it is no easy matter to provide a remedy against this evil; as the
stems are so numerous, that, to give each of them a preparation that would completely
defend it from the effects of moisture, would be attended with an expense equal to, if not
greater than the value of the fence. Where palings, however, are used, especially the
most expensive and substantial kind of them, and such as are meant both for duration and
ornament, it is desirable to prepare the standards, or upright parts that are placed in the
earth, in such a manner as will enable them to resist the moisture for many years. In the
south of England, the post is always more bulky at the lower end than the upper, and
IS fixed in the ground by digging a hole, placing it therein, shovelling the soil in, and ram-
ming it round the post till it be firmly fixed. It has been a practice for time immemorial,
to burn or char that part of the standards or palings intended to be set or driven into the
earth : the reason assigned for this practice was, that the fire hardened the parts thus sub-
jected to it, and, by rendering them impervious to moisture, made tliem more durable than
they would have been without such operation. But the best defence at present known
against the effects of the weather is tlie bark of the tree. This covering it has from na-
ture; and it is possessed of every requisite that is necessary, being impregnated with oil,
rosin, and other matters, which secure it comjjletely, not only against moisture, but other
injuries arising from the operation of air, light, heat, &c. ; of this we have strong proofs
by observing what happens where the bark of any tree is destroyed, by cutting off a branch,
or otherwise. If the surface laid bare by the wound is considerable, the body of the tree
opposite to it begins immediately to decay, and continues to waste, unless some covering
is made use of to supply the place of the bark ; for that purpose nothing has yet been
found so effectual as a coat either of boiled oil, or of oil-paint, which, by completely exclud-
ing both air and moisture, not only preserves the tree from rotting, but also prevents it
from bleeding and wasting itself by an effusion of juices from the wound. When trees
are cut down and sawn into planks, whether for palings or any other purpose, where they
are afterwards to be exposed to the weather, tlie same thing happens that w e have mentioned as
taking place with the growing tree when deprived of its bark, but in a much greater de-
gree, as the whole surface is then without a covering. To prevent this decay, the same
remedy should be applied, viz. painting the whole of the wood, or otherwise filling the
pores with oil, in such a manner as to prevent tlie entrance of moisture. There are now
coarse oil-paints sold of all colours, so cheap as to enable persons erecting palings, or
other works of wood to paint them at a small expense. Other very good remedies are
to be had at a moderate price, as the pyrolignous acid from gas works, into which, if
the points of the standards that are to be drove into the earth are dipped while the liquor
is boiling hot, it will preserve them from the bad effects of moisture for a very long time ;
previous to the dipping, they should be properly sharpened, and upon no account what-
ever charred or burnt, as every attempt of that kind will, upon enquiry, be found to injure
the texture of the wood and hasten its decay. Common tar, melted pitch, or gas liquor,
may also be successfully employed for the purpose of defending the extremities of the up-
right parts of paling from moisture; linseed and train oils may also be used with success;
the great object being to fill the pores completely with some unctuous or greasy matter,
so as to prevent the admission of moisture. The posts should be completely dry before
they are dipped in any of these preparations ; for if they are either made of green wood,
or have imbibed much moisture, or after being dipped they are exposed either to the heat
of the sun, or a severe frost, the moisture will become so much expanded thereby, as to
burst through, and bring off the paint or other coating ; whereas, when they are made of
well-seasoned wood, and are at the same time perfectly dry, and the pitch, oil, varnish,
&c. boiling hot, it readily enters the pores, and, by filling them completely, prevents the
access of moisture, and consequently the injurious effects produced by it,
28 IG. The simple nailed paling consists of upright posts, drove or set into the earth at
certain distances, and crossed in three, four, or more places, witli piecesof wood, in a ho-
rizontal direction. This paling is for the most part made of coarse sawn wood, without
any dressing whatever.
2817. 7Vte jointed horizontal paling consists of massy square poles, drove or set into the
earth at regular distances, through which mortices or openings are cut, for the reception
of the extremities of the horizontal pieces which traverse them.
2818. The upright lath paling is made by driving or setting a number of strong piles
into the earth at regular distances, and crossing these at top and bottom "with horizontal
pieces of equal strength ; upon these last are nailed, at from six to twelve inches distance,
a number of square pieces of sawn wood, of the shape and size of the laths that are used
for the roofs of tiled houses. This sort of paling, when properly executed, looks very
well, and, notwithstanding its appareot slightness, if well supported by props or rests at
Book IV.
PALING FENCES.
441
regular intervals, lasts a long while ; and where there are plantations of young firs in
the neighborhood, laths may be had at a trifling expense.
2819. The horizontal pnling of young Jirs, or the weedings if other young trees, may be
had recourse to with advantage upon estates where there are extensive woods, or where they
are surrounded with belts of thriving plants, the thinnings of such woods or belts being
highly valuable for making palings, especially when the plantation consists chiefly of firs;
the palings of young firs are of two kinds, either horizontal or upright. The horizontal
resembles the jointed dressed paling already described, and the upright is similar to the
lath paling.
2820. The chain horizontal fence is made by fixing a number of strong square piles into the earth at regu-
lar distances, in the direction in which the lence is to run ; each of these piles has three strong staples or
iron hooks drove into it on each side, one near the top, one within eighteen inches of tlie bottom, and one
in the middle ; to these staples or hooks, chains are fastened and stretched horizontally, in the same manner
as the pieces of wood are in a common horizontal wooden fence. When it is meant that the fence should
I)e laid open for any temporary purpose, hooks arc drove into the i)Osts in place of staples, and the chains
hung upon them ; but where this is not wanted, the staples will be found the most secure method. In some
cases the upright part of this fence, in place of wooden piles, such as have been described, consists of
neat pillars of mason-work or cast iron.
2821. The rope fence is nearly the same as the former, that is, it consists of upright posts, drove into the
earth at regular distances, with holes bored through them for the ropes to pass: in general, they consist of
three, and in some cases of four courses of ropes, like the chain fence. This can only be used for confining
cattle or horses ; for sheep they will be found quite incompetent ; for stretching across rivers, or pieces
of water, like the chain-fence, the ropes will be useful.
2822. The moveable wooden fence, flake, or hurdle. Tliis has hitherto been principally
employed in cases where sheep or cattle are fed with turnips in the field, to divide a cer-
tain portion of their food at a time ; in tliat way hurdles are extremely useful, as the sheep
or cattle, by having a given quantity of food allotted them at once, eat it clean up without
any loss, which they would not do, if allowed to range at large over the whole field. There
are, however, many other purposes to which hurdles may be applied with equal advan-
tage. 385
2823. Iron hurdles {fig, 385.) are found a
very elegant and durable fence, though more
than double the expense of wood. For park or
lawn fences they are admirably adapted ; but oc-
cupy rather too much capital for a commercial
farmer to be able to spare.
2824. The willow, or wattled fence is made by
driving a number of piles of any of the diflfe-
rent kinds of willow or poplar, about half the
p. thickness of a man's wrist, into the earth, in the
IYI direction of the fence, and at the distance of
I I about eighteen inches from each otlier. They are
^l|. thpn twisted, or bound together along the top,
with small twigs of the willows or poplars {fig. 386. j. This kind offence has some ad-
vantages peculiar to itself; it not only forms a cheap tV^hf^&^VS'fycHisa f^^:^ ^^6
and neat paling ; but if it is done either about the end
of autumn, or early in the spring, with willows or
poplars that have been recently cut down, the upright
parts or stakes will take root, grow, and send out a
number of lateral branches ; and if pains are taken
tlie following autumn, to twist and interweave these
branches properly, a permanent fence, so close as to be almost impenetrable, may be formed
in two or three years. For the enclosing of marshy lands, or for completing any enclo-
sure, where a part of the line in which the fence ought to run is so wet as to be unfit for
the growth of thorns, or the building of a wall, the willow paling will be found an excel-
lent contrivance, and the use of it will render many enclosures complete that could not
387 otherwise have been formed. Sometimes stakes are used of a
kind which do not take root and grow, in which case this
form still makes a very neat and efficient temporary fence
{fig. 387.).
2825. The paling of growing trees, or rails nailed to growing posts, is made
by planting beech, larch, or other trees in the direction of the fence, at
a bout a yard distant from each other, more or less, as may be thought
necessary ; these trees should be protected by a common dead paling, till they are ten or twelve feet high,
when they should be cut down to six feet, and warped or bound together with willows at top, and in the
middle ; the cutting off the tops will have the effect of making them push out a great number of lateral
branches, which if properly warped and interwoven with the upright part of the trees, in the manner de-
scribed for the willow fence, will both have a beautiful eflfect, and will at the same time form a fine fence,
which in place of decaying, will grow stronger with tune, and may with very little trouble be kept in per-
fect repair for a great length of time.
2826. T/ie u})rig/U and horiximtal shingle fences are chiefly made of firs, coarsely sawn into deals, of from
half an inch to an inch thick, and of difTerent breadths according to thediameter of thetree ; pretty strong
square piles are drove or set into the earth, and the deals nailed horizontally wyon them, in such a manner
that the under edge of the uppermost deal shall project or lap over the upper edge of the one immediately
I
'|t,i -
442
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Pari II.
below it', the fence, when flnishccl in this manner, will have nearly the same appearance as the bottom of
a boat or cutter. An upright fence is made by fixing perpendicular posts in the earth, nailing three pieces
of wood horizontally, and covering these with shingles placed perpendicularly ; in this case the shingles
• are not above three inches broad, and the extremities of each are pointed at the top.
2827. The warped paling fence consists of pieces of wood drove into the earth, bent
clown in different directions, and their tops fastened together ; this fence resembles the
dievaux-de-fnse, with only this difference, that, in place of leaving the points standing
up, as is the case with that part of fortification, they are bent down and tied together.
When made of dead wood, this fence is equally perishable witli others of the same
description ; but wlien made of growing plants, it will be found very lasting.
2828. The light open paling fence with thorns, or the branches of trees wove in (fig .388.),
differs from the common paling fence already described, 333
only in l)eing warped either with thorns, or the branches
of trees. When properly done, it forms at once a very
complete fence ; but, like all fences made with dead
wood, it will be found very perishable, and require
many repairs. It has, however, one advantage, viz.
that, when properly executed, it is proof against the
entrance of animals of any kind.
2829. Primitive paling fences are formed without nails or tyes of any sort, by
inserting the pales or stakes
' in the ground in diflerent di-
rections {fig. 389.), by using
forked or hooked stakes.
They are chiefly practicable
in forest or park scenery
■for maintaining a particular
character, and for separating horses, deer, &c. Such fences sometimes occur in
' Poland, Hungary, &c. ; but in a civilized country they are to be considered more in
• the light of effect than of practical utility.
2830. Park fences of iron are the most efficient and elegant [figs. 390. and 391.) Light
cast-iron posts with rails of round iron rods five eighths of an inch in diameter to the
height of four feet, and a foot higher, on tlie bent extremity of the posts a chain
instead of a rod (Jig. 390.), is found to form a barrier against any description of the
. . 390
1
\ ._ _
1
""""■""""^
!M3uCr-0« >*>«M><>t
-^
\ ^
\
1
1
1
1
1
1
i
1
1
, [
.
1
1
1
larger quadrupeds kept in British parks, as horses, wild cattle, buffaloes, deer, &c.
Painted green, or even with the paint called blue anticorrosion (ground glass and oil
chieHy), or coated over with the pyrolignous liquor from the gas works, such fences
are not obtrusive, and less liable to suggest ideas of limitation, confinement, restraint.
Sec. than walls or pales. Similarly characterized fences may be composed of connectetl
hurdles (^. 391.), which are valuable and probably the cheapest of any fence in
dividing rich and extensive 'pastures, such as a park let out to a farmer for several years
grazing. For poultry, or for excluding hares, rabbits, &c. the lower part of such fences
is covered with a wire netting (fig. 392.).
Book IV. WALL-FENCES. 443
SuBSECT. 5. Wall-Feikces.
28S1. Wall-fences are constructed of different sorts of materials, and aro of various
kinds. Tliey are for tho most part good fences, though some of them, as tliose of the
earthy kinds, are not by any means durable, and, therefore, should not be formed where
other better sorts can be had recourse to. In the construction of walls, it is essential that
the stones be either taken from a quarry, or consist of the largest land-stones broken in
such a manner as that they may have a good flat surface, in order that they may bind
well ; that they be built by masons and well pinned ; that they have as dry and deep a
foundation as possible, in order to guard against frosts, &c. ; that they be made wide at
the bottom, and tapering upwards to about the breadth of ten inches, when the coping
is to be applied ; that the coping consist of materials that cannot be readily overturned
or removed ; as, upon the manner in which it is finished, much of the future value and
durability of the wall will be found to depend.
2832. Dry sloiie ivalls are of three kinds, round stones gathered from the fields, and
coped with turves ; quarried stones, upon which some paiqs have been bestowed to put
them into proper shape ; and the Galloway dike, so denominated from its being
originally used in that country.
2833. The wall or dike made with nnind or land^stones, l)y laborers, and covered with
a coping of turf, is a very indifferent fence. In most instances, it is not only very ill
constructed as to shape, being of one uniform thickness from top to bottom, but the
stones, from their round figure, do not present a sufficient surface to each other, to bind
and give stability to the building. This fence has long been known , and is still very
common in the remote parts of the country, upon estates where the first rude essay is
made in the way of improvement, and where masons cannot readily be had. In such
situations, it has a two-fold benefit ; the surface is cleared of many stones that would
otherwise have presented a considerable obstacle to its cultivation, and the field is at the
same time enclosed: but, though these objects are accomplished for a time, their benefit
is not permanent, as the wall is perpetually tumbling down ; even the cattle rubbing
against it make considerable gaps in many places; and in that way, great trouble and
expense are annually required to keep it in repair.
2834. The wall in ivhich the stones are quarried 393
(^fig' 393.), and put together by skilful masons, broad
at bottom, tapering gradually upwards, and finished
at top with a substantial coping, has a very neat ap-
pearance, and has been known to last thirty and even ,
forty years without repairs. A good foundation is
highly essential in the construction of this fence; from
nine to twelve inches is the smallest depth that it should be below the common surface^
especially if the soil is open and porous, and the largest and heaviest stones shoold
always be laid undermost.
2835. Tlie Galloway dike or lonll [Jig. 394. ) is princi- 394
pally employed for enclosing high grounds that are depas-
tured with sheep, for the confining of which it seems well
calculated. From two feet to two and a half, at the bot-
tom, it is built in a regular compact manner with dry
stones, in every respect the same as a dry stone wall, with
a broad base, tapering gradually upwards : the building is
then levelled with a course of flat stones, resembling acop-
ing, in such a manner as that these flags or flat stones shall project two or three inches over
the wall on each side. Above these flat stones is laid a course of rugged round ones, placed
upon each other in a way secure enough to give stability to the building, but at the same
time so open as to leave a considerable vacuity between each ; by which means a free
passage is afforded to the light and wind, which blows through them with a violent
whistling noise. This rough open part of the building is generally raised three feeta1>ove
the regular part of it, gradually tapering upwards, till it terminates in a top of about
nine inches broad, every course of the rough stones being smaller than that immedi-
ately beneath it. Its tottering appearance is so well calculated to prevent sheep, cattle,
or other animals, from approaching it, that it is seldom indeed that any attempt is made to
leap over it. This circumstance, together with the ease with which the stones are procured,
in most of the situations where the Galloway dike is used, renders it a valuable fence.
2836. Stone and lime loalls, in order to be durable, should have a good foundation, deep
enough to prevent them from being hurt by frosts, with a broad base, tapering gradually
upwards. This fence, when properly executed, is, next to hedges, the most durable of
any ; it is, however, very expensive ; and its superiority over the dry stone wall is so
trifling in point of durability, as to render the latter the most eligible, it being greatly
cheaper, and answering every purpose of a fence equally well. For the building of
444 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
this wall, stones taken from the quarry are to be preferred to the common land-stones ;
for though a mason may be able to remedy, in some measure, the inequality of surface
in land-stones, by mixing plenty of lime with them, yet experience proves, that walls
made with such stones, notwithstanding every care on tlie part of the builder, are much
less perfect, and last much shorter time, than where quarried stones are employed.
This, like every other stone fence, should be secured at the top with a substantial
coping. Stone fences of every description not only form complete enclosures at once,
and by that means allow the proprietor to enter into immediate possession of every
advantage that can arise from the enclosing of his fields, but, by the little room they
occupy, a considerable portion of land is saved that would have been occupied by some
other fences.
•
2837. In the construction of walls qf stone mid clap, the clay is used like lime, and is meant to answer
the same purpose. It requires slender observation, to convince intelligent persons, that a wall made with
such materials in the ordinary way cannot be a durable one ; for if the clay made use of in building the
fence has been very moist, the summer's heat will dry it so much, as to leave considerable chasms in the
building ; tliese chasms must necessarily deprive many of the stones of that support which they require,
and in that way endanger the building. This, however, is not the only inconvenience with which this
kind of wall is attended ; the effect of the summer's sun upon the clay parches it so completely, that
when the wet weather commences about the end of autumn, it absorbs the moisture like a sponge, and
if it is overtaken by frost while in that state, the fabric swells, bursts, and tumbles down
2838. Walls of stone and clay, dashed ivith lime, differ in no respect from that described, except in the
harling or dashing that is given them. Where that operation is well performed, and at a proper season of
the year, the coating of lime, by preventing the entrance of moisture, will add greatly to the durability as
well as beauty of the wall; so much so indeed, that some fences made in this way, where the clay was
properly tempered, and did not contain too much moisture, and where a harling or dashing of lime was
afterwards given, have been known to last nearly as long as walls made entirely with stone and lime.
2839. The dry stone wall, lipped with lime, differs from the ordinary dry stone wall, in having about two
or three inches of it on each side lipped with lime, which gives it the appearance of being built entirely
with stone and lime. Where the external appearance of a fence is an object, something is gained by this
practice ; in point of real duration, however, it seems to possess very little advantage over the common
dry stone wall, which, when properly executed, lasts equally long.
2840. Dry stonewalls, lipped and harled, are much the same, nothing more being added than a harling
or dashing of lime after the other work is finished : this addition is to be considered merely as an im-
provement upon their appearance, and not as contributing to increase their utility, or render them more
durable as fences.
2841. Dry stoned walls, pinned and harled, are much the same : the mason only carefully pins or fills
up all the interstices of the building with small stones, after they have been built in the ordinary way,
and afterwards dashes or harls them over with lime. The pinning, by filling up every vacant space, and
'affording complete support to the stones in every part of the surface, adds considerably to the durability of
the building, and the harling afterwards gives the whole a finished substantial appearance, which renders
them at once agreeable to the eye, and lasting as fences.
2842. The dry stone wall, with a light paling upon the top, is sometimes made, and for particular pur-
poses answers well, and has a handsome appearance when well executed.
2843. Brick walls are seldom had recourse to for ordinary enclosures, except in situations where stones
are extremely scarce, as is the case in some counties for pleasure-grounds, or for park or garden-walls.
2844. Frame walls are constructed in the following manner: a frame of deal boards,
of a width and height proportioned to that of the intended fence, is placed upon the line
in which it is intended to be made, a proper foundation having been previously dug ;
the frame is then filled with stones of all sorts, gathered principally from the adjoining
fields ; when the frame is filled to the top with such stones, a quantity of liquid mortar
is poured in amongst them, sufficient to fill up every interstice ; the whole is suffered to
remain in that state till it is supposed that the mortar has acquired a suitable degree of
firmness to give stability to the building, which in summer, when the weatlier is warm
and dry, will not require above a day or two. The frame is then removed, and placed
a little farther on in the same line, in such a manner as that one end of it shall join
immediately with that part of the work from which it had been removed. Ir) that way
the line of fence is gradually completed, which, when the lime is of good quality and
well mixed with sharp sand, and the proper pains taken to incorporate it with the
stones, presents a smooth uniform surface, and will doubtless form a substantial and
durable fence.
2845. Turf walls are met with in almost every upland or hilly district throughout
Britain, and for temporary purposes are found very useful. In a variety of instances
this sort of fence is used for enclosing fields, and is practised for that purpose to a very
considerable extent; in others, however, it is used for the formation of folds, pens, or
other places of confinement for cattle during the night. In general, the fence is made
witli turf only, pared oft' from the adjoining surface, and used without any mixture of
earth ; in other cases, the wall consists of a facing of turf on each side, while the space
between is filled up with loose earth. For a fold, this fence answers extremely well ;
but for enclosing a field, or indeed any other use where durability is required, it should
never be had recourse to, as, from the moment it is finished, its decay commences, and
no pdins or attention will be able to keep it in repair after it has stood two or three
years.
2846. Stone and turf walls are also very common in many situations, where better and
more durable ones could be made at equal, perhaps less, expense. In many instances,
liowever, they are had recourse to, from necessity, where lime is either very dear, or not
attainable at any price.
Book IV. GATES APPROPRIATE TO AGRICULTURE.
445
28*7. Mud walls with a mixture of straw, were formerly frequent in many places, not only for surrounding
small enclosures and stack-yards, but also for constructing the walls of farm-houses and offices, and for
subdividing houses into different apartments. When either the outside walls, or the inside divisions of a
house are made of these materials, the custom is, to take a small quantity of straw, and incorporate it with
a sufficient projwrtion of clay; the straw in this case answers the same purpose as hair in plaster- lime.
When a sufficient number of these are made, the work is begun by laying a stratum at the bottom of the
intended wall ; when this is done, and the diflferent pieces firmly kneeded, or wrought together with the
hand, a flat deal board is applied on each side, which being properly pressed, and rubbed against the build-
ing in a horizontal direction, not only serves to consolidate the work, but gives it a degree of smoothness
and uniformity ; successive stratums are added, till the wall is raised to the intended height, taking care to
taper it gradually upwards. Walls made in this way, if properly constructed, will last for many years, and
if dashed or harled with lime, at a proper season of the year, will have an appearance no way inferior to
such as are made with stone and lime, along with this addition to their appearance, the harling or dashing
with lime, if properly done, will, by preventing the access of moisture, render them much more durable.
2848. Rammed earthy or enpisS walls, are very common in France, both as fences and
walls for buildings. They have been described at great length in the communications
to the Board of Agriculture, and in other works, and tried in various parts of this country
with tolerable success, though they are by no means suited either to our moist climate, or
degree of civilization. In constructing them the earth is previously pounded, in order to
crumble any stones therein ; clay is added thereto in a small quantity, about one-eighth
part. It is all beaten and mixed up together by repeated blows with a mallet about ten
inches broad, and ten or fifteen inches long, and two inches thick. The earth being thus
prepared, and slightly wetted, the foundation of the wall is dug ; this is laid with stone,
and when it is about one foot high above the surface of the ground planks are arranged on
each side, and the space between filled with the earth intended for the wall. It is strongly
beaten ; and this method is continued successively, till the wall is completed.
the " ~
2849. Stamped earth walls are the invention of Francois
Cointeraux. Earth prepared in the same manner as for rammed
walls, is put into a mould or box of any size, generally that of the pro-
posed wall's thickness in width, one or two feet long, and about
one foot high {fig. 395 a). The mould is a strong oaken or iron
box, and the earth being placed in it, is compressed either by the ac •
tion of a press acted on by a lever or screw, or a stamping engine 395
similar to the pile driver, or great forge hammer. The stone, or
solid body of earth (6), thus acquired, is then used in the same way as
common hewn stone, and either bedded or merely jointed with lime
mortar ; it is tlien washed or harled, both for effect and duration.
B
Chap. V.
Of Gates appropriate to Agriculture,
2850. The gate may I)e considered as a moveable part of a fence, or as a frame of
timber, or iron, readily moved and calculated to give a convenient inlet and outlet to
enclosures. Gates may be considered in regard to the principles of their construction,
and fixing ; the materials of which they are made ; and their different kinds.
2851. With respect to constructio7i the great object is, to combine strength with light-
ness. The absolute strength of materials depends on their hardness and tenacity. A
gate, therefore, consisting of one solid plate of wood or iron, would seem to require most
force to break or tear it in pieces. But this would not be consistent with lightness and
economy, and in the use of such a gate it would be found to [open 'and shut with more
diflliculty, than one less strong. The skeleton of a plate of wood or iron is, therefore, re-
3t>C
sorted to by the employment of slips or bars,
disposed and joined together on mechanical
principles. These principles, applied to car-
pentry, direct the use of what are called ties
and strutts, in the judicious composition of
which, as far as construction is concerned,
consists the whole art of carpentry. A tie (Jig.
396 a.) is a bar, or piece of timber, so placed
in a structure as to resist a drawing or twisting
power; a strutt (6) is one so placed as to
resist weight, or whatever has a tendency to
press or crush. The horizontal bars of a gate
are all ties ; the diagonal and perpendicular
ones strutts^ On the judicious combination
of these ties and strutts, depends the abso-
lute strength of the gate ; and on their light-
ness, and on the general form of tlie gate, depends its adaptation for opening and shutting
by means of hinges.
446
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
265^. Tlie construction of a gate best adapted for ojyening and skvtthtg, is next to bo
considered. All gates, after being hung, have from their gravitation a tendency to deviate
from tlieir original position, to sink at the head or falling post, and thus no longer to open
and shut freely. If the construction and hanging of the gate were perfect, this could
not possibly take place ; but as the least degree of laxity in trussing the gate, or want
of firmness in fixing the post in the ground, will occasion, after frequent use, a sensible
depression at the head, it becomes requisite either to guard against it as much as possible,
in the first construction ; or to have a provision in the design of the upper hinge (fg.
397.), for rectifying tlie deviations as they take place.
2853. In order to understand the construction best calculated to resist dejrressiov, sup-
pose a gate hung, and resting on its heel (fg. 396 ct, acting as a strut, and maintained
there by its upper liinge (rf), acting as a tie, then the bottom rail of the gate considered as
representing the whole, becomes a lever of the second kind, in which the prop is at one
end (c), the power at the other (g), and the weight placed between them in the line of the
centre of gravity of the gate (t). Now, as two equal forces, to hold each other in equili-
brium, must act in the same direction, it follows that the power acting at the end of the
lever (5), will have most infiuence when exerted at right angles to it in the line (g, e),
but as this cannot be accomplished in a gate where the power must be applied obliquely,
it follows, that a large angle becomes requisite ; that the greater the angle, the greater the
power, or in other words, the less the strain on the construction of the gate, or the less the
tendency to sink at the head. The half of the right angle (c, e,g) seems a reasonable
limit, by which, if the power requisite to hold the weight in equilibrium, when acting at
a right angle, be as the side of a square of the length of the lower bar of the gate (^', c),
then the power requisite to effect the same end, when acting at an angle of 45 degrees,
is as the diagonal to this square {g,li:. By changing the square to a parallelogram,
the relative proportions will still be the same, and the advantages and disadvantages will
be rendered more obvious.
2854. Parker s compensation hinge for gates which are much in use ( Jig . 397.), is an
excellent corrective to their falling ; all that is necessary when the gate sinks at the head
is to screw it up by tlie nut (a), till it regains its original position. For road and farm
yard gates the hinges are valuable parts of the construction.
2855. A gate should be so hung as to haiie two falls ; one to the hanging post, to make it
catch, and the other to a point at a right angle with the gateway, so as to keep it fully
open. To effect this purpose, having set the post perpendicular, let a plumb-line be
drawn upon it : on this line, at a proper height, place the hook, so that it may project
three inches and a half from the face of the post; and at a convenient distance below this
place the lower hook an inch and a half to one side of the perpendicular line, and pro-
jecting two inches from the face of the post ; then place the top loop or eye two inches
from the face of the hanging style, and the bottom loop three inches and a half: thus
hung, the gate will have a tendency to shut in every position. A gate so hung will have
a tendency to shut in every position ; because if the weight of the gate be represented by
a diagonal line from the heel to the head, this, by the resolution of forces, is resolvable
into other two lines ; one perpendicular, and the other horizontal ; the former repre-
senting that part of the weight which presses in a perpendicular position, and the latter
that part of the weight which presses in a horizontal direction, and gives the gate a
tendency to shut. {Northuvib. Rep. 63.)
2856. Gates are generally constructed of timber, and whatever kind may be used, it is
essential that it be well seasoned, as without attention in this respect, they are soon de-
ranged in their structure by the heat of the sun : they should also be well and correctly
put together. Oak is undoubtedly the best sort of wood for the purpose, where dura-
bility is the object ; though some of the lighter kind of woods, as deal, willow, &c. will
often last a great length of time, as, from their lightness, they are not so apt to destroy
themselves. The lighter gates are made towards the head or opening part the better,
Book IV.
GATES APPROPRIATE TO AGRICULTURE.
447
provided tliey bo sufficiently strong for the purpose they are to serve ; and on this account
the top bars may, in many cases, as where horses are to be kept, bo loft considerably
stronger than the others. If this be not done, tlicy are liable to be broken by the animals
rubbing their necks upon them, except where they are made very high. Gates arc
generally made eight and an half or nine feet in width, and from five to six feet in
height ; the bars being three or four feet broad, and five or six in number. In particular
instances a smaller bar is introduced between the two lowermost ones, in order to prevent
small animals getting through.
2857. Iron, both hammered and cost metal, has long been in use for ornamental gates
(Jig. 398.), and has lately come into use in soiue districts for field gates. Their eligibility
must depend on their price and durability relatively to wood. At the ordinary prices of
wrought iron and oak, they will be found of doubtful economy ; cast iron gates are too
heavy, and too liable to be broken, for agricultural purposes.
2858. The posts or pillars to which gates are attached should, in all convenient cases,
be fonned of stone; as this material, when hewn and properly constructed, will last for
ages. When formed of wood, oak or larch are the best sorts. The latter, where suit-
able, should be used without removing the bark, which has been found to add greatly
to their durability. In some places it is customary to plant trees for gate-posts, and
after they have attained a certain size and thickness, to cut them over about ten feet
above the surface : where the trees thrive, they form the most durable of all gate-posts ; in
many instances, however, they misgive, and much trouble is necessary to repair the
defect. Where the posts are made of dead timber, they should always be strong, and the
wood well prepared; that part which is let into the earth should also be defended, by dip-
ping it in coarse oil, or giving it a coat of pyrolignous liquor; and all that is above
ground exposed to tlio action of the weather, should be well covered with one or two
good coats of oil-paint. The expense of tliis preparation is but trifling, while tlie benefit
is very great.
2859. The substance of a gate-post, according to Parker, should be from eight to ten
inches square, or, for very heavy gates, a foot square would not be too large. If made
of still larger size, it is better. And he says, that the steadiness of a gate-post depends,
in a great measure, upon the depth to which it is set in the ground, which ought to be
nearly equal to the height of it. Five or six feet is, in general , fully sufficient. But
the posts may be kept in their places by a strong frame-work placed under the ground,
extending between the posts.
2860. The fastenings of gates, it is observed by Parker {Essay,
&c. 1816.), are as various as the blacksmiths who construct them:
the subject occupied his attention in connection with tlie hanging of
gates, and he has introduced various improved forms. One of the
most secure {fg. 399.), is a spring-latch (a), opened by a lever — __
(6), which works in a groove of the upper bar of the gate, and there- |
fore cannot be rubbed open by cattle, while, by means of a knob at — L _
the end of the lever, and rising up against the top of the upright
bar (c), so that cattle cannot touch it, it is very easily opened by
persons on horseback with or without a stick or whip.
2861. A simple, economical, and effective spring-latch consists of a bolt (fig. 400 a.).
./^a
399
h
jQ
^^
^^
cM^
4C0
which is loose, and plays freely, in two mortised open-
ings in the upright bars, and is kept in place by a
spring (b). The gate may be shut from either side,
when the bar, striking against the projection (c) on the
falling post is pushed back, till, arriving at the mortise
T' (e), the spring (6) forces it in, and the gate is shut
^^^ securely. Such a gate is easily opened by a rider.
This is a good latch for the common field gates of a
farm.
a
448
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
2862. For gates of an ornamental kind, Parker says, he does not know a better latch
than the crooked lever (Jig. 401.) now in common use.
2863. Gates are of (liferent kinds (Jigs. 402. and 403. ), according to the particular
custom of the district; but the principal sorts made use of are the swing-gate, the
folding-gate, the slip-bar gate, and the wicket and turn-about gate.
401
5.
d I
403
2864. The improved swing-gate of the northern counties is well adapted for
agricultural purposes. There is a projection on the fore-part of the hanging-style,
which rises nine inclies, and on which the lower end of the diagonal bar, passing up-
wards, rests; there is also a diagonal bar through which the three middle horizontal
bars pass. It is found to be a very strong and durable gate.
2865. In Parkers improved swing-gate, the diagonal bar rising from the low er part
of the heel of the gate meets the middle of the rail, and the two upright bars are placed
at proper distances between the middle and the head of the gate : these cross-bars must,
he thinks, assist very much in keeping the gate together; but what is most to be guarded
against is, its sinking at the head, and to prevent which, this gate (he says) is well
contrived.
2866. The tressel-bar gate {Jig. 404.)
consists of two bars, one hung by a few
links to each gate-post, and in the middle
of the opening, where the bars meet, they
are supported by two legs like a tressel,
and may be padlocked, or fastened by a
pin and a few links, (&c. In the prome-
nade at Florence such gates are made use ■
of to close the larger carriage openings.
2867. The slip-bar gate is, perhaps, the most durable of any, especially where the
gate-posts are of stone, with proper openings left for the reception of the bars. The
only objection that can possibly be made to the slip-bar gate is, the trouble of opening
and shutting ; which, when servants or others are passing through it, in a hurry,
occasions its being frequently left open. In other respects, it is preferable to every
other description of gate, both in the original cost, and greater durability. It is to be
noticed, however, that upon the verge of a farm or estate, especially where it is bounded
by a high road, the slip-bar gate will not answer, as it does not admit of being locked,
or secured in the same w^ay as other gates ; but in the interior of a farm or estate, it
will be found the cheapest sort of gate.
2868. The chained slip-bar gate, though more expensive, is not liable to the same ob-
jections as the last. Here the bars are connected by a chain down the middle of the
gate, and, therefore, if one bar is padlocked to the post, none of them can be moved till
that one is unlocked.
2869. The turn about, or wicket-gate, is only used in cases where there is a necessity
for leaving an entry for the people employed to pass backwards and forwards. This
purpose they answer very well, and at the same time keep the field completely enclosed,
as they require no trouble to shut them in the time of passing.
2870. Styles are contrivances for man to pass over or through fences, without the risk
of even permitting the larger quadrupeds to accompany or follow him. There are many
forms perfectly well known every where ; as by steps over a wall ; by a zig-zag passage,
formed by stakes, through a hedge or paling ; a turning-bar or turnstyle, &c.
2871. I'he style of falling bars (Jig, 405.) is chiefly used in pleasure-grounds, or be-
405
Book IV.
OPERATIONS OF AGRICULTURE.
449
tween paddocks: it consists of bars light at one end (a), and heavy at the other (6),
with concealed joints or pivots, in an upright post (c), placed nearer one end of the bars
than the other. Tlien, while the weight of the short ends of the bars keeps them in a
fencible position, a slight pressure on the other end will form a passage (rf), which any-
one may easily step across.
2872. Bridges are frequently required on estates and farms for crossing ditches and
water-courses. They are generally large stone conduits or barrel-drains ; or in the
case of large streams, arches of masonry. In the case of small drains, wooden pipes or
boarded tubes are sometimes resorted to, and even earthen pipes have been used ; but
masonry should always have the preference.
2873. The double or folding-gate {^fig. 406.), is considered by some to be much more
I durable than
those of the
swing kind; be-
cause the bars,
from being only
half the length,
render the joints
afeof the gate not
so liable to be broken, or the
hinges to be hurt by straining.
On the other hand, such gates
require more time and attention in
the opening and shutting, and the
latter operation is troublesome to
perform, when both halves have
fallen at the head. These gates are
not, therefore, in such general use
in agriculture as the swing kind ;
but they are common as gates to
parks, and other scenes of dignity
and ornament.
2874. Clarke's window-sash gate
(Jig. 407.) is a recent invention,
which may be of use in some cases, especially in farm-yards. It is suspended
by two weights, and opens and shuts exactly on the principle of the window-sash.
The weights may be of stone or cast-iron, and the pulleys are of iron, and nine inches
diameter. It was applied in the first instance to a cattle-court ; but has since been
408 erected in different situations. Its advantages the inventor con -
siders to be the following: It is easy to open (6), or shut (a) ;
remains in whatever situation it is placed ; is not liable to be
beat to pieces by the action of the wind ; shuts always perfectly
Idose, whatever be the height of the straw or dung in the court
^or gate-way ; a cart may be driven quite close on either side
before opening ; is perfectly out of the way when fully open,
and not liable to shut on what is passing ; the gate bottom
not liable to decay by being immersed in the dung, as is com-
monly the case with cattle-court gates ; not liable to go out of
order ; may be erected in a hollow place, where a swinging-gate
could not open either outwardly or inwardly; and is likely to
be more durable than ordinary gates. A small gate of this
description (Jig. 408.) is said, by Lasteyrie (Col. de Machines
^c), to have been long in use by the Dutch.
BOOK V.
OF THE OPERATIONS OF AGRICULTURE.
2875. The operations of agriculture are effected under the direction of man, and by
means of the mechanical agents, or implements and buildings which We have passed in
review in the preceding book. They are either made directly on plants or animals, which
may be considered the objects of agriculture ; or on the soil and climate, which are the
natural agents of growth and culture. They may be arranged as manual labors and
operations, operations with beasts of labor, and mixed operations.
450 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt II.
Chap. I.
Manual Labors and Operations.
2876. The labors and operations of any art can seldom be described with great ad-
vantage. Whoever wishes to acquire them should resort at once to the scene of practice :
no description, however minute, will teach a man to dig, plough, or mow, equal to a few
hours' trial in the field, though a knowledge of the mechanical principles on which the
implements and the human machine acts in such operations, will, afford some assistance in
acquiring them, and in performing them with ease. Our observations shall chiefly be
directed to these parts of the subject, and to the most suitable weather and other circum-
stances for the performance of the different field labors of the manual kind. We shall
arrange these as manual labors common to all arts ; manual operations on the soil ;
and mixed manual operations, or such as are performed on the soil, plants, and animals
together or connectedly.
Sect. I. Mechanical Operations common to all Arts of Manual Labor.
2877. All the operations which man performs with impalements or machines, are, as far
as his own person is concerned, reducible to lifting, carrying, drawing, and thrusting.
Man himself, considered as an engine, derives his power from alterations in the position
of his centre of gravity, and he applies it chiefly by his hands, arms, and legs, acting as
levers of the third kind.
2878. Lifting is performed by first stooping or lowering the centre of gravity, and at
the same time throwing it to one side. The object being then laid hold of by the hands,
the body is raised, and the centre of gravity, in being restored to its true position, acts
as a counterbalancing weight to the weight to be raised. The weight retained by the
hand is now raised a certain height, never exceeding half that of the man ; if to be
raised higher, recourse is had to muscular strength, or the power of the arms to act
as levers.
2879. Carrying. To carry a thing is merely to walk with a greater weight than
before, and walking is performed by a series of alternate derangements and adjustments
of the centre of gravity, slow or rapid, according as the person may walk or run. Accord-
ing to Delolm, the most advantageous weight for a man of common strength to carry
horizontally is 112 lbs. ; or, if he returns unladen, 135 lbs.
2880. Drawing. Ih this operation, the upper part of the body is thrown forward, so
as to act as a power to counterbalance or lift up the body or weight to be moved ; and
by joining to this lifting motion the operation of walking, the weight is at once lifted up
and drawn along. This compound operation is exemplified in a horse, when straining
at a draught in a plough or cart. He first lowers his chest, then raises it, and lastly
steps forward. When drawing at ease, the lifting motion is scarcely distinguishable
from the progressive one.
2881. Pushing or thrusting is ^QxiormeA. exactly on the same principles as drawing,
and differs from it chiefly in the kind of implement or machine which requires to be
employed, all machines which are to be pushed requiring to be attached to the animal
machine by parts acting by their rigidity ; whereas those to be drawn may be attached by
parts acting by their tenacity merely.
2882. Wheeling is a mode of carrying materials in which the weight is divided between
the axle of the wheel and the arms of the operator. The arms or shafts of the barrow
thus become levers of the second kind, in which the power is at one end, and the ful-
crum at the other, and the weight between them. The weight is carried or moved on
by the continual change of the fulcrum with the turning of the wheel ; and this turning
is produced by the operator throwing forward his centre of gravity so as to push against
the wheel by means of the moveable axle, &c. The chief obstacles to wheeling are the
roughness or softness of the surface to be wheeled on. Where this is firm, there wheel-
ing will be best performed with the greater part of the load resting on the axle; but
when soft and deep, the centre of gravity should be nearest the operator, who will find.
it easier to carry than to overcome excessive friction. Dry weather is obviously prefer-
able for this operation. " With wheelbarrows," Dr. Young observes, " men will do
half as much more work as with hods.
2883. All these operations may be varied in quantity, either by a variation in the
weight or gravity of the man, or moving power ; or by a variation in the time or rapi-
dity of his motions. Thus a heavy man may, in one movement, lift a weight ten times
greater than can be done by one of less weight ; but a light man may, by increasing the
time of performance, lift the same weight at ten times. A man, who in digging can apply
with his feet five cwt. of his weight towards pushing the wedge or blade of the spade into
the soil, has an apparent advantage over a lighter man who can only apply three cwt. of
mere gravity for that purpose ; but yet the latter may equal the former, by accompanying
his power or foot with a proportionate increase of motion. The power in this last case
Book V. LABORS OF THE SIMPLEST KIND. 451
is said to be obtained by the momentum, or quantity of matter in a body multiplied by
the velocity with which it Is moved. Power, therefore, we thus ascertain, is obtained by
matter and motion jointly, and what may be deficient in the one, may be made up by
excess in the other. Tlius, a small, light workman may (though with more animal
exertion,) produce as much work as a larger or heavier man : for if we suppose the
quantity of matter in the large man to be thirty, and his motion at the rate of two, then
if the quantity of matter in the small man be twenty, and his motion at the rate of three,
he will produce an equal effect with the large man. As small human machines, or men,
are generally constructed of finer materials, or more healthy and animated, than large
ones, the small man performs his rapid motions with nearly as great ease to himself as
the heavy man moves his ponderous weight; so that in point of final result they are very
nearly on a par.
Sect. II. Agricultural Labors of the Simplest Kind.
2884. The manvxil labors of the field are, next to the general labors enumerated, among
the simplest required of the human operator, who, provided he has health and strength,
may perform them with very little skill.
2885. Breaking stones is an easy labor requiring very little skill, and no great degree
of strength. The stones are previously reduced in the quarrying, or otherwise, to such
sizes as can be broke by one or more blows of an iron headed hammer. In general they
are broke on the same plane on which the operator stands, but the blow has more effect
when the stone is raised about eighteen inches, and for small stones, the most work will
be done when they are broke on a table nearly as high as a man's middle, which is now
the practice under the direction of the best road makers.
2886. Picking. The pick is a blunt wedge, with a lever attached to it nearly at right
angles, and the operation of picking consists in driving in the wedge so as to produce
fracture, and then causing it to operate as a compound lever by the first lever or handle,
so as to effect separation, and thus break up and loosen hard, compact, or stony soils. It
is also used to loosen stones or roots ; and the pick-axe is used to cut the latter. For
breaking and pulverizing the soil, the most favorable conditions are, that the earth should
be moderately moist, to facilitate the entrance of the pick, but in tenacious soils not so
much so as to impede fracture and separation.
2887. Digging. The spade is a thin wedge, with a lever attached in the same plane,
and the operation of digging consists in thrusting in the wedge by the momentum (or
weight and motion,) of the operator, which effects fracture ; a movement of the lever
or handle next effects separation, whilst the operator, by stooping and rising again, lifts
up the spitful or section of earth on the blade or wedge of the spade, which, when so
raised, is dropped in a reversed position, and at a short distance from the unbroken
ground. The separation between the dug and undug ground is called the trench or fur-
row ; and when a piece of ground is to be dug, a furrow is first opened at that end of it
where the work is to commence, and the earth carried to that end where it is to termi-
nate, where it serves to close the furrow. In digging, regard must be had to maintain
an uniform depth throughout, to reverse the position of each spitful, so as what was
before surface may now be buried; to break and comminute every part where pul-
verisation is the leading object ; to preserve each spitful as entire, and place it separated
or isolated as much as possible where aeration is the object ; to mix in manures regularly
where they are added ; to buiy weeds not likely to rise again, and to remove others, and
all extraneous matters, as stones, &c. in every case. For all these purposes a deep
open trench is requisite, and that this may not be diminished in width and depth in the
course of the operation, it must never be increased in length. If allowed to become
crooked by irregular advances in the digging, it is thus increased in length, and neces-
sarily diminished in capacity, unless, indeed, the dug ground is allowed to assume an
uneven surface, which is an equally great fault. Digging for pulverisation, and mixing
in manures, is best performed in dry weather ; but for the purposes of aeration, a de-
gree of moisture and tenacity in the soil is more favorable for laying it up in lumps or
entire pieces. The usual length of the blade of the spade is from ten inches to a foot,
but as it is always inserted somewhat obliquely, the depth of pulverisation attained J)y
simple digging seldom exceeds nine inches, and in breaking up firm grounds it is seldom
80 much.
2888. Shovelling is merely the lifting part of digging, and the shovel being broader
than the spade, is used to lift up fragments separated by that implement or the pick.
2889. Marking xvith the line is an operation preparatory to some others, and consists
in stretching and fixing the line or cord along the surface by means of its attached pins
or stakes, in the direction or position desired, and cutting a slight continuous notch,
mark, or slit in the ground, along its edge with the spade.
2890. Trenching is a mode of pulverising and mixing the soil, or of pulverising and
changing its surface, to any greater depth tlian can be done by the spado alone. For
Gg 2
452 SCIENCE O^ AGRICULTURE. Paet II.
trenching with a view to pulverising an(l changing the surface, a trench is formed like
the furrow in digging, but two or more times wider and deeper ; tlie plot or piece to be
trenched is next marked off with the line into parallel strips of this width ; and beginning
at one of these, the operator digs or picks the surface stratum, and throws it in the
bottom of the trench. Having completed with the shovel the removal of the surface
stratum, a second, and a third, or fourth, according to the depth of the soil and other
circumstances, is removed in the same way ; and thus, when the operation is completed,
the portion of the different stratums is exactly the reverse to what they were before.
In trenching, vdth a view to mixture and pulverisation (Jig. 409.), all that is necessary
is to open at one corner of the plot, a trench or excavation of the desired depth, three
or four feet broad, and six or eight feet long. Then proceed to fill this excavation
from one end by working out a similar one. In this way proceed across the piece to be
trenched, and then return, and so on in parallel courses to the end of the plot, observing
that the face or position of the moved soil in the trench must always be that of a slope,
in order that whatever is thrown there may be mixed, and not deposited in regular layers
as in tlie other case. To effect this most completely, the operator should always stand
in the bottom of the trench, and first picking down, and mixing the materials, from the
solid side (a), should next take them up with a shovel, or throw them on the slope or
face of the moved soil (6), keeping a distinct space of two or three feet between them.
For want of attention to this, in trenching new soils for plantations, or other purposes,
it may be truly said that half the benefit derivable from the operation is lost. In general
in trenching, those points which were mentioned under digging, such as turning, breaking,
dunging, &c. required to be attended to, and sometimes an additional object, that of
producing a level from an irregular surface, is desired. In this case double care is re-
quisite to avoid forming subterraneous basins or hollows, which might retain water in
the substratum, at the bottom of the moved soil, and also to mix inferior with better soil,
&c. where it becomes requisite to penetrate into depositions of inferior earthy matters.
2891. Ridging is a mode of finishing the surface, applicable either to dug or trenched
grounds, which, when so finished, are called ridge-dug or ridge-trenched. Instead of
being formed with an even surface, ridged grounds are finished in ridges or close ranges
of parallel elevations, whose sections are nearly equilateral triangles. Hence, suppos-
ing the triangles to touch at their bases, two-thirds of more surface will be exposed to
the influence of the atmos])here and the weather, than in even surfaces.
2892. Forking. The fork is composed of two or three separate, parallel, and uni-
form wedges, joined so as to form one general blade, which is acted on like the spade,
by means of a shoulder or hilt for thrusting it into the matters to be forked, and a lever
or handle for separating and lifting them. Forking is used for two purposes ; for pul-
verising the soil among growing crops, and for moving vegetable manures. In the
first case the operation is similar to digging, the only difference being that pulverisation
is more attended to than reversing the surface ; in the other, the fork separates chiefly
by drawing and lifting ; hence, for this purpose a round-pronged (or dung) fork, pro-
duces least friction during the discharge of the fork-full and reinsertion ; and a broad-
pronged fork separates and lifts more readily the soil. Dry weather is essentially
requisite in forking soils, and most desirable for spreading manures; but dung-hill's
may be turned during rain, with no great injury.
2893. Dragging out dung or earth is performed by the dung-drag, and is adopted in
the case of distributing dung from a cart in regular portions or little heaps over a field.
When lime, in a state of pulverisation, earth, or sand, is to be distributed in the same
way, a scraper or large hoe is used ; and sometimes for want of these the dung-drag,
aided by the spade or common hoe.
2894. Hund-hocing is performed by drawing or thrusting the wedge or blade of the
draw or thrust-hoe along the surface of the soil, so as to cut weeds at or under the
surface, and slightly to pulverise the soil. It is used for four purposes, sometimes to-
gether, but commonly separate; first, to loosen weeds or thin out plants, so as those
hoed up may die for want of nourishment, or be gathered or raked off, for which pur-
pose either the thrust or draw-hoe may be used ; the second, to stir the soil, and for this
purpose when no weeds require killing, the pronged hoe is preferable, as being thrust
deeper with less force, and as less likely to cut the roots of plants ; the third, is to draw
Book V. OPERATIONS WITH PLANTS. ! 453
up or accumulate soil about the stems of plants, for which purpose a hoe with a large blade
or shovel, will produce most effect; and the fourth, is to form a hollow gutter or drill,
in which to sow or insert the seeds of plants, for which a large or small draw-hoe may
be used, according to the size of the seeds to be buried. The use of the hoe for any of
the above purposes requires dry weather. ^^q
2895. Hoeing between rows of crops, is sometimes performed by
what is called a hoe-plough, which is a small plough having a
share with double fins, and drawn by one man, and pushed by
another. It is in use in India, and is sold in London under the
name of the Indian hoe-plough, but it is more for the exercise
of amateurs on free soils, than for useful culture. In this way a
master may exercise both himself and his valet, and clear his
potatoes or turnip crop at the same time. The Dutch have a
hoe ifig. 410.), which is drawn and pushed at the same time,
for the purpose of cleaning walks, or scraping turf or mud from
roads or court-yards.
2896. Hand raking is performed by drawing through the surface of the soil or over
it, a series of small equidistant wedges or teeth, either with a view to minute pul-
verisation, or to collecting herbage, straw, leaves, stones, or such other matters as do
not pass tlirough the interstices of the teeth of 'the rake. The teeth of the rake being
placed nearly at right angles to the handle, it follows that the lower the handle is held
in performing the operation, the deeper will be the pulverisation when that is the object ;
and, on the contrary, that the higher it is held, the interstices being lessened, the fewer
extraneous matters will pass through the teeth. The angle at which the handle of the
rake is held must therefore depend on the object in view ; the medium is forty-five
degrees. For all raking, dry weather is essentially requisite, and for raking hay the angle
which tlie handle of the rake makes with the ground's surface, ought to be fifty degrees.
2897. Scraping may be described the drawing a large broad blunt hoe along the sur-
face, for the purpose of collecting loose excrementitious or other useless or injurious
matters from roads, yards, or from grassy surfaces to be rolled or mown. The Dutch
hoe (Jig. 410.) is a good road and lawn scraper.
2898. Sweeping is a mode of scraping by a bundle of flexible rods, twigs, or wires,
which enters better into the hollows of irregular surfaces, and performs the operation
of cleaning more effectually. In agriculture it is used in barns and in stables^ though
shovelling is generally sufficient for the common stable and ox-house.
2899. Screening or sifting earth or gravel, are operations performed with the gravel-
sieve or earth screen for separating the coarser from the finer particles. The materials
require to be dry, well broken, and then thrown loosely on the upper part of the screen,
which being a grated inclined plane, in sliding down it, the smaller matters drop
through while the large ones pass on and accumulate at the bottom. In sifting, the
same effect is more completely, but more laboriously produced by giving the sieve a
circular motion with the arms.
2900. Gathering is a very simple operation, generally performed by women and child-
ren, as in taking up patatoes or other roots, or picking up stones, weeds, or other mat-
ters considered injurious to the surface on which they lie or grow.
2901. Cleaning roots or other matters, is generally performed by washing, and on a
large scale, by the root washing machine, which has already been described, together witli
the mode of using it.
2902. Various manual labors and operation might be added; such as slicing turnips ;
chopping them with the chopping hoe (2456.) in the fields; cutting straw or hay into
chaff; bruising beans or other grain, or whins, or thistles between rollers; pushing a
drill-barrow, &c. ; all which require only bodily exertion, with very little skill ; being
performed by the aid of machines, which in describing, we have also indicated the mod^
of working (2466. to 2474.).
Sect. III. AgriculturcU Operations with Plants.
2903. Agricidtural operations with the vegetable kingdom rank higher than those with
the soil or machines, as requiring not only strength, but some of them a considerable de-
gree of skill.
2904. Weeding^ however simple an operation, requires a certain degree of botanical
skill to know what to weed or extract. These are such plants as it is not desired to cul-
tivate. The operation is performed in various ways : by the hand simply ; by the hand,
aided with a broad-pointed knife, or a bit of iron hoop ; by the hand, aided by gloves
tipped with iron ; by pincers, as in weeding tall weeds from growing corn, or close-
hedges, or out of water ; and by the aid of forks, spuds, or other weeding tools. In
weeding, it is essential that the weeder know at sight the plants to be left from such as
are to be removed, which in agriculture is generally a matter of no difficulty, as, how-
ever numerous the weeds, the cultivated plants are but few. In weeding ferns, thistles,
nettles, &c. from pasture lands, it has been found that breaking or bruising them over
Gg 3
454
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
renders the roots much less liable to spring again the same season, than when they are
cut or even pulled up. For this sort of weeding the pincers seem well adapted.
2905. Thinning or reducing the number of plants on any surface, is sometimes per-
formed by hand, but most generally by the hoe. Thinning, to be perfectly performed,
ought to leave the plants at regular distances ; but as this can seldom be done, owing to
the irregularity with which seeds come up, whether sown in drills or broadcast, an
attempt to compensate the irregularity is made by a similar irregularity in the distances
allowed between the plants at such places. Thus, if turnips in rows are to be thinned
out to nine inches distance in the row, and a blank of eighteen inches or two feet occurs,
the last two plants on each side the blank may be left at half the usual distance, or less,
by which means each plant having ample room on one side, they will grow nearly as large
as if left at the usual distance. The same principle is to be attended to in thinning
broadcast crops, or trees in a plantation. Thinning may be performed in moist weather ;
but dryness is greatly to be preferred, especially where the hoe is used.
2906. Planting is the operation of inserting plants in the soil with a view to their
growth, and the term is also applied to the insertion of seeds, roots, or bulbs, when these
are inserted singly.
2907. Planting as applied to seeds and tubers, as beans, potatoes, &c. is most frequently
performed in drills, but sometimes also by making separate holes with the dibber. In
either case, the seeds or sets are deposited singly at regular distances, and covered by
raking or harrowing, with or without pressure, according as the soil is more or less loose,
and dry, or moist. In general, planting seeds or tubers in drills, or in single openings
made by a draw hoe or spade, is greatly preferable to planting with the dibber, because,
in the former case, the earth can seldom be placed in close and somewhat firm contact
with the seed or set ; a circumstance essential to its speedy germination, and vigorous
future growth.
2908. Planting, as applied to pla?its already originated^ is commonly termed trans-
jilanting. Transplanting may be considered as involving four things : first, the pre-
paration of the soil to which the plant is to be removed ; secondly, the removal of the
plant ; thirdly, its preparation ; and, fourthly, its insertion in the prepared soil. Pre-
paration of the soil implies, in all cases, stirring, comminution, and mixing ; and some-
times the addition of manure or compost, according to the nature of the soil and plants
to be inserted. The removal of the plant is generally eflfected l)y loosening the earth
around it, and then drawing it out of the soil with the hand ; in all cases avoiding, as
much as possible, to break or bruise, or
otherwise injurethe roots. In the case of small
seedling plants, merely inserting the spade,
and raising the portion of earth in which
they grow, will suffice ; but in removing
large plants, it is necessary to dig a trench
round, or on one side of the plant. In some
cases, the plant may be lifted with a ball or
mass of earth, containing all or great part
of its roots ; and in others, as in the case of
large shrubs or trees, it may be necessary to
open the soil around them a year previously
to their removal, and cut the larger roots at
a certain distance from the plant, in order that
they may throw out fibres to enable them to
support the operation of transplantation. By
two years previous preparation, and the use of
a machine {Jig. 411.), very large trees of such
kinds as stole may be removed ; but resinous trees seldom succeed.
2909. The preparation of the jilant consists in pruning its roots, and top or shoots In the
smallest seedlings, such as cabbage-plants and thorns, all that is necessary is to shorten
a little the tap or main root ; but in seedlings of trees two or three years old, or in
transplanted or large trees, several of the side shoots will require to be shortened, and
also the roots, always proportioning what is taken off the top or shoots, to what has been
taken from the root ; that the latter may be duly fitted to support the former.
2910. The insertion o/" the removed plant in the prepared soil, is performed by making
an excavation suitable to the size of the plant's root, inserting it therein, filling up the
interstices with fine earth, and then compressing the whole by the hand, dibber, foot, or,
what is best, by abundant watering. Plants should not be inserted deeper in the soil than
they were before removal ; they should be placed upright, and the same side should be
turned towards the sun as before ; the fibrous roots should be distributed equally round
the stem among the mould or finer soil ^ and the most difficult and important part of
the whole, is to compress the earth about the roots without crowding them or injuring
Book V. OPERATIONS WITH PLANTS. 455
them by bruises. The only effectual way of attaining this end is after carefully spread-
ing the fibres, and distributing them as equally as possible among the mould, to give
abundant waterings, holding the vessel from which the water is poured as high as pos-
sible, so as to consolidate the earth by that means, rather than by compression with the
foot. On an extensive scale, however, this cannot be done, and in planting seedlings or
cuttings it is not required, as these have few and short fibres, and may he Jirjned suffici-
ently by the planting instrument, or the foot. It should never be forgotten that, in all
planting, it is an essential point to have the earth firmly compressed to tlie roots, and espe-
cially to the lower parts or extremities. Any one may be convinced of this, by planting
one cabbage loosely, and another compressing the root well with the dibber at the lower
part : or, instead of a cabbage, try a cutting, say of gooseberry, elder, or vine : both no
doubt will grow, but the growth of the plant or cutting compressed at the lower extre-
mity, will be incomparably more vigorous than that of the other.
'J911. Water'ing becomes requisite for various purposes; as aliment to plants in a
growing stiite ; as support to newly transplanted plants ; for keeping under insects ; and
keeping clean the leaves of vegetables. One general rule must be ever kept in mind
during the employment of water ; that is, never to water the top or leaves of a plant
when the sun shines. A moment's reflection »will convince any one that this rule is
agreeable to the laws of nature, for during rain the sun's rays are intercepted by a
panoply of fog or clouds. All artificial watering, therefore, should be carried on in the
evening, or early in the morning, unless it be confined to watering the roots, in which case,
transplanted plants, and others in a growing state, may be watered at any time j and
if they are shaded from the sun, they may also be watered over their tops.
2912. Sowing is the operation of dispersing seeds over the surface of the soil, with a
view to their future vegetation and growth. Where seeds are deposited singly, they are
said to be planted, as in the case of dibbling wheat or beans ; where they are dropped in
numbers together, they are said to be rown. When dropped in numbers together in a
line, they are said to be drilled or sowed; and when scattered over the general surface
by the hand, they are said to be sown broadcast.
2913. In broadcast solving, the operator being furnished with a basket (^fig' 264.), or
sheetful of seed hanging on his left side, takes out a handful with his right hand, and
disperses it by a horizontal and rather rising movement of the arm to the extent of a
semicircle, gradually opening his hand at tne same time. The most usual practice
when land is laid up in ridges of equal breadth, and not too wide, as five or six yards,
is that of dispersing the seed regularly over each land or ridge, in opce walking round ;
the seedsman, by different casts of the hand, sowing one half in going, and the other in
returning. In doing this, it is the custom of some seedsmen to fill the hand from the
basket or bag, which they carry along with them, as they make one step forward, and
disperse the seed in the time of performing the next ; while others scatter the seed, or
make their casts, as they are termed by farmers, in advancing each step. It is evident,
therefore, that in accomplishing this business with regularity and exactness, there is con-
siderable difficulty, the proper knowledge and habit of which can only be acquired
by experience. It is cbnsequently of importance for the cultivator to perform the opera-
tion himself, or to be careful in selecting such persons as are conversant with the busi-
ness, as he may odierwise incur much unnecessary expense in the waste of seed, and run
considerable risk in respect of his crops.
2914. Saidng. The saw is a conjoined series of uniform wedges, which, when drawn
or thrust in succession across a branch or trunk, gradually wears it through. In perform-
ing the operation, the regularity of the pressure and motion are chiefly to be attended
to. In green or live shoots, the double-toothed saw produces less friction on the sides
of the plate, by opening a large channel for its motion. Where parts are detached from
living trees, the living section ought generally to be smoothed over with a knife, chisel,
or file ; and a previous precaution in large trees, is to cut a notch in the lower part of
the branch immediately under and in the line of the section, in order to prevent any
accident to the bark, when the amputated part falls off. Sawing is a coarser mode of
cutting, mowing, or shaving ; or a finer mode of raking, in which the teeth follow all in
one line.
291 5. Cutting is performed by means of a very sharp wedge, and either by drawing
this dirough obliquely or across the body to be cut, as in using the knife ; or by press-
ing or striking the axe or hedge-bill obliquely into the body, first, on one side of an
imaginary line of section, and then on the other, so as to work out a trench across the
branch or trunk, and so effect its separation. The axe, in gardening, is cliiefly used in
felling trees, and for separating their trunks, branches, and roots into parts. The knife
is extensively used for small trees, and the hedge-bill and chisel for those of larger size.
In amputating with the knife, one operation or draw-cut ought generally to be suf-
ficient to separate the parts; and this ought to be made with the knife sufficiently sharp,
and the motioa so quick as to produce a clean, smooth section, with the bark uninjured.
Gg 4
456
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Paut II.
2916. Every draw-cut produces a smooth section, and a fractured or bruised section ; and one essential
part of cutting living vegetables, is to take care that the fractured section be on the part amputated.
Another desirable object is, that the section of the living or remaining part should be so inclined {Jig.
412 a.), as not to lodge water or overflowing sap, and so far turned to the ground [d), or to the north, as
not to be struck by the direct rays of the sun. To accomplish both these purposes, as well as to make
sure of having the fractured section on the part amputated, the general practice is to cut from below, or
from the under edge of the branch or shoot, unless the position of the leading bud occasions a deviation
from the rule (6). The cuts should also be made, in all shoots of not more than three or four years old,
within from one-fourth to half an inch, or a little more, of the bud intended to take the lead ; when this
is not done, and half an inch or more of shoot is left without a bud (c and c), the consequence is, the stump
dies back to the bud in the course of the season (g), and if not carefully cut off'(/), will end in a decaying
orifice both unsightly and injurious. The bud selected for a leader ought always to be a leaf-bud, and in
general the plane of the section ought to be parallel to the angle which the bud makes with the stem {d).
Exceptions occur in the case of plants with much pith (A), as the vine, elder, &c. in cutting the year-old
shoots of which, an inch or more ought to be left, as these always die back a few lines ; and thus the leading
bud might be injured, if this precaution were not taken. In pruning roots, the same principle, as far as
applicable, ought to be attended to ; the trunk or stem when cut over ought to be sloped to the north («),
and the lateral roots cut so as the section may be on the under side {k), and therefore less likely to rot than
when the cut faces the surface of the ground (/), or is bruised by neglecting to form the smooth section on
the attached extremity.
2917. In like manner, when pruning a large tree, the section of amputation ought to be made so oblique
as to throw off the rain ; as generally as possible, it should be turned from the sun, and rather downwards
than upwards, irj order to shield it from heat and cracking ; and whenever it can be done, it should be
made near a branch, shoot, or bud, which may take the lead in the room of that cut off, and thus, by
keeping the principle of life in action at the section, speedily heal up the wound.
2918. In cutting with the chisel, the blade is applied below the branch to be amputated, so as to rest on
the trunk or main branch, and so applied, a quick blow with a mallet is given to the handle of the chisel
by the operator or his assistant. If this does not effect a separation, it is to be repeated. In forest-pruning
it is often advantageous to apply one cut of the chisel on the underside of the branch, and then saw it
through with the forest-saw from the upper.
2919. Clipinng is an imperfect mode of cutting adapted for expedition, and for small
shoots. The separation is effected by bruising or crushing along with cutting, and, in
consequence, both sections are fractured. In agriculture, it is chiefly applied for keep-
ing hedges in shape ; but the hedge-knife, which operates by clean, rapid draw-cuts
given always from below, is generally preferable, as not decreasing the live ends of the
amputated shoots. The new pruning-shears and the averuncator, it is to be observed,
by producing cuts much more like the draw-cuts of knives, are greatly to be preferred
to the common hedge-shears.
2920. The best seasons/or sawing, cuttingy or clipping living trees are early irf spring,
and in midsummer. Early in autumn, trees are apt to bleed ; later, and in winter, the
section is liable to injury from the weather; but trees pruned early in spring remain
only a short period before they begin to heal ; and in those pruned at midsummer,
wounds heal immediately. There are, however, exceptions as to spring-pruning in ever-
greens, cherries, and other gummiferous trees ; and summer- pruning is but ill adapted for
forest work or trees in crowded scenery.
2921. Sjditting is an operation generally performed on roots of trees remaining in the
soil for the purpose of facilitating their eradication. The wedge, in its simplest form,
and of iron, is driven in by a hammer or mallet, till it produces fracture and separation,
when the parts are removed as detached, &c.
2922. Pruning, or the amputation of part of a plant with the knife, or other instru-
ment, is practised for various purposes, but chiefly on trees, and more especially on those
of the fruit-bearing kinds. Of two adjoining and equal sized branches of the same tree,
if the one be cut off, that remaining will profit by the sap which would have nourished the
other, and both the leaves and the fruits which it may produce will exceed their natural
size. If part of a branch be cut off which would have carried a number of fruits, those
wUch remain will set, or fix better, and become larger. On the observation of these
facts is founded the whole theory of pruning ; which though like many other practices of
culture, cannot be said to exist very obviously in nature, is yet the most essential of all
operations for the culture of fruit produced on trees.
2923. The objects of pruning may be reduced to the following : promoting growth and bulk ; lessening
bulk ; modifying form ; adjusting the stem and branches to the roots ; renewal of decayed plants or trees ;
and removal or cure of diseases.
2924. Pruning for promoting the growth and bulk of a tree, is the simplest object of pruning, and is that
chiefly which is cmployetl by nursery-men with young trees of every description. The art is to cut off all
Book V. OPERATIONS WITH PLANTS. 457
the weak lateral shoots, that the portion of sap destined for their nourishment may be thrown into the
strong ones. In some cases, besides cutting off the weak shoots, the strong ones are shortened, in order to
produce three or four shoots instead of one. In general, mere bulk being the object, upright shoots are en-
couraged rather than lateral ones ; excepting in the case of trained trees, where shoots are encouraged at
all angles, from the horizontal to the perpendicular, but more especially at the medium of 45 degrees.
In old trees, this object is greatly promoted by the removal, with the proper instruments, ot tlie dead
outer bark.
2925. Fruning for lesseninnthe bulk of the tree is also chiefly confined to nursery practice, as necessary
to keep unsold trees fiortable. It consists in little more than what is technically called heading dmuti ;
that is, cutting off the leading shoots within an inch or two of the main stem, leaving, in some cases, some
of the lower lateral shoots. Care is taken to cut to a leaf bud, and to choose such from among the side,
upper, or under buds of the shoot, according as the succeeding year's shoots may be wanted, in radiated
lines from the stem, or in oblique lines in some places to fill up vacancies. It is evident that this
unnatural operation persisted in for a few years must render the tree knotty and unsightly, and in stone-
fruits, at least, it is apt to generate canker and gum.
2926. Pruning for modifying the form of the tree embraces the management of the plant from the time
of its propagation. In rearing trees planted for timber, it is desirable to throw the timber produced,
jis much as possible, into long compact masses; and hence pruning is employed to remove the side
branches, and encourage the growth of the bole or stem. Where this operation is begun when the trees
are young, it is easily performed every two or three years, and the progress of the trees under it is most
satisfactory ; when, however, it is delayed till they have attained a timber size, it is, in all cases, much
less conducive to the desired end, and sometimes may prove injurious. It is .safer in such cases to shorten
or lessen the size of lateral branches, rather than to cut them off close by the stem, as the large wounds
produced by the latter practice either do not cicatrize at all, or not till the central part is rotten, and has
contaminated the timber of the trunk. In all cases, a moderate number of small branches, to be taken oft'
as they grow large, are to be left on the trunk, to facilitate the circulation of the sap and juices. Where
timber-trees are planted for shelter or shade, unless intermixed with shrubs or copse, it is evident pruning
must be directed to clothing them from the summit to the ground, with side branches. In avenues,
and hedge-row trees, it is generally desirable that the lowest branches should be a considerable dis-
tance from the ground ; in trees intended to conceal objects, as many branches should be left as possible;
and in others, which conceal distant objects desired to be seen, or injure or conceal near objects, the form
must be modified accordingly. In all these cases, the superfluous i)arts are to be cut oft" with a clean sec-
tion, near a bud or shoot if a brarich is shortened, or close to the trunk if it is entirely removed ; the ob-
ject being to facilitate cicatrization.
2927. Pruning for adjusting the stem and branches to the roots is almost solely applicable to transplanted
trees, in which' it is an essential operation ; and should be performed in general in the interval between
removal and replanting, when the plant is entirely out of the ground. Supposing only the extremities of
the fibres broken off, as is the case in very small plants and seedlings, then no part of the top will require
to be removed ; but if the roots have been broken or bruised in any of their main branches or ramifications,
then thepruner, estimating the quantity of root of which the plant is deprived by the sections of fracture
and other circumstances, peculiar and general, will be able to form a notion of what was the bulk of the
whole roots before the tree was undisturbed. Then he may state the question of lessening the top to ad-
just it to the roots, thus:— as the whole quantity of roots which the tree had before removal, is to tlie whole
quantity of branches which it now has, so is the quantity of roots which it now has to the quantity of top
which it ought to have. In selecting the shoots to be removed, regard must be had to the ultimate cha-
racter the tree is to assume, whether a standard, or trained fruit-tree, or ornamental bush. In general,
bearing-wood and weak shoots should be removed, and the stronger lateral and upright shoots, with leaf or
shoot-eyes, left.
2928. Pruning for renewal of the head is performed by cutting over the stem a little way, say its own
thickness above the collar, or the surface of the ground. This practice applies to old osier-beds, coppice
woods, and to young forest-trees. Sometimes also it is performed on old, or ill-thriving fruit-trees which
are headed down to the top of their stems. This operation is performed with the saw, and better after sca-
rification, as in cutting off" the broken limb of an animal. The live section should be smoothed with the
chisel or knife, covered with the bark, and coated over with grafting-clay, or any convenient compo-
sition, which will resist drought and rain for a year. Those who are advocates for pruning when the
sap is dormant, will not of course be able to perform the operation of scarification, and covering the section
with l)ark.
2929. Pruning for curing diseases has acquired much celebrity since the time of Forsyth, whose am-
putations and scarifications for the canker, together with the plaster or composition which he em-
ployed to pirotect the wounds from air, are treated of at large in his Treatise on Fruit-Trees. Almost
all vegetable diseases either have their origin in the weakness of the individual, or induce a degree
of weakness ; hence to amputate a part of a diseased tree is to strengthen the remaining part, because
the roots remaining of the same force, the same quantity of sap will be thrown upwards as when the head
and branches were entire. If the disease is constitutional, or in the system, this practice may probably, in
some cases, communicate to the tree so much strength as to enable it to throw it off; if it be local, the
amputation of the part will at once remove the disease, and strengthen the tree.
2930. Mowing is the operation of cutting down corn, grass, and other herbage crops
with the scythe. It requires great force in the operator, and also a twisting motion of
the body wliich brings ahuost every muscle into action, and is in short one of the most
severe of agricultural labors. The chief art consists in cutting the crop as close to the
surface of the ground as possible and perfectly level, pointing the swaths well out so as
to leave scarcely any ridges under them. In the mowing of grain crops, such scythes as
are shorter in the blade than the common ones, and to which either a cradle or two twigs
of ozier put semicircular-wise into holes made in the handles near the blades, in such a
manner that one semicircle intersects the other, are made use of. Commonly in mowing
barley, oats, or other grain, the corn is on the right hand of the workman ; but M. de
Lisle adopted something like the Hainault metliod of mowing wheat (2404.), in which
the corn was at his left hand : he mowed it inwards, bearing the corn he cuts on his
scythe, till it comes to that which is standing, against wJiich it gently leans. After every
mower a gatherer follows, which may be a lad, or a woman. The gatherer keeps within
live or six feet of the mower, and being provided either with a hook or stick about two
feet long, gathers up the corn, making it into parcels, and laying it gently on the
ground ; this must be done with spirit, as another mower immediately follows, and to
every mower there is a particular gatherer. And to do this work properly, the mower
should form but one tract with his feet, advancing in a posture neariy as if he was going
458 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
to fence, one foot chasing the other. In this manner the standing corn is mowed ;
and the workman should take care to have the wind at his left, as it bears the corn
towards the scythe, and causes it to be cut nearer the ground. When wheat is bent, the
workman takes the corn as it presents itself to him, which has the same effect as if the
wind was at his left side. And when it is laid, it is more troublesome to the gatherer,
because the cut corn is apt to be mixed with that which is standing ; but a good mower
takes the advantage of the wind, and cuts it against the way it is laid. No particular
directions can be given for corn that is lodged and entangled, unless it be to take it as
it is inclined, as if the wind were on the back of the mower.
2931 . The usual method of mowing grain, is in the same manner as for grass, the scythe
only having a cradle or bow fixed upon the heel of the handle [Jig' 256.). In the
*< practice of most departments, the scythe is swung horizontally or nearly level, leaving
the stubble of almost an even height ; or if it rise on either side, forming what ai-e called
swath-))alks, the butts of the swaths are suffered to rest upon them, the heads or ears of
the corn falling into the hollow or close mown part of the preceding swath width. They
are of course liable, in a wet season, not only to receive an undue portion of rain water,
but to be fouled with the splashings of heavy showers. But in the Kentish practice,
which is said to excel those of other districts, the position of the swaths is different.
Here, the heads of the corn rest on the top of the swath-balk, provincially the ' beever,*
which is left of extraordinary height, as ten to fifteen inches; so that the wind has a free
circulation beneath the swaths. The workman, in performing this judicious operation,
proceeds with his right foot forward, entering the point of his scythe with a downward
stroke, and raising it as abruptly out, bringing the handle round to the left until it forms
nearly a right angle with the line of the swath, carrying the corn in the cradle three or
four feet behind the place where it grew, lifting it high, and letting it fall on the beever
behind his left foot, and in the position above described. The disadvantages of this
method are, the loss of some straw, the incumbrance arising from the length of stubble,
and a little additional labor ; but in a district where cattle are not numerous, the loss of
straw is not felt, and in any country the principle of laying the heads, instead of the butts
of the corn upon the swath-balk, whether left high or low, might be well adopted."
2932. In the cutting of grass crops for the purpose of being converted into hay, it is ne-
cessary that they be in the most suitable states of growth and maturity, for affording the
best and most nutritious fodder. With this view they should neither be cut at too early
a period, or suffered to stand too long; as in the former case there will be considerable
loss in the drying, from the produce being in so soft and green a condition, and in the
latter from a large proportion of the nourishing properties being expended. Grass when
mown before it becomes in full flower, while the rich saccharine juice is in part retained
at the joints of the flower-stems, is in the most proper condition for being cut down, as
at that period it must contain the largest proportion of nutritious materials, but which
then begins to be absorbed, and taken up in proportion as the flowers expand, and the
seeds ripen, so as to constitute the meal or starch of the seed lobes, and is either dispersed
upon the land, or fed upon by birds ; the grass stems with their leaves being left in a
similar situation to that of the straw of ripened grain. But there are other circumstances,
besides those of ripeness, to be attended to in determining the period of cutting crops of
grass, as in some cases when they are thick upon the ground the bottom parts become of a
yellow color before the flowering fully takes place ; under such circumstances it will often
be the most advisable practice to mow as soon as the weather will possibly admit ; for if
this be neglected, there will be great danger of its rotting, or at any rate of its acquiring
a disagreeable flavor, and of becoming of but little value. Where grass is very tall, as is
often the case in moist meadows, it is liable to fall down and lodge, by which the same
effects are produced.
2933. In cutting rouen or second crops of grasSy more attention will be requisite than
in the first, as the crops are mostly much lighter and more difficult to cut, the scythe
being apt to rise and slip through the grass without cutting it fairly, except when in the
bands of an expert workman. Crops of this sort should always be cut as much as possible
when the dew is upon them ; and as soon as ever there is a tolerable growth, as by wait-
ing, the season is constantly getting more unfavorable for making them into hay; and
when not well made this hay is of little or no value. When the grass has been decided
to be in the proper condition for being cut down, a set of mowers proportioned to tlie
extent of the crop should be immediately provided. In some districts, it is the custom
to pay these laborers by the day, but a better and more general practice is, to let the work
at a certain price by the acre. The extent or proportion of ground that can be mown in
any given space of time, mUst obviously vary much according to the nature of the ground,
the fulness of the crop, and the goodness of the workman, but in general an acre is sup-
posed a full day's work for an expert mower.
2934. The moiving of weeds and coarse tussocks of grass in pasture should take place
before they come into flower, or at all events before they ripen their seed. Bruising or
Book V. OPERATIONS WITH PLANTS. 459
clipping with a sort of blunt wooden shears is consideral preferable for ferns, thistles,
and nettles (2904.), as they are said not to spring up again the same season, which they
are apt to do if cut over with the clean cut of the scythe.
2935. T/iemmdng of weeds in rivers and ponds is done in the usual way^from a boat,
in which the operator stands, and is rowed forward by another as required. Sometimes
scythe-blades are tied or ri vetted together, and worked by means of ropes like a saw from
one shore to the other ; but the- first mode is generally reckoned the best, even in public
canals, and is unquestionably so in agriculture.
2936. The Hainault moving is a process which is exclusively applicable to corn crops ;
it has been long practised in Flanders, and though various attempts have been made at
ditferent times and places to introduce it to this country, and notwithstanding the great
^vantages promised, it is still little known. It has lately been practised with success on
the estate of G. H. Rose, Esq. at Muddeford, in Hampshire. We have already described
the implement, and the mode of using it. The breadths of corn cut at every stroke, are
carried forward by the joint operation of the blade ai>d the hook, and collected at the
left hand of the mower, where he leaves them standing almost erect, but leaning to the
left against the standing corn. When as much is cut as will make a sheaf, the mower
turns to the left so as to face the standing corn, introduces his hook behind the middle of
the leaning parcels, and at the same time the scythe points near the bottom ; then mowing
sideways to the left, returning over the ground he has mown, he draws and collects the
cut corn, still by means of the hook and scythe preserving the erect position of the straw
to the place where the last collecting operation ended ; then wheeling round to the left
with the hook still embracing the middle of the whole cut corn, he stops the motion of
the scythe, whilst the hook still moves forward to the left, so as to overset the corn and
lay it evenly along on tl)e stubble, with the ears towards the right, ready for the binder.
In oversetting the collected corn he uses his left foot if necessary. The mower now ad-
vances to the front, and comrtiences the cuts for a new sheaf as before, always working
towards the standing corn and not from it. With the Hainault scythe, about twice as
much corn, it is said, may be cut in the same time, as with the common reaping hook,
and a great deal more of the straw is saved. -i
2937. Heaping is the operation of cutting corn with the hook or sickle, the former
called provincially bagging, the latter shearing or reaping. The operation of reaping is
most general in the northern counties. The corn is cut in handfuls with the sickle
(2406.;, and these are immediately deposited upon bands, formed by twisting together a
i'evf of the stalks of the corn at the ends next the ears, and afterwards bound up into
sheaves, in order to their being set up into shocks or hattocks. This method is in most
instances adopted with the wheat and rye crops in every part of the island, as in cutting
them with the scythe it is difficult to be performed without much loss being sustained by
the shedding of the grain. And in addition, it is of great advantage to have these sorts
of crops bound up regularly into sheaves, the straw being much better.
2938. In bagging, the operator hooks up the corn towards him, and then lays it on
bands as in reaping. By this mode corn is cut lower than by reaping with the sickle,
but rather more straws drop unless great care is taken.
2939. Sheaving and shocking, or as termed in the north binding and stocking, are
operations performed for the most part immediately after the corn is cut. In binding
it is tied up in sheaves or bundles by the bands already mentioned ; and in shocking or
stocking, the sheaves are set on end in pairs leaning against each other and covered or
otherwise by what are called heading sheaves, laid on the upright ones so as to cover and
l)rotect the ears from the weather, and act as a roof to the shock or stook. The number
of sheaves brought together in a stook, and even the modes of placing them, vary in dif-
ferent districts. The operation is performed with most care and neatness in the wet
climates of the north.
2940. Gailing is a species of sheaving and shocking of considerable importance in late
or wet climates. In performing the operation the sheaves are tied near the top, not
loosely, as described by Marshal, but very tightly; the binder then takes hold of the
sheaf with one hand, and with the other spreads. the bottom, so that when erected it has
precisely the appearance of the straw covering of a bee-hive ; the top is then compressed to
exclude the rains. When the single sheaves (gaites) have remained in this position for a
few days, if the weather is unpromising, they are formed into very small ricks of a
conical figure, tapering, however, but little till near the top. When the sheaves are
piled up successively in building, the butt-ends are carefully spread so as to cover com-
pletely the ears, and thus serve as thatch for the sheaves underneath. A large sheaf is
used for the hood, put on in the same way as in a common stack. The little building is
then secured with a rope, and the grain thus thatched with its own straw bids defiance to
the heaviest rains.
2941 . In the reaping of grain crops, whether the sickle, hook, or scythe be employed for
the purpose, there is much difference in the height at which the crops are cut in different
460 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
places* In some it is the practice to have the business performed in as close a manner as
possible ; while in others a stubble of eight, ten, and fifteen inches or more is left.
These different practices having their advocates, one party supposing that the work
proceeds more slowly where it is executed in so close a manner, while the other contend
that the contrary is the case. But as the stubble which is left is not only useless to the
land, but in many cases very troublesome in its succeeding culture, being frequently
under the necessity of being removed, it would seem to be the best as well as cheapest
practice, to have the business constantly executed in a close manner. By this means the
agricultor will not only have more litter at command for the bedding of his yards,
stalls, and other places, and consequently an increase of manure, but with much less
waste of grain, and at the same time be freed from the trouble and expense of removing
the stubble. It has, indeed, been fully shown, by a careful trial, made with the view
of ascertaining the difference between high and low reaping, that the advantage is con-
siderably in favor of the latter.
2942. The use of the sickle and the scythe in reaping grain crops have each their advan-
tages and disadvantages. In the first manner, the crops are deposited with more regula-
rity and exactness, and consequently bound into sheaves with greater facility and despatch.
Besides, in many cases less loss is incurred by the shedding of the grain in the time the
work is performing ; but the labor is executed with greater difficulty and trouble. The
latter possesses the superiority of being more expeditious, and of being performed to any
degree of closeness that may be required ; while it has the evident disadvantage of
leaving the cut grain in a more irregular and uneven situation, by which it is rendered
less fit for being bound up into sheaves, which in many cases is an inconvenience of great
consequence. When the grain has attained a high degree of ripeness, tliere may, like-
wise, be great loss sustained, by its being shed during the operation, in this way of reaping
or cutting the crop. Where this method is practised, it is, however, not unfrequently
the case to have it bound into sheaves, though the more common custom is to let it
remain in the rows or swaths till fit for being put into the stack. When bound, it is
generally the practice to cut it inwards against the crop on which it rests. In the other
case, it is cut in the manner of grass for hay. It is obvious, therefore, that where
operators are procured with difficulty, this mode of reaping is the most advisable, while
under the contrary circumstances, the former may be had recourse to with more
advantage, as the work may be executed in a neater and more exact way.
2943. Reaping, whatever mode be adopted, is often let hy the acre to persons that go about
for harvest work, and it may, in many cases, be best performed in this manner; but
great attention should be paid by the cultivator to see that the grain is cut and bound up
in a proper method, and that the work be not performed in improper weather. The
prices vary according to the nature of the crops, the season, and other circumstances.
2944. Pulling is a mode of taking a crop, applicable chiefly to flax and hemp. These
are pulled in handfuls, the earth beat and shaken from their roots, and after the
handfuls have lain a day or more separately, they are collected together and tied in
bundles. In the case of hemp, it being a dioecious plant, the male stalks are pulled
some weeks before the others. Dry weather is preferable for the operation.
2945. Digging up or forking up, is occasionally resorted to for taking crops of roots,
as potatoes, carrots, &c. In performing this operation, the principal thing is to avoid
cutting or bruising the roots with the spade or fork, and to separate the roots from the soil
by first lifting up the spitful and then throwing it down in such a way as to break and
scatter it , and bring to light the roots or tubers. When crops of this sort are planted in
rows, they are frequently raised by a plough, the coulter being withdrawn.
Sect. IV. Mixed Operations performed by Manual Labor,
2946. The mixed agricultural operations differ little from the last as to the skill or
strength required in the operator : they are chiefly ropemaking, thatching, turning straw
or hay, drawing or sorting straw, flail- threshing, hedging and ditching, weighing,
measuring, stack-building, sheep-shearing, paring and burning turf, burning clay, and
forming compost soils or manures.
2947. Strawrope making is an operation which requires two persons when performed
in the usual manner with a crook (2396.). In this case the person who forms the rope
is stationary, and the twister moves from him backwards the length of the rope ; but if
the crook is turned by machinery, as for example, by a movement from a thrashing
machine, or by a detached machine turned by hand (2457.), then the person who
forms the rope moves backwards as he lets out the material to be twisted. These sorts of
ropes are commonly made of oat or rye straw ; but they are also formed of coarse hay or
rushes, long moss, ferns, &c. In all cases the material requires to be moistened and
thoroughly mixed together before made use of by the ropemaker.
2948. Thatching is the operation of covering the roofs of buildings, stacks, &c. with
some sort of thatch. It is an art that requires considerable care, attention, and practice
BookV. mixed operations by manual XABOR. 461
to perform it in a proper manner. Before this business is begun, it is necessary that
the materials of whatever kind they may be, should undergo some preparation. With
articles of the straw kind the usual method is this : the substances after l)eing well
moistened with water, are drawn out in handsful perfectly straight and even, into re-
gular lengths, and the short straw separated from them, leaving them placed in con-
venient bundles to be carried to the thatcher by the person who has the serving of him.
'2949. The application of thatch to stacks of hay or corn, is performed by different
methods, according to the nature of the materials employed. Where long straw is made
use of, the operator or workman usually begins at the eaves or bottom of the roof, de-
positing it in handsful in regular breadths till he reaches the top, the different handsful
being so placed endways as to overlap each other, the upper ends being constantly
pushed a little into the bottom parts of the sheaves. In this manner he gradually
proceeds breadth after breadth till the whole of the roof is covered, which is usually
done to the thickness of about four or five inches- And in order to retain the thatch in
its place, short sharp pointed sticks are sometimes thrust in, in a slanting direction upwards,
and sometimes small sticks sharpened at the ends are bent and thrust in along the top
parts and sides. But as the water is apt to follow the course of the sticks, it is a bet-
ter practice to make use of ropes of twisted straw for this purpose. In some cases
these are applied only round the bottom parts of the roof and the sides ; while in others,
which is a much better and more secure method, they are applied in such ^23
a manner over the whole stacks as to form a sort of net or lozenge-work
of nine or twelve inches in width in the meshes {Jig. 413.), the ends
being well fastened either to the sides of the stack under the eaves, or to
a rope carried round in that situation on purpose to fasten them to. This
method of tying on the thatch should always be had recourse to where
the stackyards are greatly exposed to the effects of wind, as without such
precautions much injury and loss may frequently be sustained by the
farmer. It is in common use in Northumberland and northwards.
2950. In the application of stubble as a thatch for ricks it is mostly put on by sticking
one of its ends into the roof of the stack in a regular and exact manner, so as that it may
stand very close and thick ; when the other, with such loose straws as may occur, is to
be cut over or pared off with the thatching knife, or a very sharp tool for the purpose, so
as to form a neat and impenetrable thatch, having the appearance of a 414
newly thatched house roof (fg' 414.); the whole being well secured
in its place by short pegs made for the purpose, somewhat in the same
way as in the other stacks.
2951. The time of commencing the thatching of hay and com stacks
should be delayed until they have fully settled, as under the contrary
circumstance it is sure to rise into ridges afterwards, and by that means
admit the water to pass down into them, and of course do much in-
jury to the corn or hay.
2952. In the thatching of the roofs of houses or other buildings with any of the sorts of
straw, the same rules are in some respects to be followed, only the materials are to be
laid on to a considerable thickness and be more firmly secured. They are applied in
regular narrow slips, or what in some districts are termed gangSy from the eaves of the
building to the ridges, the ladder being moved forward as the work proceeds. Tlie
thatch is secured by short sharpened sticks thrust in where necessary. And bended
sticks sharpened at each end are likewise sometiines made use of near the ridges, being
thrust in at each end. In finishing tlie work, the thatcher employs an iron-toothed
rake, with which the whole is raked over from the top to the bottom, so as to render it
completely smooth and even, and take away all the short straws.
2953. The method of thatching with reedf according to Marshall, who seems to have
paid much attention to the subject, in his account of The Rural Economy of Norfolk^ is
this : " No laths being made use of, in laying it a little of the longest and stoutest of
the reed is scattered irregularly across the naked spars, as a foundation to lay the main
Coat upon : this partial gauze-like covering is called the ^Jleaking.' "
2954. On this Jicaking the main covering is laid, and fastenetl down to the spars by means of long rods
— provincially, *' swai/s" — laid across the middle of the reed, and tied to the spars with rope yarn, or
with " bramble bonds," which formerly were much in use, but which are now nearly laid aside, especially
for new roofs.
2955. iftrrf is7wt laid on in longitudinal courses, in the manner that straw thatch is usually put on, nor
is the whole caves set at once. The workman begins at the lower corner of the roof, on his right hand
for instance, and keeps an irregular diagonal line or face, until he reach the ui)per corner to his left, a nar-
row eaves-board being nailed across the feet of the spars, and some fieaking scattered on ; the thatcher
begins to " set his eaves," by laying a coat of reed, eight or ten inches thick, with the heads resting upon
the fleakine, and the butts upon the eaves-board. He then lays on his sway (a rod rather thicker than
a large withy), about six or eight inches from the lower points of the reeds; whilst his assistant, on the
inside, runs a needle, threaded with rojK! yarn, close to the spar; and in this case, close to the upper
edge of the caves-board. The thatcher draws it through on one side of the swav, and enters it again
on the contrary side, both of the sway and of the spar : the assistant draws it through, unthreads it,
and with the two ends of the yarn, makes a knot round the siKir, thereby drawing the sway, and
462 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
consequently the reed right down to the roof; whilst thethatcher above, beating the sway and pressing
it down, assists in making the work the firmer. The assistant having made good the knot below, he
proceeds with another length of thread to the next spar, and so on till the sway be bound down the
whole length ; namely, eight or ten feet. This being done, " another stratum of reed is laid on upon
the first, so as to make the entire coat eighteen or twenty inches thick at the butts; and another sway
laid along, and bound down, about twelve inches above the first."
2956. The eaves are adjusted and formed, not square with the spars, but nearly horizontal ; nor are
they formed by cutting; but by "driving" them with a " legget," a tool made of a board eight or
nine inches square, with a handle two feet long, fixed upon the back of it, obliquely, in the manner of the
tool used by gardeners in beating turf. The face of the legget is set with large headed nails to render it
rough, and make it lay hold of the butts of the reeds. Then another layer or reed is laid on, and bound
down by another swat/, somewhat shorter than the last, and placed eighteen or twenty inches above it ;
and above this another, and another, continuing to shorten the sways until they be brought off to nothing,
and a triangular corner of thatching formed. After this, the sways are used their whole length, what-
ever it happens to be, until the workman arrives at the finishing corner. By proceeding in this irre-
gular manner seams between the courses are prevented, and unnecessary shifting of ladders avoided.
2957. The face of the roof is formed and adjusted like the eaves, by driving the reed with the legget ;
which operation, if performed by a good workman, not only gives the roof a beautiful polished surface,
but at the same time fastens the reed, which being thickest towards the butts, becomes like a tapering
pin, the tighter the farther it is driven.
2958. Finishing the ridge of the roof. In the case of reed running from four to six or eight feet long,
the heads meet at the ridge of the roof, whilst the butts are still at a distance from each other. For this
reason, as well as for that of the wear being less towards the ridge, the shortest (which is generally the
worst) reed is saved for the upper part of the roof. But even supposing the uppermost courses to be
only four feet long, and that the heads (belonging to the two sides) be interwoven in some degree with
each other, the butts will still remain six or seven feet asunder ; and the ridge of the roof consequently
be left in a great measure exposed to the weather. In order to remedy this inconveniency, and to give
a finish to the ridge, a cap — provincially a " roof of straw is set on in a masterly, but in an expensive
manner. In this operation, the workman begins, it is observed, by bringing the roof to an angle, with
straw laid long-way upon the ridge, in the manner in which a rick is topt up; and to render it firm, to
keep in its place, and to prevent the wind from blowing it off, or ruffling it, he pegs it down slightly witli
"double broaches;" namely cleft twigs, two feet long, and as thick as the finger, sharpened at both
ends, bent double, and perhaps with the twisting the crown, and perhaps barbed, by partial chops on the
sides, to make them hold in the better. This done, the workman lays a coat of straight straw, six or eight
inches thick across the ridge, beginning on either side at the uppermost butts of the reed, and finishing
with straight handsful evenly across the top of the ridge. And having laid a length of about four feet
in this manner, he proceeds to fasten it firmly down, so as to render it proof against wind and rain. This
is done by laying a ' hroachen Ugger^ (a quarter-cleft rod as thick as the finger, and four feet in length)
along the middle of the ridge, pegging it down at every four inches with a double broach, which is thrust
down with the hands, and afterwards driven with the legget, or with a mallet used for this purpose.
The middle ligger being firmly laid, the thatcher smooths down the straw with a rake and his hands,
about eight or nine inches on one side, and at six inches from the first, lays another ligger, and pegs it
down with a similar number of double broaches, thus proceeding to smooth the straw, and to fasten on
liggers at every six inches, until he reach the bottom of the cap. One side finished, the other is treated
in the same manner; and the first length being completed, another and another length is laid, and
finished as the first ; until the other end of the ridge be reached. He then cuts off the tails of the straw
square and neatly with a pair of shears, level with the uppermost butts of the reed, above which the cap
(or most properly the rooflet) shows an eaves, of about six inches thick ; and, lastly, he sweeps the sides
of the main roof with a bough of holly ; when the work is completed.
2959. Trussing straw or hay is the operation of binding it in bundles for more con-
venient deportation. In trussing hay from a rick it is cut into cubic masses with the
hay knife (2408.), and tied by a hay rope passing once across each of its sides. If the
trusses are intended for the market, they are weighed with a steelyard, and each truss
of old stacked hay must weigh 56 pounds, and of new hay, during June, July, and
August 60 pounds.
2960. Straw is commonly trussed by tying it into bundles by a band of a handful of
straws, or a short rope across the middle of the bundle, or by a particular mode of
twisting and turning back the two straggling ends of a loose armful of straw, and tying
these ends in the middle. This mode, easier practised than described, is termed in the
north bottling or windling. When wheat straw or any other sort is to be trussed for
thatch, it is first drawn into regular lengths leaving out the refuse as already alluded to
under thatching. In London, the straw sold for litter is always required to be trussed
in this manner, and each truss is required to weigh 56 pounds.
2961. Threshing by the Jlail is still a very general practice in most of the southern
counties, though all intelligent men agree that it is more expensive and less effectual
than threshing by a machine. Even on the smallest sized farms where a horse machine
would be too expensive, either the hand machine, or portable machine (245,3.) might be
employed. Besides threshing cleaner, and that too in a manner independently of the care
of the operators, the work is performed without the aid of expensive threshing floors,
goes on rapidly, is a more agreeable description of labor for servants, employs women
and children, and, finally, exposes the corn to less risk of pilfering.
2962. In the flail mode of threshing, the produce is constantly exposed to the depredations of the persons
that are employed in executing the business, which is a great objection, and in many cases proves a source
of great loss to the farmer, as he cannot by any means prevent the impositions to which it is liable. It has
been observed by Middleton, in his Survey of Middlesex, that " where threshers are employed by the
day, they frequently do not perform half the work that ought to be done in the time, nor even that in a
perfectly clean manner." And that if " it be executed by the quarter, or by the truss, the freest corn is
threshed out, and the rest left in the ear." The same thing takes place in a greater or less degree in every
other mode that can be devised for having the work performed by the hand; and it is consequently only
by the general introduction and use of the threshing machine that the property and interest of the farmer
can be fully secured, and work be executed with a proper degree of economy.
2963. In respect to the mode of threshing corn try the flail, it is the practice in some districts for only one
person to be employed upon a floor, but as two can thresh together with equal if not greater expedition and
dispatch, it must be an ineconomical and disadvantageous mode. But where more than two laborer*
Book V. MIXED OPERATIONS BY MANUAL LABOR. 463
thresh together, which is sometimes the case, there must be frequent Interruptions, and a consequent loss
of time. The flail or tool by whicli this sort of business is performed should be well adapted to the
size and strength of the person who makes use of it, as when disproportionately heavy in that part which
acts upon the grain, it much sooner fatigues the laborer, without any advantage being gained in the
beating out of the grain. The best method of attaching the different parts of the implement together is
probably by means of caps and thongs of good tough leather. Iron is however sometimes employed. Irr
threshing most sorts of corn, but particularly wheat, the operators should wear thin light shoes, in order
to avoid bruising the grains as much as possible. In the execution of the wojk, when the corn is bound
into sheaves, it is usual for the threshers to begin at the ear-ends, and proceed regularly to the others,
then turning the sheaves in a quick manner by means of the flail, to proceed in the same way with the
other side, thus finishing the work.
29t>l. The quantity of cam that a laborer will thresh with the flail in any given period of time, must
depend on the nature of the grain, the freeness with which it threshes, and the exertions of the laborer ;
in general it may be of wheat, from one to one and an half quarter, of barley from one and a half to
two quarters; and of oats mostly about two in the day. The exertions of laborers in this sort of work in
the northern districts of the kingdom are however much greater than in those of the south ; of course a
much larger proportion of labor must be performed. In some places it is the practice to thresh by the
measure of grain, as the bushel, quarter, &c., while in others it is done by the threave of twenty-four
sheaves, and in some by the day. In whatever way the agricultor has this sort of business performed,
there is always much necessity for his constant inspection, in order to prevent the frauds and impositions
that are to frequently practised upon him by the persons engaged in the execution of it.
2965. The practice of whipping out grain is resorted to in some districts with wheat
when the straw is much wanted for thatch. The operator takes a handful and strikes the
ears repeatedly against a stone, the edge of a board, or the face of a strong wattled hurdle,
till the corn is separated.
2966. Rippling is the operation of separating the boles or seed pods of flax and hemp
by striking in the manner of whipping, or more commonly by dra%ving them through an
implement of the comb kind, constructed with several upright triangular prongs set near
together in a strong piece of wood.
2967. Hedging and ditching, the operation of making and mending fences and open
water-courses of the different kinds already enumerated, consists of the combined
application of digging, shovelling, cutting, clipping, and faggoting, described in this
and the two foregoing Sections.
2968. Faggoting is a term applied to the dressing or binding of the prunings or
superfluous branches and spray of hedges. The bundles are made of different sizes in
different parts of the country, and in the same place according to the purpose to which
they are to be applied. They are tied with willow, hazel, or some other pliable wood
twisted before application.
2969. Stacking wood for fuel, occurs in the practice of common agriculture when
hedges and pollard trees or tree-roots are stocked or dug up. The wood, whether roots
or trunk, is cut into lengths of from eighteen inches to two feet with a saw, then split
with iron wedges into pieces of not more than one and a half, or two inches in diameter,
and built into an oblong stack generally three feet broad and high, and six feet long.
2970. Stacking wood for burning, stewing for tar, or pyrolignous acid, charring, and
similar purposes, is peculiar to forest culture, and will be treated of in the proper place.
(See Part III. or Index.)
2971. Paring and burning is the process of paring off the surface of lands in a
state of grass, in order to prepare them for arable culture by means of fire. In the
method of performing the process, there is some slight difference in the practice of
different districts, and an attention to the nature of the lands is as necessary as in other
cases of husbandry. It would seem that some soils, as those of the more clayey and
heavy kinds, would be most benefited by having the fire to come as much as possible
into contact with the whole of the superficial parts of them, without being carried too
far, as by that means they may be rendered more proper for the reception of the roots of
vegetables after being slightly ploughed, as well as more suitable for supplying nourish-
ment to them ; while in others, as those of the more light and thin description, it might
be most advantageous merely to consume the thin paring of sward after being piled up
for the purpose ; without permitting the fire to exert its influence upon the mould or soil
immediately below, as in this way there would not probably be so much danger of
injuring the staple by destroying the vegetable matters contained in such soils. Of
course, in the first of these modes of burning the sward, the sods or parings should be
piled up as little as possible into heaps, the advantage of a suitable season being taken
to apply the fire to them in the state in which they lie, or are set at first after being cut
up, or after a few only have been placed together, as happens in some instances where
they are, immediately after being cut, set on edge to dry, and placed in serpentine
directions, in order to prevent them from falling over ; but in the latter cases they should
be formed or built up into little circular heaps or piles, somewhat in the form and size of
the little cocks made in hay-fields, the sods being placed the grass-side downwards, in
order to admit air : but the openings both at the bottoms and tops, after they have been
fully set on fire by some combustible substance, such as straw, &c. are to be closed up,
as well as those in other parts covered by an addition of sods ; so as that the combustion
may proceed in a slow, smothering manner, such as is practised in the making of char-
464 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
coal. When the whole of the earth in each of the piles has been acted upon by the fire,
the heaps may be suffered to extinguish themselves by slowly burning out.
2972. A variety of this operation, called skirting or peat burning, is practised in Devon-
shire and Cornwall, for breaking up and preparing grass lands for the reception of fallow
crops J a part of the sward or surface is alternately left unturned, upon which the next
thin furrow slice is constantly turned, so that the swards of each come in contact, by
which means the putrefactive fermentation is speedily excited, and the greatest part of the
grassy vegetable matter converted into manure ; what ultimately remains undestroyed
being, after repeated cross-cuttings with the plough, and harrowings, collected into small
heaps and burnt, the ashes being then spread evenly over the land.
2973. With respect to the implements used in paring, different kinds are made use of
in different parts of the island : that which was the most employed in the infancy of the
art, was a kind of curved mattock or adze, about seven or eight inches in length, and five
or six in breadth ; and which, from its shape, would appear to have been better adapted
for cutting up the roots of brush-wood, furze, broom, or other coarse shrubs, than for
paring off the surface of a field free from such incumbrances. Where the sod is pared
off by manual labor, the ordinary breast-spade, in some places called the breast-plough,
and in Scotland the flaughter-spade (2378.), is mostly employed. In working the tool,
the laborer generally cuts the sods at about an inch or an inch and a half thick, and from
ten to twelve broad ; and when the spade has run under the sod to the length of about
three feet, he throws it off, by turning the instrument to one side, and proceeds in the
same way, cutting and throwing over the sods, the whole length of the ridge. In this
way of performing the operation the laborers, by following each other with a slice of the
sward or surface of the land, accomplish the business with much ease, and in an expedi-
tious manner.
2974. In the fenny districts, on the eastern coasts, where paring and burning is prac-
tised on a large scale, the horse-paring plough is used, made of different constructions,,
according to the circumstances of the ground to be pared. These ploughs (fg' 415.) are
calculated for paring off the sward or sod of such grounds as are level, and where neither
stones, brush-wood, ant hills,
nor other impediments obstruct
their progress ; but where such
obstructions present themselves g=T^^^ J^n\ r\
the breast-spade, or the common ^^^ \o = Lh
team-plough, with a small al-
teration of the share, will be
found preferable, both in re-
spect to the extent of ground
that can be pared, and the su-
perior manner in which the work in such cases can be performed. Ploughs, from their
great expedition and regularity of performing the business, should always be made use
of where the nature and situation of the land will admit them, in preference to such tools
as require manual labor.
2975. In some of the toestern counties, the common plough only is used. There the
old grass fields, when it is proposed to burn the sward, are rib or slob furrowed about
the beginning of winter ; and being again cross-ploughed the following spring, the sods
are collected and managed in the manner mentioned in speaking of skirting. In those
cases the plough has, however, a wing turned up on the furrow side of the plough-share,
by which the furrow is cut any breadth required.
2976. The season for paring and burning is April, May, and June: the particular
period must, however, always depend much on the state of the weather and the nature of
the crop. When the east winds prevail, in February arfd March, this sort of business
may sometimes be carried on. But for accomplishing the work with the greatest dis-
patch, and also with the least trouble and expense, a dry season is obviously the best.
The prudent cultivator should not embark in the undertaking, unless there be a reason-
able probability of his accomplishing it while the weather keeps dry and favorable. The
latter end of May or the beginning of June, when the hurry of the spring-seed time is
ovfer, in the more northern districts, when a number of hands can be most easily procured
may, upon the whole, be considered as the best and most convenient season ; as at this
period the green vegetable products are in their most succulent state, and of course may
probably afford more saline matter ; but in the more southern counties either a much
earlier season must be taken, or the interval between the hay season and the harvest time
must be fixed upon, the latter of which is, on the principle just stated, evidently the best,
where the extent of ground to be burnt is not too large. In other seasons it would fre-
quently be impossible to procure a sufficient number of hands for performing the busi-
ness. In bringing waste lands into cultivation, where an extensive tract of ground is to
undergo this process, the autumn may, in many cases, afford a convenient opportunity
Book V, OPERATIONS ON THE SOIL. 465
for the operation. A good deal depends on tlie crops that are to be sown after paring
and burning. When rape or turnips are to be cultivated, the end of May, or the be-
ginning of June, will be the most proper time : but if barley or oats are to be sown, the
paring and burning must be completed as early in spring as the nature of the season will
admit ; and when lands are pared and burned as a preparation for a crop of wheat, July,
or even the beginning of August, may, in favorable seasons, answer ; but it is better to
have the ground ready sooner if possible.
2977. In respect to the depth to which lands ofdiff^erent qualities may be jmred with the
most advantage, it is obvious that, as it can hardly be proper to pare light, thin, stapled
soils, to the same depths as those of the more deep and heavy kinds, it should, in some
degree, be regulated by their particular nature, and tlieir differences in respect to depth
and heaviness. Boys, who is in tlie habit of breaking up thin chalky soils, and such as
have been in tillage, in this way, observes, that in Kent, where the method of paring
most in use is with douni-shares or breast-ploughs, they take off turfs as thick as the
nature of the soil will admit, from half an inch to two inches ; the thicker the better,
provided there be a sufficient portion of vegetable matter contained within them to make
them burn well. The most usual depths of paring are, from about one to three inches.
2978. In regard to burning, when the season is not very wet, the turfs will commonly
bd sufficiently dried in about a fortnight or three weeks, even without being turned ; but
in rainy weather they require a longer time, and must be turned more than once to pre-
vent their striking out roots and shoots, which might hinder them from burning.
2979. Spreading the ashes. As soon as the turfs have fully undergone the process of
burning, and are reduced to the state of ashes and a powdery earthy matter, the whole
should, as soon as possible, be spread out over the land in as regular and equal a manner
as the nature of the work will admit of; for without great attention in this respect,
great inequality in the crops may take place; besides the soil will be made lighter in
some places than in others, which may be disadvantageous in the same way. The
spreading, where it can by any means be accomplished, should always be performed be-
fore any rain falls ; as where this point is not attended to, a great loss may be sustained
by the saline matters being carried down in a state of solution, and their beneficial ef-
fects in a great measure lost before the crops are in a condition to receive them. In
order to secure the full influence of the ashes, the land is frequently slightly ploughed
over immediately after the ashes are spread out. And it is stated by Donaldson, that those
who are more than ordinarily attentive in this respect, only rib or slob furrow the field, so
that the ashes kher burning may be covered up with the greater expedition and dispatch.
By tliis mode they cannot probably, however, be so equally mixed with the soil as by
that of ploughing the whole field with a very slight furrow, So as just to cover them.
2980. The expense of the opei-alion of paring and burniiig will vary according to the
nature and situation of the land, the method in which it is performed, and the customs
of the district in regard to the price of labor. On the thin sort of chalky soils it is stated
by Boys, tliat the expense for paring at a moderate thickness, where the land is not very
flinty, is about equal to four or five ploughings.
2981 . The operation of drying and burning day for manure is in several respects similar
to that of paring and burning the verdant surface. The practice of burning clay has at
various times been pursued with energy and success, and at other times has fallen into
neglect. The oldest book in which it is mentioned is probably 2'he Country Gentle-
man^ s Companion, by Stephen Switzer, Gardener, London, 1732. In that work it is
stated, that the Earl of Halifax was the inventor of this useful improvement; and that
it was much practised in Sussex. There are engravings of two kilns for Ijurning clay,
one adopted in England, and the other in Scotland ; where it is said to have been ascer-
tained, that lands reduced by tillage to poverty, would produce an excellent crop of
turnips, if the ground were ploughed two or three times, and clay ashes spread over it.
In tfie same work, there are several letters, written in the years 1730 and 1731, stating,
that the plan of burning clay had answered in several parts of England ; and accounts
were received from Scotland, that upon experiment it had answered better than either
lime or dung, but was found too expensive. The practice is described at length in
EllLs's Practical Farmer, or Hertfordshire Husbandman, 1732. In 1786, James
Arbuthnot, of Peterhead, tried several successful experiments with burning clay, and
various others have since been made in different parts of the empire. In 1814, the
practice was revived and written on by Craig, of Cally, near Dumfries, and soon after by
General Beatson, near Tunbridge ; by Curwen, Burrows, and several correspondents of
agricultural journals. In Ireland, it would appear, the practice prevails in severat
places, and Craig says, he adopted it from seeing its effects there. The result of the
whole is, that the benefits of this mode of manuring have been greatly exaggerated ;
though they certainly appear to be considerable on clayey soils. Alton [Farmer s Mag.
vol. xxii. p. 423.) compares this rage for burning clay, which existed in 1815, to the
florin mania of a few years prior date. In 1822, he found few of the advocates for these
H h
466 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
improvements disposed to say much on the subject, and saw veiy few clay kilns smoking.
** To give my ultimatum upon this subject," he says, " I regret that the discoverers of
fiorin grass, and of the effects of burnt clay, have so far overrated their value. Both are
useful and proper to be attended to ; — the grass to be raised on patches of marshy
ground, and used as green food to cattle in winter ; and tlie burnt earth as a corrector of
the mechanical arrangement of a stubborn clay soil ; and I have no doubt, but if they
had been only recommended for those valuable purposes, they would have bten brought
into more general use than they yet are, or will be, till the prejudice against them,
arising from the disappointment of expectations, raised high by too flattering descriptions,
are removed."
2982. The action of burnt clay on the soily is thus described by the same author. " It
must be obvious to every person that has paid attention to the subject, that when clay,
OT other earth, is burnt into ashes like brick-dust, it will not (unless acids are applied to
it) return again to its former state of clay, but will remain in the granulated state of
ashes or friable mould, to which it was reduced by the operation of burning. An ad-
mixture of that kind, with a strong adhesive clay, must evidently operate as a powerful
manure, by changing the mechanical arrangement of the latter, and rendering it more
friable ; giving greater facility to the protection of redundant moisture, and to the spread-
ing of the roots of vegetablSs in quest of food. The application of as much water, sand,
or any similar substance, would have exactly the same effect in opening, and keeping
open, the pores of an adhesive clay soil, and converting it into the quality of loam. Be-
sides this, which would be a permanent improvement upon the staple or texture of every
clay soil, burnt clay or torrefied earth may sometimes acquire, in that operation, a small
quantity of soot or carbonic matter, that may, in favorable circumstances, operate for
one season as a manure, or as a stimulus to a small extent, to the growth of vegetables.
This at least may be the case, if the clay or earth burnt shall abound with vegetable
matter, and if the burning is conducted in such a smothered way, as to prevent the
smoke or vegetable matter from escaping. But as it is the subsoil that is recommended, '
and seems to be generally used for burning, it is impossible any considerable quantity of
vegetable matter can be found in it.
2983. The calcareous matter in the soil, it is said, will be calcined and formed into lime by the operation
of burning. But, I am disposed to consider this argument as far more plausible than solid. Calcareous
matter is no doubt found, on chemical analysis, to a certain extent in some soils ; perhaps some per-
ceptible portion of it may be found in every soil. But it is seldom or never found in any soil, to such an
extent as to be of much use as a manure to other land. Even where the soil is impregnated with a large
portion of calcareous matter, if it is not in the form of limestone, but minutely mixed with it, the burn-
ing cannot either increase or much alter the lime. If it is in the form of stones, however small, or in
what is called hmestone gravel, there is little chance of its being calcined in the operation of burning the
clay ; it would go through that ordeal unaltered. Any change, therefore, that can be made upon the
small portion of calcareous matter in the soil by burning in the manner directed, can scarcely have any
perceptible effect, when that matter is applied as manure to other soils. And though it is possible that
some qualities in particular soils, unfavorable to vegetation, may be corrected by burning, and that in
some other instances the fire may render the clay more nutritive to plants (though I have not been able
to trace this, or even to conjecture how it can happen), yet I am much disposed to believe, that its effect
as a mechanical mixtwre in opening the pores of the soil, is the chief improvement that can be derived
from the application of burnt clay as a manure. If it has any other effect, it must be from the soot or
carbonic matter collected during the operation of burning ; or perhaps it may acquire by the torrefaction
something of a stimulating quality, that may for a short time promote the growth of particular plants.
But these qualities can only be to a small extent, and continue to act for a very Umited period. {Far.
Mag. XX ii. 422.)
2984. The action of burnt clay, according to a writer in The Farmer s Journal, is at
least three-fold, and may be manifold. It opens the texture of stubborn clays, gives a
drain to the water, spiracles to the air, and affords to the roots facility of penetrating.
Clay ashes burned from turves, containing an admixture of vegetable matter, con-
sist, in some small proportion, of vegetable alkali, or potass, a salt which is known to
be a good manure. It also, in most cases, happens, that a stiff cold clay is impreg-
nated with pyrites, a compound of sulphuric acid and iron. Although the chemical
attraction between these two bodies is so strong, that it is one of the most difficult opera-
tions in the arts totally to free iron from sulphur, yet a very moderate heat sublimes a
large portion of the sulphur. The iron is then left at liberty to re-absorb a portion of the
redundant sulphuric acid, which too generally is found in these soils, and thereby sweetens
the land ; and it is probable, that the bright red, or crimson calx of iron, which gives
coloring to the ashes when over burnt, is beneficial to vegetation in the present case,
insomuch as it is, of itself, one of the happiest aids to fertility, as is exemplified in the
red marl strata, and red sand strata throughout the kingdom. The evolution and recom-
bination of different gases, no doubt, materially affect the question ; but it is reserved for
accurate chemical observers to give us an account of the processes which take place in this
respect. Curwen notices, that clay ashes do no benefit as a top-dressing on grass,
which is in part to be explained by reason that the ashes, when spread on the surface of
the grass, cannot exert the mechanical action on the soil in the ways enumerated.
Neither can the calx of iron come so immediately in contact with the particles of the
soil, for tlie producing of any chemical effept, as it would do if the ashes were ploughed
Book V. OPERATIONS ON THE SOIL, 4G7
in. In short, like many other manures which are laid on the surface, unless it contains
something soluble which may be washed into the ground by rains, it does very little good;
and the feeble proportion of vegetable alkali is probably the only soluble matter the
ashes contain. However sanguine may be the admirers of burnt clay, all experience
confirms, that the most beneficial clay-ashes are those which are burnt from the greatest
proportion of rich old turf, ancient banks, roots of bushes, and other vegetable matters ;
and I conceive the value of mere powdered pottery (for sucjfi it is) may easily be over-
rated. (jP. Jourtu 1819.)
2985. The common method of burning clay is to make an oblong enclosure, of the
dimensions of a small house (say 15 feet by lOj of green turf sods, raised to the height
of 3^ or 4 feet. In the inside of this enclosure, air-pipes are drawn diagonally, which
communicate with holes left at each corner of the exterior wall. These pipes are formed
of sods put on edge, and the space between these so wide only as another sod can easily
cover. In each of the four spaces left between the air-pipes and the outer wall, a fire is
kindled with wood and dry turf, and then the whole of the inside of the enclosure or
kiln filled with dry turf, which is very soon on fire ; and on the top of that, when well
kindled, is thrown the clay, in small quantities at a time, and repeated as often as neces-
sary, which must be regulated by the intensity of the burning. The air-pipes are of use
only at first, because if the fire burns with tolerable keenness, the sods forming the pipes
will soon be reduced to ashes. The pipe on the weather side of the kiln only is left open,
the mouths of the other three being stopped up, and not opened, except the wind should
veer about. As the inside of the enclosure, or kiln, begins to be filled up with clay, the
outer wall must be raised in height, always taking care to have it at least 15 inches higher
than the top of the clay, for the purpose of keeping the wind from acting on the fire.
When the fire burns through the outer wall, which it often does, and particularly when
the top is overloaded with clay, the breach must be stopped up immediately, wliich can
only be effectually done by building another sod wall from the foundation, opposite to it,
and the sods that formed that part of the first wall are soon reduced to ashes. The M'all
can be raised as high as may be convenient to throw on the clay, and the kiln may be
increased to any size, by forming a new wall when the previous one is burnt through.
2986. The principal art in burning consists in having the outer wall made quite close
and impervious to the external air, and taking care to have the top always lightly, but
completely covered with clay ; because if the external air should come in contact with
the fire, either on the top of the kiln, or by means of its bursting through the sides, the
fire will be very soon extinguished. In short, the kilns require to be attended nearly as
closely as charcoal pits. Clay is much easier burnt than either moss or loam ; — it does
not undergo any alteration in its shape, and on that account allows the fire and smoke to
get up easily between the lumps ; whereas moss and loam, by crumbling down, are very-
apt to smother the fire, unless carefully attended to. No rule can be laid down for regu-
lating the size of the lumps of clay thrown on the kiln, as that must depend on the state
of the fire ; but I have found every lump completely burnt on opening the kiln ; and
some of them were thrown on larger than my head. Clay, no doubt, burns more readily
if it be dug up and dried for a day or two before it be thrown on the kiln ; but this
operation is not necessary, as it will burn though thrown on quite wet. After a kiln is
fairly set a going, no coal or wood, or any sort of combustible is necessary, the wet clay
burning of itself, and it can only be extinguished by intention, or the carelessness of the
operator, — the vicissitudes of the weather having hardly any effect on the fire, if properly
attended to. It may, perhaps, be necessary to mention, that when the kiln is burning
with great keenness, a stranger to the operation may be apt to think that the fire is ex-
tinguished. If, therefore, any person, either through impatience, or too great curiosity,
should insist on looking into the interior of the kiln, he will certainly retard, and may
possibly extinguish the fire ; for, as before mentioned, the chief art consists in keeping
out the external air from the fire. Where there is abundance of clay, and no great
quantity of green turf, it would perhaps be best to burn the clay in draw-kilns the same
as lime.
2987. An improved method of burning clay \\2i^heen adopted by Colonel Dickson, at
Hexham, and other gentlemen, in Northumberland. Instead of building a kiln, gratings
or arches of cast iron are used to form a vau Itor funnel for the fuel, and over this funnel
the clay is built. The grated arches are made about two feet and a half long, two feet
diameter, and about fourteen inches high. One grating is to be filled with brushwood,
stubble, or any other cheap fuel, and the clay as it is dug, built upon it to a convenient
height, leaving small vacancies, or boring holes, to allow the heat to penetrate to the
middle and outer parts of the clay. When a suflficient quantity is built upon the first
grating, another is added at either or both ends, filled with similar fuel, and the clay
built upon them as before. This process is continued until 10, 12, or a greater number,
of the gratings have been usedv when one end is built up or covered with clay, and at the
other, under the last grating, a fire is made of coals or faggot wood. The end at which the
H h 2
468
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
fire is made should face the wind if possible, and if the process has been properly con-
ducted the clay will be effectually burnt. By commencing with a centre grating in the
form of a cross {Jig- 416. ^ the workman may build from
four ends in the place of two ; this contrivance will afford
a facility in the work, and have a draft of wind at two
entrances.
2988. The advantage of this mode of burning clay is
the savinc' of cartage, as the clay may be always burned
where it is dug.
2989. Burning clay and surface soil by lime without
fuel, has been practised by Curwen, {Farm. Mag. vol.
xvi. p. 11, 12.) in the following manner. Mounds of
seven yards in length, three and a half in breadth, are
kindled with seventy-two Winchester bushels of lime.
First, a layer of dry sods or parings, on which a quantity of lime is spread, mixing sods
with it, then a covering of eight inches of sods, on which the other half of the lime is
spread, and covered a foot thick ; the height of the mound being about a yard. In
twenty-four hours it will take tire. The lime should be immediately from the kiln.
It is better to suffer it to ignite itself, than to effect it by the operation of water. When
the fire is fairly kindled, fresh sods must be applied. Mr. Curwen recommends obtaining
a sufficient body of ashes before any clay was put on the mounds. The fire naturally
rises to the top. It takes less time, and does more work to draw down the ashes from
the top, and not to suffer it to rise above six feet. The former practice of burning in
kilns was more expensive ; did much less work ; and, in many instances, calcined the
ashes, and rendered them of no value.
2990. Use of pyrites in burning clay. A writer in The Farmer s Journal (Dec. 1821\
asserts that " the greater part of niglny beds of cold clay contain in them a substance,
or ingredient, which is in itself, to a great degree, combustible, as is known to every
brick-burner. This probably is, in most cases, the sulphur of the pyrites contained in
the clay ; but be it what it may, it prevails to such a degree, that a very small quantity of
fuel is usually sufficient to burn a very large body of clay. It is only requisite to have
sufficient fuel to set fire to the heap at first, so as to raise a body of heat ; and, for the
rest, the clay will nearly burn of itself, being judiciously arranged round and upon the
burning centre. The ashes are in the best state when they have been exposed only to a
moderate heat ; namely, to a heat not only far below what will produce vitrification, but
even so low as not to produce a permanent red color : the black ashes, or dirty red, and
brownish red, being made superior in value to bright red ashes, that is, to well burnt
bricks. The heat is moderated chiefly by the judicious application of the crumbs and
mouldering fragments of clay or soil, so as to prevent the draft of the air through the
apertures between the large clods or tufts from being too free. A very small admixture
of vegetable fuel suffices to keep up the fire.
2991. The application of burnt clay as a manure is the same as that of lime: it is
spread over fallows or lands in preparation for turnips, at the rate of from thirty to fifty
loads or upwards per acre.
?. II.
Agricultural Operations requiring the Aid of Laboring Cattle.
2992. Operations requiring the aid of laboring cattle, are in a peculiar manner entitled
to the appellation of agricultural. Almost all the operations described in the former
Chapter, may be performed by common country laborers j but those we are now to
enter on, are exclusively performed by farm servants. They may be classed as
operations for the use and management of live stock, labors on the soil, and compound
operation .
■ Sect. I. Operations for the Care of Live Slock.
2993. Herding or tending of cattle is the simplest operation with domestic animals.
It consists in conducting them to a certain pasturage ; keeping them within the pre-
scribed limits; preventing them from injuring one another; observing if any are dis-
eased, and the like. It is commonly performed with the aid of the dog, and by boys or
girls for a small herd or flock, and aged or elderly men for larger herds. In modern
times, the place of the cow and cattle herd is generally supplied by fences ; but where large
Hocks of sheep are kept, it is still necessary to have a shepherd; not, in many cases, so
much to keep the flock together and in its proper place, as to watch the progress of their
Book V. OPERATIONS FOR THE CARE OF LIVE STOCK. 469
growth, the approaches of disease, parturition, &c. In almost all cases, mild and gentle
treatment ought to be made the shie qua non of the herdman's conduct.
2994. Cleaning cattle is the operation of rubbing, brushing, combing, and washing
their bodies and picking their feet. The legs of cattle, when soiled by labor, are com-
monly washed by walking them two or three times through a pond, formed on purpose,
in or near to farmeries. As soon as they are put in the stable and unharnessed, the legs,
and such parts as are wetted, should be powerfully rubbed with dry straw, so as to dry
the hair , and tlie same process should be applied to the rest of the body if they have been
in a state of copious perspiration. At the same time their feet should be picked, and their
hoofs freed from any earth or small stones which may have lodged under the shoe, or in
the case of laboring oxen between the hoofs. Combing and brushing can only be per-
formed when the hair and skin are perfectly dry, and in farmeries is generally done in
the morning when they are first fed, and in the evening when last fed. In general, it
may be considered as experimentally decided, that cleaning cattle of every description,
cows and oxen, as well as horses, contributes much to their health as well as to their
beauty. If swine were cleaned as regularly as horses, there can be no doubt they would
be equally benefited by it. Some amateurs have their feeding swine regularly cleaned ;
but the greater part of professional agriculturists content themselves with fixing one or
more rubbing posts in each stye, with frequent renewing of the litter.
2995. Feeding or supplying food to cattle^ is an operation which, like every other,
however simple or Immble, requires attention and a principle of action. Food ought to
be given at stated times, in such quantities as to satisfy but not glut the animals, and
varied in quality so as to keep alive appetite. Water ought to be regularly supplied
according to the kind of food, the state of the animal, and the season of the year. Cat-
tle, who are fed in part on green food or roots, will require less water than those fed on
dry hay, straw, or corn ; and cattle that have been at work and perspiring, will require
more water than such as have been idle or at pasture. In summer, cattle fed on dry
food obviously require more water than in winter, owing to the increased perspiration.
The case of sick animals must be regulated by the nature of their disease, or directed
by the veterinary surgeon. In treating of agricultural animals, (Part III.) we shall
give the diseases, and treatment of each.
2996. 2Vie harnessing of cattle requires attention, §rst, that the harness be in complete
order; and secondly, that it fit the parts of the animal to which it is applied. Collars
and saddles are the leading articles, and when they gall or in any way incommode the
animal, they are ruinous to his comfort, and soon render him unfit for labor. Even
when they fit properly, an improper mode of fixing the collar-blades (hames), and tying
the girth of the saddle, may greatly annoy tlie animal, and render him restive during the
whole period he is in yoke.
2997. The yoking of draught animals requires still more attention than harnessing
them. To know when an animal is properly yoked, or placed in proper circumstances
to perform the kind of labor assigned to him, it is necessary to have clear ideas as to the
kind of power to be exerted by the animal, whether drawing, carrying, pushing, or two,
or all of these. The horse and ox draw from their shoulders, carry from their back, and
push with their breech. The point of resistance in all weights, or objects to be dragged
or pushed along the ground's surface, lies below the centre of gravity ; and in all cases
of drawing, a line from this point of resistance to the collar of the animal, should form a
right angle with the plane of the collar-bone. Hence the necessity of not suspending
the plough chains from the back of the animal by means of the back band, as is some-
times done, but of allowing them to hang freely so as to form a straight line from the
collar blades through the muzzle of the plough to the point of resistance. Hence also
the advantage of yoking two horses in a cart by means of the endless rope or chain already
described (2613.). In yoking animals where the labor is principally carrying a weight,
as in carting, great care is requisite that the weight be not oppressive, and that the sus-
pending chain move freely in the groove of the saddle so as to produce a perfect
equipoise. Various opinions are entertained as to the weight which a horse can carry
with or without drawing at the same time. According to the practice of experienced
carters, if a one-horse cart is loaded with 20 cwt., 5 cwt., but not more, may be
allowed to rest on the back of the horse by means of the traces, chain, and saddle.
This is meant to apply where the roads are level ; in going up or down hill to admit of
the same proportion of weight, the traces, or shafts, or the bearing chain, must be
lowered or raised according to circumstances. Yoking animals to push only, is a case
that seldom or never occurs ; but it will be useful to mention, that as the line of the
breech of animals is nearly perpendicular to the horizon, so the principle being, that the
line of exertion should be at right angles to the exerting surface ; so the direction of
pushing or backing, as it is commonly called, may be a horizontal line, or a line parallel
to the surface on which the animal stands.
470 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pari II.
Sect. II. Labors with Cattle on the Soil.
2998. Plotcghing is justly considered the most important of agricultural operations, as
on the manner in wliich this is performed, depends the facility of executing all succeeding
operations on the same piece of land. The plough acts as a wedge, separating a portion
of the soil and turning it over at the same time. If this wedge is properly constructed,
and if the soil presented everywhere the same resistance to it, it vvou Id require no holding,
but would maintain its position when drawn along by the cattle ; but as the least ine-
quality of surface, or tenacity, or the additional resistance of a root or stone destroys the
equilibrium of the forces acting against the wedge, the presence of the holder or ploughman
becomes necessary to adjust its position. In two-wheeled ploughs, however, this is
done in a great measure by the wheels, but not so rapidly as by the instantaneous move-
ment of the holder on the ends of the handles acting as levers. The manual operation
of holding the plough in a proper position, and directing the horses or cattle which draw
it at the same time, is only to be acquired by experience ; when once attained it is perhaps
the most agreeable and healthy of agricultural exercises, the body being kept upright, the
arms and legs brought into action, and also the eye and the mind, to keep the furrow
straight and of regular width and depth, and the voice to speak to the horses. It is
almost needless to mention that the art of drawing a straight furrow with a plough in
which the horses are yoked in pairs, consists in keeping each of the horses a small distance
apart, so as to see forward between them ; and next to fix the eye on two or more objects
beyond the land to be ploughed, and keep these objects and the coulter or muzzle of the
plough always in one line. By far the best practical directions for ploughing have been
given by the author of the article Agriculture in the supplement to the Encyclopcedia
Brit., which we shall quote at length.
2999. Three different points require particular attention in ploughing : 1. The breadth of the slice to be
cut ; 2. its depth ; and 3. the degree in which it is to be turned over ; — which last circumstance depends
both upon the construction of the plough, particularly the mould-board, and the care of the ploughman.
> 3000. The breadth and depth of the furrow-slice are regulated by judiciously placing the draught on the
nozzle or bridle of the plough ; .setting it so as to go more or less deep, and to take more or less land or
breadth of slice, according as may be desired. In general, the plough is so regulated that, if left to itself,
and merely kept from falling over, it would cut a little broader and a little deeper than is required. The. '
coulter is also placed with some inclination towards the left or land side, and the point of the sock or share
has a slight tendency downwards.
3001. The degree to which the furrow-slke turns over, is in a great measure determined by the proportion
between its breadth and depth, which for general purposes is usually as three is to two ; or when the
furrow is nine inches broad, it ought to be six inches in depth. "When the slice is cut in this proportion,
it will be nearly half turned over, or recline at an angle of forty or forty-five degrees ; and a field so
Elougbed will have its ridges longitudinally ribbed into angular drills or ridgelets. But if the slice is much
roader in proportion to its depth, it will be almost completely overturned, or left nearly flat with its
original surface downwards; and each successive slice will be somewhat overlapped by that which was
turned over immediately before it. And finally, when the depth materially exceeds the width, each
furrow-slice will fall over on its side, leaving all the original surface bare, and only laid somewhat obhquely
to the horizon.
3002. Ploughing with the breadth and depth nearly in the proportion of three to tivo, is best adapted for
laying up stubble land after harvest, when it is to remain during winter exposed to the mellowing influence
of frost, preparatory to fallow or turnips.
5003. The shallow furrow of considerable width, as five inches in depth by eight or nine wide, is under-
stood to aitswer best for breaking up old leys ; because it covers up the grass turf, and does not bury the
manured soil.
3004. Ploughing with the depth of the furrow considerably exceeding the width, is a most unprofitable and
■ uselessly slow operation, which ought seldom or never to be adopted.
3005. The most generally useful breadth of a furrow-slice is from eight to ten inches, and the depth, which
ought to be seldom less than four inches, cannot often exceed six or eight inches, except in soils uncom-
monly thick and fertile. When it is necessary to go deeper, as for carrots and some other deep-rooted
plants, a trench ploughing may be given by means ot a second plough following in the same furrow.
3006. Shallow ploughing ought always to be adopted after turnips are eaten on the ground, that the
manare may not be buried too deep ; and also in covering lime, — especially if the ground has been pulve-
rized by fallowing, because it naturally tends to sink in the soil. In ploughing down farm-yard dung, it is
commonly necessary to go rather deep, that no part of the manure may be left exposed to the atmosphere.
In the first ploughing for fallows or green crops, it is advisable to work as deep as possible, and no great
danger is to be apprehended, though a small portion of the subsoil be at that time brought to the
surface.
3007 The furrow-slices are generally distributed into beds varying in breadth according to circumstances ;
these are called ridges or lands, and are divided from one another by gutters or open furrows. These last
serve as guides to the hand and eye of the sower to the reapers, and also for the application of manures in
a regular manner. In soils of a strong or retentive nature, or which have wet close subsoils, these furrows
serve likewise as drains for carrying off the surface water, and being cleared out, after the land is sown
and harrowed, have the name of water furrows.
3008. Ridges are not only different in breadth, but are raised more or less in the middle, on different
soils On clayey retentive soils, the great point to be attended to is the discharge of superfluous water.
But narrow ridges or stitches oi from three to five feet, are not approved of in some of the best cultivated
counties. In these a breadth of fifteen or eighteen feet, the land raised by two gatherings of the plough,
is most commonly adopted for such soils ; such ridges being thought more convenient for manuring,
sowing, harrowing, and reaping, than narrower ones ; and the water is drained off quite as effectually.
3009. Ridges on dry porous turnip soils, may be formed much broader ; and were it not for their use
in directing the laborers, may be, and sometimes are, dispensed with altogether. They are often thirty,
or thirty-six feet broad,(which in Scotland are called band-win ridges, because reaped by a band of shearers,
commonly six, served by one binder. If it be wished to obliterate the intermediate furrows, this may be
tloue by casting up a narrow ridgelet or single bout-drill between the broad ridges, which is afterwards
levelled by the harrows.
3010. The mode of forming ridges, straight and of uniform breadth, is as follows ; let us suppose a field
perfectly level that is intended to be laid off into rid<;es of any determinable breadth. The best plough-
man belonging to the farm conducts the operation, with the aid of three or more poles shod with iron, in
Book V. LABORS WITH CATTLE. 47l
the following manner : The first thing is to mark off the head ridges, on which the horses turn in
ploughing, which should in general be of an equal breadth from the bounding lines of the field, if these
lines are not very crooked or irregular. The next operation, assuming one straight side of the (ield, or a
line that has been made straight, as the proper direction of the ridges, is to measure off from it with one
of the poles (all of them of a certain length, or expressing specific measures), half the intended breadth
of the ridge, if it is to be gathered, or one breadth and a half if to be ploughed flat ; and there the
ploughman sets up a pole as a direction for the plough to enter. On a line with this, and at some distance,
he plants a second pole, and then in the same manner a third, fourth, &c., as the irregularity of the sur-
face may render necessary, though three must always be employed, — the last of them at the end of the
intended ridge, and the whole in one straight line. He then enters the plough at the first pole, keeping
the line of poles exactly between his horses, and ploughs down all the poles successively ; halting his horses
at each, and replacing it at so many feet distant as the ridges are to be broad ; so that when he reaches the
end of the ridge, all his poles are again set up in a new Une parallel to the first. He returns however,
along his former track, correcting any deviations, and throwing a shallow furrow on the side opposite to
his fonner one. These furrows, when reversed, form the crown of the ridge, and direct the ploughmea
who are to follow. The same operations are carried on until the whole field is marked out. This is called
feiring in Scotland, and striking the furrows in England. It is surprising with what accuracy these lines
are drawn by skilful ploughmen.
3011. Another 7nethod has been 3.AoTi)te(!i for the same purpose, which promises to be useful with less
experienced workmen. A stout lath or pole, exactly equal in length to the breadth of the intended ridge,
is fixed to the plough, at right angles to the line of the draught, one end of which is placed across the
handles exactly opposite the coulter, while the other end projects towards the left hand of the plough-
man, and is preserved in its place by a rope passing from it to the collar of the near side horse. At the
outer end of the lath, a coulter or harrow tine is fixed perpendicularly, which makes a trace or mark on
the ground as the plough moves onwards, exactly parallel to the line of draught. By this device, when
the plough \s feiring the crown of one ridge, the marker traces the line on which the next ridge is to be
Jeired. {General Report of Scotland, vol. i. p. 354.)
3012. The direction and length of ridges, are points which must evidently be regulated by the nature of
the surface, and the size of the field. Short angular ridges, called butts, which are often necessary in a
field with irregular boundaries, are always attended with a considerable loss of time, and ought to be
avoided as much as possible.
3013. In ploughing steep land it is advisable to give the ridges an inclination towards the right hand at
the top, by which, in going up the acclivity, the furrow falls more readily from the plough, and with less
fatigue to the horses. Another advantage of forming ridges in a slanting direction on such land is, that
the soil is not so apt to be washed down from the higher ground, as if the ridges were laid at right angles.
"Wherever circumstances will permit, the best direction, however, is due north and south, by which the
grain on both sides of the ridge enjoys nearly equal advantages from the influence of the sun.
3014. Ribbing, a kind of imperfect ploughing, was formerly common on land intended for barley, and
was executed soon after harvest, as a preparation for the spring ploughings. A similar operation is still
in use in some places, after land has been pulverized by clean ploughings, and is ready for receiving the
seed. By this method only half the land is stirred, the furrow being laid over quite flat, and covering an
eciual space of the level surface. But, except in the latter instance, where corn is meant to grow in pa-
rallel lines, and where it is used as a substitute for a drill-machine, ribbing is highly objectionable, and has
become almost obsolete.
301 5. Land thus formed into ridges, is afterwards cultivated without marking out the ridge»
anew J until the inter-furrows have been obliterated by a fallow or fallow crop. This is done
by one or other of the following modes of ploughing. 1. If the soil be dry, and the
land has been ploughed flat, the ridges are split out in such a way, that the space which
the crown of the old ridge occupied is now allotted to the open furrow between the new
ones. This is technically called crown arid furrow jdoughing, 2. When the soil is
naturally rather wet, or, if the ridges have been raised a little by former ploughings, the
form of the old ridges, and the situation of the inter-furrows, are preserved by what is called
casting, that is, the furrows of each ridge are all laid in one direction, while those of the
next adjoining ridges are turned the contrary way ; two ridges being always ploughed
together. 3. It is commonly necessary to raise the ridges on soils very tenacious of
moisture, by what is called gathering, which is done by the plough going round the
ridge, beginning at the crown and raising all the furrow slices inwards. 4. This last
•peration, when it is wished to give the land a level surface, as in fallowing, is reversed
by turning all the furrow-slices outwards ; beginning at the inter- furrows, and leaving
an open furrow on the crown of each ridge. In order to bring the land into as level a
state as possible, the same mode of ploughing or cleaning, as it is called, may be repeated
as often as necessary.
3016. With respect to ploughing relatively to time, in the strongest lands, a pair gf
good horses ought to plough three quarters of an acre in nine hours, but upon the same
land, after the first ploughing, on friable soils, one acre, or an acre and a quarter is a
common day's work. Throughout the year, an acre a day may be considered as a full
average, on soils of a medium consistency. The whole series of furrows on an English
statute acre, supposing each to be nine inches broad, would extend to 19,360 yards ; and
adding twelve yards to every 220 for the ground travelled over in turning, the whole
work of one acre may be estimated as extending to 20,416 yards, or eleven miles and
nearly five furlongs.
3017. In jdoughing relatively to season, it is well known, tliat clayey or tenacious soils
should never be ploughed when wet ; and that it is almost equally improper to allow tliem
to become too dry ; especially if a crop is to be sown without a second ploughing. The
state in whicJi such lands should be ploughed is that which is commonly indicated by the
phrase, « between the wet and the dry," — while the ground is slightly moist, mellow,
and the least cohesive.
3018. The season best for ploughing the first time for falloiv or green crops, is immedi-
ately after harvest, or after wheat sowing is finished ; 'and when tliis land has been gone
Hh 4
472 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II,
over, the old tough swards, if there be any, are next turned up. The reasons for
ploughing so early are sufficiently obvious ; as the frosts of winter render the soil more
friable for the spring operations, and assist in destroying the weed roots. In some
places, however, the first ploughing for fallow is still delayed till after the spring
seed-time.
3019. The cultivator, grubber, scvffler', scarifiers and such like implements (2533.), are
used to lessen the number of ploughings in fallows or light free soils. Their operation
differs from that of the plough in not reversing the surface, and therefore they can never,
as some have proposed, become a substitute for that implement. Still the grubber is a
valuable implement. William Lester, late of Northampton, who is said first to have
invented an implement of this kind, declares himself confident that one man, a boy, and
six horses, will move as much land in a day, and as effectually, as six ploughs : — meaning
land in a fallow state, that has been previously ploughed. We have elsewhere pointed
out the mode of using this description of tillage implements (2;)27.), one great
advantage of which is that they may be used by the unskilful, and even by operators
who cannot guide a plough.
3020. The operation if harrowing is intended both to drag out weeds and to cover the
seeds when sown. It is obvious that implements of different sizes are not only necessary,
but even that these implements should be worked in different ways, according to the
strength and condition of the soil on which they are employed, and the nature of the
work to be executed. When employed to reduce a strong obdurate soil, not more than
two of the common sort (2569.) should be yoked together, because they are apt to
ride and tumble upon each other, and thus impede the work, and execute it imperfectly.
It may also be remarked that on rough soils, harrows ought to be driven as fast as the
horses can walk ; because their effect is in direct proportion to the degree of velocity
with which they are driven. In ordinary cases, and in every case where harrowing is
meant for covering the seed, and the common implement in use, three harrows are the
best yoke, because they fill up the ground more effectually, and leave fewer vacancies,
than when a smaller number is ^
employed: the improved forms, \ o wT
calculated to cover the breadth
of two or more of the old
harrows by one frame (Jig.
417.), are only calculated for
flat ridges ; or for working dry
lands in which ridging is not
requisite.
3021. The harrow-man s at-
tention, at the seed process, should
be constantly directed to prevent
these implements from riding
upon each other, and to keep
them clear of every impediment,
from stones, lumps of earth, or
clods, and quickens or grasi
roots ; for any of these prevent
the implement from working with perfection, and causes a mark or trail upon the
surface, always unpleasing to the eye, and generally detrimental to the vegetation
of the seed.
3022. Harrowing is usually given in different directions, first in length, then across,
and finally in length, as at first. Careful agricultors study, in the finishing part of the
process, to have the harrows drawn in a straight line, without suffering the horses to go
in a zig-zag manner, and are also attentive that the horses enter fairly upon the ridge,
without making a curve at the out-set. In some instances, an excess of harrowing has
been found very prejudicial to the succeeding crop ; but it is always necessary to give
so much as to break the furrow, and level the surface, otherwise the operation is imper-
fectly performed.
3023. Horse hoeing is the operation of stirring the ground between rows of vegetables,
by means of implements of the hoe, coulter, or pronged kind, drawn by horses. Who-
ever can guide a jilough will find no difficulty in managing any implement used for
stirring ground. The easiest kinds are those which have few hoes or coulters, or shares,
and a wheel in front ; and the easiest circumstances, wide intervals between the rows,
and a loose friable soil. Wherever soil is hard, rough, rounded, as in the case of high-
raised ridges, there should not be more than three prongs or shares in the implement,
because more than three points can never touch a curved surface, and be in one plane ;
and if not in one plane, they will never work steadily, equally, and agreeably.
3024. Turnip hoeing of every kind is accordingly exceedingly easy ; but stirring the
Book V. LABORS WITH CATTLE. 473
earth between rows of beans on a strong clay soil in a time of drought is proportionally
difficult, and sometimes, when tlie ground rises in large lumps, dangerous for the plants.
In stirring the soil between rows of beans, cabbages, or other plants, on strong or loamy
soils, a small plough often answers better than any of the pronged or coulted implements,
at least for the first and last operation of bean culture. Dr. Anderson, indeed, affirms
with great truth, that nearly all the various operations of horse-hoeing may be executed
by the common swing-plough in an equally effectual manner, as by any of the hoe-
ploughs usually made use of,
3025. Drilling, or the deposition of seed in rows by means of a drill machine, is an
operation that requires considerable care in the performance. The points that require
particular attention are keeping the rows straight and at equal distances throughout their
length, depositing the seed at a proper depth, and delivering the seed in proper quantity
according to its kind and the nature of the soil. For these purposes the ground must
have been previously well prepared by ploughings and harrowings, excepting in the
particular case of drilling beans with one furrow. This operation is generally performed
in the course of ploughing, either by a person pushing forward a bean-drill barrow, or
by attaching a hopper and wheel, with the necessary apparatus to the plough itself. The
mode of regulating the depth of the drill, and the quantity of seed delivered, must
depend on the kind of drill used, and only requires attention in the holder. In drilling
turnips the land is most generally made up into ridgelets 27 or 30 inches centre
from centre, by a single bout (go about), or return of the common plough. The North-
umberland machine which sows two rows at once, is then drawn over them by one horse
walking between the ridges without a driver, the holder at once performing that operation
and keeping the machine steady on the tops of the drills. One of the two rollers of this
machine smooths the tops of the ridges before the seed is deposited, and the other
follows and compresses the soil and covers the seed.
3026. In drilling corn several rows are sown at once, and great care is requisite to
keep the machine steady and in a straight line : for most soils two horses and a driver
arc required for this purpose ; the driver aiding in filling the hopper with seed, &c.
3027. In all cases of drilling it must be recollected that the principal intention of
the operation is to admit of horse-hoeing the crop afterwards ; hence the necessity of
straight rows and uniform distances ; and hence also the advantage of burying the manure
under the drill or row, that it may not be exposed to the air in after-working.
3028. Rolling is the operation of drawing a roller over the surface of the ground with
the view of breaking down the clods, rendering it more compact, and bringing it even
and level ; or it may be limited to smoothing and consolidating the surface. It is prac-
tised both upon the tillage and grass lands, and is of much utility in both sorts of
husbandry. In the former case it is made use of for the purpose of breaking down and
reducing the cloddy and lumpy parts of the soil in preparing it for the reception of crops,
and in rendenng light soils more firm, even, and solid, after the seed is put in. It is
likewise found beneficial to the young crops in the early spring in various instances. In
order to perform this operation in the most complete and effectual manner a roller of
considerable weight is necfessary ; and in order to prevent, as much as possible, the ground
from being injured by the feet of the animals that draw it, as may frequently be the case
where they follow each other in tlie same tract, it is the best practice to have them yoked
double, as by that means there will be less treading on the same portion of surface.
Where two horses are sufficient to execute the work more should never be made use of;
but if a third should be found necessary, it may be attached as a leader in the middle
before the other two : a greater number of horses can seldom or ever be of any material
advantage in this sort of work. It is necessary to see that every part of the surface re-
ceives the due impression of the implement, and that the head lands are not injured by the
turnings. On lands where the work is regularly performed, it will seldom be requisite to
pass more than once in a place, but in other cases it may often be done more frequently
with benefit, and in particular cases a more frequent repetition of the operation is abso-
lutely requisite in order to bring the ground into a proper state.
3029. In rolling grass lands it is necessary to attend in a particular manner to the
season, as it cannot be performed with advantage either when the surface is in too dry or
too moist a condition. In these cases the work of rolling may be advantageously per-
formed at different seasons, as in the beginning of the autumn, and in the commence-
ment of the year, or very early spring months : but the latter is the most common
period. In the drier descriptions of land it may frequently be performed in the most
beneBcial manner, after the land has been rendered a little soft by a moderate fall of
r;iin ; but in those of tlie contrary sort, it may be necessary to wait till the superabundant
moisture be so much dried up, as to admit the animals employed in drawing the machine
without poaching, or otherwise injuring the surface of the ground while the process is
going on. The rolling of watered meadows, it has been remarked by BoswelJ, should
be executed towards the latter end of February or beginning of the following month,
474 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
after the land has been left in a dry state for a week or ten days. The work should be
performed lengthwise of the panes, going up one side of the trenches and down the other.
And in the case of rolling the common hay lands, it is a good mode to proceed up one
side of the field and down the other, somewhat in a similar manner, as by that means the
work may be the most completely executed.
3030. Horse-raking, or the collecting the scattered straws of com or hay crops by the
rake, is an operation of little art or trouble in the execution. The proper implement
being employed, it is generally drawn by one horse, conducted by a man, who walks
behind, and when the rake tills, lifts it up without stopping the horse, and always
at the same place, so as to deposit the rakings in regular rows across the field. The
same mode is followed whether in raking hay, corn, stubble, or weeds from fallow
grounds.
3031. Driving carts and waggons, though the easiest of all operations, is very fre-
quently shamefully performed by servants. Almost every body knows this ; and it is
humiliating to consider that we are considered the most inhuman nation in Europe in
our treatment of horses. In most other countries these animals, and even oxen, are
taught to obey the word of the driver ; but in Britain he requires both halter or rein,
and a whip ; and in most parts of England the slightest movement from right to left is
indicated to the animal by the latter implement. Driving is more especially neglected,
or wretchedly performed, near large towns, and especially round London, where little or
no attention is paid to avoiding the ruts ; choosing the best part of the road ; going in a
direct line ; altering the position of the load (by means of the back chain or the construc-
tion of the cart where that admits of it) in going up or down hill ; or seeing whether
both horses (where two are used) , draw equally. The reverse of this conduct ought to
be that of a careful and humane driver, who being first certain that his cattle are pro-
perly yoked and his load fairly adjusted so as to be neither too heavy nor too light for
the wheel or shaft horse, will see that they proceed along the best part of the road in a
straight line, avoiding the ruts when deep or unequal — that all the horses draw equally
as far as practicable — that proper care and tim.ely precautions be taken to avoid other
machines meeting or passing, and that no sudden motion or jerk of the horses, be re-
quired on any occasion. In dividing tlie road where it is steep or in a bad state, the
horses ought to be drawn aside gradually, and gradually led on again ; it being easier
to descend or ascend either a good or bad convex road obliquely, than at an acute angle.
Lastly, servants ought on no account to be allowed to ride on laden carts or waggons,
especially the former ; or to walk at a distance from them either before or behind. There
are many other points which require attending to in this department of agriculture, such
as not striking animals on the head or legs ; nor kicking them, or using a pole or handle
of any implement that may be at hand, in administering chastisement ; but these must be
left to the care and discretion of masters, whose interest it is to be most vigilant in
watching those who are engaged in this department.
3032. One mode of lessening the evils of careless driving and inhumanity to animals, consists in employ-
ing chiefly married servants, and as is generally the case, letting each have the exclusive care and working
of one pair of horses. Such men are steadier, and remain much longer in their situations than single men,
and are therefore more likely to feel an interest in the welfare and good condition of their horses, as well
as in the good opinion of their employer.
3033. Driving cattle in a threshing machine required particular care before the inge-
nious invention described (2638.) to equalize the draught of the different animals ; where
this invention is applied it requires, little more than speaking to such of the cattle as have
a tendency to relax in their exertions.
Sect. III. Labors and Operations with the Croju
3034. Labors with the crop, chiefly comprise stacking and housing.
3035. Stacking is the operation of building or piling up unthreshed corn, hay, straw, or
other dried crops in convenient forms, and so as to admit of their being thatched as a
defence from the weather. Stacks are of various forms and dimensions, according to
circumstances ; in some districts they are formed square or oblong, both for hay and
corn ; but where threshing machines are in use, the circular base with cylindrical body,
diverging a little at the eaves, and a conical top, is decidedly preferred, as being more conve-
nient in size and form, and better adapted for early stacking in wet seasons than any other.
For hay the form of the stack is a matter of less consequence ; the long square or oblong
shapes, are perhaps the most safe and convenient, especially when not too broad, as
they are the most suitable to cut from in trussing hay for sale.
3036. In respect to the sizes of corn-stacks of the square sort, they of course vary greatly
according to circumstances ; but they should never be made too large, as there is a great
deal more risk in securing and getting in the grain from them; and from their being built
at different times, they do not settle altogether in so perfect a manner, or resist the effects
of the weather and keep the grain so well as those of less dimensions that can be com-
pleted at once : and in addition, they are less convenient in the threshing out, especially
Book V. LABORS WITH THE CBOP. 475
where the flail is employed. The chief advantages they possess are those of taking some-
thing less in thatch and labor in covering them.
S037, Tlie proper size of the hay-stack should probably be different in some degree
according to tlie state and nature of the hay ; but a middling size is perhaps the best, as
from twenty to thirty loads of about one ton each, as there are inconveniences in both
small and large stacks, the former having too much outside, while the latter are liable to
take on too much heat, and at tlie same time permit less moisture to be preserved in the
hay. In small stacks the bellying forms with very narrow bottoms have often much ad-
vantage, and are in some districts termed sheep-stacks, probably from the slovenly prac-
tice of slieep having been permitted to feed at them.
3038. In building every descriptioyi of stack, the stem or body should be so formed as
to swell gradually outwards, quite up to the part termed the eaves, as by this method it
is more perfectly secured against the entrance of moisture, and at the same time requires
a less space of stand to rest upon. And when the building of them is well performed,
they liave equal solidity, and stand in as firm a manner.
3039. T/ie stem should contain about two-thirds, and the roof one-third of the whole stack. If it be
built on a frame, the stem should contain less and the roof more; if on a bottom the reverse. The comers
of the stem should not be built too sharp ; should be carried up snug ; by which the sides will look fuller,
and the swell given by the pressure will be more perceptible.
3040. The ends of the roo/ should have a gentle projecture, answerable to the stem ; and the sides should
be carried up rather convex, than flat or concave. Perhaps a roof gently convex shoots off the rains pre-
ferably to any other. *
3041. Where com is stacked that has not been sheaved, and in building hay-stacks it is
the usual practice to have a number of persons upon the stack, the corn or hay being
forked up and deposited on the different sides all round in a similar method ; after this
other parcels are laid all round on the inside of these, so as to bind them in a secure
manner from slipping outwards ; the operator proceeding in the same manner till the
whole of the middle space is perfectly filled up : when he begins another course in the
same method, and goes on in this mode, with course after course, till he has raised the
whole of the stem ; when he begins to take in for the roof, in a very gradual manner, in
every succeeding course until the whole is brought to a ridge or point, according to the
manner the stack is formed in. But for the purpose that the roofs may throw off the
water in a more perfect and effectual manner, they should be made so as to have a slight
degree of fullness or swell about the middle of them, and not be made flat, as is too fre-
quently the practice with indifferent builders of stacks.
3042. In stacking, where the com is bound into sheaves, there is seldom more than one
person employed in managing the work of building the stack, except in cases where the
dimensions are very considerable ; in which cases it is found necessary to have a boy to
receive the sheaves from the pitcher, and hand them to the man who builds the stack.
In executing the work it is of the utmost importance that the centre of the stack be con-
stantly kept in a somewhat raised state above that of the sides, as by this means the
sheaves have a sloping direction ' outwards, by which the entrance of moisture is more
efi'ectually guarded against and prevented. To accomplish this in the most perfect
method, the work;nan begins in the middle of the stand or staddle, setting the sheaves to-
gether so as that they may incline a little against each other, placing the rest in succes-
sive rows against them till he comes to the outside, when he carries a course of sheaves
quite round, in a more sloping manner than in the preceding courses. The bottom of
the stack, being formed in this way, it is afterwards usual to begin at the outside, and
advance with different courses round the whole, placing each course a little within the
other, so as to bind them in an exact and careful manner, till the stacker comes to the
middle. And all the different courses are to be laid on in a similar manner until the
whole of the stem is raised and completed ; when the last outside row of sheaves is, in
most cases, placed a very little more out than the others, in order to form a sort of pro-
jection for the eaves, that the water may be thrown off more effectually. But in cases
where the stems of the stacks are formed so as to project outwards in the manner already
noticed, this may be omitted without any bad consequences, as the water will be thrown
off easily without touching the waste of the stack. And the roof is to be fonned by
placing the sheaves gradually a little more in and in, in every course, until it comes to a
ridge or point, according to the form of the stack, as has been already observed. But in
forming and constructing this part of the stack, great care should constantly be taken to
give the ear-ends of the sheaves a sufficiently sloping direction upwards, in order that
they may be the better secured from wetness. And to the outside should be given a
rounded form, in the manner that has been already noticed.
3043. K funnel or chimney is frequently formed or left in circular stacks, especially
in wet districts, in order to prevent their taking on too much heat; where these funnels
are not formed with the basement of timber, iron, or masonry, as already shown (2746.),
they arc produced by tying a sheaf up in a very tight manner, and placing it in the mid-
dle on the foundation of the stack, pulling it up occasionally as the building of the stack
proceeds all round it. In setting up ricks in bad harvests, it is a practice in some places.
^7«
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II.
particularly with barley crops, to have three or four pretty large poles tied together, by
winding straw ropes round them, set up in the middle, round which the stacks are then
built. But except the stacks are large, or the grain when put into them in an iiiaperfect
condition, such openings are quite unnecessary.
3044. The stacking of hay requires much care and attention in the person employed
for the purpose, though less than that of building corn stacks. There should constantly
be a proper stand or foundation, somewhat raised by wood or other materials, prepared
for placing tlie stacks upon ; but nothing of the coping kind is here necessary. In the
business of stacking hay, the work should constantly be performed as much as possible
while the sun is upon the hay, as much advantage is thus gained in its quality : and it is
necessary to have a stacker that has been accustomed to the business, and a proper
number of persons to help upon the stack, in order that it may -be well spread out and
trodden down.
3045. The building of hay-stacks should be conducted much in the same way as those of
loose grain (3041.) ; the middle of the stack being always well kept up a little higher
than the sides, and the sides and ends well bound in by the proper application of the
successive portions of hay as the work advances, and during which it is a good way,
where there are plenty of hands, to have the sides and ends properly pulled into form, as
by this means much after-labor is prevented. It is likewise of advantage, that the hay
should be well shaken and broken from the lumps, during the operation of stacking.
The form in which the stacks are built is not of much consequence, but if large, and
made in the square form, it is better not to have them too broad, or of too great width,
as by this means they are less apt to heat. With the intention of preventing too much
heat, sometimes in building hay-stacks, as well as those of the grain kind, holes, pipes,
and chimneys are left in the middle, that the excessive heat may be discharged. But
there is often injury sustained by them, from their attracting too much moisture.
3046. The hay-stacks of Middlesex, it is observed by Middleton, are more neatly form-
-ed and better secured than any where else. At every vacant time, while the stack is
carrying up, the men are employed in pulling it with their hands into a proper shape,
and about a week after it is finished the whole roof is properly thatched, and then secured
from receiving any damage from the wind, by means of a straw rope, extending along
the eaves, up the ends, and near the ridge. The ends of the thatch are afterwards cut
evenly below the eaves of the stack, just of sufficient length for the rain water to drip
quite clear off the hay. When the stack happens to be placed in a situation which may
be suspected of being too damp in the winter, a trench of about six or eight inches deep
is dug round, and nearly close to it, which serves to convey all the water from the spot,
and renders it perfectly dry and secure.
3047. The stack guard (fig' 418.), or covering of canvass, is employed in some dis-
tricts to protect the stack while building in a wet season. In Kent and Surrey, the half
worn sails of ships are made use of for this purpose, though in most parts of the north, a
covering of loose straw or hay is found sufficient in ordinary cases ; but where, from a
continued rain, the stack is penetrated some way down, a part is removed on recom-
mencing, and dried before being replaced. It is observed by Marshal, that a sail cloth
thrown over, and immediately upon the hay of a stack in full heat, is liable to do more
injury by increasing the heat, and at the same time checking the ascent of the steanj, than
service in shooting off rain water. The improved method of spreading the cloth, he de-
scribes as follows : two tall poles (a, a) are inserted firmly in two cart wheels (/;, b),
which are laid flat upon the ground at each end of the stack, and loaded with stones to
increase their stability. Another pole of the same kind, and somewhat longer than the
stack, is furnished at each end with an iron ring or hoop, large enough to admit the up-
right poles and to pass freely upon them. Near the head of each of the standards is a
BookV. scientific operations. 477
pulley (c, c), over which a rope is passed from the ring or end of the horizontal pole, by
which it is easily raised or lowered, to suit the given height of the stack. A cloth being
now thrown over the horizontal pole, and its lower margins loaded with weights, a com-
plete roof is formed and neatly fitted to the stack, whether it be high or low, wide or
narrow ; the eaves being always adjusted to the wall plate, or upper part of the stem of
the stack ; thus effectually shooting off rain water, while the internal moisture or steam
escapes freely at either end as the wind may happen to blow. This contrivance is readily
put up or taken away ; the poles being light are easily moved from stack to stack, or laid
up for another season, and the wheels are readily removed or returned to their axles.
On the whole, it answers as a good substitute for the improved construction brought
into use by Sir Joseph Banks, and is much less expensive. This construction, instead of
the ring running on the poles, has blocks and tackle (c, c), and instead of weights to dis-
tend the cloth, ropes (rf, d) are used to tighten it and keep it detached from the sides of
the stack, so as to admit a more free circulation of air.
3048. A stacking stage (Jig. 4 1 9. )> or scaffold, has
been contrived for finishing the upper parts of high
stacks, but it can seldom be requisite when a judicious
size of stack is adoj^ted. This stage, which consists of
a frame fa) and a moveable platform (6), easily under-
stood and constructed, is set against the stack when it
becomes so high, that it is inconvenient to pitch on to it
from the cross plank of a waggon. The platform is
commonly fixed by means of the chain pins and holes,
about fourteen feet from the ground, which is about the •
height of a waggon load of hay. Should it be fixed
lower, it would be of no use; and should it be fixed much higher, it would be found too
high for a man to pitch on to, when the waggon is nearly empty.
3049. The term housing is chiefly applied to crop's of the root kind, as potatoes,
carrots, turnips, &c. Potatoes being gathered in dry weather are preserved by being
laid up in heaps, excluded from rain and frost more particularly, and from the weather
generally, whether dry, moist, cold, or hot. The mode of doing this in some places is
to form them into heaps on the surface of the soil, and cover them with a thick layer of
straw, and on that another of earth. Sometimes also, where the soil is dry, they are
buried in pits and similarly covered ; but for common agricultural purposes, by much
the best motle is to lay them up in a house, securing them from all extremes of weather
by a covering of straw. By this mode they are much easier got at when a portion is
wanted, than by any other in use.
3050. I?i housing carrots and Swedish or yellow turnips, the same modes may be
adopted as for potatoes ; but in housing white turnips, as they are apt to rot when heaped
up, the best mode is to spread them thinly on any surface covered from the rain, but
freely exposed to the circulation of air. This mode, it must be evident, can only be
adopted to a limited extent, and, indeed, is only resorted to as a precautionary measure
during winter, when frosts, snows, or continued rains, might interrupt the lifting and
carting from the fields of the usual supplies for feeding stock.
3051. Various modes of housing and preserving these and other roots, will be treated of
as each particular crop comes into notice in a succeeding Book (VI.)
Chap. III.
Scientific OjyerationSf and Operations of Order and general Management,
3052. All the operations which have hitherto been described require to be practically
known to every farm servant or operative agriculturist ; the few about to be described
belong more particularly to the superintendant or master: they may be arran'^ed as
scientific operations, and operations of order and management.
Sect. I. Scierdific Operations required of the Agriculturist.
3053. The scientific operations required of the agriculturist are chiefly the measuring
surfaces, measuring solids, taking the levels of surfaces, dividing lands ; and valuing
'lands, timber, leases, and farming stock. A knowledge of the more common practices
of surveying, measuring, and the calculation of annuities may be considered as essential
to every agriculturist, whether farmer, land agent, or proprietor, who is desirous of having
clear ideas on the subject of letting labor, hiring or letting farms, or purchasing estates.
Such knowledge is not to be expected in detail in this work, but must be procured from
the ordinary school, and annuity books, and is indeed implied in a regular education.
All we propose here is to direct the reader's attention to the most important points of the
art of surveying, and lay down the leading principles of valuing agricultural property.
478 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
SuBSECT. 1. Of Measuring relatively to Agricidture.
5054. The measuring oflandy or other objects, comprises three distinct operations ; viz.
taking the dimensions of any tract or piece of ground ; delineating or laying down the
same in a map or draught, and calculating the area or superficial contents. The dimen-
sions on a small scale are best taken by rods of wood, but in all ordinary and extensive
cases by a chain of iron, as being less likely to contract or expand by changes of temper-
ature, than cord lines or tapes. In measuring a simple figure, such as a square field,
nothing more is necessary than to take the length and breadth, which multiplied together
give the superficial area; but as few fields are square, or even right angled, it becomes
necessary to adopt some guiding line or form within the field, and, from that line or
form to measure to the diflPerent angles, so as to be able from the dimensions taken, either
to calculate the contents at once, or to lay down the form of tlie field on paper, according
to a certain scale, or proportion to its real size, and from that to take dimensions and cal-
culate the contents. The simplest and most accurate mode of ascertaining the contents
of all irregular figures is by throwing them into triangles ; and this also is the most accu-
rate mode of measuring and protracting a whole landed estate, however large. In short,
a triangle is the form universally adopted, whether in surveying a single field, or a whole
kingdom. To find the contents of a triangle every body knows that it is only necessary
to multiply half the perpendicular into the base. These two principles properly under-
stood, form the foundation of measuring, protracting, and estimating the contents of ter-
ritorial, and all other surfaces. In surveying hilly lands, an allowance is made both in
protracting them, and calculating their contents, well known to surveyors, and not
necessary to be entered into here.
5055. In measuring solid bodies, the rule is to " find the area of one end, and multiply
that by the length. " This rule is of universal application, whether to land as in excavat-
ing or removing protuberances ; to ricks of corn ; heaps of dung ; timber ; or water. The
area of one end, or of one surface, whether the end, side, top, or bottom, is found exactly
on the same principles as in ascertaining the superficial contents of land, and if the figure
diminishes in dimension in the course of its length, as the top of a rick, or tlie trunk of a
tree, the mean length or half is taken as a multiplier.
3056. Measuring objects by the eye, though a mode that can never be depended on as
the foundation for any important calculation or transaction, yet should be constantly
practised by young men for the sake of gaining habits of attention, and acquiring ideas as
to number and quantity at first sight. The principle on which this sort of eye measure-
ment is acquired, is that of ascertaining the actual dimension of some near object, and
applying it as a measure to all the others seen beyond it. Thus, if a man is seen standing
by a post or a tree at a distance, taking the height of the man at five and a half, or six
feet ; apply the figure of the man to the tree, and find how many applications will reach
its top ; that number multiplied by the ordinary height of a man, will of course be a
near approximation to its height. Again, supposing this tree one in a row or avenue,
then to estimate the length of the avenue, measure the third or fourth tree by the man, and
measure by the same means the distance of that tree from the first, then state the question
thus : as the difference between the height of the first and fourth tree is to the horizontal
distance between them, so is the difference between the first and last tree of the avenue,
to the length of the avenue. In this way, the length and breadth of a field may be esti-
mated by observing the height of the hedge, at the nearest side, and the apparent height
at the farthest points. The breadth of ridges and their number, teams at work, or cattle
grazing, or accidental passengers, are all objects of known dimensions, which may be
made use of in this way of estimating the contents of lands. In regard to houses, the
doors, and windows, and size of bricks, stones, boards, tiles, &c. are obvious and certain
guides.
3057. The recollection of surfaces and of country is a matter of considerable interest to
every one, but especially to the agriculturist. The most eflfectual mode of impressing
scenery on the memory is by the study and practice of sketching landscape. In addition
to this it will be useful to pay attention to the natural surface and productions, as, kind of
tree or crop, hills, valleys, flats, lakes, rills, &c. ; also, the distant scenery, as whether flat,
hilly, cultivated, waste, woody or watery ; what processes are going on ; what the style
of houses, dress, &c. Having attended to these details, the next and the most important
aid to the memory is, to recollect what portion of country already known to us it most
resembles.
3058. In endeavoring to recollect the surface and objects composing an entire estate some
leading central object, as the house, should be fixed on, and the bearings of other objects
relative to it, ascertained in idea. Then either by going over the estate, or by a favorable
position on the house-top, or some other eminence, the outline of the fields, or other
scenery nearest the house, may be taken down, or remembered, and also the distant
scenery, or that exterior to the estate. In riding through a country which it is desired to
Book V.
TAKING THE LEVELS OF SURFACES.
479
recollect, a sketch should be made in imagination of the road and the leading objects
adjoining ; another of what may be called the objects in the middle distance ; and finally,
one of the farthest distance. If instead of the imagination, a memorandum book were
used, and the sketches accompanied with notes, the country examined would be firmly
impressed on the memory. In this way temporary military maps are formed by the en-
gineers of the army in a few hours, and with astonishing accuracy.
SuBSECT. 2. Of taking the Levels of Surfaces.
3059. Levelling^ or the operation of taking the levels of surfaces, is of essential use in
agriculture for ascertaining the practicability of bringing water to particular points in
order to drive machinery ; for irrigation ; for roads led along tlie sides of hills ; for
drainages, and various other purposes. There are few works on the earth's surface more
useful, grand, and agreeable than that of a road ascending, passing over, and descending
a range of steep irregular mountains, but every where of the same and of a convenient
slope ; next to this is a canal passing through an irregular countiy, every where on the
same level.
3060. Two or more places are said to be on a true level when they are equally distant
from the centre of the earth. Also, one place is higher than another, or out of level with
it, when it is farther from the centre of the earth : and a line equally distant from that
centre in all its points, is called the line of true level. Hence because the earth is
round, that line must be a curve, and make a part of the earth's circumference, or at
least parallel to it, or concentrical with it.
3061. The line of sight given by the operation of levelling^ is a tangent, or a right line
perpendicular to the semidiameter of the earth at the point of contact, rising always
higher above the true line of level, the farther the distance is, which is called the apparent
line of level, the difference of which is always equal to the excess of tlie secant of the
arch of distance above the radius of the earth.
3062. The common methods of levelling are sufficient for conveying water to small dis-
tances, &c. but in more extensive operations, as in levelling for canals, which are to con-
vey water to the distance of many miles, and such like, the difference between the true
and the apparent level must be taken into the account, which is equal to the square of
the distance between the places, divided by the diameter of the earth, and consequently
it is always proportional to the square of the distance ; or from calculation almost
eight inches, for the height of the ajyparent above the true level at the distance of one
mile. Thus, by proportioning (he excesses in altitude according to the squares of the
distances, tables shewing the height of the apparent above the true level for every hundred
yards of distance on the one hand, and for every mile on the other, have been con-
structed. (See Br. Huttons Mathematical Dictionary, art. Level.)
3063. The operation of levelling is performed by placing poles or staves at different parts
or points from which the levels are to be taken, with persons to raise or lower them, ac-
cording to circumstances, when the levelling instrument is properly applied and
adjusted. In describing the more common levels used in agriculture, (2421.) we have
also given some account of the mode of using them for common purposes. Their use,
as well as that of the different kinds of spirit levels, will be better acquired by a few
hours' practice with a surveyor than by any number of words : and indeed in practice,
whenever any very important point or series of levels are to be taken, it will commonly
be found better to call in the aid of a land surveyor than to be at the expense of imple-
ments to be seldom used, and by which errors might easily be made by a very skilful
person not accustomed to their frequent use.
3064. Levelling to produce an even line (fig. 420.), as in road making, whether that
line be straight or curved in direction, can only be determined on an irregular surface
by measuring down from an elevated level line (a), or from level lines in parallel di-
420
rections, and so transferring the points by horizontal levels to the proper line. Straight
rods are the ready means of measuring down, and the points must be marked by hil-
4S0
SCIENCE OF AGRICl/LTURE.
Part II.
locks or liollows (i), or by smootli-headed stakes driven into the surface, and protruding
above, or sunk under it, according to the obstructions.
3065. Lines of uniform declivity or acclivity (fig, 420 e, e, e) are readily formed on
the same principle. In this and the former case, the common level and the horning
pieces (a and rf), with measuring-rods and stakes, arc all the instruments required.
SuBSECT. 3. Of the Division and laying out of Lands.
3066. The division of lands is one of the most important and not the least difficult
parts of the land surveyor's art. In intricate cases, as in the subdivision of large es-
tates or commons, the professional surveyor will generally be resorted to, but it is essen-
tial for the land-steward and proprietor, and even for the farmer, or professional Culti-
vator, to know the general principles on which this business is founded. We shall there-
fore shortly develope these principles from Dr. Hutton's valuable Dictionary, and next
offer some general rules of our own, for ordinary cases of dividing and laying out
lines.
3067. In the division of commons, after the whole is surveyed and cast up, and the
proper quantities to be allowed for roads, &c. deducted, divide the net quantity remain-
ing among the several proprietors, by the rule of fellowship, in proportion to the real
value of their estates, and you will thereby obtain their proportional quantities of the
land. But as this division supposes the land, which is to be divided, to be all of an
equal goodness, you must observe that if the part in which any one's share is to be
marked off, be better or worse than the general mean quality of the land, then you
must diminish or augment the quantity of his share in the same proportion.
3068. Or divide the ground among the claimants in the direct ratio of the valve of their
claims, and the inverse ratio of the quality of the ground allotted to each ; that is, in
proportion to the quotients arising from the division of the value of each person's estate,
by the number which expresses the quality of the ground in his share.
3069. ^nt these regidar methods cannot always be put in practice ; so that, in the di-
vision of commons, the usual way is, to measure separately all the land that is of dif-
ferent values, and add into two sums the contents and the values ; then the value of
every claimant's share is found by dividing the wliole value among them in proportion
to their estates ; and lastly, a quantity is laid out for each person, that shall be of the
value of his share before found.
3070. It is required to divide any given quantity of ground, or its value, into any given
number of parts, and in proportion to any given number. — Rule. Divide the given
piece, or its value, as in the rule of fellowship, by dividing the whole content or value
by the sum of the numbers expressing the proportions of the several shares, and mul-
tiplying the quotient severally by the said proportional numbers for the respective shares
required, when the land is all of the same quality. But if the shares be of different
qualities, then divide the numbers expressing the proportions or values of the shares, by
the numbers which express the qualities of the land in each share ; and use the quotients
instead of the former proportional numbers.
Ex. 1. If the total value of a common be 2.%0/. it is required
to determine the values of the shares of the three claimants A, B, C,
whose estates are of these values, 10,000, and 15,000, and 25,000/.
The estates being in proportion as the numbers 2, 3, 5, whose sum is 10,
we shall have 2,5000 -?- 10= 250; which being severally multiplied by 2,
3, 5, the products 500, 750, 1250, are the values of the shares required.
Ex. 2. It is required to divide 300 acres of land among A, B, C, D, E,
F, G, and H, whose claims upon it are respectively in proportion as the
numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 15, 20. The sum of these proportional numbers
is 64, by which dividing 300, the quotient is 4 ac. 2r. 30 p., which being
multiplied by each of the numbers, 1, 2, 3, 5, &c. we obtain for the several
shares as annexed :
Ex. 3. It is required to divide 780 acres among A, B, and C, whose
estates are 1,000, 3,000, and 4,000/. a year ; the ground in their shares being worth 5, 8, and 10
shillings the acre respectively. Here their claims are as 1, 3, 4; ^ ^ .^92
and the qualities of their land are as 5, 8, 10 ; therefore their quantities *-^ ^^ \ -
must be as one-fifth, three-eighths, two-fifths, or by reduction, as 8,
15, 16. Now the sum of these numbers is 39 ; by which dividing the
780 acres, the quotient is 20; which being milltiplied severally by the
three numbers 8, 15, 16, the three products are 160, 300, 320, for
the shares of A, B, C, respectively.
3071. To cut off from a plan a given number of acres,
^c. by a line drawn from any point in the side of it. —
Rule. Let a (fig. 421.) be the given point in the ^.
plan, from which a line is to be drawn cutting off" suppose J
5 ac. 2 r. 14 p. Draw a b cutting off" the part ab c as near
as can be judged equal to the quantity proposed ; and let
the true quantity of a be, when calculated, be only 4 ac.
3n. 20 p. which is less than 5 ac. 2 r. 14 p. the true quan-
tity, by Oac. 2 r. 34 p. or 71,250 .square links. Then measure ab, which suppose:
Ac.
R.
P.
A
= 4
2
30
B
= 9
1
20
C
= 14
0
10
D
= 23
1
30
R
= 37
i!
00
F
= 46
3
20
Cr
= 70
1
10
H
Sum
= 93
3
00
= 300
0
00 1
Book V.
DIVIDING AND LAYING OUT LANDS.
481
1,234 links, and divide 71,250 by 617, the half of it arid the quotient 115 links, will be the
altitude of the triangle to be added, and whose base is a,b. Therefore if upon the cen-
tre bp with the radius 1 15, an arc be described, and a line be drawn parallel to a, b, touch-
ing the arc, and cutting b,d in rf ; and if a, rf l)e drawn, it will be the line cutting off the
required quantity a, r/, c, a. On the other hand, if the first piece had been too much, then
d must have been set below h. In this manner, the several shares of commons to be di-
vided, may be laid down upon the plan, and transferred from thence to the ground itself.
3072. The simplest mode of dividing lands, and tliat by which the agriculturist will make
fewest errors is, by trial and correction. Thus, supposing apiece of unenclosed land of
irregular shape to contain thirty-eight acres and a half, and it is desired to lay it out in
three fields, each of the same extent. Take a plan of the field and lay it down on paper;
divide it into three parts as near as possible by the eye : then ascertain the contents of one
of the outside divisions, which will be either somewhat too little or too much. Suppose
it too little by half a rood; then as the length of the straight line of the division is 1000
links, and 1000 links in length and 100 in breadth make an acre, and as half a rood
is the eighth of an acre, it follows that by extending the line the eighth part of 100 links,
or 12'4 links at both ends, or 24 "8 links at one end, the requisite quantity will be added.
Then go through the same operation with the ^projected field on the other extreme of the
plot, and this being corrected, the middle field must necessarily be of the exact contents
of each of the two others ; but to prove the whole, this field also may be tried in the
same manner.
3073. I7i dividing afield with a view to sowing different crops in certain proportions : say,
for example, one acre and a half of common turnip, one acre of Swedish turnip, three
quarters of an acre of potatoes, and five acres of pease. Suppose the field a parallel-
ogram or nearly so, then first ascertain the length of tlie ridges, and next state the question
thus : Such a length being given, required the breadth to give a fourth of an acre; that
being the smallest fraction in the proportions to be laid out ; then if the length of the
ridges be ten chains, the breadth requisite to give a quarter of an acre will be 25 links ;
consequently a breadth of five times that space will be required for the common turnips;
four times for the Swedish turnips ; three times for tlie potatoes, and twenty times for the
pase.
3074. In all more intricate cases, first lay down the plan of the space to be divided on
paper, to a large scale, say a chain to an inch ; then cover the paper with lines, drawr
so as to form squares, each square containing a certain number of feet and yards, or say
pole each; then on these squares adjust the figure, whatever it may be: thus, supposing it
desired to lay out a thicket of trees on the face of a hill, the outline of which shall resem-
ble the outline of the profile of a horse, dog, or say a human head, and yet shall contain
only one acre : lay down the outline of the horse or head on a large scale, and divide it
into squares ; then by trial and correction ascertain what each square must necessarily
contain. Say that there are 130 entire squares and 40 parts of squares, making up in all
160 squares ; each of these squares must of course contain exactly one pole or 625 links,
and their sides the square root of that number or 25 links. From these data it is easy to
lay down the figure with perfect accuracy.
3075. The laying out lines on lands, for the purposes of roads, fences, &c. requires to
be well understood by the agriculturist. On a plain surface, the business of tracing
straight lines is effected by a series of poles, so placed that the one nearest the eye con-
ceals all the rest. Where a straight line is to be indicated among objects or inequalities,
not more than fifteen or twenty feet high, its plan or tract on the earth ( a, bjfig. 422.)
422
may be found by the use of poles, a few feet higher than the elevation of the obstructions,
the director being placed on a step-ladder, or other elevation at one end. Where this method
482 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
cannot be adopted on account of the height of the inequalities, the line must either be
formed along the summits of these inequalities, which may be done if they are houses,
hills, or trees ; or parallel lines (c, d, e) formed where practicable, and the main line
found by ofF-sets (f,g,h) from those collateral lines at such places as are suitable. A
third method, but one not always perfectly accurate, is to take a plan of the field or scene
of operations, and on this to set out the proposed line ; then by ascertaining its bearings
and distances relatively to the obstructions, it may be transferred from the paper to the
ground. In carrying straight lines through woods, lanterns have been used; but a much
more correct method is to elevate poles above the surface of the wood.
3076. Continuous lines may always be made perfectly straight, however irregular the
surface, by following the same parallel as indicated by points of the compass; or by the
shadow of the operator during sunshine. If the needle does not move, or the shadow of
the spectator be always projected at the same angle to his course, the direction in which he
walks, in either case, must be straight. The mode of forming right lines in such cir-
cumstances being understood, the formation of right lined figures is merely a repetition of
the process, uniting each side by the required angle.
3077. Curved lines on irregular surfaces are in general only to be laid down by the
previous establishment of straight lines ; first, leading straight lines, and next secondary
straight lines, which shall form skeletons to the curves. A second mode and on a large
scale, by much the most certain, is to find the leading points of the curves, by trian-
gles from a known base or known bases ; but as both modes are rare, they need not be
enlarged on.
SuBSECT. 4. Of estimating Weighty Power, and Quantities.
3078. Ascertaining the weight of objects is a part of agricultural knowledge, no less ne-
cessary than that of measuring their superficial or solid contents. In all ordinary cases,
as of grain, roots, bundles of straw, bushels of lime, &c. this is best done by a common
steelyard, suspended from a beam or a triangle of three posts. Cart or waggon loads are
weighed on those well-known platforms sunk in the ground at toll gates ; or sometimes by
steelyards on a very large scale. Cattle are weighed by machines of a particular kind,
which have been already described (2461. to 2463.). The weighing of cattle and grain
chiefly concerns the farmer, and is of consequence, in the first case, to ascertain the progress
of fattening animals,or the weight of those ready for the butcher ; and, in the second, to
determine the quantity of flour that may be produced from a given quantity of grain.
3079. Estimating the quantity of power requisite to draw any implement or machine, is
performed by the intervention of the draught machine already described (2460. j, between
the power and the implement. It would not be diflficult to construct all agricultural
implements with a fixed draught machine and index, which would at all times, when they
were at work, shew the amount of power employed in moving them; but such an
arrangement would be of little use.
3080. Estimating the quantity of work which servants and cattle ought to perform in a
given time, is an art that ought to be familiar to every agriculturist. In general no
absolute rule can be laid down, because so much depends on soils, roads, cattle, and other
circumstances ; but in every particular case the rate or market price of labor per day
being given, and the quantity of work ascertained which a man can fairly perform in a
certain time, a rate per yard, pole, or acre, or per solid quantity, if materials are to be
moved, can easily be determined on. A farmer should know by memory the number of
ridges or of single furrows, or bouts, which it requires to make an acre on every field of
his farm. This will aid him in every operation that requires to be performed on these
fields — the quantity of manure, seed, ploughings, harrowings, hoeings, mowing,
reaping, raking, &c. ; as well as produce, whether of corn, hay, roots, or the number of
cattle or sheep that may be grazed there for any given time.
3081. Road work, ditching, hedging, draining, trenching, ^c. ought to be subjected to
similar calculations, so as if possible to let out all work not performed with the master's
own men and cattle, by contract or quantity, instead of by time. As spade work is
nearly the same in most parts of the country, certain general rules have been laid down
by canal contractors and others, which, though seldom strictly followed up, yet it may be
useful to know. Thus in moving ground, as in digging a drain, or the foundations of a
building, if the soil is soft, and no other tool than the spade is necessary, a man will
throw up a cubic yard of 27 solid feet in an hour, or 10 cubic yards in a day. But if
picking or hacking be necessary, an additional man will be required ; and very strong
gravel will require two. The rates of a cubic yard, depending thus upon each cir-
cumstance, will be in the ratio of the arithmetical numbers 1, 2, 3. If, therefore,
the wages of a laborer be 2s. 6d. per day, the price of a yard will be 3rf. for cutting
only, 6d. for cutting and hacking, and 9d. when two hackers are necessary. In sandy
ground, when wheeling is requisite, three men will be required to remove 30 cubic yards
in a day, to the distance of 20 yards, two filling and one wlieeling ; but to remove the
J
Book V. VALUING LABOR AND MATERIALS. 483
same quantity in a day, to a greater distance, an additional man will be required for every
20 yards.
3082. To find the price of removing any number of ciihic yards to any given distance :
Divide the distance in yards by 20, which gives the number of wheelers ; add the two
cutters to the quotient, and you will have the whole number employed ; multiply the
sura by the daily wages of a laborer, and the produce will be the price of 30 cubic
yards. Then, as 30 cubic yards is to the whole number, so is the price of 30 cubic yards
to the cost of the whole. Example. — What will it cost to remove 2,750 cubic yards
to the distance of 120 yards, a man's wages being three shillings per day? First, 120 -¥■
20 = 6, the number of wheelers; then -f- 2 fillers = 8 men employed, which, at three
shillings per day, gives twenty-four shillings as the price of 30 cubic yards ; then 30 :
24 : : 2,750 and 24 x 2,750 -r-' 30 = 1 lOZ.
SuBSECT. 5. Of Estimating the Value of Agricidtural Labor and Materials.
3083. Estimating the value of work done is a necessary part of agricultural knowledge,
and is founded upon the price of labor and the time of performance. The price of
labor is every where determined by the operations of the public, and therefore in any given
case can seldom admit of much difference of opinion. In a theoretical view of the sub-
ject the proper wages for a laborer in England has been considered for ages, to be a peck of
wheat ; and that of a horse the amount of his keep, expenses of a year's shoeing, and ten
per cent, on his value or cost price at a fair age, added together, and divided by the num-
ber of days such horse is supposed to work in a year ; this brings the value of the day's
work of a horse to something more than once and a half the value of the day's work of a
man ; so that supposing a laborer's wages two shillings per day, a man and a pair of
horses would be worth eight shillings per day. This, however, it mus't be acknowledged, v
is a calculation not to be always depended on, as local circumstances continually intervene
to alter the proportions. In all cases of valuing labor, therefore, all that the valuator can
do is to ascertain the local price, and to estimate from his own experience the time
requisite to perform the work.
3084. In estimating the value of labor and of materials, considerable difficulty occurs
in some departments of agriculture. Thus in valuing fallows and sown crops it is often
a nice point to determine satisfactorily the value of the manure or other dressings ; and in
valuing the tillages or the condition of the arable lands of an out-going tenant, regard
must be had not only to the actual number of ploughings a field may have been subjected
to, the preceding or current year, but to the position which the state of that field holds in
the rotation, and to the value which may still be in the soil of manures or limings given
to former crops. Supposing a field fallowed, limed, and dunged in the year 1820, and
tJiat when it fell to be valued in the spring of the year 1824, it was drilled with beans on
one furrow, it would be no adequate compensation for the tenant to be paid for one
ploughing, the beans, and the drilling; the fallow, the dung, and especially the lime
given in 1820, must be considered as extending their influence even to this crop, and there-
fore an allowance ought to be, and generally is made for these three articles, besides the
mere value of the labdr and seed. What this allowance should be it does not seem easy
to determine : land valuers and appraisers have certain rules which they go upon, which
are known to few but themselves, but which having ourselves been initiated in the busi-
ness, we know to differ considerably in different parts of the country. Some calculate
that the value of dung extends to the fourth year, and declines in a geometrical ratio, or
in tlie proportion 1, 2, 4, 8. Others limit its effects to three years. Lime is allowed in
some places to produce effects for three years only, and in others, especially on new
lands, for twelve and fourteen years, and its value is generally supposed to decline in
the proportion of 1,2, 3, &c. Naked fallow is generally considered as of beneficial
influence for five years, where it occurs every seven or eight years, and shorter periods in
proportion. A crop sown on a single furrow after a drilled crop which has been manured,
is considered as partaking of the manure or other dressings according to the extent to
which these have been given, and generally in the same ratio as in manured fallows.
3085. In estimating the value of materials alone, the first thing is to ascertain their
quantity, and the next their market price. Thus, in the case of heaps of manure, the
cubic contents must first be found, by finding the area of the base of the heap, and its
mean depth, and multiplying the one into the other ; next the quality of the material,
must be examined, and the expense of purchasing it in the nearest. town or source of
purchase, with the addition of the expense of carriage to the spot where it lies. Ricks,
whether of straw or hay, are valued in a similar manner. Crops in a growing state are
valued according to what they have cost, including tillage, manures, seed, rent, taxes,,
and other out-goings, and ten per cent, on the outlay of capital ; crops arrived at matu-
rity are valued according to their quantity and quality, deducting the expenses of reap-
ing, threshing, &c. In coal countries an allowance is made for thorn-hedges which
I i 2
484 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
have been newly cut ; but the reverse is the case where fuel is scarce, an allowance
being made according to the quantity of brush or lop on the hedge. Xhe lop of pollards
and prunings of hedge-row trees to a certain height, is generally valued to the tenant ;
but a better mode is for the landlord to take the timber-trees entirely under his own
management
3086. In valuing live-stock, a variety of circumstances require to be taken into con-
sideration. The value of all young animals may be considered as prospective ; the chief
value of others depends on their breeds ; of some, on accident or fashion ; and of fed
animals on their actual value to the butcher. Draught cattle may be valued on an ab-
stract principle, derived from the probable value of their lives and labor ; but in general
nothing is to be depended on but a knowledge of the market price, and this ought to be
familiar to every valuator.
3087. In valuing buildings, regard must be had to their absolute use as such, and to
their effect on the value of surrounding property. In the case of buildings merely
useful as farmeries, it will sometimes happen that more buildings are erected than the
most approved mode of husbandry requires, as in the' case of large barns and granaries,
ornamental pigeon-houses, &c. : these can be valued on no other principle than that of
the value of the materials, supposing them taken down ; and in regard to an in-coming
tenant they are to be considered as a drawback, rather than as of any value.-
3088. In valuing orchards, hop-grounds, osier plantations, and similar crops, it is usual
for the first two or three years irfter planting, to allow only the cost, rent, all outgoings,
and ten per cent, on their amount ; but afterwards, the trees and plants having taken
virith the soil, and promising abundant crops, they are valued prospectively in the mode
in which we shall next describe as applied to young plantations of timber-trees.
3089. In valuing young jtlantations, when they are only of two or three years' growth,
it is usual to proceed as in valuing orchards ; but afterwards, when their growth is be-
coming rapid, and the fences in a sufficient state, the plantation is valued prospectively
in the following manner : — The contents being known, and the number of healthy young
trees per acre ascertained, then their value at any distant period, not exceeding twenty
or twenty-five years, is estimated ; and whatever sum that estimate amounts to, the pre-
sent value of that sum will give an idea of the value of the plantation, allowing liberally
for accidents to the trees, and other unforeseen circumstances. Thus, suppose a plant-
ation of oaks, intended as copse, or actually established as such, to have grown four
years, its present value would be next to nothing ; but if arrived at its twentieth year,
it would fetch fifty pounds per acre. Then the question is, required the present value
of fifty pounds due sixteen years hence, the market price of money being five per cent. ?
and this, according to any of the modern annuity tables (say Bayleys 4to. 1808. tab. iv.),
is 22/. 18s. This principle is applicable to all kind of valuing by anticipation ; and there
is no other mode of valuing applicable to young plantations.
3090. In valuing saleable trees, their number per acre, or their total number, being
ascertained, an average value must be made of each tree, according to its worth as fuel,
timber, fence-wood, bark for the tan-pit, and other particulars, due allowance being made
at the same time for the expenses of felling, cutting up, sorting, carriage, &c. The
usual practice in this case, as well as in the valuation of copse-woods, will be given in
treating of wood-lands in the succeeding Part of this work.
3091. In valuing Jtelds Jhr rent, regard must be had to their soil and subsoil as of the
greatest importance ; next to their aspect, form, length, and style of ridges ; and, lastly,
as to the sort of crops or rotation which may be followed on them, and their state of cul-
ture. Supposing the valuator to decide in his own mind as to the rotation, his next
business is to calculate the expense and produce df the whole course ; and after deduct-
ing all expenses whatever, and ten per cent, per annum on the capital employed, the
balance may be considered as the rack rent which such a field may afford.
3092. In valuing a farm for rent, each field must be valued separately in the manner
above stated, and a particular rent per acre determined for each field, as well as an ave-
rage rent for the whole farm. In some cases it is customary to value the farm buildings,
dwellings, yards, gardens, &c. but when that is done, a sum in proportion to their value
is deducted from the supposed profits as household and other expenses, so that no advan-
tage is gained by it. It is by means of those buildings, threshing machine, and other con-
veniencies, that so much can be paid for each field, and therefore to pay for the buildings,
and pay also for their advantages, would be unjust. It must be further obvious, that a
great variety of other considerations must be taken into account before even the value of
a single field can be ascertained, such as distance from markets, roads, parochial and
country towns, price of labor, &c. But after all, it is seldom that land is taken or let on
such valuations ; rent, like price of every kind, depending more on the quantity of land
in the market, and the number of tenants in want of farms, than on the real value of land.
This, indeed, often tends to the ruin of farmers, by obliging them to give higher rents
than the land can bear j but the same thing takes place in every other trade or profession.
Book V. VALUING RENTS AND TILLAGES. 485
3093. The amount of the reid of lands is commonly determined in money alone ; but
owing to the fluctuations in the value of this commodity, rents are in some places made
payable partly in money, and partly in corn, (or beef or wool in some cases,) or in money,
and the money value of a certain quantity of jiroduce per acre. In some cases the money
value of the produce is determined by its price in the district for the current or preceding
year ; and in other cases by an average of the money price for the preceding three, five,
or seven years. This plan has, within the last seven years, been adopted in many parts
of Scotland, and been generally approved of, both by landlords and tenants. There is no
plan that will in every year be perfectly 'equitable, and for this reason many consider the
money rent as on the whole the simplest and best, as it certainly is that which occasions
less trouble to all parties.
3094. The valuatioti of leases well deserves the study of the culturist, and especially
of the farmer, who may often wish or find an opportunity of purchasing a renewal of his
lease, or have occasion to dispose of an improved rent, or in other words, sub-let his farm
at a profit. It is customary, in many parts of the kingdom, for landlords to compound
with their tenants, by accepting a sum of money paid down in place of advancing the
rent at the expiration of a former or a current lease. To be able to point out the exact
amount of the sum to be paid in any transaction of this nature, according to the annual
profit, and the number of years for which the lease is to be granted, must obviously be
particularly useful. The valuation of church leases and of college lands, is of not less
importance, as these for the most part are let on twenty-one years leases, renewable for
seven years longer at the end of every seven years ; or on leases for lives, every life being
renewable as it drops, for a certain sum to be determined according to the age of the life
to be put in, and the value of the lands.
3095. The jn-mciple on which all calculations, as to the value of leases, is made, is as fol-
lows : a sum being fixed on, which is considered or agreed on as the worth or profit
which the tenant has in the lease, and the time which the lease has to run, or for which it
is to be renewed being agreed on, then the purchaser of the lease or of the renewal pays
down to the seller the present value of an annuity equal to the profit or worth, reckoning
money at its market price, or at what is called legal interest. Thus, should it be suitable
to the convenience of both parties to renew a lease of twenty-one years, of which only one
year had expired, the tenant ought to pay the landlord 75. 2d. for every pound of profit
he has in the lease. Should it be asked how the tenant is to pay the landlord only 7*. 2d.
out of each pound that he had of profit in the one year that has elapsed, it is answered,
that the landlord had no right to receive the 75. 2d. until the expiration of twenty years,
which is the number the lease has yet to run ; and that this sum of 75. 2d. laid out at com-
pound interest, at 5 per cent., payable yearly, would, at the end of twenty years, amount
exactly to 1/. ; so that the landlord has received just the amount of what he was entitled
to, and no more.
3096. Or, as the most customary period at which to renew, during the currency of a lease
of twenty- one years, is when seven years have elapsed, then the exact sum that ought to
be paid for adding seven years will be 21. 18s. 5d. for every 1/. of annual profit, because
21. } 85. 5d. laid out at compound interest, will, in twenty-one years, the length of lease
obtained by paying it, amount exactly to 71., the profit that would have accrued to the
landlord during the seven years of renewal.
3097. The method of determining all questions as to the renewal of leases, sale of profits
on sub-leases, &c. is easily learned from the common books of arithmetic ; and the value
of lives from tables composed from a long series of observations in different places, as at
London, Northampton, &c. But practical men can seldom have recourse to so tedious a
method as calculating for themselves, by which, for want of daily practice, serious errors
might be made. They therefore have recourse to published tables on the subject, by
which the most intricate questions of this kind may be solved by the humblest individual
who can add and subtract, in a few minutes. The tables in most repute at present are
nailers Tables for the purchasing and renewing of Leases, 1 807 ; Clarke's Enquiry into the
Mature and Value of leasehold Property and Ife Annuities, ivith m,any Tables, 1 806; and there
is a useful pocket compendium entitled, Tablesfor the purchasing Estates, Leases, Annuities,
and the renewing of Leases, by W. Inwood, London, 1811. There is a recent work on
The Valuation of Rents and Tillages, by J. S. Bayldon, which is the best of its kind extant.
3098. The questions following, and others of similar importance to agriculturists, and
indeed to all men of property, may be answered from these tables.
Question. What sum must be paid down for a lease for twenty-one years to make five per cent, and get
back the principal ?
Answer. Twelve years and three-quarters purchase of the annual rent.
Q. What sum ought to be paid for a lease granted on a single life aged thirty, to make four per cent,
and get back the principal ?
A. Fourteen years and three quarters purchase of the clear annual rent.
Q. What sum ought to be paid for a lease held on two lives of twenty and forty years, but determinable
on the death of either, to pay five per cent, and get back the princiixil ? ,
A. Ten years purchase.
li 3
486 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.
■ Q, What sum ought to be paid for a lease held like the last on two lives of twenty and forty years, but
to continue during the existence of either of the lives, to pay five per cent, and get back the principal ?
A. Sixteen years purchase.
Q. What sum or fine ought a tenant to give for the renewal of four years lapsed in his lease of ten
ye irs, in order to make seven per cent, interest of his money and get back the principal ?
A. Two years and a quarter purchase of the annual value or clear profit which he makes of the
holding.
Q. A farmer is offered a lease during the life of a person aged thirty years, to what term certain is that
CO isidered equivalent ?
A. Twenty-one years.
Q. In a lease held originally on three lives, but of which one is dropped, the ages of the lives in pos-
session being forty and sixty ; what sum ought the tenant to pay for passing in a new life, aged fifteen, in
order to make five per cent, interest and return the principal ?
A. Three years and a quarter of the clear improved rent or profit which he has in the lease.
Q. A has an estate in land and houses let for 105/. per annum. He wishes to sell the reversion of this
rent after the death of his father aged sixty-five years, his wife aged forty-one, and himself aged forty-
three ; required the sum that must be paid by the purchaser ?
A. The father's life is worth ten years ; tne wife's twenty ; and his own eighteen years ; say twenty-
one years ; as the probable period at which the property will fall to the purchaser of the reversion. Then
the value to the latter is the present value of an annuity of 105/. a year, due twenty-one years hence. This,
calculating interest at 51. per cent., is 761/. 5s. and at 4/. per cent. 1155/.
3099. In the valuation of freehold landed properti/, the clear annual value must first be
ascertained by a minute examination of every part of the estate, and of every in-
ternal and external circumstance affecting it. An estate may be neglected, or underlet
on short or long leases, or overlet by means of bonuses, or favorable conditions given to
the tenants ; or it may be burdened by parochial taxes ; these, and a number of other cir-
cumstances require to be taken into consideration in determining its annual value. The
annual value is often different from the annual produce, and therefore, in making a cal-
culation of the sum to be paid for an estate, the difference between them forms an essen-
tial part of the data. Tlius an estate of the annual value of 100^. may be let on a lease
of which fourteen years and a half were unexpired for 80^., in which case there must be
deducted from the price the present value of an annuity of 20/. for fourteen years and a
half Thus if twenty- five years purchase or 2500/. was the price agreed on, there must
be duducted 200/.
3100. In determining the sum to be paid for estates in perpetvity there are no guides of
universal application but the state of the market and public opinion. However, a sort of
abstract principle has been laid down as applicable to this country, which it may be worth
while to notice. N. Kent, a land agent of much experience, says, (Hints to Gentlemen of
landed Property, &c. 1793. p. 266.) "the want of a criterion to determine the price of
estates creates doubt ; and doubt impedes the transfer ; any thing therefore that can aid
the purpose of passing estates from one person to another, with the greater facility, may
])e properly introduced here. " Suppose then that the gradual scale, by way of an outline,
be taken up thus : When the fundg stand pretty steady at four per cent, the standard
of mortgages may be considered at four and a half: the fee simple on the neat return
of land ought then to be current at three ; copyholds of inheritance upon a fine certain, at
three and a half j copyholds with a fine at the will of the lord, at four. TJiis general rule
is short, and may be registered in the mind of every man of business. At the same time
Kent stales, that " nineteen times out of twenty, estates are bought and sold upon
round numbers."
3101 . In making calculations of the value of estates, the following rules deserve notice.
In order to know the number of years' purchase that ought to be given for an estate in
perpetuity, according to the several rates of interest which the purchaser may wish to
make of his money, it is only necessary to divide 100 by the rate of interest required, and
the quotient will shew the number of years' purchase that ought to be given.
3102. JVith resj^ect to the value of freehold estates, or the gross swwi which ought to be
paid for the same, Bailey observes, we may either multiply the number of years' purchase,
found as above, by the annual rent of the estate, or we may "multiply the annual rent
of the estate by 100, and divide the product by the rate of interest which we propose to
make of our money ; the quotient will be the sum required." For example, the sum
•which ought to be paid for a freehold estate, of the clear rent of 90/. per annum, so that
the purchaser may make 4 per cent, interest of his money, is found either by multiplying
25 by 90, which gives 2250/. for the sum required ; or by multiplying 90 by 100, which
produces 9000 ; and then dividing this product by 4, which gives 2250/. as before. The
first way is the most expeditious, where the number of years' purchase is an even quan-
tity ; but the latter will be found the most ready, where the number of years' purchase
is a fractional quantity, or is not precisely known. Thus, the gross sura which ought
to be paid for a freehold estate of the clear rent of 150/. per annum, in order that the
purchaser may make 7 per cent, interest of his money, is found by multiplying 150
by 100, which produces 15,000, and then dividing this product by 7, which gives
2142/. 175. 2d. for the sum required : now if, in answering this question, we had begun
by finding the number of years' purchase which ought to have been given for the
same, the process would have been rendered much more tedious and intricate.
Book V.
PLANS AND MAPS OF ESTATES.
487
3103. In. order to find the clear annual rent which a freehold ought to produce, so as to
allow the purchaser a given rate of interest for his money, we must ** multiply the gross
sum paid for the same, by the given rate of interest, and then divide the product by 100;
the quotient of which will be the annual rent required :" thiis, if a person gives 5940^.
for a freehold estate, and he wishes to make 6 k per cent, interest of his money, then
5940 multiplied by 6'5, will produce 38610*0, which, divided by 100, willquote 386*100,
or 386/. 2s. , for the clear annual rent required. Lastly,
3104. The rate of interest allowed to the purchaser of a freehold, is much more readily
and more exactly ascertained than in the case of leases for terms, as we have nothing more
to do here than to " multiply the clear annual rent of the estate by 100, and then divide
the product by the sum paid for the estate ; the quotient will be the rate of interest re -
quired :" thus, if a person gives 2000/. for a freehold estate, of the clear rent of 85/. per
annum, then 85, multiplied by 100, will produce 8500, which, divided by 2000, will
quote 4*25, or 4^ per cent, for the rate of interest required.
3105. The valuation of mines and minerals is not a matter of much difficulty when it
extends merely to quarries of stone, lime, chalk, gravel, or other bodies " open to the
day," or worked from the surface. If the qi|antity is indefinite, then the annual income
afforded forms the ground- work ; if it is limited, then the joint consideration of the quan-
tity, and the probable time the current demand may take to exhaust it. The valuation
of metallic mines belongs to a distinct class of professors known as mineral surveyors,
and is a matter foreign to agriculture, which confines itself to the earth's surface, or at
least to the epidermis of its upper crust.
SuBSECT. 6. Of the professional Etiquette of Land Surveyors, Appraisers, and Valuators,
in making up their Plans and Beports.
3106. For protracting rural objects various modes have been adopted by land-surveyors :
trees are sometimes shown by small crosses or cyphers, triangles or dots (fig. 423. a) ; by
an orbiculate line representing the extension of the branches or head, and a dot in the
place of the trunk (a and e) ; by the same, with the addition of a shadow, taken when the
sun is south or south-west, and his elevation exactly 45°, by which the points of the com-
pass are readily ascertained throughout the plan, and the shape of the head, and the height
of the tree exhibited' (e) ; sometimes an elevation or profile of the tree is given, either
in foliage (f), or to show the form of the trunk and branches (g), or merely to give a
rude idea of a tree (c) . Hedge-rows, whether with or without trees, are either shown in
elevation or profile (/«), or in vertical profile or bird's-eye view (i). They may be de-
lineated either in skeleton or foliage. Buildings may be shown either in general plan (k),
detailed plan (/), vertical profile of the roof (m), elevation (ri), perspective view (o); or a
plan may be given (^>), and a diagonal elevation (y) taken and placed opposite the plan
in the margin of the map. A pictorial surveyor, who understands perspective, and is
desirous of conveying a correct idea of the subject he is to measure and delineate, will
readily find expedients for attaining success.
3107. In protracting elevations and depressions on jmjier the simplest way is to introduce
sections, in dotted or otherwise distinguished lines, to prevent their being mistaken for
surface-lines ; or in wavy surfaces, figures may be introduced, thus -g: or 4, to denote their
elevation above, or depression below, some piece of water, or other surface fixed on as a
medium. Some excellent observations on this subject will be found in Major Lehman's
Topographical Flan Drawing, as translated by Lieutenant Sibern, [oblong fol. Lond.
1822), which it is to be hoped will soon be appropriated in the popular books on land
surveying, and adopted in practice.
3108. Where it is in contemplation to form canals, or other reservoirs or pieces of water,
tlie elevations and depressions or levels must be taken and recorded either by sections
or arithmetically with the greatest accuracy ; and, in some cases, sections may require
to be taken to show particular trees, buildings^, the depth of water, or other objects.
(Jg. 424.)
3109. With respect to the elevations and hapes of hills and mountains they are only to
be measured correctly by the quadrant anc' theodolite, in the hands of regular land sur-
veyors. Their shape and dimensions are laid tlown in maps in the same manner as tliose
li 4
488
SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE.
424
Part II.
of smaller deviations from the flat surface. Inaccessible dimensions of height, as of trees
or buildings, are obtained by the quadrant, or by relative comparisons of shadows ; of
depth, as of water or wells, by rods ; of breadth or length, by finding the two angles of a
triangle whose base shall be in one extremity of the distance ; and apex in the other.
These, and many other equally simple problems in trigonometry, need not be enlarged
on, because they must be supposed to form a part of general education.
3110. In j)ortraying the general surface of land estates, different modes have been
adopted by modern land surveyors. The first we shall mention is the old mode of giving
what may be called the ground-lines only ; as of roads, fences, water. courses, situations
of buildings and trees, {fg. 425. ) This mode has no other pretensions than that of ac-
curacy of dimensions, and can give few ideas to a stranger who has not seen the property,
beside those of its contents and general outline.
425 426
3111. In the second, elevations of the o6;Vcifs are added to these lines ; but which, in
crowded parts, tend much to obscure them, {fig 426.) This mode is perhaps the best
calculated of any to give common observers a general notion of an estate ; more especially
if ably executed. Very frequently, however, this mode is attempted by artists ignorant
of the first principles of drawing, optics, or perspective, and without taste.
427
Book V.
MAPPING ESTATES.
489
3112. In the third, a vertical profile, or geometrical bird's-eye view, that is, a bird's-
eye view in which all the objects are laid down to a scale, is presented. In this the upper
surface of every object is seen exactly fls it would appear to an eye considerably elevated
above it, and looking centrically down on it. {Jig. 427. ) This mode, properly executed,
is calculated to give a more accurate idea of the furniture or surface -objects of an estate
than any other ; and if the declivities be correctly indicated, and the shade of the hollows
and eminences to be laid on with reference to some medium elevation, referred to or illus-
trated by sections, taken in the direction of indicated lines (0...6), it will give an equally
correct idea of the variations of the ground. In short, it is the best mode for most pur-
poses, and is now coming into general use.
3113. yi very complete method of giving the plan of an estate, is to adopt the profile
manner and include such a portion of the plans of the adjoining estates or country as
shall be cont lined within a circle of moderate extent [Jig. 428.), the centre of which may
428
be the centre of the demesne-lands, family-mansion, or prospect-tower. Around a map
so formed, the distant scenery, as seen from the roof of the house, or prospect-tower, may
form a panoramic circumference, or margin of prospects. (Jig. 428.) In all these modes,
dimensions and contents are given or obtainable along with effect; in all those which fol-
low, effect or general appearance only is obtained.
3114. The natural bird's-eye view is intended to give a general idea of the external ap-
pearance of an estate. In this the eye of the spectator is supposed to be considerably
elevated above the centre of the estate, and all the objects are portrayed exactly as they
would appear to him in that situation ; largest in the centre, and gradually diminishing to
the circumference of the circle of vision. In such a delineation, parts of other adjoining
estates may often require to be included, in order to complete the circle ; but these arc
necessary to the general idea, and can easily be distinguished from the principal property
by minute marks on the delineation.
3115. In the panoramic view, the delineator supposes himself placed on an eminence,
as the roof of the mansion, wbere centrical, and looking round on all tliat he sees on
every side. Where there is a prominent hill, or where the mansion is on an eminence,
this is a very desirable mode of giving a general idea of a domain, and by the aid of hori-
490 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IL
zontal lines, and lines converging to them from the centre of vision, some idea may be
had, on flat surfaces at least, of the relative heights and distances of objects.
3116. A simple mode is to give a general view, or distant prospect of the estate, or its
principal parts (^5-. 429.), as seen from some elevated conspicuous hill, building, or
object near it ; or if the estate, as is frequently the case, is situated on the side of a
hill, or range of hills, a situation on the plain, or flat grounds opposite to it, will be
suflScient.
429
3117. In delineating maps the most durable mode in point of durability is on parch-
ment ; but where there is a chance of alterations being made on the estate, as in the
lines of roads, fences, streams, &c., it is better to delineate on paper, as the correspond-
ing alterations can be made on the map with greater ease. Such colors as are stains,
and do not wash out, are proper for maps and plans on parchment ; but where alterations
may require to be made, or where shadows or any thing like picturesque effect is to be
attempted, water colors alone must be used. To delineate estates and plans of every
kind in a beautiful and expressive manner, much depends on having the very best instru-
ments and colors, and in knowing how to use them. The sight of good models is also
an important matter, and for this we may refer to Horner's elegant work, The
Art of delineating Estates, 1813; and the very scientific work of Lehman, already
mentioned (p. 487.).
3118. i>i the writing or printing on maps, great want of taste is often displayed. No
principle can be more obvious than that the name of a thing, or the ornaments of an
object, should not be made more conspicuous than the theory or object itself. Yet this
rule is constantly violated in plans of estates by the large ornamental writing or print
interspersed in and around them ; conspicuous Ijlazonry of the name of the estate and
its owner at some corner, and of the compass and scale in others. All these adjuncts
should be kept in due subordination to the main delineation.
3119. Models of every mountainous estates will be found preferable to any descrip-
tion of maps, or views, for giving a correct idea of them. Such models might be formed
in plaster of Paris, wax, or various other materials, and colored after nature.
3120. Beference books are essential accompaniments to maps or models, and are of
various kinds. Sometimes they merely contain the names and contents of the fields or
other parts or divisions, with the state of culture or condition in which they are. In
other cases the soil and subsoil are described, but in the most complete cases each farm is
described, together with the history of its occupation or improvement under the following
or similar heads : — Name, parish, extent, boundaries, when first enclosed, Low let and
managed hitherto, to whom and for how much let at present, description of the far-
mery and house, contents, fences, trees, ponds, soil, subsoil, surface, expense, &c. of
each field; number of timber trees on the farm, copse woods, and various matters.
In addition to such a description as the above, some add in the reference book a separate
map of each farm, which renders the whole very comprehensive ; and as nothing can
be more interesting than the contemplation of a man's own property on all sides, and in
every possible bearing, these books are generally valued above all others by country
gentlemen.
3121. The valuations of farming stock, tillage, and leases, being of temporary use, are
made out with little form. In most cases the value of particular articles is not given,
but only an enumeration of them, and the sum total. The valuators have the separate
values in their private memorandum books ; and in cases where two valuators are employed,
one on each side, if an umpire is obliged to be called in, in consequence of disagreement,
then the parties have reference to their notes. In some cases of valuations by two
parties, the umpire being appointed beforehand, accompanies the valuators, hears their
Book V. ORDER AND MANAGEMENT. 491
discussion on each article as it comes under review, and decides any difference that may
occur as they go on. This is considered the best mode, and is that generally adopted in
the case of valuations made by order of the Court of Chancery.
3122. In making up valuations for purchasing or selling estates, a report is generally
required to accompany the valuation, stating the ground on which it is made. Such a
report embraces a great variety of objects according to the nature and extent of the
property, and ought to be drawn up in a clear and systematic manner, with such a table
of contents and an index as may render it of easy reference.
Sect. II. Operations of Order and Management.
SI 23. The business of agriculture, whether in the management of extensive estates or
tlie culture of single farms, requires to be conducted in an orderly and systematic manner.
For this purpose a certain establishment of operators, a certain style of books of accounts,
and great attention in all commercial transactions, may be considered the fundamental
requisites.
3124. The establishment of co-operators and servants, must depend on the extent of the
subject of management. An extensive landed estate, containing besides farming
lands, woods, quarries, mills, mines, waters, manorial rights, game, and villages, will
require a series of subordinate managers ; but in general a steward as a head manager,
a steward's clerk or assistant, or in some cases a local steward, are all the managers that
are requisite ; the subordinate care of quarries, woods, game, &c. being performed by
a quarryman, forester, gamekeeper, or by common servants of tried fidelity.
3125. The gradation of operators required on farms, Ae^endiS on theix size. When-
ever the master does not labor himself, a foreman or operator having some charge is
requisite, and in very extensive cases where there is a considerable extent of grazing
ground as well as tillage lands, a head ploughman and a head herdsman will be found
advantageous. There should also be a confidential laborer, or headman of all work, to
superintend and accompany women and children in their operations, as in hoeing, weed-
ing, planting potatoes, &c. The grand point to be aimed at by the steward of an exten-
sive estate, and the occupier of a large farm, is to hit on the proper number of sub-
managers ; and to assign each his distinct province, so as the one may never interfere
with the other. Having attained this, the next thing is to keep the whole machine in
regular action, to keep every man, from the lowest operator to the highest, strictly to his
duty. All operators ought to be adequately remunerated, and it is better in general to
pay a liberal price and require vigilant, skilful, and active exertion, than to cheapen
labor, and so encourage indolence and bad execution. For the lower class of laborers,
especially such as are hired by the year, it will often be necessary to attend as well to the
food they eat, as to their constancy at work. In the case of farm servants, for example,
it will generally be found preferable to board and lodge single men, than to substitute a
sum of money, which they will in many cases either save or spend, otherwise, than so as to
strengthen their bodies. Where labor is done by the job, all that is requisite is to see
that it is done well, and.according to agreement ; and this, as we have already observed,
is the best mode wherever it can be adopted.
3126. Orderly conduct in the lower classes of workmen, is a point to which we would
wish particularly to direct the attention of the bailift' and farmer. Regularity in their
hours, neatness and cleanness in their dress ; punctuality in cleaning and putting away
in the proper places their implements of labor or harness ; humanity to working, and
other animals ; decency in general deportment and conversation, and ambition to
excel in their particular department. Neatness and order, whether on an estate, a farm,
a stable, a dwelling-house, or in a man's dress and manner, forms an index to every
thing else. Estates and farms where these qualities prevail, are always well-managed
and cultivated ; a neat and clean stable is a sure sign of well-conditioned horses, and of
economical feeding ; a dwelling-house, with neatness around and within, is an index of
comfort and peace ; and a decently dressed and well behaved man or woman, are sure
to be approved, whatever may be their station.
3127. The necessity of order and neatness we are most anxious to impress on tlie
minds of all descriptions of masters and managers. Order, it has been well observed, is
"Heaven's first law." It is, indeed, the end of all law: witliout it, nothing worth
having is to be attained in life, even by the most fertile in resources ; and with it much
may be accomplished with very slender means. A mind incapable of an orderly and
regular disposition of its ideas or intentions, will display a man confused and disorderly
in his actions ; he will begin them without a specific object in view ; continue them at
random, or from habit, without knowing well why, till, some accident or discordant
result puts an end to his present progress, unman's him for life, or awakens reflection.
But a well-ordered mind reflects, arranges, and systematizes ideas before attempting to
realize them, weighs well the end in view, considers the fitness of the means for attaining
that end, and the best mode of employing these means. To every man who has the
492 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt II.
regulation and disposal of a number of servants, this mode of orderly arrangem6nt is
essentially necessary in order to reap the full effects of their labors ; and to no man is it
of more imp ortance tlian to agriculturists, whose cares are so various, and the success of
whose operations, always connected with, and dependant on living beings, depends so
much on their being performed in the fitting moment.
3128. Projrriety relates to what is fitting and suitable for particular circumstances; it
is the natural result of an orderly mind, and may be said to include that part of order
which directs the choice and adaptation of means to ends, and of ideas and objects to
cases and situations. It belongs to order for a master to allow workmen proper periods
for rest and refreshment ; propriety dictates the time and duration of these periods, and
prudence suggests the wisdom of departing as little as possible from established practices.
Decorum is the refinement of propriety.
3129. Neatness, as opposed to slovenliness, is well understood; it consists in having
every thing where it ought to be ; and in attending to the decorum of finishing operations,
and to minute things in general.
3130. As maxims of order and neatness which ought to be continually present to the
mind both of masters and servants, we submit the following:
3131. Perform every operation in the proper season. The natural, and therefore the
best indications for the operations of sowing and reaping, transplanting, &c. are given by
the plants themsel ves, or by the progress of the season as indicated by other plants. But
there are artificial kalendars or remembrancers, the use of which is to remind the
master of the leading crops and operations of culture and management throughout the
year. But, even if such books were made as perfect as their nature admits of, still they
are only calculated to aid the memory, not to supply the place of a watchful and vigilant
eye, and habits of attention, observation, reflection, and decision. Unless a steward or
farmer has these, either naturally, or partly natural and partly cultivated, in a considerable
degree, he will be but little better than a common laborer as to general management and
culture of garden scenery.
3132. Perform evert/ operation in the best manner. This is to be acquired in part by
practice and partly also by reflection.
3133. Complete every jiart of an operation as you proceed. Tliis is an essential point in
field operations, and though it cannot always be attended to, partly from the nature of
the operation, partly from weather, &c. yet the judicious fanner or bailiff will keep it in
view as much as possible.
3134. Finish one job before you begin another. This advice is trite, but it is of great
importance ; and there are few cases where it cannot be attended to.
3135. In leaving off working at any job, leave your work and tools in an orderly manner^
3136. Attend strictly to the hours of commencing labor, and eqvxiUy so to those of leaving
<ff, unless extraordinary exertion is required.
3137. Whenever extraordinary exertions are required, extraordinary indulgences or re-
wards must be given as compensations.
3138. A regular system of accounts is an obvious part of order and correctness; and it
is equally obvious that the extent to which this must be carried, will depend on the subject
of management. In the case of extensive landed estates, the regular set of books usual
in mercantile concerns becomes requisite, with the addition of some, as a forest-book,
time-book, &c. rendered necessary by particular departments of the subject. On small
farms, on the other hand, some memorandum-books, a cash-book, and a ledger are all
that will be found necessary. Our business here is to give the form of the time-book,
which is or may be common to every department of agriculture and scale of management,
though most necessary for bailiffs, where a number of day labourers are employed on
improvements. In giving the practice of the diflferent branches of agriculture, the books
peculiar to each will be described.
3139. The time-book is a large folio volume, ruled so as to read across both pages,
with columns titled, as in the specimen annexed. In this the bailiff or master inserts the
name of every hand ; and the time in days, or proportions of a day, which each person
under his care has been at work, and the particular work he or she has been engaged in.
At the end of each week the bailiff or master sums up the time from the preceding Saturday
or Monday, to the Friday or Saturday inclusive ; the sum due or to be advanced to each
man is put in one column, and when the man receives it he writes the word received in
the column before it, and signs his name as a receipt in the succeeding colunni. The
time-book, therefore, will show what every man has been engaged in during every hour
in the year for which he has been paid, and it will also contain receipts for every sum,
however trifling, which has been paid by the bailiff for rural labor. In short, it would
be difficult to contrive a book more satisfactory' for both master and servant than the
time-book, as it prevents, as far as can well be done, the latter from deceiving either him-
self or his employer, and remains an authentic indisputable record of work done, and
of vouchers for money paid during the whole period of the bailiflCs services.
Book V.
ORDER AND MANAGEMENT.
493
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3141. 7n commer-
cial dealings the agri-
culturist requires to be
particularly vigilant,
because the nature of
his occupation and pur -
suits have not that ten-
dency to sharpen his
bargaining faculties
which is given by a
life of trade or manu-
facture. The purchase
of an estate is so
weighty a transaction,
that few men trust to
their own judgment as
to value, and legal ad-
vice is always taken as
to the validity of the
title, &c. ; but stewards
in dealing vn'th timber
merchants, workers of
quarries, gravel deal-
ers, brick makers, and
others, require to be
ever on their guard.
The farmer and bai-
liff require particular
caution as to market-
ing, which is an im-
portant business, and
not to be excelled in
but after long experi-
ence in attending fairs
and markets; learning
the various devices of
sellers, to deceive or
enhance the price of
their goods; and of
buyers to depreciate
what is exposed to sale.
It would not be too
much to say, that no
man goes to market,
whether to buy or sell,
without carrying with
him the intention to
deceive. To farmers
who deal chiefly in
live stock, marketing
is by far the most dif-
ficult and important
part of their business.
There are salesmen or
brokers indeed for
transacting business in
behalf of farmers, as
there are agents for
effecting transfers of
landed property; but
in neither case is it safe
to trust entirely to their
judgment and probity.
Personal experience in
this as in every depart-
ment of his art, is what
ought to be aimed at by
every agriculturist.
494 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pari III.
PART III.
AGRICULTURE AS PRACTISED IN BRITAIN.
3142. In the first Part of this work we have endeavored to give a concise view of
the actual state of agriculture in every country, with a view to interest the reader in the
subject, and prepare him for entering in detail on the elementary principles of the art. In
the second Part, these principles and elementary departments of agricultural knowledge,
have been developed in successive views of the nature of vegetables, animals, and soils,
and the mechanism and science of agricultural implements and operations. As far as
these elementary principles go, they are applicable to the agriculture of every part of the
world, with the modifications required by different physical and geographical circum-
stances ; but as such an application is not required, in a work designed principally for
this country, we limit this part of our work to the agriculture of Britain, in its most im-
proved mode of practice. In the extensive sense in which we have applied the terra
Agriculture, this will include, 1st, the valuation, purchase, and transfer ; 2d, the laying
out or arrangement ; 3d, the improvement ; and 4th, the management of landed pro-
perty ; 5th, the hiring and stocking of farms ; 6th, the culture of farm lands ; and 7th,
the economy of live stock and the dairy.
BOOK L
OP THE VALUATION, PURCHASE, AND TRANSFER OP LANDED PROPERTT.
3143. On the existence ofjirojierty depends all human improvement. Personal property
is the first acquirement of man; but scarcely any progress is made in civilization till
property in land is established and rendered secure. Landed property, indeed, is the
basis on which every other material property is founded, and the origin from which it has
sprung. Tlie landed estates of Britain, as a species of property, may be considered in
regard to tenure, valuation, and transfer.
Chap. I.
Of the different Kinds and Tenures of landed Projyertf/, in the British Isles.
31 44. jis landed property is somewhat different as to tenure, in the three United Kingdoms,
we shall notice the leading features of each separately.
Sect. I. Of the Kinds of landed Property, and its different Tenures in England.
3145. Territorial projyerty in England, Marshal observes, aptly separates into two
principal divisions ; — namely, into possessory property, or the actual possession of the
lands and their appurtenances ; and into abstract rights arising out of them.
3146. Possessory property comprises, the soil, or land itself; the minerals and fossils
it covers ; the waters annexed to it ; the wood and herbage it produces ; and the build-
ings, fences, &c. thereon erected.
3147. Abstract rights are, seigniorial, as chief rents, &c. ; manorial, as quit-rents,
fines, &c. ; prescriptive, as common rights; predial, as tithes; parochial, as taxes.
3148. Advowson and parliamentary interest vai^t he added; as they are not unfre-
quently attached to landed property.
3149. Possessory property is further liable to analysis, and to more particular distinc-
tions.
3150. Freehold. If lands are held unconditionally, and in full possession, without any
other superior than the constitution and laws of the country, they are termad free hold ; a
term which admits of still further distinctions.
Book I. TENURES OF LANDED PROPERTY. 495
3151 . Feefarmhold. If they are liable to regular and fixed annual payments, beneath
their rental value, and without being liable to fine, heriot, or forfeiture, they axefeefarm~
hold, or other inferior holding.
3152. Coj)yhold. If they are held of a superior, as part of a royalty, honor, or manor,
and are liable to fines, or other outgoings, on account of deaths, transfers, or other cir-
cumstances, they are copyhold ; and are subject to the ancient customs of the royalty,
honor, or manor, of which they are respectively a part.
3153. Leasehold. If they are held by special agreement for a definite term, whether
of lives or years, they are leasehold; which admits of various distinctions ; namely,
lA)ng leasehold, as for a thousand years.
Life leasehold, with a fine certain, or under certain limitations, on renewal.
Life leasehold, with an uncertain fine ; payable to a proprietor or other superior, who has merely re.
served a conventional rent ; the tenant having paid down a sum of money to obtain-the lease, and the
right of alienation : agreeably to the practice of the west of England.
Life leasehold, with an uncertain fine, payable to a proprietor, who receives the full rent of the land,
at the time of granting the lease, the lessor having a power ot alienation, according to the practice of
^Vales, and some parts of England.
Leasehold for an ordinary term (as for less thafi a hundred years) with the powet of alienation.
3154. Tenure is the general term for these several holds, or rights of possession. Even
the lowest of them gives a sort of temporary property in the land, which is thereby
rendered liable to bargain and sale, as property. That species of holding which is given
by a lease, without the power of alienation or transfer, being merely the right of occu-
pancy, will be classed among other holdings of a similar nature, in treating of leases and
tenancy. (See Book II.)
3155. Legal possession of landed property is gained, by grant, as from the crown ;
hy prescription, or long usage; by descent, as from an ancestor; by deed of gift, or set-
tlement ; by the testament of the deceased owner ; hy forfeiture, as to a mortgagee ; by
purchase, either entered on a court roll, or ratified by a deed of conveyance.
3156. The title. Through whatever legal channel possession is obtained, the tradi-
tion, record, or deed, that witnesses the fact, gives the title of the possessor ; by which
he is enabled to hold his lands, and legally to convey them to another. Such is tlie tenure
of lands in England.
Sect. II. Of the Kinds and Tenures of landed Property in Scotland.
3157. The kinds of landed property in Scotland are the same as in England, excepting
that manorial rights apart from the right to the soil, are unknown.
3158. The tenure of lands in Scotland differs very little from the English tenures.
All lands are either held allodially, that is independently of any superior ; or they are held
by feudal tenures, by which all lands are considered theoretically as belonging to the
crown. The different descriptions of these are termed feu-holding, blanch-holding,
burgage, and mortmain. There are also some local tenures, as that of Udal, Loch-
maben, &c.
3159. Feu-holding. The most ancient feudal tenure in Scotland, was by military
service; for all vassals .were at first obliged, by the nature of their grant, to serve the
superior in war, in such manner, and as often, as his occasions called for it. This species
of holding, which was known under the name of ward-holdingj is now abolished, (by
20 Geo. 3. c. 50.), and requires no farther explanation.
3160. Blanch-holding. Where the vassal, in place of feu-duties and personal services,
as above described, only pays a small duty to the superior, in full of all demands, and
merely as an acknowledgement of his right, whether in money, as a penny Scotch, or in
some other article, as a pair of gilt spurs, a pound of wax, &c. it is called blanch-holding.
This tenure deviates, more than any other, from the original nature of feus ; but next to
feu, it has now become the most general species of holding.
3161. Burgage-holding is a tenure, by which royal burghs hold of the sovereign, the
houses and lands that lie within the limits described in their several charters of erection.
Tlie proprietor of the burgage lands is liable to pay the municipal taxes ; but all the
political rights are vested in the magistracy, or town-council of the burgh. It is very
limited in its extent.
3162. Mortmain is described by Erskine as the tenure by which any feudal subjects
are held, which have been granted in donation to churches, monasteries, or other corpor-
ations for religious, charitable, or public uses. Strictly speaking, the only lands now
held in mortmain, are a few bursaries belonging to the universities, the tenure having
been declared superstitious, and the other lands held by it given to the crown. Lands
BOW destined for charitable purposes, are vested in trustees, and held by feu or blanch.
496 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
Sect. III. Of the Kinds and Tenures of Landed Property in Ireland.
3163. The kinds of landed property in Ireland are limited to freehold and leasehold ;
there are no manorial rights apart from the soil as in England, or feudal rights or holdings
as in Scotland.
3164. The tenure of lands in Ireland is very simple. It is in general derived
from grants made by the crown on the payment of a certain quit rent received by the
excise collector of the district. This is the fundamental tenure, and the only other
is leases granted by such proprietors ; some of these leases are for ever, or on lives, re-
newable for ever on payment of a certain fine for tlie insertion of a new life when one
drops, or for leases of 999 years, and almost every variety of term with and without
lives between that and 21 years. There are no feudal tenures in Ireland ; the only
abstract right being that of tithes and parochial or other taxes. (See Wakefield's Account
of Ireland.)
Chap. II.
Of the Valuation of Landed Property.
3165. When lands are valued with a vieiv to sale or purchase, the tenure is the first
subject of attention. The nature of the tenure often occasions some difficulty in as-
certaining its value, but by ascertaining the value of the fee-simple, or freehold tenure,
the value of inferior holdings may be found by known rules of calculation, the prin-
cipal of which we have already noticed (3094).
3166. The fee- simple value of lands is liable to fluctuation, by general causes ; and is
likewise affected, and in much higher degree, by local circumstances. Lands of the
selfsame quality are of fivefold value, in one situation, comparatively with what they are
worth in another : not merely, though principally, on account of the rental value, or
the current price they will let for, to tenants, in different situations ; but through
other less permanent causes ; — as the quantity of land at market, and the number and
value of purchasers, in a given district ; as well as the temporary spirit which prevails
in it, witih respect to the possession of landed property, at the period of sale : — cir-
cumstances that are worthy of attention, by a purchaser whose views are not confined
to any particular spot.
3167. The usual method of coming at the fee-simple value of land is, to ascertain its
fair rental value, or price by the year, and to multiply this by the number of years'
purchase which the existing demand for land will bear, in the given situation, at the
time of sale.
3168. The number of years^ purchase, or the ratio between the rent and the sale
value of lands, varies greatly, as from twenty to forty, twenty-five to thirty being the
more ordinary numbers. Thus, a parcel of land whose fair rental value is one hundred
pounds, is, in common cases, worth from two tliousand five hundred to three thousand
pounds.
3169. But the real rental value, which is the only firm groundwork tp proceed upon,
whether in the purchase or the management of landed property, cannot easily be ob-
tained. Speaking generally of the lands of England, it is what very few men are able
to set down. It is true, that, in every district, and almost every township, there are men
who tolerably well know the rate at which the lands of their respective neighborhoods
are usually let. But interchange them, reciprocally, into each others districts, and their
errors would be egregious, for reasons already suggested. Nor can a mere provincial-
ist, especially in a district which is unenlightened by modern improvements, be aware of
the value, even of his own farm, under the best course of management of which it may
be capable : nor can he see, through the double veil of ignorance and prejudice, the
more permanent improvements that may be made upon it, so evidently as one who has
a more general knowledge of rural subjects, and is in the habit of detecting and prose-
cuting such improvements. Yet it very materially concerns an intended purchj^er, in
these improving times, to know, before he make his last offer for an estate, whether it is,
or is not, capable of being improved beyond its existing value ; and what, if any, is the
probable amount of improvement : for he is else liable to lose a valuable purchase,
through his being out-bidden by a better informed candidate. These facts being evident,
it follows, that before an offer be made, especially for a large purchase, it is no more
than common prudence, in a man who is not himself a judge, to call in two-
fold assistance : a provincial valuer, to estimate its fair market price, to the tenants of
the neighborhood in which it lies ; and a man of more general knowledge, to check
Book I. VALUATION OF LANDED PROPERTY. 497
his valuation, and to estimate tlie improvements of which the lands are evidently
capable.
3 1 70. The leading particulars which affect the value of an estate, and which require
to be considered in its estimation, are quantity, quality, situation, state, outgoings, and
abstract rights.
3171. The quantity of the land is the groundwork of the estimate ; though it has little
weight in the scale of valuation. The fee-simple value of an acre of land may be less
than twenty shillings, or it may be more than a hundred pounds. Nevertheless, it is
on the quantity the rental value is calculated ; and it is usual for the seller to exhibit a
** particular" of the estate on sale ; showing, or which ought to show, not only the ag-
gregate quantity, but the number nf acres that each piece or parcel contains ; and ought,
most particularly, to specify the distinct quantities of the lands of different qualities, in
order that their several rental values, may, with greater accuracy and ease, be ascer-
tained.
3172. The intrinsic quality of'the land is another essential basis of calculation. But
even this, in a general view of the value of lands throughout the kingdom, is often of
secondary consideration : for, in many cases, their values are given by situation, rather
than by soil and substrata. In some cases, as has been already said, the value of the
situation may be live-fold that of the intrinsic value of the land. This excessive influ-
ence of situation, however, is limited in its effects, and is chiefly confined to the environs
of towns, and other extraordinary markets for produce : a great majority of the lands
of England owe their values less to situation than to intrinsic quality j and to come at
this, with sufficient accuracy, is the most requisite, and, at the same time, the most
difficult part of valuation, as it depends almost wholly on extemporary judgment,
exercised on the frequently few data which rise to the eye, in passing over the field of
estimation. It is almost needless, therefore, to observe, that, to acquire the degree of
judgment necessary to this critical task, it is requisite to know the productiveness of
lands of different appearances : a species of knowledge which scarcely any thing but
mature practice, in the cultivation of lands of different qualities, can sufficiently teach ;
though long habit may do much, in ordinary cases, towards hitting off the value of
lands, without an extensive knowledge of the practice of agriculture. There are,
however, cases in which we find both of these qualifications insufficient to give an ac-
curacy of judgment, even among provincial valuers ; and a man who ventures to
step forward as a universal valuist, should either have an extraordinary talent for his
line of profession, or should, after a suitable initiation, have had great experience in
rural concerns, in various parts of the kingdom.
3173. On situalio?!, the value of lands, aggregately considered, depends less, than on
intrinsic quality ; though, without doubt, situation has great influence. Thus, an acre
of land whose intrinsic quality renders it, in an ordinary situation, worth twenty shillings
an acre, would not, in some districts, be worth more than fifteen shillings ; while in
others it would bear to be estimated at twenty-five shillings, or a higher rent, to a farmer
on a large scale, and away from the immediate environs of a town, or any populous
district of manufacture'; for reasons that will appear in examining the different parti-
culars of situation.
3174. In the temperature of situation, whether it is given by elevation, aspect, or exposure, we find a
powerful influence, which is capable of altering, exceedingly, the value of lands. The same soil and
subsoil, which we not unfrequently see on exposed mountains, and hanging to the north, and which in
that situation are not worth more than five shillings an acre, would, if situated in a sheltered vale dis-
trict, and lying well to the sun, be worth twenty shillings, or a greater rent. Even on climature, some-
thing considerable depends. In the south of England, harve.st is generally a month earlier tlian in the
northern provinces ; though it is not regulated exactly by the climate or latitude of places, a circumstance
that requires to be attended to, by those who estimate the value of estates. For an early harvest is not
only advantageous in itself, but it gives time to till the ground, or to take an autumnal crop; which are
advantages that a late harvest will not so well admit of And another kind of temperature of situation
has still more influence on the value of lands ; namely, the moistness of the atmosphere. A moist situa.
tion not only gives an uncertain and often a late harvest, but renders it difficult and hazardous, as is too
frequently experienced on the western coasts of this island.
317i5. Even in the turn of surface we find exercise for the judgment. Lands lying with too steep or too flat
surfaces, especially retentive arable lands, are of less value than those which are gently shelving, so as to
give a sufficient current to surface water, without their being difficult to cultivate. Steep-lying lands are
not only troublesome and expensive, under the operations of tillage, but in carrying on manures and
getting off" the produce. Lands lying with an easy descent, or on a gently billowy surface, may be worth
more by many pounds an acre, purchase money, than others of the same intrinsic quaUty, hanging on
a steep.
3176. ^ supply of water is another consideration of some weight, in valuing an estate ; for domestic
purposes, for the uses of live stock, and for the purpose of irrigation. There are situations in which a
copious stream of calcareous water would enhance the fee-simple value of a large estate some thousand
l)ounds.
3177. A sufficient supp/i/ of manure, whether dung, lime, marl, or other melioration, at a moderate
price, and within a moderate distance of land carriage, materially adds to the intrinsic value of lands.
3178. The established practice of the country in which an estate' lies is capable of enhancing or depre-ss-
ing the value of it exceedingly. Even the single pointjof practice of ploughing light and loamy lands with
two oxen, or two active horses, instead of four heavy ones, is capable of making a differeifice on good
land, which is kept alternately in herbage and corn crops, of five to ten shillings an acre a year ; or ten
pounds an acre purchase money.
Kk
498 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
3179. The price of labor is another regulator of the marketable price of land in a given district. It is
always right, however, to compare this with the habits of exertion and industry which prevail among
farm workmen, before the neat amount of labor can be safely set down.
3180. The price of living, or expense of housekeeping prevalent among farmers, has its share of influence
on the value of lands. In the more recluse parts of the north of England, farmers and their servants are
fed, clothed, and accommodated at nearly half the expense of those of a similar degree, in many parts
of the more central and southern provinces. It is not here intended to intimate how husbandmen, their
servants and laborers ought to live. As they are the most valuable members of the community, they
are well entitled to such enjoyments as are compatible with care and labor. All that is meant, in
iBtating this fact, is to convey a hint to the purchasers of estates. For, in a country where frugality pre-
vails, lands of a given quality will ever bear a higher rent than they will where a more profuse style of
living has gained a footing. It is a work of time to change the customs and established manners of a
country.
3181. The spirit of improvement, or the prejudice against it, which prevails in a district of sale, is a
circumstance of some value to a purchaser. For if the former is in a progressive state, especially if it is
still in the earlier stages of its progress, a rapid increase of rent may, with a degree of certainty, be ex-
pected : whereas, under the leaden influence of the latter, half a century may pass away, before the
golden chariot of improvement can be profitably put in motion.
3182. In markets, more than in any other circumstance, we are to look for the existing value of lands.
Their influence is not confined to towns and populous places of manufacture ; for in ports, and on quays,
whether of inlets, estuaries, rivers, or canals, markets are met half way : even by good roads their dis-
tance from the farm yard may be said to be shortened.
3183. In this detail of the particulars of situation, with respect to the value of landed
property, we perceive the attentions requisite to be employed, by a valuer who is called
upon to act in a country that is new to him. A provincialist, or even a professional
valuer, who acts in a district, the existing value of whose lands he is sufficiently ac-
quainted with, determines, at sight and according to the best of his judgment, on their
respective values ; for he knows, or ought to know, their current prices ; what
such and such lands let for in that neighborhood ; what he and his neighbors
give, or would give for lands of the same quality and state, without adverting to
the particular circumstances of situation (they being given, in the established current
prices which have arisen out of these circumstances) ; resting his judgment solely on
the intrinsic quality and existing state of each field or parcel as it passes under his eye.
But let his skill be what it may, in a country in which he has acquired a habit of
valuing lands, he will, in a distant district, the current market prices of whose lands may
be ten, twenty, or fifty per cent, above or below those which he has been accus-
tomed to put upon lands of the same intrinsic qualities and existing states, find himself at
a loss, until he has learnt the current prices of the country, or has well weighed the cir-
cumstances of situation ; to which, in every case, he must necessarily attend, before he
can determine their value under an improved practice, or venture to lay down general
rules for their improvement.
3184. The existing state of lands, or the manner in which they lie, at the time of sale,
is the next class of circumstances which influence their marketable value.
3185. Their state with respect to enclosure is a matter of great consideration. Open lands, though wholly
appropriated, and lying well together, are of much less value, except for a sheep walk or a rabbit warren,
than the same land would be in a state of suitable enclosure. If they are disjointed and intermixt in a state
of common field, or common meadow, their value may be reduced one third. If the common fields or
meadows are what is termed Lammas land, and become common as soon as the crops are off", the depres-
sion of value may be set down at one half of what they would be worth, in well-fenced enclosures, and
unencumbered with that ancient custom. Again, the difference in value between lands which lie in a
detached state, and those of the same quality that lie in a compact form, is considerable. The disadvan-
tages of a scattered estate are similar to those of a scattered farm. Even the single point of a want of
convenient access to detached fields and parcels is, on a farm, a serious evil. And it is en the value of
farms that the value of an estate is to be calculated.
3186. The state of the roads, whether public or private, within an estate, and from it to the neighboring
taarkets, or places of delivery of produce, is an object of consideration to a purchaser.
3187. The state of the watercourses, or shores and ditches, within and below an estate, requires to be ex-
amined into J as the expense of improvement or rej^aration will be more or less, according to their existing
state, at the time of purchase ; or, perhaps, by reason of natural causes, or through the obstinacy of a
neighbor, and the defectiveness of the present laws of the country in this respect, the requisite improve-
ment cannot be effected at any expense.
3188. The state of drainage of lands that lie out of the way of floods or collected water, requires to be
taken into consideration. Foi^ although the art of draining is now pretty well understood, it cannot be
practised, on a large .scale, without much cost.
3189. I'he state of the lands, as to tillage and manure, is entitled to more regard than is generally paid
to it, in valuing them. But even to a purchaser, and still more to a tenant for a tenn, their state, in
these respects, demands a share of attention. Lands, that are in a high state of tillage and condition, so
as to be able to throw out a succession of full crops, may be worth five pounds of purchase money an
acre, more than those of the same properties, which are exhausted by repeated crops, and lie in a
useless state of foulness : from which they cannot be raised, but at a great expense of manure and
tillage.
3190. The state, as to grass or arable, is better understood, and generally more attended to. Lands in
a state of profitable herbage, and which have lain long in that state, are not only valuable as bearing a
high rent, while they remain in that state, but after the herbage has begun to decHne, will seldom fail to
throw out a valuable succession of corn crops. Hence, the length of time which lands, under valuation,
have lain in a state of herbage, especially if it has been kept in a state of pasturage, is a matter of enquiry
and estimation.
3191. Lastly, the state of farm buildings and fences is a thing of serious consideration. Buildings,
yards, and enclosures that are much let down, and gone to decay for want of timely reparation, incur a
very great expense .to raise them again to their proper state. And, when great accuracy of valuation
is called for, as when the purchase value of an estate is left to reference, and when the tenants are not
bound, or if bound are not able to put them in the required state, it becomes requisite to estimate the
expense which each farm, in that predicament, will require to put it in sufficient repair, so as to bring the
Book I. VALUATION OF LANDED PROPERTY. 499
whole into a suitable state of occupation. And the same principle of valuation holds good in ordinary
purchases.
3192. Deductions, encumbrances, and outgoings are leases, tithes, taxes, lixed pay-
ments, repairs, and risks.
3193. Leases. In considering the nature of leasehold tenures, it appears that, by a
long lease, the fee-simple value of an estate may be, in effect, annihilated. Even a lease
for lives, with a mere conventional rent, may reduce it to nearly one third of its fee-
simple value. And every other kind of lease, if the rent payable be not equal to the
fair rental value at the time of sale, is an encumbrance ; even to a purchaser who has no
other object in view than that of securing his property on land, and receiving interest,
in rent, for the money laid out. If personal convenience be immediately wanted, or
improvements required to be done, a lease, though the tenant pay a full rent, becomes
an obstacle to the purchase.
31 94. Tithes. If in valuing lands they are considered as tithe free, the tithe, or modus,
if any, requires to be deducted as an encumbrance j and seeing the great variation in the
values of tithes and moduses, according to customs and plans of occupation, it is the
plainest way of proceeding to value all lands, as free of tithe, and afterward to make
an allowance for whatever they may be estim^tted to be worth : an allowance wliich, in
some cases, as on corn-land estates, forms a considerable portion of the fee-simple value
of the lands ; while on grass-land estates, especially such as are pastured by cattle, this
encumbrance, so galling to the corn-grower, is in great part avoided.
3195. Taxes. Although it may be called the custom of England for proprietors to
pay the land tax, and the occupier all other taxes, yet this is not the universal practice..
Nor is it, in valuing an estate on sale, and to be let at will, a matter to be enquired
into. The annual amount of the payable taxes and other outgoings is the fact to be
ascertained. For whosoever discharges them, they come as a burtlien upon the gross
value of the lands, out of which they are payable ; for if a tenant pay them, his rent
is, or ought to be, estimated and fixed accordingly. If, however, an estate, on sale, is
already let under lease for a term to come, it is highly requisite to ascertain what parts
of the annual outgoings and repairs are discharged by the tenants, and what the pro-
prietor will be liable to, during the term to run. The land tax, where it still exists, is
extremely uncertain as to its value, and the poor tax is equally varying in different
situations. The church, highways, and county rates are, taking them on a par of years,
less liable to local uncertainty, and are consequently less entitled to enquiry, by a valuist.
3196. Fixed payments, or rent charges, such as chief rents, quit rents, annuities,
endowments, schoolmasters' salaries, charitable donations, &c. to which an estate is liable ;
also
3197. Repairs of public works, buildings, roads, &c. incumbent on the estate on sale,
are subjects of inquiry and estimation ; as well as the ordinary repairs above noticed.
And moreover,
3198. The hazard or risk, which naturally, or fortuitously, attends the lands under
valuation ; as that of their being liable to be inundated in summer, or to be torn away
by floods, at any season ; is entitled to raiature consideration. For although these evils
may generally be remedied, by river breaks and embankments, the erecting of these is
mostly attended with great expense; and the estimated value of this becomes, in course,
a fair deduction.
3199. Appurtenant to an expensive estate, there are generally other valuable consider-
ations, besides the purchase value of the lands. These are,
3200. Minerals and fossils, whether metals, fuels, calcareosities, or grosser earths.
3201. Waters, whether they are valuable for fisheries, decoys, mills, domestic pur-
poses, or the irrigation of lands.
3202. Timber, of woods and hedgerows.
3203. Buildings that are not let with the farms ; but which bear rent, independent of
the lands ; yet which, when scattered over an estate, may well be considered as belong-
ing to landed property.
3204. The estimated value of evident improvemeTits.
3205. The abstract rights which arise out of appropriated lands, or their appur-
tenances ; as
3206. The right of cmmnonage, which is generally of some value, even when commons lie open, and
may be of more, when they shall be enclosed ; provided the cost of enclosure do not turn out to be more
than the extra value of the appropriated lands, above that of the common right in their ojien state.
3207. The right of seigniority to fee-farm rents, or other chief rents, payable to the possessor of the
lands on sale, out of the lands of other proprietors. These rents, though small, are of certain value in
themselves; and the idea of superiority which they convey to some men's minds, may be worth more
than the pecuniary value; which, indeed, where the sums are very small, (as is often the case) is much
lowered by the expense of collecting them : beside the trouble, vexation, private quarrels, and lawsuits
they are hable to excite, when, through neglect, they are half forgotten, and the vassal is willing to catch
at '.he circumstance, to try to get rid of the teazing and humiliating encumbrance. This, however,, may
serve to account for their having been handed down with reverential care, through a succession of ages ;
until, in many i|utance», even their origin, and much more the circumstances attending it, are difficult or
K k 2
500 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
impoaeible to trace. But, surely, a man of a liberal turn of mind, who has no Interest in legal contests,
and who prefers solid gold to a'trinket, would not hesitate to collect these scattered wrecks of property,
and to convert them to a more civilized, rational, and profitable purpose. On the other hand, any man of
an independent spirit would pay more than a fair price, would pay liberally, to be exonerated from so base
a burden. If, however, a vassal's chains sit easy uj)on him, let him wear them. What is here meant to
to be intimated is, that he ought to have, in liberality, if not in law, a fair opportunity of throwing
them off
3208. The rights of feudality y or manorial rights, are, at present, if not in their origin, very different
from those last mentioned. In the day of their establishment, they appear to have been founded in wisdom
and a degree. of political necessity ; and, by the correcting hand of time, they arrived at a high degree of
political perfection. The simple and easy mode of transferring property, which the feudal system estab-
lished, was well adapted to the illiterate age in which it had its rise. Even in these lettered days, and
among the ruins of feudal rights, the copy of a court-roll is considered as the clearest title a man can have
to his possession ! what a hint is this to modern legislators I The value of feudal rights is to be estimated
by the quit rents, fines, heriots, escheats, and amerciaments, which long custom and a train of circum-
stances have attached to the given court. And beside what relates to the appropriated lands of the manor,
the lord has a profit arising from the commonable lands (if any lie within it) as lord of the soil ; which can-
not be broken without his permission. Hence the fossils and minerals, which it covers, belong to him ; as
well as the timber which grows upon the waste, and the waters that are annexed to it. He is moreover,
in ordinary cases, lord of the game which inhabits or strays upon this manor. This, however, being a right
of pleasure, rather than of profit, has no fixed standard of estimation.
3209. The right of tithe, when attached to an estate, is the most desirable of abstract
rights, arising out of landed property. For, as far as the right extends, (whether to a
lay rectory, or a vicarial impropriatorship) the lands which it covers become, in effect,
tithe free ; as every judicious proprietor incorporates the rents of the tithe with those of
the lands out of which it is payable : thus (if the right, as it generally is, be rectoriall
freeing them wholly from the encumbrance of tithes, as a tax on improvements, and
as an obstacle to the growth of corn. The value of tithes, as has been intimated, is so
various, that nothing but local information can enable a valuist to estimate them with
sufficient truth.
3210. The right of advowson, or the privilege of appointing a pastor, to propagate
religion and morality upon an estate, properly enough belongs to its possessor ; as no
other individual is so intimately concerned in the moral conduct of its inhabitants.
3211. The right of representation or election, or the appointment (in whole or in part)
of a legislator, to assist in promoting good order, in the nation at large, equally belongs
to the owner of territorial surface.
Chap. III.
Of the Purchase or Transfer of Landed Property.
3212. In bargaining for an estate there are two methods in use ; the one by public bid-
dings, and the other by private treaty. In either a certain degree of caution is requisite ;
and in both an accurate valuation is the best safeguard.
3213. Among the jrreliminaries of purchase, 6y ;mm/e cowfracf, the particulars which
may be required to be furnished by a seller, are first to be enumerated. These are ; the
quantities of the several pieces of the lands on sale, together with the maps, or rough
drafts, of the same : the tenure under which they are holden : some assurance as to the
title of the seller, and his right of alienation : the tenancy under which the several
farms are let ; and, if on lives, the ages of the nominees ; if for a term of years, the
number unexpired ; if at will, the notices (if any) which the tenants have had.
3214. An abstract of the covenants under which they are let; particularly on those
which relate to taxes and repairs, to the expenditure of produce, to the ploughing of grass
lands, &c.
3215. The existing rents and profits receivable; whether for tenanted lands, appurte-
nances, or abstract rights ; with the estimated value of the demesne, and the wood lands
in hand ; together with the estimated value of the timber growing upon the estate on sale,
as well as of the minerals and fossils which it may contain : the outgoings to which the
estate is liable : the proposed time of the delivery of possession : the price and the
mode of payment expected.
3216. The particulars of instructions to be given to a surveyor, or other valuer, of an
estate to be purchased, may next be particularized ; it will be right, however, to premise,
that much, in this respect, depends on the probability of purchasing, and on the time al-
lowed for making the estimate.
3217. In cases of sale by jmblic auction, where there can be no certainty as to purchase,
and where the time for valuation is limited, a rough estimate of each farm, and a general
idea of the value of the timber and other appurtenances, may be all that can be prudently
ascertained.
3218. But, in a sale by private contract, where the refusal of an estate is granted, and
time allowed for deliberate survey, a more minute investigation may be proper, especially
when there is every reason to believe that a bargain will take place. For the same report
will not only serve as a guide to the purchase, but will become a valuable foundation on
Book II. LAYING OUT ESTATES. 501
which to ground the future management of tlie estate. For these, and other reasons, a
purchase by private contract is most to be desired, by a gentleman who is not in ti\c
habit of personally attending public sales, and is unacquainted with the business of
auction rooms.
3219. The particulars to be required from a surveyor y or surveyors, are principally
these : the rental value of each field or parcel of land, with the state in which it lies, as
to arable, meadow, pasture, or woodland : the value of the timber and other appur-
tenances : the characteristic, and the state of management of each farm or tenement,
with the eligibility of its occupier, together with the state of repair of buildings, gates,
fences, watercourses, and roads : the amount of the encumbrances and outgoings : and,
lastly, the probable value of the improvements of which the estate may appear to be
capable ; whether by ordinary or extraordinary means.
3220. The subjects of treaty after these particulars of information are procured are few.
The two statements have been duly compared, so that no misunderstanding can take place
between the parties, the price, with the times and mode of payment, are the principal mat-
ters of agreement. A clear understanding respecting the custody of title deeds, and the
expenses of conveyance, require, however, to be enumerated among the preliminaries of
purchase.
3221. The business of negociation is best carried on by letters, which become vouchers
of facts. Wliatever is done by interview, requires to be reduced to writing, and to be
read l)y, or to, the parties, before they separate, that no possibility of misconception may
arise. And, added to these precautions, it is proper, in large purchases, and when ab-
stracts of intricate title deeds are to be made out, and examined, that a legal contract, or
memorandum of agreement, should be entered into, for the mutual satisfaction and surety
of the parties.
3222. This contract, and the deed of conveyance, fnamely the instrument which is le-
gally to transfer the property from the seller to the purchaser,) may be said to conclude
and ratify the business of purchase ; and in this part of it legal assistance is essentially ne-
cessary, to examine existing deeds, and see that the seller has a legal right and clear title to
the land, and a legal power to dispose of it, as well as to draw up, or examine, the fresh
deed of conveyance, and see that it is sufficient to transfer the property, legally and ade-
quately, to the purchaser.
3223. The preservation of titles may be adverted to before dismissing this subject. In
Scotland, deeds of conveyance, and other deeds, are registered in one magnificent build-
ing, whose internal economy is as admirably adapted to its design, as its outward form is
beautiful. And, in England, there are two counties (Yorkshire and Middlesex) which
are termed register counties ; in which abstracts of deeds are preserved, and so arranged as
to be readily referred to. Hence, in cases where the original deeds are destroyed, or lost,
these registered abstracts are sufficient evidences of their having existed, and capable of se-
curing the titles of estates to their rightful owners ; and are moreover valuable, in pre-
venting fraudulent practices, particularly respecting mortgages. Nevertheless, the other
comities of England remain, from reign to reign, destitute of these advantages.
BOOK II.
or THX LATINO OUT, OR GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OF LANDED ESTATES.
3224. The laying out of an extensive landed estate embraces a variety of subjects, and
requires extensive information and enlarged views of political, agricultural, and even of
\noral improvement. In new countries, such as America, where an estate is laid out
ab origine, this is more particularly the case ; but the observation will also apply to
many parts of the British isles, where estates, long since appropriated, require rearraage-
raent and improvement.
3225. Among the different objects of attention in laying out or re-arranging a landed
estate, one of the first is its consolidation, or the rounding off or simplifying the outline
so as the whole may be brought into a compact form. This envis de s'arrondir seems to
have existed, and the proximity and intermixture of property to have been felt as an evil
by landed proprietors in all ages. Ahab desired the field of Naboth, because it was near
to his house ; and Marvel, the attorney (Massingers New Way to Pay Old Debts, <|-c.)
advised his client to " hedge in the manor of Master Frugal," because " his land, lying
in the midst of yours, is a foul blemish."
3226. In consolidating property in Britain, an equally desirable object is the appro-
priation of commonable lands, which, in England, can only be effected under the author
Kk 3
502 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
rity of a special act of the legislature ; but is accomplishfed with less difficulty in Scot-
land, and is rarely necessary in Ireland.
3227. The arrangement of the interior of an estate naturally follows the determination
of the ring-fence, and the complete possession of all that is within. Here the first thing
will probably be to determine the demesne lands, or site of the proprietor's residence,
and the extent of territory he means to attach to it and retain in his own occupation.
Then follows the intersection of the estate with roads, and probably a canal ; the choice
or determination of the sites for towns, villages, manufactories, and mines, mineral
quarries, or fisheries, if such exist naturally. Lastly, the grounds to be planted being
determined on, the remaining part of the property will consist of the lands to be let out
for cultivation by farmers, or other tenants of the soil. In conformity with this view of
the subject, we shall consider, in succession, the consolidating of estates, the appropriating
of commonable lands, the choice of demesne, road-making, canal-making, the establish-
ment of villages and manufactories, the working of mines and quarries, the establishment
of fisheries, the formation of plantations, the planting of orchards, and the laying out of
farms and farm-lands.
Chap. I.
Of consolidating Detached Property.
S228. The advantages of a compact estate over one whose lands lie scattered and inter-
mixed with other men's properties, are evident. The management, whether of detached
farms, as part of an estate, or scattered fields, as parts of a farm, is conducted with in-
conveniency : beside the unpleasant altercations to which intermixed lands are liable to
give rise. The different methods of compressing landed property into the required state,
are by exchange, by purchase, and by sale.
3229. Where the lands of two projyrietors lie intermixed with each other, an amicable
exchange is the most eligible. And were it not for the childish piques and petty
jealousies which so frequently take root between neighboring proprietors (and are
cherished perhaps by their officious friends), lands of this description could not long
exist ; the evil, in almost any case, being easily removed. Each party having chosen
one, or, in extensive concerns, two referees ; and the two or four so chosen, having
named a third or fifth, the required commission is formed ; and bonds of arbitration
being signed, the commissioners proceed, as under an act of appropriation of common-
able lands, to assign each proprietor his rightful share, in the most profitable situation
which the given circumstances will permit. This mode of proceeding might be adopted
by the most distant parties, or the most inveterate enemies ; and, doubtlessly, with ad-
vantage to the property and peace of mind of each.
3230. Where an estate or a farm is disjointed, by the intermediate lands of others, it is
not only pleasurable to be possessed of them, but profitable to purchase them, even at a
higher price than they are intrinsically worth ; consequently, at much more than their
value, as detached lands, to their proprietor. Yet such is often the waywardness and
ill-judged policy of the holders of lands so situated, that they will rather continue to
hold them with disadvantage, than sell them at a fair price. An equitable way of deter-
mining a matter of this sort is to ascertain the value of the lands to the holder, as
detached lands, and likewise their value to the candidate, as intermixed lands ; and to
let the mean between the two values be the selling price. By this method, both parties
become actual and equal gainers. If the possessor of such lands should lie in wait for
an exorbitant ofiPer, the most efficient mode of proceeding is to offer a high number of
years' purchase on their fair rental value, indifi'erently considered, in the situation irl
which they lie, and to propose to settle such rental value hy arbitration. This is a sort
of ofter which every honest man can readily understand ; and if the holder has any
character to lose in his neighborhood, he cannot refuse it ; if he has not, a calculation of
the difference between the rent he is receiving and the interest of the money ofl[ered,
consequently of the annual loss which he is sustaining by not accepting the offer, will,
sooner or later, bring him to a sense, if not of his duty as a member of society, of his
own interest.
3231. It is, in general, right management to dispose of the detached j^arts of an estate^
and%to add to the main body. The whole is then more easily superintended, and ma-
naged at less expense ; while small properties, if suitable steps be taken, and proper
seasons of disposal caught, will generally fetch more than larger parcels, of equal rental
value, timely and judiciously purchased.
3232. In selling, as in purchasing estates, two methods present themselves. They may
be sold by auction or by private contract. To raise a sum of money expeditiously, the
Book II. APPROPRIATING LANDS. 503
former may be the most eligible ; though attended with more expense and more notoriety
than the latter ; which, for the purpose under view, and when expedition is not neces-
sary, will generally, if properly conducted, be found preferable. To conduct a sale of
detached lands with judgment and reputation, the first step is to have them deliberately
valued by at least two men of character and ability, and to divide them into parcels or
lots, according to situation, and so as to render them of superior value to adjacent pro-
prietors. Then fix upon each parcel such value as it is fairly worth to the owner of the
lands with which it is naturally united ; and give him the refusal of it. Such parcels as
are not disposed of in this way, may either lie open to private contract, or be sold by
public auction ; the motive for selling being, in either and every case, openly declared.
It is to be remarked, however, that for a sale by auction, a fresh arrangement of lots
will be required : the principle of allotment being in this case the reverse of the former.
At an auction, a certain degree of competition is requisite to raise the article on sale to
its full value; and it is no more than common prudence in the seller to make up hiS
lots in such a manner as will bring together the greatest number of competitors.
Chap. II.
Of appropriating Commonable Lands,
3233. Commonable lands, or such as lie intermixed or are occupied in common by the
inhabitants according to certain laws and customs, may be considered in regard to their
origin and kinds, and their appropriation or division.
Sect. I. Of the Origin and different Kinds of Commonable Lands.
3234. A very few centuries ago, nearly the whole of the lands of Britain lay in an open,
and more or less in a commonable state. ( See Fitzherbert on the Statute Extenta Manerii. )
Each parish, or township, (at least in the more central and northern districts) comprised
ditFerent descriptions of lands ; having been subjected, during successive ages, to speci-
fied modes of occupancy, under ancient and strict regulations, which time had converted
to law. These parochial arrangements, however, varied somewhat in different districts ;
but, in the more central and greater part of the kingdom, not widely ; and the following
statement may serve to convey a general idea of the whole of what may be termed com-
mon-field townships, throughout England.
3235. Each parish or township was considered as one common farm; though the tenan-
try were numerous. (See also Blackstone's Commentaries, art. Tithing of Townsh.) Round
the village in which the tenants resided, lay a few small enclosures, or grass yards, for
rearing calves, and as baiting and nursery grounds, for other farm stock. This was the
common farmstead, or homestall, which was generally placed as near the centre of the
more culturable lands of the parish or township as water and shelter would permit.
3236. Round the 'homestall lay a suit of arable fields, including the deepest and
soundest of the lower grounds, situated out of water's way, for raising corn and pulse ;
as well as to produce fodder and litter for cattle and horses, in the winter season ; and,
in the lowest situation, as in the water-formed base of a rivered valley, or in Swampy
dips, shooting up among the arable lands, lay an extent of meadow grounds, or ings, to
afford a supply of hay, for cows and working stock, in the v/inter and spring months.
3237. On the outskirts of the arable lands, where the soil is adapted to the pasturage of
cattle, or on the springy slope of hills, less adapted to cultivation, qr in the fenny bases
of valleys, which were too wet, or gravelly lands, thrown up by water, which were too dry
to produce an annual supply of hay with sufficient certainty, one or more stinted pastures,
or hams, were laid out for milking cows, working cattle, or other stock which required
superior pasturage, in summer.
3238. The bleakest, worst-soiled, and most distant lands of the township, were left in
their native wild state, for timber and fuel, and for a common pasture, or suit of
pastures, for the more ordinary stock of the township, whether horses, rearing cattle,
sheep, or swine ; without any other stint, or restriction, than what the arable and meadow
lands indirectly gave , every joint-tenant, or occupier of the township, having tlie
nominal privilege of keeping as much live stock on these common pastures, in summer,
as the appropriated lands he occupied would maintain in winter.
3239. The aj)pro]rriated lands of each township were laid out with equal good sense
and propriety. That each occupier might have his proportionate share of lands of
ditFerent qualities, and lying in different situations, tlie arable lands, more particularly,
were divided into numerous parcels of sizes, doubtless, according to the size of the given
township, and the number and rank of the occupiers.
3240. The whole was subjected to the same plan of management, and conducted as
one common farm, for which purpose the arable lands were divided into compartments,
. Kk 4
504 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
or " fields,*' of nearly equal size, and generally three In number, to receive, in constant
rotation, the triennial succession of fallow, wheat (or rye), and spring crops (as barley,
oats, beans, and peas) : thus adopting and promoting a system of husbandry, which,
howsoever improper it is become, in these more enlightened days, was well adapted to the
state of ignorance, and vassalage, of feudal times; when each parish or township had its
sole proprietor ; the occupiers being at once his tenants and his soldiers, or meaner vassals.
The lands were in course liable to be more or less deserted by their occupiers, and left to
the feebleness of the young, the aged, and the weaker sex. But the whole township
being, in this manner, thrown into one system, the care and management of the live stock
at least, would be easier and better than they would have been under any other
arrangement. And, at all times, the manager of the estate was better enabled to
detect bad husbandry, and enforce that which was more profitable to the tenants and
the estate, by having the whole spread under the eye at once, than he would have been,
had the lands been distributed in detached unenclosed farmlets ; besides avoiding the
expense of enclosure. And another advantage arose from this more social arrangement,
in barbarous times : the tenants, by being concentrated in villages, were not only best
situated to defend each other from predatory attacks ; but were called out, by their lord,
with greater readiness, in cases of emergency. Therefore, absurd as the common -field
system is, in almost every particular, at tliis day, it was admirably suited to the circum-
stances of the times in which it originated ; the plan having been conceived in wisdom,
and executed with extraordinary accuracy, as appears in numberless instances, even
at this distance of time.
3241 . Uninhabited tracts or forests. In dilTerent parts of Britain there were and still
are extensive tracts of land, some of them of a valuable quality, which lie nearly in a
state of wild nature, which were never inhabited, unless by freebooters and homebred
savages. These uninhabited tracts are styled forests ; and heretofore, many or most of them
have been attached to the crown ; and some of them are still under royal patronage.
Whether they were originally set out for royal pastime, merely, or whether the timber
which stood on them was of peculiar value, or whether, at the time of laying out town-
ships, those tracts were impenetrable woods, inhabited by wild beasts, and, when these
were destroyed, or sufficiently overcome to render them objects of diversion, were taken
under the protection of the crown, is not, perhaps, well ascertained. There were also
tracts of that description in diflTerent parts of England, but which appear, evidently, to
have been enclosed from a state of woodland or common pasture; though it is possible
they may have been nominally attached to neighboring parishes. Of this description,
principally, are the Wealds of Kent and Sussex, and many other old enclosed lands, in
different parts of the kingdom, whose fields or enclosures are of irregular shapes, and
their fences crooked. These woodland districts are like the forest lands, divided into manors,
which have not an intimate connexion or correspondence with parishes or townships : a
further evidence, that they were in a wild state, when the feudal organization took place.
3242. In the western extreme of the island^ the common-field system has never, per-
haps, been adopted ; has certainly never been prevalent, as in the more central parts of
England. There, a very different usage would seem to have been early established, and
to have continued to the present time, when lords of manors have the privilege of letting
off the lands of common pastures, to be broken up for corn ; the tenant being restricted
to two crops ; after which the land is thrown open again to pasturage. And it is at least
probable, that the lands of that country have been cleared from wood, and brought into
a state of cultivation, through similar means. At present, they are judiciously laid out,
in farms of different sizes, with square straight lined enclosures, and with detached fann-
steads, situated witUin their areas ; the villages being generally small and mean ; the
mere^ residences of laborers. Circumstances these are, which strongly evince that the
common field system never took place, in this part of the island, as it did in the more
central parts of England. Ireland, also, has been enclosed (though not fenced) from
time immemorial.
3243. The feudal organization having lost its original basis, has itself been mouldering
away, more particularly during the last century. A great majority of the appropriated
common-field lands and commons have been partially, or wholly enclosed; either by
piecemeal, each proprietor enclosing his own slip, a very inconvenient mode of enclosure, or
by general consent, the whole of the proprietors agreeing to commit their lands to the care
and judgment of arbiters, or commissioners, who, restoring the fields to their original
intirety, reparceled them out, in a manner more convenient to the several proprietors,
and laid each man's portion, which had consisted of numberless narrow slips, in one or
more well shaped grounds.
3244. In England this requires to be effected by a separate act of parliament for each enclosure. In
these acts comniissioners are named, or directed to be chosen by the proprietors, who, according to certain
instructions in the act or law, and the general principles of equity, divide the township among all who hav«
an i)iterest in it. It appears by the statute books, that from the year 1774 to the year 1813, no fewer than
two thousand six hundred and thirty-two acts of enclosure have been passed; the average in the fir»t
twenty years being thirty-seven, and in the last twenty years ninety-four. . ^
Book II. DIVIDING COMMONABLE LANDS. 505
3245. In Sootland a general bill of enclosure was passed by the parliament tn 1695, and in consequence of
it the whole country has for nearly a century past been in distinct possessions. In Ireland, as we have
already remarked, no enclosure act became necessary, and the country is consideied as suficring from the
long continued minute diversion of landed property.
324(5. As a contrast to the.gcfwral eagerness for enclosing, it may be usefVil to present the moderate, and
in our opinion, judicious observations of Loch, to whom it appears very doubtful how far the indiscriminate
enclosure of commons, arising out of the high nominal prices of grain, has been in every instance of ad-
vantage to the nation. Many of them, he says, certainly, could never pay the expense of obtaining the act,
— of the commissioners' fees, — of the construction of the fences, — and of bringing the land into cultivation.
I n this respect there has been a dead loss of capital to the country. It is conceived that it is not carrying this
feeling too far, to regret the destruction of some of those beautiful and picturesque forests and chases which
once surrounded London, and to hope that this may go no ftirther. It may even be permitted, perhaps, to in-
clude within this regret as a national loss, the destruction of Windsor forest, the most appropriate accom-
paniment of the noblest royal residence in Europe. The preservation of some of these chases is as essential
to the poorer classes of the metropolis as to the rich. To the former they afford health, exercise, and amuse-
ment; in the latter they produce and cherish that love of the country, and of rural sports, so important in
a constitutional point of view. They nourish that feeling for and knowledge of the beauties of nature,
(freed from the love of gain as connected with the productions of the soil,) which enlarge our understand,
ings, and exalt every better sentiment of the heart, encouraging the practice of the social virtues, and
t;hecking those more selfish habits, which the general distribution of great wealth is too apt to engender.
There cannot be a doubt that not only for these reasons would the abstaining from some of these enclo-
sures have been beneficial, but, in an economical point of view, it would have been most advantageous to
tlie nation. In how many ways could not the capital, thus lost, have been beneficially applied, both for
the individual and the country ! How much a richer man would the land-owner have been, if he had
saved much of this expense, and permitted a more liberal importation of foreign corn ! How much better
would it have been for the country ! In this, as in every other instance, it might be demonstrated, that
that which would have been best for one, would have been so for all, and that the same system must
always benefit equally the English landlord, tenant, merchant, manufacturer, and artisan.
Sect. II. Oftlie general Pniiciplet ^ approjmaiing and dividing Commonable Lands.
3^47. There are few lands in Britain unnjyjyropriated, excepting in England, and these
may be classed as forest lands, and other extensive wastes, on which several manors, or
adjacent townsliips, have a right of common pasturage ; commonable lands of distinct
townships or manors, whose appropriated lands are wholly enclosed, and in a state of
mixed cultivation ; commonable lands of townships, whose arable fields, &c. are
partially enclosed; and commonable lands of townships, whose arable fields remain
wholly open.
3248. The principles on which the ajyjrropriation of those lands requires to be conductedy
are thus laid down by Marshal. By an established principle of the general law, or con-
stitution of the country, immemorial custom establishes right. Hence the original rights
and regulations respecting the lands under view, are not now the proper subjects of
investigation ; nor are the changes that may have taken place during a succession of
centuries, from the origin of forests and townships, to the latest time which is no longer
within memory, objects of enquiry ; but solely, the acquired rights which exist in a given
case at the time of appropriation, and which would continue to exist were it not to take
place. The possessor of a cottage which has enjoyed, time immemorial and without
interruption, the liberty of pasturage, though such cottage were originally an encroach-
ment of a freebooter, or an outlaw, has indisputably as legal a claim to a proportionate
share of the commonable lands, as the possessor of the demesne lands of the manor has,
merely as such, although they may have descended from father to son, from the time of
their severalty ; for it is evidently on the estimated values of the respective rights which
exist y and which can be rightfully exercised in tinie to come, and on tliese alone, that a just
and equitable distribution can be effected.
3249. But before the distribution of commonable lands among the owners of common
pasturage can take place, the more abstract rights which belong to commons require to
be estimated, and the just claims of their possessors to be satisfied. These are principally
manorial rights, and the rights of tithes.
3250. Manorial claims are to be regulated by the particular advantages which the lord
of a given manor enjoys, and which he will continue to enjoy while the commons remain
open and unappropriated; whether they arise from mines, quarries, water, timber, alien
tenants, fuel, estover, pannage, or game. His claim as guardian of the soil that is pro-
ductive of pasturage only, is in most cases merely honorary; and it remains with par-
liament to fix the proportional share of the lands to be appropriated, which he shall be
entitled to as an equivalent for such honorary claim.
3251. But in the case of thriving timber standing on the property, the claim of the lord
of the manor in right of the soil is more substantial ; for out of this he has in effect a real
yearly income, equal to the annually increasing value of the timber ; a species of advan-
tage which, if the commons remain open and unappropriated, he will in course continue to
enjoy so long as the timber continues to increase in value. His claim, therefore, in this
respect, depends on the quantity of timber, and its state of growth taken jointly. Young
thriving timber not only affords an annual increase of value at present, but will continue
its benefits for many years to come, if it be suffered to remain undisturbed on the soil ;
and its owner, doubtless, has a prospective claim on the soil which supports it during the
estimated period of its future increase; whereas dotards and stinted trees which afford no
506 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
increase of value, do not entitle their owner to any share of the soil they stand upon.
The trees themselves, or their intrinsic value, appears to be all that the lord has a right to
claim.
3252. The claims oftUhe owners, aggregately considered, are more complex and obscure.
In cases where the great and small tithes are united, and in which the tithe of wool and
Iamb, and that of grain, roots, and herbage belong to the same owner, it may seem
to be reasonable that he should have the option of receiving land of equal value to the
existing value of the tithes, or of taking the chance of their value, in the state of culti-
vation. But seeing the evil tendency of corn tithes, and the impropriety of laying on so
harmful a burden, as they are now become, upon lands that have never borne it, there can
be little risk in saying that it would be at least politic in parliament to prevent it. Be-
sides, it stands part of the statute law, that lands which have never been under tillage,
shall not pay tithes during the first seven years of their cultivation ; during which time
the incumbent's income might, by leaving the tithe to take its course, be materially
abridged, and his circumstances thereby be rendered distressful. On the whole, there-
fore, it appears to be proper in this case, that the law to be enacted should instruct com-
missioners to set out lands equal to the existing value of the tithes at the time of appro-
priation, and where much corn land shall be appropriated, to set out a further quantity
equal to the estimated reversion of their extra value, (if any arise in the estimate,) seven
years after the appropriation shall have taken place.
3253. Again, in cases in which the tithe of lamb and wool, and the tithe of com, ^c. be-
long to separate oivners, the line of rectitude and strict justice to all parties appears to be
still more difficult to draw. The former is clearly entitled to land, or a money payment
equal to his loss of tithe. But the right of the latter is less obvious. To cut him off
entirely from any share of the lands, and likewise from any share of tithes to arise from
them after they shall be appropriated, may seem unjust ; he may be a lay rector, and may
have lately purchased the tithes, or a clerical rector who has recently bought the advowson,
under the expectation of an enclosure. On the other hand it appears to be hard, that the
proprietors of the parish should first give up land for the tithe of wool and lamb which
will no longer exist, and then be liable to a corn tithe on the same lands, after they shall
have bestowed on them great expense in clearing and cultivation. Indeed, the injustice
of such a measure is evident. A middle way, therefore, requires to be sought. And it
will be difficult, perhaps, to find one which has more justice in it than that which is pro-
posed for the first case. Thus, after the value of the lamb and wool tithe, &c. has been
ascertained, and land set out as a satisfaction for it, estimate the value of the corn tithe,
&c. seven years after the time of appropriation ; and set out a further quantity for the
reversion of the extra value (if any) of the latter over the former, and in this manner free
the lands entirely from this obstacle to their improvement.
3254. If any other abstract claim, on the lands to be appropriated, be fairly made out,
or any alien right (as that of a non-parishoner, or extra-manorial occupier, who has ac-
quired, by ancient grant, or by prescription, the privilege of depasturing them) be fully
proved, its value requires to be accurately estimated, and land to be assigned in lieu of
it.
3255. The remainder of the unstinted commons of a given township or manor belong
to the owners of its commonright lands and houses. But in what proportion may be
difficult to determine with mathematical precision. Nevertheless, by adhering strictly to
the general principle, on which alone an equitable appropriation can be conducted, —
namely, that of determining each man's share by the benefit which he has a right to
receive at the time of appropriation, and which he might continue to receive, were it not
to take place, — truth and justice may be sufficiently approached.
3256. One of the first steps, toward an equitable distribution of unstinted commons,
is to ascertain the commonright houses, and to distinguish them from those which have no
right of commonage ; and which, therefore, can have no claim to any share of the lands
of the unstinted commons, further than in the right of the lands they stand upon. By
an ancient and pretty generally received, though somewhat vague, idea respecting the rights
of commonage, the occupier of every commonright house has the privilege of depasturing
as many cattle, sheep, or other live-stock, on the common in summer (provided that it
must be understood that it is large enough to permit every occupier to exercise this right),
as the grounds he occupies within the township or manor can properly maintain in
winter ; and no one can exceed that proportion ; for the surplus of the pasturage, if any,
belongs to the lord of the soil. (See Fitzherbert and Blackstone.)
3^57. Under this regulation, the appropriated lands of a common field township, which
are not occupied jointly with a commonright house, may be said to be deprived, during
the time they are so occupied, of their right of commonage ; and in some of the private
bills of enclosure, which have been suffered to pass through parliament, the lands which
happened to be in this state of occupancy, at the time of passing the bills, were deprived
of their interest in the common lands, for ever j notwithstanding, perhaps, they had a
Book II. DIVIDING COMMONABLE LANDS. 50T
few years preceding this accidental circumstance an undoubted right to their portion of
them ; a right which, a few weeks or a few days afterward, might have reverted to them,
without the smallest taint, by the temporary alienation. If any of the appropriated lands
of a township or manor have been estranged from its commons, during time immemorial ;
have never been occupied jointly with a commonright house, or in any way enjoyed, of
riglit, the cojnmon pasturage within memory ; they may with some reason be said to have
lost their right, and be excluded from a participation.
3258. By this ancient and in a degree essential usage, commonright houses have a clear
right to the lands of the commons y superior to that of the ground tliey stand upon ;
especially if they rightfully enjoy a privilege of partaking of the fuel and pannage (as
acorns, masts, &c.) they afford ; for these properly belong to the houses, not to the lands ;
and still more especially, if they are conveniently situated for enjoying the several benefits
which the commons afford in their wild state. And whatever a commonright house is
worth, merely as such, that is to say whatever it will let or sell for, over and above a non-
commonright house of the same intrinsic value, it certainly ought to participate in the
distribution, according to such extra value.
3259. The true proportionate shares of the pommonright lands are to be ascertained on
the same principle. For although the ancient regulation respecting commonrights may
continue in force, while the commons remain open and unappropriated, it would be
found troublesome or unmanageable as a rule to their just appropriation. There are few,
if any, commons (of commonlield townships at least) that now afford pasturage in summer
for all the stock which the appropriated lands are capable of maintaining in winter ; so
that their several proportions only could be used ; and these proportions may be calculated
with much greater certainty and dispatch, on the respective rental values of the lands,
than on the more vague and troublesome estimation of the quantities of stock .they
would winter ; which, indeed, would be best calculated by the rental value of the land.
Consequently in adopting this, as the basis of calculation, the ancient rule is, in effect^
complied with. {Blackstone, I3ook III. c. xvL sect. 2.)
3260. But although each commonright occupier has a right to stock in jyroportion to the
productiveness or rental value of his appropriated lands, every one could not do this with
equal profit, and of course could not receive equal benefit. Lands situated on the side
of a common are much more beneficial in this respect, than lands which lie a mile or two
from it, with bad roads between them ; and it is the real advantage which an occupier
can fairly receive, that is the true guide in the partition ; which consequently ought to bp
conducted, not on the rental value of the land, abstractly considered, but on this and its
situation, with respect to the commonable lands jointly. In other words, it is the rental
values of the commonright lands while the commons remain open, not what they will
become after the commons are enclosed, which I conceive to be the proper groundwork
of appropriation.
3261. In cases where commonable lands are wholly attached to manors, and not common
to tlie parish or township in which they are situated, as in forests and woodland districts,
the selfsame principle of distribution is applicable. The remainder of the commons
(after the owners of abstract rights have been satisfied) belong to the commonright lands
and houses; no matter whether such lands and houses belong to copyhold tenants ex-
clusively, or to copyholders and freeholders jointly, provided the immemorial custom of
the manor make no distinction in their respective rights ; the well established customs of
manors being in all cases rules of conduct, and unerring guides to commissioners. Her^
inay be said to end the greater difficulties as to the principles of appropriation ; the rest
is merely technical ; the works of admeasurement, estimate, and calculation j operations
that are familiar to professional men in every district, and want nothing but applicatio4
and integrity to render them sufficiently complete.
3262. The technical routine of the business of conducting an enclosure is as follows :
The act being passed, and two or more commissioners named, these commissioners meet
on a certain day at a certain place within the township or parish, having previously given
public notice of their intention. The chief business of that day is the fixing of a land
surveyor and an attorney to the commission. At a second meeting the commissionersj
surveyor, attorney, and some of the principal proprietors or their agents, attend and make
a general perambulation of the township, in order to point out to the surveyor the different
properties with their limits, &c. The surveyor now proceeds to make a correct map of
the whole. This done, the commissioners, attended by the surveyor, proceed to value
each separate lot or piece, and having done this, they next advertise different meetings for
the purposes of hearing the rights of townsmen, &c. Next they set about dividing the
lands according to these rights, reserving proper roads for footpaths, quarries, gravel-
pits, wells, springs, &c. for public purposes. When this is done, and set out on the
ground, contractors are next employed to carry the whole into execution, the expense of
which and also of the commission is generally paid by the sale of a part of the lands.
508 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
Chap. III.
Of the Choice afiliA Demesne or Site for tlie Proprietor's Residence.
3263. The most desirable situation for the mansion of the owner of a landed estate,
will in almost every case be somewhere near its centre. The advantage of being at an
equal distance from every part of the boundaries ; of having as much as possible on
every side that which we can call our own ; of not being overlooked by near neighbors ;
and of reposing as it were in the bosom of our own tenantry, cottagers, cattle, and
woods, are obvious, and felt by every one. There may be instances where, from a
public road passing through the centre of an estate, or of a town or village there situated,
or mining works carried on, and similar circumstances, it may not be desirable to form
a centrical residence ; but such cases are not common, and in laying out an estate newly
appropriated, or re-arranging an old one, may always or very generally be avoided. It may
happen, however, that an estate may be so extensive, or its surface so hilly or mountainous,
that a centrical situation may be dispensed with for other advantages. When an estate
is situated near an extensive lake, at the foot of high mountains, or includes an extent
of sea-shore, it will generally be found preferable, in point of effect and enjoyment, to
place the mansion near these interesting features. Proximity to the sea, though it be
on the margin of our estate, can never be offensive ; for if the ocean does not belong to
us, neither does it belong to any one else ; nearly the same thing may be said of an im-
mense lake, which at least is for the greatest part devoid of visible appropriation, and
the same thing may often be observed of rivers and mountains, especially if the latter are
of a savage, or wooded character.
3264. Various other circumstances must also be taken into view in fixing on the situ-
ation of a mansion and demesne ; such as its healthfulness, prospects, exposure, water,
the nature of the soil, and the extent of territory.
3265. To be healthy, a situation should in almost all cases be somewhat elevated
above the adjoining surface; and though this cannot be the case with respect to the
whole of the demesne lands, it should at least apply to the spot intended for the dwel-
ling-house. Even a level situation is objectionable in point of health, because when
the usual plantations have grown up round the house, they tend to stagnate the air and
generate moisture, and thus deteriorate the atmosphere, to their own height, which is gene-
rally equal or greater than that of the house. Besides, a flat situation can never have views of
much beauty, and can only be interesting by the plants or other objects immediately under
the eye, and the elevated grounds or hills, if any, in the extreme distance. - On an ele-
vated situation, even though surrounded by trees higher than the house, the frequent
and varying winds will always prevent the stagnation of the air, and sweep away the
accumulation of moisture from the evaporation of so many leaves.
3266. The nature of the soil requires to be attended to, even with a view to health.
On a level, a gravelly or sandy soil is generally more apt to generate damp in the
lower parts of a house, than a clayey soil ; but on an eminence gravel has not this ob-
jection ; in the former case, the water lodged in the stratum of gravel finds its
way from all sides to the excavation made for the foundations of the house; in the
latter, the declivity on every side carries it away. Clay not too adhesive, chalk, or rock,
are the best surfaces to build on in a flat ; on an elevated situation any soil will do j but
chalk, rock, or gravel are to be preferred.
3267. The prosjyects from the immediate site of the mansion, and from those parts of
the adjoining grounds which will be laid out as pleasure-ground, or recreative walks,
demand some consideration. Such prospects should consist of what painters call
middle and third distances, bold, distinct, and interesting ; the fore-ground or first distance
being formed by the artificial scenery of the pleasure-ground. Noble features in pros-
pects, are rivers, lakes, or mountains ; interesting ones, are churches or their spires,
bridges, aqueducts, ruins of ancient castles or abbeys, water-mills, distant towns or cities,
distant canals, and sometimes roads, &c. : pleasing rural objects, are picturesque cot-
tages, neat farmeries, field barns, and sometimes distant wind-mills ; for objects offensive, '
when near, often become valuable features at a distance. Something depends on the
state of civilisation of the country, and its general character; the sight of a road, sea-
port, canal, or even a neighboring mansion, would be preferred to most others in many
parts of Ireland, Russia, or America.
3268. 27ie exjwsure with regard to the sun, and the prevailing winds of a country,
also requires attention. It was the custom of former times, in the choice of domestic
situations, to let comfort and convenience prevail over every other consideration. Thus
the ancient baronial castles were built on the summits of hills, in times when defence
and security suggested the necessity of placing them there ; and difficulty of access was
a recommendation : but when this necessity no longer existed (as mankind are always apt
to fly from one extreme to the other), houses were universally erected in the lowest situ-
Book II.
CHOICE OF DEMESNE LANDS.
509
ations, with a probable design to avoid those inconveniences to which lofty positions had
been subject ; hence the frequent sites of many large mansions, and particularly ab-
beys and monasteries, the residence of persons who were willing to sacrifice the beauty
of prospect for the more solid and permanent advantages of habitable convenience ;
amongst which, shelter from wind, and a supply of water for store fishponds, were pre-
dominant considerations. (^Enquiry, ^c. by RejHon, p. 83.) In hilly countries, or
in any country where the surface is varied, the choice is neither made in the bottoms
(fig. 430 a), nor on the summits of hills (c), but generally on knolls, or on the south
or south-east side of considerable eminences (b), where a raised platform occurs, either
naturally or raised by art from the earth of the foundations ; and the rising grounds
behind [d) are planted both for effect and shelter.
d
430
S269. The proximity of water is essential to the comfort of every country residence.
Where there are none in springs or surface streams, it may indeed be collected from
the roofs of buildings and otherwise, and filtered, and preserved sweet and cool in tanks
imderground; but supplies obtained in this way are precarious, expensive, and the
water is inferior to that obtained from the soil, either by local wells, or conveyed from a
distance in pipes or drains. Water is also extensively required in country residences for
the use of gardeners, sometimes for fish ponds ; at a moderate distance, and on a lower
level it is always desirable in considerable quantity for the purpose of forming artificial
lakes, or river-like reservoirs. Few home features are finer than where the house is
situated on a knoll which slopes down on two or more sides, to one encircling piece of
water. (Jig, 431.)
431
3270. The nature of the soil is an inferior consideration to the others, because all
bad soils are susceptible of great improvement ; but still it should be taken into consi-
deration along with other objects. A soil retentive of surface water, such as some
clayey and soft peaty soils, is the worst, as it is always unpleasant to walk on after rains,
and easily poached by cattle and horses. Such soils also require more expense in drain-
age and roads, and are much less suitable for garden and farm culture, than firmer soils,
and such as are naturally friable or dry.
3271. The subsoil is sometimes of more importance than the soil, for the former in
general can only be improved by draining, and subsoils differ materially in their sus-
ceptibility of this improvement. A bad subsoil is an eflPectual barrier to the thriving
of timber trees, and as thejse constitute the finest ornament of every country-seat, the
importance of choosing a subsoil either naturally, or capable of being rendered by art
pervious by and congenial to their roots, is sufficiently obvious.
510 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
3272. Where the surface-soil is dri/ and poor, but on a dry subsoil, and all other cir-
cumstances are favorable, it may often be desirable for a proprietor to fix on such a
situation for his demesne, because such a surface is proljably among the least valuable as
farm lands ; because land to be laid out as a park is not required to be rich ; and because
it will not be difficult to ameliorate all that part wanted as farm and garden ground.
3273. The extent that should be kept as a demesne is more easily determined than any of
the foregoing points. The general wealth of the proprietor and his style of living are
here the leading guides. The extent of the demesne may bear very different relations to
the extent of the estate; because the proprietor may have other estates and other sources of
wealth. He may have chosen a small estate, on which to fix his residence, from its
local advantages ; or he may prefer a small demesne on a large estate, from his style of
life and the habits of his establishment,
3274. The park, in general, occupies much the largest part of the demesne lands. In
a civilized and populous closely-cultivated country, like Britain, nothing can be more
noble than a large forest-like park surrounding the mansion. In partially cultivated
countries or open field countries, it is less imposing ; and in countries scarcely appro-
priated and but thinly distributed with spots of culture, the park becomes a less noble
feature, and less a mark of wealth and distinction than a well-hedged and regularly-
cropped farm.
3275. The apparent extent of a park depends much less on its contents in acres, than on
the inequalities of its surface, the disposition of its woods and waters, and the conceal-
ment or inobtrusiveness of its boundaries. An extensive flat, surrounded by a belt, and
interspersed with clumps, may be great, but can hardly be felt as grand or interesting,
by any but the owner : the acres it occupies will be guessed at by hundreds, and the esti-
mate will generally be found to fall short of the reality. On the other hand, a hilly park,
ingeniously wooded with one or more pieces of water, and probably rocks, bridges, and
other objects, will appear to a stranger of much greater extent than it really is ; and sets
rational estimate at defiance : such a park is certainly much more grand and picturesque
than one of mere *' bulk without spirit vast."
3276. The home or demesne farm and farmery will be regulated in extent and style of
cultivation by the wants and wishes of the proprietor. It is sometimes a determinate
space in the least picturesque part of the demesne ; and sometimes, the greater part of
the park is brought in succession under the plough and the sickle.
3277. The kitchen-garden is the next and only remaining large feature in the demesne :
it is generally placed near the house and stable offices, so as to have a convenient and un-
obtrusive communication with the kitchen court, and the livery-stable dung heap.
3278. The pleasure ground, or lawn and shrubbery, often surround the house, offices,
and kitchen-garden ; and sometimes embrace them only on two or three sides.
3279. The details of all these and other different parts of the demesne belongs to land-
rscape gardening and architecture, and requires no further notice in this work. (See
JEncyc. of Gard. Part III. Book IV. and Encyc. of Architecture.)
Chap. IV.
On the Formation of Roads.
3280. The advantages of good roads is so obvious and so generally acknowledged, as to
need no comment. Roads, canals, and navigable rivers, have been justly called the veins
and arteries of a country, through which all improvements flow. The Romans, aware of
their importance, both in a military and civil point of view, constructed them from Rome
to the utmost extent of their empire. With the dismemberment of that empire, the roads
became neglected and continued so during the dark ages. In modern times attention
was first paid to them on a large scale by the government of France, in the seventeenth cen-
tury ; and in England in the beginning of the century following. About the middle of
the eighteenth century considerable expense had been incurred in road-making, in several
districts, and the expenses of toll-gates begun to be felt as oppressive- This produced An
Enquiry into the State of the Public Roads,hy the Rev. H. Homer, &c. 1767. which may
be considered as the origin of scientific research on the art of road-making in England.
3281. In Scotland, the first turnpike act, as we have seen (750.), was passed in 1750 ;
since which period existing public roads have been improved, and many new ones formed;
but tHe great impulse there was given after the act for abolishing heritable jurisdictions by
the money advanced by government, and the able military engineers sent from England to
conduct the roads in the Highlands. The appearance in Britain about this time of a
new order of professional men, under the name of civil engineers, also contributed to the
same effect.
Book II. KINDS OF ROADS. 511
3282. In Ireland, very little attention was paid to the art of road-making before the
establishment of the Dublin Society : but the subject was treated of in the early volumes
of their transactions, and some useful instructions there given, as it is generally under-
stood, by R. L. Edgevvorth ; and the surface as well as substrata of that country being
singularly favorable for road-making, the art soon began to make considerable progress.
This was greatly owing to the exertions of Edgeworth, well known as a scientific engineer
and as the author of a tract on roads, published in 1810.
3288. The extraordinary increase of toll duties in England having been felt as a very
heavy burden by the landed interest during the last twenty years, has drawn the attention
of various persons to the subject of roads, and given rise to important improvements ;
both in laying them out, and in forming and repairing them. By far the most useful of
these may be considered the mode of forming, practised since 1816, by L. M'Adam, of
Bristol ; for which its author was rewarded by parliament. That mode is now with more
or less variation adopted in a considerable number of districts in the three kingdoms, and
together with the attention and emulation it excites, promises to effect an entire revolution
in the state of the public roads everywhere. At the same time it is but candid to state with
Paterson,of Montrose, author of two tracts (1819 and 1822) on the subject, that in many
districts a considerable improvement had previqjasly taken place in the state of the roads,
simply from a greater attention being made to keep them dry, and constantly to obliterate
the ruts.
3284. But ilf*-4dam's plan of making roads is not only superior to all others for
country roads ; but promises to be equally valuable as a substitute for pavement or cause-
ways in towns. It has been tried in some of the principal streets of the metropolis, and
will probably soon become general in all the great thoroughfares. (See Observ. on
Roads by J. L. M^Adam, Esq. 1822.)
3285. In the following view of the present state of knowledge as to roads we shall avoid
entirely that part of the subject which relates to national or parochial management, and
confine ourselves to the kinds, direction or line, the form, the materials, and the execu-
tion, and the repairs.
Sect. I. Of the different Kinds of Roads.
3286. Though all roads agree in being tracts of passage from one point to another^ yet
they diflfer in their magnitude, construction, and other modes of adaptation, for that pur-
pose. Most good roads consist of two parts ; one " metalled" or coated with stones for
the use of carriages and horses h)// c 432 a
{fig. 432 a) ; another of common
earth or soil, as a border to the
metalled part (6), or for the use of
pedestrians ; and probably a footpath for the latter (c). Several kinds of roads are distin-
guished by the relative proportions of these two parts ; but some also are characterised
by otlier circumstances.
3287. National roads, or highways, are such as communicate between the capital
cities and sea-ports of a country, and are tliose of the greatest magnitude. In Britain,
the metalled part of such roads where they are most frequented, as within a few miles of
large towns, is from 30 to 50 and even to 60 feet wide, with footways on each side of
12 feet wide or upwards, and in no case is the metalled part of the road narrower than
20 feet ; that width being requisite to admit of one loaded waggon passing another.
Many, or most of these narrower national roads are without footpaths, and often want a
sufficient bordering of earth road, or footpath.
3288. Parochial roads may be considered as secondary highways, deriving their name
from the circumstance of being made and supported by the parish in which they are
situated ; whereas the others are the work of government, or of the counties in which tliey
are situated, and are supported by tolls levied on carriages and animals, passing over
them, whereas the others are supported by parocliial rates or assessments.
3289. Lanes are parish or private roads generally narrow, and often either not me-
talled at all, or very imperfectly so ; sometimes they are called drift-ways, but that term
is more properly applied to the green or unmetalled space, which runs parallel to any
made road.
3290. Estate roads are such as are made by landed proprietors on their own territoiy,
for the purpose of intercommunication and connection with public roads.
3291. A farm-road is either one which leads to a farmery, from a public road, or which
leads from Uie farmery to different parts of the farm. Such roads are never narrower
than 16 feet, to admit of two carriages passing each other ; but they are often only half
metalled, presenting a turf road for summer, dry weather, and for empty carriages and
foot passengers, and a metalled or winter road, for winter and loaded carriages. In a
road from a highway to a farmery, it may often be advisable to place tlie metalled road in
the middle, and keep the earth road at each side, on account of admitting the sun and
512 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
air more readily to tlio metalled road ; but In roads within a farm, it is found a great
convenience in casting out manure, or bringing home produce, for the loaded carts to have
uninterrupted possession of the metalled road, and the others of the earth road. In
many cases, farm roads of this description are only metalled in the horse tracks
{Jig. A^Sa.),&.nAwhee\ ruts
(6, b), which, on dry firm
bottomed land, and with care-
ful preservation, is found to
answer very well.
3292. Horse roads are
paths for the transit of single
horses with a rider, or a back
load : they are commonly of earth, and from six to ten feet wide : the statute width
is eight feet.
S293. Footpaths are tracks for pedestrians ; sometimes metalled to the width of three
or four feet ; but often of the natural surface.
3294. Rail roads are roads exclusively for the use of carriages, and are characterised
by a rail commonly of iron, but sometimes of wood laid along the track of each wheel, in
order to produce the effect of a perfectly even surface. In general, the carriages for
such roads, have their wheels low, and of a particular construction to tit the rails ; but in.
some cases the rails have grooves for the use of common narrow wheels. Such roads are
almost exclusively in use, at coal and other great mineral works ; but some have proposed
to introduce them as side roads, to the more public highways. For this purpose, also,
it has been proposed instead of iron rails, to lay down granite stones of a foot or eighteen
inches in breadth, which would render them suitable for any description of wheels or
axles.
3295. Paved roads are of three kinds ; those with small stones, or causeways, which
are most common ; those with large blocks of stone, and those with sections of timber
trees. The first, though almost peculiar to towns, yet form the whole of the metalled
road in some cases of country roads ; and in others a space of ten or twelve feet in the
middle, or at each side is causewayed, for the use of the heavier carriages. Broad stones
are sometimes used for covering part of a road, destined for the greatest part of the traf-
fick, or for forming wheel tracks. In the latter case, they are always squared or regularly
jointed, but in the former, the most irregular forms may be used. Timber causewaying, is
only used in entrance courts, to town mansions, for the sake of avoiding the noise made
by the wheels of carriages and horses' feet on stone. For this purpose timber paving is
excellent, and lasts for a very long time. On the continent, fine timber is used for this
purpose, but oak or larch would no doubt last longer.
3296. Planked roads are formed over morasses, or in particular cases by laying down a
flooring of planks, on which carriages pass for temporary purposes. A permanent kind of
road of this description has been made by weaving (or wattling) an endless hurdle of the
breadth of the road, and covering it with a coating of gravel or broken stones. The advantage
of this mode is, that the road may be made on a bog before the substratum dries, and even
if it is so soft as not to bear a man. By the time the hurdle rots the base will be consoli-
dated and fit to bear any thing.
3297. Approach roads and walks are roads which come under the subject of gardening.
3298. Tlie * term metaV in road making is applied to the stony or gravelly materials laid
on to form tlie main part of the road.
Sect. II. Of the Line of Direction or laying out of Roads.
3^99. Before carriages of burden were in use, little more was required than a path upon
hard ground, that would bear horses. All marshy grounds were therefore shunned ; the
fords of rivers were resorted to, and the inequality or circuit of the road was of much less
consequence, than when carriages, instead of pack-horses, began to be employed. When
carriages were first employed, they probably were light and narrow, and did not require to
have roads of any considerable breadth or firmness. And when roads had once been thus
traced, indolence and habit prevented any great exertions to lay them out in better lines, or
to repair them in any manner beyond what present convenience absolutely required.
When heavier carriages and greater traflfic made wider and stronger roads necessary, the
ancient track was pursued ; ignorance and want of concert in the proprietors of the
ground, and, above all, the want of some general effective superintending power, conti-
nued this wretched practice. (Edgeworth on Roads, p. 3.) At length turnpikes were es-
tablislied, and laws passed investing magistrates with authority to alter established lines, so
that now the chief obstacle to the improvement of the lines of public roads is the expense.
3300. In laying out roads, a variety of circumstances require to be taken into consi-
deration ; but the principal are evidently their line or direction, and its inclination to the
horizon.
Book IL DIRECTION OF ROADS. 513
3301. The most perfect line, according to Marshal, is that which is straight and level.
But this is to be drawn in a country only which is perfectly flat, and where no obstruc-
tions lie in the way ; joint circumstances that rarely happen. Where the face of the
country, between two points or places to be connected by a road, is nearly but not quite
level, by reason of gentle swells which rise between them, a straight line maybe perfect,
— maybe the most eligible under these circumstances. But where the intervening
country is broken into hill and dale, or if one ridge of hill only intervenes, a straight line
of carriage road is seldom compatible with perfection. In this case, which is nearly ge-
neral, the best skill of the surveyor lies in tracing the midway between the straight and
the level line. The line of perfection, for agricultural purposes, is to be calculated, by
the time and exertion, jointly considered, which are required to convey a given burden,
with a given power of draught from station to station. On great public roads, where expe-
dition is a principal object, time alone may be taken as a good criterion.
3302. A regular method of finding out the true line of road, between two stations, where
a blank is given, where there is no other obstruction than what the surface of the ground
to be got over presents, is to ascertain, and mark at proper distances, the straight line ;
which is the only certain guide to the surveyor. If the straight line be found to be ineli-
gible, each mark becomes a rallying point, in searching, on either side of it, for abetter.
If two lines of equal facility, and nearly of equal distance from the straight line, present
themselves, accurate measurements are to determine tlie choice. If one of the two best
lines which the intervenmg country affords is found to be easier, the other shorter, the
ascent and the distance are to be jointly considered j the exertion and tlie time required
are to be duly weighed.
3303. The nature of tlie ground, the source of materials, and the comparative expense of
forming the road, by two doubtful lines, as well as their comparative exposure, are also
to be taken into consideration. Although, in some places, Paterson observes, it may be
of little consequence, either to the traveller, or to the public in general, which way the
bendings are turned, provided the level is nearly obtained, — yet a great deal may depend
upon those turns or bendings for the real benefit and advantage of the road. In bend-
ing it one way, you may have no metals that will stand any fatigue, unless at a great dis-
tance and expense ; while, in turning it the other way, you may have metals of the very
best quality, in the immediate vicinity. In the one way, too, you may be led over ground
of a wet bottom, where even, with twelve or fourteen inches deep of metals, tliere would be
difficulty in keeping a good road ; while, in the other, you may have such a dry bottom,
that the road would be much easier upheld with seven or eight inches of metals. So that
the tract that may appear most eligible to the eye, at first sight, may not always be the
one that should be adopted. " A combination of all the requisites I have already men-
tioned, should be studied, as far as possible ; and where these cannot be found all to unite,
the one possessing the most of these advantages, and subject to no other material objec-
tion, should, of coui'se, be adopted." {Treatise on Roads, p. 19.)
3304. Roads, Edgeworth observes, should be laid out as nearly as may be, in a straiglit
line ; but, to follow with this view the mathematical axiom, that a straight line is the
shortest that can be drawn between two points, will not succeed in making the most com-
modious roads ; hills must be avoided, towns must be resorted to, and the sudden bends
of rivers must be shunned. All these circumstances must be attended to, therefore a per-
fectly straight road cannot often be found of any great length. It may perhaps appear
surprising, that there is but little difference in the length between a road that has a gentle
bend, and one that is in a perfectly straight line. A road ten miles long, and perfectly
straight, can scarcely be found any where, but if such a road could be found, and if it
were curved, so as to prevent the eye from seeing further than a quarter of a mile of it, in
any one place, the whole road would not be lengthened mor^ than one hundred and fifty
yards. It is not proposed to make serpentine roads merely for the entertainment of tra-
vellers ; but it is intended to point out, that a strict adherence to a straight line is of
much less consequence than is usually supposed ; and that it will be frequently advan-
tageous to deviate from the direct line, to avoid inequalities of ground. It is obvious,
that, where the arc described by a road going over a hill, is greater than that which is
described by going round it, the circuit is preferable ; but it is not known to every over-
seer, that within certain limits it will be less laborious to go round the hill, though the
circuit should be much greater than that which would be made in crossing the hill.
Where a hill has an ascent of no more than one foot in thirty, the thirtieth part of the
whole weight of the carriage, of the load, and of the horses, must be lifted up, whilst they
advance thirty feet. In doing this, one thirtieth part of the whole load continually resists
the horses' draught ; and in drawing a waggon of six tons weight, a resistance equal to'
the usual force of two horses must be exerted.
3305. A perfectly level road is not always the best for every species of draught. Slight
and sliort alternations of rising and falling ground are serviceable to horses moving
L 1
514 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
swiftly ; the horses have time to rest their lungs, and different muscles : and of this
experienced drivers know well how to take advantage. Marshal concurs in this opinion,
and also Walker, Telford, and most engineers ; and Paterson considers that it would not
be proper to line a road upon a perfect level, even to the length of one mile together,
although it could be quite easily obtained. It is a fact, he says, well known to most people,
at least every driver of loaded carriages knows by experience, that where a horse, dragging
a load over a long stretch of road, quite level, will be exhausted with fatigue ; the same
length of a road, having here a gentle acclivity, and there a declivity, will not fatigue the
animal so much. This is easily accounted for. On a road quite level, the draught is
always the same, without any relaxation ; but on a gentle ascent, one of his powers is
called into exercise ; on the descent, another of his powers is called into action, and he
rests from the exercise of the former. Thus are his different muscular powers moderately
exercised, one after another ; and this variety has not the same tendency to fatigue.
3306. A dry foundation and clearing the road from water, are two jmportant objects
which, according to Walker {^Minutes of Evidence before a Committee of the House of
Commons, 1819), ought to be kept in view in lining out roads. " For obtaining the first
of these objects it is essential that the line for the road be taken so that the foundation
can be kept dry, either by avoiding low ground, by raising the surface of the road above
the level of the ground on each side of it, or by drawing off the water by means of side
drains. The other object, viz. that of clearing the road of water, is best secured by
selecting a course for the road which is not horizontally level, so that the surface of the
road may in its longitudinal section, form in some degree an inclined plane ; and when
this cannot be obtained, owing to the extreme flatness of the country, an artificial incli-
nation may generally be made. When a road is so formed, every wheel-track that is
made, being in the line of the inclination, becomes a channel for carrying off the water,
much more effectually than can be done by a curvature in the cross section or rise in the
middle of the road, without the danger, or other disadvantages which necessarily attend
the rounding a road much in the middle. I consider a fall of about one inch and a half
in ten feet, to be a minimum in this case, if it is attainable without a great deal of extra
expense.
3307. The ascent of hills, it is observed by Marshal, is the most difficult part of laying
out roads. According to theory, he says, an inclined plane of easy ascent is proper;
but as the moving power on this plane is " neither purely mechanical, nor in a sufficient
degree rational, but an irregular compound of these two qualities, the nature and habits
of this power" require a varied inclined plane, or one not a uniform descent, but with
levels or other proper places for rests. According to the road act the ascent or descent
should not exceed the rate or proportion of one foot in height to thirty-five feet of the
length thereof, if the same be practicable, without causing a great increase of distance.
3308. As precedents for roads through hilly countries, Telford [Minutes before the
Committee of the House of Commons, ^c. 1819,) refers to those which he has lately
made through the most difficult and precipitous districts of North Wales. " The
longitudinal inclinations are in general less than one in thirty ; in one instance
for a considerable distance there was no avoiding one in twenty-two, and in
another, for about two hundred yards, one in seventeen ; but in these two cases, the
surface of the road-way being made peculiarly smooth and hard, no inconvenience is
experienced by wheeled carriages. On flat ground the breadth of the road-way is
thirty-two feet ; where there is side cutting not exceeding three feet, the breadth is
twenty-eight, and along any steep ground and precipices, it is twenty-two, all clear
within the fences ; the sides are protected by stone walls, breast and retaining walls and
parapets ; great pains have been bestowed on the cross drains, also the draining the
ground, and likewise in constructing firm and substantial foundations for the metalled
part of the roadway."
3309. The road between Capel Cerig and Lord PenryrCs slate quarries, may also be
adduced as an example of a very perfect enclosed plain in which the ascent is accurately
divided on the whole space.
3310. Cutting through loio hills to obtain a level, is recommended by some, who, as
Paterson observes, will argue, " that where the hill of ascent is not very long, it is
better, in that case, to cut through it in a straight line, and embank over the hollow
ground on each side, than to wind along the foot of it. This, however, should only be
done where the cutting is very little indeed, and an embankment absolutely necessary.
Few people, except those who are well acquainted, are aware of the great expense of
cutting and embanking ; and the more any one becomes acquainted with road-making,
the more, it may be presumed, will he endeavor to avoid those levels on the straight
line that are obtained only by cutting and embanking, and will either follow the level
on the curved line round the hill ; or where this is impracticable, will ascend the hill, and
go over it by various windings, avoiding always abrupt or sudden turnings." {Treatise,
*c. p. 15.)
Book II. DIRECTION OF ROADS. 515
331 1. All crossings, intersections, and abuttings of roads, should be made at right angles,
for the obvious reason of facilitating the turning from one road to the other, or the more
speedily crossing. Where roads cross each other obliquely, or where one road abuts on
another at an acute angle, turning in, or crossing, can only be conveniently performed in
one direction.
33 1 2. In laying out a road over a hill or mountain of angular Jigure and considerable
height, much practical skill as well as science are requisite. In order to preserve a
moderate inclination, or such a one as will admit of the descent of carriages without
locking their wheels, a much longer line will be required than the arc of the mountain.
In reaching the summit or highest part to be passed over, the line must be extended by
winding or zig-zagging it along the sides, so as never to exceed the maximum degree of
steepness. This may occasion a very awkward appearance in a ground plan, but it is
unavoidable in immense works. If a hill, 50 feet in perpendicular height {Jig. 434.),
434 b
has an arc (a, b, c), or would require 150 feet of road (a, b, c) to go over its summit in
a straight line, then to pass over the same hill on a road rising at the rate of two inches
in six feet (the slope of the Simplon road), would require a length of 600 feet. If this
length were extended in a straight line [d, b, e) on each side, it would require an
enormous mound, and an immense expense ; but by being conducted in a winding
direction (5), up the hill on one side, and down the other, the same end is gained at a
moderate cost. Such works shew the wonderful power and ingenuity of man ^ and
perhaps no example exists where this is so displayed in road-making as in the case of the
Simplon.
3313. In laying out a road towards a river, stream, ravine, or any place requiring a
bridge or embankment, an obvious advantage results from approaching them at right
angles ; and the same will apply in regard to any part requiring tunnelling or crossing
by an aqueduct, &c.
3314. In tracing out winding railroads, or such carriage roads as are only to be
metalled in the horse track and paths of the wheels, some management is necessary in the
case of quick bends. Where the line is straight, the horse path ought to be exactly in
the middle between the wheel tracks. But, where the road winds, and most especially
at a quick bend, the horse track ought ever to incline toward the outer side of the curve;
by which the wheels will be uniformly kept on the middles of the supports prepared for
them. Hence, it is advisable to dig the trench for the horse path (Jig. 433 a.}, first ; and
to draw a carriage for which the road is intended, with the horses walking in this middle
trench : thus marking out, by the impressions of the wheels, the precise middle lines of
the outer trenches, in every part of the road, from end to end.
3315. The directions of roads through an extensive estate, cannot be determined on
without having in contemplation the other fundamental improvements, such as the
situations of villages, farmeries, mills, or other objects ; and these artificial improvements
must be taken in connection with the natural surface, soil, materials, waters, &c. ; the
probable system of agriculture that will be pursued, and the external intercourse. A
hilly country under aration, will evidently require more roads than if chiefly under
pasture ; and, indeed, other circumstances the same, a country abounding in hills and
valleys, requires many more roads than one of a more even surface. The roads in such
a country are also more expensive, on account of the bridges, and extra work at their
abutments. On an estate composed of gentle hills chiefly intended for arable or con-
vertible husbandry, the best situation for the roads will generally be found about half
way between the bottoms and highest surfaces. By this means the labor of carting up
the produce from the fields below the road, and carting up the dung to the fields above
it, is evidently much less than if the road were either entirely on the highest ground
or the lowest. Bridges over the brooks or open ditches necessary for drainage in valleys,
are also rendered less frequent.
3316. Accurate sections of the rises and falls of the natural surface on which a road
is to be formed should always be taken before the line is finally determined on. As the
figure of an exact section of this sort on any ordinary scale, would convey no data
sufficiently accurate for execution, it is usual to adopt one scale for the length, and
another for the rises and falls of the road, and to mark the latter with the dimensions as
taken on the survey.
LI 2
516 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III
Sect. III. Of the Form and Materials of Roads.
3317. On the structure and composition of roods, men of science and practical road-
makers are much more divided than on their laying out. The subject is of itself of
greater importance in old countries, because it more frequently occurs that a road is to
be enlarged or renewed, than that a new line is to be devised. We shall first lay down
the fundamental principles of the formation, and wear of roads, and next treat of form-
ing them, and of the different kinds of road materials.
SuBSECT. 1. Of the Formation of Roads, and of their Wear or Injury.
' 3318. A road may be defined a path of transit on the earth's surface, for men,
animals, and machines ; — of sufficient width for the given traffick ; — of sufficient
strength and solidity for the given weight; — of sufficient smoothness to permit no
impediment ; and of as great durability as possible.
3319. The width is obviously determinable by the nature and extent of the traffick :
every road should be made sufficiently broad to admit two of the largest sized carriages
which are in use in the country or district, to pass each other ; and highways and roads
near towns should be made wider in proportion to their use. The maximum and
minimum can only be determined by experience : sixty feet is the common and legal
width of a turnpike-road in Britain, and this includes the footpath.
3320. The strength of a road depends on the nature of the material of which it is
formed, and of the basis on which it is placed. A plate of iron or stone of the road's
■width placed on a compact dry soil would comprise every thing in point of strength ; but
as it is impracticable to employ plates of iron or stone of such a size to any extent,
recourse is had to a stratum of small stones or gravel. The great art, therefore, is so to
prepare this stratum, and place it on the basis of the road, as that the effect may come
as near as possible to a solid plate of material. To accomplish this, the stones or
gravel should be broken into small angular fragments, and after being laid down of such
a thickness as experience has determined to be of sufficient strength and durability, the
■whole should be so powerfully compressed by a roller as to render it one compact body,
capable of resisting the impression of the feet of animals, and the wheels of carriages
in a great degree, and imperveable by surface water. But the base of the road may
not always be firm and compact ; in this case it is to be rendered so by drainage,
artificial pressure, and perhaps in some cases by other means.
3321. The durability of a road as far as it depends on the original formation, will be
in proportion to the solidity of its basis ; the hardness of the material of which the
surface stratum is formed ; — its thickness ; — and the size and form of the stones
■which compose it. The form and size of the stones which compose the surface-stratum
have a powerful influence on a road's durability. If their form is roundish, it is evident
they will not bind into a compact stratum ; if it is large, whether the form be round or
angular, the stratum cannot be solid ; and if they are of mixed sizes and shapes, though
a very strong and solid stratum may be formed at first, yet the wheels of carriages and
the feet of animals operating with unequal effect on the small and large stones, would
soon derange the solidity of the stratum to a certain depth, and consequently, by admit-
ting rain and frost to penetrate into it, accelerate its decay. A constant state of
moisture, even without any derangement of surface, contributes to tlie wearing of roads
by friction, and hence one requisite to durability is a free exposure to the sun and air
by keeping low the side fences ; and another is keeping a i oad clear of mud or dust,
the first of which acts as a spunge in retaining water, and the second increases the
draught of animals, and of course their action on the road. Both the strength and the
durability of a road will be greater when the plate or surface-stratum of metals is flat
or nearly so, than when it is rounded on the upper surface : first, because no animal can
stand upright on such a road with a regular bearing on the soles of its feet ; and,
secondly, because no wheeled carriage can have a regular bearing, excepting on the
middle or crown of the road. The consequence of both these states is the breaking
the surface of the plate into holes with the edges of horses' feet, or ruts by the plough-
like effect of wheels on the lower side of the road, or the reiterated operation of those
■which pass along the centre.
,3322. The smoothness of a road depends on the size of the stones and on their com-
pression either by original rolling or the continued pressure of wheels. The con-
tinued smoothness of a road during its wear depends on small stones being used in every
part of the stratum ; for if the lower part of it, as is generally the case in the old style
of forming roads, consists of larger stones, as soon as wheels or water penetrates from
above, these stones will work up and produce a road full of holes and covered with
loose stones.
Book II.
WEAR OF ROADS.
517
3323. The wear or decay of roads takes place in consequence of the friction, leverage,
pressure, grinding and incision of animals and machines, and the various effects of
water and the weather.
3324. Friction will in time wear down the most durable and smooth material. Its
effects are more rapid when aided by water, which insinuates itself among the particles
of the surfaces of earthy bodies, and being then compressed by the weight of feet or
wheels, ruptures or wears them. Even when not compressed by wheels or other weights,
the action of frost, by expanding water, produces the same effect. This any one
inay prove by soaking a soft brick in water and exposing it to a severe frost.
3325. The leverage of the feet of animals has a
tendency to depress one part of the surface and
raise up another. The line which forms the
sole of every animal's foot may be considered as
a lever of the second kind, in which the fulcrum
is at the one extremity [fig. 435 a), the power
at the other (6), and the weight between them
(c). Hence the injury done to the road, even if
formed on the best construction, will be as the
pressure on the fulcrum : this amounts to the half of the weight of bipeds and their
loads, and a fourth of that of quadrupeds. But if the stones of the road are large,
that is, if they are more than two inches in breadth, the horse's foot acts as a compound
lever, and by depressing one end of the stones and raising the other, deranges the surface
of the stratum, and renders it a receptacle for water, mud, or dust.
3326. The leverage of wheels is of a
nature to l)e less injurious to roads
than that of the feet of animals, be-
cause the fulcrum {fig. 436 a), is
continually changing its position. But
if the stones of the road are large,
then the wheel acts as a compound
lever, and raises up the one end (6),
and presses down the other (n), of
every stone it passes over, and in this
case becomes more injurious on a bad
road than the feet of loaded animals.
The reiterated operation of this effect
by wheels following in the same track, soon destroys badly constructed roads.
3327. Such being the effect of leverage, and especially of compound leverage, in wearing
roads, it becomes of the first importance to ascertain that size and shape of stone on
which its effects will be least ; that is to say, how short a compound lever may be made use
of consistently with other advantages. This must in general be a matter of experience,
and chiefly depends on the hardness of the stone. The size must always be sufficiently
large, and the shape sufficiently angular to form, when embedded, a compact, hard, and
immoveable stratum, and the smaller the size the better, provided that object be obtained.
Two inches in diameter may be considered the medium size.
3328. The mere j)ressure of objects on a smooth road does little mischief, and hence
the advantage of perfectly cylindrical wheels, and a road as nearly level as practicable.
But if the surface of the road is rough, the pressure both of cylindrical wheels, and the
feet of animals, may do mischief by forcing down a loose stone among others of dif-
ferent sizes, and thus loosening the latter and raising the largest to the surface. Where
a road, however, is composed of materials of small size, the pressure of cylindrical wheels,
when the surface is clean and dry, will probably always be of greater service by acting as
a roller, than of injury by the friction of the pressure.
3329. Grinding is produced by the twisting motion of the feet of horses or other
animals when pulling hard or carrying a heavy weight, and by the twisting, dragging,
or sliding of wheels from whatever cause. The grinding of wheels. Fry observes, " may
in every case be defined to be the effect produced on any substance interposed between
two bodies, one of which has a sliding motion, yet so firmly confined or pressed between
them, that the moving body cannot slide over the interposed substance ; but, in conse-
quence of the pressure, the interposed substance, adhering firmly both to the fixed and
to the moving body, is necessarily lacerated or torn asunder, and reduced to atoms.
This is the process in corn-mills, in drug-mills, and in every other mill, properly so
called. I remember," he adds, " frequently when a boy, to have trodden with one heel
on a piece of soft brick, or of dry old mortar, which was firm enough to bear the weight
of my body, uninjured ; but, on giving my body a swing round witli my other foot, I
have instantly reduced it to powder. The action in this case is very obvious : the
weight of my body confined the piece of brick firmly to the ground j my heel was also
LI 3
518 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
pressed by the same weight firmly upon the brick ; one part of the brick therefore remain-
ing confined to the ground, and the other part being carried round by my heel, the
brick of course was torn asunder and reduced to powder. This I conceive is a simple
elucidation of the difference between pressing and grinding, and this is the difference
of the effects on the materials of our roads, produced by the use of upright cylindrical
•wheels, whicli act only by pressure, by the use of conical wheels, which by their constant
twist, act also by grinding, and by very convex roads, by which means the wheels of
all carriages, excepting such as occupy the crown of the road, whether cylindrical or
otherwise, act in the same twisting, sliding, and grinding manner." (06s. on Roads, Sj^c.
1819.)
3330. By the incision of objects passing along roads, we allude to the dividing operation
of wheels, which, independently of their effect as moving levers, act also as moving
wedges, or perhaps, more properly, as endless saws in forming ruts or deepening such
as are already made. Flat roads, so as to produce less temptation to follow in the mid-
dle track, watchful repair, and broad wheels, are the mitigators of this description of
wear.
3331. Water is one of the most serious causes of the wear of roads. As we have
already observed (3324.), it acts, aided by pressure, like gunpowder in rending the sur-
face of bodies. Frozen it acts exactly in the same manner; and when it has penetrated
deeply into a stratum of materials, a thaw produces their entire derangement. Mud is
formed in consequence of the presence of water and dust, or earth, and acts as a sponge
to retain it, and perpetuate its bad effects. A well-composed and thoroughly com-
pressed substratum will not imbibe water unless it rests in ruts or other hollows. To
form such a stratum, therefore, and obliterate all hollows as soon as they appear, and
to remove mud and dust, are the palliatives of this mode of wear. On such a road
heavy showers may do good by washing away the earthy particles, dung, and other in-
jurious earthy or vegetable matters.
3332. Wind is mostly a favorable agent to roads by drying them and blowing off the
lighter dust ; but in some cases, in very exposed situations, it has been known to blow
the dust into heaps, and sometimes to carry off larger particles than could be spared.
The last evil is fortunately rare ; the other only requires the removal of the accumulated
heaps of dust.
SuBSECT. 2. Of M' Adam's Theory and Practice of Road-making.
3333. M'Adam agrees with other engineers, that a good road may be con-
sidered as an artificial flooring, forming a strong, solid, smooth, surfaced stratum,
sufficiently flat to admit of carriages standing upright on any part of it, capable of car-
rying a great weight, and presenting no impediment to the animals or machines which pass
along it. In forming this flooring, M'Adam has gone one step beyond his predecessors
in breaking the stone to a smaller size than was before practised, and in forming the
entire stratum of this small-sized stone. By the former practice a basement of large
stones are first laid, then stones a degree smallei*, and, lastly, the least size on the surface.
It is in this point of making use of one small size of stones throughout the stratum,
that the originality of M' Adam's plan consists, unless we add also his assertion, " that
all the roads in the kingdom may be made smooth and solid in an equal degree, and to
continue so at all seasons of the year." It is doubted by some, whether this would be
the case in the northern districts at the breaking up of frosts, and especially in the case
of roads not much in use, and consequently consisting of a stratum less consolidated,
and more penetrable by water. M'Adam, probably, has much frequented pul)lic
roads in view. " The durability of these," he says, " will of course depend on the
strength of the materials of which they may be composed, but_ they will all be good
while they last, and the only question that can arise respecting the kind of materials, is
one of duration and expense, but never of the immediate condition of the roads." (i2e-
marks on Roads, ^c. p. 11.) The following observation of Marshal is worthy of re-
mark, as tending to confirm to a certain extent the doctrine of M'Adam. " It may
seem needless to repeat, that the surface of a road which is formed of well-broken
stones, binding gravel, or other firmly cohesive materials, and which is much used, pre-
sently becomes repellent of the water which falls upon it : no matter as to the basis on
which they are deposited ; provided it is sound and firm enough to support them."
3334. M'Adanis theory of road-making may be comprised in the following quotation
from his Report to the Board of Agriculture (vol. vi. p. 46.). *' Roads can never be
rendered perfectly secure until the following principles be fully understood, admitted,
and acted upon : namely, that it is the native soil which really supports the weight of
traffick ; that while it is preserved in a dry state it will carry any weight without sinking,
and that it does, in fact, carry the road and the carriages also ; that this native soil must
previously be made quite dry, and a covering impenetrable to rain, must then be placed
over it to preserve it in that dry state ; that the thickness of a road should only be regu-
Book If. M'ADAM'S ROADS. 519
lated by the quantity of material necessary to form such impervious covering, and never
by any reference to its own power of carrying weiglit.
3335. The erroneous opinion so long acted upon, and so tenaciouslt/ adhered to, that by
placing a large quantity of stone under the roads, a remedy will be found for the sinking
into wet clay, or other soft soils, or in other words, that a road may be made suffi-
ciently strong, artificially, to carry heavy carriages, though the sub-soil be in a wet state,
and by such means to avert the inconveniences of the natural soil receiving water from
rain, or other causes, has produced most of the defects of the roads of Great Britain.
At one time M' Adam had formed the opinion that this practice was only a useless expense ;
but experience has convinced him that it is likewise positively injurious.
3336. If strata of stone of various sizes be placed as a road, it is well-known to every
skilful and observant road-maker, that the largest stones will constantly work up by the
shaking and pressure of the traffick; and that the only mode of keeping the stones of
a road from motion, is to use materials of a uniform size from the bottom. In roads
made upon large stones as a foundation, the perpetual motion, or change of the position
of the materials, keeps open many apertures, through which the water passes. •
3337. Roads placed upon a hard bottom, it has also been found, wear away more
quickly than those which are placed upon a Soft soil. This has been apparent upon
roads where motives of economy, or other causes, have prevented the road being lifted
to the bottom at once ; the wear has always been found to diminish, as soon as it was
possible to remove the hard foundation. It is a known fact, that a road lasts much
longer over a morass than when made over rock. The evidence produced before the
committee of the house of commons, showed the comparison on the road between
Bristol and Bridgewater, to be as five to seven in favor of the wearing on the morass,
where the road is laid on the naked surface of the soil, against a part of the same road
made over rocky ground.
3338. The common practice, on the formation of a new road is, to dig a trench below
the surface of the ground adjoining, and in this trench to deposit a quantity of large
stones ; after this, a second quantity of stone, broken smaller, generally to about seven
or eight pounds weight ; these previous beds of stone are called the bottoming of the
road, and are of various thickness, according to the caprice of the maker, and generally
in proportion to the sum of money placed at his disposal. On some new roads, made
in Scotland in the summer of 1819, the thickness exceeded three feet. That which is
properly called the road is then placed on the bottoming, by putting large quantities of
broken stone or gravel, generally a foot or eighteen inches thick, at once upon it. Were
the materials of which the road itself is composed properly selected, prepared, and laid,
some of the inconveniences of this system might be avoided ; but in the careless way in
which this service is generally performed, the road is as open as a sieve to receive water;
which penetrates through the whole mass, is received and retained in the trench, whence
the road is liable to give way in all changes of weather. A road formed on such prin-
ciples has never effectually answered the purpose which the road-maker should con-
stantly have in view ; namely, to make a secure, level flooring, over which carriages may
pass with safety, and equal expedition, at all seasons of the year.
3339. An artificiid road in Britain is only required to obviate the inconvenience of a
very unsettled climate. Water, with alternate frost and thaw, are the evils to be guarded
against ; consequently nothing can be more erroneous than providing a reservoir for
water under the road, and giving facility to the water to pass through the road into this
trench, where it is acted upon by frost to the destruction of the road. As no artificial
road can ever be made so good and so useful as the natural soil in a dry state, it is only
necessary to procure and preserve this dry state of so much ground as is intended to be
occupied by a road.
3340. The first operation in making a road should be the reverse of digging a trench.
The road should not be sunk below, but rather raised above, the ordinary level of the
adjacent ground; care should at any rate be taken, that there be a sufficient fall to take
off' the water, so that it should always be some inches below the level of the ground
upon which the road is intended to be placed : this must be done, either by making
drains to lower ground, or if that be not practicable, from the nature of the country,
then the soil upon which the road is proposed to be laid, must be raised by addition, so
as to be some inches above the level of tlie water.
3341. Having secured the soil from under-ivater, the road-maker is next to secure it
from rain-water, by a solid road made of clean dry stone or flint, so selected, prepared,
and laid, as to be perfectly impervious to water ; and this cannot be effected unless the
greatest care be taken that no earth, clay, chalk, or other matter, that will hold or
conduct water, be mixed with the broken stone ; which must be so prepared and laid, as
to unite with its own angles into a firm, compact, impenetrable body.
3342. The thickness of such road is immaterial, as to its strength for carrying weight ;
this object is already obtained by providing a dry surface, over which the road is to be
LI 4
520 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
placed as a covering or roof, to preserve it in that state : experience having shown, that
if water passes through a road, and fill the native soil, the road, whatever may be its thick-
ness, loses its support, and goes to pieces. In consequence of an alteration in the line of
the turnpike-road, near Rownham-ferry, in the parish of Ashton, near Bristol, it has been
necessary to remove the old road. This road was lifted and re-laid very skilfully in
1806; since which time it has been in contemplation to change the line, and conse-
quently it has been suffered to wear very thin. At present it is not above three inches
thick in most places, and in none more than four ; yet on removing the road, it was
found that no water had penetrated, noi; had the frost affected it during the winter preced-
ing, and the natural earth beneath the road was found perfectly dry.
3343. Several new roads have been constructed on this principle within the last three
ypars. Part of the great north road from London, by Hoddesdon, in Hertfordshire;
two pieces of road on Durdham Down, and at Rownham-ferry, near Bristol ; with
several private roads in the eastern part of Sussex. None of these roads exceed six
inches in thickness ; and although that on the great north road is subjected to a very
heavy traffick (being only fifteen miles distant from London), it has not given way, nor M'as
it affected by the late severe winter (1819-20,; when tlie roads between that and London
became impassable, by breaking up to the bottom, and the mail and other coaches were
obliged to reach London by circuitous routes. It is worthy of observation, that these
bad roads cost more money per mile for their annual repair, than the original making
of this useful new road.
3344. Improvement of roads, continues M'A., upon the principle I have endeavored to
explain, has been rapidly extended during the last four years. It has been carried into
effect on various roads, and with every variety of material, in seventeen different counties.
These roads being so constructed as to exclude water, consequently none of them broke
up during the late severe winter (1819-20j; there was no interruption to travelling,
nor any additional expense by the post-office in conveying the mails over them, to the
extent of upwards of one thousand miles of road."
3345. On M^ Adam's theory the only practical road-maker who has published his opi-
nion, is Paterson, of Montrose. He says {^Letters and Communications, ^c. 1822,)
** These certainly ought to be considered as the grand first principles of road-making."
He commends M* Adam's reasoning on these principles, but objects, as we think with
reason, to his drainage of three or four inches as being insuflftcient. He adds, however, that
though he considers M'Adam's system as erroneous and defective in draining and pre-
paring the road for the materials ; yet in regard to the materials themselves, the method
of preparing and putting them on, and keeping the road free from ruts by constant at-
tention, has his entire approbation. These principles, however, he adds, " are not new ;
but have been acted upon before. In regard to small breaking, he certainly has had the
merit of carrying that mode to greater extent than any other individual that I have heard
of; and the beneficial effects arising from it, have consequently been more extensively
seen and experienced." (^Letters on Road-making, p. 49.)
SuBSECT. 3. Road-making as treated of and practised by various eminent Engineers and
Surveyors.
3346. The subject of forming a road may be considered as to breadth, drainage,
fences, base of the hard materials or artificial stratum, upper line of the stratum, com-
position of the stratum, size of the materials, laying, and compressing.
3347. With respect to breadth the site of every public road, according to Marshal,
ought to be sufficiently ample to admit of its division into three travelable lines, namely,
1. A middle road of hard materials, for carriages and horses in winter and wet seasons;
2. A soft road, formed with the natural materials of the site, to be used in dry weather,
to save the unnecessary wear of the hard road, and to favor the feet of travelling animals ;
as well as for the safety, ease, and pleasantness of travelling in the summer season ; and
3. A commodious path, for the use of foot passengers, at all seasons. There are few
roads, even in the environs of populous towns, so public as to require a hard road of
more than two statute poles (thirty-three feet) in breadth ; and every public road
ought, under ordinary circumstances, to have a line which is travelable at any season, and
of ample width to permit two carriages to pass each other, with freedom and safety.
This ample width let us set down at one statute pole. In deep clayey districts, where
hard materials are difficult to be procured, a single road, of half a pole in breadth, with
dilations at proper distances, to let carriages pass each other, may, in many recluse situ-
ations,, be advisable.
3348. Seventy feet in width seems to be considered by Farey, Walker, Telford, and
most engineers, as sufficient near the largest towns, and in the case of the metropolis and
some others, they consider that ten or twenty feet in width may be paved. The London
Commercial road, executed under the direction of Walker, is seventy feet wide ; ten
feet on each side are occupied as footpaths, twenty feet in the centre is paved for heavy
Book II. ROAD MAKING OF ENGINEERS. 521
carriages, and there is fifteen feet of gravel road at each side for h'ght carriages and
saddle horses. Tliis road has been executed for sixteen years, and has given the greatest
satisfaction ; but Walker thinks that considerable improvement would be found from
paving the sides of a road, upon which the heavy traffick is great, in both directions, and
leaving the middle for light carriages, the carmen or drivers walking upon the foot-
paths or sides of the road, would then be close to their horses, without interrupting or
being in danger of accidents from light carriages, which is the case when they are driving
upon the middle of the road ; and tlie unpaved part being in the middle or highest part
of the road, would be more easily kept in good repair. But unless the heavy traffick in
both directions is great, one width, say ten or twelve feet, if very well paved, will be
found sufficient ; and in this case, the paving ought to be in the middle of the road.
The width of many of the present roads is, besides, such, that ten or twelve feet can be
spared for paving, while twice that width would leave too little for the gravelled part.
Although the first cost of paving is so great, he does not think that any other plan can be
adopted so good and so cheap in those places where the materials got in the neighborhood
are not sufficient for supporting the roads. A coating of whinstone is, for instance,
more durable than the gravel with which the roads round London are made and repaired ;
but much less so than paving ; although the freight and carriage of the whinstone, and of
tlie paving-stones, whach form the principal items of the expense, are nearly the same.
334 9. Roads ought to be wide and strong, Edgeworth observes, in proportion to their
vicinity to great towns, mines, or manufactories. As they approach the capital, they
should be wider and stronger than elsewhere. When a number of roads leading to a
great city combine and fall into one, the road from that junction should be proportion-
ably solid and capacious. Near the capital, the width of roads is however often restricted
by buildings, that cannot with propriety be suddenly removed, but every opportunity for
removing these buildings, and for widening the road, should be attended to, and no
future buildings or encroachments should be allowed. And, though in some cases it
appears reasonable, to permit the erection of new buildings, and the making new planta-
tions, nearer than thirty feet from the centre of a road, upon condition that security should
be given to the public for the constant preservation of the road that is thus injured ; it is,
however, far safer to prohibit what is injurious to public convenience, than to compromise
with individuals : cases of private hardship may, and must occur, but it is part of the
true glory of Britain, that there exists no exemption in our laws in favor of the rich.
3350. Proportioning the breadth of roads to the traffick, for which they may be employed,
is not sufficiently attended to. In remote places, where there is but little traffick, the
waste of ground occasioned by superfluous width of roads, is an error of considerable
magnitude. There are many places where roads of twenty feet breadth would suit the
public convenience, as well as if they were twice as broad. Now it is clear, that if a
road is one pole or perch wider than is necessary, there is a waste of 320 perches in a
mile, equal to two acres of ground, which, at the rate of three pounds per acre, would,
if the road had been once well made, keep half a mile of such road, as is here alluded to,
in good repair.
3351. The breadth of the road and the width of the metals, according to Paterson,
should depend on circumstances different from the former. For a few miles in the
vicinity of such cities as London or Edinburgh, the most proper breadth at which a road
should be formed, is probably from sixty to seventy feet, and the metals from twenty-five
to thirty-five feet. While in the neighborhood of such towns as Newcastle or Perth,
it will be sufficient that it be formed forty feet broad, and that the width of the metals be
about eighteen or twenty feet. These are the breadths presumed to be tlie most eligible in
such situations. But rules cannot be given to suit every situation : the breadth ought to
be regulated according to the extent of the run of commerce, or traffick, upon the road.
As a general rule, however, for public roads over the different counties of Great Britain,
I should suppose the following might, in most cases, be adopted. Take for instance, the
road betwixt Edinburgh and Glasgow, or betwixt Edinburgh and Aberdeen, by the way
of Dundee. These roads are formed in general from thirty-five to forty feet wide ; and
the breadth of the metals is from fourteen to sixteen feet, for the most part. Such
roads as these would be found to answer very well, in general, over the kingdom. A
breadth sufficient for the general purposes of country travelling, according to M'Adam,
is sixteen feet of solid materials, with six feet on each side formed of slighter materials.
The Bristol roads, he says, are made with stone about the width of sixteen feet.
3352. Narrow roads, it is judiciously observed by Fry, are almost always in bad con-
dition, which is to be accounted for from the circumstance of every carriage being
obliged to go in the same ruts ; and as each rut is generally only six inches wide, one foot
of tlie road only is worn by the wheels instead of the whole breadth of it ; which would
be the case if the road were, of a proper width, and if it were well constructed. If a
road be laid out, from twenty to thirty feet wide, so flat as that a carriage may stand nearly
upr,ight on every part of it, and if moderate care be taken by the surveyor to prevent the
522 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
first formation of ruts, such a road will be worn by the wheels nearly alike on every part
of it : provided also that the ground on each side, for at least four or five feet, be mode-
rately flat, so as not to excite fear in the drivers of carriages ; but if there be deep
ditches close to the sides of the road, or if the circumjacent land fall off very abruptly
to the depth of two or three feet, whereby fear of approaching the edges would operate
on the minds of the drivers, every driver will instinctively avoid the danger on either
hand; and a road so circumstanced will, in spite of any care of the surveyor, inevitably
be worn into ruts in the middle. There is a remarkable instance of this kind in a piece
of road on Durdham Down, near Bristol. This road is a causeway over a piece of soft
ground ; and although it is from twenty to twenty-five feet wide, yet, as the ground
falls away abruptly on both sides of it, it has been found impossible, for more than
twenty years past, to his knowledge, to prevent deep ruts being formed along the mid-
dle of it ; notwithstanding the Down itself consists of hard limestone ; and the other
roads upon the Down are as fine and even as any roads in England. Were this piece of
road widened out on each side, in an easy slope about five feet, by rubbish of any kind,
and by the scrapings of the road itself, whereby the instinctive operation of fear of ap-
proaching the sides of the present road would be obviated, that piece of road would be
found to wear as fairly as the other roads on the same Down.
3353. In regard to the drainage of roads, Marshal directs to examine the site in
every part to ascertain whether offensive waters lodge beneath it, as quicksands ; or
land springs break out in a wet season. If defects of this kind be found, effectual
drains are td be run up to them, from the ditches or outer side drains of the site.
3354. When roads rjin through marshy ground, Edgeworth observes, " the substratum
must be laid dry by proper drainage ; and where the road is liable, from the flatness of
the country, to be at times under water, the expense of raising it above the water must
be submitted to in the first instance. All drains for carrying off water should be under
the road, or at the field side of the fences, and these drains should be kept open by con-
stant attention, and should be made wide at the outlet."
3355. The side drains, Telford and Walker recommend to be in every instance on the
field side of the fence. In cases, Telford observes, where a road is made upon ground
where there are many springs, it is absolutely necessary to make a number of under and
cross drains to collect the water and conduct it into the side drains, which should always
be made on the field side of the fences. The orifices of these cross drains should be
neatly and substantially finished in masonry.
3356. The nnethod of draining which Paierson has found the most elective, is thus
described : '* Before the materials are put on, run a drain along the middle of the
road, all the way, from two to three feet deep ; then fill it with stones up to the sur-
face, making tliose at bottom of a pretty good size, and those at the top fully as small
as the road materials. And, in order that the quantity of stones used for the said drain
may be as little as possible, and every way to save expense, it may be made as narrow
as it can possibly be dug. From this leading drain make a branch here and there, to
convey off the water to the canals on the sides of the road." This mode of draining he
has found, from experience, to be so beneficial, that a road so drained would be better and
more durable with eight inches, than it would otherwise be with twelve inches of mate-
rials. And, not only so, but that on such a road there would be a saving on the incidental
repairs, ever afterwards, of about one-half of the labor, and at least one-third of the material.
3357. All moisture from under the road materials must be carried off by such drains.
Then, if the materials are properly broken, they will become so firm and solid that little
or no water will get through them ; and if it should, this drain would carry it away.
So that, under any view of it, the utility of these drains must be very apparent : but
when we consider that, to have the ground under the road materials perfectly dry, is to
insure a good road, these drains become indispensably necessary, and the expense is a
mere trifle. There are two miles of road, which were made on this plan under Paterson's
directions, which have stood all the winter rains without injury, and which promises to be
one of the finest roads in the kingdom. There is another road of ten miles, that he has
lately planned, for the greater part of which he has specified two such drains, run-
ning parallel to each other, and five feet apart. And he would even recommend three or
four parallel drains where there is a great breadth of metals, excepting where the road
is formed over dry sand, or open gravel. Although the effect of such drains will be at
all times beneficial to the road ; in time of a thaw, after there has been a few weeks of
frost, it will be peculiarly so. In frost, the surface of the road, though wet before, be-
comes dried, the water being absorbed by the road, or otherwise condensed by the
frost. But no sooner is this succeeded by a thaw, than the absorbed, or condensed water,
again makes its appearance all over the surface of the road. This is the time that these
drains are so peculiarly beneficial.
3358. Where such drains are ivanting, the road, on the return of a thaw, throws
up to the surface all the water it had imbibed ; and, in many places, the materials
Book II. ROADS OF ENGINEERS. 523
swelling up, become quite loose and open. This is a natural consequence, where
the material is not thick, and where the soil under the road is not perfectly dry. But
where a road is dried in the way described, it will be uniformly seen, that the water,
instead of spewing out on the return of a thaw, is sucked in by the drains, so leaving
tlie surface of the road quite dry. It may be observed, at such times, that the
places of the road where a few roods of such drain had been introduced, presented to the
eye, at a quarter of a mile distance, quite a contrast to the other parts of the road, — the
one opaque and dry, from the moisture being sucked in — the other all wet and glister-
ing^Jrom its being thrown out to the surface. {Patersons Letters, &c. 44. 48. 84.)
3359. 'The surface-drains, or water-tables, should be made a few inches lower than the
side of the road, and of the common width of a spade at the bottom, and they should have
frequent cross drains under the path and fence, back into the outer side drain.
3360. jrater-tables across the road become requisite in some cases, as in flat roads on
a steep slope. These shoUld always be made at right angles to the road, with their sides
gently sloping, to occasion as little obstruction to carriages as possible. In some few
cases, where roads are liable to floods, or are deficient in drainage, these surface-tables
may require to be made of a considerable breadth and paved ; in this case Greig {App. to
Strictures on Road Police, p. 219.) directs to fay six feet of the bottom of it flat, and
twelve feet on each side, to rise at the rate of one inch in the foot, which will make the
depth one foot ; and from the size, no carriage will feel any jerk or shake in passing it.
The pavement should be made of hammered stones, of nearly equal depth, each stone
from nine to twelve inches long on the surface,' and four to eight inches broad, and nine
inches to a foot deep ; the under-side to be flat in the under-face, and not of an irregular
or angular under-surface, as in that case it would not be solid. (^Appendix to Greig's
Strictures, p. 219.)
3361. Bridges and embankments of different degrees of magnitude, are required in all
lines of road of any length or variety of surface. The subject of large bridges we leave
to the engineers ; no department of their art having attained higher perfection, of which
the wonderful erections by Telford, in almost every mountainous district in Britain
may be referred to as proofs. We confine ourselves entirely to such stone arches as
may be designed by road- surveyors, and built by country masons. In many cases, cast-
iron might be substituted for stone with economy and advantage as to water-way ; but
though the principle of constructing both cast and wrought iron bridges is perfectly
simple, the execution, and especially the putting up, requires more skill, and is attended
with much more risk than the erection of either stone or timber bridges.
3362. One loiu arch is in general the most desirable description of common road-
bridge. But most of the country bridges, as Clarke observes, consist of several small,
high, semicircular arches : where there is a single arch, the stream passes without inter-
ruption ; if there are two or three in the same situation, the space through which the
water is to pass is necessarily contracted by the width of the piers. Ice, and large bodies
carried down by floods, frequently stop up the small arches, and the accumulated water-
carries away the bridgej but if such accidents should not happen, the constant currents
rushing against those piers wash out the mortar, loosen the stones, and very soon under-
mine tlie work, if it is not extremely well put together, which is seldom the case. Unless
the river or stream is narrow, or the banks very high, a semicircle is an inconvenient shape
for an arch ; it has been adopted on account of the insufficiency of the abutments, and
because the pressure is more perpendicular ; but scientific engineers in all countries, now
construct their bridges with wide openings, and make the arches either semi-ellipses, or
segments of large circles — so that the space above the highest floods is comparatively
little, and the ascent over the bridge inconsiderable. In country bridges in Ireland,
Clarke continues, ihe foundations are invariably, and often intentionably, defective :
the mason considers himself an honest man, if his bridge lasts seven years ; whereas,
from the durability of materials in this country, it ought to endure for ages. Whatever
is under water is out of sight, and is generally composed of loose stones, thrown
promiscuously together, on which the masonry is erected, and all the pains and ex-
pense are bestowed on the cut-ivaters and wings, when the heaviest stones, and those
accurately jointed, ought to be laid in the foundations. The greatest attention should
be paid to the quality of the materials : the stones should be large, and laid in level
courses, in the best mortar, composed of sharp sand, free from loam, and quicklime,
accurately mixed together ; the coping of the parapet is generally so slight, that it is
broken down as soon as built, and the entire parapet quickly follows; — it ought to be
of large heavy stones, roughly hammered, and there should be substantial quoins at the
ends of the parapets with an immovable stone over them.
3363. Arches not exceeding eight feet span may be semicircular; tunnels not exceeding
eighteen inches wide, may be covered with strong flags, and either flagged or paved
imder, and there ought to be across either end a deep long stone, sunk below the surface
of the current, and under the walls, to prevent the water from undermining the work j
524 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
if the stones are square and heavy, those small conduits may be built without mortar,
except at the ends.
3364. In building tunnels or arches across a road in a flow bog, great pains must be taken
with the foundation, or the whole structure will inevitably sink : the building of those
should be deferred as long as possible, till the peat has subsided, and has obtained a
tolerable consistence ; then make an opening equal to the whole work, and sink it eigh-
teen inches below the intended bottom of the arch or gullet ; collect a quantity of black
thorn bushes, and tie them in faggots of the same size ; place these in regular courses
in the direction of the road, and lay across them a platform of strong plank three inches
thick, the whole length and width of the intended mason work ; on this build your
arch, and make an allowance in the height of the abutments for sinking. "Wherever walls
are necessary to support banks, and prevent their crumbling down upon the road, if
large even stones can be procured, they will not require any mortar ; when mortar is
used, there ought to be a great many apertures in the work to give vent to the water,
otherwise the pent-up moisture from behind will push out the wall. In many cases,
where embankments can be made of earth and sods, they are to be preferred to masonry,
which is extremely expensive at the commencement, and very perishable — for mortar
soon loses its cementing quality, when exposed alternately to frost and damp.
3365. Draining the site of a road on ajiow-bog, according to Clarke, is a tedious oper-
ation, and often requires some years. A single drain at each side will not be sufficient,
as the water from the adjacent moss would fill it up as fast as it was made. Lay out the
road here sixty feet wide, which will allow for the banks when the whole shall be finished;
make a drain at each side six feet wide, and at a distance of fifteen or twenty feet more,
parallel drains of the same width. If the interval between the parallel drains is after-
wards cut away regularly for fuel, it will tend still to the condensation of the moss.
3366. Open drains in the case of ground liable to sink, or to moulder down by frost,
ought to be made very much sloped on the sides, especially the side next the road, other-
wise, after repeated scouring out, the road will be found to have sunk at the sides ; a
very common case, and highly injurious in the case of narrow roads. Whenever this
tendency to sink is observed, it should be made up by the scrapings of the road, or by
other materials. Roads made over bogs, and artificial mounds, are particularly liable to sink
at the sides, which should be immediately counteracted to prevent the bad consequences.
3367. Fences along the sides of roads are essential in all enclosed countries ; and all
engineers and road-makers agree, that they should never be allowed to rise of a greater
height than what is necessary for a fence. To give free admission to the sun and air by
keeping the fences low. Marshal considers as providing an inexpensive, yet most accurate
method of cleaning roads, incomparably more so than washing or scraping. The legis-
lature, Edgeworth observes, has limited, in several instances, the height of hedges to
five feet ; but this limitation is neglected or evaded. Even were it strictly adhered to,
it would not be sufficient for narrow roads ; the hedges would be still too high, for it is
the sweeping power of the wind, which carries off dust in dry weather, and which takes
up moisture in wet. In fact, roads become dry by evaporation ; and when they are ex-
posed to the sun and wind, the effect of heat and ventilation are more powerful than any
surface drainage that could be accomplished.
3368. Walker observes, that the advantage of having the hedge next the road, consists
in its greater safety to the traveller, particularly if a ditch of any considerable depth is
necessary, and in the hedge being supported in its growth from the ground under tlie
road, without drawing upon the farmer's side of the ditch.
3369. The fences, Telford observes, form a very material and important subject, with
regard to the perfection of roads ; they should in no instance be more than five feet in
height above the centre of the road, and all trees which stand within twenty yards from
the centre of it ought to be removed. I am sure that twenty per cent, of the expense of
improving and repairing roads is incurred by the improper state of the fences and trees
along the sides of it, on the sunny side more particularly ; this must be evident to any
person who will notice the state of a road which is much shaded by high fences and trees,
compared to the other parts of the road which are exposed to the sun and air. My
observations, with regard to fences and trees, apply when the road is on the same level as
the adjacent fields ; but in many cases, on the most frequented roads of England, more
stuff has been removed from time to time than was put on ; the surface of the road is con-
sequently sunk into a trough or channel from three to six feet below the surface of the
fields on each sides ; here all attempts at drainage, or even common repairs, seem to be
quite out of the question ; and by much the most judicious and economical mode, will be
to remove the whole road into the field which is on the sunny side of it. (Exam, before
the House of Commons, <^c.)
3370. In the junction of roads, whether of a bye-road with a principal road, or two
bye or principal roads, their respective levels ought, if possible, to be the same, and the
materials ought to be rather broader than usual at the point of turning. In like manner
Book II. ROADS OF ENGINEERS. 525
the communication of fields by gates ought to be carefully managed, so as not to injure
the public road, the footpath, the water table, or the inner drain. All gates should open
inwards to the fields, and not to the road.
3371. That plantations of trees should not be made close to roads all are agreed. What
the distance ought to be, must depend on the elevation of the country, the soil and sub-
soil, the breadth of the road, its direction, whether the plantation is to be made on the
north or south side of the road, its thickness, kind of tree, &c. An elevated situation is
always more exposed to the wind than a level or hollow ; and a dry soil and subsoil will
always, other circumstances being the same, have a favorable effect on the roads which
pass over them. A broad road, and one winding in its direction, has chances of the
direct influence of tlie sun and wind, according to the obliquity of its angles : a road
running north and south, though planted closely on both sides, will enjoy the sun during
a part of every day in the year ; one running east and west, planted on the south side,
with trees forty feet high, will enjoy no sun but through the interstices of the branches
during the three winter months. Supposing the average height of the sun from ten to
two o'clock during these three months to be 20 degrees, then a tree forty feet high will
throw a shadow every day during that period, upwards of 100 feet long, which may shew
that no plantation should be made nearer the south sides of roads than 80 or 100
feet. On the north-east and west sides, they may be nearer, according to the elevation and
natural tendency to dryness of the site, and also taking it into consideration whether the
trees are evergreens, and with or without underwood. The least injurious trees are
single rows trained to high stfems, properly pruned in, or foreshortened.
3372. The preparation of the base of a road, for the reception of the metals or hard ma-
terials, is a matter of primary importance. Marshal, Edge worth, and some other writers,
with almost all practical men, seem to have entertained much less enlightened notions
on this subject than M' Adam.
3373. Marshal's preparation consists in striking ofFtiie protuberances, and filling up
the hollow pans : the footpath and the higher side of the soft road being raised with the
earth which is required to be taken off the bed of the hard road ; whose base or founda-
tion ought to be formed with peculiar care. Every part is required to be firm and sound :
dry earth, or hard materials, being rammed into every hollow and yielding part. In a
dry situation, as across a gravelly or stoney height, little more, he says, is required than
to remove the surface mould, and lay bare the rock, or bed of gravel, beneath it : and,
then, to give the indurate base a round or a shelving form, as the lying of the ground
may require. In this way, a travelable road may be made, and kept up, at one-tenth of
the expense incurred by the ordinary practice in this case ; which is to gather up the sur-
face-soil into a ridge, and, on this soft spongy bed, to lay, coat after coat, some hard ma-
terials, — fetched perhaps from a distance.
3374. A soft bed is now found by far the best, and M'Adam has proved in the case of
part of the road between Bridgewater and Cross, that a stratum of hard materials covering
a morass will last longer than a similar stratum laid on rock . indeed it may be questioned
whether a properly made road on a bog, which yields by its elasticity, will not last longer
than one on a firm surface. We have been told by a gentleman of some experience in
road-making, that in Ireland this is actually found to be the case. " Precisely," as Fry
observes, •* for the same cause that a stone placed upon a wool-pack would bear a greater
pressure before it would be broken, than it would if placed on an anvil. " [Essay on Wheel
Carriages, ^c. App. 129.)
3375. Covering the base if an unsound road with faggots, branches, furze or heath, is
recommended by Edgeworth. Flat stones, he adds, if tl)ey can be had, should then be
laid over the faggots, and upon them stones of six or seven pounds' weight, and, lastly, a
coat of eight or ten inches of pounded stone. If the practicability of consolidating a mass
of stones of six or eight ounces weight and under each, so as to act as one plate or floor-
ing, be admitted, then the faggots and flat stones must at least be useless, and the stones of
six or seven pounds weight injurious ; because whenever the upper stratum had worn down
a few inches, some of these stones, and eventually the greater number, would be worked
up to the surface, and the road destroyed or put in a state to require lifting, breaking, and
relaying.
3376. A basement of trees, bavins, or bushes, is made use of by Walker when the ground
is very soft. They carry off the water previous to the materials of the road, being so
consolidated as to form a solid body, and to be impervious to water. Bushes are, how-
ever, not advisable to be used, unless they are so low as always to be completely moist.
When they are dry and excluded from the air they decay in a very few years, and produce
a sinking in place of preserving the road ; a thickness of chalk is useful for the same
purpose in cases where bushes are improper, the chalk mixing with the gravel or stones
becomes concreted, and presents a larger surface to the pressure.
3377. The base of the road is constructed by Telford of an elliptical form; if it is upon
clay or other elastic substance, which would ictain water, he would recommend to
526 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
cover the whole bottom of the road with vegetable soil, in cases where the natural shape
of the ground admits; he would not remove the original surface ; and where there are
inequalities he would fill them up with vegetable soil, so as to cut off all connection
with clay.
3378. In forming the basis of a road on a flow bog, Clarke directs to strip the heathy
sods (tussocks) off the whole surface of the side-drains, and place them with the heath
uppermost on the space intended for the road ; or if a sufficiency of brushwood or furze
can be procured, it will answer still better ; proceed to let off the water at the lowest ends
of the drains, leaving an open channel in the middle of each ; after the water has run off
for some time, so as to allow the moss to become somewhat finer, throw off another spit ;
and repeat this operation month after month, and year after year, till the space for the
road becomes compact and dry ; and be sure to keep it in that state by cleaning the drains
frequently ; tliere should be eight or ten inches of tough clay laid over the tussocks or
brushwood, which will be greatly the better to be consolidated by rollers ; this part of the
road may be left rather higher in the centre than the other parts, to allow for settling.
There is no situation where it is more diflRcult to make a good road than through a flow
bog, but if once made w
the most easy to horses.
3379. In forming the basis of a road on thin moor, the whole of the peat should be re-
moved from the space on which the road is to be made ; for, if allowed to remain between
the hard subsoil and the small stones, the weight of carriages would press down the latter,
force up the black peat through them, and totally spoil the road ; this happens only
where there is a thin, soft, peaty stratum between two hard bodies, for in deep bog, the elas-
ticity of the foundation yields to the superficial pressure, and contributes to the durability
of the materials ; after this has been so removed, the surface, when formed and drained,
will be ready for the road materials.
3380. Informing the base or metal bed, Paterson observes, " it is common to cut it to
the exact breadth and depth of the metals, and to make it quite flat in the bottom, or level
from the one side of the metals to the other. Supposing this metal-bed to be formed
fourteen feet broad, and nine inches deep, on a breadth of fourteen feet, the metals
would require to be about three inches higher in the middle than on the sides. In this
case then, they would be nine inches deep on the sides, and twelve on the middle ; and as
it is evident that the middle of the road, where the metals are deepest, is not subjected to
so much fatigue and waste from the tread of the horses' feet, as that nearer the sides is
from the grinding of the wheels, this is, therefore, a waste of metals on the middle of the^
road. But this is not the greatest evil of which I complain. The metal -bed being cut
into the solid ground, and^a^ in the middle, and having the earth on each side about
nine inches higher than it, — this, upon any other ground than that of dry sand or gravel,
forms a bed for retaining the water, as well as for holding the metals, which often deluges
the middle of the road with mud or gutters, when it might be prevented. I would
therefore propose, that a metal-bed of fourteen feet broad should, instead of being level,
have a rise in the middle of at least four inches, which will make a declivity from the middle
to each side of nearly two inches in the yard. Then supposing the surface of the metals
to have the same shape as mentioned above, viz. three inches higher on the middle than
on the edges, the metals on the sides will be the same depth as formerly mentioned,
namely, nine inches ; but instead of twelve inches on the middle, they will then only be
seven inches deep, which makes a saving of five inches. This saving of five inches on the
middle, or two inches and a half on the whole breadth of the metals, is very considerable ;
but this is not the only benefit arising from this mode of procedure. The metal-bed having
a slope from the middle to each side of the road, so far from retaining the water, runs it
off from the middle ; and this will be of more service in keeping the road in good order
ever afterwards, than if you were to put three or four inches more of additional depth to
the metals on the common plan. This appears to me to carry so much of common sense
on the face of it, that I am surprised it has not ere long this time been generally adopted."
Here Paterson seems to infer that water may, or rather does, penetrate the stratum of
metal to the base, which, in properly made roads will at least, not often be the case. The
argument of a saving in materials is quite sufficient to justify him and Telford in adopting
the elliptical form for a basis.
3381. ^ soft base is always preferred by M'Adam, who drains effectually and puts no
intervening material between the metals and the earth, even if it were a bog, " provided
it admitted a man to walk over it." (Examination, <^c. 1819.) The Somersetshire
morass is so extremely soft, he says, *' that when you ride in a carriage along the road,
you see the water tremble in the ditches on each side ; and after there has been a slight
frost, the vibration of the water from the carriage on the road, will be so great as to break
the young ice. I never use large stones on the bottom of a road ; I would not put a
large stone in any part of it, nor faggots, nor any material larger than will weigh six
oupces. If a road be made smooth and solid, it will be one mass, and the effect of the
Book II. ROADS OF ENGINEERS. 527
substrata, whether clay or sand, can never be felt in effect by carriages going over the
road ; because a road well made unites itself in a body like a piece of timber or a
board.
3382. An instructive proof of the preference given by M'Jdam to a sof} base is derived
from a case which occurred near Montrose. This case was sent to him by Paterson in
the following report. " This road," says the reporter, '* for about a mile, goes over a bank
of sea-beach, many feet in depth, and all round stones from two to live or six inches in
diameter. Always as the stones above three inches work up, and make their appearance
on the surface, they are taken off to the side of the road, and broken to the ordinary size.
This has been done several times every year for many years back, but the road always
continues loose and open as ever." The answer of M'Adam was, " I am of opinion
that you will not have a good and solid road over this beach, until you have a depth of
eight or ten inches of properly broken metals on the surface; and probably it might be
an improvement to put under them a few inches of soil, as the bottom is so very loose.
But although the great mass of stones, over which this road is made, is of the best quality,
yet as the greater part of them are under three inches diameter, I am afraid that were they
even broken to my size, they will not bind together as if broken from larger stones."
3383. M^Adains Answer. — " The road you, have sent me a report of, is novel in its
situation, but very far from hopeless. The sea-beach, of which it is wholly composed,
should be picked ; that is to say, the large sized pebbles should be carefully removed
from the surface, and carried to the side of the road, and there broken, not to what your
surveyor calls my size, which is six ounces, but smaller, say to three or four ounces. And
/ must also ivarn i/ou, that any round stone, when broken in half so as to form a hemis-
phere, is nearly as unmanageable and as little likely to consolidate in a road, as one left
quite round ; therefore, with regard to weight, your stones must be taken so as to form
as many angles as possible. No large pebble must be left in sight upon the bottom of
the road, otherwise they will work up through the broken stones, of which your road will
be composed ; but having prepared a surface upon which to place your road, by removing
the large sized pebbles (I mean all above six ounces), and even covering the surface with
sand soil or other soft matter, lay on ycur properly broken stones." Paterson entirely
concurs with M'Adam in regard to the advantage of a soft base, adding in his last pub-
lication [Letters, &c. 1822.), "although the ground under the materials can never be
too dry, the materials never unite so firm when placed upon a hard rock, or upon gravel,
as they do upon earth, moss, or sand. There should always, therefore, be a few inches of
the one or the other of these, put under the road as a bed for the materials, where it is on
a rocky or gravelly bottom."
3384. Wlieri, the basis consists partly of frniy and partly of loose TnaterialSf or moved
earth, some nicety is required to determine the allowance for the sinking of the latter, and
indeed roads, under such circumstances, cannot often be finished out of hand. Some
judicious directions on this subject are given by Paterson. '* When a road," he observes,
** is formed along the side of a hill, or sloping bank, the earth that is produced from the
side-cutting makes up a part of the breadth of the road ; so that the road is formed, part-
ly on the solid ground, end partly on the embankment. All new-made-up earths, or
embankments, subside a little, whatever be the nature or quality of the stuff of which
they are composed. For which reason, that part of the breadth of the road, that is formed
upon the embankment, should be raised a little higher than the solid ground. No pre-
cise rule can be given to ascertain exactly how much the different kinds of earths, clays,
gravel, &c. will subside ; but the following has been found so near to the truth, in most
cases, that it may with safety be admitted as a general rule.
3385. At all places where there are embankments, whether over hollow ground, or
along the side of a sloping bank ; for every foot that these embankments or mounds are
raised in height, one inch may be allowed for subsiding. So that if an embankment, or
the outer edge of a road formed from the side-cutting, requires, for instance, six feet deep
of forced earth to bring it to the level required, in that case it should be made six inches
higher, — namely, six feet six inches upon the newly-made-up ground. And it will be
found, in general, to be about six months, from the time that the embankment has been
made, until it has become properly consolidated together.
3386. 2'he materials of the road may be considered in regard to their nature or kind,
the proper size and weight ; the outline of their upper surface, and the mode of laying
them on, and consolidating them.
3387. Stone is universally allowed to be the best kind of material for roads, and granite,
trap, or flint, the best species; next in order are some sorts of limestone, and hard sandstone.
Soft claystone is the worst. Limestone is the principal material in Wiltshire, Somerset-
shire, Gloucestershire, and Ireland : Granite and trap in the north of England and
Scotland ; slatestone in North Wales ; sandstone pebbles in Shropshire and Stafford-
shire ; flint in Essex, Susse?^, and part of Kent ; and gravel ia Middlesex and Surrey.
*' The stones used for the metals of any road," Paterson observes, " should always be the
528 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
hardest and most durable that the place or neighborhood can afford. But this dura-
bility will be found in a great measure to depend on the dryness of the road. Freestone,
of a moderate hardness, such as chemists would term No. 6., * that would with difficulty
yield to the knife,* will make a very good road on a dry sloping bank, exposed to the
sun and air, or even on a level surface that has a dry gravelly bottom. Nay, even seven
or eight inches deep of such metals on such situations, will make a better road than
twelve inches of the best metals, where the bottom is constantly damp, and will actually
surpass it in point of durability. This, however, is not meant to give a preference to those
metals, but merely to show the great difference there is betwixt a wet and a dry bottom ;
and that such metals will answer very well in the situations above described. Still it
must be held as a general rule, to take the best and hardest metals the neighborhood can
afford, as formerly mentioned."
3388. But the hardest metals will not ahvays be found the most durable ; and here it may
be remarked, as another general rule, with some exceptions, that the worse they are to
break, the greater their durability. Some stones, for instance, as hard as No. 9. of mine-
ralogists, " such as would give a few feeble sparks with strit," are so free that they will
fly under the stroke of a hammer like so many pieces of glass. These, although very hard,
being of a quality so free and brittle, will grind down by the wheels rather easily, and in
time of rains will be formed into mud ; while, on the other hand, there are stones not
harder than No. 7. that are so tough, that there is great difficulty in breaking them.
Yet these latter, although two degrees softer, will absolutely last longer than the former,
on any road whatever.
3389. Flints reduced to a small size, and mixed with chalk, make an excellent
road in dry weather ; but clialk being very absorbent of water they become slippery
and soft in moist weather, and are much affected by frost.
3390. Whinstone, M*Adam, and all road engineers, agree in considering the most
durable of all materials ; and wherever it is well and judiciously applied, the roads
are comparatively good and cheap. Fry, however, has uniformly observed, in various
parts of England, that where limestone is used, the roads are the best, and this superiority
is not in his opinion owing merely to the hardness of this substance, but also to its
adhesive or cementing property : how, otherwise, he says, are we to account for the firmness
and solidity of the roads around Bristol, that are made of white limestone.
3391. Gravel h of two kinds, that obtained from pits, and that from the beds of rivers.
Gravel is generally silicious and hard ; otherwise indeed it would have been worn down
to sand, in undergoing the operation which has rendered it gravel. This material is chiefly
used on the roads round London : it is often found, Paterson observes, "to answer very
well in point of durability. But such kind of gravel, being composed chiefly of hard sand,
and smooth, little, round stones, does not so easily bind together, and seldom make a
very firm road. On the other hand, stones that are broken have so many sides that
they readily lock into one another ; whereas the small round gravel keeps rolling and
shifting about by every motion of the wheels. All road metals, therefore, should be
of stones as large as to require breaking before they are used. The roads on which
gravel will be found to answer best, are those which are neither too wet nor too dry. I
have seen a road made with such kind of materials, not only easily rutted in time of
the winter rains ; but the same road, in the drought of summer, became as loose as ashes,
and was then also very easily rutted ; while in a medium betwixt these two extremes, it
answered exceedingly well. Upon the whole, it would be improper to use gravel for any
turnpike or public road, where stones can be got that require to come under the hammer."
{Treatise, ^c. p. 31.)
3392. The gravel of which roads are usually formed, is mixed with a large portion
of clay, and because the component parts of gravel are round, and want the angular
points of contact, by which broken stone unites, and forms a solid body ; the loose state
of the roads near London, is a consequence of this quality in the material, and of tlie
entire neglect, or ignorance of the method of amending it.
3393. Gravel is the worst material for making roads subject to great traffick. Telford,
on being asked his opinion of it by the road committee, replied, " I am of opinion that
the materials in the whole valley or plain round London being entirely silicious, or flints,
and easily ground to dust, are very improper. This must be evident to every person who
travels near London in any direction." In this opinion M'Adam concurs.
3394. Artificial materials for roads are sometimes had recourse to, when stone or
gravel is not to be procured, and sometimes used because unfit for any thing else.
They are chiefly the scoria of founderies, dross, cinders, &c., to which may be added
burnt ""clay ; the last a very perishable material. It is burned in clamps like bricks,
and differs from them in being in irregular masses, and in not having been previously
worked.
3395. The preparation of materials relates chiefly to their proper size or weight, and
cleaning from earthy matters.
Book II. FORM AND MATERIALS OF ROADS. 529
8396. Breaking the materials evenly is a point. Marshal observes, on which very milch
depends. For by doing tliis, the wear of the road becomes regular. "Where the heads
of large stones rise above the general surface, they become obstacles to carriages, and
stumbling blocks to horses: beside their tending, by the jolting motion which they
give to carriages, to indent the surface on either side of them; and thus to increase
the roughness, and hasten the decay of the road.
3397. The proper sizes of road stones requires much latitude. Not only the in-
tended use of the road, but the nature of the material, is to be considered. A road
for broad- wheeled carriages of burden, only, may be made of larger stones than one
for narrow wheels. And hard stones require to be broken smaller than those vi'hich more
readily wear down, and form a travelable surface. For when once the surface of the
materials becomes united and cemented together, and its rock-like texture established,
tlie stones that are crushed, and the smaller fragments which are splintered off, in wear,
serve to encrust and bind together the stratum of stones which lie next, in succes-
sion, beneath : especially if proper attention be paid to tlie irregularities of wear, and
to bring back the surface, wherever it is requisite, to its original evenness of convexity :
so that it may, in every part, act as an arch, and may be able to resist, with the greatest
firmness, the weight with which it may be impressed.
3398. Informing and repairing roads, with stones of size, a considerable share of the
expense arises from the labor of reducing the materials ; and, in consequence, the smaller
they are broken, the greater becomes the expense. This, on ordinary occasions, is a
serious consideration. Hence, in constructing and repairing common roads, it is ad-
visable, — instead of reducing the surface stones to small fragments, with the hammer,
at a great cost, — to cover them with materials that are already reduced ; as the rubbish
of stone quarries, soft stones or gravel, or the scrapings of the road to be repaired..
Such cementing materials being washed and worked down, by rains, and the action of
carriages and the feet of travelling animals, among the surface stones, assist much in
binding and fixing them in a firm crust; and in making the road immediately passable,
by horses and light carriages : most particularly, if the whole be compressed, and
united together, with a heavy roller (suitable to the purpose) repeatedly passed over
the surface. Such is Marshal's opinion ; how much it differs from M* Adam's and
Paterson's, cannot but be remarked by the reader. '
3399. The size of stones })ref erred by Edgeworth, is not specifically mentioned ; but on
bogs, he would lay stones of six or seven pounds weight : he elsewhere observes, that no
stones larger than inch and a half diameter should be left on the surface of the road.
3400. The size lohich Walker approves of, he has not given in very definite terms ;
and his observation as to the foundation acting by an arch is in our opinion erroneous.
He says, *< Where whin or other stone is to be used, the size of the pieces into
which it is broken should decrease as we approach the surface, the superficial coat-
ing not exceeding a cube from one inch to one inch and a half. If the foundation
is bad, breaking the bottom stone into small pieces is expensive and injurious, upon
the principle I have above described, and also for the same reason that an arch
formed of whole bricks, or of deep stones, is to be preferred to one of the same
materials broken into smaller pieces ; for in some counties the materials will admit of
the foundation of the road being considered as of the nature of a flat arch, as well
as of being supported by the strata directly under it.
3401. The size of metals, according to Patcrson, should be different for the upper
and under surfaces of roads : and both shoidd be regulated according to the situation
of the road, and the nature of the ground over which it is formed. " Such small
broken metals as are most proper for a road formed on a sloping bank, or on a very
dry bottom, would be quite improper for a road that is perfectly level, and is much
subjected to dampness. In the former case, even six or eight inches deep of such
metals will make a good road ; but in the latter case, twelve or fourteen inches will
be found inadequate. In the former case, too, the metals should be of such a size
as may fill and pass through a ring from two to two inches and a half in diameter ;
and in the latter cases, they should not be under three inches ; as under that size I
have never found them to make a durable road in such situations. Every road that
has more than eight inches deep of metals, should have the half of these in the bottom
broken considerably larger than those on the top. If the road, however, has a dry
hard bottom, there is not so much need for this ; but if the bottom is soft and wet, it
is of the greatest service in making a firm road, and preventing the metals from sink-
ing: and the softer the bottom, the larger, of course, they should be." But it is to
be remarked, that the same author in his Letters, ^c. published three years afterwards,
says, <« In my former treatise I proposed, where the bottom was soft, to have tlie
under course of stones a little larger than those at top. This I have seen of service, in
several cases : but my mode of draining, which should never be neglected, supersedes this
entirely.
Mm
530 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
3402. The criterion of si%e adopted by MAdam, is six ounces, or under, for every
part of the stratum.
3403. The size approved of by Clarke is not defined, but it should, he says, be small.
** The common practice is to lay a stratum of stones nearly the size of a man's head, as a
foundation, and to cover them with two or three inches of smaller ones ; l)ut, from ex-
perience and observation, I am decidedly of opinion, that all the stones should be small,
and as nearly as possible of the same size, for though a road made as above described, may
be very good at first, the wheels of carriages will grind the small stones to powder,
the large ones will then rise to the surface, and the road will become intolerably rough ;
and though frequently repaired with new materials the same cause will produce a simi-
lar effect; whereas, if all the stones are small, and nearly of the same size, they will
soon be cemented into one solid mass, and will be worn evenly to the last, so that no
repairs will ever be necessary, but the addition of a few broken stones occasionally. " ( 06^.
on Roads, p. 11.)
3404. The mode of preparing gravel is nearly the same by all the best road engineers,
who agree with Telford, that it ought to be completely cleansed of every particle of clay
or earthy substance, and its difterent sizes ought to be selected and arranged by means
of riddling or washing. In the use of the riddle, the particles of earth or clay adhere
so much to the stones that it frequently requires to be exposed to the sun, air, and frost
for several months, and then riddled over again. In this gravel, the stones are of dif-
ferent sizes and different shapes; all those that are round ought to be broken with a
small hammer. Some attempt to attain tlie same end sooner by washing ; but this is
both a more expensive, and less effectual mode than that of taking advantage of the
weather,
. 3405. The mode of breaking stones recommended by Edgeworth is by persons sitting,
and using small hammers. A hard stone should be used as an anvil, and the stone to
be broken may be advantageously held in a forked stick. Attempts have been made
some years ago to break limestone for roads, by the force of horses, wind, and water.
Stampers, shod with iron, and raised by proper mill- work, were employed ; they were
let to fall upon blocks of whinstones. These mills were found profitable for breaking
limestone to powder, as a manure, where fuel was scarce, but they crushed the stone to
dust rather than to fragments ; if lighter stampers were employed they frequently failed
to break the stone. Feeding the mill was also found difficult and dangerous. Tliis
unsuccessful attempt should not discourage mechanics from farther trials. Stones pre-
viously broken to the size of five or six inches, might be thrown upon a strong circular
horizontal grating, made of cast-iron. The stones might be forced downwards through
this grating by an iron rammer on an edge ; they would thus be broken to fragments
that could not exceed a certain size, and that would not be reduced to powder.
3406. The manner of breaking, according to Telford, is of great importance. More de-
pends, he says, on the weight, shape, and manner of using hammers than any one can
conceive who has not had much experience in road-making ; the difference in managing
this operation being not less than ten per cent. ; and is, besides, of equal importance
towards the perfection of the road ; the size and weight of the hammer he would appor-
tion to the size and weight of the stones, and the stones should l)e broken upon the heap,
not on the ground. It must be evident that using round stones instead of broken ones,
will be the means of deranging the position of those near them, and of grinding them to
pieces.
3407. According to M^Adam the only method of breaking stones both for effect and
economy, is by persons sitting ; the stones are to be placed in small heaps, and women,
boys, or old men past hard labor, must sit down with small hammers and break them,
so as none shall exceed six ounces in weight.
3408. Breaking by machinery. On a new line of road, between Bury and Bolton, in
Lancashire, a rotatory steam-engine is attached to a machine similar to a stone-mill, but
considerably stronger, which breaks the stones to cover the road at the astonishing rate
of seventy or eighty tons in ten hours. The engine is moveable on wheels, so that it
can be removed to any part of the road without being taken to pieces. (^London Journal
of the Arts, ^c. Sept. 1822.)
3409. M^ Adams criterion for size is weight. On being asked by the road com-
missioners to mention the dimensions, he stated, that there was very little difference in
the weight of the stones used in road-making. " I did imagine," he says, '* that a dif-
ference existed, but having weighed six ounces of diflerent substances, I am confident
there is little difference in appearance and none in effect ; I think that none ought to
exceed six ounces ; I hold six ounces to be the maximum size. If you made the road
of all six-ounce stones it would be a rough road ; but it is impossible but that the greater
part of the stones must be made under that size." * Do you find ^ measure or ring through
which the stones will pass, a good method of regulating their size ?' — " That is a very
BooKir. FORM AND MATERI/xLS OF ROADS. 5Si
good way, but I always make my surveyors carry a pair of scales, and a six-ounce weight
in their pocket, and when they come to a heap of stones, they weigh one or two of the
largest, and if they are reasonably about the weight, they will do ; it is impossible to
make them come exactly to it. "
3410. IVith respect to the size of stones, Paterson disapproves of six ounces being
made the maximum as proposed by M<Adam. " I find,'* says he, " there are many
under the weight that are yet of a very improper shape and size ; even from three to
four inches between the extreme points. Besides, scales for weighing are not so
portable nor convenient, as gauging rings for the size. The ring 1 generally use is
two inches and a half in diameter ; and the stones should be broken so that tlie largest
may pass, in any direction, through it. On this plan you have the materials smaller,
more equal, and more square in shape than on his plan. An inexperienced person, on
the first view of it, may think otherwise ; but it is a fact, that taking my ring as a guage,
you will not have five stones in a tliousand that will exceed four ounces in weight ; and
none of improper shape or dimensions : while on Mr. M* Adam's plan you will have
more than twenty in a thousand that will not pass longitudinally, even through a three
inch ring. It is now nearly three years since I first heard of his standard weight.
During that time I have had people both working to it, and also to my ring-gauge ;
but I have uniformly found, that mine are so much smaller that they cost about a.Jifth
more in breaking than his. Upon the whole, then, I would recommend the ring as
every way preferable to the scales : and I have no doubt that it would be an improvement
even to reduce the ring a little where the ground under the road is so completely dried
by the method I have described."
3411. With respect to the depth of metals. Marshal mentions twelve inches; but
Edgeworth considers an average ot nine inches as suflicient for any road on a good
basis ; and two thirds of the quantity, he says, will make an excellent road at a distance
from any great town,
3412. The dejHh of materials, according to JValker, depends so much upon the soil
and the nature of the materials themselves, that it is impossible to lay down any general
rules for them. The thickness ought to be such that the greatest weight will not affect
more than the surface of the shell, and it is for this purpose chiefly, that thickness is
required, in order to spread the weight which comes upon a small part only of the road
over a large portion of the foundation.
3413. T/ie depth of solid materials recommended hy M^Adam is ten inches, which he
thinks equal to^arry any thing when well consolidated, and whether on a soft or hard
substratum ; he should prefer a soft one. (Examinations, ^c. 1819.)
3414. The depth of metals, according to Paterson, should be regulated according to
their quality, the situation of the road, and the nature of its basis. On the generality of
turnpike roads it should be made from ten to twelve inches ; and upheld afterwards at
the depth of nine or ten inches. Yet, in some situations, even six or eight inches will
make a much better road than twelve or fourteen in other situations.
3415. With respect to the shape of the surface of the metals, almost all road-makers
agree that it should be convex, but they differ a little in the degree of convexity. It is
also aKowed by most of them that on roads up ascents , the surface of the metals may be
flat, bevelled, or somewhat inclined to one side. Concave roads are not here taken
into account as they require a different general plan, and may be considered as not re-
sorted to in preference, but from accidental circumstances.
3416. The proper convexity of a wet-weather road, according to Marshal, is to be
regulated by a variety of circumstances : as, first, by the materials of which it is to be
formed : soft materials are most liable to be worn into ruts and hollows, and require to
be laid up with a quicker descent for rain-water, than hard materials ; which require less
elevation or rotundity of surface ; and least of all a firm even pavement. Secondly, a
convex road in the face of a steep is to be laid up higher, with a given material,
than one on more level ground, on which rain-water has no other tendency than to the
sides ; whereas, in the face of a steep, it may have an equal or greater tendency along
the line of the road; and is liable to be caught by the slightest impressions of wheels;
and thus to wear channels, as may too often be seen, from the top to the bottom of the
hill. Even where the surface of the road is perfectly smooth, it may have twice the
distance to run, before it reach the outer margin, that it has on a level. And, thirdly,
the degree of convexity is to be determined, in part, by the width of the road ; the
materials and descent being equal. A wide road requires to be formed with a greater
sideways descent, tlian a narrower one ; which more readily frees itself from rain-water ;
inasmuch as the distance is shorter from the crown to the outskirts of the road. Nor is
freeing a road from rain-water the only object to be kept in view, with regard to its
convexity. The ease and safety of carriages, and particularly those of burden, whose
loads, being of light materials, are laid up high, require to be consulted. A carriage moves
M m 2
532 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
most freely, and with the least exertion of draught, when the load lies evenly upon the
wheels on either side. In proportion as the weight is thrown on one side, or the other,
the resistance is increased ; especially on a road which is liable to impression. Hence, an
inconveniency of a highly convex road in the face of a steep ; and hence the utility of
breaks in long ascents.
3417. It is evident that every part of a road should he equally and duly convex ; should
be equally safe and easy for carriages of every description, otherwise it becomes more
partially worn ; the more level parts only are used, the steeper being in a degree useless.
Hence, a road of even and due convexity is not only easy and safe, but may be formed
of a narrower width, than one whose steep sides are neither easy nor safe to be travelled,
and whose crown only is in use. On measuring different passages of roads which ap-
peared to lie in the most desirable form. Marshal found that their convexity, or the
elevation of the crown or middle of the road above the base line, in roads of twenty feet
in width, was about ten inches ; namely, one inch in every foot on either side. And he
is of opinion that this result may be taken as a general guide in forming roads, this
middle degree of convexity being liable to be altered, according to the width of the road,
the nature of the materials, and the other circumstances.
3418. A whole barrel or convex road cannot easily be kept up in a narrow site, as in
the case of narrow lanes. If raised, it presently wears into a middle track and two
wheel-ruts, with foul drains on either side of them, and becomes, in wet weather, a dirty
trough, which is unlit for either carriages or horses, and in which a foot passenger has
not where to set his foot. But if such a lane be thrown into a shelving form, resembling
half a barrelled or convex road, a greater width of travelable road for carriages and
horses will be obtained ; ruts will not be so liable to be formed ; the whole of the water
of rains will be thrown to one side, while the other will afford a comfortable walking
path, at all seasons. It is to be remarked, that when water in a wet season is apt to ooze
out of the banks on the upper side of the lane, a narrow channel is to be cut, to prevent
its overflowing the road ; or, in forming the bed of the road, the inclination may in
some cases be reversed, so as to throw the drain on that side of the lane from whence the
spring water issues ; thus the same drain will serve for the spring and the rain-waters.
3419. Semi-convex roads are applicable not only to narrow lanes, but to the sides of hills,
where the road, as it generally ought, is conducted sidelong (not directly) up the slope.
By this form of the road, the whole of the water which falls upon it will be got rid of
without inconveniency or expense. And the bed of the road for this purpose may be
made narrower than for a full convex road, a circuinstance which in some cases may be-
come a saving'of much expense. The upper side of a road in this form being nearly
level, and firm to the foot of the steep, would be chosen by ascending carriages, while the
lower side would acquire a looseness of surface, and be used by laden carriages going
downward ; and while a raised footpath on the lower margin would be a secure guard,
and a relief to the apprehensions of timorous travellers.
3420. The convexity of a road, according to Edgeworth, need be no more than what will
.prevent it from being worn hollow, before it can be conveniently repaired ; and he very
judiciously assigns as a reason, that no lateral inclination of the ground, consistent with
the safety of carriages, would empty a rut of three inches deep. So far from this being
the case, whoever attends to the fact will find, that even down a moderate slope, where
any dirt remains upon the road, the water will be obstructed. Even if there are no ruts
on a road, the mud and sludge will not run down aslope even of two degrees, which is
the utmost inclination that should be permitted on a mail coach road.
3421. The degree of convexity prefe^-red by Benjamin and John Farey, is twelve inches
in a road fifty-five feet wide ; but to attain this shape when the road is worn down in first
forming, there should be a rise in the centre of sixteen or eighteen inches.
3422. The degree of convexity preferred by Walker is just a sufficient rise towards the
middle, to incline the water towards the sides ; and in place of making the whole width
the section of one curve, to form it by two straight lines, forming inclined planes, and
joined by a curve towards the middle. I have seen, he says, *' ridges formed in what I
thought well- farmed land, much after what I would recommend for the form of a road.
The object of forming the land into ridges, raised a little in the middle, is the same as
that of raising the middle of a road to prevent the water from settling upon it ; and what
is sufficient for the ploughed land, is certainly enough for a road. If the road is of good
stone, four to five inches rise in ten feet is sufficient; gravel and other inferior material,
will allow a little more. This shape not only assists the water to pass from the centre
towards the sides, but greatly contributes to the drying of the road, by allowing the action
of the sun and air to produce a great degree of evaporation. Surveyors ought to use a
level in giving roads a proper shape, in order that the surface may be of one uniform cur-
vature, without the smallest deviation, in any one spot, from the prescribed line of the
cross section."
Book II.
FORM AND ]\j[ATERIALS OF ROADS.
533
3423. The degree of convexiti/ proposedhy Clarke, a young Irish road surveyor, is stiUless
than that of Telford. Were it not absolutely necessary, he says, to let the rain-water run
off quickly, the best shape for a road would be a flat surface, and, therefore, the nearer
we can approach to that form the better ; for, if the road is much elevated in the centre
wheel carriages will all run in the middle, and, of course, very soon wear that part into
deep ruts ; and if they are then forced to go upon the sides, almost the whole weight will
press upon the lower wheel, which will, of course, sink deeper, and occasion a distressing
resistance to the shoulder of the horse at that side ; therefore, as before observed, the
flatter a road can be made, consistently with a moderate fall for the rain-water to escape
the more convenient and durable it will be ; for a road should be as hard and as smooth as
possible. An idea of a perfect road may be formed from a frozen canal, where flatness
smoothness, and hardness are combined: in imitation of such a surface railways were
invented, and fully illustrate the principles assumed. Roads cannot be made so as fully
to attain those perfections ; but we should always have them in our view ; for the nearer
we approach to such a standard, the less will be the friction, and tlie greater the facility of
draught. On a site of sixty -three feet he forms a metalled road of thirty-four feet with a
rise of nine inches in the middle ; a six-feet path at one side, and a ditch and bank at
each side, occupying ten feet six inches. (Jig. 457.)
3424. The convexity i)referred by Telford is no more than is just sufl'icient to permit the
water to pass from the centre towards the sides of the road ; the declivity may increase
towards the sides, and the general section form a very flat ellipsis, so that the side, at the
time, should (upon a road of about thirty feet in width) be nine inches below the surface
in the middle.
3425. The degree of convexity jrreferred hy M'^dam, is less than that approved of by
any of the road engineers mentioned, unless perhaps Edgeworth. " I consider," he says,
** that a road should be as flat as possible without regard to allowing the water to run off at
all, because a carriage ought to stand upright in travelling as much as possible. I have
generally made roads three inches higher in the centre than I have at the sides, when they
are eighteen feet wide ; if the road be smooth and well made, the water will run off very
easily in such a slope. When a road is made flat, people will not follow the middle of
it as they do when it is made extremely convex, which is the only place where a carriage
can run upright, by which means three furrows are made by the horses and the wheels,
and the water continually stands there : and I think that more water actually stands
upon a very convex road, than on one which is reasonably flat."
3426. If a road be high a/id convex in the middle, ¥ry observes, no care of the surveyor
can prevent the formation of a pair of ruts along the ridge of the road ; from an
instinctive operation of fear every driver will take this track, as being the only part of the
road where his carriage can stand upright ; and even if it be not so convex as to ex-
cite fear, yet the inconvenience of travelling on a sloping road will always produce the
same effect.
3427. The convexity recommejided by Paterson on the level ground, where the bottom
is dry, should be from one inch to one inch and a half in the yard. From this, the de-
clivity may increase even to three inches in the yard, just in proportion as the ground
increases in wetness ; but beyond that declivity it would probably be improper to carry it
in any instance. If the bottom, however, is dry sand or gravel, the convexity should be
very little indeed. But, in all cases, whether wet or dry, a road formed on sloping
ground, should be very near level from side to side. The reasons are obvious. In the
first place, it is well known that carriages running quickly over a hill, are more easily
overturned than on level ground ; it would therefore be dangerous, in this respect alone,
were the road to have much slope on the sides. In the next place, as the great end in
giving it the convex shape is to run off the water and prevent it from lodging, this is
not so necessary on a road formed upon sloping ground, as there the water will not lodge
so as to injure it. In his second work, (Letters, i^c.) Paterson observes of the above
directions, " In my treatise respecting the form of the road, I proposed the slope from
the edges of the materials, to the side ditches, to be from one inch to an inch and a half
in the yard, where dry ; and to increase the slope a little, where wet. But by adopting
those drains under the road, no greater slope will be required, in any situation, than an
inch to the yard.
Mm 3
534 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
3428. With reapect to the order and mode of laying out the materials, there is some dif-
ference of opinion. Some begin with the largest, and ftnish with the very smallest, or
with gravel ; some lay on the whole at once, and others in two or more straturas, and so on.
That such a mode of depositing materials could never make a good road, is evident, for the
reasons given by M'Adam and Clarke; the larger stones would soon rise to the surface,
and roll about loose on it ; the stratum being thus broken up, would admit and retain
water, which, by the traffick of the road, would render the substratum, in all such places,
a mass of mud, and the whole would become bad in proportion to the traffick, the sub-
soil, and the climate. Marshal is equally wrong in his directions for forming farm-
roads, by filling the wheel-tracks with hard materials. In depositing these, he says, the
largest and roughest are to be thrown to the bottoms of the wheel-trenches, as found-
ations for the hardest, which ought to receive the immediate pressure of the wheels, the
softest and finest being disposed of in the horse-track. It is evident the continual action
of the wheels in the same rut, aided by the water which must infallibly lodge there,
would soon work up the larger and rougher stones, and render the traction more oppres-
sive than if no metals had ever been laid there.
3429. Telford^s mode of disposing of the materials of roads is as follows : — Where a
road has no solid and dry foundation, it must be constructed anew. Upon the eighteen
centre feet of it stones must be put, forming a layer seven inches deep. Soft stones will
answer, or cinders, particularly where sand is prevalent. These bottoming stones
must be carefully set by hand, with the broadest end down, in the form of a close,
neat pavement ; the cavities should be filled with stone chips, to make all level
and firm, and no stone should be more than five inches broad on its face.
Over its bottoming of stones or cinders, six inches of stones, of a proper quality, broken
of a size that will, in their largest dimensions, pass through a ring of two and a half
inches diameter, must be laid. The six feet of the road, on each side of the eighteen
centre feet (making thirty feet), when formed of a proper shape, may be covered with
six inches of good clean gravel, or small stone chips.
3430. N'o covering or mixture of any sort is added to the material by Edgeworth, ex-
cept clean angular gravel, that may insert itself between the interstices of the stones ;
but no more should be used than what will thus sink to a level with the surface. If
the whole were covered with gravel, it would be impossible to discover the defects of the
road, till it might be too late. No stones larger than an inch and a half diameter should
be suffered to remain on the road ; where much inaccuracy in this respect is suspected,
an iron ring may be employed as a gauge. In all cases, after the road has been covered
with stones, it should be carefully examined, and every stone that is too large should be
picked off, to be broken smaller.
3431. The preference generally given to gravel, Paterson considers to be greater than
it deserves, and that the earth obtained from the sides of the road, free of expense, will
not only barely answer the purpose, but in most cases equally well ; and that on a per-
fectly dry bottom, it is questionable whether it should not even be preferred to gravel.
It is in winter only, and on wet ground, that I consider gravel entitled to any preference
whatever. (TVefl/ise, <^c. p. 43.)
3432. The mode of laying on gravel, according to Walker, " is to lay it on as it comes
from the pit, excepting the upper foot, or eighteen inches or so, which is screened ;
but in all cases, whether the material is gravel or hard stone, the interstices between tlie
pieces should be filled up solid with smaller pieces, and the finishing made by a thin
covering of very small pieces, or road-sand or rubbish, for those interstices must be filled
up before the road becomes solid, either in this way or by a portion of the materials of
the road being ground down, which last mode occasions a waste of the material, and
keeps the road unnecessarily heavy and loose. In the original making or effectually
repairing of a road, it is, I think, best that the whole of the proposed thickness be laid on
at once, for the sake of the road as well as of the traveller ; the materials of the road then
form a more solid compact mass then when they are laid in thin strata at different times,
for the same reason that a deep arch of uniform materials is preferable to a number of
separate rings." Laying on a stratum of unsifted gravel, imder a sifted stratum, is
rather at variance with the doctrine of " a deep arch of uniform materials ;" and
it seems to vxs, that when a stratum of properly broken stones are to be powerfully
rolled, the previous filling up of their interstices with very small matters might
counteract the effect of rolling, in squeezing the angular stones into the angular
interstices.
3433. The mode of laying on gravel by M^Adam, is that of scattering with a shovel,
and never emptying down cart or barrow-loads on the middle of the roadway, as is
generally practised. He completes the stratum by three separate layers, leaving the
first to be consolidated by wheels, and in some cases a heavy roller, before he lays on
the second J and the second, in like manner, before he lays on the last.
Book II.
FORM AND MATERIALS OF ROADS.
b35
3434. A covering from four to five inches thick, according to Fry, forms a bed or
which is proof against the severe crush of heavy wheels, while in the case of a very thin
covering, the stones lying bare upon a hard road, and receiving in this unprotected
state the stroke of every wheel that passes over them, like the thin covering on a mill-
bed, they are quickly reduced to powder, and disappear. Stones in a thick bed are
protected from the immediate destructive grind ; while stones tliat are thinly laid on are
instantly reduced to powder, either by pressure 438
or grinding.
3435. Telford, in filling broken stones, and
also in scattering them on the road, makes
use of a pronged shovel, fourteen inches square,
which may be universally recommended for this
purpose (fg. 438 d).. His large hammer (a) ,
small one (6), and gauge for the size of the broken
stone (c), are in very general use, as well as
tlie pronged shovel. Hammers may be made /.
of cast iron where the stones to be broke are f- ;
about their own weight ; the best shape is a
narrow oval ; the advantage of using cast iron
is its cheapness. (^Farm. Mag. xxii. 159.)
3436. Telford's level for adjusting the declivity of roads from the middle to tlie
sides (fg. 439.), is also a very complete implement of the kind.
439
3437. The mode of depositing materials by Paterson is as follow's : — « Bottom
metals should be broken on the road. When they are thus broken, they are, by the
force of the hammer, firmly bedded into the bottom, and are so closely and compactly
beaten together, that they become like pavement. In this state they are not only
less liable to sink, but they form a much better bed for the top metals than when they
are thrown loosely on. And besides this, when they are put on in a loose manner,
as is frequently done, the mud more readily works up through the metals in time
of rains, and makes a disagreeable road : the top metals also are easily beaten down
by the horses' feet and the carnages, through the bottom stones, when loose and
open ; so that the small metals frequently get undermost, and the large ones make
their appearance at the surface, very much to the injury of the road. Taking all these
circumstances, therefore, into consideration,- it is of the greatest importance that the
bottom metals should not only be much larger in size, but that they also be broken on
the road." This may be considered as at variance with several parts of Paterson's second
publication. (Letters, ^c.) The road being drained and prepared for the materials, he
then directs (p. 80.) to put them on in the following manner: — " M' Adam's mode of
putting them on in coats of three or four inches, though good in particular instances,
will not do as an universal rule. If the bottom is wet, and the weather rainy, the earth
will poach and work up through the materials, in spite of all the attention and care that
can be bestowed. I would, therefore, recommend in such cases to put on the first
course from five to six inches thick. But then to leave these materials to consolidate, or
rather to move and shift about by the wheels ; and then to be levelled by the rakes, alter-
nately, according to M'Adam's plan, wears away the corners of the stones, by which
means they do not unite together and make such a firm road. Tliere were upwards of two
miles of road made under my directions lately, on which I caused a course of about six
inches to be put. But before opening it to the public, I got a heavy stone roller to ply
upon it for four days. This beat and firmed the materials so much, that the wheels of
tlie carriages made little impression upon it. Of course the materials retained their an-
gular points more than in rolling and shifting by every carriage-wheel that passed ; and
there was less labor in raking and levelling the road. This plan, which carries reason in
the face of it, I would strongly recommend. As to M* Adam's plan of putting on the
materials in shovelsfull, it is certainly good. I used to prohibit putting them on with
carts (as in that case you never have the small and the great properly mixed together),
and generally put them on with wheel-barrows. But even this does not mix them quite
Mm 4
536 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
so well as to scatter tliem with the shovel ; and as it is of considerable importance to
have them vvfell mixed, I would by all means recommend the mode best calculated for
that purpose."
3438. Rolling newly laid on metals is generally approved of. The roller used should
not be less than of four or five feet in diameter, a smaller size, especially in the use of
gravel, being apt to drag and force the loose materials before it. Some have attempted
to keep roads in order by occasionally harrowing and- then rolling tiiem ; but the best
judges are of opinion with Jolm Farey, {Evidence, S[e. 1819) that a roller cannot be be-
neficially used upon a road at any other times but after new coating it with materials, or
after a frost, or when the sticking of materials to the wheels may have loosened up tlie
stratum.
Sect. IV. Of paved Roads.
3439. Causeways and pavements are chiefly made use of in towns, and may therefore
be considered as belonging more to architecture than to agriculture. But as it is the opi-
nion of some of the first engineers that pavements might be introduced with advantage on
the public roads for some distance from the larger towns, we shall shortly consider this
subject with reference to that object. Paving, as applied to roads, is therefore to be con-
sidered as a substitute for a part or the whole of the metalled part of the road, and not
as occupying every part of its width or site, as in the case of streets.
3440. For roads near capital or great commercial towns, paving, according to Edgeworth ,
. is the only certain method yet known that gives sufficient hardness, smoothness, and per-
manency to a road. B. and J. Farey are of the ^ame opinion, and the latter considers it
would be proper to pave the sides of all the principal entrances into London. Walker,
who was the engineer of the Commercial road, ten feet of the centre of which is paved
with granite, and has given great satisfaction for upwards of 16 years, is a great advocate
for paving. The advantage, he says, of paving part of a road where the traffick is great,
and the materials of making roads bad or expensive, is not confined to improving the con-
veyance for heavy goods and reducing the horses' labor ; but as the paving is always
preferred for heavy carriages, the sides of a road are left for light carriages, and are kept
In much better repair than otherwise they could possibly be. It is not overstating the
advantage of the paving, but rather otherwise, to say, that taking the year through, two
horses will do more work, with the same labor to themselves, upon a paved road, than
tliree upon a good gravelled road, if the traffick upon the gravel road is at all considerable,
and if Uie effect of this, in point of expense, is brought into figures, the saving of the ex-
pense of carriage will be found to be very great when compared with the cost of the
paving. If the annual tonnage upon the Commercial road is taken at 250,000 tons, and
at the rate of only 35. per ton from the docks, it could not upon a gravelled road be done
under 4^. 6d., say however 45., or Is. per ton difference, making a saving of 12,500/., or
nearly the whole expense of the paving in one year. The introduction of paving, there-
fore, would, in many cases, be productive of great advantage, by improving the gravel
road, reducing the expense of repairs, and causing a saving of horses' labor much be-
yond.what there is any idea of.
3441. Telford considers that it would be of advantage to pave a part of the centre of
great public roads ; and in conformity with this principle, when forming a gravel road,
he lays eight or ten feet of it in the centre with stones.
3442. The part of the road most desirable to be jfaved, according to B. Farey, is the
sides. " If the centre was paved," he says, "the light carriages would be much an-
noyed ; when the gravel road was good on the sides, the heavy carriages would go there,
and the light carriages would be driven on the stones from the sides again ; if the centre
was paved, the carters would be obliged to walk on that road to manage their horses, and
would be considerably annoyed by carriages, horsemen, &c. passing : but if the sides of
that road were paved,, the carters would be enabled to walk on the foot-path, and to
manage their horses without annoyance."
3443. Paving the sides is also preferred by J. Farey, " but not the middle, as has been
done on the Commercial road, and Borough stones and road. My reasons for pre-
ferring the sides being paved are, that it is next to impossible to compel the carters to
keep upon the pavement in the middle of the road, in too many instances ; the fear of
damage, from the swift going carriages, occasions them either to draw their carts close to
the sides, and walk upon the footpaths, or, what is worse, to leave their horses in the mid-
dle, beyond a train of carriages. The sides being paved, would enable one of those trains
of carriages to enter London on one side of the road, and go out of it on the other, with-
out many occasions to turn out of their tracks, which circumstance of keeping nearly to
the same tracks, upon a well-paved road, would not be prejudicial ; but on a road formed
of gravel is entirely ruinous."
3444. Walker also prefers paving the sides, though in the case of the Commercial road
he paved the centre, as already described (3440. ).
Book II. PAVED ROADS. 537
3445. Paving the nJiole or any part of a road is entirely d'lmpjrroved of by M'Adam.
" The measure," he says, " of substituting pavements, for convenient and useful roads,
is a kind of desperate remedy, to which ignorance has had recourse." The badness, or
scarcity of materials, cannot be considered a reasonable excuse ; because the same quan-
tity of stone required for paving, is fully sufficient to make any excellent road any where :
and it must be evident, that road materials of the best quality may be procured at less
cost than paving stone. The very bad quality of the gravel round London, combined
with want of skill and exertion, either to obviate its defects, or to procure a better mate-
rial, has induced several of the small trusts, leading from that city, to have recourse to the
plan of paving their roads, as far as their means will admit. Instead of applying their
ample funds to obtain good materials for the roads, they have imported stone from Scot-
land, and have paved their roads, at an expense ten times greater than that of the excel-
lent roads lately made on some of the adjoining trusts. Very few of these pavements
have been so laid as to keep in good order for any length of time ; so that a very heavy
expense has been incurred without any beneficial result, and it is to be lamented that this
wasteful and ineffectual mode is upon the increase in the neighborhood of London.
.S446. The practice of paving roads has also been adopted in places where the same mo-
tive cannot be adduced : in Lancashire, almost all the roads are paved at an enormous
cost, and are, inconsequence, proverbially bad. At Edinburgh, where they have the best
and cheapest materials in the kingdom, the want of science to construct good roads, has
led the trustees to adopt the expedient of paving to a considerable extent ; and at an ex-
pense hardly credible, when compared with what would have been the cost of roads on
the best principles.
3447. The advantages of good roads, when compared with pavements, are universally ac-
knoivledged ; the extension of pavement is therefore to be deprecated as an actual evil,
besides the greatness of the expense. Pavements are particularly inconvenient and
dangerous on steep ascents, such as the ascent to bridges, &c. A very striking example
of this may be observed on the London end of Blackfriars bridge, where heavy loads
are drawn up with great difficulty, and where more horses fall and receive injury than in
any other place in the kingdom. The pavement in such places should be lifted, and con-
verted into a good road, which may be done with the same stone at an expense not ex-
ceeding \0d. per square yard. This road would be more lasting than the pavement, and,
when out of order, may be repaired at less than one-tenth of the expense which relaying
the pavement would require. This measure has been adopted with great success, and
considerable saving of expense, in the suburbs of Bristol, where the pavements were taken
up, and converted into good roads, about three years ago. The same thing has lately
been successfully adopted on Westminster and Blackfriars bridges.
3448. In preparing for laying down pavements, the first thing, Edgeworth observes, to
be attended to is the foundation. This must be made of strong and uniform materials,
well rammed together, and accurately formed to correspond With the figure of the super-
mcumbent pavement. This has no where been more effectually accomplished, than in
some late pavement in Dublin. Major Taylor, who is at the head of the paving board,
before he began to pave a street, first made it a good gravel-road, and left it to be beaten
down by carriages for several months ; it then became a fit foundation for a good pave-
ment. The Romans, in preparing for pavement, laid a substratum of masonry in some
cases two or more feet thick, and never less than a foot or eighteen inches. This mode
is adopted in one or two cases near St. Petersburgh, and might be advantageously
used in this country were not the expense an objection. Planking, broad stones, iron
plates, slates, tiles, and brick work has also been proposed in this country ; but a con-
solidated stratum of broken stone of ten inches in -thickness is perhaps the simplest and
best preparation, especially for the sides of roads. A substratum of sand is sure to
be deranged after the first rains.
3449. The kinds of stone used in paving are chiefly granite, whinstone or trap,
Guernsey or other pebbles, or water worn granitic or trapstones. Walker prefers the
granite of Guernsey to that of Aberdeen.
3450. The size of the stones used in road pavements is commonly from five to seven
inches long, from four to six inches broad, and from six to eight inches deep. Walker
prefers stones nine inches deep ; and Telford is of opinion that the general shape of the
stones at present used for paving, and the modes of distributing them, are very imperfect,
the lower part of the stones being of a triangular wedge-like shape, which, instead of
enabling them to resist the weights which come upon them, easily penetrate into the
substratum ; the stones are also broken of an unequal size. The remedies for these
defects are obvious ; they should be as nearly as possible of a cubical form, the lower bed
having an equal surface with the upper face ; they should be selected as nearly as possible
of an equal size, and they should never be of equal length on the face. In quarrying
and preparing the stones there would certainly be an additional expense in the prepara-
tion, because there would be more work required in the dressing, and many stones must
538 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
be rejected which are now used ; but the additional expense would be very well
bestowed.
3451. In laying doivn the stones, each stone, according to Edgeworth, should bear broadly
and firmly on its base ; and the whole should be rammed repeatedly, to make the joints
close ; the upper and lower sides of the stones should be as near each other as possible, but
they should not touch each other laterally, except near the top and bottom, leaving a
hollow in the middle of their depth, to receive gravel, which will serve to hold them
together. This method of paving may be easily executed by common workmen, who
may throw in gravel between the stones as they are laid down. It may be easily con-
ceived, that if a grain of gravel inserts into holes that are in stones opposite to each other,
they will dowel them together. It will be useful to cover a newly-made pavement with
gravel, which will preserve the fresh pavement for some time, from the irregular pressure
of wheels, till the whole is consolidated. It should be observed, that the stones should
be of equal hardness, or the soft ones will be worn down into hollows. In every
species of paving no stones should be left higher or lower than the rest ; for a wheel de-
scending from a higher stone will, by repeated blows, sink or break the lower stone upon
which it falls.
3452. I'he requisites for laying down the stones and forming a good pavement are,
according to Walker, to have the stones properly squared and shaped, not as wedges,
but merely as rectangular prisms ; to sort them into classes according to their sizes, so as
to prevent unequal sinking, which is always the effect of stones, or rows of stones, of
unequal sizes being mixed together ; to have a foundation properly consolidated before
the road is begun to be paved j to have the stones laid witli a close joint, the courses
being kept at right angles from the direction of the sides, and in perfectly straight lines ;
the joints carefully broken, tliat is, so that the joint between two stones in any one
course shall not be in a line with or opposite to a joint in any of the two courses adjoin-
ing. After the stones are laid they are to be well rammed, and such of the stones as
appear to ram loose, should be taken out and replaced by others ; after this the joints
are to be filled with fine gravel, and if it can be done conveniently, the stability of the
work will be increased by well watering at night the part that has been done during the
day, and ramming it over again next morning. The surface of the pavement is then to
be covered with an inch or so of fine gravel, that the joints may be always kept full, and
tliat the wheels may not come in contact with the stones while they are at all loose in their
places. Attention to these points will very much increase both the smoothness and the
durability of the paving. He has found great advantage from filling up, or, as it is
called, grouting the joints with lime-water, which finds its way into the gravel between
and under the stones, and forms the whole into a solid concreted mass. The purpose
served by the lime might also be effectually answered by mixing a little of the borings or
chippings of iron or small scraps of iron hoop, vvith the gravel used in tilling up the
joints of the paving. The water would very soon create an oxide of iron, and form the
gravel into a species of rock. He has seen a piece of rusty hoop taken from under water,
to which the gravel had so connected itself, for four or five inches round the hoop, as
not to be separated without a smart blow of a hammer ; and the cast-iron pipes which
are laid in moist gravel soon exhibit the same tendency.
3453. ^s subslilutes for paving stones, plates of cast iron moulded into the form of the
surface of a pavement of ditlerent sizes, {fig. 442 c, d, e), have been tried ; but on the
whole they are not considered as likely to succeed. They are very hot in summer and more
slippery than stone in winter j but what is most against them is, that the water finds its
way beneath them and softens the substratum. This, at any time of the year, tends
directly to produce holes by the leverage of the wheels and feet of animals (3325.) ; but
after a severe frost the effects are ruinous. At all events this description of pavement
does not appear so well adapted for the sides or middle of public roads as that of granite
stones prepared in Telford's manner (3450.).
3454. Various hnprovements in laying pavements have recently been devised, such as
laying the stones dry on clay, using square stones, or stones equally wide at bottom as
at top, using stones alternately wider at bottom and top, 440
and joining them with cement {fg. 440.), paving on plates
of iron, wood or stone, or on a mass of masonry, &c. If
pavements m towns did not require to be frequently lifted
on account of sewers, and water and gas pipes, paving in
this manner on a solid foundation would certainly be the
best mode ; but as things are, and even probably if pavements did not require to be fre-
quently lifted, M' Adam's roads are found greatly preferable for all broad streets, and
where attention is had to keep them clean and in complete repair. In Britain at least,
they will probably soon supersede all common pavements, and all other description of
common roads.
Book II. RAILROADS, 539
441
3455. Large blocks of granite (^g. 441.) have been substi-
tuted for common-sized paving stones ; each block is two or
more feet square, nine inclies deep, and channelled on the
surface in imitation of common-sized paving stones. These
are found to answer much better than the cast iron plates ;
but they are liable to the same objection as to leverage ; are
diflicult to replace properly ; and as the raised pannels between
the grooves will in time wear down to the level of the grooves,
they cannot be considered so durable as common square stones ; which after all appear the
best for general purposes, and at all events for paving the middle or sides of highways.
3456. The defects of common pavement and the theory of its toear, are thus given by
Edgeworth. " Stones, in a common pavement, are usually somewhat oval, from five to
seven inches long, and from four to six inches broad. They are laid in parallel rows
on the road {fig. 442 c, d), or alternately (a, b), as bricks are
laid in a wall. On the first sort of pavement wheels slip
from the raund tops of the stones into the joints between,
and soon wear away the edges of the stones, and their own
iron tire. By degrees, channels are thus formed between
some of the stones, and in time the pavement is ruined.
3457. On the second sort of pavement (a, b), where the
stones are placed alternately, to prevent the injury to which
the former method is liable, the wheel (f) sliding side-
ways, makes a channel between two stones, and is then
obliged to mount from the groove which it has made, to
the top of the stone opposite to it ; when it has attained
this situation, the wheel may slide sideways, or may go for-
ward over the top of the stone, till it drops into the inter-
stice between the two next stones. By continual wearing,
these ruts become so wide and deep, that the wheel does not touch the stones on either
side, nor does it reach the ground between them, but it bounds from one stone to the other,
thus jolting the carriage in every direction. This method is not at present in use.
3458. In /he pavemenis hitherto described, the stones are but of a small size ; but if
flat stones of twelve or fourteen inches long (e) are well laid, wheels are not liable to
slide into the joints ; and if such stones are laid with their longest sides crossing the road
they are less liable to injury; but still narrow wheels sometimes fall into the joints
between the largest stones, and having in time worn away their own edges, and those of
the stones, Ihey will act like wedges, and will displace the stones. No pavement, of the
best stone that could be procured, can long resist this action of a narrow wheel. And
the only ellectual means of preserving pavement is, to increase the breadth of all wheels
to at least three inches. Were no wheels narrower, a cheap and durable pavement might
be made of flat stones, not more than three inches square, provided they were eight or
nine inches deep, to givp them reciprocally lateral support ; for tlie tire of such broad
wheels could never sink between the joints of the stones. [Edgeworth')
Sect. V, Of Railroads.
3459. Railways or tramroads are not intended to be considered here as connected
with mines, canals, or other works which come directly under the province of the
higher branches of engineering ; but merely as substitutes for the whole or a part of
the metalled surface of common roads, Tlie necessity of an expeditious and cheap
mode of conveying coals from the pits to the ships, had, as early as the year 1680,
introduced the use of wooden railways, for the waggons to move upon, between the
Tyne river and some of the principal pits, and these by degrees became extended to
a great number of other coal-works. They were first solely employed for transporting
coals to a moderate distance from the pits, to the places where they could be shipped,
being universally made of wood. By degrees they were, however, carried to a farther
extent; the scarcity of wood, and the expense of their repairs, suggested the idea of
employing iron for the purposes of improving these roads. At the first, flat roads of
bar-iron were nailed upon the original wooden rails, or as they were technically called,
sleepers ; and tiiis, tiiough an expensive process, was found to be a great improvement.
But the wood on which these rested being liable to rot and give way, some imperfect
attempts were made to make them of cast iron, but these were found to be liable to
many objections, until the business was taken in hand by Outram, an engineer at Butterly
Hall, Derbyshire, who contrived at the same time, so far to diminish the expense, and
improve the strength of the road, as to bring them to a degree of perfection, that no
one who has not seen them can easily conceive could have been done. This having been
carried into execution in a few cases, and found to answer, has been improved upon
and simplihed by practice, till it is now brought to such a state of perfection as to have
540 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part MI.
given proofs, that it admits of being carried much beyond the limits of what M'as for
niany years conceived to be possible, and to afford demonstrative evidence, that it may
be in future employed to a wider extent still, to which no limits can be at present assigned
or foreseen.
3460. In countries the surfaces of which are rugged, or where it is difficult to obtain
water for lockage, where the weight of the articles of the produce is great in comparison
•with their bulk, and where they are mostly to be conveyed from a higher to a lower
level ; in these cases, Telford observes, iron railways are in general preferable to canal
navigation.
3461 . On a railway well constructed, and laid with a declivity of fifty-five feet in a mile,
it is supposed that one horse will readily take down waggons containing from twelve to
fifteen tons, and bring back the same waggons with four tons in them. This declivity,
therefore, suits well, when the imports are only one-fourth part of what is to be exported.
If the empty waggons only are to be brought back, the declivity may be made greater ;
or an additional horse applied on the returning journey will balance the increase of de-
clivity. If the length of the railway were to be considered, it may, it is supposed, with-
out much inconvenience, be varied from being level to a declivity of one inch in a yard,
and by dividing the whole distance into separate stages, and providing the number of
horses suitable for each portion of railway, according to the distance and degree of de-
clivity, the whole operation may be carried on with regularity and despatch.
3462. Railways Tnay be laid out so as to suit the surface of very irregular countries, at a
comparatively moderate expense. A railway may be constructed in a much more
expeditious manner than a navigable canal ; it may be introduced into many districts
where canals are wholly inapplicable ; and in case of any change in the working of mines,
pits, or manufactories, the rails may be taken up and laid down again in new situations,
at no very great expense or trouble.
3463. The whole load to be drawn by one horse upon railways was at first put into one
waggon ; but now when the load is so much augmented, it has been found eligible to
divide it into many parts, so that no one waggon shall carry more than one or two tons ;
by this method the weight is so divided, that the pressure is never so great upon one
point as to be in danger of too much crushing the road ; the carriages can be made much
more limber and light in all their parts (Jig.
443.), and they are much more easily moved
and more manageable in all respects than
they otherwise would have been. And
another advantage of this arrangement,
■which deserves to be particularly adverted
to, is, that it admits of shifting the carriages
so as to leave a load, as it were, in parcels "^lu^ U-^' u^^^^'^^^^" n^
at different places where they may be required, without trouble or expense. This, when
it comes to be fully understood and carried into practice, will be a convenience of inesti-
mable value, a thing that has been always wanted, and never yet has been found, though it
has been diligently sought for.
3464. Of the advantage of railways a striking proof is given by Anderson, {Recre-
ations, ^c.) It was formed by Wilkes near Loughborough. Its extent was about five
miles, and it led from a coal mine to a market. He found it so fully to answer his ex-
pectations after it was finished, that he communicated to the society of arts an account of
some trials he had made of it, requesting that such of the members of that respectable
institution as were desirous of information on that head, would do him the honor to wit-
ness some experiments that he wished to make upon it, for the information of the public.
A committee of the members was accordingly deputed for that purpose, and before them
he shewed that a moderate sized horse, of about twenty pounds value, could draw upon
it with ease down hill (the descent being one foot in a hundred) thirty-two tons, and
without much difficulty forty-three, and seven tons up hill, independent of the carriages.
The doctor concludes from these facts, that upon a perfect level a horse could draw with
ease from ten to twenty tons. It is observed, that Wilkes's railway, on which the
experiments were made, was, from local circumstances, laid upon wooden sleepers, and
is not so perfect as those done upon stone. But it is added, that twenty tons are the
load which such a horse could draw with ease, travelling at the usual waggon rate, in
boats upon a canal ; so that the number of horses required in this way will not be
much, if at all, greater than on a canal. Certain advantages attach to this mode of con-
veyance, which do not so well apply to a canal, and vice versa ; but it is not his intention
to draw a parallel between these two modes of conveyance. Nobody can entertain any
doubt, he thinks, about the utility of canals where they are easily practicable. He only
wishes to point out this as an eligible mode of conveyance where canals cannot be con-
veniently adopted.
3465. Informing and constructing railways, the best line the country affords should
Book II. RAILROADS. 541
be traced out, having regard to the direction of the carriage of articles, or trade to be
expected ; and if such trade be both ways in nearly equal quantities, a line as nearly
horizontally level as possible should be chosen. If the trade is all in one direction, as is
generally the case between mines and navigation, then the most desirable line is one with
a gentle gradual descent, such as shall make it not greater labor for the horses employed
to draw the loaded waggons down, than the empty ones back ; and this will be found to
be the case on a railway descending about one foot vertical in one hundred feet horizontal.
Or if the railway and carriages are of the very best construction, the descent vertical may
be to the length horizontal, as 1 to 50, where there is little or no upgate loading. In
cases between mines and navigations, the descents will often be found greater than could
be wished. On a railway on the improved plan, where the descent is more than as 1 to
50, six or eight waggons, loaded with thirty or forty hundred weight each, will have such
a tendency to run downwards, as would require great labor of one horse to clieck and
regulate, unless that tendency was checked by sledging some of the wheels. On such,
and steeper roads, iron slippers are applied, one or more to a gang of waggons, as occa-
sion may require. Each slipper being chained to the side of one of the waggons,
and, being put under the wheel, forms a sledge. Where the descent is very great, steep
inclined planes, with machinery, may be adopted so as to render the other parts of the
railway easy. On such inclined planes the descending loaded waggons being applied to
raise the ascending empty, or partly loaded ones, the necessity of sledging the wheels is
avoided ; and the labor of the horse greatly reduced and lessened. (^Fulton. )
3466. In order to obtain the desired levels, gentle descents, or steep inclined planes, and
to avoid sharp turns, and circuitous tracks, it will often be found prudent to cross valleys
by bridges and embankments ; to cut through ridges of land ; and in very rugged coun-.
tries short tunnels may sometimes be necessary. The line of railway being fixed,
and the plans and sections by which the same is to be executed and settled ; the
ground for the whole must be formed and effectually drained. The breadth of the bed
for a single railway should be, in general, four yards j and for a double one six yards,
exclusive of the fences, side drains, and ramparts.
3467. The bed of road being so formed to the proper inclination, and the embankments
and works thereof made firm, the surface must be covered with a bed of stones broken
small, or good gravel, six inches in thickness or depth. On this bed must be laid the
sleepers, or blocks to fasten the rails upon. These should be of stone in all places where
it can be obtained in blocks of suflRcient size. They should be not less than eight, nor
more than twelve inches in thickness ; and of such breadth (circular, square, or trian-
gular,) as shall make them 150 lbs. or 200 lbs. weight each. Their shape is not material,
so as they have a flat bottom to rest upon, and a small portion of their upper surface level,
to form a firm bed for the end of the rails. In the centre of each block should be drilled
a hole, an inch and a half diameter, and six inches in depth, to receive an octagonal plug
of dry oak, five inches in length ; for it should not reach the bottom of the hole ; nor
should it be larger than so as to put in easily, and without much driving ; for if too
tight fitted it might when wet burst the stone. These plugs are each to receive an iron
spike or large nail, with k flat point and long head, adapted to fit the counter sunk notches
in the ends of two rails, and thereby to fasten them down in the proper position, or situ-
ation in which they are to lie.
3468. With regard to the rails^ they should be of the stoutest cast-iron, one yard in
length each, formed with a flanch on the inner edge, about two inches and a half high at
the ends, and three and a half in the centre ; and shaped in the best manner to give
strength to the rails, and keep the wheels in their track. The soles of the rails,
for general purposes, should not, he thinks, be less than four inches broad ; and the
thickness proportioned to the work they are intended for. On railways for heavy
burdens, great use, and long duration, the rails should be very stout, weighing 40 lbs.,
or in some cases, nearly half an hundred weight each. For railways of less conse-
quence, less weight of metal will do; but it will not be prudent to use them of less
than 30 lbs. weight each, in any situation exposed to breakage above ground. But
it is observed that in mines, and other works under ground, where very small car-
riages only can be employed, very light rails are used, forming what are called tram-
roads, on a system introduced by Carr ; and these kinds of light railways have been
much used above ground in Shropshire, and other counties where coals and other
minerals are obtained.
3469. Injixing the blocks and rails, great attention is required to make them firm.
No earth or soft materials should be used between the blocks and the bed of small
stones or gravel, on which the rails must all be fixed by an iron gauge, to keep the
sides at a regular distance, or parallel to each other. The best width of road for general
purposes, is four feet two inches between the flanches of the rails ; the wheels of the
carriages running in tracks about four feet six inches asunder. Rails of particular
542
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
forme are necessary where roads branch out from or intersect each other ; and where
carriage roads cross the railways ; and, at turnings of the railways, great care is required to
make them perfectly easy. The rails of the side forming the inner part of the curve should
be fixed a little lower than the other ; and the rails should be set a little under the gauge,
so as to bring the sides nearer together than in the straight parts : these deviations in level
and width to be in proportion to the sharpness of the curve. The blocks and rails being
fixed and spiked fast, nothing more remains to be done than to fill the horse-path, or
space between the blocks, with good gravel, or other proper materials ; a little of which
must also be put on the outside of the blocks to keep them in their proper places. This
gravel should always be kept below the surface of the rails on which the wheels are to
run, to keep the tracks of the wheels free from dirt and obstructions. The form of the
rails must be such as will free them from dirt if the gravelling is kept below their
level.
3470. The formation of railways, on the middle or sides ofimhlic roads, has been recom-
mended by Dr. Anderson, Fulton, Edgeworth, Middleton, and a few others. It does
not appear to us, notwithstanding all the arguments in their favor, that they would be
found of much use, excepting in a few cases, and then only for particular branches cf
traflBck. Formed as they are for small waggons, in order to divide the weight, they would
not bear with safety the weight of common farmers' two-horse carts; nor, unless the rails
were of a particular construction, could such carts or any other now in or likely to be
in general use, run on them. Suppose some alteration made on the wheels, to suit the
rails, then such alteration would render the wheels unsuitable for common roads. In
short, railroads, as constructed for ordinary purposes, could never be of much service to
a great thoroughfare with a mixed traffick.
3471. A railway, uith the rail ten or twelve inches broad, is the only description which
we conceive might be laid down along the sides of a road with advantage. It would
require a rib below of sufficient strength to bear waggons of any weight. This strength
would be communicated partly by the mass of material, but chiefly by the rib (fg. 444 a),
resting on a bed of bricks, or masonry below (b). Such a railroad might be used by any
description of carriage, light or heavy.
444
3472. But the best description (f railroad for the sides of a highway, appears to us to
be one formed of blocks of granite twelve or fourteen inches wide, and two or three feet
long, imbedded on brick or masonry, or even on a layer of gravel or broken stones. Stone
railways of this sort appear to have been suggested by Le Large (Machines Approvces,
vol. iii.) in France; and afterwards by Mathews {Committee Examinations, May 1808,)
in England, but they have never been fairly tried. The best specimen we have seen is
in a street in Milan, where it is not so necessary, the whole breadth being very well paved.
Sect. VI. Of the Preservation and Repair of Roads.
3473. The preservation of a road depends in a great measure on the description of ma-
chines and animals which pass over it, and on keeping it dry and free from dust and mud.
The repair of a road should commence immediately after it is finished, and consists in
obliterating ruts the moment they appear, filling up any hollows, breaking any loose
stones, and correcting any other defect. After cleaning and this sort of repair have gone
on hand in hand for a longer or shorter period, according to the nature of the materials
and traffick of the road, a thorough repair or surface-renewal may be wanted by a coating
of metal of three or more inches in thickness over the whole of the road.
3474. To preserve a road by imjtroving the wheel carriages which pass over it, all agree
that the wheels should be made broader than they usually are, and cylindrical : that
carts with two horses abreast are less injurious, than such as are drawn by two horses in
a line ; and that it would be an advantage to have the axletrees of different lengths.
3475. Edgeworth, upon a careful examination, concludes, that the system of rolling
roads by very broad wheels should be abandoned ; and that such a breadth only should be
insisted upon, and such restrictions made as to loading, as will prevent the materials of
the road from being ground to powder, or from being cut into ruts. With this view the
wheels of carriages of burden should have felloes six inches broad, and no more than one
ton should be carried upon each wheel.
Book II. REPAIRING ROADS. 543
3476. Farcy is of opinion, that six inch cylindrical wheels, or under, are the most
practicable ani useful, provided the projecting nails are most rigidly prohibited, which
can never be done but by a penalty per nail upon the wheelers who put in tliose nails,
and upon the drivers of the carriages who use such roughly-nailed wheels.
3477. Te(fo7'd thinks that no waggon or cart wheel ought to be of less breadth than
four inches, and that in general no carriage ought to be allowed to carry more than at
the rate of one ton per wheel : " when it exceeds that weight," he says, ** the best ma-
terials which can be procured for road-making, must be deranged and ground to
pieces."
3478. Paterson is a warm advocate for broad wheels. " If the wheels were used
double the breadth as at present," he says, " they would act as rollers upon the materials,
binding them together, and consequently the surface would remain always smooth and
free from ruts ; and the waste or decay would, of course, be exceedingly little. All
broad wheels, however, should be made on a construction different from those that are in
ccommon use (Jig. 445 a.). Those in common use,
whether broad or narrow, are generally dished (as it
is called) on the outside, and the ends of the axle-
tree bent a little downwards. This causes the
wheels to run wider above than below; and the
reason, I believe, for adopting this plan was to
allow people to increase the breadth of their car-
riages, and yet the wheels to run in the same track.
Upon this plan, the edges of the wheel, to run flat
upon the road, must be of a conical shape, the outer edge being of a less diameter than
the inner one. Any bad effect arising from this is indeed very little felt from the
narrow wheels ; but as they increase in breadth, the evil increases in the same proportion.
" A conical wheel," says Edgeworth, " if moved forwards by the axletree, must
partly roll and partly slide on the ground, for the smaller circumference could not
advance in one revolution as far as the larger. Suppose," says he, " the larger revolution
sixteen feet, and the smaller thirteen feet, the outer part must slide three feet, while the car-
riage advances sixteen, i. e. it must slide nearly one-fifth of the space through which the
carriage advances, — thus, if loaded with ten tons, the horses would have two tons to drag,
as if that part of the weight was placed on a sledge." The same thing has been ably and
beautifully demonstrated by Cumming [Essay on the Principles of Wheels and Wheel
Carriages, Sec. ) , and is very easily illustrated ; take, for instance, the frustum of a cone,
or a sugar loaf from which you have broken off a little bit at the point ; then set this a
rolling upon a table, and instead of going straight forwards it will describe a circle ; and
if you will put a pin or axletree right through the centre of it, and upon that axle cause
it to move straight forwards, the smaller diameter must slide instead of rolling, it is
evident, therefore, that the rims of the wheels ought to be of a cylindrical form {b).
Edgeworth states, in relation to this, that " from the testimony given to the committee
of parliament, by every person of science and judgment, cylindrical wheels and straight
axletrees have been unequivocally preferred.
3479. Farey finds the Whitechapel road more injured by broad wheels than any
other, owing to these wheels being barrelled and conical, and not running flat, and the
middle tier projecting above the others with rough nails.
3480. Cumming has proved experimentally before the committee of 1808, that when
the rim of a wheel is made truly cylindrical, so as to have an equal bearing on its
whole breadth, the resistance to its progress on a smooth road is not increased by increasin"-
its breadth. And in regard to the immense saving that would accrue to the nation,
Jessop, in his report, says, " I may venture to assert, that by tlie exclusive adoption of
cylindrical broad wheels and flat roads, there would be a saving of one horse in four, of
seventy-five per cent, in repairs of roads, fifty per cent, in the wear of tire, and that the
wheels with spokes alternately inclined, would be equally strong with conical onesj and
wear twice as long as wheels do now on the present roads." But, over and above the
preference due to such wheels, in respect to public roads, they are no less preferable when
applied to purposes of husbandry. Besides the great resistance to the draught occasioned
by the sinking of the narrow wheels on soft land, every farmer knows what injury is fre-
quently done to subsequent crops by such poaching and cutting up of the land. But
this is not all. Many a field of beautiful pasture, when subjected to the destroying
operation of the narrow wheels, is very much injured, both in respect to the appearance
and the crop, which would be entirely prevented by using broad wheels. Thus it has been
stated, in regard to the introduction of the use of broad wheels, that the saving on the
incidental repairs of the road would be immense ; that the roads would uniformly retain
a smooth and even surface, which would greatly contribute to the comfort of the traveller,
and the ease of the draught ; that in husbandry also the advantages would be great ; in
short, that in every point of view, the benefits that would be derived in consequence.
544 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
would be paramount to every thing that could be urged in Ikvor of the narrow
wheels.
3481. M' Jdam thinkn a waggon wheel of six inches in breadth, if standing fairly on
the road with any weight whatever, would do very little material injury to a road well
made, and perfectly smooth. The injury done to roads is by these immense weights
striking against materials, and in the present mode of shaping the wheels they drive the
materials before them, instead of passing over them. If a carriage passes fairly over
a smooth surface, he says, that cannot hurt the road, but must rather be an advantage
to it, upon the principle of the roller. On being asked, " Are you not of opinion that
the immense weights carried by the broad-wheeled waggons, even by their perpendicular
pressure, do injury by crushing the materials ?" he answered, " On a new-made road the
crush would do mischief, but on a consolidated old road, the mere perpendicular pressure
does not do any. But there is a great deal of injury done by the conical form of the
broad wheels, which operate like sledging instead of turning fairly. There is a sixteen -
inch wheel waggon, which comes out of Bristol, that does more injury to our roads, than
all the travelling of the day besides."
3482. With regard to regulating the weight to be carried on wheels, Farey judiciously
observes, that though it is not easy to state any one scale that would be generally appli-
cable for each breadth of wheels below six inches, there should be a rate fixed, which
would apply to ordinary or gate-tolls ; and at the weighing machines additional or what
may be called machine tolls, should be levied upon all carriages which exceeded the
weight, to be regulated in an increasing scale for each breadth of wheel, so as very greatly
to discourage, but not ruinously to prohibit the occasional carrying of large weights upon
any wheels.
3483. Axlelrees of different lengths have been proposed by some engineers with a view
of preserving the roads. On this subject Paterson observes, " At present the axles of
all kinds of carriages are made to one length, so that their wheels all run at the same
width, and in the same track, than which nothing could be more fitly devised for the
destruction of the roads. I would, therefore, propose, that the length of the axletrees
should be so varied, that the wheels of the lighter description of carriages should run
two inches narrower than the present track ; and that the axles for the more weighty
carriages should be increased in length, so that their wheels should run from one to four
inches beyond the present track. I would also propose, that mails, and other heavy
coaches, should be so constructed, that the hind wheels should follow, either two inches
within, or two inches outside the track of the fore-wheels, as might be considered most
proper. Were the axletrees of all kmds of carriages to be of various lengths, as here
proposed, we should have no rutted roads. The stones now displaced by the wheels of
one carriage, would be replaced again by the next carriage that came up, having its axle
of a different length ; and in the same manner would the hind wheels repair the injury
done by the fore wheels of a carriage. If this plan was to be acted upon all over the
kingdom, it is evident that it would have a very beneficial effect on the roads ; and if it
should be found thus to contribute to the keeping the roads smooth and e\en, it is also
evident that it must contribute, in the same proportion, to the comfort of travellers of
every description, and also to the ease of the beast of draught."
3484. J. Farey is of opinion that varying the length of axles, so as to prevent their
running in the same track, would be very beneficial. This he particularly stated to the
Board of Agriculture, with an example of the tolls over a new road in Derbyshire,
which are regulated according to the length of the axle.
3485. The division of weight has been proposed l)y Fry as a means of preserving roads :
that is to say, the division of the power, which any carriage may possess, to crush or
destroy the materials of the roads ; and the division of the power which any carriage
may possess, to resist the power of the horses drawing such carriage. A man can break
an ordinary stick, an inch in diameter, across his knee, but if he tie ten of these sticks
together, he could not break them if he tried ten times, nor if he tried a thousand times j
although, by these thousand efforts, he might have broken a thousand such sticks sepa-
rately. A stone might be of such a size and texture that a strong man with a large
hammer might break it into pieces at one blow; while a boy with a small hammer,
striking it with one-tenth part of the force, might strike it a thousand times, applying in
the whole one hundred times the power upon it that the man would have done, without
producing the same effect. So it is with the pressure of wheels on the materials of the
roads. Suppose a stone, the size of a man's fist, to be detached on a firm part of the
road, and a waggon-wheel, pressing with the weight of two tons, were to pass over it,
the consequence would be that it would crush it to powder. But suppose these two
tons to be distributed into forty wheel-barrows, of one hundred weight each, and they
were to pass over it in succession, the only effect likely to be produced would be a
trifling rounding of its corners : nor would probably five hundred such wheel-barrows,
of twenty-five tons, crush the stone so completely as the single waggon-wheel. Nor do I
Book II. REPAIRING ROADS. 545
tliink that five hundred gi<? or one-horse chaise wlieels, of four hundred weight each, in
all one hundred tons, would so completely destroy the cohesion of the stone, as the single
crush of the heavy wheel. Conceiving, therefore, that the destructive effect of pressure
on the roads increases, from the lowest weights to the highest, in a very rapidly increasing
ratio, I think that all reasonable inp^enuity should be exercised, so as to construct our car-
riages as for each wheel to press the road with the least possible weight that the public
convenience will allow."
3486. A great weight in one rolling mass (fig. 446.), Fry continues, "has a tendency
to disturb the entire bed of the road, whether it be on a six-inch wheel or on one of
sixteen inches, and whether on conical (fig. 445 a) or on cylindrical wheels (Jig. 445 b).
Under all these considerations, I am satisfied that the only grand desideratum on behalf
both of the roads and the horses, is light pressure. And therefore any dependence
on breadth of wheels, as a security against the destructive effects of pressure, is in
my opinion fallacious. I wish here to be understood as applying these remarks upon a
supposition that wheels were made upon the most philosophical construction ; that is to
say, perfectly cylindrical (fig. 445 b) ; and that they stood perfectly upright or vertical.
The present system of broad wheels I consider a system of mere mockery."
3487. Fru proposes to attain his principle of the division of power by the adoption of
light one-horse waggons with six or eight wheels ; which in our opinion are of very ques-
tionable advantage, all things considered, compared to one-horse carts, to carry one ton,
and four-wheel waggons to carry four tons. One-horse waggons, he says, fully embrace
the principle ; and the labor of the horses would be much more efficiently applied than at
present. If light one-horse waggons were constructed, to weigh eight hundred vi'eight
each, and these were charged with a load of sixteen hundred weight each, a good ordi-
nary cart-horse would travel England over with such a load ; drawing just as much net
weight as the ten horses in a heavy waggon, take each in gross weight ; and the roads
would never have a pressure, on one point, exceeding six hundred weight. The only
objection to such carriages that I see is, that each must be attended by a man. But
were they adopted, roads would last, I will not say ten times as long, I think they would
last a hundred times as long as they now do. Carriages so constructed ought therefore
to pass at the lowest possijjle rate of toll. The next mode is by the use of carriages
with six or eight wheels. About twenty years ago there were several stage-coaches con-
structed in this manner. Two eight- wheel coaches plied some years between Bath and
Bristol, and they were so constructed that each wheel supported its share of the load,
carrying its proportion, and no more, over every obstruction : the consequence was,
that when a wheel passed over a stone two inches high, the middle part of the carriage
rising only an eighth part of two inches, or one quarter of an inch, they were perhaps the
easiest coaches to passengers that ever were sat in. They had, however, one defect in
their construction : which was, that the two hinder axles being fixed, whenever the
coach varied from a straight line on the road, the hindermost pair of wheels must have
been dragged sideways. How the six-wheel coaches were circumstanced in this respect,
I had no opportunity of observing.
3488. Double shrifts have been proposed by Edgeworth, Morton, and some others, as
likely to divide the traction of draught cattle. B. Farey considers single shafts in
waggons very injurious ; . the horses follow in one track, in the centre of the carriage ;
and the wheels also follow each other in their tracks, and cut ruts. If there were double
shafts, they would naturally avoid former wheel tracks, which would be less injurious
to the road.
3489. J. Farey concurs in opinion with his brother, and thinks that some abatement
of tolls might be made to those carriages which now generally use single shafts, like the
farmers' carts and waggons, on tlieir adopting double shafts, so that all their horses may
draw in pairs; this being applicable even to three-horse carts, as far as concerns the
two foremost. Stage-coaches, for the reasons here alluded to, as they all draw in
pairs, and very seldom follow in any previous and deep rut, do far less damage to the
roads than otherwise would happen ; their springs also, and swiftness of motion contri-
... ...... . ■' •• w( -* ''- ' '
N
546
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
S490. The cleaning of roads is effected by sweeping, scraping, watering, and washing.
3491. Sweeping, as a mode of cleaning roads, is chiefly applicable to pavements, to side
railways, whether of stone or iron, and to footpaths. It has been proposed to be effected
by a machine drawn by one or more horses early in the morning before the road was
much frequented ; but it is probably better to leave it to old and infirm persons. On
country roads, sweeping could only be required to keep the paved or rail-laid part,
where such existed, free from small stones or gravel which the feet of cattle, &c. might
scatter over it from the metalled part.
3492. Scraping is an operation universally necessary to keep roads clean, by the
removal of mud in wet weather, and dust in a very dry season, and snow in winter.
It has been performed by machinery ; and on a well-made road, this mode might be
attended with a considerable saving of labor. Were the scraping board edged with a brush
of wires, or even of birch spray, the work even on a road somewhat irregular, might be
done to great perfection. Both in scraping and sweeping, care should be taken as soon
as possible to dispose of the mud or dust either in making or keeping up the sides of the
road or fence mounds, or in such other way as circumstances may direct. Hand
scrapers are commonly made with iron plates j but a piece of board is considered less
likely to raise the surface of the road.
3493. Watering, where applied to roads, is more for the sake of laying the dust than
•cleaning or preserving. Some consider it injurious in the latter capacity. B. Farey
considers that watering the Whitechapel-road in summer, and especially before May and
after August, is very injurious, by separating the stones, owing to the softening of the
loam, and so making the road spongy and loose. In winter, however, he waters, and
for the following reasons : — " After the most careful sifting of the gravel, a small quan-
tity of loamy dirt will unavoidably still adhere to the stones, and this loam, together with
a glutinous matter which accumulates in the summer from the dung and urine of the
cattle (which accumulation the summer-watering has a tendency to increase) , occasions
the wheels to stick to the materials, in certain states of the road, in spring and autumn,
when it is between wet and dry, particularly in heavy foggy weather, and after a frost ;
by which sticking of the wheels, the Whitechapel-road is often, in a short time, dread-
fully torn and loosened up ; and it is for remedying this evil that I have, for more than
eight years past, occasionally watered the road in winter. As soon as the sticking and
tearing up of the materials is observed to have commenced, several water-carts are em-
ployed upon these parts of the road, to wet the loamy and glutinous matters so much,
that they will no longer adhere to the tire of the wheels, and to allow the wheels and feet
of the horses to force down and again fasten the gravel -stones ; the traffick, in the course
of four to twenty-four hours after watering, forms such a sludge on the surface, as can
be easily raked off by wooden scrapers, which is performed as quickly as possible j after
which the road is hard and smooth ; the advantages of this practice of occasional winter-
watering have been great ; and it might, I am of opinion, be adopted with like advan-
tages on the other entrances into London, or wherever else the traffick is great, and the
gravel-stones are at times observed to be torn up by the sticking of the wheels.
3494. One of the best construction of watering barrels (Jig. 447.), is that used on the
Uxbridge-road, in which the water is delivered with the greatest regularity from a cast-
447
Book II. REPAIRING ROADS. 547
iron trough (a), so as to cover a space of nine feet in width. The water is turned off
and on by a lever at the fore-end of the barrel (i) in the usual manner.
3495. Washing orjioodmg roads with a view to cleaning them, has been proposed by
Jessop, and some other engineers ; but it is evidently a mode that can only be adopted
in particular situations, and the advantages which it would have over clean scraping
does not appear.
3496. Rolling, as a mode of preserving roads, is recommended by various writers on
the subject ; and appears to be useful on some roads after being loosened by frost. In
general, however, it is chiefly applicable after repairs, such as filling in ruts or laying on a
coat of new materials. Rolling has also been employed to consolidate snow oil roads :
it is said to indurate the snow so much, that it becomes a smooth hard body, on which
the wheels of carriages make but little impression, and the materials of the road are
preserved. When a thaw happens, the whole of the snow is scraped off by snow-
ploughs or scrapers, and not being allowed to melt on the metals, tliey are said to remain
unloosened. This plan is said to be general in America, and appears to have been
tried, in one instance, in the north of Scotland, with success.
3497. A road-roller should be of large diameter, perhaps not less than five feet : to
facilitate its turning, it may be made in three lengths, and the only material is cast-iron,
with a large wooden box over.
3498. Marshal, on the subject of repairing roads, observes, that the best service of the
surveyor is to keep their surfaces smooth and even ; so that rain-water may find a free
and ready passage to its proper drain. Ruts and hollow parts are to be filled up, level,
or even with the general surface, as often as they are formed. This attention is more
especially requisite to a new-made road, whose bed and foundation are not yet fully con-
firmed. But in every case, and at all times, a solicitous regard is due to this most im-
portant, yet most neglected part of road-surveying. Much expense of materials and
labor may thereby be saved, and the great end of road-making be fully obtained ;
namely, that of rendering the road, in all seasons, easy, safe, and pleasant to the
traveller.
3499. To keep a road in repair, Edgeworth observes, it will for some time require the
attention of the maker ; ruts will be continually formed in the loose materials : these
must be sedulously filled up, and a small sprinkling of river gravel should be added.
All stones larger than the rest should be removed and broken smaller, and no pains
should be spared to render the whole as compact and smooth as possible. At a moderate
distance from the capital, if no wheels of a smaller breadth tlian six inches, and if no
greater load than one ton on each wheel be permitted to pass on it, a road will last a
long time, and may be kept in constant repair, at a moderate yearly expense.
3500. The repair of a road which has been well made, or put into a good state of
repair, Paterson observes, requires attention more than expense. '* No more metals
ought to be used for the incidental repair of that road ever afterwards than is just equi-
valent to the decay of the road. And in order that the decay of the old, and of course
the supply of new metals may be as little as possible, it is of the greatest consequence
that the road never be allowed to get rutted ; for, besides the unpleasantness of such a
road to the traveller, it is a fact not generally thought upon, that the lateral rubbing of
the wheels into the ruts will wear and grind down more than the double of the metals
than if the road were smooth, and where the only friction of the wheels is that of rolling
over the metals. Besides, when a road is much rutted, it not only retains the water, and
consumes a greater quantity of metals (as hath been noticed) ; but the rubbing and jolt-
ing of the wheels into the ruts wears down the iron of the wheels, fatigues the beast of
draught, and also wears harness, &c. much sooner than when the road is smootli. All
these, and much more, are the bad effects of a rutted road. Having premised thus much
I shall next advert to the method to be adopted in order to keep the road free from ruts,
at as little expense and labor, aud with as few metals as possible.
3501. In order to prevent any road Jrom getting rutted, it is indispensable that it be kept free from water
by under drainage. No road, Paterson continues, that has any tendency to rut should be, for many days
together, from under the eye of one who has a general charge, and who is ready to withdraw a workman
to this or that part, as need may require.
35()2. So soon as newly-put-on metals begin to shift by the wheels, or form into ruts, thev should be imme-
diately replaced, every little ridge broken down, and every rut, hole, or inequality, tilled up ; and the
road kept in proper shape until the metals become bound and consolidated together. When the road is
attended to in this manner, it has the effiect too, of subjecting the whole of the metals to an equal latigue.
Every time that a little new metals are put on to fill up any hollow parts of the road, those parts being
then, from the new metals, a little rougher than the rest of the road, the horses naturally avoid travelling
on them for a while at first, until they have become a little smoother, or until the other parts begin to
get rutted. This shifting upon the road wears down the metals equally, and prevents those regular tracks
of the horse and of the wheels which would otherwise be the consequence. By adopting this method, it
will be found that less labor and fewer metals will be required in the course of the year, and the road will
always be in good order. But, on the other hand, to allow the road to get rutted, and then to fill these
ruts with new metals every time they get into this state, as is frequently done, raises the track of the
wheels, leaving hollow the track of the horse, and so gives the road a concave, instead of a convex, shajH;
ill the middle : this retains the water, and injures the road very much. The same thing occurs again
N n 2
54d PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
and the same process is'repeated ; and in this way the most extravagant quantity of metals may be put
on, and yet never have the road in good order.
5503. For the repair of an old road, the following directions are given by M'Adam,
in his Report to the Committee, ^c. of 1811, corrected how^ever to 1819. " No addition
of materials is to be brought upon a road, unless in any part it be found that there is
not a quantity of clean stone equal to ten inches in thickness.
5504. The stone alreadi/ on the road is to be loosened up and broken, so as no piece
shall exceed six ounces in weight. The road is then to be laid as flat as possible ; a rise
of three inches from the centre to the side is sufficient for a road thirty feet wide. The
stones, when loosened in the road, are to be gathered off by means of a strong heavy
rake, with teeth two and a half inches in length, to the side of the road, and there broken,
and on no account are stones to be broken on the road.
.S505. When the great stones have been removed, and none left in the road exceeding
six ounces, the road is to be put in shape, and a rake employed to smooth the surface,
which will at the same time bring to the surface the remaining stone, and will allow the
dirt to go down.
3506. When the road i$ so jyrqmred, the stone that has been broken by the side of
the road is then to be carefully spread on it : this is rather a nice operation, and the
future quality of the road will greatly depend on the manner in, which it is performed.
The stone must not be laid on in shovelsfull, but scattered over the surface, one shovel-
full following another, and spreading over a considerable space.
3507. Only a small space of road should be lifted at once ; five men in a gang should be
set to lift it all across; two men should continue to pick up and rake off the large stones
and to form the road for receiving the broken stone ; the other three should break stones ;
the broken stone to be laid on as soon as the piece of road is prepared to receive it, and
then break up another piece ; two or three yards at one lift is enough.
3508. The jn-oportioning the work among the five men must of course be regulated by
the nature of the road ; when there are many very large stones, the three breakers may
not be able to keep pace with the two men employed in lifting and forming, and when
there are few large stones the contrary may be the case ; of all this the surveyor must
judge and direct.
3509. But to lift and relay a road, even if the materials should have been originally
too large, would in many cases be highly unprofitable. The road between Cirencester
and Bath is made of stone too large in size, but it is of so friable a nature that in lifting it
becomes sand ; in this case I recommended cutting down the high places, keeping the
surface smooth and gradually wearing out the materials now in the road, and then re-
placing them with some stone of a better quality properly prepared.
35 10. A part of the road in the Bath district is in like manner made of freestone, which
It would be unprohtable to lift.
351 1. At Egham in Surrey, it was necessary to remove the whole road, to separate the
small portion of valuable materials from the mass of soft matter of which it was princi-
pally composed, which was removed at considerable expense, before a road could be
again made upon the site.
3512. Other cases of several kinds have occurred where a different method must be
adopted, but which it is impossible to specify, and must be met by the practical skill of
the officer whose duty it may be to superintend the repair of a road, and who must con-
stantly recur to general principles. These principles are uniform, however much circum-
stances may differ, and they must form the guide by which his judgment must be always
directed.
3513. When additional stone is wanted on a road that has consolidated by use, the old
hardened surface of the road is to be loosened with a pick, in order to make the fresh
materials unite with the old.
3514. Ruts. Carriages, whatever be the construction of their wheels, will make ruts
in a new-made road until it consolidates, however well the materials may be prepared, or
however judiciously applied; therefore a careful person must attend for some time after
the road is opened for use, to rake in the tracks made by wheels.
3515. The tools to be used are : strong picks, but short from the handle to the point,
for lifting the road ; small hammers of about one pound weight in the head, the face
the size of a new shilling, well steeled, with a short handle ; rakes with wooden heads,
ten inches in length, and iron teeth about two inches and a half in length, very strong for
raking out the large stones where the road is broken up, and for keeping the road smooth
after being relaid, and while it is consolidating ; very light broad-mouthed shovels, to
spread the broken stone and to form the road.
3516. Every road is to be made of broken stone jvithout mixture of earth, clay, chalk, or
any other matter that will imbibe water, and be affected with frost : nothing is to be laid
on the clean stone on pretence of binding ; broken stone will combine by its acute angles
rrj:i3
Book II. REPAIRING ROADS. * 549
into a smooth solid surface that cannot be affected by vicissitudes of weather, or dis-
placed by the action of wheels, which will pass over it without a jolt, and consequently
without injury."
3517. TelfordCs directions for repairing roads differ little from his instructions for
forming roads, already quoted. Where a road 448
has no solid and dry foundation, he bottoms
with soft stones or cinders, the former set by
hand with the broadest end down, in the form
of a neat pavement (fig. 448.); over this
foundation he, as usual, lays on six inches of
stones broken so as to pass through a ring, two inches and a half in diameter, &c.
3518. Where a road lias sonie foundation, but an imperfect one, or is hollow in the
middle, all the large stones appearing on the surface of it must be raised and broken ;
the eighteen centre feet of it must be so treated, and then covered with a coating of
broken stones, sufficient to give it a proper shape, and to make it solid and hard.
3519. Where a road already has a good foundation, and also a good shape, no materials
should be laid upon it but for the purpose of tilling ruts and hollow places, in thin layers
as soon as they appear. Stones broken small, as above described, being angular, will
fasten together. In this way a road when once well made, may be preserved in constant
repair at a small expense.
3520. Partial metalling. Where the breadth of that part of a road, which alone has
been formed of hard materials, and over which the carriages commonly pass, is less than
eighteen feet, it must be widened with layers of broken stones to that breadth, first
*^'gg^"g away the earth, and forming a bed for them with pavement and broken stones,
at least ten inches deep. Near large towns the whole breadth of the road- way should be
covered with broken stones.
3521. All labor by day tcages ought, as far as possible, to be discontinued in repairing
roads. The surveyors should make out specifications of the work of every kind that is
to be performed in a given time. This should be let to contractors, and the surveyors
should take care to see it completed according to the specifications, before it is paid for.
Attention to this rule is most essential, as in many cases not less than two-thirds of the
money usually expended by day labor is wasted.
3522. The best seasons for repairing roads is generally considered autumn and spring,
when the weather is moist rather than otherwise. B. Farey prefers laying on gravel
when the road is in a moist state, immediately after the road has had a scraping, in con-
sequence of there being upon the surface of the road a small quantity of dirty matter and
broken gravel, which then forms a sort of cement for the gravel to fix in.
3523. Walker considers the best season for repairing roads, to be the spring or very
early in the summer, when the weather is likely neither to be very wet nor dry, for both
of these extremes prevent the materials from consolidating, and therefore cause a waste of
them, and at the same time either a heavy or a dusty road ; but if done at the time he
has recommended, the roads are left in good state for the summer, and become con-
solidated and hard to resist the work of the ensuing winter.
3524. The seasons for repairing preferred by Palerson are also spring and autumn. " Al-
though it is proper," he says, " at all times of the year, to put on a little metals whenever
any hole makes its appearance, yet in the drought of summer tliis will seldom be neces-
sary. In summer, the roads are less liable to cut ; but if, at some places, a little fresh
metals may be necessary, no more should be put on than is barely sufficient to bring
those holes to the level of the rest of the road. Metals that are put on in tlie drought of
summer do not soon bind together. Until such time as there is rain sufficient to cause
them to bind, they will keep shifting and rolling about, and make a very unpleasant road to
travel on. The most proper times of the year to put on any quantity of metals are about
the months of October and April, as they always bind best when the road is neither too
wet nor too dry. When they are put on about the month of October they become firm
before vtinter ; and, with a little constant attention, the road will be easily kept in good
order until the spring : and if it has been the case that the road has not been sufficiently
attended to during the winter, and that it has got into a bad state towards the spring, by
putting on fresh metals about the month of April, sufficient to bring it into smooth sur-
face order, it will be very easily kept in this good state throughout the summer."
3525. M'Adam, on being asked, " Would you prefer repairing old roads in dry weather
or in wet Weather?" answers : " In wet weather always; I always prefer mending a road
in weather not very dry."
Nn3
550 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
Chap. V.
Of the Formation of Canals,
3526. Though the subject of canals is not included in that of agriculture, yet it is so inti-
mately connected with territorial improvement, that it would be improper in a work of
this description to pass it over. Canals of any extent are never the work of an individual,
but of public bodies, constituted and empowered by public acts; but it is of importance
to individuals to know the sort of effect which a canal passing through their property may
have, both on its appearance and value ; not merely as a medium of conveyance, but as
a source of population, of water for irrigation or mills, or the use of stock, and even as
an object of ornament. For this purpose we shall submit some remarks on the utility of
canals, the choice of lines, the powers granted to canal companies, and the mode of
execution.
Sect, I. Utility of Navigable Canals.
3527. Good roads, canals, and navigable rivers, Dr. Smith observes ( Wealth of Nations,
i. 229), by diminishing the expense of carriage, put the remote parts of the country
more nearly upon a level with those in the neighborhood of large towns ; and on that
account they are the greatest of all improvements. They encourage the cultivation of the
remote parts, which must always be the most extensive circle of the country. They are
advantageous to towns, by breaking down the monopoly of the country in its neighbor-
hood, and they are advantageous to all parts of the country ; for though they introduce
some rival commodities into the old markets, they open many new markets to its produce.
*'All canals," says an intelligent writer on this subject (See Phillips* s General History of
Inland Navigation, Introd. ) " may be considered as so many roads of a certain kind, on
which one horse will draw as much as thirty horses on ordinary turnpike roads, or on
which one man alone will transport as many goods as three men and eighteen horses usually
do on common roads. The public would be great gainers were they to lay out upon the
making of every mile of a canal twenty times as much as they expend upon a mile of turn-
pike road ; but a mile of canal is often made at a less expense than the mile of turnpike;
consequently there is a great inducement to multiply the number of canals."
3528. General arguments in favor of canals are superseded by the rapidly improving
and thriving state of the several cities, towns, and villages, and the agriculture also near
to most of the canals of the kingdom, the immense number of mines of coal, iron, lime-
stone, &c. and great works of every kind to which they have been conducted, and to
which a large portion of them owe their rise, are their best recommendation. In short,
it may be concluded, that no canal can be completed and brought into use, but the in-
habitants and the agriculture of the district will shortly feel great benefit from it, whatever
may be the result to the proprietors,
3529. The great advantages of canals as means of transjwrt results from the weight
which may be moved along by a small power. The velocity with which boats can be
drawn along a canal is confined within very narrow limits, owing, as Edgeworth has ob-
served, to the nature of the resistance to which they are exposed; this resistance increasing
in a geometrical proportion, as the squares of the velocity with which the moving body
is impelled. Whereas on roads or railways, an increase of velocity requires only an
arithmetical increase of power; or, in other words, to draw a boat with ten times a given
velocity, would require a hundred times as much power as was requisite to draw it with
that given velocity. Whereas, to draw a carriage on a road or railway with ten times
a given velocity, would require only ten times the given power. For this reason, how-
ever advantageous canals may have been found, for transporting heavy loads, they will be
found upon trial inferior to roads in promoting expedition.
3530. Canals appear to have been first made in Egypt. Though less attended to by the
Romans than roads, yet they formed some in this country near Lincoln and Peterbo-
rough. China is remarkable for its canals, and there are many in Hindostan. In Rus-
sia there are some and especially in Sweden ; one or two in Denmark ; some in Germany,
and a great many in Holland. The canal of Burgundy in France was commenced un-
der Henry IV. and that of Languedoc finished by Riquet, the Brindley of France, under
Louis XIV. Some attempts have been made to form canals in the hilly country of
Spain, and a great many excellent ones are executed in America.
3531. Navigable canals in Britain took their rise between 1755 and 1760, by the San-
key Brook Company in Lancashire; but the great impulse was given by the duke of
Bridgewater about 1 757 ; when he first commenced, under the direction of Brindley, the
canal between his coal-works at Worsley and Salford. The duke of Bridgewater has,
in consequence, not improperly been called the father of canals in England; while his
engineer, Brindley, by his masterly performances on the duke of Bridgewater's canal,
altered and extended as the scheme thereof was by the three subsequent acts of parlia-
Book II. CANALS. 551
ment, has secured to himself, and will it should seem (from a comparison of the great
features, and minutiae of execution in this the first canal, with most others in this country,
even of the latest construction,) long continue to hold that rank among the English en-
gineers, to which Riquet seems entitled among foreigners.
3532. Since the duke of Bi-idgewaters time the extension of canals in the British isles
has been rapid. A number of scientific engineers have arisen, of whom we need only
mention Smeaton, Rennie, and Telford, and point to the Caledonian canal.
Sect. II. Of discovering the most eligible Rout for a Line of Canal.
3533. The first object when the idea of a canal is determined on by a few landed pro-
prietors, is the choice of a skilful and experienced engineer. Such an artist should
undoubtedly possess a considerable degree of mathematical knowledge. Calculations,
of which some are of the most abstruse and laborious kind, will frequently occur ; and
he should, therefore, be well acquainted with the principles on which all calculations
are founded, and by which they are to be rightly applied in practice. An engineer
should also have studied the elements of most or all of the sciences immediately con-
nected with his profession ; and he should particularly excel in an acquaintance with
the various branches of mechanics, both theoretical and practical. His knowledge
should comprehend whatever has been written or done by other engineers, and he should
have information in every department of his office, from an accurate examination of the
most considerable works that have been executed in all the various circumstances that
are likely to occur. It is necessary that he should be a ready and correct, if not a
finished, draughtsman. He should also be conversant with the general principles of
trade and commerce; with the various operations and improvements in agriculture;
with the interests and connection of the different owners and occupiers of land, houses,
mills, &c. ; and with all the general laws and decisions of courts, pertaining to the ob-
jects connected with his profession. By an extensive acquaintance with the disposition,
inclination, and thickness of the various strata of patter which compose the soil or
land of the British islands, he will be able to avoid many errors incident to those who
are destitute of this knowledge. As the last, though not the least, of these qualifica-
tions of an engineer, which we shall enumerate, he should be a man of strict inte^
grity.
3534. A proper engineer being fixed upon, the adventurers should not tie him down too
closely, by restrictions as to time, but allow him leisure to consider, digest, and revise
again and again, the different projects and ways, which will naturally in most instances
present themselves to him in an extensive and thorough investigation, The engineer
should be allowed to choose and employ the most competent assistants, and to call in
and occasionally to consult the opinions of eminent or practical men, as land-surveyors,
agents of the neighboring landed property, the principal and most expert commercial
men of the district and who are best acquainted with its trade and wants, any eminent
miners, &c. &c. ; and such men the engineer should be authorised liberally, and at once
to remunerate for their -services and intelligence. Previous to the beginning of any
minute survey or system of levelling, the engineer ought to visit personally, and endea-
vour to make a just estimate, and preserve memorandums of all the objects within the
district under consideration ; as of the trade and importance of all the towns likely to be
affected by the undertaking ; of all mines of coal, iron, &c. ; quarries of limestone, free-
stone, slate, &c. ; or the situation where such can be found ; of all the manufactories of
heavy and cumbrous goods, and other extensive works ; and generally of every thing
likely to furnish tonnage for a canal. The most eligible rout for a canal being settled
in the engineer's mind, he will then proceed to make a rough calculation of the quantity
of goods of each different kind which may be expected to pass upon the line in a given
time ; he will also examine all the canals and rivers which the proposed canal is to con •
nect with, and ascertain the widths and depths thereof, the sizes of their locks, and of
the vessels usually navigating them.
3535. The dimensions, number, and kind of locks or inclined planes, length of levels,
&c. may now be determined on, and how far railways or brandi canals or roads may be
connected vvith the main line. Many engineers, and especially Fulton, have warmly
advocated the formation of small canals. On this subject. Chapman, a most judicious
artist observes, *< that the system of small canals is particularly eligible in all countries
where limestone, coal, iron ore, lead, and other ponderous articles, not liable to damage
from being wet, or likely to be stolen, are the objects chiefly to be attended to; and
where the declivity of the country runs transversely to the course of the canal, which will
generally be the case along the side of mountains, at an elevation above the regular
ground at their feet. In those situations, the great falls or inclined planes may be made
at the forks of rivers, so that the upper, levels may branch. up both the vales, and thus
give the most extended coramumcation. A situation suited for thosip canals will often
N n 4
'558 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
be found in countries that are not absolutely mountainous, but where the ground regu-
larly declines towards the vales or large rivers."
3536. A rovgh section of the proposed line will enable the engineer to see the places of
the heights and breadths of the various summits, or ranges of high land that are to be
passed, and whether any two or more adjacent ones can be connected by a long summit
level, without deserting any considerable town or point of trade, which will diminish the
difficulties of supplying the canal with water, as every such junction of summits preserves
the water of two lockages, beside presenting so many more points at which the canal can
be supplied with water, from springs and rivulets above its level, or where, in less favor-
able situations, the same can be collected in a lower level to be pumped up. From one
end of the proposed summit level it will be right now to proceed with the survey, tracing
the level accurately and marking the same by pegs or stakes, that will last for some time,
and be known by the surveyor, who is to follow and make a plan of the line ; the levels
being frequently transferred to what are called bench marks, upon the trunk of a tree, a
large post, or a building,. the same being noted so particularly in the field or survey book,
that they may be readily found for years afterwards. We suppose the engineers, by this
time, to have settled the rise that each lock should have, according to the dimensions
adopted for the canal, the probable supply of water on the summit, and other circum-
stances ; the summit level will be traced as above, till the proper place occurs for making
a fall of two or more locks, at about 100 yards, or a little more from each other; and the
places of these falls being marked, the level is again to be pursued and traced from the
bottom of them, and marked out as before, till the opportunity occurs for another pair or
more of locks, or till some obstacle, as a gentleman's park, houses, gardens, orchards,
mills, roads, &c. present themselves at a distance ; when it will be proper, after transfer-
ring the level arrived at to a proper and permanent mark, to proceed forwards, and to ex-
amine and well consider the different ways and levels, if more than one of such present
themselves, by which the obstacle can be passed. From the most confined part of the
course for the canal, owing to the obstacle, it will be right to level back, till the former
work is met, and to determine the most eligible mode of bringing the two levels together,
upon the principles before stated ; if they can be applied, either by adding another lock,
or taking one from any of the sets of them which had been before marked out, as occa-
sion may require, and marking out the new levels thereby occasioned : the line between
the summit and the first obstacle, or confined part of the course, being thus adjusted, a
new point of departure is to be taken from such obstacle, and the level pursued as before,
till the fall for a pair or more locks can be gained, at the proper distance from each other.
In this way, the patience, perseverance, and abilities of the engineer must be exercised,
until a practicable line of some length is obtained, and staked out ; when the assistant
land-surveyor must follow, and make a correct and particular plan of the line of the
several proposed locks, embankments, tunnels, &c. upon the same, and of the several
fields, or pieces of land through which it passes, or that come within 100 or 150 yards of
it in any part : it will likewise be the business of the surveyor to ascertain, with the ut-
most care, the boundary of every parish and township, what county each is in, the proper
names of the owners and occupiers of every piece of land in each, however small, upon or
■within that distance of the line, with reference to the same upon his plan ; and to describe
correctly all public and private roads and paths that cross or intersect the line, and to and
from what places they lead ; the course of all brooks or streams of water, and particular-
ly such as lead to and contribute to the supply of any mill : the situation of the houses
and towns upon the line, or within some miles of it, should also be determined; the
nearer they are the greater accuracy will be necessary. A complete plan of the line, and
all the projected collateral cuts, feeders, reservoirs, &c. being finished, the engineer will
enter on a most careful revisal of the whole scheme, with this plan in his hand ; on which
all the places where culverts or drains will be required, are to be marked, as also the pro-
per places for the bridges, and the necessary alterations of the roads and paths, which will
be cut oflTby the canal, so that the public will not be inconvenienced and turned long
distances round about, and still, that as few bridges as possible, and those in the least ex-
pensive places, may be erected. In some instances new channels will require to be cut
for brooks and water-courses, to a considerable extent, in order to save culverts, or bring
them to the most desirable spots. For proper security against accidental errors, the
whole of the levelling should now be gone over again, and the several bench marks com-
pared, and renewed with the utmost care by the engineer's assistants, while he is pro-
ceeding with the necessary inquiries and calculations, for an estimate of the whole expense
of the undertaking.
3537. The supplying of a canal ivith watery in a great number of instances, occasions
no inconsiderable share of the whole expense, either in the first cost of mills or streams
of water, in land for, and labor in, constructing reservoirs, engines to pump water, &c. ;
or annually ever afterwards, in tiie fuel for. and repairing of engines, hire of water from
mills in dry seasons, &c. ; this subject should, therefore, employ the most sedulous attcn-
Book II. CANAL COMPANIES. 553
tion of the engineer, both to make the most economical use of what streams he finds, to
procure other supplies of water at the least expense, but above all, to secure an abundant
sufficiency. The dimensions and heights of the locks, and breadth of the canal being
settled, an accurate calculation made of the quantity of water required to fill a lock ; and,
with the largest probable number of boats that will pass in a day, the quantity required
daily in every part of the canal ; this, with a due allowance for the evaporation, from the
surface of the wliole canal and its reservoirs, and for the soakage that will take place into
the banks, however well they are constructed ; will show the number of locks full of
water that will be required, from all the different sources.
3538. In estimating the expense of all such works, the lengths and solid contents of
the several embankments, and the distance from which the stuff or soil must be fetched
for the same ; the lengths and dimensions of all the deep cuttings, and the distance to
which the stuff must be removed ; the lengths of the tunnels, and number and depths of
the several shafts or tunnel pits will be necessary; the lengths or headings of soughs
that will be wanted to drain the tunnelling work ; these, and all the great variety of other
works, some of which we have already mentioned, and others we shall have occasion to
mention in the sequel, being particularly stated, and prices affixed to each species of work
and kind of material; (and these prices ought not to be below the current prices of the
best articles at the time, but due allowance should also be made for the advance of prices,
which will take place during the advancement of the work ;) the total probable expense,
with a due allowance for contingencies, will be thus obtained, on which the engineer will
prepare his general report and estimate, to be laid, with the plan, before a meeting of the
adventurers or proposed proprietors.
Sect. III. Of the Powers granted to Canal Companies by Government.
3539. As a canal must pass through a great variety of private property, and necessarily
affect different individuals in very opposite ways, considerable powers are requisite to
carry it into execution. The first step to attain these is the appointment of a solicitor,
and an application to parliament for an act of incorporation and regulation.
3540. A canal bill contains numerous clauses ; but the following may be considered
as the heads of the most general.
Regulations as to raising money by shares or other- Remov'mg the surface-soil, and clamping it, for
wise. the purpose of being again laid on the surface of the
Election of committees and general meetings of exterior banks of the canal ; or for other pur-
proprietors, poses.
Enact?nents relative to purchasing lands, &c. Forming watering places for cattle or irrigation.
Powers for erecting wharfs, and enforcing certain Begulations as to mills, S^c.
equitable rates of wharfage. Power to make bye-laws.
Tolls, or rates of tonnage, with exemptions, if any. Form of conveying land to the canal company.
Fixing milestones, for regulating distances and Begulations as to depositing plans of the canal,
tonnage. and making variations from them, &c.
3541. The act of parliament for a canal being passed, and therein the time and place
for the first meeting of the subscribers or proprietors thereof being fixed ; the first
business of such meeting will be the election of a general committee of management,
consisting of the most independent, respectable, and generally informed persons among
the proprietors. The committee of management will then proceed to elect a chairman
and subordinate officers ; to fix upon their place of meeting, and to arrange the order of
their business.
3.542. A resident engineer and land-surveyor and valuer should now be fixed on, and pro-
bably also a local or select committee : auditors of accounts will be appointed, and salaries
determined. The chief engineer will now revise the line, and divide it into different
parts, assigning names to each for convenient reference. Of these distinct parts, or divi-
sions, a separate account of the expenses should be strictly kept by the resident engineer,
the overseers, or counters, as they are generally called, that the engineer is to recom-
mend or employ upon the works, and by the office clerks in a ledger, with proper heads
for each length of canal, set of locks, tunnel, embankment, deep-cutting, reservoir,
aqueduct, or other great work, that may form a separate division : such particular and
divided accounts of the works will prove of the most essential service to the committee,
and to all others concerned, in informing and maturmg their judgment on the actual
or probable expense of every different kind of work ; and will enable the committee to
account to the proprietors how great, and sometimes unavoidable, as well as unexpected,
expenses may be incurred.
3543. Such lands as are wanted should now be treated for by the land-surveyor, and
the purchase and conveyance concluded with the approbation of the committee, and the
aid of the solicitor, with or without the aid of the sheriff and a jury, as the case may re-
quire. In general, the ground for reservoirs and locks ought to be the first purchased,
to permit the embankments and masonry to be proceeded with.
554
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Paui III.
Sect. IV. Of the Execution of the Works.
3544. The first operation of execution is the setting out of the work by the resident engi-'
neer and surveyor. He will trace and mark the levels accurately of each pound or level
reach of the canal, marking them veith stakes, and comparing his work with the bench
marks, and making two or more of the men who assist him perfectly acquainted with
their situations, in case they should be deranged by cattle or otherwise
3545. The calculations for excavation is the next part of execution. The great desi-
deratum in canal-digging is, that the stuff that is dug from one part of the work shall,
with the least labor or distance of moving, exactly supply or form the banks that are
to be raised in another, so that, on the completion of the work, no spoil banks, or banks
of useless soil, shall remain, or any ground be unnecessarily rendered useless by exca-
vations or pits. Six different cases will be found frequently to occur in the cutting
or forming a canal. In each case the towing-bank (fig. 449 a.), is wider than the ofl-
bank (b) ; and in all, the sides slope one and half feet for one foot in depth, that being
found the least slope which can be given.
3546. Where there is deep cutting on one side (c), or both (cZ, e), a bench or berra (c, e)
4rk9
is provided to retain and prevent the loose earth that may moulder down from the upper
bank from falling into the canal. The banks are usually made one foot higher than the
water is intended to stand in them.
3547. In. level cutting (fig. 449 a, i), the height of the canal should be so contrived,
that in any cross section the sum of the areas of the made banks (a, b) should just equal
that of tlie area of the section of excavation (i).
3548. In side-lying ground {fig. 449 c, ^nAfig. 450/), the same object may be attained
with a little extra calculation ; and in all other cases (g, h), the engineer will shew the
perfection of his skill in so conducting the line, that every embankment shall have deep
cutting at both, or at least at one of its ends, to furnish the extra stuff with least expense
in moving it ; in like manner, every deep cutting (rf, e) should have embankments at
one or both of its ends, to receive the extra stuff.
3549. Before cutting out the lock-spit, or small trench between the several slope holes,
as a guide to the men who are to dig, the engineer ought to cause holes to be dug in the
line of the canal, near every second or third level peg, or oftener, if the soil be variable,
in order to prove the soil to a greater depth, by two or three feet, than the cutting of the
canal is to extend ; and each of these the engineer ought carefully to inspect, in order to
determine what puddling or lining will be necessary ; and what will be the difficulties of
digging, owing to the hardness of the stuff, or to water that must be pumped out, &c. ;
all which circumstances, as well as the extra distance that any part of the stuff may re-
quire to be moved, must be well considered before the work can be let to the contractors.
3550. The puddling or lining of a canal, to make it hold water, is a matter of the
greatest importance, and we shall consider five cases that are likely to occur or present
themselves in the search into the soil that is to be dug, by sinking holes as above-
mentioned. The first case we suppose to be that in which the whole is clay, loam, or
other water-tight stuff; all soils that will hold water, and not let it soak or percolate
freely through them, are called water-tight. Our second case is that in which the
whole cutting will be in sand, gravel, loose or open rock, or any other matters that will
let water easily through them, and such are called porous soils or stuffs. The third
case, we suppose to have a thin stratum of water-tight stuff on the surface, and to have
porous stuff for a considerable depth below.. The fourth case may have porous stuff near
the surface, and water-tight stuff at the bottom of the canal. The fifth case is that
where water-tight stuff appears on the surface ; and below this a stratum of porous stuff,
but having again water-tight stuff' at no great distance below the intended bottom of the
canal. The new raised banks are always to be considered as porous stuff, as, indeed,
they will always prove at first, and in a great portion of soils they would ever remain so,
unless either puddling or lining was applied ; all ground that has been dug or disturbed,
must also be considered as porous. It should also be remarked, that any kind of soil
which is perforated much by worms or other insects, should, in canal digging, be consi-
dered as porous stuff.
Book II. EXECUTION OF CANALS. 555
3551. Puddle is not, as some have attempted to describe it, a kind of thin earth mor-
tar, spread on places intended to be secured, and suffered to be quite dry before another
coat of it is applied ; but it is a mass of earth reduced to a semifluid state by working
and chopping it about with a spade, while water, just in the proper quantity, is applied,
imtil the mass is rendered homogeneous, and so much condensed, that water afterward*
cannot pass through it, or but very slowly.
3552. The best puddling stiifh rather a lightish loam, with a mixture of coarse sand
or fine gravel in it ; very strong clay is unfit for it, on account of the great quantity of
water which it will liold, and its disposition to shrink and crack as this escapes ; vege-
table mould, or top soil, is very improper, on account of the roots and other matters,
liable to decay, and leave cavities in it ; but more on account of the temptation that these
afford to worms and moles to work into it, in search of their food. Where puddling stuff
is not to be met with, containing a due mixture of sharp sand, or rough small gravel
stones, it is not unusual to procure such to mix with the loam, to prevent moles and
rats from working in it ; but no stones larger than about the size of musket bullets ought
to be admitted.
3553. That the principal operation of puddling consists in consolidating the mass, is
evident from the great condensation that takes place ; it is not an imcommon case, where
a ditch is dug, apparently in firm soil, that though great quantities of water are added
during the operation, yet the soil that has been dug out will not more than two-thirda
fill up the ditch again, when properly worked as puddle. It should seem also, that
puddle is rendered by that operation capable of holding a certain proportion of water
with great obstinacy, and that it is more fit to hold than transmit water. It is so far from
true, that puddle ought to be suffered to get quite dry, that it entirely spoils, when by
exposure to the air it is too much dried ; and many canals which have remained unfilled
with water during a summer, after their puddling or lining has been done, have thereby
become very leaky, owing to the cracks in the puddle-ditches or lining. One of the first
cares of an engineer, when beginning to cut a canal, is to discover whether good puddling
stuff is in plenty, and if it be not, it must be carefully sought for, and carefully wheeled
out, or reserved wherever any is found in the digging ; or, perhaps, procured at consider-
able distances from the line, and brought to it in carts. It has happened in some stone
brash or loose rocky soils, that all puddling stuff for several miles of the line, required
to be brought to it ; but even this expense, serious as it may be, ought not to induce the
copying of those, who have left miles of such banks without puddling, and have made a
winter canal, but which no stream of water that is to be procured can keep full in the
summer months. It is usual in canal acts to insert a clause, for the security of the land-
owners, to require the company to cause all the banks that need it to be secured by pud-
dling, to prevent damage to the land below by leakage ; and it would have been well for
all parties, in many instances, if this clause had been enforced.
3554. History of puddling. It appears that the Dutch have been in the habit of mak-
ing mud ditches to secure the banks of their canals and embankments, from time im-
memorial ; and that, operations similar to our puddling have been long known on the
continent, but it is not clear at what period it was introduced into this country. We
think that the fens in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, in which so many works have at
different times been executed by Dutchmen, are the most likely places in which to
search for early evidence of its use. We cannot think that Brindley was the first who
ever used it in this country, although we might admit that the Bridgewater canal was
the first in which it was systematically used as at the present day. If we compare our
first, fourth, and fifth cases (3550.), we shall find in all of them a water-tight stratum,
as the basis ; and the practice in these cases is to make a wall of puddle, called a puddle-
ditch, or puddle -gutter, within the bank of the canal ; these puddle-gutters are usually
about three feet wide, and should enter about a foot into the water-tight stuflp, on which
they are always to be begun : and they should be carried up as the work proceeds,
to the height of the top water-line, or a few inches higher. Our second and third
cases (3550.), evidently will not admit of the above mode, because we have no water-tight
stratum on which to begin a puddle-gutter, as a bottom : in these cases, therefore, it
is usual to apply a lining of puddle to the sides and bottom of the canal.
3555. Adjustment of materials. Canals set out with the care that we have recom-
mended, will always have the proper quantity of stuff to allow for the settlement of the
banks, since the united sections of the loose banks will always equal the section of ex-
cavation in the same settled or consolidated state, in which it was before the digging
commenced. The slopes of made banks, it is to be observed, on account of their
settling, should be steeper in the first instance than they are ultimately required
to be.
3556. The letting of the cutting of certain lengths of the canal to contractors, who
will employ a number of navigators under them, in digging and puddling the canal,
is the next business. It is usual to let the work at a certain price per cubic yard of
556 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
digging, and to pay for the puddling or lining either at a certain price per cubic yard,
or per yard run of the canal. The engineer ought to inform himself thoroughly of
the difficulties and facilities which attend the work he is about to let, and to draw up
a short but explicit contract to be signed by the contractor. The prices allowed
ought to be fair and liberal, according to the circumstances, so that the contractor may
have no pretence, on account of low prices, to slight his work, particularly the pud-
dling; and they ought in every instance to be strictly looked after; and made to undo
and renew immediately any work that shall be found improperly performed. We
recommend it to the engineer to keep a strict account, by means of his overseers or
counters, of all the men's time that are employed upon the works ; distinguishing par-
ticularly the number upon each work, and whether employed by the day, under the
company, or upon the work that is let to contractors. These particulars are most es-
sential towards knowing what money ought to be advanced to the contractor during the
progress of his job, and towards informing and maturing the judgment of the engineer,
in the length of time that a certain number of men will be in performing any future
work be may have to direct ; and a calculation ought to be made in every instance of
the day-work, and compared with the contract price, by which alone a correct judgment
can be formed of the proper prices at which work ought afterwards to be let, so that the
laborers may receive proper wages, proportionate to their exertions, and the contractor
be amply paid for his time, skill, and superintendance ; and yet economy, and the in-
terest of the company, be duly consulted.
3557. Barrows and wheeling planks, horsing blocks, and other implements, are
generally found by the company ; and it is usual to consider twenty to twenty -five yards
to be a stage of wheeling, and a price per cubic yard to be fixed according to the
number of stages that the soil is to be moved : where this distance exceeds 100 yards,
it will not often be eligible to perform it by wheel-barrows : and runs of plank with an
easy descent, if the same is practicable, should be laid for large two-wheeled barrows,
or trucks to be used thereon.
3558. Where the line of a canal is to cross an extensive stratum of valuable brick earth,
or one of good gravel for making of roads, it will often be advisable, especially if the
line can be rendered more direct thereby, when setting out the canal, to cut pretty deep
into such materials, and even quite through the gravel,, if the same is practicable ; for
although considerable expense will in the first instance be incurred in digging and in
damage done for spoil banks, yet such materials as good brick earth and gravel, will in
almost every instance find a market as soon as the canal is opened. Such a situation of
the canal may prove of essential service to its trade, by enabling the adjoining pro-
j)rietors to work the whole thickness of their brick earth, gravel, or other useful
matters, and destroy but very little of the surface of the ground, and without being
annoyed by water, but which the canal would catch in very considerable quantities,
perhaps, instead of losing water by preserving a high level through porous stuff". In
districts where stone and gravel for making and repairing of roads are scarce, it will be
proper to pay the laborers certain rates per cubic yard for all the stones or gravel that
they may collect out during the work, and stack in proper places ; as resources for
making of the towing-path, and for making good the landing or ascent to the several
bridges, and the several pieces of new road that the engineer will have to form,
near to the canal bridges ; the lock banks, and all wharfs and landing places, should
also be covered with good gravel to render them safe and convenient for use : if
good gravel can in places be intersected in deep cuttings, much of the above expense,
as well as of cartage, may be saved, by an early use of dirt boats in the bottom of the
canal.
3559. How important and various the duties of the resident engineers are, must have
struck every reader ; but would be much more apparent, could we enter into the subject
of reservoirs, feeders, aqueducts, embankments, culverts, safety gates, weirs, tunnels,
deep cuttings, locks, substitutes for locks, inclined planes, railways, bridges, towing-
paths, fences, drains, boats, towing or moving boats and trams, cranes and implements ;
but these, as less important for our purpose, we must leave the reader to study in the
works of Philips, Fulton, Chapman, Plymley, Badeslade, Kindersly, Anderson,
Telford, and from the article Canal, in the three principal Encyclopaedias.
Chap. VI.
Of the Improvement of Estates by the Establishment of Mills, Manufactories, Villages,
Markets, ^c.
3560. Connected with the laying out of roads and canals, is the establishment of different
scenes of viantfactorial industry. The forced introduction of these will be attended
Book II. MILLS, VILLAGES, &c. 557
with little benefit ; but where the natural and political circumstances are favorable, the
improvement is of tlie greatest consequence, by retaining on the same estate, as it were,
the profits of tlie grower, manufacturer, and to a certain extent of the consumer.
3561. The establishment o/" ?m7/5 and manufactories to be impelled by water, neces-
sarily depends on the abundance and situation of that material, and it should be well
considered before hand, whether the water might not be as well employed in irrigation ;
or how far irrigation will be hindered by the establishment of a mill. In the state of
society in which water corn-mills were first erected, they were doubtlessly considered as
a blessing to the country. There were, then, no flour manufactories : and it was more
convenient for the inhabitants to carry their corn to a neighboring mill, than to grind
it less effectually, by hand, at home. Hence, the privileges and immunities of manorial
mills. To secure so great a comfort, every tenant of a manor would willingly agree to
send his corn to be ground at the lord's mill : and, perhaps, was further obliged to
stipulate to pay toll for the whole of his growth ; though it were sent out of the manor,
unground.
3562. Ill Scotland^ this impolitic, and now absurd custom, was only lately given up :
till when no farmer dared to send his corn to market, until he had delivered a propor-
tional quantity to the proprietor, or the occupier, of the mill to which he was thirled ; or
had previously stipulated to pay him thirlage, for what he might send away ; this
arbitrary regulation operating like tithes, to decrease the growth of corn.
3563. In England and Ireland, however, no restriction of this sort at present exists.
But, in the remote parts of the north of England, there are mills which claim (or lately
claimed) the exclusive right of grinding the whole of the corn which the inhabitants of
the respective parishes or manors required to be ground, for their own use : suffering
none to be sent out of the parish, for the purpose of grinding. And in the more
western counties, where grist mills are still the schools of parochial scandal, something
of this sort remains, and is piously preserved in modern leases. But, in the kingdom
at large, grist mills are now going fast into disuse. Even working people purchase
flour, instead of corn ; and, whether in a private or a public light, this is an eligible
practice. They can purchase a sort which is suited to their circumstances ; and they
know the quality and the quantity of what they carry home. Whereas, in the proverbial
rascality of grist millers, they have no certainty as to either. Beside, in a flour mill
there is no waste. Every particle may be said to be converted to its proper use.
3564. A valuable iwojierty belonging to modem Jtour manufactories is their not re-
quiring every brook and rivulet of the kingdom to work them. In Norfolk, a great
share of the wheat grown in that corn county, is manufactured into flour by the
means of windmills. And such are modern inventions, that neither wind, nor water, is
any longer necessary to the due manufacture of flour ; the steam engine affording, if
not the most eligible, the most constant and equable power.
3565. The most eligible species of water-mill, are the tide-mill, and the current-mill :
the former placed in creeks, inlets, bays, estuaries, or tide rivers ; and the latter in the
current of a river. .There are many situations, Marshal observes, in which these species
of mills may be erected with profit to proprietors, and the community; and without an
injury to the landed property, or the agricultural produce of the country. He is of
opinion, that the numerous river mills existing in different parts of the country, are
unnecessary to the present state of society.
3566. Grist mills in some remote situations, may be still required : but seeing the
number of flour mills which are now dispersed over almost every part of the kingdom,
seeing also the present facility of carriage, by land and water, and seeing, at the same
time, , the serious injuries which river mills entail on agriculture. Marshal recom-
mends land proprietors to reduce their number, as fast as local circumstances will
allow.
3567. The inducement to establish manifactories depends on a variety of circum-
stances, as well as on a supply of water. Among these may be mentioned the price of
labor, convenience for carriage, export or import, existence of the raw material at or near
the spot, as in the case of iron works, potteries, &c. In England, while the poor laws
exist, the establishment of any concern that brings together a large mass of population
will always be attended with a considerable risk to land owners; though it is a certain mode,
in the first instance, of raising the price of land, and giving a general stimulus to every
description of industry.
3568. A pojmlous vianxfactory, even while it florishes, according to Marshal, operates
mischievously in an agricultural district: by propagating habits of extravagance and im-
morality among the lower order of tenantry, as well as by rendering farm laborers and
servants dissatisfied with their condition in life ; and the more it florishes, and the higher
wages it pays, the more mischievous it becomes in this respect. Lands bear a rental value
in proportion to the rate of living, in the district in which they lie; so that while a tem-
55S PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
porary advantage is reaped, by an increased price of market produce, the foundation of
a permanent disadvantage is laid ; and whenever the manufactory declines, the lands
of its neighborhood have not only its vices and extravagancies entailed upon them ; but
have the vicious, extravagant, helpless manufacturers themselves to maintain. This accu-
mulation of evils, however, belongs particularly to that description of manufacture which
draws numbers together in one place ; where diseases of the body and the mind are jointly
propagated; and where no other means of support is taught than that of some particular
branch or branchlet of manufacture.
3569. Cottages. Wherever cottages for any class of men are built, whether singly or
congregated, they ought never to be without an eighth or a tenth of an acre of garden
ground. It is observed in The Code of Agriculture, that "where a laborer or country
tradesman has only a cottage to protect him from the inclemency of the weather, he can-
not have the same attachment to his dwelling, as if he had some land annexed to it;
nor is such a state of the laborer so beneficial to the community, When a laborer
has a garden, his children learn to dig and weed, and in that manner some of their
time is employed in useful industry. If he is possessed of a cow, they are taught
early in life, the necessity of taking care of cattle, and acquire some knowledge of
their treatment. But where there is neither a garden to cultivate, nor any cows kept,
they are not likely to acquire either industrious or honest habits. So strongly were
these ideas formerly prevalent, that by the 43d of Elizabeth, no cottage could be built on
any waste, without having four acres attached to it. This is now by far too much. If
the quantity were reduced to half an acre for a garden, and if no person could gain a set-
tlement who was not a native, or, if a stranger, who did not fairly rent in the same parish,
a house and land worth twenty, instead of ten pounds per annum, both the poor and the
public would thence derive very essential benefit.
3570. Cottagers in England have often no land or garden, but a right of common.
This is of little or no real benefit to them, unless to obtain fuel, the advantage of which
is great, and not easily compensated. With a common-right for a cow, or a few sheep,
cottagers get an idea of visionary independence, which renders them unfit for the duties
of their station. A laborer of this description is entirely spoiled for industry, and the
generality of experienced persons in country matters must have seen many cases in point.
Forest-side cottages in particular, are nurseries of idleness, and seminaries of mischief.
In some cases, the cottager has good summer pasture, or can hire it in the neighborhood,
and can raise, on arable land in his occupation, turnips and other winter food for a cow.
This plan is adapted to countries, where there is a mixture of arable and grazing land ;
but it is objected to, in the more cultivated districts, as taking up too much of the time
of the laborer.
3571 . The most advantageous system for keeping a cottage cow is that adopted in grazing
districts, where a cottager has a suflRcient quantity of enclosed land in grass, to enable
him to keep one or two cows both summer and winter, grazing the one half, and mowing
the other, alternately. Nothing tends more materially to teach the poor honesty, than al-
lowing them to have property which they can call their own. Feeling how intensely they
would deprecate all infringement upon it, they are less likely to make depredations upon
the property of others ; and this will produce more honesty among them than the best
delivered precepts can instil. By the cultivation of a small spot of land, a cottager not
only acquires ideas of property, but is enabled to supply himself with that variety of food,
as fresh vegetables in summer, and roots in winter, which comfort and health require. If
he should fortunately be able to keep bees in his garden, and if its surplus produce should
also enable him to rear, and still more to fatten a hog, his situation would be much ame-
liorated. But if, in addition to all these advantages, he can keep a cow, the industrious
cottager cannot be placed in a more comfortable situation.
3572. Cottages and villages necessarily result from manufactories, as well as from ex-
tensive mines, quarries, or harbours. A ievf cottages will necessarily be scattered over
every estate, to supply day laborers and some descriptions of country tradesmen. Villages
are seldom, in modern times, created by an agricultural population; it being found so
much more convenient for every farm to have a certain number of cottages attached to it.
3573. A village may be created any where, by giving extraordinary encouragement to
the first settlers ; but unless there be a local demand for their labor, or they can engage
in some manufacture, the want of comfortable subsistence will soon throw the whole into
a state of decay. Fishing villages, and such as are established at coal and lime works,
are perhaps the most thriving and permanent in the kingdom. Some fine examples of
fishing villages, recently established, occur on the marquess of Stafford's estates in
Sutherland.
3574. Informing the plan of a town or village, the first thing, if there is a river or other
means of communication by water, is to fix on a proper situation for a quay or harbour ;
and next, at no great distance from it, an open space as a market. Round the latter
ought to be arranged the public buildings, as the post-office, excise or custom-house,
Book II.
COTTAGES, VILLAGES, &c.
559
police-office, the principal inn and the principal shops. Near the harbour ought to be
placed the warehouses and other depositaries for goods : In a retired part of the town the
school ; and out of town on an eminence (if convenient) the church and churchyard.
There ought to be a field or open space as a public recreation ground for children, volun-
teers or troops exercising, races, washing and drying clothes on certain days, &c. Pub-
lic shambles ought to be formed in a retired and concealed spot, and public necessaries,
and proper pipes, wells or other sources of good water, with the requisite sewers and
drainage. Buckets, in case of fire, ought to be kept at the market-house.
3575. The village of Bridekirk on the Annan, in Dumfrieshire [Jig. 451.), was begun
451
in 1 800, by Gen. Dirom, and is thus described by him in the survey of the county. " It is
situated at a part of the river, which affords falls and power, capable of turning any weight
of machinery ; and I have had it in view to give encouragement to manufacturers, to
whom such a situation is an important object. A woollen manufactory (a) upon a large
scale, and the most approved plan, has been established there for ten years, and is gradu-
ally increasing its machinery. In this village there are already, in the course of that time,
about two hundred arid fifty industrious inhabitants, and it has every appearance of a fur-
ther rapid increase. On the opposite side of the river a situation is fixed on for corn-mills
{b) , where a complete set has been built upon the best construction, including wheat and
barley mills. Half of the water there is reserved for any other works, and is likely to be
let for a mill for dressing and for spinning flax, and for machinery required in bleaching,
there being at the foot of the mill-race a holme of six acres (c), well calculated for a
bleach field ; and I propose to let part of it for such a manufactory.
3576. Tlie lots for building and gardens in the village, each consisting of from nine to
ten falls of ground, are granted in perpetuity at the rate of six pounds the English acre,
either upon leases for 999 years, or feu-rights, as the settlers choose: the former being
generally preferred, as being the holding or title, attended with least expense. This rent
would of itself be no object when the waste of ground in streets and enclosures is consi-
dered ; but the great advantage to be derived from such an establishment is the increased
value that lands acquire from having a number of industrious people settled in the heart
of an estate. Each person who feus a house-stead is obliged to build with stone and
lime, according to a regular plan ; and a common entry is left between every two lots for
access to their oflSces, which are built immediately behind their houses ; and the whole of
the buildings are covered with slate. The feuers are also bound to make a common sewer
through their property when required ; to pave ten feet in front of their houses, between
them and the street; and to pay at the rate of a penny per fall yearly, according to the
extent of their lots, to form a fund for keeping the streets and roads in repair, and for
making small improvements. No person is allowed to sell liquor of any kind without
my permission; nor can ^ny shop or chandlery, tannery, or other work, that might be
considered as a nuisance, be set up or built, unless in places allotted for these purposes ; and
to prevent all interference ojj the part of the feuers, I reserve to myself full liberty to
560
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
make such alterations as may appear to me or my successors to be proper in the plan of
the village. These regulations are the best security against having vagabonds in such a
place, as none but industrious people can afford to build or rent such houses."
3577. A new village sea-port in Devonshire was formed by Sir Lawrence Palk, in the
northernmost part of Torbay. A new pier, projected south-westwardly from the eastern
cliff, affords complete protection to shipping from the south-east winds. The regularity
of the buildings lately raised for the accommodation of company resorting hither for the
convenience of sea-bathing, adds neatness and beauty to the wild and picturesque scenery
of its natural situation ; and, from the size of the vessels the harbour is now capable of
protecting whilst they receive and discharge their cargoes, there are well-grounded ex-
pectations that this place will become of some maritime consequence on a future day. A
plan of this sea-port (fig. 452.) is given in the Devon Survey, and is described as con-
452
taining a pier (1), quay (2), harbour (3), warehouses (4), inn and garden (5), stables (6),
strand (7), cove for building ships and timber yard (8), beacon (9), cove for bathing ma-
chines (10), new carriage way to the park (11), terrace (12), the park (13), plantation
(14), road to Torwood (15), road from Newton, &c. (16), meadows (17), circus in
the park (18i.
Chap. VII.
Of Mines, Quarries, Pits, and Metalliferous Bodies.
3578. Against mines, as a species of property, considerable prejudice has long existed
from the variation of their produce, and the uncertainty of their extent and duration.
Modern discoveries in geology, however, have thrown great light on the subject of mining,
and introduced into the art a degree of certainty not before contemplated. As a proof of
this, we may instance what used to be said as to coal and limestone : these minerals, ac-
cording to tradition, exist in various parts of the island, where from the strata on the sur-
face the modern geologist well knows it is impossible.
3579. Among the various mineral substances found in quantity in Britain, the chief are
coal, lime, building and other stone, gravel, clay, fuller's earth, marl, &c. among the
earths; salt, among saline substances; and lead, copper, and tin, among the metals. Co-
balt, manganese, and some other metals and earths, are found in some places, but in small
quantities. No saline or metalliferous bodies ought to be sought for, or attempted to be
worked, but with the advice and assistance of an experienced and skilful mineral surveyor :
nothing being more common than for proprietors to be induced by local reports or tra-
ditions to fancy their lands contain coal, lead, or some other valuable subterraneous pro-
Book II. QUARRIES, LIME-KILNS, &c. 561
duct, and to incur great expense in making abortive trials. To ascertain the nature atid
value of the minerals of an estate of any magnitude, or one of small size, but of peculiar
exterior organization, it will alwaysbe worth while for the proprietor to have a mi-
neral survey, map, and description, made out by a professional man.
3580. Coal is perhaps the most valuable British mineral, because, among other reasons,
it does not appear to abound in any other country in such quantity and quality, as ever to
lessen by importation the home produce. There are three species of coal, the brown,
the black, and the uninflammable. To the first belongs the Bovey coal or bitumenised
wood, found chiefly at Bovey, near Exeter ; to the second the slate coal, which includes
the pit and sea-coal, and all the kinds in common use, and also the canal coal, which
occurs only occasionally in the coal pits of Newcastle, Ayrshire, and Wigan, in Lanca-
shire ; to the third belongs the Kilkenny coal, and Welsh culm, or stone coal which burns
to ashes without flaming.
3581. The indications of coal are different in different coal districts. In general the
surface is argillaceous or slaty, and limestone commonly forms an accompanying strata.
In some collieries near Newcastle, however, limestone is wanting, but whinstone, sand-
stone, and others of secondary formation, are present in a great variety of forms.
3582. The discovery of coal is made by boAng, and that operation is generally per-
formed in coal districts as a guide for sinking new shafts. By this means the owners
procure most essential data on which to proceed, being informed beforehand of the na-
ture of the earth, minerals, and waters through which they have to pass; and knowing,
to an inch or so, how deep the coal lies, as well as the quality and thickness of the stratum
bored. It is confessedly of the first importance, either to the inhabitants of a district in
general, or to the owners of the soil in particular, to be able to detect and work such
veins of coal as may exist under their soil ; and hence, we find, on enquiry in the neigh-
borhood, that almost every common, moor, heath, or piece of bad land, in parts where
coals are scarce, have at one time or other been reported by ignorant coal -finders to contain
coal : how many times, for instance, have our grandmothers, and nurses, repeating their
stories, told us, that plenty of coals might be dug at such and such a place, if government
had not prohibited their being dug, for encouraging the nursery for seamen, 8i,c. ? Farcy's
inquiries, and those of Smith, have brought to light hundreds of instances, where borings
and sinkings for coals have been undertaken in situations, and on advice, in the southern
and eastern parts of England ; attended with heavy, and sometimes almost ruinous ex-
penses to the parties, though a source of profit to the pretended coal-finders. These
attempts a very slight degree of geological knowledge would have shown to be vain.
3583. The coal fields of Britain will be found scientifically described in Outlines of
Geology, by Conybeare and Philips, and also in BakewelVs Geology.
3584. Limestone, chalk, and building or other stone, are found in strata either on or
near the surface. At a great depth it is seldom found worth while to work them.
When stones of any kind are procured by uncovering the earth, and then working them
out, they are said to be quarried ; but when a pit or shaft is sunk, and the materials are
procured by working u^nder ground, they are said to be mined.
3585. Gravel, chalk, clay, marl, and other loose matters, when worked from the surface,
are said to be worked from a pit, and hence the terms stone, quarry, gravel, clay, or
marl pit. Little knowledge of geology is in general required for the discovery of gra-
vel or marl ; but still, even a little would be found of the greatest advantage.
3586. The working of quarries is a simple operation, and one depending more on
strength than skill. In quarrying sandstone, consisting of regular layers, the work is
performed chiefly by means of the pick, the wedge, the hammer, and the pinch or lever ;
recourse being seldom had to the more violent and irregular effects of gunpowder. But
for many kinds of limestone, and for greenstone and basalt, blasting with gunpowder
is always resorted to ; and some of the rocks called primitive, such as granite, gneiss,
and sienite, could scarcely be torn asunder by any other means.
3587. The burning of lime may be considered as belonging to the subject of quarrying.
This operation is performed in what are called draw kilns, or perpetual kilns. Tliese
should always be close to or near the quarry, and either situated at a bank, or furnished
with a ramp or inclined plane of earth for carting up the coal and lime to the top of the.
kiln. Lime-kilns may he built either of stone or brick ; but the latter, as being better
adapted to stand excessive degrees of heatj is considered as preferable. Tlie outside
form of such kilns is sometimes cylindrical, but more generally square. The inside
should be formed in the shape of a hogshead, or an egg, opened a little at both ends, and
set on the smallest ; being small in circumference at the bottom, gradually wider to-
wards the middle, and then contracting again towards the top. In kilns constructed in
this way, it is observed, fewer coals are necessary in consequence of the great degree of
reverberation, which is created above that which takes place in kilns formed in the shape
of a sugar loaf reversed. Near the bottom, in large kilns, two or more apertures are
O o
S62 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
made ; these are small at the inside of the kiln, but are sloped wider, both at the sides
and the top, as they extend towards the outside of the building. The uses of these aper-
tures are for admitting the air necessary for supplying the fire, and also for permitting the
laborers to approach with a drag and shovel to draw out the calcined lime. From the
bottom of the kiln within, in some cases, a small building called a horse is raised in the
form of a wedge, and so constructed as to accelerate the operation of drawing out the
burned limestone, by forcing it to fall into the apertures which have been mentioned
above. In other kilns of this kind, in place of this building there is an iron gate near
the bottom, which comes close to the inside wall, except at the apertures where the lime
is drawn out. When the kiln is to be filled, a parcel of furze or faggots is laid at the
bottom, over this a layer of coals, then a layer of limestone (which is previously broken
into pieces, about the size of a man's fist), and so on alternately, ending with a layer of
coals, which is sometimes, though seldom, covered with sods or turf, in order to keep
the heat as intense as possible. The fire is then lighted in the apertures ; and when the
limestone towards the bottom is completely calcined, the fuel being considerably ex-
hausted, the limestone at the top subsides. The laborers then put in an addition of
limestone and coal at the top, and draw out at bottom as much as they find thoroughly
burned; and thus go on, till any quantity required be calcined. When limestone is
burned with coals, from two bushels and a half to three and a half, on a medium three
bushels of calcined limestone, are produced for every bushel of coal used.
3588. ji very complete lime-kUn on an improved plan, has been erected at Closebum
in Dumfrieshire, by Monteith. Instead of the wide and shallow circular kiln, these
kilns are elliptical and deep. Some parts are added to it which are found of most im-
portant use. The first is a kind of roof or cover. The disadvantage of the want of some
contrivance to protect kilns in stormy weather, has been long felt, and many attempts
have been made to apply some kind of cover, but, we believe, none with such success as
that used at Closeburn. The next addition is having cast-iron doors below, at the
opening where the kiln is drawn. There is a grating, through which the ashes fall
while drawing the kiln, which makes that operation a much less disagreeable employment
than formerly ; and the ashes and small lime thus separated are excellent for agricultural
purposes. There is often a great loss of fuel, from allowing lime-kilns to cool when
there is no demand ; all that is necessary to be done, is, to shut the cast-iron doors, above
as well as below, and the dampers in the chimneys. The heat is thus preserved, and
fuel saved, by keeping the kiln hot, to be ready for use as soon as wanted. {Farm. Mag,
vol. xvi. p. 134.)
3589. Booker's lime-kHn is of an oval form, twenty -two feet high, two feet wide at
the bottom, nine feet in middle, and gradually contracted to three feet at top. It is
lined with brick, and, instead of being covered with a dome, Booker adopts a cover of
cast-iron with a vent in it, which cover is placed on a ring of three feet diameter, built
into, and fixed on the top of the kiln. The cover, by moving on a pivot, is easily
thrown off when the kiln is to be charged, and being put on during the process of cal-
cination, it both increases the draught of air through the kiln, and by acting as a rever-
beratory furnace, is attended with a considerable saving of fuel. {Dumfries Beport,
p. 594.)
3590. Burning lime in heaps. Where fuel is abundant, lime may be burned in heaps
as in charring woods, or in clumps like bricks. The fuel is intermixed, and the
whole covered wjth turf or mud, in which a few holes are piereed to admit the passage of
the smoke. (Farm,. Mag. vol. xvii. p. 61.)
3591 . Machines for pounding li7nestone have been erected, but the effect of the powder
so obtained, both as a manure and for cement, is so much inferior to that of burnt lime,
that they have long since been generally laid aside.
3592. Salt is procured from rocks, springs, and from the sea. In Cheshire, particu-
larly in the neighborhood of Northwitch, the salt works are very extensive. Great quan.
titles are got in the solid form, but not sufficiently pure for use. In this state it is con-
veyed from the mines to the Cheshire side of the river, nearly opposite to Liverpool.
It is at this place dissolved in the sea water, from which it is afterwards separated by
evaporation and crystallization, by a process which we shall describe. There are also in
the same district salt works, at which the salt called Cheshire salt is extracted from
brine. These works are described very intelligibly by Dr. Holland, in The Bejmrt of
Agriculture for the County of Cheshire. Considerable salt works are carried on in Scot-
land, and in the northern counties of England on the sea-coast, by the evajmralion of sea
water. At Lymington, in Hampshire, the sea water is evaporated to one-sixth of the
whole by the action of the sun and air. The works in which the sea water is heightened
into brine are called sun-works," or out- works. These are constructed on a flat down
or oozy beach, within a mole, which is raised, if necessary, to keep out the sea ; there is
a large reservoir, or feeding pond, communicating with the sea by a sluice, and adjoin-
ing to this reservoir a long trench, parallel to which there are several square ponds, called
Book II. MARINE FISHERIES. 56ii
brine pots, in wliich the water is evaporated to a strong brine, and afterwards it under^
goes an artificial evaporation and purification in boilers. (See 372.)
3593. T/ie metalliferous ores or stones should never be sought after, but in consequence
of the best advice and mature consideration. " Few," Marshal observes, '< have made
fortunes by mines, and many have been ruined by them." Should a man of large landed
property, discover a productive mine on his estate, he offers him *' two words of advice.
The first is not to work it himself. A gentleman among miners is a pigeon to be plucked.
Rather let the man who finds himself involved in such a predicament adopt the Cornish
practice, and stipulate to take a proportional part of the ore which may be raised : ac-
cording to the productiveness of the mine, and the expense of working it, jointly calcu-
lated. The other is not to break in upon the principal, or gross sum, which arises from
a mine. If the estate is encumbered, remove the encumberance. If not, increase its
size ; or, in any other prudent way, secure the interest of the gross produce of tlie mine :
and thus defy the evil effects of its failure. For no mine is inexhaustible."
Chap. VIII.
Of the Establishment of Fisheries.
3594. Fisheries may be arranged as marine, river, lake, and pond fisheries : the first
being of the greatest importance to this and every country.
Sect. I. Of Marine Fisheries.
3595. The importance of imjrroving the marine fisheries to an insular country, like
Britain, is sufficiently obvious. By their augmenting the quantity of food, there would
necessarily result a reduction in the prices of all the necessaries of life ; the condition of
the laboring poor, the artificers, and tradespeople would as necessarily be improved : they
would not only be the means of rearing and supporting a bold and hardy race of men for
the defence of the sea-coast, but also of creating a nursery of excellent seamen for the
navy in time of war, and of giving them employment when peace may render their
further services unnecessary. If the fisheries florished to that extent of which they
appear to be capable, every sea-port town and little village on the coasts, or on the
banks of the creeks and inlets, would become a nursery of seamen. It was thus
in Holland, where the national and natural advantages were very inferior to those
of Great Britain ; for it is well observed, in the report of the Down's Society, that
Holland produces neither timber, iron, nor salt, all of which are essential to fisheries, and
all the natural produce of Great Britain ; that Holland has no herrings on her own coast,
while the coasts of our island abound with them and other fish, at different and all sea-
sons of the year; 'so that there are few, if any, months in which shoals of this fish in
particular are not found on some part of our shores ; and that her population is under
3,000,000, while ours amount to about 1 8,000,000, giving to our fishermen six times the
consumption of a home market that the Dutch have. With all the impediments to an
extended use of fish in the home market, and notwithstanding the established character
which the Dutch fish have always borne among foreign nations, it is consoling to find that
the British fisheries are generally in a progressive state of improvement, and more par-
ticularly that most important of all their branches, the herring fishery.
3596. The rapid progress of the herring Jishen/ shows, that there is no art or mystery
in the catching and curing of herrings, that the English cannot accomplish as well as the
Dutch, which is further proved by the successful experiment made by the Down's Society
of fishermen ; in the report of whose proceedings it is stated, that herrings liad been taken
within the Cinque Ports of a quality so nearly resembling the deep sea fish, that they were
cured and sold as the best Dutch herrings. The progressive increase of the herring fishery
is confined to Scotland ; the quantity brought under the inspection of the officers in Eng-
land amounts not to one-twenty-second part of the whole, while the florishing little town
of Wick alone furnishes nearly one-fifth. But the most extraordinary increase is that
which has taken place in the neighboring county of Sutherland. Till a few years past,
the people of this county were contented to hire themselves as fishermen to the adven-
turers of Wick. In 1814, they attempted, with the aid and encouragement of the mayor
of Stafford, a fishery on their own account, and the mouth of the Helmsdale was fixed
upon as the station. A storehouse and curinghouse were here erected ; the boats were
manned by the people brought from the mountains, and the interior of the country.
Every thing was new to them in the employ they were about to engage. The fishing com-
menced on the 20th July, and ended on the 3rd September, 1814; and the four boats won
respectively 105/. 35., 83A 8s., 96/. 8s. , and 148/. 3s. They were ratmned by four men
each, so that they made, on an average, rather more than 271. a man. In 1815, the num-
ber of boats employed amounted to fifty, almost entirely manned by Sutherland men ; and
Oo 2
564 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
the number of barrels caught and repacked, exceeded 4,000, chiefly gutted. In 1817,
this fishery gave employment to about 3,000 tenants, 17 coopers, and 130 women. In
1818, 70 coopers, 520 women, 700 men, 140 boats; and, in the present year (1819),
the quantity caught and cured at Helmsdale, amounts to no less than 22,876 barrels,
besides upwards of 100,000 cod and ling. While the herring fishery is making these
rapid strides in the Highlands of Scotland, the ancient town of North Yarmouth, which
owes its existence to the herring fishery, and in the time of Edward III. had an act
usually called " The statute of herrings," passed in its favor, for the regulation of its
herring fair, now exhibits only the small number of 1039 barrels.
S597. The cod or white fishery, including haddocks, whitings, ling, skate, halibut,
flounders, &c. may be reckoned next in importance to the herring fishery. The whole
extent of sea, from the neighborhood of the Orkney and Shetland islands, to Iceland on
the one hand, and to the coast of Norway on the other, and along the eastern and western
shores of Scotland, to the Flemish banks on the east, and the coast of Ireland on the
west, may be considered as one great fishing domain, over which the different species of
the cod genus are most plentifully dispersed ; as are also turbot, skates, soles, haddocks,
and whitings. These fish, which constitute collectively what is usually called the white
fishery, surround, as it were, the whole of North Britain, and give to that portion of the
united kingdom advantages which its southern neighbors cannot boast of.
3598. The turbot fishery is, perhaps, that alone which neither the Scotch nor the
English follow up with equal success as the Dutch. The turbot fishery begins about
the end of March, when the Dutch fishermen assemble a few leagues to the south of
Scheveling. As the warm weather approaches, the fish gradually advance to the north-
ward, and, during the months of April and May, are found in great shoals on the bank
called the Broad Fourteens. Early in June, they have proceeded to the banks which
surround the small islandof Heligoland, off the mouth of the Elbe, where the fishery
continues to the middle of August, when it terminates for the year. The mode of taking
turbot is as follows : at the beginning of the season, the drag net is used, which, being
drawn along the banks, brings up various kind of flat fish, as soles, plaice, thornbacks, and
turbots ; but, when the weather has driven the fish into deeper water, and upon banks of
a rougher surface, where the drag net is no longer practicable, the fishermen have then
recourse to the hook and line. Each line extends from one to nearly three miles in
length, and is armed with six, seven, or eight hundred hooks, fixed to at a distance of
several yards from each other. To keep these long lines properly stretched, and prevent
their being carried away by the tide, heavy masses of lead in some places, and small
anchors in others, are attached to them. The hooks are baited with the common smelt,
and a small fish resembling the eel, called the gore bill. Though very considerable
quantities of this fish are now taken in various parts of our own coasts, from the Orkneys
to the I^and's End, yet a preference is given, in the London market, to those caught by
the Dutch, who are supposed to have drawn not less than 80,000/. a year, for the supply
of this market alone ; and the Danes from 12,000/. to 15,000/. a year, for sauce to this
luxury of the table, extracted from about one million of lobsters, taken on the rocky
shores of Norway ; though our own shores arc, in many parts, plentifully supplied with
this marine insect, equal in goodness to those in Norway.
3599. The mackerel fishery is chiefly carried on off the coast of Suffolk and other
southern counties ; the season generally lasts about six weeks in May and June, and
during which time fish to the value of 10,000/. or upwards, are caught off Suffolk alone.
(^County Eeport.)
3600. Soles, gurnets, John dories, the red mullet, and other species, are also caught off
the southern coasts, and when the catch is greater than can be disposed of, they are salted
and dried.
3601 . The stickle back is caught in immense quantities in the Lynn river about once in
seven years, and is purchased for manure at the rate of 6d. or 8rf. a bushel.
3602. The pilchard fishery is carried on extensively on the coast of Cornwall.
Enormous multitudes of those fish are taken on the coast of Devonshire as well
as Cornwall, between the months of July and September inclusive, when the whole line
of coast presents a scene of bustle and activity. The fish for foreign export and winter
consumption are laid upon shore in large stacks or piles, with layers of salt between each
row ; here they are suffered to lay for twenty or thirty days, during which time a vast dis-
charge of pickle mixed with blood and oil takes place, all of which is carefully caught in
pits and preserved for manure, which is eagerly purchased by the farmer and carried
away in casks. It is said that every pilchard will dress and richly manure one square
foot of ground. The fish are then carefully washed with sea water, dried and packed in
hogsheads, in which state they are sent abroad. The average value of pilchards taken in
one year in Cornwall is supposed to be from 50,000 to 60,000/.
3603. Lobsters, crabs, crayfish, shrimps, prawns, &c are caught generally on the south
and east coast, but especially on the south and in the channel. The Scilly islands and the
Land's End abound in lobsters, and crabs are to be found in most parts of the British shores.
Book II. INLAND FISHERIES. 565
3604. The oifster is to be found on most of the rocky shallows on the east and south
coasts of Britain and Ireland. The most remarkable circumstances attending this
fishery is the feeding or nursing of the oysters, which is almost exclusively practised in
Essex. It has been tried, it is said, in the mouths of the Seine and some other rivers of
France without success. The oysters are brought from the coast of Hampshire, Dorset,
and other maritime counties, even as far as Scotland, and laid in the beds or layings in
the creeks adjoining those rivers. The number of vessels immediately employed in the
dredging for oysters are about 200, from twelve to forty or fifty tons burden each, em-
ploying from 400 to 500 men and boys. The quantity of oysters bred and taken in
Essex and consumed annually, mostly in London, is supposed to amount to 14,000 or
15,000 bushels.
Sect. II. Of River, Lake, and other Inland Fisheries.
3605. The only inlandjishery of any importance is that of the salmon. Salmon fisheries.
Marshal observes, are " copious and constant sources of human food ; they rank next to
agriculture. They have indeed one advantage over every other internal produce : their
increase does not lessen other articles of human sustenance. The salmon does not prey
on the produce of the soil, nor does it owe its size and nutritive qualities to the destruc-
tion of its compatriot tribes. It leaves its native river at an early state of growth ; and,
going even naturalists know not where, returns of ample size, and rich in human nourish-
ment; exposing itself in the narrowest streams, as if nature intended it as a special boon to
man. In every stage of savageness and civilization, the salmon must have been con-
sidered as a valuable benefaction to this country." This fish being rarely caught, except
in estuaries or rivers, may be considered in a great degree as private property, and it may
tlierefore be presumed that the fishery is conducted to the greatest possible extent and
advantage. From the extremity of the Highlands, and from the Orkney and Shetland
islands, these fish are sent up ta the London market in ice ; and when the season is at
its height, and the catch more than can be taken off hand fresh, they are then salted,
pickled, or dried, for winter consumption at home, and for the foreign markets. Per-
haps the fishery of the Tweed is the first in point of the quantity caught, which is some-
times quite astonishing, several hundreds being taken at a single draught of the net.
3606. The salmon as they are caught are packed in ice, and sent away in vessels well
known under the name of Berwick smacks. Formerly it was all pickled and kitted,
after being boiled, and sent to London under the name of Newcastle salmon ; but the
present mode has so raised the value of the fish, as nearly to have banished this article of
food from the inhabitants in the environs of the fishery, except as an expensive luxury.
Within memory, salted salmon formed a material article of economy in all the fann
houses of the vale of Tweed, insomuch that indoor servants often bargained that they
should not be obliged to take more than two weekly meals of salmon. It could then be
bought at 2s. the stone, of nineteen pounds weight ; it is now never below 12s., often
36.9., and sometimes two guineas.
3607. With respect tg the improvemetit of salmon fisheries, admitting that the individual
fish which are bred in any river, instinctively return to the same from the sea, the most
obvious means of increase in any particular river, is that of suffering a sufficient number
of grown salmon to go up to the spawning grounds ; protecting them while there, and
guarding the infant shoals in their passage from thence to the ocean. Even admitting
that those which are bred within the British islands, and escape the perils that await
them, return to these islands, it is surely a matter of some importance, viewed in a public
light, to increase and protect the breed. It is a well ascertained fact, that salmon pass
up toward the spawning grounds of different rivers at different seasons, or times of the
year ; consequently, no one day in the year can be properly fixed by law to give them
free passage up riv^s in general. Each river of the island should have its particular day
of liberation ; which ought to be some weeks before the known close of the spawning
season, in a given river. The better to assure the ascent of salmon after the day of
liberation, all mills, weirs, and other obstructions, whose proprietors have, by ancient
custom, the right of taking salmon, ought to be under legal regulations ; and to be
liable to the free inspection, not only of other proprietors of the same river, but
of the public in general ; to see that a free, obvious, and easy passage be made for
the fish to ascend ; the law making it equal felony to destroy or wilfully to obstruct,
after the days specified, salmon passing up to a spawning ground. And the more ef-
fectually to protect the spawning grounds, let the same penalty be there perpetual. Let
each branch of every river have a fixed point, above which it shall be felony to destroy
salmon wilfully at any season of the year. This regulation would, it is conceived, be of
essential use. For, in times of floods, it is not all the vigilance of man, nor scarcely
any obstacle he can raise, which is able to prevent salmon that are near their time of
spawning, from ascending the upper branches of rivers ; namely, the brooks and rivulets
here proposed to be strictly guarded by law. But they rarely enter these before they are
O o 3
566 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
in that state ; and, in course, until they are unfit for human food. Hence, the pro-
prietors of spawning streams would have little reason to complain of such a regulation.
3608. In a dry season, and for want ofjlood ivater to assist them in their extraordinary
efforts to gain the higher branchlets of a river, the salmon will spawn in its lower deeper
parts. liut here, it is probable, few of their progeny escape the voracity offish of prey,
which inhabit deep waters. While, in the shallow, pebbly streams, at the heads of
which they delight to lay their spawn, the infant shoal is free from danger. And it is
for this security, no doubt, that the instinct of the parents leads them to the greatest at-
tainable height, — at the peril of their own lives ! Thus far, as to the protection of the
parents, and their infant spawnlings. It now remains to guard these, from their native
streamlets to the sea.
3609. The enemies of young salmon are fish of prey ; as the pike, and trouts of size : both
of which ought to be considered as vermin, in rivers down which samlets are wont to pass.
3610. The hern is another destructive enemy of young salmon : especially in the higher branches of
rivers. Yet we see these common destroyers nursed up in herneries ! But more wisely might the cormo-
rant be propagated and protected. The hern is tenfold more destructive of fresh-water fish, than is the
cormorant.
.3611. The otter is a well known enemy of fish : but more so to grown salmon than to their young.
3612. The angler is a species of vermin which is much more injurious than the otter to young salmon;
during minor floods, when the young " fry" are attempting to make their escape downward to the sea,
the angler counts his victims by the score ; and might boast of carrying home, in his wicker basket, a boat
load of salmon. The net fisher is still more mischievous. But most of all the miller, who takes them,
in his mill traps, by the bushel, or the sack, at once.
3613. The porpoise, the most audacious fish of prey in northern latitudes, is said to
be a great devourer of salmon and other fish on the sea-coast, and in narrow seas and
estuaries. It is asserted by those who have had opportunities of ascertaining the fact,
that they not only destroy salmon in the narrow seas, and open estuaries, but that they
have been seen guarding the mouth of a river, in the salmon season, and destroying them,
in numbers, as they attempted to enter. If these are facts, it might be worth while for
the proprietors of fisheries, or perhaps government, to offer rewards for catching this
animal, and thus lessen their number on the same principles as wolves were extirpated.
3614. If it were asked what punishment is due to the crimes of such men, the answer
would be apt. If a miller, a net fisher, or an angler of young salmon were detected in
digging up the seedling plants of a field of corn, or destroying the young lambs of his
neighbor's flock, what punishment would be due to him ? This the law would readily
determine. And let the punishment for destroying young salmon be neither more nor
less. If it is a fact that salmon return to their native rivers, and if the whole of a
salmon river belongs to one proprietor, the crime of destroying young salmon becomes
perfectly analogous with that of destroying the young of agricultural animals. And it
behoves the proprietors of salmon fisheries, no matter whether they are entire or joint
properties, to protect the one with the same zeal and assiduity as tlie other. Even sup-
posing this commonly received opinion to be ill founded ; yet, admitting that the whole,
or the principal part, of the salmon which are annually brought to market, are bred in
the rivers of these islands, it necessarily follows, that the greater number there are bred,
and protected to the sea, the greater prospect there will be of the markets being plenti-
fully supplied in future.
3615. If by ^vise regulations, formed into a law, the present supply could be doubled,
the advantage to the comnmnity would be of some importance. When we see the great
disparity of the supply, between the rivers of the north, and those of the soutli, of this
island, it might not be extravagant to imagine, that the supply from the rivers of Eng-
land might be made five or ten times what it is at present. One of the first steps towards
regulations of this nature is to endeavor to ascertain the causes of this disparity ; and
to profit by such as can be subjected to human foresight and control. Accurate ex-
aminations of the Tay, the Tweed, the Trent, and the Thames, would perhaps be found
adequate to this purpose.
3616. There are various modes of taking salmon, some of which may be mentioned ;
though it is foreign to our plan to enter into the art of fishing, which is practised by a
distinct class of men, created, as it may be said, more by circumstances, than regular
apprcnticeage or study. The situations in which salmon first attracts the particular at-
tention of fishermen, are narrow seas, estuaries, or mouths of rivers; — in which they
remain some time, — more or less, probably, according to their states of forwardness with
respect to spawning ; and in which various devices are practised to take them.
3617. Jnthe viide estuary of Solwai/ Firth, which separates Cumberland and Dum-
friesshire, there are two of the several ingenious methods there practised, which are en-
titled to particular notice here. Beside the open channels which are worn by the Esk,
the Eden, and other rivers and brooks that empty themselves into this common estuary,
the sands of which its base is composed, and which are left dry at low water, are formed
into ridges and valleys, by the tides and tempestuous weather. The lower ends of these
valleys, or false channels, are wide and deep ; opening downward, towards tlie sea : their
Book II. INLAND FISHERIES. 567
upper ends growing narrower, and shallower, until they close in points, at the tops of
the sand banks. As the tide flows upward, the salmon, either in search of food, or the
channel of the river to which they are destined, enter these valleys or " lakes." But
finding, on the turn of the tide, that their passage further upward is stopped, they natu-
rally return with it into deep water ; where they remain until the next tide. Tlie ma-
norial proprietors of these sand->banks having discovered this fact, have, from time
immemorial, run lines of nets, during the fishing season, across the lower ends of these
lakes or valleys, half a mile or more, perhaps, in width ; the nets being suspended in
such a manner, that they are lifted from the ground by the current of'the tide in flow-
ing upward ; so that the fish find no diflSculty in passing beneath them into the lake.
But, on the tide's turning, their lower edges fall down close to the sand, and effectually
jirevent the salmon from retreating. They are, in consequence, left dry, or in shallow
water, easily to be taken by hundreds perhaps, at once.
3618. The other remarkable method, which is practised in the Firth of Solway, is
founded on a well-known habit of salmon, when they first make the land, and enter into
narrow seas and estuaries, to keep much along the shore : no matter, whether to hit,
with greater certainty, their native rivers, or to rub off the vermin, with which, in ge-
neral, they are more or less infested, when they return from the ocean, or in search of
food. This method of taking salmon, if not a modern invention, has recently been
raised to its present degree of perfection, by an enterprising salmon fisher and farmer in
the neighborhood of Annan ; who has turned it to great profit. At a short distance
below the mouth of the river Annan, he has run out a long line of tall net fence, several
hundred yards in length, and somewhat obliquely from the line of the shore, with which
it makes an acute angle, and closes in with it, at the upper end : thus forming, in eflfect,
an artificial lake ; one side of which is the l^each, the other the net fence. The lower
end is ingeniously guarded, with nets of a more trap-like construction than those which
are in use for natural lakes; in which fish are found to lie more quietly, until the turn
of the tide. In this immense trap, great quantities, not of salmon only, but of cod, ling,
soals, and other white fish are taken. Marshal knows no place in the island where sea
fishing, for salmon, can be studied with so much profit as on the shores of Annandale.
3619. River fishing for salmon is chiefly done with the seine, or long draught net,
whose construction and use are universally known. In rivers which are liable to fre-
quent and great changes of depth, and strength of current, by reason of tides and
floods, it is desirable to have nets of different textures, as well as of different depths *. as,
one of the construction best adapted to the ordinary state of the water, and to the size
of the fish that frequent it (salmon peels, trouts, mullets, and other small sized fish are,
in some rivers, commonly taken with salmon) ; and another with more depth, and wider
meshes ; to be used during high water and strong currents, when the larger salmon do not
fail to hasten upward : and the same strength of hands which is able to draw a close shell
on it, can work a deeper one with wider meshes. In wide rivers, with flat shores, a
variety of nets are required of different lengths as well as depths, to suit every height
and width of the water.
3620. In rivers traps are set for salmon. The most common device of this kind is
the weir, or salmon leap ; namely, a tall dam run across the river, with a sluice at one
end of it, through which the principal part, or the whole, of the river at low water, is
suffered to pass with a strong current ; and in this sluice the trap is set.
3621. The construction of salmon weirs. Marshal conceives to be, in all cases, dan •
gerous, and in many highly injurious to the jiropagation of salmon. And although it
would be altogether improper to demolish those which long custom has sanctioned, yet
he is of opinion that it would be equally improper to sufter more to be erected ; at least,
until some judicious regulations are made respecting them : regulations which cannot be
delayed without injury to the public.
3622. It now only remains to speak of poaching, or the illegal taking of groivn salmon.
There are already severe penalties inflicted for this crime ; which, compared with that of
destroying young salmon, might, in a public light, be deemed venial ; the latter deserving
tenfold punishment. For tlie grown salmon that are taken, in season, by poachers,
becomes so much wholesome food. There is no waste of human sustenance by the
practice. Nevertheless, as theft, the crime is great, and ought to be punishable as such.
As an iiuprovement of the present law, Marshal proposes to make the receiver, in this
as in other cases of theft, equally punishable with the thief. If poachers were not
encouraged by purchasers of stolen salmon, the practice would not be followed.
3623. Lake fisheries are of small extent, and are chiefly confined to one or two
mountainous districts ; and, even there, unless where char or trout abound, as in
Keswick and Lochlomond, their value is small, and their improvements few. The
Lochfine fishery is to be considered as marine, it being in fact an inlet of the sea.
3624. Poolfshing is, in most parts, peculiar to the seats of men of fortune, and the
country residences of minor gentlemen. Surrey and Berkshire are, perhaps, the only
O o 4
568 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
districts in which fish pools are viewed as an object of rural economy. On every side
of the metropolis, something of this kind is observable. But it is on the south side, in
adjoining parts of Surrey and Sussex, where the practice of fish breeding may be said
to be established. There fish pools have been, and still are formed with the view of
letting them to dealers in carp and other pond fish ; or of stocking them, and disposing
of the produce, as an article of farm stock, as pigs, rabbits, poultry, or pigeons. In
a general view of the kingdom, fish pools can scarcely be considered as an object
worthy of consideration, in the improvement of landed estates. Yet there are situations,
in which they may be formed with profit : as in the dips and hollows of extremely bad
ground ; especially if waters, which are genial to any of the species of pond fish,
happen to pass through them, or can be profitably led to them. Even where the water,
which can be commanded, is of an inferior quality, a profitable breeding pool may be
formed, to stock ponds of a more fattening nature.
3625. The craw-fish, though most delicious eating and a native of England, neither
abounds in sufficient quantities to be brought to market nor is reared by individuals. It
requires warm rich marshy lands, and a calcareous soil.
3626. The leech is an amphibious animal of the moUusca order, common about
some of the lakes in the north of England, as Keswick. Formerly considerable
quantities used to be picked up and sent to London, and other places ; but the market
is now chiefly supplied from the continent.
Chap. IX.
Of Plantations and Woodlands.
3627. Without trees, a landed estate may be very profitable on account of its mines,
waters, and farm lands ; but it will be without the noblest characteristic of territorial
surface. It may possess the beauty of utility in a high degree, and especially to the
owner ; but it will not be much admired by the public, nor contribute greatly to the
ornament of the country — for what is a landscape without wood? It is not meant,
however, that plantations of trees should be made on estates for the sake of ornament ;
on the contrary, none need ever be made which shall not be at the same time useful,
either from the products of the trees individually, or their collective influence on sur-
rounding objects.
3628. Trees have been planted and cherished in all countries, and from the earliest ages;
but the formation of artificial plantations chiefly with a view to profit, appears to have
been first practised, on a large scale, about the end of the sixteenth century, when the
insufficiency of the natural forests, which had hitherto supplied civilized society in Eng-
land with timber and fuel, rendered planting a matter of necessity and profit. In the
century succeeding, the improved practice of agriculture created a demand for hedges
and strips for shelter; and the fashion of removing from castles in towns and villages
to isolated dwellings surrounded by verdant scenery, led to the extensive employment of
trees both as objects of distinction and value. For these combined purposes, planting is
now universally practised on most descriptions of territorial surface, for objects prin-
cipally relating to utility, and in all parks and grounds surrounding country residences
for the joint purposes of utility and beauty.
3629. Woodlands are lands covered with wood by nature, and exist more or less on
most extensive estates. Sometimes it is found desirable partially or wholly to remove
them, and employ the soil in the growth of grass or corn ; at other times their character
is changed by art, from coppice or fuel woods, consisting of growths cut down period-
ically, to trees left to attain maturity for timber.
3630. In our view of the subject of trees, we shall include some remarks on improving
and managing woodlands, which might have been referred to tlie two following Books ;
but for the sake of unity we prefer treating of every part of the subject together. The
ornamental part of planting, we consider, as wholly belonging to gardening, and indeed
the entire subject of trees may be considered as equally one of gardening and of agricul-
ture, being the link by which they are inseparably connected. For a more extended
view of the suljject, we refer to our Encyclopctdia of Gardening, and Uncyclopcedia
of Plants : in the former will be found all that relates to the culture of trees collectively ;
in the latter, all that relates to their botanical character, history, uses, height, native
country, and other subjects, with their individual propagation, soil, and culture. We
shall here confine ourselves to the soils and situations proper for planting, the trees
suitable for particular soils and situations, the operations of forming and managing
artificial plantations, and the management of natural woods.
Book II.
SOILS FOR TREES.
569
Sect. I. Of the Soils and Situations which may be most projttahly employed in
Timber Plantation.
3631. As a general principle of guidance in planting, it may be laid down that lands fit
for the purposes of aration should not be covered with wood. Where particular pur-
poses are to be obtained, as shelter, fencing, connection, concealment, or some other
object, portions of such lands may require to be wooded ; but in regard to profit, these
portions will always be less productive than if they were kept under the plough. The
profits of planting do not depend on the absolute quantity of timber produced, but on
that quantity relatively to the value of the soil for agricultural purposes. Suppose a
piece of ground to let at 20s. per acre, for pasture or aration, to be planted at an expense
of only 10/. per acre ; then in order to return the rent, and 51. per cent, for the money
expended, it ought to yield 30s. a year ; but as the returns are not yearly, but say at the
end of every fifteen years, when the whole may be cut down as a copse, then the amount
of 30s. per annum, at 51. per cent, compound interest, being 321. 8s., every fall of copse
made at the interval of fifteen years ought to produce that sum per acre clear of all ex-
penses. Hence, with a view to profit from the fall of timber, or copse wood, no situation
capable of much agricultural improvement should be planted.
3632. The fittest situations for planting extensively are hilly, mountainous, and rocky
surfaces ; where both climate and surface preclude the hope of ever introducing the
plough ; and where the shelter afiforded by a breadth of wood will improve the adjoining
farm lands, and the appearance of the country. Extensive moors and gravelly or sandy
soils may often also be more profitably occupied by timber trees than by any other crop,
especially near a sea-port, coaleries, mines, or any other source of local demand.
3633. On all hilly and irregular surfaces various situations will be indicated by the lines
offences, roads, the situations of buildings, ponds, streams, &c. where a few trees, or a
strip, or mass, or row, may be put in with advantage. We would not, however, advise
the uniform mode of planting recommended by Pitt in his Survey of Staffordshire, and in
The Code of Agriculture ; that of always having a round clump in the point of intersection of
the fences of fields. This we conceive to be one of the most certain modes ever suggested
of deforming the surface of a country by planting; the natural character of the surface
would be counteracted by it, and neither variety nor grandeur substituted ; but a mono-
tony of appearance almost as dull and appalling as a total want of wood.
3634. Near all buildings a few trees may in general be introduced ; carefully however
avoiding gardens and rick yards, or to shade low buildings. In general fewest trees
should be planted on the south side of cottages ; and next on their north-west side ;
farms and farm buildings in very exposed situations {fig. 453.) and also lines of cottages,
may be surrounded or planted on the exposed side by considerable masses.
3635. Wherever shelter or shade is required plantations are of the first consequence,
whether as masses, strips, rows, groups, or scattered trees; all these modes may occa-
sionally be resorted to with advantage even in farm lands.
3636. Wherever a soil cannot by any ordinary process be rendered ft for com or grass, and
will bear trees, it may be planted as the only, or perhaps the best mode of turning it to
profi.t. There are some tracts of thin stony or gravelly surfaces covered with moss, or
very scantily with heath, and a few coarse grasses, which will pay for no improvement
whatever, excepting sowing with the seeds of trees and bushes. These growing up will,
after a series of years, form a vegetable soil on the surface. The larch, Scotch pine, birch,
and a species of rough moorland willow (salijc) are the only woody plants fit for such soils.
3637. Wherever trees mil pay better than any other crop they will of course be planted.
Tliis does not occur often, but occasionally in the case of willows for baskets and hoops,
which are often the most profitable crop on moist deep rich lands ; and ash for hoops and
crate ware, on drier, but at the same time deep and good soils.
Sect. II. Of the Trees suitable for different Soils, Situations, and Climates.
3638. Every species of tree ivillgrow in any soil, provided it be rendered suflSciently dry ;
but the eflfects of soils on trees are very different, according to the kind of tree and the
situation. A rich soil and low situation will cause some trees, as the larch and common
pine, to grow so fast that their timber will be tit for little else than fuel j and the oak, elm.
570
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
&c. planted in a very elevated situation, w^hatever be the nature of the soil, w^ill never
attain a timber size. In general, as to soils, it may be observed that such as promote
rapid growth, render the timber produced less durable, and the contrary ; that such soils
as are of the same quality for a considerable depth are best adapted, other circumstances
being alike, for ramose-rooted trees, as the oak, chestnut, elm, ash, and most hard-vpooded
trees ; and that such soils as are thin, are only fit for spreading or horizontal rooted trees,
as the pine and fir tribe.
3639. A table of soils and the trees suitable to them is given in The Agricultural Survey
of Kent, which may be of some use. It indicates the trees which grow naturally on a
variety of soils and subsoils, which may be considered its greatest merit ; and next the sorts
which may be planted on such soils as yielding more profit ; with the application to use
or form in which that profit is obtained.
Surface Soil.
Heavy and gravel-
ly loams.
Sandy loams.
Flinty strong loam.
Gravelly and sandy
loams.
Gravelly, sandy,
and flinty loams.
Flinty, dry, poor
gravelly loams.
Flinty and gravelly
loams.
Ditto.
Lightish black
loam.
Flinty gravelly
loams.
Chalky, flinty, gra-
velly loam.
Gravelly loam.
Gravelly and
chalky loams.
Gravelly loami
Ditto.
Sandy gravel.
Stone, shatter, and
gravelly loam.
Stone, shatter, and
gravelly loam.
Gravelly loam.
Sandy loam.
Sandy loam and
stone shatter.
Gravelly loam and
stone shatter.
Ditto.
Gravelly and sandy
loam.
Gravelly loam
flinty.
Wet spongy land.
Drier ditto.
Light sandy loam.
Light gravelly
loam.
Subsoil.
Heavy loam with
chalk.
Heavy loam.
Heavy loam.
Gravelly loam.
Heavy gravelly
flinty loam.
Chalk at 2 feet
depth with gta.-\
velly loam.
Chalk 4 feet with
deep gravelly
loam.
With a few flints,
but nearly as
above.
Dry sandy gravel.
Strong loam with
flints.
Chalk, with some
gravelly loam.
Heavy flinty and
poor loam.
Gravelly loam with
chalk.
Ditto.
Gravelly loam and
heavy loam.
Gravelly and sandy
loam.
Strong loam with
ragstone.
Gravelly loam with
some stone.
Gravelly loam with
some stones.
Gravelly loam.
Gravelly loam with
ragstone.
Deep loam, heavy
clay and gravel.
Gravelly loam. ,
Strong clay and
loam.
Gravel with clay
and some flint.
Moist and boggy
earth.
Ditto more dry.
Dry gravelly earth.
With dry gravel.
Common Growth. Planted Growth.
Birch, hornbeam,
oak, ash, hazel,
beech, &c.
Ditto.
Ditto. *
Ash, beech, oak,
hazel, &c.
Ash, beech, horn-
beam, and oak.
Beech, oak, &c.
Ash, oak, hazel,
&c.
Oak, hazel, beech,
and ash.
Birch, elm, ash.
Oak, ash, beech,&c.
Ditto.
Oak, ash, hazel,
and beech.
Oak, ash, &c.
Ash, oak, & beech.
Ditto.
Ditto, Scotch pine.
Oak, hazel, birch.
&c.
Oak, birch, aspen,
hazel, and ash.
Oak.
Birch, oak, horn-
beam, &c.
Oak, ;beech, birch,
hazel, ash.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Oak, and ditto.
Scrubby oak, hazel,
&c.
Alder, willow.
Poplar.
Mountain ash, ash.
Ash.
Oak,ash, chestnut,
willow, lime, wal-
nut.
Elm, beech, Wey-
mouth pine, com-
mon spruce.
Willow and chest-
nut.
Chestnut, ash.
Ash, beech, larch,
&c.
Beech, larch, &c.
Ash, larch, &c.
Chestnut, ash, and
willow.
Ash, elm, &c.
Ash, &C.
Ditto.
Ash, oak, &c.
Ash and chestnut.
Oak, larch.
Scotch pine.
Larch,chestnut,&c.
Birch, oak, &c.
Ash, chestnut, and
willow.
Chestnuts.
Chestnut, &c.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ash, larch, &c.
Oak, ash.
Alder, osier, wil-
low, &c.
White poplar, wil-
low.
Scotch pine, silver
fir.
Sycamore.
Uses of.
Timber, hop-poles,
cordwood,hurdles.
bavins for bakers!
and lime-works.
Ditto.
Timber, fencing
poles,and as above.
Hop-poles, fencing
poles, and all as
above.
Timber, fencing,
hop-poles, cord-
wood for charcoal,
bavins, &c.
Cordwood, bavins,
and hop-poles.
Cordwood, hop-
poles, bavins,
stakes, ethers, &c,
Hop-poles, fencing
poles, stakes, cord
wood, &c.
Various uses in
husbandry.
Poles, bavins,cord.
wood, &c.
Ditto.
Common produce
a few poles, cord-
wood, bavins, &c.
plantation many
poles, and the
above.
Poles, cordwood,
&c.
Ditto
The same
Poles, stakes,
ethers, &c. &c.
Oaken tillers,
small timber poles,
&c.
Fencing poles,hop-
poles, cordwood,
&c.
Hop-poles, fence
poles, &c.
Fence poles, hop-
poles, &c.
Ditto.
Ditto,
Ditto.
Poles, fire-wood,
&c. as above.
Timber and ditto.
Hurdles,h op-poles,
&c.
Hop-poles, &c.
Hop-poles.
Timber-turnery,
&c.
Book IL
FORMING PLANTATIONS.
571
3640. JVith respect to climate^ the species of tree which grows nearest the regions of
perpetual snow are the birch, common pine, wliite beam, larch, mountain ash, and elder.
A warmer zone is required for the sycamore and hornbeam ; and still more for the beech,
ash, elm, and maple. The evergreen firs prefer dry sheltered dingles and ravines, not
far up the sides of hills; and tlie oak, chestnut, lime, poplars, tree willows, and a va-
riety of American trees, will not thrive at any great elevation above the sea. The hardiest
shore trees are the sycamore, beech, and elder; but on sheltered shores, or such as are little
subject to the sea-breeze, pines, firs, and most sorts of trees will thrive.
'J641. The sort of product desired from planting, as whether shelter, effect, or timber, copse,
bark, fuel, &c. and what kinds of each, must be in most cases more attended to than the
soil, and in many cases even than the situation. The thriving of trees and plants of every
kind, indeed, depends much more on the quantity of available soil, and its state in re-
sj)ect to water and climate, tlian on its constituent principles. Moderately sheltered and
on a dry subsoil, it signifies little whether the surface strata be a clayey, sandy, or calca-
rous loam ; all the principal trees will thrive nearly equally well in either, so circum-
stanced; but no tree whatever in these or in any soil saturated with water, and in a bleak
exposed site. For hedge-row timber, those k^inds which grow with lofty stems, which
draw their nourishment from the subsoil and do least injury by their shade, are to be pre-
ferred. These, according to Blakie, are oaks, narrow-leaved elm, and black Italian pop-
lar; beech, ash, and firs, he says, are ruinous to fences and otherwise injurious to farmers.
{On Hedges and Hedge-row Timber, p. 10.)
Sect. III. Of forming Plantations.
3642. The formation of plantations includes enclosing, preparation of the soil, and
mode of planting or sowing.
3643. The enclosing of plantations is too essential a part of their formation to require
enlarging on. In all those of small extent, as hedges and strips, it is the principal part
of the expense ; but to plant in these forms, or any other, without enclosing, would be
merely a waste of labor and property. The sole object of fencing being to exclude the
domestic quadrupeds, it is obvious, that whatever in the given situation is calculated to
effect this at the least expense, the first cost and future repairs or management being taken
into consideration, must be the best. Where stones abound on the spot, a wall is the best
and cheapest of all fences as such ; but, in the great majority of cases, recourse is
obliged to be had to a verdant fence of some sort, and generally to one of hawthorn.
This being itself a plantation, requires to be defended by some temporary barrier, till it
arrives at maturity ; and here thd remark just made will -again apply, that whatever ten>po-
rary barrier is found cheapest in the given situation will be the best. Hedge fences are in
general accompanied by an open draiij, which, besides acting in its proper capacity, fur-
nishes at its formation a quantity of soil to increase the pasturage of the hedge plants ;
an excavation
^Jig. 454 a), ^r.. A ^
andan elevation
(f), to aid in
the formation
of a temporary
fence. A hedge
enclosing a plantation, requires only to be guarded on the exterior side, and of the
various ways in which this is done, the following may be reckoned among tlie best
and most generally applicable : by an open drain and paling, or line of posts and
rails (rt), the plants inserted in a facing of stone, backed by the earth of the drain (b) ; an
excellent mode, as the plants generally thrive, and almost never require cleaning from
weeds ; an open drain and paling, and the hedge on the top of the elevation (c) ; no open
drain, but the soil being a loam, the surface-turves formed into a narrow ridge, to serve
as a paling, a temporary hedge of furze sown on its summit, and the permanent hedge
of thorn or holly within (d); and an open drain, but on the inside, the exterior being
protected by a steep bank sown with furze (e). The first of these modes is the most
general, the second the best, and tlie fourth the cheapest, where timber is not abundant,
Separaticn fences are commonly formed in the first, second, or third manner, but with a
paling on both sides.
3644. In the preparation of the soil for planting, draining is the first operation. What-
ever may be the nature of the soil, if the plants are intended to thrive, the subsoil ought
to be rendered dry. Large open drains may be used, where the ground is not to undergo
much preparation ; but where it is to be fallowed or trenched, under drains become re-
(juisite. It is true they, will in time be choked up by the roots of the trees ; but by tliat
period, as no more culture will be required, they may be opened and left open. Many si-
tuations;, as steep sides of hills and rocky irregular surfaces, do not admit of preparing tlie
soil by comminution previously to planting ; but wherever that can be done, either by
572 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IH.
trenching, digging, or a year's subjection to the plough, it will be found amply to repay
the trouble. This is more especially requisite for strips, for shelters or hedge-rows, as tli«
quick growth of the plants in these cases is a matter of the utmost consequence. The
general mode of planting hedges by the side of an open drain, renders preparation for
them, in many cases, less necessary; but for strips of trees, wherever it is practicable, and there
is at the same time no danger of the soil being washed away by rains or thaws, as in some
chalky hilly districts ; or blown about by the wind, as in some parts of Norfolk, and other
sandy tracts, preparation by a year's fallow, or by trenching two spits deep, cannot be
omitted without real loss, by retarding the attainment of the object desired. There are
instances stated, of promising oak plantations, from oaks dibbed into soil altogether
unimproved, and of plantations of Scotch pine, raised by merely sowing the seeds on a
heath or common, and excluding cattle (General Report of Scotland, ii. 269.) ; but these
are rare cases, and the time required and the instances of failure are not mentioned.
The practice is obviously too rude to be recommended as one of art. The best situations
for planting, without any other culture but inserting the seeds or plants, are surfaces par-
tially covered with low woody growths, as broom, furze, &c. " The ground which is
covered, or rather half covered, with juniper and heath," says BufFon, " is already a wood
half made. Osier plantations are an exception to these remarks, as to the value of the
situation and soil ; they require a deep, strong, moist soil, but one not springy, or conti-
nually saturated with water; and it will be in vain to plant them without draining and
trenching it two or more feet deep."
3645. Whether extensive plantations should be sown or planted, is a question about which
planters are at variance. Miller says, transplanted oaks will never arrive at the size of
those raised where they are to remain from the acorn. (Diet. Quercvs. ) Marshal pre-
fers sowing when the ground can be cultivated with the plough. (Plant, and Rur. Om. i.
123.) Evelyn, Emmerich, and Speechly are of the same opinion; Pontey and Nicol
practice planting, but offer no arguments against sowing where circumstances are suit-
able. Sang says, *' It is an opinion very generally entertained, that planted timber can
never, in any case, be equal in durability and value to that which is sown. We certainly
feel ourselves inclined to support this opinion, although we readily admit, that the matter
has not been so fully established, from experiment, as to amount to positive proof. But
although we have not met with decided evidence, to enable us to determine on the com-
parative excellence of timber raised from seeds, without being replanted, over such as
have been raised from replanted trees, we are left in no doubt as to the preference, in re-
spect of growth, of those trees which are sown, over such as are planted." (Plant. KaL
43. ) He particularly prefers this mode for raising extensive tracts of the Scotch pine
and larch (p. 430.), and is decidedly of opinion, "that every kind of forest tree will suc-
ceed better by being reared from seeds in the place where it is to grow to maturity, than by
being raised in any nursery whatever, and from thence transplanted into the forest."
(p. 344.) Dr. Yule iCaled. Hort. Mem. ii.), in a long paper on trees, strongly recom-
mends sowing where the trees are finally to remain. *' It is," says he, " a well ascer-
tained fact, that seedlings allowed to remain in their original station, will, in a few
seasons, far overtop the common nursed plants several years older."
3646. The opinion of Dr. Yule, and in part also that of Saiig, seems to be founded on
the idea that the tap-root is of great importance to grown-up trees, and that when this is
once cut off by transplanting, the plant has not a power of renewing it. That the tap-
root is of the utmost consequence for the first three or four years is obvious from the eco-
nomy of nature at that age of the plant; perhaps for a longer period; but that it can be
of no great consequence to full-grown trees, appears highly probable from the fact, that
when such trees are cut down, the tap-root is seldom to be distinguished from the others.
The opinion that young plants have not the power of renewing their tap-root, will, we
believe, be found inconsistent with fact ; and we may appeal to Sang and other nursery-
men, who raise the oak and horse-chestnut from seed. It is customary when these are
sown in drills, to cut off their tap-roots without removing the plants at the end of the
second year's growth, and when at the end of the third or fourth year they are taken up,
they will be found to have acquired other tap roots, not indeed so strong as the first would
have been had they remained, but suflScient to establish the fact of the power of renewal.
We may also refer to the experiment recorded by Forsyth, which at once proves that trees have
a power of renewing their tap-roots, and the great advantages from cutting down trees after
two or three years' planting. Forsyth " transplanted a bed of oak-plants, cutting the tap-
roots near to some of the side-roots or fibres springing from them. In the second year after,
he headed one half of the plants down, and left the other half to nature. In the first
season, those headed down made shoots six feet long and upwards, and completely covered
the head of the old stem, leaving only a faint cicatrix, and produced new tap-roots up-
wards of two feet and a half long. That half of the plants that were not headed, were
not one fourth the size of the others. One of the former is now eighteen feet high, and
fifteen inches in circumference, at six inches from the ground: one of the largest of the
Book II. FORMING PLANTATIONS. 573
latter measures only five feet and a half in height, and three inches and tliree quarters in cir-
cumference, at six inches from the ground." {Tr. on Fruit Trees, 4to edit. 144.) The
pine and fir tribes receive most check by transplanting; and when removed at the age of
four or five years, they seldom arrive at trees afterwards; those we should, on most occa-
sions, prefer to sow, especially upon mountainous tracts. But for all trees which stole,
and in tolerable soils and situations, planting strong plants, and cutting them down two or
three years afterwards, will, we think, all circumstances considered, be found preferable
to sowing.
3647. On the subject of disposing the plants in plantations, there dre different opinions ;
some advising rows, others quincunx, but the greater number planting irregularly.
According to Marshal, " the preference to be given to the row, or the random culture,
rests in some measure upon the nature and situation of the land to be stocked with
plants. Against steep hangs, where the plough cannot be conveniently used in cleaning
and cultivating the interspaces, during the infancy of the wood, either method may be
adopted ; and if plants are to be put in, the quincunx manner will be found preferable to
any. But in more level situations, we cannot allow any liberty of choice : the drill or
row manner is undoubtedly the most eligible."^ (Plant, and Rur. Orn. p. 123.) Pontey
considers it of much less consequence than most people imagine, whether trees are
planted regularly or irregularly, as in either case the whole of the soil will be occupied
by the roots and the surface by the shoots. Sang and Nicol only plant in rows where
culture with the horse-hoe is to be adopted. In sowing for woods and copses, the former
places the patches six feet asunder and in the quincunx order. *' It has been demon-
strated (Farmer s Mag. vii. 409.), that the closest order in which it is possible to place a
number of points, upon a plain surface, not nearer than a given distance from each other,
is in the angles of hexagons with a plant in the centre of each hexagon." Hence it is
argued, that this order of trees is the most economical ; as the same quantity of ground
will contain a greater quantity of trees, by 15 per cent, when planted in this form than
in any other. (Gen. Rep. ii. 287.) It is almost needless to observe, that hedge plants
should be placed at regular distances in the lines, and also the trees, when those are in-
troduced in hedges. Osier plantations, and all such as like them require the soil to be
dug every year, or every two years, during their existence, should also be planted in
regular rows.
3648. The distances at which the plants are placed must depend on different circum-
stances, but chiefly on the situation and soil. Planting thick, according to Nicol, is the
safer side to err on, because a number of plants will fail, and the superfluous ones can be
easily removed by thinning. " For bleak situations," he observes, " that from thirty to
forty inches is a good medium, varying the distance according to circumstances. For
less exposed situations, and where the soil is above six inches in depth, he recommends a
distance from four to five feet. For belts, clumps, and strips of a diameter of about one
hundred feet ; the margin to be planted about the distance of two feet, and the interior at
three feet. In sheltered situations of a deep good soil, he recommends a distance of six
feet, and no more. " {Pract. Plant.)
3649. According to Sang, '' the distances at which hard-timber trees ought to be planted
are from six to ten feet, according to the quality of the soil, and the exposed or sheltered
situation. When the first four oaks are planted, supposing them at right angles, and at
nine feet apart, the interstices will fall to be filled up with five nurses, the whole standing
at four and a half feet asunder. When sixteen oaks are planted, there will necessarily
be thirty-three nurses planted ; and when thirty-six oaks are planted, eighty-five nurses ;
but when a hundred principal trees are planted in this manner, in a square of ten on the
side, there will be two hundred and sixty-one nurse-plants required. The English acre
would require five hundred and thirty-six oaks, and one thousand six hundred and ten
nurses." (Plant. Kal. 163.) Pontey says, " in general cases, a distance of four feet is
certainly close enough ; as at that space the trees may all remain till they become sale-
able as rails, spars, &c."
3650. The number of plants which may be planted on a statute acre = 160 rods, or poles,
= 4840 yards = 43,560 feet, is as follows : —
Feet apart. No. of Plants.
1 43,560
U iy,3«)
2 10,8!K)
21 6,969
3 ..„ 4,840
3i 3,556
4 2,722
4^ „ 2,232
5 1,742
Feet apart.
6
No. of Plants.
1,210
889
Feet apart.
15
No. of Plants,
193
7
16
170
8
680
17
150
9
537
18
134
10
435
19
120
11
360
302
20
108
12
25
69
13
257
30
48
14
222
3651. The size of the plants depends jointly on the site and the kind of tree; it is uni-
versally allowed that none of the resinous tribe succeed well when removed at four or
more years' growth ; but if the soil is of tolerable quality, prepared by digging or sum-
574 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
mer pitting, and the site not bleak, plants of such hard woods as stole may be used whose
stems are an inch or more in diameter.
3652. Nicol is of opinion, *' That generally trees three, or at most four years old from
the seed, and which are from twelve to twenty-four inches high, will, in any situation or
soil, outgrow those of any size under eight or ten feet, within the seventh year." {Pract.
Plant. 130.)
3653. Sang observes, " The size of plants for exclusive plantations must, in some mea-
sure, depend on their kinds ; but it may be said, generally, that the plants being trans-
planted, they should be from a foot to eighteen inches in height, stiff in the stem and
•well rooted. Plants for this purpose should seldom be more than three years from the
seed ; indeed never, if they have been raised in good soil. Many of them may be suf-
ficiently large at two years from the seed ; and if so, are to be preferred to those of a
greater age, as they will consequently be more vigorous and healthy. The larch, if pro-
perly treated, will be very fit for planting out at two years of age. A healthy seedling
being removed from the seed-bed at the end of the first year, into good ground, will, by
the end of the second, be a fitter plant for the forest, than one nursed a second year. The
next best plant for the purpose, is that which has stood two years in the seed-bed, and has
been transplanted for one season. This is supposing it to have risen a weakly plant ;
for, if the larch rise strong from the seed the first season, it should never stand a second
in the seed-bed. The ash, the elm, and the sycamore, one year from the seed, nursed in
good soil for a second season, will often prove sufficiently strong plants. If they be
weakly, they may stand two years in the seed-bed ; and then being nursed one season in
good soil, will be very fit for planting out in the forest. The oak, the beech, and the
chestnut, if raised in rich soil, and well furnished with roots at the end of the first year,
and having been nursed in rows for two years, will be very fit to be planted out. But if
they be allowed to stand two years in the seed-bed, and be planted one year in good
ground, they will be still better, and the roots will be found well feathered with fine
small fibres. The silver fir and common spruce should stand two years in the seed-bed.
If transplanted into very good soil, they may be fit for being planted out at the end of
the first year ; but, more generally, they require two years in the lines. The Scots pine
should also stand for two years in the seed-bed, and should be nursed in good ground for
one year ; at the end of which they will be much fitter for being planted, than if they
were allowed to stand a second year in the lines. They are very generally taken at once
from the seed-bed ; and in land bare of heath or herbage, they succeed pretty well ;
nevertheless, we would prefer them one year nursed. The above are the hardy and most
useful forest trees ; and from the observations made, whatever respects the age or size of
other kinds, may easily be inferred." (Plant. Kal. 158.)
3654. According to Pontey, " the best general rule is, to proportion the size of the
plants to the goodness of the soil ; the best of the latter requiring the largest of the
former. Still on bleak exposures this rule will not hold good, as there the plants should
never be large, for otherwise the greater part would fail froin the circumstance of wind-
waving, and of those that succeeded, few, if any, would make much progress for several
years ; firs of a foot, and deciduous trees of eighteen inches, are large enough for such
places. As in extensive planting, soils which are good and well sheltered but seldom
occur, the most useful sizes of plants, for general purposes, will be firs of a foot, and
deciduous trees of eighteen inches, both transplanted. None but good-rooted plants
•will succeed on a bad soil, while on a good one, sheltered, none but very bad-rooted
plants will fail ; a large plant never has so good a root, in proportion to its size, as a
small one; and hence we see the propriety of using such on good soils only. Small
plants lose but few of their roots in removal ; therefore, though planted in very moderate-
sized holes of pulverised earth, they soon find the means of making roots, in proportion to
their heads. It should never be forgotten, that, in being removed, a plant of two feet
loses a greater proportion of its roots than a tree of one, and one of three feet a greater
proportion than one of two, and so on, in proportion to its former strength and height,
and thus the larger the plants, so much greater is the degree of languor or weakness
into which they are thrown by the operation of transplanting." {Prof. Plant. 161.)
3655. The seasons for j)lanting are autumn and spring ; the former when the soil and
situation are moderately good, and the plants large; and the latter, for bleak situations.
Necessity, however, is more frequently the guide here than choice, and in extensive
designs, the operation is generally performed in all moderately dry open weather from
October to April inclusive. " In an extensive plantation," Sang observes, " it will
hardly happen but there will be variety of soil, some parts moist and heavy, and others
dry and light. Tlie lighest parts may be planted in December or January ; and the
more moist, or damp parts, in February or March. It must be observed, however, that
if the ground be not in a proper case for planting, the operation had better be delayed.
The plants will be injured, either by being committed to the ground when it is in a sour
and wet, or in a dry parched state. At a time when the soil is neither wet nor dry,
Book II. FORMING PLANTATIONS. 575
the operation of planting is most successfully performed. The mould does not then
adhere to the spade, nor does it run in; it divides well, and is made to intermingle
with the fibres of the plants with little trouble ; and in treading and setting the plant
upright, the soil is not worked into mortar, which it necessarily must be, if in a wet state,
evidently to the great detriment of the plants. It is therefore improper to plant (m a
retentive soil in the time of rain, or even perhaps for some days afterwards, or after a
fall of snow, until it has for some days disappeared. Whereas, on a dry absorbent soil,
it may be proper to plant in the time of gentle showers, immediately after heavy rains,
or as soon as the snow is dissolved." {Plant. Kal. 157.)
3656. Pontey is a decided advocate for autumn preparation of the soil, and spring
planting. " Autumn planting," he says, " is advisable only in few cases, while spring
planting may properly apply to all."
3657. According to Sang, the proper time for planting the pine and fir tribes, and all
evergreens, is April, or even the first fortnight in May. " Attention should be paid,
that no greater number of plants be lifted from tlie nursury than can be conveniently
planted on the same day. Damp weather is the best. When very dry, and the plants
rise destitute of earth at their roots, their roots should be dipped in mud (puddle) so as
to be coated over by it. In all cases, care shtjuld be taken not to shake off any ad-
hering earth from plants at the time of planting." (^Plant. Kal. 341.)
3658. The operation of inserting the plants in the soil is performed in various ways j^
the most general mode, and that recommended by Marshal and Nicol, is pitting ; in
which two persons are employed, one to operate on the soil with the spade, and the other
to insert the plant and hold it till the earth is put round it, and then press down the soil
with the foot. Where the plants are three feet high or upwards, this is the best mode ;
but for smaller plants modes have been adopted in which one person performs the whole
operation.
3659. Sang describes five kinds of manual operation employed by him in planting,
and in part in sowing-trees : by pitting; by slitting simply, or by cross, or T slitting;
by the diamond dibber ; by the planting-mattock ; and by the planter. In filling an area
with plants, he first plants those intended as the final trees, and afterwards the nurses ; or
one set of operators plant the former, while another follow with the latter, imless the time
for removing the nurses, as in the case of evergreen pines and firs, should be later
than that for planting the principals. " The plants, if brought from a distance,
should be shoughed, i.e. earthed; or they may be supplied daily from the nursery, as
circumstances direct. All the people employed ought to be provided with thick aprons,
in which to lap up the' plants ; the spadesmen, as well as the boys or girls ; the latter
being supplied by the former as occasion may require. All of them should regularly
fill their aprons at one time, to prevent any of the plants being too long retained in any
of the planters' aprons. One man cannot possibly set a plant so well with the spade,
unless in the case of laying, as two people can ; nor, supposing him to do it as well,
can he plant half as many in the same space of time as two can. A boy ten years
of age is equal, as a holder, to the best man on the field, and can be generally had
for less than half the money. Hence this method is not only the best, but the least
expensive." (Plant. Kal. 167.)
3660. By pitting. " The pit having been dug for several months, the surface will
therefore be encrusted by the rains, or probably covered with weeds. The man first
strikes the spade downwards to the bottom, two or three times, in order to loosen the
soil ; then poaches it as if mixing mortar for the builder ; he next lifts out a spadeful
of the earth, or, if necessary, two spadesfull, so as to make room for all the fibres, without
their being anywise crowded together ; he then chops the rotten turf remaining in the
bottom, and levels the whole. The boy now places the plant perfectly upright, an inch
deeper than when it stood in the nursery, and holds it firm in that position. The man
trindles in the mould gently ; the boy gently moves the plant, not from side to side, but
upwards and downwards, until the fibres be covered. The man then fills in all the re-
maining mould ; and immediately proceeds to chop and poach the next pit, leaving the
lx)y to set the plant upright, and to tread the mould about it. This in stiff wet soil he
does lightly ; but in sandy or gravelly soil he continues to tread until the soil no longer
retains the impression of his foot. The man has by this time got the pit ready for the
next plant, the boy is also ready with it in his hand, and in this manner the operation
goes on. On very steep hangs which have been pitted, the following rule ought to be
bbserved in planting ; to place the plant in the angle formed by the acclivity and surface
of the pit ; and in finishing to raise the outer margin of the pit highest, whereby the plant
will be made to stand as if on level ground, and the moisture be retained in the hollow
of the angle, evidently to its advantage." {Plant. Kal. 167.)
3661 . The slit method, either simply or by the T method, is not recommended by Sang ;
but necessity may justify its adoption occasionally. " We would not recommend plant-
ing by the slit, unless where there is no more soil than is absolutely occupied by the fibres
576
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Paet III.
of the herbage which grows on the place. Excepting on turf, it cannot be performed ;
nor should it be practised, if the turf be found three or four inches thick. By pitting in
summer, turf is capable of being converted into a proper mould in the space of a few
months ; and the expense of pitting, especially in small plantations, can never counter-
balance the risk of success in the eyes of an ardent planter. The most proper time to
perform the operation of slitting in the plants, is when the surface is in a moist state.
On all steeps the plant should be placed towards the declivity, that the moisture may fall
to its roots ; that is to say, in planting, the spadesman should stand highest, and the boy
lowest on the bank ; by which arrangement the plant will be inserted at the lower angle
of the slit." {Plant. Kal. 170.)
3662. Planting with the diamond dibber, he says, *' is the cheapest and most expeditious
planting of any we yet know, in cases where the soil is a sand or gravel, and the surface
bare of herbage. The plate of the dibber {Jig. 455 a) is made of good steel, and is
four inches and a half broad where the iron handle is welded to it ; each of the other two
sides of the triangle is five inches long ; the thickness of the plate is one fifth part of an
inch, made thinner from the middle to the sides, till the edges become sharp. The
length of the iron handle is seven inches, and so strong as not to bend in working, which
will require six-eighths of an inch square. The iron handle is furnished with a turned
hilt, like the handle of a large gimlet, both in its form and manner of being fixed on.
The planter is furnished with a planting bag, tied round his waist, in which he carries the
plants. A stroke is given with the dibber, a little aslant, the point lying inwards ; the
handle of the dibber is then drawn towards the person, while its plate remains within the
ground : by this means a vacuity is formed between the back of the dibber and the
ground ; into which the planter, with his other hand, introduces the roots of the seedling
plants, being careful to put them fully to the bottom of the opening : he then pulls out
the dibber, so as not to displace them, and gives the eased turf a smart stroke vi^ith the
heel ; and thus is the plant completely firmed. The greatest error the planter with this
instrument can run into, is the imperfect introduction of the roots. Green, or unprac-
tised hands, are apt to double the roots, or sometimes to lay them across the opening, in-
stead of putting them straight down, as above directed. A careful man, however, will
become, if not a speedy, at least a good planter in one day ; and it is of more importance
that he be a sure hand, than a quick one. A person who is of a careless or slovenly dis-
position, should never be allowed to handle a dibber of this kind."
3663. Planting with the plant-
ing-mattock {fig. 455 b) is resorted
to in rocky or other spots where
pitting is impracticable. " The
helve or handle is three feet six
inches long; the mouth is five
inches broad, and is made sharp ;
the length from it to the eye, or
helve, is sixteen inches ; and it is
used to pare off the sward, heath,
or other brush that may happen to
be in the way, previous to easing
the soil with the other end. The
small end tapers from the eye, and terminates in a point, and is seventeen inches long. "
By this instrument the surface is skimmed off " for six or eight inches in diameter, and
with the pick-end dug down six or eight inches deep, bringing up any loose stones to the
surface ; by which means a place will be prepared for the reception of the plant, little in-
ferior to a pit. This instrument may be used in many cases, when the plants to be
planted are of small size, such as one-year larch-seedlings, one year nursed ; or two-year
Scots pines, one year nursed ; and the expense is much less than by the spade." {Plant.
Kal. 385.)
3664. Planting with the forest-planter {Jig. 455 c). " The helve is sixteen inches
long, the mouth is four inches and a half broad, and the length of the head is fourteen
inches. The instrument is used in planting hilly ground, previously prepared by the hand-
mattock. The person who performs the work carries the plants in a close apron ; digs
out the earth sufficiently to hold the roots of the plant ; and sets and firms it without help
from another : it is only useful when small plantsare used, and in hilly or rocky situations. "
{Plant. Kal. pref xxiv.)
3665. Pontey prefers planting by jntling, in general cases ; the holes being made dur-
ing the preceding summer or winter, sufficiently large, but not so deep into a reten-
tive subsoil as to render them a receptacle for water. When the plants have been
brought from a distance he strongly recommends puddling them previously to planting ;
if they seem very much dried, it would be still better to lay them in the ground for eight
or ten days, giving them a good soaking of water every second or third day, in order to
Book II. FORMING PLANTATIONS. 577
restore their vegetable powers ; for it well deserves notice, that a degree of moisture in soil
sufficient to support a plant recently or immediately tak'en from the nursery, would, in the
case of dry ones, prove so far insufficient, that most of them would die in it. The pud.
dling here recommended may also be of great service in all cases of late planting where
small plants are 'used; Pontey's method is (after puddling) to tie them in bundles, of two or
three hundreds each ; and thus send them, by a cart-load at once, to where wanted ; where
such bundles being set upright, close to each other, and a little straw carefully applied to
the outsides of them, may remain without damage in a sheltered situation any reasonable
time necessary to plant them. Where loose soil happens to be convenient, that should be
substituted in the place of straw.
3666. j4 puddle for trees is made by mixing water with any soil rather tenacious, so in,,
timately as to form a complete puddle, so thick that when the plants are dipped into it,
enough may remain upon the roots to cover them. The process of puddling is certainly
simple, and its expense too trifling to deserve notice : its eSects, however, in retaining, if
not attracting moisture, are such that, by means of it, late planting is rendered abundantly
more safe that it otherwise would be. It is an old invention, and hence it is truly asto-
nishing that it is not more frequently practised. If people were to adopt it generally in
spring planting, Pontey believes the prejudice'^ in favor of autumn practice would soon
be done away. {Prof Plant. 167.)
3667. Pontey s methods of planting are in general the same as those of Sang : he uses a
mattock and planter of similar shape ; and also a two or three pronged instrument, which
we have elsewhere denominated the planter's hack. {Encyc. of Gard. § 1 305. ) " This in-
strument," he says, " has been introduced of late years as an improvement on the mattock
and planter, being better adapted to soils full of roots, stones, &c. ; it is likewise
easier to work, as it penetrates to an equal depth with a stroke less violent than the for-
mer : it is also less subject to be clogged up by a wet or tenacious soil. The length
of the prongs should be about eight inches, and the distances between them, when
with three prongs, one and a half, and with two prongs, about two inches ; the two-
pronged hack should be made somewhat stronger than the other, it being chiefly intended
for very stony lands, or where the soil wants breaking, in order to separate it from the
herbage, &c. These tools are chiefly applicable to plants of any size up to about two
feet, or such as are generally used for great designs, where they are used as a substitute for
the spade, in the following manner : The planter being provided with a basket holding
the plants required (the holes being supposed prepared, and the earth left in them), he
takes a tree in one hand, and the tool in the other, which he strikes into the hole,
and then pulls the earth towards him, so as to make a hole large enough to hold
all its roots; he then puts in the plant with the other, and pushes the earth to its
roots with the back of the planter; after which, he fixes the plant, and levels the
soil at the same instant with his foot : so that the operation is performed by one per-
son, with a degree of neatness and expedition which no one can attain to who uses
the spade. It is known to all planters, that but few laborers ever learn to plant
well and expeditiously in the common method, without an assistant: this method,
however, requires neither help nor dexterity ; as any laborer of common sagacity, or
boy of fifteen, or even a woman, may learn to perform it well in less than half an
hour. The facility with which these tools will break clods, clear the holes of stones,
or separate the soil from herbage, the roots of heath, &c. (the former being previ-
ously mellowed by the frost), may be easily imagined." {Prof. Plant. 173.) The
adoption of a small mattock for inserting plants, we recollect to have seen recom-
mended in a tract on planting in the Highlands, by M'Laurin, a nurseryman, pub-
lished at Edinburgh upwards of twenty years ago.
3668. An expeditious mode of slit planting is described in the General Report of Scot-
landf as having been practised for many years on the duke of Montrose's estate.
It is as follows : " The operator, with his spade, makes three cuts, twelve or fifteen
inches long, crossing each other in the centre, at an angle of sixty degrees, the whole
having the form of a star. {fig. 456. ) He inserts his spade across one 456
of the rays (a), a few inches from the centre, and on the side next
himself; then bending the handle towards himself, and almost to the
ground, the earth opening in fissures from the centre in the direction
of the cuts which had been made, he, at the same instant, inserts his
plant at the point where the spade intersected the ray (a), pushing it
forward to the centre, and assisting the roots in rambling through the
fissures. He then lets down the earth by removing his spade, having pressed it into
a compact state with his heel ; the operation is finished by adding a little earth, with the
grass side down, completely covering the fissures, for the purpose of retaining the
moisture at the root, and likewise as a top-dressing, which greatly encourages the plant
to pusli fresh roots between the swards." (Vol. ii. p. 283.)
Pp
578 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
Sect. IV. Of the Mixture of Trees in Plantations.
3669. The object of mixing trees in plantations is threefold : that of sheltering the
weaker but ultiinately more valuable kinds by the stronger and hardier ; that of drawing
as much profit from the soil as possible ; and that of producing variety of appearance.
3670. With respect to sJielter many situations are so exposed, that it is extremely diffi-
cult to rear trees without some mode of protecting them from the cold winds of spring
during their early growth. This is sometimes done by walls, the extent of whose influ-
ence, however, is but very limited ; by thick planting, or by planting the more hardy
and rapid growing species, to nurse up and protect such as are more tender, but ultimately
more valuable. The proportion of nurses to principals is increased according to the
bleakness of the site : Pontey says, *' Both authors and planters are in the habit of err-
ing egregiously, in regard to the proportion of principals and nurses, as they generally
use as many or more of the former than the latter, though it is very easy to show, that
they ought to use three times as many of the latter as the former. For instance, when
trees are planted at four feet apart, each occupies a surface of sixteen feet ; of course
four of them will occupy sixty-four, or a square of eight feet ; and, therefore, if we
plant three nurses to one principal tree, all the former might be displaced gradually, and
the latter would still stand only eight feet apart.
3671. Nurse plants should, in every possible case, be such as are most valued at an
early period of growth. The larch and spruce fir should be used liberally, in every case
where they will grow freely ; still it is not intended they should exclude all others,
more particularly the bircH, which has most of the properties of a good nurse, such as
numerous branches and quick growth, on any tolerable soil or situation. It is not,
however, like the others, a wood of general application. {Profitable Planter, p. 113.)
Sang also adopts the proportion of three nurses to one principal, and employs chiefly
the resinous tribe, and looks to them for reimbursement till the hard timber lias attained
to a foot in diameter, under which size hard timber is seldom of much value. His
principals are planted at from six to ten feet apart, according to the soil and situation.
(Plant. Kal. p. 166.)
3572. In procuring shelter much depends on the mode of commencing and continuing
plantations on bleak sites. Sang, who has had extensive experience in this part of planting,
observes, that " every plain, and most fields and situations for planting, in this country,
have what may be called a windward side, which is more exposed to the destructive blast
than any other. It is of great importance to be apprised of this circumstance, and to be
able to fix upon the most exposed side of the proposed forest plantation. Fix, then, upon
the windward side of the space which is to be converted into a forest, mark off a hori-
zontal stripe or belt, at least a hundred yards in breadth. Let this portion of ground
be planted thick, say at the distance of thirty inches, or at the most three feet, with a
mixture of larch, sycamore, and elder, in equal quantities or nearly so, if the soil be
adapted for rearing these ; but if it be better adapted for Scots pines, then let it be planted
with them at the distances prescribed for the above mixture. We have no other kinds
that will thrive better, or rise more quickly in bleak situations, than those just mentioned.
When the trees in this belt or zone have risen to the height of two feet, such hard-wood
trees as are intended ultimately to fill the ground should be introduced, at the distance of
eight or ten feet from each other, as circumstances may admit. At this period, or per-
haps a year or two afterwards, according to the bleak or exposed situation of the
grounds, let another parallel belt or zone, of nearly equal breadth, be added to the one
already so far grown up, and so on, till the whole grounds be covered. It is not easy
here to determine on the exact breadth of the subsequent belt or zones ; this matter
must be regulated by the degree of exposure of the grounds, by the shelter afforded by
the zone previously planted, and by such like circumstances." {Plant. Kal. p. 29.)
3673. In situations exposed to the sea breeze a similar plan may be successfully fol-
lowed, and aided in effect, by beginning with a wall ; the first zone having reached the
height of the wall, plant a second, a third, and fourth, and so on till you cover the whole
tract to be wooded. In this way the plantations on the east coast of Mid Lothian,
round Gosford-house, were reared; in Sang's manner, the mountains of Blair and
Dunkeld were clothed ; and examples, we are informed, might be drawn from the
Orkney and Shetland islands.
3674. The practice of mixing trees with a view of drawing as much nourishment from
the soil as possible, and giving, as it used to be said, more chances of success, was till
very lately generally apprpved of. Marshal advises mixing the ash with the oak, be-
cause the latter draws its nourishment chiefly from the subsoil, and the former from the
surface. Nicol is an advocate for indiscriminate mixture {Practical Planter, p. 77.),
and Pontey says, " both reason and experience will fully warrant the conclusion, that
the greatest possible quantity of timber is to be obtained by planting mixtures." {Prof.
Planter, p. 119.) "We are clearly of opinion," says Sang, " that the best method is
Book II. OF MIXING TREES. 579
to plant each sort in distinct masses or groups, provided the situation and quality of the
soil be properly kept in view. There has hitherto been too much random work carried
on with respect to the mixture of different kinds. A longer practice, and more expe-
rience, will discover better methods in any science. That of planting is now widely ex-
tended, and improvements in all its branches are introduced. We, therefore, having a
better knowledge of soils, perhaps, than our forefathers had, can with greater certainty
assign to each tree its proper station. We can, perhaps, at sight, decide that here the
oak will grow to perfection, there the ash, and here again the beech ; and the same with
respect to the others. If, however, there happen to be a piece of land of such a quality,
that it may be said to be equally adapted for the oak, the walnut, or the Spanish chestnut,
it will be proper to place such in it, in a mixed way as the principals ; because each
sort will extract its own proper nourishment, and will have an enlarged range of pastur-
age for its roots, and consequently may make better timber trees.
3675. By indiscriminately viixing different kinds of hard- wood plants in a plantation,
there is hardly a doubt that the ground will be fully cropped with one kind or other ; yet it'
very often happens, in cases when the soil is evidently well adapted to the most valuable;
sorts, as the oak perhaps, that there is hardly o»e oak in the ground for a hundred that
ought to have been planted. We have known this imperfection in several instances
severely felt. It not unfrequently happens, too, that even what oaks or other hard-wood
trees are to be met with, are overtopped by less valuable kinds, or perhaps such, all
things considered, as hardly deserve a place. Such evils may be prevented by planting
with attention to the soil, and in distinct masses. In these masses are insured a full
crop, by being properly nursed for a time with kinds more hardy, or which afford more
shelter than such hard-wood plants. There is no rule by'wl^ch to fix the size or extent
of any of these masses. Indeed, the more various they are made in size, the better will
they, when grown up, please the eye of a person of taste. They may be extended from
one acre to fifty, or a hundred acres, according to the circumstances of soil and situation :
their shapes will accordingly be as various as their dimensions. In the same manner
ought all the resinous kinds to be planted, which are intended for timber trees; nor,
should these be intermixed with any other sort, but be in distinct masses by themselves.
The massing of larch, the pine, and the fir of all sorts, is the least laborious and surest
means of good, straight, and clean timber. It is by planting, or rather by sowing them
in masses, by placing them thick, by a timous pruning and gradual thinning, that we
can with certainty attain to this object." {Plant. Kal. 162 and 166.) Our opinion is
in perfect consonance with that of Sang, and for the same reasons ; and we may add as
an additional one, that in the most vigorous natural forests one species of tree will gene-
rally be found occupying almost exclusively one soil and situation, while in forests less
vigorous on inferior and watery soils, mixtures of sorts are more prevalent. This may
be observed by comparing New Forest with the natural woods round Lochlomond, and
it is very strikingly exemplified in the great forests of Poland and Russia.
3676. With respect to the appearance of variety, supposed to be produced by mixing a
number of species of trees together in the same plantation, we deny that variety is pro-
duced. Wherever there is variety there must be some marked feature in one place,
to distinguish it from another ; but in a mixed plantation the appearance is every where
the same ; and ten square yards at any one part of it, will give nearly the same number
and kind of trees as ten square yards at any other part. " There is more variety,"
Repton observes, " in passing from a grove of oaks to a grove of firs, than in passing
through a wood composed of a hundred different species, as they are usually mixed
together. By this indiscriminate mixture of every kind of tree in planting, all variety
is destroyed by the excess of variety, whether it is adopted in belts, clumps, or more
extensive masses. For example, if ten clumps bo composed of ten different sorts
of trees in each, they become so many things exactly similar ; but if each clump con-
sists of the same sort of trees, they become ten different things, of wliich one may here-
after furnish a group of oaks, another of elms, another of chestnuts, or of thorns, &c.
In like manner, in the modern belt, the recurrence and monotony of the same mixture
of trees of all the different kinds, through a long drive, make it the more tedious, in
proportion as it is long. In part of the drive at Woburn, evergreens alone prevail,
which is a circumstance of grandeur, of variety, of novelty, and, I may add, of winter
comfort, that I never saw adopted in any other place, on so magnificent a scale. The
contrast of passing from a wood of deciduous trees to a wood of evergreens, must
be felt by the most heedless observer ; and the same sort of pleasure, though in a weaker
degree, would be felt, in the course of a drive, if the trees of different kinds were
collected in small groups or masses by themselves, instead of being blended indis-
criminately." (Enquiry into Changes of Taste, ^c. p. 23.)
3677. Sir WiUiam Chambers, and Price, agree in recommending the imitation of
natural forests in the arrangement of the species. In these, nature disseminates her
plants by scattering their seeds, and the offspring rise round the parent in masses or
Pp 2
580
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
breadths, depending on a variety of circumstances, but chiefly on the facility which these
seeds afford for being carried to a distance by the wind, the rain, and by birds or other
animals. At last that species which had enjoyed a maximum of natural advantages is
found to prevail as far as this maximum extended, stretching along in masses and irregular
portions of surface, till circumstances changing in favor of some other species, that
takes the precedence in its turn. In this way it will be generally found, that the
number of species, and the extent and style of the njasses in which they prevail, bears
a strict analogy to the changes of soil and surface ; and this holds good, not only with
respect to trees and shrubs, but to plants, grasses, and even the mossy tribe.
Sect. V. Of the Culture of Plantations.
8678. Most men consider a tree when once planted, as done with; though, as every
one knows, tlie- progress and products of trees, like those of other plants, may be
greatly increased or modified by cultivating the soil, pruning, and thinning.
SuBSECT. I, Of the Culture of the Soil among Trees.
S679. With respect to the culture of the soil, it is evident, that young plantations
should be kept clear of such weeds as have a tendency to smother the plants ; and though
this is not likely to take place on heaths and barren sites, yet even these should be
looked over once or twice during summer, and at least those weeds removed which
are conspicuously injurious. In grounds which have been prepared previously to plant-
ing, weeding, hoeing by hand, or by the horse hoe, and digging or ploughing, become
necessary according to circumstances. The hoeings are performed in summer to
destroy weeds, and render the soil pervious to the weather ; the ploughing and diggings
in winter are for the same purpose, and sometimes to prepare the soil for spring crops.
These, both Pontey and Sang allow, may be occasionally introduced among newly-planted
trees ; though it must not be forgotten that relatively to the trees, the plants composing
such crops are weeds, and some of them, as the potatoe, weeds of the most exhausting
kind. Sang uses a hoe of larger size than usual {fig. 455 d.)
3680. In preparing lands for solving woods. Sang ploughs in manure, sows in rows six
feet apart, by which he is enabled to crop the ground between, with low growing early
potatoes, turnips, and lettuce ; but not with young trees as a sort of nurserj', as they prove
more scourging crops than esculent vegetables ; nor with grain, as not admitting of
culture, and being too exhausting for the soil. Marshal, and some other authors, how-
ever, approve of sowing the tree seeds with a crop of grain, and hoeing up the stubble
and weeds when the crop is removed.
3681. Pontey observes, " that wherever preparing the soil for planting is thought
necessary, that of cultivating it for some years afterwards, will generally be thought the
same ; slight crops of potatoes with short tops, or turnips, may be admitted into such
plantations with advantage for two or three years, as they create a necessity for annually
digging or stirring the surface, and tend very materially to accelerate the growth of the
plants. It may be objected, that such crops must impoverish the soil, and no doubt but
such is the fact, so far as common vegetables are concerned ; but as to the production of
wood, its support depends, in a great measure, on a different species of nutriment ; and
hence, I could never observe, that such cropping damaged it materially." {Profit.
Plant, p. 153.)
3682. Osier plantations, for baskets, willows, and hoops, require digging and cleaning
during the whole course of their existence ; and so do hedge-rows to a certain extent,
and some ornamental plantations.
SuBSECT. 2. Of the Filling uj) of Blanks or Failures in Plantations.
3683. Filling up blanks is one of the first operations that occurs on the culture of
plantations next to the general culture of the soil, and the care of the external fences.
According to Sang, " a forest plantation, either in the mass form or ordinary mix-
ture, should remain several years after planting, before filling up the vacancies, by the
death of the hard wood-plants, takes place. Hard- wood plants, in the first year, and even
sometimes in the second year after planting, die down quite to the surface of the ground,
and are apparently dead, while their roots, and the wood immediately above them, are
quite fresh, and capable of producing very vigorous shoots, which they frequently do
produce, if allowed to stand in their places. If a tree, such as that above alluded to, be
taken out the first or second year after planting, and the place filled up with a fresh plant
of the same kind, what happened to the former may probably happen to the latter ; and
so the period of raising a plant on the spot may be protracted to a great length of time ;
or it is possible this object may never be gained.
3684. The filing up of the hard-wood kinds in a plantation which has been planted
after trenching, or summer fallow, and which has been kept clean by the hoe, may be done
Book II.
PRUNING TREES.
581
with safety at an earlier period than under the foregoing circumstances ; because the
trees, in the present case, have greater encouragement to grow vigorously after planting,
and may be more easily ascertained to be entirely dead, than where the natural herbage
is allowed to grow among them.
3685. But the ^filling up of larches and pines may take place the first spring after the
plantation has been made ; because such of these trees as have died are more easily
distinguished. In many cases where a larch or pine loses its top, either by dying down, or
the biting of hares or rabbits, the most vigorous lateral branch is elected by nature ta
supply the "deficiency, which by degrees assumes the character of an original top. Pines,
and larches, therefore, which have fresh lateral branches, are not to be displaced, although
they have lost their tops. Indeed no tree in the forest, or other plantation, ought to be
removed until there be no hope for its recovery.
3686. If the filling up of plantations be left tmdone tiU the trees have risen to fifteen or
twenty feet in height, their roots are spread far abroad, and their tops occupy a con-
siderable space. The introduction of two or three plants, from a foot to three feet in
height, at a particular deficient place, can never, in the above circumstances, be attended
with any advantage. Such plants may, indeecj, become bushes, and may answer well
enough in the character of underwood, but they will for ever remain unfit for any other
purpose. It is highly improper then, to commence filling up of hard- wood plantations,
before the third year after planting ; or to protract it beyond the fifth or the sixth, March
is tlie proper season for this operation. [Plant. Kal. 295.)
SuBSECT. 3. Of Pruning and Heading Down Trees in Plantations.
3687. Pruning is the most important operation of tree culture, since on it, in almost
every case, depends the ultimate value, and in most cases, the actual bulk of timber pro-
duced. In the purposes of pruning, as for most other practicable purposes, the division
of trees into resinous or frondose-branched trees, and into non-resinous or branchy-
headed sorts is of use. The main object in pruning frondose-branched trees, is to pro-
duce a trunk with clean bark and sound timber; that in pruning branchy-stemmed trees,
is principally to direct the ligneous matter of the tree into the main stem or trunk, and
also to produce a clean stem and sound timber, as in the other case. The branches of
frondose trees, unless in extraordinary cases, never acquire a timber size, but rot off
from the bottom upwards, as the tree advances in height and age ; and, therefore, whe-
ther pruned or not, the quantity of timber in the form of trunk is the same. The
branches of the other division of trees, however, when left to spread out on every side,
often acquire a timber-like size ; and as the ligneous matter they contain is in general far
from being so valuable as when produced in the form of a straight stem, the loss by not
pruning off their side branches or preventing them from acquiring a timber-like size is
evident. On the other hand, when they are broken off by accident, or rot off by being
crowded together, the timber of the trunk, though in these cases increased in quantity, is
rendered knotty and rotten in quality.
3688. With respect to the manner of pruning. Sang observes, *' where straight tim-
ber is the object, both classes in their infancy should be feathered from the bottom
upwards, keeping the tops light and spiral, sometliing resembling a young larch {fig.
457 a). The proportion of their tops should
be gradually diminished, year by year, till
about their twentieth year, when they should
occupy about a third part of the height of
the plant ; that is, if the tree be thirty feet
high, the top should be ten feet (6). In all
cases in pruning off the branches, the utmost
care must be taken not to leave any stumps
sticking out, but cut them into the quick.
It is only by this means that clean timber
can be procured for the joiner ; or slightly
stemmed trees to please the eye. It is a
very general practice to leave snags or
stumps (c) ; before the bole can be enlarged
suflSciently to cover these, many years must
elapse ; the stumps in the meantime become
rotten ; and the consequence is, timber which
when sawn up (rf), is only fit for fuel."
3689. Pontey justly observes, " that the
sap of a tree may be considered as the raw ma-
terial furnished by nature ; and man, the ma-
nufacturer who moulds it into the form most useful for his purpose.
P p 3
A moderate quantity
^82 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
of leaves and small wood is necessary to every tree ; but all above that quantity are of no
use to the plant, and of little value to its owner." (Forest Pruner, 152 and 153.)
3690. The great importance of the leaves of trees must never be lost sight of : in
attending to these instructions their use is not, as Pontey asserts, to attract the sap, but
to elaborate it when propelled to them, and thus form the extract or food taken in by the
plant, into a fluid analogous to blood, and which is returned so formed by the leaves into
the inner bark and soft wood. It must be a very nice point, therefore, to determine the
3uaptity of branches or leaves that sl)ould be left on each tree ; and if no more are left
lan what are necessary, then in the case of accidents to them from insects, the progress
of the tree will be doubly retarded. Experience alone can determine these things.
Both Pontey and Sang agree that " strength is gained as effectually by a few branches
to a head as by many."
3691. The general seasons of pruning are winter and spring, and for the gean mid-
summer, as it is found to gum very much at any other season. Pontey says, " as to the
proper seasons of pruning there is only one difficulty ; and that is, discovering the wrong
one, or the particular time that trees will bleed. Only two trees have been found which
bleed uniformly at certain seasons, namely, the sycamore, and firs, which bleed as soon as
the sap begins to move."
3692. In spring jrruning desist when bleeding takes place. As a general rule, Pontey
thinks " summer preferable to winter pruning ; because, in proportion as wounds are made
early they heal so much more in the same season." (Forest Pruner, 236.) Sang sus-
pends pruning from the end of February to the middle of July, but carries it on during
every other month of the year ; pruning the gean, or any other tree very apt to gum,
Only in July and August. (Plant. Kal. 268. J
3693. With respect to the implements to be used. Sang observes, " in every case where
the knife is capable of lopping off" the branch in question, namely, in tiie pruning of
infant plants, it is the only instrument necessaiy. All otiier branches should be taken off'
by the saw. A hatchet, or a chisel, should never be used. Every wound on the stem, or
bole, should be quite into the quick, that is, to the level and depth of the bark ; nor
should the least protuberance be left. The branch to be lopped off" by the saw should,
in all cases, be notched or slightly cut on the under side, in order to prevent the bark
from being torn in the fall ; and when the branch has been removed, the edges of the
wound, if anywise ragged, should be pared smooth with the knife. If the tree be vigorous,
nature will soon cover the wound with the bark, without the addition of any plaster to
exclude the air. In the shortening of a strong branch, the position of which is pretty
upright, it should be observed to draw the saw obliquely across it, in such a manner as
that the face of the wound shall be incapable of retaining moisture ; and afterwards to
smooth the edges of the bark with a knife." (Plant. Kal. 181.)
3694. In eveinf case where the branches are too large for the knife, Pontey prefers the saw
as the best and most expeditious instrument ; and one, the use of which is more easily
acquired by a laborer than that of either the bill or axe. In " large work" he uses the
common carpenter's saw ; for smaller branches, one with somewhat finer teeth, with the
plate of steel, about twenty inches long. — Having stated what is general in prun-
ing, the next thing is to submit some particular applications of the art to resinous and
non-resinous timber-trees, copse-wood, osier-holts, hedges and hedge-rows, and trees in
parks.
3695. Resinous trees, Pontey and Sang agree, should not be pruned at so early an
age as the non-resinous kinds. Sang commences about the sixth or eighth year, accord-
ing to their strength or vigor, and removes no more than one or two tiers of branches at
once. Pontey, when the plants are about eight feet high, gives the first pruning by
«* displacing two, or at most three tiers of the lower branches ; after which, intervals of
three years might elapse between the prunings, never displacing more than two tiers at
once, except more shall prove dead." (Forest Pruner, 204.) Sang judiciously ob-
serves, " excessive pruning, either of pines, larches, or deciduous trees of any sort, is
highly injurious, not only to the health of the plant, but to the perfection of the wood.
If a sufficient number of branches are not left on the young plant to produce abundance
of leaves, perfectly to concoct its juice, the timber will be loose in its texture, and liable
to premature decay." (Plant. Kal. 182.) Tlie opinions of Nicol and Monteith are at
variance with those of Pontey and Sang, as to pruning resinous trees, Nicol advises
leaving snags (Pract. Plant. 213.), and Monteith {Forest. Guide, 45.) says, "never
cut off* a branch till it has begun to rot, as the bleeding of a live l)ranch will go far to
kill the tree."
3696. Non-resinous trees. Sang observes, *' should be pruned betimes, or rather from
their infancy, and thenceforward at intervals of one, or at most two, years. If the .
pruning of young forest-trees is performed at intervals of eight or ten years, the growth
is unnecessarily thrown away, and wounds are inflicted which will ever after remain
blemishes in the timber; whereas, if the superfluous or competing branches had been
Book II. PRUNING TREES. 58S
removed annually, and before they obtained a large size, the places from which they
issued would be imperceptible, or at least not hurtful to the timber, when it came to the
hand of the artist."
3697. The pruning of all deciduous trees should be begun at the top, or at least those
branches which are to be removed from thence should never, be lost sight of. *' Having
fixed upon what may be deemed the best shoot for a leader, or that by which the stem is
most evidently to be elongated and enlarged, every other branch on the plant should be
rendered subservient to it, either by removing them instantly, or by shortening them.
Where a plant has branched into two or more rival stems, and there are no other very
strong branches upon it, nothing more is required than simply to lop off the weakest
clean by the bole, leaving only the strongest and most promising shoot. If three or
four shoots or branches be contending for the ascendancy, they should, in like manner,
be lopped off, leaving only the most promising. If any of the branches which have
been left further down on the bole of the plant at former prunings have become very
strong, or have extended their extremities far,, they should either be taken clean off, by the
bole, or be shortened at a proper distance from it; observing always to shorten at a
lateral twig of considerable length. It is of ii^portance that the tree be equally poised ;
and, therefore, if it have stronger branches on the one side than the other, they should
either be removed or be shortened. Tluis, a properly trained tree, under twenty feet
in height, should appear light and spiral, from within a yard or two of the ground to
the upper extremity ; its stem being furnished with a moderate number of twigs and
small branches, in order to detain the sap, and circulate it more equally through the
plant.
3698. The subsequent pi-unings of trees of this size, standing in a close plantation, will
require much less attention ; all that is wanted will consist in keeping their leading
shoots single. From the want of air, their lateral branches will not be allowed to ex-
tend, but will remain as twigs upon the stem. These, however, frequently become
dead branches ; and if such were allowed to remain at all on the trees, they would infal-
libly produce blemishes calculated greatly to diminish the value of the timber : hence
the impropriety of allowing any branch to die on the bole of a tree ; indeed, all branches
should be removed when they are alive ; such a method, to our knowledge, being the
only sure one to make good timber. From these circumstances, an annual pruning, or
at least an annual examination of all forests, is necessary. (Plant. Kal.)
3699. Heading down such non -resinous trees as stole, we have already stated to be
an important operation. After the trees have been three or four years planted. Sang
directs, that " such as have not begun to grow freely should be headed down to within
three or four inches of the ground. The cut must be made with the pruning-knife in a
sloping direction, with one effort. Great care should be taken not to bend over the tree
in the act of cutting. By so bending, the root may be split, a thing which too often
happens. The operation should be performed in March, and not at an earlier period of
the season, because the wounded part might receive much injury from the severe
weather in January and February, and the expected shoot be thereby prevented from
rising so strong and vigorous." (Plant. Kalend. 297.) Buffon, in a Memorial on the
Culture of Woods, presented to the French government in 1 742, says he has repeated this
experiment so often, that he considers it as the most useful practice he knows in the cul-
ture of woods.
3700. For the purjwse of producing bends for ship-timber, various modes of pruning
have been proposed, as such bends always fetch the highest price. According to Pon-
tey, " little is hazarded by saying, that if plenty of long, clean, straight, free-grown
trees could be got, steaming and a screw apparatus would fonri bends."
3701. Monteith, a timber valuator of great experience, and in extensive practice, says,
the value of the oak, the broad-leaved elm, and Spanish chestnut, depends a good deal
on their being crooked, as they are all used in ship building. He says he has seen trees
successfully trained into crooked shapes of great value, in the following manner: *' If
you have an oak, elm, or chestnut, that has two stems, as it were, striving for the supe-
riority, lop or prune off the straightest stem ; and if a tree that is not likely to be of such
value be standing on that side to which the stem left seems to incline to a horizontal
position, take away the tree, and thus give the other every chance of growing horizon-
tally At this time it will be necessary to take away a few of the perpendicular shoots off
the horizontal branch ; and, indeed, if these branches, which is sometimes the case in
such trees, seem to contend, take away most of them ; but if they do not, it is better
at this time not to prune over much, except the crooked shoots on the horizontal
branch, till they arrive at the height of fifteen, or even twenty feet. By this time
it will be easily seen what kind of tree it is likely to form ; and, if it inclines to grow
crooked, lighten a little the top of the tree, by taking off a few of the crooked branches
on the straighter side, allowing all the branches to remain on the side to which the tree
inclines to crook, to give it more weight, and to draw most of the juice or sap that way,
Pp 4
584 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
and it will naturally incline more to tlie crook ; at the same time clearing away any
other tree on the crooked side, that may be apt, with the wind, to wliip the side of the
tree to which it inclines to crook. Also taking away such trees of less value as may
prevent it from spreading out to the one side more than to the other." He adds, " I
have myself tried the experiment with several oak trees at about twelve feet high, that
were a little inclined to crook, and that had also a main branch inclined to a horizontal
position. In the course of less than twenty years, I had the pleasure of seeing some of
these very trees grow so very crooked that the branch would work in with the main
stem or bod^ of the tree, to a complete knee, or square, which is tlie most valuable of
all trees; and, as ten ' trees of crooked oak are required for one straight one, it is
of the most essential consequence to have crooked oak trees ; and besides, an oak tree,
properly crooked, that will answer for a large knee, (say the main branch, to be fit to
work in with the body or trunk of the tree without much waste of wood], is nearly
double in value to the same number of straight trees ; and, indeed, knees of oak are
extremely scarce, and difficult to be got."
3702. Pontey " knows of no way by which bends of tolerable scantlings (knees ex-
cepted) can be produced with certainty and little trouble, but from a side branch
kept in a bent position by the branches of another tree or trees overhanging its stem."
{Forest Pruner, 174.)
3703. Coppice woods, in so far as grown for poles or bark, require pruning on the
same principle as timber trees, in order to modify the ligneous matter into stem, and
produce clean bark. In as far as they are grown for fence wood, fuel, or besom spray,
no pruning is required.
3704. Osier holts require the laterals to be pinched off the shoots intended for hoops ;
those of the basket^maker seldom produce any. The stools, also, require to be kept free
from dead wood, and stinted knotty protuberances.
3705. Hedges require side pruning, or switching, from their first planting, so as gra-
dually to mould them into " the wedge shape, tapering from bottom to top on both sides
equally, till they meet in a point at the top. Two feet at bottom is a sufficient breadth
for a five feet hedge | a greater or less height should have the bottom wider or nar-
rower, accordingly. In dressing young hedges, either of the deciduous or evergreen
kinds, the sides only should be cut till the hedge arrive at the proposed height, unless
it be necessary, for the sake of shelter, to cut their tops over, in order to make the
hedges thicker of branches. Such cutting of the upright shoots, however, is not of
any great use in this respect ; because every hawthorn hedge sends out a number of
side shoots, which, if encouraged, by keeping the top wedge-shaped as above, will make
it abundantly thick." {Sang, 447.) In pruning hedges, some use shears; but the
hedge-bill is the most proper instrument, producing a smooth unfractured section, not
so apt to throw out a number of small useless shoots as generally follow the bruised cut
of the shears.
3706. Hedge-row trees require to be pruned to a tall, clean, erect stems, as at once
producing more timber, and doing least injury to the ground under their drip and
shade.
3707. Trees in strips for shelter, or screens for concealment, ought to be furnished
with branches from the bottom upwards ; unless undergrowth supply this deficiency.
Where this is not the case, care should be had that the trees be pruned into conical
shapes, so as that the lower branches may be as little as possible excluded from the influ-
ence of the weather by the upper ones.
3708. Trees for shade, where shelter from winds is not wanting, should be pruned to
ample spreading heads with naked stems ; the stems should be of such a height that the
sun's rays, at midday, in midsummer, may not fall within some yards of the base of the
trunk ; thus leaving under the trees, as well as on its shady side, a space for the repose of
men or cattle.
SuBSECT. 4. Of Thinning Young Plantations.
3709. The properly thinning out of plantations. Sang observes, "is a matter of the
first importance in their culture. However much attention be paid to the article of
pruning, if the plantation be left too thick, it will be inevitably ruined. A circulation
of air, neither too great nor small, is essential to the welfare of the whole. This should
not be wanting at any period of the growth of the plantation ; but in cases where it has been
prevented by neglect, it should not be admitted all at once, or suddenly. Opening a
plantation too much at once, is a sure way to destroy its health and vigor. In thinning,
the consideration which should, in all cases, predominate, is to cut for the good of tlie
timber left, disregarding the value of the thinnings. For, if we have it in our choice to
leave a good, and take away a bad plant or kind, and if it be necessary that one of the
two should fall, the only question should be, by leaving which of them shall we do most
justice to the laudable intention of raising excellent and full sized timber for the benefit
Book II. THINNING PLANTATIONS. 585
of ourselves and of posterity ? The worst tree should never be left, but with the view
of filling up an accidental vacancy.
3710. In thinning mixed plaritations, the removing of the nurses is the first object
which generally claims attention. This however should be cautiously performed ; other-
wise the intention of nursing might, after all, be thwarted. If the situation be much
exposed, it will be prudent to retain more nurses, although the plantation itself be rather
crowded, than where the situation is sheltered. In no cases, however, should the nurses
be suffered to overtop or whip the plants intended for a timber crop ; and for this reason,
in bleak situations, and when perhaps particular nurse plants can hardly be spared,
it may be sometimes necessary to prune off the branches from one side entirely. At
subsequent thinnings, such pruned or disfigured plants are first to be removed ; and then
those which, from their situation, may best be dispensed with.
3711. ^t tvhat period of the age of the plantation the nurses are to be removed, cannot
easily be determined; and, indeed, if the nurses chiefly consist of larches, it may with
propriety be said, that they should never be totally removed, while any of tlie other kinds
remain. For, besides that this plant is admirably calculated to compose part of a beauti-
ful mixture, it is excelled by few kinds, perhaps, by none as a timber tree.
3712. But when the nurses consist of inferior kinds, such as the mountain ash or Scots
pine, they should generally be all moved by the time the plantation arrives at the height
of fifteen or twenty feet, in order that the timber trees may not, by their means, be
drawn up too weak and slender. Before tliis time it may probably be necessary to thin
out a part of the other kinds. The least valuable, and the least thriving plants, should
first be condemned, provided their removal occasion no blank or chasm; but where this
would happen, they should be allowed to stand till the next, or other subsequent revision.
3713. At what distance of time this revision should take place, cannot easily be
determined ; as the matter must very much depend on the circumstances of soil, shelter,
and the state of health the plants may be in. In general the third season after will be soon
enough ; and if the plantation be from thirty to forty years old, and in a thriving state,
it will require to be revised again, in most cases within seven years. But one invariable
rule ought to prevail in all' cases, and in all situations, to allov/ no plant to overtop
or wliip another. Respect should be had to the distance of the tops, not to the distance
of the roots of the trees ; for some kinds require more head room than others ; and all trees
do not rise perpendicular to their roots, even on the most level or sheltered ground.
3714. With respect to the final distance to which trees, standing in a mixed plantation,
should be thinned, it is hardly possible to prescribe fixed rules ; circumstances of health,
vigor, the spreading nature of the tree, and the like, must determine. Whether the trees are
to be suffered to stand till full grown ; which of the kinds the soil seems best fitted for ;
whether the ground be flat or elevated ; and whether the situation be exposed or sheltered,
are all circumstances wliich must influence the determination of the ultimate distance at
which the trees are to stand. It may, however, be said in general, that if trees be
allowed a certain distance of from twenty five to thirty feet, according to their kinds and
manner of growth, they will have room to become larger timber.
3715. Plantations of Scots pine, if the plants have been put in at three, or three and
a half feet apart, will require little care until the trees be ten or twelve feet high. It is
necessary to keep such plantations thick in the early part of their growth, in order that
the trees may tower the faster, and push fewer and weaker side branches. Indeed, a pine
or soft-wood plantation should be kept thicker at any period of its growth, than any of those
consisting of hard- wood and nurses already mentioned ; and it may sometimes be proper
to prune up certain plants as nurses, as hinted at above for nurses in a mixed plantation.
Those pruned-up trees are of course to be reckoned temporary plants, and are afterwards to
be the first thinned out ; next to these, all plants which have lost their leaders by accident,
should be condemned ; because such will never regain them so far, as after to become
stately timber ; provided that the removal of these mutilated trees cause no material
blank in the plantation. Care should be taken to prevent whipping ; nor should the
plantation be thinned too much at one time, lest havock be made by prevailing
winds ; an evil which many, through inadvertency, have thus incurred. This precaution
seems the more necessary, inasmuch as Scots pines, intended for useful large timber, are
presumed never to be planted except in exposed situations and thin soils. At forty
years of age, a good medium distance for the trees may be about fifteen feet
every way. It may be wortliy of remark, that after a certain period, perhaps by the
time that the plantation arrives at the age of fifty or sixty years, it will be proper to thin
more freely, in order to harden the timber ; and that then this may be done with less
risk of danger, from the strength the trees will have acquired, than at an earlier period ;
but still it should be done^radually.
3716. Plantations of sprUce and silver firs, intended for large useful timber, should
be kept much in the manner above stated, both in their infancy and middle age. . As
586 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
already remarked, planting and keeping them as thick as is consistent with their healtli,
is the best means of producing tall, straight, clean stems, and valuable timber. When
planted for screens or for ornament, they require a different treatment ; which will be
noticed in the proper place. " To larch plantations, the above observations will also
apply, and indeed they are applicable to plantations of all kinds of resinous trees. It
may be proper here to remark, that the exposed margin of all young plantations
should be kept thicker than the interior. The extent to which this rule should be carried,
must be regulated according to the degree of exposure of the situation, the age of
the plants, the tenderness of the kinds, and other circumstances." Autumn, or very
early in the spring, are the proper seasons for thinning where the trees are to be taken
up by the root and replanted elsewhere ; winter for thinning for timber and fuel ; but
such trees as are valuable for their barks should be left untouched till the sap rises in
April or May.
3717. Copse-woods require thinning when young, like other plantations, and when once
established the stools require to be gone over the second year after cutting, and all
superfluous suckers and shoots removed. This operation should be repeated annually,
or every two or three years, in connection with pruning, till within three or four years
of the general fall of the crop.
Sect. VI. Of the Improvement of Neglected Plantations.
3718. Neglected and mismatuiged plantations will include the greater number in Bri-
tain. The artificial strips and masses have generally never been thinned or pruned ;
and the natural wood or copse-woods improperly thinned or cut over. It is often a
difficult matter to know what to make of such cases, and always a work of considerable
time. *' Trees," Sang observes, " however hardy their natures may be, which have
been reared in a thick plantation, and consequently have been very much sheltered, have
their natures so far changed, that if they be suddenly exposed to a circulation of air,
which, under different circumstances, would have been salubrious and useful to them,
will become sickly and die. Hence the necessity of admitting the air to circulate freely
among trees in a thick plantation, only gradually, and with great caution."
3719. -A jflontation which has become close and crowded^ having been neglected from
the time of planting till perhaps its twentieth year, should only have some of the
smallest and most unsightly plants removed; one, perhaps, in every six or eight, in the
first season ; in the following season, a like number may be removed ; and, in two or three
years afterwards, it should be gone over again, and so on, till it be sufficiently thinned.
It will be proper to commence the thinning, as above, at the interior of the plantations,
leaving the skirts thicker till the last ; indeed, the thinning of the skirts of such a plant-
ation should be protracted to a great length of time. With thinning, pruning to a certain
extent should also be carried on. " If the plantation," Sang observes, " consists of pines
and firs, all the rotten stumps, decayed branches, and the like, must be cut off close by
the bole. It will be needful, however, to be cautious not to inflict too many wounds
upon the tree in one season ; the removing of these, therefore, should be the work of
two or three years, rather than endanger the health of the plantation. After the removal of
these from the boles of the firs and larches, proceed every two or tliree years, but with a
sparing hand, to displace one or perhaps two tiers of the lowermost live branches, as
circumstances may direct, being careful to cut close by the trunk, as above noticed. In
a plantation of hard-wood, under the above circumstances, the trees left for the ultimate
crop, are not to be pruned so much at first as might otherwise be required ; only one or
two of their competing branches are to be taken away, and even these with caution. If
it be judged too much for the first operation to remove them entirely, they may be
shortened, to prevent the progress of the competition ; and the remaining parts may
be removed in the following season ; at which time, as before observed, they must be cut
close by the bole." (Plant. Kal. 467.)
3720. The operatio7i of thinning and pruning, thickening or filing up, or renewing
portions that cannot be profitably recovered, should thus go on, year after year, as ap-
pearances may direct, on the general principles of tree culture. And for this purpose,
the attentive observation and reflection of a judicious manager will be worth more than
directions which must be given with so much latitude. Pontey has noticed various
errors in
3721. Kennedy's Treatise on Planting, and even in Sang's Xalendar, on the simple
subject of distances, which have originated in their giving directions for anticipated
cases which had never come within their experience. " Most people," he says, *' take
it for granted, that if trees stand three feet apart, they have only to take out the half to
make the distances six feet, though to do that, they must take down three times as
many as they leave. By the same rule, most people would suppose that twelve feet
Book II.
:neglected plantations.
587
distance was only the double of six ; but the square of the latter is only thirty-six, while
that of the former is one hundred and forty-four, or four times the latter ; so that to bring
six feet distances to twelve, three trees must be removed for every one left." {profitable
Planter, 256, and Forest Pruner, 21.)
3722. Copse-woods are sometimes imjrroved by turning them into woods, which requires
nothing more than a judicious selection and reservation of
those shoots from the stools which are strongest, and which
spring more immediately from the collar. But a greater
improvement of copse- woods consists in cutting over the
overgrown and protuberant stools by the surface of the
soil (Jig. 458 a, b, c, d), which has been found by Mon-
teith completely to regenerate them. The operation is
performed with a saw, in a slanting direction, and the
young shoots being properly thinned and pruned, soon
estabh'sh themselves securely on the circumference of large
and perhaps rotten-hearted roots. {Forester s Guide, 60.)
3723. Neglected hedge-row timber may be improved by pruning according to its age.
Blakey recommends what he calls
fore-shortening, or cutting-in, as
the best method both for young
and old hedge-row timber. " This
operation is performed by short-
ening the over-luxuriant side-
branches {Jig. 459 a), but not to
cut them to a stump, as in snag-
pruning ; on the contrary, the ex-
tremity only of the branch should
be cut off, and the amputation
effected immediately above where
an auxiliary side-shootsprings from
the branch on which the operation
is to be performed [h) ; this may be at the distance of two, four, or any other number
of feet from the stem of the tree; and suppose the auxiliary branch which is left (when
the top of the branch is cut off) is also over-luxuriant, or looks unsightly, it should also
be shortened at its sub-auxiliary branch, in the same manner as before described. The
branches of trees, pruned in this manner, are always kept within due bounds ; they do
not extend over the adjoining land to the injury of the occupier, at least not until the
stem of the tree rises to a height (out of the reach of pruning), when the top-branches
can do comparatively little injury to the land. By adopting this system of pruning, the
bad effects of close pruning on old trees, and snag-pruning on young ones, will be
avoided, the country will be ornamented, and the community at large, as well as indi-
viduals, benefited."
Sect. VII. Of the Treatment of Injured and Diseased Trees.
3724. With respect to wounds, bruises, casualties, and defects of trees, such small wounds
as are rcciuired to be made by judicious pruning, easily heal up of themselves ; large
wounds, by amputation of branches above six inches diameter, should, if possible, never
be made. Even wounds of six inches diameter or under will heal quicker by the appli-
cation of any material that excludes the air and preserves the wood from corruption ; and
we agree with Sang in recommending coal-tar, or the liquor produced from coals in
manufacturing gas. It is, however, less favorable to the progress of the bark over the
wound than a coating of clay or cow-dung covered with moss to keep it moist. Pontey
recommends putty and two coats of paint over it. In case the wood, at a bruised or
amputated place, has by neglect become already corrupted, the rotten or dead wood is to
be pared out quite into the quick, and the wound is then to be dressed with tar or clay^
covered with a piece of mat, sacking, or moss. A wound, hollowed out as above, may
at first appear an unsightly blemish ; but, in subsequent years, nature will lay the
coats of wood under the new-formed bark thicker at that place ; and probably may, in
time, fill it up to be even with the general surface of the tree.
3725. Ah fractures, by whatever means produced, are to be managed as the circum-
stances of the case require. If a large branch be broken over at the middle of its lengthy
It should be sawn clear off close by the lateral which is nearest to the bole of the tree :
but, if there is no lateral, or branch, capable to carry forward the growth, cut the main or
fractured branch in quite to the bole. In both cases, treat the wound as above recom-
mended.
588 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Paut III.
3726. Interior rotting, arising from the dampness of the soil, cannot by the art of man
be cured; though it might have been prevented by timous draining. The hearts of trees
frequently rot, where there is no excess of moisture, and especially such as have been
produced from old roots left iu the ground by a previous felling. Such roots when in
good ground, send up very great shoots, with few leaves in proportion to their sizes ; by
the absence of a profusion of these, properly to concoct the juices so abundantly supplied
by the roots, the fibre of the wood is loose and imperfect ; the next season will produce
more leaves in proportion to the supply of juices, yet not a sufficient number for making
timber ; several years may pass before this event will arrive : thus crude and ill-digested
timber disposed to premature decay is the foundation over which subsequent coatings of
■wood are laid : yet, however perfect these may be, they do not prevent the progress of
decomposition going on in the interior. Nature teaches how necessary numerous leaves
are to the proportion of the solid wood ; the cotyledons and subsequent leaves of a one-
year old tree, are a thousand times greater, compared to its solid contents, than are
leaves to the solid contents of the first year's shoots from roots like the above.
3727. Shakes often arise from the weight and multiplicity of top branches, and might
have been prevented by timous pruning. Shakes or rents in the boles of trees, however,
often happen where there is no excess of tops. Sometimes the rain running down from
the branches, wets one part of the bole, while the rest is comparatively dry. If this cir-
cumstance is succeeded by an intense frost, before the wetted side become dry, the bole
may be rent for a length, and perhaps to the depth of the core. Shakes or rents, like
the above, are difficult to cure. The best method of helping them, is to trace out their
upper extremity, caulk it up with oakum, and pitch it over, to prevent the rain descend-
ing that way in future. (Sang. )
3728. I7i cases ofhoUownesSf Pontey recommends probing to the bottom, letting out
the water, if any, with an auger, drying the cavity with a cloth, filling it with dry sand,
plugging it with wood and oakum, and then painting it over.
3729. Decorticated stems or branches by ligntning, or otherwise, if the soft wood is not
much injured, will heal over and become covered with bark ; and this the more certainly
and rapidly if the air be excluded by a coating of adhesive matter, as cow dung and quick
lime, or tying on moss or bandages of mat or cloth. Pontey gives an instance in which
such treatment was successful in the case of an apple tree. [Pruner, 230.) We have
witnessed it on an extensive scale on the trunk of a pear tree ; and we are informed, on
the best authority, of other cases now under progress, in the government garden of the
Luxemberg, at Paris.
3730. Withered or decayed tops, may arise from age and incipient decay ; but also, as
Pontey states, from improper pruning, or the want of it. We often see it from improper
pruning elms, which, after having been close pruned to their summits for many years, are
left entirely to nature; in that case they branch out luxuriantly below, and the top
withers. By neglecting to thin out the branches dn the,stems of non-resinous trees the
same effect may be produced.
3731. Stinted bushy tops on very tall naked stems, show a deficiency of nourishment,
from these circumstances ; and on short stems from defects of the soil. Obliquely
placed misshapen heads, in detached trees, commonly proceed from the same causes and
want of shelter. Stinted growth, both in tops and stems, is also produced by ivy, and
by lichens, mosses, miseltoe, and other parasites. Ivy compresses the bark, precludes its
expansion, as well as excludes air and moisture, by which the outer bark becomes rigid
and corky. — Happily, both men and trees will live a long time under the influence both
of deformity and disease.
3732. Excessive exudations of gum and resins are peculiar to resinous and some other
trees when over pruned, or pruned at improper times. Mildew, honeydew, and blight ;
three popular names applied to the effects of certain insects of the aphis kind, attack the
oak, beech, poplar, and many trees; all that can be said is, if proper regimen has been
regularly attended to, trees will overcome these and all other enemies.
3733. Insects and vermin. Almost every tree has its particular insect of the hemip-
terous and dipterous families, and many of the coleoptera are common to all. The foli-
age of the small leaved elm of hedges is often almost entirely destroyed in the early part
of the season by tenthredinidae ; and those of the larch and Scotch pine have suffered ma-
terially in some seasons from aphides. The aphis laricea, L. {Eriosomata, of Leach,)
increased to an alarming extent from 1800 to 1802, on the larch, on account of three dry
seasons following each other ; but, though it retarded their growth, it ultimately destroyed
very few trees. Sang says, he has known it since 1785; that it dirties more than in-
jures the tree, and is now (1819) thought little of. Indeed, almost every species of tree
has been known to have suffered in some one or more seasons, and in particular districts
from insects ; for which, on so large a scale, there seems to be no applicable remedy, but
patiently waiting till their excess, or the increase of other vermin, their natural enemies.
Book II. PRODUCTS OF TREES. 589
or a change of seasons, cause them to disappear. Trees properly cultivated and managed,
generally overcome such enemies. The hare is well known to be injurious to young
trees, and especially to laburnums, by gnawing off their bark. Coating their stems witli
dung and urine, fresh from the cow-house, is said to be an effectual remedy. It may be
put on with a brush to the height of two feet ; a barrow load will suffice for a hundred
trees, with stems of three or four inches in diameter ; and its virtue, after laid on, endures
at least two years. {Bull, in Cald. Hort, Mem. iv. 1 90. )
Sect. VIII. Of the Products of Trees and their Prqmration for Use or Sale.
3734. The ordinary products of trees made use of in the arts are leaves, prunings, or
spray, thinnings, seeds, flexible shoots, bark, branches, roots, and trunks. Trees also
afford sap for wine and sugar, and extract for dyeing ; but these products are of too
accidental or refined a nature for our present purpose.
3735. The leaves and sprat/ of trees when gathered before they begin to decay, maybe
given to cattle either in their fresh state or dried and stacked up for winter use, as
is practised in various countries. In this country, however, leaves and spray, as the
clippings of hedges and small prunings, are only used as manure ; or as a substitute
for tanners' bark in gardens.
3736. The thinnings, when not beyond a suitable age, and taken up properly, and at
a proper season, may be planted in other situations, or as single trees and groups ; or they
may be used as hoops, hop-poles, poles for garden training, for fencing, for props in
coaleries ; and for a great variety of purposes; those, whose barks are useful for tanning,
should not be cut down, or rooted up till May, but the others at any time during winter.
It is common to sort them into lots, according to their kind or size; and to faggot up the
spray for fuel, besom stuff, or for distilling for bleacher's liquid,
3737. The seeds of trees in general cannot be considered of much use beyond that of
continuing the species. The seeds of the oak, beech, and sweet chestnut, however, are
valuable for feeding swine, and where they abound may either be swept together after they
drop, and carried away and preserved dry in lofts or cellars for that purpose ; or if other
circumstances are favorable, swine may be driven under the trees to collect them. These
and other seeds, as the haw and holly, are also eaten by deer. The seeds of the trees
mentioned, and of all the resinous tribe, are in general demand by the nurserymen for
the purposes of propagation. The seeds of almost all other trees and shrubs are also in
limited or occasional demand ; or may be collected for private sowing. They generally
ripen late in the season, and are to be collected in the end of autumn or beginning of
winter, with the exception of a few, such as the elm, poplar, willow, and one or two
others, which ripen their seeds in May and June.
3738. In osier grounds, willows produce flexible shoots, and whether intended for the
basket-maker or cooper, should not be cut till the second season after planting, in order
to strengthen the stools; but by the third autumn the crop will be fit for the basket-
maker, and in the fourth, plantations intended for the cooper (hoops requiring the growth
of two years) will be seady. The seasons for cutting are November and March ; after
the former period the wounds are apt to be injured by frost, and after the latter the sap
is too far advanced ; some is lost by bleeding, and the buds are developed too suddenly
to admit of proper strength in the shoots. The cut should be made within three buds of
the point whence the shoot issued, in a sloping direction, and the section on the under-
side. In cutting hoop-willows, the swell at the bottom of the shoot only should be left,
that being furnished with abundance of buds for future growth. After being cut, the
hoops are trimmed from any side-shoots, and tied up in bundles of a hundred, of six
scores each, which, in 1 820, sold for from four shillings to five shillings a bundle. The
willows are sorted, into three sizes, and tied in bundles two feet in circumference, within
a foot of the lower ends. When to be peeled, they are immediately after cutting set on
their thick ends in standing water, a few inches deep, and there they remain till the sap
ascends freely, which is commonly by the end of the succeeding May. " The apparatus'
for peeling is simply two round rods of iron, nearly half an inch thick, sixteen inches
long, and tapering a little upwards, welded together at the one end which is sharpened,
so as that it may be easily thrust down into the ground. When thus placed in a piece of
firm ground, the peeler sits down opposite to it, and takes the willow in the right hand
by the small end, and puts a foot or more of the great end into the instrument, the prongs
of which he presses together with the left hand, and with the right draws the willow
towards him ; by whicii operation the bark will at once be separated from the wood :
the small end is then treated in the same manner, and the peeling is completed. Good
willows peeled in the above manner, have been sold for some seasons past, at from
six shillings and sixpence to seven shillings the bundle of four feet in circumference.
After being peeled, they will keep in good condition for a long time, till a proper
market be found."
590 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
3739. Copse-woods are generally cut over when the shoots of the stools have attained
from three to five inches' diameter at their bases ; some grown chiefly for hop-poles,
and ware or stuff for crates, hampers, or wattled hurdles, arc cut over earlier, and
others, where small timber for fencing and other country purposes is wanted, are
left later. In some parts of Herefordshire, where the oak grows with great rapidity,
copse-woods are cut over every twelve years ; in the highlands of Scotland, where it
grows much slower, the time varies from twenty to twenty-five or thirty years. ** The
bark is there considered as having arrived at its utmost perfection and at its highest
value, at the age of between twenty and thirty years : under that age, its virtues are
weak ; above it, the bark becomes coarse and loses its sap. Another important rea-
son for cutting down oak coppice-wood about the above period, is suggested in the
Stirlingshire Report, p. 218. ; namely,' that it is a fact established by experience, that it
will not renew itself, if it remains uncut, beyond the space of about forty years.* "
{Gen. Rep. of Scotland, 218.) Where there is a considerable tract of copse-wood, it is
common to divide it into portions, in number according to the period of cutting. These
are to be cut in rotation, so that when the last portion is cut over, the first is again ready
for cutting.
3740. The season for cutting the kinds of trees whose barks are not made use of, is
winter and early in spring ; but the oak and other trees which are peeled, are left till the
middle of April or May. Birch and larch woods will peel nearly a month earlier than
the oak. Should there be no frost, birch and larch may be peeled about the beginning
of April ; but the birch is commonly allowed to stand till July, and the peeling of it is
commenced after that of the oak has been completed. The reason is, there is an outer
skin upon birch-bark which requires to be taken off, as it is of no use to the tanner,
and renders that part which is of use more difficult to be ground ; the month of July
is the only time at which the two barks can be separated with ease, as at this time the
juice or sap has made its circulation through the tree and bark, and this circumstance
renders the separation more easy. From the beginning of May to the middle of July
is the usual time for barking the oak. The earlier in the spring this operation is per-
formed on the oak, both for the growth, if a natural wood, and for the bark, the better.
When the sap has begun to rise, the bark will easily be detached from the wood, and it
ought then to be taken off without loss of time ; and if the whole could be taken off
before the leaf is completely developed, the bark would be better. After the sap has
arisen to the leaf and new growth, the bark becomes more dry, and requires more beating
to separate it from the wood. And when what is called the black sap is descending the
tree, the bark taken off is black, and loses its original color ; at this time also the
bark begins to throw off a scurf, more especially young bark without much cork on it ;
this outer skin having less of the proper sap or juice, and being much drier when taken
off, will weigh less, and consequently will not be so valuable. If possible, oaks should
be barked by the middle of June, as every ton of bark taken off after the first of July
will be deficient two cwt. per ton, compared with the same quantity taken off in May or
early in June.
3741 . The termination of cutting is generally fixed for the fifteenth day of July, and
after this date there should not be a single stool of oak wood cut that is intended for the
growth; and as soon as possible after the fifteenth, the \Vhole of the wood and bark
should be carried away, that the young growths may not be disturbed or injured, as at
this time they will have made considerable progress ; at any rate, there should neither be
wood nor bark remaining within the new cut hag after the first of August ; nor should
either horse or cart be permitted to enter it after that period, for after the beginning of
August, oaks make what is termed a lammas growth, and the future prosperity and
health of the coppice, in a great measure, depend on the first year's growth, as far as
regards form and vigor of the shoots. {Forester s Guide, 69.)
3742. The best mode of cutting is evidently that of using a saw, and cutting the shoots
over in a slanting direction close by the surface. When the stool, after having been cut
several times, has acquired considerable diameter, it is customary in the midland
counties. Marshal states, to hollow it out in the centre, from a notion that by rotting
away the central roots, the circumferential stems will grow more vigorously, and become
as it were separate plants. This is in fact the case in very old copses. For several
cuttings, however, it must evidently be the safer policy to keep the stool highest in the
middle to throw off the rain, and preserve it sound.
3743. Monteith says, " It will be found, upon experiment, perfectly evident, that
stools dressed down to the surface of the ground, (taking care always not to loosen
the bark from the root, or allow it to be peeled off in the smallest degree below the
earth, but rounded down level to it,) will send forth the most vigorous shoots, and
stand the weather, and be the stoutest and best throughout the age of the coppice."
{Forester s Guide, 61.) From the late season at which the trees to be barked are generally
Book II. PRODUCTS OF TREES. 591
cut, they often receive considerable injury, both from that circumstance, and the manner
in which the operation is performed. Monteith appears to us to have furnished the best
directions for executing the work in a safe manner. He first sends a person furnished
witli an instrument witli a sharp cutting edge [fig. 460 a) through the copse, whose
business is " to trample down the long grass or foggage all round the root, and then, to
make a circular incision into the bark so deep as to reach the wood, at about an inch
above the surface of the earth ; thus the bark when taken off, will injure no part of that
which is below the circular incision."
S744. The root of the tree being thus prqyared, the cutters ought to proceed to their
part of the work, not with an axe, however, as is most generally recommended, but with
a saw, because, in cutting with the axe, unless the root of the tree be so small in diameter
as to be severed in one or two strokes at most, the axe loosens the root to such a degree,
that it not only loses the present year's growth, but often fails altogether to grow.
Therefore if the diameter of the root be six inches, or upwards, it should always be cut
with a cross-cut saw ; entering the saw about half an inch above where the circular in-
cision has been made into the bark, if a small tree j but if the tree be ten or twelve, or
more inches in diameter, the saw ought to be entered two inches above it.
3745. There are two advantages to be derived from cutting with the saw ; it has no ten-
dency to loosen the root of the tree, but leaves it in such a condition as to be more easily
and properly dressed ; it also saves a portion of the wood that would otherwise be de^
stroyed by the axe. On no pretence should oaks of six inches' diameter be cut with an
axe, but always with a saw. Having cut through the tree with a saw, take a sharp
adze, and round the edges of the stool or root, going close down to the surface of the
earth, taking with the adze both bark and wood, sloping it up towards the centre of the
stool, taking particular care always that the bark and wood both slope alike, as if they
formed one solid body, being sure always that the bark be not detached from the root.
An objection has been made to this mode of cutting with the saw, as taking up too
much time ; but I have found that two men with a cross-cut saw, kept in good order,
will cut as much as two men will with an axe. [Forester s Guide, 58.)
3746. The disbarked timber is prepared for sale by being sorted into straight poles of
the largest size, stakes and other pieces fit for palings, faggots, fuel, &c. The unbarked
wood is similarly sorted, and affords, where there is much hazel or ash, cord wood or
bundles of clean shoots for making packing crates, hampers, &c. , poles for hops, larger
poles for fences, rails, paling-stakes, stakes and shoots for hurdles, besom-stuff, spray
for distillation, and a variety of other objects according to the local demand, or the op-
portunity of supplying a distant market by land- carriage. The brush or spray of non-
resinous trees is called in some places ton-wood, and is used for distilling the pyrolig-
nous acid used in bleach-fields and calico print-works. " When wood of this description
is sent to Glasgow, where there are extensive works for the purpose of distilling it, it
sells readily at from \l. 2s. to II. lOs. per ton; but when there are large cuttings, par-
ticularly of young woods, it is worth while to erect boilers near the wood to distil it,
as these boilers can be erected at no great expense, and in this case the liquid is easily
carried in casks to where it is consumed, at less expense than the rough timber could be ;
of course it will pay much better. Small wood of this description is also used for char-
coal : but in distilling it, there is part of it made into charcoal, which will supply the
demand of that article, so that it is by far the most profitable way, when there is any
great quantity to dispose of, to erect boilers and distil it ; unless where the local situation
of the wood will admit of its being shipped at a small expense, and carried to where the
works mentioned are carried on. All kinds of non-resinous woods will give the extract
in question; but oak, ash, Spanish chestnut, and birch, are the best." {Forester^ s
Guide, 155.) Where the pak grows slow, as in the highlands, the but-ends of the poles
are used for spokes for chaise wheels. ** Long spokes are from thirty to thirty-two
by three inches and a half broad, and one inch and a half thick, and the short ones for
the same purpose, from twenty-two to twenty four inches long, and the same sizes other-
wise. Cart-wheel spokes, from twenty-six to twenty-eight inches long, four inches broad
by two inches thick. These are the sizes they require to stand when rough blocked from
the axe. Small wood when sold for this purpose, brought, in 1820, 2s. a cubic foot,
measured down to three inches square." (Monteith,)
3747. In soToe cases copse-woods are sown with grass-seeds, and pastured by sheep,
horses, and cattle. Some admit the animals the fifth year after the last cutting, others,
not till the eighth : but Monteith thinks this should never be done till the fifteenth year.
If the ground is properly covered with trees, it can seldom be advantageous to admit
any species of stock unless during a month or two in winter.
3748. In the operation of barking trees, " the barkers are each furnished with light
short-handed mallets, made of hard-wood, about eight or nine inches long, three inches
square at the face, and the other end sharpened like a wedge, in order the more easily
592
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
to make an incision in the bark, which is done all along the side of the tree which happens
to l>e uppermost, in a straight line : and as two barkers are generally employed at one tree, it
is proper, that whilst the one is employed in making an incision with the mallet, as above,
the other being furnished with the barking-bill [Jig. 460 a), cuts the bark across the tree,
in lengths of from two feet six inches to three feet. Having thus made the incision in
tlie bark, both ways, the barkers being also each furnished with peeling irons of different
sorts [b, c, d, e), if the tree or piece of timber to be barked is such as the two barkers
can easily lift; one end of it, this is placed on two pieces of wood three feet long, and
called horses ; these are about the thickness of a paling-stake, and have a forked end
on each about six inches long, the other end sharpened to go into the ground ; two of
these horses are placed in a triangular form against one another, one end of the piece to
be peeled being raised on the horses, the two barkers standing opposite to each other, and
entering the peeling-irons into the incision made by the mallet, and pressing the iron
downwards between the bark and the timber. In this way it will be found very easy to
take the bark off in one whole piece round the tree; and, if possible, let these pieces be
as long as the incisions made in the bark. In some cases, where there is not much sap,
the bark may require a little beating with the square end of the mallet, to cause it to
separate easily from the wood; but the less beating with the mallet the better, asit has a
tendency to blacken the bark in the inside, or fleshy part of it, so that when the tanner
sees it, he supposes it to be damaged, and undervalues it. The branches of the tree be-
ing previously all lopped off with the axe, the persons, in number according to the extent
of the work, with the bill smooth all the branches, cutting them in lengths of from two
feet six inches to three feet, down as small as one inch in circumference. The barkers,
principally women, are eacli provided with a smooth hard stone of about six or eight
pounds weight, beside which they sit down, and having collected a quantity of saplings,
branches, or twigs, they hold it on the stone with one hand, and with the mallet in the
other, they beat the piece till the bark be split from the wood, from the one end to the
other, and taking it off all the length of the piece, if possible, then lay it regularly aside,
till a bundle of considerable size is formed."
3749. Drying the bark. The point most particularly to be observed in this art is,
putting the bark up to dry ; which is done by setting it upon what is called the
lofts or ranges. These are erected by taking forked pieces of the loppings, called horses,
the one three feet long, the other two feet six inches, and driving each about four inches
into the ground, opposite one another, about two feet asunder in the breadth, and as
much betwixt them, lengthways, as will admit long small pieces of wood to be put upon
them, and as many of these must be put together as will hold the bark of every day's
peeling. These ought to be erected in as dry and elevated a spot as can be found
in the margin of the wood, or better on its outside. The bark being carried and
laid on this loft, with the thick ends of it all laid to the high side of the range, and
the small bark laid on to the thickness of about six inches ; and the bark taken off
the largest of the wood laid regularly on the top, which serves for a covering, and
the lofts or ranges having a declivity of about six inches, the rain will run off them
readily, and if properly put up in this manner, they will keef^ out a great deal of
rain. After it has lain in this state for three days, if the weather is good and dry,
it ought to be all turned over, and the small bark spread out, so as not to allow it
to sit together, which, if much pressed, it is apt to do ; and if it does so with the
natural sap in it, it has a chance of moulding, which is extremely hurtful to the bark,
and both lessens it in weight and in value. After the bark has stood on the ranges
about eight or ten days, if the weather be good, it may either be put into a house or a
shed, or if intended to be put up into a stack, it may now be done. A stack of bark
ought never to exceed eight feet in width, and twelve or fifteen feet in height, raised
in the middle like a haystack. If it is to stand any length of time in the stack, it ought
to be thatched, and in that state may remain all winter. The greatest care ought to be
taken to preserve the color of the inner parts of the bark, because the color of it is gene-
rally looked to as a principal criterion of its value. Before being put into the stack.
Book II. PRODUCTS OF TREES. 593
the natural sap ought to be dried out of it, in order to prevent its fermenting ; because
if a fermentation takes place in one part of the stack, it generally goes through and
spoils the whole. The same mode of treatment will do for all kinds of bark as well as
the oak ; but the birch has an outer or shredy skin upon it, that is rejected by the
tanner, and, as already observed, must be peeled off.
3750. Choppmg the bark. " When the bark is ready for the tanner, it has to undergo
the work of chopping, which is done by driving in two or more stakes into the ground,
with a fork on the upper end of each, leaving them about two feet six inches from the
ground, and laying a long small piece of wood across between die two, where a number
of people stand, and the bark is carried and laid down behind them, which they take up
in their hands and lay on the cross tree, and then, with a sharp whittle or bill in the
other hand, they cut it into small pieces, about three inches in length; when this is done,
it is trampled into bags, which hold about two hundred weight each, and in these bags it
is weighed when sold by the ton, in tons, hundred weights, quarters, and poinds, and in
the above manner delivered to the merchant or tanner." (Forester's Guide, 199.)
3751. Po//rtr(/-<rees, which may be considered in most cases as injurious deformities,
are lopped at stated periods like copse-woods/ and the lop, whether to be barked or
otherwise, is to be treated in all respects like that of copse.
3752. The period at which trees are felled, for the sake of their timber, is determined
by various causes. By maturity of growth, or where the annual increase is so trifling as
to render their standing no longer worth while in point of profit : when wanted for pri-
vate use or sale ; or when defects in the tree, or new arrangements in its situation, point
out the necessity of its removal. " A timbered estate," Marshal observes, *' should
frequently be gone over by some person of judgment; who, let the price and demand for
timber be what they may, ought to mark every tree which wears the appearance of
decay. If the demand be brisk and the price high, he ought to go two steps farther,
and mark not only such as are full-grown, but such also as are near perfection." In
trees, as in the human species, there are three stages, youth, manhood, and old age. In
the period of youth, the growth is rapid; in manhood, that growth is matured; and in
old age, it begins to decay.
3753. The most profitable season for felling timber is at what may thus be termed the
beginning of manhood. After that time, though the tree may appear sound and
healthy, its annual increase is so little, that it would be more profitable to cut it down
and replant. The number of years that a tree may stand, before it arrives at this period,
must vary in different soils and situations; but the period itself may easily be ascertained
— by the annual shoots — the state of the bark — and by taking the circumference of
the tree at the same place for two or three successive seasons, and comparing the differ-
ence. In the view of profiting from timber produce, it is of great consequence to cut
down plantations at maturity. Many trees will stand half, others a whole century, after
they are full-grown, appear quite healthy, and at the same time, make little or no in-
crease of timber. But there are particular cases, arising from the nature and state of
the markets, where it rciiy even be more profitable to cut timber before it is arrived at a
full growth. [Treat, on Countr. Res. ii. 577.)
3754. Preparations for felling. It has been strongly recommended to disbark trees a
year or more before they are taken down in consequence of the result of certain experi-
ments commenced by Buffbn in 1737. In May of that year, he disbarked three
oak-trees, forty feet in height, where they stood. In the course of three years they died,
and, on cutting them down, the outer wood was found hard and dry, and the internal
wood moist and softer. After trying its strength, &c. he concludes, that " timber which
has been disbarked and dried while standing, will weigh heavier, and prove stronger than
timber cut in its bark." Bosc, and other French authors, (in Cours Compl. d'Jgr. &c.
art. Aubier, Bois, Quercus, &c.) strongly recommend this practice, which is followed in
some places on the continent, and in this country with the oak and larch ; but not, as far
as we have learned, with any other tree. Monteith finds it by far the most eflicient way
of seasoning larch-timber. He barked some trees in spring, and did not cut them
down till autumn, and others stood in the peeled state for two years. After various and
extensive trials, he is <' decidedly of opinion, that the larch treated in this way at thirty
years of age will be found equally durable with a, tree cut down at the age of fifty years,
and treated in the ordinary way." (Forester's Guide, 152.)
3755. As the dry rot (Meridius destruens, 8ow.) is found to arise in a great measure
from want of seasoning, or at least to proceed with the greatest rapidity in timber
not well seasoned, this practice seems to deserve adoption in that point of view. (Encyc,
Jint. Suppl. art. Dry Hot, ) In some parts of the north of Europe, the trees are divested
of their bark for one or two feet in height from the ground a year or more previous to
that on which they are to be felled. We saw this done in Poland and Lithuania ; but
though we made diligent enquiry there and in Sweden, we could not learn distinctly the
extent to which it was practised in the latter country and Norway. It is occasionally
5d4 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
I
practised in Poland for the ostensible purpose of hardening the soft wood ; but also
accompanied by a deep incision made for the purpose of extracting tar ; a practice ob-
viously injurious to the timber, and therefore generally in these countries kept out of
view. When trees stand close together, a very obvious preparation to felling is light-
ening the tops of such branches as would do injury in falling to the trees that are to be
left, or to other adjoining objects.
3756. The season of felling is commonly winter, for timber not to be disbarked;
but some for the resinous tribe recommend summer as being the season in which it is
generally felled in the north of Europe and in the Alps. But the summer season is there
adopted from necessity, as in winter the woods are so filled up with snow that felling
is hardly practicable. As the timber of these countries is generally squared for the
market ; the soft wood is chiefly removed, so that the season of felling does not seem
to them to be of much consequence. Besides, the timber is never so full of sap in sum-
mer as it is in spring and autumn, and therefore, next to mid- winter, midsummer may
be the next best time for felling all kinds of timber-trees. Where the trees are dis-
barked at the base a year or more before felling, the softwood will be partially hardened ;
but this practice is Ijy no means general in the north,
3757. JinowleSf in a recent work on preserving the British navy, and on dry rot.. &c. after
collecting the opinions of all the ancient and modern authors who have written on felling
timber, concludes, that the common notion that trees felled in winter contain less of sap
or of the vegetable juices than those cut down at any other season of the year, is not true ;
and that the method of barking standing trees in spring, and not felling them till the
succeeding winter, has not in any way realised the expectations formed of the plan.
After describing all the different modes that have been adopted for seasoning timber, he
concludes, that the best mode of seasoning is to " keep it in air, neither very dry nor very
moist ; and to protect it from the sun and rain by a roof raised sufficiently high over it so
as to prevent by this and other means, a rapid rush of air." {Inquiry into the Means
of preserving the British Navy from Dry Rot, S^c. by £howles, Sec, to the Com. of
Surveyors, chap, iii.)
3758. The operation of felling is performed either by digging an excavation round the
stem, and cutting the roots at twa or three feet distance from it, or by cutting over the
stem at the surface. By the former mode the root is obtained for use, and the ground
more effectually cleared and prepared for the roots of other adjoining trees, or whatever
crop is to follow. Where the tree is intended to stole, which can very seldom be advis-
able in the case of cutting full-grown timber, or where there is some nicety in taking it
down so as not to injure other trees or adjoining objects, it is cut or sawn over, and the
root, if to be removed, dug out afterwards. " In cutting large trees, in order to make
the tree fall the way required, enter the cross-cut saw on that side of the tree it is intended
to fall, and cut it about a third part through ; then enter the saw at the other side, and
when it is cut so far as to admit a wedge, place the wedge exactly opposite the way you
want the tree to fall, and keep driving it slowly till the tree is nearly cut through."
{Montdth.) The tree being felled, is next divested of its branches, which are sorted
into fence-wood, fuel, ton-wood, &c., according to the kind of tree ; and the trunk
is generally preserved as entire as possible for the purchaser. Sometimes it is cut in
two, and the root-cut, or but-end, being tlje most valuable, sold for one class of pur-
poses at a higher price, and the top^cuts for others somewhat lower.
3759. The roots of trees are the last product we shall mention. These should, in
almost every case, be effectually eradicated ; to aid in which, in the case of very large
roots, splitting by wedges, refting by gunpowder, tearing up by the hydrostatic
press, or by a common lever and triangle {fig. 461.), may be resorted to. Some
compact ash or oak roots are occasion-
ally in demand by smiths, leather-
cutters, and others ; but in general
roots should be reduced to pieces not
exceeding three feet long, and six
inches in diameter, and put up in
stacks not less than three feet every
fway, but commonly containing two
cubic yards. These, when dry, are
sold for fuel, or reduced to charcoal
on the spot. In eradicating and stack-
ing up coppice- woods, it is common to allow a certain sum per stack, and something
for every acre of ground cleared ; if there are no trees to bark, allowances are also
made for the poles, faggots, &c. so that no part of the operation is performed by day-
work.
3760. The usual method of charring wood is as follows : — The wood being col-
lected near the place intended for the operation, and cut into billets, generally about
Book II. VALUING PLANTATIONS. 59.5
three foct in length, the pits or stacks are usually formed in this manner: A spot,
adapted to the purpose, of from about fifteen or twenty feet in diameter, of a conical
form, is selected, and after being properly levelled, a large billet of wood split
across at one end, and pointed at the other, is fixed in the centre of the area, with
its pointed extremity in the earth, and two pieces of wood, inserted through the clefts of
the other end, forming four right angles ; against these cross-pieces, four other billets of
wood are placed, one end on the ground, and the other leaning against the angles. A
number of large and straight billets are afterwards laid on the ground, to form a floor,
each being, as it were, the radius of the circular area ; on this floor, a proper quantity of
brush or small wood is strewed, to fill up the interstices, when the floor will be complete :
and in order to keep the billets in the same position in which they were first arranged,
pegs or stumps are driven into the ground, in the circumference of the circle, about a
foot distant from one another ; upon this floor a stage is built, with billets set upon one
end, somewhat inclining towards the central billet, and on the tops of these another floor
is laid, in a horizontal direction, but of shorter billets, as the whole is intended, when
finished, to form a cone. The whole is then coated over with turf, and the surface ge-
nerally plastered with a mixture of earth and charcoal -dust.
3761. Previous to the operation of setting Jire to the pile, the central billet in the upper
stage is drawn out, and pieces of dry combustible wood substituted in its place, to which
the fire is applied. Great attention is necessary during the process, in the proper manage-
ment of the fire, and in immediately covering up the apertures through which the flame
obtrudes itself, until the operation be concluded, which is generally effected in the space
of two or three days according to circumstances. When the charcoal is thought to be
sufficiently burnt, which is easily known from the appearance of the smoke, and the flames
no longer issuing with impetuosity through the vents ; all the apertures are to be closed
up very carefully, with a mixture of earth and charcoal-dust, which, by excluding all
access of the external air, prevents the coal from beihg any further consumed, and the
fire goes out of itself. In this condition it is suffered to remain, till the whole is suffi-
ciently cooled ; when the cover is removed, and the charcoal is taken away. If the
whole process is skilfully managed, the coals will exactly retain the figure of the pieces
of wood : some are said to have been so dexterous, as to char an arrow, without altering
even the figure of the feather. {Encyc. Brit. vol. v. art. Charcoal.)
3762. The method of charring wood, for the making of gunpowder, according to an
improved system, adopted not many years ago, is however a much more costly operation,
though the expense attending it is amply compensated by the superior excellence of the
article when manufactured. It is done in iron cylinders, and in so complete a man-
ner, that every particle of the wood is charred. The oily or tarry matter is also pre-
served, and may, so far as the quantity goes, be made use of instead of foreign tar or
pitch. This mode of charring wood for making gunpowder, is carried to the greatest
perfection, near Petworth in Sussex, and there is a manufacture of a similar nature near
Chester. (Gen. Rep. for Scotland, vol. ii. p. 342.)
Sect. IX. Of estimating the Value of Plantations and their Products, and of exposing
them to Sale.
3763. The valuation of limber forms a distinct ptrofession, and can only be acquired by
continued observation and experience : like other valuations of property, it depends on
a great variety of considerations, some of a general, but the greater part of a local
nature. We have already offered some remarks on valuing young plantations, as a
part of what may be called the inherent value of landed estates (3089.) j and shall here
confine ourselves to the valuation of saleable trees.
3764. In valuing saleable trees of any kind, their number per acre, or their total number
by enumeration, being ascertained, and the kinds and sizes classed, then each class is to
be estimated according to its worth as timber, fence-wood, fuel, bark, &c. '* In a cop-
pice wood which cannot readily be measured, the readiest method of counting the stools
is, to cause two men to take a line, say about a hundred feet long, or more, and passing
the line round as many of the stools as it will enclose, the one man standing, while the
other moves round a new number of stools, and count always the stools betwixt the
two lines, causing the one man to move, the one with the line, while the other stands
still, and so on alternately. The valuator at the same time taking care to average every
twenty stools as they go on, before losing sight of the counted stools. This way, too, is
a very speedy and sure method of counting the number of trees in any plantation.
3765. Or the stools of a coppice wood may be counted and averaged hy two men going
parallel to each other, and the person valuing going betwixt them ; the two men putting
up marks with moss, or pieces of white paper, on a branch of the stools ; the one man
always going back by the last laid marks, and the valuator always counting and averaging
the stools betwixt the newly laid and the late made marks ; counting and averaging the
stools always as the men go on, taking only twenty, or even ten stools at a time. To
Qq 2
596 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
those who have been in the practice of doing this frequently, it will be found very
easy, and will be done very speedily, and with a very considerable degree of accuracy.
The proper method of learning to do this correctly is, when a person cuts an oak wood
for the first time (or, even were the work repeated several times) ; he sliould then, in
order to make himself perfectly acquainted with ascertaining the quantity of bark that a
stool, or even the stump of a stool will produce, go before the peelers, and select a stool
or stem ; after having examined it narrowly, he supposes it to produce a certain quantity
of bark, and marks this down in his memorandum book. He then causes a person to
peel it by itself, dry it, and carefully tie it up and weigh it, and compare it with the
weight he supposed it would produce, and he will at once see how far his calculation ap-
proaches the truth. A stem of oak, from a natural stool, suppose it to measure in girth
two inches, by seven feet long, will contain two solid inches, and one-third of an inch, ac-
cording to the measurement of Hoppus. This stem or shoot will produce two pounds
two ounces of bark. Again, a stem or shoot of natural oak, measuring four inches in
girth, by nine feet in length, will be found to contain one solid foot of wood, and will
produce thirteen pounds and a half of bark." (Forester's Guide, 170.)
3766. W/ien groiving trees are valued, an allowance is made from their cubic contents,
for the bark. The rule given by Monteith is, " When the girth or circumference is any
thing from twelve inches up to twenty-four inches, then deduct two inches ; from twen-
ty-four to thirty-six, three inches ; from thirty-six to forty-eight, four inches ; from
forty-eight to seventy-two, five inches; and above seventy-two, six inches. These
deductions," he says, " will be found to answer in almost all trees ; unless in such as
are very old, and have rough and corky barks, or barks covered with moss, when an
extra allowance is to be made." {Forester's Guide, 180.)
3767. In valuing measurable oak-trees, many persons proceed on the data that every
cubic foot of timber will produce a stone (sixteen pounds) of bark. This, Monteith
says, " is not always correct ;" and he states the following facts from liis own expe-
rience, with a view to assist beginners in ascertaining the quantity of bark from different
trees " An oak-tree, about forty years old, measured down to four inches and a half as.
the side of the square, and weighing only the bark peeled off the timber that is measured,
without including the bark of the spray, &c., every foot of measured timber will
produce from nine to eleven pounds of bark. An oak-tree of eighty years old, weighing^
only the bark peeled off the measurable timber, as above, every foot will produce from
ten to thirteen pounds of bai'k. Every foot of large birch timber, peeled as above, will
produce fourteen pounds of bark. Every foot of mountain-ash, as above, will produce-
eleven pounds and a half of bark. Every foot of the willow, unless a very old one,,
will produce from nine to eleven pounds of bark. Every foot of larch fir, not exceed-
ing thirty years old, will produce from seven, to nine pounds of bark. The bark of
trees, particularly the oak, is peeled off, every branch and shoot, down as small as a»
inch in circumference. " (Forester s Guide, 189.)
3768. The price of timber, like every other article in general use, varies with the sup-
ply and demand ; and is easily ascertained from the timber-merchants at the different
sea-ports ; as is that of bark, charcoal, and fire- wood from the tanners and coal-merr
chants.
3769. The modes of disposing of timber trees in common use are, selling the trees
standing ; by auction ; by receiving written proposals j or by bargain and sale ; 2d, cut-
ting down the trees, and selling them in the rough, by either of these methods;
3d, converting the fallen trees ; that is, cutting them up into the planks or pieces to
which they are best adapted, or which are most eligible in the given situation. The first
method seems the best, especially on a large scale, and also for the disposal of copse-
wood or osier crops.
Chap. X.
Of the Formation and Management of Orchards.
3770. The formation of orchards is to be considered among the permanent improve-
ments of an estate ; and should be kept in view in its first arrangement or laying out. No
temporary occupier could afford to plant an orchard without extraordinary encouragement
from his landlord. Orchards in this respect may be ranked with timber plantations,
and both, subjects together agree in belonging equally to agriculture and gardening.
Orchards have doubtless existed in Britain for many ages as appendages to wealthy
religious establishments ; but as objects of farming, or field culture, they do not appear
to have been adopted till about the beginning of the seventeenth century (Lawson).
They were then introduced by Lord Scudamore in Herefordshire, in which county, and
I
Book II. PLANTING ORCHARDS. , 597
in such parts of those adjoining, as exhibit a red marly soil, are the best farm orchards in
England. The chief produce of these orchards is cider and perry ; but as these liquors
are not in very general demand in this country, and are confessedly less wholesome and
nourishing than malt liquors, their formation cannot be carried to any great extent.
It seems desirable, however, that orchards of moderate size should be as generally in-
troduced as possible ; as the use of the fruit in pies, tarts, and sauces would add con-
siderably to the comforts of the lower classes. Besides, there are some situations, as
steep sheltered banks of good soil, which cannot be so profitably employed by any other
branch of husbandry. The subject of orchards may be considered in regard to soil and
situation, sorts of trees, planting, culture, and the manufacture or disposal of the
produce.
Sect. I. Of the Soils and Situations most suitable for Orchards.
3771 . The sites of all the best apple orchards, and all the chief cider districts, have been
discovered by W. Smith to be on the same stratum of red marl which stretches across
the island from Dorsetshire to Yorkshire. Fruit of no kind, indeed, can be raised with
much success on a soil that does not contain in its composition a portion of calcareous
matter: though apple trees will thrive well on any description of clay which has a dry
bottom, and pears and plums on any dry bottomed soil whatever.
3772. The most desirable aspect is unquestionably a somewhat elevated and naturally
sheltered declivity, open to the south and south-east ; but as the author of The Hereford-
shire Survey remarks, orchards are now found " in every aspect, and on soil of every
quality, and under every culture." The most approved site, he says, is that which is
open to the south-east, and sheltered in other points, but particularly in that opposite.
Much however depends on the character of the winds of a country, for in some parts of
the island, the west, and in others the east, or north wind, is the most injurious to
vegetation.
3773. The soil which in Herefordshire is considered best adapted to most kinds of
apples, is a deep and rich loam when under the culture of the plough ; on this, the
trees grow with the greatest luxuriance, and produce the richest fruit. Some trees
however, the stire and the golden pippins in particular, form exceptions to this general
rule, and florish most in hot shallow soils on a lime or sandstone. The best sort of
pear-trees also prefer the rich loam, but inferior kinds will even florish where the soil
will scarcely produce herbage. An orchard is generally raised with most success and at
least expence in a hop yard, the ground under this culture being always well tilled and
manured, as well as fenced against every kind of enemy.
3774. The soils and situations devoted to farm orchards in Scotland are steep clayey
banks sheltered from the more violent and injurious winds ; and in whatever part of that
country such situations occur, they can scarcely be more profitably employed. Fruit
trees of the apple, pear, and cherry kind, especially of the hardier and tall vigorous
growing varieties, might be introduced in the hedgerows of dry and moderately sheltered
grass-lands in most parts of the British isles. By thus rendering these fruits universal,
there would be a considerable accession of enjoyment to the lower classes, and less temp-
tation to break into gardens and orchards.
3775. The political situation most desirable for an orchard is of course near a market
town ; or near a ready conveyance to one ; because though the making of cider affords
a profit, yet the fruit sold for culinary, or table use, yields a much more considerable
one. In The Gloucestershire Report it is stated that the fruit, which would fetch 8/« 16*.
unground, would only bring in cyder Ql. 1 5s.
Sect. II. Of the Sorts of Trees and Manner of Planting.
3776. The most generally useful fndt that can be grown in farm orchards is the apple ;
next the pear ; then the plum for tarts, or wine ; and to these may be added the cherry,
filbert, walnut, chestnut, and elder. In the cider countries where the climate is more
certain than in some others, it is customary to plant but a few good sorts ; and not to
mix above one or two sorts together in making cider ; in the northern districts, on the
contrary, it is a maxim to plant a considerable number of different sorts, both of those
which blossom early and late ; because, should the blossom of one variety be destroyed
by a frosty wind, that of another may escape. In cold districts, it is advisable to plant
orchards in sheltered hollows, exposed to the sun, and to plant thick; but in the warmer
southern counties, many descriptions of cider and perry fruits may be grown to perfection
in the hedge-rowsy or as cultured trees in permanent pastures. Tlie fittest trees for such
purposes are th6se( which grow tall, with upright shoots, and which bear fruit of a small
size ; such as the Siberian pippin apple and squash teinton pear : such trees shade the
hedges or pastures less than the spreading kinds, and their fruit being small is less likely
to be blown down by high winds.
Qq 3
598
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
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Ribstone pippin, * oslin ditto, * Rogar ditto, * Kentish ditto, summer greening, winter ditto^ * Yorkshire f
* royal codling, * Kentish ditto, * Carlisle ditto, * royal russet, (very eood), Marjpiret apple (good), * whil
Wheeler's ditto, * royal pearmain, * loan's ditto (good),* golden w Norfolk beating (good), stiawberry, * p
Book II. PLANTING ORCHARDS. 599
3778. The most approved sorts of cider apples we have enumerated and partially de-
scribed in the accompanying table (3777). It will be particularly observed that some of
the sorts form much more handsome trees than others, and should therefore be preferred
for hedge-rows, and indeed in all cases where the quality of the fruit is not objectionable.
Some also have smaller-sized fruit than others, and these are to be preferred for situations
exposed to much wind.
3779. The colors of good cider fruit are red and yellow ; the color to be avoided ia
green, as affording a liquor of the harshest, and generally of the poorest quality. The
pulp should be yellow, and the taste rich and somewhat astringent. Apples of a small
size are always, if equal in quality, to be preferred to those of a larger, in order that tlie
rind and kernel, which contain the aromatic part, may be the easier crushed witli the pulp.
3780. The sorts of baking apples most suitable for orchards are the calvilles, of which
there are several varieties, including the hawthorndean for early use ; the pearmains for
autumn use, and the russets for winter and spring. Many other sorts might be named,
but an inspection of the fruit markets will prove that these are the best, and further details
belong to books on gardening.
3781. The dessert apples Jit for orchards are therathripes or Margarets for earliest use j
the jenneting, pomroy, summer pearmain, and Kentish for summer use; the golden,
downton, and other pippins, especially the ribstone pippin, with the nonpareil and other
small russets, for autumn, winter, and spring use. The following list is given by Nicol
as including a fit collection both of kitchen and dessert apples for a private orchard ; those
marked thus * being preferable :
ire greening, * margin
rhite hawthorn dean>
. . _ _.„,,,, * purse-mouth (vert
rennet, * Kentish ditto (good), * grey leadington, scarlet ditto, good).
3782. The most approved sorts of cider pears are the following r
Barland, Pom. Her. t. 27., Forsyth, p. 143., fruit very austere, hardy upright tree.
Holraore, Pom. Her. t. 20., Forsyth, p. 144., upright tree,
Huffcap, Pom. Her. t 24., Forsyth, p. 144., fruit austere, large, hardy trees.
Oldtield, Pom. Her. t. 11., Forsyth, p. 141., large tree.
Kough cap, Forsyth, p. 144., very austere, hardy free-growing tree-
Squash temton. Pom. Her. 1. 13., Forsyth,'p. 144<, fruit very austere, upright tree and great bearer.
3783. In choosing pears for planting in orchards, the description of the plant is a
matter of very considerable importance, as pear trees attain a much greater age and size
than apples. In our opinion the planting of pears in hedge-rows ought to be more en-
couraged than the planting of apples, as they are calculated, when dried, to be used in
soups ; or, when stewed green, to aflford a light and agreeable nourishment ; and perry is
at least a more wholesome and exhilirating liquor to most constitutions than cider.
3784. The baking and dessert pears ft for orchards, according to Nicol, are the fol-
lowing :
* Jargonelle, Crawford or lammas, * camock or drummond, * Scot's ditto, musk robin (good), saffron, * hanging leaf (very
* grey achan, swan egg, * mooifowl egg, * yair, * golden knap, good), the pound pear, cadilac, warden (for baking. .
(good), LongueviUe, * summer bergamot, * autumn ditto,
3785. The best sorts of baking plums are the following :
Damson, buUace, muscle, winesour, and magnum bonum. which thrives onlv on a calcareous 'soil, and grows Wild in
Of these the damson is by fiir the best, and neat the winesour, abundance in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
3786. The following are excellent dessert ])lums for an orchard :
* Green-gage, Orleans, * damask (black, good), white perdi- ditto or imperial, * drap d'or (yellow, good)* Of these thegreen-
gron, * blue ditto, blue gage, * white magnum bonum, red gage, Orleans, and damask are much the best.
3787. The cultivation of the plum appears to us deserving of more encouragement than
it generally meets with. Not only does the fruit make excellent pies and tarts, but it
may be kept in large quantities, so as to be ready for that purpose at any period o^ the
year. They also make a good wine, and with other fruits and ingredients form one of the
best substitutes for port. The damson, buUace, and some other varieties, will grow and
bear very high flavored fruit in hedges where the soil is dry below and not too thin. The
fruit of the sloe is, for wine making, superior to that of the plum, and ftearly as good for
tarts.
3788. The cherry is of more limited culture than any of the foregoing fruits, because
chiefly used for eating, and not being of a nature to keep. Near large towns they may be
cultivated to a certain extent. In Kent and Hertfordshire are the cherry orchards which
afford the chief supplies for the London market. The sorts are chiefly the caroon, small
black or Kentish, the May-duke, and the morella ; but Holman's duke, the black heart,
and the large gean, will do well in orchards.
3789. The walnut and Spanish chestnut may be advantageously planted on the outskirts
of orchards to shelter them, and a few of them in hedge-rows where the climate is likely
to ripen their fruit. The chestnut can hardly be considered as ripening north of Loiv-
Qq4
600 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
don, and the walnut north of Newcastle. Both trees, however, may be planted for their
timber in moderately-sheltered situations, in most parts of the British isles.
3790. The elder is not beneath notice as an orchard tree. It need seldom be planted
as standards ; but in unpruned hedges on a soft, deep, and rather rich soil, it yields great
quantities of fruit, which is readily manufactured into a sort of wine that is esteemed by
many persons when warmed, and forms a comfortable evening draught for the cottager.
No tree requires less care, it propagates readily by cuttings or seeds, and requires little
or no pruning ; but though it will grow in any soil whatever, it will produce no fruit
worth mentioning on any but one tolerably deep and rich, and must be cut down when
it begins to show indications of age.
3791. The jUhert, currant, gooseberry ^ raspberry, and some other fruits, are cultivated
extensively near large towns ; but the treatment they require renders them in our opinion
quite unfit for farm orchards.
3792. In choosing trees for orchards, standards, sufficiently tall to admit of horses and
cattle grazing under them, should always be preferred. Maiden plants, or such as are
only two years for the bud or graft, are the most certain of success ; the apples being
worked on crab, the pears on wilding, and the cherries on gean stocks. The common
baking plums need not be grafted at all, but the better sorts should either be grafted or
budded on damson stems'. Where budded or grafted chestnuts and walnuts can be got,
they should always be preferred as coming much sooner into bearing. The former may
be had from the Devonshire nurseries, and some public gardeners about London are now
attempting to inarch and bud the walnut.
3793. With respect to the distance at which orchard trees may be jdanted, every thing will
depend on the use which is intended to be made of the ground. Where the soil is to be
pastured or dug, they may be planted in quincunx and close; but where it is to be
ploughed, they should either be planted in rows with sufficient space between for one
broad, or two ordinary ridges; or they should be planted in squares to admit of ploughing
both east and west, and north and south.
3794. The Herefordshire orchardists recommend that the rows should extend from north
to south, as in that direction each part of every tree will receive the most equal portions
of light and heat. The distance between each row, as well as the space between each
tree, should depend on the situation and soil. Where the former is high and exposed, the
trees should be closely planted to afford each other protection ; and when the latter is
poor and shallow, their growth will in course be less luxuriant, and they will conse-
quently require less room. But in low and sheltered situations, and in deep and rich
soils, widel" intervals should be allowed. In the former instances, twelve yards between
each row, and six between each tree, are sufficient ; in the latter, twenty-four yards
between each row, and eight between each tree, will not be too much.
3795. As a general guide as to distance, Nicol states the ultimate space at which apple
and pear trees should stand, in a properly planted and close orchard, as from thirty to
forty feet, less or more, according to the quality of the soil ; taking, as the medium, thirty-
six feet. In a poor soil and a bleak exposure, where the trees may not be expected to
grow very freely, thirty feet is sufficient; whereas in good soil, and a sheltered situation,
forty may not be too much. Cherries and plums may be planted at from twenty-four to
thirty-six feet, according to soil and situation, as above, taking, as a medium, thirty feet
for the ultimate distance at which they are to stand clear of one another. But it would
be advisable, in the first instance, to plant four trees for one that is intended ultimately
to remain t planting the proper kinds at the above distances first, and then temporary
plants between them each way. These temporary plants should be of the free growing
sorts that begin to bear early; such as the nonsuch and hawthorndean apples, the
May-duke cherry, and the Crawford and yair pears ; or any others known to produce fruit
sooner after planting. These should be considered and be treated as temporary plants
from the beginning, and must give place to the principal trees as they advance in growth,
by being pruned away bit and bit, and at last stubbed up entirely. In bleak situations,
if forest and other hardy trees be planted among the fruit trees, it may not be necessary to
plant so many (if any) temporary fruit trees ; or these may chiefly consist of the hardier
sorts, such as the hawthorndean apple, the May-duke and morella cherries, and the Scotch
geans, which produce fruit the soonest.
3796. In the operation of planting great care ought to be taken not to insert the plants
deeper in the soil than they were before removal. Tliis is a very common ferror in every
description of tree planting ; and in retentivie soils is ruinous to the tree. Sir C. M.
Burrel recommends, as an useful practice, in wet soils, or where the substratum is not
suited to the apple or the pear, to plant the trees on hillocks of easy ascent, as for instance
one foot higher in the centre than the level of the field, and sloping gradually to that level,
for three or four feet every way from the centre. By that practice, the roots Will naturally
follow the good svxrface earth; whereas, if they are planted in holes, the roots are apt to
shoot into ^e prejudicial subsoil, to the eventual injury of the plants, by canker and other
Book II. CULTIVATING FARM ORCHARDS. 601
diseases. When trees are thus planted on small hillocks, the under -drains may pass be-
tween the rows with greater utility.
Sect. III. Of the Cultivation of Farm Orchards.
3797. The trees being carefully planted, watered, and tied to tall strong stakes, require
little more than common attention for several years. Every autumn or spring they
should be looked over, and all cross irregular shoots made during the preceding summer
cut out, suckers (if any) removed from their roots, and side growths cleared from their
stems.
3798. The object in jrrtining i/oung trees, Nicol observes, is to form a proper head.
Generally speaking, the shoots may be pruned in proportion to their lengths, cutting clean
away such as cross one another, and fanning the tree out towards the extremities on all
sides; thereby keeping it equally poised, and fit to resist the effects of high winds. When
it is wished to throw a young tree into a bearing state, which should not be thought of,
however, sooner than the third or fourth year after planting, the leading branches should
be very little shortened, and the lower or side branches not at all ; nor should the knife be
used, unless to cut out such shoots as cross one another.
3799. ^fter an orchard-tree is come into bearing, Abercrorabie says, continue at the time
of winter pruning, either every year, or every two, three, or four years, as an occasion
is perceived, to cut out unproductive wood, crowded spray, and decayed parts. Also
reduce long and outrunning ramblers and low stragglers, cutting them to some good
lateral that grows within its limits. Where fruit-spurs are too numerous, then cut the
strongest and most unsightly. Also keep the tree pretty open in the middle. If it be
necessary to take off large branches from aged trees, use a chisel or saw, and afterwards
smooth the wound with a sharp knife. In case old wood is to be cut down to young
shoots springing below, to make the separation in summer will be of more advantage to
those young shoots, tliough it is not a common practice, on account of the liability of many
stone-fruit bearers to exude gum, when a large branch is lopped in the growing season.
Observe to keep the stem clear from all lateral shoots, and eradicate all suckers from
the root.
3800. On aged trees, that have run into a confusion of shoots and branches, and whose
spurs have become clustered and crowded, the saw and the knife may be exercised with
freedom ; observing to cut clean away all useless spray, rotten stumps, and the like useless
excrescences. Thin out the spurs to a moderate consistency, so as to let the air circulate
freely among the leaves and fruit in the summer season, and to admit the rays of the sun,
so as to give the fruit color and flavor.
3801. In pruning the apple tree and all other standard trees. Knight observes, the
points of the external branches should be every where rendered thin and pervious to the
light, so that the internal parts of the tree may not be wholly shaded by the external
parts : the light should penetrate deeply into the tree on every side ; but not any where
through it. When the pruner has judiciously executed his work, every part of the tree,
internal as well as external, will be productive of fruit ,- and the internal part, in unfavor-
able seasons, will rather receive protection than injury from the external. A tree thus
pruned, will not only produce much more fruit, but will also be able to support a much
heavier load of it, without danger of being broken ; for any given weight will depress
the branch, not simply in proportion to its quantity, but in the compound proportion of its
quantity, and of its horizontal distance from the point of suspension, by a mode of action
similar to that of the weight on the beam of the steel-yard; and hence a hundred and fifty
pounds, suspended at oiae foot distance from the trunk, will depress the branch which
supports it no more than ten pounds at fifteen feet distance would do. Every tree will,
therefore, support a larger weight of fruit without danger of being broken in proportion
as the parts of such weight are made to approach nearer to its centre.
3802. IFhere a tree is stinted, or the head ill shaped, from being originally badly pruned.
Or barren from having overborne itself, or from constitutional weakness, the most expe-
ditious remedy is to head down the plant to within three, four, or five eyes (or inches, if an
old tree) of the top of the stem, in order to furnish it with a new head. The recovery of
a languishing tree, if not too old, will be further promoted by taking it up at the same
time, and pruning the roots ; for as, on the one hand, the depriving too luxuriant a tree
of part even of its sound healthy roots will moderate its vigor ; so, on the other, to relieve a
stinted or sickly tree of cankered or decayed roots ; to prune the extremities of sound roots ;
and especially to shorten the dangling tap-roots of a plant, affected by a bad subsoil ; is,
in connection with heading down or very short pruning, the renovation of the soil, and
draining, the most availing remedy that can be tried.
3803. A tree often becomes stinted from an accumulation of moss, which aflfects the
functions of tlie bark, and 1-enders the tree unfruitful. This evil is to be removed by
Scraping the stem and branches of old trees ; and on young trees a bard brush will effect
602 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
the purpose. Wherever the bark is decayed or cracked, Abercrombie and Forsyth direct its
removal. Lyon, of Edinburgh, has lately carried this practice to so great a length as even
to recommend the removal of part of the bark of young trees. Practical men, in general,
however, confine the operation to cracked bark which nature seems to attempt throwing
off; and the effect in rendering the tree more fruitful and luxuriant, is acknowledged by
Neill, in his Accourd of Scottish Gardening and Orchards^ and by different writers in
The London and Edinburgh Horticultural Transactions.
3804. The other diseases to which orchard trees are subject are chiefly the canker, gum,
mildew, and blight, which, as we have already observed, are rather to be prevented by
such culture as will induce a healthy state, than to be remedied by topical applications.
Too much lime, Sir H. Davy thinks, may bring on the canker, and if so, the replacing a
part of such soil with alluvial or vegetable earth, would be of service. The gum, it is
said, may be constitutional, arising from offensive matter in the soil; or local, arising from
external injury. In the former case, improve the soil ; in the latter, apply the knife. The
mildev/, it is observed by T. A. Knight and Abercrombie, " may be easily subdued at its
appearance, by scattering flour of sulphur upon the infected parts. " As this disease is now
generally considered the growth of parasitical fungi, the above remedy is likely to succeed.
For the blight and caterjnllars, Forsyth recommends burning of rotten wood, weeds, po-
tatoe haulm, wet straw, &c. on the windward side of the trees when they are in blossom.
He also recommends washing the stems and branches of all orchard trees with a mixture
of ^' fresh cow-dung with urine and soaj)'Suds, as a whitewasher would wash the ceiling or
walls of a room." The promised advantages are, destruction of insects and "fine bark;"
more especially, he adds, " when you see it necessary to take all the outer bark off*."
3805. With the Herefordshire orchardists jiruning is not in general use; the most ap-
proved method is that of rendering thin and pervious to the light, the points of the external
branches, so that the internal branches of the tree may not be wholly shaded by the external
parts. Large branches should rarely or never be amputated. The instrument generally
used for the purpose of pruning, is a strong flat chisel, fixed to a handle six feet or more
in length, having a sharp edge on one of its sides, and a hook on the other. {Knight's
Treatise on the Apple and Pear. )
3806. TAe cu^^Mre o/"//te 5oi/ among orchard trees is always attended with advantage;
though it can so seldom be properly conducted in farm orchards, that in most cases it is
better to lay them down with grass seeds for pasture. To plough between the trees and
take corn crops, even if manure is regularly given, cannot be any great advantage unless
a space of six or eight feet radius is left round each tree. If such a space is left, and
yearly dug but not cropped, the trees will thrive well; and a ridge between each two
rows may be sown with corn. The greater number of orchards in Herefordshire and
Gloucestershire are under pasture ; but the most productive are those trees grown in hop
grounds. In Kent, in some instances, the interspaces of young orchards are occupied by
hops, in others by filberts, and in grown orchards tile latter are sometimes seen. Some
old orchards are likewise in permanent sward, others under arable or garden crops, and
some in saintfoin, while others are in lucern.
Sect. IV. Of the Gathering and Keeping of Orchard Fruits.
3807. The gathering of orchard fruits, and especially apples, should be performed in
such a manner as not to damage the branches, or break off" the fruit spurs or buds.
Too frequently the fruit is allowed to drop, or they are beat and bruised by shaking the
tree and using long poles, &c. Nicol directs that they should never be allowed to drop of
themselves, nor should they be shaken down, but should be pulled by the hand. This
may be thought too troublesome a method ; but every body knows that bruised fruit will
not keep, nor will it bring a full price. The expense of gathering, therefore, may be
more than defrayed, if carefully done, by saving the fruit from blemish.
3808. With regard to keeping of kernel fruits, the old practice, and that recommended
by Marshal and Forsyth, commences witli sweating, though Nicol, and other modern
gardeners, omit this process. Marshal, the author of An Introduction to Gardening,
observes that those fruits which continue long for use should be suffered to hang late^
even to November, if the frost will permit, for they must ])e well ripened, or they will
shrink. Lay them on heaps till they have sweated a few days, when they must be wiped
dry. Let them then lay singly, or at least thinly, for about a fortnight, and be agaiii
wiped, and immediately packed in boxes and hampers, lined with double or treble sheets
of paper. Place them gently in, and cover them close, so as to keep air out as much as
possible. Preserve them from frost through the winter. Never use hay for the purpose.
Kernel fruits and nuts keep no where better than when mixed and covered witli sand
in a dry cool cellar in the manner of potatoes. Buried in pits well protected from
moisture, russets have been found to keep perfectly fresh a year from the time of their
being gathered. The keeping of cider fruits is not approved of, it being found best tor
Book II. MANUFACTURE OF CIDER. 603
crush them after they have been thinly spread for a few days on a dry boarded floor.
Many of the Herefordshire growers carry them direct from the tree to the crushing mill.
Sect. V. Of tlie Manufacture of Cider.
3809. Cider is commonli/ manufactured bi/ the grower of the fruit, though it would certainly
be better for the public if it were made a distinct branch of business like brewing or distill-
ing. ** The true way to have excellent cider," Marshal observes, "is to dispose of the
fruit to professional cider makers. The principal part of the prime cider, sold in London
and elsewhere, is manufactured by professional men ; by men who make a business of
manufacturing and rectifying cider ; even as distillers, rectifiers of spirit, and brewers,
follow their businesses or professions ; and like them too conduct their operations, more
or less, on scientific principles." (Rev. of Agr. Rep. vol. ii. p. 294.) It is allowed on
all hands that the operation is most slovenly performed by the farmer, and that it is very
difficult to procure this liquor in good quality. The operation of cider making is as
simple as that of wine making or brewing, and will be perfectly understood from the
following directions, chiefly drawn from the-treatises of Crocker and Knight, that any
person possessing an orchard, or a few hedge-row fruit trees, may make a supply for'his
own use. The first business is the gathering and preparation of the fruit; the se-
cond, grinding and pressing ; and the last, fermenting and bottling.
3810. In gathering cider apples, care should be taken that they be thoroughly ripe
before they are taken from the tree ; otherwise the cider will be of a rough harsh taste,
in spite of all the endeavors of the operator. It is observed by Crocker, in his
tract on The Art of Making and Managing Cider, that the most certain indications of
the ripeness of apples, is the fragrance of their smell, and their spontaneously drop-
ping from the trees. When they are in this state of maturity, in a dry day, the limbs
may, he says, be slightly shaken, and partly disburdened of their golden store ; thus
taking such apples only as are ripe, and leaving the unripe longer on the trees, that they
may also acquire a due degree of maturity. It may not, he thinks, be amiss to make
three gatherings of the crop, keeping each by itself. The latter gathering, as well as
wind-falls, can however only be employed in making inferior cider : the prime cider
must be drawn from the former gatherings.
3811. On the proper mixture of fruits, or rather on their proper separation, the merit
of cider will always greatly depend. Those whose rinds and pulp are tinged M'itb
green, or red without any mixture of yellow, as that color will disappear in the first
stages of fermentation, should be carefully kept apart from such as are yellow, or yellow
intermixed with red. The latter kinds, which should remain on the trees till ripe
enough to fall without being much shaken, are alone capable of making fine cider.
Each kind should be collected separately, as noticed above, and kept till it becomes
perfectly mellow. For this purpose, in the common practice of the countrj^, they are
placed in heaps of ten inches or a foot thick, and exposed to the sun and air, and rain ;
not being ever coveted, except in very severe frosts. The strength and flavor of the
future liquor are increased by keeping the fruit under cover some time before it is ground ;
but unless a situation can be aflforded it, in which it is exposed to a free current of air,
and where it can be spread very thin, it is apt to contract an unpleasant smell, which
will much affect the cider produced from it. Few farms are provided with proper
buildings for this purpose on a large scale, and the improvement of the liquor will not
nearly pay the expense of erecting them. It may reasonably be supposed, that much
water is absorbed by the fruit in a rainy season ; but the quantity of juice yielded by
any given quantity of fruit will be found to diminish as it becomes more mellow, even in
very wet weather, provided it be ground when thoroughly dry. The advantages, there-
fore, of covering the fruit will probably be much less than may at first sight be expected.
No criterion appears %o be known, by which the most proper point of maturity in the
fruit can be ascertained with accuracy; but it improves as long as it continues to ac-
quire a deeper shade of yellow. Each heap should be examined prior to its being
ground, and any decayed or green fruit carefully taken away. The expense of this
will be very small, and will be amply repaid by the excellence of the liquor, and the
ease with which too great a degree of fermentation may be prevented. (Crocker.)
3812. In grinding theajyples into pommage, several methods are practised ; but the two
most chiefly in use are by the bruising-stone with a circular trough (fg. 462.), and the
apple-mill. In the trough, the apples are thrown in and bruised by the motion of the
stone, as it is moved round by a horse, in the way that tanners grind bark. This is an
ancient method, and still in use in some parts of Devonshire ; and although it has its
inconveniences in bruising some apples too much and some too little, it is not without
its advocates in those parts of the country, the inhabitants of which allege that it bruises
the kernels of the fruit better than otlier machines.
604
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
3813. The a}^)le-mill is an iron machine. Where iron-mills have been tried, this metal
has been found to be soluble in the acid of apples, to which it communicates a brown color
and an unpleasant taste. No combination has been ascertained to take place between
this acid and lead; but as the calx of this metal readily dissolves in, and communicates
an*extremely poisonous quality to, the acetous juice of the apple, it should never be
sufifered to come into contact with the fruit or liquor. {Knight on the Apple and Pear. )
3814. Whether the pommage shovld immediately after grinding be conveyed to the press,
there to be formed into a kind of cake, or what is called the cheese ; or whether it should
remain some time in that state before pressing, ciderists have not agreed. Some say it
should be pressed immediately after grinding ; others conceive it best to suffer it to
remain in the grinding-trough, or in vats employed for the purpose, for twenty-four
hours, or even two days, that it may acquire not only a redness of color, but also that
it may form an extract with the rind and kernels. Both extremes are, Crocker thinks,
wrong. There is an analogy, he says, between the making of cider from apples, and
wine from grapes ; and the method which the wine-maker pursues ought to be followed
by the cider-maker. When the pulp of the grapes has lain some time in the vats, the
vintager thrusts his hand into the pulp, and takes some from the middle of the mass;
and when he perceives, by the smell, that the luscious sweetness is gone off, and that his
nose is affected with a slight piquancy, he immediately carries it to the press, and by a
light pressure expresses his prime juice. In like manner, should the ciderist determine
the time when his pulp should be carried to the press. If he carry it immediately from
the mill to the press, he might lose some small advantage which may be expected from
the rind and kernels, and his liquor may be of lower color than he might wish. If he
suffer it to remain too long unpressed, he will find to his cost that the acetous ferment-
ation will come on before the vinous is perfected, especially in the early part of the cider-
making season. He will generally find that his pulp is in a fit state for pressing in
about twelve or sixteen hours. If he must of necessity keep it in that state longer, he
will find a sensible heat therein, which will engender a premature fermentation ; and
he must not delay turning it over, thereby to expose the middle of the mass to the in-
fluence of the atmosphere. Knight's opinion is, however, that it should remain twenty-
four hours before it is taken to the press.
3815. The pommage being carried to the press, and a square cake or cheese made of it,
by placing very clean sweet straw or reed between the various layers of pommage ; or
by putting the same into the hair-cloths, and placing them one on another. It is of
importance that the straw or weed be sweet, and perfectly free from any fustiness. lest
the cider be impregnated therewith. Particular care ought also to be taken to keep
bair-cloths sweet, by frequently washing and drying, or the ill effects of their acidity
will be communicated to the cider. To this cake or cheese, after standing awhile, a
slight pressure is at first to be given, which must be gradually increased until all the
must or juice is expressed ; after which, this juice must be strained through a coarse
hair-sieve, to keep back the gross feculencies of the juice, and be put into proper vessels.
These vessels may be either open vats or close casks ; but as, in the time of a plentiful
crop of apples, a number of open vats may by the ciderest be considered an incumbrance
in his cider-rooms, they should be generally carried immediately from the press to the
cask. Thus far, says Crocker, cider-making is a mere manual operation, performed with
very little skill in the operator ; but here it is that the great art of making good cider com-
mences ; nature soon begins to work a wonderful change in this foul-looking, turbid,
fulsome, and unwholesome fluid; and, by the process of fermentation alone, converts it
into a wholesome, vinous, salubrious, heart-cheering beverage.
3816. Fermentation is an intestine motion of the parts of a fermentable body. This
motion, in the present case, is always accompanied with an evident ebullition, the bub-
bles rising to the surface, and there forming a scum or soft and spongy crust, over the
whole liquor. This crust is frequently raised and broken by the air as it disengages
itself from the liquor, and forces its way through it. This effect continues whilst the
Book II. MANUFACTURE OF CIDER. 605
fermentation is brisk, but at last gradually ceases. The liquor now appears tolerably
clear to the eye, and has a piquant vinous sharpness upon the tongue. If in this state
the least hissing noise be heard in the fermenting liquor, the room is too warm, and
atmospheric air must be let in at the doors and at the windows. Now, continues
Crocker, is the critical moment which the ciderist must not lose sight of; for, if he
would have a strong, generous, and pleasant liquor, all further sensible fermentation
must be stopped. This is best done by racking oft' the pure part into open vessels,
which must be placed in a more cool situation for a day or two ; after which it may
again be barrelled, and placed in some moderately-cool situation for the winter. The
Herefordshire cider-farmers, after the cider has perfected its vinous fermentation, place
their casks of cider in open sheds throughout the winter ; and, when the spring advances,
give the last racking, and then cellar it. In racking, it is advisable that the stream from
the racking-cock be small, and that the receiving-tub be but a small depth below the
cock, lest, by exciting a violent motion of the parts of the liquor, another fermentation
be brought up. The feculence of the cider may be strained through a filtering-bag, and
placed among the second-rate ciders ; but by no means should it be returned to the
prime cider. In this situation the cider will, in course of time, by a sort of insensible
fermentation, not only drop the remainder of its gross lees, but will become transparent,
highly vinous, and fragrant.
3817. According to Knight, after the fermentation has ceased, and the liquor is become
clear and bright, it should instantly be drawn off*, and not suffered on any account again to
mingle with its lees ; for these possess much the same properties as yeast, and would inevi-
tably bring on a second fermentation. The best criterion to judge of the proper moment
to rack oft* will be, the brightness of the liquor ; and this is always attended with external
marks, which serve as guides to the cider-maker,- The discharge of fixed air, which
always attends the progress of fermentation, has entirely ceased ; and a thick crust,
formed of fragments of the reduced pulp, raised by the buoyant air it contains, is col-
lected on the surface. The clear liquor being drawn oft* into another cask, the lees are
put into small bags, similar to those used for jellies : through these whatever liquor the
lees contain gradually filtrates, becoming perfectly bright ; and it is then returned to that
in the cask, in which it has the eflPect, in some measure, of preventing a second ferment-
ation. It appears to have undergone a considerable change in the process of filtration.
Its color is remarkably deep, its taste harsh and flat, and it has a strong tendency to be-
come acetous ; probably by having given out fixed and absorbed vital air. Should it
become acetous, which it will frequently do in forty-eight hours, it must not on any ac-
count be put into the cask. If the cider, after being racked oflT, remains bright and
quiet, nothing more is to be done to it till the succeeding spring ; but if a scum collects
on the surface, it must immediately be racked off" into another cask ; as this would pro-
duce bad effects if suffered to sink. If a disposition to ferment with violence again
appears, it will be necessary to rack off* from one cask to another, as often as a hissing
noise is heard. The strength of cider is much reduced by being frequently racked off*;
but this arises only froaia a larger portion of sugar remaining unchanged, which adds to
the sweetness at the expense of the other quality. The juice of those fruits, which pro-
duce very strong ciders, often remains muddy during the whole winter, and much atten-
tion must frequently be paid to prevent an excess of fermentation.
3818. The casks, into which the liquor is put whenever racked off*, should always have
been thoroughly scalded, and dried again ; and each should want several gallons of being
full, to expose a larger surface to the air.
3819. The above precautions neglected by the ciderist, the inevitable consequence will be
this : Another fermentation will quickly succeed, and convert the fine vinous liquor he was
possessed of into a sort of vinegar ; and all the art he is master of will never restore it to
its former richness and purity. When the acetous fermentation has been suflfered to
come on, the following attempts may be made to prevent the ill eff*ects of it from running
to their full extent. A bottle of French brandy ; half a gallon of spirit extracted from
the lees of cider ; or a pail-full of old cider, poured into the hogshead soon after the
acetous fermentation is begun : but no wonder if all these should fail, if the cider be
still continued in a close warm cellar. To give eff*ect to either, it is necessary that the
liquor be as much exposed to a cooler air as conveniently may be, and that for a con-
siderable length of time. By such means it is possible fermentation may, in a great
measure, be repressed: and if a cask of prime cider cannot from thence be obtained, a
cask of tolerable second-rate kind may. These remedies are innocent ; ])ut if the far-
mer or cider-merchant attempt to cover the accident, occasioned by negligence or inat-
tention, by applying any preparation of lead, let him reflect, that he is about to commit
an absolute and unqualified murder on those whose lot it may be to drink his poisonous
draught.
3820. Stumming, which signifies the fuming a cask with burning sulphur, may sonie-
times be advantageous. It is thus performed : Take a stripe of canvas cloth, about twelve
606
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
inches long and two broad ; let it be dipped into melted brimstone : when this match is
dry, let it be lighted, and suspended from the bung of a cask (in which there are a few
gallons of cider) until it be burnt out. The cask must remain stopped for an hour or
more, and be then rolled to and fro, to incorporate the fumes of the match with the cider ;
after which it may be filled. If the stumming be designed only to suppress some slight,
improper fermentation, the brimstone-match is sufficient ; but if it be required to give
any additional flavor to the cider, some powdered ginger, cloves, or cinnamon, &c, may
be strewed on the match when it is made. The burning these ingredients with the sul-
phur will convey somewhat of their fragrance to the whole cask of cider ; but to do it to
the best advantage, it must be performed as soon as the vinous fermentation is fully
perfected.
3821. Cider is generally in the best state to he put into the bottle at two years old, where
it will soon become brisk and sparkling ; and if it possesses much richness, it will remain
with scarcely any sensible change during twenty or thirty years, or as long as the cork
duly performs its office.
3822. In making cider for the common use of the farm- house, few of the foregoing rules
are attended to. The flavor of the liquor is here a secondary consideration with the far-
mer, whose first object must be to obtain a large quantity at a small expense. The apples
are usually ground as soon as they become moderately ripe ; and the juice is either racked
off at once as soon as it becomes bright, or more frequently conveyed from the press im-
mediately to the cellar. A violent fermentation soon commences, and continues until
nearly the whole of the saccharine part is decomposed. The casks are filled up and
stopped early in the succeeding spring, and no further attention is either paid or required.
The liquor thus prepared may be kept from two to five or six years in the cask, accord-
ing to its strength. It is generally harsh and rough, but rarely acetous ; and in this
state, it is usually supposed to be preferred by the farmers and peasantry. When it has
become extremely thin and harsh by excess of fermentation, the addition of a small quan-
tity of bruised wheat, or slices of toasted bread, or any other farinaceous substance, will
much diminish its disposition to become sour.
3823. The produce of cider or perry by the acre, can only be guessed at, by first ascer-
taining the number of trees. From an orchard of trees, in full bearing, half a hogshead
of cider may, in seasons ordinarily favorable, be expected from the fruit of each tree. As
the number of trees on the acre varies from ten to forty, the quantity of cider must vary
in the same proportion, that is, from five to twenty hogsheads. Pear-trees, in equally
good bearing, yield fully one-third more liquor : therefore, although the liquor extracted
from pears sells at a lower price than that produced from apples, yet the value by the
acre, when the number of trees is the same, is nearly on a par.
Sect. VI. Of the Machinery and Utensils necessary for Cider making,
3824. The machinery of the common ciderist, includes the mill-house, mill, press, cloth,
vat, and cask, with their appurtenances.
3825. Marshal, in The Rural Economy of Gloucestershire, remarks, that a mill-house,
on an orchard-farm, is as necessary as a barn. It is generally one end of an out-build-
intr ; or, perhaps, an open shed, under which straw or small implements are occasionally
laid up. The smallest dimensions, to render it any way convenient, are twenty -four feet
by twenty ; a floor thrown over it, at seven feet high ; a door in the middle of the
front, and a window opposite ; with the mill on one side, the press on the other side of the
window ; as much room being left in front, towards the door, for fruit and utensils, as the
nature of the mill and the press will allow. The utensils belonging to a mill-house are
few : the fruit is brought in carts or baskets, and the liquor carried out in pails.
3g26. Oftlie common cider mill {Jig. 462.), there jjH?, ___^
are several varieties formed on the principles of the 463 ^gg^^fmrni W= ■■ ^==SJjiilii^B?Tte^
bark mills of tanners. The circle enclosed by the '^0^^mBm ^^^=^ ' __^^^^^lffl^
trough is sometimes divided into compartments for B^^^^BM ^ llfHBm
containing different varieties of the same fruit |W^g=gfflMB ; ./W"^*%t>--------*»l8^yJ
(_/!/)■, 463.) The size of the runner varies from two I^^hmMf y^^^Lv^^^^^^^^^^^^^i
and a half to four and a half feet diameter, and from ^^■|K1|SB^^^^^=^^^^^^^^^=^^^|| i
nine to twelve inches in thickness; which, in gene- 'SS^^S^^^mi\z^^r^ — IT^' ' ^<?^S^
ral, is even, like that of a grindstone, not varying, •^^^HHH||||lli^^ ^^P«?3«f^^^^^
like that of a millstone : the weight one or two tons. ^
The bottom of the chace is somewhat wider than the runner, that this may run freely.! iThe inner side
rises perpendicularly, but the outer side spreads, so as to make the top of the trough some six or eight
inches wider than the bottom : to give freedom to the runner, and room to scatter in the fruit, stir it up
while grinding, and take out the ground matter. The depth, nine or ten inches. The outer rim of the
trough is three or four inches wide ; and the diameter of the inner circle, which the trough circumscribes,
from four and a half to five feet, according to the size of the mill. This is sometimes raised by a table of
thick plank fixed upon the stone, with a curb of wood, lessening to an angle, fixed upon the circumference
of the trough, making the whole depth of the trough about equal to its width at the bottom. This lessens
the quantity of the stone; and the plank upon the centre answers other purposes. The entire bed of a
middle-sized mill is about nine feet, some ten, and some few twelve, feet in diameter ; the whole being
composed of two, three, or four stones, cramped together as one ; and worked, or at least finished, after
they are cramped together. The best stones are raised in the forest of Dean : they are mostly a dark-
reddish gritstone (non-calcareoufe), working with sufficient freedom, yet sutficiently hard for this intention.
Book II. CIDER UTENSILS. 607
The bed of the mill is formed, and the trough partly hollowed, at the quarry ; leaving a" few inches at the
edge of each stone uncut out, as a bond to prevent its breaking in carriage. Much depends on the quality
of the stone. It ought not to be calcareous, in whole or in part, as the acid of the liquor would corrode it.
Some of the Herefordshire stones have calcareous pebbles in them, which being of course dissolved, leave
holes in the stone. Nor should it be such as will communicate a disagreeable tinge to the liquor. A clean-
grained grindstone grit is the fittest for this purpose.
3827.. 7%e runner, as has been seenifigA^.), is moved by means of an axle passing through the centre, with
a long arm, reaching without the bed of the mill.lfor a horse to draw by ; and with a short one passing to an
upright swivel, turning upon a pivot, in the centre of the stone, and steadied at the top, by entering a
bearing of the floor above. An iron bolt, with a large head, passes through an eye in the lower part of the
swivel, into the end of the inner arm of the axis. Thus the requisite double motion is obtained, and the
stone kept perfectly upright (which it ought to be) with great simplicity, and without stress to any part of
the machine. This is the ordinary method of hanging the runner. There is a more complex way of doing
it, but Marshal says, he sees no advantage arising from it. There are some mills, it seems, with two runners,
one opposite the other. On the inner arm of the axis, about a foot from the runner, is fixed (or ought to
be, though it is frequently wanting) a cogged wheel working in a circle of cogs, fixed upon the bed of
the mill.
3828. The diameter of the wheel is determined by the height of the axis above the bed of the mill. The
diameter of the ring of cogs, by the distance of the wheel from the centre of motion. The use of these
wheels is to prevent the runner from sliding, to which it is liable when the mill is full ; the matter, when
nearly ground, rising up in a body before the stone. Besides, by assisting the rotatory motion of the stone,
it renders the work more easy to the horse. These wheels require to be made with great exactness : and
in a country where carpenters are unaccustomed to them, a mill-wright should be employed in fixing
them. The situation of the mill is such as to leave a horse-path, about three feet wide, between the bed
and the walls'; so that a moderately sized mill, with its ftorse-path, takes up a space of fourteen or fifteen
feet every way.
3829. A cider mill in use in the south of France {Jig. 464.), is worked on a circular
platform of boards, and instead of stone the wheel or conical roller {a) is of cast-iron.
The fruit is spread thinly over the platform,
and the roller moved round by one man or
a woman. From the rollers covering more
breadth than the narrow bark wheels in use in
England, more fruit is crushed in a short time
by this sort of mill, than would at first sight
be supposed.
3830. An eligible description of mill, where
cider is only made for private use, consists of
a pair of fluted rollers working into each
other. These rollers are of cast-iron, hollow,
about nine inches diameter, with flutes or teeth, about an inch wide, and nearly as much
deep. In general they are worked by hand, two men working against each other.
Between these the fruit passes twice ; the rollers being first set wide, to break it into
fragments, and afterwards closer to reduce the fragments, and the seeds ; the bruising of
the latter, being of essential use in making high-flavored cider.
3831. The cider press is made on the principle of the common packing press, and
therefore requires no particular description. On a small scale the cheese-press will
answer every purpose.
3832. Cider cloths are used for containing the pommage in order to its being pressed. They are usually
made of common hair-cloth ; but such as is rather close in its texture is the best. The size is generally
about four feet square ; and they hold about two or three bushels, or as much as the mill can grind at once :
and these are heaped over each other till the press is full. The larger presses will hold from eight to fifteen
bags, which yield from one to two hundred gallons of liquor, according to the largeness of what is termed
the cheese. To perform the work neatly, it is necessary to have two sets of these bags ; for they clog and
fur in pressing, and consequently become unfit for use till they have been washed and dried ; so that,
while this is doing, either the press must stand still, or another set be ready to employ it. But some,
instead of hair bags, lay long straw under the pommage, the ends of which they turn up over it ; then
cover the pommage entirely with fresh clean straw, upon which they spread another layer of pommage :
and so on, alternately, till the press is full. Either of the methods will do ; but those who are desirous of
doing the work in the neatest and best manner, generally use bags.
3833. The cider-vat is a vessel made for the purpose of receiving tlie pommage, or
the cider before it is racked off into the cask. Vessels of this kind should be made of
wood, as where lead is employed, it is liable to be corroded by the malic acid,
3834. Cider casks are the vessels employed for the keeping of the liquor. The choice of proper vessels
to keep the cider in after it has fermented is very material, no liquor being so apt as this to take the taste
or twang of the cask. New vessels, though the wood be ever so well seasoned, are apt to give a disagree-
able relish to all liquors, and remarkably so to cider, unless due caution be used beforehand. Frequent
scalding with hot water, into which some handsfuU of salt have been first thrown, or with water in which
some of the pommage has been boiled, and-washing afterwards with cider, are the usual remedies against
this evil, and seldom fail of removing it effectually. Of old casks, beer-vessels are the worst, as they
always spoil cider; and, in return, cider-casks infallibly spoil beer. Wine and brandy casks do very well,
provided the tartar adhering to their sides be carefully scraped off, and they are well scalded.
608 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
Chap. XI.
Of the Laying Out of Farm and other CuUurable Lands.
3835. The farming lands of an estate are in general the grand source of its annual
rental. The demesne lands are chiefly for enjoyment ; the roads afford no direct in-
come ; the villages, manufactories, commonly the mines and fisheries, and often also the
woods, yield no income of consequence ; but there remains the lands to be let out to the
professional farmer, market gardener, nurseryman, and cottagers; from these the land-
lord generally derives his principal return for the capital laid out on the estate. Having
therefore disposed of all the other parts of the territory, it remains only to arrange the farm-
ing or culturable lands in farms of different characters and sizes, in cottage lands, gardens,
or orchard grounds : these may be considered in regard to their extent and arrangement.
Sect. I. Of the Extent or Size of Farm and Cottage Lands.
3836. The proper size of farms, or of land to be let in any way, must necessarily be
that which best suits the markets : not altogether the market of the moment, for there
may be a run for large or for small farms ; but the market on an average of years,
times, and circumstances. If small farms and cottages, with minute portions of land
attached, will bring higher rents than larger possessions, then unquestionably the land-
lord does well to arrange his territory in this way ; unless it can be proved that a dealer
in land has not the same right over his own property as a dealer in any other commodity.
But it has been said by some that small, and by others that large farms are injurious to
the country. Admitting for a moment that either was the case, will any man assert that
an individual is to forego his own just advantage, for the sake of the public ? Such a
doctrine would be absurd, and lead to the most ruinous consequences to society, as might
easily be proved by supposing a general extension of the principle of preferring the
public benefit to one's own private advantage. — On this subject we submit the senti-
ments of the able author of the article Agriculture^ in the Sujip. to the Encyc. Brit.,
already often quoted.
3837. The various objections to large farms, which were urged by Dr. Price, Lord
Kaimes, and most of the economical writers of the last century, we have not here room
to examine. Much stronger reasons, certainly, than any that have been hitherto ad-
vanced, must be required to justify the interference of the legislature with the rights of
the agricultural classes — with that of a landliolder to draw the greatest revenue from
his property, and with that of a farmer to extend his concerns as far as his capital and
abilities will permit. Even though it should be conceded to Dr. Price, that a given
extent of land yields a greater produce in the hands of several small farmers than of
one great farmer, it still remains to inquire, what part of that produce can be spared for
the general consumption? — and whether the labor of these people might not be em-
ployed with more advantage than on such minute portions of land, as yield, even in the
best seasons, little more than food for their own subsistence ? In Britain, of which the
families employed in agriculture are to those of the whole population only as one to
2-84, and in which the proportion of lands cultivated, or that may be cultivated, is not
four acres to every individual, the great object ought certainly to be, to increase the
disposable produce of the country for the supply of the general population.
3838. The grand objection to large farms, that they depopulate the country, is not
supported by facts. The population of the country has not only greatly increased since
the enlargement of farms, but, in the ten years from 1801 to 1811, this increase ap-
pears to have been only two per cent, less than that of the town population. The fact
is, that the increase of the rural population has been in a greater ratio than that of the
town population, in those counties, such as Northumberland, where very large farms
abound ; and where, indeed, as is usually the case, this state of things is combined with
a spirited and productive system of agriculture. Even in Lancashire, the ratio of in-
crease is only two per cent, in favour of the towns ; but no one will ascribe this to the
enlargement of farms. The truth seems to be, that, wherever agriculture has made the
greatest progress, whatever may be the size of thq farms, the increase of employment
has been attended with a corresponding increase of population ; and that the ratio of
increase has been kept down below that of towns, by no other causes than the stationary
condition or slow progress of agriculture in some parts, and the superior allurements of
manufactures and commerce in others. It is further to be remarked, that, throughout the
whole of the arable districts of Scotland, the number of people is proportionably greater
on large than on small farms. The number of hands required on the former is too great
to be lodged in the farmer's own house; and, therefore, on all such farms, cottages are built
for their residence. These cottages are generally inhabited by married men, whose
families find employment in hoeing green crops, and other easy work, from a very early
age. In the less improved counties, on the other hand, where small farms still prevail.
Book II. SIZE OF FARMS. 609
unmarried servants are preferred, as, on such farms, there is little or no employment for;
the families of married servants. Our limits do not permit us to enquire how far the
poor laws of England operate against the employment of married servants, living in
cottages on every farm ; but the happy effects of this arrangement are manifest in the
south-eastern counties of Scotland, as we shall notice immediately.
3839. Cottage farms. The possession of land is held by some writers to be so im-
portant, with a view to the comforts of the laboring classes, as well as to the increase of
the rural population, that they have not been contented with objecting to large farms,
but have proceeded to recommend what are called cottage farms, for country laborers
generally. Of this plan we might say at once, that it must be limited every where by the
demand for labor; and that, wherever such small allotments are required by the state of
agriculture, they will gradually be formed from motives of interest, without the neces-
sity of any higher control. They are at this time common in many parts of Britain ;
and a different system has been established in other parts, for no other reason than
because of its superior advantages to all concerned. Yet, as cottage-farms bear a very
plausible appearance in the eye of speculative men, it seems necessary to offer some
further remarks on a question which has been so often agitated.
3840. If every laborer had a comfortable cottage, and four acres of land at a inoderate
rent, as recommended by some of the correspondents of the Board of Agriculture,
there is reason to believe that his condition might be much improved for a few years,
supposing his demand for labor to continue the same as at present. Even the colonies
which this class would every year send forth in quest of new cottages might be supplied
for a time ; and though the wages of labor must sink very fast, still this premium might
enable the laborers to multiply with little interruption for several generations. At last,
however, the multiplication of cottage-farms must necessarily stop, and a great propor-
tion of the people, without land and without the means of employment, would either
sink into helpless misery, or be driven by despair to the commission of every species of
enormity. Such was the state of England at the breaking up of the feudal system, the
policy of which also was to increase the number of the people, without regard to the
means of their employment ; and such, though in a much lessdegree, is the present state of
those parts of the united kingdom in which cottage-farms are the most prevalent. The
whole question, we think, is capable of being most satisfactorily decided, by an appeal
to the plain mercantile criterion of rent. If a hundred laborers, each of them possess-
ing four acr^s, can pay a higher rent than one farmer can pay for the whole four
hundred, buildings, fences, and repairs being estimated, we can see no reason why they
should not be preferred ; but if this be not the case, we are greatly at a loss to conceive
with what justice landholders can be called upon to submit to sacrifices which no other
class of the community is ever expected to make. We might, with just as much reason
and justice, require a manufacturer to employ a certain number of hands in proportion to
the amount of his capital, however unprofitable to him might be their labor.
3841. There are two sorts of cottages occupied by two distinct classes of laborers in all
our best agricultural counties. Of tlie first sort are the small agricultural villages, where
those mechanics and other laborers reside, who could not find full employment on any
one farm. To such men small farms are advantageous, or otherwise, according to the
nature and the constancy of their employment. The other class of cottagers, to which we
have already alluded, are ploughmen and other servants employed throughout the year on
a particular fanu. To these men small possessions of land are almost as unsuitable as
they would be to a country gentleman's domestics. But a small garden is usually
attached to each cottage ; and they are also allowed to keep a cow, as part of their
wages — not upon any particular spot of their own, but along with their master's cows.
Their fuel is carried home by their masters' teams, and a part of his own field, ready
dressed, is assigned them for raising potatoes, flax, or other crops for their families.
Thus, with little risk from the seasons or markets, and without any other demand on
their time than a few leisure hours will satisfy, these people enjoy all the advantages
which the occupancy of land can confer on a laborer. And there is not a more useful,
we may also add, a more comfortable body of men among the industrious classes of
society. To give this class of laborers four acres of land, along with every cottage,
would be to render them bad f,ervants, and worse farmers; and either a nuisance to the
person on whose farm they reside, or his abject dependants for employment. Tlie only
proper residence for men who do not choose to engage, or are not wanted, as constant
laborers, is in such central agricultural villages as we have just mentioned, and not on
separate farms, where they are excluded from the general market for labor.
3842. Of all the witnesses examined before the late committees of parliament on the com
laws, there is only one whose sentiments are opposed to the general feeling of all well
informed men, regarding the advantages that have resulted from the enlargement of
.farms. We siiall, therefore, content ourselves with noticing what appears to be the
natural progress in the size of farms ; the circumstances wliich prevent any possible en-^
Rr
610 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
largement of them from ever becoming injurious to the public, and the influence which
perfect liberty in this respect has excited in the improveinent of our agriculture.
3843. During the feudal system, that part of an estate which was not cultivated under
the direction of the proprietor himself, was let out in small allotments to his vassals,
from whom he received mihtary or other services, or a portion of the produce, in return.
In these times of turbulence and ferocity, the power of the chief mainly depended on the
number of his tenants ; and it was therefore his policy to increase them as much as pos-
sible, by dividing his land into very small possessions. That they might assist one
another in their rural labors, and in repelling the incursions to which they were inces-
santly exposed, these tenants were collected in a village near the castle of their lord. A
certain extent of arable land was appropriated to it, on which they raised corn, and a
much larger tract of waste or wood land, where their live stock pastured in common.
Spirited cultivation could never be introduced into this system of occupancy ; nothing
more than the means of subsistence was sought by the tenantry, and power, not revenue,
was the great object of the landholder.
3844. After the fall of the feudal system, this arrangement continued to prevail with
little alteration for a long period ; its vestiges are still to be traced in every part of
Britain ; and it exists in several counties, though in a modified form, even at the present
time. The common fields and commons of England, and the infield and outfield divi-
sions of Scotland, did not originate in any regard for the welfare of the lower classes, to
whom the tenancy of land is now thought to be so necessary, but in the anarchy and op-
pression of those dark ages in which all the landed property of the island was engrossed
by a few great barons. When these petty sovereigns were at last overthrown, and when
commerce and the arts held up to them new objects of desire, and to their depressed
tenantry new> modes of employment and subsistence, the bond which had hitherto con-
nected the landlord and cultivator became more and more feeble, and it was soon found
necessary to establish it upon other foundations than those of feudal protection and
dependence, the connection between landlord and tenant came gradually and generally
to assume that commercial form, which is at once most conducive to their own interest,
and to the general welfare.
3845. The want of capital ready to be embarked in agricultural pursuits, was one great
obstacle to this change. Under the feudal system there could be little or no accumula-
tion. Property in land was the only means of obtaining the command of labor, and
a share of the produce its only recompence. Accordingly upon the breaking up of the
feudal system, large tracts were taken into the immediate possession of landholders
themselves, because no suitable tenants could be found. The constant superintendence
required in cultivating corn lands, as well as the absurd restrictions of those times upon
the corn trade, and the constant demand for British wool on the continent, occasioned
these tracts to be laid to grass and pastured with sheep. Hence the grievous complaints,
during two centuries, of the decay of husbandry and farm-houses. But this resource of
land proprietors was effectual only on soils of an inferior description ; on good arable
land, the only method by which a part of the produce could reach them in the shape of
rent, was to enlarge their farms. The old occupiers were too numerous to spare any
considerable part of the produce, and generally too indolent and unskilful to make any
great exertions to augment it. In these circumstances, the landholder must either have
virtually abandoned his property, or reduced the number of its inhabitants, who were no
longer permitted by law to make him that return which had been the original condition
of their tenures. But the population of the towns was now gradually increasing, and it
was necessary, for the supply of their wants, as much for the benefit of the landholders,
that a large disposable produce should be obtained from the soil. The measure of
enlarging farms was, therefore, in every view, indispensable. Even such of the tenants
themselves, as it was necessary to displace, might have felt but a slight and temporary
inconvenience, had the change been gradual. Some of them would have found employ-
ment in towns, and others as hired laborers and artisans in the country. The dismission
of the small tenants seems, however, to have been the occasion of much misery ; for in
the sixteenth century, manufactures and commerce had made comparatively little progress
in Britain. In the present times, any length to which the private interest of landholders
could operate in this manner, would in a national point of view be too inconsiderable to
deserve notice. It is in this way that farms have been enlarged, the most skilful and
industrious of these small tenants were naturally preferred, and their possessions afterwards
enlarged as their capital increased. The consequence every where has been a better
system of cultivation, affording a higher rent to the land proprietor, and a greater supply
of land produce for the general consumption.
3846. The enlargement of farms can proceed only for a time and to a Very limited
extent. The interest of the landlord, which gave the first impulse, is ever vigilant to
check its progress, when it is attempted to carry the measure beyond due bounds.
It is in this that the security of the public consists, if it were ever possible that the public
Book II. ARRANGEMENT OF FARMERIES. 611
interest should be endangered by the enlargement of farms. Accordingly, in most of qux
counties, a few tenants, of superior knowledge and capital, have been seen to hold con-
siderable tracts of land, which, after a few years, were divided into a number of separate
farms. The practice of these men is a lesson to their neighbors ; and their success never
fails to bring forward, at the expiration of their leases, a number of competitors.
Whenever skill and capital come to be generally diffused, there can be few instances of
very large farms, if a fair competition be permitted. No individual, whatever may be
his fortune and abilities, can then pay so high a rent for several farms, each of them of
such a size as to give full room for the use of machinery, and other economical arrange- .
ments.as can be got from separate tenants. The impossibility of exercising that vigilant
superintendence, which is so indispensable in agricultural concerns, cannot long be com-
pensated by any advantages which a great farmer may possess. His operations cannot be
brought together to one spot, like those of the manufacturer ; the materials on which he ,
works are seldom in the same state for a few days, and his instruments, animated and
mechanical, are exposed to a great many accidents, which his judgment and experience
must be called forth instantly to repair.
3847. It has been said, indeed, that a great farmer may pay a higher rent, because he
saves the family expenses of a number of small tenantS' But from what fund do these
tenants maintain their families? It ought to be either from the profits of their capital, or
the wages of their labor, or from both combined, and certainly not from the landlord's
just share, in the shape of an abatement of rent. If they cannot pay so high a rent,
it must be because their capital and labor are less productive to the public than those of
the large farmer. Such men might, in most cases, be employed with more advantage,
even to themselves, in some other profession.
3848. The various other reasons assigned for the great enlargement of firms are equally
nugatory. There is generally no saving to the landlord in buildings and fences ; and a
very small difference of rent will pay for the trouble of keeping accounts, and settling
with twenty tenants instead of one. The fact certainly is, that the principal, if not the
only reason why farms have been enlarged, is, the higher rent paid by their occupiers.
To pay this rent, they must bring to market more produce, and this they are enabled to
do, by the distribution of their crops and live stock to suitable soils and pastures ; by an
economical arrangement and regular succession of labor throughout the year; by the
use of machinery ; and, still more than all, perhaps, by the investment of capital in
those permanent improvements, which augment both the quantity and value of their
products. Rent, in fact, is an almost unerring measure of the amount of the free
produce ; and there is no better criterion for determining whether a tract of country be
laid out ^in farms of a proper size, than the amount of the rent paid to its proprietors.
Their interest is, in this instance, completely identified with that of the great body of
the people.
3849. If we examine the various sizes of farms in those districts where the most perfect
freedom exists, and the best management prevails, we shall find them determined, with
few exceptions, by the degree of superintendence which they require. Hence, pastoral
farms are the largest ; next, such as are composed both of grazing and tillage lands ;
tlien such rich soils as carry cultivated crops every year ; and, finally, the farnis near
large towns, where the grower of corn gradually gives way to the market-gardener, cul-
tivating his little spot by manual labor. The hills of the south of Scotland are distributed
into farms of the first class ; tlie counties of Berwick and Roxburgh into those of the
second ; and the smaller farms of the Lothians and of the Carse of Gowrie, where there
seems to be no want of capital for the management of large farms, are a sufficient proof
of the general principle which determines the size of farms. (Sup.Encyc. Brit. art. Agr.)
Sect. II. Of laying out Farms and Farmeries.
3850. The arrangement of farms naturally divides itself into whatever relates to the farm-
ery or home stall, and what relates to the arrangement of the fields, roads, fences, and waterr
courses. In a country like Britain, long under cultivation, it is but seldom that these
can be brought completely under the control of the improver ; but cases occur where
this may be done without restraint, as in the enclosure of large commons; and in Ireland
and the highlands of Scotland, the opportunities are frequent.
SuBSECT. 1. Of the Situation and Arrangement of the Farmery.
3851. The general principles of designing farmeries and cottages haviug been already
treated of: we have in this place chiefly to apply them to particular cases. Thou<'h
the majority of farms may be described as of mixed culture, yet there are a num-
ber which are almost exclusively devoted to pasture, as mountain farms ; to meadow
culture, as irrigated or overflown lands; lands in particular situations, as in fenny dis-
tricts, and those situated on the borders of some description of rivers : — there are others
in which peculiar crops are chiefly raised, as in the case of the hop and seed farms of
Rr 2
6i3 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
Kent, Essex, and Surrey. AH these require a somewhat diflferent kind and extent of
accommodation in the farm buildings.
3852. The requisites for a farmery common to most characters of farms are, a centrical
situation, neither too high nor too low, shelter, water, exposure to the south or south-
east, in preference to other points ; a level or flat area of sufficient extent for the build-
ings, yards, and gardens ; grass-land sufficient for one or more small enclosures ; and
suitable outlets to the different parts of the farm, and to public roads and markets.
3853. Some of these requisites may be supplied by ar^, as shelter, by plantations; water,
by wells and ponds ; a flat, by levelling ; grass-lands, by culture ; and the direction of
the roads depends entirely on the designer. But in some cases the situation of the
farmery cannot be rendered centrical, as frequently happens in the fenny districts of
Cambridgediire, where danger might be incurred from extraordinary floods ; and in the
case of mountainous sheep farms, where a centrical situation might be so elevated as to
be deprived of most of the other requisites. Still, even in these cases, the general requi-
sites ought to be attained as far as practicable, and there are degrees of attainment as to
a centrical situation to be arrived at, even among fens and mountains.
3854. Excellent examples of different descriptions of farmeries, are to be found in Ber-
wickshire, Northumberland, East Lothian, and on the Marquess of Staffiard's estates in
Shrc^shire, Staffordshire, and Sutherland. Besides a great number of cottages and farm-
eries of different descriptions, thirty-seven new farmeries have been erected by the Marquess
of Stafford, in Shropshire alone. Loch, Lord Stafford's agent, in describing these (^Ac-
count of Improvements on the M. of Stafford's Estates, ^c), states, that " much attention
and consideration has been given to the plans of these buildings, with the view of combining
as many advantages as possible, and of arranging the different parts in such a way, as
to save the time of the tenant and his people, and in order that their extent might be
reduced to the least size practicable, securing at the same time the accommodation re-
quired. The most approved plans in both ends of the island were consulted, and a
gradual improvement has been made on them. The latter ones combine the advantages
of the English and Scotch buildings, avoiding, it is hoped, their respective defects. To
almost every one of these homesteads is attached a threshing machine, constructed on
the best principles; wherever water could be obtained, tliat has been made use of as
the impelling power ; and of late, some of the more extensive farms have been provided
with steam-engines for that purpose."
3855. In selecting a few of these examples, the first we shall mention is that of Sidera
or Cider Hall, in Sutherland, erected in 1818. The soil of this farm is of a light and
excellent quality, particularly suited to the Norfolk rotation of husbandry, which is
followed by Rule, the new tenant, a native of the county of Roxburgh. The house and
homestead cost 220(V. It is built in the most sufficient manner, of stone and lime,
and covered with Easdale slate, from the west coast of Scotland. In the garden, which
is an old one, there are several apple, pear, and gean, or small black cherry trees, of so
considerable a size, with some of the finest holly trees to be met with any where, as to
rfiovv that there is nothing in the climate to prevent the growth of even the more delicate
kinds of timber, if not exposed to the sea breeze.
3856. The accommodations of the house Qxe, on ihQ groxxnA floor, a parlor, lobby, and
staircase, family room, pantry, kitchen, open yard, and flower-garden ; of the chamber
story, a bed-room and -bed-closet, two bed-rooms, maid-servant's room, and bed-room.
The offices contain a cart-house, stable, tool-house, threshing-mill, and straw-house,
horse-course, cattle-sheds, dairy, calf-pen, cow-byre, feeding-byre, boothy {i. e. booth or
lodge) for ploughman ; pigstyes, and poultry above ; paved way, and cattle-yards.
3857. As an example of a Northumberland farmery for a farm of from 400 to 500
acres, we have recourse to The Gen. Rep. of Scotland. The accommodations are as fol-
low : in the dwelling-house are the entrance, stairs to chambers, and cellars, and lobby,
dining-room, pantry, coal-closet, parlor, business-room, kitchen, back kitchen, dairy, store-
room, poultry, farm servants' kitchen, boiling-house, root-house, riding-horse stable. In
the economical buildings are a cart-shed, straw-barn, and granary over ; corn-barn, hinds,
byre for three cows, byre for ten cows, with feeding passage in the centre ; calf-house,
loose horse place, stable, feeding sheds for cattle, with feeding passage along tlie centre ;
pigs, dung-places, straw-yards, cart-shed, and open court. The aspect of the house is
south, and the garden and orchard are in front of it.
3858. As an example of a very complete farmery for a turiiip and barley soil, we give
that of Fearn {fig. 465.), erected by the Marquess of Stafford in the parish of Escall
Magna, in Shropshire, in 1820. The farm contains 460 acres of turnip soil ; and the
farmery the following accommodations, including a threshing machine, driven by steam.
In the house are two parlors (a, a), family-room (6), brew-house, two stories (c), pantry
(dj, milk-house (e), kitchen {f], bed-rooms {g), men servant's bed-room (/j). In the
court offices a hackney-stable {i), stair under-cover ik), waggon-shed, and granary over
(/}, tool-house im), cow-house (»), places for turnips and straw {o,p), steam-engine (q),
Book II.
ARRANGEMENT OF FARMERIES.
61S
bam (r), straw or other cattle-food (s), stall-fed cattle (t), stables (u), turnip-houses (v),
piggeries, poultry, tools, and necessary (w), cattle-sheds to each yard (x).
R
SI
h
— j:i-5_izljii
V V V {
W°^°
□ y D
dU
Zl 1 II
\ /
3859. As an example of a farmery to he managed by a bailiffs we give that of Skelfcoy
also in Sutherland. The farm consists of 450 acres, the greater part taken from
a heathery waste. It contains a suitable house for the grieve or bailiff, and attached ia
the oflSces are a threshing machine, combining a corn or meal-mill. Its accommoda-^
R r 3
614
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III
~r . 1 1
ill
466
n
pftD
n n
nnn
tions are a chaff-house, corn-rooms, threshing-mill, with water-wheel and straw-house ;
cattle-sheds, poultry-houses, and piggery ; stables, byres, cart-shed, cattle-shed, dairy,
meal-house, lodge for ploughmen, paved way, and cattle-yards.
3860. As an example of a small farmery in the county of Stafford, we select that of
Knollwall. {fig. 466.) The extent is 104
acres ; the soil is strong and rather wet, and
there are some water and other meadows.
The house and yard-buildings are of brick
and tile, and their accommodations are, a
kitchen (a), brew-house (6), parlor (c), sit-
ting-room {d)y pantry (e), milk-house {f),
court-yard open fg), coals {h), hackney-
stable {i)y turkey-house {k), pigstyes (/),
waggon-horse stable (m), corn-bay (n),
barn (o), straw bay (;>), cow-tyings \q),
fodder-bins (r), calf-houses (s), and waggon-
shed, granary over, connected with barn, {t)
3861. As an example of a middle-sized
farmery on a clayey soil, we may refer to that
of Newstead, in Staffordshire. This farm
contains 314 acres, and the tenant. Ford, is
said to be an example to the whole country.
The accommodations of the farmery are, in
the dwelling-house, a house-place and
kitchen, master's-room, brew-house, dairy,
pantry, parlor, bed-rooms, cheese-room,
attics. In the court a shed for waggons, with granary over, hackney stable, waggon -
horse stable, cattle-sheds, turnip-houses, fodder-house, straw-bays, threshing-mill, with
water-wheel, corn-bay, tool-house, workshop, bay for unthreshed corn, small granary, and
pigstyes.
3862. As an example of an economical farmery for a farm of 50 or 60 acres, we copy
from The General Report of Scotland. The accommodations are ; in the house, a
kitchen, parlor, store-room, pantry, with three bed-rooms, and a light closet over ; closet,
milk-room, and scullery. In the economical buildings are a stable, with a loose stall,
byre for ten cows, cattle-shed, barn, cart-shed, with granary over ; pigstyes and cattle-
yard. This appears one of the most compact and eligible plans for the farmeries of arable
farms under 100 acres.
3863. As an improved Berwickshire farmery, we submit another specimen from The
General Report. Its accommodations are calculated for a farm of 600 acres, and
consist, in the dwelling-house range, of a porch, lobby, dining-room, parlor, kitchen,
scullery, coal-place, store-room, dairy, pantry, business-room, poultry, steaming-house,
bailiff 's- room. The economical buildings contain a riding-horse stable, tool-house, cart-
shed, with granary over ; corn-barn, straw-barn, feeding-house for 36 head of cattle,
root-house, byre for cows, calf-pens, stable for ten horses, pigs, with yard and troughs,
cattle-sheds, dung-basin, and urinarium under ; cattle-yards, cart-road paved, rick- yard,
mill track, open court, lawn, garden, and orchard.
3864. A farmery for a turnip soil of from 600 to 900 acres, from the same work,
deserves consideration as a very complete specimen of arrangement. Omitting the
farm-house, the economical buildings contain a stable, cow-house, servants' cow, root-
house, young horses stable, straw-barn, corn-barn, stable, cart-shed, place for pickling,
wheat, killing sheep, or other odd jobs; feeding-house, carpenter's workshop, pigs, geese,
common poultry, turkeys, pigs, cattle-sheds, dung and straw court with urinariums in
the centre of each, paved cart-road round, open court between the yard and dwelling-
house-rick -yard, paddocks of old pasture, ponds for drinking and washing the horses' legs.
3865. The accommodations for a farm-house, suitable to such a design and to the
style of life which the person who can occupy such a farm is entitled to enjoy, are
as follow : — In the parlor story there is a lobby with staircase to chambers and cellars,
drawing-room, bed-room, a family work-room, dining-room, business-room, kitchen,
barrack-room or man-servant's room, &c. ; store-room, dairy, and on the first-floor two
best bed-rooms, two other bed-rooms, bed-closets, and another closet ; over are servants'
rooms.
3866. As a farmery for an arable farm n^SiX London of 350 acres {fig. 467.), we
shall give as an example one erected (with some variations) in the county of Middlesex,
in 1810. It is to be observed, that in Middlesex farming, a great object is hay, especially
meadow hay for the London market, which gives rise to the covered spaces for loaded
carts [x) ; it being the custom to load the carts at night, place them under cover, and yoke
and go on the road early the following morning. The accommodations of this farmery
Book II.
ARRANGEMENT OF FARMERIES.
615
467
r
are, in the dwelling-house, a lobby and stair (a), dining-room (6), drawing-room and
green-house (c), a housekeeper's room, nursery or butler's pantry {d), dairy (e),
kitchen {/), back kitchen and brew-house (g), gig-house or coach-house (/«]j small
stable (t), harness-room and stjiir to mens' room and hay-loft (Jc). In the economical
buildings are a granary [1), pigs (m), carts or odd articles (71), water-closet (0), poultry (;;)>
litter for the stable {q^, stable for twelve horses (r), chaff-room (5), litter («), room for
cutting hay into chaff (w), places for horse food, or straw, hay, &c. (v), cattle sheds (w),
open colonade for loaded hay-carts (a:), straw end of barn [y], corn-floor (z), unthreshed
corn and corn-floor (^), machine (1), mill course (2), cows (3), cow-food (4), calves (5)»
bailiff's house (6) , implements (7), wood-house, coals, &c. (8), kitchen-court to i^iaster's
house (9), garden (10), poultry-yard (11), bailiff's garden (12), lawn, shrubbery, and
sheep-walk (13), pond (14), rickyard (15), stack-stands (16), urinarium (17).
3867. In the elevations of this farmery {Jig. 468,), some attention has been paid tp
effect, by intermingling tiees, chiefly oaks, tJborns, and honeysuckles.^
468
R r 4
616
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
3868. An anomalous design of a farmery for a hay-farm {fig. 469.), calculated for
effect and for inspection from the sitting-room (a, a) contains the following economical
buildings : — A poultry-house with granary over (o), a chaise-house with men's room over
(6), rabbits (c), tools (rf), carts (e), open sheds for carts or other implements (/), sick
horse or cow, &c. (g), pigs {h), stable (i), calves (A:\ cows (Z), open passage lighted from
above and pump (m), saddle-horse, &c. (n), straw (o), chafF-cutting room (;j), hand-
threshing-machine (9), unthreshed corn (r), loaded carts of hay (s, t), hay-ricks with
roof moveable on wheels to protect the hay while binding (m), ponds {v), lawn (ly),
yard {x). Sitting in the circular room (a, a), the master may look down the light passage
which has a wire door, and along the oblique front of the buildings, and see every door
that is opened. He may also, as appears by the elevation {fig, 470.) see thfe ineii binding
bay under the moveable covers.
Book IL
ARRANGEMENT OF FARMERIES.
CI7
3869. jin anomalous design for a corn and stall'/eeding-fami (Jig. 471.), in
stacks are built on the tops of the stables, cattle, and cart-sheds (a), may be
pleasing in effect; but
not likely to be so use-
ful as the more simple
plans. The hay, roots,
and straw, are stacked
in the central circle (6),
and very readily sup-
plied to the stable (c),
cow-stalls (d), or feed-
ing yards (e). The
threshing-machine (/),
is driven by water which
is supplied by a cir-
cuitous route (g), from
the pond near the house
(h). The elevation (Jig.
472.), has a good effect
which tlJe
noticed as
618
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
when all the stacks are in their places, and untouched ; but as they are removed to the
barn the appearance of the flat-roofed sheds will not be so consonant to established notions
of beauty and neatness.
3870. A farmery for a meadow-farm of 250 acres near London {fig. 473.), ™ay be
arranged as follows : — The house may contain a porch, lobby, and stair to chambers and
473
cellars (a), parlor (6), bed-room or study (c), pantry (rf), kitchen (e), lumber-room (/),
business-room (g), back kitchen (Ji), coal cellar, and maid's room over (i), wood-house
(Ar), yard and pump (Z), pigs (m), chaise {n), poultry (o), tools and roots, &c. (p), two
stalls, and a saddle and harness place {q), harrows and large implements, &c. (r),
bailiff's house or men's lodge (s), cows [t], chaff-cutting room, and granary over (w),
straw-barn (v), corn-floor (w), unthreshed corn (x), stable and stall for litter (;/), loaded
or empty carts and implements (s), watering-trough (^ , rick-stands (1), bailiff's garden
(2), master's garden (3), lawn (4), paddock of old grass (5).
3871. An anomalous design for a turnip farm of 500 acres (fg. 474.), contains a
dwelling-house (a), on an eminence commanding not only the farmery (6), but great
part of the farm. It is surrounded by the ricks for shelter (c), and by a pond (rf),
which drives the threshing-machine (e), and forms a foreground to the distant scenery.
There is a large feeding-shed (/), a bailiff's house and garden (g), and the other usual
accommodations. The elevation of the feeding -sheds and end of the barn looking
towards the house is simple and not inelegant, (fg. 116.) Farmeries of this sort are
not submitted as examples for general imitation ; but merely as sources of ideas to such
as have the designing of this species of rural buildings, for employers who have a taste
for design and for originality, and who can afford to gratify that taste. It is a poor
business, and one which never can procure much applause, when a proprietor of wealth
and cultivated mind, erects for his own use the same sort of farmery, or, indeed, any
other buildings, as the tenants who support him. In East Lothian, Berwickshire, North-
umberland, and on the Marquess of Stafford's estates both in England and Scotland, are
some noble examples of substantial, commodious, and even elegant farmeries. (See
Gen. Rej). of Scotland, and Loclis Imp. . on the Marq. of Staffvrd's Estates^ &c. 8vo*
1819.)
Book II.
LAYING OUT COTTAGES.
619
. SuBSECT. 2. Of laying out CoitageSi
3872. Cottage buildings include a variety of habitations from the farm-house down-
wards. On a large estate there will be cottages for tradesmen and mechanics, with and
without fields and gardens; others for market-gardeners and nurserymen, surrounded by
gardens and orchards ; for operative manufacturers; for day laborers ; and on the farm
lands near the farmeries, for ploughmen and herdsmen. The extent of ground which
ought to accompany these cottages must be determined entirely by the demand ; the re-
gular laborer and ploughman require the least ; and the gardener and tradesman^ who
keep a horse or horses, and cow, the most.
3873. A cottage fit for a tradesman, me*
chanic, or bailiflf', given in The General Report
of Scotland, contains the following accommo-
dations : a porch, lobby, living room, two
closets with beds, pantry and dairj', fuel and
lumber-place, pig, and garden. The cow is
kept at the farmery, if for a bailiff; the poultry
over the fuel place, and the bees on stands in
the open garden.
3874. A double cottage ofordy one floor {fig-
475.) contains in each, the kitchen (a), with
oven (6), pantry and dairy (c), lobby, {d), two
bed-rooms {e,e), entrance door [f), front
court-yard {g), pigs {h), necessaries [i]. The
gardens are at each end, and the cows supposed
to be kept at the farmery.
3875. A cottage on a smaller scale con-
tains the entrance and stair, parlor, bed-room with two good bed-rooms over. Behind
620
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
the main body of the house is a leantoo, containing the kitchen dairy and pantry, brew-
ing, fuel, and lumber place. The usual appendages are detached.
3876. A double cottage for two married ploughmen, given in The General Report
of Scotland^ contains a porch, and stair to bed-rooms, living-room, pantry and dairy,
back kitchen, cow or pig-house, gardens, and two good bed- rooms to each.
3877. A laborer's cottage, with cow-
house and piggery {fig' 476.), as com-
monly contructed in the south of
Scotland, is thus arranged : — the cow-
house(a) and piggery (c)are in a leantoo.
The dwelling contains, on the ground
floor, an entrance and stair to bed-gar-
rets (6), large kitchen and living-room
{eU dairy and pantry (d), coal and
wood (g), necessary (h),
3878. A good tradesman's cottage
(fig. 477.) is thus arranged: — parlor
(a), kitchen (6), closet (c), dairy and pantry (d), closet to parlor (e), tool-house (/),
poultry(g), back entrance to the kitchen and
fuel place (h) , back entrance to house and
stair (i) ; over are two good bed-rooms ; be-
hind is a small court- yard, and the garden
surrounds the whole.
3879. Where cottages are erected as pic-
turesque objects, various external forms and
styles of design may be adopted, and at the
same time the requisite degree of comfort
preserved within. Three may be grouped
together (fig. 478.) and each have the usual
accommodations of kitchen (a), parlor (A),
with the usual closets and garret bed- rooms
477
cottages of upper servants.
the demesne lands of proprietors,
Gothic elevations (fig. 479.), Chi-
nese, Swiss, and Italian (fig. 480.),
and every other variety may be
adoptedi
20 23 atfttt
Book II. LAYING OUT FARM LANDS. 621
3880. For entrance lodges there are many elegant designs by Gandy, Robertson,
Papworth, and others : some simple and modern, and others in imitation of the elder
styles of building.
3881. Avery simple entrance lodge of one story (Jig. 481,) may contain a kitchen (a),
parlor and bed-room opening into it (J), pantry (c), and closet (d). Towards the road
there may either be a bow projection or porch. Detached, in the garden and concealed
by trees and shrubs, may be the usual appendages to comfortable cottages.
SuBSECT. 3. Of laying out the Farm Lands.
3882. In arranging farm lands the principal consideration is the size and shape of the
fields, and the next access to them and to the farmery by proper roads.
3883. With respect to roads, sometimes a farm is situated on both sides of a highway ;
in which case all the fields may be made to open into it, either directly or through an in-
tervening field. Here no private road is wanting, excepting a few yards to reach the
farmery. But when, as is most generally the case, the lands are situated at a distance
from a great road, and approached by a lane or bye -road, then from that bye-road a pri-
vate road is required to the farmery, and a lane or lanes from it so contrived as to touch
at most of the fields of the farm. In wet and clayey soils, these lanes must be formed of
durable materials ; but in dry soils, provided attention be paid to fill in the cart ruts
as they are formed (by the leading out of dung, or home of corn,) by small stones,
gravel, or even earth, the lane may remain green ; and being fed with sheep or
cattle will not be altogether lost. It is essentially necessary to make a piece of road at
the gate of every enclosure, being the spot which is most frequently in use. Without this
precaution, it often becomes a mire where corn is thrown down and spoiled in har-
vest, or if it is attempted to avoid the mire, the gate-posts and neighboring fence are often
damaged. {Communications to the Board of Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 251.)
3884. With good private roads a farmer will perform his operations at much less expense,
the labor of the horses will be much easier ; a greater quantity or weight of grain and
other articles may be more expeditiously carried over them ; manure can be more easily
conveyed to the fields ; the harvest can be carried on more rapidly ; and wear and
tear of every description will be greatly reduced. {Code of Agriculture, p. 158.)
3885. The form and size of fields have too often been determined without much regard
to the size of the farm, the exposure and the equability of the soil. This is the more to be
regretted in the case of live fences, which ought to endure for a long course of years, and
which cannot be eradicated without considerable expense. In The Code of Agriculture it
is observed, that " when a whole farm is divided into fields of various sizes, it is difficult
to form a plan, so as to suit a regular rotation of crops, or to keep very accurate accounts.
Whereas, by having the fields in general of a large size, the whole strength of a farm, and
the whole attention of the farmer is directed to one point; while an emulation is excited
among the ploughmen, when they are thus placed in circumstances which admit their
work to be compared. Some small fields are certainly convenient on any farm, for
grazing and other purposes, to be afterwards explained. On elevated situations also,
the shelter derived from small enclosures is of use.
3886. A number of small enclosures, irregularly shaped, surrounded with trees or high
hedges in corn farms, and more especially in corn lands situated in a flat country, where
shelter is unnecessary, is exceedingly injurious to the farmer. Besides the original expense
of making the enclosures, the injury done to the crops of grain, produced by the want of
a free circulation of air, and the harbor afforded to numbers of small birds; the very site
of numerous hedges, with their attendant ditches, and the uncultivated slips of land on both
sides of them, consume a much larger proportion of arable land than is commonly imagined.
Hedges, especially if accompanied by rows of trees, greatly exhaust the ground of its
fertility, nourish weeds, the seeds of which may be widely disseminated, and, by tlie ex-
clusion of air, the harvesting of the crop is carried on more slowly. Even upon meadow
land, small enclosures, encircled by hedges, are injurious, as they prevent the circulation
of air for making or drying the hay. Small enclosures, with high hedges and trees, are
also extremely injurious to the roads, in their neighborhood.
3887. With fields of a considerable size less ground is wasted, and fewer fences are to
uphold. The crops of grain, being more exposed to wind, can be harvested earlier, and
it suffers less from damp seasons. Small enclosures in pasture are more productive in
winter, being better sheltered ; but in summer the larger and more open tlie enclosures
are the better; for in hot weather both cattle and sheep always resort to the most airy
places. It is easier also, when they are in pasture, to obtain a supply of water in large
fields than in small ones : indeed fields are sometimes so small, that it is very difficult to
procure an adequate supply of water, even in winter. But the conclusive argument in
favor of large arable fields is this, that where fields are small, much time and labor are
wasted by short turnings ; and it is now ascertained, " that if fields are of a regular
shape, and the ridges of a proper length, five ploughs may do as much work as six
622 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
ploughs in fields of a small size, and of an irregular shape ; while every other branch of
labor (such as dunging, sowing, harrowing, reaping, and carrying in the harvest), can
be executed, though not altogether, yet nearly in the same proportion." (^Husb. of
Scot. vol. i. p. 41. and Sup. Encyc. Brit. art. Agr.)
3888. The circumstances on which the size of fields ought to depend are, the extent of the
farm in which they are situated, the nature of the soil and subsoil, the rotations adopted,
the number of ploughs on the farm, the inclination of the ground, its being in pasturage
or otherwise, and the nature of the climate. {Code.)
3889. Extent of the farm. The size of fields ought certainly, in some measure, to
depend upon the extent of the possession. In small farms near towns, from six to twelve
acres may be sufficient; but where farms are of a considerable extent, fields from twenty
to even fifty acres, and, in some particular cases, as high as sixty, may be used to advan-
tage. In general, however, even on large farms, when permitted by local circumstances,
fields of a medium size, as from fifteen to twenty-five English acres, are recommended
by competent judges.
3890. Soil and subsoil. In dividing a farm into fields, the nature of the soil and sub-
soil ought to be kept in view. "Where the soil is various, it would be proper to separate
the light from the heavy. They are not only better calculated for different crops and
different rotations, but are naturally adapted to be cultivated at different seasons. It is
unfortunate, therefore, to have soils of a heterogeneous nature mingled in the same field.
But where this partially takes place, for instance, where there are only one or two acres
of light soil, to ten or twenty of strong soil, let the following plan be adopted : — At
any slack time, either in summer or winter, more especially when the field is under
fallow, employ two carts and horses with four fillers, to cover the acre or two of light
soil, with the strong soil contiguous, and the soil in the field will then become more
uniform. In fields where light soils predominate, the plan might be reversed. This
plan, though at first expensive, is attended with such advantages, that whenever it is
necessary and practicable, it ought to be carried into effect.
3891. The rotation adopted. It may be considered as a good general rule, to
divide a farm according to the course of crops pursued in it ; that is to say, a farm with a
rotation of six crops should have six fields, or twelve, according to circumstances. It
is proper to have a whole field, if the soil be uniform, under one crop ; and every farmer
of experience knows the comfort of having the produce of the farm as equal every year
as the soil and season will admit of.
3892. Number of ploughs. It is likewise proper that the size of fields should be some-
what in proportion to the number of horses and ploughs on the farm. For instance,
where six two-horse ploughs are kept, and where it is difficult, from the nature of the
soil, to have the fields of a larger extent, sufficiently dry, from eighteen to twenty-five
English acres are considered to be a convenient size. With twelve horses, a field of
that extent can always be finished in four, or at the utmost in five days; there is less
risk, therefore, of being overtaken by bad weather, and prevented from completing the
preparation of the land for the intended crop. When the fields are of too great an extent,
in proportion to the stock kept, a considerable interval must occur between the sowing
of the first and of the last part ; and it will in general be desirable to have each field
cleared at the same time in harvest. The harrowing also is done more economically,
when the field is sown at once, than in several portions ; and where rolling is required,
that operation being most effectually done across, it cannot well be accomplished till the
field has been completed. Hence the advantages of having the size of the fields in some
degree commensurate to the stock of working animals upon the farm.
3893. Inclination of the ground. It is, however, evident that the size of the fields must
in some respects depend on the flatness, or the hilly shape of the ground. Even on dry
land, if there be a rise on the ground, from fifteen to twenty chains is sufficient length ;
for if the ridge be longer, the horses become much fatigued if compelled to plough a
strong furrow up hill beyond that length in one direction. This objection, however, to
large fields, may in some measure be obviated, by giving the ridges and furrows in such
fields as are on the sides of a hill, such an obliquity as may diminish the difficulties of
the ascent.
3894. Pasturage. Where the system of grazing and tillage is alternately followed
(more especially where the fields are pastured for two or three years in succession), it is
convenient to have the fields of from twenty to perhaps thirty English acres. The
farmer is thus enabled to divide his stock, which he cannot well do with larger fields.
The cattle or sheep remain more quiet than if a greater number were collected together,
and less grass is destroyed by treading. When such a field has been pastured for some
time, the stock should be removed to another, till the grass in the former has renewed,
and is fit for being eaten. Such a size also, in general, suits graziers better than larger
ones, and consequently fields of this extent, when in pasture, generally let for more
rent.
Book II. LAYING OUT FARM LANDS. 623
3895. Climate. The last circumstance to be considered in determining the proper size
of fields, is the nature of the climate. In dry and cold climates, small enclosures are
desirable on account of shelter ; whereas, in wet countries the fields under culture can-
not be too open and airy for the purpose of drying the ground, of bringing forward and
ripening the grain, and of enabling the farmer more easily to secure it during an un-
favorable harvest, by having a free circulation of air. But though on large farms, fields
should in general be formed on an extensive scale, yet there is a convenience in having
a few smaller fields near the farm-house for keeping the family cows ; for turning out
young horses, mares, and foals ; for raising a great variety of vegetables ; and for trying
experiments on a small scale, which may afterwards be extended, if they shall be found to
answer. Where enclosures are too large for particular purposes, and where no small
fields, as above recommended, have been prepared, large fields may be subdivided by
sheep-hurdles, a sort of portable fence well known to every turnip-grower. In this
way, great advantage may be derived from the constant use of land that would other-
wise have been occupied by stationary fences ; and the expense of subdivisions, which,
on a large farm, would necessarily have been numerous, is thereby avoided. This
fence is perfectly effectual against sheep, though it is not so well calculated for stronger
animals. On dry soils, where sheep are generally pastured, it is not unlikely that by
using moveable hurdles, the expense of permanent fences might in a great measure be
saved.
3896. The shape ofjklds may be either square or oblong,
3897. Square fields. The advantage of having the fences in straight lines, and the
fields, when large, of a square form, is unquestionable, as the ploughing of them, under
this arrangement, can be carried on with much greater dispatch. Some farmers, whose
fields are of a waving or uneven shape, and who enclose with hedge and ditch, carry
their fence through the hollows, or best soil, with a view of raising a good hedge, thus
often sacrificing, for the sake of the fence, the form of their field. A straight line, however,
is preferable, even though it should be necessary to take some particular pains to enrich
the soil for the hedge, where it is thin and poor, on any elevation. By means of the
square form, an opportunity is afforded of ploughing in every direction, when necessary;
and less time is lost, in carrying on all the operations of husbandry in a field of that
form than of any other shape. When the waving form is necessary to secure proper
water runs, plantations may be so disposed as to reduce the fields to squares or oblongs,
and the fences to straight lines. Rectangular fields have another advantage, that in
fields of that shape it may be known, whether the ploughmen have performed their duty,
the quantity of work done being easily calculated, from the length and breadth of a cer-
tain number of ridges.
3898. OMong fields. When fields are small, an oblong shape should be preferred,
that the ploughings may be dispatched with as few turnings as possible. This form has
also other advantages. The fields are more easily subdivided, and water can in almost
every case be got, by making proper ponds in the meeting or joining of three or four
fields, whose gutters or. ditches will convey water to the ponds. In turnip soils, where
the shape is oblong, it is easier to divide the turnips with nets or hurdles, for the conve-
nience of feeding them off with sheep. If the ridges are too long, and the field dry and
level, the length may be reduced by making cross head-lands, or head-ridges, at any place
that may be considered the fittest by the occupier. (Code of Agr. 152 to 157.)
3899. Hedge-row trees are very generally objected to by agriculturists. Notwithstand-
ing the garden-like appearance which they give to the landscape, " it seems to be agreed
by the most intelligent agriculturists that they are extremely hurtful to the fence, and
for some distance to the crops on each side ; and it is evident, that in many instances the
highways on the sides of which they often stand, suffer greatly from their shade. It has
therefore been doubted, whether such trees be profitable to the proprietor, or beneficial
to the public ; to the farmer they are almost in every case injurious, to a degree beyond
what is commonly imagined. (Supp. to Encyc. Brit. art. Agr. )
3900. The opinion of Loch, a well informed and unprejudiced improver of landed property, is of an op-
posite description. He says, there is no change in the rural economy of England more to be regretted
than the neglect which is now .shown to the cultivation and growth of hedge-row timber. The injury
which it does to the cultivation of the land is much exaggerated, especially if a proper selection of trees
is made; but even the growth of the ash, so formidable to agriculturists, might be defended on the
ground, that without it the best implements employed in the cultivation of the soil could not be made.
It is well known that good hedge-row timber is by far the most valuable both for naval and domestic
piirpdses. Its superior toughness rendering it equally valuable to the ship and to the plough-wright
The value which itis-of in affording shelter, is also of material use; besides, the raising of grain is not the
only purpose of life, or the only matter to be attended to, nor the only object worthy of attention. The
purposes of war and of national glory, the protection and the extension of our commerce, the construction
and repair of buildings, and even the enjoyment arising from the rich and beautiful effect produced by
such decoration and ornament, are all objects of material importance to the well-being and constitution
of a highly cultivated state of society. Even upon the more narrow ba.sis of individual utility, this practice
might be defended and recommended ; for it is not useless to consider how many families and estates have
been preserved, when pressed by temporary difficulties (from which none are exempted), from a fall oi
hedge. row timber. One of the best legacies wliich a great proprietor can leave his country and his family
is an estate well stocked with such trees. '*
624
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
482
^gS^
■^gBj8U^6«ra^aafc^.,^a««>,
3901. The gates of fields should in most cases be placed in the middle of that side of
the field which is nearest the road ; and not in an angle, or at one corner, unless par-
ticular circumstances point out this as the preferable mode .
3902. The drainage and water-courses, if any, on farm lands, require to be attended to
in laying out the fences, so as if possible to make the ditches of the latter serve as open
drains ; also, when opportunity offers, for conveying streams to be used in irrigation, or
for driving machinery. The fences and roads will, to a certain extent, be guided by the
course of such stream or streams.
3903. As an example of laying out farm lands from a newly-enclosed common, we
submit the case of a flat
surface, a strong retentive
clay soil, a moist climate,
a situation distant from
markets, with no other ob-
ject in view than that of
making as much of the
lands as possible. A public
road {'fig^ 482 a) passes
the farm, and the farniery
is approached by a private
road {b . The size of the
farm deemed proper is
350 acres; the most pro-
fitable mode of occupation
is, 180 in arable, and the
remainder in pasture. The
arable subjected to a ro-
tation of, 1st, beans, drill-
ed, or naked fallow,
dunged; 2d, wheat; 3d,
clover and rye-grass, fed
off or mown for soiling
cattle; 4th, wheat or oats,
if the clover was mown,
dunged. The grass-lands
are supposed to be wfaoUy
fed off chiefly with cattle ;
but also with ten cows,
for butter and breeding,
and a few sheep.
3904. The buildings {e)
are placed in tlie centre
of the farm, and contain
stabling for four work-horses, and open sheds for eight oxen ; 130 feet of sheds for thirty
fatting cattle ; a barn, with threshing-machine impelled by wind ; houses for ten cows,
and other conveniences in proportion. There is a kitchen-garden, orchard, rick-yard,
and two paddocks (rf,/), adjoining the farmery.
3905. The grass-fields (g), contain only ten acres each, to admit of the great advan-
tage of shifting the stock from one to another. They are most distant from the farmery,
because requiring least cartage; and some of them bemg in the lowest part of the farm,
they may be irrigated. Trees are avoided in the fences, as injurious in flat surfaces and
adhesive soils,
3906. The arable lands (h), are preserved in the centre, to save carting to and from
the farmery ; and the enclosures are four times the size of the grass-fields, each shift
forming one large enclosure, containing four fields, divided only by open ditches for
carrying off the surface water. The two small central fields shown under aration, are
supposed alternately in turnips, potatoes, cabbages, &c. for cows, &c. and wheat. The
paddocks and closes are for calves or colts.
3907. The chief, and almost sole products of this firm will be wheat and beef ; the
former best worth sending to a distant market ; the latter easily transported to any dis-
tance ; and both staple commodities.
Book III. DRAINING. 625
BOOK III.
OP IMPROVIN'G THE CULTURABLK LANDS OP AN ESTATE.
3908. Havi^^g completed the general arrangement of an estate, the next thing is to
improve the condition of that part of it destined to be let out to tenants, and from which,
as already observed, the chief source of income is derived. The farm lands being
enclosed and subdivided, and the farmeries and cottages l)uilt in their proper situations,
in many cases no other improvements are wanted on the soil than such as are given by the
tenant in the ordinary course of culture. But there are also numerous cases, in which
improvements are required which could not be expected from an occupier having only a
temporary interest in his possession ; and these form the present subject of discussion.
Such improvements are designated by agriculturists permanent, as conferring an in-
creased purchasable value on the property, in opposition to improvements by a temporary
occupier, the benefits of which are intended to be reaped during his lease. The latter class
of improvements include fallows, liming, marling, manuring, improved rotations^ and
others of greater expense, according to the length Of lease, rent, and encouragement given
by the landlord ; the former, and which we are now about to discuss, include draining,
embanking, irrigating, bringing waste lands into cultivation, and improving the con-
dition of lands already in a state of culture.
Chap. I.
Of Draining Watery Lands,
3909. Draining is one of those means of improvement, respecting the utility of which
agriculturists are unanimous in opinion. Though practised by the Romans (143.), and
in all probability in some cases by the religious fraternities of the dark ages, it was not
till after the middle of the last century that its importance began to be fully understood
in Britain ; and that some individuals, and chiefly Dr. Anderson and Elkington, began to
practise it on new principles. About the same time, the study of geology became more
general, and this circumstance led to the establishment of the art on scientific principles.
The public attention was first excited by the practice of Elkington, a farmer and self-
taught professor of the art of draining in Warwickshire and the adjoining counties. On
the practice of this artist most of the future improvements have been founded ; and they
have been ably embodied in the account of his practice by Johnston, from whose work
we shall draw the principal materials of this section, borrowing also from the writings
of Dr. Anderson, Marshal, Smith, Farey, and some others on the same subject. After
submitting some general remarks on the natural causes of wetness in lands, we shall
consider in succession the drainage of boggy lands, hilly lands, mixed soils, retentive
soils, and mines and quarries ; and then tJie kinds of drains, and draining materials.
Sect. I. Of the Natural Causes of Wetness in Lands, and the general Theory of Draining,
3910. The successful practice of draining in a great measure depends on a proper
knowledge of the structure of the earth's upper crust ; that is, of the various strata of which
it is composed, as well as of their relative degrees of porosity, or capability of admitting or
rejecting the passage of water through them, and likewise the modes in which water is
formed, and conducted from the high or hilly situations to the low or level grounds. In
whatever way the hills or elevations that present themselves on the surface of the globe
were originally formed, it has been clearly shown, by sinking large pits, and digging
into them, that they are mostly composed of materials lying in a stratified order, and in
oblique or slanting directions downwards. Some of these strata, from their nature and
properties, are capable of admitting water to percolate or pass through them ; while others
do not allow it any passage, but force it to run or filtrate along their surfaces without
penetrating them in any degree, and in that way to conduct it to the more level grounds
below. There it becomes obstructed or dammed up by meeting with impervious materials of
some kind or other, by which it is readily forced up into the super-incumbent layers where
they happen to be open and porous, soon rendering them too wet for the purposes of
agriculture ; but where they are of a more tenacious and impenetrable quality, they only
become gradually softened by the stagnant water below them ; by which the surface of
the ground is, however, rendered equally moist and swampy, though somewhat more
slowly than in the former case; It may also be observed, that some of the strata which
constitute such hilly or mountainous tracts are found to be continued with much greater
S s
626 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
regularity than others ; those which are placed nearest to the surface at the inferior parts
of such hills or elevations, being mostly broken or interrupted before they reacli the tops
or higher parts of them ; while those which lie deeper, or below them at the bottom, show
themselves in these elevated situations. Thus, that stratum which may lie the third or
fourth, or still deeper, at the commencement of the valley may form the uppermost layer
on the summits of hills or mountainous elevations. This arrangement or distribution of
the different strata may have been produced partly by the circumstances attending the
original elevation of such mountainous regions, and partly from the materials of the
original exterior strata being dissolved and carried down into the valleys by successive
rains and other causes, and thus leaving such as were immediately below them in an ex-
posed and superficial state in these elevated situations. {Darwin s Phytologia, p. 258.)
3911. These elevated strata frequently jrrove the means of rendering the grounds below
wet and swampy ; for, from the night dews, and the general moisture of the atmosphere,
being condensed in much greater quantities in such elevated situations, the water thus
formed, as well as that which falls in rain and sinks through the superficial porous ma-
terials, readily insinuate themselves, and thus pass along between the first and second, or
still more inferior strata which compose the sides of such elevations ; until their descent is
retarded or totally obstructed by some impenetrable substance, such as clay; it there
becomes dammed up, and ultimately forced to filtrate slowly over it, or to rise to some
part of the surface, and constitute, according to the particular circumstances of the case,
different watery appearances in the grounds below These appearances are, oozing
springs, bogs, swamps, or morasses, weeping rocks from the water slowly issuing in
various places, or a large spring or rivulet from the union of small currents beneath the
ground. This is obvious from the sudden disappearance of moisture on some parts of
lands, while it stagnates, or remains till removed by the effects of evaporation on others ;
as well as from the force of springs being stronger in wet than dry weather, breaking out
frequently after the land has been impregnated with much imoisture in higher situations,
and as the season becomes drier ceasing to flow, except at the lowest outlets. The force
of springs, or proportion of water which they send forth, depends likewise, in a great
measure, on the extent of the high ground on which the moisture is received and detained,
furnishing extensive reservoirs or collections of water, by which they become more amply
and regularly supplied. On this account, what are termed bog-springs, or such as
rise in valleys and low grounds, are considerably stronger and more regular in their dis-
charge, than such as burst forth on the more elevated situations or the sides of eminences.
(^Johnston's Account of Elkington s Mode of Draining Land, p. 15.)
3912. The waters condensed on elevated regions are sometimes found to descend, for a
very considerable distance, among the porous substances between the different conducting
layers of clayey or other materials, before they break out or show themselves in the
grounds below ; but it is more frequently the case to find them proceeding from the con-
tiguous elevations into the low grounds that immediately surround them.
391 3. The nature of the slratu^n of materials on which the water proceeding from hills has
to penetrate^ must considerably influence its course, as well as the effects which it may
produce on such lands as lie below, and into which it must pass. Where it is of the
clayey, stiff marly, or impervious rocky kinds, and not interrupted or broken by any other
kind of materials of a more porous quality, it may pass on to a much greater distance,
than where the stratum has been frequently broken and tilled up with loose porous
materials, in which it will be detained, and of course rise up to the surface.
3914. These sorts of strata extend to very different depths in different situations and dis-
tricts, as has been frequently noticed in the digging of pits, and the sinking of deep wells,
and other subterraneous cavities. The clayey strata are, however, in general found to
be more superficial than those of the compact, tenacious, marly kinds, or even those of a
firm, uninterrupted, rocky nature, and seldom of such a great thickness ; they have,
nevertheless, been observed to vary greatly in this respect, being met with in some places
of a considerable thickness, while in others they scarcely exceed a few inches.
3915. The intervening porous substances, or strata where clay prevails, are found, for the
most part, to be of either a gravelly or loose rocky nature. Stiff marly strata, which
approach much to the quality of clay, though in some instances they may present them-
selves near the surface, in general lie concealed at considerable depths under the true
clayey strata, and other layers of earthy or other materials ; they have been discovered
of various thicknesses, from eight or ten feet to considerably more than a hundred.
{Darwin's Phytologia, p. 259.) The intervening materials, where strata of this nature
are predominant, are most commonly of the more sandy kinds ; possessing various degrees
of induration, so as in some cases to become perfectly hard and rocky, but with frequent
breaks or fissures passing through them. The loose, friable, marly strata are capable of
absorbing water, and of admitting it to filtrate and pass through them.
3916. Thus the valleys and more level grounds must co?istantly be liable to be overcharged
with moisturCf and to become, in consequence, spouty, boggy, or of the nature of a morass.
Book III.
DRAINING.
627
accordingly as they may be circumstanced in respect to their situation, the nature of their
soils, or the materials by which the water is obstructed and detained in or upon them.
3917. JFhere lands have a sufficient degree of elevation to admit of any over-proportion
of moisture readily passing away, and where the soils of them are of such an uniform
sandy or gravelly and uninterrupted texture, as to allow water to percolate and pass
through them with facility, they can be little inconvenienced by water coming upon or
into them, as it must of necessity be quickly conveyed away into the adjacent rivers or
small runlets in their vicinity.
3918. But where grounds are in a great measure Jlat, and without such degrees of ele-
vation as may be sufficient to permit those over-proportions of moisture that may have
come upon them from the higher and more elevated grounds, to pass readily away and
be carried oflf', and where the soils of the lands are composed or constituted of such
materials as are liable to admit and retain the excesses of moisture ; they must be exposed
to much injury and inconvenience from the retention and stagnation of such quantities
of water. Such lands consequently require artificial means to drain and render them
capable of affording good crops, whether of grain or grass.
3919. Lands of valleys and other low places, a§ well as, in some cases, the level tracts
on the sides or borders of large rivers and of the sea, must also frequently be subject
to great injury and inconvenience from their imbibing and retaining the water that may
be thus forced to flow up into or upon them, either through the different conducting
strata from the hills and mountainous elevations in the neighborhood, or the porous
materials of the soils. In these ways they may be rendered swampy, and have bogs or
morasses produced in them in proportion to the predominancy of the materials by which
the water is absorbed and dammed up, and the peculiarity of the situation of the lands in
respect to the means of conveying it away.
3920. To perform properly the business of draining, attention should not only be
paid to the discrimination of the differences in regard to the situation of the lands, or
what is commonly denominated drainage level ; but also to the nature, distribution, and
depth of the materials that constitute the soils or more superficial parts of them, as upon
each of these some variety, in respect to the eflTects arising from water retained in them,
may depend.
3921. Wetness of land, so far as it respects agriculture, and is an object of draining,
may generally depend on the two following causes : first, on the water which is formed
and collected on or in the hills or highei grounds, filtrating and sliding down among
some of the different beds of porous materials that lie immediately upon the impervious
strata, forming springs below and flowing over the surface, or stagnating underneath it ;
and secondly, on rain or other water becoming stagnant on the surface, from the retentive
nature of the soil or surface materials, and the particular nature of the situation of the
ground. The particular wetness which shows itself in diflferent situations, in the forms
of bogs, swamps, and morasses, for the most part proceeds from the first of these causes ;
but that superficial wetness which takes place in the stiff, tenacious, clayey soils, with
little inclination of surface, generally originates from the latter.
3922. The most certain and expeditious method of draining, in such cases, is that of
intercepting the descent of the water or spring, and thereby totally removing the cause
of wetness. This may be done where the depth of the superficial strata, and conse-
quently of the spring, is not great ; by making horizontal drains (fig. 483 a) of consi-
derable length across the declivities of the hills, about where the low grounds of the
valleys begin to form, and connecting these with others (6) made for the purpose of con-
veying the water thus collected into the brooks or runlets (c that may be near. Where
the spring has naturally fonned itself an outlet, it may frequently only be necessary to
bore into it (e) or render it larger, and of more depth ; which, by aflfording the water
a more free and optn passage, may evacuate and bring it ofTmore quickly, or sink it to
a level so greatly below that of the surface of the soil, as to prevent it from flowing into
or over it.
Ss 2
G28 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
3923. Where the uppermost stratum is so extremely thick as not to be easily penetrated,
or where the springs, formed by the water passing from the higher grounds, may be con-
fined beneath the third or fourth strata of the materials that form the declivities of hills
or elevated grounds, and by this means lie too deep to be penetrated to by the cutting of
a ditch, or even by boring (Darwin's Phytologia, p. 263. } ; the common mode of cut-
ting a great number of drains to the depth of five, six, or more feet, across the wet
morassy grounds, and afterwards covering them in such a manner as that the water may
suffer no interruption in passing away through them, may be practised with advantage,
as much of the prejudicial excess of moisture may by this means be collected and carried
away, though not so completely as by fully cutting off the spring.
3924. As water is sometimes found upon thin layers of clay, which have underneath
them sand, stone, or other porous or fissured strata, to a considerable depth ; by perfor-
ating these thin layers of clay in different places, the water which flows along them may
frequently be let down into the open porous materials that lie below them, and the sur-
face land be thus completely drained.
3925. Where morasses and other kinds of wetnesses are formed in such low places and
hollows as are considerably below the beds of the neighboring rivers, they may, proba-
bly, in many instances, be effectually drained by arresting the water as it passes down
into them from the higher grounds, by means of deep drains cut into the sides of such
hills and rising grounds, and, after collecting it into them, conveying it away by pipes,
or other contrivances, at such high levels above the wet lands as may be necessary : or
where the water that produces the mischief can by means of drains, cut in the wet
ground itself, be so collected as to be capable of being raised by means of machinery, it
may in that way be removed from the land.
3926. The drainage of lands that lie below the level of the sen, can only be effected by
the public, and by means of locks erected for the purpose of preventing the entrance
of the tides, and by wind-mills and other expensive kinds of machinery constructed for
tlie purpose of raising the stagnant water.
3927. T/ie superficial wetness of lands, which arises from the stifl* retentive nature of
the materials that constitute the soils and the particular circumstances of their situations,
is to be removed in most cases by means of hollow surface drains, judiciously formed,
either by the spade or plough, and filled up with suitable materials where the lands are
imder the grass system ; and by these means and the proper construction of ridges and
furrows where they are in a state of arable cultivation.
3928. Having thus explained the manner in which soils are rendered too wet for the
purposes of agriculture, and shown the principles on which the over-proportions of
moisture may, under different circumstances, be the most effectually removed, we
shall proceed to the practical methods which are to be made use of in accomplishing the
business in each case.
Sect. II. Of the Methods (f Draining Boggy Land.
3929. In the drainage of wet or boggy grounds, arising from springs of water beneath
them, a great variety of circumstances are necessary to be kept in view. Lands of this de-
scription, or such as are of a marshy and boggy nature, from the detention of water beneath
the spongy surface materials of which they are composed, and its being absorbed and
forced up into them, are constantly kept in such states of wetness as are highly improper
for the purpose of producing advantageous crops of any kind. They are, therefore, on
this account, as well as those of their occupying very extensive tracts in many districts,
and being, when properly reclaimed, of considerable value, objects of great interest and
importance to the attentive agricultor. Wet grounds of these kinds may be arranged
under three distinct heads : first, such as may be readily known by the springs rising out
of the adjacent more elevated ground, in an exact or regular line along the higher side
of the wet surface ; second, those in which the numerous springs that show themselves
are not kept to any exact or regular line of direction along the higher or more elevated
parts of the land, but break forth promiscuously throughout the whole surface, and
particularly towards the inferior parts [fig. 484 a), constituting shaking quags in every
direction, that have an elastic feel under the feet, on which the lightest animals can
scarcely tread without danger, and which, for the most part, show themselves by the
luxuriance and verdure of the grass about them ; that sort of wet land, from the oozing
of springs, which is neither of such great extent, nor in the nature of the soil so jieaty
as the other two, and to which the term bog cannot be strictly applied, but which in
respect to the modes of draining is the same. {.Johnston s Account of Elkington's Mode
of Draining Land, p. 19.)
3930. In order to direct the proper mode of cutting the drains or trenches in draining
lands of this sort, it will be necessary for the draining engineer to make himself perfectly
acquainted with the nature and disposition of the strata composing the higher grounds,
and the connection which they have with that which is to be rendered dry. This may in
Book III«
DRAINING BOGS.
629
i(-.^
general be accomplished by means of levelling and carefully attending to what has been
already observed respecting the formation of hills and elevated grounds, and by inspect-
ing the beds of rivers, the edges of banks that have been wrought through, and such pits
and quarries as may have been dug near to the land. Rushes, alder-bushes, and other
coarse aquatic plants, may also, in some instances, serve as guides in this business ; but
they should not be too implicitly depended on, as they may be caused by the stagnation of
rain-water upon the surface, without any spring being present. The line of springs
being ascertained, and also some knowledge of the substrata, a line of drain (Jig. 484 b, b)
should be marked out above or below them, according to the nature of the strata, and
excavated to such a depth as will intercept the water in the porous strata before it rises to
the surface. The effect of such drains will often be greatly heightened by boring holes
(c) in their bottom with the auger. Where the impervious stratum (Jig. 485 a), that
lies immediately beneath, the porous (b), has a slanting direction through a hill or rising
bank, the surface of the low lands will, in general, be spongy, wet, and covered with
rushes on every side (c). In this case, which is not unfrequent, a ditch or drain (d),
properly cut on one side of the hill or rising ground, may remove the wetness from both.
But where the impervious stratum dips or declines more to one side of the hill or eleva-
tion than the other, the water will be directed to the more depressed side of that stratum ;
the effect of which will be, that one side of such rising ground will be wet and spongy,
while the other is quite free from wetness.
3931. Where water issues forth o?i the surface at more places than one, it is necessary to
determine which is the real or principal spring, and that from which the other outlets are
fed ; as by removing the source, the others must of course be rendered dry. When on the
declivity or slanting surface of the elevated ground from which the springs break forth,
they are observed to burst out at diflf'erent levels according to the difference of the wetness
of the season, and where those that are the lowest down continue to run, while the higher
ones are dry, it is, in general, a certain indication that the whole are connected, and
proceed from the same source ; and consequently that the line of the drain should be
made along the level of the lowermost one, which, if properly executed, must keep all
the others dry. But if the drain was made along the line of the highest of the outlets,
or places where the water breaks forlh, without being sufficiently deep to reach the level
of those below, the overflowings of the spring would merely be carried away, and the
wetness proceeding from that cause be removed ; while the main spring, still continuing
to run, would render the land below the level of the bottom of the drain still preju-
diciously wet, from its discharging itself lower down over the surface of the ground.
This, Johnston states, was the custom, until Elkington showed the absurdity of the
practice of drainers beginning to cut their trenches wherever the highest springs showed
themselves between the wet and the dry ground, which not being of a depth sufficient to
arrest and take away the whole of the water, others of a similar kind were under the
S s 3
630
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
necessity of being formed at different distances, to the very bottom of the declivity :
these being afterwards in a great measure filled with loose stones, merely conveyed away
portions of surface water, without touching the spring, the great or principal cause of
the wetness. The effects of drains formed in this manner he asserts to be, that of ren-
dering the surface of the land in some degree drier, so long as they continue to run with
freedom ; but as they are liable soon to be obstructed and filled up by sand or other
materials, the water is often forced out in different places and directions, and thus
renders the land equally wet, if not more so, than it was before. In addition to this, it
is a more difficult task to drain the ground a second time in a, proper method, from the
natural appearance of the ground being so much changed, and the bursts of the old
drains, as well as the greater difficulty of ascertaining the real situation of the springs.
3932. It may sometimes happen, however, that where the highest are the strongest
outlets, they may be the main or leading springs; those which show themselves lower
down in the land being merely formed by the water of the main spring overflowing, and
finding itself a passage from an opening, or the porous nature of the materials of the soil
near to the surface, and from being obstructed somewhat further down in the ground by
some impervious stratum. This circumstance must, therefore, it is observed, be fully
ascertained before the lines for the ditches or drains are marked out.
3 933. In cases where the banks or rising grounds are formed in an irregular manner (Jig-
486.), and from the nature of the situ- 486
ation, or the force of the water under-
neath, springs abound round the bases
of the protuberances, the ditches
made for the purpose of draining
should always be carried up to a
much higher level in the side of the
elevated ground than that in which the
water or wetness appears ; as far even
as to the firm unchanged land. By
this means the water of the spring
may be cut oflT, and the ground com-
pletely drained; which would not
be the case if the trench or drain
were formed on the line of the loose
materials lower down where the wa-
ter oozes out, which is liable to mis-
lead the operator in forming the
conducting trench, or that which is
to convey the water from the cross-drain on the level of the spring to the outlet or
opening by which it is discharged. But where the main or principal spring comes out
of a perpendicular or very steep bank, at a great height above the level of the outlet into
which it may discharge itself by means of a drain ; it will neither be necessary nor of any
utility to form a deep trench, or make a covered drain, all the way from such outlet up to
it ; as from the steepness of the descent the water would be liable, when the drain was thus
cut, from the thin strata of sand", and other loose materials, always found in such cases, to
insinuate itself under the bricks, stones, or other substances of which the drain was
formed ; to undermine and force them up by the strength of the current, or, probably,
in some instances, block the drain up by the loose sand or other matters, which may be
forced away and carried down by it. In situations of this kind, Johnston observes, it is
always the best way to begin just so far down the bank or declivity as, by cutting in a
level, the drain may be six or seven feet below the level of the spring; or of such a depth
as may be requisite to bring down the water to a level suitable to convey it away with-
out its rising to the surface, and injuring the lands around it. The rest of the drain,
whether it be made in a straight or oblique direction, need not be deep, and may, in
many instances, be left quite open ; it should, however, be carefully secured from the
treading of cattle, and, where the land is under an arable system of cultivation, also
from the plough. Where it is covered, the depth of about two feet may be sufficient.
There will not, in such drains, be any necessity fo the use of the auger in any part of
them.
3934. Where there is a difficulty in ascertaining the line of the spring, and conse-
quently that of the cross drain, either from its not showing itself on the surface, or from
there not being any apparent outlet, it may, generally, be met with in carrying up the
conducting drain for conveying away the water : as soon as the operator discovers the spring,
he need not proceed any further, but form the cross drain on the level thus discovered
to such a distance on each side of the tail, or terminating part cf the strata, of whatever sort,
that contains the water, as the nature of the land, in regard to situation or other circum-
stances, may demand. Where, in forming a cross-drain, the line indicated by the spirit or
Book III.
DRAINING bogs:
631
other level is found to be in some places below that of the spring, and where, in boring in
this direction, water is not found to follow, it will be necessary to make short drains or cuts
of the same depth with the cross-drain, from it quite up to the source of the spring; for,
if the drain be cut below the line of the spring, the possibility of reaching it by means of
an auger is lost, as where the under stratum is clay, and there is no under water, the use
of the auger cannot be effectual ; and if it be made above the line of the spring, it will be
requisite to cut and bore much deeper, in order to reach it, the ground being in general
higher in that part : besides, the portion of porous stratum below the drain may contain
a sufficient quantity of water to render the land wet, and that may readily get down
underneath the trench, between the holes formed by boring, and break out lower down.
3935. In situations where the extent of bog in the valley between two banks or eminences
is so narrow and limited as that the stratum of rock, sand, or other materials that contains
the water, may unite below the clay at such a depth as to be readily reached by the auger
{Jig. 487 a), it will seldom be necessary to have more than one trench up the middle,
well perforated with holes [b] by means of the auger; cross or branching drains being
unnecessary in such cases. For notwithstanding the springs, that render the land inju-
riously wet in these cases, burst out of the banks or eminences on every side, for the
most part nearly on the same level, the reservoir from which they proceed may be dis-
covered in the middle of the valley, by penetrating with the auger through the layer of
clay, that confines and forces the water to rise up and ooze out round the superior edge of
it, where it forms an union with the high porous ground. From the drain being made
in the hollowest part of the land, and the porous stratum containing the water being then
bored into, it is obvious that the ditch or drain thus formed being so much lower than the
ordinary outlet of the springs, the pressure of water above that level, which is the bottom
of the drain, must be such as to force that which is under the drain or trench through the
holes made by the auger, and in many instances, until a considerable quantity of the
water is evacuated, make it rise to a greater height than the level of its natural outlet.
The effect of which must be, that the water forming the spring, having found by these
means a fresh and more easy passage, will quickly relinquish its former openings, and
thus be prevented from running over and injuring the ground, that previously lay lower
down than it.
3936. But in swamps or bogs that are extensive and very wet, other drains or cuts than
such as convey off the springs must be made ; as, notwithstanding the higher springs
•which chiefly cause the wetness may be intercepted, there may be lower veins of sand,
gravel, or other porous materials, from which the water must likewise be drawn off. In
cases of this nature, where the land is to be divided into enclosures, the ditches may be
formed in such directions as to pass through and carry off collections of water of this
kind, as well as those that may be retained in the hollows and depressions on the surface
of the land. There are in many places very extensive tracts of ground that are rendered
wet, and become full of rushes and other coarse plants, from causes of such a nature as
cannot be obviated by the making of cither open or covered drains, however numerous
they may be. Lands in this situation are frequently termed holms, and mostly lie on the
sides of such rivers and brooks as, from the frequency of their changing and altering their
courses between their opposite banks, leave depositions of sand, gravel, and other porous
materials, by which land is formed, that readily admits the water to filtrate and pass
through it to the level of the last-formed channels^ and which preserves it constantly in
such a state of moisture and Wetness, as to render it productive of nothing but rushes and
other aquatic plants; and if a pit or ditch be made in lands under these circumstances, it
quickly fills with water to the same level as that in the watercourse. This effect is, how-
ever, more liable to be produced, as well as more complete, where the current of the
Ss 4
632
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
water is slow, and its surface nearly equal with that of the land, than where its descent is
rapid. Under such circumstances, while the river or brook remains at the ordinary
height, no advantage can be gained, whatever number of drains be formed, or in what-
ever direction they may be made. The chief or only means of removing the wetness of
land proceeding from this cause is, that of enkrging and sinking the bed of the stream,
where it can be effected at a reasonable expense : where there is only one stream, and it
is very winding or serpentine in its course, much may however be effected by cutting
through the different points of land, and rendering the course more straight, and thereby
less liable to obstruct the passage of the water. But in cases where there are more than
one, that should always be made the channel of conveyance for draining the neighbor-
ing land, which is the lowest in respect to situation and the most open and straight in its
course. It may likewise, in particular instances, be advantageous to stop up and divert
the waters of the others into such main channels, as by such means alone they may often
be rendered deeper, and more free from obstruction : the materials removed from them
may serve to embank and raise up the sides to a greater height, as while the water can
rise higher than the outlets of the drains, and flow backwards into them, it must render
the land as wet as it was before they were formed, and the expense of cutting them be
thrown away.
3937. The collected rain-water becoming stagnant on a retentive body of clay, or some
other impervious material, as it can have no outlet of the natural kind, causes such lands
to become soft and spongy, thus forming bogs of a very confined kind. As such bogs
are often situated very greatly below the ground that surrounds them, the opening of a
main drain, or conductor, to convey off the water collected by smaller drains, would be
attended, in many instances, with an expense greater than could be compensated by the
land after it had been drained. The thickness of the impervious stratum that retains and
keeps up the water in such cases is often so great, that though the stratum below be of a
porous and open nature, such as sand, rock, or gravel, the water cannot of itself penetrate
or find a passage from the one into the other ; consequently, by its continued stagnation
above, all the different coarse vegetable productions that have for a great length of time
been produced on its surface, and probably the upper part of the soil itself, are formed
into a mass or body of peat earth, equally soft and less productive than that of any bog
originating from water confined below, and which is only capable of sustaining the
weight of cattle in very dry seasons, when the wind and sun have exhaled and dried up a
great part of its surface moisture ; but even then it is incapable of admitting the plough
upon it.
3938. As the cause of these kinds of bogs is materially different from that of those which
have been already noticed, their drainage must of course be accomplished in a different
way. The following method of proceeding is recommended as perhaps the least ex-
pensive. In the middle, or most depending
part of the ground, the first drain (^fg. 488 a),
may be cut, into which all the others should
be made to lead ; the number and direction
of which must be regulated by the extent of
the bog. They should be cut through the
peat, or moist spongy upper soil, to the sur-
face of the clay, or other retentive stratum of
materials, which must then be perforated or
bored through in order to let the water down
into the pervious stratum below, by which it
may be absorbed and taken up. The same
feffect might be produced by forming one
large well, or pit, in the middle or lowest
part of the bog, by digging through into
the porous stratum below, and connecting the other drains with it, as by such a method
the trouble and expense of boring along the drains would be saved. In these cases,
when drains are made, they should always be cut as narrow as it is possible to make
them, and after the holes have been formed in them by boring, filled up with loose stones
to within about a foot and a half of the surface, which space may be made up by a por-
tion of the earth that had been taken out, putting in turf with the green side to the
stones before the earth is thrown in. By this means the water and prejudicial moisture
of the peat, or upper soil, may be taken away by the drains, and pass off through the
holes that have been formed in their bottoms. But where pits are employed, these
should only be filled with small stones to the level of the bottom of the drain, the filling
being performed as soon as possible after they are formed [Anderson s Treatise on Drain-
ing, p. 88.) ; where there is a chalky stratum below, after taking it out, the flints con-
tained in it mayte made use of in this way with much advantage; and where the drains
caii be carried into quarries, where the stone is much fissured, nothing more will be ne-
cessary. Where land of this sort is afterwards to be ploughed, great attention should be
Book III.
DRAINING BOGS.
633
given to the forming of the ridges and giving them a regular descent tov^ards themain
drain, which will contribute greatly to the assistance of the others in conveying off heavy
falls of rain-water when they occur.
3939. But a necessary precaution previous to any attempt to drain lands of this kind
in the way that has been described, is to ascertain whether the porous stratum under the
clay be dry, and capable of receiving the water when let down into it ; or already so
loaded with moisture itself, as, instead of receiving more from above, to force up a large
quantity to the surface, and thus increase the evil it was intended to remove. This may
be the case in many instances, and the substratum contain water which affords no appear-
ances of wetness on the surface, at the place, on account of the compact body of clay that
is placed over it, but which, from its being connected with some spring that is higher, may
flow up when an opening or passage is given it, either by means of a pit or the auger. In
this way a greater quantity of water might be brought to the surface, which, from its
being confined by the surrounding banks, would render the ground much more wet than
before, and in particular situations produce very great degrees of wetness. When the
surrounding high ground declines lower than the bog, though it may be at a considerable
distance, by the aid of the level, and the appearance of the surface, the nature of the
stratum underneath may, in some degree, be ascertained ; and, notwithstanding it may
already contain water, a drain may be formed into it to carry off that water, and what
may likewise be let down into it from the retentive stratum that lies above it. It
must be confessed, however, that cases where surface water can be let down through a re-
tentive stratum to a porous one that will ac-
tually carry it off, are very rare. When these
occur, it is chiefly in limestone or coaly dis-
tricts, where the surface is hilly or rugged
{Jig. 489.), and more calculated for the pur-
suits of the mineralogist than the agricultor.
3940. Draining hilli/ lands is not in gene-
ral attended with great expense, as the drains
need seldom be covered or filled up, only in
such places as may be sufficient for passages
for the animals to cross by. And though,
where the depth of the trench does not come
to the water confined below, it may be neces-
sary to perforate lower, there need not be any
fear that the holes will fill up, even where the
drain is left open ; as the impetuosity of the
water itself, will remove any sand or mud
that may fall into them, where much flood or
surface water does not get in. Small open-
ings may, however, be made along the upper
side of the trench, in order the more effectually to secure them against any obstructions ;
and in these the perforations may be made, leaving the mouth of the holes about six inches
higher than the bottom of the drain, which will be without the reach of the water that
may be collected during the time of heavy rains.
3941. The sides or declivities of many hills, from the irregularity of the disposition of
the strata that compose them, are often covered with alternate portions or patches of wet
and dry ground. By the general appearance of the surface and the vegetable products
that are grown upon it, the nature and direction of the internal strata may frequently be
ascertained with so much certainty as to determine the line or direction of a drain with-
out the necessity of examining below the surface of the land. As the ease or difficulty
of draining such grounds depends solely on the position of the different strata of which
the hill or elevation may be formed, and upon the erect or slanting direction of the rock,
or other retentive body in which the water is contained ; where the rock has a slanting or
horizontal inclination, the whole of the different springs or outlets, that show themselves
on the surface, may originate from or be connected with the same collection or body of
water, and may be all drained and dried up by cutting off, or letting out, the main body
of water, by which they are supplied, at the inferior part of the reservoir, or that part
where the water would of its own accord readily run off if it were not confined beneath an
impervious covering of clay or some other material.
3942. But in cases where the rock lies in an erect or perpendicular form, and contains
only partial collections of water, in some of the more open cracks or fissures of the stone,
that discharge themselves at various openings, or outlets, that have not the least connec-
tion with each other, it would be an idle and fruitless endeavor to attempt the cutting of
them off by means of one drain {Jig. 490 a), or by boring into any one of them in par-
ticular, without cutting a drain into each {a, b, c). In tliis case it is more advisable to make
the main drain wholly in the clay, with small cuts made up to each outlet, than along the
place where the springs burst out ; as in that line of direction it would be too greatly in
634 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
490
the rock, and consequently be
extremely difficult to cut, on
account of the nature and dis-
position of the stone : when
the water passing out on the
line of the springs can be
found by the auger in the
main drain, at the point
where it joins it, it will, it is
observed, be the more completely cut off; but where this is not practicable, the depth of
the small cuts may reduce it to such a level as will prevent its flowing over and injuring
the surface of the land below it.
3943. In such hills as are constituted of alternate strata of rock, sand, and clay,
the surface of the latter may frequently be wet and swamp, while that of the
former is dry, and capable of producing good crops of grass ; in all such cases, in order
to drain the land completely, as many cuts will be necessary as there may happen divi-
sions of wet and dry soil : the summit, or most elevated part of such hills, being mostly
formed of loose porous materials, through which the rain and other water descends, till
its passage becomes obstructed by some impervious bed or stratum, such as clay, when it
is forced up to the surface, and runs or oozes over the obstructing stratum ; and after
having overflowed, the upper clay surface is immediately absorbed and taken up by the
succeeding porous one, and, sinking into it in the same way as before, passes out again
at the lower side of it, and renders the surface of the next clayey bed prejudicially wet
as it had done in the first. In this way the same spring may affect all the other strata of
the same kind of which the hill consists, from the highest part down the whole of the
declivity, and produce in the bason, or hollow at the bottom, a lake or bog, should there
not happen to be a passage or opening to take away the water. In order effectually to
drain hills of this kind, it will be the most advisable to begin by forming a trench
along the upper side of the uppermost rushy soil^ by which means the highest spring
may be cut off; but as the rain and other water that may come upon the next portion
of porous soil may sink down through it to the lowest part, and produce another
spring, a second cut must be made in that part to prevent the water from affecting the
surface of the succeeding clayey bed. And similar cuts must be formed so far down
the declivity as the same springs continue in the same way to injure the land, and in some
cases a sufficiency of water may probably be obtained to irrigate the land below, or some
other useful purpose.
Sect. III. Of the Methods of draining Mixed Soils.
3944. Where the soil is of a mixed and varied nature, but the most prevailing parts of
the clayey kind, the business of draining is considerably more tedious and difficult than
where the superficial and internal parts have greater regularity. In such sorts of lands,
as all the different collections of -water are perfectly distinct from each other, by means of
the beds of clay that separate them, eaih collection becomes so much increased, or ac-
cumulated, in the time of heavy rains, that they are filled quite to the level of the surface
of the day by which they are surrounded ; when the water getting a free passage, as it
would over the edges of a bowl or dish, overflows and saturates the surface of that bed of
clay in such a manner, as to render it so perfectly wet and sour, that its produce becomes
not only annually more and more scanty, but the soil itself more sterile and unpro-
ductive.
3945. From the sand-beds (fg. 491 a, a, a) in such cases having no communication
with each other,'it must evidently require as many drains {b,b,b) as there are beds of this
kind, in order fully to draw off ...
the water from each of them. .-/r;:Vs,. ^^^
A drain or trench is therefore Q'd:,
recommended to be cut from
the nearest and lowest part of ^5* •..•.;-.•. --■'/i-.
the field intended to be drained ^^§^^'
(c), up to the highest and most
distant sand-bank (<i), in such a ^
line of direction as, if possible, ^|^^f^ _ ^
to pass through some of the ^gjj^^^^^^^^IJi^^^^ '^ ''^^p^*""^''"'''''^'^
intermediate sand-beds, and
prevent the labor and expense of making longer vuts on the sides, which would otherwise
be requisite.
3946. fVhere the different beds of sand and clay are of less extent, and lie together with
greater regularity, they can be drained in a more easy manner with less cutting, and of
course at less expense. Below the layers or beds of sand and clay that lie, in this
manner, alternately together, and nearly parallel to each other, is generally a body
Book III.
DRAINING RETENTIVE SOILS.
635
of impervious clay, which keeps up the water that is contained in the sand, and which,
being constantly full, renders the adjacent clay moist, and in wet seasons runs or trickles
over it. As in these cases, the principal under-stratum of clay is rarely above four or
five feet below the surface, a drain {jig. 492 a\ is advised to be cut to that depth through
the middle of the field, if it have a descent from both sides ; but if it decline all to one
side, the drain must be made in that place (^), as the water will more readily discharge itself
into it ; and, unless the field be of great extent, and have more depressions or hollows in
it than one, one drain may be quite sufficient for the purpose, as by crossing the different
beds that retain the water, it must take it off frdtm each of them.
3947. A principal difficulty in draining ground of this nature, and which renders it
impracticable by one drain, is when the direc-
tion of the alternate layers, or beds of clay and
sand, lie across the declivity of the land {Jig'
493 a, a), so that one drain can be of no other
service than that of conveying away the water
after it has passed over the different strata, and
would naturally stagnate in the lowest part of
the field, if there was no other passage for it.
Where the land lies in this way, which is fre-
quently the case, it will therefore be necessary,
besides the drain in the lowest part {b),
to have others cut up from it in a slanting di-
rection across the declivity (c, c), which, by
crossing all the different veins, or narrow strata
of sand {d, d, d,), may be capable of drawing
the water from each of them.
3948. Informing the drains in these cases, it is
recommended that,after laying the bottom in the manner of a sough, or in the way of a trian-
gle, it be filled some way up by small stones, tough sods being applied, the green side down-
wards upon them before the mould is filled in. But where stones cannot be readily pro-
cured, faggots may be employed in their place where they are plentiful : the under part
of the drain being laid, or coupled with stones, so as to form a channel or passage for
the conveyance of the water that may sink through the faggots, and for the purpose of
rendering them more durable ; as where the water cannot get freely off, which is gene-
rally the case where there is not an open passage made of some solid material, it must,
by its stagnation, soon destroy the faggots, and choke up the drain.
Sect. IV. Of the Methods of drai7iing Retentive Soils.
3949. The practical mode of draining retentive soils, is materially different from that
which has been described above. Many tracts of level land are injured by the stagna-
tion of a superabundant quantity of water in the upper parts of the surface materials,
which does not rise up into them from any reservoirs or springs belovv. The removal
of the wetness in these cases may, for the most part, be effected without any very heavy
expense. From the upper or surface soil in such cases, being constituted of a loose
porous stratum of materials, to the depth of from two to four or five feet, which has a
stiff retentive body of clay underneath it, any water that may come upon the surface from
heavy rains, or otiier causes, readily filtrates and sinks down through it, until it reaches
the obstructing body of clay which prevents it from proceeding ; the consequence of
which is, that the porous open soil above is so filled and saturated with water, as to be of
little utility for the purpose of producmg crops of either grain or grass. Land situated
in this way, is frequently said by farmers to be wet-bottomed. In order to remove this
kind of wetness, it seldom requires more than a few drains, made according to the
situation and extent of the field, of such a depth as to pass a few inches into the clay,
between which, and the under surface of the porous earth above, there will obviously be
the greatest stagnation, and consequently, collection of .vater, especially where it does
not become much visible on the surface. In these cases there is not any necessity for
having recourse to the use of the boring instrument, as there is no water to be discliai'ged
from below.
3950. irhen the field to he drained has only a slight declination, or slope, from the sides
towards th^ rfii'ldle, one drain cut through the porous superficial materials into the clay.
636
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
494
in the lowest part of the ground {Jig. 494 a), may be sufficient to bring off the whole of the
water detained in the porous soil. This effect may likewise be greatly promoted, by laying
out and forming the ridges so as to accord with the direction of the land, and by the use
of the plough or spade in remowng obstructions, and deepening the furrows. In such
situations, where the drain has been formed
in this manner, the water will flow into it
through the porous surface materials, as ^*
well as if a number of small trenches were
cut from it to each side, as is the practice
in Essex and some other parts of the coun- ||
try ; but which is often an unnecessary *i
labor and expense. The drain made in the ^.
hollow may frequently serve as a division of ||
the field (a), in which case it may be open;
but in other circumstances it may be more proper to have it covered.
3951. Where ajield of this descrijHion has more than one hollow in its surface (fg. 495
fl, 6), it will obviously be requisite to have more than one main drain ; but when it is nearly
level, or only inclines slightly to one side, a trench or drain along the lowest part, and
495
the ridges and furrows formed accordingly, may be sufficient for effecting its drainage.
There may, however, be cases, as where a field is large and very flat, in which some side-
cuts from the principal drain may be necessary, which must be made a little into the
clay, and as narrow as they can be wrought, and then filled up with stones or other suit-
able materials.
3952. What is called the Essex method of draining in ploughed springy lands, where
the surface soil is tenacious, is described by Kent, and consists in substituting small
under-drains {fg. 496 o) for open furrows ; or in some cases having a small under-
496
drain beneath (J, b) every other or every third furrow. These drains lead to side of
fence ditches (p), where they discharge themselves.
3953. Where the clay constitutes the surface, and the porous body is underneath, the in-
jurious stagnant water cannot possibly get oil", without the assistance of drains being
formed for the purpose. Soils of this nature are drained with difficulty, and require a
much greater number of trenches or cuts than those of any other kind, as they must be
marked out and disposed in such a way as to collect and convey the water every where
from the surface ; as it can only force itself off into them from above, being prevented
from sinking in through the clay, as in those soils of a contrary kind. Where there
happens to be hollows or irregularities in the surface of the land, water may often be
observed to continue standing in them, at the distance of but a few feet from the drain.
In draining such lands, it will always be necessary, in the first place, to make a large or
conducting drain at the lowest part, or the end of the field, for the purpose of receiving
and conveying away the water collected by the less collateral cuts which it may be neces-
sary to make on each side of it. Where it suits for the purj^ose of dividing the land, this
principal drain may be better to remain open than be covered, as by that means the
mouths or outlets of the different small drains that come into it may be conveniently ex-
amined, and cleared otit when necessary.
3954. The construction of the ridges in such soils, so as they may accord with the de-
clivity, is a matter that must be carefully kept in view. They should in all such
cases have, also, that degree of elevation or roundness in the middle, that may be suffi-
Book III.
DRAINING QUARRIES.
637
cient to afford the watera ready fall into the furrows, which should likewise have such a depth
and fall as may take it quickly into the drains. The ridges, besides being well laid up, should
have small open drains formed in a slanting direction across them, in such a manner as
to form communications with one another, and with the furrows ; by which means they
are made to perform the office of drains, the water coming upon the ridges being thus
readily conveyed into the furrows, where it proceeds till impeded in its course by the
rising of the ground or other causes ; it then passes through the open cross-drains into
others where the descent is greater, and is ultimately conveyed off into the ditch, or other
passage, at the bottom of the enclosure. The elevation of the ridges should probably too,
be made greater for the winter than the summer crops, as there must be much more
injurious moisture at the former than the latter season. This may be easily accomplished
at the time of ploughing the land. Some useful observations on this description of drain-
age will be found in Marshal's work on Landed Projierty^ and in Dr. Anderson's Trea-
tise on Draining.
Sect. V. Methods of draining Mines y Quarries ^ and Pits.
3955. Where pits, mines, or quarries, happen to be formed at the bottom nf declivities,
and are inconvenienced or wholly obstructed, either in the digging or working, by the
water contained in them, it may be possible, in many cases, to prevent its coming into
such mines or pits, by cutting or boring into the lower parts of the porous strata
{fg' 497 a). In order to accomplish this object, it will be necessary to ascertain if any
porous stratum presents itself higher up the elevation than the place where the mine qr
pit is formed, that may conduct the water it possesses to the porous body that is below it ;
as, where such a stratum is discovered by cutting into it, much of the water may be
drawn off and prevented from passing down. But notwithstanding the water from above
may be cut off in this way, a quantity sufficient to inconvenience the working of the
mine or pit may still filtrate from the sides of the porous bed, even though it may in-
cline in the direction of the lower ground. When this is the case, it may, however,
be readily taken away at some place in it. To accomplish this, and thereby obviate the
effects of the water, the termination of the porous stratum (fg. 497 a) below the pit must
be ascertained ; and where there is any mark of a natural outlet at the place, a large drain
should be formed, in order to admit the water to flow off with more expedition. Where,
however, there is a thick bed of some impervious substance, such as clay, placed upon
the termination of the porous material, the drain need only be cut a little way into that,
as by boring through the rest a sufficient passage may be given to discharge the water.
In this way, the draining of such grounds as lie above or near to mines or pits may be
of great advantage.
3956. Where a quarry or other pit to be dried {fig. 498 a) is situated above a porous
stratu7n, whether ..:....^. ■ /..'v-, ..,-,.-.•,..
of rock or gravel
it may some-
times be drained
by boring into
the latter (6).
In this way dif-
ferent chalk pits
and lime quar-
ries have been
638 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
drained in Kent and Hertfordshire. (See the Beports of these Counties. ) In marl-
pits also, which, from the nature of their situation, mostly require much cutting
through some part of their sides, in order to remove the water that prevents their being
wrought, the mode of letting the water down by means of pits dug through the up-
holding stratum below the bed of marl into the porous materials underneath, might be
economically practised. In such cases, the number of the pits must be proportioned to
the space occupied by the marl ; and when they are required to be of such depths as to
be liable to give way, they should be built up, or nearly filled with loose stones, so as to
admit the water to pass oft'; such lateral drains as are necessary communicating with
them. In some situations of the pits, as where the bank slopes lower on the contrary
side than the level of the water, an easier mode may be practised ; such as by forming
a drain in it, and then perforating with a horizontal boring instrument into the ter-
minating part of the stratum that holds the water ; thereby removing and keeping it
below the level of the marl. And in addition to these, in some cases, as where the
water of such pits proceeds from springs in the high grounds above them, it may be
useful to intercept and convey it away before it reaches the marl-pits.
Sect. VI. Of the Formation of Drains, and the Materials used in filling them.
3957. Drains should be formed with as much truth and exactness as jmssible ; such
laborers as are not dexterous in using their tools seldom make them well. The most
general method of performing this sort of work is by admeasurement, at so much a
rod, or a score rods, which necessarily induces the workmen to do as much as they pos-
sibly can ; they should, therefore, be frequently inspected, to see that they keep to the
proper and required. depth, and that the earth taken out be laid in such a manner as not
to fall down again into the drains in time of filling them, and that the surface-^mould be
kept on one side free from the clayey or other material of the inferior stratum.
3958. When there is any declivity in the ground, drains should be made in a slanting
direction across it, instead of the old method of conducting them according to the nature
or inclination of the slope. By attending to the former mode of cutting the drains, the
wetness is not only more effectually removed, but, by allowing the water to pass away
in an easy current, they are rendered less liable to be choaked, or, as it is frequently
termed, blown up, by which artificial oozings of water are sometimes formed in such
places. But where grounds are either quite or nearly level, it has long been a general
practice to cut the drains at the different distances of about sixteen, twenty-four, and
thirty-two feet from each other, across the fields from the different ditches, according to
the circumstances of the lands; or, indeed, where the drains, either from some slight
unevenness of the surface, or other causes, can only be made to flow at one end, to
avoid cutting them further on one side than where the ditch is capable of taking away
the wetness. In cases where the declivities of a piece of ground are various, and have
different inclinations, the drainer should constantly attend to them, and direct the lines
of his drains in such a manner as that they may cross the higher sides of the different
declivities in a slanting direction.
3959. The depth of drains must depend upon the nature of the soils, the positions of
the land, and a great variety of other more trifling circumstances. It was formerly the
custom to make them three or four feet in depth, but by modern drainers they are
rarely made to exceed thirty inches, or a few inches more, the most general depth being
from twenty-four to twenty-six inches. As the main drains have more water- to
convey away,* and are generally of greater length than thfe lateral ones, they should
always be cut somewhat deeper ; and where the materials of the soils are porous, the
greater depth they are cut, the more extensively they act in lowering the wetness of the
land to such a degree as that it can be little injurious to the crops that may be produced
upon it : when, however, the operator reaches any impervious material in the soil,
through which the moisture cannot pass, it will be quite useless to dig the trench to a
greater depth. If it be clay, by going a few inches into it, a more safe passage for the
moisture may however be secured. It must notwithstanding be invariably attended to,
that the depth of the drains be such as that the treading of heavy cattle may not displace,
or in any way injure, the materials employed in constructing or filling them. It may
be noticed too, where the horses in ploughing tread in the bottom of the furrow, at the
depth of four or more inches below the surface, that, if eight or ten more be allowed for
the materials with which the drains are filled, when the depth of the trenches are not more
than twenty-four inches, there will only be nine or ten inches of earth for the support of
the horses when ploughing. Where the earth has been stirred, such a depth must un-
doubtedly be too little, and in some measure proves that drains of such a depth are not
sufficient. By cutting them down to the depth of two feet and a half in the stiflTer soils,
they will seldom be penetrated to, or have too great a depth ; and in the pervious ones a
still greater depth is highly useful, and constantly to be practised,.
3960. The practice of cutting the drains as narrow as possible, which has lately
been much attended to, is of importance, as it causes a considerable Saving of the
Book III.
KINDS OF DRAINS.
639
wBm^sJ
500
matters employed in filling them up, whether they be wood or straw ; but in cases where
bricks or stones are employed, this cannot be so much attended to ; however, there is
seldom a necessity for a greater width than about a foot, provided the stones be coupled
at the bottom, or thrown in in a mixed way ; nor more than sixteen inches where laid
in the manner of a sough or channel. But of whatever depth the materials may be, the
earth or mould by which they are covered up should not be less in depth than a foot ; in
arable lands it should be more.
3961. The (U^erent sorts of drains in use may be classed in two divisions ; drains of
conveyance (fig. 499 a,h.) alone, and drains of conveyance and collection jointly {Jig,
499 c, d). In the former, all that is neces-
sary is a channel or passage for the water of
sufficient dimensions, which may be formed
by pipes of different kinds, arched or barrel
drains (6), and box or walled drains {a\ The
construction of the latter requires not only
an opening for conveying the water, but a
supercumbent or surrounding stratum( g,/)
of sufficient porosity to admit and induce
all latent water to find its way, to the channel
of conveyance. The most complete drain
of conveyance is a large pipe of metal,
masonry, or brick-work ; and the most
complete collecting drain, one formed with a
channel built on the sides, and covered with
flat-stones, with a superstratum of round stones or splinters, diminishing to the size of
gravel as they rise to the surface, and there covered with the common soil. As the best
constructions, however, are not always practicable, the following are a few of the
leading sorts adapted for diflferent situations.
3962. For drains of conveyance, there are the walled or box drain
{Jig. 499 a), the barrel drain (A , the walled or the triangular drain
(c), and arched drain {fig. 500.).
3963. Drains of collection are formed of stone, brick, gravel,
cinders, wood, spray, straw, turf, and earth alone.
3964. The boxed and rubble drain {fig. 501.), has been already
described as a drain of conveyance and collection. The common rub-
ble drain is formed of rough land-stones of any sort not ex-
ceeding six or seven inches in diameter, thrown in the bottom,
with smaller ones over, and if to be had, gravel or ashes at top.
On this is laid a thin layer of straw or haulm of any kind,
and the remainder is filled up with the surface soil.
3965. The brick
drain is formed in
a great variety of
ways, either from
common bricks
and bats in imita-
boxed and rubble, or rubble
drain ; or by the use of ^bricks made on
purpose, of which there are great variety
{fig' 502. aXok.) Draining tiles to be used
with effect as collecting drains, should al-
ways be covered a foot in depth or more
with stones or gravel.
396G. On the Marquess of Stafford's estate, " an
allowance of draining tiles is made, wherever the
exertions of the tenants seem to merit such a re-
ward. In order to secure the drains being properly
filled up with stones above the tiles, the tenant is
obliged to drive a sufficient quantity of stones or
cinders from the furnaces, and lay them on the
ground, previous to an order being made for the
delivery of the tiles. Without attending to this important circumstance, much draining would be thrown
away. The park at Trentham is a complete illustration of thia remark. The draining of this spot was
conducted under the direction of Elkington. The wetness with which these lands are affected, does not
arise from any line of springs bursting out from the upper grounds, to which that gentleman's system of
deep drains could be applied ; but is occasioned almost entirely by the retentive nature of the subsoil, and
for its being intermixed with small basins of sand, which lie detached and unconnected with each other,
in the bed of clay. To cure this species of wetness, a number of small drains, well filled up, with one cut
into each of these beds of sand is, necessary, in order effectually to cure the evil. In pursuance of this
plan, a great part of the park at Trentham has been lately drained over again, by making a number of
small shallow drains, about fifteen feet asunder, in some instances above the old ones, takiilg particular
502
640
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
care to fill them up as well as possible, and not to permit any clay to be laid over the stones. This has
proved effectual." {Loch.)
3967. The gravel or cinder drain is seldom made deep, though, if the materials be
large, they may be made of any size. In general they are used in grass lands; the
section of the drain being an acute angled triangle, and the materials being filled in, the
smallest uppermost, nearly to the ground's surface.
3968. The wood drain is of various kinds. A very sufficient and durable construction
consists of poles or young fir-trees stripped of their branches and laid in the bottom of the
drain lengthways. They are then covered with the branches and spray. Another form is
that of filling the drain with faggot-wood with some straw over. A variety of this
mode {Jig- 503.), is formed by first setting in cross stakes to prevent 503
the faggots from sinking ; but they are of no great use, and often
occasion such drains to fail sooner than common faggot drains, by
the greater vacuity they leave after the wood is rotten. In some
varieties of this drain the brush-wood is first laid down alongside the
drain and formed by willow or other ties into an endless cable of
ten or twelve inches in diameter and then rolled in, which is said to
form an excellent drain with the least quantity of materials, and to
last a longer time than any of tire modes above mentioned. Some
cut the brush-wood into l^gths of three or four feet, and place them
in a sloping direction with the root end of the branch in the bottom
of the drain ; others throw in the branches at random with little pre-
paration and cover them with spray, straw, or rushes, and finally the
surface soil.
3969. The spray drain is generally like the gravel drain, of small size, and formed
like it, with an acute angled bottom. In general, the spray is trod firmly in ; though in
some cases it is previously formed into a cable, as in the brush-wood drain. Drains of
this sort are much in use in grass lands, and when the spray of larch wood, heath, or ling
can be got, they are of great durability.
3970. The straw drain, when reeds, rushes, and bean straw is used, is sometimes made
like the spray drain, by pressing the loose material down, or forming a cable ; but in ge-
neral the straw is twisted into ropes as big as a man's leg, by the aid of a machine
(2457.), and three or more of these {^flg. 504 a) laid in the bottom of 504
a triangular drain, with or without the protection of three turves (b).
Where some sorts of moss, as sphagnum or lycopodium can be got,
these drains are of unknown durability. Drains formed in this man-
ner, through tough and retentive clays, will be found in a short time
after the work is finished, to have formed over the straw with which
the drain was filled, an arch of sufficient strength to support the in-
cumbent weight of the soil, and the casual traffick of tlie field. In
twelve or eighteen months it may be observed, that the straw, being
of one uniform substance, is all rotted and carried away, leaving a
clear pipe through the land in every drain. The passage of the
water into these drains may be much facilitated, by a due attention to
filling them with the most friable and porous parts of the surface the field may
afford.
3971. The turf drain {fig. 505.), may be made of
any convenient depth, but it must be at least the breadth
of a turf at bottom. The drain being dug out as if it
were to be filled with stones or any ordinary material,
the operator next, with a spade three inches wide, digs a
narrow channel along its centre (a), clearing it out with
the draining scoop ; and over this the turves [b) are laid
without any other preparation, or any thing put over
them but the earth that was excavated. This is found
to be a very cheap, and, considering the materials, a
surprisingly durable method of draining ; answering, in
pasture-fields especially, all the purposes that the farmer
can expect to derive from drains constructed with more labor, and at a much greater ex-
pense. They are said to last frequently twenty years and upwards : but the period
which it can be supposed they will continue to prove eflfectual, must depend on the nature
of the soil and the current of watier.
3972. The triangular sod drain is thus made : when the line of drain is marked out,
a sod is cut in the form of a wedge, the grass side being the narrowest, and the sods
being from twelve to eighteen inches in length. The drain is then cut to the depth re-
quired, but is contracted to a very narrow bottom. The sods are then set in with the
gras side downwards, and pressed as far as they will go. As the figure of the drain
Book III.
KINDS OF DRAINS.
641
does not suffer them to go to the bottom, a cavity is left which serves as a watercourse ;
and the space above is filled with the earth thrown out.
3973. The hollow furrow drain is only used in sheep -pastures. Wherever the water is
apt to stagnate, a deep furrow is turned up with a stout plough {jig. 506 a). After
this, a man with a spade pares off the loose
soil from the inverted sod, and scatters it over
the field, or casts it into hollow places. The
sod thus pared, and brought to the thickness
of about three inches, is restored to its original
situation, with the grassy side uppermost, as if
no furrow had been made (b). A pipe or
opening is thus formed beneath it, two or three
inches deep in the bottom of the furrow, which
is sufficient to discharge a considerable quan-
tity of surface water, which readily sinks into
it. These furrows, indeed, are easily choaked
up by any pressure, or by the growth of the roots of the grass ; but they are also easily
restored, and no surface is lost by means of them.
3974. The earth drain, called also the day pipe drain, is better calculated for the pur-
pose of an aqueduct, or conveyance of water, than for drying the soil. A drain is dug
to the necessary depth, narrow at bottom, in which is laid a sihooth tree or cylindrical
piece of wood, ten or twelve feet long, six inches in diameter at the one end, and five at
the other, having a ring fastened in the thickest end. After strewing a little sand upon
the upper side of the tree, the clay or toughest part of the contents of the trench is first
thrown in upon it, and then the remainder, which is trod firmly down. By means of
the ring and a rope through it, the tree is drawn out to within a foot or two of the small
or hinder end, and the same operation repeated. A gentleman who has tried this experi-
ment says, this clay pipe has conducted a small rill of water a considerable way under
ground for more than twenty years, without any sign of failing.
3975. Pipe drains of turf axQ sometimes
507 formed where the surface soil is a strong
clay, as it is only turves from such a surface
that are sufficiently dumble. A semicylin-
drical spade {fig. 507 a), is used to dig the
turves, the ground-plan of which (i) pre-
sents a series of semicircles or half pipes.
The drain (c), being dug out to the proper
depth, one turf is laid in the bottom (d),
and another being placed over it (e), com-
pletes the pipe. The same sort of pipe drain
has been formed out of solid beds of clay,
and has served for a time to convey water.
As collecting drains, of course, they can be
of little or no use. This mode of draining
appears to have been first practised by
Hannah, an ingenious farmer in Wigton-
shire. He adopted it for the purpose of
conveying water through running sand, in which only a pipe drain will last for a mo-
^
derate time. After a
number of years the
clay turves were found
effective in conveying
away the water, and
preventing the run-
ning awayof the sandy
sides of the drain.
3976. A mode of
turf draining in use
in Cheshire, is done in
the following man-
ner : The surface of
the ground where the
drain is intended to be
cut, is marked out in
parallelograms about
the size of bricks on
one hide(fg.lC^a
508
1
I
J
a
svv^^>
III
Tt
642 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
and the. opposite is left of the width of a common sod ; i. e. nine inches wide.
These sods are taken out at a spade's depth, and laid carefully by the side of the drain
for covers. The sods (a), resembling bricks in their size and shape, are then dug,
and laid carefully on the same side as the sods intended for covers. The drain is then
sunk to its proper depth, and the stuff taken out is thrown to the other side. The
bottom is levelled with proper draught for the water, and set with the sods like bricks (a),
two in height on each side (c) ; these are covered with the larger sods set obliquely [b) ;
the grass side of each sod being turned downwards. (Jg. Rep. of Cheshire, 214.)
.,^^^^^^09 ^^^«^ 3977. The mole drain (Jig. 509. ) is formed by the draining-
^^^^^^SM§^^m/m//////i P^*^"S^^ °^ ^^^^ name, already described (2522.) , with the man-
^^^^^B^^^By "^'* ^^ using it. It is chiefly useful in pasture-lands,and espe-
^^^Fj'mm/^ cially in such as have some declivity, or are formed into ridges.
'lllllllumluiM 3978. The wheel drain is a very ingenious invention, de-
Bcribed in The Agricultural Report of the County of Essex. It consists of a draining-
wheel of cast-iron, that weighs about 4 cwt. It is four feet in diameter; the cutting-
edge or extremity of the circqniference of the wheel is half an inch thick, and increases
in thickness towards the centre. At fifteen inches deep it will cut a drain half an inch
wide at the bottom, and four inches wide at the top. The wheel is so placed in a frame^
that it may be loaded at pleasure, and made to operate to a greater or less depth, accord-
ing to the resistance made by the ground. It is used in winter when the soil is soft ;
and the wheel tracks are either immediately filled with straw ropes, and lightly covered
over with earth, or they are left to crack wider and deeper till the ensuing summer ;
after which the fissures are filled with ropes of straw or of twisted twigs, and lightly
covered vvith the most porous earth that is at hand. Thus, upon grass or ley lands, hollow
drains, which answer extremely well, are formed at a trifling expense. It is said, that
twelve acres may be fully gone over with this draining- wheel in one day, so as to make
cuts at all necessary distances.
3979. Surface-gutters made by cart-ioheels have been used by Middleton, on meadows
in Surrey. To the felly of a common cart-wheel (fg. 510 a), is added a piece of wood,
the section of which is a truncated triangle (b), and on this is fixed a piece of 510
iron completing the triangle (c). The cart is loaded and driven so as the pre-
pared wheel may run in the furrow ; or, if there are no furrows, both wheels
may be prepared, and the loaded cart drawn by two horses, may be led over
the whole field, forming parallel gutters, at four or five feet distance. The
advantage of this mode of surface draining is, that the herbage is only pressed
down, not destroyed, and rises up again in spring. The operation, for that
reason, requires to be renewed every winter.
3980. The best season for marking out and forming drains, is the spring or
beginning of summer ; because then, the land springs being still in vigor, are
more easily discovered and traced than at a later period. When the ground is
soft on the surface, it is a useful precaution, after the line of drain is indicated, to cart on
the materials for filling before digging the drain, as the weight of the carriages and horses
are apt to press in the sides of the drain. In the case of straw, turf, or earth drains,
where the ground is of a firm texture, this precaution does not apply. In filling
drains, the earth should always be raised somewhat above the general surface, to make
allowance for sinking.
3981. Informing small drains, chiefly for retentive soils, the common plough has been
used in many places, and with some advantage. The method practised by Young,
of Clare, and which he has himself described in The Annals of Agriculture, from very
ample practice, is this : he says, when he has marked the drains in a field usually a rod
asunder, he draws two furrows with a common plough, leaving a baulk betwixt them
about fifteen inches wide ; then with a strong double-breasted plough, made on purpose,
he splits that baulk, and leaves a clean furrow fourteen or fifteen inches below the sur,
face; but where the depth of soil requires it, by a second ploughing he sinks it to eight-,
een or twenty inches : it is then ready for the land- ditching-spade, with which he digs,
fifteen inches deep, a drain as narrow as possible. But the method followed by some
farmers, who do not possess ploughs made on purpose for the work, is this : With their
common plough, drawn by four or five horses, and usually stirring about four or five
inches deep, they turn a double furrow, throwing the earth on each side, and leaving a
baulk in the middle. This baulk tliey raise by a second bout, in the same manner : then
they go in the open furrow twice, with their common double-breast plough, getting what
depth they can. After this they shovel out all the loose mould and inequalities to the
breadth of about a foot ; and thus having gained a clear open furrow, the depth varying
according to the soil and ploughs, but usually about eight or nine inches, they dig one
spit with a draining spade sixteen inches deep, thus gaining in the whole twenty-four or
twenty-six inches. But as this depth is seldom sufficient, when necessary they throw
Book III.
DRAINING IMPLEMENTS.
643
out another, or even two otiier spits, which makes the whole depth from thirty to forty
inches.
3982. The duration of drains must necessarily depend on the nature of the materials
with which they are filled, and in some measure on the quality of the soil, as certain
species of land have the power of preserving wood or other perishable materials much
longer than others. Stones last till accidental causes impede the flowing of the water,
and may last for ever. Wood perishes in certain periods, but it does not follow that
the drains should stop ; if the earth arches, the water will necessarily continue to flow,
which is found to be the case when wood, straw, and stubble, are rotten and gone.
Drains that have been filled with bushes and straw, both which were rotten, have been
observed to run well forty years after making.
3983. The expense of drains will of course vary with the soil, depth, price of labor,
&c. , and these circumstances are so different in different districts, and even in difierent
parishes, that it accounts for the various reports of writers on the subject. Those far-
mers who are most solicitous to have the work well performed, contract with men only
for digging and leaving clean, in order that the filling may be done by men paid by the
day, as a greater security that it should be executed with all possible care ; whatever
may be the expense and trouble incurred in draining, it may be safely asserted, that if
the work is judiciously contrived, and properly executed, no kind of outlay will prove
so beneficial to the cultivator.
3984. The enemies of drains, according to Marshal, are moles, field mice, and the
roots of trees ; the two first may be kept under by traps or other devices ; but the last
enemy is not easily guarded against but in the laying out of the drain, which should
always if possible be kept distant from trees or woody plants of any description.
Sect. VII. Of the Implements peculiar to Draining.
3985. The tools peculiar to draining are chiefly of the spade kind ; there are also boring
instruments of different kinds.
3986. The draining-scoop (fg. 511 a, b, c), is a
crooked kind of tool made use of in some cases for
clearing out the loose materials from the bottoms of
drains. It is formed of different sizes and breadths,
according to the drains, and in working is drawn or
pushed along the bottom.
3987. The draining shovel (d], is another sort of
implement employed for the same purpose as the above. I
It is made with a crooked handle, and the edge of the .
shovel part is turned up, in order to prevent the ma- \: ^\
terials from falling off.
3988. The draining sod knife (e), is an implement
made use of with great benefit in scoring or cutting ^
out the sward in forming drains.
3989. Draining spades (/, g, h), are made of different breadths, so as to follow each
other, and cut the drains narrow at the bottoms. An upper and pointed draining-spade,
[g] is in general use, and a wooden one (A) is employed in peat soils.
3990. The draining straio-twistin^ engine, is a machine of very simple construction,
already described (2457.), and capable of being readily removed, contrived for the pur-
pose of twisting straw into ropes, in order to the filling of drains with it.
3991 . The common borer and peat borer have been already described (2428. 2430.)
3992. The common draitiing auger 512
(Jig. 512.), consists of four parts, the
shell or wimble, the chisel, the rod,
and the handle. The auger shell or
wimble (e), as it is variously ^called, for
excavating the earth or strata through
which it passes, is generally from two
and a half to three and a half inches in
diameter ; the hollow part of it one foot
four inches in length, and constructed
nearly in the shape of the wimble
used by carpenters, only the sides of the shell come closer to one another. The rods (a) ,
are made in separate pieces of four feet long each, that screw into one another to any
assignable length, one after another, as the depth of the hole requires. The size above
the auger is about an inch square, unless at the joints, where, for the sake of strength,
they are a quarter of an inch more. There is also a chisel and punch (6), adapted for
screwing on in going through hard gravel, or other metallic substances, to accelerate the
passage of the auger, which could not otherwise perforate such hard bodies. The punch
Tt 2
J"
11
""^ 1
. — ^
^ ::=m
I
644
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II I.
is often used, when the auger is not applied, to prick or open the sand or gravel, and
give a more easy issue to the water. The chisel is an inch and a half or two inches
broad at the point, and made very sharp for cutting stone ; and the punch an inch square,
like the other part of the rods, with the point sharpened also. There is a shifting handle
of wood (rf), that is fastened with two iron wedges affixed to it, for the purpose of turn-
ing round the rods in boring ; and also two iron keys (/, c), for screwing and unscrew-
ing the rods, and for assisting the handle when the soil is very stiff, and more than two
men required to turn it.
3993. To judge when to make use of the borer is a difficult part of the business of drain-
ing. Some have been led into a mistaken notion, both as to the manner of using it,
and purpose for which it is applied. They think, that if by boring indiscriminately
through the ground to be drained, water is found near enough the surface to be reached
by the depth of the drain, the proper direction for it is along these holes where water has
been found, and thus make it the first implement that is used. The contrary is the case,
and the auger is never used till after the drain is cut ; and then for the purpose of per-
forating any retentive or impervious stratum, lying between the bottom of the drain and
the reservoir or strata containing the spring. Thus does it greatly lessen the trouble
and expense that would otherwise be requisite in cutting the trench to that depth to which,
in many instances, the level of the outlet will not admit.
3994. The manner of using it is simply thus : in working it, two, or rather three men
are necessary. Two stand above, one on each side of the drain, who turn it round by
means of the wooden handles, and when the auger is full they draw it out ; and the man
in the bottom of the trench clears out the earth, assists in pulling it out, and directing
it into the hole, and he can also assist in turning with the iron handle or key, when the
depth and length of rods require additional force to perform the operation. The work-
men should be cautious in boring, not to go deeper at a time without drawing, than
the exact length of the shell, otherwise the earth, clay, or sand, through which it is bor-
ing, after the shell is full, makes it very difficult to pull out. For this purpose the
exact length of the shell should be regularly marked on the rods, from the bottom up-
wards. Two flat boards, with a hole cut into the side of one of them, and laid along,
side of one another over the drain in the time of boring, are very useful for directing
the rods in going down perpendicularly for keeping them steady in boring, and for the
men standing on when performing tlie operation.
3995. The horizontal auger {Jig. 513.), is another boring instrument employed in
particular cases. It was invented by Halford, of Hathern, in Leicestershire, but is
little used. The advantages of it are, in some cases, considerable, by lessening the
expense of cutting, and performing the work in a much shorter time. Where a drain
or water-course has to pass under a bank, road, hedge, wall, riviAet of water, or for
drying marl-pits, &c. it may be used to advantage in excavating a sufficient passage for
the water, without opening a trench. In laying leaden pipes for the conveyance of
water, it is also useful in making a hole in which the pipe may be laid without opening
a cut on purpose. For tapping springs, or finding water at the bottom of a hill, either
for the supply of a house, or for draining the ground, it may likewise be used with suc-
cess ; as the water of the spring when hit on, will flow more easily, and in greater
abundance through a horizontal or level, than through a perpendicular outlet.
3996. The manner of using it is this : suppose a lake or pond of water, surrounded
with high banks, to be emptied, if the ground declines lower on the opposite side, find
the level of the bank where the perforation is to be made. There smooth the surface
of the ground so as to place the frame nearly level with the auger, pointing a little up-
wards. It requires two men to turn the handles at top (a), in order to work it ; and when
the auger or shell is full, the rods are drawn back by reversing the lower handle (b) ; and
B^oJ^ III- EMBANKING. 645
other rods added at the joint when the distance requires them. In boring through a
bank of the hardest clay, two men will work through from thirty to forty feet in a day
provided there is no interruption from hard stones, which will require the chisel to be
fixed on m place of the shell, and longer time to work through. If the length to be
bored through is considerable, or longer than the whole length of the rods, a pit must be
sunk upon the line, down to the hole, for placing the frame when removed, and the
operation earned on as before.
Chap, II.
Of Embanking and othermse protecting Lands from the Overflowing or Encrqpchment of
Rivers or the Sea.
3997. Lands adjoining rivers or the sea, are frequently subject to be overflowed, or
washed away, or to be injured by the course of rivers being changed during great floods.
The subject of this chapter therefore embraces that of embanking and guarding the banks
of rivers.
Skct. I. Of Embanking Lands from Rivers or the Sea.
3998. The great value of alluvial soil to the agriculturist, no doubt, gave rise to the
invention of banks, or other barriers, to protect soils from the overflowing of their accom-
panying rivers. The civilized nations of the highest antiquity were chiefly inhabitants of
valleys and alluvial plains; the soil, moisture, and warmth of which, by enlarging the
parts, and ameliorating the fruits of the vegetable kingdom, afforded to man better nou-
rishment at less labor than could be obtained in hilly districts. The country of Paradise,
and around Babylon, was flat, and the soil saponaceous clay, occasionally overflowed by
the Euphrates. The inhabited part of Egypt was also entirely of this descriptioti.
Historians inform us, that embankments were first used by the Babylonians and Egyp-
tians, very little by the Greeks, and a good deal by the Romans, who embanked the
Tiber near Romej and the Po for many stadia from its embouchure. The latter is
perhaps one of the most singular cases of embankment in the world.
3999. The oldest embankment in England is that of Romney Marsh, as to the origin
of which, Dugdal'e remarks, " there is no testimony left to us from any record or
historian." {^History of Embanking and Draining.) It is conjectured to have been the
work of the Romans, as well as the banks on each side of the Thames, for several miles
above London, which protect from floods and spring tides, several thousand acres of the
richest garden ground in the neighborhood of the metropolis. The commendement of
modern embankments in England took place about the middle of the seventeenth century,
under Cromwell. In the space of a few years previously to 1651, 425,000 acres of ferts,
morasses, or overflowed muddy lands, were recovered in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire,
Hampshire, and Kent; and let at from 2s. 6d. to 305. an acre. [Harte^s Essays, p. 54., 2d
edit.) Vermuyden, a Fleming by birth, and a colonel of horse under Cromwell, who
had served in Germany during the thirty years' war, was the principal undertaker of
these works.
4000. Very little has been written on the subject of embankments, as a separate branch
of art, by British authors. Dugdale's work is entirely historical and topographicaL
But the writings of Smeaton, Young, Gregory, &c., contain the general principles oh
\vhich is founded the art of embanking, and every other operation connected with water,-
and Beatson, in Communication to Board of Agriculture. Dr. Anderson, Marshal, and
some others, have written on the practice of the art. The works of this sort constructed
in our own times will be found described in The Agricultural Reports of the maritime
Counties, especially of Lincolnshire, by Arthur Young. We shall first submit sonie
general remarks on the principles of designing embankments, and next describe the prin-
cipal kinds of banks with their application.
SUbsect. 1. General Principles of designing Embankments,
4001. The theory of embanking. Marshal observes, is beautifully simple. Th6 out-
ward waters having been resisted by a line of embankment, and having receded, thoise
that have cbllected internally are enabled, by their own weight, to open a valve, -svhich is
placed in the foot of the bank, and effect their escape : thus securing the embanked
lands from inundation, though beset on every side with water.
4002. The pressure of still ivater against the sides of the vessel containing it,- being as
its depth, it follows, that a bank of any uiateiial whatever, impervious to water, whose
section is a right angled triangle, and the height of whose perpendicular side is equal to
that of the water it is to dam in, will balaiice or resist this water, whatever may be the
Tt 3
«4€ PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
breadth of the surface of the latter; and, therefore, that as far as width or extent is con-
cerned, it is just as easy to exclude the Atlantic ocean as a pond or a river of a few yards
in width.
4003. Embankments may be considered in regard to their situation, direction, con-
struction, and materials.
4004. The situation of the hank should be such that its base may not be exposed
unnecessarily, to the immediate action of the waves, or the current. And, where the
quantity of water is limited, as that of land floods in a particular river may be said to
be, the more room it has left to spread in, the less height and strength the bank will
require ; and the power of the current will be proportionably lessened. It is to be recol-
lected, however, in all cases where the channel of the water is liable to be warped or
filled up, by sulliage, that the narrower the space is, in which the water is confined, the
stronger will be its current, and the less silt will, in ordinary cases, be deposited.
4005. The direction of embankment should be free from sharp angles, so as to occasion
the least possible resistance to the current, whether of a land-flood, or the tide.
4006. In the construction or form of the bank there are certain principles to be ob-
served. Its height and strength ought ever to be proportioned to the depth and weight
of water which it will have to sustain : and, to increase its firmness, the inner face
should lean towards it, as a buttress. But it is on the construction of the outer face, its
strength, firmness, and durability principally depend. This ought to be made sloping, to
a degree of flatness ; for the twofold purpose of preventing resistance, and taking oft" the
weight of water. In diflScult cases, the outer surface may form an angle with a per-
pendicular line of 45 to 60 degrees, according to the force to be guarded against, and
the materials to be employed.
4007. The materials of the body of the bank (as well as of the inner face), where the
foundation is sound and firm, and the bank can be carried up, at a proper season, with-
out great molestation from the water, may generally be the natural soil of the lands to
be embanked. And, where merely the weight of stagnant or slowly moving water is to
be guarded against, the outer slope may be of the same material. But where force,
whether of waves or a strong current, will act immediately upon the bank, its outer face
ought to be made proof against it ; and its base to be particularly guarded, to prevent its
being undermined ; the most mischievous and irreparable disaster of embankments.
Hence, when the foundation is not sufiiciently firm, piles, timber, and masonry may be
required, to insure success. And no man ought to begin a work of this nature, with-
out attentively guarding it against every probability of miscarriage.
4008. A system of drains andjioodgates is requisite for the purpose of freeing the em-
banked lands from internal waters.
4009. In designing and setting out the main drain, or discharging channel, on the outside
of the embankment, there are points which require particular attention. The situation
of the outfall, or mouth, with respect to the current of the water into M'hich it opens, is
of considerable importance. It ought to be such, that the current of the receiving water
will not warp up the channel of the drain ; but such, on the contraiy, as will tend to clear
the mouth and keep the channel free. If it were not to preserve the requisite character
of an " elementary work, it might be deemed unnecessary to add, that the mouth of the
discharging drain should be situated as low as given circumstances and a prudent ex-
penditure will allow, beneath the floodgate of the embankment ; in order that, by inducing
a sufiicient current, the floodgate, as well as the mouth of the channel, may become free
from obstructions. Against the open sea, or a wide estuary, where there is no disgorging
channel, but where the waves reach the foot of the embankment, two floodgates may be
required ; one on the outer side to sustain the force of the waves, and prevent their
blowing up the inner works ; the other within to secure the passage the more effectually.
The outer gate in this case is liable to be lifted with the agitation of the waves, and
thereby to admit much water; but the inner valve being in a still undisturbed situation
effectually stops its progress.
40 1 0. Where the discharge is made immediately behind a shifting beach, and especially where
the floodgate is necessarily placed level with or beneath the general surface of the gravel
bank, through which the waters have been wont to force a channel, the valve is liable to
be buried, and the channel to be closed up by every spring tide, and by every gale of
wind which sets in upon it ; and cannot be kept free but by unceasing labor and expense.
In an obstinate case of this kind on Lord Cawdor's estate, in Pembrokeshire, the dis-
charging floodgate is defended by a covered channel, carried out through the line or
ridge of beach into the sea ; being made strong enough to sustain the weight of the heaviest
breakers. This, it is true, has been effected at a great expense, but nevertheless the im-
provement being of considerable magnitude, with great profit ; and in every case, where an
External valve is required, and where it is liable to be silted up, or loaded with sand or
gravel, great attention to the outward channel, or some defence is necessary. For the
floodgate) when loaded, cuts off* all commum'caiion between the pent up waters and the
Book III. EMBANKMENTS. 647
materials that impound them. They cannot, by loosening the obstructing matter, as
nature would otherwise direct them, force their way through it j nor by surmounting it,
can they wear down a channel, and thus set themselves at liberty.
4011. In ordinary cases, the outer floodgate may be guarded by a pile fence or jetty,
run out from the foot of the embankment, across the known drift of the beach ; and in
such a manner as not to interrupt the outfall channel of the water ; the gravel, &c. which
such a safeguard may accumulate, being removed from time to time as occasion may
require.
4012. The best construction of the Jloodgate for the uses now under consideration is the
common valve, hingeing at the top, swinging outward and falling into a rabbeted frame.
In forming and hanging a floodgate of this construction, there are a few particulars
worthy of attention. It should be made of seasoned wood, and ought to be double; the
boards or planks of which it is formed being made to cross each otl>er, to prevent its
casting. It should fall truly, and fit neatly within a surrounding rabbet (to lessen the
power of the waves to lift it) ; but not so closely or tight as to stick when swelled by
moisture. To prevent this, as well as to give it additional tightness, its edges should not
be square, but should bevel somewhat inward in the manner of a bung ; the rabbet in
the frame being made to answer it. In fixing the frame, it ought to be suffered to lean
or batter inward ; in which position the door will shut closer, and be less liable to the
action of the waves in an exposed situation than it would if it were hung perpendicularly.
It ought not, however, to lie so flat or heavy as to prevent the free escape of the internal
waters.
4013. The internal waters which rise within or fall upon the area of the embanked
lands, are to be collected by a main drain, continued upward from the floodgate ; and
furnished with branches to spread over every part of the field of improvement, so as to
draw the water as it collects, from every dip and hollow place, and thus free tl>e surface
effectually from stagnant water ; saving such only as may be wanted for the use of pas-
turing stock.
4014. If alien waters have a natural and accustomed channel through the emfeanked
area, it may be found necessary to raise a suitable bank at a proper distance on each side
of the stream ; in order to prevent its overflowing the area in times of floods, \fliere it
is found that an outlet cannot be had low enough to free the area entirely from surface
water, it is requisite (though no alien waters intrude) to form an embanked channel or
reservoir ; to gain the required outfall, and to throw the waters which lodge on the lower
grounds into this receptacle ; by a draining mill, of which there are a great variety of
constructions.
4015. ^« embanked channel, if the banks are raised high enough, or are placed wide
enough asunder, so as to contain a sufficient body of water, may have a further use ;
which, in some cases, maybe of the highest importance to an improvement of this nature.
For, by the help of folding floodgates, such as are commonly seen in use for the locks of
navigable canals placed at the lower end of this canal or reservoir, a body of water may
be collected and rapidly'discharged ; by whicli easy means, not only the channel of the
outer drain, but its mouth, if judiciously contracted, may, from time to time, be cleared
from obstructions. Where alien waters of a good quality pass through the field of im-
provement, an embanked channel may be profitably applied in watering the lands; and
where alien waters, which have not a natural or fortuitous passage through it can be
commanded, and conducted to it at a moderate expense, they may prove highly beneficial,
for either or both of these purposes.
SuRSECT. 2. Of the different Descriptions of Banks in gejieral Use for excluding Waters.
4016. Mounds or banks for excluding rivers or the sea are generally formed of earth, but
sometimes also of masonry and even of wood.
4017. The earthen wall {fig. 514.) is the
simplest description of embankment, and is
frequently erected by temporary occupiers of
lands on the general principle of enclosing and
Subdividing, which is sometimes made a condi-
tion of tenure between the landlord and tenant*
This wall applies to lands occasionally, but
rarely overflowed or inundated ; and is set out
in a direction generally parallel to the river or
shore. Its base is commenced on the surface from two to five feet wide, regularly built
of turf on the outsides, with the grassy sides underneath. The middle of the wall is
filled up with loose earth. , The wall is carried up with the sides bevelled towards the
centre, so as to finisli in a width of one foot or eighteen inches at five or six feet in height.
Collateral to such walls, and at tlie distance of three or four feet, a small open drain is
formed, as well to collect the surface water of the grounds within, as that which, in time
Tt 4
648 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
of floods, will necessarily ooze through a wall of this construction. The water so col-
lected is let through the wall by tubes, or tunnels of boards 515
{Jig. 515.), with a valve opening outwards on their exterior
extremity. When the flow of water from without approaches, | \j_
it shuts the valve, which, remains in this state till the flood sub- ^^^
sides, when the height of the water within being greater than that without, it presses open
the valve and escapes. "Walls and valves of this kind are common enough in the drier
parts of the fenny districts of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire.
4018. The earthen mound (Jig, 516
516.) is the most general descrip-
tion of embankment, and as it is^
executed at considerable expense, is^^
only undertaken by such as have a ^
permanent interest in the soil. This barrier applies to sea lands overflowed by every spring
tide, and to alluvial plains inundated by every flood. It is set out in a direction parallel
to the shore, and to the general turns of the river, but not to its minute windings ; and
it is placed farther from or nearer to the latter, according to the quantity of water in time
of floods, the rapidity of the current from the declivity of the bed, the straight course of
the stream, and the intended height of the bank. The two sides of such a mound are
generally formed in different slopes. That towards the land is always the most abrupt,
but can never be secure if more so than 45° ; that towards the water varies from 45° to
15° ; the power of the bank to resist the weight of the water, as well as to break its force
when in motion, being inversely as its steepness. The power of water to lessen the
gravity of bodies, or in other words, to loosen the surfaces over which they flow or stand,
is also lessened in a ratio somewhat similar.
4019. The formation of the earthen mound consists merely in taking earth from the
general surface of the ground to be protected, or from a collateral excavation, distant at
least the width of the mound from its base line, and heaping it up in the desired form.
The surface is then in general cases covered with turf, well rolled in order to bind it to
the loose earth. The earth of such mounds is generally wheeled by barrows ; but some-
times it is led by carts placed on a wooden roller instead of wheels, which, with the
treading of the horses, serves in some degree to consolidate the bank.
4020. The excavation serves the same purposes as the open drain in the earthen wall ;
and similarly constructed sluices or valves are introduced on a larger scale. Some-
times also the interior water is drawn off by windmills, and thrown over the mound into
the river. This is very common in Huntingdonshire, and might be greatly improved on
by employing steam-engines for entire districts, one of which, of a ten horse power, would
do the work of twenty mills, and this in calm weather, when the latter cannot move.
4021. Embankments of this description are the most universal of any, and their sections
vary from a scalene triangle of ten feet in base, and three feet in height, as on the Forth
near Stirling, and the Thames at Fulham, to a base of 100 feet, and a height often feet,
as in the great bank of the Ouse, near Wisbeach. The great rivers of Germany and
Holland are embanked in this way, when so far from the sea as to be out of the reach of
the tide ; as the Vistula at Marienwerder, the banks of which, near Dantzic, are above
fifteen feet in height ; the Oder, the Elbe, &c. All these banks are closely covered in
every part with a grassy surface, and sometimes ornamented with rows of trees.
4022. But near the seoy where such banks are washed by every tide when the course of
the wind is towards the shore, and by all land-floods and spring-tides, grass is only to be
found on and near their summits. The rest of the bank is bare, and to preserve it from
the action of waves, currents, and the stones, pieces of wood, and other foreign matters
which they carry with them, the surface is covered with gravel, reeds, or straw, kept down
by pieces of wood ; faggots, wicker hurdles, nets of straw ropes, straw ropes laid side by
side and fastened, or handsfuU of straw fixed in the ground with a dibber {Neale's Travels
inGermany, ^c. chap, i.}, or any other contrivance, according to the situation, to prevent
the washing away of the bank. It is common to attribute to these coverings the powelr
of breaking the force of the waves ; but this power depends, as we have already stated^
on the slope of the bank and its smoothness ; and the use of the surface covering, and
of the constant attention required to remove all obstacles which may be left on it by floodis
and tides, is to prevent the loosening power of the water from wearing it into holes,
tor this purpose, a sheet of canvass or straw-netting is as good, whilst it lasts, as a
covering of plate iron or stone pavement.
4023. ^11 banks whatever require to be constantly watched in time of foods or spring-
tides, in order to remove every object, excepting sand or mud, which may be left by the
water. Such objects, put in motion by the water, in a short time wear out large holes.
These holes, presenting abrupt points to the stream, act as obstructions, soon become
much larger, and if not immediately filled up, turfed over, and the turfs pinned down,
or the new turfs rendered by some other means not easily softened and raised up by the
Book III.
EMBANKMENTS.
649
CC
water, will end in a breach of the bank. A similar effect is produced by a surface formed
of unequal degrees of hardness and durability. The banks of this description in Holland,
at Cuxhaven, and along the coast of Lincolnshire, are regularly watched throughout the
year ; the surface protection is repaired whenever it goes out of repair ; as is the body of
the bank in the summer season. 517
4024. The mound ivith pu d-
dte wall {Jig. 511.) It generally
happens that the earth of such
banks is alluvial, and their
foundation of the same de-
scription ; but there are some
cases where the basis is sand,
silt, or gravel; or a mud or
black earth, as in some parts
of Cambridgeshire and Lin-
colnshire, which does not easily
become so compact. Here it
is common, before beginning * ' —————— ————________ .
the bank, to bring up what is called a puddle-ditch, or section 6f clay (a), in the centre
of the highest part of the mound in the direction of its length, and of three or five feet
wide, according to the depth of the stratum of silt (6), and the intended height of the bank
(c). When the clay of this puddle-ditch is well worked, either by men's feet or clay
rammers, the bank will be perfectly impervious to water, and if against a mild stream or
shore, need not contain such an accumulation of earth as where the imperviousness of the
bank to water depends chiefly on the mass of materials. As already observed, the
important point to attend to in this variety of mound is, to found the section, or
wall of clay, so deep as to be in contact with a stratum (a) either by induration ; or its
argillaceous nature, impervious to water.
4025. Mounds with reversed slopes. In some cases of embanking rivers, as where they
pass through parks, it is desirable to conceal, as much as possible, the appearance of a
bank from the protected grounds. Hence the mound is simply reversed, the steepest
side being placed next the water. It is proper to observe, that such banks are not so
strong, by the difference of the weight of the triangle of water which would rest on the
prolonged slope, were it placed next the river, and are more liable to be deranged in
surface in proportion to the difference of the slopes, the water acting for a longer period
on every part of the slope. ,
4026. Mound faced with stones. This is the same species of mound, with a slope
next the water of forty-five or fifty degrees, paved or causewayed with stones or timber.
In Holland this pavement or causeway is often formed of planking or bricks ; but in
England generally with stones, and the mortar used is either some cement which will
set under water, or, what is better, plants of moss firmly rammed between them. The
objection to such banks -are their expense, and their liability to be undermined invisibly
by the admission of the water through crevices, &c. They are, therefore, chiefly used
where there is little room, or where it is desirable to narrow and deepen the course of a
Ifiver.
4027. Mound protected hy a wicker hedge. This is a Dutch practice, and, where
appearance is no object, has the advantage of not requiring watching. Wicker-work,
however, subjected to the strain of waves, will be obviously less durable, than where it
lies flat on the ground, and can only decay chemically. This wicker hedge is sometimes
a series of hurdles supported by posts and studs ; but generally in Britain it is a dead hedge
or row of stakes, wattled or wrought with bushes presenting their spray to the sea or river.
Besides placing such a hedge before a bank, others are sometimes placed in parallel rows
on its surface ; the object of which is to entrap sand, shells, and sea weeds, to increase
the mass of mound, or to collect shells for the purpose of carrying away as manure.
4028. The sea ivall {fig. 518.) is an embankment
formed to protect abrupt and earthy shores or banks of
rivers, and consists of a wall, varying in thickness, and
in the inclination of its surface, according to the re-
iquired height, and other circumstances. Belidor, in his
Traite de Hi/draulique, has given the exact curve which
the section of such a wall ought to have (a, 6), in order
to resist loose earth, and which is somewhat greater than . — ^^^ ._^
where the earth behind the wall is supposed to be chiefly " ~~
firm. Some fine examples of such walls, for other purposes, occur in the Caledonian
- Canal, and perhaps the finest in the world are the granite walls which embank the Neva
at Petersburgh, the construction of which may serve as an example of a river cased
with stone on a foundation of soft bog earth.
650 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
4029. Embankments for fixing drf ting-sands, shells, or mud. In several tracts of
coast, the sea at ordinary tides barely covers a surface of sand ; and these sands in dry
weather, during high winds, are drifted and blown about in all directions. Great part of
the north shores of the Solway Frith, of Lancaster Bay, and of the coast of Norfolk, is
of this description. Young, in hi':-, Farmer s Letters, informs us, that a considerable
part of the county of Norfolk was drift sand, even as far inland as Brandon in Suffolk,
before the introduction of the turnip culture; and Harte (Essay I.) states that some of
what is now the richest land in Holland, was, about the middle of the sixteenth century,
of this description. The suggestion of any mode, therefore, by which, at a moderate
expense, such tracts could be fixed, and covered with vegetation, must be deemed worthy
of notice. The mode which nature herself employs is as follows : After the tides and
wind have raised a marginal steep of land as high as high water-mark, it becomes by
degrees covered with vegetation, and chiefly by the elymus arenarius, triticum junceum,
various species of juncus, and sometimes by the gallium verum. With the exception of
the first of these plants (the leaves and stalks of which are manufactured into mats and
ropes in Anglesea, and the grain of which is sometimes ground and used as meal in
Ireland), they are of no other use than fixing the sands, which, being composed in great
part of the debris of shells, expand as they decay, and contribute to raising the surface
still higher, when the fibrous roots of good grasses soon destroy the others.
4030. To assist nature infxing drift-sands, it is only necessary to transplant the elymus,
which is to be had in abundance in almost every sandy, coast in Britain ; and as it would
be liable to be blown away with the sands, if merely inserted in the common way, it
seems advisable to tie the plants to the upper ends of willow or elder rods, of two or three
feet in length, and to insert tliese in the sand, by which means there is the double chance
of the grass growing, and the truncheon taking root. The elder will grow exposed to
the sea breeze, and no plant throws out so many and such vigorous roots in proportion to
its shoots.
403 1 . The mode by which such sands were fixed in Holland was by the formation of wicker-
work embankments, and by sticking in the sands branches of trees, bushes, furze, &c.
in all directions. These obstructed the motion of the sands, and collected masses of sand,
shells or mud, and sea-weeds around them, which were immediately planted with some
description of creeping grass ; or, what was more frequent, covered with a thin coating
of clay, or alluvial earth, and sown with clover. Though the most certain and least ex-
pensive mode of gaining such lands be undoubtedly that of seconding the eflTorts of nature,
by inserting bushes, and planting the elymus in this way ; yet it may sometimes be
desirable to make a grand eflPort to protect an extensive surface, by forming a bank of
branches, which might, in a single or several tides, be filled with sand and shells. It
is evident, that such a bank might be constructed in various ways ; but that which would
be most certain of remaining firm, and effecting the purpose, would be one regularly
constructed of framed timber, the section of which would resemble a trussed roof; each
truss being joined in the direction of the bank by rafters, and the whole inside and surface
stuck full of branches. To retain it firm, piles would require to be driven into the sand,
to the upper parts of which would be attached the trusses. The height of such a barrier
would require to be several feet above that of the highest spring-tides ; and the more
its width at base exceeded the proportion of that of an equilateral triangle the better.
4032. A mode suited to a less extensive scale of operation, is to intersect a sandy shore in
all directions^ with common dead, or wicker-work hedges, formed by first driving a row
of stakes six or eight feet into the ground, leaving their tops three or four feet above it,
and then weaving among these stakes, branches of trees, or the tops of hedges. The Dutch
dre said to weave straw ropes in this way, and thereby to collect mud in the manner of
voarping. This mode being little expensive seems to deserve a trial in favorable situa-
tions ; and, in so doing, it must not be forgotten, that much depends on the immediate
management of the surface, after it is in some degree fixed. In an extensive trial of
this sort at present in progress on the west coast of Scotland, under an English gentle-
man, seeds and roots are baked in a mixture of loam and dung in the gravel, and then
formed into masses, and scattered over a sandy surface. These, from their weight, will
not, it is thought, be moved by the water or the wind ; but becoming more or less
covered with sand, the mass will be kept moist, and the seeds and roots will grow, and,
fixing themselves in the soil, will in time cover the surface with verdure. The experi-
ment is ingenious, and we hope will be crowned with success.
Sect. II- Of guarding the Banks, and otherwise improving the Course of Rivers and
Streams.
4033. The subject of guarding the banks of rivers, is of considerable interest to th6
proprietors of lands situated in hilly districts, where, in the valleys and on the hill sides,
the streams often produce ravages on the banks, and sometimes change their courses.
4034. The natural licence tf rivers, Marshal observes, is- not only destructive of
Book III.
GUARDING RIVER BANKS.
651
landed property, frequently of lands of the first quality ; but is often the cause of dis-
putes, and not unfrequently of legal contentions, between neighboring proprietors. A
river is the most unfortunate boundary line of an estate. Even as a fence, unless where
the water is unfordable, a river, or rapid brook, which is liable to high floods, is the
most tormenting and inefficient. Proprietors have therefore a double interest in ac-
commodating each other, as circumstances may require, with the lands of river banks,
so as to be al)le to fix permanent boundary lines between their properties. When the
owners of estates cannot, by reason of entails or settlements, or will not for less cogent
reasons accommodate each other, they have a line to tread which they cannot deviate
from with prudence, much less with rectitude ; namely, that of cautiously guarding
their own lands, without injuring those of their neighbors ; for a lawsuit may cost
ten times the value of the sand banks, and islets of gravel, to be gained by dexterity of
management.
4035. IVie operatio7is for improving rivers have for their object that of preventing
them from injuring their banks, accelerating their motion, and lessening the space of
ground which they occupy, or altering their site. These purposes are effected by piers
or guerdes for altering the direction of the curr&nt ; works for protecting the banks ; and
by changing or deepening the river's course.
4036. The principles on which these operations are founded axe chie^y ivfo ; first, that
water like every other body when it impinges on any surface, is reflected from it at a
similar angle to that at which it approached it ; and, secondly, thut the current of water,
other circumstances alike, is as the slope of the surface on which it runs. On the first
of these principles is founded the application of piers for reflecting currents ; and on
the second, that of straightening rivers, by which more slope is obtained in a given
length of stream, and of course greater rapidity of motion obtained.
SuBSECT. 1. On guarding River Banks,
4037. A common cause of injury to the banks of rivers is produced during floods. A
tree or branch carried down by a stream, and deposited, or accidentally fixed or retained
in its banks, will repel that part of the stream which strikes against it, and the impulse
(contracted more or less by the general current) will direct a substream against the
opposite bank. The effect of this continual action against one point of the opposite
bank is, to wear out a hole or breach ; and immediately above this breach it is customary
to place a protecting pier to receive the impulse of the substream, and reverberate it to
the middle of the general stream. But if this pier is not placed very obliquely to the
substream, as well as to the general stream, it will prove injurious to the opposite bank,
by directing a subcurrent there as great as the first ; and, indeed, it is next to impossible
to avoid this ; so much so, that Smeaton, in almost every instance in which he was con-
sulted in cases of this sort, recommended removing the obstacle where that could be done,
and then throwing loose stones into the breach.
4038. Injuries by floods, according to Marshal, are to be remedied in two ways ;
the one is to sheath the injured banks of the bays {fg- 519 o, 6, c), with such materials
as will resist the circuitous current ; and let the river remain in its crooked state. The
other, to erect piers [d), to parry off the force of the current from the bank, and direct it
forward ; with the twofold intention of preventing further mischief, and of bringing back
the course of the river to its former state of straightness. It is to be observed, that the
operation of guarding the immediate bank of a sharp river bend, against a heavy current
meeting with great resistance, by sheathing it with stones, is generally a work of much
difficulty and expense, even where materials can be easily procured : while that of divert-
ing the current by a pier may frequently be accomplished at a comparatively small
cost ; and its effect be rendered infinitely more salutary and permanent. For it is plain,
that if the accidental obstruction mentioned, had been timely removed, no bad efiect
would have ensued : and tlVe river would have continued its direct course. Or if, through
neglect, it had been suffered to remain awhile, until its mischief was discoverable ; even
then, if it had been moved from its station to the opposite side of the river, and placed
in the part affected, this small counterpoise might have recovered the balance of the cur-«
652
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
rent, and directed it into its wonted channel. And in almost any case, by judiciously
placing, in a similar manner, a pier or other obstruction proportioned to the magnitude
of the power to be counteracted, the like effect may be produced.
4039. In the use of jneis great caution is requisite, for a very little reflection will
show, that they are more likely to increase than to remedy the evil they are intended to
cure. We have seen the injurious effects of such piers on the Tay and the Dee ; and on
a part of the Jed near Crailing they are so numerous, that the stream is, to use a familiar
phrase, banded about like a foot-ball, from one shore to the other ; behind every pier an
eddy is formed, and if the stream does not strike the pier exactly, a breach in the bank takes
place. Many of these piers have, in consequence, been taken down. The vise of such piers
can only be justified where the obstruction, from ill-neighborhood or some such cause,
cannot be removed from the opposite bank ; or where, as is sometimes the case, it arises
from an island of sand or gravel thrown out by the river near its middle, and which,
however absurd it may appear, the interested parties cannot agree as to who may remove
it. The case of buildings also being in danger, may justify such a pier for immediate
protection ; but if such breaches are taken in time, a few loads of loose stones dropped
in the breach, as recommended by Smeaton, will effect a remedy without the risk of
incurring or occasioning a greater evil.
4040. In the construction of piers, attention is required to secure the foundation, either
by first throwing in a quantity of loose stones, which the water will in a great measure dis-
pose of so as to form a flat surface; or by the use of piles either under, or in single or
double rows around those parts of its base in contact with the river, [fig' 520 a.) The
elevation (b), where it is not required to act with great violence on the opposite shore,
ought to be bevelled back on all sides exposed to the water, towards the middle of the
structure (c). In the most important cases stones are the only fit materials, and these
■should be regularly jointed and laid in cement according to the best practice of masonry.
But, in general, a case of wicker work, of the proper shape, may be filled in with loose
stones, some earth, together with the roots of such plants as tussilago petasites, elymus
arenarius, gallium, &c. These will form a barrier of considerable durability for some
years, and probably till the evil is so far subdued that, when the wicker case decays, its
contents will have sufficiently consolidated to effect the object without further care. If
not, the wicker case may be renewed. In ordinary cases, a mere wicker hedge project-
ing into the water will effect the object without further trouble.
4041. The sheath, or land-guard of loose stones, which Marshal recommends, and
which, in effect, is the mode already mentioned (4037.) as preferred by Smeaton, is ap-
plicable to the following cases : First, where the river is confined in the part where it is
required to be bent, by rocks or otherwise, to ah unaltered channel ; as it frequently is,
in subalpine situations ; and, secondly, where a deep pool occurs, in that part, in low
water, so as to render it difficult to get a proper foundation for a pier. Where the
foot of the injured bank is covered with a pool at low water, shelve off the brink of
the bank, and shoot down loose stones from the top of it ; suffering them to form their
own slope, in the action of falling, and by the operation of succeeding floods^ continuing
Book III.
CHANGING THE COURSE OF RIVERS.
653
to pour them down, until the bank be secured, at least from minor floods, and then
slope back the upper part, to give freedom to floods of higher magnitude.
4042. JFhen the channel of a rapid river is narrow and the banks undermined and
washed away by the torrents, what Marshal terms the land-guard is to be used.
4043. Informing a land-guard for this purpose, he says, the foundation should be laid
pretty deep, to guard against any accidental scoopings from the floods. The wall ought
to be carried up dry, or without mortar, the stones being laid with their ends outward,
their inner ends pointing to the same centre, like those of an arch, and to be backed with
gravel, or earth, rammed in firmly behind, as the facing is carried up. The coping or
uppermost course of the stones is to be securely bound, with thick tough sods (8 or 10
inches deep), whose surfaces, when beaten down, ought to lie even with that of the stone-
work; and similar sods require to belaid, with a gently rising slope, until they unite
smoothly with the natural turf of the land to be defended ; so that the waters of floods,
when they rise above the stonework, may have no abruptness to lay hold of, but may pass
away smoothly over the surface of the land, as they commonly do over smooth greensward,
without injury. Finally, the stones are to be beaten forcibly into the bank, with a ram-
mer, a mallet, or a small battering-ram, adapted to the purpose ; thus rendering the whole
compact and firm, to resist the current. Where vacancies or fissures still appear, long splin-
ters of stone are to be driven in, as wedges, to increase the firmness, and prevent the cur-
rent from tearing out an unguarded stone. It follows, in course, that the largest and
longest of the stones ought to be used where the greatest resistance is known to be required.
4044. The repairs of a bulwark of this sort, like every other species of river fence, re-
quire to be attended to from time to time, especially after great floods. If the found-
ation be laid bare, it requires to be re-covered with rough gravel, or with stones thrown
loosely against it. If any of the facing stones be displaced or loosened, they are to be
replaced with others, or to be wedged in afresh. Or, if the turf which binds them at the
top be disturbed, the torn part should be cut out square, and be firmly and completely
filled up with fresh turves.
SuBSECT. 2. Of Changing the Course of Rivers.
4045. A river whose course is in a straight line, or nearly so, hardly ever makes any en-
croachment on its banks, unless perhaps in very large rivers, when they rise above their
usual level, either by an increase in their own waters, or their flow being in some degree
interrupted by the tides. Hence, whenever a river is narrow in its channel, and winds
considerably, any mischief it commonly occasions may be prevented by deepening and
straightening the course of the stream. {^Code of Agr. p. 319.)
4046. The alteration of the course of a river or brook is attended with diflSculty and ex-
pense, according to the particular circumstances belonging to it. In a simple case, in
which one straight cut only is required, the principal diflSculty, and that which requires the
best skill of the artist, lies in directing the current of the first flood, out of the old into
the new channel. But if a bend of the old channel can be made use of, this diflSculty
may be said to vanish. The mouth of the new cut receives the current with a straight
course; consequently, "if it be made of suflScient capacity, the river, in a flood, can have
no propensity left towards its old channel : and the loose materials which rise in forming
the mouth of the new cut, will generally be sufficient to turn the stream at low water into
it. But if a suitable bend cannot be approached by the new cut, a directing pier will be
required to bend the flood current, and give it a straightforward course into the new chan-
nel : a watertight dam being formed be^tween the point of the pier and the firm bank of the
new channel to prevent the water from regaining its wonted course.
4047. An entirely neiu bed or
channel, however, is much to
be preferred where it can be
obtained; for in an altered
course, when the stream passes
alternately through new soil
and through a part of its oldbed,
its action on surfaces which
are so different in regard to
induration ends, if great care is
not taken, in holes and guUeys
in the new bank, which require
to be constantly filled up with
loose stones thrown in, and left
to be fixed by the pressure and
motion of the water. I n the case
of a river passing near a house
{Jig. 521.) this is sometimes of considerable importance.
521
654 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
4048. Cutting the new channel is merely a work of manual labor ; being attended
with no other difficulty than what may arise from the expense, which will depend on the
size of the river, the nature of the ground to be cut through, and the value of labor
in the given district. It is mostly to be ascertained with sufficient accuracy by previous
calculations. (See 3082.)
4049. The size of the netv cut may be small, compared with that of the old channel.
For the current of floods, by carrying off the earthy particles with which they come in
contact, will soon enlarge it. It is nevertheless right to give ample room in the new
channel, lest the first flood should prove high, and, by bursting its bounds, force its way
back to its former course.
4050. u4 new river course requires to be carefully attended to, during a few years after
it is opened, — to see that its channel preserves its straightness, and that no breaches are
made or threatened in its banks. Considering the uncertainty of extraordinary floods,
it cannot be said to be out of danger in less than three years ; hence it becomes prudent,
when a work of this nature is contracted for, or undertaken to be done by measurement at
an estimated price or prices, previously agreed upon (as it generally oughtj, that the un-
dertaker should agree to preserve the straightness of the channel, and uphold its banks,
during that or some other time fixed upon ; and to deliver them up at the end of the term,
in the state and condition specified in the contract.
4051 . A case of straightening the course of a river is given in The Code of Agriculture.
The Waters, which in their crooked course were formerly almost stagnated, now run at
the ordinary rate of the declivity given them. They never overflow their banks. Cattle
can now pasture upon those grounds in which they would formerly have been swamped.
The surface of the water bi'ing now in general four, and sometimes six feet, below that
of the adjacent fields, this cut serves as a general drain to the whole valley ; so that three
hundred acres of meadow may be converted into arable land ; sixty acres of moss may be
improved into meadow; and five hundred acres of arable land are rendered of double
their former value, (p. 319.)
Chap. III.
Of Irrigation or the Improvement of Culturable Lands and Farmeries, hy the Means of
Water.
4052. The imjnovement of lands by water is of three kinds : — irrigation, or the appli-
cation of water to the surface of the soil, and especially of grass lands, as a species of
culture ; warping, or the covering the soil with water to receive a deposition of earthy
matter ; and the procuring or preserving of water by wells, reservoirs, and other means,
for the use of farmeries, live stock in the fields, or the domestic purposes of the farmer
or cottager.
Sect. I. Of Irrigation or the Preparation of the Surface of Lands for the jyrofitable
Application of Water.
4053. Irrigation in its different forms may be considered an operation of culture as
well as of permanent improvement. It is accordingly in many cases eflfected by tenants,
but always, as in the case of improving wastes, in consequence of extraordinary encou-
ragement from the landlord, by long leases, money advanced, or other advantages.
4054. The application of ivater to the surface of lands for the purpose of promoting
vegetation has been practised, as we have seen (180.), from the earliest ages in warm
countries. It is an essential article for the culture both of the cereal and pasture grasses,
and indeed of most herbaceous crops in all the tropical climates, and even in a great
degree in the south of Europe. In the greater part of Italy and Spain, few crops are raised
without being irrigated ; and even in the south of France, potatoes, maize, madder, and
sometimes vines^ and orange trees, fas at Hieres,) have water applied to their roots, by
furrows and other gutters and trenches formed on the surface. The system of watering
grass lands was revived in Italy in the ninth century, and seems to have been practised
in a few places in Britain from the time of the Romans; there being meadows near
Salisbury which have been irrigated from time immemorial. In 1610, the public atten-
tion was called to it by Rowland Vaughan, in a work entitled, " Most improved and
long experienced Water Works; containing the manrier of summer and winter drowning
of meadow and pasture, by the advantage of the least river, brook, fount, or water mill
adjacent ; thereby to make those grounds {especially if they be dry) more fertile ten for
Book III. IRRIGATION. 655
4055. But the principal efforts in watering lands have been made during the latter end
of the last, and beginning of the present century, in consequence of a treatise on the
subject by George Boswell, published in 1780 ; and various others by the Rev. Thomas
Wright, of Auld, in Northamptonshire, which appeared from 1789 to 1810. The practice,
however, has been chiefly confined to England, there being a sort of national prejudice,
as Loch has observed {Improvements on the Stafford Estates, ^c.J, against the practice in
Scotland, though its beneficial effects may be seen as far north as Sutherland, where
rills on the sides of brown heathy mountains, never fail to destroy the heath plants
within tlieir reach, which are succeeded by a verdant surface of grasses. A valuable
treatise on the subject of irrigation in Scotland, by Dr. Singer, will be found in The
General Report of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 610. In England the best examples of water-
ing are to be found in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. In our view of this subject, we
shall first consider the soils and situations suitable for irrigation, and next the different
modes of effecting it, known as flooding, irrigating, warping, irrigation on arable lands,
and subterraneous irrigation.
SuBSECT. 1. Of the Soils and Situations suitable for the purposes of Watering Lands.
4056. The theory of the operation of water on^lands we have already developed. It
appears to act as a medium of conveying food, as a stimulus, as a consolidation of mossy
soils, as a destroyer of some descriptions of weeds or useless plants, and as the cause
of warmth at one season, and of a refreshing coolness at another. From these circum-
stances, and also from what we observe in nature, there appears to be no soil or situation,
nor any climate, in which watering grass-lands may not be of service; since the banks of
streams between mountains of every description of rock, and in every temperature from
that of Lapland to the equator, are found to produce the richest grass. One circum-
stance alone seems common to all situations, which is, that the lands must be drained
either naturally or by art. The flat surfaces on every brook or river, after being covered
with water during floods, are speedily dried when they subside, by the retiring of the
waters to their channel.
4057. The most proper soils for being watered are all those which are of a sandy or
gravelly friable nature, as the improvement is not only immediate, but the effects more
powerful than on other descriptions of land. There are also some strong adhesive sour
wet lands, such as are common in the vicinity of large rivers, v.'hich are also capable of
being improved by watering, but the beneficial effects are not in such cases so soon pro-
duced as on those of the first sorts, nor is the process so advantageous to the farmer, on
account of the very great expense to which he must, in many cases, be put to by previous
draining. There are some other lands, as those which contain coarse vegetable produce
tions, as heath, ling, rushes, &c. which may likewise be much improved by watering. It
must be kept constantly in mind in attempting this sort of improvement, that the more
tenacious the soil is the greater the command of water ought to be for effecting the pur-
pose, as a stream capable of watering fifteen or twenty acres of light dry land, would be
found to be beneficial in but a small degree when applied to watering half the same
quantity of cold clayey ground such as in their natural state abound with coarse plants.
On all soils of the last kind a considerable body of water is requisite for the purpose of
floating them in order to produce much benefit, and where that cannot be procured, this
mode of improvement will seldom answer the farmer's intention or be advantageous in
the result.
4058. Smith, an experienced irrigator, supposes that " there are only a few soils to
which irrigation may not be advantageously applied : his experience, he says, has deter-
mined, that the wettest land may be greatly improved by it, and also that it is equally
beneficial to that which is dry." {Obs. on Irrigation, c^c.) But that as many persons
unacquainted with the nature of irrigation may be more inclined to the latter supposi-
tion than the former, he explains the reason of wet land being as capable of improvement
from flooding as that which is completely dry before. It is that in the construction of all
water meadows, particular care must be taken to render them perfectly dry when the
business of floating shall terminate ; and that the season for floating is in the winter and
not the summer, which those who are unacquainted with the process have too
generally supposed. All peat bogs are certainly of vegetable origin, and tliose vege-
tables are all aquatic. It follows that the same water which has produced the vege-
tables of the bog would, under due management upon the surface, produce such grasses,
or other vegetables, as are usually grown by the farmer ; and he lias hitherto had reason
to think, that this may be considered as a general rule for determining the situation of
any experiments with water. The lands that permit of this sort of improvement with
the most success are such as lie in low situations on the borders of brooks, streams, or
rivers, or in sloping directions on the sides of hills.
4059. The quality of the water, like that of marl or other manures, is supposed by
some to be a matter of the first importance ; but it is novt fully proved, by the accurate
656 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
experiments of an able chymist, and by the extraordinary growth of grasses in Pristley
meadow, in Bedfordshire, that ferruginous waters are friendly to vegetation, when pro-
perly applied. (Smithes Observations on Irrigation, p. 28.) Lead or copper never does
good, and it is well known, that waters of that description, after they have been brought
into fields, by levels cut at a considerable expense, have again been diverted, and suffered
to flow in their original channels. Waters that are impregnated with the juices that flow
from peat-mosses, are considered by many not worth applying to the soil. It is objected
to them, that they are soon frozen ; that they convey no material nutriment ; and
that they are commonly loaded with such antiseptic substances, as will retard, instead of
promoting vegetation. {Br. Singer s Treatise, p. 579.) It is urged, on the other hand,
that a want of sufl^cient slope in the meadow, or of proper management in regard to the
water, may have occasioned the disappointments experienced in some cases, when bog-
waters have been applied. {Derbyshire Report, \o\. ii. p. 463.)
4060. The advantages of watering lands must, in a material degree, depend on the
climate. It is evident that the benefit to be derived from this process in Sweden for
example, where the summers are short, must be greatly inferior to what it is in Lom-
bardy where grass grows all the year ; and much less in Perthshire, where grass ceases
to grow for at least three, and often four months in the year, than in Gloucestershire or
Ireland, where its growth is not interrupted above a month or six weeks, and sometimes
not at all : most grasses vegetating in a temperature of 33 or 34 degrees. Still, however,
as the most luxuriant pastures are found on lands naturally watered, both in Sweden and
Perthshire, it would appear worth while to imitate nature in cold as well as warm
countries. According to many writers on the sul)ject, the benefits attending watering
in England, are immense. In Davis's Survey of Wiltshire, it is calculated that 2000
acres of water meadow will, on a moderate estimate, produce in four or five years,
10,000 tons of manure, and will keep in permanent fertility 400 acres per annum of
arable land.
4061. Watering poor land, especially if of a gravelly nature, is stated in The Code
of Agriculture to be by far the easiest, cheapest, and most certain mode of improving
it. *' Land, when once improved by irrigation, is put in a state of perpetual
fertility, without any occasion for manure, or trouble of weeding, or any other material
expense. It becomes so productive, as to yield the largest bulk of hay, besides abun-
dance of the very best support for ewes and lambs in the spring, and for cows and other
cattle in the autumn of every year. In favorable situations, it produces very early grass
in the spring, when it is doubly valuable; and, not only is the land thus rendered fertile,
without having any occasion for manure, but it produces food for animals, which is con-
verted into manure, to be used on other lands, thus augmenting, in a compound propor-
tion, that great source of fertility." Were these advantages more generally known, or
more fully appreciated, a large proportion of the kingdom might become like South
Cerney, in Gloucestershire, where every spring, or rivulet, however insignificant, is
made subservient to the purpose of irrigation, fertilizing, in proportion to its size, either
a small quantity, or a large tract of land. {Gloucestershire Report, p. 280.)
SuBSECT. 2. Of the Implements made Use of in Watering Lands; and of the Terms of
Art peculiar to Works of that kind,
4062. The principal instrument made use of in the preparation of lands for watering,
is the level, different descriptions of which have already been given. The level is neces-
sarily employed to take the level of the land at a distance, compared with the part of the
river, &c. whence it is intended to take the water, to know whether it can or cannot be
made to float the part intended to be watered. It is found very useful in undertakings
of this nature, especially when on a large scale, though the workmen too frequently
dispense with the use of it, bringing the water after them to work by. In drawing a
main they begin at the head, and work deep enough to have the water to follow
them ; and in drawing a tail drain they begin at the lower end of it, and work upwards
to let the water come after them. The level should,
however, be made use of as being more certain and
correct. Brown, an experienced irrigator in the west
of England, recommends a level {fig. 522 a), which
when not in use may be closed [b) like a walking
stick. There is also a compass level {Jig. 523.), which
may be used in the same way.
4063. A line and reel, and a breast-plough, or turf
spade {Jig. 250.), are likewise absolutely necessary. The
use of the two former are well known ; but as the line
is mostly used in the wet, it should for this purpose be
larger and stronger than those employed in gardening.
The turf spade should be of the best description, being '- ^ ^
principally employed in cutting turfs for the sides of the channels.
Book III.
IMPLEMENTS OF IRRIGATION.
657
523
4064. The spades made use of in this sort
ofivork {jig. 524 a), should have the stems
considerably more crooked than those of
^ly other sort ; the bit being of iron, about
a foot wide in the middle, terminating in a
point ; a thick ridge running perpendicu-
larly down the middle, from the stem almost
to the point ; the edges on both sides should
be drawn very thin, and as they are obliged
to be kept very sharp, they should be often
ground and whetted. This necessarily wears
them away, and they soon become narrow ;
they are then used for the narrow trenches
and drains, whilst new ones are used for the wider. ^ From the stems being made
crooked, the workmen, standing in the working position in the bottom of the trench
or drain, are enabled to make them quite smooth and even. Shovels of different forms
(^Jig. 525 a, b), and a scoop for lifting water (c), are also
requisite.
4065. The crescent (Jig. 524 b) is another tool made
like the gardener's edging iron, only much larger, having
the form of a crescent, being very thin, and
well steeled, with a stem about three feet
long, and a cross handle to bear upon. It
is used for tracing out the sides of the
mains, trenches, drains, &c.
4066. The turf knife {fg. 526.) has a
scymiter-like blade, with a tread for the foot
(a.) and a bent handle (b) ; it is used for
the same purpose as the crescent, and by
some preferred.
4067. Wheelbarrows also become necessary to remove the clods to flat places;
which may be open, without sides or hinder parts.
4068. Handbarrows are likewise sometimes made use of where the ground is too
soft to admit of the wheelbarrows, and where clods require to be removed during the
time the meadow is in water.
4069. Three-wheel carts, ^c. are, however, necessary, when large quantities of earth
are to be removed, particularly when it is carried to some distance.
4070. Scythes, of different sorts, {fig. 527 a, b), are required to mow the weeds and
grass, when the water is running in the trenches, drains, &c.
4071. Besides these, forks (c), and long four or five tinedhacksj are requisite to pull
527
^"T
4]
out the roots of the sedge, rushes, reed, &c. which grow in the large mains and drains.
The crooks should be made light, and have long stems, to reach wherever the water is so
deep that the workmen cannot work in it.
4072. And stout large water-proof boots, having tops so as to draw up half the length
of the thigh, are indispensable ; they must be large enough to admit a quantity of hay
to be stuffed down all round the legs, and be kept well tallowed, to resist the running
water for a length of time.
4073. The terms made tise of are very dififerent.
4074. A ware is an erection across a river, brook, rivulet, main, &c. made often of
timber only, sometimes of bricks, or stones and timber, with from two to eight, or ten
thoroughs (openings) to let the water through, according to the breadth of the stream.
Its height is always equal to the depth of the stream compared with the adjacent land.
Its use is, when the hatches are all in their proper places, to stop the whole current, that
the water may rise high enough to overflow the banks, and spread over the adjoining
Uu
658
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
land ; or, by stopping the water in its natural course, turn it through mains, cut to
convey it another way, to some distant lands, to water them.
4075. A sluice {Jig. 528 a, b) is made exactly as a ware, only it has but one thorough ;
for if there are more than one, it becomes a ware.
528
Fs==^-=f^
-w
4076. A trunk is a covered sluice, being constructed in all cases where two streams
of water are to cross each other at the point of discharge, to serve as a bridge.
4077. A carriage is a sort of small wooden or brick aqueduct, built open, for the
purpose of carrying one stream over another, and is the most expensive conveyance
belonging to the business of watering.
4078. A drain sluice, or drain trunk, signifies such as are placed in the lowest part of
a main, as near to the head as a drain can be formed, and situated low enough to drain
the main, &c. It is placed with the mouth at the bottom of the main, being let down
into the bank ; and from its other end a drain is cut to communicate with some trench-
drain that is nearest. It is a contrivance used to carry off the leakage through the
hatches when they are shut down, to convey the water to other grounds, or to repair the
main, &c.
4079. Hatches, (Jig. 528 c) are floodgates, variously constructed. A particular
kind, which have about a foot, to take off, so as to permit the water to flow over that
much of the hatch where it appears to be useful in irrigation has been in use, but is not
found to answer. They are best when made whole ; they may be made of any timber,
but oak and elm are the best.
4080. The term head main is used to signify a ditch drawn from the river, rivulet, &e.
to convey the water out of its usual current to water the lands laid out for that purpose,
through the means of lesser mains and trenches. The head main is drawn of various
breadths and depths, according to the quantity of land to be watered ; to the length, or to
the fall or descent of the land it is cut through. And it often happens that smaller mains
are taken out of the head main ; the only difference between them is, the one being much
less than the other, and are mostly cut at, or nearly at, right angles with the other, though
sometimes many degrees less. The use of both the large and small mains is to feed the
various trenches with water, which branch out into all parts of the meadow, and convey the
water to float the land. These smaller mains are by some called carriages, but impro«
perly, for it is confounding them with the open trunk, called by that name, as seen above.
4081. The trench is a narrow shallow ditch, made to take the water out of the mains to
float the land with. It ought always to be drawn in a straight line from angle to angle,
with as few turnings as possible. It is never made deep, but the width is in proportion
to the length it runs, and the breadth of the pane, between that and the trench drain. It
is always cut gradually narrower and narrower to the lower end.
4082. The trench drain is cut parallel to the trench, and as deep as tlie tail drain
water will admit when necessary. It ought always to be cut, if possible, so as to
come down to a firm stratum of sand, gravel, or clay. If the latter, a spade's depth into
it will be of great advantage ; its use is to carry away the water immediately after it has
run over the panes from the trench. It need not be drawn up to the head of the land,
by five, six, or more yards, according to the nature of the soil. Its form is the reverse of
the trench, being narrower at the head, or upper part, and gradually wider and wider, till
it comes to the lower end and empties itself into the tail drain, which is a receptacle for all
the water that runs out of the other drains, that are so situated as not to empty themselvea
into the river ; and therefore it should run nearly at right angles with the trenches,
but, in general, the preference is given to draw it in the lowest part of the ground, and to
use it to convey the water out of the meadow where there is the greatest descent ; this is
generally found in one of the fence ditches : for which reason a fence ditch is mostly used
for that purpose, answering two purposes, fencing the meadow, and draining it at the
same time.
4083. A pane of ground is that part of the meadow which lies between the trench and
the trench drain, and is the part on which the grass grows that is mown for hay ; it is wa-
Book III. TERMS OF IRRIGATION. 659
tered by the trenches and drained by the trench drains, consequently there is one on each
side of every trench. And a way pane is that part of the ground which lies in a properly
watered meadow, on that side of a main where no trenches are taken out, but is watered
the whole length of the main over its banks; a drain runs parallel with the main to drain the
way pane ; its use is for a road to convey the hay upon out of the meadows, instead of
the teams crossing all the trenches.
4084. The term bend is applied to a stoppage made in various parts of those trenches
which have a quick descent, to obstruct the water. It is made by leaving a narrow slip
of greensward across the trench, where the bend is intended to be left, cutting occasionally
a piece, wedge fashion , out of the middle of it. Its use is to check the water, and force
it over the trench into the panes ; which, if it were not for those bends, would run rapidly
on in the trench, and not flow over the land, as it passes along. The great art of watering
meadows consists in giving to every part of each pane an equal quantity of water.
4085. A gutter is a small groove cut out from the tails of those trenches, where the
panes run longer at one corner than the other. Its use is to carry the water to the extreme
point of the pane. Those panes which are intersected by the trench and tail drains meet-
ing in an obtuse angle, want the assistance of thesfe gutters to convey the water to the
longest side. Another use of them is, when the land has not been so well levelled but
some parts of the panes lie higher than they ought, a gutter is then drawn from the
trench over that high ground, which otherwise would not be overflowed. Without this
precaution, unless the flats were filled up (which ought always to be done when materials can
be had to do it) , the water will not rise upon it : and after the watering season is past,
those places would appear rusty and brown, whilst a rich verdure would overspread the
others ; and at hay-time the grass in those places would be scarce high enough for the
scythe to touch it, whilst that around them, which has been properly watered, will from
its luxuriancy lie down. Though this method of treating those places is mentioned, it
ought always to be reprobated ; for every inequality in water meadows should either be
levelled down or filled up. Here the irrigator's skill is shown, in bringing the water over
those places where it could not rise of itself, and in carrying it off from others where it
would otherwise stagnate.
4086. The term catch drain is sometimes applied to another method made use of to
water the land when the water is scarce, and it is this : when a meadow is pretty long
and has a quick descent, the water runs swiftly down those drains, one or more of tjiem are,
at a proper place, close stopped, till the water flowing thither rises higher and higher,
either till it strikes back into the tail drains, so high as to rise upon the sides of the
panes (in that case it will not succeed, and must be cut open again to let the water free),
or till it flows over the banks of the drain, and waters the ground below; then the design
succeeds, and (in proportion to the quantity of water thus collected) it is to be conveyed
upon the land, either in a small main, out of which trenches are to be drawn with their pro-
per drains, or by trenchep taken immediately out of it. But a catch drain is by no means
recommended ; and it is broper to remark, that even when this method succeeds, the water
having been so lately strained over the ground, it is supposed by the watermen to be not so
enriching as it was before it was used, and therefore nothing but absolute necessity can
justify its adoption.
4087. The bed of a river, main, trench, &c. is the bottom of them.
4088. The term pond means water standing upon the land, or in the tail drain, trench
drains, &c. so as to injure the ground near them; and is occasioned sometimes by the flats
not having l)een properly filled up ; and at other times, when a ware being shut close, to
water some high ground above it, the water is thrown back upon the ground contiguous.
In this case the lesser evil, whichever it is, must be borne with.
4089. And a turn of water means so much land in a meadow as can be watered at one
time. It is done by shutting down the hatches in all those wares where the water is in-
tended to be kept out, and opening those that are to let the water through them. The
quantity of land to be watered by one turn, must vary with the size of the river, main,
&c. as well as with the plenty or scarcity of water.
4090. The head of a meadow is that part into which the river, main, &c. first enters ;
and the tail of a meadow is that part out of which the river, &c. last passes.
4091. The upper side of a maiuy or trench, is that side which (when the main or trench
is drawn at, or nearly at, right angles with the river, &c.) fronts the part from whence the
river entered. Consequently the lower side is the reverse.
4092. And the upper pane \x\ a meadow is that pane which lies upon the upper side of
the main, or trench, t])at is drawn at right angles with the river : that is, when the river, &c.
runs north and south, entering at the north, and the mains and trenches are drawn east
and west, all those panes, which li^ on the north side of the main, &c. are called the upper
panes, those on the soutli side are called the lower. But it may be noticed, that where
the mains, trenches, &c. run parallel with the river, the panea on either side are not dis-
tinguished from each other.
Uu 2
660 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
4093. Meadows are of two sorts ; flowing, calculated for a fiat country ; and catch-work,
for sloping grounds.
4094. Flowing meadows. Where the ground is flat, the soil is formed into beds, or
broad ridges, like those met with at bleach-fields. They are commonly from 30 to 40 feet
wide, and nine or ten poles in length ; as, in such situations, the great object is, when
once brought on, to be able to carry off' the water quickly. Hence it is necessary to throw
up the land in high ridges, with drains between them, More of the failures in irrigation
arise, from the ridges not being suflftciently high, and the slopes not being suflSciently
steep, than from any other cause. (Code.)
4095. Catch-work meadows. It is diflScult to give an intelligible written description
of the mode of making these meadows. To be properly understood, the operation must
be seen, "t may, however, in general be remarked, that the system is calculated for slop-
ing groun o ; and that after the water is brought from the original stream, into a new
cut, it is stopped at the end, on as high a level as the case admits of, by which the water is
made to fill the trench, and run over at the side, and flood the land below it. But as the
water would soon cease to run equally, and would wash the land out in gutters, it has
been found necessary to cut small parallel trenches, at the distance of from 20 to SO feet,
to catch the water again (hence the name originated), and the same plan of spreading or
diffusing is continued, until the water reaches the main drain at the bottom of the mea-
dow. It is a great advantage attending the catch-work system, that it is not only less
expensive, but the same quantity of water will do much more work. (Code.)
SuBSECT. 3, Of the Preparation of Surfaces for Irrigation,
4096. Artificial irrigation^ Smith observes, is produced by diverting the water of a
brook out of its accustomed channel (where there is a fall) in such a manner that the new
watercourse being kept nearly level, the space between the old and new channel may be
floated ; the water being brought upon the land by the new channel and taken away to
the old one. Thus a constant discharge and succession of water is retained without
such an accumulation as would make it appear bright upon the land, or without such a
deficiency as would leave any part of it not perfectly floating, for the art of irrigation
may be most properly called floating, not soaking nor drowning. Soaking the soil,
similar to the eflfects produced from a shower of rain, is not suflScient for the general pur-
poses of irrigation, nor will damming up water and keeping it stagnant upon the surface
like that in a pond, or on the fens, produce the desired effect.
4097. Stagnating water on land may properly be called drowning, because it drowns
or covers all the grass, thereby rendering the plants beneath it in some degree aquatic,
or the herbage disposed to make such a change ; whereas the herbage of a water meadow
should, by the construction and good management of the latter, enjoy the fulLbenefits of
both the elements of air and water. Practice has proved that there is no better method of
doing this, than by keeping water passing over the surface of the land with a brisk cur-
rent ; not so brisk as to wash away the soil, and yet in sufficient quantity to cover
and nourish the roots, but not too much to hide the shoots of the grasses : hence
appears the nicety of adjusting the quantity of water; and hence it also appears,,
that one main drain to bring the water on the upper side of the mead, and another
on the lower side to take it away, will not be adequate to all the purposes of sucb
an accurate regulation. If the space between the upper channel or main feeder, and the
lower one or main drain, should therefore be wider than is proper for the good adjust-
ment of the water, that is, so that every part of the space shall have enough water passing
over it and no part too much, then that space must be divided into smaller spaces by in-
termediate drains, which shall catch and re- distribute the water. As the water is brought
by the main feeder upon the higher side of a piece of ground which slopes towards the
main drain, and down which sloping surface the water will run very readily, it does not
to persons unacquainted with irrigation, at first sight appear necessary to make such a
number of intermediate catch drains ; but it is proved by experience, that however re-
gular the slope of ground may appear to the eye, that the water will find a number of
irregularities, forcing itself into gutters or channels, and defeat the purposes of irrigation ;
in the hollow places by excess, and in high ones by the want of water. Jlence the
water, which was scattered over the surface of the first space, being all collected in the
catch drain, may by the skill of the floater be let out upon those parts of the bed below
which appear to need the most assistance.
4098. The work should always he well formed at first in all cases of improvements of
this nature. Temporary means of making dams and hatches to divert the water out of
its usual channel may, says Smith, " sufiSce to try an experiment, or for a tenant who
has but a short term in the grounds to be irrigated ; but every land-owner who enters
upon such work in this temporary m.anner, sadly mistakes his own interest ; indeed it is
frequently more difficult to repair than to renew upon large streams when the foundations
Are often destroyed by the force of the water. The same principle holds good upon
Book III. IRRIGATION. 661
small streams, and even in the drains and feeders of a water meadow. Wherever
the channels are so constructed as to make a fall, or much increase the rapidity of the
stream, it is constantly disposed to wear away the sides of its channel or undermine a
dam. To repair these defects, land must be dug away and wasted each time it is re-
placed witii the loss of labor. The consequent ill management of the water renders it
more advisable, and perhaps cheaper, to make all such works of masonry- When works
are well done at first the owner ever finds much pleasure in viewing them ; and even
the laborers feel much more interested in their good management.
4099. The expenses of making a water meadow are not easily estimated. Much de-
pends on the original state of the ground, the size and fall of the streams to be used, the
cost of hatches and length of the main feeders, which may be necessary for diverting the
water out of its orighial channel, and even upon the charge for levelling land, which
differs materially. Some soils are much harder and more difficult to move than others,
and in certain situations, building materials are very scarce and dear. This last circum-
stance must make a considerable variation in the price of the hatches, where the stream is
large. It is also impossible to tell with any degree of certainty, what proportion these ex-
penses should bear to the quantity of land irrigated, for some situations will require
much more masonry than others.
4 100. Before entering upon the execution of a water meadow, it is necessary to consider
fully, whether the stream of water to be made use of will admit of a temporary wear or
dam to be formed across it, so as to keep the water up to a proper level for covering the'
land without flooding or injuring other adjoining grounds; or if the water be in its na-
tural state sufficiently high without a wear or dam ; or to be made so by taking it from
the stream higher up more towards its source ; and by the conductor keeping it up nearly
to its level till it comes upon the meadow or other ground. And still further, whether
the water can be drawn off the meadow or other ground in as rapid a manner as it is brought
on. And having in addition to these an attention to all such other difficulties and ob-
structions as may present themselves, from the lands being in lease through which it may be
necessary to cut or form the mains or grand carriers, from the water being necessary for turn-
ing mills, from the rivers or brooks not being wholly at the command of the irrigator, and
from small necks of land intervening, so as to prevent the work from being performed to
the greatest advantage, the operator may be in a situation to commence his operations.
4101. In order to have an equal distribution and ni^event waste, S^nith states, that na
part of a meadow, either in catch work or beds, should be so formed as to be floated di-
rectly from the main feeder ; but all the main feeders should be ke])t high enough to
discharge the water into the small feeders with considerable velocity and through a nar-
row opening. The motion of water is truly mechanical ; it requires a great deal of
ingenuity, and a perfect knowledge of lines and levels to make it move over the ground
in a proper manner. No two pieces of land being exactly alike, renders it still more
difficult to set out a water meadow ; but even if the figure of two pieces be alike, the
inequalities of surface will proI)ably vary. Each meadow, therefore, requires a different
design, unless the land owner makes up his mind to the heavy expenses of paring off*
banks, and filling up such hollows as may be necessary to reduce it to some regular me-
thod. The construction to be varied according to the nature of the ground. This
constitutes the difference between the water meadows of Berkshire and Devonshire,
Those of the latter are upon small streams carried round the sides of the hills, and are
chiefly catch- work ; those of the former being near large rivers and boggy ground, arc
thrown up into ridges to create a brisk motion in the Avater, and also for the essential
purpose of draining off' all superfluous moisture, which might be injurious to the grasses
when shut up for feeding or mowing. Where tliere is much floating to be done with a
little water, or rather where the great fall of a small stream will admit of its being car-
ried over a vast quantity of ground and used several times, it is desirable to employ it in
such a way that the meadows so irrigated mutt not be exhibited as perfect models.
If it should answer the purpose of a coat of manure upon such an extent of ground,
it is all that can be expected, and will amply repay the expense. Losing fall is wasting
water.
4102. The drains of a water meadoiv require no greater declivity than is necessary to
carry the water from the surface, therefore the water ought to be collected and used again
at every three feet of the fall, if it be not catch-work. It is sometimes difficult to do
this in bed-work meads, but where the upper part of the meadow is catch-work or in
level beds, and the lower part not too much elevated, it may be done. By collecting
and using the water again in the same piece of ground before it falls into tl:e brook, a sci
of hatches is saved, and it is not necessary to be very particular about getting the upper yntt
into high ridges, since that part of the meadow which is near the hatches generally be-
comes the best, and the \owet end of the field being often tlie wettest or most boggy in
its original state, requires to be thrown up the highest. If the land is of a drv absorbent
U u 3
662
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
r —
1
a.
d
c
^^=1
-^
b
a
d
^
nature before floating, it is not necessary that it should be thrown up into high beds, but
merely as much inclined as will give the water a current.
4103. Inclined planes are absolutely necessary for tlie purpose of irrigation* To form
these between straight and parallel lines, it is necessary to dig away land where it is too
high, and move it to those places where it is too low, to make such an uniformity of sur-
face. The new made ground will of course settle in hollows proportioned to the depth
of loose matter which has been recently put together, but this settlement will not take
place until the new soil has been completely soaked and dried again j therefore these de-
fects cannot be remedied before the second or third year of watering : it will then require
more skill to manage a water meadow for the three or four first years, than it can after-
wards.
4104. Properly to construct a water meadow is much more difficult than is commonly
imagined. It is no easy task to give an irregular surface that regular yet various figure
which shall be fit for the overflowing of water. It is very necessary for the operator to
have just ideas of levels, lines, and angles ; a knowledge of superficial forms will not be
suflficient; accurate notions of solid 529
geometry (obtained from theory or prac-
tice) are absolutely necessary to put
such a surface into the form proper for
the reception of water without the trou-
ble and expense of doing much of the
work twice over. {Obs. on Irrigation^
4105. As an example of irrigating a ^|
meadow from both sides of a river we
take the following case from Boswell's '^
treatise. From the upper part of the
grounds, two main drains (Jig. 529 a, a)
axe formed at right angles to the river,
one running north the other south,
across the meadow, to within about six
yards of the fence ditches which sur-
ro.und it (6), and are used. for tail
drains : by means of these fence ditches the water is discharged into the river. A wear
erected across the river forces the water into either of the main drains, which is
done by shutting the other wear close. When there is not water enough, or it is not
convenient to water both parts of the meadow at once, by shutting close one of the
wears, the current is forced into that main whose wear is open, thence to be conveyed
through the trenches over the panes, to water that side of the meadow ; then by shutting
that, and opening the other, the opposite main is filled, and by means of the trenches
that side of the meadow is watered in the same manner ; and lastly, by shutting them
both, and opening the river wear, the water flows in its usual course, and the land on both
sides is laid dry. From the main drains (a, a) the water flows along the highest part, or
crowns of the ridges in the trenches (c), and is carried ofi'to the tail drains by the tiench
drains (rf).
4106. As an example of an irregular surface watered from one side of a river, we shall
have recourse to the same author. There is a wear {fg. 530 e) erected across the river,
and another across the head-
main (o), from which proceed
three main and branch trenches
(g, g, g, and/, f), which
water the whole meadow.
There is a tail drain [b) for
carrying off the whole of the
water by means of the drain
trenches (d, d). The water
having thus passed over the
field, is -returned to the river
by the tail drain, already men-
tioned. When it is desired to
withhold the water, the wear of
the head main (a) is shut, and
that of the river (e) opened.
It will be observed, that in this
design there are branch trenches
(/» f)> a"d various gutters {h, A), taken out of the ends of some of the trenches, to carry
Book III.
IRRIGATION*
663
the water to the longest corner of the panes, and sometimes taken out of different parts
of the trendies, to water some httle irregularities in the panes, which, without such assist-
ance, would not have any water upon them. There is a sluice (i) erected at the end of
one of the small mains, to force the water into the branch trench adjoining (/), that bein^
the highest ground.
4107. A vert/ complete piece of irrigation (Jig. 531.) was formed for the Duke of Bed-
ford, by Smith, at Pristley. The water is supplied from a brook (a), to a main feeder
with various ramifications (b, b', the surface is formed into ridges (c, c), over which the
water flows, and is carried oif by tlie drains in their furrows ( rf, rfi , to the main drains (e, e) ,
and to the brook at different places (/,/,/)• There are bridges (g) over the main
feeders, small arches over the main discharging drains {h^, and three hatches {().
4108. As an example of catch-work loateringy we may refer to a case {jig. 532.), give»
in a recent work by John Brown [Tieatisi on Irrigation, 1817.) In this the field of
operations being u.i the steep =..Jc of a hill, a mam carrier u led from the sluice (a),
directly across the declivity {b), and lateral feeders ic) taken out from it at regular dis-
tances. These feeders have stops of turf, at regular distances (d), by which raea^s
the water is dispersed. After watering a space of from twenty to forty feet in breadth, it
Uu4
664 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt III.
is again collected by the small drains in the furrows, and returned lower down to
another feeder. The advantage of this method, Browne observes, " relates more
materially to the sides of hills, and to porous soils that are by some thought inca-
pable of being watered. The chief point is to get the water to the highest level
possible ; and in case the soil be porous, one main carrier only will require puddling, in
order to prevent the water from sinking away : when that is done, no difficulty what-
ever is found in taking it in small streams vertically, or directly down the slope
(c), and putting stops (d) to arrest its progress occasionally, which will throw it on
each side ; and when those stops are placed one above another, it will have the eflfect of
spreading the water on the land, somewhat similar to a fan when extended. The stops
need only be sods or turfs, one laid lengthways in the gutter, and one across it, which
may be raised or lowered according to the declivity : these sods or turfs will require
probably a small wooden peg to fasten them at first ; and by the time the land requires
a second watering, the roots of the grass will have sufficiently fastened them ; and they
need not be removed, unless occasionally for the purpose of watering any separate part
below, when the stream may be too small to water the whole piece at once ; and the
small cuts for conveying the water will be less expensive in cleaning, not being so liable
to choke up as those carried on what is termed horizontal or level gutters.
4109. As an example of the benefit of flooding, we refer to Loch Ken, in Kircud-
brightshire, the most striking instance known in Great Britain of advantage being de-
rived from the inundations of a lake. At the head of that beautiful piece of water,
there is a flat of about 240 statute acres, which is rendered, by flooding, one of the richest
spots in Scotland. Many acres in it produce at the rate of three tons of hay each, and
some parts of it have been cropped with grain for twenty-five years in succession, with-
out any manure, except what it receives frpm the inundations it experiences. These,
however, leave behind them a variety of enriching substances. {Statistical Account of
Scotland, vol. iv. 260.)
41 10. Floating upwards. The ancient and now obsolete practice of flooding, or, as
it was termed, of floating upwards, was practised in various parts of the kingdom. For
that purpose, the water was penned, in times of floods, by means of a dam or floodgate
across the bottom of the meadow or flat to be watered. The waters were not suffered
to remain long upon the land, but were let off as soon as it was judged that they had
deposited their sediment. The benefit arising from this method of using floodwaters, it
is said, was considerable ; but when the improved mode of irrigation, by floating ridges
was introduced, and found more advantageous, the other was discontinued. (^MarshaVs
Midland Counties, Minute 27.)
4111. Watering land by machinery. If the land be put in a proper form for irrigation,
and supplied with a good stream at proper seasons, there can be no difference from the
method of getting it on the surface ; and if all other circumstances are equally favor-
able, the same fertility may be expected from water thrown up by a drain-mill, as
that which runs from a brook. (Smith's Observations on Water Meadows, &c. p. 93.)
A cheap and effectual power for raising water in sufficient quantities to flow about ten
acres at a time, would be an invaluable acquisition ; for a productive water meadow is
probably the true mark of perfection, in the management of a farm. (Middlesex Report,
p. 322.)
4112. Sea water. Smith suggests the idea of employing machinery, to raise not only
fresh, but even sea water, for irrigation. (Observations, p. 87.) It is well known, how
much all kinds of stock are improved by salt marshes, and how beneficial to them, is a
moderate quantity of saline matter. There are many parts of the kingdom where, by
the aid of machinery, these advantages might be obtained at a moderate expense.
(^Code.)
4113. The exjyense of irrigation varies according to the nature of the work. Where
the catch-work system is practicable, in favorable situations, the forming may be done
as low as ten shillings per acre. This fact is, in many cases, decisively in favor of this
natural and simple mode, which requires also much less water, and often answers fully
as well as flat flooding. {General Report, vol. ii. p. 598.) The expense of bed -work,
as it is called, is, however, considerable. If the ground to be flooded, be smooth on its
surface, or in regular ridges, and if the water can easily be brought to the meadow, with
a temporary wear, supposing the extent to be almost twenty acres, it may be done at from
51. to 10^ per acre ; but if the land be of large extent, with an irregular surface ; if
a. large conductor, and a proper wear shall be required, with hatches both in it, and also
in the feeders ; and if the aid of a professional person, to lay out and oversee the work,
be necessary, (which is generally the case), the expense will vary from 10/. to 20/. per
acre. (General Report, vol. ii. p. 598.) Nay, in Wiltshire, where they are anxious to have
their meadows formed in the most perfect manner, with that regularity which the nice
adjustment of water demands, the expense per acre has amounted to 40/. (Smith's
Observatioris on Irrigation^ p» 56.)
Book in. WARPING. 665
4114. Objections to irrigation have been made on the supposition that it renders a
country unhealthy; but as the water is continually kept in motion, this is not likely to
be the case, and indeed is found not to be so in Gloucestershire, Lombardy, and other
countries where it is extensively practised. Others think that though the produce may be
increased, it becomes in a few years of so course a nature, mixed with rushes, and water
plants, that cattle frequently refuse to eat it, and when they do, their appearance proclaims
that it is far from being of a nutritious quality. {Rutland Report, p. 114.) But this
objection is never applicable to meadows skilfully made, and properly managed ; and
whenever the grasses are coarse, they should be cut earlier if intended for hay. Rushes
and water plants are proofs that the meadow lies too flat and is ill managed. (Code.)
4115. The jrrincipal impediments to irrigation are the claims of different individuals
on one stream, as millers, canal owners, &c. ; the intermixture of property and interests ;
and the existence in some cases of adverse leases.
4116. The formation and arrangement of surfaces for irrigation, however simple in
principle, is in practice one of the most difficult operations of agricultural improvement.
Whoever, therefore, contemplates extensive and intricate works of this kind, will find it
desirable to call in the assistance of a professor ^nd contractor of reputation. In Glou-
cestershire there are a class of men known as *' flooders," who have under them a com-
pany of men accustomed to every part of the work, and who accompany their chief to
execute works in any part of the country.
Sect. II. Of Warping, or tlie Improvement of Land by Muddy Water.
4117. Warj)ing is a mode of fertilizing lands by depositing a coat of mud on their
surface. This may be practised on the borders of large rivers and estuaries, into which
sea tides flow ; or where floods are frequent,, provided, however, that in either case the
waters contain alluvial matters in a state of suspension. According to the best inform-
ation that can be obtained (Marshal, in R. JEcon. of York. 1788. Day, West Riding
Report, p. 171.), warping was first practised on the banks of the Humber, by one Barker,
a small farmer at RawclifF, between 1730 and 1740. It was afterwards extended by
Richard Jennings, of Armin, near Howden, in 1743; but it was about the year 1753
before it was attempted by any other person. It was first brought into notice by Marshal,
in 1788, and subsequently in the Report of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and is now
practised by various proprietors and farmers on the Humber, the Trent, and other rivers.
It has been long practised in Italy (267.) in a somewhat different manner to what it is
in this country, and may be considered as of Egyptian origin
4118. The theory of warping is thus given by Arthur Young. The waters of the
tides that come up the Trent, Ouze, Dun, and other rivers which empty themselves into
the great estuary of the Humber, is muddy to an excess ; insomuch that in summer, if a
cylindrical glass, twelve or fifteen inches long, be filled with them, it will presently deposit an
inch, and sometimes more, of what is called warp. Where this warp comes from is a dispute.
The Humber, at its moutli, is clear water ; and no floods in the countries washed by the
warp rivers bring it, but, on the contrary, do much mischief by spoiling the warp. In
the very driest seasons and longest droughts, it is best and most plentiful. The im-
provement is perfectly simple, and consists in nothing more than letting in the tide at
high water to deposit the warp, and permitting it to run off' again as the tide falls ; this
is the aim and effect. But to render it efficacious, the water must be at command, to
keep it out and let it in at pleasure ; so that there must not only be a cut or canal made
to join the river, but a sluice at the mouth to open or shut, as wanted ; and that the
water may be of a proper depth on the land to be warped, and also prevented flowing over
contiguous lands, whether cultivated or not, banks are raised around the fields to be
warped, and from three or four to six or seven feet high, according to circumstances.
Thus, if the tract be large, the canal which takes the water, and which, as in irrigation,
might be called the grand carrier, may be made several miles long : it has been tried as
far as four, so as to warp the lands on each side the whole way, and lateral cuts made in
any direction for the same purpose ; observing, however, that the effect lessens as you
recede from the river ; that is, it demands longer time to deposit wai-p enough for pro-
ducing benefit.
4119. The effect of warping is very different from that of irrigation ; for it is not the
water that works the effect, but the mud, so that in floods the business ceases, as also in
winter ; and it is not to manure the soil, but to create it. What the nature of the land
may be intended to be warped, is not of the smallest consequence: a bog, clay, sand,
peat, are alike eligible : as the warp raises it in one summer from six to sixteen inches
thick ; and in the hollows or low places, two, three, or four feet, so as to leave the whole
piece level. Thus a soil of any de[)th you please is formed, which consists of mud of a
vast fertility, though containing not much besides sand and gravel.
4120. In respect to the method of executing the work, it is described in the following
Uianner in The Agricultural Survey of the West Riding of Yorkshire, by Lord Hawke.
666 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III,
The land to be warped must be banked round against the river. The banks are made of
the earth taken on the spot from the land : they must slope six feet; that is, three feet
on each side of the top or crown of the bank, for every foot perpendicular of rise : their
top or crown is broader or narrower, according to the impetuosity of the tide, and the
weight and quantity of water ; and it extends from two feet to twelve : their height is
regulated by the height to which the spring tides flow, so as to exclude or let them in at
pleasure. In these banks, there are more or fewer openings, according to the size of the
ground to be warped, and to the cljoice of the occupier ; but in general they have only
two sluices; one called the floodgate, to admit; the other called the clough, to let off
the water gently ; these are enough for ten or fifteen acres: when the spring tide begins
to ebb, the floodgate is opened to admit the tide, the clough having been previously
shut by the weight of the water brought up the river by the flow of the tide. As the
tide ebbs down the river, the weight or pressure of water being taken from the outside
of the clough next the river, the tide water that has been previously admitted by the flood-
gate opens the clough again, and discharges itself slowly but completely through it.
The doughs are walled on each side, and so constructed as to let the water run off,
between the ebb of the tide admitted, and the flow of the next ; and to this point par-
ticular attention is paid. The floodgates are placed so high as only to let in the spring
tides when opened. They are placed above the level of the common tides. Willows
are also occasionally planted on the front of the banks, to break the force of the tides, and
defend the banks by raising the front of them with warp thus collected and accumulated :
but these willows must never be planted on the banks, as they would destroy them by
giving the winds power to shake them.
4121. The season for warjnng begins in the month of July, and proceeds during the
summer season, and as this sort of business can only be performed at that season, every
occasion of having it executed should be embraced, l)y having the work in perfect repair,
that every tide may be made to produce its full effect. With regard to the advantage
of doing this work in the summer months, it may be remarked that at these times the
lands not only become the soonest dry, a circurastcince which must always fully take
place before the process of cultivation can be carried on, but the tides are less mixed
with fresh water, in which condition they are constantly found the most effectual.
4122. In regard to the expense of this mode of improving lands, it must differ much in
different cases, according as the circumstances of situation and distance vary ; but it
can seldom exceed 12/. or 15/. the acre, according to Young, and in most instances
it must be greatly below such estimates. But it is remarked by Day, in The Agricultural
Survey of the same district, that no estimate can be made without viewing the
situation of the lands to be warped, and the course and distance it will be necessary to
carry the warp to such lands : 1st, The situation of the lands must be considered ; 2d, The
quantity of land the same drains and doughs will be sufficient to warp ; Sd, The expense
of building the doughs, cutting the drains, embanking the lands, &c. An estimate
of these expenses being made, then it will be necessary to know the number of acres
such doughs and drains will warp, before any estimate per acre can be made ; there-
fore it will be easy to conceive that the greater quantity of land the same doughs and
drains will warp, the easier the expense will be per acre. In Day's opinion, there are great
quantities of land in the country, which might be warped at so small an expense, as
from 4/. to 8/, per acre, which is nothing in comparison to the advantages which arise
from it. He has known land which has been raised in value by warping, from 51 to
upwards of 40/. and 50/. per acre; therefore it is easy to conceive that the greatest ad-
vantages arise upon the worst land, and the more porous the soil the better, as the wet
filters through, and it sooner becomes fit for use. The advantages of warping are very
great ; as, after lands have been properly warped, they are so enriched thereby, that
they will bring very large crops for several years afterwards without any manure ; and
when it is necessary, the lands might be warped again by opening the old drains, which
would be done at a very trifling expense, and woul.l bring crops in succession for many
years, with very little or no tillage at all, if the lands were kept free frou) quick grass,
and other weeds, which must be the case in all lands where they are properly managed ;
besides, the drains which are made for the purpose of warping are the best drains
that can be constructed for draining the lands at the time they are not used for warping,
which is another very great advantage in low lands.
4123. T'he best mode of cultivating new-warped land must depend principally on the
nature of the warp and of the subsoil. In The Code of Agriculture it is recommended
to sow it with clover, and to let it lie under that crop for two years, in order that it
may be brought into a state fit for corn. It does not answer to sow land, immediately
after it is warped, with wheat, even though fallowed; but after white or red clover for
two years, a good crop of wheat may generally be relied on. Nor is it proper, when
land is warped, to plant it with potatoes, or to sow it with flax, being at first of too cold
a nature ; though these crops may answer, if the land be not too strong for potatoes,
Book III. SUBTERRANEOUS IRRIGATION. 667
after it has been for two or three years in cultivation. In the quality of warped land, there
are most essential differences, some will be very strong, and in the same field some will
be very friable. The land nearest the drain is in general the lightest, owmg to the
quantity of sand that is deposited as soon as the water enters the field ; the land farthest
from the drain is in general the best. The produce of warped land varies much, but
in general it may be stated as abundant. (Code, 315.)
SuBSECT. 1. Of the Irrigation of Arable Lands and of Subterraneous Irrigation.
4124. The irrigation of arable lands is imiversal in warm countries, and even in the
south of France and Italy. The land is laid into narrow beds, between which the
water is introduced in furrows during the growth of the crop, and absorbed by the soil.
In other cases, the crop is grown in drills and the water introduced between each row
in the furrow. In this mode of irrigation no collecting drains are required, as the
whole of the water laid on is absorbed by the soil. The principal expense of this oper-
ation is that of preparing the lands by throwing the surface into a proper level or levels;
the main or carrier is conducted to the higher part of the field, and the rest is easy.
A particular description of the practice, as carried on in Tuscany, is given by Sigismondi.
(Agr. de la Toscane) Some account also of tlie practice in Spain and the East Indies,
will be found in our outline of the agriculture of these countries. • 723. and 908.)
4125. Subteri-aneous irrigation appears to have been first practised in Lombardy, and
first treated of by Professor Thouin. [Annales du Musee, ifc.) It consists in saturating
a soil with water from below, instead of from the surface, and is effected by surround-
ing a piece of ground by an open drain or main, and intersecting it by covered
drains communicating with this main. If the field is on a level, as in most cases where
the practice is adopted in Lombardy, all that is necessary is to fill the main and keep it
full till the lands have been sufficiently soaked. But if it lies on a slope, then the lower
ends of the drains must be closely stopped, and the water admitted only into the main
on the upper side : this main must be kept full till the land is soaked, when the mouths
of the lower drains may be opened to carry off the superfluous water. The practice is
applicable either to pasture or arable lands.
4126. In Britain, subterraneous irrigation has been applied in a very simple manner
to drained bogs and morasses, and to fen lands. All that is necessary is to build a
sluice in the lower part of the main drain where it quits the drained grounds, and in
dry weather to shut down this sluice, so as to dam up the water and throw it back into
all the minor open drains, and also the covered drains. This plan has been adopted with
success, first, as we believe, by Smith, of Swineridge Muir, in Ayrshire, and subse-
quently by Johnston, in the case of several bog drainages executed by him in Scotland.
It is also practised in Lincolnshire, where it was introduced by the advice of the late
engineer Rennie, after the coiHpletion of a public drainage at Boston.
Sect. III. Of the Artificial Means of Procuring Water for the Use of Live Stock-
4127. Water is su]yj)lied by nature in most parts of the British isles, and retained with
little art both at farmeries and in fields. There are exceptions, however, in different
districts, and especially in chalky soils, gravels, and some upland clays. In these cases
water is procured for cattle by some of the following means: By conducting a
stream, from a distant source, as in a work of irrigation; by collecting rain-
water from roads, ditches, or sloping surfaces, in artificial ponds, or reservoirs;
by collecting it from the roofs of buildings, and preserving it in covered cisterns ;
by sinking a well, or a pipe, either in the field, or the farm yard; and by artificial
springs.
4128. An artificial streain will in most cases be found too expensive an operation to
be undertaken for the supply of drinking water for live stock ; but this purpose may
frequently be combined with that of watering lands or driving machinery. In the
North Riding of Yorkshire, there is a tract extending for many miles, entirely destitute
of water, except what flows along the bottoms of the deep valleys by which it is in-
tersected, and little relief could consequently be afltbrded by streams thus distantly and
inconveniently situated, to the inhabitants of the uplands, or their cattle. About the
year 1770, a person of the name of Ford devised the means of watering this district,
by means of rills brought from the springs that break out at the foot of the still loftier
moorland hills, that run parallel to and to the north of this tract, in some instances at
the distance of about ten miles. The springs he collected into one channel, which he
carried, in a winding direction, about the intervening tract, according to its level, and
along the sides of the valleys, until he gained the summit of the arid country which he
wished to supply with water ; and when this was accomplished, the water was easily
conveyed to the places desired, and also to the ponds in all the fields, over a considerable
tract of ground.
668 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
4129. Collecting rain-water from roads, ^c. in ponds, or drinking pools. Formerly, it
is probable, something of this art has been practised throughout the kingdom : most
villages, and many old farmsteads, have drinking pools for stock, which appear to have
been formed or assisted by art. In strong-land grazing districts, pits have evidently
been dug, to catch the rain-water fortuitously collected, by furrows and ditches ; or by
landsprings. On the chalk hills of the southern counties, the art has been long estab-
lished, and continued down to the present time ; and, on the wolds or chalk hills of
Yorkshire, an improved practice has been introduced by Robert Gardner of Kilham,
which gained an establishment towards the end of the last century, and has spread rapidly
over the adjacent heights, with great profit to the country. In every dry-land situation,
it may be practised with high advantage to an estate, and is well entitled to attention.
4130. The mode^ of constructing these collecting ponds is described in The Jnnals of
Agriculture (vol. vi.), and illustrated by a section {fig. 533.). The ground plan is
circular, and generally forty or 533
fifty feet in diameter, and the exca-
vation is not made deeper in the
centre than five feet. This exca-
vation being cleared out, a layer of
clay (a, b, c) suflficiently moistened, is to be carefully beaten ajiid trod down into a com-
pact and solid body of about the thickness of a foot. Upon this a layer of quick -lime
is finely and uniformly spread over the whole, of one inch or upwards in thickness.
Next is another layer of clay of about one foot in thickness (</), which is to be trodden
and rammed down as the former ; upon this are spread stones or coarse gravel (e) of
such thickness as may prevent the pond receiving any injury from the treading of cattle,
who would otherwise break through the body of the clay and lime, and by so doing let
out the water ; after this, the pond will remain five feet deep and forty-five feet diameter ;
the size they are usually made.
4131. Brick-clay is hy no means required for the ponds; any earth sufficiently
tenacious to bear beating into a solid compact body, though not approaching to a pure
clay, will answer the purpose very well.
4132. The preferable situation to make the po7id is a little valley, or at the bottom of
a declivity, or near a high road, in which situation a stream of water may be brought
into it after sudden showers or thaws, the object being to get it filled as soon as possible
after it is made, that the sun and winds may not crack the clay ; if it is not likely to be
filled soon, some straw or litter must be spread over it ; but in general, after it is once
filled, the rains that fall in the course of the year will keep it full, no water being lost
otherwise than by evaporation and the consumption of cattle.
4133. The whole excelleyice of the pond depends upon the lime ; care must be taken to
spread it regularly and uniformly over the surface of the lower bed of clay ; it is well
known that ponds made of clay alone, however good its quality, and whatever care may
be exerted in the execution, will frequently not hold water ; these with tlie above precau-
tions rarely fail. By what means the lime prevents the loss of water is not exactly known ;
one of these two is probably the cause ; either the lime sets like terrace into a body
impervious to water; or its causticity prevents the worms in dry weather from penetrating
through the clay in search of the water ; certain, however, it is, that with lime, thus
applied, ponds may be made in sand, however porous, or on rocks however ojien, in
neither of which situations are they to be depended upon when made with clay alone.
On this mode of making ponds for the use of live stock, there are several circumstances
of the process more fully detailed in The Rural Economy of Yorkshire.
4134. In constructing ponds in loamy soils all that is necessary is to coat the bottom
over with clay or loam to the depth of eighteen inches or two feet, and then to puddle
or work this well with water till it becomes a homogeneous layer impenetrable to
that element. If clay or loamy earth cannot be obtained, any earth not very much
inclined to sand may be substituted, but it will require more labor in puddling. On
clayey soils very little more is necessary tiian smoothing the surface of the excavation,
and perhaps watering it and beating it to a smooth surface with rammers. The pond
being now formed, the next operation is to coat it over with coarse gravel to the depth of
at least eighteen inches ; or, what is preferable, chalk and flints with gravel ; or, best of all, to
causeway or pave it. It is also very desireable to pave or gravel the surface for the
breadth of at least two yards round the pond, in order to prevent the cattle from poaching
it when they come to drink.
4135. u4n economical mode of forming ponds is often adopted on clayey soils where
gravel or stone for paving is scarce. It consists in adopting the horse shoe form as the
ground plan of the excavation, and cutting all the sides steep, or at an angle of 45 or 50
degrees, excepting the part answering to the heel of the shoe (fig. 534 «:, which is well
gravelled or paved as the only entrance for the cattle. The excavated earth serves to raise
the high side of the pond (6), which is generally guarded by a fence or a few trees»
Book III.
FORMING PONDS.
669
The disadvantage of such ponds is, that one is required for every field, or at least for
every two fields ; where- .^^.-'-'^
as a pond sloped on all
sides may supply four
fields or even a greater
number. {Jig. 535.)
41 S6. The Glouces-
tershire ponds are made
either of a square or a
circular shape, and gene-
rally so situated, as to
furnish a supply to four
fields, (fg. 5S5.) Three
layers of clay, free from
the smallest stone or
gravel, are so worked
in, as to form an impe-
netrable cement. The
whole is afterwards
covered with sand, and
finished with pavement.
{Gloucestershire Rqyort,
p. 31.j
4137. The Derbyshire artificial meers, or cattle
ponds, are made in their dry rocky pastures^ with great
success. Having selected a low situation for the pur-
pose, they deepen it ten or twenty yards across, and
spread over the whole excavation a layer, about five
inches thick, of refuse slacked lime and coal cinders ;
then they spread, trample, and ram down a stratum of
well tempered clay, about four inches thick ; and upon
this they spread a second bed of clay, in a similar man-
ner, of the same thickness; the whole of the bottom
and edges of the meer is then paved with rubble stones ;
and small rubble stones, several inches thick, are
spread upon the pavement. {Derbyshire Report, vol. i. p. 494. )
4138. The situation of field ponds, where practicable, should be at the intersection of
fences, so as one may serve as many fields as possible. This, however, cannot be the
best situation in every case, because it may happen that water cannot there be collected.
At the same time, a low situation is not desirable in every case, because it may be so
circumstanced that too much dirty water may run into it during rains.
4139. Trees are frequently planted round ponds, and with seeming propriety, as their
effect is beautiful, and they shade the water from the direct influence of the sun during
summer ; but in autumn their leaves certainly tend to render the water impure for a
time. As most leaves are of an astringent quality, perhaps there may be no injury sus-
tained by cattle from drinking such water at first; but after some time the leaves begin to
decay and occasion a sort of fermentation, which, till it subsides in the beginning of
frosty weather, renders the water somewhat unhealthy and very unsightly.
4140. JVells, where no better method of procuring water can be devised, may be re-
sorted to, both for fields and farmeries ; but the great objection to them is the labor re-
quired to pump up, or otherwise raise the water, and the consequent risk of neglect.
Before proceeding to dig a well, it ought first to be determined on whether a mere re-
servoir for the water which oozes out of the surface soil is desired or obtainable, or a
perpetual spring. If the former is the object in view, a depth of fifteen or twenty feet
may probably suflSce, though this cannot be expected to afford a constant supply unless
a watery vein or spring is hit on : if the latter, the depth may be very various, there being
instances of 300 and 500 feet having been cut through before a permanent supply of
water was found. {Middlesex, Surrey, and Hampshire Reports. )
4141 . The art of well-digging is generally carried on by persons who devote themselves
exclusively to that department. The site being fixed on, the ground-plan is a circle,
generally of not more than six or eight feet in diameter : the digger then works down by
means of a small short-handled spade, and a small implement of the pick-axe kind ; the
earthy materials being drawn up in buckets by the hand or a windlass, fixed over the
opening for the purpose. Wliere persons conversant with this sort of business are em-
ployed, they usually manage the whole of the work, bricking round the sides with great
facility and readiness ; but in other cases, it will be necessary to have a bricklayer to ex-
ecute tin's part of the business.
670 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
4142. Sleining. There are two methods of building the stone or brick within the
well, which is called the sttining. In one of these a circular ring is formed, of the same
diameter as the intended well ; and the timber of which it is composed is of the size of
the brick-courses, with which the well is to be lined. The lower edge of this circle is
made sharp, and shod with iron, so that it has a tendency to cut into the ground; this
circular kirb is placed flat upon the ground, and the bricks are built upon it to a consi-
derable height, like a circular wall. The well-digger gets within this circle, and digs
away the earth at the bottom ; the weight of the wall then forces the kirb, and the brick-
work with which it is loaded, to descend in the earth, and as fast as the earth is removed
it sinks deeper, and the circular brick-wall is increased or raised at top as fast as it sinks
down ; but when it gets very deep, it will sink no longer, particularly if it passes through
soft strata: in this case, a second kirb of a smaller size is sometimes began within the
lirst. When a kirb will not sink from the softness of the strata, or when it is required
to stop out water, the bricks or stones must be laid one by one at the bottom of the work,
taking care that the work is not left unsupported in such a manner as to let the bricks fall
as they are laid : this is called under-pinning.
4143. Noxious air. Well-diggers experience sometimes great difficulty from a noxious air v!h\ch fills the
well, and suffocates them if they breathe it. The usual mode of clearing wells of noxious air is, by means
of a large pair of bellows, and a long leathern pipe, which is hung down into the well to the bottom, and
fresh air is forced down to the bottom by working the bellows.
4144. The use of the avger is common in well-digging, both in ascertaining before
commencement the nature of the strata to be dug into, and also in course of digging for
the same purpose ; and because, by boring in the bottom of a well to a considerable depth,
the spring is sometimes hit upon, and digging rendered no longer necessary.
4145. In particular situations, the vse of the borer alone may procure an adequate
supply of water. This mode appears to have been long resorted to in this and other
countries. From what we have already stated as to the disposition of strata, the condi-
tions requisite for its success will be readily conceived ; viz. watery strata connected with
others on a higher level : the pressure of the water contained in the higher parts of such
strata on the lower will readily force up the latter through any orifice, however small.
All that is necessary, therefore, is to bore down to the stratum containing the water,
and having completed the bore, to insert a pipe, which may either be left to over-
flow into a cistern, or it may terminate in a pump. In many cases, water may be found
in this way, and yet not in sufficient quantity and force to rise to the surface ; in such
cases a well may be sunk to a certain depth, and the auger-hole made, and the pipe
inserted in it in the bottom of the well. From the bottom it may be pumped up to the
surface by any of the usual modes.
4146. uis an example of zvell-digging combined with boring, we give that of a well dug
at a brewery at Chelsea, Middlesex, in 1793. The situation was within 20 or 30 feet
of the edge of the Thames, and the depth 394 feet, mostly through a blue clay or marl.
At the depth of near fifty feet a quantity of loose coal, twelve inches in thickness, was
discovered : and a little sand and gravel was found about the same depth. The well-
digger usually bored about ten, fifteen, or twenty feet at a time lower than his work as
he went on, and on the last boring, when the rod was about fifteen feet below the bottom
of the well, the man felt, as the first signal of water, a rolling motion, something like the
gentle motion of a coach passing over pavement; upon his continuing to bore, the water
presently pushed its way by the side of the auger with great force, scarcely allowing him
time to withdraw the borer, put that and his other tools into the bucket and be drawn up
to the top of the well. The water soon rose to the height of two hundred feet.
4117. In a case which occurred in digging a well at Dr. Darunns, near Derby, the
water rose so much higher than the surface of the ground, that by confining it in a tube, he
raised it to the upper part of the house. ( Jiees's Cydopcedia, art. Well, and Derbyshire Rep. )
4148. The process of boring the earth for spring water has of late been practised, with
great success, in various parts of England, chiefly by a person named Good, of Hunt-
ingdon. In the neighborhood of London, many fountains of pure spring-water have lately
been obtained by these means. We may particularly name those at Tottenham, Middle-
sex, and Mitcham, Surrey, both of which afford a continuous and abundant flow of water,
equal to about eight gallons per minute. A very copious fountain, which rises twenty
feet above the surface, has lately been obtained by the same means in the grounds of
Ravenscroft Park, the seat of G. Scott, Esq., near Hammersmith. Indeed there can be
little doubt that in the great majority of situations, not only in Britain, but throughout the
world, water might be found by boring or digging down a few scores of feet.
4149. The boring is effected by means of an auger, similar to the instrument employed in boring for coal.
The auger is connected to an iron rod, about four or five feet long, which is introduced into the ground in
a perpendicular direction, a slight power being exerted on the top : it is turned by manual labor. "When
the auger has descended as far as the length of the rod will permit by cutting its way through the ground,
it is then drawn up by a shaft and windlass ; and the earth which occupied the space thus bored, is brought
up with it and dieraiarged from the auger. Another length of rod is added to the auger as it gets deeper,
Book III.
WELL-DIGGING.
671
by means of coupling boxes, and a cast-iron tube is introduced into the hole, and driven down. The
length of this tube is about sixteen feet with an orifice of about four and a half inches, and an upper
flange on the top of which the superstructure of the fountain is to be raised, whether plain or ornamental :
the use of this tube is to exclude the land springs, and assist in keeping the further progress of the borer
perpendicular. — Additional rods being now coupled to the auger, the boring proceeds until the spring
discovers itself, which, in general, has been found at the commencement of a stratum of sand, about one
hundred feet below the surface. Tin pipes are now introduced into the bore, of about three inches
diameter, and twenty feet long. When the first lengtii of \)\\ye has been forced nearly down, another
similar pipe is soldered on to the top of it : the pipe is then driven further down, and a third length
soldered to the top of the last, and so on until the whole bore is encased by one continued pipe, from top
to bottom, by which the earth is prevented from falling in, and the passage of the water kept perfectly clear.
4150. As various obstructions must occasionally intercept the progress of the auger, difFerent kinds of
instruments are employed for removing them, of particular construction and action. When rocky strata
are to be penetrated, a kind of weighted pecker is let down, by which the column of the rock is broken,
or jiounded into small pieces, the fragments of which are collected, and brought up by a sort of box
auger.
4151. This operation has not yet failed of procuring water in any one instance, though, by the spring
flowing to the level of its source, the water does not always flow up above the ground, and indeed some-
times does not reach the surface ; but, under these circumstances, by sinking a well a short distance, the
water will flow plentifully. According to the altitude of the head, or source, of the spring, will be its
force in rising If the bore be made in a valley, and the source of the spring should be in the interior of
a neighboring hill, the stream would flow through the meandering fissures of the earth and rise to its
level, wherever a vent is given; and under these circumstances, would flow above the surface of the
outlet, by a pressure equal to the weight of a column of water between its level and the altitude of the
source. If the source be upon the same level as the outlet (whatever their distance apart), the water will
flow to the surface only, without running over. But, if the source should be below the level of the
outlet, then it will be necessary to sink a well down to that level and a little lower, before a free supply
of water will be furnished.
4152. TAe ex;)c»s<? q/" <A/5 process appears to be very trivial ; the charges being four-pence per foot for
sinking the first ten feet ; eight-pence per foot for the second ten feet ; twelve-pence for the third ; and so
on ; increasing four-pence per foot at every additional ten feet of descent ; this charge being for labor,
exclusive of the cost of tubes : whereas, the expense of ordinary well-sinkijig amounts to about eight
times that sum. The advantages of flowing springs of good water, which, by these means, may always
be obtaine<l on the sides of ro.^ds, and in a variety of other places where water is not at present found,
are incalculable ; the cost very small, and the operation easy and expeditious. Within one week, the
operation of boring for the spring at Tottenham, was begun and finished, a depth of one hundred and
five feet. «—. .J
4153. Of the various modes of raising water from deep ivells, the pump is most con-
venient, and the lever and bucket the most simple. When a constant supply is wanted
from a very deep weU, machinery {Jig. 536.) may be erected over it, and driven by an
old horse or ass.
4154. Pmw/js are of various kinds, as the lifting pump ; the forcing pump, for very
deep wells ; the suction pump ; and the roller punip, a recent invention for such as do
not exceed thirty-three feet in depth. A good pump for urine pits or reservoirs, where
the water is not to be raised above twenty-eight or thirty feet in depth, is that of Robert-
son Buchannan, author of ^ Treatise on Heating bi/ Steam, &c., because this pump,
which acts by tlie pressure of the atmosphere, will raise drainings of dunghills, or even
water thickened by mud, sand, or gravel. " The points in which it differs from the
common pump, and by which it excels, are, that it discharges the water below the piston,
and has its valves lying near each other. The advantages of this arrangement are —
that the sand or other matter, which may be in the water, is discharged without injuring
the barrel or the piston-leathers ; so that besides avoiding unnecessary tear and wear, the
power of the pump is preserved, and it is not apt to be diminished or destroyed in mo-
ments of danger, as is often the case with the common and chain pumps; that the valves
are not contined to any particular dimensions, but may be made capable of discharging
every thing that can rise in the suction-piece without danger of being choked; and that
if, upon any occasion, there should happen to be an obstruction in the valves, they are
both within the reach of a person's hand, and may be cleared at once, without the dis-
junction of any part of the pump. It is a simple and durable pump, and may be made
either of metal or wood, at a moderate expense." Where clear water only is to be raised,
672
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
537
Aust's (of Hoxton) curvilinear pump is preferable to the common sort. Tlie advantages
depend on the curvilinear form of the barrel, which allows, and indeed obliges, the rod,
the handle, and the lever, on which it works, to be all in one piece. Hence simplicity,
cheapness, precision of action, more water discharged in proportion to the diameter of the
barrel, and less frequent repairs. {^Repertory of Arts, Jan. 1821.) Perkins's square-
barrelled pump is a powerful engine {^London Journal, &c.) ; but this and other con-
trivances for raising water, though of great merit, cannot often be made available by the
improver from their not having come into general use.
41 55. An old but ingenious mode ofrais- '"^i
ing water from a well to the upper part of
a house (fig. 537.), is sometimes adopted
on the continent. A post is fixed close to
the well ; this is connected with the open-
ing in the upper part of the house, where
the water is to be introduced, by a fixed
cord (a). On this cord a wooden collar
(b) is placed, and slides freely from one end
to the other : the bucket rope is put
through a hole in the collar, and over a
pully in the window in the upper part of
the house, and thus the bucket is first
raised perpendicularly from the water in
the well till it comes in contact with the
collar, when the power being continued,
the collar slides along the fixed rope till
it reaches the operator at the window.
{Last. Col. de Machines, &c.)
4156. Artificial springs. Marshal, see-
ing the formation of natural springs, and
observing the effect of subsoil drains, and .
being, at the same time, aware of an objec-
tion to roof water, which, though more (;;<^-^'
wholesome, is seldom so well tasted as =^
spring water ; was led to the idea of forming artificial land-springs, to supply farmsteads
with water, in dry situations. He proposes arresting the rain-water that has filtered
through the soil of a grass ground, situated on the upper side of the buildings, in co-
vered drains, clayed and dished at the bottom, and partially filled with pebbles or other
open materials : thus conveying it into a well or cistern, in the manner of roof water :
and by this means uniting, it is probable, the palatableness of spring water with the
wholesomeness of that which is collected immediately from the atmosphere.
4157. Water for common farm-yard and domestic purposes may be obtained in most
situations, by collecting that which falls on the roofs of the farmery and dwelling-house.
This is done by a system of gutters and pipes, which, for the farmery, may lead to a
cistern or tank under ground ; and for the family, that from the roof of the dwelling-
house may be conducted to a
tub. Before using it, it may be
filtered in various ways : one
is, to have three tubs all of the
same size {fig. 538.), the first
(a) nearly filled with gravel or
very coarse sand ; the second (6),
with powdered charcoal, with
a stratum of sponge covering
it, and the third (c) empty.
The water falls from the gutter
or spout into the top of the
gravel barrel, and filtering
through it, ascends through the
charcoal and sponge in the
next, and passes over clear and
sweet into the receiving barrel
(c) ; from which it is drawn as
wanted. Where one receiving
barrel is not enough, two or
more may be added, or the water may be led from it to an underground cistern or
cellar.
Book III. IMPROVING WASTES. 673
4158. Filtering water on a large scale may be effected by emptying one pond into
another, through a conduit of any kind filled with gravel, sand, and charcoal.
Chap. IV.
Of the Improvement of Lands lying Waste, scyas toft them for l^arm^Cidture.
4159. Of waite lands, many descriptions are best improved by planting, and therefore'
are to be considered as disposed of in that way in the laying out or arrangement of an
estate ; but there are others which may be more profitably occupied as farm-lands, and it is
the preparing or bringing these into a state of culture, which is the business of the present
chapter. Such lands may be classed as mountainous or hilly grounds, rocky or stoney
surfaces, moors, bogs or peat-mosses, marshes, woody wastes or wealds, warrens or
downs, and sea-shores or beaches. In the improvement of these subjects, many of the
operations are such as are performed by temporary occupiers or farmers ; but as in this
case such occupiers have always extraordinary encouragement from the landlords, either
in the shape of a low rent, of money advanced, of long leases, or of all of these ; we con-
sider it preferable to treat of them as permanent, or fundamental improvements, than to-
consider them as parts of farm-culture.
Sect. I. Of mountainous and hilly Grounds and their Improvement.
4160. The upper parts of mountains may be considered as among the least improvable
parts of the earth's surface, from the impossibility of ever improving their climate. " The
highest peaks and ridges are mostly naked granite, slate, or volcanic productions. Their
more elevated sides, and the tops of those of moderate height, are usually covered by a
thin soil, producing a short dry herbage, which is frequently mixed with a dwarf, or
stunted heath. Where the soil is not injured by moisture, these are best calculated for
sheep. When the height of mountains exceeds SOO feet of elevation above the level of
the sea, unless covered either with natural woods or artificial plantations, they can only
be profitably used in pasture." (Code.)
4161. The hills, or land less elevated than mountains, have, in general, a deeper and
moister soil, and produce a more luxuriant herbage, but of a coarse quality ; hence
they are better adapted for small hardy cattle. Though the summits of hills are gene-
rally unfit for raising grain, yet the plough is gradually ascending along their sloping
sides, and within the last thirty years many thousand acres in such situations have been ■
reclaimed in the united kingdom.
4162. Steep lands along the sides of rivers and small streams are often inaccessible to
the plough, and unfit for tillage. The more rugged of these are well calculated for
woods or coppice; while those in more favorable situations and climates may be con— -
verted into orchards. {CodaofAgr. 161.)
Sect. II. Of rocky or stoney Surfaces.
4163. Rocky and stoney lands are common in the valleys of a hilly or mountainmis
Country, and sometimes, as in Aberdeenshire, they cover immense tracts of flat
surface.
4164. JFhen rocks protrude from the surface here and there in fragments of a few toiis^-,
and it is considered desirable to render the field or scene fit for aration, the only mode
is to rend them asunder by gunpowder, and then carry off" the fragments for walls,
drains, roads, or buildings ; or, if they are not wanted for these or any other purpose, to
bury them so deep in the ground as to be out of the reach of the plough. But where
rocks rise in considerable masses of several poles in diameter, it will generally be found
preferable to enclose and plant them. Clefts and crevices are found in all rocks which'
have been long exposed to the air and weather, and in these may be inserted young plants,
or seeds, or both. Such masses being enclosed by rough stone walls, formed from the
more detached fragments, or from loose stones, will grow up and be at once highly
ornamental and useful as shelter. It is true they will interrupt the progress of the
plough in a straight line, but not more so than the rock if left in a state of nature.
When a rocky surface is not intended to be ploughed, all that is necessary is to remove
as many of the solitary rocks as possible, and either enclose and plant the rest, or
cover them with earth.
4165. The stones which impede the improvement of land are either loose, thrown up-
when the land is trenched, or ploughed j or fixed in the earth, and not to be removed
without much labor and expense.
4166. Loose stones may often be converted into use for the puVpose of covered drains,
of constructing walls or fences, or making and repairing the roads on the farm, or in tlie
Xx
674
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
neighborhood ; and on these accounts are sometimes worth the trouble of collecting.
They may be removed, with the least inconvenience, when the land is fallowed. Where
loose stones are of a moderate size, they are sometimes found advantageous rather than
detrimental, as in the stone-brash soils of Somersetshire and other districts. They pre-
vent evaporation, and thus preserve moisture in the soil. Hence the old remark, that
farmers have been induced to bring back again to their corn-fields those very stones they
have been induced to carry off. (Code,)
4167. Where stones are large and fixed in the earth, if they appear above the surface,
they should be removed before the ploughing of the waste commences : but where they
are concealed under the surface, various modes to get rid of them have been adopted.
In some parts of Yorkshire, the whole surface is gone over with sharp prongs, which, at
the distance of every twelve or fourteen inches, are thrust into the ground to the depth
of about a foot, to ascertain where stones are to be met with. The spot is marked by a
twig, and the stones are removed before the land is ploughed. Sometimes the plough is
used without such previous examination, and the place marked where stones are en^
countered, that they may be taken away ; and sometimes, in order to discover and re-
move such stones, the land is trenched by the spade. (Communications to the Board of
Agr. vol. ii. p. 253.)
416S. Stones above the surface may be avoided by the ploughman, though not without
loss of ground ; but stones under the surface are often not discovered till the plough is
drawn against them, and perhaps broken, by which a day's work is sometimes lost. A
wooden bolt, however, to unite the horse-trees to the chain of the plough, may prevent
mischief by giving way. Clearing the ground from stones not only prevents such mis-
chiefs, but is attended with actual profit. When removed, they may be used for various
purposes, and are often less expensive than if dug, or purchased at a quarry. The soil
round a large stone is likewise, in general, the best in the field, and is bouglit at a low
rate by the expense of taking out the stone, as the plough has thus access to all the land
around it. In stoney land the plough must proceed slowly, and cannot perform half so
much work as it ought to do ; but, after such impediments have been removed, the field
may be ploughed with the usual facility and cheapness, and in a much more perfect
manner. It frequently happens, that when working stoney land, more expense is in-
curred in one season by the breaking of ploughs, besides the injury done to the horses
and harness, than would cure the evil. ( Gen. Rep. of Scot. vol. ii. p. 256 ; Kaimes'^
Gent. Farmer, p. 58.)
4169. There are various modes of getting rid of stones. They are
generally of such a size as admit of their being conveyed away in
carts, or other vehicles calculated for that purpose. Some ingenious
artificers have constructed machines for raising them, when of a large
size. On some occasions, pits have been dug close to large stones,
and the latter have beer> turned into the former, at such a depth
as to lie out of the reach of the plough. But it is frequently necessary
to reduce their size by the force of gunpowder before they can be re-
moved. Loose stones are commonly moved by levers, and rolled on a ^
sledge ; but sometimes they are raised by a block and tackle attached to
a triangle with a pair of callipers to hold the stone {fg. 539.). The
stone may also be raised by boring a hole in it obliquely and then in-
serting an iron bolt with an eye {Jig. 540.), which though loose will yet
serve to raise the stone in a perpendicular direction.
540 4170. The mode of bursting or rending rocks or
atones by gunpowder, is a simple, though dangerous
operation. When a perforation or hole is to be made
in a rock or stone for the purpose of blasting with
^gunpowder, the prudent workman considers the
nature of the rock, and the inclination or dip of the
strata, if it is not a detached fragment, and from
these determines the calibre, and the depth and direc-
tion of the bore or recipient for the gunpowder.
According to circumstances, the diameter of the hole
varies from half an inch to two inches and a half, the
depth from a few inches to many feet, and the direc-
tion varies to all the angles from the perpendicular to the horizontal. The implements
for the performance of this operation are rude, and so extremely simple and familiar, as
hardly to require description ; and the whole operation of boring and blasting rocks is so
easily performed, that, in the space of a few weeks, an intelligent laborer may become an
expert quarrier.
4171. The operation of ramming frequently gives rise to accidents, but a recent im-
provement, that of using a wadding of loose sand, or of any earthy matter in a dry state,
Book III.
IMPROVING WOODY WASTES.
675
answers all the purposes of the firmest ramming or wadding. It has been used for
upwards of ten years at Lord Elgin's extensive mining operations at Charlestown in
Fifeshire, and also in removing immense bodies of rock from the Calton hill at Edinburgh,
by Stevenson, an eminent engineer, whose article on the subject of blasting, in The
Supplement to the Encyc. Brit., deserves the attention of such as use the process in work-
ing quarries or clearing rocky or stoney grounds.
Sect. III. Of improving Woody Wastes or Wealds.
4172. With surfaces partially covered with bushes and stumjis of trees, ferns, &c., the
obvious improvement is to grub them up, and apply the land to cultivation according
to its nature.
4173. T/ie growth of large trees is a sign that the soil is naturally fertile. It must also
have been enriched by the quantity of leaves which in the course of ages have fallen and
rotted upon the surface. Such are the beneficial effects of this process, that after the
trees have been cut down, the soil has often been kept under crops of grain for a number
of years without interruption, or any addition of manure. Land thus treated, however,
ultimately becomes so much reduced, by great exhaustion, that it will not bear a crop
worth the expense of seed and labor. ( Communications to the Board of Agriculture, vol. ii.
p. 257.) It is evident, however, that this deterioration entirely proceeds from the
improvident management previously adopted. In reclaiming such wastes, the branches
of trees that are felled are generally collected and burnt ; and the ashes are either in whole
or in part, spread on the ground, by which the fertility of the soil is excited. Indeed,
where there is no demand for timber on the spot, nor the means of conveyance to any
advantageous market, the whole wood is burnt, and the ashes applied as manure.
41 74. Much coppice land has been grubbed up in various parts of England, and brought
into tillage. Sometimes woods are grubbed for pasture merely. In that case the ground
should be as little broken as possible, because the surface of the land, owing to the dead
wood and leaves rotting time out of mind upon it, is much better than the mould below.
It soon gets into good pasture as grass land, without sowing any seed. [Communications
to the Board of Agriculture, vol. iv. p. 42.) But by far the most eligible mode of con-
verting wood land into arable, is merely to cut down the trees, and to leave the land in a
state of grass until the roots have decayed, cutting down with the scythe from time to
time any young shoots that may arise. The roots in this way, instead of being a cause
of anxiety and expense, as they generally are, become a source of improvement ; and a
grassy surface is prepared for the operation of sod -burning. (^Marshal's Yorkshire, vol. i.
p. 316.)
4175. Natural woods and plantations have been successfully grubbed up in Scotland.
In the lower Torwood in Stirlingshire, many acres of natural coppice were cleared ; and
the land is now become as valuable as any in the neighborhood. (Stirlingshire Rqwrt,
p. 213.) On the banks of the Clyde and the Avon, coppices have been cut down, and
after being drained, cultivated, and manured, the land has been converted into productive
orchards. In Perthshire. also, several thousand acres of plantations have been rooted out,
the soil subjected to the plough, converted into good arable land, and profitably employed
in tillage. (Perthshire Report, p. 329.)
4176. For jniUing up or rending asunder the roots of large trees, various machines and
contrivances have been invented. Clearing away the earth and splitting with wedges is the
usual mode ; but blasting is also, as in the case of rocks and stones, occasionally resorted
to. For this purpose a new instrument,
called the blasting-screw (Jig- 541.) f
has been lately applied with consider- \
able success to the rending or splitting
of large trees and logs of timber. It
consists of a screw (a), an auger (b, c) ,
and charging-piece (rf). The screw
is wrought into an auger-hole, bored
in the centre of the timber ; here the
charge of powder is inserted, and the
orifice of the hole in the log is then
shut up or closed with the screw, when
a match or piece of cord, prepared with
saltpetre, is introduced into a small
hole (a), left in the screw for this purpose, by vvhich the j^owder is ignited. The appli-
cation of this screw to the purposes of blasting is not very obviously necessary, because,
from what we have seen (4171.) it would appear that the auger-hole being charged with
powder and sand, would answer every purpose. One great objection to the process of
blasting applied to the rending of timber is, the irregular and uncertain direction of the
fracture, by which great waste is sometimes occasioned. It may, however, be necessary
Xx 2
€76 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
to resort to this mode of breaking up large trees, when cut down and left in inacces-
sible situations, where a great force of men and of implements cannot easily be procured
or applied; and certainly it is one of the most effectual modes of tearing their stools
or roots in pieces. (Sup. Encyc. Brit. art. Blasting.)
4177. Land covered with furze, broom, and other shrubs, is generally well adaptedf r
cultivation. The furze, or whin ( Ulex europesus), will grow in a dense clay soil j and where
they are found in a thriving state, every species of grain, of roots and grasses, may be cul-
tivated with advantage. Tlie broom, on the other hand, prefers a dry, gravelly, or .
sandy soil, such as is adapted for the culture of turnips. A large proportion of the arable
land, in the richest districts of England and Scotland, was originally covered by these two
plants ; and vast tracts still remain in that state, which might be profitably brought under
cultivation. For that purpose, the shrubs ought to be cut down, the ground trenched, or
the plants rooted out by a strong plough, drawn by four or six horses, and the roots
and shrubs (if not wanted for other purposes) burnt in heaps, and the ashes spread equally
over the surface. (Com. to the B. of Ag. vol. ii. p. 260.) In many places, shrubs and
brushwood may be sold for more than the expense of rooting them out. When coal is
not abundant, and limestone or chalk can be had, the furze should be employed in burn-
ing the lime that is used in carrying on the improvement. (Oxfordshire Report, p. 232.)
It requires constant attention, however, to prevent such plants from again getting pos-
session of the ground, when it is restored to pasture. This can best be effected, by
ploughing up the land occasionally, taking a few crops of potatoes, turnips, or tares in
rows, and restoring it to be pastured by sheep. In moist weather also, the young plants
should be pulled up and destroyed. (Code.)
4178. Fern (Pteris and Osmunda) is a very troublesome weed to extirpate, as, in many
soils, it sends down its roots into the under stratum, beyond the reach of the deepest
ploughing ; but it is a sign of the goodness of any soil, where it grows to a large size,
June or July are the best seasons for destroying it, when the plants are full of sap, and
when they ought to be frequently cut. They are not, however, easily subdued, often ap-
pearing after a rotation of seven years, including a fallow, and sometimes requiring ano-
ther rotation, and cutting them repeatedly, before their final disappearance can l)e effected.
Lime, in its caustic state, is peculiarly hostile to fern ; at the same time, it can hardly be
completely eradicated, but by frequent cultivation, and by green crops assisted by the hoe.
( Oxfordshire Rqmrt, p. 234. and 240.)
4179. The heath (Erica) is a hardy plant, palatable and nutritious to sheep; and
under its protection, coarse grasses are often produced. When young, or in flower, it
may be cut and converted into an inferior species of winter provision for stock. But
where it can be obtained, it is desirable to have grass in its stead. For that purpose, the
land may be flooded, or the heath burnt in March or April, and kept free from stock for
eighteen months ; in consequence of which, many new grasses will spring up, from the
destruction of the heath, and the enriching quality of the ashes. The improvement is
very great; more especially if the land be drained, and lime or compost be applied.
(Gen. Rep. of Scot. vol. ii. p. 359.) But if the land be too soon pastured, the grasses,
being weak and tender, the sheep or cattle will pull them up with their roots, and the pas-
ture is materially injured. [Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. iv. p. 465.) Where it
is proposed to cultivate the land for arable crops, the lime applied should be in a finely
powdered state, highly caustic, and as equally spread as possible. (Com. to the B. ofAg^
vol. ii. p. 264.)
4180. Paring and burning is a speedy and effectual modS of bringing a surface covered
with coarse herbage into a state of culture. Some have recommended making a com-
post of the pared surface, with lime ; or building folds or earthen walls of the sods, which,
by the action of the atmosphere, become friable and fertile ; but these processes are
slower and not so effectual as paring and burning. In coarse rough pastures, ant-hills
frequently abound, which paring and burning effectually destroys. (Code.)
Sect. IV. Of Moors and their Imj)rovements.
4181. Moorlands are of various descriptions. Sometimes they are in low and mild si-
tuations, where theuppersoilisthin,orscantilysuppliedwith vegetable mould; and where
the bottom or under-stratum is impervious and barren. These, in general, may be re-
claimed with more or less advantage, according as they are near manure or markets, and
other means of improvement. Others, on the contrary, are in situations much elevated
above the level of the sea; where the surface is covei-ed with heath and other coarse
plants, and frequently encumbered with stones. Such moors are seldom worth the expense
of cultivation, and from their height are only calculated for woods or pasturage.
4182. Moors which are not placed in high or bleak situations, where the surface is close-
swarded, or covered with plants, and where the subsoil is naturally either not altogether
wet, or capable of being made sufficiently dry at a moderate expense, may not only be
reclaimed, but often cau be highly improved by the common operations of farm culture ;
Book III. IMPROVING BOGS, &c. 677
by paring and burning; by fallow and linning; or by trenching or deep ploughing. Vast
improvements on different sorts of moory lands have been made in Yorkshire, where there
are immense tracts of moors. It is stated in The Agricvitural Report of the North Riding
of Yorkshire, that an improvement was made upon Lockton moor, on a quantity of land
of about seventy acres, which would not let for more than Is. per acre, before it was
enclosed. Of this forty-eight acres were pared and burnt, and sown with rape, except
about an acre sown with rye ; the produce about sixty quarters. The rye grew very
strong, and in height not less than six feet, and was sold, while standing, for five guineas
the acre. The land was only once ploughed, otherwise the crop of rape would pro-
bably have been much better. One hundred and twenty chaldrons (each thirty-two bushels)
of lime were ploughed into the field; which, for want of more frequent ploughing,
probably was not of the service it otherwise might have been. Part of the land was
afterwards sown down with oats and grass seeds ; the former of which afforded but a
moderate crop, the latter a very good one, and has since produced two loads, 120 stones
each, per acre. The seeds sown were rye-grass, rib-grass, white clover, and trefoil ; of
these, the first succeeded amazingly, the others not so well ; potatoes throve very well ;
turnips not equal to them. A farm-house has been built upon it, which now, along with
five acres more of the same kind of land, is let on lease at thirty pounds per annum. The
soil consisted, in general, of benty peat, upon red gritstone, with a mixture of clay upon
limestone; this last is, in some places, at a considerable depth, in others, sufficiently near
the surface for lime to be burnt on the premises.
Sect. V. Of Peat Mosses, Bogs, and Morasses, and their Improvement.
. 4183. Mossy and boggy surfaces occupy a very considerable portion of the British isles.
In Ireland alone there are of flat red bog, capable of being converted to the general pur-
poses of agriculture, 1,576,000 acres ; and of peat soil, covering mountains, capable of
being improved for pasture, or beneficially applied to the purposes of plantation,
1,255,000 acres, making together nearly three millions of acres. Mossy lands, whether
on mountains or plains, are of two kinds ; the one black and solid, the other spongy, con-
taining a great quantity of water, with a proportion of fibrous materials.
4184. Black mosses, though formerly considered irreclaimable, are now found capable
6f great melioration. By cultivation, they may be completely changed in their quality
and appearance ; and from a peaty, become a soft vegetable earth of great fertility.
They may be converted into pasture ; or, after being thoroughly drained, thriving plan-
tations may be raised upon them ; or, under judicious management, they will produce
crops of grain and roots ; or, they may be formed into meadow-land of considerable
value.
4185. Flow, fluid, or spongy mosses, abound in various parts of the British isles. Such
mosses are sometimes from ten to twenty feet deep, and even more, but the average may
be stated at from four to eight. In high situations, their improvement is attended with
so much expense, and the returns are so scanty, that it is advisable to leave them in their
original state ; but where" advantageously situated, it is now proved that they may be
profitably converted into arable land, or valuable meadow. If tliey are not too high
above the level of the sea, arable crops may be successfully cultivated. Potatoes, and
other green crops, where manure can be obtained, may likewise be raised on them with
advantage.
4186. Peat is certainly a production, capable of administering to the support of many
valuable kinds of plants. But to efl'ect this purpose, it must be reduced to such a state,
either by the application of fire, or the influence of putrefaction, as may prepare it for
their nourishinent. In either of these ways, peat may be changed into a soil fit for tlie
production of grass, of herbs, or of roots. The application of a proper quantity of
lime, chalk, or marl, prepares it equally well for the production of corn. (Code.)
4187. The fundamental improvement of all peat soils is drainage, which alone will in
a few years change a boggy to a grassy surface. After being drained, the surface may
be covered with earthy materials, pared and burned, fallowed, dug, trenched, or rolled.
The celebrated Duke of Bridgewater covered a part of Chatmoss, with the refuse of
coal-pits, a mixture of earths and stones of diffVfrent qualities and sizes, which were
brought in barges out of the interior of a mountain j and, by compressing the sur-
face, enabled it to bear pasturing stock. Its fertility was promoted by the vegetable
mould of the morass, which presently rose and mixed with the heavier materials which
were spread upon it. {Marshal on Laiulcd Property, p. 46.)
4188. The fenny grounds of Huntingdonshire are in some cases improved by applying
marl to the surface. Where that substance is mixed with the fen soil, the finer grasses
florish beyond what they do on the fen soil unmixed; and when the mixed soil is
ploughed, and sown with any sort of grain, the calcareous earth renders the crops less
a})t to fall down, the produce is greater, and the grain of better quality than on any other
part of the land. {Huntingdonshire Report, ^. ZQl.)
Xx 3
678 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IU
4189. Covering the surface of peat bogs with earth has been practised in several parts of
Scotland. Clay, sand, gravel, shells, and sea ooze, two or three inches thick, or more,
have been used, and land, originally of no value, has thus been rendered worth from 21.
to 31. and even 41. per acre. The horses upon this land, must either be equipped with
wooden clogs, or the work performed in frosty weather, when the surface of the moss is
hard. Coarse obdurate clay (provincially till), is peculiarly calculated for this process,
as, when it is blended with peat, and some calcareous matter, it contains all the proper-
ties of a fertile soil. [Clydesdale Report, p. 150, note.) This is certainly an expensive
method of improving land, unless the substance to be laid upon it, is within 500 yards
distance : but where it can properly be done, the moss thus obtains solidity, and after it
has been supplied with calcareous earth, it may be cultivated, like other soils, in a rotation
of white and green crops. In the neighborhood of populous towns, where the rent of
land is high, the covering substance may be conveyed from a greater distance than 500
yards. (Code.)
4190. Rolling peaty surfaces has been found to improve them. The greatest defect of
soft soils is, that the drought easily penetrates them, and they become too open. The
roller is an antidote to that evil, and the expense is the only thing that ought to set bounds
to the practice of this operation. It also tends to destroy those worms, grubs, and
insects, with which light and fenny land is apt to be infested. The roller for such soils
ought not to be heavy, nor of a narrow diameter. If it be weighty, and the diameter
small, it sinks too much where the pressure falls, which causes the soft moss to rise
before and behind the roller, and thus, instead of consolidating, it rends the soil. A
gentle pressure consolidates moss, but too much weight has a contrary effect. A roller
for moss ought therefore to be formed of wood, the cylinder about four feet diameter,
and mounted to be drawn by two or three men. Three small rollers
working in one frame, {Jig. 542.), have sometimes been so
drawn. If horses are employed, they ought to have clogs or
pattens, if likely to sink. The oftener the rolling is performed,
on spongy soils as long as the crops of corn or grass will admit
of it, the better, and the more certain is the result.
4191. An extensive tract of moss in the county of Lancashire has
been recently improved by the celebrated Roscoe of Liverpool, in a very spirited and
skilful manner. Chatmoss in that county is well known ; its length is about six miles,
its greatest breadth about three miles, and its depth may be estimated from ten to
upwards of thirty feet. It is entirely composed of the substance well known by the
name of peat, being an aggregate of vegetable matter, disorganized and inert, but pre-
served by certain causes from putrefaction. On the surface it is light and fibrous, but
becomes more dense below. On cutting to a considerable depth, it is found to be black,
compact, and heavy, and in many respects resembling coal. There is not throughout
the whole moss the least intermixture of sand, gravel, or other material, the entire sub-
stance being a pure vegetable. About 1820, Roscoe began to improve TrafFord moss,
a tract of three hundred acres, lying two miles east of Chatmoss ; and his operations on
it seem to have been so successful as to encourage him to proceed with Chatmoss. In
the improvement of the latter, he found it unnecessary to incur so heavy an expense for
drainage as he had done in the former. From observing that where the moss had been
dug for peat, the water had drawn towards it from a distance of fifty to a hundred yards,
he conceived that if each drain had to draw the water only twenty-five yards, they would,
within a reasonable time, undoubtedly answer the purpose. The whole of the moss was
therefore laid out on the following plan.
4192. A main road, Roscoe states, " was first carried nearly from east to west, through
the whole extent of my portion of the moss. This road is about three miles long and
thirty-six feet wide. It is bounded on each side by a main drain, seven feet wide and
six feet deep, from which the water is conveyed, by a considerable fall , to the river.
From these two main drains, other drains diverge, at fifty yards distance from each other,
and extend from each side of the road to the utmost limits of the moss. Thus, each field
contains fifty yards in front to the road, and is of an indefinite length, according as the
boundary of the moss varies. These field-drains are four feet wide at the top, one foot
at the bottom, and four feet ^.nd a half deep. They are kept carefully open, and, as
far as my experience hitherto goes, I believe they will sufficiently drain the moss, without
having recourse to underdraining, which I have never made use of at Chatmoss, except
in a very few instances, when, from the lowness of the surface, the water could not rea-
dily be gotten off without open channels, which might obstruct the plough."
4193. The cultivation of the moss then proceeds in the following manner: — " After
setting fire to the heath and herbage on the moss, and burning it down as far as practica-
ble, I plough a thin sod or furrow, with a very sharp horse-plough, which I burn in small
lieaps and dissipate : considering it of little use but to destroy the tough sods of the
€rioph6r», nardus stricta; and other plants, w^hose matted roots are almost imperishable.
Book III. IMPROVING MARSHES. 679
The moss being thus brought to a tolerable dry and level surface, I then plough it in a
regular furrow six inches deep, and as soon as possible after it is thus turned up, I set
upon it the necessary quantity of marl, not less than two hundred cubic yards to the
acre. As the marl begins to crumble and fall with the sun or frost, it is spread over
the land with considerable exactness, after which I put in a crop as early as possible,
sometimes by the plough, and at others with the horse-scuffle or scarifier, according to the
nature of the crop, adding, for the first crop, a quantity of manure, which I bring down
the navigable river Irwell, to the borders of the moss, setting on about twenty tons to the
acre. Moss land thus treated, may not only be advantageously cropped the jirst year
with green crops, as potatoes, turnips, &c. but with any kind of grain ; and as wheat has,
of late, paid better to the farmer than any other, I have hitherto chiefly relied upon it, as
my first crop, for reimbursing the expense."
4194. The expense of the several ploughings, with the burning, sowing, and harrow-
ing, and of the marl and manure, but exclusive of the seed, and also of the previous
drainage and general charges, amounts to 18^ 5s. per acre ; and in 1812, on one piece
of land thus improved, Roscoe had twenty bushels of wheat, then worth a guinea per
bushel, and on another piece eighteen bushels ; but these were the best crops upon the
moss " Both lime and marl are generally to be found within a reasonable distance ;
and the preference given to either of them will much depend upon the facility of
obtaining it. The quantity of lime necessary for the purpose, is so small in propor-
tion to that of marl, that, where the distance is great, and the carriage high, it is more
advisable to make use of it ; but where marl is upon the spot, or can be obtained in
sufficient quantity at a reasonable expense, it appears to be preferable." Roscoe is
thoroughly convinced, after a great many different trials, that all temporizing expedi-
ents are fallacious; and "that the best method of improving moss land is by the
application of a calcareoxis substance, in sufficient quantity to convert the moss into a soil,
and by the occasional use of animal or other extraneous manures, such as the course of
cultivation, and the nature of the crops, may be found to require."
4195. Roscoe^ s contrivance for conveying on the marl, seems peculiar. It would not
be practicable, he observes, to effect the marling at so cheap a rate, (lOA per acre,) were
it not for the assistance of an iron road or railway, laid upon boards or sleepers, and
moveable at pleasure. Along this road the marl is conveyed in waggons with small iron
wheels, each drawn by one man. These waggons, by taking out a pin, turn their lading^
out on either side; they carry about 15 cwt. each, being as much as could heretofore
be conveyed over the moss by a cart with a driver and two horses.
4196. An anomalous mode of treating peat bogs was invented and practised by the
late Lord Kaimes, which may be applicable in a few cases. This singular mode can be
adopted only where there is a command of water, and where the subjacent clay is of a.
most fertile quality, or consists of alluvial soil. A stream of water is brought into the
moss, into which the spongy upper stratum is first thrown, and afterwards the heavier moss,
in small quantities at a time ; the whole is then conveyed by the stream into the neighboring
river, and thence to the sea. The moss thus got rid of, in the instance of Blair Drum-
mond, in Perthshire, was, on an average, about seven feet deep. Much ingenuity was
displayed in constructing the machinery, to supply water for removing the moss, previous,
to the improvementof the rich soil below. It required both the genius and the perseverance
of Lord Kaimes, to complete this scheme ; but by this singular mode of improvement,
about 1000 English acres have been already cleared, a population of above 900 inhabi-
tants furnished with the means of subsistence, and an extensive district, where only
snipes and moor-fowl were formerly maintained, is now converted, as if by magic, into a
rich and fertile carse, or tract of alluvial soil. (Code.) In The General Report of Scot'
land, Appendix, vol. ii. p. 38, will be found a detailed account of this improvement.
Sect. VI. Of Marshes and their Improvement.
4197. A tract of land on the borders of the sea or a large river, is called a marsh : it
differs from the fen, bog, and morass, in consisting of a firmer and better soil, and in
being occasionally Hooded. Marshes arc generally divided into fresh water marshes and
salt water marshes ; the latter sometimes called saltings or ings : fresh water marshes
differ from meadows, in being generally soaked with water from the subsoils or springs.
4198. Fresh water marshes are often found interspersed with arable land, where springs
rise, and redundant water has not been carried off; and may be improved by a course of
ditching, draining, and ploughing. Where large inland marshes are almost constantly
covered with water, or the soil is extremely wet, they may be drained, as large districts. in
the fens of Lincolnshire have been, and made highly valuable. Tlie object, in that case,
is, by embankments, draining, and other means of improvement, to convert these marshes
into pasture or meadow, or even arable lands ; and where such improvements cannot be
accomplished, the most useful woody aquatics, as willows, osiers, &c. may be grown with
advantage.
X X 4
680
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
4199. "Bxnnneytnarsh is one of the most extensive and fertile of fresh water marshes in Britain. It
contains near gl.OOO acres ; besides which Walland marsh and Dinge marsh, which are comprised within
the walls, contain the fonncr 12,000, and the latter 8,000 acres. Boys informs us that " the internal regu-
lations of these marshes are committed to the superintendance of expenditors. These are appointed by
the Commissioners of Sewers, and are to take care that the repairs of the walls are maintained in due
order, and that the costs attending the same be levied on each tenant according to the number of acres
occupied by him ; for which purpose they are to cause assessments to be made out, with the names of the
occupiers, and the rateable proportions to be borne by them respectively ; and these rates, which must be
confirmed by the commissioners, are termed scots ; and that when any occupier refuses to pay his scot,
theexpenditors can obtain a warrant from the commissioners empowering them to distrain for the same,
as for any other tax." These marshes are both appropriated to the purposes of breeding and feeding.
4200. Salt water marshes are subject to be overflowed at every spring tide, or at other
times, when by the violence of the wind, or the impetuosity of the tide, the water flows
beyond its usual limits. Their goodness is in a great measure analogous to the fertility
of the adjoining marshes; and the extent of them differs according to the situation.
Embankments, as it is remarked in The Code of Jgriculture, are perhaps the only means
by which tliey can be effectually improved, especially when they are deficient in pasture.
However, where pasture abounds, they are in some cases more valuable than arable
lands, the pasture operating as a medicine to diseased cattle.
4201. Marshes on the Thames. In The Agricultural Survey of Kent it is asserted, that great profit is
made by the renters of marshes in the neighborhood of London bordering on the Thames, from joisting of
horses, the pasture being deservedly accounted salubrious to that useful animal ; for which reason, such
horses as have been worn down by hard travel, or long afflicted with the farcy, lameness, &c. have fre-
quently been restored to their pristine health and vigor, by a few months' run in the marshes, especially
on the saltings ; but as every piece of marsh land in some measure participates of this saline disposition,
so do they all of them possess, in a comparative degree, the virtues above mentioned, and for this reason
the Londoners are happy to procure a run for their horses, at 45, or 5s. per week. And another method
practised by the graziers in the vicinity of London, is to purchase sheep or bullocks in Smithfieldat a
hanging market, which being turned into the marshes, in the lapse of a few weeks are not only much
improved in flesh, but go off at a time when the markets being less crowded, have considerably advanced
in price, and thus a twofold gain is made from this traffick ; and as many of the wealthy butchers of the
metropolis are possessed of a tract of this marsh land, they have, from their constant attendance at
Smithfield, a perfect knowledge of the rise and fall in the markets, and consequently are enabled to judge
with certainty, when will be the proper time to buy in their stock and at what period to dispose of them.
4202. In vario^is districts of the island that are situated on the borders of the sea, or near the mouths
of large rivers, there are many very extensive tracts of this description of land, which by proper drainage
and enclosure maybe rendered highly valuable and productive. This is particularly the case in Somer-
setshire and Lincolnshire, as well as that mentioned above. In the former of these counties, vast im-
provements have, according to Billingsley, as stated in his able Survey, been effected by the cutting of
ditches, for the purpose of dividing the property, and the deepening of the general outlets, to discharge
the superfluous water. Many thousand acres which were formerly overflowed for months together, and
consequently of little or no value, are now become fine grazing and dairy lands.
Sect. VII. Of Downs and other Shore Lands.
4203. Downs are those undulating smooth surfaces covered with close and fine turf
met with in some districts on the sea-shore ; the soil is sometimes sandy, and at other
times clay or loam. In inland situations there are also down lands, as in Wiltshire,
Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire ; in the two latter counties they are called " wolds. "
4204. Sandy downs on the sea-shore, are often more valuable in their natural state,
than after cultivation. In a state of nature they frequently afford good pasture for
sheep and rabbits, and at other times produce grasses that may be used as food for
cattle, or as litter. But the great object should be to raise plants which contribute to
fix these soils, and to prevent them from being drifted by the winds, which often occasion
incalculable mischief. The most suitable plants for the purpose, are the elymus are-
narius, j uncus arenarius, arundo donax, ononis communis, gallium verum, tussilago peta-
sites, and a variety of other creeping^rooted plants and grasses. Of woody plants,
the elder is one of the best for resisting the sea breeze, and requires only to be inserted
in the sand in large truncheons. Where the sands on sea^shores are mixed with shells, and
not very liable to drift, if they can be sheltered by fences or an embankment, and
sown with white clover, it will be found 543
both an economical and profitable improve-
ment,
4205. Poor sandy soils, in inland dis-
tricts are not unfrequently stocked with
rabbits. When the production of arable
lands are high, it is found worth while to
break up these warrens and cultivate corn
and turnips; but it frequently happens that
taking the requisite outlay of capital, and
the expenses and risk into consideration,
they do not pay so well as when stocked
with rabbits. Such lands are generally
well adapted for planting ; but in this, as
in every other case where there is a choice,
circumstances must direct what line of im-
provement is to be adopted.
Book III. IMPROVING FARMERIES. 681
. 4206. Shores and sea beaches of gravel and shingle^ without either soil or vegetation,
are perhaps the most unimprovable spots of any ; but something may be done with theiu
by burying the roots of the arenarious grasses along with a little clay or loamy earth.
Of these, the best is the elymus arenarius (^fig. 543 a), already mentioned ; and
E. geniculatus (b), and sibiricus (c), would probably succeed equally well. The last
grows on the sandy wastes of Siberia, and the preceding is found on the shores of Britain.
Chap. V.
Of the Tmprovevient of Lands already in a stale of Culture.
4207. A profitable application of many of the practices recommended in the Cliapters
of this and the foregoing Book may be made to many estates which have been long
under cultivation. It is certain, indeed, that the majority of those who study our
work will have that object more in view, than the laying out or improvement of estates
ab origine. Few are the estates in Britain in which the farm lands do not admit of in-
creased value, by rectifying the shape of fields, adjusting their size, improving the fences,
draining the soil, or adding to the shelter ; and few are the farmeries that may not be
rendered more commodious. Of this, we shall give a few examples, after recognising
general principles and modes of proceeding.
Sect. I. Of the general Principles aiid Modes of Procedure, in improving Estates already
more or less improved.
4208. The groundwork of improvement, on which a practical man may tread with safety
and full effect, is an accurate delineation of the existing state, together with a faithful
estimate of the present value of the lands and other particulars of an estate to be
improved. A general map of the appropriated lands, promptly exhibiting the several
farms and fields as they lie, and showing the existing watercourses, embankments, fences,
and buildings; the woodlands, standing waters, morasses, and moory grounds ; the known
mines and quarries ; together with the commonable lands (if any) belonging to the estate,
forms a comprehensive and useful subject of study to the practical inaprover. It is to
him, what the map of a country is to a traveller, or a sea-chart to a navigator. If an estate
is large, a faithful delineation of it will enable him in a few hours to set out with advan-
tages, respecting the connexions and dependencies of the whole and its several parts, with
which as many days, weeks, or months could not furnish him, without such scientific as-
sistance. If on the same plan appear the rental value of each field or parcel of land, and
the annual produce of each mine, quarry, woodland, and productive water in its present
state, the preparatory information which science is capable of furnishing may be consi-
dered as complete. And it remains with the artist to study with persevering attention
the subject itself, in ordef to discover the species Of improvements of which it is sus-
ceptible, and the suitable means of carrying them into effect.
4209. The species of improvements that are incident to landed property are numerous.
They may, however, be classed under the following heads : tlie improvement of the out-
line, and general consolidation of an estate by purchase, sale, or exchange : the improve-
ment of the roads; of the mines and minerals; of the towns, villages, mills, and manu-
factories; of the waters; of the woods and plantations; and of the farmeries and farm lands.
This last subject is the most common, and it is to it that we shall devote the succeeding
section. To discuss the other species of improvement, as applied to old estates, would
necessarily include so much of what has already passed in review in the foregoing Book,
as to be wearisome to the reader.
Sect. II. Of the Imjrrovement of Farmeii&s and Farm Lands.
4210. Farm lands are of more or less value according to the means of occupying them.
Arable lands in particular require buildings and other conveniences, proportioned to the
size of a farm. We frequently see tenants curbed in their operations, and incurring a
waste of produce, tlirough the want of sufficient homestalls. On the other hand, we
sometimes observe a prodigality of expenditure on farm buildings ; thus not only sinking
money unnecessarily, but incurring unnecessary expenses in subsequent repairs, by ex-
tending homesteads beyond the sizes of farms. In some cases, therefore, it will be found
necessary to curtail the extent of farm buildings, as large barns ; in others to enlarge the
yards, and in many to add and re-arrange the whole. The subject therefore may be con-
sidered in regard to design and execution ; but as we have already treated fully on laying
out new farmeries, we shall here offer only a few general remarks as to alterations.
4211. In improving the plan of a farmery the given intention is first to be maturely-
considered, and the several requisites to be carefully ascertained. The given site is next
682
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III
to be delineated, so as to show the existing buildings, yards, roadways, and entrances ;
and then, by maturely studying the plan alternately with the site itself, to endeavor to
trace out the most suitable alterations ; all the while keeping in view the perfection of
arrangement, the situation and value of the existing buildings, and the expenses of alter-
ation ; returning to the charge repeatedly, until the judgment be fully satisfied. It is
much easier to plan and erect a new farmstead, than to improve one which is already
erected. The former requires science and ingenuity only ; the latter good sense and
judgment also.
4212. In executing improvements on oldfarmenes some difficulty occurs as to the in-
corporation of new and old materials. If the situation and plan are likely to be of per-
manent approval, the new erections may be made in the most substantial manner;
keeping it in view that the old, which are repaired at the time, may afterwards be wholly
renewed. But if the repairs and improvements are not to extend further than the
duration of a lease, or ti}l, by the expiry of various leases, some general plan of im-
provement can be determined on, then old materials or less permanent erections may be
adopted.
4213. As an example of adding jmrt of a newly-enclosed common-field to a srnall anciently
enclosed grass farm {fig. 544. j, we give the following case :
544
4214. The farmery [a] and ancient enclosed fields (h), are separated from the common
field by a road, and bounded on the other side by a lake. The soil is a soft black earth
on a gravelly subsoil ; the surface a gentle slope towards the lake. The farm-house is sup-
posed to be already placed in this ancient part ; and the object in view is to unite a large
portion of the common field, when enclosed to each ancient farm, so as to get a fair rent
for the lands at the least expense. The soil of this common field is a light poor sand,
with nearly a flat surface. The circumstances of the country are favorable to large farms,
the climate is dry, and the situation such as to require shelter. The number of acres to
be enclosed and added to this farm is 1 200. These will be most advantageously culti-
vated in six shifts of, 1, turnips (c) ; 2, barley (rf) ; 3, artificial grasses (e) ; 4 and 5, the
same (/, ^r) j q^ wheat or oats (A). Each shift is proposed to be separated by a plantation
Book III.
IMPROVING FARM LANDS.
683
for shelter, and no inferior divisions are made. In two of the plantations are field-barns,
sheds, &c. where the corn grown on one-half of the arable lands is threshed by a moveable
threshing-machine, and the straw consumed by cattle. There are cottages at each of
these barns for laborers to attend to the stock, &c. The ridges in each of the breaks or
shifts are supposed to extend their whole length ; or they may be ploughed as if the whole
break were only one ridge, by which means not a moment is lost in turning at the ends.
Sec. Hereford or Devon oxen are supposed the beasts of labor on this farm.
4215. In place of the above rotation, wheat may be added after the second year of arti-
ficial grasses, and one shift kept entirely under saintfoin. This saintfoin division must of
course be changed every sixth or seventh year. However, if a proper mixture of
artificial grasses are sown, such as red, white, and yellow clover, rib-grass, burnet, saint-
foin, timothy, cocksfoot, rye-grass, and soft grass, the produce will be superior to that
from either saintfoin or lucern alone, on a soil such as this, or even perhaps on any soil.
Every agriculturist of observation must be aware that the efforts of annual and biennial
plants are powerful for a few years at first, and that they uniformly produce a greater bulk
than perennials : the latter seem to compensate for this temporary bulk by a steady durable
produce.
4216. The old pasture near the house is supposeif to be irrigated from the upper part of
the lake, by a cut passing near the house. These pastures are particularly advantageous
for early lambs, milch cows, &c. and for stock in general in seasons of great drought.
4217. Correcting the outlines of fields is one of the most obvious sources of ameliorri-
tion on many, perhaps on most estates. The advantages of proper sized and shaped
enclosures have been fully pointed out, when treating of laying out farm lands, and in
altering existing fences the same principles must be steadily kept in view ; for though,
unless by a total eradication of all the existing fences, every requisite may not be
attainable, yet such a number may be gained as amply to compensate for the expense. In
altering the shape and size of fields, besides the advantages resulting from the improve-
ment in form, it will generally be found that a number of culturable acres may be added
to the farm in proportion to the crookedness of the fences and their width. Better
drainage and roads will also be obtained, and where ornament is an object, a park-like
appearance may be produced by leaving as single trees a part of what may have stood in
the eradicated hedge-rows.
4218. As an example of improving the shape and size of fields, we shall refer to a farm of
350 acres, situated in Middlesex, (fig. 545. ) In this case, the fields were larger than
M CJicrins
usual, but the fences were in many parts from ten to fifteen yards in width, more
resembling strips of copse wood than fences, as they contained hazel, dogwood, black
and white thorns, wild roses, brambles, and a variety of native shrubs. The lines of
these fences were so ill calculated for carrying off* the surface water, that in one half of
the fields there were open gutters for the discharge of the water collected in the hedge- row
ditches.
4219. In the centre of one field (25), for example, above an acre was rendered waste
by the water from other fields (19, 20, and 21), which water, it is curious to remark,
might, if led over the same acre agreeably to the principles of irrigation, have produced
684
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
annually at least two and a half loads of good hay, in place of annually rendering the
produce of this acre unmarketable. The water of some fields (as 1 6, 18, and part of
19), ran in a diagonal direction through another (15), two acres of which might have
been irrigated by it to advantage.
4220. In the farm when altered {jig. 546.), the fields are more uniform in shape
and size ; their sides are parallel, and better adapted for ploughing the lands in straight
ridges. All the surface-water is carried off by the open fence drains. Access is had to
every field by the shortest possible road from the farmery. Only two-thirds the number
of gates formerly required are requisite. Fifty acres are rendered useful which were
formerly lost, or pernicious, by occupying space for which rent was paid, and by
harbouring insects and noxious weeds ; and as much rich vegetable earth is obtained
from the old hedge banks, as spread abroad in every direction may be said to manure
at least ten acres. The whole is more open • and healthful ; and, from the number of
single trees thrown into the fields, more elegant, and bearing a greater resemblance to
a park. A part near the house (1, 2, 3) is in permanent pasture, and the rest (4, 5, 6,
&c.) under a course of fallow, wheat, clover, beans, wheat.
4221. As an example of altering the fields and consolidating a farm, we submit the case
of a meadow-farm, with the arable lands in a common field state. (Jig. 547. ) By an
act of enclosure, these scattered arable lands (a), were exchanged for others adjoin-
ing the meadow grounds (Jig. 548 6), and the whole rendered more compact and
commodious. This farm being intersected by a public lane affords an example in
which no private roads are wanting. The size and shape of the fields was improved, and
the broad fences reduced as in the preceding case, and attended with the same advan-
tages in an agricultural point of view.
4222. But though in altering broad fences there are obvious and indisputable advantages to the farmer,
yet, as justly observed by Loch, gain is not every thing. " The fences on the Marquess of Staflfbrd's
estates," he says, " were liable to the same objection which is applicable to a great proportion of the
counties of England. They are not composed of quick, at least but in a scanty degree ; they for the most
part consist of bushes, growing from the stump of every sort of forest-tree, intermixed with hazel, birch,
hornbeam, maple, alder, willow, &c. They are planted on high and dry mounds, and thus are subject to
constant decay. They occupy too much ground, provided agriculture alone was the occupation of life.
But as they give great protection, when they thrive, to the game, they become an important object of
preservation, inasmuch as every thing must be of consequence which contributes to the sport, and has the
effect of retaining the gentry of England much upon their estates. For this reason, it may occasionally
be proper to consider of the best way to preserve these hedges at the least expense, in place of substituting
more perfect ones in their stead ; nor should one object exclusively be attended to in the agricultural
improvements of so great and so wealthy a country.
4223. When farm-lands are exposed to high ivinds, interspersing them with strips or
masses of plantation is attended with obviously important advantages. Not only are
such lands rendered more congenial to the growth of grass, and corn, and the health of
pasturing animals, but the local climate is improved. The fact, that the climate may be
thus improved, has, in very many instances, been sufficiently established. It is, indeed,
astonishing how much better cattle thrive in" fields even but moderately sheltered than
Book III.
SHELTERING FARM LANDS.
686
they do in an open exposed country. In the breeding of cattle, a sheltered farnij ojr a
sheltered corner in a farm, is a thing much prized ; and, in instances where fields are
taken by the season for the purpose of fattening them, those most sheltered never fail to
bring the highest rents, provided the soil be equal with that of the neighboring fields
which are not sheltered by trees. If we inquire into the cause, we shall find, that it
does not altogether depend on an early rise of grass, on account of the shelter afforded
to the lands by the plantations ; but, likewise, that cattle which have it in their power, in
cold seasons, to indulge in the kindly shelter afforded them by the trees, feed better ;
because their bodies are not pierced by the keen winds of spring and autumn ; neitlief
is the tender grass destroyed by the frosty blasts of March and April. [Plant. Kcd»
p. 121.)
4224. The operation of skreen plantations, in exposed situations, Marshal observes, is
not merely that of giving shelter to the animals lodging immediately beneath them ; but
likewise in breaking the uniform current of the wind, — shattering the cutting blasts,
and throwing them into eddies : thus meliorating the air to some distance from them*
Living trees communicate a degree of actual warmth to the air which envelopes them.
Where there is life there is warmth ; — not only in animal, but vegetable nature. The
severest frost rarely affects the sap of trees. Hence it appears, that trees and shrubs
properly disposed, in a bleak situation, tend to improve the lands so situated, in a
threefold way, for the purposes of agriculture : namely, by giving shelter to stock ; by
breaking the currents of winds ; and by communicating a degree of warmth or softness
to the air, in calmer weather.
4225. The proper disposal of skreen plantations for this purpose is in lines across the
most offensive winds, and in situations best calculated to break their force. Placed
across valleys, dips, or more open plains, in bleak exposures, they may be of singular
use. Also on the ridges, as well as on the points, and hangs, of hills.
4226. The width of skreen plantations ought generally to be regulated by the value of
the land for agricultural uses, and the advantages of the situation for the sale and deli-
Very of timber. In ordinary cases, from two to four statute poles may be considered as
an eligible width.
4227. The form of plantations for shelter, however, will not in every case be that of
a stripe or belt of uniform width. In hilly, rocky, and other situations, different forms
will suggest themselves according to the situation and the objects in view. In rocky
abrupt sites (^^. 549.;, the plantation will consist of a number of masses («, 6,c),
of forms determined by the rocks and precipices, among which some of the most
valuable pasture may be left as glades (f/, e), for use, effect, and for the sake of game.
Strips and hedges for shelteriug, or separating arable lands, should be formed as much
as possible in straight and parallel lines, in order not to increase the expense of tillage.
636
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
549
Part III.
by short and irregular turnings. Straight parallel strips, on irregular surfaces, have a
more varied appearance at a distance, than strips ever so much varied on a flat surface ;
for, in the former case, the outline against the sky is varied as much as that on the earth.
In extensive, hilly pastures, in which it is often desirable to produce shelter, and at the
same time to plant only the most rocky and unproductive spots, the forms may be of
the most irregular description ; and by planting chiefly on the eminences and slopes
{Jig. 550. ), shelter will be most effectually produced, the pasture improved, the least
valuable ground rendered productive in copse or
timber, and the greatest richness and picturesque
beauty conferred on the landscape. There are some
fine examples of this on the hilly districts of Fife-
shire ; there, on many estates where nothing was
sought for but profit and shelter, the greatest
beauty has been produced ; and the picturesque
tourist now passes through glades and valleys, pas-
tured by well-fed cattle and sheep, enlivened by
rocks, thickets, hanging-woods, and occasional rills
and lakes. Fifty years ago scarcely a tree was
to be seen, and only the most inferior descriptions
of live stock.
4228. The species of woody plants best adapted
for shelter, are the rapid growing and evergreen ^ji^-Si
trees, as the Scotch pine, and such as are at the same
time clothed with branches from the ground up-
wards, as the spruce fir, the best of ail trees for
shelter, unless the situation is very elevated. Among
the deciduous trees, the fast-growing branchy sort
are most desirable, as the larch, birch, poplar, wil-
low ; in very elevated situations, the birch, moun-
tain-ash, and Scotch-pine, exposed to the sea
breeze, the elder and sycamore. To maintain a branchy, leafy screen from the ground
upwards, intermix trees and shrubs which stole ; or such as grow under the shade and drip
of others, as the holly, hazel, dog- wood, box, yew, &c. To produce shelter, and yet
admit of the growth of grass below the trees, prune any sort to single stems, and use
chiefly deciduous sorts.
4229. In bleak and barren situations, Marshal observes, the larch will generally be
found the most profitable, as timber. 13 ut, being deciduous, it does not in winter, when
its services are most wanted, afford so much shelter as the common pine. A skreen, to
shelter live stock, should be close at the bottom. It is, otherwise, injurious rather than
beneficial. Not only the blast acquires additional current, but snow is liable to be blown
through, and to be lodged in drifts on the leeward side, to the annoyance and danger of
sheep that have repaired to it for shelter. A larch plantation margined with spruce firs,
and these headed at twelve or fifteen feet high, would afford the required shelter, for a
length of years. The firs, or pines, thus treated, would be induced to throw out lateral
boughs, and feather to the ground : while the larches, in their more advanced state of
growth, would, by permitting the winter's winds to pass through the upper parts of the
skreen, break the current and mellow the blast.
4230. In more genial situatiotis, the beech, by retaining its leaves in winter, especially
while it is young, forms a valuable skreen. If the outer margins were kept in a state of
coppice wood, and cut alternately, and the middle ranks suffered to rise as timber trees,
the triple purpose of skreen plantations might be had in an eminent degree, and almost in
perpetuity.
4231. In deep'Soiled, vale districts, which not unfrequently want shelter, skreens of oak
might be managed in a similar way. Hollies, or other hardy evergreens, planted as
Book III.
SHELTERING FARM LANDS.
687
underwood, in groves of either of the above descriptions, would, if suitable situations were
assigned them, assist much in this intention.
4232. A tall impervious fence is, for the purpose of shelter to pasturing stock, nearly-
equal to a depth of coppice wood, and infinitely preferable ^to an open grove of timber
trees ; beside its additional use as a fence. There appears, one species of fence which is
peculiarly adapted to this purpose. This is the coppice mound hedge of Devonshire
and South Wales; namely, a high wide bank or mound of earth, planted with
coppice woods. This becomes, immediately on its erection, a shelter and a guard to
pasture grounds.
4233. The method of forming fences of this intention is that of carrying up a stratum of
earth, between two sod facings, " battering," or leaning somewhat inward, to the re-
quired height ; and planting on the top the roots and lower stems of coppice plants,
gathered in woods, or on waste grounds ; or with nursery plants, adapted to the given
situation. If the mound be carried to a full height, as five or six feet, and a])out that
width at the top, and this be planted with strong plants, with stems cut off about two feet
above the roots (in the usual practice of Devonshire), a sufficient fence is thus immediately
formed against ordinary stock. But if the bank be lower, or if nursery plants be put in,
a slight guard, run along the outer brink, on either side, and leaning outward, over the
face of the mound, is required (especially against sheep) until the plants get up. If a
hedge of this kind be raised as a plantation fence, (^specially on the lower side pf ^ slope)
688 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
the outer side only requires to be faced with sods ; the hedge plants being set in a rough
shelving bank, on the inner side.
4234. The species of hedge woods, proper for mound fences, depends entirely on the soil
and situation. On mounds of bad soil, in a bleak situation, the furze alone affords
much shelter, and a good fence. The sides being kept pruned, so as to show a close firm
face rising above the top of the bank, it is a secure barrier, even against the wilder
breeds of Welsh sheep. The beech is commonly planted in high exposed situations ;
and in places more genial to the growth of wood, the hazel, the ash, and the oak are the
ordinary plants of hedge mounds. The willow tribe have a quality which recommends
them, in situations where they will florish : they grow freely from cuttings, or truncheons
set in the ground ; whereas to secure the growth of ordinary coppice woods, rooted plants
are required. The rock-willow (Salix caprea) will grow in high and dry situations.
4235. On thin-soiled stone?/ surfaces, tall mounds are difficult to raise ; and there stone
walls are not only built at a small expense, but are convenient receptacles for the stones
with which the soil is encumbered. But a stone wall, unless it be carried up to an inor-
dinate height, at a great expense, is useless as a skreen ; may be said to be dangerous
as such, in a bleak exposed situation, for as soon as the drifting snow has reached the top
of the wall, on the windward side, it pours over it, and inevitably buries the sheep which
may be seeking for shelter on the leeward side. Hence, in a situation where shelter is
required, it is necessary that a stone fence should be backed with a skreen plantation.
4236. To plant trees for shade may in some cases be requisite for agricultural purposes.
Where this is the case, close plantations are seldom desirable, a free circulation of air
being necessary to coolness ; therefore trees with lofty stems, and large heads, pruned to
single stems are preferable : the oak, elm, chestnut, and beech, for thick shade ; the plane,
acacia, and poplar, for shade of a lighter degree.
4237. ^n example of sheltering a hill farm bi/ plantation, and at the same time im-
proving the shape and size of fields, shall next be given. No farming subject affords better
opportunities of introducing hedge- rows, and strips of planting than hill-farms. The one
under consideration {fg. 55 1 .) is a small estate farmed by its owner ; it consists of nearly
370 acres ; and is situated in an elevated, picturesque part of a central English county.
The soil is partly a flinty loam or chalk, and partly a strong rich soil, incumbent on clay.
The fields (1 to 34^, are very irregular, bounded by strips of timber and copse. By the
alterations and additions proposed {fig. 552.), all the most hilly and distant spots will be
kept in permanent pasture ; and the exposed and abrupt places, angles, &c. planted chiefly
with oaks for copse, and beech for timber and shelter.
Chap. VI.
Of the Execution of Improvements.
4238. The mode in which improvements are executed is a point of very considerable
importance, and may materially affect their success as well as their expense. We shall
first consider the different modes of execution, and next offer some general cautions to
be held in view in undertaking extensive works.
Sect. I. Of the different Modes of procuring the Execution of Improvements on Estates.
4239. The necessary preliminari/ to the execution of an improvement, is a calculation
<of tlie advantages to arise from it, and an estimate of the expense of carrying it into ef-
fect, if the former^ taken in their full extent, do not exceed the latter, the proposed
alteration cannot, in a private view, be considered as an improvement. The next point to
be ascertained is the practicability, under the given circumstances of a case, of executing
the plan under consideration. There are three things essential to the due execution of an
improvement. 1st, an undertaker, or a person of skill, leisure, and activity, to direct
the undertaking ; 2d, men and animals with which to prosecute the work ; 3d, money,
or other means of answering the required expenditure. A deficiency in any one of
these, may, by frustrating a well planned work after its commencement, be the cause,
not only of its failure, but of time, money, and credit being lost. — Improvements may
be executed by the proprietor, either directly, gradually, by economical arrangements, or
remotely to ascertain extent, by moral and intellectual means.
4240. To execute improvements directly, all that is necessary is to employ a steward or
manager of adequate abilities and integrity, and supply him with the requisite plans,
men, and money. This will generally be found the best mode of forming new roads,
new plantations, opening new quarries or mineral pits, altering the course of M^aters,
and all such creations or alterations as are not included in the improvement of farm lands.
4211. Topi'ockre the gradual execution of improvements on farm lands^ various arrange-
Book III. EXECUTING IMPROVEMENTS. 689
ments may be made with the tenants : for example, by granting long leases ; letting them
find the requisites of improvement, and take the advantages during their terms; by granting
shorter leases, with a covenant of remuneration for the remainder of such improvements
as they have made, at the time of quitting ; by granting leases, at a low rent, for the first
years of the term, to give the tenants time and ability to improve at their own expense ;
by advancing money to tenants at will, or, which is the same, making allowances of rent
for specified improvements, to be executed by them under the inspection and control
of the manager, they paying interest for the money advanced, or allowed ; by employ-
ing workmen on tenanted farms ; the tenants in like manner paying interest on the money
expended. The usual interest, till lately, was six per cent. ; thus estimating the value of
the improvement at sixteen years purchase.
4242. The moral and intellectual means of improving farm lands consists, as Marshal
has observed, in enlightening the minds of tenants. Though this mode is but of slow
operation, and respects more improvements in modes of culture, than such as require great
outlay ; yet it deserves notice in this place, as necessary to second the efforts of the
landlord.
4243. Farmers, as vioral and intellectual agents, may be divided into reading men, and
illiterate beings; the first class derive hints for improvement from bonks; but the
second can only, if at all, derive benefit from example.
4244. With respect to improving farmers bi/ books, — agricultural newspapers, magazines,
and county surveys, are probably what would be read with most eagerness, and as such
works abound in statements of what actually has taken place in different situations, by
farmers like themselves, perhaps they are the most likely to stimulate to exertion. Histo-
rical relations of the agriculture of other ^countries are also generally interesting to
agriculturists, and though no great professional benefit is to be derived from them, yet
they tend to enlarge and liberalize the mind^ and promote a taste for knowledge.
Under these circumstances it may be worthy of consideration whether an agricultural
library might not be established in the steward's office of very extensive estates for the use
of the tenants and all other persons belonging to the estate who chose to read from it.
4245. The establishment of schools for the children of the lower class of tenants, and
of cottagers of every description, is an obvious and important source of moral and intel-
lectual improvement ; and considering it as decided by experience and the most com-
petent judges, that the education of the lower classes will tend greatly to their amelioration
and the benefit of society at large, we are of opinion that wherever they are not already
established, they should be introduced. Working schools, somewhat in the German
manner (343.}, both for boys and girls, would also be a material improvement in such
districts as are behind in a taste for cleanliness, fire-side comforts, cookery, and dress.
4246. Examples as stimuli to improvement may be exhibited in various ways ; by
letting a farm to a tenant of superior energy, or from a more improved district ; by ex-
hibiting improved implements and operations on one particular farm ; by an itinerant
ploughman of abilities, accompanied by a smith and carpenter, and with some imple-
ments, to go round the estate and instruct each tenant on his own farm ; and finally, and
perhaps preferably, by inducing every farmer to make a tour into some other district
once a year.
4247. In addition to these modes, appropriate as we consider for two different classes
of tenants. Marshal suggests the following as calculated to insure a spirit of improve-
ment among all farmers not of sufficient energy and intelligence. They are to be adopted
by a proprietor, or by the manager of an estate, who has a knowledge of rural afllairs,
and who possesses the good will and confidence of its tenantry, in various Ways.
4248. By personal attention only much is to be done. By reviewing an estate, once
or twice a year ; by conversing with each tenant in looking over his farm ; and by duly
noticing the instances of good management which rise to the eye, and condemning those
which are bad ; vanity and fear, two powerful stimulants of the human mind, will be
roused, and an emulation be created among superior managers ; while shame will scarcely
fail to bring up the more deserving of the inferior ranks. li\ after repeated exhortations,
an irreclaimable sloven be discharged as such, and his farm given to another, professedly
for his superior qualifications as a husbandman, an alarm will presently be spread over
the estate, and none, but those who deserve to be discharged, will long remain in the
field of bad management.
4249. Even by conversation, well directed, something may be done. If, instead of
collecting tenants to the audit, as sheep to the shearing, and sending them away, as
sheep that are shorn ; — or if, on the contrary, instead of providing for them a sumptuous
entertainment, and committing them to their fate, in a state of intoxication ; — a repast,
suited to their conditions and habits of life, were set before them ; — and if, after this,
the conversation were to be benjt towards agriculture, by distributing presents to superior
managers, specifying tlie particulars of excellence, for which the rewards or acknowledg-
ments were severally bestowed ; — a spirit of emulation could not fail to take place among
Yy
«gO PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
the higher classes ; while the minds of the lower order of tenants, and of the whole,
would be stimulated and improved by the conversation.
4250. By encouraging ieadi7ig men, in different parts of a large estate, — men who
are looked up to, by orSnary tenants ; — by holding out these as patterns to the rest ; —
by furnishing them with the means of improving their breeds of stock ; by supplying them
with superior varieties of crops, and witli implements of improved constructions: and,
in recluse and backward districts, much may be done by tempting good husbandmen, and
expert workmen, from districts of a kindred nature, but under a better system of culti-
vation, to settle upon an estate.
4251. By an experimental farm, to try new breeds of stock, new crops, new imple-
ments, new operations, and new plans of management ; such as ordinary tenants ought
not to attempt, before they have seen them tried. To this important end, let the
demense lands of a large estate, or a sufficient portion of them, be appropriated to a nursery
of improvements, for the use of the estate ; to be professedly held out as such, and be
constantly open to the tenants ; more particularly to the exemplary practitioners, the lead-
ing men of the estate, just mentioned ; who, alone, can introduce improvements aniong
the lower classes of an ignorant and prejudiced tenantry: it is in vain for a proprietor
to attempt it. On the contrary, the attenipt seldom fails to alarm, disgust, and prevent
the growth of spontaneous improvements.
4252. UTuter the present plan of demesne farming, the tenants see expensive works going forward, which
they know they cannot copy, and hear of extraordinary profits, by particular articles, which they are cer,
tain cannot be obtained by any regular course of business. They therefore conclude that the whole is
mere deception, to gain a pretext for raising the rents of their farms above their value. Whereas, if tl)e
demesne lands where held out, as trial grounds, for their immediate benefit, and conducted, as such, in
a manner intelligible to them, they would not fail to visit them. Instead of large proprietors attempting
to rival the meanest of their tenants, in farming for pecuniary profit, which, on a fair calculation, they
rarely, if ever, obtain ; let their views in agriculture be professedly and effectually directed toward the
pecuniary advantages of their tenants : for from these, only, their own can arise, in any degree that is
entitled to the attentions of men of fortune. Instead of boasting of the price of a bullock, or the produce
of a field, let it be the pride of him who possesses an extent of landed property, to speak of the florish-
ing condition of his estates at large, the number of superior managers that he can count upon them, and
the value of the improvements which he has been the happy means of diffusing among thepi. Leave it to
professional men, to yeomanry and the higher class of tenants, to carry on the improvements, and incor-
porate them with established practices ; to prosecute pecuniary agriculture in a superior manner, and set
examples to inferior tenantry. This is strictly their province ; and their highest and best view in life. It
lias been through this order of men, chiefly or wholly, that valuable improvements in agriculture have
been brought into practice, and rendered of general use.
4253. The possessor of an extent of territory has higher objects in view, and a more elevated station to fill.
As a superior member of society, it may be said, he has still higher views than those of aggrandizing his
own income. But how can a man of fortune fill what may well be termed his legitimate station in life,
with higher advantage to his country, than by promoting the prosperity of his share of its territory ; by
rendering not one field, or one farm, but every farm upon it productive ? This is, indeed, being faithfully
at his post. And it is a good office in society which is the more incumbent upon him, as no other man ox\
earth can of right perform it ; valuable as it is to the public.
Sect. 1 1. General Cautions on the Subject of executing Imj)rovements.
4254. No work can be jirudently commenced until the plan be fully matured, not ip
idea only, but in diagrams, and in models, if the subject require them ; in order that
every bearing, and every hinge, may be sufficiently foreknown : the site of improvement
being reverted to, again and again, with the draught or the model in hand ; until the judg-
ment be satisfied, and the mind be inspired with confidence. If a proprietor has not
yet acquired sufficient judgment, within himself, let him consult some one man, or one
council of men, in whose knowledge and judgment he can confide ; and thus fix a rally-
ing point. Having brought his plan to a degree of maturity, in this private manner, he
may then venture to publish it ; and endeavor to improve it, by the advice of its friends,
and the aniiuadversions of its enemies.
4255. If a proprietor wants judgment himself and a friend to supply it, let him not at-
tempt the more difficult works of improvement. Yet how often we see, both in public
and private life, men engaged in arduous undertakings, embarked on the wide ocean of
business, without rudder or compass to guide them : depending on casual information,
to help them on their way : sponging, with porous brain, the minds that are bedewed
with the knowledge they require. But having no store of their own to assimilate it with, it
presently evaporates. They are consequently ever of opinion with the last persons they
converse with. Such men's decisions and operations are always wrong : and for an
obvious reason. They consult those who are best able to inform them, first : and receive
their last impressions from those who are least capable to give them. Men who have
neither judgment in themselves nor any standard of practice to rally at, are liable to be
led astray by the plausible schemes of theorists, the greater part of whom know nothing
of the practical part of business ; and by their calculations both of expense in the outlay,
and of profit in the return, deceive both themselves and their friends or employers; some
also may have sinister designs in view ; though we believe the errors of speculative men
are in most cases owing to their being endowed with more of the imaginative than of
the judging faculty.
Boor IV. MANAGEMENT OF LANDED PROPERTY. 691
4256. The execution of the different improvements, of which an estate has been found
susceptible being determined on, it is always advisable to begin with one which is obvious;
M'hich may be eftected with the greatest certainty ; which will repay most amply the
expenses of carrying it into effect : or which leads to otlier improvements ; as embank-
ment, drainage, &c. To attempt a doubtful project, while plans which are obvious and cer-
tain, remain unexecuted, to try experiments before the list of known improvements has been
gone through, is seldom to be recommended; though it might sometimes turn out to be right.
4257. All rural operations are more or less public, and as it were performed on a stage ;
and spectators fail not to criticise. If an experiment should prove abortive, or a pro-
posed improvement turn out to be false, the ardor of the improver will be liable to be
damped, his people to be discontented (as partaking in the discredit), and the expecting
public around him, to be disappointed. A few miscarriages, in the outset, might frustrate
the best intentions, and the most profitable schemes. But if, by prosecuting plain and
certain improvements, a man once gain his own confidence, as well as that of the people
about him, he may then venture to explore less beaten paths. And this he will be able
to do with greater caution, and more probability of success, by the experience that he haa
already gained : this being a further motive for pursuing the line of conduct here
suggested.
4258. All works of improvement should be executed with vigor. Many faulter in the
midst of well planned works, either through the want of foresight or of business-like
exertion, in consequence the money already expended lies dead, and the works are injur-
ed by the delay. Some works, as embankments and drainages, may be ruined by the
slightest neglect or relaxation, and indeed, as Marshal observes, we see in every depart-
ment of the kingdom, these and other works deserted and left to moulder into nuisances
or disreputable eyesores.
4259. In carrying on a work, execute every thing substantially, and in a workman-like
manner. Too often a false economy leads to the subversion of this principle. To save
a few pounds in the first cost, materials of an inferior quality are laid in, or an insuffi-
cient quantity used, to give the required substance and strength to the work. By either
of these imprudences, its duration is abridged ; and the eventual loss, by repairs and
renewal, may be ten times greater than the sum injudiciously saved in the original
erection. Nevertheless, to increase the evil of these ill-judged savings, inferior work-
men are employed, or sufficient workmen at inferior prices, at which they cannot affijrd
to make good work ; nor can a superintendant urge them to make it under such circum-
stances. Consequently the work is ill performed, its duration is still more abridged,
and a further loss, by injudicious saving, is incurred.
4260. There are cases in ivhich temporary works only are required. A lease-tenant,
for instance, wants to make an improvement which will last as long as his^ lease, without
caring about its further duration. In such a case, it may be well-judged frugality and
admissible " cleverness in business," to work up cheap materials in a cheap way.
But it seldom can be right in the proprieter of an hereditary estate, whose interest in it
may be said to be perpetual, to proceed in the same manner. His best policy is to take
favorable opportunities of laying in good materials at moderate prices, to use them when
duly seasoned, and to employ good workmen at fair prices, such as cannot furnish them
with an excuse for being guilty of bad workmanship, and such as will warrant their
employer to urge and enforce that which is good.
4261. Accomplish one work before another is commenced. A work may be considered
as accomplished when the chief difficulties are surmounted, and cost expended ; and till
this is the case, it cannot be prudent to embark in another. By avoiding embarrass-
ments, the execution of improvements becomes a present pleasure, as well as a source of
future profit. No half-finished works are left as monuments of disgrace to an estate
and its owner. No time nor interest of money is lost. Every work is brought into
action and profit as it is finished; and if, as it frequently will happen with the most
prudent calculators, it has exceeded the estimated sum which was set apart for it, due
time may be taken to let the fund of improvement accumulate, so as to enable it to dis-
charge the arrear, and to furnish, as they may be wanted, the estimated sums which the
succeeding work may require.
BOOK IV.
OF THE MANAGEMENT OF IJVNDED PROPERTY.
4262. The management of an extensive landed estate^ like that of every other great pro-
perty, is a business both of talent and integrity. In former times, when every proprietor
y y 2
6d2 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
may be said to have cultivated the whole of his agricultural territory, it constituted hi s
whole occupation, vj'hen not engaged in vi'ar ; or required a host of managers if he was
a man of the first rank. On the continent, and especially in Russia and Hungary ,
where estates are of enormous extent, and wholly farmed by the proprietor, the largest
estates, as we have seen (609.), are managed by a court of directors, and an executive
department, with a numerous body of superintendant officers, artists, and artisans. A
better system is now adopted in this country, in consequence of the creation of profes-
sional farmers, who, taking large portions of territory from the owner for a certain num-
ber of years at a fixed rent, and on certain stipulations, for mutual security, occasion
little more trouble to the proprietor, during that period, than receiving payments.
Hence it is, that the management of estates in Britain, though important, is a more
simple business than in any other country.
4263, Where there are only tenanted holdings, the business of management is very
simple ; where there are woodlands, it requires a person to look after that department ;
and where there are waters, quarries, and mines, a greater number of subordinate
officers are requisite. But what often occasions most expense, and at the same time is
attended with the least profit, is the management of the abstract rights belonging to an
estate; such as tithes, manorial rights, quit-rents, and other antiquated trifles, which
require courts to be holden, and lawyers and other officers to be called in to assist. The
only British author who has digested the business of managing estates into a regular
system, is Marshal, and we shall follow him in considering this subject : — 1st, As to
the superintendants on , the executive establishment of an estate ; and 2d, As to the
general business, of management.
Chap. I.
Of the Superintendants, or Executive Establishment of an Estate.
4264. Though everj/ man who cannot manage his oion estate m all important matters,
deserves to lose it ; yet as extensive proprietors generally have their properties situated in
different parts of the country, and have besides public duties to attend to, certain subor-
dinate managers become necessary. In The Code of Agriculture, it is stated, that no
individual having a large estate is equal to the task of managing it, unless he is in the
prime of life, dedicates his whole time to the business, and gives up every other occu-
pation. It is there stated to have been found expedient by the proprietor of an
estate of great extent, to nominate two or three commissioners to assist him in its ma-
nagement. Under the superintendance of such commissioners, it is said, the aflairs of
a great property would be as well conducted, as on the best managed small or moderate
sized estates; while the duties of the proprietor would principally be to carry these ex-
ercises of true benevolence into effect, which would consist in softening severe decisions ;
or in granting those marks of approbation and reward which, when bestowed by the
proprietor himself, are the most likely to produce beneficial consequences. {Code, ^c.
App. 58.) Such may be the case on a few estates in the British isles not yet brought
into a regular system of improvement, and about to be remodelled, of which a grand
example occurs in the immense property of the Marquess of Stafford ; but in the great
majority of cases, a manager to each separate estate, of qualifications suited to its extent
and duties, and a general receiver and controller in the capital or metropolis, (if the
proprietor and his banker cannot effect these duties between them,) are all that is requisite.
We shall first oflTer a few remarks on the qualifications and duties of managers, and
next on the place of business and its requisites.
Sect. I. Of the Steward or Manager of an Estate, and his Assistants.
4265. The head manager of an estate ought unquestionably to be the proprietor him-
self, or his representative, if a minor or otherwise incompetent. Next to the proprietor
is his acting man of business, with proper assistants ; together with such professional
men as the circumstances of business may render necessary as advisers. A tenanted
estate differs widely from other species of property ; as giving power and authority over
persons as well as things. It has, therefore, a dignity, and a set of duties, attached to it,
which are peculiar to itself. A man who receives ten thousand pounds a year from the
public funds, for instance, is an insulated being, compared with him who receives the
same income from landed property ; who is one of society's best members : provided his
aflfairs are judiciously conducted. On the contrary, if, regardless of the dignity and the
duties of his station, he lives but to dissipate his income, leaving the government of his
estates and their inhabitants, to those whose interest and honor are unconcerned in their
welfare, or to those whose best interests lie in their derangement, he becomes at once
Book IV. LAND STEWARDS. 693
an enemy to himself, to his family, and to the community. As unpardonable it would
be in the possessor of a kingdom to be ignorant of state affairs, and unmindful of the
ministers who reside about his court ; — or in the commanding officer of a regiment to be a
stranger to his men, — a jjriest to his parishioners, — or a shepherd to his flock ; — as for
the possessor of a tenanted estate to be ignorant of territorial concerns, and a stranger to
his lands and their occupiers.
4266. Though it be an essential part of the duty of a man of fortune to be intimately
acquainted with his own affairs, it does not follow that he should be absorbed in them, and
neglect his duties as a superior member of society. In all matters of government and
command, subordination is essential to good order and success. A commander in chief
does not act as pioneer, nor does a naval commander reef his sails, or heave his anchorr
Each has his subordinate officers to convey his commands, and men to execute them.
But it is essentially necessary that the former should be well acquainted with n>ilitary,,
the latter with naval affairs. Every heir apparent, therefore, to a large landed property,
should be regularly, or at least more or less, bred up in the knowledge of rural affairs^,
so as to fill with honor and profit the high station he has in view. But if the possessor
of an estate has not been fortunately initiated in the knowledge which belongs to his>
station, the task of acquiring it is far from great. "
4267. On a large estate we generally find a resident manager, a land steward, a man wh»
has some knowledge of what is termed country business, and who acts under the control
of his employer, or of a confidential friend, who is more conversant in rural concerns;,
or perhaps of a law agent, who knows less of them ; or such residing steward, espe-
cially of a detached estate which lies at some distance from the residence of its proprietor,
acts without control. In the last case, if he is a man of judgment, it is fortunate botb
for the landlord and tenant. But, on the contrary, if such possessory manager wants-
those requisite qualifications, the consequence becomes mischievous to the lands, their
occupiers, their proprietors, and the community.
4268. The requisite acquirements of an acting manager, according to Marshal, are *
knowledge of agriculture, surveying, planting, some knowledge of mechanics, natural
history, and a master of accounts. Agriculture is the only firm foundation on which
the other required attainments can be securely reposed. It is not more essentially
valuable in the superintendence, than in the improvement of an estate. It is difficult
to become an accurate judge of the value of lands without a practical knowledge of
their uses ; nor can any man without it, properly appreciate the management of occui--
piers, much less assist them in correcting their errors, and improving their practice.
4269. Land-siirveying is a requisite qualification. Not so much however, for the purpose of measur--
ing and mapping an estate, at large, as for checking and correcting the works of professional men, as well
as to assist in laying out its lands to advantage.
4270. Planting, and the management of woodlands, are acquirements that cannot be dispensed with.-
Nor should his knowledge and attention be confined to the surface of the estate entrusted to his care ;
he ought to have some acquaintance with natural history, chemistry, and experimental philosophy, to'
enable him to form just notions on the subject of the subterrene productions which it may contain.
4271. Some knowledge of mechanics, and other sciences that are requisite to the business of an engineer,,
may be highly useful in pro.-^ecuting the improvements incident to landed property.
4-272. A competent knowledge of rural architecture, the doctrine of the strength of materials, and the •
superintendence of artificers, may be said to be of daily use.
4273. A thorough knowledge of accounts is essentially requisite to the manager of a landed estate.
4274. He should be a min of good character, of upright principles, and conciliatory manners ; to set an
example of good conduct to the tenants, and to become their common counsellor and peace-maker, in
those trifling disputes which never fail to arise among the occupiers of adjoining land ; and which too
frequently bring on serious quarrels and lawsuits, that end in the ruin, not only of themselves, but of
the tenements they occupy. A proprietor has, therefore, an interest in checking such disputes in the
bud. And no man can do this with so much effect, as a manager in whom they have a proper cbnfidence ;
and who possessies a due share of j)opularity on the estate.
4275. The acting manager requires certain assistants on a large estate ; especially if it
lies in a detached and scattered parts. Those in general use, are a ground officer and
clerk.
4276. A land-reeve, woodward, or ground officer, is required on each district or der
partment of a large estate ; to attend, not only to the woods, and hedge-timber, but tO
the state of the fences, gates, buildings, private roads, driftways, and watercourses;^
also to the stocking of commons (if any), and encroachments of every kind; as well as
to prevent, or detect, waste and spoil, in general, whether by the tenants of the estate, or
others ; and to report the same to the manager.
4277. The office clerk, book-keeper, or under steivard, is employed to form registers,
make out rentals, &c. ancj keep the accounts of the estate ; as well as to assist the man-
ager in his more active employments ; also to act as his substitute in case of sickness,
or absence ; and to become his successor in tlie event of his deatli, or other termination*
of his stewardship.
4278. A law assistant, solicitor, or attorney, may next be considered as requisite to
tlie good management of a landed estate. For although much is to be done by judicious
regulations, and the timely interposition and advice of a resident manager, such are thcr
Y y S
694 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
frailties of human nature, that, in a state of civilised society, and of property, legal
assistance will sometimes be necessary. The error of country gentlemen consists, not
in employing lawyers, but in committing the management of their landed estates to
them.
4279. In the feudal system^ under which every manor court was a court of law, we
may perceive the origin of law land-stewards. It is allowed by the best agricultural
writers in Europe (Chateauvieux, Timer, Thouin, Sigismondi, Jovellanos, Young, Marshal,
Brown, Coventry, ^c), that these men by their rigid adherence to precedent in the
clauses of leases, have contributed most materially to retard the progress of agricultural
improvement.
4280. The land-surveyor is another professional man, whom the superintendant of an
estate may want to call in occasionally. Not merely to measure and map the whole or
parts of the estate, but to assist in matters of arbitration, and the amicable settlement of
disputes ; or to act himself, as valuer or referee.
Sect. II. Of the Land Steward's Place of Business, and what belongs to it.
4281. A manager s place of business may be considered in regard to its situation, accom-
modation, and appropriate professional furniture.
4282. The situation of the place of business should be under the roof of the proprie-
tor's principal residence ; round which, and in its neighborhood, some considerable
parts of his estates may be supposed (as they ever ought) to lie. If a large bulk of his
property lie at too great a distance for tenants to attend at the principal office, and on
which he has a secondary residence, an inferior office is there required for such detached
part. And it may be laid down as a rule, in the management of landed property,
Marshal observes, that every distant part of an estate ought to have a place upon it (be
it ever so humble) in which its possessor may spend a few days comfortably ; to diffuse
over it a spirit of good order and emulation. He has known the most neglected and
almost savage spot, such as are many landed estates in Ireland, reclaimed and put in a
train of improvement by this easy method.
4283. The accommodation requisite for a principal office, are a commodious business
room, a small anti-room ; and a safe-keep, or strong room fire proof, for the more valuable
documents.
4284. The j)rofessional furniture with which an office of this description requires to
be supplied are maps, rental-books, books of valuation, register, legal papers, and
some others.
4285. A general map of the whole estate on a large scale is an obvious requisite ; and
portable separate maps, with accompanying registers and other descriptive particulars, are
useful in proportion as improvements may be in contemplation.
4286. Books of valuation are essential, especially where there are numerous small
holdings on short terms. In these registers is contained the number, name, admeasure-
ment, and estimated value of each field, and every parcel of land, as well as of each
cottage, or other building, not being part of a farmstead, on the several distinct
parts or districts of the estate. The valuations being inserted in colums, as they arise,
whether by general surveys, or incidentally ; headed with the names of their respective
valuers, so that whenever a farm is to re-let, these columns may be consulted, and its
real value be fixed, in a re-survey, with the greater exactness.
4287. A general register of timber trees, copsewood, and young plantations is particu-
larly wanted where there is much hedge-row timber. Marshal directs to specify in this
register the number of timber trees in each wood, grove, hedge-row, and area, with the
species, number, and admeasurement of each tree. He also recommends separate
pocket-books, containing the particulars of each division, or of a number of contiguous
divisions, for the occasional use of the manager and wood-reeve.
4288. Contracts, agreements, accounts, letters on business, and other documents, should
be intelligibly endorsed, dated or numbered, and arranged so as to be easily referred to
A book of abstracts, or heads of papers of greater importance, should be made out to be
referred to on ordinary occasions^ and likewise to serve as an index to the originals,
which require a more secure repository than a common business-room.
4289. Legal documents, such as title deeds, legal decisions, awards of arbitration,
counterparts of leases, securities, cash, bills, passed accounts, &c., as being the most
important objects, should be carefully deposited in the safety-chest or strong room.
4290. Portable registers of the tenanted lands in convenient pocket volumes, with maps
on a small scale heading every farm, are a most invaluable description of books both for
the manager and his employer. Two opposite pages being appropriated to each farm with
its map, the following information should be given : —
Book IV. LAND STEWARDSHIP. e&S
Name of the farm and its number of acres. The eligibility of the plan and circumstances of
The name of the tenant and the existing rent. the farm.
The tenancy ; if on lease, the term of expiring. The eligibility of the occupier.
Any extraordinary covenant of the lease. The eligibility of the present rent.
The number of cottages let with the farm. The state of the buildings, fences and gates, roads,
The number of timber trees growing on it. and watercourses.
The number of orchard trees growing on it. The state of cultivation, and condition of the Jiv*
stock.
4291. Add, among other things, the following, viz.
The repairs more immediately wanted. With any other incident of occurrence respecting
The improvements of which the whole is suscep- the farm or its occupier, that requires to be re*.
tible. membered ; and with references to the books and
The agreements entered into with the tenant. papers which may pertain to the several particulars j
The permissions granted him. thus having at one view a complete abstract of the
The injunctions delivered to him. history and present state of every farm, together
With a hint as to his personal character, and the with the particulars of attention whicli each will
number and general character of his family, require.
4292. The trouble of forming an abstract of this kind, or of renewing it, when filled,
or in order to adapt it to the varying circumstances of the several farms, is inconsider-
able, compared with its uses; which are not only obvious to theory, but are fully-
established in practice. On returning to an estate, after twelve months' absence.
Marshal has generally found, that, by consulting a register of this sort, and, through its
means, making systematic enquiries respecting the incidents that have occurred on the
several farms during his absence ; he, in this summary way, and before he entered upon
a fresh view, became better acquainted not only with the general interests but with the
more ordinary business, of the estate, than the acting manager, who had constantly
resided upon it, without such a remembrancer. This abstract or remembrancer, he says,
ought not to comprehend tenanted farms only ; but should comprise woodlands, quarries,
the demesne, &c., in hand; as well as the more important improvements going on:
each of which ought to have its separate folio assigned it. To a proprietor, or his con-
fidential friend, who only goes over his estate occasionally, such an intelligent com-
panion is essentially serviceable. He cannot profitably direct, nor safely advise with,
an acting manager, or other agent or officer of the estate, until he has consulted so
infallible an oracle. The utility of such a register, while a proprietor is absent from his
estate, if he can be said to be so, with such a faithful mirror in his possession, is too
obvious to require explanation.
4293. Among the instruments necessary fur a manager's office, may be included those
requisite for surveying, mapping, levelling, measuring timber, and every description of
country work, together with boring machines, draught measurers, weighing scales, some
chemical tests, models, and such other articles as may be required or rendered useful by
particular circumstances.
4294. An agricultural library may be considered an essential requisite ; including
works on rural architecture, the prices and measuring of work, and other fluctuating
matters; and one of the best Encyclopajdia's of universal knowledge. We have
already (4243.) suggested an important use to which such a library might be applied.
4295. Such an establishMent and place of business as has been described, we agree with
Marshal in thinking many will consider as in some degree superfluous or extravagant.
In many cases we admit it would be so ; but it is impossible to be determined what
things can be done without, unless a particular case were given. Such a minute register
of farms, for example, would be quite ridiculous on an estate in East Lothian, where
tenants are of sufficient wealth and respectability of manners to be treated as men ; and
not watched and schooled like tliose which Marshal seems generally to have in view.
Chap. II.
Of tkd Duties of Managers of Estates^
4296. The VaAous duties of the manager, or the proprietor of a landed estate, may be
considered under the heads of general business, business with tenants, and auditing
accounts.
Sect. I. Of the general Principles of Business considered relatively to Land-Stewardship^
4297. The first and most general principle, in this and every other department of
business, is to embrace readily the several matters as they occur : and not, on the con-
trary, to put them off' from time to time, until they accumulate ; and render the task
of transacting them difficult and irksome. The only artifice, it may be said, which a
man of character can well einploy in business, is that of endeavouring to render it
pleasurable. And, by meeting it cheerfully, as it rises, or as it becomes ripe for dispatch^
Yy 4
696 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
this desirable end will generally be obtained. For, in that state a man not only enters
upon it with pleasure himself, but he will generally find his opponent in the same
temper of mind. Whereas through delay, misunderstandings, idle tales, and groundless
surmises, are liable to intervene ; the minds of both to be soured ; a distant coolness to
take place between them ; and a barrier to be raised, which, though altogether imaginary,
nothing but the mystic wand of the law may be able to remove.
4298. There are three distinct methods of conducting business. The first is that in
which the parties meet, with fair intentions, to find out the point of equity, and there to
close. In the second, they enter upon business, guarded with cunning, and armed with
trick and artifice, as gamblers draw round a table, to take every advantage, fair or
otherwise, which they can effect with impunity. The last method lies in the courts of
law and equity.
4299. A business founded on honorable intentions is the only one in which a man of
honor can voluntarily appear. Here honest men come as indifferent persons to arbi-
trate the matter in reference. In every settlement between man and man, there is a
point of equity and right, which all good men are desirous to find ; and -when men of
liberal minds fortunately meet and join in the search, it is seldom difficult to be dis-
covered. Should some little difference of opinion arise, let them call in an umpire to
decide between them ; or leave the whole to the decision of three capable and dis-
interested men.
4300. A man of strict integrity may become entangled in business with a man of
looser principles. In this case, it behoves him to be upon his guard ; but still to enter
into the negociation with temper and civility. There is even a politeness in affairs of
business which cannot be departed from on any occasion. Interruptions and schisms
frequently arise, especially between men who are of keen sensibility, and who (though
passably honest) are tenacious of their own interests, from mere matter of punctilio.
The mind of either being once soured by neglect, or ruflfled by disrespectful behaviour, the
smooth path of peaceful negociation is broken up, a spirit of warfare is roused, and
advantages are taken, or attempted, which calm reason would not have suggested. Hence,
when men of unequal degree are brought together in business, it is incumbent on the
superior to set the example of liberality and civility of demeanor.
4301. In extreme cases there is no resource but the law; and here the most that an
honest man can do is to procure, without loss of time, the best advice ; and to spare no
exertion or useful expense in bringing the dangerous and tormenting business to a
speedy conclusion. Not only is a man's property endangered, while it is tossed on the
troubled sea of the law ; but his time and attention are led astray ; and his peace of
mind is liable to be broken in upon ; thus deranging his ordinary concerns, and disturb--
ing the stream of life. How much legal disputation might be prevented by a timely
attention to business !
4302. Informing connections in businessy select the man who has a character to lose.
This principle should be invariably acted on. For if a man cf established good cha-
racter be properly treated, and determinately closed in with, in case he demur, or
swerve from the right line of conduct, he will not forfeit his good name by doing a
disreputable action ; and must therefore come forward to the point of equity and justice.
Sect. II. Of the Management of Tenants.
4303. The general treatment of tenants and cottagers may be considered as the most
important part of every land-steward's occupation : it includes the mode and conditions
of letting lands ; and the time and manner of receiving rents.
SuBSECT. 1. Of the proper Treatment of Tenants.
4304. On every large hereditary estate, there are established customs and usages, to which
the proprietor and the occupiers consider themselves mutually amenable, though no
legal contracts may subsist between them. Even where imperfect leases, or other legal
agreements exist, still there is generally much left for custom and usage to determine.
Though some of these may be improper, yet they ought to be strictly observed by its
superintendant, until better can be placed in their stead ; not merely on the score of
moral justice, but, in the same observance, to set an example of integrity and good faith
to the tenants. If a superintendant imprudently break through a custom or a covenant,
what can he say to a tenant who follows his example ?
4305. A manager ought to set an example to the tenants under his care, of liberality
and kindness. This is more especially applicable to the case of cottagers and others
who rent small holdings. There are numberless small favors which he can bestow
upon them without loss, and many with eventual advantage to the estate. A spirited
improving tenant should be refused nothing that he can reasonably ask — should have
favors voluntarily conferred upon him ; not merely as a reward for the services which
he individually is rendering the estate, but to induce its other tenants to follow hi>i
Book IV. LETTING FARMS. 697
example, and to make known to the whole that their conduct is observed, and distinc-
tions made between good and bad managers.
4306. Estates, like men, have their good and bad characters. No skilful farmer who
has a capital to lose, will take up his residence on an estate of known bad character.
On the contrary, when once an estate has acquired the character of good faith and
proper treatment of its tenantry, men of money and spirit will ever be anxious there to
gain a footing. Beside, the character of an estate will ever involve that of its possessor.
And, setting income at nought, it surely behoves a man of property to pay some atten-
tion to the character of his estates. For what can well add more to the permanent re-
spectal)ility of a family of rank or fortune than having its estates occupied by a wealthy
and respectable tenantry?
4307. In a Hate of civilised society andproperti/, one of the great arts of life is to teach
character and interest to go hand in hand, and on ordinary occasions to endeavor to turn
every incident, as it fortuitously occurs, to their mutual advantage. Jf a tenant of
capital and an improving spirit be found upon an estate, give him due encouragement,
for the purposes already explained. On the contrary, if another is found to possess re-
fractory habits, to swerve from his engagements, or to injure the lands in his occupation,
it is but common prudence to take the first legal and fair' opportunity of dismissing
him, and supplying his place with another who is better qualified to fill it ; not more
with a view of rescuing his particular farm from further injury, and of making an
example of him, in terror to others of similar habits, than to preserve and heighten the
character of the estate
4308. These remarks -may he considered as applicable chiefly to small tenants, or such
as from ignorance and want of leases may be considered as in a state of bondage. It
ought never to be in the power of a landlord to make **an example of a tenant in terror
to others ;" it is enough if this power be left to the laws. A tenant who rents a farm
on certain conditions, and fulfils them, is, in point of obligation, on an equality with his
landlord ; neither is obliged to the other : and while the one does not require tlipse acts
of kindness and liberality which Marshal inculcates, the other is not entitled to that
submission and slavish deference so common among tenants at will, and indeed most
others in England. It is justly observed by Brown ( 2'reat. on Bur. Aff. ), that the moral
excitement, or degree of encouragement given to the tenant for improving the ground
put under his occupation, is regulated entirely by the terms or conditions of the lease
under which he holds possession. If the conditions be liberal and judicious, and accom-
modated to the soil and situation of the land thereby demised to the tenant, all that is
obligatory upon the proprietor is faithfully discharged. But when matters are
otherwise, when the tenant possesses under a short lease, when the covenants or obli-
gations are severe in the first instance, and ultimately of little avail towards for-
warding improvement ; it may reasonably be inferred that the connection is improperly
constituted, and that little benefit will thence follow either to the public or to the parties
concerned.
SuBsECT. 2. On the Business of letting Farms.
4309. There are three methods of letting a farm : putting it up to public auction^
and taking the highest bidder for a tenant ; receiving written proposals, and accepting
the highest offer, and asking more rent for it than it is worth : haggling with diO'er-
ent chapmen, and closing with him who promises to give the most money, without
regard to his eligibility as a tenant. After a variety of obvious remarks, Marshal
concludes, that "seeing in every situation, there is at all times a fair rental value, or
market price of lands, as of their products, tliere appears to be only one rational, and
eventually profitable method of letting a farm ; and this is to fix the rent, and choose the
tenant. In the choice of a tenant every body knows the requisite qualifications to be,
capital, skill, industry, and character. The respective advantages of these qualities are
amply developed in The Treatise on Landed Properly.
SuBSECT. 3. Of the different Species of Tenancy.
4310. The different holdings in use in Britain, are at will, from year to year, for a
term of years, or for a life or lives.
4311. The tenant holding at will, or until the customary notice be given by either
party to the other, is without any legal contract, or written agreement ; the only tie b©--
tween the owner and the occupier being the custom of the estate, or of the country in
wliich it lies, and the common law of the land. This may be considered as the simple
liolding which succeeded the feudal or copyhold tenure; but which is now fast going
into disuse.
4312. liolding from year ta year, imder a written agreement, with specified covenants,
is a more modern usage, and becoming more and more prevalent in some j)arts of
J-Ingland, and among small tenants, even where leases for a term of years were formerly
granted.
698 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
4313. Leases for a term of years, o.^ seven, fourteen, twenty-one, or a greater num-
ber of years, certain ; but without the power of assignment, unless \^'ith the consent of
the lessor.
4314. Leases for lives; as one, two, three, or more, without the power of assignment.
In Britain, life leases of this description are now rarely granted. In Wales and Ireland
they are still prevalent; the rent being there settled according to the value of the land at
the time of letting; as on granting a lease for a term. And in the western extreme of
England, what are termed life-leases are still common. But they are rather pledges for
money taken up, or deeds of sale for lives, than leases. For nearly the whole of the
estimated sale value of the land, during the life tei-m, is paid down at the time of pur-
chase ; the seller reserving only a quit rent, or annual acknowledgement.
4315. A lease for a term of years, or for two or more lives, can alone be favorable for
the progress of agriculture. A farmer holding at will, or from year to year, may
plough, sow, and reap ; but he will, if a prudent man, be very careful not to make im-
provements, well knowing that the first effect would be, a rise of rent or a notice to
quit. Leases for a single life have the great disadvantage of uncertainty as to duration,
both as landlord and tenant ; and though the latter may insure a certain sum on his life
for the benefit of his family, yet it were l)etter that he should lay out that money in im-
proving the farm. Leases on lives, renewable, are for all purposes of culture as good as
freehold ; but they have this disadvantage to a tenant, that they require a considerable
part of his capital paid down, and a further draught on his capital on the falling in of
any of the lives. Even the first of these payments would embarrass the great majority
of professional farmers, and disable them from bestowing proper cultivation on the soil ;
but to a farmer with a surplus capital no description of lease can be better, as he lays out
his surplus capital at the market rate of interest, and is, as it were, his own annuitant.
To the landlord such leases cannot be advantageous, because, there being fewer who can
compete for them, lands let on these conditions, do not fetch their full price.
4316. The fundamental principle from which both the duration and conditions of leases
ate established is evidently this : A. agrees to lend to B. a certain article for his use for
an equivalent in money ; but such is the nature of this article, that in order to use it
with advantage, B. must possess it during a considerable time ; he, therefore, requires
a security from A. to that eflfect ; and A. on his part requires a security from B. that he
will return the article at least in as good condition as when it was lent to him. The
term of years for which the article is to be lent, and the precautions taken to ensure its
return without deterioration, are founded on experience, and vary according to the pe-
culiar circumstances of lender and borrower. In general, however, this is obvious; that
where the period of lending is not sufficient for profitable use ; or the conditions re-
quired for ensuring the lender an undeteriorated return of the article unreasonable, the
value of the loan or rent will be proportionably diminished. {Sup. Enc. Brit. art. Agr.)
4317. In recurring to what actually exists in the best cultivated districts, we shall quote
the excellent observations of an experienced farmer and approved public writer. " The
general principle which should regulate the connection between landlord and tenant seems
to be, that while the farm ought to be restored to the owner at the expiration of the
tenant's interest, at least without deterioration, the tenant should be encouraged to
render it as productive as possible during his possession. In both of these views, a lease
for a term of years is scarcely less necessary for the landlord than for the tenant ; and so
much is the public interested in this measure, that it has been proposed by intelligent men,
to impose a penal tax on the rent of lands held by tenants at will.
4318. That the value of the property is enhanced by the security ivhich such a lease confers
on the tenant, will be put beyond all doubt, if the rents of two estates for half a century
back are compared ; the one occupied by tenants at will, and the other by tenants on
leases for a moderate term, and where the soil and situation are nearly alike in every
respect. If the comparison be made between two tracts, originally very different in point
of value, the advantages of leases will be still more striking ; while that which is held by
tenants at will remains nearly stationary, the other is gradually, yet effectually, improved,
under the security of leases, by the tenants' capital ; and, in no long period, the latter
takes the lead of the former, both in the amount of the revenue which it yields to the
proprietor, and in the quantity of produce which it furnishes for the general consumption.
The higher rents and greater produce of some parts of Scotland than of many of the
English counties, where the soil, climate, and markets are much more favorable, must
be ascribed to the almost universal practice of holding on leases in the former country,
in a much greater degree than to any of the causes which have been frequently assigned.
Less than a century ago, what are now the best cultivated districts of Scotland were very
far behind the greater part of England ; and, indeed, had made very little progress from
the time of the feudal system. It is not fifty years since the farmers of Scotland were in
the practice of going to learn of their southern neighbors an art, which was then very
imperfectly kaown in their own country. But in several parts of England there has been
Book IV. SPECIES OF TENANCY. 699
■little or no improvement since, while the southern counties of Scotland have uniformly
advanced ; and at present exhibit very generally, a happy contrast to tlieir condition in
the middle of the last century.
4319. In respect to farmers themselves^ it cannot be necessary to point out the
advantages of leases. It may be true, that, under the security of the honor of an English
landlord, tenants at will have been continued in possession from generation to generation,
and acquired wealth which he has never, like the landholders of some other countries, attempt-
ed to wrest from them. But there are few individuals in any rank of life, who continue for
a length of time to sacrifice their just claims on the altar of pure generosity. Something
is almost always expected in return. A portion of revenue in this case is exchanged for
power, and that power is displayed not only in the habitual degradation of the tenantry, but
in the control over them, which the landlord never fails to exert at the election of mem-
bers of parliament, and on all other political emergencies. No prudent man will ever
invest his fortune ii\ the improvement of another person's property, unless, from the
length of his lease, he has a reasonable prospect of being reimbursed with profit ; and
tlie servility which holding at will necessarily exacts, is altogether incompatible with that
:^irit of enterprise which belongs to an enlightened and independent mind.
4320. Every measure which has a tendency to fetter the productive powers of the soily
must deeply affect the public at large, as well as depress one of the largest and most
valuable classes. It is clearly their interest, that corn and other provisions should be
supplied in abundance, and the people of England may justly complain of the want of
leases, as one of the principal causes which checks the improvement of their own
territory.
4321. JFhat ought to be the term of a lease, can only be determined by a reference to
the circumstances of each particular case. Lands naturally rich, or such as have already
been brought to a high degree of fertility, requiring no great investment of capital, and
returning all or nearly all the necessary outlay within the year, may be advantage-
ously held upon short leases, such as perhaps give time for two, or at most three,
of the rotations or courses of crops to which the quality of the soil is best adapted.
The practice of England in this respect is extremely various, almost every term, from
twenty years downwards, being found in different parts of it. In Scotland, by far the
most common period is nineteen years, to which it was formerly the practice, in some
places, to add the life of the tenant. In that country, even when it is thought expedient
to agree for a much longer term, this is still expressed in periods of nineteen years, a sort
of mysterious cycle, which seems to be no less a favorite with the courts of law, than
with landholders and farmers. Yet this term is somewhat inconvenient, as it can never
correspond with any number of the recognised rotations of arable land.
4322. A lease for twenty years, it has been maintained by several writers, is not sufficient
to reimburse a tenant for any considerable improvements, and landholders have often
been urged to agree to a much longer term, which, it is alleged, would be not less for their
own interest than for that of the tenant. This is a question which our limits do not
permit us to discuss, but, after viewing it in different lights, assisted by the experience of
long leases in different parts of Scotland, we cannot help expressing some doubts of their
utility, even in so far only as regards the parties themselves ; and we are decidedly of
opinon, that a greater produce will be brougiit to market, from any given extent of
land held on successive leases of twenty years, for half a century, than if held on one
lease of that duration, whether the term be specified or indefinite, as is the case of a lease
for life. As a general mode of tenure, leases for lives seem to us particularly objection-
able.
4323. The great advantages of a lease are so well known in Scotland, that one of her
best agricultural writers, himself a landed proprietor, has suggested a method of confer-
ring on it the character of perpetuity, to such an extent as, he thinks, wo.uld give ample
security to the tenant for every profitable improvement, without preventing the landlord
from resuming possession upon equitable terms, at the expiration of every specified
period. But tlie author of this plan (Lord Kaimes), in his ardent wishes for the advance-
ment of agriculture, at that time in a very backward state in his native country, seems
to have overlooked the difficulties that stood in the way of its adoption ; and the great
advance in the price of produce, and consequently in the rate of rents, since his lordship
wrote, have long since put an end to the discussion which his proposal excited. For a
form of a lease on his plan, the reader may consult Bell's Treatise on Leases ,- and the ob-
jections to the plan itself are shortly stated in the supplement to the sixth edition of The
Gentleman Farmer, recently published.
4324. Long leases granted upon condition of receiving an advance of rent at the end of a
certain number of years have been granted ; but covenants of this kind, meant to apply to
the circumstances of a distant period, carmot possibly be framed in such a maimer as to
do equal justice to both parties ; and it ought not to be concealed, that, in every case of a
very long lease, the chances are ratlier more unfavorable to the landholder than to the
700 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Par-t III.
fanner. If the price of produce shall continue to rise as it has done, till very lately, for
the last forty years, no improvements which a tenant can be expected to execute will
compensate the landlord's loss ; and if, on the other hand, prices shall decline, the capital
of most tenants must be exhausted in a few years, and the lands will necessarily revert to
the proprietor, as has been the case of late in many instances. Hence a landholder, in
agreeing to a long- lease, can hardly ever assurp himself, that the obligations on the part
of the tenant will be fully discharged throughout its whole term, while the obligations he
incurs himself may always be easily enforced. He runs the risk of great loss from a de-
preciation of money, but can look forward to very little benefit from a depreciation of
produce, except for a few years at most. Of this advantage a generous man would sel-
dom avail himself; and, indeed, in most instances, the advantage must be only imaginary,
for it would be overbalanced by the deterioration of his property." (Suj). Encyc. Brit.
art. Jgr.)
4325. There are various objections made to leases of nineteen or twentij-onc years. Some
of these are of a feudal and aristocratical nature; such as the independence it gives the
tenants who may become purse-proud and saucy under the nose of their landlord, &c.
A greater objection has arisen from the depreciation of British currency during the last
ten years of the eighteenth, and first ten of the nineteenth centuries. Various schemes
have been suggested to counteract this evil ; but the whole of them are liable to objections,
and it may be safely stated, that it admits of no remedy, but the generous interference of
the landlord.
SuBSECT. 4. Of the Rent and Covenants of a Lease.
4326. To avert the evils of fixed money rents, and long leases, both to landlords and
tenants, the best mode known at present is the old plan of corn rents. This plan was
first revived in 1811, by a pamphlet published in Cupar, which attracted considerable
attention, and has led to the adoption in various parts of Scotland, of a mixed mode of
paying rents, partly in corn or the price of corn, and partly in money. In hilly districts,
instead of corn, wool, or the price of wool for an average of years, is sometimes fixed on.
We shall quote from the same intelligent writer, on the duration of leases, his sentiments
on corn rents, and subjoin his observations on covenants.
4327. Though the most equitable 'mode of determining the rent of lands on lease, would
be to make it rise and fall with the price of corn ; yet, " a rent paid in corn is liable to
serious objections, and can seldom be advisable in a commercial country. It necessarily
bears hardest on a tenant when he is least able to discharge it. In very bad seasons, his
crop may be so scanty, as scarcely to return seed and the expenses of cultivation, and the
share which he ought to receive himself, as the profits of his capital, as well as the quan-
tity allotted to the landlord, may not exist at all. Though, in this case, if he pays a
money rent, his loss may be considerable, it may be twice or three times greater if the rent
is to be paid in corn, or according to the high price of such seasons. In less favorable
years, which often occur in the variable climate of Britain, a corn rent would, in numer-
ous instances, absorb nearly the whole free or disposable produce, as it is by no means un-
common to find the gross produce of even good land reduced from twenty to fifty per
cent, below an average, in particular seasons. And it ought to be considered, in regard
to the landlord himself, that his income would thus be doubled cr trebled, at a time when
all other classes were suflTering from scarcity and consequent dearth ; while, in times of
plenty and cheapness, he might find it diflScult to make his expenses correspond with the
great diminution of his receipts. It is of much importance to both parties, that the
amount of the rent should vary as little as possible irom any unforeseen causes, though
tenants in general would be perhaps the most injured by such fluctuations.
4328. To obviate these and other objections to a corn rent, and to do equal justice at all
times to both landlord and tenant, a plan has been lately suggested for converting the corn
into money, adopting for its price, not the price of the year for which the rent is payable,
but the average price of a certain number of years. The rent, according to this plan, may
be calculated every year, by omitting the first year of the series, and adding a new one;
or, it may continue the same for a certain number of years, and then be fixed according to
a new average. Let us suppose the lease to be for twenty-one years, the average agreed
on being seven years, and the first year's rent, that is, the price of so many quarters of
corn, will be calculated from the average price of the crop of that year, and of the six
years preceding. If it be meant to take a new average for the second and every succeed-
ing year's rent, all that is necessary is, to strike off the first of these seven years, adding
tiie year for which the rent is payable, and so on during all the years of the lease. But
this labor, slight as it is, may be dispensed with, by continuing the rent without variation
for the first seven years of the lease according to the average price of the seven years im-
mc'diately preceding its commencement, and, at the end of this period, fixing a new rent,
according to the average price of the seven years just expired, to continue for the next
seven years. Thus, in the course of t\venty-one years, the rent would be calculated only
Book IV. COVENANTS OF LEASES. 701
three times; and for whatever quantity of corn the parties had agreed, the money pay-
ments would be equal to the average price of fourteen years of the lease itself, and of the
seven years preceding it ; and the price oi' the last seven years of the old lease, would de-
termine the rent during the first seven years of the new one.
4329. The landlord and tenant could not suffer, it has been thought, either from bad
seasons or any change in the value of the currency, should such a lease as this be extended
to several periods of twenty-one years. The quantity of corn to be taken as rent, is the
only point that would require to be settled at the commencement of each of those periods;
and though this would no doubt be greater or less, according to the state of the lands at
the time, yet it may be expected, that in the twenty-one years preceding, all the tenant's
judicious expenditure bad been fully replaced. Instead of the twofold difficulty in fixing
a rent for a long lease, arising from uncertainty as to the quantity of produce, which must
depend on the state of improvement, and still more perhaps from the variations in the
price of that produce, the latter objection is entirely removed by this plan ; and in all cases
where land is already brought to a high degree of fertility, the question about the quan-
tity of produce may likewise be dispensed with.
4330. If the corn rent plaii he applied to leases of nineteen or twenty-one years, the inconve-
nience resulting from uncertainty as to the amourft of rent, as well as other difficulties which
must necessarily attend it, would be as great perhaps as any advantages which it holds out
to either of the parties. If it be said that a rent, determined by a seven year's average,
could not suddenly nor materially alter, this is at once to admit the inutility of the con-
trivance. The first thing which must strike every practical man is, that corn is not the only
produce of a farm, and in most parts of Britain, perhaps not the principal source from
which rent is paid; and there is no authentic record of the prices of butcher meat, wool,
cheese, butter, and other articles in every county to refer to, as there is of corn. This is
not the place to inquire whether the price of corn regulates the price of all the other pro-
ducts of land, in a country whose statute books are full of duties, bounties, drawbacks,
&c. to say nothing of its internal regulations; but it is sufficiently evident, that if corn
does possess this power, its price operates too slowly on that of other products to serve as a
just criterion for determining rent on a lease of this duration. Besides, in the progress
of agriculture, new species or varieties of the cerealia themselves are established even in
so short a period as twenty-one years, the prices of which may be very different from
that of the corn specified in the lease. What security for a full rent, for instance, would
it give to a landlord, to make the rent payable according to the price of barley, when
the tenant might find it more for his interest to cultivate some of the varieties of summer
wheat, lately brought from the continent? or, according to the price of a particular va-
riety of oats, wlien, within a i'ew years, we have seen all the old varieties superseded
throughout extensive districts, by the introduction of a new one, the potatoe-oat, which
may not be more permanent than those that preceded it ? There can be no impropriety,
indeed, in adopting this plan, for ascertaining the rent of land kept always in tillage ; but
it would be idle to expect any important benefits from it, during such a lease as we have
mentioned.
4331 . The corn rent plan, in the case of much longer leases, will no doubt diminish the evils
which we think are inseparable from them, but it cannot possibly reach some of the most
considerable Its utmost effect is to secure to the landholder a rent which shall in all time
toxMJme be an adequate rent, according to the state of the lands and the mode of culti-
vation known at the date of the lease. But it can make no provision that will apply to
the enlargement of the gross produce from the future improvement of the lands them-
selves, or of the disposable produce from the invention of machinery and other plans for
encouraging labor. And the objections just stated, in reference to a lease of twenty-one
years, evidently apply much more forcibly to one of two or three times that length.
Old corn-rents, though much higher at present than old money-rents, are seldom or never
«o high as the rents could now be paid on a lease of twenty-one years. But, independent
of these considerations, which more immediately bear upon the interests of the parties
themselves, one insuperable objection to all such leases is, that they partake too much of
the nature of entails, and depart too far from tliat commercial character which is most fa-
vorable to the investment of capital, and consequently to the greatest increase of land
produce.
4332. -4 lease for a term of years is nut, in all cases, a sufficient encouragement to spirited
cultivation; its covenants in respect to the management of the lands may be injudicious;
the tenant may be so strictly confined to a particular mode of culture, or a particular
course of crops, as not to be able to avail himself of the beneficial discoveries which a pro-
gressive state of agriculture never fails to introduce. Or, on the other hand, though this
is much more rare, the tenant may be left so entirely at liberty, that either the necessity of
his circumstances, during the currency of the lease, or his interest towards its expiration,
may lead him to exhaust the soil, instead of rendering it more productive. When a lease
therefore is eitlier redundant or deficient in this respect; where it either permits the lands to
702 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
be deteriorated or prevents their improvement; the connection between landlord and tenant
is formed upon other views, and regulated by some other principle, than the general one
on which we think it should be founded.
43.'}3. Restrictive covenants are always necessary to the security of the landlord, notwith-
standing the high authority of Dr. Smith to the contrary, and in some cases beneficial to
the tenant. Their expediency cannot well be questioned in those parts of the coun-
try where an improved system of agriculture has made little progress. A landholder, as-
sisted by the advice of experienced men in framing these covenants, cannot adopt any easy
or less offensive plan for the improvement of his property, and the ultimate advantages of
his tenantry. Even in the best cultivated districts, while farms continue to be let to the
highest responsible offerers, a few restrictive covenants cannot be dispensed with. The
supposed interest of the tenant is too feeble a security for correct management, even dur-
ing the earlier part of a lease, and in the latter part of it, it is thought to be his interest, in
most cases, to exhaust the soil as much as possible, not only for the sake of immediate pro-
fit, but frequently in order to deter competitors, and thus to obtain a renewal of his lease
at a rent somewhat less than the lands would otherwise bring.
4334. With tenants at will, and such as hold on short leases, restrictive covenants are more necessary
than with tenants on leases of nineteen or twenty years ; but in many instances, they are too numerous
and complicated, and sometimes even inconsistent with the best courses of modern husbandry The
great error lies, in prescribing rules by which a tenant is positively required to act, not in prohibiting
such practices and such crops as experience has not sanctioned. The improved knowledge, and the
liberality of the age, have now expunged the most objectionable of these covenants ; and throughout
whole counties, almost the only restriction in reference to the course of crops is, that the tenant shall
not take two culmiferous crops, ripening their seeds in close succession. This single stipulation, combined
with the obligation to consume the straw upon the farm, and to apply to it all the manure made from
its produce, is sutficient not only to protect the land from exhaustion, but to ensure in a great measure
its regular cultivation ; for half the farm at least must, in this case, be always under either fallow or green
crops. The only other necessary covenant, when the soil is naturally too weak for carrying annual crops
without intermission, is, that a certain portion of the land shall be always in grass, not to be cut for hay
but depastured. According to the extent of this will be the interval between the succession of corn crops
on the same fields ; if it is agreed that half the farm, for instance, shall always be under grass, there can
be only two crops of corn from the same field in six years. In this case not more than two-sixths being
in corn, one-sixth in green crops or fallow, and three-sixths in clover or grasses, it becomes almost im-
possible to exhaust any soil at all fitted for tillage. There are few indeed that do not gradually become
more fertile under this course of cropping. It is sufficiently evident, that other covenants are necessary
in particular circumstances ; such as permission to dispose of straw, hay, and other crops from which
manure is made, when a quantity of manure equal to what they would have furnished is got from other
places ; and a prohibition against converting rich old grazing lands or meadows into corn lands. In this
place we speak only of general rules, such as are applicable to perhaps nine-tenths of all the arable land
of Britain, and such as are actually observed in our best cultivated counties.
4335. For the last four years of a lease, the same covenants are generally sufficient,
only they require to be applied with more precision. Instead of taking for granted,
that the proportion of the farm that cannot be under corn will be properly cultivated,
from the tenant's regard to his own interest, it becomes necessary to make him bound to
this effect in express terms ; the object generally being to enable the tenant, upon a
new lease, to carry on the cultivation of the lands, as if the former lease had not
terminated. What these additional stipulations should be, must depend in part on the
season of the year at which the new lease commences, and in part on the course of crops
best adapted to the soil, and the particular circumstances of every farm.
4336. With respect to the form of a lease, as no one form would suit every district,
nothing specific can be laid down with advantage. The lawyers of every estate have
particular forms, and it is easy for them, in concert with the proprietor or manager, to
obliterate useless or injurious restrictions, and substitute such as may be deemed best
for the estate, or in harmony with the progress of the age." {^Sup. Encyc. Brit. art. Agr.)
SuBSECT. 5. Of receiving Rents.
4337. The business of receiving the rents and pr()fits of a landed estate, simple as it
may seem, is subject to analysis, and entitled to consideration. Indeed, on large pro-
perties, on which not farm rents only, but various other profits are to be received ; as
cottage rents, tithe compositions, chief rents, and perhaps, quit rents of copyhold lands ;
the business becomes so complex as to require to be methodised and simplified, in order
to obtain the requisite facility and dispatch. This is generally best effected by appoint-
ing distinct days, or distinct parts of the day, for each receipt, so that the different
tenants and suitors may know their hours of attendance.
4338. The business of holding manor courts depends on whether they are held of right,
or merely by custom. If the copyhold tenure is so far worn out in any manor, that
there are not two ancient or feudal tenants remaining within it, the court has lost its
legal power ; it cannot by right, take cognizance of crimes, nor enforce amerciaments.
Nevertheless, manorial courts have their uses, in regulating farm roads, driftways, and
watercourses, and in preventing nuisances of different kinds within a manor ; and it is
generally right to preserve the custom of holding them for these purposes.
4339. Where copyhold courts remain in force, and where legal forms are to be observed,
a law " steward of the manor" is proper to hold them. It is not necessary, however.
Book TV. STEWARD'S ACCOUNTS. 703
tliat courts of this kind should interfere with the receipt of farm rents ; or that a business
of this nature should in auy way clash with the general receivership of the estate.
Employ an attorney to hold courts, as a surveyor to arbitrate disputes, or an engineer
to plan works of improvement.
4310. The propriety of having fixed days for receiving the rents of Jarms is evident,
and some consideration is required to determine on the season of the year for holding
them, so as not to oblige the farmer to forced sales of his produce. In England and
Ireland, farm rents are generally due at Ladyday and Michaelmas, and in Scotland at
Candlemas and Lammas. But the proper times of paying them depend on the market-
able produce of an estate, and on the season of the year at which it goes in common
course, and with the best advantage to market. A tenant should never be forced to sell
his produce with disadvantage ; nor when he has received his money for it, ought he
to be at a loss for an opportunity of discharging his debt to his landlord. On corn-farm
estates, or those whose lands are kept in a state of mixed cultivation, which comprise
the great mass of farm lands in this kingdom, Michaelmas may be considered as one of
the worst times of the year, at which to call upon tenants for their rents. It is at the
close (or, in the northern provinces, perhaps at the height) of harvest, when the farmers'
pockets are drained by extra labor, and when they have not yet had time to thresh out their
crops to replenish them ; nor is the summer's grass at that season yet consumed, nor
off'-going stock, perhaps, yet ready for market. In Norfolk, Marshal found the end
of February or beginning of March, a very fit time to pay the half year's rent due at
Michaelmas ; and June for paying those due at Ladyday. In some districts of tlie
north it used to be the custom not to demand the first half year's rent, till the tenant was
a year in his farm, by which means he had the use during his lease of nearly a year's
rent in addition to his actual capital. But farmers there, being now considered as
possessed of more wealth than formerly, the first half year's rent of the lease is paid
nine months after possession, and the last half year's rent of the term on or immediately
before its expiry.
4341. The proper days for receiving rents ore to be sought for in the local circum-
stances of an estate, and the district in which it lies : most especially in the fairs of the
neighborhood at that season; and in other stated times, at which the tenants are
accustomed, in conformity with the practice of the country, to receive for their dairy
produce, or other articles, delivered in to dealers ; fixing the rent days, immediately after
these days of imbursement.
4342. On the subject of arrears, a good deal has been said by Marshal ; but it is one
of those which may very safely be left to the good sense and discretion of the proprietor
•or his manager.
Sect. III. Of Keeping and Auditing Accounts.
4343. Clearness and brevity constitute the excellence of accounts, and these excel-
lencies are only to be obtained by simplicity of method. Where lands lie in detached
estates so as to require different receivers, a separate account is necessarily required for
each receivership ; but to preserve this simplicity and clearness, it is necessary that the
several sets should be precisely in the sam.e form.
4344. The ground-work of the accounts peculiar to a landed estate, is the rent-roll :
from this receiving rentals are to be taken, and with these and tlie miscellaneous receipts
and disbursements incident to the estate, an account current is to be annually made
out.
4345. The receiving rental, or particulars which a receiver wants to see, at one view,
when receiving the rents of an estate under judicious management, — where rents are
jegularly received, — and where occupiers pay taxes and do ordinary repairs, — are few: the
name of the farm, the iiame of the tenant, and the amount of his half year's rent, only
are required. But upon an estate, on which arrears are suffered to remain, and on which
matters of account are liable to take place, a greater number of particulars are necessary ;
as the name of the farm, of the tenant, his arrears, his half year's rent, any other
icharge against him, any allowance to be made him, and the neat sum receivable, leaving
a blank for the sum received and another for the arrear left.
4346. Accounts current are required to be delivered in annually by the acting manager,
who ought generally to be the receiver. If the current receipts and disbursements are
numerous, as where extensive improvements are going on, and woods, mines, quarries,
&LC. in hand, such accounts may be given in monthly which will show the progress of
the several concerns, and simplify the business at the end of the year.
4347. On the best managed estates it is usual, besides the books vvhich have been
mentioned, to keep a ledger ; opening separate accounts for farm lands, woods, mines,
quarries, waters, houses and their appurtenances, public works, &c. : and where a pro-
prietor has several detached estates, besides such accounts being kept on each, one master
ledger contains accounts for each property. This, indeed, is nothing but an obvious
704 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
application of mercantile book-keeping to territorial property, the advantages of which
cannot but be as great in the one case as in the other.
4348. In auditing estate accounts, the rent accounts are to be checked with the
arrears of the preceding year ; the column of rents with the rent-roll, corrected up to
the last term of entry in order to comprise the fresh lettings, and the columns of account
with the particulars ; those of allowances being signed by the respective tenants.
4349. The monthly accounts of receipts and disbursements, as well as the annual pay-
ments, are to be compared with vouchers. The receipts are checked by deeds of sale,
contracts, and other written agreements, the awards of referees, or the estimates of
surveyors, the market prices of produce, &c. &c. ; the receiver, in every case, identifying
the person, from whom each sum was received. Each disbursement requires a direct
and sufficient voucher, endorsed and numbered ; with a corresponding number affixed
to the charge in the account ; so that they may be readily compared.
4350. 2%e most essential part of the office of an auditor is that of entering into the
merits of each receipt and payment ; and considering whether the charges correspond
with the purposes for which they are made ; and whether the several sums received are
adequate to the respective matters disposed of; by these means detectijig, and thence-
forward preventing, imposition and connivance. This, however, is an office which no
one but a proprietor, or other person who has been conversant with the transactions that
have taken place upon the estate, and who has a competent knowledge of rural concerns,
can properly perform. It may therefore be right to repeat, that if a proprietor has not
yet acquired a competent knowledge of his own territorial concerns, to form an adequate
judgment of the different entries in his manager's account, let him call in the assistance
of those who are conversant in rural affairs, to enable him to judge of any particular
parts that may seem to require it ; and not set his hand to an account which he does not
clearly understand ; nor authorize another to sign it, who may have less knowledge than
he has of its merits.
BOOK V.
OF THE SELECTION, HIRING, AND STOCKING OF FARMS,
4351. Farms or lands let out to men who cultivate it as a business or profession,
exist in all highly civilised countries. Sometimes the farmer or tenant pays to the pro-
prietor or landlord a proportion of the produce, determined yearly, or as the crops
ripen; and sometimes he pays a fixed quantity of produce, or labor, or money, or part
of each of these. In Britain, where farming, as a profession, is carried to a higher de-
gree of perfection than in any other country, the connection between landlord and tenant
is regularly defined by particular agreements and general laws ; and the latter, on en-
tering on a farm, engages to pay a fixed sum for its use for a certain number of years.
This sum is fixed according to the estimated value of the land ; but being fixed, and for
a certain time, it admits of no abatement in proportion to the quantity or value of the
produce, as in the proportional or metayer system, general in most countries (265. and
585. ) ; and hence the necessity of a farmer maturely considering every circumstance
connected with a farm before he becomes its tenant. The subjects of consideration form
the business of this Book, and naturally divide themselves into such as relate to the farm ;
to the farmer ; and to the landlord.
Chap. I.
Of the Circumstances of a Farm necessary to be considered by a proposed Tenant.
4352. Whoever intend'; to become a professional, or rent-paying farmer, will, in search-
ing for a farm, find it necessary to attend to a great variety of considerations. Those of
the greatest importance may be included under climate, soil and subsoil, character of
surface, topographical position, extent, buildings, roads, fields, tenure, rent, and out-
goings. In The Code of yigricidture, a more valuable collection of facts as to these
points is brought together than in any other work, and from it, therefore, we shall select
the greater part of the following sections.
Book V. CLIMATE OF FARMING LANDS. 705
Sect. I. Of Climate in respect to fanning Lands.
4353. The climate of a farm is one of the circumstances over which human art has
less control than any other ; and a farmer who has but a temporary interest in his possession
may be considered as incapable of exercising any influence over it. He may improve
the soil and subsoil by draining and culture ; and the buildings, roads, and fences by
additions and alterations ; but it is for the landlord to attempt improving the climate by
planting, and for a future generation to enjoy the effects.
4354. Sufficient attention, it is said in The Code of Agriculture, " is rarely paid by the
farmer to the nature of the climate in which his operations are carried on. Unless the
system he adopts be calculated for the weather his crops are likely to experience, every
exertion will often terminate in disappointment. The system that is, proper for warm
and dry situations, is not suitable for cold and wet ones ; and in a bleak and backward
climate, the nature of the soil ought not only to be attended to, but the utmost care
ought to be paid to the early sowing of the earliest varieties of seed. Even the species
of stock to be bred, or kept on a farm, should in a great measure be regulated by the
climate. Hence, this is a subject which the diligent farmer will invariably study with
the greatest solicitude. Climate and soil, Curwen justly remarks, are, above all other
considerations, those which the farmer ought constantly to keep in view." {Report to the
Workington Society.)
4355. In considering the climate of a country, the following points are of peculiar im-
portance : its general character, and the means of its improvement ; its local heat ; the
light it furnishes ; the quantity of its moisture ; the prevailing winds ; its position,
whether maritime or inland ; the regularity of the seasons ; the phenomena to which it is
liable ; the productions best suited to it ; the expenses it may occasion in cultivation ; and
its suitableness for the introduction of exotic plants, and animals from other climates.
4356. The general character of a climate not only depends on position or latitude, but
likewise on the elevation of a country above the level of the sea ; its general aspect ; the
vicinity to mountains, forests, bogs, marshes, lakes, and seas; the nature of the soil and
subsoil, and the power which the former possesses of retaining heat and moisture ; the
direction of the winds ; the length of time the sun continues above the horizon ; the
difference of temperature between the day and the night ; and the extent of dry surface in
the neighborhood. The result of these particulars combined, form, what may be called, the
general character of climate. Some of the causes of an unfavorable climate cannot be
remedied by any human effort ; in other cases art may effect much ; but that art is ge-
nerally such as the farmer can seldom undertake unless with a very long lease. Ame-
liorations of this sort, therefore, belong to the landlord.
4357. The importance of heat, as a stimulus to vegetation, cannot be doubted. It is
at a certain degree of heat that vegetation commences, and it becomes nearly stationary
when the temperature falls below it. There are, comparatively speaking, but few plants
calculated for very cold countries, and these are seldom valuable ; whereas in warm and
temperate regions, the variety is great, and their value unquestionable. Indeed, such
is the effect of cold, that while the thermometer is below 40*^ of heat, the strongest plants
become torpid, and remain in that state while it continues. Revived by the warmth of
spring, and strengthened by the heat of summer, they acquire fresh life and vigor, and
are thus better enabled to withstand the rigors of the succeeding winter.
4358. An increased temperature, when not carried to excess, will augment the quantity
of nutritive matter in a j^lant, or improve the quality of fruit grown under its influence.
Thus English barley, of equal weight, is more valuable than the Scotch, because, from
growing in a warmer climate, and enjoying the advantage of a greater quantity of heat
and light, it is more fully ripened. It thence acquires more saccharine matter, and
produces a greater quantity of spirits, or of malt liquor. It is also proved, by the
experiments of Sir Humphry Davy, that wheat ripened in a more regular and warmer
climate, contains more of that valuable article called gluten, than the same species of
grain when raised in England.
4359. The average heat of the year is not, however, of so much importance to the
growth of plants, as its duration, and its steadiness at a certain degree, during the sea-
son when tiie grain is ripening. This gives the uniform climates of the continent a
great advantage over our variable seasons, in the production of the more delicate sorts of
fruit ; which, in this island, are often injured by the frosts in spring, and seldom ripen
in a northern climate, where the greatest summer heat is both unsteady and of short
duration.
4360. The quantity of solar light which a climate furnishes, is likewise an important
object of inquiry. Light is essential to increase the proportion of starch or farina ; to
complete the formation of oils in plants; and to give to fruits their proper color and
flavor. It has also the effect of augmenting saccharine matter, insomuch that those
Zr
706 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
sugar-canes which are exposed to the sun, have more of that important ingredient than
when they grow under shade. Nor ought the observation to be omitted, that darkness
and h'ght have effects directly opposite upon vegetables. Darkness favors the length of the
growth, by keeping up the pliancy of their parts; light consolidates them, and stops
growth, by favoring maturation. Hence, in the northernmost regions, plants go through
all their stages of growth at a time when the sun no longer quits the horizon ; and the
light, of which they thus experience the unremitting effect, hardens them before they
have time to lengthen. Their growth is therefore quick, but of short duration. They
are robust, but undersized. (Mirbel.) It has been remarked also, that a soil, not re-
tentive, will be more productive in a wet climate than in a dry one. Hence, in the
western coasts of England, as in Lancashire, where the quantity of rain that falls annu-
ally varies from forty to sixty inches, a siliceous sandy soil is much more productive than
the same species of soil in the eastern districts, where seldom more than from twenty-five
to thirty-five inches of rain fall in a year. In wet climates also, even wheat and beans will
require a less coherent and absorbent soil than in drier situations. At the same time,
weather moderately dry, is the most favorable to a great produce of corn ; and the blos-
soms of wheat, in particular, set best if no rain falls in the flowering season.
4361. The importance of moisture to vegetation is obvious to every one. Water con-
stitutes a large proportion of every plant, and is the vehicle of the food of plants held in
solution. Hence, without so essential an ingredient, they must either become stunted in
their growth, or perish. In dry weather, when vegetation seems at a stand, no sooner do
showers of rain fall, than a rapid growth, of every kind of herbage, or of corn, immedi^
ately succeeds, even on poor dry soils, where otherwise, however well manured, vegeta-
tion would make but slow progress.
4362. The quantity of rain that falls annually in any country, is a very inferior consi-
deration, when compared with that of the general and equable distribution of that quan,
tity throughout the several days and months of the year. A great quantity, at the same
time, is rather hurtful than beneficial ; whereas those moderate, but golden showers^ which
regularly fall on a soil calculated to receive them, are real sources of fertility. It is by
this that the character of a climate, whether wet or dry, is chiefly determined, and the
operations of agriculture are principally influenced.
4363. The utility of a moist atmosphere, with a view to vegetation, is, in some respects,
peculiarly remarkable. Thus in wet climates, as on the western coasts of England,
Scotland, and Ireland, crops of grain and potatoes are found to exhaust the soil less than
in dry situations, Oats in particular are impoverishing in a greater degree in dry
climates, than in moist opes ; and in the former, should be sown much earlier than in the
latter.
4364. The disadvantages of a wet climate to a farmer, more especially if accompanied
with a retentive soil, are very great. It is calculated, that in the richest district in Scot-
land, the Carse of Gowrie, there are only about twenty weeks in the year fit for plough-
ing; whereas in several parts of England, they have thirty weeks, and in many cases
i;nore, during which this essential operation can be performed. Hence ploughing must
be much more expensive in the one case than in the other.
4365. The season of the year in which ruin abounds, is likewise of much importance.
An excess is prejudicial in any season, but is peculiarly so in autumn, when it often
lodges the grain by its violence, or, by its long continuance, prevents the corn from
being properly harvested. The hopes of the husbandman are thus blasted, and the fruits of
his toil and industry are frequently diminished, and sometimes entirely lost.
4366. Dews have a great effect in furnishing jilants with moisture ; and, indeed, with-
out their aid, vegetation, in warm and dry climates, could not go on. Even in tempe-
rate regions, dews are beneficial. In Guernsey, on the coast of Norinandy, the autumnal
dews are singularly heavy, so much so, that in the middle of a hot day, the dew-drops
are not quite exhaled from the grass. From this moisture, the after-grass receives great
benefit. Dr. Hales estimated the quantity of dew that falls in one year, at three and a
half inches : Dalton at nearly five inches. In this matter, however, it is not easy to be
correct.
4367. The prevailing winds have a great influence on the character of a climate, and a
powerful effect on vegetation When they pass over a large expanse of water, they are
usually of a warmer or higher temperature in winter, than those which blow over high
lands ; more especially if such come from countries covered with snow. Hence the east
and north-east winds, which have passed over the coldest regions of Europe, are much
colder than the west and south-west winds, which blow over the Atlantic Ocean, and
oftener occasions blights. The former are comparatively drier, unless when accompanied
by those thick mists, called haars, arising from the copious evaporation of the German
Ocean. The latter are loaded with the vapors of the Atlantic, and often, from excess
pf moisture, are rendered prejudicial. The strength of the prevailing winds, or the
Book V. CLIMATE OF FARMING LANDS. 707
violence with which they act, more especially during harvest, ought likewise to be con-
sidered. If they are very violent, they are apt to affect the crops, and of course it be-
comes an object to suit the produce to thera ; and to form fences, enclosures, and plan-
tations accordingly.
4368. A maritime position occasions a more equal temperature in a climate. Where
a great body of land is exposed to the heating rays of the sun, the air becomes much
warmer than it would if resting upon a small body of land, contiguous to, or surrounded
by the ocean. On the otlier hand, as the sea always preserves nearly the same tempera-
ture, and, except in the most northern regions, is never frozen, it communicates warmth,
in the cold seasons of the year, to the air passing over it, which had been cooled in its
passage over continents covered with ice and snow. Hence islands are more temperate
than continents. It appears indeed, that the thermometer has not so great a range on
the sea coast, as in the more inland parts of Great Britain, even at an elevation of 400
feet above the level of the sea. Of the influence of proximity to the sea, many proofs
might be brought forward. It is in consequence of this circumstance, that the city, of
Moscow, which is situated somewhat farther south than Edinburgh, experiences winters
much more severe. Another effect of a maritime position is, that strong winds which
blow from the sea, are sometimes accompanied by salt spray, or vapor, which is inju-
rious to crops of grain, and the leaves of trees. But when it comes in moderation, those
saline particles, with which the westerly winds are loaded, contribute to the verdure of the
fields in pasture.
4369. The nature of the inland position is also of much importance. The relative po-
sition of the neighboring hills, occasioning a material difference of climate, exposing
some districts to great severity of weather, and by protecting others from that disadvantage,
greatly promoting their fertility.
4370. In many countries the seasons are regular. In others, as in Great Britain, they
are extremely variable, and often change, in the space of a few hours, from dry to moist,
from hot to cold, from clear to cloudy, and from a pleasant serenity to all the violence of
a tempest. But such irregularities of climate, however uncomfortable, are often favo-
rable to vegetation, and compensated by the advantages they produce. It is not in
countries where the seasons of heat and cold, wind and rain, are periodical, or where
the greatest regularity of clinlate takes place, that mankind are the most healthy or vigo-
rous, or the useful productions of the soil most perfect. Perhaps a sameness of climate,
as well as of other things, is prejudicial rather than useful. Where a climate is incon-
stant, the air is refined and purified by the frequent changes it undergoes ; and the dis-
advantages which originate from that source, are often counteracted, or at least essentially
mitigated, by judicious management, and persevering exertions.
437 1 . The climate of a country is likewise affected by atmospherical and natural phe-
nomena ; by earthquakes ; volcanos ; violent thunder storms ; lightning ; hail storms in
summer; early frosts ; whirlwinds and hurricanes; water-spouts; and by that atmos-
pheric appearance, known under the name of the aurora borealis, so frequently to be
seen in northern, and sqmetiines, even in southern regions ; but these phenomena, for
the most part only occasional, sometimes prevent greater calamities, and in this country
are rarely attended with permanent evils.
4372. Early frosts are higlily injurious to the blossoms of fruit trees ; and autumnal
frosts creep along the banks of rivers, destroying the corn in the flowering season, and
blasting the stems of potatoes in low situations. Winter frosts are ultimately ratlier
favorable to vegetation ; and snow, particularly when it covers the ground for some time,
and gradually melts away.
4373. The size, and, in many cases, the value of the productions of a country, depend
upon its climate, by whose influence their growth may either be advanced or retarded.
The same species of tree, which, in a temperate climate, will rise to a great height, and
swell to an immense size, in an exposed situation will remain small and stunted. By a
favorable climate also, the most barren spots, which in a cold country must remain com-
pletely waste, in a warm one may be rendered productive. Thus, where the climate is
adapted to the culture of the vine; rocks, which in Great Britain, and in colder
countries, would in general be of little or no worth, in the southern provinces of France
may yield as much in valuable produce, as the cultivated land in their neighborhood.
The real excellence of a climate, however, depends on its yielding, in perfection and
abundance, the necessaries of life, or those which constitute the principal articles of food
for man, and for the domestic animals kept for his use. In this point of view, a meadow
is much more productive, and in some respects more valuable than either a vineyard or a
grove of oranges ; though the one may be situated in a cold and variable climate, and
the other in a country celebrated both for its regularity and warmth of temperature.
4374. Even the nature of the articles raised, depends upon the climate. Thus, in
many elevated parts, both of England and Scotland, wheat cannot be grown to advantage,
Zz 2
708 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
and in some of the high-lying districts of the latter, it has never been attempted. In
several of the northern counties, it has been found necessary to sow, instead of the two-
rowed barley, the inferior sort called bear, or big ; and oats, from the hardy quality of
the grain, are found to be a more certain and more profitable species of corn, than any
other; while in humid districts, peas or beans cannot be safely cultivated, from the period-
ical wetness of the autumn. On the whole, without great attention to the nature of the
climate, no profitable system can be laid down by any occupier of land.
■4375. An iriferior climate greatly augments the expenses of cultivation, because a num-
ber of horses are required for labor, during the short period of the year, when the
weather will admit of it, which, at other seasons, are a useless burden upon the farm.
When to this are joined an uneven surface, and an inferior quality of soil, arable land is
of little value, and yields but a trifling rent.
4376. Exotic plants or animals can only be naturalized in climates with success by
paying attention to that whence they were brought, and by endeavoring, either to render
the one as similar to the other as circumstances will admit of, or to counteract, by judi-
cious management, the deficiencies of the new one.
4377. In order to ascertain the nature of a climate, the farmer, in modern times, has
many advantages which his predecessors wished for in vain. The progress of science has
given rise to many new instruments, which ascertain natural phenomena with a consi-
derable degree of accuracy, instead of conjectures, or systems being founded on loose
or general experience. It may still be proper to study the appearance of the heavens,
and not to despise old proverbs, which often contain much local truth ; but the vane now
points out the quarters whence the winds blow, with all their variations ; the barometer,
often enables us to foretel the state of the weather that may be expected ; the thermometer
ascertains the degree of heat; the hygrometer, the degree of moisture ; and the pluvio-
meter, or rain-gauge, the quantity of rain that has fallen during any given period ; and
by keeping exact registers of all these particulars, much useful information may be de-
rived. Thei nfluence of different degrees of temperature and humidity, occurring at
different times, may likewise be observed, by comparing the leafing, flowering, and after-
progress of the most common sorts of trees and plants, in different seasons, with the
period when the several crops of grain are sown and reaped each year.
Sect. II. Of Soil in respect to farming Lands.
4378. The necessity of paying attention to the nature and quality of the soil, need not
be dwelt upon. By ascertaining the qualities it possesses, or by removing its defects,
the profits of a farmer may be greatly increased. He must, in general, regulate his
measures accordingly, in regard to the rent he is to offer ; the capital he is to lay out ; the
stock he is to keep ; the crops he is to raise ; and the improvements he is to execute.
Indeed, such is the importance of the soil, and the necessity of adapting his system to
its peculiar properties, that no general system of cultivation can be laid down, unless all
the circumstances regarding the nature and situation of the soil and subsoil be known ;
and such is the force of habit, that it rarely happens, if a farmer has been long ac-
customed to one species of soil, he will be equally successful in the management of
another. From the attention to the nature of soils, many foolish, fruitless, and ex-
pensive attempts have been made to introduce different kinds of plants, not at all suited
to them ; and manures have often been improperly applied. This ignorance has likewise
prevented many from employing the means of improvement, though the expense was
trifling, and within their reach. From ignorance also of the means calculated for
the proper cultivation of the different soils, many unsuccessful and pernicious practices
have been adopted. Soils may be considered under the following general heads : Sandy ;
gravelly ; clayey ; stoney ; chalky ; peaty ; alluvial ; and loamy, or that species of arti-
ficial soil, into which the others are generally brought, by the effects of manure, and of
earthy applications, in the course of long cultivation.
4379. Though sandy soils are not naturally valuable, yet being easily cultivated, and well
calculated for sheep, that most profitable species of stock, they are often farmed with con-
siderable advantage ; and when of a good quality, and under a regular course of husbandry,
they are invaluable. They are easily worked, and at all seasons ; they are cultivated at
a moderate expense ; are not sp liable to injury from the vicissitudes of the weather ;
and in general they are deep and retentive of moisture, which secures excellent crops
even in the driest summers. The crops raised on sandy soils are numerous, such
as common turnips, potatoes, carrots, barley, rye, buck-wheat, pease, clover, saintfoin,
and other grasses. This species of soil, in general, has not strength enough for the pro-
duction of Swedish turnips, beans, wheat, oats, flax, or hemp, in any degree of perfection,
without much improvement in its texture, the addition of great quantities of enriching
manure, and the most skilful management. In Norfolk and Suffolk, it is found that
poor sandy soils, unfit for any other purpose, under saintfoin, will produce, after the first
year, about two tons per acre, of excellent hay, for several years, with an after-grass,
Book V. SOIL OF FARMING LANDS. 709
•
extremely valuable for weaning and keeping lambs. How much more beneficial, than
any crops of grain that such soils usually yield ! (Young's Kalend. 123.)
4380. The fertility of sandy soils, is in proportion to the quantity of rain that falls, com-
bined with the frequency of its recurrence. As a proof of this, in the rainy climate of
Turin, the most prolific soil has from seventy-seven to eighty per cent, of siliceous earth,
and from nine to fourteen of calcareous ; whereas in the neighborhood of Paris, where
there is much less rain, the silex is only in the proportion of fVom twenty-six to fifty per
cent, in the most fertile parts.
4381. Gravelly soils differ materially from sandy, both in their texture and modes of
management. They are frequently composed of small soft stones, sometimes of flinty
ones ; but they often contain granite, limestone, and other rocky substances, partially,
but not very minutely decomposed. Gravel, being more porous than even sand, is
generally a poor, and what is called, a hungry soil, more especially when the parts of
which it consists, are hard in substance, and rounded in form. Gravelly soils are easily-
exhausted, for the animal and vegetable matters they contain, not being thoroughly in-
corporated with the earthy constituent parts of the soil, (which are seldom sufficiently-
abundant for that purpose,) are more liable to be decomposed by the action of the atmos-
phere, and carried off by water.
4382. A gravelly soil, free from stagnant water, gives such an additional warmth to
the climate, that vegetation is nearly a fortnight earlier, than where other soils predomi-
nate. About Dartford and Blackheath, in Kent, such soils produce early green pease,
winter tares, rye, autumnal pease, and occasionally wheat, in great perfection.
4383. Gravelly soils, in a wet climate, answer well for potatoes ; in Cornwall, in a
sheltered situation, with a command of sea-sand, and of sea- weed, they raise two crops of
potatoes in the same year.
4384. Poor gravelly soils, full of springs, and those sulphureous, are very unfriendly to
vegetation ; and are better calculated for wood than for arable culture.
4385. The stoney, shaley, or stone-brash soils of Gloucestershire, and the midland
counties of England, are much mixed with small stones, but have more frequently sand,
or clay, or calcareous loam, in their composition, than gravelly soils, and are therefore
generally preferable.
4386. A clayey soil is often of so adhesive a nature, that it will hold water like a dish.
In a dry summer, the plough turns it up in great clods, scarcely to be broken or separated
by the heaviest roller. It requires, therefore, much labor to put it in a state fit for pro-
ducing either corn or grass, and it can only be cultivated, when in a particular state, and
in favorable weather. Though it will yield therefore, under a proper system of manage-
ment, great crops, yet being cultivated at a heavy expense, requiring stronger instruments,
and stouter horses, it is seldom that much profit is obtained, unless when occupied by a
judicious and attentive farmer. The best management of clay soils, is that of the Lo-
thians. There they are found well calculated for growing crops of beans, wheat, oats,
clover, and winter tares j but are not adapted for barley, unless immediately after a fal-
low ; nor for potatoes, unless under very peculiar management. In regard to turnips,
they do Hot usually thrive so well in clays, as in soils which are more free and open.
But it is now ascertained, that the Swedish, and above all, the yellow turnip, may be
raised in them with advantage ; that the quality is superior ; that if they are taken up
early, the soil is not injured ; and that there is no difficulty in preserving them. Clays
become good meadow-lands, and answer well for hay, or soiling, when in grass ; but
from their aptitude to be poached, they are, iii general, unfit to be fed by heavy cattle in
wet weather. In dry seasons the after-grass may be used to feed neat cattle till October,
and sheep till March. A stiff clay, when not cold or wet, with a strong marl under it, is
preferred in Cheshire and Derbyshire, for the dairy.
4387. On reclaimed peat-bogs, oats, rye, beans, potatoes, turnips, carrots* cole-seed,
white and red clover, may be cultivated. Wheat and barley have succeeded on
such lands, after they have been supplied with abundance of calcareous earth; and
the fiorin grass (Jgrostis stolonifera), seems likewise to be well adapted to that description
of soil in a warm climate. In Leicestershire, and other counties, they have great tracts
of meadow land, which, in many instances, are the sites of lakes filled up, the soil of
which is composed of peat and sediment; the former originally formed by aquatic Vegeta-
tion, and the latter brought down by rains and streams from the upland. This forms a
soil admirably calculated for grass.
4388. The fens in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and several other districts ill Eng-
land, consist of peat and sediment.
4389. Chalky soils principally consist of calcareous matter, m.ixed with various dther
substances, in greater or lesser proportions. Where clayey or earthy substances are to
be found in such soils in considerable quantities, the composition is heavy and productive ;
>vhere sand or gravel abounds, it is light, and rather unfertile; The ei-Ops chiefly CtJlii-
710 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
vated on chalky soils, are pease, turnips, barley, clover, and wheat ; and however much the
soil is exhausted, it will produce sainttbin.
4390. Chalky soils are in general Jitter for tillage than for grazing; for without the
plough, the peculiar advantages derived from this soil by saintfoin, could not be obtained.
The plough, however, ought not to extend to those fine chalky downs, (called ewe leases
in Dorsetshire), which, by a very attentive management during a number of years, have
been brought to a considerable degree of fertility as grazing land, and which are so use-
ful to sheep in the winter season. A chalky soil that has been in tillage, permits water
to pass through it so freely in winter, and is so pervious to the sun's rays in summer, that
it is the work of an age to make it a good pasture of natural grasses, more especially when
the chalk lies near the surface. Hence, in the western counties of England, several
thousands of acres of this soil, though not ploughed for thirty years, have scarcely any
grass of tolerable quality upon them, and are literally worth nothing. Such soils ought
lo be laid down with saintfoin.
4391. Alluvial soils are of two sorts; one derived from the sediment of fresh, and the
other of salt water. Along the sides of rivers, and other considerable streams, water-
formed soils are to be met with, consisting of the decomposed matter of decayed veget-
ables, with the sediment of streams. They are in general deep and fertile, and not apt to
be injured by rain, as they usually lie on a bed of open gravel. They are commonly em-
ployed as meadows, from the hazard of crops of grain being injured, or carried otF by
floods, if cultivated.
4392. Alluvial soils, arising from the operations of salt water, called salt marshes in
England, carses in Scotland, and polders in Holland and Flanders, are composed of the
finest parts of natural clay, washed off by running water, and deposited on flat ground, on
the shores of estuaries, where they are formed by the reflux of the tide, and enriched with
marine productions. They generally have a rich, level surface, and being deep in the
staple, they are well adapted for the culture of the most valuable crops. Hence wheat,
barley, oats, and clover, are all of them productive on this species of soil ; which is like-
wise peculiarly well calculated for beans, as the tap-root pushes vigorously through it,
and finds its nourishment at a great depth. From the great mass of excellent soil, the
fertility of these tracts is nearly inexhaustible ; but from their low and damp situations,
they are not easily managed. Lime, in considerable quantities, is found to answer well
upon this species of soil.
4393. The term loamy soil is applied to such as are moderately cohesive, less tenacious
than clay, and more so than sand. Loams are the most desirable of all soils to occupy.
They are friable; can in general be cultivated at almost any season of the year; are
ploughed with greater facility, and less strength than clay ; bear better the vicissitudes of
the seasons ; and seldom require any change in the rotation adopted. Above all, they are
peculiarly well adapted for the convertible husbandry; for they can be changed, not only
without injury, but generally with benefit, from grass to tillage, and from tillage to
4394. As to the comparative value of soil, it has been justly remarked, that too much
can hardly be paid for a good soil, and that even a low rent will not make a poor one pro-
fitable. The labor of cultivating a rich and a poor soil, is nearly the same; while the
latter requires more manure, and consequently is more expensive. Poor soils, at the same
time, may have such a command of lasting manures, as lime or marl, or even of tempo-
rary sorts, like sea-weed, or the refuse of fish, as may render them profitable to cultivate.
It is a wise maxim in husbandry, that the soil, like the cattle by whom it is cultivated,
should always be kept up in good condition, and never suffered to fall below the work it may
be expected to perform.
Sect. III. Of Subsoil relatively to the Choice of a Farm.
4395. On the nature of the understratum depends much of the value of the surface soil.
On various accounts its properties merit particular attention. By examining the subsoil,
information may be obtained in regard to the soil itself ; for the materials of the latter are
often similar to those which enter largely into the composition of the former, though the
substances in the soil are necessarily altered, by various mixtures, in the course of cultiva-
tion. The subsoil may be of use to the soil, by supplying its deficiencies, and correcting
its defects. The hazard and expense of cultivating the surface are often considerably
augmented by defects in the under- stratum, but which, in some cases, may be remedied.
Disorders in the roots of plants are generally owing to a wet or noxious subsoil. Subsoils
are retentive, or porous,
4396. Retentive subsoils consist of clay, or marl, or of stone beds of various kinds.
A retentive, clayey subsoil is in general found to be highly injurious* The surface
soil is soaked with water, is ploughed with diflficulty, and is usually in a bad con^^
dition for the exertion of its vegetative powers, until the cold sluggish moisture of
Book V. ELEVATION OF FARMING LANDS. 711
the winter be exhaled. By the water being retained in the upper soil, the putre-
factive process is interrupted, and manures are restrained from operating, conse-
quently the plants make but little progress. Hence, its grain is of inferior quality,
and when in grass, its herbage is coarse.
4397. A stoney subsoil, when in a position approaching to the horizontal, is in general
prejudicial, and if the surface-soil be thin usually occasions barrenness, unless the rock
should be limestone, and then the soil, though thin, can easily be converted into healthy
pastures, and, in favorable seasons, will feed a heavy stock. They will also produce
good crops of corn, though subject to the wire-worm.
4398. A porous subsoil is uniformly attended with this advantage, that by its means
all superfluous moisture may be absorbed. Below clay, and all the variety of loams,
an open subsoil is particularly desirable. It is favorable to all the operations of hus-
bandry ; it tends to correct the imperfections of too great a degree of absorbent power
in the soil above ; it promotes the beneficial effects of manures ; it contributes to the
preservation and growth of the seeds ; and ensures the future prosperity of the plants.
Hence it is, that a thinner soil, with a favorable subsoil, will produce better crops than a
more fertile one, incumbent on wet clay, or pn cold and non-absorbent rock. Lands
whose substratum consists of clean gravel or sand, can bear little sun, owing to their
not having the capacity of retaining moisture, and their generally possessing only a
shallow surface of vegetable mould. In England this soil was formerly called rye-landt
being more generally cropped with that species of grain than any other. When such
soils are cultivated for barley , they should be early and thick, with seed soaked forty-
eight hours in water, or in the exudation from a dung-heap. Thus its simultaneous
germination, and ripening at the same time, may be secured.
Sect. IV. Of the Elevation of Lands relatively to Farming.
4399. The elevation of lands above the level of the sea has a material influence on the
kind and quality of their produce. Land in the same parallel of latitude, other circum-
stances being nearly similar, is always more valuable in proportion to the comparative
lowness of its situation.
4400. In the higher districts the herbage is less succulent and nourishing, and the re-
production slower when the land is in grass ; while the grain is less plump, runs more
to straw, is less perfectly ripened, and the harvest is also later when the produce is
corn. It has been calculated that in Great Britain sixty yards of elevation in the land
are equal to a degree of latitude; or, in other words, that sixty yards perpendicularly
higher, are, in respect of climate, equal to a degree more to the north. In considering
the crops to be raised in any particular farm, attention ought therefore to be paid to its
height above the level of the sea, as well as to its latitude. In latitude 54° and 55°, an
elevation of 500 feet above that level is the greatest height at which wheat cart be cul-
tivated witli any probable chance of profit ; and even there the grain will prove very
light, and will often be a month later in ripening than if sown at the foot of the hills.
4401. The usual maximum of elevation may be reckoned between 600 and 800 feet
for the more common sorts of grain ; and in backward seasons the produce will be of
small value, and sometimes will yield nothing but straw. It is proper, at the same
time, to remark, that in the second class of mountains in the county of Wicklow, in Ire-
land, where no other grain is considered to be a safe crop, rye is cultivated with success.
Where the soil is calcareous, however, as on the Gloucestershire and Yorkshire wolds,
from the superior warmth of that species of soil, compared to cold clays or peat, barley
grows in great perfection at an elevation of 800 feet above the level of the sea. Some
experiments have been made to raise corn crops, at even a higher elevation, on the cele-
brated mountain Skiddaw, in Cumberland, but unsuccessfully.
4402. The greatest height at which corn ivill grow, in the more remote parts of Scot-
land, so as to yield any profit to the husbandman, is stated to be at 500 feet above the
level of the sea. At the same time corn has been produced, in other districts of that
country, at still higher elevations, in particular at the following places : —
Feet above the Level Feet above ike £9vef
qfllte Sea. qfthe Sea.
Parishof Hume, in Roxburghshire - 600 Doubruch, in Braemar, Aberdeenshire 1294'
Upper Ward of Lanarkshire - - 760 Lead-hills, in Lanarkshire ^ . - 1S64
4403. These and other instances of land being cultivated on high elevations, however, are
merely small spots, richly manured, and, after all, producing nothing but crops of inferior
barley and oats, and seldom fully ripe or successfully harvested. It is only where the
soil is sandy or gravelly, that corn will at all answer in Scotland on such elevated situ-
ations ; and even then, only when the seasons are propitious, and when there are local
advantages, favorable to warmth and shelter, in the situation of the landis.
Zz 4
7J2 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
Sect. V. Character of Surface in regard to farming Lands.
4404. A hiUy irregular surface, whether at a high or low elevation above the sea, is
unfavorable to farming. The labor of ploughing, driving home produce, and driving
out manure, are greatly increased, while the soil on the summit of steep hills, mounts, or
declivities, is unavoidably deteriorated. On the sides of slopes the finer parts of the clay
and mould are washed away, while the sand and gravel remain. Hence the soil in such
districts often wants a proper degree of tenacity for supporting corn crops. A great
part of the manure that is applied in such situations, is likewise soon lost. From
various causes also they are colder than the plains.
4405. Many extensive countries have no perceptible rise. These have their advantages
from uniformity of soil, where it is rich. In other districts, the surface is of a waving
description, an inequality which contributes much to the ornament of the country, by
the agreeable relief which the eye constantly meets with in the change of objects ; while
the universal declivity which prevails more or less in every field is favorable to the cul-
ture of the land, by allowing a ready descent to any water with which the surface may be
encumbered.
Sect. VI. Of Aspect in respect to farming Lands.
4406. Aspect, in hilly or mountainous districts, is an important subject of attention to
the farmer ; more especially where the climate is unfavorable. It is proved in a variety
of instances, both in the central highlands of Scotland, and in other parts of the king-
dom, that where the aspect of a hill is towards the north, the soil is more fertile than
when it lies with a southern exposure. This is attributed to the variations from frost
to thaw in the spring months, which are greater in a southern than a northern aspect.
Hence, while the soil to the north remains locked fast, and secured from waste, the
other is loosened by the sun, and carried oflT by showers falling in the intervals of
thaw.
4407. Soils which face the south are more liable to have their substance carried away by
heavy rains, which are generally impelled from the south and south-west. But though
the soil to the north often produces the heaviest crops of grass and hay, yet from possess-
ing a more genial climate, and from the earlier and more powerful action of the sun,
both corn and grass are harvested earlier on land which has a southern, than on that
which has a northern aspect ; and superiority of quality thus compensates for any infe-
riority in the quantity of the produce.
Sect. VII. Of the Situation of Farm Lands in regard to Markets.
4408. No farming can go on without markets. The system of farming to be adopted
on any particular farm, and the expense attending it, must materially depend on its situ-
ation, in regard to markets ; to the facility with which its produce can be conveyed,
where a contiguous market is wanting ; to vicinity to manure, to fuel, and to water.
4409. The advantages resulting from a vicinity to a market, or to a large town, by
which that is insured, are very great. Some crops, as those of potatoes, turnips, and
clover, are frequently sold on the ground, without any further trouble or expense to the
farmer ; and great quantities of manure may be purchased at a moderate expense. In
such situations also there is a ready sale for every article the farm can produce ; and the
articles sold are not only brought to market at a small expense, but the payment is im-
mediate. For all these reasons, it is contended, and apparently with justice, that the
neighborhood of a capital is the most profitable spot to farm in, notwithstanding the
high rent of land, and the great expense of labor.
4410. Where markets are not at hand, the farmer ought to take into consideration
what articles will best suit those at a distance to which his produce must be sent. In
such a situation, unless there are facilities for the conveyance of so bulky an article as
corn by good roads, or by water-carriage, it is advisable, instead of cultivating grain, to
attend either to the dairy husbandry, or to the breeding of stock which can be fattened in
other districts where good markets are more numerous. This plan, by which the dairy,
the breeding, and the fattening of stock, are made distinct professions, is highly bene-
ficial to the country at large. Stock can be reared cheaper in remote districts than
where land is dear and labor high. On the other hand, the purchaser of lean stock
avoids the expense and risk of breeding great numbers of animals. His attention
is not distracted by a multiplicity of objects ; he can alter his system from cattle to
sheep, or from sheep to cattle, as is likely to be most profitable ; his business is sim-
plified, and the capital he lays out is speedily returned. The division of professions
between breeding and feeding (though they may be united in circumstances peculiarly
favorable), is on the whole a most important link in the progress of agricultural pros-
perity.
Book V. EXTENT OF FARMING LANDS^. 713
4411. In regard to facility of conveyance, the state of public roads» bridges, iron rail-
ways, canals, rivers rendered navigable, and harbors, deserves the consideration of the
farmer, and will most materially influence the value of produce.
4412. The situation of the farm in regard to manures, for an easy access to lime, chalk,
marl, sea-weed, &c. is of essential advantage to cultivation. The price at which these
articles can be purchased, their quality, their distance, and expense of conveyance^
are likewise of importance. Farms, for example, possessing the advantage of sea- weed
contiguous, and in abundance, can pay from fifteen to twenty per cent, more rent per
acre than otherwise could be aflTorded.
4413. Vicinity to fuel in the cold and moist regions of Europe, are important consi-
derations to the farmer. In the same county, even in England, the difference of ex-
pense is often material. In the Hebrides, from the moistness of the climate, the
expense of fuel is reckoned equal to a third part of the rent of the land ; and farmers who
pay, in some cases, 150/. per annum, would give 200/. if the landlord would supply them
and their servants with fuel,
4414. Where a farmer is under the necessity of using peat, from the labor attending the
cutting, spreading, drying, and conveying it ffom a distance, several weeks of his horses
and servants are devoted to that sole purpose; and much valuable time is lost, which
ought to have been employed in the cultivation of his farm. It has been well remarked,
that many farmers, to save five guineas on coal, often expend twenty, in thus misapply-
ing the labor of their horses.
441 5. fVhere wood is used, it occupies a great deal of ground, that might often be cul-
tivated to advantage : and it is not of a lasting quality. Coal is preferable, for general
purposes, to every other species of fuel ; and besides its domestic application, its superi-
ority for burning lime, that important source of fertility, or calcareous clay, also of much
value to the farmer, is an object of great moment. The tenant, therefore, who resides in
the neighborhood of coal, more especially if limestone or calcareous substances are at
jio great distance, farms at less expense, can afford to pay a higher rent, and may derive
more profit from the land he cultivates, than if in these respects he were differently
circumstanced.
Sect. VIII. Of the Extent of Land suitable for a Farm.
44 1 6. The extent of ground which a farmer proposes to occupy, demands due consideration.
If it be beyond his capital to cultivate or improve, he can derive no profit by taking it.
On the other hand, a small occupation may not be worthy of his attention.
4417. Farms as to size may be divided into three sorts: small farms under 100 acres;
moderate-sized farms, from 100 to 200 acres ; large farms, from 200 to 1000 acres, and
upwards, of land fit for cultivation. The expense of labor is now so great, and the rent
of land so high, that the profits of a small farm are not suflBcient, with the utmost
frugality, or even parsimony, to maintain a family with comfort.
4418. Moderate-sized farms are well calculated for the dairy system, for the neigh-
borhood of large towns, and where capital is not abundant. Tliere are few trades, in
which a small capital can be employed to a greater advantage than in a dairy farm, yet
there is no branch of agriculture where such constant and unremitting attention is
required. That is not to be expected from hired servants ; but it is in the power of the
wives and daughters of the farmer to perform, or at any rate to superintend, the whole
concern^ without whose aid it cannot be rendered productive.
4419. iWbdera^e -sizerfyar?Hs are general in the neighborhood of towns. This neces-
sarily results from the high rents paid in such situations ; the shortness of the leases
usually granted of land near towns ; and the necessity the farmer is under, of selling, in
small quantities, the articles produced on his farm. On this subject it has been
remarked, that farmers in the vicinity of large towns resemble retail shopkeepers,
whose attention must be directed to small objects, by which a great deal of money is got,
the greater part of which would be lost, without the most unremitting attention. The
farmer at a distance from markets, who cultivates on a great scale, may be compared,
on the other hand, to a wholesale trader, who, as his profits are less, requires a greater
extent of land, for the purpose both of engaging his attention, and of enabling him to
support that station of life in which he is placed. There is this difference also between
farmers in the neighborhood of towns, and those who reside at a distance from them,
that the former find it more profitable to sell their produce, even such bulky articles as
turnips, potatoes, clover, hay, and straw, than to fatten cattle for the butcher; and they
are enabled to do so, without injury to their farms, as they can procure dung in return.
4420. Farms of the largest size differ in respect to the capital required. A mountain
breeding farm of 5000 acres will not require more to stock it than an arable farm of 500
acres, and much less expense of labor to carry it on. In all cases the safe side for
the farmer to lean to, is to prefer a farm rather under than exceeding his capital : and
Jet him consider well beforehand whether he is going to comraenee a retail farmer for
714 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
daily markets, or a manufacturer of produce on a large and ample scale ; for the spirit,
attention, and style of living of the one differs materially from that of the other.
Sect. IX. Of the Tenure on which Lands are held for Farming.
4421 . Per])etual tenures, or absolute property in land, can never come into consideration
with a farmer looking out for a farm. A proprietor cultivating his own property cannot,
in correct language, be said to be a farmer, for to constitute the latter an essential
requisite is the payment of rent.
4422. The leases on which lands are let for farming, are for various terms and with
very different covenants. The shortest lease is from year to year, which unless in the
case of grass lands in the highest order, and of the richest quality, or in some other very
peculiar circumstances, no prudent man, whose object was to make the most of his skill
and capital, would accept of. Even leases for seven or ten years are too short for
general purposes ; fourteen or fifteen years seems to be the shortest period for arable lands
so as to admit of the tenant paying a full rent ; but fourteen years, when the lands to be
entered on are in bad condition, is too short a period, and twenty-one years much better
for the true interest of both parties. In farming, however, as in every other occupation
where there is more skill and capital in want of employment than can find subjects to
work on, farms will be taken under circumstances, both in regard to leases and rent, that
are highly unfavorable to the farmer ; and if they do not end in his ruin will keep him
always poor, and probably not only pay less interest for his capital than any other way in
which he could have employed it, but also infringe on its amount. Tiie rapid depreciation
of currency which took place in Britain during the wars against the French deceived many
farmers, and flattered them for a time with the gradual rise of markets year after year.
However high land might be taken at the commencement of a lease, it was always
considered a consolation that it would be a bargain by the time it was half done ; and that
the farmer's fortune would be made during the last few years of its endurance. When
the currency of Britain was permitted to find its level with that of other countries, the
delusion ceased, and the majority of farmers partially or wholly ruined.
4423. In regard to the covenants of a lease, it is necessary that there should be such in
every one as shall protect both landlord and tenant. Certain general covenants in regard
to repairs, renewals if necessary, timber, minerals, entry and exit crops, are common
to all leases. Regulations as to manure are required where hay and straw, and other
crops, are sold not to be consumed on the farm. Water meadows, rich old grass
lands, copse woods, hop grounds, orchards &c., require special covenants. Fewest
covenants are required for a mountain breeding farm ; and in all cases there should be
a clause entitling the tenant to an appeal, &c. and a hearing from the landlord, and
perhaps a jury of landlords or agents and farmers, against covenants as to cropping,
repair, or renewals, which may, from extraordinary circumstances, press particularly
heavy on the tenant.
4424. The power of the landlord to grant a lease, with liberal conditions, may in some
cases be required to be ascertained by the tenant ; and in Scotland, where it is illegal
to sublet a farm unless a clause to that effect has been asserted in the original lease,
a farmer may cease to be the master of his own property, unless he has taken care to see
that clause inserted. In England, as in every country where the laws are founded in
equity, subletting a farm is no more proliibited than subletting a dwelling-house or a
shop.
Sect. X. Of Rent.
4425. The rent of land, in a general point of view, must always depend on a variety
of circumstances ; as the wealth of the country ; its population ; the price of produce ;
the amount of public and other burdens ; the distance from markets ; the means of
conveyance ; the competition among farmers ; and other less important considerations ;
but the rent of any particular farm must be regulated by the nature of the soil ; the
duration of the tenure, and the covenants contained in the lease ; the capital to be
invested by the farmer in its culture ; and the expenses to which he is liable.
4426. The rent of poor land cannot possibly be the same as in the case of fertile lands.
The labor of ploughing, harrowing, sowing, &c. when the land is in cultivation, is nearly
the same, and yet the produce is greatly inferior, not only in quantity, but in quality.
Indeed, where the produce is inconsiderable, or the quality much inferior, the whole, or
nearly the whole, may be swallowed up by the expense of labor, and no rent whatever
can be afforded, more especially in adverse seasons.
4427. The duration of the tenure must have a considerable effect in fixing the rent.
No farmer can afford to pay the same sum for land on a short, as if he held it on a long
lease. The covenants, also, which are in fact a species of rent, must influence the
money payments.
4428. Rent must also depend oA the capital invested in the cultivation of the farm.
Book V. RENT OF FARMING LANDS. 715
Thus, if a farmer can lay out only 41. of capital per acre, he may not be able to afford
for it a higher rent than 1 Os. per acre ; if he lays out 71. he may pay 1 45. ; and with a
capital of 10/. per acre, he may be enabled to pay 18s. or 205. of rent.
4429, The proportion of produce which should be paid as retit, is a question that has
long been considered as abstruse, mysterious, and very difficult to resolve. Some have
supposed, that one-fifth was a reasonable proportion, while others contend for a fourth, or
even a third part of the produce of arable land. But all former calculations on this
subject are rendered fallacious by the effects of modern improvements. The rent ought
certainly to depend upon the amount of the disposable produce ; and that produce in
grain is greatly augmented, both by a diminution of the coiisumption on the farm,
effected by improved implements, and a more correct arrangement of labor, and like-
wise a better cultivation of the land in tillage. Hence, while the price of wlveat has
greatly advanced during the last twenty years, above the average price of the preceding
twenty, the rent of land has not only risen, but in a higher proportion. More grain,,
and that of a better quality, has been produced on the same extent of land, and a greater
amount of disposable surplus has gone to market. Out of this surplus disposable pro-
duce, it is evident, that the rent must be paid.. But it is difficult to divide its amount
between the landlord and tenant, as so much depends upon the seasons^ and on the
prices of the different articles which the farm produces. In bad seasons also, every
deficiency of produce, in the acres set apart for supporting home population, must be
made up from the disposable surplus ; nor is it possible to apply the same rules to all
situations, soils, and climates, in all the various districts of aa extensive country. It
may be proper, however, to give some general idea of the proportion of produce paidi
as rent, in Scotland, and in England.
44.S0. In Scotland, the following table states what is considered to be a fair proportion^
where the land is cultivated :
Per acre.
Where land produces ]0^. 10*. per acre per annum, one-third, or - - - -£3 11 0
Where laud produces 61. 12s. per annum, one- fourth, or----- -113 0
Where land produces only 4/. 5s. per acre, one-fifth, or - - - - - -0 17 0
4431. In regard to grazing farms, they are let on principles totally different from the
arable ; namely, according to the quantity of stock they can maintain ; and as they are
not liable to the same expense of management, both the landlord and the tenant receive
larger shares of the produce than in the case of arable farms.
4432. In England, the tenant is allowed, on arable land, what is considered to be
one moiety of the surplus, after defraying the expenses of cultivation, the taxes to which
he is liable, and every other outgoing. Hay land requires much less of his attention^
and for this he only obtains one-third of the surplus. But the profits of grazing,
depending much on superior judgment in buying and selling stock, as vi^ell as skill in
preventing, or curing their diseases, the grazier is entitled to a share of the surplus, fully
equal to that of his landlord. It has been contended, as a general principle, that as
both the expense of cultivating land, and the value of its produce, are infinitely various,
a farmer ought to calculate what profit he can make on his wliole farm, without enter-
ing into details ; it being of little consequence to him, whether he pays at the rate of
10/. or 10s. per acre, provided he makes an adequate interest on the capital invested.
That is certainly a fair criterion on which a tenant may calculate what he ought to o.Ter ;
but a landlord, in estimating the rent he ought to insist on, will necessarily take into
his consideration, the produce that his land is capable of yielding, and what proportion
of it, or of its value, at a fair average, he has reason to expect, under all the circum-
stances of the case.
4433. What the j^rqfits are to tohich a farmer is entitled, is a subject of much dispute.
On the one hand it is contended, that the produce of land is of such universal and
absolute necessity to the existence of mankind, that it is not reasonable it should yield
to him who raises it, more that a fair profit. On the other hand it is urged, that a
farmer is entitled to be fully recompensed for the application of a considerable capital,
exposed to the uncertainty of the seasons, when it is managed with economy, and con-
ducted with industry and skill ; and it has also been observed, that it is seldom more
money is got by farming, than an adequate interest for the capital invested. This is
owing to competition, the articles produced being in numberless hands, who must bring
them to market ; and necessity, the goods of the farmer being in general of a perish-
able nature, on the sale of which he depends, for the payments he has to make, and the
subsistence of his family. To prove how moderate the profits of farming in general
are, it appears from the most careful inquiries, that on arable farms they rarely exceed
from ten to fifteen per cent, on the capital invested, which is little enough, considering
that few employments are more subject to casualties than farming, or require more
uniform attention. Some arable farmers, possessed of superior skill and energy, and
H-ho have got leases on reasonable terms, may clear from fifteen to twenty percent..
716 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
while others, who are deficient in these qualities, or pay too high rents, frequently
become insolvent. Certain it is, that the great majority of farmers merely contrive to
live and bring up their families ; adding little or nothing to their capital, but that
nominal addition which takes place in consequence of the depreciation of the currency.
4434. In grazing farms the case is different, as they are attended with less expense of
labor, and produce articles of a more luxurious description, for which a higher price will
be given. Hence, in such farms, fifteen per cent, and upwards, is not unusual. Be-
sides, the grazier is more of a trader than the mere arable farmer; is frequently
buying as well as selling stock, and sometimes makes money by judicious speculations,
though occasionally, from a sudden fall of stock, his losses are considerable. The gra-
zier who breeds superior stock, and thence incurs great expense, is certainly well en-
titled to more than common profit for his skill and attention.
4435. In regard to the mode in which rent should be paid, it is proper to consider,
whether the whole, or at least part of the rent, ought not to depend upon the price of grain,
not for the season, but on an average of a certain number of years preceding that for
which the rent is due. By this plan, neither the landlord nor the tenant can suffer from
the fluctuating price of grain, whereas, without some such arrangement, the tenant, on the
one hand, cannot make a fair offer of rent, lest the price of grain should fall too low ;
nor on the other hand, can the landlord grant a lease of considerable duration, lest the
price of grain should, in the progress of time, rise much higher. It seems therefore to
be for the interest of both parties, that on arable farms a part of the rent should be pay-
able in money and part in corn, and not in kind, but in money, according to the average
value of a number of years. This plan is enforced by law to the extent of one-third in
college leases, and thus an income is secured in some degree proportioned to the value
of money. It is not, however, without its difficulties. The amount of rent for improv-
able and well cultivated farms, does not depend so much on the price of grain as is
commonly imagined. A large proportion of such farms usually produce green crops,
the value of which depends upon the prices of beef, mutton, and wool, and not on that of
grain. Various circumstances also may arise, which may reduce the price of particular
sorts of grain below its usual level, (for example, barley, when the distilleries are
stopped; ; or may raise it disproportionably much higher, in case a large proportion of
the wheat crop should be destroyed by rust or mildew. But if the proposed payment,
by the conversion of corn into money, be extended to the various sorts of grain usually
cultivated in the district, and be restricted to one-half of the rent, it does not seem liable
to any material difficulty. If the payment also depends on the average of seven or more
years, the main objection to a corn rent, that the farmer is often liable to pay the most
when he is the least able to do it, is removed. (See 4327.)
4436. The periods of jjai/ment ought to be made so convenient to the tenant, that
he may not be under the necessity of selling the produce of his farm to disadvantage,
for the sake of ready money (4340.), nor should he be compelled to pay his rent out of
his capital, for that would cripple all his future exertions. The periods should vary
according to the nature of the occupation, and the time when the tenancy commenced.
On the whole, the most successful farmers are those, who embark a capital sufficiently
large in their undertaking ; who feel it their duty to watch over that capital with unceas-
ing care, and to add to it whenever it is practicable ; and who have agreed to pay a fair,
but not a speculative rent, for the lands they cultivate.
Sect. XI. Of Taxes and other Burdens which affect the Farmer.
4437. Farmers are subjected to the payment of various taxes besides the rent paid to the
landlord; some of them imposed for local purposes, and others for the general expenses
of the state. The real amount of such burdens, every careful tenant ought accurately
to know, before he bargains for his lease. They may be classed under the following
heads : parochial, national, and miscellaneous.
4438. Parochial taxes are for the support of the clergyman, for the maintenance of
the p6or, and in Scotland, for providing a parochial schoolmaster. The mode of sup-
porting the clergy in England, by paying them a tenth part of the produce of the land
in kind, is highly injurious to agriculture, and a bar to improvement. It is a great
bar to improvementj because an improving farmer, one more enlightened or more spi-
rited than his neighbors, would pay more tithe by means of his outlay and exertions,
but it is not certain that he would likewise receive more profit. The produce would be
more, but the expense Would be greater. Nothing can be more obnoxious than a law,
by which, when a person expends a large sum, either in reclaiming wastes, or augment-
ing the fertility of land already cultivated, he should be under the necessity of yielding
up one-tenth of its produce to a person who has been liable to no share of the expense,
who has run none of the risk, and who has sustained none of the labor attending the
improvement. A commutation of tithe, therefore, instead of its being exacted in kind|
would be one of tlie greatest benefits that could be conferred on agriculture; and there
Book V. LOCALITY OF FARMING LANDS. 717
is not the least difficulty in effecting it, by giving to the tithe-owner, either a proportion
of the land, or by converting the tithe into a perpetual corn rent. Both these plans
have been adopted in a variety of cases, by local acts in England, and they ought nowr
to be enforced as a general system.
4439. An assessment for the maintenance of the poor, is another parochial burden,
which is annually increasing, and which, if not speedily regulated upon proper princi-
ples, will inevitably absorb a very large proportion of rent in England. Indeed, there
are instances, where between the years 1815 and 1822, it has absorbed the whole. This
tax is the most dangerous of all for the farmer, on account of its fluctuation, and in-
deed, it may be said that it never falls but continually rises. During infancy, in sick-
ness, and in old age, assistance may be necessary; but, as Malthus justly observes, the
poor-laws hold out support to the vicious and idle, at the expense of the prudent and
the industrious. These payments also destroy the spirit of independence, and those
ideas of honest pride which stimulate a man to use his utrnost exertions in support of
himself and his family ; and on its present footing, the boon is administered by the
parish officers with caution and reluctance, and received by the poor with dissatisfaction
and ingratitude.
4440. In Scotland, the poor are in general mSaintained hy voluntary contributions ; but
when these are not found to be sufficient, the proprietors of the parish, with the clergy-
man and vestry, or kirk-session, are directed to make a list of the indigent persons in
the parish, and then to impose an assessment for their relief, one half to be paid by the
proprietors, and the other half by the tenantry.
4441. The national burdens in general, as the duties on houses and windows, and
other assessed taxes ; or assessments for the support of militia-men's wives and families,
for the conveyance of vagrants, or the prosecution of felons, fall no heavier upon the
farmer, than upon other classes of the community; but there is one impost which is
severely felt by the arable farmer, namely, the tax on horses employed in husbandry.
The inequality of that tax is strongly objected to ; for lands, when pastured, and neces-
sarily subject to the least expense, pay no part of it. The burden consequently falls ex-
clusively on the lands in tillage, which, as a necessary consequence, must prevent the
farmer from giving so high a rent on arable land as he would on grass land, in pro-
portion to the produce.
4442. There are likewise various miscellaneous burdens affecting the farmer, as statute
assessments for bridges, which are of such public utility, that moderate rates for their
maintenance properly applied, cannot be objected to ; statute labor on the highways ;
constable dues, which are seldom of much moment ; charges of the churchwardens,
including the repairs of the church ; and in some populous parishes, there is sometimes
a burial-ground tax. All these are paid by the occupiers. In some places also, there
is a sewer's tax, chargeable on the landlords, where it is not otherwise settled by express
contract. Adstriction to mills, however, is the severest burden where it exists, for not
only is the expense of grinding double or treble what ought to be exacted, but the
farmer is bound to carry his grain to be manufactured by a person, in whose skill or
honesty he cannot always place any dependence.
4443. As an example of the payments made by a farmer in England, whose rent is
annually 500/. the following is submitted :
Tithes are compounded for at - - _
Poor's assessment is 5s. on the pound - -
Church assessment - -
Highway assessment . _ -
House tax and window tax - -
Horse tax and dog tax - -
Stamped receipts for these and other payments - -
The whole are very nearly 53 per cent., or -- - -£264 00
4444. T/ie vexations to which farmers in England are subjected, from various uncertain burdens, oper-
ates as a premium to Scottish agriculture. It is ingeniously and justly remarked, that physical circum-
stances are much more favorable to agriculture in England, than in her sister country ; but these advantages
are counteracted by the accumulation of moral evils, which might be removed if the legislature were to
bestow on matters connected with the internal improvement of the country, and the means for promoting
it, a portion of that attention, which it so frequently gives to the amelioration or improvement of our
foreign possessions.
Sect. XII. Of other Particulars requiring a Farmer's Attention, with a view to
renting of Land.
4445. A variety of miscellaneous particula7's require consideration, before a prudent farmer
will finally resolve to undertake the cultivation of a farm ; as, the nature of the property
on which the farm is situated ; in particular, whether the estate is entailed, and to what ex-
tent the possessor of the estate is authorized to grant a lease ; the character of the landlord,
and in case of his decease, that of his family, and of those whom they are likely to con-
sult; the real condition of the farm in regard to the enclosures, drainage, buildings, &c. •
the crops it has usually produced, and the manner in which it 1ms been managed for some
£100 0
0
125 0
0
6 5
0
13 10
0
10 0
0
7 10
0
1 15
0
718 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
years preceding ; the general state of the district, in regard to the price of labor, and the
expense of living; the character of its inhabitants, in particular of the neighboring farm-
ers and laborers; and whether they are likely to promote or to discourage a spirit of im-
provement ; the probability of subletting to advantage in case of not liking the situation,
finding a better bargain, or of death. The chances of settling one's family; as of marrying
daughters, or of sons' making good marriages. The social state of the farmers, or those that
would be considered one's neighbors; the number and tone of clergy, and lawyers ; the
game, and the chances of disputes concerning it ; the morals of the serving class ; schools,
places of worship, &c. It is evident, that in hardly any one instance can all the circum-
stances above enumerated be favorably combined. But the active and intelligent farmer
will not be discouraged by the obstacles he may have to surmount ; but will strenuously
endeavor, by exertion, industry, and perseverance, to overcome the difficulties he must
unavoidably encounter,
Chap. II.
Considerations respecting Himself, which a Farmer ought to keep in view in selecting and
hiring a Farm.
4446. Whoever intends to embrace farming as a profession, will be less likely to meet
with disappointment, if he previously examines a little into his own disposition and
talents ; and weighs his expectations against ordinary results. Nor is it less essential
that he should estimate justly the extent to which his capital may be adequate, and keep
regular accounts.
Sect. I. Of the personal Character and Eoqyectations of a iirofessional Farmer.
4447. Every one who proposes to farm with success, Professor Thaer observes, ought
to unite energy and activity, to reflection, to experience, and to all necessary knowledge.
It is true, he says, farming has long been considered as an occupation fit for a young
man incapable for any other, and such have sometimes succeeded; but this has always
been chiefly owing to a fortunate concurrence of circumstances, which it is not now
very easy to meet with.
4448. The practice of agriculture consists of an infinite number of particular opera-
tions, each of which appears easy in itself; but is often for that very reason the more
difficult to execute to the precise extent required ; one operation so often interferes with
another. To regulate them according to the given time and strength, and in such a way
that none is neglected, or causes the neglect of others, requires at once a great deal of
attention and activity, without inquietude; of promptitude without precipitation; of gene-
ral views, and yet with an extreme attention to details.
4449. To casualties and accidents, no business is so much exposed as farming, and
therefore to enjoy an ordinary degree of happiness. Professor Thaer considers it essential
that the farmer possess a certain tranquillity of mind. This, he says, may either be the
result of a natural phlegmatic habit of body, or of elevated views in religion, or philosophy.
These will enable him to bear with every misfortune arising from adverse seasons, or
the death of live stock ; and only permit him to regret accidents which result from his
own neglect.
4450. The expectations of profit and happiness which a young farmer has formed
ought to be well weighed against the profits and happiness of farmers in general.
However superior a farmer may consider his own talents and abilities, he may rest
assured there are a number as skilful and adroit as himself, and just as likely to realize
extraordinary advantages. Let none therefore engage in farming, thinking to make
more money than other farmers similarly circumstanced with himself. If from a happy
concurrence of circumstances he is more than usually successful, so much the better, and
let him consider it as partly owing to good fortune as well as good farming ; but never
let him set out on the supposition of gaining extraordinary advantages with only ordinary
means.
4451. The profits of farming are much exaggerated by people in general : but it may
be asserted as an unquestionable fact, that no capital atfbrds less profit than that em-
ployed in farming, except that sunk in landed property. This is the natural result both
of the universality of the business and of its nature. Farming is every where practised,
and every one thinks he may easily become a farmer; hence high rents, which neces-
sarily lessen the profits on capital. From the nature of farming the capital employed
is seldom returned. A tradesman may lay out and return his capital several times a
year; but a farmer can never, generally speaking, grow more than one crop per
annum. Suppose he succeeds in raising the best possible crops in his given circum-
BookV. capital of the farmer. 719
stances, still his profits have an absolute limit: for if an ordinary crop be as five, and
the best that can be grown be as seven, all that the most fortunate concurrence of
circumstances will give is not great and easily foreseen. It is hardly possible for a
farmer, paying the market price for his land, to make much more than a living for
himself and family. Those few who have exceeded this, will be found to have bad
leases at low rents ; indulgent landlords ; to have profited by accidental rises in the
market or depreciation of currency ; or to have become dealers in corn and cattle : and
rarely indeed to have realized any thing considerable by mere good culture of a farm
at the market price. Very different is the case of a tradesman, who, with the properties
which we have mentioned as requisite for a good farmer, seldom fails of realizing an
independency.
4452. Many persons, chagrined with a city life, or tired of their profession, fancy they
will find profit and happiness by retiring to the country and commencing farming. In-
dependently of the pecuniary losses attending such a change, none is more certain of
being attended with disappointment to the generality of men. The activity required,
and the privations that must be endured, are too painful to be submitted to ; whilst the
dull uniformity of a farmer's life to one accustomed to the bustle of cities, becomes
intolerable to such as do not find resources in their fire-sides, their own minds, or, as
Professor Thaer observes, in the study of nature.
4453. The most likely persons to engage in farming with success, are the sons of farmers,
or such others as have been regularly brought up to the practice, with their own hands,
of every part of agriculture. TJiey must also have an inclination, as well as competent
understanding of the theory or principles of the art. Books are to be found every
where, from which the science of the art is to be obtained ; and there are eminent
farmers in the improved districts who take apprentices as pupils. In The Husbandry of
Scotland, the case is mentioned of Walker, of Mellendean, an eminent farmer in Rox-
burghshire, who rents about 2866 acres of arable land, and is distinguished for his skill
in agriculture, who takes young men under him as apprentices, who, instead of receiving
wages, have uniformly paid him ten pounds each. Some of them remain with him two
years, but the greater number only one. They eat in his kitchen, where they have
always plenty of plain wholesome food. He takes none who are above living in that
way, or who will not put their hand to every thing going forward on the farm. He has
sometimes been offered ten times the above sum, to take in young gentlemen to eat and
associate with his owji family, but that he has uniformly declined. These young men
have an opportunity of attending to every operation of husbandry, as practised on
Walker's farm ; and are taught to hold the plough, tor sow, to build stacks, &c.
Sect. II. Of the Capital required by the Farmer.
44:54:. The importance of capital in every branch of industry is universally acknow-
ledged, and in none is it more requisite than in farming. When there is any deficiency in
that important particular, the farmer cannot derive an adequate profit from his exertions,
as he would necessarily be frequently obliged to dispose of his crops for less than their
value, to procure ready money ; and it would restrain him from making advantageous
purchases, when even the most favorable opportunities occurred. An industrious,
frugal, and intelligent farmer, who is punctual in his payments, and hence in good
credit, will strive with many difl[iculties, and get on with less money, than a man of a
different character. But if he has not sufficient live stock to work his lands in the best
manner, as well as to raise a sufficient quantity of manure ; nor money to purchase the
articles required for the farm, he must, under ordinary circumstances, live in a state of
penury and hard labor ; and the first unfavorable season, or other incidental misfortune,
will probably sink him under the weight of his accumulated burdens. Farmers are too
generally disposed to engage in larger farms than they have capital to stock and
cultivate. This is a great error ; for it makes many a person poor upon a large farm,
who might live in comfort and acquire property, upon one of less extent. No tenant
can be secure without a surplus at command, not only for defraying the common
expenses of labor, but those which may happen from a'ny unexpected circumstance.
When a farmer, on the other hand, farms within his capital, he is enabled to embrace
every favorable opportunity of buying when prices are low, and of selling when they
are high.
4455. The amount of capital required must depend upon a variety of circumstances;
as whether it is necessary for the farmer to expend any sum in the erection, or in the
repair of his farm-house and offices ; what sum an in-coming tenant has to pay to his
predecessor, for the straw of the crop, the dung left upon the farm, and other articles of
similar nature ; the condition of the farm at the commencement of the lease, and whether
any sums must be laid out in drainage, enclosure, irrigation, levelling ridges, &c. ; whether
i is necessary to purchase lime, or other extraneous manures, and to what extent ; on
720 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
the period of entry, and the time at which the rent becomes payable, as this is sometimes
exacted, before there is any return from the lands, out of the actual produce of which it
ought to be paid ; and, lastly, on its being a grazing, or an arable farm, or a mixture of
both,
4456. In pasture districts, the common mode of estimating the amount of capital
necessary, is according to the amount of the rent ; and it is calculated, that in ordinary
pastures, every farmer ought to have at his command, from three to five times the rent he
has agreed to pay. But in the more fertile grazing districts, carrying stock worth from
201. to 30/. and even upwards, per acre, (as is the case in many parts of England,) five
rents are evidently insufficient. When prices are high, ten rents will frequently be
required, by those who breed superior stock, and enter with spirit into that new field of
speculation and enterprise.
4457. The capital required by an arable farmer varies, according to circumstances,
from 51. to 10/. or even 15/. per acre. An ignorant, timid, and penurious farmer lays
out the least sum he can possibly contrive ; and consequently he obtains the smallest
produce or profit from his farm. These, however, will always increase, when accom-
panied by spirit and industry, in proportion to the capital employed, if judiciously ex-
pended. At the same time, attention and economy cannot be dispensed with. It is
ill-judged to purchase a horse at forty guineas, if one worth thirty can execute the
labor of the farm ; or to lay out sums unnecessarily upon expensive harness, loaded with
useless ornaments. Prudent farmers also, who have not a large capital at command,
when they commence business, often purchase some horses still fit for labor, though past
their prime, and some breeding mares, or colts ; and in five or six years, they are fully
supplied with good stock, and can sometimes sell their old horses without much loss.
In every case, such shifts must be resorted to, where there is any deficiency of capital.
4458. A mixture of arable and grass farming is, on the whole, the most profitable
method of farming. Independently of the advantages to be derived from the alternate
husbandry (which are always considerable), the chances of profit are much more
numerous from a varied system, than where one object is exclusively followed. Where
this mixed mode of farming is practised, the farmer will frequently rely on the purchase
of lean stock, instead of breeding his own ; and derives great advantage from the
quickness with which capital thus employed is returned. But, in that case, much must
depend upon judicious selection. In general it may be said, that to stock a turnip-
land arable farm, will require, at this time (1823), 51. or 61. and a clay-land farm from
71. or 8/. per acre, according to circumstances.
4459. This capital is necessarily divided into two parts. The one is partly expended on
implements, or stock of a more or less perishable nature, and partly vested in the soil ;
for this the farmer is entitled to a certain annual gain, adequate to replace, within a given
number of years, the sum thus laid out. The other is employed in defraying the charges
of labor, &c. as they occur throughout the year ; the whole of which, with the interest,
should be replaced by the yearly produce. These two branches of expense on a farm are
the first to be attended to, both in order of time, and in magnitude of amount.
4460. The most satisfactory statement hitherto given of the profit derived from the ex-
penditure of an adequate capital in arable farming, is that furnished by George Rennie,
Esq. of Phantassie, in East Lothian. On a mixed soil of 702 English acres, he states
the profits at II. 5s. per English acre, or about 14 per cent, on the capital employed.
Rennie is one of the very first practical agriculturists in Scotland, and has been so suc-
cessful as to purchase the farm which he occupies. {Code, ^c. p. 70 — 73.)
Chap. IIL
On the Choice of Stock for a Farm.
4461. The stocking of a farm may be considered as including live stock, implements,
servants, and seed. A considerable portion of a farmer's capital is employed in ma-
nures, tillages, labor, &c. but a farm being once engaged, the above are the only descrip-
tions of stock which admit of a choice.
Sect. I. Of the Choice of Live Stock.
4462. The animals required by a farmer are of two kinds ; such as are employed to
assist in labor, and such as are used to convert the produce of the farm into food, or other
disposable commodities.
Book V. CHOICE OF LABORING STOCK. 721
SuBSECT. 1. Live Stock for the Purj)oses of Labor.
4463. The animals of labor used in British farming are exclusively the horse and the
ox. Much difference of opinion formerly prevailed, as to which of these twro animals
should be preferred, and the preference has generally been given by speculative writers
to the ox, and by practical farmers to the horse. Lord Kainxes in the last century, and
Lord Somerville in the present, may be considered the principal advocates for the ox.
To their arguments, and to all others, the following objections have been stated by the
able author of the supplement to the 6th edition of The Gentleman Farmer i and they may
be considered as conveying the sentiments, and according with the practice of all the best
informed, and most extensive British farmers.
4464. Thefint objection to oxen is, that they are unfit for the various labors of modern husbandry,—
for travelling on hard roads in particular, — f for all distant carriages, — and generally for every kind of
work which requires dispatch : and what sort of work often does not in this variable climate? A great
part of a farmer's work is indeed carried on at home, and it may still be thought that this may be done by
oxen, while one or more horse-teams are employed in carrying the produce to market, and bringing home
manure and fuel. But it is unnecessary to appeal to the author of The Wealth o/ Nations, to prove the
impracticability of this division of labor, unless upon very large farms ; and even on these the advantages
of such an arrangement are at best extremely problemaitical. The different kinds of farm-work do not
proceed at the same time ; but every season, and even every change of weather, demands the farmer's at-
tention to some particular employment, rather than toothers. When his teams are capable of performing
every sort of work, he brings them all to bear for a time upon the most impqrtant labors of every season ;
and when that is dispatched, or interrupted by unfavorable weather, the less urgent branches are speedily
executed by the same means. This is one cause, more important perhaps than any other, why oxen have
ceased to be employed ; for even ploughing, which they can perform better than any other kind of work, is
scarcely ever going forward all the year j and for some months in winter, the weather often prevents it
altogether.
4465. Another objection is, that an ox team capable of performing the work of two horses,' even such kind
of work as they can perform, consumes the produce of considerably more land than the horses. If this be
the case, it is of no great importance, either to the farmer or the community, whether the land be under
oats, or under herbage and roots. The only circumstance to be attended to here, is, the carcase of the ox :
the value of this, in stating the consumption ot* produce, must be added to the value of his labor, He con-
sumes, from his birth, till he goes to the shambles, the produce of a certain number of acres of land; the
return he makes for this is so much beef, and so'many years' labor. The consumption of produce mtist there-
fore be divided between these two articles. To find the share that should be allotted to each, the first thing
is to ascertain how many acres of grass and roots would produce the same weight of beef from an ox, bred
and reared for beef alone, and slaughtered at three or four years' old, "What remains has been consumed
in producing labor. The next thing is to compare this consumption with that of the horse, which produces
nothing but labor. By this simple test, the question, viewing it upon a broad national ground, must evi-
dently be determined. Everyone may easily make such a calculation suited to the circumstances of his
farm ; none that could be offered would apply to every situation. But it will be found, that if even three
oxen were able to do the work of two horses, the advantages in this point of view would still be on the side
of the horses ; and the first objection applies with undiminished force besides.
4466. The monei/- price of the horse and ox, it is evident, is merely a temporary and incidental circum-
stance, which depends upon the demand. A work ox may be got for less than half the price of a horse, be-
cause there is little or no demand for working oxen, while the demand for horses by manufactures, com-
merce, pleasure, and war, enhance the price of farm-horses, as well as of the food they consume. Those
who wish to see horses banished from all sorts of agricultural labor, would do well to consider where they
are to be reared for the numerous wants of the other classes of society. Besides, if two oxen must be kept
for doing the work of one horse, it ought to be foreseen, that though beef may be more abundant than at
present, there will be a corresponding deficiency in the production of mutton and wool, A greater [portion
of the arable land of the country must be withdrawn from yielding the food of man directly, and kept un-
der cattle crops, which, howevcer necessary to a certain extent for preserving the fertility of the soil, do not
return human food, on a comparison with corn-crops, in so great a proportion as that of one to six from any
given extent of land of the same quality.
4467. The demand for oxen is confined almost every where to the shambles ; and by the
improvements of modern husbandry, they are brought to a state of profitable maturity at
an early age. No difference in price at setting to work, — no increase of weight while
working, — no saving on the value of the food consumed, can ever make it the interest
of tillage farmers generally, t3 keep oxen as formerly, till they are eight or ten years old.
They judiciously obtain the two products from different kinds of animals, each of them
from the kind which is best fitted by nature to afford it, — the labor from the horse, and
the beef alone from the ox. And though the price of the horse is almost wholly sunk at
last, during the period of his labor he has been paying a part of it every year to a fund,
which, before his usual term expires, becomes sufficiently large to indemnify his owner.
The ox, on the other hand, is changed three or four times during the same period ; and
each of them gives nearly as large a carcase for the food of man, as if his days had been
unprofitably prolonged in executing labor, from which he has been gradually exempted
in Britain, in France, and in other countries, very nearly in proportion to the progress of
correct systems of husbandry.
4468. The description of horse which a farmer ought to choose will depend chiefly on
the soil of the farm, and partly also on the quantity of road-work. Stiff lands require
obviously a heavier and more powerful breed than such as are light and hilly. In the
latter case, two of the best breeds are the Clevelands and Clydesdale, or some local cross
with these breeds. In general, it is not advisable to procure horses from a climate mate-
rially different from that where they are to remain ; and therefore, for various reasons, a
prudent farmer will look out for the best in his neighborhood. Often, however, he is
3 A
730 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
obliged to take the stock of his predecessor, and this he can only get rid of or improve
to his mind by degrees. The farm-horses in most parts of England are much too cum-
brous and heavy, and are more fitted for drawing heavy drays or waggons in towns,
than for the quick step required in the operations of agriculture.
4469. The objections of Davis of Longleat to the using of large heavy-heeled horses, in
preference to the smart, the active, and the really useful breeds, merit particular attention.
In some situations, the steepness of the hills and the heaviness of the soil require more
than ordinary strength ; but in such cases, he maintains, that it would be better to add
to the number of horses, than to increase their size. Great horses not only cost propor-
tionably more at first than small ones, but require much more food, and of a better
quality, to keep up their flesh. The Wiltshire carter also takes a pride in keeping them
as fat as possible ; and their food (which is generally barley) is given without stint. In
many instances, indeed, the expense of keeping a fine team of horses, amounts nearly to
the rent of the farm on which they are worked. They are purchased young when two
years old colts, and sold at five or six years of age for the London drays and waggons.
The expense of their maintenance is very seldom counterbalanced by the difference of
price, more especially as such horses are gently worked when young, that they may
attain their full size and beauty. In ploughing light soils, the strength of a dray-horse
is not wanted ; and in heavy soils, the weight of the animal does injury to the land.
SuBSECT. 2. Of the Choice of Live Stock for the Purposes of breeding or feeding.
4470. The most desirable properties of live stock destined for food are considered in The
Code of Agriculture, in respect to size, form, a tendency to grow, early maturity, hardiness
of constitution, prolific properties, quality of flesh, a disposition to fatten, and lightness
of offal.
4471. Before the improvements introduced by Bakewell, the value of an animal was
entirely judged of by its bulk ; and if a great size could be obtained, more regard was
paid to the price the animal ultimately fetched, than to the cost of its food. Of late,
since breeders began to calculate with more precision, small or moderate-sized animals
have been generally preferred, for the following reasons : —
4472. Small-sized animals are more easily kept, they thrive on shorter herbage, they
collect food where a large animal could hardly exist, and thence are more profitable.
Their meat is finer grained, produces richer gravy, has often a superior flavor, and is
commonly more nicely marbled, or veined with fat, especially when they have been fed
for two years. Large animals are not so well calculated for general consumption as
the moderate-sized, particularly in hot weather ; large animals poach pastures more than
small ones ; they are not so active, require more rest, collect their food with more la-
bor, and will only consume the nicer and more delicate sorts of plants. Smalt cows
of the true dairy breeds give proportionably more milk than large ones. Small cattle
may be fattened solely on grass of even moderate quality ; whereas the large require the
richest pastures, or to be stall-fed, the expense of which exhausts the profit of the farmer.
It is much easier to procure well-shaped and kindly-feeding stock of a small size than of
a large one. SmalUsized cattle may be kept by many persons who cannot afford either
to purchase or to maintain large ones, and by whom the loss, if any accident should
happen to them, can be more easily borne. The small-sized sell better; for a butcher,
from a conviction that, in proportion to their respective dimensions, there is a greater
superficies of valuable parts in a small than in a large animal, will give more money for
two oxen of twelve stone each per quarter, than for one of twenty-four stone.
4473. In favor of the large-sized, it is, on the other hand, contended, that without debat-
ing whether from their birth till they are slaughtered the large or the small one eats
most for its size, yet on the whole the large one will pay the grazier or farmer who
fattens him as well for its food ; that though some large oxen are coarse-grained, yet
where attention is paid to the breed (as is the case with the Herefordshire), the large
ox is as delicate food as the small one ; that if the small-sized are better calculated for
the consumption of private families, of villages, or of small towns, yet that large cattle
are fitter for the markets of great towns, and in particular of the metropvolis ; that were
the flesh of the small-sized ox better when fresh, yet the meat of the large-sized is un-
questionably more calculated for salting, a most essential object in a maritime and com-
mercial country, for the thicker the beef the better it will retain its juices when salted,
and the fitter it is for long voyages ; that the hide of the large ox is of very great conse-
quence in various manufactures ; that large stock are in general distinguished by a
greater quietness of disposition ; that where the pastures are good, cattle and sheep will
increase in size, without any particular attention on the part of the breeder ; large animals
are therefore naturally the proper stock for such pastures ; that the art of fattening cattle,
and even sheep, with oil-cake, being much improved and extended, the advantage of that
practice would be of less consequence, unless large oxen were bred, as small oxen
Book V. CHOICE OF FATTING STOCK. 723
can be fattened with grass and turnips, as well as oil-cake ; and, lastly, that large oxen
are better calculated for working than small ones, two large oxen being equal to four
small ones in the plough or the cart.
4474. Such are the arguments generally made use of on both sides of the question ; from
which it appears that much must depend upon pastures, taste, mode of consumption^
markets, &c. and that both sides have their advantages. The intelligent breeder, how-
ever, (unless his pastures are of a nature peculiarly forcing,) will naturally prefer a
moderate size in the stock he rears. Davis, of Longleat, one of the ablest agriculturists
England has produced, has given some useful observations on the subject of size.
He laments that the attempts which have been made to improve the breeds of cows,
horses, and sheep, have proceeded too much upon the principle of enlarging the size of
the animal ; whereas, in general, the only real improvement has been made in the pig,
and that was by reducing its size, and introducing a kind that will live hardier, and
come to greater perfection at an earlier age.
4475. Though it is extremely desirable to bring the shape of cattle to as much perfection
as possible, yet profit and utility ought not to be sacrificed for mere beauty which may
please the eye but will not fill the pocket, and which, depending much upon caprice,
must be often changing. In regard to form, 'the most experienced breeders seem to
concur in the following particulars : — That the form or shape should be compact, so
that no part of the animal should be disproportioned to the other parts, and the whole
distinguished by a general fulness and rotundity of shape ; that the chest should be
broad, for no animal whose chest is narrow can easily be made fat ; that the carcase
should be deep and straight ; that the belly should be of a moderate size; for when it is
more capacious than common in young animals it shews a diseased state, and in older
ones it is considered a proof that the animal will not return in flesh, in milk, or in labor,
the value of the extra quantity of fruit which it consumes ; that the legs should be
short, for the long-limbed individuals of the same family or race are found to be the
least hardy, and the most difficult to rear or to fatten ; and that the head, the bones,
and other parts of inferior value, should be as small as is consistent with strength, and
with the other properties which the animal ought to possess. In animals bred for the
shambles, the form must likewise be such as to contain the greatest possible proportion
of the finer compared to the coarser and less valuable parts of the animal. This, by
selection, may be attained, and thus the wishes of the consumer may be gratified. As
to the broad loins and full hips, which are considered as a point of excellence in parti-
cular breeds, it is evident that the old narrow and thin make, required improvement ; but
the alteration is now carried to a faulty excess, and often occasions great difficulty and
danger in calving.
4476. The form of animals has fortunately attracted the attention of an eminent sur-
geon, Henry Cline, Esq. of London, whose doctrines we have already laid down at
length (1995.), and the substance of which is : — That the external form is only an indi-
cation of the internal structure ; that the lungs of an animal is the first object to be
attended to, for on their size and soundness the health and strength of an animal prin-
cipally depend; that the external indications of the size of the lungs are the form and
size of the chest, and its breadth in particular ; that the head should be small, as by this
the birth is facilitated ; as it affiards other advantages in feeding, &c. and as it generally
indicates that the animal is of a good breed ; that the length of the neck should be in
proportion to the size of the animal, that it may collect its food with ease ; and that the
muscles and tendons should be large, by which an animal is enabled to travel with
greater facility. It was formerly the practice to estimate the value of animals by the size
of their bones. A large bone was considered to be a great merit ; and a fine-boned
animal always implied great size. It is now known that this doctrine was carried too
far. The strength of an animal does not depend upon the bones, but on the muscles ;
and when the bones are disproportionably large, it indicates, in Cline's opinion, an
imperfection in the organs of nutrition. Bakewell strongly insisted on the advantage
of small bones ; and the celebrated John Hunter declared that small bones were gene-
rally attended with corpulence in all the various subjects he had an opportunity of
examining. A small bone, however, being heavier and more substantial, requires as
much nourishment as a hollow one with a larger circumference.
4477. Among the qualities for which thorough-bred cattle and sheep are distinguished,
that of being good growers, and having a good length of frame, is not the least essen-
tial. The meaning of which is, that the animal should not only be of a strong and
healthy constitution, but speedily should grow to a proper size. As specimens of rapid
growth, a steer of three years old, when well fed, will weigh from 80 to 90 or 100 stone,
14 lb. to the stone ; and a two-year old Leicester wedder, from 25 to 28 lb. per quarter,
immediately after his second fleece is taken from him. Animals having the property of
growing, are usually straight in their back and belly ; their shoulders well thrown back,
and their belly rather light than otherwise. . At the same time, a gauntness and paucity
3 A 2
724 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
of intestines should be guarded against, as a most material defect, indicating a very un-
thrifty animal. Being too light of bone, as it is termed, is also a great fault. A good
grower, or hardy animal, has always a middling sized bone. A bull distinguished for
getting good growers, is inestimable ; but one whose progeny takes an unnatural or
gigantic size, ought to be avoided.
4478. Arriving soon at perfection, not only in point of growth or size, but in respect
of fatness, is a material object for the farmer, as his profit must in a great measure de-
pend upon it. Where animals, bred for the carcass merely, become fat at an early age,
they not only return sooner the price of their food, with profit to the feeder, but in
general also, a greater value for their consumption, than slow-feeding animals. This
desirable property greatly depends on a mild and docile disposition ; and as this docility
of temper is much owing to the manner in which the animal is brought up, attention to
inure them early to be familiar, cannot be too much recommended. A tamed breed
also has other advantages. It is not so apt to injure fences, or to break into adjacent
fields ; consequently it is less liable to accidents, and can be reared, supported, and
fattened, at less expense. The property of early maturity, in a populous country, where
the consumption of meat is great, is extremely beneficial to the public, as it evidently
tends to furnish greater supplies to the market ; and this propensity to fatten at an
early age, is a sure proof, that an animal will fatten speedily at a later period of his
life.
4479. In the wilder and bleaker parts of a country, the possession of a hardy and healthy
constitution, is a most valuable property in stock. Where the surface is barren, and the
climate rigorous, it is essential that the stock bred and maintained there, should be able
to endure the severities and vicissitudes of the weather, as well as scarcity of food, hard
work, or any other circumstance in its treatment, that might subject a more delicate
breed to injury. In this respect, different kinds of stock greatly vary ; and it is a matter
of much consequence, to select, for different situations, cattle with constitutions suitable
to the place where they are to be kept. It is a popular belief, that dark colors are
indications of hardiness. In mountain breeds of cattle, a rough pile is reckoned a de-
sirable property, more especially when they are to be kept out, all winter. It enables
them to face the storm, instead of shrinking from it. Hardy breeds are exempted from
various diseases, such as having yellow fat, also being blackfleshed, defects so injurious to
stock.
4480. The prolific quality of a breed is a matter deserving attention. The females of
some breeds both bear more frequently than usual, and also have frequently more than
one at a birth. This property runs more strikingly in sub- varieties, or individual fami-
lies ; and though partly owing to something in the habits of animals, and partly to their
previous good or bad treatment, yet in some degree seems to depend upon the seasons,
some years being more distinguished for twins than others. In breeding, not only the
numbers, but the sex of the offspring, in some cases, seem to depend upon the female
parent. Two cows produced fourteen females each in fifteen years, though the bull was
changed every year. It is singular, that when they produced a bull calf, it was in the
same year. Under similar circumstances, a great number of males have been produced
by the same cow in succession, but not to the same extent.
4481. Breeds are likewise distinguished by /Ae g'T/a/i^i/ of their flesh. In some kinds
it is coarse, hard, and fibrous ; in others of a finer grain or texture. In some breeds
also, the flavor of the meat is superior ; the gravy they produce, instead of being white
and insipid, is high colored, well flavored, and rich ; and the fat is intermixed among
the fibres of the muscles, giving the meat a streaked, or marbled appearance. Breeds
whose flesh have these properties, are peculiarly valuable. Hence two animals of nearly
the same degree of fatness and weight, and who could be fed at nearly the same expense
to the husbandman, will sell at very different prices, merely from the known character of
their meat.
4482. A disposition to fatten is a great object in animals destined for the shambles. Some
animals possess this property during the whole progress of their lives, while in others, it
only takes place at a more advanced period, when they have attained their full growth,
and are furnished at the same time with a suitable supply of food. There are in this
respect other distinctions : most sorts of cattle and sheep, which have been bred in hilly
countries, will become fat on low land pastures, on which the more refined breeds would
barely live ; some animals take on fat very quickly, when the proper food has been
supplied, and some individuals have been found, even in the same breed, which have, in
a given time, consumed the least proportional weight of the same kind of food, yet
have become fat at the quickest rate. Even in the human race, with little food, some
will grow immoderately corpulent. It is probably from internal conformation, that this
property of rapid fattening is derived.
4483. The advantages and disadvantages of fattening cattle and sheep, at least to the
extent frequently practised at present, are points that have of late attracted much public
Book V. CHOICE OF IMPLEMENTS. 725
attention. But any controversy on that subject can only arise from want of proper dis-
crimination. Fat meat is unquestionably more nourishing than lean, though to digest
this oily matter, there are required, on account of its difficult solubility, a good bile,
much saliva, and a strong stomach ; consequently none, excepting those who are in the
most vigorous state of health, or who are employed in hard labor, can properly digest it.
Though fat meat, however, is unfit for general consumption, yet experiments in the art
of fattening animals, are likely to promote useful discoveries; and though, in the course
of trying a number of experiments, errors and excesses may be committed, yet on the
whole, advantage may be derived from the knowledge thus to be obtained. As the bone
also gains but little in the fatting animal, and the other offal becomes proportionably less,
as the animal becomes more fat, the public has not sustained much loss by over- fatted
animals. To kill even hogs till they are thoroughly fat, is exceeding bad economy. An
ox or cow, though the little flesh it has may be of good quality, yet presents, when lean,
little but skin and bone ; and if slaughtered in that state would neither indemnify the
owner for the expense of breeding and maintaining it, nor benefit the public. A coarse
and heavy-fleshed ox, which would require a very long time, and much good food to
fatten, may be slaughtered with most advantage -while rather lean. It is not, however,
so much the extent of fat, as the want of a sufficient quantity of lean flesh, of which
the consumer complains ; for it cannot be doubted, that the lean flesh of a fat animal is
superior in quality, and contains more nourishment, than any other meat.
4484. Handling well. The graziers and butchers in various parts of the kingdom have
recourse to the hand, and the feeling of the skin, or cellular membrane, for ascertaining a
disposition to fatten ; and since Bake well directed the public attention so much to breed-
ing, that practice has become more generally known. Handling cannot easily be defined,
and can only be learnt by experience. The skin and flesh of cattle, when handled, should
feel soft to the touch, somewhat resembling that of a mole, but with a little more resistance
to the finger. A soft and mellow skin must be more pliable, and more easily stretched
out, to receive any extraordinary quantity of fat and muscle, than a thick or tough one.
The rigid-skinned animal must therefore always be the most difficult to fatten. In a
good sheep, the skin is not only soft and mellow, but in some degree elastic. Neither
cattle nor sheep can be reckoned good, whatever their shapes may be, unless they are
first-rate handlers. The improved short-horned breed, be^des their mellowness of skin,
are likewise distinguished by softness and silkiness of hair. Too great a length, however,
ought not to be aimed at, since it is not easy, in that case, to preserve a due proportion
in the appearance of the animal, without which it cannot be considered perfect.
4485. Lightness of offal. An animal solely bred for the shambles, should have as
little ofFal, or parts of inferior value, as possible (consistently with the health of the
animal), and consequently a greater proportion of meat applicable as food for man.
This, therefore, the skilful farmer will also keep in view in selecting his species of
stock. (Code, ^c.)
Sect. II. Of, the Choice of Agriadtural Implements, Seeds and Plants.
4486. The variety and excellence of agricultural implements is so great that the prudent
farmer in regard to that, as well as in every other branch of his art, must study economy.
He should not incur an unnecessary expense in buying them, nor in purchasing more
than are essentially requisite, and can be profitably used. This maxim ought to be more
especially attended to by young improvers, who are often tempted, under the specious
idea of diminishing labor, and saving expense, to buy a superfluous quantity of imple-
ments, which they afterwards find are of little use. {Coventry's Disc. p. 47.) It is
remarked by an intelligent author on matters of husbandry, that a great diversity of
implements, as they are more rarely used, prove in general a source of vexation and
disappointment, rather than of satisfaction to the farmer.
4487. The different implements required by the farmer are : those of tillage, for drilling
Or sowing corn ; for reaping corn ; for harvesting corn ; for threshing and cleaning corn ;
for mowing and harvesting hay ; of conveyance ; for draining ; for harnessing stock ;
for rolling land ; for the dairy ; and, for miscellaneous purposes.
4488. In jmrchasing implements, the following rules are to be observed : they should
be simple in their construction, both that their uses may be more easily understood, and
that any common workman may be able to repair them, when they get out of order ;
the materials should be of a durable nature, that the labor may be less liable to inter-
ruption from their accidental failure ; their form should be firm and compact, that they
may not be injured by jolts and shaking ; and that they may be more safely worked by
country laborers, who are but little accustomed to the use of delicate tools. In the larger
machines, symmetry, and lightness of shape, ought to be particularly attended to : for a
Jieavy carriage, like a great horse, is worn out by its own weight, nearly as much as by
what he carries. The wood should be cut up and placed in a position the best calcu-
t3 A 3
726 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
lated to resist pressure ; and mortises, so likely to weaken the wood, should, as much as
possible, be avoided ; at the same time, implements should be made as light as is con-
sistent with the strength that is necessary. Their price should be such, that farmers in
moderate circumstances can afford to buy them ; yet for the sake of a low price, the ju-
dicious farmer will not purchase articles, either of a flimsy fabric, or a faulty form ; and
implements ought to be suited to the nature of the country, whether hilly or level, and
more especially to the quality of the soil ; for those which are calculated for light land,
will not answer equally well in soils that are heavy and adhesive. (Code.)
4489. In the choice of seed corn regard must be had to procure it from a suitable soil
and climate, and of a suitable variety. A change from one soil to another of a different
quality, is generally found advantageous ; but this is not always the case as to climate.
Thus some of the varieties of oats, as the Angus oat, which answers well in most parts of
Scotland, is found not to fill in the ear, but to shrivel up after blossoming in the south of
England. In like manner, the woolley-chafed white wheats of Essex and Kent, rot in
the ear, when grown in the moist climate of Lancashire. In settling on a farm in a coun-
try with which the farmer is little acquainted, he will often find it adviseable to select
the best seed he can find in the neighborhood, and probably to resift it and free it from the
seeds of weeds and imperfect grains. Particular care is requisite in selecting the seed of
the bean and pea, as no crop depends more on the variety being suited to the soil and cli-
mate. Thus, on hot gravelly soils in the south, the late grey pea would produce little
haulm and no pulse; but the early varieties, or the pearl pea, will produce a fair propor-
tion of both.
4490. The only small seeds the farmer has to sow on a large scale, are the different va-
rieties of turnip, and probably the mangoldwurzel and carrot. No expense or trouble
should be spared to procure the best turnip seed; as if that is either mixed by impregna-
tion with other varieties of the Brassica tribe, or has been raised from a degenerate small
bulbed parentage, the progeny will never come to any size. The same may be said of
carrot or mangold seed, raised from small misshapen roots. Even rape seed should be
raised from the strongest and largest bulbed plants, as^ these always produce a stronger
progeny.
4491 . Of the plants which the farmer has to choose for stock, the chief is the potatoe, and
every one knows that no circumstances in the soil, climate, or culture will compensate for
planting a bad sort. The potatoe requires a climate rather humid as otherwise, and
rather moderate and equable in temperature than hot : hence the best crops are found in
Lancashire, Dumfriesshire, and Ayrshire in Britain, and in Ireland where the climate is
every where moist. Excellently-flavored potatoes are also grown on mossy lands in most
parts of the country. The prudent farmer will be particularly careful in choosing this
description of plant stock, and also in changing it frequently so as to ensure prolificacy
and flavor.
Sect. III. Of the Choice of Servants.
4492. On the moral and prof essional character of his servants much of the comfort of the
farmer depends, and every one who has farmed near large towns, and at a distance from them,
knows how great the difference is in every description of laborers. The servants required
in farmeries are the bailiff or head ploughman, common ploughmen, shepherds, laborers
of all work, herdsmen, and women. Sometimes apprentices and pupils are taken j but
their labor is not often to be much depended on.
4493. A bailiff h required only in the largest description of farms, occupied by a pro-
fessional farmer ; and is not often required to act as market man. In general young men
are preferred, who look forward to higher situations, as gentlemen's bailiffs or land stew-
ards. Most farmers require only a head ploughman, who works the best pair of horses
and takes the lead of, and sets the example to, the other ploughmen in every descrip-
tion of work.
4494. Ploughmen should, if possible, be yearly servants, unless they are married and
have families. Weekly or occasional ploughmen are found comparatively unsteady; they
are continually wandering from one master to another, and are very precarious supports
of a tillage farm : for they may quit their service at the most inconvenient time, unless
bribed by higher wages ; and the farmer may thus loose the benefit of the finest part of
the season. Where day laborers, however, are married, they are more to be depended
upon, than unmarried domestic servants, more especially when the laborer has a family,
which ties him down to regular industry.
4495. The mode of hiring servants at what are called public statutes, so general in many
parts of England, is justly reprobated, as having a tendency to vitiate their minds, en-
abling them to get places without reference to character, exposing good servants to be
corrupted by the bad, promoting dissipation, and causing a cessation of country business
for some days, and an awkwardness in it for some time afterwards. When hiring servants,
it would be extremely important, if possible, to get rid of any injurious perquisites, which
Book V. CHOICE OF SERVANTS. 727
are often prejudicial to the interests of the master, without being of any advantage to the
servant. For instance, in Yorkshire and in other districts, it is a custom to give farm
servants liquor, both morning and evening, whatever is the nature and urgency of the
work. Nothing can be more absurd than permitting a ploughman to stop for half an hour
in a winter day to drink ale, while his horses are neglected and shivering with cold.
4496. The following plan of maintaining the hinds or ploughmen in the best cultivated
districts in Scotland, is found by experience to be greatly superior to any other mode
hitherto adopted.
4497. Proper houses are built for the farm servants, contiguous to every farmstead.
This gives them an opportunity of settling in life, and greatly tends to promote their
future welfare. Thus also the farmer has his people at all times within reach, for carry-
ing on his business.
4498. The farm servants, when married, receive the greater part of their wages in
the produce of the soil, which gives them an interest in the prosperity of the concern in
which they are employed, and in a manner obliges them to eat and drink comfortably ;
while young men often starve themselves in order to save money for drinking or clothes;
in either of which cases they are deficient in the requisite animal strength. At least,
under this mode of payment, they are certain of being supplied with the necessaries of
life, and a rise of prices does not affect them; whereas, when their wages are paid in
money, they are exposed to many temptations of spending it, which their circumstances
can ill afford ; and during a rise of prices they are sometimes reduced to considerable dif-
ficulties. From the adoption of an opposite system, habits of sobriety and economy, so
conspicuous among the farm servants of Scotland, and the advantages of which cannot
be too highly appreciated, have arisen and still prevail in these districts.
4499. A most important branch of this system is, that almost every married man has a
cow, of a moderate size, kept for him by the farmer all the year round. This is a boon
of great utility to his family. The prospect of enjoying this advantage has an excellent
effect upon the morals of young unmarried servants, who, in general, make it a point to
lay up as much of their yearly wages as will enable them to purchase a cow and furniture
for a house when they enter into the married state. These savings, under different cir-
cumstances, would most probably have been spent in dissipation.
4500. They have also several other perquisites, as a piece of ground for potatoes and
flax, (about one-eighth part of an acre for each) ; liberty to keep a pig, half a dozen hens, and
bees; their fuel is carried home to them; they receive a small allowance in money per
journey, when sent from home with corn, or for coals or lime; and during the harvest,
they are maintained by the farmer, that they may be always at hand.
4501. There are no where to be met with, more active, respectable, and conscientious ser-*
vants, than those who are kept according to this system. There is hardly an instance of their
soliciting relief from the public. They rear numerous families, who are trained to indus-
try, and knowledge in the operations of agriculture, and whose assistance in weeding the
crops, &c. is of considerable service to the farmer. They become attached to the farm,
take an interest in its .prosperity, and seldom think of removing from it. Under this
system, every great farm is a species of little colony, of which the farmer is the resident
governor. Nor, on the whole, can there be a more gratifying spectacle, than to see a
large estate, under the direction of an intelligent landlord, or of an agent competent to
the task of managing it to advantage ; where the farms are of a proper size ; where
they are occupied by industrious and skilful tenants, anxious to promote, in consequence
of the leases they enjoy, the improvement of the land in their possession ; and where the
cultivation is carried on by a number of married servants, enjoying a fair competence,
and rearing large families, sufficient, not only to replace themselves, but also from their
surplus population, to supply the demand, and even the waste, of the other industrious
classes of the community. Such a system, there is reason to believe, is brought to a
higher degree of perfection, and carried to a greater extent, in the more improved districts
of Scotland, than perhaps any other country in Europe. {Code, ^c.)
4502. A she])herd is of course only requisite on sheep farms ; and no description of
farm servant is required to be so steady and attentive. At the lambing season much of
the farmer's property is in his hands, and depends on his unwearied exertions early and
late. Such servants should be well paid and comfortably treated.
4503. The laborers required on a farm are few ; in general, one for field operations,
as hedge and ditch work, roads, the garden, cleaning out furrows, &c. ; and another for
attending to the cattle, pigs, and straw-yard, killing sheep and pigs when required, &c.
will be sufficient. Both will assist in harvest, hay-time, threshing, filling dung, &c.
These men are much better servants when married and hired by the year, than when
accidental day laborers.
4504. The female servants required in farmery are casual, as hay-makers, turnip
hoers, &c. ; or yearly, as house, dairy, and poultry maids. Much depends on the steadi*
3 A 4
728 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
ness of the first class, and it is in general better to select them from the families of the
married servants, by which means their conduct and conversation is observable by their
parents and relations. A skilful dairymaid is a most valuable servant, and it is well
when the cattle-keeper is her husband ; both may live in the farmer's house (provided
they have no children), and the man may act as groom to the master's horse and chaise,
and assist in brewing, butchery, &c. In the cheese districts, men often milk the cows
and manage the whole process of the dairy ; but females are surely much better calcu-
lated for a business of so domestic a nature, and where so much depends on cleanliness.
4505. Farmers' apprentices are not common, but parish boys are so disposed of in
some parts of the west of England, and might be so generally. They are said to make
the best and steadiest servants ; and indeed, the remaining in one situation, and under
one good master for a fixed period, say not less than three years, must have a great
tendency to fix the character and morals of youth in every line or condition of life.
4506. Apprentices intended for farmers are generally young men who have received a
tolerable education beforehand, and have attained to manhood or nearly so. These pay
a premium, and are regularly instructed in the operations of farming. We have al-
ready alluded to the example of Walker, who considers such apprentices, notwithstanding
the care required to instruct them, rather useful than otherwise. (^Ilusb. of Scot. vol. ii.
p. 106.)
4507. To train ploughmen to habits of activity and diligence is of great importance.
In some districts they are proverbial for the slowness of their step, which they teach
their horses, whereas these animals, if accustomed to it, would move with as much ease
to themselves, in a quick, as in a slow pace. Hence their ploughs seldom go above two
miles in an hour, and sometimes even less; whereas where the soil is light and sandy,
they might go at the rate of three miles and a half. Farmers are greater sufferers than
they imagine, by this habitual indolence of their workmen, which extends from the
plough to all their other employments, for it makes a very important difference in the
expense of labor. Where the land however is stiff, and deep ploughing is necessary, the
operation ought not to be too much hurried. (^Code.)
Chap. IV.
Of the general Management of a Farm.
4508. The importance of an orderly systematic mode of managing every concern Is
Sudicientiy obvious. The points which chiefly demand a farmer's attention are the ac-
counts of money transactions, the management of servants, and the regulation of labors.
Sect. I. Of keeping Accounts.
4509. It is a maxim of the Dutch, that " no one is ever ruined who keeps good ac-
counts" which are said, in The Code of Agriculture, to be not so common among farmers
as they ought to be ; persons employed in other professions being generally much more
attentive and correct. Among gentlemen farmers there is often a systematic regularity
in all their proceedings, and their pages of debtor and creditor, of expense and profifc
are as strictly kept ds those of any banking-house in the metropolis. But with the gene-
rality of farmers, the case is widely different. It rarely happens, that books are kept by
tliem in a minute and regular manner ; and the accounts of a farmer, occupying evert
i large estate, and (consequently employing a great capital, are seldom deemed of suf-
ficient importance to merit a share of attention, equal to that bestowed by a tradesman^
on a concern of not one-twentieth part of the value. There is certainly some difficulty
in keeping accurate accounts respecting the profit and loss of so uncertain and compli-
cated a business as the one carried on by the farmer, which depends so much on the
weather, the state of the markets, and other circumstances not under his control ; but the
great bulk of farming transactions is settled at the moment, that is to say, the article is
delivered, and thfe money instantly paid, so that little more is necessary than to record
these properly. In i-egard to the expenses laid out on the farm, an accurate account
of them is perfectly practicable, and ought to be regularly attended to by every prudent
and industrious occupier. By examining these, a farmer is enabled to ascertain the
nature and the extent of the expense he has incurred, in the various operations of agri-
culture ; and to discover what particular measures, or what general system, contributes
to profit, or occasions loss. The principle of economy may thus be introduced into the
management of a farm, and the lessening of expense effected, which is every day be-
coming of greater importance, as bearing a higher proportion to the produce of the farm.
4510. To record pecuniary transactions is not the only object to be attended to in thes
accounts of a Jarraer. It is necessary to have an annual account of the live stock, and
Book V.
KEEPING ACCOUNTS.
729
of their value at the time; of the quantity of hay unconsumed; of the grain in store, or
in the stack-yard ; and of the implements and other articles in which the capital is in-
Tested. An account, detailing the expense and return of each field, according to its
productive contents, is likewise wanted, without which it is impossible to calculate the
advantage of different rotations, the most beneficial mode of managing the farm ; or the
improvements of which it is susceptible. Besides the obvious advantages of enabling a
man to understand his own affairs, and to avoid being cheated, it has a moral effect upon
the farmer of the greatest consequence, however small his dealings may be. Experience
shews that men situated like small farmers (who are their own masters, and yet have
very little capital to manage or to lose), are very apt, to contract habits of irregularity,
procrastination, and indolence. They persuade themselves that a thing may be as well
done to-morrow as to-day, and the result is, that the thing is not done till it is too late,
and then hastily and imperfectly. Now nothing can be conceived better adapted to
check this disposition, than a determination to keep regular accounts. The very con-
sciousness that a man has to make entries in his books of every thing that he does, keeps
his attention alive to what he is to do ; and the act of making those entries, is the best
possible training to produce active and pains-taking habits.
4511. The accounts of gentlemen farmers or of the bailiffs they employ, it is said in
The Code, cannot be too minute ; but in regard to rent -paying farmers the great objects
are to have them short and distinct. For this purpose a journal for business transactions,
such as purchases, sales, agreements, hirings, and other real or prospective arrange-
ments ; a cash-book and a ledger, will, in our opinion, be suflScient, with the ^d of me-
morandum books. But for greater accuracy, or rather for more curious farmers, the fol-
lowing models are given in The Code of Agriculture. The gentleman farmer and bailiff
will find various descriptions of " Farmer's account books" among the booksellers. One
in very general use is Harding's Farmer s Account Book.
4512.
Weekly Journal of Transactions, from
Monday.
State qf Weather. |
Bar.
Ther.
Wind.
Rain.
Tuesday.
Wednes.
Thursday.
Friday.
>
Saturday.
Sunday.
4513.
Weekly State of Labor, from
to
'
Warines of Men Jtnd Horses.
Mon.
Tues.
Wed.
Thurs.
Friday.
Satur.
No. of Days.) RAte per Day.
Total. |,
Daily Laborers - -
"£?
S.
d.
Farm Servants - -
• -
Horses - - . .
Taskwork - - .
—
Work by Tradesmen -
730
4514.
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Cash Account.
Part III.
Dr. Ciuh received.
Cat\ paid, Cr. |
When
received.
Of whom
received.
On what
account
received.
Amount.
When paid.
To whom
paid.
On what
account paid.
Amount.
Total
received.
£
s.
d.
-
£
s.
d.
Articles from the Farm consumed [Amount qf ).
When.
By whom.
What
Articles.
L. s. d.
Totol paid - .
4515
Management of Arable Land.
1
1
1
2
<
When
beRun.
PREPARING. 1
Ploughing, Harrowing, Rolling. \^ Manure.
Sowing Seed.
1
o
S5
J,
1
s
Amount. "
1
Amount.
1
i
1
a,
Amount.
£
s.
d.
£
Si
d.
'
^e
s.
d.
4516.
Management of Pasture Land.
>
6
1
How many Head of CtUtle fed.
Produce cf Hay, S^c.
1
i
K
i
-
1
33
Anibunt.
When
begun.
i
35
Amount paid.
How many Loads,
at per Load.
Amount.
Posted to
Folio.
£
s.
d.
£
*.
d.
£
S.
d.
Book V.
4517.
FORMS OF ACCOUNTS,
Management of Woodland.
7aEi
m
quantity qf Bark.
Cost
Cutting
down.
4518.
Account of Crojis.
Sort.
Threshed.
Bought.
Sold.
Sown. Consumed.
Where, and by 1
whom consumed
Where sown. Ground*
-
Quarters.
Bushels.
Il
L. I. d.
i
L.s.d.
fl
L.s.d.
il
L. s. d.
t
11
L. 3. d.
1
fa
o
II
k
'Is
L..t.d. cqpH
L. M. <i>
Wheat - - .
■
'
Barley - - -
Oats , - - -
Hay ... .
Potatoes. -
4519.
Dairy Account of
Milk,
Butter
, and Cheese.
Sunday.]
Mon.|
Tues. 1
Wed. 1 Thurs. |
Friday.]
sat. 1
Total PrlceJ
Amount, j
1
MUked . ^ -
Made into But--?
ter & CheeseJ
Consumed - -
Qts.
Pts.
ats.
Pts.
Qts.
Pts.
Qts.
Pts.
Qts.
Pu.
Qts.
Pts.
Qts.
Pts.
*.
d.
L.
«.
d,
1
3
M
Made;- - - -
Sold . , - -
Consumed - -
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
.
1
Made . . -
Sold - . -
Consumed . -
732
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
4520.
Stock Account.
Increase and Decrease of Live Stock.
1 What Part qf the Farm occupied bf, Ike Cattle. |
Description.
Increase by
Decrease by
''
Date
when
sent in.
When
taken
out.
Number and
Description
of Cattle.
No. of
the
Field.
Nature of
the Crop
in the
Field.
, -
No.
Pur. 5
chase. 1
1
4
w
Rams
d
Ewes
Spaniard
1
Wethers
cc
R. Lambs
E. Lambs
Spaniards
Ditto
_
Bulls
Cows
. -
I
o
Oxen
.
U
Heifers
.
B. Calves
u
C. Calves
'
Boars
^
^
S
Sows
-
Barrows
-
Pigs -
-
~
Horses
.
1
Mares
-
w
Colts
.
-
Turkies
.
Poults
.
«•
Fowls -
r -
T3
Chickens
.
Geese
. -
a
Goslings
.
1
1
Ducks -
Ducklings
-
Pigeons
-
Eggs -
- -
4521. The account books for a common farmer, may be a cash-book for all receipts and
payments, specifying each ; a ledger for accounts with dealers and tradesmen ; and a stock
book for taking an inventory and valuation of stock, prop, manures, tillages, (and every
thing that a tenant could dispose of or be paid for on quitting his farm) once a year. Farm-,
ing may be carried on with the greatest accuracy and safety, as to money matters, by
Wieirts of the above books, and a few pocket memorandum books for laborers' time, jobs,
&e. With the exception of a time-book, such as we have before described (3 140.}, we
-should never require more, even from a proprietor's bailiff; to many of whom the nine
forms just given (4512. ) would only puzzle ; — to some we have known them lead to the
greatest errors and confusion. No form of books, or mode of procedure, will enable a
farmer to know whether he is losing or gaining but that of taking stock. Valuing pro-
duce consumed, and crediting the farm with it, is in practice nonsense ; and the same
may be said of various items in most of these nine forms. An approximation to the pr(ifits
yielded by particular crops or modes of management, may always be made by the farmer
or bailiff from recollection. There can never be a field on the farm, which he cannot at
the" time of reaping the crop, tell how often it has been ploughed ; when manured,
what the seed was worth, &c. ; and from these artd the other usual data, he can easily make
out a Dr. and Cr. account, sufficient for all practical purposes.
Sect. II. Management of Servants.
4522; Ih order that servants may he able and iJbilling to do their ivoi'k, it is necessary that
Ihey be well fed, comfortably lodged, and decently clothed. The last requisite may be
Book V. MANAGEMENT OF SERVANTS. 733
left to their qwn judgment, allowing an adequate sum or wages for that purpose : but
the feeding and clothing of farm servants, and especially of single 'men, requires to
be seen to by the master. Without this attention on the part of the latter, the sum al-
lowed for these purposes will either be in part hoarded up, or idly spent, in either case
lessening the physical strength, and often injuring the moral faculties of the man.
4523. In former times, the servants lived at the same table with their masters, and that
is still the practice in those districts where the farms are small. On moderate-sized, and
on large farms, they are usually sent to a separate table ; but of late a custom has beea
introduced of putting them on board-wages. This is a most pernicious practice ; which
often leads them to the ale-house, corrupts their morals, and injures their health. It is a
better plan, with a view of lessening trouble, to board them with the bailiff; but it is still
more desirable for the farmer, to have them under his own eye, that he may attend to
their moral conduct. He will find much more useful assistance, from the decent and
the orderly, than from the idle and the profligate.
4524. The best mode of managing yearly married servants, whether ploughmen or la-
borers, we conceive to be that already referred to (4496.) as practised in Northumber-
land, and other northern counties. Marshal (Review of Bailey s Northumberland) calls it
a remain of feudal times ; but certainly, if it is Iso, it appears one of those remains which
should be carefully preserved. "We may challenge the empire to produce servants and
farm operations equal to those where this system is adopted. The great excellence of
the system consists on its being founded in the comfort of the servant.
4525. The permanent laborers on a farm ought to be treated in the same manner as
the ploughmen ; and indeed it is much to be wished, for the sake both of humanity and
morality, that all married laborers, who live in the country, should have gardens attached
to their cottages, if not a cow kept, and a pig, and fowls, in the manner of the Scottish
ploughmen. Some valuable observations on this subject will be found in The
Husbandry of Scotland, and The Code of Agriculture,
4526. Tem-porary laborers, or such as are engaged for hay-making, reaping, turnip- \
hoeing, &c, are for the most part beyond the control of the farmer as to their living and
lodging. It is a good practice, however, where hay-making and reaping is performed by
the day, to feed the operators, and to lodge such of them as have not homes in the neigh-
borhood, on the premises ; providing them with a dry loft, and warm blankets. Piece or
job-work, however, is now becoming so very general, in all farm operations performed by
occasional laborers, that attention to these particulars becomes unnecessary, and the
farmer's chief business is to see that the work be properly done.
4527. A day's work of a country laborer is ten hours during the spring, summer, and
autumn quarters. Farmers, however, are not at all imiform in their hours of working
during these periods. Some begin at five o'clock, rest three hours at mid-day, during
the more violent heat of the sun, and fill up their day's work, by beginning again at one
o'clock, and ending at six in the evening. Others begin at six, and end at six, allowing
half an hour at breakfast, and an hour at dinner. But although these be the ordinary
hours, both for servants and laborers, during the more busy seasons of the year, yet neither
of them will scruple to work either sooner or later, when occasion requires. In regard
to the winter months, the hours of labor are from the dawn of morning, as long as it is
light, with the allowance of about half an hour at mid-day for dinner.
4528. That the rate of labor must in a great measure depend upon the price of grain,
is a general principle. In England, the value of a peck of wheat, and in Scotland, of a
peck of oatmeal, (being the principal articles of subsistence of the lower orders of the
people in the two countries,) were long accounted an equivalent to the daily pay of a
laborer. In both countries, however, the price of potatoes has, of late years, had a con-
siderable influence in the rate of labor ; and in England, the effects of the poor Jaws have
tended to keep down that rate below the increased price of provisions, and thus have
deranged the natural progress of things. It has been ascertained, that a man, his
wife, and from two to three children, if wheat is their habitual food, will require ten
gallons weekly. When they live on bread, hard working people ought to have the best
kind, as that will furnish the most nutrition. How then could a laborer and his family
exist, upon wages of from 6s. to 9s. per week, when wheat is from 8^. to 105, or I2«. per
bushel ? The difference is compensated by the poor-rates, a most exceptionable mode of
making up the deficiency ; for labor would otherwise have found its own level, and the
laborer would have obtained the price of a bushel and a half of wheat weekly.
4529. In Scotland, the rate of labor has increased beyond the price of provisions.
Prior to 1792, the average price of a peck of oatmeal was Is. Id. and the average price of
a day's labor in summer, Is. l^d. which nearly corresponded with the principle above
stated: but the average price of a peck of oatmeal, in 1810, was Is. 3|rf. whilst the
average price of a day's labor was Is. W^d. which shews, in a most satisfactory manner,
the very great improvement that lias taken place, in the lot of the laboring classes, in that
part of the united kingdom. {Gen. Rep. vol. ill. p. 262.)
734 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
4530. The practice of giving laborers grain, ^c. at a cheap rate, was adopted by-
George III. who carried on farming operations to a considerable extent, allowing his
laborers flour at a fixed price, whatever wheat might sell for. This benevolent system
has been practised by several gentlemen farmers, some of whom have allowed bread,
and others a daily quantity of milk, at moderate prices. The same system is general in
several of the western counties, as in Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall, where the laborers
have a standing supply of bread-corn ; of wheat at 6s. and of barley at 35. per
bushel.
4531. In the wages of labor, as well as in every thing else, moderation is desirable. It
is remarked, that high wages have a tendency to throw laborers out of employment, as
farmers in general, and even small proprietors, are unable to give such wages ; hence
they are obliged to carry on their work with fewer hands, or to postpone improvements,
which otherwise they would have undertaken. Nor is that all. The laborers themselves
suffer by it, and so does the public. In the fens of Lincolnshire, wages have risen in
harvest time, from 3s. 6d. to 7s. nay to 10s. 6d. per day, every day's hiring taking place
at a certain spot, where masters, whose work is in haste, outbid each other, and thus
raise the wages to that exorbitant height. The consequence was, that tlie laborers got
drunk, would not work above four days out of the six, dissipated their money, hurt
their constitutions, contracted indolent and vicious habits, and their labor was lost to the
community, for at least one-third part of the time, at a most important crisis.
(Corfe,^c.')
4532. Most descriptions of country labor, performed without the aid of horses, may
be let by the job. Farey, in his excellent Report of Derbyshire, informs us, that besides
all ordinary labor, the late John Billingsley, of Ashwick Grove, in Somersetshire, let
his ploughing, harrowing, rolling, sowing, turning of corn when cut, hay-making, &c.
by the acre, and from which he found great advantages, even where his own oxen and
horses were used, by the takers of the work. Whether we regard dispatch, economy,
perfection of rural works, or the bettering of the condition of the laborers therein,
nothing will contribute so much to all these, as a general system of letting works at
fair and truly apportioned prices, according to the degree of labor and skill required, in
each kind of work. Few persons have doubted that dispatch and economy are attain-
able by this method, but those who have indolently or improperly gone about the letting
of their labor, have uniformly complained of its being slovenly done, and of the prone-
ness of the men to cheat, when so employed. These last are to be expected in all
modes of employment, and can only be counteracted, or made to disappear, by com-
petent knowledge and due vigilance in the employer, or his agents and foremen, who
ought to study and understand the time and degree of exertion and skill, as well as the
best methods, in all their minutiae of performing all the various works they have to
let. At first sight, these might seem to be very difficult and unattainable qualifications
in farmers' bailiffs, or foremen, but it is nevertheless certain, that a proper system and
perseverance will soon overcome these difficulties. One of the first requisites is, the
keeping of accurate and methodical day-accounts of all men employed ; and, on the
measuring up and calculating of every job of work, to register how much has been
earned per day, and never to attempt abatement of the amount, should this even greatly
exceed the ordinary day's pay of the country ; but let this experience gained, operate in
fixing the price of the next job of the same work, in order to lessen the earnings by
degrees, of fully competent and industrious men, to If to 2^ times the ordinary wages
when working by the day.
4533. Select the men into small gangs, according to their abilities and industry,'and always set the best
gang about any new kind of work, or one whose prices want regulating, and encourage these by liberal
prices at first, and gradually lower them, and by degrees introduce the other gangs to work with or near
to them at the same kind of work. On the discovery of any material slight of, or deceptions in the
work, at the time of measuring it, more than their proportionate values should be deducted for them,
and a separate job made to one of the best gangs of men, for completing or altering it : by which means
shame is made to operate, with loss of earnings, in favor of greater skill, attention, and honesty in
future. When the necessity occurs of em.ploying even the best men by the day, let the periods be as
short as possible, and the prices considerably below job earnings, and contrive, by the offer of a desirable
job to follow, to make it their interest and wish to dispatch the work that is necessary to be done by the
day, in order to get again to piece-work. The men being thus induced to study and cotitrive the
readiest and best methods of performing every part of their labor, and of expending their time, the work
will unquestionably be better done than by the thoughtless drones who usually work by the day. And
that these are the true methods of bettering the condition of the laborers, Malthus has ajbly shewn in
theory, and all those who have adopted and persevered in them, have seen the same in practice. {Farey^s
Derbi/shire, vol. iii. 192.)
Sect. III. Of the Arrangement of Farm Labor.
4534. The importance of order and system we have already insisted on (3127.), and the
subject can hardly be too often repeated. To conduct an extensive farm well, is not a
matter of trivial moment, or to the management of which every one is competent.
Much may be effected by capital, skill, and industiy ; but even these will not always
Book V. ARRANGEMENT OF LABOR. 735
ensure success, without judicious arrangement. With it, a farm furnishes an uninter-
rupted succession of useful labor during all the seasons of the year ; and the most is
made that circumstances will admit of, by regularly employing the laboring persons and '
cattle, at such works as are likely to be the most profitable. Under such a system, it is
hardly to be credited how little time is lost, either of the men or horses, in the course
of a whole year. This is a great object ; for each horse may be estimated at three
shillings per day, and each man at two shillings. Every day, tiierefore, in which a
man and horse are unemployed, occasions the loss of at least five shillings to the
husbandman.
4535. ^s the foundation of a proper arrangement, it is necessary to have a plan of the
farm, or at least a list of the fields or parcels of land into which it is divided, describ-
ing their productive extent, the quality of the soil, the preceding crops, the cultivation
given to each, and the species and quantity of manure they have severally received.
The future treatment of each field, for a succession of years, may then be resolved on
with more probability of success. With the assistance of such a statement, every
autumn an arrangement of crops for the ensuing year ought to be made out ; classing
the fields or pieces of land, according to the purposes for which they are respectively
intended. The number of acres allotted for arable land, meadow, or pasture, will thus be
ascertained. It will not then be difl^icult to anticipate what number of horses and
laborers will be required during the season for the fields in culture, nor the live stock
that will be necessary for the pasture land. The works of summer and harvest will
likewise be foreseen, and proper hands engaged in due time to perform them.
4536. A farmer should have constantly in view a judicious rotation of crops, according
to the nature and quality of his soil, and should arrange the quantity and succession of
labor accordingly. Team labor, when frost and bad weather do not intervene, should
be arranged for some months ; and hand labor, for some weeks, according to the season
of the year. " A general memorandum list of business to be done," may therefore be
useful, that nothing may escape the memory, and that the most requisite work may be
brought forward first, if suitable to the state of the weather. In this way, the labor will
go on regularly, and without confusion, while by a proper attention, either a distribution
of labor, or an occasional consolidation of it, may be applied to every part of the
farm.
4537. As general rules, connected with the arrangement, and the successful manage-
ment of a farm, the following are particularly to be recommended.
4538. The farmer ought to rise early, and see that others do so. In the winter season,
breakfast should be taken by candle light, for by this means an hour is gained, which
many farmers indolently lose ; though six hours in a week are nearly equal to the
working part of a winter day. This is a material object, where a number of servants
are employed. It is also particularly necessary for farmers to insist on the punctual
performance of their orders.
4539. The whole farm should be regularly inspected, and not only every field examined,
but every beast seen, at least once a day, either by the occupier, or by some intelligent
servant.
4540. In a considerable farm, it is of the utmost consequence to have servants
specially appropriated for each of the most important departments of labor ; for there is
often a great loss of time, where persons are frequently changing their employments.
Besides, where the division of labor is introduced, work is executed not only more
expeditiously, but also much better, in consequence of the same hands being constantly
employed in one particular department. For that purpose, the ploughmen ought never
to be employed in manual labor, but regularly kept at work with their horses, when the
weather will admit of it.
4541. To arrange the oj)eratio7i of ploughing, according to the soils cultivated, is an
object of essential importance. On many farms there are fields, which are soon ren-
dered unfit to be ploughed, either by much rain, or by severe drought. In such cases,
the prudent farmer, before the wet season commences, should plough such land as is in
the greatest danger of being injured by too much wet ; and before the dry period of the
year sets in, he should till such land as is in the greatest danger of being rendered unfit
for ploughing by too much drought. The season between seed time and winter may be
well occupied in ploughing soils intended to be sown with beans, oats, barley, and
other spring crops, by means of the grubber (2533.). On farms where these rules are
attended to, there is always some land in a proper condition to be ploughed ; and there
is never any necessity, either for delaying the work, or performing it improperly.
4542. Every means should be thought of to diminish labor, or to increase its power.
For instance, by proper arrangement, five horses may do as much labor as six perform,
according to the usual mode of employing them. One horse may be employed in cart-
ing turnips during winter, or in other necessary farm work at other seasons, without the
necessity of reducing the number of ploughs. When driving dung from the farm-yard.
7S6 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
three carts may be used, one always filling in the yard, another going to the field, and a
third returning ; the leading horse of the empty cart ought then to be unyoked, and put
to the full one. In the same manner, while one pair of horses are preparing the land
for sowing turnips, the other three horses may be employed in carrying the dung to the
land, either with two or three carts, as the situation of the ground may happen to require.
By extending the same management to other farm operations, a considerable saving of
labor may be effected.
4543. Previously to engaging in a work, whether of ordinary practice, or of intended
improvement, the best consideration of which the farmer is capable ought to be given to
it, till he is satisfied that it is advisable for him to attempt it. When begun, he ought
to proceed in it with much attention and perseverance, until he has given it a fair
trial. It is a main object, in carrying on improvements, not to attempt too much at
once ; and never to begin a work without a probability of being able to finish it in due
season.
4544. By the adoption of these rules, every farmer will he master of his time, so that
every thing required to be done, will be performed at the proper moment ; and not
delayed till the season and opportunity have been lost. The impediments arising from
bad weather, sick servants, or the occasional and necessary absence of the master, will,
in that case, be of little consequence, nor embarrass the operations to be carried on ; and
the occupier will not be prevented from attending to even the smallest concerns con-
nected with his business, on the aggregate of which his prosperity depends.
Sect. IV. Of domestic Management and personal Expenses.
4545. On domestic affairs, a hint may suffice. Young farmers beginning house-
keeping, like most others in similar circumstances, are apt to sink too great a proportion
of their capital in furniture, and furnishing riding-horses, carriages, &c. ; and some-
times to live up to, or even beyond, their income. We do not mean that farmers should
not live as well as other men of the same property ; but merely that all beginners should
live within their income. Even in the marketing expenses care is requisite; and the
prudent farmer will do well, every penny or sixpence he lays out, to reckon up in his
mind what that sum per day would amount to in a year. The amount will often
astonish him, and lead to economy, and where practicable, retrenchment. Saving, as
Franklin has inculcated, is the only certain way of accumulating money.
4546. In regard to housekeeping, it is [observed in The Code of Agriculture, that the
safest plan is, not to suffer it to exceed a certain sum for bought articles weekly. An
annual sum should be allotted for clothing, and the personal expenses of the farmer, his
wife, and children, which ought not to be exceeded. The whole allotted expense should
be considerably within the probable receipts ; and if possible one -eighth of the income an-
nually received, should be laid up for contingencies, or expended in extra improvements
on the farm.
BOOK VI.
OF THE CULTURE OF FARM LANDS.
4547. The business of farming consists of the culture of vegetables, and the treatment
or culture of animals ; in practice these are generally carried on together, but may be
more conveniently treated of apart. In this Book, therefore, we confine ourselves to the
culture of vegetables, and shall consider in succession the general processes of culture ;
the culture of corn and pulse j of roots and leaves ; of herbage plants ; of grasses ; and
of manufactorial plants.
Chap. I.
Of the general Processes common to Farm Lands.
4548. Among general processes, those which merit particular notice in this place, are
the rotation of crops, the working of fallows, and the management of manures. The
theory of these processes has been already given in treating of soils and manures (Part II.
Book III.) ; and it therefore only remains to detail their application to practice under
different circumstances.
Book VT. ROTATION OF CROPS. 737
Sect. I. Of the Rotations of Crops suitable to different Descriptions of Soils.
4549. The proper distribution of crops, and a plan for their succession, is one of the
first subjects to which a farmer newly entered on a farm requires to direct his attention.
The kind of crops to be raised are determined in a great measure by the climate, soil,
and demand ; and the quantity of each, by the value, demand, and the adjustment of
farm labor.
4550. In the adjustment of farm labor, the great art is to divide it as equally as
possible throughout the year. Thus it would not answer in any situation to sow exclu.
sively autumn crops, as wheat or rye ; nor only spring corns, as oats or barley ; for by so
doing all the labor of seed-time would come on at once, and the same of harvest work,
while the rest of the year there would be little to do on the farm. But by sowing a
portion of each of these and other crops, the labor both of seed time and harvest is divided
and rendered easier, and more likely to be done well and in season. But this point is
so obvious as not to require elucidation.
4551. The succession or rotation of crops, is a point on which the profits of the farmer
depend more than on any other. It is remarked by Arthur Young, that the agricultural
writers, previously to the middleof the eighteenth century, paid little or no attention to it.
They recite, he says, courses good, bad, and execrable, in the same tone; as matters not
open to praise or censure, and unconnected with any principles that could throw light on
the arrangement of fields. The first writer who assigned due importance to the subject of
rotations seems to have been the Rev. Adam Dickson, in his Treatise on Agriculture,
published in Edinburgh, in 1777 ; and soon afterwards Lord Kaimes, in his Gentleman
Farmer, illustrates the importance of the subject; both writers were probably led to it by
observing the effects of the Norfolk husbandry, then beginning to be introduced to
Berwickshire. But whatever may have been the little attention paid to this subject by
former writers, the importance of the subject of rotations, and the rule founded on the
principles already laid down, that culmiferous crops ripening their seeds should not be
repeated without the intervention of pulse roots, herbage, or fallow, is now " recognised
in the practice and writings of all judicious cultivators, more generally perhaps than any
other." (Edit, of Farmer's Mag.)
4552. The Si/stem o/rof actons is adopted for every soil, though no particular rotation
can be given for any one soil which will answer in all cases, as something depends on
climate, and something also on the kind of produce for which there is the greatest market
demand. But wherever the system of rotations is followed, and the several processes of
labor which belong to it properly executed, land will rarely get into a foul and exhausted
state ; or, at least if foul and exhausted under a judicious rotation, " matters would be
much worse were any other system followed."
4553. The particular cro])s which enter into a system of rotation must obviously be such
as are suited to the soil and climate, though as the valuable author so often quoted ob-
serves, " they will be somewhat varied by local circumstances ; such as the proximity
of towns and villages, where there is a greater demand for turnips, potatoes, hay, &c.
than in thinly-peopled districts. In general, beans and clover, with rye-grass, are inter-
posed between corn crops on clayey soils ; and turnips, potatoes, and clover and rye-grass,
on dry loams and sands, or what are technically known by the name of turnip soils. A
variety of other plants, such as pease, tares, cabbages, and carrots, occupy a part, though
commonly but a small part, of that division of a farm which is allotted to green crops.
This order of succession is called the system of alternate husbandry ; and on rich soils, or
such as have access to abundance of putrescent manure, it is certainly the most productive
of all others, both in food for man and for the inferior animals. One half of a farm is,
in this course, always under some of the different species o{ cereal gramina, and the other
half under pulse, roots, cultivated herbage, or plain fallow.
4554. But the greater part of the arable land of Britain cannot be maintained in a
fertile state under this management; and sandy soils, even though highly manured,
soon become too incohesive under a course of constant tillage. It, therefore, becomes
necessary to leave that division or break that carries cultivated herbage, to be pastured
for two years or more, according to the degree of its consistency and fertility ; and all
the fields of a farm are treated thus in their turn, if they require it. This is called
the system of convertible husbandry, a regular change being constantly going on from
aration to pasturage, and vice vtrsd.
4555. Not to repeat the same kind of crop at too short intervals is another rule with
regard to the succession of crops. Whatever may be the cause, whether it is to be .
sought for in the nature of the soil, or of the plants themselves, experience clearly proves
the advantages of inti^oducing a diversity of species into every course of cropping. When
land is pastured several years before it is brought again under the plough, there may be less
need for adhering steadily to this rule; but the degeneracy of wheat and other corn crops
recurring upon the same land every second year for a long period, has been very gene-
3 B
T»8 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
rally acknowledged. It is the same with what are called green crops ; beans and pease,
potatoes, turnips, and, in an especial manner, red clover, become all of them much less
productive, and much more liable to disease, when they come into the course, upon
the same land, every second, third, or fourth year. But what the interval ought to be
has not yet been determined, and probably cannot (from the great number of years that
experiments must be continued to give any certain result) be determined, until the
component parts of soils, and particularly the sort of vegetable nourishment which each
species of plant extracts from the soil, have been more fully investigated.
4556. A change of the variety, as well as of the species, and even of the plants of the
game variety, is found to be attended with advantage ; and in the latter case, or a
change of seed, the species and variety being the same, the practice is almost universal.
It is well known, that of two parcels of wheat, for instance, as much alike in quality
as possible, the one, which had grown on a soil differing much from that on which it is
to be sown, will yield a better produce than the other that grew in the same, or a similar
soil and climate. The farmers of Scotland, accordingly, find that wheat from the south,
even though it be not, as it usually is, better than their own, is a very advantageous change ;
and oats and other grain, brought from a clayey to a sandy soil, other things being equal,
are more productive than such as have grown on sandy soil. {Suj)p. Encyc. Brit. art.
Agr. 144.)
4557. The following are examples of rotations suited to different soils, as given in Brown's
excellent Treatise on Rural Affairs. The basis of every rotation, he says, " we hold to
be either a bare summer fallow, or a fallow on which drilled turnips arc cultivated, and
its conclusion to be with the crops taken in the year preceding a return of fallow or drilled
turnips, when of course a new rotation commences.
4558. Rotation for strong deep lands. According to this rotation, wheat and drilled
beans are the crops to be cultivated, though clover and rye-grass may be taken for one
year in place of beans, should such a variety be viewed as more eligible. The rotation
begins with summer fallow, because it is only on strong deep lands that it can be profit-
ably practised ; and it may go on for any length of time, or so long as the land can be
kept clean, though it ought to stop the moment that the land gets into a contrary con-
dition. A considerable quantity of manure is required to go on successfully ; perhaps
dung should be given to each bean crop ; and if this crop is drilled, and attentively
horse-hoed, the rotation may turn out to be one of the most profitable that can be
exercised.
4559. Rotation for loams and clays. Where it may not be advisable to carry the first
rotation into execution, a different one can be practised ; according to which labor will
be more divided, and the usual grains more generally cultivated ; as, for instance,
1. Fallow, with dung. 4. Barley. 7. Beans drilled and horse-hoed.
2. Wheat. 5. Clover and rye-grass. 8. Wheat.
3. Beans, drilled and horse-hoed. 6. Oats or wheat.
This rotation is excellently calculated to insure an abundant return through the whole of
it, provided dung is administered upon the clover stubble. Without this supply, the
rotation would be cripplied, and inferior crops of course produced in the concluding
years.
4560. Rotation for clays and loams of an inferior description. This rotation is calcu-
lated for soils of an inferior description to those already treated of.
1. Fallow, with dung. 3. Clover and rye-grass. 5. Beans, drilled andhorse-hoed.
2. Wheat. 4. Oats. 6. Wheat.
According to this rotation, the rules of good husbandry are studiously practised, while the
sequence is obviously calculated to keep the land in good order, and in such a condition
as to ensure crops of the greatest value. If manure is bestowed, either upon the clover-
stubble, or before the beans are sown, the rotation is one of the best that can be devised
for the soils mentioned.
4561. Rotation for thin clays. On thin clays, gentle husbandry is indispensably ne-
cessary, otherwise the soil may be exhausted, and the produce unequal to the expense of
cultivation. Soils of this description will not improve much while under grass ; but,
unless an additional stock of manure can be procured, there is a necessity of refreshing
them in that way, even though the produce should, in the mean time, be comparatively
of small value. The following rotation is not an improper one.
1. Fallow, with dung. 3. Grass pastured, but not too 5. Grass,
2. Wheat. early eaten. 6. Oats.
4. Grass.
This rotation may be shortened or lengthened, according to circumstances, but should
never extend further in point of ploughing, than when dung can be given to the fallow-
break . Hiis is the keyston« of the whole ; and if it is neglected, the rotation is rendered
Book VI. ROTATION OF CROPS. 739
4562. Rotation for peat earth soils. These are not friendly to wheat, unless aided by
a quantity of calcareous matter. Taking them in a general point of view, it is not advis-
able to cultivate wheat, but a crop of oats may almost be depended upon, provided the
previous management has been judiciously executed. If the subsoil of peat earth lands
be retentive of moisture, the process ought to commence with a bare summer fallow ; but
if such are incumbent on free and open bottoms, a crop of turnips may be substituted
for fallow ; according to which method, the surface will get a body which naturally it
did not possess. Grass, on such soils, must always occupy a great space of every ro-
tation, because physical circumstances render regular cropping utterly impracticable.
1. Fallow, or turnips with dung. 3. Clover, and a considerable circumstances permit the land to
2. Oats of an early variety. quantity of perennial rye-grass. be broken up, when oats are to be
4. Pasture for several years, till repeated.
4563. Rotation for light soils. These are easily managed, though to procure a full
return of the profit which they are capable of yielding, requires generally as much at-
tention as is necessary in the management of those of a stronger description. Upon
light soils, a bare summer fallow is seldom called for, as cleanliness may be preserved
by growing turnips, and other leguminous articles. Grass also is of eminent advantage
upon such soils, often yielding a greater profit than what is afibrded by culmiferous
crops.
1. Turnips. 3. Clover and rye-grass.
2. Spring wheat, or barley. 4. Oats or wheat.
This is a fashionable rotation ; but it may be doubted whether a continuance of it for any
considerable period is advisable, because both turnips and clover are found to fall off
when repeated so often as once in four years. Perhaps the rotation would be greatly
improved were it extended to eight years, whilst the ground, by such an extension, would
be kept fresh and constantly in good condition. As for instance, were seeds for pasture
sown in the second year, the ground kept three years under grass, broke up for oats in
the sixth year, drilled with beans and pease in the seventh, and sown with wheat in the
eighth ; the rotation would then be complete, because it included every branch of hus-
bandry, and admitted a variety in management generally agreeable to the soil, and always
favorable to the interest of cultivators. The rotation may also consist of six crops, were
the land kept only one year in grass, though few situations admit of so much cropping,
unless additional manure is within reach.
4564. Rotation for sandy soils. These, when properly manured, are well adapted to
turnips, though it rarely happens that wheat can be cultivated on them with advantage,
unless they are dressed with alluvial compost, marl, clay, or some such substances as
will give a body or strength to them, which they do not naturally possess. Barley, oats,
and rye, the latter especially, are, however, sure crops on sands, and in favorable seasons
will return greater profit than can be obtained from wheat.
1. Turnips, consumed on the ground. 3. Grass.
2. Barley. 4, Rye or oats.
By keeping the land three years in grass, the rotation would be extended to six years,
a measure highly advisable.
4565. These examples are sufficient to illustrate the subject of improved rotations j
but as the best general schemes may be sometimes momentarily deviated from with ad-
vantage, the same able author adds, that " cross cropping, in some cases, may perhaps
be justifiable in practice; as, for instance, we have seen wheat taken after oats with great
success, when these oats had followed a clover crop on rich soil ; but, after all, as a gene-
ral measure, that mode of cropping cannot be recommended. We have heard of an-
other rotation, which comes almost under the like predicament, though, as the test of
experience has not yet been applied, a decisive opinion cannot be pronounced upon its
merits. This rotation begins with a bare fallow, and is carried on with wheat, grass
for one or more years, oats, and wheat, where it ends. Its supporters maintain that
beans are an uncertain crop, and cultivated at great expense ; and that in no other
way will corn, in equal quantity and of equal value, be cultivated at so little expense, as
according to the plan mentioned. That the expense of cultivation is much lessened, we
acknowledge, because no more than seven ploughings are given through the whole
rotation ; but Whether the crops will be of equal value, and whether the ground will be
preserved in equally good condition, are points which remain to be ascertained by ex-
perience." {Brown on Rural Affairs.)
4566. As a general guide to devising rotations on day soilsj it may be observed, that
winter or autumn sown crops are to be preferred to such as are put in in spring. Spring
ploughing on such soils is a hazardous business, and not to be practised where it can
possibly be avoided. Except in the case of drilled beans, there is not the slightest
necessity for ploughing clays' in the spring months ; but as land intended to carry beans
ought to be early ploughed, so that the benefit of frost may be obtained, and as the seed
furrow is an ebb one, rarely exceeding four inches in deepness^ the hazard of spring
3 B 2
740
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pam III.
ploughing for this article is not of much consequence. Ploughing with a view to clean
soils of the description under consideration, has little effect, unless given in the summer
months. This renders summer fallow indispensably necessary, and without this radical
process, none of the heavy and wet soils can be suitably managed, or preserved in a good
condition.
4567. To adopt a judicious rotation of cropping for every soil, requires a degree of
judgment in the farmer, which can only be gathered from observation and experience.
The old rotations were calculated to wear out the soil, and to render it unproductive.
To take wheat, barley, and oats in succession, a practice very common thirty years ago,
was sufficient to impoverish the best of land, while it put little into the pockets of the
farmer ; but the modern rotations, such as those which we have described, are founded
on principles which ensure a full return from the soil, without lessening its value, or
impoverishing its condition. Much depends, however, upon the manner in which
the different processes are executed, for the best arranged rotation may be of no
avail, if the processes belonging to it are imperfectly and unseasonably executed. (See
2158.)
Sect, II. Of the working of Fallows.
4568. The practice of falloiving, as we have seen in our historical view of Greek and
Roman agriculture, has existed from the earliest ages ; and the theory of its beneficial
effects we have endeavored to explain. (2125.) The Romans with their agriculture in-
troduced fallows in every part of Europe, and two crops, succeeded either ar's
fallow, or by leaving the land to rest for two or more years, became the rotation on
all soils and under all circumstances. This mode of cultivating arable land is still the
most universal in Europe ; its prevalence till very lately in Britain created a powerful
aversion to naked fallows, by which a crop was lost every year they occurred, and called
forth numerous attempts to shew that they were unnecessary, consequently an immense
public loss. This anti-fallowing mania, as it has been called, was chiefly supported by
Arthur Young, Nathaniel Kent, and others, members or correspondents of the Board of
Agriculture: it was at its greatest height about the beginning of the present century,
but has now spent its force, and after exhausting all the arguments on both sides, as
an able author has observed, " the practice does not appear to give way, but rather to
extend."
4569. The edcjiediency or inexpediency of pulverising and cleaning the soil by a barefal-
loWy is a question that can be determined only by experience, and not by argument. No
reasons, however ingenious, for the omission of this practice, can bring conviction to the
mind of a farmer, who, in spite of all his exertions, finds, at the end of six or eight years,
that his land is full of weeds, sour and comparatively unproductive. Drilled and horse
hoed green crops, though cultivated with advantage on almost every soil, are probably in
general unprofitable as a substitute for fallow, and after a time altogether inefficient.
It is not because turnips, cabbages, &c. will not grow in such soils, that a fallow is re-
sorted to, but because, taking a course of years, the value of the successive crops is found
to be so much greater, even though an unproductive year is interposed, as to induce a
preference to fallowing. Horse-hoed crops, of beans in particular, postpone the recur-
rence of fallow, but in few situations can ever exclude it altogether. On the other hand,
the instances that have been adduced, of a profitable succession of crops on soils of this
description, without the intervention of a fallow, are so well authenticated, that it would
be extremely rash to assert that it can in no case be dispensed with on clay soils. In-
stances of this kind are to be found in several parts of Young's Annals (f jigri-
culture ; and a very notable one, on Greg's farm of Coles, in Hertfordshire, is
accurately detailed in the sixth volume of The Communications to the Board of Agricul-
ture.
4570. The principal causes of this extraardinary difference amor) g men of great experience, may probably
be found in the quality of the soil, or in the riature of the climate, or in both. Nothing is more vague
than the names by which soils are known in different districts. Greg's farm, in particular, though the
soil is denominated " heavy arable land," and " very heavy land," is found so suitable to turnips, that a
sixth part of it is always under that crop, and these are consumed on the ground by sheep; a systtm of
management, which every farmer must know to be altogether impracticable on the wet tenacious clays of
other districts. It may indeed be laid down as a criterion for determining the question, that wherever this
management can be profitably adopted, fallow, as a regular branch of the course, must be not less absurd
than il is injurious, both to the cultvator and to tiie public. It is probable, therefore, that, in debating
this point, the opposite parties are not agreed about the quality of the soil ; and in particular, about its
property of absorbing and retaining moisture, so different in soils, that in common language have the same
denomination.
4571. Another cause of difference must be found in the climate. It is well known, that a great deal more
rain falls on the west than on the east coast of Britain ; and that between the northern and southern coun-
ties there is at least a month or six weeks' difference in the maturation of the crops. Though the soil
therefore be as nearly as possible similar in quality and surface, the period in which it is accessible to agri-
cultural operations must vary accordingly. Thus, in the south-eastern counties of the island, where the
crops may be all cut down, and almost all carried home by the end of August, much may be done in cleans-
ing and pulverising the soil, during the months of September and October, while the farmers of the north
are exclusively employed in harvest work, which is frequently not finished by the beginning of November.
Book VI. FALLOWING. 741
In some districts in the south of England, wheat is rarely sown before December ; whereas in the north,
and still more in Scotland, if it cannot be got completed by the end of October, it must commonly be de-
layed till spring, or oats or barley be taken in p'ace of wheat. It does not then seem of any utility to enter
farther into this controversy, which every skilful cultivator must determine for himself. All the crops,
and all the mf)de> of management which have been purposed as a substitute for fallow, are well known to
such men, an:l would unquestionably have been generally adopted long ago, if, upon a careful consideration
of the advantages and disadvantages on both sides, a bare fallow was found to be unprofitable in a course of
f'ears. The reader who wishes to examine the question fully may consult, among many others, the fol.
owing : — Young's Annals qf Agriculture, and his writings generally ; Hunter's Georgical Essays ; Dick-
son's Practical Agriculture ; Sir H. Davy's Agricultural Chemistry ; The Agricultural Chemistry of Chap-
tal ; Brown's Treatise on Rural Affairs ; The County Reports ; and The General Report of Scotland.
4572. Fallows unnecessary on friable soils. However necessary the periodical recurrence of fallow may
be on retentive clays, its warmest advocates do not recommend it on turnip soils, or on any friable loams
incumbent on a porous subsoil ; nor is it in any case necessary every third year, according to the practice
of some districts. On the best cultivated lands it seldom returns "oftener than once in six or eight years,
and in favorable situations for obtaining an extra supply of manure, it may be advantageously dispensed
with for a still longer period. {Suppl. to Encyc. Brit. art. Agr.)
4573. The operation offallowing, as commonly practised in England, is a very different
and comparatively useless, or at least ineffectual operation, to what it ought to be. In
most places the first furrow is not given till the spring, or even till the month of May or
June ; or, if it is given earlier, the second is not given till after midsummer, and on the
third the wheat is sown. Land may rest under this system of management; but to
clean it from weeds, or pulverise it, or give it the benefits of aeration and heat, is im-
possible. The farmer in some cases purposely delays ploughing his fallows for the sake
of the scanty bite the couch and weeds afford to his sheep ; and for the same reason having
ploughed once, he delays the second ploughing. It is not to be wondered at, that under
such a system the theoretical agriculturist should have taken a rooted aversion to what
are thus erroneously termed fallows. The practice of the best farmers of the northern
counties is very different, and that practice we shall here detail.
4574. A proper fallow in variably commences after harvest ; the land intended to be fallow-
ed getting one ploughing, which ought to be as deep as the soil will admit, even though a little
of the till or subsoil is brought up. This both tends to deepen the cultivated, or manured
soil, as the fresh accession of hitherto uncultivated earth becomes afterwards incorporated
with the former manured soil, and greatly facilitates the separation of the roots of weeds
during the ensuing fallow process, by detaching them completely from any connection
with the fast subsoil. This autumnal ploughing, usually called the winter furrow, pro-
motes the rotting of stubble and weeds : and if not accomplished towards the end of
harvest, must be given in the winter months, or as early in the spring as possible. In
giving this first ploughing, the old ridges should be gathered up, if practicable, as in that
state they are kept dry during the winter months ; but it is not uncommon to split them
out or divide them, especially if the land had been previously highly gathered, so that each
original ridge of land is divided into two half ridges. Sometimes, when the land is easily
laid dry, the furrows of the old ridges are made the crowns of the new ones, or the land is
ploughed in the way technically called crown-and-f arrow. In other instances, two ridges
are ploughed together, by what is called castings which has been already described. After
the field is ploughed, all the inter-furrows, and those of the headlands, are carefully
opened up by the plou'gh, and are afterwards gone over effectually by a laborer with a
spade, to remove all obstructions, and to open up the water furrows into the fence ditclies,
wherever that seems necessary, that all moisture may have a ready exit. In every place
where water is expected to lodge, such as dishes, or hollow places in the field, cross or
oblique furrows are drawn by the plough, and their intersections carefully opened into
each other by the spade. Wherever it appears necessary, cross cuts are also made through
the head ridges into the ditches with a spade, and every possible attention is exerted, tliat
no water may stagnate in any part of the field.
4575. As soon as the spring seed-time is over, the fallow land is again ploughed end-long. If formerly
split, it is now ridged up; if formerly laid up in gathered ridges, it is split or cloven down. It is then
cross-ploughed ; and after lying till sufticiently dry to admit the harrows, it is harrowed and rolled re-
peatedly, Add every particle of the vivacious roots of weeds brought up to view, carefully gathered by
hand into heaps, and either burnt on the field, or carted off to the compost midden. The fallow is then
ridged up, which places it in a safe condition in the event of bad weather, and exposes a new surface to
the harrows and roller ; after which the weeds are again gathered by hand, but a i)reviou8 harrowing is
necessary. It is afterwards ploughetl, harrowed, rolled, and gathered as often as may be necessary to
reduce it into fine tilth and completely to eradicate all root-weeds. Between these successive operations,
repeated crops of seedling weeds are brought into vegetation and destroyed. The larvas likewise of Various
insects, together with an infinite variety of the seeds of weeds, are exposed to be devoured by bhrd8,
which are then the farmer's best friends, though often proscribed as his bitterest enemies.
4576. The use of the harrow and roller in the fallow jirocessy has been condemned by
some writers on husbandry, who allege, that frequent ploughing is all that is necessary
to destroy root-weeds, by the baking or drying of the clods in the sun and wind ; but
experience has ascertained, that frequently turning over the ground, though absolutely
necessary while the fallow process is going on, can never eradicate couch-grass or other
root-weeds. In all clay soils, the ground turns up in lumps or clods, which the sfiveriJst
drought will not penetrate so sufficiently as to kill the included roots. When the lind
is again ploughed, these lumps are turned over and no more, and the action of t!h«
SB 3
742 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
plough serves in no degree to reduce them, or at least very imperceptibly. It may be
added that these lumps likewise inclose innumerable seeds of weeds, which cannot vege-
tate unless brought under the influence of the sun and air near the surface. The diligent
use, therefore, of the harrow and roller, followed by careful hand-picking, is indispensably
necessary to the perfection of the fallow process. {General Report of Scotland, vol. iv.
p. 419.)
4577. When effectually reduced to fine tilth, and thoroughly cleaned from roots and weeds, the fallow is
ploughed end-long into gathered ridges or lands, usually fifteen or eighteen feet broad ; which are set out in
the manner already described, in treating of the striking of furrows oxfeiring. If the seed is to be drilled,
the lands or ridges are made of such widths as may suit the construction of the particular drill-machine that
is to be employed. After the land has been once gathered by a deep furrow, proportioned to the depth of
the cultivated soil, the manure is laid on, and evenly spread over the surface, whether muck, lime, marl,
or compost. A second gathering is now given by the plough ; and this being generally the furrow upon
which the seed is sown, great care is used to plough as equal as possible. After the seed is sown and the
land thoroughly harrowed, all the inter-furrows, furrows of the headlands, and oblique or gaw furrows, are
carefully opened up by the plough, and cleared out by the spade, as already mentioned, respecting the
first or winter ploughing.
4578. The expense of fallowing must appear, front what has been said, to be very con-
siderable, when land has been allowed to become stocked with weeds ; but if it be kept
under regular management, corn alternating with drilled pulse or green crops, the sub-
sequent returns of fallow vt^ill not require nearly so much labor. In common cases,
from four to six ploughings are generally given, with harrowing and rolling between, as
may be found necessary ; and, as we have already noticed, the cultivator may be em-
ployed to diminish this heavy expense. But it must be considered, that upon the manner
in which the fallow operations are conducted, depend not only the ensuing wheat crop,
but in a great measure all the crops of the rotation. (Supp. to Encyc. Brit. art. Agr. 128.)
Sect. III. Of the general Management of Manures.
4579. The manures of animal, vegetable, or mineral origin have been already described,
and their operation explained (2161.) But a very few of these substances can be ob-
tained by farmers in general ; whose standard resources are farm- yard dung and lime,
and composts of these with earth. It is on the management of these that we propose to
deliver the practice of the best British farmers.
SuBSECT. 1 . On the Management of Farm^yard Dung.
4580. The basis of farm-yard dung is straw, to which is added in its progress through
the farm-yard the excrementitious substances of live stock. From every ton of dry
straw, about three tons of farm-yard dung may be obtained, if the after-management be
properly conducted ; and, as the weight of straw per acre runs from one ton to one and
a half, about four tons of dung, on an average of the different crops, may be produced
from the straw of every acre under corn. {Husbandry of Scotland, vol. ii.) Hence (it
may be noticed) the great importance of cutting corn as low as possible; a few inches
at the root of the stalk weighing more than double the same length at the ear.
4581. The conversion of straw into farm-yard dung in the farmery, is thus effected :
The straw is served out to cattle and horses in the houses and fold-yards, either as
provender or litter, and commonly for both purposes ; turnips in winter, and green
clover in summer are given to the stock both in the houses and yards ; on this food the
animals pass a great deal of urine, and afford the means of converting the straw into
a richer manure than if it were eaten alone. All the dung from the houses, as they are
cleaned out, is regularly spread over the yards, in which young cattle are left loose where
litter is usually allowed in great abundance; or over the dunghill itself, if there be one
at hand. This renders the quality of the whole mass more uniform ; and the horse-
dung, which is of a hot nature, promotes the decomposition of the woody fibres of the
straw.
4582. The preparation of the contents of the farm-yard for laying on the land, is by
turning it over ; or, what is preferable, carting it out to a dunghill. The operation of
carting out is usually performed during the frosts of winter : it is then taken to the
field in which it is to be employed, and neatly built in dunghills of a square form, three
or four feet high, and of such a length and breadth as circumstances may require.
What is laid up in this manner early in winter, is commonly sufficiently prepared for
turnips in June ; but if it be not carried from the straw-yards till spring, it is necessary to
turn it once or oftener, for the purpose of accelerating the decomposition of the strawey
part of the mass. When dung is applied to fallows in July or August, preparatory to
autumn sown wheat, a much less degree of putrefaction will suffice than for turnips :
a clay soil, on which alone fallows should ever be resorted to, not requiring dung so
much rotted as a finely pulverized turnip soil ; and besides, as the wheat does not need
all the benefit of the dung for some time, the woody fibre is gradually broken down in
the course of the winter, and the nourishment of the plants continued till spring, or
later, when its effects are most beneficial.
Book VI. FARM-YARD DUNG. V48
4583. In the application of farm-yard dung to land under tillage, particular attentioa
is paid to the cleanness of the soil ; and to use it at the time when, from the pulverisation
of the ground, it may be most intimately mixed with it. The mOst common time
of manuring with farm-yard dung is, therefore, either towards the conclusion of the
fallowing operations, or immediately before the sowing of fallow crops. If no dung
can be procured but what is made from the produce of the farm, it will seldom be
possible to allow more than ten or twelve tons to Qvery acre, when the land is managed
under a regular course of white and green crops ; and it is thought more advantageous
to repeat this dose at short intervals, than to give a larger quantity at once, and at a more
distant period in proportion. [General Report of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 517.) Farm-yard
dung, it is well known, is greatly reduced in value by being exposed to the atmosphere
in small heaps, previous to being spread, and still more after being spread. Its rich
juices are exhaled by the sun, or washed away by the rains, and the residuum is com-
paratively worthless. This is in an especial manner the case with long fresh dung, the
far greater part of which consists of wet straw in an entire state. All careful farmers,
accordingly, spread and cover in their dung with the plough, as soon as possible after it
is brought on the land.
4584. The use of fresh dung is decidedly opposite to the practice of the best farmers
of turnip soils ; its inutility, or rather injurious effects, from its opening the soil too
much, is a matter of experience with every one who cultivates drilled turnips on a large
scale. As the whole farm-yard dung, on such land, is applied to the turnip crop, it
must necessarily happen that it should be laid on in different stages of putrefaction ;
and what is made very late in spring, often after a very slight fermentation, or none at
all. The experience of the effect of recent dung is accordingly very general, and the
result, in almost every case, is, that the growth of the young plants is slow ; that they
remain long in a feeble and doubtful state j and that they seldom, in ordinary seasons,
become a full crop, even though twice the quantity that is given of short muck has been
allowed. On the other hand, when the manure is considerably decomposed, the effects
are immediate, the plants rise vigorously, and soon put forth their rough leaf, after
which, the beetle or fly does not seize on them; and in a few weeks, the leaves become,
so large, that the plants probably draw the greatest part of their nourishment from the
atmosphere. Though it were true, therefore, that more nutritive matter were given out
by a certain quantity of dung, applied in a recent state, and allowed to decompose
gradually in the soil, than if applied after undergoing fermentation and putrefaction,
the objection arising from the slowness of its operation, would, in many instances, be an
insuperable one with farmers. But there seems reason to doubt whether fresh strawey
manure would ferment much in the soil, after being spread out in so small a quantity as
has been already mentioned ; and also, whether, in the warm dry weather of summer,
the shallow covering of earth given by the plough would not permit the gaseous matters
to escape, to a much greater amount than if fermentation had been completed in a well
built covered dunghill.
4585. Another great objection to the use of fresh farm-yard dung is, that the seeds and
roots of those plants with which it commonly abounds, spring up luxuriantly on the
land ; and this evil nothing but a considerable degree of fermentation can obviate.
The mass of materials consists of the straw of various crops, some of the grains of
which, after all the care that can be taken, will adhere to the straw; of the dung of
different animals voided, as is often the case with horses fed on oats, with the grain
in an entire state ; and of the roots, stems, and seeds of the weeds that had grown among
the straw, clover, and hay, and such as had been brought to the houses and fold-yards
with the turnips and other roots given to live stock.
4586. The degree of decomposition to which farm-yard dung should arrive, before it can
be deemed a profitable manure, must depend on the texture of the soil, the nature of
the plants, and the time of its application. In general, clayey soils, as more tenacious
of moisture, and more benefited by being rendered incohesive and porous, may receive
manure less decomposed than well pulverised turnip soils require. Some plants, too,
seem to thrive better with fresh dung than others, potatoes in particular ; but all the
small-seeded plants, such as turnips, clover, carrots, &c. which are extremely tender in
the early stage of their growth, require to be pushed forward into luxuriant vegetation
with the least possible delay, by means of short dung.
4587. The season lohen manure is applied, is also a material circumstance. In spring
and summer, whether it be used for corn or green crops, the object is to produce an im-
mediate effect, and it should therefore be more completely decomposed than may be
necessary, when it is laid on in autumn for a crop whose condition will be almost
stationary for many months. {Sup. Ency. Brit. art. Agr.)
3 B 4
744 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt III.
SoBSECT. 2. Of Lime and its Management as a Manure.
4588. Lime is by far the most important of the fossile manures ; and indeed it may be
asserted that no soil will ever be fit for much, that does not contain a proportion of this
earth, either naturally or by artificial application. Next to farm-yard dung, lime is in
most general use as a manure, though it is one of a quite different character; and when
judiciously applied and the land laid to pasture, or cultivated for white and green crops
alternately, with an adequate allowance of putrescent manure, its effects are much
more lasting, and, in many instances, still more beneficial than those of farm-yard dung.
Fossil manures. Sir H. Davy observes, must produce their effect, either by becoming
a constituent part of the plant, or by acting upon its more essential food, so as to render
it more fitted for the purposes of vegetable life. It is, perhaps, in the former of these
ways, that wheat and some other plants are brought to perfection after lime has been
applied, upon land that would not bring them to maturity by the most liberal use of dung
alone. This being an established fact may be considered one of the greatest importance
to all cultivators.
4589. With regard to the quantity of lime that ought to be applied to different soils, it is
much to be regretted that Sir Humphrey Davy has not thought proper to enter fully
into the subject. Clays, it is well known, require a larger quantity than sands or dry
loams. It has been applied, accordingly, in almost every quantity from 100 to 500
bushels or upwards, per acre. About 160 bushels are generally considered a full dress-
ing for lighter soils, and 80 or 100 bushels more for heavy cohesive soils.
4590. In the application of lime to arable land, there are some general rules commonly
attended to by diligent farmers, which we shall give nearly in the words of a recent
publication.
1. As the effects of lime greatly depend on its intimate admixture with the surface soil, it is essential
to have it in a powdery state at the time it is applied.
2. Lime having a tendency to sink in the soil, it should be ploughed in with a shallow furrow.
3. Lime may either be applied to grass land, or to land in preparation for green crops or summer fallow,
with almost equal advantage ; but, in general, the latter mode of application is to be preferred.
4. Lime ought not to be applied a second time to moorish soils, unless mixed up as a compost, after
which the land should be immediately laid down to grass.
5. Upon fresh land, the effect of lime is much superior to that of dung, The ground, likewise, more
especially where it is of a strong nature, is more easily wrought; in some instances, it is said, the saving
of labor would be sufficient to induce a farmer to lime his land, were no greater benefit derived from the
application than the opportunity thereby gained of working it in a more perfect manner. (General Report
qf Scotland, vol. ii. p. 536.)
4591. In liming for improving hilly land, with a view to pasture, a much smaller quan-
tity has been found to produce permanent and highly beneficial effects, when kept as
much as possible near the surface, by being merely harrowed in with the seeds, after a
fallow or green crop, instead of being buried by the plough. As this is a matter of
much importance to farmers of such land, especially when lime must be brought from a
great distance, as was the case in the instance to which we are about to allude, the
successful practice of one of the most eminent farmers in Britain cannot be too generally
known. A few years after 1 154^ says Dawson, •' having a considerable extent of outfield
land in fallow, which I wished to lime previous to its being laid down to pasture, and
finding that I could not obtain a sufficient quantity of lime for the whole in proper time,
I was induced, from observing the effects of fine loam upon the surface of similar soil,
even when covered with bent, to try a small quantity of lime on the surface of this fallow,
instead of a larger quantity ploughed down in the usual manner. Accordingly in the
autumn, about twenty acres of it were well harrowed, and then about fifty-six Winchester
bushels only of unslacked lime were, after being slacked, carefully spread upon each
English acre, and immediately well harrowed in. As many pieces of the lime, which
had not been fully slacked at ^rst, were gradually reduced to powder by the dews and
moisture of the earth, to mix these with the soil, the land was again well harrowed in three
or four days thereafter. This land was sown in the spring with oats, with white and red
clover and rye-grass seeds, and well harrowed, without being ploughed again. The crop
of oats was good ; the plants of grass sufficiently numerous and healthy; and they formed
a very fine pasture, which continued good until ploughed some years after for corn.
About twelve years afterwards, I took a lease of the hilly farm of Grubbet ; many parts
of which, though of an earthy mould tolerably deep, were too steep and elevated to bes
kept in tillage. As these lands had been much exhausted by cropping, and were full of
couch-grass, to destroy that and procure a cover of fine grass, I fallowed them, and laid
on the same quantity of lime per acre, then harrowed, and sowed oats and grass seeds
in the spring exactly as in the last mentioned experiment. The oats were a full crop,
and the plants of grass abundant. Several of these fields have been now above thirty years
in pasture, and are still producing white clover, dnd other fine grasses ; no bent or fbg
has yet appeared upon them. It deserves particular notice, that more than treble
the quantity of lime was laid upon fields adjoining, of a similar soil, but which being
Book VI. COMPOSTS. 745
fitter for occasional tillage, upon them the lime was ploughed in. These fields were
also sown with oats and grass-seeds. The latter throve well and gave a fine pasture the
first year ; but afterwards the bent spread so fast, that, in three years, there was more of
it than of the finer grasses."
4.592. The conclusions which Dawson draws from his extensive practice in the use of
lime and dung, deserve the attention of all cultivators of similar land.
1. That animal dung dropped upon coarse, benty pastures, produces little or no improvement upon
them ; and that, even when sheep or cattle are confined to a small space, as in the case of folding, their
dung ceases to produce any beneficial effect, after a few years, whether the land is continued in pasture,
or brought under the plough.
2. That even when land of this description is well fallowed and dunged, but not limed, though the dung
augments the produce of the subsequent crop of grain, and of grass also for two or three years, that there-
alter its effects are no longer discernible either upon the one or the other.
3. That when this land is limed, if the lime is kept upon the surface of the soil, or well mixed with it,
and then laid down to pasture, the finer grasses continue in possession of the soil, even in elevated and
exposed situations, for a great many years, to the exclusion of bent and moss. In the case of Grubhet
hills, it was observed, that more than thirty years have now elapsed. Besides this, the dung of the
animals pastured upon such land adds every year to the luxuriance, and improves the quality of the
pasture ; and augments the productive powers of the soil when afterwards ploughed for grain ; thus pro-
ducing, upon a benty outfield soil, effects similar to what are experienced when rich infield lands have
been long in pasture, and which are thereby more and more enriched.
4. That when a large quantity of lime is laid on such land, and ploughed down deep, the same effects will
not be produced, whether in respect to the permanent fineness of the pasture, its gradual amelioration by
the dung of the animals pastured on it, or its fertility when afterwards in tillage. On the contrary, unless
the surface is fully mixed with lime, the coarse grasses will in a few years regain possession of the soil,
and the dung thereafter deposited by cattle will not enrich the land for subsequent tillage.
Lastly. It also appears from what has been stated, that the four shift husbandry is only proper for verjr
rich land, or in situations where there is a full command of dung. That by far the greatest part of the
land of this country requires to be continued in grass two, three, four, or more years, according to its
natural poverty; that the objection made to this, viz. that the coarse grasses in a few years usurp pos-
session of the soil, must be owing to the surface soil not being sufficiently mixed with lime, the lime
baving been covered too deep by the plough. {Fanner's Magazine, vol. xiii. p. 69.)
Sect. IV. Of Composts of Earth, Lime, and Dung.
4593. Mixing farm yard dung, in a stale of fermeyitation, with earth, in which there
is much inert vegetable matter; as the banks of old ditches, or what is collected from the
sides of lanes, &c., will bring this inert, dead matter, consisting of the roots of decayed
grasses and other plants, into a state of putridity and solubility, and prepare it for
nourishing the crops or plants it may be applied to, in the very manner it acts on peat.
Dung, however, mixed with earth, taken from rich arable fields which have been long
cultivated and manured, can have no effect as manure to other land that the same earth
and dung would not produce applied separately ; because there is generally no inert
matter in this description of earth to be rendered soluble.
4594. Mixing dung, earth, and quick-lime together, can never be advisable ; because
quick-lime will render some of the most valuable parts of the dung insoluble. (See 2223.)
It will depend on the nature of soil or earth, whether even quick-lime only should be
mixed with it to form compost. If there be much inert vegetable matter in the earth,
the quick-lime will prepare it for becoming food for the plants it may be applied to ; but
if rich earth be taken from arable fields, the bottoms of dung-pits, or, in fact, if any soil
full of soluble matter be used, the quick-lime will decompose parts of this soluble matter,
combine with other parts, and render the whole mass less nourishing as manure to plants
or crops, than before the quick-lime was applied to it. Making composts, then, of rich
soil ot this description, with dung or lime, mixed or separate, is evidently, to say no
more of it, a waste of time and labor. The mixtures of earths of this description with
dung produces no alteration in the component parts of the earth, where there is no inert
vegetable substances to be acted on ; and the mixture of earth full of soluble matter with
dung and quick-lime, in a mass together, has the worst effects, the quick-lime decom-
posing and uniting with the soluble matter of the earth, as well as that of the dung ;
thus rendering both, in every case, less efficient as manures, than if applied separately
from the quick-lime, and even the quick-lime itself inferior as manure for certain soils, than
if it had never been mixed with the dung and earth at all. {^Farmer^s Magazine, vol. xv.
p. .351.)
4595. Mixing dung in a state of fermentation ivith peat, or forming what in Scotland
are called meadow-bank middens (2177.) is a successful mode of increasing the quantity
of putrescent manure. The peat being dug and partially dried may either be carted
into the farm-yard and spread over the cattle court, there to remain till the whole is
carted out and laid upon a dunghill to ferment ; or it may be mixed up with the farm-
yard dung as carted out. If care be taken to watch the fermenting process, as the fire
of a clay kiln is watched, a few loads of dung may be made to rot many loads of peat.
Adding lime to such composts does not in the least promote fermentation, while it
renders the most valuable parts of the mass insoluble. Adding sand, ashes, or earth, by
tending to consolidate the mass, will considerably impede the progress of fermentation4
746
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
Chap. II.
Of the Culture of the Cereal Grasses,
4596. The com crops cultivated in Britain are, wheat, rye, barley, and oats.
Other culmiferous plants, as the maize, millet, and rice, have been tried with partial
success in warm districts, but they have no chance whatever of ever becoming general
in our climate.
4597. On the culture of culmiferous plants, a few general remarks may be of use to the
young farmer. Culmiferous plants, like most others, have two sets of roots. The first ori-
ginate with the germination of the grain, and are always under the soil, and are called
the seminal roots ; the second spring from the first joint which is formed above the sur-
face of the soil, and from that joint strike down into the soil ; these are called the coronal
roots. The coronal roots appear chiefly intended for drawing nourishment from the soil ;
and, as Professor Martyn has observed, are judiciously placed for this purpose, the richest
part of all soils being on or near the surface. These fibres are of larger diameter, more
succulent, and never so long as the seminal or tap-root. From these facts as to the
roots of culmiferous plants, some important hints may be derived as to their culture.
The use of stirring the surface in spring to facilitate the entrance of the coronal roots, is
obvious ; the immediate effect of a top-dressing is also apparent, and also that manures
may be ploughed in too deep to give the full amount of their beneficial effects to corn
crops or grasses. Sagret, a scientific French agriculturist, proved experimentally, that
where any of the grains or grasses are etiolated immediately after germination, by
growing too rapidly, or being sown too thick, or in too warm a season, the first joint
from which the coronal or nourishing roots spring, is raised above the ground, and in
consequence either throws out no roots at all, or so few, as to nourish it imperfectly, in
which case it either dies before it comes into flower, or before the seed is matured.
{Mem, de la Soc Jg. de Seine, torn, ii.)
4598. The nutritive products of the plants to be treated of in this section, are thus
given by Sir H. Davy.
Whole
1 Extract, |
Systematic Names.
English Names.
The quantity analysed, of each sort 1000 parts.
quantity
of soluble
or nutri-
tive mat-
ter.
Mucil.
age or
starch.
Saccha-
rine mat-
ter or
sugar.
Gluten
or albu-
men.
or matter I
rendered
insoluble
durmg
the oper-
ation.
Triticum hybernum
Middlesex wheat, average crop -
955
765
190
aestivum
Spring wheat ...
3Iildewed wheat of 1806
940
700
_
240
210
178
32
Blighted wheat of 1804
650
520
130
Thick-skinned Sicihan wheat of 1810 -
955
725
230
Thin-skinned Sicilian wheat of 1810 -
961
722
_
239
Wheat from Poland
950
750
200
North American wheat
955
730
225
Hordeum vulgare -
Norfolk barley
920
790
70
60
Avena sativa
Oats from Scotland
743
641
15
87
Secale cereale
Rye from Yorkshire ...
792
645
38
109
Sect. I. Wheat, — Triticum, L. Triandria digynia, L. and GraminecR, J. Fro-
ment, Fr. j Weitzen, Ger. ; and Grano, Ital.
4599. "Wheat is by far the most important of the cereal grasses, the flour made from its
grains or seeds, from the quantity of gluten it contains, making the best bread in the
■world. A greater proportion of mankind are nourished by rice than by wheat, but
there is no grain which comes near this species in its qualities for bread-making. Rice
and maize are comparatively unfit for it, and oats, barley, and rye but imperfectly so.
Rye, however, comes nearer to wheat in its bread-making qualities, than any other grain.
4600. Of what country wheat is a native, is totally unknown ; it has been supposed
of Asia and Africa, and unquestionably it is more likely to belong to these parts of the
world than any other; but all that can be advanced on this subject is conjecture.
Wheat, with the exception as it is said of some parts of the southern coast of Africa, is
cultivated in every part of the temperate and torrid zones, and in some places as high
as 2000 feet above the level of the sea. It has been cultivated from time immemorial in
Britain, but in few places at a greater elevation than 600 feet. Of course the elevation
to which any plant can be cultivated, always depends on the latitude of the situation.
4601. Species and varieties, ifg. 553.) Botanists reckon seven species of triticum,
which are or may be cultivated for their grains, besides many varieties and subvarieties
of those in common culture. The species or subspecies are.
1. Triticum aestivum. Summer wheat or spring wheat (a).
2. hybernum, Lammas wheat (6).
3. compositum, Egyptian wheat («).
4. turgidum, Turgid wheat (dQ.
5. Triticum polonicum, Polish wheat (e).
6. spelta. Spelt wheat (/).
7. monococcum, One-grained wheat [g).
Book VI
The first, second, fourth, and fifth sorts, are by many botanists considered as only va-
rieties, and it is doubtful whether the third and sixth may not be the same; the seventh
has all the marks of a distinct species, but it is very questionable whether, if much cul-
tivated, it would always continue to produce one row of grains.
4602. The spring or summer wheat (o) is distinguished from that generally sown, by its narrower ears,
longer beards, smaller grains, and shorter and more slender straw, and also, that it will not endure our
winters. It is commonly sown in April, or even so late as May. It was known to Parkinson in 1666, but
has never been much cultivated, excepting in Lincolnshire. It was tried and given up in Northumber-
land and Mid Lothian, and also in some counties near London. Many varieties of summer wheat were
transmitted a few years ago to the president of the Board of Agriculture from the Agricultural Society
of Paris, for the purpose of experiment, and were divided among several distinguished agriculturists,
{Communications to the Board of Agriculture, vol. vii. p. 11.) ; but there has not yet been time for estab.
lishing their comparative merits, or their adaptation to the climate of Britain. Summer, or as it is often
called, spring wheat, has however been long and extensively cultivated in some parts of England, par-
ticularly in Lincolnshire ; and it is probable may be found a valuable crop in the southern counties ; but
the trials that have been made in the north, do not seem to entitle it to a preference over winter wheat
sown in spring, or even oats or barley, in that climate. "
4603. Of the winter or common wheat (6), there are a great number of varieties. Professor Martyn, in
Miller's Dictionary, has described forty-nine sorts, and Professor Thaer speaks of a hundred, but affirms
that those who describe them know nothing about them, and in all probability include one sort
under different names. All the varieties may be reduced to two, the white, and the brown or red
grained. As subvarieties, there are the bearded and beardless, the woolly-chafFed, and thin or hairy
chaffed, both of the reds and whites. To these some add another variety, which is the spring-sowing
common wheat. It is stated by those who maintain that this variety exists, that through long sowing, the
progeny, after a number of generations, acquires a habit of coming earlier into blossom than seed from
winter-sown grain. This we think very likely, but are not aware that the variety is distinctly known by
any recognizable marks in the plants. The red or brown wheats are universally considered as more
hardy than the white, but as yielding an inferior flour : the woolly-white is supposed to yield the best
flour ; but woolly-chafFed wheats are considered as more liable to the mildew than any other.
4604. The Egyptian, or many-spiked wheat (c), the turgid grey pollard or duck-bill wheat (rf), and the
Polish wheat (c), may, for all agricultural purposes, be considered as only varieties of the common winter
wheat. They are cultivated in a few places in England, and seeds of them may be procured from the
public botanic gardens ; but they are in little estimation.
4605. Spelt wlieat {d), the epautre of the French, is known by its stout straw, whit'h is almost solid,
and by its strong spikes, with chaff partially awned, the awns long and stiff. The chaff adheres so close to
the grain as not to be separated without great difficulty. This grain, as we have seen, is a good deal
sown in the south of Europe. In France it is sown in spring, on land too coarse for common wheat, and
it ripens in July and August. It is the principal wheat sown in Suabia and the north of Switzerland ;
and is a good deal sown in Spain. The grain is light, and yields but little flour ; but it is said to contain
a larger portion of gluten than common wheat, and for that reason is recommended as superior to any
other in pastry and confectionary. It is not cultivated in Britain.
4606. The one-grained wheat (g) is known by its small thin spike, and single row of grains; the leaves
and straw are remarkably small, but very hard ; and the plants tiller remarkably. It is chiefly cultivated
in the mountainous parts of Switzerland, where its straw, like that of the former species, is much u.sed for
thatching. The grain makes a brown light bread ; but its great excellence, according to Villars, is for
gruel.
4607. To procure new varieties of wheats, the ordinary mode is to select from a field
a spike or spikes from the same stalk, which has the qualities sought for ; such as larger
grains, thinner chaff, stiffer straw, a tendency to earliness or lateness, &c. ; and picking
out the best grains from this ear or ears, to sow them in suitable soil in an open airy
part of a garden. When the produce is ripe, select the best ears, and from these the
best grains, and sow these, and so on till a bushel or more is obtained, which may then
be sown in a field apart from any other wheat. In this way, many of the varieties of
our common winter wheat have been obtained ; as the hedge-wheat which was reared
from the produce of a stalk found growing in a hedge in Sussex, by one Wood, about
1790. Other varieties have assumed their distinctive marks from having been long
cultivated on the same soil and climate, and take local names, as the Hertfordshire red,
Essex white, &c.
748 TRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
4608. Marshal (Yorkshire) mentions a case in which a man of accurate observation, having, in a piece
of wheat perceived a plant of uncommon strength and luxuriance, diffusing its branches on every side,
and setting its closely-surrounding neighbors at defiance, marked it ; and at harvest removed it sepa-
rately. The produce was 15 ears, yielding 604 grains of a strong-bodied liver-colored wheat, differing, in
general appearance, from every other variety he had seen. The chaff was smooth, without awns, and of
the color of the grain ; the straws stout and reedy. These 604 grains were planted singly, nine inches
asunder, filling about 40 square yards of ground, on a clover stubbie, the remainder of the ground being
sown with wheat in the ordinary way; by which means extraordinary trouble and destruction by birds
•were avoided. The produce was two gallons and a half weighing SO^lbs. of prime grain for seed, besides
some pounds for seconds. One grain produced 35 ears, yielding 1235 grains ; so that the second year's pro-
duce was sufficient to plant an acre of ground. What deters farmers from improvements of this nature is
probably the mischievousness of birds ; from which at harvest it is scarcely possible to preserve a small
patch of corn especially in a garden or other ground situated near a habitation ; but by carrying on the
improvement in a field of corn of the same nature, that inconvenience is got rid of In this situation,
however, the botanist will be apprehensive of danger from the floral farina of the surrounding crop.
But from what observations Marshal has made he is of opinion his fears will be groundless. No evil of
this kind occurred, though the cultivation of the above variety was carried on among white wheat.
4609, But the most systematic mode of procuring new varieties, is by crossing two sorts,
as in breeding : that is, by impregnating the female organs of the l)lossoms of one ear
with the fecundating matter or pollen of the male organs of the blossom of another
variety of a different quality. Thus, supposing a farmer wished to render a very good
variety which he was in the habit of cultivating somewhat earlier. Let him procure in
the blossoming season, from a very early soil, some spikes of an early sort just coming
into blossom, and let him put the ends of these in water and set them in the shade so
as to retard their fully blossoming till the plants he has destined to become the females
come into flower. Then let him cut out all the male organs of the latter before they have
advanced so far as to impregnate the stigma ; and having done this, let him dust the
stigma with the blossoming ears of the early or male parent. The impregnated stalks
must then be kept apart from other wheats so as the progeny may be true. When the
grains ripen, sow the best, and from the produce when ripe, select the earliest and finest
spikes for seed. Sow them and repeat the choice till a bushel or two of seed is pro-
cured. This operation has been successfully performed by T. A. Knight (1600.), and
though it may be reckoned loo delicate for farmers in general, it will be looked on by
the philosophical agriculturist as not improbably leading to as important results as has
attended the practice in the case of garden fruits and flowers.
4610. The propagation of wheat by transplanting may be employed to expedite the progress of cultivat-
ing a new variety of ascertained excellence. To shew what may be gained in time by this mode, we shall
quote from The Philosophical Transactions an account of an experiment made by C. Miller, son of the
celebrated gardener of that name, in 1766. On the 2nd of June, Miller sowed some grains of the common
ted wheat J and on the 8th of August, a single plant was taken up and separated into 18 parts, and each
part planted separately. These plants having pushed out several side shoots, by about the middle of
ted wheat J and on the 8th_of August, a single plant was taken up and separated into 18 parts, and each
jse plants having pushed out several side shi
September, some of them were then taken up and divided, and the rest of them between that time and
the middle of October. This second division produced 67 plants. These plants remained through the
•winter, and another division of them, made about the middle of March and the 12th of April, produced
500 plants. They were then divided no further, but permitted to remain. The plants were, in general,
stronger than any of the wheat in the fields. Some of them produced upwards of 100 ears from a single root.
Many of the ears measured seven inches in length and contained between 60 and 70 grains. The whole
number of ears which, by the process above-mentioned, were produced from one grain of wheat, was
21,109, which yielded three pecks and three quarters of clean corn, the weight of which was 47 lbs.
7 ounces ; and from a calculation made by counting the number of grains in an ounce, the whole number
of grains was about 386,840. By this account we find, that there was only one general division of the
plants made in the spring. Had a second been made. Miller thinks the number of plants would have
amounted to 2000 instead of 500, and the produce thereby been much enlarged.
4611. In making a choice from all the species and vaiieties which vee have named, the
thin-skinned white "wheats are preferred by all the best British farmers whose soil and
climate are suitable for this grain, and for sowing in autumn. In late situations, and
less favorable soils and climates, the red varieties are generally made choice of; and
these are also generally preferred for sowing in spring. Red wheats, however, are con •
sidered as at least fifteen per cent, less valuable than the white varieties. No sub-variety
ever continues very long in vogue ; nor is it fitting that it should, as degeneracy soon
takes place, and another and better is sought for as a successor. Hence the on'y re-
Commendation we can give as to the choice of subvarieties, is to select the best from
among those in use by the best farmers in the given situation, or nearest well-cultivated
district.
4612. The soils best adapted for the culture of wheat, are rich clays aiid heavy loams ;
but these are not by any means the only description of soils on which it is cultivated.
Before the introduction of turnips and clover, all soils but little cohesive were thought
quite unfit for wheat ; but even on sandy soils, it is now grown extensively, and with
much advantage after either of these crops. The greater part of the wheat crop
throughout Britain, however, is probably still sown upon fallowed land. When it
succeeds turnips consumed on the ground, or clover cut for hay or soiling, it is com-
monly sown after one ploughing ; but upon heavier soils, or after grass of two or more
years, the land is ploughed twice or three times, or receives what is called a rag fallow.
(Supp. Encyc. Brit. art. Agr.)
46 1 3. On rich days, wheat may be cultivated almost every second year, provided due care
Book VI. WHEAT. 749
is taken to keep the land clean, and in good condition. A summer fallow once in four,
six, or eight years, according to seasons and circumstances, is, however, necessary ; and
manure should either be apph'ed on that fallow for the first crop of wheat, or, what some
people think preferable, should be laid on the wheat-stubble for a crop of drilled beans,
which ensures the succeeding crop of wheat. If the first crop of beans has been com-
pletely cleaned, there is no difficulty of repeating, and even of extending the course ;
and the crops will be little inferior to those gained at the beginning of the rotation, pro-
vided manure has been bestowed to each crop of beans. In this way, when the ground
is fallowed every fourth year, two crops of wheat and one of beans are gained from
manuring once ; when fallowed every sixth year, three crops of wheat and two of beans
are gained from manuring twice ; and, when fallowed every eighth year, four crops of
wheat and three of beans from manuring thrice. In the first-mentioned shift, less
manure is bestowed than in any of the other two ; and if the soil is of good quality, it
will support itself; whereas, in the shifts of six and eight, unless foreign manure is pro-
cured, it rarely happens that they can go on successfully for any length of time, without
abstracting dung from other parts of the farm on which they are practised. [Brown's Tr.
on Rural Affairs.)
4614. In cultivating wheat on thin clays, the rotations just mentioned are inapplicable.
A six-course shift of a different kind has, however, been successfully followed by many-
people ; but it requires every branch of the work to be well executed. 1st, a summer
fallow, dunged at the rate of twelve or fourteen double loads per acre ; 2d, wheat ;
3d, grass; 4th, oats; 5th, pease and beans drilled; 6th, wheat. If manure can be
given in the middle of the shift, every one of the crops may be expected good ; but if
that is withheld, there will necessarily be a proportionable ialling off in the two last
crops. Husbandmen must, however, regulate their practice according to their means ;
though it deserves to be remarked, that, if greater attention were paid to the collecting of
materials which ultimately are converted into manure, many deficiencies in the article
would be fully supplied. {Brown )
4615. Excellent wheat may be grown on light soils, with the exception of soft' sands.
Such soils, however, are not constitutionally disposed to the growth of that grain ; nor
will they, under any management, bear such a frequent repetition of it as those already
mentioned. Summer fallow on them may safely be dispensed with ; because a crop of
turnips, which admits every branch of the cleaning process to be more perfectly executed
than even a naked or bare fallow does, may be profitably substituted. Wheat here comes
in with propriety after turnips, though, in general cases, it must be sown in the spring
months, unless the turnips are stored ; in which case, it may be sown in November, or it
may be sown after clover, for the fourth crop after the rotation ; or in the sixth year, as a
way-going crop, after drilled pease and beans, if the rotation is extended to that length.
But, take it any way, it is scarcely possible to raise wheat so extensively upon light soils,
even where they are of the richest quality, as is practicable upon clays ; nor will a crop
of equal bulk upon the one, return so much produce in grain as may be got from the
other. To enlarge upqn this point would only serve to prove what few husbandmen
will dispute, though, it may be added, that, on thin sands, wheat ought not to be ven-
tured, unless they are either completely clayed or marled, as it is only with the help of
these auxiliaries that such a soil can gain stamina capable of producing wheat with any
degree of success. (Brown. )
4616. The culture of the soil intended fur wheat varies according to its nature, and the
preceding and following crops. " On soils really calculated for wheat, though in dif-
ferent degrees, summer fallow is the first and leading step to gain a good crop or crops of
that grain. The first furrow should be given before winter, or so early as other operations
upon the farm will admit ; and every attention should be used to go as deep as possible ;
for it rarely happens that any of the succeeding furrows exceed the first one in that re-
spect. The number of after-ploughings must be regulated by the condition of the
ground and the state of the weather; but, in general, it may be observed, that plough-
ing in length and across, alternately, is the way by which the ground will be most com-
pletely cut, and the intention of fallowing accomplished. It has been argued, that
harrowing clay soils, when summer fallowed, is prejudicial to the wheat crop ; but,
without discussing this point (such a discussion being unnecessary!, it may merely be
stated, that, in a dry season, it is almost impracticable to reduce real clays, or to work
them too small ; and that, even in a wet one, supposing they are made surface-smooth,
they will, when ploughed up again, consolidate into clods or big lumps after forty-eight
hours' drought, and become nearly as obdurate as ever. It is only on thin soils, which
have a mixture of peat earth, and are incumbent on a bottom impervious to water, that
damage is at any time sustained by over harrowing. Such are generally of a weak tex-
ture, and may be broken down with facility by the roller and harrow. If caught by
much rain before the pores are in some measure closed, the moisture is greedily ab-
sorbed; and being prevented from going downwards by the hardness of the subsoil, the
750 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
whole surface becomes a kind of mortar or paste, unless previously well ridged up;
which, to a certain extent, prevents the consequences from being dangerous. These
evils, however, must be submitted to by the possessors of such soils, if they want to have
them sufficiently fallowed and prepared in a proper manner ; for, without reducing
them, couch-grass, and especially moss, with which they are commonly stored, can-
not be eradicated. If they are reduced in the early part of the season, the danger is
small ; but to break them down in the latter part ought always to be avoided, unless called
for by imperious necessity.
4617. When wheat is sbwn after beans, it rarely happens, in this northern climate, that
more than one ploughing can successfully be bestowed. Before this is given, it is ad-
vantageous to cross-harrow the land, which levels the drills, and permits the ploughing
process to be executed with precision. Almost in every case, the ridges should be ga-
thered up, so that the furrows may be well cleared out, and the plants preserved from
injury during the inclement winter season. Clover land should be neatly ploughed,
and well laid over, so that the roots of the grasses may be buried and destroyed ; for it
frequently happens, that crops of wheat after clover and rye-grass, are greatly injured
by inattention to the ploughing process. In short, sowing wheat after clover may be
<ipnsidered as the most hazardous way in which that grain can be cultivated. (Brown s
Tr. on Rural Affairs.)
4618. The manures best calculated for wheat, are allowed by all agricultural chemists
to be animal matters and lime. The former has a direct influence in supplying that essen-
tial constituent to wheaten flour, gluten ; and the latter azote and lime, both actually found
in the straw of wheat. At all events, it is certain wheat will not thrive on any soil that
does not contain lime. In this, Sir H. Davy, Chaptal, Professor Thaer, and Grisen-
thwaite fully agree.
4619. A more abundant suppli/ of manure is generally required for wheat than for any
other grain. Professor Thaer says it absorbs more nourishment from the soil than any of
the corn tribe; and he calculates (hypothetically, as he allows that for every 100 parts of
■nutriment in a soil sown with this grain, 40 will be carried off by the crop. {Principes
Raisonnee, tom. iv. art. Froment. ) At the same time too large a dose of manure on land
in good tilth is very apt to cause the crop to lodge; and hence some people think it im-
proper to dung rich clays or loams when fallowed, and choose rather to reserve that
restorative till the succeeding season, when they are prepared for a crop of drilled beans.
Delaying the manuring process for a year is attended with many advantages ; because
good land, fully wrought, contains such a principle of action within itself, as often causes
the first wheat crop to be lodged before it is filled; under which circumstance, the produce
is diminished both in quantity and quality. This delay in manuring is, however, attended
v/ith disadvantages; because, when dung is kept back till the end of autumn or beginning
of winter, to be laid on the stubbles, the weather is often so wet that it cannot be carted on
without subjecting the land to injury from poaching, whilst the labor in laying it on is
also increased. On thin clays, or even upon soils of the other description not in high
condition, there can be no doubt but that the end of summer, and upon summer fallow,
is the most proper time for manuring them, though it will be found that an improvident
expenditure of dung, on such occasions, ought always to be steadily avoided. [Brown.)
4620. Where manure is abundant, wheat alternating with a green crop, or indeed, any
corn crop and a green crop may be grown alternately for any length of time. (Farm.
Mag, vol. xxiii. p. 298.)
4621. The climate required to bring wheat to perfection must be such as affords a dry
and warm season for the blossoming of the ear, and the ripening of the grain. Wheat
will endure a great deal of cold during winter, if sown in a dry or well drained soil ; and
if it be covered with snow. Hence it is that wheat is sown as far north as Petersburgh
and in Sweden. Moderately moist weather before the flowering season, and after the
grain is set or formed, is favorable to wheat ; but continued heavy rains after the flowering
season produces the smut. The dry frosty winds of February and March, and even
April in some districts, are more injurious to the wheats of Britain than any other de-
scription of weather. Hoarfrosts, when the plant is in the ear, produce blights ; and
mildews often result from or follow sultry winds and fogs. Cold, in the blossoming and
ripening season in July, even unaccompanied by wind or rain, produces an inferior grain,
greatly deficient in gluten ; and heat the contrary. The most valuable wheat of Europe
in this respect, is that of Sicily ; which Sir H. Davy found to contain much more gluten
than the best wheat of Britain.
4622. The season of sowing wheat on clays is generally the latter end of autumn ; but
on early turnip soils it is sown after clover or turnips, at almost every period from the be-
ginning of September till the middle of March ; but the far greater part is sown in Sep-
tember and October. For summer wheat in the southern districts, May is sufficiently
early, but in the north, the last fortnight of April is thought a more eligible seed-time. In
the cultivation of spring-sown winter wheat, it is of importance to use the produce of
Book VI. WHEAT. 751
spring- sown grain as seed, as the crop of such grain ripens about a fortnight earlier than
when the produce of the same wheat winter-sown is employed as spring seed. (Encyc.
Brit. art. Ag)-.)
4623. Seed wheat is prepared for sowing by the process called pickling. According to
Brown i Treatise on Rural Affairs, art. Wheat), this process is indispensably necessary on
every soil ; otherwise smut, to a greater or less extent, will, in nine cases out of ten, as-
suredly follow. Though almost all practical farmers are agreed as to the necessity of
pickling, yet they are not so unanimous as to the modus ojjerandi of the process, and the
article which is best calculated to answer the intended purpose. Stale urine may be consider-
ed as the safest and surest pickle ; and where it can be obtained in a sufficient quantity, is
commonly resorted to. The mode of using it does not, however, seem to be agreed upon ;
for, while one party contends that the grain ought to be steeped in the urine, another party
considers it as sufficient to sprinkle the urine upon it. Some, again, are advocates for a
pickle made of salt and water, sufficiently strong to buoy up an egg, in which the grain
is to be thoroughly steeped. But whatever difference of opinion there may be as to the
kind of pickle that ought to be used, and the mode of using it, all admit the utility of mix-
ing the wetted seed with hot lime, fresh slaked ; and this, in one point of view, is abso-
lutely necessary, so that the seed may be equally distributed. It may be remarked, that
experience justifies the utility of all these modes, provided they are attentively carried
into execution. There is some danger from the first ; for if the seed steeped in urine is
not immediately sown, it will infallibly lose its vegetative power. The second, viz. sprink-
ling the urine on the seed seems to be the safest, if performed by an attentive hand ; whilst
the last may do equally well, if such a quantity of salt be incorporated with the water, as to
render it of sufficient strength. It may also be remarked, that this last mode is oftener
accompanied with smut, owing no doubt to a deficiency of strength in the pickle ; whereas
a single head with smut is rarely discovered when urine has been used.
4624. A new mode of preparing wheat for sowing has recently been adopted in the south
of Scotland and followed with great success. It is thus described : " Take four vessels,
two of them smaller than the other two, the former with wire bottoms, and of a size to con-
tain about a bushel of wheat, the latter large enough to hold the smaller within them. Fill
one of the large tubs with water, and, putting the wheat in the small one, immerse it in the
water and stir and skim off the grains that float above, and renew the water as often as is ne-
cessary, till it comes off almost quite clean. Then raise the small vessel in which the wheat
is contained, and repeat the process with it in the other large tub, which is to be filled with
stale urine; and in the meantime wash more wheat in the water tub. When abundance
of water is at hand, this operation is by no means tedious; and the wheat is much more
effectually cleansed from all impurities, and freed more completely from weak and un-
healthy grains and seeds of weeds, than can be done by the winnowing machine. When
thoroughly washed and skimmed, let it drain a little, then empty it on a clear floor or
in the cart that is to take it to the field, and sift quick-lime upon it, turning it over and
mixing it with a shovel, till it be sufficiently dry for sowing." {Sup. E. Brit. art. Agr.)
4625. The quantity (f seed necessary depends both on the time of sowing and the
state of the land ; land sown early requiring less than the same land when sown in
winter or spring ; and poor land being at all times allowed more seed than the rich.
The quantity accordingly varies from two bushels or less, to three, and sometimes even to
four bushels per EngUsh statute acre. Winter wheat, when sown in spring, ought al-
ways to have a liberal allowance, as the plants have not time to tiller much without un-
duly retarding their maturation. (Supp. &c. ) Upon well prepared lands, if the seed
be distributed equally, it can scarcely be sown too thin ; perhaps two bushels per acre
are sufficient ; for the heaviest crops at autumn are rarely those which shew the most
vigorous appearance through the winter months. Bean stubbles require more seed than
summer fallows ; because the roughness of their surface prevents such an equal distribu-
tion ; and clover layers ought to be still thicker sown than bean stubbles. Thin sowing in
spring ought not to be practised, otherwise the crop will be late, and imperfectly ripened.
{Brown.)
4626. The modes of sowing wheat are either hroad-csLSt, drilling, ribbing, or dibbling.
The first mode is by far the most general, and the seed is for the most part covered by
the harrows. No more harrowing. Brown observes, should be given to fields that have
been fallowed, than what is necessary to cover the seed, and level the surface sufficiently.
Ground which is to lie in a broken down state through the winter, suffers severely when
an excessive harrowing is given, especially if it is incumbent on a close bottom ; though,
as to the quantity necessary, none can give an opinion, except those who are personally
present.
4627. Ploughing in. Many farmers allege that wheat which is harrowed in is apt to
be thrown out in spring ; or if not thrown out at that season, that it does not tiller well,
and that the stalks are apt to dwindle away and fall down in the flowering season. It is
certain that this is the case in many parts of England ; and the cause assigned by the
752 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
northern farmers is the defective manner in which the land is ploughed, by which there is
not sufficient covering for the seed. To guard against these evils it is a very general
practice in most of the southern counties, wlien wheat is sown broad-cast, to plough it in
with a shallow furrow. This is done even after beans and on clover leys, and is a favorite
practice on very opposite soils, as in Norfolk and Middlesex.
4628. Drilling, however, is extensively practised in some districts, and is becoming more general on lands
infested with the seeds of annual weeds, especially when sown in spring. A machine which sows at three
different intervals, according to the judgment of the farmer, of twelve, ten and a half, or nine inches,
is much approved of in the northern districts. It deposits six, seven, or eight rows at once, according as
it is adjusted to one or other of these intervals, and the work is done with ease and accuracy when the
ridges are previously laid out of such a breadth, twelve and a half feet, as to be sown by one bout; the
machine going along one side of such a ridge, and returning on the other, and its direction being guided by
.one of its wheels, which thus always runs in the open furrow between the ridges. If the ten and a half inch
interval be adopted, and it is the most common one in that country, the machine sows seven rows at once,
or fourteen rows on a ridge of twelve feet and a half. But the space between the rows varies in some parts
still more than this machine admits of; it ought not, however, to be so narrow as to prevent hand hoeing,
even after the crop has made considerable progress in growth j and it cannot advantageously be so wide as
to admit the use of any eiFective horse-hoe.
4629. Ribbing is a mode of sowing common in some jilnces, by which a drill machine is
dispensed with, though the same purpose is nearly answered. This is what is called
ribbing, which we have already adverted to in the section on tillage. The seed is scatter-
ed with the hand in the usual broad-cast manner, but as it necessarily falls for the most
part in the furrows between the ribs, the crop rises in straight parallel rows, as if it had
been sown by a drill machine ; after sowing the ribs are levelled by harrowing across
them. This plan has nearly all the advantages of drilling in so far as regards exposure
to the rays of the sun, and the circulation of air among the plants ; but as some plants
must always rise between the rows, it is not quite so proper when horse-hoeing is required.
{Sup. E. Brit.)
4630. The dibbling of wheat is practised in some parts of Norfolk. The furrow is laid
over flat, and a row of holes is made along the middle of each by a man who uses a dib-
ber in each hand. A middling workman will make four holes in a second. One dibbler
is sufficient for three droppers; whence one man and three children are called a set. The
dibbler carries on three flags or turned furrows ; going on some yards upon one of the
outside furrows, and returning upon the other, after which he takes the middle one ; and
thus keeps his three droppers constantly employed ; and at the same time is in no danger
of filling up the holes with his feet. The droppers put in two or three grains of wheat
into each hole ; but much time and patience is necessary to teach them to perform the
business properly and quickly. An expert dibbler will hole half an acre in a day ;
though one-third of an acre is usually reckoned a good day's work. The seed is covered
by means of a bush harrow ; and from one bushel to six pecks is the usual quantity for
an acre; Notwithstanding the advantages of saving seed, as well as some others which
are generally reckoned undeniable, it is asserted by some very judicious farmers, that
dibbling of wheat on the whole is not really a profitable practice. It is particularly said
to be productive of weeds unless dibbled very thick : which indeed may probably be the
case as the weeds are thus allowed a greater space to vegetate in. Marshal is of opinion,
that the dibbling of wheat appears to be peculiarly adapted to deep rich soils, on which
three or four pecks dibbled early may spread sufficiently for a full crop ; whereas light,
weak, shallow soils, which have lain two or three years, and have become grassy, require
an additional quantity of seed, and consequently an addition of labor, otherwise the plants
are not able to reach each other, and the grasses of course find their way up between
them, by M'hich means the crop is injured and the soil rendered foul. If a single grain
of good size and sound, could be dropt in each hole and no more, there might be an ad-
vantage in dibbling where it could be accomplished at a moderate rate ; but where two or
three grains are put in each hole, and often six or eight, the source of profit is diminished
or destroyed by twofold means ; first, by using too much seed ; and secondly, because
three or four grains springing out of one hole will not make such a strong plant or stool
as one sound grain. The only way in which we can conceive dibbling likely to answer
is by the use of a machine such as that invented by Plunkett (2469. ;, but which never
came into use. To attempt dibbling either wheat or beans by hand on a large scale, we
consider as quite unsuitable for the present improved state of agriculture.
4631. The after culture of wheat, or culture of the growing crop, depends on the man-
ner in which it has been sown. When wheat is sown broad-cast, the subsequent culture
must generally be confined to harrowing, rolling, and hand-hoeing. As grass seeds are
frequently sown in spring on winter-sown wheat, the harrows and roller are employed to
loosen the soil, and cover the seeds. But these operations, to a certain extent, and at the
proper season, are found beneficial to the wlieat crop itself, and are sometimes performed
even when grass seeds are not to be sown. One or two courses of harrowing penetrate the
crust which is formed on tenacious soils, and operate like hand-hoeing in raising a fresh
mould to the stems of the young plants. Rolling in spring ought never to be omitted on
dry porous soils, which are frequently left in so loose a state by the winter frosts, that the
Book VI. WHEAT. 753
roots quit the soil and perish ; and if the land be rough and cloddy, the roller has a still
more beneficial effect than the harrows in pulverising the inert masses, and extending the
pasture of the plants. Hand-weeding, so far as to cut down thistles and other long
weeds, is never neglected by careful farmers ; but the previous culture ought to leave as
little as possible of this work to be done when the crop is growing. (Supp. )
4632. JV/ieti wheat has been drilled, ribbed, or dibbled, the intervals may be hoed or
stirred either by hand-hoes, common or pronged, or by horse-hoes, or drill harrows.
In general, the drill used at sowing, will by the changes it admits of in its double
character of drill and horse-hoe, be the best to use for hoeing or stirring. Or if a single
drill should have been used, the expanding horse-hoe, or Blakie's inverted horse-hoe,
may be successfully adopted. The operation of hoeing or stirring should generally be
performed in March, and need not be repeated. When grass-seeds are to be sown
among the wheat, the hoeing is an excellent mode of covering them. Weeding the rows
should not be neglected, nor delayed later than the beginning of June.
4633 . IVhere rvheats rise too thin in some places, and too thick in others, whether in rows or
broad-cast, the'practice of transplanting from the latter to the former has been recommended.
This is said to be practised occasionally in Essex and Norfolk, and the time is the end of
March. To be attended with success the soil must be in a good state, and the blanks to
which the plants are to be transplanted, must be stirred up with a trowel or small two-
pronged fork. Under such circumstances we have no doubt of the plan being attended
with success ; but we are certain that without stirring the soil, the operation will not pay
for the expense. Blanks are sometimes filled up by sowing summer wheat, dibbling
beans, &c, but these are obviously bad modes ; a better is either to stir the soil well, and
encourage the tillering of the plants, or to stir the soil and then trainsplant.
4634. Top dressing wheat crops has been recommended, in cases where the land is not
in a sufficient state of fertility or preparation to bring the crops to perfection. Substances
cf both the solid and fluid kinds have been made use of for this purpose; the first
consist chiefly of the dung of different sorts of birds after being brought into a powdery
state, bone dust, soot, peat ashes, and various saline matters. The latter are prin-
cipally the drainings of dunghills and other similar liquid materials. The former
should be thinly sown over the crop with as much evenness as possible, as early
in the spring as horses can be admitted upon the land without injury ; and iif it can be
done when the weather is inclined to be moist, it is the better, a roller may then be
passed over the crop with advantage. Where the latter substances are made use of, care
should always be taken that the plants be not injured by having too large a quantity
applied to them. In this practice the expense should be a primary consideration, and
small trials first made where dungs have not been used. The proper season for perform-
ing the business is the beginning of February.
4635. When wheat appears too forward and luxuriant, it is sometimes eat down in April,
with sheep or even with horses, but this requires great judgment to be effected without
injuring the crop.
4636. In harvesting wheat, the best farmers both of Britain and the continent agree,
that it ought to be cut before it become dead ripe. When the latter is the case, the loss is
considerable, both in the field and stack-yard, and the grain, according to Professor Thaer,
produces aless white flour. In ascertaining the proper state. Brown observes, it is ne-
cessary to discriminate betwixt the ripeness of the straw, and the ripeness of the grain ;
for, in some seasons, the straw dries upwards ; under which circumstance, a field, to the
eye, may appear to be completely fit for the sickle, when, in reality, the grain is imper-
fectly consolidated : and perhaps not much removed from a milky state. Though it is
obvious that, under such circumstances, no further benefit can be conveyed from the root,
and that nourishment is withheld the moment that the roots die ; yet it does not follow,
that grain so circumstanced should be immediately cut : because, after that operation
is performed, it is in a great measure necessarily deprived of every benefit from tlie sun
and air, both of which have greater influence in bringing it to maturity, so long as it re-
mains on foot, than when cut down, whether laid on the ground, or bound up in sheaves.
The state of the weather at the time also deserves notice ; for, in moist, or even variable
weather, every kind of grain, when cut prematurely, is more exposed to damage than when
completely ripened. All these things will be studied by the skilful husbandman, who
will also take into consideration the dangers which may follow, were he to permit his wheat
crop to remain uncut till completely ripened. The danger from wind will not be lost
sight of, especially if the season of the equinox approaches ; even the quantity dropped in
the field, and in the stack»yard, when wheat is over ripe, is an object of consideration.
Taking all these things into view, it seems prudent to have wheat cut before it is
fully ripe, as less damage will be sustained from acting in this way than by avoiding
acontrary practice.
4637. The mode of reaping wheat is almost universally by the sickle. When cut, it is
usually tied up in sheaves, which it is better to make so small as to be done by bands the
3C
754 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
length of the straw, than so thick as to require two lengths to be joined for bands. The
sheaves are set up in shocks or stocks, each containing in all twelve, or if the straw be long,
fourteen sheaves. In the latter case, two rows of six sheaves are made to stand in such a
manner as to be in contact at the top, though in order to admit the circulation of air they
are placed at some distance below : along this line, two sheaves more are placed as a cover-
ing, the corn end of both being towards the extremities of the line. In a few days of good
weather the crop is ready for the barn or stack-yard. In the stack-yard it is built either
in oblong or circular stacks, sometimes on frames supported with pillars to prevent the
access of vermin, and to secure the bottom from dampness ; and as soon afterwards as
possible the stacks are neatly thatched. When the harvest weather is so wet as to render
it difficult to prevent the stacks from heating, it has been the practice to make funnels
through them, a large one in a central and perpendicular direction, and small lateral ones
to communicate with it. In the best cultivated counties the use of large barns for holding
the crop is disapproved of, not only on account of the expense, but because corn keeps
better, or is less exposed to damage of any kind in a well-built stack.
4638. The threshing of wheat, before machines for that purpose were introduced, was
an arduous and difficult task. The expense was very considerable, whilst the severity of
the labor almost exceeded the power of the strongest man, especially in unfavorable
seasons, when the grain adhered pertinaciously to the ear, and could not, without difficul-
ty, be completely loosened and removed. In such seasons, expense was the smallest
consideration which influenced the husbandman ; it was the quantity of grain unavoid-
ably lost which occupied his attention ; and, as it appeared difficult to find out a remedy,
most people considered it as an evil which could scarcely be avoided. In short, the loss
was great in almost every case, but greater with wheat than any other grain. Every
thing of this nature, however, may be prevented, now that threshing machines are
introduced, provided the feeder is careful, and proportions the quantity on the board to
the strength of the impelling power. Wheat, in fact, is now the cleanest threshed grain ;
because the length of the straw allows it to be properly beat out before it passes the
machine, which sometimes is not the case with short oats and barley. If horses are used
as the impelling power, thin feeding is necessary, otherwise the animals may be injured ;
but where wind or water is employed, the business of threshing is executed speedily,
completely, and economically. (Brown.)
4639. In performing the operation one man feeds the grain in the straw into the machine, and is assisted
by two half-grown lads, or young women, one of whom pitches or carries the sheaves from the boy close to
the threshing-stage, while the other opens the bands of every sheaf, and lays the sheaves successively on
a small table close bv the feeder, who spreads them evenly on the feeding stage, that they may be drawn
in successively by the fluted rollers, to undergo the operation of threshing. In the opposite end of the
barn or straw-house, into which the rakes or shakers deliver the clean threshed straw, one man forks up
the straw from the floor to the straw-mow, and two lads, or young women, build it and tread it down. In
a threshing-machine, worked by water or wind, this is the whole expense of hand labor in the threshing
part of the operation, and as a powerful machine can easily thresh from two to three hundred bushels of
grain in a working day of nine hours, the expense is exceedingly small indeed. Assuming two hundred
and fifty bushels as an average of the work of these people for one day, and their wages to.be nine shillings,
xpense does not amount to one halfpenny for each
grain threshed to one hundred and fifty bushels, the easy work of a good machine of inferior size and
the expense does not amount to one halfpenny for each bushel of grain. Even reducing the quantity of
power, the expense does not exceed three farthings the bushel. But the whole of this must not be
charged against the threshing only, the grain being half dressed at the same time, by passing through one
winnowing-machine, which is always attached to a complete threshing-mill ; and where a second can be
conveniently connected with it, as is commonly the case if the mill be of considerable power, the corn
comes down nearly ready for market. So that the threshing, dressing, and building of the straw, with the
use of a powerful water-mill, will scarcely cost more than dressing alone when the flail Is employed ; after
every reasonable allowance for the interest of money, and the tear and wear of the machine.
4649. When grain is threshed with a ?nackine worked by horses, the expense is necessarily and consider-
ably enhanced. One capable of effecting the larger quantity of work, already calculated on, will require
eight good horses, and a man to drive them, who may perhaps require the aid of a boy. The value of
the work of eight horses for a day cannot be less than forty shillings, and the wages of the driver may be
called two shillings and sixpence. Hence the total expense of threshing two hundred and fifty bushels
will amount to 21. 2s. 6d. ; or about two-pence per bushel, when the wages of the attendants are added ;
still leaving a considerable difference in favor of threshing by the machine, in preference to the flail.
"Were it even ascertained that the expense of threshing by horses and by the flail is nearly the same,
horse-mills are to be recommended on other accounts ; such as better threshing, expedition, little risk of
pilfering, &c.
4641. The produce oj" ivheat mus,t of course vary according to the soil, climate, cul-
ture, and kind grown. Professor Thaer says, that in general it gives double the v/eight
of straw that it does of grain ; on elevated grounds something less; and on low grounds
something more. An acre, therefore, which produces four quarters of wheat, weighing
sixty-one pounds per bushel, ought to produce about 177^ cwt. of straw ; two load, or
22§ cwt., however, is only reckoned a tolerable crop in this country. The yield of grain
in some seasons has been under twenty ; while in others it is upwards of thirty bushels
the acre, the soil and culture being in every respect the same. The average produce
of Britain has been estimated at three, three and a half, and four quarters ; and one of
the largest crops ever heard of, at ten quarters, and the least at one and a half quarter.
The proportion which the corn bears to the straw, in Middlesex, is eleven and a half
bushels to a load of thirty-six truss of thirty-six pounds each, or eleven and a half cwt..
Book VI. WHEAT. 755
no great deviation from Professor Thaer's general estimate, a bushel of wheat weighing
about six or six and a half cwt.
4642. Tojudgeof a sample of wheat, examine by the eye whether the grain be perfectly
fed or full, plump and bright, and whether there be any adulteration proceeding from
sprouted grains, smut, or the seeds of weeds ; and by the smell, whether there be any
improper impregnation, and whether it has been too much heated in the mow, or upon
the kiln ; and finally, by the feel, to decide if the grain be sufficiently dry, as when
much loaded with moisture it is improper for the uses of the miller and baker. In cases
where a sample handles coarse, rough, and does not slip readily in the hand, it may be
concluded not to be in a condition either for grinding or laying up for keeping.
4643. The yield of wheat injlour is, on an average, thirteen pounds of flour to fourteen
pounds of grain. In the chemical analysis of wheat, Sir Humphry Davy found that
one hundred parts of good full-grained wheat, sown in autumn, yielded of starch seventy-
seven, and of gluten nineteen. One hundred parts of wheat sown in spring, seventy of
starch, and twenty-four of gluten. American wheats he found to contain more gluten
than the British ; and in general the wheat of warm climates he found abounded more
in gluten and in insoluble parts, and of greater specific gravity, harder and more difficult
to grind.
4644. The uses of wheat in the baking, culinary, and confectionary arts are well known.
It is also used for making starch, by steeping the grain and then beating it in hempen bags.
The mucilage is thus mixed with the water, produces the acetous fermentation, and the
weak acid thus formed renders the mucilage white. After settling, the precipitate is
repeatedly washed, and then moulded into square cakes, and kiln dried. In drying the
cakes separate into flakes, as in the starch of the shops. Starch is soluble in hot water,
but not in cold ; and hence, when ground down, it makes an excellent hair-powder.
Its constituents arej carbon, 43'55; oxygen, 49*68 ; and hydrogen, 6*77 = 100.
4645. The uses of wheat-straw are various, and well known ; as fodder it is, according
to Professor Thaer, the most nourishing of any ; and it makes the best thatch : it is
generally preferred for litter, though rye and barley-straw are softer ; it is used for
making bee-hives, horse-collars, mattrasses, huts, boxes, baskets, and all kinds of what
is called Dunstable work ; for the cider press, and, among other things, for burning, to
procure potash form the ashes. The straw of wheat, from dry chalky lands, is manu-
factured into hats both for men and women. For this purpose, the middle part of the
tube, above the last joint, is taken, and being cut into a length of eight or ten inches, is
split in two. These splits are then plaited, by females and children, into various kinds
of plait or ribbands, from half an inch to an inch broad : these, when sewed together ac-
cording to fancy or fashion, form different descriptions of ladies' bonnets, and the com-
moner plait and coarser straw of mens' hats. The hats are whitened by being placed
in the vapor of sulphur. Leghorn hats are made from the straw of a bearded variety of
wheat, which some have confounded with rye. It is cultivated on the poorest sandy
soils in the neighborhood of the Arno, between Leghorn and Florence, expressly for
this manufacture. It is of humble growth, and not above eighteen inches high ; is
pulled up when green, and bleached white, by spreading and watering on the gravelly
banks of the Arno. The straws are not split ; but in other respects the manufacture
into ribbands is the same as at Dunstable in England.
4646. The diseases of wheat are the rust, smut, or black mildew, the latter including
what is vulgarly called blight. These have been already treated of in our view of the
vegetable economy, and we shall merely offer a few practical observations on the smut
and mildew. In whatever manner the snmt may be transmitted from the seed pickle in
the ground to the ear, it seems certain that, in general, the proximate cause of smut is
the infection of the seed by the dust of the smut-ball (Li/coperdon globosum); and that,
though the most careful washing, even with the application of caustics, may not, in every
case, insure against smut; yet, if the seed be prepared in the way already mentioned,
the disease will never prevail to such a degree as to effect materially the value of the
crop. This is all that cultivators need to know, and all, perhaps, in the present state ot
science, that can be known, of the cause and prevention of smut.
4647. M/Wctw is a much more destructive distemper than smut, and, as it is probably occasioned by a
peculiar state of the atmosphere during the periods of flowering and ripening, lit is likely to baffle all at
tempts at prevention. The prevalence of heavy fogs, or mist, drizzling rains and sudden changes in the
temperature, have been assigned as the causes of mildew ; and as it has been found, that open airy expo-
sures are much less affected than low sheltered lands, in years when mildew prevails most generally, the
disorder may perhaps be somewhat diminished by drilling, which admits a freer circulation of air.
Spring or summer wheat is less liable to mildew than the winter species, though it does not always escape.
Minute parasitical fungi are commonly detected on the straw of mildewed wheat ; and there cannot be the
least doubt that the barberry bush and probably several other shrubs, on which these fungi abound, have
a powerful influence in communicating the disease to a certain distance. {Sir Joseph Banks ort Mildew,
and Com. to the B. of Agr. vol. vii.)
4648. The culture of summer wheat differs from that of winter or spring-sown winter
wheat, in its requiring a more minutely pulverised and rather richer soil. It need not
S C 2
^56 ^ PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
be sown sooner than April, and it advances so rapidly to maturity that it hardly affords
time for hoeing (if sown in rows) or harrowing and rolling. Wlien grass seeds or clover
are sown on the same ground, they are sown immediately after the wheat, and harrowed
in with a light harrow or rolled in. In this, and indeed, all other respects, the prepa-
ration of the soil and sowing of this grain is the same as for barley.
4649. The produce of summer ivheat, both in grain and straw, is considerably less than
that of winter wheat ; the straw is only fit for litter or inferior fodder ; the flour produced
by the grain is rather coarser and darker than that of common wheat. Of course this
sort of wheat cannot, as already observed, be recommended for general culture.
$ECT. II. Rye. — Secale Cereale, L. Trian. Dig. L. and Graminece, J. Siegle, Fr. ;
Rogon, Ger. ; and Segale, Ital. {Jig. 554. )
4650. Rye^ according to some, is a native of Crete ; but it is very
doubtful if it be found wild in any country. It has been cultivated
from time immemorial, and is considered as coming nearer in its
properties to wheat than any other grain. It is more common than
wheat on most parts of the continent ; being a more certain crop,
and one which requires less culture and manure. It is the bread
corn of Germany and Russia, In Britain it is now very little
grown ; being no longer a bread corn, and therefore of less value to
the farmer than barley, oats, or pease.
4651. The'varieties of rye are not above two, known as winter and spring rye ;
but there is so little difference between them, that spring rye sown along with
winter rye can hardly be distinguished from it.
4652. The soil for rye may be inferior to that chosen for wheat:
it will grow in dry sandy soils, and produce a tolerable crop, and on
the whole it may be considered as preferring sands to clays. The
preparation of the soil should be the same as for wheat. According
to Professor Thaer, rye abstracts 30 parts in a hundred of the nutri-
ment contained on the soil in which it is grown.
4653. The climate for rye may be colder than for wheat ; but it is rather more injured
by rains during winter; and equally injured as wheat by moist weather during the
flowering season.
4654. Rye is sown either in autumn or spring, and either broad-cast or in drills : two
bushels and a half is the usual allowance when it is sown broad-cast. As it vegetates
more slowly than wheat, it should be sown when the soil is dry : a wet soil being apt to
rot the grain before it has completely germinated. No pickling or other preparation
is given.
4655. The after culture, harvesting, and threshing are the same as for wheat : and the
jrroduce in grain is, under similar circumstances, equal in bulk : but in straw it is greater
in rye than in any other grain. Sir H. Davy found in 1000 parts of rye 61 parts of
starch and 5 parts of gluten. Professor Thaer says, rye is the most nourishing grain
next to wheat. It contains an aromatic substance, which appears to adhere more par-
ticularly to the husk; since the agreeable taste and smell peculiar to rye-bread is not
found in that which is made from rye-flour that has passed through a very fine bolting-
cloth ; while the fragrance may be restored by a decoction of rye-bran in the warm water
used to make the dough. This substance, Thaer says, seems to facilitate digestion, and
has an action particularly refreshing and fortifying on the animal frame.
4656. The use of rye is chiefly for bread, especially for gingerbread. It is also used in
the distilleries ; and the straw is used for the same purposes as that of wheat, excepting that
it is useless as fodder. Some prefer it for thatching and litter, and also for collar-mak -
ing; it is also employed in Dunstable work. Tanners are said to use it in some districts.
4657. Rye is sometimes sown as a green crop, with a view of affording some keep for
sheep early in the spring ; and also for being ploughed in as manure ; but that husbandry
must be bad or unfortunate which requires recourse to either mode. In some districts
it is customary to sow the head-lands of wheat-fields with rye, which is said to keep poul-r
try from penetrating to the wheat.
4658. Rye is subject tofeio diseases, and is even sown among wheat and round wheat-
fields, from an idea that it will keep off blight and mildew, as well as poultry.
Sect. III. Barley. — IIordeum,Ij. Trian. Dig. L. and Graminece, J. L'Orge, Fr. ;
Gerste, Ger. ; and Orzo, Ital. ; Byg, Dan. and Swed.
4659. Barley, though less calculated for a bread-corn than rye, may be considered as
next in value to wheat in Britain. Of what country it is a native is unknown: some
assign it to Tartary, others to Siberia, and even Scotland has been mentioned. It has beea
cultivated from the earliest antiquity, and was much in use among the Romans, both as
food for soldiers and horses. In Sweden and Lapland it is more cultivated than any
Book VI.
BARLEY.
757
other grain, on account of its requiring to be so short a period in the soil; sbrtietimes
not longer than six weeks, and not often more than seven or seven and a half. In Spain
and Sicily they have two crops a year on the same soil : one is sown in autumn and ripens
in May, and the other is sown in May and reaped in autumn. In Britain, barley is a
tender grain, and easily hurt in any of the stages of its growth, particularly at seed time ;
a heavy shower of rain will then almost ruin a crop on the best prepared land ; and in all
the after processes, greater pains and attention are required to insure success, than in the
case of other grains. The harvest process is difficult, and often attended with danger ;
even the threshing of it is not easily executed with machines, because the corn generally
adheres to the grain, and renders separation from the straw a troublesome task.
4660. Species and varieties, {fig- 555.) There are six species and subspecies of this
grain in cultivation besides varieties. These are :
Hordeum vulgare. Spring barley (a)..
coeleste, Siberian barley.
Iiexastichon, Winter barley {b).
Hordeum distichon, Common or long-eared barley (c).
nudum, Naked barley,
zeocriton. Sprat or battledore (d).
The second and fifth sort are allowed to be subspecies or varieties of the first and fourth,
and indeed there can be little doubt that the whoje do not constitute more than one species.
555
4661. Tfec spring barley or early barley (a), is distinguished by its double row of beards or awn.s stand-
ing,erect, and its thin liusk whicli renders it favorable for malting. This is the sort principally cultivated
in the southern and eastern districts of both England and Scotland, and of which the farmers make two
sorts, viz. the common, and the rath-ripe barley : but these two sorts are in reality the same : for the
rath-ripe is only an alteration of the common barley, occasioned by being long cultivated upon warm
gravelly soils. The seed of this, when sown on cold or strong land, will, the first year, ripen near a
fortnight earlier than the seed taken from strong land, and therefore the farmers in the vales generally
purchase their seed-barley from the warm or gravelly lands ; for, when preserved in the vales two of
three years, it becomes full as late in ripening as the common barley of their own product: on the other
hand, the farmers on warm lands are also obliged to procure their seed-barley from the strong lands,
otherwise their grain woulcf degenerate in bulk or fulness, which, by this change, is prevented.
4662. The Siberian barley. Urge celeste, Fr. and Himmels gerste, Ger., is a variety of early barley with
broader leaves and reckoned more productive than the other. It is much grown in the north of Europe,
and was introduced to this country in 1768, but is believed to be now lost or merged in the parent species.
4663. Winter barley, late barley, or square barley (b), has the grains disposed in four or in six rows, large
and thick skinned. It is chiefly cultivated in tiie north of England and in Scotland, on account of its
hardiness ; but from the thickness of its rind it is ill adapted for malting, and is growing out of use.
4664. Bigg, byg, ar barley big, is a variety of winter barley known by always having six rows of grains,
by the grains being smaller and the rind thicker, and by its being earlier than the parent variety. Pro-
fessor Martyn says, he has frequently counted forty-two grains on one ear of bigg, when common or
long-eared barley had only twenty-two.
4665. Common or long-eared barley (c), is known by its very long spike or ear, flatted transverselv,
greater in breadth than thickness, with chaff ending in an awn sixteen times the length of the grain.
This sort is cultivated in many parts of England and Scotland ; though some object to it because the ears
being long and heavy they think it apt to lodge.
4666. Naked barley, or wheat barley, is known by the grain separating easily from the chaff, and is by
some considered as nothing else than spelt wheat, which it greatly resembles. It does not appear to be
cultivated at present in any part of Britain.
4667. Sprat, or battledore barley (rf), is known by its low stature, coarse straw, short broad ears, and long
awns. The long awns and closeness of the ears protect it better from birds than most other sorts, but as
the straw is scanty and of little use it is not much cultivated.
4668. Besides these sorts there are some locil varieties, as Thanet barley. Putney barley, &'C. which are
merely names given to the varieties common in those places. The Thanet is the winter, and the Putney
the sprat barley.
4669. New varieties may be procured by selection or crossing, as in the case of wheat*
(4607.)
4670. In choosing a sort of hurley for cultivation, regard must be had to the soil and
climate. The hardiest may be considered the winter barley, and the earliest, and perhaps
the best, is the spring barley. The long-eared is also a much esteemed variety. In.
choosing from any particular variety, the best grain i'or sowing is tliat which is free from,
blackness at the tail, and is of a pale lively yellow color, intermixed with a bright whitish
cast ; and if the rind be a little shVivelled, it is so much the better, as it shows tliatit ha»
3 C 3
758 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
sweated in the mow, and is a sure indication that its coat is thin. The husk of thick
rinded barley being too stiff to shrink, will lie smooth and hollow, even when the inside
flour has shrunk from it. The necessity of a change of seed from time to time, by sow-
ing that of the growth of a different soil, as has been observed, is in no instance more
evident than in the culture of this grain, which otherwise becomes coarser and coarser
every year. But in this, as well as in all other grain, the utmost care should be taken
that the seed be full bodied.
4671. The best soil for barley is a light rich loam, finely pulverised. It will neither
grow well on a sandy or soft soil, nor on strong clays, such as are suitable for wheat.
4672. The preparation of the soil is sometimes by a naked fallow, but generally by a
turnip fallow : sometimes it is taken after pease and beans, but rarely by good farmers,
either after wheat or oats, unless under special circumstances. When sown after turnips,
it is generally taken with one furrow, which is given as fast as the turnips are consumed,
the ground thus receiving much benefit from spring frosts. But often two or more fur-
rows are necessary for the fields last consumed ; because, when a spring drought sets in,
the surface, from being poached by the removal or consumption of the crop, gets so
hardened as to render a greater quantity of ploughing, harrowing, and rolling necessary,
than would otherwise be called for. When sown after beans and pease, one winter and
one spring ploughing are usually bestowed ; but, when after wheat or oats, three plough-
ings are necessary, so that the ground may be put in proper condition. These opera-
tions are very ticklish in a wet and backward season, and rarely in that case is the grower
paid for the expense of his labor. Where land is in such a situation as to require three
ploughings before it can be seeded with barley, it is better to summer fallow it at once,
than to run the risks which seldom fail to accompany a quantity of spring labor. If the
weather be dry, moisture is lost during the different processes, and an imperfect germina-
tion necessarily follows : if it be wet, the benefit of ploughing is lost, and all the evils of a
wet seed-time are sustained by the future crop. {Brown.)
4673. To whatever crop barley succeeds, the harrow and roller, when the plough alone is insufficient,
should be employed in reducing the soil to a considerable degree of fineness. In most cases more than
one earth is given ; though, after a winter furrow, the grubber may be used in spring instead of the
plough. After turnips, eaten on the ground by sheep, the land, being consolidated by their treading,
sometimes receives two ploughings ; but if only one, it should be well harrowed and rolled ; and it is often
finished by harrowing after the roller, especially if grass-seeds be sown, which are covered by this last
harrowing. Barley is sometimes sown on the first ploughing, and covered by a second shallow ploughing.
As it is found of great importance, with a view to speedy and equal vegetation, that the ground should be
fresh and moist, barley is generally sown upon what is termed hot-fur, that is, as soon as possible after it
is turned up by the plough.
4674. Manure can seldom be given with advantage to a crop that occupies the soil so
short a period as barley, and therefore it generally is sown on land which has been en-
riched for a preceding crop.
4675. The climate in which barley delights is warm and dry. There are instances of
a crop being sown and ripened without having enjoyed a single shower of rain ; but
gentle showers from the time it is sown till it begins to shoot into the ear, are favorable ;
while heavy rains at any period, and especially immediately after sowing, or during the
blossoming, ripening, and reaping season, are highly injurious.
4676. The best season for sowing barley is considered to be from the beginning of
April to the middle of May ; but bigg may be sown either in autumn to stand the winter,
or as late as the first week of June. In England, the winter or four-rowed barley is
frequently sown in autumn, and stands the most severe winters. With respect to the
lateness at which bigg and summer barley may be sown, much depends on the sort of
tveather which occurs during the first three weeks after sowing. When barley is sown,
late it is sometimes steeped in common water to promote its germination ; but it is seldom
pickled or otherwise prepared. The advantages of steeping are procuring an equal ger-
mination, and consequently ripening and getting the start of weeds. The following
directions are given for performing the operation. First, take out about one-third of the
contents of the sacks of seed barley or bear to allow for the swelling of the grain ; lay
the sacks with the grain to steep in clean water ; let it be covered with it for at least
twenty-four hours ; when the ground is very dry, and no likelihood of rain for ten
days, it is better to lie thirty-six hours ; sow the grain wet from steeping without any
addition : the seed will scatter well as clean water has no tenacity ; only the sower must
put in a fourth or a third more seed in bulk than is usual of dry grain, as the grain is
swelled in that proportion ; harrow it in as quickly as possible after it is sown ; and
though not necessary, give it the benefit of a fresh furrow if convenient. You may expect
it up in a fortnight at farthest, [Brown. )
4677. The quantity ofsedd is different in different cases, according to the quality of the
isoil and other circumstances. Upon very rich lands, eight pecks per acre are sometimes
sown ; twelve is very common ; and upon poor land, more is sometimes given. Among the
Ibest farmers, it seehis a disputed point whether the practice of giving so small a quantity of
'Seed to the best lands is advantageous. That there is a saving of grain there can be no
Book VI. BARLEY. 759
doubt ; and that the bulk may be as great as if more seed had been sown, there can be
as little question. Little argument, however, is necessary to prove that thin sowing of
barley must be attended with considerable disadvantage ; for if the early part of the
season be dry, the plants will not only be stinted in their growth, but will not send out
offsets ; and, if rain afterwards fall, an occurrence that must take place some time during
the summer, often at a later period of it the plants begin to stool, and send out a number
of young shoots. These young shoots, unless under very favorable circumstances, cannot
be expected to arrive at maturity ; or if then- ripening is waited for, there will be a great
risk of losing the early part of the crop, a circumstance that frequently happens. In
almost every instance an unequal sample is produced, and the grain is for the most part
of an inferior quality. By good judges,' it is thought preferable to sow a quantity of seed
sufficient to ensure a full crop, without depending on its sending out offsets ; indeed,
where that is done, few offsets are produced, the crop grows and ripens equally, and the
gi-ain is uniformly good. {Brown on Rural Affairs.)
4678. The modes of sowing barley are either broad-cast or in rows by the drill or
ribbing. The broad-cast mode is almost universally adopted ; unless in lands much
infested with annual weeds, where drilling and horse-hoeing may be employed with ad-
vantage.
4679. The only culture which barley requires while in a growing state, is hoeing and
weeding if in rows, and weeding alone if broad-cast. Sometimes barley is rolled to com-
press a soft soil and exclude the drought, and when very thick it may be first harrowed
and then rolled. Grass seeds and clover are sown with the grain before the last
harrowing, when the broad-cast mode is adopted ; and immediately before hoeing, when
the barley is in rows. The former is much the best mode for insuring a strong plant of
clover.
4680. Eating down barley, vfhich from winter or very early sowing is over luxuriant, is
practised in some districts, but it is alleged that mowing is much better than feeding it ;
because the scythe takes off" only the rank tops, but the sheep feed upon all indifferently }
nor should they even, in any case, be left upon it too long, because, being particularly
fond of the sweet end of the stalk next the root, they bite so close as to injure the future
growth of the plant.
4681. Barley is ripe yfhen the redi roan, as the farmers term it, meaning a reddish
color on the ear, is gone oft', of when the ears droop, and fall, as it were, double against
the straw, and the stalks have lost their verdure.
4682. In the harvesting of barley more care is requisite than in taking any of the other
white crops, even in the best of seasons ; and in bad years it is often found very difficult
to save it. It is known to be ripe by the ears drooping and falling, as it were, doubly
against the straw. Owing to the brittleness of the straw, after it has reached a certain
period it must be cut down ; as, when it is suffered to stand longer, much loss is sustained
by the breaking of the heads. On that account it is cut at a time when the grain is soft,
and the straw retains a great proportion of its natural juices, consequently requires a long
time in the field befort^ either the grain is hardened, or the straw sufficiently dry. "When
put into the stack sooner it is apt to heat, and much loss is frequently sustained. Barley
is generally cut down in England with the cradle scythe, and either tied up cr carted
home loose after lying in the swath some days to dry. It is not apt to shed ; but in wet
weather it will be apt to spout or grow musty ; and therefore every fair day after rain it
should be shook up and turned; and when it is tolerably dry, let it be made up into
shocks; but be careful never to house it till thoroughly dry, lest it mow-burn, which will
make it malt worse than if it had spired in the field. It is remarked by Lisle, that poor
thin barley should be cut a little sooner than if the same plants were strong and vigorous ;
as the straw, when the plants are full ripe, in such cases will not stand against the scythe.
In this situation, barley in particular should lie in swarth till it is thoroughly dry. Some
of his barley, which lay out in swarth five or six days in very fine weather, though
both blighted and edge-grown, grew plump, and acquired very near as good a color as
the best. He reckons short scythes the best for mowing lodged or crumpled corn,
because they miss the fewest plants; and observes, that a bow upon the scythe, which
carries away the swarth before it, is preferable to a cradle, the fingers of which would be
pulled to pieces by the entangled corn, in drawing back the scythe. In Scotland and
Ireland it is generally reaped with the sickle, bound in sheaves and set up in shocks.
4683. In stacking barley many farmers make an opening in the stack from top toi
bottom. This opening is generally made by placing a large bundle of straw in the
centre of the stack, when the building commences, and in proportion as it rises, the straw"
is drawn upwards, leaving a hollow behind ; which if one or two openings are left in the
side of the stack near the bottom, insures so complete a circulation of air, as not Only to
prevent heating, but to preserve the grain from becoming musty.
4i68'1. The titreshing aiid dressing of barley requires more labor than any other grainy
on account of the difficulty of separating the awns from the ears. For this purpose sotoa
3 C 4
760 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
threshing machines are furnished with what is called a hummelling machine, already de-
scribed (2649.) ; and where this is wanting, it is customary to put the grain, accompanied
■with a portion of threshed straw, a second time through the machine. Where barley has
been mown, the whole of the straw requires to be twice threshed, independently of the
necessity of getting rid of the ears.
4685. The produce of barley, taking the average of England and the south of Scotland,
Donaldson considers, might be rated at thirty-two bushels ; but when Wales and the
north of Scotland are included, where, owing to the imperfect modes of culture still prac-
tised, the crops are very indifferent, the general average over the whole will not probably
exceed twenty-eight bushels the acre. Middleton states it as varying in England from
fifteen to seventy-five bushels per acre. The average produce of the county of Middle-
sex, he says, is about four quarters of corn and two load*; of straw per acre.
4686. The uses of barley are various. In Wales, Westmorland, Cumberland, and in
the north, as well as in several parts of the west of Scotland, the bread used by tlie great
body of the inhabitants is made chiefly from barley. Large quantities of the barley cul-
tivated in England are converted into beer, ale, porter, and what is called British spirits,
as English gin, English brandy, &c. The reinainder, beyond what is necessary for, seed,
is made into meal, and partly consumed in bread by the inhabitants of the above-men-
tioned districts, and partly employed for the purpose of fattening black-cattle, hogs, and
poultry. There is a much greater share of the Scotch barley consumed in distillation,
in proportion to the quantity cultivated, than there is in England. Exclusive of what is
used for seed, the Scotch barley is either converted into beer or ale ; or made into pot-
barley, or into meal, for the use of the inhabitants in the more remote and less cultivated
parts of the kingdom ; or, lastly, into whisky. In The Report of Middlesex it is stated,
that much of the most ordinary barley is given to poultry : the rest is sold to the malt-
sters, except so much as is reserved for seed.
4687. But malt is the great purjiose to which harlet/ is aj)plied in Britain. To under-
stand the process of malting, it may be necessary to observe that the cotyledons of a seed,
before a young plant is produced, are changed by the heat and moisture of the earth into
sugar and mucilage. Malting grain is only an artificial mode of effecting this by steep-
ing the grain in water and fermenting it in heaps, and the arresting its progress towards
forming a plant by kiln-drying, in order to take advantage of the sugar in distillation for
spirit or fermentation for beer. The grain of barley contains starch and sugar ; and the
chemical constituents of both these ingredients are very nearly alike. In the process of
malting, a portion of the starch is converted into sugar, so that the total quantity of
sugar, and consequently the source of spirit, is increased by the transformation.
4688. To choose a jrrojier sample of barley for malting^ observe the directions given for
choosing seed barley. (4670. )
4689. Of pot-barley there are two sorts, pearl and Scotch; both are produced by
grinding off the husk, and the pearly barley is produced by carrying the operation so far
as to produce roundness in the kernel. It is used in soups, gruels, and medicinal drinks.
4690. Barley m^al is ground like oatmeal or flour ; the coarser sort, with the bran,
is used for fattening live stock, especially pigs and poultry, but fine bolted barley flour,
made into a thin pottage or pudding, and spread out in thick cakes, and toasted on a hot-
plate of metal, forms a light breakfast bread, much esteemed in some parts of Scotland.
It is served in a recent state, hot, and spread with butter and honey, and eaten in several
folds. Two parts of barley flour, one of wheat flour, and one of rye, are said to make
a light and very agreeable loaf bread.
4691. The produce of barley infotir is 12lbs. to 14lbs. of grain. Sir H. Davy found
1000 parts of barley meal to afford 920 parts of soluble or nutritious matter, viz. 790
of mucilage or starch, 70 of sugar, and 60 of gluten.
4692. Barley straw is chiefly used for litter and packing ; it is unfit for thatch or rope
making, and of little value as fodder.
4693. The diseases of barley are few, and chiefly smut, which it is found cannot be pre-
vented by pickling and liming.
Sect. IV. The Oat. — Avena Saliva, L. Trian. Dig. L. and Graminece,J, L'Avoine,Fr.;
Haber, Ger. ; and Vena, Ital.
4694. The oat is a very useful grain, and more peculiarly adapted for northern climates
than either wheat, rye, or barley. Its native country is unknown, unless the wild oat be
considered as the parent species, which is highly probable. The culture of the oat is
chiefly confined to latitudes north of Paris. It is scarcely known in tlie south of France^
Spain, or Italy ; and in tropical countries, its culture is not attended to. In Britain
it has long been very generally cultivated, formerly as a bread corn, but now chiefly as
horse food. Of all the grain this is the easiest of culture, growing in any soil that admits
of ploughing and harrowing.
Book VI.
OATS.
161
4695. The varieties of oats are more numerous than of the other grains, and some
of them very distinctly marked. The principal are as follow :
4696. T/ie white oat or common oat {Jg. 556 a ) in most ge-
neral cultivation both in England and Scotland, and known
by its white husk and kernel.
4697. The black oat, known by its black husk ; cultivate<l on
poor soils, in the north of England.
4698. The red oat, known by its brownish red husk, thinner
and more flexible stem, and firmly attached grains. It is
early, suffers little from winds, meals well, and suits windy
situations and late climates. It is understood to have been
originated in Peebleshire, on the estate of Magbie-hill, by
■wliich name it is sometimes known.
4699. The Poland oat, known by its thick white husk,
awnless chaff, solitary grains, short white kernel, and short
stiff straw. It requires a dry warm soil, but is very prolific.
4700. The Friexland or Dutch oat, has plump thin-skinned
grains, mostly double, and the large one sometimes awned.
It has longer straw than the Poland, but in other respects
resembles it.
4701. The potatoe oat has large, plump, rather thick-skinned
grains, double and treble, with longer straw than either of the
two last sorts. It is almost the only oat now raised on larftl
in a good state of cultivation in the'north of England and south
of Scotland, and usually brings a higher price in the London
market than any other variety. It was discovered growing in
a field of potatoes in Cumberland, in 1788, and from the pro-
duce of the single stalk which there sprung up by accident,
probably from the manure, has been produced the stock now in general cultivation.
4702. The Siberian or Tatarian oat (h), is considered by some as a distinct species. The grains are thin
and small, and turned mostly to one side of the panicle, and the straw is coarse and reedy. It is little
cultivated.
4703. There are various other varieties, as Church's oat, the Angus oat, the dun oat, &c., but they are
either too local or obsolete to require particular notice. In the oat, as in other plants extensively culti-
vated, new varieties will always be taking place of old ones.
4704. To iirocure new varieties adopt the mode by selection, by which, as appears
above, the potatoe and red oat were brought forward ; or proceed systematically by cross
impregnation, as directed for raising new varieties of wheat. Degeneracy, Brown
observes, has taken place to a certain extent in the potatoe oat ; but it is presumed that
the consequences might be removed with ease, were first principles returned to. To
make a selection of the strongest ears, which carried the purest grain, is not a difficult
business ; and were this selection attended to by half a dozen farmers in a district, it is
obvious, that the breed, or variety, might be preserved pure and uncontaminated. If
slovenly farmers were not provided with good seed, it would be their own fault, since,
if they would not take the trouble to select and breed for their own use, they might
always be provided by those who were either better qualified for making the selection, or
were more attentive to the interests of agriculture. (^Brown.)
4705. In choosing a sort from among the varieties described, the potatoe and Poland,
arc the best for lowlands, and the red oat for uplands, and late climates in a state of
good cultivation. For inferior soils the white or common oat, and for the poorest of all
the black oat may be adopted.
4706. I'he soil for oats may be any kind whatever, from the stiffest clays to moss or
bog, provided it be laid sufficiently dry. The most tenacious clays, and meagre gravels
and sands, where scarcely any useful seed-bearing plant, excepting buck-wheat, could
be grown, will produce a crop of oats if ploughed at a proper season, and the seed judi-
ciously sown and covered.
4707. The preparation of the soil for oats is less than for any other grain. It is almost
alvvays the first crop on newly-broke up lands ; and as it prospers best on a soil not too
finely pulverised, it is commonly sown on one earth. In regular rotations, oats are
chiefly sown after grass ; sometimes upon land not rich enough for wheat, that had been
previously summer-fallowed, or had carried turnips ; often after barley, and rarely after
wheat, unless cross-cropping, from particular circumstances, becomes a necessary evil.
One ploughing is generally given to the grass-lands, usually in the month of January,
so that the benefit of frost may be gained, and the land sufficiently mellowed for receiv-
ing the harrow. In some cases, a spring furrow is given when oats succeed wheat or
barley, especially when grass-seeds are to accompany the crop. The best oats, both in
quantity and quality, are always those which succeed grass ; indeed, no kind of grain
seems better qualified by nature for foraging upon grass-land than oats; as a full crop
is usually obtained in the first instance, and the land left in good order for succeeding
ones. (Tr. on Rural Affairs.)
4708. The climate for oats should be cool and moist; when dry and warm, the pani-
cles are so dried and contracted, that they cease to convey sufficient nourishment to the
ears, which thus never become plump, but thick husked, long awned, and unproductive
in meal. This is very often tlie case with the oats in Scotland in a very dry year, and
very common in the south Of England most vears.
762
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
4709. The season of sowing oats is from the last week in February to the end of April.
About the middle of March is preferred by the best farmers. No preparation is ever
given to the seed ; but it should be plump, fresh, and free from the seeds of weeds.
Oats sown in autumn are generally killed during winter, the plant being in this respect
more tender than wheat, rye, or barley bigg.
4710. The quantity of seedy where oats are sown broad-cast, is usually from four to six
bushels to the acre. Land sown with potatoe oats requires less seed, in point of mea-
sure, than when any of the other sorts are used; first, because this variety tillers better
than any other, and next, because having no awn, a greater number of grains are con-
tained in a bushel.
4711. The mode of sowing oa/s is almost universally broad-cast; but where they are
sown after turnips, or on other well pulverised soils, some adopt the row culture.
4712. The after-culture depends on the mode of sowing, but seldom consists of more
than weeding before the flower-stalks begin to shoot up.
4713. In harvesting oats in England, they are generally cut down with the scythe and
carried loose to the barn or stack ; but in the northern districts, and where threshing
machines are used, they are tied into sheaves if mown, but, for the most part, reaped with
the sickle, in order in both cases to facilitate the process of threshing. Oats are ready
for the scythe or sickle when the grain becomes hard, and the straw yellowish. They
should generally be cut before they are dead ripe, to prevent the shedding of the grain,
and to increase the value of the straw as fodder. They rarely get much damage when
under the harvest process, except from high winds, or from shedding, when opened out
after being thoroughly wetted. The early varieties are much more liable to these losses
than the late ones ; because the grain parts more easily from the straw, an evil to which
the best of grain is at all times subject. Early oats, however, may be cUt a little quick,
which, to a certain extent, lessens the danger to which they are exposed from high winds ;
and if the sheaves be made small, the danger from shedding after rains is considerably
lessened, because they are thus sooner ready for the stack. Under every management,
however, a greater quantity of early oats will be lost during the harvest process than of
the late ones, because the latter adhere firmly to the straw, and consequently do not drop
so easily as the former. [Brown.) In harvesting oats in wet seasons, the practice of
gaiting the sheaves (2940.] is generally adopted. In Sweden, in most seasons, the oat
crop is dried on frames or poles (683.), and in Russia, not only oats, but barley and rye
are kiln-dried in the straw.
4714. Kiln-drying oats and other corns in the straw has been found necessaryj and is very generally
practised through the north of Russia, Livonia, Courland, and Lithuania, being the last operation of
harvest for preserving all kinds of corns, pease, beans, and buck-wheat They are dried in the fields as
much as can be ; but, when brought home, they are kiln-dried, and are then ready to be either threshed
out immediately, or put up in barns, without any danger of either corn or straw becoming musty or
rotting. The common practice of the boors is, during winter, to thresh out by degrees, as in this country,
their oats and barley, in otder to have straw fresh for their cattle, such straw being their only provender.
'The process of kiln-drying by no means prevents the germination of the grain when used for seed,
while it not only preserves the grain and straw, but improves their taste and salubrity. It enables
Russia to export large quantities of rye and wheat with less risk of damage to the grain, than is incurred
by other nations of the north of Europe.
4715. The kiln {fig. 551.) in general
and established use throughout Rus-
sia, for the purpose of drying corn
in the straw, is heated commonly by
fires of wood. It is a simple and
cheaply-erected structure, the walls
. eight feet high, and fifteen feet square
within : At this height there are
two strong cross beams (a), to support
t^e small timbers, laid over them as
ribs. The corn stands in sheaves
above these ribs {b), closely set up, the
band ends of the sheaves down, and
t'he corn or grain ends up : the walls then rise above the ribs about five or six feet more, the kiln being
closed by a simple ceiling of cross joists at this height, covered with thin turf. Any cheap and ordinary
roof answers to cover the whole. The fire-place is constructed so as to throw back the ascending spark ;
a small porch (c), directly opposite to the fire-place, prevents violent blasts of wind, and covers from raiu
the fuel and the attendant. About 300 sheaves (twenty-five stooks) of corn are dried at one time. It i9
put on in the evening, and left on the kiln through th6 night, after the wood has been burned into charcoal,
and the door above the fire-place closed. At one end of the kiln there is frequently an open shed or barn
(d), for convenience in bringing corn to, or taking it from the kiln.
4716. The produce of oats is generally considered greater and of bettef quality in the
northern than in the southern counties; and the reasons are obviously that, in the latter^
more attention is paid to their culture, and the climate is more favorable for the matura-
tion of the grain. Ten quarters an acre is reckoned a good crop in the north, but the
produce is often twelve and thirteen quarters, and the straw from two to three and a half
ioads per acre.
4717. T'he produce of oats in meal is 8 lbs. for 14 lbs. of corn. Sir H. Davy foundl
loo parts of oats afford 59 parts of starch, six of gluten, and two of saccharine uiatter;
Book VI.
EXOTIC CEREALIA.
763
4718. The use of oats in the north, in Ireland, and in some parts of Yorkshire and
Derbyshire, is partly for meal and partly for horse food. In the south it is almost en-
tirely for horse-food, poultry, and groats for gruel. It is occasionally malted and used
in distillation. The fine powder which is produced by husking the corn, or making grist,
forms the sowens of the Scotch (the flumerty of the Irish) an agreeable light and whole-
some supper dish.
4719. The diseases of the oat are few. Sometimes it is found attacked by the smut;
but the more common injury sustained by oats is from wire- worm, or larva of insects
which generally abound in lands newly broken up from turf. One of the most certain
practices of avoiding these is, by not ploughing the ground, especially if old turf, till
immediately before sowing. By this means the insect is turned down, and before it can
work its way to the surface (if ever it does), the corn is beyond its reach. In this way
gardeners destroy and retard the progress of the gooseberry caterpillar by digging under
the bushes, for it is found that the eggs and larvee of insects, like seeds and bulbs, when
buried too deep in the ground, have their progress retarded, or their vital principle de-
stroyed. {Encyc. of Gard. 4663.)
Sect. V. Cereal Grasses cultivated in Europe^ Some of which might be tried in Britain.
4720. The cereal grasses which the climate of Britain does not readily admit of cul-
tivating, are the millet, maize, and rice.
4721. Of the millet there are three distinct genera, the Polish millet (Digitaria), culti-
vated in Poland; the common millet (Panicum), or panic grass, cultivated in Ger-
many, and sometimes in this country ; and the great or Indian millet ( Holcus], cultivated
in India, Italy, and America.
4722. Of the common millet there are three species, the Panicum Germanicum (fg,
558 a), a native of the south of Europe;
the P. miliaceum (5), a native of the East
Indies; and the P. Italicum (c), also of
Indian origin.
4723. T/ie common or German millet {Panicum
Germanicum, a), rises with a jointed reed-like stalk,
about three feet high, and about the size of the com-
mon reed, with a leaf at each joint a foot and a half
long, and about an inch broad at the base where
broadest, ending in an acute point, rough to the
touch, embracing the stalk at the base, and turning
downwards about half the length. The stalks are
termiuated by compact spikes, about the thickness
of a man's finger at bottom, growing taper towards
the top, eight or nine inches long, closely set with
small roundish grain. It is annual, and perishes soon
after the seeds are ripe. There are three varieties
of it, with yellow, white, and purple grains. It has
been formerly cultivated for bread in some of the
northern countries.
4724. The cultivated millet {Panicum miliaceum,
b), rises with a reed-like channelled stalk, from
three to four feet high ; at every joint there is one reed-like leaf, joined on the top of the sheath, which
embraces and covers that joint of the stalk below the leaf, and is clothed with soft hairs ; the leaf has
none, but has several small longitudinal furrows running parallel to the midrib. The stalk is terminated
by a large loose panicle hanging on one side. Of this species there are two varieties, the brown and yellow^
the latter of which was formerly in cultivation,
and is now sometimes sown for feeding poultry,
and as a substitute for rice.
4725. The Italian millet {Panicum Italicum, c),
^ S*. 1^ ^JS rises with a reed-like stalk, near four feet high,
»K^ "SI ^ .^*(» and much thicker than that of the preceding; the
leaves are also broader. The spikes are a foot long,
and twice the thickness of those of the common
millet, but not so compact, being composed of
I several roundish clustered spikes ; the grain is
also larger. There are two or three varieties of
this, differing only in the color of the grain. It
frequently cultivated in Italy (whence its tri-
vial name), and other warm countries. It is a
native of both Indies, and of Cochin China.
4726. The Polish millet, or manna grass of
I the Germans {Digitaria sanguinalis, formerly
Panicum sanguinale. Jig. 559.), is a low decum-
bent annual plant, seldom rising above nine
inches or a foot high, with hairy leaves and
slender panicles. It tillers much, and forms a
close tuft, spreading and rooting at the joints.
It is a native of England but not common, but
grows in abundance in Poland, and is some-
times cultivated; the seeds being used like
those of the other millets as a substitute for rice
or sago.
4727. Tfie great or Indian millet {Holcus
sorg/mtn, L. Sorghum vuigare, W. en. Jig. 560. Honque sorgo, Fr. ; Sorgsamen, Ger. ; Sagina. Ital. i
and Melcea, Siian.), has a stem which rises five or six feet high, is strong, reedy, and Hkc those of
tlie maize, but smaller. The leaves are long and broad, having a deep furrow through^ the centteJ
560
764
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
where the mid rib is 'depressed in the upper surface, and is very prominent below. The leaves are
two feet and a half long, and two inches broad in the middle, embracing the stalks with their
base. The flowers come out in large panicles at the top of the stalks, resembling at first appear-
ance the male spikes of the Turkey wheat ; these are succeeded by large roundish seeds, which are
wrapped round with the chaffi This grain is a native of India, where it is much used to feed poultry,
and is frequently sent to Europe for the same purpose. It is much cultivated in Arabia, and most parts
of Asia Minor ; and has been introduced into Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and some parts of Germany, also
into China, Cochin China, and the West Indies, where it grows commonly five or six feet high, or
more, and being esteemed a hearty food for laborers, is called negro guinea corn. Its long awns or
bristles defend it from the birds. In England, the autumns are seldom dry and warm enough to ripen
the seed well in the field. In Arabia it is called dora or durra ; the flour is very white, and they make
good bread of it, or rather cakes, about two inches in thickness. The bread which they make of it in
some parts of Italy is dark and coarse. In Tuscany it is used chiefly for feeding poultry and pigeons,
sometimes for swine, kine, and horses. Cassalpinus says, that cattle fed on the green herb are apt to swell
and die, but thrive on it when dried. They make brushes and, brooms of its stalks in Italy, which are sent
to this country, which Ray observed in the shops at Venice. Of this species there are two distinct va-
rieties, known by their black and red husked seeds, besides subvarieties.
4728. The only sorts of millet which can be cultivated with success in this country^ are
the German, cultivated, and the Polish sorts. According to Professor Thaer, the cul-
tivated is to be preferred, as having the largest grain.
4729. The soil for the millet should be warm, sandy, rich, and well pulverised to a
good depth. The seed is sown in May, very thin, and not deeply covered. In the
course of its growth, no plant, Professor Thaer observes, is more improved by stirring
the soil, after which it grows astonishingly fast, and smothers all weeds.
4730. In harvesting the millet, great care is requisite not to shed the seed ; and as it ripens
rather unequally it would be an advantage to cut off the spikes as they ripen , as is done
in reaping maize. No grain is easier to thresh, or to free from its husk by the mill.
It is used instead of rice, and in Germany bears about the same price. It produces a
great bulk of straw, which is much esteemed as fodder.
47.31. The great Indian millet will grow in this country to the height of five or six
feet, but will not ripen its seeds or even flower if the season is not dry and warm. If its
culture is attempted, it should be raised in a hot bed and transplanted.
4732. The Ziznnia aquatlca (Jig. 561.) might be cultivated
on the margin of ponds for its seeds, which much resemble
those of Polish millet. It is exceedingly prolific, grows in.
great luxuriance and produces abundance of bland farinaceous
seeds, in all the shallow streams of the dreary wilderness in
north-west America, between the Canadian lakes and the
hilly range which divides Canada from the country on the
Northern Pacific ocean. Its seeds contribute essentially to
the support of the wandering tribes of Indians, and feed
.immense flocks of wild swans, geese, and other water-fowl,
which resort there for the purpose of breeding. Productive
as is this excellent plant, and habituated to an ungenial
climate, and to situations which refuse all culture, it is sur-
prising, says Pinkerton (Geog, vol. iii. 330.), that the
European settlers in the more northern
parts of America, have as yet taken no
pains to cultivate and improve a vegetable
production, which seems intended by na-i
ture to become, at some future period, |
the bread-corn of the north.
4733 » Thefestuca Jluitans resembles the zizania, and the seeds are|l
used in Germany like those of Polish millet. Various species of pani-
cum, hordeum, and bromus, afford tolerable supplies of edible seeds.
4734. The maize or Indian corn (Zea mays, Jig. 192.) may be!
cultivated in this country in very dry warm situations, especially if
the dw£u-f red-grained variety be adopted. The straw forms an excellent
fodder, and the grain as a bread-corn is much liked by some, but
though it abounds in mucilage it contains little or no gluten, and is not
likely to be much used by those who can procure wheatcn or even rye
bread.
4735. The rice (Oriza sativa,Jig. 562,) has been tried in this country,
and if sown very early, would probably ripen its seeds. The hill
variety, which does not require watering, would probably succeed best.
But there is no inducement to cultivate this and other grains or seeds
when they can be imported at so low a rate. We merely introduce
them to record the resources of British agriculture in case of necessity.
4736. The buck-kvheat (Fagopyrum) is vulgarly considered as a
grain; and the canary grass [Phaluris] is a gramen cultivated for its seed ; but neither
being bread-corn grasses, wc have classed them among manufactorial plants, (Chap.
VIII. Sect. IV.)
Book VI.
LEGUMES.
765
Chap. III.
Of the Culture of Leguminous Field- Plants.
4737. The seed of the cultivated legumes are considered to be the most nutritive of
vegetable substances grown in temperate climates. They contain a large proportion of
matter analogous to animal substances, having when dry the appearance of glue, and
equally nourishing as gluten. To the healthy workman this substance supplies the place
of animal food ; and Von Thaer states, that in Germany neither sailors nor land laborers
are content, unless they receive a meal of legumes at least twice a week. The straw or
haulm, he says, cut before it is dead ripe is more nourishing than that of any of the cereal
grasses. Biit leguminous plants are not only more than all others nourishing to man
and animals, but even to vegetables they may be said to supply food ; since they are not
only known to be less exhausting to the soil than most other plants, but some of them,
and more especially the lupin, have been ploughed in green as manure from the earliest
times. Many scientific agriculturists consider ^t luxuriant crop of pease or tares as
nourishing the soil by stagnating carbonic acid gas on its surface ; which corresponds with
the universal opinion of their being equal to a fallow, and with the value set on them
in rotation, asalready explained (4563). The legumes cultivated in British farming are
the pea, bean, tare, and vetch, to which might be added the lentil, kidneybean, and
chick pea.
4738. The nutritive products of these plants is tims given by Sir H. Davy, EinhoflT,
and Thaer :
Systematic name.
HHI'^^pSi
Mucila^ or
starch.
Saccharine
matter or
sugar.
Ghiten or
albumen
Extract, or
matter rendered
insoluble during
evaporation.
Pisum sativum - -
Vicia faba - - - -
sativa - - - -
Ervum lens - - - .
Phaseolus vulgaris
Dry pease -
Common bean
Tares - .
Lentils
Kidneybean
574
570
65
71
89
501
426
36
39
67
22
a5
103
29
32
22
16
41
Sect. I. The Pea. — Pisum sativum, L. Diadel. Decan. L. and Leguminosees, J.
Les Poisy Fr. ; Erbse, Ger. and Piscello, Ital. (fg. 563.)
4739. The pea is the most esteemed legume in field 563
cultivation both for its seed and haulm. It is supposed
to be a native of the south of Europe, and was cultivated
by the Greeks and Romans, and in this country from time
immemorial, though its culture appears to have diminished
since the more general introduction of herbage plants and
roots ; and excepting near large towns for gathering green,
and in a few places for boiling the pea, has given way to
the bean or to a mixture of pease and beans. There are
various inducements, however, to the cultivation of pease
in dry warm soils near large towns. When tlie crop is
good and gathered green, few pay better : the payment
is always in cash, and comes into the pocket of the farmer
in time to meet the exigencies of the hay, and sometimes
even of the corn harvest. The ground after the pease have
been removed is readily prepared for turnips, which also
pay well as a retail crop near towns ; and the haulm is good
fodder.
4740. 2'he varieties of the j)ea are numerous ; but they __
may be divided into two classes ; those grown for the ripened seed, and those grown for
gathering in a green state. The culture of the latter is chieHy near large towns, and
may be considered as in part belonging to gardening rather than agriculture.
4741. The grey varieties are, the early grey, the late grey, and the purple grey;
to which some add the Marlborough grey, and liorn grey.
4742. The white varieties grown in fields are the pearl, early charlton, golden hotspur,
the common white or Suffolk, and other Suffolk varieties.
4743. Xew varieties of the pea are readily procured by selection or impregnation, of
which a striking example given by Knight has been already referred to. (1599.)
4744. In the choice of sorts, where it is desired to grow grey pease for the sake of the
seeds or corn, the early variety is to be preferred in late situations, and the late variety in
766 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
early ones ; but when it is intended to grow them chiefly for covering the ground and for
the haulm, then the late varieties claim the preference, and especially the purple grey.
Of white pease, to l)e grown for gathering green, the Charlton is the earliest, and the pearl
or common Suffolk the most prolific. When white pease are grown for boilers, that is for
splitting, the pearl and Suffolk are also the best sorts. It is supposed by some to be of
considerable importance in the economy of a farm, when the nature of the soil is suit-
able, to have recourse to the early sorts ; as by such means the crops may in many cases
be cut and secured while there is leisure, before the commencement of the wheat
harvest. And that where the nature of the soil is dry and warm, and the pea crop of a
sufficiently forward kind, it may be easy to obtain a crop of turnips from the same land
in the same year, as has been suggested above. But in this view it is the best practice to
put the crops in in the row method, and keep them perfectly clean by means of attentive
hand and horse hoeing ; as in that way the land will be in such a state of preparation for
the turnips, as only to require a slight ploughing, which may be done as fast as the pea
crop is removed, and the turnip seed drilled in as quickly as possible upon the newly
turned up earth. In some particular districts a third crop is even put into the same
land, the turnips being sold off in the autumn and replaced by cole worts, for the purpose
of greens in the following spring. This, according to Middleton, is the practice in
some places in Middlesex. But it is obviously a method of cultivation that can only be
attempted on the warm and fertile kinds of turnip soil, and where the pea crops are
early ; on the cold heavy and wet descriptions of land, it is obviously impracticable, and
wholly improper.
4745. The soil best suited for pease is a dry calcareous sand ; it should be in good tilth,
not too rich nor dunged along with the crop. In Norfolk and Suffolk pease are often
sown on clover leys after one furrow, or after corn crops on two furrows, one given in
ftutumn, and the other early in spring.
4746. The climate required by the pea is dry and not over warm, for which reason, as
the seasons in this country are very often moist and sometimes exceedingly dry and hot
in June and July, the pea is one of the most uncertain of field crops.
4747. The season of sowing must differ considerably according to the intentions of the
cultivator. When they are grown for podding early for sale green, they should be sown
at different times, from January to the end of March, beginning with the dryest and most
reduced sorts of land ; and in this intention in some southern counties they are put in
in the autumn. For the general crops from February to April, as soon as the lands can
be brought into proper order is the proper season ; the grey sorts being employed in the
early sowings, and the white sorts in the later. Young says, that where these crops
cannot be put in in February, they should always be completed in the following month.
It is observed by the same writer, in sowing on layers, that the white boiling pea, of
many sorts and under various names, is more tender than the greys, and various kinds
of hog pease ; but he has many times put them into the ground in February, and
though very smart frosts followed, they received no injury. He has uniformly found,
that the earlier they were sown the better. There is also a particular motive for being as
early as possible : that is, to get them off in time for turnips. This is most profitable
husbandry, and should never be neglected. If they are sown in this month and a right
sort chosen, they will be off the land in June, so that turnips may follow at the common
time of sowing that crop.
4748. Steeping the seed in water is sometimes practised in late sowings.
4749. The quantity/ of seed must be different in different cases and circumstances, and
according to the time and manner in which the crop is put into the ground ; but in
general, it may be from two and a half to three bushels, the early sowings having the
largest proportion of seed. In planting every flag. Young says, two bushels and
a half is the usual proportion ; but when drilled at greater distances, six or seven pecks
will answer.
4750. The most common mode of sowing pease is broad-cast; but the advantages of
the row culture in the case of a crop so early committed to the soil must be obvious.
The best farmers therefore always sow pease in drills either after the plough, the seed
being deposited commonly in every second or third furrow, or if the land is in a pulve-
rised state by drawing drills with a machine or by ribbing. In Norfolk and Suffolk pease
are generally dibbled on the back of the furrow, sometimes one and sometimes two rows
on each ; but dibbling in no manner appears to us so well suited for a farmer's pur-
pose as the drill. In Kent, where immense quantities of pease are grown both for
gathering green and for selling ripe to the seedsmen, they are generally sown in rows
from eighteen inches to three feet asunder, according to the kind, and well cultivated
between. Pease laid a foot below the surface will vegetate ; but the most approved
depth is six inches in light soil, and four inches in clay soil, for which reason they
ought to be sown under furrow when the ploughing is delayed till spring. Of all
gain, beans excepted, they are the least in danger of being buried.
Book VI. LEGUMES. 767
475 1 . The after culture given to pease is that of hoeing, either by hand or horse. Where
the method of hand-culture prevails, it is the general custom to have recourse to two hoeings ;
the first when tlie plants are about two or three inches in height, and again just before the
period in which they come into blossom. In this way the vigorous vegetation of the young
crop is secured, and a fresh supply of nourishment afibrded for the setting of the pods and
the filling of the pease. At the last of these operations the rows should be laid down, and
the earth well placed up to them, the weeds being previously extirpated by hand labor. It
has been stated, that in some parts of Kent, where this sort of crop is much grown, it is
the practice, when the distance of the rows is sufficiently great, to prevent the vegetation
of weeds, and forward the growth of pea crops, by occasionally horse-hoeing, and the
use of the brake-harrow, the mould being laid up to the roots of the plants at the last
operation by fixing a piece of wood to the harrow. This should, however, only be laid up
on one side, the pease being always placed up to that which is the most fully exposed to
the effects of the sun.
4752. In harvesting the ripened jyea considerable care is requisite, both on account of the
seed and haulm. When pea crops become ripe they wither and turn brown in the haulm
or straw, and the pods begin to open. In this state they should be cut as soon as possible,
in order that there may be the least loss sustained by their shedding. It is observed that
in the late or general crops, after they are reaped or rather cut up by means of a hook, it
is the usual practice to put them up into small heaps, termed wads, which are formed by set.
ting small parcels against each other, in order that they may be more perfectly dried both in
the seed and stem, and be kept from being injured by the moisture of the ground. But in.
the early crops, the haulm is hooked up into loose open heaps, which, as soon as they are
perfectly dry, are removed from the ground and put into stacks for the purpose of being
converted to the food of animals, on which they are said to thrive nearly as well as on hay.
When intended for hoirses, the best method would seem to be that of having them cut into
chaff and mixed with their other food. Young says, that forward white pease will be fit
to cut early in July ; if the crop is very great they must be hooked ; but if small, or only-
middling, mowing will be sufficient. The stalks and leaves of pease being very succu-
lent, they should be taken good care of in wet weather : the tufts, called wads or heaps,
should be turned, or they will receive damage. White pease should always be perfectly-
dry before they are housed, or they will sell but indifferently, as the brightness and
plumpness of the grain are considered at market more than with hog-pease. The straw
also, if well harvested, is very good fodder for all sorts of cattle and for sheep ; but if
it receives much wet, or if the heaps are not turned, it can be used only to litter the farm-
yard with. It is the practice in some districts to remove the haulm as soon as it has been
cut up by hooks constructed with sharp edges for the purpose, to every fifth ridge, or even
into an adjoining grass fields, in order that it may be the better cured for use as cattle food,
and at the same time allow of the land being immediately prepared for the succeeding crop.
When wet weather happens whilst the pease lie in wads, it occasions a considerable loss,
many of them being shed in the field, and of those that remain a great part will be so con-
siderably injured, as to render the sannple of little value. This inability in pease to resist
a wet harvest, together with the great uncertainty throughout their growth, and the fre-
quent inadequate return in proportion to the length of haulm, has discouraged many
farmers from sowing so large a portion of this pulse as of other grain ; though on light
lands which are in tolerable heart, the profit, in a good year, is far from inconsiderable.
4753. In gathering green pease for the market, it is frequently a practice with the large
cultivators of early green pea crops in the neighborhood of London, to dispose of them, by
the acre, to inferior persons, who procure the podders; but the smaller farmers, for the
most part, provide this description of people themselves, who generally apply at the pro-
per season for the purpose. The business of picking or podding the pease is usually per-
formed by the laborers at a fixed price for the sack, of four heaped bushels. The number
of this sort of persons is generally in the proportion of about four to the acre, the labor
proceeding on the Sundays as well as other days. It is sometimes the custom to pick the
crops over twice, after which the rest are suffered to stand till they become ripe for the
purpose of seed. This, however, mostly arises from the want of pickers, as it is considered
as a loss, from the pease being less profitable in their ripe state than when green. Besides,
they are often improper for the purpose of SQed, as being the worst part of the crop. It
is therefore better to have them clear picked when hands can be procured. After this
they are loaded into carts, and sent off at suitable times, according to the distance of the
situation, so as to be delivered to the salesmen in the different markets from about three
to five o'clock in the morning. In many cases in other parts, the early gatherings are,
however, sent to the markets in half-bushel sieves, and are frequently disposed of at the
high price of five shillings the sieve ; but at the after periods they are usually conveyed in
sacks of a narrow form, made for the purpose, which contain about three bushels each,
which, in the more early parts of the season, often fetch twelve or fourteen shillings the
768 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
sack, but afterwards mostly decline considerably ; in some seasons so much ap scarcely to
repay the expenses. This sort of crop affords the most profit in such pea seasons as are
inclined to be cool, as under such circumstances the pease are most retarded in their ma-
turation or ripening, and of course the markets kept from being over abundantly supplied.
4754. The threshing of pease requires less labor than that of any other crop. Where
the haulm is wished to be preserved entire it is best done by hand ; as the threshing-
machine is apt to reduce it to chaff. But where the fodder of pease is to be given imme-
diately to horses on the spot, the breaking it is no disadvantage.
4755. The produce of the pea in ripened seeds is supposed by some to be from three
and a half to four quarters the acre; others, however, as Donaldson, imagine the average
of any two crops together not more than about twelve bushels; and that on the whole, if
the value of the produce be merely attended to, it may be considered as a less profitable
crop than most others. But as a means of ameliorating and improving the soil at the
same time, it is esteemed as of great value.
4756. With respect to the produce in green pease in the husk, the average of the early
crops in Middlesex is supposed to be from about twenty-five to thirty sacks the acre,
which, selling at from eight to eighteen shillings the sack, afford about eighteen pounds
the acre. The author of The Si/nopsis of Husbandry, however, states the produce about
Dartford, in the county of Kent, at about forty sacks the acre, though, he says, fifty have
sometimes been gathered from that space of land.
4757. The j)roduce of jyease in straw is very uncertain, depending so much on the sort
and the season : in general it is much more bulky than that of the cereal grasses; but may
be compressed into very little room.
4758. The produce of pease in flour is as 3 to 2 of the bulk in grain, and husked and
split for soups as 4 to 2. A thousand parts of pea flour afforded Sir H. Davy 574 parts
of nutritive or soluble matter, viz. 501 of mucilage or vegetable animal matter, 22 of
sugar, 35 of gluten, and 16 of extract or matter rendered insoluble during the operation.
4759. The use ofjyease for soups, puddings, and other culinary purposes, is well known.
In some places porridge, [brose, and bread .is made of pease-flour, and reckoned very
wholsome and substantial. In Stirlingshire it is customary to give pease or bean biscuits
to horses while in the yoke as a refreshment. The portion of pease that is not consumed
as human food is mostly appropriated to the purposes of fattening hogs and other sorts of
domestic animals; and, in particular instances, supplies the place of beans, as the proven-
der of laboring horses ; but, care should be taken, when used in this way, that they be suffi-
ciently dry, as, when given in the green state, they are said to produce the gripes, and other
bowel complaints, in those animals. Bannister, after observing that the haulm is a very
wholesome food for cattle of every kind, says, there is generally a considerable demand for
pease of every denomination in the market, the uses to which they may be applied being so
many and so various. The boilers, or yellow pease, always go off briskly; and the hog-
pease usually sell for 6d. or Is. per quarter more than beans. For feeding swine the pea is
much better adapted than the bean, it having been demonstrated by experience, that hogs
fat more kindly when fed with this grain than on beans; and, what is not easy to be account-
ed for, the flesh of swine which have been fed on pease, it is said, will swell in boiling, and
be well tasted ; whilst the flesh of the bean-fed hog will shrink in the pot, the fat will boil
out, and the meat be less delicate in flavour. It has, therefore, now become a practice
with those farmers who are curious in their pork, to feed their hogs on pease and barley-
meal, and if they have no pease of their own growth, they rather choose to be at the ex-
pense of buying them, than suffer their hogs to eat beans. Nay, so far, says he, do some
of them carry their prejudice in this particular, as to reject the grey pease for this use,
as bearing too near an affinity to the bean, and therefore reserve their growths of white
pease solely for hog fatting.
4760. In boiling split pease, some samples, without reference to variety, fall or moulder
down freely into pulp, while others continue to maintain their form. The former are
called boilers. This property of boiling depends on the soil ; stiff land, or sandy land,
that has been limed or marled uniformly, produces pease that will not melt in boiling,
no matter what the variety may be.
4761. Pease straiv cut green andi dried is reckoned as nourishing as hay, and is consi-
dered as excellent for sheep.
4762. In the saving of any particular sorts of pease for seed, they should be carefully
looked over while in flower, in order to draw out all such plants as are not of the right
sort ; as there will always be, in every sort, some roguish plants, which, if left to mix,
will degenerate the kind. As many rows as may be thought sufficient to furnish the
desired quantity of seed should then be marked out, and left till their pods turn brown,
and begin to split, when they should immediately be gathered up, with the haulm ; and
if the farmer has not room to stack them till winter, they may be threshed out as soon as
Book VI. THE BEAN. 769
they are dry, and put up in sacks for use : but particular care should be taken not to let
them remain too long abroad after they are ripe ; as wet would rot them; and heat, after
a shower of rain, make their pods burst in such a manner tliat the greater part of their
seeds would be lost.
4763. The diseases of pease are few, and chiefly the worm in the pod and the fly on tha
leaves and flower. They are also liable to be mildewed or blighted. None of these
evils, however, are very common ; and there is no known way of preventing them but
by judicious culture.
Sect. II. The Bean. — Vicia Faba, L. Diad. Decan. L. and Leguminosea, J.
Feve de marais, Fr. ; Bohn, Ger. ; and Fava, Ital.
4764. The bean is a valuable field plant, as affording food for live stock, and in part for
man. It is said to be a native of Egypt ; but, like other long domesticated plants, its
origin is very uncertain. It has been cultivated in Europe and Asia time out of mind :
beans have been long known in Britain, but it is only of late years that they were exten-
sively cultivated upon general soils, being formerly considered as adapted only to rich
and moist clays. At that time they were all sown according to the broad-cast system ;
in which way, instead of benefiting the ground, they were of incalculable detriment.
Weeds got away at the outset, and, in dry seasons, often ruined the crop ; whilst in every
season, the grass or perennial weeds, which happened to be in the ground, increased in
strength and in quantity, the openness of the bean crop at bottom allowing them to thrive
without interruption.
4765. The drilling of beans with a small mixture of pease is now become a general
practice in every well cultivated district, more particularly in those where soil and cli-
mate permit the practice to be successfully executed. In this way not only heavy crops
are raised, but, what is of great importance, the ground is kept constantly in good order,
provided suitable attention is bestowed upon the cleaning process. This is generally
carried on by horse-hoeing the crop at different times, so long as the hoe can be used
without doing damage ; and in this way, an able auxiliary is brought forward to the
assistance of summer fallow, whereby less stress need be laid upon that radical process
than otherwise would be indispensably necessary. (^Brown.)
4766. The varieties of the bean may be included under two general heads, the white or
garden beans, and the grey or field beans. Of the white beans sown in the fields, the
Mazagan and long-pod are almost the only sorts. Of the grey beans, that known as
the horse-bean, the small or ticks, and the prolific or Heligoland, are the chief sorts.
New varieties are procured in the same manner as in other plants.
4767. In the choice of sorts, tick beans are supposed by some farmers to be more pro-
ductive than horse-beans ; but the latter grow higher in the stem, and produce a more
stagnated state of the air, or smother the land more, consequently are the most suitable
for the stronger sorts of soil ; and Young remarks, that " the common little horse-
bean has the advantage of all others in being more generally marketable ; for, in certain
situations, it is not always easy to dispose of ticks, Windsors, long-pods, and various
other large sorts. They "also grow higher, shade the ground in summer more from the
sun, and yield a larger quantity of straw, which makes excellent manure. But some of
the other sorts are generally supposed to yield larger products. In purchasing beans for
seed, care should be taken to choose such as are hard and bright, without being shrivelled
in their appearance."
4768. The best soils for beans are clays and strong loams : on such soils they generally
succeed wheat or oats, but sometimes also clover leys. Turnip soils or sands are by no
means proper for them.
4769. In the preparation of the soil, much depends on the nature of the land and the
state of the weather ; for as beans must be sown early in the spring, it is sometimes im-
possible to give it all the labor which a careful farmer would wish to bestow. It must
also be regulated, in some measure, by the manner of sowing. In all cases it ought tq
be ploughed with a deep furrow after harvest, or early in winter : and as two ploughinga
in spring are nighly advantageous, the winter furrow may be given in the direction of
the former ridges, in which way the land is sooner dry in spring than if it had been
ploughed across. The second ploughing is to be given across the ridges, as early in
spring as the ground is sufficiently dry ; and the third furrow either forms the drills, or
receives the seed. (Supp. E. Brit. art. ^gr.)
4770. Brown, one of the best bean growers in Britain, gives the following directions.
The furrow ought to be given early in winter, and as deep as possible, that the earth
may be sufficiently loosened, and room afforded for the roots of the plant to search for
the requisite nourishment. This first furrow is usually given across the field, which is the
best method when only one spring furrow is intended ; but as it is now ascertained, that
two spring furrows are highly advantageous, perhaps the one in winter ought to be given
in length, which lays the ground in a better situation for resisting the rains, and renders
3 D
770 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III-
it sooner dry in spring, than can be the case when ploughed across. On the supposition,
that three furrows are to be given, one in winter, and two in spring, the following is
the most eligible preparation. The land being ploughed in length, as early in winter as
is practicable, and the cross gutter and headland furrows sufficiently digged out, take the
second furrow across the first as soon as the ground is dry enough in spring to undergo
the operation ; water-furrow it immediately, and dig again the cross gutter and headland
furrows, otherwise the benefit of the second furrow may be lost. This being done,
leave the field for some days, till it is sufficiently dry, when a cast of the harrows
becomes necessary, so that the surface may be levelled. Then enter with the ploughs,
and form the drills. ( Treatise on Rural Affairs. )
4771. Manure is frequently applied to the ieaw crop, especially if it succeeds wheat.
By some, dung is spread on the stubble previous to the winter ploughing, but this cannot
always be done in a satisfactory manner, at least in the northern parts of the island,
unless during frost, when it may lie long exposed to the weather before it can be turned
down by the plough. The most desirable mode therefore is, to lay the manure into
drills immediately before the beans are sown. (Supp. <^c.)
4772. According to Brown, the best way is to apply the dung on the stubble before
the winter furrow is given, which greatly facilitates the after process. Used in this way,
a fore stock must be in hand ; but where the farmer is not so well provided, spring
dunging becomes necessary, though evidently of less advantage. At that season, it
may either be put into the drills before the seed is sown, or spread upon the surface and
ploughed down, according to the nature of the drilling process, which is meant to be
adopted. Land dunged to beans, if duly hoed, is always in high order for carrying a
crop of wheat in succession. Perhaps better wheat, both in respect of quantity and
quality, may be cultivated in this way, than in any other mode of sowing.
4773. The climate most favorable to the bean is one neither very dry nor very moist,
he first brings on the fly, and the last prevents the setting of the blossoms. In general,
however, a dry summer is most favorable to the production of corn, and moist weather
to the growth of the haulm.
4774. The time of sowing beans is as early as possible after the severity of winter is
over ; in the south, sometimes in January, but never later than the end of March ; as the
ripening of the crop and its safe harvesting would otherwise be very precarious in this
climate. Bannister thinks, that the proper time for planting beans in Kent is towards the
latter end of January, or early in the following month ; though this business may be
continued to advantage till the middle or latter end of March, if the weather had pre-
vented their being got in at an earlier season : but in general it is best to embrace the
first opportunity of sowing them after Candlemas, as they often miscarry if the season
be procrastinated beyond that time, especially if a dry summer should succeed.
4775. The mode of sowing is almost always in rows. Though still sown broad-cast
in several places, and sometimes dibbled, they are, for the most part, drilled by judicious
cultivators, or deposited after the plough in every furrow, or only in every second or
third furrow. In the latter method, the crop rises in rows, at regular intervals of nine,
eighteen, or twenty-seven inches, and the hand-hoe ought invariably to be employed ;
but it is only where the widest interval is adopted, that the horse-hoe can be used with
much effect in their subsequent culture.
4776. There are two modes of drilling beans. In one of these, the lands, or ridges, are dirided by the
plough into ridgelets, or one bout stitches, at intervals of about twenty-seven inches. If dung is to be
applied, the seed ought to be first deposited, as it is found inconvenient to run the drill-machine after-
wards. The dung may then be drawn out from the carts in small heaps, one row of heaps serving for
three or five ridgelets ; and it is evenly spread, and equally divided among them, in a way that will be
more minutely described when treating of the culture of turnips. The ridgelets are next split out or
reversed, either by means of the common plough, or one with two mo>ild-boards, which covers both the
seed and the manure in the most perfect manner. When beans are sown by the other method, in the
bottom of a common furrow, the dung must be previously spread over the surface ef the winter or
spring ploughing. Three ploughs then start in succession, one immediately behind another, and a drill
barrow either follows the third plough, or is attached to it, by which the beans are sown in every third-
furrow, or at from twenty-four to twenty-seven inches asunder, according to the breadth of the furrow-
slice.
4777. Anotfier approved way qf sowing beans, when dung is applied at seed-time, is to spread the dung
and to plough it down with a strong furrow ; after this shallow furrows are drawn, into which the seed is
deposited by the drill-machine. Whichever of these modes of sowing is followed, the whole field must
be carefully laid dry by means of channels formed by the plough, and when necessary by tbe shovel; for
neither then nor at any former period should water be allowed to stagnate on the land.
4778. The dibbling of beans is considered by Arthur Young as an excellent method,
when well performed; but the grand objection to it is the difficulty of getting it well
done. When it becomes the common husbandry of a district, the workmen find that
great earnings are to be made by it ; and this is much too apt to make them careless,
and eager to earn still more ; and if a ver}' minute attention be not paid to them, by the
constant attendance of the farmer, they strike the holes so shallow, that the first peck
of a rook's bill takes the seed, and acres may be destroyed, if the breed of those birds be
encouraged. Boys are employed for weeks together to keep the fields> but all works
Book VI. THE BEAN. 771
that depend on boys are horribly neglected, and thus the farmer suffers materially ; but
if the seed is deposited two and a half, or (better) three inches deep, it is not so easily
eradicated. In some districts, as Middlesex, Surrey, &c. the method is, to plant
this pulse in rows stricken out by a line, by which a great saving is made in the article
of seed, a circumstance which is thought to compensate for the extraordinary charge of
this mode of husbandry ; and thus far may be fairly acknowledged, that the method of
planting beans by the dibber is greatly to be preferred to that of sowing the seed at
random j the economy of this agricultural process is thus explained : the rows are
marked out one foot asunder, and the seed planted in holes made two inches apart : the
lines are stretched across the lands, which are formed about six feet over, so that when
one row is planted, the sticks to which the line is fastened are moved by a regular
measurement to the distance required, and the same method pursued till the field is
completed. The usual price for this work is ninepence per peck, and the allowance two
bushels per acre. Great confidence must necessarily be reposed in the people who
transact the business of planting beans by the dibber, who, if inclined to fraud, have it in
their power to deceive their employer by throwing great part of the seed into the hedge,
from which their daily profits are considerably enhanced, their own labor spared, and
every discovery effectually precluded, till the appearance of the crop, when the frequent
chasms in the rows will give sufficient indications of the fraud ; and by this time, per-
haps, the villainous authors of the mischief may have escaped all possibility of detection,
by having conveyed themselves from the scene of their iniquity.
4779. The quantity of seed allowed is very different in the southern and northern
parts of Britain ; in the former, even when the rows are narrow, only two bushels or
two bushels and a half; but in Scotland, seldom less than four bushels to the English
statute acre, even when sown in ridgelets twenty-seven inches distant, and a bushel more
when sown broad-cast. We seldom have seen thin beans turn out well, unless the
soil is particularly rich ; nay, unless the rows close, weeds will get away after the clean-
ing process is finished, thereby disappointing the object of drilling, and rendering the
system of little avail towards keeping the ground in good condition. Both irr the
broad-cast and drill husbandry, it is common to mix a small quantity of pease along
with beans. This mixture improves both the quantity and quality of the straw for
fodder, and the pease-straw is useful for binding up the sheaves in harvest.
4780. The after culture of the bean crop commences with harrowing just before the
young plants reach the surface. When sown in rows, in either of the modes already
mentioned, the harrows are employed about ten or twelve days after ; and, being driven
across the ridgelets, the land is laid completely level for the subsequent operations, and
the annual weeds destroyed.
4781. After the beans have made some growth, sooner or later, according as the soil
may happen to be encumbered with or free from weeds, the horse-hoe is employed in the
interval between the rows ; and followed by the hand-hoe for the purpose of cutting
down such weeds as the horse-hoe cannot reach ; all the weeds, that grow among the
beans beyond the reach pf either hoe, should be pulled up with the hand. The same
operations are repeated as often as the condition of the land, in regard to cleanness, may
require.
4782. Before the introduction of the horse-hoe, which merely stirs the soil, and cuts up
the weeds, a common small plough, drawn by one horse, was used in working between
the rows, and is still necessary where root-weeds abound. This plough goes one bout,
or up and down in each interval, turning the earth from the beans, and forming a ridge-
let in the middle ; then hand-hoes are immediately employed ; and after some time, a
second hand-hoeing succeeds to destroy any fresh growth of weeds. The same plough,
with an additional mould-board, finally splits open the intermediate ridgelet, and lays up
the earth to the roots of the beans on each side. The benefit of laying up the earth in
this manner, however, is alleged to be counterbalanced by the trouble which it occasions
in harvest, when it is difficult to get the reapers to cut low enough, and may be properly
dispensed with, unless the soil be very wet and level.
4783. In moist warm seasons, this grain hardly ever ripens effectually ; and it is ex-
ceedingly difficult to get the straw into a proper condition for the stack. In such cases,
it has been found of advantage to switch off the succulent tops with an old scythe blade
set in a wooden handle, with which one man can easily top-dress two acres a day. This
operation, it is said, will occasion the crop to be ready for reaping a fortnight earlier, and
also, perhaps a week sooner ready for the stack-yard after being reaped.
4784. Before reaping beans the grain ought to be tolerably well ripened, otherwise the
quality is impaired, whilst a long time is required to put the straw in such a condition as
to be preserved in the stack. In an early harvest, or where the crop is not weighty, it is
an easy matter to get beans sufficiently ripened; but, in a late harvest, and in every one
where the crop takes on a second growth, it is scarcely practicable to get them thoroughly
ripened for the sickle.. Under these circumstances, it is unnecessary tp let beans stancj
3 D 2
772 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
uncut after the end of September, or the first of October ; because any benefit that can
be gained afterwards, is not to be compared with the disadvantages that accompany a late
wheat seed-time. Beans are usually cut with the sickle, and tied in sheaves, either with
straw ropes, or with ropes made from pease sown along with them. It is proper to let the
sheaves lie untied several days, so that the winning process may be hastened, and, when
tied, to set them up on end, in order that full benefit from the air may be obtained, and
the grain kept oflf the ground. {Brown. )
4785. Beans are sometimes mowrif and in a few instances, even pulled up by the
roots. They should in every case be cut as near the ground as possible, for the sake of the
straw, which is of considerable value as fodder, and because the best pods are often placed
on the stems near the roots. They are then left for a few days to wither, and afterwards
bound and set up in shocks to dry, but without any head sheaves. (Supp. S^c.)
4786. Beans are stacked either in the round or oblong manner, and it is always proper,
if the stack be large, to construct one or more funnels to allow a free circulation of air.
4787. T/ie threshing of beans is nearly as easy as that of pease. Threshing them by
a machine may be considered advantageous as breaking the coarser ends of the straw,
and separating the earth from their root-ends, or roots, if they have been reaped by
pulling.
4788. The produce of beans, when proper management is exercised, and where diseases
have not occurred, is generally from twenty-five to thirty-five bushels per acre. Donaldson
says, that a crop of beans, taking the island at large, may be supposed to vary from six-
teen to forty bushels, but that a good average crop cannot be reckoned to exceed twenty.
In Middlesex, Middleton tells us, that bean-crops vary fiom ten to eighty bushels per
acre. They are rendered a very precarious crop by the ravages of myriads of small black
insects of the same species. The lady-birds {Coccinella) are supposed to feed on them,
as they are observed to be much among them. Foot says, the average produce is from
three and a half to four quarters per acre. In Kent, A. Young thinks, they probably ex-
ceed four quarters ; but in Suffolk, he should not estimate them at more than three j
yet five or six are not uncommon.
4789. The produce in haulm, in moist seasons, is very bulky.
4790. I7i the application of beans, the grain in Scotland is sometimes made into meal,
the finer for bread and the coarser for swine ; but beans are for the most part applied to
the purpose of feeding horses, hogs, and other domestic animals. In the county of
Middlesex, all are given to horses, except what are preserved for seed, and such as are
podded while green, and sent to the l^ondon markets. When pigs are fed with beans,
it is observed that the meat becomes so hard as to make very ordinary pork, but good
bacon. It is also supposed that the mealmen grind many horse-beans among wheat to
be manufactured into bread.
4791. Thefiour of beans is more nutritive than that of oats, as appears in the fattening
of hogs ; whence, according to the respective prices of these two articles, Dr. Darwin
suspects that pease and beans generally supply a cheaper provender for horses than oats,
as well as for other domestic animals. But as the flour of pease and beans is more oily, he
believes, than that of oats, it may in general be somewhat more diflScult of digestion ;
hence, when a horse has taken a stomach-full of pease and beans alone, he may be less
active for an hour or two, as his strength will be more employed in the digestion of them
than when he has taken a stomach-full of oats. A German physician gave to two dogs,
which had been kept a day fasting, a large quantity of flesh food; and then taking one of
them into the fields, hunted him with great activity for three or four hours, and left the
other by the fire. An emetic was then given to each of them, and the food of the sleeep-
ing dog was found perfectly digested, whilst that of the hunted one had undergone but
little alteration. Hence it may, he says, be found advisable to mix bran of wheat
with the pease and beans, a food of less nutriment but of easier digestion ; or to let the
horses eat before or after them the coarse tussocks of sour grass, which remain in moist
pastures in the winter ; or, lastly, to mix finely-cut straw with them. It is observed in
the fifth volume of The Bath Papers, that it has been found by repeated experience, that
beans are a much more hearty and profitable food for horses than oats. Being out of old
oats the two last springs, the writer substituted horse-beans in "their stead. In the
room of a sack of oats with chaff, he ordered them a bushel of beans with chaff, to serve
the same time. It very soon appeared the beans were superior to the oats, from the
ife, spirit, and sleekness of the horses.
4792. Bean straw, when mixed with pease. Brown considers as affording almost as
much nourishment when properly harvested, as is gained from hay of ordinary quality ;
when it is well got the horses are fonder of it than of pease straw. It should either be
given when newly threshed, or else stacked up and compressed by treading or coverings,
as the air is found materially to affect both its flavor and nutritive quality.
4793. 2Vie produce of beans in meal is like that of pease, more in proportion to the
grain than in any of the cereal grasses. A bushel of beans is supposed to yield fourteen
Book VI. THE TARE. 773
pounds more oif flour than a bushel of oats, and a bushel of pease eighteen pounds more,
or, according to some, twenty pounds. A thousand parts of bean flour were found, by
Sir H. Davy, to yield 570 parts of nutritive matter, of which 426 were mucilage or
starch, 103 gluten, and 41 extract, or matter rendered insoluble during the process.
4794. The diseases of beans are, the rust, the honey-dew, mildew, and black fly or
aphides. These diseases are brought on by very dry weather ; the fly almost always
succeeds the honey-dew ; both are most prevalent on the summits of the plants, and
some have attempted to mitigate the evil by cutting them off. In general, however,
these diseases are without remedy, either preventive or positive. In extreme cases they
destroy both the leaves, stalks, and fruit ; and when this is foreseen, the best thing the
farmer can do is to mow them or plough them down, and prepare the land for wheat o
otherwise, according to the rotation.
Sect. III. The Tare. — Vicia sativat L. Diadel. Decan. L. and Leguminosete, J.
Vesce, Fr. ; Wicke, Ger. ; and Loglio, Ital.
4795. The tare, vetch, or fitch (Vicia sativa,fig. 564.), has been cultivated for its stem
and leaves from time immemorial. It is considered as a 564
native plant, and is found wild also in China and Japan.
Ray, in 1686, informs us that the common tare or vetch,
was then sown almost all over Europe ; that it was chiefly
used in England, mixed with pease and oats, to feed horses ;
but that it was sometimes sown separately for soiling
cattle, and was reputed to cause milch cows to yield much
milk. The tare. Brown observes, is of hardy growth, and,
when sown upon rich land, will return a large supply of
green fodder for the consumption of horses, or for fatten-
ing cattle.
4796. The varieties of tares are chiefly two, the winter
and spring tare ; both have local names, as gore vetch,
rath ripe vetch, &c. Some consider them as distinct species,
but this is doubtful. As the result of an experiment
tried for two years at Bury, in Suffolk, Professor Mar-
tyn observes, that there appears a material difference in the
constitution, if we may so call it, of the two tares in ques-
tion. Not to say any thing of a trifling difference in the
color and size of their seeds, the only visible marks of distinction seems to be a disparity
in the first leaves of the upright stalks, which, in the spring tare, are elliptic and rounded
or notched at the end ; but in the winter tare, linear and drawn to a point. The leaves
on the branches which afterwards issue below, and in time form the bulk of the plants,
are the same in both vetches. But whatever the difference may be, it is evident that the
seeds of the two sorts ought to be kept separate, since each sown out of its proper season
is found not to prosper. '
4797. JSFeiv varieties of tare may be obtained by the usual means ; and it is thought
that some of the numerous species of this plant, which are natives of Europe, might be
cultivated with advantage. The vicia narbonnensis and seratifolia are cultivated in Ger-
many. Dr. Anderson has recommended the V. sepium ; and a writer in The Bath
Agricultural Transactions, the V. cracca. Some species of lathyrus, orobus, and ervura,
might probably also be tried with success.
47 98. In choosing hetween the spring and winter tare, every thing must depend on the
intention of the crop. If the object is to have early feed, the winter variety is im-
doubtedly to be preferred ; but where the land is foul and requires to be two or three
times ploughed in spring, or where a late crop is desired, or a crop for seed, then the
spring variety will generally deserve the preference.
4799. The soil preferred by the tare is a clay, but they will grow in any rich soil not
over dry. In a moist climate, the haulm grows so luxuriant as to rot at bottom ; and
in one over dry it is deficient in length. A dry season, however, is on the whole
more favorable than a moist one, as this crop soon covers the surface.
4800. The preparation of the soil seldom consists of more than one ploughing, if fof
autumn sowing ; and of a winter and spring ploughing, when to be sown in spring.
If in the latter case, the land is very foul, several ploughings are given, or one plough-
ing and several stirrings with the cultivator. In general, tares succeed some of the
corn crops. In England manure is sometimes given either with a view to eating them
off early, and following with a crop of turnips, or to the enriching the soil for a crop of
Vrheat.
4801. The tin/ie of sowing depends on the kind of tare, and the purpose in view. The
winter variety is .sown in September and October ; and the first sowing in spring ought
to be as early as the season will permit. If they are to be cut gfeen for soiling througli-
3 D 3
774 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
out the summer and autumn, which is the most advantageous method of consuming
them, successive sowings should follow till the end of May. Summer tares, when meant
for seed. Brown observes, ought to be sown early, " otherwise the return will be imper-
fect ; but when for green food, any time betwixt the first of April and the latter end of May
will answer well, provided crops in succession, from the first to the last mentioned period,
be regularly cultivated. Instances are not wanting of a full crop being obtained even
when the seed was sown so late as the middle of June, though sowing so late is a
practice not to be recommended. In Middlesex, the winter-sowings are commenced
about the beginning of August : in the northern counties no winter-sowings are made,
as the tare there will not endure the severity of tht season.
4802. The mode of sowing tares is mostly broad-cast, which should be performed
as evenly as possible over the surface of well-prepared land ; the seeds being after-
wards covered in by proper harrowing, in order to prevent their being picked up by
birds, and ensure their perfect vegetation and growth. It has been suggested, how-
ever, that in rich clean soil, it is probable the row-method would succeed well with
this sort of crop, as Marshal states, is the practice in some of the southern districts of the
island. After the seed is sown, and the land carefully harrowed, a light roller ought to
be drawn across, so that the surface may be smoothed, and the scythe permitted to work
without interruption. It is proper also to guard the field for several days against the
depredations of pigeons, who are remarkably fond of tares, and will pick up a great part
of the seed, unless constantly watched.
4803. The quantity of seed to an acre is from two and a half to three and a half bushels, ac-
cording to the time of sowing, and as they are to be consumed green or left to stand for a
crop. When tares are intended for seed, less seed is required than when they are grown for
soiling or for drying the haulm. A writer in The Farmer s Magazine (vol. i.) has sug-
gested that the most productive method of sowing this crop, when intended for seed, is
to mix them amongst beans when drilled, at the rate of one firlot of tares to one boll of
beans. From trials made, it is ascertained, it is said, that the quality of the tares is vastly
improved by being blended with beans, as, by clinging to the latter, they are kept from the
ground, and enjoy the full benefit of the sun, for ripening them in a perfect manner;
and they are in this way much easier harvested than when sown by themselves. They
answer, at the same time, for bands to tie the principal crop ; and the produce may, on
an average of seasons, be considered as at least double. A little rye sown with winter tares,
and a few oats with the spring sort, not only serve to support the weak creeping stems of
the tares, but add to the bulk of the crop by growing up through the interstices.
4804. In the choice of the seed it is hardly possible to distinguish the grain of the winter
from that of the spring variety : the former is alleged to be rather smaller and lighter
colored ; but the only reliance must be on the honesty of the vendor. Plump seed and
a sample free from the seeds of weeds, will of course be selected, whatever be tiie variety.
4805. The after culture given to tares consists merely in pulling out the larger weeds,
unless they are in rows, in which case the horse or hand-hoe is applied ; or intended for
seed, in which case weeding must be more particularly executed.
4806. In reaping tares for soiling they ought always to be cut with the scythe, as, the
sickle by breaking asunder the stalks, and tearing up a number by the roots, renders the
second crop of little value. When mown early, they will in a moist season produce three
mowings, but generally two. In reaping tares for seed, they may be either mown or taken
with the sickle, and treated like pease in drying, stacking, and threshing*
4807. Tares are eaten off the ground in some places by diflferent kinds of live-stock,
particularly by sheep ; and as the winter-sown variety comes very early in spring, the
value of this rich food is then very considerable. The waste, however, in this way, even
though the sheep be confined in hurdles, must be great ; and still greater when consumed
by horses or cattle.
4808. Tare crops are sometimes made into hay, in which case more attention is found
necessary than in those of most of the artificial grasses, as wet is more injurious to them,
and they require more sun and air ; but in other respects they demand the same cautious
management, in order to preserve the foliage from being lost. The time for cutting for
this purpose is, according to the author of The Synopsis of Husbandry, when the blossoms
have declined and they begin to fall and lie flat. When well made, the hay is of the
^est and most nutritious quality or properties.
' 4809. The produce of tares cut green is, according to Middleton, ten or twelve tons per
acre, which is a large crop ; and when made into hay at about three tons the acre, which
shows the disadvantage of making these crops into hay. And it is found, that the spring
tare crops are lighter, and most liable to be injured by a dry season.
4810. The produce in seed is likewise found to be considerable, being by some stated
at from three to six sacks ; but in other instances forty bushels, or more, have been ob-
tained from the atre.,
4811 . In the ajrp'lication of tares they are found to be a hearty and most nourishing food
Boor VI. EXOTIC LEGUMES. 775
for all sorts of cattle. Cows give more butter when fed with this plant than with any
other food whatsoever. Horses thrive better upon tares tlian they do upon clover and rye-
grass; and the same remark is applicable to fattening of cattle, who feed faster upon
this article of green fodder, than upon any kind of grass or esculent with which we are
acquainted. Danger often arises from their eating too many, especially when podded ;
as colics, and other stomach disorders, are apt to be produced by the excessive loads
which they devour. Perhaps a great quantity of fixed air is contained in this vegetable j
and as heavy crops are rarely dry at the root when cut, it is not to be wondered that acci«
dents often happen, when the animal is indulged with the unrestrained consumption of
Ihem. Were oat straw mixed with the tares in the racks or stalls in which they are de-
posited, it is probable that fewer accidents would follow, though this assistant is only re-
quired when the tares are wet, foul, or over succulent. If the plants be cut green, and
given to live-stock, either on the field, or in the fold-yards, there is, perhaps, no green crop
of greater value, nor any better calculated to give a succession of herbage from May ta
November, The winter-sown tare, in a favorable climate, is ready for cutting before
clover. The first spring crop comes in after the clover must be all consumed or made into
hay ; and the successive spring sowings give a produce more nourishing for the larger
animals than the aftermath of clover, and may afford green food at least a month longer.
In the county of Sussex, Young observes, "tare crops are of such use and importance that
not one-tenth of the stock could be maintained without them; horses, cows, sheep, hogs,
all feed upon them ; hogs are soiled upon them without any other food. Tliis plant main-r
tains more stock than any other plant whatsoever. Upon one acre, Davis maintained
four horses in much better condition than upon five acres of grass. Upon eight acres he
has kept twelve horses and five cows for three months without any other food : no artificial
food whatever is equal to this excellent plant." This statement must be coupled with the
.usual produce of turnips in Sussex, 10 or 15 tons per acre: hence the supposed supe-
riority of tares to every other green crop. Tares cut green. Professor Timer observes,
draw no nourishment from the soil whatever, while made into hay, they aflford a fodder
preferred by cattle to pease-straw, and more nutritive than hay or any other herbage.
4812. The use of the grain of tares is generally for reproduction ; but they are also given
to pigeons, by whom they are highly relished, and it is thought they would form a very
good food for poultry. In Germany they are given to horses, cows, sheep, and swine.
4813. The diseases of tares are so fe w as to be of no consequence. A crop is sometimes,
but rarely, lost by mildew.
Sect. IV. Of other Leguminous Grains, which might be cultivated in British Farming.
4814. The lentil, kidneybean, and chick pea are grown both in France and Germany
as field plants for their grains, to be used as food. They 365
are by no means likely to become articles of general cul-
ture in Britain ; but it is worth while to know that they
may be cultivated here instead of being imported, and
also that they form Very eJcCellent articles of human
food.
4815. The lentil is the jErvumlens, L. Les lejitilles,
Fr. ; Lentzen) Ger. ; and Lenticcia, Ital. (fg. 565.) It
is a legume of the greatest antiquity, being in esteem in
Esau*s time, and much prized in eastern countries ever
since. In Egypt and Syria, they are parched in a frying-
pan and sold in the shops, and considered by the natives
as the best food for those who Undertake long journeys.
The lentil is considered a native of France, but has been
known in England from the earliest agricultural records.
In Gerarde's time, they were sown like tares, tlieir haulm given to cattle, and the grain to
pigeons, and used in meagre soups.
4816. There are three varietiei of lentils cultivated in France and Germany; the small
brown, which is the lightest flavored, and the best for haricots and soups ; the yellowish^
which is a little larger, and the next best ; and the lentil of Provence, which is almost
as large as a pea with luxuriant straw, and more fit to be cultivated as a tare, than fdt
the grains as human food.
4817. A dry lUarm saiidy soil is requisite for the lentil ; it is sown rather later than
the pea, at the rate of a bushel or one and a half bushels to the acre ; in other respects
its culture and harvesting are the same, and it ripens sooner. The lentil, Young ob-
serves, is a crop not uncommon about Chesterford in Essex, where they sow a bushel
an acre on one ploughing in the beginning or middle of March. It is there the custom
to make hay of them, or seed them, for Cutting into chaff for trough-meat for sheep and
horses, and they sow them on both heavy and dry soils. It is, however, added, that
the whole country is of a calcareous natilre. It is likewise stated, that attention should
3 D4
776
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part II
be paid not to water horses soon after eating this sort of food, as they are apt to hove
them. They are likewise asserted to be cultivated for the same purpose in Oxfordshire,
and probably in other districts.
4818. The produce of the lentil in grain is about a fourth less than that of the tare ;
and in straw it is not a third as much, the plants seldom growing above one and a half
feet high. The straw is, however, very delicate and nourishing, and preferred for lambs
and calves, and the grain on the continent sells at nearly double the price of pease.
EinhofF obtained from 3840 parts of lentils, 1260 parts of starch, and 1433 of a matter
analogous to animal matter.
4819. The use of the lentil on the continent is very general, both in soups and dressed
with a butter sauce as haricot. They are imported from Hamburgh, and sold in Lon-
don for the same purpose.
4820. The chick pea [Cicer arietinum, fig. 55.), grows naturally in the south of Eu-
rope, and is cultivated there for the same purposes as the lentil, but it is too delicate for
field culture in this country.
4821. The kidneybean {Phaseolus vulgaris, 1j. Haricot, Fr. ; Schminkbohne, Ger. ;
BVidi Fagiuolo, Ital.) is a native of India, but ripens readily in dry summers in most
parts of Britain. Its culture has been hitherto confined to gardens, but it might be
grown equally well in dry, warm, rich, and sheltered soils, being grown in the fields of
Germany, Switzerland, and similar climates. The sort generally used for this purpose
is the small dwarf white ; the ground is prepared by several stirrings, and the seed is
dibbled in rows eighteen inches or two feet asunder in the beginning of May. The
ground is hoed and weeded during the summer, and the crop is ripe in August. It is
usually harvested by pulling up the plants, which, being dried, are stacked or threshed.
The haulm is of little bulk or use, but the grain is used in making the esteemed French
dish called haricot, which it were desirable the cottagers of this country were made
acquainted with. There is perhaps no other vegetable dish so cheap and easily cooked,
and at the same time so agreeable and nourishing. The
beans are boiled and then mixed with a little salt butter or
other fat, and a little milk or water, and flour. From
3840 parts of kidneybean, EinhofF obtained 1805 parts of
matter analogous to starch, 851 of vegeto-animal matter,
and 799 parts of mucilage. Haricots and lentils are much,
used in all Catholic countries during Lent and maigre days,
as they, from their peculiar constituents, form so excellent a
substitute for animal food. During the prevalence of the
Roman religion in this country, they were probably much
more generally used than at present ; as reformations are
often carried farther than is necessary, possibly lentils may
have been left off by Protestants, lest the use of them may
have been considered a symptom of popery.
4822. The lupin {Lupinus luteus, L. fig. 566.), was
cultivated by the Romans as a legume, and is still occa-
sionally grown in Italy. The grain was formerly, and
is occasionally now used as food ; but more generally the
whole plant is mown and given as herbage to cattle, and
sometimes the crop is ploughed down as manure.
Chap. IV.
Of Plants cultivated for their Roots or Leaves.
4823. Plants cultivated for their roots or leaves are various, and most of them ati
adapted both for human food and that of domestic animals ; but some are chiefly ot
entirely grown for the nurture of live-stock. The plants which we include under thi*
head, are the potatoe, turnip, carrot, parsnep, beet, cabbage tribe, lettuce, and chiccory.
The culture of roots may be considered a branch of farming almost entirely of modern
origin, and more peculiarly British than any other department. Turnips were culti-
vated by the Romans, and in modern times brought into notice as objects of field cul-
ture in the last century, but they were most imperfectly managed, and of very little
utility in agriculture till their culture was undertaken by the British farmer. The
poratoe, carrot, and parsnep, were also first cultivated in the fields of this country. Fri*
able or light soil, superior pulverisation, and manuring, the row-method, and careful
after-culture, are essential to the maturation of the plants to be treated of in this Chapter j
and hence the importance of such crops as preparations for those of the bread corns.
Book VI.
THE POTATOE.
777
4824. The nutritwe products of these plants are
thus given by Sir H. D&vy :
c„.t-„,, „ ,„- IThe quantity analysed.
Systematic name. ■ f ^^^^ ^^t 'lOOO parts.
Whole
quantity of
soluble or
nutritive
matter.
Mucilage Saccharine
or matter or
starch. sugar.
Gluten
or
albumen.
Extract, or
matter ren-
dered inso-
luble during
evaporation.
Solanum tuberosum - Potatoe - j
Beta vulgaris - - Red beet
Brassica rapa - - ! Common turnip -
var. ruta baga Swedish turnip -
Daucuscarota - - , Carrot
Parsnep
Betacicla - - [White lieet
Brassica oleracea - Cabbage
From 260
to 200.
148
42
64
98
99
136
73
From 200
to 155.
14
7
9
3
9
13
41
From 20
to 15.
121
34
51
95
90
119
24
From 40
to 30.
13
1
2
4
8
2
Sect. 1. The Potatoe. — Solanum, tuberosum ^Ij. Pentan. Monog. Ij. and Solanece, J.
Pomme de Terre, Fr. ; Cartoffel, Ger. ; Tartu fflo or Porno di Terra, Ital.
4825. The potatoe is supposed to be a native of South America ; but Humboldt is
very doubtful if that can be proved ; he admits, however, that it is naturalised there in
some situations. Sir J. Banks {Hort. Trans, vol. i. p. 8.) considers that the potatoe was
first brought into Euro|)e from the mountainous parts of South America, in the neigh-
borhood of Quito, where they were called papas, to Spain, in the early part of the sixteenth
century. From Spain, where they were called battatas, they appear to have found their
way first to Italy, where they received the same name with the truffle, taratotifli. The
potatoe was received by Clusius, at Vienna, in 1598, from the governor of Mons, in
Hainault, who had procured it the year before from one of the attendants of the Pope's
legate, under the name of taratoufio, and learned from him that it was then in use in
Italy. In Germany it received the name of cartoffelj and spread rapidly even in
Clusius's time.
4826. To England the potatoe was brought from Virginia by thQ colonists sent out by
Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584, and which returned in July 1 586, and "probably," ac-
cording to Sir Joseph Banks, *' brought with them the potatoe." Thomas Herriot, in a
report on the country, published in De Bry's Collection of Voyages, (vol. i. p. 17.) de-
cribes a plant called openawk, with ** roots as large as a walnut, and others much larger ;
they grow in damp soil, many hanging together, as if fixed on ropes ; they are good food,
either boiled or roasted." Gerarde, in his Herbal, published in 1597, gives a figure of
the potatoe, under the name of the potatoe of Virginia, whence, he says, he received the
roots ; and this appellation it appears to have retained, in order to distinguish it from
the battatas, or sweet potatoe {Convolvulus baltatas), till the year 1640, if not longer.
** The sweet potatoe," Sir Joseph Banks observes, "was used in England as a delicacy
long before the introduction of our potatoes : it was imported in considerable quantities
from Spain and the Canaries, and was supposed to possess the power of restoring decayed
vigor. The kissing comfits of FalstafF, and other confections of similar imaginary qua-
lities, with which our ancestors were duped, were principally made of these and of eringo
roots."
4827. The jwtatoe was first planted by Sir William Raleigh on his estate of Youghall,
near Cork, and Gough says, was "cherished and cultivated for food" in that country
before its value was known in England ; for, though they were soon carried over from
Ireland into Lancashire, Gerarde, who had this plant in his garden in 1597, under the
name of Battata Virginiana, recommends the roots to be eaten as a delicate dish, not as
common food. Parkinson mentions, that the tubers were sometimes roastedj and steeped
in sack and sugar, or baked with marrow and spices, and even preserved and candied by
the comfit-makers,
4826. For encouraging the cultivation of potatoes, with the view of preventing famine,
the Royal Society took some measures in 1633. Still, however, althougli their utility
as an article of food was better known, no high character was bestowed on them. In
books of gardening, published towards the end of the seventeenth century, a hundred
years after their introduction, they are spoken of rather slightingly. " They are much
used in Ireland and America as bread," says one author, "and may be propagated with
advantage to poor people." " I do not hear that it hath been yet essayed," are the
words of another, " whether they may not be propagated in great quantities, for food for"
swine or other cattle." Even the enlightened Evelyn seems to have entertained a pre-
judice against them: "Plant potatoes," he says, writing in 1699, "in your worst
ground. Take them up in November for winter spending ; there will enough remain
for a stock, though ever so exactly gathered." But the use of potatoes gradually
spread, as their excellent qualities became better understood. It was near the middle of
the eighteenth century, however, before they were generally known over the country :
since that time they have been most extensively cultivated. In 1796, it was found, that
in the county of Essex alone, about 1700 acres were planted with potatoes for the supply
778 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
of the London market. This must form, no doubt, the principal supply ; but many-
fields of potatoes are to be seen in the other counties bordering on the capital, and many
ship-loads are annually imported from a distance. In every county in England, it is
now more or less an object of field culture.
4829. Potatoes^ as an article of human food, are, next to wheat, of the greatest
importance in the eye of the political economist. From no other crop that can be
cultivated will the public derive so much food as from this valuable esculent; and it ad-
mits of demonstration, that an acre of potatoes will feed double the number of people
that can be fed from an acre of wheat. Potatoes are also a nourishing and healthy food,
relished by almost every palate ; and it is believed there is hardly a dinner served up for
six months in the year without them, In any part of the kingdom. Notwithstanding all
these things, and they are of great importance in one point of view, we are doubtful
whether potatoes can be placed so high in the scale as several other articles of produce,
when the profit and loss account of the agriculturist is to be ascertained. They require
a great deal of manure from the farmer; while, generally speaking, little is returned by
them ; they are a bulky unhandy article, troublesome in the lifting and carrying processes,
and interfering with the seed season of wheat, the most important one to the farmer.
After all, from particular circumstances, they cannot be vended unless when raised in
the vicinity of large towns ; hence they are in most respects an unprofitable article to the
agriculturist. To him the real criterion is the profit which potatoes will return in feed-
ing beasts ; and here we apprehend, the result will altogether be in faVor of turnips,
and ruta baga, as the most profitable articles for that purpose.
4830. What is called the yam, or Surinam potatoe, is of more importance to the farmer,
because with this variety he has an excellent assistant to his turnip crop, or rather a suc-
cedaneum, which is of material benefit when turnips are consumed. Perhaps this root
may be cultivated with greater advantage than ruta baga upon many soils, as the preca-
riousness of ruta baga has been acknowledged by almost every one who has treated upon
the subject. It requires soil of the best quality, and a large dose of rich dung, to insure
even a middling crop of ruta baga ; therefore it can never be generally nor profitably
cultivated by common farmers. On the other hand, yams present every advantage which
can be got from ruta baga, and are not so pettish in their growth. Their culture is a
matter of far less difficulty, as they will grow upon soils where ruta baga would starve.
They require less manure, and may be planted as late in the season as the other, thereby
enabling the farmer to bestow the like previous preparation upon the ground, the want of
which is a general argument against ordinary potatoe husbandry. By taking them up in
October or November, they may be safely housed, arid the ground directly ridged up and
sown with wheat. (Brown. )
4831. The value of potatoes as a fallow crop, and as an article of food for cattle com-
pared with turnips and cabbages for the same purposes. Marshal observes, may be consi-
dered thus : Potatoes are more nutritious ; and, in the opinion of those who have used
them, fatten cattle much quicker than either turnips or cabbages. Potatoes, too, being
secured from the severities of winter^ are a more certain article of fatting than turnips or
cabbages ; both of which are liable to perish under an alternacy of frost and thaw ; and
the turnip, more particularly, is locked up, or rendered more difficult to be come at,
during a continuance of snow or frost. Turnips and cabbages, if they out- weather the
severities of winter, occupy the soil in the spring when it is wanted to be prepared for
the succeeding crop ; While potatoes, if properly laid up, are a food which may be con-
tinued without inconVeniency until the cattle be finished, or the grass has acquired the
requisite bite for finishing them in the field. On the other hand^ potatoes are a dis-
agreeable crop to cultivate : the planting is a tedious dirty business ; and taking them
up, may be called the filthiest work of husbandry, especially in a wet autumn. A pow-
erful argument for the extensive culture of potatoes as food for liVe-stock is, that in
seasons of scarcity they can be adopted as human food. Here, as in many other points,
the opinion of Marshal and other English agriculturists, is rather at variance with that of
the Northumberland and Berwickshire cultivators.
4832. The varieties <f the potatoe are innumerable: they differ in their leaves and bulk
of haulm ; in the color of the skin of the tubers ; in the color of the interior compared
with that of the skin; in the time of ripening; in being farinaceous, glutenous, or watery;
in tasting agreeably or disagreeably ; in cooking readily or tediously ; in the length of th6
subterraneous stolones to which the tubers are attached ; in bldssoming or not blossom-
ing ; and, finally, in the soil which they prefer.
4833. The earliest varieties of the potatoe are chiefly Cultivated in gardens, and there-
fore we shall only notice such early sorts as are grown in the fields. These are —
The early kidney. The early shaw, and
The nonsuch. The early charrtpion.
The last is the most generally cultivated round London ; it is very prolific, hardy, and
mealy. Early varieties, with local names, -are cultivated near most large towns, especially
Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and the metropolis.
Book VI. THE POTATOE. 779
4834. The latefeld varieties in most repute are —
The red-nose kidney. Black skin, white interior, and good.
Large kidney. Purple, very mealy, productive, and keeps well.
Bread fruit, raised in 1810, from seed, and esteemed one of Red apple, mealv, keeps the longest of any.
the best field ixjtatoes; being white, mealy, well tasted, Tartan, or purple and white skinned, an esteemed Scotch
and prolific. potatoe, prolific, mealy, exceedingly well tasted, and keeps
Lancashire pink eye, good. well.
4835. The varieties grown exclusively as food for live-stock are —
The yam or Surinam potatoe ; large, red and white skinned. The ox noble ; large, yellow without and within, very prolific,
and the interior veined with red ; flavor disagreeable, and not fit to eat.
not such as to admit of its being used as human food. It The late champion ; large and prolific, white skinned, and
succeeds best on heavy lands. may be used as human food.
4836. New varieties of potatoes are procured with the greatest ease. The following
directions are given in a useful work on this plant. Pluck off the apples when the stalk
has ceased to vegetate and is drying up. The seed being then fully ripe, break the apple
in a hair sieve, wash the pulp clean from the seeds, and dry them in the sun ; then sow
the seed in beds in March, and take the potatoes up in October. They will attain the
size of nutmegs, or at most be no larger than walnuts. Select the fairest and best, and
keep them secure from frost by thoroughly drying, and intermixing, and covering them
with sifted wood or coal-ashes. Plant them in April following, at the distance of fifteen
inches asunder ; and when the plant is two inches high, hill them with fresh earth. This
may be done several times, constantly taking care to keep them clean from weeds. Ob-
serve when the stalks decay ; some will be found decaying much sooner than others ;
these are the early kind, but those that decay last are the sort which comes late. Take
them up in rotation as they ripen, and let the produce of each potatoe be kept separate
till the next year. Such as come early, may be tried as soon as they are taken up, by-
dressing one or two ; should they be approved, the remainder may be preserved ; but
those which are late should not be tried before January or February, for it will be found
that the late kind of potatoes, newly raised, are very soft, and cut like soap, until they
have been hoarded a certain time, when they become mealy. Under each stalk you may-
expect to find a gallon of potatoes. Those planted the third year may, perhaps, produce
two sacks ; and their increase afterwards will be very considerably greater. Thus it
takes full three years to form an adequate judgment of potatoes raised from seed, and,
after all, if one in ten succeed so as to be worth preserving, it is as much as can be
reasonably expected.
4837. Some of the earlier sorts of potatoes do not blossom, and consequently do not,
under ordinary management, produce seeds. To procure blossoms and seeds from
these, it is necessary, from time to time, during the early part of the summer, to remove
the earth from the roots of the plants, and pick off the tubers, or potatoes as they begin
to form. By thus preventing the strength of the plant from being employed in forming
tubers at the root, it will flow into the leaves and herbage, and produces blossoms and
apples. Knight, the president of the Horticultural Society, by adopting this prac-
tice, succeeded in procuring seeds from some sorts of potatoes, which had never before
produced blossoms ; and from these seeds he raised excellent varieties, some hardy and
less early, others small and very early. He farther impregnated the blossoms produced
by these early potatoes with other sorts, some early and some late (in the way in which
graziers cross the breeds of cattle to improve the offspring), and he succeeded in pro-
ducing varieties, more early than late sorts, and more hardy and prolific than any early
potatoes he had seen. These he cultivated in his fields, deeming them preferable to
all other sorts as admitting of later planting and earlier removal, and this practice he
justly considered as highly favorable to the succeeding crop of wheat.
4838. In choosing a sort or sorts of potatoes from the numerous varieties which are
to be found every where, perhaps the best way is, for the selector to procure samples
and taste them, and to fix on what best pleases his palate. The shaw is one of the
best early potatoes for general field culture ; and the kidney and bread-fruit are good
sorts to come in in succession. The Lancashire pink is also an excellent potatoe, and we
have never in any part of the British isles tasted a potatoe equal in mealiness and flavor
to this variety, as cultivated round Prescot, near Liverpool. The red apple and tartan
are of undoubted preference as late or long keeping potatoes. The yam is decidedly
the best potatoe for stock, and will produce from twelve to fifteen tons per acre.
4839. The soil in which the potatoe thrives best is a light loam, neither too dry nor too
moist, but if rich, it is so much the better. They may, however, be grown well on
knany other sorts of lands, especially those of the mossy, raoory, and other similar kinds,
where they are free from stagnant moisture, and have had their parts well broken down
by culture, and a reasonable portion of manure added. The best flavored table potatoes
are almost always produced from a newly broken up pasture ground not manured ; or
from any new soil, as the site of a grubbed up copse or hedge, or the site of old buildings
or roads. Repeated on the same soil they very generally lose their flavor, 'i'lie yam
produces the largest crops on a loamy and rather strong soil, though it will grow well
on any that is deep ploughed and well manured.
780 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
4840. In preparing the soil for jiotntoes, it is of much importance to free it as com-
pletely as possible from weed roots, which cannot be so well extirpated afterwards, as in
the culture of turnips, and some other drilled crops, both because the horse-hoe must be
excluded altogether at a time when vegetation is still vigorous, and because at no period
of their growth is it safe to work so near the plants, especially after they have made some
progress in growth. It is the earlier time of planting, and of finishing the after-culture,
that renders potatoes a very indifferent substitute for fallow, and in this respect in no
degree comparable to turnips. For this reason, as well as on account of the great
quantity of manure required, their small value at a distance from large towns, and the
great expense of transporting so bulky a commodity, the culture of potatoes is by no
means extensive in the best managed districts. Unless in the immediate vicinity of
such towns, or in very populous manufacturing counties, potatoes do not constitute a
regular rotation crop, though they are raised almost every where to the extent required
for the consumption of the farmer and his servants, and, in some cases, for occasionally
feeding horses and cattle, particularly late in spring. The first ploughing is given soon
after harvest, and a second, and commonly a third, early in spring ; the land is then
laid up into ridgelets, from twenty-seven to thirty inches broad, as for turnips, and
manured in the same manner.
4841. The best manure for the potatoe appears to be littery farm-yard dung ; and the
best mode of applying it immediately under the potatoe sets. Any manure, however,
may be applied, and no plant will bear a larger dose of it, or thrive in coarser or less
prepared manure : even dry straw, rushes, or spray of trees, may be made use of with
success. It is alleged, however, that recent horse manure, salt, and soapers ashes, have
a tendency to give potatoes a rank taste, and to render them scabby.
4842. The best climate for the potatoe is one rather moist than dry, and temperate
or cool, rather than hot. Hence the excellence of the Irish potatoes, which grow in a
dry loamy calcareous soil and moist and temperate climate : and hence, also, the inferiority
of the potatoes of France, Spain, and Italy, and even Germany. In short, the potatoe
is grown no where in the world to the same degree of perfection as in Ireland and
Lancashire, and not even in the south of England so well as in Scotland, and the north
and western counties: all which is, in our opinion, clearly attributable to the climate.
4843. The season for jilanling early potatoes in the fields, depends much on the soil.
Where this is very dry, as it always ought to be for an early crop, the sets may be put in
the ground in March or earlier ; but for a full crop of potatoes, April is the best time
for planting. Potatoes, indeed, are often planted in the end of May, and sometimes
even in June ; but the crops, although often as abundant, are neither so mellow i:or
mature, as when the sets are planted in April, or in the first eight or ten days of
May.
4844. In preparing the sets of potatoes, some cultivators recommetid large Sets, others
small potatoes entire, and some large potatoes entire. Others, on the ground of ex-
perience, are equally strenuous in support of small cuttings, sprouts, shoots, or even only
the eyes or buds. With all these diflTerent sorts of sets, good crops are stated to have been
raised, though tolerable siised cuttings of pretty large potatoes, with two or three good
«yes or buds in each, are probably to be preferred. Independent of the increased ex-
pense of the seed, it is neVer a good practice to make use of whole potatoes as sets. The
best cultivators in Ireland and Scotland invariably cut the largest and best potatoes
into sets, rejecting in the case of kidney potatoes the root or mealy ehd as having no
bud, and the top or watery end as having too many. No objection is made to two or
even tliree buds on each set, though one is considered as suflficient. A very slight
exercise of common sense might have saved the advocates for shoots, scooped out eyes,
&c. their experiments and arguments, it being evident, as Brown has observed, to every
one that has any practical knowledge of the nature of vegetables, that the strength of
the stem at the outset depends in direct proportion upon the vigor and power of the
set. The set, therefore., ought to be large, rarely smaller than the fourth part of the po-
tatoe ; and if the set is of small size, one half of the potatoe may be profitably used.
At all events, rather err in giving over large sets, than in making them too small ; be-
cause by the first errorj no great loss canbe sustained ; whereas, by the other, a feeble
and late crop may be the consequence.
4845. 21ie time for cntling the sets should always be some days before planting, tliat
the wounds may dry up ; but no harm will result from performing this operation several
Meeks or months beforehand, provided the sets are not exposed too much to the drought
so as to deprive them of their natural moisture.
4846. The quantity of sets depends on the size Of the potatoes ; in general where thesets
are suflSciently large from eight to ten cwt. vl^ill be required for an acre : more than ten
for yams, and fewer than eight cwt. for the early nonsuch and ash-leaved.
4847. The modes (f planting the potatoe are various. Where spade culture is em-
ployed, they are very frequently planted on beds (provincially lazy-beds), of four or six
Book VI. THE POTATOE. 781
feet wide, with a trench or gutter between a foot or eighteen inches in width, and which
supplies soil for earthing up the potatoes. This is the rudest mode of planting and
cultivating potatoes, and unworthy of being imitated either on a farm or garden. The
next mode is planting on a plain surface, either with or without manure, according to
the state of the soil. Here the sets are placed in rows at from eighteen inches to two
and a half feet distance between the rows, according to the kind of potatoe, and from
four to nine inches distant in the rows. In planting, a hole for each set is made by
a man with a spade, while a woman or boy drops the set, and the earth is replaced ;
or the potatoe dibber is used, and the ground afterwards slightly harrowed. Another
mode of planting on a plain surface, when the soil is inclined to be dry, is in some
cases practised, which is, after the land has been brought into a proper condition by
ploughing over twice or oftener and well harrowed, to spread the manure regularly over
the whole surface, the sets being planted in every third furrow, and the dung with the
line earth turned upon them by the next furrow of the plough. In this way the manure
is however placed upon the sets, which has on experiment been fully shown to be
injurious to the produce. Besides, from the whole of the surface of the ground being
covered with dung, a considerably larger proportion must be requisite than when depo-
sited only in the drills, and of course the crop eannot be cultivated to advantage in
that respect.
4848. In planting the potatoe on sward land, after it has been prepared by the use of a
plough that just pares off the surface and deposits it in the furrow, it is advised by
Somerville to place the sets upon the inverted sod, and cover them with the loose mould
from below by means of a common plough ; or the trench plough may be used with
perhaps more advantage : but a better method is that of paring and burning. In some
cases the practice is, however, to turn down the turf with or without manure, and then to
put in the sets by a dibble ; though the former is probably the better practice, as the turfy
material on which the sets are put soon begins to decay, and the purpose of a manure is
in some measure answered by it. It is a plan that may be adopted with advantage where
manure is scarce, as in bringing waste and other coarse grass lands into the state of pre-
paration for grain crops.
4849. A mode of planting potatoes and at the same time trenching the land, is prac-
tised in Lancashire, and in some districts in the north-east of Scotland. The farmer
having carried the dung, and laid it on the field in heaps, at proper distances, the operation
is performed by the manufacturers and people who rent the field, and in the following
manner : Across the end of the ridge, a trench is formed, about three feet wide, and
from ten to fourteen inches deep, according to the depth and quality of the subsoil.
That being done, a second trench of the same breadth is marked off, and the surface-soil,
to the depth of six or eight inches, is thrown into the bottom of the former trench, over
which a sufficient quantity of dung being laid, the potatoes are planted at the distance
of eight or ten inches from each other, and then as much earth is taken from the bottom
of the second trench, as is necessary for covering the potatoe sets, and of making up the
first trench to its former level. Thus the field being completely trenched, well manured,
and kept thoroughly clean by repeated hand-hoeings, must not only produce an abundant
crop of potatoes, but also be in high condition for receiving whatever kind of seed may
be afterwards sown.
4850. The mode of planting potatoes by the best farmers of the northern districts, is in
drills formed by the plough in the same manner as in preparing the land for turnips.
The soil is laid up into ridgelets from twenty- seven to thirty inches broad, ilie manure
is distributed between them, and on this manure the sets are placed from four to eight
inches asunder : they are then covered by reversing the ridgelets.
4851. The planting of early potatoes is carried to a very high degree of perfection in
Lancashire. It is stated in The Lancashire Agricultural Report, in respect to the raising
of seed potatoes, that upon the same ground from which a crop has already been taken,
the early seed potatoes are in some places afterwards planted ; which, after being got up
about November, are immediately cut up into sets, and preserved in oat husks or saw-dust,
where they remain till March, when they are planted, after having had one spit taken off,
and planted with another, of a length sufficient to appear above ground in the space of a
week. But the most approved method is, to cut the sets, and put them on a room-floor,
where a strong current of air can be introduced at pleasure, the sets laid thinner, as
about two layers in depth, and covered with the like materials fchaff or saw-dust) about
two inches thick : this screens them from the winter frosts, and keeps them moderately
warm, causing them to vegetate ; but at the same time admits air to strengthen them,
and harden their shoots, which the cultivators improve by opening the doors and windows
on every opportunity afforded by mild soft weather : they frequently examine them, and
when the shoots are sprung an inch and a half, or two inches, they carefully remove one
half of their covering, with a wooden rake, or witli the hands, taking care not to disturb
782 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
or break the shoots. Light is requisite as well as air, to strengthen and establish the
shoots ; on which account a green-house lias the advantage of a room, but a room answers
very well with a good window or two in it, and if to the sun still better. In this manner
they suffer them to remain till the planting season, giving them all the air possible by the
doors and windows, when it can be done with safety from frost : by this method the
shoots at the top become green, leaves are sprung, and are moderately hardy. They then
plant them in rows, in the usual method, by a setting-stick ; and carefully fill up the
cavities made by the setting-stick ; by this method they are enabled to bear a little frost
without injury. The earliest potatoe is the superfine white kidney ; from this sort, upon
the same ground, have been raised four crops ; having sets from the repository ready to
put in as soon as the other were taken up ; and a fifth crop is sometimes raised from the
same lands, the same year, of transplanted winter lettuce. The first crop had the ad-
vantage of a covering in frosty nights. It is remarked that this useful information was
communicated by J. Blundell, Ormskirk, and has hitherto been known only among a
very few farmers.
4852. The after culture of potatoes consists in harrowing, hoeing, weeding, and earth-
ing up. All potatoes require to be earthed up, that is, to have at least one inch in depth
of earth heaped on their roots, and extending six or eiglit inches round their stem. The
reason of this is, that the tubers do not, properly speaking, grow under the soil, but
rather on, or just, partially, bedded in its surface. A coating of earth, therefore, is
found, by preserving a congenial moisture, greatly to promote their growth and magni-
tude, as well as to improve their quality, by preventing the potatoes from becoming green
on the side next the light. The earth may be thrown up from the trenches between the
beds by the spade ; or, where the potatoes are planted in rows, the operation may be
performed with a small plough, drawn by one horse, or by the hoe. In Scotland, where
the potatoe is extensively cultivated by the farmer, as food for cattle as well as man, the
plough is universally used. In Ireland, where the bed, or lazy-bed manner is adopted,
the earth is thrown up from the intervening trenches. The hoe is generally used by
market-gardeners.
4853. The after culture, where potatoes are planted in ridgelets, as above descried (4850. ),
commences when the plants begin to rise above the surface. They are then harrowed
across, and afterwards the horse-hoe, or small hoeing plough, and the hand-hoe, are
repeatedly employed in the intervals, and between the plants, as long as the progress of
the crop will permit, or the state of the soil may require. The earth is then gathered
once, or oftener, from the middle of the intervals towards the roots of the plants, after
which any weeds that may be left must be drawn out by hand ; for when the radicles
have extended far in search of food, and the young roots begin to form, neither the
horse nor hand-hoe can be admitted without injury.
4854. The after ctdture adopted in some parts of Devonshire is somewhat singular and
deserves to be noticed. The sets are there generally cut with three eyes and deposited
at the depth of three inches with the spade or dibber ; when the first shoot is three
inches high, prepare a harrow with thorns interwoven between the tines, and harrow the
ground over till all the weeds are destroyed, and not a shoot of the potatoes left. It
may seem strange that such an apparent destruction of a crop should cause an increase ;
but it may be affirmed as an incontestible fact, that by this means the produce
becomes more abundant. The reason appears to be this ; although three eyes are
left to a piece of potatoe, one always vegetates before the others, and the first shoot is
always single; that being broken off, there is for the present a cessation of vegetation.
The other eyes then begin to vegetate, and there appear fresh shoots from the broken eye ;
so that the vegetation is trebled, the earth made loose, and the lateral shoots more freely
expanded. If these hints are observed, the produce of potatoes, it is said, will exceed a
fifth of the crop obtained by the usual mode of cultivation.
4855. Pinching off the whole of the potatoe blossoms is a part of after culture not unwor-
thy the attention of the farmer. This may at first sight appear too minute a matter to
enter into the economy of farm management. But when it is considered that the seed
is the essential part of every plant, and that to which the ultimate efforts of nature are
always directed, it will be allowed that an important part of the nourishment of every
vegetable must be devoted for this purpose. In the case of the potatoe, every person
knows that the weight of the potatoe -apples, grown by a single plant, is very considerable.
Now we have seen (4837.) that apples maybe produced instead of tubers in early
potatoes, from whence it may justly be inferred, that more tubers may be produced in
late ones by preventing the growth of the apples. Such was the reasoning of Knight,
and by repeatedly making the experiment, he came to this conclusion, that in ordinary
cases of field culture, by pinching off the blossoms of late crops of potatoes, more than
one ton per acre of additional tubers will be produced. The experiments are related in
the second volume of The Horticultural Transactions, and the practice is similar to one
Book VI. THE POTATOE. 783
common among the growers of bulbous roots in Holland, as alluded to by Dr. Darwin,
who also recommends its application to the potatoe. A woman, or boy, will crop the
blossoms from an acre of potatoes in a day, or even in less time where the crop is not
excessively luxuriant.
4856. The taking of the crop of potatoes is on a small scale generally performed with
the spade or three pronged fork ; but under judicious farm management and the row
culture by the common plough. The coulter is removed and the plough goes first along one
side of all the ridgelets of a ridge, or any convenient breadth, and then, when the potatoes
so brought to view are gathered by women placed at proper distances, it returns and
goes along the other side. When the land is somewhat moist, or of a tenacious quality,
the furrow-slice does not give out the roots freely, and a harrow which follows the plough
is commonly employed to break it and separate them from the mould. Various con-
trivances have been resorted to for this purpose. A circular harrow or break to be attach-
ed to the plough, of very recent invention, has been found to answer the purpose well,
and to effect a considerable saving of labor.
4857. A mode of taking part of a crop suited to cottagers and others, especially in years
of scarcity, deserves to be mentioned. Having ascertained that some of the tubers have
attained an eatable size, go along the rows and loosen the earth about each plant with a
blunt stick, taking two or three of the largest tubers from each and returning the earth
carefully. By this means both an early supply, and the advantage of two crops, may be
obtained ; for the tubers which remain will increase in size, having now the nourishment
destined to complete the growth of those removed.
4858. Potatoes intended for seed should be taken up a fortnight or three weeks before
fully ripe, for reasons that will be given in treating of the diseases of this plant. The ill
shaped, small, bruised, or diseased tubers, should be laid aside, and the fairest and best
dried in the sun, aud spread on a cellar or loft floor, and covered with ashes or chaff of
sufficient thickness to keep out the frost. In this state they may remain till wanted for
cutting.
4859. Potatoes are stored and preserved in houses, cellars, pits, pies, and camps. What-
ever mode is adopted, it is essential that the tubers be perfectly dry, otherwise they are
certain of rotting, and a few rotten potatoes will contaminate a whole mass. Putting
them into close houses, and covering them well up with dry straw, is the most effectual
mode, and that which is generally adopted. In some parts of Scotland it is a common
practice to dig pits in the potatoe-tield, when the soil is dry and light, and, putting in
potatoes to the depth of three or tour feet, to lay a little dry straw over them, and then
cover them up with earth, so deep that no frosts can affect them. Another method,
which is practised in England as well as Scotland, is to put them together in heaps, and
cover them up with straw, in the manner of preserving turnips, with this addition, that
the heaps are afterwards well covered with earth, and so closely packed together as to
exclude frost. The farmers in Lancashire sort and s^arate their potatoes in the course
of tidcing them up according to their sizes, and are particularly careful to throw aside all
those that are spoiled before raising, or that are cut in the taking up. This is a very
necessary and proper precaution (although by no means generally attended to), as the
crop must have a much better chance for keeping, than when diseased or cut potatoes are
stored up with it. It is also of great advantage to have the work performed in a dry
season, as the potatoes seldom keep well when taken up wet, or when placed in any sort
of repository for keeping while in that state.
4860. But the best way of storing potatoesy Young says, is in what are called potatoe-pies.
A trench, one foot deep and six wide, is dug, and the earth clean shovelled out, and laid
on one side, this has a bedding of straw, and the one-horse carts shoot down the potatoes
into the trench ; women pile them up about three feet high, in the shape of a house roof;
straw is then carefully laid on six or eight inches thick, and covered with earth a foot
thick, neatly smoothed by flat strokes of the spade. In this method he never lost any by
the severest frosts ; but in cases of its freezing with uncommon severity, another coat of
straw over all gives absolute security. These pies when opened, shoujd each be quite
cleared, or they are lidble to depredation. To receive one at a time, besides also being at
first filled for immediate use, he has a house that holds about 700 bushels, formed of
posts from fir plantations, with wattled sides, then a layer of straw, and against that earth
six feet thick at the bottom and eighteen inches at top ; the roof flat, with a stack of beans
upon it. This he has found frost tight. The beans keep out the weather, he says, and
yet admit any steam which rises from the roots, which, if it did not escape, would rot
them,
4861. Several other modes of preserving potatoes are in use in different places. In Rut-
landshire, Marshal says, the method of laying up potatoes is universally that of camping
them ; a method somewhat similar to the above, but which requires to be described.
Camps are shallow pits, filled and ridged up as a roof with potatoes ; which are covered
up with the excavated mould of the pit. This is a happy mean, he thinks, between bury-
784 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
ing them in deep pits, and laying them upon the surface. Camps are of various sizes ;
being too frequently made in a long square form like a corn-rick, and of a size propor-
tioned to the quantity to be laid up. It has, however, been found by experience, that
when the quantity is large, they are liable to heat and spoil; much damage having some-
times been sustained by this imprudence. Experienced campers hold that a camp should
not be more than three feet wide ; four feet is perhaps as wide as it can be made with
propriety, proportioning the length to the quantity ; or, if this be very large, forming a
range of short ones by the side of each other. The usual depth is a foot. The bottom
of the trench being bedded with dry straw, the potatoes are deposited, ridging them up
as in measuring them with a bushel. On each side the roof long wheat straw is laid,
neatly and evenly as thatch ; and over this the mould raised out of the trench, is evenly
spread ; making the surface firm and smooth with the back of the spade. A coat of coal
ashes is sometimes spread over the mould, as a still better guard against frost. It is
needless to observe that a camp should have a dry situation ; and that the roots ought to
be deposited in as dry a state as possible. These camps are tapped at the end, some
bavins, or a quantity of loose straw being thrust close in the opened end, as a bung or
safeguard. As it is a matter of the highest importance to preserve this root without
spoiling during the whole year, it has been suggested, that the best method yet discovered
for keeping potatoes sound for the longest period, is to spread them on a dry floor early in
the spring, and to rub off the eyes occasionally, as they appear to have a tendency to push
out ; by using these precautions, Donaldson has frequently seen potatoes kept in good
condition till the month of June.
4862. In Canada and Russia the potatoe is preserved in boxes in houses or cellars
heated to a certain temperature by stoves. (Farm. Mag. vol. xx. p. 449.)
4863. To keep potatoes any length of time, the most effectual way is to place them in
thin layers on a platform suspended in an ice cellar. There the temperature being
always below that of active vegetation they will not sprout, while not being many degrees
below the freezing point the tubers will not be frost bit. Another mode is to scoop out
the eyes by a very small scoop, and keep the roots buried in earth. A third mode is to
destroy the vital principle by kiln drying, steaming, or scalding.
4864. The produce of the potatoe varies from five to eight, and sometimes ten or
twelve tons per acre ; the greatest produce is from the yam, which has been known to
produce twelve tons or 480 bushels per acre. The haulm is of no use but as manure,
and is very generally burned for that purpose, being slow of rotting.
4865. The ajiplication of the potatoe crop of the greatest importance is as human food,
on which it is unnecessary to enlarge. EinhofF found mealy potatoes to contain twenty-
four per cent, of their weight of nutritive matter, and rye seventy parts. Consequently
sixty, four and a half measures of potatoes afford the same nourishment as twenty-four
measures of rye. A thousand parts of potatoe yielded to Sir H. Davy from 200 to 260
parts of nutritive matter, of which from 155 to 200 were mucilage or starch, fifteen to
twenty sugar, and thirty to forty gluten. Now, supposing an acre of potatoes to weigh
nine tons, and one of wheat one ton, which is about the usual proportion, then as 1000
parts of wheat afford 950 nutritive parts, and 1000 of potatoe say 230, the quantity of
nutritive matter afforded by an acre of wheat and potatoes will be nearly as nine to
four ; so that an acre of potatoes will supply more than double the quantity of human
food afforded by an acre of wheat. The potatoe is perhaps the only root grown in Britain
which may be eaten every day in the year without satiating the palate, and the same
thing can only be said of the "West India yam, and bread fruit. They are, therefore,
the only substitute that can be used for bread with any degree of success, and indeed they
often enter largely into the composition of the best loaf bread without at all injuring
either its nutritive qualities or flavor. [Edin. Encyc. art Baking.) In the answer by
Dr. Tissot to M. Linquet, the former objects to the constant use of potatoes as food,
not because they are pernicious to the body, but because they hurt the faculties of the
mind. He owns that those who eat maize, potatoes, or even millet may grow tall and
acquire a large size ; but doubts if any such ever produced a literary work of merit.
It does not, however, by any means appear that the very general use of potatoes
in our own country has at all impaired either the health of body or vigor of mind
of its inhabitants.
4866. The meal of potatoes may be preserved for years closely packed in barrels,
or unground in the form of slices ; these slices having been previously cooked or dried
by steam, as originally suggested by Forsyth, of Edinburgh. [Encyc. JBrit.) Some
German philosophers have also proposed to freeze the potatoe, by which the feculous mat-
ter is separated from the starch, and the latter being then dried and compressed, may be
preserved for any length of time, or exported with ease to any distance. (Annalen des
Ackerbaues,yo\. iii. s. 389.)
4867. The ordinary economical applications of the potatoe, next to those of the culinary
and baking arts, is in starch making and the distillery. Starch is readily made from the
Book VI. THE POTATOE. 785
scraped and washed tubers cut into small pieces and steeped in water ; and a spirit is dis-
tilled from mashed potatoes fermented, so as to change a portion of the starch into sugar.
In general it is found that three and a half bushels of potatoes aflford the same quantity
of spirit as one of malt.
4868. Among extraordinary applications of the jwtatoej may be mentioned cleaning
woollens, and making wine and ardent spirit.
4869. Cleaning woollens. The refuse of potatoes used in making starch when taken
from the sieve, possesses the property of cleansing woollen cloths, without hurting their
color ; and the water decanted from the starch powder is excellent for cleansing silks,
without the smallest injury to the color.
4870. JVine, of considerable quality, may be made from frosted potatoes, if not so much
frosted as to have become soft and waterish. The potatoes must be crushed or bruised
with a mallet, or put into a cider press. A bushel must have ten gallons of water, pre-
pared by boiling it, mixed with half a pound of hops, and half a pound of common white
ginger. This water, after having boiled for about half an hour, must be poured upon
the bruised potatoes, into a tub or vessel suited to the quantity to be made. After standing
in this mixed state for three days, yeast must be added to ferment the liquor. When
the fermentation has subsided, the liquor must be drawn off, as fine as possible, into a
cask, adding half a pound of raw sugar for every gallon. After it has remained in the
cask for tiiree months, it will be ready for use.
4871. Ardent spirit. Potatoes that have been injured by the frost, produce a much
greater quantity of spirit, and of a much finer quality than those that are fresh ; they re-
quire a proportion of malt- wash to promote the fermentation. About one-fourth part of
malt-worts, or wash, ought to be fermented at least six hours before the potatoe wash is
joined to it ; otherwise the potatoe wash having an aptitude to ferment, will be ripe for
the still before the malt- wash is ready ; hence the effect will be, to generate an acid which
renders the spirit coarse, and, when diluted with water, of a milky or bluish color.
"When the spirit is strong, the acid is held in solution j but appears as above, when diluted
with water, (Farmers Mag. vol. xvii. p. 325.)
4872. In the application of potatoes as food for live-stocky they are often joined with
bay, straw, chaff, and other similar matters, and have been found useful in many cases,
especially in the later winter months, as food for horses, cows, and other sorts of live-
stock. With these substances, as well as in combination with other materials, as bean or
barley-meal and pollard, they are used in the fattening of neat cattle, sheep and hogs.
Potatoes are much more nutritive when boiled; they were formerly cooked in this
way, but are now very generally steamed, especially in the north. The practice has
been carried to the greatest extent by Curwen in feeding horses. He gives to each horse,
daily, one and a half stone of potatoes mixed with a tenth of cut straw. One hundred
and twenty stones of potatoes require two and a quarter bushels of coals to steam them.
An acre of potatoes, he considers, goes as far in this way as four of hay. Von Thaer
found them, when given to live-stock, produce more manure than any other food :
100 lbs. of potatoes producing 66 lbs. of manure of the very best description. The
baking of potatoes in an oven has also been tried with success. [Comm. Board of Agri-
culture, vol. iv. ) ; but the process seems too expensive. They are also given raw to stock
of every description, to horses and hogs washed, but not washed to cows or oxen.
Washing was formerly a disagreeable and tedious business, but is now rendered an easy
matter, whether on a large or small scale, by the use of the washing machine.
4873. Frosted potatoes may be applied to various useful purposes, for food by thaw-
ing in cold water, or being pared, then thawed and boiled with a little salt. Salt, or
saltpetre, chaflT, or bruised oats, boiled with them, will render them fit food for cattle,
swine, poultry, &c. Starch, and paste for weavers, bookbinders, and shoemakers, may
be made from them when too sweet to be rendered palatable, and also an ardent spirit,
from hydrometer proof to 10 per cent, over proof.
4874. The diseases of the potatoe are chiefly the scab, the worm, and curl. The scab,
or ulcerated surface of the tubers, has never been satisfactorily accounted for. Some
att;-ibuting it to the ammonia of horse-dung, others to alkali, and some to the use of coal
ashes. Change of seed, and of ground, are the only resources known at present for
this malady. The worm and grub both attack the tuber, and the same preventative is
recommended. The only serious disease of the potatoe is the curl, and this is now as-
certained to be produced by the too great concentration of the sap in the tuber, and
this concentration, or thickening, is prevented by early taking up. This discovery was
first made by the farmers near Edinburgh observing that seed potatoes procured from
the moors, or elevated cold ground, in the internal parts of the country, never suffered
from the curl, and it consequently became a practice, every three or four years, to pro-
cure a change of seed from these districts. On enquiry, it was found, that the potatoes
in these upland grounds continued in a growing state till the haulm was blackened by
the first frosts of October. They were then taken up, when, of course, they could not
3E
786 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
be ripe. Subsequent experiments, which will be found detailed in The Farmer's Maga^
'ydne. and Caledonian and London Horticultural Transactions, have firmly established the
fact, that the curl is prevented by using unripe seed, therefore the farmer ought to select
his seed stock a fortnight or three weeks before he takes up the general crop, as already
recommended. It is also a safe practice frequently to change the seed, and also to change
the variety.
4875. Sherrif, an ingenious speculator and yet practical agriculturist, is of opinion that there are only
two causes for the curled disorder in potatoes. " The first is excessive seed bearing, that is, carrying great
quantities of plums or apples ; frona the effects of which, if the plant be not too far advanced in life, it
may recover for a time, by removing it to a shady or upland situation. The second cause is time or old
age, which never fails ultimately to bring the curled or shrivelled disorder, followed by death, on the
whole animal and vegetable kingdoms. An old decaying oak is an instance of the curled or shrivelled
state of trees from age, as is *' the lean and slippered pantaloon" of the curled disorder from old age in
the human species. An apple tree, again, that has carried extraordinary crops of fruit within a few years,
is often in the state of a potatoe curled from excessive apple bearing ; so is a hart, or a buck, immediately
after the rutting season. Both the tree and animals will recover their health and vigor for a time, unless
they are too old, or have gone to the very greatest and last extremity in seed bearing and venery, in which
cases the effects will be the same as those of time, viz. death. It is not then to over-ripening the tubers that
the curled disorder in potatoes is to be attributed, but to time and seed-bearing, that is, carrying great
quantities of plums or apples.
Sect. II. The Turnip. —^ Brassica Rapa^ L. Tetrad. Siliq. L, oxidi Cm ciferece, J.
Bave, Fr. ; Bube, Ger. ; and Bapa. Ital.
4876. The turnip is a native of Britain, but in its wild state is not to be recognized by
ordinary observations from wild mustard. It was cultivated as food for cattle by the
Romans ; and has been sown for the same purpose in the fields of Germany and the low
countries from time immemorial. When they were introduced in this country, as a field
plant, is unknown ; but it is probable turnips would be found in some gardens of con-
vents from the time of the Romans ; and it is certain that they were in field culture
before the middle of the seventeenth century, though then, and for a long time after-
wards, in a very inferior and ineffectual manner. It has been stated that turnips were
introduced from Hanover in George I.'s time ; but so far from this having been the case,
George II. caused an abstract of the Norfolk system of turnip husbandry to be drawn
up for the use of his subjects in Hanover. (^Campbell's Folit. Survey, &c. vol. iii. p. 80.)
ITie introduction of improved turnip culture into the husbandry of Britain, Brown
observes, " occasioned one of those revolutions in rural art which are constantly oc-
curring among husbandmen ; and, though the revolution came on with slow and gradual
steps, yet it may now be viewed as completely and thoroughly established. Before the
introduction of this root, it was impossible to cultivate light soils successfully, or to devise
suitable rotations for cropping them with advantage. It was likewise a difficult task to
support live-stock through the winter and spring months ; and as for feeding and pre-
paring cattle and sheep for market during these inclement seasons, the practice was
hardly thought of, and still more rarely attempted, unless where a full stock of hay was
provided, which only happened in very few instances. The benefits derived from turnip
husbandry are, therefore, of great magnitude. Light soils are now cultivated with profit
and facility ; abundance of food is provided for man and beast ; the earth is turned to
the uses for which it is physically calculated; and, by being suitably cleaned with this
preparatory crop, a bed is provided for grass seeds, wherein they florish and prosper
with greater vigor than after any other preparation." ( Treatise on Bural Jffairs.)
4877. Turnips and clover, it is elsewhere observed, " are the two main pillars of the
best courses of British husbandry ; they have contributed more to preserve and augment
the fertility of the soil for producing grain • — to enlarge and improve our breeds of cattle
and sheep — and to afford a regular supply of butcher's meat all the year, than any other
crops ; and they will probably be long found vastly superior, for extensive cultivation, to
any of the rivals which bave often been opposed to them in particular situations. Though
turnips were long cultivated in Norfolk before they were known in the northern counties,
yet it is an undoubted fact that their culture was first brought to perfection in Roxburgh-
shire, Berwickshire, and Northumberland, and chiefly through the exertions of Dawson,
of Frogden, in the first named county, and Bailey, of Chilli»gham, in the latter.
4878. The varieties of turnip grown by farmers may be arranged as whites and
yellows.
4879. Of white turnips, by far the best and most generally cultivated, is the globe;
but there are also the green topped, having the bulb tinged ; greenish and purple topped,
with the bulb reddish, which, though they do not produce so large a crop as the globe or
oval, stand the winter better, and the red topped, it is said, will keep till February. The
pudding, or tankard turnip, has a white bulb which rises from eight to twelve inches high,
standing almost wholly above ground. It is less prolific than any of the others, and
more liable to l)e attacked by frost.
4880. Of yellow turnips,, there are the field yellow, which is more hardy than the globe,,
and answers well for succeeding that variety in spring j and the ruta baga, or Swedish
Book VI. THE TURNIP. 787
turnip, which may be preserved for consumption till June. The Siberian turnip has a
bulb and a branchy top, but both of inferior quality. It is a hybrid between a white
ruta baga and field cabbage, or between rape and cabbage.
4881. New varieties are obtained by selection and by counter impregnation ; but in
either case the greatest care is requisite to keep the plants at least a furlong from any
others of the brassica tribe likely to flower at the same time, otherwise the progeny will
certainly be hybridized.
4882. The choice of sorts may be considered as limited to the white globe, yellow, and
Swedish, according as early, middling, or late supplies are wanted. No other varieties
are grown by the best farmers.
4883. In the choice of seed the farmer must rely on the integrity of the seed-dealer, as
it is impossible to discover from the grains whether they will turn out true to their
kinds. Turnip-seed requires to be frequently changed ; and the best is generally pro-
cured from Norfolk and Northumberland. The Norfolk seed, Forsyth observes, is sent
to most parts of the kingdom, and even to Ireland : but after two years it degenerates ;
so that those who wish to have turnips in perfection, should procure it fresh every year
from Norwich, and they will find their account in so doing. For, from its known repu-
tation, many of the London seedsmen sell, under that character, seed raised in the
vicinity of the metropolis, which is much inferior in quality.
4884. Turnip-seed will grow of any age, if it has been carefully preserved ; that which is new comes up
first, and therefore it is not a bad plan to mix new and old together,as a means of securing a braird against
drought or the fly. Whether plants from new or old seed are most secure from the depredations of the
fly, is perliaps a question which cannot be easily determined, even by experiments ; for concomitant circum-
stances are frequently so much more operative and powerful as to render the difference between them, if
there be any, imperceptible. It is, however, known to every practical man, that new seed vegetates
several days before the old, and more vigorously; audit is equally well known that the healthy and
vigorous plants escape the fly, when the stinted and sickly seldom or never escape it. Hence it would seem ,
that new seed, cceteris paribus, is more secure from the fly than old.
4885. The soil for turnips should always be of a light description. In favorable
seasons very good crops may be raised on any soil ; but from the difficulty of removing
them, and the injury which the soil must sustain either in that operation, or in eating
them on the spot with sheep, they never on such soils can be considered as beneficial to
the farmer. Turnips cannot be advantageously cultivated on wet tenacious soils, but
are grown on all comparatively dry soils under all the variations of our climate. On
dry loams, and all soils of a looser texture, managed according to the best courses of
cropping, they enter into the rotation to the extent of a fourth, a sixth, or an eighth part
of the land in tillage ; and even on clayey soils they are frequently cultivated, though on
a smaller scale, to be eaten by cattle, for the purpose of augmenting and enriching the
manure, into which the straw of corn is converted.
4886. The climate most desirable for the turnip is cool and temperate. This
was long ago noticed by Pliny, and it is so obvious on the continent that it admits of
no dispute. Von Thaer observes, that the turnips grown on the fields of Germany
seldom exceed half a pound in weight, and that all his care could not raise one
beyond fourteen pounds. In France and Italy they are still less. A rapid climate is
equally disadvantageous to the turnip ; and they are accordingly found of no size in
Russia, Sweden, and many parts of North America. Even turnips grown in the south-
ern counties of England, in the same excellent manner as in Northumberland, never
equal the size of those grown in the latter county, or further north, or in Ireland.
4887. In the preparation (f the soil, the first ploughing is given with a deep furrow
soon after harvest, usually in the direction of the former ridges ; though, if the soil be
dry, it is of little consequence in what direction. As soon as the spring seed-time is
over, a second ploughing is given across the former, and the harrows, and, if necessary
the rollers, are then set to work to clean and pulverize the soil. All the weed-roots
that are brought to the surface are carefully gathered into heaps,, a^id either burnt on the
ground, or carried oflp to form a compost, usually with, lime. The land is then gene-
rally ploughed a third time, again harrowed well,^ sometimes also rolled, and the weed-
roots picked out as before. Unless land is in a much worse state, in regard to clean-
ness and pulverization, than it usually is after turnips have been some time a rotation
crop, no more ploughings are necessary. It is next laid up in ridgelets, from twenty-
seven to thirty inches wide, either with the common swing-plough, or one with two
mould-boards, which forms two sides of a ridgelet at once. Well-rotted dung, at the
rate of twelve or fifteen tons per acre, is then carried to the field, and dropped from the
cart in the middle one of three intervals, in such a quantity as may serve for that and the
interval on each side of it. The dung is then divided equally among the three, by a
person who goes before the spreaders, one of whom, for each interval, spreads it with a
small three-pronged fork along the bottom. The plough immediately follows, and, re-
versing the ridgelets, forms new ones over the dung ; and the drill-barrow, commonly
one that sows two drills at once, drawn by one horse, deposits the seed as fast as the new
drills are formed. This drill-machine is usually furnished with two small rollers ; one
3E 2
788 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. p^rt m.
that goes before the sowing apparatus, and levels the pointed tops of the ridgelets, and an-
other that follows for the purpose of compressing the soil and covering the seed. From the
time the dung is carted to the ground, until the seed is deposited, the several operations
should go on simultaneously ; the dung is never allowed to lie uncovered to be dried by
the sun and wind ; and the new ridgelets are sown as soon as formed, that the seed may
find moisture to accelerate its vegetation. (Supp. Encyc. Brit. art. Agr. )
4888. Manure may be considered as essential to turnips. Turnip-land, Brown ob-
serves, cannot be made too rich, for, in fact, the weight of the crop depends in a great
measure upon its condition in this respect. Manure is sometimes applied to the crop
which immediately precedes the turnips ; but, to answer well in this way, the land must
naturally be of an excellent quality. In other cases, where the land is in good order,
it is laid on the stubble previous to the first ploughing. But generally the dung is laid
on immediately before the seed is sown ; the ground is formed into drills or ridges, and
the manure spread in the intervals between them ; the drills are then split by the plough,
the earth on each side covers the dung, forms a drill where the interval formerly was,
and furnishes a bed for the seed. These operations are now so well understood, that it
is unnecessary to describe them more particularly. Farm-yard manure is the kind gene-
rally applied : it should be well rotted, and not less than twelve or fifteen tons allowed
to each acre.
4889. The time of sowing the several varieties is somewhat different ; the Swedish
should be put in the earliest, and then the yellow, both of them in the month of May.
But as these kinds are much less extensively cultivated than the globe, the month of
June is the principal seed time ; and after the first week of July a full crop is not to be
expected in the northern parts of the island. But in the southern counties turnips are
frequently sown in August after pease, wheat, or tares. The crop, however, is always
light and only fit to be eaten down by sheep in spring, or to send their tops to market
as greens. After a crop of hotspur pease sold green for the London market, the
land is well cleared with the horse-hoe, and upon once ploughing, turnips are sown ;
and just before the young plants are observed to be cutting the ground, the field receives
a light top-^dressing of soot-ashes, or the most portable manure that can be conveniently
procured. This dressing, upon frequent trial, has been found to have a very good effect
in preserving the infant turnip plant from the depredations of the fly.
4890. The preparation of turnip-seed for sowing, by steeping in the drainings of dung-
hills and other similar matters, has been recommended as a likely mode to prevent the fly ;
but it is not found to have this effect, and is never followed. Sometimes the following
mode of preparation is adopted; half new and half old seed are mixed together; then
half is taken and steeped in water for three or four hours ; afterwards both steeped and
unsteeped seed are mixed and immediately sown. The object of this preparation is to
obtain four different brairds or risings of the seed, which is supposed to give four chances
of escaping the fly which attacks the infant plants, instead of one. Another mode is to
join to the above radish-seed, new and old, steeped in the above manner, it being found
that the fly prefers the radish to the turnip. The most common precaution, however, as
to the fly, is to sow thick, or to mix the seed with soot, lime, or ashes.
4891. The quantity of seed is usually from two to three pounds per acre,
4892. The mode o/" sowing in all the best cultivated districts is on raised drills. Not
only the broad-cast, but even rows on a flat surface are rejected by all who understand
the culture of the turnip. This plant never does any good in the field till its roots reach
the dung ; and therefore the only mode to ensure a heavy crop, is to put the dung im-
mediately beneath the row. This is only to be done by the ridgelet, or raised drill
system, as already explained in treating of preparing the soil. The drill used may be
either the hand-drill, which sows one row at a time, and is pushed along by a woman, or
by the horse-drill, which sows two rows. The latter from its weight and breadth performs
the work with greater accuracy, and much more effectually than can be done by any
hand machine. So much has been written to prove the disadvantages of sowing broad-
cast, and the benefits of the drill system, that the subject may be considered as settled in
favor of the latter, even in the case of midsummer sowing after early pease gathered
green.
4893. The after culture may, in some cases, require to commence with watering by
Young's excellent machine (2564.}, though this has by no means found its way among
farmers, and is only likely to be occasionally necessary. Some commence by strewing
soot or lime along the row to annoy the fly, or sharp sand, ashes, or l)arley awns, to ward
off the slug. In general, however, these practices are confined to gardens or cultivators
on a very small scale, and like many others they are much oftener talked of than put in
practice. The turnip farmer, as soon as the plants have put forth the rough leaf or sooner
if annual weeds have got the start of them, runs a horse-hoe between the ridgelets and
cuts up the weeds on each side, almost close to the rows of the turnip plants, clearing out
the bpttom of the interval at the same time. The hand-boers are always set to work as
Book VT.
THE TURNIP.
789
soon as possible after, and the plants are left about nine inches distant ; the Swedish
kind somewhat closer. If the ground has been well prepared, and the plants are allowed
to get too large, three experienced hoers go over an acre a day. A few days after this,
a small swing plough, drawn by one horse, enters the interval between the rows, and,
taking a furrow-slice off each side, forms a smaller ridgelet in the middle. If the an-
nuals still rise in great abundance, the horse-hoe may be employed again, otherwise the
next operation is to go over them a second time with the hand-hoe, when the intermediate
ridgelet is levelled. Sometimes a third hoeing must be given, but that is done very ex-
peditiously. When no more manual labor is required, a small plough with two mould-
boards is employed to lay up the earth to the sides of the plants, leaving the ridgelets of
the same form as when sown, which finishes the process. Large fields throughout their
whole extent, dressed in this manner, are left as clean and as pleasant to the eye as the
best cultivated garden. The horse and hand-hoeing, in ordinary cases, may cost about
fifteen shillings per acre. Where the soil is perfectly dry, and has been well prepared,
the small plough has of late been laid aside by many farmers, and the space between the
rows is kept clean by the horse and hand-hoe alone ; but if the soil be either wet from
springs, or so flat as not easily to part with surface Water, it is still considered proper to
earth up the roots as the concluding part of the process ; and it is always useful to plough
between the ridges when couch-grass and other weeds have not been completely picked
out before the land was sown. The gathering of the weeds, the spreading of the dung,
and the hand-hoeing, are almost always performed by women and boys and girls.
4894. A summary of turnip culture in drills, is given in The Berwickshire Survey, by a
567
/\
A
\
A
/
/
/\
/ %
m \,
&
^^
^c-
copper-plate. In this {fig.
561*) is first shown the ridge-
lets with the dung spread be-
tween (a), then the dung
covered, and the drills form-
ed (6) ; rolled and the seed
sown ic) ; the young plants
with the earth hoed away
from them by a curved coul-
ter hoe (rf) ; the plants fur-
ther advanced, covering the
soil with their leaves, and en-
joying the dung with their
roots [e) ; and full grown, the
leaves being cut off in No-
vember, to be eaten green,
and the bulbs left for winter
use. (/)
4895. The turnip crop is
generally taken and consumed '"'
at the same time. They are ~
consumed either on the spot
where they grow ; on grass-
fields ; in fold-yards ; or in
feeding-houses ; but the far
greater part, wherever they
are extensively cultivated, by sheep. The price per acre when sold depends not only
upon the weight of the crop, but also on the mode of its consumption.
4896. When eaten by sheep in the place of their growth, turnips are lotted off, by means
of hurdles or nets, that they may be regularly consumed. When the first allowance ia
nearly eaten up, the bottoms or shells are picked out of the ground, by means of a two-
pronged blunt hook adapted to the purpose ; and then another portion of the field is taken
in, by shifting the hurdles or nets, and so on regularly until the wlwle are finished ; the
cleared part of the field being usually left accessible as a drier bed for the sheep, and
that they may pick up what shells remained when a new portion of the field was taken
in.
4897. The turnips required for other modes of consumption are usually drawn out, at
regular intervals, before the sheep are put upon the field ; unless the soil be so poor as to
need all the benefit of their dung and treading, in which case, the whole are consumed
where they grow ; or so rich as to endanger the succeeding crops, by eating any part of
the turnips on the ground. In the latter very rare instance, the whole crop is carried to
be consumed elsewhere, as mus^ always be done, if the soil be naturally too wet for
sheep feeding. In wet vireather, when sheep ought not to be allowed to lie on the tur-
nip field, it becomes necessary to carry the turnips to a grass field; and store sheep, not
requiring to be so highly fed, frequently cat their turnips on such fields, as well as reav-
' 3 E 3
^90 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
ing cattle, and sometimes milk cows. A grass field contiguous to the turnip one is
always very desirable, that the sheep confined on other sides by hurdles or nets, may
always find a dry place to lie on.
4898. In the expenditure of turnips to young cattle, and to sheep in their first year to-
wards spring, when the loosening and shedding of their teeth render them unable to break
the large roots, it is usual to cut or slice the turnips, either by means of a spade, or
chopping knife, or by an implement constructed for the purpose, called a turnip-
slicer, formerly mentioned (2456.) ; or they are crushed by means of a heavy
wooden mallet.
4899. During severefrosts, turnips become so hard that no animal is able to bite them.
The best remedy in this case is, to lay them for some time in running water, which effec-
tually thaws them ; or, in close feeding houses, the turnips intended for next day's use,
may be stored up over night, in one end of the building, and the warmth of the animals
will thaw them sufficiently before morning. But in those months when frosts are usually
most severe, it is advisable to have always a few days' consumption in the turnip barn.
When a severe frost continues long, or if the ground be covered deep with snow, potatoes
ought to be employed as a substitute.
4900. The advantages of eating turnips on the place of their growth by sheep, both in ma-
nuring and consolidating the ground, are sufficiently well known to every farmer. One
great defect of the inferior sort of turnip soil is the want of tenacity ; and it is found
that valuable crops of wheat may be obtained upon very light porous soils, after turnips
so consumed. It is not uncommon to let turnips at an agreed price, or board, for each
sheep or beast weekly. This varies according to age and size, and the state of the de-
mand, from four-pence or less, to eight-pence or more for each sheep weekly, and from
two shillings to five for each beast. An acre of good turnips, say thirty tons, with straw,
will fatten an ox of sixty stone, or ten Leicester sheep. Supposing the turnips worth
six guineas, this may bring the weekly keep of the ox to six shillings and three-pence half-
penny, and of the sheep to about seven-pence halfpenny a week. In this way of letting,
however, disputes may arise, as the taker may not be careful to have them eaten up clean.
The person who lets the turnips has to maintain a herd for the taker ; and when let for
c;attle, and consequently to be carried off, the taker finds a man and horse, and the latter
maintaining both. The taker has to provide hurdles or nets for fencing the allotments to
sheep ; but the latter must fence his own hedges if necessary. The period at which the
taker is to consume the whole is usually fixed in the agreement, that the seller may
be enabled to plough and sow his land in proper season. (^Suppl. to Encyc. Urit. art.
Agr.)
4901. The Swedish and yellow turnip are eaten greedily by horses; and afford a very
nutritive and salutary food along with hay or straw for working stock. The best mode
is to steam them after previously passing them through the slicing machine, as no root
requires so much cooking as the Swedish turnip. Horses will also eat the white turnip,
but not freely, unless they have been early accustomed to them, as in some parts of
Norfolk.
4902. Near large towns the most profitable mode of disposing of turnips, is to the
cow-keepers and greens-grocers.
4903. The ajrplication of turnips in domestic economy is well known. They may also
be used in the distillery, and a wine is said to be made from them by the London manu-
facturers of imitations of foreign wine.
4904. The storing of turnips is attended with too much labor and risk, to be of much
advantage in the greater part of the kingdom. Common turnips are never stored in
any great quantity, though sometimes a portion is drawn and formed into heaps, like
potatoe camps, and lightly covered with straw, or preserved for some time under a shed.
On these occasions , the shaws or leaves, and the tap-roots, must be cut off and removed
before storing up, to prevent heating and rotting. The heaps must not be covered with
earth like potatoes, for in this case their complete destruction is inevitable. This root
contains too much water to be preserved for any length of time in a fresh and palatable
state, after being removed from the ground ; and though the loss in seasons unusually
severe, particularly in the white globe variety, is commonly very great, it is probable that a
regular system of storing the whole, or the greater part of the crop every season, would,
upon an average of years, be attended with still greater loss ; besides the labor and ex-
pense, where turnips are cultivated extensively, would be intolerable. (Supp. ^-c.)
4905. Taking up and replacing is a mode by which turnips have been preserved, by
Blaikie, of Holkham, and some others. The mode is to cart the turnips from the field
where they grow, to a piece of ground near the farm-offices before the winter rains set in,
when the tap-root being cut off, the plants are set on the surface of the ground, in an up-
right position, as close to each othfer as they can stand, where they keep much better than
in a store, during the whole season. And the advantages of having them quite close to
the homestead, in place of bringing them most probably from a distant part of the farm in
Book VI. THE TURNIP. '791
wet or stormy weather, are so obvious, as fully to justify a recommendation of the
practice.
4906. Replacing and earthing have also been tried with success, especially with the
Swedish turnip. IBeing pulled and freed from their roots and leaves, they are carted to
a piece of well worked dry soil near the farmery, and there deposited in rows, so close
as nearly to touch each other in the bottom of shallow furrows, the plough covering one row
as another furrow is opened. In this way many tons are quickly earthed in, and on
a very small space, and they can be turned out when wanted with equal facility. (Farmer's
Magazine^ vol. xxiii. p. 282.)
4907. The produce of turnips cultivated in the broad -cast manner in England, varies
from five to fifteen tons per acre : the latter is reckoned a very heavy crop. In Northum-
berland and Berwickshire, a good crop of white globe turnips drilled usually weighs from
twenty-five to thirty tons per acre, the yellow and Swedish commonly a few tons less. Of
late there have been instances of much heavier crops, and in Ayrshire, it would appear, that
above sixty tons have been raised on an English acre, the leaves not included. [Farmer's
Magazine, vol. xv. and xvi. ) But such an extraordinary produce must have been ob-
tained by the application of more manure than can be provided, without injustice to
other crops, from the home resources of a farm ; and where turnips form a regular crop
in the rotation, no such produce is to be expected under any mode of culture.
4908. The produce of the turnip in nutritive matter, as proved by Sir H. Davy, was
forty-two parts in a thousand; of which seven were mucilage, thirty-four sugar, and one
gluten. Swedish turnips aflforded sixty four- parts in a thousand of nutritive matter, of
which nine were starch, fifty- one sugar, two gluten, and two extract. According to Von
Thaer, 100 lbs. of turnips are equal to twenty -two of hay; and an ox to get fat on
turnips ought to have one -third of its weight daily.
4909. To raise turnip seed, the usual mode is to select the most approved specimens of
the variety to be raised at the season when they are full grown, and either remove all
others from the field and leave them to shoot into flower stems next year, or to trans-
plant them to a place by themselves where they will be secure from the farina of other
plants of their genus. In either case they must be protected by earthing up from the
winter's frost and rains, and in the ripening season from the birds.
4910. The Norfolk sedd growers have a. sort o{ theory on the subject of transplanting- tui'nips for seed
which it may be worth while to attend to. According to that theory where turnip seed is collected from
such turnips as have been sown three or four years in succession, the roots are liable to be numerous atid
long, and the necks or parts between the bulbs and leaves coarse and thick : and when taken from such as
have been transplanted every year, these parts are liable to become too fine, and the tap-roots to be dimi-
nished in too great a proportion. Of course the most certain plan is to procure seed from turnips that are
transplanted one year and sown the next ; or, if they be transplanted once in three years, it is supposed,
that the stock may be preserved in a proper state of perfection. It is stated, that the method of perform-
ing this business in the best way, is to select such turnips as are of the best kinds and of the most perfect
forms, from the field crops, and, after cutting their tops off, to transplant them, about the month of
November, or following montli, into a piece of ground that has been put into a fine state of tillage by
repeated ploughing or digging over, and which should be situated as near the house as if can be, in order
that the birds may be better kept from it. The seed will mostly be ready for gathering in the end of July,
or in the following month.
4911. Other cultivators, however, advise that the seed collected from a few turnips thus transplanted,
should be preserved and sown in drills, in order to raise plants for seed for the general crop", drawing out
all such as are weak and improper, leaving only those that are strong and which take the lead ; and that
when these have formed ibulbs, to again take out such as do not appear good and perfect, as by this
means turnip seed may be procuretl, not only of a more [vigorous nature, but which is capable of vege-
tating with less moisture, and which produces stronger and more hardy plants. The practice of transplant-
ing the whole of the turnips for seed for the main crops being contended to be not only highly expensive, but
injurious, by diminishing the strength of the plants frdrn the destruction of their tap-roots. Very good
seed may, however, be raised in either of the methods that have been here described.
4912. After the seed has become fully ripened, it is mostly reaped by cutting off part of the stems, and
afterwards tying them up into sheaves, which, when sufficiently dry, are put into long stacks, and kept
through the winterj in orddr to be threshed out about the time when it is wanted. But as in this way
much .leed is liable to be lost, by its readiness to escape from the pods in which it is contained, it is advised
as a much better practice to have it immediately threshed out, either upon a cloth in the field where it
grew, or in some other converiient place, being then put into bags proper for the purpose and placed in a
situation which is perfectly dry. From seed croi)s of this sort being subject to much injury and loss in
different ways, the quantity of produce must be very different under different circumstances ; but it
may in general be stated at not less than from twenty to twenty-four bushels the acre. And the price of
turnip seed being seldom less than seven or eight shillings the bushel, on account of the great demand for
it, it mav at first appear to be a very advantageous sort of culture ; but from the exhausting nature of the
crop, the loss sustained in grain, and the quantity of manure afterwards necessary, it is probable that
turnip seed can Only be grown to advantage in particular circumstances of soil and' situation. In most
cases it is, however. Well for the farmer to raise his own seed, as that of the shops is seldom to be fully
depended ujion.
4913. The diseases and injuries to which turnips are liable are various. At their first
appearance their leaves are liable to the attacks of the fly (^;)/m, and Crysomela, L.), of
the caterpillar {PapUio noctua, S^c. L.), of the slug (iimaa?, L.), and of the mildew.
Their bulbs and roots are attacked by worms of different kinds ; by a singular tendency
to monstrosity, known provinpially by the name of fingers and toes; by the anbury; by
canker, and by wasting or gangrene from water or frost. Of all or most of these injurious
diseases, it may be observed, that they neither admit of prevention or cure by art. Under
J3 E 4
792 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
favorable circumstances of soil, climate, culture, and weather, they seldom occur; and
therefore all that the cultivator can do is to prepare and manure his land properly, and
in the sowing season supply water when the weather is deficient in showers or the soil
in humidity.
4914. The JIj/ attacks the turnip when in the seed-leaf, and either totally devours it,
or partially eats the leaves and centre-bud, so as to impede the progress of the plants
to the second or rough leaves. Whether the eggs of these flies are deposited on the plants
or in the soil, does not appear to be ascertained ; in all probability they are attached to
the former, as in the gooseberry caterpillar, and most cases of flies and insects which feed
on plants. Preparations and mixtures of the seed, as already treated of (4890.), is all
that has yet been done in the way of preventive to this evil.
491. '5. The caterpillar makes its appearance after the plants have produced three or more
rough leaves; these they eat through, and either destroy or greatly impede the progress of
the plants. There can be little doubt that the eggs of these caterpillars are deposited on
the leaves of the plants by a species of moth, as the caterpillar may be detected when not
larger in diameter than a hair. As preventives to the moths from fixing on the turnips
for a deposit for their eggs, it has been proposed to place vessels with tar in different parts of
the field, the smell of which is known to be very oflPensive to moths and all insects ; by
causing a thick offensive smoke to pass over the ground at the time when it is supposed
the moths or parent flies were about to commence their operations. To destroy the cater-
pillar itself, watering with tobacco water, lime water, strong brine, and laying on ashes,
barley awns, &c. have been proposed.
4916. The slug and snail attack the plants both above and under ground, and eat both
the leaves and roots. Rolling, soot, quick-lime, awns, &c. have been proposed to annoy
them; but the only effectual mode is, immediately after the turnips are sown, to strew the
ground with cabbage leaves, or leaves of any of the Brassica tribe. On these the slugs
will pasture, especially if they be beginning to decay (which produces a sweetness), and
may be gathered off by women or children every morning. By procuring as many
cabbage leaves, or handsfull of decaying pea haulm, or any similar vegetable, as will go
over a ridge or two, say at the rate of a leaf to every square yard, a whole field may soon
be cleared by picking off" the slugs and removing the leaves once in twenty- four hours.
This mode we have found most effectual in clearing a whole field of slugs, and it is ex-
tensively practised by market and other gardeners. {Encyc. of Gar d. §2275.)
4917. The mildew and blight attack the turnip in different stages of its progress, and
always retard its growth. Its effects may be palliated by watering and strewing the leaves
with sulphur; but this will hardly be considered applicable to whole fields,
49 1 8. The worms which attack the roots, when they commence their ravages at an early
period, impede their growth, and ruin or greatly injure the crop. They admit of no
remedy or prevention.
4919. The forked excrescences, known as fingers and toes, is considered an alarming dis-
ease, and hitherto it can neither be guarded against nor cured. The following account of
it is given by William Spence, president of the Holderness Agricultural Society in 181 Ij
" In some plants, the bulb itself is split into several finger diverging lobes. More fre-
quently the bulb is externally tolerably perfect, and the tap-root is the part principally
diseased ; being either wholly metamorphosed into a sort of misshapen secondary bulb^
often larger than the real bulb, and closely attached to it, or having excrescences of va^
rious shapes, frequently not unlike human toes, (whence the name of the disease,) either
springing immediately from its sides, or from the fibrous roots that issue from it. In thisi
last case, each fibre often swells into several knobs, so as distantly to resemble the runners
and accompanying tubers of a potatoe ; and not seldom one turnip will exhibit a combin-
ation of all these different forms of the disease. These distortions manifest themselves at a
Very early stage of the turnip's growth ; and plants, scarcely in the rough leaf, will exhi-
bit excrescences, which differ in nothing else than size from those of the full-grown root.
4920. Tlie leases discoverno unusual appearance, except that in hot weather they become flaccid anti
droop ; from which symptom, the presence of the disease may be surmised without examining the roots.
These continue to grow for some months, but without attaining any considerable size, the excrescences
enlarging at the same time. If divided at this period with a knife, both the bulb and the excrescences
are found to be perfectly solid, and internally to differ little in appearance from a healthy root, except
that they are of a more mealy and less compact consistency, and are interspersed with more numerous
and larger sap- vessels. The taste, too, is more acrid ; and, on this account, sheep neglect the diseased
plants. Towards the approach of autumn, the roots, in proportion as they are more or less diseased, be-
come gangrenous and rot, and are either broken (as frequently happens) by high winds, or gradually dis-
solved by the rain. Some, which have been partially diseased, survive the winter; but of the rest, at this
period, no other vestige remains than the vacant patches which they occupied at their first appearance.
4921. Tliis disease is not owin^ to the seed, nor to the time of sowing, nor to any quality of the soil, either
original or induced by any particular mode of cropping or of tillage ; and Spence adds, that the most at-
tentive and unbiassed consideration of the facts has led him to infer that the disease, though not produced
by any insect that has yet been discovered, is yet caused by some unobserved species, which either biting
the turnip in the earliest stage of its growth, or insinuating its egg into it, infuses at the same time into
the wound a liquid which communicates to the sap-vessels a morbid action, causing them to form the ex-
crescences in question.
Book VI. THE CARROT. 793
4922. For the prevention of this disease, marl has been recommended by Sir Joseph
Banks and others ; and where marl cannot be procured, it has been thought that an ad-
dition of mould of any kind, that has not borne turnips, will be advantageous ; such as a
dressing taken from banks, woodlands, ditches, &c. and mixed up with a good dose of
lime. But lime alone has been tried in vain; and no great dependence can be placed
upon fresh mould, as this disease has been known to prevail upon lands that had scarcely
ever before borne a crop of turnips. {Farmer's Magazine, vol. xiii.)
4923. The anbury is a disease in the roots of turnips which is thus described by Mar-
shal in his Rural Economy of Norfolk: — It is a large excrescence, which forms itself
below the apple. It grows to the size of both the hands, and, as soon as the hard weather
sets in, or it is, by its own nature, brought to maturity, becomes putrid, and smells very
offensively. At present, the state of three specimens which have been taken up and exa-
mined attentively, is this : — The apples of the turnips are just forming (about the size of
walnuts in the husk), while the anburies are already as big as the egg of a goose. They
are irregular and uncouth in their form, with inferior excrescences (resembling the lobes
of ginger) hanging to them. On cutting them, their general appearance is that of a hard
turnip ; but on examining them through a magni(ier, there are veins, or string-like ves-
sels, dispersed among the pulp. The smell and taste somewhat resemble those of turnips,
but without their mildness, having an austere and somewhat disagreeable flavor, resem-
bling that of an old stringy turnip. The tops of those which are much affected, turn
yellow, and flag with the heat of the sun ; so that, in the day-time, they are obviously
distinguishable from those which are healthy. It seems to be an idea among farmers,
that the Cause of the anbury is the soil being tired of turnips ; owing to their having been
too often sown on the same land. This, however. Marshal says, is positively erroneous;
for the piece from which these specimens were drawn, was an old orchard, and never be-
fore bore turnips in the memory of man. The cause of this disease is probably not yet
well ascertained; but if drought does not immediately produce it, the coincidence of a
remarkably dry season, and a remarkably anburied turnip crop, justifies a suspicion, that
the former does in some measure contribute to promote the latter. Marshal seems, in-
deed, to conceive that it is caused by some kind of grub or other, that, wounding the ves-
sels of the tap-root, diverts the course of the sap ; which, instead of forming the apple,
forms this excrescence.
4924. The canker attacks the roots and partly the bulbs of turnips, and is known by
the ulcerated appearance it produces. Some consider it owing to the presence of too much
iron in the soil, and recommend liming as a preventive.
4925. Wasting and putrefaction, from excess of water or frost, are to be prevented by
earthing up the bulbs, or taking up and storing.
Sect. III. The Carrot. — Daucus carota, 1j. Fenian. Dig. L. and UmbellifercB, J.
Carotte, Fr; Gelbe Riibe, Ger. ; and Carota, Ital.
4926. The carrot is a biennial plant, a native of Britain ; but though long known as
ia garden plant it is comparatively but of recent introduction in agriculture. It
appears to have been cultivated from an early period in Germany and Flanders, and
introduced from the latter country to Kent and Suffolk early in the 16th century. As
the carrot requires a deep soil inclining to sand, it can never enter so generally into culti-
vation as the potatoe or turnip. But as observed by a judicious writer, it has been too
much neglected on lands where it would have yielded a more valuable product, perhaps,
than any bulbous or tap-rooted plant whatever. Several contradictory experiments in
its culture have been detailed in a number of publications, from which the practical
husbandman will be at a loss to draw any definite conclusion. But, in a recent com-
munication to the Board of Agriculture, from Robert Burrows, an intelligent Norfolk
farmer, who has cultivated carrots on a large scale, and with great success, for several
years, so accurate an account is presented of the culture, application, and extraordinary
value of this root, that carrots will probably soon enter more largely into the rotation of
crops on suitable soils. (Supp. cjjc. )
4927. The varieties of carrot cultivated in gardens are numerous and readily increased
by the usual means ; but the only sort adapted for the field is the long-red ot field carrot.
New seed is most essential, as it will not vegetate the second year. Old seed, or a
mixture of old and new, and also the mixture of the horn carrot, the seed of which is
sent over in large quantities from Holland, ought to be carefully avoided.
4928. The best soil for the carrot is a deep rich sandy loam ; such a soil ought at least
to be a foot deep, and all equally good from top to bottom. On any other the field
cultue of the carrot will not answer.
4929. In preparing the soil for the carrot, it is essential to plough it before winter
that it may be pulverized by frost ; and to work it well by the plough and cultivator in
spring, to at least the depth of a foot. This deep tillage may be perfectly accomplished
794 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
either by means of the trench-plough following the common one, or by the common one
alone, with a good strength of team ; but the former method is to be preferred, wherever
the lands are inclined to be stiff or heavy. Three ploughings are mostly found sufficient,
where the land has been previously in a state of tillage ; but more may in other cases be
necessary. The first ploughing should be made to the depth of ten, twelve, or fourteen
inches, and be performed when the soil is tolerably dry, about the beginning of October.
It may remain in this condition till towards the middle of February, when it should
be turned over a second time, but in a cross direction, to nearly the same depths. In
March, a third ploughing may be given, in order to the putting in of the seed. This
may be somewhat lighter than the preceding ones. As soon as the last ploughing has
been given in March, the land should be harrowed, and the surface made as fine as
possible.
4930. tn Suffolk the farmers sow carrots after turnips, barley, and pease set upon
a rye-grass ley ; the crops upon the first have generally been most productive ; next
to that they prefer the latter. In the first place they feed off the turnips by the
beginning of February, and then lay the land up on small balks or furrows, in which
state it remains till the second week in March, when it is harrowed down, double-furrow-
ed to the depth of about twelve inches, and the seed sown.
4931. The climate most suitable to the carrot is the same as for the turnip ; but they
■will thrive better than the turnip in a dry and warm climate, and are consequently of
better growth in the south of England and France, in proportion to their size, in moist
climates as Holland and Ireland, than the turnip.
4932. Manure, according to some, should not be given to carrots the year they are
sown, as it is alleged when the roots meet with it they become forked, scabbed, and
wormy. This, however, is chiefly applicable to cases in which recent unfermented
manure has been given, or where other manure has not been properly broken in pieces
and spread over the soil or in the drills. The Suffolk and Norfolk farmers, who are the
best carrot growers, always use dung ; a suitable proportion of well-rotted farm-yard
dung being constantly turned into the soil at the last ploughing in March, as it has been
fully shewn, by various trials detailed in The Annals of Agriculture, and other books on
husbandry, that, though good crops of carrots may be occasionally grown without the use
of manure, it is only by the liberal application of that substance that the greatest pro-
duce possible can be obtained, as they are in general found to bear a relative proportion
to the quantity that may haVe been employed.
4933. Burrows prepares the land with a good dressing of about sixteen cart loads
per acre of rotten farm-yard manure, or cottager's ashes : the load about as much
as three able horses can draw, and, if bought, costs about four shillings and sixpence
per load, besides the carting on the land. He usually sows wheat stubbles after
clover, ploughing the first time in autumn, and once more in the early part of the month
of February, if the weather permits ; setting on the manure at the time of sowing, which
is about the last week in March, or sometimes as late as the second week in April.
4934. In Suffolk, when carrots are intended to be sown after pease, they usually plough
the stubble as soon as the harvest is over, in order that the land may clear itself of weeds ;
in December, it is laid up in small balks to receive the benefit of the frosts; in February,
it is harrowed down, and manured at the rate of fifteen loads per acre ; the manure is
ploughed in to the depth of about four inches, and in the month of March the land is
double- furrowed, and the seed sown. By pursuing this method, they say, the manure
lies in the Centre of the soil, and not only affords nourishment and support to the carrot
in its perpendicular progress, but renders it easy to be turned up by a single ploughing,
and greatly promotes the growth of the succeeding crop of barley. In Norfolk, it is the
practice to sow carrots after a crop of turnips. The manure, after being put on the land
in the beginning of March, is first ploughed in with a common plough, and afterwards
trench -ploughed about fourteen or fifteen inches deep ; it is then harrowed very fine, and
the seed sown about the middle of March.
4935. The season for sowinii the carrot preferred by Burrows, is the last week in
March or first in April ; but he prefers the first period, having generally found early
soWn crops the most productive.
4936. The usual jireparation of the seed for sowing is by mixing it with earth or sand,
to cause it to separate more freely ; but Burrows adds water, turns over the mixture
of seeds and moist earth several times, and thus brings it to the point of vegetating
before he sows it. ** Having weighed the quantity of seed to be sown, and collected
sand or fine mould, in the proportion of about two bushels to an acre, I mix the seed
with the sand or mould, eight or ten pounds to every two bushels, and this is done
about a fortnight or three weeks before the time I intend sowing ; taking care to have
the heaps turned over every day, sprinkling the outside of them with water each time of
turning over, that every part of the sand heaps may be equally moist, and that vegeta-
tion may take place alike throughout. I have great advantage in preparing the seed so
Book VI. THE CARROT. TOS
long beforehand ; it is by this means in a state of forward vegetation, therefore lies
but a short time in the ground, and by quickly appearing above ground, is more able
to contend with those numerous tribes of weeds in the soil, whose seeds are of quicker
vegetation." (Supp. <^c.)
4937. Crude, the French translator of Von Thaer's work, describes in a note (torn. iv.
237. ) a practice nearly similar to that of Burrows. Crude uses sciure (night soil) instead
of earth, and waters with the drainings of dunghills. He keeps the mixture in a warm,
but shady situation for eight days ; by that time the seed is nearly ready to vegetate,
and he sows it immediately.
4938. The quantity/ of seed when carrots are sown in rows, is two pounds per acre,
and for broad-cast sowing five pounds. Burrows sows ten pounds per acre in the
broad-cast manner.
4939. The usual mode of sowing the carrot is broad-cast; but a much better mode
in our opinion would be to sow them in rows at twelve or fourteen inches distance ;
drawing the drills, and hoeing the intervals by any suitable drill and hoe. The
most common practice, however, when carrots are best cultivated, is the hand or
broad-cast method, the seed being dispersed as evenly as possible over the land, after
the surface has been reduced to a very fine state of pulverisation by harrowing, in
order to provide a suitable bed for it to vegetate in ; being then covered in by
means of a light harrow. As the seed of the carrot is not of a nature to be depo-
sited with much regularity by the drill, and as the young plants can be easily set
out to proper distances in the operation of hoeing, this is probably the most appro-
priate method of putting such sort of seed into the ground. And an additional
proof of it is indeed found, in its being that which is almost universally adopted in
those districts where carrot-husbandry is practised to the greatest extent. But with
the view of having the after-culture of the crops more perfectly performed, and at
the same time to save the great expense of hand-labor in hoeing the crop, the drill
method has been attempted by some cultivators, but we believe without complete suc-
cess. The work is finished in equi-distant rows at the distance of from twelve to
fifteen or eighteen inches from each other, according to the mode of hoeing that is
practised. In this business some cultivators do not make use of drill-machines, but
strike the land into small furrows by hoes or other implements contrived for the pur-
pose, and then cast the seed over the ground by the hand, covering it in either by
slight 'harrowing, or hoeing in the tops of the ridgelets. It is added, that " in this
method, where a drill-machine is used, it has been advised by an intelligent cultivator
to deposit the seed to the depth of one inch in the rows, leaving the spaces of fourteen
inches between them as intervals ; the seed in these cases being previously steeped iu
rain-water for twenty-four hours, and left to sprout, after which it is mixed with saw-
dust and dry-mould, in the proportion of one peck and a half of each to a pound of
the seed. The land is afterwards lightly harrowed over once in a place. Two pounds
of seed in this mode is found, as has been observed, sufficient for an acre of land."
4940. The after-culture given the carrot consists entirely of hoeing and weeding* In
Suffolk they are hoed generally three times in the season. The first time, as soon as
the plants can be distinguished from the weeds which surround them, which should be
done with three-inch hoes, having handles not above two feet in length. It is an oper-
ation that requires to be performed with great attention, as it is extremely difficult to
distinguish and separate the young carrots from the weeds. The second hoeing should
be given in three or four weeks afterwards, according to the forwardness of the crop ;
it may be performed with common hoes, care being taken to set out the plants at proper
distances. From eight to fifteen or eighteen inches, each way, is the common distance
at which they are allowed to stand; and it has been proved, from many years' experi-
ence, in districts where they are most cultivated, that carrots which grow at such dis-
tances always prove a more abundant crop than when the plants are allowed to stand closer
together. The third hoeing is commonly made about the middle or end of June, and
in this, besides destroying the weeds, another material circumstance to be attended to,
is to set out the carrots at proper distances, and also, wherever any have been left double
at the former hoeings, to take the worst of the two plants away.
4941. Carrots sown according to the plan of Burrows, are ready to hoe within about
five or six weeks. He hoes three and sometimes four times, or until the crop is per-
fectly clean : the first hoeing is with hoes four inches long, and two and a quarter inches
wide. The second hoeing invariably takes place as soon as the first is completed, and
is performed with six-inch hoes, by two and a quarter inches wide. By this time the
plants are set ; the first time of hoeing nothing was cut but the weeds. He leaves the
plants nine inches apart from each other ; sometimes they will be a foot, or even farther
asunder.
4942. Carrots are taken up generally in the last week of October. Burrows's
practice is to let the work to a man ^ho engages women and children to assist him ;
796 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
the work is performed with three-pronged forks; the children cut off the tops, laying
them and the roots in separate heaps, ready for the teams to take away. " I take up in
autumn a sufficient quantity to have a store to last me out any considerable frost or
snow that may happen in the winter months ; the rest of the crop I leave in the ground,
preferring them fresh out of the earth for both horses and bullocks. The carrots keep
best in the ground, nor can the severest frosts do them any material injury ; the first
week in March, it is necessary to have the remaining part of the crop taken up, and the
land cleared for barley ; the carrots can either be laid in a heap with a small quantity
of straw covered over them, or they may be laid into some empty outhouse or barn, in
heaps of many hundred bushels, provided they are put together dry. This latter cir-
cumstance, it is indispensably necessary to attend to, for if laid together in large heaps
when wet, they will certainly sustain much injury. Such as I want to keep for the
use of my horses until the months of May and June, in drawing over the heaps, (which is
necessary to be done the latter end of April, when the carrots begin to sprout at the
crown very fast) , I throw aside the healthy and most perfect roots, and have their crowns
cut completely off and laid by themselves ; by this means, carrots may be kept the
month of June out in a high state of perfection." {^Communications to the Board of
Agriculture, vol. vii. p. 72.)
4943. The storing a whole crop of carrots maybe a desirable practice when winter
wheat is to follow them, in which case the same mode may be adopted as for turnips or
potatoes, but with fewer precautions against the frost, as the carrot, if perfectly dry, is
very little injured by that description of weather.
4944. IVie produce of an acre of carrots in Suffolk, according to Arthur Young, is
at an average 350 bushels ; but Burrows's crops averaged upwards of 800 bushels per
acre, which considerably exceeds the largest crop of potatoes.
4945. The uses to which the carrot is applied in Suffolk are various. Large quan-
tities are sent to the London markets, and also given as food to different kinds of live
stock. Horses are remarkably fond of carrots, and it is even said, that when oats and
carrots are given together, the horses leave the oats and eat the carrots. The ordinary
allowance is about forty or fifty pounds a day to each horse. Carrots when mixed with
chaff, that is, cut straw, and a little hay, without corn, keep horses in excellent condition
for performing all kinds of ordinary labor. The farmers begin to feed their horses with
carrots in December, and continue to give them chiefly that kind of provender till the
beginning or middle of May ; to which period, with proper care, carrots may be pre-
served. As many of the farmers in that country are of opinion that carrots are not so
good for horses in winter as in spring, they give only half the above allowance of carrots
at first, and add a little corn for a few weeks after they begin to use carrots.
4946^ IVie application of the carrot to the feeding of worJdng cattle and //og-s is thus
detailed by Burrows. " I begin to take up the carrot crop in the last week of October,
as at that time I generally finish soiling my horses with lucern, and now solely depend
upon my carrots, with a proper allowance of hay, as winter food for my horses, until
about the first week of June following, when the lucern is again ready for soiling. By
reducing this practice to a system, I have been enabled to feed ten cart horses through-
out the winter months for these last six years, without giving them any corn whatever,
and have at the same time effected a considerable saving of hay, from what I found
necessary to give to the same number of horses, when according to the usual custom of
the country, I fed my horses with corn and hay. I give them to my cart-horses in the pro-
portion of seventy pound weight of carrots a horse per day, upon an average, not allowing
them quite so many in the very short days, and sometimes more than that quantity in
the spring months, or to the amount of what I withheld in the short winter days. The
men who tend the horse?, slice some of the carrots in the cut chaff or hay, and barn-door
refuse ; the rest of the carrots they give whole to the horses at night, with a small quan-
tity of hay in their racks ; and with this food my horses generally enjoy uninterrupted
health. I mention this, as I believe that some persons think that carrots only, given as
food to horses, are injurious to their constitutions; but most of the prejudices of man-
kind have no better foundation, and are taken up at random, or inherited from their
grandfathers. So successful have I been with carrots as a winter food for horses, that
with the assistance of lucern for soiling in summer, I have been enabled to prove by
experiments conducted under my own personal inspection, that an able Norfolk team-
horse, fully worked two journies a day, winter and summer, may be kept the entire year
round upon the produce of only one statute acre of land* I have likewise applied car-
rots with great profit to the feeding of hogs in winter, and by that means have made my
straw into a most excellent manure, without the aid of neat cattle; the hogs so fed are
sold on Norwich hill to the London dealers as porkers." The profit of carrots so applied,
he shews in a subsequent statement, together with an experiment of feeding four Galloway
bullocks with carrots, against four others fed in the common way with turnips and hay.
{Communications, ^c.)
Book VI. THE PARSNEP. 797
4947. In compaiing the carrot with the potatoes an additional circumstance greatly in
favor of the former is, that it does not require to be steamed or boiled, and it is not
more difficult to wash than the potatoe. These and other circumstances considered,
it appears to be the most valuable of all roots for working horses.
4948. The use of the carrot in domestic economy is well known. Their produce of
nutritive matter, as ascertained by Sir H. Davy, is ninety-eight parts in one thousand,
of which three are starch, and ninety-five sugar. They are used in the dairy in winter
and spring to give color and flavor to butter. In the distillery, owing to the great pro-
portion of sugar in their composition, they yield more spirit than the potatoe : the usual
quantity is twelve gallons per ton. They are excellent in soups, stews, and haricots, and
boiled whole with salt beef. '^
4949. To save carrot seed, select annually some of the most perfect and best-shaped
roots in the taking-up season, and either preserve them in sand in a cellar till spring,
or plant them immediately in an open airy part of the garden, protecting tbcm with
litter during severe frosts, or earthing them over, and uncovering them in March follow,
ing. The seed is in no danger of being contaminated by any other plant, as the wild
carrot, even should it happen to grow in the neighborhood, flowers later. In August
it will be fit to gather, and is best preserved till wanted on the stalks. This is the most
certain mode of procuring genuine and new seed, but still it will be found advisable to
change it occasionally.
4950. The diseases of carrots are only such as are common to most plants, such as mildew,
insects, &c. The mildew and worms at the root frequently injure crops, and are to
be guarded against as far as practicable by a proper choice of soil, season of sowing, and
after culture.
Sect. IV. The Parsnep. — Pastinaca sativa, L. Pentan. Dig. L. and Umbelliferce, J.
Le Panais, Fr. ; Pastinake, Ger. ; and Pastinaca, Ital.
4951. The jmrsnep is a biennial plant with a fusiform root like the carrot, and nearly
equal in its products of nutritive and saccharine matter. It is a native of most parts of
Europe and generally cultivated in gardens, but is only of late and very partial intro-
duction as a field plant. Its culture has been chiefly confined to the island of Jersey,
where it attains a large size, and is much esteemed for fattening cattle and pigs. It
is considered rather more hardy than the carrot, and its produce is said to be greater. It
may be sown either in autumn or spring, and its seed admits of drilling by machinery.
The plants when they come up are, more easily recognized than carrots, and therefore
their culture is on the whole more simple, less dependant on manual labor, and, there-
fore, more suited to farming. For the rest, their culture is the same as that of the carrot.
4952. The variety best suited for the field is the large Jersey, the seed of which should
be procured from the island, as that of the garden parsnep sold by the seedsmen never
attains the same size.
4953. The soil, preparation, and manure for this plant are the same as for the
carrot.
4954. The quantity "of seed for sowing in drills is from 4 to 5 lbs. per acre, and for
l)road-cast 6" or 8 lbs. It must always be new, as two years seed does not come up freely.
It may or may not be prepared by steeping, but it requires no earth or sand, or rubbing,
as it passes freely through the same drill that will sow tares or pease.
4955. r/je/ime o/*sowm5^ is generally about the middle of February; but some sow
in September, in which case the seed does not vegetate till early in spring. This last
method, however, is obviously against the culture of the soil, which must thus remain a
year in a consolidated state.
4956. The manner if sowing is generally in drills at fifteen or eighteen inches distance:
but some sow broad-cast and harrow in the seed ; and in Jersey parsneps and beans are gene-
rally cultivated together. The beans are first dibbled in, and afterwards the parsnep seed
scattered over the surface and harrowed. It is acknowledged that a good crop of both
plants is never obtained ; and therefore, though this mode may be found to answer in the
mild climate of Jersey, it is not to be imitated in other places. Drills or broad-cast with-
out any intermixture of plants are the only advisable modes.
4957. The after-culture and taking up is the same as for the carrot, with this difference,
that the parsnep when sown broad-cast is generally thinned out to twelve inches at an
average plant from plant, and when in rows eighteen inches apart, to nine inches in the row.
4958. The produce is said to be greater than that of carrots ; and the economical applica-
tion the same. In the fattening of cattle it is found equal if not superior, performing the
business with as much expedition, and affording meat of exquisite flavor and a highly
juicy quality. The animals eat it with much greediness. It is reckoned that thirty
pea'ches, where the crop is good, will be sufficient to fatten an ox of three or four years
old when perfectly lean, in the course of three months, Tliey are given in the proportion
of about thirty pound weight morning, noon, and night j the large ones being split in
798 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
three or four pieces, and a little hay supplied in the intervals of those periods. And,
when given to milch-cows with a little hay in the winter season, the butter is found to be
of as fine a color and as excellent a flavor as when feeding in the best pastures. Indeed,
the result of experiment has shewn, that not only in neat cattle, but in the fattening of
hogs and poultry, the animals become fat much sooner, and are more bulky, than
when fed with any other root or vegetable. And that, besides, the meat is more sweet
and delicate.
4959. JParsnep leaves being more bulky than those of carrots may be mown off before
taking up the roots, and given to cows, oxen, or horses, by whom they will be greedily
eaten.
4960. The use of the parsnep in domestic economy is nearly the same as that of the
carrot. They are much esteemed to salt fish, and are sometimes roasted for that purpose.
Their produce in nutritive matter is 99 parts in 1000, of which 9 are mucilage, and 90
sugar. Gerarde says, that a very good bread was made from them in his time. They
aflfbrd as much spirit as the carrot, and make an excellent wine.
4961. To save parsnq) seed, proceed as with the carrot. The parsnep being more
hardy and luxuriant than the carrot, is less liable to the mildew and worms, but equally
so to become forked if the soil be not deep and well pulverized, and the manure minute-
ly divided and equally distributed.
Sect. V. The Field-Beet. — Beta, L. Pentan. Dig. L. and ChenopodecB, J. Betterave, Fr. ;
Mangold-iviirzel, Ger. ; and Biettola, Ital.
4962. Thejield-beet, commonly called the mangold-wiirzel, and sometimes erroneously
the root of scarcity i in German mangel w'drzel), is supposed by Professor Thaer to be a
mongrel between the red and white beet. It has a much larger bulb than either, and
that bulb, in some varieties, grows in great part above ground. It has been a good deal
cultivated in Germany and Switzerland, both for its leaves and roots ; the leaves are
either used as spinach or given to cattle ; and the roots are either given to cattle, used in
distillation, or for extracting sugar. The culture of the field-beet in Britain is very
recent, and it may be questioned whether it has any advantages over the turnip for gene-
ral agricultural purposes. It admits, however, of being cultivated on ridgelets and with as
little manual labor as the turnip, while it will prosper on a stronger soil, and near large
towns it is not liable to the depredations usually committed on turnips or carrots, as the
root is unpalatable either raw or boiled.
49S.S. The variety preferred in Germany is one slightly tinged with red for cattle, and
the pale-yellow variety for the distillery and sugar manufacture. The seed must not
exceed a year old, and great care should be taken that the seed of the common red and
white beet are not mixed with it. The seed of every variety of beet is very apt to dege-
nerate.
4964. Any soil w'ill suit this plant provided it be rich ; immense crops have been
raised on strong clays; but such soils are not easily prepared for this sort of crop, and
are also ill adapted for after-culture. The preparation should be exactly the same as for
turnips ; and the seed should be sown on the ridgelets in the same manner. Some,
however, dibble in the seed in order to save the expense of thinning. The season of
sowing is the same as for the parsnep, and should not be deferred later than the middle of
April. The after-culture consists in horse-hoeing, hand-hoeing, and weeding, as in the
culture of the turnip, and the plants are thinned out to about the same distance in the
rows. Blanks may be filled up by transplanting, or, as in the case of the Swedish tur-
nip, whole crops may be reared in this way ; but the produce is never so large. As the
transplanting, however, takes place in May, more time is afforded, and drier weather ob-
tained for cleaning the soil. The plants are set by the dibbler along the centre of the
ridgelets, which are previously consolidated by rolling.
4965. The produce is, c<steribus paribus, about the same as that of the Swedish turnip,
but the nutritive matter afforded by the beet is 136 parts in 1000, of which 13 are mu-
cilage, 119 sugar, and 4 gluten. According to Von Thaer, they afford 10 percent, of
nutritive matter, and are in that respect to hay as 10 to 46, and to potatoes as 20 to 46.
An acre would thus appear to afford more nourishment than either turnips, carrots, or
parsneps.
4966. The application of the field-beet is almost entirely to the fattening of stock, and
feeding of milch-cows. Near London they are in repute for the latter purpose ; and,
according to Von Thaer, they cause a great increase of milk, as well as improve its flavor.
The tops are first taken off, and given by themselves, and then the roots are taken up, washed,
and given raw. The roots are much more easily injured by frost than the turnip, car-
rot, or parsnep, and are stored with difficulty. The leaves make a very good spinach,
but the roots cannot be used in cooking like those of the red beet. In the distillery it is
nearly half as productive as the potatoe ; but, according to Von Thaer, it is not likely to
yield much profit in the manufacture of sugar.
Book VI. THE CABBAGE. 799
4967. To save seed, select the finest specimens, preserve them in sand during winter,
and plant them in an airy part of the garden in March. The rest is easy.
4968. To diseases no plant is less liable than the beet.
Sect. VI. The Cabbage Tribe. — Brassica, L. Tetrad. S'diq. L. and Cruciferce. J.
Chou, Fr. ; Xohl, Ger. ; and Cavoloy Ital.
4969. The cabbage tribe are of the greatest antiquity in gardens, and most of them may
be cultivated in the fields with success. For the common purposes of farming, however,
there can be little doubt that they will afford less profit than any of the plants hitherto
treated of in this chapter; but near large towns or sea-ports, they may answer the purpose
of the farm-gardener. Cabbage culture, Brown observes, is much more hazardous, far less
profitable, and attended with infinitely more trouble than that of turnips, while the ad-
vantages to be derived from them are not, in our opinion, of a description to compensate
the extra hazard and trouble thereby incurred.
4970. The culture of cabbage has been strongly recommended by several speculative
agriculturists, and examples adduced of extraordinary produce and profits; but any
plant treated in an extraordinary manner will give extraordinary results ; and thus an
inferior production may be made to appear more valuable than it really is. One reason
why so much has been said in their favor by Arthur Young and other southern farmers,
is, that they compare them with the produce of turnips, which, in the south of England,
is averaged at only 15 tons per acre.
4971. The variety of cabbage cultivated in the fields for cattle, is almost exclusively
the large field cabbage, called also the Scotch, Strasburg, drumhead, &c. For the pur-
poses of domestic economy, other varieties of early and late cabbage, as the York, Batter-
sea, sugar-loaf, imperial, &c. are grown, and also German greens, Savoy cabbage, and
even Brussels sprouts and brocoli. The Kohl riibe, or turnip-cabbage, has also been
tried, but it is not fit to use in British cookery, and in respect to its properties in any
other respect, it has not one to recommend it.
4972. Any soil that is rich will suit the cabbage, but a strong loam is preferred. The
best mode of preparation for field cabbage is that for potatoes or turnips, the plants being
dibbled along the centre of each ridgelet. For early cabbage no ridgelets are required,
as the plants are inserted in rows, by a line at much narrower distances.
4973. The season for planting for a full crop of field cabbages, is usually March ; but
cabbages may be planted as late as June, and produce a tolerable crop by November ;
and in this way they may sometimes be made to succeed an unsuccessful sowing of
turnips. The plants used in March should be the produce of seed sown in an open
loamy part of the garden in the preceding August ; but those planted in May or June
may be the produce of seed sown in the February or March of the same year.
4974. The preparation given to the plants consists in pinching off the extremity of
their tap-root, and any tubercles which appear on the root or stem, and in immersing the
root and stem in a puddle, or mixture of earth and water, to protect the fibres and pores
of the roots and stem from the drought. The plants may then be inserted by the dibber,
taking care not to plant fhem too deep, and to press the earth firmly to the lower extre-
mity of the root. If this last point is not attended to in planting by the dibber, the
plants will either die, or, if kept alive by the moisture of the soil or rain, their progress
will be very slow. When the distance between the ridgelets is twenty-seven inches, the
plants are set about two feet asunder in the rows, and the quantity required for an acre
is about 6000 plants. Some recommend sowing as for turnips; but by this mode
one of the advantages of a green crop is infringed on : viz. the time given to clean the
land. Where cabbages are sown, that operation must be performed at least a month
sooner than if they were planted ; consequently, the best month of the cleaning season is
lost. To plant or sow a green crop on land in good heart, that does not require clean-
ing, will seldom be found good husbandry. It may succeed near large towns, where
roots and other green produce sells high, but it can never enter into any general system
of farming.
4975. The after-culture consists in horse and hand-hoeing and weeding ; and the crop
is taken by chopping off the heads with the spade, leaving an inch or two of stalk to each.
They may be preserved by housing, but only for a short time. The produce is said to
be from 35 to 40 tons per acre. Sir H. Davy found that 1000 parts of cabbage gave 73
of nutritive matter, of which 41 are mucilage, 24 saccharine matter, and 8 gluten.
4976. The application of the field cabbage is generally to the feeding of milch-cows, and
sometimes to the fattening of oxen and sheep. For the former purpose great care must
be taken to remove the outside decaying leaves, otherwise they are apt to give an un-
pleasant flavor to the milk and butter. Cabbages are also eaten by swine and horses,
and are reckoned excellent food for sheep that have newly-dropped their lambs, and for
calves. A cow will eat from 100 to 150 lbs. of cabbage per day, and a sheep ten or
twelve pounds, besides a moderate allowance of hay. Early or garden cabbages are sold
800 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
to green -grocers, or to the consumers, or to ship's victuallers for the purpose of being
pickled or made into sour crout.
4977. To save cabbage seed select a few fine specimens and plant them by themselves,
and where they will be in no danger of being contaminated by others of the Brassica tribe
when in flower. The seed will keep many years.
4978. The diseases of cabbages are the same as those of the turnip, with the exception
of the forked excrescence. On the roots of the plants are frequently found knobs, which,
in the preparation for transplanting, should, as we have already observed, be carefully
removed.
Sect VII. Of some other Plants which might be cultivated in the Fields for their
Roots or Leaves.
4979. Every hardy garden plant may be cultivated in the fields, and with very little
manual labor. Accordingly we find onions, spinach, cress, radishes, and even cucum-
bers grown by farmers, or farm gardeners in the neighborhood of the metropolis, and also
in other places. None of these plants, however, can be considered as belonging to agri-
culture, nor should we notice those which follow, but because they have been tried and
recommended by zealous cultivators, and are treated of -in some works on farming. No
plant can be considered as belonging to agriculture that is not in sufficient demand, or of
sufficient general use in feeding stock, as to admit of its frequent occurrence in rotations,
and such certainly cannot be said to be the case with the Jerusalem artichoke and lettuce,
now about to be noticed.
4980. The Jerusalem artichoke {Helianthus iuberosus, L.) is a tuberous-rooted plant with
leafy stems from four to six feet high. It thrives well on soft moist soils, and even it is
said on moist peat soils, and it is alleged that its tops will afford as much or more fodder
per acre than a crop of oats, and its roots half as many tubers as an ordinary crop of
potatoes. {Agricultural Magazine, IS07-S.) The soil may be cultivated in all respects
like the potatoe. The tubers being abundant in the market gardens, are to be had at
little more than the price of potatoes.
4981. The common coss lettuce {Lactuca sativa, L.) has been grown for feeding pigs and other purposes.
Arthur Young informs us, in his Calendar of Husbandry, that he first observed the sowing of lettuces for
hogs practised in a pretty regular system, on the farm of a very intelligent cultivator (not at all a whimsical
man) in Sussex. He had every year an acre or two, which afforded a great quantity of very valuable food
for his sows and pigs. He adds, that it yields milk amply, and all sorts of swine are very fond of it. And
he thinks, that the economical farmer, who keeps many hogs, should take care to have a succession of crops
for these animals, that his carts may not be for ever on the road for purchased grains, or his granary opened
for corn oftener than is necessary. To raise this sort of crop, the land should have been ploughed before the
winter frosts, turning in by that earth twenty loads of rich dung per acre, and making the ridges of the right
breadth to suit the drill-machine and horse-hoes, so that in the month of March nothing more may be
necessary than to scarify the land, and to drill the seed at one foot equi-distant, at the rate of four pounds of
seed per acre. Where the stock of swine is large, it is proper to drill half an acre or an acre of lettuce in
April, the land having been well manured and ploughed as directed above, being also scuffled in February
and March, and well harrowed, repeating it before drilling. And at this period the crop which was drilled in
March (a succession being essentially necessary) should be thinned in the rows by hand, to about nine or
ten inches asunder. If this necessary attention be neglected, the plants, he says, draw themselves up weak
and poor, and will not recover it. "Women do this business as well as men. When about six inches high,
they should be horse-hoed with a scarifier or scuffler, having the hoe about four inches, or at most five
inches in width. With this sort of green food some kind of meal, or other dry meat, should be combined,
as without it, it is apt to prove very laxative, &c. — This Sussex cultivator is not likely to be followed by any
rent-paying farmer, who can grow any of the clovers, turnips, or jjotatoes. The quotation afibrds a good
fipwimen of Arthur Young's mode of writing on agricultural subjects,
Chap. V.
Of the Culture of Herbage Plants.
4982. The cultivation of clovers and other herbage plants used exclusively as
food for live stock, is comparatively a modern improvement. They were known,
as we have seen, to the Greeks and Romans, and cultivated from a very early
period in the Low Countries ; but do not appear to have attracted much notice
in Britain till the sixteenth century, when our frequent intercourse with Holland
led to the introduction of some of our best field plants and agricultural practices.
At present clovers enter largely into the succession of crops, on all soils, and in
every productive course of management. Before they were introduced into cul-
tivation, when land was exhausted by grain crops, it was necessary to leave it in
a state of comparative sterility for several years, before it was either valuable as pasture,
or again fit for carrying corn. But at present, clovers are not only indispensable in the
cultivation of white and green crops alternately, upon very rich soils, but are the foun-
dation of convertible husbandry on land that is not so rich as to permit of a constant
aration, and which therefore requires two or more years' pasturage at certain intervals.
Lucern and saintfoin, though of much less value as general crops, are valuable plants
VI.
CLOVER FAMILY.
801
in particular situations ; more especially the latter, which will produce good crops on
dry chalky and limestone soils, when most other agricultural plants and even grasses
would barely maintain their existence.
4983. The characteristic points of culture of this class of plants are broad-cast sowing,
mowing, soiling, and hay-making, and that when cut for the two last purposes, two or
more crops may be had in a season from the same roots.
4984. The nutritive products of the principal herbage plants are thus given by Sir
H. Davy :
.Systematic name.
The quantity analys-
ed, of each sort 1000
paru.
Whole
quantity of
soluble or
nutritive
matter.
Mucilage
or
starch.
Saccharine
matter or
sugar.
Gluten
or
albumen.
Extract.or matter
rendered insolu-
ble during eva-
poration.
Trifolium pratense - -
medium - -
repens - -
Hedysarum onobrychis
Medicago medic -
Red clover - -
Cow grass . -
White clover .
Saintfoin - - -
Lucern . - .
39
39
32
39
23
31
30
29
28
18
3
4
1
2 .
1
2
3
3
3
3
2
5
6
4
Sect. I. The Clover Family. — Trifolium, L. Diadel. Decan. L. and Leguminosea, 'J,
Trefle, Fr. ; Klecy Ger. ; and Trifoglio, Ital.
4985. The clovers {Jig. 568.) are a numerous family, chiefly natives of Europe : those
selected by the agriculturist are natives of Britain j and one species, the white or
creeping clover, is often found in great luxuriance in native pastures. As rye-grass is
very generally sown with clovers, it will be necessary to treat of its culture in connec-
tion with these plants, reserving, however, the more particular consideration of rye-grass
till we treat of the hay grasses. (Chap. VI.) Many intelligent cultivators consider rye-
grass as a very severe crop for the soil ; and it is alleged that wheat does not succeed
well after the herbage with which rye-grass is intermixed in any considerable quantity.
Other plants have accordingly been recommended as a substitute for rye-grass, and
cock's-foot {Daclylis glomerata) has been tried, apparently with great success, by Coke,
of Holkham in Norfolk, and others. But this is a very coarse grass when allowed to
rise to any height, and the use of it for hay has not yet been ascertained. Donaldson
considers the general introduction of clovers, and the cultivated grasses, as one of the
greatest improvements in modern husbandry. The commencement of improvements in
the different species of live-stock, in the modes of cultivation, and in the superior quality,
as well as quantity, of the crops of grain, may all, he thinks, be dated from the period
when the sowing of clovers and grass-seeds was first introduced into the different districts
of the kingdom.
4986. The species of clover \n cultivation are the red clover, (Trifolium pratense, a),
a biennial, and sometimes, especially on chalky soils, a triennial plant, known from the
other species by its broad leaves, luxuriant growth, and reddish purple flowers.
4987. The white, or creeping, or Dutch clover, (T. repens, b), a perennial plant, known
by its creeping stems and white flowers.
4988.. The yellow clover, hop-trefoil, or shamrock clover, ( T. procumbens, c), a biennial,
known by its procumbent shoots, yellow flowers, and black seeds.
49^^ 9. The cow-grass, meadow clover, or marl-grass, (T. medium, d) a perennial, re-
sembling the red clover, but of a paler hue, dwarfer habit, with pale red or whitish
flowers, and long roots very sweet to the taste.
3 F
803 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
4990. Trifolium incamatum, an annual and native of Italy, has been recominended
by an Italian professor to Sir John Sinclair (Farm. Jovr. Avg. 1821); but it is not
likely that such a plant, which even as an annual in our garden borders has not a fourth
of the vigor of the common clover, should ever be worth culture in this country.
4991. In the choice of sorts the red or broad clover is the kind most generally culti-
vated on land that carries white and green crops alternately, as it yields the largest
produce for one crop of all the other sorts. White and yellow clover are seldom sown
with it, unless when several years pasturage is intended.
4992. The soil best adapted for clover is a deep sandy loam, which is favorable to its
long tap-roots : but it will grow in any soil, provided it be dry. So congenial is calca-
reous matter to clovers, that the mere strewing of lime on some soils will call into action
clover-seeds, which it would appear have lain dormant for ages. At least this appears
the most obvious way of accounting for the well-known appearance of white clover in
such cases.
4993. The climate most suitable for the clovers, as of most plants, natives of Europe,
is one neither very hot nor very dry and cold. Most leguminous plants delight both in
a dry soil and climate, and warm temperature, and the clover will be found to produce
most seed under such circumstances ; but as the production of seed is only in some
situations an object of the farmer's attention, a season rather moist, provided it be warm,
is always attended by the most bulky crops of clover herbage.
4994. The preparation of' the soil and manures, which clover receives in ordinary
farm culture, are those destined also for another crop ; clover mixed with a certain pro-
portion of rye-grass being generally sown along with or among corn crops, and especially
with spring sown wheat, barley, and the early varieties of oats. Unless, however, the
soil on which these crops are sown are well pulverized, and have been some years under
tillage, clovers will not succeed in them, it being ascertained that newly-broken-up leys
or pasture grounds cannot be sown down or restored to clover and grasses, till the soil
is thoroughly comminuted, and the roots of the former grasses and herbage plants com-
pletely destroyed.
4995. The time of sowing clover -seeds is generally the spring, during the corn-seed
time, or from February to May ; but they may also be sown from August to October,
and when they are sown by themselves, that is, unaccompanied by any corn crop, this
will be found the best season, as the young plants are less liable to be dried up and im-
peded in their progress by the sun, than when sown alone m spring, and remaining
tender and unshaded during the hot and dry weather of July.
4996. Some j)repare the seed for sowing by steeping in water or in oil, as in Switzer-
land, and then mixing it with powdered gypsum, as a preventive to the attacks of
insects.
4997. The manner of souring is almost always broad,cast. When sown with spring corn,
clover and grass-seeds are usually put in immediately after the land has been pulverized by
harrowing in the corn-seed, and are themselves covered by one course more of the harrows ;
or, if the corn is drilled, the small seeds are sown immediately before or after hand-hoeing ;
and the land is then finislied by a course of the harrows. A lighter harrow is generally
employed in covering such seeds, than that used for corn. When the land is under an
autumn sown crop of wheat or other grain, though the clovers and rye-grass are still
sown in spring, the proper period must depend botli upon the state of the land, and the
progress of the crops ; and it may be often advisable to break the crust formed on the
surface of tenacious soils, by using the harrow before the clovers are sown, as well as
afterwards to cover them. Sometimes the roller only is employed at this time, and there
are instances of clover and rye-grass succeeding when sown, without either harrowing or
rolling. But it is commonly of advantage to the wheat crop itself, to use the harrows
in spring, and the roller alone cannot be depended on, unless the season be very favor-
able. In some cases grass-seeds are sown by themselves, either in autumn or spring, but
rarely on tillage land. Nature has not determined any precise depth for the seed of red
clover more than of other seed. It will grow vigorously from two inches deep, and it
will grow when barely covered. Half an inch may be reckoned the most advantageous
position in clay soil ; a whole inch in what is light or loose. It is a vulgar error, that
small seed ought to be sparingly covered. Misled by that error, farmers commonly cover
Iheir clover seed with a bushy branch of thorn ; which not only covers it unequally, but
leaves part on the surface to wither in the air.
4998. In the operation of solving some consider it best to sow the clover and rye-grass
separately, alleging that the weight of the one seed and lightness of the other, are un-
favorable to an equal distribution of both.
4999. The quantity/ of seed sown on an acre is exceedingly various; not only according
as more or less white or yellow clover is sown along with grass-seeds and red clover, or when
pasturage is intended, but, even when they are the only kinds sown^ the quantity is varied
Book VI. CLOVER FAMILY. 803
by the quality of the soils, and the different purposes of hay, soiling, or one year's pasture,
to which the crop is to be applied. When pasture is the object, more seed ought to be
allowed than is necessary when the crop is to be cut green for soiling; and for hay, less
may suffice than for either of the former. Finely pulverized soils do not require so much
seed as clays, on which clover and rye-grass are very frequently sown among autumn or
winter-sown wheat, when there is more danger of a part of it perishing from being im-
perfectly covered. In general, eight or ten pounds may be taken as the minimuTti quantity,
tliough there have been instances of good crops from less ; and from that to fourteen pounds
or more per English statute acre. Rye-grass, commonly at the rate of a bushel per acre,
but in many cases only half, or two-thirds of a bushel, is mixed with this weight of
clover, and both are sown at the same time. The rye-grass may be either of the peren-
nial or annual variety, as it is understood that the herbage is to be continued for only
one year ; and the annual is sometimes sown in preference, as producing a bulkier crop
than the perennial.
5000. When it is intended to retain the land in pasture for several yearSy the quantity of
red clover is diminished, and several kinds of more permanent herbage are added, the
most common of which are white and yellow clover ». and ribwort. No general rule can
be laid down as to the proper quantity of each of these kinds ; in some cases red and
white clover are sown in equal proportions, and in others the latter is made greatly to
predominate. The yellow clover and ribwort are not often sown at the rate of more
than two or three pounds per acre. It is scarcely necessary to add, that, in this case,
the rye-grass should always be of the perennial sort.
5001. In the selection of clover and rye-grass seeds particular attention should be paid
to their quality and cleanness ; the purple color of the clover seed denotes that it has been
ripe and well saved ; and the seeds of weeds may be detected in it by narrow inspection,
if there be any ; but varioUs noxious weeds are frequently mixed up with the seeds of the
rye-grass, which it is difficult either to discover or to separate from them. Between the
seeds of the annual and perennial rye grass, the difference is hardly discernible ; and
therefore, unless it is of his own growth, the cultivator must depend in a great measure
on the character of the person from whom he purchases it. Red clover from Holland
or France, has been found to die out in the season immediately after it has been cut or
pastured ; while the English seed produces plants, which stand over the second, many of
them the third year {General Report of Scotland, vol. i. p. 537.) ; thus remaining in the
latter case four summers in the ground from the time of sowing.
5002. The after-culture of clover and rye grass consists chiefly of picking off any
stones or other hard bodies which may appear on the surface in the spring succeeding
that in which it was sown, and cutting out by the roots any thistles, docks, or other large
grwvn weeds. After this the surface should be rolled once to smooth it for the scythe.
This operation is best performed in the first dry weather of March. Some give a top-
dressing of soot, gypsum, common lime, peat, or wood-ashes at this time or earlier;
Gypsum has been particularly recommended as a top dressing for clovers, and the other
herbage legumes, because as their ashes afford that substance in considerable quantities,
it appears to be a necessary ingredient of their food. Dutch ashes (420.) have been
strongly recommended as a top-dressing for red clover, and they also contain gypsum ;
but where the soil is in good heart, and contains calcareous matter, any description of top-
dressing, though it may be of advantage when it does not interfere with the general
economy of the farm, cannot be considered as necessary. {Sup. E. Brit. art. Agr.)
5003. The taking of the clover, or clover and rye-grass crop, is either by cutting green
for soiling, by making into hay, or by pasturing. It is observed in The Code of Agri-
culture, that it is a most important point to ascertain, in what cases cutting, or feeding, is
most beneficial. If fed, the land has the advantage of the dung and urine of the pastur-
ing stock ; but the dung being dropt in irregular quantities, and in the heat of summer,
when it is devoured by insects, loses much of its utility. If the dung arising from the
herbage, whether consumed in soiling, or as hay, were applied to the land, in one body,
and at the proper season, the operation would be more effectual. The smother of a thick
crop, continued for any time upon the ground, greatly tends to promote its fertility ; and
it has been pretty uniformly found, after repeated trials, upon soils of almost every de-
scription, that oats taken after clover that has been cut, either for soiling or hay, is superior
to the crop taken after clover pastured by sheep.
5004. Soiling is a term applied to the practice of cutting herbage crops green for feeding
or fattening live stock. On all farms, under correct management, a part of this crop is
cut green, for the working horses, often for milk cows, and, in some instances, both for
growing and fattening cattle. There can be no doubt of the advantages of this practice,
in regard to horses and cows ; but for young, and for fattening beasts, a sufficient number
of experiments are not known to have been yet made with any great degree of accuracy.
Young animals require exercise in the open air, and, probably, will not be found to thrive
so well in houses or fold-yards, during summer, as on pastures ; and though in every
3 F 2
804 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
case there is a great saving of food, the long, woody, and comparatively naked stems of
the plants, with leaves always more or less withered, are perhaps not so valuable in the
production of beef on fattening stock, as a much smaller weight of herbage taken in by
pasturage. Milk-cows, however, are so impatient of heat and insects, that this way of
feedino' them, at least for a part of the day, in warm weather, ought to be more generally
adopted ; and the convenience of having working horses always at hand, besides that they
fill their stomachs speedily, is of not less importance than economy. (See Communications
to the Board of Agriculture, vol. vii. Brown s Treatise on Ruraljffuirs, vol. ii. General
Heport of Scotland, \o\. u. and iiu)
5005. In feeding cattle with green clover, attention must be paid to prevent swelling, or
hoving, which is very apt to take place when they are first put on this food, especially if it
be wet with rain or dew ; and cattle are exposed to this danger, whether they are sent to
depasture the clover, or have it cut and brought home to them ; though, if the plants be
somewhat luxuriant, the danger is greater in the former case. After being accustomed
to this rich food for a few days, during which it should be given rather sparingly, the dan-
ger is much diminished; but it is never safe to allow milch cows, in particular, to eat
large quantities of wet clover.
5006. The makiiig herbage plants into hay is a process somewhat different from that of
making hay from natural grasses. All the herbage tribe ought to be mown before the seed
is formed, and indeed before the plants have fully blossomed, that the full juice and nou-
rishment of the herb may be retained in the hay. By the adoption of this system, the hay
is cut in a better season, it can be more easily secured, and it is much more valuable.
Nor is the strength of the plant lodged in the seed, which is often lost. The great advan-
tage of converting under-ripe herbage and grass into hay is now beginning to be known.
There is muph more saccharine matter in it, and it is consequently greatly more nutri-
tious. A crop of clover or saintfoin, when cut in the early part of the season, may be ten
per cent, lighter than when it is fully ripe ; but the loss is amply counterbalanced, by ob-
taining an earlier, a more valuable, and more nutritious article ; while the next crop will
proportionably be more heavy. The hay from old herbage will carry on stock, but it is
only hay from young herbage that will fatten them. When the stems of clover become
hard and sapless, by being allowed to bring their seeds towards maturity, they are of
little more value as provender, than an equal quantity of the finer sort of straw of corn.
5007. The mode of making clover-hay, and that of all herbage plants, 9s practised by the
best farmers, is as follows. The herbage is cut as close lo the ground and in as uniform
and perfect a manner as it is possible to accomplish, by the scythe kept constantly sharp.
The surface having been in the preceding spring freed from stones and well rolled, the
stubble after the mower ought to be as short and smooth as a well shaven grass
lawn. What part of the stems is left by the scythe, is not only lost, but the after-
growth is neither so vigorous nor so weighty, as when the first cutting is taken as low as
possible.
5008. 4s soon as the swath or row of cut herbage is thoroughly/ dry above, it is gently turned over (not
tedded or scattered), without breaking it. Sometimes this is done by the hand, or by a small fork ; and
some farmers are so anxious to prevent the swath from being broken, that they will not permit the use
of the rake shaft. The grass, when turned over, in the morning of a dry day, is put into cocks in the
afternoon. The mode of performing this is very simple and expeditious; and none but women,
boys, and girls, under the eye of a confidential servant, are usually employed. If the crop is heavy, a row
of cocks is placed in the middle ridge of three, and if light of five ridges. A distinct company of carriers
and rakers is allotted to every such number of ridges ; and the separate companies proceed each on its
own ground, and in the same manner as in reaping grain, which occasions a degree of competition among
them for despatch, clean raking, and neat well-built cocks. The carriers gather the hay, and carry it to
the ridge where the cock is to be built, by one of the most experienced hands. A raker follows the car-
rier, taking up and bringing to the cocks the remains of the swath. There may be, in general, about
five people employed about each rr>w of cocks ; a carrier and raker on each side of the ridge on which the
cocks are placed, and a person on the ridge, who builds them. But when the crop is not weighty, more
rakers are required, as a greater space must be gone over.
5009. As the cocks are thus placed in a line, it is easy to put two or more into one afterwards ; and the
larger cocks may be speedily drawn together, to be put into tramp-ricks, by means of ropes thrown round
their bottoms, and dragged along by a horse. It is impossible to lay down any rules for the management
of hay, after it is put into cocks ; one thing is, however, always attended to, not to .^hake out, scatter, or
expose the hay oftener than is necessary for its preservation. Sometimes the cocks have been put up so
large, that they never require to go to a tramp-rick, but were carted to the stack-yard, without ever
being broken, and put up in alternate layers with old hay. But where this is attempted, there must not
be much clover. The practice of mixing the new with the old hay is, however, a good one, and saves a
great deal of time and labor, at the same time that the old hay is much improved by the mixture.
5010. 'ThQ\}e%tm&r\a^ex%A\&a.\>x>xo\eoi spreading out the swaths of clover and rye-grass, though this is
often necessary with natural grasses, which are cut an* harvested later in the season. The more the swath
is kept unbroken, the hay is greener, and the more fragrant,
5011. Another mode of hay-making, said to have been originally practised in Lancashire, has been found
to answer well in the moist atmosphere of the west of Scotland. This is called tippling or rippling ; and
if the grass be dry, the operation begins as soon as it is mown. " In making a tipple, a person with his
rightrhand, rolls the swath inwards, imtil he has a little bundle; then the same is done by the left, until
lioth meet, and form eight to twelve pounds, or nearly so. This bundle is then set up against the legs, or
between the feet ; a rope is twisted of the grass, while the bundle is supported in this manner, and tied
round it near its top ; and from the top are drawn up a few straggling stems, which are twisted to make
the tipple taper to a point, and give it as much a conical shape as possible. If the crop is strong, there is a
row of tipples placed on e^ch swath ; if light, two of these are put into one row. After standing a few
Ijqurs, they become so smooth on the outside, that the heaviest rains seldom wet them through ; and when
Book: VI. CLOVER FAMILY.' 805
wet, they are soon dried again in good weather. As soon as ready, they are put into the suxnmer^rick, or,
if very dry, even the winter-stack, but are never opened out or tedded, to make them dry, as they never
require it. By this method, not a blade is lost, and the hay is nearly as green as a leaf dried in a book. In
a moderate crop, one woman will tipple to one mower, and a woman will rake to two tipplers, or two
swathers. But where the crop is strong, it may require three women to keep pace with two mowers.
After the hay is put up in this manner, the crop may be considered as secure, though it may continue wet
weather for a considerable length of time." {General Report of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 11.)
5012. Hay is stacked in circular or oblong stacks, the latter form being most generally
approved of, and carefully thatched, as has been already observed in regard to corn. It is
never advisable to allow this kind of hay to become heated in any considerable degree, in
the stack, though a slight exudation, with a very gentle warmth, is usually perceptible,-
both in the field-ricks and in the stacks, for a few days after they are built. But this is
a quite different thing from that intentional heating, carried so far, in many instances, as
to terminate in conflagration.
5013. The after-groivth or second crop of clover is vigorous or weak, according to the
proportion of clover plants to rye-grass, to the time when the first crop was cut, and to
the moisture and warmth of the season. When the first cutting has been made early for
soiling, there will sometimes be three cuttings in one season. The first of these after-
cuttings may be made into hay, and sometimes -the second; but in general, both are con-
sumed by soiling or pasturing, unless in some dry warm districts, as Norfolk, and parts
of Suffolk, Kent, &c., when the second growth is left to ripen its seed. In the northern
counties the second crop is seldom made into hay, owing to the difficulty of getting it
thoroughly dried at a late period of summer, when other more urgent operations usually
employ all the laborers of a farm. If it be cut for this purpose, the best method of saving
it, is to mix it up with straw , which will absorb a part of its juices. It is often cut green,
as a part of the soiling system ; or, where a sheep stock is kept, pastured by the old ewes,
or other sorts, that are to be fattened the ensuing winter on turnips.
50 H. In consuming clover and other herbage plants by j^asturing or eating down on
the spot, three methods have been adopted, tethering, hurdling, and free pasturage.
5015. Tethering may be considered a rude practice, and is chiefly confined to the north of Scotland and
Ireland. In The Agricultural Report qf Aberdeenshire, it is stated, that there are some cases, where the
plan of tethering can be practised with more profit than even soiling. In the neighborhood of Peter-
head, for instance, they tether milch-cows on tfieir grass fields, in a regular and systematic method ;
moving each tether forward in a straight line, not above one foot at a time, so as to prevent the cows from
treading on the grass that is to be eaten ; care being always taken, to move the tether forward, like a
{)erson cutting clover with a scythe, from one end of the field to the other. In this way, a greater num-
)er of cows can be kept, on the same quantity of grass, than by any other plan ; except where it grows
high enough to be cut, and given them green in houses. In one instance, the system was carried to great
perfection, by a gentleman who kept a few sheep upon longer tethers, following the cows. Sometimes
also, he tethered horses afterwards upon the same field, which prevented any possible waste, for the tufts
of grass produced by the dung of one species of animal, will be eaten by those of another kind, without
reluctance. This system was peculiarly calculated for the cow-feeders in Peterhead; as, from the small-
ness of their holdings, they could not affbrd to keep servants to cut, or horses to carry home the grass to
their houses, to be consumed in a green state. (Code.)
5016. In hurdling off clovers or herbage crops, a portion of the field is enclosed by
hurdles, in which sheep are confined ; and as the crop is consumed, the pen is changed
to a fresh place, until the whole is fed off. This practice is very extensively adopted at
Holkham, and is peculiarly calculated for light and dry soils. Its advantages are, that
the grass is more economically consumed ; that the stock thrive better, having daily a
fresh bite ; and that the dung that falls, being more concentrated, is more likely to be
of use.
5017. In the common pasturing of clover, the stock are introduced into the field earlier
than in tethering or hurdling, in order to avoid the loss that would be sustained by cattle
or sheep treading ad libitum on tall herbage. Indeed, the principal advantage of pas-
turing clovers is, that sheep and lambs may be turned on them more early than on com-
mon grass-lands. Sometimes this advantage is taken for a month or six weeks, in the
beginning of summer, and the field afterwards shut up for a crop of hay ; but more
frequently the red clovers are only pastured the second year. When white and yellow
clovers are sown, the herbage is sometimes not mown at all, but pastured for three or more
years, and sometimes a little red clover being sown along with these, a crop of hay is takers
the first year.
5018. The produce cf clover-hay, without ary mixture of rye-grass, on the best sofk.
is from two to three tons per acre, and in this state in the London market it generally
sells 20 per cent, higher than meadow-hay, or clover and rye-grass mixed. The weight
of hay from clover and rye-grass varies, according to tl>o soil and the season, from
one to three tons per English acre, as it is taken from the tramp-riclcs ; biit after
being stacked, and kept till spring, the weight is found to be diminished 25 or 30 per
cent.
5019. The value of clover and rye-grass hay, in comparison with the straw of beans,
or pease, may be in the proportion of three to two ; and with the finest straw of corn
crops, in the proportion of two to one. One acre of red or broad dovor tvill go as far
in feeding horses or black cattle, as three or four of natural grass. And when it is w*t
y F 3
806 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
occasionally, and given to them fresh, it will, probably, go still much farther, as no part
of it is lost by being trodden down. With the exception of lucern, and the herbage of
rich marshes, there is no crop, by which so much stock can be supported, as by clover.
It may be profitably employed in fattening sheep in spring, and with this food, they will
soon be ready for the butcher. Afterwards, a crop of hay may be got, and two or three
weeks after the hay has been taken off, sheep intended to be fattened on turnips, may be
turned in, and kept there, until the turnips are ready for them.
5020. The nutritive products of clovers will be found in the table. (4984.)
5021. The saving of clover seed is attended by considerable labor and difficulty.
Clover will not perfect its seeds, if saved for that purpose early in the year ; there-
fore it is necessary to take off the first growth either by feeding or with the scythe,
and to depend for the seed on those heads that are produced in the autumn. Seed-clover
turns out to good account in those years when the crops are not injured by the blight,
which is often fatal to them, or by the rains in the autumn, which sometimes prove their
destruction ; for the time of harvesting this seed falling out late when rainy weather may
be expected, renders it, on that account, very tedious.
5022. When the first crop is fed off, it is eaten till about the end of May, frequently by ewes and lambs ;
and this is understood to be an advantageous practice, because the land is less exhausted, and the green
food is of great value for stock in the spring months. It is not uncommon, however, to cut the first
growth for a hay crop, and this should be done earlier than Usual. The growth thus reserved for seed
must be suffered to remain till the husks become perfectly browt), when it is cut and harvested in the
usual manner, leaving it on the field till it is very dry and crisp, that the seeds may become more fully
hardened ; it may then be laid up dry, to be threshed out at the farmer's convenience. Much labor and
expense are necessary in separating the seed from the capsule, or seed-coat, especially when it is effected
by threshing, which seldom costs less than from five to six or seven shillings per bushel. By the use of
mills the work may be done much cheaper.
5023. The produce in seed may generally be ft-om three to four or five bushels per acre, when perfectly
clean, weighing from two to three hundred weight. But there is great uncertainty in the pfoduce of
clover seed, from the lateness of the season at which it becomes ripe ; and the fertility of the soil is con-
siderably impaired by such a crop. Yet the high value of the seed is a great inducement to the saving of
it, in favorable situations. {Dickson's Practical Agriculture, vol, ii. p. 863.)
5024. The diseases of clover are the blight or mildew, and suffocation or consumption,
from insects, slugs, and worms. It often happens that clover after being repeated at
short intervals on the same soil, either fails or does no good ; whether that is owing to
a disease or to a defect in some peculiar substance, which enters into the food of the
plant, does not appear to be clearly ascertained. A top dressing with ashes or lime, is
said to be unfavorable to the slug ; but where vermin of this sort are very numerous,
the most certain remedy is a naked fallow well worked in the hottest months.
Sect. II. Lucern. —^ Medicago sativa, L. Diadel. Decan, L. and Leguminoseee, J.
La Lucerne, Fr, j Futterklee, Ger. ; and Medica, Ital. (Jig. 569.)
5025. Lucern is a deep rooting perennial plant, sending
up numerous small and tall clover-like shoots, with blue or
violet spikes of flowers. It is a native of the south of Eu-
rope, and appears to be acclimated in the warmer parts of
England. Lucern or medic is highly extolled by the
Roman writers, and also the cytissus, the latter a low ever-
green shrub. Lucern is much grown in Persia and Lima,
and mown in both countries all the year round ; it is also
of unknown antiquity in old Spain, Italy, and the south
of France. It was introduced to England from the latter
country, according to Miller, in 1657. It is mentioned
by Hartlib, Ely the, and other early writers, and was tried
by Lisle ; but it excited little attention till after the publi-
cation of Marte's Essays, in 1757. It is now only culti-
vated in a few places, and chiefly in Kent. Columella
estimated lucern as the choicest of all fodder, because it
la.sted many years, and bore being cut down four, five,
or six times a year. It enriches, he says, the land on
which it grows, fattens the cattle fed with it, and is often
a remedy for sick cattle. About three quarters of an acre of it is, he thinks, abundantly
sufficient to feed three horses during the whole year. But though it was so much
esteemed by the ancients, and has been long cultivated to advantage in France and
Switzerland, it has yet found no great reception in this country. If any good reason
can be given for this, it is, that lucern is a less hardy plant than red clover, requires
three or four years before it comes to its full growth, and is for these and other reasons,
ill adapted to enter into general rotations. Where the climate and soil suit, per-
haps, a field of it may be advantageously sown, adjoining the homestall, to afford
early cutting or food for young or sick animals, for which it is said to be well adapted ;
but though it will produce good crops for eight or ten years, yet from the time thef
Book VI. LUCERN. 807
farmer must wait till this crop attains its perfection, and from the care requisite to keep
it from grass and weeds, we do not think it is ever likely to come into general culture.
5026. There are no varieties of the lucern deserving the
notice of a cultivator. What is called the yellow lucern, or
Swiss lucern, is the Medicago falcata {Jig. 570.), a much
more hardy and coarser plant, common in several parts of
England, but not cultivated any where excepting in some
poor soils in Switzerland.
5027. The soil for lucern must be dry, friable, inclining
to sand, and with a subsoil not inferior to the surface.
Unless the subsoil be good and deep, it is in vain to
attempt to cultivate lucern. According to Young, the
soils that suit lucern, are all those that are at once dry and
rich. If, says he, they possess these two criteria, there is
no fear but they will produce large crops of lucern. A
friable deep sandy loam on a chalk or white dry marly
bottom, is excellent for it. Deep putrid sand warp on a dry
basis, good sandy loam on chalk, dry marl or gravel, all do
well; and in a word, all soils that are good enough for
wheat, and dry enough for turnips to be fed on the land,
do well for lucern. If deficient in fertility, they may be
made up by manuring, but he never yet met with any land too rich for it.
5028. The preparation of the soil consists in deep ploughing and minute pulverisation;
and in our opinion, the shortest \>^ay to effect this, is to trench it over by the spade to
two or three feet in depth, burying a good coat of manure in the middle or at least one
foot from the surface. This is the practice in Guernsey, where lucern is highly prized.
5029. The climate for lucern, as we have already hinted, must be warm and dry ; it
has been grown in Scotland and Ireland, and might proliably do well in the southern
counties of the latter country, but in the former it has not been found to answer the
commendations of its admirers.
5030. The season most proper for sowing lucern, is as early as can be done in the
spring months, as in this way the plants may be fully established before the season be-
comes too hot. The latter end of March, for the more southern districts, may be the
most proper period ; and the beginning of the following month for those of the north.
When sown late, there is more danger of the plants being destroyed by the fly, as has
been observed by Tull. If the plants be intended to be transplanted out in the garden
method, it will also be the best practice to sow the seed-bed as early in the spring as
the frosts will admit, in order that they may be strong, and fit to set out about the
beginning of August.
5031. The manner qf sowing lUCCrn is either broad-cast or in drills, and either with or without an
accompanying crop of corn for the first year. Broad-cast, and a very thin crop of barley or other spring
corn, is generally, and in our opinion, very properly preferred, Arthur Young, who has treated
largely on this plant, observes, that " the greatest success by far that has been known, is by the broad'Cast
method, which is nearly universal among the best lucern farmers, even among men who practise and
admire the drill husbandry in many other articles. But as they mostly (not all) depend on severe har-
rowing for keeping their crops clean, which is a troublesome and expensive operation, he still ventures to
recommend drilling, but very different drilling from that which has been almost universally practised,
viz. at distances of eighteen inches or two feet. Objections to these wide intervals are numerous. If kept
clean hoed, the lucern licks up so much dirt, being beaten to the earth by rain, &c. that it is unwholesome,
and the plants spread so into these spaces, that it must be reaped with a hook, which is a great aTid useless
expense. For tiiese reasons, as well as for superiority of crop, he recommends drilling at nine inches,
which in point of produce, mowing, and freedom from dirt, is the same as broad-cast ; and another ad-
vantage is, that it admits scarifying once a year, which is much more powerful and effective than any-
harrowing. These facts are sufficient to weigh so much with any reasonable man, as to induce him to
adopt this mode of drilling, as nearer to broad-cast by far than it is to drills at eighteen to twenty-four
inches, which open to a quite different system, and a set of very different evils. Nine inch rows might
practically, but not literally, be considered as broad-cast, but with the power of scarifying. And in regard
to the material point, of with or without corn, two considerations, he .says, present thanselves. One is
the extreme liatMlity of lucern to be eaten by the fly, which does great mischief to many ctoiw when very
young, and against which the growing of corn is some protection. The value of the barley Or oats is
another object not to be forgotten. It is also gained in the first year's growth of the lucern, which is
very poorly productive even if no corn be sown, so that he must own himself clearly an advocate for drill-
ing in among corn, either between the rows of nine inch barley, or across drilled barley, at a foot if
perhaps the latter is the best method, as there is less probability of the crop being laid to'the damage of
theliucern. The quantity of seed-corn should also be small, proportioned to the richness of fl>e land,
from one bushel to a bushel and a half, according to the fertility of the soil, another security against the
mischief of locking. If these precautions are taken, it would be presumptuous to say that success must
follow, that being always, and in all things, in other hands than oura ; seed may prove bad, the fly may-
eat, and drought prevent vegetation, but barring such circumstances, the farmer nviy rest satisfied that
he has done what can be done, and if he does succeed, the advantage will be unquestiotiable."
5032. The </uantiti/ of seed, when the broad -cast nlethod is adopted, is said to be from
15 to 20 lbs. per acre, and from 8 to 12 if drilled. The seed is paler, larger, and dearer
than that of clover : it is generally imported from Holland, and great «are should be Irad
to procure it plump and perfectly new, as two years old seed does n©* come up ffeeJy.
The same depth of covering us for clover will answer.
3 F 4
808 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. PartIIL
5033. Lucern may be transplanted, and when the soil is very rich and deep, it is said
to produce very large plants ; but such plants, from the bulk of their stools, are not
likely to be so durable as those of a less size, and on the whole, for this and other reasons
relative to expense, the plan of transplanting does not seem advisable unless for filling up
blanks.
5034. The after-culture of lucern, sown broad-cast, consists in harrowing to destroy
grass and other weeds ; rolling, after the harrowing, to smooth the soil for the scythe,
and such occasional top-dressings of manure as the state of the plants may seem to re-
quire. Where lucern is drilled, horse-hoeing may be substituted for harrowing, which,
as already observed, is the only advantage of that mode of sowing. The harrowing may'
commence the second year, and the weeds collected should always be carefully removed :
light harrows may be used at first, and in two or three years such as are heavier. In
succeeding years two harrowings may be required, one early in the spring, and the other at
the close of the summer. For these, and especially the last, Arthur Young recommends
the use of a harrow of such weight as is sufficient for four horses, and which does not
cover a breadth of more than four feet. The mode of hoeing, either by the hand or
horse-hoe, or of stirring by the drill harrow, requires no description,
5035. The top-dressings given to lucern may be eitiier of the saline or mixed manures.
Ashes are greatly esteemed, and also gypsum and liquid manure of any kind. Arthur
Young advises to apply dung, in the quantity of about twenty tons to the acre, every five
or six years. Kent, however, thinks it a better practice to put a slight coat on annually
in the spring season. Some recommend a slight top-dressing sown by hand every spring.
The farmer will in this, as in every case, exercise his own judgment, and be guided by
the wants of the plants, the return they yield for the expense bestowed on them, and the
equable distribution of manure among his other crops.
5036. The taking of lucern by mowing for soiling, or hay, or by tethering, hurdling,
or pasturing, may be considered as the same as for clover. Lucern frequently attains a
sufficient growth for the scythe, towards the end of April, or beginning of the following
month ; and in soils that are favorable for its culture, will be in a state of readiness for
a second cutting in the course of a month or six weeks longer, being capable of under-
going the same operation, at nearly similar distances of time during the wliole of the
summer season. In this last sort of soil, with proper management, in the drill method,
it has been found to rise to the height of a foot and a half in about thirty or forty days,
affording five full cuttings in the summer. But in the broad-cast crops, in the opinion
of some, there are seldom so many cuttings afforded in the season, three or four being
more common, as the growth is supposed to be less rapid than by either of the other
modes.
5037. The application of lucern is also the same as of clover. The principal and most ad-
vantageous practice, in the application of lucern, is that of soiling horses, neat cattle and
hogs ; but as a dry fodder, it is also capable of affording much assistance, and as an early
food for ewes and lambs, may be of great value in particular cases. All agree in extolling
it as food for cows, whether in a green or dried state. It is said to be much superior to
clover, both in increasing the milk and butter, and improving its flavor. In its use in a
green state, care is necessary, not to give the animals too much at a time, especially when
it is moist, as they may be hoven or blown with it, in the same way as with clover, and
other green food of luxuriant growth.
5038. The produce of lucern, cut three times in a season, has been stated at from three
to five and even eight tons per acre. In soiling, one acre is sufficient for three or four
cows during the soiling season, and a quarter of an acre, if the soil be good for all sorts
of large stock, for the same period, or half an acre on a moderate soil. Say, however,
that the produce is equal in bulk and value to a full crop of red clover, then, if continued
yearly for nine or ten years (its ordinary duration in a productive state), at an annual ex-
pense of harrowing and rolling, and a triennial expense of top-dressing, it will be of suffi-
cient value to induce farmers, who have suitable soils and climates, to lay down a few
acres under this crop near their home-stalls.
5039. The nutritive product of lucern, according to Sir H. Davy, is 2^ per cent.,
and is to that of the clovers and saintfoin as 23 to 39. This result does not very well
agree with the superior nutritive powers attributed to lucern.
5040. To save seed, the lucern may be treated precisely as the red clover, and it is
much easier threshed, the grains being contained in small pods, which easily separate under
the flail, or a threshing machine, or clover mill.
5041. The diseases of lucern appear to be the same as those of clover. In Kent,
blight and the slug are its greatest enemies.
Book VI. SAINTFOIN. 809
Sect. III. Saintfoin. — Hedysarum Onohrychis, L. Dindel. Decan, L. and Legumi-
noseee, J. L'esparcet, Fr. ; EsparzetlCy Ger. ; and Cedrangola, Ital. {jig. 571.)
5042. Saintfoin is a deep rooting perennial with branching
spreading stems, compound leaves, and showy red flowers.
It is a native of England and many parts of Europe, but
never found but on dry warm chalky soils, where it is of
great duration. It has been long cultivated in France and
other parts of the continent, and as an agricultural plant
was introduced from the latter country to England about
the middle of the seventeenth century. It has since been
a good deal cultivated in the chalky districts ; and its pe-
culiar value is, that it may be grown on soils unfit for being
constantly under tillage, and which would yield little under-
grass. This is owing to the long and descending roots of
the saintfoin, which will penetrate and thrive in the fissures of
rocky and chalky understrata. Its herbage^ is said to be
equally suited for pasturage or for hay. and that eaten green
it is not apt to swell or hove cattle like the clovers or lucern.
Arthur Young says, that upon soils proper for this grass no
farmer can sow too much of it, and in The Code of Agricul-
ture it is said to be ' * one of the most valuable herbage plants we owe to the bounty of
Providence."
5043. There are no varieties of the saintfoin, but many other species of the same nume-
rous family that might be cultivated, such, for example, as the French honeysuckle, a
biennial, that might be substituted for red clover on rich soils.
5044. The best soil for this plant is that which is dry, deep, and calcareous ; but it will
grow on any soil that has a dry subsoil. Kent thinks that the soils most suited to the
culture of this sort of grass are those of the chalky loam, and light sandy or gravelly
kinds, or almost any of those of a mixed quality, provided they be not too wet, and have
a rocky or hard calcareous bottom to check the roots at the depth of a foot or fifteen inches
below the surface, which he, notwithstanding the above, conceives necessary, as the plants
are apt to exhaust themselves in running down. And for this reason he considers it as
improper for being sown where there is great depth of mould or soil. It is a plant that
is asserted by Marshal to affortl a large produce even on those soils which are of the
poorest quality, and that on such as are of a more rich and friable nature it frequently
produces abundant crops. Still, he conceives, that it is only in the calcareous soils, as
the dry chalk and limestone, or such as have been well impregnated with that sort of
matter, that it succeeds in a perfect manner or becomes durable. . The advantages result-
ing from growing this plant on sandy soils in Norfolk have been already stated (4379.).
5045. The best preparation which any soil fit for this plant can undergo, is unquestion-
ably that of trenching-; and we have little doubt that in most cases, all things considered,
it would be found the cheapest. The usual preparatory culture, however, is the same as
for clover, ploughing however, deeper than ordinary, either by means of the trench plough,
or, what is better because more simple, by thecommon plough going twice in the same track.
Boys (Communications to the Board of Agriculture, vol. iii.) recommends as a preparation
for saintfoin ; 1st year, pare and burn for turnips, to be eaten on the land by sheep, with
the aid of some fodder ; 2d, barley, to be sown very early with clover seed ; 3d, clover eaten
off by sheep; 4th, wheat; 5th, turnips with manure; and, 6th, barley with saintfoin.
The corn crops must be carefully weeded, and in particular cleared of charlock. Undei*
this system, the produce has been great, and the ground has been laid down in the highest
order with saintfoin, or any other grass calculated for this species of soil.
.5046. With respect to the season of sowing saintfoin, it may be observed that the earlier
it can be put into the soil in the spring the better, as from the greater moisture of such
soils there will be a greater probability of their vegetating in a perfect manner. Where
the sowing is executed at a late period, and dry weather succeeds. Bannister thinks that
much of the seed would be prevented from growing, and the young plants be more exposed
to the destruction of the fly ; therefore, according to this writer, the sowing of saintfoin
seed ought never to be deferred longer than the beginning of Marchj and that it is still
better to complete this work in February. Some, however, suppose it may be deferred
to the middle of March without injury.
5047. The manner tf soiling is almost always broad cast, but it may be sown in drills
and even transplanted, though neither of these modes can be recommended. Some advise
its being sown with about half the quantity of barley which is usually sown for a full
crop, as it may shade and keep it moist during the first summer, and at the same time
«ot injure it from the crop being lighter, which is sometimes the case. Where the barley-
is drilled tJie saintfoin may afterwards be put in, in the same manner, but in a contrary-
810 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
direction. If sown over the wheat it should be harrowed in, and afterwards rolled. In
whatever method it is sown, as the seeds are larger than those of many other herbage plants,
they should be covered in with more care, and to a somewhat greater depth. By some
the ploughing the seed in with a very thin or shallow furrow is recommended. In most
cases, especially in all the more light sorts of land in which this sort of crop is grown, the
use of the roller may be necessary immediately after the seed is put into the ground. It
is the practice in some districts to sow a small portion of clover seed with saintfoin, with
the idea of increasing the first year's produce ; but as plants of different kinds seldom
answer well when grown together, from there being a continual contest in their growth
for an ascendancy, it is perhaps a better method to increase the proportion of the seed,
without mixing it with that of other sorts. It is, however, supposed by Marshal that
such a practice is beneficial in ultimately procuring a fine clean crop of saintfoin upon
the land. It is a sort of crop that grows in so perfect a manner in the broad-cast method,
that there can seldom be any necessity for having recourse to the drill. It may, however,
be cultivated in the latter mode with much success. And in Norfolk, it is the practice
with some cultivators to have it drilled at nine inches across the barley crops which have
been sown in the same way.
5048. The quantity of seed in the broad-cast method, which is that mostly em-
ployed, is about four busliels the acre, though less is frequently given ; but on
such soils as are proper for this plant it is always necessary to have a full propor-
tion of seed. By some, however, a much smaller quantity is made use of, and where
the drill system is had recourse to, a still smaller proportion is used, as from two to two
and a half, or three bushels. It has been observed, that in Lincolnshire, where this plant
is much grown, " the common allowance of seed is five bushels to an acre, and that a gen-
tleman south of Lincoln advises the sowing a small quantity of trefoil with it (about
four pounds on an acre). The reason for which is, that in that exposed country, the
young plants suffer more by the sun in summer than by the frost in winter. Of course
the trefoil coming to perfection the first year, and living only three, will be a shelter for
the young plants during the first year or two, and die off when the saintfoin wants its
room.
5049. In the choice of the seed it is the best practice for the cultivator to select it from
the best and most abiding plants in his particular soil, as such as is purchased from the
seed-shops can rarely be depended upon. A certain method of knowing the goodness
of the seed is, by sowing a number of the seeds, and seeing how many plants are pro-
duced by them. But the external signs of the seeds being good are, that the husk is of
a bright color, and the kernel plump, of a light grey or blue color, and sometimes of a
shining black. The seed may be good, though the husk be black, as that is owing some-
times to the letting it receive wet in the field, and not to its being half rotted in the
heap. If the kernel be cut across, and appear greenish and fresh, it is a certain sign that
it is good. But if it be of a yellowish color, and friable, and looks thin and pitted, they
are bad signs. But others observe that the best seed is that which is plump, heavy,
bright, and of a yellowish red color, and that it should always be sown while quite fresh,
as that which is old, or that has been long kept, never vegetates in a perfect manner. In
purchasing seed of this sort it is in general from about three to five shillings the
bushel.
5050. The after-culture and management of saintfoin consists in occasional dressings
with manure, and in the judicious intervention of mowing and pasturing. The first
year some farmers do not mow, while others do; but the second year, and in the suc-
ceeding summers, a crop of hay may be taken, and the after-grass be fed down with any
sorts of stock but sheep, till towards December, care being taken that they do not eat it
in too close a manner, as where that is the case, from the largeness of the roots, they may
be in danger of injuring the crowns of the plants. In the following autumn there will
however be less risk in this respect, and sheep as well as cattle stock may be turned in
and kept upon the pastures till they are well eaten down, being always careful to shut
them up as early as possible in the beginning of the year. This is the opinion of Kent.
. And it is supposed that as this sort of herbage is considered to be improved in its taste
by being nipped by the frost, it may be a proper practice not to turn stock upon these leys
too early in the autumnal season. With this intention it may be advisable to defer it till
the latter end of September, when this sort of rouen or after-grass will be found to have
much effect in promoting the flow of milk in cows, as well as in forwarding the condition
of fattening beasts; great store of feed being still left for sheep. But with this sort of
stock they should not be too closely fed down, or the sheep remain too long upon them,
as milch injury may be sustained by it. It has been suggested that all sorts of cattle
stdck should be removed by the beginning of the year from these rouens, as much harm
might be done by their continuing longer.
5051. In top-dressing sainffoin peat-ashes are the best material that can be made use of where they
can be procured in sufficient ciuantity. And other sorts of ashes are likewise found beneficial where
Book Vt. SAINTFOIN. 811
these cannot be had. They should be applied so as to form a thin, even, regular dressing over the' whole
surface of the crop. In this view soot has also been found of great utility when spread evenly over such
leys about the beginning of January, in the proportion of about twenty-five or thirty bushels to the
statute acre. And malt-dust has been employed in the same way with great success and advantage, as
shown by Bannister in his Synopsis qf Husbandry. And it is supposed tliat where those sorts of top-
dressings can be applied every third or fourth year, the saintfoin crops, when well established in the
soils, may be preserved in a state of vigorous growth for ten or fifteen years, or more, and the land
be considerably improved by the roots striking so deeply into it.
5052. In taking and ttsing the saintfoin crop, the same practices may be followed as
in taking clover: it may be mown for soiling, or hay, or seed; and eaten on the spot
by tethering, hurdling, or common pasturing. In making it into hay it is cut immedi-
ately on its coming into full blossom, and as it remains but a short time in this state, as
much expedition as possible should be employed both in mowing and making the produce
into hay. It is remarked by the author of The Synojms of Husbandry, who resides in
a district where the culture of saintfoin is frequent, that of all other hay plants, it
requires the least pains in making ; when the season is favorable, the hay-makers may
follow the scythe, and having turned over the swaths, throw them into wind rows the
succeeding day after the crop is mown, when it may be immediately formed into cocks,
and the whole crop be fit for carting in a week after it is mown ; and though it may
appear very green, and the stack when made take on or acquire a considerable degree of
heat, there is no danger to be apprehended, provided the weather has been fair during
the hay-making ; as it is so far from taking harm by heating in the stack, that the con-
trary state is the most to be feared ; and for this reason great care is necessary not to
suffer the fodder to continue long either in the swath or in cocks, lest the sun and
wind should dry it up too fast, and by exhaling its juices prevent the heating in the
stack, and tliereby render it of little value. In order to preserve its succulence, in some
places they put a number of these cocks together, so as to form large cocks of a size to
contain a load in each, and finish the stacks out of the cocks. And it is likewise a prac-
tice with many farmers, where the crop is slight, to turn the swaths, and then run them
into cocks with a three-pronged barley fork, following with a wooden dew-rake, the head
of which is of sufficient width to cover the ground occupied by three or four swaths, in
this manner proceeding with the utmost dispatch, saving a deal of labor and expense ia
the business.
5053. In regard to the frequency of cutting saintfoin, it is probable that on the
thinner sorts of soils it can seldom be done more than once ; but on those of the deeper
sorts two crops may sometimes be taken, in the same manner as with cloVer, care being
taken in these cases, that the future growth of the plants be not injured by this
means.
5054. The usual duration of saintfoin, in a profitable state, is from eight to ten years.
It usually attains its perfect growth in about three years, and begins to decline towards
the eighth or tenth on calcareous soils, and about the seventh and eighth on gravels.
There are instances, however, of fields of saintfoin, which had been neglected and left to
run into pasture, in which plants have been found upwards of fifty years from the time of
sowing. It has beep cultivated upwards of a century on the Cotswold hills, and there
roots of it have been traced down into stone quarries from ten to twenty feet in length, and
in Germany Von Thaer found them attain the length of sixteen feet. In general the great
enemy to the endurance of saintfoin is the grass which accumulates, and forms a close
turf on the surface, and thus cliokes up the plant.
5055. The quantity of produce on a medium of soils and cultivation, may probably be
estimated at from about one and a half to two tons the acre. And on the poorer and
thinner staple sorts of land, it will perhaps seldom aflford less than from a ton to a ton and
a half on the acre.
5056. The nutritive products of saintfoin are the same as clover ; viz. 3^, being 1^
per cent, more than those of lucern.
5057. In saving seed from saintfoin, it should remain on the land till the husks become of a somewhat
brownish color, and the seeds are perfectly plump and firm, as by these means they will not only be better
in their quality, but be in less danger of being injured in the field from the very short time that it will be
ttecessary for them to remain, and also less in danger of being hurt by heating when laid Up for future
use. It has been suted, that it requires some experience to know of what degree of ripeness it is best to
cut the seeded saintfoin j because all its seetls do not ripen at the same time. Some ears blossom before
others ; every ear begins blossoming at its lower part, and continues to blow gradually upwards for many
days ; so that before the flower is gone off at the top, the seeds are almost mature at the bottom. By this
means, if the cutting be deferred till the top-seeds are quite ripe, the lower, which are the best, would
shed and be lost.
5058. The best time to cut it is when the greatest part of the seed is well filled, the first blown ripe, and
the last blown beginning to be full. The unripe seeds will ripen after cutting, and be, in ail respects, as
good as those that were ripe before. Some, for want of observing this, have suffered their saintfoin
seetl to stand till all of it has shed, and been lost in cutting. Saintfoin should never be cut in
the heat of the day, while the sun shines out ; for then much, even of the unripe seed, will shed
in mowing. The right time for this work is the morning or evening, when the dew has rendered
the plants supple. When the weather is fine and clear, the saintfoin will soon dry sufficiently in the
swaths, without turning them ; but if any rain has fallen, and there is a necessity for turning them,
it should be done very gently while they are moist, and not two swaths together, as in the other hay
made of saintfoin before it has seeded. If the swaths are turned with the handle of the rake, it is best
t« raise up the ear-sides first, and let the stub-side rest on the ground in turning} but if it is done with
812
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
the teeth of the'rake, let'the'stub-side be lifted up, and the ears rested on the earth. If it be cocked at all,
the sooner it is done the better ; because, if the swaths are dry, much of the seed will be lost in separating
them, the ears being entangled together. When moist, the seeds stick fast in the ear; but, when dry,
it drops out with the least touch or shaking. It is, however, the best practice, as soon as the proper
degree of maturity has been attained by the crop, that it should be mown in as short a time as can pos-
sibly be made convenient, and remain exposed in the swath until the upper surface is fully dried, when it
must be wholly turned over, but in a very careful manner, so as to prevent the seeds from shedding and
being lost, as much as the nature of the work may admit of. When this side has been rendered perfectly
dry and crisp in the same way as the other, the crop should either be threshed out upon cloths in the
field where it is grown, or laid up in stacks to be afterwards performed when the farmer has more leisure
and convenience for the work.
5059. The ixiork of threshing out the seeds in this kind of crop is much less troublesome and ex-
pensive than in that of the clover kind. In cases where threshing-machines are in use, the business
may be executed with great ease and facility in that mode. It has, however, been observed by a late
writer, that " when the season is favorable, the practice of threshing it out in the field is probably the
most beneficial, as the stems or haulm may be laid up for the purpose of fodder in the stack,"
5060. As the threshing in the field cannot be done but in very fine weather, and while the sun shines in
the middle of the day, the best manner of performing it is to have a large sheet pegged down to the
ground, for two men to thresh on with their flails, while two others bring them fresh supplies in a smaller
sheet, and two more clear away the hay that has been threshed. The seed is emptied out of the larger
sheet, and riddled through a large sieve, to separate it from the chaff and broken stalks ; after which it
is put into sacks, and carried into the barn to be winnowed. Care should be taken not to let the hay get
wet, as in that case it would be spoiled. It is a very important, but difficult matter, to keep the seed that
has been threshed in the field, witheut becoming wet. If it be winnowed immediately, and only a little
of it laid amidst a great heap, or put into a sack, it will ferment to such a degree in a few days, that the
greatest part of it will lose its vegetative quality. During that fermentation it will be very hot, and
smell sour. Spreading it upon a barn-floor, though but seven or eight inches thick, will answer no end,
unless it be frequently and regularly turned, until the heating is over : but even this will not make its
color keep so bright as that which is well housed, well dried, and threshed in the winter. This last, laid
up and unthreshed, will keep without any danger of spoiling, because it does not He clo.se enough to
heat. The best way to preserve the seed threshed in the field is to lay a layer of straw upon a barn-
iloor, and upon that a thin layer of seed, then another layer of straw, and another layer of seed, and so
on alternately. By this means the seed, mixing with the straw, will be kept well, and come out in the
spring with as fresh a color as when it was put in.
5061. In resj)ect to the produce in seed, it is said to be usually " from about four to
five sacks in some districts, but in others it will probably be much less, especially on the
shallower sorts of saintfoin soils." But this must obviously be liable to great variation
ifrom season, &c.
5062. The diseases nf saintfoin are few, there being little danger of failure after it has
•escaped the fly, which attacks the clover tribe in germinating.
Sect. IV. Of various Plants which are or may he cultivated as Herbage and for Hay.
5063. Among the ivferior herbage plants which are occasionally cultivated, are burnet,
ribwort, chiccory, furze, and spurry. Those which might be cultivated are very numerous,
and include several species of vicia, lathyrus, galega, lotus, trifolium, medicago, and others
of the native leguminoseae, or pea-like flowering plants ; and achillea, alchemilla, cheiran-
thus, spartium, apium, and a variety of others of different families. With the exception
of the chiccory and furze, there are none of these plants that deserve the attention of the
professional farmer ; ribwort and burnet are occasionally sown ; but they are of little
value as hay plants, and in most pastures their place might be more advaptageously occu-
pied by one or other of the natural grasses. With respect to the other plants enumerated,
they have never been tried but by way of experiment, and are " "
■only mentioned as resources under peculiar circumstances,
and as a field of inquiry and exertion for the amateur
■cultivator.
5064. The burnet (Poterium sanguisorba, L. fg. 572.)
is a native plant, a hardy perennial with compound leaves,
blood-colored flowers, and a long tap-root. It was origi-
nally brought into notice by Roque, a commercial gardener,
at Walham-green, near London, who found means to
procure the patronage of the Dublin and other societies to
this plant, which, being a novelty, attracted the attention,
and called forth the eulogies of Arthur Young, and other
leading agriculturists of the day. Miller, however, at the
time observed, that whoever will give themselves the trou-
ble to examine the grounds where it naturally grows, will
find the plants left uneaten by the cattle, when the grass
about them has been cropped to the roots ; besides, in
wet winters and on strong land, the plants are of short
■duration, and therefore very unfit for the purpose of pasture or hay, nor is the produce
sufficient to tempt any persons of skill to engage in its culture.
5065. Curtis says of burnet, that it is one of those plants, which has for some years past been attempted
to be introduced into agriculture, but not answering the farmer's expectations is now in a great degree laid
aside. Cattle are said not to be fond of it ; nor is its produce sufficient to answer the expense attending
its culture. It is to be lamented that i)ersons do not pay a little attention to the nature of plants before
they so warmly recommend them. It seems very urilikely that a small plant, scarcely ever met With but on
liJlly and chalky ground, and to which cattle in such situations do not show any particular attachment,
should affbrd better, or more copious nourish rticnt, than the clovers and other plants already in use.
Book VI. RIBWORT, CHICCORY, &c. 813
" 5066. According to Boys, in The Agricultural Survey of Kent, it affords herbage in the winter and spring
months, but is not much liked either by cattle or sheep.
5067. Dr. Anderson reports, that burnet retains its verdure pretty well during the winter months, but
affords such scanty crops, as hardly to be worth the attention of the farmer.
5068. A correspondent in the Museum Rusticu?n, a work very favorable to burnet, confesses with
reluctance that it is not deserving of any exalted character, but rather the contrary ; and that it is in no
degree to be compared to the common clover, which is cultivated at half the expense. It api)ears from
some accounts there, that horses will not eat it at all, and that kine frequently will not take it without
great reluctance. Its slow growth is also made a great objection : being only about five inches high, and
having scarce one head in flower ; whilst lucern on the same soil, sown the same day and much thicker,
was eighteen or twenty inches in height. It is not meant by this, however, to discourage that laudable
spirit of improvement which so happily prevails at present ; but to caution such as introduce any new
plant, to make themselves well acquainted with its natural history.
5069. Those who wish to cultivate burnet as an herbage and hay plant, may treat
it exactly as directed for saintfoin ; as a pasture plant it is sown among the grasses
in the same way as white or yellow clover. A bushel of seed is commonly sown to an
acre.
5070. The ribivort plantain, [Plantago lanceolata, L. Jig- 573.) is a hardy native
■with a tuft of long-ribbed leaves springing from the crown
of the root, long naked flower-stems, and a long moniliform ^'^ ^|
tap-root. It abounds in dry soils, as do several other species
of plantain, especially the P. midea. On dry soils it
affords little herbage, and is often left untouched by cattle.
Curtis, Withering, and other British botanists, speak un-
favorably of the ribwort as a pasture herbage; but Haller^
attributes the richness of the milk in the Swiss dairies
to the flavor of this plant, and alchemilla, in the mountain
pastures. In rich moist or watered lands, its herbage is
more abundant, and its flavor altered, a circumstance not
uncommon in the vegetable kingdom, but from which it does
not always follow that the plant so altered, is deserving of
culture. In conformity with this observation, though the
ribwort be a scanty and rejected herbage, on poor dry soils,
it is said by Zappa, of Milan, to grow spontaneously in
every meadow of Lombardy, especially in those which are
irrigated. It vegetates early, flowers at the beginning of
May, ripens in five weeks, and is cut with the poa trivialis ; the height of the leaves
is about one foot, and of the stalk a foot and a half; it multiplies itself much by the
seed and a little by the roots, which it continues for some time to reproduce. Ribwort
is eaten heartily by every sort of cattle, and in particular by cows, who like it most
•in May, when it has great influence on the milk ; as the hay has on the flesh. —
Where kept well fed down by stock, there can be no doubt of its being a very good and
nourishing pasturage plant for both cattle and sheep ; but it is by no means adapted for
hay, or soiling.
5071. Young says, that he had long before recommended this plant for laying land to grass, and
sowed it on his own farm. At the same time he thinks it extravagant to propose dandelion and sorrel,
as plants proper for a cow pasture ; and conjectures that those plants being found among good ones,
have qualities given them, which do not properly belong to them ; he is likewise inclined to make the
sa.me conjecture in respect to narrow-leaved plantain, ribwort or rib-grass, and should even have pre-
ferred dandelion and sorrel to it : but he is cautious of opposing theory to practice.
5072. Dr. Anderson states that narrow-leaved plantain or rib-grass is well liked by horses and cattle,
and yields a very good crop upon rich ground tending to dampness, if it is at the same time soft and
spongy ; but that upon any soil which has a tendency to bind, or upon dry ground, it furnishes a very
scanty crop. It has been made use of in some parts of Yorkshire as a summer grass. As an article of
pasturage for cattle and sheep it is there in high esteem : it is not however well eaten by horses; and as an
article of hay it is held to be detrimental to the crop ; retaining its sap an unusual length of time ;
and when fully dry falls into a small compass, or is broken into fragments and left behind in the
field.
5073. The culture of the plantain is the same as that of clover ; its seed is about
the same size, and consequently the same proportion of it will sow an acre.
5074. The chiccory iChicorium intybus), wild endive or succory, L. {Jig. 34.), has
long, thick, perpendicular roots, a tuft of endive or lettuce-looking leaves, and
when it shoots into flower its stems rise from one to three feet high, rigid, rou^h,
branched, and clothed with leaves and blue flowers. It is found wild in dry cal-
careous soils in England and most parts of Europe of similar or greater temperature.
It is cultivated in France as an herbage and pasturage plant, and in Germany and
Flanders for its roots, from which a substitute for coffee is prepared. It was first culti-
vated in this country about 1780 by Arthur Young, who holds it in very high estimation.
It is of such consequence, he says, for different purposes of the farm, that on various
sorts of soil the farmer cannot, without its use, make the greatest possible profit. Where
it is intended to lay a field to grass for three, four, or six years, in order to rest the land,
or to increase the quantity of sheep food, there cannot, he thinks, be any hesitation in
using it. There is no plant to rival it. Lucern, says he, demands a rich soil, and will
814 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
always be kept as long as it is productive; but upon inferior land it is not an equal
object. Upon blowing sands, or upon any soil that is weak and poor and wants rest,
there is no plant, he supposes, that equals this. On such sort of blowing poor sandy
lands, as many districts abound with, especially in Norfolk and Suffolk, it will yield a
greater quantity of sheep food than any other plant at present in cultivation. On
fen and bog-lands and peat-soils, it also thrives to much profit. On all land where
clover from having been too often repeated is apt to fail, chiccory may be substituted
to great advantage. It does very well for soiling cattle both lean and fattening.
It is of excellent use for those who keep a large stock of swine ; and it does ex-
ceedingly well in an alternate system of grass and tillage, as it will last four, five, six,
and even more years ; but it should not be sown with any view of making hay in this
climate, though it forms a considerable proportion of many of the best meadows in the
south of France and in Lombardy. It has, however, he adds, been objected to, on the
grounds of its rising and becoming a vivacious weed in succeeding crops. And if this
circumstance be not guarded against, this will, he says, happen; but not more or so
much as with lucern. But who, he asks, ventures to forbid chiccory culture on account
of this quality, which is really founded on its merit : when the land is ploughed, says he,
only use a broad sharp share, and harrow in tares for feeding or soiling, or break it up
for turnips, and there is an end of the objection.
5075. The culture of chiccory is the same as of clover. As the plant is grown in
gardens for culinary purposes, the seed may be procured in the seed shops, gathered in
many places from wild plants, or saved by the grower. It is small, flat, black, and
resembling that of lettuce; it should be procured fresh, and from eight to twelve pounds
an acre are usually sown. The culture of this plant for its roots has been noticed in
giving the outline of the agriculture of Flanders, and will be adverted to in a succeeding
Chapter.
5076. The whin^ furze, or gorze, ( Ulex europeus, L. Jig. 574.), is a well known shrub,
found wild on dry light soils, and in rather hilly situations,
in the warmer and more temperate parts of Europe, but
not in Sweden, or in Russia, or Poland, north of Cracow
and Casan. It has been known as a nourishing food for
cattle from a very early period, and has been sown in some
parts of England for that purpose and for fuel. Dr. An-
derson knows few plants that deserve the attention of the
farmer more than the whin. Horses are peculiarly fond
of it, so much so that some persons think they may be made
to perform hard work upon it, without any feeding of
grain ; but he thinks it tends more to fatten a horse than
to fit him for hard labor, and that therefore some grain should
be given with it where the work is severe. Cattle, he says,
eat it perfectly well when thoroughly bruised, and grow
as fat upon it as upon turnips ; but unless it be very well
bruised for them, they will not eat it freely, and the farmer
will be disappointed in his expectations. Cows that are
fed upon it yield nearly as much milk as while upon grass, which is free from any bad taste,
and the best winter-made butter he ever saw, was obtained from the milk of a cow that
was fed upon this plant. ITiis food should be made use of soon after being prepared.
Two bushels, with a proper allowance of hay, have been found to be sufficient for a day
for three horses performing the same labor as with corn. It also seemed useful to horses
laboring under broken -wind and grease. Poor hungry gravelly soils, which would not
have let for five shillings an acre, have also been rendered worth twenty shillings by
sowing them with furze-seed, in places where fuel has been scarce, this being frequently
used for heating ovens, burning lime and bricks, and also for drying malt ; but it is
not worth cultivating in countries where fuel of any kind is cheap, or upon such lands
as will produce good grass, corn, or other crops employed as the food of animals.
5077. The culture of the whin is thus given by the same author. " A field of a good dry loamy land,
being well prepared, he sowed, along with a crop of barley, the seeds of the whin in the same way as
clover is usually sown, allowing at the rate of from fifteen to thirty jjounds of seed to the acre. The seeds,
if harrowetl in and rolled with the barley, quickly t^pring up and advance under the shelter of the barley
during the summer, and keep alive during the winter. Next season, if the field has not a great tendency
to run to grass so as to choke them, they advance rapidly after Midsummer, so as to produce a pretty
full crop before winter. This you may begin to cut with the scythe immediately after your clover fails,
and continue to cut it as it is wanted during the whole of the winter ; but it is supposed, that after
the month of February the taste of this plant alters, as it is in general believed that after that time
horses and cattle are no longer fond of it. He, however, observes, that never having had a sufficiency of
whins to serve longer than towards the middle of February, or beginning of March, he cannot assert the
fact from his own exj>erience. He has frequently seen horses beating the whins with their hoofs, so as
to bruize the prickles, and then eat them, even in the months of April and May ; and he says, that sheep
•which have been used to this food, certainly pick off the blossoms and the young pods at that season, and
probably the prickles also, so that it is possible the opinion may only be a vulgar error. This is, he
thinks, the best way of rearing whins as a crop for a winter food for cattle or horses. But for sheep, who
Book VI. SPURRY, BROOM, &c. 815
take to this food very kindly when they have once been accustomed to it, less nicety is required ; for if the
seeds be simply sown broad-cast, very thin (about a pound of seed per acre) upon the poorest soils, after
they come up the sheep of themselves will crop the plants, and soon bring them into round close bushes,
as this animal nibbles ort'the prickles one by one very quickly, so as not to be hurt by them. Sheep, how-
ever, who have not been used to this mode of browsing do not know how to proceed, and often will not
taste them ; but a few that have been used to the food will, he observes, soon teach all the rest how to
use it.
5078, Another veru economical loay qf rearing whins, but which he has seen practised rather than
experienced himself, is this : let a farm be enclosed by means of a ditch all round, with a bank thrown
up on one side, and if stones can be had, let the face of that bank be linetl with the stones, from bottom
to near tiie top, this lining to slope backwards with an angle of about sixty or seventy degrees from the
horizon. Any kind of stones, even round ones gathered from the land, will answer the purpose very
well ; upon the top of the bank sow whin-seeds pretty thick, and throw a few of them along the face of
the bank. Young plants will quickly appear. Let them grow for two years, and then cut them down
by means of a hedge-bill, sloping down by the face of the bank. This mode of cutting is very easy,
and as the sectls soon insinuate themselves among the crannies of the stones, the whole face of the bank
becomes a close hedge, whose shoots spring up with great luxuriance. If another ditch b« made on the
other side of the bank, and if this be managed in the same way, and the hedge cut down only once every
second year (and in this way it affords very good food for beasts), the inside and outside being cut down
alternately, the fence will at all times continue good, as the hedge at the top will at all times be complete.
This mmie of rearing whins is, he remarks, both convenient and economical. But where stones cannot
be obtained for making the facing, the bank very soon moiilders down, and becomes untit for the pur-
poses of a fence. Circumstances have, he says, prevented him from ascertaining what is the weight of
the crop that maybe thus attained, but bethinks he fhay safely venture to say, that it is at least equal
to that of a crop of green clover ; and if it be considered, that this affords a green succulent food during
winter, on which cattle can be fatted as well as on cut grass in summer, it will, he thinks, be admitted,
that it must be accounted even a more valuable crop than clover. After being cut, he also remarks,
that it springs up the following season with greater vigor than before, and in this situation acquires a
degree of health and succulence very different from what it is ever observed to possess in its natural
state. He has seen shoots of one season near four feet in length. The prickles too are sojsoft, and the
stems so tender, that very little bruising is necessary ; indeed horses, that have been accustomwi to this
food, would eat it without any bruising at all ; but cattle, whose mouths seem to be more tender, always
require it to be well bruised. How long crops of this sort may continue to be annually cut over, without
wearing out, he cannot say, but he believes a long while in favorable circumstances ; however, one thing
is necessary to attend to in order to guard against its being destroyed : as, during the beginning of the
season, nature seems to be solely employed about the great work of fructification only, and it is not
till near Midsummer that the whin begins to push forth its wood-bearing branches, which advance with
great luxuriance only during the latter part of the season, it may hapj)en, that if care be not taken to
have the grass that springs up on the field, before the whin begins to send out its shoots, eaten close down,
that grass will acquire such a luxuriance before the young branches of the whin begin to advance, as to
overtop them, and choke them entirely. Whoever, therefore, has a field under this particular crop, must,
he says, be careful to advert to this circumstance, or if the field be in good heart, he will infallibly lose
it. The field therefore should lie kept as a pasture, bare as possible during the beginning of the season,
and the cattle should only be taken from it when the shoots of the whin are discoveretl to begin to advance
with vigor. Under this management, he presumes, it may be kept for many years, and yield full crops ;
but unless the mowers be particularly attentive at the beginning, to cut it as low as possible, it will very
soon become impossible to cut the field with a scythe, as the stumps will soon acquire so much stretigth
as to break the scythe when it happens to touch them.
5079. The spurry, (Spergula arvcnsis, L. Jig. 63.) is a diminutive annual weed, on
dry sandy corn-lands, in most parts of Europe. In Germany and the Netherlands,
it is sown on the corn stubbles, and in the intervals of time that occur between some
crops is fed with sheep. It may be sown and reaped in eight weeks, either in
autumn or spring. It is said to enricli the milk of cows, so as to make it afford ex-
cellent butter ; and the mutton fed on it is preferable to that fed on turnips. Hens
eat spurry greedily, -and it is supposed to make them lay a great number of eggs.
Whether in hay, or cut green, or pasture. Von Thaer observes, it is the most nourishing,
in proportion of its bulk, of all forage, and gives the best flavored milk and butter. It
has been recommended to be cultivated in England ; but it is not likely that such a
plant can ever pay the expense of seed and labor in this country, even on the poorest
soil, or at all events, as Professor Martyn observes, we have many better plants for such
soils.
5080. The commo7i broom, {Spartium scopanim, L. Jig.
515.) is cultivated in the southern parts of France, on the
poorer sorts of soil, in the same way as hemp, for the pur-
pose of stripping the bark from it, and converting it into a
kind of thread. It is likewise cultivated in these places as
a winter-food for sheep, and it is said they eat it with great
avidity, preferring it to many other plants. It is, however,
liable to produce diseases of the urinary passages, by its
diuretic qualities. It has been recommended by Young,
to be cultivated in England, as food for sheep and
horses, who are said to eat it after they get accustomed to
it ; also for thatch, ropes, besoms, food for bees, fuel, and
burning on the spot to improve the soil. Its culture is
the same as tliat of the whin ; but very peculiar, indeed,
must be that situation, where its culture is attempted for
any of the above purposes. It is a useful protection of
game in plantations, from which source abundance may be
had for besoms. The Spanish broom, (S. Junceum, L.
816
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
Jig. 576,)
species.
might be grown perhaps still more advantageously than the common
576
577
5081. The parsley, (jipium
petroselinum, L. Jig. 511) is
a well known biennial with a
large sweet tap-root. It is a
native of Sicily, but endures the
British winter like a native
plant. It is sown along with
clover and grass seeds in some
places, and especially in Lin-
colnshire, as a preventive of
the rot in sheep. Fleet, of
Hampshire, famous for curing
the rot in sheep, cultivates it
largely with success; he sows
half a bushel to the acre, with a
bushel of rye-grass, with spring
corn ; and he finds that it lasts
in the ground till it is permitted
to seed. He feeds it constant-
ly, it being excellent for sheep, and when suffered to get a-head pigs feed wonderfully
upon it in the autumn. After September, it will not, he says, run to seed. When it
was ploughed up he obtained good oats. The land was poor, and in the next round of
the course, the clover was much the better for the parsley having been sown or the clover
omitted ; for in a field half parsley, half clover, when the clover came again to be sown,
it was excellent on the parsley half, but bad on the clover part. In laying down land to
grass, Hoyte, in the fourth volume of Communications to the Board oj Agricvlture, ad-
vises the sowing with twelve pounds of white clover, two pounds of red clover, two pecks
of rye-grass, and two pounds of parsley to the acre, as the parsley stands two years, and
by its diuretic qualities prevents the sheep from dying of the red-water, which too luxu-
riant clovers are apt to produce. It has also been sown with success in Scotland, where
it was greedily eaten by horses, cows, and hogs. The seed requires a longer period to
germinate than that of any other agricultural plant, and might probably be advantageously
prepared by steeping and turning. It must be fresh, as two year old seed will not grow ;
it is easily procured by the pound or bushel, from the seedsman, and as easily raised by
letting a few drills in a garden shoot into flower stems.
5082. The wall Jlower, {^Cheiranthus cheiri, L.) is a well known garden flower, and
at the same time a native, and very hardy on dry soils. Like the parsley it is an antisep-
tic, and has been recommended to be cultivated for the same purposes, and in the same
manner.
5083. The bird* s foot trefoil, (Lotus comiculatus, L. fg. 578.) has been tried as a
.substitute for white clover on moist lands, and seems to succeed very well, but to have
no particular advantages over the clover.
5084. The oriental bunias, (Bunias orientalis, L. fg. 579 a.) is a perennial
579
578
plant, with leaves, branches, and its general habit of herbage, not unlike the wild chic-
cory. It is a native of the Levant, and has been cultivated by way of experiment in the
Book VI. GRASSES. 817
grass garden, at Woburn. It is less productive than chiccory, bears mowing well, and
affords the same nutriment, in proportion to its bulk, as red clover. {Agricid. Chem,
p. 374.)
5085. The yarrow {Achillea millefolium, L. Jtg. 579 6.), the common and alpine ladies*
mantle {Alchemilla vulgaris and alpina, L.), and others have been tried among perennial
grasses, sown in parks, with a view to give flavor to milk, butter, mutton, and venison.
Sinclair considers yarrow as an essential ingredient of the most fattening and healthy
pastures. In all the pastures most celebrated for fattening or dairy produce, which he
examined in Devonshire, Lincolnshire, and in the vale of Aylesbury, yarrow was present
more or less in every part of the surface. {Hort. Gram. Wob. 2d edit. 412.)
Chap. VI.
Of the cultivatef} Grasses.
5086. The forage or hay and pasture grasses, of which we are now about to treat, are'
found clothing the surface of the earth in every zone, attaining generally a greater
height, with less closeness at the root in the warm climates; and producing a low, close,"
thick, dark green nutritive herbage, in the cooler latitudes. The best grass pastures,
those which are most productive and nutritive, are such as are found in countries that
have least cold in winter, and no excess of heat in summer. Ireland, Britain, and part of
Holland and Denmark, may equal or surpass any countries of the world in this respect;
but in every zone where, there are high mountains, there are certain positions between the
base and summit, where, from the equability of the temperature, turf may be found
equal to that in marine islands. It is a singular circumstance in regard to grasses, that
in the greater part of North America, the sorts that grow naturally on the plains are
almost all annuals, and consequently with the first frost they die, and the ground re-
mains naked till a fresh crop rises from the self-sown seeds next spring. Nearly the
same thing may be said of Poland and Russia, excepting on the banks of rivers and
en the mountains.
5087. The universal presence of the forage grasses, and the rapidity with which all soils become covered"
with them when left uncultivated, is the obvious reason why their systematic selection and culture is but
of recent date. Though the Romans cultivated clovers, and were careful of their meadows, it does not;
appear that the seeds of the proper grasses were collected and sown by them. None of the agricultural
writers, from Peter of Bologna to Parkinson in 1640, say a word about sowing grasses, though they all
mention clover and lucern. This branch of culture appears to have originated in England about the mid-
dle of the seventeenth century, and the grass made choice of was the rye-grass. The first mention made
of it for cultivation is in Dr. Plot's Oxfordshire, printed in 1G77. " They have lately sown," says he,
" ray-grass, or the gramen loliaceum, by which they improve any cold, sour, clay-weeeping ground, for
which it is best, but good also for drier upland grounds, especially light stony or sandy land, which is unfit
for saintfoin. It was first sown in the chiltern parts of Oxfordshire, and since brought nearer Oxford by.
one Eustace, an ingenious husbandman of Islip, who, though at first laughed at, has since been followed
even by those very persons that scorned his experiment." The first grass tried after rye-grass, appears
to have been the Phleum pratense by Rocque of Walham Green, about 1760. Soon after the seed of
cock's-foot grass was introduced from Virginia, under the name of orchard-grass, by the Society of Arts
{Ann. Reg. 176.5, 141.) ; fox-tail was tried at a later period, from the suggestions of Stillingfleet and Curtis.
5088. Stillingfleet, about 1759, drew the attention of the reading agriculturist to the selection of dif-
ferent species of grasses; as did Dr. Anderson about the same time, and Swayne {Gramina Pasciia), and
Curtis {Observations on British Grasses), soon afterwards. The origin of this attention to grasses and'
native plants may be traced to the practice of forming local floras by Iwtanists, and especially to the Flor^i>
Suecia of Linnaeus ; and the British Floras of Hudson, Withering, Lightfoot, Smith, &c. in which the
medical and economical properties of the plants were mentioned ; and, in imitation of Linn^us, parti,
cular notice taken of the animals which fed upon them.
5089. John Duke of Bedford made the latest and most laborious efforts towards attaining a knowledge
of the comparative value of all the British and some foreign grasses worth cultivating. The result is given
in an appendix to Sir H. Davy's Agricultural Chemistri/, and more at large in Sinclair's Hortus Gramincui
Woburnensis, 8vo. 2d edit. 1825, and as it is of considerable interest, we shall afterwards present an abstract.
5090. With respect to the general culture of grasses, though no department of agriculture is more simple,
in the execution, yet, from the nature of grasses, considerable judgment is required in the design. Though
grasses abound in every soil and situation, yet, all the species do not abound in every soil and situation in-
differently. On the contrary, no class of perfect plants are so absolute and unalterable in their choice in
this respect. The creeping-rooted and stoloniferous grasses will grow readily on most soils ; but tlie
fibrous-rooted species, and especially the more delicate upland grasses, require particular attention as to
the soil in which they are sown ; for in many soils they will either not come up at all, or die away in a few
years, and give way to the grasses which would naturally spring up in such a soil when left to a state of
nature. Hence in sowing down lands for permanent pasture, it is a good method to make choice of those
gras.ses which thrive best in adjoining and similarly-circumstanced pastures for a part of the seed j and to-
mix with these what are considered the very best kinds.
.'3091. New and excellent varieties of many of the grasses, especially, those used or fit to be used in the
(convertible husbandry, might no doubt be obtained by selection and cross breeding, and it is much to be-
wished that this were attempted by cultivators. — The grasses to be here treated of may be classed as tall
sorts, or those best fitted for hay ; and dwarf grasses, or those fit only for pasturage : those experimented,
on at Woburn will next be noticed.
£ect. I.^ Of the tall growing or Hay Grasses.
5092. The hay grrrses^or the purposes of agriculture may be advantageously divided
into those of tempor.-.ry, and those of permanent duration.
3 G
618
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Fart III.
It
SuBSECT. 1 . Of tall or Hay Grasses of temporart/ Duration.
5093. The most valuable of this division are the biennial, or, as it is commonly but
erroneously called, the annual and subper-
ennial rye-grass (Jig. 580 a) the cock's-foot
grass (Jj, and woolly soft grass (c). Where
a crop of hay is desired within the year, it is
necessary to resort to such grasses as are an-
nuals in the strict sense of the word, and
none can be better for this purpose than the
common oat, cut and made into hay when it
comes into flower. Next in order may be
mentioned the other cereal grasses and the
annual varieties of bromus : the latter, how-
ever, are very coarse grasses, though prolific
in culm.
5094. The biennial rye-grass (Lolinm jfer-
enne, var. biennis, L.J is well known, as
being universally sown, either with or with-
out clover, among corn crops, with a view to one crop of hay the succeeding season,
attains a greater height, and produces a longer, broader spike of flowers, than the perennial
rye-grass, and the produce in hay is considered greater than that of any other annual
grass, equally palateable to cattle. It prefers a rich loamy soil, but will grow on any
surface whatever, not rock or undecajed bog.
5095. The perennial rye-grass (LoHum perenne, L. Ivraie vivace, Fr. ; JDaurende
Lolche, Ger. ; and Loglio vivace, Ital. ) differs from the other in being of somewhat
smaller growth, and in abiding for several years, according to the variety and the soil and
culture. Many consider this grass coarse, benty, and very exhausting to the soil; but
after all the .experiments that have been made on the other grasses, none have been found
to equal it for a course of mowing and pasturing for two, three, or seven years. It is
sown in Italy, and especially in liOmbardy, and also in France and Germany, along
with cloyer, for the same purposes as in this country; and, as Von Thaer has re-
marked, though some have tried other species, both in these countries and in England,
they have in the end returned to rye-grass. When intended as a pasture-grass, if
stocked hard, and when for hay, if mo.wn early, the objections to it are removed. ( Code
of Agriculture.) G. Sinclair says the circumstance of its producing abundance of seed,
which is easily collected, and vegetates freely on any soil, its early perfection and
abundant herbage the first year, which is much relished by cattle, are the merits which
have upheld it to the present day, and will probably for some time to come continue it a
favorite grass among farmers. But the lattermath is inconsiderable, the plant impo-
verishes the soil in a high degree if not cut before the seed ripens. When this is
neglected, the field after midsununer exhibits only a brown surface of withered straws.
liCt the pii-odnce and nutritive powers of rye-grass be compared with those of the cock's-
foot-grass, ^nd it will be found inferior nearly in the proportion of 5 to 18 ; to meadow
fox-tail of 5 to 12; and to meadow fescue of 5 to 17. {Hort. Gram. Wob. 2d edit. 215.
and see § 5100.) In a subsequent page he observes, " The new varieties, however, of
this species of grass, which have been discovered of late years, remove in a considerable
degree the serious objections which applied to the common rye-grass" {lb. 412.) The
Varieties alluded to are all perennial, and as under :
Slender rye-grass, common ;
Cmnpound or broad spiked^ye-grass, I'ounU m rich soils, lone
^ader giass, and chiefly in beaten parts, as cart-ways, &c. It
has a short broad spike, crowded with spikelets at the top.
Pacey's rye-grass, fotind in rich meadow lands, and intro-
duced by Pacey, a cultivator in the uplands of Stalibrdshire :
spike nearly upright, spikelets shorter than in the compound
r. g. the stem fumishecl with long leaves, and the root leaves
arjfe and numerous. Sinclair considers this the most valuable
Tariety of the rye-grass.
Whttrijorth's rye-f(mss, introduced by G. Whitworth, Esq.
of Acre House, Lincobishire, an eminent cultivator of the
Fascua grainina, who, in ISiiB, .had 60 varieties of Lolium
perenne under experiment.
Stickney's rye-gra^s, introduced by Sticknev of Holdemess.
Rujsees rye-grass, first cultivated by thelate B. Holditch, Esq.
Editor of The Fanner's Jaumai. from seed obtained of a plant
in a rich fen pasture, pointed out to Holditch by the Duke of
Bedford.
Church bennet, or Church bent-grass, an excellent variety
of rye-grass, cjiUivated in some parts of Berkshire.
All rthe above, excepting the two first, are extjellent varieties. Pacey's and Russel's
are considered the best.
^096. The proportipnal value which the grass at the time of flowering bears to that at tjie time the seed
is ripe, is as 10 to 11. The proportional value which the grass of the lattermath bears to that at the time
of flowering, is as 4 to 10, and to that at the time the seed is ripe, as ,4 to 11.
5097. The seed of perennial rye-grass is not to be distinguished from^that of the annual variety. It may
be collected by hand, in most parts of Britain, from old pastures, and a considerable quantity is annually so
got in Kent and Sussex. It i$ also grown purposely for seed' in England and Scotland. Formerly it was the
practice for farmers to collect the seed which dropped from the,hay used by their horses; but rye-grass,
grown for hay, is now cut by all judicious farmers, when it is just coming into flower; and therefore to
colle(;t the glumes or empty husks can be of no use as seed. It has also been a common practice, in regard
to rye-grass, to let the mixed c rep of that and clover stand till the seeds of the former have attained a con-
siderable degree of ripeness, wtibn it is cut down and made into hay, in the usual manner ; and the seeds
of the rye-grass are separatfed by the use of the flail, commonly before the hay is put into the field-ricks.
Sometimes, when but a spiall quantity is wanted, the hay is merely shaken well upon a cloth, when it i9
Book VI. HAY GRASSES. 819
building in the stack-yard ; or afterwards in the stable-loft, before it is put into the horse's racks. But in
all of these methods, in order to obtain good seed, the clover must remain uncut beyond the proper season •
and it is thus materially injured in quality, while the value of the rye-grass seed, in such a crop, is merely
a secondary consideration.
5098. When seed is the principal object of the culture of rye-grass, it ought not to be mixed with clover at
all, though it may be sown along with any of the kinds of corn, and treated the year after in every respect
as a crop of corn ; bound up in sheaves, built in stacks, threshed with the flail, and dressed by the winnowing,
machine in the same manner.
5099. The difficulty of distinguishing between the annual and perennial varieties of rye-grass has led to
the practice, in some places, of cutting or pasturing the first year's crop, and taking a crop for seed the
second year. If the growth of the rye-grass plants be close and vigorous the second year, there is reason
to be satisfied that the seed is of the perennial variety ; and though red clover has been sown with the rye-
grass, a great part of it disappears by that time, and forms but a small portion of the second year's cutting.
(Sup. Encyc. Brit. art. Agr.)
5100. The cock's-foot grass {Dactylis glomerata, L. Jig. 580 b) is an imperfect peren-
nial, and grows naturally on dry sandy soils. This grass may be known by its coarse ap-
pearance, both of the leaf and spike, and also by its whitish green hue. One writer says,
he has cultivated it largely and to his satisfaction on wet loams on a clay marl bottom, upon
which the finer grasses are apt to give way in a few years to the indigenous produce. If
suffered to rise high, it is very coarse ; but fed close, is a very valuable sheep pasture.
He has sown two bushels an acre, and 10 lbs. tommon red clover; and when the clover
wears out, the grass fills the lands and abides well in it. It grows well in winter. It has
been found highly useful as an early sheep feed. It is early, hardy, and productive, but
is a coarser plant than rye-grass, and requires even greater attention in regard to being cut
soon, or fed close. It does best by itself, and the time of its ripening being different
from that of clover, it does not suit well to be mixed with that plant. The pasturage it
affords is luxuriant, and particularly agreeable to sheep. It is cultivated to a great ex-
tent, and with astonishing success at Holkham. The quantity of sheep kept upon it,
summer and winter, is quite surprising ; and the land becomes renovated by laying two or
three years under this grass, and enriched by the manure derived from the sheep. A field,
in the park at Woburn, was laid down in two equal parts, one part with rye-grass and white
clover, and the other part with cock's-foot and red clover : from the spring till midsummer,
the sheep kept almost constantly on the rye-grass; but after that time they left it, and
adhered with equal constancy to the cock's-foot during the remainder of the season. In
The Code of Agriculture, (p. 497. third edit. J it is stated that Sinclair, of Woburn, con-
siders " no grass so well suited for all purposes as cock's-foot ;" and in the second edition
of H. Gramineus Wobumensis, it is observed, that if one species only is thought prefer-
able to another in the alternate husbandry, that species is the Dactylis glomerata, from its
more numerous merits. But a certain supply of the most nutritious herbage throughout
the season will be in vain looked for from any one species of grass, but only where
nature has provided it in a combination of many. None appear better fitted for mixing
with Dactylis than Festuca duriuscula and pratensis, Poa trivialis, Holcus avenaceus,
Phleum pratense, Lolium perenne, and white clover. " A combination thus formed,
of three parts cock's-foot, and, one part of these species just mentioned, will secure the
most productive and nutritive pasture in alternation with grain crops, on soils of the best
quality ; and even on soils of an inferior nature, under the circumstances of unfavorable
seasons, will afford nutritive herbage, when otherwise the land would have been com-
paratively devoid of it, if one species of grass only had been employed." (^Hort. Granu
Wob. 2d 'edit. 414.)
5101. The proportional value which the grass at the time of flowering bears to that at the time the seed
is ripe, in as 5 to 7 nearly. The proportional value which the grass of the lattermath bears to that at the
time of flowering, is as 6 to 10 ; and to that at the time the seed is ripe, as 6 to 14. J-ixty-four dr, of the straws
at the time of flowering aftbrd of nutritive matter 1.2. dr. The leaves or lattermath, and the straws simply,
are therefore of equal proportional value ;' a circutnstance which will point out this grass to be more va-
luable for permanent pasture than for hay. The above details prove, that a loss of nearly one-third of the
value of the crop is sustained, if it is left to the period when the seed is ripe, though the proportional
value of the grass at that time is greater, i. e. as 7 to 5. The produce does not increase if the grass is left
growing after the period of flowering, but uniformly decreases; and the loss of lattermath, (from
the rapid growth of the foliage after the grass is cropped) is very considerable. These circumstances point
out the necessity of keeping this grass closely cropped, either with the scythe or cattle, to reap the full
benefit of its merits.
5102. The woolly soft grass (Holcus lanatus, 'L.fig. 580 c) is an imperfect perennial, and rather late flow-
ering grass, of a soft unsubstantial appearance, and found chiefly in poor dry soils. It is, however, a very
common grass, and grows on all soils, from the richest to the poorest. It affords abundance of seed
which is light, and easily dispersed by the wind. It was cultivated at Woburn on a strong clayey loam'
and the proportional value which the grass at the time the seed is ripe, bears to that at the time of
flowering, is as 11 to 12. Voung, of Essex, observes of this grass, that it flourishes well on any moist soil
and should be sown chiefly with a view to sheep, for it is not equally good for other stock : many acres of
it have been cultivated on his farm for sheep, and it has answered greatly when kept close fed. Marshal
in his Midland Counties, mentions it as a good grass for cows and other cattle, but bad for horses. In his
Rural Economy qf Yorkshire, he, however, condemns it in toto.
51U.'3. According to Sinclair, of Woburn, " it appears to be generally disliked by all sorts of cattle.
The produce is not so great as a view of it in the fields would indicate ; but being left almost entirely
untouched by cattle, it appears as the most productive part of the herbage. The hay which is made of
it, from the number of downy hairs which cover the surface of the leaves, is soft and spongy, and dis-
liked by cattle in general." The Woburn experiments lead to the conclusion that the holcus'mollis is a
better hay plant than the species here noticed ; but as that is a more durable pei'ennial it is less fitted for
the temporary purposes of the grasses of this section.
3 G 2
820
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
5104. With respect to the cultvre of these grasses, it may be considered as ne same as
that given to rye-grass, as discussed when treating of clover and rye-grass (5002.). The
seeds of all of them are sold by the principal seedsmen, or may be gathered on grass-
fields, or hedge wastes, by women or children at an easy rate.
SuBSECT. 2. Of tall or Hay Grasses of permanent Duration.
5105. 2^0 permanent grass has hecn found equa\ to the rye-grass for the purposes of
convertible husbandry, but others have been selected which are considered superior for
hay meadows. The principal of these are the fescue, fox-tail, and meadow-grass. Agricul-
turists, indeed, are not all agreed on the comparative merits of these grasses with rye-
grass, but there are none who do not consider it advisable to introduce a portion of each,
or most of these species along with rye-grass, in laying down lands to permanent pasture.
The nutritive joroducts of these grasses, of perennial rye-grass, and of that singular
grass fiorin, are thus given by Sir H. Davy :
Systematic name.
English name.
Whole
quantity of
soluble or
nutritive
matter.
Mucilage
or starch.
Saccha-
rine m<it-
teror
sugar
"Gluten or
albumen.
Extract
or matter
rendered
insoluble
during eva-
poration.
Festucaloliacea(j?g.581 c)
Holcus odoratus
Anthoxanthum vernum
Alopecurus nratensis (d)
Poa fertilis (e) . .
trivialis (/)
Cynosurus cristatps
Lolium pcrenne
Agrostis stolonifera
Spiked fescue grass
Sweet-scented soft grass
Sweet-scented vernal grass
Meadow fox- tail grass
Fertile meadow grass
Roughish meadow grass .
Crested dog's-tail grass -
Perennial rye-grass
Fiorin . . ,
Fiorin cut in winter
19
82
50
53
78
39
35
39
54
76
15
72
43
24
65
29
28
26
4()
64
2
4
4
3
6
5
3
4
5
8
1
1
2
6
3
6
7
6
4
5
2
3
581
5106. Of the fescue grass there are three species in the highest estimation as meadow
hay grasses, viz. the meadow, tall, and spiked fescue, (fig. 581 a, b, c.) The F. praten-
sis (a), or the meadow or fertile fescue grass, is found in most rich meadows and pastures
in England, and is highly grateful to every description of stock. It is more in demand
for laying down meadows than any other species excepting the rye-grass. By the
Woburn experiments, the value of this grass at the time the seed is ripe, is to that of the
grass at the time of flowering, as 6 to 18. The loss which is sustained by leaving the
crop of this grass till the seed be ripe is very great. That it loses more of its weight
in drying at this stage of growth, than at the time of flowering, perfectly agrees with the
deficiency of nutritive matter in the seed crop, in proportion to that in the flowering
crop : the straws being succulent in the former, they constitute the greatest part of the
weight ; but in the latter they are comparatively withered and dry, consequently the leaves
constitute the greatest part of the weight.. It may be observed here, that there is a great
difference between straws or leaves that have been dried after they were cut in a succu-
lent state, and those which are dried by nature while growing. The former retain all
their nutritive powers ; but the latter, if completely dry, very little, if any.
5107. The tall or infertile fesate grass {Festuca elatior, E. B. b.) is closely allied to the festuca pratensis,
from which it differs in little, except that it is larger in every respect. The produce is nearly three times
that of the F. pratensis, and the nutritive powers of the grass are superior, in direct })roportion, as 6 to 8.
The proportional value which the grass at the time the seed is ripe, bears to that at the lime of flowering,
is as 12 to 20. The proportional value which the grass of the lattcrmath bears to that of the crop, is as
16 to 20 ; and to that at the time the seed is ri;)p, as 12 to 16 inverse. Curtis observes, that as the seeds of
this plant, when cultivated, are not fertile, it can only be introduced by i)arting its roots and plantins; them
out J in this there would, says he, be no great dilficulty, provided it v.'ore likely to answer the expense.
Book VI. HAY GRASSES. 821
vfhich he is strongly of opinion it would in certain cases ; indeed he has often thought that meadows
would be best foruied by planting out the roots of grasses, and other plants, in a regular manner; and
that, however singular such a practice may appear at prosont, it will probably be adopted at some future
period : this great advantage would, he says, attend it, noxious weeds might be more easily kept down,
until the grasses and other plants had established themselves in the soil.
5108. Tlie spiked fescue grass, or darnel fescue grass, (JFVi/wca /o/tacea, L. c), resem-
bles the rye-grass in appearance, and tlie tall fescue grass in the infertibility of its seeds.
It is considered as superior to rye-grass either for hay or permanent pasture, and im-
proves in proportion to its age, which is the reverse of what takes place with the rye-
grass.
5109. The meadow fox-tail grass [Alopecurus pratensis, d) is found in most mea-
dows, and when the soil is neither very moist nor very dry, but in good heart, it is
very productive. It also does well on water meadows. Sheep and horses seem to have
a greater relish for this grass than oxen. In the Woburn experiments, it was tried
both on a sandy loam and a clayey loam, and the result gave nearly three-fourths of pro-
duce greater from a clayey loam than from a sandy soil, and the grass from the latter is
comparatively of less value, in proportion as 4 to 6. The straws produced by the
sandy soil are deficient in number, and in every respect less than those from the clayey
loam ; which will account for the unequal quantities of the nutritive matter afforded by
them ; but the proportional value in which the grass of the lattermath exceeds that of the
crop at the time of flowering, is as 4 to 3 : a difference which appears extraordinary,
when the quantity of flower-stalks which are in the grass at the time of flowering is con-
sidered. In the anthoxanthum odoratum the proportional difference between the grass
of these crops is still greater, nearly as 4 to 9 ; in the poa pratensis they are equal ;
but in all the latter flowering grasses experimented upon, the flowering straws of which
resemble those of the alopecurus pratensis, or anthoxanthum odoratum the greater pro-
portional value is always, on the contrary, found in the grass of the flowering crop.
Whatever the cause may be, it is evident that the loss sustained by taking the crops of
these grasses at the time of flowering is considerable. The proportional value which the
grass at the time of flowering bears to that at the time the seed is ripe, is as 6 to 9.
The proportional value which the whole of the lattermath crop bears to that at the
time the seed is ripe, is as 5 to 9, and to that at the time of flowering, proportion-
ably as 13 to 24. Next to the fescue, tliis grass is in the greatest reputation for
laying down mowing grounds j but it is unfortunately subject to the rust in some
situations.
5110. Of the meadoiu grass there are two species in esteem as hay plants-, the smooth-
stalked, and roughish. These plants compose the greater part of the celebrated Or-
cheston meadows near Salisbury, and also of the meadows near Edinburgh.
5111. The great or smooth-stalked meadoiv grass, the spear grass of America, (Poa
pratensis, e) is distinguished by its height, smooth stem, and creeping roots. According
to Sole it is the best of all the grasses : its foliage begins to shoot and put on a fine
verdure early in the spring, but not so soon as some other grasses. Every animal that
eats grass is fond of it ; "while it makes the best hay, and affords the richest pasture.
It abounds in the best meadows about Laycock and Chippenham, and has the valuable
jiroperty of abiding in the same land, while most other grasses are continually changing.
According to some it delights in rather a dry than a moist soil and situation, on which
account it keeps its verdure better than most others in dry seasons; but it thrives most
luxuriantly in rich meadows.
.5112. By the IVoburn experiments, the proportional value in which the grass of the lattermath exceeds
that of the flowering crop, is as 6 to 7. The grass of the seed-crop, and that of the lattermath, are of
equal value. This grass is, therefore, of least value at the time the seed is rii^e ; a loss of more than one-
fourth of tiie value of the whole crop is sustained if it is not cut till tliat perimi : the straws are then dry,
and the root-leaves in a sickly decaying state : those of the htterraath, on the contrary, are luxuriant
and healthy. This species sends forth fiower-stalks but once in a season, and those being the most valu-
able part of the plant for the purpose of hay, it will, from this circumstance, and the superior value of the
grass of the lattermatli, compared to that of the seed-crop, appear well adapted for permanent
pasture. It was of this grass that the American prize bonnet, in imitation of Leghorn, was manufac-
tured by Miss Woodhouse.
5113. The roughish meadow grass {Pon trivial is, L. /) delights in moist, rich, and
sheltered situations, when it grows two feet high, and is very productive. By the
Woburn experiments, it appears that the proportional value in which the grass of the
sfcedcroj) exceeds that at the time of flowering, is as 8 to 11. The proportional value
by which the grass of the lattermath exceeds that of the flowering crop, is as 8 to 12,
and that of the seed crop as 1 1 to 12. Here therf is a satisfactory proof of the superior
Value of tlte crop at the time the seed is ripe, and of the consequent loss sustained by
taking it when in flower ; the produce of each crop being nearly equal. The deficiency
of hay in the flovpering crop, in proporticm to that of the seed crop, is very striking. Its
superior produce, the highly iiutritive jjowers which the grass seems to possess, and the
season in which it arrives at perfection, are merits which distinguish it as one of the most
valua'ble of tho';C grasses, which ailect moir-t rich soils, and sheltered situations; but on
3 G 3
822
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Pakt III.
dry exposed situations, it is altogether inconsiderable ; it yearly diminishes, and ulti-
mately dies off, not unfrequently in the space of four or five years.
5114. The above are six of the best British grasses, for either dry or watered meadow^s.
The seeds of the meadovv^ fescue, fox-tail, and smooth and rough meadow grass, may
be had from the seedsmen, and they are sown in various proportions with the clovers and
rye-grass. The seeds of the two sorts of meadow grass are apt to stick together, and
require to be well mixed with the others before being sown. The tall and spiked fescue
grass, having a number of barren flowers, are not prolific in seeds, and they are therefore
seldom to be got at the seed shops ; though they may occasionally be had there gathered
from plants in a wild state.
5115. As hay grasses, adapted for particular soils and situations, the cat's-tailor Timothy,
floating fescue, and fiorin grass, have been recommended ; but it cannot be said that the
opinions of cultivators are unanimous in their favor.
5116. The caCs-tail, or Timothy grass, {Phleum pratense, 'L.fg. 582 a) is a native plant.
and found both in diy and moist soils. It was first brought into notice by Timothy
Hudson, about 1780, who introduced it from Carolina, where it was in great repute.
On moist rich soils it is a prolific grass, but late ; on dry soils it is good for little, and
for cultivation in any way is disapproved of by Withering, Swaine, Curtis, and others,
as having no pi'operties in which it is not greatly surpassed by the alopecurus pratensis.
The Woburn experiments, however, present this grass as one of the most prolific for hay*
The nutritive matter afforded by 64 drachms of the straws, was 7 drachms. The
nutritive powers of the straws simply, therefore, exceed those of the leaves, in pro-
portion as 28 to 8 ; and the grass, at the time of flowering, to that at the time the seed
is ripe, as 10 to 23 ; and the lattermath, to the grass of the flowering crop, as 8 to 10*
The comparative merits of this grass will appear from the above particulars to be
very great; to which maybe added the abundance of fine foliage that it produces early
in the spring. In this respect it is inferior to the poa fertilis, and poa angustifolia only.
The value of the straws at the time the seed is ripe, exceeds that of the grass at the time
of flowering, as 28 to 10, a circumstance which increases its value above many others ;
for by this property its valuable early foliage may be cropped, to an advanced period of
the season, without injury to the crop of hay, which in other grasses which send forth their
flowering straws early in the season would cause a loss of nearly one half of the value
of the crop, as is clearly proved by former examples ; and this property of the straws
makes the plant peculiarly valuable for the purpose of hay.
5117. The floating fescue grass, [Festuca fluilans, b) is found in rich swamps,
especially in Cambridgeshire, where it is. said to give the peculiar flavor to Cottenham
and Cheddar cheese. It is also found in ditches and ponds in most parts of the country.
It is greedily devoured by every description of stock, not excepting hogs and ducks, and
geese eagerly devour the seeds, which are small, but very sweet and nourishing. They
are collected in several parts of Germany and Poland, under the name of Manna-seeds
{Schwaden), and are esteemed a delicacy in soups and gruels. When ground to meal,
they make bread very little inferior to that from wheat. The bran is given to horses that
have the worms ; but they must be kept from water for some hours afterwards. Geese,
and other water-fowl, are very fond of the seeds. So also are fish ; trout, in particular,"
thrive in those rivers where this grass grows in plenty- It has been recommended to be
sowed on meadows that admit flooding; but Curtis justly remarks, that the flote-
fescue will not flourish except in land that is constantly under water, or converted into at
bog or swamp. •
5118. The tuater meadow grass, [Poa aquatica, c) is fotind chiefly in marshes, buti
Book VI. HAY GRASSES. 82S
will grow on strong clays, and yield, as the Woburn experiments prove, a prodigious
produce, flowering from June to September. It is one of the largest of our grasses.
In the fens of Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, &c. immense tracts, that used to be over-
flowed, and produce useless aquatic plants, and though drained by mills, still retain
much moisture, are covered with this grass, which not only atfords rich pasturage in
summer, but forms the cliief part of their winter fodder. It has a powerfully creeping
root ; and bears frequent mowing well. It is sometimes cut thrice in one season near
the Thames. It grows not only in very moist ground, but in the water itself; and with
cat's-tail, burr-reed, &c. soon fills up ditches, and occasions them to require frequent
cleansing. In this respect it is a formidable plant, even in slow rivers. In the Isle of
Ely they cleanse these by an instrument called a bear, which is an iron roller, with a
number of pieces of iron, like small spades, fixed to it; this is drawn up and down the
river by horses walking along the bank, and tears up the plants by the roots, which float,
and are carried down the stream. The grass was, however, cultivated at Woburn on a
strong tenacious clay, and yielded considerable produce.
" 5119. Thefiorin frrass {Agrostis stolonifera, d) is a very common grass both in wet and dry, rich and poor
situations. Few plants appear to be more under the influence of local circumstances than this grass. On
dry soils it is worth nothing ; but on rich marl soils, ahd in a moist soil, if we may put confidence in the
accounts given of its produce in Ireland, it is the most valuable of all herbage plants. It was first brought
into notice by Dr. Richardson, in 1809, and subsequently extolled, and its culture detailed in various
}>amphlets by the same gentleman. It appears to be exclusively adapted for moist peat soils or bogs. In
The Code of Agriculture, it is said, " On mere bogs, the florin yields a great weight of herbage, and is,
perhaps, the most useful plant that bogs can produce." According to Sir H. Davy, the florin grass, to be
in perfection, requires a moist climate or a wet soil ; and it grows luxuriantly in cold clays unfltted for
other grasses. In light sands, and in dry situations, its produce is much inferior as to quantity and qua-
lity. He saw four square yards of florin grass cut in the end of January, in a meadow exclusively appro-
priated to the cultivation of florin, by the Countess of Hardwicke, the soil of which is a damp stiff" clay.
They afforded twenty-eight pounds of fodder, of which one thousand parts afforded sixty-four parts of
nutritive matter, consisting nearly of one-sixth of sugar, and five-sixths of mucilage, with a little extrac-
tive matter. In another experiment, four square yards gave twenty-seven pounds of grass. Lady Hard-
wicke has given an account of a trial of this grass ; wherein twenty-three milch cows, and one young
hoise, besides a number of pigs, were kept a fortnight on the produce of one acre. On the Duke of
Bedford's farm, at Maulden, florin hay was placed in the racks before horses, in small distinct quantities,
alternately with common hay j but no decided preference for either was manifested by the horses in this
tr^al.
5120. There are other species afagrostis, as the A. palustris and repens, and some va-
rieties of the A. stolonifera, that on common soils are little diflferent in their appearance
and properties from fiorin. Of one of these, the narrow-leaved creeping bent [A. stotb'
nifera, var. angustifolia), the following remarks are made in the account of the Woburn
experiments. " From a careful examination of the creeping-bent with narrow leaves, it
will doubtless appear to possess merits well worthy of attention, though perhaps not so great
as has been supposed, if the natural place of its growth and habits be impartially taken
into the account. From the couchant nature of this grass, it is denominated couch-grass,
by practical men, and from the length of time that it retains the vital power, after being
taken out of the soil, it is called squitch, quick, full of life, &c.
5121 . The culture of Jiorin is different from that of other grasses. Though the plant
will ripen its seeds on- a dry soil, and these seeds being very small, a few pounds would
be sufficient for an acre, yet it is generally propagated by stolones or root-shoots. The
ground being well pulverised, freed from weeds, and laid into such beds or ridges as the
cultivator may think advisable ; small drills an inch or two deep, and six or nine inches
asunder, are to be drawn along its surface, with a hand or horse-hoe, or on soft lands by
the hoe-rake. In the bottom of these drills, the fiorin shoots (whether long or short is of
no consequence) are laid in lengthways, so as their ends may touch each other, and then
lightly covered with a rake, and the surface rolled to render it fit for the scythe. In six
months the whole surface will be covered with verdure, and if the planting be performed
early in spring, a large crop may be had the same autumn. Any season will answer for
planting, but one likely to be followed by showers and heat is to be preferred. Tliose
who wish to cultivate this grass will consult Dr. Richardson's New Essay on Fiorin
Grass (1813), and also The farmer's Magazine for 1810-14. Our opinion is, that
neither fiorin, Timothy, or floating fescue, are ever likely to be cultivated in Britain ;
though the two last may perhaps succeed well on the bogs and moist rich soils of Ireland,
where, to second the influence of the soil, there is a moist warm climate^
5122. A number of other species of tall grasses, well adapted for meadows and hay-
making, might be here enumerated ; but we have deemed it better to treat only of the
most popular sorts, of which seeds may be purchased, all ihe others of any consequence
will be found in a tabular view (Sect, III.), accompanied by a summary statement of
their products, in hay and aftermatii, nutritive matter, and general character.
5123. The preparation of the soil, and solving of the usval meadow grasses, differs in
nothing from that of clover and rye-grass already given ; the after treatment of dry mea-
dows^ iticluding the making of natural hay, will be found in the succeeding Chapter on
the management of grass-lands, and that of watered meadoVvs was naturally given when
treating of their formation. f4053.)
3 G 1
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
?ART IIL
Sect. II. Grasses chiefly adapted Jbr Pasturage,
5124. Of pasturage grasses we shall make a selection of such as have been tried to some
extent, and of which the seeds are in the course of commerce. On soils in good condi-
tion, and naturally well constituted, no better grasses can be sown for pasturage than
those we have described as tall grasses for hay -meadows ; but for early and late pas-
turage, and secondary soils, there are others much more suitable.
5125. Tilt pasture grasses for early pasturage on all soils, are the anthoxanthura odo-
ratum, holcus odoratus, avena pubescens, and poa annua.
■ 5126. The pasture grasses for late herbage on all soils are chiefly the different species
of agrostis and phleum.
5127. The pasture grasses for poor or secondary soils are the cynosurus cristatus, festuca
duriuscula and ovina, poa compressa, cristata, and angustifolia.
5128. The grasses that afford most nutritive matter in early spring, are the fox-tail
grass and the vernal grass ; the former has been already mentioned as one of the best
hay-grasses.
5129. Tlie sweet-scented vernal grass, {Anthoxanthum odoratum, Jig. 583 a) , is common
in almost all pastures, and is that which gives the fragrance to natural or meadow-hay.
It is chiefly valuable as an early grass, as, though it is eaten by stock, it does not appear
to be much relished by them. From the Woburn experiments, it appears that the small-
ness of the produce of this grass renders it improper for the purpose of hay j but its early
growth, and the superior quantity of nutritive matter which the lattermath affords, com-
pared with the quantity afforded by the grass at the time of flowering, causes it to rank
high as a pasture-grass, on such soils as are well fitted for its growth ; such are peat-bogs,
and lands that are deep and moist.
5130. The downy oat grass, {Avena jnihescens, b), according to the Woburn ex-
periments, possesses several good qualities, which recommend it to particular notice ;
it is hardy, early, and more productive than many others which affect similar soils and
situations. Its growth after being cropped is tolerably rapid, although it does not attain
. to a great length if left growing ; like the poa pratensis it sends forth flower-stalks but
once in a season, and it appears well calculated for permanent pasture on rich light soils,
5131 . The annual meadoiv grass (Poa annua, c), is the most common of all grasses^
and the least absolute in its habits. It is almost the only grass that will grow in
towns and near works where the smoke of coal abounds. Though an annual grass, it
is found in most meadows and pastures perpetually flowering, and affording an early
sweet herbage, relished by all stock, and of as great importance to birds as wheat is tO'
man. It hardly requires to be sown, as it springs up every where of itself. However^
it may not be amiss to sow a few pounds of it per acre wherever perpetual pasture (not
hay) is the object.
5132. The fine bent grass (Agrostis vulgaris, d), is one of the most common'
grasses, and according to the Woburn experiments, one of the earliest. The A. palus-
tris is nearly as early in producing its foliage, though both flower late, and neither are
very prolilic either in bulk or nutritive matter.
5133. The narrow-leaved meadow g7'ass (Poa angustifolia, e), though it flowers'
exp, yet is remarkable for the early growth of the leaves. According to the Woburn'
experiments the leaves attain to the length of more than twelve inches before the middle'
of April, and are soft and succulent; in May, however, when the flower- stalks make
their appearance, it is subject to the disease termed rust, which affects the whole plant ;
the consequence of whicli is nianifl'st in the great deficiency of produce in the ciop at
the time the seed is ripe, being one half less than at the time of the flowering of the
Book VI.
PASTURE GRASSES.
825
Avena flavescens.
Hordeum pratense.
Cynosurus cristatus.
Fesluca duriuscula.
Trifolium repens.
Lathyrus pratensis.
Festuca duriuscula.
grass. Though this disease begins in the straws, the leaves suffer most from its effects,
being at the time the seed is ripe completely dried up : the straws, therefore, constitute
the principal part of the crop for mowing, and they contain more nutritive matter in
proportion than the leaves. This grass is evidently most valuable for permanent pasture^
for which, in consequence of its superior, rapid, and early growth, and the disease
beginning at the straws, nature seems to have designed it. The grasses which approach
nearest to this in respect of early produce of leaves, are the poa fertilis, dactylis glome-
rata, phleum pratense, alopecurus pratensis, avena elatior, and bromus littoreus, all
grasses of a coarser kind.
5 1 34. The best natural pastures of England y examined carefully during various periods
of the season, were found by Sinclair, of Woburn, to consist of the following plants : —
Alopecurus pratensis. Anthoxanthum odoratum. Bromus arvensis (frequent.)
Dactylis glonierata. Holcus avenacetis. Poa annua.
Festuca pratensis. Vicia sepium. Avena pratensis.
Phleum pratense. Lolium perenne.
These afford the principal grass in the spring, and also a great part of the summer produce.
Poa trivialis.
Poa pratensis.
Holcus lanatus.
Trifolium pratenss.
i These yield produce principally in summer and autumn.
Achillea millefolium. Agrostis stolonifera and palustris. Triticum repens. 'Z
These vegetate with most vigor in autumn.
Ranunculus acris. Plantago lanceolata. Rumere iicetosa.
The first and last of these plants are to be considered as injurious ; and the other is of little value as
herbage. {Hort. Gram. Wob. 2d edit. 133.)
5135. The above mixture sown at the rate of four or five bushels to the acre, on well
prepared soil without corn or other crop of any kind, could hatdly fail of producing
excellent pasture the following year, and for an endless period. The best time for
sowing is July or August, as spring sown seeds are apt to suffer with the droughts of
June and July. Fifteen of the above sorts are to be had from the seed shops ; and all
of them may be gathered from natural pastures, or bespoke from collectors. , Sinclair,
of Woburn, having entered into the seed and nursery business, and having expressed his
intention to devote his particular attention to supplying the public with grass and other
agricultural seeds, will probably render such seeds more common in commerce. (Advt.
by Cormack, Son and Sinclair.)
5136. Of late pasture grasses the different species of cat's-tail (Phleum), and bent-
grass (Agrostis), are the chief, and especially the Timothy and fiorin-grass. The grasses.
Sir H. Davy observes, that propagate themselves by stolones, the different species of
agrostis, supply pasture throughout the year ; and the concrete sap, stored up in their
joints, renders them a good food even in winter.
5137. Of pasture grasses for inferior soils one of the most durable is the dogVtail grass
^Cynosurus cristatus, ^fig. 584 a). This is a very common grass on dry, clayey, or firm
surfaces. It is one of the best grasses for parks, being highly relished by the South Down
sheep and deer.
5138. The hard fescue grass (Festuca duriuscula, b), is one of the best of the dwarf
sorts of grasses. It is grateful to all kinds of cattle; hares are very fond of it; at
Woburn they crop it close to the roots, and neglect the festuca ovina, and festuca rubra,
which grow contiguous to it. It is present in most good meadows and pastures, and with
F. ovina is the best for lawns.
5139. The fesluca glabra (c), and hordiforinis (d), greatly resemble the hard fescue,
and may be considered ascqually desirable as pasture and lawn grasses.
5 140. The yclloiv oat grass (Avena Jlavcscens), is very generally cultivated, and appears,
from the Woburn experiments, to be a veiy valuable grass for pasture on a clayey soil.
826
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
5141. Of pasture grasses for inferior soils and upland situations, one of the principal
is the festuca ovina, ^ * ^
or sheep's fescue
grass (Jig. 585 a)
This grass is pecu-
liarly adapted for
hilly sheep pastures.
It is a very dwarf
grass, but relished
by all kinds of cat-
tle. According to
Sinclair's experi-
ence, " on dry soils;
that are incapable
of producing the
larger sorts, this
should form the
principal crop, or rather the whole ; for it is seldom or ever, in its natural state, found
intimately mixed with others, but by itself.
5142. The Poa alpina {b), Alopecurus alpinus, and Aira ccespitosa (c), Briza media
(rf), and minima, and Agrustis Iiv7nilis and vulgaris, are all dwarf mountain grasses,
well adapted for hilly parks or lawns.
5143. On the ctUture of these grasses it is unnecessary to enlarge, as it must obviously be the same a»
that of rye-grass or any of the others. The chief difficulty is to get the seed in sufficient quantity, for
which a good mode is to contract with a seedsman for the quantity wanted a year before hand. With aH
the pasture grasses, excepting the last class, we should recommend at least half the seed used to be that
of the perennial rye-grass ; and we think it should also form a considerable part of the seeds used in laying
down all meadows, excepting those for the aquatic or stoloniferous grasses. These, if they thrive, are
sure to choak and destroy it, and therefore neither rye-grass, or any other grass, should ever be sown with
Timothy grass or fiorin.
5144. The formation of grass?/ surfaces hy distributing pieces of turf over them, has long
been practised in gardening, in levelling down raised, or filling up hollow fences, and in
other cases of partially altering a grassy surface ; it is said to have been first used in
agriculture by Whitworth, of Acre-house, Lincolnshire, and in 1812 it was brought
forward on a large scale by John Blomtield, of Warhara, in Norfolk, a tenant of Coke's.
Blomfield planted eleven acres in this way. An account of the process, which is styled
transplanting turf, or inoculating land with grass, has been published by Francis Blaikie,
Coke's steward. (On the Conversion of Arable Land into Pasture, 12mo. 1817.)
5145. An abstract of the process of transplanting turf, and an ofnnion on it, are thus given in The Code o
Agriculture. A piece of good, clean, sweet old turf, which ought principally to consist of fibrous rooted
plants, is cut into small pieces of about three inches square, and placed about six inches apart on the
surface of ground pressed for that purpose. In this way one acre of turf will plant nine acres of arable land.
The pieces of flag should be carefully placed with the grass side uppermost, and the plants pressed well into
the ground. No more turf should be cut, carried, and spread in any one day than is likely to be planted
before night. If the transplanted turf is found deficiept in any particular species of favorite plants, a»
white clover, permanent red clover, &c. the seeds of those plants should be sown upon the young pasture
in April. When the ground is in proper temper (between wet and dry) the pasture should be frequently
well pressed down by heavy rollers, which will cause the plants to extend themselves along the ground
rather than rise into tufts, which otherwise they would be apt to do. No stock should be permitted to
feed upon the transplanted pasture in the first spring or summer, nor until the grasses have perfected and
shed their seeds. Indeed the pasturing should be very moderate until the mother grass-plants and their
young progeny have united and formed a compact turf. The expense of this operation is about 2/. 10*.
per statute acre ; without making any allowance for the charges incurred by summer fallowing the arable
land on which the turf has been transplanted ; nor for the year's rent, poor's rates, and taxes for that
year ; nor for restoring the land whence the turf plants were taken, to its previous state. This plan seems
to be \vell calculated to promote the improvement of light soils, not naturally of a grassy nature, for the
grasses and their roots being once formed on a rich soil, will probably thrive afterwards even on a poor
one, as they will derive a considerable proportion of their nourishment from the atmosphere. For light
and gravelly soils, therefore, where permanent pasture is desirable, the plan cannot be too strongly re-
dommended ; and if it were found to answer on peat, after the surface was pared for the reception of
the plants, and burnt to promote their growth, it would be a most valuable acquisition to sheep farmers
in many districts of the country. Thus far Sir John Sinclair, but from facts related by Sinclair of
Woburn, it appears to be a plan of little or no merit, only brought into notice by its novelty. {^H. G.
Wob. 2d edit. 420, 421.)
Sect. III. General View of the Produce, Uses, Character, and Value of the princijml
British Grasses, according to the result of John Duke of Bedford's Exjyenments at Woburn.
5146. In all permanent ])astures, Sir H. Davy observes, nature has provided a mixture
of Various grasses, the produce of which differs at different seasons. Where pastures
are to be made artificially, such a mixture ought to be imitated ; and, perhaps, pastures
superior to the natural ones may be made by selecting due proportions of those species
of grasses fitted for the soil, which afford respectively the greatest quantities of spring,
summer, lattermath, and winter produce ; a reference to the results of the Woburn
experiments, he adds, will show that such a plan of cultivation is very practicable.
5147. The manner in which these experiments were conducted is thus described. " Spots of ground, each
containing four square feet, in the garden at Woburn Abbey, were enclosed by boards in such a manner
that there was no lateral communicaiion between the earth included by the boards, and that of the gar-
den. The soil was removed in these enclosurcB, and new soils supplied j or mixtures of soils were made
Book VI. PASTURE GRASSES. 837
in them, to furnish as far as possible to the different grasses those soils which seem most favorable to their
growth ; a few varieties being adopted for the purpose of ascertaining the effect of different soils on the
same plant. The grasses were either planted or sown, and their produce cut and collected, and dried at
the proper seasons, in summer and autumn, by Sinclair, his Grace's gardener. For the purpose of deter-
mining) as far as possible, the nutritive powers of the different species, equal weights of the dry grasses
or vegetable substances were acted upon by hot water till all their soluble parts were dissolved ; the solu-
tion was then evaporated to dryness by a gentle heat in a proper stove, and the matter obtained carefully
weighed. This part of the process was likewise conducted with much address and intelligence by Sinclair,
by whom all the following details and calculations are furnished. The dry extracts supposed to contain
the nutritive matter of the grasses, were sent to me for chemical examination. The composition of some
of them is stated minutely; but it will be found from the general conclusions, that the mode of deter-
mining the nutritive power of the grasses, by the quantity of matter they contain soluble in water, is
sufficiently accurate for all the purposes of agricultural investigation." {Agr. Chem. app.)
5148. The leading results of these experiments we have endeavored to present in a tabular view; farther
details will be found in the paragraphs (antecedent and posterior) referred to in the first column. On the
other columns of the table, it may be observed, that the height is given more by a guess than measure-
ment, and after the appearance of the plants in a state of nature or medium sous, it is to be regretted,
that the height of the plants at Woburn, were not included in the published details. The time of flower-
ing is given, as it took place at Woburn, on which it is observed, that " to decide positively the exact
period or season, when a grass always comes into flower, and perfects its seed, will be found impracticable ;
for a variety of circumstances interfere. Each species seems to possess a peculiar life in which various
periods may be distinctly marked, according to tha. varieties of its age, of the seasons, soils, exposures, and
mode of culture."
5149. The soils, as denominated in the column devoted to them, are thus described. 1st, By loam, is
meant any of the earths combined with decayed animal, or vegetable matter, 2nd, Clayey loam, when the
greatest proportion is clay, 3d, Sandy loam, when the greatest proportion is sand. 4th, Brown loam,
when the greatest proportion consists of decayed vegetable matter. 5th, Rich black loam, when sand, clay,
animal, and vegetable matters are combined in unequal proportions, the clay greatly divided, being in the
least proportion, and the sand and vegetable matter in the greatest. The terms light sandy soil, light
brown loam, &c. are varieties of the above, as expressed. The abbreviations of the names of books and
native soils, wiU be found in common with all the other abbreviations used in this work explained in the
General Index,
5150. On the nutritive products^ Sir H. Davy has the following valuable remarks, some
of which on the operations in the animal economy of the different substances, composing
the nutritive matter, the agriculturist will find useful, as applied to the tables before given
(4598. 4738, &c.) of the nutritive products of the corns, legumes, and rootg. The only
substances which Sir H. Davy detected in the soluble matters procured from the grasses,
are mucilage, sugar, bitter extract, a substance analogous to albumen, and different sa^-
line matters. Some of the products from the aftermath crops, gave feeble indications
of the tanning principle. In the experiments made on the quantity of nutritive matter
in the grasses, cut at the time the seed was ripe, the seeds were always separated : and
the calculations of nutritive matter made from grass and not hay.
5151. The order in which these substances are nutritive, is thus given : " Jhe albumen, sugar, and mu-
cilage, probably when cattle feed on grass or hay, are for the most part retained in the body of the animal ;
and the bitter principle, extract, saline matter, and tanning, when any exist, probably for the most part
are voided in the excrement, with the woody fibre. The extractive matter obtained by boiling the fresh
dung of cows, is extremely similar in chemical characters to that existing in the soluble products from the
grasses. And some extract, obtained by Sinclair from the dung of sheep and of deer, which had been
feeding upon the lolium perenne, dactylis glomerata, and trifolium repens, had qualities so analogous to
those of the extractive matters obtained from the leaves of the grasses, that they might be mistaken for
each other. The extract of the dung, after being kept for some weeks, had still the odor of hay. Sus-
pecting that some undigested grass might have remained in the dung, which might have furnished
mucilage and sugar, as well as bitter extract, I examined the soluble matter very carefully for these sub-
stances. It did not yield an atom of sugar, and scarcely a sensible quantity of mucilage." Sinclair, in com-
paring the quantities of soluble matter afforded by the mixed leaves of the lolium perenne, dactylis
glomerata, and trifolium repens, and that obtained trom the dung of cattle fed upon them, found their
relative proportions, as 50 to 13.
5152. From these facts it appears probable that the bitter extract, though soluble in a large quantity
of water, is very little nutritive; but probably it serves the purpose of preventing, to a certain extent, the
fermentation of the other vegetable matters, or in modifying or assisting the function of digestion, and
may thus be of considerable use in forming a constituent part of the food of animals, A small quantity of
bitter extract and saline matter is probably all that is needed, and beyond this quantity the soluble mat-
ters must be more nutritive in proportion as they contain more albumen, sugar, and mucilage ; and less nu-
tritive in proportion as they contain other substances.
5153. In cmnparing the cotnposition of the soluble products afforded by different crops from the same"
grass. Sir H. Davy found, in all the trials, the largest quantity of truly nutritive matter, in the crop cut when
the seed was ripe, and least bitter extract and saline matter ; most extract and saline matter in the autum-
nal crop ; and most saccharine matter in proi)ortion to the other ingredients, in the crop cut at the time of
flowering,
5154. The greater proportion qf leaves in the Spring, and particularly in the late autumnal crop, accounts
for the difference in the quantity of extract; and the inferiority of the comparative quantity of sugar in
the summer crop, probably depends upon the agency of light, which tends always in i)Iants to convert sac-
charine matter into mucilage or starch. Amongst the soluble matters afforded by the different grasses,
that of the elymus arenarius {fig. 543 a.) was remarkable for the quantity of saccharine matter it contain-
ed, amounting to more than one-third of its weight. The soluble matters from the different species of
festuca, in general afforded more bitter extractive :matter, than those from the different species of poa.
The nutritive matter from the seed crop of the poa compressa was almost pure mucilage. The soluble
matter of the seed crop of phleum pratense, or meadow cat's-tail, atlQ^rded more sugar than any of the
poa or festuca species. The soluble parts of the seed crop of the holcus mollis, and holcus lanatus, con-
tained no bitter extract, and consisted entirely of nmcilage and sugar. Those of the holcus odoratus
afforded bitter extract, and a peculiar substance having an acrid taste, more soluble in alcohol than in
water. All the soluble extracts of those grasses, that are most liked by cattle, have either a saline or
subacid taste; that of the holcus lanatus is similar in taste to gum arabic. Probably the holcus lanatus,
which is so common a grass in meadows, might be made palatable to cattle by being sprinkled over with
salt.
5155. No difference was found in the nutritive produce of the crops of the different grasses cut at the same
season, which would render it possible to establish a scale of their nutritive powers ; but probably the solu-
ble matters of the aftermath crop are always ffom one-sixth to one-third less nutritive, than those from
the flower or seed crop. In the aftermath the extractive and saline matters are certainly usually in ex-
cess ; but the aftermath hay mixed with summer hay, particularly that in which the fox-tail and soft
Brasses are abundant, would produce an excellent food. ..
^28
PRACtlCE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
5156.
Ta
hie oft]
e Grasses experimented on at
t
Systematic Name and
Authority.
English Name and Native
Country.
Where
figured or
described.
Natural
!l
1
Time of
flowering
Wobum.
Time of
ri]>eiiing
the Seed
at
Wobum.
Soil at Wobum.
Natural Soil and
Situation as in
Smith's Flora
Brit,
5157.
Anthoxanthum odora- \
Sweet-scented vernal 1
grass, Brit. J
E,B.647
Peren.
12
April 29.
June 21.
Brown sandy loam
Meadows 1
5158
Holcus odoratus, Host.l
0. A. 1
Sweet-scented soft grass, 1
Ger. J
Host.N.A.
Peren.
14
April 29.
June 25,
Rich sandy loam
Woods,moist miia.
5159.
Cynosurusceeruleus, E.b.
Blue moor grass, Brit.
E.B. 1613
.
20
April 30.
June 20,
Light sandy soil
Pastures
5142.
f Alopecurus alpin. E. B.
iPoaalpina, E. B.
Alpine foxtail grass, Scot.
K.B.1126
Peren.
6
May 20.
June 24.
Sandy loam
Alpine meadow grass,Scot.
E.B. 1003
Peren.
6
May 50,
Jmie 30.
Light sandy loam
Scotch Alps
5109.
Alopecurus pratensis, E.B.
Meadow foxtail grass, Brit.
E. B. 848
Peren.
24
May 30.
June 24.
f Clayey loam
L Sandy loam
Meadows
5111.
Poa pratensis, E. B. |
Smooth-stalked meadow 1
grass, Brit.
E.B. 1073
Peren.
18 1 May 30.
July 14.
Bog earth and clay
Mead. & pastures
5161.
Poa ceerulea, var. praO
tensis, E. B- J
Short blueish meadow"
grass, Brit.
E.B. 1004
Peren.
14
May 30.
July 14.
Bog earth and clay
Meadows
5160.
Avana pubescens, E. B.
Downy oat grass, Brit.
Barley -like fescue grass,"}
Hungary J
—
Peren.
18
June 13.
Julys.
Rich ^dy soil
Chalky pastures
6162.
f Festuca hordiformis or 1
iPoa hordiformis, H.C.J
-
Peren.
18
June 13.
July 10.
Manured sandy soil
Cornfields ,
5113.
Poa trivialis, E. B.
Roughish mead. gr. Brit.
E.B. 1072
.
20
June 13.
July 10.
Man. lipht br, loam
Brown loam
Meadows
5163.
Festuca glauca, Curtis
Glaucous fescue gr. Brit.
—
Peren.
12
June 13.
July 10.
Chalky pastures
5164.
Festuca glabra. Wither.
Smooth fescue gr. Scot.
—
Peren.
9
June 16.
July 10.
Clayey loam
Mountains
5165.
Festuca rubra. Wither.
Purple fescue grass, Brit.
—
Peren.
12
June 20.
July 10.
Light sandy soU
Mead. & pastures.
5166.
Festuca ovina, E.B.
Sheep's fescue gr. Brit.
E. B. 585.
Peren.
6
June 24.
July 10.
Dry pastures
Briza media, E. B.
Common quaking gr. Brit.
E.B. 340.
Peren.
16
June 24.
July 10.
Rich brown loam
Pastures
5100.
Dacljlis glomerata, E.B.j
Rough-head, cock's-footl
grass, Brit. J
E.B.335.
Peren.
24
June 24.
July 14,
Rich sandy loam
Soft moist soils
Bromus tectorum. Host.!
G. A. J
NoddinguencUtedbromel
grass, Eur. j
-
Annual
12
June 24.
July 16,
Light sandy sou
Hedges
5167.
Festuca cambrica, Huds.
Cambridge fescue gr. Brit,
Annual
14
June 28.
July 16.
Light sandy soil
Drv pastures ■
5168.
Bromus diandrus, E. B.
Ujiright brome grass, Brit.
Narrow-lea. mea. gr. Brit.
E.B. 1006
Annual
18
Jime 28.
July 16.
Rich brown loam
Com fields
5169.
Poa angustifolia, With.
—
Peren.
24
June 28.
July 16,
Brown loam
Meadows _
5170.
'Avena elatior, CurtisT
- Holcus avenaceus,Wil.>
en \
Tall oat grass or \
Itnot grass, Brit. J
E.B. 813
Peren.
50
June 28.
July 16.
-
Arable lands
5171.
'Poa elatior, Curtis 1
\_Avena elatior, var.
Tall meadow grass, Scot.
-
Peren.
30
June 28.
July 16.
Rich clay loam
Meadows
5172,
!• estuca duriuscula, E. B.
Hard fescue grass, Brit.
E. B. 470
Peren.
12
July 1.
July 20,
Light sandy loam
Pastures '
Bromus erectus, E. B-
Upright peren. br. gr. Brit.
E.B. 471
Peren.
36
—
Rich sandy soil
Light sandy soil
Chalky pastures
5173.
Milium etfusum, E. B.
Common millet grass, Brit.
E.B. 1106
Peren.
40
.July 1.
July'20,
Wocd^"^
5106.
Festuca pratensLs, E. B.
Meadow fescue grass, Brit.
E. B. 1592
E. B. 315
Peren.
30
July 1.
July 20.
Bog soil & coal ashes
Meadows
5095.
Ixilium perenne, E. B.
Perennial rye grass, Brit.
Peren.
24
July 1.
July 20.
Rich brown loam
Loamy pastures
5174.
Poa maritima, E. B.
Sea meadow grass, Brit.
E.B. 1140
Peren.
12
Light brown loam
Salt marshes
5177.
Festuca loliacea, E.B.
Spiked fescue grass, Brit.
Creste<l hair grass, Brit.
E. B. 1821
Peren.
36
July 1.
July 28.
Rich brown loam
Moist pastures
Aira cristata, E. B.
E.B. 648
Peren.
9
July 4.
July 28.
Sandy loam
Sandy pastures
5137.
Cynosurus cristatus, E. B.
Crested dog's-tail gr. Brit.
E. B. 316
Peren.
24
July 6.
July 28.
Manured br. loam [^
Pastures
5175.
Avena pratensis, E.B.
Meadow oat grass, Brit.
E.B. 1204
Peren.
24
July 6.
July 20.
Rich sandy loam
Pastures
5176.
Bromus multinorus, E.B<
Many fl. g. brome gr. Brit.
E. B. 1884
Annual
24
July 6.
July 28,
Clayey loam
Poor past., hedgwi
5179.
Festuca myurus, E.B.
Wall fescue grass, Brit.
E. B. 1412
Annual
9
July 6.
July 28.
Light sandy soil
Walls
Aira flexuosa, E. B.
Waved moun. hair gr. Brit.
E.B. 1519
Peren.
9
July 6.
July 28.
Heath soil
Dry soiU & heaths
Hordeum bulbosum, 1
Hort. K. S
Festuca calamaria, E. B.
Bulbous barley gr. Italy
—
Peren.
24
July 10.
July 28.
Man. clayey laam
Loamy pastures
5180.
Reed-like fescue gr. Brit.
E.B. 1005
Peren.
40
July 10.
July 28.
Clayey loam
Hedges
5181.
Bromus llttoreus, Host.l
G.A. i
Festuca elatior, E.B.
Seaside brome grass, Ger.
—
Peren.
20
July 12.
Aug. 6.
Clayey loam
Sea shores
5107.
Tall fescue grass, Brit.
E. B. 1593
Peren.
36
July 12.
Aug. 6,
Black rich loam
Meadows
5117.
Festuca fluitans, E. B.
Floating fesCue grass.Brit.
E.B. 1520
Peren.
18
July 14.
Aug. 12.
Str. tenacious clay
Ponds
5102.
Holcus lanatus, W.
Meadow soft grass, Brit.
E.B. 1169
Peren.
24
July 14.
July 26.
Iffi^Ti^aT
Moist meadows
Festuca dumetorum, W.
Pubescent fescue gr. Brit.
H. D. 700
Peren.
12
July 14.
July 20.
Woods
5183.
Poa fertilis. Host. G. A.
Fertile mead, grass, Ger.
Peren.
20
July 14.
July <^8.
Clayey loam
Meadows
5184.
Arundo colorata, Hort. K.
Striped-lea. reed gr. Brit.
Bulbous-stalkedcat's tail 1
grass, Brit. J
E.B. 402
Peren.
40
July 16.
July 28.
Black sandy loam
Moist loams
5190.
Phleum nodosum, With. 1
Phleum pratense. With.
—
Peren,
18
July 16,
July 3a
Clayey loam
Dry pastures
5116.
Meadow cat's tail gr. Brit.
Peren
24
July 16.
July 30.
Clayey loam
Mead. & pastures
5185.
Hordeum pratense, E.B.
Meadow barley grass, Brit.
:E.B.409
Peren.
24
July 20.
Aug. 8.
Man. brown loam
Meadows
Poa<:ompressa, E. B.
Flat-stalked mea, gr. Brit.
E. B. 365
Annual
12
July 20.
Aug. 8.
Man. gravelly soil
Walls
5118.
Poaaquatica, E.B.
Reed meadow grass, Brit.
E. B. 1315
Peren.
72
July 20.
Aug. 8.
Str. tenacious clay
Ditches
Aira aquitica, E.B.
Water hair gra.ss, Brit.
E. B. 1557
Peren.
9
Water
5142.
Aira caespitosa, E.B.
Turfy hairgras-, Brit.
E<B. 1453
Peren.
9
July 24.
Aug. 10,
Str. tenacious clay
Clayey pastures
5186.
Avena ilavescens, E.B.
Bromus sterilis, E.B.
Yellow oat grass, Brit.
E.B. 952
Peren.
18
July 24.
Aug. 15.
Clayey loam
Pastures
5187.
Barren brome grass, Brit.
E.B. 1050
Annual
24
July 24.
Aug. 20.
Sandy soil
Rubbish
5188.
Holdus mollis, Curtis
Creeping soft grass, Brit.
—
Peren.
30
July 24.
Aug. 20.
Sandy soil
Sandy pastures
5189.
Poa fertilis, var. B Host. "J
G.A. j
Agrostis vulgaris, E. B.
Fertile meadow gr. Ger.
—
Peren.
24
—
—
Brown sandy loam
Meadows
5191.
Fine bent grass, Brit.
E.B. 1671
Peren.
18
July 24.
Aug. 20.
Sandy soil
Mead. & pastures
Marshy jilaces
Agrostis palustris, E. B.
Marsh bent gi-ass, Brit.
E.B. 1189
Peren.
20
July 28.
Aug. 28.
Bog earth
Panicum dactylon, E. B.
Creeping i)anic grass, Brit.
Florin of Dr. Richardson, 1
Brit.
Narrrow-leaved, creep- '
Ing bent, Brit.
Spiked fescue, Brit.
Brown bent,- Brit.
E. B. 850
24
July 2S.
Aug. 28.
Man. sandy loam
Arable lands
5119.
Agrbstis stolonifera, E. B
E.B. 1532
Peren.
24
July 28.
Aug. 28.
Bog soil
Moist places
5120.
Agrostis stolonif var ")
arigustif. j
_
Peren.
24
July 28.
Aug. 28.
Bog soil
Moist places
festuca pennata
E.B. 730
_
24
July 28.
Aug. 30.
Man. light san. soli
Meadows
("Agrostis canina, E. B.
E.B. 1856
Peren.
9
July 28.
Aug. 28.
Brown sandy loam
Clayey pastures
\ Agrostis stricta, Curtis
Upright bent grass, Brtt.
9
July 28.
Aug. .50.
Bog sou
Clayey pastures
5191.
V Agrostis nivea
Snowy bMit grass, Brit.
9
Aug. 10.
Aug. 30.
Sandy soil
Clayey pastures
/ Agrostis fascicularis, \
(_ var. canina, Curtis J
Tufted-lea. bent gr. Brit.
_
.
9
Aug. 10,
Aug. 30.
Liglit sandy soil
Clayey pastures
Panicum viride, Curtis
Green panic grass,>Brit.
Lobed bent grass, Brit.
E. B. 875
Annual
36
Aug. 2.
Aug. 15.
Light sandy sou
Sandy
Agrostis lobata, Curtis
—
20
Aug. 6.
Aug. 20.
Sandy soil
Sandy pastures
5120.
Agrostis repens. With. ■
Black or creeping rooted ")
bent, bl. couch, Brit. J
-
Peren.
26
Aug. 8.
Aug. 25.
Clayey loam
Arable lands
Triticum repens, E. B.
Creephig rooted wheat 1
gr. or couch gr. Brit, j
E.B. 848
Peren.
30
Aug. 10.
Aug. 30.
liight clayey loam
Arable lands
Alopecnnis agrestis
Slender foxtail grass, Brit.
E.B. 1172
Annual
8
Aug. 10.
Sept. 8.
Light sandy loam
Road sides
Bromus asper, E. B.
Hairy stalked br. gr. Brit.
Mexican bent gr. S. Amer.
E. B. 1310
Annual
48
Aug. 10.
Sept. 10,
Li-ht sandy .soil
Black sandy soil
Moist san. places
A. mexicana, Hort. K.
K. B. 1556
Peren.
24
Aug. 15.
Sept. 25.
Rich pa,stures
Stipa pennata, E.B.
Long awned fea. gr. Brit.
E. B. 909
Peren.
20
Aug. 15.
Sept, 25.
Heath soil
Peat bogs
Meliacffirulea, Curtis
Purjile melic grass, Brit.
Peren.
20
Aug. 29.
Sept. .50.
Liglit sandy soil
Sandy pastures
I'halarls canariensis, E. B,
Com. Canary grass, Brit.
E. 8^760
Annual
26
Aug. .50.
Sept. 30.
Clayey loaiii
(\iltivated fields
Dactylis cynosuroidus, \
Lift. i
Amtr. cock's f.tot.gr. N. A .
-
21
Aug. .50.
Oct. 20.
Clayey '-^am
Loamy nastvires
Book VI.
WOBURN GRASSES.
829
JFubum, arranged in the Order of their Flowering.
it
11
fi
Kind of
Itoots.
Produce, at the Time ot
flowering, per Acre in lbs.
Produce, when the Seed i,-
, ripe, per Acre in lbs.
Loss or
Gain by
Cutting,
when in
Flower, in
Nutritive
Matter,
in lbs.
LosKor
Gain by
Cutting,
when in
Seed, in
Nutritive
Matter,
in lbs.
Produce ol
the Latter,
math, per
Acre, in lbs.
General Character:
Grass.
Hay.
II
II
Grass.
Hay.
is
M
311
188
i
0
J
188
0
11
3828
5157.
Fibrous
7827
2103
5723
12ii
6125
1837
4287
6806
An early pasture grass.
'j158.
-
9528
2441
7087
61G
27225
9528
17696
2233
1600
-
-
160(,
17015
1129
The most nutritive of early flow. gr.
5159.
5142.
5109.
Fibrous
fFibr.
iPibr.
Creep. |
5445
5445
20418
8507
14*52
6125
2552
3993
14293
127
478
13i
6806
12931
5819
7111
398
4*61
1
8167
255
.\ot deserving culture
Not worth culture.
A good grass for lawns,
j One of the best meadow grasses.
5111.
Creepinj.'
10209
2871
7337
279
8507
3403
5104
199
79
79
4083
111
Good early hay grass.
■ilGl.
Creeping
7486
2246
5240
233
».
ilGO.
51G2.
Fibrous
15654
13672
5870
4083
9783
9528
366
478
6806
1361
5445
212
154
154
•
6806
21i
A good pasture grass on a rich soiL
■.US.
.11G3.
51G4.
5165.
5166.
Fibrous
Fibrous
Fibrous
Fibrous
Fibrous
Fibrous
7486
9528
14293
10209
9528
2246
4811
5717
3557
3096
5240
5717
8576
6651
6431
23.''<
446
44C
239
40<J
7827
9528
9528
10890
5445
9528
3522
3811
3811
4900
3335
4304
5717
6717
5989
6183
336
225
18L
340
127
483
102
260
101
74
260
260
lOi
1*01
74
4764
6125
3403
3403
8167
223 A most valuable gr. in moist rich soils.
. A good hay grass.
47 A tolerably good pasture grass.
79 Good lawn grass.
66 Good lawn grass.
255
5100.
Fibrous
Fibrous
27905
7486
11859
3930
16045
5556
1089
35G
26544
13272
13272
1451
362
362
36i
11910
281
A most productive grass, but coarse.
Of Uttle value.
5167.
516S.
1169.
Fibrous
Fibrous
Fibrous
6806
20418
18376
2892
8677
7810
3913
11740
10566
239
957
1430
9528
3811
5717
701
649
649
■
.
A good lawn grass.
Excellent hay grass.
5170.
Creep. '
&Knot
-
-
16335
5717
10617
255
13612
265
A vile weed in arable lands.
5171.
Creep. '
&Knotl
12251
4287
3617
660
■
-
-
••
X vile weed in arable lands.
5172.
5173.
5106.
0(J95.
5174.
5177.
5137.
5175.
5176.
5179.
Fibrous
Fibrous
Creeping
Fibrous
z
Fibrous
Fibrous
Fibrous
Fibrous:
Fibrous
18376
12931
12251
13612
7827
12251
163.35
10890
6125
6806
22460
9528
8167
8269
5819
4747
64G5
3322
4900
7146
4900
1837
1871
12353
2858
3164
10106
7112
7504
7146
4494
7350
9188
5989
4287
4934
10107
6670
5002
1004
55.5
334
957
30.5
861
765
340
406
23f,
17154
223
191
19075
19057
14973
10890
12251
9528
8575
."
7623
4492
4492
4900
2858
10481
:
11434
10481
-
6397
7350
6670
44 C
4*41
645
553
478
148
3*37
'71
658
610
2*12
558
5*10
2*12
337
10209
3403
12251
5403
19C
5"
A good grass for hay or pasture.
Not worth culture.
Of little value.
Excellent early hay grass.
A well known & eenerallv i>«f(x>m<vi <n.
191
66
One of the most valu. gr. for ha? & past.
A good lawn grass.
A good lawn grass.
Unfit for culture,
A very inferior grass-
Fit for lawns.
—
23821
9826
13994
130i
-
.
-
-
Of little use.
5180.
—
54450
19057
35392
3828
51046
12123 .^8293
239i
-
1435
1435
Early and prolific.
5181.
5107.
5117.
5102.
5183.
5184.
Cre^ing
Creeping
41518
51046
13612
19057
10890
14973
27225
21278
17866
4083
6661
5445
7861
12251
20540
33180
9528
12.395
.544,g-
7111
973
3988
37'.
1191
17(;
1052
1701
38115
51046
19057
15246
17866
3811
22869
33180
15246
2084
239V
818
1111
1595
3*72
1595
372
15654
978
Eariy.proUfic, and coarse.
An excellent meadow grass.
ia-rlTa^a-p^ffii^ve^-^^""^''-'-
An early grass.
Productive.
5190.
Creeping
12251
6819
6431
478
5116.
5185.
5118.
5142.
5186.
51S7.
,5188.
Creeping
Creeping
Fibrous
Creeping
40837
8167
3403
126596
10890
10209
8167
29947
.T4031
17355
3267
1446
75957
3267
3318
2858
16845
13612
23481
4900
1956
50638
7623
6891
5308
13102
20418
1595
478
2G6
4945
38V
31!.
47!^
2339
2392
10837
12251
21099
19307
4900
84*39
21439
73*50
12659
366,S
430
115-,
:
207.-
4;
1238
2073
"47
12*38
9528
4083
297
79
An excellent hav grass.
Early and nutritive.
Most prolific, but coarse.
An excellent lawn grass.
A valuable grass.
Of little value.
A valuable grass.
5189.
_
15654
6653
9000
733
14973
8235
6738
1169
436
-
-
43t
4764
111
A valuable grass .
5191.
Creeping
9528
10209
31308
4764
4594
14088
4764
5615
17219
9785
13612
5445
81*67
684
146
■
-
14(
•
-
An early grass.
Useful.'*
5119.
Creeping
17696
7742
9732
967
19057
8575
10481
1041;
74
-
-
Useful on bogs.
5120.
Creeping
16335
7350
8984
765
5191.
n
20418
6125
7486
2722
8167.12251
2688 3437
2713 4772
680 2011
39f-
231
175
85
4764
1310
3454
148
5445
6806
2178 1 .3267
3403 .3043
127
31P
-
•
-
-
-
■
-
-
-
Of no value.
5120.
Creeping
6125
2679 3445
287
-
-
-
-
-
-
.A vile weed on poor arable lands.
Creeping
12251
4900. 7.V>0
38'.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
A vile weed in arable lands.
Fibrous
Fibi^us
Fibrous
81G7
13612
19057
9528
7486
54450
3I64I 5(K)3
4083 9528
6670 12387
34541 6074
28071 4679
1 17697 .36752
22.'^
425
595
409
187(J
;
-_
\
-_
-
J
]
Unfit for culture.
Deserves trial.
.\ot worth culture.
V good lawn gra.ss.
;jrown for its seeds.
69123
•41654
27769
1S9S
•
83d PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
5157. Anthoxanthum otloratum, E. B. — The proportional value which the grass at the time of flowering
bears to that at the time the seed is ripe, is as 4 to 13. The proportional value which the grass of the
lattermath bears to that at the tiirie the seed is ripe, is nearly as 9 to 13.
5158. Holcus odoratus, Hors. G. A. — The proportional value which the grass at the time of flowering
bears to that at the time the seed is ripe, is as 17 to 21. The grass of the lattermath crop, and of the
crop at the time of flowering, taking the whole quantity, and their relative proportions of nutritive
matter, are in value nearly as 6 to 10 : the value of the grass at the time the seed is ripe, exceeds that
of the latter-math, in proportion as 21 to 17. Though this is one of the earliest of the flowering grasses,
it is tender, and the produce in the spring is inconsiderable. If, however, the quantity of nutritive
matter which it affords, be compared with that of any of those species which flower nearly at the same
time, it will be found greatly superior. It sends forth but a small number of flower-stalks, which are of
a slender structure compared to the size of the leaves. This will account in a great measure for the
equal quantities of nutritive matter afforded by the grass at the time of flowering, and the lattermath.
5159. Cynosurus ccsruleus, E. B. — The produce of this grass is greater than its appearance would
denote ; the leaves seldom attain to more than four or five inches in length, and the flower-stalks seldom
arise to more. Its growth is not rapid after being cropped, nor does it seem to withstand the effects of
frost, which if it happen to be severe and early in the spring, checks it so much as to prevent it from
flowering for that season ; otherwise the quantity of nutritive matter which the grass affbrds (for the
straws are very inconsiderable), would rank it as a valuable grass for permanent pasture.
5160. Avena puhescens, E. B. — The proportional value which the grass at the time of flowering bears
to that at the time the seed is ripe, is as 6 to 8. The proportional value which the grass at the time of
flowering bears to that of the lattermath, is as 6 to 8. The grass of the seed-crop, and that of the
lattermath, are of equal value. The downy hairs which cover the surface of the leaves of this grass,
when growing on poor light soils, almost entirely disappear when it is cultivated on a richer soil.
5161. Poa ccerulea, var. pratensis, E. B. — If the produce of this variety be compared with that of
poa pratensis, it will be found less ; nor does it seem to possess any superior excellence. The superior
nutritive power does not make up for the deficiency of produce by 80 lbs. of nutritive matter per acre.
5162. Festuca hordiformis, H. Cant. — This is rather an early grass, though later than any of the pre-
ceding species : its foliage is very fine, resembling the F. duriuscula, to which it seems nearly allied,
differing only in the length of the awns, and the glaucous color of the whole plant. The considerable
produce it affords, and the nutritive powers it appears to possess, joined to its early growth, are qualities
which strongly recommend it to further trial.
5163. Festuca glauca, Curtis. — The proportional value by which the grass at the time of flowering
exceeds that at the time the seed is ripe, is as 6 to 12 The proportional difference in the value of the
flowering and seed crops of this grass is directly the reverse of that of the preceding species, &nd affords
another strong proof of the value of the straws in grass which is intended for hay. The straws at the
time of flowering are of a very succulent nature ; but from that period till the seed be perfected, they
gradually become dry and wiry. Nor does the root-leaves sensibly increase in number or in size, but a
total suspension of increase appears in every part of the plant, the roots and seed vessels excepted. The
straws of the poa trivialis are, on the contrary, at the time of flowering, weak and tender ; but as they
advance towards the period of ripening the seed, they become firm and succulent j after that period,
however, they rapidly dry up, and appear little belter than a mere dead substance.
5164', Festuca glabra, Wither. B. — The proportional value which the grass at the time the seed is ripe
bears to that of the crop at the time of flowering is as 5 to 8. The proportional value which the grass of
the lattermath bears to that of the crop at the time of flowering, is as 2 to 8, and to that of the crop, at
the time the seed is ripe, is as 2 to 5. The general appearance of this grass is very similar to that of the
festuca duriuscula : it is, however, specifically different, and inferior in many respects, which will be
manifest on comparing their several produce with each other ; but if it be compared with some others,
now under general cultivation, the result is much in its favor, the soil which it affects being duly
attended to.
5165. Festuca rttbra. Wither. B. — The proportional value which the grass at the time of flowering
bears to that at the ti^e the seed is ripe, is as 6 to 8. This species is smaller in every respect than
the preceding. The leaves are seldom more than from three to four inches in length ; it affects a soil
similar to that favorable to the growth of the festuca ovina, for which it would be a profitable sub-
stitute, as will clearly appear on a comparison of their produce with each other. The proportional value
which the grass of the lattermath bears to that at the time the seed is ripe is as 6 to 8, and is of equal
value with the grass at the time of flowering.
5166. Festuca ovina, E. B. — The dry weight of this species was not ascertained, because the smallness
of the produce renders it entirely unfit for hay.
5167. Festuca cambrica. Hud. — This species is nearly allied to the festuca ovina, from which it differs
little, except that it is larger in" every respect. The produce, and the nutritive matter which it affords,
will be found superior to those given by the F. ovina, if they are brought into comparison.
5168. Bromus diandrus, Curt. Lond. — This species, like the festuca cambrica, is strictly annual ; the
above is therefore the produce for one year, which, if compared with that of the least productive of the
perennial grasses, will be found inferior, and it must consequently be regarded as unworthy erf culture.
5169. Poa angustifoHa, With. 2 — In the early growth of the leaves of this species of Poa, there is a
striking proof that early flowering in grasses is not always connected with the most abundant early pro-
duce of leaves. In this respect, all the species which have already come under examination are greatly
inferior to that now spoken of. The culms are most valuable for the manufacture of the finest straw
plait.
5170. Avena elatior. Curt. — This grass sends forth flower-straws during the whole season ; and the lat-
termath contains nearly an equal number with the flowering crop. It is subject to the rust, but the dis-
ease does not make its appearance till after the period of flowering ; it affects the whole plant, and at the
time the seed is ripe the leaves and straws are withered and dry. This accounts for the superior value
of the latteirmath over the seed crop, and points out the propriety of taking the crop when the grass is in
flower.
5171. Poa elatior, Curt. — The botanical characters of this grass are almost the same as those of the
avena elatior, differing in the want of the awns only. It has the essential character of the holci, (florets,
male and hermaphrodite ; calyx husks two-valved, with two florets) ; and since the avena elatior is now
referred to that genus, this may with certainty be considered a variety of it.
5172. Festuca duriuscula, E. B. — The proportional value which the grass at the time the seed is ripe,
bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 6 to 14 nearly. The proportional value which the grass of the
lattermath bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 5 to 14, and to that at the time the seed is ripe
5 to 6. The above particulars will confirm the favorable opinion which was given of this grass when
speaking of the F. hordiformis, and F. glabra. (5162. and 5164.) Its produce in the spring is not very
great, but of the finest quality, and at the time of flowering is considerable. If it be compared with those
affecting similar soils, such as poa pratensis, festuca ovina, &c, either considered as a grass for hay, or
permanent pasture, it will bo found of greater value.
5173. Milium ejff'usum — Th\s species in its natural state seems confined to woods as its place of growth ;
but the trial that is here mentioned, confirms the opinion that it will grow and thrive in open exposed
situations. It is remarkable for the lightness of the produce in proportion to its bulk. It produces foliage
early in the spring in coasiderable abundance ; but its nutritive powers appear comparatively little.
Book VI. WOBURN GRASSES. 831
5174. Poa maritima, E. B. — The proportional value which the grass of the lattermath bears to that at
the time of flowering, is as 4 to 18.
5175. Avena pratensis, E. B. — The proportional value which the crop, at the time the seed is ripe,
bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 4 to 9.
5176. Bromus multifioruSy'E. B. — This species is annual, and no valuable properties have as yet been
<Jiscovere(l in the .seed. It is only noticed on account of its being frequently found in poor grass lands,
and sometimes in meadows. It ap[)ears from the above particulars to possess nutritive powers equal to
some of the best perennial kinds, if taken when in flower ; but if left till the seed be ripe (which, from its
early growth, is frequently the case), the crop is comparatively of no value, the leaves and straws being then
completely dry.
5177. Festuca loliacca, Curt. Lond. — The proportional value which the grass at the t-ime of flowering
bears to that at the time the seed is ripe, is as 12 to 13 ; and the value of the lattermath stands
in proportion to that of the crop at the time of flowering, as 5 to 12, and to that of the crop taken
at the time the seed is ripe, as 5 to 13. This species of festuca greatly resembles the rye-grass, in
habit and place of growth ; it has excellencies which make it greatly superior to that grass, for the pur-
poses of either hay or permanent pasture. This species seems to improve in produce in proportion to its age,
which is directly the reverse of the lolium perenne.
5178. Poa cristata. Host. G. A. — The produce of this species, and the nutritive matter that it affords,
are equal to those of the festuca ovina at the time the seed is ripe : they equally delight in dry soils. The
greater bulk of grass in proportion to the weight, with the comparative coarseness of the foliage, render the
poa cristata inferior to the festuca ovina.
5179. Festuca myurus, E. B. — This species is strictly annual ; it is likewise subject to the rust ; and, the
produce being but little, it ranks as a very inferior grass.
5180. Festuca calamaria, E. B. — The proportional value which the grass at the time the seed is ripe,
bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 12 to 18. This grass, as has already been remarked, pro-
duces a fine early foliage in the spring. The produce is very great, and its nutritive powers are consider-
able. It appears, from the above particulars, to be best adapted for hay. A very singular disease attacks,
and sometimes nearly destroys the seed of this grass : the cause of this disease seems to be unknown ; it
is denominated clavus by some ; it appears by the seed swelling to three times its usual size in length and
thickness, and the want of thecarcle. Dr. Willdenow describes two distinct species of it: first the simple
clavus, which is mealy and of a dark color, without any smell or taste ; secondly, the malignant clavus,
which is violet blue, or blackish, and intwnally too has a blueish color, a fetid smell, and a sharp pungent
taste. Bread, made from grain aSected with this last species, is of a blueish color ; and when eaten pro-
duces cramps and giddiness.
5181. Bromus littoreus. Host. G. A. — Tlie proportional value which the grass at the time of flowering
bears to that at the time the seed is ripe, is as 6 to 14. This species greatly resembles the pre-
ceding in habit and manner of growth ; but is inferior to it in value, which is evident from the deficiency
of its produce, and of the nutritive matter afforded by it. The whole plant is likewise coarser, and of
greater bulk in proportion to its weight. The seed is a^ected with the same disease which destroys that
of the former species.
5182. Festuca fiuitans. Curt. Lond. — The above produce was taken from grass that had occupied the
ground for four years, during which time it had increased every year ; it appears, therefore, contrary to
what some have supposed, to be capable of being cultivated in perennial pastures,
5183. Poafertilis, Host. G. A. — If the nutritive powers and produce of this species be compared with
any other of the same family, or such as resemble it in habit and the soil which it affects, a superiority
will be found, which ranks this as one of the most valuable grasses ; next to the poa angustifolia, it pro-
duces the greatest abundance of early foliage, of the best quality, which fully compensates for the com-
parative lateness of flow£ring.
5184. Ariindo co/oiata, Hort. Kew. — The strong nutritive powers which this grass possesses, recom-
mend it to the notice of occupiers of strong clayey lands which cannot be drained. Its produce is great,
and the foliage will not be denominated coarse, if compared with those which afford a produce equal
in quantity.
5185. Hordeum pratense, E. B. — The specific characters of this species are much the same as those of
the poa fertilis, differing in the compressed figure of the straws and creeping root only. If the produce
was of magnitude, it would be one of the most valuable grasses j for it produces foliage early in the
spring, and possesses strong nutritive powers.
518(5. Auenajlavescens, Curt. Lond. — The proportional value which the grass at the time the seed is
ripe, bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 9 to 15. The proportional value which the grass
of the lattermath bears 'to that at the time of flowering, is as 5 to 15; and to that at the time the
seed is ripe, as 5 to 9.
5187. lironms sterUis, E. B.^ — Sixty-four dr. of the flowers afford of nutritive matter 2.2 dr. The nutri-
tive powers of the straws and leaves are, therefore, more than twice as great as those of the flowers. This
species, being strictly annual, is of comparatively little value. The above particulars show that it has
very considerable nutritive powers, more than its name would imply, if taken at the time of flowering j
but if left till the seed be ripe, it is, like all other annuals, comparatively of no value.
\ 5188. Holcus mollis. — ^\xty -four Ar. of the roots afiPbrd of nutritive" matter 5,2 dr The proportional
value which the grass at the time the seed is ripe, bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 14 to
18. The above details prove this grass to have merits, which, if compared with those ot other
species, rank it with some of the best grasses. The small loss of weight which it sustains in drying might
be expected from the nature of the substance of the grass ; and the lo.ss of weight at each period is equal.
The grass aflfbrds the greatest quantity of nutritive matter when in flower, which makes it rank as one of
those best adapted for hay.
5189. Poafertilis, var./3. Host. G. A. — The proportional value which the grass at the time of flowering
bears to that at the time the seed is ripe, is as 12 to 20. The proportional value which the grass
of the lattermath bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 6 to 12 ; and to that at the time the
seed is ripe, as 6 to 20.
5190. Phleum nodosum. Wither. — This grass is inferior in many respects to the phleum pratense. It
is sparingly found in meadows. From the number of bulbs which grow out of the straws a greater por-
tion of nutritive matter might have been expected. This seems to prove tiiat these bulbs do not form so
valuable a part of the plant as the joints, which are so conspicuous in the phleum pratense, the nutritive
Ijowers of which exceed those of the P. notlosum, as 8 to 28.
5191. Agrostis vulgaris. Wither. — This is one of the most common of the bents, and likewise the earliest ;
in these respects it is superior to all others of the same family, but inferior to several of them in produce,
and the quantity of nutritive matter it aftbrds. As the species of this family are generally rejected by the
cultivator on account of the lateness of their flowering; and this circumstance, as has already been ob-
served, does not always imply a proportional lateness of foliage, their comparative merits in this respect
may be better seen, by bringing them into one view, as to the value of their early foliage.
The apparent Difference Their niifriiive The apparent Difference Their uttiritive
of Time. Pouers. of Time. Potvert.
Agrostis vulgaris - Middle of .\pril - l.SiJ Agrostis nivea - Three weeks later - a
palustri* - One week later 'i.3 littoralis - Ditto ditto - 3
stolonifera - Two ditto - - .T.'i repens - - Ditto ditto - . .3
caiiina - MUo ditto - 1.3 mexirana - Ditto ditto . . . 2
suicta - Ditto ditto • - l.'i fa!>ciculari$ - Ditto ditto • • %
832 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
5192. Panicum sanguinaJe, E. B. — This species is strictly annual; and from the results of this trial,
its nutritive powers appear to be very inconsiderable.
5193. The grasses which afford the best culfnsfor straw plait are, according to Sinclair, as follow :
For lieath or moor soil. Festuca ovina, duriuscula and hor- Moist soils. Agrostis canina, fascicularis, canina mutica,"
diformis, Nardus stricta. stolonifera angustifolia, stolonifera cristata, alba, stricta,.
Dry soils. Cynosurus cristatus, poa anRustifplia, hordeum repens, poa nemoralis, angustlfolia.
pratense> anthoxanthum odoratum, agrostis lobata, spica Cereal grasses. Wheat, spelt-wheat, rye and oats, have
ventl, flavescens and vulgaris mutica, avena pubescens, fes- been sown on poor soils, and cut green and bleached, but
tuca heterophylla. are found interior to the above grasses for the finest plat.
5194. The period for cutting the culms is when they are in blossom. They are bleached by pouringr
boiling water over them, in which they remain ten minutes, and are afterwards spread on a grass plat for
seven or eight days. Sinclair found letting the culms remain in hot water from one to two hours required
only two or three days bleaching. When bleached they are taken up, washed clean, and put in a moist state
in a close vessel, where they are subjected to the fumes of burning sulphur for two hours. Green culms, im-
mersed for ten minutes in a strong solution of acetic acid, and tiien subjected to the sulphureous acid gas,
are bleached perfectly white in half an hour. Green culms, immersed for fifteen minutes in muriatic acid,
diluted with twenty times its measure of water, and then spread on the grass, became in four days as per-
fectly bleached as those culms which were scalded and bleached eight days on the grass. The texture of
the straw was not in the least injured by these processes. The application of the sulphureous acid gas to
the moistened culms, even after scalding and bleacliing on the grass, had, in every instance, the eftect of
greatly improving the color, and that without being productive of the smallest injury to the texture of the
straw. (^Hort. Gram. Wob. 2nd edit. 427.)
5195. To imitate the Leghorn plait in the most perfect manner, the straws should be plaited the reverse
•way of the common English split-straw plait. In the English plait, the straws are flattened by a small
hand-mill made for the purpose, but the Leghorn plait has the straws worked without flattening, and
pressure is applied after the plait is made. These two points are essential to be observed by those who
wish to rival the finest Leghorn manufacture. By reversing the common mode of plaiting, the fingers
have a much greater power in knitting firmly and intimately the straws, and the round or unflattened
state of the straws allows of their being more closely knitted j a circumstance that gives an appearance-
similar to the real Leghorn plait. {Ibid.)
Chap. VII.
Of the Management of Lands permanently under Grass.
5196. In every country by far the greater proportion of perennial grass lands is the
work of nature : and it is not till an advanced period in the progress of agriculture thai,
much attention is paid to their management. But as the extension of tillage, planting, '
and the formation of parks and gardens, limits the range of the domestic animals, their
food becomes more valuable ; and it then becomes an object to increase it by the culture
of roots and artificial herbage on some lands, and by the improved management of the
spontaneous productions of others. In a highly cultivated country like Britain, there-
fore, those lands retained in grass either are, or ought to be, such as are more valuable to the
owners in that state than they would be in any other. Such lands naturally divide them-- :
selves into two classes : those which are fit either for mowing or pasture ; and those which
are fit for pasture only.
Sect. I. Perennial Grass Lands ft for mowing, or Meadow Lands.
5197. Under the term meadow, we include all such land as is kept under grass chiefly .
for the sake of a hay crop, though occasionally, and at particular seasons of the year, it
may be depastured by the domestic animals ; and we usually include und&r this term the
notion of a greater degree of moisture in the soil, than would be thought desirable either
for permanent pasture or lands in tillage. Where hay is in great demand, as near large
towns, and especially if a good system of cropping be but little understood, a great
deal of arable land may be seen appropriated to hay-crops ; but the most valuable
meadows are such as are either naturally rather moist, or that are rendered so by means
of irrigation. There are three descriptions of these meadows : on the banks of streams
and rivers ; on the uplands, or more elevated grounds ; and bog-meadows ; and each of
these kinds may be stocked with grasses either naturally or by art, and may be irrigated
by one or other of the different watering processes already described. (4053.)
5198. River-meadows, or those which are situated in the bottoms of valleys, are in ge-
neral by far the most valuable. They are the most productive of grass and hay, yielding
sustenance for cattle through the summer and the winter, and producing an everlasting
source of manure for the improvement of the adjoining lands. The soil is deep and com-
monly alluvial, having been deposited by water, or washed down from the adjoining
eminences ; the surface is even from the same cause ; and what is of considerable im-
portance, has a gradual declivity or surface-drainage to the river or stream, which almost
invariably flows in the lowest part of every valley, and which is essential to this descrip-
tion of meadow. The principal defects to which such lands are liable are, the oozing
out of springs towards their junction with the rising lands, and the inundations of the
river or stream. The former evil is to be remedied by under-draining, and the latter by
Book VI. GRASSLANDS. 833
embanking. Such meadows are generally slocked with the best grasses ; and their cul-
ture consists of little more than forming and keeping open a sufficient number of surface-
gutters or furrows to carry off the rain-water ; rooting out such tufts of rushes or bad
grasses and herbage, as may occasionally appear ; destroying moles, and spreading the
earth they throw up ; removing heavy stock whenever their feet poach the surface ; shut-
ting up, bush-harrowing, and rolimg at the commencement of the growing season ; and
finally so adjusting the mowing and pasturing as to keep the land in good heart without
laying on manure.
5199. The most suitable meadows for irrigation are of this description ; the necessary
drains and other works are executed with greater care, and with less expense, and the
management, as we have seen (4057.), is also comparatively easier than in watering
sloping surfaces.
5200. Upland meadows, or mowing lands, are next in value to those of valleys. The
soil is either naturally good, and well adapted for grass, or, if inferior by nature, it is so
situated as to admit of enriching it by ample supplies of manure. Of this last de-
scription are the upland meadows, or hay lands of Middlesex ; which, though on the
most tenacious, and often stony clays, are yet, by the abundance of manure obtained
from the metropolis, rendered as productive as the best upland soils employed as hay
lands. The roots of perennial grasses, whether fibrous or creeping, never strike deep
into the soil ; and thus deriving their nourishment chiefly from the surface top dressings
of well -rotted manure repeated on the same field for centuries, forms at last a thin black
stratum among the roots of the grass, which produces the most luxurious crops.
5201. The culture of upland meadows requires more attention and expense than those
of valleys ; being more difficult to drain, and requiring regular supplies of manure.
The irregular surface of uplands is apt either to contain springs or to stagnate the surface
water; the first produces marsh plants and coarse herbage, and the latter destroys or
weakens whatever is growing on the surface, and encourages the growth of moss. Both
evils are to be remedied by the obvious resources of drainage. Moss is a very common
enemy to grass lands, and is only to be effectually destroyed by rich dressings of
manure. Rolling, and top-dressings of lime and salt, have been recommended for de-
stroying it ; but there is no mode by which it can be subdued and kept under, but by
adding strength to the grass plants, and thereby enabling them to suffocate their eriemy.
Moss is never found on rich lands unless they are completely shaded by trees. Besides
mole-hills, upland meadows, when neglected, are frequently troubled with ants, which
form heaps or hillocks of grass and earth, more injurious and more difficult to get quit
of than those of moles. The mode of taking moles is a simple operation, and will be
described in the proper place : that of destroying ants is more complicated and tedious,
and being peculiar to grass lands, shall here be described.
5202. Ant-hills, or habitations, are injurious to meadow lands, by depriving the farmer
of a crop in proportion to the surface they occupy, and by interfering with the operations
of rolling and mowing. They consist of little eminences, composed of small particles
of sand or earth, lightly and artfully laid together, which may often be computed at a
tenth part, or more, of old grass lands. And in some places, where negligence has
suffered them to multiply, almost half of it has been rendered useless; the hills standing
as thick together as grass-cocks in a hay-field : and what is very surprising, this in-
dolence is defended by some, who affirm, that the area or superficies of their land is
thereby increased ; whereas it is well known that very little or no grass ever grows
thereon, and, therefore, if the surface be increased, the produce is proportionably
decreased.
5203. In order to remove ant-hills, and destroy the insects, it has been a custom in some places, at the
beginning of winter, and often when the weather was not very cold, to dig up the ant-hills three or four
inches below the surface of the ground, and then to cut them in pieces, and scatter the fragments about :
but this practice only disseminates the ants, instead of destroying them, as they hide themselves among
the roots of the grass for a little time, and then collect themselves together again upon any little emi-
nence, of which tliere are great numburs ready for tlieir purpose, such as the circular ridges round the
hollows where the hills stood before. It is, therefore, a much better method to cut the hills entirely off,
rather lower than the surface of the land, and to let them lie whole at a little distance, with their bottom
upwards : by this means the ants, which are known to be very tenacious of their abodes, continue in their
habitations until the rains, by running into their holes of communication, and stagnating in the hollows
formed by the removal of the hills, and the frosts which now readily penetrate, destroy them. If a little
soot were thrown on the places, and washed in with the rains, it would )»robably contribute greatly to the
intended effect. The hills, when rendered mellow by the frosts, may be broken and disiMjrsed about the
land. By this method of cutting the hills, one other advantage is gained ; the land soon becomes even
and fit for mowing, and the little eminences being removed, the insects are exposed to the wet, which is
very disagreeable and destructive to them. It would, perhaps, be a better practice than that of suffering
the hills to remain on the ground, to collect the parts of them which have been pared oflinto a heap, in
some convenient place, and then form them into a compost, by mixing a portion of quick-lime with them.
In wet weather these insects are apt to accumulate heaps of sandy particles among the grass, called by
laborers sprout-hills, which quickly take oft' the edge of the scythe. These hills, which are very light
and compressible, mav be conveniently removed by frequent heavy rolling.
5204. In the Norfolk mode of cutting and burning ant-hills, the process is, to cut them up with a heart-
shaped sharp spade or shovel, in irregular lumps of from ten to fifteen inches in diimeter. and from two
834 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
to five or six inches thick. These are to be turned the grass-side downwards, until the mould-side is
thoroughly dry, and then to be set the grass-side outwards, until they are dry enough to burn. The fire
may be kindled with brushwood, and kept smothering, by laying the sods or lumps on gradually, as the
fire breaks out, until ten or fifteen loads of ashes are raised in one heap, which the workmen formerly
completed for a shilling or eigh teen-pence each load of ashes. The places from which the hills have been
removed may be sown with grass-seeds. Besides the destruction of the ants, this is a ready, though by no
means an economical way of raising manure, and m some cases ought not to be neglected, on grounds
where such a process is required. On some soils ashes are found in themselves an excellent manure ;
and, perhaps, generally, ashes raised in this way, would be found highly advantageous as bottomings for
farm-yards and dunghills.
5205. Where grass lands are sufficiently/ rolled vv'ith a heavy roller once or oftener every
year, no ant-hills will ever be formed greater than the roller can compress, and conse~
quently no injury will be sustained. In this, as in most other cases of disease, proper
regimen is the best cure. In domestic economy, various directions are given for de-
stroying bugs, lice, and other vermin ; but who ever had any to destroy, who attended
properly to cleanliness ?
5206. The surface of some grass lands that have been long rolled are apt to get into
that tenacious state denominated hide bound. When this is the case, scarifying the turf
with a plough, consisting only of coulters, or harrow-teeth, so that the whole surface
may be cut or torn, is to be recommended. That tenacious state, rolling tends to in-,
crease ; whereas, by scarifying, the surface is loosened, and the roots acquire new means
of improved vegetation. This operation seems particularly useful, when it precedes
the manuring. When hay land of a retentive quality is pastured by cattle or horses in
wet seasons, it receives much injury from their feet, and becomes what is technically
called poached. Every step they take, leaves an impression, which rain fills with water,
and then the hole stands full like a cup. This wetness destroys the herbage, not only in
the hole, but that also which surrounds it, while at the same time the roots of the grasses,
as well as the ground, are chilled and injured. No good farmer, therefore, will permit any
cattle to set a foot on such land in wet weather, and few during the winter months, on any
consideration. Sheep are generally allowed to pasture on young grasses in dry weather,
from the end of autumn to the beginning of March ; they are then removed, and it
rarely happens that any animal is admitted till the weather be dry, and the surface so
firm as to bear their pressure, without being poached or injured.
5207. In manuring upland meadows, the season, the sort, the quantity, and the fre-
quency of application are to be considered.
5208. With regard to the season at which manure should be applied, a great difference
of opinion prevails among the farmers of England. In the county of Middlesex, where
almost all the grass lands are preserved for hay, the manure is invariably laid on in Oc-
tober (Middlesex Report, p. 224.), while the land is suflSciently dry to bear the driving
of loaded carts without injury, and when the heat of the day is so moderated as not to
exhale the volatile parts of the dung. Others prefer applying it immediately after the
hay-time, from about the middle of July to the end of August, which is said to be the
" good old time" (Com. to Board of Agriculture, vol. iv. p. 1S8.) ; and if that season be
inconvenient, any time from the beginning of February to the beginning of April,
(Dickson s Practical Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 915.) It is, however, too common a practice
to carry out the manure during frosty weather, when, though the ground is not cut up
by the carts, the fertilizing parts of the dung are dissipated, and washed away by the
snow and rains before they can penetrate the soil.
5209. There is scarcely any sort of manure that will not be useful when laid on the surface of grass
grounds ; but, in general, those of the more rich dung kinds are the most suitable for the older sort of
sward lands; and dung, in composition with fresh vegetable earthy substances, the more useful in the new
leys or grass lands. In Middlesex it is the practice of the best farmers to prefer the richest dung they can
procure, and seldom to mix it with any sort of earthy material, as they find it to answer the best in regard
to the quantity of produce, which is the principal object in view ; the cultivators depending chiefly for the
sale of their hay in the London markets. It is the practice to turn over the dung that is brought from
London in a tolerable state of rottenness, once chopping it well down in the operation, so as to be in a
middling state of fineness when put upon the land. It is, necessary, however, that it should be in a more
rotten and reduced state when applied in the spring, than when the autumn is chosen for that purpose,
{Dickson's Practical Agriculture, vol, ii. p. 915.)
5210. Some interesting experiments have been made with different kinds of manure, for the purpose of
ascertaining their effects, both in regard to the quantity and quality of the produce on different kinds of
land. Fourteen lots, of half an acre each, were thus manured, and the grass was made into^ hay, all as
nearly alike as possible. The greatest weight of hay was taken from the lot manured with horse,
cow, and butcher 's dung, all mixed together, of each about an equal quantity. It lay in that state
about two months ; and was then turned over, and allowed to lie eight or ten days more, after which
it was put on the land before it had done fermenting, and spread immediately. And to ascertain the
quality of the produce of the different lots, a small handful from each was laid down on a dry, clean place,
where there was little or no grass, and six horses were turned out to them one after another. In select-
ing the lots, there seems to have been little difference of taste among the horses; and all of them agreed
in rejecting two lots, one of which had been manured with blubber mixed with soil, and the other with
soot, in both instances laid on in the month pf April preceding. (Lancashire Report, p, 130. et scq.)
521 1 . The proportion of manure that is necessary must, in a great measure, depend
upon the circumstances of the land, and the facility of procuring it. In the district
of London, where the manure is of a very good and enriching quality, from its being
produced in stables and other places where animals are highly fed, the quantity is usually
Book VI. GRASS LANDS. 835
from four or five to six or seven loads on the acre, such as are drawn by three or four
horses, in their return from taking up the hay to town. (Dickson's Pract. Agr. vol. ii.
p. 916.)
5212. Manure is laid on at intervals of time more or less distant, according to the same
circumstances that determine the quantity of it. Though there are some instances of
bay grounds bearing fair crops every year during a length of years, without any manure
or any advantage from pasturage, except what the after-grass has afforded (Marshal's
Review of Eeporls to the Board of Agriculture, p. 183. Western Dejmrtment) ; yet, in
general, manure must either be allowed every third or fourth year, in the land depastured
one year, and mown the other ; " or what is better, depasture two years and mow the
third." (Northumberland Report, p. 111.) A succession of hay crops without manure,
or pasturage, on meadows not irrigated, is justly condemned by all judicious farmers, as
a sure means of impoverishing the soil.
.5213. Bog meadows are the least valuable of any ; they are of two kinds, peat bogs
and earthy bogs. The first are situated in hollows or basins, which, from having no
natural outlet for water, and not being so deep or so plentifully supplied with that
element as to constitute lakes, become filled ^p with aquatic plants and mosses. By the
decay of these after a certain time, and the drainage and culture of art, a surface of mossy
soil is formed on which some of the inferior grasses may be sown or will spring up natu-
rally. In warm moist climates and where the mould of the bog is rich, fiorin or Timothy
grass may be found to answer; but in'^general the woolly soft grass and cock's-foot are
resorted to, unless indeed lime be applied, or a coating of sand or earth, in which cases
the clovers and better grasses will sometimes answer. These bogs are in general too soft
for pasturing any other a;nimals than sheep.
5214. Earthy bog meadows are situated either in hollows or on slopes. They
are formed by an accumulation of water in the subsoil, which not finding a free
passage in any one point, spreads under and filtrates upwards through a considerable
extent of surface. The grasses on such meadows before they are drained, are chiefly of
the sprot or juncus kind ; but by draining the quality of these is improved, and better
kinds appear. Such meadows yield a considerable produce of coarse hay ; they abound
chiefly in cold hilly districts devoted to breeding.
5215. The culture and management of bog meadows differs in nothing essential from
that of the river kinds. A lighter roller is used in spring, the greatest care is taken in
eating down the latter grass, whether by small cattle or sheep ; and in some cases, in very
dry weather in summer, the main drains are dammed up for a few weeks in order to
stagnate the water, and supply the soil with moisture. No manure is ever given unless
in the case of some cultivated peat bogs, which are dressed with earthy or saline mixtures.
5216. As branches of culture common to every descrijHion of hay lands may be men-
tioned, the hay-making, the application of the after-grass, and pasturage.
5217. The making of natural or meadow hay has been carried to greater perfection in
the neighborhood of London than any where else, and may therefore, with great pro-
priety, be recommended as an example to the rest of the kingdom. The following ac-
count of it is drawn from Middleton's Agricultural Survey of Middlesex.
5218. IFhen the grass is nearly ft for mowing, the Middlesex farmer endeavors to select
the best mowers, in number proportioned to the quantity of his grass and the length of
time it would be advisable to have it in hand ; which having done, he lets it out, either as
piece work, or to be mown by the acre. In the latter way, each man mows from one acre
and a half to an acre and three quarters per day ; some there are who do two acres per
day during the whole season. About the same time he provides five hay-makers Tmen and
women, including loaders, pitchers, stackers, and all others), to each mower. These last
are paid by the day, the men attending from six till six, but the women only from eight
till six. For an extra hour or two in the evening, when the business requires dispatch,
they receive a proportionate allowance.
5219. The mowers usually begin their ivork at three, four, orfve o'clock in the mornings
and continue to labor till seven or eight at night ; resting an hour or two in the middle
of the day. Every hay-maker is expected to come provided with a fork and a rake of his
own ; nevertheless, when the grass is ready, and laborers scarce, the farmer is frequently
obliged to provide both, but for the most part only the rake. Every part of the oper-
ation is carried on with forks, except clearing the ground, which is done with rakes ;
and loading the carts, which is done by hand.
5220. First day. All the grass mown before nine o'clock in the morning is tedded, in which great care
is taken thoroughly to loosen every lump, and to strew it evenly over all the ground. By this regular
method of tedding grass for hay, the hay will be of a more valuable quality, heat more equally in the
stack, consequently not so liable to damage or fire ; will be of greater quantity when cut into trusses,
and will sell at a better price ; for when the grass is suffered to lie a day or two before it is tedded out
of the swath, the upper surface is dried by the sun and winds, and the interior part is not dried, but
withered, so that the herbs lose much, botli as to quality and quantity, which are very material circum-
stances. Soon after the tedding is linished, the hay is turned with the" same degree of care and attention ;
and if, from the number of hands they are able to turn the whole again, they do so, or at least as much
3 H 2
836 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
of it as they can, till twelve or one o'clock, at which time they dine. The first thing to be done after
dinner, is to rake it into what are called single wind-rows ; and the last operation of this day is to put it
into grass-cocks.
5221. Second day. The business of this day commences with tedding all the grass that was mown
the first day after nine o'clock, and all that was mown this day before nine o'clock. Next, the grass-
cocks are to be well shaken out into staddles (or separate plats) of five or six yards diameter. If the crop
should be so thin and light as to leave the spaces between these staddles rather large, such spaces must
be immediately raked clean, and the rakings mixed with the other hay, in order to its all drying of an
uniform color. The next business is to turn the staddles, and after that, to turn the grass that was tedded
in the first part of the morning, once or twice, in the manner described for the first day. This should
all be done before twelve or one o'clock, so that the whole may lie to dry while the work-people are at
dinner. After dinner, the first thing to be done, is to rake the staddles into double wind-rows ; next,
to rake the grass into single wind-rows ; then the double wind-rows are put into bastard-cocks ; and
lastly, the wind-rows are put into grass-cocks. This completes the work of the second day.
5222. Third day. The grass mown and not spread on the second day, and also that m'own in the early
part of this day, is first to be tedded in the morning, and then the grass cocks are to be spread into stad-
dles as before, and the bastard.,cocks into staddles of less extent. These lesser staddles, though last spread,
are first turned, then those which were in grass-cocks j and next the grass is turned once pr twice before
twelve or one o'clock, when the people go to dinner as usual. If the weather has proved sunny and
fine, the hay which was last night in bastard-cocks, will this afternoon be in a proper state to be carried ;
but if the weather should, on the contrary, have been cool and cloudy, no part of it probably will be fit
to carry. In that case, the first thing set about after dinner, is to' rake that which was in grass-cocks
last night into double wind-rows ; then the grass which was this morning spread from the swaths into
single wind-rows. After this, the hay which was last night in bastard-cocks, is made up into full-sized
cocks, and care taken to rake the hay up clean, and also to put the rakings upon the top of each cock.
Next, the double wind-rows are put into bastard-cocks, and the single wind-rows into grass-cocks, as on
the preceding days.
5223. Fourth day. On this day the great cocks, just mentioned, are usually carried before dinner. The
other operations of the day are such, and in the same order, as before described, and are continued daily
until the hay harvest is completed.
5224. As general rules, the grass should, as much as possible, be protected both day
and night, against rain and dew, by cocking. Care should also be taken to proportion
the number of hay-makers to that of the mowers, so that there may not be more grass
in hand at any one time, than can be managed according to the foregoing process. This
proportion is about twenty hay-makers (of which number twelve may be women), to
four mowers ; the latter are sometimes taken half a day to assist the former. But in
hot, windy, or very drying weather, a greater proportion of hay -makers will be required
than when the weather is cloudy and cool. It is particularly necessary to guard against
spreading more hay, than the number of hands can get into cocks the same day, or be-
fore rain. In showery and uncertain weather, the grass may sometimes be suffered to
lie three, four, or even five days in swath. But before it has lain long enough for the
under side of the swath to become yellow (which, if suffered to lie long, would be the
case), particular care should be taken to turn the swaths with the heads of the rakes.
In this state, it will cure so much in about two days, as only to require being tedded
a few hours when the weather is fine, previous to its being put together and carried. In
this manner, hay may be made and put into the stack at a small expense, and of a mode-
rately good color ; but the tops and bottoms of the grass are insufficiently separated
by it.
5225. The hay tedding machine has been invented since Middleton described the hand
process as above. This machine {Jig. 337.) is found to be a most important saving of ma-
nual labor. It is computed that a boy and horse with the machine will tedd as much in
an hour as twelve or fifteen women. The hay-rake, which may be added to the same axle
when the tedder is removed, is also an equal saving, and a requisite accompaniment to
it ; as where few or no women are kept for tedding, there must necessarily be a deficiency
of rakers. These machines are coming into general use near London, where the price of
manual labor is high and hands sometimes scarce. They are also finding their way
ambng the proprietors of extensive parks in all parts of the country, as saving much
labor in making hay from natural pasture.
5226. There are no hay-stacks more neatly formed, nor better secured, than those made
in Middlesex. At every vacant time, while the stack is carrying up, the men are em-
ployed in pulling it, with their hands, into a proper shape ; and, about a week after it is
finished, the whole roof is properly thatched, and then secured from receiving any
damage from the wind, by means of a straw rope, extended along the eaves, up the
ends, and on each side of the ridge. The ends of the thatch are afterwards cut evenly
below the eaves of the stack, just of sufficient length for the rain-water to drip quite
clear of the hay. When the stack happens to be placed in a situation which may be
suspected of being too damp in the winter, a trench, of about six or eight inches deep,
is dug round, and nearly close to it, which serves to convey all the water from the spot,
and renders it perfectly dry and secure.
5227. During the hay harvest it is of great advantage to the farmer, to give constant
personal attendance on every party, directing each operation as it goes on. The man
who would cure his hay in the best manner, and at a moderate expense, must not only
urge the persons who make the hay, the men who load the waggons, and those who
make the stack, but he should be on the alert, to contrive and point out the manner in
which every person may do his labor to the. most advantage. Unless he does this, one
Book VI. GRASS LANDS. 837
moiety of the people in his hay-field will be of no material use to him ; and if he should
be absent for an hour or more, daring that time, little or nothing will be done. The
farmers of Middlesex engage many hay-makers: some of them have been known to
employ two or three hundred ; such men find it necessary to be on horseback, and the
work-people find them sufficient employment. A man of energy will make the most of
every hour, and secure his hay while the sun shines : one of an opposite description
lounges his time away, and sulFers his hay to be caught in the rain, by which it is fre-
quently half spoiled. Or if the latter should have the good fortune of a continuance
of dry weather, his hay will be a week longer in the field than his neighbor's, and the
sap of it dried up by the sun.
5228. The waste of grass, on being dried into hay, is supposed to be three parts in four by
the time it is laid on the stack ; it is then further reduced, by heat and evaporation, in
about a month, perhaps one-twentieth more, or 600 lb. of grass are reduced to 95 lb. of
hay; and between that and 90, it continues through the winter. From the middle
of March till September, the operations of trussing and marketing, expose it so much
to the sun and wind, as to render it considerably lighter, probably 80 ; that is, hay
which would weigh 90 the instant it is sejKirated from the stack, would waste to 80
(in trussing, exposure on the load, and at market for about 24 hours), by the time it is
usually delivered to a purchaser. During the following winter, the waste will be little
or nothing. It is nearly obvious, that the same hay will weigh on delivery 80 in sum-
mer, and 90 in winter. From this circumstance, and others which relate to price, a
farmer may determine what season of the year is the most advisable for him to sell his hay.
5229. In making the hai/ of bog meadows, considerable care is requisite both from the
inferiority of the climates where such bogs abound, and from the nature of the grasses
they produce. In some cases, the grass is of so soft a quality, that it is diflScult to
convert it into hay. To prevent its being consolidated in the cocks, it must be frequently
opened up, and when the weather permits, completely exposed to the sun and wind ; this
sort of grass being only capable of sustaining a very moderate degree of fermenta-
tion.
5230. When the natural herbage is of a coarser description, it may be put into small
cocks, in rather a green or damp state, so as to go through the progress of " a sweating,"
or slight fermentation. The woody fibres in coarse hay, are thus rendered more palata-
ble and nutritious, while its condition for becoming fodder, is considerably improved :
but when any warmth becomes perceptible, if the weather will permit it, the hay should
be spread out, and put into large cocks the moment it is in a dried state.
5231. In the moister pastoral districts, in the north-west parts of Scotland, hay-barns
are necessary, the construction of which is as open as possible, for the purpose of drying,
as well as preserving the hay. In some of these districts, a curious device has been
fallen upon, of making the hay, when dried, into ropes of two fathoms in length, and
then twisted twofold. Being thus compressed, less room is required in the barn, and in
this shape, it is carried, with greater facility, to distant glens, for the use of cattle
during stormy weather.
5232. In making florin hay (if hay it may be called, which is never dried) it is
merely cut and put into small cocks, from which it is commonly taken as wanted.
When it is to be put into larger cocks, it must be proportionally better dried. The
stolones of this grass being remarkably vivacious, cannot easily be so dried as to admit
of stacking in large bodies.
5233. The salting of hay, at the time of stacking, has been practised in Derbyshire
and in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The salt, particularly when applied to the crop
of rouen, or when the first crop has received much rain, checks the fermentation, and
prevents moulding. If straw be mixed with the hay, the heating of the stack is still
further prevented, by the straw imbibing the moisture. Cattle will eat, not only such
salted hay, but even the straw mixed with it, more eagerly than better hay not salted,
and also thrive as well upon it. The quantity recommended is, a peck of ground rock
salt to a ton of hay. By this application, hay that had been flooded, was preferred by
cattle to the best hay that had not been salted.
5234. To make hay-ica. Boil at the rate of a handful of hay to three gallons of water, or if the water
be poured boiling hot on the hay, it will answer nearly as well. Give it to the cattle and horses to drink
when cold ; or it' the cattle and horses are anyways ill, and under cover, give it them blood warm. This
drink is so extremely nutritive, that it nourishes tlie cattle astonishingly, replenishes the udders of the
cow with a prodigious quantity of milk, makes the horse stale plentifully, and keeps him healthy and
strong ; and by this method one truss or hundred of hay will go as far as eight or ten otherwise would do.
The cattle and horses do not seem to like it at first ; but if they are kept till tiiey are very thirsty, they
will drink freely of it ever afterwards. The hay after being used as before-mentioned and dried, may be
used as litter for horses and cattle; it will make very good manure, and save straw, which is a consider-
able advantage, especially where there is a scarcity of that article. {Davis's Hep. of Wilts.)
5235. The after-grass on allmeadoivs is generally fed off'; on firm lands, and in the diy
season, by either sheep or heavy cattle ; but in the winter only by sheep, unless the soil
is so dry as not to be injured by the feet of cows or horses. The feet of the latter are
3 H 3
838 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
much less injurious than those of the former; but their bite being closer is more apt to
tear up the plants, than the bite of the horned tribe. In Middlesex cattle are generally-
removed from meadow-lands in November ; horses in the month following, and sheep
allowed to remain till February. In Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, and on many river-
meadows, every description of stock is allowed to remain till April, and sheep to May.
In some districts, the whole of the after-growth is preserved from every species of stock
till the following May, when it is fed off for sheep : but this greatly retards the hay
crop for that year. It is evident that a good deal must depend on the farmer's other re-
sources for keep to his stock.
5236. The after-grass, where manure is very abundant, is sometimes made into hay or
rouen, a soft and not very nutritive food, given to cows or sheep ; but this is reckoned a bad
practice, even in the neighborhood of London, where manure may be had in abundance.
It is also the usage of some to leave the after-grass on the ground without being eaten
till spring, when it is said to be preferable, for ewes and lambs, to turnips, cabbages, or
any other species whatever of what is termed spring-feed. This mode of management,
which is strongly recommended by Young, and in some cases by Marshal also, is un-
known in the north, where, though it is, in many instances, found beneficial, with a view
to an early spring growth, not to eat the pasture too close before winter, it would be at-
tended with a much greater loss of herbage, than any advantage in spring could com-
pensate, to leave the after-growth of mown grounds untouched till that season.
5237. A system of alternate mowing and feeding is practised on some hay lands, partly
to save labor and manure, and partly to subdue mosses and coarse grasses. On some
soils even rich grass lands, when annually mown, become subject to weeds ; for it tends
to encourage moss, and gives advantage to the stronger rooted grasses, which gradually
change, and deteriorate the nature and quality of the herbage. The bottom becomes
thin, the white clover disappears, and coarser plants occupy the ground. When this takes
place, the pasture should be fed, instead of being mown, for the space of two or three
years, until the weeds have been subdued, and the finer grasses re-appear.
5238. By adopting the plan of mowing and feeding alternately, a farmer, it is said,
may goon longer without the application of manure, but his fields, in the end, will be
ruined by it. It is contended, that to maintain a proper quantity of stock, the land must
be accustomed to keep it, particularly in the case of sheep ; that where land has been
used to the scythe, if manured for pastures, it will often produce more grass, but that
grass will not {ccBteris paribus) support so much stock, nor fatten them nearly so well ;
and that old pasture will not produce so much hay as land that has been constantly
mowed ; for each will grow best as they have been accustomed to grow, and will not
readily alter their former habits. On the other hand, it is asserted, that many expe-
rienced farmers prefer the system of feeding and mowing alternately, as they find, that
under that system, the quality and quantity of the hay has been improved ; and the pas-
turage, in the alternate year, has been equally sweet and productive.
Sect. II. Of permanent Pastures.
5239. Permanent pastures may he divided into two kinds : rich or feeding lands ; and
hilly or rearing pastures. Under the former, we may comprehend all old rich pastures
that are capable o? fattening cattle ; and under the second, such as are adapted to rearing
them only, or are more advantageously depastured with sheep.
SuBSECT. 1. Of rich or feeding Pastures.
5240. Feeding pastures may include such as are equally fit for hay -lands, or for being
converted to arable husbandry ; their characteristic being, that they are used for feeding
stock, and keeping working animals and milk-cows in good condition. We have men-
tioned in a former chapter, that pasturage for one, two, or more years, is frequently in-
terposed in the course of cropping arable land, to prevent that exhaustion of the soil which
is commonly the consequence of incessant tillage crops. The same culture and manage-
ment that is recommended here for rich grass lands, is equally applicable to them ; there
being no difference, excepting that the latter are generally considered less suitable for
fatting heavy stock, such as large oxen, than rich old turf.
5241. The culture and management of feeding pastures, whether of a few years or per-
petual duration, may be considered in regard to those necessary operations that have been
already noticed, under the former section, — such as the extirpation of weeds and noxious
shrubs, clearing away ant and mole-hills, the application of manure, the time of stock-
ing, the number of the animals, and whether all should be of one or of different species, —
the extent of the enclosures, and the propriety of eating the herbage close, or leaving it
always in a rather abundant state ; all these are questions which it is scarcely possible to
decide in a satisfactory manner, by the application of general rules. They can only be
resolved, with any pretensions to utility, by a reference to the particular circumstances
of each case ; for the practice of one district, in regard to these and other points, will be
Book VI.
PASTURES.
839
found quite inapplicable to others where the soil and climate, and the purposes to which
the pastures are applied, are materially different.
5242. The iveeding of pastures should be regularly attended to. Weeds in pastures
injure the farmer by the ground they occupy, the seeds they disperse, and sometimes, by
influencing the quality of milk, or the health of the cattle. Small creeping weeds cannot
be removed on the large scale of a farm ; but large perennial plants, such as the dock,
fern, nettle; and biennials, such as the thistle, ragweed, together with rushes and coarse
tufts, or tussocks of tall oat-grass, s!iould never be permitted to shoot up into flower.
The dock ought to be taken out by the root with the dock-weeder, and the others cut over
with spadlets or spuds. Nettles may be mown over, as may some other weeds, and
some descriptions of rushes and fern is most effectually killed by bruising or twisting
asunder the stem, when the frond or herb is nearly fully expanded. Smaller weeds may
be mown, and this operation should never be deferred later than the appearance of the
flowers. Where the sloe-thorn forms part of the enclosure-hedges, or the English elm,
hoary poplar, and some other trees, grow in or around the field, they are apt to send up
suckers ; these should be pulled up, otherwise they will soon become a serious nuisance.
In some parts of England, especially in the c^tral districts, the hedge wastes, from the
spread of the sloe-thorn and creeping rose (^Rosa arvensis), are sometimes six or ten yards
in width.
5243. To prevent the grotvth of mosses is one of the greatest difficulties in the manage-
ment of old pasture lands ; by these the finer species of grasses are apt to be overwhelmed,
and the coarse sorts only remain. Drainage, and the use of rich composts, are in this
case necessary. Harrowing and cross harrowing with a common harrow, or with what
are called grass harrows (^Jig. 586.), which go from one to two inches deep, with » sprink^
ling of grass-seeds afterwards, and some lime or well prepared compost, are the mosC^^
likely means of destroying the moss, and improving the pasture. Feeding sheep witb
oil cake, and allowing them to pasture on the land, has also been found effectual for the
destruction of moss, jind bringing up abundance of grass. But the radical remedy is to
plougii up such grass lands upon the first appearance of moss, or before it has made any
considerable progress, and sow them with corn.
5244. The removal of ant and mole-hills sliould be attended to during the whole summer.
The manner of destroying ants has already been described ; mole-hills spread on grass
lands may be considered as of service rather than otherwise. These operations, together
with weeding, and spreading the manure dropped by the larger stock, should go on
together at intervals during the whole summer.
5245. The application of manures to grazing lands, which not being used as hay grounds-
afford no means of supply, may certainly be considered a preposterous practice, and one
that must be ruinous to the other parts of a farm ; yet in The Code of Agi'iculture it is
stated, that " to keep grass in good condition, a dressing of from thirty to forty cubic
yards or cart-loads of compost, is required every four years. The application of unmixed
putrescent manure will thus be rendered unnecessary, which ought at least to be avoided,
in meadows appropriated for the feeding of dairy cows, from its affecting the quality of
the milk." (p. 476.) Grass lands kept at an expense of this kind will seldom, it is
believed, be found to remunerate a farmer sufficiently. The same thing is recommended
(probably from inadvertence or mere following the tract of preceding writers), in Dick-
son s Practical Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 953. But, excepting the dung dropped by the
pasturing animals, which should always be regularly spread from time to time, it may belaid
down as a rule of pretty extensive application, that if grass lands do not preserve their
fertility under pasturage, it would be much better to bring them under tillage for a time,-
than to enrich them at the expense of land carrying crops of ?Jorn. (Sup- i^c. art. Agr.)
5246. Teathing or stacking on the field, or carrying to be consumed there during winter, the provendcr
that ought to have furnished disposable manure for the use of the farmat large, is another practice not less
objectionable. It is to no purpose that such a wasteful practice is defended, on dry light soils which are-
alleged to be thus benefited by the treading of the cattle. {Marshal's Rural Economy of Yorkshire, vol. iL-
3 H 4
840 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III-
p. 131.) During the frequent and heavy falls of rain and snow in winter, there is scarcely any land so
dry as not to be injured by the treading of heavy cattle ; and were there any thing gained in this respect by
this management, it would be much more than counterbalanced by the loss of a great part of the manure,
from the same cause. The able writer to whom we have just now referred, very properly disapproves of
carting on manure in winter; and for the same reason, namely, the loss.of it, which must necessarily be
the consequence, he ought to have objected to foddering on the land, or teathing at that season. The
practice, however, is but too common in those districts, both in South and North Britain, where the
knowledge of correct husbandry has made but little progress. It is equally objectionable, whether the
fodder be consumed on meadows where it grew, or on other grass lands. The fodder should, in almost
every instance, be eaten in houses or fold-yards, instead of the dung being dropped irregularly over the
surface ; or, as must be almost always the case, accumulated in some spots sheltered by trees and hedges,
to which the animals necessarily resort during the storms of winter.
5247. The time of stocking pastures in spring, must evidently be earlier or later, ac-
cording to the climate, and in the same climate according to the season ; and the state of
growth, which it is desirable that the grass should attain before being stocked, must
in some degree be determined by the condition and description of the animals to be
employed in consuming it ; whether they are only in a growing state or approaching to
fatness ; whether milk cows or sheep, or a mixture of animals of different species. It
conveys no very precise idea respecting these points, though the remark itself is just, to say
that the herbage should not be allowed to rise so high as to permit the coarser plants to
run to seed ; and that it is bad management to suffer store stock to be turned upon a full
bite. {Marshal's Yorkshire, vol. ii. p. 129.) The great objects to be aimed at are, that
the stock, of whatever animals it may consist, should be carried forward faster or slower,
according to the purposes of their owner ; and that no part of the herbage should be
allowed to run to waste, or be unprofitably consumed. But nothing but careful inspec-
tion of the land and of the stock, from time to time, can enable any grazier to judge with
certainty what are the best measures for attaining these objects. " Fatting cattle," says
Marshal, " which are forward in flesh, and are intended to be finished with grass, may
require a full bite at first turning out. But for cows, working oxen, and rearing cattle,
and lean cattle intended to be fatted on grass, a full bite at the first turning out is not
requisite. Old Lady-day to the middle of April, according to the progress of spring,
appears to me, at present, as the best time for shutting up mowing grounds and opening
pastures." {MarshaVs Yorkshire, \o\.n. p. 152, 153.)
5248. In regard to the state of the growth of pastures when first stocked, some distinction should be made
between new leys and old close swards. To prevent the destruction of the young plants, whether of
clover or other herbage, on the former description of pasture, Which would be the consequence of stocking
them too early, especially with sheep, they should be allowed to rise higher than would be necessary in the
case of old turf; and to secure their roots from the further injury of a hot summer, it is advisable not to
feed them close in the early part of the season, and probably not at any time throughout the whole of
the first or second season, if the land is to be continued in pasture. The roots of old and firm sward, on the
other hand, are not in so much danger, either from close feeding or from the heats of summer ; and they
are in much less danger from the frosts and thaws of winter.
5249. "With regard to the stock which should be employed, all soils rather moist and of such a quality, as is
the case with rich clays, as to produce herbage suited to the fattening of cattle, will, in general, be more
advantageously stocked with them than with sheep ; but there can be no other rule for the total exclusion
of sheep, than the danger of the rot; nor any other general rule for preferring one kind of stock to
another, than their comparative profits. {Sup. art. Agr^
5250. Whether the stock should be all of one or of different kinds, is anotheriquestion to
be discussed. With regard to a mixed stock, the sentiments and practice of the best
graziers seem to be in its favor. " It is generally understood that horses and cattle in-
termixed will eat grass cleaner than any species will alone, not so much from their
separately aflfecting different grasses, as from the circumstance of both species disliking to
feed near their own dung. " {Marshal's Yorkshire, vol. ii. p. 154. ) " Some few graziers
follow the old custom of keeping only one kind of stock upon the same ground, whilst
others, we think, with more propriety, intermix with oxen and cows a few sheep, and two
or three colts in each pasture, which both turn to good account, and do little injury to the
grazing cattle. In some cases sheep are a real benefit, by eating down and destroying the
ragwort {Senecio jacobtea), which disgraces some of the best pastures of the county, where
oxen only are grazed. " {Northumberland Beport, ^^^ 126.) And in Lincolnshire, where
grazing is followed to a great extent, and with uncommon success, as well as in most
other districts, the practice seems to be almost invariably, to keep a mixed stock of sheep
and cattle on the same pasture (^Lincolnshire Report, p. 174.), in proportion varying with
the nature of the soil and the quality of the herbage.
5251. To estimate the number of animals that may be depastured on any given extent of ground,
is oviously impossible, without rel'erence to the particular spot in question ; and the same difl'erence
existi with regard to the propriety of feeding close, or leaving the pastures rough, that prevails in
most other parts of this subject. Though there be loss in stocking too sparingly, the more common and
dangerous error is in overstocking, by which the summer's grass is not unfrequently entirely lost
5252. Wzth respect to the size of enclosures, small fields are much to be preferred to
large ones, for heavy stock. Besides the advantages of shelter, both to the animals and
the herbage, small fields enable the grazier either to separate his stock into small parcels,
by which means they feed more at their ease, or to give the best pastures to that portion
of them which he wishes to come earliest to inarket. ^fhe advantages of moderate sized
enclosures are well known in the best grazing counties ; but the subdivisions are in some
Book VI.
HILLY PASTURES.
841
instances much more minute than is consistent with the value of the ground occupied
with fences, or necessary to the improvement of the stock. In all cases, says Marshal,
where fatting cattle or dairy cows make a part of the stock, and where situation, soil,
and water will permit, every suit of grazing grounds ought, in my idea, to consist of
three compartments. One for head stock (as cows or fatting cattle) ; one for followers
(as rearing and other lean stock); and the third to be shut up to freshen for the leading
stock. {MarshaVs Yorkshire, vol. ii. p. 158.)
5253. Large enclosures are in general best adapted for sheep. These animals are not
only impatient of heat and liable to be much injured by flies, in small pastures often sur-
rounded by trees and high hedges, but they are naturally, with the exception perhaps of
the Leicester variety, much more restless and easily disturbed than the other species of
live stock. " Shieep," says Lord Kaimes, " love a wider range, and ought to have it,
because they delight in short grass : give them eighty or ninety acres, and any fence
will keep them in ; confine them to a field of seven or eight acres, and it must be a very
strong fence that keeps them in." (Gentleman Farmer, p. 203.) Though fields so
large as eighty or ninety acres, can be advisable only in hilly districts, yet the general
rule is nevertheless consistent with experience^ in regard to all our least domesticated
varieties.
5254. JFith respect to the propriety/ of eating the herbage close, or leaving it rather in an
abundant state, an eminent agriculturist observes, that there seems to be a season, some
time during the year, when grass lands, particularly old turf, should be eaten very close,
not merely for the sake of preventing waste, but also for the purpose of keeping down
the coarser kinds of plants, and giving to the pastures as equal and fine a sward as pos-
sible. The most proper period must partly depend upon the convenience of the grazier ;
but it can hardly be either immediately before the drought of summer or the frost of
winter. Some time in autumn, when the ardent heat of the season is over, and when
there is still time for a new growth before winter, may be most suitable for the land itself,
and generally also for the grazier, his fat stock being then mostly disposed of, or carried to
the after-grass of mown grounds. The sweeping of pastures with the scythe, may be
employed as a substitute for this close feeding ; the waste and labor of which, however,
though they be but trifling, it does not seem necessary to incur on rich grazing lands,
under correct management. {Sup. E> Brit. art. Agr.)
5255. Fogging pasture lands is a practice which is sometimes adopted in districts
where there is a scarcity of winter food. Under that system, fields in pasture are shut
up early in May, and continued in that state till November or December, when the
farmer's stock is turned in, and continue to pasture, till the May succeeding. Such ma-
nagement, however, can only be advisable on a soil of the driest nature, which will not be
injured by poaching in the wettest seasons. It
is practised in a few places in Cardiganshire ;
but is considered by Thos, Johnes, Esq. of Ha-
vod, as being the result of necessity, the farmers
not being able to bring suflScient stock to eat it
down in season, when its nutritive powers are in
their best state.
5256. Water should be provided for every
field under pasture ; and also shelter and shade,
either by a few trees, or by a portable shed,
which may be moved with the stock from one
enclosure to another. Where there are no trees,
rubbing posts are also a desirable addition. In Germany they have portable sheds which
are employed both in summer and winter, and generally with a piece of rock-salt fixed
to a post for the cattle to suck at. {Jig, 587. )
SuBSECT. 2. Of Hilly and Mountainous Pastures.
5257. mill/ pastures include such low hills as produce fine short herbage, and are
with much advantage kept constantly in pasture, though they are not altogether inacces-
sible to the plough ; as well as such tracts as, from their acclivity and elevation, must
necessarily be exclusively appropriated to live stock. The former description of grass
lands, though different from the feeding pastures, of which we have just treated, in re-
spect of their being less convenient for tillage management, are nevertheless in other cir-
cumstances so nearly similar, as not to require any separate discussion. These low hills
are for the most part occupied with sheep, a very few cattle being sometimes depastured
towards their bases ; and they frequently comprise herbage suflSciently rich for fattening
sheep, together with coarser pastures for breeding and rearing them.
5258. In regard to the management of upland pastures, of the rules which judicious
farmers practise, the following deserve to be selected. To enclose those pastures, as
the same extent of land, when sheltered, and properly treated, will feed a greater
843 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. , Part III.
quantity of stock, and to better purpose, than when in an open and exposed state.
Not to overstock upland pastures ; for when this is done, the cattle are not only
starved, and the quantity of herbage diminished, but the soil is impoverished. When
the pasture ground is enclosed and subdivided, so as to admit of it, the stock ought
to be shifted from one enclosure to another, at proper intervals ; giving the first of
the grass to the fattening, in preference to the rearing stock. This practice tends
to increase the quantity of grass, which has thus time to get up ; and the ground
being fresh and untainted, when the stock returns to it, more especially if rain has
fallen, they will feed with greater appetite and relish. The dung dropt by the stock,
while feeding, should be spread about, instead of its being sutFered to remain, in a
solid body, on the place where it was dropt. Where the large and the smaller kinds of
stock are to be fed on the same pastures, the larger species should have the first bite ;
and it is not thought by some advisable to pasture land with a mixed collection
of different species of live stock, unless the field be extensive, or unless the herbage
varies in different parts of the field. It is generally found, that the grass produced by
the dung of cattle or horses, is injurious to sheep, producing grass of too rich a quality
for that species of stock. There is no mode by which such pastures are more effectually
improved, than by the application of lime, either spread upon the surface, or mixed with
the soil. In the latter case, it is essential, that the lime should be mixed with the sur-
face soil only ; as lime is apt to sink, if covered deep by the plough. The coarse grasses
would, in that case, regain possession of the soil, and the dung afterwards deposited by
the cattle, will not enrich the land in the same manner as if the lime had been incor-
porated with the surface only. (Code.)
5259. Mountainous pastures, from which the plough is altogether excluded, have been
commonly classed among waste lands ; even such of them as bear herbage by no means
of inconsiderable value ; as well as heaths and moors, with patches of which the green
pastures are often checquered. The general term wastes, is therefore a very indefinite ex-
pression ; and, indeed, is not unfrequently made to comprehend all that extensive division
of our territory that neither produces corn nor rich herbage. Yet it is on such tracts
that by far the greater part of our butcher's meat and wool is grown, and not a little of
the former fully prepared for the market. Foreigners and superficial readers at home
must accordingly be greatly mistaken, if they imagine that what are called wastes, by the
Board of Agriculture, and other writers on rural economy, are really altogether un-
productive ; and it would still be a grosser error to believe, that all those wastes owe
their continuance to neglect or mismanagement ; and that any exertions of human in-
dustry can ever render the greater part of them, including all the mountainous tract of
Great Britain, more valuable than they are at present, without a much greater expendi-
ture of capital, than, under almost any circumstances, they could possibly return. {Suj).
art. ^gr.)
5260. The chief improvements of which mountainous jyastures are susceptible, are those
of draining and sheltering by plantations. Some parts might probably be enclosed by
strips of plantation between stone walls, or by stone walls alone; but as the stock on
mountain pastures are generally under the care of a herdsman, the advantages of change
of pasture and alternate eating down and saving or sparing the grass, by keeping out the
cattle, are obtainable without the use of fields.
Sect. III. Of the Improvement of Grass Lands, by a temporary Conversion to Tillage.
5261 . The practice of breaking up grass lands, either with a view to their being soon after
restored to that state, or to their permanent retention in aration, has occasioned much dis-
cussion, and even attracted the attention of the Legislature, and the Board of Agriculture.
In The Code of Agriculture, it is stated, that a " much larger proportion of the united
kingdom, than is at present so cultivated, might be subject to the alternate system of
husbandry, or transferred from grass to tillage, and then restored to grass. Much of
the middling sorts of grass lands, from 200 to 400 feet above the level of the sea, is of
this description; and all well-informed husbandmen, and friends to the general pros-
perity of the country, regret, that such lands are left in a state of unproductive pasturage,
and excluded from tillage.
5262. A very extensive inquiry was made, in consequence of a requisition from the House of Lords to
the Board of Agriculture, in December 1800, " into the best means of converting certain portions of
grass lands into tillage, without exhausting the soil, and of returning the same to grass, after a certain
period, in an improved state, or at least without injury ;" and the information collected by the Board, upon
that subject, is in the highest degree satisfactory and important"
5263. On this subject the ojnnion of one of our first writers is, " that though it be im-
possible to deny that much grass land in England would be more productive, both to
the proprietor and occupier, under a good course of cropping, than under pasture ; yet
it is no less certain, that there are large tracts of rich grazing land, which, in the present
state of the demand for the produce of grass lands, and of the law of England, with re-
gard to tithes, cannot be employed more profitably for the parties concerned, than in
pasture. The interest which the Board of Agriculture has takenin this question, with
Book VI. IMPROVING GRASS LANDS. 843
a view to an abundant supply of corn for the wants of a rapidly increasing population,
seems, therefore, not to have been well directed. Instead of devoting a large portion of
their volumes to the instruction of farmers, regarding the best method of bringing grass
lands into tillage, and restoring them again to meadow or pasture, without deterioration ;
the first thing required was, to attempt removing the almost insuperable obstruction of
tithes, by proposing to the legislature an equitable plan of commutation. If some bene-
ficial arrangement were adopted on this head, there is no reason to doubt, that individual
interest would soon operate the wished-for change ; and that all grass lands capable of
yielding more rent and profit under tillage than under pasture, would be subjected to the
plough, as fast as the demands of the population might require. {Sup. E. B. art. Agr.)
5264. In giving the essence of the information collected by the Hoard, we shall first
state the opinions as to such grass lands as should not be broken up, and next the direc-
tions for breaking up and laying down the others.
SuBSECT. 1. Of Grass Lands that ought not to be broken vp by the Plough.
5265. There are various sorts of grass lands that ought not to be broken up ; as water
meadows ; salt marshes ; lands apt to be overflowed ; lands near large populous towns,
where the produce of grass land is always in demand, and consequently dear ; and low
lying tracts, in the valleys of mountainous countries, particularly in chalky districts
where old meadow land is scarce, and where a portion of it, to raise early and late food
for stock, gives a great additional value to the adjoining upland. But whether rich
lands, which have long remained in grass, and continue productive, should ever be
converted into tillage, is a question respecting which a great diversity of opinion has
been entertained.
5266. The lands considered as best adapted for permanent pasture, are of three kinds :
strong tenacious clays, unfit for turnips, or barley, which are said to improve the more,
the longer they are kept under a judicious system in grass ; soft clayey loams, with a
clayey or marly bottom or substratum ; and, rich sound deep-soiled land, or vale land,
enriched by nature at the expense of the higher grounds, generally lying in a situation
favorable with respect to climate.
5267. The advantages of such pastures are represented in the strongest light. It is
affirmed that they feed cattle to a greater weight ; that they are not so easily scorched by
the summer's drought ; that the grasses are more nutritive both for sheep and cattle j that
milch cows fed upon them give richer milk, and more butter and cheese ; that the
hoofs of all animals pastured on them are much better preserved j that they produce a
greater variety of grasses ; that when properly laid down, they yield a succession of
pasture throughout the whole season; that the herbage is sweeter, and more easily
digested ; and that they return an immense produce at a trifling expense.
5268. To break up lands possessing these advantages, it is said, can only be justified
by the most urgent public necessity, and to prevent the horrors of famine. The real
value of such lands will appear, by considering their rent and produce. The grass lands
in Lincolnshire are accounted the richest in the kingdom. The rents are various, from
II. 15s, to 3/. per acre, and the value of the produce from Si. per acre to 10/. This
produce arises from beef, mutton, and wool, and is obtained, subject to little variation
from the nature of the seasons, and at a trifling expense. The stock maintained per
acre on the best grazing lands, surpasses what could be fed by any arable produce. It
is not at all uncommon to feed at the rate of from six to seven sheep in summer ; and
about two sheep in winter. The sheep when put on the grass may weigh from 1 8 lbs.
to 20 lbs. per quarter, and the increase of weight would be at the rate of 4 lbs. per
quarter, or 16 lbs. per sheep. But suppose in all only 100 lbs. at 8rf. per pound, that
would amount to SI. 17s. Kkl. The wool would be worth about two guineas more,
besides the value of the winter keep, and the total may be stated at about seven pounds
per acre, got at little expense. Such lands, it is evident, cannot be better employed
than in feeding stock.
5269. Grass land on tenacious clays and heavy loams, when brought in a succession of
years, or perhaps of ages, into a state of great productiveness, cannot be ploughed without
the risk of great injury, and are more profitable in the pro<luction of herbage than they
could be in the production of grain.
5270. Grass on deep-soiled sound vale lands, would be productive of corn if ploughed;
but would probably be injured by cultivation ; from their texture being altered, and
rendered unduly loose and open by tillage ; from the native plants being more or less-
destroyed or enfeebled ; and from the great decomposition and waste of the principles
of fertility resident in the soil.
5271. The extent of these descriptions of land, however, is not so great, that tlie
advantages of breaking them up could probably ever be a national object, or worth the
risk of injuring their future productiveness in grass. But there are pasture lands of an
inferior sort which are too apt to be confounded with those already described, and res-
844 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
pecting the propriety of occasionally appropriating them to arable culture, there can
hardly be a doubt. Such lands do not depend upon their intrinsic fertility, but upon
annual supplies of manure derived from the arable land in their neighborhood.
SuBSECT. 2. Of the Advantages and Disadvantages of breaking up Grass Lands.
5272. The advantages of breaking up grass lands, not of the richest quality, will
appear by a comparison of their produce with tliat of arable lands. From the inquiry of
the Board of Agriculture, it appears that an acre of clover, tares, rape, potatoes, turnips,
cole, or cabbages, wall furnish at least thrice as much food as the same acre would have
done had it remained in pasture of a medium quality ; and consequently, that the same
extent of land would maintain at least as much stock as when in grass ; besides pro-
ducing every other year a valuable crop of corn ; and this, independently of the value
of the straw, which, whether consumed as litter, or as food for cattle, will add consider-
ably to the stock of manure. It follows that with the exception of rich pastures, arable
land is, on an average, superior to grass land with respect to furnishing articles of human
food in the proportion of three to one ; and consequently every piece of land, unneces-
sarily kept in grass, the produce of which will only maintain one person, is depriving
the community of food, capable of maintaining two additional members.
5273. The principal objection to the conversion of old turf into arable land, arises from
an alleged inferiority in the new when compared to the old herbage ; a complaint which
probably originates either from the improper choice of seeds, or from giving them in too
small quantities, thus favoring the growth of weeds. A gentleman who had a large
farm, principally consisting of strong rich clay, (every field of which, with hardly an
exception, he occasionally broke up) was accustomed to lay them down with a crop of
barley, and to sow fourteen pounds of white clover, a peck of rib-grass, and three
quarters of hay-seeds per acre. By this liberal allowance of seed, he always secured a
thick coat of herbage the first year, which differed from old pasture only in being more
luxuriant. Such lands, therefore, under judicious management, will rarely be injured
by the plough. When laid down from tillage into grass, they may not carry for the first
year or two, such heavy cattle as they would afterwards, but they will support more in
number, though of a smaller size, and bring a greater weight of butcher meat to
market. It is often desirable to keep one or two moderate-sized enclosures, of from ten
to twenty acres, according to the size of the farm, in perennial pasture, for the feeding
of cattle and sheep ; and as a resource for the stock to go to in case of a severe
spring, or summer drought ; but the retaining of any considerable portion of a farm
in old turf, or permanent pasture, unless of the richest quality, is, in general, in-
jurious to the landlord, the tenant, and the public. The value of any estate, where
the system of permanent pasture has been carried to an unreasonable extent, may be
easily and greatly augmented by appropriating the manure of the farm to turnips
and other green crops, and by the adoption of the convertible system of husbandry.
5274. There are many cases where this doctrine, though in general to be recommended,
ought not to be carried to its full extent. In Norfolk, where the land is commonly light,
and where sheep are both bred and fed upon the same farm, a proportion of permanent
pasture is essential. Much injury in particular has been sustained by breaking up per-
manent pastures on such soils, more especially when subject to rectorial tithes. Many
lands of an inferior soil, which kept two sheep on an acre, paying only vicarial tithes,
and rented at ten shillings per acre, since they have been broken up, cannot pay, even
without rent, the tithe of corn and the expense of cultivation. A farm in general lets
best, with a fair proportion of grass land upon it, which admits of a mixed management,
in consequence of which, if one object fail, another may be successful.
5275. With respect to the disadvantages of breaking up pastures, it is alleged in The
Code of Agriculture, that there is a risk of tenants breaking through their engagements
(p. 473, 3d edit.), by which we suppose is to be understood their chance of their taking a
few good crops from the newly-broke-up lands, and then leaving the farm. Tenants
who would do this must certainly be as wicked, as the landlords who would put it in
their power would be imbecile. No other disadvantage is stated, and this may safely
be left to work its own cure.
SuBSECT. 3. Of breaking up Grass Lands, and afterwards restoring them to Grass.
5276. On the subject of breaking up and laying down grass lands, the following parti-
culars are discussed in The Code of Agriculture, as the result of the information commu-
nicated to the Board. "Whether any previous steps are necessary before lands in grass are
broken up ; the proper mode of effecting that object ; the course of crops ; the manure
necessary ; the system of management during the rotation ; the mode of laying down
the land again to grass ; that of sowing the grass-seeds ; and, the subsequent manage-
ment.
5277. Jf the land be wet, it is advisable to drain it completely, previous to its being
Book VI. BREAKING UP GRASS LANDS. 845
broken up ; for it is not improbable that its being kept in pasture was partly on account
of its wetness. Land that has been long in pasture does not require dung during the
first course of crops that is taken after being broken up ; but the application of calca-
reous manure is always, in such cases, expedient. Sometimes lime is spread on the
ground before it is ploughed ; at other times when it is either under summer-fallow, or
a drilled crop of turnips. Marl and chalk also have been used for the same purpose
with great advantage. The land thence derives additional strength and vigor; the suc-
ceeding crops are much improved ; the soil is commonly so softened in its texture, that
it may be ploughed with half the strength that would otherwise be necessary ; and when-
ever it is restored to grass, the herbage is abundant.
5278. Wherever the soil is not too shallow, nor of a friable nature, or when the turf can-
not soon be rotted, if land is to be broken up from old pasture, paring and burning is
the proper system to be adopted. In this way, good tilth is speedily procured ; the
damage that might otherwise be sustained by the grub, the wire-worm, and other insects,
is avoided, while the soil receives a stimulus which ensures an abundant crop. Where
paring and burning, from any circumstance, cannot take place, the land may be trenched
or double-ploughed. This is effected by meaus of two ploughs following each other,
the first plough taking off a thin surface of about three inches, and the second going
deeper in the same place, covering the surface-sod with fine mould ; both furrows not
exceeding the thickness of the vegetable mould or other good soil. If the land is
ploughed with one furrow, the operation ought to be performed before winter, that it
may receive the benefit of the succeeding frosts, by which the success of the future
operations will not only be promoted, but most of the insects lodged in the soil will be
destroyed. "When one furrow alone is taken, the best size is four inches and a half deep
by eight or nine broad. The strain on horses in ploughing ley land is mostly from the
depth.
.5279. The rotation of crops to be adopted, when grass lands are broken up, must partly
depend upon the soil, and partly on the manner in which it is prepared for cultivation.
As a general principle, hov/ever, it may be laid down, that unless by the course of crop-
ping to be pursued the bad grasses and other plants indigenous in the soil are extirpated,
they will, when the land is again laid down to grass, increase and prevail with more
rapidity and effect than seeds chosen by the farmer ; and the consequence must be, a heavy
disappointment in the future crops of grass, perhaps solely, or at least principally, attri-
butable to a previous defective management. It is necessary, therefore, to enter into de-
tails upon this subject as applicable to clay, chalk, peat, loam, and sand.
5280. Clai/. The process of conversion in clayey soils should be commenced with paring and burning,
especially where the grub is suspected. The following course may then be adopted : — 1. rape, fed with
sheep ; 2. beans ; 3. wheat ; 4. beans ; 5. wheat ; 6. fallow ; 7. wheat, sown with grass-seeds. This may
seem severe cropping, but is justified by experience when old grass clay land is broken up. If the land
has not been pared and burnt, the first crop ought to be either oats or dibbled beans. To do justice to the
plan of restoring the land to grass, there ought to be, in all cases, according to the soil, either a naked or
turnip fallow, before the sowing of grass-seeds be attempted. But on mellow loamy clay land, consisting
of fine old grass pasture, where it is thought necessary or advisable to break up such land, it should be
done in detached pieces, so'as to suit the convenience of the occupier, and the following course should be
adopted : — 1. autumnal ploughing for oats in spring ; 2. fallow for rape, to be eaten with sheep ; 3. beans ;
4. wheat, sown with clover; 5. clover; 6. clover; 7. wheat; 8. rape, to be partially eaten, and hoed in
spring, and to stand for seed ; and 9. wheat with grass-seeds. This is a very profitable rotation, and ap-
plicable to the best grazing land in Lincolnshire.
5281. Chalk. Paring and burning is considered in this case to be indispensable as a preparationjfor tur-
nips, which ought, where manure can be got, to be raised two years in succession ; then, barley, clover,
wheat ; and, after one or two additional crops of turnips, the land may be laid down with saintfoin to
great advantage.
5282. Peat. On this soil paring and burning is essentially necessary. Under a judicious system, the
greatest and quickest profit is thus secured to the farmer, with advantage to the public, and without injury
to the landlord. Draining also must not be neglected. The crops to be grown on peat soils are, 1. rape
or potatoes ; 2. oats ; 3. turnips ; 4. oats or wheat ; and 5. clover or gras.s-seeds. A liberal application
of lime, where it can be obtained, is of the greatest service in enabling such soils to bring corn to its full
perfection. In the fens of Thorney, the following course was recommended : — 1. paring and burning
for rape ; 2. oats ; and 3. wheat with grass-seeds ; if the land was safe from water, the Lammas sort, if
not, spring wheat. This short course, it is contended, preserves the land'in heart ; and it afterwards
produces abundant crops of grass. But long courses, in such a soil, run tlie lands to weeds and straw,
without quality in the grain.
5283. Loam. The courses of crops .ipplicable to this soil are too numerous to be here inserted. If the
sward be friable, the following rotation may be adopted : — 1. oats ; 2. turnips ; 3. wheat or barley ;
4. beans ; 5. wheat ; 6. fallow or turnips ; 7. wheat or barley, and grass-seeds. If the sward be very tough
and coarse, instead of taking oats, it may be pared and burnt for turnips.
5284. Sand. On rich and deep sandy soils, the most valuable crop that can be raised is carrots. For
inferior sands, turnips, to be eaten on the ground, then to be laid down with barley and grass-seeds.
5285. According to the imjrroved system of laying down lands to grass, land ought to be
previously made as clean and fertile as possible. With that view, all the green crops raised
ought to be consumed upon the ground ; fallow or fallow crops ought not to be neglected ;
and the whole straw of the corn crops should be converted into manure, and applied to
the soil that produced it. Above all, the mixing of calcareous matter with the soil,
either previous to, or during the course of cropping, is essential. Nothing generally
improves meadows or pastures more than lime or marl : they sweeten the herbage, ren-
der it more palatable to stock, and give it more nourishing properties.
846
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
5286. Wfien turnips are raised upon light land, sheep should be folded on them ; whereas, if the land be
strong or wet, the crop should be drawn, and fed in some adjoining grass-field, or in sheds. If the land
be in liigh condition, it is customary to cart off half the turnips, and eat the other on the ground. But
this is not a plan to be recommended on poor soils.
5287. It has been disputed whether grass-seeds should be soivn tvith or without corn. In favor of the first
practice, that of uniting the two crops, it is maintained, that where equal pains are taken, the future crop
of grass will succeed equally well as if they had been sown separately, while the same tilth answers for
both. On the other hand, it is observed, that as the land must, in that case, be put into the best possible
order, there is a risk that the corn-crop will grow so luxuriantly, as to overpower the grass-seeds, and, at
any rate, will exclude them from the benefit of the air and the dews. If the season also be wet, a corn-
crop is apt to lodge, and the grass will, in a great measure, be destroyed. On soils moderately fertile, the
grasses have a better chance of succeeding ; but then, it is said, that the land is so much exhausted by
producing the corn-crops, that it seldom proves good grass land afterwards. In answer to these objec-
tions, it has been urged, that where from the richness of the soil, there is any risk of sowing a full crop of
corn, less seed is used, even as low as one-third of the usual quantity ; and that a moderate crop of grain
nurses the young plants of grass, and protects them from the rays of a hot sun, without producing any
material injury. Where the two crops are united, barley is the preferable grain, except on peat. Barley
has a tendency to loosen the texture of the ground in which it grows, which is favorable to the vegetation
of grass-seeds. In the choice of barley, that sort should be preferred which runs least to straw, and which
is the soonest ripe. On peat, a crop of oats is to be preferred.
5288. The manner of sowing the grass-seeds, also, requires to be particularly attended to. Machines
have been invented for that purpose, which answer well, but they are unfortunately too expensive for
the generality of farmers. It is a bad system, to mix seeds of different plants before sowing them,
in order to have the fewer casts. It is better, to sow each sort separately, for the expense of going several
times over the ground is nothing, compared to the benefit of having each sort equally distributed. The
seeds of grasses being so light, ought never to be sown in a windy day, except by machinery, an equal
delivery being a point of great consequence. Wet weather ought likewise to be avoided, as the least
degree of poaching is injurious. Grass seetls ought to be well harrowed, according to the nature of the
soil.
5289. When the corn is carried off, the young crop of grass should he but little fed during autumn, and
that only in dry weather ; but heavily rolled in the following spring, in order to press the soil home to the
roots. It is then to be treated as permanent pasture. By attention to these particulars, the far greater
Eroportion of the meadows and pastures in the kingdom, of an inferior, or even medium quality, may be
roken up, not only with safety, but with great profit to all concerned.
Chap. VIII.
Of Plants cultivated on a limited Scale for various Arts and Manvfactures.
5290. The plants used as food for men and animals, are by far the most generally
cultivated in every country, and next, those of clothings building, and other arts of conve-
nience or luxury. The former are often called agricultural, and the latter commercial
or manufactorial plants. Of manufactorial plants, only a few are at present cultivated
in Britain; the national policy rendering it preferable to import them, or substi-
tutes, from other countries. Some, however, are still grown in nearly sufficient quan-
ties for home consumption, as the hop, mustard, rape, canary, and a considerable
quantity of flax, anise, carraway ; and some hemp, teazle, and woad are also raised. These
and other plants may be classed as grown for the clothing, distilling, brewing, oil mak-
ing, domestic, and medical arts.
Sect. I. Of Plants grown chiefly for the Clothing Arts.
5291. The clothing jilants ^xe^sa^hem^, teazle, madder, woad, and weld; the three
first are used by the manufacturer of the fabric, and the others by the dyer.
SuBSECT. 1. The Flax. — Linum usitatissimum, L. Pentan. Pentag. L. and Caryo-
■phyllecp., J. Xin, Fr. ; Flacks, Ger. ; andi Lino, Span, and Ital. {fig. 588 a.)
5292. The flax has been cultivated from the earliest ages, and for an unknown
length of time in Britain, of which it is now considered a naturalised inhabitant.
It is cultivated both for its fibre for making
thread, and its seed for being crushed for oil;
but never has been grown in sufficient quantity
for either purpose. The legislature of the coun-
try, as Brown observes, has paid more attention to '
framing laws regarding the hu.sbandry of flax
than to any other branch of rural economy ; but
it need not excite surprise that these laws, even
though accompanied by premiums, have failed to
induce men to act in a manner contrary to their
own interest. The fact is, the culture of flax is
found on the whole less profitable than the cul-
ture of corn. It is one of the most severe crops
when allowed to ripen its seed ; but by no means
so when pulled green.
5293. The varieties of the common flax axe few, axidi scarcely
deserving of notice. Marshal mentions the blue or lead-
colored flax as being cultivated in Yorkshire, and Professor
Thaer mentions a finer and coarser variety; he also, as
Book VI. FLAX. 847
well as some other agriculturists, has tried the Linum perenne (i), but though it aflfbrds a strong fibre, it
is coarse and difficult to separate from the woody matter.
5294. The soils most proper for flax> besides the alluvial kinds, are deep and friable
loams, and such as contain a large proportion of vegetable matter in their composition.
Strong clays do not answer well, nor soils of a gravelly or dry sandy nature. But
whatever be the kind of soil, it ought neither to be in too poor nor in too rich a
condition ; because, in the latter case, the flax is apt to grow too luxuriant, and to
produce a coarse sort ; and, in the former case, the plant, from growing weakly, affords
only a small produce. {Tr. on Rural Affairs,)
5295. If there be water at a small depth below the surface of the ground, it is thought hy some still
better, as is the case in Zealand, which is remarliable for the fineness of its flax, and where the soil is
deep and rather stiff', with water almost every where, at the depth of a foot and a half or two feet under-
neath it. It is said to be owing to the want of this advantage, that the other provinces of Holland do
not succeed equally well in the culture of this useful plant ; not but that fine flax is also raised on high
lands, if they have been well tilled and manured, and if the seasons are not very dry. It is remarked,
in the letters of the Dublin Agricultural Society, that moist stifF soils yield much larger quantities of
flax, 'and far better seed, than can be obtained from light lands ; and that the seed secured from the
former may, with proper care, be rendered full as good as any that is imported from Riga or Zealand.
M. Du Hamel, however, thinks that strong land can hardly yield such fine flax as that which grows on
lighter ground. ^ •■
5296. The place offiax in a rotation of crops is various, but in general it is considered
as a corn or exhausting crop, when the seed is allowed to ripen ; and as a green, or pea, or
bean crop, when the plant is pulled green. Flax, Donaldson observes, is sown after all
sorts of crops, but is found to succeed best on lands lately broken up from grass, la
Scotland, the most skilful cultivators of flax generally prefer lands from which
one crop of grain only has been taken, after having been several years in pasture*
"When such lands have been limed or marled, immediately before being laid down to
grass, the crop of flax seldom or never misgives, unless the season prove remarkably ad-
verse. In the north of Ireland flax is generally sown by the small farmers after potatoes.
In Belgium, it is supposed not to do well after pease or beans ; nor to succeed if sown
oftener on the same soil than twice in nine years, f Von Thaer.)
5297. The preparation of the soil, when grass land is intended for flax, consists in
breaking it up as early in the season as possible, so that the soil may be duly mellowed
by the winter frosts, and in good order for being reduced by the harrows, when the seed
process is attempted. If flax is to succeed a corn crop, the like care is required to pro-
cure the aid of frost, without which the surface cannot be rendered fine enough for
receiving the seed. Less frost, however, will do in the last, than m the first case ; there-
fore, the grass land ought always to be earliest ploughed. At seed-time, harrow the
land well before the seed is distributed, then cover the seed to a sufficient depth, by giving
a close double tine of the harrows. Water-furrow the land, and remove any stones and
roots that may remain on the surface, which finishes the seed process.
5298. The ordinary s^asoTi of sowing flax seed is from the middle of March to the
middle or end of April, but the last week of March and the first ten days of April is
esteemed the best time.; and accordingly within these periods the greatest quantity of
flax-seed is sown in this country. In France and Italy it is often sown in the autumn,
by which a larger crop is produced, especially when seed is desired.
5299. The quantity of seed depends on the intention of the crop. When a crop of
seed is intended to be taken, thin sowing is preferable, in order that the plants may have
room to throw out lateral shoots, and to obtain air in the blossoming and filling
seasons. But it is a mistake to sow thin when flax is intended to be taken, for the crop
then becomes coarse, and often unproductive. From eight to ten pecks per acre, is the
proper quantity in the last case, but when seed is the object, six pecks will do very well.
{Brown.) Thick -sown flax runs up in height, and produces fine soft flax ; if sown thiUj
it does not rise so high, but spreads more and puts forth many side branches, which pro-
duce abundance of seed, and such seed is much better filled, plump, and heavy, than the
seed produced from thick-sown flax. {Donaldson.)
5300. In the choice of seed, that which is of a bright brownish color, oily to the feel,
and at the same time weighty, is considered the best. Linseed, imported from various
countries, is employed. That brought from Holland is, however, in the highest esti-
mation, as it not only ripens sooner than any other that is imported, but also produces
greater crops, and flax of that quality which best suits the chief manufactures of the
country. American seed produces, in common, fine flax, but neither the quantity of flax
nor of the pods, provincially the " bolls," which contain the seeds, is so large as the produce
from Dutch linseed. Riga seed yields a very coarse sort of flax, but a greater quantity
of seeds than any other. It is common in some parts of Scotland to sow seeds saved
from the crop of the preceding year, especially when that crop was raised from seed
imported from Holland. The success of this practice is found to depend greatly on
changing the seed from one sort of soil to another of an opposite nature ; but the saving
in the expense of purchasing that sort of seed, in place of what is newly imported from
848 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
Holland, is so inconsiderable, and the risk of the crop misgiving so much greater
in the one case than in the other, that those only who are ignorant of the conse-
quences, or who are compelled from necessity, are chargeable with this act of ill-judged
parsimony. Flax seed is by some farmers changed every three years, but many have
sown the same seed ten years in succession without perceiving any degeneracy. When
any degeneracy takes place, the seed of flax grown on a different soil, as moss, moor,
sand, &c. without any view to the produce in fibre, will, it is said, answer as well as
foreign seed.
5S01. The manner of sowing is almost always the same, but when seed is the main
object, drilling may be adopted, by which seed will be saved in sowing, cleaning con-
ducted at less expense, and the plants rendered more vigorous and branchy by the stir-
ring of the soil, and the admission of air between the rows. The fibres of flax grown
in this way, however, will be shorter and less equal in thickness throughout their length,
than flax grown by the broad-cast mode, and tolerably thick.
5302. The after 'Culture of flax consists chiefly in weeding, but sometimes it com-
mences with rolling the surface, which is a very proper operation when the soil is very
dry, the season advanced, or the earth very porous. By this process the earth is pressed
firmly to the seeds, and they are thereby stimulated to vegetate sooner, and the drought
is kept out. On some soils, and in wet or stormy seasons, flax is apt to be laid, to guard
against which some cultivators run across their flax field slender poles fixed to stakes ;
but a better method is to run small ropes across the field, both lengthwise and breadth--
wise, where necessary, for these being fastened where they intersect one another, and
supported by stakes at due distances, form a kind of net-work, which is proof against
almost every accident that can happen from tempestuous weather.
5303. In Scotland a crop of flax is sometimes weeded by turning a flock of sheep at large into the field.
They will not taste the young flax plants, but they carefully search for the weeds, which they devour. .
5304. The flax crop is taken by jndling, on which there is a considerable difference
of opinion. None, however, think of pulling it before it comes into flower, when fibre
is the sole object; or before the seed in the capsules acquires a brownish color, when fibre
and seed jointly, or seed alone, is the object. Some argue for pulling while it is green,
in order that its fibres may be softer and finer : others, with the same view, pull it up
before its seeds are quite formed; and others again think that it should not be pulled
till some of the capsules which contain the seeds have begun to open, being of opinion
that the fibres of green flax are too tender, and that they fall into tow. On the other
hand, it is certain the fibres of flax which has stood till it is very ripe, are always stiff
and harsh, that they are not easily separated from the reed, and that they do not bleach
well. Here, therefore, as in most other cases, both extremes should be avoided, and it con-
sequently seems most reasonable to think that the properest time for pulling flax, is when
its stalks begin to turn from a green to a yellow, when its leaves begin to fall, and when
its seeds begin to be brown. Donaldson observes, that a crop of flax frequently grows
short, and runs out a great number of seed-bearing branches. When that is the case, the
seeds, not the flax, ought to be the farmer's chief object, and the crop should be allowed to
stand till the seeds are in a great measure perfected. But that when the crop thrives,
and is likely to become more valuable for the flax than the seeds, it should be pulled
soon after the bloom drops off, and before the pods turn hard and sharp in the points.
When flax is grown for its fibre. Brown considers it the safest course to take it a little
early, any thing wanting in quantity, being, in this way, made up by the superiority of
quality.
5305. The operation of pulling fax differs according to the intention of the crop.
When it is grown for the fibre it is pulled and tied immediately into sheaves like corn,
being carried off immediately to be watered. But when the seed is to be taken from the
plant, it is pulled and laid in handfuls.
5506. In pulling flax, it is usual, when it is intended to save the seeds, to lay it in handfuls, partly across
each other; the reason for which is, that the business of rippling is thereby facilitated, as the ripplers, in
place of having to separate each handful from the bundle, lind it by this simple precaution already done
to their hand. Although it is of much importance, yet it very seldom happens, that much attention is
bestowed to separate the different sorts of flax from each other, in pulling the crop. In most fields, there
are varieties of soils ; of course some parts of a field will produce fine flax ; others coarse ; some long ;
and some short : in a word, crops of different lengths and quahties. It cannot be supposed that all these
sorts of flax will undergo an equal degree of watering, grassing, breaking, and heckling, without sustain-
ing great injury.
5307. As the flax is pulled, it is laid together by handfuls, with the seed end turned to the south.
These handfuls should neither lie quite in a line with each other, nor directly across, but a little
slanting upwards, so that the air may easily pass through them. Some, instead of this method, tie
the handfuls of flax loosely at the top, then spread out their roots, and thus set several of them to-
gether upright upon their roots. In either of these ways, the flax is generally left twelve or fourteen
days in the field to dry it. This drying is certainly not necessary for the rippling, because the ripple will
separate the capsules from the flax as effectually before it has been dried as it will afterwards ; and if it be
done with a view to ripen the seed, it should be considered, that the flax will be more hurt bv the longer
time of steeping, which will become necessary in consequence of this drying, than the seed'can be be-
nefited ; because, the more the membrane which connects the fibres to the reed is dried, the greater must be
the degree of putrefaction necessary to loosen and destroy the cohesion of this connecting membrane j the
Book VI. FLAX. 849
finer parts of the flax itself must necessarily be destroyed by this degree of putrefaction ; and if the putre-
faction does not arise to such a degree as to destroy the cohesion of this membrane, the fibres of the flax
will adhere so strongly to the reed, that the force necessaiy in scutching will prove equally detrimental to
the flax. The i)ractice adopted in some parts of Britany seems therefore much laore rational, which is,
to ripple the flax after it has lain in the air two or three days j but even one day will be sufficient, if the
weather is dry.
5308. In the process of ripjyling, which is the next operation, a large cloth should be
spread on a convenient spot of ground, with the ripple placed in the middle of it. lu
performing this business, the pods containing the seeds are forced from the stalks by-
means of the iron comb called a ripple, fixed on a beam of wood, on the ends of which
two persons sit, who, by pulling the seed end of the flax repeatedly through this comb,
execute the operation in a very complete manner. It is remarked by the author of The
Present State of Husbandry in Great Britain, that " those who bestow much attention on
the cultivation of flax in Scotland generally ripple off the seed, even when there is no
intention of saving it ; as it is found, when flax is put into water without taking
off the pods, the water soon becomes putrid, in consequence of which the flax is greatly-
injured."
5309. The management of the capsules and separation of the seed, is the next operation.
The capsules obtained should be spread in the'Sun to dry, and those which separate from
the pods of their own accord being the fullest and ripest, should be set apart for sowing,
in case the precaution of raising some flax purposely for seed has not been attended to.
The capsules are then broken, either by treading or by threshing, in order to get out the
remaining seeds, the whole of which, as well as the former, should be carefully sifted,
winnowed, and cleaned. When the seed is laid up, it must be frequently stirred, or
ventilated, to prevent its heating. Even this second seed affords a considerable profit,
by the oil which it yields, and also by being used when broken for fattening of cattle.
5310. To facilitate the separation of the fibre from the bark, it is necessary to accelerate
the process of decay or putrefaction. This may be done in differentw ays, but the chief
are those of bleaching alone, or of steeping and bleaching. Bleaching is a tedious and
laborious operation M'hen it is intended as a substitute for steeping, but it is the most
certain for not injuring the fibre, and may be adopted on a small scale when steeping
places are not at hand. In Dorsetshire, and some other places, flax, instead of being
steeped, is what is called dew-retted ; that is, the stalks are allowed to arrive at that state
in which the harl or woody parts, separate most easily from the boon, reed or fibre, by
a more gradual process, that of ripening by the action and influence of the dew. This
is nothing more than exposing the flax to the influence of the weather for a longer
period than is necessary, when the operation of watering has been previously performed.
Steeping, however, is the most universal practice both in Britain and on the continent.
Of late, an invention has been made by Lee of Middlesex, by which with the aid of
soft soap and machinery, the fibre is more completely separated than by steeping, and
uninjured by that process. When flax is to be separated by this new process, the
cultivator has only to pull it in handfuls, dry it, bind it into sheaves or faggots, and
put it up in stacks like corn, till wanted by the manufacturer.
5311. Steeping or watering, however, is and will be the general practice till flax
dressing machines come into universal use. In performing this operation, the flax,
whether it has been dried and rippled, or pulled green, is loosely tied into small bundles,
the smaller the better, because it is then most equally watered. These sheaves ought to
be built in the pool in a reclining upright posture, so that the weight placed above may-
keep the whole firm down. The weights made use of are commonly stones placed on
planks, or directly on the flax.
5312. The Flemish mode of steqnngflax, as described by RadcHff, is said to improve the
quality of the flax ; and greatly increase its whiteness. This mode differs from the common
practice, in placing the bundles in the steep vertically, instead of horizontally ; in im-
mersing the flax by means of transverse sticks, with that degree of weight annexed
which shall not push it down to the bottom, but leave it the power to descend sponta-
neously towards the conclusion of the steepage ; and in leaving at first a space of at least
half a foot between the bottom and the roots of the flax. The spontaneous descent of the
flax is an indication of its being suflUciently steeped ; and the strength and quality of the
fibre are said to be much better preserved by this mode, in which the temperature of the
atmosphere acts with most force on the upper part of the plant, which needs it most.
5313. The water 7nost proper for stee]nng fax should be clear, soft, and in standing
pools. Compared with running water, pools occasion the flax to have a better color, to
be sooner ready for the grass, and even to be of superior quality in every respect. When
soft clear stagnating water cannot be obtained without art, a pit or canal is commonly-
formed, adjoining to a river or stream, whence water can be easily brought. This pit
or canal is filled with water for some time (a week or two) before it be proposed to pull
the flax ; by this means the water acquires a greater degree of warmth than river-water
possesses, and which contributes gr< liy to facilitate the object farmers have in view in
3 I
850
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
immersing green flax in water, namely, to make the harl or flaxy substance part easily
and completely from the boon or reed.
5314. The period that flax ought to remain in the water, depends on various circum-
stances ; as the state of ripeness in which it was pulled, the quality and temperature of the
water, &c. The most certain rule by which to judge when flax is sufficiently watered,
is, when the boon becomes brittle, and the harl separates easily from it. In warm
weather, ten days of the watering process is sufficient ; but it is proper to examine the
pools regularly after the seventh day, lest the flax should putrefy or rot, which sometimes
happens in very warm weather. Twelve days will answer in any sort of weather j
though it may be remarked, that it is better to give too little of the water, than too much,
as any deficiency may be easily made up by suffering it to lie longer on the grass, whereas
an excess of water admits of no remedy. (Broivn.)
5315. Grassing or bleaching flax is the next operation, the intention of which is to
rectify any defect in the watering process, and carry on the putrefactive process to that
point when the fibre will separate from the bark, boon, reed or harl, (as the woody part
of the stem is called) with the greatest ease. In performing this operation, the flax is
spread very thin on the ground, and in regular rows ; the one being made to overlap the
other a few inches, with a view of preventing, as much as possible, its being torn up and
scattered by gales of wind. Old grass-ground, where the herbage does not grow to any
great height, is the best for the purpose ; as when the grass or weeds spring up so as to
cover the flax, it is frequently rotted, or at least greatly injured thereby.
5316. The time allowed for grassing is regulated by the state of the flax, and seldom exceeds ten
or twelve days During this time it is repeatedly examined, and when it is found that the boon has
become very brittle, so that, on being broken, and rubbed between the hands, it easily and freely parts
from the harl, it is then taken up, a dry day being chosen for the purpose, and, being bound in sheaves,
is either sent directly to the mill, which is the usual practice in the northern districts, or broken and
scutched, by a machine or implement for the purpose.
5317. Steeping flax in hot water and soft soap ('said to be the invention of Lee, and for
which he was granted by parliament a secret or unenroUed patent) is said to separate the
fibre from the woody matter better than steeping in water ; and this in the short space of
two or three hours, and either with green flax, or such as has been dried and stacked for
months or years.
5318. The dressing of flax consists of various operations, such as scutching, tracking,
or breaking, by which the woody part is broken ; and heckling or combing, by which the
fibre is separated from the woody part, and sorted into lengths. These operations are often
all performed by the cottager, or small farmer, who grows flax for the purpose of spinning
the fibre in his own family. But there are also public flax mills, impelled by water or
other powers, by which flax is scutched, and it is then heckled by professed hecklers.
5319. A method of preparing flax in such a manner as to resemble cotton in whiteness and softness, as
well as in coherence, is given in The Swedish Transactions (or the year 1747. For this purpose a little
sea-water is to be put into an iron pot or an untinned copper-kettle, and a mixture of equal parts of
birch-ashes and quick-lime strewed upon it ; a small bundle of flax is to be opened and spread upon the
surface, and covered with more of the mixture, and the stratification continued till the vessel is suffici-
ently filled. The whole is then to be boiled with sea-water for ten hours, fresh quantities of water being
occasionally supplied in proportion to the evaporation, that the matter may never become dry. The boiled
flax is to be immediately washed in the sea by a little at a time, in a basket, with a smooth stick at first,
while hot; and when grown cold enough to be borne by the hands, it must be well rubbed, washed with
soap, laid to bleach, and turned and watered every day. Repetitions of the washing with soap expedite
the bleaching ; after which the flax is to be beat, and again well washed; when dry, it is to be worked and
carded in the same manner as common cot-
ton, and pressed betwixt two boards for forty-
eight hours. It is now fully prepared and fit
for use. It loses in this process near one-half
its weight, which, however, is abundantly
compensated by the improvement made in its
quality.
5320. Lee's method of breaking flax
and hemp, without dew-retting, was
invented in 1810, and was the first
step towards a great improvement,
brought nearer perfection by the new
patent machines of Messrs. Hill and
Bundy.
5321. HUl and Bundy' s machines {fig. 589.)
are portable, and may be worked in barns or
any kind of out-house; they are also well-
calculated for parish work-houses and chari-
table institutions; a great part of the work
being so light that it may be<ione by children
and infirm persons ; and such is the construc-
tion and simplicity of the machines, that no
previous instruction or practice is required ;
their introduction, therefore, into those asy-
lums, would be the means of eflbcting a con-
siderable reduction of the poor's rate. The
woody part is removed by a very simple
machine ; and, by passing through a second
Book VI. HEMP. 851
machine equally simple, the flax may be brought to any degree of fineness, equal to the best used in
France and the Netherlands, tbr the finest lace and cambrick. The original length of the fibre, as well
as its strength, remains unimpaired; and the difference of the produce is immense, being nearly two-
thirds J one ton of flax being produced from four tons of stem. The expense of working each ton ob-
tained by this method is only live pounds. The glutinous matter may be removed by soap and water
only, which will bring the flax to such perfect whiteness, that no further bleaching is necessary, even
after the linen is woven ; and the whole process o^" preparing flax may be completed in six days.
5322. The produce of Jlax in seed is generally from six to eight, sometimes as high as
ten or twelve, bushels per acre ; and the price depends, in a great measure, on that
of foreign seed imported ; as, when sold to oil-makers, it is generally about one half of
that of Dutch seed sold for the purpose of sowing. The price of home-cultivated linseed
is considerably advanced of late in some of the southern and western counties of the
kingdom, in proportion to what it is in those of the northern, owing to the circumstance
of its being much used as food for fattening cattle. The average price of the linseed
cultivated in the kingdom at large, cannot, it is supposed, be rated higher than from three
to four shillings the bushel. The seed is separated into three qualities ; the best for sow-
ing ; the second best for crushing for oil ; and the inferior for boiling or steaming for cattle.
5323. The produce of flax in fibre varies exceedingly. Before being sorted, the gross
product of fibre varies from three cwt. to half a ton per acre.
5324. The use of flax in the linen manufacture is well known. The seed is crushed
for oil, which is that in common use by painters ; the cake or husk which remains, after
the expression of the oil, is sold for fattening cattle, and in some places as a manure ; and
the inferior seed not fit to crush, is boiled and made into flax-seed jelly, esteemed an ex-
cellent nutriment for stock.
5325. As the making of flax-seed jelly is an agricultural operation, we shall here de-
scribe it. The proportion of water to seed is about seven to one. Having been
steeped in part of the water eight-and-forty hours, previous to the boiling, the re-
mainder is added cold, and the whole boiled gently about two hours, keeping it in
motion during the operation to prevent its burning to the boiler ; thus reducing the
whole to a jelly-like, or rather a gluey or ropy consistence. After being cooled in tubs,
it is given, with a mixture of barley -meal, bran, and cut chaff; a bullock being allowed
about two quarts of the jelly per day, or somewhat more than one quart of seed in four
days: that is, about one- sixteenth of the medium allowance of oil-cake.
5326. The diseases of flax are few, and chiefly the fly, which sometimes attacks the
plants when young, and the mildew and rust.
SuBSECT. 2. HemP' ■• — Cannabis sativa, L. Dieecia Pentandria, L. and Urtice<e, J.
Chanvre, Fr. ; Hanf.Ger. ; Canomo, Span. ; and Canapa, Ital.
5327. The hemp is a plant of equal antiquity with the flax. It is supposed to be a
native of India, or of some other Asiatic country, being too tender to be even natu-
ralized in Europe. It is one of the few plants employed in British agriculture, in which
the male and female flowers are in different plants, a circumstance which has some influ-
ence on its culture and. management. It grows to a great height on good soils, some-
times to six or seven feet in this country, but in Italy generally higher ; and Crud states
that he has seen it fifteen feet eight inches high in the Bolognese territory, and a friend
of his eighteen feet six inches : in both cases the fibre being of remarkable beauty. This
luxuriance of the hemp in warm countries may be one reason why it has never been -much
cultivated in England. In the isle of Axholme, in Lincolnshire, jt has been cultivated
from time immemorial, and also for some centuries in Suffolk, but cHiefly for local ma-
nufacture. The culture, management, and uses of hemp, are nearly the same as of
flax. When grown for seed it is a very exhausting crop ; but when pulled green, ii is
considered a cleaner of the ground, and is said to have the property of preserving from
insects any crop which it may surround. The objections to this crop are, that its coming
in the midst of harvest is embarrassing; and that the attention it demands in every state
of its progress is too great, where it is only a secondary consideration.
5328. The soils most suitable for hemp are those of the deep black putrid vegetable
kind, which have a situation low, and somevvhat inclined to moisture, as well as the deep
mellow loamy or sandy sorts. But the quantity of produce is in general much greater
on the former than the latter ; though, according to some, of an inferior quality. Mel-
low rich clayey loams do well ; and nothing better than old meadow land.
5329. The preparation of the soil, and place in the rotation, are the ^me as for flax.
5330. The season, of solving is towards the end of April, when there is no longer any
danger of frost injuring the rising plants. The quantity of seed is from two to three
bushels, according to the quality of the land. In quality the seed must be fresh, heavy,
and bright in color. Broad-cast is the universal mode of sowing, and the only after-
culture consists in keeping off birds when it is coming up ; in weeding, and sometimes
in supporting the crop by cross rods or lines, as in the case of flax. :5S02. )
5331. In taking the hemp crop, two methods are in use according to the object
in view. When the crop is grown entirely for the fibre, it is pulled when in flower, and
3 I 2
85^ PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pari III.
ijp distinction made between the male and female plants. But as it is most commonly
grown, both witli a view to fibre and seed, the usual practice is to pull the male plants as
soon as the setting of the seed in the females shews that they have elFected their purpose.
As the femalfe plants require four or five weeks to ripen their seeds, the males are thus
pulled so long before them.
5332. In the operation of pulling the males, the pullers walk in the furrows, between
the ridges, and reach across to the crown of the ridge, pulling one or two stalks at
a time, and carefully avoiding to tread down the female plants. The male stalks are
easily known by their yellowish hue, and faded flowers. They are tied in small bundles,
and immediately carried to the watering pool, in the manner of flax.
5333. The operation of pulling the females commences when the seed is ripe, which,
is known by the brownish or greyish hue of the capsules and fading of the leaves. The
stalks aie then pulled and bound up into bundles, being set up in the same manner as
grain, imtil the seed becomes so dry and firm as to shed freely ; great care should be
taken at pulling not to shake the stalks rashly, otherwise much of the seed may be lost.
It is advised, that, after pulling the seed, hemp may be set to stand in shocks of five
sheaves to dry the seed; but, in order to prevent any delay in watering, the seed-
pods may be cut off with a chopping-knife, and dried on canvass exposed to tlie air,
under some shed or cover. This last method of drying the seed will prove of great
advantage to the hemp, as the seed and pods, when green, are of such a gummy
nature, that the stems might suffer much by sun-burning or rain ; which will dis-
color and injure the hemp before the seed can be sufliciently dried upon the stalks.
Besides, the threshing-out the seed would damage the hemp in a considerable degree,
5334. Hemp is watered (provin. water-retted j , bleached (provin. dew-retted), and
grassed in the same manner as flax. Grassing is omitted in some places, and dry-
ing substituted ; and in other districts watering is omitted with the female crop, which
is dried and stacked, and dewed or bleached the following spring. On the conti-
nent hot- water and green soap has been tried, and here, as in the case of flax, it is found
that steeping two hours in this mixture, is as effectual in separating the fibre from the
woody matter, as watering and grassing for weeks.
5335. Although hemp in the process of manufacturing, passes through the hands of the breaHer, heckler '
spinner, whitester, weaver, and bleacher ; yet many of these operations are frequently carried on by the
same person. Some weavers bleach their own yarn and cloth, others their cloth only ; some heckle their
tow, and put it out to spinning, others buy the tow, and put it out ; and some carry on the wholq of the trade
themselves.
5336, The produce of hemp inftbre^ varies from 3 to 6 cwt. per acre ; in seed from
11 to 12 bushels.
5337. The uses of hemp are well known, as well as its great importance to the navy for sails and cordage.
Exceeding good huckaback is made from it, for towels and common table-cloths. The low-priced hempen
clQths are a general wear for husbandmen, servants, and laboring manufacturers ; the better sorts for
working farmers and tradesmen in the country ; and the finer ones, seven-eighths wide, are preferred by
some gentlemen, for strength and warmth. They possess this advantage over Irish and other linens, that
their color improves in wearing; whilst theirs declines, English hemp, properly manufactured, stands un-
rivalled in its strength, and is superior in this respect to the Russian. Considerable quantities of cloth are
imported from that country for sheeting merely on account of its strength, for it is coarser at the price than
other linen. Our hempen cloth, however, is preferable, being stronger from the superior quality of the
thread, and at the same time lighter in washing. The hemp raised in England is not of so dry and spongy
a nature as what we have from Russia and India, and therefore it requires a smaller proportion of tar to
manufacture it into cordage. Tar being cheaper than hemp, the rope-makers prefer foreign hemp to ours,
because they can make a greater profit in working it : but cordage must certainly be stronger in proportion,
as there is more hemp and less tar in it, provided there be a sufficient quantity of the latter to unite the
fibres. An oil is extracted from the seeds of hemp , which is used in cookery in Russia, and in this country
by painters. The seeds themselves are reckoned a good food for poultry, and are supposed to occasion hens
to lay a greater quantity of eggs. Small birds in general are very fond of them, but they should be given to
caged birds with caution, and mixed with other seeds. A very singular effect is recorded, on very good au-
thority, to have been sometimes produced by feeding bullfinches, and goldfinches, on hemp-seed alone, or
in too great quantity ; viz. that of changing the red and yellow on those birds to a total blackness.
5338. The hemp has few or no diseases.
SuBSECT. 3. The Fuller's Thistle, or Teazle. — JDipsacusfullonum, L. Tetran- Man. L.
2iXi(i Dipsace<B, J . Chardon dfoullon, Fr. ; Jiardendistel, Ger.; Cardencha, Span.; and
Dissaco, Ital. {fg. 590.)
5339. The fuller s thistle is a herbaceous biennial, growing from four to six feet high ;
prickly or rough in the stem and leaves, and terminated by rough burr-like heads of
flowers. It is a native of Britain, flowers in July, and ripens its seed in September.
It is cultivated in Essex, and the west of England, for raising the nap upon woollen
cloths, by means of the crooked awns or chafts upon the heads ; which in the wild
sort are said to be less hooked. For this purpose they are fixed round the cir-
cumference of a cylinder, which is made to turn round, and the cloth is held age^inst
them.
5340. There are no varieties of the cultivated teazle, but the wild species is not ma-
terially different from it, and may be used in its stead, though its chaff is nqt quite so
rigid.
Book VI. tiEAZLE. 853
5341. The soils oh tvhich the 'teazle grows strongfe^t, 59O
are deep, loamy clays, not over rich. The situation
should be rather elevated, airy and exposed to the south.
In a rotation it may occupy the place of a green and corn
crop, as the first year the plants are treated like turnips,
and the second the crop is ripened. The soil should be
ploughed deep, and well comminuted by cross plough-
ings, or stirrings with pronged implements, as the culti-
vator.
5342. The sowing seasoji is the beginning of April : the
quantity of seed is from one to two pecks per acre, and
in quality it should be fresh and plump. The mode of
sowing is almost always broad-cast, but no crop is better
adapted for being grown in drills, as the plants require
hoeing and thinning. The drills may be either sown on
ridgelets or a flat surface, in the manner of turnips, or by
ribbing. The distance between the rows may be from
eighteen inches to two feet. In Essex, carraway is com-
monly sown with the teazle crop; but this is reckoned a bad plan.
5343. The after-culture of this crop consists the first year in hoeing and stirring the
soil, and in thinning out the plants to the distance of one foot every way, if sown broad-
cast, or to the distance of six inches if sown in rows. Vacancies may be filled up by
transplanting ; and a separate plantation may be made with the thinnings, but these
never attain the same vigor as the seedlings. The culture the second year consists also of
hoeing, Stirring, and weeding, till the plants begin to shoot. When the teazle is grown
broad-cast, the intervals between the plants are dug by means of spades which have long
narrow blades, not more than about four inches in breadth, having the length of sixteen or
eighteen inches. With these the land is usually worked over in the intervals of the plants
three or four times during the summer months ; and in the course of the following
winter, as about the latter end of February, the land between the plants is to be again
worked over by the narrow spades, care being taken that none of the mould falls into
the hearts of the plants. And again about the middle of May, when they begin to
spindle, another digging over is given, the earth being raised round the root-stems of
the plants, in order to support and prevent them from being blown down by the wind.
Some cultivators perform more frequent diggings, that the ground may be rendered
cleaner and more mellow ; consequently the growth of the plants will be the more effec-
tually promoted. This business, in Essex, has usually the name of spaddling, and is
executed with great despatch by laborers that are accustomed to perform it.
5344. The taking of the teazle crop, when no regard is had for seed, commences about the middle of
July, when the blossoms begin to fall from the top, or terminating heads of flowers. It is the best method
to have the heads cut as they become ripe ; but the work is mostly executed at three different times, at
the distances of about ten days or a fortnight from each other. It is performed by means of a knife, con-
trived for the purpose, with a short blade and a string attached to the haft. This last is done in order that
it may be hung over the hand. A pair of strong gloves is likewise necessary. Thus prepared, the laborer
cuts off the ripe heads along the rows or4incs with about nine inches of stem, and ties them up in handfuls
with the stem of one that is more perfectly ripened. And on the evening of the day on which they are
cut, they should be put into a dry shed ; aiid when the weather is fine and the air clear, they should be
taken out and exposed to tlic sun daily till they become perfectly dry. Much care must, however, be taken
that no rain falls upon them. In doing this, some make use of long small stakes or poles, on which these
handfuls are hung during the time of their preparation.
5345. As soon as they are contpletely dried, they should be laid up in a dry room, in a close manner, till
they are become tough and of abrightcolor, and ready for use. They should then be sorted or separated into
three different kinds, by opening each of the small bundles. These are distinguished into kings, middlings,
and scrubs, according to their different dualities. They are afterwards, the author of The Somerset
Jieport says, made into packs, which, of the first sort, contain nine thousand heads, but when of the
second twenty thousand; the third is a sort of very inferior value. By some, before forming them into
packs, they are done up into what are termed staves, by means of split slicks, when they are ready
for sale.
5346. The produce of teazle varies from ten to fifteen packs on the acre ; nine packs
of kings, nineteen of middlings, and two of scrubs, are reckoned a large crop, vvith a
great bulk of haulm. Often, however, the crop fails.
5347. The use of the heads of the teazle has been already mentioned. Tlie haulm is
of no use but for burning as manure. Parkinson observes, that this is a sort of crop
that may be grown to advantage on many lands ; in a rotation as a fallow to prepare for
wheat, and by burning the straw and refuse stuff after the crop is reaped^ it will be found
not to impoverish, but rather improve the land. In their young state, the teazle plants
stand the winter without danger ; and are a good crop for clearing land of all weeds,
from their lateness in the process of hoeing, there being few weeds that vegetate at so ad-
vanced a season : on all these accounts they become an advantageous crop for the farmer.
5348. To save seed, leave a few of the very best plants uncropped, and then when the
seed is ripe cut off only the largest and terminating heads, from whicli the seed is easily
separated by beating with flails, and cleaned by the winnowing machine, or a sieve.
S I ^
854 ■ PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt III.
5549. The chief injuries to which the teazle is liable are those effected by the fly and
slug in its infant state.
ScBSECT. 4. Madder- — RuUa tinctorum, L. Tetran. Monog. L. and Rubiaceee, J.
Garance, Fr. ; Fdrberrvthe, Ger. ; Rubia, Span. ; and Robia, Ital. {Ji.g. 591.)
5550. The dyers madder has a perennial root, and an
annual stalk. The root is composed of many long, thick,
succulent fibres, almost as large as a man's little finger ;
these are joined at the top in a head, like the roots of
asparagus, and strike very deep into the ground, being
sometimes more than three feet in length. From the
upper part (or head of the root) come out many side roots,
which extend just under the surface of the ground to a
great distance, whereby it propagates very fast ; for these
send up a great number of shoots, which, if carefully taken
off in the spring soon after they are above ground, become
so many plants. It is a native of the south of Europe,
flowers in June, and seeds soon afterwards ; but by them
it is never propagated. Madder is mentioned by the
Greeks as a medical plant, but when it was first used in
dyeing is uncertain. It has been cultivated in Holland and
Flanders, and other parts of the continent for that purpose
for many centuries, and has been tried in this country, but
unless the importation of the root from the continent were entirely prevented, it
will not answer. Its culture has been attempted at different times when our commerce
with the Dutch was interrupted, or when they raised the price of the article exorbitantly
high. At present it may be imported not only from Holland, but from France, Italy,
and Turkey.
5351. The soils most suited to the cultivation of madder, are those of the deep
fertile sandy loams that are not retentive of moisture, and which have a considerable
portion of vegetable matter in their composition. It may also be grown on the more light
descriptions of soil that have sufficient depth, and which are in a proper state of fertility.
5352. The preparation of the soil may either consist in trench ploughings, lengthways
and across, with pronged stirrings, so as to bring it to a fine tilth ; or, what will often be
found preferable, by one trenching two feet deep by manual labor.
5353. The sets or plants are best obtained from the runners, or surface-roots of the old
plants. These being taken up, are to be cut into lengths of from six to twelve inches,
according to the scarcity or abundance of runners. Sets of one inch will grow if they
have an eye or bud, and some fibres, but their progress will be injuriously slow for want
of maternal nourishment. Sets may also be procured by sowing the seeds in fine light
earth a year before they are wanted, and then transplanting them ; or sets of an inch may
be planted one year in a garden, and then removed to the field plantation.
5354. The season of planting is commonly May or June, and the manner is generally
in rows nine or ten inches asunder, and five or six inches apart in the rows. Some plant
promiscuously in beds with intervals between, out of which earth is thrown in the lazy-bed
manner of growing potatoes ; but this is unnecessary, as it is not the surface, but the
descending roots which are used by the dyer.
5355. The operation of planting is generally done by the dibber, but some ley-plant
them by the aid of the plough. By this mode the ground is ploughed over with a shal-
low furrow, and in the course of the operation the sets are deposited in each furrow,
leaning on and pressed against the furrow-slice. This, however, is a bad mode, as there
is no opportunity of firming the plants at the roots, and as some of the sets are apt to be
buried, and others not sufficiently covered.
5356. The after-culture consists in hoeing and w^eeding with stirring by pronged hoes,
either of the horse or hand kind. Some earth up, but this is unnecessary, and even in-
jurious, as tearing the surface-roots,
5357. The madder-crop is taken at the end of ^ the third autumn after planting, and
generally in the month of October. By far the best mode is that of trenching over the
ground, which not only clears it effectually, but fits it at once for another crop. But
where madder has been grown on land prepared by the plough, that implement may be
used in removing it. Previously to trenching, the hpulm may be removed with an old
scythe, and carted to the farmery to be used as litter to spread in the straw-yards.
5358. Drying the roots is the next process, which, in very fine seasons, may sometimes
be effected on the soil, by simply laying the plants on it as they are taken up ; but in
most seasons they require to be dried on a kiln, like that used for malt or hops. They
are dried till they become brittle, and then packed up in bags for sale to the dyer.
Book VI. WOAD.
855
5359. The produce from the root of this plant is different according to the difference
of the soil, but mostly from ten to fifteen or twenty hundred weight where they are suit-
able to its cultivation.
5360. In judging of the qualitt/ of madder-roots, the best is that which, on being
broken in two, has a brightish red or purplish appearance, without any yellow cast being
exhibited.
5361. The use of madder-roots is chiefly in dyeing and calico-printing. The haulm which
accumulates on the surface of the field, in the course of three years, may be carted to the
farm-yard, and fermented along with horse- dung. It has the singular property of dyeing
the horns of the animals who eat it of a red color.
5362. Madder-seed in abundance may be collected from the plants in the September
of the second and third years ; but it is never so propagated.
5363. Madder is sometimes blighted; but in general it has few diseases.
SuBSECT. 5. Jroad. — Isatis tinctoria, L. Tetrad. Siliq. L. and Ci-ucifereee, J. Pastel^ Fr.;
Waidy Ger. ; Gualda, Span. ; and Guade, Ital. {fig. 592.)
5364. The common woad is a biennial plant with a fusiform fibrous root, and smooth
branchy stem rising from three to five feet in height. It is a native, or naturalised in
England, flowers from May to July, and its seeds are ripe
from July to September. It has been cultivated in France
for an unknown length of time, and was introduced to
England in 1582, and grown with success. It is now
chiefly cultivated in Lincolnshire, where it is a common
practice to take rich flat tracts near rivers, at a high price,
for the purpose of growing it for two or four years.
ThobC who engage in this sort of culture, form a sort of
colony, and move from place to place as they complete
their engagements. It is sometimes, however, grown by
stationary farmers. The leaves are the parts of the plant
used, and it is considered as a severe crop.
5365. There is a variety of woad called the dalmatian,
described by Miller, and also a wild sort, but only the
common is cultivated in this country.
5366. The soil for woad should be deep and perfectly
fresh, such as those of the rich, mellow, loamy, and deep
vegetable kind. Where this culture is carried to a consi-
derable degree of perfection, as in Lincolnshire, the deep,
rich, putrid, alluvial soils on the flat tracts extending upon the borders of the large rivers,
are chiefly employed for tlie growth of tliis sort of crop ; and it has been shown by re-
peated trials that it answers most perfectly when they are broken up for it immediately
from a state of sward.
5367. The preparation of the soil, when woad is to be grown on grass land, may either
be effected by deep ploughings, with the aid of the winter's frost ; cross ploughing and
harrowing in spring ; by deep ploughing and harrowing in spring ; by paring and
burning ; or by trench ploughing, or spade trenching. The first mode appears the worst,
as it is next to impossible to reduce old turf in one year, and, even if this is done,
the danger from the grub and wire-worm, is a sufficient argument against it. By
ploughing deep in February, and soon afterwards sowing, the plants may germinate before
the grub is able to rise to the surface ; by trench ploughing, the same purpose will be
more effectually obtained ; and, best of all, by spade trenching. But a method which is
equally effectual with the first, more expeditious, and which has a superiority over it in
more completely destroying grubs, insects, and other vermin, which are apt to feed on
the plants in their early growth, is that of paring and burning. Tins is, however,
chiefly practised where the sward is rough and abounds with rushes, sedge, and other
plants of the coarse kind, but might be had recourse to on others, with benefit.
5368. The time of sowing may be extended from February to July. Early sowing,
however, is to be preferred, as in that case the plants come up stronger and afford more
produce the first season.
5369. The mode of sowing is generally broad-cast, but the plant might be most
advantageously grown in rows and cultivated with the horse-hoe. The rows may be
nine inches or a foot apart, and the seed deposited two inches in depth. Tiie quantity
of seed for the broad-cast method is five or six pounds to the acre ; for the drill mode,
two pounds are more than suflScient, the seed being smaller than that of the turnip.
New seed, where it can be procured, should always be sown in preference ta such as has
been kept for some time ; but when of the latter kind, it should be steeped for soma
time before it is put into the ground*
SI 4
BSG
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
5370. The after-culture of the woad consists in hoeing, thinning, prong-stirring, and
weeding, which operations may be practised by hand or horse tools, as in the culture of teazle.
5371. In respect to the business of gathering the crops with the spring-sown ones, the leaves v/ill gene-
rally be ready to be gathered towards the latter end of June or beginning of July, according to the
nature of the soil, season, and climate ; but for those put in at a later period in the summer, they are
often fit to be gathered earlier. This business should, however, constantly be executed as soon as the
leaves are fully grown, while they retain their perfect green color and are highly succulent, as when
they are let remain till they begin to turn pale, much of their goodness is said to be expended, and they
become less in quantity, and of an inferior quality for the purposes of the dyer. In the execution of
this sort of business, a number of baskets are usually provided in proportion to the extent of the crop,
into which the leaves are thrown as they are taken from the plants, which is effected by the hand, by
grasping them firmly and giving them a sort of a sudden twist. In favorable seasons, where the soils are
rich, the plants will often rise to the height of eight or ten inches ; but in other circumstances they
seldom attain more than four or five : and where the lands are well managed in the culture of the plants,
they will often afFord two or three gatherings, but the best cultivators seldom take more than two, which
are sometimes mixed together in the manufacturing of them. It is necessary, that the after croppings,
•when they are taken-, are constantly kept separate from the others, as they would injure the whole if
blended together, and considerably diminish the value of the produce. It is said that the best method,
where a third cropping is either wholly or partially made, is to keep it separate, forming it into an inferior
kind of woad.
5372. The produce is mostly from about a ton to a ton and a half of green leaves. The
price varies considerably ; but for woad of the prime quality, it is often from twenty-
five to thirty pounds the ton, and for that of an inferior quality six or seven, and
sometimes much more.
5373. To prepare it for the dyer^ it is bruised by machinery to press the watery part ;
it is afterwards formed into balls and fermented, re-ground, and fermented in vats, where
it is evaporated into cakes in the manner of indigo. The haulm is burned for manure
or spread over the straw-yard, to be fermented along with straw-dung.
5374. The use of woad'in dyeing, is as a basis for the black and other colors.
5375. To save seed, leave some of the plants undenuded of their leaves the second
year, and when it is ripe in July or August, treat it like turnip-seed.
5376. The only diseases to which the woad is liable, are the mildew and rust ; when
young it is often attacked by the fly, and obliged to be re-sown, and this even on winter-
ploughed grass lands more than once.
SiTBSECT. 6. Weld or Dyers Weed. — Reseda luteola^ L. Dodec, Trig. L. and Cappari-
decB,J. Gaude, Fr. ; Waud, Ger. (Jig. 593.)
5377. Weld is an imperfect biennial, with small fusiform
roots, and a leafy stem from one to three feet in heighth.
It is a native of Britain, flowers in June and July, and
ripens its seeds in August and September. It is cultivated
in a few places in England, and chiefly in Essex, for its
spike of flowers and sometimes also for its leaves, both of
which are used in dyeing. Its culture may be considered
the same as that of woad, only being a smaller plant it is
not thinned out to so great a distance. It has this advan-
tage for the farmer over all other coloring plants, that it
only requires to be taken up and dried, when it is fit for
the dyer. It is, however, an exhausting crop.
5378. Weld will grow on any soil, but, fertile loams pro-
duce the best crops. In Essex, it is grown on a stiff
loam, inoderately moist. The soil being brought to a fine
tilth, the seed is sown in April or the beginning of May,
generally broad-cast. The quantity of seed is from two
quarts to a gallon per acre, and it should either be fresh,
or if two or three years old, steeped a few days in water
previously to being sown. Being a biennial, and no advantage obtained from it the
first year, it is sometimes sown with corn crops in the manner of clover, which, when
the soil is in a very rich state, may answer, provided also that hoeing, weeding, and
stirring take place as soon the corn crop is cut. The best crops, however, will obviously
be the result of drilling and cultivating the crop alone, llie drills may be a foot
asunder, and the plants thinned to six inches in the row. In the broad-cast mode, it is
usual to thin them to six or eight inches distance every way : often when weld succeeds
corn crops, it is never either thinned, wed, or hoed, but left to itself till the plants are
in full blossom.
5379. The crop is taken by pulling up the entire plant, and the proper period for this purpose is when
the bloom has been produced the whole length of the stems, and the plants are just beginning to turn
of a light or yellowish color ; as in the beginning or middle of July in the second year. The plants are
usually from one to two feet and a half in height. It is thought by some advantageous to pull it rather
€arly, without waiting for the ripening of the seeds, as by this means there will not only be the greatest
proportion of dye, but the land will be left at liberty for the reception of a crop of wheat or turnips; but
in this case, a small part must be left solely for the purpose of seed. In the execution of the work the
plants are drawn up by the roots in small handfuls, and set up to dry, after each handful has been tied up
Book VI. BASTARD SAI^FRON. 857
by one of the stalks, in the number of four together in an erect position against eiich other.' Sometimes
they, however, become sufficiently dry by turning without being set up. After they have remained till
fully dry, which is mostly effected in the course of a week or two, they are bound up into larger bundles,
that contain each sixty handfuls, and which are of the weight of fifty-six pounds each : sixty of these bun-
dles constituting a load. These last, in places where this kind of crop is much grown, are tied up by a string
made for the purpose, and sold under the title of weld cord.
5380. The produce of weld depends much on the nature of the season ; but from
half a load to a load and a half is the quantity most commonly afforded, which is usually
sold to the dyers at from five or six to ten or twelve pounds the load, and sometimes
considerably more. It is mostly bought by persons who afterwards dispose of it to the
dyers occasionally, as they find it convenient. The demand for it is sometimes very little,
while at others it is so great as to raise the price to a high degree. It is sometimes gathered
green and treated like woad or indigo; but in general the dried herb is used by the dyers
in a state of decoction.
5381. The use of lueld in dyeing is for giving a yellow color to cotton, woollen, mohair,
silk, and linen. Blue cloths are dipped in a decoction of it, which renders thena green ;
and the yellow color of the paint, called Dutch pink, is obtained from weld.
5382. To save seedy select a few of the largest and healthiest plants, and leave them to
ripen. The seed is easily separated.
5383. The chief disease of weld is the mildew, to which it is very liable when young,
and this is one reason that it is often sown with other crops.
SuBSECT. 7. The Bastard Saff^ron. — Carthamus tinctorius, L. Syngen. Polyg. jEqual. L.
and CynarocephalecBy J. Carthame, Fr. ; Wilder Safran, Ger. {Jig. 170.)
5384. The bastard saffron is an annual plant, which rises with a stiff ligneous stalk,
two feet and a half or three feet high, dividing upwards into many branches, with ovate
pointed sessile leaves. The flowers grow single at the extremity of each branch; the
heads are large, enclosed in a scaly calyx ; each scale is broad at the base, flat, and formed
like a leaf of the plant, terminating in a sharp spine. The lower part of the calyx
spreads open, but the scales above closely embrace the florets, which stand out near an
inch above the calyx ; these are of a fine saffron color, and this is the part which is
gathered for the use of the dyer.
5385. It grows naturally in Egypt and some of the warm parts of Asia, but being an annual our summers
admit of its goings through a course of existence in this country. Sown in April, it flowers in July and
August, and the seeds ripen in autumn ; but if the season proves cold and moist, when the plants are in
flower, there will be no good seeds produced ; so that there are few seasons wherein the seeds of this plant
come to perfection in England.
5386. Itiscultivated in great plenty in Germany, and was formerly grown in England. In Houghton'' s
Collections, it is related by a gentleman, in 1683, that twenty-five acres in the vale of Evesham, in Gloucester-
shire, was sowed with this seed; the soil a mixed sand of about fifteen shillings an acre value; it bore a
crop of wheat the year before, was dressed for barley, and had a harrowing extraordinary. This piece of
ground was taken for two years by an adventurer in this seed, at the rate of twenty-five pounds per acre, in
consideration that this plant is said to be a great impoverisher of land. He sold the flowers in London
for 10/. per pound j a price, he said, much below his expectation. He gained above thirty shillings
an acre clear profit, excepting the price of the seed ; but of this there was a plentiful return (about one
hundred and forty bushels) which, had it been well managed,would have amounted to a considerable value.
Like most other manuf^ctorial plants it is considered an impoverisher of the ground j both by exhausting
it, and by affording but little haulm as manure.
5387. The soil it requires is light, and the preparation and culture, according to Von
Thaer, equal to that of the garden. The seed is sown in rows, or deposited in patches,
two feet apart every way, and when the plants come up, they are thinned out, so as to
leave only two or three together. The soil is stirred and wed during summer. In Au-
gust the flowers begin to expand : the petals of the florets are then to be cut off with a
blunt knife and dried in the shade, or on a kiln, like the true saffron. This operation is
made in the early part of the day, and continued daily till October. The plants are then
pulled up, sheaved and shocked, and thri shed for their seed.
5388. The use of the flower of bastard saffron is chiefly in dyeing. It is also put in soups,
pies, and puddings, like the leaves of the marigold or the common saffron. The oil pro-
duced from the seed is used both in medicine and painting. The stalks of the plant are
commonly burnt as manure.
SuBSECT. 8. Of various Plants ivhich have been proposed as substitutes for the Thread,
and dyeing Plants grown in Britain.
5389. Though feio of these are likely to come into adtivation, yet it may be useful to
notice them with a view of indicating our resources for extraordinary occasions ; leading
the young cultivator to reflect on the richness of that immense store-house, the vegetable
kingdom ; and pointing out sources of experiment and research for the amateur agricul-
turist. Every kind of limitation has a tendency to degrade the mind, and lessen enter-
prise. The plants to be here enumerated, naturally arrange themselves 9s thread plants
and coloring plants.
5390. The thread plants that have been tried are the asclepias syriaca, urtica dioica.
858 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
(or nettle), the spartium junceum, and scoparium (brooms), epilobium angustifolium,
eriophorum polystachion, &c. The asclepias syriaca, Syrian swallow-wort, or Virginian
silk, is a creeping-rooted perennial, with strong erect stems from four to six feet high, It
is a native of Virginia, and flowers in July. The flowers are succeeded by pods, con-
taining a down or cotton, which the poor people in Virginia collect and fill their beds
with. In Germany, and especially at Leignitz, attempts were made, in 1790 and 1800,
Von Thaer informs us, to cultivate the plant as a substitute for cotton : the plant was
found to grow readily on a poor soil, but the growers could not undersell the importers,
nor produce so good an article. The eriophorum polystachion, or cotton grass, grows
abundantly in our bogs, and its seeds are furnished with a cottony substance, gathered
by the country people to stuff pillows, &c. This substance has been spun and wove into
very good cloth. The common nettle affords a fibre which has also been spun and
manufactured. The fibre of the spartium junceum, rush-like, or Spanish broom, a
native of the south of Europe, but quite hardy in Britain, is made into very good cloth
both in the south of France and in Spain. The fibre of the common broom makes an
inferior description of cordage in the former country. The epilobium angustifolium,
and other species of willow herb, common by the sides of brooks, affords a very good fibre,
as do a great variety of plants : and in Sweden a strong cloth is made from tl^ stems of
the wild hop {Humulus lupulus), and the same thing has been done in England, (Trans.
Soc. Arts- 1791.) It might be worth the attention of any one who had leisure to col-
lect a few, say only two stalks, of a great number of species from a botanic garden, to
immerse them a suflficient time in soft soap and warm water, and prove their absolute and
comparative value as fibre plants.
5391. Of coloring plants, the number that may be, and even are employed, is almost end-
less. The reader has only to look into any botanical catalogue, and observe the number
of plants whose specific name is formed from the adjective tinctorius ; and still these,
though numerous, are only a small part. On looking into The Flora Britannica, or
Flora Suecia, he will there find a number of plants, trees, and even mosses and ferns used
for dyeing. A number have been tried in this country and given up ; as an instance we
mention gallium verum, tried in 1789, (when the price of madder was high,) under the
authority of the privy council for trade.
Sect. II. Plants cultivated for the Brewery and Distillerr/.
5392. Of plants grown expressly for their use in the brewery, the only one of conse-
quence is the hop ; the anise and carraway are grown on a very limited scale for the
distillery.
SuBSECT. 1. The Hop. — Humulus lupulus, L. Dicec. Fentan. L. and Urticeee, J.
Houblon, Fr. ; Happen, Ger. ; Lupulo, Span. ; and Lupolo, Ital. {Jtg. 594.)
5393. The hop is a perennial rooted plant,
with an annual twining stem, which on poles or
in hedges will reach the height of from twelve to
twenty feet or more. It is a native of Britain,
and most parts of Europe in hedges, flowering
in June, and ripening its seeds in September.
The female blossom is the part used : and as the
male and female flowers are on different plants,
the female only is cultivated. When the hop
was first used for preserving beer, or cultivated
for that purpose, is unknown ; but its culture
was introduced to this country from Flanders in
the reign of Henry VIII. Walter Blith, in his
English Improver Improved, 1649, the 3d ed.,
1653, p. 240, has a chapter upon improvement by
plantations of hops, &c. He observes that " hops
we^e then grown to be a national commodity :
but that it was not many years since the famous
city of London petitioned the parliament of
England against two anusancies, and these were Newcastle coals, in regard to their
stench, &c., and hops, in regard they would spoyl the taste of drink, and endanger the
people ; and had the parliament been no wiser than they, we had been in a measure
pined, and in a great measure starved, which is just answerable to the principles of those
men who cry down all devices or ingenious discoveries, as p-rojects, and thereby stifle and
choak improvements."
5394. The hop has long been cultivated extendvely in many parts of England, but not
much in Scotland or Ireland. According to Brown, hops are not advantageous in an
Book VI. THE HOP. §59
agricultural point of view ; because much manure is abstracted by them, while little or
none is returned. They are an uncertain article of growth, often yielding large profits
to the cultivator, and as often making an imperfect return, l)arely sufficient to defray the
expenses of labor. In fact, hops are exposed to many more diseases than any other
plant with which we are acquainted ; and the trade affords a greater room for specula-
tion, than any other exercise within the British dominions. (^Brown.)
5395. There are several varieties of the hop. The writer of The Synopsis of Husbandry distinguishes
them under the titles of the Flemish, the Canterbury, the Goldings, the Famham, &c. and says, that the
Flemish is held in tlie lowest estimation of any. . It is, says he, of a smaller size, of a much closer contex-
ture, and of a darker green color than any of the rest, and grows on a red bind ; and has so near an affinity
to the wild or hedge-hop, that it would never answer for cultivation, did it not |)0ssess the property of resist-
ing the blast with greater vigor than the other kinds ; so that, in years when these last are covered with
flies and lice, the Flemish hop appears strong and healthy. At picking time, likewise, this kind of hop, he
says, takes less damage, either by the sun or rains, than any other ; and upon these accourits, it may
answer the views of the planter to have a few acres of it, which will secure him a crop in a blasting season,
when those of the more valuable class are destroyed, so as to be worth nothing.
5396. The soils most favorable to the growl/i of hops are clays and strong deep loams ;
but it is also of great importance that the subsoil should be dry and friable, a cold, wet,
tenacious, clayey understratum, being found extremely injurious to the roots of the
plants ; as, when they ])enetrate below the good soil, they soon become unproductive,
and ultimately decay. Bannister says, that a chalky soil is, of all others, tlie most inimicatl
to the growth of this vegetable ; the reason of which he takes to arise from the dry and
parching quality of the chalk, by which the roots are prevented from absorbing a quantity
of moisture, equal to tlie supply of the vine or bind with sap during its growth ; for though
a dripping summer is by no means kindly to tlie welfare of the hop, yet since the vine in a
healthy state is very luxuriant, and furnished with a large abundance of branches, leaves,
fruit, &c. it follows that the demand of moisture from the soil must be proportionably
great to preserve the plant in health and vigor ; and for this reason the ground ought not
to be deficient in natural humidity. Hence we generally find the most luxuriant vine
growing on such land as is deep and rich, as moulds, &c. ; and in these grounds it is
common, he says, to grow a load on an acre. But it is to be observed, however, that the
abundance of fruit is not always in proportion to the length of the vines ; since those
soils, which from their fertility cause a large growth of vine, are more frequently attacked
with the blast than land of a shallower staple, where the vine is weaker and less
luxuriant.
5397. But though rich moulds generally produce a larger growth of hops than other soils, there is one
exception to this rule, where the growth is frequently eighteen or twenty hundred per acre. This is on
the rocks in the neighborhood of Maidstone, in Kent, a kind of slaty ground, with an understratum of
stone. On these rocks there is a large extent of hop-garden, where the vines run up to the tops of the
longest poles, and the increase is equal to that on the most fertile soil of any kind.
5398. The most desirable situation for a hop plantation is ground sloping gently towards the south or souths
west, and screened by means of high grounds or forest-trees, from the north and north-east. At the same
time it ought not to be so confined as to prevent that free circulation of air which is indispensably necessary
where plants grow so close together, and to such a height. A free circulation of air, iry a hoi>.ground,
not only conduces to the health and vigor of the plants, but also prevents the crops from bei»g blighted,
or what the hop-farmers call fire-blasted, which often happens towards the middle of a large close planted
hop ground ; while the otitsides, in consequence of the more free circulation of air that there takes ptace,
receive no injury whatever.
5399. Bantitster asserts, that those fields that lie within a few miks of the sea, or in the neighborhood of
Marshy or fenny levels, are seldom favorable to the growth of hops, as such grounds generally miscarry in
a blasting year ; and though, from the fertility of the soil, they may perhaps bring a plentiful crop in' those
seasons when the growth is general, such situation is by no means an eligible spot for a hop groiuid. In
Worcestershire and Herefordshire hops are very generally grown bfetween the rows of fiuit trees in dug
or ploughed orchards.
5400. In preparing the soil previously to planting, considerable attentioii is necessary
by fallowing, or otherwise, to destroy the weeds, and to reduce the soil to as pulverised a
state as possible. The ridges should also be made level, and dung applied with a liberal
hand. The most effectual preparation is trenching either by the plough or by manual
labor.
5401 . The mode of planting is generally in rows, making the hills six feet distant from
each other ; though there are some people who, from avaricious motives, prefer a five-feet
plant. But as this vegetable, when advanced in growth, produces a large redundancy of
bind or vine, and leaves, it should seem that six feet cannot be too wide a distance ; and that
those which are planted closer will, from too confined a situation, be prevented from en-
joying a free circulation of the air ; from which much injury may proceed, as blasts,
mildews, mould, and other accidents, not to mention the disposition of the vine to house
or grow together at the tops of the poles, whereby the hops are so overshadowed as to be
debarred the influence of the sun, and thus not arrive to half their growth.
5-i02. As the planters differ in their numlter of hills to be made on the same given quantity of land, so
are they no less capricious as to the manner of placing them ; some choosing to set them out with the most
cautious regularity in rows of equal disUnccs, whilst others prefer a triangular plant. The fonner method
has this advantage over the other ; that the intervals may, in the early jwrt of the summer, be kept
clean by means of the cultivator and harrow, from which the latter is excluded by their irregular
station ; and thus the ground must be tilled by the hoe at a great increase of charge, as the same labor
860 PRACTICE O^ AGRICULTURE. Part III.
might be perfottned to as much advantage With one Tiofse, a man, and a boy, who will do more work in a
day than half a dozen laborers can with a hoe.
5403. The ordinary season for planting is spring, in February or March ; but if bedded
plants, or such as have been nursed for one summer in a garden are used, then by planting
in autumn some produce may be liad the succeeding year. But, according to the author
of The N'eiu Farmer's Calendar, " the time for planting is commonly that of dressing and
pruning the old vines when cuttings may be had, which is in March or April ; but when
root-sets are used, as on the occasion of grubbing up an old plantation, October to the
beginning of November. But at whatever period they are planted, great care should be
taken that the same sorts be planted together, as by this means there are advantages derived
in their after-culture. "
5'104. The plants or cuttings are procured from the old stools ; each should have two
joints or eyes; from the one which is placed in the ground, springs the root ; and from
the other the stalk, provineially the bind ; they should be made from the most healthy and
strong binds, each being cut to the length of five or six inches. Those to be nursed are
planted in rows a foot apart, and six inches asunder in a garden ; and the others at once
where they are to remain.
5405. The mode of performing, the operation of planting in Kent is as follows : the land having been pre-
viously cleaned and prepared, dung is laid on the field in small heaps near the places where it is proposed
to plant the hop slips or sets. These places are commonly marked off, by placing a number of stakes at
proper and regular distances ; that done, small pits are formed by taking out a spit or spade depth of earth ;
and the earth below being gently loosed, a certain quantity, about half a bushel, of dung is laid thereon ;.
then the earth that was formerly taken out is again replaced, and so much added as to form a small hillock.
On this hillock, five, six, or seven sets, procured from the roots or shoots of the old stock, are dibble<l in.
The plants are placed in a circular form towards the top of the hillock, and at the distance of five or six
inches from each other. They are made to incline towards the centre of the hillock, where another plant
is commonly placed.
5406. Another mode of planting is as follows : strike furrows with the plough equally distant, eight feet
asunder ; when finished, repeat the same across in the opposite direction, which will divide the piece into
eight-foot squares. The hills are to be made where the furrows cross each other, and the horse-hoe may
be admitted between the rows both ways. According to the Suffolk husbandry, the plantations are
formed into beds sixteen feet wide, by digging trenches about three feet wide, and two or three feet
deep; the earth that comes out being spread upon the beds, and the whole dug and levelled. Upon this
they, in March, form the holes six feet asunder every way, twelve inches diameter, and a spit deep, by
which three rows are formed on each bed. Into each hole they put about half a peck of very rotten dung,
or rich compost ; scatter earth upon it, and plant sets in each, drawing earth enough to them afterwards to
form something of a hillock.
5407. jfln interval crop is generally taken the first summer of a hop plantation. Beans
are very generally grown, and Bannister is of opinion that two rows of beans may be
planted in each interval without any damage to the hops., whether bedded sets or cuttings.
In the latter case, this method may be pursued the second year, at the end of which the
vine from the cuttings will not be in ii forwarder state than that from the bedded sets in
the first autumn after planting. Others, however, think that neither beans, cabbage^ or
any other plants, except onions, should be put in.
5408. The after-culture of the hop, besides the usual processes of hoeing, weeding,
stirring, and manuring, includes earthing-up, staking, and winter dressing.
5409. Hoeing in hop plantations may always be performed by a horse implement, and one
in use for this purpose in the hop counties, is known by the name of hop-nidget, and of
which the expanding horse-hoe {Jig. 308.) is an improvement; when the hop-stools are
formed in the angles of squares, the intervals may be hoed both lengthways and across,
and nothing is thus left to be performed by manual labor but pulling out any weeds
which may rise in the hills.
5410. Stirring, in the hop districts, is chiefly performed in winter by a three-prong-
ed fork ( provineially spud), but it might be equally well effected then or at any season of
the year by the common plough, and the expanding horse hoe, set with coulters or prongs.
With the use of the latter implement the soil might be stirred to any desirable depth, either
in summer or winter ; and by the use of the plough, the surface could be changed at
discretion. Once going and returning would effect this, either by the paring or ^learing
Out ; -that is, forming either a ridglet, or gutter between the rows, both lengthways and
across. Twice or thrice going in the same direction would also succeed, and would be
the preferable mode of covering in manure.
5411. in the application of manure, various modes are adopted. Some always use
well rotten stable dung ; others composts of earth and dung; and a few, littery dung.
In laying it on, many prefer the autumn to the spring, and heap it on the hills without
putting any between the rows. Others put it all between the rows, alleging that laying
it on the hills encourages insects, exposes the dung to evaporation and loss, and some-
times, when mixed with earth, hinders the plants from coming up. A great deal will be
found in favor and against each of these modes, in the numerous works on the cul-
ture of the hop, which have been written during three centuries ; but it must be obvious
to any person generally conversant with vegetable culture, that well-rotted stable dung
must be the best kind for use ; and early in spring the best season for laying it on ; that
little benefit can be derived by the roots when it is laid on the hills, and conseq\i«ntly
Book VI. THE HOP. 861
tliat it ought to be turned into the soil between the rows by the plough. Fifty cart loads
of dung and earth, or thirty of dung, once in three years, is reckoned a good dressing;
but some give ten or twelve loads every year. Too much dung renders the hops what
are called mouldy, and with too little the crop will be poor and more liable to be eaten
by insects.
5412. Earthing-up commences the first May after planting, whether that operation
be performed in spring or autumn. By the end of tliat season, the young shoots
have made some progress, and the earth is then drawn up to their roots from the sur-
rounding intervals, in order to strengthen them. The next earthing-up is in autumn,
when the hills are by some covered with compost or manure ; but by such as prefer
ploughing in the manure between the rows, this earthing-up does not take place. Some
give an earthing-up of this kind in spring, and generally in February, chiefly to retard
the plants, as that is found to render them less liable to disease, and tlie attacks of insects :
for the shoots not beginning to grow till the weather is warm, they then shoot the more
rapidly. In April and May, their progress is slow ; but in June and July, when the
nights are warm, they will grow nearly an inch in the hour. The only essential earthings
up, however, are those given the first year in May, and those given annually whether in
autumn or spring, and which indeed may be called replacings of earth, rather tlian earth-
ing-up, after the operation of dressing, to be next described.
5413. In dressing the hop plants, the operations of the first year are confined to
twisting and removing the haulm, to whidi some add cuping or earthing-up in autumn.
The operation of twisting, is confined to such plants as have been planted in spring, and
are not expected to produce any crop that season. It is performed in the end of June
or in July, and consists in twisting the young vines into a bunch or knot ; so that by
thus discouraging their growth, the roots are enabled to spread out more vigorously, and
to acquire strength previous to the approach of the winter season.
, 5414. Removing the haulfn takes place soon after Michaelmas, and consists simply in cutting it OFcr
with a sickle, and earrj'ing it oft" the field for litter, or burning. After this operation, some add cuping,
or covering the hill with a compost, but this does not apjiear necessary, and is in many cases left undone.
5415. The first year's dressing of hops expected to produce flowers, such as those planted from bedded
sets the preceding autumn, consists in supplying three or four half poles, that is, poles of four or five feet
in length to each hill, and on removing the haulm in autumn, as in the other case.
541G. The yearly dressing of established hap plantations consists of what is provincially called picking.
This operation is generally commenced on the return of good weather, in March, when the hills are spread
out, in order to give opi>ortunity to prune and dress the stocks. The earth being then cleared away from
the principal roots by an iron instrument called a picker, the remains of the former years' vines are cut off,
together with the shoots which were not allowed to attach themselves to the poles the former season, and
also any young suckers that may have sprung up about the edges of the hills ; so that nothing is allowed to
remain'that is likely to injure the principal roots, or impede their shooting out strong vigorous vines at the
proper season. After the roots are properly cleaned and pruned, the hills are again formed, with an addi-
tion, if not every year, at least every second or third year, of a proper quantity of compost manure, that
had been previously laid in small heaps on the hop-ground in the course of the winter, or in the early
part of spring. At this season such sets are procured as may be wanted for the nursery, or for new
plantations.
5417. The yearly operation of stacking or setting the jioles^ commences towards the end
of April, or at whatever period, earlier or later, the shoots have risen two or three inches.
The poles are straight slender shoots of underwood, ash, oak, chestnut, or willow, from
sixteen to twenty feet high. These poles are set two, but more frequently three, to a
hill : they are so placed as to leave an opening towards the south, to admit the sun-
beams. The manner of fixing them is by making deep holes or openings in the ground
with an iron crow. Into these holes the root-ends are put, when the earth is rammed so
hard about them, that they very seldom alter from the position in which they were placed,
except on occasion of very violent gales of wind. Great care is necessary in placing the
poles, and no less judgment and experience in determining what ought to be the proper
height. When very long poles are set in a hop ground, where the stocks are too old or
too young, or where the soil is of indifferent quality, the stocks are not only greatly ex-
hausted, but the crop always turns out unproductive; as, till the vines reach the top, or
rather till they overtop the poles, which depends on the strength of the stocks and the
quality of the soil, the lateral branches on which the hops grow, never begin to shoot out,
or make any progress.
5418. Planters are much divided in their sentiments as to the number of poles to be set against each hill.
Three poles are the general allowance, observing to place the stoutest pole to the northern aspect of
the hill ; though it is no uncommon practice to set four poles, and in strong land five or six, to a hill. In
l>ehalf of this latter mode it is urged, that, where the land usually produces a great redundancy of vine,
it is prudent to set a number of poles answerable to the luxuriancy of the shoots. But, if a free circula-
tion of the air be a matter of that injportance to the well-being of a crop of hops, as is generally imagined,
(and this is a doctrine which it is believed cannot be controverted), the incumbrance of the hills, with an
additional number of i)oles, cannot fail to be of infinite dis-service to the future growth of the hops ;
and it will be readily acknowledged, that the quantity of hops on the same given number of hills will
be more considerable, where three poles only are set up, than when the hills are crowded with a larger
Dumber ; whether we consider the mischief likely to accrue from the stagnated air, or from the redundancy
of the vine, by which the hops are prevented from arriving to their proper size or growth. The
chief art in poling a hop-ground is, first, to pitch the hole to a proper depth, about twenty inches :
next to set down the pole with some exertion of strengtJi, so th^ the same being well sharpened may fix
862 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
itself firm at the bottom ; thirdly, that the tops of the poles may stand in such a direction as to lean out-
wards from the hill, to prevent, as much as possible, the housing of the vine ; and lastly, to tread the
earth close to the pole with the foot. For want of regard to these particulars in the laborer, a moderate
blast of wind will loosen the poles, so as not only to occasion a double expense, but the hazard of injuring
the future crop is very great, by tearing asunder the vine, which, from its great luxuriancy, will become
twisted together, or, as it is termed, housed at the extreme parts of the poles.
5419. With respect to the species of woods proper for poles, it is suggested that they ap-
pear to prefer a rough soft bark, to one which is more smooth and polished. An exr-
perienced grower particularises the maple, whose bark is peculiarly soft and warm ;
adding, that he has frequently observed, when the morning has been cold, the sensitive
leader of a tender fresh-poled vine reclining its head against the velvet bark of the maple,
while others held theirs aloof, from chilly smooth-barked poles. This is probably a
general law, or ordinance of nature, to climbing plants ; and may be essential to their
preservation, showing, in a palpable manner, the perception and strength of vegetable
instinct.
5420. And in regard to the size of the pole, hops, likewise, it is well known, have their instinctive
choice or approbation, with respect to the thickness of their support; embracing, with greater readi-
ness, a pole that is moderately small, than one which is thick at the bottom. The ordinary circum-
ference of poles, at tlie thickest end, may be set down at six to nine inches, tapering to the size of a
•walking-cane at the top. And the length from fifteen to twenty feet, or upwards. DifFerent grounds
require different lengths of pole. In the rich grounds, in the neighborhood of Maidstone, the poles of
grown hops stand, in general, from fourteen to sixteen feet above the hills, and have from eighteen inches
to two feet beneath the surface. But, on weaker lands, poles are not seen to rise more than ten to twelve
feet high. Hence, a variety of ground is convenient ; as the poles, by decaying at the roots, grow shorter,
and, in a course of years, get too short for strong vines, on rich land. They are, in this case, sold
and transferred to less productive lands, and vines of humbler growth.
5421. New poles have sometimes the bark shaved off, under an idea that it saves them from the worm ;
■while some men are of opinion, that there is a warmth in the bark, which is acceptable to the young
vines; and although in two or three years the bark drops off", the surface of the wood has, by that time,
acquired a degree of softness. Whether a hard, smooth, polished pole, is unfriendly to the hop or not, to
peel the poles would evidently be improper, as promoting their decay.
5422. Short light poles are usually pointed in hand, without other support. But the tall heavy pole
requires something to keep the top steady. This is simply had, by tying together three poles of equal
length, two or three feet from their tops ; and setting them up in the form of what are called triangles,
in use for loading timber on wheel-carriages. The top of the pole to be sharpened, being dropped in
between the points or horns of the triangles, receives the required stay ; a block being placed in a con-
venient situation below, to work upon. And this sort of work, whether on new or on old poles, is some-
times done before they are stacked, or set up in piles ; sometimes immediately before they are used.
But in pointing poles that have been used, the part which stood in the ground the preceding year is
struck off, if much tainted, and a fresh point given to the sound part. But, if the bottom part remain
firm, it is sharpened again for another season.
5423. Tiling the shoots or vines to the poles is the last operation in the after or summer
culture of the hop. This requires the labor of a number of persons : women are generally
employed, who tie them in several different places with withered rushes, but so loosely as
not to prevent the vines from advancing in their progress towards the top of the poles.
When the vines have got to such a height as to be beyond reaching with the hand,
proper persons go round, and, using standing ladders, tie all the vines that appear inclined
to stray from the poles.
5424. The season for this operation varies from the middle of May to the end of June, and one impor-
tant part of the operation consists in selecting the shoots. The forwardest vine should always be extir-
pated, as it is well known that the branches arising from these early shoots will produce little, if any fruit.
The second shoots, where the hills are not overloaded with plants, and where the ground is not of a
nature to send forth a very luxuriant vine, may with safety be tied up. But where the land is apt to push
forward a great redundancy of shoots, where the vine is always strong and vigorous, and where the failure
in the crop chiefly arises from this cause, the greatest prudence is necessary, at the season for tying, to
make choice of a proper vine ; especially in years which may be supposed to be attended with a blast ;
such as those wherein an easterly wind has prevailed throughout the month of March, whence one may
fairly conclude that the same weather will happen during the course on the month of May, which never
failsto bring the long-winged fly. In such a season it would be well worth while to eradicate all the
vine which first appears, arid trust to a latter shoot, so as to protract the tying till the last week
in May. This hint was taken from the observations made on the poor and thin" lands in such blasting
years where the vine is naturally backward, and seldom becomes fit for the tyers till towards the
latter end of May, when that on the forward ground will have advanced nearly to the tops of the poles,
and to an inattentive observer seems to promise fair for a crop ; whereas, to those who have been con-
versant in these matters, the loss of the crop, though the vine at that time be green and flourishing,
may be easily foreseen ; whilst on the poorer soils there is generally a saving crop even in years when the
blast is most prevalent. These considerations, he says, have suggested the protracting the growth of the
vine in the manner above-mentioned, which seems conformable to reason and experience.
5425. Taking the crop is a most important operation in the hop economy. Hops are
known to be ready for pulling when they acquire a strong scent, and the seeds become
firm and of a brown color, which, in ordinary seasons, happens in the first or second
■week of September. And when the pulling season arrives, the utmost assiduity is re-
quisite on the part of the planter, in order that the different operations may be carried on
■with regularity and dispatch ; as the least neglect, in any department of the business,
proves in a gieat degree ruinous to the most abundant crop, especially in precarious
seasons. Gales of wi"nd at that season, by breaking the lateral branches, and bruising
the hops, prove nearly as injurious as a long continuance of rainy weather, which never
fails to spoil the color of the crop, and thereby render it less saleable.
Book VI. THE HOP. 8G3
5426. As a preparation for puJling the hops, frames of wood, in number proportioned to the size of the
ground, and the pickers to be employed, are placed in that part of the field which, by having been most
exposed to the influence of the sun, is soonest ready. These frames, which are called bins or cribs, are
very simple in the construction, being only four pieces of boards nailed to four posts, or legs, and, when
finished, are about seven or eight feet long, three feet broad, and about the same height. A man always
attends the pickers, whose business it is to cut over the vines near the ground, and to lay the poles oa
the frames to be picked. Commonly two, but seldom more than throe, poles are laid on at a time. Six,
seven, or eight pitkers, women, girls, and boys, are employed at the same frame, three or four being
ranged on each side. These, with the man who sorts the poles, are called a set. The hops, after being
carefully separated from the leaves and branches, or stalks, are dropped by the pickers into a large cloth,
hung all round within-side the frame on tenter-hooks. When the cloth is full, the hops are emptied into
a large sack, which is carried home, and the hops laid on a kiln to be dried. This is always done as soon
a.s possible after they are picked, as they are apt to sustain considerable damage, both in color and flavor,
if allowed to remain long in sacks in the green state in which they arc pulled. In very warm weather, and
when they are pulled in a moist state, they will often heat in five or six hours: for this reason the kilns
are kept constantly at work, both night and day, from the commencement to the conclusion of the hop-
picking season.
5427. To set on a sufficient number of hands, is a matter of prudence, in the picking season, that the oasts
or kilns may never be unsupplied with hops ; and if it is found that the hops rise faster than could have been
expected, and that there are more gathered in a day than can be conveniently dried off, some of the worst
pickers may be discharged ; it being very prejudicial for the green hops to continue long in the sacks
before they are put on the oast, as they will in a few hours begin to heat, and acquire an unsightly color,
which will not be taken off in the drying, especially if the season be very moist; though, in a wet hop,
ping, it is no easy matter to prevent the kilns from being overrun, supposing that there were pickers
enough to supply them if the weather had been dry, because in a wet cold time the hops require to lie a
considerable while longer on the kiln, in order that the superabundant moisture may be dried up. It ig
therefore expedient in this case that each measuring be divided into a number of green pockets or pokes.
The number of bushels in a poke ought never to exceed eleven ; but when the hops are wet, or likely to
continue together some time before they go on the kiln, the better way is to put only eight bushels in a
sack, pocket, or poke.
5428. Donaldson asserts, that diligent hop-pickers, when the crop is tolerably abundant, will pick from
eight to ten bushels each in the day, which, When dry, will weigh about one hundred weight; and that
it is common to let the picking of hop-grounds by the bushel. The price is extremely variable, depend-
ing no less on the goodness of the crop than on the abundance or scarcity of laborers. The greatest part
of the hops cultivated in England are picked by people who make a practice of coming annually from the
remote parts of Wales for that purpose.
5429. The operation of drying hops is not materially different from that of drying malt, and
the kilns, or oasts, are of the same construction. The hops are spread on a hair-cloth, and
from eight to ten, sometimes twelve, inches deep, according as the season is dry or wet ;
and depending also on the state of the hops in regard to ripeness. A thorough know-
ledge of the best method of drying hops can only be acquired by long practice. The
general rules are to begin with a slow fire, and to increase it gradually, till, by the heat
on the kiln, and the warmth of the hops, it is known to have arrived at a proper height.
An even steady fire is then continued for eight or ten hours, according to the state or
circumstances of the hops, by which time the ends of the hop-stalks become quite
shrivelled and dry, which is the chief sign by which to ascertain that the hops are pro-
perly and sufficiently dried. They are then taken off the kiln, and laid in a large room
or loft till they become quite cool ; and they are now in condition to be put into bags,
which is the last operation the planter has to perform previous to sending his crop to be
sold.
5430. When hops are dried on a cockle-oast, sea-coal is the usual fuel, of which a chaldron is generally
esteemed the proper allo\^tance to a load of hops. On the hair kilns, charcoal is commonly used for this
purpose. Fifty sacks of charcoal are termed a load, which usually sells for about fifty shillings. The
price for burning is three shillings per load, or twelve .shillings for each cord of wood. The process of
drying having been completed, the hops are to be taken off the kiln, and shovelled into an adjoining
chamber called the stowage-room ; and in this place they are continually to be laid as they are taken off
the kiln, till it may be thought convenient to put them into bags, which is rardy done till they have lain
some time in the heap; for the hops, when first taken ofi'the kiln, being very dry, would (if put into the
bags at that time) break to pieces, and not draw so good a sample as when they have lain some time in
the heap ; whereby they acquire a considerable portion of toughness, and an increase of weight,
54.S1. The bagging of hops is thus performed : — in the floor of the room, where the hops
arc laid to cool, there is a round hole or trap, equal in size to the mouth of a hop bag.
After tying a handful of hops in each of the lower corners of a large bag, which serve
afterwards for handles, the mouth of the bag is fixed securely to a strong hoop, which is
made to rest on the edges of the hole or trap ; and the bag itself being then dropped
through the trap, the packer goes into it, when a person who attends for the purpose, puts
in the hops in small quantities, in order to give the packer an opportunity of packing and
trampling them as hard as possible. When the bag is filled, and the hops trampled in
so hard as that it vvill hold no more, it is drawn up, unloosed from the hoop, and the end
sewed up, other two handles having been previously formed in the corners in the manner
mentioned above. The brightest and finest colored hops are put into pockets or fine
bagging, and the bro vn into coarse or heavy bagging. The former are chiefly used for
brewing fine ales, and the latter by the porter brewers. But it is to be observed, that
where hops are intend<id to be kept for any length of time, it is most proper to put them
into coarse cloth. The proper length of a bag is two ells and a quarter, and of a pocket
nearly the same, being one ell in width. The former, if the hops are good in quality,
well cured, and tight trodden, will weigh about two hundred and a half; and the latter,
if of the Canterbury pocketing, about one hundred and a half. If the weight either
exceeds or falls much short of this medium, it induces a surmise, that the hops are
S64 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
either in themselves of an inferior quality, or have been injudiciously manufactured in
some respect or other.
5432. The stripjmig and stacking of the poles succeeds to the operation of picking. It
is of some consequence that this business be executed as soon as possible after the crop is
removed ; not only that the poles may be much safer from thieves when set up in stacks,
but that in such form they may take far less damage by the weather than when dispersed
about the ground with the vine on them. The usual price for stripping and stacking is
five shillings per acre. At this time, such poles as may be deemed unfit for further
service should be flung by, that the planter may have an early knowledge of the number
of new poles which will be wanting ; and thus the business of bringing on the poles may
be completed in the winter time, when the horses are not required about other labor ; and
these new poles may be drawn from the wood on the ground, and adjusted to the separate
stacks, as the state of the different parts of the ground may require, and the whole business
be completed before the poling season : whereas, when this method of flinging out the old
poles is neglected at the stacking, the planter being ignorant of the number of new poles
that will be required for the ensuing year, often finds at the poling season that he has not
laid in a sufficient stock.
5433. In performing the operation of stacking the poles are set up in somewhat conical piles, or congeries,
of two to five hundred each. The method of proceeding is this : three stout poles of equal length are bound
together, a few feet from their tops, and their feet spread out, as those already mentioned for pointing the
poles. These serve as a stay to the embryo pile ; thepolesbeingdroppedinon each side, between the points
of the first three j cautiously keeping an equal weight on every side ; for, on this even balance, the stability
of the stack depends. The degree of inclination or slope, and the diameter of the base of the pile, vary
with the length and the number of poles set up together. A stack of three or four hundred of the long
poles of the environs of Maidstone, occupy a circle of near twenty feet in diameter. It is observable, how-
ever, that the feet of the poles do not form one entire ring ; but are collected in bundles or distinct divi-
sions, generally from three to six or eight in number ; each fasciculus being bound tightly together, a few
feet from the ground, with a large rough rope made of twisted vines, to prevent the wind from tearing away
the poles ; and the openings between the divisions give passage to violent blasts, and tend to prevent the
piles from being thrown down in a body ; a circumstance which does not often take place in screened
grounds. But, on the high exposure of Cox Heath, where great quantities of new poles brought out of
the Weald are piled for sale among the Maidstone planters, it is not uncommon for the piles to be blown
down, and to crush in their fall the sheeji or other animals that may have taken shelter under them. A
caution, this, to the inexperienced in the business of stacking; and an apology, if one is wanted, for the
minuteness of the detail.
5434. The operation of stripping is generally performed by women ; being nothing
more than tearing off the bind or vines. Many people burn it on the ground. Others
suffer it to be carried off by their workmen for firing ; and there are some, who tie it up
into small bundles, which they bring home and form into a stack, to answer the purpose
of bavins in heating their ovens or coppers.
5435. The produce of the hop crop is liable to very considerable variation, according
to soil and season, from two or three to so much as twenty hundred weight ; but from
nine to ten, on middling soils, in tolerable seasons, are considered as average crops,
and twelve or fourteen good ones. Bannister asserts, that sixty bushels of fresh gathered
hops, if fully ripe, and not injured by the fly or other accident, will, when dried and
bagged, produce a hundred weight. Where the hops are much eaten by the flea, a
disaster which often befalls them, the sample is not only reduced in value, but the weight
diminished ; so that, when this misfortune occurs, the planter experiences a two-fold
loss.
5436. To judge of the quality of hops, as the chief virtue resides in the yellow powder
contained in them, which is termed the condition, and is of an unctuous and clammy nature,
the more or less clammy the sample appears to be, the value will be increased or dimi-
nished in the opinion of the buyer. To this may be added the color, which it is of very
material consequence for the planter to preserve as bright as possible, since the purchaser
will always insist much on this article ; though, perhaps, the brightest colored hops are
not always the strongest flavored.
5437. The duration of the hop plantation on good soil may be from fifteen to thirty
years ; but in general they begin to decline about the tenth year. Some advise that the
plantation should then be destroyed and a fresh one made elsewhere ; others consider it
the best plan to break up and plant a portion of new ground every two years, letting an
equal quantity of the old be destroyed, as in this way a regular succession of good plan-
tation will be kept up at a trifling charge.
5438. The expenses of forming new hop-plantations is in general very great, being estimated, in many di«.
tricts, at from not less than seventy to a hundred pounds the acre. The produce is very uncertain ; often
very considerable ; but some seasons nothing, after all the labor of culture, except picking, has been
incurred. Where the lands are of the proper sort for them, and there are hop-poles on the farm, and the
farmer has a sufficient capital, it is probably a sort of husbandry that may be had recourse to with ad-
vantage ; but under the contrary circumstances, hops will seldom answer. In growing them in connection
with a farm, regard should be had to the extent that can be manured without detriment to the other
tillage lands. On the whole, hops are an expensive and precarious crop, the culture of which should be
well considered before it is entered upon.
5439. The use of the hop in brewing is well known : their use is to prevent the beer
from becoming sour. In domestic economy the young shoots are eaten early in the
Book VI. THE HOP. 865
spring as asparagus, and are sold under the name of hop-tops; they are said to be diure-
tic, and to be good against the scurvy, taken in an infusion. The herb will dye wool
yellow. From the stalks a strong cloth is made in Sweden: for this purpose they
must be gathered in autumn, soaked in water all winter ; and in March, after being
dried in a stove, they are dressed like flax. They require a longer time to rot than flax/
and if not completely macerated, the woody part will not separate, nor the cloth prove
white or fine. Hence a farmer who has a hop plantation need neither grow asparagus
nor flax, and may, when the flowers fail from disease, separate the fibre from the vine,
and employ the poor, or machinery, in spinning and weaving it. A decoction of the
roots of hops is considered as good a sudorific as sarsaparilla ; and the smell of the
flowers is found to be soporific. A pillow filled with hops was prescribed for the use of
Geo. III. in his illness of 1787.
5440. The hop is jieculiarly liable to diseases. There is scarcely any sort of plant
cultivated as a field-crop that is more liable to become diseased than the hop. It
is apt, in the very early stage of its growth, to be devoured, as it rises above
the surface of the ground, by the ravages of an insect of the flea kind. At a
more advanced stage, it is subject to tiie still more injurious effects of the
green or long-winged fly, red spider, and otter moth: the former, by the depo-
siting of their ova, afford the means of producing lice in great abundance ; by which
the plaBts are often very greatly, if not wholly, destroyed, and the larvae of the latter
prey upon the roots, and thus render the plants weak and subject to disease. The
honey-dew is another disease to which the hop is exposed about the same time, and
by which it is often much injured. The mould occurs in general at a some-
what later period, being equally injurious. Hop-crops are also exposed to other inju-
ries, as the blight, and fire-blast, but which take place at different times, though mostly
towards the latter periods of the growth of the plants.
5441. With regard to the flea, which is said to be an insect of the same kind as that which is so preju-
dicial to the young turnip, it is observed to make the greatest havock in seasons where the nlgtits are cold
and frosty, and the days hot and inclined to be dry ; eating off the sweet tender tops of the young plants ;
and which^ though not wholly destroyed, shoot forth afterwards in a far less vigorous manner, and of course
become more exposed to diseases. It has been found to commit its depredations most frequently on the
plants in grounds that have been dunged the same year ; on which account it has been suggested that the
manure employed ibr the purpose of covering the hills should be previously well mixed and incorporated
as directed above (5411.) ; and that it should be applied either over the whole of the land, or only the
hills, AS soon as possible after the plants have been cut over ; but the former practice is probably the besL
It makes its greatest depredations in the more early cold spring morrths, as the latter end of April and
beginning of the succeeding month, disappearing as the season becomes more mild and warm. In these
cases, the principal remedy is that of having the land in a suflBcient state of fertility, to enable the yoimg
plants to shoot up with such vigor and rapidity as to become quickly incapable of being fed upon and
devoured by the insect. And the frequent stirring of the mould about the roots of the plants by the hoe
may be of utility in thesame view.
5442. With respect to the green or long-winged fly, it mostly makes its appearance about the latter end
of May, and in the two succeeding months ; being supposed to be produced by the prevalence of
north-easterly winds about that period. It is highly destructive to the young leaves of the plants. They
are said, under such a state of the wind, to scarcely ever fail covering "the leaves ; and, by dropping their
ova, producing an abundance of lice, by which the crops are often much injured ; as when they have once
obtained complete possession of the plants, they seldom or ever leave them before they are wholly de-
stroyed. The forwardest and most luxuriant hop-vines are in general the most disposed to be att^icked by
insects of this sort. Their removal chiefly depends upon a change taking place in the wind more to the
south, and the setting.in of more mild, warm, and temperate weather.
5443. It has been found that t/te otter moth, by depositing its eggs upon the roots of the plants, renders
them liable to be attacTced by the larvae, and the healthy growth of the hops to be thereby greatly im-
paired, the crops being of course much injured in their produce. Stirring the earth well about the roots of
the plants may probably sometimes be serviceable in cases of this kind.
5444. The honey-dew mostly occurs after the crops have been attacked by some of these kinds of insects,
and when the weather is close, moist, and foggy. In these cases, a sweet clammy substance is produced
upon the leaves of the plants, which has the taste of honey, and they have at first a shining appearance,
but afterwards soon become black. It is a disease that mostly happens in the more forward crops ; and
the chief dependence of the planter for its removal, according to Bannister, is that of heavy thunder
showers taking place ; as by this means, when the destruction of the hops has not proceeded too far, they
are often much restored, the insects that devour the leaves and vines being greatly destroyed, the growth
•of fresh shoots promoted, and a favorable bloom brought on the plants.
5445. It is well known that the fen, mould, or mildew, is a disease to which the hop-crop is exposed at a
later period of its growth, and which chiefly attacks the part where the hop is attached to the stem. It is
said that its production is greatly promoted by moist damp weather, and a low situation ; those hop-crops,
that grow on low, close, rich grounds, being the most liable to be attacked by it : and it is found to soon
spread itself over the whole crop, after it has once seized upon any part of it. The nature of this-
vegetable disease has not been yet sufficiently investigated ; it has been suggested by Darwin and Will,
denow to be a plant of the fungus kind, that is capable of growing without light or change of air, attaching
itself to plants already in a morbid condition, and by its roots penetrating their vessels. And on this sup-
position, the best remedy is believed to be that of thinning the plants, in order to afford a more free
circulation of air, and admit the light more extensively ; by which the vigor of the hop-plants may be
restored, and the disease be of course removed. In this view, it is probable, by planting the hills more
thinly, and making them at greater distances from each other, the disease might in some measure be
prevented from taking place. (See 1659.)
5446. Diseases termed blights are frequently met with in hop-crops, at different periods of the growth
of the plants, but mostly in the more early stages of their rising from the hills, while the nights are cold
and frosty in the spring months, and the days have much sun and heat ; by which the living powers of
the plants are greatly exhausted in the day-time by the stimulus of heat, and of course much injured, or
wholly destroyed in the nights, from being exposed to a freezing air, which is incapable of exciting the
actions, which are necessary for the preservation of vegetable life. As the presence of this disease is
3 K
866
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
supposed to be greatly connected with the prevalence of winds from the northern or easterly quarters,
there is often a flea jjroduced of a similar kind to that which attacks the shoots in their early growth.
(5441.) It is highly injurious, by preying upon the nutriment of the blossoms, and thereby diminishing
their weight and changing them to a brown color, which is very prejudicial in their sale at the market.
5447. The fire-blast is a disease that hop-crops are exposed to, in the later periods of their growth, and
generally supposed to proceed from the particular state of the air or weather. It has been conjectured
to be the effect of lightning, as it takes place, for the most part, at those seasons when it is the most
prevalent, and in a very sudden manner: and besides, the most forward and most luxuriant vines
are the most subject to be affected. It has been suggested, that in exposures that are particularly liable
to have the crops thus injured, it may be advisable to plant thinner, to keep back the growth of the
l)lants as much as possible, by extirpating all the most forward shoots, and to employ a less proportion of
the earthy compost in their culture.
5448, In respect to the duty on hops, it is best for the planter to have the acts before him. But every
■grower of hops in Britainiis legally obliged to give notice to the excise, on or before the first day of Sep-
tember, of the number of acres he has in cultivation ; the situation and number of his oasts ; the place
or places of bagging, which, with the store-rooms, or warehouses, in which the packages are intended to
be lodged, are entered by the revenue officer. No hops can be removed from the rooms thus entered
before they have been weighed and marked by a revenue officer ; who marks, or ought to mark, not only
the weight, but the name and residence of the grower, upon each package.
SuBSECT. 2. Of the Culture of the Coriander and Caraway [jig. 595 a^ b),
5449. The coriander^ {Coriandrum sativum y L. fig. 595 a), is a small rooted annual,
with branchy stems rising from one to one and a 595
half feet in height. It is a native of the south of
Europe, and appears to be naturalized in some
parts of Essex, where it has been long culti-
vated. It flowers in June and July, and the
seeds ripen in July and August.
5450. The culture and management qf coriander, consists
in sowing it on a light rich soil in September, with seeds
ripened the same year. Twenty pounds of seed will sow an
acre. When the plants come up, thin them to six or eight
inches distance every way, and next spring, stir the soil
with a pronged hoe. In August the seed will be ripe, and
if great care be not used, the largest and best part of
it will be lost To prevent this, women and children
are employed to cut plant by plant, and to put it imme-
diately into cloths, in which it is carried to some conveni-
ent part of the field, and there threshed upon a sail-cloth.
A few strokes of the flail get the seeds clean out, and the
threshers are ready for another bundle in a few minutes.
In Essex it is sometimes . cultivated with caraway and
teazle. (See Caraway.)
5451. The produce of coriander is from ten to fourteen
cwt. on an acre. It is used by the distillers for flavoring
spirits ; by the confectioners for incrusting with sugar ;
and by the druggists for various purposes, for all of which it is said to have a ready sale.
5452. The Caraway (Carum carui, b) is a biennial plant with a taper root, like a pars--
nep, but much smaller, running deep into the ground. The stems rise from eighteen
inches to two feet, with spreading branches and finely cut deep green leaves. It is a native
of England, in rich meadows in Lincolnshire and other places, and has been long culti-
vated in Essex. It flowers in May and June, and the seeds ripen in autumn.
5453. The culture and 7?tanagement is the same as that of coriander. In all probability both plants would
answer if sown like clover among a crop of corn ; hoed and thinned when the crop was removed, and again
in the following spring. The method of culture in Essex is, about the beginning of March to plough some
old pasture land : if it has been pasture for a century the better; and the soil should be a very strong
clayey loam, Twelve pounds of caraway seed are mixed with ten pounds of coriander, and twelve pounds
of teazle seed: this is sufficient for one acre; and is sowed directly after the plough, harrowing the land
well. When the plants appear of sufficient strength to bear the hoe, which will not be until about ten
weeks after sowing, it must not be omitted ; and in the course of the summer, the crop will require three
hoeings, besides one at Michaelmas. The coriander being annual, will be fit to cut about the beginning
of July. It is left in the field after cutting, and threshed on a cloth in the same manner as rape
seed. About April following the caraway and teazle will want a good hoeing done deep and well ; and
another about the beginning of June. The caraway will be fit to cut the beginning of July, and must be
threshed in the same manner as the coriander. This compound crop is mostly sown on land,>o strong, as to
require being a Uttle exhausted to make it fit for corn. Caraway and coriander are oftenest sown with-
out teazle : the latter being a troublesome and uncertain crop, arid the produce of caraway much greater
without it.
5454. The produce of caraway, on the very rich old leys in the hundreds or low lands of Essex, has
often been twenty cwt. to the acre. Theteis always a demand for the seed in the London market.
5455. The uses of the caraway are the same as those of coriander, and its oil and other
preparations are more used in medicine. Dr. Anderson says, both the roots and tops may
be given to cattle in spring.
SuBSECT. 3. Of Plants which may be substituted for Brewery and Distillery Plants.
5456. There are a great many pla7its with bitter juices which are or may be substituted
for hops. In Sweden, Norway, and the north of Scotland, the heath {Erica, L.) and com-
mon broom, were, and still are, occasionally used for that purpose. In some parts of France
and Germany nothing else is used but broom tops. In Guernsej', the Teucrium scordonia
is used and found to answer perfectly. In England, the different species of mugwort and
Book VI. OIL PLANTS. 867
wormwood have been used for that purpose; and the foreign bitter, quassia, a tree of Guiana,
is still used by the porter brewers. Whoever has good malt, therefore, or roots, or sugar,
and understands how to make them into beer, need be at no loss for bitters to make it keep.
5457. Of the carminative seeds there are a very considerable number of native or hardy
plants that furnish them of equal strength, with those of the caraway and coriander, and,
of flavors to which the drinkers of cordials and liqueurs are also attached. Such, are
the fennels {Fceniculum), cultivated in C>ei-many, parsley, myrrh, angelica, celery, carrot,
parsnep, cowparsnep, and many other umbelliferous plants, avoiding, however, the hem-
lock, fool's parsley, asthusa, and some others which are poisonous. In Dantzic, where per-
haps, more seeds are used for flavoring spirits than any where else, several of the above and
other plants are employed. Kiimmel, their favorite flavor, is that of the cumin (Cuminum
cj/minum'), an annual plant, a native of Egypt, and cultivated in the south of Europe ;
but too tender for field culture in this country. But caraway or fennel seeds are
very generally mixed with cumin, or even substituted for it in distilling kiimmel -wasser.
Sect. III. Of Oil Plants.
. 5458. In Britain there are few plants grown solely for t/ie production of oil; though oil
is expressed from the seeds of several plants, as the flax, hemp, &c. grown for other pur-
poses. Our chief oil plant is the rape.
5459. Rape is the Brassica napus, L. ; Navette^ Fr. ; RUbsamen, Ger. ; Naba sil-
vestre, Span. ; and Rapa silvatica, Ital. It is a biennial plant of the turnip kind, but with a
caulescent or woody fusiform root, scarcely fit to be eaten. Von Thaer considers the
French and Flemish colza (^Kohlsaat, Ger.) a different plant from our rape; colza is
more of the cabbage kind, and distinguished by its cylindrical root, cut leaves, and greater
hardiness. Decandolle seems to be of the same opinion.
5460. According to these writers, Brassica campestris oleifera is the colsat or colza, or
rape of the continent, the most valuable plant to cultivate for oil ; its produce being to
that of the Brassica napus, or British colsat or rape, as 955 to 700. It is distinguished
from the B. napus by the hispidity of its leaves. It would be desirable for agriculture,
Decandolle observes, that in all countries, cultivators would examine whether the plant they
rear is the B. campestris oleifera or the B. napus oleifera, which can easily be ascertained
by observing whether the young plant is rough or smooth ; if hispid, it is the B. cam-
pestris ; if glabrous, the B. napus. Experiments made by Gaujuc, shew the produce of
the first, compared to that of the second, to be as 955 to 700. (Hort, Trans, v. 23.)
5461. For its leaves as food for sheep, and its seeds for the oil mantfacturer, rape, or
coleseed, has been cultivated from time immemorial. It is considered a native, flowers in
May, and ripens its seeds in July. It may be grown by sowing broad-cast, or in rows, like
the common turnip, or transplanted like the Swedish turnip. The culture of rape for seed
has been much objected to by some, on account of the great degree of exhaustion of the
land that it is supposed to produce ; but where it is grown on a suitable soil and pre-
paration with proper attention in the after-culture, and the straw and offal, instead of
being burnt, as is the common practice, converted to the purposes of feeding and littering
cattle, it may, in many instances, be the most proper and advantageous crop that can
be employed by the farmer.
5462. The soils best suited for rape are the deep, rich, dry, and kindly sorts ; but,
with plenty of manure and deep ploughing, it may be grown in others. Young says,
that upon fen and peat soils and bogs, and black peaty low grounds, it thrives greatly,
and especially on pared and burnt land, which is the best preparation for it ; but it may
be grown with perfect success on the fenny, marshy, and other coarse waste lands,
that have been long under grass, after being broken up and reduced into a proper
state of preparation. As a first crop on such descriptions of land, it is often the best that
can be employed. Tlie author of The Neio Farmer s Calendar thinks, that this plant is
not perhaps worth attention on any but rich and deep soils ; for instance, those luxuriant
slips that are found by the sea-side, fens, or newly broken grounds, where vast crops of
it may be raised.
5463. The preparation of old grass lands, if not pared and burned, need be nothing
more than a deep ploughing and sufficient harrowing to bring the surface to a fine mould •
and this operation should not be commenced in winter as some recommend, on account
of the grub and wire-worm having time to rise to the surface; but in February or
March, immediately before sowing, or in July or after the hay crop is removed, if the
sowing is deferred till that season. When sown on old tillage lands, the method of pre-
paration is pretty much the same as that which is usually given for the common turnip :
the land being ploughed over four or five times, according to the condition it may be in,
a fine state of pulverisation Or tilth being requisite for the perfect growth of the crop. In
3 K2
868 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III
this view, the first ploughing is mostly given in the autumn, in order that the soil may b»
exposed to the influence of the atmosphere till the early part of the spring, when it should
be again turned over twice, at proper intervals of time; and towards the begin-
ning and middle of June one or two additional ploughings should be performed upon it
in order that it may be in a fine mellow condition for the reception of the seed.
5464. The place in a rotation of crops, which rape occupies, is commonly between twO'
of the culmiferous kind. On rich soils it may be succeeded to the greatest advantage by
wheat, as it is found to be an excellent preparation for that sort of grain ; and by it&
being taken off early, there is sufficient time allowed for getting the land in order for
sowing wheat.
5465. The season of sowing rape is the same as that for the common turnip, and the
manner, whether in broad-cast or rows, the same. The row method on the flat surface
seems the best for newly broken up lands, and the rows on ridglets, with or without
manure, the best for lands that have been under the plough. Where the object is the
keep of sheep in autumn or winter by eating it down, the broad-cast method and thick
sowing is evidently the best, and is that generally resorted to in Lincolnshire and the
fenny districts. The quantity of seed when sown thick may be a peck an acre, but whea
drilled or sown thin, two or three pounds will suffice. The seed should be fresh, black,
and plump. Vacancies may always be filled up by transplanting.
5466. The season of transplanting begins as soon after the corn harvest as possible,
being generally performed on the stubble of some description of corn crop. One deep
ploughing, and a sufficient degree of harrowing to pulverise the surface, is given, and
the plants may be dibbled in in rows a foot apart, and six inches in the row or narrower,
according to the lateness of the season of planting, and the quality of the soil ; for it
must be considered that plants transplanted so late as September or October will be far
from being so strong the succeeding spring, as those sown in June and left where they
are to run. The seed-bed from which the plants are obtained should have been sown
in the June or July preceding the transplanting season, and may be merely a ridge or
two in the same or in an adjoining field. We have already noticed (457.) the
Flemish mode of transplanting by laying the plants in the furrow in the course of
ploughing, but as the plants cannot be properly firmed at the lower part of the root, we
cannot recommend it.
5467. The after-culture of rape is the same as that of the turnip, and consists in hoe-
ing and thinning. The plants on the poorer soils may be left at six or eight inches
apart or narrower, but on the rich they may be thinned to twelve or fifteen inches M'ith
advantage to the seed. Few are likely to grow the plant on ridglets with manure ;
but if this were done, the same distance as for turnips will ensure a better crop of seed
than if the plants were closer together. In close crops the seed is only found on the
summits of the plants; in wide ones on rich soils, it also covers their sides. When
rape seed is grown purposely for sheep keep, no hoeing, thinning, or weeding, are neces-
sary. Rape grown for seed will not be much injured by a very slight cropping by
sheep early in the autumn, but considerably so by eating down in winter, or the suc-
ceeding spring. The seed begins to ripen in the last week of June, and must then be
protected as much as possible from birds.
5468. In harvesting rape great care is requisite not to lose the seed by shaking, chaff-
ing, or by exposing it to high winds or rains.
5469. It is reaped with the hook, and the principal point is to make good use of fine weather ; for as it
must be threshed as fast as reaped, or at least without being housed or stacked like other crops, it
requires a greater number of hands in proportion to the land, than any other part of husbandry. The
reaping is very delicate work, for if the men are not careful, they will shed much of the seed. Moving
it to the threshing-floor is another work that requires attention ; one way is to make little waggons
on four wheels with poles, and cloths strained over them ; the diameter of the wheels about two feet,
the cloth body five feet wide, six long, and two deep, and drawn by one horse, the whole expense not
more than 30s. or 405. In. large farms, several of these may be seen at work at a time in one field. The
rape is lifted from the ground gently, and dropt at once into these machines without any loss ; they carry
it to the threshers, who keep hard at work, being supplied from the waggons as fast as they come, by one
set of men, and their straw moved off the floor by another set ; and many hands of all sorts being em-
ployed, a great breadth of land is finished in a day. Some use sledges prepared in the same way. All is lia-
ble to be stopped by rain, and the crop much damaged ; it is, therefore, of very great consequence to employ
as man)^ people as possible, men, women, and boys, to make the greatest use of fine weather. The seed
is likewise sometimes cleaned in the field, and put into sacks for the market. But when large quantities
ofseed are brought quickly together, as they are liable to heat and become mouldy, it maybe a better
method to spread them out thinly over a barn, granary, or other floor, and turn them as often as may be
necessary.
5470. The produce where the plant succeeds well, and the season is favorable for
securing the seed, is forty or fifty bushels or more on the acre. Marshal thinks, indeed,
that on the whole it may be considered as one of the most profitable crops in husbandry.
There have been, says he, instances, on cold unproductive old pasture-lands, in which
tlie produce of the rape crop has been equal to the purchase value of the land. The
Book VI. PLANTS OF DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 869
seed is sold by the last of ten quarters, for the purpose of having oil expressed from it,
by mills constructed for that use. The price varies considerably, but has lately seldom
been much below 30^. the last.
5471. The use of the siied for crushing for oil is well known; it is also employed as
food for tame birds, and sometimes it is sown by gardeners, in the same way as mustard
and cress, for early salading.
5472. The rape-cake and rape-dust, the former adhering masses of seed husks, after the
oil has been expressed, and the latter loose dry husks, are used as a top dressing for crops of
different kinds. T^liey are reduced into powder by a malt mill, or other grinding machine,
aind sometimes sown broad-cast over young clovers, wheats, &c. and at other times drilled
along with turnip seed. Four cwt. of powder sown with turnip seed in drills, will go over
one acre, but three times the quantity is required for an acre sown broad-cast. Expe-
ruence has proved, that the success of this manure depends in a great measure on the
following season. If rain happens to fall soon after the rape-dust is applied, the crop is
generally abundant, but if no rain fall for a considerable period the effects of this manure
are little discernible, either on the immediate crop, or on those which succeed it. There
are turnip drills contrived so as to deposit the manure along with the seed. (2560.)
5473. The use of the haitlm to cattle in winter is very considerable. The stover (pods and points
broken off in threshing) is as acceptable as hay, and the tops are eaten with an avidity nearly equal
to cut straw, at least better than wheat straw. When well got, the smaller stalks will be eaten up
clean. The offal makes excellent litter for the farm-yard, and is useful for the bottoms of mows, stacks,
&c. The haulm of this plant is frequently burned ; and, in some places, the ashes, which are equal to
potash, are sold : by which practice, if no manure be substituted, the soil must be greatly deteriorated.
It is a custom in Lincolnshire, sometimes to lay lands down with cole, under which the grass seeds are
found to grow well. But this sort of crop, as has been already observed, is most suited to fresh broken-up
or burned lands, or as a successor to early pease, or such other green crops as are mowed for soiling
cattle.
5474. The use of the leaves as a green food for sheep, is scarcely surpassed by any other vegetable,
in so far as respects its nutritious properties, and that of being agreeable to the taste of the animals ;
t»ut in quantity of produce, it is inferior to both turnips and cabbages. In this view the crops are fed
off occasionally from the beginning of November to the middle of April: being found of great value,
*n the first period, in fattening dry ewes, and all sorts of old sheep; and, in the latter, for support-
ing ewes and lambs. The sheep are folded upon them in the same manner as practised for turnips, in
which way they are found to pay from 50s. to 60s. the acre; that quantity being sufficient for the sup-
port of ten sheep, for ten or twelve weeks, or longer, according to circumstances. Rape has been found, by
•experience, to be superior to turnips in fattening sheep, and, in some cases, even to be apt to destroy them
by its fattening quality. In The Corrected Report of Lincolnshire, it is likewise observed, that that which
is grown on fresh land has the stem as brittle as glass, and is superior to every other kind of food in
fattening sheep ; while in that produced on old tillage land, the stem is tough and wiry, and has com*
paratively little nourishment in it
5475. Among other plants which viay he cultivated hy the British farmer as oil plants,
may be mentioned all the species of the Brassica family, the Sinapis or mustard
family, and the Raphanis or radish family, with many others of the natural order of cru-
<;iferae. The seeds of these plants, when they remain too long on the seedsman's hands
for growing, are sold either for crushing for oil, or grinding with mustard seed. This
includes a good deal of wild charlock and wild mustard seed, which is separated in the
jirocess of cleaning grain by farmers, among whose corn these plants abound, and sold to
the seed agents, who dispose of it to the oil or mustard millers. Various other cruciferje,
as the Myaglum sativum, Raphanus chinensis, var. oleiferus, both cultivated in Germany,
the Erysimum, Sisymbrium officinale, Turrites, &c. might also be cultivated for both
purposes.
5476. The small or field poppy (Papaver Rhoeas ; Oilette, Fr.), and also the Maw seed
(F. sornniferum, var. Padot, Fr.), a variety of the garden poppy, are, as we have seen
(460.), cultivated on the continent as oil plants. The oil being esteemed in domestic
economy next to that of the olive. Other species might be grown for the same purpose, all
of them being annual plants require only to be sown on fine rich land in April ; thinned
out when they come up, to six or eight inches distance, according to the species ; kept
clear of weeds till they begin to run, and as the capsules ripen to be gathered by hand, and
dried in the sUn.
5477. The sunflower (^Helianthus annuus ; Tumesol, Fr., and GirasolCy Ital.) has been
cultivated in Germany for its seeds, which are found to yield a good table oil, and
its husks are nourishing food for cattle.
Sect. IV. Plants used in Domestic Economy.
5478. Among agricultural plants used in domestic economy, we include the Mustard,
Canary, Buck'wheat, Cress, Tobacco, Chiccory, and a few others ; with the exception of
the two first, they are grown to a very small extent in Britain, and therefore our account
of them shall be proportionately concise.
8 K 3
870
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
SuBSECT. 1 . Mustard. — Sinajns, L. Tetrad. Siliq. L. and CrucifertB, J. Moutarde
or Seneve, Fr. ; Senf, Ger. ; Mostaza, Span. ; and Senajm, Ital.
5479. There are two species of mustard in cultivation in the fields, the white mustard
(Sinajns alba, fig. 596 a), and the black or common (Sinapis
nigra, b). Both are annuals, natives of Britain and most parts
of Europe, and cultivated there and in China, for an unknown
period. White mustard flowers in June, and ripens its
seeds in July. Black mustard is rather earlier. Mustard
is an exhausting crop, but profitable when the soil answers,
and especially in breaking up rich loamy lands, as it comes
off earlier, and allows time for preparing the soil for wheat.
In breaking up very rich grass lands, three or four crops
are sometimes taken in succession. It cannot however be
considered as a good general crop for the farmer, even if
there was a demand for it, as, like most of the commer-
cial plants, it yields little or no manure. The culture of
black or common mustard is by far the most extensive, and
is chiefly carried on in the county of Durham. The seed of
the black mustard, like that of the wild sort, and also of the
wild radish, will remain in the ground, if below the depth of
three or four inches, for ages without germinating, hence,
once introduced it is difficult to extirpate. Whenever they throw the earth out of their
ditches in the Isle of Ely, the bank comes up thick with mustard ; the seed falling into
the water and sinking to the botttom, will remain embalmed in the mud for ages without
TCgetation.
5480. Any rich loamy soil will raise a crop of mustard, and no other preparation is
required than that of a good deep ploughing and harrowing sufficient to raise a
mould on the surface. The seeds may be sown broad-cast at the rate of one lippie per
acre ; harrowed in and guarded from birds till it comes up, and hoed and wed before it
begins to shoot. In Kent, according to the survey of Boys, white mustard is culti-
vated for the use of the seedsmen in London. In the tillage for it, the ploughed land
is, he says, harrowed over, and then furrows are stricken about eleven or twelve inches
apart, sowing the seed in the proportion of two or three gallons per acre in March.
The crop is afterwards hoed and kept free from weeds.
5481. Mustard is reaped in the beginning of September, being tied in sheaves, and
left three or four days on the stubble. It is then stacked in the field. It is remarked
that rain damages it. A good crop is three or four quarters an acre : the price from 7s.
to 205. a bushel. Three or four crops are sometimes taken running, but this must in
most cases be bad husbandry.
5482. The use of the white mustard is or should be chiefly for medical and horticultural
purposes, though it is often ground into flour, and mixed with the black, which is much
stronger, and far more difficult to free from its black husks. The black or common
mustard is exclusively used for grinding into flour of mustard, and the black husk is
separated by very delicate machinery. The French either do not attempt, or do not suc-
ceed in separating the husk, as their mustard when brought to table is always black.
It is, however, more pungent than ours, because that quality resides chiefly in the husk.
The constituents of mustard seed appear to be chiefly starch, mucus, a bland fixed oil, an
acrid volatile oil, and an ammoniacal salt. The fresh powder, Dr. Cullen observes, shews
little pungency ; but when it has been moistened with vinegar and kept for a day, the
essential acrid oil is evolved, and it is then much more acrid.
5483. The leaves of the 7nustard family, like those of all the radish and brassica tribe, are eaten
green by cattle and sheep, and may be used as pot-herbs. The haulm is commonly burned ; but is
better employed as litter for the straw-yard, or for covering underdrains, if any happen to be forming at
the time,
5484. As substitutes for either the black or common mustard, most of the Cruciferse
enumerated when treating of oil plants (5475.), may be used, especially the Sinapis
arvensis or charlock, S. orientalis, Chinensis, and Brassicata, the latter commonly cul-
tivated in China. The Raphanis raphanistrum, common in corn-fields, and known as the
wild mustard, is so complete a substitute, that it is often separated from the refuse corn
and sold as Durham mustard seed.
SuBSECT 2.
The Canary Grass. — Fhalaris Canariensis, L.
GraminecB, J. (Jig. 597.)
Tria7i. Dig. L. and
5485. The canary grass is an annual, with a culm from a foot to eighteen inches in
heightj and lively green leaves almost half an inch in width. The seeds are thickly
Book VI.
PLANTS OF DOMESTIC ECONOMY.
871
5<J7
set in a subovate panicle or spike. It is a "Nnative of the Canary islands ; but now
naturalized in several parts of England, and on the continent. It flowers from June
to August, and ripens its seeds from September to October. It
has long been cultivated in the Isle of Thanet, and a few other
places in Kent and Essex : it is there considered an uncertain crop,
both on account of the seasons, it being the latest in ripening its
seeds of all the grasses, and the fluctuation of prices.
5486. The culture of the canary grass consists in pulverising a
loamy soil which is in good heart, or manuring it if worn out;
though every judicious farmer tries to avoid giving manure to a corn
crop unless after a naked fallow. The seeds are sown in rows at
about a foot apart, generally by the ribbing process : the season the
month of February, and the quantity of seed four or five gallons per
acre. The after-culture consists in repeated hoings and weedings.
5487. The reaping jirocess seldom commences before the end of
September. The culm being leafy, and the seed diflficult to separate
from the chaff, it requires to lie in handfuls for a week or more, and
to remain more than that time in the field after being tied up in
sheaves. In the Isle of Thanet it is cut with a hook, provincially
called a twibil and a hink ; by which it is laid in lumps, or wads, of
about a sheaf each. The seed clings remarkably to the husk ; and,
in order to detach it, the crop is left a long time on the ground, to
receive moisture sufficient to loosen the enveloping chaff, otherwise
it would be hardly possible to thresh out the seed. The wads are
turned from time to time, to have the full benefit of the rains and sun.
5488. The common produce of canary grass is from thirty to
thirty-four bushels per acre ; but under the best management in the
Isle of Thanet it is often fifty bushels per acre.
5489. The usd of the seed is chiefly as food for Canary and other cage and aviary
birds. The chaff is superior to that of every other culmiferous plant for horsefood, and
the straw, though short, is also very nutritive.
SuBSECT. 3. Buck-wheat, — Polygonum fagoj)7jrum,'lj. Octan. Trig. L. ; 2i.n6. Polygon
nece, J. Ble noir or Ble Sarrazin, Fr. (corrupted from Had-razin, red corn, Celtic] ;
Bucfnveitzen, Ger. ; Trigo negro, Span.; and Miglio, Ital. (Jig. 598.)
5490. The buck-wheat, or more properly beech-wheat, (from the
resemblance of the seeds to beech mast, as its Latin and German
names import,) is an annual fibrous-rooted plant, with upright flex-
uose leafy stems, generally tinged with red, and rising from a foot
to eighteen inches in height. The flowers are either white, or tinged
with red, and make a handsome appearance in July, and the seeds
ripen in August and September. Its native country is unknown ;
though it is attributed to Asia. It is cultivated in China and other
countries of the east as a bread corn, and lias been grown from time
immemorial in Britain, and most parts of Europe as food for poultry,
horses, and also for its meal to be used in domestic purposes. The
universality of its culture is evidently owing to the little labor it re-
' quires: it will grow on the poorest soil, and produce a crop in the
course of three or four months. It was cultivated so early as
Gerard's time (1597), to be ploughed in as manure : but at present,
from its inferior value as a grain, and its yielding very little haulm
for fodder or manure, it is seldom grown but by gentlemen in their
plantations to encourage game. Arthur Young, however, ** recom-
mends farmers in general to try this crop. Nineteen parishes out of
twenty, through the kingdom, know it only by name. It has nu-
merous excellencies, perhaps as many to good farmers, as any other grain or pulse in
use. It is of an enriching nature, having the quality of preparing for wheat, or any
other crop. One bushel sows an acre of land well, which is but a fourth of the ex-
pense of seed-barley. It should not be sown till the end of May. This is important,
for it gives time in the spring to kill all the seed-weeds in the ground, and brings no
disagreeable necessity from bad weather in March or April, to sow barley, &c. so late
as to hazard the crop. It is as valuable as barley, and is the best of all crops for sowing
grass-seeds with, giving them the same shelter as barley or oats, without robbing." If
all these things were true at the time, they are now only matter of history.
5491. In the culttire of the buck-wheat the soil maybe prepared in different ways
according to the intention of the future crop ; and for this there is time till the end of
3K 4
872 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III,
May, if seed is the object, and till June if it is to be ploughed in-. It will grow on
any soil, but only produce a good crop on one that is tolerably rich. It is considered
one of the best crops to sow along with grass seed ; and yet, (however inconsistent,)
the voluminous writer last quoted, endeavours to prove, that buck-wheat, from the
closeness of its growth at the top, smothers and destroy weeds, whilst clover and
grass -seeds receive considerable benefit by the shade it affords them" from the piercing
heat of the sun ! !
5492. The season of solving cannot be considered earlier than the last week of April
or first of May, as the young plants are very apt to be destroyed by frost. The mode iss
always broad-cast, and the quantity of seed a bushel per acre ; it is harrowed in, and
requires no other culture than pulling out the larger weeds, and guarding from birds
till the reaping season.
5493. Buck-wheat is harvested by mowing in the manner of barley. After it is
mown, it must lie several days, till the stalks be withered, before it be housed. It is in nc
danger of the seeds falling, nor does it suffer much by wet. From its great succulency
it is liable to heat, on which account it is better to put it in small stacks of five or six
loads eacli, than in either a large one or a barn.
5494. The produce of the grain of this plant may be stated upon the average, at be-
tween three and four quarters per acre ; it would be considerably more did all the grains
ripen together, but that never appears to be the case, as some parts of the same plant
will be in flower, whilst others have perfected their seed.
5495. The use of the grain of buck- wheat in this country, is almost entirely for feeding poultry, pigeons,
and swine It may also be given to horses, which are said to thrive well on it; but the author of the
New Partner's Calendar, says, he thinks he has seen it produce a stupefying efFect. It has been used in
the distillery in England, and is a good deal used in that way, and also as horse-corn on the continent.
Young says, a bushel goes farther than two bushels of oats, and mixed with at least four times as
much bran, will be full feed for any horse a week. Four bushels of the meal, put up at four hnndred
weight, will fatten a hog of sixteen or twenty stone in three weeks, giving him afterwards three bushels
of Indian corn or hog-pease, broken in a mill, with plenty of water. Eight bushels of buck-wheat
meal will go as far as twelve bushels of barley meal.
5496. The meal of buck-wheat is made into thin cakes called crumpits in Italy and even in some parts of
England, and it is supposed to be nutritious, and not apt to turn acid upon the stomach. ( Withering.)
5497. The blosso?ns of this plant afford a rich repast to bees, both from the quantity of honey they con-
tain, and from their long duration. On this account it is much prized in France and Germany, and
Du Hamel advises bee farmers to carry their hives to fields of this crop in the autumn, as well as to' heath
lands.
5498. The haulm of buck-wheat is said to be more nourishing than clover when cut
while in flower. Banister says, it has a peculiar inebriating quality. He has seen
hogs which have fed heartily on it, come home in such a state of intoxication as to be
unable to walk without reeling. The dried haulm is not eaten readily by any descrip-
tion of animal, and affords but very little manure. On the whole, the crop is of most .
value when ploughed in green for the latter purpose. As a seed crop, the author of T/ie
New Farmer s Calendar, seems justified in saying, it is only valuable on land that will
grow nothing else. The Polygonum tartitricum has been recommended for field culture,
but Von Thaer, who tried it repeatedly, found its produce quite insignificant.
SuBSECT. 4. Of other' Plants used in Domestic Economy ; which are or may be cultivated
in the Fields,
5499. Many garden plants might be cultivated in the fields, especially near large'
towns where manure is easily procured, and a deniand for the produce exists. Among
such plants may be mentioned the cress, parsley, onion, leek, lettuce, radish, &c. There
are also some plants which enter into the agriculture of foreign countries where the
climate is not dissimilar to our own, which might be very effectually cultivated in this
country were it desirable. Among these are the tobacco and the chiccory, the latter for
its roots as a substitute for coffee. The lettuce might be grown for its milky juice, as a
substitute for, or rather a variety of opium. Of dwarf fruits, as the strawberry, currant,
gooseberry, raspberry, &c. we add nothing here, having already alluded to them in
treating of orchards.
5500. The agriculturist who attemplts to grow any of the above plants, can hardly expect
to succeed unless his knowledge extends beyond the mere routine of country husbandry,
either by reading and the study of the nature of vegetables, or by some experience in
the practice of gardening. No farmer on a moderately extensive scale will find it worth
while to attempt such productions, whatever may be his knowledge or resources;
and for the garden-farmer, or the curious or speculative amateur, we would recommend
observation and enquiry round the metropolis, and the reading of books on horticulture.
All that we shall do here, will be to give some indications of the culture and manage-^
ment of cress, chiccory, and tobacco.
5501. The garden cress {Lepidum sativum, L.), too well known to require any descrip-
Uon> is grown in the fields in Essex, the seed being in some demand in the London market*
Book VI. PLANTS OF DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 879
It is sown on any sort of soil, but strong loam is the most productive. After being well
pulverised on the surface, the seed is sown broad-cast and lightly harrowed in. The
season of sowing for the largest produce is March, but it will ripen if sown the first
week in May. The quantity of seed to an acre varies from two to four pecks, according
to the richness of the land ; the seed will not grow the second year. No after-culture is
required but weeding. The crop is reaped and left in handfuls to dry for a few days,
and then threshed out like rapeseed or mustard in the field.
5502. The use of the cress seed is chiefly for sowing to cut for young turkeys ; and for forcing salads by
the London cooks on hot moist flannels and porous earthenware vessels. A very considerable quantity "is
also used in horticulture, it being one of the chief early salads, and cut when in tne seed leaf. The haulm,
is of very little use as litter, and on the whole, the crop is exhausting,
5503. The culture of the chiccory as an herbage plant has already been given (5074.) ;
when grown for the root to be used as a substitute for coflPee, it may be sown on the same
soil as the carrot, and thinned out to the same distance as that plant. These roots are taken
up in the first autumn after sowing in the same manner as those of the carrot. When they
are to be manufactured on a large scale, they are partially dried, and in that state sold to
the manufacturers of the article, who wash them, cut them in pieces, roast them on a
kiln, and grind them between fluted rollers into a powder, which is packed up in papers,
containing from two ounces to three or four pounds. In that state it is sold either as
a substitute for coffee, or for mixing with it. But when a private family cultivate tliis
plant for home manufacture, the roots are laid in a cellar among sand, and a few taken
out as wanted, washed, cut into slices, roasted in the coffee roaster till they become of a
brown color, and then passed as wanted through the coflfee mill.
5504. The value of the chiccory as a cojffee plant. Von Thaer observes in 1810, is proved by its having been
cultivated for that purpose for thirty years. Dr. Howison has written some curious papers on the subject
in The Caledonian Horticultural Memoirs, (vol iv.), and both that gentleman and Dr. Duncan approve of
its dietetic qualities. The former indeed says, he thinks it preferable to c6ffee, which may be a matter of
taste, as some prefer the flavor of the powdered roots of dandelion to that of either coffee or chiccory.
Dr. Duncan is of opinion that chiccory might be cultivated with great national advantages as a substitute
for the exotic berry. {Disco, to Caled. Hort. Soc. 1820.)
5505. Of the tobacco, there are two species which may be cultivated in this country :
the Nicotiana tabaccura, or Virginia tobacco, which is almost the only sort imported,
and the N. rustica, common tobacco, the Bauern tabac of Germany, and cultivated
in that country, Sweden, and many parts of France, Switzerland, Holland, &c., both for
private use and manufacture for public sale. Almost every one who occupies a cottage
and garden in these countries grows as much as supplies their pipes ; but it is rarely
made into snufF or chewing tobacco by private families. The culture of tobacco is pro-
hibited in Britain for political reasons ; but before that law was given, it was grown and
cured in a very sufficient manner by farmers both in England and Scotland. At present
every family may grow a sufficient quantity for their own use.
5506. The soil for tobacco must be deep, loamy, and rich ; well pulverised before planting.and frequently
stirred and kept free from weeds during the growth of the plants. The plants in this country should be
raised in a warm part of the garden : the seed is very small, and should be sown and lightly covered, and
then the surface pressed down with the back of the spade in the middle of March. In May they will be
fit to transplant, and should be placed in lines three feet apart every way. If no rain fall, they should be
watered two or three times. Every morning and evening the plants must be looked over, in order to
destroy a worm which sometimes invades the bud. When they are about four or five inches high,
they are to be cleared from weeds and moulded up. As soon as they have eight or nine leaves ; and are
ready to put forth a stalk, the top is nipped off, in order to make the leaves longer and thicker. After this
the buds which sprout at the joints of the leaves are all plucked, and not a day is suffered to pass without
examining the leaves, to destroy a large caterpillar, which is sometimes very destructive to them.
5507. The following is the mode of taking and fermenting the leaues'm America. When they are fit
for cutting, whicli is known by the brittleness of the leaves, they are cut with a knife close to the ground ;
and after lying some time, are' carried to the drying shed or house, where the plants are hung up by pairs,
upon lines, leaving a space between, that they may not touch one another. In this state they remain to
sweat and dry. When perfectly dry, the leaves are stripped from the stalks, and made into small bundles,
tied with one of the leaves. These bundles are laid in heaps, and covered with blankets. Care is taken
not to overheat them, for which reason the heaps are laid open to the air from time to time, and spread
abroad. This operation is repeated till no more heat is perceived in the heaps, and the tobacco is then
stowed in casks for exportation.
5508. To save seed allow one or two of the best plants to run, they will flower and be very ornamental in
June, July, and August, and ripen their seeds in September and October.
5509. Jn the manufacture of tobacco, the leaves are first cleaned of any earth, dirt, or decayed parts ; next
they are gently moistened with salt and water, or water in which some other salt, and sometimes other
ingredients have been dissolved, according to the taste of the fabricator. This liquor is called tobacco
sauce. The next operation is to remove the midrib of the leaf, then the leaves are mixed together to render
the quality of whatever may be the final manufacture or application equal ; next they are cut into pieces
with a fixed knife, and crisped or curled before a fire ; the succeeding operation is to spin them i.ito cords,
or twist them into rolls by winding them with a kind of mill round a stick. These operations are per-
formed by the grower, and in this state (of rolls) the article is sent from America to other countries, where
the tobacconists cut it into chaff like shreds by a machine like a straw-cutter, for smoking ; form it into
small cords for chewing ; or dry and grind it for snuff. In manufacturing snuff various matters are added
to give it an agreeable scent ; and hence the numerous varieties of snuff. The three principal kinds are
called rappees, Scotch or Spanish, and thirds. The first is only granulated ; tlie second is reduced to a very
fine powder, and the third is thfe siftings of the second sort. In a former section (5439.) we have hinted
that no farmer who cultivates the hop nce<l be without a vegetable equal to asparagus, or fibre similar to
that of flax to employ his servants in spinning ; and from the foregoing observations it would seem that
Whoever has a garden may grow his own coffee and tobacco.
874
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
Sect. V. Of Plants which are or may be grown in the Fields for Medicinal Purposes.
5510. A number of medical plants were formerly grown in the fields ; but vegetable
drugs are now much less the fashion ; a few powerful sorts are retained, which are
either collected wild or are natives of other countries, and the rest of the pharmacopoeia is
chiefly made up of minerals. It may safely be affirmed that there are no plants belong-
ing to this section which deserve the notice of the general farmer; but we have thought it
desirable to notice a few sometimes grown by farming gardeners, and which may be con-
sidered as belonging almost equally to horticulture and agriculture, or as points of
connection between the two arts. These are the saffron, liquorice, rhubarb, lavender,
mints, chamomile, and thyme.
551 1 . The saffron or autumn crocus (Crocus sativus, l^.fig. 599 a.), is a bulbous-rooted
599
perennial, which has been long cultivated in the south of Europe, and since Edward III. 's
time in England, and chiefly at Saffron Walden in Essex. It was abundantly cultivated
there, and in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and Herefordshire, in the beginning of the seven-
teenth century, but the quantity of land under this crop has been gradually lessening for the
last century, and especially within the last fifty years, so that its culture is now almost en-
tirely confined to a few parishes round Saffron Walden. (Young's Essex.) This is owing
partly to the material being less in use than formerly, and partly to the large importations
from the East, often, as Professor Martyn observes, adulterated with bastard saffron
(Carthamus tinctorius) and raarygolds (Calendula ojjlcinalis),
5512. The bulbs of the saffron are planted on a prepared soil not poor nor a very stiff clay, but if possible
a hazel mould on chalk. The bulbs are planted in July, in rows six inches apart across the ridges, and at
three inches distance in the rows.
5513. The flowers, which are purple and appear in September, are gathered, carried home, and the stigmas
picked out, together with a portion of the style ; these are dried on a kiln between layers of paper, and
under the pressure of a thick board to form the mass into cakes.
5514. Two pounds of dried cake is the average crop of an acre after first planting, and twenty-four pounds
for the two next years. After the third crop the roots are taken up, divided, and re-planted
5515. The uses of saffian in medicine, domestic economy, and the arts, are various. It is detersive, re-
solvent, anodyne, cephalic, opthalmic, &c. ; but its use is not without danger : in large doses it promotes
•drowsiness, lethargy, vomiting, and delirium ; even its smell is injurious, and has been known to produce
syncope. It is used in sauces by the Spaniards and Poles ; here and in France it enters into creams, bis-
cuits, conserves, liquors, &c. and is used for coloring butter and cheese, and also by painters and dyers.
5516. The liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra, IL. fg. 599 b.) is a deep-rooting perennial,
of the leguminosse, with lierbaceous stems rising four or five feet high. It has long
been much cultivated in Spain ; and since Elizabeth's time has been grown in different
parts of England,
5517. The soil for the liquorice should be a deep sandy loam, trenched by the spade or plough, or the aid
of botli, to two and a half or three feet in depth, and manured if necessary. The plants are procured from
old plantations, and consist of the side roots, which have eyes or buds. These may be taken off, either in
autumn when a crop of liquorice is taken up for use, and laid in earth till spring, or tiken from a growing
plantation, as wanted for planting. The planting season may be either October, or February and March.
In general the latter is preferred. The plants are dibbled in in rows three feet apart, and from eighteen
inches to two feet in the row, according to the richness of the soil. The after-culture consists in horse-
hoeing and deep stirring, in weeding, and in cutting over and carrying away the haulm every autumn
after it is completely withered. As the plants do not rise above a foot the first season, a crop of onions or
beans is sometimes taken in the intervals. The plants must have three summers' growth, at the end of
•which the roots may be taken up by trenching over the ground. The roots are either immediately sold
to the brewers' druggists, or to common druggists, or preserved, like carrots or potatoes, in sand, till
wanted for use. They are us'ed in medicine and porter-brewing.
5518. The rhubarb (Rheum judmatum, L,. fg. 599 c.) is a perennial, with thick
oval roots, which strike deep into the ground, large palmate leaves, and flower-stems
six or eight feet high. The Society of Aits exerted themselves for many years to pro-
mote the culture of this plant, as did Dr. Hope, of Edinburgh. It has accordingly
Book VI. PLANTS FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES. 875
been cultivated with success both in England and Scotland ; though the quality of the
root produced is considered ))y the faculty as inferior to that of the Russia or Turkey rhu-
barb, probably, as Professor Martyn thinks, owing to the moisture of our climate, and
the imperfect mode in which it has been dried.
5519. In the. culture of this plant, if bulk of produce be the object, then a deep, rich, loamy sand, should
be chosen; but if flavor, then a dry, warm, somewhat calcareous sand. Prepare, as for liquorice, and
sow the seeds in patches of two or three seeds, in rows four feet apart, and the same distance in the rows.
Transplanting from seed-beds may be adopted j but the roots are never so handsome and entire. As soon
as the plants appear, leave only one in a place. The plants will now stand in the angles of squares of four
feet to the side ; and the after-culture consists in horse-hoeing and deep stirring, both lengthways and
across; in ploughing in the same directions; in never letting the flower-stems rise higher than two
feet, or shew flowers or seed, unless some is v/anted for propagation; and in removing the decayed
haulm every autumn. The plants having stood three or four summers, may be taken up, and their main
roots dried in a very slow manner by any of the following modes: — The common British mode of
curing or drying the rhubarb, after cleaning the roots, is to cut them into sections, an inch or more in
thickness, string them and dry them in airy lofts, laundries, or kitchens, in a gradual manner. This has long
been tlie practice of private gardeners who grow the root for their own use, and has also been adopted by
cultivators for the druggists. The rhubarb is cured in Tartary by being thoroughly cleaned, the smaller
branches cut off, and then cut transversely into pieces of a moderate size ; these are placed on long
tables or boards, and turned three or four times a day, that the yellow viscid juice may incorporate
with the substance of the root. If this juice be suffered to run out, the roots become light and unservice-
able ; and if they be not cut within five or six days aftcrthey are dug up, they become soft and decay very
speedily. Four or five days after they are cat, holes are made through them, and they are hung up
to dry exposed to the air and wind, but sheltered from the sun. Thus, in about two months, the roots are
completely dried, and arrive at their full perfection. The loss of weight in drying is very considerable j
seven loads of green roots yielding only one small horse-load of perfectly dry rhubarb.
5520. The Chinese in curing rhubarb, after having cleaned the roots, by scraping off the outer bark, as
well as the thin yellow membrane underneath, cut them in slices, an inch or two in thickness, and dry them
on stone slabs, under which large fires are kindled. They keep continually turning these slices on the
warm slabs ; but as this operation is not sufficient to dry them thoroughly, they make a hole through
them, and suspend them on lines, in a place exposed to the greatest heat of the sun, till they are in a con-
dition to be preserved without danger of spoiling. A copious account of all the experiments made in
Britain for the culture and curing of the rhubarb up to 1805, is given by Professor Martyn, in his edition
of Miller's Dictionary, art. Rheum j and of the Turkey, Russian, and Chinese rhubarb, in Thomson's
Dispensatory, 2d edit. 1822, p. 469.
5521. The lavender [Lavandula spica, L. jig. 599 d) is a dwarf odoriferous
shrub of three or four years' duration, grown in the fields in a few places round Lon-
don, and chiefly in Surrey, for the spikes of flowers used by the druggists, perfumers
and distillers. The soil should be a poor dry calcareous gravel ; the seeds beino- sown
in a garden in spring, may be transplanted in September or March following, in rows
two feet apart and kept free of weeds. The second season they will yield a few flowers,
and a full crop the fourth, after which the plants will continue productive for five or six
years. The spikes are gathered in June,, dried in the shade, and sold in bundles to tlie
herbalists, druggists, &c.
5522. Thyme, wormwood, marjoram, savory, and some other aromatics, are cultivated
in the same manner, and for similar purposes. Being usually smaller plants, they
should be planted closer, but to have much flavor the soil must be dry and calcareous.
5523. Chamomile {Anthemis nobilis) is a creeping perennial, grown for its flowers.
It only requires to be planted on a poor soil, in rows a foot apart and hoed between.
It will produce abimdance of flowers annually from June to September, which are
gathered, and dried in the shade. They are sold by weight to the druggists and apotheca-
ries. The double-flowered variety is, from its beauty, that commonly cultivated ; but the
single possesses more of the virtues of the plant according to its weight.
5524. The mints {Mentha), and especially the peppermint (Mentha piperitis), are creep-
ing rooted perennials, cultivated on rich marshy or soft black moist soils for distilling.
The plants are grown in beds with trenches of a foot or more in width and depth
between, so as to admit of irrigation. The sets are obtained from old plantations and
planted in rows across the beds at six inches distance every way, in March or April.
No produce is obtained the first year worth notice, but a full crop the tlwrd, and the
shoots will continue to produce five or six years. Tlie spikes of flowers, and in some
cases the entire herbage, is cut over in June as soon as the flowers expand, and carried
immediately to the druggist's still. Some growers distil it themselves.
5525. The common valerian {Valeriana ojjlcinalis, L,.) is sometimes cultivated for itS'
roots for the druggists. It is a native plant, and prefers a loamy soil. In Derbyshire"
it is planted in rows twelve inches apart, and the plants six inches asunder, which are
either procured from the ofisets of former plantations, or from wild plants found in-
wet places in the neighboring woods. Soon after it comes up in the sprin"- the tops ar6
cut off, to prevent its running to seed, which spoils it. At Michaelmas, the leaves are
pulled and given to cattle, and the roots dug up carefully, and clean washed, and the
remaining top is then cut close off, and the thickest part slit down to facilitate
their drying, which is effected on a kiln, after which they must be packed tight, and
kept very dry, or they spoil. The usual produce is about 18 cwt. per acre. This crop
is manured in the winter, of which it requires a great deal.
5526. The orchis or salep plant {Orchis mascula, L.) is a tuberous perennial, which
grows plentifully in moist meadows in Gloucestershire, and other parts of the country.
It flowers in May and ripens seeds in July. It has been proposed to be cultivated for
876
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
its tubers to be used as salep ; but the plant is very difficult of propagation from seed,
and can hardly be multiplied at all by the root, and though it may answer to collect the
tubers and prepare them, it is not likely it ever will to attempt their culture. As the
plant is very abundant in some situations, it may be useful to know its preparation,
which is thus described in PhU. Trans, vol. lix.
5527. The bulb k to be washed in water, and the fine brown skin which covers it, is to be separated by-
means of a small brush, or by dipping the root in hot water, and rubbing it with a coarse linen cloth.
When a sufficient number of bulbs is thus cleansed, they are to be spread on a tin plate, and placed in an
oven heated to the usual degree, where they are to remain six or ten minutes, in which time they will
have lost their milky whiteness, and acquired a transparency like horn, without any diminution of bulk.
Being arrived at this state, they are to be removed, in order to dry and harden in the air, which will
require several days to effect, or by using a gentle heat, they may be finished in a few hours. By another
process, the bulb is boiled in water, freed from the skin, and afterwards suspended in the air to dry ; it thus
gains the same appearance as the foreign salep, and docs not grow moist or mouldy in wet weather, which
those that have been barely dried by heat are liable to. Reduced into powder, they soften and dissolve
in boiling water into a kind of mucilage, which may be diluted for use with a large quantity of water or
milk. Thus prepared, they possess very nutritious virtues ; and if not the very same species as is brought
from Turkey and used for making salep, so nearly resembles it as to be little inferior. In Turkey the
different species of the orchis are said to be taken indifferently ; but in England, the orchis mascula is the
most common. {Gloucestershire Report, 377.)
Chap. IX.
Of Marine Plants used in Agriculture.
5528. All marine plants may be used as manure with great advantage, either in a recent
•state or mixed with earth. But the most valuable vegetables which grow in or near salt
water, are those from which kelp or soda may be manufactured. The use of sea-weed,
as an article from which kelp might be manufactured, seems to have been practically
recognised in Scotland about the beginning of the eighteenth century. The great
demand for kelp in the manufacture of glass and soap at Newcastle, and of alum at
Whitby, seems to have introduced the making of this commodity upon the shores of the,
Forth> so early as about the year 1720. It began to be manufactured in the Orkney
Islands in the year 1723, but in the western shires of Scotland, the making of kelp was
not known for inany years after this date. The great progress of the bleaching of linen
cloth in Ireland, first gave rise to the manufacture of kelp in that kingdom ; and from
Ireland it was transferred to the Hebrides about the middle of the eighteenth century.
On the shores of England the kelp plants are not abundant.
5529. Of the different marine plarits which are eraployedfor the manufacture of kelp, the
Fucus vesiculosus {fg. 600 a), is considered by kelp makers as the most productive ;
and the kelp obtained is, in general, supposed to be of the best quality.
5530. TTiefudili nodosus (6), is considered to afford a kelp of equal value to that of the abovfe species,
though perhaps it is not quite so productive.
5531. The fucus serratus (c) or black weed, as it is commonly called, is neither so productive, nor is the
kelp procured from it so valuable as that obtained from the other two. This weed is seldom employed
alone for the manufacture of kelp; it is in general mixed with some of the other kinds.
5532. The Jucus digitatus (rf), is said to afford a kelp inferior in quality to any of the others; it forms
the principal part of the drift-weed.
5533. The plants are cut in May, June, and July, and exposed to the air on the
ground, till they be nearly dried, care being taken to prevent them, as much as possible,
from being exjjosed to the rain. They are then burned, either in a pit dug in the sand or
on the surface of the ground, surrounded by loose stones, forming in both ways a inide sort
of kiln, A peat fire is kindled on the ground, and the weed gradually added, till the
Book VI.: MARINE PLANTS. 877
fire extends over the whole floor of the kiln ; the weed is then spread lightly on the top,
and added in successive portions. As it burns it leaves ashes, which accumulating
towards evening, become semifused, and are then well stirred. Another day's burning
increases the mass ; and this is continued till the kiln is nearly filled. On some occa-
sions the kiln consists of a cavity in the ground, over which bars of iron are placed j and
on this the ware is burned, the ashes falling into the cavity, where they are well worked by
the proper instruments.
5534. Kelp is generally divided into two kinds ; the cut- weed kelp, and the drift- weed
kelp ; the former made from the weed which has been recently cut from the rocks, the
latter from that which has been drifted ashore. The latter is supposed to yield a kelp of
inferior quality. Some specimens of kelp, however, made from sea-weed which had been
drifted asliore, tend to prove that this is not always the case. Weed which has been
exposed to rain during the process of drying, affords a kelp of inferior quality. It is
of the utmost importance to the manufacturer of kelp, to keep his weed as much as
possible free from rain. For this purpose many employ sheds ; when these are not at
hand, the weed which has been laid out to dry, should be collected into one heap during
the rain ; when this ceases, it should again be immediately spread out. It has often
been matter of dispute, how old the plants should be before they be cut. In general,
three years is the time allotted. This, however, from some trials which have been made to
ascertain this point, seems to be too long. From experiments, it appears, that the pro-
duce of kelp, from one ton of three years old weed, is only eight pounds more than that
from the same quantity of two years old ; from this we would conclude, that the weed
ought to be cut every two years. Though perhaps less weed may be procured from the
same extent of ground occupied by weed of two, than of three year's growth, yet the
difference may not be so great as to render it worth while to allow the weed to remain
for three years.
5535. In order to increase the quantity of kelp, it has been suggested to the Highland
Society, that the seed of the salsola soda might be imported and cultivated at a small
distance from the shore, with the design of mixing the plant with the sea-ware, for the
improvement of the kelp. It was formerly imagined, that the barilla plant would not
produce any quantity of alkali, worth its cultivation, if planted in France ; but in the
year 1782, some spirited individuals procured a quantity of barilla seed, and made a
plantation of it near the coast of the ^Mediterranean, in the province of Languedoc, and
had the satisfaction for several years, to find, that the barilla which they produced from
these plants, was of a quality equal to that which they usually procured from Alicant.
Why, then, may not a similar attempt in our own country be equally successful ?
5536. Other plants. If the growers of kelp could contrive to make some considerable
plantations of the most productive of the kali, or of fumitory, wormwood, and other
inland plants, which yield large quantities of potash, and collect the crop to burn with
the other materials, the carbonate of potash resulting from their incineration would
decompose the sea salt, and a great accumulation of carbonate of soda would be pro-
duced. It was proved long ago by Du Hamel, that the marine plants produced soda
merely in consequence of their situation, for, when they have been cultivated for some
years in an inland spot, they yield only potash.
5537. There are immense tracts of shore on the mainland and islands of Scotland which may be
easily culti vated for the production of kelp, from which at present not one penny is derived. All the
cultivation requisite is, to place whin or other hard stones, not under the size of the crown of a hat,
upon such vacant spaces. Contracts have been made to plant shore lands in the Highlands with
such stones, at the rate of 20/. per Scots acre. Such stones are generally to be found at high-water
mark, on all the shores of the lochs of the Highlands. They are put into a boat at high water,
then carried to the ground to be planted, and thrown overboard, and on the ebb of the tide they are^
distributed regularly over the shore, preserving a clear space round every stone of one foot, which
distance, after very minute examination, appears to be the most eligible for producing the greatest crop,
of ware. It is evident these stones should be of a round shape, the more surface being exposeil to the
alternate action of the air and water, so much more kelp-ware will be produced from a given space or
ground. In four years the first crop may be cut, which, on the above data, will yield about four per
cent, on the original expense. But the crop may be manufactured into kelp in every third year there-
after, which, on the same data, is equal to about five per cent. In this improvement there is no hazard
of bad crops, and if the manufacture is begun early enough in the season, there is little danger to be-
apprehended from bad weather, it being understood that tlie operation of kelp-making can be carried on.
should there be no more than two dry days in eight. {Highland Society's Trans, vol. viii.)
Chap. X.
Of Weeds or Plants which are iryurious to those cultivated in Agriculture.
5538. Every plant which appears where it is not wanted may be considered injurious,
though some are much more so than others. A stalk of barley in a field of oats is a weed,
relatively to the latter crop, but a thistle is a weed in any crop j weeds, therefore, may be
classed as relative and absolute.
878
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part iii.-
5559. Relative weeds, or such cultivated plants as spring up where they are not wanted,
give comparatively little trouble in extirpating them. The most numerous are the grasses
when they spring up in fields of saintfoin or lucern, or among corn crops in newly
broken up grass lands. The roots of chiccory, in fields that have been broken up after
bearing that crop for some years, of madder, liquorice, &c. are also of difficult extirpation.
"When the potatoe crop has not been carefully gathered, or mustard has been allowed to
shed its seed, they also occasion trouble. Other similar cases will readily occur to the
practical man, and need not be mentioned.
5540. Absolute weeds, or such native plants as are considered injurious to all crops, are
very numerous, and may be variously arranged. Some affect in a more peculiar manner
corn-fields and tillage lands, and these are chiefly annuals, as wild mustard, wild radish,
poppy, blue bottle, cockle, darnel, &c. ; or biennials, as the thistle ; or perennials, as couch-
grass, knot-grass, black couch, polygonum, &c. ; on lands laid down to grass for a few
years, dock, ox-eye daisy, ragweed, &c. Others infest grass lands, and these are chiefly
perennials, such as crowfoot, one of the most difficult of weeds to extirpate ; thistles,
docks, rushes, sedges, moss, and an endless variety, of others. Some are more particu-
larly abundant in hedges, of which the reedy and coarse grasses, as couch-grass, brome-
grass, and the climbing and twining plants, as goose grass ( Galium aparine), and the
twiners, as bindweed (Convolvulus), are the most injurious.
5541. With^regard to the destruction of weeds, they may be classed first, according to
their duration. All annuals and biennials, as sand- \\V'/ 601
wort (Jig. 601 b), and sorrel (c), are eflfectually
destroyed by cutting over the plant at any point be-
low that whence the seed leaves originated, as this
prevents them from ever springing again from the
roots. Perennials of the fibrous-rooted kind may
be destroyed in the same manner, as the crowfoot,
ragweed, the fibrous-rooted grasses, and many others.
Some fusiform rooted perennials may also be
destroyed by similar means ; but almost all the
thick rooted perennials require to be wholly eradi-
cated.
5542- The perennial weeds which require their roots
to be wholly eradicated, may be classed according to
the kind of roots. The first we shall mention are
the stoloniferous roots or surface shoots of plants, by
which they propagate themselves. Of this kind is
the creeping crowfoot, goosefoot or wild tansey, and
other potentillas, mints, strawberries, black couch-
grass, and most of the agrostidoe and other grasses.
The next are the under-ground creeping roots, as the
couch-grass, convolvulus arvensis, and other species, of bind-weed, coltsfoot (Jig. 601 a)
sowthistle, several tetradynamous plants, as todflax, scrophularia, nettle, hedge-nettle,
{Stachys), lamium, ballota, &c. Some of these, as the bindweed and corn-mint, are ex-
tremely difficult to eradicate ; a single inch of stolone, if left in the ground, sending up
a shoot and becoming a plant. The creeping and descending vivacious roots are the
most difficult of all to eradicate. Of this class are the polygonum amphibium, (^fig.
602 a), the reed (Arundo pthragmites), the horse-tail {Equisetum,Jig. 602 b), and some
others. These plants abound in deep clays, which have been deposited by water, as in
the carses and clay-vales of Scotland. In the carse of Falkirk for example, the roots of
the polygonum amphibium are found every where in the subsoil alive and vigorous.
They send up a few leaves every year in the furrows and on the sides of drains, and when
any field is neglected or left a year or two in grass, they are found all over its surface.
Were this tract to be left to nature for a few years, it would soon be as completely co-
vered with the polygonum as it must have been at a former age, when it was one entire
marsh partially covered by the Firtli of Forth. The horse-tail is equally abundant in
many soils, even of a drier description ; and the corn thistle, (Serratula arve?isis,Jig.60l e)
even in dry rocky grounds. Lightfoot [Flora Scotica) mentions plants of this species
dug out of a quarry, the roots of which were nineteen feet in length. It would be useless
to attempt eradicating the roots of such plants. The only means of keeping them
under, is to cut off their tops or shoots as soon as they appear; for which purpose,
lands subject to them are best kept in tillage. In grass lands, though they may
be kept from rising high, yet they will, after being repeatedly mown, form a stool or stock
of leaves on the surface, which will suffice to strengthen their roots, and greatly to injure
the useful herbage plants and grasses.
Book VII.
WEEDS.
879
5543. Tuberous and bulbous rooted weeds, are not very numerous; wild garlick,
arum, and bryony, are examples, and these are only to be destroyed by complete
eradication.
5544. Ramose, Jusiform, and such like rooted perennials, of which rest-harrow, fern,
and scabious are examples, may in general be destroyed by cutting over below the
collar or point where the seed-leaves have issued. Below that point the great majority of
plants, ligneous as well as herbaceous, have no power of sending up shoots ; tln)Ugh
there are many exceptions, such as the dock, burdock, &c. among herbs, and the thorn,
elm, poplar, cherry, crab, &c. among trees.
5545. A catalogue of tveeds could be of little use to the agriculturist, as the mere
names could never instruct him as to their qualities as weeds, even if he knew them by
their proper names. Besides, weeds which abound most, and are most injurious in one
district, are often rare in another. Thus, the poppy abounds in gravelly districts, the
charlocks on clays, the chickweed, groundsoil, nettle, &c. only on rich soils. A local
flora, or any of the national floras, as Lightfoot's Flora Scotica, and Smith's British
Flora, by pointing out the native habits of indigenous plants, may be of considerable
use to the agriculturist who has acquired a slight degree of the science of botany, so
as to enable him to refer any plant which he may pick up in flower, not knowing the
name, to its place in the arrangement of the book.
BOOK VII.
THE ECONOMY OF XIVH STOCK AND THE DAIRY.
5546. Tlie grand characteristic of modern British farming, and that which constitutes
its greatest excellence, is the union of the cultivation of live stock with that of vegetables.
Formerly in this country, and in most other countries, the growing of corn and the
l-earing of cattle and sheep constituted two distinct branches of farming j and it was
a question among writers, as Von Thaer informs us it still is in Germany, which werfe
the most desirable branches to follow. The culture of roots and herbage crops at last
led gradually to the soiling or stall feeding husbandry, in imitation of the Flemings ;
and afterwards, about the middle of the last century, to the alternate husbandry, which is
entirely of British invention, and has been the means of improving the agriculture of
the districts where it is practised, more etfectually than any thing else. It is observed
* 3 K 8
880 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
by Brown, that ** though horses, neat cattle, sheep, and swine are of equal importance to
the British farmer with corn crops, yet we have few treatises concerning the animals,
compared with the immense number that have been 'written on the management of
arable land, or the crops produced upon it. But though so little has been written, the
improvement of those animals has not been neglected ; on the contrary, it has been
studied like a science, and carried into execution with iJie most sedulous attention and
dexterity. We wish it could be stated, that one half of the care had been applied to
the selecting and breeding of wheat and other grains, which has been displayed in select-
ing and breeding the best proportioned and most kindly feeding sheep. A comparison
cannot, however, be made with the slightest degree of success ; the exertions of the sheep-
farmers having, in every point of view, far exceeded what has been done by the renters
of arable land. Even with cattle considerable, improvement has taken place. With
horses, those of the racing and hunting kinds excepted, there has not been correspondent
improvement ; and as t» swine, an animal of great benefit to the farmer, in consuming
offal which would otherwise be of no value, it is to be regretted that very much remains
to be done."
5547. The first important effort in the improvement of live stock, was made by
Robert Bakewell, of Dishly, about 1730; and the first scientific work which appeared
on the subject, was by George Cully, in 1782. Bakewell wrote* nothing himself; but
the principles on which he acted in selecting and breeding cattle and sheep, have been
developed, by his contemporaries, in various agricultural reports. Some excellent obser-
vations on the subject have also appeared from the pens of Cline, Dr. Coventry, Sir. J.
Sebright, Hunt of Leicester, and others. The improvement in the sciences of compara-
tive anatomy and physiology has also led to an amended practice both in breeding
and in pathology. The example of various opulent proprietors and farmers in all
parts of the empire, tended to spread this improvement, by which the pursuit became,
fashionable. Add to these the accounts of the management of live stock in almost every
county of the British Isles, as contained in Marshal's Works and the County Re-
ports. From these sources we shall draw the information we are about to submit,
and shall adopt the arrangement of the horse, the ass, the mule and hinny, the
bull family and the dairy, the sheep, the swine, minor stock, and injurious animals
or vermin.
Chap. I.
The cultivated Horse. — Equus Caballus, L. ; Mammalia Belluce, L. ; and Pacht/dermes
Solipedes, Cuvier ; Cheval, Fr. ; Pferde, Ger. ; Caballo, Span. ; and Cavallo, Ital.
5548. The horse family, by far the most important among the brute creation as a
servant to man, includes several species both in a wild and cultivated state, as the Equus
hemionus or wild mule, a native of Arabia and China, and which it is supposed would
form an excellent race of small horses, could they be reduced to a state of domestication ;
the E. asinus, or ass, well known ; the E. zebra, or striped ass; the E. quagga, by
some considered a variety of the zebra ; and the E. bisulcus or cloven-footed horse, a
native of Chili, and by many supposed to belong to a distinct genus.
5549. The common horse, justly considered as the noblest of animals, is found in a wild
state in the deserts of Great Tartary, in the southern parts of Siberia, and in other parts
of Asia, and in the interior of Africa. He is of th^ greatest antiquity, and has long
been domesticated and cultivated in most parts of the earth, for the various purposes of
war, hunting, parade, the saddle, or draught ; and in some places, partly for his flesh and
the milk of the female. The parts of a horse, when no longer endowed with life, are
applied to various useful purposes : the blood for manure ; the bones are broken and
boiled, to produce oil, and afterwards are ground into an excellent manure ; some of the
bones are also used in the mechanical arts. The flesh supplies food for the domestic
carnivorous animals, the cat and dog ; for carnivorous birds, as the hawk, eagle, &c., kept
for amusement or curiosity ; and for fish and various similar purposes. We shall con-
sider the horse, in regard to its varieties, organology, anatomy, physiology, diseases,
breeding, rearing, training, feeding, and working.
Sect. I. Of the Varieties of the Horse.
5550. The varieties of the domestic horse vary exceedingly in different countries.
The Arabian horse {fig, 603.) is a portrait of one brought by Buonaparte from
Book VII. VARIETIES OF THE HORSE. 881
Egypt, and now living in the royal garden of Paris,) are reckoned the best, and their
inhabitants the most expert in horsemanship. The care taken by the Arabs in pre-
serving the breeds of their horses, is most 603
remarkable. None but stallions of the finest
form and purest blood are allowed access to
their mares, which is never permitted but in
the presence of a professional witness or pub-
lic officer, who attests the fact, records the
name, and signs the pedigree of each. The
Persian horses are considered next in value ;
and after them the horses of Andalusia in
Spain. The Barbary horses are descended
from the Arabians, and much esteemed.
Jackson [Empire of Morocco, p. 42.) men-
lions ouQ very fleet variety, used for hunting
the ostrich, and fed entirely on camel's milk. In Algiers they are said not to like to
castrate their horses, but only squeeze their testicles when they are about three months
old, which renders them incapable of propagation. The horses of India are small and
vicious, the climate being unfavorable to their greater developement. Those of Tartary
are of a moderate size ; but strong, muscular, full of spirit and active. The Tartars
are considered skilful riders. Like the Kalmucks, they eat their flesh as we do that of
oxen, and use their milk either in curd or fermented.
5551. Of the European varieties of the horse, those of Italy were formerly in greater
esteem than at present ; but still, those of the Neapolitans shine both under the saddle-
and in traces. Great numbers are bred in Sicily ; those of Sardinia and Corsica are
small, but active and spirited. The Swiss horses partake of the same qualities.
5552. The Spanish horses are much commended : some make them second to the
Arabians, and place them before the Barb. Those of the finest breeds are generally
finely carcassed and well limbed horses, active, ready and easy in their paces, docile and
affectionate to their owners, full of spirit and courage, but tempered with mildness and
good nature ; they are for the most part, of a moderate size. Those which are bred in
Upper Andalusia are deemed the most valuable. The Portuguese horses, or rather
mares, were famous of old for being very fleet and long-winded ; but of late it is said
they are much degenerated. *
5553. France abounds in horses of all kinds, but does not excel in native breeds ; the best of those
fit for the saddle come from Limousin : they resemble the Barbs in many particulars, and like them are
fittest for hunting, but they are supposed not to be fit for work before they are seven or eight years old.
There are also very good " Bidets" or ponies, in Auvergne, Poitou, and Burgundy. Next to those
of Limousin, Normandy claims precedence, for a well formed and useful breed. Lower Normandy and
the district of Cotentin furnish some very tolerable coach horses, and which are more active and appear
more elastic in their motions than the Dutch horses. They have, however, a noble race of large draught
horses equal to any seen in England, and, among which, the chestnut color seems to prevail. The French
horses generally are apt to have their shoulders although oblique, yet too loose and open, as those of the
Barbs are usually too confined and narrow.
5554. The Flemish horses^ aro inferior in value to the Dutch, having usually large heavy heads and
necks; their feet also are immoderately large and flat, and their legs subject to, watery humours and
swellings.
5555. i/o^Za»d furnishes a race of horses which are principally serviceable in light draught work : the
best come from Friesland.
5556. Germany is not destitute of good horses, and such as prove useful for many purposes ; but they
are reckoned to ue heavy and defective in wind. The Germans possess, however, finer breeds obtained
from Turks and Barbs which are kept as stallions ; they obtain also some good specimens from the
Italians and Spaniards. As racers and hunters they are inferior to the Hungarian and Transylvanian
horses. The horses of Bohemia are not distinguished by any eminent qualities. The Hussars and
Transylvanians are accustomed to slit the nostrils of their horses, under a notion of giving their breath
a free passage, and improving their wind, as well as to render them incapable of neighing, which, in the
field, would be often inconvenient. The Croatian horses are nearly allied in qualities and character to
the Hungarian and Bohemian : these, as well as the Poles, are remarkable for being, as the French term
it, " Begut," or keeping the mark in their teeth as long as they live.
5557. The Polish horses are hardy, strong, and useful, but they are generally of a middling size. In
the marshy parts of Prussia, and towards the mouth of the Vistula, there is a breed of tall, strong bofses,
resembling those of Friesland, but of inferior value.
555S. TAd? Aori<?s o/ ii«ssA-«a are not much regarded by other nations. They are small but hardy, and
capable of enduring great fatigue. Great attention is, however, paid to such as are very fast in their trot,
and such a breed is much encouraged for trotting matches on the snow and ice. Those of the Turkish
breed are handsome and finely shaped, but too slight and weak for heavy cavalry. The Kalmuck horses
are somewhat higher than the Russian common horses, and are so lasting and constitutionally strong as
to be able to run three or four hundred English miles in three days. They subsist, summer and winter,
solely upon grass in tl)e great deserts which are between the rivers Don, Volga, and Yaik, where they are
collected in great herds of four hundred, five hundred, or even a thousand. They are excellent swim-
mers, and pass the river Volga, where it is from one to two miles broad, with great ease.
5559. The horses of Sweden are low and small, and the Norway breed may be comprehended under the
same description, but they are strong, hardy, and active. Denmark, and also Holstein and Oldenburg,
boast a large variety of horses, which has long been esteemed as peculiarly adapted for heavy cavalry and
carriage uses, though they are apt to fail with respect to elegance of limb and symmetry of parts ; their
heads being large, their shoulders heavy, their backs long, with croups too narrow to correspond with
their fore parts. In the islands of Feroe there is a race of horses of small growth, but strong, speedy,
and very sure-footed. They are never shod, and feed abroad without shelter both summer and winter.
In Suderoe, one of these islands, they have a peculiarly swift breetl, of great use to the inhabitants, who
catch their sheep, which are wild, by hunting them with a dog, pursuing them at the same time with
their horses. The horses of Lapland are small of stature, but active and willing j they are used only in
3 L,
882
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
the winter season, in drawing sledges over the snow, and transporting wood, forage, and other necessaries ;
but in summer they are turned into the forests, where they form separate troops, strictly confined to their
own quarters.
5560. The British varieties of saddle horse may be reduced into the racer, the hunter,
the improved hack, the old English road horse, the galloway, and the pony ; the two
latter of which we shall consider in another place.
5561. The race horse {fin. 604.) is descended,
some from Arabians and others from Barbs, but
principally the former. Races or courses were very
early a part of British sports ; and it is natural to
suppose that on this account, endeavors would be
made to improve and enlarge the breeds of the na.
tive horses. Roger de Bellesme, Earl of Shrews-
bury, is the first on record who imported a Spanish
stallion, whose progeny was afterwards extolled
by Michael Drayton, in his Polyalbion. In the
reign of Henry IV., public ordinances were
made favorable to the improvement of the breed-
ing of horses. The courses of those times were,
however, probably little more than ordinary trials i
of speed between the indigence or the slightly ini- '
proved breeds ; and it was not until the days
of Henry VII. and VIII., that the tcue Arabian
horses were imported. During these reigns, stal.
lions from Arabia, Barbary, and Persia were procured, their progeny wer^ regularly trained to the
course, and from these periods we trace that gradual cultivation of the English race horse, which has,
at length, produced a breed unrivalled throughout the world for symmetry of form, swiftness of progres-
sion, and durability under exertion. The accounts on record of feats performed by some of our horses
on the turf are truly astonishing. Bay Malton, ran at York, four miles in seven minutes and forty-three
seconds. Childers, known by the name of the flying Childers, moved through a space equal to eighty. two
feet and a half in a second. After these Eclipse, Highflyer, Matchem, Harabletonian, and others, have
contributed to keep up the reputation of the Knglish racer.
5562. Climate has a great influence over the form ofani?nals, and that forYn is found indigenous to each,
which best fits it for the purposes required of it. In the arid plains of the east where herbage is scarce,
a form is given which enables its brute inhabitants to readily transport themselves from one spot to an-
other ; and as in every situation the flesh of the horse is greedily sought after by the predatory tribes, so
here, where those are peculiarly strong and active, the horse is formed peculiarly agile and swift to escape
their attack, as well as peculiarly light, that his weight might not sink him in the sandy plains, nor his
bulk retard him in his flight. Removed, however, to more temperate climes, where vegetation affurds by
its luxuriance more nutriment, and where the restrictions of danger have ceased to operate, we no lon-
ger see him equally small and slender, but with equal capacity for swift progression, we find him ex-
panded into a form capable of keeping uj) that progression with a durability unknown to the original
breeds from whence he sprang Symmetrically formed as we now see him, he at once evinces his claim
to great speed. His osseous or bony skeleton exhibits a base founded on the justest geometrical prin-
ciples, presenting a series of lengthened levers acting by means of a condensed muscular and tendinous
organization of great power, on angles capable of great flexion and extension : while his pointed form
fits him to cleave that atmosphere, from which his deep chest enables him to draw by extensive inspira-
tions wind and vigour to continue his exertions. Purity of blood, by which is meant the result of confining
to particular races or breeds the means of continuing their species, is observed with equal care and jealousy
605
by the breeders of the English race, as by the Arabians ;
and turf jockies assert they can discover a taint or de-
parture from this purity to the sixteenth remove.
5563. The hunter {fig. 605.) is derived from horses of
entire blood, or such as are but little removed from it,
uniting with mares of substance, correct form, and
good action. In some instances hunters are derived
from large mares of the pure breed, propagating with
powerful stallions of the old English road horse. This
favorite and valuable breed is a happy combination of
the speed of the Arabian, with the durability of the
native horse. More extended in form, but framed on
the same principles, he is able to carry a considerab'e
weight through heavy grounds with a swiftness equalh d
only by the animal he pursues, and with a perseverance
astonishing to the natives' of every other country.
Hence the extreme demand for this breed of horses
in every European country; our racing stallions
being now sent to propagate in the eastern climes,
from whence they were some of them originally
brought.
5,564. The improved hackney {fig. 606.) is derived, like the former, from a judicious mixture of the
blood breed with the native horse, but exhibiting a greater proportion of the latter. Hacknies are now,
however, mostly bred from stallions possessing nearly the
same proportion of blood with the hunter; but with a
form and qualities somewhat differing In the h;ickney
as safety is as requisite as speed, we look particularly to
the fore parts to see that they are high and well-placed ;
that the head is not heavy, nor the neck disproportion.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ately long or short ; that the legs stand straight, (that is,
yM ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H ^ that a perpendicular line drawn from the point of the
shoulder should meet the toe) ; and that the elbows turn
out : and although a perfect conformation in the liinder
parts is necessary to the hackney, it is in some measure
subordinate to the same perfection in the fore parts;
whereas in the racer and hunter, but particularly in the
former, the form of the hinder is even of more conse-
— quence than that of the fore parts.
% 5565. The old English road horse. This most useful
-fff=3jT".S' breed is now nearly extinct, although some northern
- * agriculturists appear to be making efforts to revive the
race. It has so long been known m this country that it might almost be reckoned among its indigenae :
although It IS probable that it originally sprang from a judicious culture from horses of Norman, German,
Book VII.
VARIETIES OF THE HORSE.
883
or Flemish extraction, which horses were very early imported to enlarge our smaller breeds, and to ren-
der them equal to the heavy loads they were accustomed to carry as pack-horses ; and of which kind the
old English road horse unquestionably is. {fig. 607.) 607
Neither is it at all impossible, that in the more fer-
tile parts of the island, an original breed existed of
considerable power and bulk. Athelstan expressly
prohibited the exportation of English horses, and
the " scythed chariots drawn by fiery steeds" of the
ancient Britons struck terror even into Caesar's
legions. These accounts of the antiquity of the
English horse, receive additional strength from the
notices we obtain of the fossil bones of horses hav-
ing been found, according to Parkinson, in various
parts of the island. The old English road horse
possessed great power, with short joints, a moderate
shoulder, elevated crest, with legs and feet almost
invariably good. The heights varied from fifteen
hands to fifteen hands two inches ; and the colors
were frequently mixed.
5Fy&Q. The objection, however, to English horses
both of the original and of the more early improved breeds, and which is even still seen among
them, is, that they want grace or expression in their figure and carriage; that they are obstinate
and sullen, and that a certain stiflfhess in their sho»lders, and want of suppleness and elasticity ia
their limbs, renders them unfit for the manege. As this is an important charge against the
excellence of our breeds, it may be worth consideration how far it is founded in truth. Commerce
requires despatch, and England as a great commercial country makes every thing subservient to ^n
economical use of time. Conformable to these principles, many of the qualities of our horses, but
principally those of flexibility and safety in progression, are certainly sacrificed to speed, in which t-hey
undoubtedly excel all horses in the world. It is well known that all animals intended by nature for quicK
progression, are formed low in their fore parts, and have usually narrow upright shoulders ; and which
defects are too common in English horses in general. On the contrary, in most of the improved breeds
of continental horses, the fore hands are elevated, and the shoulders wide and oblique ; by which, flex-
ibility and safety in progression are gained at some expense of celerity ; for the strong lumbar muscles of
such formed horses, oj>erating on the lengthened spinous processes of the dorsal vertebrge with increased
advantage, elevate the fore parts higher ; and even in default of this form in the fore parts, yet a corres-
ponding effect is produced in foreign horses by the great strength and expansion of their haunches and
croups, and by the greater inclination in their hinder extremities towards the common centre of gravity
of the body : for as speed depends first on the extent to wJiich the angles of the limbs can be opened, and
secondly, on the efforts of the body in its transit to counteract the tendency to the common centre of
gravity, the earth; .so it is evident that the form which is the most favorable to speed, is less so to'
safety or flexibility in progression.
5567. The Irish road horse, or hunter, coeval with, or probably in some measure subsequent to the
culture of the old English road horse, was a still mora, excellent breed. "With similar properties, but
an improved form, with a great acquired aptitude for leaping, it gained the name of the Irish hunter ; and
when the dogs of the chace were less speedy than they now are, this horse was equal to every thing
required of him as a hunter; even now the possessors of the few which remain find, particularly in
an enclosed and deep country, that what others gain by si)eed these accomplish by strength to go through
any ground, aiid activity sutticient to accomplish the most extraordinary leaps. As roadsters, these
horses have ever proved valuable, uniting durability, ease, and safety with extreme docility. In form
thev may be considered as affording a happy mixture of an improved hack with our old English roadster.
5568. The British varieties of saddle horse of tr^ore inferior description are very numerous, as cobs,
galloways, and ponies. Cobs are a thick, compact, hackney breed, from fourteen hands to fourteen hands
two inches high, in great request for elderly and heavy persons to ride, or to drive in low phaetons, &c.
Galloways and ponies are lately in much request also for low chaises ; a demand which will lead to a
cultivation of their form; the number bred requires little increase, as several waste districts or moors
throughout England are already appropriated principally to the purpose of rearing ponies.
5569. The British varieties of war or cavalri/ horse, and of carriage and cart horse, are considered to
have been derived from tRe German and Flemish breeds, meliorated by judicious culture. Most of
the superior varieties contain a mixture of Arabian or Spanish blood. Cavalry horses are found
amongst the larger sort of hacknies ; and the observations made in the late wars sufficiently shew the
justice of the selection. Except in a few unhappy instances, where a mistaken admiration of the Hulans
had led to selecting them too light, the English cavalry horse possessed a decided superiority over the
best French horses in strength and activity, as well as over the Germans, whose horses, on the other
hand, by their bulk and heavy make, were incapable of seconding the efforts of the British dragoons. The
coach, chariot, and stage horses are derived, many of them from the Cleveland bays, further improved
by a mixture of blood. Others are bred from a judicious unitm of blood and bone, made by the breeders
in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and other midland counties.
5570. The vnriefies of draught horse were originally as numerous as the districts from whence they
were brtni, each having its favorite breed; but since the intercourse among farmers and breeders has
been greater, those in common use are so mixed as to render it difficult to determine of what variety
they partake t!ie most. At present, the principally esteemed draught horses are the Suffolk punch, the
Cleveland bay, the black, and the Lanark or Clydesdale. The native breeds of draught horses of England,
Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, are much too small for
the purposes of agricultural draught as now conducted ;
but by cultivation, the improved breeds pointed out, have
furnished such animals as are equal to every thing re-
quired of them.
5571. The black horse {fig. 608), bred in the midland
counties of England, is a noble and useful animal ; and
furnishes those grand teams we see in the coal, flour,
and other heavy carts and waggons about London ;
where the immense weight of the animal's body assists
his accompanying strength to move the heaviest loads.
But the present sy.stcm of farming requires horses of less
bulk and more activity for (he usual agricultural jmr-
poses, better adapted for travelling, ami more capable of
enduring fatigue; consequently this breed is seldom
seen in the improved farms. The black cart horse is un-
derstood to have been formed, or at least to have been
brought to its present state, by means of stallions and
mares imported from the low countries ; though there
appears to be some difference in theaccounts that have been preserved, in regard to the places from whence
they were originally brought, and to the persons who introduced them, {Culley o» Live Stock, p. 32., and
' 3 L '2
884
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
Marshal's Economy of the Midland Counties, vol. i. p. 306.) Marshal, under too confined a view,
and probably prejudiced against the breed on account of its fancied want of spirit, as well as for the
alleged tendency to become flat and pommiced in the feet, is most unreasonably severe on it, when he
says, " the breed of grey rats, with which this island has of late years been overrun, are not a greater
pest in it than the breetl of black fen horses ; at least while cattle remain scarce as they are at present,
and while the flesh of horses remains to be rejected as an article of human food." (Marshal's Yorkshire,
vol. ii. p. l&i). The present improved sub-variety of this breed is said to have taken its rise in six
Zealand mares, sent over from the Hague by the late Lord Chesterfield, during his embassy at that
court.
5572. The Cleveland bays {Jig. 609.), which owe some of their most valuable properties to crosses witl»
the race-horse, have been long celebrated as one of the best breeds in the island ; but they are said to
have degenerated of late. They are reared to a great extent in Yorkshire, the farmers of which county
are remarkable for their knowledge in every thing that relates to this species of live stock. In activity
and hardiness, tliese horses, perhaps, have no superior. Some capital hunters have been produced by
putting full-bred stallions to mares of this sort; but the chief object latterly has been to breed coach-
horses, and such as have sufficient strength for a' two-horse plough. Three of these horses carry a ton
and a half of coals, travelling sixty miles in twenty-four hours, without any other rest but two or three
baits upon the road ; and frequentlv perform this labor four times a-week.
5573. The Siijffblk pmich {fig. 610.)"is a very useful ani- .610
mal for rural labor, and is particularly esteemed by the
farmers of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, but the merit of
this breed seems to consist more in constitutional hardi-
ness than in any apparent superiority of shape. " TJieir
color is mostly yellowish or sorrel, with a white ratch
or blaze on their faces ; the head large, ears wide,
muzzle coarse, fore-end low, back long, sometimes,
but always very straight, sides flat, shoulders too far
forward, hind-quarters middhng, but rather high about
the hips, legs round and short in the posterns, deep-
bellied, and full in the flank. Here, perhaps, lies much
of the merit of these horses ; for we know, from obser-
vation and experience, that all deep-bellied horses
carry their food long, and, consequently, are enabled to
stand longer and harder days' works However, certain
it is, that these horses do perform surprising days'
works. It is well known, that the Suffolk and Norfolk
farmers plough more land in a day than any other peo-
ple in the island ; and these are the kind of horses
every where used in those districts." {Culley on Live
Stock, p. 27.) Since Culley's time much pains have been
taken to improve this useful breed, and to render them, by cultivation, fitted not only for heavy but for
light work. So great has been the estimation of this breed in Ireland, that Bercsford of ,
procured from Suffolk a cart stallion, for which he gave a hundred guineas ; and which he allowed to
cover all the Suffolk mares brought to him gratis.
5574.. The Clydesdale horse {fig. 611.) has been long in high
repute in Scotland and the north of England ; and, for the
purposes of the farmer, is probably equal to any other breed
in Britain. Of the origin of this race, various accounts have
been given, but none of them so clear, or so well authenti-
cated as to merit any notice. They have got this name, not
because they are bred only in Clydesdale or Lanarkshire,
for the same description of horses are reared in the other
western counties of Scotland, and over all that tract which
lies between the Clyde and the Forth, but because the
principal markets at which they are sold, Lanark, Carnwath,
Rutherglen, and Glasgow, are situated in that district, where
they are also preserved in a state of greater purity than in
most other parts. They are rather larger than the Suffolk,
punches, and the neck is somewhat longer ; their color is
black, brown, or grey, and a: white spot on the face is es-
teemed a mark of beauty. The-breast is broad ; the shoulder
thick, with the reaching cartilaginous portion of the blade-bone nearly as high as the withers, and not so
much thrown backwards as in road horses ; the hoof round, and usually black, with wide heels ; the back
straight and broad, but not too long ; the bucks visible, but not prominent, and the space between them
and the ribs short ; the tail heavy, and well haired ; the thighs meeting each other so near as to leave only
a small groove for the tail to nest on. One most valuable property of this breed is, that they are remark-
ably true pullers, a restive horse being rarely found among them.
557.5. The Welsh horse {fig. 612 a) bears a near resemblance, in point of size and hardiness, to the best of
the native breed of the highlands of Scotland, and other hilly countries in the north of Europe. It is too
small for the present two-horse ploughs ; but few horses are equal to them for enduring fotigue on
the road. " I well remember," says Culley, « one that I rode for many years, which, to the last.
BooKVrr. ORGANOLOGY OF THE HORSE. 885
would have gone upon a pavement by choice, in preference to a softer road." {Observations on Live
■»ocA-,p. 35.)
612
5576. The galloway {b), so called from its being found chiefly in that province of Scotland, has now
become very rare ; it is a little horse, of much the same size with the former, or rather larger ; the breed
having been neglected from its unfitness for the present labors of agriculture. The true galloways are
said to resemble the Spanish horses; and there is a tradition, that some of the latter, that had escaped
from one of the vessels of the Armada, wrecked on the coast of Galloway, were allowed to intermix with
the native race. Such of this breed as have been preserved in any degree of purity, are of a light bay
or brown color, with black legs, and are easily distinguished by the smallness of their head and neck,
and the clearness of their bone.
5577. The still smaller horses of the Highlands and isles qf Scotland, (c) are distinguished from
larger breeds by the several appellations of ponies, shelties, and in Gaelic of garrons or gearrons. They
are reared in great numbers in the Hebrides, or western isles, where they are found in the greatest
purity. Different varieties of the same race are spread over all the Highland district, and the northern
isles. This ancient breed is supposed to have been introduced into Scotland from Scandinavia, when the
Norwegians and Danes first obtained a footing in these parts. " It is precisely the same breed that
subsists at present in Norway, the Feroe Isles, and Iceland, and is totally distinct from every thing of
horse kind on the continent of Europe, south of the Baltic. In confirmation of this, there is one
peculiar variety of the horse in the Highlands, that deserves to be noticed : it is there called the eel.
backed horse. He is of different colors, light bay, dun, and sometimes cream-colored ; but has always
a blackish list that runs along the ridge of the back, from the shoulder to the rump, which has a
resemblance to an eel stretched out. This very singular character subsists also in many of the horses of
"ilker's Hebrides, vo\. i'l. IX 158.) "The High"
sometimes only nine, and seldom twelve hands high, excepting in some of the southern of the Hebrides,
Norway, and is no where else known." {Walker's Hebrides, vo\. i'l. p. 158.) "The Highland horse is
where the size has been raised to thirteen or fourteen hands by selection and better feeding. The best of
this breed are handsomely shaped, have small legs, large manes, little neat heads, and are extremely
active and hardy. The common colors are grey, bay, and black ; the last is the favorite one." {General
Report of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 176.)
Sect. II. Organology or exterior Anatomy of the Horse.
5578. A just knowledge of the exterior conformation of the horse, to l)e able to
form a correct judgment of the relative qualities of the animal, fonns the ne plus
ultra of a scientific horseman's aim ; but it is a branch of knowledge not to be ob-
tained without much study and experience. In considering a hor.se exteriorly, his
age, his condition, and other circumstances should be attended to ; and without which
attention it is not possible to determine, with precision, the present or future state of a
horse when he is seen" under various peculiarities. A horse of five years old, though
considered as full grown, yet experiences very considerable alterations of form after that
period. He then becomes what is termed furnished ; and all his points, before hidden in
the plumpness of youth, now shew themselves. He is, in fact, more angular, and in a
painter's eye would be more picturesque, but less beautiful. A horse likewise low in
flesh and condition, is hardly the same animal as one in full flesh and condition; and
again, the sleekness acquired from relaxed labor, with full and gross feeding, is very
unlike the robust form acquired from generous diet with correspondent exertion.
5579. The examination of the subject of organology is conveniently pursued by dividing
it into head, neck, trunk, or body, and extremities or legs. The greater number of well
proportioned horses, with the exception of the head and neck, come within a quadrangle;
but not one strictly equilateral as depicted by Lawrence (llichardj, and Clark, but
one whose horizontal dimensions are usually between a twenty-fourth and twenty-eighth
greater than their perpendiculars. It must, however, be kept in mind, that with some
considerable deviations from this quadrangular form, many horses have proved superiorly
gifted in their powers ; and that a deviation from these proportions, appears in some
instances^ as in that of the race horse, not only favorable, but necessary also to his exer-
tions. Nature will not be limited, and the perfection of her operations is not alone de-
pendant on an arbitrary arrangement of parts, but on a harmony and accordance of the
whole, internal as well as external. To the artist, however, such admeasurement is
useful, inasmuch as it prevents any sihgular departure from a symmetrical appearance,
■which is but too common among our animal draughtsmen. To the amateur it also
offers a convenient, though not an tinerring guide. Our exemplification of the organ-
ology appears by placing a blood and a cart horse within the same square {fg.61^], by
which the differences between the various parts of the one and the other are readily con-
trasted.
3 L 3
tB6
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
5580. The organs of the head. The head of the horse is remarkable for its dimensions, formed by an
elongation of the jaws ; yet in him, as in most of the grazing tribes, its bulk is in an inverse proporti on to
the length of the neck, otherwise the muscles would not be able to lift it It is an important part
considered as relative to beauty alone, it being in the inferior heavy breeds but little marked by grace or
expression ; but in the improved varieties it presents lines worthy the painter's i)encil and the poet's
fancy. Neither is it too much to say, that in no part of the body is this amelioration of breed so soon
detected as in the head. Can anything be conceived more dissimilar than the small inexpressive features
of the cart horse, and the bold striking ones that grace the head of the blood horse ? The quick succession
of movements in his pointed ears, the dilatations of his expanded nostrils, or his retroverted eyes, which
give fire and animation to the character of his head when under the influence of any excitement. This
is the more worthy of remark, when it is considered that some of the principal aids to expression iti the
human countenance are wanting in the horse. Man borrows much of his facial expression from his eye-
brows, and when to these the varied action of the mouth is added, it amounts to more than a half of the
total expression. A great accession of beauty is gained in the improved breeds by the increase to the
facial angle, which in them is about 25°, but in the heavy breeds is usually only 23° {a a a a).
5581. The ears [b b) in the improved breeds are small and pointed ; in the heavy they are not only large
and ill shaped, but they frequently separate from each other : these defects gave rise to the barbarous
custom of cropping, now happily in a great measure abolished. The ears are criteria of the spirit, aS
well as of the temper; we have seldom seen a horse which carried one ear forward and the other back-
ward during his work, that was not hardy and lasting. Being not subjected to early fatigue, he is atten..
tive to every thing around him, and directs his ears different ways to collect sound from every quarlen
Ihe ears are also indications of temper, and a horse is seldom either playful or vicious, but his ears are
laid flat on the neck. It is fortunate that we are provided with such a warning, by an animal that does
not want craft to surprise us, nor strength to render his resentment terrible.
5582. The forehead next presents itself (c c), straight, and of a proper width in the improved breeds,
adorned by nature with an elegant portion of hair, which, detaching itself from the rest of the mane,
flovvs down the face to protect both that and the ears from the attacks of insects.
5583. The eyes {d d) deserve particular attention, not only for their utility, but as objects of beauty and
expression. In the blood horse the orbitary fossa?, or eye sockets, are more prominent and more inclined,
by which the axes of his eyes diverge more from each other than those of the heavy breed ; by which
not only he is enabled to see further behind him, but the prominence of his eyes gives great beauty and
expression to the blood head. The further consideration of the eyes and their criteria of soundness, will
be postponed to the anatomical detail. In old horses most of the fat of the body which is superficially
placed, becomes absorbed : in this way the eye, which is usually embedded in a vast quantity of this
matter, losing its assistance, sinks within its orbits, and thus the cavities above, called eye-pits, shew
themselves deeply in an aged horse.
5584. From the ears to the angle ofthejaivs [e e) large vessels and extensive glands are situated. "Within
these branches of the posterior jaw is lodged the throat, and it will be observed how necessary it is that
these branches should expand sufficiently to admit of the motions of the head, particularly of those in-
fluenced by the reining-in of the bridle ; otherwise the blood vessels and other parts must be injuriously
pressed upon.
5585. The hollow between the jaws is called the channel, and at the under part of it (/) a considerable
branch of an artery proceeds from the inner side over and around the outer, and which branch forms the
most convenient situation for feeling the pulse of the horse.
5586. The face (g) of the improved breed of horses presents either a straight line, or one slightly
curved inwards towards the lower part ; whereas in the heavy breeds, it is very commonly Ibund to be
curved outward. This part comprises, as with man, from the forehead to the lips. When the face is
covered with white, it ie considered a blemish j but when a white siwt only exists in the;;forehead, it ia
considered a beauty.
Book VII. ORGANOLOGY OF THE HORSE. 8«7
5587. TJie 7narJcinffs in the face are useful to describe a horse by, and frequently lead to the recovery of
a strayed or stolen one. In regimental accounts these marks are carefully noted. When a spot extends
down the f;ice, it is termed a blaze ; and when further continued into the muzzle, it is called blaze and
snip. When a star is distinct, but with it there are white markings which begin some distance below it,
and are continued downwards, it is called a race.
5588. The inuxxle {h h) includes the lips, mouth, and nostrils ; the darker the colour of this part the
more is the horse esteemed : very dark brown horses are an exception, for in them it is usually of a tan
color, and is praised both as a beauty and indicative of excellence.
5589. The lips should be thin, firm, and by no means loose and pendulous, as is the case in very old or
very sluggish horses.
5590. The form of the mouth, as receiving the bit, is important. It is also of more consequence than is
usually supposed, that the commissureor opening of the mouth be sufficiently deep; when shallow, it is not
only inelegant, but it will not admit a bridle favorably into its proper resting place upon the bars. Within
the mouth are situated the teeth, which are so placed as to have interrupted portions of jaw above and
below of considerable extent. These vacancies are called bars, anA are parts of extreme importance to
the horseman, as it is by means of agents called bits resting on these parts, and operating on their sensi-
bility by means of a lever, the long arm of which is in the hand of the rider, that he ensures obedience.
In aid of this mechanism, to one portion of this lever is attached a chain, called a curb, which acting
on the outer part of the chin, increases the pressure. This latter part has been called the barb or beard, but
its situation is evidently above that. In the examination of a horse intended to wear a bitted bridle, it is
also of considerable irnportance that both the bars and barbs should be thin, and not covered with thick
fleshy matter which deadens their sensibility. If scars or cicatrices are seen on them, particularly in the
bars, being the remains of former injuries, they in a great measure render the uth insensible, and
are greatly against the proper action of the bit : and ifc is to be observed that a scar on one side is worse
than one on both.
5591. The teeth {fig. 614.), which present themselves on the lower parts of the jaws, are the incisive
and canine. The two front incisives are popularly called nippers or
gatherers («). The two next adjoining, separators or middle teeth (6), / \_^/^ 614
and the outer, the corners {c\, but it would be more definite to say the
first, second, and third incisives, beginning at the corner. The tusks
or tushes (rf d) occupy part of the intermediate space between the I ^\c
incisive and grinding teeth. The teeth, as criteria of age, will be con-
sidered in another place, and as organs of digestion, they will be
further noticed in the anatomical detail. v / 11 1.
5592. The organs of the neck. The exterior parts which compose \j^ ^^"fey ^
the neck are first the upper surface, which is furnished throughout its
whole extent with an elegant assemblage of hair called mane (e e).
In some instances, as in stallions, it is of enormous length and thick. ^^-^_^.,._^;^^
ness. In a cream-colored one exhibited some years ago, it was so long ;r ^
as to be susi)ended in a bag. Nature appears particularly to have
studied the beauty of the animal by this gift ; had it been designed as a guard, it would have grown on
botii sides : whereas when not altered bv art, as in cavalry horses, it naturally hangs to one side only.
In dark colored horses it is commonly black, but in horses of colors approaching to a light hue, the
reverse is frequently seen, and the mane and tail are in these often lighter than the body.
5593. To make the hairs qf the mane and tail lie smooth is an object with most horsemen, but the pulling
the hair out in tufts by wrajiping it round the fingers is a most erroneous practice, and not only at the
time frustrates the end intended, but a mane so pulled, will seldom hang well after. The writer of this
has always made use of a three-pronged angular mane puller, which, if used two or three times a week,
Avill bring both mane and tail into perfect order, and will keep them so. This iron is manufactured and
sold by Long, veterinary instrument maker in Holborn, London.
5594. The upper surf ace qf the neck { i ) s-hould form a moderate but elegant curve, which is greatly
favorable to beauty : this curve is however not so considerable in the pure eastern variety as in the better
sort of northern horse.
5^395. The under surface of the neck (k k) should be nearly straight ; in the cock throttled horse it
arches outwards, and the upper surface in these instances is sometimes hollowed inwards in equal pro-
portions, when such horse is called ewe-necked. When this deformity is considerable, it prevents the
head from being carried in its true angle, and particularly so under the action of the bridle; in which
cases the nose being projected forwards carries the axis o.' the eyes upwards, such horses are called star
gazers ; and it is to be observed that they are seldom safe goers. In mares and geldings a very just crite-
rion of a sluggi.sh disposition, may be formed from the presence of a considerable quantity of flesh on the
upper surl'ace of the neck : when the crest is very thick and heavy, it is almost an unerring prognostic of
a decided sluggard. In stallions it liowever forms a distinctive sexual mark, and therefore is less to be
depended upon in them. In a well proportioned horse, the length of the neck, the length of the head,
and of the angle uniting the two, should give the height of the withers from the ground. "When
tJhe neck is too long, the head must of course gravitate by the increased length of the arm of the
balance ; it likewise seldom presents a firm or proper resistance to the bridle. When on the contrary
the neck is too short, the head is frequently ill placed, and the lever in the hand of the rider will be
too short also.
5596. The organs of the trunk or carcase are various. Considered as a tvhole, Clark
has not unaptly likened it, when separated from the limbs, to a boat; within which are
disposed various important viscera. The bony ribs he likens to the wooden ones encom-
passing the vessel, and the sternum or breast bone, being perpendicularly deep and
thin, carries the resemblance further, and fits the machine to cleave the air as the boat
■does the water. Within this animal vessel, according with the justest mechanical
principles, the weightiest of the viscerae, the liver is placed in the centre, and the
others follow nearly in the relative order of their grayity ; so that the lungs, the lightest
of the whole, are stowed in front, where great weight would have been most disadvan-
tageous.
5597. The shoulders {a a, b b) are commonly considered as extending from the withers above to the point
in front, and to the line behind formed from the elbow upwards : but a correct description considers them
as those parts immediately concerned in motion ; that is, of the scapula or blade-bone, and its attachments.
The shoulders are too apt to be confounded with the withers above, and with the arm below, erroneously
'called the point of the shoulders. From this confusion, great error is committed in appreciating their
nature and action; but this is removed by recourse to the skeleton {fig.Ulo i,k,l). Thewithenv {e e)
■maybe justly proportioned atibesametime that the shoulders are narrow, straight, and altogether badly
formed, and vice versa. The shoulders should be muscular and narrow, but not heavy : and to de-
termine between these essential points, requires the eye of experience in the viewer, and the presence
'of condition In the viewed. A tnuscular shoulder is essentially necessary, when we consider that
3 L 4
8&8 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
the fore extremities are wholly connected by muscle, and not as in man, by the intervention of the
bony union of the clavicle or collar bone. In the horse, therefore, we find that large muscular masses
unite the shoulder blade, by its upper and inner surfaces, to the chest ; while other powerful muscles sus-
pend as it were the machine between them- By this contrivance, elasticity is preserved and strength
gained ; for had the shoulders possessed a bony connection, when the body is propelled forwards, its
weight and force being received by the fore extremities, painful and hurtful shocks would have been
experienced at every step. Powerful muscles for the shoulders are also as necessary for progression as for
attachment ; but here strength is not alone all that is wanted, just proportion and proper situation are
also requisite.
5598. The centre of action in the shoulders {c) \s in their common centre, and the extent of action of
any part moving on its centre, is dependent on the length of such part ; the motion the shoulder enjoys
is confined to the perpendicular backwards, and to as great an elevation of the muscles as they will admit
of forwards. It will be therefore evident that the more oblique is the situation of the shoulder blade,
the greater number of degrees it can go through ; it must be as evident also that when the shoulder blade
is long and deep, as well as oblique, that this advantage is increased. It is commonly observed, although
it is not invariably the case, that when the shoulder is short, it is also upright {b b). Obliquity and
length in the shoulder favor the safety of the progression also, for as the angles tormed between the
shoulder, the arm, and fore arm, are consentaneous, and make, when in action, a bony arch ; so the
obliquity and length of the shoulders is favorable to a due elevation of the limb, on which, in a great
degree, depends the safety of progression. Thus mares are, ceteris paribus, more unsafe than horses,
their shoulders being short to correspond with the low mare-like forehand; and their decreased
obliquity usually regulates an increased obliquity in the whole limb downwards, or, as is familiarly ex-
pressed, they stand with their legs under them. Unfevorable as is this form of the mare, both for the
speed and safety of their action, it was given for purposes advantageous to the animal : for, by such
a position in the fore extremities, the hinder are raised higher to afford additional security against
the evils of gravitation, and dislodgement of the foal from the pelvis. Tew rules can be laid down
In the exterior conformation that are more important, or of such general application, as that a short
and upright shoulder, particularly when united with an inclined direction of the whole limb backwards,
is a sure mark of an unsafe goer, and commonly, though not invariably, of a slow one also. It now and then
happens indeed, that horses havmg defective shoulders, prove speedy and good movers, which would appear
to contravene these principles ; but it will be found, that wherever horses, having these defects in their fore
parts, are yet good, it, in every instance happens that, in them, the hinder parts are particularly and ini-
usually strong and well placed, which serves to make up the deficiency. Indeed, it appears probable, that
the hind and fore parts do not bear the same relative proportion in all horses alike ; in blood horses, the
withers are not always high, and although their shoulders are commonly deep and oblique, yet the fore
limbs are altogether short in proportion to the hinder, in a great number of the fleetest racers : for,
as speed appears to be a principal end in their formation, and as comparative anatomy furnishes us
with abundant proof that all animals destinetl to make considerable leaps, which is, in fact, speed,
are low before; the end of their formation is really best answered by this arrangement of parts; it
is also more than probable that although speed in the gallop may be found with a defective forehand,
that yet, in the slower paces of the canter, trot, and walk, a justly formed shoulder is more immediately
requisite. This subject will be still further elucidated when we treat on the mechanical properties of the
skeleton.
559&. Thetvithers (ee) are formed by the long transverse processes of the dorsal vertebrae (p), and as
their use is to serve as levers to muscles, so their length and the height of the withers must be of great
advantage, and enable such horses to go liigh above their ground; for the muscles of the back, acting to
greater advantage, elevate the fore parts more forcibly. From this we may also learn that the elevation
of the fore parts, or the horse's going above his ground, is not altogether dependant on the motion of the
shoulders, nor on the height to which the animal maybe inclined to lift his legs; but likewise, on the
extent to which the fore half of the machine is altogether elevated by the action of the dorsal and lumbar
muscles. When the withers are high, or the forehand well up, as it is termed, it is fovorable to the cele-
rity and to the safety of the action ; but as these properties are less wanting in the heavy breeds, we find
in them a considerable variation of form : in the cart horse, whose heavy forehand is of great service,
as he draws by an effort to preserve himself from the tendency his weight gives him to the centre of
gravity ; so the more weighty and bulky he is before, and the nearer he approximates this centre, the more
advantageously he will apply his powers. It is not here intended to be hinted that nature gave him this
form purposely to enable him to draw : this indeed would be an argument of necessity ; but this form has
been judiciously imposed on him by men, by regulation of the sexual intercourse, and by a careful selection
of specimens having some of the requisites to propagate from, until at last we have produced the mas-
sive, weighty animal whose powers astonish'as well as benefit us.
5600. The breast or coMw^tT (//) is the part between the point of the arms or shoulders, and which
should be moderately wide and extended : wiien it is otherwise, the horse is seldom durable, or even
strong, although he may be speedy ; neither have the lungs sufficient room for expansion, nor the
muscles great extent of attachment; frequently too it accompanies a general flatness of ribs, anH want
of circular form in the carcase in general ; all which, experience has shewn to be necessary to the per^
fection of the machine. The breast, may however, be too wide ; it may also hang over or project beyond
the. perpendicular of the fore limbs, so as to overweigh the machine : this form, however, though
unfavorable to the saddle horse, for the reasons just assigned, is much desired in the heavy draught
horse.
5601. T7te back. Where the withers end the back commences (g) ; the length should be moderate only,
for a long cylinder cannot be so strong as one of less length ; long-backed horses are easy because the
action and the reaction are considerable ; but what is gained in elasticity is lost in strength. When the
back is too short, the extremities .are so much approximated that they frequently overreach each other ;
the back should be nearly straight, it has naturally an inclination in the line of its gravity ; but this exi
ists in very different degrees in different horses. When the incurvation inwards is considerable, such
horses are called saddle-backed, and are Usually considered as Weak ; but to keep up the counterpoise,
so the crest in such horses is generally good ; they also ride pleasantly^ and commonly carry much
apparent carcase ; sometimes indeed too much. When the back is curved upwards, it is called roach^,
backed ; when considerably so, it is unfavorable to the liberty of action, as well as to the elasticity of
motion ; and for the reasons given, with too short aback, a horse is often found to overreach : in these
cases, to counteract the curve outward, the head is also carried low usually. A short-backed horse is in
considerable request with many persons, who do not consider that when it is too much so, there is seldom
great speed ; for the hinder extremities cannot be brought sufficiently under the body to propel the
mass forwards.
5602. Thi loins (/«) may be considered as the part which extends from immediately behind the hinder
edge of the saddle when properly placed, extending from thence to the rump. Anatomically it begins
at the sacrum (fig. 615 z), whose processes being sometimes defective or interrupted, leave an inden-
tation, as though the union between the back and loins was incomplete ; and such horses are said to be
badly loined : but although it may in some measure deprive the muscles of some slight attachments ;
yet the evil is not so considerable as is imagined. The width of the loins is of considerable import to the
strength of the animal, as it affords a greater surface for the attachment of the powerful muscles of the!
back and loins ; and the muscles themselves should be so prominent, as to seem to swallow the back
Book VII. ORGANOLOGY OF THE HORSE. 88^
bone between them. When the protuberances of the ilium or haunch bone are very prominent, the
horse is said to be ragged hipped ; but it operates to his disadvantage only in appearance, as extent in
these parts, being favorable to muscular attachment, is always beneficial.
5603. The croup extends from the loins to the setting on of the tail {n n). It should be long and only
slightly rounded, which is another characteristic of the blood or improved breed. In the cart horse, on
the contrary, it is seen short and much more considerably rounded (n n). A long croup is in every
point of view the most perfect, for it affords a very increased surface for muscular attachment, and
although the large buttocks of the cart horse would at first sight convey an idea of great strength and
extent, yet attentively viewed, it will be found that the early rounding of the sacral line, the low setting
on of the tail, and the small space which necessarily exists between the hips and buttocks, all tend to
lessen the surface of muscular attachment, compared with the broad croup, wide haunches, and deep
spread thighs of the blood horse.
56()4. The flank {k), is the apace contained between the ribs and haunches; when too extensive, it
indicates weakness, because it is tiie consequence of too long a back ; and such a horse is said not to be
well ribbed up. When the transverse processes of the lumbar ^vertebrae are short, as in bad loined
horses, this part is hollow. The flank is usually looked to also as" indicative of the state of respiration :
thus, when it rises and falls quicker than ordinary, unless violent exertion has just been used, it beto-
kens present fever, or otherwise, chronic disease of the lungs.
5o05. .The belly (i). Having taken a tour round the upper parts of the carcase, we will carry the survey
downwards and forwards. Anteriorly, the ribs should be wide upwards, and as much deepened below
as possible, which affords what is termed great depth in the girth. This form greatly increases the
surface of attachment of the motive organs, the muscles, and also allows room for the free expansion
of the lungs, and consequently is favorable to the wind. Posteriorly, the ribs should form the body as
much as possible into a circular figure, that being of all iathers the most extended, and affording the best
surface for the absorption of nutriment ; thus barrelled horses, as they are termed, are greatly admired.
When the chest is too flat and straight, the belly is also small ; hence, neither can the blood absorb its
vital principle from the air, nor the lacteals the chyliferous juices from the intestines; these horses are
therefore seldom durable. As less nutriment is taken up by the constitution, so less is eaten, thus also
they are seldom good feeders ; and as the pressure on the intestines must be considerable from the small
containing surface, so they are usually likewise what is termed washy ; that is, easily purged, whereby an
additional cause of weakness exists, from the too early passing off of the food. Such horses are, however,
verv commonly spirited and lively, although not lasting. A knowledge of the advantages gained by a
circular form of carcase or belly, as affording the greatest capacity, is what constituted Bakewell's grand
secretin the breeding of cattle: he always bred from such animals as would be most likely to produce
this form, well knowing that no other would fatten so advantageously.
5606. The whirlbone (/), among the jockies and grooms, is the articulation of the thigh bone, with the
pelvis, or basin, and forms the hip joint. The ligaments of this powerful joint are sometimes extended,
and a very obstinate lameness is usually the consequence. Thus the situation of the thigh {I, m),
is in the horse, as in most quadrupeds, enveloped within the range of the trunk.
5607. The stifle (w) corresponds with the knee of the human figure, and is the point at the lower
portion of the flank It is evident that the part below this, which is generally called the thigh or
gascoin, is erroneously so named. It should be very muscular and extended, it should also make a
considerable angle with the femur or thigh, and form a direct line under the hip or haunch. Its
length in all animals destined for speed is considerable.
5608. 'The fore extremities or legs. In treating on the mechanical properties of the
skeleton, we shall have to point out the essential differences between the geometrical
structure and functions of the fore and hinder extremities. We sh9,ll here content our-
selves with a simple examination of the individual parts.
5609. The arm of the horse (6) is apt to be overlooked, nor, without some consideration, does it strike the
observer, that thearm covered with muscles, and enveloped within the common skin of the chest, ex-
tends from the elbow {a) to the point of the shoulder, as it is termed, but correctly to its own point
below and before the shoulder blade [flg. 615). The same reasons which render a muscular, oblique,
and deep shoulder advantageous, also make it desirable that this part should be muscular and extensive
in length and breadth, and that its obliquity should be proportionate to that of the shoulder : from whence
it results, that the more acute the angle between them, the greater will be the extent of the motion
gained by the flexion and extension of the parts.
5610. The fore arm (c), which horsemen consider and call the arm, is placed upright to counter,
act the angular position of the real arm and shoulder bones. As it is always found long in animals
destined for great speed, as we witness in the hare and greyhound, it should therefore be of considerable
length when speed is a requisite quality ; but for the cadences of the manege, where the elasticity is re-
quired to be distributed equally through all parts of the limb, it is chosen short The fore arm is broad
and large, particularly upwards, for here the powerful muscles that operate the motions of the parts be-
low, are almost all of them situated. To i)revent encumbrance, and to give solidity, these muscles dege-
nerate into tendons and ligaments below the fore arm ; but abope, it is essentially necessary to strength
that they should be large and well marked.
5611. The knee (d), so called, is properly, with reference to human anatomy, the carpus or wrist.
It is composed of many bones to enable it to resist the jar arising from the action of the perpendi-
cular parts above and below it. All the joints of the extremities, but particularly those of the knee
and hock, should be broad, that the surface of contact may be increased, and the stability augmented ; by
this means likewise, a more extensive attachment is afforded to muscles and ligaments; their insertions
are also thereby removed farther from the centre of motion.
5612; As criteria of safe goiuf;, t/ie knees should be particularly examined When it is contemplated X6
purchase a horse, to see whether the skin has been broken by falls ; and in this, very minute attention is
required ; for sometimes the wound heals so perfectly, or otherwise so much art is used in shaving the
hair, blistering, coloring, and rubbing it down, picking out the white or staring hairs, &c., that more
than common nicety is required to detect a slight scar. It is, however, prudent to remember, that it \i
not every horse whose knees betray a scar, that is a stumbler : the best may have a fall in the dark.
It is also necessary to caution persons against the. admission of a very common prejudice, that when
a horse has once been down, however little he may have hurt his knees, he is rendered more liable than
before to a similar accident. If his limbs have not been weakened by the accident, or if the scar be not
sufficiently large to prevent the free bending of the knee, he is not at all more liable to fall than another
horse. If, therefore, a horse with a scar on his knee have the forehand good, and if his action correspond
thereto, he ought not to be refused on this ground : but with a diirercnt conformation he ought to be
steadily rejected, let the tale told be ever so plausible. In gross heavy horses a scabby eruption often seats
itself around the inner bend of the knee (/<), which is called mallenders.
5613. The canon or shank (e) carries the limb down elegant, light, straight, and strong. Much strrss
is deservedly laid on the necessity that this part of the limb should be wide when viewed laterally.
Viewed in front, its being thin- is favorable, because made up as it is principally of bone and tendon,
any addition to it beyond these must arise from useless cellular matter, or otherwise from matter worse
than useless, being placed there by disease. Any thickening of the part generally or partially, should ba
890 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
looked on with suspicion ; as, if natural, likely to interfere with motion without adding to strength ; or if
accidental, as a mark of acquired injury likely to remain. In the bony skeleton may be seen within and
behind the knee, an apparatus destined to remove the acting ligaments and tendons from the centre of
motion, by which great advantage is gained in the strengthening and facilitating their flexions. It is a
default in this conformation that renders horses tied in under the knee, as it is usually termed, and such
horses are the best proof of the truth of the reasoning here offered; for they are invariably found to bear
exertion badly ; their legs at an early period become bowed or arched, and totter on the slightest exertion.
In cart horses this conformation is very common ; but in them it is of less consequence than in those
destined for quicker motion, where the elevation of the limb is so extensively and so frequently repeated.
To render this subject familiarly clear, we will recommend that a cord be j)laced round the ball of the
thumb, and passed up close to the arm until it reaches the bend : with tlie other hand, by straightening and
extending this cord, but held close to the arm, endeavour to flex the hand and wrist inwards : operated in
this way it will require great force to do it ; but remove the hand only two inches from the arm, and the
bound hand will yield readily to a less force. Exactly the same happens to the ligaments and tendons
called back sinews which flex or bend the fore legs ; for by an apparatus, formed from the position of one
of the carpal bones, { pis if or ?n is,) they are, in well formed legs, set out wide from the knee.
5614. The back sinews should not only be large and firm, but they should, like the limb generally, be
very distinct from the knee to the fetlock]: in this course, if any thickening be observed, it betokens former
injury, as extension or rupture of ligamentous fibres, which usually have a disposition to recurring weak-
ness. If a hard swelling appear on the inner side, not on the tendon, but on the bone, a splint is present
which is more or less injurious as it is nearer or farther from the knee, or distinct from or situated among
the tendons and ligaments ; but when it is considerable in size, hot to the feel, and extends inwards and
backwards among them, it usually produces mo.'t injurious consequences. To detect these evils the eye
alone should not be trusted, particularly where there is much hair on the legs, as on cart horses, and even
on hacknies in the winter, but the hand should be deliberately passed down the shank before and behind.
An enlargement or scar situated close to and on the inner side of the knee, must not be mistaken for a
splint ; it more frequently arises from a custom some horses have when trotting fast, of elevating their
legs and cutting this part with their shoes, and thence called the speedy cut.
5615. The pastern and fetlock {f J). General usage has apphed the term fetlock to the joint itself, and
pastern to the part extended from the fetlock to the foot ; properly speaking, the fetlock or footlock is
only the posterior part of the joint, from whence grows the lock or portion of hair, which, in many
horses, flows over and around the hinder part of the foot ; a short and upright pastern is inelastic, and
such horses are uneasy goers ; they are unsafe also, for the pastern being already in so upright a position,
requires but little resistance, or only a slight shock, to bring it forwards beyond the perpendicular; and
the weight of the machine then forces the animal over. Nor are these the only evils arising from this
formation, for the ends of the bones being opposed to each other in nearly a perpendicular direction,
receive at each movement a jar or shock, which leads to an early derangement of the joint, and to the
appearance called overshot. On the contrary, when the pasterns are too long they are frequently too
oblique also ; and although their elasticity may be pleasant to the rider, such formation detracts from the
strength of the limb. These joints both before and behind are very subject to what is called windgalls,
■which are swellings formerly supposed full of air, whence their name; but they are now known to con-
tain an encreased quantity of the mucus destined to lubricate the parts in their motions. These puffy
elastic tumours are originally small and hidden between the lower end of the canon, and the flexor
tendon, or back sinew ; but when hard work has inflamed all the parts, the secretion in them becomes
increased, and then they become visible to the eye ; but unless they are so considerable as to obstruct
the due action of the parts, they are no otherwise objectionable than as they tell a tale of inordinate wear
of the limbs generally.
5616. The form of the pasterns influences the defect called cutting, which arises from a blow given to
either the fore or hind fetlocks by one leg to the other during its elevation. Horses narrow in the chest,
or which turn their toes out, or have other peculiarities of form, cut permanently, and are then very
objectionable; but others only cut when fatigued, or when very low in flesh. Young horses often cut,
and when they become furnished, leave it off.
5617. The feet {g g). The.se es.sential and complex organs will be more fully examined in the ana-
tomical detail, but much also presents itself to the consideration in an exterior examination. Horses
might be presumed to be naturally born with perfect feet; but experience shows that defects in these
organs are hereditary. In some, the peculiarities of climate operate; and in others, a constitutional
predisposition exists ; dependant on some cause with which we are unacquainted.
5618. Climate influences the form of the horse's foot. In the arid plains of the east, where every
impediment is removed for an extensive search for food, the feet are hard, dry, and small ; this form,
notwithstanding the alterations of breed and culture, in some degree still adheres to the blood or abori-
ginal eastern horse : artificial habits have extended the evil, and now small and contracted feet are to be
seen in every variety, excepting in the coarse heavy breeds.
5619. Constitutional and hereditary causes operate on the feet. That a constitutional predisposition
exists in the production of a particular form of foot, we know from the fact, that dark chestnut horses
are more prone to contraction of the hoofs than any other colored horse : and that the form of the foot
is hereditary, may be gained from the known circumstance that some of the Lincolnshire stallions always
get large flat-footed progeny; while some full bred entire horses entail small upright feet on all their
^offspring.
5620. Local situation will also affect the form of the feet. The effect of situation is remarkably exem-
plified in the horses which we used to obtain from Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and some parts of
Norfolk and Yorkshire, before « he draining system was perfected. These horses had, almost invariably,
large, flat, heavy feet ; which however convenient and natural they might prove to the animals while
Inoving on the quaggy surface of marshy districts, yet were found very unfit for quick, light movements
in drier situations. Such horses go heavily and stumble ; and as the horn of which these enormous
feet are formed, is always weak, the anterior or front part yields to the heat and inflammation brought
Nonby exercise on hard roads, and falls inwards, which letting the weight of the l)ody fall on the soles pushes
that downward; and at last fVom a concave, it presents a convex .surface. The feet cannot then bear
shoeing, but with much art and diflRculty : pain and tenderness bring on lameness and uselessness ; and
therefore horses with such feet should be rejected. Feet preternatural ly small, are equally objectionable, as
betokening a disposition to contraction. Horses with a tendency to founi'.ered feet stand with pain in the
stable, first placing one foot before, and then shifting it to place the other in the same situation. The
"icontraction usually begins in the heels, which are found higher than natural, and drawn inwards ; the
foot altogether is likewise narrower, and the sole hard and hollow. When a preternatural fulness is
seen around the coronets, ring-bone may be suspected ; and if heat and hardness be accomjianied
with any tenderness in going, its existence is certain. But although too much horn is to be avoided^
too little produces a weak foot; in which the heels, quarters, and soles all participate: the thin horn
cannot resist the impressions of the stones on the road, and then lameness ensues. The under surface of
the foot should exhibit a full healthy wide frog with bars prominent and properly inflected. The con-
cavity of the sole should be particularly attended to ; when less than natural, it is weak, when more, it
indicates contraction ; from whence such feet have been called too strong. White feet are objectionable,
W;ause they are found more liable to this evil than others. Corns are an evil to which the under surface
■^f the foot is liable, and which should always be looked for on the purchase or examination of a horse ;
tft>r which purpose, it would be well that the fore shoes should be removed, and the foot carefully pared
Book VII. ORGANOLOGY OF THE HORSE. 891
by a judicious or clever smith. Merely picking out the foot will often, also, detect the remains of
former cuttings or parings out of the corns. Some hoofs are very brittle, and a horse with this defect
should, in every instance, be rejected. The evil may in general be easily detected by the marks of the
fragile parts detaching themselves from every old nail hole. This kind of foot, particularly in hot wea-
ther, breaks away till there is no room for the nails to hold ; when the horse of course becomes useless.
Sandcracks are also another evil to which the feet are liable ; and which should engage the attention
in the examination of a horse : they consist of longitudinal fissures ; one only is usually present at once ;
but that one if deep is fully equal to produce lameness. The subject of the feet will be concluded by art
observation on their general appearance, well worthy of attention. The eye should be directed to the
degree and to the manner in which the shoes are worn; which will often save much useless trouble
in'trying a horse. A stumbling horse may be frequently, nay, commonly detected by simply lifting up
one fore foot : for the unequal wearing away of the shoe at the toe, while the other parts remain good,
is a full proof of his going unsafely and digging his toes.
5621. On a review of the conformation of the fore extremities, it may be remarked, that whereas the
hinder may l)e considered as more particularly concerned in impelling the machine forwards with its re-
quisite velocity ; yet, that upon a proper form and a true direction of the various component parts of the
fore limbs must depend the stability, the truth, and the safety of the movements. Viewed anteriorly, the
fore legs should stand rather widest at the upper part, inclining a little inwards below ; but when we
view them latterly, they should present a perpendicular from the arm downwards; and the toe should
place itself directly under the point of the shoulder, as it is called. If the foot should stand beyond this,
which is seldom the case, the action will be confined, for the limb will have already passed over a point of
its ground ; such a horse, however, generally treads even, flat, and safe ; and, in proportion as it stands in
the direct line downwards, he generally inherits these desirable properties. When the foot stands behind
the perpendicular line, the defect is considerable, by the rRwioval of the centre of gravity too much for*
ward, by which an increased tendency to stumble and fall is entailed ; and as the fact in general accom.
panies a want of extent and obliquity in the shoulder, so it likewise lessens the speed.
5622. The hinder extremities. We have already described the thigh, correctly so
called, which is so concealed by muscles as frequently to escape this consideration of it,
by which the part immediately below it popularly receives the name of thigh, but is, in
fact, the leg.
5623. The leg (1, 2), commonly called the thigh, in well formed horses is powerfully furnished with
muscles, and very extended in its figure ; it should also make a considerable angle with the femur or
real thigh, and form a direct line under the hip or haunch ; for the same reasons that make it desirable
to have a long arm in the fore extremities, it is also advantageous that the leg should be so likewise, and
which is the form usual among all quadrupeds of speed.
5624. The hock (2) is the important joint immediatelv below the leg, or thigh commonly called, and is in--
terposed between the tibia and tarsal bones {fig. 615), purposely to increase the extent of attachmenty
and to break the shock of great exertion ; it may be considered as the most complex and important joint
of the botly : like the knee, it should be extended and broad; for, in proportion as the calcaneum or point
of the hock (5), and which is the real heel, extends itself beyond the other bones ; so the powerful tendo
achilles inserted into it, acts with a longer lever, and with a greater increase of power. This joint is sub-
ject to several important diseases, which in the examination of ahorse, require particular attention ; wherr
a soft puffy swelling is discovered in the ply or bend of the hock (3), it is termed a blood spavin, which will be
noticed among the diseases ; it is, in fact, a similar enlargement with the windgalls before mentioned, and
what has been said on them equally applies to these. When similar mucous capsules become enlarged on each
side of the hock, the enlargement receives the name of thorough-pin. A small bursal enlargement is some-
times found at the very point of the hock (5), and is then called a capulet; to all which, what has been
said on wind galls, applies, that they are only to be deemed of consequence when so large as to inter-
fere with the motion of the parts they are situated with, or near , or, as indicative of an undue portion
of work. The ligaments at the back of the hock sometimes become strained or extended, and heat, in-
flammation, and swelling follow, which is then called a. curb. As rest or very mild treatment soon re-
duces it, it is not to be considered as of great consequence. The inner part of the joint at the ply or bend,
is sometimes attended with a skin aflection similar to the mallenders before alluded to, and is called *t/-
lenders (4) ; but themo.st serious disease to which the hock is liable, is a disease of the ligaments of some
of the dorsal bones. Sometimes one or more of these bones take on spavin : to detect the existence of
this affection, the hocks should be attentively viewed from behind, When any enlargement in the spavin
place (3, 4) may be easily detected. The mechanism of this joint will be further considered when we*
treat of the skeleton generally.
5625. The color of horses does not depend on their real skin as with man, but upon an
exterior beautiful covering which nature has given them, called hair j nevertheless, the
hair is, in some measure, influenced by the skin, as light skinned horses have light hair^
and when the hair is light, the eyes are usually so likewise : hair presents many varieties
of tint, so hor-es are said to be of various colors. Buffon has conjectured that horses
were originally of one color, which he presumes to be bay ; but such wild horses as have
been seen, and which have been supposed to be pure originals, have not justified this
opinion. This same author has divided the colors of the horse into simple, compound,
and strange or extraordinary.
5626. The simple colors are bay, chestnut, dun, sorrel, white, and black; bat/ \s a. very prevailing tint
among European horses, and admits of many shades, but is admired in all : there are bright bays, blood
bays, dark and dapi)led bays ; brown bay is a very esteemed color, and consists of bay and black in unequal
proportions in different horses : brown horses are highly ])rized ; the darker varieties have usually
beautiful tan markings, as about the muzzle, &c : they have commonly also black manes and tails, with
logs and feet of the same hue ; and it may be here remarked, that horses of comjK)unded colors, of
whatsoever tint the mane and tail may be, will be found invariably formed of one of the compounding"
colors; thus light greys, which area comi)Ound of black and white, have often white manes and tails :
sorrels, again, whicji are formed of white, with a small proportion of red, have also frequently white
manes and tails: cAca/hm/, which is also a very common color, admits of almost as many shades as the
bay, from the lightest tint to the deepest tone. Very light chistnuts have frequently still lighter manes'
and tails, with mealy legs and light feet; s6 marked, they are certainly not to be chosen for strength^
durabilitv, or pliancy of temper : the suttblk punch, however, may be considered in some degree an ex-
ception, although, the true breed are hardly so light as those hinteil at here. Dark chestimts are con-'
sidered, and with justice, as fiery in their dispositions; they are also more subject to contracted feet thanr
horses of any other hue. Dun'\s, a color that has several varieties; it is sometimes accompanied with a
white mane and tail, at others they are seen even darker than the rest of the hair. In some, a list or line
of deeper tint extends along the back, which is regarded by some as an indication of hardihood : p"
892 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
similar line is sometimes seen in the bay. Dun horses do not appear to be at all influenced in their quali-
ties by their color, or rather, no criteria are offered by it, for there are good, bad, and indifferent in all
the varieties of shade. The sorrel is a variety of the chestnut, but not a favorite one. White, as a native
color, is not in much estimation, neither is it verv common, for many horses are white only through age,
as all light-grey, and flea-bitten horses become so. Black is a very usual color, and in the large heavy
northern breed, it seems to be an original tint ; and, perhaps it is to this their goodness may be attributed,
for, among the lighter breeds, there are more indifferent black horses than of any other color. The
tempers of black horses are commonly in the extreme, either sluggish to stupidity, or "fiery to excess. The
color itself admits of many shades; but a perfect black horse is more unusual than it is generally thought
to be : a star in the forehead is common to relieve the ebon hue ; and in the absence of that, a few white
hairs on the breast frequently interrupts the uniformity. It is perhaps on this principle that black horses
have white legs so often as they do.
5627. The compound colors may be considered as those in which the hairs are compounded, but not
the colors themselves; otherwise the bay, the chestnut, brown, &c. might be considered as compounded
colors. The roan is a mixture of red and white : its varieties are the common, the red, and the dark.
All the roans are esteemed. Grey admits of a great number of shades and varieties, but all are com-
pounded of black and white, except the iron grey, which receives a few bay hairs among the black and
white ; a considerable prejudice exists in favour of this colour. Greys are light or dark ; there are also
the dappled, the markings of which are extremely beautiful, and the silver grey. Grey horses become
lighter by age : many old white horses have been grey until age overtook them. Grey horses, like black,
admit of no settled character; though unlike them, they are not to be generally disapproved of. They
have, however, all the extremes within their range ; the darker ones are usually good, the lighter ones
not generally so.
5628. The extraordinary colors are not very numerous, and it may be remarked, that white is always
the relieving tint, intermixed with distinct markings, in various proportions, of bay, brown, black, or
chestnut. Flea-bitten is grey or white, with small bay spots. When these spots are very large, and have
a marginal surface of lighter markings, they give the name tiger colored ; and although they are un-
common with usi they are not unfrequent in Germany and JJarbary. Pied or pie-bald is one of the most
numerous extraordinary colors, and is usually composed of two colors, in distinct large markings.
Now and then a third interferes : there are pies of all original colours with white, and all are held in
estimation.
5629. Color, as a criterion of mental and personal qualities, is laid much stress on by many persons :
and notwithstanding the adage, that "a good horse cannot be of a bad color," long experience has
shown that in general cases, certain tints are usually accompanied by certain qualities of person or dispo-
sition. As a general rule, dark coloured horses are certainly the best ; but as before observed, it is pe-
culiar that black, as the darkest of all, should form an exception to this rule. Light shades appear un-
favorable to strength and durability; they are also accompanied frequently with irritability, and
perverseness of temper. Something like a general law in the animal economy seems to prevail, to make
white a distinctive mark of weakness. Age, which is the parent of weakness, brings with it white hairs,
both in man and in horses, and most other quadrupeds. The hair formed after a wound has robbed a part
of its original covering, is often white, because the new formed surface is yet in a state of debility. It is
likewise a fact well known among the observant, that the legs and feet when white, are more obnoxious
to disease than those of a darker tone. The Arabs remark, that light chestnut horses iiave soft tender
feet. It is the observance of these peculiarities, that has at length guided our taste, and formed our
judgment of beauty. With us much white on the legs is considered as a deformity, and is expressively
called/oi/Z marked, whereas pied markings in other parts are reckoned beautiful. In Africa, however.
Captain Lyon informs us a superstitious dependance is placed on horses with legs and feet stockened with
white. It does not appear that climate has the same influence on the color of horses, as on other do-
mesticated animals. In all latitudes in which the horse can live, he is black or white indiscriminately;
but as he cannot endure extreme rigour, it is not necessary he should vary.
Sect. III. The Anatomy or Osseous Structure of the Horse.
5630. All quadrupeds are formed on an earthy base called bone, and the assemblage
of bony parts is called a skeleton. Bones are formed of earth and membrane (1844J ;
they are covered also by an investure called periosteum. The earthy jjart is the last
formed, and consolidates the bones as the animal becomes fitted to exert all his powers.
This deposit of earth in the bones appears to be hastened by any thing that permanently
quickens the circulation : heat does this, and hence the human and brute inhabitants of
warm climates come to perfection sooner than those of northern regions ; but they are
generally smaller, for by preternaturally hastening the earthy deposit before the mem-
branous part of the l)ones becomes fully evolved or grown, they will not attain the bulk
they are capable of. Undue exertion has the same etfect, and thus we learn why horses
too early and too hard worked become stinted in their growth. Pressure likewise
occasions an early, and also a preternatural ossification : in this way the parts of the spine
which bear heavy loads, present large masses of bone, brought on by this cause alone.
For the same reasons, horses early worked put out splints, spavins, and other bony con-
cretions. Bones are all of them, more or less, hollow: within their caverns an oily fluid
is secreted, called medulla or marrow, which serves for their support, and of the consti-
tution generally. The bones have nerves, blood vessels, and absorbents. Bones
are capable of reproduction, as is proved by their uniting when broken ; and also by
the yearly renewal of the antlers of the deer, which are not horn as in the ox or sheep,
but pure bone. Bones are connected together by articulation : when such articula-
tion is moveable, it is termed a joint. In some cases bones articulate by suture or
indentation of parts, as in the skull. We shall consider, in succession, the anatomy of
the head, trunk, and extremities.
SuBSECT. ] . Anatomy of the Head.
5631. The hones of the head are the occipital, {fig. 615 between a Sib) which is the largest bone of the
skull : in tlie colt it is composed of several pieces which unite by age, by two apophyses ; it articulates
with the atlas (a) or first of the cervical or neck vertebrae. At its posterior surface it is perforated by a
large hole, which gives passage to the, spinal marrow. The two frontal bones (6) unite also by age;
Book VII.
ANATOMY OF THE HORSE.
893
behind them is lodged the anterior and inferior portion of the brain. A division of their bony surface*
forms two cavities called the frontal sinuses, which are lined by the nasal or smelling membrane
throughout. The union of these two bones is by means of the sagittal sutura The remainder of the
bones of the skull are the two parietals, the two temporals, divided into a squamous and petrous portion,
within the latter of which is situated the internal ear ; and to the former the posterior or lower jaw arti-
ticulates. The sphenoid and ethmoid bones are hollow and irregular, serving to intersect and attach the
others ; and also to assist by their cavities in extending tbe pituitary or smelling membrane.
5&3'2. The bones of the face are ten pairs and two single bones. The nasal (c) pair within their union,
hold the septum narium or long cartilaginous plate which separates one nostril from the other. These
bones also greatly assist to extend the surface of the smelling organ. In the old heavy breeds, it was
very common to "see these bones arched outwards ; but in the improved breed, particularly in those ap-
proaching full blood, it is not uncommon to find them slightly curved inward. The fossae within these
bones are the principal seat of glanders. The two angulars form a considerable portioji of the orbits of
the eyes. The two malar, jugal, or cheekhones occupy also a portion of the orbits. The superior maxillary
bones (c) are the largest of the face bones, and contain all the upper molar teeth. The inferior or inter-
maxillary bones {d) are wanting in man, in whom the face is short : these bones concur with the former
in forming alveoli or sockets for lodging the teeth. The superior palatines, the inferior palatines, the
pieregoids, the two anterior, and the two posterior turbinated bones, with the vomer or plough share,
make up the remaining facial bones, with the exception of the posterior maxillary or lower jaiv bone (/),
■which on its anterior edge is pierced to lodge the teeth ; at the upper part it extends itself into two angular
branches, each of which ends in two processes, and an intermediate groove. The most superior of these
processes articulates with the upper jaw. This bone throughout shows the most admirable mechanism ;
the molar or grinding teeth, on whom most is dependent, and whose exertions are greatest, are placed
near the centre of motion ; and as the upper jaw in most animals is fixed, or nearly so, it was necessary
that the lower should have considerable extent of motion for the puri)Ose of grinding ; and it is accord-
ingly so formed as to admit of motion in every direction. The os hyuidcs is a bone situated within the
head at the root of the tongue, to which it serves as a support, and for the attachment of muscles.
.5633. The teeth of the horse are the hardest and most compact bones of the body. There are usually forty
of them in the horse, and there are thirty-six in the mare; in which latter, the tushes are usually wanting.
In anatomical language, they are divided into incisores, cuspidati, and molares, or according to the
language of farriers and horsemen, into twelve nippers (fig. 6lia,b, c), four tus/ies (dd), and twenty-
four grinders, which numbers are equally divided between the two jaws. The teeth are received into in-
dentations or sockets between the bony plates of the jaw, called alveoli, by cone like roots. The bodies
of the teeth are principally composed of two substances, one of the nature of common bone< giving bulk
and form, and one of extreme hardness, placed in man and carnivorous animals, wholly without the
teeth to give strength and durability : but in the horse and other granivorac, the latter' particularly, is
placed in the grinders, in perpendicular plates, within the body of the teeth ; by which contrivance, a
rough grinding surface is kept up ; for tlie mere bony parts wearing faster than the lamella" of enamel,
it follows that ridges remain to triturate the vegetable matter that passes between the teeth.
5634. There are tux) sets of teeth, a temporaneous or milk set, and a permanent or adult set, in which
wise provision, man and most brutes participate. The milk set are some of them, as the molars, apparent
at birth ; there being usually six grinders in each jaw, three on each side in the new born foal, and which
number of this set is never increased. The nippers begin to ai)pear soon afterbirth, and follow a regular
order of succession until the animal is three or four months old ; at which time he begins to require sup-
port from herbage as well as milk. The temporaneous set, remove gradually one after another ; had they
all been displaced at the same time, or even had several of them fallen out together, the animal must
have suflTered great inconvenience, and perhaps have been starved. This removal, which commences at
the age of two years and a half, and is completed between the fourth and fifth year, is effected by
the action of the absorbents on their fangs, and appears to be occasioned by the stimulus of the pres-
sure received from the growing teeth under them. For although these two sets appear with an interval
of some years between them ; yet the rudiments of both are formed at nearly the same period, and both
sets may be thus seen in a dissected jaw. Regulated by the stimulus of necessity, as soon as the tempo-
raneous set falls out, the permanent appears : and that such appearance follows the necessity is evident ;
for a premature or accidental removal of the colts teeth is soon followed by the appearance of the others.
894 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
Dealers and breeders aware of this, draw the milk teeth to make their colts appear as horses. It was
necessary there should be two sets of teeth, for as they grow slowly in proportion to the jaws ; so had
there been but one only, the disproportion of growth between the teeth and jaws must have separated
them.
5635. The forms qf the teeth vary more than their structura The incisive or nippers are round, which
is favorable for the pressure they undergo ; the upper more so than the lower. On the upper surface a
hollow is seen in the young tooth, which, not extending through the whole substance, naturally wears out
with the wear of the tooth ; and as a considerable degree of regularity occurs in this wearing away
in all horses, it has gradually settled into the general criterion of age. The nippers are not all of them
exactly similar ; the corner teeth differ most in being nearly triangular, and in having an internal wall
or side, which does not become level with the rest until long after the others. The cuspidate tusks or
tushes are permanent, appearing at about five years or rather earlier ; those in the front jaw are usually
nearer the nippers than those below. Each presents a slight curve, which follows the direction of all
the canine or pugnatory teeth of other mammalia. The pointed e.xtremity wears away by age, leaving
merely a buttoned process,|which may serve as a guide to the age when a horse is suspected to be bishoped,
as it is called, from a man of that name who was peculiarly dexterous in imitating on old teeth the dis-
tinctive cavity of youth. The molar or grinding teeth are stronger in the upj)er than in the lower jaw ;
which was necessary, as they form the fixed point in the process of grinding. The upper surface pre-
sents nearly a long square, indented from the alteration of the enamel with the bony portions ; and as
the interior or upper teeth hang over the posterior, so the ridges of the one set are received into the
depressions of the other.
o636. Wear of the teeth. The teeth, in a state of nature, would probably present a surface opposed to
each other for mastication, to the latest period of the most protracted life ; but the removal of the animal
from moist food to that which is hard and dry, must occasion an unnatural wear in those organs ; and
hence, although the teeth of the horse, even in a domesticated state, are not subject to the caries of the
human ; yet the grinders are liable to become thus injured by continued exertion. In the young or
;adult horse, the upper and under grinders do not meet each other horizontally ; on the contrary, they have
naturally an inclination obliquely inwards; and those of the upper jaw present small spaces between each
other, while those of the lower are more continuous: by which means as the food, but particularly as
interrupted portions, as grain, become ground, they fall within the mouth to be replaced under the grind-
ing surface, if necessary, by the joint action of the tongue and muscles of the cheek. This arrangement
becomes in a great measure frustrated in old horses, by the superior wear of the inner surface of the
upper grinders, as well as by the general misapplication of the surfaces of both upper and under tei'th,^
by constant attrition when worn down to the gums nearly. The unfortunate animal feels sensible of this!,
and endeavours to remedy it by throwing the wear on the outer edge, by an inclination of tUa'ower jaw
and of the head in general ; and which is so particular in its ai)pearance as to engage the attent;on of the
by.standers. This- defect may be in a considerable degree remedied by casting the animal, and having
opened and wedged the mouth so as to keep it so, with a well-tempered concave file, to remove the in-
equality as much as may be. "When the defect is considerable, and the horse is mild and quiet, it is
better to file the inequalities every day, which will gradually but efTectuallifwear thorn down. It how-
ever happens, that the inclination thus to wear is commonly resumed, and gradually the same loss of
nutriment takes place: in which case, soft moist food, as carrots, mashes, soiling, or grazing, must be
substituted for harder substances, and if corn be actually necessary, let it be bruised. Whenever an old
horse betrays symptoms of want of condition, or weakness and emaciation, that neither his mode of
feeding, nor his ratio of work will account for, and particularly if whole grains should be found in his
dung, his teeth should be examined carefully. This undue wearing of the teeth occasions another evil
often, which is ulceration of the cheeks, by reason of the projecting ragged surface of the uneven teeth,
which can only be remedied by the removal of such portions. These projecting portions are called by
farriers wolves' teeth.
SuBSECT. 2. The Anatomy of the Trmik.
5637. The trunk of the skeleton consists of the spine, the pelvis, and the thorax or
chest, composed of the ribs and sternum.
5638. The bony column called the spine, is made up of seven cervical, eighteen dorsal, six lumbar, and
five sacral vertebrae, with the addition of thirteen or fourteen small tail-bones. The spinal bones are
thus divided on account of the varieties they present ; they have, however, some characteristics in com-
mon. Each is composed of a spongy bony body, with protruded points called ])rocesses, which processes
unite to form a hollow through which the spinal marrow is transmitted ; and by some of these processes
the vertebraa are articulated with each other, as well as by their bodies, by which their strength as a
column is much increased. Though but little motion exists between any two vertebrae, yet the flexibility
of the whole spine is considerable.
5639. The cervical or neck vertebrtr {g, h), are called by farriers and butchers, the rack bones. It is
remarkable that, let the neck be long or short, the number of bones is the same in most quadrupcd.s.
The first and second diftfer from the rest in figure, and present some other peculiarities. The first is the
only one of them to which the great suspensory ligament of the neck does not attach itself, which would
have interfered with freedom of motion. It articulates with the se^cond by receiving its tubercular pro-
cess within it, and from which process the second of these bones has been called dentata. Between these
two neck bones is situated a part, where the spinal marrow is exposed from any bony covering ; at
which part butchers plunge a pointed knife into what they call the pith of the neck, when they want to
kill their animals instantaneously, and without eflf'usion of blood ; from whence it is called pithing. The
remaining five neck bones are not very dis.^^imilar from each other.
5640. The dorsal vertehrce {y) are now and then, though rarely, nineteen in number; they do not
differ materially from each other, but in the length of the spinous })rocesses of the first seven or eight.
It is to these elongated spines that we owe the height of the withers, and as the intention of these parts
seems principally to serve as levers for the muscles of the back inserted into them ; so we can readily
understand why their increased or diminished height is favorable or unfavorable to progression. These
like the former articulate with each other by processes as well as by the anterior and po.^terior surfaces
of their bodies ; between each of which is interposed a substance semi-cartilaginous in its structure, which
is most compressible at its sides, these permitting the motion of the spine.
5641. The six lumbar vertebrce differ from the foregoing in having a longer body, and very long trans-
verse processes to make up for the deficiency of ribs in the loins. These bones often unite by the pressure
of heavy weights, and sometimes spontaneously by age, and thus we need not be surprised at the stiffness
with which some old horses rise when down.
5642. The five sacral vertebm {%) are united into one to give strength to the column, and to serve as a
fixed support to the pelvis, or basin, with which it is interwedged. From this detail it will appear how
admirably this spinal column is adapted to its important functions of serving as a flexible but powerful
support to the machine; and how by the formation of a large foramen within the substance of each
vertebra, a bony canal is offered for the safeguard of the spinal marrow, from whic-h, through lateral
openings in these vertebra the spinal nerves are given off in pairs. The pelvis or basin (2) is composed of
the sacrum, the two ossa innominata and coccygis. The ossa innominata in the foetal colt before birth
are each composed of the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis, before birth all traces of this division are
Book VII. ANATOMY OF THE HORSE. 895
lost. The 'ilium is the most considerable, and forms the haunches by a large unequal protuberance
which, when very prominent, occasions the horse to be called ragged hipped. The next largest portion
is thQischium or hip bone, on each side. It forms a part of the cotyloid cavity, or hollow for the thitth
bone, and then stretches back also into a tuberosity which forms the jwints of the buttocks. The pubis
or share bone is the least of the three : in conjunction with the former it forms the acetabulum or cavity
in whicii the head of the thifrh-bone lodges. The pelvis or basin is attached to the sacrum by ligaments
of immense strength ; but it has no bony union, by which means, as in the tore extremities, some play
is given, and the jar of pure bony connection is avoided. The ossa coccj/gis, or bones of the tail, vary
from eight to sixteen, but are very commonly thirteen or fourteen.
5043. The thorax or chest comprises the sternum or breast bone, and the ribs. The sfernufn (w) of
the horse is inclined like the keel of a ship to which the ribs are attached by strong ties. The ribs {x x)
are usually eighteen to each side, of which eight articulate with the sternum, and are called true, while
the remaining ten, uniting together by intervening cartilages, are called false ribs. The centrals are
the longest, those more anteriorly as well as posteriorly are less so: the first is placed perjjendicularly,
the second less so, and their obliquity as well as dimensions increase as they advance, so as to enlarge
the chest to an almost circular form, which is the most desirable ; but when they are less arched, the
belly partakes of the defect, and a flat-sided horse is always without much carcase also.
SuBSECT. 3. The Anatomy of the Extremities.
5644. An examirMion of the bony parts of the limbs excites our admiration at the
wonderful mechanism displayed in their formation : but this is not all, they must be
regarded as presenting parts which appear less useful than intended to keep up that vast
chain of continuity and similarity observable throughout nature's works. In the follow-
ing explanation we shall have occasion to notice several of these.
564.5. The scapula or shoulder blade presents itself first (k, I), and is a broad and ratlier triangular bone
very unlike the same bone of the human figure, having neither acromion, coracoid, nor recurrent process :
neither is its situation at all similar to the human blade bone apj)lied to the back ; for in this instance the
horse may be said to have no proper back, but to be made up of sides and chest. In man, the scapula
is in a direct angle with the humerus, but in the horse it does not pass out of the plane of the arm. Its
supsrior surface is furnished with a considerable cartilage {I, in), by means of which its surface is aug-
mented without weight. The posterior surface ends in a superHcial cavity called glenoid, which receives
the head of the humerus or arm bone. It is divided in its upper surface by its spine. The shoulder blade,
as has been already shown in the exterior conformation, has neither bony nor ligamentous union, but is
lield in its situation by very powerful muscles^ as the serratus major, j>ectorals, and others. Its usual
situation is to a i)lane j)erppndicular to the horizon, at an angle of thirty degrees ; and it has a motion in
its greatest extent of twenty degrees: hence, as it does not pass beyond the perpendicular backwards,
so the more oblique its natural situation, the more extensive are its motions.
5343. The humerus or arm bone {m), is so concealed by muscles as to be overlooked by a cursory ob-
server, and hence the radius or next bone is popularly called the arm. It extends from what is called
the point of the shoulder, but which in fact is a protuberance of its own to the elbow, forming an angle
with the scapula, and extending obliquely backwards as that does forwards. Near its upper extremity it
sends off a very powerful head to articulate with the shoulder blade. The motions of the humerus are
necessarily confined to a removal from its inclined.point backward to the perpendicular line of the body.
When this bone is too long, it carries the fore legs too much under the animal, and if this defect be
joined to a shallow upright shoulder, the evil will be increased. It however fortunately happens that
oth the angle and extent of these two parts are usually regulated by each other.
5647. The fore arm {n n, o o) is composed of the radius {oo), and an appendage united to it, which in
man and some animals, forms the ulna (n n), but which as the leg of the horse requires no ro-
totary motion was unnecessary in him. Here, however, to keep the link of resemblance in all her
children of the higher order, nature has stretched out a large process ; which in the colt is really distinct,
and may then deserve the name of ulna ; and in the adult horse unites with the radius, and serves as
an attachment to muscles. On the .slightest insjiection of the skeleton, it will appear how much the
motions of the fore leg must depend on the length and obliquity of this process ; which acting on the princi.
pie of a lever in the extension of the arm, must necessarily, as it is either long or short, make all the
difference between a long and a short purchase. The breadth of the arm as it is called, at this part, will
from this reasoning be seen lo be very important. This bone articulates with the knee by its inferior
portion.
5648. The carpus or wrist, called the knee (pp), is composed of seven bones, whose principal uses appear
to be to extend the surface of attachment of ligaments and tendons, and by their interruptions to lessen
the shocks of progression. It may be remarked that all hoofed quadrupeds have the anterior extremi-
ties permanently in the state of pronation, or with what is called the back of the wrist turned outwards.
The carpal bones articulate with each other, and have one investing capsular ligament, by which means
the smallest wound of the knee which penetrates this ligament, has the cffectof oj)ening the whole joint :
hence the quantity of synovia or joint oil which escapes in these cases, and hence also the dangerous con-
sequences which ensue.
5f)49. The metacarpus {q q,rr), canon or shank, is formed of one large metacarpal bone (q), and two
small ones (r). Here the wide palm of the human, and the paw of the digitated animal, is formed into
one solid cylindrical bone, and two small additamentorai, called splint bones ; which are united with it by
strong ligamentary attachment, converted by age into a bony one. Although these additions may some-
what increase the surface of attachment, their principal use appears to be to keep up the connection with
thedigitii, of which they api>ear the rudiments. In the cow there are no splint bones, but the uniformity is
more perfectly kept up by the divided hoof: in her, therefore, the canon branches at its inferior surface
into condyles for the reception of the two claws.
5650 The pastern {t I). The rest of the extremity below the canon, consists of one phalange only,
comprising all the mechanism, and a double portion of comi)lexity of all the phalanges of the digitated
tribes. Four bones enter into its composition with two small sesamoids {s s) to each fetlock ; placed
there not only to act as a spring and prevent concussion, but to throw the tendon of the foot which runs
over them, farther from the centre of motion. The pastern bone is situated obliquely forwardj and on
which obliquity depends the ease and elasticity of the motion of the animal : nevertheless when it is too
long, it requires too great efforts in the tendons and ligaments to preserve it in its situation ; and thus
long jointed horses must be more subject to fatigue and to strains than others.
5651. Thelesser pastern or coronari/ bone {t,v) reccwestUe grcHt pastern, and below expands into a
considerable surface articulating with the cottln and navicular bones.
5652. The coffin bone {vv) forms the third phalange, and corresponds in shape with the hoof It is
very porous, and laterally receives two j r-minent cartilages. It is around the outer surface of this bone
that the sensible lamina are attached ; and the inferior surface receives the flexor tendon.
5653. The navicular nut or shuttle bone is situated at the posterior i>art of the coffin, and unites with
that and the preceding bone.
5654. The posterior extremities difer much from, the anterior, not only in their superior
«95 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURi:. Part III.
-Strength, and in the different lengths and directions of the parts, but also, in some degree,
in their uses.
5655. The femur or thigh bone (3, 4) is the largest of the body, its vast indentations and risings, almost
peculiar to it, shew the great strength of the muscles inserted into it. It articulates with the acetabulum
'Or hip joint by a strong head called the w/i/VZ-AortdJ. In this situation it is held not only by a powerful
capsular ligament, and still more powerful muscles, but by an admirable contrivance resulting from a liga-
mentous rope, which springs immediately from the middle of its head, and is firmly fixed within the
socket of the joint. In its natural situation it is not perpendicular as the human femur, but inclines to
an angle of about 45°. This bone presents large protuberances for the attachment of very powerful
muscles called trochanters. Throughout it exhibits a mechanism uniting the combined qualities of
celerity and strength unknown to other animals. The inferior end of this bone is received by its condyles
into depressions of the tibia, while the patella or knee-pan slides over the anterior portions of both
bones.
5656. The patella (5), which is by farriers called the stifle, is nearly angular, and serves for the insertion
of some of the strongest muscles of the thigh, which are then continued down to the leg. It thus
appears to act as a pulley.
5657. The tibia or leg bone (6, 6) is usually in horsemen's language called the thigh. It is a bone formed
of a large epiphysis, with a small attached part called the fibula (7), a long body, and an irregular inferior
,end, adapted to the peculiarities in shape of the principal bones of the back with which it articulates.
The obliquity in the situation of this bone corresponds with that of the femur, being as oblique back-
wards as the former is forwards. The length of the tibia is a prominent character in all animals of quick
.progression ; and in this respect it corresponds with the fore arm, and the remarks before made on that,
apply with even more force to this — that length is advantageous to the celerity, but less so to the ease
of the motion.
5658. The fibula (7, 7) forms a prominent instance, in common with the splint bones, of what was re-
marked in the outset of our osteological detail of the extremities — that many parts whose uses were not
apparent, would be found to be organs of harmony, placed in the body to prevent the interruption to the
completing the general plan of animal organization. In this way the fibula appears but a process spring,
ingfrom the posterior part of the tibia, forming but the rudiments of the human bone of that name.
In the ox it is wanting J in the dog and cat, as requiring numerous motions in their limbs, it is, on^the
contrary, perfect.
5659. The tarsus, or hock of the horse (10, 10), is a striking instance of the perfect mechanism displayed
in the bony structure of this admired animal. It is formed by an assemblage of six bones, and sometimes
of seven; while in the ox, sheep, and deer, there are seldom more than five. Between these bones there
is little motion, yet there is sufficient to give a spring to the parts, and to preserve the joints from the
vCfFects of shocks, &c. As the human anatomy is generally received as the standard of comparison, we must,
in order to a proper consideration of the hock, consider it as the instep and heel ; and all the parts beyond
it as the foot. The human tarsus, and that of some quadrupeds, as the monkey, and some varieties of the
bear, makes a right angle with the tibia in standing or walking; but in the horse, the hock makes an
open angle with the tibia, and is far removed from "the ground. In him and the greater number of
quadrupeds, all the bones from the hock downwards are much elongated, and form a part of the upright
pillar of the limb. In the horse, therefore, the point of the hock is the true point of the heel, and, as in the
human figure, the great twisted tendons of the gastrocnemii muscles are inserted into it : but the appella-
tion of tendo achilles, would be too forced here. A broad hock, as already observed in the exterior con-
firmation, may be now still more plainly seen to be very important to strength and speed; for the longer
the calcaneum or heel bone Of the hock, the longer must be the lever that the muscles of the thigh act
by ; and a very slight increase or diminution in its length must make a very great difference in the
power of Ihe joint. It is by this tendon acting on this mechanism, that when the animal has inclined
the angle between the canon and the tibia, or in other words, when the extremities are bent under him
in the gallop or trot, that he is enabled to open it again. The bones of the hock, like those of the knee,
are united together by strong ligamentous fibres ; and it is to an inflammation of those uniting the
(Calcaneum and cuboid bones, that the disease called curb is to be attributed ; and to a similar inflam-
matory affection of the ligaments in the front of the hocks, that .v/?«w«* of the first stage are owing:
in the latter stages the periosteum and bones themselves become affected. The remainder of the bones
below do not differ so essentially from the corresponding bones in the fore extremities as to need an
individual description. It may, however, be remarked, that the hinder canon or shank bone is longer
than the fore, and that the pastern is also the same, but is less oblique in its situation ; by which wise
provision the horse is enabled to elevate and sustain his body entirely on his hinder parts without danger,
which would not have been the case if the obliquity of those parts had been considerable.
Sect. IV. Of the Physiology or Functions of the Horse.
5660. The admirable mechanism displayed in the composition of the body of the horse,
will appear by considering its various functions generally and particularly as a whole.
SuBSECT. 1. General Functions of the Bony Skeleton.
5661. The skeleton of the horse will be found to present nearly a quadrilateral figure,
having an inclined cylinder resting on four supporting pillars. The spinal column, as
the inclined cylinder, serves as a base for the soft parts, and is found not truly liorizontal,
but dipping downwards over the fore legs; by which the propelling force of the hinder
extremities is relieved by the maximum of strength thus transferred. The increased
weight of the hinder part of the cylinder, is admirably counterpoised by the head and neck,
\vhich are projected forwards ; by these means leaving the line of direction near the
centre of the whole. The length of the cylinder may be such as not to support its own
weight; nature, therefore, has limited the length of the spines of animals : hence, ce/e-
ribus paribus, a long-backed horse must be weaker than a short one ; and thus, likewise,
small horses can carry proportionably more than larger ones. The four pillars which
support this cylinder, are not perpendicular partially ; but they are so totally : for a
perpendicular drawn from their common centre of gravity, will be found to fall nearly
in their common base, by which means they are supported as firmly as though their in-
dividual axes had been in a line perpendicular to the horizon. Had they been perpen-
dicularly opposed to each other, there could have been but little elasticity, and conse-
quent ease in motion : every exertion would have proved a jar, and every increased
effort would have produced taxation or fracture. To increase our admiration of this
Book VII. PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HORSE. 897
mechanism, we need only turn our attention to the contra-disposition of these angles in
the fore and hinder supporting pillars. Had these angles presented themselves in the
same direction, the body must have been precipitated forward or backward ; but each
offering a counteraction to the other, the body is firmly sustained within them.
5662. The bony masses are operated on by viuscles, for tliis deviation from a perpendi-
cular direction in the various bony portions of the limbs, must necessarily have powers
to correct it, which is done by the muscles ; and wherever the angles are found most
extensive, the muscles will be found proportionally strong and large. This muscular
exertion, to counterbalance the angular inclination, occasions fatigue ; as the set of
muscles immediately employed becoming weary, the animal is obliged to call another set
into action, which change is necessarily more or less frequent as the animal is weaker
or stronger.
5663. The extent of the action of the bony portions of the extremities^ is the produce
of the length and direction of the various parts entering their composition, and of the
different angles they are capable of forming, as progression itself is effected by these
angles closing, and suddenly extending themselves again. The force of the action arises
from the direction of the component parts of thetingles, in combination with the agency
of the muscles. The repetition of the action is dependant on the muscles alone ; but as
the original action arose out of the length and direction of the parts, so it will be evi-
dent that fn every subsequent repetition, it will be more or less extensive, as these are
more or less perfect in their formation, even though the muscular exertions should be
the same : thus some strong animals cannot move so fast as others with less strength, as
the cart-horse and racer, or greyhound and mastiff.
5664. The bony mechanism of the fore and hinder extremities presents some differences.
That of the fore limb may be said to exhibit altogether a different character. The
fore-leg bones are much less angular, and appear framed purposely to receive the weight
imposed on them by the impulse of the hinder limbs. This weight they are destined to
sustain, until the elevation is forced on them by the tendency the general inclined mass
has to meet the ground, or to find its common centre in the earth. The fore extremi-
ties, under this view of the matter, could not have been placed with equal wisdom in
any other situation, nor have taken any other form. The hinder extremities having
less weight on them, and at no time bearing an increase of pressure as the fore do, by
the impetus communicated from behind, are much more angular ; and their angles, by
being thrown into a backward direction, afford the necessary impetus for the projec-
tion of the body forward. This important operation of impelling the mass being almost
wholly dependent on the hind extremities, as that of sustaining it is principally con-
fined to the fore extremities ; so the former are also much stronger in point of mus-
cular apparatus ; by which their angles can be advantageously opened and closed with
superior effect in progression.
5665. The appendages to bone are cartilage or gristle, periosteum, medulla or marrow, ligaments, and
synovia or joint oil. Cartilages are of three kinds, articular (1850.) which cover the ends of th^ bones by
a thin layer, enabling them to"slide easily on one another; nonarticular, or such as are placed between
bones immovably joined ; unattached, as those of the ears and larynx ; and temporary, as the ends of
bones in very young animals before their earthy deposit is completed. The general nature of cartilage is
smooth, white, solid, elastic, and hard. The periostcu?n is a general uniting membrane to bones and their
appendages (1845.), on?. the skull, called pericranium; when it covers ligaments, peridesniium ; and
perichondrium when it invests cartilage. Its uses appear to be to furnish vessels to the bones. It is
little sensiVsle, except under inflammation, when it becomes highly so. Medulla, or marrow, is a soft fatty
substance deposited in the cavities of bones.
5666. Ligaments (1854.) are close, compact, fibrous substances, of immense strength in the horse,
necessary to bones as a connecting medium ; ligament is also a common membrane in every part of the
body. The nature of ligament is considered as inelastic ; there are, however, many exceptions, of which
the cervical and metacarpal and metatarsals are instances. In some cases they are semicartilaginous.
The suspensory ligaments attach and suspend parts, as that of the thigh bone to its socket, &c. Capsular
ligaments surround the two opposed ends of jointed bones, and form a complete cavity.
5667. The synovia or joint oil, being secreted from the inner surface of the capsular ligaments, fills up
this cavity, and aftbrds a slippery medium, which enables the bones to slide readily over each other.
5668. Muscle is that part of the body of the horse which we term flesh, to distinguish it from skin,
gristle, bone, ligament, &c. ; and the phenomena it exhibits, are so universal, that we are warranted in
considering that it exists in every animal. Muscles appear composed of bundles of reddish fibres, the
ultimate division of which it is impossible to trace. When a number of these fibres are connected together
into a determinate form and circumscribed extent, it is called a muscle ; and as the motions of an animal
are very various, and as almost all motion is operated through the agency of the muscles ; so the peculiar
shape they take on is very varied. Mu.scular fibre is spread over the body, and it has been very properly
remarked, that our ideas of it are probably too limited : thus it constitutes a principal part of all the
viscera, and enters, it is probable, into the composition of many membranes. But what is more generally
considered as a muscle, is a distinct botly having its determinate parts. To the generality of muscles,
particularly to those ending in bones, is added a portion of a very different nature, called tendon.
5669. Tendons are infensible, inelastic, tough, fibrous substances, of a whitish colour : expanded into
thin layers, they are called aponeuroses. The tendons are eminently useful to muscles, for the size of
the termination is thereby diminshed, without the strength ibeing decreased. What would have become
of the lightsome elegant limb, had their large muscular masses been continued downwards of the di-
mensions we witness them above in the shoulder and thigh, instead of the condensed substance of the
tendons or back, and fore sinews? Muscles are highly vascular, as their color testifies; but the tendons
are very little so, hence their powers of life are very different : one can regenerate itself with ease, the
other with extreme difficulty. The muscles also possess a large ^hare of nerves, and consequently of
sensibility and irritability, to which properties the surprising phenomena they exhibit must be attri-
3 M
898 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
buted ; while their extreme vascularity furnishes them with powers to keep the energies requisite for
these agencies. They contract and shorten at pleasure, acquire a power of acting dependant on their
situation, and can change the fixed for the movable point, and vice versa.
5670. Muscles are voluntary and involuntary. The former are immediately under the influence of the
will, as those of the legs, eyes, mouth, &c. Involuntary muscles are such as are not under the guidance
of the will, and whose functions go on without control, as the heart, the respiratory and digestive mus-
cular organs. Voluntary muscles have usually antagonists, whereby the perpetual tendency to contraction
is counterbalanced : they are also usually covered by a cellular or membranous covering, called fascia,
and their tendons by another, but stronger investure, called theca or sheath. At the tendinous extremity
there is usually a capsule containing a quantity of lubricating mucus, the diseased increase of which
forms what is termed windgall.
SuBSECT. 2. The Blood Vessels of the Horse.
5671. The arteries are long membranous canals, composed of three strata, which are called tunicce or
coats, as, an external elastic, a middle muscular, and an internal cuticular. Each" of these coats is the
cause of some important phenomena, as well in disease as in health. The elastic power enables them to
admit a larger quantity of blood at one time than another, and thus they are turgid under inflammation :
by this also they can adapt themselves to a smaller quantity than usual ; otherwise a small hemorrhage
would.prove fatal. The muscular tunic appears to exist in much greater proportion in the horse than in
man, and this accounts for his greater tendency to inflammation, and also why inflammatory affections run
to their terminations so much sooner in the horse than in man. The arteries gradually decrease in their
diameter as they proceed from the heart. Our knowledge of the terminations of these vessels is very
confined ; we know they terminate by anastomosis, or by one branch uniting with another. They termi-
nate in veins, and they terminate on secreting surfaces, in which case their contents become changed, and
the secretion appears under a totally different form. Another common termination of the arteries is by
exhalant openings, by which sweat is produced. The use of the arteries is evidently to convey blood
from the heart to different parts of the body, and according to the part the artery proceeds from, or pro-
ceeds to, so does it receive an appropriate name.
5672. The aorta is the principal member of this system. Originating from the left ventricle of the hpart
it soon divides into two branches, one of which, the anterior, or aorta ascendens {fig. 618 ;j), proceeds
forward to be divided into two principal divisions — the carotids (q), by which the head is furnished, and
the axillaries, by which the fore limbs receive their blood, under the names of humeral, radial, and meta-
carpal arteries. The posterior, or aorta descendens (o), which is distributed to the trunk and hinder ex-
tremities, forms the other branch.
5673. The pulmonary artery is a trunk of five or six inches in length ; arising out of the anterior ven-
tricle of the heart, and is continued by the side of the aorta. It soon divides and enters the lungs,
through which it ramifies.
5674. ThQ veins are vessels, which return the blood of the body which has been distri-
buted to it. They have less solidity, and possess two tunics or coats only. They usu-
ally accompany the arteries in their course, but are more numerous, being wisely (fividecl
into a superficial and a deep seated set, to avoid the dangerous effects of interruption. To
prevent the return of the blood they are furnished with valves also.
5675. The original venal trunks of the horse are ten in number; as the anterior cava,
the posterior cava, and eight pulmonary, to which may be added the vena portae.
5676. The vena cava passes out of the heart by two trunks from separate parts of the right auricle.
The anterior, or cava ascendens {fig. 618 n), opposite to the first rib, divides into four principal trunks ; two
axillaries, and two jugulars, {fig. 618 r). The axillaries furnish the fore limbs under the names of the hu-
meral, the ulnar, and the metacarpals. The jugulars (r) run up one on each side of the trachea to re-
turn the blood of the head. The posterior, or cava descendens (o), returns the blood from the body and
hinder extremities.
5677. The vena portce is formed from the veins returning the blood from the viscera, which, uniting to en-
ter a sac of that viscus, are ramified through all parts of the liver, to have some remarkable operation
performed in their contained blood. Collected again after this operation, the blood is returned by the
vena hepatica, and carried into the posterior cava.
5678. The blood is a homogenous fiuid, contained in the heart, arteries, and veins, and constantly cir-
culating through the whole body. It appears formed with the body ; is red in the arteries, and purple in
the veins. (5723.) The component parts of the blood are the cruor or coagulum; the coagulable
lymph, fibrin, or gluten ; and the serum. The coagulum is composed of red globules, whose intensity
of color is less in the horse than in man. A red color is not necessary to the essential properties of
blood, seeing the blood of some animals is white ; and even some parts of the horse's body are fur-
nished with colorless blood, as the transparent part of the eye, &c. The coagulable lymph or fibrin,
(1904.), appears the most essential part of the blood, and from which all the parts are formed. The se-
rum seems to dilute the whole. The quantity contained in the body is uncertain : young animals pos-
sess more than older, and hence bear bodily injuries better. It is less in quantity in fat than in lean
animals; and in domesticated than in those which run wild. An animal will lose 1.15th before he dies.
A horse lost 44 pounds without apparent injury. Probably the quantity contained in the body may vary
according to circumstances: between 1.8th, and 1.10th of the whole mas's, is a fair medium.
5679. The pulse. P'rom the contraction of the heart and consequent dilatation of the arteries to receive
the blood, and pass it onward to all parts of the body, which is called the diastole; so a dilatation of the
heart and contraction of the arteries necessarily occurs, which is called the systole: and these two causes
operating alternately produce the phenomena of circulation. The momentary increase in capacity
in the diameter of the artery is called the pulse. As there is seldom disease present, without some
alteration in the circulation also, so the pulse is attended to as an indication of health or disease. The
circulation being carried on over the whole body, the pulse may be felt universally ; but some situations
are more favorable than others ; as the heart itself, the pasterns, at the root of the ear, &c. : but
the most convenient of all, is at the branch of the posterior jaw, where the maxillary artery may be rea-
dily detected, {fig. 618 t). The natural pulse in the horse is about 45 beats in a minute ; in the ox the
same; m man 75; m the dog 90. When the pulse is much accelerated, the circulation is accelerated
also. If to its quickness, fulness of vessels and hardness are apparent, the circulation is morbidly hur-
ried, and inflammation general or partial is present. (5878.)
SuBSECT. 3. The Absorbents of the Horse.
* 5680. The absorbent system is a very extraordinary and a very important one, for if the blood builds
up and repairs parts, the absorbents pull down, remove, and take them away again. They are com-
posed of the lymphatics and lacteals. Both kinds, although thin and transparent, are strong, and appear
to have a contractile power : where very minute they are called capillaries. The lacteal absorbents are
situated in the mesentery and intestines, from whence they draw the chyle or nutritious fluid by which the
blood is nourished and augmented, by being carried forward from the mesentery into a tube called the
Book VII. PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HORSE. 899
thoracic duct, which, passing up by the side of the aorta, pours its contents into the heart through the
medium of the jugular vein. The lymphatic absorbents differ from the latter only, in being situated over
the whole body, and being the recipients of the various matters of the body ; whereas the lacteals appear to
absorb the chyle only. From numerous facts, we know that the various organs are continually suffering
a destruction and a removal of parts, and that what the absorbents take away, the arteries renew ; and
to this constant change, most of the alterations of the body are to be attributed as regards the structure
of parts. We use our power over these vessels in the horse medicinally. We stimulate the absorbents
to take up diseased solutions of fluids from various parts of the body, as in watery sweUings in the legs by
mercury, and by friction, or by pressure in the way of bandage. When deposits are made of hard matter,
on ligament or bone, we stimulate them by blistering or by firing. It is by stimulating the absorbents
that splints and spavins are removed. Exercise is a very powerful stimulus to absorbents ; thus it is
that swelled legs are removed by half an hour's exercise. In the horse, the lymphatics are more liable
to disease than the lacteals, but in man the reverse. Farcy diseases the lymphatics irreparably.
SuBSECT. 4. Nerves and Glands of the Horse.
5^1. The nervous system of the horse is composed of white medullary cords, springing from the brain
and spinal marrow, whence they are generally distinguished into the cerebral and spinal nerves : the
internal structure of these bodies is fibrous, and their ramifications extend to every part of the body; it
is supposed that the brain is the seat of sensation and volition, and that the nerves are only the messengers
of it. The sensibility of a part is usually proportioned to the number and size of its nerves ; nervous in-
fluence occasions motion. From some cause, unknown to us, some motions are voluntary, and some
involuntary ; but both are brought about by nervous agency. As the nerves are the media of sensation ;
so a division of their cords has lately been attempted, with success, to relieve certain painful affections ;
the most prominent instance is, in the division of the pastern nerves for the relief of the painful
affection of founder. Tetanus, or locked jaw, which seems a morbid irritation on the nerves, has been
recommended to be treated in the same way.
5682. The cerebrine nerves, arising in pairs immediately from the brain, are the olfactory, optic, motores
oculi, pathetici, trigemini, abducents, auditory, lingual, par vagum, and the pair called the intercostal or
g7-eat syjnpathetic, from its extensive connection.
5683. The spinal nerves are those which arise immediately from the spinal marrow, as the cervicals, hu~
merals, ulnar, metacarpal, and pastern nerves^ the dorsal, the lumbar, crural, sciatic, popliteal, sacral^
and the nerves, to the posterior extremities, which correspond with those of the anterior.
5684. The glands are numerous, and placed in every part of the body ; they may be characterized as
secretory bodies, composed of all the different vessels inclosed in a membrane ; their office appears to be
to secrete or form some fluid, as the liver secretes bile, and the kidney urine. They are classed into
folliculose, globate, glomerate, and conglomerate; they also receive specific. names according to their
situations, or according to the fluid they secrete, as lachrymal, salivary, &c.
SuBSECT. 5. Integuments of the Horse's Body.
5685. The common integuments may be considered as the hair, the cuticle, the epidermis, or in-
sensible or outer skin, the rete mucosum, which is immediately under this, the cutis, sensible or true skin,
the cellular membranes, which contain fat and other fluids, and the panniculus carnosus or fleshy pan-
nicle ; to these rnay be added, the unguis, nails or hoofs, which we shall describe separately.
5686. Hair is the clothing of brutes, and hence is very important to them, and as it enters largely into
the arts, it is also important to us. (1814.) It appears to be a production of the true skin, arising from a
bulbous end, which penetrates the rete and cuticle in the form of an elongated cone. In some parts hairs
appear, singly, as about the muzzle ; in others in masses, as on the mane, tail, and over the body generally,
as an inclined congregated mass ; hair varies in color, and therefore appears by nature intended both for
ornament and use.
5687. The cuticle is situated immediately under the hair (1807,), and appears a hard insensible cover-
ing, purposely placed to guard or defend the sensible skin underneath. The cuticle lines many of the large
openings of the body, as the mouth, from whence it is continued into the stomach, lining one half of it. It
is perforated by innumerable small vessels that give' out and take in various matters; through these
blisters act on the true skin, inflame it, and force it to secrete a quantity of fluid, which thus pushes the cuticle
from the cutis. It exists before birth, and is speedily renewed afterbirth, when accidentally destroyed, and,
like the true skin, thickens by pressure ; it is constantly undergoing changes ; it exfoliates in the form of
powder, or little scales, over every part of the body, and is that substance called dandriff, which grooms are
so careful to remove with the currycomb. The rete mucosum is a. mucilaginous substance placed hke a
net between layers of cuticle and cutis ; and although very universal in animated nature, its ^use is
unknown.
5688. The cutis, corium, or true skin. (1810) This very general investure of the body is situated imme-
diately under the two former ; it is very vascular, and is furnished with innumerable small villous processes of
exquisite sensibility, and which, without doubt, were intended to constitute it as the real organ of touch.
It is much thickened by pressure ; asses, from the beatings they are subjected to, have it of immense thick-
ness on the rump. It naturally also exists in various degrees of density according to the wants of the
animal. Like the cuticle it is perforated by numerous openings which correspond with those of the latter
membrane. Its composition appears principally gelatine, and hence it is employed in the manufacture of
glue ; its gelatine uniting with the matter called tannin, becomes insoluble in water, and then forms
leather; and the value of the horse's hide in this particular is sufficiently known.
5689. AdijMse membrane and fat. These form very considerable parts of the body of most animals.
The adipose membrane is not so universal as the skin ; some parts are completely without it, as the eyelids,
ears, sheath, and some parts of the extremities. It is cellular, but the cells fortunately do not communicate
or the fat would gravitate. The/aHs the unctuous juice poured or rather secreted into these cells. Itap-
Sears in greater quantities, and indifferent degrees of consistence in some parts than in others: in the
elly of some it is lard, and suet in others; within the bones it is oleaginous in all. Different quadrupeds
have their fat of different degrees of consistence, from the firm suet of the ox, and the tallow of the sheep,
to the soft lard of the hog, and the intermediate state of the horse ; it guards the parts, it preserves warmth,
but above all, it is a depot against occasional want : thus a fat animal can sustain itself without food much
longer than a lean one. The torpid bear comes from his hibernation emaciated, because his constitution
has been subsisting on his fat.
5690. Cellular membrane. (1812.) This complete investure of the body enters every part, and is
formed of communicating cells, as we see by the practice of butchers who blow up their meat'; and also by
the emphysematous effects of a fractured rib, and the gaseous distention in some putrid diseases ; it exists
in different quantities, and under various modifications of density throughout the body, and is a very uni-
versal medium of connection in the form of ligament.
5691. Panniculus carnosus. (1819.) The fleshy pannicle was kindly given to quadrupeds in lieu of hands,
to enable them to corrugate or pucker the skin, and thus to shake oft" dust and insects. It is a thin
muscular expansion peculiar to brutes, but not to all ; the swine family being denied it. By its attach-
ments it can operate variously,, as we see by the uses the horse makes of it j it is very vascular, and
sensible also from the numerous nerves which enter it.
3 M 2
900
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
SuBSECT. 6'. The Head generally.
5692. The parts of the head are external and internal ; some of these have been
touched on, as the integuments, &c. : such as have not vi^ill follow in the order of
their magnitude or situation.
5693. The brain of the
horse {fig. 616 a, b, c), is M «y ^ rf*
contained within the hoi- q\q ^ '/ f '
low of the skull, and is \ / /
surrounded by two cover- ^
ings, the dura; and pia
mater, between which
lies a third membrane
called the tunica arach-
noidea. The duplica-
tures of these membranes
are called septa and falx.
The brain is divided into
three portions, the cere-
brum, cerebellum, and
medulla oblongata. The
cerebrum, or greater
brain (a), is divided
into two hemispheres and
two lobes ; it has an outer
or cortical substance, and
an inner, the substantia
alba,or medullary matter.
The cerebellum, or lesser
brain [h), is contained
within the occipital bone,
and is in the horse placed
superiorly and ])Osterior-
ly to the cerebrum. It
is less than the cerebrum,
and is divided into four
lobes, and like the form-
er is composed of two
substances, a cortical and
a medullary. The me-
dulla oblongata (c) is a
medullary continuation
of the cerebrum and ce-
rebellum, and is conti-
nued upwards and back-
wards to the edge of the
ferumen magnum of the
OS occipitis, to be conti-
nued under the name of
spinal marrow. The
medulla spinalis,or spinal
marrow (A), is a direct
continuation of the me-
dulla oblongata, and like
that is composed of a
cortical and medullary part. It has lately been discovered to be hollow in the horse, ox, sheep, hog, and
dog. It leaves the skull by the great foramen 'of the occipital bone, and is continued backwards in a
bony canal formed by the vertebra, giving off in its passage the spinal nerves in pairs. The brain presents
four cavities called ventricles, it has also many prominences, and peculiarities, which our limits will
not admit of noticing, but which is less necessary, as in no part of brute anatomy is the analogy
so close to the human as in the brain of the horse. With the exception of the situation, to describe the
one is to portray the other.
SuBSECT. 7. The Ear,
5694. The number and situation of the ears of the horse are sufficiently known. The internal parts
do not differ from those of the human, but the outer are adapted to his situation and habits. These
exterior parts are composed of , the skin, the outer hair, the cartilages, and the muscles by which they
are moved. The skin within the ears is furnished with sebaceous glands, which secrete a bitter matter,
noxious to insects ; and further to guard against these, it is filled with hair; which the false taste of
grooms induces them to remove, and thus to expose the animal to dust, hail, rain, and insects.
5695. The form of the ear is dependent on the concha cartilage, which is found pointed and small in
the Arabian, but large and broad in the heavy breeds. The cavity within the concha is thrown into folds
throughout, which increases its surface, and reflects the sonorous waves. This outer ear is attached
to the internal, by connecting cartilaginous portions and appropriate ligaments. The parts of the internal
ear are, the meatus auditorius internus, or passage; the membrana tympani, or separating membrane
between the external and internal parts; the tympanum, drum, or barrel of the oar; and the labyrinth.
The eustachian tube is an opening at the upper and anterior edge of the hollow of the tympanum, forming
a duct which is in part bony, and in part cartilaginous ; extending from the tympanum to a large and
peculiar cavity at the posterior part of the nasal fossa.
5696. The sense of hearing is formed through the medium of the expansion of the soft portion of the
auditory nerve over the internal ear ; sounds, therefore, entering the cavity of the concha, are reflected
alternately from its sides into the tympanum, whose oscillations are imparted to the brain.
SuBSECT. 8. The Eye and its Appendages.
5697. The appendages to the eye are first, a funnel-shaped cavity formed by the con-
currence of the bones of the skull, called the orbit, not placed directly in front as in
man, but inclining laterally, to enable the animal to embrace a larger field of view.
The eyelids are an upper and under, of which the upper is the most considerable, and
Book VII. PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HORSE. 901
enjoys the greatest motion. United, they form an admirable curtain to defend the eye
from dust, insects, and the light during sleep ; and are moved by two appropriate mus-
cles. Attached to the edge of each is a cartilaginous rim, called the tarsus. The ciliOf
or eyelashes, are not, as in the human, above and below ; the upper lid only is fur-
nished with hairs, and which are not placed in one, but in several smaller rows. The
horse has no supercilia or eyebrows, unless we reckon as such the few long hairs over
the orbits. The lachrymal gland is a body lodged within the upper part of the orbit,
and is furnished with five or six excretory ducts, which secrete the lachrymas or tears
to lubricate the surface of the globe. The superfluous tears are carried off by two
openings at the inner angle, called puncta lachrymalia, by which means the tears are
at once carried into the nose, and not as in man first into a lachrymal sac. The
cnruncula lachrt/malia is a small black substance in view at the inner canthus, whose
office appears to be to direct the tears aright in this course. The haw, or nictating
membrane^ is an important part, seen when the eye is drawn inwards, but which is at
all other times hidden within the fatty matter surrounding the globe of the eye. Though
called a membrane it is cartilaginous, and when the eye is forcibly withdrawn into
the socket, it is pressed out from the inne»- angle, and passes completely over the
surface of the globe, to which its shape is adapted. A moderate pressure only, shows
about half of it; and it is thus seen in tetanus or stag-evil, by the action of the retractor
muscle ; and under inflammation of the eye it also becomes visible, which has led
ignorant farriers to cut it off, under a suspicion that it formed one cause of the
disease. The use of this nictating membrane cannot be for a moment dubious. It is
denied to man and to monkies, because they, having hands, can with their fingers re-
move dust and dirt from the eyes ; but to the horse and most other quadrupeds, it is essen-
tially necessary for these purposes. . ,
5698. A diagram of the eye {fig. 617.) dis- .^^^f^^'^^^^S. .--^
plays the transparent cornea in front of ^ /"vi A \V*''^
the eye (a), the crystalline lens (6), its "••..,_ / 6y\ /\ , -^^ jl
posterior convexity (c), its anterior con- ^ 'r--^ U I \ "^ *^-
vexity (rf), the iris, or curtain {e, /), the / "^■••... /— — i__^ ill
anterior chamber occupied by the aqueous ,y I ^ '" L_r!rrr:rnr9i|t y»
humor of the pupil (g), the posterior ^ 1 ^y ... -''^ tl!.^^^^^--^'^//!"
chamber filled with the vitreous humor \ ^ '''Z\- — — 7 -t. ''li-. i
(k h), the retina («"), the choroid coat (Ar), ^fi ^\-' /?(! \ / '^ (//
the sclerotic coat (Z), and optic nerve (»?), f. ,,-*•*"' \^«' jil \ / ..A*
rays of light showing the different degrees ' ^"^"-m^ vj^piK' — -7IV
of refraction they suffer in passing through ^^^ig^- <^ir^
the humors of the eye (« n). ^^^bh^^
5699. The globe of the eye is composed of coats, chambers, and humors, and is operated on in its move-
ments by muscles. It may be considered as forming a large cup posteriorly, with a smaller cup appHed
to its margin anteriorly ; or as though the segment of a large sphere were adapted to that of a smaller
one. The substance which gives figure and consistence to the larger segment is the sclerotic coat (l),
which is very firm and fibrous. The anterior cup or segment is supplie(i by the cornea, which is transpa-
rent, and formed of thin concentric plates of very different degrees of convexity in different animals,
and often of similar animals ; to a defect in which is ascribed the indistinct vision or starting of some
horses. The cornea {a) is vascular and sensible, and in an inflamed state it admits the red blood, as we
see by the universal redness over the whole ; at other times it admits only the colorless parts of that
fluid. Immediately within'the sclerotic coat is a thin vascular membrane, called the choroides (k), which
is spread over it nearly as far as the cornea, where it turns in and expands into the ciliary processes. It
also, by a peculiar fold, forms a ligament, after which it produces another projection into the cavity of
the eye, termed the uvea. It is here continuous, and presents a veil perforated in the centre.
5700. The pupil of tlie eye (g) is the perforation which is seen annular in the human, oblong in the
horse, ox, and sheep, and peri>endicular in the cat. The anterior surface of the uvea is covered with a
membrane, termed iris, on which the color of the eye depends ; in man it is grey, brown, black,
or blue ; in the horse it is usually brown, but now and then white, when the animal is said to be wall-
eyed. At the central margin of the iris are seen, in a strong light, some little globular bodies or bags,
covered with a black pigment. They are usually attached to the upper margin only, but when any exist
on the lower they are small ; they have been mistaken for disease. The iris (e,f) is capable of accom-
modating itself to circumstances ; that is, it can enlarge the diameter of the central aperture or pupil (g).
so as to admit or shut out the rays of light. Over the central surface of the choroid expansion is spread
a dark mucous substance, called nigrum pigmentum. In animals, whose vision is distinct at night, this
pigment is found of a lighter color ; in man it is very dark, and his crepuscular vision is, therefore,
indistinct. In the grazing tribes it is of a greenish cast, lost in azure blue j in the predaceous tribes it is
still lighter. Under this pigment is the mucous expansion, peculiar to quadrupeds, called tapetum. The
optic nerve (m) penetrates the sclerotic coat, and becomes expanded on its inner surface, in a membranous
lamen of exquisite fineness, called retina. On this it is supposed objects are painted, and thus taken
cognizance of by the brain.
5701. The humors of the eye are the vitreous, the crystalline, and the aqueous. The vitreous humor
(A A) is of a jelly-like consistence, and occupies all the globe, except those parts taken up by the other
humors. The crystalline humor forms a lenticular body of moderate consistence, and is, therefore,
more properly called a lens (h). It is doubly convex (c, rf), its posterior side resting in a concavity of the
vitreous humor. It is not of equal consistence throughout, being much firmer in the middle. Different
animals have the lens of diflcrent figures, to suit the purposes of their existence : in fishes it is nearly
spherical, but in quadrupeds, lenticular. It is a diseased opacity of this body that forms cataract The
aqueous humor is a limpid fluid which fills up the spaces not occupied by those already described.
5702. The muscles of the eye. The motions of the eye ball are operated by seven muscles ; four recti or
.straight, which elevate, depress, and draw to and from ; two oblique, which rotate the eye, and a retrac-
tor or choanoid, which is peculiar to quadrupeds, to draw the eye within the socket, and thus preserve it
from danger, draws the globe onwaids.
5703. The phenomena of vision^ If the diagram be examined, it will be evident that the eye of the
horse presents an optical instrument of exquisite workmanship and mechanism, admirably fitted to collect
the luminous rays from the various objects around, and to transmit them with truth to the brain. If the
3 M 3
902 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
luminous rays reflected from objects passed through the eye in a rectilinear course, as they do through the
atmosphere, no cognizance at all useful to the animal could be taken of them by the eye ; all would be
glare and indistinctness : but being refracted or bent by the media, through which they pass, the rays
finally meet at a point called their focus or focal point Neither would one simple line of refraction have
been sufficient to have answered all the purposes of perfect vision, under its various modifications. It is
necessary that the refraction should be increased in its passage by increased degrees of density in the
media of its transit (» n). In the passage of the rays through the cornea and aqueous humor, they must
encounter their first refraction ; and it is evident, that the more convex the anterior portion of the eye
may be, the more will this refraction be increased. We need not, therefore, be surprised that a gogglery
or horse with this form of eye, should start. The next and largest degree of bending which the rays receive
occurs in their passage through the crystalline lens, which from its lenticular form must necessarily be
considerable ; in their progress through the vitreous humor a farther refraction is eiFected, till meeting in
a point on the retina, a perfect representation of the object or objects viewed is obtained ; the rays form-
ing in their passage numerous cones, the basis of which will be the object viewed, and the apex of each a
radiant point. Amidst the number of objects around, it appears that the eye has a capability of collecting
rays from such only as are immediately necessary for the purposes of the animal it belongs to ; hence,
although the general field of view may fall under an angle of vision, yet such rays only as are imme-
diately capable of this convergency produce effect, all others are lost in the black pigment of the eye,
apparently placed there purposely to absorb the superfluous rays. As the eye must necessarily have a
vast variety of objects painted on it, whose distances are widely different ; there must be some optical
adjustment of the powers of the part to enable it to effect a distinct vision of all objects near or remote.
But whether this takes place by means of the angle formed on the two opposite axes, or as has been more
lately taught, by a muscular power in the lens itself, is not yet satisfactorily ascertained ; certain it is that
after the loss of one eye, time is required both in the human and brute subject for the remaining eye to
learn to adjust itself to judge of relative distances ; which fact is certainly in favor of the opinion tha'd
an angle formed between the eyes regulates the judgment of distances. In this way we can account for
the well known fact, that hunters, which have before the loss of an eye been excellent and sure leapers,
have afterwards lost the power of measuring their leaps. Were it not for some adjustment of the optical
organ itself, the rays reflected from objects very near the eye would fall behind it, and those from distant
ones would, from being almost parallel, meet together before the retina. The mechanical adjustment of
the focus is also assisted in some measure by the iris, which contracts almost to a point when we look at a
very minute object ; and by this means only permits such rays to pass through as penetrate the centre of
the lens, by which such rays will be very much refracted ; but when the eye regards distant objects, the
iris becomes dilated, and the rays are then viewed through the edges of the lens, and their inclination is
thereby lessened.
5704. The criteria of soundness in the eyes are gained by a careful examination of them ; and wliich
experience has shown to be best made by placing the horse within a stable, with his head nearly approach-
ing the stable door, which should be fully open. Small eyes are found more prOne to inflammation than
large, and large goggling eyes are more liable to accompany a starting horse than lesser ones : and
when the convexity is extreme, not only is the starting in proportion ; but such eyes are more liable
than others to become affected with the disease popularly termed glass eyes, but correctly gutta serena.
It is not however to be understood that all starters have defective eyes ; many are so from natural timi-
dity, and still more from harsh usage. The eyes should be examined together, not only to observe
whether each presents an equal degree of clearness in the transparent part and within the pupil ; but also
that an equal degree of contraction exists between each of the pupils. This is of much consequence : if
any inequality in size or form be observable between the pupils, the least of them has been in some way
affected, and will probably become so again. It is even more suspicious when a turbid milkiness ap-
pears on any part of the transparent portion ; and equally so, when the inferior part looks other than
clear ; or in a very strong light, with a lively bluish tinge. When it is at all turbid, viewed under various
aspects, regard it attentively, and there may probably be found an inward speck of perfect white j which
is the nucleus or central point of an incipient cataract.
5705. A glassy greenish cast in the eye should occasion suspicion, and the hand should be placed over
such eye so as to exclude the light ; remove the hand suddenly and watch the motions of the iris or cur-
tain of the pupil. If it do not contract, carry the examination still further, and it will probably be
found such eyes are totelly blind. A blind horse usually carries his ears about, as though in alarm, on
his leaving the stable ; he also lifts his feet on such occasions, particularly in strange quarters, higher than
a sound horse.
SuBSECT. 9. The Nose and Sense of Smellingi
5706. The organ af smell is, in most quadrupeds, the next in importance to that of vision, and in many
points of view it is even more so. With the herbivorous tribe, it forms their principal means of judging
between the noxious and the innoxious. It is not therefore to be wondered, that it should in these
tribes form so large a portion of the head ; nor that it should be so exquisitely gifted with sensibility, or
so admirably formed to answer its important purposes. The external parts of the nasal organ are the
two nostrils, and as much of their convolutions and linings as come into immediate view. Internally
these two cavities are carried upwards into the pharynx, but completely divided by a cartilaginous
septum, {^fig. 616/). In this course they communicate with numerous openings and cavities, formed
within the bones of the skull, (5631.) the wliole of which are lined by one continuous mem-
brane of exquisite vascularity and sensibility; being largely furnished with blood vessels, which gives
them such a ready tendency to inflame and become red, as we witness und^r only a slight degree of
exertion, and as we see more evidently when violent colds or inflammations on the chest are present. Its
sensibility is derived from the olfactory nerves, which are spread over all its surface. It is this mem-
brane which is the peculiar seat of glanders, becoming first inflamed, and next ulcerated throughout its
extent; and Sis the membrane itself appears to be continued to the pharynx and larynx, so we need not
wonder why the glanders proceeds to disease the lungs ; nor why a common cold, which is at first a simple
inflammation of this membrane, so readily degenerates into inflammation of the lungs. The common in-
teguments or coverings of other parts are extended over the nose, but it is little furnished with fat. Of
hairs it has a fine thin covering to the edges of the nostrils, and a longer set, which are carefully removed
in trimming. By a fold of the skin, within which is a cartilage, the false nostril, as it is termed, is formed,
whose use appears to be to keep open the canal for the transmission of air, and yet to offer an interruption
to extraneous matter. Wlien the nostrils are a little separated, a small canal may be seen, which is the
nasal duct for the transmission of the superfluous moisture from the eyes. The horse breathes or respires
wholly through his nostrils in all ordinary cases.
5707. The sense of smelling. The volatile particles from all odorous bodies are continually passing off
from them, and consequently some must reach the olfactory organs, whose capability of taking cogni-
sance of their qualities appears derived as before pointed out, by the expansion of nervous fibrillsB from the
olfactory nerves which transmit impressions to the brain.
SuBSECT, 10. The Cavity of the Mouth.
5708. The external parts of the mouth are the lips, cheeks, and beard. The lips are made up of flesfty
masses so disposed as to give them motion every way ; they are covered over with a very fine expansion
of skin almost devoid of hair, their exquisite sensibility forms them into an organ of touch ; and in this
Book VII. PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HORSE. 909
noint of view they may be considered as supplying the part of the points of the* fingers in man.
The cheeks are equally muscular and movable, but are more furnished with hair ; and the beard, in ad-
dition to its thin hairy expansion, has a set of long hairs.
5709. The internal parts of the motUh are the teeth, already described (5591.), the gums," the
alveolary edges, the palate, the tongue, and the parts of the great posterior cavity. The gums axe a
spongy substance which embraces and holds fast the teeth in their alveolary sockets. The membrane
which covers the gums at the lower part of the channel forms a kind of fold to connect and confine the
tongue on each side. These folds are called the barbs, and are apt to be mistaken and cut off as excres-
cences. The bars are the spaces in the jaw left between the grinders and nipper teeth ; and which man,
ever ready to take advantage for his own puri)Oses, has applied to ensure obedience by placing on its
sensitive surface the pressure of the bridle bit. The palate forms a bony arch, covered by membranous
folds, which are apt, when the stomach is affected, to become swollen, in which case the horse is said
to have the larapas or lampers. (5756.) By means of these rugose folds, the food is retained within
the mouth. The curtain of the palate or velum palati, which is situated at the extreme end of the pala-
tine arch, is stretched directly across the hinder mouth, and is not intercepted as in man by the
pendulous body, termed uvula. This palate curtain is intended to shut out the communication between
the mouth and the great cavity of the fauces, which it docs at all times, except when the horse is
.swallowing, at which period the curtain is forced back and the food passes. From this cause likewise
the horse is prevented breathing but by his nostrils ; and when any air does pass by the mouth, as in
coughing, crib. biting, &c., it is only effected by a forcible displacement of the curtain.
5710. The tongue is a long fleshy mass {fig. 616<?), which adapts itself below to the form of the channel,
and above to the arch of the palate: its external surface is rough by means of papillae, which are inclined
backwards, and thus resist the loss of the food received within the mouth. In some animals, as the ox,
bear, &c., they are very large, and in the cat pointed. The tongue is a very principal organ in mastica-
tion, carrying, by its great mobility, the food into evefy direction until fully acted upon, and finally
passing it into the pharynx.
5711. Sense qf tasting. It is not observed that this sense is so diversified in brutes as in man ; but it is
instinctively so correct, that it seldom errs in the herbivorous tribes ; and when it does, there is reason
to suspect some present defect in the organ, arising from morbid sympathy, which (as in the instance of
salt-water, of which at some times horses will drinlc immoderately,) prompts them to take in matters they
are accustomed to refuse. Taste was given to brutes to regulate their other senses, and thus there are
few plants or substances, whose application to the tongue, under ordinary circumstances, produces an
agreeable effect, but such as are proper for food. Nature, therefore, stimulates her creatures to search
for edibles by a double motive, the calls of hunger and the pleasures of taste ; and these are usually in
unison, for the nausea of repletion destroys the appetite of taste.
5712. The pharynx. Both the cavities of the mouth and nose terminate in the great cavity of the
fauces called by this name, to which also is appended another lesser opening called the larynx, immedi-
ately appropriate to the entrance of the trachea or windpipe. Within this great chamber, at the after,
part of the mouth, shut from it by a membrane only, is the eustachian cavity, into which the eustachian
tube opens, and which great membranous hollow is unknown to man and most quadrupeds {fig. 616 rf).
Its use is not understood, but it is probably connected with the voice.
5713. The larynx is situated at the posterior part of the former cavity, and appears as a cartilaginous box
between tlie os hyoides, to which it is attached for support. This cartilaginous box, or entrance to the wind-
pipe, is formed of several pieces, and is furnished with a kind of movable door, which, in ordinary cases,
exactly fills up the cavity left by the arch of the palate curtain, thereby shutting the cavity of the mouth,
and forcing the animal to breathe through his nasal openings. In extraordinary cases, as when the ani-
mal swallows food, this cartilage is forced down, and then it becomes a door to the glottis or funnel part
of the trachea, and thus prevents the entrance of extraneous matter into the lungs. All these parts are
operated on by numerous muscles.
5714. The voice. The larynx forms the larger part of a funnel-shaped tube, intended to introduce air
within the lungs ; but it has also another important office in being the organ of the voice. The cartilages
of the larynx are very movable on one another, and are furnished with muscular cords, which tighten
or relax them ; besides which, they are also furnished with pecuhar and appropriate sacs or cavities, in-
dependent of the tracheal opening ; and which are of different magnitudes and directions in different
animals. The cartilages of the larynx being acted on by the cordse vocales, produce different degrees of
density, and consequently different degrees of expansion in the laryngeal sacs ; by which, either in ex-
piration or inspiration, are produced different degrees of vibration, and consequent intonation. Neighing
appears produced wholly by expirations through the nose, as are most of the tones of the horse's voice.
This is proved by slitting the nasal cartilage, which wholly stops it. Knuckering, as it is termed, is only a
lesser neigh, with shorter, deeper, and less forcible tones. The former sound is used as a call, the latter as
either call or recognition. It is likewise, when used mildly, significant of joy and affection, and is then
beautifully sonorous. The horse has an acute sound produced by inspiration, usually descriptive of lust :
in most other cases his intonations are accompanied by expirations; nor does it appear that the tongue
or teeth of the horse are much concerned in the modulations of his voice.
5715. The parotid glands, or, in the language of farriers, the vives, are two considerable bodies on each
side of the head, extended from the base of the car around the angle of the jaw. Each parotid is a con-
glomerate gland, furnished with numerous little ducts, which unite into one, and enter the mouth about
the second molar tooth. These glands furnish saliva for the use of the mouth, and it is an induration
and gathering, either in them or the maxillary glands, which forms the strangles of young horses. As-
sistant to these in the furnishing of saliva are the maxiUary glands, situated within the branches of the
lower jaw> and the sublingual also.
SuBSECT. 11. The Neck.
5716. The external parts qfthe neck are the common coverings which have been described ; the cervical
ligament, the muscles, and the jugular or neck veins, &c. The cervical ligament {fig. 616 /), is a very
strong substance, in some j)arts semimuscular, and in all extremely elastic, stretched from the occipitil
bone along the back of all the cervical vertebrae exce{}t the first. Continued on the spinous processes of
the dorsal vertebrae, it fills up the dip or depression of the spinal column of the neck, so completely as to
form the neck either into a plane, or an elegantly convex line upwards. By its extreme tenacity, the
ponderous mass of the head is preserved in its situation, without the necessity of an immense mass of
muscle, which would, without this contrivance, have been necessary. It is to an injury received at the
upper and anterior part of this ligament, that the pole evil is owing. The muscles of the neck are too
numerous to allow of particularization ; it is sufficient to say, they most of them run longitudinally. The
jugular veins run one on each side of the neck superficially, on the side of the trachea and windpipe, and
form the vessel usually bled from {fig. 618 r). A few inches before they reach the angle of the jaw, each
divides to furnish the head.
5717. The internal parts qf tJie nd-cA are the Vertebra;, within which passes the spinal marrow. The
carotid arteries pass up under the jugular veins, near the oesophagus {fig^ 618 s). The trachea or wind-
pipe {fig. 618 g), is a large canal for the transmission of air, formed by alternate rings of membrane and
segments of cartilage, rendering it at once flexible, yet cylindrically hollow. The a'sophagus {fgs. 616 h
.5- 618*), is the continuation of the funnel-like cavity of the pharynx. It is externally muscular,
and internallv membranous and cuticular, by which formation it is elastic, to allow of distension in
3 M 4
904 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
the act of swallowing. The oesophagus penetrates the chest between the mediastinum, and passing along
the spine {fig. 618 I), through an opening in the diaphragm, terminates in the stomacli.
SuBSECT. 12. The Thorax or Chest.
5718. The chest of the horse is bounded anteriorly by the matters filling up the
space between the two first ribs, posteriorly by the diaphragm, laterally by the ribs,
above by the vertebrae, and below by the sternum or breast bone. In dissecting the
horse, after the interior membranes, muscles, &c. are thrown back {Jig. 616 hbhb),
there appear the lobes of the lungs {cccc)'y the heart (d) ; mediastinum or membran-
ous division of the chest (ee); the sternum or breast-bone {f) ; the ensiform cartilage
{g) • tendinous centre of the diaphragm (/i, i).
5719. When the chest is opened a smooth polished membrane is seen, which covers the surface, and
then is reflected over its contents ; this is called the pleura : and by a junction of the two plurfe, a
division of the chest into two nearly equal portions is effected, which membranous division is called
the mediastinum. By this division of the chest into two parts, very important benefits arise ; as when
one cavity is opened the lungs immediately collapse, but the respiration may be carried on by the other.
In a similar manner ulceration may proceed to destroy the lobes of one side of the chest, as in glanders,
but may be checked by the mediastinum from proceeding to the other. The pleura does not, as in
man, appear to take on inflammation independently of the substance of the lungs ; thus the horse is not
subject to pleurisy. The thymus gland, which is a considerable body in the colt, and which forms the
sweetbread in calves, is hardly discernible in the old horse. It is situated between the folds of the
mediastinum, but its uses are unknown.
5720. The diaphragm or midriff {fig.616 i, h) is a very important part of the body of the horse, dividing
the chest from the belly by its disk, but which is far from elliptical, extending much further backwards
than forwards. Its fibres radiate from their origins to unite in one tendinous centre (h). In a state of rest
it is anteriorly convex, and posteriorly concave ; but [at each inspiration these appearances are nearly
reversed. (5724.) It is perforated for the passage of the vena cava, the aorta, the vena azygos, thoracic
duct, and oesophagus, all which pass through it by means of three openings.
5721. The heart {fig. 616 d) is the great agent of circulation, and thus is made independent of the will ;
were it otherwise, man and other animals might cease to live at their own discretion. The pericardium is
first seen surrounding the heart so completely, that it swims within it by means of a little fluid termed liquor
pericardii. The heart is a composition of membranous and muscular fibres, having four principal cavities,
and several openings. It is situated between the mediastinum, so as to occupy a cavity of its own, dis-
tinct from either side of the chest. Its base is in a line with the dorsal vertebrs, and its apex is directed
to the left of the sternum, between the eighth and ninth ribs. Its two ventricles are immediately within
its body, and its two auricles are rather without, appended to it. The left ventricle contains arterial
blood, and from it originates all the arteries except the pulmonary. The right ventricle is the reservoir
of the venous blood, and it receives all the veins except the pulmonary. "Within the ventricles are valves
to prevent the return of the blood. The auricles are less muscular than the ventricles ; the left, or
pulmonary, opens into the left ventricle : and the right, communicates with the right ventricle. Into
the right and larger auricle the anterior and posterior cavas enter by two openings, and into the left, the
pulmonary veins pass.
5722. The circulation of the blood may be shortly described as originating with the left ventricle of the
heart, which sends its blood, by means of the great vessel called the aorta, to all parts of the body. It is
received by the veins in like manner from ail parts, and proceeds to return its blood into the heart by
means of the two great veins called cavas, which pour the returned blood into the right auricle, wliich
immediately forces it into the right ventricle. From the right ventricle it is again forced out into the
pulmonary artery, which carries it throughout the lungs to undergo a change, and to be finally returned
by eight trunks into the left auricle, which immediately empties it into the left ventricle to renew the
process described.
5723. The lungs are spongy masses divided into right and left, with lesser divisions called lobes.
Their color varies according to age : thus, in the colt they are of a light lively pink ; in the full grown
horse they approach to a greyer tint; and in the very old subject they are of a still deeper tone. The
I ironchia are continuations of the trachea or windpipe, which, dividing on its entrance into the chest,
ramifies throughout the substance of the lungs, giving these masses their spongy cellular structure,
in which distribution the air vessels are accompanied by ramifications of the pulmonary artery and
veins. From the extreme vascularity of these parts they are very liable to inflammation.
5724. The theory of respiration. — By some extraordinary sympathy, the colt at birth gasps, and air
rushes into the lungs before collapsed : having once felt this stimulus, by a common consent between
the diaphragm and intercostal muscles, the cavity of the chest is diminished to expel the air received,
and to inspire a fresh quantity ; and which process is then continued through life. The body appears
vitally nourished by two sources : the one through the medium of digestion, the other by means of
the blood itself; which, in its progress through the body, gives out its vital principles of heat to the
mass, and vitality to the muscular fibre : for unless the blood effect its part in tiie contractile phe-
nomena, it will be invain for nervous influence to exert its power. Having given out these principles,
it is returned by the veins, and is passed forwards into the lungs, circulating throughout their substance,
and imbibing by their contiguity or continuity with the air vessels, oxygen gas from the atmosj)heric
air contained in them. In return for the oxygen received, carbon is given out, which passes off in the
form of aqueous vapor. As the blood is renovated, so the air it acted on is deteriorated, and is therefore
expired from the chest to make room for a fresh inhalation, to oxygenate a fresh quantity of blood, and
thus to renovate afresh the vital powers subservient to its influence.
SuBSECT. 13. The Abdomen.
5125. The viscera of the abdomen includes the .stomach {fig.SlSa); lobes of the
liver [b b) ; omentum or cawl attached to the whole inferior curvature of the stomach (c) ;
the spleen (rf) ; the kidneys {ee) ; the rectum (/) ; the ovaria [gg] ; the uterus {h) ;
the bladder distended with urine (i) ; the diaphragm or muscular partition dividing,
the belly from the chest {k k) ; oesophagus or gullet proceeding to the stomach (/) ;
trachea (m) ; vena cava ascendens [n) ; aorta descendens (o), which passes through'
the abdomen (a a) , as does the cava descendens {b) ; the aorta ascendens (;>) ; carotid'
arteries (^) ; jugular veins (r)} oesophagus (.s) ; and maxillary artery, forming the
most convenient situation for feeling the pulse (i), complete the viscera and general
appearances of the horse when laid open.
5726. The abdomen or cavity of the belly is the largest cavitv of the body, and forms an extensive
oval __ vault, containing very important viscera, which may be considered { as . the chylopoetic, the"
Book VII.
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HORSE.
905
urinary, and the spermatic, all which are invested by a membrane called the peritoneum, which, after
covering each of these organs separately, is reflected over the cavity of the belly itself. It is very strong,
and very elastic, as we perceive by the effects of dropsy, great fatness, and likewise by the increase in
pregnancy. The umentutn or cawl (c) is the fatty apron which first presents itself on opening an animal's
body, extending in some, as
the dog, pig, &c., into the pel-
vis ; but in the horse it is less
considerable, by which he is not
subjected to cpislocele as they
are. Its uses are unknown.
5727. The stomach and its di-
gestive functions. The horse
has one stomach only, and that
a very small one, drawing a
very wide line of separation by
this means between his family
and the ruminants. In fact the
stomach of tlie horse may be
regarded as intermediate be-,
tween the triturating muscular
one of fowls, and the mem-
branous one of the graminivo-
rae. It is peculiarly constructed
to keep up this intermediate
character, being partly membra-
nous, partly muscular, and part*
ly cuticular ; in which latter
formation much of its peculi-
arity consists, and which it
shares in common with asses,
rats, and mice; whose habits
of living on grain give them a
like claim to this wise provision
In a state of rest, or only mode-
rately distended, its direction is
across the abdomen, with its two
orifices directed upwards; but
the cardiac or recipient orifice,
to which the oesophagus is at-
tached, the most so ; while the
pyloric or expellent orifice is
rather lower, and more inclined
backward. The situation of
the stomach is immediately
contiguous to the diaphragm
or great breathing muscle
ifig- 618 k k), from which we
are at no loss to understand why
a very full meal obstructs respi-
ration ; and why it is so impru-
dent to gallop a horse very hard
after drinking or eating fully.
Small as the stomach is in a natu*
ral state, it is yet capable of great
distention, as has been witnessed in stomach staggers, when upwards of half a hundred weight of undi-
gested food has been extracted from it. The membranous portion of the stomach is gained from the peri-
toneum ; within this is situated its muscular part, principally composed of longitudinal and transverse
layers, by which its motions in digestion are regulated. Around the cardiac or recipient orifice, a strong band
of circular fibres is very evident, which effectually constringes this part, and prevents regurgitation or
vomiting in the horse, except under extraordinary circumstances of muscular relaxation and sympathy.
It has been already shown that the anterior part of the alimentary canal, as the mouth, throat, and gullet,
are lined with cuticle or skin. This cuticle is continued into the stomach, and lines nearly a half of its
internal surface, whose office seems to be a more perfect comminution of the food, which the horse has no
opportunity of remasticating like the ox, sheep, &c. The villous or sensible portion of the stomach is
thrown into folds, so as greatly to increase its surface : here the comminuted food in its passage becomes
saturated with the solvent gastric juice, and is then passed forward into the intestines.
5728. The derangerncnts of the stomach may be explained from its anatomy. Tliough small, and
its sensible parts still smaller, yet it is subject to more diseases, and to more frequent derangement than
is generally supposed. It has been proved to be muscular, and that its digestive functions are performed
by means of its muscularity. It has also been shown that the contractile energy of the muscular fibre, is
mainly gained from the oxygen derived from the blood ; whatever tends to interrupt this separation, as
an unhealthy state of the lungs, too quick action of them, &c. must derange the action of the stomach
also. The perfection of its digestive powers is also derived from its secreting healthy gastric juice,
consequently whatever interrupts this process, must likewise interfere with stomachic health, and that
such health is more often impaired than is generally supposed, and that many ailments, attributed to
other causes, are really dependent on an affection of this organ, experience and observation will fully
evince. Out of condition is a most frequent complaint among horsemen ; their horses are out of
condition, and unfit for work : the appearances are various, but are all well known ; yet it is seldom
considered, that it is owing in every seven cases out of ten, to the stomach being morbidly affected.
(5756.) It is evident that too full feeding must derange it, not only by keeping it constantly dis-
tended, and thus weakening its capacity ; but by entrenching too much on its secreting office, and
requiring an inordinate quantity of gastric fluid to saturate an undue quantity of farinaceous matter.
The bots, that are frequently found on its cuticular coat, and are there probably harmless, sometimes
displace themselves, and settle on the villous part, where they must occasion uneasiness and probable
inflammation.
5729. The intestines {fig. 616 k, I) in the horse may be considered not merely as secerning organs
alone, as in man and many animals, but as really digestive organs, and continuations of the sto-
machic viscer" This is more particularly the case with the small intestines, and may therefore
entitle them to the term of alimentary canal, and the large to that of the excremental ; the for-
mer measure from twenty-one to twenty-three yards in length, and the latter from seven and a half
to eight yards and a half, according to the size of the animal. The duodenum is the first of the
§maU intestines, commencing at the pyloric orifice of the stomach ; the jejunum, which is the next and
larger portion, and the ilium {fig. 616 e), which is still longer, form the remainder. The alimentary
906 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
as ^^'^ V-.
canal in its structure does not differ fVom the sensible part of the stomach, having like that two plans of
muscular fibres, a circular and a longitudinal, by which its peristaltic motions are regulated ; the longitu-
dinal shortening the canal, and the circular diminishing its size. The alimentary part of the intestinal
canal ends with this small gut, which itself terminates abruptly in the coecum or first of the large
intestines (Jig. 619 a), and which intestine commences what has been termed g| q
the excremetititious canai. This entrance is effected in such a manner as
to leave, by a protrusion of its surface inwards, a kind of valvular appara-
tus, which prevents the return of the contents.
5730. The large intestines {fig. 616 k k), in the horse are really deserving
of that name, being very capacious ; while in man and carnivorous ani- \ ( /
mals they are little different from the small. They occupy and com- ^- ^, JJ
pletely fill up the lower portion of the abdomen : the coecum occupies "^-^
the right side, and carries its blind end towards the diaphragm, which is not furnished with an appendix
as the human. A careful inspection of this intestine will show that the appellation of excrementitious
canai does not wholly apply to it ; but that on the contrary, it performs some of the offices attributed to
the smaller intestines. The colon commences small from the side of the base of the ccGcum, but soon
enlarging, it makes a turn around the abdomen, when contracting it ends in the rectum, and passes
backwards to the anus. Along the course of the large intestines are muscular bands, which throw their
surfaces into folds, and also form them into a continuation of cells (fig. 616 m). By these means, the
matters are detained to be acted on more fully, and finally they are expelled in dry hardened balls.
5731. The digestive process in the horse is one of the most curious as" well as one of the most important
which goes on in the body. The various actions of an animal body produce relaxation and waste,
which are indicated by fatigue and hunger. To restore the one, rest is required, and to restore the
other, food becomes necessary. For the herbivorous tribes, vegetable matter is sought for, which being
collected, is masticated by the grinders and mixed with saliva, until it becomes a softened mass, when
it is passed backwards by the tongue and molar muscles, through the arch of the palate in the form of a
bolus. Received into the pharynx, which rises to receive it, and the action of which forces down the
epiglottis, all impediment is removed to its falling in the open funnel of the oesophagus ; which having
received it, the spiral fibres of the oesophagus force it inwards into the stomach. While the food remains
within the cuticular part, it is acted on by pressure, but being further removed, it meets the action of
the gastric fluid, by which it is reduced to a pultaceous mass called chyme. In this state it is passed
into the small intestines : for in the horse, as before observed, the process of digestion is by no means
completed in the stomach, as in man and many animals. The exertions of the horse require that he
should eat largely and nutritiously; but the bulky viscera of the ox would have ill suited with his
necessities ; for he is not only strong, but his motions are designed to be quick also : it was therefore
necessary that some speciality should occur to meet these seeming discordances. This consists in the
mode of digestion, which being but partially completed in the stomach, requires a less bulk in that organ,
the intestines participating in the labor. A horse will eat two or three pecks of corn or ten pounds of
hay at a meal, and yet in a natural state his stomach will not hold half of either. He will also drink two
jpails of water, when the same organ cannot hold one. What is taken into the stomach is therefore quickly
passed through it, and more is required. A horse cannot fast long without injury and pain ; his food
does not produce a lasting effect in the constitution as animal food does on the carnivorse. A dog fed
once a day will thrive, and when fed every other day only, will not suffer materially ; but no horse fed
once a day would support himself : even oxen and sheep, as having a slower digestion and more intestinal
room, can bear fasting better than the horse. As an animal destined for quick as well as great exertions,
his wants prompt him to take in a moderate portion of food only at a time, which his digestive powers
Culiarly fit hira to convert into nutriment quickly and eflScaciously, by distributing the task through a
g tract of canal ; instead of confining it, as in man and the carnivore, to one simple organ, the
stomach.
5732. The chyme passes into the duodenum from the stomach, where it receives the addition of the pan-
creatic and biliary fluids, whose ducts open into that part of the intestinal tracts. Conducted onwards by
the creeping peristaltic motion it passes through this long alimentary tract rather rapidly in the horse ;
but it remains sufliciently long to receive further additions from the secreting surfaces of the smaller in-
testines, and probably to have its work of division and absorption begun in it. Arrived at the larger
part of the intestinal tract, it is purjiosely delayed to be fully strained and separated, the open mouths
of the lacteals spread over the villous surface, receiving the nutritious part under the name of chyle, and
the residue being carried backward, and thrown out as dung. The chylous orifices belong to minute tubes
termed lacteals, which pass onwards enveloped in membranous folds termed mesentery, until uniting in
one trunk called thoracic duct, their contents are poured into the heart, whereby they become mixed
with and converted into blood, producing an increase to its quantity ; as the alteration it receives in the
lungs is an amelioration of its quality, which it has been shown is equally necessary.
5733. The liver may also be considered as a digestive organ {fig. 618 b b), inasmuch as it secretes a fluid
whose office appears to be to quicken the action of the intestines ; at the same time that perhaps the very
matter separated tends to purify that blood which has been already distributed to the chylopoetic viscera.
All other animals, except the horse, ass, and deer, are furnishgd with a receptacle for the bile, where it
may be retained and rendered more acrid : but the horse has no gall bladder, and in his foetal state, an-
other speciality presents itself in this organ, which is, that he is deprived of a canalis venosus, and thus
the whole of the abdominal blood flows through the liver. From this simplicity of structure in the horse
he is seldom affected with obstructed, or concrete bile; but the organ itself is liable, to inflammation,
and also to a chronic disease of it through the medium of the stomach.
5734^ The pancreas is an assistant to digestion also, as we have reason to conclude by its pouring its con-
tents into the duodenum with the bile. It is situated behind the liver, between the stomach and loft
kidnev.
5735. The spleen or milt, {fig. 618 d), is a spongy body situated at the greater extremity of the stomach,
whose use is likewise not clearly ascertained ; but has been supposed to be that of a reservoir of blood for
the use of th6 stomach.
5736. The kidneys are two excremental glands {e e) situated in the lumbar region, the right more ante-
rior than the left. In many brutes, as the ox, sheep, and hog, they are embedded in fat ; but in the
horse, dog, and the predatory tribes, they are seldom so. The structure of the kidneys exhibits an ex-
ternal reddish part, an internal whitish part, and a cavity called the pelvis. From this cavity passes out
the duct called the ureter, and brings with it the urine which is secreted within the kidney. The ureters
convey the urine to the bladder.
5737. TheM»^ne appears to be a f cecal separation from the blood, and is in some measure connected with
the skin in its office. Ilius, when the perspiration is great, the urine is less ; and on the contrary in winter,
when the perspiration is small, the urine is more considerable. The kidneys of the horse are more easily
stimulated into increased action by dzwre'^zcs than the human or those of most other animals ; and sub-
stances which would not appear potent, act with violence on his urinary organs. Thus mow -burnt hay,
kiln-dried oats, &c., will produce diabetes.
5738. The bladder of the horse {fig. 61^ i), is a membranous sac for the reception of the urine. It
rests on the pubis, and is immediatsly under the rectum. It is in part muscular, by which it can expel
its contents almost to the last drop. At its neck ^s a kind of sphincter to prevent the involuntary escape
of urine, and at its posterior part it is pierced by the ureters. To the bladder is attached a membranous
pipe caMed the urethra, which passes through the penis, and by that means ejects the urine.
Book VII. PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HORSE, 907
SuBSECT. 14. The Organs of Generation.
5739. The male generative organs are most of them external, on the contrary in
man they are mostly internal ; but in both the one and the other they are connected with
the urinary organs, so that one general formation is made to answer a double purpose.
5740. The male organs of generation consist of the testes or testicles, which are two in number, that
in case one should suffer injury, one may remain to carry on the great vvork of reproduction. In the
fcetal colt they are lodged within the belly, but after birth they descend into a bag prepared for them. The
scrotum is this hag, whose situation is between the hinder extremities. It contains the testicles in two
sacs, one appropriate to each. Each testicle is enveloped by two tunics, called vaginalis and alduginea,
obtained from the peritoneum. To each testicle is attached an appendage called the epididymis. The
vasa ileferejitia are the united trunks of the secretory vessels of the testicle continued from the epididy-
mis. Each vas deferens proceeds to join the vesicula seminales of that side to run parallel with it
and to terminate near it in the urethra. The prostate glands are in the horse two, whose use,- like the
hollow bodies called seminal receptacles, is not obvious, but probably they dilute the semen.
5741. The penis or yard is a long body, in one part nearly prismatic, and in another cylindrical. In the
usual state the penis is hidden within the sheatk, which is a prolongation of the skin of the abdomen.
The body of the yard is composed of two cavernous flattened portions closely connected, a spongy canal,
which is the urethra before mentioned as the continuation of the bladder, and the glans or head, which
appears in the horse a distinct part. The penis is^capable of being distended by means of its blood vessels,
which fill its cells to turgidity, particularly under the excitement of lust.
5742. The generating use of the male organs is principally derived from the vivifying principle con-
tained in the semen secreted within the testicles, and which the horse is impelled by lust to plant in such
a situation as shall produce its effect in the formation of a foetus. In the act of copulation therefore, itap-
pears that the nervous influence acts on the muscular systemof the penis, whereby the arteries carry more
blood, while the veins are rendered unable from some cause to effect its removal ; by which the cavernous
cells of the penis become filled, and the member thereby erected ; when, from the friction produced by
the female vagina, the penis becomes stimulated into a more exquisite sensation, with which the vasa
deferentia and vesiculas seminales participate, then by the assistance of the crcmaster muscles, the
semen and diluting fluids become pressed out, and by a "convulsive eiibrt are injected into the generative
organs of the mare. The stimulus of the retained semen being now removed, the appetite becomes sa-
tisfied, the nervous influence is removed from the vessels, and the penis returns to its ordinary size.
5743. The female generative organs are first the bag or mammce. In the multiparous animals, as the
hog, the dog, and rabbit, these bags are numerous, and distinctly placed along the line of the abdomen ;
but in the uniparous, as the mare, cow, sheep, &c., one bag, situated between the hind legs, contains the
secretary of the whole. In the mare there are two nipples or teats, Which form excretory ducts to the milk
secreted within. In ordinary cases, the milk is prevented from flowing out by valves, which open on pres-
sure upwards : the colt, sensible of this, is observed to push up the teat with its nose ; pigs and puppies with
their feet, &c. The milk in different animals has different proportions of certain component parts, but in each
it has thosebest adapted to the animal it is intended to nourish. The volva or sheath is the long oval opening
immediately below the anus, at the inferior commissure of which is situated the clitoris, whose structure
is not unlike the male penis. Above this, and rather more internally, is situated the urethra, which in
the mare is a short membranous canal. The vagina is a long membranous canal above the last described
farts, capable of great distention ; but in its natural state about 9 or IG inches long and 2^ in diameter,
t is placed horizontally between the bladder and rectum, and terminates in the neck of the womb. The
uterus {fig. 618 p) of the mare is very dissimilar to the human, being not an uniform bag ; but having a
body and two branching horns, in which, in the multiparous animals, the young are lodged. The extre-
mity of each cornua has a small concealed tube attached to it called ihe fallopian tube,&nA a little beyond
are seen the oval oblong bodies called ovaria, (fig. 618 gg).
5744. Conception, pregnancy, and evolution of the foetus. (Esfrum, heat, or horsing is in animals not
constant, but returns at such periods that the evolution of the foetus consequent on it shall take place at
the most convenient season of^the year. The horsing of the mare produces an inflammation in the va-
gina and vulva, from whence are ejected what are termed the heats. In this disposition all the parts
unite, and when by the injected semen pregnancy has been produced, a vesicle from the ovaria enters the
fallopian tubes ; and by this means becomes deposited in the womb to be nourished into maturity. In its
residence within the womb, it is covered with expansions from the neighboring parts ; and i! derives its
nourishment from a communication with the mother by a fleshy tube called the umbilical cord, and thus
situated, it swims within a fluid called the liquor amnii : so circumstanced, the foetus continues to grow, un-
til the distention it occasions, becomes too great for the capacity, when the muscular fibres of the uterus,
powerfully assisted by the diaphragm and abdominal muscles, contract, and thus force both the foal and
the membranes into the world.
5745. The new bornfoal^ on its entrance into active life, finds its organs of immediate necessity in a full"
state of capacity. Unlike the infant, it is far from indigent, but can run and perform the common
phenomena of an animal with dexterity and ease. Its powers are however not sufl[iciently developed to
enable it to live independent : it has therefore a necessity for seeking support from the mother, from whose
person it derives its food in the form of milk ; and it may therefore be now considered in some measure as
carnivorous. Gradually it becomes fitted to perform all the more matured functions, and when fully able
to counteract its own wants, it sympathises only with itself; when the parent's care being no longer ne-
cessary, lactiferous secretion ceases, her generative organs prepare anew for the same great work, and
she again feels oestrum or heat.
5746. The period of gestation varies in different marcs, one hundred and two mares were observed by
Tessier, of which 3 foaled on the 311th day, 1 on the 314th, 1 on the 325th, 1 on the 326th, 2 on the 3.'53th
47 from the 340th to the S50th, 25 from the 350th to the 360th, 21 from the 360th to the 377th, and 1 on the
S94th day : which gives a latitude of 83 days in the time of gestation.
SuBSECT. 15. Tlie Foot.
5747. '^TYiQfeet of the horse present in their united functions a series of springs with great
complexity of structure. An unreflecting observer considers only the horny box, and
perhaps attaches as little merit to its mechanism, as he would to a well turned
wooden leg of a man. But a little examination will convince him that all the complex-
ity, all the admirable mechanism displayed in the assemblage of four Angers and a
thumb, are here concentrated within this horny box and its appendages. As the parts
which compose the hind and the fore feet do not materially differ, a description of one
foot will serve for the whole.
5748. On examining a perpendicular section of the foot and pastern (fig. 620.), there appears the coffin-
bone (a), the navicular or nut bone (b), the coronary or little pastern bone (c), the larger pastern
908
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
bone (d), the back sinew or great flexor tendon of the foot (e), the same tendon sliding over the
navicular bone (/), its termination or insertion into tlie bottom of the coffin bone {{r), the clastic
matter of the sensible frog {h}, the insensible or horny frog («),
the horny sole (k), which includes the parts of the sensible
foot; the outer wall of the hoof (/), the elastic processes (w),
the attachment of the extensor tendon to the coffin bone (n), ana
its attachment to the coronary bone (o), which completes the
section.
5749. The coffin bone (.fig. 620 a) adapts itself to the form of the
lioof, or rather is adapted by nature to this eligible form. The
eminence in front receives the insertion of the tendon of the great
extensor muscle of the foot, whose upper attachment is to the
humerus or arm bone where it is fleshy, but as it passes onwards,
it becomes tendinous, expanding over every joint, both to prevent
■friction, and to embrace and give attachments -to each bone, by
which a simultaneous movement of the whole limb is made. In
the hinder limb, this extensor and its two lesser adjuncts arise
from the tibia and in part from the femur. To the sides of the
coffin bone are attached the lateral cartilages, and around its
surface are marks of the attachment of the laminated substance.
5750. The coronary or small pastern bone (c), articulates with
the coffin at its posterior part, and articulating also with both
these is the navicular or nut bone (/), whose attachmei?ts to them are effected by ligaments,
5751. The hoof is cortical, or rather, as Clark observes,' slightly truncated, and is a secretion as well from
the vascular parts of the foot as from the skin, as our nails are from the portion of skin called the quick.
The structure of the hoof is firm and fibrous ; externally plane and convex, but internally concave and
laminated. The quarters are the lateral parts. As the horn approaches the heels it becomes soft, and
is reflected inwards. The heels are parted by the horny frog (Jig. 621 b), and without the frog on each
side, the hoof inflects its fibres to form the bars which are seen on the under surface {fig, 621 c).
621
622
d"
In a healthy foot (Xio-.621.) the heels are round,
wide and smooth {a a), the frog fully expanded
(h), the bars or binders distinct (c), no corns
in the usual angle (rf), the sole broad, and con-
cave (d). In a diseased foot (fig. 622.), the
heels are high and drawn together by con-
traction (a a), the frog narrow and filled with
'W fissures from contraction and thrush (6), and
the sole greatly shortened in its transverse dia-
meter which is morbidly counterbalanced by the
increased heights in the truncated form(c). When
the hoof is removed, the sensible orfieshy sole{fig.
620 k), above which it immediately lies, presents
itself, covering the whole of the horny sole, except so much as is taken up by the sensible frog (h). This
part is exquisitely sensible and vascular, and thus we learn why injuries to it from punctures, produce such
serious efl^ects ; and why very slight pressure from contraction of the hoof gives so much pain. The
sensible frog and the sensible sole form the insensible frog and sole ; but when from pressure, too much
moisture, or other causes, the sensible frog, instead of forming horn, secretes pus or matter as in thrush,
the structure of the whole becomes injured, and the horny frog, thus losing its support, gradually wastes and
decays. It is therefore evident that no thrush can be entirely harmless, as is erroneously supposed. Above
the sensible frog and sole, is the great flexor tendon, or back sinew, inserting itself into the vaulted
arch of the coffin, {fig. 620^.) This important tendon arising from its parent muscle above the knee, whose
origin is taken from the humerus and ulna, in its passage unites with an assistant flexor, but which latter
is principally distributed to the pastern bones ; While the perforans, so called because it is perforated by
the assistant flexor tendon, is inserted into the vault of the coffin. In the posterior extremities the
attachments of these two leading flexors, and a smaller lateral one, are from the femur and tibia.
5752. The sensible lamince. Around the surface of the coffin bone, it has been noticed that there are hnear
indentations to which about five hundred semicartilaginous leaves are attached. Each of these is received
between two of the horny lamellee which line the interior of the horny hoof: and when it is considered
what a vast surface of attachment is formed by these means, the strength of the union will not be
wondered at. No violence can separate these parts, and their use, as so many springs to support the
actions of an animal, at once weighty, strong, and extremely agile, must be apparent. The vessels and
nerves of the foot are derived from the metacarjial arteries, veins, and nerves, which pass behind the
pastern, when the main trunks divide to proceed to each side of the foot, and are ramified from thence
throughout. It is a divi.sion of the metacarpal nerve on each side of the lesser pastern, or of the larger,
as occasion suits, which forms the nerve operation, now in vogue as a remedy for founder.
Sect. V. Of the Diseases of the Horse.
5153. The diseases of the horse are as numerous and as important as his complicated
structure and the artificial state of his present mode of life would lead one to expect.
Until of late the treatment of these diseases was confined to the hands of ignorant farri-
ers, presumptive grooms, or shoeing smiths ; and the fate of the animals was commensu-
rate with the wretched treatment they were subjected to. The establishment of a
school for the veterinary art, has disseminated an improved practice, and spread im-
proved practitioners throughout the country ; and we would earnestly recommend an
application to one of established reputation in all cases of difficulty and danger. But
us it is not always that such a one is within reach, to enable the agriculturist to have in
his own hands the means of informing himself, or of being a check on others, we sub-
mit a concise view of the diseases of the head, neck, trunk, and extremities, preceded
by some general observations.
SuBSECT. 1. General Remarks on the healthy and diseased Slate of the Horsei
5754. Condition of horses. Being in condition, in stable language, signifies not only perfect health in-
ternally, but such an appearance externally, as the philosopher would call unnatural, or at least artifi-
cial: while the amateur considers it as an essential requisite to the other qualities of the horse. This
external condition is denoted by a sleek, short, shining coat, with a degree of flesh neither bordering on
fatness, noremaciation. Even in this sense of the term, condition must be varied according to the use*
Book VII. DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 909
of the animal. In the cart horse, provided there be sleekness of coat, looseness of hide, sound wind,
freedom from grease or swelled legs, with good digestion ; a fulness and rotundity of bulk, instead of
detracting from his beauty or impeding his exertions, will add to ithe one and assist the other. In the
coach horse, the hackney, the hunter, and the racer, a different condition is expected, varying in
diiferent degrees from that of the cart horse. In both cart horse and racer, it is equally necessary
that the various internal organs should be in a state to act uninterruptedly for the benelit of the whole :
but in addition to this, it is necessary to the racer, that the greatest possible quantity of animal
fibre should be condensed into the smallest possible bulk ; and that the absorption of all useless fat and
other interstitial matter should be promoted by every possible means, as essentially necessary to unite
lightness of body, with full strength and elasticity. It is in the attempts to produce such a state in its
full perfection, that all the secrets of training consist : but whether a total departure from natural
rules, by unnatural heat, deprivation of light, stimulating food, restraint from water, and excessive
clothing, are best calculated to promote it, admits of much doubt; and it is to be observed that the dawn
of reason and science appears to be shining through the crevices of these darkened casements ; for even
at Newmarket the system has lately much relaxed from its artificial rigor.
5755. To bring a horse into condition, not only should the purposes he is intended for be taken into
account, but also his previous state. If he be taken up from grass with much flesh on him, it is evident
that what is required is to remove the soft interstitial matter it may be supposed he has gained by green
food, and to replace it by hard flesh ; and also to produce a sleeknes of coat and beauty of appearance.
To accomplish tliese ends, the horse should be accustomed to clothing and the full heat of the stable by de-
grees only; and also by degrees only to the meditated change of food; which is best done by mashes. In
two or three days a mild dose of physic may be given, during all which moderate exercise only should be
allowed, as walking, but which may be continued two hours at a time. After the physic has set, begin
to dress his coat, increase his exercise and his food, and accustom him to an increase of warmth. In four
or five days time again mash hira for two days, and give a second dose of physic, a very little stronger
than the first. (5875.) After this, still further increase his warmth, his exercise, and his food, by
which his belly will be taken up, his flesh will harden, and his coat will begin to fall. A third dose
of physic, or urine balls, &c. are only necessary in the training of hunters, &c., and even in these,
a gradual increase of exercise, rather long continued than violent, with proper food, will efiect the end,
if not so quickly, more beneficially to the animal. To bring a lean horse into condition, a somewhat
different plan should be pursued. If from grass, still mash him for a day or two, by no means stint him
in his water, and with his mash let corn be also soaked. If corn be speared or malted, it will produce
flesh sooner. But even here, give tlie horse moderate walking exercise, and if he be not too much
reduced, add a mild dose ol physic to prevent his heels flying, or his getting hide bound by the
increased food; but if great emaciation forbid the physic, give him nightly an alterative. {Fet. Phamt.
5881. No. 1.) As his- appearance improves, gradually harden his food and increase his exercise.
5756. Diseased condition of horses. What has been already said relates to that alteration from one state
to another, neither being an unhealthy one, which custom has rendered necessary ; thus a man in train-
ing for running or fighting, and a man out of training, are both considered equally healthy. But there
are circumstances that produce a morbid state of condition, different from all these. It is common to
hear persons say " my horse is sadly out of condition, and 1 cannot tell either what is the matter with
him, or how to get him into better case." Various are the causes that may produce this ; a sudden
alteration of the food, or temperature, or of habits altogether, may become a cause. Removing a horse
from grass to a heated stable, full feeding, and hard exercise will often do it : therefore these changes
should always be gradual. Bad food, as mow-burnt hay, musty oats, beans, &c., likewise mineral waters,
foul air, &c., are frequent causes. Diabetes, or profuse staling, is often brought on by these means,
and the condition of the horse becomes greatly reduced. It is requisite, therefore, to enquire whether any
of these errors are in existence, and to immediately remove them : but it often happens that the stomach
has become relaxed and the hide become bound ; neither of which readily remove, even though the
original evil may be amended. When the relaxed stomach has produced lampas, treat the mouth as
described under that disease (5777.), but the stomach itself must be principally attended to. First mash and
give a dose of physic ; after it has set, commence the treatment, if the horse be of a full habit, by a mode-
rate bleeding and a nightly alterative {Vet. Pharm. 5881. No. 1. or 2.) But if he be not in full, but in low
flesh, commence by a Aa.\\y tonic, (Fc^ P/iarw. 5882. A^o. 1. or 2.) which will gradually remove the swelling
within the mouth, and loosen the hide. A sudden cold applied to the skin often brings on a want ot
condition with surfeit. In which cases bleeding, nightly alteratives ( Vet. Pharm. 5881. No. 1. or 2.) with or
without an assistant dose of physic, as the habit of the horse may require, constitute the proper treat-
ment. Worms form another cause of morbid condition wliich are to be removed as described (5809.).
Excessive fatigue is also productive of a bad state of condition,vih\ch often proves very obstinate. Turning
out to very good grass is the quickest cure, and when that is impracticable, soiling in the stable,
or feeding with carrots, parsneps, beet root, &c. will be food restoratives ; as medicines give tonics daily.
( Vet. Pharm. 5882. No. 1. or 2.) It will be only necessary to add, that in considering the state of a horse's
condition, the effect is apt to be mistaken for the cause, and the symptoms for the disease. Hide bound
and lampas are not in themselves any thing more than effects, or symptoms ; the former being com-
monly, and the latter being always dependent on a deranged state of the stomach: both are therefore
to be treated accordingly. Exactly the same will apply to all the other symptoms of morbid condition.
SuBSECT. 2. InfiammatoTy Diseases of the Horse.
5757. The injlammatory diseases of the horse are numerou.s, but his fevers are few ;
a febrile state being generally brought on by the inflammation of some important
organ. Inflammation may be considered as general or diffused, and local or confined,
and both seem to arise from an affection of the blood vessels, and perhaps from a pecu-
liar state of the blood itself.
5758. General or diff'used ivfiammation constitutes fever or extensive inflammatory
affection, and appears to consist in an increased action of the heart and arteries, accom-
panied with an increase of heat. In some instances where the fever is purely symptom-
atic, and dependent on the inflammation of some important organ, as of the lungs,
or the intestines, the circulation appears retarded rather than increased, from interrup-
tion arising to its passage through the heart.
5759. Local or confined inflammation is also dependent on an affection of the blood
vessels, but confined principally to the blood vessels of the part affected. It is be-
tokened by redness in the skin, tumor or swelling, heat and tenderness, with pain.
Inflammations, both diffused and local, are brought on by excitements, such as over-
feeding, excessive heat, the reaction produced after cold, and the reaction produced by
inordinate exertion. Those more exterior, arise from injuries, the application of im-
910 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
proper substances, &c. Inflammations terminate in various ways; but it is to be
remarked, that in consequence of tlie very large circulatory system in the horse, his febrile
affections rage higher, and terminate sooner than in man. The usual termination of in-
flammatory affections in the horse, are by resolution, effusion, suppuration, and gangrene.
Schirrus is not at all a common termination of inflammation in the horse.
5760. Injlammation of the brain (pkrenitis), brain fever, phrensy fever, staggers, mad and sleepy.
There are few diseases more likely to be mistaken by inexperienced farriers than this ; it is not to be
wondered at, therefore, if indifferent persons should be led into error by it. It apjjcars in two forms,
a violent frantic one, and a sleepy lethargic one, and the latter appearance is also common to a disease,
not dependent as this is, on idiopathic inflammation of the brain ; but on a paralytic afltection of the
stomach, and thence it is called stomach staggers. This latter affection, however, may be distinguished
from the former by attending to the color of the eyelids, nose linings, mouth, &c., which " in stomach
staggers are usually more yellow than red : whereas in sleepy staggers, they are more red than yellow.
Inflammation of the brain shows itself in general cases by disinclination to food and motion, drowsiness,
accompanied by a heaviness and closing of the eyelids, with moisture and redness of them ; and also of
the linings of the mouth and nose. Sometimes these symptoms increase until the horse becomes coma-
tose, and after a few frightful struggles, he sinks to rise no more. In these cases the pulse is apt to be
oppressed instead of increased. But most frequently after the first stages he becomes furious, plunges
about, and is vicious to himself and others, approaching to a state of madness, in which state he continues
till he sinks from his own exertions, when he rises again to renew his violence.
5761. The causes of staggers may be various : the immediate are either an original accumulation of
blood within the brain, or the translation of the inflammation of some organ to tlie brain : as a remote
cause it is often brought on by too full feeding, without sufficient exercise, and particularly in horses at
one time working very hard, and at another suffered to remain inactive} but which horses, whether used,
or not, are equally fed. Sudden cold, violence, &c. may bring it on.
5762. The treatment of staggers should be begun by abstracting a very large quantity of blood promptly,
hy opening both jugulars, and letting the horse bleed to the amount of ten or even twelve quarts ; repeat-
ing the same until the delirium ceases. After the first bleeding, back rake, throw up a laxative clyster
\Vet. Pharm. 5895.), blister the head, promote a current of free air in the stable, and treat altogether as
.directed under other febrile affections.
576o. Locked jaw, st:ig-evil, or tetanus, arises from cold, excessive fatigue, sometimes perhaps from
worms, but more often from a wound of some part, as pricks in shoeing, &c. Such wound is seldom in a
recent state; but after two or three weeks' continuance, sometimes after it has healed even: it follows
•docking, gelding, and nicking frequently; and is preceded by a flabby unhealthy state of the wound. It
appears as an affection of the brain, which transmits its morbid irritation, particularly to the nerves at-
tached to muscles, by which they become cramped, or maybe considered as in a high state of action, giving
the horse a peculiar look of energy, as though immediately stopped from full speed ; with his nostrils ex,
tended, his head raised, and nose carried forward ; his legs straddle wide, and his tail is cocked and
quivers, as after violent exercise. The jaws will now be feund, if not closed, yet nearly so, when he is
called jaw set.
5764. The treatment is not often successful, but, however, it is sufficiently frequent that it is so, to de-
serve the utmost attention. Blaine informs us that enormous bleedings have succeeded; but he places
his principal dependence on the appfication of cold by the means of ice, or of constant dashing with cold
water, with an active blister applied the whole length of the spine. Balls of camphor and opium, to the
amount of two drachms of each, may be given every three hours. If any room remains in the mouth, the
ball may be passed up by means of a stick, or it may be given as a drink by means of a syringe ; and even
when the mouth is entirely closed, he informs us we may give a drink by the nostrils. Moorcrofl
•used cold also. Fearon, on the contrary, has experienced benefit from a bath, heated to ninety degrees,
and kept at that temperature for three hours. White recommends camphor and opium; Wilkinson of
Newcastle has been very successful by keeping up heat and stimulus over tlie skin in general, by means of
newly stripped sheep skins put on hot Perhaps if the body were previously rubbed with oil of turpentine
one part, and common oil two parts, it might assist Wilkinson's plan. When locked jaw arises from nick-
ing, it might be prudent for a veterinary surgeon to dissect down on the nerves of the tail, and divide
them ; and when from nicking, it would be advisable at once to cut off another portion of the tail,
which practices in both instances would afford a moderate chance of saving the animal. It is necessary
further to remark, that it is of great consequence that the bowels be kept free from fa;ces, by raking and
clysters. With regard to the latter they are very imjwrtant in this disease, as a medium, commonly the
only one, of giving support. A horse has been kept alive on nourishing clysters alone, for seven or eight
davs. {Vet. Pharm. 5897.)
5765. Catarrhal fever, epidemic catarrh, influenza, distemper, cold, motfoundering, Sfc. These names
•apply to one common disease, which often in rainy, variable seasons, appears as an epidemic, and affects
thousands of horses at once. It is observed to be particularly prevalent in this form in the spring of some
years, more than of others. It is not contagious, like the more mahgnant form, but is brought on as an
epidemic by the same causes being applied to nearly all subjects alike ; which are alternations of heat with
oold, moisture and dryness, &c. In crowded cities and large towns it is more prevalent than in more
open situations, and it is more frequently found in the young than in aged horses. Where it does not
exist as an epidemic, it is brought on by an accidental cold taken. It is of great consequence to distin-
guish it from pure inflammation of the lungs, with which it is very apt to be confounded; and which
mistake is often a fatal one, from the treatment being in some essential particulars diflTerent. Inflamma-
tion of the lungs commences by a short cough, without much other disturbance to the health, than the
pain it gives the horse to cough, but which is often so considerable as to make him stamp his feet while
coughing. If a horse in the distemper coughs early, it is not a hollow, harsh sounding, and distressing
cough of this kind ; if he expresses uneasiness, it is principally from a sore throat, which is very common in
distemper, but by no means common in pneumonia. The sore throat in distemper gives the horse a dis-
position to refuse his food, or he cliews it and lets the quid fall without swallowing it. He refuses water,
particularly if it be placed on the ground ; his cough is quick, short, and usually sounds more moist than
harsh and dry ; but though common, this is not invariably the case; his eyes are heavy and moist, his
breathing is quickened, and his ears and legs are alternately hot and cold. His nose on looking into it
is redder than usual, and sometimes his glands, as well submaxillary or jaw glands, as his parotid or
vives, are tumefied. On the second or third day excessive weakness comes on; the cough becomes more
painful, the pulse is quickened, and the nose begins to run. After which the horse either runs off the
disease by this suppuration, or it goes on to destroy him by the height of the fever, and degree of weak-
ness produced, or by suffocation from water in the chest. Now and then, although recovery takes place,
an obstinate cough is left ; and in a few cases the disease terminates in glanders.
5766. T/fte^r^Trt^/rt^w^ may in some cases be cut very short ; for as in almost every instance a shivering
fit begins the disease, so when many horses are in a stable, and the disease is very prevalent, those who
have not been attacked should be watched, and the moment such an attack does take place, give of
siucet spirit of nitre, or when not at hand of spirit of hartshorn, an ounce, in a pint of sound ale.
Exercise the horse briskly, then well hand rub him, clothe him warmly ; and it is more than probable
that the disease will be cut short. But should it proceed, or should the disease have gone on unobserved
to the appearance of the symptom Retailed, begin by bleeding moderately, if the horse be not already
Book VIL DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 911
weak ; or if there have not appeared the running of matter from the nose. If there have, the bleeding had
better be dispensed with, unless the fever appear, from the quick full pulse and redness of the inner sur-
face of the nostrils and eyelids, to be still so considerable as to require it; in which case we must not be
deterred Irom one moderate bleeding; and which, if the febrile symptoms do not abate, may be even
repeated.' It will, however, in general cases, be advisable to avoid bleeding after the second day of the
attack, or after the running has appeared from the nose, or after considerable weakness has come on. In
all cases a very cool temperature is essentially requisite : hot stables, or hot clothing are very pernicious ;
but particularly the former. A hood is not improper over the head, because it encourages the running to
make an early appearance ; and for this reason a warm mash may advantageously be hung round the
neck three or four times a day. Before the running commences, give night and morning the fever powder
{Vet. Pharm. 5909. No. 1. or 2.) in a mash or drink : after the running has come on, or as soon as the
weakness has become considerable, give night and morning either of the fever drinks. {Vet. Pharm.
5910. No.S. or 4.) Malt mashes, when the weakness is great, are proper; at other times bran
mashes with ])lenty of chilled water are best. To relieve the throat, rub the outside with mild liquid
blister, {Vet. Phaim. 5894.), and if the weather be warm enough to allow it, two or three hours
turning out in a field each day is proper. Green meat in the stable, when it can be procured, should,
likewise be given.
5767. Malignant epidemic, murrain, or pest. Now and then the distemper or influenza assumes a
character of uncommon malignance, which is happily not frequent here, but not unfrequent in con,
tinental countries, sweeping off a third of the horses and kine, without any means being found sufficient
to arrest its progress. In these cases it is found highly contagious, attacking almost all the horses as well
as cattle within its sphere of action, or which communicate with each other. Dr. Layard, and Osraer,
English writers of established reputation, noticed the appearances of this disease long ago ; and their
descriptions are not different from the milder kind noticed (5765.) but in degree. The throat is intensely
sore, and the mouth ulcerated ; the glands of the head Swell, and sometimes these and other parts sup-
purate and burst. The matter from the nose is bloody, and the stench intolerable; the weakness is also
peculiarly great, and shews itself early.
5768. The treatment recommended by Blaine is the early use of malt mashes ; even ale is indispensable!
Green meat should be allowed and a very cool stall is necessary, having a fr^e communication with
the open air. As medicine, three doses are necessary, every day, of the malignant epidemic fever drink
{Vet. Pharm. 5912.) ; half a pint of yeast with a pint of ale has been given, with good effect, three, times a
day ; also, to prevent the infection from spreading, fumigate the stables and all the outhouses with the
preventive fumigation {Vet. Pharm. 5913.)
SuBSECT. 3. Diseases of the Head.
5769. Epilepsy, megritns, sturdy, or tumsick, arc epileptic attacks of greater or less violence, and
which are apt to be confounded with the accidental strangulation that sometimes takes place, from a
collar too tight, or from driving a horse hard up hill, &c. The epileptic fit makes its appearance by a
sudden stop ; if the hcgrse be in action he shakes his head, looks wild and irresolute, but after some time he
proceeds; when more violent, he suddenly falls down, is convulsed, dungs and stales insensibly, and
remains some time before he recovers. This disease, like staggers, is generally the consequence of too
full a habit ; and is, therefore, best relieved by bleeding, and a more moderate diet ; and, where it is
convenient, a run at grass should be allowed to alter the habit.
5770. The diseases of the horse's eyes are not numerous, but they are very destructive. The principal
are ophthalmia and gutta serena.
5771. The ophthalmia, lunatic, or moon-blindness, is a very peculiar disease among horses, affecting their
eyes generally about their full growth, but sometimes later, and seldom earlier. It is but little known
among mules and asses, and unknown in oxen and sheep. It does not, however, appear to be a disease
natural to the horse, as wild, or even horses little subjected to artificial restraints, are not observed subject
to it. But among others, it is become so common as to have the tendency handed down in the breed ;
the progeny of some stallions being more prone to it than others. It is often very sudden in its attack,
the eyelids being found swelled and almost closed to avoid the light ; they are also very red within, and
the haw is half drawn over the surface ; the tears flow down the face perpetually, and the whole head
is hot ; now and then these appearances come on gradually. The suddenness of the attack makes tlie
complaint to be attributed to accident, as blows, hay seeds within the eye, &c., and it is frequently
difficult to get the owner of such a horse, to believe that a constitutional attack, as it usually is, can
come on so suddenly. Sometimes as it comes on, so it goes off as quickly, the eye from being opaque and
milky, in twenty-four hours becoming clear and almost well. When such an attack has taken place,
even if nothing be done, the horse sooner or later amends, and the eye or eyes, for it is sometimes one
and sometimes both that are so attacke<l, become again clear and well, and remain so an indefinite
period, from five or six weeks to as many months. Another attack, however, sooner or later follows, to
which others succeed, each leaving increased milkiness on the outer coats, and some dimness within the
pupil, either speck-like or diffused ; and finally the horse becomes blind from cataract. When one eye
goes blind totally before the other, it is often a means of preventing the future attack on the remaining
one; which has given rise to a custom of putting out one eye to save the other, and which has succeeded.
As this is a constitutional disease, brought on by artificial habits, as over exertion, close unhealthy con-
finement, and heating food ; so it is clear the abstraction of all these are necessary to remove the com-
plaint, and to prevent a recurrence ; but particularly the close, dark, and unventilated state of the stable
should be attended to, as well as the removal of the litter, which retains the volatile alkali of the urine,
and irritates the eyes most injuriously. The food should be mild and cooling, and the exercise moderate,
but long continued. Under the height of the attack, however, rest is advisable, witli moderate
light, which may be still further moderated by keeping over the eye or eyes a thick cloth wet with
goulard water. {Vet. Pharm. 5906.) Sometimes one quarter of vinegar to three quarters of water has beeij
found a useful application, and whichever is used, the eyes and eyebrows should be kept continually wet
with it, which by exciting evaporation will keep the jiart cool, A seton may be introduced under tlie eye
or jaw. In some cases, blistenng the forehead or cheek is found useful ; but in everv instance bleeding is
proper, which should be repeated until the disease lessens. When the liorse is very full and gross, physic
and alteratives assist the cure. When blistering is used in any part near the eye, the greatest care is
requisite to prevent the blistering matter from being rubbed into it. "
5772. Gutta serena or glass eyes, so callt>d from the peculiar glassy appearance of the eye, arise from a
paralysis of the optic nerve. As the eye is not materially altered in appearance, a horse often becomes
blind without its being noticed, until his cautious ste[>ping, quick motion of his ears, &c., give notice of
the case. On examination it will be found that the pupil remains dilated, however great the light,
and the eye is irrecoverably lost. In tlie very early stages, blisters to tiie forehead and stimulants to the
eyes, (as tvhite vitriol a drachm, water four ounces, may be tried, but with faint hopes of success.
5773. Pole evil. This complaint commonly requires the attendance of an experienced practitioner ; but
the prevention is often in the power of owners, and others about horses ; and to this point we shall par-
ticularly direct their attention. Pole evil is commonly the effect of accident. Kepeated small blows
of the manger, or continued pressure from hanging back on the halter, &c., will, if not remedied,
produce swelling at the nape of the neck with some tenderness. In tliis early state, if the collar be
removed and the part be kept continually wet with vinegar and water, the swelling will often disperse;
but if, in spite of this, it proceeds to suppuration, let a vent be made for the matter by a seton (5868)
po that it_may readily flow out. Introduce nothing healing, but encourage a free discharge, and it may
912 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
yet heal at once. " When such is not the issue, the disease attacks the ligaments ; sinuses form, and the
matter burrows under the skin and muscles, when a seton must be introduced from the opening above
and should be brought out at the bottom : the seton should be then daily wetted with the liquid
blister. {Fet. Pharm. 5893.) Should this plan fail, escharotics will be required in the form of scaldinfr
mixture. ( Vet. Pharm. 5917.)
511^. Strangles, vives, or ives. This disease has been likened to the human measles, because it usually
attacks every horse, and most of them at a young period, between three and five years ; it is fortunate
when it attacks colts at grass, as it seldom occasions inconvenience, and which has led some persons into
«rror by turning their horses out as soon as attacked ; but it is not found that stabled horses, thus turned
out, pass through the disease more mildly, but the contrary, except the disease exists under its very
mildest form. White has conjectured that colts breeding the strangles while at grass, are afterwards
exempt from glanders, but this wants contirmation. Prosser has also affirmed, that inoculation by the
matter of strangles, is good, because it mitigates the complaint, and renders the horse not liable to any
future attack ; but the practice has never gained ground : when strangles occurs in the stable, and now
and then also in the field, it proves a severe disease, and shews itself under the appearance of a cold, with
cough, sore throat, and swelling of the glands under the jaws, or behind and under the ears. Sometimes
there is not much external swelling, and the tumors break inwardly, and nature effects a cure; at
others they break outwardly, and the disease runs off that way, and sometimes the swellings disperse either
by nature or art, which breeders think unfavorable, as they suppose it renders the animal liable to a
future attack, but many so treated, pass the remainder of their lives without more affection.
5775. The treatment of strangles. When the swelling lingers, and neither comes forward or recedes, poul-
tices are preferable to fomentations, which, by leaving the horse wet, promote evaporation and produce cold.
Peal recommends blistering the part, as the best means of promoting suppuration. The horse should be
kept very cool, and bran mashes with warm water should be his principal support, unless the complaint
last long, and produce much weakness, when malt mashes should be substituted ; bleeding is only ad-
visable when the early symptoms are violent, as heaving at the flanks, extreme soreness of throat, with
much swelling around it, and considerable cough, in which case, bleeding and fever medicines are proper.
5776. Vives, or ives, is supposed to be a relic of the latter complaint, and it does appear now and then
that after the strangles, the parotid or vive glands do remain enlarged (5794.), which occasions the disease
in question ; resolution may be attempted by mercurial frictions, suppuration should be avoided, other-
wise the gland may be destroyed.
5777. Diseases of the mouth, lampas. All horses, but particularly very young ones, are liable to enlarge-
ment of the rugffi or ridges of the palate, dependent not on any local disease confined to the part
itself, but occasioned by an affection of the whole passage of the mouth, throat, and stomach.
Itis usual to attend to the part only, which is scarified or burnt to little purpose, when a mild dose of
physic, or gentle alteratives, would prove more certain expedients j to which may be added rubbing the
part with bay salt, or with vinegar.
5778. Bridle sores. When the bit in colt breaking, or in hard pulling horses, has hurt the bars, care is
requisite to prevent the bone becoming carious. Touch daily with eegyptiacum, and cover the bit with
leather, unless total rest can be allowed.
5779. Diseases of the teeth are fully treated of under the anatomical description of the bones. (5636.;
SuBSECT. 4. Diseases of the Neck.
5780. Fistulous withers are brought on usually by pressure from a saddle with too low or narrow a tree,
and what has been said both with regard to orevention and cure on the subject of pole evil, applies here
also. (5868.)
5781. Sore throat is common to horses in colds, in influenzas, and in strangles. (5765. 5774.) In every
case, the horse finds great difficulty in reaching every thing that stretches his neck downwards or
upwards; his water therefore should be held to him, and his hay should be pulled for him: omission
of these services greatly aggravates the sufferings of horses laboring under sore throat.
578'2. Swelled neck. A very serious swelling sometimes follows on bleeding with a rusty or poisoned
lancet, or fleam, and sometimes from causes not apparent. (5878.)
SuBSECT. 5. 21ie Chest.
5183. Injlammalion of the lungs is a disease to which the horse is peculiarly liable,
as we might a priori suspect, from the vast dimensions of his circulatory system, and
the vast alteration from a natural state to which we subject him, and thereby increase
his pulmonary circulation.
5784. The causes are these deviations remotely, but the immediate attack is generally brought on by
sudden colil, acting on a heated surface, and thus it is that knackers and collarmakers in frosty wea-
ther expect a glut of horses that die from this disease. Hard riding is a very common cause, and high
feeding also; it often commences slowly, a hard dry cough has been slightly noticed, but occasioning no
alarm for two or three days : gradually, however, the cough appears to give the horse pain ; he ioc-
casionally shivers, and his ears and feet feel colder than the rest of his body; he heaves at the
flanks, and the lining of his nose is inflamed, and his eyelids also : the appetite now becomes affected,
and although there is not much apparent pain, except when the horse coughs; yet there is much anx-
iety of countenance present. The pulse is usually small but quick; if in this state the horse be
taken out and exercised quickly, it is almost always fatal to him : it likewise happens that this com-
plaint is sometimes mistaken for distemper, and from a fear of profuse bleeding, the only remedy
that is to be depended on, is omitted, and the horse is lost. At the veterinary college, in these cases,
a small dose of aloes is given every six hours, and after being bled and rowelled, the horse is turned
out in the open air; and it is affirmed that many recover from this treatment. Certain it is that the
stable in which ahorse is placed in this disease can hardly be too cool; but when entirely turned out,
his feet and legs cannot conveniently be hand-rubbed, or bandaged up to promote circulation ; neither
can we blister a horse when turned out, so conveniently ; and on bUstering we depend as the second
source of cure.
5785. The treatment is to be commenced by attempts at lessening the action of the arterial system by
early and large bleedings, as seven or eight quarts from a large horse, and which should be repeated in five
or six hours if he be not relieved in his breathing. Immediately rub into the brisket, on the chest, and be-
hind the fore legs, the blister (Fet. Pharm. 5890. No. 1.). Give half a dose of physic, and assist it by
mashes and warm water, which, if not readily taken, horn down. Back-rake also, and throw up the
laxative clyster, ( Fet. Pharm. 5895.). Avoid all exercise, clothe moderately, allow a free circulation of
cool air through the stable, and rub the legs frequently, and when not under this process, keep them
bandaged up to the knees with hay-bands or woollen cloths. The terminations of this complaint are
various. It is not uncommon for the horse to appear better, to eat and to drink, and to excite every
hope of a perfect recovery ; but on some sudden exertion he falls down and expires. On examination
after death, it is found that effusion of a large quantity of serous fluid has taken place in the chest.
5786. Thick wind is another termination of pneutnonia, by leaving the bronchial passages charged with
coagulated blood. Moderate exercise and soiUng inthe stable with mild mercurial physic, form the best
modes of treatment; but it frequently happens that the cough resists all these, and terminates in broken
wind.
Book VII. DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 913
5787. Roaring is also a termination cj" pnevmonia, in which case the lungs are not affected, but con-
gealed blood, under the name of coagulable lymph, remains in the trachea or windpipe, and obstructs the
free passage of the air ; by means of which the roaring noise is made. It is in vain to expect a cure :
blistering the throat sometimes slightly relieves it.
5788. Chronic cough is also a terminatioti of pneumonia, and appears dependent on a peculiar irrita-
bility the disease leaves in the bronchial passages, which are found afterwards mcapable of bearing any sud-
den alteration of temperature: thus horses with this kind of cough are excited to it as soon as the sta-
ble door opens, and by every exertion, by drinking, by eating, and, in fact, by any thing that alters the
situation of the body, or is new to the part. But besides pneumonia or inflammation of the lungs i)ro-
ducing it, it is often brought on likewise by gross feeding, which, weakening the stomach, impoverishes
the blood, and thus injures the lungs which are fed by tiiat blood. "Worms also by the same means are
a cause of chronic cough. It is thus that we expect to derive benefit by mediums acting on the stomach.
Green food is often found useful, but particularly carrots. The hay should be excellent in quality and
small in quantity ; and it will be found that soiling in the stable, but particularly a course of carrots, forms
a better plan of treatment than turning out. If worms be suspected, treat as under that head. (5809.)
Formulae of chronic cough balls are seen in the Vet. Pharm. (5900.)
5789. Broken wind is also sometimes broug/it on l)y pneu7nonia, and sometimes by occult causes. It
is often occasioned by over-exertion after full meals, in which the lungs become permanently weakened,
perhaps ruptured in their air cells. Inexperienced persons find some difficulty in detecting broken wind
from other chest affections, as chronic cough, occasional colds, &c. &c.
5790. Criteria of broken umd. The cough which accompanies broken wind is a short deep hollow grunt-
jng noise, and the short grunting expiration is peculiarly excited by turning a horse quickly round, strik-
ing him smartly with a stick at the same time, which often produces the deep sound without the cough ;
and which is so significant as never to be mistaken whei> once heard and attended to : but the principal
peculiarity arises from -the beating of the flanks, which operate rather by three efforts than by two as usual.
In the first, the air is drawn in, in the usual manner, and the flanks fill up as in common ; but in the
next, the falling of the flanks is by no means natural, for it is nottione by a gradual sinking of the sides,
but it takes place at once, with a kind of jerk, as though the horse] were sighing; and then a third
effort takes place by a more slow drawing up of the muscles of the belly and flanks, to press out the
remaining air. Broken wind destroys the fecundity of the mare, and hence argues permanent alteration
of structure ; it is also always incurable, but horses may be rendered very useful that have it, by feed-
ing them very nutritiously, but with their food [much condensed in bulk. Little hay should be allowed,
and that little should be wetted, water in any other way should be given but sparingly, for which they
are however very greedy : from which circumstance, as well as that they are peculiarly flatulent, we learn,
that the vitiation of the lungs is cither aggravated by the deranged state of the digestive organs ; or,
which is more probable, that the digestive powers become weakened from the state of the lungs,
5791. Diseases of the belli/. Inflamed stomach seldom attacks the horse as an idiopathic affection, but
it is not unfrequent for the stomach to become inflamed by mineral poisons as well as rendered inert by
vegetable ones.
5792. Mineral poisons inflame the stomach acutely, and produce excessive distress, and cold sweats ; the
animal lies down, rolls, gets up again, looks short round to his ribs, stamps with his fore feet, and his
pulse beats quick and short. When arsenic or corrosive sublimate have occasioned the malady, a viscid
mucus distils from the nose and mouth, and the breath is fcetid. "When copper in the form of vitriolic
salts, or verdigris has been given, to the foregoing symptoms are usually added ineflectual attempts
to vomit. Immediately the poisoning is discovered, pour down two ounces oi sulphuretted potash y
in a quart of water, or in the absence of that, an ounce of common potash in the same quantity cf
water : or when no better substitute is at hand, even strong soap suds are advisable. Mineral poisons have
also another mode of acting, and are often received into the constitution, neither by design to do mis.
chief, nor by mistake ; but are purposely given as remedies. In this way, both mercury and arsenic are
frequently given for worms, glanders, farcy, &c., in daily doses, which, when even of considerable mag-
nitude, occasion for many days no inconvenience: all at once, however, the constitution becomes fully
saturated with the poison, and although before diffused throughout the blood, it now appears to return
and act on the stomach to the great surprise of the owner. In these oases the symptoms are not usually
so violent as in the former instance, but they arc equally fatal. A similar treatment with the one already
prescribed is necessary, and as soon as the first symptoms are abated, give laxatives. In all these cases, large
quantities of linseed tea should be horned down, the back should be raked, and clysters thrown up, blood
should also be taken away plentifully. As a })reventive to this latter mode of poisoning, whenever
mineral agents are used, it js prudent every five or six days to stop a while, and then recommence, by
which the constitution will part with the previous quantity.
5793. Salivation is also anotlier mode of poisoning, and though not equally injurious to the stomach, it
often proves distressing, and sometimes fatal. Whenever, therefore, mercurials are given, carefully
watch the gums, and as soon as they look red, and the horse quids his hay, give hijn a mild purge instead
of his mercurial.
.'379'1. Vegetable poisons also inflame the stomach, but by no means in an equal degree with the mineral
poisons ; nor is it supposed that it is the inflammation they raise that proves destructive, but by an eflTect
communicated through the stomach -to the nervous system. Digitalis purpurea or foxglove, taxus
baccata or yew, cenanthe oocata or water dropwort, cicuta I'w-osa or water hemlock, phellandrium aqu^i-
ticu7n or water parsley, conium maculatum or common hemlock, are all poisonous in a high degree to
horses, and may be taken accidentally by the animal as food, or given injudiciously as medicine. Nico-
tiana or tobacco, and the vegetable acid or vinegar, are also poisonous, and are sometimes productive or
injurious consequences by over-doses, when intended as remedies. It is little known that a pint of strong
vinegar has destroyed a horse. As we cannot remove the matters from the stomach, we must endeavor
to neutralize their effects by acids and demulcents, as oil, butter, &c. Thus, when narcotics have been
taken, a drachm of sulphuric acid or oil of vitriol may be given in a quart of ale; or six ounces ot
vinegar, with six of gin, and a quart of ale, may be tried.
5795. Stomach staggers. This peculiar complaint, which is even yet but little understood, appears de«
pendent on a particular state of stomach, acting on particular foods ; and not on what is taken in, acting
on the stomach, as was supposed by Coleman, White, and others. From later communications of White^
he also now appears to consider it as originating in " a peculiar state of stomach." Blaine appears always
to have characterised it as " a specific inflammation of the stomach." It appears among horses of every
description, and at grass as well as in the stable ; and there is reason to think it epidemic, as it is prevalent,
in some seasons more than in others. It may, perhaps, be regarded now and then as endemic also ; under
which circumstance it appears confined to low wet situations, where long marshy grass is abundant, and
where noxious aquatic plants mix themselves with the grasses. When it occurs at grass, the horse is
found stupidly dull, or asleep with his head resting against something. This has occasioned the disease
to be called the sleepy staggers : and it has often been confounded wiih the phrenitis or inflammation or
the brain. (5760.) In the stable the horse doses, and rests his head in the manger; he then wakes up and
falls to eating, which he continues to do until the distention of the stomach becomes enormous; for
the peculiarity of the complaint consists in the total stop that is put to digestion, and the uneasy feel of the
distention consequent to such indigestion appears to deceive the horse, and by a morbid excitement toforce-
him to take in more. In this way he continues eating until the distention prevents the return of the blood
from the head, and the animal dies apoplectic, or his stomach bursts with oyer-disteution. More frc~
3 N
914 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
quently,' however, the stomach becomes flabby, inert, and paralytic, and after death presents marks of
inflammation towards the pylorus.
5796. The treatment. When recovery has taken place, it has occurred only when the disease has been
very mild, and has been assisted by stimulating the stomach into action by purgatives, at once active and
invigorating, as an ounce of aloes dissolved in half a pint of gin. When a horse of extreme value is at-
tacked, croton oil might be tried to the amount of 20 or 25 drops in two ounces of tincture of aloes.
Warm water in small quantities, or mixed with common salt, should be frequently passed do\Vn. Remove
every eatable, rake, clyster, and hand-rub ; and if the determination to the head be extreme, bleed, other-
wise avoid it.
5797. Inflammation of the bowels, enteritis, or red colic, is a very distinct disease from the gripes, gullion,
or fret, with which it is, however, very ai)t to be confounded to the destruction of many horses. The pe-
ritoneal inflammation of the bowels, the one here treated on, is an aflection of their outer covering.
5798. The causes are various. It is not unfrequently brought on by a sudden translation of cold after
great heats, as swimming during hunting, or from the removal of a horse from grass at once into heated
stables, clothing and hard food ; neglected gripes, or long-continued costiveness, excessive riding, and
the immediate drinking of cold water, have brought it on. It begins by restlessness, loss of appetite, some
uneasiness ; the mouth is hot and dry, the inner membranes of the mouth, nose, and eyelids, are often
redder than natural. As the disease advances, the pain, before not violent, now increases so as to force
the horse to lie down and rise again frequently ; and when very violent, he kicks at his belly, or looks
round at his sides, pawing his htter very frequently. The pulse is usually small, quick, or hard ; some-
times it is more full and small, but always hard. Breathing is quickened, the extremities are alternately
hot and cold, but continue longer cold than hot ; and the animal is costive : sometimes pain may force
away a few hardened balls of fasces, but the principal contents are retained. Blaine has given the distin-
guishing features between this disease and colic, under which head we have stated them.
5799. The treatment must be active and immediate, or a fatal termination may be expected. Begin
by abstracting a considerable quantity of blood ; from a large horse to the amount of seven or eight quarts ;
proceed to back-rake, throw up a large clyster of warm gruel. Give by the mouth, if the expense be not
considered an object, a pint of castor oil, mixed by means of the yolk of two eggs, with half a pint of broth
or gruel. If the expense be objected to, give olive oil instead, following it up in half an hour by a gruel
drench, in which six ounces of Ep.som salts have been dissolved. A sheep-skin, immediately as it is re-
moved from the sheep, may be applied to the belly, which should first be well rubbed with the stronger
liquid blister. {Vet. Pharm. 5893.) In four hours repeat the bleeding, if a considerable improvement
have not taken place, and if the bowels be not unloaded, give more oil, and clyster frequently, having first
back-raked. Avoid exercise; first hand- rub, and afterwards wrap up the extremities to the knees. As
a clear passage for the dung is found, the symptoms mitigate, and the animal slowly recovers ; but he
must be fed at first very sparingly.
5800. Inflammation of the inner surface qf the intestines is, in some measure, difFerent from the
former, which is rather an affection of their outer covering ; whereas this is usually confined to their
villous surface, and may be brought on by superpurgation from over-strong physic, or from mineral acids
being taken in, particularly mercurials, which often exert more influence on the bowels than on the
stomach. It differs from the former in the symptoms being generally accompanied with purging ; neither
is there usually so much pain or uneasiness present, nor such cold extremities; but where from the
violence of the inflammation these symptoms are present, bleeding to the amount of three or four
quarts is a proper preliminary, but can hardly be with propriety continued. The same stimulants to the
outside of the belly should be used as in the last disease ; but here, clothing is recommended as well as
warmth in the stable, as also hand-rubbing to keep up the circulation in the extremities. Give astringent
drink {Vet. Pharm. 5883. No. 1. or 2.) with a pint^of boiled starch every three hours, and give the same
by clyster with two quarts of pot liquor, or tripe liquor, free from salt.
5801. Dysenteric inflammation of the horse's bowels is happily not very common, but now and then
appears, and is then called by farriers molten grease ; they mistaking the morbid secretion from the in-
testines, for the fat of the body melted down and passing off thus. But dysentery is a peculiar inflam-
mation of the mucous surface of the intestines, not contagious as in the human, nor epidemic, nor
exhibiting a putrid tendency ; but is peculiarly confined to a diseased increase in the mucous secretions,
yet very different from simple diarrhoea, which is a mere increase in the peristaltic motion, by which
the common aliments are quickly passed through the intestines, and ejected in a liquid form by an in-
crease in their watery secretion. Whereas in the dysentery of the horse, the mucous of the intestines
separates from them in large quantities; and comes away with the dung surrounding it ; but when it does
not pass in this way it appears in membranous films like sodden leather, or in stringy evacuations, like
morsels of fat floating in water ; sometimes there is a little bloody appearance. The usual symptoms of
fever are always present, but not in a very high degree.
5802. The causes are cold, over-riding, and not unfrequently acrid substances within the intestines :
change of food has occasioned it.
5803. The treatment. In the first stages bleed considerably, and give as the first internal remedy six
ounces of castor oil, which will amend the fsecal evacuations considerably ; afterwards administer the
following: powdered ipecacuanha, a drachm ; powdered opium, a scruple ; liquid arrow-root, eight
ounces. Should this not check the evacuation, and should it continue as mucous as at first, again give
castor oil, and then follow it up by either of the drinks directed for the cure of scouring or looseness.
( Vet. Pharm. 5883.)
5804. Diarrhoea or looseness. This complaint originates in an increased peristaltic motion of the
intestines with an increase of their watery secretion, and is distinguished from dj^sentery by the purging
being complete from the first, and seldom occasioning much fever or disturbance in the general health,
unless exceedingly violent. The stools are merely solutions of the aliment, and unmixed with mem-
branous films as in dysentery or molten grease. It sometimes succeeds to over-strong physic ; at others
the food enters into new combinations, and forms a purge. Some horses have their bowels constitution-
ally weak, as lank-sided small carcased ones, where the mechanical pressure hurries the contents
forwards. Salt mashes and sea water will purge horses violently sometimes. It is always proper to
encourage warmth in the skin, and to change the food. The change should be generally from one more
moist to one less so, as beans, &c. Barley will sometimes stop looseness ; malt usually increases it.
Buck-wheat is often a check to habitual diarrhoea. Eflicacious astringents will be found in the Vet.Pharm.
(5883.) Repeat either of these night and morning. Give but little water and that little warm.
5805. Colic, flatulent, or spas7nodic, called also gripes, fret, or gullion, is an important, because a
frequent, disease, and because it frequently destroys either quickly by its irritation, or by its degenerating
into the red or inflammatory colic, when improperly treated or long continued. It is usually very sudden
in its attack.
5806. The causes of colic are not always apparent. It is sometimes occasioned by intestinal stones,
which accumulate to a great size, remaining for years in the cells of the colon, until some accidental
displacement occasions an interruption to the peristaltic motion. Cold in its various forms is a parent
of colic ; but under the form of cold water given when a horse is hot, it is most common. In some
horses it is so frequent as to become a constitutional appendage.
5807. The distinguishing marks between colic and inflammation of the bowels are gained, according to
Blaine, by attending to the following circumstances. In gripes the horse has violent fits of pain, but
they remit, and he has intervals of ease. The pain in red colic is more uniform and less violent. In
gripes, the pulse is, in general, natural ; in red colic it is quicker than natural, and commonly small.
Book VII. DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 9^5
The extremities are not usually cold in gripes ; in red colic they usually are. In gripes, the horse
attempts to roll on his back, which in red colic he seldom does. There are no marks of fever with
gripes, as red eyelids, inflamed nostrils, &c. ; but in red colic they are always present. "When the
complaint has continued some hours it is always proper to bleed to prevent its ending in inflamma-
tion : bleeding in the mouth is cjuite useless. Back-rake, and throw up clusters of warm water, one
after another as fast as possible, which often overcomes the irritation. La losse recommends a curious
remedy, but as it can always be obtained, and has the sanction of long experience, it may be tried.
An onion is pounded and mixed up with some powdered savine : in default of which, use powdered ginger.
This is to be introduced up the rectum as high as possible, and the horse is to be then moved briskly about.
An onion put up the fundament whole has long been a domestic remedy. The following is recommended
by Blaine : spirit of vitriolic cether, an ounce s powdered opium, one drachm ; oil of turpentine, three ounces;
warm ale, a pint. He also recommends the following more simple remedy as always at hand : the ex-
pressed juice of two or three large onions, common gin, comtnon oil, of each half a pint ; mix and give.
White recommends a pint of brandy, or of gin, with water, as an excellent carminative. Clark, who has
expressly written on gripes, extols the virtues of a mixture thus made; which, if it have the qualities he
attributes to it, and which there is no reason to doubt, no agriculturist, coach, or post master should be
without it : pimento berry, called also allspice, ground fine, half a pound ; spirits of ivine, and of water, of
each a pint and a half ; infuse these together, and keep for use. Give a quarter of a pint every hour
until full relief is obtained ; hand rubbing, wisping, or fomenting the bowels with hot water at the time.
5808. Infiammation of the intestines from wounds in the belly frequently occurs; and these injuries
may happen in leaping over hedges or pale gates, or may be inflicted by the horns of a cow. Sometimes
the strong tendinous covering of the belly is ruptured, while the skin remains entire,; the gut then pro-
trudes and forces out the skin into a tumor. The first thing to be done is to put the gut back, taking
<;are at the same time, otherwise extensive inflammation follows, to remove any dirt or other matter
that may be sticking to it ; for which purpose, should it be found necessary, it may be wa.shed with warm
water, but with nothing stronger. If the gut cannot be returned, from its being full of air, and the
opening in the belly be too small to put it back again, such opening may be carefully enlarged to the
necessary size. But if the animal can be thrown upon his back conveniently, a great deal may be done
that cannot otherwise be accomplished ; after the gut is returned the skin only should be stitched up,
and a cushion of several folds of old linen and tow being placed in the wound, it should be kept in its
situation by means of a wide bandage rolled round the body, and carefully secured. The animal should
then be copiously bled, and have his bowels emptied by clysters. The only food he should be allowed
is grass, or bran mashes, and that only in moderate quantity. When the distention of the intestines
wholly prevents their return, it would be prudent to puncture them with a very fine instrument, and
thus to suffer the air to escape, which, although subjecting the horse to the risk of inflammation, is
better than the certainty of death by having the intestines protruded.
5809. Worms of horses are found, as bots, in the stomach, but which as they attach themselves to the
hard insensible part of that organ seldom do harm. Clark fancifully supposes they do good, and devises
means for furnishing them when not in existence. The bot is the larva of the oestrus equi, a fly which
deposits its eggs, it is supposed, on the grasses on which horses feed, and probably on parts of the horse himself,
from whence they pass into the stomach by the food or by being licked off. Certain it is they get there»
are hatched, and there remain hanging to the coats of it by two tentaculae, receiving the juices of the
masticated food as nutriment. After a considerable time they make their way out by the anus, drop
on the ground, and are first transformed into chrysalids, and afterwards into parent flies. When bots
fix themselves on the sensible portion of the stomach they may do harm ; but no medicine that we know
of will destroy them. The teres or large round worm sometimes occasions mischief, when it exists in
great numbers, such as a staring coat, binding of the hide, irregular appetite, and clammy mouth. The
best remedy is the spigelia marylandica or Indian pink, in daily doses of half an ounce. l'a;nia are not
common in the horse, now and then they exist, and are best combated by weekly doses of oil of turpen-
tine, three ounces at a time, mixed by means of the yolk of an egg with half a pint of ale. Tfie ascaris
or thread worms are best removed by mercurial purgatives. The existence of worms may be known
by the appearance of a yellow matter under the tail, and by the disposition the horse has to rub his fun-
dament. Blaine recommends the following vermifuge : powdered arsenic, eight grains, pewter or tin
finely scraped, f'enicc turpentine, half an ounce, make into a ball, and give every morning. He also
recommends salt to be given daily with the food ; which agrees with our own experience as one of
the best vermifuges known. It is a fact acknowledged by the residents along the sea-coast, that horses
troubled with worms will often voluntarily drink largely of sea water, and thus cure themselves.
5810. The diseases of the liver are acute inflammation or hepatitis, and chronic inflammation or yellows.
Hepatitis is the acute inflammation of this organ, which, like the lungs, stomach, and intestines, may
spontaneously take on the affection. The symptoms are not unlike those which attend red colic, blit
•with less violence. If it be not however arrested, the termination will be equally fatal. About the third
day, the whites of the eyes turn yellow and the mouth also. Bleeding, blistering, and purgatives form
the methods of cure as practised in red colic.
5811. Chronic inflafnmation or yellows. The liver of horses is less complex than that of many other ani-
mals, and is therefore not very liable to disease ; indeed some authors affirm that the horse is never
affected with jaundice, but that the yellowness of skin i,s a mere stomach attectioh : this is, however,
erroneous, and not only does the liver become hardened and thickened occasionally; but the bile
becomes diseased, and is thrown out in that state by the blood over the body. If fever be present, bleed»
but if the symptoms present no token of active inflammation, give each night, ten grains of calomel, ahd
every ten days, work it off" with a mild dose of physic. It is, however, necessary to remark, that ilris
not every yellowness of the skin (hat betokens either an acute or chronic inflammation of the liver. It
is the property of every serious inflammation of any of the important organs of the chest and belly, to
communicate a portion of the evil to the other organs immediately in conjunction with the liver: thus
an affbction of the stomach or intestines, cf the inflammatory kind, very often occasions redness of the
membranes of the nose, eyelids, &c, &c.
.^812. Diseases of the urinary organs. Inflammation of the kidnies is an idiopathic affection, not one
of frequent occurrence; but as brought on by injuries, such as over-riding, heavy loads, or violent diu-
retics, it isnot unfrequent: when idiopathic, it may be the effect either of cold, he.iting food, or a trans-
lation of some other inflammation, in which cases, it comes on suddenly, and assumes the same febrile
appearances that other intestine inflammations produce; but there is not often great apparent pain, but a
frequent inclination to stale, the quantity made being so small as almost to amount to a stoppage of urine,
whichislessor more complete, as one or both kidnies are affected. What little urine is made is also at
first very thick, and then bloody. When the disease is the effect of external injury, the urine is not so.
scanty, but is more bloody ; and this symptom precedes the other. There is usually'much i)ain and stiff-
ness about the loins, and we learn from Blaine, that a swelling and a paralytic affection of the hind leg
of the side of the affected kidney, sometimes is a feature in the complaint. To distinguish this inflani-
7nation from that of the neck or'body of the bladder, with which it may be confounded, the same author
recommends that the hand be passed up the rectum, when, if the affection belong to the kidnies, the bladder^
whether full or empty, will not be hotter than usual ; but the contrary occurs when any part of the
bladder is the seat of the disease. >
5813. The treatment must be active, and in most respects similar to what has been recommended for
,red colic, as regards bleeding, emptying the bowels, and endeavoring to lessen the arterial action by bleed.,
ing : but here we must carefully abstain from irritating the kidnies by diuretics internally, or blisters ex-
3 N 2
916 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
temally. A newly stripped sheep skin placed over the loins, or active fomentations of hot water, are
the only sources of counterirritation that are proper; neither should diluting liquors be pressed, on
account of the distention they occasion, but no evil can arise from clystering.
5814. Inflammation of the bladder. When the body of the bladder becomes inflamed, there is frequent
staling from the very first attack ; but when the neck of the bladder is the seat of the evil, the squeezing
out of a few drops will only take place when the bladder has become filled, which may be known by pass-
ing the hand up the rectum. The treatment will be alike in both cases, and is the same as recom-
mended for the last affection. It must be evident, that warm, mild, and frequent clystering, must here
be peculiarly advisable.
5815. Strangury or suppression of urine ; incontinence of urine ; bloody urine. Strangury may arise
from an injury done to the kidnies, or to the bladder, by strains, or by the absorption of irritating matters.
In these cases, bleed if there be fever, and if not, merely give the horse absolute rest ; mash him, give
gruel, and warm his water for drink. Bloody urine should be treated in the same way ; some horses
have such a natural or acquired weakness of kidnies, as to stale blood with their urine on every occasion
of over-exertion : the means frequently used for relief are such as aggravate the complaint, and indeed
are often the occasion of it, which are diuretics. Strong diuretics injure horses more than strong physic,
and benefit them less than any other of the popular means made use of. In retentions of urine, but par-
ticularly in the case of bloody urine, they are absolutely improper.
5816. Diabetes, profuse staling, or pissing evil. This disease is more frequently forced on the horse,
by long continued diuretics, or from a similar effect brought on by kiln-dried oats, mow-burnt hay, and
some green vegetables, than acquired from constitutional indisposition. The horse first stales often and
profusely, he then becomes weak and faint, and sweats on any exertion. If it be at all constitutional,
his hide is bound from the beginning, and his urine will have a sweet taste ; but if his appetite were
good, and his coat sleek, bright, and elastic when the urine was first observed to be immoderate, the evil
arises from some fault in the feeding, clothing, exercise, or other management of the horse. Examine
into these matters, particularly into the food, and next the water. Enquire whether diuretics have been
given, under an erroneous supposition of increasing the condition, and alter what may be amiss. If
this do not remove the complaint, try the following, after Blaine's directions : liver of sulphur two drachms,
uva ursifour drachms, oak bark one ounce, catechu half an ounce, alum, half a drachm, : give as a daily
drink in a pint of water.
5817. Stone and gravel. Calculous concretions are not uncommon in the large intestines of horses, where
they grow sometimes to an enormous size, lodged in one of the cells usually, and where they occasion but
little inconvenience, except a displacement occurs, when serious evils, as colic, inflammation, or total
stoppage, follow. In the bladder, stone is very seldom found ; and there is reason to believe, that though
gravel is a common term m the farrier's list, that it seldom if ever occurs ; injuries of the kidnies and
bladder being usually mistaken for it.
SuBSECT. 6. Diseases of the Skin.
5818. Mange is a contagious disease not uncommon among low bred and badly kept horses, but which
is seldom generated in those properly managed. When it is the effect of impoverished blood, a diflTerent
course of feeding must be substituted, not heating, but cooling though generous ; as carrots, speared
com, malt mashes, stable soiling, &c. When it arises in full fed horses, bleed twice, lower the feed,
ing, substituting for corn, soilings, carrots, or bran mashes. Give a nightly alterative ( Fet. Pharm.
5881. No. 1. or 2.), and dress with either of the mange dressings. ( Vet. Pharm. 59^.) After a cure has
been effected, carefully clean all the apartments with soap and water.
5819. Surfeit wUl now and then degenerate into mange, but more generally it is brought on by a fulness
of habit acted on by sudden transitions from cold to heat, or heat to cold ; it is likewise not unfrequently
the consequence of over-fatigue. If it show a disposition to spread, and the skin become scaly and scurfy,
treat as under mange; otherwise treat as directed under want of condition. (575B.)
5820. Warbles are of the nature of surfeits in many instances, in others they are brought on by the
pressure of the saddle, which either suppurate and burst, or become indolent and remain under the name
of sitfasts. In the early state, bathe them with chamberlye or vinegar : if they proceed to suppuration
refrain, and when they neither go back or come forward, put on a pitch plaster, and if this do not
promote suppuration, let the sitfast be dissected out
5821. Warts are common to old horses, and had better be put up with, unless they be situated in some
inconvenient or very conspicuous part. In this case tie a thread tightly around the root, and the wart
will drop off, or it may be cut off. Blaine recommends the following, when warts are too numerous to be
80 removed : crude sal ammoniac two drachms, powdered savin one ounce, lard an ounce and a half.
5822. Hidebound is a state of the skin, where the interstitial matter between that and the fleshy pan-
nicle is not in a state to allow of its pliancy and elasticity. The binding down of the hide thus closely, acts
on the hair, which it protrudes in a contrary direction to its naturally inclined position ; and thus a staring
coat usually accompanies hide binding. In considering the subject of condition (5756.), we have seen that
it is not a disease of itself, but is in every instance a symptom only.
SuBSECT. 7. Glanders and Farcy,
■ 5823. TIte glanders is the opprobrium medicorum, for hitherto no attempts have succeeded in the cure
of more than a few cases. By some peculiar anomaly in the constitution of the horse, although con-
clusive proofs are not wanting that this and farcy are modifications of one disease, and can each generate
the other ; yet the one is incurable, while the other is cured every day. When glanders has been cured,
the time and labor necessary to accomplish the end has swallowed up the value of the horse ; and has
also in many supposed instances of cure, left the animal liable to future attacks which have occurred.
The experiments on glanders, pursued at the veterinary college and by White of Exeter, have thrown
reat light on the disease itself, its causes, connections, and consequences ; but have done little more.
rom these we are led to conclude that glanders will produce farcy, and that farcy can produce glanders.
That glanders is highly infectious, and that such infection may be received by the stomach, or by theskin
when it is at all abraded or sore: and it is also probable that it is received by the noses of horses being
rubbed against eacli other. White's experiments go to prove that the air of a glandered stable is not in-
fectious ; but this matter is by no means certain, and should not be depended on without a greater body
of evidence.
5824. The marks of glanders area discharge of purulent matter from ulcers situated in one or both
nostrils, more often from the left than the right. This discharge soon becomes glairy, thick, and white-
of-egg-like : it afterwards shows bloody streaks, and is foetid. The glands of the jaw of the affected side,
called the kernels, swell from an absorption of the virus or poison, and as they exist or do not exist, or as
they adhere to the bone or are detached from it, so some prognosis is vainly attempted by farriers, with
regard to the disease ; for in some few cases these glands are not at all affected, and in a great many
they are not bound down by the affection to the jaw. As there are many diseases which excite a secre-
tion of matter from the nose, and which is kept up a considerable time ; so it is not always easy to detect
glanders in its early stages. Strangles and violent colds keep up a discharge from the nostrils for weeks
sometimes. In such cases a criterion may be drawn from the existence of ulceration within the nose, when-
ever the disease has become confirmed. These glanderous chancres are to be seen on opening the nostril
a little way up the cavity, sometimes immediately opposed to the opening of the nostril ; but a solitary
chancre should not determine the judgment. The health often continues good, and sometimes the condition
also, until hectic takes place from absorption, and the lungs participate, when death soon closes the scene.
f
Book VII. DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 917
5825. The treatment of glanders, it has already been stated, is so uncertain that it is hardly worth the at-
tempt ; however, when the extreme value of the horse or the love of experiment leads to it, it may be re-
garded as fixed by experience, that nothing but a long course of internal remedies, .drawn from the
mineral acids, can effect it. These have all been tried in their endless variety : White recommends the
mildest preparations of mercury, as cethiops mineral ; ujider the conviction that,the more acrid prepara-
tions disturb the powers of the constitution so much, as to destroy as effectually as the disease. At the
veterinary college the sulphate qf copper (blue vitriol) has been long in use. Others have used the sul.
phates of iron and zinc. Clark recommends the daily administration of a drink or ball,* composed of
the following ingredients : sulphate qf zinc 15 grains, powdered cantharidesl grains, powdered allspice 15
grains ; of which he gives one or two extraordinary proofs of utility.
5826. Thefarcy is a disease more easily cured than the glatiders, of which our daily experience convinces
us ; farcy, or farcin, attacks under distinct forms, one of which affects the lymphatics of the skin, and is called
the bud or button farcy : the other is principally confined to the hind legs, which it affects by large indura-
tions, attended with heat and tenderness. A mer^ dropsical accumulation of water in the legs sometimes
receives the name of tua/er/a;cx/; but this has no connection whatever with the true disease in question^:
farcy is very contagious, and is gained from either the matter of farcy or from that of glanders.
5827. Treatment (f farcy. The distended lymphatics or buds may often be traced to one sore, which
was the originally inoculated part, and in these cases the destruction of this sore, and that of all the
farcied buds, will frequently at once cure the disease, which is here purely local. But when the disease
has proceeded farther, the virus must be destroyed through the medium of the stomach ; although even
in these cases, the cure is rendered more speedy and certain, destroying all the diseased buds, by caustic
or by cautery. Perhaps no mode is better than the dividing them with a sharp firing iron ; or if deeper
seated, by opening each with a lancet, and touching the inner surface with lapis infernalis. The vari-
ous mineral acids may any of them be tried as internal remedies with confidence ; never losing sight of
the necessity of watching their effects narrowly, and as soon as any derangement of the health appears,
to desist from their use ; oxymuriate of quicksilver (corrosive sublimate) may be given in daily doses
of fifteen grains ; oxide of arsenic may also be given in similar doses. The subacetate of copper (verdi-
gris) may also be tried, often with great advantage, in doses ofa drachm daily. Blaine joins these prepara-
tions, and strongly recommends the following : oxyynuriate qf quicksilver, oxide of arsenic, subacetate of
copper, qf each eight grains ; sulphate of copper one scruple ; make into a ball and give every morning,
carefully watching the effects, and if it be found to occasion distress, divide, and give half, night and
morning. The same author professes to have received great benefit from the use of the following : the
expressed juice of clivers or goose-grass, a strong decoction qf hempseeds, and of sassafras, of each six
ounces, to be given after the ball. It remain's to say, that whatever treatment is pursued will be
rendered doubly efficacious if green meat be procured, and the horse be fed wholly on it ; provided the
bowels will bear such food ; but if the medicines gripe, by being joined with green food, add to the diet
bean-meal. When green meat cannot be procured, carrots usually can ; and when they cannot, still
potatoes may be boiled, or the corn may be speared or malted. As a proof of the beneficial effects of
green meat, a horse, so bad with farcy as to be entirely despaired of, was drawn into a field of tares, and
nothing more was done to him, nor further notice taken of him, although so ill as to be unable to rise
from the ground when drawn there. By the time he had eaten all the tares within his reach, he was
enabled to struggle to more j finally he rose to extend his search, and perfectly recovered.
SuBSECT. 8. Diseases of the Extremities.
5828. Shoulder strains are very rare, most of the lamenesses attributed to the shoulder
belong to other parts, and particularly to the feet. Out of one hundred and twenty
cases of lameness before, Blaine found that three only arose from ligamentary or mus-
cular extension of the shoulder, or rather of the adductor and sustaining muscles :
when shoulder strain does happen, it is commonly the consequence of some slip, by
which the arm is forced violently outwards. It is less to be wondered at than at first
seems probable, that farriers mistake foot lameness for shoulder strains, when we reflect
that a contracted foot occasions inaction, and favoring of the limb ; which thus wastes
the muscles of the shoulder. Seeing that one shoulder is smaller than the other, the
evil is attributed to that, and it is pegged, blistered, swam, and fired, to the torture of
the animal and the increase of the foot's contraction by the confinement. In real
shoulder strains, the toe is dragged along the ground while in motion ; at rest it is planted
forward, but resting on the point of the toe. When the lameness is in the foot, the horse
points his foot forward also, but he does so with the whole limb unbent, and the foot
flat. These differences are highly necessary to attend to, as well as the peculiar diflficulty
there is in moving down hill, which he does with reluctance, and by swinging his leg
round to avoid flexing it. This lameness may be farther brought to the test by lifting
up the fore leg considerably, which, if the evil be in the shoulder, will give evident
pain. The muscles between the fore legs are likewise tumefied and tender in these
5829. The treatment consists, when it is recent, in bleeding in the plate vein, rowelling in the chest, and
fomenting with hot water two or three times a day. When the heat and tenderness have subsided, first
bathe daily with the astringent wash for strains (Vet. Fharm. 5886,, iVo.l.) for a week; and afterwards, if
necessary, proceed to blister in the usual manner.
5830. Strain in the whirl bone (5655.). This important joint is sometimes strained, or its ligaments and
muscles unnaturally extended, from a greater force being applied to them than their structure is able to
bear, or their powers to resist : a laesion takes place of some of their fibrillae, or in lesser injuries their
elasticity is injured by being put on the stretch beyond their power of returning. In all such cases, the
parts react, and inflammation follows ; by which heat, tenderness, and swelling ensue.
5831. Treatment The first indication is the same in this as in all ligamentary strains, which is to
moderate the inflammation by fomentations, &c. &c., and when that nas subsided, to endeavor by
astringents and bracers to restore the tone of the parts : after which, if any swelling remains, from the
extravasated blood becoming organised, to promote its absorption by mercurial frictions, and blistering.
This applies to all strains, and will direct the treatment therefore of that of strain in the articulation of
the thigh with the body also.
5832. Strain in the stifle, is treated in the same manner.
5833. Strain or clap in the hack sineivs. This is generally an injury done to the sheaths of the tendons,
or of the ligaments which bind them down. In very aggravated cases, it sometimes occurs that even the
tendons themselves are extended beyond their capacity. The heat, swelling, and tenderness, are first to
be combated by fomentations, and if these be extreme, bleed also, and give a dose of physic. .Next
proceed to poultice with saturnine applications, until the heat and swelling are reduced : then use tonics,
3 N 3
918 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
astringent wash, {Vet. Pharm. 5886. No. 1. or 2. ) : bandage and exercise very carefully. If swelling
remain after heat, pain, and lameness are past ; or when lameness only remains, after ^all heat is gone,
proceed to blister mildly twice. In all cases of ligamentary extension when the heat has subsided, the part
may be considered as in a state of atony ; and bandages judiciously applied are then proper, particularly
during the day.
5834!. Rupture of the tendons and ligaments of the leg. It is very seldom that the tendons themselves
are ruptured, but the suspensory ligaments are more often so, and the evil is called breaking down. It
is usually very sudden, and the fetlock is brought almost to the ground. A perfect cure is seldom ob-
tained ; but the inflammation should be moderated by the means already described, and the heels should
be raised. A laced stocking or firm bandage, when the inflammation has subsided, is necessary; and
firing is often prudent as a permanent bandage.
5835. Strains of the ligaments of the fetlock and coffin joints often occur, and may always be distinguished
by the heat, tenderness, and swelling. Treat as already described. In all strains of the leg, attended with
inflammation, a goulard poultice is a convenient and useful application. The goulard water should be
mixed with bran, and a worsted stocking being drawn over the foot, and up the leg, it is first tied around
the foot ; the poultice is then put in, and the stocking fastened around the leg above the injury. (5867.)
5836. Mallenders and sellenders are scurfy, scabby eruptions, affecting the back of the knee, and ply of
the hock ; common only in coarse, low-bred, and in cart-horses. Wash with soft soap every day, after
which anoint with an unguent formed of equal parts of mercurial ointment, tar, and Turner's cerate.
5837. Broken knees. The usual cases of broken knees are referribie to woimds in general ; and the
treatment of them in no wise differs therefrom, with this caution, that here it is more immediately neces-
sary, both for appearance and safety, that if any flap of skin hang apart, to cut it off, or the wound will
Ileal with rugosed edges. But when the joint of the knee is broken into by the violence of the injury, it
becomes of a very different nature, and is known first by the extreme lameness and swelling that occur ;
and next, by the escape of a slippery mucus not unlike the white of an egg. If this continue to escape,
violent inflammation follows, and either the horse or the joint are lost by it. Farriers are apt to attempt to
stop the flow of the jom^oz/, as it is called, by oil of vitriol, or other escharotics, which treatment is usu-
ally followed by the most disastrous consequences. It is, however, necessary to stop the immediate flow,
by other means ; the best of which is by a fine budding-iron heated. Should the laceration be consider-
able, this cannot be done; but the treatment must then consist of saturnine poultices, bleeding, low
diet, and the other antifebrile remedies, until the swelling has subsided, when apply the astringent paste
recommended by Clark, made of pipe-clay and alum, every day ; but by no means introduce any escha-
rotics. On the subject of broken knees, a prejudice prevails, that a horse that has once broken his knees,
is more liable to fall again than a horse that has not before fallen down ; but unless the knees be injured
so as to become stiff by such an accident, the supposition is wholly erroneous. Horses fall as often by
treading on sharp stones when they have corns, as they do by stumbling : and as corns sometimes come
on rapidly by pressure, so such a horse becomes afterwards liable to trip, and this gives rise to the opinion
formed, that when once he has been down he will ever after be liable to it.
5838. Splints and bone spavins. The former are usually situated on the inner side of the canon or shank
before; and as they are situated, so they are more or less injurious. "When buried, as it were, within
the tendons or back sinews, they are very apt to lame the horse seriously ; but when situated on the plain
bone, unless they be very large, they seldom do much injury. If a splint be early attended to, it is sel-
dom difficult to remove. Blaine recommends the swelling to be rubbed night and morning for five or six
days, with a drachm of mercurial ointment, rubbing it well in ; after which to apply a blister, and at the
6nd of a fortnight or three weeks to apply another. In very bad cases, he recommends firing in the
lozenge form.
5839. Bone spavin is an exostosis of the hock bones, the treatment of which in no wise differs from that of
splint; except that as a spavin in general is more injurious than a splint, so it is more necessary to com-
mence the treatment early, and to continue it energetically. It also unfortunately happens, that from the
complexity of structure on the hock, spavin is not so easily removed as sphnt, and more usually requires
the application of firing.
5840. Ring bone is of the same nature, being an exostosis or bony circle formed around the coronet, the
treatment of which is the same with splint and spavin.
5841. Blood spavin, bog spavin, and thoroughpin, are all of them originally of the nature of windgalls,
and are nothing more than enlargements of the bursal capsules described in the anatomy, as surrounding
tendons, ligaments, and bones, to furnish them with a lubricating medium. By over-exertion or hard
work these bursal bags become extended, and their contents increased, and distended into puffy swellings
in the hock, called, when on the ply, bog spavin. The pressure of this sometimes occasions a varicose state
of the superficial vein, which passes directly over it on the inner side of the hock, and which enlargement
then receives the name of Woorfsjocrj/iw. When the bursal enlargement extends through the hock, it is
called thoroughpin. When it is situated below, in the bursas of the flexor tendons, near the fetlock joint,
it receives the name of windgall.
5812. The treatment of all these cases must be similar in principle, and consists in lessening the dis-
tended sac ; not as was formerly practised to the destruction of the horse often, by letting out the con-
tents of these windgalls ; but by strengthening the sides of the tumors by stimulants or by pressure. The
more active stimulants are the liquid blister ( Vet. P^arm-. 5893.), milder ones are found in the astringent
wash. ( Fet. Pharm. 5886. No. 1.) Bandages assist greatly, when well applied to the part, and in desperate
cases firing has been resorted to, which is nothing more than a more violent stimulant, and a more perma-
nent bandage.
5843. Capulet is a bursal enlargement of the point of the hock, and is to be treated by friction, astringents,
and bandage.
5844. Curb is an inflammation of the ligaments at the back of the hock, and is usually removed by
astringents. {Vet. Pharm. 5886.) When it does not give way to these, the sweating liquid blister
may be applied. (Frf. Pharm. 5894.) »
5845. Cracks and grease may be considered as modifications of one and the same aflfection, and are com-
monly brought on by some neglect in all horses ; but when they occur in any but the thick. heeled low-
bred animals, they are invariably so. Over-feeding or under-feeding, but much more frequently the former,
will bring it on. A very frequent cause of it is the practice of washing the legs of horses, and suffering
them to dry of themselves. In every case, without exception, washing the legs should be avoided, unless
they be rubbed perfectly dry afterwards. When horses have long hairs about their heels, and are washed
and then left wet, the evil must be doubled ; as the evaporation going on, cools and chills the heels, and
thus produces a species of chilblain : and we well know how difficult these are to heal when broken.
Cracks in the heels very often occur in horses removed too suddenly into full keep from previous straw or
grass, or from these to a hot stable; which, by the heat and moisture of the litter, occasions a determin-
ation of blood and humors to the legs, and they break out into cracks or scabs, from which issue a bloody
ichor, or a more thick matter. Between the sores the hair stares and gets pen-feathered, and the horse
finds difficulty and pain in moving.
5846. The treatment must depend on the state in which the animal is at the present If there be reason
to suspect the horse to be full and foul, bleed, lower his food, soil him in the stable; or mash and give a
mild dose of physic. But when some mismanagement is the sole cause, remove that, and if the case be a
severe one, by means of an old stocking drawn over the foot, bury the whole heel in a poultice, made
of scraped carrots or turnips ; which will subdue the irritation, and bring the parts into a state to bear the
application of the astringent paste ( Vet. Pharm. 5888. No. 2,), or if more convenient, of the astringent wash
Book VII. DISEASES OF THE HORSE* 9J9
{.Vet. Pharm. 5886. No. 1. or 2.) Moderate exercise should be continued, and the heels carefully cleaned
from dirt by soft soap and water on each return therefrom ; after which, always again apply the astringent.
5847. Grease is nothing more than an aggravated state of the same attection, and is more common to the
hind than to the fore legs. Coarse flesny-legged horses are peculiarly prone to the aflfection, from the
great accumulation that takes place in their legs ; and from the difficulty that the capillaries find in carry-
ing the increased quantity of lymph upwards. In these, long stable confinement should be avoided, and
when that is impossible, it should be counteracted by exercise frequently and judiciously administered.
Many cart horses never go out but to work : they often work three days incessantly, or nearly so j and
they perhaps rest two days entirely. Can it be wondered at, that the change occasions swelling, 'acting on
the weakness and exhaustion of previous fatigue? and could not this be avoided by turning out for an
hour ; or walking for half an hour night and morning ? Stable soiling should be used ; bleeding and
physicking also in very bad cases ; and when the inflammation and irritation or soreness are great, the
poultices recommended for cracks, should be applied until these circumstances are removed; when
commence the use of some of the astringents recommended. {Vet. Pharm. 5886.) White has stated two
remarkable cases of grease cured by the application of corrosive sublimate, in the form of a wash, as of too
drachms of sublimate to ten ounces of water ; increasing it to three drachms, if the pain occasioned by the
V first be not too considerable. Blaine says that the clivers or goose-grass has been known to be of great
service in bad cases of grease : half a pint of the expressed juice to be given daily as a drink ; and a poul-
tice of the herb to be applied to the heels. In some cases of long standing when the running has ceased,
a thickened state of the limb remains, which is best removed by firing, and which likewise is a preventive
to a return.
SuBSECT. 9. Diseases of the Feet.
5848. Founder of the feet is qf two hinds, an acute and a° chronic. Acute founder is a disease that, until
lately, was less understood than almost any other. After a very severe day's work, or when very much
heated, if a horse get a sudden chill by standing in snow or cold water, it is not uncommon for him to be
seized with universal stiffness and every symptom of great fever. Such a horse is said to be body
foundered. By degrees, however, it is observed that the animal has an extreme disinclination to remain
on his feet ; from whence it will appear that the whole of them are affected. When the horse draws his
hind feet under him, his fore only are affected : and when he draws his fore feet under him, the hinder
feet are the seat of the complaint ; but which is seldom the case. On feeling the feet they will be found
intensely hot, and the pastern arteries will beat with great violence. After a few days, unless the disease
abate, a separation of the hoofs from the coronet takes place, and at last they fall entirely off
5849. The treatment. At the commencement of the disease bleed largely, as well by the neck as from
the toe of each affected foot, by paring, until the blood flows freely. After which immerse each foot in
a goulard poultice, (5867.), give the fever powder or drink {Vet. Pharm. 590P. and 5910), litter iip to the
belly ; and if amendment do not take place, renew the bleedings, and blister round the pasterns.
5850. Chronic founder, contraction or fever in the feet. The artificial life that horses lead, subjects them to
many diseases ; one of the principal of which is that of contracted feet. Blaine considers a neglect of
sufficient paring of , hoof, the application of artificial heat from hot stables, and hotter litter, the depri-
vation of natural moisture, constitutional liability, and the existence of thrushes, as among the principal
causes of this evil. It is more common to blood horses than to others ; and he observes, that dark chestnuts
Are of all others most prone to it The appearances of a contracted foot, as contrasted with a healthy
one, we have already displayed. (5751.) It is there shewn that the contracted hoof becomes longer,
higher, and narrower : the heels [Jig. 621 a a) particularly are drawn in, and seem to screw the frog
between them, which becomes wasted and thrushy_from this pressure. The hinder hoofs are seldom
affected,
5851. The treatment qf contraction in the feet. It is better to prevent, than to be under the necessity ol
attempting to cure the evil. Prevention may be practised by avoiding the acting causes. As soon as at
all suspected to be likely to occur, keep the hoofs i)ared low ; never suflPer the horse to stand on litter, nor
allow the stable to be too hot, feed moderately, and never allow the horse to go without daily exercise ;
whatever increases the general fulness of habit, flies to the feet. Above all, keep the feet moist by means
of wet cloths tied loosely around the coronet, falling over the whole hoof, but not extending beyond the edge.
Then moisten repeatedly, and stop the feet (5918.) every night. When contraction has already taken place,
many plans have been recommended ; as jointed shoes by Coleman, Clark, and others ; but it is not found
that mechanical expansion in this way produces permanent benefit. The most effectual mode is to obvi-
ate all previous causes of contraction ; and then to thin the hoofs around the heels from each quarter so
thin as to be able to produce an impression by means of the thumb : in fact, to remove so much of the
born as is consistent with safety, from the coronet downwards. It is also prudent to put in a score or two
from above downwards, drawn a quarter of an inch deep on each side towards the front of the hoof; but
whether this be done or not, the front of the hoof should be rasped thin about an inch in width ; by which
means a hinge is formed, which operates most advantageously in opening the heels. After this is done,
tips should be put on, and the horse should be turned out to grass, where he should remain three months,
by which time the new formed heels will have reached the ground, and will bear a shoe. This process is
fully described by Blaine in his Veterinary Outlines, where a plate completely elucidates the operation, and
to which we would recommend the reader.
5852. The pu7nicedfoot is a very common consequence of acute founder, in which the elasticity of the
lamina* becoming destroyed, the support of the coffin bone is removed, and it rests wholly on the sole,
which it gradually sinks from a concave to a convex surface, drawing with it the front of the hoof inwards.
In weak, broad, heavy feet, this evil comes on sometimes without founder ; the treatment can be only pal-
liative, a wide webbed shoe exactly fitted to the foot, without at all pressing on it, prevents the lameness
consequent to the disease. A shoe exactly the contrary to this has been tried in some cases with benefit,
the form of which has been one with a web so narrow as only to cover the crust, but so thick as to remove
the feet from accidental pressure. In other cases, no ishoe answers so well as a strong bar shoe.
(5932. )
5853. Corns are most troublesome ailments, to which horses are very liable, and which injure and ruin
thousands ; they are wholly accidental ; no horse having any peculiar tendency to them, but being al-
ways brought on them by some improper pressure, usually of the shoe, or from something getting in be-
tween the shoe and the horny heel. A siioe too long worn is a very common cause, and a still more
frequent one is the clubbing the heels of the shoe ; neither is it necessary to the production of corns, that
the shoe itself should press on the sole ; but they are equally produced when the outer horn of the heels
or of the bars, is the immediate offending part, rendered so by too luxuriant growth, by unequal wear, or
bv secondary pressure from the shoe, or by gravel working in. {fig. 6L>1). It is the fleshy sole itself that is
bruised, from which, a speck of extravasated blood follows ; and if not immediately relieved, it gathers,
or the part becomes habitually defective, and instead of forming healthy horn, it always afterwards forms
a spongy substance of extreme sensibility, and thus always is liable to produce pain and lameness when
exposed to pressure. „,..., . . «
5854. The treatment of corns is seldom difficult or unsuccessful at their first appearance, but afterwards,
it can be only palliative. Blaine directs that by means of a fine drawing knife, every portion of diseased
horn should be pared away, and the extravasation underneath likewise. Having done this, he advises to
introduce some butter of aittimony into the opening, to place over this some tow. Which should be kept in
its place by means of a splint. If any contraction of the heels {fig. 621 a a) be present, it will materially assist
8 N 4
920 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
the cure" to lower them, and to' thin the hoof a little around the quarters, and afterwards to put on a
shoe without heels opposed to the corn, or a shoe chambered opposite the weak part ; or a bar shoe may
be applied, so framed as completely to leave the heel untouched. Introduce the butter of antimony once
or twice more, with the interval of two days between, and then turn the horse out to grass : in about
six weeks' time the foot will be sound. The treatment of corns, when of long standing, does not mate-
rially differ : for although they are never wholly eradicated, they may be rendered but little troublesome.
The diseased part must be carefully pared out at each shoeing, and such a shoe put on as will completely
free the heel from pressure.
5855. Running thrush is always a dangerous disease, and few errors in horse management are more
glaring than the common one of supposing they are necessary to carry off humors. If less food, more
exercise, cool stables, and dry standings, were substituted to correct the fulness, instead of thrushes,
which invariably contract the feet whenever they continue any length of time, it would save many valuable
horses. To the cure, begin by clearing out all the fissures of the frog {fig. 621 a a) from loose ragged horn, and
then introduce to the bottom of the sinuses, by means of a thin piece of wood, some of the thrush paste
{Vet. Phartn. 5885.), smeared on tow, which will enable it to be held within the cleft, especially if it be
guarded by splints of wood passed under the shoe ; renew the dressing daily : turning out to grass mavbe
practised to great advantage for thrushes by this mode of dressing.
5856. Sandcracks are fissures in the hoqf's, commonly of those before, and usually towards the inner, but
now and then towards the outer quarter also, from above downwards : from the crack, a little oozing of
blood or moisture is seen ; and the sensible parts underneath getting between the edges of horn, being
pressed on, lame the horse. White recommends to fire the fissure crossways, so as to destroy the con-
nection between the divided and the undivided parts of the hoof
5857. Pricks or punctures in the feet are often very serious evils, either when received by nails in shoeing,
or by one picked up on the road, &c. The danger arises from the inflammation, which is always great from
any injury done to the sensible and vascular parts within the foot. This inflammation quickly proceeds
to suppuration ; and the matter is apt to make its way upwards, unless it find a ready vent below. When
it does not break out at the coronet, it will often penetrate under the sole, and finally disease the bones,
ligaments, or cartilages, and produce quittor. It is very seldom that a horse is pricked in shoeing, but
that the smith is aware of it by the peculiarity of the feel on the hammer, and by the flinching of the
animal. At such times werehe to immediately withdraw the nail a little, enlarge the opening, and intro-
duce some spirit within the puncture, nothing would occur ; but on the contrary, he sends the horse home
to avoid trouble, who, the next or following day, is found lame, and with his foot hot. If the nail be
only driven too near the sensible lamiuEe, it will only require to be removed to free the horse from his
evil ; but if it have been driven through, and have wounded them, then suppuration ensues, and on examin-
ing the foot by the pincers when the shoe is removed, he will flinch at the pressure on the diseased part.
It is probable, on the removal of the shoe, that matter will at once flow out at the immediate nail hole ;
if not, the drawing knife will soon detect the injury. If the heat be great, and instead of matter, bloody
dark ichor flows out, wrap the foot up in a poultice ; but if healthy matter flows out, this will not be neces-
sary : sometimes it is requisite to detach all the horn that is underrun by the matter ; but when the
injury has not proceeded to this extent, apply over the part a pledget of tow steeped in friar's bafeam ; tack
on the shoe lightly, and retain the dressing by means of splints, which are thin pieces of wood (the withy
which binds birch brooms, is convenient for the purpose,) passed under the shoe ; repeat the dressing daily,
and avoid moisture, which would encourage quittor. A nail picked upon the road, and which passes through
the sole, below or through the frog, is to be treated in the same manner, and also when the matter breaks
out at the coronet; but when a nail is picked up, and penetrates the coffin joint, which is known by the
synovia or joint oil appearing ; such opening should be immediately stopped by paring towards the
wounded joint, and then applying a heated budding-iron, not to the capsular ligament itself, but to the
skin immediately near it ; if this be inconvenient, put a pledget dipped in a little butter of antimony,
just within the opening, but do not press it into the cavity of the joint: if this be insuflicient to stop
the flow, but more particularly if the original wound penetrated to the bone, it is probable that the
bone itself will become in some measure diseased, which is known by the rough grating felt at the
point of the probe when passed. In this case, enlarge the opening so as to be able to scrape the
diseased bone away. Bruises of the sole, from whatever cause, will all fall under some of these points
of view, according as the case may be.
5858. Quittor and canker are the consequences of these injuries when neglected, or originally extensive.
In these cases either the bones, ligaments, or cartilages, or all, become diseased ; and a cure can only be
obtained by removing the diseased parts by the knife or by caustic.
5859. Treads, over-reach, 8;c. A wound on the coronet is not uncommon from one foot being placed
on the other ; or the hinder foot may strike it, &c. First wipe away the dirt, and remove any
loose edges that cannot unite; avoid washing, unless stones and dirt are suspected to be within, and
bind up, having first placed over the wound a pledget of lint or tow moistened with balsamic tincture,
or tincture of myrrh, or of aloes, &c. Over-reaching, or over-stepping, is often an injury done 'to
the fetlock joint before, by the hinder foot, or to the back sinew higher up. Sometimes it is simply
a violent bruise, at others the laceration is extensive, in which case treat as a tread ; and when no
laceration has taken place treat as a bruise or strain.
5860. Cutting is a defect to which some horses are liable from their form, as when they turn their toes
out, or have bent legs. Others cut only when they are lean, which brings their legs nearer together.
Weak horses cut because they cross their legs when fatigued, and young unfurnished horses cut at
youthful periods, and grow out of it afterwards. The part in which a foot interferes with the opposed
limb is very different. When it strikes the shank high up it is called speedy cut, and is best remedied
by wearing knee boots or rollers. When it is at the fetlock the cutting is at the side, or rather backward,
according to circumstances. Some horses cut by the edge of the shoe, others by the hoof at the quarters ;
and some by the point of the heels It is to be remarked, that it is better to put up with the evil of
cutting, than to do as is too frequently done, which is, to pare away the hoof until it excites contraction.
The shoe may be feather edged, or it maybe set a little within the cutting quarter; but by no means
alter the size or the form of the hoofs themselves, and particularly avoid taking liberties of this kind
with the fore feet. Boots, or rollers, are but little trouble to put on, and when not buckled too tight
never injure : whereas to allow a horse to continue to cut produces a callus, and often throws the
animal down.
Sect. VI. Veterinary Operations.
5861. The genera] practices to be here enumerated are chiefly the treatment of wounds,
the application of fomentations, setons, blisters, clysters, and physicking ; and the ope-
i-ations of castrating, nicking, bleeding, &c.
SoBSECT. 1 . Treatment of Wounds.
>
5862. A lo-WHrf must be treated in some measure according to the part of the horse's body in which
it happens ; but there are some principles to bo observed alike in all horse surgery. There are like-
wise a few, which, as they differ from the principles of human surgery, should be first noticed, and
which should guide the practice of those who might be misled by ana'logy. The wounds of horses,
Tiowever carefully brought together and confined in their situation, as well as shut out from the sti-
Book VII. VETERINARY OPERATIONS. 921
mulus of the external air, are seldom disposed to unite at once, or, as it is called in surgical language,
by the first intention. It is always, therefore, necessary to expect the suppurative process : but a»
the adhesive inflammation does now and then occur, we should never wash with water or other
liquids a mere laceration, if no foreign matter, as dirt, &c., be suspected to be lodged within it, still less
should we stuff it with candle or tents of any kind. On the contrary, it should be carefully and smoothly
brought together, and simply bound up in its own blood j and if it do not wholly unite at once, and
by the first intention, perhaps some portion of it may 5 and, at all events, its future progress will be more
natural, and the disfiguration less than when stuffed with tents, tow, &c., or irritated with heating oils or
spirits. When an extensively lacerated wound takes place, it is common, and it is often necessary to
insert sutures, or stitches, into the lips of the wound : and here we have to notice another considerable
variation from the principles of human inflammation, which is, that these stitches in the horse, ox,
and dog, soon ulcerate out, seldom remaining longer than the third or fourth day at farthest. It
therefore is tlie more necessary to be careful, that by perfect rest, and the appropriation of good
bandages, we secure the wound from distortion. In this we may be assisted by strips of sticking
plaster, made with diachylon and pitch : but these strips should be guarded from touching the
wound itself by means of lint or tow first put over it. When, in addition to laceration in a wound,
there is a destruction of substance, then the caution of washing will not apply, as it will be necessary to
bathe with some warming spirit, as, tincture of 7nyrrh, tincture of aloes, or friars^ balsam, to assist in
restoring the life of the part, and in preventing mortification. Bleeding must be stopped by pressure
and astringents, as powdered alum : when it is very considerable, the vessel from whence the blood
comes must be taken up. When great inflammation follows wounds or bruises, counteract it by bleeding,
a cooling temperature, opening medicines, and continual fomentations to the part itself.
SuBSECT. 2. JBallssLnd Brinks.
5863. Mode of giving a ball. Back the horse in his stall, and being elevated on a stool, (not a bucket
turned up side down,) gently draw the tongue a little out of the mouth, so as to prevent its rising to resist
the passage of the hand: the tongue should however not be laid hold of alone, but it should be held
firmly by the fingers of the left hand against the jaw. The ball previously oiled, being taken into the
right hand, which should be squeezed into as narrow a shape as possible, must be passed up close to the
roof of the mouth, and the ball placed on the root of the tongue, when both hands being withdrawn, it
will readily pass down. This mode is much preferable, when a person is at all handy, to using a balling
iron. At Long's, veterinary surgeons' instrument maker, is sold a clever machine for this purpose.
5864. Mode of giving a driiik. Exactly the same process is pursued, except that a horn holding the
liquid matter is forced up the mouth ; the passage being raised beyond the level line, the liquid is poured
out from the larger end of the horn, and when the tongue is loosened it is swallowed. Clark, however,
ingeniously proposes to substitute the smaller end of the horn, the larger being closed, by which, he says,
the horn can be forced up the mouth between the teeth, and poured farther back so as to ensure its not
returning.
SuBSECT. 3. Fomentations and PouUiees,
5865. Fomentations are very commonly recommended of various herbs, as ruej chamomile, St. John'9
wort, wormwood, bay leaves, &c. ; but the principal virtue is to be found in warmth and moisture, which
unload the vessels : but this warmth ought not to be too considerable, except when the inflammation is
within, as in inflamed bowels. Here we foment to stimulate the skin, and cannot foment too hot : but
when we do it at once to an inflamed part, it ought not to be more than of blood heat ; and it should
be continued long, and when removed the part should be dried or covered, or cold may be taken, and
the inflammation increased instead of diminished. Anodyne fomentations are made of poppy heads, and
of tobacco, and are frequently of great use.
5866. The method of applying fomentations is conveniently done by means of two large woollen cloths
wrung out of the heated liquors ; as one is cooling the other should be ready to be applied.
5867. Poultices act in the same way as fomentations in allaying irritation and inflammation ; but are in
some respects more convenient, because they act continually. It is an error to suppose that poultices,
to be beneficial, should be very hot : however hot they may be applied, they soon become of the tem-
perature of the surrounding parts. When poultices are applied to the extremities, a stocking, as has
been before stated, is a convenient imethod of application. When it is drawn over the leg and bound
around the lower part of the hoof, or of the pastern, or otherwise, the matter of the poultice may be
put within, and it may be .then kept in its situation, if high up on the extremity, by means of tape
fastened to one part of it, and passed over the withers or back to the oiher side, and again fastened
to the stocking. In this way, also, loose bandages maybe retained from slipping down. Cold poultices
are often useful in the inflammations arising from strains, &c. In these cases bran and goulard water
form a convenient medium : but when the poultice is necessarily hot, a little linseed meal added to the
bran will render it adhesive, and give it consistence. It is a very necessary caution in this, as in every
instance where bandages are wanted around the extremities, to have them broad, and only so tight as to
secure the matters contained, as in a poultice, or as in common bandaging. It is often supposed that
*' as strong as a horse," denotes that nothing can be too strong for him, nor any means too violent
to hurt him. The horse, on the contrary, is one of the most tender animals alive j and a string tied
very tight round the leg would occasion, first a falling off of the hoof, next a mortification of the
rest of the limb, and lastly the death of the animal; and all this as certainly as though he were shot
with a- bullet through the head.
StJBSECT. 4. Setons and Rowels.
5868. Setons are often useful in keeping up a drain to draw what are termed humors from parts ; or
by their irritations on one part, they lessen the inflammation in another part not very remote, as when
applied in the cheek for ophthalmia or inflamed eyes. They also in ;the same way lessen old swellings
by exciting absorption. Another useful action they have is to make a dependent or convenient orifice for
the escape of lodged matter : thus a .'eton passed from the upper part of the opening of pole evil, through
the upper part of the integuments of the neck, as low as the sinuses run, will often effect a cure without
farther application. The same with fistulous withers, which sometimes run under the shoulder blade,
and appear at the arm point ; in which cases a blunt seton needle, of sufficient length to be passed down
to that point, and to be then cut down upon, will form the only elhcicnt mode of treatment. Setons may
be passed in domestic farrierv, with a common packing needle and a skain of thread, or piece of tape :
but in professional farriery they are made by a proper needle armed with tape or lamp cotton, or skalns
of thread or silk smeared over with digestive ointment. When the seton needle is removed, the ends
of the tape should be joined together, or otherwise knotted, to prevent them from coming out.
5869. Kernels in their intention act as setons, and as irritating a larger surface, so when a general drain
is required they act better ; as in grease, &c. : but when their action is confined to a part only, setons
are more convenient. Anv person may apply a rowel by making an incision in the loose skin about
an inch, separating with the finger its adherences around, and then inserting in the opening a piece oi
round leather with a hole in the middle smeared with a blistering ointment. Then plug the opening
with tow, and in three days, when the suppuration has begun, remove it. The rowel leather is afterwards
to be daily moved and cleaned.
922 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
SuBSECT. 5. Blistering and Firing.
5870. Blistering answers the same purposes as setons ; and is practised by first cutting or shaving the hair
from the part, wlien the blistering ointment {Vet. Pharm. 5890.) should be well rubbed in for ten minutes,
or a quarter of an hour. Some of the ointment after the rubbing may be smeared over the part. The
head of the horse should now be tied up to prevent his gnawing or licking. If a neck cradle be at hand
it may also for safety be put on ; in wMch case the head may let down the third day.
5871. A neck cradle for blistered horses is very convenient for other occasions also, when the mouth
is to be kept from licking or biting other parts j or to keep other parts from being rubbed against the
head. It is of very simple construction, and may be made by a dozen pieces of wood of about an inch and
half diameter, as old broom handles, &c. These bored at each end admit a rope to be passed through ;
and as each is passed on, a knot may be tied to the upper part of the pieces of the cradle, two inches
apart; and those which form the lower part, four inches : by which means the neck will be fitted by the
cradle when it is put on ; and the horse will be prevented from bending his head to lick or gnaw parts to
be protected. When the lower parts of the legs, particularly of the hinder, require blistering, it is
necessary to bear in mind that in gross ;full horses, particularly in autumn, grease is very apt to follow
blistering ; and almost certainly if the back of the heels below the fetlock be blistered. First, therefore,
smear this part over with lard or suet ; and afterwards avoid touching it with the ointment. After
blistering in summer, the horse is often turned out before the blistered parts are quite sound ;
in this case guard them from flies by some kind of covering, or they may become fly-blown : and like-
wise the fourth or fifth day rub into the blistered part some oil or lard to prevent the skin from cracking.
5872. Sweating or liquid blisters ( Vet. Pharm. 5894.) are only more gentle stimulants, which are daily ap-
plied to produce the same effects on a diseased part without removing the hair. Of course less activity is
expected ; yet as the action is repeated, they are often more beneficial even than blistering itself: as in
old strains and stiffnesses.
5873. Firing, as requiring the assistance of an experienced practitioner, we shall not describe; it will
be only prudent to point out that it is a more active mode of blistering ; and that it acts very powerfully
as a stimulant, not only while its effects last as blisters do, but also after its escharotic effect is over, by
its pressure ; and in this way it is that it operates so favorably in bony exostosis, as splints and spavins;
and in this way it is so useful in old ligamentary weaknesses ; because by lessening the dilatability of the
skin it becomes a continual bandage to the part.
SuBSECT. 6. Clystering and Physicking.
5874. Clystering should always be preceded by back-raking, which consists in oiling one hand and arm,
and passing them up the fundament, and by that means to remove all the dung balls that can be reached.
The large pewter syringe for clystering, is neither a useful or safe machine. A much better consists in
a turned box pipe, to which may be attached a large pig or ox-bladder, by which four or five quarts of
liquid can be administered at one time. {Vet. Pharm. 5895. ^o5898.). The pipe should be previously oiled,
by which means it passes more easily : the liquor should then be steadily pressed up ; and when the pipe
is removed, the tail should be held.down over the fundament a little to prevent the return of the clyster.
In some cases of a spasmodic nature, as gripes and locked jaw, great force is made by the bowels to
Yctum the clyster, and nothing but continued pressure over the fundament can enable it to be retained.
Clysters not only act in relaxing the bowels, but they may be used as means of nutriment when it cannot
be taken by the mouth ; as in locked jaw, wounds of the mouth, throat, &c., &c. In locked jaw, it was
observed by Gibson, that he kept a horse alive many days by clysters alone : and by clysters also, many
medicines may be given more conveniently than by the mouth.
5875. Physicking of horses. It is equally an error to refrain altogether from giving horses physic, as it
is to give it on every occasion, as some do. Neither is it necessary for horses to be bled and physicked
every spring and autumn, if they be in perfect health, and the less so, as at this time they are generally
weak and faint from the change going on in their coats. Nor is it always necessary to give horses physic
when they come from grass or a straw yard ; provided the change from the one state to the other be very
moderately brought about. But on such a removal, it certainly expedites all the phenomena of condition,
(5754 ), and such horses are less likely to fall to pieces, as it is termed, afterwards. (5155.) In various mor-
bid states physic is particularly useful, as in worms, hide-bound, from too full a habit, &c. &c. It is not
advisable to physic horses in either very cold, or very warm weather. Strong physic is always hurtful :
all that physic can do is as well operated by a mild as by a strong dose, with infinitely less hazard. No
horse should be physicked whose bowels have not been previously prepared by mashing for two days at
least before. By these means the physic will work kindly, and a moderate quantity only is requisite.
Most of the articles put into the purging balls for horses, to assist the aloes, are useless. Jalap will not
purge a horse, nor rhubarb either. Aloes are the only proper drug to be depended on for this purpose,
and of all the varieties of aloes the socotorine and Cape are the best. {Vet. Pharm. .5915.) Barbadoes aloes
are also not improper, but are thought more rough than the socotorine. For formulae of purging balls,
see Vet. Pharm. (5915.) Blaine gives the following as the process.
5876. Physicking process. The horse having fasted an hour or two in the morning from food, but having
had his water as usual ; give him his purge, and two hours after offer him a little chilled, but not
warm water, as is often done, by which horses are disgusted from taking any : it may be here remarked
that in this particular much error is frequently committed. Many horses will drink water with the chill
taken off, provided it be perfectly clean, and do not smell of smoke from the fire, kettle, or saucepan :
but few, very few, will drink warm or hot water ; and still fewer, if it be in the least degree greasy or
smoky. After the ball has been given two hours, a warm bran mash may be offered, and a very little
hay. He should have walking exercise as usual, moderately clothed : and altogether he should be kept
rather more warm than usual. At noon mash again, and give a little hay, which should be repeated
at night, giving him at intervals chilled water. On the following morning the physic may be expected to
work ; which if it do briskly, keep the horse quiet : but should it not move his bowels, or only relax them,
walk him quietly half an hour, which will probably have the desired effect. Continue to give mashes
and warm water, repeating them every two or three hours to support him. When physic gripes a horse,
give him a clyster of warm water, and hand rub the belly, as well as walk him out. If the griping
prove severe, give him four ounces of gin in half a pint of sound ale, which will soon relieve him. On
the next day the physic will probably set, but should it continue to work him severely, pour down some
boiled starch ; and if this fail, turn to the directions under diarrhoea. (.5804.) The horse should return to his
usual habits of full feeding, and full exercise by degrees ; and if more than one dose be to be given, a
week should intervene. It is often requisite to make the second and third doses rather stronger than the
first. A very mild dose of physic is likewise often given to horses while at grass in very warm weather,
and without any injury. When worms, or skin foulness are present, and mercurial physic is deemed
necessary, it is better to give two drachms of calomel in a mash the previous night, than to put it into the
purging ball.
SuBSECT.. 7. Castration, Nicking, Docking, ^c.
5877. The operations of castration, docking, nicking, and that of cropping (which is now seldom practised),
all require the assistance of a veterinary surgeon ; and it is only necessary to remark of them, that the
after treatment must be the same as in all other wounds. To avoid irritation, to preserve a cool tempe-
rature and a moderate diet ; and if active febrile symptoms make their appearance, to obviate them by
bleeding, &c., &c. It likewise is proper to direct the attention of the agriculturist who attends to these
T3ooK VII. VETERINARY PHARMACOPi:iA. 925
matters himself, that the moment the wound following any of these operations looks otherwise than
healthy, locked jaw is to be feared, and no time should be lost in seeking the best assistance that can be
obtained. (5763.)
SuBSECT. 8, Bleeding.
581H. Bleeding is a very common, and to the horse a very important operation, because his inflamma-
tory diseases, on account of the great strength of his arterial system, run to a fatal termination very soon,
and can only be checked in the rapidity of their prc^res&, by abstracting blood, which diminishes the
momentum of circulation. Bleeding is more particularly important in the inflammatory diseases of th«
horse ; because we cannot, as in the human, lower the circulation by readily nauseating the stomach.
Bleeding also lessens irritation particularly in the young and plethoric, or those of full habit : hence we
bleed in spasms of the bowels, in locked jaw, &c., with good effect. Bleeding is general or topical.
General, as from the neck, when we mean to lessen the general momentum. Topical, when we bleed
from a particular part, as the eye, the plate vein, the toe, &c. Most expert practitioners use a large
lancet to bleed with ; and when the habit of using it is acquired, it is by far the best instrument, parti-
cularly for superficial veins where a blow might carry the fleam through the vessel In common hands the
fleam {fig. 623.), as the more general instrument,; is best adapted to
the usual cases requi>ing the agriculturist's notice. Care should, 623
however, be taken not to strike it with vehemence ; and the hair
being first wetted and smoothed down, it should be pressed close
between the hairs, so that its progress may not be impeded by them.
A ligature should be first passed round the neck, and a hand held
over the eye, unless the operator be very expert, when the use of the _
fingers will dispense with the ligature. The quantity of blood taken \ I /
is usually too small. In inflammatory diseases, a large horse, parti- M/
cularly in the early stage of a complaint, will bear to lose eight or ten quarts : "and half the quantity
may betaken away two or three times afterwards, if the violence of the symptoms ssem to require it ;
and the blood should be drawn in a large stream to do all the good it is capable of. After the bleeding is
finished, introduce a sharp pin, and avoid drawing the skin away from the vein while pinning, which
lets the blood escape between the vein and skin : wrap round a piece of tow or hemp, and next day
remove th6 pin", which might otherwise inflame the neck. In drawing blood, let it always be measured :
letting it fall on the ground prevents the ascertaining the quantity ; it also prevents anv observation on the
state of the blood, which if it form itself into a cup-like cavity on its surface, and exhibit a tough yellow
crust over this cavity, it betokens an inflammatory state of body that will require further bleedings,
unless the weakness forbid. After the bleeding, it now and then happens, from rusty lancets, too violent
a stroke with the blood stick, or from drawing away the skin too much while pinning up, that the orifice
inflames and hardens, and ichor is seen to ooze out between its edges. Immediatelv this is discovered,
recourse must be had to an able veterinary surgeon, or the horse will lose the vein, and perhaps his- life.
Sect. VII. Tlie Veterinary Pharmacopeia.
5879. The foWow'ingformulcsfor veterinary jwactice have been compiled from the works
«of the most eminent veterinary writers of the present day, as Blaine, Claric, Laurence,
iPeel, White, &c. ; and we can from our own experience also, confidently recora-
jnend the selection to the notice of agriculturists, and the owners of horses in general.
'It M'ould be prudenit for such as have many horses, and particularly for such as live at a
•distance from the assistance of an able veterinarian, to keep the more necessary articles by
them in case of emergence : some venders of horse drugs keep veterinary medicine chests ;
and where the compositions can be depended on, and the uncompounded drugs are
genuine and good, one of these is a most convenient appendage to every stable. The
best arranged veterinary medicine chest we have seen, was in London, at the veterinary
elaboratory of Youatt of Nassau Street, Middlesex Hospital.
5880. The veterinary pharmacopeia for oxen, calves, and sheep has been included in the
arrangement. When.any speciality occurs, or where distinct recipes are requisite, they
hax'e been carefully noticed ; it will therefore only be necessary to be kept in mind, that with
the exception of acrid substances, as mineral acids, &c. , which no cattle bear with equal im-
punity with the horse; the remedies prescribed require about the following proportions.
A .large ox will bear the proportions of a moderate sized horse ; a moderate sized cow
something less ; a calf about a third of the quantity ; and a sheep about a quarter, or at
nio^ a third of the proportions directed for the cow. It is also to be remarked, that tlie
degrees in strength in the different recij)es, are usually regulated by their numbers, the
mildest standing tirst
5881. Alteratives. 2.
I Winter's bark in powder, 3 drachm":
Levigated antimony. 2 draChms. gl"^" ^l^J^^'.^U'r^r'* ^ half drachm..
Cream of tartar.
Gentian, do. 3 drachms.
Flower of sulphur, each half an ounce. . Make either of these into a ball with honey, and
•*^ *^ , give every monnng.
3
Cream of tartar. White vitriol, 1 drachm."
Nitre, of each half an ounce. Ginger or pimento ground, 2 drachms.
3. Powdered quassia, half an ounce.
iEthiops mineral, Ale, 8 ounces. — Mix, and give as a drink-
Levigated antimony, 4.
Powdered resin, each SdrachmS. Arsenic, 10 grains.
Give in a mash, or in corn and bran a little wetteiJ, Oatmeal, 1 ounce,
every uight, or make into a ball with honey. Mix, and give in mash or moistened corn nightly.
5882. Tonic Alteratives. 5S83. Astringent Mixtures for Diarrhea, Lax, or
1. Scouring.
Gentian, 1.
Aloes, Powdered ipecacuanha, 1 drachm.
Ginger. Do., opium, half a drachm.
Blue vitriol, in powder, of each 1 drachm, " Prepared chalk, 2 ounces.
Oak bMk in powder, 6 dracbras. Boiled starch, 1 pint.
924
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
Suet, 4 ounces ; boiled in
Milk, 8 ounces.
Boiled starch, 6 ounces.
Powdered alum, 1 drachm.
' The following has been very strongly recom-
mended in some cases, for the.lax (rf, horses and
cattle.
3.
Glauber's salts, 2 ounces.
Epsom do., 1 ounce.
Green vitriol, 4 grains.
Gruel, half a pint.
When the lax or scouring at all approaches to
dysentery or molten grease, the following drink
should be first given.
4.
Casjtor oil, 4 ounces.
Glauber's salts (dissolved), 2 ounces.
Powdered rhubarb, half a drachm.
Powdered opium, 4 grains.
Gruel, 1 pint.
5884. Astringent Balls for Diabetes or Pissing Evil.
Catechu (Japan earth), half an ounce.
Alum powdered, half a drachm.
Sugar of lead, 10 grains.
Conserve of roses to make a ball.
.5885. Astringent Paste for Thrush, Poot-rot, Foul
in the Foot, SfC.
Prepared calamine.
Verdigris, of each half an ounce.
"White vitriol.
Alum, of each half a drachm.
Tar, 3 ounces : mix.
>5886. Astringent Washes for Cracks in the Heels,
Wounds, %c.
Sugar of lead, 2 drachms.
White vitriol, 1 drachm.
Strong infusion of oak, or elm bark, 1 pint : mix.
2.
Green vitriol, 1 drachm.
Infusion of galls, half a pint.
Mix, and wash the parts three times a day.
5887. Powder for Cracks, S(C.
3.
Prepared calamine, 1 ounce.
Puller's earth, powdered.
Pipe clay, do., of each 2 ounces.
Mix, and put within gauze and dab the moist sur-
faces of the sores frequently.
5888. Astringent Paste for Grease.
1.
Prepared calamine,
Tutty powdered,
Charcoal, do. of each 2 ounces.
Yeast enough to make a paste.
2.
To the above, if more strength be required, add
of alum and verdigris, each a drachm.
5889. Astringent Wash for Do.
3.
Corrosive sublimate, 2 drachms.
Spirit of wine or brandy, 1 ounce.
Soft water, 10 ounces.
Rub the sublimate in a mortar with the spirit till
dissolved, then add the water. This is a strong
preparation, and has often proved successful in very
bad cases of grease, which have resisted all the usual
remedies.
589a Blisters.
1. A general one.
Cantharides powdered, 2 ounces.
Venice turpentine, do.
Resin, do.
Palm oil or lard, 2 lbs.
Melt the three latter articles together, and when
not too hot stir in the Spanish flies.
2.
5891. A strong cheap Blister, but not proper to be
used in Fevers or Inflammations, as of the Lungs,
Bowels, 8(c.
Euphorbium powdered, 1 ounce.
Oil of vitriol, 2 scruples.
Spanish flies, 6 ounces. -
Palm oil or lard.
Resin, of each, 1 lb.
Oil of turpentine, 3 ounces.
Melt the resin with the lard or palm oil. 'Having
previously mixed the oil of vitriol with an ounce of
water gradually, as gradually add this mixture to
the melted mass ; which again set on a very slow
fire for ten minutes more : afterwards remove the
whole, and when beginning to cool, add the powders
previously mixed together.
3.
5892. A Mercurial Blister for Splints, Spavins, and
Ringbones.
Of either of the above, 4 ounces.
Corrosive sublimate>finely powdered, half a drachm
4.
5893. Strong Liquid Blister,
Spanish flies in gross powder, 1 ounce.
Oil of origanum, 2 drachms.
Oil of turpentine, 4 ounces.
Olive oil, 2 ounces.
Steep the flies in the turpentine three weeks,
strain ofiT, and add the oil.
5.
5894. Mild Liquid or Sweating Blister.
Of the above, 1 ounce.
Olive oil or goose grease, one and a half ounce.
5895. Clysters, a. Laxative one.
1.
Thin gruel or broth, 5 quarts.
Epsom or common salts, 6 ounces.
5896. Clyster for Gripes.
2.
Mash two moderate sized onions.
Pour over them oil of turpentine, 2 ounces.
Capsicum, or pepper, half an ounce.
Thin gruel, 4 quarts.
5897. Nutritious Clyster.
3.
Thick gruel, 3 quarts.
Strong sound ale, 1 quart.
or 4.
Strong broth, 2 quarts.
Thickened milk, 2 quarts.
5898. Astnngent Clyster.
5.
Tripe liquor, or suet boiled in milk, S pints. '
Thick starch, 2 pints.
Laudanum, half an ounce,
or 6.
Alum whey, 1 quart.
Boiled starch, 2 quarts.
5899. Cordial Balls.
Gentian powdered, 4 ounces.
Ginger, do., 2 ounces.
Coriander seeds, do., 4 ounces.
Carraway, do. 4 ounces.
Oil of aniseed, a quarter of an ounce.
Make into a mass with honey, treacle, or lard, and
give one ounce and a half for a dose.
5900. Chronic Cough Balls.
1.
Calomel, 1 scruple.
Gum ammoniacum,
Horse radish, of each 2 drachms.
Balsam of Tolu,
Squills, each 1 drachm.
Beat all together, and make into a ball with honey,
and give every morning fasting;
5901. Drink for the same,
2.
Tar water.
Lime water, of each half a pint.
Tincture of squills, half an ounce
5902. Powder for the samt,
3.
Tartar emetic, 2 drachms.
Powdered foXglove, half a drachm.
Powdered squill, half a drachm.
Calomel, 1 scruple.
Nitre, 3 drachms.
• Give every n ight in a malt mash.
Book VII.
VETERINARY PHARMACOPEIA.
025
5903. Diuretic Balls.
Resin, yellow, 1 lb.
Nitre, half a pound.
Horse turi'entine, half a pound.
Yellow soap, quarter of a pound.
Melt the resin, soap, and turpentine over a slow
fire; when cooling, add the nitre. For a strong
dose, an ounce and a half, for a mild one an ounce.
It should be kept in mind, that mild diuretics are
always equal to what is required ; and that strong
diuretics are always hurtful.
5904. Diuretic Powders.
Yellow resin, powdered, 4 ounces.
Nitre, ditto, 8 ounces.
Cream of tartar, ditto, 4 ounces.
Dose— .6, 8, or 10 drachms nightly, which some
horses will readily eat in a mash.
5905. Urine Drink.
Glauber's salts, 2 ounces.
Nitre, 6 drachms.
Dissolve in a pint of warm water.
5906. Embrocations.-~Cooling for Inflammations.
1.
Goulard's extract, half an ounce.
Spirit of wine or brandy, 1 ounce.
Soft water, 1 quart
Mindererus spirit, 4 ounces.
"Water, 12 ounces.
5907. For Strains, \
Bay salt, bruised, half a pound.
Crude sal ammoniac, 2 ounces.
Sugar of lead, quarter of an ounce. ;
Vinegar, 1 pint and a half.
"Water, 1 pint.
590a For the Eyes.
Sugar of lead, 1 drachm.
"White vitriol, 2 scruples.
"Water, 1 pint.
2.
Brandy, 1 ounce.
Infusion of green tea, 4 ounces.
Tincture of opium, 2 drachms.
Infusion of red roses, 4 ounces.
3.
Rose water, 6 ounces.
Mindererus spirit, 3 ounces.
4.
Corrosive sublimate, 4 grains.
Alkohol, 1 ounce.
Lime water, 1 pint.
5.
Alum, powdered, 1 drachm*'
Calomel, half .a drachm.
Mix, and insert a little at one corner of the eye.
The custom of blowing it in alarms the horse.
5909. Fever Powders.
1.
Tartar emetic, 2 drachms.
Nitre, 5 drachms,
2.
Antimonial powder, 2 drachms.
Cream of tartar,
Nitre, of each 4 drachms.
5910. Fever Drink.
3.
Sweet spirit of nitre, 1 ounce.
Mindererus spirit, 6 ounces.
Water, 4 ounces.
5911. Epidemic Fever Drink.
4.
Sweet spirit of nitre, 1 ounce.
Simple oxymel, 6 ounces.
Tartar emetic, 3 drachms.
5912. Malignant Epidemic Fever.
5.
Simple oxymel,
Mindererus spirit,
Beer yeast, of each 4 ounces.
Sweet spirit of nitre, 1 ounce.
5913. Fumigations for purifying infected Stables^
Sheds, 4-c., ,
Manganese, 2 ounces.
Common salt, ditto.
Oil of vitriol, 3 ounces.
"Water, 1 ounce.
Put the mixed manganese and salt into a bason ;
then, having before mixed the vitriol and water
very gradually, pour them by means of tongs, or
any thing that will enable you to stand at a sutHcient
distance, on the articles in the bason gradually.
As soon as the fumes rise, retire and shut up the
door close.
5914. Hoof Liquid.
Oil of turpentine, 4 ounces.
Tar, 4 ounces.
"Whale oil, 8 ounces.
This softens and toughens the hoofs extremely,
when brushed over them night and morning.
5915. Purging Medicines. .
Balls — very mild.
Aloes, powdered, 6 drachms.
Oil of turpentine, 1 drachm.
. Mild.
Aloes, powdered, 8 drachms.
Oil of turpentine, 1 drachm.
Strong.
Aloes, powdered, 10 drachms.
Oil of turpentine, 1 drachm.
The aloes may be beaten with treacle to a mass,
adding, during the beating, the oil of turpentine.
All spices, oil of tartar, cream of tartar, jalap, &c.
are useless, and often hurtful additions,^
5916. Liquid Purge.
Epsom salts dissolved, 8 ounces.
Castor oil, 4 ounces.
Watery tincture of aloes, 8 ounces.
Mix.— The watery tincture of aloes is made by
beating powdered aloes with the yolk of egg, adding
water by degrees ; by these means half an ounce of
aloes may be suspended in eight ounces of water ;
and such a purge is useful when a ball cannot be
got down, as in partial locked jaw. j
5917. Scalding Mixture for Pole Evil.
Corrosive sublimate, finely powdered, 1 drachm.
Yellow basilicon, 4 otonces.
5918. Foot Stoppings.
Horse and cow dung, each about 2 lbs.
Tar, half a pound.
5919. Wash for coring out, destroying Fungus^ or
proud Fleshy l^c, SfC.
Lunar caustic, 1 drachm.
Water, 2 ounces.
5920. Wash for Mange.
Corrosive sublimate, 2 drachms.
Spirit of wine or brandy, 1 ounce.
Decoction of tobacco.
Ditto of white hellebore, of each 1 pint.'
Dissolve the mercury in the spirit and then add
the decoctions.
5921. Ointments for Healing.
1.
Turner's cerate, 4 ounces.
AVhite vitriol powdered, half a drachm.
Lard, 4 ounces.
5922. For Digesting.
2.
Turner's cerate, 2 ounces.
White vitriol, 1 drachm.
Yellow basilicon, 5 ounces,
5923. For Mange.
Sulphur vivum, 8 ounces.
Arsenic in powder, 2 drachms.
Mercurial ointment, 2 ounces.
Turpentine, 2 ounces.
Lard, 8 ounces.
Mix, and dress with every morning,
5924, For Scab or Shab in Sheep, Mallenders and
Sellenders in Horses, and foul Blotches and
Eruptions in Cattle in general.
Camphor, 1 drachm.
Sugar of lead, half a drachm.
Mercurial ointment, 1 ounce.
926
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
Sect. VIII. The Shoeing of Horses.
5925. The importance of the subject of shoeing to the agriculturist is sufficiently-
attested by the immense number of inventions which the ingenuity of philosophers and
artists are every day devising, to render the system complete. Almost every veterinary-
professor has his favorite shoe ; and we find one of the most ingenious of the present
day endeavoring to force on our notice, and introduce into our stables the French
method ; which, with the exception of the mode of nailing on, White observes, is the very-
worst he ever saw. The French shoe [fig. 624 a) has a wide web g24
towards the toe, and is concave above, and convex below (6), on
the ground surface, by which neither the toe nor heel touch the
ground (c) ; but the horse stands pretty much in the same
way with an unhappy cat, shod by unlucky boys with walnut
shells. But as Blaine observes, in reference to these inven-
tions, "No one form of foot defence can be offered as an
universal pattern." It is, he continues, plain that the principles
of shoeing ought to be those that allow as little departure from
nature as circumstances will justify. The practice also should
be strictly consonant to the principles ; and both ought to con-
sist, first, in removing no parts but those which, if the bare hoof
were applied to natural ground, would remove of themselves.
Secondly, in bringing such parts in contact with the ground
(generally speaking) as are opposed to it in an unshod state;
and above all, to endeavor to preserve the original form of the
foot, by framing the shoe thereto ; but never to alter the foot
to the defence. The shoe at present made at the forges of the most respectable smiths
in the cities and large towns throughout the kingdom, if it have not all the requisites,
is, however, so much improved on, that with some alterations, not difficult either to
direct or adopt, is the one we shall hold up as the most eligible for general shoeing. It
is not that a better might not be offered to the notice ; and in fact such a one we shall
present to our readers ; but so averse are the generality of smiths to have any improve-
ments forced on them, and so obstinately determined are they to adhere to the forms
handed down to them by their forefathers, that their stupidity or malevolence, or both,
frequently makes the improvement itself, when seemingly acquiesced in, a source of
irreparable injury. It is for these reasons we would recommend to agriculturists in
general, a modified shoe of the common stamp.
5926. The improved shoe for general use (fig. 625.), is rather wider than what is
usually made. Its nail holes (a) extend no further towards 625
the heels than is actually necessary for security ; by which
the expansion of these parts is encouraged, and contraction
is avoided. To strengthen the attachment, and to make up
for this liberty given to the heels, the nails should be carried
around the front of the shoe (c). The nail holes, on the
under or ground surface of the shoe («), are usually formed
in a gutter, technically called the fullering ; but in the case
of heavy treading powerful horses, this gutter may be omit-
ted, or if adopted, the shoe in that part may be steeled.
The web, should be quite even on the foot or hoof surface
(6 1, and not only be rather wider, but it should also have
rather more substance than is common : from half an
inch to fi-ve eighths in thickness, according to circumstance, forms a fair proportion ;
when it is less it is apt, in wearing, to bend to pressure and force ou't the clinches.
A great error is committed in setting shoes out so much wider than the heels themselves :
this error has been devised to correct another, which has been that of letting horses go too
long without shoeing ; in which case, if the heels of the shoe were not too wide origi-
nally, as the foot grew, they became lost within the heels ; and thus bruised and pro-
duced corns : but as we will suppose that few will wish to enter into a certain error to
avoid an uncertain one, so we recommend that the heels of the shoe should stand only-
wide enough to prevent the expansion of the quarters pushing the heels of the feet over
the outer edge of the heels of the shoe : for which purpose if the iron project rather
less than a quarter of an inch, instead of three-eighths, or even half an inch, as it fre-
quently does, many advantages will be gained. Whoever attentively examines a shoe
well set off at the heels, as it is termed, will find only one third of its flat surface
protecting the heels ; the remainder projects beyond, and serves but to form a shelf
to lodge dirt on ; or as a convenient clip for another horse to tread on ; or for the
wearer to cut his own legs with ; or to afford a more ready Iiold for the suction of clayey
Book VII. SHOEING OF HORSES. 927
grounds to force off the shoe by. The heels of the common shoe are likewise not in
general sufficiently long for the protection of the foot ; and which defect, more than a
want of width, causes the tendency to press on the crust of the heels. It is further to be
observed, that if the decreased width of the outer standing of the heels, and the in-
creased width of the web, should make the inner angle of the shoe heel in danger of
interfering with the frog, the corner may be taken off. In forging this shoe, it may be
bevelled, or left plane on both surfaces, or rather nearly so, for it is usual with
most smiths to thin it in some degree towards the inner edge. This shoe is appli-
cable to most feet, is easily formed, and as such, in country places is all that can be
expected.
5927. The injurious effects of bad shoeing would only require to be known to excite
every endeavor to obviate them ; and there are some circumstances in the more common
shoes of country smiths, that ought to be impressed on the mind of every agricultu-
rist, and guarded against by every one who possesses a horse. It is too frequently
observed that the ground side of their shoe is convex, and that the inward rim, when
the foot is on the ground, is the lowest part; on which it is evident the weight must
first press ; and by which pressure, the crust will be forcibly thrust on the extreme
edge of the shoe ; and the only resistance offered to its being forced from it, depends
on the nails and clinches, instead of its just application to the ground, and the sup-
port derived from the uniform pressure of the whole. Every shoe should therefore be
perfectly level on its ground surface: nor should any shoe be put on that has not.
been tried on a plane iron purposely made for such trial ; which irons are kept
in some smithies, but are absent from too many. The substance of the shoe should be
the same throughout, forming two parallel lines of upper and under surface; in
plain language, the heels, instead of being clubbed as is too frequent, should be the
exact thickness of the toe. Neither should the width at the heels diminish in the pro-
portion it usually does ; on the contrary, for a perfectly formed foot, the web should
present an uniform width throughout.
5928. Varieties in form of foot, differences in size, weight, and uses of horses, will
necessarily make deviations in the form and substance of shoes. The very shoe recom-
mended may be considered as a variation from what would be immediately necessary,
were the feet generally perfect ; but it is to be considered that there are but very few
feet but what have undergone some unfavorable alteration in their form, which makes
them very sensible to concussion. It is for this reason, therefore, that it is recommended,
that a shoe be used, for general purposes, somewhat wider and thicker than the common
one. In weak, tender, flexible feet, it will be found particularly advantageous ; and
here the benefit of wide heels to the shoe will be most apparent. Good as the roads
now are, yet most horses are occasionally subjected to travel on bad ones ; some know
no other : to these the addition of one, or at the most, two ounces to each shoe is
nothing ; but the ease to the horse, and its superior covering, as well as support, is incal-
culable. In very young, very light, and very firm feet, the width and substance may
be somewhat diminished at pleasure, and particularly in situations where the roads are
uniformly good ; but a very long and extensive experience has assured us, that the
shoe portrayed, is one well calculated to meet the ordinary purposes of travelling, and
the present state of the art of horse shoeing.
5929. An improved shoe on the present plan (Jig- 626.}, would be found to unite
all the perfections of the modern English improvements, . 626
with some derived from our neighbors the French. What
has since been called a seated shoe was introduced by Os-
mer ; but from the obstinacy and ignorance of smiths, as
it could not be brought into general use, it became little
thought of, until revived by Clark of Edinburgh ; by
whom it was patronized and recommended. It finally was
taken up by Moorcroft, and has ever since attracted some
attention, and continues to be forged in some shops where
the work is superiorly done ; and where the employers
have liberality enough to pay for such work, and judgment
enough to discriminate between its advantages and those
of the common shoe. If to this shoe were added the
French mode of fastening it to the foot, we think the improvement would almost
shut out all others. On examining the figure it will be seen that this shoe presents
a flat surface opposed to the ground [a), but a concave one towards the sole (b) ;
but that this concavity does not begin, as in some seated shoes near the outer edge,
but embraces two thirds only of the web, leaving by this means a suflficient surface
for the crust : but this bevelling is not intended to reach the heels ; it stops short
of them (c , leaving the web at this part plane for the heels to rest upon. The
928 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Paat III.
great advantages of this seating are, first, that as the crust rests on a flat surface instead
of an inclined plane, as most of the common forged shoes present, so its position is
maintained entire, and the inclination to contraction is in a great degree avoided. The
nailing on of this shoe we veould recommend to be after the French method, which
consists in conical nail holes, punched with a square countersink (d), into which arc
received conical nails (e), whicli exactly fill up the countersink; by which means so long
as any part of the base of the nail remains, the shoe must be held firmly on, and which
is not the only advantage gained ; for the nail holes being obliquely formed, and at some
distance from the outer rim, act less detrimentally on the crust of the foot.
5930. To prepare the foot Jor the application of the shoe is also an important con-
sideration. Avoid taking off more than one shoe at a time ; otherwise the edges of
the crust become broken away. Observe that the clinches are all carefully removed.
Let the rough edges of the crust be rasped away; after which, the sole should be pared
throughout until a strong pressure with the thumb can produce some yielding : too
strong a sole tends to heat and contraction, too weak a one will not require paring.
In this paring imitate the natural arch of the sole as much as possible. The line of
concavity sliould not begin, as it usually is made to do, from the extreme margin of the
foot, but should begin from the inner line of the crust only ; by which means the crust,
or outer wall of the hoof, will have a firm bearing on the flat surface of the shoe. Let
no heated shoe be applied to correct the inequalities that may be left, unless it is for a
moment, only to observe, but not burn them ; but still more carefully avoid putting a
plane shoe on an uneven foot. The portion of sole between the bars and quarters
\jig. 622 d) should be always pared out as the surest preventive against corns. The
heels also should be reduced to the general level of the foot, never allowing their hard-
ness to serve as an excuse for being left ; neither suffer the inner heel to be lowered
more than the outer. After all the rest has been done, the frog should be so trimmed
as to remain on an exact level with the returns of the heels, and no more. The custom
of taking away the point or angle of the horny inflexions of the heels, under the false
term of opening the heels, is to be carefully avoided. Let all these operations be per-
formed with a drawing knife. The butteris should never be allowed to come near the
foot of any horse but the largest and coarsest of the cart breed.
5931. The shoes for the hind feet are someivhat different to the fore, being a little
squarer at the toe for about an inch ; to which squareness the hoof is to be also adapted
by rasping it slightly so, avoiding, however, to do it injuriously. By this mode a
steady point of bearing is afforded to the hinder feet in the great exertions they are often
called upon to make in galloping, leaping, &c. They are, when thus formed, less
liable, also, to interfere with the fore shoes by clicking. When horses click or over-reach
very much, it is also common to square, or rather to shorten the toes of the hinder shoes ;
but not to do so by the horn ; by which, the hoof meets the middle of the fore shoe
instead of the shoe itself; and the unpleasant noise of the stroke or click of one foot
against the other is avoided. g27
5932. Varieties which necessarily occur in shoeing. The bar
shoe {.fig' 627.), is the most important variety, and it is to be
regretted that so much prejudice prevails against the use of this
«hoe, which can only arise from its supposed unsightly appear-
ance as betokening unsoundness. As a defence to weak thin
feet it is invaluable, as it removes a part of the pressure from
the heels and quarters, which can ill bear it, to the frog which
can well bear it ; but a well formed bar shoe should not have
its barred part raised into an edge behind, but such part should
be of one uniform thickness throughout the web of the bar,
which, instead of being the narrowest, should be the widest part
of the shoe. The thickness of the bar should be greater or less (a),
so as to be adapted to take only a moderate pressure from the frog. When the frog
is altogether ulcerated away by thrush, the bar may be altogether plain ; but this form
of shoe is still the best for these cases, as it prevents the tender surface from being
wounded. In corns this shoe is invaluable, and may then be so made as to lie off the
affected part, which is the great desideratum in corns.
5933. The hunting shoe is made lighter than the common one, and it is of consequence,
that it is made to sit as flat to the foot as it can safely do without pressing on the sole :
by which the great suction in clayey grounds is much lessened. Hunting fore shoes
should also be as short at the heels as is consistent with safety to the foot, to avoid the
danger of being pulled off by the hinder shoes : nor should the web project at all. It
is the custom to turn up the outer heel to prevent slipping ; which is done some-
times to both fore and hind feet, and sometimes only to the latter. As this precaution
can hardly be avoided in hilly slippery grounds, it should be rendered as little hurtful
Book VII. CRITERIA OF HORSES. 929
as possible by making the tread equal ; to which purpose, thicken the inner heel and
turn up the outer. This is better than lowering the outer heel to receive the shoe, which
still leaves both the tread and foot uneven.
5934. The racing shoe^ or plate i is one made as light and slender as will bear the
weight of the horse, and the operations of forging, grooving, and punching : to enable
it to do which, it ought to be made of the very best Swedish iron. Three, or at most
four nails, are sufficient on each side ; and to avoid the interfering of the hind with the
fore feet, the heels of the fore shoes are made as short as they can safely be. As racers
are shod in the stable, tlie owners should be doubly careful that the plate is an exact fit.
Many pairs ought to be brought and tried before any are suffered to be put on, and
which is more important than is at first considered.
5935. Grass shoes or tips are very short pieces placed on the toe alone, in horses
turned to grass in summer ; at which time they are essentially necessary to guard the
fore feet, which otherwise become broken away, and irretrievably injured. They should
be looked at occasionally to see that they do not indent themselves into the
soles.
5936. Frost shoes, (fig. 628 a) have the ends turned up to prevent
the foot from sliding; unless the turning up or cjrikin be hardened,
they soon wear level and require to be renewed, to the injury of the foot
by such frequent removals. To remedy this, many inventions have
been tried ; one of the best of these is that of Dr. Moore, in which
the frost clip is made distinct and moveable by means of a female
screw (6) worked in it, to which a knob or wedge (c), and male
screw (rf) are adapted ; a key (e) being used for fixing or remov-
ing it.
5937. High calkins^ or turn ups, however objectionable in ge-
neral shoeing, yet, in precipitous counties, as those of Devonshire, Yorkshire, and
of Scotland, &c., are absolutely necessary for their draught horses. It greatly obviates
the evils of uneven pressure, if a calkin be also put to the toe ; and it would be
still better were these calkins steeled, particularly the fore ones.
5938. The shoeing of diseased feet is necessarily very various, and is too often left to
the discretion of the smith, by which the evils themselves are greatly aggravated, if he
be ignorant. The most prominent alterations for these purposes will be found described
under the respective diseases of the feet requiring them.
5939. Horse pattens are in use by some cultivators who occupy soft or mossy soils.
Those esteemed the best are constructed of alder or elm, and are fixed to the hoof by
means of three links and a staple, through each of which passes a leathern strap that
goes twice round the hoof, and is fastened by a buckle. The staple is placed behind
the patten, which is ten inches one way, by ten and a half the other. The links are
about three inches in length, and rivetted through pieces of hoop iron to prevent the
wood from splitting. After numerous trials it has been found that pattens made in this
way, answer tlie purpose better than any other kind. (Farm. Mag.)
Sect. IX. Criteria of the Qualities of Horses for various purposes.
5940. The general criteria of the qualities of a horse are derived from inspection and
trial. His outward appearance among judges affords a pretty just criterion of Iiis powers,
and a moderate trial usually enables the same judgment to decide on the disposition to
exercise such powers.
5941. The criteria of a horse derived from his color have been already noticed. (5629.)
As a general principle dark are preferable to liglit horses, except in the instance of
black, which has fewer good horses within its range, particularly in the lighter breeds,
than any other. Grey hearses are also, in some degree, an exception to tlie rule ; for
there are many good greys. Bay and brown are always esteemed colors.
5942. The criteria of action are derived from a due consideration of the form gene-
rally, and of the limbs particularly ; as well as from seeing the horse perform his paces
in hand.
5943. The criteria of hardihood are derived from the form of the carcase, which should
bo circular, or barrelled ; by which, food is retained, and strength gained, to perform
what is required. Such horses are also generally good feeders.
5944. The criteria of spirit, vigor, or mettle, as it is termed, are best derived from
trial. It should always be kept in mind, that a hot fiery horse is as objectionable as a
horse of good courage is desirable. Hot horses may be known by their disinclination to
standstill; by their mettle being raised by the slightest exercise, especially when in
company. Sucli horses seldom last long, and under accident are impetuous and
frightened in tiie extreme. A good couraged horse, on the contrary, moves with readi-
ness as well alone as in company : he carries one ear forward and one backward; is at-
tentive and cheerful, loves to be talked to, and caressed even while on his journey ; and
3 O
930 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
if in double harness, will play with his mate. Gcod couraged horses are always the best
tempered, and, under difficulties, are by far the most quiet, and least disposed to do
mischief.
5945. The criteria of a race-horse, derived from fonn, are, that he have the greatest possible quan-
tity of bone, muscle, and sinew, in the most condensed form. There should be a general length of parts
to afford stretch, scope, and elasticity, with great muscles \ ardened by condition, to act on the length of
these parts advantageously. In particular his hind-limbs should be furnished with ample thighs, and
broad hocks, which should below set. His fore arm ought also to be broad, and the knee, like the hock,
should be near the ground.
5^yi6. The criteria of a hunter are, that he have somewhat similar pro])ortions with the racer, but v/itb
more bulk to enable him to continue his exertions longer, aid to carry more weight. In him, a good car-
Case is essentially necessary to fit him to go through a long chase ; and the more, if he be required to hunt
more than one or two days in the week. Some light canased horses will do one day's hunting work a
week very well ; but knock up at more. The hunter should be well formed in his loins, and well let
down in his thighs to propel him forward in his gallop, and give him strength to rise sufficiently to cover
his leaps. It is also of great use to a hunter to be a good trotter ; many such horses, when
fatigued, break out of the gallop and relieve themselves by trotting, particularly over heavy ground.
5947. The criteria of a hackney. If it be necessary that the hackney be well formed
behind to give him strength, and to propel him forward, it is even of more consequence
that he be well formed before ; and in this kind of horse the hind parts are in some mea-
sure subordinate to the fore, as safety is ])referable to speed. The head in the
hackney should be small, and well placed on a neck of due length and substance to
make a proper appui for the bridle ; and that proper resistance to the hand, so
pleasant to the feel, and so necessary for ease and safety. The shoulders should be ob-
lique and well furnished with muscle, but not heavy ; and the withers in particular
should be high. The elbows should be turned rather out than in, and the legs
should stand out straight, and by no means fall under the horse, or it betokens a
stumbler. The pasterns should neither be too oblique, which bespeaks weak-
ness ; nor too straight, which wears the horse out, and is unpleasant to the rider. The
carcase should be round, or the horse will be washy and weak ; the loins straight,
wide, and ribbed home ; the thighs of good substance ; and although the being cat-
hammed, or having the hocks turned inwards, is defective in beauty, it often bespeaks a
trotter.
5948. The criteria of a cavalry horse are, that he have considerable extension of bulk or size, to enable
him to carry weight, with good carcase to allow him to feed c oarsely, and yet thrive at piquet or on service.
He should have also liberty of action ; but great speed is not requisite. The best cavalry horses are
those formed of the united properties of hackneys, and very light draught horses.
5949. The criteria of road horses for quick draught, or coach, chariot, stage and post
chaises, &c., are derived from the immediate purposes for which they are intended;
as requiring either strength or speed in greater proportions. To make them safe, the fore-
hand should rise, the back should be straight, the step should be short but quick, which
fatigues least. As they approach the hunter in form, they are best fitted for quick
work ; and as they resemble the best kind of light agricultural horses, they are calcu-
lated for heavy draught, as coaches, &c. But in all, a portion of blood gives courage,
durability, and condenses strength into lessened bulk ; by which activity is gained. It
is of great consequence to a coach-horse that the neck and head be so formed as to be
enabled to rein-in well to the bridle.
5950. The criteria of a dray-horse are, that he be very broad-breasted and muscular, and
thick in the shoulders, which should not lie backward. Nor should the fore-hand be up,
as recommended in the road-horse ; for, by holding up their heads, such horses may be
choked by the collar, as they would, if so formed, draw too much by the throat, and their
wind being thus stopped, would be in danger of falling down. The neck of a dray-horse
is not the better for being long, and the head should be proportionate to it. Like all
horses, he should be chosen with short legs, and good strong hoofs. He ought to be thick
in his thighs, and large in bone ; but above all, he ought to be a steady collared horse,
with courage to make him true to a severe pull ; and yet, without a hot fiery spirit to
make him fretful.
5951. The criteria of a waggon-horse are, in some respects, different from those of the
dray-horse. He should be more weighty, and altogether larger. Rapidity of motion is
greatly subordinate, in the heavy stage-waggons usually seen on our roads, to strength.
It is all collarwork; nothing is gained from the momentum of the dragged mass,
■which, the instant the pull ceases, stands still. The waggon horse should be patient in
the extreme ; willing to lie to his collar up hill, and yet settle into his own share of work
on level ground. As his exertions are constant, it is of the greatest consequence that he
be a good feeder.
5952. The criteria of a horse peculiarly adapted to the labors of agriculture, are thus
given by Culley. His head should be as small as the proportion of the animal will ad-
mit; his nostrils expanded, and muzzle fine; his eyes cheerful and prominent; his ears
small, upright, and placed near together ; his neck, rising out from between his shoulders
with an easy tapering curve, must join gracefully to the head ; his shoulders, being well
Book VII.
CRITERIA OF HORSES.
931
thrown back, must also go into his neck (at what is called the points) unperceive^, which
perhaps facilitates the going much more than the narrow shoulder ; the arm, or fore-
thigh, should be muscular, and tapering from the shoulder, to meet a fine, straight,
sinewy, and bony leg ; the hoof circular, and wide at the heel; his chest deep, and full
at the girth ; his loins or fillets broad and straight, and body round ; his hips or hooks
by no means wide, but quarters long, and the tail set on so as to be nearly in the same
right line as his back ; his thighs strong and muscular ; his legs clean and fine-boned ;
the leg-bones not round, but what is called lathy or flat.
5953. The chief points in afarviing cart-hose, in the opinion of the author of the New
Fanner s Calendar, are, '* neck not locg, nor too thick ; short legs, rather flat than
round and gummy ; fore-feet even, not too distant ; wide chest; strong, but not high,
shoulders; considerable length of waist, supported by a wide loin ; quarters full, and
rather raised ; strong muscular thigh ; size, fil'teen hands one inch, to sixteen hand§ high.
Being somewhat forelow, gives them an advantage in draught ; and a moderate length
of waist insures speed in the walk.
5954. The horse used in husbandry, according to the writer of the Experienced
Farmer, ought to be larger, but in other respects like the road horse ; and, instead of
walking two or three miles an hour, be able to walk four or five. In that case he
would be able both to plough more land in a given time, and work in the cart or wag-
gon with more dispatch, when wanted. In harvest time, a nimble and strong horse is
valuable. In drawing manure into the field, or corn to the market, the farmer will also
find his account in strength and activity ; for. as the draught in all these cases is light
one way, such horses would do their business with speed. The small farmer need not
with this kind of horse keep an idle one ; he might carry his master to market, and
plough the remainder of the week.
5955. In a horse for the plough, according to Brown, both strength and agility are re-
quired ; a dash of blood, therefore, is net disadvantageous. It is not size that confers
strength, the largest horses being often soonest worn out. A quick even step, an easy
movement, and a good temper, are qualities of the greatest importance to a working
horse ; and the possession of them is of more avail than big bones, long legs, and a
lumpy carcase. To feed well is also a property of great value ; and this property, as
all judges know, depends much upon the shape of the barrel, deepness of chest, strength
of back, and size of the hips or hooks v.'ith which the animal is furnished. If straight
in the back, and not over short, high in thi ribs, and with hooks close and round, tlie
animal is generally hardy, capable of undergcing a great deal of fatigue, without lessen-
ing his appetite, or impairing his working powers; whereas horses that are sharp pointed,
flat ribbed, hollow backed, and wide set in the hooks, are usually bad feeders, and soon
done up when put to hard work.
5956. The criteria of a horse' sage are derived from the appearance of the teeth. Ac-
cording to La Fosse the younger, there ere these appearances. The horse is foaled with
six molar or grinding teeth in each jaw (Ji<r. 629 a) ; the tenth or twelfth day after, the
6^29
two front nippers (a) appear above and below, and in fourteen or fifteen days from this,
the two intermediate (bb) are pushed out ; tlie corner ones (c c) are not cut till three
months after. At ten months the incisive or nipjjers are on a level with each other, the
front less than the middle, and these again hss than the corners ; they at this time have
a very sensible cavity (rf). At twelve months this cavity becomes smaller, and the
animal appears with four molar teeth on each side, above and below, three of the tempo-
raneous or colts', and one permanent or horse tooth : at eighteen the cavity in the nippers
is filled up, and there are five grinders, two of the horse, and tliree temporaneous : at
two years, (fg, 630. ) the first of the colt's molar teeth in each jaw, above and below, are
630
displaced: at two years and a half, cr thrae years, the front nippers fall and give
3 0 2
932 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
place to the permanent ones : at three and a half the middle nippers are likewise removed,
at which period the second milk-molar falls : at four years, the horse is found with six
molar teeth, five of his new set, and one of his last: at four years and a half the corner
nippers of the colt fall and give place to the permanent set (fig. 629 e), and the last tem-
poraneous grinder disappears ; at five years old the tushes in the horse usually appear :
at five and a half they are completely out, and the internal wall of the upper nippers,
which before was incompletely formed, is now on a level with the rest ; at this period
the incisive or nippers have all of them a cavity formed in the substance between the
inner and outer walls, (^o. 629 f) and it is the disappearance of this that marks the
age : at six years those in the front nippers below are filled up, (Jig. 630 e) the
tushes are likewise slightly blunted : at seven years the mark or cavity in the middle
nippers is filled up, and the tushes a little more worn (fig, 630/) : at eight years old
the corner nippers are likewise plain, and the tushes are round and shortened. (Jig. 6S0 g)
In mares, the incisive or nippers alone present a criterion (Jig. 630 a) ; at this period
the horse is said to be aged, and to have lost his mark ; but among good judges the
teeth still exhibit sufficient indications. At nine the groove in the tushes is worn away
nearly, and the nippers become rather rounded: at ten these appearances are still
stronger: at twelve the tushes only exhibit a rounded stump, the nippers push forward,
become yellow, and as the age advances, appear triangular and usually uneven.
5957. M. St. Bel, the late professor of the English Veterinary College, used to assert, that after eight
years the cavities in the anterior or upper incisive teeth, are filled up with equal regularity; thus from
eight to ten the front ones were filled up, from ten to twelve the two middle, and from twelve to fourteen
those of the corner ; but though some pains have been taken to ascertain this, it does not appear that
the disappearance of the cavities in these teeth is attended with sufficient regularity to warrant complicit
confidence.
5958. To make a colt appear older than he really is, both breeders and dealers very commonly draw the
nippers, particularly the corner ones ; by which means the permanent set which are underneath imme-
diately appear, and the animal is thus fitted for sale before he otherwise would be.
5959. To make a horse look younger than he really is, dealers perform an operation on the teeth called
bishopping (from the name of a noted operator) ; which consists in making an artificial cavity in the nippers,
after the natural one has been worn out by age, by means of a hard sharj) tool ; which cavity is then burned
black by a heated instrument. But no art can restore the tushes to their form and height, as well as their in-
ternal grooves. It is, therefore, common to see the best judges thrust their finger into a horse's mouth, con-
tenting themselves with merely feeling the tush. To less experienced judges other appearances present them-
selves as aids. Horses, when aged, usually become hollow above the eyes, the hoofs appear rugged, the under
lip falls, and if grey, they become white. In this country, where horses are so early worked before the
frame is consolidated, and where afterwards they continue to be exertetl unceasingly on hard roads, it is
not uncommon to find a horse at six years old, feeble, debilitated, and exhibiting all the marks of old age,
except in his mouth ; on the contrary, when the animal falls into other hands, at ten or twelve he has
all the vigor of youth, and his teeth are the only parts that present an indication of age : it is, there-
fore, more useful to examine the general appearance of the animal, than to be guided altogether by the
marks in the teeth ; a too strict adherence to which, Blaine observes, leads into great error on the sub-
ject of the age of horses. The commonly received marks, he says, grant not a criterion of a third of the
natural life of the animal, nor of one half of the time in which he is perfectly useful. Many good
judges will not purchase a horse for hunting earlier than eight years old, and regard him only in his prime
at twelve. A gentleman at Dulwich has a monument to the memory of each of three several Iiorses,
which died in his possession at the age of thirty-five, thirty-seven, and thirty-nine years; the latter of
which was suddenly taHen off by a fit of colic, having been in harness but a few hours before. Culley
mentions a horse of forty-five ; and an instance lately occurred of one which lived to fifty. Blaine, in
continuation, draws the following comparison between the relative situations of the state of the constitu-
tion, between the horse and man, under the ordinary circumstances of care towards each. The first five
years of the horse, may be considered as equivalent to the first twenty of a man ; a horse of ten as a man
of forty ; of fifteen as a man of fifty ; of twenty as a man of sixty ; of twenty. five as a man of seventy ;
of thirty as a man of eighty ; and of thirty-five as a man of ninety. ( Vet. Outlines, p. 35.)
Sect. X. Of Breeding Horses.
5960. The general principles of breeding we have already laid down at length, (1994.),
and have here to notice what are considered the best practices in the choice of stallicns
and mares, and in the treatment of the latter during pregnancy. Unfortunately, how-
ever, much less attention has been paid to breeding horses, than to breeding cattle or
sheep ; though, as Brown has observed, a pound of horse flesh is worth two of that of
any other stock ; and it costs just as much to breed a bad horse as a good one- Every
one, an eminent writer observes, exercises some degree of judgment in regard to the
stallion ; but there are few breeders, comparatively, who hesitate to employ very ill-
formed and worthless mares, and often Solely because they are unfit for any thing else
than bringing a foal. All the best writers on agriculture reprobate this absurd and un-
profitable practice. " In the midland counties of England, the breeding of cart horses
is attended to with the same assiduity as that which has of late years been bestowed on
cattle and sheep ; while the breeding of saddle horses, hunters, and coach horses is'
almost entirely neglected ; or left almost wholly to chance, even in Yorkshire, — I mean
as to females. A breeder here would not give five guineas for the best brood mare in
the kingdom, unless she could draw or carry him occasionally to market ; nor a guinea
extraordinary for one which could do both. He would sooner breed from a rip,
which he happens to have upon his premises, though not worth a month's keep. But how
absurd ! The price of the leap, the keep of the mare, and the care and keep of her
progeny, from the time they drop to the time of sale, are the same, whether they be
Book VII. BREEDING HORSES. 933
sold from ten to fifteen, or from forty to fifty pounds each." (Marshal's Economy of
Yorkshire^ vol. ii. p. 166.)
5961. In those districts ivhere the breeding of horses is carried on upon a large scale
and a regular plan, the rearing of stallions forms in some degree a separate branch ; and
is confined, as in the case of bulls and rams, to a few eminent breeders. Tliese stallions,
which are shown at the different towns in the vicinity, sometimes sent to be exhibited at
a considerable distance, are let out for the whole season, or sold to stallion men, or kept
by the breeder himself, for covering such mares as may be offered, at a certain price per
head ; and this varies according to the estimation in which the horse is held, and some-
times according as the mare has more or less of what is called blood. For farm mares,
the charge for covering by a stallion of the same kind is commonly about a guinea,
with half-a-crown to the groom ; and it is a common practice in tlie north, to agree for
a lower rate if the mare does not prove with foal ; sometimes nothing more is paid in
that case than the allowance to the groom.
5962. In choosing the parents, or stallion and mare, regard must be had to the kind of
stock desired to be bred. Whatever may the particular purpose of the breed, a stallion
ought first to possess all the general properties ,of a good horse, and next the charac-
teristic criteria of the desired stock. The produce, whether a male or female, much more
frequently acquires and retains the form, make, marks, and disposition of the sire than
the dam. On this account, stallions with the least appearance of disease, blemish, or
bodily defect of any kind, where there is the slightest probability of its being transmitted
to the offspring, should be rejected as improper. And it is even considered by some,
necessary to descend to the minutiae of symmetry in the head, neck, shoulder, forehead,
ribs, back, loins, joints, and pasterns, attending even to a strict uniformity in the form,
make, and texture of the hoofs : and, were it possible, even to ascertain the temper and
disposition of both sire and dam, in order to avoid the procreation of vices or imper-
fections. But provided either parents be free from hereditary infirmities, disorders
which arise from accident are of no consequence.
5963. The general properties required in a breeding mare^ are a good shape, a gentle
disposition, a large carcase conformably to her height, and belly well let down ; she must
be perfectly free from all sorts of blemishes and defects. The size, frame, bone, strength,
and blood, will of course be regulated by the purposes of the breeder.
5964. The mare which is intended to supply draught-colts should, according to the author
of the Synopsis of Husbandry, be large limbed, close jointed, sliort decked, wide chested,
home ribbed, with a capacious body ; her eyes good, and her nostrils large and open ; in
diposition she ought to be gentle and tractable ; of a constitution healthy and vigorous,
free from any blemishes either hereditary or acquired. The horse should be bold and
spirited, well made, and of a kindly disposition ; his constitution should be strong, his
temper good, and, in short, neither in mind or body ought he to be contaminated with
vices or disease of any kind ; since on the good qualities and strength of constitution in
the sire and the dam depends, in a great measure, the future welfare of the colt.
5965. The age at which a stallion and mare should he allowed to coptdate is not deter-
mined by uniform practice ; and is made to depend, in some measure, on the degree of
maturity, which, in animals of the same species, is more or less early, according to
breed and feeding. Yet it would seem, in general, to be an improper practice to allow
animals of any kind to propagate, while they are themselves in a raw unformed state,
and require all the nutriment which their food affords, for raising them to the ordinary
size of the variety to which they belong. It may, therefore, be seldom advisable to em-
ploy the stallion till he is about four years old, or the mare till she is a year older, and
if the stallion be five also it is better, and still more so if he be six or severt. But the
greater number of mares left for breeding arc not very young ; being ill many casesy
not allowed to bring foals till they are in the decline of life, or otherwise unable to bear
their full share in rural labor.
5966. Three months before a stallion is to cover a mare, he should be fed with sound oats, peas, or beans,,
or with coarse bread, and a little hay, but a good quantity of wheat straw ; he should be watered regu-
larly, and have long continued walking exercise every day, but he should not be over heated. If he be
not prepared and put in condition, the colts will be likely to be weakly, and the horse himself will beqome
injured, begetting humors, or becoming broken winded. If he be put to too many mares, he will not
last long; his main and tail will begin to fall off through weakness, and it will be difficult to get up his
flesh again by the next year. The number of mares should be proportioned to his strength, and twelve,
fifteen, or at the most twenty are as many as a horse will well serve for in a season.
5967. The usual season when a mare takes the horse is from the beginning of April
to the beginning of July. The month of June is considered the best season in this
country * although from the middle to the end of May is more approved of on the Con-
tinent, particularly in Normandy, where the farmers devote much of their attention to
this branch of husbandry ; and in which, especially in regard to useful farm horses,
they have succeeded, perhaps, beyond those in any other part of Europe, This diflfer-
ence, as to the time when a mare should be allowed to take the horse, id the different
3 0 3
934 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
countries, is easily reconcileable : a mare goes eleven months and a few days with foal ;
and the great object with all farmers, where practicable, is to have her covered at such a
period as to ensure abundance of grass, and the return of warm and comfortable
weather at the period of foaling. An early colt is always to be preferred to one that
falls late in the season. It is generally uriderstood, and is an opinion that is believed to
be well founded, that a mare may be covered on the ninth day after she has foaled, with
a greater degree of success than at any otlier period. This practice is, of course, often
followed ; but in such cases the mare ought, Donaldson thinks, to be fed in an extraor-
dinary manner, otherwise it is impossible she can do justice to her present and her
future foal. But modern farmers would jjrobably, he says, come nearer their purpose,
were they to follow the example of the Romans, and content themselves with one foal
in the two years.
5968. At the season of parturition, there should be a suitable supple/ of food for the
mother and young. The time of covering mares ought, therefore, to be partly regu-
lated by a due regard to this circumstance, and may be earlier in the south than in the
north, where grass, the most desirable food both for the dam and foal, does not come so
early by a month or six weeks. In Scotland, it is not advantageous to have mares to
drop their foals sooner than the middle of April ; and as the period of gestation is about
eleven months, they are usually covered in May, or early in June. But if mares are in-
tended to bring a foal every year, they should be covered from the ninth to the eleventh
day after foaling, whatever may be the time ; and the horse should be brought to them
again nine or eighteen days afterwards.
5969. In breeding horses on a large scale, it is easy to contrive so that all the foals may
be brought forth at a time when there is plenty of grass. About the end of May the
mares are to be put into an enclosure capable of feeding them as long as the stallion is to
be with them, or that they are in season. In this enclosure all the mares are to be put
together, as well those which are barren as others. The stallion*s hind shoes are to be
taken off, but the fore shoes should be left, or tips put on to preserve his feet ; then lead
him forth, and let him cover a mare twice in hand, to render him more tame and gentle.
After this take off the bridle and turn him loose among the rest, where he will become
familiar with them, and not one of them \nll be horsed but when they are in season.
There should be a little lodge built up in fiome part of the enclosure, and peas, beans,
oats, bread, and other good food, put into the manger in it, that the horse may retire into
it in the scorching heats, and eat what lie li.'ies best. He must be thus entertained
during the whole time he is with the marej, which is to be about six or seven weeks.
Mares that are very fat and gross do not hold well ; but those which are moderately fat
conceive with the greatest success and ease.
- 5970. To bring a mare in season, it is a common thing to give her a quart of hemp-seed, or twice that
quantity, night and morning, for eight days before she is brought to the horse. If she refuse it alone, it
maybe mi.xed with beans or oats, and will go down ; and if the stallion eat of it also, it will force him
also ; but it must be remembered that these provocatives are unnatural, and often defeat their own pur-
poses. They are therefore seldom now resorted tc among intelligent breeders. Still more improper is it
to attempt an early horsing, by injecting stimulating fluids up the vagina as is sometimes done j for when
• it succeeds, the future progeny seldom answers the expet'tation.
5971. The treatment of a pregnant mare is in general little different from that of any
other horse. Mares of draught are worked in summer as usual, and more moderately
in the ensuing winter, till near the time of foaling ; when, if the season be somewhat
advanced, even though the pasture be not fully sufficient for their maintenance, they
should be turned out to some grass field near the homestead, and receive what addi-
tional supply of food may be necessary under sheds adjoining. It is both inconvenient and
dangerous to confine a mare about to foal in a common stable, and still more so to leave
her loose in a close stable among other horses ; and confinement is not much less objection-
able after dropping her foal.
5972. Breeding mares are usually ivorkel through the greatest part of the year, laying
them aside only for a week or two before foaling, and during the summer season, when
giving suck to the young foal. In this way. Brown observes, the strength and vigor
of the mother is not only weakened, but the size and power of the foal stand a great
chance of being diminished, by the exertions of the mother when kept at work. Under
these impressions we are led to consider the working of breeding mares as an unprofitable
practice. Were they suffered to remain at ease, to roam upon coarse pastures, where
sheds were erected in which they might find shelter during inclement weather, we are
almost certain that their progeny would enler upon action with increased abilities. The
expense of a breeding mare kept in this way would not be great, whilst the advan-,
tages would be innumerable. In Yorkshire, and in those midland counties where the
breeding and rearing of horses is better understood than in any other part of the island,
they are often worked till the very time of Ibaling. Great care, however, is necessary in
working and managing a mare heavy with foal: ah over-heat, too severe exercise, a
fright, or a sudden and violent jerk, are very apt to cause an untimely birth, whereby
the foal is lost, and the life of the mare very much endangered.
fiooK VII. REARING HORSES. 9S5
5973. In the moiinlains of Wales, and in the Highlands of Scdtland, the breeding mares are never
worked during the summer. They are driven to tlie hills and mountains at the close of tiie barley-seed
season, where they remain till the inclemency of the weather forces them to return for shelter. But
their scanty subsistence, the labor they are subjected to in procuring their food, and the moistness and
coldness of the climate in the latter part of the season, render both themselves and their progeny of but
little value or imirortance.
5974. Breeding farms, consisting chiefly of pasture land unfit for feeding, are the
situations where breeding is generally carried on. Arable farmers may breed occasion-
ally ; but the inconvenience of wanting any part of their working stock at the time of
foaling operates almost as a prohibitio i to the breeding of horses. The greater number
of horses are bred in situations where a small portion of arable land is attached to farms
chiefly occupied with cattle or sheep ; or where the farms are so small as not to afford
full and constant employment to the number of horses that must, nevertheless, be kept
for the labor of particular seasons.
Sect. XI. Of Rearing Horses.
5975. Rearing includes the treatment of the foal till it is Jit to work, or to be put in
training for use, and also the treatment of the mother till she has weaned her foal.
5976. In regard to the treatment oj' the mare till she has weaned her foal in England,
and in the improved parts of Scotland, a mare after having foaled, is turned, together
with the foal, into a pasture field, and is allowed two or three weeks' rest, before she is
again worked, either in plough or cart ; the foal being allowed to suckle at pleasure
during the time. After having had a few weeks' rest, she is again worked in the usual
manner ; the foal being commonly shut up in a house during the hours of working. In
Yorkshire, some farmers are particularly careful not to allow the mare to go near the
foal, after her return from labor, till her udder has been bathed with cold water, and
not till most of the milk is drawn from it. These precautions are used with a view of
preventing any bad consequences from the foal's receiving over-heated milk. Another
practice, and which is superior to the above, is also common in Yorkshire, and in many
parts of Scotland : — after tlie foal is: a few weeks old, and has acquired strength and
agility enough to follow its mother, it is allowed to attend her in the field during the
hours of labor, and to suckle occasionally. By this means, not only does the foal re-
ceive suflScient exercise ; nor can any prejudical effect happen from the over-heated state
of the milk, as the foal is allowed to draw it oflp repeatedly, and at short intervals ; but
the little animal becomes hardy, and loses all timidity, and afterwards requires less
breaking ; these may be considered as the general modes of management in those parts
of the kingdom mentioned above, during the period while the foal is allowed to suckle
its dam, which is usually about six months ; that is, from the time of foaling, till
Michaelmas, which is the period at which foals are generally weaned, or prevented
from sucking. Breeding mares are evidently unable to endure the fatigue of constant
labor, for some months before and after parturition : this had led a few farmers to
rear foals upon cow milk ; but the practice is neither common nor likely ever to become
so : and as it is a philosophical fact, well established, that all animals partake, in some
measure, of the nature of their foster parent, so there is great reason to fear this prac-
tice would prove injurious to foals so reared.
5977. In weaning the foal at the end of six or seven months, great care should be taken
to keep the mare and foal from the hearing of each other, that neither may fret or pine
after the other. The best method will be to confine the foal in a small stable by itself,
which should be furnished with a rack and manger, where it may be fed with clean shaken
hay, and clean sifted oats, bruised a little in a mill, or chopped carrots, or boiled pota-
toes. With this management, he will quickly forget his dam, and become gentle and
familiarised to his keeper, and in fair weather may be suffered to exercise himself in a
pasture adjoining to the stable; but this should be only for a little while in the middle
part of a sunny day ; the tenderness of the young animal rendering it dangerous to keep
him out in the night.
5978. The treatment of weaned fovls in England, is to put them immediately into a
good fresh pasture, where they remain as long as the winter continues moderate. On
the approach of winter, they are fed vi ith a sufficient quantity of hay, placed in a stable
or hovel, erected in the field for the purpose, and into which they have free access at all
times. The next summer they are put into other pastures, commonly the most indiffer-
ent on the farm, where they remain till the beginning of the following winter, when they
are either allowed to range in the prsture fields, or brought home to the straw .yard.
The inclemency of the winter in Sco' land, and the great falls of snow which generally
take place, render it necessary always to house the foals there during that season.
r)979. During the first winter fogls are fed on hay with a little corn, but should not be constantly con-
fined to the stable ; for even when there is nothing to be got on tlie fields, it is much in their favor to be
allowed exercise out of doors. A considerable proportion of succulent food, such as potatoes, carrots,
and Swedish turnips (oil cake has been recommended), kIiouUI be given them through the iie.\t winter^
30 4
936 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
and bean and peas meal has been advantageously substituted for oats, which, if allowed in a considerabls
quantity, are injurious to the thriving of the young animal, from their heating and astringent nature.
5980. During the following summer their pasture depends upon the circumstances of
the farms on w^hich they are reared. In the second winter they are fed in much the
same manner as in the first, except that straw may be given for some months instead of
hay; and in the third winter, they have a greater allowance of corn, as they are fre-
quently worked at the harrows in the ensuing spring. (General Report of Scotland, vol. iii.
p. 183.) When about three years old, the author of the New Farmers Calendar
advises foals to be fed all winter with a little corn twice a day, or carrots, with hay, oat-
straw, &c. allowing a well-littered shed, or warm straw-yard. Colts fed at home with
green meat, cut during summer, should have a daily range on a common, or elsewhere,
for exercise. Yearlings to be carefully kept separate from the milch mares.
5981. The time Jor gelding colts is usually the same in both parts of the kingdom,
which is, when they are about a year old ; although, in Yorkshire, this operation is
frequently suspended till the spring of the second year, especially when it is intended
to keep them on hand, and without employing them in labor till the following
season. Piirkinson disapproves of delaying this operation so long, and recom-
mends twitching the colts, a practice well known to the ram-breeders, any time
after a week old, or as soon after as the testicles are come down ; and this method,
he says, he has followed himself, with great success. (Parldnson on Lii>e Stock,
vol. ii. p. 74). Blaine's remarks on the subject of castration appear worthy of notice :
he says, when the breed is particularly good, and many considerable expectations are
formed on the colt, it is always prudent to wait till twelve months: at this period, if his
fore parts are correspondent with his hinder, proceed to castrate; but if he be not suffi-
ciently well up before, or his neck be too long and thin, and his shoulders spare, he will
assuredly improve by being allowed to remain whole six or eight months longer.
Another writer suggests for experiment, the spaT/ing of mares, thinking they would work
better, and have more wind than geldings. ( Marshal's Yorkshire, vol. ii. p. 169.) But
he does not appear to have been aware that this is by no means a new experiment : for
Tusser, who wrote in 1562, speaks of gelding Jillies as a common practice at that period.
The main objection to this operation is not that brood mares would become scarce, as he
supposes, but that, by incapacitating them from breeding in case of accident, and in old
age, tlie loss in this expensive species of live stock would be greatly enhanced. An old
or lame mare would then be as worthless as an old or lame gelding is at present.
5982. The rearing of horses is carried on in some places in so systematical a manner,
as to combine the profit arising from the advance in the age of the animals, with that of
a moderate degree of labor, before they are fit for the purposes to which tliey are ulti-
mately destined. In the ordinary practice of the midland counties, the breeders sell
them while yearlings, or perhaps when foals, namely, at six or eighteen months old, but
most generally the latter. They are mostly bought up by the graziers of Leicestershire,
and the other grazing parts of that district, where they are groion among the grazing
Stock until the autumn following. At two years and a half old, they are bought up by
the arable farmers, or dealers of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, and other
western counties, when they are broken into harness, and worked till they are
five, or more generally, six years old. At this age the dealers buy them up again to
be sent to London, where they are finally purchased for drays, carts, waggons, coaches,
the army, or any other purpose for which they are found fit. (Marshal's Economy of
the Midland Counties, vol. i. p. 311.)
5983. In the west of Scotland, a similar mode of transferring horses from hand to hand,
is common. The farmers of Ayrshire, and the counties adjacent, who generally grow corn
on not more than one-fourth, or at the most, one-third of their arable land, and occupy
the remainder with a dairy stock, purchase young horses at the fair of Lanark and Carn-
wath, before mentioned ; work them at the harrows in the following spring when below
two years old ; put them to the plough next winter, at the age of two and a
half, and continue to work them gently till they are five years old, when they are
sold again at the Rutherglen and Glasgow markets at a great advance of price, to dealers
and farmers from the south-eastern counties. A considerable number of horses, how-
ever, are now bred in the Lothians, Berwickshire, and Roxburghshire, the very high
prices of late having rendered it profitable to them, even upon good arable ground ; but
many farmers of these counties, instead of breeding, still prefer purchasing two and a
half or three and a half year old colts, at the markets in the west country, or at New-
castle fair, in October ; they buy in a certain number yearly, and sell an equal
number of their work horses before they are so old as to lose much of their value, so
that their stock is kept up without any other loss than such as arises from accidents ; and
the greater price received for the horses they sell, is often sufficient to cover any such
loss. {General Report of Scotland, \o\. iii. p. 182.)
Book VII. TRAINING HORSES. 937
Sect. XII. Of Training Horses.
5984. Horses are trained for various purjmses, but principally for carrying our persons
or drawing our burdens. F'ormerly, burdens were principally borne on the back by
pack-horses, but the improvements in our roads have removed them from the back, to
machines called carriages, drawn by means of harness applied over the person of the
horse. Under saddle, we train horses as racers, hunters, hacknies, or troop horses. In
harness we use them in coaches, stages, chariots, and various lighter vehicles, or we em-
ploy them in waggons, carts, ploughs, and various other agricultural or commercial
machines. Horses are held in obedience by means of bridles, with appendages called
reins, which are long or short, as used in riding or driving. Horses are directed and
urged forward by whip, spur, and language, and they are chastised by the same
means.
5985. The directive language used to horses ought to be everywhere the same, which
is the more easily accomplished, as words or phrases are sufficient for giving every requi-
site direction to a horse. The first of these words may be "on," or go on, or merely
the common chuck of the tongue, &c. as used by all coachmen in the world ; the second to
make the horse go to the right-hand side, " right-hand;" the third, to the left-hand side,
" left-hand ;" the fourth to make them stop, may be " stop," or " stand still. " Any attempt
to modify these directions, ought to be given in the correct language of the country, and
not in provincial words, as go on, slowly, briskly, right-hand, a little round, or
turn, left-hand, a little, or left-hand and round, stop, or stand gently, &c. As a proof
that only four words are requisite for giving every requisite direction to horses, we may
mention that foreigners in Stockholm, Petersburgh, and Moscow, who know nothing of
the language, require only four corresponding words of Swedish or Russian, to direct the
native coachmen and sledge drivers to any street, house, or place, the situation of which
they know by the maps, or otherwise.
5986. The three natural and ordinary movements of horses are, walking, trotting, and
galloping, to which, some horses naturally add another, which is known by the name of
•' ambling," or " pacing j" the tiot is, perhaps, the most natural motion of a horse, but
the pace, and even the gallop, are most easy to the rider.
5987. In training saddle horses, the first thing is to make them familiar with man, and
other general objects, and which is best effected at the earliest periods, which then saves
almost all the trouble of breaking, and docility follows as a matter of course : to
effect this, the greatest kindness should be used to the colts from the moment they are
dropped: they should be accustomed to be handled, should be fed with bread, patted in
various parts of the body, have light matters put on their heads and backs, and subjects
of different colors and forms should be shown them with caution. While at foot, the
mare and foal should be led out into roads, and where carriages pass, during which time,
nothing should be allowed to intimidate the foal. By this management, the animal will
be easily prepared for the future operations ; and it is thus that the single foal the
ploughed land farmer breeds, and which daily follows the mother in her work, as it
were breaks itself.
5988. Backing is the next operation, and if the colt has been judiciouslj- used, and taught familiarity
and docility by early handling and kindness, it is by no means difficult. It should be commenced be-
fore the colt is two and a half or three years old. The first backing of a horse is a thing of great
consequence, as his value afterwards very much depends on it. The application of the saddle should be
gradually done, and without alarm to the horse. After a colt has become habituated to the saddle
and bridle, and has been exercised some time, morning and evening in them, and become somewhat
obedient, he is to be taken to some ploughed lands, the lighter the better ; he must be made to trot
over these in the hand sufficient to slightly tire him. This should be at first done in a cavesson,
to insure obedience. Care being taken that all the tackling be good and firm, and every thing
in its due and proper place; then a person is to hold his head and another to mount him; but
this must by no means be done suddenly, or at a jerk, but very gradually and slowly, by several
risings and heavings. If he bear this patiently, the person is to seat himself firmly on his back ;
but if he be troublesome and not tame enough, the person is to forbear the attempt to mount,
and he is to be trotted In the hand over the same ploughed lands again, till he is more fatigued and will-
ing to receive the rider quietly on his back : when this is done, the person who is on his back must encou-
rage him, and the man who has his head must lead him a few paces forward ; all the while encouraging
him. The feet are to be fitted well in the stirrups, and the toes turned out, afterwards the rider is to
shrink and move himself in the saddle, and the person who holds his head is to withdraw his hand a
little farther from the mouth. As the rider moves his toes forward, the holder must move him forward
with the rein, till he is made to apprehend the rider's motion of body and foot, which must always go
together, and with spirit, and will go forward without the other's assistance, and stay upon the restraint
of the rider's hands. When this is accomplished, let him be cherished, and again have grass and bread
to eat; and then let the rider mount and alight several times, encouraging him between each time, and
thus he is to be managed till he will go on, or stand still at pleasure. This being done, the long rein may
be laid aside, and the band about the neck, which are always used on this occasion, and nothing will
be necessary but the trenches and cavesson, with the martingal. A groom must lead the way before ;
or another hor.se going only straight forwards, and making him stand still when desired. In this
manner, by sometimes following, and sometimes going before another horse on the trot, the creature
will by degrees be brought to know that it is his business to be quiet and governable.
5989. To teach a horse the different movements of walking, trotting, galloping, and
ambling, comes next in order.
5990. Walking is the slowest and least raised of all a horse's movements. It is performcti, as any one
mjy observe, by the horse's lifting up its two legs on a side, the one after the other, beginning with the
938 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
hind leg first. Thus if he leads with the legs of the right side, then the first foot he lifts is the far hind
foot, and in the time he is setting it down (whicli in a step is always short of the tread of his fore foot on
the same side) he lifts his far fore foot, and sets it down before his near fore foot. Again, just as he is
setting down his far fore foot, he lifts up his neir hind foot, and sets it down again just short of his near
fore foot ; and just as he is setting it down, he lifts his near fore foot, and sets it down beyond his far
fore foot. This is the true motion of a horse's legs in a walk ; and this is the pace in which many things
are best taught. For instance when the horse ii to be taught to turn to the right and left, or from one
hand to another, he is first to be taught it on th j walk, then on the trot, and finally on the gallop. The
walk is a pace to which team, carriage, and read horses should constantly be well broke, as being of
great use in all such cases and intentions. It is an excellent pace too, in a saddle horse, when well
performed by being properly taught.
5991. Li trotting the limbs are diagonally employed; but their tenses or times, or
rising and falling, are very different, as it is conducted slow or fast. In the slow trot
the diagonal legs are elevated and replaced simultaneously ; while those on the ground
are preparing to elevate themselves, and the horse is for a moment on tiptoe ; but until
the original diagonal legs are set down, these are not wholly elevated ; therefore tlie
horse is during the moderate trot at no time without support. But it is very different
when the trot is accelerated, as to nine or ten miles an hour ; for then there is a period
in every spring made by the diagonal nembers, when all the feet are in the air at the
same time ; and the body completely suspended from the ground by these means. Thus
during this accelerated action, the off fore leg and near hind leg having been elevated in
the air before they meet the ground, tht: near fore leg and the off hind one are not only
prepared, as in the slow trot,
to elevate themselves, but actual- ^X^^Stti^ ^^^
ly do so before the others are yif
set down ; consequently, the feet ^*
at this precise time, must be all
in air. {Jig. 631.) To speed
in the trot, it is necessary that a
horse pick up his feet quick, and
extend them far forward. To the
safety also, it is necessary he ele-
vate his knee ; at the same time
the general elevation of the whole
is operated by high withers, and obliqt e shouldei s.
5992. Three qualities are essentially necessary to make the trot us^ul. It ought to be extended, supple,
and even, or equal : these three qualities mutuc lly depend upon each other, so that you cannot pass to
the supple trot, without having first worked upon the extended trot ; and you can never arrive at the
even and equal trot, without having practised ihe supple. The extended trot is tliat in which the horse
trots out without retaining himself, being quit? straight and going directly forwards ; and this conse-
quently is the kind of trot with which you must begin. The stipple trot is that in which the horse, at
every motion he makes, bends and plays his joints by the elasticity of the organs composing them ; as
those of his shoulders, his knees, and feet, which no colts or raw horses can execute, who have not had
their limbs suppled by exercise, and who always trotAvith a surprising stitTness and awkwardness, without
the least spring or play in their joints. The corn or equal trot is that in which the horse makes all his
limbs and joints move so equally and exactly, tl at his legs never cover more ground one than the other,
nor at one time more than another. To do this, the horse must necessarily unite and collect all his
strength, and if the expression maybe allowed, distribute it equally through all his joints. To go from
the extended trot to the supple, you must ge itly and by degrees hold in your horse; and when by
exercise he has attained sufficient ease and sup )leness to manage his limbs readily, you must insensibly
hold him in still more and more, and by degrees you will lead him to the equal trot.
5993. The manner of trotting a colt who has never been backed is as follows : put a plain snaffle in his
hiouth ; fit a cavesson to his nose, to the ring of ^hich tie a longe of a reasonable length. Let a groom
hold this longe, who, having got at some distarce from the colt, must standstill in the middle of the
Circle which the horse will make. Let another follow him with a long whip or chambriere in his hand.
The colt being alarmed, will be forced to go forward, and to turn within the length of the cord, the groom
must hold it tight in his hand; by this means le will draw in, or towards the centre, the head of the
colt, and his croupe will of consequence be without the circle. In working a young horse after this
manner do not press or hurry him. Let him nalk first, and afterwards put him to the trot. If you
neglect this method his legs will be embarrassed ; he will lean on one side, and be more upon one haunch
than the other ; the inner fore foot will strike against the outer one, and the pain which this will occasion
will drive him to seek some means of defence, and make him disobedient. If he refuses to trot, the
person who holds the chambridre will animate 1 im by trotting him, or striking the ground with it. If
he offers to gallop instead of trotting, the groom must shake or jerk the cord that is tied to the cavesson,
and he will fall into his trot. {Berenger^s Art q; Horsemanship, vol.i. ch. 4.) The value of this longing
in a circle is incalculable, inasmuch as it supples the jhoulders, and gives them a greater extent of action.
It also increases the action of the whole limb downwards, and accustoms the horse to affect other move-
inents, to be performed with an elevated hand.
5994. The gallop is the swiftest natural pace of a horse, performed by reaches or leaps ; the two fore feet
being raised almost at the same time; and when these are in the air, and just ready to touch the ground
again, the two hind feet are lifted almost at one ;. In galloi)ing, the horse may lead with which fore leg
he pleases; the most usual way is that with the right, in which case the gallop is said to he just; but
whichsoever it be, the hind leg of the same side nust follow it next, which forms an even or equal gallop ;
otherwise the legs are said to be disunited, and tlie gallop to be false ; to remedy which disorder, the rider
must stay the horse a little on the hand, and he p him on the s])ur on the contrary side to that on which
be is disunited. However, this rule has not been alv/ays strictly observed; for hunting horses have been
trained to lead indifferently with both legs, becai se it has been found, that a horse which has never been
suffered to gallop but with his right fore leg, has been worn out on one side, when he has been fresh and
sound on the other. In order to make a stop in a gallop straight forwards, the rider should carefully put
his horse together, without altering or disturbir g the appui, and throw his body back a little to accom-
pany the action, and to relieve the horse's shou:ders. In doing this he should seize the time of making
the stop, keeping the hand and body quite still, exactly when he feels the horse put his fore feet to the
ground, in order that by raiising them immediately by the next motion which he makes, he may be upon
Book VII. TRAINING HORSES. 939
his haunches. When horses do not put out their strength sufficiently, they should be galloped briskly,
and then slowly again by turns, and they will thus oe compelled to obey the hand and hcul. In the slow
gallop, as well as in the trot, it is sometimes n ^cessary to close the heels to the horse's sides, which is
called pinching i but this should be done in such a manner as not to make the horse abandon himself upon
the hand, and care must be taken that he be upon his haunches, and not upon his shoulders ; and, there-
fore, when he is pinched, he should be kept in ;he hand. To put a horse well together, and make him
bring his hinder legs under him, the rider must clase his legs upon him, putting them very much back;
this will oblige him to slide his legs under him ; at the same instant let the hand be raised a little to sup-
port him before, and yielding again immediatelj'. Let him be thus supported, and have the rein again
from time to time, till he begins to play and bend lis haunches, and gallops leaning and sitting down, as
it were, upon them ; let the rider then press him with the calves of his legs, and he will thus become
quick and sensible to the touch. If a horse has toc' fine a mouth, gallop him upon sloping ground ; thi.s
will oblige him to lean a little upon the hand, in order the better to put himself upon the haunches ; and
through fear of hurting his bars, he will be prevented from resisting the operation of the bit. If the
horse is heavy in hand, gallop him up sloping griund; and when his appui is too strong, this will lighten
him The gallop serves to assure and make steaiiy a weak and delicate mouth, and also to supple a horse,
and make him steady and active in his limbs. [Berenger's History and Art of Horsemanship,
vol. ii. p. 104, &c.)
5995. In galloping in a circle the horse is confired always to lead with his fore leg, within the turn ;
otherwise he is said to gallop false. But here, too, the hind leg of the same side must follow. The varie-
ties of gallop are a. hand-gallop, a. Canterbury -ga, lop, a school-gallop, S(C, A smooth gallop, close to the
ground, the French call the English gallop, galo}) a VAnglois.
55)91). The canter is different from the gallop in sorie essential particulars. Whether the gallop be fast or
slow, still the legs are at one period wholly removed from the ground, and the horse is all in air. In the
canter, on the contrary, at no period is the horse co'nplctely elevated from the ground, but has always one
or more points of contact with it. Blaine descri jes its operation thus : when performed on the right, the
horse commences by first placing his ofF hind leg a little beyond the other; at nearly the same instant he
elevates the fore hand, and places first the near Ton leg on the ground ; the off doubling over and beyond,
is placed in an instant after it. In the next mo\enient the hind legs are thrown in, and, while elevated,
the off fore leg becomes raised from the ground ; but the near fore leg is not elevated until the hinder
ones are replaced. The near fore leg is, therefore, the whole point of support in cantering at each re-
move, and thus it is that cantering horses alwavir fi; st fail on that leg.
5997. The amble is a peculiar kind of pace, by wl ich the horse changes sides at each remove; two legs
of a side being always in the air, and two on the g-ound. An amble is usually the first natural pace of
young colts, which, as soon as they have strength enough to trot, they quit. There is no such thing as an
amble in the manege ; the riding-masters allowing if no other paces beside walk, trot, and gallop; their
reason is, that a horse may be put from a trot to a gallop, without stopping him ; but not from an amble to
a gallop without stopping. This movement, wh ch is very laborious to the horse, and in which he ought
not to be indulged, except on smooth ground, is very easy to the rider ; it has not the hardness of a trot,
because the hind leg moves along with the fore one, and creates no resistance to the motion. It is, how-
ever, now never taught, and therefore any direction s regarding it would be useless.
5998. The training of cavalry homes is exclusively performed in the military establish-
ments, and therefore can never be required of the farmer or breeder.
5999. The training of coach horses conmences with taming, walking, trotting, and
refjeated longing; and next with yoking and driving in a break or four-wheeled frame,
with no other load than that of the coach iox or seat placed in the usual position, the
driver and his assistant sitting on a board f xed to the perch or hind axle, in order to be
ready at a moment's notice, to descend aid restrain, or direct the horses. Coach horses,
from 15 to 16 hands high, should walk light five miles an hour, and trot twelve. They
should be first accustomed to this exercise in the country, next in the outskirts of a large
city, and lastly in the most crowded streets.
eOOO, The age at which a horse is fit to i^e worked in a coach, is four and a half or five
years ; but by the fraudulent practice both of the country and town dealers, horses of
three and four years old are frequently employed. The first business of the Yorkshire
dealer, who has three or four year old colts to dispose of, is to draw their corner teeth,
in order to make them have the mouths of those of five. They also undergo the opera-
tion of docking and nicking; and after lia>ing been kept two or three months on mashes,
made of bran, ground oats, or boiled corn, they are sold to the London dealers, who, it
is said, sell these three or four years old horses as if they were five years old. They are
then taken into immediate work, either for the coach or saddle ; and in a few months are
completely destroyed by this premature j.nd too severe labor. The drawing of the
teeth is not a fraud practised on the Loidon dealers; they ktioio the deception, and
insist upon its being done by the country dealers. It is requisite to be done some months
before the London dealers finally sell them w use, or the tooth which denotes a horse to
be five years old would not be grown, consequently the deception could not have taken
place.
6001. The training of cart and j dough h )rs€s commences with taming before they are
a year old, with walking and rubbing them diiwn in the stable Avhen they are two, and
with training to work when they are of three years growth. They should be placed
under the charge of a very steady careful s.'rvant, who will teach them to back, and to
go into the shafts. They ought not, ho\\ever, to be made to draw any other than a very
light empty cart, till their fourth or fifth year; nor ought they to be put into the shafts
of a threshing machine before their fifth year. The first work to which an agricultural
horse may be applied, is harrowing; but this during the fourth year only half a day at a
time, or with a light harrow the whole day. Next he may be put to plough with similar
care and caution in regard to strength. In general, agricultural horses require very
little training ; but one tiling is too often ntglected, and that is, teaching plougli iior.ses a
quick step, and keeping them at that step e/cr after in working them. By not attending
940 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
to this, and leaving the step to be regulated by lazy, spiritless ploughmen, the loss to
many farmers is very considerable.
Sect. XIII. Of the Art of Horsemanship.
6003. Horsemanship, as an art, is unquestionably of very ancient date, and it is curious
how very different are the modes by which it is practised in different countries ; but
■which differences are yet principally confined to the situation of the legs of the rider: for
wherever the horse is used to carry the person, it is by the rider placing himself astride
the animal. Horses were used in this way for centuries before any apparatus was used
or applied to their bodies to spare fatigue to the rider ; and we know that the first saddles
were mere pads strapped round the body, but without the appendages of stirrups. In
England, riding is systematically divided in two kinds, which are manege and jockey riding.
6003. Manege riding, called also riding the great horse, in the strict application of the term, was formerly
more practised than at present ; and required a system of education for both horse and rider long and
severe. Horses perfectly broke for the manege, were taught several paces and motions, as ambling,
pacing, passaging, yerking, capriole, and cornetti. The practice of these artificial cadences, it is supposed,
injures the natural pace of the horse; and this circumstance, united to a particular form of horse
(defective for other purposes) being required for the elasticity of these actions, has tended to bring
manege riding, as formerly practised, into disrepute. Manege riding also taught the constant application
of the seat of the body of the rider, to the seat of the saddle, during all the motions of the horse ; and as a
severe education, and a particular form, had bestowed ease and elasticity to the rudeness of the manege
horse, the inconveniences of this seat were not felt. But when another form of horse, capable of great
speed over excellent roads, was in general use, this kind of riding was found hurtful to both horse and
rider ; fatiguing the one, and injuring the other.
6004. The art of proper riding, as practised among experienced horsemen, is derived from a knowledge of
the judicious application of the aids of the bridle, as taught in our schools, and as practised in the army ge-
nerally : and also from a proper application or placing the body on the horse. These we certainly owe to
manege riding ; and a knowledge of them is as essential to the safety of the rider, as it is to the grace
of his appearance as a horseman. The proper art of riding embraces all that is taught in the best schools,
or practised on the road ; and is equally applicable to both. This is allowed to its fullest extent by those
who have possessed themselves of the requisite information, and practise on the subject ; but is denied by
those who, wedded to field riding, contend that the perfection of horsemanship consists in a snaffle bridle
and a jockey seat.
6005. The use qf the curb bridle is considered in the schools to be essential to good riding : by it the
horse is not wily restrained, but he is also aided and assisted. He is alternately thrown on his hauches, or
forced on his forehand, by which changes fatigue is prevented to both. Great nicety, however, is required
in the use of the curb ; and without an inclination and ability to use it lightly and dexterously, a snaffle is
the best and safest bridle. The curb is to be operated by a gentle turn of the wrist only ; and the action of
the hand in this respect should be as fine, and as pliable as the fishing rod and line. The force of the curb
should in every instance be portioned to the mouth of the horse.
6006. The best form of saddle for general riding is one in which the cantle is not so high as the military,
nor so low as the racing saddle. The pommel should be no more raised than is necessary to keep the whole
completely free from the withers. The stirrups should be substantial, not only to prevent breaking ; but
also that by their weight they may fall to the foot when accidentally slipped away ; which is of more con-
sequence than at first sight may appear. If they are of the spring kind, it is also desirable : but it is still
more so, that the spring stirrup leather should "be used; which prevents the danger arising from horses
catching the leather in the projections of doors, gates, &c. Having saddled and bridled our horse we will
proceed to mount our rider.
6007. If youwould mount with ease and safety, sa.ys'Rwghes, stand rather before the stirrup than be-
hind it; then, with the left hand, take the bridle short, and the mane together, help yourself into the
stirrup, with your right, so that, in mounting, your toe do not touch the horse. Your foot being in the
stirrup, raise yourself till you face the side of the horse, and look directly across the saddle ; then, with
your right hand, lay hold of the hinder part of the saddle, and, with your left, lift yourself into it. When
mounted, let your yjosition on the saddle be square, and the purchase of your bridle such as not to pull
your shoulders : and let your body be in such an even posture as if you held a rein in each hand. In
holding the bridle, grasp the reins with your hand, which
should be held perpendicular with the reins passed, the lower
within the hand, and the upper, between the fore and next
fingers, {fig. 632. ). The reins are then brought over the
fore finger and firmly held by the thumb. It is often directed
to place the little finger between the lower reins ; the practice
III' of this may be optional with the rider, and in a very fine hand
is desirable. The bridle should be held at such a length as to
enable you if your horse stumbles, to raise his head and support
it with your arms ; and by throwing your body backwards at
the same time you frequently save a horse that would other-
wise fall.
6008. A graceful and proper seat on horseback is greatly de-
pendent on a right disposition of the legs and thighs, which
should hang nearly straight down, easily, and without force or constraint : all which is brought
about from above ; by placing the body flat and evenly on the saddle, and opening the knees, \
whereby the fork will come lower on the saddle, {fig. 633. ) The thighs should be api^lied to
the saddle and to the sides of the horse by their inner surfaces, so as to bring in the knees and .... .
toes ; and although the line may be properly broken by some little irregularities, yet the foot, ''^ \ ^ odo
the knee, the hip, and shoulder, should deviate but little from one perpendicular line. The
ball of the foot should rest within the stirrup, and should be even with the heel, or very
slightly elevated above it. Avoid any stiffiiess in the legs, thighs, or body ; all should be lax,
but in a state to be able to embrace the horse, either for support, or as aids to him. The loins
particularly, should be lax and pliable, as a coachman's on his box ; and for the same reasons ♦
for by sitting thus loosely, the rough motions of both are broken. To depend on the embrace
of the knees for support, is to lose the benefit of a true equipoise of body, and is rather to
stick on a horse than to sit on one,
6009. When you are troubled with a horse that is vicious, which stops short, or, by rising or kicking, en-
deavors to throw you off, you must not bend your body forward, as is commonly practised in such cases;
because that motion throws the breech backward, and moves you from your fork, or twists and casts you
out of your seat : but the right way to keep your seat, or to recover it when lost, is, to advance the lower
part of your body, and to bend back your shoulders and upper part. In flying or standing leaps, a horse-
man's best security is the bending back of the body. The rising of the horse does not affect the rider'*
Book VII. FEEDING HORSES. 941
seat ; he is chiefly to guard against the lash of the animal's hind legs, which is best done by inclining the
body backward. But the usual method of fixing the knees in all cases of danger only serves, in great
shocks, to assist the violence of the fall. To save yourself from being hurt, in these cases, you must yield
a little to the horse's motion ; by which means you will recover your seat, if displaced, or keep it at such
times as would dismount an unskilful horseman.
6010. IJ your horse grow; unruly, take the reins separately, one in each hand, put your arms forward, and
hold him short, but do not pull hard with your arms low ; for, by lowering his head, he has the more li-
berty to throw out his heels : but if you raise his head as high as you can, this will prevent him from ris-
ing before or behind; nor, while his head is in this position, can he make either of these motions. Is it
not reasonable to imagine, that, if a horse is forced towards a carriage which he has started at, he will
think he is obliged to attack or run against it ? Can it be imagined that the rider's spurring him on,
with his face directly to it, he should understand as a sign to pass it ? These rational queries are submitted
to the serious consideration of such as are fond of always obliging their horses to touch those objects at
which they are, or aflfect to be, frightened.
6011. Indifferent horsemen, Lawrence observes, should never venture on horseback without spurs. Those
who reflect upon the predicament of being placed between a deep ditch and a carriage, at which their
horse shies will see the necessity of this precaution.
6012. Previous to mounting, every person will find his account in examining the state of both horse and
furniture with his own eyes and hands; for, however good and careful his groom may generally be, it is a
maxim, that too much ought not to be expected from the head of him who labors with his hands.
Besides, all such sedulously avoid trouble, particularly in nice matters. For example, see that your curb
is right, that your reins are not twisted, that your girths, one over the other, still bear exactly alike ;
that the pad be not wrinkled up ; but, above all, that your saddle lies exactly level upon the horse's
back.
6013. On getting off the horse's baCk, hold the bridle and mane in the same manner as when you
mounted, hold the pommel of the saddle with your right-hand ; to raise yourself, bring your right leg
over the horse's back, let your right-hand hold the hind part of the saddle, and stand a moment on your
stirrup, just as when you mounted. But beware that, in dismounting, you bend not your right knee,
lest the horse should be touched by the spur.
6014. The jockey mode of riding is practised in its fullest extent in racing. With some
modification it is also in use by many who esteem themselves excellent fox-hunters.
With still greater modification it is by its advocates practised also on the road. English
post-boys unite these two kinds of riding in a manner at once easy to themselves and
horses. True jockey riding consists in the use of a snaffle bridle, which is held firmly ;
and, as an advocate for it expresses himself, to enable the rider to give his horse the
proper pulls. To this end, the same writer recommends a firm seat, upright, and as
you would sit in a chair, with the knees nearly as much bent, and turned inward ; the
toes somewhat out and upward ; the leg falling nearly straight, and the foot home in the
stirrup (^;£r. 634.) ; elbows close to the sides ; hands rather above the horse's withers, or
pommel of the saddle ; and the view directed between his ears. The same writer further
advocates the jockey mode, by commenting on the decline of riding-house forms, and ,
the universal preference given to expedition, which, as he says, fully confirm the superior
use and propriety of a jockey-seat. Indeetl, our riding-schools are now, he continues, considerably
reformed from the stiflTness of ancient practice in all respects. It was the practice formerly in the schools,
and indeed pretty generally upon the road, to ride with the tip of the toe only in the stirrup ; as if it
were of more consequence to prepare for falling with safety, than to endeavor to sit securely. Those
who preserve a partiality for this venerable custom, we would advise to suspend a final judgment, until
they have made a few more essays upon a huge cock-tail half bred, of that kind which ' cannot go, and
yet won't stand still,' and will dart from one side of the road to the other, as if he really desired to get
rid of his burden. Nor is the ball of the foot a proper rest ; chiefly because inconvenient to that erect,
or rather almost kneeling, posture, which is required in speedy riding. The riding-house seat is preserved
by the balance or equipoise of the body solely ; that recommended here by the firm hold of the knee,
which is obviously strengthened by the opposite directions of the knee and toe, the one in, the other
outward.
Sect. XIV. Of the Feeding of Horses.
6015. The feeding of horses generally/, is an important feature in their management.
In considering the food> for horses, we are apt to locate our notions to the matters
around us, without taking into account that every country has its peculiar products.
White observes that the best food for horses is hay and oats ; and had he added for
English horses, it might have been just, but without such notice the assertion is much
too confined. In some sterile countries, horses are forced to subsist on dried fish, and
even vegetable mould ; in Arabia on milk, flesh balls, eggs, broth, &c. In India,
where the native grasses are tall, but little nutritious,' the better sorts are fed on Indian
corn, rice, millet, &c. ; and the poorer on rushes, sedge, leaves, &c. In the West
Indies on maize, Guinea corn, and sugar-cane tops; and in some instances on the
sugar itself, in the form of molasses. In France, Spain, and Italy, besides the grasses,
the leaves of limes, vines, the tops of acacia, the seeds of the carob tree, &c.are used.
6016. The food of British horses may be divided into herbage, grain, roots, and mixtures. Of kerb~
age, the principal kind is theprojjer gramina, eaten either moist, or dried into hay. When eaten moist
in their natural state, such a horse is said to graze ; but when these matters are cut and carried into the
stable to a horse, he is said to be soiled. Hay is herbage cut during its flowering and seeding processes,
which being subjected to the action of the sun and air a proper time, arc then collected into large
masses called ricks, where a certain degree of fermentation takes place before the matter is fitted to be-
come wholesome or nutritious, or before it receives such alteration as fits it for resisting further decom-
position and decay. The judicious managementof this fermentative process forms one of the great-
est desiderata in hay making. Pursued to a proper extent, the remaining moisture acting on the
farinaceous parts, as the seeds, &c., in conjunction with the heat evolved during the process, as it were
malts the whole, and sugar is produced Pushed beyond this, the hay becomes carbonised, and mow
burnt ; its nutritive properties are lessened, and its noxious qualities increa.sed. it being found in this
state to excite diabetes, sweating, and extreme weakness and emaciation. (575b) The quality of the hay
is too little attended to, but which is of very great importance; and more particularly so where little
corn but much hay is given. Hay should therefore be of the best, whether meadow, clover, or mixed.
Many horses thrive best on clover hay, particularly draught horses. It is very grateful to horses,
and it saves much waste of saliva ; to sprinkle hay witli water, has the same effect, but it should
only be done as it is wanted.
6017. Hay should never be given in large quantities at a time, horses breathe on it, become disgusted,
and then waste it. They also, when it is good, eat too much, and distend their stomachs, and then
942 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
become crib-biters. Hay should not be kept in the stable in great quantities, otherwise it becomes im-
pregnated with the volatile alkali of the stable, and is hen spoiled. As substitutes for hay, the straw of
wheat, barley, oats, and rye are used; but these jre much less nutritive, and ratner serve to excite
mastication by mixing them with other matters, than o be depended on for animalization. On hay,
when good, many horses subsist; and when no exertions are required of them they are sufficiently
nourished by it.
6018. The grain tised as horse food is of various kinds, possessing, it is supposed, different
degrees of nutriment, according to their different praportions of gluten, sugar, or farinaceous matter.
In South Britain, oats are almost exclusively used a., horse grain; and which, according to the experi-
ments of Sir Humphrey Davy, as we have seen (4598.), contain 748 parts of nutritious matter out of 1000.
In wheat, 955 parts of 1000 are nutritious ; but wheat is seldom given with us except to racers and hunters,
or on extraordinary occasions when great excitement is required, when it is sometimes given in the form
of bread. Barley is more frequently given than wheat, anc contains 920 parts in 1000 of nutritious particles.
Made into malt, where its sugar is evolved, it beccmts still more highly nutritious. Barley appears
to have been the principal horse food of the ancients.
6019. The pulse used as horse food, are the seed.) of beans, peas, vetches, &c. Beans are seldom
given alone on account of their heating and astrin!;ent qualities, but are mixed with straw or hay,
cut into chaff, either whole or broken.
6020. The roots used as horse food, are such as contain much sugar, but in which the gluten
is in small proportion only. Carrots stand deservedly high, on this list. They are favorable to con-
dition, as the skin and hair always look well under their use. They are highly nutritious we know,
from the fattening that occurs from them. They alofenerate good flesh, as we know horses can work
on them, and have their wind increased by their use; ncieed, so favorable are they to the proper action
of the lungs, that a course of carrots will frequently remove the most obstinate coughs. The
parsnep has similar properties. Swedish turnips, as having the saccharine particles in abundance, are
also found good. Beet-root likewise.
6021. Mixtures, or mixed food, is formed of seve]al kinds among agriculturists ; and it possesses
many advantages, as it can be varied to every taste, and made either cooling as an alterative, or nutritious
and stimulating as a tonic. Although it is principally usjd for waggon, post, and farm horses, it would
be better were its use more universal. Of this manger leeding, one of the best is formed from a chaff
made of one part best meadow or clover hay, and t vo parts wheatcn straw; to three bushels of this
mixture add one of bruised oats. The importance o;' bruising or flattening the oats is very great.
When used whole, the grains are apt to slip betwem the teeth or the chaff in mastication. In fact,
corn when either given alone, or with chaff, would, in most instances, benefit by bruising. To horses
under great exertion, the stomach must be, to a certiin degree, weakened also; in such cases, by bruis-
ing their corn, not only the work of mastication is much of it spared, but that of the stomach also. In
old horses with worn teeth, bruised oats are of great consequence. Fast eating hordes do not properly
masticate more than one half of their corn ; much of i . remains in the dung so perfectly unaltered, that it
will afterwards vegetate ; anel the celebrated agriculturist Curwen states, that during his residence in India,
in a season of scarcity, half famished wretches actually fo lowed the cavalry, and drew their principal sub-
sistence from the unchewed grains of corn extracted fom the excrement of the horses. Of this manger
food, three, four, five, or six pecks may be given dail; , according to size and exertions required ; and as
but little bay is required, so hard worked horses are enabled to lie down much more, instead of standing
on their already fatigued limbs to eat hay.
6022. Cooked food is also now much used by practical jgriculturists for horses. The articles made use
of are potatoes, carrots, turnips or parsneps. To hors is with their digestion weakened by hard work, old
age, or other causes, food in sufficient quantities, thus already reduced to a pultaceous mass, resembling
chyme, without the loss of time, or the waste of saliv.i, may be very important : for as Curwen very
judiciously observes, a horse will consume nearly six lours in eating a stone of hay, whereas he will eat
a stone of steameti potatoes in twenty minutes. Hoises are observed of themselves to lie down after
eating cooked food sooner than other times.
6023. The quantity of food to be given to i. horse must be regulated by circumstances,
the principle of which is the exertions or nature of the work required of him. If this
be simply laborious, as drawing of loads, or :a!Tying of weights, all that is requisite is
that the food be sufficiently nutritious. The I)u k from whence such nutriment is gained
is not a matter of import : but if such exe?rti mi are to be combined with celerity, as in
our racers, hunters, &c. ; it is evident tliat such feeding is best adapted to the end
required which combines nutriment without bulk ; and which increases the durability by
increasing the mental irritability, and thus giving tone and courage. These are
found to be better derived from a proportionate allowance of grain or corn, than any
other mode of feeding at present known. It remains only to add, that although ex-
perience has fully proved this, in all cases where the exertions are extreme ; yet it has
also led to another evil, by introducing a olcn of treating all horses of value alike.
Thus most of the more valuable hacknies, th2 carriage horses of the wealthy, &c.,
are accustomed to be fed, not as though their exertions were moderate ; but as though
tliey were unceasing, to the great injury of i hemselves, and to the destruction of a vast
quantity of valuable corn. To thousands of such horses, at least one third of their hay
and corn might be advantageously abstracted.
6024. Too great a quantity of food injures not only the community but the horse also.
The stomach becomes distended by over-feeding, and it then becomes weak and inca-
pable of a healthy digestion ; crib-biting, hidt:-boimd, and pursiveness follow ; or when
the stomach does digest this undue quantity, it generates fulness, which shews itself in
inflammations or foulness, appearing in the fcirni of cracks and grease.
6025. A horse in full work, of whatever kind, will re juire, according to his size, a peck of sound oats in
twenty-four hours ; and when the work is unremittin;;, as in post horses, even more [may be required.
Some post horses have an unlimited quantity given thim ; but this practice is always erroneous. If they
eat more, it serves only to distend the stomach unduly, and also to require stronger digestive powers : if
they blow on it they leave it, and it is wasted, or a more greedy one swallows it up without mastication ;
and both stomach, horse, and master, are thereby roDbed. The oats should be of the very best, with a
thin skin, and should weigh from thirty-eight to forty pounds the bushel. They should also be sweet and
free from must, and not kiln-dried. When put into a wide manger and spread about, being first sjjrinkled
with water, their benefit is increased. No horse will recuire more than eight or ten pounds of hay, in
twenty-four hours : from six to eight pounds are usually sufficient. When it can be conveniently done,
the quantity of both hay and corn should be divided into four portions. The largest portion both of hay
Book VII. STABLING AND GROOMING HORSES. 943
and corn should be given at night; the next in quantity in the morning; the other two portions at
noon, and about four in the afternoon. This however must depend on tlie work of the horse, and other
circumstances.
6026. Watering of horses IS an important part of their management, and many errors are committed
relative to it. It is equally erroneous to debar them frori it, as it is to allow them too much ; and the
former is much the most common evil. In sumriaer, or vhen from great perspiration, the animal juices
are wasted, it generates fevers, and wastes the strength j nd spirits. All horses prefer soft water, and as
nature is unerring, there is no doubt but that it is the loost wholesome. As some horses drink quicker
than others, it is not a good custom to take riding horse; to a pond, unless at night, when the quantity
cannot harm them ; or when not intended for early wor ; the next morning, as hunting, &c.
6027. The necessart/ quantity of water for a horse should be regulated by circumstances, as the weather,
the work, &c. In common cases, a large horse requires rather more than the half of a large stable pail
full twice in the day. At night a full pail should be al owed. Horses should never be galloped after
drinking; it has destroyed thousands, by gripes, indimnntions, and broken wind. This custom also uses
horses to expect they are to run away directly they are ac:;identally watered at any time. Others, expect-
ing they are to be fatigued with a gallop, will avoid drink ng at all. The most that should ever be done, is
to suffer no horse to drink his fill at a river or pond ; but having giving him half what is necessary, walk
him ten minutes, and then give him all that is required, j.nd walk him again.
Sect. XV. Of the Stabling and Grooming of Horses.
6028. The stabling of horses is likewise a mcst important point in their management,
the more so as being wholly a deviation from n iture ; hence, under the most judicious
management it is liable to produce some depiirtwre from health, and as some times
managed, is most hurtful to it. Clothing, dressing or combing, and exercise, are also
highly important.
6029. Every stable should be large, cool, and airy. It is too common to suppose that warmth is so con-
genial to horses, that they cannot be kept too liot ; bul there is reason to suppose that many of the
diseases of horses are attributable to the enervating effects of unnatural heat, and of an air breathed and
rebreathed over again. Blaine says. Is it not alike repug lant to reason and experience, to expect to keep
animals in health, that from stables heated to sixty degrees, and further protected by warm clothing, are
first stripped, and then at once exposed to a temperature at the freezing point ? If it be argued that habit
and exercise render these less hurtful, it will be easy to answer that their original hardihood is lost by
confinement and artificial treatment ; and that neither d< es exercise always tend to obviate the effects of
this sudden change : for our best carriage horses, and hackneys also, have often to wait hours in roads and
streets the convenience of their owners, or the pleasure of the groom.
6030. The heat of a stable should be regulated by a thermometer, and the heat shown by it should never
exceed 50" of Fahrenheit in winter, or 62° or 63° in sumrier. To renew the air, the stable should be well
ventilated ; and which is best done by trunks or tubes parsing from the ceiling through the roof.
6031. A stable should not only be well ventilated, but it should be light also ; arid the windows should be so
constructed as to admit light and air, without making a current of wind on the bodies of the horses.
Darkened stables are very hurtful to the eyes ; neither d( they, as was formerly supposed at Newmarket,
tend to the condition or rest of a horse.
6032. A stable should have a close ceiling to keep the du?t and dirt from the hay-loft from entering the
horses' eyes. It also necessary to prevent the ammoniac il gases from ascending and lodging in the hay.
It is preferable that the hay-loft be altogether removed from over the stable ; and if a very high ceiling
even to the roof were substituted, it would be for the benefit of the horses.
603.3. The form of the rack and manger should be attended to. Sloping racks are disadvantageous, as
encouraging dust in the eyes. They should therefore je upright, and by no means so high as they
usually are, by which the head and neck are put injuriously on the stretch. As a proof that this is
unpleasant to horses, many of them first pull out all t le hay, and then leisurely eat it. The manger
should be wide at the bottom, and of a proper height : cf re should be taken that no splinters are present
to endanger the lips, nose, and mouth. The halter reins should, in good stables, be suffered to run
within a groove within the manger post, to prevent the nin entangling the legs.
6034. The stalls of a stable should be wide. Strains in t!ie back, and sometimes even worse evils, are the
consequence of the standings being too narrow. Bails am objectionable from the ease with which horses
can kick over them ; and alse from the quickest feeder getting most food, when several horses stand
together bailed.
6035. The acclivity of the stalls is a matter of much dispute : when too much raised, as in dealers' stables,
they i)ut the back sinews on the stretch, and fatigue hors(s much. It is more natural that they should be
even; or that a very slight slope only be allowed to carry off the urine. The best mode, however, of
carrying off the urine, is by means of a small grating to ea:h stall, communicating with a cess pool without
doors, which should be closed uj), that a current of air may not come through the grating. Such a
contrivance will effectually carry off the water, and pre\entthe volatile alkali of the urine from impreg-
nating the air around. For the same reasons the dung should be removed, if possible, wholly without
the stable as soon as dropped; for the exhalations froii that are also ammoniacal, and consequently
hurtful. To this cause alone, we may attribute many diseases; particularly the great tendency stabled
liorses have to become aftectetl in the eyes. The punge icy of this effluvia is familiar to every one on
entering a close stable in the morning, and when the long-soiled litter is removed, it is absolutely
unbearable.
6036. The litter of horses should be kept dry and sweet, and should be often removed. When
it is suffered to remain, under the notion of making bett( r dung, the horse may be ruined ; neither does
the manure benefit as is supposed ; for when it is removed to the dung pit, the close confinement does
it more good than the open exposure in the stable, when it parts with its salts, on which its properties
as manure partly depend.
6037. Horses should not stand on litter during the d ly, although very generally suffered to do so.
Litter is thought to save the shoes and even the feet, by j reventing the uneven surface of the stable from
hurting them : but it holds the urine ; it tenders the fee : ; it heats them also ; and is very apt to encou-
rage swelling at the heels : as we know by removing it, vhen they immediately go down. A little litter
may be strewed behind to obviate the effect of kicking, (r the splashing of urine in mares.
60.38. The clothing of horses is apt to be carried to as erron 30us an extent, as the heat of their stables. Wien
horses go out in cold weather, and are intended to have merely a long walking exercise, then clothing is very
proper: but it must be evident, that when taken clothe! from a stable and exercised briskly so as to
jjroduce perspiration, it is erroneous; for not only are the clothes wetted and thus liable to give cold,
but the horse is unfitted to go out afterwards with a sadcle only. S;id(lle horses kept in condition stand
clothed in a kersey sheet, and girted with a broad roller, >vith occasionally the addition of a quarter-piece ;
the breast-plate is sometimes put on when going out to exercise ; the hood is used to race-hor.ses only,
except in case of sickness. All horses, excepting rac<;rs, are best without clothing in the summer
season.
6039. The grooming or dressing of horses i:> generally thus practised : having tied
944 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IIL
up the horse's head, take a curry-comb, and curry him all over his body, to raise the
dandrifF or scurf, beginning first at his neck, holding the left cheek of the head-stall
in your left hand, and curry him from the setting on of his head, all along his neck,
to his shoulder, and so go all over his body to the buttocks, down to his hocks ; then
change your hands, and curry him before on his breast, and laying your right arm
over his back, join your right side to his left, and curry him all under his belly to his
chest, and so all over very well, from the knees and shoulders upwards : after that, go
to the far side, and do in like manner. Then take a dead horse's tail, or a dusting-
cloth of cotton, and strike that dust away which the curry-comb has raised. Then
take a round brush, made of bristles, and dress him all over, both head, body, and
legs, to the very fetlocks, always cleansing the brush from that dust which it gathers, by
rubbing it upon the curry-comb. After that, take a hair-cloth, and rub him again all over
very hard, both to take away the loose hairs, and to help to lay his coat ; then wash your
hands in fair water, and rub him all over with wet hands, as well head as body; for
that will cleanse away all those hairs and dust the hair-cloth left. Lastly, take a clean
cloth, and rub him all over till he be very dry, for that will make his coat smooth and
clean. Then take another hair-cloth (for you should have two, one for his body and
another for his legs), and rub all his legs exceedingly well, from the knees and hocks
downwards to his very hoof, picking and dressing them very carefully about the fetlocks
from gravel and dust, which will lie in the bending of his joints.
6040. The curry-comb should not be too sharp, or, at least, not used in a rude and severe manner, so as
to be an object of torture and dread, instead of delight and gratification to the horse. It is too often the
fate of thin-skinned horses to suffer much from the brutality of heavy-handed and ignorant fellows, who
do not recollect that the unhappy animal is suffering, every time he writhes and attempts to escape from
the comb or brush, the same tortures that they themselves experience when tickled on the soles of
their feet.
6041. The care of the legs and feet forms a most important branch of stable discipline. The legs must
be kept perfectly dry, and so clean that not a speck of dirt be suffered to lodge in any crevice under the
knee or fetlock, or around the coronet, and withal preserved cool and free from stiffness and inflam-
mation. Dirt suffered to form a lodgment, or wet remaining upon the legs in cold weather, will fret the
skin, and cause cracked heels, mallenders and sellenders, rat's-tails, crown-scab, and such a train of stable
plagues, as may baffle the most vigorous efforts during a whole winter. From want of care, the best flat-
legged horses, whatever may be their condition, will soon become greased. Much care should likewise be
taken not to irritate and add to the inflammation of the legs, by harsh rubbing ; and if they be moderately
bandaged with linen or woollen, which every groom knows how to perform neatly, it will contribute to
cleanliness and the general end. Some gallopers are apt to crack the skin of their heels in exercise : in
that case, supple the skin occasionally with simple ointment, thougli, in general, warm- water will be a
sufficient preservative. Pains and soreness in the shins and shank-bones are often the consequence of
exercise over hard ground in very dry seasons, for which there is no better palliative than frequent warm
emollient fomentations. It forms a part of the constant attention of a good horse-keeper, to see that the
feet of his horses be well-cleansed beneath the shoe with the picker from all small stones or gravel, at
every return from abroad, The shoes must be examined, that their ends do not press into the crust, and
that the nails be fast , and that the clinches do not rise to cut the horse. In these cases, instant applica-
tion must be made to the farrier : horses ought by no means to remain in old shoes until the toe is worn
away, or the webs become so thin that there is danger of their breaking, unless in case of brittle hoofs,
when it is an object to shoe as seldom as possible. Upon the average, good shoes will wear near a month.
Steeling the toes is, in general, an useful practice, but less necessary when the best iron is made use of.
Where any tendency to dry hoofs exists, the feet should be stopped with equal parts of clay, cow dung, and
chamberlye every night, otherwise, twice or three times a week will be sufficient. A still better stopping
is made by adding a little tar to the other matters. It is also prudent, when the hoofs have any tendency
to hardness and contraction, to water the front part of the stall a little; and also occasionally, or constantly,
to hang around the hoofs an apparatus, made by doubling a circle of woollen cloth over a tape, which
.should be tied around the fetlocks loosely : the two segments of the cloth will then fold around the hoof,
and correspond to it in shape. This may be dipped in water, and will be found very convenient in keeping
the feet moist and cool. Very brittle hoofs are greatly benefited by brushing them over with a mixture
of whale oil and tar. It is considered as beneficial, in general, to take off the shoes of a horse who is
necessitated to stand long in the stable, and who does no work, and to substitute tips ; thCj growth of
the crust, and the enlargement of the heels being thereby promoted.
6042. The care of the furniture and trappings is another part of the duty of a horse-keeper. These are
best kept in order by being instantly rubbed clean after use, and placed in a dry situation; by which
method, neither oil nor scouring-paper is otlen found necessary. Great care should be taken to dry the
pads of the saddles after journies, and never to put a hardened and damp saddle upon the horse's back.
The same is also necessary with regard to the body-clothes. TJie pads of the saddles ought to be kept
perfectly soft, and free of dirt and sweat ; and, after use, should be dried either in the sun or by the fire,
and hung in a dry place : the clothes also should be washed much oftener than they generally are, and ever
kept perfectly dry, and in a sweet state.
6043. The exercising of horses is essentially necessary for their health, as it counteracts
the effects of the artificial life we force on them. High feeding, heated stables, and un-
natural clothing are, particularly the first, counteracted by proper exercise ; and without
it, horses become pursive, fat, heavy, and greased ; for, when the secretions do not find
themselves natural vents by perspiration, &c., they will find themselves artificial ones.
Exercise keeps down the fat, and it also hardens and condenses the muscles by drawing
their fibres nearer together ; it likewise enlarges the muscles. Thus the appearance, as
well as the feel, when we handle the flesh of a horse in condition by proper exercise, is
totally different from those of one merely full of flesh by fat, &c. Exercise increases the
wind by taking up the useless fat, and by accustoming the lungs to expand themselves.
6044. The quantity of exercise necessary for a horse must be regulated by a variety of circumstances ; as
age, constitution, condition, and his ordinary work. A young horse requires more exercise than an old
one, but it should be neither very long, nor very fatiguing. Some colts are observed to come out of
the breaker's hands with Bplints and spavins, owing to the severe exercise they have undergone. When
Book VII. MANAGEMENT OF RACE HORSES. 945
horses are in general work, a little walking exercise in the morning in body cloths, if the condition be
very high, or the weather be very cold, is all that is necessary : but, on days when their common work
is not expected to occur, a full fed horse should be exercised twice a day, an hour at each time; or, if
only once a day, then an hour and a half or two hours' exercise should be given; two-thirds of which
ought to be passed in walking; the other should be passed in a moderate trot in the hackney, and
divided into galloping and trotting in the hunter. The racer has his regular gallops at stated periods;
but the exercise of each should always finish with a walk of suflicient length, to bring the horse in cool,
both in person and temper.
Sect. XVI. Of the Management and Working of Horses.
6045. The working of horses includes the racing, hunting, and journeying of saddle
horses j and the treatment in harness of coach, waggon, cart, and farm horses.
SuBSECT. 1 . Management and Working of Race Horses.
6046. In the managing and working of race horses, three things are to be considered,
the preparation of the horse, the conduct of the rider, and the after treatment of the
horse. The preparation of a race horse for running a race is not the work of a few
days, if there be any great dependence on the success. A month at least is required to
harden his muscles in training, by proper food and exercise, and to refine his wind, by
clearing his body to that degree of perfection that js attainable by art. It is first ne-
cessary to ascertain correctly the present state of the horse, as whether he be low or
high in flesh ; and in eitlier case, a proper estimate should be formed of the time and
means required to bring him into true running condition.
6047. If a race horse be low in flesh, it is necessary to judge of the cause of such state, and to act
accordingly, the necessary proceedings for which were detailed in treating of condition. (5756.) It is
to be remarked, that spices are less to be depended on for this purpose than generous food, as malt
mashes ; and if any thing of the kind be used, let it be the simple cordial ball. ( Vet. Pharm. 5899.) Feed
frequently, and by little at a time : while he is thus low, let his exercise be walking only, and by no mians
spare his water, or he will become hide-bound : carefully watch him, that full feeding may not disagree
by making his heels swell, or his coat unthrifty; and if such appearances occur, mash him, and begin
his scourings, otherwise abstain from physicking until he is in better health. As he improves in condition,
increase his exercise, but not to such a degree as to make him sweat : his food must now be the best
oats and beans, with wheaten or barley bread ; the beans and oats are to be put intp a bag, and beaten
till the hulls are all off, and then winnowed clean ; and the bread, instead of being chipped in ihe common
way, is to have the crust clean off.
6()48. If the horse be in good flesh and spirits when taken up for his month's preparation, cordials are
altogether unnecessary ; and the chief business will be to give him good food, and so much exercise as
will keep him in wind, without over-sweating, or tiring his spirits. "When he takes larger exercise after-
wards, towards the end of the month, it will be proper to have some horses in the place to run against
him. This will put him upon his mettle, and the beating them will give him spirits. Tliis, however, is
to be cautiously observed, that he has not a bloody heat given him for ten days or a fortnight before the
plate is to be run for; and that the last heat that is given him the day before the race, must be in his
clothes : this will make him run with greatly more vigor when stripped for the race, and feeliisg the cold
wind on every part. In the second week, the horse should have the same food and more exercise: and
in the last fortnight he must have dried oats, that have been hulled by beating; after this jockies wet
them with the whites of eggs, beaten up, and then laid out in the sun to dry ; and when as dry as before,
the horse is to have them : this sort of food being considered by them as very light of digestion, and very
good for the creature's wind. The beans in this time should be given more sparingly, and the bread
should be made of three parts wheat and one part beans, or of wheat and barley in equal parts. If he
should become costive under this course, he must then have bran-water to drink, or some ale and whites
of eggs beaten together ; and keep his body moist. In the last week all mashing is to be omitted, and
barley-water given him in its place; and everyday, till the day before the race, he should have his fill of
hay ; then he must have it given him more sparingly, that he may have time to digest it ; and in the
morning of the race-day, he must have a toast or two of white bread soaked in ale, and the same just be-
fore he is led out of the field. This is an excellent method, because the two extremes of fulness and
fasting are at this time to be equally avoided ; the one heating his wind, and the other occasioning a
faintness that may make him lose. After he has had his food, the litter is to be shook up, and the stable
kept quiet, that he may be disturbed by nothing till he is taken out to run,
6049. In the choice of a rider for winning a race, it is necessary, as far as possible, to
select one that is not only expert and able, but honest. He must have a very close
seat, his knees being turned close to the saddle skirts, and held firmly there ; and the
toes turned inwards, so that the spurs may be turned outward to the horse's belly ; his
left hand governing the horse's mouth, and his right the whip. During the whole time of
the race, he must take care to sit firm in the saddle, ,without waving or standing up in the
stirrups. Some jockies fancy the last a becoming seat, but it is certain, that all motions
of this kind do really incommode the horse. In spurring the horse, it is not to be done
by sticking the calves of the legs close to the horse's sides, as if it were intended to press
the wind out of his body ; but, on the contrary, the toes are to be turned a little outwards,
that the heels being brought in, the spurs may just be brought to touch the sides. A
sharp touch of this kind will be of more service toward the quickening of a horse's pace,
and will sooner draw blood than one of the common coarse kicks. The expert jockey
will never spur his horse until there is great occasion, and then he will avoid striking
him under the fore lx)wels between the shoulders and the girt ; this is the tenderest part
of a horse, and a touch there is to be reserved for the greatest extremity.
6050. As U> whipping the horse, xiou^ht always to be done over the shoulder, on the nearside, except
in very hard running, and on the jwint of victory; then the horse is to be struck <m the flank with a
strong jerk ; for the skin is the most tender of all there, and most sensible of the lash. When a horse is
whipped and .spurred, and is at the top of his sjjced ; if he clap his ears in his pole, or whisk his tail, it i»
a proof that the jockey treat* him hard, and then he (night to give him as much comf(>rt as he can by
3 P
946 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
•awing the snaffle backward and forwards in his mouth, and by that means forcing him to open his
mouth, which will give him wind, and be of great service. If there be any high wind stirring in the
time of riding, the artful jockey will let his adversary lead, holding hard behind him, till he sees an op-
portunity of giving a loose ; yet, in this case, he must keep so close behind, that the other horse may keep
the wind from him; and that he, sitting low, may at once shelter himself under him, and assist the
strength of the horse. If the wind happen to be in their back, the expert jockey is to keep directly
behind the adversary, that he may have all the advantage of the wind to blow his horse along, as it
were, and at the same time intercept it in regard to his adversary.
6051. When running on level smooth ground, the jockey is to beat his horse as much as
the adversary will give him leave, because the horse is naturally more inclined to spend
himself on this ground ; on the contrary, on deep earths, he may have more liberty, as he
will there spare himself.
6052. In riding up kill the horse is always to be favored, by bearing him hard, for
fear of running him out of wind; but in running down hill, if the horse's feet and
shoulders will bear it, and the rider dares venture his neck, he may have a full loose.
If the horse have the heels of the rest, the jockey must always spare him a little, that he
may have a reserve of strength to make a push at the last post.
6053. On the jockey's knowing the nature of the horse that is to run against him, a great deal depends ; for
by managing accordingly, great advantages are to be obtained : thus, if the opposite horse is of a hot and
fiery disposition, the jockey is either to run just behind him, or cheek by joul with him, making a noise
with the whip, and by that means forcing him on faster than his rider would have him, and consequently,
spending him so much the sooner ; or else keep him just before him, in such a slow gallop, that he may
either overreach, or by treading on the heels of the fore-horse, endanger tumbling over. Whatever be
the ground that the adversary's horse runs worst on, the cunning jockey is to ride the most violently over;
and by this means it will often happen, that in following he either stumbles or claps on the back sinews.
The several corrections of the hand, the whip, and the spur, are also to be observed in the adversary, and
in what manner he makes use of them : and when it is perceived by any of the symptoms of holding down
the ears, or whisking the tail, or stretching out the nose like a pig, that the horse is almost blown, the
business is to keep him on to this speed, and he will be soon thrown out or distanced. If the horse of the
opponent looks dull, it is a sign his strength fails him ; and if his flanks beat much, it is a sign that his
wind begins to fail him, and his strength will soon do so too.
6054. The after-management of a horse who has run, includes the treatment between the heats, and the
treatment after the race is over. After every heat for a plate, there must be dry straw, and dry clothes,
both linen and woollen, ready to rub him down all over, after taking off the sweat with what is called a
sweat-knife ; that is, a piece of an old sword-blade, or some such thing. After the horse has been well
rubbed, he should be chafed all over with cloths wetted in common water, till the time of starting again.
When it is certainly known that the horse is good at the bottom, and will stick at the mark, he should be
rid every heat to the best of his performance ; and the jockey is, as much as possible, to avoid riding at
any particular horse, or staying for any, but to ride out the whole heat with the best speed he can. If,
on the contrary, he has a fiery horse to ride, and one that is hard to manage, hard-mouthed, and difficult
to be held, he is to be started behind the rest of the horses with all imaginable coolness and gentleness ;
and when he begins to ride at some command, then the jockey is to put up to the other horses ; and if they
ride at their ease, and are hard held, they are to be drawn on faster ; and if it be perceived that their wind
begins to rake hot, and they want a sob, the business is to keep them up to that speed ; and when they are
all come within three quarters of a mile of the post, then is the time to push for it, and use the utmost
speed in the creature's power.
6055. When the race is over, the horse is immediately to be clothed up and rode home ; and immediately
on his coming into the stable, the following drink is to be given him : Beat up the yolks of three eggs, and
put them into a pint and a half of sound ale, made warm ; and let it be given with a horn. After this,
he is to be rubbed well down, and the saddle-place rubbed over with warm water and vinegar, and the
places where the spurs have touched, with the same ; after this he should have a feed of rye-bread, then
a good mash, and at some time after these as much hay and oats as he will eat. His legs, after this, should
be bathed some time with a mixture of vinegar and water.
SuBSECT. 2. Of the Management and Working of the Hunter.
6056. The managing and working of the hunter includes his preparation for hunt-
ing, his condition, and his treatment while taking his regular day's work in the field,
whether after buck, fox, or hare hounds.
6057. The preparation of the hunter must, like that of the race horse, be commenced
by an estimate of his state and condition. If taken fresh from grass, it should be in
due time ; first, that he may be well prepared ; and next, because the grass does not
yield much nutriment in the heat of summer. A still better method is to continue to
let him run out in the day and graze, having a shed to house himself from heat and rain-
He is also to be fed and exercised, nearly as in the common training, for hunting con-
dition. In this way he is sure to be free from cracks, hidebound, or surfeit ; and he
will prove infinitely more hardy afterwards. It is even the practice with some of the
best sportsmen, to allow their horses to run out all the hunting season, unless the
weather be very severe ; when they are only stabled in a loose place. They are allowed
as much corn as they can eat, and are found, if a little rougher in their coats, infinitely
superior in hardihood, and exemption from the dangers of cold.
6058. A hunter taken from grass or in very low case, should be treated as already fully detailed
-under condition. (5755.) Great care must be taken that all the alterations in heat of stable, clothing,
feeding, &c., are gradually brought about ; by which means his flesh will harden gradually, and by using
first walking exercise, and increasing it as he advances in flesh and strength, his wind also will become
excellent.
6059. In the physicking of hunters, particularly when they are low in flesh, much caution is requisite,
that it be not over.done. It is the practice with some, and by no means a bad one, to give no physic ;
but to give more time in the preparation. Others again give mild grass physic, which is an excellent
plan, when the weather is fine. {See physicking, 5875.)
6060. The preparation of a hunter in full flesh and not from grass, depends principally on regular
exercise, and the best hard food ; physicking him or not, according as he may be suspected to be foul, or as
his wind may seem to want mending ; but above all, whatever is done, should be done regularly ; and
Book VII. MANAGEMENT OF RIDING HORSES. 947
his exercise should be rather long continued than violent. Oats, with beans, are the proper hard food for
hunters, taking care that the beans do not constipate the bowels ; which must be obviated by bran
mixed with the other food, if such should be the case. Bread is not necessary, but for tender delicate
horses ; but every tl)ing should be of the best. •
6061. The day before a horse is to hunt it is common to treat him somewhat differently, but which is
seldom necessary. It is evident he should be well fed, and that not late at night, that he may lie down
early. Some feed in the morning, which others avoid; but when it is considered, as has been fully
explained (5731.), how ill a horse bears fasting, it will be at once seen, that if very early in the morning,
as by five o'clock, he could be fed with a moderate quantity of com wetted, it would tend to support him
through the day.
6062. On the return of a horse from hunting, the care bestowed on him should be extreme j as on it
depends the immediate recovery of his strength. If he have fasted very long, and particularly if he be
disinclined to eat of himself ; horn down a pint of ale, with two pints of thick gruel. No prudent sports-
man will bring in a horse hot ; but if unavoidable accidents prevent this caution, let the horse be again
led out for a few minutes, hooded and clothed ; but he must have fresh clothes when afterwards dressed.
Encourage him to stale as quickly as possible, after which proceed to hand-rub him all over carefully,
placing before him a little of the best hay well sprinkled with water. If he refuse this, offer him three
<juarts of very clean chilled water. "When perfectly cleaned, let his feet be carefully examined, that
stubs have not pierced them, or that his shoes have not been forced awry, by over-reaching, or by the
suction of clayey ground ; or that thorns be not lodged in his knees, hocks, and sinews. After ^l these
matters have been well attended to, remove him from his stall to a loose box, well bedded up. A loose
box is invaluable to a hunter ; it gives room for stirring to prevent the swelling of the legs ; and is better
than bandaging when it can be avoided, which gives a disinclination to lie down. If the horse be off his
food the next day, give him a cordial ball ( Vet. Pharm. 5899.^ and a malt mash, and afterwards a few cut
carrots, which will assist to bring him round more speedily.
SuBSECT. 3. Of the Working and Management of Riding Horses.
6063. The working and managing of hackney or riding horses, includes what is re-
quired for them as pleasure horses for ordinary airings ; and what they require when
used for purposes of travelling or long journeyings. It embraces also their stable ma-
nagement in general, with the proper care of horse and stable appointments : all which
are usually entrusted to a servant, popularly called a groom, whose qualifications
should be, moderate size, light weight, activity and courage, joined with extreme mild-
ness and good temper ; and above all, a natural love of horses, by which every thing
required is done as a pleasure for the animal he loves, and not as a task for those he is
indifferent to.
6064. The hack7iey for gentlemen's airings should be in high condition, because a fine coat is usually
thought requisite, and here the groom ought to be diligent that he may keep up this condition by regu-
larity and dressing, more than by heat, clothing, and cordials. Whenever his master does not use his
horse, he must not fail to exercise him (but principally by walking) to keep up his condition, and to keep
down useless flesh and swellings of the heels. The horse appointments are to be peculiarly bright and clean.
The bridle should be billetted and buckled, that the bits may be removed to clean them without soiling the
leather, and which cleaning ought not to be done with rough materials, but fine powder and polishing.
On the return from exercise, they should be wiped dry and then oiled. Two pair of girths should be used,
that a clean pair may always be ready, and the same if saddle cloths are used.
6065. The preparation for, and the care of a horse on a journey involve many particulars which should
not escape the eye of the master. The first is, Is the horse in hard travelhng condition? Next, Do his
appointments all fit, and are they in proper order ? The bridle for journeying should always be a double
curbed one. The snaflilecan be ridden with, certainly ; but the snaffle cannot do the work of the curb, in
staying a horse, in saving him from the ground under stumbling or fatigue ; or throwing him on his
haunches ; or in lightening his mouth. The bridle should not be new, but one to which the horse is
accustomed. It is of still more consequence that the saddle be one that the horse has worn before, and that
fits him thoroughly. The girths should also be of the best material to prevent accidents ; and if the saddle
be liable to come forward, however objectionable the appearance, a crupper had better be used. Some
days before a long journey is attempted, if the shoes are not in order, shoe the horse ; but by no means
let it be done as you set off, otherwise having proceeded on the journey a few miles, you find that one foot
is pricked, and lameness ensues j or, if this be not the case, one or more shoes pinch, or do not settle to
the feet ; all which cannot be so well altered as by your own smith.
6066. It is always best to begin a long journey by short stages, which accustoms the horse to continued ex-
ertion. This is the more particularly necessary if he have not been accustomed to travel thus, or if he be
not in the best condition. The distance a horse can perform with ease depends greatly on circumstances.
Light carcased horses, very young ones, and such as are low in flesh, require often baiting, particularly in
hot weather : horses in full condition, above their work, and well carcased, and such as are from seven, or
ten, or twelve years old, are better when ridden a stage of fifteen or twenty miles, with a proportionate
length of baiting time afterwards, than when baited otlen, with short stoppages : the state of the weather
should also be considered ; when it is very hot the stages should be necessarily shorter.
6067. To a proper consideration of the baiting times on a journey, the physiology of digestion should be
studied. {51TI.) Fatigue weakens the stomach ; when we ourselves are tired, we seldom have much in-
clination to eat, and fatigue also prevents activity in the digestive powers. To allay these consequences,
ride the horse gently the last two or three miles. If a handful of grass can be got at the road side, it will
wonderfully refresh your horse, and not delay you three minutes. In hot weather, let the horse have
two or three go downs (gulps), but not more, of water occasionally as you pass a pond ; this tends to prevent
excessive fatigue. Occasionally walk yourself up hill, which greatly relieves him, and at which time,
remove the saddle, by shifting which, only half an inch, you greatly relieve him; and during this time,
perhaps he may stale, which also is very refreshing to him. It may be as well, in a flinty country, to
take this opijortunity of examining that no stones are got into the feet likewise.
()068. When a horse is brought into an inn from his journey ; if he be very hot, first let him be allowed
time to stale; let his saddle be taken off, and with a sweat knife draw the perspiration away; then, with
a rug thrown over him, let him be led out and walked in some sheltered place till cool, by which means he
will not afterwards break out into a .secondary and hurtful sweat : but by no means let an idle ostler
hang him to dry without the stable. Being now dried, remove him to the stable, where, let some good
hay, sprinkled with water, be placed before him : if very thirsty, give three or four quarts of water now,
and the remainder in half an hour, and then let him be thoroughly dressed, hand-rubbed, foot-picked, and
foot- washed ; but by no means let him be ridden into water ; or, if this practice is customary, and cannot
be avoided, let it be not higher than the knees, and afterwards insist on the legs being rubbed perfectly
dry ; but good hand-rubbing and light Sponging is better than washing. Havingthus made him comfort-
able, proceed to feed him with corn and beans according as he is used.
6069. To feed a horse when very hard ridden, or if weakly and tender, it is often found useful to give
bread, or bread with ale : if this be also refused, horn down oatmeal and ale, or gruel and ale. it is of
3P 2
948 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Paet III.
the utmost consequence if the journey is to be of several days continuance, or if it is to consist of a
great distance in one or two days, that the baitings are sufficiently long to allow the horse to digest his
food : digestion does not begin in less than an hour, and is not completed in less than three ; consequently
any bait that is less than two hours, fails of its object ; and such a horse rather travels on his former
strength than on his renewed strength, and therefore it cannot continue. After a horse is fed he will
sometimes lie down ; by all means encourage this, and if he is used to do it, get him a retired corner stall
for the purpose.
6070. The night baiting of a journeying horse should embrace all the foregoing particulars, with the ad-
dition of foot stopping ; and care that his stable be of the usual temperature to that to which he is accus-
tomed ; and that no wind or rain can come to hira : give him now a full supply of water ; if he has been
at all exposed to cold, mash him, or, if his dung be dried by heat, do the same ; otherwise, let a good pro-
portion of oats and beans be his supper, with hay, not to blow on half the night, but enough only to
afford nutriment.
6071. When returned home from a journey; if it has been a severe one, let the horse have his fore shoes
taken off, and, if possible, remove him to a loose box, with plenty of litter ; but if the stones be rough,
or the pavement be uneven, put on tips, or merely loosen the nails of those shoes he has on ; keep the
feet continually moist by a wet cloth, and stop them at night if the shoes be left on ; mash him
regularly, and if very much fatigued, or reduced, let him have malt or carrots, and if possible, turn him out
an hour or two in the middle of the day to graze : bleeding or physicking are unnecessary, unless the
horse shows signs of fear. If the legs be inclined to swell, bathe them with vinegar and chamber-lye, and
bandage them up during the day, but not at night, and the horse will soon recover to his former state.
SuBSECT. 4. Of Horses in Curricles and Coaches.
6072. In worldng and managing horses in curricles, two wheel chaises, and similar
cases, great feeling and nicety is required, not to overload or overdrive the animal ;
to see that the weight is duly proportioned between the wheels and horse's back,
and that the harness does not pinch ; but no directions on this head can be of much use,
unless the driver be a humane and considerate person, and one who sets a just value
on the services of the noble animal committed to him. In Russia, the drivers of
two wheel carriages, as
droscheys, sledges, and
others, corresponding to
our gigs and curricles,
have a barbarous custom
of teaching the horses to
turn round their heads,
the one to the left, and
the other to the right(^jg.
635.), the sight of which
is very offensive to a stranger.
6073. In worldng and managing coach horses, the same attention to grooming in all
its departments is required as for saddle horses. Coach horses should never be brought
into full work before they are five years old : when well fed on hard food they may be
worked at an average of thirty miles a day at twice. In general they should not be
longer than five or six hours in the yoke at a time. Their principal meals should be in
the morning and after their work is over for the day, as the action of trotting fast mate-
rially impedes digestion.
SuBSECT. 5. Working of Cart, Waggon, and Farm Horses.
6074. In working and managing cart and waggon horses, a similar attention is
requisite as for coach horses, though perhaps in a somewhat less degree, the animal being
hardier.
6075. The working and managing of farm horses includes the age at which they are
put to work, the quantity of work they should perform, and their feeding and general
management.
6076. The age at which horses are jiui to full work, in the labors if a farm, is usually
when four or five years old, according to the nature of the soil, and the numbers of the
team ; but they are always understood to be able to pay for their maintenance after they
are three years old, by occasional work in ploughing and harrowing. Brown thinks it
probable they might be put to work at four years old, were the same attention paid to
their breeding and rearing, that is paid to cattle and sheep.
6077. The work which a farm horse ought to perform is evidently a question of circum-
stances, which does not admit of any precise solution, a two -horse plough may, on an
average, work about an English acre a day throughout the year ; and, in general,
according to the nature of the soil, and the labor that has been previously bestowed on it,
a pair of horses, in ploughing, may travel daily from ten to fifteen miles, overcoming a
degree of resistance equal to from four to ten hundred weight. On a well made road, the
same horses will draw about a ton in a two wheeled cart tor twenty or twenty-five miles
every day ; and one of the better sort, in the slow movement of the carrier or waggoner,
commonly draws this weight by himself on the best turnpike roads. In some places horses
are in the yoke, when the length of the day permits, nine hours, and in others ten hours a
day, but for three or four months in winter, only from five to eight hours. In the former
season they are allowed to feed and rest two hours from mid-day, and in the latter they
Book VII. MANAGEMENT OF FARM HOUSES. 949
have a little corn on the field, when working as long as there is day light, but none if they
work only five or six hours. (Sup. Enc. Brit. art. Agr.)
6078. The feeding of farm horses is a subject of great agricultural importance, and has
excited considerable discussion among speculative agriculturists, who have generally
urged the great expenses attending it as an argument against horses, in favor of oxen.
Others, without preferring oxen to horses, have, instead of corn and hay, proposed to feed
them on roots, leaves, whins, and even haws from the hedges. The latter have been given
in large quantities by West, of Hampshire, and it is said (Complete Farmer, art. Team.) were
found to answer. That horses as well as men may live on very inferior food is evident ;
but that either will be able to perform their work under such treatment, as well as if they
were properly nourished, is contrary to reason and experience. It is observed by the
judicious writer so often quoted, that horses can never perform their labor according to
the present courses of husbandry, on carrots, turnips, potatoes, or other roots alone, or
as their chief food. They will work and thrive on such food, but they will work as
much more, and thrive as much better with oats or beans in addition, as fully to repay
the diiference in expense. One of the three meals a day, which farm horses usually
receive, may consist of roots ; and a few of them, every twenty-four hours, are highly
conducive to the health of the animals : but we haVe never had occasion to see any horse
work regularly throughout the year, in the way they are usually worked in the best
cultivated districts, without an allowance of at least an English peck of oats, or mixed
oats and beans, daily, less or more at particular periods, but rather more tlian this
quantity for at least nine months in the ye^r.
6079. Brown does not approve of giving much grain to young horses, thinking it expensive, and not so
conducive to their health as when they are supported on green food. In the winter and spring months, a
few turnips are eminently beneficial to young horses, by keeping their blood in good order, swelling their
bone, and hastening their growth. A plentiful supply of grass in summer ought always to be allowed, as their
condition through the winter depends greatly upwn that circumstance. It is an object deserving of atten-
tion, that flesh once gained ought never to be lost, but that every animal whatever should be kept in a
progressive state of improvement, and not suffered to take a retrograde course, which afterwards must be
made up by extra feeding, or a loss be sustained, in a direct proportion to the degree of retrogradation
that has actually occurred.
6080. The leanness of a farmer'' s working cattle, and their reluctant movements under this severe stimu-
lus, clearly marks his unprosperous condition. There are particular operations, indeed, such as turnip-
sowing, seeding, fallows, harvest work, &c., which require to be executed with so great dispatch, in our
variable climate, that unusual exertions are often indispensable. At these times, it is hardly possible, by
the richest food and the most careful treatment, to prevent the animals from loosing flesh, sometimes
even when their spirit and vigor are not perceptibly impaired. Such labors, however, do not continue
long, and should always be followed by a corresponding period of indulgence. It is particularly danger-
ous and unprofitable, to begin the spring labor with horses worn down by bad treatment during winter.
(.Sup. 8sc.)
6081. Donaldson observes, that the coarse garbage with which farm horses are com-
monly stuffed, profitably or otherwise, is the real cause of the frequent occurrence
among them of blindness, grease, and colic ; more particularly the last, which, with
care, might be prevented from happening so frequently. The remedy lies in physic,
once or twice a-year ; either the regular aloetic dose, or salts given in pails of warm water,
or sulphur and cream of tartar ; one third of the latter mixed in the corn. All horses kept
in the stable become, more or less, internally loaded ; and it is an error, to suppose cart-
horses are not equally benefitted with others by purging physic.
6082. The cleaning and dressing of farm horses was formerly very little attended to ;
but at present its importance to tlie health of the animal is better understood. Donald-
son recommends that the heels, legs, bend of the knee, and hock, the twist under the
flanks ; in short, all parts out of sight, of cart-horses, whilst standing in the house,
should be kept perfectly free from dirt and scurf, and the skin supple ; the parts more
in sight will take care of themselves. In a deep country, it is much the better practice,
notwithstanding the prejudice to the contrary, to trim their legs coach-horse fashion.
It is now well understood, the editor of The Farmer's Magazine observes, that the liberal
use of the brush and the curry-comb twice a day ; frequent but moderate meals, con-
sisting of a due proportion of succulent joined to more solid food ; abundance of fresh
litter, and great attention to method and cleanliness, are as indispensable in the stable
of a farmer (as far as is consistent with a just regard to economy), as they have always
been held to be in the treatment of horses kept for pleasure. Good dressing, with all
well-informed and attentive men, is considered to be no less necessary to the thriving
of the horses than good feeding ; according to a common expression, it is equal to half
their food.
6083. The general management of farm horses in the improved districts of the north,
may be presented as a good example. There, for about four months in summer, horses
are fed on pastures ; or on clover and rye-grass, and tares cut green, and brought home
to the stable or fold-yard ; the latter method being by far the most economical and
advantageous. For the other eight months, they are kept on the straw of oats, beans, and
peas, and on clover and rye-grass hay. As soon as the grass fails towards the end oi
autumn, they have hay for a few weeks, and when the days bicome so short as to allow
3 V :?
950 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
of no more than from six to eight hours' work, they are very generally fed with different
kinds of straw, according to the circumstances of the farm ; in the month of March they
are again put to hay till the grass is ready for being cut. Throughout all the year they
are allowed more or less corn, when constantly worked ; and during the time they are
on dry fodder, particularly when on straw, they have potatoes, yams, or Swedish turnips,
once a day, sometimes boiled barley, and, in a few instances, carrots. A portion of
some of these roots is of great importance to the health of horses, when succulent
herbage is first exchanged for hay at the end of autumn ; and it is no less so towards the
latter end of spring, when hay has become sapless, and the labor is usually severe. At
these two periods, therefore, it is the practice of all careful managers, to give an ample
allowance of some of these roots, even though they should be withheld for a few weeks
during the intermediate period.
6084. The quantity of these different articles of food must depend on the size of the
horses, and the labor they perform ; and the value upon the prices of different seasons,
and, in every season, on the situation of the farm with respect to markets, particularly
for hay and roots, which bring a very different price near large towns, and at a few miles
distant. It is for these reasons, that the yearly expense of a horse's maintenance has been
estimated at almost every sum, from 15/. to 40/. But it is only necessary to attend to the
expense of feeding horses that are capable of performing the labor required of them,
under the most correct and spirited management. Such horses are fed with oats, some-
times with beans, three times a day, for about eight months ; and twice a day for the
other four, when at grass ; and, at the rate of eight feeds per bushel, each horse will eat
fifteen quarters of oats, or twenty bolls Linlithgow measure in the year. When on hay,
he will require about one stone of twenty-two pounds avoirdupois daily, and five pounds
more if he does not get roots. One English acre of clover and rye-grass, and tares,
may be necessary for four months' soiling ; and a quarter of an acre of potatoes, yams, or
Swedish turnips, during the eight months he is fed with hay or straw. The use of these
roots may admit of a small diminution of the quantity of corn in the winter months, or
a part of it may be, as it almost always is, of an inferior quality.
6085. The expense of feeding a horse throughout the i/ear, may therefore be estimated,
in regard to quantities, as follows :
Oats, fifteen quarters. Straw for other four months, half the price of hay.
Soiling, one acre of clover and rye-grass, and tares. Potatoes, yams, or Swedish turnips, | acre.
Hay part of October and November, March, April, and {Sup., S^c. art. jigr.)
May, IJ ton.
6086. The extent of land required for a horse* s maintenance, supposing the soil to be of
a medium quality, may be about five acres ; that is, for oats three acres, soiling one, and
one more for hay and roots. On rich soils four acres will be suflicient, but on poor
soils, and wherever horses are kept at pasture, the produce of six acres and a half, or
seven acres, will be consumed by one of them, when worked in the manner already men-
tioned. The straw of about two acres must be allowed for fodder and litter, the last of
which has not been stated above, because, at a distance from towns, what is allowed
for litter must at any rate be converted into dung. If sixty acres, therefore, should be
assumed as the average extent of land that may be kept in cultivation by two horses,
according to the best courses of modern husbandry, the produce of ten acres of this will
be required for their maintenance ; or, a horse consumes the produce of one acre out of
every six which he cultivates, according to a four or six years' course, and sometimes
more than one acre out of every five which he ploughs annually. {General Rq)ort of
Scotland, vol. iii. p. 192.)
Chap. II.
The Ass. — Equus Asinus, L. Ane, Fr.; Esel, Ger.; Asno, Span, and Asino, Ital.
6087. The ass is a native of the mountainous deserts of Tartary, of Arabia, Persia,
and other parts of the Asiatic continent ; and at present is very generally domesticated
throughout most civilized countries. The wild ass feeds chiefly on the most saline or
bitter plants of the desert, as the kalis, atriplices, chenopodium, &c.; and also prefers the
saltest and most brackish water to that which is fresh. Of this the hunters are aware, and
usually station themselves near the ponds to which they resort to drink. Their manners
greatly resemble those of the wild horse. They assemble in troops under the conduct of
a leader, or centinel j and are extremely shy and vigilant. They will, however, stop in the
midst of their course, and even suffer the approach of man, and then dart off with
the utmost rapidity. They have been at all times celebrated for their swiftness. Their
voice resembles tliat of the common ass, but is shriller.
Book VII.
THE ASS.
951
6088. The excellencies and defects of the common ass have amply engaged the lively
pens of several descriptive writers on the history of animals ; and of none with more
happy effect than those of the eloquent Buffon, and the ingenious Abb6 la Pluche.
The ass, in his natural temper, is humble, patient, and quiet, and bears correction with
firmness. He is extremely hardy, both with regard to the quantity and quality of his
food, contenting himself with the most harsh and disagreeable herbs, which other animals
will scarcely touch. In the choice of water he is, however, very nice ; drinking only of
that which is perfectly clear, and at brooks with which he is acquainted. He is very
serviceable to many persons who are not able to buy or keep horses ; especially where
they live near heaths or commons, the barrenest of which will keep him ; being contented
with any kind of coarse herbage, such as dry leaves, stalks, thistles, briers, chaff, and any
sort of straw. He requires very little looking after, and sustains labor beyond
most others. He is seldom or never sick ; and endures hunger and thirst longer than
most other kinds of animals. The ass may be made use of in husbandry to plough light
lands, to carry burdens, to draw in mills, to fetch water, cut chaff, or any other similar
purposes. The female (^o^. 636.) is also 636
useful in many cases for her milk, which
is excellent; and she might be of more
advantage to the farmer if used, as in
foreign countries, for the purpose of
breeding of mules. The skin of the ass
is extremely hard, and very elastic, and
is used for various purposes ; such as to
cover drums, make shoes, or parchment.
It is of the skin of this animal that the
Orientals make the fagri, or, as we call
it, shagreen. The milk of the ass is the lightest of all miljis, and is recommended by
medical men, to persons of delicate stomachs ; the flesh, and the hair of the tail and
mane, are used as those of the horse.
6089. 77ie ass attains his full growth in three or four years, and may then be put to work. Like the
horse he will live to 25 or 30 years ; it is said the female lives longer than the male ; but, perhaps, this hap-
pens from their being often pregnant, and at those times having some care taken of them, instead of which
the males are constantly worn out with fatigue and blows. They sleep less than the horse, and do not lie
down to sleep, except when they are exceedingly tired. The male ass also lasts much longer than the stal-
lion ; the older he is, the more ardent he appears ; and, in general, the health of this animal is much bet-
ter than that of the horse ; he is less delicate, and not nearly so subject to maladies. Ophthalmia, which
may be reckoned among the indigent of the cultivated horse, is almost unknown to the ass. Contraction
of the feet also, is very seldom observed in him.
6090. The different breeds or races of the ass are much less known than those of the horse, because in
this country they have not been taken the same care of, or followed with the same attention. Travellers
inform us, that there are two sorts of asses in Persia, one of which, being slow and heavy, is used for bur-
,dens; and the other is kept like horses for the
saddle. The latter have [smooth hair, carry their
heads well, and are much quicker in their motion ;
but when they ride them they sit nearer the but-
tocks than when on horseback. They are dressed
like horses, and like them are taught to amble ;
and they cleave their nostrils to give them more
room for breathing. According to Dr. Russell,
there are two sorts in Syria, one of which are like
^ jours, and the other very large, with remarkably long
ears ; but both kinds are employed for the purpose
of carrying burdens, and sedan chairs, {fig. 637.)
6091. In breeding from the ass, the same general
rules should be attended to as in the horse breeding. The male ass will procreate at the age of two
and a half years, and the female still earlier. The stallion ass should be chosen from the largest and
strongest of his species ; he must at least be three years old, but should not exceed ten ; his legs
should be long, his body plump, head long and light, eyes brisk, nostrils and chest large, neck long,
loins fleshy, ribs broad, rump flat, tail short, hair shining, soft to the touch, and of a deep grey.
Those are' reckoned the best" shaped that are well squared, have large ey
broad breasts, high shoulders, a great back, short tail, the hair sleek, and of a blackish color.
wide nostrils, long necks.
6092. The best time of covering is from the latter end of May to the beginning of June, nor must the
female be hard worked whilst with foal, for fear of casting ; but the more the male is worked, in moder-
ation, the better he will thrive. She brings forth her foal in about a twelvemonth, but, to preserve a
good breed, she should not produce more than one in two years. She should be covered between the
months of March and June. The best age to breed at is from three years old to ten. When the foal is cast,
it is proper to let it run a year with the dam, and then wean it by tying up and giving it grass, and some-
times milk ; and,when it has forgot the teat, it should be turned out into a pasture ; but, if it be in winter,
it must then be fed at times, tiU it be able to shift for itself
6093. The ass may be broken and trained at the end of the second year ; but should
not be worked sooner than the third year. Breaking is easily effected when two years
old, or it may be let alone still longer, as till three years. It is easily done by laying
small weights on his back, and increasing them by degrees ;^ then set a boy upon him,
and so increase the weights as may be proper, till they are sufficiently heavy.
6094. The age of the as^ is known by his teeth in the same manner as the horse. At
two years and a half old, the first middle incisive teeth fall out, and the other on each
side soon follow ; they are renewed at the same time, and in the same order.
6095. The anatomy and i^hysialogy of the ass do not differ from those of the horse i
3 P 4
952 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
tially. The concha cartilages of the ears are, however, considerably more elongated : the
spinous processes of the dorsal vertebrae forming the withers are less extensive ; and the
bones of the extremities in general are less angularly placed; from whence results his
inferiority in speed. It is also to the unbending lines of the spine, that his motions are
rendered so uneasy to a person placed on the middle of his back. Some specialty oc-
curs in the feet, which, like the horses of arid climes, are small and upright. His laryn-
geal sonorous sacs and cordoe vocales are not altogether like those of the horse, from
whence his aptitude to bray instead of neighing. In the ass there are three laryngeal
sacs as in the horse ; but instead of a wide opening into them, there is a small round
hole, and the anterior sac is a real bag of considerable size. In the horse, there is also,
at the commissure of the cordae vocales, a slight membranous fold not visible in the ass.
These organs in the mule are compounded of these forms. Braying appears produced
through the mouth, whereas neighing is principally effected by the nose. There is a
hollow membranous cavity at the back of the mouth that is greatly assistant to this
trumpet-like noise, which is effected by convulsively displacing the velum palati by
alternate inspirations and expirations.
6096. The diseases of the ass, as far as they are known, bear a general resemblance to
those of the horse. As he is more exposed, however, and left to live in a state more
approaching to natural, he has few diseases. Those few, however, are less attended to
than they ought to be ; and it is for the veterinary practitioner to extend to this useful
and patient animal the benefit of his art, in common with those of other animals.
The ass is seldom or never troubled with vermin, probably from the hardness of its skin.
6097. The ass is shod with a narrow web, and with heels projecting beyond the heel
of the foot, and slightly turned up, for he seldom overreaches ; but much care is re-
quired in using small nails, and in very carefully driving them. The hinder shoes differ
little from those used for the fore feet.
Chap. III.
Of the Mule and Hinny, Hybrids of the Horse and Ass.
6098. The Mule — Equus Asinus, van y. Mulus, 1j, Grand Mulet, Fr. ; Grosser
Maulessel, Ger. ; Mula, Span, and Ital. — is the hybrid produce of an ass with a mare ;
having a large clumsy head, long erect ears, a short mane, and a thin tail,
6099. The Hinny — Equus Asinus, var. 8. Hinnus, L. Bardeau or Petit Mtilet, Fr.^
Kleiner Maulessel,Ger.; Mulo, Span, and Ital. — is the hybrid produce between the she-ass
and a stallion ; the head is long and thin, the ears are like those of a horse, the mane is short,
and the tail is well filled with hair. The hinny is much less common than the mule,
because, being less hardy and useful than the other, he is never cultivated.
6100. The mule, commonly so called, is much valued for the saddle, and for drawing
carriages in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the East, and in the warmer parts of America.
In those countries where great attention is paid to the breed, it is as tall as the horse,
exceedingly well-limbed, but not so handsome, especially about the head and tail. These
animals are mostly sterile ; some, indeed, have thought that they are altogether incapable
of producing their kind ; but some few instances have occurred, in which female mules
have had foals, and in which even the male has impregnated females both of the ass and
horse species, though such instances are exceedingly rare.
6101. The mules made use of in the southern parts of Europe, are now brought to an astonishing perfec-
tion as well as great size. {fig. 638.)
They are usually black, strong, (>;3g
well-limbed, and large, being most-
ly bred out of fine Spanish mares.
They are sometimes fifteen or six-
teen hands high, and the best of
them worth forty or fifty pounds.
No creatures are so proper for large
burdens, and none so sure-footed.
They arcmuch stronger for draught
than our horses, and are often as
thick-set as our dray-horses, and
will travel several months together,
with six or eight hundred weight
ui)on their backs. Some think it
surprising that these animals are
not more propagated here, as they
are so much hardier and stronger
than horses, less subject to diseases,
and capable of living and working
to twice the age of a horse. Those (
that are bred in cold countries are
more hardy and fit for labor than
those bred in hot ; and those which arc light made arc fitter for riding than horses, as to the walk and
Book VII. HORNED CATTLE. 953
trot ; but they are apt to gallop rough ; though these do it much less than the short-made ones.
The general complaint made against them is, that they kick and are stubborn ; but this is owing to
neglect in breeding them, for they are as gentle as horses in countries where they are bred with proper
care.
6102. In the breeding of jnules, mares that are of a very large breed and well made should be employed.
They should be young, full of life, large barrelled, but small limbed, with a moderate sized head, and a
good forehand. It is found of advantage to have the foals from the time of their being dropped often han-
dled, to make them gentle : it prevents their hurting themselves by skittish ness and sudden frights ; and
they are much easier broken at the proper age, and become docile and harmless, having nothing of that
viciousness which is so commonly complained of in these animals. They may be broken at three years
old, but should never be permitted to do much hard work till four, as they are thus secured from
being hurt by hard labor, till they have acquired strength enough to bear it without injury. An expert
breeder of these animals found, that feeding them too well while young, though it made them very
fat, was far from being any advantage to them ; as it was not only incurring a much larger expense than
was any way necessary, but also made them wonderfully nice and delicate in their appetites ever after, and
also by increasing their weight of flesh, rendered them more subject to strains and hurts in their morning
gambols. He therefore contented himself with giving them food enough to prevent their losing flesh, and
to keep up their growth without palling their appetites with delicacies, or making them over-fat : he also took
care to defend them from the injuries of the weather by allowing them stable room, and good litter to sleep
on, besides causing them every day to be well rubbed down with a hard wisp of straw by an active groom.
This was scarcely ever omitted, particularly in cold, raw, wet weather, when they were least inclined to
exercise themselves. When three years old, mules are proper for use.
6103. The shoe for the mule is for the fore foot very similar to that which farriers call
the bar shoe. It is very wide and large, especially at the toe, where it sometimes pro-
jects four inches and upwards beyond the hoof. This excess is given it with a view to
enlarge the basis of the foot, which is in general exceedingly narrow in this animal. The
shoe for the hind feet is open at the lieels, like the horse's slioe : but it is lengthened at the
toe, like the preceding one. Mules are however by no means invariably shod in this
manner ; it is not unusual to shoe them either like horses or asses, as they approach the one
or the other in size or work required.
Chap. IV.
Of Neat or Homed Cattle. — Bos, L. Mammalia Pecora, L. RuminaleiB, Cuv. Betes
a corne, Fr. ; Viek, Ger. ; Ganado, Span., and Bestiam£, Ital.
6104. The neat or horned cattle used in agriculture are included under two species of
Bos ; the B. taurus or Ox, and the B. bubulus or Buffalo ; the latter less used in
Britain than on the continent and in other countries. These animals are more univer-
sally used as beasts of draught and burthen than the horse, and have the additional advan-
tage of furnishing excellent food and other valuable products. There is scarcely a coun-
try in which the ox or the buffallo is not either indigenous, or naturalized and cultivated ;
while in many parts of the world, the horse is either wanting, or reserved for the purposes
of war or the saddle.
Sect. I. Of the Ox. — Bos Taurus, L. Ochs, Ger. ,- Bceuf, Fr. ; Buey, Span., and
Bv£, Ital.
6105. Tlie male ox is the Bull, Taureau, Fr. ; Slier, Ger.; Toro, Span, and Ital.; and
the female the Cow, Vache Fr. ; Kuh, Ger.; and Vaca, Span, and Ital. The bull and
cow inhabit various parts of the world, and, as already observed, are domesticated every
where. In most countries, however, they are the mere creatures of soil and climate, the
same attention in breeding and rearing that is bestowed on the horse being withheld ; the
natural habits little restrained or the form improved for the purposes of milking, fattening,
or for labor. It is almost exclusively in Britain that this race of animals have been im-
proved so as to present breeds for each of these purposes, far superior to what are to be
found in a state of nature or in any other country. Notwithstanding this, however, much
certainly remains to be known regarding the nutriment afforded by different kinds of her-
bage and roots ; the quantity of food consumed by different breeds, in proportion as well
to their weight at the time, as to the ratio of their mcrease, and the propriety of employ-
ing large or small animals in any given circumstances. Even with regard to the degrees-
of improvement made by fatting cattle generally, from tlie consumption of a given weight
of roots or herbage, no great accuracy is commonly attempted ; machines for weighing the
cattle themselves and their food, from time to time, not being yet in general use in any
part of Britain. We shall consider the bull family as to his variety, criteria, breeding,,
rearing, feeding, working, fattening, and milking : the manufacture of milk will be
treated of in a succeeding chapter.
SuBSECT. 1 . Of the Varieties and Breeds of the Btdl.
6106. The varieties of the wild ox are the Bonasus and the Bison (fg. 130.; ; the
954
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
639
640
first with a long mane, and the last with a gibbous back. They inhabit the woods in
Madagascar and many other countries of the east ; and the bison is even said to be found
in Poland.
6107. The varieties of the cultivated ox are the European, Indian, Zebu, Surat,
Abyssinian, Madagascar, Tinian, and African. From the European variety have been
formed the ditferent breeds cultivated in Britain. They are very numerous, but we shall
only notice such as are in most esteem. These different breeds are generally distin-
guished by the length or flexure of their horns, by the absence of horns, by the dis-
tricts where they are supposed to have originated, abound, or exist in the greatest purity,
or by the name of the breeder.
6108. The long-homed or Lancashire breed
of cattle (fig. 639.) is distinguished from others
by the length of their horns, the thickness and
firm texture of their hides, the length and
closeness of their hair, the large size of their
hoofs, and coarse, leathery, thick necks ; they
are likewise deeper in their fore quarters, and
lighter in their hind quarters than most other
breeds ; narrower in their shape, less in point
of weight than the short horns, though better
weighers in proportion to their size ; and
though they give considerably less milk, it is
said to afford more cream in proportion to its quantity. They are more varied in their
color than any of the other breeds ; but, whatever the color be, they have in general a
white streak along their back, which the breeders term finched, and mostly a white spot
on the inside of the hough. {Culley, p. 53.) In a general view, this race, notwithstand-
ing the singular efforts that have been made towards its improvement, remains with little
alteration ; for, excepting in Leices-
tershire, none of the subvarieties
(which differ a little in almost every
one of those counties where the long
horns prevail) have undergone any
radical change or any obvious im-
provement. The improved breed of
Leicestershire [jig. 640.), is said to
have been formed by Webster, of,
Cauley near Coventry, in Warwick-
shire, by means of six cows brought
from the banks of the Trent, about
the beginning of the present cen-
tury, which were crossed with bulls
from Westmoreland and Lancashire.
Bakewell, of Dishley in Leicestershire, afterwards got the lead as a breeder, by selecting
from the Cauley stock ; and the stocks of several other eminent breeders have been traced
to the same source. (Marshal's Midland Counties^ vol. i. p. 318.)
6109. The short-horned, sometimes called the Dutch breed, is known by a variety of
names, taken from the districts where they form the principal cattle stock, or where
Q^Y most attention has been paid to their improve-
ment ; thus, different families of this race
are distinguished by the names of the Holder'
ness, the Teeswater, the Yorkshire, Durham,
Northumberland^ and other breeds.' The
Teeswater breed, a variety of short horns,
established on the banks of the Tees, at the
head of the vale of York, is at present in
the highest estimation, and is alleged to
be the true Yorkshire short-horned breed.
Bulls and cows from this stock, purchased
at most extraordinary prices, are spread
over all the north of England, and the border counties of Scotland. The bone,
head, and neck of these cattle are fine ; the hide is very thin ; the chine full ;
the loin broad, and the carcase throughout large and well -fashioned ; and the flesh
and fatting quality equal, or perhaps superior to those of any other large breed.
The short-horns give a greater quantity of milk than any other cattle ; a cow usually
yielding twenty-four quarts of milk per day, making three firkins of butter during
the grass season : their colors are much varied, but they are generally red and white
mixed, or what the breeders call flecked. The heaviest and largest oxen of the short-
Book VII.
VARIETIES OF THE BULL FAMILY.
955
horned breed, when properly fed, victual the East India ships, as they produce the
thickest beef, which, by retaining its juices, is the best adapted for such long voyages.
Our royal navy should also be victualled from these ; but by the jobs made by
contractors, and other abuses, it is feared our honest tars are often fed with beef of
an inferior quality; however, the coal ships from Newcastle, Shields, Sunderland,
&c. are wholly supplied with the beef of these valuable animals. These oxen com-
monly weigh from sixty to a hundred stone (fourteen pound to the stone), and they
have several times been fed to one hundred and twenty, one hundred and thirty, and
some particular ones to upwards of one hundred and fifty stone, the four quarters only.
{Culley, p. 48.)
6110. In comparing the breeds oflmg and short-homed cattle, C\i\\ey observes, that the long-homs
excel in the thickness and firm texture of the hide, in the length and closeness of the hair, in their beef
being finer grained, and more mixed and marbled than that of the short-horns, in weighing more in pro-
portion to their size, and in giving richer milk ; but they are inferior to the short-horns, in giving a less
quantity of milk, in weighing less upon the whole, in affording less tallow when killed, in being generally
slower feeders, and in being coarser made and more leathery or bullish in the under side of the neck. In
few words, says he, the long-horns excel in the hide, hair, and quality of the beef; the short-horns in the
quantity of beef, tallow, and milk. Each breed has long had, and probably may have, its particular
advocates ; but if he may hazard a conjecture, is it not probable that both kinds may have their particular
advantages in different situations? Why not the thick, fltm hides, and long close-set hair of the one kind,
be a protection and security against those impetuous winds and heavy rains to which the west coast of
this island is so subject; while the more regular seasons and mild climate upon the east coast are more
suitable to the constitutions of the short-horns.
6111. The middle-homed breeds comprehend in like manner, several local varieties, of
which, the most noted are the Devons, the Sussexes, and the Herefords ; the two last, ac-
cording to Culley, being varieties of the first, though of a greater size, the Herefords
being the largest. These cattle are the most esteemed of all our breeds for the draught,
on account of their activity and hardiness; they do not milk so well as the short-horns,
but are not deficient in the valuable property of feeding at an early age, when not em-
642
ployed in labor.
6112. The Devonshire cattle {Jig. 642.) are
of a high red color (if any white spots, they
reckon the breed impure, particularly if those
spots run one into another), with a light-dun
ring round the eye, and the muzzle of the
same color, fine in the bone, clean in the
neck, horns of a medium length, bent up-
wards, thin-faced, and fine in the chops, wide
in the hips, a tolerable barrel, but rather flat
on the sides, tail small, and set on very high ;
they are thin skinned, and silky in handling,
feed at an early age, or arrive at maturity sooner than most other breeds. [Culley, p. 51).
Another author observes, that they are a model for all persons who breed oxen for the
yoke. {Parkinson on Live Stock, vol. i. p. 112). The weight of the cows is usually from
thirty to forty stone, and of the oxen from forty to sixty ; the North Devon variety, in
particular, from the fineness in the grain of the meat, is held in high estimation in
Smithfield, {Dickson's Practical Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 120).
6113. Lawrence savs, that the red cattle of North Devon and Somerset are doubtless one of our original
breeds, and one of those which has preserved most of its primitive form : the excellence of this form for
labor is best proved by the fact, that the fashionable substitution of horses has made no progress in the
district of these cattle, by their high repute as feeders, and for the superior excellence of their beef, which
has been acknowledged for ages. They are, he says, the speediest working oxen in England, and will
trot well in harness ; in point of strength, they stand in the fourth or fifth class. They have a greater
resemblance to deer than any other breed of neat-cattle. They are rather wide, than middle-horned,
as they are sometimes called ; some, however, have regular middle horns, that is, neither short nor
long, turned upward and backward at the points. As milkers, .they are so far inferior to both the long
and short-horns, both in quantity and quality of milk, that they are certainly no objects for the regular
dairy, however pleasing and convenient they may be in the private family way.
6114. The Sussex and Hereford-
shire cattle {Jig. 643.) are of a deep
red color, with fine hair and
very thin hides ; neck and head
clean, the face usually white, horns
neither long nor short, rather
turning up at the points ; in gene-
ral, they are well made in the hind
quarters, wide across the hips,
rump, and sirloin, but narrow in
the chine, tolerably straight along
the back, ribs too flat, thin in the
thigh, and bone not large. An ox, six years old, when fat, will weigh from sixty
to one hundred stone, the fore-quarters generally the heaviest; the oxen are mostly
956 . PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pari III.
worked from three to six years old, sometimes till seven,wheii they are turned olF
for feeding. The Hereford cattle are next in size to the Yorkshire short-horns :
both this and the Gloucester variety are highly eligible as dairy stock, and the
females of the Herefords have been found to fatten better at three years old than
any other kind of cattle except the spayed heifers of Norfolk. (^Marshal's Ecojiomy of
Gloucestershire. )
61 15. The polled or hornless breeds. The most numerous and esteemed variety is the
Galloway breed {Jig. 644. ), so called from the pro- 644
vince of that name, in the south-west of Scotland,
where they most abound. The true Galloway bul-
lock " is straight and broad on the back, and nearly
level from the head to the rump, broad at the loins,
not, however, with hooked bones, or projecting
knobs, so that when viewed from above, the whole
body appears beautifully rounded ; he is long in the
quarters, but not broad in the twist ; he is deep in
the chest, short in the leg, and moderately fine in
the bone, clean in the chop and in the neck ; his
head is of a moderate size, with large rough ears, and full, but not prominent eyes, or
heavy eyebrows, so that he has a calm though determined look ; his well-proportioned
form is clothed with a loose and mellow skin, adorned with long soft glossy hair."
{Galloway Report, p. 236.) The prevailing color is black or dark-brindled, and,
though they are occasionally found of every color, the dark colors are uniformly
preferred, from a belief that they are connected with superior hardiness of consti-
tution. The Galloways are rather undersized, not very diiferent from the size of the
Devons, but as much less than the long horns, as the long horns are less than the
short horns. On the best farms, the average weight of bullocks three years and a half
old, when the greater part of them are driven to the south, has been stated at about
forty stone, avoirdupois; some of them, fattened in England, have been brought to
nearly one hundred stone.
6116. Theeeneral properties of this breed are well known in almost every part of England, as well as in
Scotland. They are sometimes sent from their native pastures directly to Smithfield, a distance of four
hundred miles, and sold at once to the butcher; and in spring, they are often shown in Norfolk, immedi-
ately after their arrival, in £is good condition as, or even better than, when they began their journey ; with
full feeding, there is perhaps no breed that sooner attains maturity, and their flesh is of the finest quality.
CuUey was misinformed about the quantity of milk they yield, which, though rich, is by no means abun-
dant ; it is alleged not to be more than seventy or eighty years since the Galloways were all horned, and
very much the same in external appearance and character, with the breed of black cattle which prevailed
over the west of Scotland at that period, and which still abound in perfection, the largest sized ones in
Argyleshjre, and the smaller in the Isle of Skye ; the Galloway cattle, at the time alluded to, were coupled
with some hornless bulls, of a sort which do not seem now to be accurately known, but which were then
brought from Cumberland, the effects of which crossing were thought to be the general loss of horns in
the former, and the enlargement of their size : the continuance of a hornless sort being kept up by select-
ing only such for breeding, or, perhaps, by other means, as by the practice of eradicating with the knife,
the horns in their very young state. {Coventry on Live Stock, p. 28.)
6117. The Suffolk duns, according to Culley, are nothing more than a variety of the
Galloway breed : he supposes them to have originated in the intercourse that has long
subsisted between the Scotch drovers of Galloway cattle, and the Suffolk and Norfolk
graziers who feed them. The Suffblks are almost all light duns, thus differing from the
Galloways, and are considered a very useful kind of little cattle, particularly for the
dairy. (Culley, p. 66. Parkinson, vol. i. p. 116.)
6118. The cattle of the Highlands of Scotland are divided into a number of local
varieties, some of which differ materially from others, probably owing to a difference in
the climate and the quality of the herbage, rather than to their being sprung from races
originally distinct, or to any great change effected either by selection or by crossing
with other breeds. It is only of late that much attention has been paid to their im-
provement, in any part of this extensive country ; and in the northern and central
Highlands the cattle are yet, for the most part, in as rude a state, and under manage-
ment as defective, as they were some centuries ago. These cattle have almost exclusive
possession of all that division of Scotland, including the Hebrides, marked off by a line
from the Frith of Clyde on the west, to the Murray Frith on the north, and bending
towards the east till it approaches in some places very near to the German ocean. Along
the eastern coast, north of the Frith of Forth, the Highland cattle are intermixed with
various local breeds, of which they have probably been the basis. There are more or
less marked distinctions among the cattle of the different Highland counties ; and, in
<:ommon language, we speak of the Inverness-shire, the Banff*shire, &c. cattle, as if they
were so many separate breeds ; but it is only necessary in this place to notice the two
more general varieties, now clearly distinguishable by their form, size, and general pro-
perties.
6119. The most valuable of these are the cattle of the Western Highlands and Isles,
Book VII. VARIETIES OF THE BULL FAMILY. 957
commonly called the Argyleshire breed {Jig. 645.), or the breed of the Isle of Skye, one
of the islands attached to the county of
Argyle. The cattle of the Hebrides are (\j\,^ m„n
called ki/loes, a name which is often applied
in the south to all the varieties of the High-
land cattle, not as a late writer [Dickson s
Practical Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 1 1 24. ) has
imagined, from the district in Ayrshire called
Kyle, where very few of them are kept, but
from their crossing, in their progress to the
south, the kyloes or ferries in the mainland
and Western Islands, where these cattle are
found in the greatest perfection. [General
Rej)ort of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 26.)
6120. A bull of the Kyloe breed should be of a middle size, capable of bemg fattened
to fifty stone avoirdupois. His color should be black or dark brown, or reddish brown,
without any white or yellow spots. His head should be rather small, his muzzle fine,
his horns equable, not very thick, of a clear green and waxy tinge ; his general appear-
ance should combine agility, vivacity, and strength ; and his hair should be glossy, thick,
and vigorous, indicating a sound constitution and perfect health. For a bull of this
description, Macneil, of Colonsay, in 1812, refused 200 guineas; and for one of an in-
ferior sort he actually received 170/. sterling. Macdonald, of Staffa, bought one, nine
years old, at 100 guineas. (Report of the Hebrides, p. 425.)
6121. The lean weight of the best stock, from three to four years old, when they are commonly sold to
the south, is from twenty-six to thirty stone the four quarters ; but when brought to good pastures,
they can be easily raised to fifty stone and upwards. There is, perhaps, no other breed whose weight
depends so much on feeding ; nor any that fattens and grows so much at the same time. They are
exceedingly hardy, easily maintained, speedily fattened on pastures where large animals could scarcely
subsist ; their beef is fine in the grain, and well marbled or intermixed with fat; and their milk is rich,
but small in quantity.
6122. The other variety of Highland cattle is the Norlands, or North Highlanders, including the stocks
of the counties of Ross, Cromarty, Sutherland, Caithness, and parts adjacent Their hides are generally
coarse ; backs high and narrow ; ribs flat ; bones large ; and legs long and feeble for the, weight of the
chest ; and they are considered very slow feeders. But though this description be but too applicable to
the cattle of the greater part of that remote district, considerable improvement has been effected in many
parts of it, by crossing with the Skye or Argyle breeds, within the last twenty years.
6123. The cattle of Orkney and Zetland, are of a most diminutive size ; an ox weigh-
ing about sixty pounds a quarter, and a cow forty-five pounds. They are of all colors,
and their shapes qre generally bad ; yet they give a quantity of excellent milk ; fatten
rapidly when put on good pastures ; and, in their own district, are considered strong,
hardy, and excellent workers, when well trained to the yoke, and so plentifully fed as
to enable them to support labor.
6124. Of the Fifeshire cattle, CuUey observes, " you would at first imagine them
distinct breed, from their upright white horns, being exceedingly light lyered and thin
thighed, but I am pretty clear it is only from their being more nearly allied to the
kyloes, and consequently less of the coarse kind of short horns in them." [Culley, p. 69.)
Notwithstanding this opinion, the cattle of the North-eastern counties of Scotland re-
quire, for every useful purpose, to be mentioned separately from the Highland herds;
and as all of them have a general resemblance, it will only be necessary in this place to
notice the Fife cattle in particular. There are various traditions about the origin of this
variety. It is said to have been much improved by English cows sent by Henry VII.
to his daughter, the consort of James IV. who usually resided at the palace of Falkland,
in that county ; and as there is some resemblance between the cattle of Fife and Cam-
bridgeshire, they are supposed to have been brought originally from the latter county.
Others ascribe the origin of the present breed to bulls and cows sent by James VI.
/"James I. of England), in pajTnent of the money which his obliging neighbors in
Fife are said to have advanced for his equipment, when he went to take possession of the
English throne. [Rqwrt of Nairn and Moray, p. 305.)
6125. Tlie prevailing color of the Fife cattle is black, though sometimes spotted or streaked with white,
and some of them are altogether grey. The horns are small, white, generally pretty erect, or at least
turned up at the points, bending rather forward, and not wide spread like the Lancashire long-horned
breed. The bone is small in proportion to the carcase ; the Umbs clean, but short ; and the skin soft.
They are wide between the hook-bones ; the ribs narrow, wide set, and having a great curvature. They
fatten quickly, and fill up well at all the choice points ; are hardy, fleet, and travel well, and are excellent
for labor, both at plough and cart A good cow of this breed gives from eighteen to twenty-four
quarts of milk per day, yielding from seven to nine pounds of butter, and from ten to twelve pounds ot
cheese per week (twenty-four ounces to the pound) for some months after calving. {,Fife Report,
p. 251. and 253.;)
6126. The cattle of Aberdeenshire, the largest of which are said to have been pro-
duced by crossing with -Fife bulls, have been long highly esteemed in the soutliern mar-
kets. It is observed, that every succeeding generation of them has encreased in size,
for the last thirty years ; and that the native breed has doubled its former weight since
958
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
the introduction of turnips. (Aberdeenshire Report, p. 468.) Tlie color is commonly-
black, but there are many of a red and brindled color. They are thinner in the buttock,
in proportion to their weight ; and deeper in the belly, in proportion to their circum-
ference, than the west Highlanders, and they yield a much larger quantity of milk.
Many of them are brought to the south of Scotland, and kept during winter in the
straw yards, for which they suit better than smaller cattle, as they are not so impatient of
confinement. The ordinary weight of middle-sized oxen, at from three to five years
old, is from forty to fifty stone; but after being worked for some time, and thoroughly
fattened, they have been known to reach double this weight.
6127. Of the Welsh cattle, (Jig. 646.) ".there g^g
seem to be two distinct kinds. The large
sort are of a brown color, with some white
on the rump and shoulders, denoting a cross
from the long-horns, though in shape not the
least resembling them. They are long in the
legs, stand high according to their weight,
are thin in the thigh, and rather narrow in the
chine ; their horns are white and turned up-
wards ; they are light in flesh, and next to the
Devons, well formed for the yoke ; have very
good hoofs, and walk light and nimble. The
other sort are much more valuable ; color black, with very little white ; of a good useful
form, short in the leg, with round deep bodies ; the hide is rather thin, with short hair ;
they have a likely look and a good eye ; and the bones, though not very small, are
neither large nor clumsy; and the cows are considered good milkers. " (Parkinson on
Live Stock, vol. i. p. 135.)
6128. The Aldemey cattle are to be met with only about the seats of a few great
landholders, where they are kept chiefly for the sake of their milk, which is very rich,
though small in quantity. This race is considered, by very competent judges, as too
delicate and tender, to be propagated to any extent in Britain, at least in its northern
parts. Their color is mostly yellow or light red, with white or mottled faces; they have
short crumpled horns, are small in size, and very ill shaped ; yet they are fine boned in
general ; and their beef, though high colored, is very well flavored. I have seen, says
Culley, some very useful cattle bred from a cross between an Alderney cow and a short
horned bull.
6129. The Irish cattle, Culley thinks, are a mixed breed between the long-horns and
the Welsh or Scotch, but more inclined to the long-horns, though of less weight than
those in England.
6130. The last variety of cattle we shall mention is one entirely of luxury, it is the
wild breed, (Jig. 647.) which is found only in the parks of a few great proprietors, who
647
preserve the animals as curious and ornamental, or for the sake of their high-flavored
beef. Those kept at Chillingham Castle, in Northumberland, a seat belonging to the
Earl of Tankerville, have been very accurately described in the Northumberland Report,
and in Culley's book on live stock, so often quoted. Their color is invariably of
a creamy white ; muzzle black ; the whole of the inside of the ear, and about one-third
of the outside, from the tips downward, red ; horns white, with black tips, very fine,
and bent upwards ; some of the bulls have a thin upright mane, about an inch and a
half, or two inches long. The weight of the oxen is from thirty five to forty-five stone.
Book VIL CRITERIA OF THE BULL FAMILY. 959
and the cows from twenty-five to thirty-five stone the four quarters (fourteen pounds to
the stone). The beef is finely marbled, and of excellent flavor. From the nature of
their pasture, and the frequent agitation they are put into by the curiosity of strangers,
it is scarcely to be expected they should get very fat ; yet the six years old oxen are
generally very good beef, from whence it may be fairly supposed that, in proper situa-
tions, they would feed well.
6131. The habits of these animals are entirely rude ; at the first appearance of any person they set off
in full gallop, and, at the distance of about two hundred yards, make a wheel round and come boldly up
again, tossing their heads in a menacing manner ; on a sudden they make a full stop, at the distance of
forty or fifty yards, looking wildly at the object of their surprise, but, upon the least motion being made,
they all again turn round, and fly off" with equal speed, but not to the same distance, forming a shorter
circle, and again returning with a bolder and more threatening aspect than before ; they approach much
nearer, probably within thirty yards, when they again make another stand, and again fly off: this they
do several times, shortening their distance, and advancing nearer and nearer till they come within such a
short distance, that most people think it prudent to leave them, not choosing to provoke them farther.
6132. When the cows calve, they hide their calves for a week or ten days in some sequestered situation,
and go and suckle them two or three times a day. If any person come near the calves, they clap their
hea<Is close to the ground, and lie like a hare in form, to hide themselves. This is a proof of their native
wildness, and is corroborated by the following circumstance that happened to the writer of this narrative
(Bailey, of Chillingham,) who found a hidden calf, two days old, very lean and very weak. On stroking
its head it got up, pawed two or three times like an old bull, bellowed very loud, stepped back a few steps,
and bolted at his legs with all its force ; it then began t04)aw again, bellowed, stepped back, and bolted as
before ; but knowing its intention, and stepping aside, it missed him, fell, and was so very weak that it
could not rise, though it made several efforts ; but it had done enough : the whole herd were alarmed,
and, coming to its rescue, obliged him to retire; for the dams will allow no person to touch their calves
without attacking them with impetuous ferocity.
'■■ 6133. Wlien a calf is intended to be castrated, the park-keeper marks the place where it is hid, and
when the herd are at a distance, takes an assistant with him on horseback ; they tie a handkerchief round
the calf's mouth to prevent its bellowing, and then perform the operation in the usual way, with as
much expedition as possible. When any one happens to be wounded, or is grown weak and feeble
through age or sickness, the rest of the herd set upon it and gore it to death. {CuUcy, p. 73.)
6134. The mode of killing them was, perhaps, the only modern remains of the grandeur of ancient
hunting. On notice being'given that a wild bull would be killed on a certain day, the inhabitants of
the neighborhood came mounted and armed with guns, &c., sometimes to the amount of an hundred
horse, and four or five hundred foot, who stood upon walls or got into trees, while the horsemen rode
off the bull from the rest of the herd, until he stood at bay, when a marksman dismounted and shot.
At some of these huntings, twenty or thirty shots have been fired before he was subdued. On such
occasions, the bleeding victim grew desperately furious from the smarting of his wounds, and the shouts
of savage joy that were echoing from every side. But, from the number of accidents that happened,
this dangerous mode has been little practised of late years, the park-keeper alone generally snooting
them with a rifled gun at one shot.
SuBSECT. 2. Criteria of Cattle for various objects and purjwses,
6135. The criteria of awell-made bull, to whatever breed he belongs, are according to
Culley as follows : the head should be rather long, and the muzzle fine ; his eyes lively
and prominent, his ears long and thin, his horns wide, his neck rising with a gentle
curve from the shoulders, and small and fine where it joins the head ; the shoulders
moderately broad at the top, joining full to his chine or crops and chest backwards, and
to the neck-vein forwards ; his bosom open, breast broad, and projecting well before his
legs ; his arms or fore-thighs muscular, and tapering to his knee ; his legs strait, clean,
and very fine-boned ; his chine and chest so full as to leave no hollows behind the
shoulders ; the plates gtrong, to keep his belly from sinking below the level of his breast ;
his back or loin broad, straight, and flat ; his ribs rising one above another in such a
manner that the last rib shall be rather the highest, leaving only a small space to the hips
or hooks, the whole forming a round or barrel-like carcase ; his hips should be wide
placed, round, or globular, and a little higher than the back; the quarters from the hip
to the rump long, and instead of being square, as recommended by some, they should
taper gradually Urom the hips backward, and the turls or pott-bones not in the least pro-
tuberant ; rumps close to the tail, the tail broad, well haired, and set on so high as to be
in the same horizontal line with his back. Bulls should be constantly well fed, and kept
in proper enclosures, never being suffered to ride before they are three years old, as when
the contrary is the practice, they never attain so perfect a growth. It is observed by
Lawrence, that the above description delineates that barrel-shape, which Bakewell
supposed most advantageous for all kinds of animals intended to be fed for slaughter, or
even used for labor.
6136. The criteria of excellence in neat cattle in general are thus given by John
Wilkinson of Linton, near Nottingham, an eminent breeder. [Remarks on Cattle, ^c.
1820.) " The head ought to be rather long, and muzzle fine; the countenance calm
and placid, which indicates a disposition to get fat ; the horns fine ; the neck light, particu-
larly where it joins the head ; the breast wide and projecting well before the legs ; the
shoulders moderately broad at the top, and the joints well in, and when the animal is in
good condition, the chine so full as to leave no hollow behind them ; the fore flank well
filled up, and the girth behind the shoulders deep ; the back straight, wide and flat ; the
ribs broad, and the space between them and the hips small ; the flank full and heavy ;
the belly well kept in, and not sinking low in the middle, or so formed that a cross sec-
tion of it vTOuld resemble an oval, whose two ends are of the same width, and whose
960 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III,
form approaches to that of a circle, or of an ellipsis, whose eccentricity is not great ; the
whole forming, not a round or barrel like carcase, as some have expressed it, for this would
leave a deficiency both in the upper and lower part of the ribs ; the hips globular, wide
across, and on a level with the back itself; the hindquarters, that is, from the hips to
the extremity of the rump, long and straight ; the rump points fat, and coming well up
lothe tail ; the twist wide, and the seam in the middle of it so well filled, that the
whole may very nearly form a plane, perpendicular to the line of the back ; the lower
part of the thigh small ; the tail broad and fat towards the top, but the lower part thin ;
the legs straight, clean, and fine boned ; and when the animal is in high condition, the
skin of a rich and silky appearance. These appear to be the most material points for
the formation of true symmetry in cattle : there are others of a minor consideration,
which will readily be suggested by attention and experience."
6137. The criteria of an ox well adapted to labor differ from the above only in requir-
ing long and strong legs, and broad hardy feet and hoofs.
6138. The criteria of a beautiful cow, according to Wilkinson, may be thus ex-
pressed.
She's long in her face, she's fine in her horn.
She'll quickly get fat, without cake or corn, "^
She's clear in her jaws, and full in her chine.
She's heavy in fiank, and wide in her loin.
She's broad in her ribs, and long in her rump,
A straight and flat back, with never a hump ;
She's wide in her hips, and calm in her eyes.
She's fine in her shoulders, and thin in her thighs.
She's light in her neck, and small in her tail.
She's wide in her breast, and good at the pail.
She's fine in her bone, and silky of skin.
She's a Grazier's without, and a Butcher's within.
6139. Culley's marks of a good cow are these : wide horns, a thin head and neck, dewlap
large, full breast, broad back, large deep belly ; the udder capacious, but not too fleshy ;
the milk- veins prominent, and the bag tending far behind ; teats long and large, buttocks
broad and fleshy, tail long and pliable, legs proportionable to the size of the carcase, and
the joints short. To these outward marks may be added a gentle disposition, a temper
free from any vicious tricks, and perfectly manageable on every occasion. On the
other hand, a cow with a thick head and a short neck, prominent back bone, slender
chest, belly tucked up, small udder or a fleshy bag, short teats, and thin buttocks, is to
be avoided as totally unfit for the purposes either of the dairy-man, the suckler, or the
grazier. The most valuable cows are those which are bred in Yorkshire, Staffordshire,
and upon the strong lands in other parts of England, and in Ayrshire in Scotland.
6140. The ciiteria of excellence in cattle os derived from color, is of no importance,
and all that can be said is, that white and red cattle are less hardy than the black
haired.
6141. The criteria of age in cattle is derived from the teeth and horns. At the end
of about ten years they shed their first four teeth, which are replaced by others, larger,
but not Tso white ; and before five years all the incisive teeth are renewed. These teeth
are at first equal, long, and pretty white ; but as the animals advance in years, they wear
down, become unequal, and black. These animals likewise shed their horns at the end
of three years; and they are replaced by ol!her horns, which, like the second teeth, con-
tinue. The manner of the growth of these horns is not uniform, nor the shooting of
them equal. The first year, that is, the fourth year of the animal's age, two small
pointed horns make their appearance, neatly formed, smooth, and towards the head ter-
minated by a kind of button. The following year this button moves from the head,
being impelled by a horny cylinder, which lengthening in the same manner, is also ter-
minated by another button, and so on : for the horns continue growing as long as the
animal lives. These buttons become annular joints or rings, which are easily distin-
guished in the horn, and by which the age of the creature may be easily known ; count-
ing three years for the point of the horn, and one for each of the joints or rings. The
cow continues useful for more than twenty years, but the bull looses his vigor much
sooner. It is common with dealers to obliterate these rings, by shaving the horns, in
order to conceal the age of the beast.
6142. The terms applied to different ages are as follow. A young castrated male,
after the first yea^-, is called a stot, stirk, or steer ; at five years old an ox. A female,
after the first year, is called an heifer, or quey ; at five years old, a cow. And afterwards,
a castrated female is called a spayed heifer or cow. Certain of the Welsh and Scots
cattle, of rather a coarse and sturdy kind, are denominated runts. Bullock is the gene-
ral term for any full-grown cattle, male or female, fat or lean.
3143. T/ie natural duration of life with the bull and cojv may be stated at upwards of
twenty years, to nearly the end of which the latter is useful with her milk, but the former
usually loses his vigor, consequently his use, many years sooner.
Booi VI r. BREEDING OF THE BULL FAMILY. 961
SuBSECT. 3. Of the Breeding of Horned Cattle.
6144. The objects to be kent in vieio in breeding cattle, are a form, either well adapted
to fatten; well adapted for producing milk; or for labor. These three objects have
each of them engaged the attention of British agriculturists; but experience has not
hitherto justified the expectation that has been entertained of combining all these desir-
able properties, in an eminent degree, in the same race. That form which indicates the
property of yielding the most milk, differs materially from that which we know from ex-
perience to be combined with early maturity and the most valuable carcase; and the breeds
which are understood to give the greatest weight of meat for the food they consume, and
to contain the least proportion of offal, are not those which possess, in the highest degree,
the strength and activity required in beasts of labor.
6145. yl disposition to fatten, and a tendency to yield a large quantity of milk, cannot
be united. The form of the animal most remarkable for the first, is very different from
that of the other; in place of being flat in the sides, and big in the belly, as all great
milkers arc, it is high-sided and light-bellied: in a word, the body of the animal well
adapted to fatten is barrel -formed, while that of the milker is widest downwards. It is
not probable, therefore, that the properties of two breeds of cattle, so opposite in form
and general appearance, can ever be united in the same animal.
6146. The long and short horned breeds have hitherto been in possession of the best part
of the island ; but various others, as the Ayrshire, the Galloway cattle, and Kyloes,
might be bred with advantage in many situations, so as to be more profitable than either
the short-horns or the long-horns. These breeds of cattle, as true quick feeder?, and
being kindly-fleshed, or excellent eating beef, have establislied their character in the first
market in the island. The Scotch or Kyloes are better adapted to cold, exposed,
heathy, mountainous situations, than any other breed we have. Particular breeds
are probably best adapted to particular situations, ; on which ground breeders of cattle
should endeavor to find out what breed is the most profitable and best suited to their
situations, and to improve that breed to the utmost, rather than to try to unite
the particular qualities of two or more distinct breeds by crossing. The latter is a
precarious practice, for we generally find the produce inherit the coarseness of both breeds,
and rarely attain the good properties which the pure distinct breeds individually possess.
In order to have good cattle of any breed, particular regard must be paid in selecting
those that are the most complete and perfect in their form, shape, and other qualities, and
to breed from them.
6147. An extraordinary degree of attention has been paid to the breeding of cattle in
England since the time of Bakewell, and some illustrious names might be mentioned in
addition to those of professional farmers. Pedigrees of the best cattle have been pre- ,
served with no less care, in several places, than those of race-horses, and in the selection
of breeders, the properties of the family from which they have descended, are matters of
scarcely less importance than the form of the young animals themselves. The extraor-
dinary prices paid for the best bred bulls and cows, show that this attention has not been
without its reward.
6148. The best bulls are either let out for the season, or cows are brought to them at a certain rate per
head. The practice of letting bulls is said to have originated with Bakewell {MarshaVs Midland Ccun.
ties, vol. i. p. 3S4:), who, so far back as 1732, let a bull for one hundred and fifty-two guineas, to be used
only four months {Parkinson, vol. ii. p. 469.) ; and five guineas per cow were about that time commonly
paid to him-and other eminent breeders.
6149. The age at which bulls should be/rin to be employed, and the number of seasons tliey should be al.
lowed to serve, as well as the age at which the females should begin to breed, are points regarding which
practice is by no means uniform. In the midland counties, the bulls are pretty commonly allowed to leap
while yearlings, and if good stock-getters are kept on as long as they will do business, perhaps till they are
ten or twelve years old. In other places they are employed only three seasons, for the first time at two
years old. The females, in many instances, bring their first calf at the age of two years, but more com-
monly, perhaps, not till they are a year older; and in some of the Highland districts, where, owing to a
want of proper nourishment in tiuir infancy, they are later in coming to their full growth, the females do
not often become mothers till they are about four years old.
6150. The period of gestation with cows has been found, upon an average of a great
number of experiments, to be about forty weeks. M. Tessier communicated to the Na-
tional Institute of France the following observations on this subject: Of 160 cows 14
calved from the 241st to the 266th day ; three on the 270th ; 50 on the 280th; 68 on
from the 280th to the 290th ; 20 on the 300th, and five on the 308th. Cows seldom
bring more than one calf at a time. "When they produce twins, one of them a male and
the other a female, the latter, which is called a free martin, is commonly considered to
be incapable of procreation. Yet there seems to have been well authenticated instances
to the contrary. (Farmer s Magazine, vol. vii. p. 462. ; and vol. viii. p. 466.)
6151. The most desirable period for putting cows to the bull is midsummer, in order that they maybe
dropped in spring, and have the wliolc of the grass season before them. Where no regular system is fol-
Iowe<l, and cows are sent to the bull merely becauxe thev are in heat, calven will be dropped at all seasons ;
3 Q
962 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
but excepting in those districts where the fatting of calves is an object of importance, it is probably the most
advantageous time ; as the calves, having all the grass season before them, become sufficiently strong for
enduring the change to a less agreeable food in the ensuing winter. A calf newly weaned seldom thrives
well during that period, unless it is pampered with better food than usually falls to the share of young
animals. By midsummer the cows are readier to take the bull than at any other season, and will bring
calves in proper time. If a cow goes till after May before she calves, the calf will be too weak the winter
following J the dam will not be so ready to take the bull again, but will often grow barren.
SuBSECT. 4. Of Beating Horned Cattle.
6152. The mode of rearing calves is various. There can be little doubt but that the
best and most natural mode is that of allowing them to suck their dams, at least for
some length of time after they are brought forth. The usual method in Yorkshire, and
most parts of Scotland, is that of giving them milk to drink, there being few instances
where they are allowed to suck. For the first two or three weeks they mostly get milk
warm from the cow; but for the next two or three weeks, half the new-milk is with-
drawn, and skimmed milk substituted in its stead : and at the end of that period, the
new -milk is wholly withdrawn ; they are then fed on skimmed milk alone, or sometimes
mixed with water, till they are able to support themselves by eating grass, or other food
of that sort.
6153. In Chesliire, the practice is to allow the. calves to suck for the first three weeks. They are then
fed on warm new whey, or scalded whey and butter-milk mixed ; with the green whey, water is fre-
quently mixed, and either oat-meal, or wheat and bean flour added. A quart of meal or flour is thought
sufficient to mix with forty or fifty quarts of liquid. Oat-meal gruel and butter-milk, with an addition of
skimmed milk, are also used for the same purpose. Some one of these prepared kinds of food is given
night and morning for a few weeks after the calves are put on that diet, but afterwards only once a-day,
till they are three months old or more.
6154. The calves in Gloucestershire are not allowed to suck above two or three days; they are then fed
on skimmed milk, which is previously heated over the fire. When they arrive at such an age as to be
able to eat a little, they are allowed split beans or oats, and cut hay, and water is mixed with the milk.
6155. In Sussex it is common to allow the calves, either to suck for ten or twelve weeks, or to wean
them at the end of three or four, and to give them a liberal allowance of skimmed milk for six or eight
weeks longer.
6156. In Middlesex the methods pursued for rearing calves, are either by giving them a pailful, con-
taining about a gallon, of milk, warm from the teat of the cow, morning and evening, for eight or ten
weeks ; or, which is certainly the most agreeable to natui'e, and, therefore, to be preferred to any other
that can be adopted, to allow the calf to suck its dam, as is sometimes done in the county of Sussex, and
generally in Wigtonshire.
6157. According to Marshal the best method is this : The calves suck a week or a fortnight, according
to their strength (a good rule) ; new milk in the pail, a few meals ; next, new milk and skim-milk mixed,
a few meals more : then, skim-milk alone ; or porridge, made with milk, water, ground oats, &c., and
sometimes oil-cake, until cheese-making commence ; after which, whey porridge, or sweet whey, in the
field ; being careful to house them in the night, until warm weather be confirmed. {Midland Counties,
vol. i. p.338.) This method of suckling is not, however, free from objection, and, in the ordinary prac-
tice of rearing calves, it is held to be a preferable plan to begin at once to learn them to drink from a
pail. The calf that is fed from the teat must depend upon the milk of its dam, however scanty or irre-
gular it may be ; whereas, when fed from a dish, the quantity can be regulated according to its age ; and
various substitutes may be resorted to, by which a great part of the milk is saved for other purposes, or a
greater number of calves reared upon the same quantity. (General Report of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 51.)
Yet it would seem to be a good practice to allow calves to suck for a few days at first, if there was no incon-
venience to be apprehended both to themselves and their dams, from the separation afterwards.
6158. When fed from the pail, the average allowance to a calf is about two English wine gallons of milk
daily, for twelve or thirteen weeks ; at first fresh milk as it is drawn from the cow, and afterwards skim-
milk. But after it is three or four weeks old, a great variety of substitutes for milk are used in different
places, of which linseed oil-cake, meal, and turnips, are the most common.
6159. Where calves are reared with skim-milk, it should be boiled, and suffered to stand until it cools
to the temperature of that first given by the cow, or a trifling degree more warm, and in that state be given
to the calf Milk is frequently given to calves warm only ; but that method will not succeed so well
as boiling it. If the milk be given over-cold, it will cause the calf to skit or purge. When this is the
case, put two or three spoonfuls of rennet in the milk, and it will soon stop the looseness. If, on the con
trary, the calf is bound, bacon-broth is a very good and safe thing to put into the milk. One gallon of
milk per day will keep a calf well till it be thirteen weeks old. A calf may then be supported without
milk, by giving it hay, and a little wheat-bran, once a-day, with about a pint of oats. The oats will be
found of great service as soon as the calf is capable of eating them. The bran and oats should be given
about mid-day: the milk in portions, at eight o'clock in the morning, and four in the afternoon. But
whatever hours are chosen to set apart for feeding the calf, it is best to adhere to the particular times, as
regularity is of more consequence than many people think. If the calf goes but an hour or two beyond
his usual time of feeling, he will find himself uneasy, and pine for food. It is always to be understood,
that calves reared in this manner are to be enticed to eat hay as early as possible ; and the best way
of doing this is to give them the sweetest hay that can be got, and but little at a time. Turnips or
potatoes are very good food, as soon as they can eat them ; and they are best cut small, and mixed with
the hay, oats, bran, and such articles. It may be observed, that it is not absolutely necessary to give milk
to calves after they are one month old ; and to wean them gradually, two quarts of milk, with the addition
of linseed boiled in water to make a gruel, and given together, will answer the purjiose, until, by dimin-
ishing the milk gradually, the calf will soon do entirely without. Hay-tea will answer the purpose, with
the like addition of two quarts of milk ; but is not so nutritious as linseed. It is a good method of
making this, to put such a proportion of hay as will be necessary into a tub, then to pour on a sufficient
quantity of boiling water, covering up the vessel, and letting the water remain long enough to extract the
virtues of the hay. When bacon or pork is boiled, it is a good way to preserve the liquor or broth, and
mix it with milk for the calves.
6160. In summer, calves may sometimes be reared on whey only , but when reared in winter, they
must be fed with hay ; and clover-hay is probably the best of any for this use. Calves may also be raised
with porridge of different kinds, without any mixture of milk. It is sometimes a good and convenient
plan, the author of the New Farmer's Calendar says, to bring up calves under a step-mother ; an old cow,
with a tolerable stock of milk, will suckle two calves, or more, either turned off with her, or at home,
keeping them in good condition, until they are old enough to shift : they ought to suck the first of their
mother's milk, for two or three day.o, although many are weaned without ever being suffered to suck at
all. Calves, whether rearing or fattening, should also always suck before milking, the cow being milked
Book VII. FATTENING CALVES. 965
afterwards, as the first and thinnest of the milk is sufficiently rich. Old milk will, perhaps, scour a very
young calf; but the effect will go off without any ill consequences. He observes, that the Duke of
Northumberland's recipe is to take one gallon of skimmed milk, and to about a pint of it add half an
ounce of common treacle, stirring it until it is well mixed ; then to take one ounce of linseed oil-cake,
finely jjulvorised, and with the hand let it fall gradually, in very small quantities, into the milk, stirring
it, in the mean lime, with a spoon or ladle, until it be thoroughly incorporated ; then let the mixture be
put into the other part of the milk, and the whole be made nearly as warm as new milk, when it is first
taken from the cow ; and in that state it is fit foj- use. The quantity of oil-cake powder may, from
time to time, be increased as occasion may require, and as the calf becomes inured to the flavor of it-
And Crook's method is to make a jelly of one quart of linseed, boiled ten minutes in six quarts of water,
which jelly is afterwards mixed with a small quantity of the best hay-tea ; on this he rears many calves
without milk ; thinks many calves are annually lost by artificial rearing, and more brought up with
poor and weak constitutions.
6161. When calves are dropped during the grass season, Donaldson observes, they
should be put into some small home- close of sweet rich pasture, after that they are eight
or ten days old, not only for the sake of exercise, but also that they may the sooner
take to the eating of grass. When they happen to be dropped during vvrinter, or before
the return of the grass-season, a little short soft hay or straws, or sliced turnips, should
be laid in the trough or stall before them.
61 6y. Ca-stra^iort is performed both on male and female calves, when neither are in-
tended for procreation. On cow calves, howaver, it is often omitted. But in Norfolk
no distinction is made as to sex ; males and females are equally objects of rearing, and
are both occasionally subject to castration, it being a prevailing custom to spay all
iieifers intended to be fatted at three years old ; but such as are intended to be finished
at two- years old, are, it is believed, pretty generally left " open ;" as are, of course,
those intended for the dairy. There are two reasons for this practice : tliey are
prevented from taking the bull too early, and thereby frustrating the main intention ;
and by tliis precaution may lie more quietly, and are kept from roving at the time of
fatting. This may be one reason why spayed heifers ai'e thought to fatten more kindly
at three years old, and to be better fleshed, than open heifers.
6163. The time of -performing the operation of castration in horned cattle, as in all kinds of live stock, i«
while the animals are yet very young, and just so strong as to endure this severe operation, without any
great danger of its proving fatal. The males, accordingly, are cut commonly when about a month old,
and the females at the age of from one to three months; but in Galloway, where more heifers are spayed
than perhaps in all the island besides, this is seldom done till they are about a year old.
616i. The best time for rearing ca/ycs is the spring ; but that operation niust depend in some degree
on the time when the calf was dropped. Such as are weaned during autumn or winter, however, seldom
do any good. At the season when the calf is weaned from the teat, it ought to be turned abroad, in the
day-time, into a small close or orchard near the yard, where there is a good bite of grass, which may be
expected at the time of the year when the weaning-calves are of this age ; and, as there will generally
be more than one calf weaned in a season, they will each be company for the other, and become in a short
time reconciled to their situation. It is to be observed, that this pasture should be at some distance from
that whereon the dams are turned, and that there be neither ponds nor ditches, nor any annoyance
which might endanger the lives of these youthful animals; and, m order to habituate them still more
to their pasture, milk-pottage should be carried to them at each of their feeding hours. For the first
month or six weeks, the calves ought every night to be brought out of the meadow, and lodged in the
pens ; but, after this time, they may be left in the pasture as well in the night-season as in the day ; and
at this time their food may be' lowered by degrees, till it be at length reduced to simple water only; for,
when the calves get to the age of twelve or fourteen weeks, they will no longer require the aid of this
sustenance, but will be able to satisfy tlieir appetites by grass. Care, however, must be taken throughout
thesummer that they be frequently shifted from one pasture to another, in order that they may be kept
up in good flesh, and enabled to grow away with the utmost celerity. At Michaelmas, or soon after, the
calves should be taken into the yard ; and if they were allowed the indulgence of a small close to them-
selves it would be still better.
6165. The treatment of ymms, cattle, from the time they are separated from their dams, or able to sub-
sist on the common food of the other stock, must entirely depend upon the circumstances of the farm on
which they are reared. In summer, their pasture is often coarse, but abundant ; and in winter, all good
breeders give them an allowance of succulent food along with their dry fodder. The first winter they
have hay and turnips ; the following summer coarse j^isture; the second winter straw in the fold-yard,
and a few turnips once a day, in an adjoining field, just sufficient to prevent the straw from binding them
too much ; the next summer tolerably good pasture ; and the third winter as many turnips as they can
eat, and in every respect treated as fatting cattle. {Culley, p. 47.)
6166. The method of managing young catUe during the first winter is, accorduig to Donaldson, pretty ge-
nerally the same in everv part of the island. They are almost always housed : sometimes bound up to the
stall ; but more frequently allowed to remain at freedom. The way of feeding them in England is chiefly
with hay, or hay and straw mixed ; and in Scotland, sometimes hay, but more frequently straw and turnips.
They are mostly turned out on some of the inferior i>astures on the farm the following summer, and main-
tained the second winter on straw in the straw-yard, or in houses or sheds erected for the purpose. Some
farmers in the more northern parts of the kingdom, from being situated at a distance from any market at
w^hich they can dispose of stall-fed beef, verj' frequently give a considerable part of their tumip-crop to their
voung cattla This is, he thinks, an excellent practice ; and one that ought to be followed, even by those
who, from being better situated in regard to markets, can adopt other methods of using turnips' to ad-
vantage. Th" benefit of green winter food for live-stock is so great, that there is probably, he says, no
way in which turnips can be Ul^ed, by which the farm or the farmer would reap greater benefit, than by
giving the young cattle a daily allowance during the first two or three winters.
Subs EOT. 5. Of Fattening Calves bi/ Suckling.
6167. The most advantageous stock for suckling calves for the butcher, is that sort of cow
which gives the greatest (quantity of milk, richness of quality l)eing not so great an object, or
so well adapted to tlie desired purpose. The Holdcrncss cows are to be preferred in this
view ; not, however, to suckle calves of the same, but of a smaller breed : perhaps Devon
3 Q2
964 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Tart III.
cajves surpass all others as sucklers, whether for quickness of proof, or beauty of the
veal ; they are not, however, to be procured, but in or near their own country.
6168. The method most commonly employed in fattening calves is, to allow them to
suck ; as by this method the object is probably not only sooner, but more effectually at-
tained than by any other means. The period which is necessary for fattening calves
in this way must be different, according to circumstances, but it is generally from seven
to nine weeks ; however, in the dairy districts, where milk is considered a valuable article,
scarcely half that time is allowed. There is another method, which is, to give them the
milk to drink ; and when that is done, it is given them morning and evening warm from
the cow, and the quantity increased according to their age and strength. In whatever
way they may be managed, they should be kept in pens in a close-house, and well lit-
tered. The author of the Synopsis of Husbandry observes, that as it is necessary that the
calves should lie always quiet, in order that they may indulge in sleep at those times
when they are not employed in sucking ; it seems proper that the cow-house should be
situated in the most retired part of the yard, and that the pens should be kept as dark as
possible. But notwithstanding this caution, the calves should by no means be suffered
to lie too hot in the summer time, which would be apt to produce a sickness amongst
them. To admit, therefore, an occasional draught of fresh air, let a window be cut in
each pen, with shutters adapted to the same, and let these windows be opened whenever
the closeness of the atmosphere indicates it to be necessary. In the summer season, they
should rarely, if ever, be closely shut ; and when it is required, the stream of air may be
increased by opening the cow-house door at the opposite end of the building. Each calf
should have a collar round his neck, with which the attendant may direct him in his suck-
ling, but should never be fastened up in the pen. It is necessary that the pens be kept
constantly well littered with the cleanest wheat-straw, a pr.oportion of which should be
thrown into them every day ; cleanliness being a most essential article in the fattening of
every animal, and not more necessary to any than the calf, which, but for this precaution,
would in a short time demonstrate the ill effects of lying on his accumulated dung, which
of all other animals is the most offensive, and of a quality highly septic. As the calves
are yeaned, they are to be taken into the pens, and suckled on their own dams, which, at
first, will yield a far greater quantity of milk than is necessary for their offspring, so that
another calf may be suckled thereon ; or the cow may be iTiilked, and the cream be reserved
for butter, or applied to any other use that the owner may think proper. As the calf
increases in size, it will require a larger quantity of milk : but whilst calves are young,
one good cow will yield a noble supply for two ; and when the whole produce is de-
manded for one calf, another new milch cow should be provided, and these two cows
will abundantly supply the three calves with milk till the oldest is fit for the butcher ;
after which, if necessary, a fresh suckler may be brought in, and the business be carried
on progressively by keeping the house constantly supplied with calves, so that the whole
milk may be sucked, as the fattening of calves by suckling and the dairy cannot be
conveniently united.
6169. Young calves, when permitted to suck their fill, are often seized with a lax or
scouring. To prevent which, the calves for the first fortnight or three weeks may be
stinted in their allowance ; and at the same time due regard should be taken that they
do not pine or decrease in flesh for want of milk. But after this age they should be al-
lowed to suck as long as they choose, and every means ought to be made use of to
increase their appetite, and render them more eager after their food. Chalk may be
given for this purpose, as well as for giving to the flesh a delicate whiteness. An excel-
lent astringent remedy has been already given. (5883.) Salt sprinkled in the trough
will likewise act as a stimulus to the appetite ; besides which, it is a common prac-
tice with some people to cram their calves with balls compounded of flour, pounded
chalk, and milk, with the addition of a small quantity of common gin. Of these balls
they give two, about the size of a walnut, once a-day, or oftener, to each calf. These
l>alls being very nutritiolis, in some degree supply the place of milk, and at the same
time the spirituous mixture operates on the creatures as a soporific, and thus, by com-
posing them to sleep, increases their disposition to fatten : but where milk tan be had in
sufficient abundance, it is never worth while to have recourse to these factitious aids.
When the demands of the calf, however, are beyorid the ability of the cow, these balls
come seasonably to.thtar relief. In order that the calves may be provided with sufficient
store of milk, the pattures should still be changed, whenever the cows are found to be
deficient in this particular : and in the winter-time, such food as is of a succulent nature,
as grains, turnips, &c. should be always at hand to supply the want of grass : and these,
with a due allowance of the sweetest hay, should be their constant aliment during the
time that the cows are confined to the yard.
6170. The prices of suckling calves vary according to the goodness of the young animal, and the time of
year wherein the purchase is made. In general, sucklers fetch the largest price in summer, when veal
sells the cheapest ; and the reason of this arises from the smaller number to be met with at that time than
Book VII. FATTENING THE BULL FAMILY. %5
in the spring. When calves are slaughtered at six weeks or two months old, the veal is seldom of a good
color; neither has the flesh of these young calves a taste equal to that where the animal has been suffered
to live a few weeks longer. To attain both these ends of color and flavor, it is necessary that the calves
should be maintained with plenty of milk, and regulated under such management as before directed, till
they arrive at the age of eight or ten weeks, according to the season of the year, the more or less kindly
state of the calf, the particular demand of the markets, or other eventual circumstances. In the summer
season, it may be proper to dispose of them at an earlier period than in the winter ; not only on account of
their growing away with greater celerity in warm weather, but likewise because of the increased demand
for small veal, which is then most saleable. During the last three or four weeks, blood should frequently
be drawn from the calf, which will be a likely means towards rendering the veal of a color delicately
white ; a circumstance so much attended to by the butcher, that he will commonly depreciate such calves,
which, from the appearance of their eyes, are likely to die black, as they terra it, though ni other respect*
not to be despised.
6171. Such calves as are suckled on their own dams wiJJ, generally speaking, fatten in
a shorter time than those which are afterwards bought in to supply their places. The
first obvious reason for this difference in their favor is, their not having been removed
from the place where they were first dropped, and having always continued to suck the
milk of their parent animal, which must in all reason be supposed of a more nutritious
quality to them than that of any other cow. Secondly, the cow having so lately calved,
the aliment nourishes and fattens in a higher degree than when the animal becomes stale-
milched. Cow-calves are observed to fatten more kindly than the male or bull-calves ;
and these last arc much more coarse-grained, and their flesh less delicate in taste than the
former. Calves of the largest size are fattened in Essex, where the business of suckling
seems to be better understood, and more properly conducted, than in any other county,
and where the farmer keeps the calves to a greater age than in any other part of the
kingdom.
6172. Marshal is clearly of opinion, that to suckle calves in general after they are ten weeks old is bad
management ; for his account in this respect is uniform, those of nine or ten having paid as much a week
as those of twelve or thirteen ; and although a calf of six weeks old may suck nearly as much milk as a calf
of twelve weeks old, yet the first month or five weeks the quantity is considerably less, and this advantage
of their infancy is doubly as valuable to nine as it is to twelve weeks. There can be no doubt but that
the profit of this system of fattening depends materially upon the quickness of return.
6173. In some districts, barley-meal, linseed boiled into a kind of jelly, and such-like articles, are given
to calves in the course of fattening ; but the methods above described are greatly superior, although it
must be allowed that they may sometimes be considerably more expensive.
SuBSECT 6. Of Fattening Horned Cattle.
61 74. Thefattening of cattle demands considerable and constant attention, and the grand
object is to fatten quickly. An animal when in a state of rearing may be considered as
a vessel open at both ends, in which the supply and the waste being nearly equal it can
never be filled : fattening an animal may be considered as an attempt to fill the vessel, and
which can only be done by excess of supply. The waste being the same as before, this
excess must be great ; if it is not so, the vessel maybe rendered fuller than before without
ever becoming full. An important hint might be taken from this simile by many farm-
ers, who know little of the difference between feeding and fattening. We have known
cattle, sheep, and swine, kept for months and fed, with a view to fattening them, without
their gaining a pound of meat.
6175. The food on which cattle arefatted^ is grass in summer, commonly on pastures,
butin a few instances on herbage cut and consumed in feeding-houses or fold-yards ; and
in winter, by far the greater number are fatted on turnips, along with hay or straw, oil-cake;
carrots, potatoes, and other articles of food, are used occasionally, and in particular dis-
tricts ; oil cake chiefly for feeding the larger animals ; but few, comparatively, are fatted
on any of these without the addition of turnips, of one or other of the varieties formerly
mentioned. (4879.) A considerable number of cattle are also fatted on the offals of
distilleries, when distilling from corn ; a source of supply, the frequent interruption of
which has been much felt in those situations where the soil does not permit the extensive
cultivation of turnips. It is seldom or never the practice of the best managers to fatten
cattle with roots or other winter food on the field, during that season ; but to confine them
to houses or fold yards, where they are well littered, regularly fed, not liable to be dis-
turbed, and sheltered from the inclemency of the weather, and where the manure they
make is an object of very considerable importance, and of much greater value than if it
were dropped at random over a whole field.
6176. The age at which cattle are fatted depends upon the manner in which they have
been reared ; upon the properties of the breed in regard to a propensity to fatten earlier or
later in life; and on the circumstances of their being employed in breeding, in labor,
for the dairy, or reared solely for the butcher. In the latter case, the most improved
breeds are fit for the shambles when about three years old, and very few of any large
breed are kept more than a year longer. As to cows and working oxen, the age of fat-
ting must necessarily be more indefinite : in most instances the latter are put up to feed
after working three years, or in the .seventh or eighth year of their age. In general, it
may be said, that the small breeds of cattle are fattened on pastures, though sometime*
5 Q r>
966 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
finished off on a few weeks' turnips ; and that large cattle, at least in the north, are chiefly
fatted in stalls or fold-yards, by means of turnips, and the other articles before men-
tioned.
6177. Stall-feeding is the most common f and, when judiciously conducted, probably
the most eligible method, in regard to the cattle themselves, the economy of food, and
the expense of farm-buildings. The small shed and fold-yard, called a hammel (2657. )r
are used only for the larger breeds; but they do not seem well calculated for an extensive
system of fatting by those who do not breed, but purchase stock every year from different
parts. [Sup. E. Brit. art. Agr.)
6178. The tivo great points in feeding animals, to proof according to the author of the
Farmer s Calendar, are, regularity, and a particular care of the weaker individuals. On
this last account there ought ever to be plenty of trough or rack-room, that too many may
not feed together ; in which very common case the weaker are not only trampled down
by the stronger, but they are worried, and become cowed and spiritless, than which there
cannot be a more unfavorable state for thrift ; beside, these are ever compelled to shift
with the worst part of the meat. This domineering spirit is so remarkably prevalent
amongst horned cattle, that he has a hundred times observed the master-beasts running
from crib to crib, and absolutely neglecting their own provender for the sake of driving
the inferior from theirs. This is, much oftener than suspected, the chief reason of that
difference so visible in a lot of beasts, after a winter's keep. It is likewise, he says, a
very common and very shameful sight, in a dairy of cows, to see several of them gored
and wounded in a dozen places, merely from the inattention of the owner, and the neglect
of tipping the horns of those that butt. The weaker animals should be drawn and fed
apart ; and in crib-feeding in the yard, it is a good method to tie up the master-beasts at
their meals.
6179. Fattening cattle, Donaldson observes, are usually put to grass in Mayor June,
according to the season and situation in regard to climate. The period necessary for fit-
ting an ox for the butcher depends on several circumstances ; as the condition he was in
when put to grass, the nature of the pasture, and many others ; but, in ordinary cases,
an ox will be completely fattened in three months. There is, he says, one method of fat-
tening, connected with the grazing system, that the farmers in England are enabled, from
the superior excellence of the climate, to adopt with success, which can never be at-
tempted with propriety in Scotland. Jt is very common, at the close of the grass -season,
when the fattening stock happen not to be fully in condition for the butcher, to render
them so, by giving them hay two or three times a day in the field, or in hovels erected for
the purpose, into which they have access at pleasure.
6180. When turnips are employed fur the piirpose of fattening cai//e, especially if they
are put up to the stalls in proper condition, which, considering the season of the year
(November), must, with ordinary attention, always be the case, from ten to thirteen weeks
is fully sufficient to render them fit for market.
6181. The fattening of cattle with grains may, in some respects, be considered as a
branch of the distillery business ; but yet there are some instances wherein those who
cultivate farms practise it with a double view — of obtaining a profit on the sale of cattle,
and the acquisition of a valuable treasure of useful manure. Adam, the renter of the
farm of Mount Nod, near Streatham, in the county of Surrey, erected a very com-
plete building, for the purpose chiefly of fattening cattle on grains. In this building
might sometimes be seen several hundred head of cattle.
6182. The method of fattening cattle with oil-cake, corn, cut chaff, &c. is practised in
many of the English counties, with a degree of success sufficient to warrant farmers in
other parts of the island to follow the same practice. The cattle are commonly put up to
fatten at the end of the grass season. The usual allowance of oil cake, after it is broken
in a large mortar, or, in the fruit districts in a cyder-mill, is about half a peck per day,
which is given, one half in the morning, and the other in the evening ; to which is added
hay, and in some cases ground corn, that is, oats or barley of inferior quality, and cut
straw — provincially " chaff'." As bullocks fattened in this manner get regularly five,
and sometimes six meals a day, it is sufficiently evident that, although it may be
upon the whole an expensive mode of fattening, yet it must be both expeditious and
effectual.
SuBSECT. 7. Of the Management of Cows kept for the Dairy.
6183. Milch coivs are kept for the manufacture of butter and cheese, for the suckling
of calves for the butcher, and for the immediate use of the milk.
6184. 2Vie kind of cow used by the dairyists who supply the London market, is chiefly
the Holdcrness, a variety of the short-horned, breed, with large carcases and short horns.
They are bred chiefly in Yorkshire and Durham ; but in part in most counties. The
Edinburgh dairies are supplied by short-horned cows from Roxburghshire, and other
pastoral districts in the south of Scotland. For private dairies, the variety bred in Ayr-
Book VII. MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY COWS. 967
shire {Jig. 648.) have a decided preference as, giving a rich milk and large proportion
of butter ; and the cheese made from the milk of this breed, known as Dunlop, is
decidedly celebrated. In Lancashire, the native 64
long-horned breed, is said in the Report of that
county to obtain the general preference. But in
Hodgson's dairy at Caton, in the same district,
it was found that a short-horned cow, upon an
average of twelve months, will yield nine quarts of
milk in the day, and four and a half pounds of
butter in the week ; and a long-horned cow gives
eight quarts of milk in the day, and four pounds
of butter in the week, for the same period. The
cows of both kinds had constantly the same kind
of food ; but in order to have the clear result, the quantity of food consumed by each
cow of the different breeds, should have been fully ascertained. The produte of milk
and butter is on the side of the short-horned sort; but it is not ascertained whether
the neat balance is in favor of the short or long -horned. {Lancashire Rqy. 561.) The
Guernsey breed is valued by some for the richness of the cream and butter ; but both for
the dairy and butcher, it is very unprofitable.
6185. Where butter is the principal object, such cows should always be chosen as are
known to afford the best and largest quantities of milk and cream, of whatever breed
they may be. But the quantity of butter to be made from a given number of cows must
always depend on a variety of contingent circumstances : such as the size and goodness
of the beasts ; the kind and quantity of the food ; and the distance of time from calving.
As to the first, it need scarcely be mentioned that a large cow will give greater store of
milk than one of a smaller size ; though cows of equal size differ as to the quantity of
cream produced from the milk of each : it is, therefore, on those cows whose milk is not
only in large abundance, but which, from a peculiar inherent richness, yields a thick
cream, that the butter dairy-man is to place his chief dependence ; and w^here a cow is
deficient in either of these, she should be parted with, and her place supplied by one
more proper for this use. As to the second particular, namely, the kind and quality of
the food, those who would wish to profit by a dairy ought to provide for their cows hay
of a superior goodness, to be given them in the depth of winter, and this in an unlimited
degree, that they may always feed till they are perfectly satisfied. And, when the weather
will permit, the cows should be indulged with an outlet to marshes or low meadow-
grounds, where they may feed on such green vegetables as are present ; which is far
preferable to the practice of confining them the whole day on dry meat, will enable
them to yield greater plenty of milk, and will give a fine yellow color to the butter even
in the winter season.
6186. In the vales of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, very great numbers of cows
are kept for the purpose of butter. These fertile lands maintain a breed of large cows,
which yield great store of milk ; so that it is no uncommon circumstance for one farmer
to keep a herd of fifty or sixty, and to collect a quantity of cream sufficient to fill a
barrel-churn of sixty gallons in a week. The butter made from this cream is sold by
the farmer or dairyman, to persons who make it their business to purchase this article at
a stated price from Michaelmas to Lady-day, and at an inferior rate from Lady-day to
Michaelmas. The butter thus collected is sent to London every week in waggons. It
is consigned to the dealers, who retail it to the consumer ; and no small profit from this
traffic accrues to the waggoner and the butter-merchant. This butter is mostly made up in
lumps, containing the quantity of two pounds in each, and for that reason it has obtained
the name of lump-butter. Its flavor is peculiarly sweet and agreeable, which is chiefly
owing to the goodness of the pasture whereon the cows are fed ; for this intrinsic merit
would in vain be sought for in butter made from ordinary pastures, how great soever
may be the skill of the dairy- woman. And though the grass should be equally luxuriant,
the cows of the same breed, and the cream in like abundance, yet would a decided pre-
ference still remain in favor of the vale-fed cows ; for, as a fattening beast on rich land
will thrive much quicker than on thin soils, though the herbage be shorter on the former
than on the poor ground, so will cows give a larger store of milk, and that of a more nu-
tritious quality, when fed on deep fertile meadows, than if depastured on those of inferior
goodness or quality.
6187. Epping butter has long been held in the highest estimation : and great quanti>
ties are manufactured in Cambridgeshire and the adjoining counties. The Cambridge
butter is sent in small pans ; and has an additional quantity of salt mixed with it, to
insure its keeping for ten days or a fortnight, and is generally perfectly free from any
rancid taste. Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and other neighboring counties, where the
land is rich and fertile, likewise supply large quantities of butter, which is salted and put
into tubs for the southern markets.
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968 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
6188. ffhere cheese is the principal object^ the management in respect to the cows must
be the same.
6189. When the object is the suckling of calves, the farmer should provide himself with
a breed of cows suited to the quality of his land. Where the farm abounds with fertile
pastures, watered with wholesome streams, and not far distant from the yard, so that the
cows may be turned immediately out of the suckling house upon their feed, the benefit
will be in every respect superior to what can be expected from an arable farm, or where
the green land is in a small proportion to the ploughed . for in this latter case, the cows
must depend for their sustenance chiefly on artificial fodder; such as clover, rye-grass,
turnips, and other roots and herbage.
6190. The cozu-house should be of a size adapted to tlie number of the beasts. Each
cow should be driven into the house at suckling-time, and her head confined in a proper
manner (Jig. 649. )> having some fodder lying con-
stantly before her, and a space left between every
beast. When they become accustomed to this kind
of restraint, they will without any trouble come into
the places destined for them, when the calves may be
suckled vdth the greatest ease and facility.
6191. The time cows should become dry before their
calving is not agreed on, some contending, that they
may be milked almost to the time of their dropping
the calf without injury ; while others maintain, that it is absolutely necessary that they
should be laid dry from one to two months, both for the advantage of themselves and
their calves. It is probable that much in this business must depend on the manner in
which they are kept ; as where they are well fed they may be continued in milk till
within a week or two of their calving, without suffering any injury whatever from it ;
but in the contrary circumstances it may be better to let them run dry for a month, six
■weeks, or more, according to their condition, in order to their more fully recruiting their
strength. It appears not improbable, but that the longer the milking is continued, the
more free the cows will be from indurations and other affections of the udder ; which is
a circumstance deserving of attention. Where only one or two cows are kept for the
supply of a family, it is likewise useful to know, that by good feeding they may be con-
tinued in milk without any bad consequences till nearly the time of calving. In the
Agricultural Survey of the West Riding of Yorkshire it is stated, that no advantage was
found on trial to result from allowing the cows to go dry two months before calving.
They have there been kept in milk within ten days of the time of dropping the calf.
This practice, however, cannot be considered generally advisable.
6192. Cows sometimes slip their calves before they are suflSciently grown. Where this
occurs, it is essentially necessary to remove such cows immediately from the cow-yards,
or from mixing with the other cattle, for a few days. But where cows are much subject
to such accidents, it is the best method to get quit of them as soon as possible, as they will
seldom turn out profitable afterwards.
61 93. Coivs should be kept constantly in good condition, as where they are ever suflTered
to become very lean, and that in the winter season, it is impossible that they can be
brought to aflPord a large quantity of milk, by getting them into perfect condition in the
summer months. Where cows are lean at the period of calving, no management after-
wards is ever capable of bringing them to afford for that season any thing near the pro-
portion of milk that they would have done if they had been supported in proper condition
during the winter. Food of the most nourisliing and succulent kinds should therefore
be regularly given in suitable proportions in the cold inclement months, and the animals-
be kept warm, and well supplied with pure water. Some advise their being cleaned by
combing and other means ; but this is a practice, which, though useful in making them
yield their milk more freely, can perhaps seldom be employed on an extensive scale
with advantage.
6194. Where the herd of cows is extensive, an account should always be kept of the time
when each cow takes the bull, that she may be dried off" at a reasonable distance of time
before the expected term of gestation be completed. The usual time when the cow is
dried off" is two inonths before her calving, when she ought to be suffered to lie quiet,
and not to be brought up with the other cows at milking or suckling-time. According
to some, if a cow be continued in milk nearer to the time of calving than the period above
allotted, it will not only greatly injure her future progeny by rendering it weakly and
stunted, but will also h:ive an ill effect on her own health : while others, as we have seen
(6191.), consider ten days or a fortnight as sufficient. Wlien a cow is four months
gone with calf, the fact may easily be ascertained by pressing upon her oflf-flank, when
the calf will be felt to kick against the hand.
6195. Cows may be known to be near the time of calving, by springing at the udder or
at the bearing. By springing at the udder is meant the collection of liquid in the bag.
BookVII. management of dairy cows. 969
which, a few weeks before the time of gestation is accomplished, assumes, in some degree,
the appearance of milk, and may be drawn from the teats. To spring at the bearing, is
when this part is more than ordmarily large and distended. Heifers are said to spring
soonest at bearing, and old cows at the udder. Some cows are peculiarly given to abor-
tions : and where this happens, they siiould never be continued long in the herd, as being
unlikely to yield any consideral)le degree of profit to the owners of them.
6196". Cows which are shortly expected to calve, ought to be lodged at night in a large
convenient out-house, or some other place, for a week or two previous to calving, as it
may be the means of saving the life of tlie calf, and perhaps of its dam likewise : for, when
a calf drops in the yard or field under such circumstances, the hazard of its perishing
through the inclemency of the weather is very great, and it may considerably endanger
the life of the cow. But if from inattention, or other causes, the creature should catch
cold by calving abroad in sharp winter nights (which may be perceived by a refusal of
her food, and by her trembling joints), she ought immediately to be driven into a wann
shed, together with her calf, and fed with sugar-sops and ale, and with the best and
sweetest hay, and should not be suffered to drink any cold water. By this treatment she
will mostly recover in a few days ; but should the disorder hang about her, balls com-
posed of aromatic cordial substances may be given.
6 1 97. A milch cow is in her prime at five years old, and will generally continue in a good
milking state till ten years or upwards; but this depends greatly on the constitution of the
animal, some cows, like other animals, exhibiting marks of old age much earlier than
others.
6198. Cows of large size yield great store of milk, when turned on pastures where the
grass is in sufficient abundance, or fed with a constant supply of such food as from its
succulency conduces much towards the nutriment of the creature, and enables her to give
large quantities of milk, such as turnips, grains, garden -vegetables, &c. But as these
large cows require a more ample provision than would fall to their share on the generality
of farms, it would seem that they should not be had by those farmers whose land is not of
the most fertile kind ; for, on ordinary keep, a small cow will yield a fairer profit than
one of the Yorkshire or Staffordshire breed, which having been bred on the best kind of
land, would be starved where a Scotch or a "Welsh cow would find an ample supply of
food.
6199. Those who would make the utmost advantage from cows, eitheras calf-sucklers, dairy-men, or milk-
sellers, should always provide a bull to run in the herd, to obviate the perpetual trouble of driving them
perhaps a mile or more to the bull, and in order to prevent the loss and inconvenience of their becoming
frequently barren. One bull will generally be sufficient for twenty cows. These animals are in their prime
at two years old, and should never be suffered to continue longer in a state of virility than to the fifth
year ; as, after that time, bulls which before were gentle and lay quiet in the cow-pastures are mostly apt
to contract vicious dispositions, and become very unmanageable. Whenever this happens, they should be
immediately castrated.
6200. For feeding of stalled cows, the following directions are given to the cow-
feeder in an improved dairy establishment near Farnham, in Surrey. ** Go to the cow
stall at 6 o'clock in the morning, winter and summer ; give each cow half a bushel of the
field beet, carrots, turnips, or potatoes cut ; at 7 o'clock, the hour the dairy maid
comes to milk them, give each some hay, and let them feed till they are all milked. If
any cow refuses hay, give lier something she will eat, such as grains, carrots, &c., during
the time she is milking, as it is absolutely necessary the cow should feed whilst milking.
As soon as the woman has finished milking in the morning, turn the cows into the air-
ing ground, and let there be plenty of fresh water in the trouglis ; at 9 o'clock give each
cow three gallons of a mixture composed of eight gallons of grains and four gallons
of bran or pollard ; when they have eaten that, put some hay into the cribs ; at 1 2
o'clock give«ach three gallons of the mixture as before ; if any cow looks for more, give
her another gallon ; on the contrary, if she will not eat what you give her, take it out of
the manger, never at one time letting a cow have more than she will eat up clean. Mind
and keep your mangers clean, that they do not get sour. At 2 o'clock give each cow half
a bushel of carrots, field beet, or turnips; look the turnips, &c., over well before you
give them to the cows, as one rotten turnip, &c. will give a bad taste to the milk,and most
likely spoil a whole dairy of butter. At 4 o'clock put the cows into the stall to be
milked; feed them on hay as you did at milking time in the morning, ever keeping in
mind that the cow whilst milking must feed on something, At 6 o'clock give each cow
three gallons of the mixture as before. Rack them up at eight o'clock. Twice in a week
put into each cow's feed at noon, a quart of malt dust. "
6201. Directions to the dairy maid. " Go to the cow stall at 7 o'clock ; take with you
cold water and a sponge, and wash each cow's udder clean before milking ; dowse the
udder well with cold water, winter and summer, as it braces, and repels heats. Keep your
hands and arms clean. Milk each cow as dry as you can, morning and evening, and
when you have milked each cow, as you suppose, Hry, l)egin again with the cow you first
milked, and drip them each; for the principal reason of cows failing in their milk is from
negligence in not milking each cow dry, particularly at the time the calf is taken from the
970 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
cow. Suffer no one to milk a cow but yourself, and have no gossiping in the stall.
Every Saturday night give in an exact account of the quantity of milk each cow has given
in the week." (^Farm. Mag. vol. xv. 314.)
6202. Harlet/'s dairy establishment at Glasgow has been celebrated since 1813. The
object of the proprietor, who is engaged in various extensive concerns, is to supply the
public with new milk free from adulteration, and to have the cow-house, cows, and milk,
kept in a more cleanly state than by the usual mode.
6203. Harley's cow-house is fitted up upon a new construction. The cattle stand" in rows, twelve in a
row across the house, head and head, and tail and tail alternately ; there is a passage behind for cleaning,
and one in front for feeding. In front of each cow is a wire grating, hung like a window sash, which lifts up
when giving the soft food and cleaning the cribs, and is put down when they get hay, &c. The contriv-
ances for washing the cribs, collecting the urine, ventilating the house, &c., gives peculiar advantages to
the establishment, which may be summed up in the following items: the health of the cattle; the preserv-
ation of the timbers ; the diminished danger from fire, there being no hay-loft above the cattle ; the pre-
servation of the provender ; and, the flavor of the milk. The heat is regulated by thermometers. A
circulation of air can be produced, so as to keep the cattle comfortable in the hottest weather, by which
their health is promoted. The ventilation also prevents the timber from rotting ; makes the cows eat their
fodder better ; as their breath is allowed to escape, instead of being thrown back upon the food, as is the
case when their heads are placed opposite a wall. It is well known that milk easily takes a taste from any
other substance ; of course, if the cow-house is filled with bad air, the milk, while passing from the teat to
the pail, and during the time it may stand in the house, will be impregnated with the foul atmosphere.
6204. Infeedingand preparing the food Harley has made many experiments, and by the mode he now
follows, the cattle fatten and milk better, than by the ordinary process ; and the milk has no taste from
turnips or other vegetables.
620o. The arrangement for milking, insures the cows to be clean milked, and also prevents fraud ; and
the mode of locking up the milk, and at the same time of admitting air, prevents adulteration by the re-
tailer. The cows are not farmed out to milkmen as in London.
6206. The stock of cows for some time back, has been 120, averaging eleven English quarts each per day :
but both quality and quantity depends much upon the kind of food. Harley gives a decided preference
to the Ayrshire breed of cows. They are bought chiefly at country fairs, either newly calved, or a few
weeks before calving, apd never turned out till they go to the butcher.
6207. The food of the cows during sumfner is cut grass and green barley mixed with old hay ; and during
winter Harley uses a good many turnips and potatoes, all of which are steamed, and mixed with cut hay
and straw ; also grains and distillery wash, when these can be got.
6208. When there is more new milk than supplies the demand, part is put in the milk-house till next day,
when the skimmed milk is sold at half price, and the cream sold at Is. 6d. per quart. When any cream is
left, it is put in a churn and made into butter, once a week or fortnight.
6209. A table of regulations has been adopted for the times of feeding, milking, currying the cattle, clean-
ing the house, &c. Each person has a curry comb and a hair cloth for cleaning the cows twice a day,
and a mop and pail for the house, which is washed and sanded twice a day.
6210. The cleanly state of the cattle and house make it a treat for visitors to see the establishment ; and
the way the vessels and milk-house are kept, have made some people fond of milk who formerly were dis-
gusted at it, from the manner in which many town dairies are conducted.
6211. The advantage of irrigating grass lands ivith the cow's urine, almost exceeds belief. Last season
some small fields of old grass were cut six times, averaging fifteen inches in length at each cutting, and
the sward very thick. The soap-suds of a public washing house are applied to the same purpose with
considerable advantage.
6212. The advantage of this system to the owner of the cattle is shown by the following abstract,
in Harley's own words : but the benefit of a liberal supply of genuine milk to the community at large, par-
ticularly to children, it is not easy to estimate
To the general health of the cattle by ventilation ...-...-%
To the preventimi of a disease called grain sickness, when fed on grains - - f 15 per cent
To the /Jreyera^eoM Q/"«iue/^Mg, by eating young and wet grass . - - . j
To the prevention of choking, when feeding on turnips or potatoes, &c. - - - 15 do.
To saving in the expense of feeding, by improved modes of cooking, &c. . - - 20 do.
To saving of labor in feeding, dunging, &c. 50 per cent, as one person will do as much as f
two on the old plan ; but allow 25 of this for draining, &c., leaves 25 per cent, profit > 25 do.
"■on servants' wages ....... .....j
To sai'm^O/'^mier in the building, as they will last more than double the time. - 50 do.
6213. Harley has a steam-engine for driving the following machinery.
A small threshipg.mill. The churning apparatus.
A straw-cutter. Pumping water, &c.
A turnip and potatoe sUcer. The same boiler that drives the engine, steams the food,
warms water, &c.
6214. After much study, labor, and expense, the establishment is now brought to such a state of per-
fection, that it receives the cordial approbation of all who have seen it ; — furnishing the community with
genuine milk at comparatively a low price. It is admitted, that the greater part of the system is original,
and is not to be met with in any part of the kingdom. — ( Farm. Mag., xv. 189.)
SuBSECT. 8. Of Working Horned Cattle.
6215. The arguments for and against the working of oxen have been already stated.
(4463.) Though horned cattle are gradually disappearing as beasts of labor, it is
probable they will in many places be occasionally used as a substitute for horses, or to
get up one or two additional teams on extraordinary occasions. Indeed we see no
objections to the occasional use of both oxen and cows for this purpose ; more especi-
ally in such cases as those of a nobleman's farming ; as when breaking up his park, or
cutting down and carting away timber, or earth, gravel, &c. to an extent, more than can
be readily performed by the ordinary teams of the establishment. For these and such
like purposes of amateur farmers j and probably occasionally for some purposes on the
farms of rent-paying cultivators, the horned cattle of the farm may afford a valuable
resource. For these reasons it seems fitting in this work not to consider the working
of oxen as altogether an obsolete practice; and we shall, therefore, notice the training,
harnessing, shoeing, age of being put to work, and general treatment of these animals
so employed.
Book VII.
WORKING HORNED CATTLE.
971
6216. The training of the calf intended for labor, according to some, should com-
mence at an early period, and after being accustomed to be handled, he should be taught
to present his foot to the shoeing smith, as readily as the horse, which is partially the
practice in some places. No animal, however, is so easily broke as the ox at any age ;
and in most countries, where they are used in labor, they are never handled till harnessed
and put in the ])lough, or to drag a tree. This is the case both in Devonshire and
Herefordshire, and as they are only worked a few years it does not seem desirable to
be at any great expense in their training. The Roman practice, in this particular, may
deserve imitation. (99.)
6217. Working oxen when kept in a house are generally confined to their places by the
same sort of fastening used for cows, (Jig. 650.), in which their neck has free play
between two upright spars ; but in some establish-
650 ments a ring of a parti-
cular description (Jig.
651.) is used, to which
they are tied by a halter
attached to a head strap
or bridle. The ring is
generally screwed into
the front of the man-
ger or eating trough.
The cattle fastening used in Devonshire is a wooden
bow put on their necks and fastened to a round post. The bow consists of two
pieces — the yoke, which has two slits terminating in round holes, and the bow, which
is made of spht ash, and has a knob at each end. These knobs being put through
the round holes, the elasticity of the bow forces it along the slit and prevents it
returning.
6218. The most approved kind of harness for the ox 652
is little different from that of the horse, excepting in
the shape of the collar. In many places, however,
and especially on the continent, the ox draws solely
by the withers, by means of what is called a yoke and
bow. (Jig. 652.) •
6219. The shoeing of oxen is a practice which is
yet far from being performed in a perfect manner.
Clark says, that in many parts of France, where the
ox is used for draught, it is sometimes necessary to
employ eight shoes, one under each nail ; or four, one under each external nail; and
sometimes only two, one under the external nail of each fore foot. In this country
two pieces or shoes to each foot are generally made use of, being mostly fixed on, espe-
cially in the northern districts, with three or four large headed nails to each shoe. They
are fitted on in a similar manner to those of the horse. But, from the shoes of tliese
animals being from the smallness of the pieces so liable to break, it has been suggested
to have them shod with whole shoes in the manner of the horse; but how far this
practice would answer, must depend upon future trials. As there is much trouble
653
in the shoeing of these animals, from it being ne-
cessary to cast them each time, it has been found
requisite to have recourse to contrivances for shoe-
ing them standing (fg. 653.)
654 6220. yin ox shoe (Jig. 654.) consists
of a flat piece of iron, with five or six
stamp holes on the outward edge to re-
ceive the nails; at the toe is a projection of some inches, which passing
in the cleft of the foot, is bent over the hoof, so as to keep the shoe in its
proper place. This projection is not, however, employed in the general
practice of making these shoes.
6221. The age at which an ox may be worked is from two and a half to
three and a half years. Some begin at two, but it ought to be for very light
operations, and such as are not of long duration. The period to which the
ox is worked varies from his fifth to the tenth year.
6222. Parkinson^ s father used to make up occasionally an ox team for the plough of four oxen and one
horse as a leader, which he found did about two-thirds of the labor of two horses. There are, he says,
great objections to ox-teams in the plough. He has, however, found them useful in some sorts of farm-
work, from their slow, steady pace ; as in scarifying, leading dung, &c., as the work suits them from its
being easy, and having a great deal of standing : they are, says he, much cheaper kept than horses, and
eat straw in the winter, and are valuable for making dung. He never saw this practice injure their
growth. They may be worked from two till five years old, without any loss of time, as they grow to that
age, and are then both larger and better beef than three year old steers. He, therefore, recommends ox-
teams for leading dung and the other odd jobs, but not to plough and harrow. If they are worked to
972 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
the age'of eight or ten years, it is, he thinks, a real injury to the public, and an unprofitable practice to
the farmer.
6223. Bakewell used to work moderately his heifers whilst carrying their first calves; an unobjection-
able practice, provided they be well fed. Bulls are generally allowed to be good laborers, and capable, if
high fed, of vast exertions.
6224. The length of lime, per day, ivhich an ox is kept in the yoke, varies according to
the kind of labor, and the age and keep of the ox. If an ox is fed on hay, oats, and
some roots, he will plough four days a week ; but if on straw and roots only, not above
three days. In the former case he is worked two whole days, and two half days, and
in the latter case six half days. The latter is the best plan, for which reason, where
oxen are regularly worked, two pairs should be kept for each ploughman.
6225. The most desirable breeds of oxen to work are the Devonshire and Herefordshire
varieties, which are long-legged, quick-stepping animals. Lord Somerville, who has
carried the working of oxen to greater perfection than any one else, prefers the Devon
breed, which most cultivators consider the quickest walkers in England. When horned
cattle are only worked occasionally, whatever sort of animals are on the farm, whether
bulls, cows, or oxen, of good or bad breeds, will necessarily be employed.
6226. The food of horned cattle employed in labor must be substantial. It is a great
mistake to suppose they can work on straw alone. Unless they have roots added to
straw in winter, and green food in summer, it will be an idle attempt to harness animals
so nourished. The best and indeed the only way is to feed them well with straw, coarse
hay, roots, green herbage, or pasturage, as the season and other circumstances may
indicate.
SuBSECT 9. Of the Anatomy and Physiology of the Bull and Cow.
6227. The general structure of the bull and cow presents some peculiarities when com-
pared with the horse, whose anatomy having been fully explained, will be taken as the sub-
ject of comparison. The ox, as an animal machine, displays less complexity of structure
than the horse ; but the principal differences between the two will be found to arise from
the evident intention of nature to bound the locomotion of horned cattle ; the limbs of
the ox are therefore not found favorable to speed ; nor does his general mass betray that
symmetrical proportion and mechanical composition that would fit it to be acted on
to advantage, as regards quick motion, by the powerful muscles he evidently possesses.
For strength alone will not produce speed.
6228. The skeleton of the ox is formed under the above view ; and though the number of his bones differs
little from that of the horse, the general form differs materially ; — the frontal, the occipital, and indeed
most of the bones composing the skull are broad and extended, while to the former are appended the horns.
These, as we have seen (1822.), partake of the nature of true bone, placed within a membranous enve-
lopment, of a mixed nature between cuticle and cartilage. The ox has no upper nippers ; the grass being
cropped into a tuft by means of the tongue, is cut off by the under nipijers; whereas in the horse it is
nipped oft' by the approximation of both incisive teeth.
6229. The vertebra; or neck bones are the same in number and form as in the horse, but from the dimin-
ished elevation of the head, and the peculiarity of attachment of the great suspensory ligament, the ox has
no cervical crest. The dorsal vertebrje are thirteen, with spinous processes, or withers less high. The
lumbar vertebrae are six, and the sacral four ; the coccyx or bones of the tail are indefinite in number,
from eighteen to twenty-five. The pelvic bones in the ox are very large, and the rugged outline of the
rump in cattle, arises from the great rising of the spine of the ilium, and tuberosity of the ischium : the
ribs are thirteen, eight of them true, and five false j and upon the former rest the scapulee, which do not
materially difffer from those of the horse.
6230. the fore limb bones are, the arm, and the fore-ann,which, as in the horse, is composed of the radius
and nlna, and bears a general resemblance to that of the horse. The knee is composed of four bones in
the first row, and two in the second, which renders that joint inferior to that of the horse in complexity
and elasticity : the same holds good with regard to the hock, where the bones entering its composition
are also less numerous than in the horse. The canon or shank has no splint bones attached to it, but it is
lower, and enlarges into two articular portions corresponding with the metacarpal before, and metatarsal
bones behind : thus from the pastern downwards, the limb is double, and ends in two separate hoofs, which
present, individually, a similarity of structure and design to the single hoof of the horse, but less deve-
loped ; to the posterior part of each, are appended two imperfect phalanges or claws, thus keeping a con-
nection with the digiti.
6231. The hinder limbs present nothing remarkable, but preserve the same increased simplicity of struc-
ture with the fore.
6232. The viscera of the chest offer no peculiarities from those of the horse to deserve notice ; neither is
the economy of the organs concerned, different.
6233. The viscera of the belly of the ox have some specialities, the principal of which consist in the
digestive organs, which differ in form, structure, and economy, in some essential particulars, from the
same system in the horse.
6234. The ox has four stomachs, in which formation, the goat, sheep, camel, and deer, participate. As
it is necessary that these animals should collect much herbage for their support ; and as it would fatigue
and keep them too long in motion to gather and masticate such a quantity at the same time, so a peculiar
provision has been made for them, by which, they first hastily collect their food, pass it into a reservoir,
and afterwards commence the mastication of it at their leisure.
6235. The first stomach, rumen, or paunch, is a very large membranous and muscular bag, principally
occupying the left side, and extending, when full, from the middle of the ribs to the haunch, into which
the unruminated food is received ; consequently, it is the over-distention of this which occasions the
malady called hoven : it is in this stomach also that the concretions called hair balls are found. It presents
numerous processes to assist in the retention of the food.
6236. The second stomach, called also reticulum, bonnet, or kingshood, would appear as a globular ap-
pendage to the paunch merely, were it not for its peculiarity of structure, which resembles the cells of
the honey-comb, and which is well known to the eaters of tripe. The oesophagus, or gullet, enters at the
junction of this with the first stomach, and is continued in the form of a muscular ridge, or segmental
tube along the line of junction between these two stomachs, and which is from thence continued into the
Book VII. DISEASES OF HORNED CATTLE. 973
tnany-plics. In the hornless ruminants, the second stomach is exclusively designed as a reservoir for
water, and is capable of holding and preserving a vast quantity of it. A little of this water is passed up, as
wanted, to be mixed with the dry matters chewed during rumination. In the deserts of Arabia, where
water is met with only at long distances, this reservoir is peculiarly advantageous to the camel and
dromedary ; and the Arabian travellers, when famishing for water, save themselves frequently at the
expense of their camels, by killing of which, and taking out this stomach, they find a supply.
6237. The third stomach is named after its foliated structure many.plies ; there are about eighty or
ninetv of these septa or folds, which are covered with cuticle, in common with the two former stomachs,
by which, some resemblance is kept up between the digestive processes of the horse and ruminants. By
the comparative insensibility of these stomachs, they can also bear potent medicines, which would be
destructive to the carnivorae. By this curious extension of surface, the ruminated food is applied and re-
applied to the sides of the bag, to be acted upon in its early stage of digestion.
6238. The, fourth stomach, called also the red bag, abomasum faliscus, and ventriculus intestinalis, is
about two feet nine inches long in an ox, and resembles the simple digestive stomach of the mammalia. It
is in this stomach that the pidtaceous mass of the chyme undergoes a more perfect animalization by being
mixed with the gastric fluid, which appears to be wholly secreted here, and thus it is that this stomach
only produces rennet. The red bag, to increase its secreting surface, has likewise about nine longitudinal
plica to each side, with an intervening rugose structure.
6239. Rumination, or chewing the cud, is the process whereby the ruminant aninnals
collect their food, and with little or no mastication ; when such food is perfectly soft
and moist, as in grass, they form it into a bolus, and, with little expenditure of saliva,
they pass it down the gullet into the paunch, which, when it has become distended with a
sufficient quantity, stimulates the animal to seA for rest and quiet, and he commonly
lies down. The paunch begins now to exert its extraordinary powers of separating a
portion from the contained mass, and to return it into the mouth, where it undergoes a
complete mastication ; being retained from falling out of the mouth again by the nume-
rous papillae or roughnesses on the tongue, which are pointed backwards, and also by
the ridges of the palate : sufficiently masticated, and mixed with the saliva, it is again
passed down the throat, but instead of again entering the first stomach, the muscular
gutter forms itself into a tube, and carries it at once into the third stomach, where,
having to undergo a further change*, it is passed into the red bag, or fourth stomach ;
to undergo a further solution by means of the gastric fluid, preparatory to its being con-
verted into nutriment under the name of chyle.
6240. The intestines of the ox have not their divisions into great and small so well
marked as in the horse ; yet the tract is very extended, to admit of a perfect separation
of all the chylous particles. In the intestines of the horse, it has been shown (5729.)
that much of the digestive as well as the operative process goes on ; but the chymous
mass is more broken down in the stomachs of a cow than by the united forces of the
stomachs and intestines of the horse. Grass, containing less organical moleculse than
grain, requires to be minutely acted on to afford nutriment; and thus the well fed horse,
after having been sufficiently nourished, passes off" dung containing much of the original
principles of his farinaceous food, and which forms excellent manure ; while that of the
ox is almost wholly decomposed, merely faeculent, and unfitted for this purpose.
6241. The liver of the ox is large, and presents a gall-bladder, which that of the horse does not. This
gall bag is furnished by several hepatic ducts leading into the neck of the gall duct. By the existence of a
gall bladder, the bile is evidently more concentrated ; but it is difficult to understand why this should be
necessary to the ruminants and not to the horse
6242. The pancreas of the. ox is of a lozenge form. The spleen is very large, and is placed on the left
side of the paunch. The biliary and pancreatic ducts unite together. The principal fold of the
omentum is very large, and incloses the four stomachs, and part of the intestines. The renal capsules are
flat and triangular. The kidneys are lobulated.
6243. The organs of generation in the cow differ but little from those of the mare, and other mam-
malia. The penis in the bull is more pointed and taper than that of the horse. The vesiculae seminales
are wanting, but have a small ligamentous bridge instead. The prostates are two.
SuBSECT. 10. Of the Diseases of Horned Cattle.
6244. Cattle are subject to some very dangerous diseases^ but as their life is less artifi-
cial, and their structure less complex, they are not liable to the variety of ailments which
affect the horse. The general pathology of the horse and ox being little different, the
fundamental rules for veterinary practice, and the requisite medicines, when not particu-
larized, will be found in the Veterinary Pharmacopeia, already given. (5879.)
6245. Mild fever, pantas or pantasia. Cattle sometimes appear affected with heat, redness of ihe nos-
trils and eyelids : they refuse food, are dull, evacuate and stale with difficulty ; and the urine is high
colored. These symptoms are often aggravated every other day, giving it the appearance of an in-
termittent affection. The complaint is otten brought on by over-driving in very hot weather, occasionally
by pushing their fattening process too fast. If there be no appearance of malignancy, and the heaving be
considerable, bleed, and give half an ounce of nitre in a drink night and morning ; but unless the weather
be cold do not house the animal.
6246. In flamviatory fever is called among farriers, cow-leeches, and graziers, by the various names of
black quarter, joint felon, quarter evil, quarter ill, showing of blood, joint murrain, striking-in of the
blood, &c. Various causes may bring this on. It is sometimes epidemic, and at others it seems occasioned
by a sudden change from low to very full keep. Over-driving has brought it on. No age is exempt from
it, but the young oftener have it than the mature. Its inflammatory stage continues but a few days, and
shows itself by a dull heavy countenance, red eye and eyelids : the nostrils are also red, and a slight
mucus flows from them. The pulse is peculiarly quick ; the animal is sometimes stupid, at others watchful,
particularly at first ; and in some instances irritable. The appetite is usually entirely lost at the end of
she second day, and the dung and urine either stop altogether, or the one is hard, and the other red.
About the third dav a critical deposit takes nlace, which terminates the inflrimmatory action : and it is to
the v.irion* parts on" which this occurs, that the disease receives its various names. The deposit is, however.
974 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
sometimes universal, in the form of a bloody suflflision throughout the whole skin. In others, swellings
form on the joints, or on the back or belly ; and in fact, no part is exempt from their attack. Sometimes
the animal swells generally or partially, and the air being suffused under the skin, crackles to the feel.
After any of these appearances have come on, the disease assumes a very malignant type, and is highly
contagious.
6247. Treatment of inflammatory fever. Before the critical abscesses form, or at the very outset of the
disease, bleed liberally, and purge also : give likewise a fever drink. (5910.) If, however, the disease
be not attended to in thi^ early stage, carefully abstain from bleeding, or even purging : but instead, throw
up clysters of warm water and salt to empty the bowels, and in other respects treat as detailed under ma-
lignant epidemic. (5767.) It maybe added, that four drachms of muriatic acid in three pints of oak bark
decoction, given twice a-day, has proved useful. The swellings themselves may be washed with warm
vinegar, both before and after they burst
624f8. Catarrh or influenza in cattle, also known by the name oi felon, is only a more mild form of the
next disease. Even in this mild form it is sometimes epidemic, or prevalent among numbers ; or
endemical by being local. Very stormy wet weather, changing frequently, and greatly also in its
temperature, are common causes. We have seen it brought on by change of food from good to bad j
and from too close pasturage. It first appears by a defluxion from the nose ; the nostrils and eyelids
are red ; the animal heaves, is tucked up in the flanks, and on the third day he loses the cud. There is a
distressing and painful cough, and not unfrequently a sore throat also, in which case the beast almost in-
variably holds down his head. The treatment does not at all differ from that directed under the same
disease in horses. (5765.) Bleeding only the first two days, carefully sheltering, but in an open airy
place, and littering well up.
6249. The malignant epidemicinfluenxa is popularly called the murrain or fest ; and has at various
times made terrible havoc among cattle. Ancient history affords ample proof of its long existence , and
by the accounts handed down, it does not seem to have varied its types materially. In 1757 it visited Bri-
tain, producing extreme fatality among our kine. From 1710 to 1714 it continued to rage on the
Continent with unabated fury. {LancisPs Disputatio Historica de Bovilla Peste.) The years 17^
and 1731, and from 1744 to 1746, witnessed its attack, and produced many written descriptions of it,
among which stand pre-eminent, that of Sauvages, the celebrated professor of medicine at Montpe-
lier. The British visitation of the malady in 1757, elicited an excellent work from the pen of Dr. Layard,
a physician of London, which was afterwards translated into several other languages.
6250. Symptoms of the murrain. Dr. Layard describes it as commencing by a difficulty of swallowing,
and itching of the ears, shaking of the head, with excessive weakness and staggering gait ; which occa-
sioned a continued desire to lie down. A sanious foetid discharge invariably appeared from the nostrils,
and eyes also. The cough was frequent and urgent. Fever exacerbating, particularly at night, when it
usually produced quickened pulse. There was a constant scouring of green foetid dung after the first
two days, which tainted every thing around : even the breath, perspiration, and urine were highly foetid.
Little tumors or boils were very commonly felt under the skin, and, if about the seventh or ninth day
these eruptions become larger, and boils or buboes appeared with a lessened discharge of faces, they
proved critical, and the animal often recovered ; but if, on the contrary, the scouring continued, and the
breath became cold, and the mouth dark in color, he informs us, mortality followed. Sauvages describes
the murrain as shewing itself by trembling, cold shivers, nose excoriated with an acrid discharge from it i
purging after the first two days, but previous to which there was often costiveness. Great tenderness
about the spine and withers was also a characteristic, with emphysema, or a blowing up of the skin by air
discharged underneath it.
6251. Dissections of those that have died of this disease, according to Sauvages, have shown marks of
great inflammation, and of a great putrid tendency ; but the solid parts seldom ran into gangrene. The
fluid secretions, however, always were sufficiently dissolved and broken down by putridity. The paunch,
he says, was usually filled with undigested matter, and the other stomachs highly inflamed : the gall bladder
was also commonly distended, with acrid thick brown bile. Goelich, who likewise dissected these subjects,
describes the gall as particularly profuse and intolerably foetid. According to him, the whole alimentary
canal, from the mouth to the anus, was excoriated ; and Lancisi, contrary to Sauvages, found the viscera
of the chest and belly, in some cases, sphacelated and gangrenous. Gazola describes the murrain as ac-
companied with pustulous sores ; and so great was the putrid tendency, that even the milk, before it dried
up, which it usually did before the fourth day, became foetid.
6252. The treatment of the murrain. In the very early stages, all eminent authors recommend bleed-
ing; but which should not only be confined to the very early periods, as to the first two days ; but also to
such subjects as by their previous health and condition can bear it. The animals should be placed in an
open airy place ; the litter should be frequently renewed ; and the place itself should be fumigated with
the preventive fumigation. (5913.) It has been recommended to burn green boughs with pitch as
a substitute : even charcoal fires occasionally carried round the place would be useful. Dr. Layard ad-
vised the body to be washed with aromatic herbs in water; but vinegar would have been better. In
early stages, saline purgatives, as from ten to twenty ounces of Epsom salts, are to be invariably used.
If the scouring have already come on, still, however, purge ; but with only half the quantity : an artificial
purge will carry off the morbid bile ; and if excessive weakness do not come on, the same may be advan-
tageously repeated. Setons are also recommended in the dewlap. When abscesses appear, they may be
opened, and their contents discharged, washing the wound with brandy or vinegar, if putrid sloughing
takes place. The emphysematous swellings, or cracklings may also be opened, and the air discharged.
The other essentials of medical treatment, as detailed under malignant epidemic among horses, is here
applicable in every particular. When recovery takes place, it is usually a very slow process, and requires
care to prevent other diseases supervening. The animals should continue to be housed, and neither ex-
posed to sun or wind for some time, and the feeding should be nutritious.
6253. The prevention of the murrain, or the prevention of its spreading, in many respects is even more
important than its medical treatment. Where it has already appeared, all the out-buildings, but particu-
larly the ox-lodges or stalls, should be daily fumigated with the preventive fumigation (5913.) ; and,
even the whole of the infected districts should have frequent fires of green wood made in the open air,
and every such district should be put under a rigorous quarantine. The cattle on every farm should be
carefully examined three or four times every day, and the moment one is found to droop, he should be
removed to a distance from the others. In very bad weather, while it is prevalent, the healthy cattle
should be housed, and particularly well fed ; and their pasture should also be changed. The bodies of
those who die of the disease should be buried with their skins on, very deep in the earth, and quick-lime
should be strewed over them.
6254. Phrenxy fever, or inflammation of the brain, called also sough, now and then, but by no means fre-
quently, attacks cattle. The symptoms differ but little from those which attack horses. The treatment
must be exactly similar.
6255. Inflammation of the lungs occasionally occurs in cattle, in which also the symptoms, progress, and
proper treatment, are similar to those detailed under that head in horse pathology.
6256. Inflammation of the stomach sometimes occurs from poisonous matters ; and in such cases, when
the nature of the poison is discovered, the treatment detailed under poison in horse pathology must be
pursued. But there is a species of indigestion, to which cattle are liable in the spring, from eating vora-
ciously of the young sprouts of wood ; to which some Voods are more conducive than others. The
symptoms are heat, thirst, costiveness, lessened urine, quick and hard pulse, with heat and redness in the
mouth and nose ; the belly is hard and painful, and the stools, when they appear, are covered with glair.
"When the mouth and nose discharge-a serous fluid, the animal usually dies.
Book VII.
DISEASES OF HORNED CATTLE.
975
6257. Treatment. Bleed at first, open the bowels by saline purgatives. (5916.) After this give large
quantities of nitrated water, and glister also largely.
6258. The hove or blown in cattle is also an inflammatory affection of the paunch, ending in paralysis and
rupture of its substance. From the frequency of its occurrence, it has become a subject of investigation
with almost every rational grazier, and a particular matter of inquiry with every agricultural body ;
from whence it is now very successfully treated by the usual attendants on cattle, when skilful ; but when
otherwise, it usually proves fatal. It is observed to be more frequent in warm weather, and when the
grass is wet. When either oxen, cows, or sheep, meet with any food they are particularly fond of, or
of which they have been long deprived, as potatoes, turnips, the different grasses, particularly red clover ;
they eat greedily, and forget to lie down to ruminate, by which means the first stomach, or paunch, be-
comes so distended as to be incapable of expelling its contents. From this inflammation follows, and
fermentation begins to take place : a large quantity of air is let loose, which still adds to the distention, till
the stomach either bursts, or, by its pressure on the diaphragm, the animal is suffocated. The situation of
the beast is known by the uneasiness and general swelling of the abdomen : with the circumstances of the
animal being found with such food, or the presumption that it has met with it.
6259. Treatment. There are three modes of relieving the complaint, which may be adverted to accord-
ing to the degree of distention, and length of time it has existed. These are internal medicines ; the in-
troduction of a jyrohang of some kind into the paunch by the throat ; and the puncturing it by the sides.
Dr. Whyatt, of Edinburgh, is said to have cured eighteen out of twenty hoved cows, by giving a pint of
gin to each. Oil, by condensing the air, has been successfully tried. Any other substance, also, that has
a strong power of absorbing air, may be advantageously given. Common salt and water, made strongly
saline, is a usual country remedy. New milk, with a proportion of tar equal to one-sixth of the milk, is
highly spoken of. A strong solution of prepared >mmonia in water often brings off a great quantity of
air, and relieves the animal. Any of these internal remedies may be made use of when the hoven has
recently taken place, and is not in a violent degree. Hut when otherwise, the introduction of an instru-
ment is proper, and is now very generally resorted to. The one princijjally in use is a species of probang,
invented by Dr.'.Monro, of Edinburgh. Another, consisting of a cane of six feet in length, and of consider-
able diameter, having a bulbous knob of wood, has been invented by Eager, which is a more simple
machine, but hardly so efficacious. It is probable that, in cases of emergency, even the larger end of a
common cart-whip, dexterously used, might answer the end. But by far the best instrument for relieving,
hoven cattle, as well as for clystering them, is Read's enema apparatus, which is alike applicable to horses-
cattle, and dogs. It consists of a syringe, {fig. 665. * aMo which tubes of different kinds are applied, accord •
66o
ing to the purpose, and the kind of animal to be operated upon. There is a long flexible tube or giving
an enema to horses and cattle, (a), and a smaller one for dogs {b). To relieve hoven bullocks effectually,
it is necessary not only to free the stomach from an accumulation of gas, but from the fermenting pulta-
ceous mixture which generates it ; for this purpose a tube (/) is applied to the extremity of the syringe,
and then passed into the animal's stomach through the mouth (d), and being put in action, the offending
matter is discharged by a side opening. When the same operation is performed on sheep, a smaller tube
\e), is made'use of. The characteristic excellency of Read's instrument is, that there is no limit to the
quantity of fluid that may not be injected or extracted. The same syringe is used for extracting poison
Som the stomach of man, for smoking insects, extinguishing fires, and syringing fruit trees. {Encyc. of
Gard. 1419.) The introduction of any of these instruments may be effected by the help of an assistant,
who should hold the horn of the animal by one hand, and the dividing cartilage of the nose with the
other ; while the operator himself, taking the tongue in his left hand, employs his right ui skilfully and
carefully introducing the instrument ; the assistant bringing the head and neck into such an attitude as
to make the passage nearly straight, which will greatly facilitate the operation. But when no instruments
can be procured, or as cases may occur when indeed it is not advisable to try them, as when the disease has
existed a considerable time, or the animal has become outrageous, or the stomach so much distended
with air, that there is danger of immediate suttbcation or bursting ; in these instances the puncture of
the maw must be instantly performed, which is cMeA paunching. This may be done with the greatest
ease,' midway between the ilium, or haunch-bone, and the last rib of the left side, to which the paunch
inclines : a sharp penknife is frequently used ; and persons in veterinary practice should always keep a
long trochar, which will be found much the most efficacious, and by far the most safe, as it permits the
air escaping certainly and quickly, at the same time that it prevents its entrance into the cavity of the
abdomen, which would occasion an equal distention. As soon as the air is perfectly evacuated, and the
pauuch resumes its office, the trochar may be removed ; and, in whatever way it is done, the wound
* 3 Q 8
976 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
should be carefully closed with sticking plaster or other adhesive matter. It is necessary to observe, that
this operation is so safe, that whenever a medical assistant cannot be obtained, no person should hesitate
a moment about doing it himself. After relief has been afForded by means of either the probang or the
paunching, a stimulant drink may yet be very properly given, such as half a pint of common gin ; or one ounce
of spirit of hartshorn in a pint of ale, or two ounces of spirit of turpentine in ale, may any of them be
used as an assistant stimulus. When also the cud is again chewed, still some relaxation of the digestive
organs may remain ; at first, therefore, feed sparingly, and give, for a few mornings, a tonic. (5882. No. 1.)
6260. Inflammation of the bowels, or red colic, is by no means unknown in cattle pathology ; the
symptoms of which do not differ from those common to' the horse, and the treatment also is in every
respect the same. (5797.)
6261. Inflammation of the liver, or hot yellows, sometimes occurs, in which case, in addition to the
symptoms detailed under hepatitis in the horse (5810.), there is, from the presence of systic bile in the o.\,
a more determined yellowness of the eyelids, mouth, and nostrils ; the treatment must be similar. (5810.)
6262. Inflammation of the kidnies, called red water by the cow-leeches, is not uncommon among cattle,
and is, perhaps, dependent on the lobulated form of these parts in them. The animal, to the other symp-
toms of fever, adds stiffness behind, and often straddles, but always shrinks on being pinched across the
loins, where frequently increased heat is felt ; the urine is sometimes scanty, and now and then increased
in quantity, but it is always first red, then purple, and afterwards brown or black, when a fatal termina-
tion may be prognosticated. The treatment has been fully detailed under nephritis, in the horse patho-
logy (5812.), and which consists in plentiful bleedings, &c., but carefully abstaining from the use of
diuretics, as advised by ignorant cow-leeches.
6263. The black water is only the aggravated and latter stages of the above.
6264. Inflammation of the bladder also now and then occurs, and in no wise differs from the cystitis of
the horse in consequences and treatment. (5814.)
6265. The colics of cattle a.v\se from different causes: they are subject to a spasmodic colic, not unlike
that of horses, and which is removed by the same means. (5805.) Costiveness also brings on a colic iu
them, called clue bound, fardel bound, ,&c. which often ends in the red colic, unless early removed ;
the treatment of this we have fully detailed. (5807.) Another colic is accompanied with relaxation of
bowels.
6266. Diarrhoea, scouring, or scouring cow, is common in cattle, and is brought on by exposure to rain,
improper change of food, over-driving, and other violences. It is essentially necessary that the animals be
taken under cover, kept warm, and dry, and have nutritious food allowed them. The medical treatment
.has been detailed. (5804.)
6267. Dysentery, or braxy, bloody ray, and slimy flax, differs from simple scouring, in a greater degree
of fever attending it, and in its being an inflammation of a particular kind, and part of the intestines. It
is frequently dependent on la vitiated putrid state of the bile, brought on by over-driving in hot weather,
low damp pastures in autumn, &c. The discharge is characterised by its bad smell, and by the
mucous stringy patches in it, and also by its heat and smoking when voided : all which are very different
from the mere discharge of the aliments in a state of solution in diarrhoea, and which differences should
be carefully marked, to distinguish the one from the other : treat a.% under dysentery in the horse. (5801.)
6268. Yellows. When active fever is not present, and yet cattle are very dull, with great yellowness of
eyelids, nostrils, &c., it arises from some biliary obstruction, to which oxen and cows are more liable thaa
horses, from their being furnished with a gall bladder; it is a more common complaint in some of the
cold provinces on the continent, where they are housed and stall fed all the year round, than it is in
England. The treatmeiit is the same as detailed for chronic inflammation of the liver in horses, (5811.)
adding in every instance to it, a change of pasturage, and if convenient, into salt marshes, which will alone
often effect a cure.
6269. Loss of the cud. This enters the list of most cow-leeches' diseases, but is less a disease than a
symptom of some other affection ; indeed it is evident that any attack sufficient to destroy the appetite,
will generally occasion the loss of the cud. It is possible, however, that an occasional local affection, or
paralysis of the paunch may occur, particularly when it is distended with unhealthy substances, as acorns,
crabs, the tops of some of the woody shrubs, &c. The treatment, in such cases, consists in stimulating
the stomach by tonics, as aloes, pepper, and gin mixed : though these, as liquids, may not enter the
stomach in common cases, yet in this disease or impaired action of the rumen, they will readily enter there.
6270. Staggers, daisey, or turning, are sometimes the consequences of over-feeding, particularly when
from low keeping cattle are suddenly moved to better pasturage. Treat with bleeding and purging.
6271. Tetanus, or locked jaw, now and then attacks cattle, in which case it presents the same appearances
and requires the same treatment as in horses. (5763.)
6272. Cattle surgery is in no respect different from that in practice among horses, the wounds are treated
in the same manner. Goring witn the horns will sometimes penetrate the cavity of the belly, and let out
the intestines : the treatment of which is the same as in the horse. (5808.) Strains, bruises, &c. are also
to be treated like those of horses.
6273. Foul in the foot. This occasionally comes on of itself, but is more often the effect of accident :
cleanse it well, and keep it from dirt : — apply the foot paste. (5918.)
6274. JVorniils, or puckeridge, are tumors on the backs of cattle, occasioned by a dipterous insect which
punctures their skin, and deposits its eggs in each puncture, but which is erroneously attributed to the
fearn owl or goat-sucker {Caprimulgus europeus, L.). When the eggs are hatched, and the larva or
maggots are arrived at their full size, they make their way out, and leave a large hole in the hide, to
prevent which the destruction of the egg should be attempted by nipping the tumor, or thrusting in a
hot wire.
6275. Cattle obstetrics are not very varied ; young cow^s of very full habits have sometimes a superabun-
dant secretion of milk before calving, which produces fever and heat ; sometimes, from cold taken ; the
same will occur after calving also : in either case, give mild dry food, or hay, bathe the udder also with
vinegar and watw : in some cases, warm fomentations do best. If the fever run high, treat as under
fever in horse pathology.
6276. The process of calving is usually performedlwithout'difficulty ; sometimes, however, cross presenta-
tions take place, and sometimes a constriction of parts prevents the natural passage of the calf. To act
properly on these occasions, great patience is required, and much mildness : many cows have been lost by
brutal pulling ; we have seen all the men and boys of the farm mustered to pull at a rope affixed about a
calf, partly protruded, which, when it was thus brought away, was forced to be killed, and the mother
soon died also from the protrusion of parts this brutal force brought with the calf. A steady moderate pull,
during the throes of the animal, will assist much ; having first directed the attention to the situation of
the calf, that the presentation is such as not to obstruct its progress ; if it does, the calf must be forced
back, and turned or placed aright.
6277. Whethering, or retention of the after-birth or burden. — It sometimes happens that this is retained ;
for which no better remedy has been hitherto discovered than warm clothing and drenching with ale,
administered as a forcer.
6278. The diseases of calves are principally confined to a species oi convulsions which now and then
attacks them, and which sometimes arises from worms, and at others from cold. When the first cause
operates, it is then relieved by giving a mild aloetic purge, or in default of that, a mild dose of oil of tur-
pentine, as half an ounce, night and morning. In the second, wrap up the animal warm, and drench with
ale and laudanum a drachm. Calves are also very subject to diarrhoea or scouring, which will readily yield
to the usual medicines. .(5383.)-
Book VII. THE DAIRY. 977
Sect. II. Of the Bufalo. — Bos bubulns,L. Bvffle, Fr.; Buffalo, Span.; Biiffilochs,
Ger. ; and Bvjle, Ital.
6279. The buffalo is found wild in India, America, and various parts of the globe,
and is in some degree domesticated in many countries. He is gregarious, docile, alert,
and of surprising strength; his carcase affords excellent beef; and the horns, which are
jet black, and of a solid consistence, take a polish of wonderful beauty : they can be con-
verted into fabrics of use and ornament, such as mugs, tumblers, knife-handles, &c. In
this way they sometimes apply them ; and when ornaments of silver or mother-of-pearl
are employed, the contrast with the polished black of the horft is agreeably striking. The
boss on the shoulders is, as well as the tongue, extremely rich an(l delicious, and superior to
the best English beef. It is usual to cure the tongues for sale. The buffalo far surpasses
the OK in strength. Judging from the extraordinary size of his bones, and the depth
and formation of his chest, some consider him twice as strong as the ox, and, as an animal
of labor, he is generally preferred in Italy. In this country the ingenious physiologist,
Hunter, has caused buffaloes to be trained to work in a cart; at first they were restive,
and would even lie down ; but afterwards they became steady, and so tractable, that they
were driven through the strt:t«' of London in the loaded cart as quietly and steadily as
in Italy or India.
6280. The buffalo is kept in several gentlemen' sparks as an object of luxury, and has
been trained and worked by Lords Sheffield, Egremont, and some other amateur agri-
culturists. Many prefer his flesh, and some his milk, to that of the bull family.
6281. The breeding, rearing, and general treatment of the buffalo may be the same as
those of the bull family.
^ Chap. V.
Of the Dairy and its Management.
6282. The manufacture of butter and cheese is of necessity carried on where the milk
or raw material is at hand. The subject therefore forms a part of farm management,
more or less on every farm ; and the principal one in dairy farms. In most of those
counties where the profit of the cow arises chiefly from the subsequent manufacture of the
milk, the whole care and management of the article rests with the housewife, so that the
farmer has little else to do but to superintend the depasturing of his cattle ; the milking,
churning, and in short, the whole internal regulation of the dairy, together with the care
of marketing the butter, where the same is made up wholly for home-consumption, fall-
ing alone upon the wife. In this department of rural economy, so large a portion of
skill, of frugality, cleanliness, industry, and good management, is required in the wife,
that without them the farmer may be materially injured. This observation will indeed
hold good in many other parts of business which pass through the hands of the mistress
in a farmhouse ; but there is none wherein he may be so greatly assisted, or so mate-
rially injured, by the good conduct or want of cgre in his wife, as in the dairy.
6283. The operations of the dairy in all its branches, are still conducted, perhaps more
empirically than those of any other department of husbandry, though it would appear that
science, chemistry in particular, might be applied to discover the principles, and regulate
the practice of the art, with facility and precision. We have heard it admitted, an emi-
nent author observes, even by experienced dairymen, that the quality of their cheeses dif-
fers materially in the same season, and without being able to assign a reason. Every
one knows how different the cheese of Gloucester is from that of Cheshire, though both
are made from fresh milk, the produce of cows of the same breed, or rather, in both
counties, of almost every breed, and fed on pastures that do not exhibit any remarkable
difference in soil, climate, or herbage. Even in the same district, some of what must
appear the most important points are far from being settled in practice. Marshal, in his
Rural Economy of Gloucestershire, has registered a number of observations on the heat
of the dairy-room, and of the milk when the rennet was applied in cheese-makin"- j on
the time required for coagulation ; and the heat of the whey after ; which are curious, only
because they prove that no uniform rule is observed in any of these particulars. The
same discrepancy is observable in all the subsequent operations till the cheese is removed
from the press, and even afterwards in the drying room. One would think the process
of salting the cheeses the most simple of all ; and yet it is sometimes, as in the west of
Scotland, mixed with the curd; in other instances poured into the milk, in a liquid
state, before being coagulated ; and still more commonly, never applied at all till the
cheeses are formed in the press, and then only externally. In treating of the dairy we shall
first offer a few remarks on the nature of milk, and the properties of that of different ani-
mals ; and next consider the dairy house and its furniture, milking, churning, cheese-
making, and the different kinds of cheese, butters, creams, and other products of the dairj'.
3 R
978 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE Part III.
Sect. I. Of the Chemical Princijiles of Milk, and the Properties of the Milk of different
Animals.
6284. The milk used by the human species is obtained from various animals, but chiefly
the cow, ass, ewe, goat, mare, and camel ; that in most general use in British dairying is
the milk of the cow, which in modern times has received great improvement in quantity as
well as quality, by ameliorations in the form of milch cows, in their mode of nourishment,
and in the management of the dairy. Whatever be the kind of animal from which milk
is taken, its external character is that of a white opaque fluid, having a sweetish taste, and
a specific gravity somewhat greater than that of water. Newly taken from the animal,
and allowed to remain at rest, it separates into two parts ; a thick white fluid called cream,
which collects on the surface in a thin stratum ; and a more dense watery body, which re-
mains below. The quantity and quality of cream, and the time it requires to separate
from the milk, vary according to the nature of the milk and the temperature of the at-
mosphere. Milk which has stood some time after the separation of the cream first be-
comes acescent, and then coagulates. When the coagulum is pressed gently, a serous
fluid is forced out, and the remainder is the caseous part of milk, or pure cheese.
6285. Butter, or solidified cream, one of the most valuable products of milk, is obtained
artificially by churning ; an operation analogous in its effects to shaking or beating, by
which the cream separates from the caseous part and serum, in a more solid form than
when left to separate spontaneously. It is afterwards rendered still more solid by beat-
ing with a wooden spatula.
6286. Cheese is obtained by first coagulating the milk, either with, or deprived of, its
cream, and then expressing the serum or whey ; the consolidated curd so produced forms
cheese. The milk may be coagulated in various ways, but that effect is chiefly produced
by the use of rennet, which is prepared by digesting the coat of young ruminating
animals, especially that of the calf. The rennet is poured into the milk when newly
brought from the cow, or the milk is warmed to 90° or 100<^ for that purpose. The
richness of cheese depends on the quantity of cream which the milk may have con-
tained ; its quality of keeping to the quantity of salt added ; and the degree of pressure
used to exclude the whey.
6287. Whey expressed from coagulated milk, if boiled, and the whole curd precipi-
tated, becomes transparent and colorless. By slow evaporation it deposits crystals of
sugar, with some muriate of potash, muriate of soda, and phosphate of lime. The
liquid which remains after the separation of the salts, is converted by cooling into a
gelatinous substance. If whey be kept it becomes sour, by the formation of an acid,
which is called the lactic acid ; and it is to this that the spontaneous coagulation of milk
after it remains at rest is owing. Milk may after it is sour be fermented, and it will
yield a vinous intoxicating liquor. This is practised by the inhabitants of the most
northerly islands of Europe, with butter-milk, and by the Tartars with the milk of the
mare. Milk is likewise susceptible of the acetous fermentation.
6288. Tfie constituent parts of milk are found to be oil, curd, gelatine, sugar of milk, muriate of soda,
muriate of potash, phosphate of lime and sulphur. These substances enter into the milk of all animals,
but the proportions vary in different species. The various milks in use as food are thus distinguished.
6289. Coxus milk produces a copious, thick, and yellow cream, from which a compact
consistent butter is formed ; the curd is bulky, and retains much serum, which has a
greenish hue, a sweet taste, and contains sugar of milk, and neutral salts. The milk of
the buffalo is essentially the same as that of the cow.
6290. Ass^s milk throws up a cream resembling that of woman's milk ; the butter
Hiade from it is white, soft, and disposed to be rancid ; the curd is similar to that of the
woman, but not unctuous ; the whey is colorless, and contains less salts, and more sugar^
than that of the cow.
6291. Ewe's milk throws up as much cream as that of the cow, and of nearly the
same color ; the butter made from it is yellow and soft ; the curd is fat and viscid ; the
whey is colorless, and contains the smallest quantity of sugar of any milk, and but a
small portion of muriate and phosphate of lime.
6292. Goafs milk produces abundance of cream, which is thicker and whiter than
that from the cow ; the butter is white and soft, and equally copious, and so is the curd,
which is of a firmer consistence than that of the cow, and retains less whey.
6293. Mare's milk produces a very fluid cream, similar in color and consistence to
good cow's milk before the cream appears on the surface ; the butter made from it has
but little consistence, and is readily decomposed. The curd is similar to that obtained
from woman's milk, and the whey has little color, and contains a large proportion of
saccharine matter, and of saline substances.
6294. Camel's milk throws up little cream, which is whitish and thin, and affords an
insipid whitish butter ; the curd is small in quantity, and contains but little whey, which
is colorless and somewhat saccharine.
Book VII.
DAIRY-HOUSE AND FURNITURE.
979
6295. In the use of these milks, that of the camel is chiefly confined to Africa and
China, and that of the mare to Tartary and Siberia. In India the milk of the buffalo
is preferred by the natives to that of the domestic cow. The milk of the goat is more
generally used in Italy and Spain, than in any other countries in Europe ; they are
driven into Leghorn, Florence, Madrid, and other tow^ns, in flocks early in the morning,
and milked in the streets. The goat will allow herself to be sucked by the young of
various other animals, and a foal which has lost its mother, has been suckled by a goat,
placed on a barrel to facilitate the operation. As the butter of goat's milk contains a
larger proportion of gelatine, and less oil than that of the cow, it is recommended by
physicians as nearly equally light as ass's milk ; it is the most prolific of all in curd,
and forms excellent cheese ; but it is an error to suppose that the parmesan (a skim-milk
cheese) is made from it. Ewe's milk is gradually wearing out of use, though it makes
excellent cheese, and some milking ewes as well as goats might be kept for that purpose,
by those who have extensive upland grass-lands. The milk of the ass comes the nearest
to that of the woman, and being the lightest of any is much recommended in pulmonary
and hepatic affections. Soda water and warm cow's milk is taken as a substitute, and
found almost equally 'light. The milk in universal use as an article of food in
Britain is that of the cow.
6296. iac/omefers for ascertaining the value of milk, relatively to butter and cheese,
will be described among the utensils of the dairy in the succeeding section.
Sect. II. Of the Dairy House, its Furniture, and Utensils.
6297. The properties requisite in a good milk-house are, that it be cool in summer and
moderately warm in winter, so as to preserve a temperature nearly the s ime throughout
the whole year, or about 45 degrees ; and that it be dry, so as to admit of bein^ kept
clean and sweet at all times. For these reasons a northern exposure is the best, and this
as much under the shade of trees or buildings as possible; if it can be so situated that
the sun can have no influence either on the roof or walls, so much the better. A well-
constructed butter-dairy should consist of three apartments ; a milk-house, a churning-
house, with proper boiler, as well as other conveniences for scalding and washing the
implements, and a room for keeping them in, and for drying and airing them, when the
weather will not permit of its being done without doors. The cheese-dairy should
likewise consist of three apartments ; a milk-house, a scalding and pressing-house, and
a salting-house. To these should be added a cheese-room or loft, which may with great
propriety be made above the dairy. This is, however, generally separate from the dairy.
But a milk-dairy requires only a good milk-house, and a room for scalding, cleaning, and
airing the utensils.
6298. A dairy for the private use of any farmer or family need not be large, and may
very economically be formed in a thick walled dry cellar, so situated as to have windows
on two sides, the north and east in preference, for ventilation ; and in order that these
windows may the better exclude cold in winter, and heat in summer, they should be fitted
with double sashes, and on the outside of the outer sash should be a fixed frame of close
wire netting or hair cloth to exclude flies and other insects.
6299. Of dairies for dairy farmers, there are different sizes and shapes.
6300. A dairy-house connected ivith a cow-house, and mill for preparing food for the
cows, churning, and washing the family linen, is thus arranged, {fig. 635.) The dairy
jnuFkt
(a, b, c, d), is at the north end, has hollow walls, douJ)le doors, double sashed windows
and an ice-house under. The milk room (rt), is surrounded by milk coolers, and has a
butter slab and jet in the centre. The jet is supplied from a cistern over th? steaming,
3 R 2
980
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
and a cylinder of open
656 ..-■ --.,.
house (/, g), to which the water is raised from a well by a forcing pump worked by the
gin wheel. Besides supplying the jet, it furnishes, by cocks and pipes, water for the
usual dairy purposes, the steaming or boiling of food for the cows, their drink, and
washing out the cow-house, the washing machine, &c. The churning room (6), is se-
parated from the milk-room by double doors, as is the latter from the cheese-room (c)
and store closet [d). The gin wheel (e) is worked by one or two horses, or oxen or
asses, according to the work to be done. The steaming and washing room [f, g) is a
large roomy apartment properly fitted up, and furnished with two boilers, a machine for
steaming cattle food, another for washing linen by steam; one impelled by the gin
wheel operating on an axle with beaters or lifters {jig. 656.)
spars, which turns round in a box of water for washing
potatoes or other roots. The cow-house (h h) is calcu-
lated for forty cows to be fed from a broad passage in the
centre. At the south end is a large apartment {i) open
to the roof for hay, straw, green herbage for soiling,
turnips and other food ; and under it is an urinarium
vaulted, and from which the liquid is drawn by a Bu-
channan pump (4154.) outside of the building, and some
yards distant.
6301. The dairy-house recommended by 7)r. Anderson, is sur- "'' '
rounded by double walls, the inner of brick or stone, nine inches or a foot in thickness; and the outer
about two feet distance, built of stone or turf; or a bank of earth faced with turf may be placed against
the inner walls.
63()2. The size of the dairy-house should vary according to that of the number of cows. Marshal found
in Gloucestershire one for forty cows to be twenty feet by sixteen, and one for one hundred, thirty by
forty. The North-Wiltshire dairy-rooms have in general, he says, outer doors, frequently opening under
a pent-house or open lean-to shed ; which is a good conveniency, affording shade and shelter, and giving
a degree of coolness to the dairy- room. In one instance he observed two doors : a common close-boarded
door on the inside, and an open-paled gate-like door on the outside ; giving a free admission of air in close
warm weather, and, at the same time, being a guard against dogs and poultry. A conveniency which,
he thinksjwould be an improvement to any dairy-room in the summer season. The inside wall may be
seven or eight feet high in the sides, on which may be placed the couples to support the roof, and the walls
at the gables carried up to the height of the coiiples. Upon these should be laid a roof of reeds, or thatch,
that should not be less than three feet in thickness, which should be produced downward till it covers the
whole of the walls on each side to the ground : but here, if thatch or reeds be not in such plenty as could
be wished, there is no occasion for laying it quite so thick. In the roof, exactly above the middle of the
building, should be placed a wooden pipe of a sulficient length to rise a foot above the roof, to serve occa-
sionally as a ventilator. The top of this funnel should be covered, to prevent rain from getting through
it, and a valve fitted to it, that by means of a string could be opened or shut at pleasure. A window also
should l>e made upon one side for giving light, to be closed by means of two glazed frames, one on the out-
side, and the other on the inside. The use of this double sash, as well as the great thickness of the wall,
and of the thatch upon the roof, are to render the temperature of this apartment as equal as possible
at all seasons of the year, by effectually cutting it off from having any direct communication with the
external air.
6303. The dairy-house made use of by WaJceJieid of Liverpool, contains three apart-
ments ; a milk-house, churning-room, and room for the utensils. In the milk-house,
were the coolers ; a slab for laying butter on after it is made up ; cocks for drawing off
the milk from the coolers ; a large cock to throw water on the floor, which slopes a little
from that part ; cocks at the back part of the coolers, for letting in water ; a door, lat-
ticed, and another door most commonly used, but pannelled. In the churning-room is
a fire-place, a boiler, a large copper, also used when brewing. The room for drying or
airing the utensils is also used occasionally as a laundry. Over the whole are apart-
ments for the servants.
6304. A very neat dairy for a private family may be made under the shade of two or
three tall trees, in the following manner : — Build the walls of bricks, and hollow in Silver-
lock's manner, by which every course of brick-work is laid on edge, and forms oblong
cavities (^g. 657 o), the bricks of the one course
being laid alternately lengthways (b), and cross
ways (c), and those of the next breaking joint with
these, by the cross ones being placed on the middle
of the long ones (rf). The elevation of such a
wall {e,f g) should of course be founded on solid
work, of breadth and thickness according to the
height of the wall, and nature of the foundations.
The plan of a dairy with such walls should contain
the three usual apartments for milk, churning, and
utensils [h), and should have double doors and win-
The elevation (t), may be of any style of simple
architecture.
6305- Js a complete dairy on a large scale, we submit the following. The plan
{fS' ^^^' )? is of an oblong form, and consists of the three usual principal apartments,
enclosed by walls of four inches in thickness, and surrounded by a passage two feet
657
O
deb d
dows : the latter guarded by flywire.
Book VII.
DAIRY-HOUSE AND FURNITURE.
981
wide to the north, and three feet to the south, which is again surrounded by a nine inch
wall. Tlie passages communicate with the roof by covered openings, in the ridge of
658
which and by thel windows, ventilation is completely effected. In detail, the plan
exhibits two principal entrance porches (n), back entrance (b), copper for heating
water (c), churning-room (d), milk-room (e), utensils and cheese-press (/), boiler for
heating milk (g), store closet or butter-room (h), cheese-room u), passage surrounding
the whole (k), water closet (l), and windows to cheese-room (m).
6306. A section (Jig.659.)taken across the milk-
room {Jig.658 n n) exhibits the ventilating funnel
in the roof (a), projecting eaves (6, c), cheese-room
(dj, passage on the north side (e), raised part of
the roof for ventilation (f, g), fountain in the
centre of the dairy i/i), and south passage {i).
6307. The elevation {fg. 660.), presents a sim-
ple shed roof, varied, however, by projections and
recesses : it presents no windows or doors to the
south, and, therefore that side, if other circumstances permit, may be covered with vines
or other fruit-trees, or with ornamental creepers.
6308. Thejixtures of the dairy are, in the scalding room, a copper boiler fixed over a
fire-place, for boiling water to wash and scald the utensils; next, some benches and
shelves in this room and the cheese-room ; and a bench or table not more than two feet
wide surrounding the milk-room. It is very desirable, also, that there should be
a jet, or fountain, or pump, or spring, in the centre of the milk-room, in order to
cool down the air in summer, and to supply clear water at a moderate temperature at all
times,
6309. The utensils of the dairy are, pails for milking into ; sieves of hair cloth, or
silver- wire cloth for passing the milk through, to free it from hairs and other impurities ;
milk dishes, or coolers, for holding the milk till it throws up its cream ; a cream-.knife of
ivory, for separating, and skimming dishes of willow or ivory for removing the cream ;
bowls and barrels for holding it, or other preparations of milk-churns, butter-makers,
butter-prints ; one or more tubs for hot or cold water, in which to immerse vessels that
require extraordinary purification ; and a portable rack for drying dishes in the open air.
All these utensils are requisite where butter only is to be produced.
6310. The utensils requisite, if cheese is to be viade, are, the cheese-tub, in which the
curd is broken, and prepared for being made into cheese ; the cheese-knife, generally a
thin spatula of wood, but sometimes of iron, used for the purpose of cutting or breaking
down the curd while in the cheese-tub. Tlie cheese-cloth is a piece of thin gauze, like
linen cloth, in which the cheese is placed in the press ; the cheese-board is circular, and
on it the cheeses are placed on the shelves of the cheese-room ; their diameter must be
somewhat less than that of the interior or hoop part of the vat. The vat is a strong
kind of wooden hoop with a bottom, which, as well as the sides, is perforated with holes
3 R 3
982
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
to allow the whey to escape while the cheese is pressing : the size of vats must depend
on that of the cheese and the number required, as of most of the other implements
on the extent of the dairy. The cheese-press
{Jig' 661.), is a power generally obtained by
a screw, though sometimes by a dead weight, and
is used for forcing the whey from the curd while
in the vat. The cheese-tongs is a wooden
frame, occasionally placed on the cheese- tub,
when the vat is set on it in order to drain the
"whey from the curd. To these implements some
662 add a lactometer, one kind of which {Jig.
662.), is a glass tube a foot long, with a
funnel at top. The upper two inches
of the tube are marked in small divi-
sions, and when t' e instrument is filled
to the height of one foot with milk, the
depth of cream it yields is noted by the
gradations on the upper part. Another
lactometer " for ascertaining the rich-
ness of milk from its specific gravity,
by its degree of warmth taken by a
thermometer, on comparing its specific
gravity with its warmth," was invented by Dicas,
of Liverpool, but never came into use. xVno-
ther invention for the same purpose was made by
Mrs. Lovi, of Edinburgh, in 1816. It consists
of aereometric beads, l)y which the specific gravity
of the milk is tried first when new-milked, and
next when the cream is removed. When milk is tried as soon as it cools, say to 60°,
and again, after it has been thoroughly skimmed, it will be found that the skimmed milk
is of considerably greater gravity ; and as this increase depends upon the separation of
the lighter cream, the amount of the increase, or the difference between the specific gra-
vity of the fresh and skimmed milk, will bear proportion to, and may be employed as a
iTieasure of, the relative quantities of the oily matter or butter contained in diflerent
milks. The specific gravity of skimmed milk depends both on the quantity of the sac-
charo-saline matters, and of the curd. To estimate the relative quantities of curd, and
by that determine the value of milk for the purpose of yielding cheese, it is only re-
quired to curdle the skim-milk, and ascertain the specific gravity of the whey, The
whey will, of course, be found of lower specific gravity than the skimmed milk, and the
number of degrees of difference affords a measure of the relative quantities of the curd.
According to this hypothesis, the aereometric beads may be employed to ascertain the
qualities of milk, relatively both to the manufacture of butter and cheese. [Trans, of
the High. Soc. sect. v. part i.)
6311. In milk coolers and churns there is considerable variation of form. Milk cool-
ers are generally made of earthern ware or wood ; but of late years they have been formed
of lead, marble, slate, and cast iron. Their general form is round, and diameter from
one to two feet ; but in extensive dairies they are often made several feet or yards in length,
and from two to three feet wide, with holes at one or more corners to admit the escape of
the milk after the cream is removed. The safest dish is wood, though it requires most
labor to keep it sweet ; next is earthen ware or china, though on the leaden glaze of tlie
former, the acid of the milk is apt to operate. Leaden dishes or troughs, though very
general in Cheshire, are the most dangerous ; and the objection to slate coolers is the
joinings of the plates, which are always unsightly, imperfect, and liable to be operated on
by the lactic acid. The annealed and tinned cast iron dishes of Baird's invention (in
1806), and which are now becoming universal in Scotland, are perhaps the best for such
as do not chose to go to the expense of China dishes. They are durable from the nature
of the material, not liable to be broken by falls from being annealed, easily kept clean from
being turned smooth, and also very economical, and said to throw up more cream from a
given quantity of milk than any other.
6312. With respect to churns, besides the common phmge and barrel churns, there
are various improved sorts. One of the best for using on a small scale is the patent box
churn {Jig. 66S.) ; and on a large scale the plunge churn, worked by levers put in motion
either by a man or horse. The Derbyshire churn {Jig. 664.)^ which works on the prin-
ciple of the barrel churn, is an excellent implement on a large scale. The bottom is a
segment of a circle, and the advantage of the plan is, that when the butter is made,
the lid («) being removed the beaters {b) may be taken out at pleasure by with-
Book VII.
MILKING.
983
drawing the spindle (c) to admit the removal of the butter or the cleaning and scalding of
the churn.
663
664:
63 13. Tlie Lancashire plunge chum, (Jig- 665.)
is a simple and effective implement, worked by the
operator standing on the levers (a, b) throwing
his whole weight alternately on each, so as by
means of the line (c, d) connected with the churn
1 statF to raise it and turn it round, and lower it and
turn it round alternately.
^-^ 6314. The /nost exquisite cleanliness in the dairi/y
is an essential requisite, as to the walls, floor, shelves,
benches, and in the different utensils. The milk
coolers and all the dishes in which milk is put, as
well as the churn, must be scalded, scrubbed,
rinsed and dried every time they are used. Scald-
ing is less frequently requisite in the cheese
utensils, but they also must be almost daily washed
in hot water, dried, and aired. When any
vessel becomes tainted with the acidity of milk,
it operates like leaven, on what is put into it;
if this taint cannot be removed by ordinary
scalding, it may by boiling or immersing in water
impregnated with alkali ; but afterwards it must
be well boiled ; or a day or two immersed in
pure water.
Sect III. 0/ Milking and the general Management of Milk*
6315. The times of milking vary greatly in different districts. In most places cows
are milked twice in twenty-four hours throughout the year ; but in the best managed
dairies where they are abundantly fed, they are milked at morning, noon, and the approach
of night ; the additional quantity thus obtained is very considerable^ but according to the
experiments of Parmentier it must be inferior in quality ; for he found twelve hours re-
quisite for the due preparation of tlie milk in the cow. Where quantity of milk or cheese
is an object, three times milking must be decidedly preferable ; but it is certain that in
the best butter districts of England the cows are only drawn twice a day, between five and
six o'clock morning and evening. Whatever may be the times of milking, it is essen-
tial that the milk be drawn off clear ; for if the milk which the cow can be made to yield
at the time be not completely taken away, the quantity left will be reabsorbed into the
system, and no more will be generated than is necessary to supply the quantity actually
drawn off.
6316. The operation of milking is performed by men in many districts, but taking
Britain generally it is more commonly the work of women. The milker, whether a
man or woman, ought to be mild in manners and good tempered. If the operation be
performed harshly, it becomes painful to the cow, who in this case often brings
into action her faculty of retaining her milk at pleasure ; but if gently performed,
it seems rather to give pleasure, as is exemplified on a large scale in Tiviot-
dale, and Switzerland, where the cows come to be milked at the call of the milkers.
Many instances have occurred. Dr. Anderson observes, in which cows would not let
down a single drop of milk to one dairy-maid, which let it flow in abundance whenever
another approached them ; exhibiting unequivocal marks of satisfaction in the one case,
and of sullen obstinacy in the other. For the same reason, when cows are ticklish, they
should be treated with the most soothing gentleness, and never with harshness or severity ;
and, when the udder is hard and painful, it should be tenderly fomented with luke-warra
water, and stroked gently, by which simple expedient the cow will be brought into
3R 4
984 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
good temper, and will yield her milk without restraint. Lastly, as it sometimes happens
that the teats of cows become scratched or wounded, so as to produce foul or corrupted
milk, whenever this is the case, such milk ought on no account to be mixed with the sweet
milk, but should be given to the pigs, without being carried into the milk-house ; lest,
by continuing there, it should taint the atmosphere, and consequently prove injurious to
the rest of the milk.
6317. To promote cleanliness in regard to milking, cows are in some places curried,
combed, brushed, and clothed like horses; before milking, their udders and teats are washed
and dried, and their tails trussed up. It would be well if a part of this refinement were
adopted in all dairies ; that of using the comb and brush, and washing the udder, is in-
dispensable in every establishment where clean milk is an object. According to Moubray
snuff-takers, sluts, and dandles, are unfit to be dairy-women, and no milker should ever
be suffered to enter the dairy in a dirty apron covered with hairs from the cow-house.
6318. The following aphorisms respecting the management of milk in the dairy are from
the *• Recreations" of Dr. Anderson, one of the most scientific writers on this subject.
1. Of the milk drawn from any cow at one time, that part which comes off at the first is always thin-
ner, and of a much worse quality for making butter, than that afterwards obtained; and this richness
continues to increase progressively to the very last drop that can be drawn from the udder.
2. If milk be put into a dish, and allowed to stand till it throws up cream, the portion of cream rising
first to the surface is richer in quality, and greater in quantity, than that which rises in a second equal
space of time : and the cream, which rises in the second interval of time, is greater in quantity, and richer
in quality, than that which rises in a third equal space of time ; that of the third is greater than that of the
fourth, and so of the rest; the cream that rises continuing progressively to decrease in quantity, and to
decline in quality, so long as any rises to the surface.
3. Thick milk always throws up a much smaller proportion of the cream which it actually
contains, than milk that is thinner ; but the cream is of a richer quality : and if water be added to that
thick milk, it will afford a considerably greater quantity of cream, and consequently more butter than it
would have done if allowed to remain pure ; but its quality is, at the same time, greatly debased.
4. Milk, which is put into a bucket or other proper vessel, and carried in it to a considerable distance,
so as to be much agitated, and in part cooled before it be put into the milk-pans to settle for cream, never
throws up so much, or so rich cream, as if the same milk had been put into the milk-pans directly after it
was milked.
6319. From these fundamental facts, the reflecting dairyist will derive many im-
portant practical rules. Some of these we shall enumerate, and leave the rest to be
discovered. Cows should be milked as near the dairy as possible, in order to prevent the
necessity of carrying and cooling the milk before it is put into the creaming dishes.
Every cow's milk should be kept separate till the peculiar properties of each is so well
known as to admit of their being classed, when those that are most nearly allied may be
mixed together. When it is intended to make butter of a very fine quality, reject en-
tirely the milk of all those cows which yield cream of a bad quality, and also keep the
milk that is first drawn from the cow at each milking entirely separate from that which is
last obtained, as the quality of the butter must otherwise be greatly debased, without
materially augmenting its quantity. For the same purpose take only the cream that is
first separated from the first drawn milk. Butter of the very best quality can only be
economically made in those dairies where cheese is also made ; because in them, the best
part of each cow's milk can be set apart for throwing up cream, the best part of this
cream can be taken in order to be made into butter, and the remainder, or all the rest of
the milk and cream of the dairy, can be turned into cheese. The spontaneous separation
of cream, and the production of butter, are never effected but in consequence of the pro-
duction of acid in the milk. Hence it is that where the whole milk is set apart for the
separation of cream, and the whole of the cream is separated, the milk must necessarily
have turned sour before it is made into cheese ; and no very excellent cheese can be made
from milk which has once attained that state.
Sect. IV. Of Making and Curing Butter.
6320. The milk from which butter is to be made may either be put at once into the
churn, and left there till it send up the cream ; or it may be made to cream in milk
dishes, and the cream alone churned. The last is generally considered the best mode,
and in carrying it into effect, the milk being drawn from the cow, is to be strained into
the creaming dishes, which should never be more than three inches deep, and of about
a gallon and a half or two gallons in capacity. In general the best cream will be fit
for removal in seven or eight hours, though for ordinary good butter it may stand twelve
hours ; . but where the very best butter is wished, and such arrangements are formed as
admit of converting the milk to cheese, or some other use while it is sweet, it may be
separated after standing only two or three or four hours. In performing the operation,
first pass the cream knife round the edges of the vessel, to separate the adhering stratum
of cream, and then draw it to one side, lift it off with the skimming dish, and put it in
the cream bowl to be carried to the cream barrel.
6321. Cream'may be kept from three to seven days before it is churned. Where quantity more thpn
quality is desired, the whole of the milk is churned, without separating any cream ; the milk is kept iii
the churn or in large barrels for two or three days, till it begins to get sour. The operation of churning,
where the eream and milk arc both to agitate, is necessarily tedious and laborious j but a great weight oi
Book VII. BUTTER. 985
butter is undoubtedly obtained, the quality and flavor of which will depend a good deal on the peculiar
properties of the milk. The milk of Galloways, Ayrshires and Alderneys, so treated, makes excellent
butter.
6322. In the process of churning great nicety is required ; a regular stroke in plunge
or pump churns, and a regular motion in those of the barrel or turning kind, must, if
possible, never.be deviated from. A few hasty irregular strokes or turns has been
known to spoil what would otherwise have been excellent butter. Twamley (Essays on
the Dairy) recommends the selection of a churner of a cool phlegmatic temper, of a
sedate disposition and character ; and advises never to allow any individuals, especially
the young, to touch the churn without the greatest caution and circumspection. To those
who have been accustomed to see cream churned without being properly prepared, churn-
ing may, perhaps, appear to be severe labor for one person in a large dairy : but nothing
is more easy than the process of making butter, where the cream has been duly prepared.
6323. The best time for making butter, during summer, is early in the morning, before the sun acquires
much power : awd if a pump churn be used, it may be plunged a foot deep into a tub of cold water, where
it should remain during the whole time of churning ; which will very much harden the butter. During
winter, from the equality of temperature, which (if it be properly managed) will generally prevail in a
dairy, it will very rarely, if ever, be necessary to churn near the fire. Should any circumstance, how-
ever, require this, care should be taken not to churn so near the fire as to heat the wood ; as it would
impart a strong rancid taste to the butter. As soon as the butter is made, it must be separated from the
milk, and be put into a clean dish ; the inside of which, if of wood, should previously be well rubbed
with common salt, to prevent the butter from adhering to it. The butter should then be pressed and
worked with a flat wooden ladle or skimming-dish, having a short handle, so as to press out all the milk
that may be lodged in the cavities of the mass. A considerable degree of dexterity, as well as of strength,
is requisite in this manipulation : for, if the milk be not entirely removed, the butter will infallibly spoil
in a short time; and, if it be much worked, the butter will become tough and gluey, which greatly
debases its quality In some places it is the practice to beat up the butter with two flat pieces of board",
which may, perhaps, answer very well. In this operation, some persons pour cold water upon the butter,
for the purpose of washing it : this practice, however, is not only useless, for the butter can be perfectly
cleared of the milk without it ; but it is also pernicious, and debases the quality of the butter in an
astonishing degree Nothing is so detrimental in a dairy, as water improperly used ; which, if mixed in
any way, either with milk or butter, tends greatly to debase the quality of the latter.
6324. The making %ip of butter is the next process. Before being sent to table or
market, sweet or fresh butter is made up into various forms, sometimes in rolls or
cylinders, six or eight inches long, and from half an inch to two inches in diameter, at
other times in small round figures, or casts, with impressions in relief from butter
moulds. When the butter is too soft for the last purpose, it may be put into small
wooden vessels, which may be allowed to swim in a tub or cistern of cold water ; or
they may be set in an ice-house for an hour or two, or the water in which the small
vessels float may be iced. At all events, whatever mode is adopted, no water ought to
be allowed to touch the butter. When formed into the desired shapes it may be placed
in dishes, and set in the margin of the central cistern of water till wanted.
6325. In salting or curing butter the use of wooden vessels is preferable. These
should previously be rendered as clean and sweet as possible, well rubbed with salt,
and the cavity between the bottom and sides filled in with melted butter. An excellent
composition for preserving butter may be made, by reducing into a fine powder, and
carefully mixing together, sugar and nitre, of each one part, and two parts of the best
common salt. Of thfs composition, one ounce should be thoroughly mixed with every
sixteen ounces of butter, as soon as the latter has been freed from the milk ; and the
butter must be immediately put into the firkin, being pressed so close, as to leave no
air-holes, or any kind of cavities within it. The surface must be smoothed ; and, if a
day or two be expected to elapse before more can be added, the vessel must be closely
covered up with a piece of clean linen, upon which should be laid a piece of wetted
parchment, or (if this be not procurable) with a piece of fine linen dipped in melted
butter, that is exactly fitted to the edges of the vessel, all round, so as to exclude the air
as much as possible. Wlicn more butter is to be added, these coverings are to be re-
moved ; the butter is to be applied close upon the former layer, pressing it down, and
smoothing it as before, till the vessel be full. The two covers are then to be spread
over it with the greatest care ; and a little melted butter is to be poured all round the
edges, so as to fill up every part, and effectually to exclude the air. A little salt may
then be strewed over the whole, and the cover be firmly fixed down. Butter thus cured
does not taste well till it has stood at least a fortnight after it has been salted ; but after
that period, it acquires a rich marrowy taste, and will continue perfectly sweet in this
climate for many years. As, however, its quality is liable to be impaired by being im-
properly treated while it is using, it will be necessary, when the firkin is opened, first to
pare off a small portion of the whole surface, especially near the edges, in case the air
should, by any accident, not have been entirely excluded. If it is to be quickly con-
sumed, it may be taken up as it is wanted, without any other precaution than that of
keeping it carefully covered up j but, on the contrary, if it is to be used very slowly, and
if the person employed to take it up, be not very careful in closing it up each time with
the covers, the part which is thus exposed to the air, will be liable to contract a small
degree of rancidity. To prevent the occurrence of this inconvenience, when the vessel
986 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
is opened, a strong brine of common salt (strong enough to float an egg) should be
poured, when cold, upon the surface of the butter ; and although the quality of the
latter will be slightly injured by the action of the water upon it, yet that is a much less
evil, than the slightest rancidity would occasion.
6326. When butter is to be exposed to the heat of a warm climate, it should be purified by melting before
it is salted and packed up. For this purpose, let it be put into a proper vessel, and this be immersed into
another containing water. Let the water be heated till the butter be thoroughly melted : let it continue
in this state for some time, when the impure parts will subside, leaving at the top a perfectly pure trans-
parent oil. This, when it cools, will become opaque, and assume a color nearly resembling that of the
original butter, being only somewhat paler, and of a firmer consistence. When this refined butter is
become a little stiff, but while it is still somewhat soft, the pure part must be separated from the dregs,
and be salted and packed up in the same manner as other butter ; it will continue sweet much longer in
hot climates, as it retains the salt better than in its original state. It may also be preserved sweet, with-
out salt, by adding to it a certain portion of fine honey, perhaps one ounce to a pound of butter, and
mixing them together thoroughly, so that they may be perfectly incorporated. A mixture of this sort
has a sweet pleasant taste, and will keep for years without becoming rancid : there is no doubt, therefore,
but that butter might thus be preserved in long voyages without spoiling.
6327. As winter made butter is mostly pale or white, and, at the same time, of a
poorer quality than that made during the summer months, the idea of excellence has
been associated with the yellow color : hence various articles have been employed in
order to impart this color ; those most generally used, and certainly the most wholesome,
are the juice of the carrot, and of the flowers of the marigold, carefully expressed and
strained through a linen cloth. A small quantity of this juice (and the requisite pro-
portion is soon ascertained by experience) is diluted with a little cream, and this mixture
is added to the rest of the cream when put into the churn. So small a quantity of the
coloring matter unites with the butter, that it never imparts to it any particular taste.
6328. The butter most esteemed in London is that of Epping and Cambridge ; the
cows which produce the former feed during summer in the shrubby pastures of Epping
forest, and the leaves of the trees, and numerous wild plants which there abound are
supposed to improve the flavor of the butter. It is brought to market in rolls from one
to two feet long, weighing a pound each. The Cambridgeshire butter is produced from
the milk of cows that feed one part of the year on chalky uplands, and the other in rich
meadows or fens ; it is made up into long rolls like the Epping butter, and generally
salted, not cured, before brought to market. By washing it, and working the salt out
of it, the London cheesemongers often sell it at a high price for fresh Epping butter.
6329. The Svffolk and Yorkshire butter is often sold for that of Cambridgeshire, to which it is little
inferior. The butter of Somersetshire is thought to equal that of Epping; it is brought to mari<et in
dishes, containing half a pound each, out of which, it is taken, washed, and put into different forms
by the buttermen of Bath and Bristol. The butter of Gloucestershire and of Oxfordshire is very good ;
it is made up in half pound packs or prints, packed up in square baskets, and sent to the London market
by waggon.
6-330. The butter of the mountains of Wales and Scotland, and the moors, commons, and heaths of
England is of excellent quality, when it is properly managed ; and though not equal in quantity, it often
is confessedly superior to that produced from the richest meadows. Bad butter is more frequently the
result of mismanagement, want of cleanliness, and inattention, than of any other cause. Ireland would
produce the finest butter in the empire, were it not for the intolerably filthy state of their cows, and the
want of cleanliness in their dairies.
6331. In packing fresh butter, or butter salted only for immediate use, the leaves of
cabbage, white beet, or of the garden orache (^Atriplex hortensis) are to be preferred. The
bottomofthe basket should be bedded with a thick cloth, folded two or three times ; then
a thin gauze, dipped in cold water, spread over it, on which the prints or rolls of butter
are to be placed, each with one or more leaves beneath, and smaller ones over it. The
lowermost layer being adjusted, fold half of the gauze cloth over it, put in another layer
in the same way, and then cover with the remainder of the gauze. The butter should
be put into the basket, as well as taken from thence, without being touched.
6332. Whey butter, as its name implies, is butter made from the whey which is taken from
the curd, after the milk is coagulated for the manufacture of cheese. It is chiefly made
in those counties where cheese is manufactured, and where it forms no inconsiderable
part of the profits of the dairy. In the county of Derby, more butter is said to be made
from whey than from the cream of milk, or from milk churned altogether.
6333. Whey is divided into two sorts, green and white, the former escaping readily from the curd,
while the latter is freed from it by means of pressure. " There are different methods of extracting the
whey. In some dairies the whole whey, when taken from the cheese tub, is put into pails or other
vessels, where it remains for about twenty-four hours ; when it is creamed, and the whey is applied to
the use of calves and pigs, which are said to thrive as well on it, after the cream has been taken from it
as before. The cream, when skimmed off the whey, is put into a brass pan and boiled, and afterwards
set in pans or jars, where it remains till a sufficient quantiiy for a churning be procured, which, in large
dairies, happens generally once, but sometimes twice in the week."
6334. Butter forming an important article of comm£rce as well as food, the legislature
has passed various statutes respecting its package, weight, and sale. The principal of
these are the 36th and 38th of Geo. III.
Sect V. Of the Process of Cheese-making.
6335. The production of cheese includes the making of rennet, the selection of a color-
ing matter, the setting of the curd, and the management of the cheese in the press.
Book VII. "^ CHEESE MAKING. 987
6336. The milk fresh dratvu from the cow is to be immediately strained into the dishes
or shallow troughs, if these are used, in order to promote cooling, as the surest guard
against fermentation. The same object may be attained by repeatedly drawing off the
milk from the coolers, and pouring it back again.
6337. To understand what rennet is and its uses it is necessary to premise that milk
is no sooner taken into the stomach, than it becomes curdled by the operation of the
gastric juice, as every one who has seen much of infant children must have observed.
What is called rennet is nothing more than the stomach of an animal in which the gas-
tric juices are preserved by means of salt. The application of any kind of acid will
cause milk to coagulate, as well as the infusion of several plants, as ladies' bedstraw
{Galium verum), butter-wort ( Pingnicula vulgaris), and others. With the former plant
the Jews coagulate the milk for all their cheese ; the Mosaic law prohibiting them to
mingle meat with milk, and rennet they consider as meat. The maw or stomach of
ruminating animals, which admit of obtaining the gastric juice in a less mixed state than
those of others, and chiefly of a young calf that has been killed before the digestion is
perfected, is almost universally preferred as rennet. This bag or maw is cleaned and
salted in different ways in 'different districts ; but the following method described by-
Marshal in his Rural Economy of Norfolk, is considered as one of the best. "Take
a calf's bag, maw, or stomach; and having taken out the curd contained therein, wash
it clean, and salt it thoroughly inside and out, leaving a white coat of salt over every
part of it. Put it into an earthen jar, or other vessel, and let it stand three or four
days ; in which time it will have formed the salt and its own natural juice into a pickle.
Take it out of the jar, and hang it up for two or three days, to let the pickle drain from
it. Re-salt it, place it again in a jar, cover it tight down with a paper, pierced with a
large pin, and in this state let it remain till wanted for use. In this state it ought
to be kept twelve months; it may, however, in case of necessity, be used a few days
after it has received a second salting ; but it will not be so strong as if kept a longer
time."
6338. In order to prepare this rennet for use. Marshal gives the following directions ;
*• Take a handful of the leaves of sweet-briar, the same quantity of the leaves of the dog
rose, and the like quantity of bramble leaves ; boil them in a gallon of water, with three
or four handfuls of salt, about a quarter of an hour ; strain off the liquor, and, having
let it stand till perfectly cool, put it into an earthen vessel, and add to it the maw, pre-
pared as above To this is added, a good sound lemon, stuck round with about a
quarter of an ounce of cloves, which give the rennet an agreeable flavor. "
6339. The strength of the rennet thus prepared will increase in proportion to the length
of time during which the bag remains in the liquor ; the quantity to be used for the
purpose of coagulating milk can, therefore, be ascertained only by daily use and occu-
pation. In general, however, it may be stated, upon the average, that somewhat less
than half a pint of wine measure, will suffice for fifty gallons of milk, for which quantity,
in Gloucestershire, the practice is to employ about one third of a pint. Throughout
the whole process of pceparing and preserving rennet, too much attention cannot be
given to its cleanliness and sweetness ; for if it be kept too long, so as to become foul
or tainted, the cheese will invariably become affected by it, and will prove unfit for use.
6340. In Holland a small quantity of the muriatic acid is used instead of rennet ; and it is the use of this
article which gives to the Dutcli cheese that pungent relish, which induces so many persons to prefer it
6341. Coloring matter. As cheese in its native state, that is, such as is well manu-
factured, being put together in proper time, the milk being of a proper degree of
warmth, and in all other respects properly pressed, salted, and dried, is uniformly of a
bright yellow cast, the idea of excellence is generally attached to cheese of such a color.
Hence it has become necessary for the dairyman, who would dispose of his cheese to
advantage, to impart a light yellow orange color to it by artificial means. Formerly,
turmeric, marigolds, hawthorn buds, and other vegetables, were employed for this pur-
pose ; but these have long since been rejected for the Spajiish Arnotto, which is unques-
tionably the best ingredient of the kind that can be used for the coloring of cheese. It
is a preparation of the roucon or arnotto tree (JJixa orellana, Lin. fig. 204.), which is a
native of America. The red pulp, that covers the seeds of this tree, is suspended in
hot water, and allowed to subside, and when dry, is formed into cakes or balls, which
are further set aside, until they become completely dry and firm. One ounce of this
substance, when genuine, will be sufficient to color an hundred weight of cheese ; and
this is the common allowance in the county of Gloucester; in Cheshire, the weight of a
guinea and a half, is considered to be sufficient for a cheese of sixty pounds weight.
The usual mode of applying the arnotto is, to dip a piece, of the requisite size and
weight, in a bowl of milk, and rub it on a smooth stone, until the milk assume a deep
red color. This infusion is to be added to the milk, of which cheese is intended to be
made, in such a quantity as will impart to tlie whole a bright orange color, which will
988 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
become the deeper in proportion to the age of the cheese. The mixing of the arnotto
in no respect affects either its taste or smell.
6342. In the county of Cheshire, however, a somewhat different practice obtains. There, when the color-
ing matter is wanted, it is usual to tie up as much of the substance as may be deemed sufficient, in a
linen rag; and putting it into half a pint of warm water, to let it stand over night. In the morning, im-
mediately before the milk is coagulated, the whole of this infusion is mixed with it in the cheese-tub, and
the rag is dipped in the milk, and rubbed on the palm of the hand, until all the coloring matter is com-
pletely extracted. A more simple method is directed by Parkinson : " Take," says he, " a piece about the
size of a hazel nut, put it into a pint of milk the night before you intend to make cheese, and it will dissolve.
A'dd it to the milk at the time the rennet is put in. The quantity will suffice to color a cheese of twenty
pounds weight." {Parkinson on Live Stock, vol. i. p. 62.)
6343. Setting the curd. The proper season for making cheese is from the beginning
of May till the close of September, or, in favorable seasons till the middle of October.
Very good cheese, however, may be made in winter, provided the cows be well fed. A
certain elevation of temperature is requisite to the coagulation of milk, and it may natur-
ally be supposed to be nearly that of the stomachs of milk-taking animals. Marshal
is of opinion that from 85 to 90 degrees of heat, and two hours of time are the fittest
for coagulation. Climate, season, weather, and pasture may require that these limits
should sometimes be violated. Milk produced from poor clays will require to be coa-
gulated at a higher temperature than that which is procured from rich pastures. In some
dairies the milk is heated to the proper temperature ; but the most approved practice is
to mix boiling water in such a proportion as shall render the milk of a proper degree of
heat to receive the rennet ; this the thermometer should be used to determine. In hot
weather the milk in the cows' udders is liable to become very much agitated by their
running about, or being driven to too great a distance : so that if rennet be put to it in
this state, the curd, instead of coming in one or two hours, will require three, four,
or five hours, and will be so spongy, tough, and in every respect so imperfect, as to be
scarcely capable of being confined in the press or vat ; and when released from the press,
it will heave or split, and be good for little. Whenever therefore cows are discovered to
be in this state, which, perhaps, can scarcely be avoided during very hot weather, where
cows are pastured abroad, in unsheltered grounds, or where water is not within their
reach ; it will be advisable to add some cold fresh spring water to the milk as soon as it
is brought into the dairy. The quantity to be mixed, in order to impart the proper
degree of heat, can in this case only be regulated by experience and the use of the
thermometer. The effect of the water thus added, will in both cases be, to make the
rennet take effect much sooner, and consequently to accelerate the coagulation of
the milk.
6344. The proportion of rennet and time requisite for coagulation have been already men-
tioned (6339. 6343.) ; too much rennet ought not to be put in, otherwise the cheese will be
ready to heave, as well as become rank and strong ; the same effects will also be produced
if the rennet be made with bad or foul materials, or if it be too strong to operate in the
given time (two hours). During the process the milk ought to be covered so as not
to lose more than five or seven degrees of its orginal heat. One or two handfuls of salt
added previously to mixing the rennet will promote coagulation. Some put in a bowl,
which is an absurd ancient custom, is injurious rather than useful.
6345. When the coagulation has taken place, the curd is broken or cut with a cheese
knife, which causes the whey to rise through the incisions, and the curd sinks with more
ease. After a short time the cutting is repeated, still more freely than before ; and is
continued until the curd is reduced to small uniform particles. This operation will re-
quire about three quarters of an hour : the cheese tub is again covered with a cloth, and
is allowed to remain for the same time. When the curd has sunk to the bottom of the
vessel, the whey is taken off by the hand, or by means of a skimming-dish ; another
quarter of an hour should now be allowed for the curd to settle, drain, and become solid,
before it is broken into the vat, as it prevents the fat from being squeezed out through
the fingers, and of course contributes to improve the quality of the cheese. Sometimes
in addition to the skimming-dish, a semicircular board and weight, adapted to the size of
the tub, are employed. The curd is again cut as before, in order to promote the free
separation of the whey, and pressure is again applied till it be wholly drawn off. Great
attention is requisite in conducting this part of the business ; and if any particles of slip
curd should be seen floating in the whey, it ought to be carefully laded off with tlie
whey; as it will not incorporate with the solid curd, but, dissolving in the cheese,
causes whey-springs, as already mentioned, and materially impairs its soundness. If
the whey be of a green color, when loaded or pressed out, it is a certain criterion that
the curd has been properly formed : but if it be of white color, it is equally certain that
the coagulation is imperfect, the cheese will be sweet, and of little value, and much
valuable caseous matter will be completely thrown away. In the counties of Norfolk
and Suffolk, the cheese manufacturers have recourse to a somewhat different method for
extracting the whey, which is worthy of notice : when they think the milk sufficiently
coagulated, they lay a strainer in a basket made for the purpose ; into which they put the
Book VII. CATALOGUE OF CHEESES, 989
curd, and sufFer it to remain there for some time to drain, before they break the curd.
When the curd is sufficiently drained, it is put into two or three separate vessels, and is
broken with the hand as small as possible. During this part of the process, salt is scat-
tered over the curd, and intimately mixed with it ; the proportion, however, has not been
correctly ascertained, and is regulated by experience.
6346. Management in the press. The breaking and salting completed, a cloth is
spread over the cheese vat, and the broken curd being packed into it, and covered up
with the cloth, a smooth round board is laid over the vat ; which is usually filled to the
height of one inch above the brim, to prevent the curd from shrinking below its sides,
when the whey is squeezed out. The whole is then put into a press for two hours, and
as it is of the utmost importance that every drop of whey should be expressed, skewers
are thrust into the cheese through the holes in the lower part of the vat to facilitate its
escape. The two hours expired, the cheese is taken out, and put into a vessel of warm
or hot whey for an hour or two, in order to harden its skin. On taking the cheese out
of the whey it is wiped dry, and when it has become cool, is wrapped in a clean dry
cloth, of a finer texture, and again submitted to the press for six or eight hours. The
cheese is now turned a second time, and is taken to the salting room, where it is rubbed
on each side with salt ; after which it is wrappe(t-in another dry cloth, of a finer texture
than either of the preceding cloths, and is again pressed for twelve or fourteen hours ; if
any edges project these are pared off, and the cheese being laid upon a dry board, is
turned every day. In the salting room cheese should be kept warm until it has had a
sweat, or has become regularly dry and somewhat stiff; as it is warmth that ripens cheese,
improves its color, and causes it when cut to have a flakey appearance, which is the
surest sign of superior excellence.
6347. Management in the cheese-room. After the processes of salting and drying are
comijleted, the cheeses are deposited in the cheese-room or loft, which should be airy and
dry ; but on no account should hard and soft cheeses be placed in the same room, for
the dampness or moisture arising from the latter, will cause the hard cheese to chill,
become thick-coated, and often spotted. Throughout the whole process of cheese-
making, the minutest attention will be requisite : for if the whey be imperfectly ex-
pressed, or the rennet be impure, or the cheese be not sufficiently salted, it will become
rank and pungent. For this defect there is no remedy. The imperfect separation of
the whey will cause cheese to heave or swell, as well as to run out at the sides. In
order to prevent as well as to stop this heaving, the cheese must be laid in a moderately
cool and dry place, and be turned regularly every day. If the heaving be very consider-
able, the cheese must be pricked on both sides in several places, particularly where it is
most elevated, by thrusting a skewer into it : by this pricking, though the heaving will not
be altogether prevented, a passage will be given to the confined air, the heaving or
swelling will consequently be considerably reduced, and the cavities of the cheese will be
less offensive to the eye. Another remedy for heaving in cheese, consists in applying
a composition of nitre, and bole armeniac, which is vended in the shops under the name
of cheese-powder. It is prepared by mixing one pound of saltpetre with half an ounce
of bole armeniac thoroughly together, and reducing them to a very fine powder. About
a quarter of an ounce of this is to be rubbed on a cheese, when put a second and third
time into the press, half on each side of the cheese at two ditferent meals, before the salt
is rubbed on, that the cheese may be penetrated with it. This preparation is very bind-
ing, and sometimes proves serviceable, but the nitre is apt to impart an acid taste ; and if
too much be applied, and the cheese should be exposed to too great heat, the quantity of
air already confined in it will be increased by fermentation, and the cheese will swell
much more than it would, if no powder had been rubbed in. The greatest care, there-
fore, will be necessary whenever this remedy is adopted.
6348. Hard and spoiled cheese may be restored in the following manner : take four ounces of pearl-ash,
and pour sweet white wine over it, iintil the mixture ceases to effervesce. Filter the solution, dip into it
clean linen cloths, cover the cheese with them, and put the whole into a cool place, or dry cellar. Repeat
this process every day, at the same time turning the cheese, and, if necessary, continue it for several weeks.
Thus the hardest and most insipid cheese, it is aftirmed, has frequently recovered its former flavor.
Sect. VI. Catalogue of the different Sorts of Cheeses and other Prqmrations made
from Milk.
6349. Of cheeses, we shall first enumerate the British sorts, and next, those peculiar
to foreign countries : the description of each will be such as to enable any ingenious
dairyist to imitate them.
eSTjO. The brick-bat cheese is so named from the form of the mould ; it is formed of new milk and cream
in the proportion of two gallons of the former to a quart of the latter. It is principally made in Wiltshire in
the month of September, and should not be cut until it is twelve months old.
6331. Cheddcr cheese^ so named from the vale of that name in Somersetshire, where it is exclusively
made. It is made in cheeses about thirty pounds each, which have a spongy appearance, and the eyes are
filled with a limpid and rich, but not rancid oil.
6352, Cheshire cheese is in universal esteem ; it is made from the whole of the milk and cream, the
990 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
morning's milk being mixed with that of the preceding evening, previously warmed. The general weight
is sixty pounds each cheese.
6353. Dunlop cheese, so named from the parish of Dunlop in Ayrshire, where it was originally made ;
the whole of the cream "goes with the curd ; the cheeses are from twenty to sixty pounds weight, and no
coloring matter is used. A cheese in every respect similar is made in Derbyshire, excepting that these
last are generally of a smaller size.
6,354. Gloucester cheese is in very considerable demand from its mild taste, which suits most palates, es-
pecially those of the young and of simple habits : there are two kinds, double and single, the first made
from the milk and cream, and the latter with the milk deprived of about half the cream : the latter are of
course the least valuable; butas they may be often mistaken for the former, upright dairymen, Marshal
observes, impress a heart-shaped stamp upon them to distinguish them from the former. They are made
of various sizes, from twenty to seventy, or even eighty pounds weight, but generally /rom fifty to sixty
pounds.
6355. Green, or sage cheese, is made by steeping over night in a proper quantity of milk, two parts of
sage, one part of marigold leaves, and a little parsley, after they have been bruised. On the following
morning, the greened milk is strained off, and mixed with about one third of the whole quantity intended
to be run or coagulated. The green and white milks are run separately, the two curds being kept apart
until they be ready for vatting : these may be mixed, either evenly and intimately, or irregularly and
fancifully, according to the pleasure of the manufacturer. The management is the same as for common
cheese. Green cheeses are made in the vale of Gloucester, as also in Wiltshire.
6356. Lincolnshire cheese is made by adding the cream of one meal's milk to that which comes immedi-
ately from thecow ; it is pressed gently two or three times, and is turned for a fewdays previously to being
used. It is chiefly made in spring, but the richest is that made in autumn. It will not keep above
three months.
6357. Norfolk cheese is made from the whole of 'the milk and cream ; the size is from thirty to fifty
pounds ; it is generally colored yellow, and is reckoned a good keeping cheese.
6358. Soft, or slip-coat cheese, is made from new milk hot from the cow, and the afterings ; and what
is required to make one pound of butter, will, in general, make one poimd of cheese : this is a small soft
rich cheese, which must be used immediately.
6359. Stilton cheese, which, from its peculiar richness and flavor, has been called the parmesan of
England, is made in the following manner : — the night's cream is put to the morning's milk, with the
rennet ; when the curd is come, it is not broken as is usual with other cheese, but is taken out whole, and
put into a sieve to drain gradually ; while draining, it is gently pressed till it becomes firm and dry, when
it is placed in a vat, a box made exactly to fit it ; as it is so extremely rich, that without this precaution,
it is apt to bulge out, and break asunder. It is afterwards kept on dry boards, and turned daily, with cloth
binders round it, which are tightened as occasion requires. After being taken out of the vat, the cheese
is closely bound with cloth till it acquires sufficient firmness to support itself : when these cloths are re-
moved, each cheese is brushed once every day for two or three months, and if the weather be moist, twice
every dav ; the tops and bottoms are treated in a similar manner daily before the cloths are taken off.
Stilton cheese derives its name from the town where it is almost exclusively sold ; it is made principally
in Leicestershire, though there are also many who manufacture it in the counties of Huntingdon, Rut-
land, and Northampton. Sometimes the cheeses are made in a net, resembling a cabbage net, which gives
them the form of an acorn, but these are neither so good nor so richly flavored, as those made in vats,
having a thicker coat, and being deficient in that mellowness which causes them to be in such general re'-
quest. [Bath Papers, vol. iii. p. 152, 153.) Stilton cheese is not reckoned to be suflSciently mellow for
cutting, until it is two years old, and is not saleable unless it is decayed, blue, and moist. In order to
mature them the more rapidly, it is a frequent practice to place the cheeses in buckets, which are
covered over with horse-dung. Wine is also reputed to be added to the curd, in order to accelerate the
ripening of the cheese.
6360. Cottenham cheese, from the town 'of that name in Cambridgeshire, is a thicker kind of cream
cheese than the Stilton ; its superior delicacy and flavor are attributed to the fragrant nature of the
herbage on the commons on which the cows are pastured, and according to Professor Martyn, to the
prevalence of Poa aquatica and pratensis.
6361. Suffolk or skim cheese is made of skimmed milk ; it forms a part of every ship's stores, not being so
much affected by heat as richer cheese, nor so liable to decay in long voyages.
6362. Wiltshire cheese is made of new milk coagulated as it comes from the cow, sometimes a small
quantity of skimmed milk is added. In some dairies it is manufactured in winter as well as summer ; in the
former case it is liable to become scurfy and white coated ; the last of which defects is frequently concealed
by a coat of red paint.
6363. Of foreign cheeses, the most common is the Dutch cheese ; this is prepared much
in the same manner as the Cheshire cheese, excepting that muriatic acid is used instead of
rennet, which renders it pungent, and preserves it from mites ; that of Gouda is preferred
6364. Parmesan cheese was formerly supposed to be made from the milk of goats,
but it is merely a skim-milk cheese, the curd hardened by heat, well salted, pressed, and
dried, long kept, and rich in flavor from the rich herbage of the meadows of the Po,
where the cows are pastured.
6355. The process, according to Pryce, [Bath Papers, vol. vii.) is as follows : — the evening's milk, after
having been skimmed in the morning, and standing till ten o'clock, and the morning's milk skimmed about
two hours after it is drawn from the cow, are mixed together. The mixture is then suspended in a copper
cauldron over a wooden fire {Jig. 33.), and frequently stirred till it attains about 82*^ of Fahrenheit ; the ren-
net is then put in, and the copper being removed from the fire, the coagulation quickly takes place, and the
curd is afterwards worked with a stick till it is reduced to a small grain. The whey now occupies the sur-
face, and a part of it being taken out, the cauldron is again turned over the fire, and its contents brought to
nearly a boiling heat. A little saffron is now added to impart color, the whole being all the while' well
stirred, and the superintendant examining it from time to time with his finger and thumb, to ascertain
the exact moment when the curd shall have become sufficiently solid. When this is the case, the caul-
dron is removed from the fire, and the curd allowed tc subside ; three fourths of the whey is then
drawn off, water poured round the bottom of the cauVdron outside to cool it, so as to admit of a cloth being
passed below the curd, which is thus brought up and placed in a tub to clear. When drained, it is put
into a wooden hoop, and about half a hundred weight laid on it for half an hour; the cloth is then re-
moved, and the cheese being replaced in the hoop is laid on a shelf; here it remains for two or three days
at the end of which, it is sprinkled over with salt ; this sprinkling is repeated every second dav for
about thirty days if it be summer, and for about forty or fifty-five days if it be winter, after which, no
further attention is required. The best Parmesan cheese is that which has been kept for three or four
years, but none is ever carried to market for sale, until it has been kept at least six months.
6366. Suriss cheese is of several varieties, mostly of skimmed or partially skimmed
milk, and manufactured like the Parmesan. Its varied and rich flavor is more owing to
the herbage of the pastures, than the mode of making ; and some sorts, as the Gruyere
Book VII. PREPARATIONS OF MILK. 991
(so called from the bailiwick of that name in the canton of Fribourg), are flavored by
the dried herb of Melilotus officinalis {Jig. 46.) in powder. Gruy^re cheeses weigh from
forty to sixty pounds each, and are packed in casks containing ten cheeses each, and
exported to the most distant countries. This cheese requires to be kept in a damp place,
and should frequently be washed with white wine, to preserve it from the depredations
of insects. Neufchatel is celebrated for a very fine sort of cheese made there, which in
shape resembles a wash-hand ball.
6367. Westphalia cheese is of the skim-milk kind, and of a different character from any of those hitherto
described. The cream is allowed to remain on the milk till the latter is in a sub-acid state ; it is then
removed, and the milk placed near a fire spontaneously to coagulate. The curd is then put into a coarse
bag, and loaded with ponderous stones to express the whey ; in this dry state it is rubbed between the
hands, and crumbled into an empty clean milk vat, where it remains from three to eight days according
as the cheese is intended to be strong or mild. During this part of the process, which is called mellowing,
the curd undergoes the putrid fermentation, and acquires a coat or skin on the top, before it is taken out
of the vessel, and kneaded into balls or cylinders with the addition of a considerable portion of carraways,
salt, and butter ; or occasionally a small quantity of pounded pepper and cloves. When over -mellowed a
third part of fresh curds, likewise crumbled into small pieces, is superadded, to prevent or correct its
putrid tendency. As the balls or cheeses do not exceed three or four ounces each in weight, they soon
dry in the open air, and are then fit for use. When nearly dry they are sometime-s for the palate of
epicures, suspended in a wood fire chimney, in a net, for several weeks or months ; and both their taste
and flavor are said to be remarkably improved, whether kept in a dry air, or subjected to the action of
smoke. This sort of cheese, M. Hochheimer, who describes it, affirms to be preferable to the Dutch,
Swiss, and even Parmesan cheese. It is sometimes to be had in London, but is not very common.
6368. Potatoe cheese is a German manufacture, of which there are throe sorts. One of the best is
thus prepared. Select mealy potatoes, and only half dress them in steam, for by bursting their flavor and
efficacy are diminished. Peel them, and then grate or beat them into a fine pulp. To three parts of this
mass add two parts of sweet curd, knead and mix them, and allow them to stand three days in warm, and
four or five days in cold weather ; form into small pieces like the Westphalia cheeses, and dry in the same
manner. A still better sort of potatoe cheese is formed of one part of potatoes, and three of the curd of
sheep's milk. This sort is said to exceed in taste the best cheese made in Holland, and to possess the ad-
ditional advantage that it improves with age, and generates no vermin.
6369. The preparations of milk, which can neither be included under butter nor
cheese, are various, and constitute a class of wholesome luxuries or rural drinks.
We shall do little more than enumerate them, and refer for further details to the
cookery books.
6370. Curds and whey is merely coagulated new milk stirred up, and the curd and whey eaten together
with or without sugar and salt.
6371. Curds and cream ; here the whey is removed and cream substituted with or without sugar. The
milk coagulated is often previously skimmed.
6372. Sour cream ; cream allowed to stand in a vat till it becomes sour ; when it is eaten with fresh
cream and sugar, or new milk and sugar, and is found delicious.
6373. Corstorphin cream, so named from a village of that name two miles from Edinburgh, from which
the latter city is supplied with it. The milk of three or four days is put together with the cream, till it
begins to get sour and coagulated, when the whey is drawn off and fresh cream added. It is therefore
simply sour curd waA fresh cream, ; it is eaten with sugar as a supper dish, and in great repute in the north.
6374. Devonshire cream, is a term applied in the county of that name, sometimes to sour curd, and
sometimes to sour cream ; in either case mixed with new milk or fresh cream, and eaten with sugar like
the Corstorphin cream.
637.'}. Clotted cream. The milk when drawn from the cow is suffered to remain in the coolers till it
begins to get sour and the whole is coagulated. It is then stirred, and the whey drawn off, or the cream
(now in clots among the curd) and the curd removed.
6376. Hatted kitt, a gallon of sour butter-milk is put in the bottom of the milk pail, and a quart or more
of milk drawn from the cow into it by the milk-maid. The new warm milk as it mixes with the acid of
the sour milk, coagulates, and being lighter rises to the top and forms a creamy scum or hat over the
other, whence the name. This surface stratum is afterwards taken off, and eaten with sugar.
6377. Milk syllabub is formed in a similar manner over a glass or two of wine ; and the whole is then
eaten with sugar. Both sorts may be formed by those who have no cow, by wanning the sweet or new
milk, and squirting it into the wine or the sour milk.
6378. Skim-milk, is milk from which the cream has been removed ; when this has been
done within twelve or fifteen hours from the time of milking, it is sweet and wholesome,
and fit either for being heated or coagulated, in order to make cheese, &c., or used as it
is with other food ; but if allowed to remain twenty or thirty hours it becomes sour, coa-
gulates spontaneously, the whey separates from the curd, and if it remain a certain period,
generally three weeks longer in a warm temperature, the vinous fermentation takes place,
and a wine or a liquor from which ardent spirit may be distilled is produced.
6379. Butter-milk, is that which remains in the churn after the butter has been taken
off. When butter has been made from cream alone, it is seldom of much value ; but
where the whole milk has lieen churned, and no water poured in during the process, it is
a very wholesome cooling beverage. Some prefer it when it has stood a few days and
become sour. In England it is chiefly given to pigs, but in Ireland it forms a very com-
mon diluter to porridge, potatoes, oat cakes, pease cakes, and other food of the labor-
ing classes, and especially of the farm servants. In Scotland the same thing used
formerly to be the case, but the practice there has within the last twenty years become
nearly the same as in England ; in the Orkney islands, and other northern parts of
Britain, as well as in Ireland. Butter-milk is sometimes kept till it undergoes the vinous
fermentation, when it is used to procure intoxication.
6380. Whey, when new and of a pale green color, forms an agreeable beverage, and
with oatmeal makes an excellent gruel or porridge. Left till it gets sour, it undergoes
tlie vinous fermentation as readily as butter-milk ; and man, who in every state of civili-
992 PRApTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
zation feels the necessity of occasionally dissipating the cares of his mind, when he cannot
find tobacco, opium, malt liquors, or ardent spirit, has recourse to sour wliey.
Chap. VI.
The Sheep. — Ovis aries, L. ; Mammalia Pecora, L., and Ruminalecc, Cuv. Brebis, Fr. ;
Schof, Ger. ; Oveja, Span, and Pecora, Ital.
6381. The sheep is an inhabitant of every part of the globe, from Iceland to the
regions of the torrid zone. The varieties of form and clothing necessary to fit it for ex-
isting in so many climates are of course numerous. In most of these countries it is
cultivated for its wool or flesh, and in many for both ; but it is most cultivated in Europe,
and especially in France, Spain, and Britain. In the latter country its culture has
attained an astonishing degree of perfection. Besides the O. aries, or common sheep,
there are three other species, the O. Ammon or Siberian sheep ; the Pudu or South
American, and the Strepsiceros or Cretan sheep. By some these are considered mere
varieties. The Cretan and Siberian are cultivated in Hungary and Siberia.
6382. The common sheep in a rvild state prefers open plains, where it herds together
in small flocks, which are in general active, swift, and easily frightened by dogs or men.
When completely domesticated, the sheep appears as stupid as it is harmdess ; it is character-
ised by Buffon as one of the most timid, imbecile, and contemptible of quadrupeds. When
sheep, however, have an extensive range of pasture, and are left in a considerable degree
to depend on themselves for food and protection, they exhibit a more decided character.
A ram has been seen in these circumstances to attack and beat off a large and formidable
dog, and even a bull has been felled by a stroke received between his eyes as he was
lowering his head to receive his adversary on the horns and toss him in the air. Sheep
display considerable sagacity in the selection of their food ; and in the approach of storms,
they perceive the indications iwith accurate precision, and retire for shelter always to the
spot which is best able to afford it. The sheep is more subject to disorders than any of
the domesticated animals; giddiness, consumption, , scab, dropsy, and worms frequently
seizing upon and destroying it. Of all disorders the most fatal is owing to vast num-
bers of worms of the genus fasciola, which are found in the liver and gall-bladder.
They are of a flat form, of an oval shape, with slightly pointed extremities, and bear a
general resemblance to the seeds of a gourd. The fly is another formidable enemy, and
is often fatal in the course of twenty-four hours, breeding within the skull of the animal.
To extricate the sheep from this danger, the French shepherds apply the trephine instru-
ment, without the smallest hesitation, and with the greatest dispatch and success.
6383. Of all the domestic animals of Britain, Brown observes, sheep are vf the greatest
consequence, both to the nation and to the farmer ; because they can be reared in situ-
ations, and upon soils, where other animals would not live ; and, in general, afford
greater profit than can be obtained either from the rearing or feeding of cattle. The
very fleece, shorn annually from their backs, is of itself a matter worthy of consideration,
affording a partial return not to be obtained from any other kind of stock. Wool has
long been the staple commodity of this island, giving bread to thousands who are em-
ployed in manufacturing it into innumerable articles for home consumption, and foreign
exportation. In every point of view, sheep husbandry deserves to be esteemed as a chief
branch of rural economy, and claims the utmost attention of agriculturists. For many
years back, it has been studied with a degree of diligence and assiduity not inferior to
its merits ; and the result has been, that this branch of rural management has reached a
degree of perfection favorable to those who exercised it, and highly advantageous to the
public.
Sect. I. Of the Varieties of Sheep*
6384. The varieties of the 0. aries, or common sheej), dispersed over the world are,
according to Linnaeus, the hornless, horned, blackfaced, Spanish, many-horned, African,
Guinea, broad-tailed, fat-rumped, Bucharian, long-tailed. Cape, bearded, and morvant j
to which some add the Siberian sheep, cultivated in Asia, Barbary, and Corsica, and the
Cretan sheep, which inhabits the Grecian islands, Hungary, and Austria; by Linnaeus
considered as species.
6385. The varieties of British sheep are so numerous that, at first sight, it appears
almost impossible to reduce them into any regular classes. They may, however, be
divided in two ways ; first, as to the length of their wool ; and, secondly, as to the
presence or absence of horns ; a third classification might be made after the place or
districts in which such species are supposed to abound, to be in greatest perfection, or to
have originated.
Book VII. VARIETIES OF SHEEP. 993
6386. The tong-wooled British sheep are chiefly the *Teeswater, the *old and *new
Leicester, the * Devonshire nots, Exmoor, and the Heath sheep.
6387. The short-wooled sheep are chiedy the Dorsetshire, * Hereford or Ryeland, the
* South Down, the Norfolk, the * Cheviot, the * Shetland sheep, and the * Merinos.
6388. The hornless breeds are those in the above classes marked (*), the others have
horns. These breeds, and their subvarieties, may be further arranged according as they
are suited to arable or enclosed lands, and to open or mountainous districts.
6389. The sheep best suited to arable landy an eminent writer observes, in addition to
such properties as are common in some degree to all the different breeds, must evidently
be distinguished for their quietness and docility ; habits which, though gradually ac-
quired and established by means of careful treatment, are more obvious, and may be
more certainly depended on m some breeds than in others. These properties are not only
valuable for the sake of the fences by which the sheep are confined, but as a proof
of the aptitude of the animals to acquire flesh in proportion to the food they consume.
6390 The long-ivooled large breeds, are those usually j)referred on good grass-lands ;
they differ much in form and size, and in their fatting quality, as well as in the weight
of their fleeces. In some instances, with the Lincolns or old Leiresters in particular,
wool seems to be an object paramount even to t^e carcase ; with the breeders of the Lei-
cesters, on the other hand, the carcase has always engaged the greatest attention : but
neither form nor fleece, separately, is a legitimate ground of preference ; the most valu-
able sheep being that which returns, for the food it consumes, the greatest marketable
value of produce.
6391. The Lincolnshire, or old Leicestershire breed, have no horns, the face is white
and the carcase long and thin; the ewes weighing from 14 to 20 lbs., and the three-
year-old wethers, from 20 to 30 lbs. per quarter. They have thick, rough, white legs,
bones large, pelts thick, and wool long, from ten to eighteen inches, weighing from
eight to 14 lbs. per fleece, and covering a slow-feeding, coarse-grained carcase of mutton.
This kind of sheep cannot be made fat at an early age except upon the richest land, such
as Romney-marsh, and the richest marshes of Lincolnshire ; yet the prodigious weight of
wool which is shorn from them every year, is an inducement to the occupiers of marsh-
lands to give great prices to the breeders for their hogs or yearlings ; and though the
buyers must keep them two years more, before they get them fit for market, they have
three clips of wool in the meantime, which of itself pays them well in those rich marshes.
Not only the midland counties, but also Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland, can
send their long-wooled sheep to market at two years old, fatter in general than Lincoln-
shire can at three. Yet this breed, and its subvarieties, are spread through many of the
English counties.
6392. The Teeswater sheep (Jig. 666.) differ from the Lincolnshire in their wool not
being so long and heavy; in standing upon higher, though i„, .__^^^
finer boned legs, supporting a thicker, firmer, heavier
carcase, much wider upon their backs and sides ; and in
affording a fatter and finer-grained carcase of mutton : the
two year old wethers weighing from 25 to 35 lbs. per quar-
ter. Some particular ones, at four years old, have been fed
to 55 lbs. and upwards, 'inhere is little doubt that the Tees-
water sheep were originally bred from the same stock as the
Lincolnshire; but, by attending to size rather than to wool, and constantly pursuing that
object, they have become a different variety of the same original breed. (Culley on Livelsiock,
p. 122.) The present fashionable breed is considerably smaller than the original species ;
but they are still considerably larger and fuller of hone than the midland breed. They
bear an analogy to the short-horned breed of cattle, as those of the midland counties do
to the long-horned. They are not so compact, nor so complete in their form, as the
Leicestershire sheep ; nevertheless, the excellence of their flesh and fatting quality is not
doubted, and their wool still remains of a superior staple. For the banks of the Tees, or
any other rich fat-land county, they may be singularly excellent.
6393. The Dishley,ox new Leicester breed {Jig. 667.), is distinguished from other
667 long-wooled breeds by their clean heads, straight, broad, flat
backs, round barrel like bodies, very fine small bones, thin pelts,
and inclination to make fat at an early age. This last property
is most probably owing to the before- specified qualities, and
which, from long experience and observation, there is reason to
believe, extend-s through every species of domestic animals.
The Dishley breed is not only peculiar for its mutton being
fat, but also for the fineness of the grain, and superior flavor,
above all other large long-wooled sheep, so as to fetch nearly
as good a price, in many markets, as the mutton of the small Highland and short-wooled
breeds. The weight of ewes, three or four years old, is from 18 to 26 lbs. a quarter,
S S
994
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part 111.
and of wethers, two years old, from 20 to 30 lb. Tlie wool, on an average, is from 6 to
8lbs. a fleece. (CW%, p. 106.)
6394. The Devonshire Nots {Jig. 668.) have white faces and legs, thick necks, narrow
backs, and back bone high ; the sides good, legs short, and
the bones large ; weight much the same as the Leicesters,
wool heavier, but coarser. In the same county, there is a
small breed of long wooled sheep, known by the name of the
Exmoor sheep, from the place where they are chiefly bred.
They are horned, with white faces and legs, and peculiarly
delicate in bone, neck, and head ; but the form of the carcase
is not good, being narrow and flat-sided. The weight of the
quarters, and of the fleece, about two-thirds that of the former
variety.
6395. The shorter wooled varieties, and such as, from their size and form, seem well
suited to hilly and inferior pastures, are also numerous. Generally speaking, they are
too restless for inclosed arable land, on the one hand, and not suflSciently hardy for
healthy mountainous districts, on the other. To this class belong the breeds of Dorset,
Hereford, Sussex, Norfolk, and Cheviot.
6396. The Dorsetshire sheep (fig. 669.) are mostly
horned, white faced, stand upon high small white legs,
and are long and thin in the carcase. The wethers,
three years and a half old, weigh from 16 to 20 lbs. a
quarter. The wool is fine and short, from 3 to 4 lbs. a
fleece. The mutton is fine grained and well-flavored.
This breed has the peculiar property of producing lambs
at almost any period of the year, even so early as Sep-
tember and October. They are particularly valued for
supplying London and other markets with house lamb,
which is brought to market by Christmas, or sooner if wanted, and after that, a constant
and regular supply is kept up all the winter.
6397. The Wiltshire sheep are a. variety of this breed, which, by attention to size, have
got considerably more weight ; viz. from 20 to 28 lbs. a quarter. These, in general,
have no wool upon their bellies, which gives them a very uncouth appearance. Tlie
variations of this breed are spread through many of the southern counties, as well as
many in the west, viz. Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, &c. ; though
some of them are very different from the Dorsetshire, yet they are, Culley apprehends,
only variations of this breed, by crossing with different tups ; and which variations con-
tinue northward until they are lost amongst those of the Lincolnshire breeds. (Culley,
p. 131.)
670 6398. The Herefordshire breed [fig. 670.) is known by the
want of horns, and their having white legs and faces, the wool
growing close to their eyes. The carcase is tolerably well
formed, weighing frOm 10 to 18 lbs. a quarter, and bearing very
fine short wool, from 1^ to 2,§lbs. a fleece : the mutton is excel-
lent. The store or keeping sheep of this breed are put into
cots at night, winter and summer, and in winter foddered in
racks with peas-straw, barley-straw, &c., and in very bad weather with hay. These cots
are low buildings, quite covered over, and made to contain from one to five hundred
sheep, according to the size of the farm or flock kept. The true Herefordshire breed are
frequently called Ryeland sheep, from the land formerly being thought capable of pro-
ducing no better grain than rye ; but which now yields every kind of grain. A cross
between this breed and the merinos, was extensively cultivated by the late Dr. Parry,
of Bath, an eminent wool-grower, and promoter of agricultural improvement.
6399. The South Doivn sheep {fig. 671.) are without horns ; g»,
they have dark or black-grey faces and legs, fine bones, long
small necks ; are low before, high on the shoulder, and light
in the fore quarter ; the sides are good, and the loin tolerably
broad, back-bone too high, the thigh full, and twist good.
The fleece is very short and fine, weighing from 2^ to 3 lbs.
The average weight of two years old wethers is about 1 8 lbs.
per quarter, the mutton fine in the grain, and of an excellent ?^^
flavor. These sheep have been brought to a high state of improvement by Elman, of
Glynd, and other intelligent breeders. They prevail in Sussex, on very dry chalky
downs, producing short fine herbage.
6400. In the Norfolk sheep the face is black, horns large and spiral; the carcase is
very small, long, thin, and weak, witli narrow chines, weighing from 16 to 20 lbs. per
quarter ; and they have very long dark or grey legs, and large bones. The wool is short
Book VIL VARIETIES OF SHE^P. 9?5
and fine, from 1| to 2 lbs. per fleece. This race have a voracious appetite, and a restless
and unquiet disposition, which makes it difficult to keep them in any oth(;r than the
largest sheep-walks or commons. Tliey prevail most in Norfolk and Suffolk, and seem
to have been retained solely for the purpose of folding ; as it does not appear they have
any other good property to recommend them, besides being good travellers, for which they
seem well adapted, from their very long legs and light clean carcases.
6401. The Cheviot breed (Jig. 612.) are without ^. g^2
horns, the head bare and clean, with jaws of a good
length, faces and legs white. The body is long,
but the fore-quarters generally want depth in the
breast, and breadth both there and on the chine ;
though, in these respects, great improvement has
been made of late. They have fine, clean, small-
boned legs, well covered with wool to the hough.
The weight of the carcase, when fat, is from 12'
to 18 lbs. per quarter; their fleece, which is of a medium length and fineness, weighs
about 3 lbs. on an average. Though these are the general characters of the pure Cheviot
breed, many have grey or dun spots on their face^-and legs, especially on the borders of
their native districts, where they have intermixed with their black-faced neighbors. On
the lower hills, at the extremity of tlie Clieviot range, they have been frequently crossed
w ith the Leicesters, of which several flocks, originally Cheviot, have now a good deal
both of the form and fleece. The best kind of these sheep are certainly a very good
mountain stock, where the pasture is mostly green sward, or contains a large portion of
that kind of herbage, which is the case of all the hills around Cheviot, where those sheep
are bred. Large flocks of them have been sent to the Highlands of Scotland, where they
have succeeded so well as to ^encourage the establishment of new colonies; yet they are
by no means so hardy as tlie heath or black-faced kind, which they have, in many in-
stances, supplanted.
6402. Of those races of sheep that range over the mountainous distiicts of Britain, the
most numerous, and the one probably best adapted to such situations, is the heath breed,
distinguished by their large spiral horns, black faces and legs, fierce wild-looking eyes, and
short, firm carcases, covered with long, open, coarse shagged wool. Their weight is from
10 to 16 lbs. a quarter, and they carry from 3 to 4 lbs. of wool each. They are seldom fed
until they are three, four, or five years old, when they fatten well, and give excellent
mutton, and highly flavored gravy. Different varieties of these sheep are to be found in
all the western counties of England and Scotland, from Yorkshire northwards, and they
want nothing but a fine fleece to render them the most valuable upland sheep in Britain.
6403. The Herdwicfc sheep {fig. 673.) are peculiar to that rocky mountainous district, at the head of the
Duddon and Esk rivers in tlio county of Cumberland. They are
673 without horns, have speckled faces and legs, wool short, weighing
from 2 to 2|lbs. iier sheej), which, though coarser than that of any of
the other short-wooled breeds, is yet much liner than the wool of
the heath sheep. The mountains upon which the Herdwicks are
bred, and also the stock itself, have, time immemorial, been
fanned out to herds, and frpra this circumstance their name is de-
rived.
6404. The dun-faced breed, said to have been imported into Scot-
land from Denmark or Norway at a very early period, still exists in
most of the counties to the north of the Firth of Forth, though only
in very small flocks. Of this .ancient race there are now several
varieties, produced by peculiarities of situation, and different modes
of management, and by occasional interiuixture with other breeds.
We may, therefore, distinguish the sheep of the mainland of Scotland from those of the Hebrides, and of
the northern islands of Orkney and Zetland.
64().'5. The Hebridcan sheep is the smallest animal of its kind. It is of a thin, lank shape, and has usually
straight shorn horns. The face and legs are white, the tail very short, and the wool of various colors ;
sometimes of a bUicish grey, brown or deep russet, and .sometimes all these colors meet in the fleece of one
animal. Where the pasture a.nd management are favorable, the wool is very fine, resembling in softness
that of Shetland ; but, in other parts of the same islands, the wool is stunted and coarse, the animal sickly
and jmny, and frequently carries four, or even six horns. The average weiglst of this poor breed, even
when fat, is only .5 or 5i lbs. per quarter, or nearly about 20 lbs. i)er sheep. It is often much less, only
amounting to 15 or Ififbs. ; and the price of the animal's carcase, skin and all, is from lOs. to 14*. Fat
wedders have been sold in the Long Island at Is. a head, and ewes at 5s. or 6s. The quantity of wool
which the fleece yields is equally contemptible with the weight of the carcase. It rarely exceeds one
pound weight, and is often short of even half that quantity. The quantity of the wool is different on dif-
ferent parts of the body ; and inattention to separating the fine from the coarse, renders the cloth made
in the Hebrides very unequal and precarious in its texture. The average value of a fleece of this abori-
ginal Hebridean breed is from 8</. to 1*. sterling. From this account it is plain, that the breed in question
has every chance of being speedily extirpated. (Macdona/d's Report of the Hebrides, p. 447.)
640<). Of the Zetland sheep it would ai)pear that there are two varieties, one of which is considered to be
the native race, and carries very fine wool ; but the number of these is much diminished, and in some
places they have been entirely supplanted by foreign breeds ; the other variety carries coarse wool above,
and soft fine wool below. They have three different successions of wool yearly, two of which rc'semble
long hair more than wool, and are termed by the common people/or,? and scuddd. When the wool begins
to loosen in the roots, which generally hap))ens about the month of February, the hairs, or scudda, spring
up ; and when the wool is carefully plucked off, the tough hairs continue fast until the new wool grows up
about a quarter of an inch in length, then they gradually wear off; and when the new fleece has acquired
about two months' growth, the rough hairs, termed fors, spring up and keen root until the proper season
3 S 2
c>96 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. P^rt III.
for pulling it arrives, when it is pluclced off along with the wool, and separated from it, at dressing the
fleece, by an operation called forsing. The scudda remains upon the skin of the animal as if it were a thick
coat, a fence against the inclemency of the seasons, which orovident nature has furnished for supplying
the want of the fleece. The wool is of various colors ; the silver grey is thought to be the finest, but the
black, the white, the mourat, or brown, is very little inferior, though the pure white is certainly the most
valuable for all the finer purposes in which combing wool can be used. {Sir John Sinclair on the different
Breeds of Sheep, Sfc. Appendix, No. 4. Account of the Shetland Sheep, by Thomas Johnston, p. 79.) In
the northern part of Kincardineshire, as well as in most other of the northern counties, there is still a rem-
nant of this ancient race, distinguished by the yellow color of the face and legs, and by the dishevelled
texture of the fleece, which consists in part of coarse, and in part of remarkably fine wool. Their average
weight in that county, is from seven to nine pounds a quarter, and the mutton is remarkably delicate and
highly flavored. {Kincardineshire Report, p. 385. Sup. E. Brit. art. Agr. 176.)
6407. The Spanish, or Merino breed, bears the finest wool of the sheep species ; the
674 males (Jig. 674.) usually have horns 675
of a middle size, but the females
{Jig. 675.) are frequently without
horns : the faces and legs are white, i
the legs rather long, but the bones
fine. The average weight per quar-
ter of a tolerably fat ram, is about
seventeen pounds, and that of ewes I
about eleven pounds. The shape of
this race is far from being perfect, according to the ideas of English breeders, with whom
symmetry of proportion constitutes a principal criterion of excellence. The throatiness,
or pendulous skin beneath the throat, which is usually accompanied with a sinking or
hollow in the neck, presents a most offensive appearance, though it is much esteemed
in Spain, as denoting both a tendency to fine wool, and a heavy fleece. Yet the
Spanish sheep are level on the back, and behind the shoulders ; and Lord Somerville has
proved that there is no reason to conclude that deformity in shape is, in any degree,
necessary to the production of fine wool.
6408. The Jleece of the Merino sheep weighs, upon an average, from, three to five
pounds ; in color, it is unlike that of any English breed : there is on the surface of the
best Spanish fleeces, a dark brown tinge, approaching almost to a black, which is formed
by dust adhering to the greasy properties of its pile, and the contrast between this tinge
and the rich white color below, as well as that rosy hue of the skin which denotes high
proof, at first sight excites much surprise. The harder the fleece is, the more it resists any
external pressure of the hand, the more close and fine will be the wool : here and there,
indeed, a fine pile may be found in an open fleece, though this occurs but rarely.
Nothing, however, has tended to render the Merino sheep more unsightly to the
English eye, than the large tuft of wool which covers the head ; it is of a very inferior
quality, and classes with what is produced on the hind legs ; on which account, it does
not sort with any of the three qualities, viz. rafinos, or prime, Jinos, or second best, and
tercenos, the inferior sort, and consequently, is never exported from Spain.
6409. Merinos were Jirst brought into England in 1788, but did not excite much in-
terest before his Majesty's sales, which began in 1 804 : the desirable object of spreading
them widely over the country, and subjecting them to the experiments of the most emi-
nent professional breeders, has been greatly promoted by the institution of the Merino
Society in 1811, to which belonged some of the greatest landholders, and the most
eminent breeders in the kingdom. For some years past, this breed has been on the
decline. {Sup. .E. Brit. art. Agr.)
Sect. 1 1. Criteria of Properties in Sheep.
6410. The criteria of an excellent ram, as given by Culley, combines qualities which
ought to be found in every breed of sheep cultivated for its flesh and wool. His head
should be fine and small, his nostrils wide and expanded, his eyes prominent, and rather
bold or daring, ears thin, his collar full from his breast and shoulders, but tapering
gradually all the way to where the neck and head join, which should be very fine and
graceful, being perfectly free from any coarse leather hanging down ; the shoulders broad
and full, which must, at the same time, join so easy to the collar forward, and chine
backward as to leave not the least hollow in either place ; the mutton upon his arm or
fore-thigh, must come quite to the knee ; his legs upright, with a clean fine bone, being
equally clear from superfluous skin and coarse hairy wool, from the knee and hough
downwards ; the breast broad and well forward, which will keep his fore-legs at a proper
wideness ; his girth or chest full and deep, and instead of a hollow behind the shoulders,
that part, by some called the fore-flank, should be quite full ; the back and loins broad,
flat, and straight, from which the ribs must rise with a fine circular arch ; his belly
straight, the quarters long and full, with the mutton quite down to the hough, which
should neither stand in nor out ; his twist, or junction of the inside of the thighs, deep,
wide, and full, which, with the broad breast, will keep his four legs open and upright ;
the whole body covered with a thin pelt, and that with fine, bright, soft wool.
Book VII. BREEDING OF SHEEP. 997
641 1. The criteria of a sound healthy sheep, are, a rather wild or lively briskness ; a
brilliant clearness in the eye ; a florid ruddy color on the inside of the eyelids, and what
are termed the eyestrings, as well as in the gums ; a fastness in the teeth ; a sweet
fragrance in the breath ; a dryness of the nose and eyes ; breathing easy and regular ; a
coolness in the feet; dung properly formed ; coat or fleece firmly attached to the skin, and
unbroken ; the skin exhibiting a florid red appearance, especially upon the brisket. Where
there are discharges from the nose and eyes, it indicates their having taken cold, and
should be attended to by putting them in dry sheltered situations. IThis is a necessary
precaution also in bringing them from one situation to another while on the road,
6412. The criteria of the age of sheep is the state of their teeth : by their having, in
their second year, two broad teeth ; in their third year, four broad teeth ; in their fourth
year, six broad teeth ; and in their fifth year, eight broad teeth before. After which,
none can tell how old a sheep is while iheir teeth remain, except by their being worn
down. About the end of one year, rams, wethers, and all young sheep, lose the two
fore-teeth of the lower jaw ; and they are known to want the incisive teeth in the upper
jaw. At eighteen months, the two teeth joining to the former, also fall out ; and at
three years, being all replaced, they are even and pretty white. But as these animals
advance in age, the teeth become loose, blunt, and afterwards black. The age of the
ram, and all horned sheep, may also be known by their horns, which show themselves
in their very first year, and often at the birth, and continue to grow a ring annually to
the last period of their lives.
6413. The different ages and conditions of sheep have diflferent names in different dis-
tricts. After being weaned, the ram, or wedder lamb, is sometimes termed hog, hoggit,
or tag, during the whole of the first year ; and the female lamb, an ewe, or gimmer
lamb, and ewe tag. The second year the wedder has the title of shear hog, or a two-
toothed tag ; and the ewe is called a thaive, or two-toothed ewe. In the third year, a
shear hog, or four-toothed wedder ; and a four-toothed ewe or thaive. The fourth year,
a six-toothed wedder, or ewe ; and in some places, from the time of lambing till that of
salving, the males are called tup- lambs ; and from that period, till the time of shearing,
tup -hogs, and ever afterwards, tups : the females in the same order being termed, ewe-
lambs, ewe-hogs, gimmers, young ewes, old ewes. The gelded male lambs, castrated
wedder lambs, wedder hogs, dummonds, wedders. Crones also signify old ewes;
and there are several other provincial names, which are explained in their proper
places.
Sect. III. Of Breeding Sheep.
6414. In the breeding of sheep a greater degree of perfection has been attained than in
any other live stock ; and in this branch, in particular, the breeders of England stand
higher than those of any other country. Bake well, by careful selection during several
generations, raised his stock to a state of excellence, in regard to fattening at an early age
with a moderate consumption of food, and with the smallest proportion of offal, which
has been with difliculty equalled, certainly has not been exceeded, by the most skilful of
his successors. It is a striking instance of the division of labor and skill, that there are
breeders who devote themselves entirely to the breeding of rams for the purpose of letting
out on hire. This practice originated in Lincolnshire, where in the early part of the last
century, rams were let out at from 10s. to 20s. each ; but so great has been the improve-
ment since that period that they are now let out to common graziers at from 1 to 10 gui-
neas, and to breeders of rams at from 201. to 200 guineas. The breeding rams are
shown for hire at certain times and places during the summer,'where every one may select
such as promise to maintain or improve the particular state of his flock, and at such prices
as his means and experience may justify. Two or more individuals frequently join to-
gether in the hire of one ram, to which they put the best of their ewes, for the purpose of
obtaining superior males for the future service of the rest of their flocks ; and in particular
cases, when the owner of the ram does not choose to part with him, even for a season,
ewes are sent to him to be covered at a certain price per head ; superior animals of this
class being very seldom sold altogether. Much as this mode of doing business has been
reprobated as a monopoly, and much as there sometimes may be of deception in making
•up rams for these shows, all intelligent practical men must agree, ihat there can be no
better method of remunerating eminent breeders, and of spreading their improvements
most widely, in the shortest period, and at the least possible expense, A single ram thus
communicates its valuable properties to a number of flocks, often in distant parts of the
country, without distracting the attention of ordinary breeders from their other pursuits.
6415. The two methods of breeding common to all animals are also adopted in breeding
sheep. Breeding from different families of the same race, commonly called breeding m
and in ; and breeding from different races, generally called cross breeding. Bakewell,
according to Sir J. Sebright, ( On imjrroving the Breeds of domestic Animals, ^c), effected
his improvements by breeding from the same family j but according to Hunt, who
3 S 3
d^8 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
has written an able answer to Sir J. Sebright' s pamphlet, (Letter, SfC. to Sir J. Sebright^
^c.)> he bred from different relationships of the same family ; it being out of his power
to breed from different families of a race which he was at the time employed in forming,
and cross breeding he did not approve of. Breeding in and in is so repugnant to hu-
man feeling, that it is difficult to avoid considering it an unnatural practice ; for it does
not follow that a flock of sheep in a wild state must necessarily breed in the nearest
relationships, as father and daughter, &c. ; on the contrary, it is more probable that re-
moter relationships would be chiefly bred from, as these must necessarily be much more
numerous. In a flock of sheep, or a herd of savage men, springing each from one pair,
every parent must necessarily have many more cousins, and cousins many times removed,
than he can have mothers or daughters.
6416. Breeding from different families of the same race i'^ the more general and ap-
proved practice. When a number of families of any breed have been for some time es-
tablished in a variety of situations, and have had some slight shades of difference impressed
upon them, by the influence of different soils and treatment, it is found advantageous to in-
terchange the males, for the purpose of strengthening the excellencies, or remedying the
defects of each family. Of this advantage, Eakewell could not avail himself; but it has
been very generally attended to by his successors. Culley, for many years, continued to
hire his rains from Bakewell, at the very time that other breeders were paying a liberal
price for the use of his own; and the very same practice is followed by the most skilful
breeders at present. In large concerns, two or more streams of blood may be kept
distinct for several generations, and occasionally intermixed with the happiest effects, by a
judicious breeder, without having recourse to other flocks. [Sup. E. Brit. axt.Agr. 1 77. )
6417. In breedingfrom two distinct races, the object is to acquire new properties or re-
move defects. The mode of effecting this by cross breeding is attended with greater dif-
ficulties than in breeding from the same race. The very distinction of breeds implies a
considerable difference among animals in several respects ; and although the desirable
property be obtained, it may be accompanied by such others as are by no means advanta-
geous to a race, destined to occupy a situation which had excluded that property from one
of its parents. To cross any mountain breed with Leicester rams, for example, with a
view to obtain a propensity to fatten at an early age, would be attended with an enlarge-
ment of size, which the mountain pasture could not support; and the progeny w^ould be a
mongrel race, not suited to the pastures of either of the present breeds- If the object be
to obtain an enlargement of size, as well as a propensity to fatten, as is the case when
Cheviot ewes are crossed with Leicester rams, the pi-ogeny will not prosper on the hilly
pastures of their dams, and will be equally unprofitable on the better pastures of their
sizes. But the offspring of this cross succeeds well on those intermediate situations on
the skirts of the Cheviot hills, w-here, though the summer pasture is not rich, there is a
portion of lowland for producing clover and turnips. (Supp.EncT/cBrit. art. Agr.^c.)
6418. As general rules in crossing breeds it is to be noticed that in every case where the
enlargement of the carcase is the object, the cross breed must be better fed than its smal-
ler parent. The size of the parents should also be but little disproportioned at first ; and
when some increase has been produced^ one or more crosses afterwards may raise the
breed to the required size. With these precautions, there is little reason to fear disap-
pointment, provided both parents are well formed. [General Report of Scotland, vol. iii.
p. 14. 18.
6419. The most advantageous and proper age for ewes taking the ram in the different
breeds has not been fully shown ; but from a year to a year and a half old may be suffi-
cient, according to the forwardness .of the breed and the goodness of the keep. Some
judge of this by the production of broad or sheep's teeth. It should not be done while
too young in any case.
6420. In regard to the season of putting the rams to the ewes, it must be directed by
the period at which the fall of the lambs may be most desirable, which must depend on
the nature of the keep which the particular situation affords ; but the most usual time is
about the beginning of October ; except in the Dorsetshire ewes, where the intention is
Suckling for house-ianib, in which case it should be much earlier, in order that the lambs
may be sufficiently forward. But, by being kept very well, any of the breeds will take
the ram at a much earlidr period. Where the rams are young, the number of ewes should
seldom exceed sixty for each ram ; but in older rams a greater number may be admitted
without inconvenience, as from one to two hundred; but letting them have too many
should be cautiously avoided, as by such means the farmer may sustain great loss in the
number of the lambs.
6421. \fi\hrQ^^cct to the period of gestation, the ewe goes with lamb about the spdce
of five months, consequently the most common lambing- season is March, or the early part
of April ; but " it has been observed that in many of the more southern districts, where
sheep-husbandry is carried on to a considerable extent, some parts of the ewe-stock are
put to the rams at much earlier periods, so as to laa;b a month or six weeks sooner; a
Book VII. BREEDING OF SHEEP. 999
practice which is attended with much profit and advantage in mahy situations where
early grass-lamb is in great demand. It is usual for the rams to remain with the ewes for
a montl>or six weeks, aud in some cases longer, in order to complete the business cf im-
pregnation, which in some districts is ascertained by smearing the fore-bows of the rams
with some coloring substance."
6422. T lie practice of turning a number cf rams among the flocks, formerly adopted,
is highly exceptionable, as tending to prevent the niain object, and injure the rams. A
better way is to let each ram have a proper number of ewes, and with very choice stock to
keep the ram in an inclosed small pasture, turning a few ewes to him, and as they are
served replacing them with others. By this means there is more certainty, and more ewes
may be impregnated. In such sort of fine stock, it is likewise of great utility to keep
the rams during this season in a high manner. In this view a little oats in the straw, or
a mixture of barley and pea meal, are excellent. Where ewes are backwards in taking
the ram, the best means to be employed are those of good stimulating keep. The rams
should always be continued with the ewes a sufficient length of time.
6423. The ewe will breed ttvice or even thrice a year, if it be made a point to produce
such an effect by attention and high keep, since she will receive the male indifferently
at any season, and, like the rabbit, very soon" after bringing forth. Lisle gives an
instance of three of his ewes, well kept, lambing at Christmas, fattening off their lambs
at Lady-day, and producing lambs again the first week in June. It seems they stole
the ram immediately after lambing, but brought the second time only single lambs,
although of a breed that generally produces twins. There is no doubt but the sheep
would produce young thrice a year, were the bad practice resorted to, which has been
so currently recommended with the rabbit, of allowing the male immediately after par-
turition ; tlie ready way to render both the female and her progeny worthless. Could
the lambs be advantageously weaned at two months, sufficient time would, he conceives,
remain for the ewe to bring forth twice within the year : for example, suppose the young
ewe tupped in August, the lamb would be dropped in the middle of January, and
might be weaned in raid March, the ewe again receiving the ram on the turn of the milk,
like the sow, perhaps in or before April, she would then bring forth within the twelve
months or in August. This plan would, continues Lisle, at least injure the dam infi-
nitely less than suckling during gestation.
6424. When ewes are in lamb they should be kept in the pastures, and as free from disturbance as possi-
ble, being carefully attended to, in order to prevent accidents which are liable to take place at this time,
such as those of their being cast in the furrows, &c. Where any of the ewes slip their lambs, it is advised
by Bannister that they should be immediately removed from the flock. They also require, under these
circumstances, to be kept as well as the nature of the farm will admit, in order that there ^may be less
loss at lambing-tiTne from the ewes being stronger, and the lambs more healthy, and better capable of
contending with the stiite of the season at which they may be dropped.' The shepherd should at this
period be particularly careful and attentive to afford his assistance where it may be necessary. He should
constantly have regard to the suckling of the lambs, and to see that the udders of the ewes are not diseased.
His attendance will often be required in the night as well as the day. At this season covered sheep folds
are often of very great advantage, in saving and protecting both ewes and their lambs.
6425. In respect to the number of lambs at a birth, it is remarked by Lawrence that
the ewe brings most commonly one, next in degree of frequency, two, rarely from three
to five lambs at a birth. This property of double birth, is, he says, in some instances
specific ; the Dorset sheep usually yeaning twins, and the large polled Belgic sheep,
with their descendants, our Tees water, doing the same, and producing occasionally
more at a birth. Other breeds bring twins, in the proportion of one third of the flock,
which is supposed to depend considerably on good keep. A certain number of ewes per
centum prove barren annually : the cause very rarely, natural defect ; sometimes over-
fatness, a morbid state of body from poverty or neglect of the ram, in otlier words want
of system in the shepherd.
6426. The keep of sheep after lambing, where rich pastures or other kinds of grass lands cannot be re-
served should consist of turnips or other kinds of green food provided for the purpose, and given them in a
suitable manner ; but where it can be done, it is always better to leave this sort of food untouched till
about the period of lambing, when it should be regularly supplied in proportion to the necessity there
may be for it. The ewes also demand at this time much care to see that they are put upon a dry shel-
terecl pasture, free from disturbance, and that neither they or their lambs sustain injury from the too
great severity of the season. Whenever tliis is the case, they should be carefully removed into a proper
degree of warmth and shelter until perfectly restored. It is likewise a necessary as well as useful prac-
tice as they lamb down, to t;ike them and their lambs away from the common stock, putting them into
a piece of turnips or fresh dry pasture where there is shelter when necessary, as by this means much
fewer lambs would be lost than would otherwise be the case. It is also found that by a proper supply of
turnips or other similar green food at this i)eriod, the milk of the ewes is much increased, and the growth
of the lambs greatly promoted ; which is of much future im|>ortance, as when they are stinted at this
early period of their existence, they never turn out so well afterwards for the farmer. With the green
and root crops and preserved after-grass, hay, straw, corn, and oil cake, are in some cases made use of
in the winter support of sheep stock. With tuniips, where the soil is not sufficiently dry to admit the
sheep, it is the practice to draw them and convey them to a sound firm pasture, that the ewes may be
baited uiwn them once or twice in the day, as there may be occasion, care being taken that they are
eaten up clean, as the circumstance of their being thus eaten may serve as a guide to the farmer for the
supply that may be daily necessary. In this way this sort of food will be consumed with the greatest
economy. Where the land is perfectly dry, and the intention is to manure it for a grain crop, eating the
turnips on the land, by means of jwrtions hurdled oft' as wanted, is a good practice. With this sort of
;i S 4
1000 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
food, especially where it produces scouring in the ewes, green rouen hay, cut straw, or pease haulm
should constantly be given, and also with rape, &c.
6427. The castrating lambs may be performed any time from the age of a fortnight
or three weeks, to that of a month or six weeks, and in some districts it is deferred to
a considerably later period. It is, however, the safest method to have it executed early,
as there is less danger of too much inflammation taking place. But in all cases the
lambs should be in a healthy state when it is done, as under any other circumstances
they are liable to be destroyed by it. The operation is usually performed by the shep-
herd, by opening the scrotum or cod, and drawing out the testicles with the spermatic
cord. Tliis he often does with his teeth in the young state of the animal. But where
the operation is performed at a later period, it is usual to have recourse to the knife, the
arteries being taken up and secured by means of ligatures, or the searing iron. The
business, if possible, should be done in fine weather, when not too warm, and the
gelded lambs be kept in a dry, sheltered, quiet situation for a few days, until the
inflammation is gone off. If it should happen to be wet at the time, it may be advisable
to have them under some sort of shelter, where they can have room to move freely
about.
6428. The weaning of lambs should be effected when they are three or four months
old, as about July, but it is done more early in some districts than in others. A proper
reserve of some fresh pasture grass, where there may be a good bite for the lambs to
feed upon, should be had recourse to, as it is of much consequence that an ample pro-
vision of this sort be had, in order that the growth of this young stock may not suffer
any check on being taken from the mother. Where they have been continued so long
as to graze with the dams, little check will be sustained in their separation if turned
upon such good feed. Some advise clover in blossom as the most forcing sort of food
in this intention, and with others saintfoin rouen is highly valued for the same purpose.
When good feed is not provided, of some of these kinds, the lambs soon decline in
flesh, or, in the technical language of the flock, are said to pitch; and when once this
happens, they never afterwards thrive so well, however good the management may be.
With regard to the ewes, they should be removed to such distant pastures, or other
places as that they may not be heard by the lambs, which would cause them to be dis-
turbed in their feeding. And where the ewes sustain any inconvenience from their milk,
as by their udders swelling, it should be drawn once or twice, as by this means bad
consequences may be prevented. And as soon as the lambs have been removed, the
ewes are returned upon the pastures destined for their summer support. There is, how-
ever, one caution to be attended to in first turning the lambs upon rich keep, which is
that of letting them be in some degree satisfied with food previously, that they may not
be surfeited by too quick and full feeding, and heave or hove as it is termed; keeping
them gently moving about the field has also been advised in this intention. In some
places where the lands are of the more poor kind, it is a custom to send the lambs to
the more rich vale or marsh districts, to be brought forward in condition or fattened.
In those cases, where the lambs of the male kind are reared on the home lands, as
wethers, they are usually restored to tlie flock in the latter end of the year, but which is
not by any means a good practice, as they often suffer for want of proper keep in the
winter, and lose what they had previously gained in growth and condition.
Sect. IV. Of the Rearing and general Management of Sheep.
6429. la the practice of sheep husba7idry different systems are had recourse to, according
to the extent and nature of the farms on which they are kept, and the methods of farm-
ing that are adopted on them ; but under all circumstances the best sheep- masters con-
stantly endeavor to preserve them in as good condition as possible at all seasons. With
the pasture kinds of sheep this is particularly the case ; and with the view of accomplish-
ing it in the most complete manner, it is useful to divide them into different parcels
or lots in respect to their ages and sorts, as by that practice they may be kejit with
greater convenience and benefit than in large flocks together under a mixture of different
kinds ; as in this way there is not only less waste of food, but the animals thrive better,
and the pastures are fed with much more ease. The advantage of this management has
been fully experienced in many of the noithern districts, where they usually divide the
sheep-stock into lambs, yearlings, wethers, and breeding ewes : and in this method it
appears not improbable that a much larger proportion of stock may be kept, and the
sheep be preserved in a more healthy condition. With a breeding stock the slieep-master
must act according to his circumstances, situation, and capital which he possesses, either
selling the lambs to go to keep, fattening them for grass lamb, suckling them for house
lamb, or keeping them on to be grazed and sold as store or fat wethers ; the ewes being
sold lean as they are called, or fattened as circumstances, profit, and convenience may
point out.
Book VII. REARING OF SHEEP. looi
6430. Another practice, but which requires much capital as well as knowledge, experience, and atten-
tion, is that of breeding and fattening off all lambs, both wethers and ewes, especially where markets
for their sale when fat, are conveniently situated ; or this system may be partially acted upon, varying
the plan according to capital, circumstances, and the nature of the times. In which case, whenever store
stock become extravagantly high, it is mostly a good way to sell
6431. The sheep farming of the arable or low warm districts of the kingdom conse-
quently differs in various particulars from that of the hilly and mountainous districts ; we
shall therefore first give a general view of the sheep management of arable lands, and
next of mountainous districts.
SuBSECT. 1. Of the Rearing arid Management of Sheep on rich grass and arable Lands.
6432. The most general sheej} husbandry on rich lands, or where turnips and other
green food is raised for winter consumption, is to combine tlie breeding and feeding
branches, leaning to each according to the returns of profit : a method very common
among arable farmers, and which is attended with the least trouble and hazard, is that
of purchasing a store flock, as lambs, wethers, and what are termed crones, or old ewes ;
some of the last sort often proving with lamb, may be fattened off with them to good
account. It is likewise often the case that ewes are disposed of in lamb, or with lambs
by their sides, in what are termed couples, in which circumstances, it is frequently a
good practice to make annual purchases of them, in order to the fattening of both, and
selling them in that state within the year. In the purchasing of sheep, which is often
done from very distant fairs and markets, much care and circumspection is necessary,
whatever the sort or intention with which they are bought may be. In these cases
much advantage, especially when at a considerable distance, may be derived by employ-
ing a salesman on the spot.
6433. 2'he treatment of the lambs \i the first consideration in the mixed sheep hus-
bandry : lambs are either suckled or fattened on grass, or sold in autumn as lean stock.
Those that have been suckled or fattened in the house, in which system of fattening,
much attention is required to have them early, to their being well, regularly, and very
cleanly kept and suckled, as well as to the ewes being of the right sort, and the best
milkers that can be provided, and to their being fully supplied with food of the most
nourishing and succulent kinds. Their tails and udders should have the wool well
clipped away from them, in order that they may be preserved in a perfectly clean state.
The Iambs also require, especially towards the close of their fattening, to have regular
supplies of barley, wheat, and pease meal, ground together in combination with fine
green rouen hay. When these have been sold off, the lambs which have been fattened
on the best grass land will be ready to succeed them at the markets, in the spring and
summer months, and these will be followed by the sale of the store lambs, at the different
autumnal fairs.
6434. The selection or setting of the lamb-stock is the first business of sheep manage-
ment after the lambs have been weaned. It is generally performed in the month of
August, at which period the fairs for the sale of lambs mostly take place. And as at this
time the whole are collected together for drawing into different lots, it is a very suitable
l)eriod for selecting or choosing those that are to supply such deficiencies in the breeding
flocks. In his Calendar of Husbandry, Young has remarked, that in making this selec-
tion the farmer or his shepherd usually (whatever the breed may be} rejects all that ma-
nifest any departure from certain signs of the true breed : thus, in a Norfolk flock, a
white leg, and a face not of a hue sufficiently dark, would be excluded, however well
formed; in the same manner a white face on the South Downs; in Wiltshire a black
face would be an exclusion, or a horn that does not fall back ; in Dorsetshire a horn that
does not project, &c.
6435. The selection of the grown stock generally takes place after the lambs are weaned,
or, at all events, before tupping season, though wethers may be drawn out of the flock
at any time. A certain number of old ewes or crones are removed every year, and these
as well as the wethers, are fed off for the butcher, either on grass, artificial herbage,
or roots, according to the situation and circumstances of the farm, and season of the
year.
6436. The shearing of sheep is an annual operation, which includes several prepara-
tory measures and after-processes. These are, washing, separation, catching, clipping,
marking, and tail cutting.
6437. The proper time for clipping or shearing sheep must be directed by the state of
the weather and the climate in the particular district, as by this means the danger of in-
jury by cold from depriving the sheep of their coats at too early a season, and from heat
by permitting them to continue on them too long, may be avoided in the best manner :
but another circumstance that should likewise be attended to in this business, is that of
the wool being fully grown or at the state of maturity ; as where the clipping precedes
that period, it is said in the Annals of Agriculture to be weak and scarcely capable of
1002
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
being spun, and if protracted later, it is yellow, felted, and of an imperfect nature. It
has been stated, that for the more warm sheltered situations in the southern parts of the
kingdom, the beginning or middle of June, when the weather is fine, may be in general
the most proper; but in the more exposed districts in the northern parts of the island,
the middle or latter end of the same month may be more suitable, provided the season
be favorable. But with the fattening sheep in the inclosures, it will mostly be necessary
to perform the work at an earlier period in every situation, as the great increase of heat
from the setting in of the summer weather, added to the warmth of the fleece, becomes
very oppressive and injurious to them in their feeding.
6438. Sheep-shearing, in Romney Marsh, commences about midsummer, and finishes about the middle
of July. Those who shear first, think they escape the effects of the fly, and those that shear late, appre-
hend they gain half a pound weight in every fleece, by the increased perspiration of the sheep. In early
shearing, the wool has not the condition which it afterwards acquires, but the hot weather occasions a
good deal of trouble in detecting the fly.' The lambs are generally shorn, especially in the northern dis-
tricts, a few weeks after the old sheep, and the operation is termed sherling. The lambs that are sold in
Smith field market are, we believe, seldom or ever shorn.
6439. Clipping off the coarse soiled wool about the thighs and docks, some weeks before
the usual time of washing and clipping the sheep, is an excellent practice; as by this
means the sheep are kept clean and cool when the season is hot, and with ewes the udders
are prevented from becoming sore.
6440. In separating for the purpose of washing, the flock is brought to the side of the
washing-pool, and there lambs and sheep of different kinds, fit to be washed, are put into
separate fields ; and such lambs as are too young to be clipped are not washed, but con-
fined in a fold or enclosure of any kind, at such a distance from the washing place as that
they may not disturb their mothers by their bleating. The object of washing is simply to
free the fleece from dust and dirt of various kinds. In Devonshire and Spain, the short-
wooled sheep are not washed.
6441. In performing the operation of washing, it was formerly the method to have
the washers standing up to the breast in the water ; but from the inconvenience
and danger of it, the men requiring a large supply of spirituous liquors, and being
liable to be attacked with colds, rheumatisms and other diseases, as well as being
apt to dispatch the work with too much expedition, so as to leave the wool insuffi-
ciently clean; it has been proposed by Young, in his Calendar, to rail off a portion of
the water in a stream or pond (Jig. 676.), for the sheep to walk into by a sloping mouth
at one end (a), and to walk out by another at the other end (b), with a depth sufficient
at one part for them to swim ; and to pave the whole : the breadth need not be more than
six or seven feet. At one spot on each side of this passage, where the depth is just
sufficient for the water to flow over the sheep's back, a cask or box (c), water-tight, should
be fixed, for a man to stand in dry ; the sheep being in the water between them, they wash
in perfection, and pushing them on, they swim through the deep part, and walk out at the
other mouth, where a clean pen (d), or a very clean dry pasture is ready to receive them ;
of course there is a bridge rail- way to the tubs, and a pen at the first mouth of the
water (e), whence the sheep are turned into it, where they may be soaking for a few
minutes before being driven to the washers. But other more cheap contrivances may be
provided, where there is clean water at hand for the purposes.
6442. After sheep are washed, they should on no account be driven on dry or dusty
roads ; but should have a clean hard pasture for a few days, until they are perfectly dry
and in a proper condition to be shorn.
Book VII.
MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP.
1003
6445. The common method of catching the sheep, in order to lay it on its back to be
shorn, is by the hinder leg, drawing the animal backward with a crook {Jig. 677 a, 6, c)
to the adjacent shearing place ; the hand holding the leg to be ^^^=>>. g^^
kept low, when at the place it is turned on its back ; or they are
moved bodily, or one hand placed on the neck, and another be-
hind, and in that manner walked along : the first or common
mode he thinks the most safe. Sheep fed on rich pastures, and
fleshy, if handled hard and bruised, tlie parts are liable to fatal
mortifications ; an accident which often happens, on which ac-
counts pens upon some lands are obliged to be lined with woollen,
or many would die from bruises.
6444. In perfiyn7iing the operation of shearing, the left side of
the sheep is placed against the shearer's left leg, his left foot at
the root of the sheep's tail, and his left knee at the sheep's left
shoulder. The process commences with the shears at the crown
of the sheep's head, with a straight cut along to the loins, return-
ing to the shoulder, and making a circidar shgar around the off
side to the middle of the belly ; the off hinder leg next : then the
left hand holding the tail, a circular shear of the rump to the near
huck of the sheep's hind leg ; the two fore feet are next taken in
the left hand, the sheep raised, and the shears set in at the breast,
when the remaining part of the belly is sheared round to the near
stifle; lastly, the operator kneeling down on his right knee, and
the sheep's neck being laid over his left thigh, he shears along the
remaining side.
6i45. The method in Northumberland is to begin at the back part of the head, in order to a;ive room for
the shears to make their way down the right side of the neck, to the middle of the breast. The man then
sits down upon his right knee, laying the head of the sheep over his left knee bent, and beginning at the
breast, clips the underside of the throat upwards to the left cheek ; then takes off the back of the neck,
and all the way down below the left shoulder. He then changes to the contrary side, and makes his way
down to the open of the right flank. This done, he returns to the breast, and takes off the belly, after
which it matters not which side he clips, because being able to clip with either hand, he meets his shear
points exactly at tiie middle of the back, all the way, until he arrive at the thighs or legs. He then
places the sheep on its left side, and putting his right foot over the neck, and the other forward to the
undermost hind leg, clears the right side ; then turning the sheep over, finishes the whole.
6446. The Jleece being removed, is wound up ; that is, deprived of any clotted wool or
dirty part, and lapped with the shorn side outwards, beginning at the breech and ending
at the shoulders, where the neat wool serves as a bandage.
6447. Marking is performed on each sheep as soon as the fleece is removed. The
object is to identify the individuals as the property of the master. Sometimes initials
are impressed, and at other times other marks. They are impressed by stamps, or
merely chalked or painted on. A stamp dipped in warm tar is the most durable mode.
Some place the mark on different parts of the sheep, according to its age ; others cut thd
margin of the ears in«difterent ways.
6448. Shortening the tails of the sheep is performed in almost all the sheep districts of
the kingdom except in Dorsetsliire, which seems to be an useful practice in keeping the
animals more clean behind, and of course less liable to be stricken with the fly. It has
however been suggested in the ninth volume of Annals of Agriculture, that by this cus-
tom the sheep may be rendered less able to drive away the flies. The general prevalence
of the practice would, however, seem to prove its being of advantage. There is much
difference in the manner of performing the business in different districts in respect to the
length, but four or five inches being left, is quite sufficient. It is usually done while
the animals are young. In all sheep pastures the hedges should be well cleared
from briars, as their coats are often injured by being torn by them. And all sorts
of pernicious reptiles should be as much as possible destroyed, and removed from such
land.
6449. The mode of pasturing sheep, or of feeding them on herbage or roots having been
described when treating of these crops, the more general practices of rearing and
management of lo^vland sheep husbandry may be considered as developed. Some pecu-
liar practices and the mode of fatting lambs will be found in subsequent sections.
SuBSECT. 2. Of the Rearing and general Management of Sheep on Hilly and Mountain-
ous Districts, or what is generally termed Store Sheep Husbandry.
6450. The best store farmers in Britain, are unquestionably tliose on the Cheviot hills,
which border the two kingdoms, and an account of tlieir management may be considered
as applicable to the mountainous districts of the whole kingdom. It is indeed applied
by the migrations of the Cheviot and Teviotdale farmers, both in the North High-
lands, on tlie Sutherland estate, and in Wales. No regular system of store farm-
ing, as observed by Napier, ( Treatise on Store Farming), appeared previously to his
1004
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
own ; and accordingly from this work, and an excellent account published in the
Supplement to the Encyclojicedia Britannica, we have extracted what follows.
6451. A generalidea of the extent and nature of a store farm, maybe obtained by
referring to that of Thirlstane in Ettrick forest, a plan of which {fig. 678.) is given bv
678
1^,-rv^ ^^— ^:^
1
\^^^^%
Sll^f^
J«
IX
V'^
I
p.
w
1
Wo ^^^fcig^^ p 'll
M.
•^
w.
Captain Napier. It contains one thousand six hundred and fifty-one acres ; of which
one thousand four hundred and sixty-four acres are in open hill pasture, seventy in
plantation, forty in arable and meadow, about sixty in six enclosures, and the rest in shep-
herd's and other cottager's houses, with their allowance of ground for a garden and cow^.
What distinguishes this farm from most others is the number of stells or small circular
enclosures (o) for sheltering and feeding cattle during storms of snow, which are distri-
buted over it; being no fewer than thirty-seven. The advantages of these stells in dis-
tricts where sheep are liable to be buried by snow, Captain Napier considers very great,
and to promote their more general introduction seems to have been one principal induce-
ment for publishing his book. We shall recur to the subject in the following section,
when treating of cotting, folding, housing, &c.
6452. In the practice of store farming the rams are put to the ewes for the purpose of
copulation in November, a little earlier or later, according to the prospect of spring food,
but seldom before the eighth or tenth of that month. The number of rams required is
more or less, according to the extent of the pasture, and their own age and condition.
If the ewes are not spread over an extensive tract, one ram to sixty ewes is generally
sufficient. It is usually thought advisable to separate the gimmers (sheep once shorn)
from the older ewes, and to send the rams to the latter eight or ten days before they are
admitted to the former. Notwithstanding this precaution, which retards their lambing
season till the spring is farther advanced, ewes which bring their first lamb when two
years old, the common period on the best hill farms, are often very bad nurses, and in a
late spring lose a great many of their lambs, unless they are put into good condition with
turnip before lambing, and get early grass afterwards. This separation, and difference
in the time of admitting the rams to the ewes and gimmers, should therefore be always
attended to. When a farm under this description of stock has the convenience of ^.few
good inclosures (as in Thirlstane farm for example), still more minute attention is paid
by skilful managers. It is not sufficient that the rams are carefully selected from perhaps
Book VII. MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP. IO05
double the number, the ewes also are drawn out and assorted, and such a ram appropriated
to each lot, as possesses the properties in form or fleece in which the ewes are deficient. In
other cases, the best ram and the best lot of ewes are put together. When neither of
these arrangements can be adopted, owing to the want of inclosures, it is the practice to
send the best rams to the ewes for a few days at first, and those of an inferior description
afterwards. In every case, when the farmer employs rams of his own flock, he is careful
to have a few of the best ewes covered by a well formed and fine-woolled ram, for the
purpose of obtaining a number of good ram-lambs, for preserving or improving the
character of his stock.
6453. The stock through winter, in a mere breeding farm, consists of ewes and gimmers, which should
have Iambs in spring ; ewe lambs or hogs ; and a few young and old rams. All these are sometimes
allowed to pasture promiscuously, but on the farms around Cheviot, the ewes and ewe hogs are kept
separate, and the ewe hogs are either put on rough pastures, which have been lightly stocked in the latter
end of summer, or get a few turnips once a day, in addition to the remains of their summer pasture.
The most effectual preventive of the desolating distempers to which sheep of this age are liable, is turnips;
and though they should never taste them afterwards, a small quantity is frequently given them during
their first winter. After the rams have been separated from the ewes, they are usually indulged with the
same feeding as the hogs.
6454. The ewes, during winter, are seldom allowed any other food than what their summer pasture affords,
except that a small part of it may sometimes be but lightly eaten, and reserved as a resource against
severe storms. When these occur, however, as they ofiten do in the Cheviot district, there is little depen-
dence on any other food than hay. When the snow is so deep as completely to cover the herbage, about
two stones avoirdupois of hay are allowed to a score of sheep daily, and it is laid down, morning and
evening, in small parcels on any sheltered spot near the house, or under the shelter of stalls or clumps of
trees, on different parts of the farm.
6455. The ewes in March, at least the gimmers or young ewes, are commonly allowed
a few turnips once a day, on farms on which there is any extent of arable land ; which
are either carted to their pastures, or eaten on the ground, by bringing the sheep to the
turnip field through the night. A part of the field, in the latter case, is cut off by nets,
or by hurdles, which inclose the sheep in the same way as if they were intended for
fattening. When they are ready to drop their lambs, they are no longer kept on the
turnip field, and get what turnips may be left on their pastures. But it is seldom that
the turnips last so long, though it is desirable to have a few remaining to be given to the
weakest ewes, or to such as have twins, in a separate inclosure.
6456. A few days before the time of lambing, the ewes are collected for the purpose
of being udder-locked. The sheep are raised upon their buttocks, their backs next to
the operator, who then bends forward and plucks off the locks of wool growing on or
near the udders, for the purpose of giving free access to the expected lambs. At the
same time he ascertains the condition of the ewes, and marks such as do not appear to be
in lamb, which may then be separated from the others. This, operation is not without
danger, and several premature births are usually the consequence. It is therefore not so
general a practice as it was formerly, though still a common one on many, if not on
most farms.
6457. 71ie separation of the hogs from the ewes, where these have been allowed to pasture
promiscuously, should always take place at the commencement of the lambing season,
and the lowest and finest part of the pasture exclusively appropriated to the nursing ewes.
On the Cheviot hills' the hogs are generally pastured apart on the coarser herbage.
6458. The lambing season commences with the first or second week of April, according
to the time at which the rams were admitted; and such as have twins, generally lamb among
the first of the flock. At this season, the most constant attention is indispensable on the
part of the shepherds, both to the ewes in labor, and to the newly dropped lambs.
Though the Cheviot ewes are not so liable to losses in parturition, as some larger breeds
which are in higher condition, and though they make good nurses, unless they are very
lean, and their food scanty, yet, among a large flock, there are always a number that need
assistance in lambing, and in a late spring not a few who have not milk suflScient for their
lambs, particularly among the gimmers or young ewes. A carefulshepherd at this time
always carries a bottle of milk along with him, which he drops from his own mouth into
that of the lamb that may need it ; brings the ewes that have little milk to a better
pasture, or to turnips, and confines such as have forsaken their lambs in a small pen, or
barrack as it is called, temporarily erected in some part of the farm-steading. The same
confinement is necessary when it is wished to make a ewe that has lost her own lamb,
nurse that of another ewe that has had twins, or that has perished in lambing, or is from
any other cause incapable of rearing her lamb. The ewe after being shut up a few
hours with the strange lamb, usually admits it to the teat, and ever after treats it as her
own ; though sometimes a little deception is necessary, such as covering the stranger
with the skin of her own lamb. At this important season, an inclosure of rich early grass,
near the shepherd's cottage, is of vast advantage. Thither he carries the ewes and twins,
such as have little milk ; those that have been induced to adopt another's oflTspring; and
generally, all that need to be frequently inspected, and are in want of better treatment
than the rest of the flock, (^w^j. *c. 178.)
6459. Castration is performed in the male lambs when a few days old, the ewe lambs
1006 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
are never spayed : mild weather is chosen, and the operation performed in a fold on small
quantities at a time.
6460. The late lambing ewes are separated from the ewes and lambs at the end of the
lambing season, and kept by themselves, that they may be more under the eye of the shep-
herd, than if scattered over all the pasture. It is desirable to allow them fine grass for a
few weeks after lambing, that their lambs may come to be nearly equal to the rest of the
flock when weaned ; or if they are too late for this, that they may get ready for the butcher
by the month of August, beyond which period the ewes must be much injured by suck-
ling them. [Supp. ^c, art. AgrA19.)
6461. Washing, in store-farming, is performed when the wool has risen sufficiently, which is easily
known by the appearance of a new growth. The barren sheep are brought to tiie washing pool. Some-
times they are hand-washed by men who stand in the pool, and have the sheep forced towards them
singly ; but more commonly, the Cheviot sheep, especially if the flock be numerous, are compelled to leap
into the pool in a body for three or four times successively ; and it is desirable that they should have room
to swim a little, and come out on a green low bank on the opposite side. After being washed, the sheep
are preserved as far as possible from rubbing against earthen dykes or banks, and from lying down on any
dirty spot which might soil their wool. {Supp. Sjc.)
6462. Marking, as in general sheep-farming (6447.), takes place before the shorn sheep
are turned out to pasture ; they are marked, commonly with the owner's initials, by a stamp,
or boost in provincial language, dipped in tar heated to a thin fluid state, and it is not
unusual to place this mark on different parts of the body, according to the sheep's age.
6463. The weaning of lambs takes place when they are about three months old, some-
times sooner. When the ewes are gathered to be washed or shorn, the ewe laivibs to be
kept for supplying the place of the old ewes occasionally sold, are stamped in the same
way as the ewes. The store-lambs are sent to some clean grassy pasture for a few weeks;
and where the farm does not afford this accommodation, they must be summered, as it is
called, at a distance. Several farms near Cheviot, and on the Lammermuir hills in Ber-
wdckshire, are appropriated to this purpose, the owner of the lambs paying so much a-head
for six or eight weeks. In the mean time the ewe hogs, or gimmers as they are deno-
minated after shearing, have joined the ewe stock, and the lambs, when brought home,
go to the pasture which they had occupied. Wherever they may be kept in winter, it is
always desirable to allow them a few turnips, along with a full bite of coarse herbage.
6464. The practice of milking ewes after the separation of the lambs is still continued in a few places.
This very objectionable management is generally continued for six or eight weeks. The value of the milk
of each ewe for this time, may not exceed from one shilling to one shilling and six-pence a-head and the
sheep are injured to at least three times that amount, independent of accidents at the milking fold. The
cream is separated from the ewe milk, and made into butter for smearing, andthemilk itself mixed with
cow milk, and converted into cheese. The most skilful store-masters, however, have either laid aside milk-
ing, unless for a few days, or have shortened the period to two or three weeks.
6465. The selection of the crones or old ewes to be sold, generally takes place in Sep .
tember or October, when they are sold to the feeder, and replaced by lambs of the current
year. On the lower hills, ewes are generally disposed of after having lambed three sea^
scms, or under four and a half years of age. In some situations they are kept on till a
year older ; but when they are purchased, as they usually are, to be kept another year on
lower grounds, it is commonly for the interest of the store^farmer, to sell them when still
in their full vigor. Skilful managers do not content themselves with drafting them
merely according to age ; and as there is no disadvantage in keeping a few of the best
another year, they take this opportunity of getting rid of such of the flock of other ages
as are not of good shapes, or are otherwise objectionable. As soon as the ewes to be
disposed of are drawn from the flock, they are kept by themselves on better pasture, if the
circumstances of the farm will admit of it. Sometimes they are carried on till they are
fattened, and turnips are often purchased for them at a distance. When this is the case,
it is not thought advisable to keep them longer, than till between Christinas and Candle-
mas, as an old ewe does not improve like awether in the spring months. {Snpp.-^c.)
6466. The salving or smearing of sheep is an operation scarcely known in England,
and not practised by the Welsh : some store-farmers in the milder districts of the north-
ern counties, consider it unnecessary, but in all very cold situations it is still employed.
The object of this operation is to destroy vermin, to prevent cutaneous diseases, and to
promote the warmth and comfort of the animal during the storms of the ensuing winter.
It is not necessary with sheep kept on low grounds, and well fed during winter, and it
may occasionally be omitted for one season, particularly with old sheep, without ma-
terial injury ; but notwithstanding the ridicule that speculative writers have attempted
to throw upon the practice, it is almost universally considered necessary and beneficial on
high exposed situations, by the store-farmers of the border hills. Smeared wool does not
sell so high as white wool, but the greater weight of the former more than compensates for
the difference in price. {General Beport of Scotland, vol. iii.) The season of salving
or smearing is usually towards the end of October or beginning of November, before the
rams are sent to the ewes. The most common materials are butter and tar, mixed in
different proportions ; a greater proportion of tar being employed for the hogs or young
sheep than for the older ones. The proportions are ako different on almost every farm.
Book VII. FOLDING OF SHEEP. lOOTt
and more tar is thought to be necessary, according to their greater elevation and exposure.
In Roxburghshire, some mix two gallons of tar with thirty-six pounds of butter, as a
sufficient allowance for three score of sheep, but for the same number it is more common
to allot only one stone (twenty-four pounds) of butter, to two gallons of tar. {Roxburgh-
shire Report, p. 155.)- A common proportion of late has been about fourteen pounds of
butter, to two Scotch pints of tar (nearly 3^ quarts English wine measure), for ewes, and
eleven pounds to the same quantity of tar for hogs This mixture should smear from
twenty to twenty-five of each, which is the number one man can do in a day. The ex-
pense, according to present prices, will be about nine-pence for each sheep : and the ar-
ticles, such as oil, palm-grease, tallow, &c., have been recommended in place of butter;
but none of them are in general use, and the only addition that is approved of is a little
butter-milk. The butter is slowlymelted and poured upon the tar, and the mixture is
constantly stirred till it becomes cool enough for use. The wool is accurately parted
into rows from the head to the tail of the animal, and the salve is carefully spread upon
the skin witli the point of the finger at the bottom of each row. (^Sup. En. Brit. art.
Agr. 180.)
6467. The care of sheep during storms is a business requiring constant attention.
In storms of wind and rain, or what are called Olack storms by the shepherds, the sheep
will, in a great measure, take care of themselveS, by pasturing in situations naturally
sheltered. All that is required from it here is to remove any of the more delicate into
a covered fold or sheep house ; though such conveniencies are seldom to be found on
mountain farms. But in a storm of snow the natural shelter to which the sheep have
recourse, becomes the great receptacle of drift, and the harbinger of death to the flock.
It is in such situations that Captain Napier purposes to place his stalls, or circular folds,
(^Jig. 678 O }, into which the sheep should be driven, or will naturally enter on the
commencement of the storm. The round form for these stalls or folds is decidedly
preferable to any figure with straight lines, as these invariably harbour drift. Where no
artificial shelter is provided immense losses sometimes take place on mountain farms.
The sheep are buried many feet deep in the snow ; and though the shepherd, with such
assistants as he can procure, armed with poles and spades, and aided by the sagacity
of his dog, may dig out a few, yet the greater number perish. While the sheep remain
in artificial shelters of any kind they must of course be 679
fed ; and the only convenient food in such cases is hay,
straw, or dried spray — the latter, fortunately, seldom
resorted to in this country, which should be put into
baskets, or racks. ! Jig. 679.) The Ryeland breed of
sheep in Herefordshire, and some of the flocks in the
Highlands of Scotland, are put under cover nightly
throughout the year : a practice which has probably
originated in security, and been continued as mattei
of convenience and habit.
Sect. V. Of the Folding of Sheep.
6468. Cotting or folding is a practice more or less extensively followed with particular
breeds and in particular districts, but now generally on the decline. It was formerly
thought to be indispensably necessary to the success of the farmer in different districts ;
but of late a different opinion has prevailed, except in particular cases, Tand it is consi-
dered as merely enriching one field at the expense of another. The practice may how-
ever be beneficial where there are downs, heaths, or commons. Folding has been chiefly
confined to England, and a small part of Wales and Ireland. The object is to enrich
the arable land ; but as this is done at the expense of the pasture, it is truly, as Bake-
well expressed it, " robbing Peter to pay Paul."
6469. The sheep best adapted to the fold are those of the more active, short-woolled
varieties, such as the Norfolk, Wiltshire, and South Down breeds ; the heavy long-
wooUed kinds being less hardy, and some of them, as the Leicesters, much too valuable
for a mode of treatment that converts them into dung carriers. The following calcula-
tion by Marshal will show, that though, in open lands, the practice may be in some
cases tolerated on the ground of conveniency or expediency, it can possess no recom-
mendation as a profitable mode of management in other circumstances.
6470. This morning (September 22d, 17S0), measured a sheep-fold, set out for six hundred sheep, con-
sisting of ewes, wedders, and grown lambs. It measures eight by five and half rods, which is somewhat
more than seven rods to one hundred, or two yards to a sheep.
6471. August 29, 1781. Last autumn made an accurate experiment, on a large scale, with different
manures for wheat, on a sandy loam, summer fallowed. Part of an eighteen acre piece was manured
with fifteen or sixteen loads of tolerably good farm-yard dung an acre ; part with three chaldrons of lime
an acre ; the rest folded upon with sheep twice ; the first time at the rate of six hundred sheep to a
quarter of an acre (as in first ipinutc), the second time thinner. In winter and spring, the dung kept
the lead ; and now, at harvest, it has produced the greatest burden of straw. The sheep-fold kept a
steady pace from seed-time to harvest, and is now evidently the best corned, and the cleanest crop. The
1008 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
lime, in winter and spring, made a poor appearance, but after some showers in summer, it flourished
much, and is now a tolerable crop, not less, I apprehend, than three quarters of an acre.
6472. From these data the value of a sheep-fold, in this case, may be calculated. It appears from the
first minute, that one hundred sheep manured seven square rods daily. But the second folding was
thinner ; suppose nine rods, this is, on a par of the two foldings, eight rods a day each folding. The
dung could not be worth less than half a crown a load ; and the carriage and spreading ten shillings an
acre ; together fifty shillings an acre ; which quantity of land the hundred sheep teathed twice in forty
days. Supposing them to be folded the year round, they would, at this rate, fold nine acres annually;
which, at fifty shillings an acre, is twenty-two pounds ten shillings a hundred, or four shillings and six-
pence a head. In some parts of the island, the same quantity of dung would be worth five pounds an
acre, which would raise the value of the teathe to nine shillings a head ; which, at two-pence a head a
week, is more than the whole year's keep of the sheep. It does not follow, however, that all lands would
have received equal benefit with the piece in consideration ; which, perhaps, had not been folded upon
for many years, perhaps never before ; and sheep folds, like other manures, may become less efficacious
the longer it is used on a given piece of land. {MarshaPs Rural Economy of Norfolk^ vol. ii. p. 29.)
6473. To fold on land in tillage all the year is nearly impracticable ; and where it
could be done, the manure would be greatly diminished in value from rain and snow,
to say nothing of the injury to the sheep themselves. So that the estimate of four
sliillings and sixpence, or nine shillings a head, is evidently in the extreme.
6474. According to Arthur Young, {Fam'.er's Calendar), the same land will maintain one-fourth more
stock when the animals are allowed to depasture^ at liberty, than when confined during the night in folds.
The injury to the stock themselves, though it Is not easy to mention its precise amount with any degree
of accuracy, cannot well be doubted, at least in the case of the larger and less active breeds, when it is
considered that they are driven, twice a day, sometimes for a distance of two, or even three miles, and
that their hours of feeding and rest are, in a great measure, controlled by the shepherd and his boy.
When they are kept in numerous parcels, it is not only driving to and from the fold that affects them,
but they are in fact driving about in a sort of march all day long, when the strongest have too great 'an
advantage, and the flock divides into the head and tail of it, by which means one part of them must
trample the food to be eaten by another. All this points the very reverse of their remaining perfectly
quiet in small parcels.
6475. The result of Parkinson^s exjierience is *' that were the pasture sheep of Lin-
colnshire to be got into a fold once a-week, and only caught one by one, and put out
again immediately, it would prevent their becoming fat." {^Parkinson on Live Stock,
vol. i. p. 367. ) The only sort of folding ever adopted to any extent by the best
breeders is on turnips, clovers, tares, and other rich food, where the sheep feed at their
ease, and manure the land at the same time.
6476. Folding in littered yards is described by Dickson [Complete Farmer, art. Sheep)
as combining all the advantages of folding on arable lands without any of its disad-
vantages. By this practice the sheep are confined at night in a yard well and regularly
littered with straw, stubble, or fern ; by which means the flock is said to be kept warm
and healthy in bad seasons, and at the same time a surprising quantity of manure accu-
mulated. A great improvement on this method, it is said, would be, giving the sheep
all their food (except their pasture) in such yard, viz. hay and turnips : for which pur-
pose they may be brought up not only at night, but also at noon, to be baited ; but if
their pasture be at a distance, they should then, instead of baiting at noon, come to the
yard earlier in the evening, and go out later in the morning. This is a practice, he says,
that cannot be too much recommended ; for so warm a lodging is a great matter to young
lambs, and will tend much to forward their growth : the sheep will also be kept in good
health ; and, what is a point of consequence to all farms, the quantity of dung raised
will be very great. If this method is pursued through the months of December,
January, February, March, and April, with plenty of litter, one hundred sheep will
make a dunghill of at least sixty loads of excellent stuff, which will amply manure two
acres of land ; whereas one hundred sheep folded (supposing the grass dry enough) will
not, in that time, equally manure an acre,
6477. Our opinion of this sort of folding, so warmly recommended by Sir J. Sinclair and A.Young, in the
husbandry of Scotland, coincides with that of a very superior judge, who says, " that such a method may
be advantageous in particular cases, it would be rash to deny ; but generally, it is not advisable, either oh
account of the sheep, or any alleged advantage from the manure they make. As to the sheep, this driving
and confinement, especially in summer, would be just as hurtful as folding them in the common way, and
it has been found that their wool was much injured by the broken litter mixing with the fleece in a man-
ner not to be easily separated : besides, now that it is the great object of every skilful breeder to accelerate
the maturity of his sheep, as well as other live stock ; among otiier means, by leaving them to feed at
their ease, and if circumstances permit, in small parcels; such a practice as this can never be admissible
in their management ; and with regard to manure, there can be no difficulty in converting into it, any
quantity of straw, stubble, and fern, by cattle fed in fold-yards, on green herbage in summer, and turnips,
or other succulent food, in winter ; while the soil, especially if it be of a light porous quality, is greatly
benefited both by the dung and treading of sheep, allowed to consume the remainder of both sorts of food
on the ground. It is true, that the dung of sheep has been generally supposed to be more valuable than
that of cattle, but accurate experiments have not been made to determine the difference in this respect,
among these and other polygastric animals The greater improvement of pastures by sheep, is piobably
owing as much to their mode of feeding, as to the richer quality of their dung." {Sup. E. Brit. art. Agr^
Skct. VI. Of Fatting Sheep and Lambs.
6478. The subject of fatting sheep may be considered in regard to the age at which
fatting is commenced, the kind of food, and the manner of supplying it.
6479. IVie age at which sheep are fatted depends upon the breed, some breeds, such
as the Leicester, maturing at an earlier age than others, under the same circumstances;
and also in the abundance and quality of the food on which they are reared ; a disposition
to early obesity, as well as a gradual tendency towards that form which indicates a propen-
Book VII. FATTENING OF SHEEP. 100S(
ftity to fatten, being materially promoted by rich food, while the young animals are yet in
a growing state. On good land, the Leicester wethers are very generally brought to a
profitable state of fatness before they are eighteen months old, and are seldom kept
for fatting beyond the age of two years : the Highland breeds, on the other hand, though
prepared, by means of turnips, a year at least sooner than they could be in former times,
usually go to the shambles when from three to four years old. The ewes of the first de-
scription are commonly fatted after having brought lambs for three seasons, that is, after
they have completed their fourth year, and those of the small breeds, at from five to seven
years of age, according to circumstances. (Sup. E. Brit. art. Agr.)
6480. The kinds of food on which sheep are fatted, are good pastures, permanent or
temporary, herbage crops, as clovers, tares, &c., turnips, and other roots ; and linseed cake,
grains, or other edible refuse of the oil manufactory, brewery, and distillery.
6481. The mode of feeding on rich pastures, herbage, and turnips, has already been
described when treating of these crops, and it remains only to notice the modes of using
grains and oil cake. These and also bran, oats, pease, and other grains and meals,
whether given in winter or summer, should always be accompanied with pasture or dry
food of some sort, especially hay. All food of this sort should be given in moveable
troughs, divided in the middle, so that the sheep may feed on each side, with a sloping roof
over them, so as[to cover the sheep's heads and necks while feeding, as wet is not only pre-
judicial to the sheep, but spoils the food. A rack for hay, fixed over the trough, might
probably be made to answer in this intention, while it would be very convenient for
holding that material, and preventing waste. The whole should be fixed on wheels, and
be made to stand steady, and a sufficient number for the quantity of sheep, be always in
readiness. In the fattening of wethers, the use of barley meal, with grass or some other
sort of green food, has likewise been found highly beneficial, and when it can be pro-
cured at a reasonable rate, should not be neglected, as it is quick in rendering them fat,
and the mutton is excellent. A pound of oil cake, or of meal per day, with hay, or
turnips, for each crone or wether, is reckoned a fair allowance in Lincolnshire. In the
report of that county, several instances of oil cake feeding are given, by which it appears
that that sort of food fattens in a shorter time than any other, is the most suitable food
for fattening old sheep, and a rapid promoter of the growth of the wool.
6482. As general rules for fattening sheep, as well as otlier animals, it should be made
a rule never to allow them to lose flesh from the earliest age, till they are sent to the
butcher ; that it is found of much advantage with a view to speedy fattening, as well as
to the economy of food, to separate a flock into divisions, corresponding with its different
ages, and the purpose of the owner as to the time of carrying them to market ; and that
the change from the food of store to fatting stock, from that which is barely capable of
supporting the condition which they have already attained, to that which is adapted to
their speedy improvement in fatting, ought to be gradual and progressive. Thus, very
lean sheep are never, in good management, put to full turnips in winter, nor to rich
pastures in summer ; they are prepared for turnips in good grass land ; often on the
afker-grass of mown grounds, and kept on second yeai-'s leys, and afterwards a moderate
allowance of turnips^ if they are fatted on pastures. It is a common practice, in the
instance of the Leicesters, to keep all that are not meant for breeding always in a state
of fatness, and after full feeding on turnips through winter and spring, to finish them on
the first year's clover early in summer, when the prices of meat are usually the
highest.
6483. The fattening of lambs during summer, requires nothing more than keeping
their mothers and tliem on the richest and best pasturage, and supplying such artificial
food as the situation, season, or other circumstances may require ; but the fatting of lambs
during winter and spring, requires attention to three things, the breed, or if any breed
be used indifferently, the period of dropping, the lamb house, and the feeding.
6484. With respect to the breed, as the sheep will take the ram at any season, any variety may be so
managed as to drop their lambs at any period of the year, but it is found by experience, that the Dorset-
shire sheep is easiest made to yean, and therefore this is the sort generally employed in Middlesex for
rearing what is called house lamb, for the metropolis. The selection of the rams for breeding the lambs
to be house fed, is, according to Middleton, founded on the following circumstances : the sucklers, sales-
men, and butchers of London, are aware that such lambs as have sharp barbs on the inside of their lips,
are certainly of a deep color after being butchered; and all those whose barbs are naturally blunt, do as
cerUinly produce fair meat. This knowledge has been the occasion of many lambs of the latter kind being
kept for rams, and sent into Dorsetshire expressly for the purpose of improving the color of the flesh of
house lambs, the issue of such rams can generally be warranted fair, and such meat always sells at a
higher price ; hence arose the mistaken notion that Middlesex rams were necessary to procure house lambs.
6485. A lamb-house may be any close shed, cow-house, or other spare house, or, even
on a small scale, a roomy pigstye. But they are built on purpose by the extensive
dealers in this article ; and one to suckle from one hundred and sixty to one hundred and
eighty lambs at a time, should be seventy feet long, and eighteen feet broad, with tJ)ree
coops of different sizes at each end, so constructed as to divide the lambs according to
3 T
low
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
their ages. A plan of a sheep-house, combining also a lamb-house, Is given by Kraft in
hh Rustic Designs. It is wholly built of unbarked spars, or young fir-trees. The plan
/Jig, 680.), contains four close apartments with doors for the lambs (a), and four others
with racks for the sheep (b). The elevation {fig. 681.) shows a gallery (c) , which sur-
680 681
a
a
=i-i —
1 o o r
if
i!!!lin!!!l!i'.!!!!
'"'''li/' mffnr^i'yriLLiLircoa
P) O 0
j 7
rounds the building, and is used as a pas-
sage for viewing the sheep, handling them with the crook, and at night for the perambu-
ations of a watch-dog. The roof being twenty feet from the floor, the interior is
abundantly airy, which for sheep is an important object. Another design in the same
work (Jig. 682.), is accompanied by an elegant Italian watch-
tower, with apartments therein for the shepherd.
6486. The economy/ of tfie suckling-house is as follows : The
sheep which begin to lamb about Michaelmas are kept in the
close during the day, and in the house during the night, until
they have produced twenty or thirty lambs. These lambs are
then put into a lamb-house, which is kept constantly well lit-
tered with clean wheat straw ; and chalk, both in lump and in
powder, is provided for them to lick, in order to prevent loose-
ness, and thereby preserve the lambs in health. As a prevention
against gnawing the boards, or eating each other's wool, a little
wheat straw is placed, with the ears downwards, in a rack within
their reach, with which they amuse themselves, and of which they
eat a small quantity. In this house they are kept, with great
care and attention, until fit for the butcher.
6487. The mothers of the lambs are turned, every night at eight o'clock, into the
lamb-house to their offspring. At six o'clock in the morning, these mothers are sepa-
rated from their lambs, and turned into the pastures ; and at eight o'clock, such ewes as
have lost their own lambs, and those ewes whose lambs are sold, are brought in and held
by the head till the lambs, by turns, suck them clean : they are then turned into the
pasture ; and at twelve o'clock, the mothers of the lambs are driven from the pasture
into the lamb-house for an hour, in the course of which time each lamb is suckled by its
mother. At four o'clock, all the ewes that have not lambs of their own are again
brought to the lamb-house, and held for the lambs to suck ; and at eight, the mothers of
the lambs are brought to them for the night.
6488; Tfds method of suckling is continued all the year. The breeders select such of the lambs as become
fet enough, and of proper age (about eight weeks old), for slaughter, and send them to markets during
December, and three or four succeeding months, at prices which vary from one guinea to four, and the
rest of the year at about two guineas each. This is severe work for the ewes, and some of them die
under excess of exhaustion. However, care is taken that they have plenty of food ; for when green food
(viz. turnips, cole, rye, tares, clover, &c.) begins to fail, brewer's grains are given them in troughs, and
second-crop hay in racks, as well to support the ewes, as to supply the lambs with plenty of milk ; for, if
that should not be abundant, the lambs would become stunted, in which case no food could fatten them.
{Middlesex Report, p. 355.)
Sect. VII. On the probable Improvement which may be derived from Crosses of the
Merino Breed of Sheep.
6489. The Merino^ or Spanish variety of the Ovis Aries, is supposed by Rozier
and other French writers, to have been originally imported from Africa to Spain. It is,
however, at least as probable, that they are indigenous to that country, or if originally
imported, that they have become modified to what they are, by the soil and climate.
Merinos first attracted attention in this country in 1 764, in consequence of the reports of
travellers, and a letter by Don John Bowley to Peter Collinson, published in the Gen-
tlemMus Magazine for that year. A few were imported in 1788, and more in 1791,
and placed on the King's farm at Windsor, under the care of Sir Joseph Banks, who
was then constituted His Majesty's shepherd. The first sale of stock was made in 1 800 ;
and from these, a flock imported from Spain in 1801, by Lord Somerville, and some
other importations by different persons subsequently, have sprung all the Merinos and
Merino rams in the empire. Since that period, a number of eminent breeders and
scientific agriculturists have cultivated this breed both alone and by crossing, but espe-
cially Dr. Parry and Lord Somerville ; and though the utility which its introduction
may ultimately prove to the country can by no means be estimated at present, that it has
already done much good by directing the public attention to the subject, there can be no
Book VI I. MERINO SHEEP. lOU
doubt ; and many are of opinion, that by it the fleeces of our sbort-wooled sheep may be
no improved as to render them fit substitutes for imported Spanish wool.
(5490. Dr. Parry' s experiments with the Merino breed were begun nearly at the same
time with the King's. His farm was elevated, exposed, and unfit for any other purpose
than breeding; and he fixed on the Ryeland breed, as one of the finest wooled varieties
of British sheep, for crossing with Merino rams. His only object was the improvement
of the fleece.
6491. The effect of the fourth cross of the Merino ram ^ according to the opinion of
sheep cultivators on the continent, on any breed of ewes, however coarse and long in the
fleece, will be to give progeny with short wool equal to the Spanish. Of the truth of
this proposition, however, Dr. Parry justly expresses some doubts, derived from his own
experience and that of others. But it is certain, he adds, that one cross more will, in
most cases, eflfect the desired purpose. If we suppose, he says, the result of the admix-
ture of the blood of the Merino ram to be always in an exact arithmetical proportion,
and state the native blood in the ewe as 64 ; then the first cross would give || of the
Merino ; the second f^ ; the third |f ; the fourth |^ ; the fifth || ; the sixth f^, and so
on. In other words, the first cross would leave thirty-two parts in sixty -four, or half of
the English quality; the second sixteen parts, -or one-fourth; the third eight parts, or
one-eighth ; the fourth four parts, or one-sixteenth ; the fifth two parts, or one-thirty-
second ; the sixth one part, or one-sixty-fourth, and so on. Now, if the filaments of the
Wiltshire, or any other coarse wool, be in diameter double that of the Ryeland, it is
obvious, that, according to the above statement, it would require exactly one cross more
to bring the hybrid wool of the former to the same fineness as that of the latter. Tliis,
he believes, very exactly corresponds with the fact. The difference between one-eighth
and one-sixteenth is very considerable, and must certainly be easily perceived, both by
a good miscroscope, and in the cloth which is manufactured from such wool. In the*
latter method, he adds, " it certainly has been perceived; but I have hitherto had no
opportunity of trying the difference by the former. The fifth cross, as I have before ob-
served, brings the Merino- Wilts wool to the same standard as the fourth of the Merino
Ryeland." {Com. to the Board of Agr. vol. v. p, 438.)
6492. In the lambing season, the Ryeland breed are usually cotted, because the new-
born lambs are very thinly covered with wool. As January was considered the best
lambing season for the produce of the cross, Dr. Parry found cotting was doubly neces-
sary. Every night the flock were well sheltered ; and they were allowed, in addition to
the pasture which they could pick up in the day-time, linseed jelly, ground oil-cake, or
grains, cabbages, rouen, winter and spring vetches, and tares. Salt, he says, I never
gave to my flock but once, and that in the following way : A small field of lattermath^
cut in September, had been so often wetted, that I despaired of its ever being eaten.
While it was putting into the rick, I strewed some salt between the layers ; the conse-
quence was, that cows and sheep greedily devoured it, scarcely leaving a single blade.
{Cofn. to the Board of Agr. vol. v. p. 505.)
6493. The shearing, of the sheep was performed in the second week of June, and of
the lambs at the end of July. The finer fleeced lambs need not be shorn till the second
season. Washing previously to shearing Dr. Parry disapproves of; because the fleece
is so thick, that when thoroughly soaked with water, it is very long in drying ; and if the
weather prove wet and cold, the sheep are evidently much incommoded ; he, therefore,
recommends cleansing the wool, after being shorn, as in Spain.
6494. The jrroduce qfwool, considered as the result of Dr. Parry's well conducted ex-
periments, was found to be 14lb. 14oz. per acre, which at 3s. per lb. in the yolk through-
out the fleece gives 21. 4s. l^d. per acre on land certainly not worth on an average 26
shillings. {See Comm. to the B. of Agriculture, vol. v. )
6495. Lord SomervUle's experiments may be considered as of equal, if not more im-
portance than these of Dr. Parry. His Lordship tried crosses with several short wooled
breeds, but was most successful with the South Downs and Ryelands. Morris Birkbeck»
a professional fanner of the first order, found that the fleeces of the first cross between
Merinos and South Downs, washed, are to the parent South Downs as six to five in weight,
and as three to two in value per pound, and believes that the improvement of the wool mav
go on, without detriment to the carcase, until we shall obtain a breed of sheep with Span-
ish fleeces, and English constitutions ; but this must be the result of careful and judicious
selection.
6496. Merino flocks are now established in most districts of the empire, and but few
years can elapse before their value to the farmer and the country be practically ascer-
tained and evinced. (See Sir J. Banks in Annals if Agriculture, Com. to B. of Agr.
Bath Society's Papers, Dublin Society's Transactions, The Farmer s Magazine, Farmer
Journal. Lord Somerville's, and Dr. Parry s Tracts on Wool and Merinos, and various
other works.)
3 T 2
1012 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
SiCT. VIII. Of the Anatomy and Physiology of Sheej).
6 1 97 . The general structure of the sheep resembles that of the ox very inti mately. Sheep
however, like the ox, experience considerable variations in size, form, and qualities ; re-
sulting from the physical and moral agencies which they become exposed to, under vari-
ous climates : and also, as whether fostered by cultivation, or left to the natural operations
around them. These circumstances have operated on even the bony base of the machine,
as we see in the formations of the three homed breed (Ovis polycerta, Lin.), natives of the
north; in the spiral horned ( 0. s^rt?/mceros, Lin.), which inhabit Wallachia ; and the long
horned(Capra ammon, Lin.), which arefoundinthe countries bordering the Mediterranean :
and which have been thought to be the parents of the present cultivated British sheep.
Cultivation weakens the otherwise inherent aptitude to retain fhe original stamp of na-
ture ; and we find therefore, that by these means, the original form of the sheep has sub-
mitted to vast alterations. We see some of them wholly without horns ; we also find that
the bony structure is otherwise subjected to our command, by becoming much more slen-
der, though more compact. Accidents are also laid hold on by man to produce particu-
lar forms : thus a breed has been cultivated in America, called the ancon or otter breed,
remarkable for crooked and deformed legs ; which, by continued breeding from speci-
mens that presented this originally accidental deformity, is become now a fixed and per-
manent breed, valuable for their incapacity to wander or climb. (Dudght.) The dunky
or wry-faced breed, is another instance of accidental deformity cultivated into a per-
manent variety : as the monstrous rump of the Tartarian sheep, and the over- grown tails
of some breeds in Turkey, are similar instances in the softer parts of the body.
6498. The skeleton of the sheep presents an assemblage of bones, which bears a general resemblance to
that of the ox in number and direction. Like him, the head naturally is surmounted by horns springing
from the frontal bones. Like him, his frontal sinuses are large and open, and thus liable to the entrance
of insects. The skull bones are wide and extended; his orbits are more lateral than central j and his fa-
cial angle is about 30 degrees. His vertebral column is the same as the ox, and his ribs also. The extre-
mities descend on the same construction, ending in a divided hoof.
6499. The visceral and soft parts are but little dissimilar likewise. His brain is as one two hundredth
to the whole body ; and his cerebellum to the brain generally, as 1 to 5. The pigment of the eye is of a
pale yellowish green, varying occasionally to a blue. The viscera of the chest correspond with the ox ; and
those of the belly also, the stomachs being the same, and the economy of rumination not difFering. The
Uver, pancreas, and spleen are similar. The penis is taper, vesiculae seminales wanting, and prostates
two.
6300. The wool of the sheep is but a crisped hair ; and indeed in some foreign varieties, the outer cover-
ing is of long hair like that of oxen ; while in others the hair and wool are mixed.
Sect. IX. The Diseases of Sheep.
6501. The diseases of sheep are numerous ; for these animals are now so highly culti-
vated that they may be regarded in some respects as artificial machines : and thus, as a
natural consequence, they are subjected to a variety of artificial defects or maladies.
6502. The rot is a popular term among shepherds, and includes within its range dis-
eases widely different. We shall not therefore follow the custom of treating the different
rots of sheep together ; but we shall allow them to fall in their natural order, according
to the plan pursued with the diseases of oxen.
6503. The inflammatory and putrid fever, popularly known by the names higham striking, or blood
striking^ does not differ materially from the same disease in oxen and cows ; and is in sheep also some-
times epidemic ; appearing by panting, dulness, watery mucus from the nose and eyes ; and great redness
of all such parts as are usually white.
6504. The red water. The inflammatory fever sometimes resolves itself into an universal secretion of
serum throughout all the cavities; in which case after a few days, the lymph tinged with blood will come
away from the nose and mouth in large quantities. Sometimes after death the bloody serum is found
suffused throughout the skin as in the blood striking of skins.
6505. The claveau or sheep pox is also another variety of this disease, in which it takes on a pustular
form. About the third day small variolje appear : sometimes they are rather blotches than pustules. The
weakness is usually extreme, and the putridity great. This form of the disease is seldom seen with us ; but
is still known on the continent, where the pastures are very poor and low, and the general keep
meagre.
6506. Thetreatment ofall these in nowise differs from that directed under the inflammatory putrid
fever of the ox. The doses of medicines being about a third of what is directed for them.
6507. Malignant epidemic or murrain. Sometimes an epidemic prevails, which greatly resembles the
murrain of oxen : in appearances termination and treatment it resembles malignant epidemic of oxen,
(6249.)
6508. Peripneumonia or inflamed lungs, rising of the lights, glanderous rot, hose, S(c. These terms are
all modifications of an inflamed state of the viscera of the chest, caught by undue exposure, bad pas-
turage, and often from over-driving. The cough, the tremblings, the redness of the eyes and nostrils,
and the distillation of a fluid from them, with the heavings and hot breath, are all similar to those which
characterise the pneumonia or rising of the lights in oxen. We remember to have seen the disease
strongly marked in the February of 1808, on a farm in the neighborhood of Streatham; where eleven
sheep were attacked almost together, after a very stormy night. They were first aflfected with a loss of
appetite ; next with a fixed stedfast look, which was common to every one. After this, they reeled about,
fell backwards, and became convulsed. When seen, five were already dead, whose internal appearances
fully confirmed the nature of the disease. The rest recovered by bleeding and drenching, with drenches
composed of nitre and tartar emetic. Sometimes, the symptoms of pneumonia do not kill immediately,
but degenerate into an ulceration of the lungs ; which is then called the glanderous rot. This stage is
always fatal : the others may, by early attention, be combated by judicious treatment, as detailed under
the same disease in oxen.
6509. A chronic cough in sheep, when not symptomatic of rot, is always cured by a change of pasturage,
particularly into a salt marsh.
Book VII. DISEASES OF SHEEP. lOlS
6510. Inflammation of the stomach occurs flroin various causes. A common one arises from eating
noxious vegetables ; and produces the affections termed tremblings. It also produces the grass ill in
lambs ; which latter is always accompanied with black, foetid feces, and is readily removed by an ounce
of castor oil ; while the former usually yields to half an ounce of oil of turpentine, beaten up with the
yolk of an egg. Some herbs (as Atropa belladonna,) when eaten produce spasmodic affections, which are
called by shepherds the leaping ill: in such cases the watery solution of aloes (Fef.PAanw.5916.)
in doses of two or three ounces is useful. Daffy's elixir we have also known to be given with good
effect
6511. The hove, blast, or wind colic. Sheep are as liable to be distended with an enormous collection
within the maw as oxen. An instrument, similar to that invented by Dr. Monro, is also made for
them ; and when not relieved by these means, the same remedies are applicable, as are directed for oxen.
(6259.)
6512. A wind colic will also sometimes affect sheep more from the quality than the quantity of what
they eat ; it is best relieved by an ounce of castor or salad oil with an ounce of gin.
&)13. Inflamed liver, blood rot, or hot yellows, are liver affections, arising from fever settling in that
organ ; or from obstructed bile irritating it. Sometimes there are great marks of fever ; and at others
more of putridity ; according to which, treat as may be gathered from ox pathology.
6514. Jaundice also now and then occurs, when refer to that disease in oxen. (6268.)
6515. Dysentery, gall scour, braxy, are all affections brought on by sudden changes of temperature, or
of undue moisture acting with cold pasturage. It is often seen in sultry autumns : — treat as under ox
braxy. (6267.)
6516. Scouring is the diarrhoea of sheep, and in very hot weather soon carries them off. It should be
early attended to, by abstracting the affected, and housing them. The treatment is seen under diarrhoea
of oxen (6266.), which it closely resembles.
6517. Pinning, tag-belt, break-share. The two former are only the adhesion of the tail to the wool,
and the excoriation brought on by diarrhoea j the latter is the diarrhoea itself, known to some by thig
term.
6518. The rot in sheep is also called great rot, and hydropic rot, &c. ; but it is more
popularly known by the single term of rot. Many causes have been assigned for it, as the
fasciola hepatica, or fluke worm ; some particular plants eaten as food ; ground eating ;
snails, and other ingesta : but, as most of the supposed deleterious herbs have been tried
by way of experiment, and have failed to produce the disease, so it is attributable to
some other cause. Neither is there reason to suppose that the fluke worm occasions it,
since we know that the biliary vessels of other animals, as horses, asses, rats, &c., often
have them : and above all, because that they are not always present in the rotted subject.
From long experience, and the almost invariable effect produced by a humid state of
atmosphere, soil, and product ; we are warranted in concluding these are the actual and
immediate agents : perhaps the saturated food itself is sufficient to do it. The morning
dew has been supposed equal to it. Bakewell, when his slieep were past service,
used to rot them purposely, that they might not pass into other hands. This he always
readily did by overflowing his pastures. But great differences of opinion exist as to the
quantity, form, and varieties of moisture, productive of this fatal disease. It is said that
land on which water flows, but does not stagnate, will not rot, however moist : but
this is contradicted by the experience of Bakewell, who used merely to flood his lands
a few times only to rot his sheep. It is also said that they are safe from rot on Irish
bogs, salt marshes, and spring flooded meadows, which experience seems to verify. It
is also said, that the very hay made from unsound land will rot ; but this wants con-
firmation. When salt marshes are found injurious it is only in such years when the
rain has saturated, or rather super-saturated such marshes. That putrid exhalations un-
accompanied with moisture can occasion rot wants confirmation also : for these com-
monly go together, and it is difficult to separate their effects. It is not, perhaps, the
actual quantity of water immediately received by land, but the capacity of that land
to retain the moisture, which makes it particularly of a rotting quality.
6519. The dgns of rottenness are sufficiently familiar to persons about sheep. They
first lose flesh, and what remains is flabby and pale ; they lose also their vivacity. The
naked parts, as the lips, tongue, &c., look livid, and are alternately hot and cold in the
advanced stages. The eyes look sad and glassy, the breath is foetid, the urine small in
quantity and high-colored ; and the bowels are at one time costive, and at another
affected with a black purging. The pelt will come off on the slightest pull in almost
all cases. The disease has different degrees of rapidity, but is always fatal at last.
This difference in degree occasions some rotted sheep to liirive well under its progress
to a certain stage, when they suddenly fall off, and the disease pursues the same course
with the rest. Some graziers know this crisis of declension, as it has been called, and
kill their sheep for market at the immediate nick of time with no loss. In these
cases, no signs of the disease are to be traced by ordinary inspectors, but the ex-
istence of the flukes, and still more, a certain state of liver and of its secretions,
are characteristic marks to the wary and experienced.
6520. The treatment of rot is seldom successful unless when it is early commenced,
or when of a mild nature ; a total change of food is the first indication, and of that to a
dry wholesome kind : all the farina are good, as the meals of wheat, barley, oats, pease,
beans, &c. Carrots have done good mixed with these : broom, burnet, elder, and mellilot,
as diuretics, have also been recommended ; but it is necessary to observe, that there is
seldom any ventral effusion but in the latter stages of the complaint. As long a.s the
liver is not wholly disorganized, the cure may be hoped by a simple removal of the
3 T 3
1014 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
cause, which has been shown to be a variable temperature, with excessive moisture of
pasturage, which may also be aided by such remedies as assist the action of the biliary
system ; salt acts in this way, and thus salt mashes are good ; salt may also be given in
the water. Salt appears the principal ingredient in Flesh's patent restorative for sheep,
for it states it to be composed of turpentine, sal ammoniac, turmeric, quicksilver, brim-
stone, salt, opium, alkanet root, bark, antimony, camphor, and distilled water ; but of
this medley, none of the articles can be in sufficient quantity to prove useful, but the
salt. In the more advanced stages of the disease, when the liver has become materially
affected, it is prudent to rub the bellies of each sheep with half a drachm of mercurial
ointment every other day for a week : give also the following, every morning : watery
tincture of aloes, half an ounce, decoction of willow bark, four ounces, nitric acid, twenty-
five drops.
6521. The pelt rot, hunger rot, or naked disease, is a variety of the former, but with this difference, that
whereas the liver in the hydropic rot is principally affected; in this the whole of the chylopoietic vis-
cera are injured ; the mesenteric glands are always swollen and obstructed, and from thence arises the
emaciation and unhealthy state of all the secretions, by which the rot becomes incapable of receiving nutri-
ment, and falls off, leaving the body bare, and in the last stages the teeth and horns also loosen. Indiffer-
ent, unhealthy keep, is a very common cause of this malady, and a contrary course of feeding is the best
remedy when the disease has not gone on too long.
6522. The scab, shab, ray, or rubbers, are sometimes erysipelatous eruptions, and sometimes they are
psoric or mangy ones. In the former instance they are universal and very red, occasioning a great heat
and itching, and are thence called the rubbers : in such cases, nitre administered quickly relieves, with
change of food. The eruptive scab is seldom cured without an external application ; either of those directed
for mange, lowered to half the strength, will relieve it at once. (See Vet. Pharm.)
6523. Foot rot sheep have a secretory outlet between the claws peculiar to them, which is liabl^ to become
obstructed ; their feet are also liable to become injured, and then diseased, from travelling or continued
standing on wet soils : but the real foot rot is an endemial affection which sometimes attacks half of the
flock. It must be attended to by removing all diseased portions, and then dressing with the thrush paste,
or foot rot application, {Vet. Pharm. 5885.), and afterwards wrapping up from external exposure.
6524. Staggers, gid, turnsich, goggles, wor?n under the horn, sturdy, watery head, and pendro, arc all
popular terms for hydatids, or an animal now known as the tsenias globulus, which, by some unaccount.
able means, finds its way to the brain, and settles itself there either . in some of its ventricles, or more
frequently on its substance. Their size varies from the smallest speck to that of a pigeon egg, ^nd the
sheep it attacks are usually under two years old. These animals are likewise occasionally found in all
the natural cavities of the body.
6525.- The appearances of cerebral hydatids are, stupidity, a disposition to sit on the rump, to turn to one
side, and to incline the head to the same while at rest. The eyes glare, and from oval, the pupils become
round. An accurate examination will now usually discover some softness at a particular part of the skull,
generally on the contrary side to that on which the animal hangs the head : when no softness of the skull
is discernible, the hydatid usually exists in some of the ventricles, and the destruction of the sheep is certain
and quick, from the greater disturbance to the functions of the brain ; but when it is situated on the sur-
face, it sometimes requires many months to destroy ; an absorption of the bone taking place as the hydatid
increases, which produces the thinness in the skull opposite to the affected part.
6526. This disease is not incurable, as has been supposed, but it is only relieved by a manual operation.
In France it has been successfully treated by the application of the actual cautery : a pointed iron, heated
red hot, is forced through the skin and skull, to the surface of the brain ; the principal nicety of which,
is in penetrating the hydatid with the hot iron without wounding the brain itself. In England, some shep-
herds are very dexterous in wiring, which they do by thrusting a wire up the nostrils till it rests against
the skull. In the passage of the wire, the hydatid is usually ruptured ; others elevate the skull (by means
of a trephine, or even a knife) opposite to the softened portion, and extract the hydatid, if possible, whole,
which a little care will effect, by drawing it away with a blunt pincer, gently moving it from side to side.
Tapping is merely letting out the fluid contents of the hydatid by an awl, which is practised by some shep-
herds with success j and if the instrument be not thrust too far, the animal is never injured : to avoid
which, it is passed obliquely. A well hardened gimlet is a very proper instrument, with which the skull
is easily penetrated, and an opening by the twisting of the instrument is made, sufficiently large in the
hydatid itself, to discharge its contents, which is all that is sufficient to ensure its destruction, and which,
if no others exist, is followed by immediate recovery.
6527. Frontal wortns. Sheep are observed to gather together, with their noses thrust inwards to avoid the
attack of the oestrus ovis, or fly, that lays its eggs on the inner margin of the nose, which, having become
hatched, the larva creep up into the frontal and maxillary sinuses, to the torment of the sheep. The con-
tinental shepherds treimn an opening into these cavities, and efiect their removal; but our shepherds have
not succeeded in the operation.
6528. Fluke worms are a parasitic animal, found in the biliary sinuses, not only of the sheep,
but of the horse, ass, goat, deer, &c., and whose existence is rather a consequence than a cause of
morbidity.
6529. The diseases of lambs are confined to indigestion, and eruption of secretive matter : the former
shews itself in colic, which is relieved as in sheep, and also by diarrhooa, to be likewise cured by the means
detailed for them ; the latter is more obstinate, and begins on the rump, gradually extending along the
chine, and when it becomes more universal, it usually destroys. The cure consists in giving daily drinks
of half a drachm of cream of tartar, and one drachm of sulphur, in four ounces of chamomile decoction.
Anoint also with mild mercurial ointment and Turner's cerate in equal quantities.
Chap. VII.
The Swine. — Sus Scrofa, L. ; Cocfwriy Fr. ; Schweifi, Ger. ; Pucrco, Span, and
Porco, Ital.
6530. Of swine there are several species, but none in general domestication, or much
used as food when taken wild, excepting the common sort, wliich includes the wild
hog or wild boar, tlio original stock of our domestic breed, the European liog, and the
Chinese hog. The common hog is found either in a wild or domestic state, in almost
Book VII. SWINE. 1015
all the temperate parts of Europe and Asia ; but it is not met with in the most northern
parts of these continents. It is found in many parts of Africa. Mr. Pennant asserts,
that the wild boar was fonnerly a native of this country, and hunted from the middle
of November to the beginning of December; and it is asserted by Fitz- Stephens,
that the vast forest which in his time grew on the north side of London, was the retreat
of stags, wild-boars, and bulls.
6531. The wUd-boar {Jig, 683.) in- rS^k^ ^^^
habits woods, living on various kinds
of vegetables, such as roots, masts,
acorns, &c. It also occasionally de-
vours animal food : it is in general
considerably smaller than the domestic
hog, and is of a dark brindly-grey
color, sometimes blackish ; but when
only a year or two old, it is of a pale
red or dull yellowish-brown cast ; and when quite young, it is marked with alt^tnate
dusky and pale stripes, disposed longitudinally on each side the body. Between the
bristles, next the skin, is a finer or softer ^air, of a woolly or curling nature. The
snout is somewhat longer in proportion than that of the domestic animal ; but the prin-
cipal difference is in the superior length and size of the tusks, which are often several
inches long, and capable of inflicting the most severe and fatal wounds. The hunting
of the wild boar forms one of the principal amusements of the great in some parts of
Germany, Poland, &c. and is a chase of some difficulty and danger, not on account of
the swiftness, but the ferocity of the animal. Wild boars, according to Buffon, which
liave not passed the third year, are called by the hunters beasts of company, because
previous to that age they do not separate, but follow their common parent. They never
wander alone till they have acquired sufficient strength to resist the attacks of the wolf.
These animals, when they have young, form themselves into flocks, and it is upon this
alone that their safety depends. When attacked, the largest and strongest front the
enemy, and by pressing all round against the weaker, force them into the centre.
Tamed bears have afforded subjects of barbarous sport in most parts of Europe, from
the earliest period, and though bear baiting is happily no longer in vogue in Britain,
as it still is in Spain ; yet the animal is taught various ludicrous movements, which are
exhibited to the country people, by itinerant showmen. When real bears cannot be got,
boys are metamorphosed and taught to imitate them. {Jig. 684.)
6532. Of the fame hog, white is the most general color ; but other colors are often intermixed in
various proportions. In some respects, the hog seems to form an intermediate link between the whole
and the cloven-footed animals ; in others, he seems to occui)y the same rank between the cloven-footed
and digitated. Destitute of horns ; furnished with teeth in both jaws ; with only one stomach ; incapa-
ble of ruminating ; and producing at one birth a numerous progeny : the union of these faculties confers
on the hog a remarkable i)eculiarity of character. He does not, like other animals, shed his fore-teeth,
and put forth a second set, but retains his first set through life.
6533. Hogs'seem to enjoy none qf' the powers (f sensation in eminent perfection. They are said to hear
distant sounds ; and the wild boar distinguishes the scent of the hunter and his dogs, long before they
can approach him. But so imjierfect is their feeling, that they suffer mice to burrow in the fat of their
backs without discovering any uneasiness, or apjKjaring even to notice it. In their taste they show a sin-
gular degree of cai)rice. In the choice of herbs they are more delicate than any other herbiferous
animal, yet devour the most nauseous and putrid carrion with more voracity than any beast of prey. At
times they do not scruple to eat their own young ; they will even mangle infants out of desperate
voracity,
65.34. Hogs are remarkable for the smallness of their eyes : hence a person whose eyes are very dimmu-
tive, and deep sunk in his head, is said to be pip-eyed. The form of the hog is inelegant, and his carriage
is equally mean as his manners. His unwieldly shape renders him no less incapable of swiftness and
sprightliness, than he is of gracefulness of motion. His appearance is always drowsy and stupid. He
delights to bask in the sun, and to wallow in the mire. An approaching storm seems to affect his feclinga
in a very singular manner. On such an occasion, he runs about in a frantic state, and utters loud shrieks
of horror. Hogs arc infested with lice, and are subject to many disorders, such as the scurvy, scab, and
scrofula. The sow brings forth in the beginning of the fifth month after conception, and she has often
two litters in a year. She generally produces a numerous progeny at a birth ; but her first litter Jf 'p**
numerous than those that follow. Hogs, when suffered to see the natural term of life, live from fifteen
to thirty years. Their siae and strength continue to improve till they are five or six years old. .
3 T 4
1016 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
6535. Tame hogs are qflen very troublesome in cultivated grounds, ploughing them up with their
snouts, and thus entirely frustrating the labors of the agriculturist. Worms, the wild carrot, and other
roots, are the objects of their search. The wild boar having a longer and stronger snout than the do-
mestic variety, digs deeijer, and continues his furrow nearly in a straight line. The inhabitants of America
find the hog very beneficial in clearing their lands of rattlesnakes and other serpents, upon which he
constantly preys, without apparently suffering any injury.
6536. The hog is, in a very considerable degree, beneficial to mankind. His flesh is pleasant, substantial,
and nutritious. It affords numberless materials for the table of the epicure ; among these is brawn,
which seems peculiar to England. Pork takes salt better than the flesh of any animal, and is, in con-
sequence, preserved longer, and always makes an important article in naval stores. The lard of the hog
is essential to the cook and confectioner ; it is used in various medical preparations, and is compounded
by the perfumer into pomatums. The bristles are made into brushes, and are, moreover, of great use to
the shoemaker. The skin is worked into coverings for pocket-books, and other articles.
6537. The hog in British farming is in general viewed as a subordinate species of
live stock, and chiefly valuable as consuming what would otherwise be lost. There
are, however, swine husbandmen who keep large herds to advantage, especially millers,
brewers, distillers, and dairymen, to whom they are an object of importance ; and return,
for the offal they consume, a greater weight of meat, according to some double the
weight, than could be obtained from cattle. In those parts where potatoes are raised
as a fallow crop, much beyond the demand for them as human food ; as is the case in
particular in Ireland, and the west of Scotland, the rearing and feeding of swine,
the most of them sent to a distance in the state of bacon and pickled pork, is a branch
of management on which great dependence is placed for the payment of their rents
and other charges. The prolific nature of this animal, however, rendering it so easy
to increase the supply beyond the demand, the price of swine flesh varies more than
that of any other sort of butcher's meat, and their culture can never be so much de-
pended on by the general farmer as that of cattle or sheep. A writer in the
Farmer s Magazine observes, that the swine are the only variety of granivorous animals
that can be fed upon the offal of grain, or such articles as would otherwise go to waste
about a farm-steading. Since the erection of threshing machines, a much greater
quantity of light grain is beat from the straw, than was gained when the flail was
employed. To use this extra quantity to advantage becomes an important concern
to the occupiers of land ; and this writer thinks that the using of it in raising and sup-
porting swine is by far the most profitable mode of consuming an article, which, in
other respects, is comparatively of little value.
Sect. I. Of the Varieties of the common Hog.
6538. The domesticated European variety o( thQ common hog (fg. 685.) is too well
685 known to require any de- 686
scription.
6539. The Chinese hog
(fig. 686.) is distinguished
from the common, by having
the upper part of its body
almost bare, its belly hang-
ing nearly to the ground ;
i_*^ its legs are very short, and
its tail still more disproportionately short. The flesh of this variety is' whiter and
more delicate. The color is commonly a dark grey. It abounds in China, and is dif-
fused through New Guinea, and many islands in the South Sea. The New Hebrides,
the Marquesas, the Friendly and the Society Islands, possess this animal, an., cultivate it
■with great care, as it is almost the only domestic animal of which they can boast. The
varieties of hog cultivated in Britain, are partly the result of climate and keep in the
European variety, and partly the effects of crossing with the Chinese. At the same
time, it is only in particular districts that so much attention has been paid to this animal,
as to give rise to any accurate distinction of breeds ; and nowhere has it received any
considerable portion of that care in breeding, which has been so advantageously employed
on the other animals of which we have treated. Yet, among none of the varieties of
those is there so great a difference as among the breeds of this species, in regard to the
meat they return for the consumption of a given quantity of food. Some races can with
difficulty be made fat, even at an advanced age, though fed from the trough with
abundance of such food as would fatten any other animal ; while others contrive to
raise a valuable carcase out of materials on which no other creature could subsist.
6540. The Chinese race, according to Culley, has been subdivided into seven varieties or more ; and it
would be easy to point out twice the number of as prominent distinctions among the sorts in the third
class. But such an affectation of accuracy is as useless as it would be tedious. One general form, ap-
proaching to that of other animals kept for their carcase, ought certainly to be preferred ; and the size,
which is the other distinguishing characteristic, must be chosen with a view to the food provided for their
maintenance, and not because it is possible to raise the individuals to a great, and probably, unprofitable
weight The fineness of the bone, and the broad, though also deep, form of the chest, denote in this, as
in the other species, a disposition to make fat with a moderate consumption of food ; and, while it may
be advisable to prefer the larger breeds in those places where bacon and flitches are in mo»t demand, the
Book VII.
VARIETIES OF SWINE.
1017
687
<S(k.
smaller breeds are most esteemed for pickling, and are, beyond all doubt, most profltable to those
farmers who allow them little else than the range of the farm-yard, and the offals of the kitchen.
6541. T/ie Berkshire breed {fig- 687.) is distinguished by being
in general of a tawny, white, or reddish color ; six)tted with
black ; large ears hanging over the eves ; thick, close, and
well made in the body ; legs short ; small in the bone ; having
a disposition to fatten quickly j and when well fed, the flesh is
fine. Berkshire has been long famous for its breed of swine,
which, as it now stands, is, in the third class, in point of size,
excellent in all respects, but particularly as a cross for heavy,
slow-feeding sorts. Tt has extended itself from the district
from which it Ukes its name, over most parts of Sthe island ;
is the sort mostly fattened at the distilleries ; feeds to a great
weight ; is good for either pork or bacon ; and is supposed by
many as the most hardy, both in respect to their nature and the
food on which they are fed.
6542. The Hampshire breed {fig. 688.) are large, longer in the body and neck, but not of so compact a
form as the Berkshire; they are mostly of a white color, or spotted, and are well disposed to fatten, coming
up to a great weight when properly managed in respect to food. Law- ggg
rence says they are generally dark spotted, some black, of a [longer
and flatter make than those of Berks, ears more pointed, head long
and sharp, resembling the Essex.
6543. The Shropshire breed is another large breed of hogs, which
are found valuable where the keep is in sufficient abundance for
their support. They are not so well formed as those of the Berk-
shire kind, or equal to them in their disposition to fatten, or to be
supported on such cheap food. The standard color of this breed is
white, or brindled : Shropshire has long bred stores for the supply of .
the London feeders, and of the Essex farmers, who thus turn their '
clovers to the most profitable account.
6544. The Gloucestershire breed is likewise a larger breed, but inferior to either of the above, being tall
and long in shape, and by no means so well formed. The color is in general white. It has two wattles
hanging from the throat.
6'89 6545. The Herefordshire breed {fig. 689.) is also a large useful breed,
but perhaps without possessing any advantage over those that have
been described above.
6546. The Rudgwick breed is a large kind of swine, which the au-
thor of the Survey of Middlesex says, is the largest in the island, met
with at the village of that name, on the borders of Sussex and Surrey.
They feed to an extraordinary size, and weigh, at two years old,
nearly double or triple the usual weight of other sorts of hogs of that
age. As large breeds pay the farmers best in many cases, such a
breed deserves to be attended to in the system of hog manage-
ment.
6547. The large spotted Woburn breed is a breed introduced by the
late Duke of Bedford, being large in size and of various colors. It is a hard, well formed prolific sort,
rising quickly to a large weight.
6548. The Wiltshire breed is a long-bodied, low hog, hollow about the shoulder, and high on the rump,
middling large pointed ears, round bone, light in color.
6549. Yorkshire breed. This, in the old breed, was probably the worst large variety we had ; extremely
long-legged and weak-loined, their constitution not of the soundest ; and bad stye-pigs in the winter sea-
son ; they were yet quicker feeders than some of the superior breeds. They have been improving some
years from the Berkshire cross, but are still inferior to the north-western stock, rendering a less price at
market.
65.t0. The Northamptonshire breed was formerly a handsome, light-eared, white, deep-sided pig, with
middling bone, and quick of proof: the breeders have since tried the new Leicester.
6551. The Leicestershire breed is, in the original stock, large, deep, and flat-sided, light-spotted, with
rather handsome head and ear. The Bakewell variety has much merit
6552. The Lincolnshire breed was formerly light-colored and white, like those of Northamptonshire,
manv of them having curled and wooly coats. They are middle-sized, quick-proving pigs.
65bS. The Norfolk breed is, a small, short, up-eared porking sort, various in color, white, bluish,
striated ; generally an inferior kind, which it would be to the interest of that great corn county to im-
prove ; they are, however, of a thin-skinned, quick proving kind. Butin the vicinity of Lynn, and ge-
nerally on the Lincoln side of the county, there is a larger spotted variety of very good form and quality,
which should be encouraged.
6.554. Suffolk breed {fig. 690.). This is a small delicate white pig, which
has for many years had great reputation, and at this time there is not
only a strong prejudice in their favor in their own county, but they
have many advocates out of it. They are shorter, and more pug-form-
ed than the Norfolks, and by their dish-face, and pendent belly, it may
be supposed, that the variety proceeded originally from the white Chi-
nese. Some of the Suffolks are very handsome, and very regularly shaped ;
their defects are, that they are great consumers in proportion to their
small bulk, and that they produce little flesh.
6.'555. nie Essex breed ar<* up-eared, with long sharp heads, roacb.
backed, carcases flat, long, and generally high upon the leg, bone not
large, color .vhite, or black and white, bare of hair, quick feeders, but
great consumers, and of an unquiet disposition.
6556 The small white English breed is met with in many districts; it is of a white color, thick, com-
pact and well made in the body ; short in the leg ; the head and neck well formed, and the ears slouch-
ing a little downwards. It is well disposed to fatten, and perfectly hardy. It prevails much in the nor-
thern districts. „ , „ , , . ...
6557. Swing-tailed breed . This is ah useful sort of the smaller kind of hogs, hardy m its nature, and of
considerable weight in proi>ortion to its size.
6558. There are many other varieties and subvarieties in England which it is unne-
cessary to notice here. Donaldson remnrks, that the Berkshire and Hampshire hogs are
the largest ; but that it is mo.st probably from the Berksliire stock, that the greatest num-
ber of the varieties of the country have sprung.
6559. Of the Highland breeds^ that of the Hebrides, supposed by Dr. Walker to be the
original, is of the smallest size, neither white nor yellow, but of a uniform grey color»
690
1018 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
and shaggy, with long hair and bristles ; they graze on the hills like sheep ; their sole food
is herbage and roots, and on these they live the whole year round, without shelter, and
without receiving any other sustenance. In autumn, when they are in the best order,
their meat is excellent, and without any artificial feeding ; but when driven to the low
country, they fatten readily, and rise to a considerable bulk. ( Walker's Hebrides^ vol. ii.
p. 17.) In the Orkney islands they are commonly of a dark red, or nearly black color,
and have long bristles, with a sort of coarse wool beneath them.
6560. The old Irish breed are a long legged, thin-sided, lank, haggard, unprofitable
sort of swine ; but where they have been crossed with the Berkshire, they are consider-
ably improved.
Sect. II. Of ^Breeding and Rearing of Smne.
6561. In the breeding of swine, whatever be the variety, the most perfect and best form-
ed boar and sow should be chosen, and a due regard paid to their age, time of copulation,
period of gestation, farrowing, castrating or spaying, and weaning.
6562. In choosing the boar and sow, regard must be had to their size, as well as perfec-
tion of form. Where food is abundant, or the object of the progeny is the production
of bacon and flitches, the larger breeds, as already observed, are to be preferred : but
where food is scarce or uncertain, as in the case of the cottager's stock, or rearing for
suckled pork, fresh pork, or pickled pork, the smaller breeds, as the Berkshire, are to be
preferred. A breeding sow ought to have a large capacious belly, and not to be too much
inclined to obesity. To check this tendency, some allow them to breed five times in two
years.
6563. The age of the boar should not be less than a year, as he will then be at his full
growth ; nor that of the female less than ten months. They may be used in breeding
for three or five years, and then fed off for the shambles.
6564. The period of gestation in swine is about four months, so that two litters may be
easily produced in a year, five in two years, or ten in four years.
6563. The best times for copulation are November and May ; because then the pro-
geny are brought forth in mild weather, and when green food is to be had. They should
not be allowed to farrow in winter, as young pigs are exceedingly tender, and can with
difficulty be preserved in very cold weather ; nor at a time when food is scarce, as is gene-
rally the case upon corn-farms in summer, if the stock of them is large. When the object
is suckled pigs for the shambles, copulation should be so contrived as to produce par-
turition at all seasons.
6566. The usual jyroduce is from about eight to ten or twelve pigs in the large, but
more in the smaller breeds, which in general bring the greatest number, and the most
early. Twenty swine are estimated to bring at an average seven pigs and a half each
for their first litter ; but the number varies much, and many young pigs are lost soon
after their birth by the unkindness of their dam, and by casualties, to which they are
more exposed than most other young animals.
6567. The pregnant swine should be separated from the herd some time before she is
expected to farrow, carefully watched, and littered with a small quantity of dry short
straw. Too much straw is improper, both at the time of farrowing, and for a week or
two afterwards, as the pigs are apt to nestle beneath it unperceived by the sow, and are
thus in danger of being smothered when she lies down. A breeding sow should be well
fed, particularly when nursing ; and it is advantageous early to accustom the pigs to feed
from a low trough on milk or other liquid food, mixed with meal or bran. Such of the
pigs of both sexes as are not to be kept for breeding, are usually castrated or spayed when
about a month old, and the whole may be weaned at the end of six or seven weeks.
6568. The food allowed to growing swine depends in almost every case upon the cir-
cumstances of their owners, for, as already observed, it is a doubtful point whether
swine will pay when all their food bpth in rearing and fatting is to be purchased. The
cottager's pig must be contented with the scanty oflTals of his kitchen and of his dairy,
the produce generally of a single cow ; towards the end of autumn a few potatoes are
added for the purpose of preparing it for the slaughter, and perhaps a little meal is
mixed with boiled potatoes for a week or two before. Such pigs, however, often thrive
amazingly, make themselves moderately fat, and form a most valuable addition to the
winter stores of their owners. In the south-eastern counties of Scotland, the hinds or
married ploughmen are commonly allowed to keep a pig each, which they feed in this
manner, and from which their families derive much benefit at very little expense. Near
woods, acorns, mast, and other seeds, as well £fe some roots and vermin, afford excellent
nourishment. On many corn farms, the chief, and not unfrequently, the only depend-
ence of swine is on the straw-yards. - The sweepings of the barn floor, corn left upon
the straw, and oats found among the dung of horses, with a share of the turnips given to
4he cattle in winter, and of the clover in summer, afford ample subsistence to swine, in
the proportion, perhaps, of one to every five or six acres under corn, clover, and turnips.
Book VII. FATTENING OF SWINE. 1019
The kitchen and dairy give some assistance to pigs newly weaned, and also to such as
ai-e soon to be slaughtered. A great many are killed when about a year old, that have
never been fed at any expense that can be estimated. A few pigs, if of a good breed,
will always be moderately fat at that age with the run of the straw-yard, and their flesh
is of an excellent quality.
6569. To prevent siuine from digging in the soil, the best method is to cut the two
strong tendons of their snouts with a sharp knife, about an inch and a half from the
nose. This may be done with little pain, and no prejudice to the animal, when about
two or tliree months old. The common practice of restraining them by rings fixed in
the snout is painful and troublesome ; they must be replaced as often as they give way,
and that happens so frequently, that rings afford but little security against this nuisance.
Sect. III. Of Falterdng Swine.
6370. Tlie following system of rearing and fattening sivine on an arable farm is recom-
mended by a writer in the Farmer'' s Magazine. Upon a tillage farm consisting of three
hundred acres, whereof two hundred are kept under the plough, he is of opinion that a
considerable sum may be annually gained from keeping swine, were the management
arranged in a systematic manner. One main advantage of such a branch of rural
economy arises from little or no capital being required to carry it on, while the trouble
and outlay attending it scarcely deserve notice. With the addition of one acre of broad
clover, and one acre of tares, for the summer and autumn months, and the like extent of
groimd for turnips and yams during the winter and spring months, this stock of swine
may he amply supported.
6571. Were two breeding sows kept on a farm of the size mentioned, and their produce reared by the
farmer, it may be calculated that forty swine, weighing seven or eight stone each, would be annually fed
off, in the months of January and February each year, the time when pork is most in demand. That
such a number of swine can be supported and fed upon the offals of a three hundred acre farm, and the
other auxiliary articles specified, may be pronounced a certain fact
6572. Ttw breeds, he recommends, are the hardy smaller sized varieties, but not the Chinese, or any of
the j)ot-bellied sorts ; because he has found that such breeds will thrive and grow fat where larger and
tiner breeds would starve.
6573. The mode of management is, that a boar and two good sows of a proper age should constantly be
kept, and that one young sow Shall annually be reared, in order to supply the others when they pass
maturity. He would cast off the oldest sows, i. e. feed them when they arrive at three years of age,
which, of course, would cause four sows to be in hand at one time. These annually would produce more
than the forty pigs which are to be held on ; but the remainder might be sold as they are weaned, there
being a regular and steady demand in most i>arts of the country for young pigs. He has for a number of
years, kept a stock of swine in the way recommended. They go at large in tiie court or yard belonging to
the farm, and receive a feeding of offal grain in the morning, and of yams or turnips in the evening ; and
the meat fed in this way has constantly drawn the highest price. They get also the dish-washings of the
house, any milk or whey that remains unconsumed, and have the dunghill to roam upon, where perhaps
more food is to be gathered, especially if the horses are fed upon unbroken grain, than is commonly
imagined. It will readily be figured, that under this mode of management, the latter end of summer
and the harvest months is the critical period for carrying on a stock of swine. During these months
little threshing goes forward, and horses seldom receive any corn for aliment ; hence all that can be con-
sistently attempted is to keep the animals in a growing state, and prepare them for fattening cleverly,
when food of a more nutritious quality can be procured. Clover and tares will do this effectually, the
last particularly so when in a podded state. Turnips can also be got by the end of September ; and it
must be recollected, that through the summer months a considerable quantity of milk and whey can be
given, upon which swine will be found to thrive heartily. He does not know a more beneticial stock
upon a fann than swine, so long as the quantity kept is in proportion to the extent of offals about the pre-
mises. The other articles recommended are merely meant to render the consumption of offals more bene-
ficial, to carry on the stock at periods when such oSals are scarce. The charge of attendanse is very
small ; indeed, the benefit gained by the dunghill will more than comjjensate the expenses incurred. To
make as much profit from cattle or sheep requires a great advance of money ; but in the article of swine
hardly any is necessary, while the most part of the articles consumed cannot, in any other way, be con-
verted to such beneficial.purposes.
6574. In fattening for bacon and flitches the larger breeds are chosen ; and in
breweries, distilleries, oileries, and dairies, fed on grains, oil-cake, and milk : but where
arable farmers keep swine of this description, as is the practice in some of the western
counties, the method is to rear chiefly on raw potatoes and Swedish turnips, and to
fatten on these roots, boiled or prepared by steam, with a mixture of oat, barley, or bean
and pea meal. Tlieir troughs should be often replenished with a small quantity of food
at a time, and kei)t always clean ; and their food changed occasionally, and seasoned
with salt. If proper care be taken, says a late writer, a feeding pig should not con-
sume more than six Winchester bushels of oats made into meal. It ought to be shelled
before it is ground, the same as for family use, but need not be sifted. (Henderson's
Treatise on Swine, p. 26. )
6575. In fatting sucking pigs all that is requisite is to keep the motlier well lodged
and nourished. Weaned pigs when to be fatted are kept constantly on whey, or
skimmed or butter-milk, with frequently an addition of pease or beans, or barley-meal.
Such good keeping not only makes them increase rapidly in size, but renders them fit
for the butcher at an early age. Swine arc sold to the butcher at diflTerent ages, and
under different names ; as pigs when a few weeks old ; as porkers at the age of fire
or six months ; and an full grown hogs at from eighteen months to two years old. The
young pigs are commonly roasted whole ; the porkers are used as fresh or pickled pork ;
1020 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
and the full grown hogs are for the most part converted into ham and bacon. The demand
for porkers, which for London in particular is very great, and which continues almost
throughout the year, is chiefly supplied from the dairies within reach of that metropolis.
Sect. IV. Of curing Pork and Bacon.
6576. The curing or pickling of pork is carried on to a considerable extent at many of
our sea-ports. The carcase is cut in pieces, and packed in casks or kits, made for the
purpose, containing from one to two hundred weight. Salt is dissolved in water till the
mixture be strong enough to swim an egg ; it is then boiled, and, when cold, poured
upon the pork : when the end of the cask is fixed in, the article is ready for being sent to
market. Henderson, a late writer, has given particular directions for the curing of bacon,
founded upon a long course of experience, which, therefore, deserves to be more
generally known.
6577. The curing of bacon is thus described by Henderson, after much expe-
rience. After the carcase has hung all night, lay it upon a strong table, or bench, upon
its back ; cut off the head close by the ears, and cut the hinder feet so far below the hough
as will not disfigure the hams, and leave plenty of room to hang them by ; then take a
cleaving knife, and, if necessary, a hand mallet, and divide the carcase up the middle of
the back bone, laying it in two equal halves : then cut the ham from the side by the
second joint of the back bone, which will appear on dividing the carcase ; then dress the
ham, by paring a little off the flank or skinny part, so as to shape it with a half round
point, clearing off any top fat that may appear; the curer will next take off the sharp
edge along the back-bone with his knife and mallet, and slice off the first rib next the
shoulder, where he will perceive a bloody vein, which he must take out, for if it is left in,
that part is apt to spoil. The corners must be squared off where the ham was cut out.
6578. In killing a number of swine, what sides you may have dressed the first day, lay upon some flags or
boards, piling them up across each other, and giving each pitch a powdering of saltpetre, and [then cover-
ing it with salt : proceed in the same manner with the hams, by themselves, and do not omit giving them
a little saltpetre, as it opens the pores of the flesh to receive the salt, and, besides, gives the ham a pleasant
flavor, and makes it more juicy. Let them lie in this state about a week, then turn those on the top
undermost, giving them a fresh salting : after lying two or three weeks longer, they may be hung up to
dry in some chimney, or smoke house ; or, if the curer chooses, he may turn them over again without
(giving them any more salt, in which state they may lie for a month or two without catching any harm,
until he has convenience for drying them. Henderson practised for many years the custom of carting his
flitches and hams through the country to farm houses, and used to hang them in their chimnies, and other
parts of the house to dry, some seasons, to the amount of five hundred carcases: this plan he soon found
was attended with a number of inconveniences, and therefore he invented a smoking house.
6579. Henderson's smoking house is about twelve feet square, and the walls about seven feet high :
one of these huts require six joists across, one close to each wall, the other four laid asunder, at
proper distances. To receive five rows of flitches, they must be laid in the top of the wall j a piece of
wood strong enough to bear the weight of one flitch of bacon, must be fixed across the belly end of the
flitch, by two strings, as the neck end must hang downwards : the piece of wood must be longer than the
flitch is wide, so tliat each end may rest upon a beam ; they may be put so near to each other as not to
touch ; the width of it will hold twenty-four flitches in a row, and there will be five rows, which will con-
tain one hundred and twenty flitches ; as many hams may be hung at the same time above the flitches
contrived in the best manner we can. The lower end of the flitches will be within two, and a half or three
feet of the floor, which must be covered five or six inches thick with saw-dust, and must be kindled at
two different sides ; it will burn, but not cause any flame to injure the bacon. The door must be kept
close, and the hut must have a small hole in the roof, so that part of the smoke may ascend. That lot of
bacon and hams will be ready to pack up in a hogshead, to send off in eight or ten days, or a little
longer, if required, with very little loss of weight. After the bacon is salted, it may lie in the salt-house
a^ described, until an order is received, then immediately hang it upto'dry. Henderson found this smoke-
house to be a great saving, not only in the expense and trouble of employing men to cart and hang it
through the country, but it did not lose nearly so much weight by this process.
6580. In the disposal of bacon, whatever is shipped for the London market, or any
other, both bacon and hams, must be packed into a sugar hogshead, or something similar,
to hold about ten hundred weight. Bacon can only be cured from the middle of Septem-
ber, until the middle of April. {Hendersons Treatise on Swine, p. 39.)
Sect V. Of the Diseases of Swine.
658 1 . Swine are subject to various diseases, but according to Laurence, they are not easily
doctored. They are subject, he says, to pox or measles, blood striking, staggers, quin-
cy, indigestion, catarrh, peripneumonia, and inflammation of the lungs called heavings.
When sick, pigs will eat, and they will take medicine in their wash ; when they will not
eat, there is no help for them. As aperients, cleansers, and alteratives, sulphur, antimony,
and madder, are our grand specifics, and they are truly useful. As cordials and tonics,
treacle and strong beer,, in warm wash, and good pease and pollard. In the measles, sul-
phur, &c. and, if the patient require it, give cordials now and then ; in staggers, bleeding,
fresh air, and perhaps nitre ; in catarrh, a warm bed, and warm cordial wash, and the same
in quincy, or inflammation of the glands in the throat. If external suppuration appear
likely, discharge the matter when ripe, and dress with tar and brandy, or balsam. The
heavings or unsoundness of the lungs in pigs, like the unsoundness of the liver in lambs,
is sometimes found to be hereditary ; there is no remedy. This disease in pigs is
often the consequence of colds from wet lodging, or of hasty feeding in a poor state ; in
a certain stage it is highly inflammatory, and without remedy. Unction with train oil,
and the internal use of it, have been sometimes thought beneficial.
Book VII.
THE GOAT.
1021
Chap. VIII.
Of the Goat, Rabbit, Hare, Dormouse, Deer, and various other Animals, that are or may
be subjected to British Agriculture.
6582. The goat, (Capra eegagrus, L.,^g. 691.) is a native of many mountainous parts
of Europe, Africa, Persia, and India; he is domestic- 691
ated throughout Europe, feeds on branches of
shrubs, on lichens, hemlock , &c. ; is seldom destitute
of horns, of active habits like the deer, treacherous,
petulant, roaming, and lascivious ; gravid four months
and a half, brings from one to two at a birth, and
lives ten or twelve years. The female will allow it-
self to be sucked by the young of various other
animals, and a foal which has lost its mother has
been seen thus nourished by a goat, which, in order
to facilitate the process, was placed on a barrel. The
attachment between the nurse and foal appeared
strong and natural : in its internal structure, it extremely resembles sheep, but is far
superior to them in alertness, sentiment, and intelligence. The goat approaches man
without difficulty, is won by kindness, and capable of attachment. The extremely un-
pleasant odor attending these animals, is supposed to be beneficial, and horses appear so
much refreshed by it, that a goat is, on this account, often kept in the stables of the great.
It is a singular local peculiarity, that in Angora only, the animals of the Capra, Ovis,
and Lepus tribe, have long soft silky hair.
6583. The Angora goat, a native of Turkey, is chiefly valued for its exquisitely fine
hair down, which grows under its coarse hair, and of which the Cashmere shawls are ma-
nufactured. The down is obtained by gently combing them. A considerable number
of this breed were imported to France from Persia, in 1819, and stationed at St. Om'ers,
with a view to their increase, and the establishment of the shawl manufacture. The
kids of this flock are said to be abundantly covered with down and hair, and superior in
strength and appearance to indigenous French kids of the same age. It is a common
opinion, that the down of this goat degenerates when the animals are removed from
the pasturage of Angora ; but this is likely in part to arise from the neglect of cleaning
and washing them, which at Angora is so assiduously attended to. By a late Report of
M. Terneaux to the Paris Agricultural Society, the French Angoras have increased in
number, and prosper equally with the native variety.
6584. The Syrian goat (Jig. 692.) is remarkable for its pendulous ears, and is common
in various parts of the East. The animals of this
variety are driven in flocks through the Oriental towns
every morning and evening, and each housekeeper
sees drawn from them, before her door, as much milk
as she is in want of.
6585. The Chamois goat, a native of Switzerland,
is a species of antelope, and will be afterwards
noticed.
6586. IVie goats of Wales are generally white, and
are both stronger and larger than those of other hilly
countries. Their flesh is much used by the inhabit-
ants, and often dried and salted, and substituted for
bacon. The skins of the kids are much valued for
gloves, and were formerly employed in furniture, when painted with rich colors, of
which they are particularly capable, and embellished with ornamental flowers, and works
of silver and gold. The goat may be of some advantage in rocky barren countries,
where nothing else can get a support for life. They will climb the steepest rocks, and
there browse upon briers, heath, and shrubs of various kinds, which other creatures
will not taste of. They will feed on grass in pastures ; but, as they love brows-
ing on trees much better, great care should be taken to keep them from valuable
plantations.
6587. The produce of the goat, from which advantage is chiefly obtained, is the milk, which it yields in
large quantities, and which is accounted the best milk of all animals. They mix this and cows' milk
together in some parts of the kingdom, and a very valuable cheese is made from it. Besides this, the
kids or young goats are very fine food, and the best kinds bring forth two or three at a time, and that
twice a year.
6588. 'Goat's hair is also valuable ; it may be sheared as theVool from sheep, and is excellent for mak-
ing ropes that are to be used in the water, as they will last a great while longer than those made in the
•ommon way. A iotI of stuff U also made of it in some places.
1022 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
-6589. The suet of the goat is also in great esteem, and many of the inhabitants of Caernarvonshire kill
them merely for the sake of their fat, which makes candles of a superior quality to the common. Of their
horns excellent handles are made for tucks and pen-knives. The skin is peculiarly well adapted for the
glove manufactory, especially that of the kid ; as it takes a dye better than any other skin. The old skin
is also of great use, being preferred to that of the sheep, and the flesh affords a cheap and plentiful pro-
vision in the winter months, particularly when the kids are brought to market. The haunches of the goat
are frequently salted and dried, and supply all the uses of bacon : this by the Welsh is called coch yr wdcn,
or hung venison.
()590. The kind of goats for keeping to advantage should be chosen in this manner: the male should
have a large body, his hair should be long, and his legs straight and stiff; the neck should be i)lain and
short, the head small and slender, the horns large, the eyes prominent, and the beard long. The female
should have a large udder, with large teats, and no horns, or very small ones. Goats should be kept in
flocks, that they may not straggle; and they should have good shelter both in summer and in winter, tlie
heat and cold being both prejudicial to them, and coupled in December. They should have no litter in
winter, but only a paved floor kept clean. The kids are to be brought up for the table in the same manner
as our lambs are.
6591. The rabbit (Lqms cuniculus, L., fig. 693.), is indigenous in most temperate
climates, but not so far to the north as the hare. In a ggg
wild state it forms long-winding burrows ; keeps its
hole by day ; feeds morning, evening, and night on
vegetables and grain ; is the prey of hawks, badgers,
polecats, and caught by ferrets ; gravid tliirty days,
brings from four to eight young seven times a year. ^"^^^
The varieties common in Britain are the white, black,
variegated, and silvery grey. The hare and rabbit are ^^^^^^^^^^:§;>>%Uh3''^'^^^^"~'~'
distinguished from each other externally, chiefly by the proportional length of the hind
legs to that of the back, and in the ears of the hare being longer, and those of the rabbit
shorter than the head. The haunts of rabbits are called warrens ; which are most nume-
rous in the sandy soils of Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. They sometimes extend to 2000
or 3000 acres, and many have been hitherto considered to pay better in that state than in
any other. Arthur Young, however, has shovi'n in his SurvcT/ of Lincohishirc, that though a
rabbit-warren may afford a high interest on the capital of the occupier, yet the rent it
affords to the owner of the soil is less than would ultimately be obtained by planting or
breaking up, and laying down with chiccory or some other suitable herbage plant. In
the meantime, as they continue to exist, and are subjected to a kind of management,
we shall submit a short outline of it under the heads of extent, soil and situation, fenc-
ing, stocking, breeding, rearing, and produce. Afterwards we shall take a view of the
mode of managing rabbits in hutches.
6592. The extent of warrens varies from 100 to 3000 acres, but a convenient size is
considered to be 1500 or 2000 acres. The soil and situation should be dry, sandy, warm,
and poor; rich grass or herbage being found to produce a scouring, which sometimes car-
ries off" the greater part of the stock. Warrens are generally inclosed with walls either
of stone or turf, an essential addition to the latter being a coping of furze, reeds, or stiff
straw. Paling is used in some places, but a brook is found insufficient, as the rabbits
bave been found to swim across.
6593. Warrens are often stocked by nature, and all that art has to do in that case is to
protect the produce ; but in some cases they are formed on ground where rabbits do not
exist naturally, or where they exist it is considered desirable to change the breed.
6594. In stocking a warren, whether the surface be flat or hilly, artificial burrows are sometimes made,
to reconcile the rabbits to the ground, and to presci-ve them from vermin, until they have time to make
their own burrows. These are bored with an auger of a diameter large enough to make a burrow of a suf-
ficient width. In a level warren, these augers may, from time to time, be found useful in forming such
holes. They, however, in most cases, are capable of making burrows for themselves. Some warren lands
are stocked in the proportion of three couple to an acre; while in others it is in a considerably larger
proportion. In Lincolnshire, one buck or male rabbit is said to be sufficient for one hundred does, or
females ; but this is certainly a much larger proportion, than in most other districts. On the wold war-
rens of Yorkshire, according to Marshal, one male is considered sufficient for only six or seven females,
and the nearer they can be brought to that proportion the greater the stock of young ones that may be
expected, it being the nature or economy of the males to destroy their young, especially when the propor-
tional number is too great.
6595. The varieties employed as stock for warrens are the common grey and silver grey breeds. The
former of which is found to be considerably more hardy and much better for the purposes of food; but
the latter has greatly the advantage in the value of the skin. Till lately the common grey rabbit, proba-
bly the native wild rabbit of the island, was the only species. At present, the silver-haired rabbit is
sought after, and has, within the last few years, been introduced into most warrens. The skin of the grey
rabbit is cut ; that is, the wool is pared off the pelt, as a material of hats : whereas, that of the silver-
haired rabbit is dressed as fur ; which, it is said, goes principally to the East Indies. The color is a black
ground, thickly interspersed with single white hairs. The skins of this variety sell for about four shil-
fings a dozen more than those of the common sort ; a sufficient inducement for propagating it in preference
to the grey breed.
6596. The rabbit begins to breed at an early age, as at eight, ten, or twelve months, going only about
thirty days with young, the young being little more than three weeks old before they appear from the
burrows, during which time they are suckled twice in the day by the mother. It is therefore evident,
that they may breed three or four times in the course of the year under good keep, as the does take the
buck almost immediately after producing their young. In warrens that aie inclosed, it is, however, said
that they seldom breed more than two or three times in the year.
6597. The management of a rabbit warren is a very simple business. Birds and beasts of prey are to be
kept off by taking them in traps ; dogs and cats kept off^ and rats, moles, mice, and other vermin destroyed
if abundant or troublesome. Man himself is to be guarded against in some situations. Additional food
is to be supplied in the winter season, when the weather is severe, such as fine green hay, f aintfoin, clover
pOOK VII-
THE RABBIT.
1023
695
turnips, and others of the same sort, which must be distributed over the warrens. It is supposed that
turnips answer the best in deep snows, as the rabbits can discover them by the scent. This sort of food is
given in the quantity of two or three large cartfulls to a thousand couple per day, and one load of hay in
the same time during a storm. It is likewise sometimes the practice to distribute billets of new cut ash-
boughs, gorse or whins, and other similar woods in the warrens, the bark and other parts of which is
eaten, by which the proportion of hay is lessened in a considerable degree. In great snows it is necessary
to clear it away from the ditches or fences to prevent the rabbits from getting over them.
6598. This sort of stock is niosf iff taken by nets or traps, set in the form of a fold between the places
where they run, and those where they feed, the rabbits being hunted into them as they return from feed-
ing. Sometimes they are taken by ferrets and terriers. The wold warreners. Marshal says, have three
ways of catching their rabbits : with fold nets ; with spring nets ; and with types, a species of trap. The
fold nets are set about midnight, between the burrows and the feeding grounds ; the rabbits being driven
in with dogs, and kept inclosed in the fold, until morning. But the spring net, when used, is, he believes,
generally laid round a hay stack, or other place, where rabbits collect in numbers. It is added that the
trap is a more modern invention. It consists of a large pit or cistern, formed within the ground, and
covered with a floor : or with one large falling door, having a small trap-door towards its centre, into
which the rabbits are led by a narrow mouth. This trap on its first introduction, was set mostly by
a hay-stack ; hay being, at that time, the chief winter food of rabbits ; or on the outside of the warren
wall, where rabbits were observed to scratch much, in order to make their escape. Since the cultivation
of turnips, as a winter food for this species of stock, has become a practice, the situation of the trap has,
be says, been changed. Turnips being cultivated in an enclosure within the warren, a trap is placed within
the wall of this enclosure. For a night or two, the mouth is left open, and the trap kept covered, (with a
board or triangular rail), in order to give the rabbits leave to retreat.
6599. The annual produce per acre, is mostly estimated at from three or four, to eight or ten couple,
yielding a profit of from eight to ten, or even fifteen shillings, where they are conducted under ajgood
system of management. The produce is the largest on new lands ; however, much of the profitmust
always de})end on situation, so as to be near good markets. These animals are in what is termed season
from the end of October to the beginning of January, in which period the best skins are produced, of
course a large proportion of them is killed in this short time. The farmer often sustains great loss
in what by the purchasers are called half skins, quarter skins and racks, sixteen of which are only con-
sidered as a whole skin. The rabbits are disposed of by the hundred, «ix score couple being considered as
an hundred.
6600. The breeding and rearing of tame rabbits is carried on in hutches or stores of boxes
placed in sheds or apartments of any kind secure from verniin. We shall give a view
of the practice as to rabbitry and furniture, varieties, breeding, feeding, and produce.
6601. T/te rabbit house, should be particularly dry and well ventilated, as these quadrupeds are very
subject to tlie rot, and to Uver complaints like sheep. 694
6602. The huts or hutches, (fig. 694.) are boxes or chests eighteen inches or
more high, and from two and a half to three feet wide, generally divided in
two (a and 6), and the rooms thus formed communicating by a sliding door,
the use of which is to confine the rabbits in the inner division (a), whilst the
outer, which has a wire door, {Jig. 695.) is cleaned. Generally these hutches
are placed in rows above each other against
one side of the rabbit-house, and sometimes
they are placed in the open air, against a
wall within a wired or netted enclosure. Sometimes they are ranged"
along the floor ; but the neatest mode is to place them on brackets
round the room, or on stands about three feet high on the floor. In
both these cases it is to be understood that they are not allowed to run
about the rabbit room, the use of which is solely to enclose and protect
them in an atmosphere of moderate temperature, and to contain a birr
with corn, a truss of clover, hay, and any such food as sheep will live
and thrive upon. The utensil for feeding rabbits so hutched is simply
a trough (c), which may be formed of pewter, very hard wood, earthen-
ware, or cast iron, as rabbits are very apt to gnaw them ; and it should
be divided on the surface cross ways every four or six inches to prevent them from scratching and throwing
out their corn. Some add a^mall rack for their clover, but that will not be lost if given on the floor in
small quantities.
6603. There are numerous varieties of tarne rabbits ; but the broad-chested and short-
legged are the most hardy, and fatten most expeditiously. There is a large vaiiety
of the hare color, which has high colored and high flavored flesh, more savoury than that
of the common rabbit ; they make a good dish cooked like the hare, which at six or eight
months old they nearly equal in size. The large white, and yellow and white species,
have whiter and more delicate flesh, and, cooked in the same way, will rival the turkey.
The Turkish or French rabbit is esteemed by some, but differs little from the common
variety. All these and other varieties are to be had from the London dealers and
poultrymen.
6604. Breeding. The doe will breed at the age of six months ; and her period of gestation is thirty or
thirty-one days. It should be premised, that the buck and doe are by no means to be left together j but
their union having been successful, the buck must be immediately withdrawn, and the doe tried again
in three days : in fact, with rabbits, this business is conducted on the same principle as in the stud.
Like chickens, the best breeding rabbits are those kindled in March. Some days before parturition, or
kindling, hay is to be given to the doe, to assist in making her bed, with the flue, which nature has in-
structed her to tear from her body for that purpose. She will be at this period seen sitting upon her
haunches, and tearing off'the flue, and the hay being presented to her, she will with her teeth reduce
and shatter it to her purpose. Biting down of the litter or bed, is the first sign of pregnancy. The
number produced, generally between five and ten ; and it is most advantageous always to destroy the weak
or sickly ones, as soon as their defects can be perceived, because five healthy and well-grown rabbits are
worth more than double the number of an opposite description, and the doe will be far less exhausted.
She will admit the buck again with profit at the end of six weeks, when the young may be separated from
her and weaned. Or the young may be suckled two months, the doe taken back at the end of five weeks,
so that the former litter will leave her about a week before her next parturition. A notion was formerly
prevalent, of the necessity for giving the buck immediately after the cioe had brought forth, lest she should
pine, and that no time might be lost ; and if it were intended that no time might be lost in destroying the
doe, such indeed, would be the most successful method. Great care should be taken that the doe, during
her gestation, be not approached by the buck, or indeed by any other rabbit ; as, from being harassed
about, she will almost certainly cast her young. One doe in a thou»and may devour her young ; the.sign
1034 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
that she ought to b6 otherwise disposed of. Some does admit the buck with difficulty, although often
apparently in season ; such should be immediately fattened oft", since it can never be worth while to keep
any individual for breeding of a stock to be produced in such multitudes, against which there lies
an objection. Should the doe be weak on her bringing forth, from cold, cough, or other causes, she will
drink beer-caudle, as well as any other lady ; or warm fresh grains will comfort her ; a salt-mash ; scalded
fine pollard, or barley-meal, in which m;iy be mixed a small quantity of cordial horse-ball. With due
attention to keeping them warm and comfortable, and guarding against every sudden impression from
cold, and more particularly moist air, and with the aid of the best and most nourishing food, rabbits may
be bred throughout the winter, with nearly equal success as in the summer season. But, in truth, their
produce is so multitudinous, that one might well be satisfied with four or five litters, during the best part
of the year, giving the doe a winter fallow.
6605. Feeding. According to Mowbray, it is better to feed three times than twice a day. The art of
feeding rabbits with safety and advantage, is, always to give the upper hand to dry and substantial food.
Their nature is congenial with that of sheep, and the same kind of food, with little variation, agrees
with both. All weeds, and the refuse of vegetation, should be banished from rabbit teeding. Such
articles are too washy and diuretic, and can never be worth attention ,wbilst the more solid and nutritious
productions of the field may be obtained in such plenty, and will return so much greater profit. Kabbits
may, indeed, be kept, and even fattened upon roots, good green moat, and hay ; but they will pay for
corn ; and this may be taken as a general rule : rabbits which have as much corn as they will eat, can
never take any harm from being indulged with almost an equal portion of good substantial vegetables.
However, the test of health is, that their dung be not too moist. Many, or most, of the town feeders
never allow any greens at all ; the reason, I suppose, because they feed almost entirely on grains. The
corn proper for rabbits, is oats, peas, wheat, pollard, and some give buck-wheat. The greens and
roots; the same as our cattle crops, namely carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, and if potatoes, baked or steamed.
Lucerne, cabbage leaves, clover, tares, furze. Mowbray has had them hoven, from eating rape ; and
not improbably, field-beet might have a similar effect. The best dried herbage is clover and meadow
hay, and pea and bean straw.
6606. Rabbits are generally sold from the teat, but there is also a demand for those of larger size, which
may be fattened upon corn and hay, with an allowance of the best vegetables. The better the food, the
greater weight, better quality, and more profit, which is generally the case in the feeding of all animals.
Some fatten with grains and pollard. Mowbray tried wheat, and potatoe oats, comparatively ; but could
find no difference in the goodness of their flesh. The rabbit's flesh being dry, the allowance of succulent
greens may tend to render it more juicy ; and probably the old complaint of the dryness of the flesh in
Devon beef, entirely fed with hay, might be remedied in the same way. Rabbits are in perfection for
feeding at the fourth or sixth month ; beyond which period, their flesh becomes more dry and somewhat
hard. It requires three months, or nearly so, to make a rabbit thoroughly fat and ripe ; half the time
will make them eatable, but by no means equal in the quality of the flesh : they may yet be over fattened,
as appears by specimens exhibited a i'evf years since at Lord Somerville'sshow, which were loaded with fat,
without and within, like the best feeding sheep.
6607. The flesh of the rabbit'is e&teemed eqnaWy A\ges,t\\Ae as that of fowls, and equally proper for the
table of the invalid.
6608. Castrated rabbits might be fattened, no doubt, to the weight of upwards of ten pounds, at six
or seven months old. It is said to be successfully practised in Sussex, near Chichester, where on the
average, not one in three hundred is lost by the operation, which is performed at five or six weeks old.
With respect to the quantity of corn consumed in fattening ; a young buck, which weighed three pounds,
fit for the spit, was put up in good case in August, and was only one month in feeding, consuming not
quite four quarts of oats, with hay, cabbage, lucerne, and chicory ; the skin, silver and black, worth
four pence. •
6609. In slaughtering full-grown rabbits^ after the usual stroke upon the neck, the throat should be per-
forated upwards towards the jaws with a small pointed knife, in order that the blood may bo evacuated,
which would otherwise settle in the head and neck. It is an abomination to kill poultry by the slow and tor-
turing method ofbleeding to death, hung up by the heels, the veins of the mouth being cut ; but still more
80 the rabbit, which in that situation, utters horrible screams. The entrails of the rabbit, whilst fresh,
are said to be good food for fish.'^being thrown into ponds.
6610. The rabbit is a caressing animal, and equally fond, with the cat, of the head being stroked;
at the same time it is not destitute of courage. A whimsical lady admitted a buck rabbit into her
house, when he-became her companion for upwards of a twelvemonth. He soon intimidated the largest
cats so much, by chasing them round the room, and darting upon them, and tearing off their hair by
mouthfulls, that they very seldom dared to approach. He slept in the lap by choice, or upon a chair, or
the hearth rug, and was as full of mischief and tricks as a monkey. He tlestroyed all the rush -bottomed
chairs within his reach, and would refuse nothing to eat or drink, which was eaten or drank by any other
member of the family.
6611. Diseases. No live stock is less liable to disease than the rabbit, with regular and careful attention,
such as has been pointed out, so that any sudden and accidental disorder is best and most cheaply reme-
died by a stroke behind the ears. But want of care must be remedied, if at all, by an opposite conduct,
and improper food exchanged for its contrary. Thus, if rabbits become pot bellied in the common phrase,
from being fed on loose vegetable trash, they must be cured by good hard hay and corn, ground malt or
pease,or any substantial or absorbent food. Their common liver complaints are incurable, and when such
are put up to fatten, there is a certain criterion to be observed. They will not bear to be pushed beyond a
moderate degree of fatness, and should be taken in time, as they are liable to drop off suddenly. The
dropsy and rot must be prevented, as they are generally incurable j nor is a rabbit worth the time and
pains of a probable cure. gqg
6612. The harCy^Lepus timidus, L.,
Jig. 696.) if taken young may be tamed
and domesticated, and has occasionally
been nursed by a cat. Sonnini the natur-
alist, and Cowper the poet, had hares in a
complete state of domestication. As the c— ^-^
fur of this animal is of greater value for ^e3r<^^^^^^^u^-i:^i5^c<^j->-^
hat making than that of the rabbit, it would ^*^^^^^^^^^Ci^5^^^
be a very desirable circumstance if it could be substituted for that animal m war-
rens. Its flesh would certainly be deemed preferable, and in general it is a large
animal. It lives on the same sort of food as the rabbit, produces generally three young
ones at a time, and breeds at least three times in a year. It is not improbable that
in some dry situations where the soil is dry and poor, a hare warren or pack might
be found to answer ; the price in the metropolis being never less than ten times that of
rabbits.
Book VII.
DEER.
1025
697
6613. There is a hare warren near Banstead Downs : it contains about three acres
of ground : 200 brace are usually kept in it ; they are fed in the summer on clover,
rape, &c. ; and in the winter, on hay. The warren is surrounded by a brick wall about
ten feet high, with openings at regular distances, within which are wire gratings on
hinges: these give way to the hares, when they enter the warren; and they are so
constructed, that they immediately close after them, and so prevents their escape.
6614. The Guinea pig, or restless Cavy, (Cavia Cubaya, L. Jig. 697.) is a native of
Brazil, but domesticated in Europe, and treated and used
like the tame rabbit. In Italy, the flesh is considered a
delicacy, and the skins are nearly as valuable as those of
rabbits. The Guinea pig is one of the most prolific of
animals, and Buffon calculates that in twelve months
only, 1000 might be produced from a single pair, as the
female has been known to bring forth young when two
months old only ; the time of gestation is only three weeks ; and she will produce at
least every two months. The young are six or seven months before they arrive at their
maturity of growth, but within the short period of twelve hours from their birth are
nearly as alert and active as those fully grown, and t,herefore require parental assiduity
only for a little time. Vegetables form their food, and on a great variety of these they
will flourish and fatten. They drink but little, appear after eating to ruminate, and
are extremely apt to be affected by cold. They are uncommonly clean in their habi-
tations, and are often to be seen smoothing and cleansing their fur with particular
attention and perseverance.
6615. The fat dormouse {Myoxus glis, L.) is a native of the woods of Germany and
Russia ; and has a good deal of the habits of the squirrel. It feeds on fruits, lays up a
winter store, forms its nest in hollow trees, sleeps by day, and grows very fat in au-
tumn. It was cultivated by the Romans, and highly prized by them as food. The
body is six inches long.
6616. Of the deer (Cervus, L.) there are three species in cultivation in this country :
the stag, roe, and fallow deer. The latter are now almost exclusively cultivated in
parks, as articles ofluxury, and, it is conceived, might answer to a small extent in farming.
6617. The stag (C. Elephus, ^h., Jig. 698 a) is found in nearly all the temperate
climates of Europe and Asia. It is also found in North America, but attains its largest
size in Siberia. From the branchiness of its antlers, tlie elegance of its form and move-
ments, and the strength of its limbs, it deservedly attracts particular admiration, and may
be regarded as a principal embellishment of the forest. The stag is remarkable for a
fine eye, and an acute sense of smelling. His ear also is exquisitely sensible, and mu-
sical sounds appear to possess over him the power of exciting complacency, if not rap-
ture. His enemies not unfrequently employ the shepherd's pipe to decoy him to his
destruction ; and Playford, in his Introduction to Music, states that he once met
a herd of twenty stags near Royston, which readily followed the tones of a violin and
bagpipe, played by their conductors, but stopped whenever the music was suspended.
Their whole progress from Yorkshire to Hampton Court was attended, and it was sup-
posed extremely facilitated, by these sounds. The stag is simple and unsuspicious, and
employs no arts to avoid detection or pursuit, until after liaving received considerable
molestation. His food consists in winter of moss and bark ; in spring of the catkins of
willow and hazel, and the flowers and buds of cornel; in summer, of the grain of rye,
and the tender shoots of the alder ; in autumn, of the leaves of brambles, and the flowtsrs
of heath and broom. He eats with slowness, and ruminates with some considerable ef-
fort, in consequence of the distance between the first stomach and the mouth. In March,
3 U
1026 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
generally, he sheds his antlers, which are not completely renewed till August. He will live
to between thirty and forty years of age, and was formerly, amidst the other vulgar er-
rors of antiquity, supposed capable of attaining most extraordinary duration. The stag is
supposed to have been introduced from France into England, where he has latterly been
made to give way to the fallow deer, an animal more gentle in its manners, and more
valuable as food. In some parts of Scotland he is yet to be found in his original
wild state. A stag of five years old is, in hunting, termed a hart ; the female, hinds ; and
the young, fawns.
6618. The roe (C capreolus, L., Jig. 698 b) is the smallest of the deer tribes which are
natives of Europe; it is generally of a reddish brown color; graceful, sprightly, and
courageous, particularly cleanly, and delighting in dry and mountainous situations : it
leaves a strong scent behind it, but possesses such arts of defence, that by various doublings
and intermixtures of past with present emanations from its body, it frequently baffles
the most experienced dogs, and remains in a state of security, while the full pack passes
almost close by its retreat, distinguishing it neither by sight nor smell : it differs from the
stag in the constancy of its attachment, and the parents and their young constitute a fa-
mily, never associating with strangers: two fawns are generally produced by the
female at a birth, one of each sex, which, living together, form a mutual and invincible
attachment. When a new family is to be nursed, the former is driven off to provide for
itself, but returns again after a certain interval to the mother, whose former affection is
restored : a final separation speedily takes place, however, soon after this return, between
the fawns of the season preceding the last and their dam ; and the former remove to a dis-
tance, constituting a distinct establishment, and rearing an offspring of their own. When
the female is about to bring forth, she secludes herself in some remote recess of the for-
est, froni which she returns at the end of about ten days, with her fawns, just able slow-
ly and weakly to follow her steps : in cases of danger she hides them in a place deemed
by her most secure from the enemy, and attracts the attention of the latter from them to
herself; happy, by her own perils or even destruction, to effect the security of her off-
spring. In winter, these animals feed on brambles, broom, heath, and catkins; and in
spring they eat the young wood and leaves of almost every species of tree, and are
said to be so affected, as it were with intoxication, by the fermentation of this food in
their stomachs, that they will approach men and other enemies (whom they generally
shun with great care), without apprehension or suspicion. The flesh of these animals i*
excellent, though after two years of age that of the males is ill-flavored and tough.
The roe exists now in no part of Ireland, and, in Great Britain, only in a few districts
of the Highlands.
6619. The fallow deer (C. damn, L.,Jig. 698 c) is in general much smaller than the
stag ; but in Spain is nearly equally large : in France and Germany it is rarely to be
found, and it has never been known to have existed in America: it has the elegance of
the stag, connected with a much more tractable disposition ; it sheds its antlers, which, as
in the stag species, are peculiar to the male, every year ; is stated to live to the age of
twenty years, and arrives at its maturity in three ; it is by no means fastidious in its
food.
6620. Deer husbandry. The author of the Agricultural Survey of the County of Hertford, observes,
that " the Earl of Clarendon, justly considering that there is no more impropriety in converting one ani-
mal to profit than another, makes deer an object of husbandry. As soon as the rutting season is over, or
usually about th6 10th of November, his lordship selects from the herd, the weak ones, some of which
would probably die in the winter, and keeps them in a small yard that has a shed on one side, and a net
over the whole against pigeons, &c. ; the spot very warm, and well sheltered. Their antlers are imme-
diately sawn off, the place is well littered, and they are fed at a very small expense on pea-straw, hay, &c.
warmth making up for the want of better food. At times, during the winter, they have clover-hay cut
into chaff, and if they do not eat it well, a little salt is added. They have always plenty of water, and are
kept perfectly clean : much attention should, he says, be paid by the keeper to make him.self familiar with
them, that he may enter the place without disturbing them. The first week in March he gives them oil-
cake, about half a cake each a-day, with chaff, which fattens them so quickly, that all are gone in May.
Before killing, they have some green meat given, to take away any ill flavor from the cake, supposing
such to be the effect of the food, for it is certain that the venison is exceedingly good. As to weight, a
haunch usually weighs about 24 pounds; a brace is sold for 15 guineas: the skin, worth 2/. 2s. is the
keeper's perquisite ; so that the value of abrace amounts to 17/. 17s. exclusive of some trifling articles. The
purchaser sends for them." It is added, that his lordship usually fattens nine brace : his whole winter-stock
rises to 350 head, in a park of 250 acres, but much of it is thickly covered with timber ; 30 sheep and ten
cows also feed in it. The park consumption of hay amounts to 32 loads, being reduced to that quantity by
the use of much browse ; all ash, elm, and Scotch pine, being brought for that purpose before faggotting^
which not only saves hay, but improves the flavor of the venison.
6621. By castrating the males of deer when newly dropped, which is not in the least
dangerous, it affords the means of having good venison imtil Christmas, without any other
sort of food than the common grass ; they also fatten more quickly ; the operation must^
however, be performed while they are quite young. [Devonshire Report. )
6622. The moose deer, or oik [Cervus alces, 'L.^ is indigenous in Europe, America,
and Asia, as far as Japan, and was formerly wild in this country though now extinct. It is
of the size of a horse ; gentle, except when teazed by the gad-fly ; feeds on twigs, and
branches of trees, and marsh plants ; goes on its hoofs with a shambling gait at the rate of
Book VII.
ANTELOPE.
1027
fifty miles a day ; has a skin so hard as almost to resist a musket ball, but flesh tender and
good. Tliis animal might be introduced as an inhabitant of parks, where it would add
to the variety of animated woody scenery and of venison.
6623. The rein deer (Cervus tarandus, Ij., Jig. 699.) is an inhabitant of the alpine
mountains of America, Europe, and Asia, and is
too remarkable an animal, and too well known,
to require a particular description or account of his
habits. The tame variety have been introduced
more than once in this country by the Hon. Daines
Barrington, Bullock, and others, but cannot
be kept in parks on account of the want of their
particular lichen. As this lichen abounds on se-
veral mountains in Yorkshire, And on many in
Scotland and Ireland, some patriotic and curious
noblemen might attempt its cultivation. The
milk and cream, as Dr. Clarke states, are most
excellent, and also the flesh, and even as an article of profit, the sale of the animals as
breeding stock would pay for a time. Lichen hay might no doubt be imported at an
easy rate from the gulf of Bothnia ; and the animal by degrees in the course of a few
generations might be habituated to grass or the spray of trees.
6624. The antelope {Anlilojye, L. ) is a beautiful and numerous genus of animals, par-
taking of the nature of the goat and deer. Two species, the A. saiga, or scytheon, and the
A. rupicapra or chamois, are natives of Europe, but the rest of hot climates. Ante-
lopes, Pennant observes, are animals generally of a most elegant and active make ; of a
restless and timid disposition ; extremely watchful, of great vivacity, remarkably swift
and agile, and most of their boundings so light and elastic, as to strike the spectator with
astonishment. What is very singular, they will stop in the midst of their course, gaze
for a moment at their pursuers, and then resume their flight. As the chase of these
animals is a favorite amusement with the eastern nations, from that may be collected
proofs of their rapid speed. One of the highest compliments that can be paid to
female beauty in t^je eastern regions, is Aine el Czazel, ' you have the eyes of an
antelope.' Some species of antelopes form herds of two or three thousand, while
others keep in troops of five or six. They generally reside in hilly countries, though
some inhabit plains : they often browse like the goat, and feed on the tender shoots of
trees, which gives their flesh an excellent flavor.
6625. Thecommon antelope (A. cervicapra ,1^. ) abounds inBarbary, and in all the northern
parts of Africa. It is somewhat less than the fallow deer : its horns are about sixteen
inches long, surrounded with prominent rings almost to the top, where they arc twelve
inches distant from point to point. The horns are remarkable for a beautiful oouble
flexion, which gives them the appearance of the lyre of the ancients. The color of the
hair on the back is brown, mixed with red j the belly and inside of the thighs white ; and
the tail short.
6626. The chamois antelope (A. rupicapra, Jig. 700 a ) was formerly considered as
belonging to the genus capra, ,-qq
and is generally called the cha-
mois goat. It is found oni
the mountains of Switzerland,
where it is very shy, and hunt-
ed both for its flesh and skin.
(341.)
6627. The Scythian ante-
lope,{A. saiga, L.) bears a good
deal of resemblance to the com-
mon goat, and it is fully as easily
tamed. They are found in im-
mense flocks on the banks of
Boristhenes and other parts of
Russia, where they are valued
both for the flesh and their skin,
which is equal to that of the chamois for gloves.
6628. The nilgau, or white-footed antelope, (A. pictor, 1^., Jig. 700 6 ) is a large and
beautiful species, known only within the space of a few years past. Its height is four feet
one inch to the top of the shoulders ; its length, from the bottom of the neck to the base of
the tail, four feet ; and the color a fine dark grey. The nilgau has of late years been
often imported into Europe, and has bred in England. In confinement, it is generally
pretty gentle, but is sometimes seized by fits of sudden caprice, when it will attack with
3 U 2
1028
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
great violence the object of its displeasure. The nilgau is said to go with young
about nine months, and to produce sometimes two at a birth : the young is of the color
of a fawn.
6629. The above and various other species of antelopes might probably be acclimated
and introduced in parks as objects of luxury. The cultivator who first succeeded in
breeding them would find an ample demand at his own price if they happened to come
in vogue.
6630. The caniel (Camelus, L.), is a genus of which there are several species, three of
which, the dromedary, or Arabian camel {Jig,70l.), the Bachian, and the lama or Peru-
vian sheep, might certainly be partially accli-
mated in England, as the first is completely so
in Italy. (297.) They live upon a very little
of the coarsest herbage ; might have a warm
Chouse well littered to retire to in winter, or
in cold nights, and would form a singular
ornament to park scenery. Besides their hair
and skin are valuable, and they might be sold
perhaps to romantic travellers, or cavalier
quacks.
6631. The lama (Camelus glama, L..,Jig.
702. ) is the camel of South America ; and
appears to hold a middle place between the
-"^ sheep, deer, and camel. Before the en-
trance of the Spaniards, lamas were the only beasts of burden known to the South
Americans. Like camels, they travel
slowly, but are persevering, tractable,
and very sure-footed. Since the intro-
duction of mules, they are much less cul-
tivated ; but before they were depended
on to carry the ores dug out of the rich
mines of Potosi. The lama is furnished
as the camel with ability to abstain from
water, by keeping a quantity in its second
stomach. Like the camel, its feet also
divide, and spread ; but by no means
equal to those of the camel. It is also
furnished with a singular protuberance or "^
spur behind, which enables it the better
to lay hold on the ground. Tlie tame
are of various colors, and some of them are smooth and others rough. The height of
the lama is about four feet, and its length from the neck to the tail about six feet. It
has a capacity of throwing out the saliva to a considerable distance, but which is not
possessed of any acrid quality.
6632. The cam^lopard (Camelopardalis giraffa, L.), a most singular and noble animal,
seventeen feet high, and as tame and gentle as the camel, might also be naturalized. It
lives on the green spray of trees, and grass, and frequents forests.
6633. The elephant, rhinoceros, musk ox, and a variety of other exotic domestics,
might be so far acclimated as to live in Britain as they do in the Jardin des plantes at
Paris, viz., with an enclosure for each sort, and a lodge or house for protection in winter
or during inclement weather. Were as much attention paid to introducing alive, and
acclimating foreign animals, as there is directed to the same branch of culture in plants,
we should soon possess a rich Fauna, and the public taste may in time take this di-
rection.
6634. In acclimating the more tender animals, it might be desirable to rear a few ge-
nerations, first in the south of Italy or in Spain, next in France and afterwards in the south
of England. But the camel, musk ox, zebra, quagga, and antelope might be had
at once from the acclimated stock in Italy.
6635. The dog (Canisfamiliaris), is an animal of universal utility and interest. From
the earliest ages he has been the companion and assistant of the herdsman ; and without
his aid the flocks must have been confined to narrow limits, and consequently their
propagation would have been greatly lessened. But hardy and bold, he watched by
night, and toiled by day ; securing his charge from the human thief, or the ravenous
predatory beasts in the one, and collecting and organising their march during the other.
Without the dog, sheep-farmers of the present day would be often at a loss to restrain the
wanderings of their flocks ; nor is he less useful in guarding the yard by nightly
watchings.
Book VIL
DOGS.
1029
6636. The genus canis includes other animals, as the wolf, the fox, the jackal, and the hysena : and
many naturalists have supposed our subject, the dog, to be only a mixed animal, originating from the
union of some of these. Such is the opinion of Guldenstadt, Pallas, and Pennant ; while the higher
names of Blumenbach and Cuvier, are ranged among those who assign him a distinct and specific origin.
Blaine, who has long successfully advocated the cause of the dog, has bestowed much research on this
point ; and appears clearly to have traced the dog through his numerous varieties, to a specific origin ;
but whether originating from a specific or a .spurious source, the dog has descended down into such innu-
merable varieties, that a detail of the forms and properties of them, as they appear among us only, would
be utterly impossible. The wants, as well as the luxuries of man, have, nowever, laid hold on some of
these varieties, and have fixed them into permanencies, by confining the sexual intercourse to their con-
geners alone, and of this number there are no less than forty. It would be unnecessary to draw the
character of the dog as stated at length by Linnjeus and others : the outlines are the same in all.
6637. The shepherd's dog, in an agricultural point of view, ranks foremost among the numerous varie-
ties : indeed, the fanciful BufFon makes him the father of the whole race of dogs. But did no other diffi-
culty arise, an insuperable one would be found in the opposite characters which different breeds of this
dog possess. Few animals can be more unhke than the small sheep-dog of the Highlands of Scotland, and
the monstrous drovers' dog of Smithfield.
-703 6638. The English sheep-dog (Jig. 703.), is usually larger than the northern,
is longer on the legs, and has been so long accustomed to have the tail taken
off nearly close to the rump, that in some instances the custom has operated
on nature ; and these dogs are sometimes pupped tailless. The shepherd's
dog is not, however, usually bred so large as the real cattle or drover's dog ;
but is yet sufficiently strong and fierce. Their color is in general black and
white, with half pricked ears : they are extremely docile and intelligent,
and seem almost to understand the looks of the shepherd. Some of them
are smooth -coated; but by far the greater number are rough, and have
their hair crisped, which enables them better to bear the effects of continued
exposure. The dog very erroneously described by minor naturalists as the cur dog, is nothing more than
the shepherd's dog, confined principally to the operations of the farm; and often bred rather taller, and
either smooth or rough, according to circumstances. The very term cur destroys all individuality of
breed ; it being applied to characterise any dog of spurious origin : neither in these farm-yard dogs is any
characteristic difference whatever observed in forms, qualities, or uses. When the sheep-dog is generally
employed in watching the farm-yard, he becomes more fierce and active ; he accommodates his powers to
the particular circumstances required of him ; he knows every field, and every beast, and keeps the whole
in subjection. His bite is keen, and principally directed at the heels of cattle, by which he keeps himself
safe, and does not injure them.
6639. The sheep-dogs of Scotland are varied in form and size {figs. 704. and 705.), but are all of them usu-
7Q4 ally smaller than those in use in England : they are, nevertheless, without
competitors in sagacity and excellence. Their general characters are, ears
partially upright, head rather pointed, shaggy 705
coat, and a remarkable villocity, or fulness of
tail beneath. Immense flocks of sheep may be ,
seen ranging the wilds, without other control
save the shepherd and his dog, which receives
his commands, executes them, and then waits
for further instructions : or, he often acts with
great judgment and promptitude from the im- ^II^
pulses of his own sagacity, in which, perhaps, t-
these dogs never shine more than in their readiness to distinguish the individuals of their own flocks, and
their adroitness in keeping out intruders. In driving a number of sheep to any distance, a well-trained
dog never fails to confine the sheep to the road : he watches every avenue that leads from it, where he
takes his stand, threatening every delinquent ; and pursues the stragglers, forcing them into the ranks
without doing them any injury. If the herdsman be at any time absent, he rests satisfied, knowing his
dog will not abandon his charge, but will keep them together ; and the moment he returns, the sagacious
animal gives up his trust, or conducts them to his master according to the word or signal given.
6640. The mastiff ox guard (Jig. 706.), is a noble animal derived from the Dane; but by selection and
cultivation is rendered thicker and heavier, though less tall than his
original. The powers of this dog are immense ; and as a guard he is
unrivalled : having the ferocity of a tiger to a stranger, with the gen-
tleness of a lamb towards those he knows. His sagacity in detecting
; the attempts of robbers, and his fidelity in resisting all their bribes, are
' such, that it is to be lamented his breed has given place to that of
the Newfoundland dog, whose qualities as a guard are certainly not
equal to his. The mastiff is characterised by small pendulous ears,
smooth coat, color various, often reddish or brindled. The lips are
pendulous, jaws of immense strength, but seldom under-hung; and
his general form is symmetrical for strength.
6641. The bull-dog can no otherwise be considered as connected
with agriculture, than as he is too often used in the disgraceful and
! inhuman sport of bull-baiting : and however we may admire his in-
vincible fortitude, and his contempt of pain and danger, we must
allow him to be the most useless among the dog species. In his attack on cattle he always aims at the
front, and generally fastens on the upper lip, where he will hang in spite of every eflTort of the animal to
disengage himself.
6642. The terrier {fig. 707.) is a dog of very great utility, and of very va-
ried form and size. His qualities have gained him the greatest care in ,,
selection, training, and continuing the numerous distinct breeds we wit- <f i
ness. The principal varieties may be reduced into the rough and the i>
smooth breeils. The rough breed is originally derived from Scotland, where '
it is still preserved in a few families in its original purity. These spe-
cimens are seldom large, but are exceedingly rough and shaggy in their
hair, which is much crisped and brindled. The rough breed in England
has become larger, and is very often seen white. When mixed with the
bull breed, this terrier becomes fierce, much inclined to combat, and forms ^
an excellent guard. The smooth breed produces endless varieties; the '~
principal of which is an elegant black animal with tan markings. A second variety is of varied colors,
smaller, thicker, and longer; and is used for earthing foxes, badger-baiting, and vermin killing ii>
general. For rabbit hunting, a wry-legged breed is in considerable request. Although particular
varieties are often appropriated to particular purposes, yet all have a common property, which ren«
ders them invaluable to the agriculturist ; which is their determined hostility to those animals termed
vermin, as foxes, otters, badgers, polecats ; with rats and mice. To attack the former, they are
bred strong, and have a portion of the bull breed in them: for the latter their hardihood, activity, and
keenness of gripe, are particularly studied : in which the middle-sized breeds are CrequwUy found to excel
3 U 3
707
1030
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
6643. The pointer, setter, and spaniel, {fig. 708.), it might seem at the first view unnecessary to intro-
duce to the notice of the agriculturist ; but a little examination of the subject will show that they
may be made an object of considerable importance to the farmer. Few dogs command such prices as
sporthig dogs ; and few persons have such opportunities of rearing them so cheaply, or so well, as farmers.
Many farmers shoot game ; most of them do it more or less : and it would be verj- easy to make two brace
of pointers or getters, with one or two brace of spaniels, pay a considerable part of the rent of the farm,
without other expense than skimmed milk and potatoes, or occasionally a little bariey meal. We will
suppose that a farm has on it three pointer bitches, and one pointer dog, all of acknowledged excellence,
and two out of the three bitches may be expected to go to heat early, and to produce progeny between the
seasons of shooting, when they are wanted : from these, four brace of puppies may be saved, and by conti-
nually following the servants and their master, they will become so handy, that their breaking will be ef-
fected daily, and without any other trouble than what occurs in restraining them when a little wild. If their
breed is very good, their stopping and barking will commence towards the end of the first season, and dur-
ing the periods between this and the next autumn they may be steadied and practised in fetching their
game, &c., as directed in good sporting works. At thecommencementof the following season, if they have
been well attended to, although only fifteen months old, the whole may be sold to the London or country
dealers, to average six or seven guineas each : or if sold privately, they will fetch from eight to twelve and
fifteen guineas each : out of which, perhaps not more than half a guinea can fairly be deducted for keep,
&c. The trouble occasioned to the master will be trifling, because connected with a pleasing employ to
him as a sportsman, and who will thus have his own sporters for nothing.
6644. Setters, as more valuable, will fetch a higher price : but they do not always command so ready a
sale, and are more troublesome to break.
6645. Spaniels are commonly thought, but most erroneously, almost to break themselves. A really well
broke spaniel, however, is so rare, that instead of being worth two or three guineas, which is the usual
price, it will fetch from five to ten pounds. It would be even less difficult to the farmer to rear spaniels
than pointers; and by following him continually about the grounds they might be taught to perfect obe-
dience, and close rangings, which are the grand requisites, without trouble or expense. In this way,
four or five brace might be easily brought every season to market, and would always command a ready
sale, and a price according to the perfection of their breaking.
6646. In the breeding and rearing of dogs for the above purposes, it is necessary to observe the greatest
care in their original selection ; that the breed be of the very best, and one which as it were breaks itself,
for this shows the purity of the breed. It is likewise no less necessary that the breed be carefully pre-
served so : to do which, the moment the dogs begin to smell a bitch, shut her and the intended male closely
up, in a confinement inaccessible to other dogs, and there let them remain a fortnight. It is likewise,
almost equally necessary, that the dogs peculiarly appropriated to agriculturists, particularly the shepherd's
dog, should be bred as pure, for no animal is more liable to sport into varieties. No crossing can on any
account be permitted ; but choice may be made among families of the same varietv. In the rearing of
this dog, his education should be early and carefully attended to, to make him hardy"and familiar with all
the signs of the shepherd ; who ought himself to be equal to the regular education of his own dog.
6647. The diseases of dogs are very numerous^ The following are described by
Blaine, as the most prevalent, with their methods of cure.
6648. The canine asthma is hardly ever observed to attack any but either old dogs, or those who, by con-
finement, too full living, and want of exercise, may be supposed to have become diseased by these devia-
tions from a state of nature. It is hardly possible to keep a dog very fat for any great length of time, with-
out bringing it on. This cough is frequently confounded with the cough that precedes and accompanies
distemper, but it may be readily distinguished from this by an attention to circumstances, as the age of
the animal, its not affecting the general health, nor producing immediate emaciation, and its less readily
giving way to medicine.
6649. The cure is often very difficult, because the disease has in general been long neglected before it is
sufficiently noticed by the owners. As it is in genpral brought on by confinement, too much warmth, and
over-feeding; so it is evident the cure must be begun by a steady persevering alteration in these particu-
lars. The medicines most useful, are alteratives, and of these occasional emetics are the best. One grain
of tartarised antimony (i. e. tartar emetic) with two, three, or four grains of calomel, is a very useful and
valuable emetic. This dose is sufficient for a small dog, and may be repeated twice a week with great suc-
cess, — always with palliation.
6650. Of diseases of the eyes, dogs are subject to almost as great a variety as ourselves, many of which end
in blindness. No treatment yet discovered will remove or prevent this complaint.
6651. Sore eyes, though not in general ending in blindness, is very common among dogs. It is an af-
fection of the eyelids, is not unlike the scrofulous affection of the human eyelids, and is equally-
benefited by the same treatment : an ungent made of equal parts of nitrated quicksilver ointment, pre-
pared tutty and lard, very lightly applied. Dropsy of the eyeball is likewise sometimes met with, but is
incurable.
6652. Cancer. The virulent dreadful ulcer, that is so fatal in the human subject, and is called cancer, is
unknown in dogs ; yet there is very commonly a large schirrous swelling of the teats in bitches, and of
the testicles (though less frequent) in dogs, that as it sometimes becomes ulcerated, so it may be charac-
terised by this name. In the early state of the disease discutients prove useful, as vinegar with salt, and
camphor and Spanish flies, with mercurial ointment, have sometimes succeeded ; taking care to avoid
irritating the part so much as to produce blister. But when the swelling is detached from the
belly, and hangs pendulous in the skin, it had better be removed, and as a future preventive suffer the
bitch to breed. Schirrous testicles are likewise sometimes met with ; for these no treatment yet disco-
vered succeeds but the removal of the part, and that before the spermatic chord becomes much affected,
or it will be useless.
6653. Colic. Dogs are subject to two kinds of colic ; one arising from constipation of the bowels, the
other is of a kind peculiar to dogs, apparently partaking of the nature of rheumatism, and also of spasm.
From a sudden or violent exposure to cold, dogs become sometimes suddenly paralytic, particularly in the
hinder parts ; having great tenderness and pain, and every appearance of lumbago. In every instance of
Book VII. DISEASES OF DOGS. I031
this kind, there is considerable affection of the bowels, generally costiveness, always great pain. A warm
bath, external stimulants, but more particularly active aperients, remove the colic. Colic arising from
costiveness, is not in general violently acute from the pain it produces ; sometimes, however, it appears
accompanied with more spasm than is immediately dependant on the confinement of the bowels. In the
former give active aperients, as calomel with pil. cochioo, i. e. aloetic pill and glysters ; in the latter castor
oil with laudanum and ether.
. 6654. Cousrh. Two kinds of cough are common among dogs, one accompanying distemper, the other in
an asthmatic affection of the chest. (See 6648. 6355.)
6655. Distemper. This is by far the most common and most fatal among the diseases of dogs ; hardly
any young dog escaping it ; and of the few who do escape it in their youth, three-fourths are attacked
with it at some period afterwards : it being a mistake that young dogs only have it. It, however, generally
attacks before the animal arrives at eighteen months old. When it comes on very early, the chances of
recovery are very small. It is peculiarly fatal to greyhounds, much more so than to any other kind of
dog, generally carrying them off by excessive scouring. It is very contagious, but it is by no means ne-
cessary that there should be contagion present to produce it ; on the contrary, the constitutional liability
to it is such, that any cold taken may bring it on : and hence it is very common to date its commencement
from dogs being thrown into water, or shut out on a rainy day, &c. There is no disease which presents
such varieties as this, either in its mode of attack, or during its continuance. In some cases it commences
by purging, in others by fits. Some have cough only, some waste, and others have moisture from the eyes
and nose, without any other active symptom. Moist eyes, dulness, wasting, with slight cough, and sick-
ness, are the common symptoms that betoken its approach. Then purging comes on, and the moisture
from the eyes and nose from mere mucus becomes pus, or matter. There is also frequently sneezing, with
a weakness in the loins. When the disease in this latter case is not speedily removed, universal palsy
comes on. During the progress of the complaint, some dogs have fits. When one fit succeeds
another quickly, the recovery is extremely doubtful. Many dogs are carried off" rapidly by the fits, «r by
purging ; others waste gradually from the running from the*Iiose and eyes, and these cases are always ac-
companied with great marks of putridity.
6656. The cure. In the early stages of the complaint give emetics ; they are peculiarly useful. A large
spoonful of common salt, dissolved in three spoonfuls of warm water, has been recommended ; the quan-
tity of salt being increased according to the size ofthedog, and the difficulty of making him to vomit.
While a dog remains strong, one every other day is not too much : the bowels should be kept open, but
active purging should be avoided. In case the complaint should be accompanied with excessive looseness,
it should be immediately stopped by balls made of equal parts of gum arable, prepared chalk, and conserve
of roses with rice milk as food. Two or three grains of James's powder may be advantageously given at
night, in cases where the bowels are not affected, and in the cases where the matter from the nose and
eyes betokens much putridity, we have witnessed great benefits from balls made of what is termed Friars
balsam, gum guaiacum, and chamomile flowers in powder : but the most popular remedy is a powder pre-
pared and vended under the name of Distemper Powder, with instructions for the use of it. Dogs, in
every stage of the disease, should be particularly well fed. A seton we have not found so usefUl as is ge-
nerally supposed ; where the nose is much stopped, rubbing, tar on the upper part is useful, and when there
is much stupidity, and the head seems much affected, a blister on the top is often serviceable.
6657. Fits. Dogs are peculiarly subject to fits. These are of various kinds, and arise from various causes.
In distemper, dogs are frequently attacked with convulsive fits, which begin with a champing of the mouth
and shaking of the head, gradually extending over the whole body. Sometimes an active emetic will stop
their progress, but more generally they prove fatal. Worms are often the cause of fits in dogs. These de-
prive the animal wholly of sense ; he runs wild till he becomes exhausted, when he gradually recovers,
and perhaps does not have one again for some weeks. Confinement produces fits and likewise costiveness.
Cold water thrown over a dog will generally remove the present attack of a fit ; and for theprevention of
their future recurrence it is evident, that the foregoing account of causes must be attended to.
6658. Infiamed hoveels. Dogs are very subject to inflammation of their bowels, from costiveness,
from cold, or from poison. When inflammation arises from costiveness it is in general very slow
in its progress, and is not attended with very acute pain, but it is characterised by the want of eva-
cuation and the vomiting of the food taken, though it may be eaten with apparent appetite. In these
cases the principal means to be made use of, are the removal of the constipation by active purging, clys-
ters, and" the warm bath. Calomel with aloes forms the best purge. But when the inflammation may
be supposed to arise from cold, then the removing of any costiveness that maybe present is but a se-
condary consideration. This active kind of inflammation is characterised by violent panting, total rejec-
tion of food, and constant sickness. There is great heat in the belly, and great pain ; it is also accompa-
nied with great weakness, and the eyes are very red. The bowels should be gently opened with clysters,
but no aloes or calomel shoOld be made use of. The belly should be blistered, having first used the warm
bath. When the inflammation arises from poison, there is then constant sickness, the nose, paws, and
ears are cold, and there is a frequent evacuation of brown or bloody stools. Castor oil should be given,
and clysters of mutton broth thrown up, but it is seldom any treatment succeeds.
6659. Inflamed luiigs. Pleurisy is not an uncommon disease among dogs. It is sometimes epidemic,
carrying oft' great nuinber.s. Its attack is rapid, and it generally terminates in death on the third day, by
a great effusion of water in the chest. It is seldom that it is taken in time, when it is, bleeding is useful,
and blisters may be applied to the chest
6660. Madness, The symptoms of madness are concisely summed up by Daniel,
in the following words : " at first the dog looks dull, shews an aversion to his food and
company, does not bark as usual, but seems to murmur ; is peevish and apt to bite
strangers ; his ears and tail drop more than usual, and he appears drowsy ; afterwards he
begins to loll out his tongue and froth at the mouth, his eyes seeming heavy and watery :
if not confined he soon goes off, runs panting along with a dejected air, and endeavors
to bite any one he meets. If the mad dog escapes being killed, he seldom runs above
two or three days, when he dies exhausted with heat, hunger, and disease. As this is a
subject of no slight importance, we shall stand excused for introducing the criteria as
described by Blaine, whose account of the disease, founded on long experience and atten-
tive observation, is calculated to remove many unfounded and dangerous prejudices re-
lative to it. He describes it as commencing sometimes by dullness, stupidity, and retreat
from observation ; but more frequently, particularly in those dogs which are immediately
domesticated around us, by some alteration in their natural habits ; as a disposition to
pick up and swallow every minute object on the ground ; or to lick the parts of another
<iog incessantly ; or to lap his own urine, &c. About the second or third day the
<iisease usually resolves itself into one of two types. The one is called raging, and the
other dumb madness. These distinctions are not however always clear ; and to which is
owing so much discrepancy in the accounts given by different persons of the disease.
3 V 4
1032 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
6661. The raging madness, by its term, has led to an erroneous conclusion, that it is
accompanied with violence and fury ; which, however, is seldom the case : such dogs are
irritable and snappish, and will commonly fly at a stick held to them ; and are impatient
of restraint : but tliey are seldom violent except when irritated or worried. On the con-
trary, till the last moment they will often acknowledge the voice of their master and yield
some obedience to it. Neither will they usually turn out of their way to bite human
persons ; but they have an instinctive disposition to do it to dogs ; and in a minor degree
to other animals also : but as before observed, seldom attack mankind without provocation.
6662. Dumb madness is so called, because there is seldom any barking heard, but more
particularly, because the jaw drops paralytic, and the tongue lolls out of the mouth, black,
and apparently strangulated : a strong general character of the disease, is the disposition
to scratch their bed towards their belly ; and equally so is the general tendency to eat
trash, as hay, straw, wood, coals, dirt, &c. : and it should be remembered, that this is so
very common and so invariable ; that the finding these matters in the stomach after death,
should always render a suspicion formed of the existence of the disease, confirmed into
certainty. Blane is also at great pains to disprove the notion generally entertained,
that rabid dogs are averse to water ; and neither drink or come near it. This error he
contends has led to most dangerous results ; and is so far from true, that mad dogs from
their heat and fever are solicitous for water, and lap it eagerly. When the dumb kind
exists in its full force, dogs cannot swallow what they attempt to lap ; but still they will
plunge their heads in it, and appear to feel relief by it : but in no instance out of many
hundreds, did he ever discover the smallest aversion to it. He lays very great stress on
the noise made by rabid dogs, which he says is neither a bark nor a howl, but a tone
compounded of both. It has been said by some that this disorder is occasioned by heat or
bad food, and by others that it never arises from any other cause but the bite. According-
ly this malady is rare in the northern parts of Turkey, more rare in the southern provinces
of that empire, and totally unknown under the burning sky of Egypt. At Aleppo,
where these animals perish in great numbers, for want of water and food, and by the
heat of the climate, this disorder was never known. In other parts of Africa, and in the
hottest zone of America, dogs are never attacked with madness. Blaine knows of no
instance of the complaint being cured, although he has tried to- their fullest extent, the
popular remedies of profuse bleedings, strong mercurial and arsenical doses, vinegar,
partial drowning, night shade, water plantain, &c. : he therefore recommends the at-
tention to be principally directed towards the prevention of the malady.
6663. The preventive treatment of rabies or madness is, according to Blaine, always an
easy process in the human subject, from the immediate part bitten being easily detected ;
in which case the removal of the part by excision or cautery is an effectual remedy. But,
unfortunately for the agriculturist, it is not easy to detect the bitten parts in cattle, nor
in dogs ; and it would be therefore most desirable if a certain internal preventive were
generally known. Dr. Mead's powder, the Ormskirk powder, sea bathing, and many
other nostrums are deservedly in disrepute : while a few country medicines, but little
known beyond their immediate precincts, have mantained some character. Conceiving
that these must all possess some ingredient in common, he was at pains to discover it ; and
which he appears to have realized by obtaining among others the composition of Webb's
Watford drink. In this mixture, which is detailed below, he considers the active in-
gredient to be the buxus or box, which has been known as a prophylactic as long as
the times of Hippocrates and Celsus, who both mention it. The recipe detailed below
has been administered to nearly three hundred animals of different kinds, as horses,
cows, sheep, swine, and dogs : and appears to have succeeded in nineteen out of every
twenty cases where it was fairly taken and kept on the stomach. It appears also equally
efficacious in the human subject ; in which case he advises the extirpation of the bitten
parts also. The box preventive is thus directed to be prepared :
Take of the fresh leaves of the tree-box 2 ounces,
of the fresh leaves of rue - - 2 ounces.
of sage, ... - . A ounce.
chop these fine, and boil in a pint of water to half a pint ; strain carefully, and press out
the liquor very firmly ; put back the ingredients into a pint of milk, and boil again to
half a pint ; strain as before ; mix both liquors, which forms three doses for a human
subject. Double this quantity is proper for a horse or cow. Two thirds of the quan-
tity is suflRcient for a large dog ; half for a middling sized, and one third for a small dog.
Three doses are sufficient, given each subsequent morning fasting ; the quantity di-
rected being that which forms these three doses. As it sometimes produces strong effects
on dogs, it may be proper to begin with a small dose, but in the case of dogs we hold it
Always prudent to increase the dose till effects are evident, by the sickness, panting, and
uneasiness of the dog. In the human subject, where this remedy appears equally effi-
cacious, we have never witnessed any unpleasant or active effects, neither are such ob-
served in cattle of any kind. About forty human persons have taken this remedy, and
Book VII. CAT AND FERRET. 1033
in every instance it lias succeeded equally as with animals : but candor obliges us to
notice, that in a considerable proportion of these, other means were used, as the actual or
potential cautery : but in all the animals other means were purposely omitted. That
this remedy, therefore, has a preventive quality, is inquestionable, and now perfectly es-
tablished ; for there was not the smallest doubt of the animals mentioned either having
been bitten, or of the dog being mad who bit them, as great pains were in every instance
taken to ascertain these points.
6664. To prevent canine madness^ Pliny recommends, worming of dogs ; and from
his time to the present it has had, most deservedly says Daniel, its advocates. He tells
us, that he has had various opportunities qf proving the usefulness of this practice, and re-
commends its general introduction. Blaine, on the contrary, asserts, that the practice of
worming is wholly useless, and founded in error ; and that the existence of any thing like
a worm under the tongue is incontestibly proved to be false ; and that what has been taken
for it, is merely a deep ligature of the skin, placed there to restrain the tongue in its
motions. He also observes, that the pendulous state of the tongue in what is termed
dumb madness, with the existence of a partial paralysis of the under jaw, by which they
could not bite, having happened to dogs previously wormed, has made the inability to be
attributed to this source, but which is wholly ai*^ accidental circumstance ; and happens
equally to the wormed and un wormed dog.
GSlo5. Mange. This is a very frequent disease in dogs, and is an affection of the skin, either caught by
contagion, or generated by the animal. The scabby mange breaks out in blotches along the back and
neck; and is common to Newfoundland dogs, terriers, pointers, and spaniels, and is the most contagious.
The cure should be begun by removing the first excituig cause, if removable, such as filth or poverty ;
or, as more general the contrary (for both will equally produce it), too full living. Then an application
should be made to the parts, consisting of sulphur and sal ammoniac : tar-lime-water will also assist.
When there is much heat and itching, bleed and purge. Mercurials sometimes assist, but they should
be used with caution ; dogs do not bear them well.
6666. Worms. Dogs suffer very much from worms, which, as in most animals, so in them, are of several
kinds ; but the effects produced are nearly similar. In dogs having the worms the coat generally stares j
the appetite is ravenous, though the animal frequently does not thrive; the breath smells, and the stools
are singular, sometimes loose and flimsy, at others hard and dry; but the most evil they produce is oc-
casional fits, or sometimes a continued state of convulsion, in which the animal lingers some time, and
then dies; the fits they produce are sometimes of the violent kind, at others they exhibit a more stupid cha-
racter, the dog being senseless, and going round continually. The cure consists, while in this state, in
active purgatives joined with opium, and the warm bath ; any rough substance given internally, acts as a
vermifuge to prevent the recurrence.
6667. The ijuorming of whelps is performed with a lancet, to slit the thin skin which immediately covers
the worm ; a small awl is then to be introduced under the centre of the worm to raise it up; the farther
end of the worm will, with very little force, make its' appearance, and with a cloth taking hold of that end,
the other will be drawn out easily ; care should be taken that the whole of the worm comes away without
breaking, and it rarely breaks unless cut into by the lancet, or wounded by the awl.
6668. The cat {Felis catus, L.) is distinguished from the lion, tiger, leopard, and
others of the genus Felis, by its annulate tail. Its habits are thus given by Linnaeus.
Inhabits woods of Europe and Asia; domesticated everywhere; when tranquil, purrs,
moving the tail; when irritated is very active, climbs, spits, emits a foetid odor; eyes
shine at night, the pupil by the day a perpendicular line ; by night large, round ; walks
with its claws drawn in ; drinks sparingly ; urine of the male corrosive ; breath foetid ;
buries its excrements ; makes a horrid mewling in its amours ; mews after and plays
with its kittens; wags its tail when looking after prey; the lion of mice, birds, and the
smaller quadrupeds ; peaceful among its tribe ; eats flesh and fish, refuses hot or salted
things, and vegetables ; washes behind its ears before a storm ; back electric in the dark ;
when thrown up, falls on its feet ; is not infested with fleas ; gravid 63 days, brings three
to nine young, blind nine days ; delight in marum, cat-mint, and valerian.
6669. IVie cat is of great use in the farmery in catching mice, rats, and even birds.
It is most desirable to keep males, as where females are kept, the noisy gallantry of the
adjoining tom cats is exceedingly annoying.
6670. The Genet cat ( Vivcrra getietta), is a species of weasel, with an annulate tail, and spotted blackish
tawny body. It is a native of Asia, Spain, and France; is mild and easily tamed, and answers all the pur-
poses of a cat at Constantinople and other places.
6671. The ferret {Mustella ferro, L., jig. 709.), 709
is an animal of the weasel and polecat kind, distin-
guished by its red fiery eyes. It is a native of Africa,
but is tamed in Europe for the purpose of catching
rabbits. It procreates twice a year, is gravid six
week.s, brings from six to eight young : smells very
foetid. The ferret is very susceptible of cold, and
must be kept in a box provided with wool, or other warm materials, and may be fed with
bread and milk. Its sleep is long and profound, and it awakes with a voracious appetite,
which is most highly gratified by the blood of small and young animals. Its enmity to
rats and rabbits is unspeakable, and when either are, though for the first time, presented
to it, it seizes and bites them with the most phrensied madness. When employed to
expel the rabbit from its burrows, it must be muzzled, as otherwise it will suck the blood
of its victim, and instantly fall into a profound sleep, from which it will awake only to
10S4
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IIL
the work of destruction, committing in the warren, where it was introduced only for
its services, the most dreadful waste and havoc. It is possessed of high irritability,
and when particularly excited, is attended with an odor extremely offensive.
Ckap. IX.
Of Animxds of the Bird kind employed in Agnculturei
6672. Though poultry form a very insignificant part of the live-stock of a farm, yet
they ought not to be altogether despised. In the largest farm, a few domestic fowls
pick up what might escape the pigs and be lost ; and on small farms, and among cotta-
gers, the breeding and rearing of early chickens and ducks, and in some situations the
rearing of turkies, and the keeping of geese, are found profitable. There are few who
do not relish a new egg or a pancake, not to say the flesh of fowls ; and there are some
of these comforts which happily can be had in as great perfection in the cottage as in the
palace. The various kinds of domestic fowls and birds which are used in agriculture,
may be classed as gallinaceous, or with cleft feet ; anserine, or web-footed; and birds of
fancy or luxury. Before proceeding to the first division, we shall offer some remarks
on poultry-hovels.
Sect. I. Of Poultry Houses and their Furniture and Utensils.
6673. The situation of the jwidtry house should be dry, and exposed either to the east
or south-east, so as to enjoy the sun's rays in winter as soon as he appears above the
horizon. Though in many cases all the commoner sorts of poultry are lodged in the
same apartment, yet to be able to bestow on each species its proper treatment, they
ought to be separated by divisions, and enter by separate doors. Apartments for aquatic
fowls may be made in part under those of the gallinaceous tribe, and the peacock often
prefers roosting on a tree, or on the roof of high buildings, when it forms an excellent
watch bird to the poultry yard or farmery.
6674. Where a complete set of poultry houses are intended, then a situation should be
fixed on near or close to the farmery, and with ample space around for the fowls to
disperse over in the day time, and one or more ponds for the aquatic sorts. A space
thirty feet by fifty feet may be made choice of for the buildings and yard (fg. 710.) ;
the building' may be ranged along the north side, and
the three other sides enclosed with a trellis or wire
fence, from six to eight feet in height, and sub-
divided with similar fences, according to the number
of apartments. The hen-house (a', and turkey-
house (6), may have their roosts (c c), in part over
the low houses for ducks (rf) and geese (e), and
besides these there may be other apartments (f g, h)
for hatching, or newly hatched broods, for fattening,
to serve as an hospital, or for retaining, boiling, or otherwise preparing food, killing
poultry, and other purposes. A flue may pass through the whole in moist or very
severe weather ; the walls should be built hollow in the manner already described, (6304.)
which will at the same time be a saving of material ; and the windows ought to have out-
side shutters both for excluding excessive heats and excessive colds. In every apart-
ment there ought to be a window opposite the door in order to create a thorough
draught when both are opened, and also a valve in the roof to admit the escape of the
hottest and lightest air. Every door ought to have a small opening at bottom for the
admission of the fowls when the door is shut. The elevation {fg. 711.) should be in
a simple style, and there may be a pigeonry over the central building.
711
710
dRb
ZOjreet
6675. In ordinary cases, where poultry are kept on a farm merely to consume what
would otherwise be lost, one or two compartments of the low range of buildings on
the south side of the yard are usually devoted to them ; or any dry convenient place
according to the general plan of the farmery.
Book VII.
GALLINACEOUS FOWLS.
1035
6676. The furniture or fixtures of the poultry houses are very few ; the roost is sometimes a mere floor
or loft, to which the birds fly up or ascend by a ladder ; at other times it is nothing more than the coup-
ling timbers of the roof, or a series of cross battens ; but the most approved mode is a series of rough
polygonal or angular battens or rods rising in gradation from the floor to the roof, as already explain^,
(2682. and 2684.). The battens placed at such a distance horizontally, as that the birds when roosting
may not incommode each other by their droppings. For this purpose they should be a foot apart for
hens, and eighteen inches apart for turkies. The slope of the roost may be about 45°. and the lower
part should lift up by hinges in order to admit a person beneath to remove the dung. No flying is
requisite in the case of such a roost as the birds ascend and descend by steps.
6577. Nests are sometimes fixtures, in which case they are nit^hes built against the wall, not unlike
wine bins ; where there is more than one tier on the ground floor, each superincumbent range must
have a projecting balcony in front of about a foot in width, with stairs of ascent at convenient distances.
6678, A small boiler for preparing food may sometimes be requisite, though on a small scale this may
be done in the kitchen Watering troughs are generally tixed in the yards. In confined situations
there should be a large cistern of sand, in which the fowls may nestle and roll about in order to free
themselves from vermin ; there should also be a spot composed of gravel, sand, and soft earth, for nearly
the same purpose, but more especially for exercising tiie young chickens. A roof for shelter and protec-
tion from the sun may very appropriately be placed over this last compartment, or a part of it.
6679. The utensils are the portable nest, [fig. 712 a), coops (6, c), portable shelter (d) ; feeding
712
dishes, corn bin for retaining a store of food, egg basket, and feather bags. We avoid enumerating
the utensils used in cramming, considering that unwholesome and disgustmg practice as unfit for the
present age.
Sect. II. Of Gallinaceous Fowls, their Kinds, Breeding, Rearing, and Management.
6680. Under the order GalUnece, are included the common hen, turkey, Guinea,
and peacock ; and we shall here treat of each of these genera in succession.
6681. The dunghill cock and hen, {Fhasianus gallus,) is a native of the warm countries
of the east, and still found in a wild state on the banks of the Phasis (now Rioni) in
Georgia; but is nov^ domesticated almost every where. It is both granivorous and
carnivorous. The term chicken is applied to the female young of gallinaceous animals,
till they are four months old ; afterwards they are called pullets, till they begin to lay,
when they become hens. The male is a chicken till he is three months old, then he is
a cock bird till the age of twelve months, when he becomes a cock ; unless indeed he
has been artificially deprived of the faculty of procreation, when he becomes a capon,
and when the ovarium is taken from a pullet or hen, she is called a hen capon.
6682. The varieties of a bird so long under culture may naturally be expected to
be numerous ; those
most esteemed in -"^^^Sl^iiiini ^^ 713
Britain at the pre-
sent time, are the
following.
6683. The common
dunghill cock and
hen, middle size, of
every color, and
hardy.
6684. The game-
cock and hen, [Jig'
713.) rather small
in size, delicate in
limb, color generally
red or brown ; flesh
white, and superior to that of any other variety for richness and delicacy of flavor •
eggs small, fine shaped, and extremely
delicate; the chickens are difficult to
rear from their pugnacity of disposi-
tion. The game cock has long been
a bird both of cruel and curious sport
in this as well as other countries, (Jig.
714.); but the taste for this amuse-
ment, like that for others suited to
times of comparative leisure and ig-
norance, is now happily on the decline
in Britam.
1036
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
6685. The Dorking cock and hen, {Jig.
of that name, is the largest variety ;
shape handsome, body long and
capacious, legs short, five claws on
each foot; eggs large, and lays
abundantly ; color of the flesh in-
clining to yellowish or ivory. Both
hens and cocks often made into
capons.
66^6. The Poland cock and hen
(Jig. 7 16 a) were originally im-
ported from Holland. The color
shining black, with white tops on
the head of both cock and hen; head
flat, surmounted by a fleshy protu-
berance, out of which spring the crown
715.) so named from the town in Surrey
715
feathers, or
top, white or black, with the
fleshy king David's crown,
(the celestial in heraldry), con-
sisting of four or five spikes ;
their form plump and deep,
legs short, feet with five claws,
lay abundantly, are less in-
clined to set than any other
breed ; they fatten quickly, and
are more juicy and rich than
the Dorking. On the whole
this is one of the most useful
varieties. There is an orna-
mental subvariety known as
the golden Poland (b), with
yellow and black plumage.
6687. The every-day cock and hen, is a subvariety of the above, of Dutch origin ; they
are of smaller size, and said to be everlasting layers. Their tops are large, and should
be periodically clipped near the eyes, otherwise, according to Moubray ( Treatise on
Domestic Fowls, 24 and 115.), they will grow into the eyes of the fowls and render them
very subject to alarm.
6688, The bantam cock and hen {Jig. 717. )> is a small Indian breed, valued chiefly
for its grotesque figure and delicate flesh. Mowbray 717
mentions a subvariety, extremely small, and as smooth
legged as a game fowl. From their size and deli-
cacy they are very convenient, as they may always
be used as substitutes for chickens, when small ones
are not otherwise to be had. They are also particu-
larly useful for sitting upon the eggs of partridges i
and pheasants, being good nurses, as well as good
layers. There are two varieties of this breed, of
which the more common is remarkable for having the legs and feet furnished with fea-
thers. The other, and more scarce variety, is even smaller; and is most elegantly
formed, as well as most delicately limbed. There is a society of fanciers of this breed,
who rear them for prizes, among which Sir John Sebright stands pre-eminent.
. 6689. The Chittagong or Malay hen {fig. 718.) is an In-
dian breed, and the largest variety of the species. They
are in color, striated yellow and dark brown, long necked,
serpent-headed, and high upon the leg ; their flesh dark,
coarse, and chiefly adapted to soup. They are good layers,
and being well fed produce large, substantial, and nutri-
tive eggs ; but these birds are too long-legged to be steady
sitters.
6690. The shackbag or Duke of Leeds breed, was formerly
in great repute, but is now nearly lost. It is sometimes to
be met with at Wokingham (Oakingham), in Berkshire,
and is so large, and the flesh so white, firm, and fine, as to
afford a convenient substitute for the turkey.
6691. The improved Spanish cock and hen is a cross between the Dorking and Spanish
breed, also to be found in and around Wokingham. It is a large bird with black plum-
age, white and delicate flesh, the largest eggs of any British variety, and well adapted for
capons.
Book VII. BREEDING POULTRY. 1037
6692. Breeding. The common variety is easily procurable; but the others must
either be procured from those parts of the country where they are usually bred, or from
the poulterers and bird fanciers in large towns, and especially in London. It should be
a general rule to breed from young stock ; a two-year-old cock, or stag, and pullets in
their second year. Pullets in their first year, if early birds, will indeed, probably lay as
many eggs as ever after; but the eggs are small, and such young hens are unsteady sit-
ters. Hens are in their prime at three years of age. and decline after five, whence, ge-
nerally, it is not advantageous to keep them beyond that period, with the exception of
those of capital qualifications. Hens with a large comb, or which crow like the cock,
are generally deemed inferior; but I have had hens with large rose combs, and also
Growers, which were upon an equality with the rest of the stock. Yellow-legged fowls
re often of a tender constitution, and always inferior in the quality of their flesh, which
s of a loose flabby texture, and ordinary flavor.
6693. The health of fowls is observable in the fresh and florid color of the comb, and
the brightness and dryness of the eyes ; the nostrils being free from any discharge, and
the healthy gloss of the plumage. The most useful cock is generally a bold, active, and
savage bird, cruel and destructive in his fits of passion, if not well watched, to his hens,
and even to his offspring. Hens above the comnjon size of their respective varieties, are
by no means preferable either as layers or setters. The indications of old age are pale-
ness of the comb and gills, dulness of color, and a sort of downy stiffness in the fea-
thers, and length and size of talons, the scales upon the legs becoming large and pro-
minent.
6694. The number of hens to one cock should be from four to six, the latter being tJie
extreme number, with a view of making the utmost advantage. Ten and even twelve
hens have been formerly allowed to one cock, but the produce of eggs and chickens
under such an arrangement will seldom equal that to be obtained from the smaller num-
ber of hens. Every one is aware that the spring is the best season to commence breeding
with poultry, and in truth it scarcely matters how early, presupposing the best food,
accommodation, and attendance, under which hens may be suffered to sit in January.
6695. The conduct of the cock towards his hens \s generally of the kindest description, and sometimes,
as in the Polish breed, so remarkably so, as to be quite incredible to those who have not witnessed it. It is
not an uncommon occurrence, however, for the cock to take an antipathy at some individual hen ; when
it continues for any length of time it is best to remove her, and supply her place by another, taking care
that the stranger be not worried by the hens. Spare coops or houses will be found useful on such occa-
sions.
6696. The change of a cock, from death or accident, is always attended with interruption and delay, as
it may be some considerable time before the hens will associate kindly with their new partner : and fur-
ther, a new cock may prove dull and inactive from the change, however good in nature. This frequently
happens with cocks of the superior breeds, purchased from the London dealers, in whose coops they have
been kept in such a high state of temperature, that they are unable to endure the open air of the country,
unless in the summer season. Such being removed in autumn, winter, or early in spring, if immediately
turned abroad with hens, are liable to become aguish, torpid, and totally useless ; perhaps, in the end,
turning roupy or glandered. The only method of safety in this case, is to keep such a cock in the house,
upon the best and most nourishing food, turning the hens to him several times in the day, and permitting
him to be abroad an hour or so, the weather being fine, until in a few weeks, he shall be accustomed to
the air.
6697. In making the" nests, short and soft straw is to be preferred, because, the straw
being long, the hen, on leaving her nest, will be liable to draw it out with her claws,
and with it the eggs. The hen, it is ascertained, will breed and lay eggs, without the
company of a cock ; in course, such eggs are barren.
6698. Eggs for setting should never exceed the age of a month, the newer to be pre-
ferred, as nearly of a size as possible, and of the full middle size ; void of the circular
flaw, which indicates the double yolk, generally unproductive, nor should there be any
roughness or cracks in the shells. The number of eggs, according to the size of the
hen, from nine to fifteen, an odd number being preferable, on the supposition of their
lying more close. The eggs to be marked with a pen and ink, and examined when the
hen leaves her nest, in order to detect any fresh ones which she may have laid, and which
should be immediately taken from her, as they, if at all, would be hatched too late for the
brood. It is taken for granted the box and nest have been made perfectly clean for the
reception of the hen, and that a new nest has not been sluggishly or sluttishly thrown
upon an old one, from the filth of which vermin are propagated, to the great annoyance
of the hen, and prevention of their steady sitting. Eggs broken in the nest, should be
cleared away the instant of discovery, and the remaining washed with warm water, and
quickly replaced, lest they adhere to the hen, and be drawn out of the nest ; if necessary,
the hen's feathers may also be washed, but always with warm water.
6699. With respect to the capriciousness of some hens, in the article of sitting, it is a risk which must be
left to the judgment of the attendant, who has to determine whether the hen which appears desirous of
sitting, may be safely trusted with eggs. Leaving a number of eggs in the nest is an enticement. Very
frequently, a hen will cluck, and appear hot for incubation, yet after sitting over her eggs a sufficient
number of hours to addle them^ will then desert them : and, probably, in the course of a few days will be
taken with another fit of incubation. Much useless cruelty is too often exercised, to prevent the hen
10S8 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
from sitting, when eggs, rather than chickens, are in request. A late author recommends to thrust a
feather through the hen's nostrils, in order to prevent her from sitting: and to give her halfa glass of
gin, then swing her round until seemingly dead, and confine her in a pot, during a day or two, leaving
her only a small breathing hole, to force her to sit ! It is full time that those and a hundred other such
utterly useless and barbarous follies of former days, practised upon various animals, should be dismissed
with the contempt they merit. The pamphlet alluded to, is the Epicure, by Thomas Young, a publica-
tion replete with good things on the interesting subjects of eating, wines, spirits, beer, cider, &c. It is
jvritten with haut gout. {Mowbray.)
6700. Moulting. Every succeeding year after the third, the hen continues to moult
later in the season, and laying fewer or no eggs during the moulting period, which is
sometimes protracted to two or three months. It should seem that old hens are seldom
to be depended upon for eggs in the winter, such being scarcely full of feather until
Christmas ; and then, probably, may not begin to lay till April, producing at last, not
more than twenty or thirty eggs. In general, it is most profitable to dispose of hens
whilst they are yet eatable or saleable for that purpose, which is in the spring of the
third year. Nor do delicate white hens lay so many eggs in the cold season, as the more
hardy colored varieties, requiring warmth and shelter, particularly by night. Moulting,
or the casting and renewal of feathers, lasts with its effects from one to three months,
according to the age and strength of the bird. Whilst under this natural course,
poultry are unfit for the table, as well as for breeding. It is the same with respect to
young poultry, whilst shedding their feathers in the spring. The regular moulting of
full grown f6wls begins in the autumn.
6701. In some hens the desire of incubation is so powerful that they will repeat it five
or six times in the year; in others it is so slight, that they will probably not sit more
than once or twice in the season. A skilful breeder will take advantage of these
qualities, and provide abundance of eggs from the one variety, and of chickens by
means of the other. Hens when sitting drink more than usual, and it is an adviseable
practice to place water constantly before them when in this state, and food (say corn] at
least twice a day. The time of incubation is twenty-one days.
6702. Hatching. The chicken, hitherto rolled up like a ball, with its bill under the
right wing like a bird asleep, begins generally on the morning of the twenty-second
day to break its way through the shell, neither the hen, nor can the art of man, with
safety render them aid in this very interesting and wonderful operation. The parental
affection of the hen, as Mowbray and Parmentier have observed, is always intensely
increased, when she first hears the voice of the chicks through the shells, and the strokes
of their little bills against them. The signs of a need of assistance, the former author
^observes, are, the egg being partly pecked, and the efforts of the chicken discontinued
for five or six hours. The shell may then be broken cautiously, and the body of the
chicken carefully separated from the viscous fluid which lines it. Reaumur gives it
as his opinion, that no aid ought to be given to any chickens but those which have been
near twenty-four hours employed without getting forward in their work.
6703. The chickens Jirst hatched should be taken from the hen, least she be tempted
to leave her task unfinished. Those removed, may be secured in a basket of wool or
soft hay, and kept in a moderate heat, if the weather be cold, near the fire. They will
require no food for many hours, even four and twenty, should it be necessary to keep
them so long from the hen. The whole brood being hatched, the hen is to be placed
under a coop abroad, upon a dry spot, and, if possible, not within reach of another hen,
since the chickens will mix, and the hens are apt to maim or destroy those which do not
belong to them. Nor should they be placed near numbers of young fowls, which are
likely to crush young chicks under their feet, being always eager for the chickens' meat.
The first food should be split grits, afterwards tail wheat ; all watery food, soaked bread,
or potatoes, improper. Eggs boiled hard, or curd chopped small, are much approved as
first food. Their water should be pure and often renewed, and there are convenient
pans made in such forms, that the chickens may drink without getting into the water,
which often, by wetting their feet and feathers, numbs and injures them ; a bason
whelmed in the middle of a pan of water, will answer the end, the water running
round it generally ; and independent on situation, and the disposition of the hen, there
is no necessity for cooping the brood beyond two or three days, but they may be con-
fined as occasion requires, or suffered to range, as they are much benefitted by the
scratching and foraging of the hen. They must not be let out too early in the morning,
or whilst the dew remains upon the ground, far less be suffered to range over the wet
grass, one common and fatal cause of disease. Another caution is of the utmost con-
sequence, to guard them watchfully against sudden unfavorable changes of the weather,
more particularly if attended with rain. Nearly all the disorders of gallinaceous fowls
arise from cold moisture.
6704. For the period of the chickens quitting the hen, there is no general rule, the most
certain is, when the hen begins to roost, leaving them ; if sufficiently forward, they will
follow her, if otherwise, they should be secured in a proper place, the time having
Book VII. FEEDING POULTRY. 103?
arrived when they are to associate with the young poultry, es nearly of their own age
and size as possible, since the larger are apt to overrun and drive from their food the
younger brood.
6705. Hatching hy artificial heat is an Egyptian practice, mentioned by Diodorus
and Aristotle, and was brought into notice about the middle of the eighteenth century,
by Reaumur in his ^* Art de faire eclore ^c. des Oiseaux domestiques." The requisite
degree of heat is 90 degrees, which is supplied by fire, steam, or fermentible substances ;
after hatching, the birds are placed in a cage, in which is placed a lamb-skin sus-
pended from the roof of a box, and enclosed by a curtain of green baize; or, according
to Parmentier, they may be placed under a capon, who after being prepared for receiv-
ing pleasure from feeling the chickens under its belly, by depriving it of the greater part
of the feathers and excoriation, is to be confined with them in the same coop, and after
being fed together for a day or two, it is said the capon will become an excellent nursing
mother. Excepting as matter of curiosity, however, it is not at present worth while
either to hatch or rear chickens artificially in this country. Whether Reaumur's mode
of hatching be adopted, or Mrs. D'Oy ley's of depriving hens of their chickens as soon
as hatched, and thus causing one hen to hatch five or six broods in succession, the human
attention required, and the risk of failure are so. great, that the surest modes, under all
the present circumstances, are such as are natural. Where it is tried for experiment or
curiosity, the heat of tan or dung is more likely to prove steady, than that from smoke,
air, or steam. An enclosure in the middle of a broad vinery or hot-house might serve
at once to hatch and rear early chickens ; and such a mode of rearing, at least in the
winter season, certainly deserves the attention of those who are curious in having this
luxury in February and March.
6706. The products of the cock and hen are eggs, feathers, and the carcase.
6707. Eggs become desiccated, and, in consequence, lose great part of their substance and nutritive
quality, by keeping, and every body knows the value of a fresh-laid egg. They will retain their moisture
and goodness, however, three or four months, or more, if the pores of the shell be closed and rendered
impervious to the air, by some unctuous application. We generally anoint them with mutton suet
melted, and set them on end, wedged close together, in bran, stratum super stratum, the containing box
being closely covered. Laid upon the side, the yolk will adhere to the shell. They thus come into use,
at the end of a considerable period of time, in a state almost equal to new-laid eggs, for consumption, but
ought not to be trusted for incubation, excepting in the case of the imported eggs of rare birds.
6708. The largest eggs will weigh two ounces and a half, those of the Chittagong hen, perhaps, three
ounces. To promote fecundity and great laying in the hen, nothing more is necessary than the best corn
and fair water ; malted or sprouted barley has occasionally a good effect, whilst the hens are kept on
solid corn ; but if continued too long they are apt to scour. Cordial horse-ball is good to promote laying
in the cold season, and also toast and ale, as every hen-wife well knows. It must be noted, that nothing is
more necessary towards success in the particular of obtaining plenty of eggs, than a good attendance of
cocks, especially in the cold season ; and it is also especially to be observed, that a cock whilst moulting
is generally useless. Buffon says, a hen well fed and attended will produce upwards of one hundred and
fifty eggs in a year, besides two broods of chickens. Mowbray observed, that a hen generally cackled
three or four days previously to laying ; and that some half-bred game hens began to lay as soon as their
chickens were three weeks old ; the consequence of high keep and good attendance of the cocks.
6709. Featliers or down intended for use, should be plucked as soon as possible after the bird is dead,
and before it is cold, otherwise they are defective in that elasticity which is their most valuable property^
and are liable to decay. The bird should, beside, be in good health, and not moulting, for the feathers to
be in perfection : and being plucked, and a sufficient number collected, the sooner they are dried upon
the oven, the better, since they are else apt to heat and stick together.
6710. Where hens are kept more than a year they are sometimes plucked towards the end of the
spring season for the sake of their feathers This operation, where it takes place, ought to be performed
in the most tender and careful manner, and the birds housed afterwards for a time sufficient to enable
them to endure the air : but the practice is cruel, and we trust it is not likely to come into general use.
6711. Feeding and fattening the carcase. Fowls will become fat on the common run
of the farm-yard, where they thrive upon the offals of the stable, and other refuse, with
perhaps some small regular daily feeds ; but at tlireshing time, they become particularly
fat, and are thence styled barn-door-fov/ls, probably the most delicate and high flavored
of all others, both from their full allowance of the finest corn, and the constant health
in which they are kept, by living in a natural state, and having the full enjoyment of
air and exercise. They are also confined during a certain number of weeks, in coops,
those fowls which are soonest ready being drawn as wanted. It is a common practice
with some house-wives, to coop their barn-door fowls for a week or two, under the no-
tion of improving them for the table, and increasing iheir fat ; a practice which, however,
seldom succeeds, since the fowls generally pine for their loss of lil)erty, and slighting their
food, lose instead of gaining additional flesh. Such a period, in fact, is too short for them
to become accustomed to confinement.
6712. Feeding-houses, should be warm and airy, with earth floors well raised, and ca-
pacious enough to accommodate twenty or thirty fowls ; the floor slightly littered down,
and the litter often changed. Sandy gravel and a little lime rubbish should be placed in
different places, and often changed. A sufficient number of troughs, for both water and
food, should be placed around, that the stock may feed with as little interruption as pos-
sible from each other, and perches in the same proportion should be furnished for those
birds which are inclined to perch, which few of them will desire, after they have begun
to fatten, but which helps to keep them easy and contented until that period. In this
1040 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
mode fowls may be fattened to the highest pitch, and yet preserved in a healthy state,
their flesh being equal in quality to that of the barn-door fowl. To suffer fattening fowls
to perch, is contrary to the general practice, since it is supposed to bend and deform the
breast-bone ; but as soon as they become heavy and indolent from feeding, they will
rather incline to rest in the straw ; and the liberty of perching in the commencement of
their cooping, has a tendency to accelerate that period, when they are more inclined to
rest on the floor. Fowls, moreover, of considerable growth, will have many of them be-
come already crooked breasted from perching whilst at large, although much depends
upon form in this case, since we find aged cocks and hens of the best shape, which have
perched all their lives with the breast bone perfectly straight.
6713. The privation of light, by inclining fowls to a constant state of repose, excepting
when moved by the appetite for food, promotes and accelerates obesity ; but a state of
obesity obtained in this way cannot be a state of health, nor can the flesh of animals so
fed, equal in flavor, nutriment, and salubrity, that of the same species fed in a more na-
tural way. Economy and market interest may perhaps be best answered by the plan of
darkness and close confinement ; but a feeder for his own table, of delicate taste, and
ambitious of furnishing his board with the choicest and most salubrious viands, will de-
clare for the natural mode of feeding ; and in that view, a feeding-yard, gravelled and
turfed, the room being open all day, for the fowls to retire at pleasure, will have a decid-
ed preference, as the nearest approach to the barn-door system.
6714. Insects and animal food form a part of the natural diet of poultry, are medicinal
to them in a weakly state, and the want of such food may sometimes impede their thriv-
ing.
6715. For fattening the younger chickens, the above feeding room and yard is well cal-
culated. These may be put up as soon as the hen shall have quitted her charge, and
before they have run off the sucking flesh. For generally when well kept and in health,
they will be in fine condition and full of flesh at that period, which flesh is afterwards
expended in the exercise of foraging for food, and in the increase of stature, and it may
be a work of some time afterwards to recover it, and more especially in young cocks,
and all those which stand high upon the leg. In fact, all those which appear to have
long legs, should be fattened from the hen, to make the best of them ; it being extreme-
ly difficult, and often impossible, te fatten long-legged fowls in coops, which, however,
are brought to a good weight at the barn-door.
6716. In the choice of full-sized fowls for feeding, the short-legged and early hatched
always deserve a preference. The green linnet is an excellent model of form for the do-
mestic fowl, and the true Dorking breed approaches the nearest to such model. In course
the smaller breeds and the game are the most delicate and soonest ripe. The London
chicken butchers as they are termed, or poulterers, are said to be of all others, the most
dexterous feeders, putting up a coop of fowls and making them thoroughly fa,t within the
space of a fortnight ; using so much grease, and that perhaps not of the most delicate kind,
in the food. In the common way, this business is often badly managed, fowls being hud-
dled together in a small coop, tearing each other to pieces, instead of enjoying that repose
which alone can ensure the wished-for object ; irregularly fed and cleaned, until they are
so stenched and poisoned in their own excrement, that their flesh actually smells and tastes
of it when smoking upon the table. Where a steady and regular profit is required from
poultry, the best method, whether for domestic use or sale, is constant high keep from
the beginning, whence they will not only be always ready for the table, with very little
extra attention, but their flesh will be superior in juiciness and rich flavor, to those which
are fattened from a low or emaciated state. Fed in this mode, the spring pullets are
particularly fine, and at the same time most nourishing and restorative food. The pullets
which have been hatched in March, if high fed from the nest, will lay plentifully
through the following autumn, and not being intended for breeding stock, the ad-
vantage of their eggs may be taken, and themselves disposed of thoroughly fat for
the table in February, about which period their laying will be finished. Instead of
giving ordinary and tail corn to fattening and breeding poultry, it will be found
most advantageous to allow the heaviest and best, putting the confined fowls upon a level
with those fed at the barn door, where they have their share of the weightiest and finest
corn. This high feeding shows itself not only in the size and flesh of the fowls, but in the
size, weight, and substantial goodness of their eggs, which in those valuable particulars
will prove far superior to the eggs of fowls fed upon ordinary corn or washy potatoes ;
two eggs of the former going further in domestic use than three of the latter. The
water also given to fattening fowls should be often renewed, fresh, and clean ; indeed,
those which have been well kept, will turn with disgust from ordinary food and foul
water.
6717. Barley and wheat are the great dependence for chicken poultry ; oats will do for
full grown hens and cocks, but are not so good as barley ; both, when they have their fill
of corn, will eat occasionally cabbage or beet leaves Steamed potatoes and oatmeal
Book VII.
PINIONING OF POULTRY.
1041
mixed together make an excellent mess, but must not be given in great quantities, other-
wise it renders the flesh soft and flabby.
6718. Cramming. Barley and wheat meal are generally the basis or chief in-
gredient in all fattening mixtures for chickens and fowls ; but in Sussex, ground oats
are used, and there oats are in higher repute for fattening than elsewhere, many large
hogs being fattened with them. In the report of that county, the Rev. Arthur Young
says, " North Chappel, and Kinsford, are famous for their poultry. They are fattened
there to a size and perfection unknown elsewhere. The food given them is ground oats
made into gruel, mixed with hog's grease, sugar, pot- liquor, and. milk : or ground oats,
treacle, and suet, sheep's plucks, &c. The fowls are kept very warm, and crammed morn-
ing and night. The pot-liquor is mixed with a few handfuls of oatmeal and boiled,
with which the meal is kneaded into crams or rolls of a proper size. The fowls are put
into the coop, two or three days before they are crammed, which is continued for a fort-
night ; and they are then sold to the higglers. These fowls, full grown, weigh seven
pounds each, the average weight five pounds; but there are instances of individuals
double the weight. They were sold at the time of the survey (1809.), at four to five
shillings each. Turner, of North Chappel, a tenant of Lord Egremont, crams two hundred
fowls per annum. Great art and attention is requisite to cut the capons, and numbers
are destroyed in the operation."
6719. Oakingham in Berks, is particularly famous for fatted fowls, by which many persons in that town
and vicinity gain a livelihood. The fowls are sold to the London dealers, and the sum of 150/. has been
returned in one market day by this traffic. Twenty dozen of these fowls were purchased for one gala at
Windsor, after the rate of half a guinea the couple. At some seasons, fifteen shilUngs have been paid
for a couple. Fowls constitute the principle commerce of the town. Romford, in Essex, is also a great
market for poultry, but generally of the store or barn-door kind, and not artificially fed.
6720. The Oakingham method of feeding is to confine the fowls in a dark place, and cram them with
paste made of barley-meal, mutton-suet, treacle, or coarse sugar, and milk, and they are found complete-
ly ripe in a fortnight. If kept longer, the fever that is induced by this continued state of repletion, renders
them red and unsaleable, and frequently kills them. Geese are likewise fed in the same neighborhood, in
great numbers, and sold about Midsummer to itinerant dealers, the price at the time the survey Was made
(1808.), two shillings, to two and three-pence each. It appears utterly contrary to reason, that fowls fed
upon such greasy and impure mixtures, can possibly produce flesh or fat so firm, delicate, high flavored,
or nourishing, as those fattened upon more simple and substantial food ; as for example, meal and milk,
without the addition of either treacle or sugar. With respect to grease of any kind, its chief effect must
be to render the flesh loose and of indelicate flavor. Nor is any advantage gained, excluding the commer.
cial one.
6721. The methods of cramming by confining in a box the size of the body of the fowl,
and allowing its head and vent to project, for intromission and ejection ; of blinding the
bird for this purpose ; or of nailing it to the boaid ; and also the mode of forcing down liquid
food by a particular kind of pump, worked by the foot of the feeder, all these and other
cruel practices we wish we could abolish in practice, and obliterate from the printed page.
6722. Castration is performed on cocks and hens only in some districts, and chiefly in Berkshire and
Sussex. The usual time is when they have left the hen, or when the cocks begin to crow, but the earlier
the better. It is a barbarous practice and better omitted. Capons are shunneil both by hens and cocks,
who it is said will not roost on the same perch with them. The Chinese mode of making capons is fully
described and illustrated with cuts in the Farmer's Magazine, vol. vi. p. 45.
6723. Pinioning of fowls is often practised to restrain them from roosting too high, or
from flying over fences, &c. ■; and is much more convenient than the cutting their wing
feathers only. But in the ordinary methods of merely excising the pinion, it is frequent-
ly fatal ; and almost always so to full grown birds or fowls, by their bleeding to death.
To prevent this in the long-winged tribes, as ducks, geese, &c., pass a threaded
needle through their wing, close by the inside of the
smaller bone, {fig. 719 a), and making a ligature with
the thread across the larger bone, and returning it on
the outside of all, the principal blood vessels are secur-
ed, which could not be accomplished by a ligature con-
fined to the surface only. After tlie blood vessels have been thus secured, cut oflf the
portion of wing beyond the liga-
ture with scissars or shears. In the
gallinacea or short winged tribes,
as cocks, hens, &c,, the operation is
rendered safer, by being performed
on the beginning of the next joint
(i), making the ligature embrace all
the vessels between these two bones
by passing it twice through, and se-
curing each bone individually, and
passing tRe ligature around the whole
of that part of the wing generally.
In this way also birds which have
been accidentally winged in shooting
may be preserved.
6724. Tlie turkey, {Mcleagris gallijmvo, J^-, fig. 720.) is a native of America, and
1042 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
was introduced into this country from Spain soon after the discovery of the former
country. The color in the wild state is black, but domestication has produced great
variety. In a state of nature they are said to parade in flocks of five hundred, feeding,
in general, where abundance of nettles are to be found, the seed of which, and of a small
red acorn is their common food in the American woods. They get fat in a wild state,
and are soon run down by horses and dogs. They roost on the highest trees, and since
the clearing of extensive tracts in America, have become rare in many places : their anti-
pathy to any thing of a red color is well known. In this country they are supposed
to be of a tender constitution, which only applies to them when young, for when grown
up they will live in the woods with occasional supplies of food, as is actually the case
to a great extent in the demesne lands of the Marquis of Bute in Bute.
6725. The varieties are few, and chiefly the copper white, said to be imported from
Holland, the former too tender for general culture ; and the black Norfolk, esteemed
superior to all others.
6726. Breeding. One turkey cock is sufficient for six hens or more, and a hen will
cover according to her size from 9 to 1 5 eggs. The hen is apt to form her nest abroad in
a hedge, or under a bush, or in some insecure place ; she lays from eighteen to twenty-
five eggs, or upwards, and her term of incubation is thirty days. She is a steady sitter,
even to starvation, and therefore requires to be regularly supplied with food and water.
Buffbn says she is a most affectionate mother ; but Mowbray observes that from her na-
tural heedlessness and stupidity, she is the most careless of mothers, and being a great
traveller herself, will drag her brood over field, heath, or bog, never casting a regard be-
hind her to call in her straggling chicks, nor stopping while she has one left to follow her.
The turkey differs from the common hen in never scratching for her chicks, leaving them
entirely to their own instinct and industry, neither will they fight for their brood, though
vigilant in the discovery of birds of prey, when they will call their chickens together by
a particular cry, and run with considerable speed. Hence, when not confined within
certain limits, they require the attendance of a keeper.
6727. Turkey chicks should be withdrawn from the nest as soon as hatched, and kept
very warm by wrapping them in flannel, or putting them under an artificial mother in a
warm room or other warm place. Various nostrums are recommended to be given and
done at this season, as a peppercorn, and a tea spoonful of milk, immersion in cold wa-
ter, &c. Mowbray wisely rejected all these unnatural practices, and succeeded by giv-
ing curd and hard eggs, or curd and barley meal kneaded with milk, and renewed with
clear water rather than milk, as he found the last often scoured them. A sort of ver-
miceli, or artificial worms, made from pulling boiled meat into strings, he found bene-
ficial for every species of gallinaceous chicken. Two great objects are to avoid super-
fluous moisture, and to maintain the utmost cleanliness, for which purposes as little slop
food is given as possible. A fresh turf of short sweet grass should be daily given as
green food, but not snails or worms, as scouring, and no oats ; nettle seed, clover, rue,
or wormwood gathered, as recommended by the elder housewives. "Water is generally
preferable to milk. When the weather is favorable, the hen is cooped abroad in the
forenoon. During the rest of the day and night, for the first six weeks, she is kept with-
in doors. After this the hen may be cooped a whole day externally for another fortnight,
to harden the chickens ; and afterwards they may be left to range within certain limits,
or tended by an old man or woman, being fed at going out in the morning and returning
in the evening. Their ordinary food may be that of the common cocks and hens. They
will prefer roosting abroad upon high trees in the summer season, but that cannot gene-
rally be permitted with a view to their safe keeping.
6728. Fattening. Sodden barley, or barley and wheat-meal mixed, is the most ap-
proved food ; and the general mode of management is the same as that of the common
cock and hen. They are generally fed so as to come in at Christmas, but they may be
fattened early or late. Sometimes, though but rarely, they are caponized. BufFon says,
the wild turkey of America has been known to attain the weight of sixteen pounds; the
Norfolk turkeys are said sometimes to weigh twenty and thirty pounds ; but Mowbray
says, he never made any higher than fifteen pounds ready for the spit. The living and
dead weight of a turkey are as 21 to 14.
6729. Feathers. Turkeys are sometimes plucked alive, abarbarous practice which ought
to be laid aside. Parmentier proposed to multiply the breed of white turkeys in
Fiance, and to employ the feathers found on the lateral part of the thighs, instead of the
plumes of the ostrich.
6730. The Guinea hen (Numidia meleagris, L., ,fig. 721.), is a native of Guinea, and
found in various parts of South America in a wild state, where it perches on trees,
and builds its nest in the palm-tree. It is about the size of a common hen, grega-
rious, and often found in large flocks j active, restless, and courageous; and will even
attack the turkey, though so much above its size. This bird has been said to unite the
properties of the pheasant and the turkey ; its flesh is more like that of the pheasant
Book VII.
AQUATIC FOWLS.
1043
than that of the common cock and hen both in color and taste, and is reckoned a very
good substitute for tlie former bird. It is also very prolific, and its eggs are nourish-
ing and good. It assimilates perfectly with common fowls in its artificial habits and
kinds of food ; but it has this peculiarity — that the
cocks and hens are so nearly ah'ke, that it is difl[i-
cult to distinguish them, and it has a peculiar gait,
and cry, and chuckle.
673 1 . The peacock {Pavo cristatus, L. ) is a native
of India, and found in a wild state in Java and
Ceylon, where they perch on trees like the turkey in
America. The age of the peacock extends to twenty
years, and at three the tail of the cock is full and
complete. The cock requires from three to four
hens; and where the country agrees with them, they
are very prolific, a great ornament to the poultry
yard and lawn, and useful for the destruction of all
kinds of reptiles. Unfortunately, they are not easily
kept within moderate bounds, and are very destructive in gardens. They live on the same
food as other domestic fowls, and prefer barley. They are in season from February till
June ; but though a peacock forms a very showy dish, the flesh is ill-colored and coarse,
and they are therefore kept more as birds of ornament than of use.
Sect. III. Anserine, or Aquatic Fowls.
6732. The order awseres comprehends the duck, goose, swan, and buzzard. Under a
regular system, Mowbray observes, it would be preferable to separate entirely the aquatic
from the other poultry, the former to have their houses ranged along the banks of a piece
of water, with a fence, and sufficiently capacious walks in front ; access to the water by
doors to be closed at will. Should the water be of considerable extent, a small boat
would be necessary, and might be also conducive to the pleasure of angling.
6733. The duck {Anas boschus, L. , Jig. 722, )
is a native of Britain, and found frequenting
the edges and banks of lakes in most parts of
Europe. The flesh of this and various other
species of the duck is savory and stimulant, and
said to aflPord preferable nourishment to that of
the goose, being less gross, and more easily
digested. The flesh of the wild duck, though
more savory than that of the tame, is reckoned
still more easy of digestion. The ancients
went even beyond our greatest modern epicures
in their high esteem for the flesh of the duck,
and Plutarch asserts, that Cato preserved his whole household in health by dieting them
on duck's flesh.
6734. Varieties and species. There are the Rhone, the Aylesbury, the Canvass-backed ,
and the Muscovy.
6735. The Rhone duck is originally from France, and generally of a dark-colored plumage, large size,
and supposed to improve our breed. They are of darker flesh, and more savory than the English duck ;
but somewhat coarse. Rhone-ducks have been so constantly imported for a great number of years, that
they are very generally mixed with our native breed. The English duck, particularly the white variety,
especially when they chance to have light-colored flesh, are never of so high and savory flavor as the darker
colors. Muscovy and other foreign species of the duck, are kept rather out of curiosity than for the
table.
6736. The white Aylesbury are a beautiful and ornamental stock, matching well in color with the
Embden geese. They are said to be early breeders.
6737. The canvass-backcd, bred only on the Potowmac and Susquehanna rivers, are of very recent intro-
duction from America, and are only to be found in a few places near Liverpool ; they are said to be the
best in the world, and if so will soon become better known.
6738. The Muscovy duck (A. Moschata, L.), is a native of Brazil, but domesticated in
Europe. It is a curious dark-colored bird, distinguished by its naked face, kept more out
of curiosity than use ; to be retained in any place, tliey must be reared there from tlie
egg, otherwise they will fly away.
6739. Breeding. One drake is generally put to five ducks ; the duck will cover from
eleven to fifteen eggs, and her term of incubation is thirty days. They begin to lay in
February, are very prolific, and are apt, like the turkey, to lay abroad, and conceal their
eggs, by covering them with leaves or straws. The duck generally lays by night, or
early in the morning ; white and light-colored ducks produce similar eggs, and the brown
and dark-colored ducks, those of a greenish blue color, and of the largest size. In
setting ducks, it is considered safest to put lighucolored eggs under light ducks, and the
3X2
1044 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt IIL
contrary ; as there are instances of the duck turning out with her bill those eggs which
were not of her natural color.
6740. During incubation, the duck requires a secret and safe place, rather than any
attendance, and will, at nature's call, cover her eggs, and seek her food, and the refreshment
of the waters. On hatching, there is not often a necessity for taking away any of the
brood, barring accidents ; and having hatched, let the duck retain her young upon the
nest her own time. On her moving with her brood, prepare a coop upon the short
grass, if the weather be fine, or under a shelter, if otherwise : a wide and flat dish of
water^ often to be renewed, standing at hand ; barley, or any meal, the first food. In
rainy weather particularly, it is useful to clip the tails of the ducklings, and the sur-
rounding down beneath, since they are else apt to draggle and weaken themselves. The
duck should be cooped at a distance from any other. The period of her confinement to
the coop, depends on the weather and the strength of the ducklings. A fortnight seems
the longest time necessary ; and they may be sometimes permitted to enjoy the pond at
the end of a week, but not for too great a length at once, least of all in cold wet weather,
which will affect, and cause them to scour and appear rough and draggled. In such
case they must be kept within a while, and have an allowance of bean or pea-meal mixed
with their ordinary food. The meal of buck-wheat and the former is then proper. The
straw beneath the duck should be often renewed, that the brood may have a dry and
comfortable bed; and the mother herself be well fed with solid corn, without an ample,
allowance of which, ducks are not to be reared or kept in perfection, although they
gather so much abroad.
6741. Duck eggs are of ten hatched by hens, when ducks are more in request than
chickens ; also as ducks, in unfavorable situations, are the more easy to rear, as more
hardy ; and the plan has no objection in a confined place, and with a small stock, without
the advantage of a pond ; but the hen is much distressed, as is sufficiently visible, and, in
fact, injured, by the anxiety she suffers in witnessing the supposed perils of her children
venturing upon the water.
6742. Ducks are fattened, either in confinement, with plenty of food and water, or full
as well restricted to a pond, with access to as much solid food as they will eat ; which
last method is preferable. They fatten speedily, in this mode, mixing their hard meat
with such a variety abroad as is natural to them, more particularly, if already in good
case ; and there is no check or impediment to thrift from pining, but every mouthful tells
and weighs its due weight. A dish of mixed food is preferable to white corn, and
may remain on the bank, or rather in a shed, for the ducks. Barley, in any form, should
never be used to fatten ducks or geese, since it renders their flesh loose, woolly, and
insipid, and deprives it of that high savory flavor of brown meat, which is its valuable
distinction ; in a word, rendering it chickeny, not unlike in flavor the flesh of ordinary
and yellow-legged fowls. Oats, whole or bruised, are the standard fattening material for
ducks and geese, to which may be added pea-meal, as it may be required. The house-
wash is profitable to mix up their food, under confinement ; but it is obvious, whilst they
have the benefit of what the pond affords, they can be in no want of loose food. Acorns
in season, are much affected by ducks which have a range ; and they will thrive so much
on that provision, that the quantity of fat will be inconvenient, both in cooking, and upon
the table. Ducks so fed, are certainly inferior in delicacy, but the flesh eats high, and is
far from disagreeable. Fed on butcher's offal, the flesh resembles wild fowl in flavor,
with, however, considerable inferiority. Offal-fed duck's flesh does not emit the abomin-
able stench which issues from oflTal-fed pork. When live ducks are plucked, only a small
quantity of down and feathers should be taken from each wing.
6743. Decoys for wild ducks. Wild ducks, and other aquatic birds, are frequently taken
by the device termed a decoy, which, in the low parts of Essex, and some other marshy
districts, may be considered as connected with husbandry. A decoy is a canal or ditch,
provincially pipe, of water {fig. 723.), with a grassy sloping margin (1) at its junction
with a river or larger piece of water (8), to invite aquatic fowls to sit on and dress their
plumage ; but in other parts, covered with rushes and aquatic plants for concealment.
Along the canal of the decoy are placed reed fences (2, 2), to conceal the decoy-man and
his dogs from the sight of the ducks. There is an opening in this fence (3), where the
decoy-man first shows himself to the birds to force them to take the water; and having
taken it, tj»e dog drives them up the canal, the man looking through the fence at
diflferent places (4, 5, 6) to frighten them forward. At the end of the canal is a tunnel
net (7;, where the birds are finally taken. In operating with this trap, as the wild duck
is a very shy bird, and delights in retirement, the first step is to endeavor to make the
given water a peaceful asylum, by suffering the ducks to rest on it undisturbed.
The same love of concealment leads them to be partial to waters whose margins
abound with underwood and aquatic plants ; hence, if the given water is not already
furnished with these appendages, they must be provided ; for it is not retirement
alone which leads them into these recesses, but a search after food also. At certain
Book VII.
THE GOOSE.
1045
times of the day, when wild fowl are off their feed, they are equally delighted with
a smooth, grassy margin, to adjust and oil their plumage upon. On the close-
pastured margins of large waters, frequented by wild fowl, hundreds may be seen
amusing themselves in this way ; and perhaps nothing draws them sooner to a water than
a conveniency of this kind : hence, it becomes essentially necessary to success, to provide
a grassy, shelving, smooth-shaven bank (1) at the mouth of the decoy, in order to
draw the fowl, not only to the water at large, but to the desired part of it. Having, by
these means, allured them to the mouth of the decoy ; the difficulties that remain are,
those of getting them off the bank into the water, without taking wing, and of leading
them up the canal to the snare which is set for them in the most easy manner.
6744. In order to getihem off the bank into the water, a dog is necessary (the more like a fox the better),
which should steal from behind the skreeii of reeds, (2, 2,) which is placed by the side of the canal to hide the
decoy-man as well as his dog, until the signal be given. On seeing the dog, the ducks rush into the water ;
where the wild fowl consider themselves as safe from the enemy which had assailed them, and of course do
not take wing. Among the wild fowl, a parcel (perhaps eight or ten) of decoy-ducks should be mixed, which
will probably be instrumental in bringuig them, with greater confidence, to the bank. As soon as these
are in the water, they make for the decoy, at the head of which they have been constanlly fed, and in which
they have always found an asylum from the dog. The wild ducks follow ; while the dog keeps driving
behind ; and, by that means, takes off their attention from the trap they are entering. When, as soon as
the decoy-man, who is all the while observing the operation through peep-holes in the reed skreen, sees the
entire shoal under a canopy net which covers and incloses the upper part of the canal, he shews himself,
when the wild fowl instantly take wing, but their wings meeting with an impervious net, instead of a na-
tural canopy, formed of reeds and bulrushes, they fall again into the water, and, being afraid to recede, the
man being close behind them, they push forward into the tail of the tunnel net, which terminates the decoy.
In this way, nine dozen have been caught at a time.
6745. The form of the pipe or canal ought to resemble the outlet of a natural brook, or a natural inlet or
creek of the principal water. Thg mouth ought to be spacious, and free from confinement, that the wild fowl,
on their first rushing into the water, and while they have yet the power of recollection, maybe induced to
begin to follow the tame ducks ; and for the same purpose it ought to be crooked, that its inward narrow-
ness, and the nets, may not, in the first instance, be perceived. The lower part of a French horn is con-
sidered as the best form of the canal of a decoy that can be had. A material circumstance remains yet to be
explained. It is the invariable nature of wild fowl to take wing with their heads toward the wind; and it is
always imprudent to attempt to take them in a decoy, unless the wind blow down the pipe ; for, while
their enemy is to leeward of them, they have less scruple to go up the pipe, making sure of an escape by
their wings. But, what is of still more consequence, if the wind set up the pii)e when they take wing un-
der the canopy net, some of them would probably escape (a circumstance always to be dreaded), and those
which fell again into the water, would fall, of course, with their heads toward the wind, and would, with
greater difficulty, be driven into the tunnel. This point is so well known by decoy-men in general,
that every decoy is, when circumstances will admit of it, furnished with three or four different canals,
pointing to distinct quarters of the horizon, that no opportunity may be lost on account of the wind being
in any particular point.
6746. The goose [Anas anser, L., Jig. 724.) is a na-
tive of Britain, and most parts of the north of Europe,
but less common than the duck. I'he flesh of the com-
mon and various species of geese is highly stimulant,
strong in flavor, viscous, and of a piitrescent tendency.
The flesh of the tame goose is more tender than that of
the wild, which tastes of fish, but either kind is only
adapted for good stomachs, and powerful digestion, and
should be si)aringly uced by the sedentary and weak, or
persons subject to cutaneous diseases. The fat of the
goose is reckoned peculiarly subtle, penetrating, and
"' resolvent, and is generally carefully preserved for do-
mestic applications. The goose attains to a great age,
3X3
1046 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
well authenticated instances being on record to the extent of 70 and 80 years. The best
geese in England are probably to be found on the borders of Suffolk and Norfolk, and
in Berkshire ; but the greatest numbers are in Lincolnshire, whence they are sent in droves
to London to be fed by the poulterers, some of whom fatten in the vicinity of the metro-
polis above five thousand in a season.
6747. Of varieties and species there are several, the former differing in color, as black,
white, and grey, and also in size. There is also the Spanish white goose, and large
white Embden goose, the latter in most esteem. When one has seen a wild goose, says
Pennant, a description of its plumage will, to a feather, exactly correspond with any
other. But in the tame kinds, no two of any species are exactly alike ; different in
their size, their colors, and frequently in their general form, they seem the mere crea-
tures of art ; and having been so long dependent upon man for support, they seem to
assume forms entirely suited to his necessities.
6748. There is a Chinese species {A. cygnoides), and an American goose {A. cana-
densis). The Chinese species is a domestic bird, but as yet little known in this country.
It is longer and narrower in the body than the common goose, and stands higher on the
legs. The Canadian goose is domesticated in several places, and is not considered un-
common in England. It is the most ornamental of the goose kind on water in pleasure
grounds, and is abundant in the Duke of Devonshire's park at Chiswick.
6749. Breeding. One gander is generally put to five geese : the goose lays from
eleven to fifteen eggs ; and the period of incubation is from twenty-seven to thirty days.
A nest should be prepared as soon as the female begins to carry straw in her bill, and
by other tokens declares her readiness to lay. This is generally in March, and some-
times two broods are produced within the season, an advantage obtainable by high feed-
ing through the winter with sound com, and on the commencement of the breeding
season allowing them boiled barley, malt, fresh grains, and fine pollard mixed up with
ale or other stimulants. A good gander sits near his geese whilst they are sitting, and
vigilantly protects them. Feeding upon the nest is seldom required ; and it is unneces-
sary to take any of the goslings from the mother as hatched ; but pen the goose and her
brood at once upon dry grass well sheltered, putting them out late in the morning, or
not at all in severe weather, and ever taking them in early in the evening. The first
food may be similar to that recommended for the duck, such as barley meal, bruised
oats, or fine pollard, with some cooling green vegetables, as cabbage or beet leaves
intermixed.
6750. Rearing. At first setting at liberty, the pasturage of the goose should be
limited, otherwise, if allowed to range over an extensive common, the gulls or goslings
will become tired and cramped, and some of them will fall behind and be lost. Mowbray
advises to destroy all the hemlock and nightshade in their range, and he says he has known
them killed by swallowing sprigs of yew. As the young become pretty well feathered,
they become also too large to be brooded beneath the mother's wing, and as they will
then sleep in groups by her side, they must be well supplied with straw beds, which
they will convert into excellent dung. Being able, says Mowbray, to frequent the
pond and range the common at large, the young geese will obtain their living, and few
people, favorably situated, allow them any thing more, excepting the vegetable produce
of the garden. But it has been his constant practice, always to dispense a moderate
quantity of any solid corn or pulse at hand, to the flocks of store geese, both morning
and evening, on their going out, and their return, together, in the evening more especially,
with such greens as chanced to be at command : cabbage, mangel-wurzel leaves,
lucern, tares, and occasionally sliced carrots. By such full keeping his geese were ever
in a fleshy state, and attained a large size ; the young ones were also forward and
valuable breeding stock. Geese managed on the above mode, will be speedily fattened
green, that is, at a month or six weeks old, or after the run of the corn stubbles. Two
or three weeks after the latter, must be sufficient to make them thoroughly fat. A goose
fattened entirely on the stubbles, is to be preferred to any other ; since an over-fattened
goose is too much in the oil-cake and grease-tub style, to admit even the ideas of deli-
cacy, tender firmness, or true flavor. But when needful to fatten them, the feeding-
houses already recommended for hens (6712.) arc most convenient. With clean and
renewed beds of straw, plenty of clean water, oats, crushed or otherwise, pea or
bean meal (the latter, however, coarse and ordinary food), or pollard mixed up with
skimmed milk, geese will fatten pleasantly and speedily.
6751. Feathers. Pennant, in describing the methods used in Lincolnshire in manag-
ing geese, says, " they are plucked five times in the year ; first at Lady-day for the
feathers and quills, and four times for the feathers only, between that and Michaelmas."
He says, he saw the operation performed on goslings of six weeks old, from which the
feathers of the tails were plucked, and that numbers die of the operation, if the weather
immediately afterwards proves cold. Lean geese furnish the greatest quantity of down
Book VII.
SWAN AND BUSTARD.
1047
and feathers, and of the best quality. This seems a cruel practice, and surely were
better left off.
6752. The sivan, {Anas olor, L., Jig. 725.) is a native of England, but not com-
mon ; it is chiefly found on the Thames and . ^
the Trent. In former times the swan formed
a dish of embellishment at great feasts ; but
now the cygnets, or young only are eaten,
and that after a peculiar preparation. For-
merly they were fattened at Norwich for the
city feast, and commanded a guinea each.
The foot of the swan possesses nearly the
same property as that of the goose ; and the
skin was formerly held to contain medical
properties. At present swans are chiefly to
be considered as ornamental in pleasure grounds, clearing water from weeds, and oc-
casionally affording cygnet and some swan down feathers and quills. It is a curious
circumstance that the ancients considered the swan as a high delicacy, and abstained
from the flesh of the goose as impure and indigestible.
6753. Varieties or species. The common swan differs in color; the black is rare, as
every schoolboy knows. The swan goose, Muscovy goose (A. hyhrida, L.), is a native
of Guinea, and is a sort of middle species between the swan and the goose, and unites so
well with the latter as to cause little or no perceptible difference in the progeny. They
are suflflciently common in England, and distinguished by their erect gait, and the scream-
ing which they continue during almost the whole day, without any obvious incitement.
6754. Rearing. The swan feeds like the goose, and has the same familiarity with
its keepers, kindly and eagerly receiving bread which is offered, although it is a bird of
courage equal to its apparent pride, and both the cock and hen are extremely dangerous
to approach during incubation, or whilst their brood is young, as they have sufficient
muscular force to break a man's arm with a stroke of their wing. They both labor
hard in forming a nest of water plants, long grass, and sticks, generally in some
retired part or inlet of the bank of the stream, or piece of water on which they are
kept. The hen begins to lay in February, producing an egg every other day, until she has
deposited seven or eight, on which she sits six weeks, although Buffon says it is nearly
two months before the young are excluded. Swans' eggs are much larger than those
of a goose, white, and with a hard, and sometimes tuberous shell. The cygnets are ash-
colored when they first quit the shell, and for some months after; indeed, they do not
change their color, nor begin to moult their plumage, until twelve months old, nor
assume their perfect glossy whiteness, until advanced in their second year.
6755. Feathers and down. Where the living swan is plucked, only the ripe down
should be taken from each wing, and four or five feathers. This may be repeated to
tlie extent of three times in the course of a summer.
6756. The bustard, {Otis tarda, L., ^"f. 726.), is a
native of England, the largest indigenous land bird
in Europe ; the cock generally weighing from twenty-
five to twenty-seven pounds. The neck a foot long,
the legs a foot and a half. It flies with some little
difficulty. The head and neck of the cock ash co-
lored ; the back barred transversely with black and
bright rust color. The greater quill feathers black,
the belly white ; the tail, consisting of twenty
feathers, marked with broad black bars : it has three
thick toes before and none behind. There are up-
wards of half a dozen species of this bird, two or
three of which (African) are crested. The little bustard
(0. tetrax), differs chiefly in size, not being larger than
a pheasant. Bustards were known to the ancients
in Africa, and in Greece and Syria ; are supposed to
live about fifteen years ; are gregarious, and pair in spring, laying only two eggs, nearly
of the size of a goose-egg, of a pale olive brown, marked with spots of a darker hue.
They sit about five weeks, and the young ones run, like partridges, as soon as delivered
from the shell. The cocks will fight until one is killed or falls. Their flesh has
ever been held most delicious ; they are fed upon the same food as the turkey. There
were formerly great flocks of bustards in this country, upon the wastes and in the
wolds, particularly in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, and Dorset, and in various parts of
Scotland, where they were hunted with greyhounds, and were easily taken. Buffon wa!>
mistaken in his supposition that tliese birds are incapable of being propagated in the do-
3X4
048 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
mestic state, chiefly on account of the difficulty of providing them with proper food, which,
in their wild state, he describes to be heath-berries and large earth-worms. Probably the
haw or white-thorn berry might succeed equally well. To those who aim at variety
and novelty in this line, the bustard appears peculiarly an object for propagation and
increase, since the flesh is of unrivalled excellence ; and it is probable this fowl will
render great weight of flesh for the food consumed.
Sect. IV. Diseases of VovJlry.
6757. The diseases of poultry are generally the result of improper nourishment and
lodging, and the best mode of cure is by the immediate adoption of such as is proper.
When that will not succeed, very little help can be derived from medical assistance ; at
least as that art stands at present with respect to poultry. In fact, as Mowbray observes,
the far greater part of that grave and plausible account of diseases to be found in our
common cattle and poultry books is a farrago of absurdity, the chief ground of which
is random and ignorant guess-work.
6758. Common fowls are attacked by the pip, roup or catarrh, the flux, constipation, and vermin. The
pip is an outside skin or scale, growing on the tip of the tongue, and is cured by tearing off the skin with
the nail and rubbing the tongue with salt. Imposthume on the rump is called the roup, which term is
also applied to catarrh, to which gallinaceous fowls are very subject. The imposthume is to be opened,
the core thrust out, and the part washed with salt and water. Generous food and warmth is the only
cure in the catarrh. The flux is to be cured with good solid food, and its opposite, constipation with
scalded bran mixed with skim-milk or pot liquor, adding a small quantity of sulphur. Vermin appear in
consequence of low keep, and want of cleanliness; the simplest remedy is to allow plenty of sand and ashes
for the birds to roll in, and to keep their houses and roosts sweet and clean, white-washing them two or
three times a year.
6759. But the catarrh is the chief disease to which chjckens and fowls are liable ; and when the malady
becomes confirmed with running at the nostrils, swollen eyes, &c. they are termed roupy, and the disease
is infectious. They should now be separated and kept in a warm apartm.ent and well fed. Roupy hens
seldom lay, and their eggs are unwholesome. In chickens this disease is called the chip; they are seen
shivering, pining, and dying in corners, apparently from cold, though they are in fact in a fever. Abun-
dant warmth and rich food, are the only remedies.
6760. Broken legs, wings, or toes, may be set and spliced, and will recover ; the head being raw and the
eyes blinded from fighting, wash the eyes with milk and water, and the head alternately with brandy in
which is a few drops of laudanum, and with fresh butter. A cock's spurs being too long, impeding his
walk and wounding his legs, they should be cut carefully with a sharp pen-knife, but not too near the
quick, every three months.
6761. Geese are subject to the gargle, or stoppage in the head, the consequence of cold. House the
patient, and give garlick beat up with fresh butter ; or toast and ale with a little confinement will succeed
equally well.
6762. All poultry, when young, are apt to be carried off by rats, and other vermin, which must either
be vigilantly guarded against, or destroyed.
Sect. V, Of Birds of Luxury, which are, or may be, cultivated hy Farmers.
6763. JBirds of luxury include the pigeon, pheasant, partridge, quail, singing birds,
and birds kept as curious objects.
6764. Of the pigeon, (Columba, L.) there are three species, and many varieties in
cultivation. The species are, the common, ring, and turtle-doves, all natives of
Britain. The varieties of the common pigeon, enumerated by Linnaeus, amount to
twenty-one ; but those of the pigeon fanciers to more than double that number. The
ring-dove {C.palumbus, L.), and the turtle-dove (C lurtur), with the greater number of
the varieties, are cultivated only by a few persons known as pigeon fanciers : but the
common pigeon of diflferent colors is cultivated for the table. The flesh of the young
pigeon is very savory and stimulating, and highly valued for pies ; that of the full aged
pigeon is more substantial, harder of digestion, and in a considerable degree heating.
Black or dark feathered pigeons are dark fleshed, and of high flavor, inclining to the
game bitter of the wild pigeon. Light colored feathers denote light and delicate flesh.
The dung of pigeons is used for tanning upper leathers for shoes ; it is also an excel-
lent manure. Pigeons are now much less cultivated than formerly, being found in-
jurious to corn fields, and especially to fields of peas. They are, however, very orna-
mental ; a few may be kept by most farmers, and fed with the common poultry, and
some who breed domestic fowls on a large scale, may, perhaps, find it worth while to
add the pigeon to their number.
6765. The variety of pigeon most suitable for the common
pigeon-house, is the grey pigeon [fig. 727.), inclining to ash-
color and black; which generally shews fruitfulness by the
redness of the eyes and feet, and by the ring of gold color
which is about the neck.
6766. The varieties of the fancy breeders are numerous, and
distinguished by a variety of different names, as carriers {fig.
728 a) ; croppers, powters, horsemen, runts, jacobines, turbits,
helmets, nuns, tumblers [b) ; barbs, petits, owls, spots, trumpeters, shakers, turners,
rtnikins, &c. From these, when differently paired, are bred bastard pigeons ; thus
Book VII. PIGEONS. 1049
from tlie cropper or powter, and the carrier, is bred the powthig horsemen (c) ; from the
tumbler and the horsemen, dragoons, &c.
728
6767. The stocking of pigeon-houses is best performed in May or August, as the birds-
are then in the best condition. Young birds called squeakers should be chosen, as the old
are apt to fly away.
6768. In breedingy the pigeon lays two white eggs, which produce young ones of different sexes. When
the eggs are laid, the female sits fifteen days, not including the three days she is employed in laying, and
is relieved at intervals by the male. The turns are generally pretty regular. The female usually sits
fVom about five in the evening till nine the next morning ; at which time the male supplies her place,
while she is seeking refreshment abroad. Thus they sit aUeinately till the youngare hatched. If the female
does not return at the expected time, the male seeks her, and drives her to the nest ; and should he in
his turn be neglectful, she retaliates with equal severity. When the young ones are hatched, they only
require warmth for the first three days ; a task which the female takes entirely upon herself, and never
leaves them except for a few minutes to take a little food. After this they are fed about ten days, with
what the old ones have picked up in the fields, and kept treasured in their crops, from whence they sa-
tisfy the craving appetite of their young ones, who receive it very greedily. This way of supplying the
young with food from the crop, in birds of the pigeon -kind, differs from all others. The pigeon has the
largest crop of any bird, for its size ; which is also quite peculiar to the kind. In two that were dissected
by an eminent anatomist, it was found that, upon blowing the air into the windpipe, it distended the
crop or gullet to an enormous size. Pigeons live entirely upon grain and water; these being mixed toge-
ther in the crop, are digested in proportion as the bird lays in its provision. Young pigeons are very
ravenous, which necessitates the old ones to lay in a more plentiful supply than ordinary, and to give it
a sort of half maceration in the crop, to make it fit for their tender stomachs. The numerous glands,
assisted by air and the heat of the bird's body, are the necessary apparatus for secreting a sort of pap, or
milky fluid (commonly called pigeon's milk), but as the food macerates, it also swells, and the crop is con-
siderably dilated. 1 f the crop were filled with solid substances, the bird could not contract it; but it is
obvious the bird has the power to compress its crop at pleasure, and, by discharging the air, can drive
the food out also, which is forced up the gullet with great ease. The young usually receives this tribute
of affection from the crop three timosadaj'. The male for the most part feeds the young female, and
the old female performs the same service for the young male. While the young are weak, the old ones
supply them with food macerated suitable to their tender frame; but, as they gain strength, the parents
give it less preparation, and at last drive them out, when a craving appetite obliges them to shift for
themselves ; for when pigeons have plenty of food, they do not wait for the total dismission of their
young ; it being a common thing to see young ones fledged, and eggs hatching at the same time and in the
same nest.
6769. The terms applied to pigeons of different ages are, the youngest, when fed by the cock and hen,
squabs, at which age they are most in demand for pies. Under six months of age, they are termed
squeakers ; at that age they begin to breed, and then, or earlier, they are in the fittest state for removal
to a strange situation.
6770. In respect to food, pigeons are entirely granivorous, and very delicate and
cleanly in their diet ; they will sometimes eat green aromatic vegetables, but are fondest
of seeds ; and tares, and the smallest kind of horse-beans, is the most suitable food both in
point of economy and fattening qualities. Pease, wheat, buck-wheat, and even barley,
oats, &c., are also eaten by pigeons, but old tares may be reckoned their very best food ;
new tares, pease, or beans, are reckoned scouring. Wherever pigeons are kept, the best
way to keep them chiefly at home, and thereby both prevent their being lost, and their
doing injury to corn-crops, is to feed them well : this is also the only way in which, in
modern times, they will afford abundance of fat and delicate squabs for the table, which,
well fed, they will do every month in the year, and thus afford a constant supply of deli-
cate stimulating food. Pigeons are generally fed in the open air adjoining their cote or
house ; but in inclement weather, or to attach new pigeons to their home, both food and
water should be given internally. That this may be done without waste, and without
frequently disturbing the birds, two contrivances are in use ; the first is the meat-box or
hopper, from whence grain or pulse descends from the hopper as eaten out of a small
shallow box ; the next is the water-bottle, an ovate, long, naked bottle, reversed in a
small basin to which it serves as a reservoir. Any l)ottle will do, but the pigeons are apt
to alight on and dirty such as when reversed present a flat top.
6771. Pigeons being fond of salt, what is called a pigeon-cat is placed in the midst of
the pigeon-house, or in the open air near it. It seems these birds are fond of salt and
hot substances, and constantly swallow small stones to promote digestion. The salt-cat
is thus composed ; gravel or drift-sand, unctuous loam, the rubbish of an old wall, or
lime, a gallon of each ; should lime be substituted for rul>bish, a less quantity of tlie
former will suflSce ; one pound of cummin-seed, one handful of bay-salt; mix with stale
urine. Inclose this in jars, corked or stopped, holes being punched in the sides, to admit
the beaks of the pigeons. These may be placed pbroad. They arc very fond of this
1050
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part lH.
mixture, and it prevents them from pecking the mortar from the roofs of their houses,
which they are otherwise very apt to do.
6772. Cleanliness is one of the first and most important considerations : the want of
it in a dove-cote will soon render the place a nuisance not to be approached, and the
birds, both young and old, will be so covered with vermin, and besmeared with their own
excrement, that they can enjoy no health or comfort, and mortality is often so induced.
Mowbray's were cleaned daily, thoroughly once a week, a tub standing at hand for the
reception of the dung, the floor covered with sifted gravel, often renewed.
6773. Pigeon-houses are of three kinds, small boarded cases fixed on posts, trees, or
against the ends of houses : lofts fitted up with holes or nests ; and detached buildings.
The first are generally too small to contain a sufllicient brood, and are also too subject
to variations of temperature ; and the last, on the other hand, are now-a-days too large,
and therefore the most suitable for the farmer is a loft or tower rising from a building in
which no noisy operation iscarried on. The lofts of any of the farm-buildings at a distance
from the threshing-machine are suitable, or a loft or tower over any detached building
will answer well ; but the best situation of all is a tower raised from the range of poul-
try-buildings, where there is such a range, as the pigeons can thus be more conve-
viently treated, and will feed very readily with domestic poultry. For a tower of this
sort, the round form should be preferred to the square; because the rats cannot so easily
come at them in the former as in the latter. It is also much more commodious ; as, by
means of a ladder turning round upon an axis, it is possible to visit all the nests in the
house, without the least diflflculty ; which cannot be so easily done in a house of the
square form. And in order to hinder rats from climbing up the outside of it, the wall
should be covered with tin-plates to a certain height, as about a foot and a half; which
should project out three or four inches at the top, to prevent their getting up more ef-
fectually. A common mode in France is to raise a boarded room on a strong post
powerfully braced (Jig. 729.), the interior sides of which are lined with boxes for the
birds (a), and the exterior east and west sides with balco-
nies, or sills for them to alight on and enter to their
boxes (6). The noj th and south sides are lined with
boxes inside, but without openings, as being too cold on
the one front, and too warm on the other.
6774. The interior of the pigeon-house must be lined
with nests or holes, subdivided either by stone, as in the
ancient mural pigeon-houses ; by boards ; or each nest i
composed of a vase or vessel of earthenware fixed on its
side. Horizontal shelves (fg. 7S0.), divided vertically at
three feet distance, are generally esteemed preferable to
730 every other mode ; the width of the shelf
may be twenty inches, the height between
shelf and shelf eighteen inches ; and a slip of
board three or four inches high is carried
along the front of the partitions to keep in
the nests. Sometimes, also, a partition of
similar height is fixed in the middle of each
three-feet division, which thus divides it into
two nests. This, Mowbray and Girton con-
cur in recommending as likely to prevent the
young from running to the hen when sitting
over fresh eggs, and perhaps occasioning her
to cool and addle them ; for when the young
are about a fortnight or three weeks old, a good hen will leave them to the care of the
cock, and lay again. Some prefer breeding-holes with no board in front, for the
greater convenience of cleaning the nests ; but as the squabs are apt to fall out by this
practice, a good way would be to contrive the board in front to slip up and down in a
groove, by which each nest might be cleaned at pleasure. As tame pigeons seldom take
the trouble of making a nest, it is better to give them one of hay, to prevent the eggs
from rolling. There are also straw buckets made in the form of nests, and also nests or
pans of earthenware. Where pans are used, it is common to place a brick between
them (two being placed in a breeding hole), for the cock and hen to alight on, but on
the whole straw nests are best. The pigeon-house has two entrances, one a common
sized door for man, either on the ground level, or to be ascended to by a ladder, as used
formerly to be the case ; and the other on a rising above the roof, and consisting of small
holes three or four by twelve or fourteen inches for the entrance of the pigeons. A
series of ranges of these are generally placed over each other, in a boarded front looking
to the south, with a shelf to eacli range, and surrounded by a row of iron spikes to pro-
Book VII.
THE PHEASANT.
1051
as already described.
^mm^'7'^l?pkmp^m?
tect them from cats. The elevation of pigeon-houses (Jig. 731.]
are of endless variety.
6775. The breeding holes constitute the fixtures of the pigeon-
house ; its utensils are the hopper and bottle already described,
(6770.) a barrel or box for food, a step-ladder to reach the nests,
and some other articles not peculiar to this department of rural
economy. The pigeon-trap for enticing and entrapping the
pigeons of others, we do not describe.
6776. Pigeons in new lodgings are apt sometimes to forsake their
habitations. Many nostrums have been recommended to prevent
them from doing so ; but if squabs be selected, cleanliness and
security attended to, and a salt cot placed in or near the house,
there will be little danger of this taking place. Fumigations
with highly odoriferous drugs or even assafoetida is also said to
attract pigeons to a neglected dovecote, or attach them to a new
one.
6777. Diseases of pigeons. Fancy pigeons, being many of
them monstrous productions, are very subject to diseases. Gir-
ton enumerates upwards of a dozen with their cures, including the corruption of the
egg in the uterus from over high feeding ; a gorged crop from voracious feeding ;
insects from filthiness in the pigeon house, and the canker from cocks fighting with each
other. Little can be done in the way of curing any of these diseases otherwise than by
recurrence to the proper regimen ; if this does not speedily take effect it is better to put,
the bird horsde peine both for humanity's sake and to prevent infection. Fortunately, the
common pigeon reared for the table is little liable to diseases.
6778. Laws respecting pigeons. B}' the 1st of James, c. xxvii., shooting, or destroying pigeons by other
means, on the evidence of two witnesses, is punishable by a fine of 20s. for every bird killed or taken, and
by the 2d of Geo. III. c. xxix. the same offence may be proved by one witness, and the fine is 2(Js. to
the prosecutor. Any lord of the manor or freeholder, may build a pigeon house upon his own land, but a
tenant cannot do it without the lord's licence. Shooting or killing within a certain distance of the pigeon
house, renders the person liable to pay a forfeiture.
6779. The common pheasant {Phasianus colchicvs, L.), is a native of the old continent,
but not of America, and has long been naturalised in the warmer and most woody
counties of England. It is very common in France, and before the Revolution used
to be a great nuisance to the farmers, even to the gates of Paris. The pheasant runs
fast, but flies low and heavily ; it crows not unlike the common cock, being of the same
genus, and is supposed to live six or eight years. Pheasants are both granivorous and
carnivorous; they feed upon all sorts of insects and vermin like the peacock, and are
said to be greedy of toads, when not too large to swallow ; whereas, according to report,
they will not touch the frog, of which ducks are so fond. They are prized in park scenery
for their beautiful plumage and showy figure, and as game for the delicacy of their flesh,
which is of a high flavor and alkalescent quality. It is in season in autumn, and most
esteemed when under a year old, and very fat. Every gentleman who has a well-
wooded, well enclosed park, and in whose woods are abundance of such evergreens as
the spruce fir, holly, box, broom, &c., may stock it with pheasants ; and he may pre-
serve his stock if he will continue to supply them with abundance of food, and deter
thieves, polecats, &c. The more common the pheasant becomes, the less will it be sub-
jected to the attacks of those enemies.
(5780. Varieties. Besides that which may be considered common or wild in this countrj', and which
is generally of a brown color, there is the gold and silver, natives of China, and very hardy in this coun-
try, and good breeders. The ring-necks, natives of Tartary, bred in China, very scarce; their plumage
very beautiful. The white and pied ; both sorts will intermij^ readily with our common breed, as will the
Bohemia, one of the most beautiful of its kind, and equally scarce. The golden variety is generally of
the highest price, and the common most hardy, and of the largest size.
6781. Breeding. In a wild state the hen-pheasant lays from eighteen to twenty eggs
in a season, but seldom more than ten in a state of confinement. As this bird has not
hitherto been domesticated, and as the flesh of those brought up in the house is much
inferior to that of the wild pheasant, they are chiefly bred for show, for replenishing a
park, or for turning out in well enclosed recluse scenes, which they will not readily
leave if well fed, and not much disturbed. Hence every proprietor may naturalize them
at least on a part of his grounds, say, for example, a wood with glades of pasture en-
closed by a close paling or high wall. The natural nest of the pheasant is made on the
ground, and composed of dry grass and leaves, which being provided for her in con-
finement, she will always arrange properly. They will breed freely with the com-
mon fowl, but as neither flesh nor form are improved by the cross, this is seldom
resorted to.
6782. In stocking a pheasantrt/y the general models to procure eggs from some establishment of this
sort or otherwise, and the following are the directions of Castang, as given in Mowbray's Treatise on Pout-
try. Eggs being provided, put them under a hen that has kept the nest three or four days; and if you
1052 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
set two or three hens'on the same day, you will have the advantage of shifting the good eggs. At the end
of ten or twelve days, throw away those that are bad, and set the same hen or hens again, if setting hens
should not be plenty. The hens having set their full time, such of the young pheasants as are already
hatched, putinto a basket, with a piece of flannel, till the hen has done hatching. The brood now come,
put under a frame with a net over it, and a place for the hen, that she cannot get to the young pheasants,
but that they may go to her : and feed them with boiled egg cut small, boiled milk and bread, alum curd,
ants' eggs, a little of each sort, and often. After two or three days they will be acquainted with the call of
the hen that hatched them, may have their liberty to run on the grass plat, or elsewhere, observing to
shift them with the sun, and out of the cold winds ; they need not have their liberty in the morning till
the sun is up ; and they must be shut in with the hen in good time in the evening. Everything now
going on properly, you must be very careful (in order to guard against the distemper to which they are
liable) in your choice of a situation for breeding the birds up ; and be less afraid of foxes, dogs, polecats,
and all sorts of vermin, than the distemper. Castang had rather encounter all the former than the latter ;
for those with care may be prevented, but the distemper once gotin is like the plague, and destroys all your
hopes. What he means by a good situation is nothing more than a place where no poultry, pheasants, or
turkeys, &c. have ever been kept ; such as the warm side of a field, orchard, pleasure-ground, or garden,
or even on a common, or a good green lane, under circumstances of this kind ; or by a wood side ; but
then it is proper for a man to keep with them, under a temporary hovel, and to have two or three dogs
chained at a proper distance, with a lamp or two at night. He has known a great number of pheasants
bred up in this manner in the most exposed situations. It is proper for the man always to have a gun,
that he may keep off the hawks, owls, jays, magpies, &c. The dogs and lamps shy the foxes more than
any thing ; and the dogs will give tongue for the man to be on his guard if smaller vermin are near, or
when strollers make their appearance. The birds going on as before mentioned, should so continue till
September, or (if very early bred), the middle of August. Before they begin to shift the long feathers in
the tail, they are to be shut up in the basket with the hen regularly every night ; and when they begin to
shift their tail the birds are large, and begin to lie out, that is, they are not willing to come to be shut up
in the basket : those that are intended to be turned out wild, should be taught to perch (a situation they
have never been used to) ; this is done by tying a string to the hen's leg, and obliging her to sit in a tree
all night : be sure you put her in the tree before sun-set ; and if she falls down, you must persevere in
putting her up again till she is contented with her situation ; then the young birds will follow the hen,
and perch with her. This being done, and the country now covered with corn, fruits, and shrubs, &c.
they will shift for themselves. For such young pheasants as you make choice of for your breeding-stock
at home, and likewise to turn out in spring following, provide a new piece of ground, large and roomy for
two pens, where no pheasants, &c. have been kept, and there put your young birds in as they begin to
shift their tails. Such of them as you intend to turn out at a future time, or in another place, put into
one pen netted over, and leave their wings as they are ; and those you wish to keep for breeding put into
the other pen, cutting one wing of each bird. The gold and silver pheasants you must pen earlier, or
thpy will be off Cut the wing often ; and when first penned feed all your young birds with barley-meal,
dough, com, and plenty of green turnips.
6783. A receipt to make alum curd. Take new milk, as much as your young birds require, and boil it
with a lump of alum, so as not to make the curd hard and tough, but custard like. Give a little of this
curd twice a day ; and ants' eggs after every time they have had a sufficient quantity of the other food.
If they do not eat heartily, give them some ants'eggs to create an appetite, but by no means in such abun-
dance as to be considered their food. The distemper alluded to above, is not improbably of the same
nature as the roup in chickens, contagious, and dependent on the state of the weather ; and for preven-
tion requiring similar precautions. When a pheasantry is connected with a piece of ground covered with
bushes or shrubbery, the birds may be bred in houses or pens, and afterwards put out into small enclo-
sures, say one hundred feet square, with fences twelve feet, high, each containing abundance of low ever-
greens, especially the spruce fir, and an artificial or natural supply of water. Under such an arrange-
ment the hen pheasant will hatch her own eggs, and the following directions are given as to attendance
by the same experienced person. Not more than four hens to be allowed in the pens to one cock. And
in the out covers, three hens to one cock may be sufficient, with the view of allowing for accidents, such
as the loss of a cock or hen. Never put more eggs under a hen than she can well and closely cover, the
eggs fresh and carefully preserved. Short broods to be joined and shifted to one hen : common hen phea-
sants in close pens, and with plenty of cover, will sometimes make their nests and hatch their own eggs :
but they seldom succeed in rearing their brood, being so naturally shy ; whence should this method be
desired, they must be left entirely to themselves, as they feel alarm even in being looked at. Eggs for
setting are generally ready in April. Period of incubation the same in the pheasant as in the common
hen. Pheasants, like the pea-fowl, will clear grounds of insects and reptiles, but will spoil all wall-trees
within their reach, by picking off every bud and leaf.
6784. Feeding. Strict cleanliness to be observed, the meat not to be tainted with
dung, and the water to be pure and often renewed. Ants' eggs being scarce, hog-lice,
ear-wigs, or any insect may be given ; or artificial ants* eggs substituted, composed of
flour beaten up with an egg and shell together, the pellets rubbed between the fingers to
the proper size. After the first three weeks, in a scarcity of ants' eggs, Castang gives
a few gentles, procured from a good liver tied up, the gentles, when ready, dropping
into a pan or box of bran ; to be given sparingly, and not considered as common food.
Food for grown pheasants, barley or wheat ; generally the same as for other poultry. In
a cold spring hemp seed, or other warming seeds are comfortable, and will forward the
breeding stock.
6785. In keeping fanci/ pheasants, as the gold, silver, or other breeds, the best mode is to
enclose a few poles of ground containing trees and bushes with a well painted copper
netting, and in some concealed part to have a house or lodge for supplying water and food.
This forms by far the most elegant aviary, and is the only one that at all times appears
clean. They will thrive very well, however, in an aviary on the common construction.
6786. The partridge {Tetrao perdix, Jig. 732.) is a native of all the temperate regions.
of Europe, but unable to sustain rigorous cold, or intense 732
heat. Partridges are highly valued as food on most parts of
the continent, and as a table luxury in England. In the
Ukraine both partridges and pheasants are more abundant
than any where else in Europe : they were formerly so com-
mon in France, that Rozier informs us it was necessary to
sow three or four times the com that was necessary to raise a
crop, and that even this had often to be done three or four times in a season. Tlie
Book VII.
GROUSE.
1053
733
hkd feeds like the pheasant on insects and seeds, and is particularly fond of those of
tJje wild mustard. It has not been domesticated, but may be hatched and reared in
fclie same manner as the pheasant.
6787. The quail {Tetrao coturnix, fig. 733.) is a native of the East, and abounds in
Egypt, as appears from the supplies the Israelites obtained
while in the wilderness, and also in the islands of the Archi-
pelago, and in Italy. They migrate from warmer to colder
regions. They are naturalized and breed in England, chang-
ing their residence within it on the approach of winter from
the more exposed to the more temperate districts. They
are very abundant in France, and are caught in snares and.
nets (described by Rozier), and sent both to the Paris and
London markets. The bird was proverbial among the Romans
as captious and quarrelsome, and is employed among the Chinese for the same amuse-
ment as game cocks are in England. Here it is ^jJSh 734
not domesticated, but may be reared and preserved in
the same manner as the pheasant and partridge, and
its food is nearly the same as that of the latter bird.
6788. The red grouse, or moor cock, (Teticao sco-
tics, fig. 734.) is an esteemed variety of gallinacea,
pursued with avidity by sportsmen in the mountainous
districts of England, Wales, and Scotland, in which
latter it abounds, there feeding in plenty among the
heather, its favorite food. Its beautiful plumage, and
its exquisite flavor, render it an object of considerable interest.
-„^ 6789. The black grouse, or black cock, (Tetrao tetrix.
Jig. 135.) is less common than the red grouse, and is
therefore more highly prized. It is also larger, weigh-
ing nearly four pounds. Its plumage is a rich mixture
of black with blue ; relieved by marking of white.
Its legs are also covered with very fine minute feathers :
and it draws a peculiar characteristic from the curvi-
linear form of the tail, which branches out at the end
into two crooked expansions.
=^=~ 6790. The wood grouse, or cock of the wood, ( Tetrao
vrogalluSfJig. 736. ) is, after the bustard, the largest bird
among those we call game ; it being little less than a
turkey. It was originally common in the mountainous
parts of Britain ; but is now nearly if not wholly ex-
tinct with us ; though still common in the northern parts
of Europe, where it lives in pine forests, on the cones
of which it is supposed to subsist; and which at some'<
seasons gives its flesh a terebinthinated taste : at other
times it is delicious" eating, and is often sent to Eng-
land frozen. Like the other grouse he has the scarlet
patch on his head, his legs are defended in the same
manner by a feathered covering, and his whole mark-
ings are equally varied and beautiful. From the rich-
ness of the plumage in all the varieties of the tetrao,
and from the extreme delicacy of their flesh as an article
of food, it is to be lamented that attempts are not made to domesticate them in addition
to our other poultry. It is thought by observant sportsmen, and scientific naturalists,
that this might be attended with less difficulty than the domesticating the partridge and
pheasant : and the attempt is recommended to the patriotic amateur.
6791. The lark (Alatida arvensis, L.) and other birds were reared and fatted by the
Romans for the table. The lark is caught by nets and other means in some of the open
districts of England, as about Dunstable, Cambridge, &c., and brought to market for
the table, as are various other birds by a particular class of men known as bird-catchers.
It is an idle uncertain kind of life not to be recommended.
6792. Of singing birds, a great variety are domesticated ; and their breeding and rear-
ing forms a very peculiar and curious branch of rural economy. Not only all the birds
which please l)y their natural song are domesticated and kept in cages ; as the canary,
nightingale, lark, linnet, finch, thrush, &c., but even some which do not sing in a wild
state, as the sparrow, hammer, &c., are by art taught the notes of other birds.
6793. IVild singing birds are caught by various devices, according to the species of
bird, and season of the year. The pairing season in spring, generally March and April,
is on the whole the best season, and the common means are a net called a clap trap, a
1056 PRACTICE OF AGRICULf UllE. Part III.
6803. The tench {Cyjrrinus tinea, !>., b) inhabits almost every where in stagnant waters ;
grows quickly, and reaches from four to eight pounds weight ; is very fertile and tenacious
of life, and will live all the winter under the ice ; feeds on worms and water plants ; is
very foolish, and may be easily caught ; body covered with a thick mucus, and small
scales which adhere firmly to the skin, above dark -green, the sides above the line green,
beneath yellow, belly white ; varies in its colors by age, sex, or the waters it inhabits ;
flesh white, soft, and well tasted.
6804. In stocking with tench the number per acre may be more than ofcarp. In Berkshire, where there
are many ponds for the preserving of fish, they usually stock with tench or carp in the proportion of one
hundred to the acre, the fish remaining four years in them. But in the management of Sir Harry Fea-
therstone, in Sussex, in a pond of twenty acres reduced to sixteen by the deposition of mud, the stock is
generally in the proportion of twelve hundred carp and an equal number of tench ; or at the rate of seven-
ty-five brace to the acre. And in this proportion they are said to succeed well.
6805. The gudgeon ( Cyjmnus gobio, L. , c. ) is a very inferior fish to the carp or tench, but
being of easy culture and rapid increase, is kept in many places as food for pike and perch.
It inhabits gentle streams and lakes of Northern Europe ; is tenacious of life, and very
fertile : about eight inches long ; feeds on herbs, worms, insects, the fry of other fish, and
parts of carcases ; body narrow, spotted, above livid, the sides above the line blue,
beneath whitish yellow, but it varies its colors by age, the different waters it inhabits,
and its food ; flesh white, and very grateful.
6806. The perch (Perca JluviatUis, L., d) is an excellent fish, and though naturally
found in streams in Europe and Siberia, yet will live in large ponds, or lakes, provided
the water be clear. It grows to two feet long ; back and part of the sides deep green, with
five broad black bars, which are sometimes dark-green or blue, and very rarely wanting ;
belly white, tinged with red ; swims with great swiftness and at a certain height in the
water ; is tenacious of life, but eagerly takes a bait ; feeds on aquatic insects and smaller
fish ; spawns in May arid June, and is very prolific ; it has no real air-bladder, and from
its integuments may be obtained a kind of glue; flesh very delicate.
6807. In stocking with perch, as they are great breeders, six hundred to the acre may
be sufficient.
6808. The pike {Esox lucius, Jj., e) inhabits most lakes of Europe, Lapland, Northern
Persia, and North America, and is found even in the Caspian Sea ; swims, and grows very
rapidly, one to eight feet long ; is extremely voracious and long-lived ; feeds on almost any
thing which comes in its way, even its own tribe ; spawns from February to Apiil ; body
above black, the sides cineraceous spotted with yellow, beneath white dotted with black ;
rarely orange spotted with black or green ; scales small, oblong, hard. The pike is best
reared in deep ponds by itself, in which some gudgeon may be put to breed for its food. It
will thrive in waters, partaking of the chalybeate quality, in which few other fish would live.
6809. The goldfish [Cyprinus auratus, L.) is an inhabitant of the rivers of China and
Japan, and is naturalized almost every where on account of its elegance and vivacity ;
the colors vary greatly, but are naturally and mostly of a most splendid golden hue ;
scales large. It is bred in small ponds in gardens near London and Paris for sale, as an
ornamental inhabitant of crystal vases, or garden basons of water.
6810. The minnow {Cyprinus phoxinus, Li.,/), the dace (C lentiscus, L.), and the roach
{C. rutilus, L.), are very small fish, which abound, the first in gravelly streams, and the
others in still waters ; both are useful as affording food to other fish, and may therefore be
put into fish ponds. They are also very good to eat.
681 1. Of the troutand salmon family , there are several species, as the lake trout, gilt and
red charr, which inhabit Alpine lakes in northern countries, and might probably be intro-
duced with advantage in the lakes of Cumberland, Westmoreland, and the Highlands of
Scotland. The red charr is caught in Keswick lake. Tlie salmon and salmon-trout
[Sulmo salar, and S, trutta,) require salt water and a river ; and the fresh water trout
{S.Jhrio,) requires too rapid a stream for art to imitate ; they succeed, however, to a cer-
tain extent, in very slow running waters which are clear.
6812. The eel (Muraiia anguilla, L.) inhabits almost everywhere in fresh waters;
grows sometimes to the length of six feet, and weighs twenty pounds ; in its appearance
and habits something resembles the serpent tribe ; during the night quits its element, and
wanders along meadows in search of snails and worms ; beds itself deep in the mud in
winter, and continues in a state of rest ; is very impatient of cold, and tenacious of life ;
the flesh of such as frequent running water is very good; is viviparous, and has 116
vertebrae. One advantage of the eel is, that it will thrive in muddy ponds of very small
size, where no other fish would live.
681 3. On the subject of cultivating fishes it may be observed, that the waters of some ponds
are better adapted for raising some sorts of fish than others. Thus, those where the water
is rich and white are more adapted for carp ; while such as have a thicker appearance, and
where there is a greater deposition of muddy matter, are better suited to tench. Perch
are capable of being raised in almost any sort of ponds. Eels succeed best where the
ponds are not very large, but where fed by a spring, and there is a large portion of rich
Book VII.
THE ESCULENT FROG.
1057
sediment. Pike should never be kept in ponds with carp or tench, hut in separate breed-
ing-ponds, where the- supplies of small fry are considerable and not wanted for stores.
Carp, tench, and perch are the sorts principally cultivated with a view to profit, with a few
eels occasionally. But perch and eels should not be admitted where the ponds are but
thinly stocked, as they are great devourers of the young fish. Carp and tench answer
best together where the extents of the ponds are pretty large, as, in other cases, the for
rner, from being a much more powerful fish, beats and deprives the latter of his food.
Carp seldom afford much profit in ponds of less extent than half an acre ; but tench
thrive well in those of almost every size, being often found good in poods of only a few
perches square. Carp, perch, and eels succeed well together ; and also tench and eels.
Carp more frequently injure themselves by breeding than tench, though it sometimes
happens with the latter. It is not improbable, but that in small ponds it may be the best
practice to keep the carp and tench separate. The produce or profit afforded by fish-
ponds has not yet, perhaps, been sufficiently attended to in different situations to afford
correct conclusions ; nor is it well ascertained what is the annual increase in weight in
fish of different kinds, in different periods of their growth, and under different circum-
stances of soil and water. Loveden (Annals of Agriculture) states, that in Berkshire a
pond of three acres and a half, drawn after being stocked three years with stores of one
year old, produced of carp, 195 lb. weight, of tench 230 ditto; together 425 lb., which
sold for 20/. 10s. or nearly 21. 6s. per acre per auxium.
68 1 4. The taking of cultivated Jtsh is generally done with nets, and sometimes by empty-
ing the pond of water. Whatever way is adopted, only those fit to be used are taken, and
the rest returned to grow larger. No fish is taken, or fit to be used, for a month before
and after the spawning season, which with most fresh water fish is in April, May, or June.
The Marquis deChabanes proposes to catch fish, both in fresh and salt water, by immers-
ing a burning lamp in an air box with mirrors, and round which he has traps into whicli
the animals are to be entangled, while approaching the light and the multiplied images of
their own species. For this contrivance he has taken out a patent. Salmon are some-
times caught by torch light.
6815. The castration offish has been successfully practised both in this and other coun-
tries, and both with the male and female. Castrated fish attain to a larger size, and are in
season at any period of the year. The mode of performing the operation is described in
Rees's CyclopcBdia, art. Fish, Castration of; and in the Philosophical Transactions, vol. 48.
part ii, p. 106.
6816. Of the amjMbecc which are or may be cultivated for food or ornament, the prin-
cipal are the frog and tortoise.
6817. The esculent frog (Rana esculenta, L.,
fig, 741 a), though generally despised in this
country, is yet an excellent article to those who
are accustomed to it ; and there are few English-
men who have eaten a fricasse of the thighs of
this animal in France or Italy, but what would j
wish to do so again. The body of this frog is
green , with three yellow lines, the middle ones
extending from the moqth to the anus, with the
angles of the mouth distended in a globular form ;-
the male makes a continual croaking in an even-
ing, especially before rain ; when irritated will
pursue and destroy a pike. It is rare in Eng-
land, but very common on the continent, where
it is in season for the table in June.
6818. The tree frog (Rana arborea, L., b),'
is green above, and whitish beneath, with a yel-
low curved line on the side. In elegance and
activity it is superior Jo every other European
species. In summer it resides in the woods, and haunts the trees in quest of insects,
which it approaches on its belly, in the same manner as a cat to a mouse, and at length
seizes with an elastic and instantaneous spring. It is particularly noisy on the approach
of rain. In winter it takes up its abode in the bottom of the waters, remaining till the
spring in a state of torpor. The noise of this frog is by many considered musical, and
it is often kept in gardens in Germany both as a curiosity and as a weather guide. It
certainly deserves introduction to this country.
6819. There are two sjyecies of tortoise which might be cultivated: the common, and
the mud tortoise. The common tortoise (Testndo grceca,L,., fig. 742 o) weighs three
pounds, and the length of its shell about seven inches. It abounds in the countries
surrounding the Mediterranean, and particularly in Greece, where the inhabitant*
not only eat its flesh and eggs, but frequently swallow its warm blood. In Sep-
3 Y
1058
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
742
tember or October it conceals itself, remaining torpid till February, when it re-appears.
In June it lays its eggs, in holes exposed to the full beams of the sun, by which they are
matured. Tortoises attain most extraordinary
longevity, and one was ascertained to have lived
in the gardens of Lambeth to the age of nearly
one hundred and twenty years. It will answer
J the purpose of a barometer, and uniformly in-
dicates the fall of rain before night, when it
takes its food with great rapidity, and walks
with a sort of mincing and elate step. It ap-
pears to dislike rain with extreme aversion, and
is discomfited and driven back only by a few
and scarcely perceivable drops,
6820. The mud tortoise (T. lutaria, b), is
common both in Europe and Asia, and par-
ticularly in France, where it is much used
for food. It is seven inches long ; lays its eggs
on the ground, though an aquatic animal ;
walks quicker than the land tortoise; and is
often kept in gardens, to clear them from snails
and various wingless insects. In fish ponds it
is very destructive, biting the fishes, and, when
they are exhausted by the loss of blood, dragging them to the bottom and devouring
them. The tortoise may be fed on any vegetable refuse, .milk, worms, oflPal, or
almost any thing. Linnaeus says they are in all things extremely slow, and in
copulation frequently adhere together a month, and live several days after the head
is cut off. {Shav/s Zoology,)
Chap. XL
Of Insects and Worms which are or may he subjected to Culture.
6821. The insects we mean to notice here are the silk moth, bee, and craw fish ; and
the worms, the leech and snail.
6822. The silkworm or moth (Phalcena mori, Ij., Jig. 56.) is a native of China, and was
introduced into Europe in the reign of the Emperor Justinian, A.D. 160. It is a
whitish moth, with a broad pale brown bar across each of the upper wings. The cater-
pillar or larva, emphatically known by the title of the silk worm, is, when full grown,
nearly three inches long, and of a yellowish grey color: on the upper part of the last
joint of the body is a horn like process, as in many of the sphinges. It feeds, as every
one knows, on the leaves of the white mulberry, in defect of which may be substituted
the black mulberry, and even in some instances the lettuce, and a few other plants.
The silk worm remains in its larva state about six weeks, changing its skin four times
during that period, and, like other caterpillars, abstaining from food for some time
before each change. When full grown, the animal entirely ceases to feed, and begins
to form itself a loose envelopement of silken fibres in some convenient spot which it has
chosen for that purpose, and afterwards proceeds to enwrap itself in a much closer
covering, forming an oval yellow silken case or ball about the size of a pigeon's egg, in
which it changes to a chrysalis, and after lying thus enclosed for the space of about
fifteen days, gives birth to the moth. This, however, is always carefully prevented when
the animals are reared for the purposes of commerce ; the moth greatly injuring the silk
of the ball, by discharging a quantity of colored fluid before it leaves the cell ; the silk
balls are, therefore, exposed to such a degree of heat as to kill the inclosed chrysalides,
a few only being saVed for the breed of the following year. The moth, when hatched
is a very short-lived animal, breeding soon after its exclusion, and when the females have
laid their eggs, they, as well as the males, survive but a very short time.
6823. The culture of silk varies but little in different countries ; it does not require
any great degree of skill, or a great capital ; and it is well known that the silk worm
with proper care, will breed and thrive very well in England. Though the price of
labor is too high in this country to render this a profitable branch of rural economy, yet
as it is carried on by some as matter of recreation, and may be useful in various ways,
we shall describe the process.
6824. The culture and treatment of the mulberry is abundantly simple, and has been
given in noticing the silk culture of France and Italy. It is a mistake of various
Book VII. THE HONEY BEE. IO59
writers to assert that grafting is necessary ; on the contrary, grafted mulberry trees are '
held in PVance to be later in exfoliating and shorter lived than seedlings. {Cours WA^r,
Sj^c, art. Murier.)
6825. The produce of the worms or cocoonSy as soon as completed, are either reeled off,
or, in the silk countries, sold to others, who make this a distinct trade. The silk, as
formed by the worm, is so very fine, that if each ball, or cocoon, was reeled separately,
it would be totally unfit for the purposes of the manufacturer ; in the reeling, therefore,
the ends of several cocoons are joined and reeled together out of warm water, which,
softening their natural gum, makes them stick together, so as to form one strong smooth
thread. As often as the thread of any single cocoon breaks, or comes to an end, its
place is supplied by a new one, so that by continually keeping up the same number, the
united thread may be wound to any length : the single threads of the newly added co-
coons are not joined by any tie, but simply laid on the main thread, to which they adhere
by their gum ; and their ends are so fine as not to occasion the least perceptible uneven-
ness in the place where they are laid on. The apparatus for reeling consists merely of a
small open kettle of water, under which is a fire to keep it hot, and a reel of a very
simple construction. Care should be taken in the operation, that the silk when reeled
off may consist of a smooth thread of equal thickness and strength, not flat, but of a
round form, having the small threads of which it is composed as equally stretched and
firmly united as possible ; and that the severaltounds as they lie on the reel, should not
be glued together. When the skain is quite dry it is taken off the reel, and a tie is
made with some of the refuse silk on that part of the skain wherp it bore upon the bars
of the reel, and another tie on the opposite part of the skain, after which it is doubled
into a hank, and usually tied round near each extremity, when it is laid by for use or
sale. In this state, in which all the silk that is brought from India, and considerable
part of what comes from Italy and other parts, arrives, it is called raw silk ; the prin-
cipal part of it is afterwards sent to a mill to be thrown ; that is, to have two ends of it
doubled and twisted together, by which it is converted into tram, or organzine, accoi-d-
ing to the fineness of the silk, and the purposes to which it is intended to be applied in
the manufacture.
6826. The culture of silk in England has been attempted at various periods from the
time of James I., in 1608, to the present. A silk garden Avas established near St.
James's Palace in 1629, and another at Chelsea in 1718. As the mulberry tree is
scarce in some parts of this country, attempts have been made to feed the worms on
other plants. Miss Croft, of York, in 1792, sent to the Society for the Encouragement
of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, a specimen of silk produced by worms fed
entirely upon lettuce leaves. This society continue to offer premiums for the produc-
tion of silk in this country ; and a company is now establishing, forgiving it a complete
trial, in several districts both of Britain and Ireland.
6827. The common honey bee {Apis mellifica, L.) inhabits Europe in hollow trees,
but is chiefly kept in hives, being domesticated every where. Perhaps more has been
written on the economy of this insect, than on any other animal employed in agriculture ;
and certainly to very little purpose. After all that has been done in England, France,
and Italy, the bee is still more successfully cultivated, and finer honey produced, in
Poland, by persons who never saw a book on tlie subject, or heard of the mode of de-
priving bees of their honey widiout taking their lives. Much as has been written in
France and England on this last part of the subject, it is still found the best mode to de-
stroy the hive in taking the honey. Unanswerable reasons for this practice, are given by
La Gren6e, a French apiarian, which are elsewhere quoted by us at length, [Enci/c. of
Gard. art. Bees), and allowed to be conclusive as to profit, even by Huish. The iioney
produced by any hive or apiary, depends much more on the season, and the quantity
and kind of flowers with which the neighborhood abounds, than on tlie form of hive,
or artificial management. Viewing the subject in this light we shall avoid noticing
the mode of operating with glass, storying, cellular, or other curious hives of recent
invention j and treat only of the simplest methods. The author we shall follow is
Howison.
6828. The ajnary or place where the bee-hives are placed should in very warm situa-
tions be made to face the east ; and in colder districts the south-east. It should be well
protected from high winds, which not only prevent the bees from leaving the hive in
quest of honey, but they also surprise them in the fields, and often kill them by dashing
them against the trees and rocks, or into rivers. The hives in an apiary should always
be placed in a right line ; but should the number of the hives be great, and the situation
not capacious enough to admit of their being placed longitudinally, it is more advisable to
place them over one another, on shelves, {fg. 357.) than in double rows on the ground.
A bee, on leaving the hive, generally forms an angle of about forty five with f lie horizon ;
the elevation of the hive should, therefore, be aboi\t two feet from the ground, in order to
3 Y 2
1060
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part III.
protect it from humidity. The greater the elevation of the hive, the longer is the
flight of the swarm ; and when they are at a certain point of elevation, the swarms
are lost for ever to the proprietor. If the hives are to be placed in 743
a double row, the hinder ones should alternate with, and be placed at
such a distance from the front ones, that when the bees take their
flight, no obstruction is offered to their ascent. Huish recommends
placing every hive upon a single pedestal, and at two or three feet dis-
tance from each other. By this means when any thing happens to one
hive, the others are less likely to be disturbed than when placed on a
shelf in a bee house ; and the liive may be chained down and lock-
ed (jig. 743.) It is usual to have three or four legs or supports to
the bee boards, but those who have tried one will never resort to
more, as one is a much better protection from vermin and insects.
The space in front of the apiary should be kept clear of high plants
for two or three yards.
6829. The variety of bees employed is a matter of some consequence. To the common
observer, all working bees, as to external appearance, are nearly the same ; but to those
who examine them with attention, the difference in size is very distinguishable ; and they
are, in their vicious and gentle, indolent and active natures, essentially different. Of
the stock which Howison had in 1810, it required 250 to weigh an ounce; but they
were so vicious and lazy, that he changed it for a smaller variety, which possesses much
better dispositions, and of which it requires 296, on an average, to weigh an ounce. Whe-
ther size and disposition are invariably connected, he has not yet had sufficient experience
to determine.
6830. The best material and form for hives is a straw thimble or flower-pot placed in
an inverted position. Hives made of straw, as now in use, have a great advantage over
those made of wood and other materials, from the effectual defence they afford against
the extremes of heat in summer, and cold in winter.
6831. The size of hives should correspond as nearly as possible with that of the swarms.
This has not had that attention paid to it which the subject demands, as much of thesticcess
in the management of the bees depends on that circumstance. From blind instinct, bees
endeavor to fill with combs whatever hive they are put into, before they begin to gather
honey. Owing to this, when the hive is too large for its inhabitants, the time for collect-
ing their winter store is spent in unprofitable labor : and starvation is the consequence.
TMs evil also extends to occasioning late swarming the next summer ; it being long be-
fore the hive becomes so filled with young bees as to produce a necessity for emigration,
from which cause the season is too far advanced for the young colonies to procure a win-
ter stock. A full sized straw hive will hold three pecks, a small sized from one and a
half to two pecks.
■ 6832. The Polish hive, {Pasieka Pol., Jig.lii.) appears to us to be the second in merits to that described,
and perhaps it may deserve the preference, if the mode of using it were generally known. It is simply the
trunk of a tree, of a foot or fourteen inches in diameter and about nine feet long.
It ia scooped out (boring in this country would be better) for about six feet from
one end, so as to form a hollow cyHnder of that length, and of six or eight inches
diameter within. Part of the circumference of this cylinder is cut out during the
greater part of its length, about four inches wide, and a slip of wood is made
to fit the opening. On the sides of this slip or segment (a) notches are made
every two or three inches, of sufficient size to allow a single bee to pass. This
slip may be furnished with hinges and with a lock and key ; but in Poland
it is merely fastened in by a wedge. All that is wanting to complete the hive is
a cover at top to throw off the rain, and then it requires only to be placed upright
like a strong post in the garden, so as the bottom of the hollow cylinder may be
not nearer the ground than two feet, and the opening slip look to the south.
When a swarm is to be put in, the tree, with the door or slip opened, is placed ob-
liquely over it ; when the bees enter, the door is closed, and the holes stopped
with clay till the hive is planted or placed upright. When honey is wanted, the
door is opened during the finest part of a warm day, when most of the bees are
out ; its entire state is seen from top to bottom, and the operator, with a segar in
his mouth, or with a lighted rag, to keep off the bees from his hands, cuts out
with a crooked knife, as much comb as he thinks fit. In this way fresh honey is
obtained during the summer, the bees are never cramped for room, nor does it
become necessary to kill them. The old comb, however, is annually cut out to
prevent or lessen the tendency to swarming, which, notwithstanding this and
the size of their dwelling, they generally do once a year ; for the laws of nature
are not to be changed. Though it be a fact, that a small swarm of bees will not
do well in a large hive, yet if the hive extend in length and not in breadth, it is
admitted both by Huber and Huish, that they will thrive in it. " If too great a
diameter," says Huber, " be not given to the abode of the bee, it may without danger be increased in
the elevation ; their success in the hollow trees, their natural domicile, incontestibly proves the truth of
this assertion" - *
6833. The feeding of bees is generally deferred till winter or spring, but this is a most
erroneous practice. Hivts should be examined in the course of the month of Septem-
ber or about the time of killing the drones, and if a large hive does not weigh thirty
pounds, it will be necessary to allow it half a pound of honey, or the same quantity of
soft sugar, made into syrup, for every pound that is deficient of that weight ; and, in
Book VII. THE HONEY BEE.
1061
like proportion, to smaller hives. This work must not be delayed, that time may he given
for the bees to make the deposit in their empty cells before they are rendered torpid by
the cold. Sugar simply dissolved in water (which is a common practice), and sugar
boiled with water into a syrup, form compounds very differently suited for the winter
store of bees. When the former is wanted for their immediate nourishment, as in spring,
it will answer equally as a syrup : but if to be laid up as store, the heat of the hive quickly
evaporating the water, leaves the sugar in dry crystals, not to be acted upon by the
trunks of the bees. Hives may be killed with hunger, while some pounds weitrht of
sugar remain in this state in their cells. The boiling of sugar into syrup forms a closer
combination with the water, by which it is prevented from flying off, and a consistence
resembling that of honey, retained. Howison has had frequent experience of hives
not containing a pound of honey, preserved in perfect health through the winter, with
sugar so prepared, when given in proper time, and in sufficient quantity.
6854. To protect hives from the cold, they are covered with straw or rushes, about the
end of September, or later, according to the climate and season. This is an essential
business, as well covered hives always prosper better the following season than such as
have not been covered. In October, the aperture at which the bees enter should gene-
rally be narrowed, so as only one bee may pass at a time. Indeed, as a very small por-
tion of air is necessary for bees in their torpid^state, it were better, during severe frosts,
to be entirely shut up, as numbers of them are often lost from being enticed to quit the
hive by the sunshine of a winter day. It will, however, be proper at times to remove
by a crooked wire, or similar instrument, the dead bees and other filth, which the living
at this season are unable to perform of themselves. To hives, whose stock of honey was
sufficient for their maintenance, or those to which a proper quantity of sugar had been
given for that purpose, no further attention will be necessary until the breeding season
arrives. This, in warm situations, generally takes place about the begir^ning of May,
and in cold, about a month after. The young bees, for a short time previous to their
leaving their cells, and some after, require being fed with the same regularity that young
birds are by their parents ; and if the store in the hive be exhausted, and the weather
such as not to admit of the working bees going abroad to collect food in sufficient quan-
tity for themselves and their brood, the powerful principle of affection for their young
compels them to part with what is not enough for their support, at the expence of their
own lives. To prevent such accidents, it is advisable, if, during the breeding season, it
rain for two successive days, to feed all the bees indiscriminately, as it would be difficult
to ascertain those only who require it.
6835. The sivarming of bees generally commences in June, some seasons earlier, and
in cold climates or seasons later. The first swarming is so long preceded by the appear-
ance of drones, and hanging out of working bees, that if the time of their leaving the
hive is not observed, it nujst be owing to want of care. The signs of the second are,
however, more equivocal, the most certain being that of the queen, a day or two before
swarming, at intervals of a few minutes, giving out a sound a good deal resembling that
of a cricket. It frequently happens that the swarm will leave the old hive, and return
again several times, which is always owing to the queen not having accompanied them,
or from having dropt on the ground, being too young to fly to a distance. Gooseberry,
currant, or other low bushes, should be planted at a short distance from the hives, for
the bees to swarm upon, otherwise they are apt to fly away ; by attending to this,
Howison has not lost a swarm by straying for several years. When a hive yields more
than two swarms, these should uniformly be joined to others that are weak, as from the
lateness of the season, and deficiency in number, they will otherwise perish. This junc-
tion is easily formed, by inverting at night the hive in which they are, and placing over it
the one you intend them to enter. They soon ascend, and apparently with no opposition
from the former possessors. Should the weather, for some days after swarming, be un-
favorable for the bees going out, they must be fed with care until it clears up, otherwise
the young swarm will run a great risk of dying.
6836. The honey may be taken from hives of the common construction, by three modes,
partial deprivation, total deprivation, and suffocation.
6837. Partial deprivation is performed about the beginning of September. Having ascertained the
weight of the hive, and consequently the quantity of honey-comb which is to be extracted, begin the
operation as soon as evening sets in, by inverting the full hive, and placing an empty one over it ; particu-
lar care must be taken that the two hives are of the same diameter, for if they differ in their dimensions,
it will not be possible to effect the driving of the bees. The hives being placed on each other, a sheet or
large table-cloth must be tied round them at their point of junction, in order to prevent the bees from
molesting the operator. The hives being thus arranged, beat the sides gently with a stick or the hand,
but particular caution must be used to beat it on those parts to which the conibs are attached, and which
will be found parallel with the entrance of the hive. The ascent of the bees into the upper hive will be
known by a loud humming noise, indicative of the pleasure in finding an asylum from their enemy; in a
few minutes the whole community will have ascended, and the hive with the bees in it may be placed upon
the pedestal from which the full hive was removed. The hive, from which the bees have been driven,
must then be taken into the house, and the operation of cutting out the honey-comb commenced
Having extracted the requisite quantity of comb, this opportunity must be embraced of inspecting the
3 Y 3
I0e2' PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Vakt III.
hive, and of cleaning it from any noxious matter. In cutting the combs, however, particular attention
should be paid not to cut into two or three combs at once, but having commenced the cutting of one, to
jmrsue it to the top of the hive ; and this caution is necessary for two reasons. If you begin the cutting
of two or three combs at one time, were you to extract the whole of them, you would perhaps take too
much ; and secondly, to stop in the middle of a comb, would be attended with very pernicious conse-
quences, as the honey would drop from the cells which havebeen cut in two, and then the bees, on being
returned to their native hive, might be drowned in their own sweets. The bees, also, in their return to
their natural domicile, being still under the impression of fear, would not give so much attention to the
honey which Hows from the divided cells ; and as it would fall on the board, and from that on the ground,
the bees belonging to the other hives would immediately scent the wasted treasure, and a general attack
on the deprivated hive might be dreaded. The deprivation of the honey-comb being affected, the hive
may be returned to its former position, and reversing the hive which contains the bees, and placing the
deprivated hive over it, they may be left in that situation till the morning, when the bees will be found to
have taken possession of their native hive, and if the season proves fine, may replenish what they have
lost. {Huish's Treatise on Bees.)
6838. Total deprivation is effected in the same manner, but earlier in the season, immediately after the
first swarm; and the bees, insteadof being returned to a remnantof honey in their old hive, remain in the
new empty one ; which they will sometimes, though rarely, fill with comb. By this mode, it is to be ob-
served, very little honey is obtained, the bees in June and July being occupied chiefly in breeding, and
one, if not two, swarms are lost.
68'39. Suffocation is performed when the season of flowers begins to decline, and generally in October.
The smoke of paper, or linen rag soaked or smeared with melted sulphur, is introduced to the hive by placingj
it in a hole in the ground, where a few shreds of these articles are undergoing a smothering combustion ;
or the full hive may be placed on an empty one, inverted as in partial deprivation, and the sulphureous
smoke introduced by a fumigating bellows, &c. The bees will fall from the upper to the lower hive in a
few miimtes, when they may be removed and buried, to prevent resuscitation. Such a death seems one of
the easiest, both to the insects themselves, and to human feelings. Indeed, the mere deprivation of life
to animals, not endowed with sentiment or reflection, is reduced to the precise pain of the moment, with-
out reference to the past or the future ; and as each pulsation of this pain increases in effect on the one
hand, so on the other, the suscpptibility cf feeling it diminishes. Civilized man is the only animal to whom
death has terrors, and hence the origin of that false humanity, which condemns the killing of bees in order
to obtain their honey ; but which might, with as much justice, be applied to the destruction of almost any
other animal used in domestic economy, as fowls, game, fish, cattle, &c.
6840. On the produce and projil of bees much has been said by the patriotic apiarians.
Both, however, are extremely uncertain ; and as to the profit, it can never be great, while
there is the competition of all Europe to contend with as to honey and wax, and no great
demand for swarms. Bees, however, are interesting creatures, are supported at almost no
expense; and a hive or two is therefore very desirable in the garden of every farmer and
cottager.
6841. The craxo or craif fish {Cancer nstacuSy L. Jig. 74.3.), is a native of Britain,
inhabiting still rivers and marshes, and lodging itself in holes made in the clayey banks.
The flesh is of an excellent flavor, and very 745
nutritious, and has been recommended to
persons under atrophies. There are various
methods of preparing these animals : they
may be either boiled or fried, and then taken
out of their shells and made up in a variety
of dishes. Preparations and broths of cray-
fish have been celebrated not only for a
palatable aliment, but also for answering
some medicinal intentions, as being of a
moistening quality, and correcting acrimony.
The delicate flavor of these fish depends in a
great measure on their food. When they have well-tasted food, their flesh preserves the
relish of it ; but when they feed on other things, they are often rendered of no value, by
the flavor communicated to their flesh by them. It has been found that where the
Acorus calumnus abounds, they feed on the roots of this plant, which renders their flesh
so bitter as to be uneatable. They are very greedy of flesh, and flock in great numbers
about carcases thrown into the water where they are, and never leave it while any re-
mains. They also feed on dead frogs when they come in their way.
6842. The culture of this delicious fish, it is evident, might be successfully carried on in small ponds, or
in canals in parks. In the former case supplying them with any animal or vegetable refuse. They
wander far from their aquatic residence in quest of food, and that is the time when they are generally
caught. A breeding stock may be obtained from any fisherman on the Thames or Trent, or by applying
in Covent Garden, though they are by no means common in Britain, They are perhaps most common
near Alnwick, in North umberkind.
6'>43. The edible snail (Helix pomntia,^. Jig. 75 a), is a native of Italy; but being
imported to this country about the middle of last century, is now considered as natural-
ized. Aubrey informs us, that they were introduced by Charles Howard, Esq. an
epicure of the Arundel family, as an article of food, who scattered and dispersed those snails
all over the downs and in the woods at Albury, an ancient seat of that noble family ; and
also near Ashted, Boxhill, Dorking, Epsom, and Surrey, where they have increased so
greatly, that even the confines of Sussex abounds with them. His example was followed
by others in different parts of the kingdom, but by none with so much success as by Sir
Kenelm Digby, who dispersed them about Gothurst, the seat of that family near New-
port-Pagnpl, in Buckinghamshire.
Book VII. NOXIOUS ANIMALS. 1063
6844. This is the largest species of land-snail in England. When full-grown, the shell is from an inch
and a half to two inches in diameter in our climate; on the continent, towards the south, its size is
much superior. The animal being large and fleshy, and not of an unpleasant flavor, has been esteemed
as an article of food from early times. It was a favorite dish with the Romans, who had their cochlearia, or
snail-stews, in which they were bred and fattened. Varro has handed down to us a description of these
stews, and the manner of making them : he says, open places were chosen surrounded by water, that the
snails might not abandon them, and care w.is taken that the places were not much exposed to the sun or
to the dews. If a natural spring or moisture was not found, they formed an artificial one, by bringing a
pipe to the stew bored full of holes, like a watering-pot, by which the place was continually sprinkled or
moistened. The snails required little attention or food, for as they crawled they found it on the floor or
area. Thev were fed with bran and sodden lees of wine, or similar substances intermixed with a few
laurel-leave's. In the neighborhood of Vienna they are caught and preserved till wanted in large pits
covered with boards; they are fed with cabbage- leaves, grains, bran, meal, or any vegetable refuse. In
Italy and Vienna they are commonly sold in the markets, and are called bavoli, martinacci, and gal-
linelle. In France, says Lister, they boil them in river water, and season them with salt, pepper, and
oil. This practice continues at the present period.
6845. The medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis, L.), grows to the length of two or
three inches. The body is of a blackish-brown color, marked on the back with six yel-
low spots, and edged with a yellow line on each side ; but both the spots and the lines
grow faint, and almost disappear at some seasons. The head is smaller than the tail, which
fixes itself very firmly on any thing the creature pleases. It is viviparous, and produces
but one young at a time, which is in the month of July. It is an inhabitant of clear
running waters, and is well known for its use jn bleeding. If put into shallow clear
ponds it will breed freely, and this is practised by some herbalists and apothecaries in the
neighborhood of London. The chief supply, however, is from the lakes of Cumberland,
where they are caught by women who go into the water bare-legged, and after a few
have fastened, they walk out and pick them off. A good many are also brought from
Holland.
Chap. XII.
Of Animals noxious to Agriculture.
6846. Almost every animal may be injurious to the agriculturist in some way or other.
All the cultivated live-stock will, if not excluded by fences, or prevented by herding, eat
or tread down corn crops or other plants in culture. Those animals, as the dog and
ferret, which assist him in deterring or in catching noxious animals which would prey
on others, will themselves become depredators if not attended to ; and even man, the
only rational, and therefore the most valuable of agricultural servants, will prove, under
certain circumstances, the greatest of all enemies to the agriculturist. We shall glance
at the different animals more especially noxious in the order of their usual classification.
Sect. I. Of noxious Mammalia.
6847. Obnoxious mammalia, man, in a demoralised state, is the most injurious. The
remedy is furnished by the law — the preventive is good education, and civil treatment
by the master.
6848. The fox (Canis vulpes) commits great ravages among lambs, poultry, geese, &c.
To destroy it, the farmer must take a sheep's paunch and fasten it to a long stick j
then rub his shoes well upon the paunch, that the fox may not scent his feet. He should
then draw his paunch after him as a trail, a mile or upwards, till he gets near some large
tree ; then leave the paunch and ascend into the tree with a gun ; and as the night comes
on, he may seethe fox come after the scent of the trail, when he may shoot him. The
trail should be drawn to the windward of the tree, if he can conveniently contrive so to
do. — Or, set a steel -trap in the plain part of a large field, distant from paths and hedges ;
then open the trap, place it on the ground, cut out the exact shape thereof in a turf, and
take out just so much eartli to make room for it to stand, and then cover it again very
neatly with the turf you cut out. As the joint of the turf will not close exactly, pro-
cure some mould of a mole-hill newly thrown up, and stick some grass on it, as if it
grew there. Scatter some mould of tlie mole-hill very thin three different ways, at the
distance of ten or twelve yards from the trap ; let this mould be thrown on spots fifteen
or sixteen inches square ; and where the trap is placed, lay three or four small pieces of
cheese ; and tlien, with a sheep's paunch, draw a trail a mile or two long to each of these
three places, and from thence to the trap, that the fox may approach one of the places
first; for then he will advance to the trap more boldly; and thus you will be almost
always sure of catching him. You must take care that your trap be left loose, that he
may draw it to some hedge or covert, or he will otherwise bite off his leg, and so make
his escape. — Or near the spot where the fox uses much to resort, fix a stick or pole, much
3 Y 4
1064 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III.
in the same manner as for a woodcock. To explain this more exactly : tie a string to
some pole set fast in the ground, and to this string fasten a small short stick, made thin
on the upper side, with a notch at the lower end of it ; then set another stick fast in the
ground, with a nick under it ; bend down the pole, and let the nicks or notches join in the
slightest degree : then open the noose or string, and place it in the path or walk of the
fox. By strewing flesh-meat, pieces of cheese^ &c., as you pass along, you may entice
the fox to take the same road.
6849. To shoot a fox, anoint the soles of the shoes with swine's fat, a little broiled ; then go towards the
■wood, and, in returning, drop here and there a bit of swine's liver, roasted and dipt in honey, drawing
after you a dead cat ; and by these means he therefore will be allured to follow you.
6850. The fox is sometimes taken with a hook, made of large wire, and turning on a swivel like the
collar of a greyhound ; it is usually hung so high from the ground, that he is compelled to leap to catch
at it ; and baited with fresh liver, cheese, &c. , and if a trail be run with a sheep's paunch, as before .
directed, he will be drawn to the bait with the greatest ease.
6S5 1 . The pole cat [Felis putorius, L. ,) may be caught and destroyed by a dead-fall, con-
structed in the following manner. Take a square piece of wood, weighing forty or fifty
pounds : bore a hole in the middle of the upper side, and set a crooked hook fast in it ;
then set four forked stakes fast in the ground, and lay two sticks across, on which sticks
lay a long staff, to hold the dead fall up to the crook ; and under this crook put a short
stick, and fasten a line to it : this line must reach down to the bridge below ; and this
bridge you must make about five or six inches broad. On both sides of this dead-fall,
place boards or pales, or edge it with close rods, and make it ten or twelve inches high.
Let the entrance be no wider than the breadth of the dead-fall. — A pigeon house,
surrounded with a wet ditch, will tend to preserve the pigeons ; for beasts of prey natur-
ally avoid water.
6852. The weasel, or Foumart^ (Felis vulgaris, L.), though in some respects beneficial,
in as much as when domesticated, it destroys rats, mice, moles, and other noxious
vermin, is nevertheless, in a wild state, a formidable foe to poultry and rabbits. Weasels
may be destroyed by putting in their haunts small pieces of paste, consisting of pul-
verized sal. ammoniac, mixed up with the white of an egg, wheaten flour, and honey.
TJie strewing of rue round the place where hens nestle, is also said to drive away these de-
predators ; as also will the smell of a burnt cat ; as all animals are terrified at the burning
of one of their own, or of a similar species.
6853. The badger {Ursiis meles, L.) destroys great numbers of young pigs, lambs,
and poultry every year. Some use a steel trap, or a spring, such as foxes are taken in,
to catch them. Others sink a pit-fall, five feet in depth and four in length, forming it
narrow at top and bottom, and wider in the middle ; they then cover it wrtli small sticks
and leaves, so that the badger may fall in when he comes on it. Foxes are sometimes
taken in this manner. Others, again, pursue a badger to his hole, and dig him out, this,
is done by moonlight.
6854. The mole {Talpa euro])cea) is injurious by the subterraneous roads and hills of
earth which it forms in grass lands. With regard to the removal of mole hills, various
practices are in use ; but the most effectual is that derived from the experience of a
successful mole-catcher, and communicated to the public by Dr. Darwin, in his P%-
tologia. This man commenced his operations before sun-rising, when he carefully
watched their situation ; and frequently observing the motion of the earth above their
walks, he struck a spade into the ground behind them, cut of their retreat, and then dug
them up. As moles usually place their nests at a greater depth in the ground than their
common habitation lies, and thus form an elevation or mole-hill, the next step is to destroy
these nests by the spade ; after which the frequented paths are to be distinguished from
the bye-roads, for the purpose of setting subterraneous traps. This object may be
effected by marking every new mole-hill with a slight pressure of the foot, and observing
the next day whether a mole has passed over it, and destroyed such mark ; and this
operation should be repeated two or three mornings successively, but without making
the pressure so deep as to alarm the animal, and occasion another passage to be opened.
Now the traps are to be set in frequented paths, and should be made of a hollow, wooden
semi-cylinder, (Jig. 283. ), each end of which should be furnished with grooved rings,
containing two nooses of horse-hair, that are loosely fastened in the centre by means of
a peg, and are stretched above the surface of the ground by a bent stick or strong hoop.
As soon as the mole passes half-way through one of these nooses, and removes the
central peg in its course, the hoop, or bent stick, rises in consequence of it elasticity,
and of course strangles the mole. The simplicity of this mode of destroying mole-
hills and moles, recommends itself to general adoption, as those whose grounds are thus
infested may easily extirpate them, by teaching this practice to their laborers.
6855. 2'he domestic rat (AIus raltus, Ij., Jig- 746.) and cominon mouse, (M. mus-
culus, L.) are extremely destructive to the farmer, whose interest it becomes to
extirpate as many as possible. Among the various expedients suggested for this pur-
pose, the following have been found the most successful.
Book VII. NOXIOUS BIRDS. 106*
6856. When a rat or mouse has been caught, cut or beat him severely, and let him go ; and he will make
uuch a crying noise, that his companions will desert the place. Some persons, indeed, flea off the skin of
their heads ; but this method of extermination is too cruel to be recommended to the practice of any
humane person : or, put a piece of fried rusty ba-
con in the middle of a board, three feet square,
and cover the board pretty tliickly with bird-lime,
leaving some narrow alleys for the vermin to get
at the bacon, in doing which they will frequently
get among the lime and be caught. In Stafford-
shire it is customary to put bird-lime about the
holes, amongst which they run ; and, the bird-
lime adhering to them, they will not cease scratch-
ing until they kill themselves. — Or, mix the ex-
pressed juice of the deadly njght-shade with
wheaten flour or oat-meal ; cut the paste into
small pieces, and put them in the holes or tracks frequented by the rats : though they will not eat this
nauseous dose, its smell is so exceedingly offensive that they will immediately decamp. Of course, the
renewal of this preparation, as often as it loses its odor, will prove an effectual barrier to the return of
these vermin. In order to prevent accidents to domestic animals from the poisons usually employed, it
has been suggested to place the baits in the traps, and to enclose the traps in cases, having holes in the
ends of them large enough to admit rats, but small enough to exclude cats, dogs, &c.
6857. T/ie two following expedients for destroying rats are given in Willick's Dotnestic Encyclopcedia,
vol. iiJ. Among other remedies, he recommends that commonly employed on the continent, when a
sponge is fried with salt butter in a pan ; then compressed between two plates, and cut into small pieces,
which are scattered about the holes frequented by rats and mice. This preparation is devoured with
avidity ; it excites thirst in the animals, which should be gratified by exposing shallow vessels containing
water. On drinking this fluid, after having swallowed the burnt sponge, it distends their stomach, and
proves a fatal repast. — Or, a capacious cask of moderate height must be procured, and put in the vicinity of
places infested with rats. During the first week, this vessel is only employed to allure the rats to visit the
solid top of the cask, by means of boards or planks arranged in a sloping direction to the floor, which are
every dav strewed with oat*meal, or any other food equally grateful to their palate; and the principal part
of which is exposed on the surface. After having thus been lulled into security, and accustomed to find
a regular supply for their meals, a skin of parchment is substituted for the wooden top of the cask, and
the former is cut for several inches, with transverse incisions through the centre, so as to yield on the
smallest pressure. At the same time, a few gallons of water, to the depth of five or six inches, are
poured into the empty cask. In the middle of this element a brick or stone is placed, so as to project one
or two inches above the fluid ; and that one rat may find on the former a place of refuge. These prepa-
ratory measures being taken, the boards as well as the top of the cask should now be furnished with
proper bait, in order to induce them to repeat their visits. No sooner does one of these marauders
plunge through the section of the parchment into the vessel, than it retreats to the brick or stone, and
commences its lamentations for relief. Nor are its whining notes uttered in vain ; others soon follow, and
share the same fate ; when a dreadful conflict begins among them, to decide the possession of the dry
asylum. Battles follow in rapid succession, attended with such loud and noisy shrieks, that all the rats
in the neighborhood hasten to the fatal spot, where they experience similar disasters. Thus hundreds
may be caught by a stratagem, which might be greatly facihtated by exposing a living rat taken in a trap,
or purchased from a professional rat-catcher.
6858. A successful mode of enticing rats has been lately practised by Broad, a farmer at
Thruxton in Herefordshire. He uses a bore trap, two feet long, eight inches wide, and
nine inches deep, and little different in construction from the common one. His secret
consists in scenting light colored malt, and also some wheat straws with oil of carraways,
and not setting the traps for a day or two till the rats have been accustomed to eat the
malt without fear. {F. Mag. xiv. p. 421.)
6859. The water or field rat {Mas amphibius, L.), and the field mouse {M. terreslriSy
fig. 747. )> rnay be destroyed as follows. Go out in
the dog-days, when the fields arc tolerably bare ; and
having found their nests or holes, (which in shape and
size resemble augur -holes) put therein hemlock-seed,
or hellebore, mixed with barley, of which they will
eat so as to destroy themselves. As those vermin
frequently consume seed-corn after it is deposited in the ground, it has been suggested
to steep it in bull's gall, winch will impart to it such a bitter taste that they will not touch
it. Some persons mix sand with their stacked corn, which deters them from burrowing in
it, by falling into the ears. The following method has been found very effectual. Fill
an earthen pot half-full of water, and cover it over with a board that has a hole in the
middle, then cover the board over with straw, pea-haulm, or similar rubbish ; under
which the vermin will take shelter, and, creeping to the hole, will fall through and be
drowned in the water.
Sect. II. Birds injurious to Agriculture.
6860. Of the aves^ the species more peculiarly injurious to the agriculturist is the
kite, (Falco milvus, L.), by its attacks on young poultry. To ensnare them proceed as
follows. Near the place where poultry are kept, let iron gins be fixed, about four
inches broad, which must be baited with chicken, mice, or raw meat ; and thus these
ravenous fowls are easily taken. Some persons stretch lines or nets over the place where
the fowls are ; but nothing drives them away like a well charged gun. Or, steep the
entrails of pigs, fowls, or rabbits, in the lees of wine, into which you have infused a
quantity of nux vomica, and throw the bait where the fowls come in the evening, or
early in tlie morning. This will intoxicate them so that a person waiting near the spot
may easily take them.
1066 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE Part III.
6861. All the granivorous birds are injurious to the farmer at seed time and harvest, aiid
must be deterred by watching or shooting, by scare-crows, as figures of men, cats, &c. ,
by rags dipped in bruised gunpowder and tar, renewed every day or two ; but chiefly
by shooting and fixing up the victims in different places. It must always be recollected
that birds are, with very few exceptions, insectivorous as well as granivorous, and that
frequently they may do much good in destroying the grub and wire worm. This is
more especially the case with the crow tribe, {Corvus, L. ) (See Encyc. of Gard. § 2223.)
Sect. III. Insects injurious in Agriculture.
6862. The insect tribes are by far the most dangerous animals that the agriculturist
has to contend with ; and injurious as they are in Britain, their destructive effects are
here but trifling compared to what is experienced from the locust in eastern countries,
and various insects in North America. Dr. Dwight, in his Travels in New England, re-
lates accounts of the Hessian fly ( Tipula), destroying the crops of entire districts, and
rendering it impossible to cultivate a particular variety of wheat. It made its first ap-
pearance in New England in 1787, and advanced at the rate of 20 miles a year. A ca-
terpillar called the palmer worm appeared in 1770. Its march was from west to east;
walls and fences were no obstruction to its course, nor indeed was any thing else, except
the sides of trenches. It destroyed, rather than devoured, ascending a stalk of grass, or
grain, cutting it off in a moment, and, without staying to eat any part of it, rapidly re-
peating the same process on all which stood its way. The meadows, where it most
abounded, appeared as if they had been mown with a dull scythe ; and the grain, as if it
had been reaped with a sickle which had gaps, and therefore had cut the stalks in a
scattering, slovenly manner. In some places, immense multitudes of these animals died
in the trenches, which were formed to stop their progress, and were left uncovered. The
mass soon became foetid and loathsome ; and was supposed in several instances, to produce
a fever distressing, and sometimes fatal. The canker worm, another caterpillar, lives on
apple-trees, and entirely strips them of their leaves in the course of four Aveeks. A sort
of grasshopper appears occasionally in vast numbers, and not only eats every thing of
the vegetable kind, but even " the garments of labourers hung up in the field while
they are at work, which they destroy in a few hours." (Dwight's Travels, vol. ii.
p. 384. ) Every species of larger animal and plant seems to have a particular species
of insect which it is destined to support, and to which it will fall a victim unless in vigo-
rous health ; and in the case of animals, notonly in good health, but in the habit of using
the means which nature or art suggests for their suppression or destruction. We shall
first offer some general remarks on the nature of insects, and next describe a few belong-
ing to each of the Linnaean orders.
SuBSECT. 1 . Of the Physiology of the Insect Tribes.
6863. Insects are distinguished from quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles by their more
numerous feet, being without bones, and by their head being furnished with a pair of
antenna; or horns. From tlie vermes, or worm-like animals, insects are sufficiently dis-
tinguished by their having feet.
6864. Taking a general view of insects we find most of them are oviparous ; of course
the first state in which insects appear is that of an ovum or egg. This relates to the
generality of insects, for there are some examples of viviparous insects, as in the general
aphis, musca, &c. The eggs of insects (fg. 748 ) 748
are of two sorts : the first membranaceous, like the
eggs of the tortoise, and the other reptiles ; the other
covered with a shell like those of the birds. Their
figure varies exceedingly ; some are round, some
elliptical, some lenticular, some cylindrical, some
pyramidal, some flat, some square, but the round
and oval are the most common. As an example of
the various shapes of the eggs of insects, and of
their natural as well as magnified size, we refer to
those of tlie common slug (a), phalajna nupta (6),
brown-tailed moth (c), currant moth [d), common
gooseberry moth (e;, turnip butterfly {f ), spider (g),
house cricket {h), and common chafer (i).
6865. The egs of insects seldom increase in size, from the time they have been deposited
by the parent, till they are hatched ; those of the tenthredo, however, and of some others,
are observed to increase in bulk. At first there is nothing to be perceived in the eggs
of insects but a watery fluid; after some little time, the head, like an obscure point, is
observable in the centre. The little insect remains in the egg till its limbs have acquired
strength to break the egg and make its escape ; the different species of insects remain
enclosed in the egg for very different periods ; some continue enclosed only a few days,
Book VII.
NOXIOUS INSECTS.
low
others remain for several months. The eggs of many insects remain without being
hatched during the whole winter, and the young insects do not come forth from them
till the season at which the leaves of the vegetables on which they feed begin to expand.
6866. The insect in its second or caterpillar state {Jig. 749. ) has been usually known
7^9
by the name of eruca or larva, being a sort of masked form or disguise of the insect in its
complete state. The larvae of insects differ very much from each other, according to the
several tribes to which they belong ; those of tlje butterfly (Papilio) and moth (Phalcena)
tribes are generally known by the name of caterpillars ; those of the beetle (Scarab^us),
except such as inhabit the water, are of a thick, clumsy form, called grubs. The larvae
of the locust or grasshopper [Gryllus), do not differ much in appearance from the com-
plete insect ; except being without wings. The larvae of flies {Musca), bees {Apis)^ &c.
are generally known by the name of maggots, and are of a thick short form. Those of
water-beetles (Di/liscus) are of very singular forms, and differ, perhaps, more from that
of the complete insect than any other, except those of the butterfly tribe. Some insects
undergo no change of shape, but are hatched from the egg complete in all their parts,
and they undergo no farther alteration than that of casting their skin from time to time,
till they acquire the complete resemblance of the parent animal. In the larva state most
insects are peculiarly voracious, as are many of the common caterpillars. In their per-
fect state some insects, as butterflies, are satisfied with the lightest nutriment, while others
devour animal and vegetable substances with a considerable degree of avidity. As an
example of the caterpillar state of some of the commoner insects, we may refer to that of
the privet moth (Sphinx liguslri,Jig. 749 «) ; the cabbage butterfly (Papilio brassica, h) ; the
turnip butterfly (P. nnpi, c) ; gooseberry moth {Phalcena u'avaria, d) ; the currant moth
(PA. grossularia, e) ; the dragon fly (Libellula virgo, J") ; the common chafer [Scarabceus
melolontha^ g\ ; the phryganea rhombica (/i) ; the frog-hopper {Cicada sjmnutria, i] ; and
the musca pumilionis (k).
6867. JFhe7i the larva is about to change into the chrysalis or jmpa state (fig- 750.) it
ceases to feed, and having placed itself in ^
some quiet situation, lies still for several
hours, and then, by a sort of effort, it divests
itself of its external skin, and immediately
appears in the different form of a chrysalis
or pupa ; in this state, likewise, the insects
of different genera differ almost as much as
the larViT. In most of the beetle tribe it
is furnished with short legs, capable of
some degree of motion, though very rarely
exerted. In the butterfly tribe it is desti-
tute of legs ; but in the locust tribe it
differs very little from the perfect insect,
excej'.t in not having the wings complete.
In most of Ihe fly tribe it is perfectly oval,
without any apparent motion or distinction
of parts. The pupa of the bee is not so
shapeless as that of flies, exhibiting the faint
appearance of limbs. Those of the dragon fly (Libellula) differ most widely from the ap-
pearance of the complete insect ; from the pupa emerges the image or insect in its ultimate
form, from which it never changes, nor receives any farther increase of growth. As
examples of the chrysalis of various insects, we give those of the beetle (Scarabteus
1066
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE
Part III.
6861. All the granivorous birds are i7ijurious to the farmer at seed time and harvest, and
must be deterred by watching or shooting, by scare-crows, as figures of men, cats, &c. ,
by rags dipped in bruised gunpowder and tar, renewed every day or two ; but chiefly
by shooting and fixing up the victims in different places. It must always be recollected
that birds are, with very few exceptions, insectivorous as well as granivorous, and that
frequently they may do much good in destroying the grub and wire worm. This is
more especially the case with the crow tribe, (Corvus, L,) (See Encyc. of Gard. § 2223.)
Sect. III. Insects injurious in Agriculture.
6862. The insect tribes are by far the most dangerous animals that the agriculturist
has to contend with ; and injurious as they are in Britain, their destructive effects are
here but trifling compared to what is experienced from the locust in eastern countries,
and various insects in North America. Dr. Dwight, in his Travels in New England, re-
lates accounts of the Hessian fly ( Tipula), destroying the crops of entire districts, and
rendering it impossible to cultivate a particular variety of wheat. It made its first ap-
pearance in New England in 1787, and advanced at the rate of 20 miles a year. A ca-
terpillar called the palmer worm appeared in 1 770. Its march was from west to east ;
walls and fences were no obstruction to its course, nor indeed was any thing else, except
the sides of trenches. It destroyed, rather than devoured, ascending a stalk of grass, or
grain, cutting it off in a moment, and, without staying to eat any part of it, rapidly re-
peating the same process on all which stood its way. The meadows, where it most
abounded, appeared as if they had been mown with a dull scythe ; and the grain, as if it
had been reaped with a sickle which had gaps, and therefore had cut the stalks iji a
scattering, slovenly manner. In some places, immense multitudes of these animals died
in the trenches, which were formed to stop their progress, and were left uncovered. The
mass soon became foetid and loathsome ; and was supposed in several instances, to produce
a fever distressing, and sometimes fatal. The canker worm, another caterpillar, lives on
apple-trees, and entirely strips them of their leaves in the course of four u'eeks. A sort
of grasshopper appears occasionally in vast numbers, and not only eats every thing of
the vegetable kind, but even *' the garments of labourers hung up in the field while
they are at work, which they destroy in a few hours." (Divight^s Travels, vol. ii.
p. 384.) Every species of larger animal and plant seems to have a particular species
of insect which it is destined to support, and to which it will fall a victim unless in vigo-
rous health ; and in the case of animals, notonly in good health, but in the habit of using
the means which nature or art suggests for their suppression or destruction. We shall
first offer some general remarks on the nature of insects, and next describe a few belong-
ing to each of the Linnaean orders.
SuBSECT. 1 . Of the Physiology of the Insect Tribes.
6863. Insects are distinguished from quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles by their more
numerous feet, being without bones, and by their head being furnished with a pair of
antenna; or horns. From the vermes, or worm-like animals, insects are suflSciently dis-
tinguished by their having feet.
6864. Taking a general view of insects we find most of them are oviparous ; of course
the first state in which insects appear is that of an ovum or egg. This relates to the
generality of insects, for there are some examples of viviparous insects, as in the general
aphis, musca, &c. The eggs of insects (fg. 748 ) 748
are of two sorts : the first membranaceous, like the
eggs of the tortoise, and the other reptiles ; the other
covered with a shell like those of the birds. Their
figure varies exceedingly ; some are round, some
elliptical, some lenticular, some cylindrical, some
pyramidal, some flat, some square, but the round
and oval are the most common. As an example of
the various shapes of the eggs of insects, and of
their natural as well as magnified size, we refer to
those of the common slug (a), phalaena nupta {b],
brown-tailed moth (c), currant moth (rf), common
gooseberry moth (e;, turnip butterfly (f ), spider (g),
house cricket {h], and common chafer (i).
6865. The egs of insects seldom increase in size, from the time they have been deposited
by the parent, till they are hatched ; those of the tenthredo, however, and of some others,
are observed to increase in bulk. At first there is nothing to be perceived in the eggs
of insects but a watery fluid; after some little time, the head, like an obscure point, is
observable in the centre. The little insect remains in the egg till its limbs have acquired
strength to break the egg and make its escape ; the different species of insects remain
enclosed in the egg for very different periods ; some continue enclosed only a few days,
Book VI :
NOXIOUS INSECTS.
1067
others remain for several months. The eggs of many insects remain without being
hatched during the whole winter, and the young insects do not come forth from them
till the season at which the leaves of the vegetables on which they feed liegin to expand.
6866. The insect in its second or caterpillar state {Jig. 749. ) has been usually known
749
by the name of eruca or larva, being a sort of masked form or disguise of the insect in its
complete state. The larvae of insects differ very much from each other, according to the
several tribes to which they belong ; those of the butterfly {Papilio) and moth [Phalcena)
tribes are generally known by the name of caterpillars ; those of the beetle (Scarabieus),
except such as inhabit the water, are of a thick, clumsy form, called grubs. The larvae
of the locust or grasshopper [Gryllus), do not differ much in appearance from the com-
plete insect ; except being without wings. The larvae of flies {Musca)y bees {Ajns)^ &c.
are generally known by the name of maggots, and are of a thick short form. Those of
water-beetles {Dytiscus) are of very singular forms, and differ, perhaps, more from that
of the complete insect than any other, except those of the butterfly tribe. Some insects
undergo no change of shape, but are hatched from the egg complete in all their parts,
and they undergo no farther alteration than that of casting their skin from time to time,
till they acquire the complete resemblance of the parent animal. In the larva state most
insects are peculiarly voracious, as are many of the common caterpillars. In their per-
fect state some insects, as butterflies, are satisfied with the lightest nutriment, while others
devour animal and vegetable substances with a considerable degree of avidity. As an
example of the caterpillar state of some of the commoner insects, we may refer to that of
the privet moth [Sphinx ligustri,Jig. 749 a) ; the cabbage birtterfly (Papilio brassica, b) ; the
turnip butterfly (P. 7inpi, c) ; gooseberry moth (Phalcena wavaria, d) ; the currant moth
{Ph. grossularia, e) ; the dragon fly {Libcllula virgo, f) ; the common chafer {Scarabceus
tnelolontha, g) ; the phryganea rhombica {h) ; the frog-hopper {Cicada sjmrjiaria, i) ; and
the musca pumilionis (ijf).
6867. When the larva is about to change into the chrysalis or jnqm state {fig. 750.) it
ceases to feed, and having placed itself in
some quiet situation, lies still for several
hours, and then, by a sort of effort, it divests
itself of its external skin, and immediately
appears in the different form of a chrysalis
or pupa ; in this state, likewise, the insects
of different genera differ almost as much as
the larva*. In most of the beetle tribe it
is furnished with short legs, capable of
some degree of motion, though very rarely
exerted. In the butterfly tribe it is desti-
tute of legs ; but in the locust tribe it
differs very little from the perfect insect,
except in not having the wings complete.
In most of the fly tribe it is perfectly oval,
without any apparent motion or distinction
of parts. The pupa of the bee is not so
shapeless as that of flies, exhibiting the faint
appearance of limbs. Those of the dragon fly {Libelhda) differ most widely from the ap-
pearance of the complete insect ; from the pupa emerges the image or insect in its ultimate
form, from which it never changes, nor receives any farther increase of growth. As
examples of the chrysalis of various insects, wc give those of tlie beetle {Scarabceus
'50
1070 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. ' Part III.
constituting one of the heaviest afflictions that can happen to a country. The mischiefs done by the
blattffi, or cock-roaclies, is trifling compared with -those of this destroying tribe, for the dreadful ra-
vages committed by the locusts are such as to reduce the most fertile fields to the appearance of barren
deserts ; they devour the fruits, leaves, and even the buds and bark of trees, and have even been
known to devour the reeds used in thatching the hurhan habitations, so unfortunate as to be visited
by these devouring hordes. Jackson depicts their ravages in the empire of Morocco, and gives a figure
of the insect {fig. 755.) of half the natural size. In
Abyssinia, China, and other countries, the caterpillar
or larva of certain species of roaches and locusts is, like
that of some beetles, eaten by the natives.
6882. A species of grasshopper apparently peculiar
to New England is mentioned by Dr. Dwight, as
appearing periodically. He says, " As I had no op-
portunity of examining them, I cannot describe their
form or their size. Their favorite food is clover
and maize. Of the latter, they devour tlie part which
is called the silk, the immediate means of fecundating
the ear, and thus prevent the kernel from coming to
perfection. But their voracity extends to almost every
vegetable, even to the tobacco plant and the burdock.
Nor are they confined to vegetables alone. The gar-
ments of laborers, hung up in the field while they are
at work, these insects destroy in a few hours, and with the same voracity they devour the loose particles
which the saw leaves upon the surface of pine boards, and which, when separated, are termed .saw-dust.
The appearance of a board fence, from which the particles had been eaten in this manner, and which I saw,
was novel and singular, and seemed the result, not of the operations of the plane, hut of attrition, the cause
of which I was unable to conjecture. At times, particularly a little before their disappearance, they
collect in clouds, rise high in the atmosphere, and take extensive flights, of wiiicli neither the cause
nor the direction has hitherto been discovered. I was authentically informed in Shaftsbury, that some
persons, employed in raising the steeple of the church in VVilliamstown, were, while standing near the
vane, covered by them; and saw at the same time vast swarms of them flying far above their heads.
The customary "flight of grasshoppers rarely exceeds four or five yards, and their wings are apparently
so weak as to forbid excursions extended much beyond these limits. It is to be observed, however, that
they customarily return, and perish on the very grounds which they have ravaged." [Divight's Travels, &c.
vol. ii. p. 385.)
6883. The frog-hopper, or cucJcow-spit insect, (Cicada), feeds on various kinds of plants; the grub or
larva is without wings ; in the pupa the wings are very short; but in both states they are exceedingly
active. The males are distinguishable by their loud chirping note, the females are quite mute. In the
fly state, they are found on the leaves and stems of plants, and irt the immature state about the roots of
grass and trees. The white froth-like spittle, which is seen on the leaves and stalks of many kinds of
plants in the summer season, is produced by the black-headed frog-hopper {Cicada spumaria,fig. 754- b},
and if this froth be wiped off and examined, it will be found to contain the larva or young of the cicada :
and this matter, whicn is discharged from its own body, no doubt serves to protect it from the attacks of
other insects.
6884. The plant-louse, vine-fretter, or Y>nceron," {Aphis) is a very common insect, the numerous species
being denominated from the trees and plants which they infest. The males are winged, and the females
•without wings ; they are viviparous, producing their young alive in the spring: and also oviparous, lay-
ing eggs in the autumn. As these insects derive their nourishment from the juices of the plants which
they infest, nature has wisely ordained that the females should lay eggs in the autumn, though
they bring forth their young alive all the spring and summer months. This is to prevent them from
being starved for the want of food in winter. The young burst forth from their eggs in spring as soon as
there are leaves to subsist upon. Their noxious effects are well known to the gardener. They sometimes
migrate, and suddenly fall in showers on spots that were until then free from their ravages. Water
dashed with force from a syringe will prove as destructive to them as any thing when on trees ; and
smaller plants may be washed with lime-water, with tobacco-water, with elder leaves infused in water, or
with common soap-suds, any of which will destroy the insects. The larvae of the lady-bird eat thousands
of them, some species of ichneumon and common ants also destroy them ; and some conjecture that it
would probably prove serviceable to scatter ants, which may always be procured in abundance, upon in-
fested trees. The aphides sometimes settle upon the tops of beans, covering them so thickly as to make
them appear quite black : in such cases the crops may often be preserved by cutting off the tops, a practice
which is likewise adopted, independently of this pest requiring it, for the punjose of increasing the
yield of beans. {Dr. Skrimshire's Essays, Introd. to Nat. Hist., vol. i. p. 149.) The lose-tree is, after a
mild spring, greatly injured by a species of aphis {A. rosce). I'he best mode of remedying this evil is'to
lop off the infected shoots before the insects are greatly multiplied, repeating the same operation be-
fore the eggs are deposited. By the first pruning a very numerous increase will be prevented, and by
the second, the following year's supply ma-% in a great measure, be cut off! If it were not for the
numerous enemies to which the aphis is exposed, their wonderful fecundity is such that the leaves,
branches, and stems of every plant would be totally covered with them. Myriads of insects of different
classes, of different genera, and of different species, seem to be produced for no other purpose than to
devour the aphis. On every leaf inhabited by them we find caterpillars of different kinds. These
feed not upon the leaves, but upon the pucerons, whom they devour with an almost incredible rapacity.
Some of these larvas are transformed into insects with two wings, others into flies with four wings, and
others into beetles. While in the larva state one of these glutinous insects will suck out the vitals of
twenty pucerons in a quarter of an hour. Reaumur supplied a single caterpillar with more than a
hundred pucerons, every one of which it devoured in less than three hours.
6883. The chermes {fig. 15^ c, d, c.) is a genus very generally confounded with aphis ; it also inhabits
the leaves and stems of plants, and by its punctures, produces excrescences and protuberances of various
sizes and shapes, which are generally found to enclose either the egg or immature insect, in the larva
state ; it is six-footed, hairy or woolly, and without wings ; and in the pupa are two protuberances from
the thorax, which are the rudiments of the future wings. The winged insects (c) leap or spring with great
agility, and infest a number of different trees and plants : the females (d); by means of a tube at the ter-
mination of their bodies, insert their eggs under the surface of the leaves ; and the worms, when hatched,
give rise to those tubercles, or galls, with which the leaves of the ash, the fir, and other trees, are some-
times almost entirely covered. The old females, before depositing their eggs, expand to a comparatively
large size (<?).
6886. The thrips genus {fig. IB'if. ) consists of very small insects, found chiefly on the flowers of plants,
and, excepting when very numerous, are not very detrimental. The natural size is very minute, and
therefore to search for this insect a magnifying glass is required.
6887. Of the cochineal or coccus genus {fig. 754 g.) there are several species very injurious in gardens, the
peach, vine, pine, and orange bugs. They are very well known to gardeners, and are almost exclusively
found in hot-houses. The males are active, but the females are very inert, being generally fixed to differ-
ent parts of plants. The eggs, of their natural size, are mere dots, magnified (") they appear of an oval
shape ; the larva is proportionally small, but magnified {h) is oblong and roundish ; the males (/) only have
wings, and require to be magnified to show their form (A) ; the female attains a considerable size (/), and.
Book VII.
NOXIOUS INSECTS.
1071
when hatching, becomes enveloped in a case of wool (m). Brushing off these creatures is the only effectual
remedy, and, if set about at once and persevered in, will save the trouble of many prescril)ed washes and
powders, which are mere palliatives. Happily the British agriculturist has little to do with them.
SuBSECT. 4. Of Lejndoplerous Insects.
6888. The lejndoptera contains the butterfly, moth, and hawk-moth; they have four
wings covered with scales or a sort of farina ; they have a mouth, with palpi, a spiral
tongue, and the body covered with hair. The scales resemble feathers ; they lie over one
another in an imbricated manner, the shaft towards the body of the insect, and the ex-
pansion towards the end of the wing, reflecting the most brilliant colors.
6889. Of the biitterfly genus {PapUio,'L.) many thou&BinCi species SLXc^i-novin in Europe, and in England
alone more than eleven hundred have been collected by one celebrated entomologist.
;~6890. The larvce, or young, oi the A\fferenl]&.\nAs of butterflies and moths, when in that state in which
they come from the egg, are called caterpillars. These, which are very minute at first, feed generally on
the leaves of vegetables, and increase in size. They cast their skins occasionally, and sometimes change
in color and markings, but never in their general appearance or in their habits. Eating seems to be their
sole employment ; and when they meet with food that suits their palate they are extremely voracious,
committing great havoc in gardens. But the same cause which restrains the depredations of the aphides
and other insects has also set bounds to the destruction occasioned by the caterpillar, who has myriads of
internal as well as external enemies. Many flies deposit their eggs in the bodies of caterpillars. From
these eggs proceed small maggots, which gradually devour the vitals of the animal in which they reside.
When about to be transformed into chrysalids, they pierce the skin of the caterpillar, spin their pods, and
remain on the empty skin till they assume the form of flies, and escape into the air to perform the same
cruel office to another unfortunate larva. Every person must recollect to have seen the colewort or cab-
bage caterpillar stuck upon old walls, or the windows of country cottages, totally covered with these chry-
salids, which have the form of small maggots, and are of a fine yellow colour. One of the most formida-
ble enemies of the caterpillar is a black worm, with six crustaceous legs : it is longer and thicker than an
ordinary-sized caterpillar. In the fore part of the head it has two curved pincers, with which it quickly
pierces the belly of a caterpillar, and never quits the prey till it is entirely devoured. The largest cater-
pillar is not sufficient to nourish this larva for a single day ; for it daily kills and eats several of them.
These gluttons, when gorged with food, become unactive, and almost motionless ; when in this satiated
condition, young larvte of the same species attack and devour them. Of all trees, the oak perhaps nou-
rishes the greatest number of different caterpillars, as well as of different insects. Among others, the
oak is inhabited by a large and beautiful beetle. This beetle frequents the oak, probably because that tree
is inhabited .by the greatest number of caterpillars. It marches from branch to branch, and, when dis-
posed for food, attacks and devours the first caterpillar that comes in its way.
6891. Chrysalis state. When full grown, the caterpillar seeks some retreat, to prepare for an important
change, viz. from the soft caterpillar, possessing motion and feeding so voraciously, to the hard chrysalis,
fixed immoveably, and sustained without food. The retreat that is chosen and the preparation that is made
for this important change vary essentially in different species : some retire to the sheltered situations of
houses, walls, and other buildings ; some bury themselves in the ground ; some wrap themselves up in leaves ;
others attach themselves to the stalks of plants ; while others again eat into the stems of vegetables, or the
very heart of trees, and there undergo their metamorphosis. Although each kind of caterpillar seeks a
different retreat, yet all of the same species seek the same, and adopt the same means of preservation.
Such as are to lie dormant all winter, seek the warmth of our houses, or dig their way into the ground,
below the influence of the expected frosts. Such as are to leave their prisons in a (evi weeks, anc? before
the end of summer, roll themselves up in the leaves of those plants on which they fed. No caterpillar
that is to remain in the state of a chrysalis till the following summer, attaches itself to an annual plant;
and none that is to enter on its winged state in winter (which some few do) is ever found but upon ever,
greens. In the preparation which is made for their metamorphosis, caterpillars differ as much as in their
selection of a proper place. Some attach themselves by a thread from their tails, and are suspended per-
pendicularly ; while others, among which is the white cabbage butterfly, by another thread across the
body, are suspended horizontally. The silk-worm and several others spin a complete covering or case
for their bodies, some of finer materials and less agglutinated together than others. Some caterpillars form
a ball or nest of the mould in which they are buried, glued together by their saliva, and smoothed within ;
and others fasten two leaves together, or, curling its edges, unite two parts of the same leaf by threads
and bands, and thus form a covering and safe retreat for themselves.
6892. Perfect insect. After the animal has lain dormant its due time in the chrysalis state, the skin
or shell bursts, and the perfect insect, in its winged state, creeps out, gradually expands its wings, and,
when dried, becomes a gay inhabitant of the air. It now no longer seeks to satisfy its hunger on the
gross food that it devoured when a caterpillar, but sips the nectar from the blossoms of the flowers.
Having fulfilled the intentions of nature, they deposit their eggs with care, and, having thus provided for
a future generation, the insect terminates its short but brilliant career. In the deposition of their eggs,
the parent butterflies and moths display wonderful instinct in selecting precisely such places as are best
adapted to their future young ; such plants, for instance, as will furnish food for the new-born cater-
pillars, and such parts of plants as are not likely to be removed by decay, or such as will be exactly in
the required stage of maturity at the time when the caterpillars are to be born. Thus, a little insect ( Tinea
pomona) lays its eggs in the blossom, that its caterpillar may feed on the fruit of the apple j and several
others act in the same provident way.
6893. The most remarkable British butter-
flies are — the purple emperor {Papilio iris),
which appears in July, and is considered
the most beautiful : the peacock butterfly,
(P. Io\ whose wings are of a brownish-
red color with black spots, is sufficient-
ly common in the south of England,
but extremely rare in the north : the tor-
toise-shell butterfly (P. urticce,Jlg. 756.)
which appears in its winged state about the
month of April, is one of the most com-
mon, at the same time the most beautiful
of the British lepidoptera ; tlie upper wings
are red, and marked with alternate bands
of black and pale orange ; the eggs (a),
caterpillar (6), and chrysalis (c) are each
elegant in their kind. The mazarine blue butterfly (P. cymon) is also an admired species
1072
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE
Part III.
' 6894. 77ie hawk-moth, sphi/nge, or sphinx, is chiefly Bocn in the even'mg. The name sphynx is applied to
the genus on account of the posture assumed by the larvee of several of the larger species, which are often
seen in an attitude much resembling that of the Egyptian sphynx, with the fore parts elevated, and the
rest of the body applied flat to the surface. One of the most elegant insects of this genus is the privet
hawk-moth {Sphinx ligustri, fig. 151.), measuring
757
nearly four inches and a half from wing's end to
wing's end. The caterpillar (^^. 748 a), which is very
large, is smooth, and of a fine green, with seven ob-
lique purple and white stripes along each side : at
the extremity of the body, or top of the last joint, is a
horn or process pointing backwards. This beau-
tiful cater^Hllar is often found in the months of July
and August, feeding on the privet, the lilac, the
poplar, and some other trees, and generally changes
to a chrysalis {Jig. 151 a) in August or September,
retiring for that purpose to a considerable depth
beneath the surface of the ground; and after cast-
ing its skin, continuing during the whole winter in
a dormant state, the sjihinx emerging from it in
the succeeding June. The egg of the sphinx (A) is
very different from that of the papilio. Another
perhaps still more beautiful insect is the sphinx
ocellata, or eyed hawk-moth, which is principally
found on the willow-tree, in its perfect state, in the
month of June. The largest and most remarkable
of the British hawk-moths, is the sphinx atropos,
or death's head hawk-moth. The upper wings are
of a fine dark-grey color, with a few slight va-
riegations of dull orange and white; the under
wings are of a bright orange color, marked by a pair of transverse black bands : the body is also orange-
colored, with the sides marked by black bars : on the top of the thorax is a very large patch of a most
singular appearance, exactly resembling the usual figure of a skull, or death's head, and is of a pale grey,
varied with dull ochre color and black. When in the least disturbed or irritated, this insect emits a stri-
dulous sound, sometimes like the squeaking of a bat or mouse ; and from this circumstance, as well as from
the mark above mentioned, is held in much dread by the vulgar in several parts of Europe, its appear-
ance being regarded as a kind of ill omen, or harbinger of approaching fate. The caterpillar from which
this curious sphinx proceeds, which is principally found on the potatoe and the jessamine, is in the highest
degree beautiful, measuring sometimes five inches in length ; its color is a bright yellow, and its sides are
marked by stripes of a mixed violet and sky-blue color. It usually changes into a chrysalis in the month
of Sei)tember, and emerges the complete insect in June or July following : some individuals; however, change
in July or August, and produce the moth in November.
" 6895. The moths {Phalcence) are a numerous genus like the sphinges. They fly abroad only in the even-
ing and during the night, and obtain their food from the nectar of flowers. The larva is active and quick
in motion, and preys voraciously on the leaves of plants. The most remarkable British moths are the
clothes-moth {P. sarcitella,fig.l 58 a) ; the eggs of which are deposited on woollen clothes, furs, &c. on
which the larvae feed and change to chrysalids, appearing in the imago state in August. The most trouble-
some in gardens are the cabbage-moth (P. oleracea, b) ; the gooseberry-moth (P. wavaria, c) ; the currant-
moth (P. grossularia, d) ; and the codling-moth, common on fruit-trees, hedges, and oak-trees, (P. po.
monella, e)- i
SoBSECT. 5. Of Neuropterous, or Kerve-winged Insects.
6896. The neurojitera, or nerve-winged insects, have four naked membranaceous wings,
but no sting ; and they differ from the last order, as their wings are without their minute
scales or down. Most of the insects in this family are aquatic, residing in the water
during their immature state, and resorting thereto in their perfect state.
6897. TJie dragon-fly {Libellula) is well known as frequenting rivers, lakes, pools, and stagnating Avatcrs,
in which the females deposit their eggs. The egg, when deposited by the parent in the water, sinks to the
bottom, and remains there till the young insect has acquired sufficient maturity and strength to burst
from its confinement. The larva, at first small, increases to nearly half the size of the perfect fly, by
changing its skin at different intervals, like the caterpillars of moths and butterflies. The slender-bodied
dragon- fly (L. virco, fig. 759 a.) is the most common.
6898. The day.jiy {Ephemera) differs in many respects from all other insects. The larv£B•^ive in the
water, where earth and clay seem to be their only nourishment, for three years, the time they consume in
preparing for their change, which is performed in a few moments. The larva, when ready to quit that
state, rises to the surface of the water, and getting instantaneously rid of its skin, becomes a chrysalis. This
chrysalis is furnished with wings, which it makes use of to fly to the nearest tree or wall ; and there set-
tling, it in the same moment quits a second skin, and becomes a perfect ephemera. In this state all the
species live but a very short time, some of them scarcely half an hour, having no other business to perform
than that of continuing the race. They are called the insects of a day ; but very few oi them ever sec flie
Book VII.
NOXIOUS INSECTS.
1073
light of the s'.iii, being prodiircHl after sunset, during the short nights of summer, and dying long before
the dawn. All their enjoyments, therefore, excepting coition, are confined to their larva state. The E.
vulgata l^fig. 15'J f>) is the largest British species.
6899. The spring fly {Phry^^anea), in the caterpillar static, lives in the water, and is covered with a silken
tube. The caterpillars or larvse have a very singular aspect ; for, by means of a gluten, they attach to the
tubes in which they are enclosed small pieces of wood, sand, gravel, leaves of plants, and not unfrequently
live on testaceous animals, all of which they drag along with them. They are very commonly found on
the leaves of the water-cress; and, as they are often entirely covered with them, they have the appear-
ance of animal plants. They are in great request among fishermen, by whom they are distinguish^ by
the name of stone or cod-bait. The fly, or jjcrfect insect, frequents running water, in which the females
deposit their eggs. P. rhombica {fig. 159 c) is common.
SuBSECT. 6. Of Hymenojyterous Insects.
6900. The order hymenoiHera, or four-winged insects with stints, includes the gall
insect, wasp, Lee, ant, &c. At the extremity of the abdomen, the females of several of tlie
genera have an aculeus or sting, that lies concealed within the abdomen, which is used as
a weapon, and instils into the wound an acrid poison : those which want the sting are
furnished with an oviduct that is often serrated, and with which the eggs are deposited,
either in the bodies of the caterpillars of other insects, or in wood. From these eggs the
larvjE are produced, which in some have no feet, in others more than sixteen. They
change to pupcB incompletce, which are enclosed in cases. Some of the insects of this
order live in societies, others are solitary.
6901. The gall-fly {Cyrups) pierces the leaves, &c. of plants with its sting, and deposits it eggs in (he
wound ; the extravasated juices rise round it, and form a gall (flg. 760 a) which becomes hard ; and in this
the larva (b) lives and feeds, and changes to a pupa (c c), and afterwards to the imago or perCect insect
(rf). The C. quercus folii {.fig. 760 d), and C. glechomatis, or ground-ivy gall-fly, are very common.
6902 . The saw-fly {Tenthredo), in the larva state 7G0
{fi:;. 760 ri, bears a strong resemblance to some of
the caterpillars of the lepidopterous insects ; but is
distinguishable by the number of the feet, which
are never fewer than sixteen, exclusive of the
thoracic pairs ; the larvEc feed on the leaves of
plants, and the pupa is enclosed in a strong gummy
case (/), retiring in the autumn, and the perfect
fly {g) emerges early in the ensuing spring. The
serrated sting is used by the female in the manner
of a saw, to make incisions in the twigs, or stems
of plants, where it deposits its eggs. T. ros«
{fig. 760 e, fyg), is a common species. The T. gros-
sularifE {h) is also frequent in gardens ; both are
very troublesome species of this genus.
6903. The ichneumon is a very numerous genus,
there being upwards of 800 British species. The .^«
eggs, in most kinds, are deposited in the bodies of "^
caterpillars or pupas, which are there hatched :
the larvffi have no feet ; they are soft and cylin-
drical, and feed on the substance of the caterpillar ;
this last continues to feed and even to undergo its
change into a chrysalis, but never turns to a per-
feet insect : when the larvae of the ichneumon
are full grown they issue forth, spin themselves
a silky web, and change into a pupa incompleta, and in a few days the fly appears. The I. manifestator
{fig. 760 i) is common in woods.
65X)4. The bee {Apis), wasp {Vespa), and ant {Formica), are well known. All the species of ant are of
three sorts, male, female, and neuter. The neuters alone labor; they form the ant-hill, bring in the
provisions, feed the young, bring them to the air during the day, carry them back at night, defend them
against attacks, &c. The females are said to be retained merely for laying eggs, and as soon as that is
accomplished they are unmercifully discarded. The males and females perish with the first cold ; the
neuters lie torpid in their nest, and thus nature compensates them by duration, what it denies them in
intensity of enjoyment.
SuBSECT. 7. Of Dipterous Insects.
6905. The diptera, or two-winged insects, have two wings, and behind or below them
two globular bodies, supported on slender pendicles, called halteres or poisers.
3 Z
At the
1074
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE.
Part 1X1.
761
mouth they have a proboscis, Bometimes contained in a vagina, and sometimes furnished
at its sides with two palpi, but no maxilla. Their eyes are reticulated and large. The
females, in general, lay eggs, but some are viviparous ; the larvae of the insects of this
order are as various in their appearance as the places in which they are bred. In general
they do not cast their skins, but change into a pupa state. Flies, strictly so called, gad-
flies, and gnats belong to this order.
6906. The gad-fly {(Estrus) is a genus exceedingly
troublesome to horses, cattle, and sheep, in the skins
of which they deposit their eggs, {Jig. 761 n), wiiich
soon change into larva; {b), that feed under the skin
of living animals, and often line the stomachs ot
horses under the name of bots {Clarke, in Linn.
Trans, vol. iii.) ; the larvae are soft, smooth, annu-
late, without feet, and in most species furnished
with hook-like appendages : the chrysalis (c) differs
little in form from the larvae. The O. bovis (rf) in.
tests oxen ; O. haemorrhoidalis {e), horses ; and O. ovia,
sheep.
6907. The crane-fly {Tipula) resembles the gnat, it
feeds on various substances ; the larvae are without
feet, soft and cylindrical ; pupa cylindrical, horned ;
some species reside amongst the roots of aquatic vege-
tables, others amongst grass, as that well-known pest,
the wire-worm ; but by far the greater number are
aquatic. The perfect flics are found in abundance
in the autumnal months. The T. oleracea, or long-
legs, feeds on the roots of the cabbage ; and the
T. crocato {fig. 103. a) and other species inhabit
meadows, and are common from spring to autumn .
The wheaUfly {T.tritlci, h), twelve of which have
been observed at one time laying their eggs in a
iingle ear of wheat, would soon become of serious injury to mankind, were not their race kept within
due bounds by several natural enemies, particularly the ichneumon tipulae. The well-known gaftor long-
legs, so frequently seen in houses in the autumnal evenings, flying about the flame of the candles, and
often perishing in the blaze, is the T. rivosa (c), one of the largest species of the genus. The eggs of the
wheat-fly (d) are very small : when magnified they appear roundish {e) ; the larvae also (/), and the
perfect insect (6), to be studied, should be magnified {g, h).
6908. The fly genus {Musca) presents many curious species. The common flesh-fly {M. vomiioria, fig.
763 a) deposits its eggs on the meat in our shambles and larders. These eggs {b) speedily become larva; (c)
are soon full grown {d), change to tlie chrysalis state {e), /rgo
and in a month the fly appears {a). The rapid multipli-
cation of the fly is thus calculated by Leuwenhoeck.
" Let us suppose, that in the beginning of June there
shall be two flies, a male and a female, and the female
shall lay 144 eggs, which eggs, in the beginning of July,
shall be changed into flies, one half males and the other
half females, each of which females shall lay the like
number of eggs; the number of flies will amount to
10,000 : and, supposing the generation of them to proceed
in like manner another month, their number will then
be more than 700,000, all produced from one couple of
flies in the space of three months." The Hessian fly
{M. pupilionis, f) is very destructive to wheat and rye,
and has occasionally been a source of great alarm to our
agriculturists. The cheese-fly (3/. 73?//m,/f), well known
to housewives under the name of hopper, deposits its eggs
in the crevices or holes of the cheese, whence those nu-
merous maggots {h), that so much amuse us by their
agility and surprising leaps. One of these insects, not a
quarter of an inch in length, has been known to leap
out of a box six inches deep. The chrysalis {i) is straight
and crusty.
0909. The gnat {Culex) is frequently in the neighbor-
hood of waters and marshy places. In southern regions
there is a large species, which is known by the name of
tnusquito. Its bite is painful, raising a considerable de-
gree of inflammation, and its continual piping note is exceedingly irksome where it abounds, especially
during the night. When it settles to inflict the wound and draw the blood, it raises its hind pair of feet.
In Lapland, the injuries the inhabitants sustain from it are amply repaid ,by the vast number of water-
Book VII. NOXIOUS WORM TRIBES. i^$
fowl and wild-fowl which it attracts, as it forms the favorite food of their young. The fecundity of the
common gnat (C. pipiens, fig. 103 k) is as remarkable as that of the flesh-fly.
6910. 77ie iabanus genus greatly resembles musca, and produces some species troublesome to men and
other animals, on whose blood they feed. The spider-fly (Hlppobosca) inhabits woods. The species known
as thcjorest-fty (//. equina, fig. 7(53/) is particularly tormenting to the liorsc.
SuBSECT. 8. Of AjHerous Insects.
6911. The aptera, or insects without wings in both sexes, is composed of genera of
such varied forms, that no other general characters can be affixed. Linnaaus compre-
hended in this order spiders, lice, lobsters, crabs, shrimps, &c. which Leach and most
other modern naturalists class separately.
6912. T/ie /ousr {PciUculus) and fica (Piilex) are well known : the only genera of this order which are
troublesome to the cultivator are the mite- spider {Acarus), the common spider (Aranea), and the wood-
louse (Oniscus.)
G913. J7ie red spider is the AcnrusteUur'tus, L. (^. 764 a), and
the same name is also applied by gardeners to the scarlet acarus
(A. holosericeits, L. 6), the only two British species of the genus
which infest plants, and to which perhaps they do more injury
than all other insects put together. Watering over the leaves is
the vvell known preventive and remedy : the water should be
ap])lied to both sides of the leaf in a finely divided state, and with
great force, so as to dash the insects to tlie ground. For this
purpose Read's syringe is the most efficient implement at present
in use. The .sheei)-tic {A. rcduvius, c), the dog-tic {A. ricinus, d),
the cheese-mite {"H. siro), and the itch-mite {Mite de la gale, Fr.),
{A. exnlcerans, L.), which inhabits the ulcers of the itch, are tha
principal species mentioned by Linnaeus; but some naturalists
consider that every animal, and most plants, have their peculiar
species of acarus. The harvest-bug is considered by some an
acarus, and by others a phalangium.
6914. The comtnon spider (Aranea) is a numerous genus, and
very prolific : as they live entirely on insects, they cannot be con-
sidered as otherwise injurious to the cultivator than by their un-
sightly appearance.
6915. The wood-louse (Oniscus), is of retired habits, shunning the light and the heat of the sun. It
lives on leaves, fruit, and also on animal substances, and casts its crust or skin like the spider. In general
it is easily caught by bundles of reeds or beans, or other hollow stalks, like the earwig. The O. aquaticua
(e) is common in spring.-s and clear ponds, or cisterns of water. The dog-tic and water oniscus (f,g)
both require to be magnified to be studied properly.
SuBSECT. 9. Operations for subduing Insects.
6916. The operations for destroying insect vermin, or counteracting their injurious effects,
are of three kinds, preventives, palliatives, and efficient processes.
6917. The preventive operations are those of the best culture in the most extensive sense of the term,
including what relates to choice of seed or plant, soil, situation, and climate. If these are carefully
attended to, it will seldom happen that any species of insect will exist to an injurious degree. But somo
parts of culture, such as climate, are often beyond our control ; as, for example, when a very dry spring
and east wind prevails, in which case many insects increase, or rather their larvae are hatched and reared
under such favorable circumstances that few of them die, and all of them become strong in proportion as
the plants on which tiiey live, in consequence of the dry weather (favorable to the insects), become weak.
In such a case as this, or its reverse, that of a series of cold moist weather, the agriculturist can do little
or nothing.
6918. The palliative operations are various. Artificial bad weather will annoy every description of or-
ganised being, and especially animals. Excessive waterings, stormy application of water with a syringe,
violent wind produced by shaking the plant or tree in tiie air instead of moving the air round the tree, as
in natural wind; these and similar operations will materially injure and annoy insects, both in their
common functions and in the work of generation, hatching, and rearing. Insects may be farther annoyed
by throwing on them acrid waters or powders, as tobacco-water, lime-water, powdered quick-lime, soot,
ashes, barley-awns, &c. The smell of tar is particularly offensive to various moths and butterflies ; and it
is said, if a little of it is placed under plants, or if thfey arc watered with tar-water, these insects will not
lay their eggs on them. It is also said that if shreds of flannel are hung on trees or plants, moths and
butterflies will lay their eggs on t lie shreds, in preference to the leaves of the plants. The effect of the
fumes of tobacco, sulphur, urine, &c. are well known. Saline substances mixed with water are injurious
to most insects with tender skins, as the worm and slug; and hot water, where it can be applied without
injuring vegetation, is equally, if not more powerfully, injurious. Water heated to 120 or 130 degrees
will not injure plants whose leaves are fully expanded and in some degfee hardened ; ftnd water at 200
degrees or upwards maybe poured over leafless plants.
6919. The operations for the utter removal or destruction of insects are few, and chiefly that of hand-
Eicking, or otherwise removing or killing by manual operations with a brush, sponge, or net Destruction
y hand-picking should, if possible, commence with the parent insect in its fly or perfect state before it
has deposited its ova. Thus the gathering of moths, butterflies, and large wasps may save the gathering
afterwards of thousands of caterpillars and the drowning of hundreds of wasps, as preventing weeds from
seeding in a garden will soon eradicate them altogether.
6920. Catching the winged insect, or hand-picking the eggs, or larvfc, are the only certain modes of pre •
venting the ravages of the gooseberry caterpillar. As soon as the eggs, which are white, and no. thicker
than hairs, are deposited and appear on the under side of the leaf, they should be rubbed off, or the en.
tim leaf gathered. It is true, watering the leaves well, and then dusting them with powdered quick-
lime, will destroy all those eggs which are wet at the time the lime falls on them : but will it fall on the
under sides of the leaves ? \vlitering with lime-\vater is better ; but even that operation is less certain,
more troublesome, and not much more expeditious than hand-picking taken in time. In extreme cases,
both modes may be combined.
Sect. IV. Of the Worm Tribes injurious in Agriculture.
6921. Of worms {Vermes, L), there are only a few genera which are materially inju-
rious to agriculture^ viz. the eartli-worm {Lwnbricus'), the slug (Lijnax), and the snail
(Helix). The wire worm, so injurious to corn sown on soils newly broken up, and also
in gardens, is not a worm, but the larvae of a species of Tipula ; commonly of T. crocata
and oleracea. (6907.)
3 Z 2
1074
PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE,
Part 111.
761
mouth they hare a proboscis, sometimes contained in a vagina, and sometimes furnished
at its sides with two palpi, but no maxilla. Their eyes are reticulated and large. The
females, in general, lay eggs, but some are viviparous ; the larvae of the insects of this
order are as various in their appearance as the places in which they are bred. In general
they do not cast their skins, but change into a pupa state. Flies, strictly so called, gad-
flies, and gnats belong to this order.
6906. The gad-fly {(Estrus) is a genus exceedingly
troublesome to horses, cattle, and sheep, in the skins
of which they deposit their eggs, {fig. 761 n), which
soon change into larva (6), that feed under the skin
of living animals, and often line the stomachs ot
horses under the name of bots {Clarke, in Linn.
Trans, vol. iii.) ; the larvae are soft, smooth, annu-
late, without feet, and in most species furnished
with hook-like appendages : the chrysalis (c) differs
little in form from the larva;. The O. bovis (rf) in.
tests oxen ; O. hsemorrhoidalis {e), horses ; and O. ovis,
sheep.
6907. The crane-fly {Tipula) resembles the gnat, it
feeds on various substances ; the larvae are without
feet, soft and cylindrical ; pupa cylindrical, horned ;
some species reside amongst the roots of aquatic vege-
tables, others amongst grass, as that well-known pest,
the wire-worm ; but by far the greater number are
aquatic. The perfect flics are found in abundance
in the autumnal months. The T. oleracea, or long-
legs, feeds on the roots of the cabbage ; and the
T. crocato {fig. 1G2 a) and other species inhabit
meadows, and are common from spring to autumn .
The wheat-fly {T.triticiy *), twelve of which have
been observed at one time laying their eggs in a
single ear of wheat, would soon become of serious injury to mankind, were not their race kept within
due bounds by several natural enemies, particularly the ichneumon tipuljE. The well-known gafier long,
legs, so frequently seen in houses in the autumnal evenings, flying about the flame of the candles, and
often perishing in the blaze, is the T. rivosa (c), one of the largest species of the genus. The eggs of the
wheat-fly {d) are very small : when magnified they appear roundish {e) ; the larva also (/), and the
perfect insect (6), to be studied, should be magnified {g, h).
163
The fly genus (Musca) presents many curious species. The common flesh-fly {M. vomitoria, fig.
763 a) deposits its eggs on the meat in our shambles and larders. Tliese eggs {b) speedily become larva: (c)
are soon full grown {d), change to the chrysalis state {e)y
and in a month the fly appears {a). The rapid multipli-
cation of the fly is thus calculated by Leuwenhoeck.
" Let us suppose, that in the beginning of June there
shall be two flics, a male and a female, and the female
shall lay Ml eggs, which eggs, in the beginning of July,
shall be changed into flies, one half males and the other
half females, each of which females shall lay the like
number of eggs; the number of flies will amount to
10,000 : and, supposing the generation of them to proceed
in like manner another month, their number will then
be more than 700,000, all produced from one couple of
flies in the space of three months." The Hessian fly
(M.pupilionis, f) is very destructive to wheat and rye,
and has occasionally been a source of great alarm to our
agriculturists. Thechocsp-fly {M.putris,g),v;e]\ known
to housewives under the name of hopper, deposits its eggs
in the crevices or holes of the cheese, whence those nu-
merous maggots {ft), that so much amuse us by their
agility and surprising leaps. One of these insects, not a
quarter of an inch in length, has been known to leap
out of a box six inches deep. The chrysalis (?) is straight
and crusty.
G909. The gnat {Culex) is frequently in the neighbor-
hood of waters and marshy places. In southern regions
there is a large species, which is known by the name of
musquito. Its bite is painful, raising a considerable de-
gree of inflammation, and its continual piping note is exceedingly irksome where it abounds, especi.illy
during the night. When it settles to inflict the wound and draw the blood, it raises its hind pair of feet.
In Lapland, the injuries the inhabitants sustain from it are amply repaid .by the va»t number of water-
Book VII. NOXIOUS WORM TRIBES.
1075
fowl and wild-fowl which it attracts, as it forms the favorite food of their young. The fecundity of Uie
common gnat (C. pipiens, fig. 763 k) is as remarkable as that of the flesh-fly.
6910. The tabanus genus greatly resembles musca, and produces some species troublesome to men and
other animals, on whose blood they feed. Tlie spider-fly {Hippobosca) inhabits woods. The species known
as the forest-fly {H. equina, fig. 1631) is particularly tormenting to the liorse.
SuBSECT. 8. Of Ajnerous Insects.
6911. The apter a, or insects without v/ings in both sexes, is composed of genera of
such varied forms, that no other general characters can be affixed. Linnceus compre-
hended in this order spiders, lice, lobsters, crabs, shrimps, &c. which Leach and most
other modern naturalists class separately.
6912. The louse {Pediculiis) and flea (Pulex) are well known : the only genera of this order which are
troublesome to the cultivator are the mite- spider (Acarus), the common spider {Aranea), and the wood-
louse (Oniscus.)
6913. T7ie red spider is the AcarusteUur'tus, 1.. {fig. IGif a), and
the same name is also applied by gardeners to the scarlet acarus
(A. holosericens, L. b), the only two British species of the genus
which infest plants, and to which perhaps they do more injury
than all other insects put together. Watering over the leaves ia
the well known preventive and remedy : the water should be
apj)lied to both sides of the leaf in a finely divided state, and with
great force, so as to dash the insects to the ground. For this
purpose Read's syringe is the most efficient implement at present
in use. The she"oi)-tic {A. reduvlus, c), the dog-tic (A. ricinus, d),
the cheese-mite t>i. siro), and the itch-mite (Mite de la gale, Fr.),
{A. exulcerans, L.), which inhabits the ulcers of the itch, are the
principal species mentioned by Linnaeus; but some naturalists
consider that every animal, and most plants, have their peculiar
species of acarus. The harvest-bug is considered by some an
acarus, and by others a phalangium.
6914. The common spider {Aranea) is a numerous genus, and
very prolific : as they live entirely on insects, they cannot be con-
sidered as otherwise injurious to the cultivator than by their un-
sightly appearance.
6915. The wood-louse {Oniseus), is of retired habits, shunning the light and the heat of the sun. It
lives on leaves, fruit, and also on .animal substances, and casts its crust or skin like the spider. In general
it is easily caught by bundles of reeds or beans, or other hollow stalks, like the earwig. The O. aquaticug
{e) is common in spring.* and clear ponds, or cisterns of water. The dog-tic and water oniseus {f,g)
both require to be magnified to be studied properly.
SuBSECT. 9. Operations for subduing Insects.
691 6. The operations for destroying insect vermin, or counteracting their Injurious effects,
are of three kinds, preventives, palliatives, and efficient processes.
6917. The prevefitive operations are those of the best culture in the most extensive sense of the term,
including what relates to choice of seed or plant, soil, situation, and climate. If these are carefully
attended to, it will seldom happen that any species of insect will exist to an injurious degree. But some
parts of culture, such as climate, are often beyond our control ; as, for example, when a very dry .spring
and east wind prevails, in which case many insects increase, or rather their larvae are hatched and reared
under such favorable circumstances that few of them die, and all of them become strong in proportion as
the plants on which ti)ey live, in consequence of the dry weather (favorable to the insects), become weak.
In such a case as this, or its reverse, that of a series of cold moist weather, the agriculturist can do little
or nothing.
6918. The palliative operatiojis are various. Artificial bad weather will annoy every description of or-
ganised being, and especially animals. Excessive waterings, stormy application of water with a syringe,
violent wind produced by shaking the plant or tree in the air instead of moving the air round the tree, as
in natural wind; these and similar operations wiil materially injure and annoy insects, both in their
common functions and in the work of generation, hatching, and rearing. Insects may be farther annoyed
by throwing on them acrid. waters or powders, as tobacco-water, lime-water, powdered quick-lime, soot,
ashes, barley-awns, &c. The smell of tar is particularly offensive to various moths and butterflies ; and it
is said, if a little of it is placed under plants, or if thfey are watered with tar-water, these insects will not
lay their eggs on them. It is also said that if shreds of flannel are hung on trees or plants, moths and
butterflies will lay their eggs on t!ie shreds, in preference to the leaves of the plants. The effect of the
fumes of tobacco, sulphur, urine, &c. are well known. Saline substances mixed with water are injurious
to most insects with tender skins, as the worm and slug; and hot water, where it can be applied without
injuring vegetation, is equally, if not more powerfully, injurious. Water heated to 120 or 130 degrees
will not injure plants whose leaves are fully expanded and in some degree hardened; and water at 200
degrees or upwards may be poured over leafless plants.
6919. The operations for the utter removal or destruction of insects are few, and chiefly that of liand-
Eicking, or otherwise removing or killing by manual o}ierations with a brush, sponge, or net Destruction
y hand-picking should, if possible, commence with the parent insect in its fly or perfect state before it
has deposited its ova. Thus the gathering of moths, butterflies, and large wa.4ps may save the gathering
afterwards of thousands of caterpillars and the drowning of hundreds of wasps, as preventmg weeds from
seeding in a garden will soon eradicate them altogether.
6920. Catching the ivinged insect, or hand-picking the eggs, or larvfc, are the only cu?rtam modes of pre •
venting the ravages of the gooseberry caterpillar. As soon as the eggs, which are white, and no thicker
than hairs, are deposited and appear on the under side of the leaf, they should be rubbed off, or the en-
tii% leaf gathered. It is true, watering the leaves well, and then dusting them with powdered quick,
lime, v/ill destroy all those eggs which are wet at the time the lime falls on them : but will it fall on the
under sides of the leaves ? \V;itering with lime-water is better ; but even that operation is less certain,
more troublesome, and not much more expeditious than hand-picking taken in time. In extreme cases,
both modes may be combined.
Sect. IV. Of the Worm Tribes injurious in Agriculture.
6921. Of worms {Vermes, L), there are only a few genera which are materially inju-
rious to agriculture^ viz. the eartli-worm {Lumbricus), the slug {Limax), and the snail
{Helix). The wire worm, so injurious to corn sown on soils newly broken up, and also
in gardens, is not a worm, but the larvieof a species of Tipula ; commonly of T. crocata
and oleracea. (6907.)
3 Z 2
1076
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
6922. Tlie slug {Limax) is without a shell, and distinguished by its latetal pore. There are sixteen
British species: the L. ater {fig. 765 b), alba, and hyalinus are the most common in gardens ; and the
L. agrestis (o) is common both in gardens and fields, and is the species recommended to be swallowed by
consumptive persons. The snail (He^«^) is a numerous genus, and, like tlie slug, very destructive to
plants and fruit : both snails and slugs are hermaphrodite, having both sexes united in each individual;
they lay their eggs with great care in the earth, and the young ones are hatched, the slugs without shells,
and the snails with shells completely formed. They are most troublesome in spring and autumn, and
during mild weather in winter. In dry warm weather, and during frosts, they retire into the earth and
remain there in a torpid state. The most common species is the H. hortensis [Jig. 765 c), or garden-snail,
765
of which it is remarked, that having once attacked a leaf or fruit, it will not begin on another till the
first is wholly eaten. Snails, slugs, and worms, may be annoyed by caustic substances scattered over
them, or by watering with bitter infusions, acids or alkalis, as vinegar, or what is equally effectual and
cheaper, lime-water ; but the only effectual way of getting rid of snails is by hand-picking. They may
be collected under decaying leaves or haulm, laid down on purpose to attract them. In tliis way, as we
have seen (4916.), a whole field may soon, and at little trouble and expense, be effectually cleared of this
class of enemies.
PART IV.
STATISTICS OF BRITISH AGRICULTURE.
6923. After having considered agriculture as to its history, as to the scientific princi-
ples on which it is founded, and the application of these principles to the different
branches of practice ; it remains only to take a statistical survey and estimate of its present
state and future progress in the British isles.
BOOK L
OP THE PRESENT STATE OP AGRICULTURE IN THE BRITISH ISLES.
6924. The present state of British Agriculture, as to knowledge and the details of prac-
tice, has been the subject of the former parts of this work ; but its importance in the
general economy of society, can only be learned by a view of the manner in which
it is actually carried on ; the modifications to which it has given rise in the pursuits of
those who have embraced the art as a source of .livelihood ; of the kinds of farms culti-
vated by different orders of agriculturists ; of the principal practices of each of the diffe-
rent counties of Britain and Ireland as to agriculture ; of the British authors who have
written on the subject j and of the professional police and public laws relative to husband-
men and agriculture.
Chap. L
Of the different Descriptions of Men engaged in the Practice or Pursuit of Agriculture.
6925. Agriculturists may be arranged as operators or serving agriculturists ; dealers or
commercial agriculturists, counsellors, professors or artists j and patrons.
Book I. OPERATIVE AGRICULTURISTS. 1077
Sect. I. Of Operators or serving Agriculturists.
6926. The lowest grade in the scale of this class is farm laborers, who may be either men,
women, or children ; and either local residents, periodical visitants for particular labors,
as hay-making, reaping, &c., or itinerant workmen for taking jobs, as ditching, stocking,
&c. None of this class of operators are supposed to have received any other professional
instruction than what they have derived casually, or from observing others.
6927. Apprentices are little known in agriculture ; but they occur sometimes, either as
the children of other operators, whose parents bind them a certain number of years, dur-
ing which they are to work for their food and clotlies, and 51. or \0l. to be received at
tlie end of the term according to conduct ; or sons of richer persons, who pay a premium
for the instruction to be received, and for boarding with the master. The former class
of apprentices generally look forward to being ploughmen, shepherds, head ploughmen,
or inferior bailitls ; the latter to being first bailiffs, stewards of estates, or to farming on
their own account. Parish boys are sometimes bound apprentices of the first class, and
various noblemen's sons from almost every kingdom of Europe have been included in
the second.
6928. The term journey man is as little known in agriculture as apprentice. Those
who answer to that term are the professional operators of a farm, such as ploughmen,
cattle herds, shepherds, and hedgers. These fank decidedly above laborers of all work.
A ploughman may not unaptly be considered as of the rank of an apprentice till he can
Jvar or set out ridges, and after he can do this as of the rank of journeyman till he can
stack and sow. He may then be considered as a master of his art, entitled to work
the best pair of horses, and if twenty -five or thirty years of age, to enter into the mar-
riage state.
6929. A hedger is a professional operator, who may be considered as ranking with a mas-
ter ploughman. His business is to plant, clean, prune, cut, lay, plash, and repair hedges ;
prune forest and orchard trees, and effect other operations with ligneous plants on the
farm. In Berwickshire hedgers are generally very intelligent men, and keep the fences
on the farms in the border counties in excellent order, and the hedge-row trees hand-
somely pruned.
6930. A woodman is an operator employed to prune trees and manage hedges,
and is of the same rank and requires the same kind and degree of professional knowledge
as the hedger. Generally he is more conversant with barking trees for the tanners, con-
verting copsewood and measuring timber than the other, being more engaged with woods
than hedges.
6931. A head ploughman, on small farms, is to be considered as the bailiff in the ab-
sence of the master. He works the best pair of horses, and assists the master in stacking and
sowing. On larger farms, where a regular bailiff is kept, there is also a head ploughman,
who acts as substitute for the bailiff in his temporary absence, as far as operatives and
overlooking operations ; but not in money matters or contracts.
6932. A farm bailiff is, or should be, a person of tolerable education, who understands
accounts, measuring of work, land, and timber, and can draw up agreements for hiring
servants. He should have practised every part of farming himself, from tending poultry,
swine, and sheep, to "Stacking and sowing. When employed by a gentleman, or one who
has no skill in farming, he should not be under twenty-five years of age; but a
farmer's bailiff need not exceed twenty-one years, is to be considered as a sort of ap-
prentice, and will be directed in all leading matters by his master.
6933. A bailiff and gardener, or gardener and grieve, as they are called in some places,
is a sort of hybrid upper servant, who seldom excels either as a farmer or a gardener,
and is only fit for situations of limited extent, and an indifferent style of performance.
6934. The forester or head woodman is to the woods of an estate what the bailiff
is to the farm lands in hand. He directs and superintends the woodmen and their labor-
ers, in planting, rearing, and pruning plantations, and in the felling of timber or copse,
barking, charcoal making, and in short every thing connected witli timber, trees, copses,
or hedges.
6935. The land steward {Factor, Scotch ; Facteur, Fr. ; Factor, Ger. and Fattore,
Ital.), is to a whole estate what a bailiff is to the demesne or a particular farm. His
business is to control the managers of the lands in hand, as the forester, gardener, bailiff,
&c. ; to see that farmers fulfil the covenants of their leases ; to attend to repairs, roads,
public and parochial matters in behalf of the landlord, and generally to receive rents.
6936. Under stewards, or steward's bailiffs, as they are called, are assistants to the main
steward, or have the care of detached estates, containing a few farms or woods.
6937. Demesne stewards, are such as are kept chiefly for regulating the affairs of
demesne lands, that is, lands surrounding the mansion in hand, or of an estate of small
size, where all the lands are in hand, but where an extensive establishment of horses, ser-
vants, a large garden, &c. are kept up. Here the steward performs the duties of bailiff,
forester, and in some degree of house -steward, by his connection with the s.tables and
game-keeper, and other domestic rural matters.
1078 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE, Part IV.
6938. Court far m&r, {Hoffrneyer, Ger. ; Grangero de la corte, Span. ; Agronome de la
cour, Fr. ; and Fatlore delta corte, Ital.), maybe considered the highest step, the siimrnum
boriutn of agricultural servitude. The late Ramsay Robinson, Esq. was bailiff" to
Geo. III. ; his sister, Miss Robinson, was royal dairy- woman ; and Sir Joseph Banks,
royal shepherd.
Sect. II. Commercial Agriculturists.
6939. The first grade here is the jobbing farmer, who keeps a team, a cart, plough,
pair of harrows, and probably one or two hand implements. He hires himself by the day,
week, or by the acre to plough, sow, or labor the small spots of ground of tradesmen who
keep a cow but no laboring stock; or to assist farmers who are behind with their labors.
The contractors for executing works devised by the agricultural engineer (6969.), though
widely separated in point of wealth from the common jobber, yet belong to the same
species j both agree in selling their labor and skill in a raw state, not when manufactured
into produce like the other commercial agriculturist.
6940. Itinerant agriculturists are of two kinds ; such as take grounds for the culture
of one or two crops of particular sorts of plants, as woad, flax, &.c. (5364.) ; and such as
travel with a plough and pair, &c. to teach that operation to young farmers, or their ser-
vants, a practice at one time carried on in Ireland under the patronage of the Dublin
Society.
6941. Cottage farmers are such as possess a cottage and an acre or two of land, which
they may either keep in aration or pasture ; disposing of the corn, green crops, or
dairy produce in various ways, according to local circumstances.
6942. Poultry farmers, such as devote themselves chiefly to the breeding, rearing,
and fattening of poultry, and the growing of feathers and quills.
6943. Garden farmers am ?>xich as possess lands near large towns, or sea-ports, and
grow the commoner garden vegetables, as pease, onions, cabbages, &c. for the market ;
or herbs for the distillers and druggists.
6944. Seed farmers. Small farmers who devote themselves chiefly to the growing of
garden seeds for the London seedsmen, and for the distillery. They are to be found
only in a (itw counties in the central and southern districts of England, and chiefly in
Kent and Essex. (See Encyc. of Gar d. 2d edit. 7390.)
6945. Orchard farmers are such as farm grass or arable orchards, sometimes joined to
hop lands and garden farms ; often with a small dairy ; with rearing of poultry, rabbits,
&c., and sometimes with the breeding and training of dogs ; the latter a very lucrative
branch when well understood.
6946. Hop farmers, such as make hops a principal article of cultivation, to which are
sometimes joined garden and orchard farming.
6947. Milk or cow farmers, such as keep cows for selling their milk in an unmanu-
factured state. These farmers are of course limited to populous neighborhoods. Cow-
keepers differ from cow-farmers, in having their establishments in towns, and in pur-
chasing, not growing, their cow provender.
6948. Dairy farmers, such as keep cows and manufacture their milk into butter or cheese.
These are most common in rich moist flat districts, as Cheshire, part of Gloucestershire,
Leicestershire, &c.
6949. Graziers, ^dirmQX% whose chief business consists in buying, feeding, and selling
cattle and sheep. Their farms arc chiefly in old pasture, and tliey are more commonly
feeders then breeders. The most extensive in England arc in Leicestershire and Lin-
colnshire.
6950. Stockfarmers, such as devote themselves to breeding and rearing different kinds
of live stock, especially horses and cattle. They are most common in Yorkshire.
6951. Store farmers, breeders who devote themselves chiefly to the sheep and cattle fami-
lies. They are common in the border counties, in Wales, and in the Highlands.
6952. Hay farmers are confined to a small district round London; where they grow
chiefly natural or meadow hay for the London coach and saddle horses, and for cow-
keepers.
6953. Cornfarmers, as opposed to hay, dairy, grazing, and breeding farmers, is a
term employed to such as occupy lands more adapted for the plough than for pasturage,
as arable clays and loams.
6954. Wood farmers, such as rent woodlands, to be periodically cut for fuel, bark,
fence-wood, charcoal, or other purposes.
6955. Qmirry-farmerSi such as rent quarries of lime or other stone, gravel-pits, clay-
fields, marle-pits, &c.
6956. Mine-farmers, or master miners or mine-holders, such as rent coal-mines, or
mines of iron, lead, or other metals.
6957. Salmon or river farmers, or fishery renters, such as rent rivers or ponds for tf)e
sake of their fish.
Book I. AGRICULTURAL ARTISTS. 1079
6958. Commercial or jrrofessional farmers, such as farm lands for profit. Tliose who
farm an extent of good Jand under one hundred acres, are considered small farmers ;
under three hundred acres, middling farmers ; above and under five hundred acres, large
farmers ; and exceeding that quantity, extensive farmers : a very proper title, for few
arable lands can be profitably cultivated to a greater extent in one farm or by one
establishment than five hundred acres, and those which exceed that quantity, are gene-
rally breeding or other stock farms, characterised by their extent.
6959. Gentlemen farmers, are professional farmers on a large scale, who do not asso-
ciate with their minor and personally working brethren ; but who aflTect in their style of
living the habits and manners of independent men or gentlemen. It is a character ex-
tremely liable to ridicule by the vulgar yeoman and purse-proud farmer on the one
hand, and those persons who are gentlemen by profession, and men of family on the
other.
6960. Yeomen farmers, small proprietors who farm their own lands, but yet aspire not
to the manners and habits of gentlemen.
6961. Farming landlords, proprietors who farm their own lands on a large scale.
Sect. III. Agricultural Counsellors, Artists, or Professors,
6962. The land-measurer is the lowest grade i?f agricultural artists ; he is very often the
village schoolmaster, and is called in to measure work done by the job, as mowing,
reaping, hedging, trenching, &c.
696^. The agricultural salesman is a person who attends at fairs, markets, &c., and
acts as agent to buyers and sellers of corn and cattle. There are also salesmen pur-
posely for hay and straw, others for green food, turnips, potatoes, &c.
6964. The appraiser, or valuer of farming-stock, comes next in order. This pro-
fessor values the live and deadstock, and crop, tillages, manures, &c. , and sometimes
also the remainders of leases between outgoing and incoming tenants, or betwixt tenants
and their landlords. Occasionally the appraiser is employed to value lands, but this is
generally the business of the land-valuer.
6965. The land-surveyor generally confines his avocations to the measuring and map-
ping of lands ; or to their subdivision, or the arrangement of fences and other lines ; but
sometimes he joins the business of appraiser and valuer, and even timber-measurer.
6966. The timber surveyor and valuer, confines himself in general to the measurement
and valuation of fallen or standing timber ; he also measures and estimates the value of
bark, faggots, roots, charcoal, ashes, willows, hoops, and various other products of ligneous
plants.
6967. The land-valuer not only values the rental, but the price or fee-simple of land.s,
buildings, woods, quarries, and waters. He does not often meddle with metallic or
saline mines ; but he sometimes values fisheries, stone and lime quarries, brick-earth,
gravel, chalk, &c. This profession requires not only a general knowledge of agriculture
in the most extensive sense of the word, but a very extensive acquaintance with the
country in which the property lies, and great experience in business. Tliere are local
and general land-surveyors and land valuers : the general professors live in the capital
cities or in the metropolis, and generally unite the business of land-agent,
6968. The land-agent may or may not be a land-valuer, but at all events he should pos-
sess the knowledge of the valuer in an eminent degree. His business is to effect the transfer
of property either by purchase, sale, hiring, or letting ; and also to collect rents, and often
to relet farms, and effect other business belonging to the land-valuer. Land-agents are
very frequently attornies, who know little of agriculture ; but who save their employers
the trouble of employing both a land-steward of superior abilities, and a lawyer to draw
up agreements and leases. It is the opinion of the best informed agriculturists both of
Britain and France, that the employment of attornies as land-stewartls and agents, has
been one of the chief causes of the retardation of agriculture throughout Europe. Cha-
teauvieux has clearly shown how this cause has operated in France and Italy, and Dr.
Anderson, Arthur Young, Marshal, and various others have deprecated its influence in
Britain. The love of precedent, which these men cannot abandon from habit; the love
of litigation, to which they adhere from taste and interest; and the ignorance of agri-
culture, from the nature of their education, are the causes that have counteracted tlie
tendency to change and amelioration.
6969. Of agricultural engineers there are considerable variety. The drainer for laying
out drains and water-works ; the irrigator, for watering the surface of grass-lands ; the
road engineer, for laying out roads ; the mineral surveyor, for searching for, measuring,
mapping, and valuing mines and minerals ; the coal viewer, for estimating the value of
coal works ; the rural architect, for designing and superintending the execution of agri-
cultural buildings, and the hydrographical and canal engineers, for canals, harbors, mills,
and the greater water-works.
6970. The veterinary $tirgeon, or agricultural doctor, is to be considered as a rural
3 Z 4
1080 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV.
professor ; and as subordinate grades, may be enumerated the farrier, ( Ferrier, Fr. ;
JFerrajOf Ital. a smith, from ferru7nf L. iron.), cowleeeh, and castralor or guelder.
6971. The agricultural draftsinan, or artist by way of eminence, is employed in de-
signing and painting live-stotk, implements, plants, and cultivated scenery ; the plans of
farms are taken by the land-surveyor, designs of buildings made by the architect, and
new inventions in machinery and implements are drawn by the inventors, whether mill-
wrights or agricultural mechanists.
6972. The agricultural author may be considered as the most universal kind of agri-
cultural counsellor, since his province includes every branch of the art, and comprehends
times and practices past, present, and to come. The simplest variety of this species is
the author of single papers in magazines, or the transactions of societies ; the most ex-
tensive, he who embraces the whole of the subject ; and the most valuable, be who com-
municates original information.
6973- The jyi'oftssor of agricultural science {Frofesseur (T Agriculture oxi (V Economie
Mural, Fr. ; Hochlehrer von Ackerbau, or II. voit Land f'/irtschaft, Ger, ; Frofesor
d" Agricultural Span. ; and Frofessore d'Agriculturoy Ital.), when appointed by a perma-
nent or national institution, may be reckoned the highest grade of agricultural coun-
sellor : since he is not a self- constituted instructor, like the author; but ccnsiituttd by-
competent judges as capable of instructing the public. The first public professor of agri-
culture appointed in Britain was Dr. Coventry of the University of Edinburgh, about
1790; and the next Sir Humphrey Davy, Lecturer on Agricultural Chemistry to the
Board of Agriculture, about 1807 : both highly eminent as agricultural counsellors, in-
dependently of their other merits. There are agricultural professors in Dublin and
Cork. In almost every University on the continent there is an agricultural chair, and
in some of the German and Russian Colleges there are chairs for gardening (Gartnerey),
forest-culture (Forstwissenschaft), and rural architecture (Land Baukunst).
Sect. IV. Fatrons of Agriculture.
6974. Every man being a consumer of some description of agricultural produce, may
be considered a promoter of the art by causing a demand for its productions. The more
valuable consumers are such as live on the best bread, butcher's meat, fowls, and dairy
products ; and the greatest of all patrons, both of agriculture and gardening, are such as
fare sumptuously every day.
6975. Amateur agriculturists^ lovers of agriculture, promote the art by the applause
they bestow on its productions ; of which, to a certain extent, they become purchasers,
as of farming books, prints of cattle, implements, &c.
6976. Connoisseurs, critical or skilful lovers of agriculture, promote the art in the
same way as the amateur, but much more powerfully, in proportion as approbation
founded on knowledge is valued before that which arises chiefly from spontaneous aflec-
tion. By the purchase of books, models, attendance at agricultural exhibitions, &c.,
connoisseurs encourage both counsellors and commercial agriculturists. Sometimes,
also, by their writings, of which Sir John Sinclair is an eminent example.
6977. Emi^loyers of agriculturists, whether of the serving class, as bailiffs, stewards,
&c., or of the order of professors or artists, are obvious encouragers of the art.
6978. Amateur farmers axe T^airons on the same principle as employers; and some-
times, also, they effect improvements, or communicate valuable information to the public.
Cline, the eminent surgeon, and Dr. Parry, the physician, are eminent examples.
6979. Noblemen and proprietor farmers are conspicuous patrons. They render the
art fashionable, and by the general attention so directed, and consequent occupation
of many minds on the same subject, new ideas are elicited, and dormant talents called
forth and employed. Russel, Coke, Curwen, and Somerville, stand preeminent among
this species of patrons, and many others might be added.
6980. Noblemen and gentlemen improvers, whether by planting, building, road- making,
establishing villages, canals, harbors, &c. are evidently greater patrons of agriculture
than noblemen farmers, since their improvements affect society more extensively. As
decidedly at the head of this species of patron may be mentioned the late Duke of
Bridgewater and the present Marquess of Stafford, and to these names might be added a
number of others.
Cook T. KINDS OF FARMS. lOsi
Chap. 1 1.
Of the different Kinds of Farms in Britain relatively to the different Classes of Society who
are the Occupiers.
6981. Cottagefarms form the first link in the chain of temporary terrestrial possessions.
They consist of one or more acres appended to a cottage, for the purpose of enabling the
occupier to keep a cow ; if any part of this farm is in aration, the labor is either hired of
some jobbing agriculturist, or done by spade : or two or more cottagers join together
and form a team of their cows, with which, and implements borrowed from the village-
carpenter or smith, they accomplish their labor.
6982. Farms of working mechanics. These are larger than the former, and are rented by
country blacksmiths, carpenters, &c. who often keep a horse or a pair of horses. Both
tliis and the former sort are very often injurious to the occupiers, by drawing off their
attention from their principal source of income ; though it must be confessed at the same
time, that the idea of occupying land, and raising one's own corn, clover, milk, butter,
eggs, pulse, &c. is highly gratifying ; gives a sort of sense of property, and has an air of
independence and liberty, highly valued by men in general.
6983. Farms of village tradesmen and shopkeepers. Many of these men, such as bakers,
butchers, grocers, &c. keep a horse at any rate ; by renting a few acres they are able to
keep another, and add a cow, and other minor species of live stock. The attention re-
quired from the master forms a healthful recreation, and agreeable variety of pursuit;
and if this recreation does not interfere with main pursuits, there is a gain of health and
respectability.
6984. Farms occupied with a view to profit by town and city tradesmen. Tliese are on
a larger scale than the last, and held by stable-keepers, cow-keepers, butchers, corn-dea-
lers, &c. They are often of considerable size, mostly under grass, and managed by bailiffs.
Arable farms in such hands are rarely well managed, as every thing is made to depend on
manure ; but as less skill and vigilance is required in managing grass lands, hay or pas-
ture farms of this description are generally well manured, and consequently productive.
They are seldom however profitable, and it is only because the renter reaps the double
profit of grower and consumer, has some enjoyment in the idea of the thing, and some
increase of health from the requisite visits to it, that he finds it suitable to continue his
farming operations.
6985. Farms occupied hy city tradesmen for recreative enjoyment. These are of various
descriptions, and generally managed by bailiffs. They may be considered as affording
recompence by the amusement, exercise, and health which they afford, and the interest in
country matters which they excite. Many a worthy man thus throws away, almost at
random, on agriculture, what he has gained by trade with the greatest industry, and fru-
gality , often joined to skill and ingenuity. When the farm promises well, the tradesman
is sometimes tempted to sell his trade and turn farmer for good (as it is called, i. e. for
a principal occupation), and often ends in impoverishing, or even ruining himself.
6986. Farms attached tT> the villas and country houses of tvea It hy citizens. On these the
wealthy citizen plays at agriculture, aided by a skilful manager or bailiff. Immense sums
of money are thus expended in the neighborhood of large towns ; many ingenious
practices are displayed ; and though nothing in the way of profit is ever expected to be
gained ; yet on the whole an attention to agriculture is excited in the minds of wealthy
commercialists, who buy books on the subject, procure bailiffs, approved implements and
breeds of stock ; and thus give encouragement to these and other productions connected
with the subject. The history of farming for the last twenty years round Edinburgh,
Liverpool, and London, affords some curious, singular, and extravagant examples of this
description of farming, and some of a much more judicious description.
6987. Demesne farms, or such as are occupied by the landed proprietors of the coun-
try. These are of a great many different kinds ; some regularly appended to the park ;
some comprising a part of the park separated by temporary fences ; and others taken into
occupation without regard to situation. Some proprietors take all the farms on tlieir es-
tate successively into their own hands, cultivate theui for a few years, bring them into
excellent order, and then let them to farmers. Much good is often done by proprietors
occupying land themselves; new practices, and new kinds of vegetables and live stock,
exhibited and disseminated ; and the landlord himself being instructed by experience in
the practice of farming, is better able to judge what his land should let for ; and more
likely to appreciate good tenants, and sympathise with the losses of his farmers in bad
seasons. Add also, that a proprietor in this way procures better butcher meat of every kind
than he could generally purchase in the neighboring markets-, and, if he chooses, better
legumes and roots, and even better cabbages and other culinary vegetables than he could
grow in his kitchen garden. The bailiffs on such farms are, or ought to be, well educated
men, brought up to farming in the best districts. They should be well paid, and have
1082 STATISTICS OF AGRICITLTURE. Part IV.
sub-bailiffs under them. The establishments of Bedford, Coke, Curwen, Albemarle,
&c. are among the most complete in this kind of farming.
6988. The farms of professional farmers. It must be obvious, that this class includes
more than nine-tenths of all the farms in tJie country. They are of every description of
soil, climate, situation, &c. which the country affords ; of all manner of sizes, according
to the demand created by such as follow farming as a business, and either devoted to the
general purposes of corn and cattle, or more particularly for poultry, milking, dairying,
garden crops, hops, orchard crops, grazing, breeding, hay, corn, wood, minerals, as
stone quarries, &c., or fishes. At the origin of what we now call farming, or when the
hiring of land by cultivators succeeded to cultivating them for the landlords, or
in partnership with the landlords, as is still the case in Italy and most other coun-
tries, farms would of course be small, and farmers men of scarcely any capital or
consideration in society. Just emancipated from a state of bondage and villanage,
the new created independent tenant could not easily throw off the chains which for-
merly shackled his mind and prevented his energies from being brought into action,
and he could have little or no property when he had no means of acquiring it but by
plunder, or preserving it but by concealment. Hence the first tenants were assisted
by their landlords, and one remnant of this practice, that of allowing farmers to have a
year's rent always in hand ; or, in other words, not to demand the rent till half or a whole
year after it is due, still exists in some parts of Scotland and Ireland. In process of time,
however, and from various direct and indirect causes, farmers at length acquired some de-
gree of capital and respectability ; and as tliey naturally thought of employing the former,
of course farms began to be enlarged to afford scope, and leases granted to afford secu-
rity. This practice has been going on in Britain for more tlian two centuries past, and
receives a fresh impulse whenever the prices of grain rise high, and continue so for some
time. At no period have they been so high as about the commencement of the present
century, and during no period have the riches and respectability of farmers so much en-
creased. More recent political changes, however, have proved singularly disastrous to
farmers ; and till the corn laws are either obliterated, or regulated on some permanent
and more moderate principle, agriculture and its practisers of every description will re-
main liable to the extremes of profitable occupation and ruin.
Chap. III.
Topographical Survey of the British Isles in respect to Agriculture.
6989. The British isles, as we have already observed (1254.), are in their present state,
naturally and politically more favorable to the practice of the agriculture of ale, butcher
meat, and wheat, than any other country in the world. They have their disadvantages
both in climate and in civil and political matters ; but, notwithstanding, there is no
country in the world where farmers or proprietors are so respectable a class of men, and
where such excellent corn, herbage, roots, and hay, either raw, or in their manufactured
state of bread, ale, and butcher meat, is brought to market.
6990. The following outline of the state of agriculture in each of the different counties of
the united kingdom is taken from the Surveys published under the authority of the Board
of Agriculture, or the Dublin Society ; from Marshal's remarks on these surveys, and
his other writings ; and in some cases, from our own observation ; having at various
periods, since the year 1805, been in almost every county in Britain, and in most of
those in Ireland. Agricultural improvement is often of so variable and fleeting a nature,
that notwithstanding our utmost care, some things may be found here inserted as such,
that no longer exist ; and from the period, varying from 12 to SO years, which has elapsed
since the surveys were published, many improvements may have been made deserving
of insertion which are omitted. These are unavoidable defects attendant on this part of
our work ; but though we cannot render it perfect, yet we are of opinion we can bring
together a sufficient number of facts as to the natural and agricultural circumstances of
each county, as to render it both interesting and useful to the reader.
Sect. I. Agricultural Survey of England.
6991. The surface of England is estimated at 32,150,000 acres, almost every where
cultivated, and no where incapable of cultivation ; in most places varied, gently and
beautifully in some districts, and abruptly and on a grander scale in others. Tlie most
highly and mountainous districts are those of the north, and the most level those of the
east. The most humid climates are those of the north-western counties ; as Cheshire,
Xiancashire; and the most dry those of the south-east, as Norfolk and Suffolk. The
richest grass lands are in the vales of the great rivers, as the Severn, Trent, and Thames,
The richest arable lands, in Worcestershire, Warwickshire, and in part of various other
counties ; and the best faiming, in Northumberland, Durham, and Cumberland. The
greatest variety of farming may be seen in the counties round London ; and the greatest
Book I.
agHiculture of surrey.
1083
sameness, regularity, order, science, success, and the wealthiest ftirmcrs in Northumber-
land. Tlje geology and minerals of the kingdom are most ably indicated in Smith's
Geological Map of England, Wales, and part of Scotland, 1815. Smith's County Geolo-
gical Maps, 1819/0 1824; and Smith's Geological Table of British Organised Fossils, 1819.
These v/orks are of the greatest importance to landed proprietors.
6992. MIDDLESEX is part of the north side of a vale watered by the Thames, and contains 179 200
acres, exhibiting a great variety of agriculture. {MUldleton's Survey, 180(5. Marshal's Review, 1818.)*
1. Geographical State and Circut?istances.
Climate. Healthy ; warmer near London, from the fires
kept there, which consume SOO.OOO chaldrons of coals annu.
ally ; stationary winds from the S. W- and S.E. those from the
S. W. blow 6-l'2ths of the vear, N. E. 8.12ths. Greatest falU
of rain from a few points W. ot S. and are of the longer con-
tinuance when the wind has passed through the east to
the south. In spring, frost in the hollows, when none on the
hills, thermometer has been as high as 83**, and as low as 6"
below zero.
HoU. By long continued manuring, the surface soil almost
every where looks like loam. Sand and gravel on Hampstead
Hill. Loamy sand from Hounslow to C.olnbrook. Sandy
loam on west side of Hanwell and Hounslow. Strong loam
about Ryslip, Pinner, Harrow, and South Mimms ; loamy clay
between Uxbridge Common and Harefield. Clay of the most
adhesive and ungrateful kind about Hendon and Highwood
Hill ; peat from Kickmansworlh to Staines, on a substratum of
the gravel of flints. Marsh land or rich loam deposited from
still water in the Isle of Bogs and on the Lea and Coin.
Surface. Gently waving ; highest towards the north. Hamp-
stead 400 feet above the level of the sea. One mile from
Jvondon on the Kuig>laiid Road, the surface of upwards of
1(100 acres is lowered at an average five feet from the brick
earth dug out, which of ordinary quality has produced 4000.'.
per acre; and when marly, for malms or white bricks, 20,000Z.
per acre. Brick earth formerly 100/. per acre, now 600/. per
acre. An acre at four feet deep, yields four millions of bricks.
Mineral si rata. 1. Cultivated surface, a. Gravel of flints.
5 or 10 feet in thickness. 3. Lead or blue clay, 200 or 300 feet
in depth. 4. Marine sediment, 3 or 4 feet in'deuth. 5. Loose
sand, gravel, and water, the latter arising in such quantities as
to prevent digging deeper.
Ifo/fi-. Abundant ancf excellent. The Thames, from Oxford to
Maidenhead,fall., about 24 feet in ten miles ; from Maidenhead
to Chertsey Bridge, 19 feet in ten miles ; thence to Mortlake,
13 feet per ten miles ; and to London, one foot per mile ; from
J^ondon the fall diminishes till it is lost in the sea. Tide
flows twenty-three miles up the Thames. Spring water
found at various depths, from 5 to 300 feet ; the latter, the depth
of Paddinglon.
Mineral maters jtt East Acton, Hampstead, and Bagnigge-
wells : chalybeates little used.
Pith caught ia the Thames. Sturgeon, salmon, tench, barbel,
roach, dace, chub, bream, gudgeon, rutte, bleak, eels, smelts,
and flounders.
a. State of Properti/.
Bitatet and their management. Generally under the care of
attornies, and badly managed.
Tenures. Much freehold, considerable extent of copyhold,
some church, college, and corporation land.
3. Buildings.
Houses ofpropnrtors. Numerous, splendid, commodious.
Farm-houses, offices, repairs. Oldest built with timber lathed
and plastered, roofs thatched ; erected piecemeal ; situated in
Tillages, sides of lanes, and near large ponds. Those built within
the present century, of brick, and covered with tiles. Farmery
of Sutton Court, Chiswick, VVickgreen, and Isleworlh,
models of their kind. Very few buildings required on hapr farms.
Cottages, brick and tile"d, and generally in villages; formerly
■with right of common, now done away by enclosures.
4. Mode of Occupation.
Size of far:n». Generally smaH compared with other coun-
ties; three cow-farms near town, from oOO to 600 acres each,
rented at from "i to 5000/. each. Many of 200/. ; average of
county 100/.
Character of the farmers. Four classes. 1. Cow keepers,
farjeners, and nurserymen. 2. Amateur farmers of fortune.
. Amateur fanners, who have left other pursuits. 4. Com-
mercial or professional farmers, equal in number to half the
others.
Rural artificers. Bad; impossible to get any agricultural
implement or machine made on agood principle by the country
artificers; but able mechanics in London; Macdougal, Cook,
Hnowden, and especially Weir, a Xorthuniberland man, and
practically acquainted with agriculture.
Rent paid in money, sometimes a snmll i>art in butter and
cream at fixed prices. Varies from 10«. to 10/. per acre, or
higher for nurseries.
Tilhe* in many places take.i in kind, in some compounded
for annually, or for a fixed period.
Poor, and the rates jW their relief, average 3». fid. per acre.
Leases, general. Often for fourteen and twenty-one years
drawn up by lawyers — " a comi>osition of obsolete unintelligible
covenants."
Expense and profit. Expenses on entering a farm, greater
than in distant places : profits seldom more than a mere
subsistence to the farmer.
5. Implements.
All bad ; plough barbarous ; threshing mills rare.
(\ Enclosing.
Now mostly 'enclofed. Nineteen commons enclosed from
ISOO to 1S06, conlaming 20,OtX) acres and upwards. Old fences
of a mixture of white and black thorn, maple, hazel, briar
crab, damson-plum, &c.; new of white thorn with ditch
About 1500 acres, producing 75,000/.
a few acre*
and bank ; gates mostly five-barred, and of oak ; enclosures too
numerous.
7. Arable Land.
About 14,000 acres ; wretchedly managed, ploughed with
teams of three or four horses ; rotation generally fallow, wheat
beans. •< ' »
8. Grass Lands.
Meadows better managed ; hay-making good.
9. Gardens and Orchards.
From KenNington through Hammersmith, Chiswick, Brent-
lord, Isleworth, and Twickenham, seven miles of garden
ground ; may be denominated the great London fruit garden,
north of the Thames. An upper and under crop taken at the
same time ; the upper the fruits on trees ; the under straw-
berries and various herbaceous cto\>i. To increase shelter and
warmth m autumn, they raise banks of soil 3 feet high, facing
the south, and slo|)ed to an angle of 45" ; on these they plant
endive in September, and near the bottom, from October to
Christmas, they drill a row of j>ease; the endive is preserved
troiikxottmg, and the pease come to maturity nearly as early as
If under a wall. The springs here, lie eight or ten feet under
the surface, and the water is raised from the wells by a bucket
and lever, balanced by a stone. (,fig. 157.) Three thousand
acres ot garden ground here, employing five persons, a man, his
wife, and three children, per acre, during the winter half-year,
and during summer, five persons more, chiefly Welsh women.
Lslimated produce 100/. per acre.
Kitchen gardens. Much fresh litterv dung required for
growing mushrooms, early cucumbers, salads, potatoes, aspa.
ragus, <Scc. Consumption of the metropolis and its environs,
tor fruits and vegetables, estimated at upwards of a million
sterling per annum. Several farming gardens pay 1000/. i)et
annum.
Nursery grounds.
a year.
10. Woods and Plantations.
Copses and tfoods decreasing for ages : still
near Hampstead and Highgate.
Uedgerojii iimlyer much disfigured by beine pollarded or
pruned to may-^)oles.
Willows or osiers. Many islets on the Thames, rented by
basket makers, and planted with osiers ; also, wet borders of
the river so planted. Species salix vitellina, amvgdalina, or
almond-leaved, and viminalis, or osier ; willows when cut, made
up in bundles, or boults, forty-two inches round, at sixteen
inches above the but-ends.
11. Improvements.
liraining, to carry ofl' surface water. The nio<le of making
surface cutters on meadows by means of an addition to cart
wlieels, (3979.) invented by the reporter.
Manure produced in London by 30,000 horses, 8000 cows,
and /Oi),000 Christians, equals 500,0t)0 loads; of which, half
is carried into the Thames by the sewers, including ninetv-
nine per cent, of the night soil. "'
12. Live Stock.
Less live stock on the farms of this county than in any
other ; no breeding. Short homed cows of Holderness chiefly
used by milkmen : number kept 8500 ; average produce nine
quarts per day ; fed on hay, turnips, brewer's grains, linseed
cake and jelly, and grass: retail dealers adulterate the milk,
pretening dirty water to clean ; and adulterate the cream
by adding molasses and a little salt. Very little butter made
in the county. Brewer's drays supplied with horses from the
Berkshire farmers, who buy them young from Northampton,
shire, and work them two or three years before they sell them.
^ot more than one dove house in the county ; but many
pigeons kept In empty wine pipes set upon posU, fifteen or
twenty feel high, and many kept by journeymen tradesmen,
pigeon fanciers in the poorer parts of London, and most
other towns and villages of the county.
13. Ilural Economy.
Half the manual labor done by the job ; laborers ruined in
morals and constitution, by the public houses. Gentlemen's
servants a bad and contaminating set.
14. Political Economy.
Highways of the parishes good, turnpike roads bad, beginning
now (1825) to be improved ; several canals terminate in or near
London ; and New River for supplying water ; fairs on the de-
cline. l.'xbridge the greatest com market next to Mark i<ane.
Great catile markets, Hounslow and Smithfield. Commerce
great. Manufactures not many ; considering agriculture as a
manufacture, and the soil as the raw material, and wortli 1C#.
per acre, at an average of England ; it is increa.sed in value to
5/. or 525/. per cent. Distilleries and breweries numerous.
15. Obstacles to Improve^nent.
Tithes, land-agents being attornies, bad leases, bad rural ar-
tificers, bad and thieving servants.
16. Miscellaneous Observations.
Society of Arts, Veterinary College, excellent insUtutions.
i ines called heriots should be removed ; weights and measures
regulated ; much damage is done by game.
17. Means of Improvement.
Ample in the metropolis; want of mtelligence, the grand
drawback.
(5fi93. SURREY. A surface of 519,040 acres beautifully varied : poor and heathy in the west, chalky
in the east, and clayey in the south. The Held cultivation of clover and turnips appears to have first taken
place in this county. {Stevenson's Survey, 1813.
Smith's Geological Map, 18iJl.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Clitnete. Henlthy winds S. W. tti\d V\'. : seldom blows from
any point between N. W. and N. £. for any time. East wjiids
Malcolm's Survey, 1809. Marshal's Review, 1818.
in spring, and then weather cold, raw, and drizzling. Most
rain falls when the wind is S. S. w. or S.
Soils. Various and mo»t irregularly di>tributcd ; a liroad
zone of tenacious clay bordering Sussex : j'atches of brick
1084
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
earth at Walworth, Sutton, and Stoke, Considerable extent
of thalk hills from Croydon to Nuttfield, and thence narrow,
ing to the western extremity of the county. A good deal ot
black, rich land interspersed among all the soils.
Surface. St. Anne's Hill, Cooper's Hill, and Richmond Hill
celebrated ; Leith Hill the highest, commands a prospect ot
from thirty to forty miles on every side.
Minerals. Iron ore, fuller's earth, firestone, limestone and
chalk. Iron-works on the decline, on account of the dearness
of fuel. Abundance of fuller's earth in the southern part of the
county, which has been dug since the beginning of the eigh
teenth century. Kxcellent firestone: when hrst quarried
soft ; kept under cover a few months becomes compact, and
able to endure the action of a common fire. Owing to this
stone, Dawson, proprietor of the Vauxhall plate glass
works can make plates of such a size as to surprise the
French, from whom he discovered the art of plate glass
making in the disguise of a common laborer. Excellent lime-
stone at Dorking, which hardens under water ; contains a
little flint. Chalk used chiefly as a manure. The sand about
Ryegate, the finest in the kingdom ; and, in considerable de-
mand for egg and hour glasses, writing-sand boxes, &c. At
No such, there is a bed of brick earth, from which fire
bricks and crucibles are made. , . ,.
Water. Scarce in many places, particularly on the chalk.
Several supplies procured round London, by boring down from
one hundred to three hundred feet to the chalk stratum, where
the water is excellent, soft, and abundant.
Fish pnnds common on the heaths, at the western side ot
the county ; have been used for upwards of two centuries,
for breeding and rearing carp and other fish. One of the
largest, containing one hundred and fifty acres, is near
Hersham.
Mineral maters numerous. Epsom water is impregnated
with sulphate of magnesia, and is purgative. Epsom salts
originally made there, now chiefly from common salt water at
Lymington in Warwickshire, 'rhe other sjltings are more
or less impregnated with sulphate of magnesia, carbonate ot
lime, and iron.
2. Stale of Property.
No large estates : largest 10,000/. a year. Yeomanry
not numerous ; but some gentlemen round Guildford,
farm their own estates of from 200<. to 400/. per annum.
Estates mostly managed by attornies ; so far proper as to
law terms, but as absurd as to agricultural restrictions,
as it would be to employ a farmer to draw up the covenants
in technical language. Till the farmer becomes active, inqui-
sitive, free from prejudice, and intelligent, no covenants, or care
of attornies and stewards, will prevent him from injuring him-
self and his landlord by bad husbandry. When he becomes
active, &c. he will take care of the landlord s interest for the
sake of his own, and the first step to forcing the farmer to
become active and intelligent is'to leave him to the exertions
of his own mind. Tenures chiefly freehold.
3. Buildings.
Few counties that can vie with Surrey in the number and
elegance of its country seats. {Encyc. of Garden. Surrm.) Pos-
sesses a Meat advantage over the north and east of Middle-
sex and Essex, in this respect, as the prevalence tf the S.W.
winds drives away the smoke of London.' Proprietors
generally reside on their estates, and eagerly introduce im-
provements.
Farm-houses and office*. Ruinous and mean in the weald,
or clayey district bordering on Sussex ; better in other
places. Oldest of brick covered with slate, stone, or brick
Hogging and tiles ; situations seldom central or convenient to
the farm, in villages. Stables not divided into stalls. Cow-
houses near London, good. Cottages often large, convenient,
and picturesque ; with a porch, a flower platt and \ine in
front.
Drinking jton^s. Great attention paid to these on the Sur-
rey hills ; generally a first pond, where the water deposits its
grossest dirt and mud before it enters .the second.
4. Occupation.
Farms of all sizes, but mostly small, forty and fifty acres to
three hundred. Largest farm between Guildford and Farn-
ham is Wanborough ; it contains 1,600 acres ; formerly occu-
pied by Morris Birkbeck, and now by his son. Avers^e
size one hundred and seventy acres. Tendency to large farms,
liv which the public is unquestionably benefited, certainly by
the saving of labor, and, in all probability, by the superior
cultivation and increased produce. The driven out farmer
may generally support or enrich himself equally well though
in a different line of life. " But in every country, in all situa-
tions and circumstances, and in our own country, particularly
in the situation in which it is now placed, it is of the high.
est importance to consider, whether a mere increase of wealth
may not be purchased too dearly ; whether it is prudent or
wise to dhninish the number of those whose souls are knit
to their native land, by stronger ties than are known to the
mere manufacturer. To the patriot, it can be little satisfaction
to see his country the richest in the world, if the measures
and causes which make it rich, diminish, in the most trifling
degree, its independence ; either.by raising any passion above
the love of our country, or by d'iminishing the number of
those who must be its most natural and powerful defenders.
To the moralist it can aflbrd little pleasure to be told, that
by the saving of agricultural labor, the manufactures of his
country will be extended or increased, if he perceive that by
the change of employment the health and virtue of part of the
community are sacrificed." {Stevenson.)
Farmers. Old class about the clayey wealds, equal enemies
to improvements in agriculture, and relaxations in morals :
have no idea of educating their sons, and so little of the
spirit of commerce, that they prefer selling their grain to an
old customer at a lower price than taking a higher from
a new one. Go to market in round frocks, the dress of their
forefathers, and shy and jealous to strangers. Nearer town the
farmers are more on a level with the age ; but, either unable
or unwilling to communicate information ; some exceptions
of liberal, enlightened, and communicative men. Many trades-
men have turned farmers, and occupy lands near town.
Rent low. Tithe rigidly exacted, poor's rates, and otlier
outgoings high.
Leases general, for fourteen or twenty-one years, or on three
lives.
5. Implemenis.
Great variety of ploughs, swing ploughs, tlie bcetch swing
plough used only in two places ; bad efR;ct of so many dif-
ferent sorts of ploughs on the servants. The cultivator used
by Birkbeck, and highly approved of :— with six horses, goes
over eight acrei in a day. Lester's friction threshing ma-
chine introduced in a few places, and found to succeed : but
it threshes very slowly, and has no advantages over Meikle's,
but that of not breaking the straw of wheat. This advan-
tage is too trifling ever to render it general. Very few win-
nowing machines. Sowing troughs in use, the advantage of
which, is, that the sower fills it himself instead of having a
woman, toiling through rough ground. Smut machines also
in use, in one or two instances. (2648.)
6. Arable Land.
Proportion considerable, tillage bad. Drilling, though
introduced by Duket, of Esher, and strongly recom-
mended, is confined to a few adjoining parishes, where
the soil is light. Fallowing on clays general, but most
imperfectly executed. Rotations generally good.
Turnips, supposed to have been grown in Surrey as long
or longer than in any county in England. Sir R. W^eston,
of Sutton, having described the Flanders culture in 1645, and
as he addressed his book to his sons, it is thought they would
attempt culture. Very badly cultivated at present, and seldom
in raised drills. The Siberian turnip has been tried ; it is a
variety between the cabbage and turnip, but with a root
inferior in point of size and flavor to the latter, and a
branchy loose top : it does not seem adapted for field cul-
ture, though as a novelty it deserves trial and attention.
Carrots answer well ofi the sandy soils. Potatoe tops some,
times given to cows, cut when in flower ; a bad plan with
a view to the tubers. Clover introduced by Sir R. Weston
at the same time as turnips. Saintfoin succedswell on calca-
reous soils, producing good crops for eight years. In form-
ing a new road through a field of saintfoin, between Croy-
don and Godstone, the roots were found to have pene-
trated several yards below the surface. The culture of hops,
brought from SufTolk to Farnham about A.D. 1600 ; prefer a
calcareous sub-soil : occupy 800,900 acres. Farnham hops es-
teemed more than others, because picked earlier, and hence
more delicate, and better sorted. Peppermint, lavender,
wormwood, camomile, liquorice, and poppy, grown near
Mitcham ; and more extensively than in any other county.
One hundred acres of peppermint. Elecampane, rhubarb,
soapwort, coltsfoot, vervain, angelica, rosemary, the damask
and red roses, hyssop, horehound, marsh mallow, pennyroyal,
and several acres of daisies, wall-flowers, sweet-williams,
primroses, violets, pinks, bachelors-buttons, and the like, are
also grown for Covent Garden market, where they are car-
ried, either as entire plants in flower with balls for planting
in town, flower -pots or in pots, or the flowers are gathered
and sold for nosegays. Weld is grown in a few places
7. Grass Land.
But in small proportion to the rest ; most pasture in the
wolds. Paring and burning considered by Birkbeck as the
best first step of breaking up old grass lands.
8. Gardens and Orc/iards.
Asparagus grown in great quantities at Mortlake, East
Sheen, and Battersea. Radish and other seeds also grown
extensively at Battersea. Onions for seed at Mortlake and
Barnes: though thiefly at Deptford. Three thousand five
hundred acres of Surrey employed in raising vegetables for
the London market. Orchards attached to many of the farms,
sufl^ieient to supply from four to twelve hogsheads of cider.
Generally in a very bad state of cultivation ; trees covered with
moss; many walnuts grown at Norburj, and at some other
places ; produce iO to 50 bushels per tree.
9. Woods and Pla?itations.
The wold formerly a wood : some copse there still : hoops
grown ; charcoal for gunpowder made from hazel, dogwood,
&c. common charcoal, hop-poles and faggots. Box Hill, for-
merly called Whilehill, by tradition originally cultivated, till
theEarl of Arundel, in the reign of Charles 1. brought box trees
from Kent, and planted there. Many with good reason think
it not planted, but aboriginal. Soil of the hill pale loam or
chalk'; timber now all cut; brought only five pounds per ton.
Many fir trees on chalk hill : at Crowhurst, one fifty feet
high and thirty-six in circumference. Brooms made from
the ware or spray of birch to a great extent. Fine limes at
Beck worth. Osier holts or grounds about Chertsey and By-
fleet, brought the same rent one hundred and fifty years
ago which they do now. Furze grown for the burning of
bricks ; sown both broadcast, and in drills ; cut every
three years, and bound like com, then stacked.
10. Heaths, Comtnons, and Cofnmon Fields.
Extensive heaths on south-west ; surface flat, soil black sand,
and gravel. A number of commons, and great extent of com-
mon field lands.
11. Improvements.
Draining, paring, and burning. Manturing with London
manure of a great variety of kinds.
12. Livestock.
Very inconsiderable ; only six hundred and nineteen cows
kept for supplying London with milk.
Duket of^ Esher used to r^ar calves to a great extent ;
many cattle fed by the distillers and starch manufacturers.
Adam of Mount Nod, one of the architects of that name,
has constructed extensive buildings for cattle, and stall-fecdg
six hundred at a time. Sheep kept in considerable num-
bers on the chalk hills and wealds. Birkbeck has been very
successful in cross-breeding with merinos, that is, with the
Ryeland merino of Dr. Parry, and the South Down. Im-
mense number of pigs fed at the distilleries, and of geese
kept on the wealds. Dorking hens are well known. f6685.)
A hare warren near Banstead Downs, already described (6613.)
13. Rural Economy.
Hands scarce; servants unsettled; prejudiced, like many
of their masters, against all new practices.
14. Political Economy.
Bad roads, though flints and other good materials abound
in many places. An iron railway between Wandsworth and
Westham for general use; the first in the kingdom of that
kind, the rest being confined to the carriage of goods belong-
ing to individuals ; this open to all who choose to employ tha
waggons; as a canal is open to all who choose to employ the
boats. Though on a level, and admitting of carriage both ways,
yet not found to pay. The first canal locks in England were
erected on the Wey. Sir R, Weston, of Sutton, breueht th6
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF KENT.
1085
eontrlTanoe from Holland, and under his direction, the Wey I gtareg at Stoke; a delft 'manufhctory at Mortlske, A hori-
wa» rendered navitrable from Guildford to Weybridge, about zontal air mill of a new construction at Battersea bridite*
1690. Numerous fairs, several flour, paiJer, and oil mills. An several distillers, brewers, and starch manufacturers. Poor'
extensive iron work at Garratlane near Wandle { a
numerous and degraded. Poor's rates enormous.
6994. SUSSEX. A maritime county of upwards of 900,000 acres ; distinguished by chalk hills and ex-
tensive wealds, a rich soil, but little excellence or variety of agriculture : excels in South Down sheen"
(.A. Young's Sussex, 1809. Marshal's Review, 1818. Stnith's Geological Map, 1819.) * '
1. Geographical Slate and Circumstances.
Ctimaie.Waiin in western parts.hleak on South Down hills ;
westerly gales violent, unroof stacks, hedges injured bv the
spray of the sea.
Soil. Chalk nearly the universal soil of the South Down
hills ; clay of the wealds, which constitutes more than half
the surface of the county. Rich land about Chichester, and
sand and gravel in a *ew places.
Surface hilly, most so where the soil is chalk. No high
hills.
MitieraU. Sussex or Petworth marble used by the statua-
ries, but not generally. liimestone, ironstone, sandstone,
chalk, marl, and fuller's earth.
2. State Of Property.
Largest estate 7500/. a year. Most proprietors hold land
In their own occupation, and pay great attention to its cul-
ture, as E. of Egremont, D. of Richmond, E. of Chichester,
Lord Sheffield.
3. Buildings.
Noblemen's seats splendid, of stone ; farm-buildings gene-
rally of stone ; on the South Downs built of flinU: houses
very generally faced with tiles, which keeps the walls dry.
Com generally stacked on circular stone piers, which prevents
vermin. Sheep-yards or permanent foUls walled round, and
furnished with sheds and hay-racks, have been built by Ellman
and some other eminent sheep farmers on the Downs.
Large wooden bams. Cottages of stone, and on the Downs
of flints, and more comfortable than in many parts of England,
Magnificent semicircular piggery, erected by E. of Kgremont
at Petworth.
4. Mode of Occupation.
The most extensive farms on dry soils. Average of the
wealds 100 acres. Size on the Downs 1200 to 2000 acres.
Tithe taken in kind in many places, in others compounded
for. Poor rates high.
5. Implements.
Plough with two wheels, large and singularly clumsy. The
Rolherham plough introduced, and deemed a real improve-
ment. Several excellent new implements introduced by the
noblemen already mentioned.
6. Enclosing.
County enclosetl from earliest antiquity ; fields small ;
hedges very irregular and broad. White thorn fences at Good-
wood, by the Duke of Richmond, trained in a masterly
manner ; being like walls, or rather bogged manes, of verdure
rising from the earth.
7. Arable Land.
Tillage bad, three or four horses to a plough with a holder and
driver; plough from one half to three quarters of an acre a day ,'
fallowing general on the stiff soils. Rotation bad, barley often
follows wheat. Wheat trod in on the sandy lands ; threshed by
flail, and generally cleaned with a shovel and broom ; one or two
threshing and winnowing machines. Oats a great deal culti-
vated on the wealds. Pease much cultivated on the South
Downs. Hops much cultivated on the eastern part of the
county ; but not found profitable. Rhubarb, and the poppy
for opium cultivated by B. of Egremont. The roots of the
rhubarb, after growing seven or eight years, are taken up,
washed, dried in the sun, and then cut in slices and dried on
the hot-house flues. (5518.) Incisions are made in the poppy
beads, and the exuded juice, when dry, scraped off into an
earthen vessel, dried in the sun, and preserved for use. Inci-
sions are made as long as milk flows. Andr^, the domestic
surgeon, uses the home-grown rhubarb and opium, and no
other. Saintfoin does well on the chalky soils, and lucem
near Eastbourne and Brightop^ Lord Egremont tried 100
acres of chiccory, and found it support much stock, though on
a poor soil.
8. Grass Land.
Badly managed ; overrun with rubbish. One person tried
hay oiled when stacking ; he oiled every layer, with a watering
pan and rose, lightly with linseed oil ; the hay came out moist
and clammy ; and poultry, beasts, and sheep were fond of it,
but it was deemed too hot for horses. Salt sprinkled on hay
when a little damaged found a great advantage; it is done
in stacking.
9. Orchards.
Some considerable orchards, and cider made. One or two
fig orchards at Tarring, near Worthing. (See Ennc. of Gard
Sussex.)
10. JVoods and Plantations, 175,000 acres.
County celebrated fVom the remotest antiquitv for the growth
of its timber, especially oak. County at tlie conquest one
continued forest, which extended from Hampshire to Kent.
Underwoods cut at twelve years, for hoops and hop-poles
Ash the most profitable underwood. Finest oak-timber at
Petworth.
11. Wastes.
Of considerable extent to the north of the county. Some
hundreds of acres improved by E. of Egremont answer well.
12. Itnprovetnents.
E- of Egremont sent for Elkington to find water to fill a
lake. E. undertook to do so, but all his trials and predic-
tions of the effect of certain borings and open cuts which he
caused to be made, proved abortive and false : no water was
found. Failed in three remarkable instances at Petworth, but
drained a meadow very well. Lord Egremont considers him
as not a scientific drainer, but a very good common drainer,
and nothing more.
13. Live Stock.
Cattle and sheep among the best in the kingdom ; cattle
red,* little dairying; generally breeding and feeding. Oxen
worked extensively by E. Egremont and Lord Sheffield ;
broken to the yoke at two years and a half; yokes five feet
long used and preferred by Lord Egremont. Ix)rd Sheffield
harnesses the same as for horses; twelve oxen and nine
horses required to work 200 acres in tillage. For hoven
cattle one quart of linseed oil given, which vomits them di-
rectly, and never fails in giving relief. South Down sheep
celebrated. Ellman the first breeder both of cows and sheep ;
breeds from the same race. New Leicester and Spanish
breeds introduced to the county by Lord Sheffield. Rab-
bits abound and flourish every where, and are the nuisance
of the county. Fowls fattened to great perfection at North
Chappel and ICinsford ; foo<l, oats ground, hog's grease, sugar,
pot liquor, and milk, all mixed ; or oats, treacle, and suet ;
also sheeps' plucks ; they are kept very warm, and crammed
morning and night; put into the coop two or three days
before they begin to cram them, which is done for a fort-
night, when they weigh 7 or 8 lbs. each, and are sold to the
hiJEtglers: average weight 5 lbs., but some weigh double.
One of Lord Egremont's tenants crams 200 fowls a year ;
many capons fed in this manner ; great art requisite in
castrating them, and numbers die in the operation. The
Dorking or Darking fowls extensively raised in the wealds of
Sussex ; Horsham principal market tor them.
The fish-ponds on the weald are innumerable ; carp the
chief stock; but tench, perch, eels, and pike are raised. A
stream should always flow through the pond, and a marly
soil is best. Carp fed with pease in marl-pits have weighed
25 lb. per brace. Carp kept five years liefore selling; then
twelve to fifteen inches long ; 100 stores, or one year old carp
will stock an acre. At one year old, carp is three inches
long; at two years old, seven; at three, eleven or twelve
inches ; at four, fourteen or fifteen ; and then they breed.
Lord Egremont has breeding and feeding ponds ; fishes them
every three years.
14. Rural Economy.
I-abor high, as smuggling attracts away many young men.
15. Political Economy.
Roads bad on the clayey districts, good on the chalk.
Rother river rendered navigable at Lord I- gremont's expense.
Fairs numerous. Manufactures of iron, charcoal, gun-
powder, paper, bricks, and potash. Large court of poor-
houses at Eastbourne, of which a plan and elevation is given
in the " Report." In 1772 a society was established at
Lewes for the encouragement of agriculture, manufacture,
and industry, by John Baker Holroyd, Esq. now Ixjrd Shef-
field, and premiums offered ; but on the breaking out of the
war in 1778, it was dropped. In 1797 Lord Egremont estab-
lished a society at I^wes, and gave large premiums. This
society still exists. The patriotic and charitable exertions of
E. Egremont are most extensive. He gives away to proper
objects immense nuantities of clothes ; food twice a week ;
feasts all the laboring classes at ChrLstmas, and keeps a sur-
geon, apothecary's shop, and midwife, entirely for their
service : they are also inoculated, and instructed gratis, &c.
6995. KENT {Cant or Angle) forms the south-east corner of the kingdom, and extends over 935,600
acres. It is diversified by chalky eminences in some places, low marshy grounds on the Thames and part
of the sea-coast, and an inland flat and woody tract bordering on Sussex, called the Weald, or wood
(Saxon). It is one of the oldest cultivated counties in England ; it was noted even by Julius Caesar, as
" the civilest place of all this isle, and full of riches." Viewed from the great road from Dover to London,
it has, with the exception of the Downs near Dover, a more garden like appearance than any county in
Britain Its agriculture is various, and it is celebrated for the culture of hops, fruits, barley, and various
garden crops. {Boys' Kent, 1796. MarshaTs Review, 1818. SmUh's Geological Map, 1819.)
Mineral*. Numerous chalybeate springs, at Tunbridge Wells
the chief.
2. State of Property
Much divided ; number of yeomanry on the increase; 9000
freeholds, and a good deal of church and college lands ; socage
and gavelkind tenures prevalent.
3. Buildings.
Twenty or thirty noblemen's seats, and many seats of gen-
tlemen and citizens, merchants; bankers, &c. ; few modem-
built farm-houses ; old ones of oak or chestnut, and ill con-
trived ; thatched; now improving considerably. Cottages are
in general comfortable, built with bricks and tiles.
4. Mode of Occupation.
Size of farms greatest on poor lands ; many farms from ten
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate. Subject to cold winds ; the prevailing are the
N.E. and S.W. ; former in winter attended by severe frosts,
twelve inches of ice, and the destruction of turnips. Milder
in S.W. part of the county. In Sheppy and Thanet an early
harvest, commences JiUy 20, on the hills 1st August.
Soil. That of Thanet rich on rock chalk ; of East Kent
very various; chalk, loam, strong loam, hazel mould, stift
clay, flint, gravel, sand. Isle of Shepjiy strong stiff clay ;
West Kent very various, but chalk and loam on chalk rock
1 sediment of the sea ; a soft loam
prevails ; Weald chicflv clay, but mould, sand, and Jfravel in
a few places. Romney Marsh
and clay. . . ,
Surface . Gently varied hills of chalk ; Downs not so high as
those of Susjcx.
108(5
SIWTISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
to fourteen acres each, Jtw excee<l 800 acre*, some 600 to
1600 acres. Tithes in many parts collected in kind. Leases
for fourteen years most common. Many church leases on
tliree lives, some on twenty-one years, renewable.
.') Implements.
Kentish tumwrest plough almost the only one known in the
county, drawn by four horses in heavy, and three in lifiht soils.
Corn rakes in use after mown corn. Stubble rakes to drag
stubble together ; tirst threshing machine erected at Betshan-
ger by the reporter.
6. Enclosing.
No common field lands but several commons ; fences old and
broad, belts of copse more frequent than thorn hedges. Wa-
ter fences eight to fourteen feet wide, and from three to five
feet deep in the marsh lands ; post and rail fences prevalent in
Romney Marsh. Neither fences, drains, or water furrows
■wanted in Thanet, where com is grown, and often for years
in succession without manure.
7. Arable Lands.
Plough for all crops from five to seven inches deep. Fallows
always made on poor lands. Rotations good. Pease of various
kinds for podding are sown from the middle of February to the
end of March. Leadman's dwarf and the early grey thought
the most prolific. Canary seed and radish seed much cultivated
in Thanet and East Kent for the London seedsmen. Radish
seed sown in March, and crop seldom fit to reap before October,
and is sometimes out on the fields at Christmas without receiv-
ing any injury from wet weather : requires much rain to rot
the pods thatitmay thresh ; will produce from eight to twenty-
four bushels per acre. Spinach sown in March in Thanet ;
when in blossom the male plants (it being a dioecious plant)
are pulled and given to pigs with advantage. Crop threshed
on the field ; produce, two to five quarters per acre. Kidney
beans much cultivated at Sandwich and in Thanet for the
I^ondon seedsmen : plant from five to ten gallons per acre be-
tween the 8th and 20th of May ; if earlier in danger of frosts ;
pulled up by roots from August to October, tied up in bunches
and hung on poles to ripen ; produce, ten to twenty bushels per
acre. Cress and white mustard sown at the rate of two or three
gallons per acre in March ; reaped in July and threshed in the
field ; produce eight to twenty bushels i>er acre. Weld sown
among beans at the last hoeing in the beginning of July : ten or
twelve lbs. of seed per acre; pulled when in bloom, which
happens the second year, in .July, and tied in single handfuls to
dry ; when dry bound in bundles, weighing thirty lbs. sixty of
these a load ; produce from one-half to one and a half load
per acre. Sometimes remains in stooks or bams for several
years for want of a market; at other times '2U. per loa<l ;
generally bought by speculating merchants, who supply the
dyers with it as opportunity offers. Madder formerly much cul-
tivated in the eastern part of the county, now given up ; first
cultivated on a large scsde near Feveisham.
8. Grass.
Hay chiefly produced in the marshes and 'the weald ; pas-
tures for dairying on every farm ; but no dairy farms of any
extent in the county ; lands in Kent seldom changed from
grass to arable, or the contrary. Hay-making badly conducted
in most parts of the county, owing to the scarcity of hands.
In Thanet and East Kent lean sheep and cattle brought in and
put on the marshes and meadows till fit for the butcher.
9. Gardens and Orchards.
Near all the great towns a considerable portion of land devot-
ed to the cultivation of vegetables ; at Deptford and Graves-
end are whole fields of asparagus, onions, cauliflowers, &c. ;
at Maidstone many fields of from one to ten acres of fruit trees ;
apples, cherries, and filberts rziised among hops, the culture
of which causes the former to grow with great luxuriance ;
common practice to plant 800 hop hills, iiOO filberts and forty
apple and cherry trees per acre ; the hops stand twelve, filberts
thirty, and the apples and cherries an unknown length of
time. Sometimes apples and cherries in alternate rows with
two rows of filberts between ; filberts also raised among hops
without any other trees ; trees planted in holes two feet square
and two ipits deep ; piece* of rock taken «ut ; trees stalked and
their stems brushed over with lime and night soil, wliich is
said to make them grow exceedingly. The golden rennet ap-
ple and black heart cherries, when a few years planted, found to
gum and die; yet many old trees in full vigor; cherries do
best with land laid down to grass; filberts answer on few
soils ; best cider-maker Stone of Maidstone, mixes all sorts of
apples ; golden jjippin makes good cider alone ; no occasion to
watch the fermentation of cider in order to rack it off at any
particular time, as alleged in Herefordshire ; eating apiiles sent
to London by the hoys, and to the north of England by the
coal vessels. Fruit orchards considered the most valuable es-
tates. Tithe on fruit 2*. per pound on sales. Cherries require
a deep soil, -and bear well for thirty years ; filberts a stony,
shattery sandy loam, rather inferior ; they will not bear in
rich soil ; princii)al hop grounds about Canterbury and Maid-
stone, on deep rich loam with a subsoil of loamy brick earth ;
produce two to fourteen or fifteen cwt. per acre ; average
seven cwt.
10. Woods and Platitathns.
Principal produce hop- poles, fuel, husbandry wood, and some
little for the dock yards ; few artificial plantations.
11. Improvements.
Open drains' made between flat ridges by deepening the fur-
rows ; turf and brushwood drains in use ; chalk will answer when
below the reach of frost ; sea beach and refuse bricks also used.
Several windmills which drive pumps to diain the water from
marshlands. Some bogs.drained under the direction of El-
kington, and now good meadows. Sea-weed used as manure;
several thousand loads are sometimes thrown ashore by one
tide and washed away bv the next; generally mixed with some
yard-dung, which it heli)s to rot ; sand spread on stiff soil*
without being of any use ; powdered kelp sown at the rate ol
twenty cwt. per acre on pasture, saintfoin, and clover, with-
out any perceptible benefit ; weeding.a general practice ; coun-
ty long noted for its clean crops of corn. Thistles in grass
lands mown while in bloom never come up again. Some
land in Thanet recently embanked from the sea : bank thir-
ty-six feet at base, nine feet high, and three wide at top ; base
of outside angle twenty-two, of inner eleven feet. Borders of
the Medway below F>,ochester offer great scope for embanking
and perhaps warping.
12. Livestock.
Neither a dairying nor grazing county : little attention paid
»o the breed of cattle. Romney Marsh breed of sheep remark-
able for fatting early. Fine teams of heavy horses kept at a
great expense. A few rabbit warrens ; the rabbits within these
few years affected with the rot. Formerly manv pigeons,
now few ; few poultry but for home consumption ; few bees.
13. Rural Economy.
Labor generally done by job-servants, scarce, dear, and saucy.
14. Political Economy.
Roads generally good, formed of chalk and flints ; or lime-
stone and gravel ; roads in the weald very bad for want of ma-
terials. As clav is there abundant, if duty taken off bricks they
might be burned on the spot and the roads jiaved ; 540,000 will
pave a road one mile long and nine feet wide. No'canals, but
one near Gravesend : fairs and weekly markets very numerous.
Agricultural commerce 'of county consists chiefly in export-
ing corn to London markets. Manufactures trifling. At
Down and Maidstone paper mills : at the Isle of Grain salt-
works, in the Weald iron works, and at Whitstable and Dept-
ford copper works. Gunpowder made at Deptford and Fevers-
ham, calicoes printed, and linens whitened, at Crayford. Poor
well taken care of, earn from forty to sixty pounds per annum
by hop picking and other rural employments for their wives
and children.
15. MisceUarwous Observations."
Kent Agricultural Society, established at Canterbury in
1793 by Sir E. KnatchbuU and F. Honey man, Esq. Some
potatoes dried on an oat kiln were found to retain their pro-
perties during long voyages, as attested by letters from the vic-
tualling office.
6996. ESSEX, 1,240,000 acres of marshy grass-lands near the Thames, and the rest arable lands of a
mixed culture, chiefly of corn and herbage. It is an old cultivated countv ; contains many small
gardens and seed-farms near the towns, and is one of the few districts in the south-east of England where
the plough is drawn by only two horses. {Young's Survey, 1810. Marshal's Beview, 1818. Smith's
Geological Map, 1820.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate mild; north and! east the prevailing winds, which
bring blights to plants, and cold and hoarseness to animals ;
ague general both in the high and low lands.
Soil almost everywhere a loam, and more generally heavy
than light. Generally well adapted for grass or corn.
Surjhce beautiful about Havering (Have a ring) from Rom-
ford to Lord St. Vincent's and Lord Petre's, both fine seats on
the Stour ; also very fine from Sharbury to Harwich.
Water abundant, in rivers, creeks, and springs.
2. State of Property.
Estates vary much in size from .5/. to 20,000/. a year : in no
county a greater population of small and moderate sized farms
occupied by their owners. Managers of large estates sometimes
attomies, cajntal farmers, or private gentlemen. Farmers of
all sorts ; land held by farmers on short leases, often at will,
sometimes on eight, ten, or twenty-one years' leases. Some
of the seed or garden farms neatly laid out {Jig. 766.)
766
3. Buildings.
V^■an»tead vne of Uie largest bouses in the kingdom ; ir
pulled down. Audlyend well known. Mistey Hall
767
fn
most
striking place. Goss-
field, Thorndon, the
latter finely wooded by
the scientific Lord Pe-
tre. Many others ; but
some districts of the
county with very few
seats. Farm houses
good, out buildings
numerous and conve-
nient ; expensive rick
covers and barns. Cot-
ry good;
a better
plan, (,/(^. 7(i7.) by the
Marquis of Bucking,
ham, with a garden of
one-fourth of an acre
to each. Joseph French
at East Horndon, find-
ing labor dear and
servants difficult to be
got, took the plan pf
4. Occupation.
Some of the largest
farms in the kingdom ;
so early as 1767Arthar
Young found some at
1500/. and 200/. a year.
Low! Eraybr.ook farms 1100 acres, Ixjrd Petre 1468. Many
farmers men of information, ingenuity, and exertion
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF HERTFORDSHIRE.
1087
768
lands at those places where thpy intend makhif; croK>furro«»
to carry ort' the water from the ref;iilar furTow«. The drain-
ing wheel (3978.) in use, inventor not mentioned. Chaik much
used as a manure.
IS. Live Stock.
Kssex never famous for tTiis branch. The largest dairr
farms at or near EppinK, famous for its butter and cream;
no particular sort of cows Icept ; Derl.y and Leicestershire
breeds preferred, but any talcen ; fed on natural and artificial
gras.se!> in siimmer, and hay and grains in winter : dairies built
on the north sides of the farm houses ; milk keul in troughs
lined with lead, which hold nine to ten gallons of milk, five to
six inches in depth. This in winter is skimmed four, and In
summer two or three times, and the cream, after being kept
three or four days, churned ; milk given to hogs. A few cows
kei)t for milk ; in other jilaces for suckling calves, and feeding
on the marshes. AVestem has the fm(^t swine in the county ;
feeds them in what he calls a hog case; a cage which efTectually
prevents the animal from taking exercise. A hog liaU'fat put
into a case gains fifteen pounds a week, if well fed with barley
meal and water. A miller, near Maldon, has made a treble
case on wheels, to keep moving about on grass land, for its
improvement. A portable bridge, carried on a pair of wheels,
for passing sheep over marsh ditches, in use by 'Wakefield of
Boumham. tjig. 769.) A decoy for ducks and other aquatie
769
Tithes average it. 9J. to 6*. per acre wheo compounded
for. Many farms held on running leases terminable or
renewable every seven years. The refusal of leases in-
creasing.
5. Implements.
Essex plough, a large unwieldy implement, with two wheels.
A great variety of swing ploughs, all bad compared with the
Rotheram kind or Norlhnmberland plough. An iron road-
cleaning plough by Western; a concave' roller and scrajjui
attached, delineated in the report, but no reason given for
the shape. Manv cultivators,
sculflers (^ 768.) &c. delineated,
and a donkey hoe. Some of Pai-
more of Doncaster's threshing
mills, and winnowing machines,
in use. The Scotch cart, plough,
and other improved implements
introduced by Western. Flemish
scythe tried, but found not to an-
swer ; did not understand Its use.
I'attison of Maldon has made an
ingenious improvement of the
common sowing basket ; he has made the bottom a wire sieve
for sifting out the .seeds of weeds in the motion of sowing,
and attached a cloth bag beneath for catching them. An
ant-hill machine. Good specimens there of amateur improve-
ments on implements.
6. Enclosing.
Essex for ages an enclosed county ; still some waste to enclose.
Hedges broad and mixed plants, and with pollard trees.
7. Arable Lands.
Cultivated better than nine in ten of the other counties ;
plough with two horses or three horses abreast without a dri-
ver ; fallows universal ; rotations good : potatoes cultivated to a
great extent for the London market. Carrots in rarious places
planted for seed three feet apart ; produce five or six cwt. per
acre, sometimes ten or twelve ; rye-grass disliked generally ;
wireworm comes after it, and is sure to destroy wheat. Rape,
ribwort for seed ; hoi)s in a few narishes. Saintfoin suc-
ceeds well on poor calcareous soils; some lucern. Wire-
worm often injurious to young wheat, after clover leys ; rolling
and treading lessens iu effects ; on strong soils slugs very
troublesome.
8. Grass Lands.
Z Extensive marshes and sall-ings, (or salt-islets.)
9. Gardens and Orchards.
Some cherry orchards at Burnham ; many cottages with-
out gardens.
10. Woods and Plantations.
Fifty thousand acres chiefly natural and ornamental scenery.
Some'fine old elms at Gossford. At Saint Osyth the three
original Lombardy poplars which Lord Rochford brought from
Italy about 1758, and from which the greater part of those in
the kingdom have been raised ; they are seventy feet high and
seven feet three inches in circumference, five feet from the
ground ; a Portugal laurel more than fifty-two yards in circum-
ference, and a very large arbutus. The largest abele trees in
England at BeUhouse, Aveley ; large elms; Lord Petre has
sold thirteen oaks for 600/. at \M.a loati including top and bark.
Oaks at Hatfield worth 100 guineas each. Hatfield broad oak
celebrated, but now in ruins. An oak at Wimbish mcreased
in girth, four and a half inches in thirteen years ; a larch two
feet nine inches in the same Ume ; tlie larch, however, was
younger.
11. Wastes. „ , .
Fifteen thousand acres ; s^d that in James the First s time
almost the whole county was waste.
12. Improvements.
A gootl deal of draining; a machine in use like the Flertiish
mouldebaert Cfe- 64.) for lowering the surface of ploughed
6P97 HERTFORDSHIRE. A surface of upwards of 400,000 acres, the north part forming a chalky
ridge, whicli extends across the kingdom in this direction ; the general features are rich, woody, and the
■ agriculture various, chiefly tillage ; the corn produced, eqtial in quality to any m the kingdom Ellis, a
well known agricultural author, farmed in this county. ( Walker's Report, 1795. Arthur Young's Survey,
1807. Marshal's Review, \%\^.)
1. Geographical State and Circmnstances
Climate, dry and healthy. ^ ,. j ■•
SoU, rhiedv loam and clayev loam, next chalk, and a imaU
part bordering on Middlesex gravel ; vales, rich sandy loams,
ehiefiy under pasture, and woods very beautiful.
Much divide^ the county being a favorite one for wealthy
persons building villJis and other retreats. 7000/. a year the
largest estate ; great part copyhold, which sells here at six years
purchase less than freehold.
3. Buildings. „ , ^
Hatfield, Cashioburv, Ashridgc (partly also in Bucks), Gor-
hamburj-. Brocket, the Hoo, the firove. Oilstone, Ware Park,
&c., noble mansions. Brown's farm yard, at North Mims,
one of the best in the county. Immense bams at ISorth
Mims and Bedfordburv. Gutters to the eaves of farm buildings
at Alkenham ; wide fattening stalls, with conveniences for
Kiving hay, water, and oil-cake. Cottages seldom with land
attached. A moveable sheep house, at Hillhouse, a cumbrous
expensive afTair, of which plans, sections, &c. are given in the
report.
4. Ocaipation. , ^ „
Farms small, largest 600 acres ; many of the very smaU
fermers who rent 30/. a year worse off than day laborers, bir
John Sebright, of Beachwood, a scientific breeder, farms 7liu
acres, 300 of which is in arable and well cultivated. The
Earl of Bridgewater, at Ashridge, farms .^)0 acres, l^ides the
park of 1080 acres. The Marchioness of Salisburv farms S90
acres, besides the park of lO-W acres, and has made many cu-
rious experiments ; a prejudice against leases.
5. Implements..
Plough large and unwieldy, with two large wheels, the same
as figured in old farming books 150 yeirs ago. One or two
threshing machines of ftftikl«'« kind. (J«jf.770.)
birds in Mersea island, the largest in the county. Every per
son that approaches a decoy, takes a piece of lighted turfstuck
on a table fork in his hand to prevent the ducks from smelling
man. Without this caution they will quit the pond. A decoy
at Goldhanger, at which one waggon load and two cart loads of
dun birds were taken at one haul of the nets ; but the disturb-
ance so frightened such as escaped, that no more were taken
that season. Seven fish ponds at Spaines Hill for carp, tench,
and eels. A chain of ponds at Leigh's Priory, belonging to
Guy's hospital, near a mile in length, and occupying about
thirty acres, once completely sluiced and carefully cultivated,
now dry and nttclected.
14. Rural Economy.
Labor done generally by the piece.
15. Political Economy.
Roads mostly good ; few canals ; various fairs ; and some
cattle markets. In the creeks of Crouch, Blackwater, and
other rivers and estuaries, considerable quantities of oysters
are deposited for breeding. The produce is afterwards dredged
and deposited at Wivenhoe and other places for feeding.
What are called Colchester oysters are fed there, and sent to
Hamburgh,Flanders, and France, in time of peace,as well as to
London. Oysters are also dredged on the Hampshire coast,
and fed in the Coin, or Colchester beds. No distinct account of
the oyster economy, however, is given in the report. There
are salt-water ponds for various sorts of sea fish in Foulness
island ; the fish are caught in weirs on the extensive sandy
coasts, and deposited, when plentiful, in these ponds, whence
they are dragged for with small nets, as wanted.
Matpifaeturea of woollen have existed from time immemorial
in the county ; also of sacks, hop bags, calicoes, baize, lime,
bricks. Much baize made at Colchester, Cogge's Hall, and
other places, for Spain. A society of agriculture at Chelmsford.
0. Enclosures. '
Various, but still some commons and open fields ; old fences
of mixed species ; new ones of thorn ; planting well under-
stood, but the cut witli the bill made in a direction downwanis
instead of upwards, .is in Berwickshire, by which lhe«teni
throws out a brush of snwll iwij^s at the woiwd, iiut«aa of •
fern ftrong healthy *hoot<.
!088
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
7. Arable Land.
By far the greater part of ths county m tillage : crops chiefly
•wheat, barley, and oats'; turnips ana clover supposed to have
been introduced in the time of Oliver Cromwell : depth of plough-
ini? generally four or five inches. Greg, who has written a tract
on managing clay lands without naked fallows, ploughs as deep
as the staple will admit. Rotations various, generally with a
naked fallow, once in three, five, or seven years, or oftener.
Combing or ribbin? in use in some places instead of drilling.
Turnips cultivated broad cast, and very poor crops produced ;
cabbages grown to a large size by the Marchioness of Salisbury,
for cows ; large red sort prefened. Carrots, parsneps, beets, &c.
cultivated by the Marchioness on her experimental farm.
Good saintfoin on the chalks. Drilling com crops with Cooke's
drill practised in various places. Water cress for the London
market, cultivated in the streams at Rickmansworth. Sixty
acres of furze for faggots at Ashridge.
8. Grass.
Quantity small, and ojiiefly a narrow margin near Bamet,
on which hay is grown for the London market ; some good
meadows on the Stort.
9. Orchards.
Apples and cherries abound in the S.W. comer of the
county on farms of from twenty to fifty acres. In ten years
after planting, cherry trees begm to bear ; produce till the
twentieth year, siit dozen pounds; when full grown, fifty
dozen pounds ; price, ten-pence to three shillings a dozen.
Caroon, and small black, the favorite sorts. Kentisli will not
thrive here. None of the apples for cider t orchards kept in
grass, but not mowed.
10. Woods.
The copse kind abound in the northern and in many parts of
the county; produce faggot wood and hurdles ; cut at twelve
years ; black willow, ash, and hazel, best for hurdles ; alders
bought bv t-urners and patten makers. Fine woods, natural
and artificial, at the Earl of Clarendon's, the Grove, near
Watford. A superb oak at Panshanger, E. Cowper's ; seven-
teen teet round at five feet from the ground ; called the great
oak in 1709: on a soil gravelly above, but, doubtless, clay be-
low. The timber in Moor Park of great antiquity, and in a
state of decay ; many immense pollards ; and, on the whole,
one of the most forest-like parks neir London. Vast oaks and
beeches at Ashridge and Beechwood. Beech excels there ; also
cedars and the oak, ash, larch, spruce, and common pine excel-
lent. Beech sold to turners, chair-makers, and for barrel staves.
11. Improvements.
Underdraining clay by numerous parallel cuts 6Ued with
straw, wood, or stones general: manuring well understood ;
much brought from London of every sort ; tones, soot, sheep
trotters, night soil, oil-cake dust, rags, leather clippings, fur-
riers' clippings, horn-shavings, malt-dust, hair, sticklebacks,
&c. Top dressings more frequent than in any other countv.
Chalk a very common manure on clavey soils; laid on un-
bumed, and left on the surface to be pulverized by heat and
rains, or frosts and thaws ; then harrowed with a biish harrow,
to spread it, and ploughed in. Some irrigated meadows at
Rickmansworth and other places'; but the frequency of mills
is against the process.
12. Live Stock.
All the spare clover, hay and straw, carried to London, and
manure brought out in return. Sir .T. Sebright prefers Suf-
folk cows and horses, and uses the Wiltshire sheep. A good
many house lambs suckled about Rickmansworth, fed with
grains and malt-dust in winter. Fo'ding sheep generally ap-
proved of. Soiling with clover and tares common. Grey works
Suffolk oxen in harness, four to a team. Hon. G. Villiers
prefers the Glamorganshire oxen for work ; and thinks stall -fed
oxen can hardly be kept too warm ; prefers oil-cake for finish-
ing to every thing else ; Lady Salisbury has the wild breed of
pigs, which fatten to forty -ei^ht stone ; feeds on lettices, which
is found to answer well. Stevenson, the bailiff, bred a gar-
dener, which renders him a superior cultivator of green crops.
Lord Clarendon feeds deer (66idO.) and sells them. Poultry at
the Grove kept in wheeled coops about twelve feet long and
two and a half wide, Iwarded on one side and open on the
other; these are wheeled up and down the park, and a boy at.
tends them to keep away hawks. In the poultry yard distinct
houses for all sorts of fowls ; the roosts so contrived that Uiey
may not dung on one another.
13. Rural Economy.
Ploughmen generally hired by the year.
14. Political Economy.
Good roads ; few manufactures excepting plaiting straw,
which is very general in the county, especially about Dun-
stable, St. Albans, Redbum, &c. Weak wheat straw from
chalky and white land, and such as grows under trees or near
hedges preferred. The plaiters give from two-pence to four-
pence a iwund for it, and sort it themselves. Much malt
made about Ware and Hertford for the London market.
6998. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 393,600 acres of hilly surface, and chiefly of clayey or loamy soil ; a
considerable part, chalky, and the agriculture nearly equally divided between tillage and grass. (Survey
by St. John Priest, Secretary to the Norfolk Agricultural Society, 1810. Malcolm's Survey, 1794. Mar-
shal's Review, 1818. Smith's Geological Map, 1820.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate, cold and windy on the Chiltern Hills.
Soil, chiefly clay and chalk, with some gravelly loam;
Chiltems wholly chalk ; vales generally clay.
Minerals. Some ochre, used in painting ; a quarry of good
marble at Newport, but too deep to be profitably worked ;
a freestone quarry near Olney.
Water. Numerous rivers and canals for sending produce to
market ; but often filled with weeds, bushes, and other ob-
structions, which, after heavy rains, occasion frequent floods :
a " commission of waters" proposed by the reporter as a re-
medy.
2. Property.
« Some large estates, as those of the Dukes of Bedford, Buck-
ingham, &c. : tenures very various : a description of lands
here called yard lands (virgafa terra), which entitle the holders
to certain rights of common.
3. Buildings.
Stowe, and Ashridge (the latter partly in Herts), the first of
Grecian,the other of Gothic architecture, the two noblest man-
sions in the county. Tyringham, Wycombe Abbey, &c. also very
good houses, and many others : some good farm-houses, and
the dairies very clean and neat ; churning often performed by
horse machinery ; the churns of the barrel kind. Lord Car-
rington has built some good farmeries, and the Marquis of
Buckingham some very complete cow-houses. Drake has
a good circular pigeon-house, with brick cells or lockers in
rows, with shelves before for the pigeons to light upon; fre-
quently white-washed, to keep them free from bugs. A foot-
bridge at Fawley Court, moveable upon two pivots at its ends,
and being heavier on one side than the other, alwavs hangs
perpendicularly, excepting when any one walks upon its light
side, when the weight of the person keeps it flat ; hence it
admits the passage of men, but not stock : cottages good
and mostly with gardens attached : some at Brickhill worse
than piggeries. Sir J. D. Kmg gives premiums for the best
cultivated gardens ; also gives clothing and other rewards for
good conduct in servitude.
4. Occupation.
f ^1 n^°^ ^^"""^^ ""^^^^f^^ number in the county 2059 ; one
of 1000 acres, one of 900, four or five between 600 and 700
acres, ten between 500 and 600, twentj-four between 400 and
oOO, and the rest from 400 down to ten acres; average 170
acres. AVestcar, of Kreslow, a celebrated grazier, occupies
900 acres, of which only between sixty and seventv are arable.
Very few leases, and those given with verj- Objectionable
covenants. Lord Camngton and other more enlightened pro-
prietors grant leases. " '
5. Implements.
Swing ploughs and four horses in a line common.
6. Enclosing.
andoafpollMdr'^'^' ''^^^^^'^"^^' and with many ash
7. Arable Land.
.f^l^Z^l^^'rr°"^7^l %^^, ^^^^^ 'P^'^" between, around, or
at the ends. (fig. 771.) Fallow in general every third year.
most common rotation fallow, wheat, beans : chief grains
o'n^tffelStlanS; »>-- l^i^'-l and hand hoed; some^i^^^s
8. Grass.
Pastures a prominent feature ; those in the vale of Aylesbury,
especially thence to Bicester, very rich; generally fed, but oc-
casionally mown. Removing ant hills called banking, apiece
of managementto which the renters of grass lands are generally
bound in their leases. They are removed by skinning, geld-
ing, or gutting, and kept down by rolling ; thistles are spud-
ded ; size of grass fields from twenty to 300 acres.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF BEDFORDSHIRE.
1089
9. Gardens and Orchards.
Few of either worth notice: cherries ftre grown at Hack well
Heath, for the London and Aylesbury market.
10. Woods and Plantations.
Willow pollards planted round the margins of fields, on soils
suitable for hurdle wood. Birch, the most common timlier, very
abundant; chiefly used for manufacturirj? chairs: woods con-
stantly full of vounf? plants from the mast, which ^ow up and
succeed those' which are felled ; thus the same timber on the
same soil and surface for ages. At Shardeloes, a beech seventy -
five feet from the laound, to the first bough : oak and lieech
trees in Ashridge Park, containing from three to six loads of
timber : very fine beeches at Missenden ; mast given to pigs.
11. Improvements.
Draining much wanttd ; well performed on some bogs on the
Marquis of Buckingham's estates by digging a well and boring
in the bottom till the spring was tapped, and then leading it off
in an underdrain; paring and burning in general use for
bringing grass lind to tillage : chalk much used as a manure,
sixty or seventy loads per acre, once in twenty-one years, or
forty once in twelve years ; allowed to lie on the surface for one
•winter at least before being ploughed in. Only one instance of
irrigation worth notice, which is at Cheynies, by a tenant of the
Duke of Bedford.
12. Live Stock.
Cattle kept chiefly for beef and butter, seldom for cheese or
•work ; Hereford oxen preferred, and next the Devon ; Holder-
ness cows for the dairy ; some prefer the long homed Lancas-
ter, and others the Sulfolk ; many of the Holdemess cows,
after being kept a few years, are sold to the London cow-
keepers ; men are generally the milkers ; only one instance
found of women performing that operation. Earl of Bridge-
water keeps eight teams of Welsh, one of Sussex, and one of
Durham oxen, all yoked as horses ; five used in the cart, and
four in a j>lough ; a few other gentlemen have ox teams ; cattle
generally fed ofFin summer ; cows kept during winter fed on
straw, hay, and oil-cake; little herbage or roots in use; milk
generallv kept in flat vessels of lead; some wooden travs,
tinned, 'in use; skimmed every twelve hours; in some few
E laces three times a day ; cream from first two skimmings kept
y itself; the third skimming makes what is called after-but-
ter ; skimming dish, if tin, circular, a foot in diameter, with
holes in it, and a handle upon the top of it ; butter made twice
a week, in chums of the barrel kind, usually turned by a horse ;
time allowed for the butter to come, an hour and a half; butter
made up in lumps of two pounds each, and sent to London in
square flat baskets, eleven inches deep, holding from thirty-six
to 1 20 pounds. Thev have each on three of their sides three
marks, thenumber of pounds the basket holds ; a letter, denoting
the farmer's name from whom it is received, and the name and
residence of the carrier. The baskets and butler cloths are the
property of the carrier; all that the farmer has to do is, to
carrv his butter to the nearest point where the carrier pas.ses,
and 'to make his agreement with his butter-factor in London,
and receive monthly, or otherwise, the payment. Quantity of
butter made, six pounds per cow per week, at an average,
when in good k<ep, and not nearly dry. Calves generally
sold to sucklers; a few suckled in tlie county, and a few brough't
up as stock.
Sheep. Culture directed to the fattening of lambs, and the
Berkshire.
Horsea generally soiled; five or six put to a plough In many
places, and never less than three. A team of asses kept by
the Marquis of Buckingham for the use of his garden ; many
used at the potteries at Amersham.
Hoes, an important article on account of the milk from
the dairies; breed the Berkshire, and next, the Chinese and
SuflTolk.
Ducks, a material article at Aylesbury and places adjacent ;
breed white, and of an early nature. They aie bred and
brought up by poor people, and sent to London by the weekly
carriers. One uoor man had before his door a small pit o'f
water, about three yards long and one yard broad: at two
comers of this ])it are places of shelter foi the ducks, thatched
with straw ; at night the ducks are taken into a house. In
one room belonging to this man (the only room he had to live
in) were on the 14th of .Fanuary, 1808, ducks of three growths,
fattening for the London niarket ; at one comer, about
seventeen or eighteen, four 'weeks old ; at another comer, a
brood a fortnight old ; and at a third comer a brood a week
old. Ducks six weeks old sold at that time for twelve khillirgs
a couple. Besides the above, there are other persons who
lan ..... ....
as far
breed many more ducks than the jierson now mentioned, and,
ft was possible to discover, this person ser '
a year to I^ondon. Allowing then forty
send only as many, at an average of five shillings per
duck, the return of ducks from Aylesbury alone will amount
to 4000/. per annum. This return has Seen magnified into
20,000/. per annum.
13. Political Economy.
Bye-roads extremely bad and dangerous ; difficult to be dis-
covered from mere drift wavs; tumpike-roads not to be com-
mei-jded ; canals various and useful ; grain sent to London at
two shillings per quai ter. Box clubs generally established fbr
the poor ; no agricultural society in Bucks. Principal manu -
factures paper and lace.
14. Miscellaneous.
In calculating the number of acres Priest the Reporter tried
the mode, first shown by the Bishop of Llandaff", of weighing
the portion of paper containing the map ; he next took an
exact copy of Cary's map upon paper, by tracing its outline,
after the map was strained upon a canvass blind at a window.
This copy was cut out with great exactness by a sharp pointed
knife, and then divided into pieces, which were so neatly laid
together, as to form a right-angkd parallelogram : another
piece of paper was cut into the form of an assumed parallel-
ogram longer than necessary, upon which the pieces of the
copy itere laid, and cemented by gum-water, so as to fill all
parts of a right-angled parallelogram shorter than that as-
sumed ; the difference between the assumed parallelogram
and that formed by the pieces of the copy of the map, was ac-
curately measured and subtracted from the assumeu parallel-
ogram, and the remainder gave 391,040 acres, the measure of
the number of acres in Bucks. Thus then we have the num-
ber of acres taken from Cary's map, by weight 396,013, by
measure, 391,040. From which, if we take an average, we
shall probably state it as accurately as it can be found to be
393,526 statute acres, which, for the sake of roimd numbers,
we wiU call 393,600 statute acres.
6999. BEDFORDSHIRE. An irregular parallelogratn of 290,000 acres, not much varied in sur-
face, and for the most part of a clayey soil. The agriculture chiefly directed to the raising of wheat,
barley, and beans, but of an inferior description in many respects. Little pasturage ; scarcely any
market orchards, but good vegetable gardens established at Sandy, on the east of the county, from time
immemorial. Great exertions made in every department of culture by the late and present Duke of
Bedford, by whom were employed many valuable men in conducting improvements, as Farey, Smith,
Salmon, and Pontey. A valuable set of experiments on grasses, conducted by Sinclair under the direc-
tion of the present Duke. {Stone's Bedfordshire, 1794. Hatchelor's Bedfordshire, 1808. Marshal's
Review, 1818. Smith's Geological Map, 1820.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate, mild, genial, and favorable to the growth of ve-
r tables; rather later than Hertfordshire; prevalent winds
W. ; coldest winds N.K.
Soil, chiefly clay, next sand, and lastly in the southern ex-
tremity embracing Herts, 'chalk. Some of the sands gray
silts, and producing nothing but heath, others more loamy,
as about Sandy, which is supposed to contain the best garden-
ground in the county.
jaineraU, some ironstone ; limestone abounding with cor-
nua ammonis and other shells, petrified wood, gryphites
belemnites; freestone, .chiefly lime, at Tatteinhoe.
Water. Principal river the Ouse ; several mineral springs.
2. Slate of Proper fff.
Duke of Bedford's estates the; largest, next Lord St. John's
and Whitbread , united rental estimated at 4t),000/. a year.
Estate manajjers attornies and considerable farmers.
3. Buildings.
Several f^rm-houscs were formerly the seats of gentle-
men who farmed their own estates. Farm-houses in general
badly situated, seldom at the centre of the farms to which they
belong, and generally consist of piecemeal erections. Francis,
Duke of Bedford, erected an octagonal fann house, on a most
commodious plan. {Jig. 772.) On the ground floor it cop.
tatned a large kitchen {a), hake and brew house, and washhouse
(6), a hall or master's room, with a cellar under (c). a good
pari
DC«1
the second {fig. 773.) two good bed -rooms. The expense of thU
house on the octagonal plan was 671/., had it been built in the
• would have cost 733/. It Is buUt of brick,
Hour (<fl, a dairy (e), besides a pantry (/), closets, and square form it ^ , . ^ _, „ ^. , ,, . „
or and ale cellar under. On the hrst floor were five, and on ' stated, and was designed by Mr. U. balmon, « well known
4 A
1090
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
mechanist, resident at Wobum. The same accommodations
on a square plan forms a house more convenient for placing
furniture. (Jig. 774.) Wattle and dab, that is, clay plastered
on hedge work of splinters, or on wood frame work, and also
the Pisif manner of clay- working, In use in some places, both
for fami-hoxises and cottages. Pia^ walls found wanner and
cheaper than any other, and when whitewashed said to make
good cottage walls.
and the an-
4. Occupation.
Many farms of from 200 to 500 acres; average 150 acres ;
Duke of Bedford's farms generally of the average size. Farm-
ers much improved by the example of Wobum
nuEd meetings. The experiments made by
Francis Duke of Bedford were to ascertain
the quantities of hay consumed by working
oxen; comparison between large and small
cattle as to food ; comparative value of
ditterent foods, &c. Tithes mostly in lay
hands; farms held generally from year to
year, some on leases of fourteen or twenty-
one years.
5. Implements.
Plough of the swing kind, with a wooden
board and a wedge nailed on as a mould
board, one fixed handle, and a loose one
called a plough staff; the whole singularly
jrude, though in general use throughout the
county. Improved forms of all machines
introd:uced by the Duke of Bedford's North-
umbrian manager, and other enlightened
men. A good straw cutter and winnowing
machine, mvented by Salmon ; also an ex-
cellent weighing machine. |
6. Enclosing.
Formerly three-fourths of the county unenclosed, now chiefly
enclosed.
7. ^raWeiflnrf wretchedly ploughed.
Fallows, which occur on the clays generally once in there
years, badly worked. Usual crops arc fallow, wheat, beans,
or fallow, barley, beans ; turnips common on the sands
and chalks, sown broad-cast, and hand-hoed. Chiccory
was tried by the Duke of Bedford, who found it yield ample
produce; had twelve acres which, in 1797j kept six sheep per
acre from the second week in April till Michaelmas ; four and a
half kejit ten sheep an acre from the setiond week in April till
22d July, and then seven per acre to end of October, Sheep
thrive well and free from diseases.
775
8. Grass Land.
Of very limited extent, and in many places covered with
sedge {carex), and anthills.
9. Gardens and Orchards.
Gardens of Sandy and Girtford long celebrated for the ex-
cellence and abundance of their culinary vegetables. Soil a
deep sand, of a yellowish brown color ; products pease, beans,
cucumbers, potatoes, parsn< — — -* ' - '• ■
plants, and turnips; sent
eps, and carrots, radishes, cabbage
to market in all directions to the
distance of sixty miles. Cucumbers chiefly to London, and
sold at ten and twenty shillinp a bushel for pickling. Orch-
ards small. Potatoes, gooseberries, and other small fruits
grown in cottage gardens.
10. Woods and Plantations.
About 7000 acres, situated on the slopes of hills on cold
marly clays. Various new plantations formed by the principal
proprietors, especiallpr the Duke of Bedford. FHirze grown on
some of the sandy hills, for burning lime. Some fine trees of
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
Iddi
the silver fir, and others of the genus Plnus at Wobum,
planted under the direction of the colebratwl Miller ; a fine
beech, figured by Pontey in his Forest Fruiter.
11. Wastes.
Four thousand acres of chalky down at Dunstable, not much
any where else.
12. Improvements.
A good deal drained, especially bogs. Elkington's mode said
to have been tried with very partial success. Bush and straw-
draining attempted on the clayey soils, and the mole plough a
good deal used in the furrows. Irrigation mtroduced by the
Dulce of Bedford, and various examples are to be found in
dillerent parishes on his Grace's estates. Peat is used as fuel,
and also burned tor the fashes as a manure ; ample experi-
ments made on manures, by Dr. Cartwright, at Wobum; but
no agricultural experiments on a small scale can be dei)end-
ed on. The dairy at Wobum (iig,. 775.) is a fanciful struc-
ture in Itlie Chinese style; .but the plan and arrangement
is not well calculatcKl tor keeping milk and butter cool and
sweet.
13. Live Stock.
Cattle a mixed breed of long and short homed Aldemey, &c.
Some dairying conducted as in Buckinghamshire. "Some
sheep, but of no particular breed ; folding generally practised
and approved of; horses a heavy breed from Huntingdonshire;
rabbit warrens destroyed as much as possible; geese kept. by
many from an idea that they preserve the health of the pasAr-
ing animals where they feed. Turkeys and pigeons kept before
the enclosure in various places, but now much on the decline-
Bees kept by a few cottagers and small farmers.
14. Rural Economy.
Husbandry business generally performed by day laborers ;
though on most large farms a horsekeeper, cowkeeper, shep-
herd, and kitchen maid hired by the year.
15. Political Economy.
Almost all the cross roads, and many of the main roads very
bad. Grand Junction Canal passes through a part of the
county, and is very useful ; fairs and markets various; manu-
factures chiefly plaiting of straw and lace ; children of ten or
twelve years of age acquire the art of plaiting while their mo-
thers sort and bleach the straw. Lacj maMng, a more iieden
tary employment, and the women ami children generalW ap-
pear sickly. There are school mistresses for teaching botii
straw i)Iaiting and lace making. Begin to leam lace at six or
seven years fofa^; do UtUe good for two vears, at ten years
eam two shillings a week, at sixteen as much as can be made
by the business, or nearly six shillings a week ; work in sum-
mer from six o'clock in the morning till sunset, and in winter
from nine till eleven at night ; maid servants scarce in conse-
quence, but poor rates kept down, Some rush mats made
near the Ouse to the west of Bedford.
Bedford House of Iiutttstry. — " The poor in the house arC
employed in the following manner: A manufacture of coarse
baize furnishes employment for all the boys five years of age
and some of the men; the remaining part of the men cultivate
an acre and a half of garden-ground, and weed and keep in
order twenty-five acres of sward land attached to the house.
The old women spin flax to make linen for the use of the fa-
mily ; the other women (exclusive of those engaged in do-
mestic concerns), and girls above six years old make thread
lace. One-sixth of the earnings; of the pcwr is paid weekly to
those who work, by way of gratuity. The Governor of the
House ot Industry adds, that the above employments have
answered the most sanguine expectations of the directors of
the establishment."
S; Many useful benefit clubs.
16. Obstacles to Itnprovement.
Want of knowledge and leases. Mice generally destroyed by
Erofessional rat catchers ; some formers keep ferrets for the rats^
.arks destroy a great deal of new sown' wheat. "Thev, with
other birds, are very abundant in Bedfordshire, especially about
Dimstable, where they are caught in traps, in quantities for
the London market. Wire worms supjKjsed to be increased by
artifiKal grasses.
17. Miscellaneous.
An agricultural society founded by the Duke of Bedford in
1801 ; various premiums offered and paid, to the extent of
100/. a year in some years. Cheappublications on agriculture,
it is thought, would be a considerable means of ini
ment.
7000. 'HUNTINGDONSHIRE. A dull flat surface of nearly 200,000 acres ; till Edward the First's time
one continued forest The soil is almost uniformly good, but injured by water ; it is chiefly under tillage
but remarkable for no excellence in agriculture, Rapeseed and mustard are more cultivated than iii
most other counties, and timber more rare. {Stow's Huntingdonshire , 1793. Maxwell j 1793. Parkin
son, 1811. Marshal's Review, 1813. Smith's Geological Map, 1821.)
bog,
Mer
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate, tolerably healthy, considering that the east part is
skirted by fens, and but a small part supplied by water from
springs.
Soil. Loam jTrevalent, but the County every where spotted
with roundish patches of clay, sand, marl, fen, moor, or lakes,
which, in the map of soils annexed to Parkinson's Ileport, as-
sumes a very singular appearance.
Wafer chiefly supplied from ponds; Ouse and Nene the
only rivers ; the meres are natural ponds, surrounded by reeds
and other aquatic plants, and a considerable zone of marsh or
)g, according as the soil may be loam or sand. Wliittlesea
lere contains 1570 acres.
2. State of Property.
Old enclosed lands in the hands of a few proprietors ; half
the county freehold, the remainder almost all copyhold.
3. Buildings.
Farm-houses very inconveniently situated, partly owing to
the want of high and dry sites on central parts of farms ; some
Rood cottages lately erected as the only means of retaining farm
servants for any length of time with the same master.
4. Occupation.
Many large fsurms, though small ones predominate ; leases
firequent ; tithe in kind.
5. Implements.
Plough, with one handle, originally from Holland; one
wheel, a circular plate of iron which is kept sharp, acts as a
coulter.
6. Tillage.
Plough with a pair of horses, or three abreast ; two crops
and a fallow the common rotation ; chief crops, wheat, oats,
and beans; rape sown on the fens; lands either once ploughed
out of grass, or pared and burned ; also on uplands ; manured
and treated as tumips; seed threshed in the field; straw
generally burned, or used for yard fences ; wheat succeeds well
after rape; hemp sown in a few places; nmstard cultivated
with great success ; sometimes pays 101. an acre on land worth
not more than 50/, but very uncertain. Parkinson thinks
hemp, flax, raiie-seed, and mustard, should'be encouraged, aa
they enrich the farmer, and are all good preparatives for
wheat. The only way, he says, to enrich the soil, is to enrich
the farmer first.
7. Grass.
Some good meadows on the Ouse and Nene ; the pastures
lie remote from the farm buildings, but are in general rich,
though neglected; require to be pared and bumed, and
brought under aration.
8. Woods and Plantations.
A good many pollard willows -in the fens, and some osier
plantations.
9. Improvements.
{}reat want of a general county drainage, such as that of the
Bedford level, in the adjoining counties of Lincoln, Cambridge,
and Northampton. The advantages of such a drainage is ably
pointed out by Parkinson. Embankments very ektensive, and
the soil being in general a loose porous sand, puddle walls are
generally made in the middle of the moimd.
10. Live Stock.
Stilton cheese, now chicfly'made at Little Dalby, in Leicester-
shire; is no longer made at Stilton, though it is supposed to
have been originally made there about 17'20 ; or, according to
some, by a Mrs. Orton, in 17.'50. A good rnany horses bred,
and a mixture of Lincoln and Leicester ; folding sheep much
practised. No fewer than 'ill pigeon houses in this county,
and a few bees; one gentleman cultivates rabbits.
11. Political Economy.
Bad roads ; m lace manufactorv at Kimbolton ; a paper mill
at St. Neots ; two sacking manufactories at Standground ; an
agricultural society i^ lumbolton.
7001. CAMBRIDGESHIRE. A flat or little varied surface of 450,000 acres, generally of good soil,
and mostly under tillage ; remarkable only for the extent of its fen lands, and tneir embankment antl
drainage, both very iraijerfect. Horses are a good deal bred in the county, and also pigeons. {Vancouver'' s
Cambridgeshire, 1795. Gooche's Cambridgeshire, 1807. Marshal's Review, 1813.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
r Climate. On the uplands dry and healthy, but in the fens
the contrary ; there the inhabitants sufffer most when the fens
are driest. Agues have somewhat diminished smce the fiais
began to be better drained.
Soils are very Irregularly distributed ; loam, clay, and nch
black earth extend themselves 'in irregular masses, and nearly
of the same extent. The soU of the fens is rich black, and
deep, and may occujiy a third of the whole surface. -The rich
marshes in the vicinity of Wist)each consist of a tnixture of
sand and clay, or silt ; and thftuplands consist of chalk, gravel,
loam, and tender clay. There are no minerals.
Rivers. - The .Ouse, the Granta or Cam. The Ouse and
Nene also cross part of the county, and the old and new Bed-
ford rivers. All these are navigable for barges, and are kept
open in frosty weather by ice-boats, drawn down the stream by
eight horses,' four on each side.
2. Estates. ^ ^
Vary much in size. Those of Lord Hardwicke, Duke of
Bedford, Duke of Rutland, Sir H. Peyton, and Ihorpe, art
4
the largest ; greatest part of the county in estates of firom 200/.
to 600/. and 1000/. per annum ; many from 20/. to 50/. and
even 400/. a year, occupied by their owners; tenures of all
sorts, and a variety.of college- land .tenures.
3. Buildings.
Farm-houses and'premlses in general bad and Inconvenient';
lath and.plaster, or clay and wattle, the common material.;, and
clunch or clay walls in general use. .lennyns.of Bottisham,has
adopted ArthurYoung's plan of building stacks on frames, which
run on an iron railway, and ate pulled into the bam, where they
are forketl on to the platform of the threshing machine.
Cottages " wretchedly bad," excepting a few built by Lord
Hardwicke, and some other gentlemen.
4. Occupation.
Farms from twenty to 100 acres; many fVom 100 to 1000,
but few exceed the latter niunber ; tithes taken In kind in
many places.
5. Implements.
Ploughs, with a sharj' 'run wheel, or rumiuig touller, »« In
A 2
1092
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
Huntingdonshire. Shepherd, of Chlpi>enham, has invented a
variety of Implements. Some Jhre^li^^g machines, and the
best Lothian implements, at Lord Haidwicke s. ihe i/^
bear roller is an iron roller, with a number of pieces of iron
like small spades fixed into it. It is used m tVie fenny dis-
tricts for cutting up the weeds, which choke up the slow run-
ning rivers. The horses walk along 'l^e ta"'^'^,"'^^^^ " "
several times up and down the river. The weeds are thus
rooted up, and canied down the stream by the hrst flood.
6. Arable Land. , . tt *■ ^ v,-
Ploughed and cultivated in general as m Huntingdonshire ,
hemp is cultivated more extensively; f ax is grown, and mustard,
near Wisbeach and Outwell ; a few lentils, as in Huntingdon-
sh^e, butare considered of less value than tares. The reporter
says!a^ond crop of mustard is obtained b>' what shells from
the first, and that mustard springs up m land where it has not
been cultivated for upwards oi a century. Woad is in
cultivation, and for every forty acres a woad mil!, it is said, is
required. No crop pays equal to the reed, which requires no
culture but cutting and bunching; owmg to the improvement
of the fens, thev are now becommg scarce. Whit^eed (Poa
aquatica). or fen hay, is produced on many parts of the
fen lands, and even on such parts as have been dug for peat.
The land is inundated till the crop appears above the water,
and then, wherever it can be'eftected, it is let ott ; m other
cases the grass grows to a great height in the water, is mown
twice in the season, and often produces two tons per acre each
time. The hay is esteemed valuable for cows ; causing them
to produce much milk, and, it is said, giving the particular
flavor to Cottenham cheese.
7. Grass Lands. ^ . ,
Extensive; some under no management, and of little value ;
others very productive, both as hay and feeding jlands. In
the district called the Wash, they will carry from one to two
bullocks, and from five to twelve sheep per acre fed the
greater part of the year.
8. Gardens and Orchards.
Good market and fruit gardens at Ely, Soham, AVisbeach,
&c. which supi)ly Lynn and various places, by water carriage,
with apples, cherries, and vegetables.
9. Woods and Plantations.
Some young plantations. The Rev. G. Jennyns, of Bot-
tisham, '' does not cut off the tap roots of oaks in th# usual
manner, and finds they thrive faster." (That he is mistaken,
see 3646.) Osiers are grown in various places for the basket
makers, and found to pay as well as a y crop.
10. Wastes and uni?nproved f^n.
In 1794, 158,500 acres.
11. Improvements.
In no part of the island draining and embanking so much
■wanted as in the fens of this county.
The former aiatecf the fenlands, and their degradation to their
present state, is given at length in the report, chiefly from a
pamphlet by Lord Hardwicke. It was the opinion of Atkins
(a commissioner of sewers in the reign of .lames I. 1604) that
these fens (a space of upwards of 280,000 acres) were once
" of the nature of land-meadows, fruitful, healthy, and very
gainful to the inhabitants, and yielded much relief to the high-
land countries in time of great droughts." Sir W. Dugdale
(who was bom 1605, and died 1686) was of the same oi)inion,
adding as a proof, " that great numbers of timber trees (oaks,
firs, &c.) formerly grew there, as is plain from many being
found in digging canals and drains, some of them severed from
their roots, the roots standing as they grew, in firm earth, below
the moor."
On deepening the channel of Wisbeach river, in 1635, the
workmen, at eight 'feet below the then bottom, discovered a
second bottom, which was stony, with seven boats lying in it,
covered with silt. And at Whittlesea, on digging through the
moor at eight feet deep, a perfect soil was found with swards
of grass lying on it, as thev were at first mown. Henry of
Huntingdon (who lived in the reign of Stephen, 1135), de-
scribed this fenny country " as pleasant and agreeable to the
eye; watered by many rivers which run through it, diversified
by many large and small lakes, and adorned by many woods
and islands." And William of Malmsbury (who lived in the
first year of Henrv II. 1154), has painted the state of the
land round Thomey in the most glowing colors : he says, " it
is a very paradise, in pleasure and delight it resembles heaven
itself; "the very marshes abounding in trees, whose length
without knots do emulate the stars." " The plain there is as
level as the sea, which, with the flourishing of the grass,
allureth the eye ; in some parts there are apple-trees, in others
▼ines." It appears then, on the authority of the authors
quoted, that the fens were formerly wood and jjasture. The
engineers were of opinion that the country in question, formerly
meadow and wood, now fen, became so 'from partial embank-
ments preventing the waters from the uplands going to the
sea by their natural outfalls ; want of proper and sufficient
drains to convey those waters into the Ouse; neglect of such
drains as were made tor that purpose ; and that these evils in-
creased from the not embanking the river Ouse, and the
erection of sluices across it preventing the flux and reflux of
the sea ; the not widening and deepening, where wanted,
the river Ouse ; and from not removing the gravels, weeds, &c.
which have from time to time accumulated in it.
The first attempt at draining any part of the fens appears
to have been made in the time of Edward I. {VZ72, Sec.) ; many
others with various success followed. The famous John of
(raunt (or Ghent, who died in 1393), and Margaret, Countess
of Richmond, were amongst the draining adventurers; but
(rough, in his addition to Camden, says " the reign of Eliza-
beth may be properly fixed on as the period when the level
began to become immediately a public casp. Many plans were
proposed and abandoned between that time and "1634, when
King Charles I. granted a charter of incorporation to Francis,
Earl of Bedford, and thirteen gentlemen adventuiers with
him, who jointly undertook to drain the level on condition
that they should have granted to them, as a recompense,
95,000 acres (about one-third of the level). In 1649, this
charter was confirmed to William, Earl of Bedford, and his
associates, by the Convention Parliament ; and in 1653 the
level being declared completely drained, the 95,000 acres were
conveyed to the adventurers, who had expended 400,000/.,
■which is almost 4/. 4«. per acre on the 95,000 acres, and about
II. 8s. on the whole breadth, if the whole level contain 285,000
acres, and it Is generally supposed to contain 300,000 acres.
In 1664, the corporation called " Conservators of tlie great
level of the fens" was established, This body was empowered
to levy taxes on the 95,000 acres, to defray whatever expenses
might arise in their preservation; but only 83,000 acres were
vested in the corporation, in trust for the Earl of Bedford and
his associates ; the remaining 12,000 were allotted, 10,000 to
the King, and 2000 to the Earl of Portland. At first the levy
was an equal acre tax, but upon its being deemed tmjust, a
gradual one was adopted, which is now acted upon. In the
year 1697, the Bedford level was divided into three districts,
north, middle, and south; having one surveyor for each of the
former, and two for the latter. In 1753, the north level was
separated by act of parliament from the rest. In addition to
the public acts obtained for draining the lens, several private
ones have been granted, for draining sei>arate districts with
then: limits, notwithstanding which, and the vast sums ex-
pended, much remains to be done; a great part of the tens
IS now (1806) in danger of inundation; this calamity has
visited them many times, producing effects distressing and ex-
tensive beyond conception, indeed many hundred acres of va-
luable land now drowned, the misfortime aggravated by the
proprietors being obfiged to continue to pay a heavy tax, not-
withstanding the loss ot their land.
The interior drainage of the fens is performed in most places
by windmills, which are very uncertain in their effects. Steam
has been tried, and there can be no doubt would be incompa-
rably preferable, as working in all weathers.
Embanking may be considered a necessary accompaniment
of draining on the fen-lands. The fens are divided into three
large levels, and each of these levels are subdivided into nu-
merous districts by banks ; but as these banks are made of fen-
moor, and other light materials, whenever the rivers are
swelled with waters or any one district is deluged, either by
rain, a breach of banks, or any other cause, the waters speedily
pass through these bright, moorv, porous banks, and drown all
the circumjacent districts. The fens have sometimes sus-
tained 20,000/. or 30,000/. damage by a breach of banks ; but
these accidents seldom happen m the same district twice in
twenty years ; the water, however, soaks through all fen banks
every year in every district ; and when the water mills have lift-
ed the w aters up out of the fens into the rivers in a windy day,
a great part of the water soaks back through the porous banks
in the night upon the same land again. This water that soaks
through the bank, drowns the wheat in the winter, washes the
manure into thedykes, destroys the best natural and artificial
grasses, and prevents the fens from being sown till too late m
the season. This stagnant water lying on the surface, causes
also fen agues, &c.; thus the waters that have soaked
through the porous fen banks have done the fertile fens more
real injury, than all the other floods that have ever come upon
them. The remedy for the soaking through of the water is ob-
viously that of forming a puddle wall in the middle, which
appears to have been first thought of among the;fen bank-
makers by 'Smith of Chatteris, a professed embanker, who thus
describes his mode of putting a vertical stratunj of puddle in old
mounds. " I first cut a gutter eighteen inches wide, through
the old bank down to the clay (the fen substratum being gene-
rally clay), the gutter is made near the centre, but a little on
the land side of the centre of the old bank. The gutter is
afterwards filled up m a very solid manner with tempered clay,
and to make the clay resist the water, a man in boots always
treads the day as the gutter is filled up." This plan was tried
last summer (1794), on a convenient farm, and a hundred
acres of wheat were sown on the land. The wheat and grass
lands on this farm are now all dry, whilst the fens around are
covered with water. This practice answers so well on this
farm, that all the farmers in the parish are improving their
banks in the same manner, and some have begun in adjacent
parishes.
With respect to endianking from-ihe sea, Vancouver is of opi-
nion, that the ground ought to be covered by nature with
samphire or other plants, or with grass, before an attempt is
made to embank it : there is particular danger in lieing loo
greedy. " If the sea has not raised the salt marsh to its fruit-
ful level, all expectation of benefit is vain, the soil being imma-
ture, and not ripened for enclosure ; and if again with a view
of grasping a great €xtent of salt marsh, the banks or sea wall
be pushed farther outwards than where there is a firm and
secure foundation for it to stand upon, the bank will blow up,
and in both cases great losses and disappointments will ensue."
Paring and burning is every where approved of, and consi-
dered the sine qua non of the fen district, in breaking up turf.
Without it com crops are destroyed by the grub and wire-
worm.
Irrigation. Col. Adeane, of Barbraham, has 300 acres of
meadows, which have been irrigated from the time of Queen
Elizabeth. " Pallavicino, who was collector of Peter's pence
in England, at the death of Queen Mary, having 30,000/. or
40,000/. in his hands, had the art to turn Protestant on tl-.e
accession of Queen Elizabeth, and appropriated the money to
his own use ; he bought with it an estate at Barbraham, and
other lands near Bournbridge; and procuring a grant fiom the
crown, of the river which passes through them, was enabled
legally to build a sluice across it, and throw as much of the
water as was necessary into anew canal of irrigation, which he
dug to receive it in the method so well known, and commonly
practised in Italy long before that period. The canals and
the sluices are all well designed, and are the work of a man
evidently well acquainted with the practice ; but in taking the
waters from them for spreading it by small channels over the
meadows, there does not seem to be the least intelligence or
knowledge of the husbandry of watering. No other art is ex-
erted but that merely of opaiing in the bank of the river small
cuts for letting the water flow on to the meadows always later-
ally, and never longitudinally, so necessary in>orks of this kind.
The water then finds its own distribution, and so irregularly,
that many parts receive too much, and others none at all.
From the traces left of small channels in different parts of the
meadows, it would appear that the ancient distribution formed
under Pallavicino is lost, and that we see nothing at present
but the miserable patch-work of workmen ignorant of the
business. Irrigation has not spread from this example, but
might be extensively practised on the banks of all the rivers."
12. Live Stock.
Cattle, a breed peculiar to the county; but some ot 9\\
sorts. Butchers give more for a Cambridge calf than a Shi-
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF SUFFOLK.
1093
folk one, fencylng the former whiter veal. Tlie Cottenliani
cheese ascribed to the excelience of tlie prass, iu great part
Poa aquatica.
The cow system consists chiefly tn sucklinf; of calves and
making of butter; there is not much cheese made, except the
noted ones of Soham and Cottenham. The suckling season is
from Michaelmas to Lady-day. It requires, on an average,
two cows to fatten a calf. The cows, when at a distance from
home, are milked in the pasture, and the milk broujfht home
by a horse or ass, in tul)s, slung across : women could not do
this work, the travelling being", after the least rain, very bad,
even when there is no water to go through. The butter is sold
rolled up in pieces of a yard long, and about two inches in
circumference; this is done for the conveniency of coUetjes,
where it is cut into pieces, called " parts," and so sent to
table; its quality is nowhere excelled-
lltUlocks of various kinds fattaied on grass, and when not
ready in autumn, put up and finished on com or oil-cake.
Col. Adeane btiys in London at a falling market, and keeiis till
a rising one before he sells.
Slieep cliiefly as in Huntingdonshire; some Norfolks and
South Downs ; folding on the uplands.
Horses of the cart kind much bred, and considered an article
iu which the county excels ; they are very large and Ijony ;
b'.ack ; with long hair froin the knee to the fetlock trailing on
the ground. A cart stallion has cost 255 guineas, and his colts
have Bold for stxty guineas. Horses kept In Uie stable ibrotKfi-
out the year, at a great expense, because on dry fixxl ; herb-
age plants, artificial grasses, and roots being neglected, and no
soiling practised.
The tieer in Wimpole park attacked by a singular disease, a
sort of madness; the diseased animal begins by pursuing the
herd, then sequesters himself, breaks his antlers against the
trees, and gnaws large pieces of flesh from his side?, &c. be-
comes convulsed, and soon expires.
PigeonJuMses on almost every farm ; kept in a great measure
because if any one were to give them up, he would be obliged
to keep the pigeons of others; destroy thatched roofs, and oblige
every farmer to sow more seed than he otherwise would; pro-
duce sent to London and other parts; often 100 dozen l>er
aimum from onepigeoiu-y ; dung higlily pri^d.
13. Mural Economy.
Peat, sedge, or thin turf, and dried cow dung lused as fuel.
The cow dung is spread on grass, about li inch thiok, and
cut into pieces, tight or twelve inches square ; there it lies till
dry.
14. Political Econoiny.
Koads miserably bad ; canals or navigable cuts in the fens in
all| directions ; a few fairs; a pottery at Ely for coarse iware;
excellent white bricks made there, and at Chatteris and.Cdm.
bridge ; lime burned at various places.
7002. SUFFOLK. A crescent-like flat surface of 800,000 acres, the soil chiefly clay, and the agriculture
directed to the growing of corn. The county is, however, famous for its breed of cow.s, horses, and hogs,
and it is one of those in which carrots are a good deal grown. The celebrated Arthur Young was a native
yeoman of the county, and farmed his own estate near Bury. ( Young's Suffolk, 1810. Smith's Geologi-
cal Map, 1819.)
. 1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
ClimiUe. One of the driest in the kingdom ; the frosts severe ;
and the N. E. winds in spring, sharp and prevalent.
Soil. The predominating a strong loain on a clay-marl bot-
tonj in the centre of the county, a zone of sand along the coast,
and some sand and fen land in tlie north-west angle; no
minerals.
2. Property.
Chiefly in the hands of rich yeomanry, who cultivate their
own estates of from 100/. to 40()2. a year; one esUte of 800W. a
year ; and two or three of 5000/.
3. Buildings.
(ireat erections have been made for the convenience of men
of large fortunes ; but none for those of smaller incomes ; farm
houses improved, but still inferior to what they might be ; often
of lath and plaster, and wanting requisite rei)airs ; bams use-
lessly large; cottages in general bad habitations; the door
generally opens from the external air into the living room;
reparation bad, and the deHciency of gardens general.
4. Occupation.
Farms generally large; some from 20/. to 100/. a year;
fenerally from 150/. to §00/. ; the largest on the sandy districts.
>eases for'seven, fourteen, and twenty -one years; much land
held at will.
5. Implements.
The Suftblk swing plough, well known as one of the best of
the old English ploughs; various threshing machines, and
other improved implements introduced; circular ^harrows.
(Jig. 776.)
6. Enclosures. . . „ , ,
Suftblk one of the earliest enclosed counues m England ; a
few recent enclosures.
7. Arable Land. .^ ., ,,.^
Plough, with two horses, one acre a day on stiff soils, and li to
14 on sands; ploughmen skilful, and sul«cribe pnzej among
themselves for such as draw the straightest furrow, &c. Be-
sides all the common crops, a larger proportion ot pease
grown than is usual in most counties. Hops, cabbages, carrote,
Vuc^em, chiccorv, and hemp, are grown in a few placw!. i he
culture of carrots is, of course, confined to the sandy districts,
Bnd that of rape for seed, and of hemp, to the fenny anple ot
the county. A. Young seemsto have liecn the chief cultivator
of chiccorv, having hadj" ninety acres of it for sheep." Hemp is
growm both by cottagers' and farmers, and for the seed as well
as fibre, but never on a large scale; five acres is the greatest
breadth to be met with.
Sk- Grass.
Pastures coarse and not extensive ; both these and meadows
badly managed, overrun with mole and ant hills, bushes,
tufts of bad grasses, weeds, iS:c. Hay-making badly performed.
9. Gardens and Orchards.
Garden walls built of the width of a brick, by making them
wavy. (Encychpealia nf Gardening, 1567.)
10. Woods and Plantatioiis.
Few, and pay badly ; but large oak tiiuber formerly produced
in the clay districts.
11. Improvement.^.
Wheat substituted for rye. Draining much practised on the
clays ; bushes, straw, or stubble used tor filling them ; claying
and marling the sands practised, but sand laid on clay found of
no use, or marl on dav, according to the old adage —
Marie clay, throw all away ;
Marie sand, and buy land.
Some workmen procured from Gloucestershire to execute
irrigations in the manner of that county.
12. Livestock.
In cows, horses, and hogs, Suffolk excels. The Suffolk
breed of cows spread over the whole county. To keep the
breed polled, horned calves are never reareu, but sold to the
sucklers. Cows in prime give eight gallons of milk per-day,
and great part of the season six gallons; best milkers red brin-
die, or yellowish cream colored; not always the best feeders.
Often fed in winter with cabbages. A point of bad management
is, that the bulls, when threeyears old, or thereabouts, are either
sold or castrated for fatting, by which means, when a good stock-
getter is thought to be discovered, when searched for he is no
more ; thus no improvement can be made in the breed, hut by
accident. Cows are allowed to range over turnip fields and
eat where they please, and often the same as to cabbages.
In some cases they are tied to posts in the optTi field, littered,
and the vegeUbles brought to them : both barbarous modes of
management. Dairy management not particularly good ; wo-
men iu general the milkers ; milk generally seven or eight
cows an hour ; one for a wager milked tlxirty in three hours.
Ouality of milk depends not only on the food, but on the con-
tfition of the cows as to health and fatness. Chafing dishes of
charcoal kept in the dairies during firost, but the cream does
not rise so well. Butter generally salted in firkins.
The sheep used are theNorfolk breed, or as they ought rather
to be called the teuffolk breed, with which folding Is tmiver-
sallv and anxiously practised.
liurses of the best variety found on the sandy soils, as about
lyowestoif, Woodbridge, Orford. About the middle of last
century a considerable spirit of breeding, and teams drawing
against teams for large sums, existed. The old breed were
ugly, with slouching ears, iirsha|>ed head, and low in the fore
end ; a great carcase, short legs and short back ; thqr could
only walk and diaw, and no more trot than a cow ; of fate, by
mining at coach horses, the breed has become handsomer, and
one of the best for draught in England. In the east district,
horses are turned out of the stable in winter at night, about
eight o'clock, into a yard well littered with straw, with plenty
ofoaien barlev straw to eat, but no hay ; so treated, they are
found to keep free from diseases, and work several years longer
than if kept c-onstantly in stables.
The hogs fatten early and at litUe expense, but are not great
breeders.
llulAiits. Many warrens in the sand district ; one at Bran-
don returns 40,(KK) rabbits in a year ; twenty rabbits per acre
usual produce ; carcase defrays rent and taxes, and the skin
profit ; so that no mode of farming can be more profiuble to
the occupier.
Poultry. Turkeys generally cultivated, but chiefly for honu
use.
Pigeons abound on the borders of Cambridgeshire.
13. Political Economy.
Roads very good ; matle with flints and gravel ; some canals.
Ipswich and Bur)- excellent markets ; a good deal of fishing on
the coast ; spinning and combing wool, and spinning andweav-
ing hemp among the cottagers. Savs and silk manufactures at
Sudbury. Various hundreds in tliis county incorporated by
charter for erecting houses of industry for the poor ; they ma-
nufacture netting for the fishers, spin, &c., and cultlrate a few
acres of land ; they are admirably kept and managed, and the
poor live like the pensioners in Chelsea college ; but these houses
of Industry have little t*fi?ct In lowering the poor ratss. Mar-
4A 3
1094
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Fart IV.
9hal considers them as the grave of morality and Independent
policy.
14. Obstacles to Improvement.
The great abundance oi game in tlie county Is such, that In-
stances are given of corn having been injured to the extent of
half and three-fourths of its value by hares and pheasants,
which are common every where, and on the sand district mere
especially.
An agricultural society, called the Milford society, meets al-
ternately at Milford and Bur}-.
7003. NORFOLK. A flat surface of 240,000 acres, chiefly of a loamy and sandy soil, and devoted to
the growth of com, and the fattening of cattle and sheep. This county has acquired celebrity for its ge-
neral culture, and especially for that of turnips and clover. It displays a great variety of practices, and
abounds in wealthy farmers. It is also noted for the estate of Coke, a true patriot, the most munilicent
of landlords, and greatest friend to farmers. Norfolk, in short, was formerly reckoned the finest county
m England for agriculture, as Northumberland is at present. Mackie' nursery at Norwich, the property
and under the direction of a lady, is one of the most extensive and best managed of provincial nurseries.
(Kent's Norfolk l/9o. loung's Norfolk, 1801. Marshal's Review, 1813. Smith's Geological Map, 1819.)
1. Geographical State arid Circumstance$.
Climate colder and more backward than Suffolk; N. E.
winds severely felt in spring ; salubrity of the air affected bv
the fens of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire to the extent of
5 or 600,000 acres, which lie on the west side of the county.
Soil. A sandy loam or sand ; Kent savs, similar and equal
in value to that of the Austrian Netherlands. There is a small
patch of silt or warp clay on the borders of Lincolnshire,
and of rather stifFer clay on the borders of Cambridf;,eshire.
Water. The sea and rivers for navigation ; watering ponds
for cattle made at Holkham., each to serve four enclosures,
forty-two feet square at bottom, twelve smd seven feet deep,
bottom and sides well covered with sand ; within a vard of
the top, the clay two feet thick, and paved with bricks' set on
edge. These ponds made by men from Gloucestershire at two
and sixpence per superficial y ard. To divide the ponds for four
fields, a large stone with a hole wrought in it to receive a post,
is necessary at the centre, and the post has mortices to receive
rails from the sides.
2. Property.
Estatesof allsizes; oneof 25,000^ avear, one of 14,000/., one
of 13,000/., two of 10,000/., many of 5000/. Land sells cur-
rently at thirty years purchase. Tenure by freehold three-fifths,
church, collegiate, and corporate estates one-fifth,: and copy-
hold under lay lords one-fifth.
3. Buildings.
Some noble seats of proprietors. Kent says farm buildings
are on too large a scale; "they are always crying out for bam-
room, though wheat is preserved cheaper ^nd better on stad-
dles;" barns on a farm of 100/. a year that have cost 300/.
Coke has expended above 100,000/. on farm houses ; bams
at Holkham 120 feet long bv 30 broad and 30 high, surrounded
■with sheds for sixty head of cattle; walls of fine white brick,
and roof of blue slate. At L\derstone an immense bam
of Coke's, containing the crop of 140 acres. Seven men neces-
sary on the goff or mow, at the unloading of every waggon, and
dare not venture to tread the com for fear of bursting the
l>am J farmers fond of immense bams. In building Coke has
substituted milled lead for ridge tiles to the roofs'; copper
■wards to all locks; front edges of mangers are rollers covered
•with tin, mangers themselves plated with iron ; bottoms of
the stall fences of tPenryn slate. In building walls not to be
roofed, they are drawn in to a brick's length at top. Lime- wash
used as a preservative to boards, walls, &c. : it is composed of
hme fresh from the kiln, and clean sharp sand, mixed with hot
vater, and laid on hot ; stirring it up so as always to lay on
sand -with the lime. An excellent plan. At Holkham a brick
manufactory, where bricks of all forms are made, and common
bricks are cut, five parts in six, through in various directions, so
as to give half and quarter bricks, angles, &c. without breaking
and waste. This is one of the most complete manufactories in
the kingdom. At Bel wy a capital farmery, laborers' cottages
and gardens. Sharp clean sand dashed on new paint found to
answer the end of imitating stone, &c. A. Yomig did not see
a good farm yard m the county.
C'o«afi'e« much wanted; some built of flint- work.
4. Occupation.
Farms large on the dry soils and smaller on the wet ones ;
2000 acres arable, the largest measuring from 400 to 600.
Farmers famous for their imi)i-ovements, excellency of their
management, and the hospitable manner in which they live,
and receive their friends and strangers. The farming-mind
of the county has undergone two revolutions, one between 1730
to 1760, when great improvements were made, and the next
about 1790, when drilling began to be introduced. Coke be-
gun to promote farming, and the South Down sheep were in-
troduced about that time. The great improvements for seventy
years past effected in consequence of twenty -one years leases.
The advantages of leases ab'y advocated by Kent. Coke ad-
heres steadily to this term, while some others are reducing it
to seven and nine years.
5. Implements.
For more than half a century these remained stationary ;
now improvements making ; Norfolk plough ha^ a high pitched
beam, wheels near to the share, and is reckoned lighter than
njost wheel ploughs.
6. Enclosures.
Many since middle of eighteenth century. In planting
hedges on a loamy soil, the plants being laid in, and the bank
over them raised to the usual height, the face of it, and also
of the ditch for one foot or more below the original surface is
plastered over with clayey stuff taken out of the bottom of
the ditch, to the thickness of two or three inches, or more
about the sets. The advantage of this plan is, that tliis loamy
puddle from the bottom of the ditch, is without the seeds of
weeds itself, and by its compactness excluding the air from
these in the mould below, it prevents them from germinating ;
7004. OXFORDSHIRE. An irregular, inland, elevated surface of 450,000 acres, chiefly in aration,
and in a very backward state as to agriculture There are rich grass lands, subjected to the same dairy
management as in Buckinghamshire, and some natural wood lands. The principal agriculturist and
patriot of the county is Fane, of Wormsley. (Davis's Report, 1794. Arthur Young's Oxfordshire, 1809
Marshal's Reviciv, 1813. Smith's Geological Map, 1823.)
the consequence is, hedges planted in this manner require
little or no weeding for several years.
7. Arable Land.
Plough with two to four horses very shallow ; carefully pre-
serve the hard basis formed by the sole of the plough, which
is called the pan of the land ; breaking this up is said to let
down the riches into the hungry subsoil, &c. Culture of tur-
nips erroneously stated by Kent j to have been introduced from
Hanover by Townsend, in the reif^ of Geo. I. ;— doubtless
has increased since that period. Clover very general, and
wheat on the clover ley ; turnips all broad-cast, or if drilled,
never on ridgelets, but on the flat surface ; rotations good, such
as turnips, barley, clover, wheat, &c. Turnips fed off with
sheep, or given to cattle in stalls, or the open yard ; sometimes
carted on the sown wheats in Febmary, and eaten off them
by sheep or bullocks, the soil being very dry and loose ; clover
eaten otf, or mown for soilmg or hay ; — most generally eaten
off by ewes and lambs. Wheat dibbled in some places, a prac-
tice which originated in this county, and has scarcely been
adopted m any other. Carrots not so much cultivated as in
Sutlblk ; a good deal of mustard from March to Wisbeach ;
on the rich black lands, four crops of mustard taken in succes-
sion, and then wheat ; produce three to fiaur quarters per acre.
Hemp and flax cultivated in the spots of ground belonging to
houses, of industry, and in some other cases, but to no extent.
Samtfoin not much cultivated ; Coke had 400 acres. Lucem
at a few places ; mangelwurzel introduced by Sir Mordaunt
Martin, who continues to cultivate it. Drilling and dibbling
of wheat and pease generally practised on the sandy soils.
Coke drills all his com. Arable culture in every department
greatly improved since 1790. — A paper by Kent, entitled
Fallowing exploded, has been justly condemned by Mar-
shal, and other men of more general experience in cul-
ture : his notions of shallow plougliing, and continual tillage
and cropping without rest, most erroneous, and contreiry to
experience.
8. Grass.
Very little of natural turf in the county, transplanting turf
recently introduced. (5144.) .
9. Gardens and Orchards
Orchards to most of the farm houses ; some public one«
near the large towns Norfolk beetin an excellent apple, and
much used tor baking dry in ovens, a very particular operation
known only to a few bakers. They are repeatedly taken out of
the oven, and pressed flat witli the hand, and then put in agam.
10. Woods and Plantations.
Much planting has taken place on the poorer sands; Mar-
sham, of Stratton, the chief planter, and next Berney, of
Bracon, Coke, and Windham. From 1781 to 1801, Coke
planted 718 acres, with upwards of ;two millions of trees and
shrubs, of more than fifty kmds. Bevan, of Hiddlesworth,
966,000 trees. Marquis Townshend feeds cattle, .sheep, and
deer with the trimmings of plantations. Sheep are fond of the
bark of the Scotch fir and ash.
11. Improvements.
A good deal of draining done of late years ; very 'little irri-
gation; among the manures are reckoned marl, lime, gyp-
sum, oyster shells, sea ouse, sea weeds, pond weeds, burnt
earth, sticklebacks, oil cake, rape cake, ashes, soot, malt dust,
ploughing in Rowing buck wheat, yard dung, leaves, burn-
ing stubbles, river mud, and town manure. Marling, or clay-
ing as ft is called, has been much used for an unknown length
of time, and is found of great use on the sands; laid on at all
seasons, but chiefly on the clover leys in autumn, and spread
in spring, before ploughing for pease or oats ; quantity, twenty
to eighty loads an acre; duration, twenty to fifty years. Sea
ouse, a calcareous mud, forty loads per acre. The sea mud
is chiefly part of a stratum of rotten timber on the sea-shore,
and which is washed out by the tides ; it is perfectly black and
rotten, and ten loads manures an acre. Burnt earth is the
burnt ant hills of moorylmeadows ;;ashes of cottagers who burn
turf, &c. Leaves raked, stubbles burned, &c. by some. Some
judicious and successftil embankments made on the Ouse, near
Lynn, by the late Count Bentick, and contmued by his son,
the present Governor Bentick.
,\'2. Live Stock.
Predominant cattle Scotch, bought in every year from the
drovers, for feeding. Norfolk black legged sheep gradually
giving way to South Downs; folding on the decline. Poultry
good, especially the turkey, owing to the dryness of the soil,
and great range of pasture. Decoys, and pigeon houses,
formerly numerous, but now on the decline. Kabbits, hares,
pheasants, partridges, and rooks abundant.
13. Political Economi/.
Chas. II. observed, that Norfolk should be cut into roads
for all the rest of England; few canals.
1. Geographical Slate avd Circumstances.
C//ww/e, cold and bleak. On the Chiltcm hills, cold.moiit,
znd foggy.
Soil in Ihrc.' great divisions, red land, stonebra.h, and chil-
tem, or chalky hills ; the basis of all these soils is calcareous ;
there is also a considerable portion of loamy soil.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF BERKSHIRE.
1095
2. Property.
year, one of 12,CKX)/., one of 7000/., one of
OWMI., and so on. ,
3. Buildines.
Blenheim, the noblest in England; Maylands' house, at
Broadeaton, recorded by Young, as a model 'for.houses, which
cost about 20,000/. building. In farm buildings, the best
thing is the coi)ed stone rick and granary stands; farm build-
ings fjenerally of stone, covered with stone slate ; wretchedly
contrived, and badly executed in most parts of the county.
Oardens to most of the cottages. Bishop of Durham has built
some very comfortable ones atMungewell.
4. Occupation.
Farms generally smaller than in most other counties ; few
300 acres. Leases of fourteen and twenty-one years not
above
causes : he found that though one person hail been willing lo
buy the estate held on twenty -one years' leases, yet that it would
sell much better held at will ; and was thence induced to buy
up from the Scotch tenants the leases granted them two years
before; and was still unsuccessful in endeavoring to sell the
estate. At last the proprietor found himself with the greater
part of his lands in hand, and one farm, it is proper to observe,
was put under the management of an Irishman, who rendered
himself notorious by some parts of his conduct, and (inally left
the country cland^tinely ; and whose actions have unfortu-
nately often been confounded with those of the Scotch farmers.
When jieace was concluded in 1814, land fell still lower, and
finalW this estate was sold for less than half what it had been
sold for in 1809 ; but still (which may be considered as remark-
able), for about double what was asked for it in 1807. It is
now (1823), probably not worth a third part of what was given
for it by the purchaser, from the change in the Itimes,; so that
even had the original scheme jmd sale worked well, it is probable
that by this time both landlord and tenants would have been
ruined, for more money mij»ht have l)een raised by mortgage
on such an esUte in 1810 than it would have sold lor in 1820.
The depreciation of the estate has been attributed to the break-
ing up of old turf, a most, unfounded error, as there were not
lOOO acres to break up, and of them only 250 were ])Ioughed,
and, as would have been provtdhad.the convertible.system been
continued a few years, greatly to the benefit of the whole. We
rt^ret that the landlord, a most amiable and patriotic man,
should have suttered in this business ; but he entered into it
aware that he was incurring an extraordinary chance of loss for
an extraordinary chance of benefit, and of course he takes the
do. Besides he has still a very
As a trait nf the spirit qftlte Board of Agriculture at this time
we may mention that Arthur Young examined the estate a few
weeks after it was sold at so high a rate; and drew up a re-
matlcable rejiort (a HIS. copy of which, from his office, is in
our (xissession) in lavor of Scotch farming, which was published
in the first edition of Sir John Sinclair's Husbandry of Scotland.
In that rtiwrt a disingenious attempt Ls made to attribute to
the Board the merit of the introduction of Scotch farming Into
this and other counties ; whereas it was and is perfectly well
known, that the Farmer's Magazine, the Scotch farmerGourlay ,
late of Wiltshire, and our pamphlet, were the true causes. A
general account of all the operations on Tew estate by Scotch
farmers, will be found in Designs fur Farms and Farm Uuildittgs
in the Scotch Style, adapted to Englaml, S;c. 4to. 1812.
10. Livestock.
There is a good deal of dairying in the county ; the perma-
nent grass lands being chiefly occupied in this way. The
prac-tices are almost entirely the same as in Buckingham-
shire. The butter is taken to London by waggons from
all the principal towns. Much good dairying at Atterbury,
A. Young asked John Wilson, of thatneighlwurhood, if he ever
fed on straw : answer, " No ; stratv be a f^ood thine to lay on."
Sheen, the Berkshire. 'Gloucester, Wiltshire, Leicester and
other hardy breeds, tane has tried crossing tlie Kylands and
South Downs with Merinos ; several other proprietors of farms
have also tried Down Merinos and other crosses, and some the
pure breed.
11. Political Economy.
Forty years ago roads "formidable to the bones of all who
travelled on wheels," now they are much changed for the better.
Birmingham canal and the Thames of immense impor-
tance to Oxfordshire. A good deal of wool, formerly woven
into blankets at Witney ; now very little. About the Ijcginning
of the last century the manufacture of polished steel was intriv
duced at Woodstock, an^. flourished for half a century : at pre-
sent nearly extinct. Steel chains have been madehere weigh-
ing only two ounces, and sold for 170/. Scissars from five
shillings to three guineas. The steel is wholly made from old
nails of horse shoes. Leather breeches making, and glove
making have succeeded to the steel manufacture, an<f the
latter thrives well : from 360 to 400 dozen of gloves are manu-
fectured weekly.
12. Miscellaneous.
Dr. Sibthori>e, the late professor of Botany at Oxford, left
200/. a year to endow a professor of Agriculture and Rural
Kconomy, to be established as soon as the Flora Graca is com-
I>leted. This will not be for some years.
7005. BERKSHIRE. One of the most beautiful counties of England; occupies a surface of 474,000
acres, of which about 200,000 are enclosed, or in parks or plantations, 190,0(XJ in common fields and
downs, 40,0(X) in forests, wastes, and commons, and SifJl in roads. Its productions are almost equally
corn and stock ; it ))roduces a good deal of butter and cheese, and the breed of swine is noted for its ex-
cellence. The celebrated Jethro Tull was a yeoman in this county. George III. and E. L. Lovedcn
Esq. were among its most noted farmers. On the whole it is a county much more indebted to nature
than to art. (Pcarce's Berkshire, 1794. Mavor's Report, 1808. Mars/eaPs Itcvicw, 1813. Smith's Geolo-
gical Map, 1821.)
pounds weight ; but in the Berkshire ponds thev are never suf-
fered to breed, but are sold off to the mns at Henley and other
places, wlien theiwnds are drawn, which is generally once in
four years, and weigh at that age alraut three or four iiounds
each. The value of land thus applied cannot aver.ige less than
tmcommon, many of seven years. Farmers in general very
ignorant, and much prejudictd against new practices.
5. Itnplements.
The nrevailing plough, a swing wooden boarded implement,
drawn by from three to six horses, and incapable of making
good work under tlie gtiidance of the best ploughman.
6. Arable Land.
Very badly inana<;ed in general ; on heavy lands two crops
tmd a fallow ; but the fallow kept unploughed for the sake of
affording couch grass leaves for the sheep. Davis, of Bloxham,
an extensive farmer and land-surveyor, " never saw any land
upon which a naked fallow is necessary ; not even on the stiffest
soils", has been in many counties, and employed on twenty-six
commissions of enclosure at the same time! Wheat sown early,
and either ploughed in or folded ; often both. A scanUet of
lentils cultivated. Turnips in most parts seldom bigger than
apples. A good deal of saintfoin on the Chiltem, and other
calcareous soils, also on the Stonebrash, which is chiefly lime.
7. Grass.
Some good meadows near Oxford, on the Thames and Isis ;
very rich grass land at Thame.
8. Woods and Plantations.
Of considerable extent. A great part of the forest of Which-
wood belongs to the government. Great attention paid by
Fane of Wormsley, to pruning ; many beech woods on the
Chiltem hills; young wood at Blenheim n^lected. The na-
tural forests of Whichwood and Stoken Church, chiefly of
beech, but some oak, ash, birch, and aspen.
9. Improvements.
Fane, Prat, and Davis, and others, are of opinion, that the
agriculture is much superior to what it was thirty years ago,
chiefly from the introduction of a better breed of stock, the use
of roots and herbage plants, and the enclosure of commons and
common fields.
Scotch Fanning. In 1S0<J an attempt was made to improve
the estate of (Ireat Tew bv letting it to Scotch farmers. As
this originated in conse<iuence ot a ]>araphlet which the com-
piler of the present work published in 1808, it might be
deemed a drfect in this sketch, if the Fcircumstance was
1>assed over without particiUar notice. It ^will, no doubt,
ong be recollected in the county as at least a ruinous pro-
ject of wild adventurers, this being the very mildest term
applied to failures in similar cases. At this distance of
time, looking back on the matter, as far as the result affected
ourselves, with our natural sans froid, we shall state our opi-
nion as to the causes of failure. This resulted principally
from too great anxiety, both in the landlord and tenants, to
reap a large benefit ; and secondly, from the general fall of
prices both of land and produce, which succeeded to the pub-
lished report of the Bullion Committee in 1807. Anxiety to
increase the rent-roll, induced 'the landlord to let the whole of
his estate of nearly 4000 acres, then under nearly a score of
tenants, to two cultivators, instead of trying first the efiTect of
one or two moderate sized farms under the new mode. The
same anxiety induced the tenetnts to offer too high rents, and
to attempt a profit by subsettiiig. Before the estate had been
^ht months let, it was sold on the new rental for nearly four
times the sum at which it was oH'ered for sale, only a year be-
fore ; but the title not proving satisfactory to the purchaser the
purchase was never completed. The landlord became involved
in difficulties owing to the expenses of new buildings, roads,
drainages, the purchasing up of certain outgohigs, and other
1. Geographical State and Circmnstanccs.
Climate diversified, but in every part the air pure and
salubrious; in elevated situations pure, piercing, and braces
by its sharjmess ; in the vales relieves the weak organs of re-
spiration by its (oft and balsamic qualities ; no storms known
in the county. About ReatUng,'vegetation nearly a fortnight
earlier than "in some parts of the county.
Soil, calcareous in general, but in some places gravel, and
in a few clay ; vale of the.White Horse entirely chalk.
Minerals. None excepting chalk, Sarsden stones, a sort of
large siliceous pebble, in lumps'jst^attered over the Wiltshire and
Berkshire Downs, and frequently blasted and used for paving.
In the vale of Kennet is a considerable stratum of l>eat,
formed from prostrate trees and other vegetable bodies, and
used for fuel, and also bumetl for the ashes as a manure. The
ashes abound in sulphate of lime.
Water. Some artificial lakes for breeding fish. Lovedcn
has one of thirty acres, and a " fish-house" or cottage, with an
apartment,! ir^which are three stews with covers, which lock
so as to prevent even the cottager from stealing the fish. Many
gentlemen have ixmds, which are let to tctiants, and produce
a crop, if it may be so termed, every third or fourth year, of
cani and tench. The occupier stocks with yearlings aliotit two
inches long, obtained chiefly from Yatelv, on the neighboring
confines of Hampsliire- The breeders are alwut eight or nine
about twenty shillings \)et acre. Tlie jMrncU are regularly laid
empty, and the fi»li with which they are stocketl, which are
uniformly cari> and tench, are taken out even- third or fourth
year. The pond is afterwards allowed to lie fallow for the re.
mainder ot the summer sea-son, and is again stocked early in
the ensuing year with yearling fry of the same sjjecies. The
ponds in one parish are all subject to an abundance of coarse
bony, insii)id fish, denominated Prussian or German carp.
As this sjiecies is carefully destroyed, it is wonderful they should
increase with the rapidity and universaUty which they' apiiear
to do : every acre of iiond, projierly stocked and well situated.
4 A 4
must produce an annual increase of from eighty to one hundretl
iwunds weight. If artificially fed, the increase would be
greater ; or less, if the pond is not so situated as to receive
manure from the circumjacent lands. By retail,^ the fish
here are generally sold at a shilling per |>ound ; but under
particular circumstances they may sometimes be liadas low as
ten pence.
2. Slate Of Property.
I>argcst tstatc 8000/. a year, a few of .^, P, or 7000/ ; E. Cm-
1096
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
ven, and E. L. Loveden, Esq. the largest proprietors ; several
handsome seats with land not exceeding 100 acres, and many
small freeholders and yeomanry. Some curious customs ; at
Eiibome and Caddleworth manors, l^longing to Earl Craven
and R. W. Nelson, Esq., the widow of a copyholder, puilty of
iiicontmency or marrying again, lost her freebench or life m-
terest, unless she submitted to the ceremony of ridmg mto the
court on a black ram, and of repeating some well-known con-
fessional lines. (See Addison's Spectator.) In the manor of
(ireat Faringdon the customary tenant's daughter, on bemg
convicted of incontinency, was to forfeit the sum of forty
pence to the lord, or to appear in court, carrying a black sheep
on her back, and making confession of her ottence m these
words : " Exe porta pudorem potteriorU mei." Many other
curious customs.
.S. Buildings.
M^ndsor Castle and many fine seats ; houses of the yeoman-
ry genteel and elegant : form houses-generally comfortable.
I>oveden's ample but ill arranged; cottages of the poor
generally in a bad state, some present erections better.
(./?/?• 777.
Farmeries on coUe-iiate or corporate lands generally in bad re-
pair, because the fines for renewal of the leases take all the
spare money, &c.
Chelsey Farm, near Wallingford, in 1800 the projierty of
I-ord Kensington, and formerly reputed to be the largest and
most compact farm in England. Rent 1000/. per annum.
Before the dissolution of monasteries it belonged to the Abbot
of Reading, who had a seat hsre. The great bam in which
his tithes were deposited is yet standing, and measures 101
yards in length and eighteen "in breadth. The side walls are
only eight feet high, but the roof rises to a great height, and
is supported by seventeen stone pillars, each four yards in cir-
cumrerence. Tliis construction is obviously judicious ; high
side walls, unless tied together by cross-beams, would have
b 'en in danger of being thrust outwards when the barn was
filling with com. This, as v\e have seen (7003.), is the case
with the handsome liigh-walled barns of Coke.
4. Occupation.
"" One-third of the county occupied by proprietors. Farms of
all sizes under 1000 or 1200 acres, but few exceeding 500 acres
or under 60/. a > ear. Character of the Berkshire farmer stands
high. " A hospitable style of living, Uberality of sentiment,
and independence of principle, are characteristic of the Bfirk-
hhire farmer ; to which he unites persevering industry and in-
tegrity in his dealings, which render him worthy of the com-
forts he enjoys." {Dr. Mavor.)
5. Implements.
The Berkshire waggon, one of the lightest and best imple-
ments of the waggon kind. The'sort of draught chain described
and recommended by Gray, (2613.) is inuse on one estate, " the
object is to prevent the draught of the trace horse from pulling
down the thiller." The county plough a clumsy implement
with wheels; a pressing plough (2515.) recently invented ; [it
has three wheels with the tires w&clge-sha])ed, and is intended
•' to press in the grips or channels made_ by the
{•loughs, that no hollow places may i
)uried too deep, &c." This sort of improvement is usual
among amateur agriculturists, M'ho have one implement in-
vented to correct the faults of another, both of course bad. A
iiuml)er of other inventions, including a curious hand threshing
machine, ingenious enough, but quite unnecessary, are figurtd
and described.
6. Arabic Land.
Plough generally with four or five horses at a snail's pace.
George III. had two farms, one of 800 acres, cultivated in the
Norfolk manner, and another of 450 acres, managed in the
Flemish manner ; 450 of the former, and 150 of the latter
were arable. The whole delegated to the care of N. Kent, of
t'raigs Couit, land-agent, and author of " Hints to OcnIUmen
iifLamled Property," 1790. Rye cultivated on His Majesty's
farms, and on the IJowns. Some hops, woad, flax, and other
)>.ants not utually cultivated; seventy acres of lav«.iKUr at
Park Place, on the side of a chalky hill, originally planted by
General Conway, who distilled it himself at his coke manufac-
tory. As the plants die they are replaced by others from Et
small nursery plantation. It begins to tlower about the end
of July, when nearly one hundred women and children are
employed in cutting off the flower spikes, which they tie up in
bundles, and send to the still house in baskets, carried by two
men. The lower part of the stalks are then cut off, and the
heads are put into the still, and distilled. The chemical oil,
being separated, is poured into copper jars for sale.
7. Grass.
About one-fifth of the county under permanent grass, exclu-
sive of the Downs and wastes. A tract of excellent meeidow on
the Thames, from the windings of the river, 1 05 miles in length ,
little irrigated, but a good deal flooded after heavy rains.
Excellent meadows at Reading ; those on the Kennet over the
stratum of peat, of rather a coarse quality. Manuring mea-
dows not general, though they are tor the most part mown
once a year ; upland pastures manured when mown. Herbage,
plants, and artificial grasses, a good deal sown. Meadows
chiefly fed by oxen after being once mown. The dairy farmers
occupy the poorer upland grassy districts, end the breeders of
sheep the Downs.
8. Gardens and Orchards.
About forty acres of market garden and orchard at Reading,
where onions are raised in great quantities; asparagus for the
London and Bath markets, and cabbage seeds tor the London
seedsmen ; good apples there and at other places ; some cider
made, and a good many cherries grown for market. NSar
Abingdon an orchard of twenty-one acres, containing 541
trees.
9. Woods and Plantations.
Extent of Windsor Forest, belonging to the crown, 5454
acres, including wood and water; private property, called
Forest Lands, 29,000 acres ; encroachments 600 acres. The
forest is under the government and superintendance of the
Duke of York, lord warden, who appoints his deputy lieuten-
ant, the rangers or head keepers of the several walks, and the
under keepers.
Great part of the timber on the forest sold, as well as that
retained, is truly venerable and picturesque in appearance, but
rotten or mildewed to the heart m such a way as to be fit only
for fuel. Tlus rot, or mildew as it is called, seems to be the
natural process of decay, and is particularly fatal to beech
trees, which are by no means so long lived as the oak, ash, and
others. Various young plantations on different estates, espe-
cially those of Loveden, Fishe Palmer, Wheeble, &c. Osier
beds on the moist parts of the Thames' meadows.
10. Improvements.
An account of the culture of Geo. III.'s farms, by Kent,
dated 1798, is given as of the greatest national consequence, &c.
Oxen are used both in farm and road-work, and the ploughs
are the Norfolk wheel plough and the Suffolk iron plough. At
a later period the Rotherhain plough, and with which two
oxen, yoked in collars, will plough, on the light soil of the
forest, an acre a day. Draining in the Essex manner a good
deal practised ; the drains filled with straw, rubbish from brick
kilns, wood, cinders, or gravel.
Peat ashes is a manure almost peculiar to Berkshire, though
they might be obtained by the same process wherever peat of
similar quality abounds , and are so obtained in Holland, and
the ashes extensively used there, and sometimes shipped to this
country. In the year 1745 peat was first burnt in Newbury,
by a Thomas Rudd, who at the same time spread the ashes on
clovers, for which they have ever since been famous. An acre
of peat land at that period sold for 30/. : it has since sold,
according to its quality, for 300/. and 400/., and, in one instance,
reached about 800/. per acre. Over the stratum of peat, which
is about five or six feet deep, is a good meadow soil, and under
the peat is gravel. The peat varies in color, but the blackest
is reckoned the best, and is used for firing, the ashes of which
are most esteemed, and have the reddest color. What is
burnt for sale, is mixed with turf and other substances, which
gives it a pale whitish hue. It is usually dug with a long-
handled spade, from the middle of May to the end of June, and
is conveyed from the spot in little wheelbarrows, to a short
distance, where it is spread on the ground, and after lying about
a week, the pieces are turned. This being three or four times
repeated, a heap is made in the middle of the place where the
peat is spread, and in the centre of this heap some very dry
peat is put, which being lighted, the fire communicates slowly
to the rest of the heap. When it is completely lighted, an ad-
ditional quantity of peat is put upon the heap, and this opera-
tion is continued till the whole is consumed, which generally
takes a month or six weeks, as quick burning is not approved
of. Rain seldom penetrates deep enough to extinguish the
fire. The heap is commonly of a circular form, and rather flat
at top. At first it is very small; but at last it is sometimes
two or three yards deep, and six or seven yards in diameter.
The ashes being riddled, are conveyed away in uncovered
carts, to a distance sometimes of twenty miles, and put into a
house, or under a shed, to keep them from the wet, till they
are wanted to be put on the ground.
The usual time of applyiiij; pent ashes is March and April.
' They are generally taken in carts, and sown on the ground be-
fore or after the seed is sown on the land. The quantity is
usually from twelve to fifteen Winchester bushels per acre,
accord.ing to the soil and crop. It is supj>osed that too large a
quantity would be injurious. For barley, wheat, and peas,
they are not in much estimation ; but for all sorts of artificial
grass, more especially, they are preferred to all other manures.
In turnips they assist to prevent the ravages of the fly ; and in
grass seeds the farmers reckon on an acre, manured with ashes,
producing nearly a ton of hay beyond what it would have
yielded without them. The effect is supposed to be of no
longer duration than two years. On meadow land, from fifteen
to twenty bushels may advantageously be put ; they much im-
prove the grass.
11. Live Stock.
No particular breed of cattle; long homed most common.
A dairying tract in the west of the vale of White Horse ; much
butter made, and some cheese of the single Gloucester kind.
Calves a good deal suckled in some places. Buscot parish
famous for cheeses, in the shapeof pineapples; they are of most
excellent flavor, and sell higher than other cheeses. The
curds are well worked with the hands, then presscxl into a
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
1097
wooden mould In the shape of a rtower pot, and afterwards sus-
pended from beams, rafters, or petps, in an airy apartment, in a
net, whose meshes mdent their surface like a pine apjile. Salt
is then rubbed over them, or they are steeped in brine ;
weight, 51bs. The milk is conveyed from the field to the
dau-ies in what is called a tankard drawn by a horse or ass.
{Jig- 778.)
779
8hetfp, a native breed known ae the Berkshire \iMed, or notts
{Jig. 779); strongly marked, ;but In much less re)>ute than for.
merly; it is now difficult to be met with pure; they arw
considered as very hard^, and particularly adapted for the
low strong lands, and for folding.
Horses of the common heavy black race. Pearce calcu-
lated in 1791, that 12,000 horses were kept in Berkshire for
the purposes of apriculture, and that one- third of the number
mignt be saved by the use of improved implements ;" most of
the horses are bought trom the, Northami)tonshire breeders;
many, after being kept a year or two at work, are sold for
the London dr<>ys.
Hi)ga, the native ^Jreed one of the best in Britain ; a cross
with the Chinese, now more common than the pure native
breed. Wherever there is a dairy, hogs are kept, but they are
not coimted a profitable stock to'be fed with what would fatten
cattle or sheep. Carcase chiefly made 'into bacon ; cured in
the usual way, and dried ui rooms heated with wood or coal,
l/ovedcn has 'a bacon house, heated by a stove and flues. In
farm-houses, much is smoke-dried in the chiinnies with wood
fires, which is supixjsetl to have the best flavor.
RahbiU kept in warrens, in one or two places ; and one gen-
tleman rears tame rabbits of a pure wliitc, the skins of which
sell high for trimmings.
Poultry. Near Oakingham, many are crammed for the
market, they are put up in a dark place, and crammed with
a paste made of barley-meal, mutton suet, and some treacle,
or coarse sugar, mixed with milk, and are found to be com-
pljtely ripe in a fortnight. If kept longer, the fever that
is induced by this continued state of rei)letion,
nd unsaleable, and frequently kills them, in
renders
them red
the eastern part of the county, many geese reared on the
commons.
Pigeom in considerable numbers.
Bees, not very common. Sir ^Villiam East, of Ilullplace, a
celeljrated apiarist. In the forest district, bees are most com-
mon. One gentleman removes his hives to a heath at the
flowering season.
Deer kept in several parks ; 2500 fellow, and 300 red deer,
in Windsor Great Park.
12. Political Economy.
Roads for the most part good, especially since a part has
been put under the care of M'Adam. Gravel, flint, or chalk,
atx>unds in most places. Canals and navigable rivers so inter-
spersed, that no part of the county is further than twelve miles
from water carriage. Cloth for sacking and hammocks,
manufactured at Abinudon and Maidenhead, also some sail
cloth, and rush, and twme matting. Cotton mills at Taplow.
Paper, and formerly blankets and other woollens, at New-
bury. A parchment manufacture at Oakingham. At Read-
ing, a pin manufactory, and the weaving of galoon, satin,
ribbands, and other light fabrics ; a floor cloth manufactory ;
twine and rope making; sail making, sacking, &c.
Tlie Berkshire Agricultural Sorie/i/, established in 1794.
7006. GLOUCESTERSHIRE. A surface of nearly 800,000 acres, in three natural divisions; the
Cotswold hills, the vale of the Severn, and the Forest Lands. Great part of the county is under meadows,
pastures, and orchards ; and cheese and cider are its known agricultural productions. It is also a
manufacturing county, and its fine broad-cloths are celebrated, as well as its iron, tin-plates, and pins. There
is no very eminent gentleman agriculturist, nor any agricultural society in the county, but Dr. Tennant
farmed a small estate on the Ch litems. {Turner's Report, 1794. JiuJge's Report, 1807. MarshaFs
Review, 1818. Smith's Geological Map, 1821.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
C/<»iu/f, cold and bleak on the Cotswold hills; mild in the
vale, which lies open to the south winds; on the sand^ soils of
tlie forest district, .the harvest is sometimes cut a fortnight
earlier than in the vale.
Sml of the Cotswolds is all calcareous loam or stonebrash ;
in the vale, a fine black loam, or fertile red loam, and in some
places a s'.rong clay and peat earth ; the finest soil is generally
sandy loam, sand or peaty earth.
Minerals. None in the Cotswolds, but iron and coal in the
Forest of Dean, both worked. Lead found in the limestone
rocks of the lower part of the vale ; not worked. Though
iron ore be abundant in the Forest of Dean, only a small quan-
tity is raised, it being found more profitable to bring the richer
ore of Lancashire, which is burnt with the coke of the forest
coal for cast iron, and plates for tinning. Coal jiits numerous,
and worked at a shallow depth, for want of proiier machinery to
exhaust the water ; three sorts delivered, kitchen coal, smith's
coal, and lime coal. Claystone and freestone found in various
parts of the forest ; paving stones, grindstones, yellow and
grey stone tiles raised in different jiarts of the Cotswolds ;
i;vpsum is raised for stuccoing, and sent to Bath from Han-
buiy ; it is also used as alaliaster for chimney pieces, &c.
Water. Produce of the Severn is roach, dace, bleak, floun-
ders, eels, elvers, chub, carp, trout, and jierch. The sea-fish
taken within the limits of the county, in the Severn, are
salmon, lampreys, lampems, chad, soles, shrimjis, cod, plaice,
conger -eel, jwriJoise, and sturgeon. Salmon formerly caught
in great abundance, but now comparatively scarce. (J real
mischief done by the use of small meshed nets, which take the
samlets or fry. . , ,
Ponds for mater made on the Cotswold hills, as already de-
scribed (413C.), in the vale in the common maimer. The
waters which rise through l)eds of blue clay, are often strongly
saline, as at Cheltenham, &c.
2. Property.
Largest estate 80<X)/. a year among the nobility, and 3000/.
among the gentry ; tenures chiefly freehold, some copyhold,
and about one-fortieth coniorate or ecclesiastical. Estates un-
der the see of Gloucester, leased out on lives; those of the cor-
poration of the city, the same ; usual fine for renewal of a life
one year and a half of the improved annual value.
3. Buildings.
Manv handsome seats; farm-houses and cottaftes on the
Cotswolds built of freestone, and covered witli stone tiles;
often as many on an estate of 1(.M»/. a year, as are required for
i\ farm of 500/. a year, under the corieclion of nudem im-
(irovement ; bams, ho wever, of a moderate si /e ; wheat stacke«l
on stone st.iddlcs. Cottages, as iumost.counties, neglected, and
uncomfouablc ; some judicious remarks on the subject by
Kudgc.
4. Occupation.
Farms diiier much in size ; few exceed 1000/. or fall short of
50/. a year. Some grazing farms in the vale of 500 acres, but
200 and 300 more common. Leases of three years most com-
mon, next of seven years, not many of fourteen, and those of
twenty-one on corporate property.
5. Implements.
A narrow -wheeled waggon in general use among farmers.
!d one-wheel plough in use
on the Cotswolds ; in the vale, a clumsy swing plough. Lam-
^„ I gene
Various ploughs; a short -beamed one-wheel plough
on the Cotswolds ; in the vale, a clumsy swing plough,
tert's draining plough much in use with the improved draught
apparatus, ( fig. 780.) and in the old way. Various improved
ploughs and other implements, as well as threshing and winr
nowing machines introduced. A thistle drawer {,fig. 254.) in
use for extracting the com thistle {Serratiila arteiuis) from
com fields ; cradle scythe used for cutting beans.
6. Enclosing.
The first enclosures during Queen Anne's reign ; eleven dur-
ing the reign of Geo. II.; and upwards of seventy during the
reign of Geo. III. Hedgts of white thorn, on which the
rciiorter observes medlars might be grafteti, and raised in great
plenty. Black thorn {Pruuiis sphiosu) hedges, he says, never
suffer from the blight ; a most erroneous idea.
7. Arable Land.
.TOO.IKK) acres ; much nloughing on the Cotswolds lighten*
the staple of the weak soils : seven horses often used in the vale
teams ; ri<lges in the vale so high that a (lerson six feet high
may stand in the furrows, and not be able to see the crown of
the second ridge from lum ; to reduce them a small ridge often
begvm between them. Fallowing |)ractised on the clays,
then wheat and beans, or oats. Rotation on the Cotswolds
— 1 turnips, 2 barley, 3 and 4 clover mown the first year,
5 wheat, 6 oats, tares, or peas; if oats, frequently laid
down with saintfoin. (m crumbly soils wheat is sown and
plougheil in during rather wet weather, otherwise the seedling
plants are aiit to be thrown out with the first frosts ; the same
thinjj attende<l to in Oxfordshire and various other counties ;
this IS called seven-field husbandry. Beans either drilled or
dibbled ; a broad bean, the ma/agan, use<l when the land is in
good heart, and ticks when less so. The Burbage jwa. Mi
early grey variety, most in use. " Some lan<ls have the pecu-
liar quality of raising sitlilotv {.eat, or such as boil freely ;" on
them the Charlton is grown, and sold for splitting : clay lands
never have this property. Tares common, and among these a
sort called dill, sup|)Ose"d by Marshal to be the ervuin lursutum,
L., but erroneoii»ly terni«l anethuin l>y Rudge. Turnips on
the Cotswolds .-ilways,|iroad-c3st, and wimetinies after wheat or
tares, and then called stubble turnij>s ; consuinetl ly sleeu in
hurdle folds ; sometimeik given to horse», and found to indiirc
them to cat bam chaff with a Utter appetite. Pcm* fla*
1098
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
raised ; teasles a good deal cultivated formerly, now not 100
acres of them in tne whole coimty.
8. Grass.
Very rich meadows on the Severn, overflown during winter
and spring, on which the farmers; depend for a crop. When
the salt water overflows, the meadows are termed marshes, and
grazed by horses and cattle that require rest and spring physic.
In general meadows are mown and pastured alternately, ex-
cepting near Gloucester, where abundance of manure is ob-
tained. Herbage, plants, and rye grass sown on the Cotswolds,
but little in the vale ; saintfoin much cultivated on the stone-
brash soils. Grass lands fed in general from May to the end of
September, and then the cattle, unfinished, are taken in and
completed with hay, oil-cake, and other artificial food, but
seldom with roots. The orchis mascula so common in the
meadows, that it has been gathered, Rudge informs us, and
made into sago. (55'i6.)
9. Gardens and Orchards.
Most of the' cottages, such as they are, have gardens, and
almost every farm its orchard; but largeones, so as to admit of
making cider ior sale, are found only on the sides of the hills and
in the vale and forest district. The stocks are planted in the
orchard when six or seven feet high, ten or twelve yards asunder
on pasture, and sixteen or seventeen on arable lands. A year
after planting, they are grafted. Sometimes fruit trees are
planted in the hedge rows ; hedges are often composed of apple
seedlings, raised from the kernels in the cider mast ; and here
and there the farmer often leaves a stem to rise above the
general height of the hedge, and grafts it; frequently also
*ildings are allowed here and there to rise into trees, and their
fruit is used with that from grafted trees, in crushing for.cider.
Grafts are inserted in the cleft manner, at seven feet from
the ground, two in each stock : if both succeed, one is removed
the following sjiring, and the stock sloped to the remaining
graft, to prevent the lodging of water, and clayed Jafresh, to
facilitate the growth of bjurk over the wound. After grafting,
*• braids," that is, inverted wicker baskets, rising about two
feet high, are fitted to the stock, which serve at once to guard
the grafts, and direct their shoots to a proper form. The stock
is next protected from cattle or the plough harness, by four
posts placed round it, with six tier of rails ; by three posts and
six tier of rails ; by two broad posts and railsj; by a bundle of
thorn branches ; by planting a thorn or briar along with the
stock ; or by twisting a shoot of the creeping rose {Rosa antensis)
round the stock. The mode of plantingia creeping rose with the
stock, and twisting it round the stem, is said to be found the
cheapest and best ; but it must evidently impoverish the soil.
Pruning is not attended to on young grafted trees, or any
others as it ought to be, nor the removal of moss and misletoe.
Grafting the branches of old trees often practised with great suc-
cess ; a young stock grafted will probably not produce a bushel of
apples in twenty years, but a branch grafted bears the second
year. Dr. Cheston, of Gloucester, practises root grafting, but
which is quite unsuitable for field orchards. Grafted trees bear
little till twenty years of age ; their produce increases till
fifty years, and is then ten or fifteen bushels ; an apple will
bear 100 or more years from this period, and often much
longer. A i)ear tree at Minsterworth 300 years old at least.
Cider-making. Best orchardists shake off the fruit, and never
beat the tree, which destroys the blossom buds ; limb by limb
is shaken by a person in the tree, and those which adhere
allowed to remain some time longer to ripen : the horse-mill
used by large, and the hand-mill by small farmers; the cylin-
ders of the hand-mill of wood, and fluted ; sometimes there
are two pair of cylinders, one finer fluted under the first pair,
and in other cases the cylinders are set widejthe first time the
apples are passed through, and closer the second ; the other
processes as usual. Of the various apples grown, the white-
styre of the Forest district makes the strongest and richest
cider ; it is often valued equally with foreign wine, and sold at
extravagant prices. Ciders from the Hagloe crab, golden pip-
pin, and Longney russet, are next in esteem. The white-
must, wood-cock, and half a dozen others, are fine old fruits,
but now going off.
Pernj from the squash pear is esteemed the best ; and next
from the Huifcap and sack.
Table fndta, wnere farmers live near canals, pay much better
than those of the cider kind ; especially those of the keeping
varieties, such as the golden and Moreland pippin, Longney
russet, &c.
10. Woods and Plantations.
Most extensive on the Cotswolds ; the sorts there beech and
ash ; timber sold to dealers, who cpnvert it on the spot to
scantling for gun-stocks, saddle-trees, bedsteads, chairs, and
other cabinet work, and staves for sugar hogsheads. Some fine
old specimens of chestnut, elm, oak, and ash in the vale.
Tortworth chestnut, 500 years old, in the time of King John.
In the Forest of Dean a considerable quantity of good timber
belonging to government, and nearly 3000 acres lately planted
with acorns. The method of planting is, first, to mark out the
ground ; then taking off about a foot sauare of turf, to set two
or three acorns with a setting-pin; afterwards to invert the
turf upon them, and, by way of raising a fence against hares
and rabbits, to plant two or three strong white thorn sets
round. They are seldom thinned till they have attained the
size of hop-poles, and then are left at twelve feet distance from
each other, with the view of again thinning them, by taking
out every other one, when they are thirty years old, and have
attained the size of five or six inches diameter. By growing
thick, no side-shoots are thrown out, which supersedes the ne-
cessity of pruning; the young trees which are drawn at the
first thinning, are transplanted, and, as it is thought, grow
equally well with those that have not been removed, and j)ro-
duce timber as lull at the heart, compact, strong, and durable,
as " that which is raised immediately from the acorn." The
" whitten," or small leaved lime (TUta cordata, L.), is found in
several coppices on the Welsh side of the Severn; and, what is
singular, ropes for halters, plough traces, cider presses, draw
wells, and fishery boats, &c. are made from it as in Russia.
These ropes are found to contract and expand less from moisture
or drought than hempen ropes. Theliark is stripped off about
Midsummer, dried like hay in the sun, and manufactured on
the spot or elsewhere. Many walnut trees in the parish of
Arlingham ; the fruit shipped to distant places, and the tim-
ber sent to Birmingham for gun stocks.
Artificial plantations, to a great extent, made roimd gentle-
men's seats on the Cotswold hills. The osier in beds on the
Severn.
11. Improvements.
On the lands adjoining the Severn inundations were fre-
quent; but a commission of sewers have erected banks and
flood-gates, which protect upwards of 12,000 acres. At other
places private banks or flood-gates on the rivers or banked
ditches are placed, and operate by the alternate influence of
the tides and accumulated inland waters.
Draining much practised; both in the turf, stone, wood,
straw, and with Lumbert's plough ; the plough drawn by
twelve horses, or worketl by a long lever and axle ('2524.), by
which one horse gains the power of thirty. Before the mole
draining-plough is used, it is a good practice to turn off the
sward with the common plough ; then to make the incision for
the drain in the centre of this ; the sward being afterwards
turned back to its place, completely covers the aperture, and
protects it from the effects of a subsequent dry season. The
long-continued drought of the summer of 1806 opened many
drains which were cut by Lumbert's plough, so much that the
bottom was clearly seen, while many that have been done by
hand have formed still wider chasms, and will probably not
answer the purpose intended at all. In both instances there is
reason to think, that this would not have happened if the ope-
ration had been performed in autumn, and the surfiice turf
first turned back, as recommended.
The accumulated water of underground drains raised from low
meadows in one i)arish by a wheel driven by the water of sur-
face ditches.
Paring and burning practised on the Cotswolds; weeding
com general.
Irrigation chiefly pursued in the valleys of the Cotswolds, ad-
joining rivulets, and especially the ('oln and Chum. Carried to
greatest perfection in the parish of South Cemey ; first began
here under the Rev. AV. Wright, who wrote several tracts on the
subject. When the first great rains in November bring the
waters down in a muddy state, it is let into the meadows. In
December and .January the land js kept sheltered by the waters
from the severity of frosty nights; but every ten davs, or
thereabouts, the water is let entirelv off, to give air and pre-
vent the roots from rotting. In February great care is re-
quired. If the water now remains long on the meadows, a
white scum will generate, which if found to be very injurious
to the grass. On the other hand, if it be taken off, and the
land exposed to a severe frosty night, without being previously
dried for a whole day, much of the tender grass will be cut off.
Towards the middle of this month less water is used than be-
fore, keeping the land rather wet than watered. At the be-
ginning of March, there is generally in such meadows plenty of
pasturage for all kinds of stock ; the water, however, should
be taken off nearly a week before cattle are turned on, and a
little hay at night during the first week is very proper. It is
the custom with some to spring-feed with ewes and lambs
folded, with a little liay . The meadows, however, must be en-
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF WORCESTERSHIRE.
1099
tlrdy clear of stock by the latter end of April. If May be at all
Intruded on, the hay crop will be much injured, and the grass
become soft and woolly, like lattermath. After spring-feoding
autumnal, winter, and spring watering will not occasion rot in
sheep ; but if the water be used for a few days in any of the
summer months, the pastureige becomes unsafe for such stock.
This is conformable to the general idea of rot ; viz. that it is
occasioned by summer- moisture, and is seldom known to any
considerable extent without a long contimuance of warmth and
rain. A wet summer, therefore, is always productive of this
tlisease in the vale. The general advantages of watering are,
that the land and herbage are continually improving, without
manure; and the crop is not only full and certain, but also
early.
attention to the subject.
12. Livestock.
The dairy the principal object with most of the vale farm-
ers. Good milkers preferred, without much regard to per-
fection of shape. Gloucestershire breed resembles the Gla-
raorgansliire excepting in color, which is red or brown, bones
fine, horns of middling length, white with a black tip at the
ends, udder thin in llesh and large. In the higher vale the
improved long homed cows of Bakewell and Fowler in most
repute. Devons, Herefords, and various others in use The
best land does not always produce the most marketable cheese ;
often times the reverse ; if it has either been much manured
with dung, or sheep feeding, the quantity of milk will be in-
creased, but the quality materially altered. This is probably
owing to the introduction of plants, which did not grow there
before, or to the destruction of some that did. The cause does
not originate with the cow, but the herbage on which she feeds.
The same cow, on two pastures, separated only by a hedge, will
give milk of ditferent qualities : from one shall be made fine,
rich, and close cheese; while from the other shall be made
rank, " heaving," hollow, unpleasant to the palate, and unfit
for the market. In the parish of Haresfield, two grounds ad-
joining each other were alternately used for the pasture of
cows : while they were on one, excellent cheese was made; but
on the other, it was difticult to make any tolerably good. The
latter had been lately well dressed with manure, wliich pro-
duced plants unfavorable to the dairy ; and the dairy woman
herself remarked, that if the farmer continued to enrich the
herbage willi dmig, she must give up making cheese. It is
proper, therefore, that mllklng-cows should not be removed
from one pasture to another indiscriminately, but that certain
grounds, m proportion to the stock, should be assigned to their
use ; and this is the practice on many farms iwhere cow-
pastures have for time immemorial been ajipropriated exclu-
sively to the use of the dairy. The dung of the cow, indeed,
being of a cooling nature, is the best manure for cow -pastures.
Other animals, such as colts and sheep, may occasionally lie let
in to eat the refuse grass, but not more than one sheep should
be allowed to an acre. Among the plsmts which are useless,
or unfavorable to the making of good cheese, are white
clover {TrifoUum repciu), the different kinds of crow -foot
{RanuiKubu), and garlic {Allium). White clover isbrou<;ht for-
ward by manure and sheep stock, and is a proof of good land,
at least of land in a state of high cultivation ; hence it has
has a tendency to raise the quality of the milk, and make the
cheese heave.
Cheese-makinf;. Best cheese not attempted while the cows are
on hay ; generally commences about May, when the cows are
turned into the pastures. Cows milked twice a day, at four in
the morning, and at the same hour in the afternoon ; the
cheese-factor discovers the " hoved" cheeses by treading on
them.
Sheep. Principal breed the Cotswolds ; now very much mixed
by crosses with the Leicester and South Downs. The liver rot
common in the vale, and therefore few bred there. Wiltshires
are bought in and fed off.
Horses, no particular breed.
Pigeons, formerly numerous, now on the decrease.
13. Political Economy.
On the hilly districts, where stone abounds, the roads greatly
improved of late ; those under M'Adam excellent ; but the
vale roads in many places very bad. Manufacture of woollen
broad-cloths, chiefly superfine from Spanish wool, extensively
carsied on in the district called the Bottoms. Carpet weaving
and thin stuffs at Cirencester ; stocking frame knitting at
Tewkesbury; wire, cards, rugs, blankets, iron and brass wire,
tin plate, pins, writing paper, felt liats, manufactured at differ-
ent places. Spinning of tl;ix the wmter work of women in the
vale of Evesham. Exttmsive iron works in the forest; the best
iron in the kingdom made at Huxley ; nails made at Little-
dean. Articles of agricultural commerce, cheese, bacon.
in manufacturing commerce, broad-cloths and pms
are of the greatest imiK>rtance.
7007. WORCESTERSHIRE. A surface of 500,000 acres, distinguished by the two extensive' vales of
Worcester and Evesham. In the fertility of its soil, and the amenity of its situation, surface, and natural
embellishments, very few districts ef similar extent are equal to it — scarcely one excels it. And its
agricultural products are not only more abundant, but more various, than those of other counties ; not
corn, cattle, and dairy i)roduce only, but fruits, liquors, and hops, rank among its productions. \Pome-
roy's Worcestershire, 1794. PitCs Report, 1807. Marshars Review, 1818.)
bought light ones, chiefly Clevelands, on which he mounted
ten of his own servants for military service. The horses doing
all the farm work, and occasionally serving for saddle horses,
or to draw his carriage.
5. Implements.
Plough two-wheeled, and drawn by three horses in a line,
walking in the furrow ; in the vale of fevesham, a hea\7 swing
plough ; these ploughs are seen no where else ; they are all
wood, excepting the share and coulter ; very Ion? in the tail,
throat,3 and sideboard ; a load for a team ; the four-wheeled
trolley is a low waggon, used for harvest work. Knight uses
improved implements, and ploughs with two horses a breast.
Various drills for sowing wheat, and stirring the soil l>etween
the rows (.fe. 781.), manufactured at Evesliam, and used in
the neighborhood.
781
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate of the middle, south, and west of the county, re-
markably mild, soft, and salubrious ; the vales of the Severn,
Avon, and Teme, with the contiguous uplands, rising to 150
feet above their level, ripen their products from a fortnight to
a month earlier than what takes place in elevated counties
even with a similar soil and surface ; sixty yards perpendicu-
lar = one degree more to the north ; conformably to this idea,
early at Worcester, and late at Birmingham. Apparently
much less raui falls here, Uian in counties more elevated and
more inward.
Soil. Ten thousand acres of deep rich sediment deposited bv
thc,Sevem, and a good deal on the Avon, Teme, and Stour ; half
the rest of the county, rich clay and loam : some light sandy
soils about ICiddeim'inster, and si)ringy gravel about Broms-
grove.
Minerals. Brick-clay .Tgravel, sand, marl, freestone, coal, at
Mamble ; quartzem, a siliceous stone, forms the basis of the
Malvern hills. Excellent common salt at Droitwich.
Water. Bivers, but no lake, pool, or pond formed by nature.
Malvern well, a good chalybeate; it is limpid, without smell
or taste. .
Fish in the Severn, salmon, shad, lamprey, and lampem ;
the lamprey grows to twenty-six inches long, and is often three
or four pounds weight ; it leaves the sea in the spring, and is
esteemed a great delicacy, but unwholesome when eaten too
freely. The lami)em goes to the sea at certain seasons ; is
ten or twelve inches loiig, about the size of a man's finger,
and common in Worcester, potted or preserved ; vast quan-
tities sold for baits to the cod fishery.
2. Property.
Variously divided among all classes ; many resident families
of considerable opulence aind fortune.
3. Buildings.
Some magnificent residences; farm-houses erected at differ-
ent times, and no way remarkable, unless for being badly
situated and arranged ; great want of sheds for cattle. Cot-
tages have nothing to recommend them ; often built of timber
and plaster, and covered with thatch. Some good stone
bridges over the Severn, and an iron one of one arch, 150 feet
span and fifty feet risf, at Stouriiort.
4. Occupation.
Farms small, from 10/. to 400/. a year, but some larger ;
seldom held on lea e; but when a tenant takesa form on strong
lands, where the course is fallow and three crops, he hoUls
it by custom for four years. Knight, of Lea Castle, farms
.■5.W acres in a masterly style ; large farmers have a turn
for improvement ; small ones have seldom an opportunity ;
many inventions proposed and intrmluced, and the sensible
farmer unfortunately finds few of them that will answer.
Picturesque yUnning ly Knight. About 200 acres around
Lea Castle, formerly in irregular uncouth divisions, with
wide slovenly hedges, are now laid, or U^ving togethCT, the
roads better disjx>se<l both for convenience and appearance,
and the hedges stocked up ; but Uie trees, which are in abund-
ance, carefully jureserved, to givea i>ark-like apiH-'arance; this
is dividetl into lots by temporary hurdles.
Milituri/JUrming. The same gentleman, when the volun-
teer cavalry were raised, sold his heavy farm hprscs, aud
Arable Land.
Fallows v>!oughed foi:r times, which is ratlier rare in Eng-
la^d ; rotations generally a fallow and two com crop, witii
an intervening leguminous hcTbage, or turnip crop. Ilrilling
in use for wheat, in the vale of Evesham and other places ;
beans commonlv dibbled. Turnips (niltivatetl broad-casf, and
Carpenter, author of A Treatitc on Pnuiical and Exiteri-
mental Agriadfure, has discovered since he publlshetl his
book, that the fly is to be prevented or destroyed by steepuig the
seed in sulphur before sown, and harrowing as soon as the fly
is discovered, " tlien sow eight bushels per acre, of dry lime,
or fine ashes, when the dew is on the leaves, so as it may ad-
here to them." Carrots sown by Knight and others in the
neight)orhood, where a good deal of seed is r:^scd for the
London seedsmen.
Hops grown to great perfection, and fruit trees generally
nlantetl among them, at the rate of forty -eight to an acre ;
1000 stools of hoi»s are considered an acre, whatever ground
they may stand on, and lalwr is paid for accordingly. Golding-
vine, mathon- white, reil, nonpareil, and Kenti.sh grape,
local names for varieties dlstinguishetl bv verv slender shacles.
Land stirred lietween the plants with the plough ; only two
poles to a stool ; picking chiefly by Welsh women. ^Vheii
tithe of hops is taken in kind, the parson may either take
every tenth basket when green, or every tentii sack when
dried ; in the latu-r case, allowing 25<. per cwt. for dr}-ing,
sacking, and duty. The culture of hops having \<een carried
too far, the trjide here, iis tlsewhcre,! is on the decline ; corn,
en the average of years, is found to pay better.
Asparagus, cucunibeis, and ouious, grown in the lieldt ot
1100
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
Evesham, and sent to Birmingham .Vnarket, though thirty
miles distant; also, poppy -heads for the London druggists.
Clover for seed in various parts of the county.
7. Grass.
The banlcs of the rivers chiefly under meadow of the very
richest kind ; employed chiefly in fatting cattle and sheep ;
clovers and rye grass cultivated.
8. Gardens and Orchards.
Market gardens near most of the principal towns ; produce,
besides local consumption, is sent to Bath, Bristol, and Bir-
mingham. Orchards, long and successfully cultivated in the
middle, south, and western parts of the county ; round
towns, villages, and farm-houses ; and all the hedge-rows of a
farm often planted with fruit trees, and verv productive. In
a plentifiil year, or what is called a " hit of fruit", it will not
pay for carriage to market from remote places ; no casks can
be got for all the juice. In 1784, cisterns were formed in the
ground to receive the liquor, but they ran out ; in Pershore, it
IS said currents of perry ran into the common sewers. Large
quantities of apples rot, or are devoured by hogs ; cider in
such a year sold for 21*. a hogshead, in Worcester market ;
two or three tons of cherries often sold in Worcester market
in the morning before five o'clock ; six tons have been sold
there in one morning ; 2000/. has been paid for the tonnage of
fruit on the Trent and Severn canal in one year; canal forty -
■ miles long, tonnage IJiZ. per ton per mile ; 7000 tons must
- - i. The ■
therefore have passed.
stocks are not grafted here till
■ " -graftii
782
three years after planting out, and saddle-grafting of a pecu-
liar kind, (f'g- 782.) is pre-
ferred to the cleft manner
used inGloucestershire. Some-
times the boughs of the stock
are each grafted in the whip
manner. When cleft-grafting
is performed, the cleft is made
with a saw, and afterwards
smoothed with a knife; little
care paid to the trees after-
wards; they bear at five years,
are at perfection at thirty,
and continue in full bearing
for at least thirty years more.
Sheep should be excluded from
the orchards, and coarse grass
or straw burned in them "on
the first appearance of a blight ;
this fumigation destroys myri-
ads of insects. Fruit is ga-
thered as it falls from the tree ;
no force usetl till the leaves
are mostly feUen, and then
only shaking or striking wiih a light pole. Cider made
as in Gloucestershire, but with no great attention to the mix-
ture of fruit, or its previous sweet and clean state. Poraeroy
proposes to separate the core and kernels from the pulp, by
forcing a cutting cylinder through each apple, and then grind-
ing the core and pulp apart, as much of the flavor of cider
depends on bruising the seeds.
9. Woods and Plantations.
Abundance of oak and elm. Croome, Hagley, &c. well-
wooded. Forest of Wire, near Bewdley, suppUes oak poles,
rails, hiurdles, laths, hoops, &c.
10. Improvetnents.
Earl of Coventry drains his park by open cuts wide, and their
sides turfed to the bottom ; all the attention they require is
preventing the establishment of large weeds, or coarse tufts of
grass, which would interrupt the water; some embankments
on the Severn, and some meadows irrigated, but mostly by
floods.
11. Live Stock.
No particular, breeds : land too good for breeding ; fbedlng
chiefly attended to, and some dairying ; some soiling, and a
good deal of oil-cake used for finishing autumn-fed oxen.
Mules used in agriculture in some parts of the county, especi-
ally near Bewdley ; rise to fifteen hands or^ more ; Skeys
carriage mules bred from grey or wliite mares and a white spot-
ted foreign ass. The great age to which they attain is one of
their chief advantages; at perfection at thirty, and work till
seventy or upwards. Asses employed by Carpenter, of Broms-
grove, farmer and author.
12. Political Economy.
Principal roads good ; cross-roads very bad. A road club,
established in the vale of Evesham in 1792, the members of
which bind themselves to become road surveyors, gratis, in
their tm-ns, and strictly to enforce all laws, and to take all the
means in their power for procuring and keeping good roads :
several canals, fairs, and markets. Manufactures of gloves in
Worcester, and also of porcelain and cabinet furniture: of
woollen cloth and glass at Stourbridge ; of glass and pottery at
Dudley ; leather-making from sheep skins at the same place ;
nails, needles, linen, wool-combing and spinning at Broms-
grove and Redditch ; tanning in most places ; carpets at Kid-
derminster; various iron works on the Stour; stocking frames
at Tewkesbury and Bredon.
Droitwich salt n'orA:« on record from 816. The strata over the
salt are, mould five feet, marl thirty-live feet, talc, agypsum or
alabaster, forty feet, then a reservoir of brine twenty -two inches,
then talc seventy -five feet, then a rock of salt, into which the
workmen bored five feet. The brine is inexhaustible ; on bor-
ing through the talc, it immediately rises and tills tlie pit.
Salt made here and sold in one year, from April 6, 1771, to
April 5, 1772, 001,579 bushels; of which exported abroad,
110,120 bushels. Duty paid into the salt-office, London,
61,457i. which was then nearly one-third of the whole revenue
from salt in England. The process of making salt at Droit-
wich is as follows : — A little common water is first put into
the pan, to keep the brine from burning to the bottom ; the
pan is then filled with brine, and a small piece of resin thrown
in to make it granulate fine ; when the brine is boiUng, the
salt first incrusts at the top, and then subsides to the bottom ;
when subsided, the persons employed ladle it out with an
iron skimmer, and put it into wicker barrows, each containing
about half a bushel, in the shape of a sugar loaf, and let them
stand at the side of the pan for some minutes to drain ; they
then drop the salt out of the banow, and place it in the stove
to harden. In 1775, Baker, a druggist, from London, spent
12,000/. in a project for conveying the Droitwich brine in pipes
to the Severn, without success. Dr. Nash, from experiment,
believes Droitwich salt to be neither manmrein itself, nor capa-
ble of exciting any vegetative principle on the earth, as animal
or vegetable salts, or fime may do; it produces bad effects on
ploughed lands, by increasing their dryness in hot weather, and
by making them greasy,* and what the farmers call raw, in
damp weather. He has found it serviceable to scatter foul salt
upon large heaps of manure, to kill weeds and destroy their
seeds, but not to enrich ; care must be taken that it be not
laid near the roots of the trees, as it will certainly destroy them.
If laid at the bottom of pools, it enables them to hold water ;
it is wholesome to granivorous and graminivorous animals, but
preiudicial to carnivorous ones.
13. Means of Iniprove?netit.
The establishment of village and parish libraries recom-
mended ; and a paper on the subject copied, which appeared
in the Worcester newspaper. From the books recommended,
as well as other evidence, the writer of this paper is Sir
Richard Phillips. The plan is excellent, and would probably,
in the course of a generation,,,efrect a complete change in the
lower classes of society. Le Couteur's.treatise on apple trees and
cider, as applicable to the Isle of Jersey, appended to the survey.
7008. MONMOUTHSHIRE. A surface of 316,800 acres varied by hills, some of which are of consider-
able height; more distinguished by its woods and its mineral products than its agriculture. A part of
the coal basin of South Wales a fund of wealth of immense consequence to Britain, extends into Mon-
mouthshire, and, with the iron works, forms an important source of industry and wealth. iHassal's
Report, 1811.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate. Mild in the vales and cold on the confines of
Breconshire, where the snows sometimes remainon the ground
till. a late period in spring; atmosphere humid, as in most
western counties ; highly fevorable to the growth of grass.
Soil. Clay, loam, and grey soil on rock or marble, and beds
of limestone. Caldicot and Wentlog levels on the Severn ;
under the court of sewers is a rich silty loam. Soil of the hills
a reddish loam . No poor soil in the county.
Minerals. Coal, iron, and lime. Upwards of twenty iron
works in the coal district ; coal not brought into general use till
1792, when the canals and railroads
were completed. Principal proprietors
of the mineral district. Sir Chas. Mor-
gan, C. Leigh, Esq., B. Hall, Esq., and
the Earl of Abergavenny. A particular
description of the mineral basin of South
Wales given by Martin (Phil. Tran.
1806).
2. Property.
Duke of Beaufort and Sir Chas. Mor-
fan the chief proprietors; next class,
000/. to '3000/. .a year; a third class,
300/ to 1000/. a year. Many proprietors
occupy a part of their estates, and cul-
tivate them well ; some very small pro-
prietors of orchards and grass lands.
.3. Buildings.
Some fine old seats ; farm-houses of the
oldest date, timber thatched ; new ones
covered with tile-stone ; seldom any farm
yards ; but cattle-houses, and bams scattered about at random
cottages on the most frugal plan, generally with a garden.
4 Occupation.
Sire of farms, sixty to .300 acres ; 140 acres about the aver
ige; leases not very general.
5. Implements.
The proprietors of iron works have introduced many im-
proved forms from the north ; very neat iron gates and posts.
(fie. 783.)
6. Arable Land.
Less than the pasture ; tillage chiefly by oxen. " Many
farmers are so circumstanced, as to be ever on the watch, lest
the avarice of their landlords should interfere with their in-
dustry, by taking advantage of any improvement they make
id unexpectedly raise the rent. That such
in the soil, and
imfair dealing is become too frequent.
be lamented.
and can only be guarded against by leases."
7. Grass Land.
" Some farmers insist on it that rushes shelter and protect
grass, and will not allow them to be removed by draining or
otherwise."
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF HEREFORDSHIRE.
1101
8. Gardens and Orchards.
The latter very general on a small scale; apples for eating
much in demand at the iron mills; best orcliards and hop-
grounds in the hundred of Ilacland.
9. [Voods and Plantations.
County long famous for the size of its oaks ; stock now much
dnmnished.
10. Livestock.
" Mi^F^ cattle; some dairvinp, but feeding more general;
Hereford horses a good deal bred ; asses and mules in use about
the iron works: the mules found better than horses for carrying
charcoal from the woods to the iron works.
11. Political Economy.
Valentine MorrLs, Esq. of I'lerccneld, hdng examined a* to
the roads of the county, before Parliament, wa.< asktd,—
(2- What sort of roads have you in Monmouthshire ?
A. .N'one.
Q. How do you travel then ?
A. In ditches.
This was thirty years ago ; they are now improved, but still
bad ; various iron railways and canals.
12. Means of Improvement.
leases; embanking the river meadows; drainage; know-
ledge.
7009. HEREFORDSHIRE, A surface of 600,000 acres, studded with hills, hillocks, and minor swells
l\u- M "eights and dimensions ; almost every where of a rich soil, devoted exclusivelv to agriculture,
and highly productive in corn cattle, fruit, cider, hops, and timber. The most distinguished cultivator
n the county is 1. A. Knight, Esq., known m agnculture by his Treatise on the Apple and Pear,
many valuable papers in the 1 ransactions of tne Royal Society, and communications to the Board of Agri-
nf fho^iA"f- '"iP"""^,^ c'"? ^J' "H^/^''°"^ ^If'^y^ and improvements, and his honorable office of President
viewmS) ^"^ ^" ^^'"^* * Herefordshire, Vm. Buncombes Report, 1808. MarshaFs Re.
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate, remarkably healthy; west winds the coldest; warm-
est and earliest part about R<ks.
Suit. A marly clay of great fertility extends over most of the
county. The heaviest crops of wheat produced on a clayey
tract between Hereford and Ledbury; the lightest lands in
the south-east about Wormelow, and known as the " Rye
lands," from the prevailing produce there in former times.
Minerals. Iron ore in the sandy district, but none manufac-
tured at present. Red and yellow ochres, pipe-clay, and fullers
earth, but only the latter worked for.
Water abounds ; salmon caught in the Wye, but owing to the
weirs and illegal practices, not so abundantly as formerly.
2. Property.
Guy's Hospital, Duke of Norfolk, Earl of Oxford, Earl of
Essex, Sir G. Cornwall, &c. the largest proprietors. Their es-
tates divided into farms of from 5iOO to 400 acres. A number
of estates from 400/. to lOOW. per annum constantly resided
on by their owners, and cultivated and managed in good style,
with a view to the introduction of the best agricultural prac-
tices. I'he tenures of gavelkind and lx)rough-english exist
in a few places, but are generally nullified by will.
3. Buddings.
Some fine seats of jwoprietors, as Home-lacy, Hampton
Court, Downton CasUe, &c. Old farm-houses of wood, Jill de-
signed, and placed : some good new ones on the Guy's Hospital
and other estates. Cottages very humble, and of an inferior
construction. Strawberries lately cultivated by some cotta-
gers,'for the Hereford market, with success and profit.
4. Occupation.
Small farms on the decline; few opiiortunities now by
which an industrious couple can devote 50/. or 100/., acquired
by personal labor, to stock a few acres, and bring up their
family, and pass their latter years in comparative indepen-
dence. Hence matrimony on the decline, and licentiousness
on the increase. Hence Duncombe humanely recommends
proprietors to forego the temporary advantages of throVving the
whole of their estates into large farpis, and advises some of all
.sizes, from 5 to 500 acres, as ultimately best for the country.
" The old-fashioned farmer of Herefordshire receives any new
experiment in agriculture with great h'-^sitation, if not reluc-
tance. When its utility is confirmed by rejwated trials, he
slowly" and gradually falls into the practice; but he wisely
leaves the experiment and the risk to those who recommend
or suffijest it ; and happily the county is at this moment well
provided with agriculturists, who possess the means and the
spirit to undertake the patriotic task." Leases of .'twenty-one
years most commonly in three periojls of seven years, deter-
minable at the end of each period by either lemdlord or
tenant.
6. Implements,
Plough called the light lammas, without a wheel, and
line, abreast, but
drawn by three or four oxen generally in a 1
often the yoke is the usual mode of harness:
proved implements by the amateurs, but none in general use.
6. Arable Land.
Wheat principal grain cultivated, and generally sown on a
fallow. CInange of seed procure<l from the chalk hills of Ox-
fonlshire ; steeped in brine and lime, to guard again:>t vermin
and smut. Knight, late of Elton, now of Downtou Ca.stle, steeps
in water and then envelojies in lime, and his wheat was as free
from smut and other diseases as that of his neii;hbors from
changed seed. Hops a good deal cultivated, and chiefly dis-
posed of to Bristol dealers.
7. Grass.
Fertile meadows on the AVve, Frome, and Lug ; mown
and fed. Not a dairy county for home consumption, seldom
for exterior markets, or Smithlield. Butter supplieil from
Wales, and cheese from Shropshire and Gloucestershire.
" The general soil of Herefordshire appears to be unfavorable
to the making of cheese. T. A. Knight, witl> that accuracy
and skill which he is known to possess on all subjects connected
with agriculture and natural history, has proved by experi-
ment, that equal quantities of milk in Herefordshire and Che-
shire, will produce unequal quantities of curd, highly to the
advantage of Cheshire: and further, that better cheese has
been produced in that county, from milk, half of which has
been previously skimmed, than is produced in this from milk
altogether unsVimmed. The want, therefore, of complete suc-
cess in this valuable branch of rural economy is not solely to
be attributed to the want of skill in our dairy -maids ; and the
cause of failure is rendered more dilHcult of discovery, and
consequently more difficult to be remedied, from an oljserv-
ation that the plants were nearly the same in the Herefordshire
and Cheshire pastures, on which the above experiments were
made: while clover abounded in each, with the crested dog -
.tail grass- and rye-grass mixed with others in small quan-
tities. Of such plants the pastures of Herefordshire are gene-
rally comiKtsed.
A mode qfmanaf;i>if: sound rmadorvs and pastures has lately
been tried, and attended with a great increase of product.
latter end of Oct<3)er or beginning of Novemb
the ground remains covered during the winte:
ofdeadherbaj;e, through which the young i
The grass is mown as soon as it is in blossom, and consequently
previous to the formation of seed. The after-grass is not
^azed until it begins to contract a yellow appearance, in! the
ctolier or beirinning of November. In this case
during the winter with a portion
„, „.. ..hich the young grass springs with
the greatest vigor at an early period of the succeeding
spnng.
8. Gardens and Orchards.
Emit trees first extensively planted in Herefordshire in the
time of Charles I., by Lord "Scudamore, of Home Lacy. Or-
chards and hedge-row trees of the apple and pear kind are
found on every aspect, soil, and under every culture. The soil
best adapted to most kinds of apples, is a deep rich loam when
under the culture of the plough ; the Styre and golden-pippin,
in particular, form exceptions, and flourish most in a hot and
shallow soil, on a Ume or sandstone. The best sorts of i>ear
trees also prefer the rich loam, but inferior kinds will even
flourish where the soil will scarcely produce herbage. The
apples are divided into old and new sorts ; each class com-
prises some called kernel fruits, namely, the fruit growing on
Its native roots, as a distinction from' those produced by the
operation of grafting. The old sorts of apples are those which
have been long introduced, such as the Styre, golden pippin,
hagloe-crab ; Iseveral varieties of the Harvey ; the brandy
apple, retl-streak, woodcock, moyle, gennet, red, white, ani
yellow musks; fox whelp, loan, 'and old pearmains; dymock
red, ten commandments, and others. Some of these names
are descriptive of the fruit, and others are derived from the
places where they have been first found, or found in most
abundance. The old pears held in most estimation are, the
squash, so called from the tenderness of its pulp ; the oldfield,
from having grown as a seedling in .a field of that name; the
huffcap, from the quantity of fixed air contained in its liquor ;
the bar-land, from fields m the parish of Rosbury, called the
Barlands ; the sack-pear, from its richness ; and the red pear,
from its color. Of more common sorts, the long-land is the
most valuable, and for the general use of the farmer perhaps
the best of any.
9. Woods and Plantations.
Oak very abundant, and more rapid in its growth in this
county and Monmouthshire than in most parts of England.
Lord Oxford's estates and Croft Castle contain the fintst old
trees in the county ; fine woods at Foxley , U. Price, Esq. ; most
luxuriant oak timber and coppices at Moccas Court and Stoke
Park ; a curious weeping oak at Moccas. Most productive ash
coppices at Hampton Court and Ledbury ; cut even.- thirteen
years for crate ware, hurdles, &c. and bring from 18/. to 351,
per wood acre, which is to the statute acre as 8 to 6. Elm trees
are interspersed in the hedge-rows with fruit trees.
10. Improvements.
Draining much wanted, but practised chiefly by propri-
ors ; watering little practised, though introduced in feit) by
R. Vaughan, Esq. of New Court, whose tract on the subject
has-been already mentioned. (4054.) One of theigreatest expe-
riments in this way which has been attempted of late years in
Herefordshire, has been attended with complete success on the
estate of T. A. Knight. By making a w^ear on the river Teme,
with projier courses for the water, that gentleman is now
enabled to irrigate two hundred acres of land, which were
never wateretl before, with the assistance of the least flood;
and one half of that quantity even in the driest season.
11. Livestock.
Hereford cattle esteemed superior to most, if not to all,
other breeds ; those of Devon and Sussex nearest them in ap-
pearance. Lar^e size, an athletic form, and unusual neatness,
characterize the true sort ; the prevailing color is a reddish
brown, with white faces. I'he rearing of oxen for agricultural
purposes universally prevails ; nearly half the ploughing is
IMjrformed by them, and they take an equal share in the labon
of the harvest. They are sh'oed with iron in situations which
fre<iuentlv require their exertions on hard roads. The show of
oxen in thriving condiUon at the Michaelmas fair in Hereford,
cannot be excecdi-d by any similar annual collection in Eng-
land ; on this occasion they are generally sold to the principa
graziers In the counties near the metropolis, and there per-
fected for the London mtirkeu.
Herefordshire not lieing a dairying connly, breeders direct
their attention to producing that form of animal best adapted
for feeding rather than milking. 'TThe whole attention of
the Leicestershire brec<ler has been directed to the improve-
ment of his cow ; and for the use of the grazier, he has made
her an excellent animal. The Herefordshire breeder, on the
contrary, has sacrificeil the qualities of the cow to those of the
ox ; he does not value his cow according to the price which the
grazier would give for it, but in pro|>ortion as it posstsses that
form and character which expOTience has taugnt him to be
conducive to the excellence of the future ox. Hence the cow
of Herefordshire is comparatively small, extremely dehcatc,
and very iieniinine in Its characters. It is light-fleshcd when
in common condition, but capable of fxttnding »t»ui uiufer-
1102
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
sally in a short space of time, when fattening. Experience
seems fully to have proved, that these qualities in the caw are
necessary to perfection in the ox ; and that when the cow is
large and masculine in its character, and heavily loaded with
flesh, the ox will be coarse and brawny, and, consequently,
unkind and tedious in the process of fattening. It may here
be remarked, that there is an extraordinary difference between
the weight of a Herefordshire cow and the ox bred from her;
perhaps other sorts, eminent for producing fine oxen, are
similarly distinguished ; but it is a fact, that a Herefordshire
cow wiU not unfirequently be the mother of an ox of nearly
three times her own weight. T. A. Knight, who made this
observation, recollects no instance of this great disproportion
in the weight of the males and females of the long-homed
cattle. That gentleman farther observes, that he is unable to
discover what advantage the public have derived, or are likely
to derive, from a breed of cattle which are neither calculated
for the dairy nor for breeding oxen. The difference in the
dairy between a good and an indifferent milking cow, on the
pasture which is adequate to the keep of the latter, will
seldom exceed five pounds, and if the animal be good, a very
poor pasture will be sufficient ; but the difference between a
good and bad ox will often exceed twenty pounds, where both
Save consumed in fattening eaual quantities of food : individu-
als and the public are, therefore, equally and evidently inter-
ested in the improvement of the laboring ox. Persons of
little experience, ICnight adds, in the breeding of cattle, may
perhaps think that a sort is obtainable which will unite the
two objects ; but experience will convince them, that in en-
deavoring to approach two opposite points at the same time,
they will never be able to reach either. Where the soil is well
calculated for the dairy, every attention should be paid to
obtain and improve the best sorts of milking cows ; ana where
the ox is kept to a proper age as a beast of draught, nothing
conducing to his excellence ought to be neglected. A cow
must, however, give mllk'enough to keep Its calf fat, or it Is
disqualified for.breeding a good ox, because the calf would be
spoiled before it had acquired the proper age to be weaned.
Sheep. The provincial oreed, the R\eland, named from the
sandy district in the neighborhood of Ross. They lamb in
February and March ; but during winter, and particularly in
time of lambing, the store flocks are generally confinetf by
night in a covered building, provincially termed a cot, in which
they are sometimes fed with hay and barley straw, but much
more frequently with peas-haulm. Some breeders accustom
them to the cot only in very severe weather, and in lambing time.
The practice was derived from the Flemings, and introduced
into England about the year 16G0. A cross has been made
between the Ryelands and the new Leicester sorts, to the
advantage, perhaps, of the breeder who is situated on good
land, but certainly to the detriment of the wool. A cross
between the Ryeland and real Spanish seems the most probable
mode of adding ;to its fineness and value. Dr. Parry's experi-
ments have been already related. (6490.)
d 12. Rural Economy.
" If a certain proportion between the price of labor and the
average price of wheat, could be fixed by law, so as to render
the applications for paroohial aid necessary only in cases of a
very large family, of unusual illness, of scanty seasons, or any
other real emergency ; the measure, it is jjresumed, would be
honorable to the country, would stimulate industry and
fidelity, would check dishonesty, and endear to a numerous
class their native soil."
13. Political Economy.
Roads formerly bad; now improving; materials, coarse
limestone. Gloves, to a small extent, manufactured in Here-
ford. An agricultural society established in 1797, which has
given many premiums, and done much good.
7010. SHROPSHIRE. A' surface of 890,000 acres ; in general flat, but with hills of considerable
height on some of its margins. The soil is chiefly clay, but in part light turnip land ; both are devoted to
the raising of corn-crops. Breeding and dairying is also practised to a moderate extent. The greatest
improver in the county is! the Marquess of Stafford, whose extensive and important operations on the
estate of Lilleshall are described at length by Loch, in his Improvements on the Marquis of Stafford's
Estates, 1819. {Bishton's Shropshire, 1794. Plymley''s Shropshire, 1801. Marshal's Review, 1819.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate. Considerable difference according to the soil and
surface ; more warm on the eastern side than in the middle of
the county. E. winds prevail in spring, and W. in autumn.
SoU. Nearly an equal "quantity of wheat and turnip land,
the former rather predominant. S.W. side of the county va-
riable ; thin soil upon clay or rock ; extensive tracts of hUls
and waste ; and most sorts of soils except chalk and flint.
Minerals. Lead in granulated quartz very productive. Cop-
per ore found but not worked. Coal of excellent quality on
the eastern side of the county; lime, buildiiig-stone, chaly-
beate, and spa waters, at different places. At Kingly Wick a
pring of salt water, us ' " " ' '
lished at Wormbridge.
~ Waters. Twenty -two sorts of fish found 'in the Severn in
Shropshire. Salmon in season from Michaelmas to May.
2. Property.
Estates of from 10 to 25,000 acres, and an infinite number
of freeholders : yeomanry estates of all inferior sizes : much
copyhold, but the?lords upon some customary manors have en-
franchised the copyholders upon receiving an equivalent in
money.
3. Buildings.
Some good new mansions; above eighty of these named
in old maps become farm houses. Farm houses generally in
villages. lExcellent new ones on the Marquess of Stafford's
estates, (fig. 784.)
784
h^^
Mi 'W
■ ■llllllHi
i
»
-HrrMl ' '
^s:
Coin/bWaifc coMdg-e* with gardens much wanted. Some ju-
dicious observations by Plymley: prescribes no particular
forms, but suggests the impropriety of making them, or in-
deed any other object, bear an outward appearance, intended
to contradict their inward use ; all castellated or gothicised
cottages, all churchlike bams, or fortlike pigstyes, he conceives
to be objectionaWe. They are intended to deceive, and they
tell you that they are intended to deceive. It is not pleasant
to encourjuse any thing like deceit, but in these instjmces im-
position effected is rarely gained ; it amounts only to im]X)Sition
attempted; or, could the deceit succeed, it would only pre-
sent a prospect with fewer proprieties about it than there reallv
are. Almost every species of country building has a goocl
rfiect, if properly placed and neatly executed; and what are
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF SHROPSHIRE.
1103
the least ornamental, or Indeed the most disgusting, of their
appendages, cease to shocic, when supjwrted by the relative
situation they stand in, showing their necessity and their use.
A dunghill in a farm-yard creates no disagreeable idea ; but
connected witli a gothic gateway, or embattled tower, it is
bad. Cattle protected by the side of a bam, form a pictu-
resque group ; but sheltering under a Grecian jwrtico— the im-
proiiriety is glaring. Linen hanging to dry on the hedge of a
cottage garden, may he passed without displeasure; but the
clothes of men, women, and children, surrounding the cell of
an anchorite, or the oratory of a monk, have their natural un-
seemliness increased by the contrast. On the other hand, a
iine-dressed lawn with miserable cottages may be com-
pared to the laced, clothes and dirty hnen some foreigners
were formerly accused of wearing. The whole of a gen-
tleman's estate should be his pleasure-ground ; the village
should be one object in the scene ; not shut out from it. There
may be a little more polish about the mansion, but it should
not be an unnatural contrast to the surrourfding objects. The
face of no country is bad, but as it is disfigured by artificial
means ; and the cheapest and best improvement is, merely to
remove what offends, and to take care that the buildings or
fences that are wanted are neat and appropriate, exhibiting
distinctly their real intention. Plyinley is a friend to single cot-
tages, because two families under one roof may have more
causes of contention arise between them. On the other hand,
in illness, poor jieople have frequently the merit of forgetting
their differences ; and then the assistance they are inclined to
give each other, is made more easy by nearness of situation.
It is possible, however, where two, or even three houses are
joined together, to contrive the gardens in such a manner, that
there may be a little inter-ference ; and sometimes threeneigh-
Jjoring families may do better together than two.
* 4. Occupation.
On the borders of Wales the farms are small, many not ex-
ceeding twenty acres ; on the east side of the county from one
to 500 acres; farmers in general very industrious; work along
■with their servants ; wives brew, bake, dairy, and at spare
hours spin and get up a piece of linen cloth for sale every year.
Leases for lives formerly very common. Bishton, of Kilsall, has
taken great pains to prepare printed leases, which answer very
well ; the term he recommends is seven, fourteen, or twenty-
one years : by being printed the farmer can read them at his
leisure.
5. Implements.
Plough with two wheels, drawn by four or five horses, or
six or eight oxen in the strong lands, and two horses with a
boy to drive in the turnip soils. Various improved imple-
ments and threshing machines ; some excellent mills on Lord
Stafford's estates, driven by steam.
6. Enclosing.
Much practised and still going on. Plashing hedges is usu-
ally very ill done in Shropshire; it is a business which requires
great nicety and judgment, and has the most ignorant oi>era-
tors to perform it in general ; who, in the first place, cut
downwards through mere idleness, instead of upwards, and so
expose the heart of the plant to the weather. Many mUes of
hedges lately planted on the Stafford estates.
7. Arable Land.
Fallowing very badly done on the strong lands. Common
crops of the county wheat, barley, oats, pease, and turnips.
Pease found not to boil well unless grown on a sharp gravel
or sand ; those grown on clay given to pigs and horses. Some
hemp and hops cultivated.
8. Grass.
Some natural meadows on the Severn and other rivers ; not
much attention paid to them. Artificial herbage and grasses
grown on the turnip soils.
9. Gardens and Orchards.
Many farmers have small orchards, from 'whence they make
a little cider for home consumption, and on the confines of He-
refordshire and Worcestershire the orchards are larger, and
cider is made for sale.
10. Woods and Plantations..
A good deal of hedge-row timber, and some fine oak woods ;
also numerous young plantations. Narrow-leaved elm reck-
oned an excellent hedge-row tree, but the broad-leaved better
timber, and less difficult £is to soil and situation. In this cownty
few persons will bury their relations in any but the best oak
timber, which contributes much to its scarcity.
11. Improvements.
Marl used, and some irrigation. A good deal of draining
done with brick, stone, and Mcgot wood. Some bogs drained in
Elkington's manner. On the Lilleshall estate of Lord Stafford,
(fig. 785.) in 1816 and 1817, there has been executed about
17,000 yards, of embankment; 5J7,000 yards of water course
deepened and scoured; 46,000 yards of main ditches made or
deejiened ; .'ilS.OOO yards of fence-ditches deejiened, scoured, and
straightened ; 49,000 yards of old fences stocked ; 30,000 yards
of new quick fences made ; 21,000 yards of turf draining ; and
462,000 yards of under-ground draining, laid with tiles and
filled widi stones. Besides the erection of many new farmeries
of the most commodious plans and substantial execution. But
to havte an adequate idea of these and other Improvements eitect-
ed by this munificent and patriotic nobleman, it is necessary to
perus<the very interesting work of Loch already referred to.
On the WiUlmotir eiUite'ot horA Stafford (J^. 786.) exceUent
roatls have been fonnetl, so that several parts before inaccessi-
ble in, winter and.during wet weather, may now be approached
at allitimes with ease. The edect, as Loch observes, nas thus
been to add so many acres to the estate. But the most consi-
derable work executed ui>on these estateci is the drainage ot
1104
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
the extensive district alluded to, called the Wlldmoors. The
extent and nature of this imiirovement is such as to deserve a
particular and detailed description. Some adjoining proper-
ties have benefited by this work, and contributed to the ex-
pense of it, which was done under the authority of an act of
parliament. But as almost the whole of the land belongs
to the Marquess of Stafford, and the expenae having been chiefly
borne by him, the direction of its progress, and its preservation
hereafter, is entirely vested in a surveyor chosen by hisLordship.
These moors consisted of an extensive tract, amounting, with
the land similarly circumstanced, to near twelve hundred
acres. The soil is composed of a fine black peat, incumbent
on a bed of red sand, full of water. They are bounded chiefly
by'the upland part of these estates, and surround the parish of
Kynnersley, which also belongs to it, and which is composed
of some of the finest turnip and barley soil in the kingdom.
They had evidently formed the bottom of an extensive lake.
The different brooks from the surrounding country held their
course through them. These brooks are known in the country
by the name of Strines, being distinguished from each other
by the name of the places from which, or past which, they
flow. Their course to the Team (which river drains the
whole of this country mto the Severn) was devious and crook-
ed in the extreme, injuring to a great extent the land through
which they ran.
A great proportion oftliese moors was occupied by the tenants
of the adjoining fzirms, who turned their stock in upon them
for a portion of the summer season only. During the rest of
the year it was impossible to use them. They afforded but a
small quantity of food, and were in most places so wet, that it
was at all times difficult to walk over them, it being necessary
to select the hardest places to step on. They were covered
with water after almost every severe rain, owing to which the
inhabitants of the neighborhood were subject to frequent
attacks of ague. The aoyoining lands, besides, to an extent ex-
ceeding six hundred acres, were kept in nearly a state of na-
ture, owing to there being no level by which they could be
drained, while this extensive district continued subject to such
inundations.
The difficulty which occurred, in draining this tract of land,
arose from the want of level, and from the river Team being
pounded so high by the mill pools, as to throw the water back
to a great distance upon the land. The plan for draining this
extensive district was extremely well conceived, and judici-
ously laid out, in the double view of securing this object, and
of interfering as little as possible with private property and the
existing establishments situated on the Team. It was sug-
gested by John Bishton, Esq. the first commissioner under
the Act. The great object was to gain as much additional
level as would create a "run throughout the whole extent of
the moorlands. This was to be obtmned by beginning the cut
which was to carry off the water a considerable way lower
down the Team than the water had hitherto been discharged
into that river, and a good deal below the mill -pool at Long,
which occasioned this poundage. The original courses of the
strines were straightened and widened, but they were still
made to convey the water from the uplands, and to discharge
them into the Team in their original direction. To prevent
them overflowing the adjoining lands, and to cut off the effects
'of the Team on the upper moors, these
brooks were embanked for the whole length of their course
through the Wildmoors. These are technically called argue
banks. At the back of these banks deep ditches were carried,
but in a more direct line than the course of the strines. Into
these ditches the drainage of the moor-lands is emptied. The
level which was thus brought from the river Team, from be-
low Long Mill, was carried in a tunnel under the Shrewsbury
canal, and was conducted below the several strines in syphon
culverts, and thus communicated with the ditches described,
as having been made behind the banks which confined the
waters of these brooks.
In some instances, it has been necessary to construct one set
of culverts over another, in order that the waters coming from
the ui)lands may be kept in the several brooks through which
they had constantly flowed, and that this water flowing from
the uplands might not fall into the back drains ; it being again
explained, that the water flowing from the higher grounds is
still confined to the original strines or brooks on an upper
level ; the drainage water alone of the moor-lands being
thrown into the back drains. Thus has a great additional
level been obtained, and the whole of this district is now en-
tirely relieved of water, and such a thing as a flood has not
been known for years. This district is, in some instances, so
flat, that the old course of the Preston strine, which formerly
conducted the water of that brook in one direction, has, with
little difficulty, been made a part of the drainage, and to carry
the drainage water in exactly the contrary direction, a new
channel having been cut for the strine. Taking advantage cf
this drainage, main ditches, upon a regular system, have been
carried into all the neighboring parts of the estate, thereby
enabling the landlord and the tenant to execute various other
imi>rovcments. ^
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF STAFFORDSHIRE.
IIOJ
This dUtrict has been tubsequentl; divided into regular en-
etoturet, by great ditches, wliich fall into the main drains ;
and, wherever it has been possible, these ditches have been
made to serve this purpose, as well as that of a fence to the
new roads which have been constructed across these moors.
In one instance, one of these roads has been carried in a
straight line for about two miles. On each side of this road
trees have been planted, at regular distances, which will soon
form one of the finest avenues in Kngland. These moors have
besides been all regularly under-drained by turf drains, which
stand remarkably well. In the ditlerent ditches are )>laLed
flood-gates, to pound back the water during the summer,
preserving the meadows in a state of perpetual verdure.
The water is let off at least once in every fourteen days, and
being drawn olF with as much velocity as imssible, it scours
and keeps clear both the ditches and the underground drains ;
— the mouths of these latter ate all defended with tiles. The
moorlands have b^en greatly improved by very heavy and re-
peited rollings and top-dressings ; and their value as let to a
farmer, in many instances, is fully doubled. This improve-
ment has cost a very large sum of money ; which was encreas-
ed beyond what was necessary, owing to the inefficiency of th«
late surveyor belonging to the commission, which is not yet
closed. The drainage, however, has lately been put under a
surveyor (Lewis), approved of by Lord StaHbrd in terms of
the .\ct, and the expence is diminished, and the whole put in
better order. A very rapid improvement his taken place on
these lands. In place ot being the very worst part of the es-
tate, they are rapidly becoming equal to the best and finest
meadows on it. In order to shelter them from the blasts
which come round the W'rekin, from the Welsh mountains,
they have been intersected with various plantations. A plan
of the Wildmoors previous to, {fig. 7HIJ.) and another subse-
'cjuent to this improvement, ( j%'. 787.) will serve to give an
accurate notion of what has been done. The whole being well
worthy the examination and inspection of an intellieenl aeri
culturist and improver. {Loch, p. 226.)
12. Live Stock.
Cattle of mixed breeds ; some dairying, chiefly for butter to
the manufacturing towns; some cheese, but not very good.
Calves raised as stock, and sometimes suckled for veal. Sheep*
in breeding flocks of various kinds. Stock in general neg.
lected as to improvement; all sorts of crosses permitted, so
that the original breeds of sheep and hogs are now lost. I'ork
and baron are much used among the poorer people, when tlicy
<:an procure them ; therefore the sort which is to be fed with
the least trouble is to be preferred. A mixture of the Shrop.
shire and Chines;| has, in this respect, been found to answer
for bacon, and a cross of the wild breetl for pork.
Geete, reared on the commons, and sold to farmers, who fat-
ten them on theii< stubbles.
Turkeiis, reared in large quantities by some farmers, and
sold to hislers, who drive them to Birmingham and other larg«
towns. Markets in general well supplied with fowls. It is to
he lamented that they are generally carried alive to market.
Death is no misfortune to an animal that has no previous ap-
prehension of it. Hut poultry, carried in l>ags or baskets to
market, have several hours of previous suffering, and the bur-
then and trouble of carrying them thither seem much m-
creased thereby.
13. Political Economy.
Hoads generally bad; various canals ; trade of Shrewsbury,
flannel and Welsh webs, used for clothing for the slaves in the
West Indies and South America. Manufactures in the
county numerous; iron, pottery, jKircelain, glass, dying clotli,
woollens, flannels, linen, gloves, &c. An agricultural society
at Dray^n.
7011. STAFFORD.SHIRE. 780,800 acres of hill and dale, some parts rugged and others smooth, but
on the whole more a mining and manufacturing than an agricultural county. The Marquess of Stafiord,
Lord Anson, and Marquess of Anglesea, are the chii-f improvers. Excellent markets for produce within
the county in consequence of tiie numerous manufacturing towns and villages. LPitVs Report, 1808
MarshuVs Review, 1813. Loch's Improvements, 1819.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances. chine, and various new implements introducingby proprietor!.
Climate. Air sharj) and cold, and inclining to wet ; annual and especially by the Marquess of Statlbid.
rains thirtv-six inches ; those of London twenty or twenty-one
inches ; of Upminsler, in Ksse'x, nineteen inches and a quarter;
Lancashire forty-two; of Ireland forty-two to fifty. Annual
rain on the west side of the kingdom double that on the east
side.
Surface. In the north side of the county hills arise, forming
the commencement of a ridge, rising gradually higher and
higher into Scotland, under different names : here called
Moorlands, then Peak, then Blackstone Edge, then Craven,
tlien Stanmore ; and then, parting into two horns, called
Cheviots.
Soil. Very various; about one-third of the county strong
loam or clay ; one-third mixed soils of almost all sorts, and the
remainder light, calcareous or alluvial.
Minerals. Valuable and extensive ; 50,000 acres or upwards
of coal. Iron ore and lime of unknown extent.
2. Property.
Largest estates 10,000/. a year, and many of all sizes, from
that amount down to 40*. a year. Attomies generally the ma-
nagers, but some excellent examples of gentlemen of from
500/. to 5(X)0/. a year managing their estates themselves; re-
siding on them, and cultivating a part, and giving every en-
couragement to their tenants.
3. Buildings.
Some noble mansions, as Trentham, Beaudesart, Inges-
tree, &c. Kxcellent farm-houses constructed on some estates, as
Trentham , Lord StaHbrd's,but;the majority, as in other counties,
bad, and badly situated. A farm yard has been constructed at
tlie femily seat of the Ansons, for a tlemesne farm of 2000
acres. It" was built by S. Wyatt, of I^ondon, and consists of the
farming steward's house at one end ; a range of building along
one side contains a brewhouse upon qt large scale, a water corn-
mill for the family and farm use, and in which com is ground
for the neighboring poor gratis, and a malt-house : the oppo-
site side and end are occupied by stalls for feeding cattle, store-
rooms, stables, and other appcnd.ages ; and in the middle of the
yard is a very comi>lete hoggery, built of large stones set edge-
ways, and covered with slate, with a boiler for heating hog-
food, a cold bath supplied by the mill stream, for giving an oc-
<;asional swill to the young pigs. In this building a number of
hogs are fatte<l on dairy refuse, boiled roots or vegetables,
pulse, ground barley or bran, supjilied by the mill near at
nand. At some distance above is the stack-yard and barns,
where a powerful threshing machine is worked by the same
stream that afterwards supplies the garden, and turns the com
mill in the farm-yard.
4. Occupation.
Farms of all sizes, from twentv-five to 500 acres; many con-
solidated since 1795. Some very good cottages with gardens,
and containing comfortable and commodious accommodation
for agricultural or manufacturing operatives. A specimen of
one is given (Ji^'-TSS.), which contains a livingroom (<i),working
or lodging room (A), pantry, dairy, cellar, &c. (c), cow-house (rf),
with a water closet, and three bedrooms over. Leases generallv
granted for twenty -onevears. Litlle made by farming unless with
a combination ot all,of most of the following circumstances :
First, an easy rent ; second, a pretty good rnd extensive farm':
third, economy and industry ; and fourth, length of time. In
the present system of farming, at a moderate rent, the writer of
this knows from experience, that it requires not only the most
diligent industry, but also the most prudential economy, to
this knows from experience, that it requires not only the most
diligent industry, but also the most prudential economy, tr
keep the balance on the right side. To which Marshal adds.
" I have rarely found a farmer making a fortune by his profes-
sion alone, unless on fresh land, on virgin marsh, old grazing
5 round, ancient sheep walk, or weU soiled common ; a fortune,
mean, any way resembling that which, with the same ability
and industry, and with a small share of the outset capital,
be would have been makirtg by trade, manufactiue, or com-
merce."
5. Implements.
Very various ; double furrow ploughs drawn by four horse*,
• fgooA deal m use in the light lands. £xc«Uait threshing ma>
4
fi. Arable Land.
Most annual field crops cultivated, including hemp and daz.
7. Grass.
Meadow on the rivers and brooks, and artificial
sown ; feeding in general preferred to dairying.
8. Gardens and Orchards.
Common to many farm-houses; but few or no sale orchardt,
and scarcely any fruit crushed for liquor.
9. Timber and Woodlands.
Best ti>nberd estate Blithfield Park, Lord Bagot ; the park
contains many hundre<l trees of extraordinarj' bulk, containing
from 200 to 4(X) feet of timber each ; much of it Is mentioned by
Dr. Plott as full grown in 16SC. Chillington and Beaudesart
also remarkably well timl>ered. The remains of Neetlwood
forest, chiefly ren.arkable lor its lieauliful hollies. On the
whole the county abundantly wooded. Sneid's coppices cut
once in six years to make crates and large hamjiers for the
potu^ries.
10. Improvements.
Irrigation and draining practised, the former only to a mo-
derate extent, .fessop, the engineer, suggests that nine parts
in ten of the waters of the kingdom at present run away in
waste, a great part of which might 1)C usefiilly employed ; nay,
further (putting expenre out of the question), that every stream
in the kingdom may be made to run equally through the whole
year. This position, however extraordinan , is easily demon,
strablc ; for if, upon any given stream, one or more reservoirs
he made, capable of containing its flood water, and through the
dam or dams be laid a pijw or pijjes, whose a|>crtures will just
discharge the average produc;-, the business is done: an4
though there may be no probability of this business lieingever
brought to so great a nicety, yet, from hence some idea may be
formed of the pro<ligious extent to which improvements by
water may be cairiod.
Gttnt a'ltd radical imprm^emenlt have been effected on the
Trentham estates. The first object was the laying the land*
together, in farms of considerable extent, varying in size ac-
cording to the nature of the soil, and other circumstances. In
eflecting these necessary changes, wherever the old tenant was
removed, which was done as seldom as possible, he was, unless
he took a farm elsewheij*, accommodated with his house and
his best grass crofts for his life, at a low and inadequate rent ;
and in every case where it was possible to treat with the person
heneliciallyinterested in the lease, and whose continuance in
the form was incompatible with the new arrangement of tb«
land, his interest was purchai«d either for an annuity, or * -
B
106
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
»um of money , to enable him to look out for, and to stock a new
farm. The size of the farm being thus enlarged, it was neces-
sary to enlarge the size of the inclosures, and to lay several
closes into one, and, where possible, to give them a more regu-
lar and uniform shape. This arrangement enabled the land-
lord to get rid of the long useless lanes, by which a considera-
ble addition to the number of arable acres was acquired.
Ill order to give each tenant every advantage in draining his
farm, the great lines of ditches were executed by the land-
lord; and wherever it was possible, these were made the
boundaries of the farms. Thus the whole drains on the es-
tate were conducted according to one uniform plan, by which
the system of drainage was rendered much more complete,
and the interests of the whole, and not that of any individual
tenant, were consulted, nor was any one allowed to interfere
with the interests of his neighbor. Such a perfect system will
have the effect of rendering the condition of these estates more
complete in this respect than that of any other in England.
Attention has also been paid, in the execution of these works,
to make the water available for the construction of water-mea-
dows, and for impelling the threshing machines of the respec-
tive farms.
In consequence of the complete state of ruin in which the
farm Imildings on these estates were found, it was necessary to
incur a serious expence in constructing new ones. In this
•way it has been necessary to erect thirty-seven new, and to re-
pair throughout eight other extensive sets of farm offices,
besides the smaller repairs which such estates necessarily re-
quire. They have been executed in the most substantial man-
ner. They are built of the best possible brick-work, covered
with tiles or slates ; and their cost, including the expence of
those thoroughlv repaired, may, on an average, be stated at
from 1500Z. to 1600/. each.
We have already given examples of these buildings (2763.
and 2765.), which are remarkably complete in design, and sub-
stantial in execution, and several of them are fiimished with
threshing machines, driven by water or steam, a thing rare in
England, excepting in Northumberland. It is believed. Loch
observes, that they unite as many advantages with as few faults,
as any buildings of the sort, and that they will supply useful
hints to others.
It had been at one period the custom to permit hiiis to be
erected in all parts of the estate. These huts amounted in
number to many hundreds ; they were inhabited b^ the poor-
est, and, in many instances, by a profligate population. They
were not regularly entered in the rental book, but had a no-
minal payment fixed upon them, which they paid annually at
the court leet. These cottages were bnilt on the sides of the
roads, and upon the lord's waste, which was gradually ab-
sorbed by the encroachments which the occupiers of these huts
made from time to time, by enclosing that which lay next to
them. They gradually fell into the hands of a body of middle-
men, who underlet them at an extravagant rent to the actual
occupiers. In this manner the poor people were oppressed,
and the landlord was in danger ot losing his property.
To remtdy the evils arising out of this system, the cottagers were
made immediate tenants to the landlord, and their rents made
payable at the half-yearly audits ; an arrangement perfectly
satisfactory to them, as they were no longer exposed to the
vexations of an intermediate possessor, and, in many instances,
their rents to the landlord were less than they had been accus-
tomed to pay to those from whom they had hitherto held their
houses. Since they have been placed in this situation, greater
attention has been necessarily paid to their conduct and cha-
racter, as well as to their wants. As they know that their
good conduct will now be noticed by, and meet with the ap-
probation of their landlord, a considerable improvement in
their habits has taken place. There can he no doubt but that
these important and necessary arrangements were far from
being agreeable to those who suffered from them. In alter-
ing such a system, not only was the direct interest of the exist-
ing middlemen affected, but also the expectant interests and
influence of many who contemplated the chance of one day
beneKting from their favor. These were not few, and it did
not always happen that the person who expressed his dissatis-
faction loudest, was the one most likely to succeed in his wish-
es : and, in proportion as this object was near its completion,
was the vexation and discontent of those who were disappoint-
eA. To the larger farms some of these cottages have been
added, to enable the occupier to put into them married farm
servants, who have thus a great inducement to behave honestly
and industriously, and to attend with good will and zeal to the
interest and the business of their master. It is by giving such
inducements as this, and by making them feel an interest in
acting right, that this most invaluable class of laborers can
alone be maintained and supported.
What has been done by the proprietor, has been well seconded by
the exertions cfhis tenants. A more respectable and enterpris.
ing body of men do not exist ; and, while they are in a better
situation of life than a great body of this class, they have not
allowed themselves to forget, that it is by a constant attention
to their business, by their keeping in the" line of life to which
they belong, and never attempting to commit the manage-
ment of their affairs to bailiffs, that they have gone on steadily
improving and bettering their condition. In the knowledge
of stock, in their capacity as excellent market-men, in the ma-
nagement of their grass land, and in the cultivation of and in
cleaning their lighter soils, they are surpa-ssed by no farmers
in the kingdom. The rotation they follow is the Norfolk hus-
bandry; and in the cleanness of their crops, and the excellence
of their drill turnips, they cannot be surpassed. The breadth
of turnip annually sown is very great, and the rapidity with
which they have adopted the drill system of husbandry, is as
creditable to them as it is satisfactory in the result.
Except ploughing with too many horses, and not being suffici-
ently active in getting in their harvest, they have fewer prac-
tices to abandon, and there are fewer things which they have
to adopt from any other of the well cultivated districts of the
island, than is gt-nerally the case. Every means has been used
to explain to them the advantages of ploughing with fewer
horses, and there is every reason to expect that their good
sense will soon see the propriety of these sugcestions, as many
of them have already adopted this system. The fart is, that
the difficulty consists in being able to persuade the ploughmen
to adopt it, as the labor of holding the plough is more severe :
it it itnpossible for one or two individuals to contend success-
fully aipinst thtfeeling* of a country ; but when undertaken
by so numerous and wealthy a tenantry, supported by the in-
fluence of the landlord, these feelings must speedily givjf
way.
This mode of ploughing has made rapid progress at Trentham.
The reason of which is, that it is more generally admitted, that
this system is calculated to suit the stiff, better than the lighter
soils, inasmuch, as two ploughs, drawn by two horses abreast,
do much more work than a double plough, drawn by four
horses, can do in such soil : the superiority of the work, also,
is very conspicuous. On the other hand it" is argued, and with
some apparent force, that on light soils the double plough,
drawn by four horses, and guided by one man, can do as much
work as two ploughs drawn by two horses each, and guided
by two men. In this way the labor of one man is saved. It
must be admitted that the argument would be in favor of the
double plough, were it not that the work it performs is neither
so neat, so perfect, nor can it plough so deep as is done by the
two-horse system. It is remarkable that this mode of plough-
ing with tw'O horses should be confined to the eastern parts of
England, from which it was adopted, at no very distant pe-
riod, into Scotland, where the ploughing with a number of
horses yoked along with oxen existed to an extent never prac-
tised in any part of this country.
In order to encourage these men to make this change, an
annual ploughing-match has been instituted, at which prizes are
distributed to the best ploughmen. The effect this has already
had is very considerable ; and at the exhibition in Octolier
1814, no fewer than fifty ploughs started for the premiums
The progress of such a system must be also slow ; as it cannot
be expected that the tenants should at once lay aside all their
old implements, and purchase new. The difhculty of procur-
ing good ploughs operated much against the adoption of this
mode of ploughing. In removing this inconvenience, there
has been established, both in Shropshire and in Staffordshire*'
a manufactory for the construction of the more improved im-
plements of "modem husbandry : and it is strongly recom-
mended to the persons who have been thus established, that,
they should take their apprentices entirely from the lads of
the country.
It is in the management of their stiff lands, that the tenants are
most defective. t)f late, however, they have made so great ex-
ertions in draining their lands, that it is hoped they are begin -
ning to adopt a better system. The defect of their manage-
ment consists in their ploughing very shallow ; the effect of
which is, that the depth of soil is not sufficient to protect the
roots of the plant from being chilled with the cold and wet
(which is upheld by the impervious nature of the subsoil), when
the ground is wet, and exposes it to the too rapid action of the
drought when the weather is dry. To plough deeper is, there-
fore, the first, the most simple," and the most important im-
provement which can be adopted in these soils.
They also, until lately, hurt these cold lands by making use of a
large quantity of a bad sort of red clay marl, which they dug out
of every field. The effect produced was, to increase tlie tena-
city of the soil, and to render it still less fit for the purposes of
agriculture. Of this fact, all the intelligent part of the tenants
are themselves convinced, though some of those who are still
wedded to their old customs, lament the regulation which
prohibits them from using this article. On those farms where
the inclosures have been entirely renewed, and where, in con-
sequence, a portion of several of the ancient inclosures have
been thrown into one close, the bad effects of this system of
marling is perceived in a remarkable degree, and a distinct
line in the appearance of the crop, points out with precision
the land which had been formerly so treated, from that which
had not. The consequence of this prohibition has been, that
the tenants have applied themselves much more to the use of
lime as a stimulant, which* has repaid them, as might have
been expected. It has also put a stop to the rapid deteriora-
tion of property, which was occasioned by the digging of
the pits, which every where disfigure and destroy a consider-
able portion of the farms of this district.
To level down these marl-pits, and to rentier them again Jit for
the purposes of husbandry, has been an object of great attention.
In this way there was applied the labor of a great proportion
of the parishioners, to whom, from time to time, employment
had been affbrded, in those years when the circumstances of
the country rendered such an exertion of the landlord's bounty
necessary. This was more particularly the case in 1817; in
which year a vast body of men was employed on each of the
Marquess's estates.
In another particular, the management of the stiff soils ym'ght
lie considerably amended ; which is, in the mode of working the
fallows, which are left too generally to grow full of weeds, in
place of being cleaned as they ought to be. The muck, also,
is laid on at an improper season of the year, by which its gooti
effects rather go to encourage the growth of^ weeds, than to
improve the crop. At Trentham, the strong soils are of a far
superior quality, fit in everv respect for the most improved
system of wheat and bean husbandrv. But the lands were so
much subdivided, and the capita! of a large proportion of the
tenants, until lately, was so inadequate to the right cultivation
of their land, that no improvement could take place or be
expected, and this estate remained stationary, amidst the
general progress which was so conspicuous in the other part*
of the county. These defects have been remedied in both
instances ; and the introduction of some skilful farmers from
Shropshire and Cheshire, at Trentham, has given rise to that
spirit of enterprise which at present characterises the tenants of
these estates, and which must prove so beneficial to the
country, by the additional surplus produce which will be
brought to "market.
The rotation which the}/ followed, on both estates of the stiff'
soils, was, — fallow, wheat, oats, clover. That is now altered,
by clover being substituted after the wheat ; and an attempt
has lieen made to induce them to try a six-shift course of hus-
bandry, by introducing beans into "their rotation . Little pro-
gress, however, has, as yet, been made in this experiment.
To this they have considerable objection, which arises from the
defective mode of cultivating their bean-crop. In the first
place, they are unwilling to sow them in drills. They are,
besides, longer in planting them, and allow them to stand later
in the year than they ought to do. The consequence is, that
their crop is often damaged, and the nutritious matter of thr.
bean-straw is entirely lost. They cannot be persuaded, there-
fore, that it forms an excellent and nourishing food for horses
and cattle ; and the complaint that they make of its being an.
AGRICULTURE OF WARWICKSHIRE.
1107
exhausting crop is quite correct, in consequence of their per-
mittinK it to stand so lon^ u|K>n the ^ound.
One improvement tlie tenants have paid much attention to,
and a more valuable one they could not adopt, which is the
coiutructioii lif water-meiuhw. Tijey have lost no opportunity
in making; use of whatever water they could obtain for this
purpose. They were allowed the rou^h materials to construct
the flood-gates, and the example was shown them as to what
could be done in this resjiect to a ver> great extent at Tren-
tham. The value of this improvement is well known to
every experienced a^iculturist in Knj;;land, and no op|>orfu-
nity "should be lost in takins advantai;e of every circumstance
to promote its adoption. There has been lately finished, a new
water-meadow on the home farm at Trentham, at the expense
of about twenty pounds an acre, which will now let for near four
|>ounds an acre, beside the advanta^ derived to the adjoin-
ing upland. This meadow was not worth ten shillings an
acre, previous to such an improvement. It consists of a small
deep dingle, with steep banks, in which a copious spring rises
near the top ; the upiier part being formed into a fish pool.
From this head the water is conducted on the diflerent levels
on each side, with the proper catch-water drains carrying the
water round the various knolls. The whole being adorned by
lome fine trees, it forms for its extent a verv pertiect union of
useful and ornamental farming. It shows how much may be
made of such a piece of laud, incapable of any other sort of
useful occupation.
Much money, horverer, in thi» neigliborhtmd has bent thrown
atvafi by materinf; lami which has not been previously tho-
roughly drained ; this latter improvement is the foundation of
all others. Another mistake has also been fallen into, by at-
tempting to convert into water-meadows peat soils, without
first bringing them to a proper state of consistency by means
of repeat^ heavy rollings and top-dressings. A proportion of
ten acres of water-meadow to every hundred acres of pasture
or arable land, adds at least two shillings and six-pence an acre
to the value of every acre of such a farm, in addition to a fair
rent being put upon' the meadow.
The attention and influence of iMrd Stafford has been used in
whatever way it could be employed beneficiallv in extending
the comfort or advancing the good behaviour of his cottagers ;
ft conduct so characteristic of the great and wealthy proprietors
of these kingdoms, that it must ever distinguish "them in the
liistory of human benevolence.
Schoott, wherever they have been n€x;essary, have been en-
couraged, either aiding" them by subscription, or by granting
the accommodation of school -honses. Two Banks for Savings,
one at Lilleshall and another at Trentham, of which Lord
Stafford is the treasurer, have been established, and the whole
details are conducted by his managers, assisted by the parochial
clergymen, and the principal tenantry, and their 'succe;>s among
the agricultural laborers has been very gratifying.
The charities of this family are worthy of an English noble-
man ; and during the residence of the Marquess and Mar-
chioness at Trentham, there is distributed daily, to every poor
object, who is travelling along the road, and who applies for
the same, a portion of good wholesome bread, in quantity
about fourteen ounces to each full-grown man, and less in
proportion to women and children, with a pint of good table-
tieer. The numl)er of people who received this donation in
1819, amounted to 9.504 men, W76 women, and 1789 children,
consuming 1.590 loaves, and 170.T gallons of beer. From this
charity are excepted all soldiers and sailors receiving the
King's pay, all persons residing within the parish of Trentham,
or in its immediate vicinity. Other distributions take place on
particular occasions ; for example, to those who reside in the
parish, annually on St. Thomas's day, there is a distribution
of a certain quantity of beef to the jmor. During 1819, there
were 12,785 quarts"of rich soui>, and above 8o00 quarts of
milk, distributed within the parish, besides 11,134 quarts of
milk given away under the head of allowances. Such facts
are strongly illustrative of the benelicial ellects derived lo the
poor, from tlie lesidence of the great families of England, on
their respective estates.
The foregoing statement would have been given with some
hesitation, had not the facts been of a nature rather to exhibit
and illustrate the character and extent of the charities distri-
buted by the great families of England in general, than as Iteing
at all peculiar to the instance to which the details lielong.
And these facts may help to explain to foreigners the nature o(
the connection which exists between the richer and poorer
classts in this country.
The town of Lane-End, one of those which compose the
StatTordslxirc Potteries, is partly situated on, and is partly
contiguous to the east end of the Trentham estate. The inha-
bitants l)eing ill supplied with water, carried in barrels, they
petitioned to be provided with this necessary article, which
request has been complied with ; and this town, afUr a very
cunsideralile outlay, now enjoys a regular supply of water, con-
veyed in iron uipes.
I"he character qf the mimermts cottagers upon the estateSj is
also an object of great solicitude, and without any interfer-
ence with the manner in which a man may choose to occupy
himself, their regular and decent Ixhavior is made the sub-
ject of care and attention ; and the steward has strict directions
to watch carefully over them, and where possible to promote
their improvement. WTlerever a potatoe garden can w ith ad-
vantage be added lo their cottage, that accommodation it
afforded them. In the vicinitv of Tientham, the cottages are
of the best sort, and with their gardens kept in the nicest
order. To almost ever)- one of them is attached land for the
maintenance of one or two cows. It is a circumstance worthy
of remark, that of all the laborers who possess a cow, none
receive relief fiom the poor's rate, except one widow at Tren-
tham, who has a large family, and even in this instance, the
relief sMT receives is in a less ratio, than any person laboring
under similar difficulties.
1 1. Live Stock.
Cattle generally of the long homed breed. The Stafford-
shire cow is generally considered a tolerable milker, as well a»
feeder.
Sheep. Three sorts considered native breeds : the grey faced
hornless or Cannock heath sheep, with fine wool ; the" black
faced homed, with fine wool ; and the white faced homleu,
with long wool.
Snnne. A cross t)etween the slouched-eared and dwarf
breeds ; require little attention or feeding, and easily get fat on
the refuse of the dairy or l>am. Pitt, the reporter, had a
very fine sow, wliich littered ten at the first litter.
RahbUs. Wild in the sandy lands. A good many bees kept ;
Thorlej's plan tried, but bees are found to succeed tiest in
straw hives thatched in autumn. " Those which have not
raised a sufficiency of food for winter, it is doubtless humanity
to destroy, as sudden suffocation is tietter tlian a prolonged but
sudden starvation."
12. Political Economy.
Roads now generally good; numerous canals; several pri-
vate rail roads. Manufactures, iron, hardware, nails, glass,
toys, japanned goods, potters ware, cotton cloth, silk fabrics,
leather, woollen, linen, and many others. Manufactures some
times carried on in the country in straggling groups of houses,
but for the most part in towns. Many thousands both of men
and women employed in making nails. An agricultural so-
ciety at Newcastle" and another at IJtchfield.
Experimental farming. " It would be a wholesome plan
for the Board to commence farming upon their own ideas, )iar-
ticularly in counties where the modes of agriculture seem im-
f)roper ; for instance, Lancashire, Westmoreland, Cumber-
and, Northumberland, &c. ; by which ocular demonstration
their plan might be imitated; for hearing or reading of anv
particular practice will not do for farmers in general." Such
is the rejiorter's opinion, in ours a most erroneous one.
7012. WARWICKSHIRE. Asurfareof nearly 600,000 acres, mostly flat, but generally rich in soil
and beautiful in appearance. It is cliiefly a corn county, and produces excellent wheat, but also many
fat cattle, and formerly much dieese. There are no distinguished agriculturists in the county; but it
has produced more good to agriculture than many others, by giving birth to Elkingtou, who gave rise to
much discussion on draining. {IVedge's Report , 1794. Murray's Beport, 1S08. Marshal's' Review, 181J.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate, mild and healthy. S.W. the prevailing winds;
effects of an easterly variation felt till the middle of May,
and vegetation checked ; not however by excess of damp or
frost.
Soil, chiefly clay or sand, marl, and limestone. The portion
of sandy or moorish soil verv small.
Minerals, coal, limestone, freestone, iron, blue flagstone, marl,
blue clay, and soapy clay, which the late Earl of Warwick at-
tempted to prepare for sale as a soap.
2. Propertt/.
Largest esUte Stone-Leigh, Rev. Thomas I/eigh, 2.'>,000
acres ; but a great variety of extent, and some curious and ab-
surd tenures.
3. Buildings.
Warwick Castle and Ragley first rate edifices. Old fiirm.
houses built of mud and limber, and frequently af the extre-
mity of the farms. The Duke of Mucdeugh, it Dunchurch,
has' constructed some good farmeries. (Cottages miserable
hovels.
4. Occupation.
Farms from 80 to . 500 acres ; l.)0 the average size; on the
increase. Farmers in general exceedingly shy and jealous;
one considered as at the head of his prciffssion, told Mur-
ray " he did not see any advantage the county of \Varwick
would derive from such'a survey ; that it must do a great deal
of hurt instead of good; and that such lieing his opinion, he
declined giving any information on the diffeient heads of que-
ries put to him. Lands generally held at will, but very low
rental. Cheap farms, in general, are a drawliack on industry
and improvements: farmers that have cheap farms may farm,
well, but those tfiat have dear farms mutt farm well, or their
k-areer will soon terminate.
F). Implements.
Ploughs the double and single Rolheram With whiiels, the
4 B
double drawn by five or six horses in a line, the single plough
by three and four, or five, horses in a line, and in lioth cases wfth
a driver. Small's plough with two horses abreast, and no driver,
the reporter remarks, would make t>etter work and do more of
it. Some winnowing and threshing machines in use by pro-
prietors.
6. Tillage.
Large crooked ridges gathered very high with a small one
l>etween ; go only one yoking per day throughout the year.
Fallowing general, and then two white crops.
7. (irass.
'235,000 acres in meadows and pastures, and 60,000 in arti-
ficial hertnge. Formerly <lairving common, and Warwick-
shire cheeses produced in abundance ; but now breeding is fast
assuming its place. Old pastures often overrun with ant-hills
and rubbish. Murray very prophetically observes, that if
peace were to take place, grass lands would'be safier for the far-
mer than corn lands. Dairying and feeding both in practice.
8. G'lrdens and Orchards.
The gardens of the .Marouess of Hertford noted for their
pine apples; few sale orchards of any extent.
9. H'oods and Plantations.
Oak and elm every where af«unds ; the Leigh estate the
best wooded, but every where abundance of timber,
10. Improvements.
Much draining done in the northern part of the county, but
it is rather singular that the names of Fazeley, Klkington, or
their farms are not once mentioned in Slurrays report.
Joseph Elkington lived at Princethorp, in Strettoti on Duns
moor, six miles S.W. of Coventry, and afterwards in Birming-
ham. He died in 1806. He was a mere empiric practitioner,
and knew nothing of geology, the only foundation for drain-
ing on scientific principles ; less even" than some of his con-
temporaries, as Farey has ably shown in th* Derbyshire r«i>cii.
Irrigation practised in a few places on a small scale.
lies
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Pakt IV.
11. Live Stock.
No particular breed of cattle, but as feeding Is the prevailing
inractjce, farmers buy in whatever breed they think, will pay
them best.
Sheep a good deal attended to ; the large polled sheep, or
ancient Warwiclcshire, now generally mixed with other
breeds. The first cross of a Leicestershire ram and Warwick-
' shire ewe produces the best sheep for the butcher.
Horses, the heavy black Leicestershire breed; a good
many bred, both of cart, coach, riding, and hunting
horses.
7013. LEICESTERSHIRE. 522,240 acresof gently varied surface and fertile soil ; distinguished for its
pastures, and for the progress which has been made in the improvement of cattle and sheep. It is the
country of Bakewell, whose name will ever stand at the head of breeding farmers. {Monk's Report,
1794. PitVs Report, 1809. Marshal's Review, 1813. Smith's Geological Map, 1821.)
Poultry abounds owing to the prevalence of small farni*
great quantities sent to Birmingham and London.
Game, as pheasants, partridges, and hares, more than com-
monly abundant.
12. Political Economy.
Roads tolerably good, several canals; innumerable nianv-
factures, especially at Birmingham, for iron, and others of Use
metal kind, and Coventry ibr ribbons.
13. Means oj Jmprove7rieni.
Leases ; a more economical mode of laboring ; draining ;
drilled root and herbage crops, and better i
' 1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate mild and temperate; no mountains or bogs to pro-
duce a cold or moist atmosphere.
Soil ; no stiff clay or sand, no chalk ; the peat bogs which ex-
Rted have been long since drained, and become meadow soil ;
clayey loam, sandy loam, and meadow, compose the soil of the
county. Dishley Farm, so well known, consists of a mild friable
loam,"of a good "depth, on a clay or marl bottom.
Minerals; coal, lime, lead, iron, slate, and freestone; all
worked. A mineral spring at Burton Lazars.
2. Property^
Estates generally large ; that of the Duke of Rutland has
been murh improved, and always managed in the most liberal
and benevolent manner.
5. Bnildvigs.
Manv very magnificent, as Belvoir Castle,Donnington Priory,
&c. Farm-houses not built since the commencement of this
century are of very inferior construction ; timber and plaster
covered with thalch. In general, the modem enclosed parishes
have the worst farm-houses, they being almost always cooped
Up in the villages ; in the more ancient enclosures, farm-houses
have been erected in the midst of the occupations, and built
with better materials. Dishley farm-house is of ancient con-
»truction, and has probably been built at different times,
whence it wants regularity and compactness ; it has, however,
taken altogether a style of pastoral simplicity, united with
neatness, and exhibils a specimen of that judgment and taste
which joins convenience with economy, so far as it can be at-
tained without regular design ; the out-buildings too seem to
havebeenput up at separate times, as wanted; the yards and
pavements are remarkable for neat cleanliness, and the whole
farm business for being conducted with good order and sys-
tern. The houses of other principal breeders are comfortatile
and substantial, and of course fitted up in a style suitable to the
taste and situation in life of the occupier.
Coliafres generally in villages, and formed of mud walls and
thatch ; a few good new ones of biick and native slate.
4. Occupation.
Farms of all sizes, a great many from 80 to 100 acres, on
yrhich the farmers work with their own hands ; near market-
towns, many under 100 acres, occupied by tradesmen and ma-
nufacturers; general size, 100 to 200 acres; and those of the
principal breeders, from 200 to 500 acres. Land chiefly in
pasture for sheep, the dairy feeding cattle, breeding horses,
and hay for winter use ; dairy farms have also sufficient arable
land to produce straw and turnips for their own use ; the most
Inferior soils in arafion. The Duke of Rutland has 2000
acres in hand, including the park, woods, gardens, &c. At
Donnington, Lord Moira had ."570 acres, under a Northumbrian
bailiff, besides the park of 4.^0 acres. Dishley Farm, near
Loughborough, the occupation of the family of the Bakewell's
for three generations, and now of Robert Honeyhourne, ne-
phew to the last Robert Bakewell, who died a bachelor, con-
tains between 400 and 500 acres.
Irrigation is judiciously practised, and the culture of the
arable uplands 'has been long conducted on so correct a sys-
tem, that few weeds now come up ; the ;nost troublesome" is
chickweed. Heiftrs of three or four years old draw in the cart
or plough, three of them form a team, and work nine hours a
day. Farmers in general intelligent. Leases not universal.
5. Implements.
Plough with two wheels, and drawn by three, four, or five
horses, or cattle in a line walking in the furrow. Thirty years
ago, wheels were first applied to the fore end of the beam," and
Jt was found that by pitching the ploufths a little deeper, and
letting the wheels so as to prevent its drawing in too deep, the
wheels were a sufficient guide, and the plough required no one
to hold it, except in places of difficulty ; one person attending
was therefore sufficient to drive on the team, turn the plough
In and out at the ends, or guide it in particular hard or soft
places. Soon after another furrow was added, by slipping
an additional beam to the offside of the former, one somewhat
lengthened, with foot share and shelboard ; the same number
of wheels, viz. one on each side, guiding the two furrows.
Among the uncommon implements may be included, a rack
and manger for four colts on wheels, to be drawn from one
pasture to another. It is sauare in the plan, and therefore each
colt has a side to itself, and cannot kick or bite at the others ;
a break for shoeing oxen, a fas'ening for ewes, to lessen
the fatigue of the ram during copulation, and also several
pjoughs, rakfs, &c. the invention of Hanford &Co.atHathern,
near Leices*er.
6. Arable Land.
Many farms have none. Drilling com crops principally intro-
duced ; but not for turnips, even at Dishley ; thought to lose
ground ; cabbages and rape a good deal cultivated on the soils
too strong for turnips.
1.. Grass.
, Excellfcnt meadows on the rivers and rills ; fertilized by in-
unditions;: upland pastures sometimes manured. Stilton
cheese made in most villages abou; Melton Moubray. On
the Trenf, considerable patches of reed, which pay as well zs
the best meadow land.
8. Gardens and Orchards.
Gardens much wanted to cottages; orchards rather neglect-
ed, though the soil is in many places well adapted for them.
9. Woods and Plantations.
Few, excepting about gentlemen's seats, and in the hedge-
rows. Willows, as pollards, grown on Dishley and other farms,
to supply stuff for hurdles, rails, and gates.
10. improvements.
Elkington was a good deal employed by the proprietors. Ir-
rigation more extensively practised in this county, than in most
others.
11. Livestock.
Cattle, the long homed breed. 'What was the particular
breed of cattle in I^eicestershire before the middle of tl.e last
century, about which time Bakewell began his exertions, it is
difficult to determine; perhaps there was not any distinct
breed, with particular specific characters, whereby they mitht
be distinguiijhed ; although there were always great numbers
bred, yet the produce was never equal to the supply of t! e
county ; there always was, and still is an influx from Ireland,
Wales, Scotland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire,
Northumberland, and Lancashire; the latter of which weiu
most probably the stock from which Bakewell liegan his
breed. His first best cows, it is believed, were artfully obtained
from Webster, of Canley, in Warwickshire ; and his famous
bull, Twopenny, was bred from one of these cows, or from one
procured from Phillips, of Garrington, and a bull from North-
umberland. From these beginnings, with great judgment
and attention, in a short time he reared some beautiful cattle ;
they were long and fine in the horn, had small heads, clean
throats, strait backs, wide quarters, and were light in their
bellies and offals ; they were gentle and quiet in their tempers ;
they giew fat with a small proportion of food, but gave less
milk than some other breeds. Some years ago Bakewell put
three new milched cows in three separate stalls, a Holder-
neas, a Scotch, and one of his own breed ; the Holdernos ate
most food, and gave much the greatest quantity of milk ; the
Scotch ate less food, and gave less milk, but produced most
butter; his own cow ate least food, gave the least milk, ard
made the least butter, but laid en the most flesh : hence it will
follow, that the Dishley cattle are most adapted for the gra/ier,
and the produce of beef. No man, perhaps, ever made more
comparisons between the diflierent breeds of cattle, than Bake-
w'ell, and no one that was able to tell so much, has told us so
little about them. Many capital herds of cattle in the county,
and a number of dairies, from which great quantities of cheese
is sent to market.
Sheep, the present stock consists of three varieties, the old
and new Leicester, and the forest sheep. The old breed, which
is spread over Northamptonshire, Warwick, and Lincolnshire,
are an improvement on the ancient stock of the common fields.
The new breed Bakewell produced by breeding from selected
sheep from his neighbors' flocks, or those of the (jibbers. A
ram society was formed by Bakewell and others, and still
exists, the obiect of which was a monopoly of ram-letting. The
late Bakewell bound himself, and his successor, Hcnesbourne,
binds liimself, not to engage nor show his rams to any person,
till the members of the society have seen them and aie sup-
plied, and not to let a ram to any person within fifty miles of
Leicester, for a less sum than fifty guineas, for which, and
other privileges, the society pay a large annual sum; and
Honeybourne, as well as every other member of the society,
confine themselves not to sell, nor to let their ewes at any
price, nor to show their rams at any public fair, nor at any
other place than their own houses, and that only at stated
times, from the 8th of June, to the 8:hof July, and again
from the 8th of September, till the end of the season; with
several other regulations of a similar tendency.
Ram-teliing alone has produced to Bakewell 30001. in one
year. The greatest prices were paid about 1789; since that
time they have declined; still, about 1807, from sixty to 100
guineas has been given for the use of a ram for one season.
Much curious information on this subject will be found in the
report.
Folilini; is not practised.
FutHn^ is practised as usual with grass, and in winter and
spring with artificial food. Bakewell frequently fattened sheep
in stalls ; in three days they were reconciled to their confine-
ment, and began to feed. " Further than this," the reporter's
informant, Bakewell's successor, " knows not, or is not inclined
to communicate."
The forest sheep are confined to' Chamvood ; they are grey-
faced, and partially horned, but now almost extinct.
Horses have been bred in Leicestershire from time im-
memorial, and the breed considered superior. Bakewell
wtnt through Holland and Flanders and purchased some
Friesland mares, wl.ich excelleel in those poin;s wherein he
thought his own horses defective, fiom wl.ich, v ifh peat labcr,
ixpense, and judgment, 1 e produced some capital horsjs, end
in particular his famous horse GeC; the noblest, and most com-
plete and beautiful creature of the kind tl at had beed sein in
Europe. How far his elegant points were adapted for the
labor that horses of this sort are principally designed to per-
form, is a question, perhap , undetermined ; be this as if nr.ay,
bevond all conlroversv hewas strong and handsome, fnd com-
manded theEdmiraion of all who saw the m ; lor a tiine he was
the first subject of conversation, and almost the worder ef ihe
day; he was taken to Tattersah's, and shown there to the
nobilty and gentry, with great approbation ; and Bakewell had
the honor of showing him personally to his Majesty : he is
said to have been very quiet and docile, and Bakewell, in de-
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF DERBYSHIRE.
1109'
Boribing his points. Invited his Majesty to touch him, which
was declined. He was killed by lightning, in his pasture.
The present horse-system at Dishlev is this : three or four very
capital black stallions are constantly kept; these are occasion-
ally worked, and are silways rendered docile enough for that
purpose, if wanted ; those kept at home cover at two guineas
the -mare, and those let out never at less than one guinta.
Eight or ten brood mares, of the same siout black bre> d, are
alsok pt, but no glidings; these do all the farming work of
b 'tween 400 and 500 acres, with occasional assistance fi om the
btallions, as well as from bullocks and heifirs; of the mares, all
that are lit are put to the horse, of which three are reckoned
upon the average to rear two foals, allowing one in three for
casualties.
Astef used in many parts of the county for carrying burdens,
and lately introduced as farmer's stock ; especially fur clearing
f;reen crops from clayey soils, in wet weather, their step being
ight. The turnip panniers open at bottom, to let out the lond.
l^rd Moira had Spanish stallion asses, fourteen hands high,
which he let out to cover at two guineas a mare.
JUiiU) have long been in use for the saddle, road-work, aui
the plough.
Hugs greatly improved by various breeds. Honey bourne's seem
to have a cross of the w"ild boar. Astley's is between the
Chinese and Berkshire. At Donnington is a CJerman boar, the
bacon from whose progeny is of extraordinary sweetness and
good flavor.
Bees attended to, but not so much as they deserve.
l'-2. Political Econo7ni/.
The roads in the north-'west of the county, in the neigh-
borhood of Ixjughborough and Ashby, are many of them laid
out upon the concave system.
Bakewell and others were advocates for this system ; but It
does not apjjeiir that they are considered to be attended with
any advantages by those who live beside them, and constantly
U9e them. Various railways and canals. Manufactures, wool
combing, woollen yam, worsted, and especially worsted stock-
ings; also cotton-works, hats, patent net-lace for veils, &:c.
The Leicestershire and Rutlandshire agricultural society
esublished 1794.
7014. DERBYSHIRE. A mountainous and hilly surface of 622,080 acres of great variety of soils
but more remarkable for its mining and manufacturing productions than its agriculture. It is, however
at the same timfe both a corn and pasture county, and noted for its cheese ; it is every where full of inge-
nuity and interest ; and the Rej)ort by Farey, in three volumes, is one of the most interesting and valuable
of the county reports : it is an extraordinary example of industry, research, and excellent general views,
and will be read with great profit by every class of readers. {Brow?i's Derbyshire, 1794. Farcy's Agri-
cultural and Mineral Survey, 3 vols. 1811 to 1815. Marshal's Rev. 1812.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climated Cold on the hills, but mild in the plains; in the
vales hoar frosts often injurious; no prevailing wmds; rain
about twenty -eight inches per annum.
Soil very various, chiefly calcareous.
MineraU. I^ad and iron those chiefly worked ; also some
sine, calamine, black jack, manganese, sulphur, &c. ; coal,
lime, alabaster, slates, freestone, paving stone, rolling, grinding,
scythe, and cutlers' stones, and a variety of others, both for use
and ornament, as spar, &c. Clay in i
! districts, as at Over-
moor, is burned by spadefuls, dried, and mixed with small
coals in heaps, for the roads. E. M. Munday, Esq. of Shipley,
formed his private roads of a sort of bricks, made without the
corners to avoid the duty.
Water. When s«;arce, drinking ponds made by puddling and
pav ng in the Gloucestershire manner. An artificial i)ond disco-
vered m IHOS, concealed under peat, the head of which was pud-
dled in the centre ; a proof that puddling is no new art. Stone
cisterns, placed in the lines of neatlv-cut thorn hedges, serve to
supply two fields : the water brought to them in thin zinc pipes,
as being cheaper, and perhaps more durable, than lead.
2. Estates.
Of various sizes as in other counties; managed by attomies,
at alow salary, who make it up by law business and otherwise.
3. Buildings.
Chatswotth, Keddlestone, and some other noble stone man-
sions in this county ; some good houses, covered with cement,
(known in London as Atkinson's) made from clay stones found
on Lord Mulgrave's estates in Yorkshire, and which Farey
considers as superior to that made from the clayballs of the
London clay stratum. (Jrottos frequent, fitted up with the
spar of the county. At Ashoverafrize of a chimney-piece,
representing a section of the strata taken across the parish.
At Chatswbrth, and various places, the spits in the kitchens
turned by water-wheels, of the overshot kind, supplied by small
lead pipes. Hair lines, in covered boxes, placed on drying parts,
and the lines wound and unwound by a handle, for drying
clothes. At several houses foot lath wheels, turning spindles, on
which were other wheels, dressed with emery for cleaning
knives; also brush spindles for boots and shoes, as at the Angel
Inn, Oxford ; bool-rack, in which boots are reversed on upright
pins and taken off by a stick, which prevents dust settling inside
the boot.
Farmhoims as in other counties ; a fbw good ones recently
erected. One of the most complete farmeries is that of the
Earl of Chesterfield, atBretbev Park; it is of hewn stone, slated,
and combines a general farm yard, dairy court, and two poultry
courts, including pheasantries. Buildings in general roofed
with grev stone or other slate ; water, in some cases, conducted
down from gutters by a light wooden rod, down which the
water runs as well as if it were in a spout or tube, and not
b'own about by the winds, as it would if no rod were there.
Fire-proof floors made by arching them with hollow bricks ;
in the cottages, cast-iron ovens by the side of the fires very
common, and also iron cisterns for hot water; both these
were originaly brought into notice by the Griffin foundry,
about 1778. ^ . .
CMatres better than in most other counties ; some good ones
erected bv the principal manufacturers and noblemen. Virgin's
bower, of oth. r beautiful flowering creepers, and shrubs, and
plants, are not uncommon at the cottage doors in this county,
among other indications of their attention to neatness and of
their ramfbrts, compared with the inhabitants of the miserable
huts in many other districts.
4. Occupation. ....,,.,■.,
Farms generally of small size ; farmers rank higher in intel-
ligence than those of most southern counties; nothing but
leases and larger occupations wanting to render this one ot the
most improved counties of England. Best farmers also at
same time manufacturers or miners.
5. Implements.
Swinz ploughs and pair; one-horse carts; good harrows
( fit! 7S9.) ; weeding scissars, for clipping off weeds among com
close or rather under the ground ; weeding pincers ; threshing
machines; cast-iron rick-stands; cattle crilw, mounted on
posts, which turn round on a pin, so that when the cattle have
well trwlden the htter on the two opposite sides, in standmg to
eat from the crib, it is turned half round for them to tread and
dun?, &c. in the opposite direction. (Ji^. 7!)0.) Turnip-slicers,
chaff-cutters, bruisers, slate cisterns as milk vessels, &c.
6. Enclosures.
In setting out fences, less attention paid to separating the
different kinds of soils than is requisite ; walls freauent ; and
holes oflen made in them for passing sheep ; to be closed when
not wanted- by a flat stone ; slacked lime plastered on the face
of a newly planted hedge, (as clay is in Norfolk) to prevent the
weeds from rising. Young thorn hedges, with a northern
aspect, do Itest, as the morning sun in spring injures the biid of
those facing the south when previously covered with frott,
789
Roots of thorns, sometimes planted as sets with success ; old
thorn hedges effectually renewed by cutting otf" the shoots
below the surface of the ground ; the roots then throw up
vigorous shoots. Neatly dipt hedges at Ashbourne. Magne.
sian, limestone, and marly soils found to suit the holly better
than any other.
790
7. Arable Land.
Only one-fifth of the county in aration ; formerly six horses
were generallv employed in ploughing, now only two; turnips
drilled in the Northumberland manner in various places ; some
wheat dibbled ; oats a good deal cultivated, and oat-cakes or
Haver (G«r.) cake made, by pouruag sour dough on a hot
stone : a sprinkling of parsley sown with clover to prevent
cattle hoving; sides of oat ricks tucke<l in Vrith a spade, to
leave no loose straws for sparrows to rest on.
Chamomile " is cultivated to a very considerable extent on the
limestone and coal strata near Ashover;" tlie flowers are
picked by children ; dried first in the shade and then on a
mall-kiln, afterwards packetl tight into bags, and sent to the
Ixindnn druggisU ; the crop stands three years, and then geU
weedv and de<- ines."
Witiui cultivated on a small ^cale.
Wiilow-n'ort {Genista tinctoria) infests old pastures, and la
pulled when in flower, and dried and sold to the dyers.
Yarrow {AchiUift milltfiUium) is in some places also taken up,
tied in bunches, and dried for the dyers.
Valerian {yateriana officimilis) is grown at Ashover, and
also ele<:ampane {inula, Menium), lavender, peppermint, and
rhubarb, on a small scale, in one or two places.
Truffles {TiiUr cibarium) collected in various places, espe-
cially under the shade of the beech trees, and on dry hedge
banks. Roses formerly ailtivated for the (lowers, bn't not at
present.
8. Grass.
Tl\tce-firih« of the count) under ptn-mancnt gr.wscs, (tJiough
1110
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV,
it appears bv the marks of ridges, to have been formerly every
where arable), and the applic.tiion chiefly cheese-iiiakmj'.
Droppings of cattle and horses on pastures spread by rakes, which
injure the grass less than any other implement. Fern and other
weeds collected from wastes, and dried and burned, and
their ashes made into balls, and laid aside, to be used as ley for
washing. This practice declines with the frequency of enclo-
sures. When worms are engaged forming worm-casts in
fields, scatter barley chart', fresh and dry from the winnowing
machine, which, sticking to the worms when tbey come out,
pAck them, and prevent their return to their holes, tiil rooks,
&c. deTour them.
P. Gardens and Orchards.
Good market-gardens at all the principal towns, and few of
the farm-houses and cottages without gardens. " Samuel
Oldknow, Esq. of Mellor, keeps a professed gardener, on thre^
acres of rich sheltered land, by the river Goyte, on the Cheshire
side of it, who cultivates, gathers, prepares, and delivers, all
the useful vegetables and common garden fruits in season, to
his cotton mill work-people and tenants, and renders an account
once a fortnight to the mill-agent, who deducts what they
hare purchased from the garden, from their several wages :
the perfection and utility of his arrangement for these purposes
cannot but prove highly gratifying to those who wish to see the
laboring class well and comfortably provided for from the
frnits'of their industry. Proper rooms, for drying, cleaning, and
preserving garden-seeds and fhiits, and his wool-chamber and
other like offices, are attached to the gardener's house, and
placed under his care." A most productive garden at Belper,
on a very poor soil, but irrigated in winter from a cess-pool, in
which centres the liquid manure of fifty cottages, belonging to
Messrs. Strutt's cotton mills.
Orchards seldom planted, though the soil is well adapted for
them in many places.
10. Woods and Plantations.
A good many coppices, the produce of which is much in
demand both for mining and agricultural purposes. Sir Joseph
Banks, at Ashover, has planted some exposed sites in a new
manner ; first planting narrow slips of Scotch fir at the dis-
tance of 100 yards, then inteiseciing them by others, so as to
leave the surface checkered ; after the Scotch tirs are grown a
few years, it is the intention to fill the intervening patches with
larches, at such a distance as that tl'ev will nevor require any
thinning. This plan, as Farey justlv liints, is more ingenious
or fanciftil than likely to be useful ; the mixiure of the larch
and Scotch firs, with a proper attention to thinning, would be
a more effectual, speedy, and economical modeof producing tim-
ber. Some judicious observations on pruning trees, and the pro-
priety of Poii ley's mode, pointed out by variousexamples. Hedge-
row trees, sparingly introduced and well tramed, are nearly alt
that fertile agricultural land ouaht to contribute to the national
stock of timber. Key bearing ash trees, or any forest tree much
given to bearing seeds, no longer increases much in timber,
»nd therefore ought to be cut down ; hence male ashes prefer-
able to females, or such as have both male and female flowers
on the same tree. The use of the spray and buds of the oak as
bark recommended, as practised in Cheshire and South
Wales; when collected, they should be immediately sent to a
mill and crushed. A most complete seasoning kiln for timber at
Belper. Timber often soldby ticket sale,— thus described: the
wender meets the proposed purchasers, xvrites his price in an
envelope, and puts it in a glass ; the offerers do the same ; the
vender opens tne envelopes, and if any price comes up to his,
then he accepts it, if not, the process is three times repeated,
and then the vender must show his price, if none has come up,
but not if any one has gone beyond it. In felling trees with an
axe, cut dithing, if young shoots are expected to succeed, as the
•ooner the centre rots the better the wavers thrive. Larch frees
bear neglect better than any others, as they never produce
timber boughs.
Birch rvitie has been made from an open grove of about 100
Wrch trees, near Overton Hall, for sixty or seventy years past.
Thirty trees or more are tapped in a season, about six or eight
inches above the ground, in March. A piece of bark, about three
rirters of an inch in diameter, is cut out with a gouge, and
wood penetrated an inch or more ; an iron spout (Jtg. 791 a.)
is then driven into tlve bark ibeU>w the hole, which conducts the
sap to a liottle (c). In warm weather the holes soon grow up,
and will cease to run in fouror*-ve<lays; but in windy weather
they will run for a month- Same -trees will run twenty -four
gallons in twenty-four ■hotirs, otiiers not half-a-pint. The
water is sold at sixpence a gallon, t« those who make small
wine as a suf)stitute (for small beer. If the water is scalded,
(not boiled) it mav be kept a month before it is made into
wine; if not, it will not keep aliove a day or two. For making
the wine, two pounds of coar«e sugar, and a quarter of a pound
of Malaga raisins, are added to every gallon of birch water,
when cold : it is then boiled about an hour, until it is observed
to^ow clearer, when it is set to cool, and when about at the
same heat tliat beer is set to work, a toast of bread, spread
with yeast, is put into it, and for four days suffered to work
freely, when it is barrelled, and the same quantity of raisins as
before, and about an ounce of isinglass to eveiy twenty gallons,
are added : it seldom works out of the barrei, and in two or
three weeks is ready for close bunging .down, to remain for
three montfas. when it should be bottled off, and jn two or three
weeks after it is fit for drinking, but is the better for keeping
longer.
fl. Improvement.
Magnesian or hot lime very fhinlv spread has its inimical
^»opertie»; and it w«uW seem such limes may be used where
a stimulant rather than an addition of calcareous earth is
required. Lime over-burned melts and runs together, will not
slack, and becomes useless ; the consequence of too strong a fire
being applied to magnesian limes more especially. Might
not the dried mud of limestone roads be used instead of
lime :> Many bone mills in use : they are composed of
ratchet-like iron wheels and rollers, between which the back-
bones of horses, with their adhering ribs, pass with facility, and
are crushed into small pieces; the bones collected in London,
from the church-yards and other sources ; seven quarters dress
an acre. Coal ashes almost entirely neglected, though a valu-
able manure. Importance in draining of bearing in mind the
difTerence between surface and spring draining, and bog and
upland draining.
12. Live stock.
Cow stock for tlie dairy the prevalent stock in Derbyshire ;
no particular breed ; noticed nine breeds and nine crosses of
these. Many consider that rather poor land makes the best
cheese, and old sward more and better than artificial grasses.
In some places some slacked and powdered lime strewed on the
willow trees within the reach of cows, to prevent their eating
them, and tasting the butter. Milk set to raise its cream in
yellow dishes, with lips; in some places in slate troughs.
792
tteep. 1 en uiirereni. oreeas ana seven crosses of thesfr
and others ; wool chambers generally form a part of the accom-
modations of the farmeries.
Horses. Those of Derbyshire ranked next to those of
Leicestershire, for being stout, honey, and clean-legged.
Asses in considerable number use'd by the smaller manufac
turers, and in the coal-works, potteries, &c. ; also on the iron
railways.
Swine. The Earl of Chesterfield supplies his table with
delicious sucking pigs, of a fortnight old, from his Otaheite
sow ; plan of shavinj; off the gristly or homy projection of the
snout, to prevent digging, recommended. Tethering by the
neck also suggested tor eating down sturdy herbage crops. .A
pin and screw to be used like those for fixing down Salmon's
narinless man-trap. {Tratis. Soc. Arts, vol. xxvii. p. 18.'5.)
PouUnj. The Earl of Chesterfield's poultry yards at Bretby
perhaps' as complete as any in the kingdom. The roosting
house is well contrivetl, with covered places for the ducks and
geese under the fowls, and the whole is constantly kept strewed
with fresh saw-dust. The sitting-house, and which serves also
for laying, is furnished with flues, to preserve an equal temper-
ature in frosts. In the teeding-houses the fronts, partitions,
smd floors of the pens are all of lattice-work, which readily
take out in order to wash them thoroughly ; shallow drawers
with fresh saw -dust pass under each pen to catch the dung.
The fatting poultry are fed twice a day, and after each the
food is taken away, and the day-light excluded, for them to
rest and steep.
A breed of brorvn American turkei/s at Brailsford ; they roo&t
upon trees or the high parts of buildings ; cocks weigh twenty
pounds when fat, but the hens much smaller.
Geese, when let out have a stick almut two feet long slung be-
fore the breasts of the old ones, which is found to prevent
them creeping through hedges, &c. ; feed on festuca fluitans,
&c. When waters are much impregnated with lime, the
eggs of geese and ducks that frequent them, are so much thick-
ened that hatching becomes difhcult.
Heiu. At Plcsby a fine breed of black fowls ; round Winger-
worth many game fowls kept for cocking. In Tansley the
i-ocki)it converted to a methodist meeting house. Eggsjire-
served hung in nets, and turned into a fresh position each day ;
this being the main essential in preserving eggs, whose yolks
subside slowlv when left unmoved, and come at length to toucli
the shells on "the lower side, when rottenness almost immedi-
ately commences.
Bees kejit in various places.
Fish. t;ertain ponds in Sir Thomas Windsor Hunlocke's
Park, in Wingerworth, are appropriated to the feeding of cas-
trated male carp and tench, which are found very superior
in size and flavor to other fish : the late Sir Windsor Hunlocke
saw this practised in Italy, many years ago, and had one of his
servants, who was with him, instructed in iierforming the ope-
ration ; which is less diffi<;ult or dangerous than might be sup-
posed, and in consequence of which, not more than.one in four-
teen or fifteen of the fish die.
Angling permitted at Combs-brook reservoir of forty-five
acres, the angler paying sixpence per pound for the fish taken.
Salmon pass and trap on the Derwent, at Belper bridge.
31. liural Econotny.
Rewards are offt red by the Agricultural Society at Derby, as
bv most others in the kingdom, for long and meritorious hired
or day service, but seldom for having performed the greatest
quantities of iob work, or earned the most money by such at
fair prices. At the beginning of the present century it was cal-
culated, taking the laborer's wages at two shillings and six-
pence per day, that he must work four and a half limes as manr
days to earn "the same Quantities of food, as from three to five
centuries back, he could, when his daily wacps was fourpenr<-
to twopence ptr day ! Fart of this was doubtless occasion
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF DERBYSHIRE.
1111
by the many idle saints' days which the church of Romt; im-
pose<l on the people at the earlier periods.
14. Political Economy.
Various concave roads formerly, made through the influ>
ence of Joseph Wilks.Esqr., of JVIeasham ; these In a very in-
different state, and illustrate the absurdity of the principles on
which they are constructed. To level across a road a string
level used. It consisted of a piece of box wood eleven inches
long, one and a half broad, and one and a quarter deep, into
the top of which a spirit-level tube was deeply sunk, and to the
top, at eacli end of this level, several yards of strong whipcord
was fastened. In using this instrument, a laborer was placed
on each side of the road, having the cord in his hand, which
they nulled very tightly and steadily against each other, and
thereby made the bubble assume the middle of the tube or
either end, according as the two ends of the string were held
level or one higher than the other.
Some remains of wavy roads (3305.), but nothing to justify
any deviation from the general form of slightly convex roads,
with straight or even surfaces as to length. The road between
Kipley and Little Eaton, where washing or irrigation has been
adopted as a mode of clearing (Cmn. B. Ag. vol. i.), was
" miserablv deep, loose, and bad."
In Manufactitres Derbyshire ranks next to Lancashire, Staf-
fordshire, and Warwickshire.
1. Trades, 6,-c. depending on'.the Airimal Products of the county.
Ulanket-weaving, and scouring.
Bone-crushing mills.
Butter.
Button-moulds, of horn and bone. •-
Candle making, of tallow.
Carpet-weaving.
Cheese.
Curriers or leather-dressers. „
Kellmongers.
i''ulling mills.
Glue makers.
Leather mills for oiled, and shammy leather.
Meat, beef, lamb, mutton, pork, veal.
Shoe factory.
Skinners, or leather-dressers, shammy, he.
Soap makers.
Stockings, of worsted.
Tan yards.
Woollen cloth factories, yarn spinning, weaving, and cloth
dressing.
Worsted spinning, for the hosiers, by hand and jennies.
2. Trades, Js'c. depending on Animal Sidtstances, imported.
Hat making and unsplit straw hats.
Silk-spinning mills.
Silk stocking weaving.
3. Trades, Ji-c. depending on Vegetable Productions ofllie county.
Basket and wicket making.
Besom or broom do.
Boat or barge building, for the canals.
Breweries.
Chamomile flowers.
Charcoal burning and grinding.
Charcoal mills, for grinding it. , .,.
Com, barley, beans, oats, pease, wheat.
Hoops for casks, of wood.
Malt makers.
Mattresses, chair-bottoms, &c- of straw.
Millers, flour or meal makers.
Sieves, or riddles for com.
Shelling, or oat-meal mills.
Timber.
Turning mills, for wood, bobbins, bowls, cheese-vats, dishes,
tool-handles.
4. Trades, Src. depending on Vegetable Substances, imported.
Bleaching-houses, and grounds.
Calico-printing.
Calico-weaving.
Cambric-weaving.
Candle wick, bump or bomp-spinning mills. 2.
Cotton-spinning mills.
Dye-houses.
Flax-spuining mills, linen-yam mills.
Fustian- weaving, thicksets.
Hop-bag spinning and weaving, wool-bags, &c.
Lace-weaving, or war)) frame-lace making. ♦ ■
Lace -working, or needleworking of frame lace.
Linen. weaving, sheeting, checks, &c.
Muslin-weaving.
Night-caps, of cotton frame knitting.
Pack-thread spinning, string, twine.
Paper-making. ""
Rojie-making, cords, halters.
Sacking-weaving, corn-bags.
Sail-cloth weaving.
Stocking- weaving ; principally of cotton, some of worstwl
Irame-knit.
Tape-weaving mills.
Thread-spinning.
Whipcord-spinning.
5. Trades, cVc. depending on Mineral Products of the county.
Bakestone making.
Boiler-making, of wrought-iron, for steam engines.
Brick-making, building, draining, tire, paving.
Building-stone, or free-stone, ashler, caping, eaves-slates,
gable-stones, paving, ridging, grey slates, or tUestones and
stack-posts.
Cannon-balls, or shot and shells.
Cannon-casting and boring.
Chain-making, iron and cast iron.
China-stone, or white potter's chest pits.
<".istems and troughs of stone, to hold water. ,'_
("lay pits, brick, china, fire, pipe, pottery, and tile.
Coal-pits.
Coke-buming.
Copperas-stone, brasses or p\-rites pits.
Vr^ingiiansofiron.
< irind-mils, blade mills, grindstone miUs.
drmd-stones.
.<Jyi>sum, alabaster, plaster.
Hammer mills, forge, tilt, planishing mill;..
Hoaps lor casks, of iron.
*4
Iron forges and furnaces.
Ironstone pits, argillaceous ore.
Jjead mines, or veins of lead ore.
Lead smelting cupolas, and slag-mills.
Lime kilns.
Limestone quarries.
Malt kiln plates, of perforated cast iron.
Marble quarries.
Marble sawing and polishing mills.
Marie pits, for manuring.
Mill-stone quarries.
Nail-making, of cast iron.
clasp (or carpenter's), and spikes, &c..
horse shoe.
shoe-makers.
Ore dressing, washing, huddling.
Patten rings, or clog irons.
I'jpe-making, tobacco pipes.
Pipes, of earthenware, hollow bricks, for conveying water.
— of lead, drawn.
— of zinc.
Plaster of Paris works, gypsum.
Potteries, earthenware, stoneware.
Pot- stones, pye or lump stones fot the iron forges.
Puncheons, stauncheons or props, for the coal pits.
Red lead works, minium.
Rivets, of iron, softened, for coopers, boiler-making.
Rolling and slitting mills, for iron bars, plate iron, nail rods.
Rotten stone, or polisliing earth.
Sand-pits, casting or founders', house-floor, mason's mor-
tar, scouring, and scythe-stick sand.
Saw mills, for stone and wood, also with circular saws.
Screws, carpenters', for wood.
Scythe-sticks and stones for sharpening scythes, hay knives.
Sheet-lead, milled-lead, rolled-lead. Common sheet-lead is
cast by jnost of the plumbers and glaziers of the county.
Shot, leaden.
Slitting mills.
Spar-workers, petrifaction-workers, gypsum, calcspar, fluor.
Sulphur- works, annexed to the principal smelting nouses.
Tenter-hooks, of cast iron, softened.
Tile kilns, draining, gutter, hip, pan, plane and ridge.
Tire for carriage wheels.
Whetstones, rubbers, hones.
■White-lead works.
Wire-drawing, steel.
Wire-working, safes, sieves, screens.
Zinc mines, blend and calamine.
— work, malleable plates, wire pipes, &c.
6. Trades, S^c. depending principally on mineral substances, im-
ported.
Axes, hatchets, bUls, adzes.
Brass foundry.
Bridle-bits and buckles.
China factories.
Chisels, gouges, plane-irons, wad other edge tools.
Clock and watch making.
Color-grinding mills, paint.
Cotton machinery makers, for the cotton-spinning mills.
Cutlery, knives, forks, &c.
File-making, rasps.
Flint grinding mills, for pottery glazing.
Frame smiths, stocking loom makers.
Glass-making.
Gunpowder making.
Hoes, (garden, turnip,) paring shovels, trowels, &c.
Implement-makers, agncultiural tools.
Malt mills, steel mills.
Mangles, for linen clothes.
Mechanists, machine, tool and engine makers.
Millwrights.
Needle-making.
Reaping-hcoks, smooth-edged.
Scissars, of cast iron, cemented to steel.
Scythe-smiths.
Sickles, toothed reaping tools.
Snuffers.
Soda water makers.
Spades, shovels.
Spurs, of steel.
Stirrup-irons of cast iron, cemented.
Tin-plate workers, tin-men.
Washing machines for clothes.
Worsted-machinery maker, for the worsted spinning-mills.
Notwithstanding that many of the manufactures and pro
ductions above-mentioned, are separately of small importance,
and may contribute little or nothing towards an export trade
from the county ; yet, taken in the aggregate, they must be
admitted to present a most flattering picture of the varied and
great manufacturing industry of the county ; showing it to
contribute far beyond most other counties, towards the supply
of all its own wants, and contributing at the same time, in no
small degree, towards the supply and general trade of the king-
dom at large.
Education,
-^mong the labouring classes, the reporter obserres, is better
attended to than in most of the adjoining counties. He ap-
proves of the great attention paid to bringing up children jn
habits of frugality and industry ; and contemplates, as " the
great and desirable end, their complete emancipation from
the moral slavery of poor law dependence, and its attended
vices and misery." There are some persons, no doubt, who
may not approve of all that Mr. Farey has advanced on this
subject ; for where is the writer that can please every reader ?
but there are none, we hope, who would not lie gratified with
his sincere and ardent desire for the more general and uni-
versal happiness of the British poor. Though we are of opniion
that very little amelioration of that division of society which
constitutes the agricultural or laboring class can be effected
without an alteration in the laws; yet, we are equally con-
vinced, that no great alteration of what are called the poor
laws would be aidvisable, till the poor are prepared for it, by
having imbibed such a degree of knowledge as would enable
them to meet tlie consecjuences with advantage, or at least
without an increase of misery.
We agree witli the reporter, that the case is somewhat
difFercnt w.itli the opeiative uianu£acturex», and mecbanicv
JB4
1112
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IT.
congregated together in towns ; for the Ksraces of their labour
depends, in most cases, as the wages of all labour ought to do,
on the demand and the supply ; whereas the weekly wages of
the agricultural labourer depends but too often on the decision
of the parochial vestry. The consequences of this state of
things are ruinous to the rustic labourer, and call loudly for
legislative interference, and general sympathy. The extraor-
dinary exertions at present making by the different classes of
mechanics, to enlighten and ameliorate themselves, cannot
fail in a short time to awaken the dormant powers of the
country labourer.
15. Means of Improvement}
\ There are reading societies in most of the principal towns :
to be regretted that the funds of the board of agriculture do
not permit it to circulate cheap agricultural books ; agricul-
tural books have as large a sale m Derbyshire as in most other
counties; some take the " Farmers' Magazine", and a great
number the " Farmers' Journal" ; which, if the stamp dutv
were taken off, would greatly increase in circulation, and lis
an incalculable source of improvement. An agricultural soci-
ety at Derby, since 1794; a society for fat wether sheep at
Repton: at Hay field, a society of mountain sheep keepers,,
since 1790. A list given by Farey of ninety-three agricultural
societies in England and Wales. The late Earl of Chesterfield's
premiums annually to his tenants, as recorded in the Farmers'
Journal, 27th December 1813, and 15th January 1816.
7015. NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. 480,000 acres of uneven or hilly surface, in great part a sandy soil, and
more a corn than a pasture county. It contains the Forest of Sherwood, the only one belonging ^to the
Crown, north of the Trent The report is one of the most defective and least interesting which the board
have published, and is besides above a fourth of a century old. {Lowe's Report, 1798. Marshal's Review,
1812. Smith's Geological Map, 1821.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
C/ima<e, comparatively dry.
Soil, chiefly sandy, great part clayey, and the remamder a
lime and coal district.
Minerals. Stone, lime, coal, gypsum, and marl.
2. Property.
Estates from 12,000i. a year, downwards.
3. Buildings.
Few countries contain more gentlemens' seats in proportion
to its size. Alston Grove, a noble residence ; the gardens
formerly in the ancient ;style, but lately . modernised. Clum-
ber Park, contains four" thousand acres. Newstead Abbey,
celebrated as having been the residence of the Byron family ;
but now sold and divided. Thoresby Park, thirteen miles
round. Welbeck Abbey, the scene of the horticultural im-
provements of Mr. Speechly. Woolaston Hall, a singular
mansion of the date of Queen Elizabeth, by Thorpe, the same
architect who built Holland House, near London. Farm-
houses " not very spacious," of brick and tile, sometimes
thatched ; now and then of stud and mud. Good farmeries,
and centrical on the new enclosures.
4. Occupation^ '
Few farms exceed 300/. per annum : generally from lOW.
to 20/. Few leases.} . _ _^
5. Implements.
Rotheram plough general ; waggons have wide frames move ■
able for harvest use..
6. Various.
Enclosing going on rapidly; in arable culture, rotations
good, but no remarkable practice mentioned ; various hop
grounds and orchards, many woods and plantations ; exten-
sive woods raised from seed on the Welbeck and Clumber
estates; the ground is first cleared of surface incumbrances,
then cropped with corn two years, and turnips one year ; the
fourth year, acorns, at the rate of four or six bushels, ash keys
four, hawthorn berries one, and Spanish chestnuts one bushel,
are sown broadcast on an acre, and ploughed in. The stock-
ing trade, cotton and silk manufacture, potterv, and various
others carried on at Nottingham and other towns.
7016. LINCOLNSHIRE. 1,848,320 acres of uplands, vale and water formed lands. The soil in most
places rich, and chiefly devoted to grazing : yieldmg on an average more beef and mutton per acre, than any
county in the island. Examples of embankmg, draining, and warping, are numerous along the sea-coast
and the Humber. {Stone's Report, 1799. Arthur Young's, 1794. Marshal's Review, 1812.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances,
aimate, formerly unhealthy in the low parts, now the ague
much less frequent. N. E. winds prevail m spring ; much of
the rain in summer from the northern and eastern quarters.
Surface, a great extent of low land, once marsh, and fen
along the coast, now rich land in consequence of the embank-
ments and drainage, which have been going on for nearly two
centuries. Adjoining the lowlands are the wolds or calcareous
hills, and the mainland part of the country is in general flat
and uninteresting. Some parts of the county, however, as
abou tEalby, Spilsby, Stainton, &c. are varied and wooded,
and command nne views of the low country.
. Sml. There are larre districts of clay, sand, loam, chalk,
peat, and considerable extent of mixed soils.
2. Property.
Very much divided in the isle of Axholm ; inhabitants col-
lected in hamlets and villages, and almost every one is pro-
prietor and farmer of from one to forty acres, as in France ;
and as in that country, every farm cultivated by the hands of
the family, and the family poor as to money, but happy as to
their mode of existence. " Theipoorer farmers and other fe-
milies work like negroes, and do not live half so well as the
inhabitants of a poor-house ; but all is made amends by pos-
sessing land." Lord Carrington, Sir John Sheffield, and
— Goulton, Esq. great proprietors in the county ; largest estate
25,000/. a year, others of 14, 11, 10, 8, 7, &c. and six of
2000/. a year. Lacely, a pretty village, " where each man lives
on his own." ^ _ ...
In the management of a great estate, " I remarked a circum-
stance at Reevesby, the use of which I experienced in a multi-
tude of instances. The liberality of Sir Joseph Banks opened
every document for mv inspection ; and admiring the singular
facility with which he laid his hand on papers, whatever the
subject might be, 1 could not but remark the method that
proved of such sovereign efficacy to prevent confiision. His
office, of two rooms, is contained in the space of thirty feet by
sixteen ; there is a brick partition between, with an iron plated
door, so that the room in which a fire is always burning, might
be burnt down without affecting the inner one ; where he has
156 drawers of the size of an ordinary conveyance, the inside
being thirteen inches wide, by ten broad, and five and a half
deep, all numbered. There is a catalogue of names and sub-
jects, and a list of every paper in every drawer ; so that whether
the enquiry concerned a man, or a drainage, or an enclosure,
or a farm, or a wood, the request was scarcely named before a
mass of information was in a moment before me. Fixed tables
are before the windows (to the south), on which are spread
maps, plans, &c. commodiously, and those labelled, are ar-
ranged against the wall. The first room contains desks, ta-
bles, and book-case, with measures, levels, &c. and a wooden
ease, which when open, forms a book-case, and joining in the
centre by hinges, when closed, forms a package ready for the
carrier's waggon, containing forty folio paper-cases in the form
of books ; a repository of such papers as are wanted equally in
town amd country. Such an apartment, and such an appa-
ratus, must bs of incomparable use in the management of any
great estate: or, indeed, of Einy considerable business. At
Wintringham, Lord Carrington has a man employed, whose
only business is to be constantly walking over every part of the
estate in succession, in order to see if the fences are in order :
if a post or rail is wanting, and the quick exjiosed, he gives
notice to the farmer, and attends again to see if the defect is
remedied." {Young's Report.)
3. Buildings.
'}, 1812.)
4. Occupation.
Farms on the Wolds, from 300 to 1500 acres, on the rich
lands 400 and 500 acres, downwards ; many very small. The
late Sir .Toseph Banks declined throwing his farms together,
because he would not distress the occupiers, though he lost
considerably in rental by it. Farmers met with at ordinaries,
liberal, industrious, active, enlightened, free from all foolish
and expensive show, or pretence to emulate the gentry ; they
live comfortably and hospitably, as good farmers ought to
live ; and in my opinion, are remarkably void of those rooted
prejudices which sometimes abound among this race of men.
l."?et with many who had mounted their nags, and quitted
their homes, purposely to examine other parts of the kingdom ;
and had done it with enlarged views, and to the benefit of
their own cultivation." Leases rare.
5. Implements.
Plough with wheel coulter used in the fen tract as in other
tens ; the wheel coulter being considered as better adapted for
ploughing among stubble and couch grass than the sword one.
Plans given of a cover of canvas and boards for ricks, and a
boat with a net fence round for conveying sheep ; at best, we
fear, but an expensive incumbrance on agriculture.
6. Arable Land.
Near Market Deeping the common fields in alternate ridges
of pasture and, arable, the latter gathered high ; three
to five horses used in both plough and cart teams ; wood
extensively cultivated by Cartwright, at Brotherstoft farm,
near Boston. Parsley sown along with clover to prevent the
rot.
7. Various.
" Rich grazing land the glory of Lincolnshire." In some
places will carry six sheep per acre, or four bullocks to ten acres.
One of the most extensive graziers is T. Fydell, Esq., M.P. at
Boston. Very few orchards ; some considerable young plan-
tatums on the Wolds, but not much old timber.
8. Improvements.
Most extensive drainages and embankments. Deeping fen-
drained, which extends eleven miles to Spalding. 1 0,000 acres
taxable, for maintaining the drains and banks, which are ma-
naged by a commission. Through all the fens what is called
the soak exists ; viz. water, supposed to be that of the sea, rising
and falling in a substratum or silt ; hence low-lying land al-
ways charged with moisture to a certain height. Sticklebacks
sometimes sold at a half-penny a bushel, and used as manure.
In the Wolds dry straw spread on the land and burned.
Embankments. Since 1630, 10,000 acres have been saved
from the sea in the parish of Long Sutton, and 7000 acres more
might now betaken in, by altering the channel of the river.
Holland fen is a country that absolutely exists but by the secu-
rity of its banks; they are under commissioners, and very well
attended to.
At Humberstone there is a large piece taken in from the sea
by a low bank, which is well sloped to the sea, but too steep to
the land, so that if the sea topped it, the bank must break.
Great tracts of valuable land remain yet to be taken in from the
sea about North .Somercots, and other places on that coast ;
but " I do not find that any experiments have been made in Sir
Hyde Page's method of making hedges or gorse facines, and
leaving the sand to accumulate of itself into a bank. Men-
tioning this to Neve, he informed me, that he had ob-
served at least a hundred times, that if a gorse bush, or any
other impediment, was by accident met by the sea, it was sure
to form a hillock of sand." The extent of sand dry at low
water on this coast is very great ; the difference between high
Several goo(f new farm-hou.ses ; old cottages of shed and ^^'^'r on ttns coast is very great ; u
aud, thatched ; but new ones of brick, and tiled. I a"** '°w water mark extendmg even
to two miles.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
IIU
In the reparation of the banks which secure the marsh land
from the sea, the frontage towns are at the expense ; but in
case of such a breach as renders a new bank necessarj-, the
expense is assessed according to the highest tides ever known,
by level over all the country below sucli level of high water,
under the direction of the commissioners of sewers ; the dis-
tance from the sea subject to drainage will, therefore,' vary ac-
cording to the level of the country.
Soulh Holland, grossly estimated at 100,000 acres, within the
Old Sea-dvke bank, has long been an object of embankment.
Ravenbank, theorig'n of which is quite unknown, ap])ears to
have bjen the third bank whlchTiad been fo med for securing a
small part of this tract from the sea, leading from Coubit to
Tidd St .Mary's. About six miles nearer to the sea is another
bank, called the Old Sea-dyke bank, which is unquestionably
a Rom in work.
A very curious circumstance is, that a fifth bank, called the
New ,Sea-dyke bank, two miles nearer than the Roman one, re-
mains, but it is utterly unknown when or by whom it was
mnde. The new bank mentioned above, takes in about two
miles more in breadth. In staking the levels for making the
new drain, it was found that the surface of the country, on
coming to the Roman bank, suddenly rose six feet, being six
feet higher on the sea side than on the land side, and then con-
tiimeson that higher level, being the depth of warp, or silt,
deposited by the sea since that bank was made.
The first navigable canal that was made in England, is, in
all probability, that which was made from Lincoln to Torksey :
It is evidently a part of the Cardike, an immense Roman work,
which served to prevent the living waters from running down
upon the fens, and, skirting the whole of them, from Peterbo-
rough to Lincoln, afforded a navigation of the utmost conse-
quence to this fertile country.
Some irrigation j and rvarjring, on the Humber, where, at
already described, (4117.), It wa» invented.
9. Live Stock.
More attended to in this county than the culture of com.
The Durham short horned cattle are preferred, but any sort
fatten well, and there is little dairying.
Sheep. County carries one sheep and a 'half per acre at an
average. Lincoln breed preferred, Leicester much tried, and
crosses tietween them frequent; upon inferior land the Leices-
ter preferred, as fatting easier ; since the enclosure no folding ;
several ram societies.
Hurset, of the heavy black kind a good deal bred both for
carts and coaches ; in various places saddle horses also ; some
farmers keep thtir horses all the winter in open sheds, with
littered yards for them to go out and in at ple.isure. (Jround-
sel eaten", said to cure the grease ; oits malted in salt water
given for three weeks or a month, found preferable to sprmg
physic.
RablAlt. Several warrens on^the wolds.
Geese formerly much kept in the fens, and plucked four or
five times a year. •' The feathers of a dead goose worth sis-
pance, three giving a pound. But plucking alive does not
yield more than three-pence per head, per annum. Some
wing them only every quarter, taking ten feathers from each
goose, which sell at five shillings a thousand. Plucked geese
pay in feathers one shilling a head in 'Wildmoor fen.
10. Political Economy.
..Roads in many places made of silt ; " dreadfully dusty and
heavy in dry weather : on a thaw or day's rain like mortar." A.
number of canals, and, as already observed (."5.^0), the first In
England made from Lincoln to the sea. A fabric of brushes
and sacking at (lainsborough ; flax spun in various places. An
agricultural society at Falkingham, established in 1796.
7017. RUTLANDSHIRE. 91,000 acres, resembling in soil and surface the uplands of the adjoining
county of Lincolnshire. The western part of the county is under grass, and the eastern chiefly in aratiou.
The soil is almost every where loamy and rich ; and the agriculture partaking of that of Lincolnshire and
Leicestershire. The operative classes seem more comfortable in this county, and more humanely treated
by the proprietors and farmers than in many others. The Earl of Winchelsea has ma<le great exertions
to this effect. {Crutchley's Report, 1794. Parkinson's General Review, 1808. Marshal's Review, 1812.)
1. Buildings-
home comfortable cottages built by the Earl of 'Winchelsea,
containing a kitchen, parlor, dairy, and cow-house, &c. with
two bed-rooms over.
Others for three cows, and with a calf house, piggery, dairy,
kitchen; living-room, and two bed-rooms over.
A third sort for operatives without a cow, containing a
kitchen, j)antry, closet in the stair over, and two bed-rooms,
one with a fire. Several with small farms of from five to
twenty acres attached. (Jig. 793.)
793
2. Arable Lands.
(ienerally better managed than in Lincolnshire, and very
productive. The barley said to be of very superior quality .
3. Pasture.
Chiefly upland. The custom of letting part of it to laborers,
and also of^ taking in laborers' cows at so much per head, pre-
*8i!s, and is encouraged by the Earl of Winchelsea.
4. Several Orchards.
In several places the cottagers take small portions of fields
from the farmers to use as gardens. .4t one place, three acres
and a half is divided into fourteen gardens, and at Oakham a field
of three acres is divided into.twenty-four. gardens, and let at
five shillings per garden.
5. Improvements.
Parkinson, one of the reporters, and a man of sound judg-
ment, has altered his opinion on the subject of irrigation, and
says It is now in conformity with that of a correspondent who
thus writes to him : — " In my opinion watering renders the
quality of the herbage and the land the worse for the process.
Where land is tolerably productive, and in a situation where a
quantify of grass food "is not required, I should certainly not
advise it. I think the land may be turned to better account
without it. But I think there are many situations, particularly
on gravel, sand, or open soils, where it may be vtry advantage-
ous ; the produce, by such means, is certainly much increased,
and, in some instances, rendered larger when very little other
wise would be prodficed. Though the produce is increied,
yet it becomes in time, in a few years, of so coarse a nature, and
mixed with rushes and plants, that cattle frtquently refuse to
eat it ; and when it is eaten, the apjaearance of the cattle pro-
claims it far from being of a nutritious nature." He adds, •' I
was formerly an advocate for irrigation, and am still on snch soils
as are described in the above extract ; but having had since op-
portunities of viewing several water meadows which have been of
long standing, which have operated to the disadvantage of both
the herbage and land, I have been obliged, in a great mea&ure,
to alter my opinion."
6. Live Stock.
Not much breeding, but chiefly feeding. P. considers
that much depends on the application to fallow, and is of opi-
nion, that the large Durham ox did not eat more food fo raise
him to that enormous size, than some others would to bring
them to half the size or weight at the same age. Nor is it at aJJ
probable, that Lambert, of Leicester, who Eirrived at such
an astonishing weight, had eaten more food than Powell, the
celebrated pedestrian, who was a very thin man. An animal
for the shambles is seldom too large if he has an aptitnde to
fatten ; and much depends on the constitution of an animal in
this respect.
A good plan for washing sheep at Burleigh; but not so
simple as the Duke of Bedford's.
Horses of a very heavy, slow, unprofitable sort arc raised in
the county.
Of *<■«, 1176 hives kept by the cottagers.
7. Political Econo^nif.
Th? Leicestershire and Rutlandshire -Agricultural Society
established in 1806, meet at Melton Mowbray, and Oakham,
alternately. Less want of knowledge in this county than in
most others.
7018. NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 617,600 acres of billowy surface, rich in wood lands and pasture
lands, but mud) behind in the culture of corn. The soil is almost every where excellent ; and by the
introduction of good husbandry, the marketable produce of the county might be amazingly increased.
(Donaldson's Report, 1794. Pitt's Report, 1806. Marshal's Review, 1812.)
1. Geographical State and Circnmstances.
Climate. Favorable both to health and vegetation ; exempted
from daep falls of snow and long-continued rains; highest point
in the county supposed about 8(K) feet above the level of the sea.
and there is neither mountain nor bog. Donaldson found
that wheat harvest generally commences here about a fortnight
earlier than in Perthshire.
Soil. Great part on a calcareous Iwttom, limestone, schistus,
or slate, and the remainder of sandstone. The surface earths
may bs classed as strong and deeii loam, light thin reddish soil,
thin light clay, and fen and meadow.
, Minerals. ' Clay, limestone, marl, freestone, and slate.
2. Property.'
Almost wholly in large estates ; thirty-seven of or above ,TO0O/.
ft year, half of which are from 3000/. to 10,000/.; managed by
stewards.
3. Buildings.
Althorpe, Burleigh, and Castle Ashby, noble mansions.
Farm-houses " as badly constructed as improperly placed ;"
built of stone or brick, and covered with slate or straw ; farmers
and their farmeries crowded together in towns and villages ;
cottages of mud and thatch.
4. Occupation.
No large farms; 1.'50 acres the average of open fields, and
200 the average of inland farms; few or no leases.
5. hnplements.
" Plough a clumsy piece of work, with a long massy beam
and timber mould, being drawn by four or five horses in "a line."
Donaldson says, a small plough, with two horses abreast,
will make better work ; but Pitt (who seems to know very
little of the matter) joins with Smith, of Tuchmarsh, who
says, " I have heard and read much on the subject, and trie d a
great variety of ploughs, but it is ridicu'ous to assert that two
horses can plough abreast in almost any part of thiscounty. I
have met with no ploughs which serve so well (!) or run so
easy as the nloughs m common uses." So much for the
ign'orance ancl presumption of Farmer Smith, and' the preju-
diced opinions of Pitt tlie reporter. A ribbed or plated roller,
formed bv letting in sixteen bars of iron lengthways of the
roller, is found preferable either to a spiky or smooth roller for
breaking clods.
6. Arable Land.
Fallow, wheat, and beans the compion rotation, but othei»
which include turnips and clovers, beginning to be introduced
1114
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
on the lishl lands. Most of the other plants in cvilti vation tried
by amateurs or others. Woad culUvated by two woad ijrowers,
who live in the county ; it requires rich old pasture land, lor
wliich the woad grower pays the landlord from 5/. to "/• per
acre per annum, for two or three years, the farmer being com-
pelled to give it up for that term, and to take to it again after-
wards, at the old rent. The land is ploughed early m spring,
well harrowed, and sown broadcast, as thick as grain, by hand-
fuls; a great deal of harrowing and dressing is necessary to
bring it to fine tilth. When the plants appear, they are hoed,
and kept perfectly clean, in a garden style of culture, and the
crop appears somewhat like a broadcast crop of spmach ; the
leaves are gathered by hand, in baskets, three times in a season,
(except a plot sometimes saved for seed) and carted to a mill,
where they are ground to a pulpy mass, by vertical wheels,
crossed with iron plates, and moved round by horses: this
pounce, or jelly, is then formed into balls, by hand, and dried on
hurdles, in a sheil ; these balls are afterwards broken up, and
fermented, and finally dried in small lumps, somewhat re-
sembling horse-dung in color and appearance ; it is then packed
up in casks for use. , ^ , ,^. _^.
Onioiu cultivated to great perfection about >,orthampton ;
VZO quarters known to have been sent to Daventry fair at one
Tobacco cultivated by some farmers for the purpose of dress-
ing sheep for the scab.
Furze in a few places for oven fuel.
7. Grass.
Supposed to cover 375,000 acres ; 40,000 acres in meadow,
on the borders of the Nen and other rivers. One farmer says
•■ a great improvement on all mowing-meadows, incapable of
being watered is, to graze, once in two or tliree years, as bare as
possible, and finish with siore sheep ; shut it up at Christmas
for mowing ; this is as good as a top dressing." Feeding sheep
and cattle the chief application of the grass lands, and next,
dairying and breeding horses.
8. Gardens and Orchards.
<iood market gardens and orchards about Northampton ; all
common articles grown there well, but melons, grapes, peaches.
and pine apples to be had from London, cheaper than they can
be grown jn the county.
9. Woods and Plantations.
Very extensive ; there are forests, chases, purlieu woods, and
woods and plantations being freehold property. Rockingham
forest the most considerable, nearly twenty miles in length,
and covering 8 or 10,000 acres. Whittlewood eleven miles, and
7000 acres, with Saicey forest, making in all 20,000 acres:
the chases and other classes are supposed to amount to 20,000
acres more, making in all 40,000 acres of woodland in the
county. Tne forest lands are in general very unprotitably
managed; the Crown has a right to the timber, the Duke of
Grafton and others to the underwood, and the township to the
pasturage, 6ic. ; woods which are private and entire property,
are better managed.
10. Live stock.
Cattle of the country, the long homed breed, but various ;
others Introduced for fatting and the dairy.
Sheep of various breeds ; a good many new Leicesters.
Horses of the strong black breed, bred for the coach, the
army, or large waggons. Blood horses formerly bred, but left
oif, as^the least blemish renders them unsaleable.
Hof^s, a breed between the Berkshire and the Tonquin.
11. Political Economy.
Bad roads but many handsome bridges ; some canals. Ma-,
nufactures ;— shoes for the army and navy and exjHtrtation, bone
lace, woollen stuffs, astaminies, callimancoes, and everlastings.
Several small friendly societies for the promotion of agriculture,
consisting chiefly of farmers. The Lamport society is one ot
those which was founded in 1797, meets at Lamport; it has
a fund for purchasing books on agriculture and domestic eco-
nomy, and seems to be a description of association very com-,
mendable. A great source of improvement would be the break-
ing up of the inferior grass lands and the temporary laying down
of the continually cropped tillage lands. Donaldson has drawn
an able comparison between the management of lands in th«
Carse of Uowrie in Perthshire and those of Morthamptonshire;
which shows how very far behind the latter county is in arable
culture.
7019. YORKSHIRE, 3,698,380 acres divided into three Ridings, each of which is as extensive as the
generality of other counties.
7020. WEST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE. 1,568,000 acres of irregular country, hilly and mountain,
ous towards the north and more level on the east. It contains a great extent of surface well adapted for
husbandry, and is the seat of large and extensive manufactures. A survev of this Riding, of singular
ability and interest, was made by three Scotch farmers ; and the reprinted copy, as it contains the notes of
several gentlemen of the county, will ni future time.* be considered as a curious document ; displaying as it
does local opinions so different from those considered as liberal and enlightened. {Brmvn's West
Biding, 179P, Marshal's Review, 1818. Smith's Geological Map, 1821.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate, moderate and healthy, excepting on the low surface
near the Ouse ; rain at Sheffield about thirty-three inches in
the year.
Surface irregular, but the middle and eastern parts nearly
level '; arable lands generally enclosed with walls and hedges.
.Soi7 various, from deep strong ley to peat.
Minerals. Coal, lime, ironstone, lead and some copper, which
have been wrought for ages past.
Rivers. Ouse, Don, Calder, Aire, and Wharfe, all consider-
able, besides others of lesser importance.
2. Property.
Much divided, but some large estates, as those of the Duke of
Norfolk, E. Fitzwilliam, Lord Harewood, &c.
3. Buildings.
Wentworth House one of the largest and most magnificent
in the kingdom; farm-houses bad and badly situated as in
most English' counties ; Lord Hawke has erected a commo-
dious and elegant farmery for his own use. Great want of
cottages for farm operatives.
4. Occupation.
Farms small for one of 400 acres, a dozen under fifty ; oc-
cupier of 100 acres styled a great farmer ; tew leases ; the te.
iiants on one estate warned off' because they had become me.
thodists ; tenantry in general much plagued by attorney stew-
ards, who must have business or make it.
5. Implements.
Kotheram plough general over the whole district, but one
horse carts and other improved implements as well as better
ploughs are wanting.
6. Arable Land.
Round manufacturing towns, great part of the land held by
manufacturers, that by farmers not well managed compared
with Scotland, but tolerable compared with other districts of
England. No grain will ripen on the eastern moorlands at
.an elevation of SOOfeet; but on the calcareous wolds of the
Eiist Riding it ripens considerably higher, and at .WO feet
better than here at SOO. Such is the effect of a calcareous
soil. Besides the usual crops, some flax, rape, liquorice, rhu-
barb, and weld cultivated. Some excellent remarks on fal-
lows.
7. Grass.
Great part of the county under old pastures, including some
mieadows, chiefly applied to the feeding of horned cattle; cat-
tle generally made fat on grass and finished by stall feeding
on turnips ; sheep sometimes fed on turnips, by hurdling.
Grazing much better understood than aration.
8. Gardens and Orchards.
A particular species of plum grows at Sherborne, and in
the neighborhood, called the winesour. It grows well both
upon gravel and limestone, is hardy, a good bearer, and an-
swers upon any soil ; but does not bear so well, nor its fla.
vor so good on any as on limestone or gravel. On a strong
deep land, the trees run too much to wood, and do not bear
fruit in projiortion. These plums blossom better than any
other sort, and are produced from suckers. The fruit selU
from 5!U. per peck, when sound and good, to 4*. 6d. when
cracked and damaged. They are easily hurt by rain. Plants
are to be had from most public nurseries, and in gardens they
should be planted on a layer of lime or chalk.
9. Woods and Plantations.
Much oak and ash wood grown, and a ready market found
at the shipping and manufacturing towns.
10. Waste Lands.
11. Improvements.
Warping the most remarkable ; ably described by Lord Hawke,
and Day of Doncaster.
12. Livestock.
A great variety of breeds of cattle and sheep in use, but no
one generally preferred. Near Leeds, when milk tastes of
turnips a tea cupful of dissolved nitre is put among eight gal-
lons of milk which entirely removes the flavor. Horses ge-
nerally used in draught, not many bred excepting jn the east-
em part of the district; sort in use among the farmers a small
hardy race.
13. Political Econmny.
Many good and many bad roads, various canals. Numerous
manufactures of shalloons, callimancoes, flannels, and every
branch of woollen goods. At SheflSeld every kind of cutlery,
since Chaucer's lime ; at Rotheram iron-works. These and
other manufactures the cause of the wealth of the West Rid-
ing.
14. Means of Improvement.
Leases, division of commons, enclosing of wastes, better ro-
tations, &c.
7021. NORTH RIDING OF YORKSHIRE. 1.311,187 acres of bold hilly country with some fertile
wales and extensive moor lands chiefly remarkable for breeding horses, and especially the sort known'
as Cleveland bays. {Tuke's Report, 1799. Marshal's Review, 1808. Smith's Geological Map, 1821.)
, 1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate dry like that of other districts bordering on the
iGerman Ocean. Cold east winds during the first half of the
year. Milder in June, when west winds begin to prevail ; ve-
cetation not vigorous till June.
Soil ami surface : on the coast clays, and lightish soil on alum
strata; a'loain upon freestone, and in some vallius west of
•Whitby a'deep rich soil : of Cleveland fertile chalk and surface
tiilly ; vale of York generally of a rich soil.
Minerals. Inexhaustible beils of alum in the hills of the
foast and Cleveland ; and the only alum works in the island car-
ried on there; pyrites Iving found in the alum mines sulphur
was formerly extracted from them, but as it required "a good
deal of coal, and pyrites are equally abundant in the coal at
Newcastle, the manufactory of sulphur was transferred to the
latter place. Some coal and ironstone in the moors, but not
much worked; also copper, lead, freestone, slate, marble,
marl, &c. little worked or abandoned.
2. Property.
One third of the Riding pos.sessed by yeomanry ; rent of esUte*
from 500/. to 18,000/. per annum ; many gentlemen's seats and
the proprietors reside mojt part of the vear on them ; tenuie*
mostly freehold.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF YORKSHIRE.
nis
5. Jiuifdinfrg.
Mansions and farm-hoime;, as in the West RidinKi hi't
•ather inferior; cottages decidedly inferior; small and low,
rarely with two rooms ; damp and unwholsome hovels. Clo>e
■wainscoted bedjs used, as in the p<>orer parts of Scotland, which
are sources of insects and infection, and every way unwhole-
Kime.
4. Occupation.
Farms on the whole small, many very small : farmers sober,
industrious and orderly; most of them have been educated, and
educate their children. Few leases,
5. Implements.
Jlotheram or Dutch plnuRh : hay sweep for drawing hay »o.
gether, with a horse, and a simple sort of cart {Jig. 7'Jl a.) in
794
«ae, formed almost wholly of timber, and lo be drawn b one,
two or three hordes abreast (A) ; wheels entirely uf wood . c.) ;
*hen to l»e emptied, the shaft horse is taken out, but not the
others. Another variety for harvest work (./2^. 79i.)
795
fi. Arable Latul.
In tlie vale of York one-third in tillage ; about Cleveland
one-half; on the moors much less. Culture and rotations as
in the West Riding. Rye more frequently >own than wheat
on the light sandy soils ; often mixed with wheat, and then
called Meslin.
Tobaino much cultivated a few years prior to 1782 m the
vale of York and Ryedale. In the latter district it did not ex-
cite thg natice of regal authority ; and was cured and manu-
factured by a man who had formerly l>een employed upon the
tobacco planUtions in America ; who not only cured it pro-
perly, but gave it the proper cut, and iinally prepared it for
the pipe. But in the vale of York the cultivators of it met
with less favorable circumstances. Their tobacco was pub-
lulv burnt, and themselves severely fined and imprisoned.
I'enalties >t was said, were paid to the amount of thirty
thousand pounds. This was enough to put a stop to the illegal
cultivation of tobacco. Kul, perhaps rather unfortunately, it
has likewise put a stop to the cultivation of that limitetl quan-
tity half a rod, which the law allows to be planted for the pur-
jKKfsof phvsic and chirurgery, or destroying insects.
Muttard iiTOvn in considerable auantities in the neighbor,
hood of York, and fields of it nia^ be met with in other ^larts
of the Hiding. It is prepared for use in the city of York,
where there are ntilis and machinery for the purjJOse; and
it is afterwards sold under the name of Durham mustard ;
sown either on land paretl and burneil, or prejiared and ma-
nured as for turnips. Seed, one to two pecks jwr acre broad-
cast, in the early part of May. No culture whilst growing,
r:\cept hand-weeding, ifnecessarv. Shorn with the sickle in
SeptemlwT, and generally stacked in the field, and threshed
out upon a cloth, at the convenience of the farmer. Two
quarters j>er acre is thought a goo<l crop.
re<u/e gruwn on strong soils; sewl, two pecks a little before
^lav-day ; surface dug or forked ovi-r in .Mnie, Octpber, and
l-ady-day ; rea»>ed in .\ugust ; l(t pecks an acre a j{ood crop ;
«K:h pat-k IS.'JO bunches, of ten teasleseach ; price, 3 to 3
guiiieas jiec jack.
7. Grass.
Old pastures and meadows verv badly managed ; uplands
overrun with moss and ant-hills; meadows with ru:>hes; and
-o neglected, 'hat what would be ^lorth I'fK*/- under a proper
rtfinrsc of hTishandry, is dear at ~s. ; cliielly devoted lo the
dairy.
8 Gardr»,% ami Orchards.
Hux* made but little piogicos m this Riding owing to the
warit of manufacturing town* to create a demand ; farmen'
gardens, as in most places, much neglected.
9. U'oodlands.
Of small extent ; a good deal of timber in hedgerows in va-
rious places.
10. Live stock.
Short horned cattle chiefly prevalent. Stall feeding carried
to less extent than dairying. Cows taken in at Martinmas, and
fed on turnips, and straw or hay if there are no turnips ; but-
ter chiefly made and salted in firkins, and sold to the factors,
who ship it to J^ndon ; a good many cows brought up for
London, and anv surplus stock for the Lincolnshire graziers.
Slierp. In the bleaker parts, the Cleveland breed, largt coarse
boned slow feeders, and the wool drv and harsh. .\ll the new
breeds iulroduced, and several professed rain breeders in tht
vale of York.
Hornet. This Riding long famed for its horses, particularly
those of Cleveland. In the northern part of the vale of York
a light breed for saddle and coach ; in Cleveland, a. fuller
boned horse, very strong and active, and well adapted for
either plough or coach. In all the other districts horses are
generally bred ; on the western moorlands Scotch galloways
are put to the stallions of the country, " and rear a hardy nmjf
strong race in proiKjrtion to their size." Before the war mule*
were bred and sent to the West Indies. Some farmers do n<it
breed, but buy colts and work them till four or five years old,
and then shoe thein for the lirst time, and sell them to the
iiondon dealers for coach horses.
The farmers mho breed Iwrset, generally breed from those
mares which are employed in the business of the farm ;
these are often worked until the very time of foaling, afler
which they have usually two or three weeks rest, before thev
are again taken to work : the foal, during the time the dam
is working, especially whilst it is young, is shut up in a stable ;
and it is the practice of some, before she is sulfiered to go t»
the foal, afler returning from work, lo bathe her udder with'
cold water, and to draw most of the inilk from it, to prevent
the milk, which may have been heated hv labor, from hav-
ing any hurtful elt'ect upon the foal. Some' continue this
practice as long as the foal sucks : others, after the foal has
got sufficient strength to travel along with the mate, take it
along with her into the fields, and frequently suffer it tosucky
from an opinion, that by the milk being frequently drawn, less
danger arises of iU being heated, or of possessing any quality
prejudicial to the foal. The general time of foaling is about
May-day (from which day the age of all horses is reckoned),
a.id that of weaning, about Micliaelnm-., when the foals are
put into good af:er -grass, or the liest pasture the farmer pos-
sesses : they remain there as long as tlie weather permits (if
there be sufficient fo<Kl), and, on the aj>proach of winter, have
a little good hay given them, where there is a stable, or hovel,
that they can go into at their pleasure. The colts are usual-
ly gelded in the s|>ring following, and in summer are allowed
only an inferior pasture ; the next winter they make thein
living in the fields, or in the straw-yard, except thev are in-
tended to work ill the spring, which is frequently expected at
those of a strong kind : such are rather better kept as the time
of labor draws nigh, and are only put to light and easy work,
and generally work only half a day at once. Some keep their
colts a year longer, before the operation is performed, and find
that such become the stronger and hand>omer horses. The
foal always receives a great check by being weaned, which it
does not well recover before it gets the fresh pasture of the
following summer. The foals which are gelded at one year
old, receive a second check, at the very lime they should be-
gin to recover from the first; whereas, at two years old, they
appear to be in the best condition for the operation, and re-
cover at least as well as at one year old, and are much im-
proved by the keeping of the preceding year.
Exporlatum of horses. The horses which are sold for the
London market, if for the carriage, are chiefly bay geldings,
with but little white on their legs and faces, those which
have much white, with chestnut, roan, and other unusually
colored horses and mares, generally do not bear an equal price
in the London market ; but with other slight and under-
sized horses, are more sought after by foreigners, and eagerly
purchased by them for exportation ; or are exported by people
of this country, who carry them to the foreign markets, and
ultimately obtain a pric-e equal to that obtained for those
sold at home : by these means the exportation, contrary u>
an usually received, but ill founded opinion, has a strong
tendency to reduce the price of those horses which are calcu-
lated for the home maiket; and since as many fillies as
colts are naturally breil, and one-third of the colts at least
will either have too much white for the home market, or be
of some other color than that which is fashionable at the
lime, if the breeder had not a market for those, which ap-
pear to be two thirds at least of all he unavoidably breeds, he
would be compelled lo put such a price upon the one-third
which hap)iened to suit the home market, or variable taste
of the moment, as would pay for the other two-thirds ; which
last would either be unsaleable, or fetch very inadequate
prices. The consequence naturally flowing from this would
be, that the price of horses used at home would be far
greater than at jiresent, when a foreign demand procures to
the breeder nearly as good a price for the horses that would
otherwise be useless and unsaleable, as for those which are '
valued at home.
HiUiliim are kept in one or two warrens ; in one the silver
grey is kept ; the skins of this variety being worth double
those of the greys : not used for felts like the common skins,,
but dressed as furs, and exported to China to be worn by
the Mandarins.
11. Political Economtf.
Roads in an improving state; bridges better attended f»
than in most counties ; but guide-posts neglected, which an
annotator on Tuke's report justly remarks, is a sort of revert-
ing to barbarism ; as an attention to these sort of minutite,
is one of the most striking marks of civilization. Various,
canals.
JUiirtfifaHures of sail cloth and cordage at M'hitby and
Scarborough ; at various places in its neichborhood, alum
works ; 4000 tons of this article annually ship^ied from WImI-
by ; linen.v. cotlon.^, woollen, and paper manufactured ii»
vdriuus places.
1 1 1 6
STATISTICS OP AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
702'2. EAST BIDING OF YORKSHIRE 819,200 acres of moderately wavey surface, intersected
with numerous deep winding vallies ; not remarkable either for its arable lands or pasturage ; but pro-
ductive of horses for the coach and saddle, and of the excellent Holdcrness breed of cows. {Leathani't'
General View, 1794. StricklamVs View, 1812. Marshal's Review, 1812. Smith's Geological Map, 1821.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate of the wolds severe and variable ; N. and N. E.
winds prevail in winter and spring; in the vales milder ;
mild, but not very healthy, on the Humber; rain at Hull,
twenty-seven inches and a' half yearly at an average.
Soil of the wolds calcareous loam ; of Holderness, fertile
clay and stiff retentive clay. On the banks of the Hutnber,
from Paul, nearly to S|ierm Point, there are thirteen or four-
teen thousand acres of warp-land, of a strong clayey loam, the
productiveness of which can hardly be equalled.
Stink Inland on the Humber is a moiiern creation by that
estuary : it first began to show itself about 16G7, at ebb tide,
and as no man pretendeil title to it (it being a detached is-
land], a grant of it was made by the crown in the same year.
In 1787, 1600 acres of the land were embanked and under
tillage, producing a rental of 900/. a year, with a chapel
and several farm-houses erected on it. That part of Sunk
Island which was first embanked, was originally about two
miles from the shore, and many persons are still living who
recollect vessels passing between it and the mainland, to
which it is now united by a bridge across a narrow channel,
serving as a drain to the adjacent country. It contains at
present within the banks about 4700 acres, and twenty-
four families, and is continually increasing in size, an ex-
tensive tract having been recently embanked, with a proba-
bility of its being still further enlarged.
MinernU. Chalk and a very hard shelly limestone, producing
a lime little valued either by the farmer or builder. Chalk
of the wolds much harder than that of the southern coun-
lie-;. Marl in many places. Gypsum in some places, but no
mineral veins or coal, and in many places not even clay for
bricks.
2. Property.
Less divided on the East Riding than in other parts of the
county ; perhaps less than -in most parts of England, which
arises a good deal from the nature of the county : one half of
wolds where land is held in little estimation, and occupied
in larger tracts ; the other a flat low country, partly rich and
clayey, and ])artly sandy and barren. Most of the families
have po-isessed their estates for many centuries, and some
from the Norman conquest: largest" 15,000/. a year, ten at.
lO.fWO/. a year. Only three noblemen have seats in this Riding.
3. Buildings.
Seventy-four manorial houses, of which twelve are going
to decay, nineteen let to tenants, or remain empty ; forty-one
occupied by their owners [Temp. Bliz.) ; ninety-two families
bearing arms resident in the county.
Farm-homes generally good, excepting on the wolds, where
they are built of chalk, thatched, and miserably bad; gene-
rally in villages, excepting those built lately.
CoUafres more comfortable than in many places, generally
two rooms below and two bedrooms over them ; a disposition
in the proprietors to let their cottages go to decay.
Village cow club. A plan for insuring cows having been
lately adopted on an extensive scale, and with striking suc-
cess in the north of Lincolnshire, from which it appears that
an average payment of about three half-pence per cow per
week, (or six shillings per year,) is fully adequate to replace
the ordinary los.ses of cows by death ; it is proposed to insti-
tute a similar club in the contiguous parts of the Ea.st and
North Ridings of Yorkshire, with a view of securing to the
laborer and his family at a trifling expense, the great bene-
fits of that useful animal, without his risking more than one-
«lxth part of her value, upon certain conditions.
4. Occupation.
Farms in general small ; one or two of 1200/. per annum,
but from 200/. to 20/. more common. Leases so rare that
the surveyor could not recollect of one, unless under suspi-
cious circumstances, where something incorrect is aimed at ;
some advantage intended to be given or taken : where either
the landlord wanted something more than customary from
the tenant, or the tenant was disinclined to trust his landlord :
great estates are let in full confidence in this Riding, where a
lea.se was never asked for, probably never wished for ; be-
cause the tenure is equally secure, and more permanent with-
out than with one. Many estates have been occupied by the
progenitors of the present tenants, during two, three, or four
generations.
5. Implements.
Waggons here of a bad construction ; hut well yoked in
the German manner. The four horses are yoked two abreast,
in the same manner as they are put to a coach, two drawing
by the splinter-bar and two by the pole; those at the wheel
drawing also by a swinging bar, which the wheel horses of
every carriage ought to do, as they thereby obtain considerable
ease'in their draft, and are less liable to be galled by the col-
lar than those which draw bv a fixed bar ; the driver then,
being mounted on the near sfde wheel horse, directs the two
leaders by a rein fixed to the outside of each of their bridles,
they being coupled together by a strap passing from the inside
of each of their bridles to the collar of the other horse. In
this manner when em|)ty, they trot along the roads with
safety and expedition ; and when loaded, the horses being
near their work, and conveniently placed for drawing, labor-
with much greater ease and efiect than when placed at length.
Were the waggon indeed of a better construction, the team
would be excellent.
The pea.se hook, and the bean hook, both made out of
old scythe blades and used in reaping pease and beans, are pe-
culiar to this Riding; as was the lime burner's fork till lately.
(See^. 5'i7/.,c.)
Tlie moiiltliiii^ sledge is a useful implement for levelling the
small inequalities ot meadow and pa.sture land, and spreading
th'e dung dropped by the cattle. It is a frame of wood about
five feet square (the sides of which are about four inches thick
to give it weight and strength), having three bars of iron fix-
ed to the lower side, the points of which are thinned to sharp
edges. When in use, some thorns are drawn under the hinder
wooden bar, and above the middle one, to which they are fix-
ed by cords. If it is wanted to be removed from one field to
another, it is turned the other side up, which pres rves the
edges of the bars from injury. It is drawn by two horses, and
will go over a great extent of land in a day.
6. Enclosing.
The taste for this has been carried too far, and land enclosed
which has not and probably never will repay the expense.
7. Arable Land.
Two-thirds of the wolds and one-third of the rest of the Rid-
ing under the i)lough ; fallow, wheat, oau ; or fallow, barley,
beans, common rotations.
8. Grass.
The inarshy meadows adjoining the Derwent, a few grazing
pastures m Holderness and Howden.shire, and the small garths
or paddocks in the immediate vicinity of the towns and villages,
form the principal part of natural grasslands.
The salt marshes on the outside of tlie embarkments are of
no great extent. Unless the mud is so elevated as to be con-
stantly above water for a few days at neap tides, no plants take
possession of the surface ; but when vegetation can go on, the
first plant which takes possession is the salicornia or samphire,
and next the poa maritima, which in a short time covers the
surface with a close short sward. A few .shee)) are occasionally
put on it when not too much dirtied by the mud of the spring
tides.
In lai)ing land to grass carawav and parsley sown among
it by some, to preserve the health of the sheep.
9. Gardens and Orchards.
Almost unknown, excepting among the higher classes; far-
mers rarely use any other vegetable than potatoes and turnips ;
cottagers cultivate their gardens with more care than the far-
mers.
JO. Woodlands.
Of no great extent in proportion to the Riding; extensive
plantations made on the wolds.
11 Improvements.
Holderness drainage an extensive work of the kind on the
east side of the river Hull ; it extends over nearly l'^,000 acres,
and is managed by commissioners. Various other extensive
drainages.
12. Live Stock.
Holderness cattle, remarkable for their large size and abun-
dant supply of milk, prevail universally. This breed is suppos-
ed to have been introduced from Holland about a centurv ago,
and improved by attentive management. The late Sir George
Stri(Mand the greatest modern breeder in the district. Ureed.
ing a principal object in most parts of the Riding, and feeding
in Holderness when the pastures are rich.
Sheep formerly the Holderness breed, resembling that of Lin*
colnshire and the Wold sheep ; now the Leicester andvarious
other breeds.
Horses for the coach and saddle, the grand branch of breeding
in this Riding, and as many or more produced in proportion
to its extent than in any other. But it is allowed by all that
the breed has of late much degenerated, owing to the inatten-
tion of the farmers. About twenty years ago a cross of blood
was introduced, by which, though good saddle horses were pro-
duced, the coach horse was lost. This error discovered, an op-
posite and still more pernicious one was produced by the intro-
duction of heavy black stallions from Lincolnshire. These
produceil a mongrel breed which will not be got rid of for
several generations. In breeding, some castrate the foal while
suckling, and think it a preferable practice to that of the North
Riding.
Rah!)its. About twenty warrens, containing together probably
10,000 acres.
13. Political Economy.
Not more than 140 miles of turnpike road in the whole
Riding ; few of these good, and the cro.ss roads and lanes verv
bad ; manufactures few ; white lead, glue, glass, iron-foundry",
oil-mills, cordage, sailcloth, patent whalebone, brick, tile, pot-
tery, &c. at Hull. White lead, and Spanish white for whitening
pre|>ared from chalk, at Hessel. Howden coarse canvas for
nail bags; near Driffield spinning and weaving tow ; other ma-
nufactures near York. Several agricultural societies ; one for
books and implements at Howden.
7023. DURHAM. .582,400 acres of surface, in someplacps mountainous and in most places hilly ; the soil
in great part poor ; the agriculture generally approaching the best model, that of Northumberland, and the
coiuity distinguished by the Durham or Teeswater breed of cattle, and by its lead and coa! mines. The ce^
lebrated farmer and breeder, Culley, was a native of tliis county, and farmed here as well as in Northumber-
land. {Granger's General View, 1794. Baiiy's General Vitw, 1810. Marshal's Review, 1818. Smith's
Geological Map, 1824.)
' 1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate hne and mild in the lower districts, but on Crossfell,
the highest land in England, being .1400 feet above the le-
vel of the sea, snow frequently lies from November till the
middle or end of June. General time oF harvest from the be-
ginning of September to the middle of October.
Soils principally clay loam and peat ; the latter prevails in
the western part of the county or lead mine district ; there i»
a tract of calcareous soil in the interior of the countv.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF ^NORTHUMBERLAND.
Wl»
MineraU : coals found over a consider.iblf n'ntion of the coun-
ty, workable to the extent 796
of 10(1,(101) acres ; those in
the northern v*'"'-'' of '''«'
county wrought for expor-
tation , in the western anH [
southern parts for land sale ,
onlv. In various parts of
the coal districts are d\kes
or fractures, f.pg "9C,, a, b,) [
and consequent derante-
inent of the strata, which £"1
throw the heds of coal f cc) \
on one side of the dyke often :
many feet up or down. The
(issufelietween being com-^
nnonlylilledwilh clay, stops'^
the wjiterin itscoursealonx
thedlttereni'be<l. {il, e,) in- .;
terrupts the draina«;e, an(!a-;
Rreatly damasei the work-
ing of the coal.
Lnvl mines numerous in
thewes' mdistric>; iheore ..i
mostly in vertical fissures of
limestone and other rocks
like the dykes. |
Millstones, grindstones,
freeslones, slates of tf» "^
prey or freestone kind, silveTsand, limestone, whinstone, clay-
stone or blark metal stone, and yellow ochre, also found.
Wafer. Salmon fishery on the Tyne has itreatty declined, ovr.
ine to the building; of wears, which prevent their getting up.
Bailey remarks, that if dams of this description were put
arrovs the river Twf-etl, a revenue of nearlv 16,000/. per year,
received for rents of fishini-s, and (50,000?. a year the value of
the fish taken in that river, would be reduced to a mere trifle,
in a few years.
Salt spriiifrs, from which salt is made near Britt and other
places. A spa or salt sulphur spring near Durham, and ano-
ther on J. G. Lambton's estate, with public baths and dressing
tooms. Various others of less note.
2. Property.
Largest estates, iiO,000/. to22,00(W. a-vear ; several fromlOOO/.
to .'^OOO/. from which they descend by regular gradations to
the smallest sums. Some estates lei by proposal, but the
general mode is to ask a rent, and treat with tenants six or
seven months before the existing leases expire.
3. Buildinsts.
Generally of stone and slate ; cottages of one story, cover-
ed with thatch or tiles.
4. Occiination.
Largest farm about 1000 acres, greatest number from 150
to .50 acres. The larger farmers, almost only those who have
made improvements : among these, Messrs. Culley and Charge
^rst led thewav,and have bpen followed by Messrs Collings,
Mason, Tavlor, Trotter, Nesham, Seymour, and many
others, by whose exertions and judicious selection of stock this
tUstrict will be lastingly benefited.
Greatest number of small laboring farmers greater slaves
than their servants, being generally employed through the
summer, in some kind of work or other, from four o'clock
in the morning till eight at night: and in every other sea-
son of the year from twilight to twilight ; and may truly he
said, " to rise early, take rest late, and eat the bread of
carefulness." ,_ , ,
Leases, three, five, and seven acres, exceptmg church and
corporation leases for 21 years, and lives. Those farms let fiir
short terms remain stationarv, as no prudent man will lay
out his money in improvements, fir which, when completed,
he will be rewarded by an iftlvance of rent, proportioned to
the improvement he has made.
5. Implements.
Swing ploughs of the Rotheram kind ; of late the bmalls
plough ; various other good implements, and In many part*
now flS'i:?) the improved forms of Northumberland and
Berwickshire.
6. Enclosing.
On dry soils liedges are frequently planted on a raised
mound, forty inches broad, and the height twelve inches ;
a small ditch is cut on eacli side to make it, and the quick*
are planted in the middle. In this mode the land may be
j)loughed nearly to the mound, and wlien the thorns ara
grown lo a sufficient height, almost close to the hedge.
When they are five or six years old, every other stem is cut
clean off, within two or three inches of the surface, and the
remaining ones stripped of their principal branches ; then
stakes of thirtv inches high are driven in at proper distancft,
and the splasViing stems, having a slight cut on one side to
make them bend easier, are wound amongst the stakes at an
angle of about twenty-five degrees, and a single edder U
wound round the top to keep the stakes tight.
7. Arable Lands.
Ploughing generally well executetl, but in some places the
subsoil prevents sufficient depth of furrow, i. e. six inches.
The turnip culture, rotations, and general management of
arable land, the same as in Northumlierland ; that is of the
mast improved kind ; seventeen tons of ruia baga are equal
to thirtv-one tons of white turnip in feeding cattle or sheep.
Miatdrd was formerly much grown in this county, and
Durham mustard was proverbial for its excellence. At pre-
sent a crop of mustard is rarely met with. It is generally
Sown upon pared and burned land m April, one pound per
acre. The produce about twenty bushels per acre; and
price from eight to sixteen shillings j)er bushel.
Potatoes in the village of Hamstely have been the prinrl.
pal article of trade, and the principal employment of several
families for eighty years; they are very particular in having
good sets, each with two eyes ; use reddish or pink sorts,
plant in March and April, and both horse and h and -hoe ; no
curl appears among them, but sometimes they " Tun wild,"
or tend to that state, producing more flowers than usual,
and continuing flowering much later, sometimes till
Michaelmas, and producing few tul>ers and slender stems.
Whenever this is observed, the tubers of such potatoes are no
longer used for propagation.
8. Grass.
Not much old surface, which there is chiefly upland.
9. Woods and Plantations.
Scampston elm, from a place of that name in Yorkshire,
butsupposed originally from America, will make shoots from
grafts, in one vear, of .5 or 6 feet; introduced in young plan-
tations by Messrs. Falla, eminent nursery men of Gates-
head; vale of Derwent well wooded ; Sir J. Kden a great
planter.
10. Embankments.
Begun on the Tees in 1740, and about 1500 acres se-
cured between that period and 1800.
11. Live Stock.
Short horned cattle. The famous Durham ox, bred by
Charles Colling of Kellan in 17'l6.
Hheep. Teeswater and Leicester breed ; stock bred, reared
and ted in the most scientific manner, especially by the
larger farmers mentioned above (4).
12. Political Economij.
Turnpike roads first made in 1742; materials, whinstone,
limestone, river gravel, and freestone. Roads excellent where
materials are broken sufficiently small : they are also in good
repair. Milestones on some roatls, hollow triangular prisms
of cast-iron, with ])rojectiiig letters and figures. They are
two and a half feet high, and fixed on an oak i>ost, four and
a half feet long, sunk two and a half feet in the earth. Guide
posts much wanting. No iron railways, and no public
roads or canals.
Manufactures. Wrought iron foundries, glasshouses, pot-
teries, salt, coppera-, sal ammoniac, coal tar, paper, woollen,
cotton, and linen cloth. Several agricultural societies; the
first established at Darlington in 17S5.
7024. NORTHUMBERLAND, including those detached parts of the county of Durham, called Norham-
shire, Islandshire. and BwUlingtooshire, comprehends a surface of 1,267,200 acres, chiefly mountainous or
breetfing districts,' but including 450,(X)0 acres proper for tillage. The celebrity of this county both for .t»
tillage and breeding is well known. Here turnips were first extensively cultivated in the drill manner,
and the best principles of breedin<? practised by Culley. To this gent eman and Bailey agriculture
owes much : the latter wab perhaps oae of the most enlightened and accomplished of modern agriculturists.
(BaUet/ and CuUetfs General View, 1805. MaishaVs Review, 1808. SmUh's Geological Map, 1824.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances. •^halders. Calculated that the whole coal ofthe counties of
Climate subject to great variation of temperature ; snow to
a considerable depth on the mountains, when there is none
In the lower districts ; weather runs in extremes ; very cold
in sprinir, and seldom mild before .June
Soil and Surface. Strong fertile loam along the coast ; sandy,
eravellv, and dry loam on the Tvne, from Newborn to Halt-
whistle", on the Coquet about Rothbury ; on the Aln, from
Alnwick to the sea; down Tweedside, but chiefly in the
vales of Breamish Hill and Beaumont. The hills surround-
ing the Cheviot mountains are mostly a dry shan» gravelly
loam. Moist loam occupies a large iwrtion of the countv,
unsafe for sheep, and unfit for turnips, and peat earth pre-
vails in the mountainous districts.
Tlte aspect of the surface is marked with great variety ;
along the sea coast it is nearly level ; towards the rriiddle
more diversified, and thrown into large swelling ridges,
formed by the principal rivers. These parts are well enclosed ;
in some places enriched with wood and recent plantations,
but the general appearance is destitute of those ornaments.
The western part (exce].t a few intervening vales) is an
extensive scene of open nmuntaiious district, where the hand
of cultivation is rarelv to be traced. Of the mountainous
districts, those arouni Cheviot are the most valuable, Iwmg
In general fine green hills, thrown into numberless variety
bf firms, enclosing and sheltering" many deep, narrow, and
sequestered glens.
Minerals. Coal in abundance in the greatest part of the
eountv ; it is like that of Durham of the caking kind, and
is found in the- south-east quarter of the best quality ; quan-
tlty exported, chielly for the London market, 956,250 London
Newcastle and Durham will be exhausted in 550 years. Lime-
stone, stone-marl, clay-marl, lead-ore, and ore of zinc in
snvill quantities; freestone, whinstone, and iron are all
worked.
Wtiter. The Tyne and Tweed have been long celebrated
for their salmon fisheries: in the latter a rent of 800/. a-year
is paid for a fishing of two hundred yards in length, near the
mouth of the river ; and the same rent is paid for each of two
other fishings above the bridge, not more than two hundred
arid fiftv vards in length each. The Hsh taken here, are, the sal-
mon, biiU-trout, whiting, and large common trout, and near-
ly the whole of them sent to London; in the conveyance of
which, a great improvement has token place of late years, by
packing them in pounded ice; by this means they are pre-
sented nearly as fresh at the London market, as when taken
out of the river. For tha purjiose of carrying them, and
keeping up a constant antl regular supply, vessels called
smacks, sail three times a week, and l)eitig purposely con-
structed for swift sailing, frequently make their run in forty,
eight hours. These vessels are from 70 to 120 tons burthen ;
on an average twelve men are employed in each vessel, and
make about fourteen voyages in a year ; and not less than 75
boats and ."lOO fishermen are employed in taking the fish in
the River Tweed.
2 Projjerti/.
One estate upwards of 40,000 acres, the rest vary from 20
to 20,000; small estates rare in the northern part of the
county. Few counties in which estates have been so rajiid-
Jy. imiiroued ; several instances of the value trebled m forty
years ; principal cause letting large farms on twenty -one years
•1118
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
leases. Usual mode of letting farms, is to fix a rent six or
twelve months before the expiration of the lease ; but upon
one of the largest estates in the county (the Earl of Tank-
erville's), the tenants have an ofler of their farms'two years and
a half or three years before the expiration of the lease, which
is a mutual benefit to both landlord and tenant, and is at-
tended with so many advantages, that it in in a fair way of
being generally adopted.
3. Buildings.
Farmeries formerly very shabby and ill con-
trived, now totally different. The most approved
form of distributing the various offices is, on the
cast,, west, and north sides of a rectangular paral-
lelogram, (.fe. 797.) which is generally divided into
two fold-yards for cattle of different ages, the south
being left open to admit the sun ; and for the
same reason, and also for the sake of cleanliness
and health, the farm-house (a) is removed in front
thirty or forty yards; between which and the
south wall of the fold is a small court for coals
and voung poultry ; the barn (A), is IS feet by 60,
with threshing machine driven by horses, water,
wind, or steam ; on each side are sheds (c c),
over which are granaries; beyond these, as wings
to the main square, are sheds (d d), upon which
are built corn stacks. One of these sheds is for
wintering yearling calves, the other for holding
implements of the larger kind. On the east of
the main square is the stable (e), and in the west
a house for cows and fatting oxen (f), each 16 feet
by 48 feet. Over the pig styes (n), are poultry
houses which open into the court-yard of the
house, as the piggeries do into the fold-yards for
wintering young cattle, (h h)
Cottagei "of stone and lime and tiled ; floor of
lime and sand ; the living room fifteen feet by six-
teen, and the cow-house nine feet by sixteen.
4. Occupation.
Farms generally large in the north, some from 200/. to 4000/. a-
year ; in various parts farms from 50/. to 100/., and from 100/.
to, 1000/. or 1500/. a year. The capital necessary for such farms,
entitles the farmers to a good education, and gives them a spirit
of independence and enterjirise, that is rarely found amongst
the occupiers of small farms and short leases. Their minds being
open to conviction, they are ready to try new experiments, and
adopt every beneficial improvement that can be learnt in other
districts ; for this purpose, many of them have traversed the
most distant parts of the kingdom to obtain agricultural know-
ledge, and have transplanted every practice they thought supe-
rior to those they were acquainted with, or that could be ad-
vantageously pursued in their own situation ; and scarcely a
year passes without some of them making extensive agricul-
tural tours, for the sole purpose of examining the modes of cul-
ture, ot purchasing or hiring the most improved breeds of stock,
and seeing the operations of new invented and more useful im-
plements.
5. Implements.
Of the most approved kind ; and soine of these, as the plough,
drill, horse hoe, &c. owe their chief merits to the improvements
of Bailey. A pair of pruning shears recommended as preferable
\o those in common use for cutting hedges. They consist of a
strong sharp knife, six inches long, moving betwixt two square
edged cheeks ; the upper handle is twofeet six inches long, and
the other two feet three inches. (See Encycloptedia of Garden-
ing, 1334. f,g. 122.)
6. Enclosures.
Size of fields varies with the size of the farms ; in some parts
from two to six or eight acres : "in'the northern parts, where the
farms are large, from 20 to 100 acres. The quicks should
never be planted nearer each other than nine inches, and, upon
good land, a foot. Quicks four or five years old, with strong
clean stems, are always to be preferred to those that are
younger and smaller. It is a custom in some parts to clip
young quicks every year : this makes the fence look neat and
snug, but it checks their growth, and keeps them always weak
in the stem, and, when they grow old, open at bottom ; while
those that are left to nature, get strong stems and side
branches, which, by interweaving one with another, make a
thick and impenetrable hedge, and if cut at proper intervals
(of nme or ten years), will always maintain its superiority over
those that have been clipped from their first planting. In point
of profit, and of labor saved, there is no comparison ; and for
beauty, we prefer nature, and think a luxuriant hawthorn, in
full bloom, or laden with its ripened fruit, is a more pleasing,
enlivening, and gratifying object, than the stiff, formal same-
ness produced by the shears.
7. Arable Land.
Trench ploughing practised by a few in breaking up grass-
lands- About 1793, when horses were scarce and dear, a good
many oxen were used for ploughing and carting about the
farm, but after a few years trial, they were given up ; they
were harnessed both with yokes and collars, and only ploughed
half a day at a time.
Fallowing on all soils once in three or four years, was general
through the county, till the introduction of turnips. On soils
improper for this root, the naked fallow still prevails ; but the
"y of fallow probably on all soils will, after a long
; good culture, become less necessary, and;may in many
cases be finally dispensed with.
Turnip' were first grown in the northern parts of the county
about 1723. Proctor, the proprietor of Roch, brought Andrew
Willey, a gardener, to cultivate turnips at Roch, for the pur-
pose of feeding cattle; that Willey afterwards settled at Les-
burv, as a gardener, and was employed for manv years to sow
turnips for all the neighborhood ; and his business this way
was so great, he was obliged to ride and sow, that he might
dispatch the greater (quantity.
Hoeing turnips was introduced at the same time, and at first
practised bv gardeners, and other men, at extravagant wages,
lldeston, about thirty years since, had the merit of first re-
ducing the price of hoeing, by teaching boys, girls, and women
to perform the work equally as well, if riot better than men.
The mode he took was simple and ingenious : by a light plough.
without a motUd-board, he divided the field into small tquaret
of equal magnitude, and directed the boys and girls to leave a
certain number of plants in each square. In a short time they
became accurate, regular, and expert hoers ; and, in a few
years, all the turnips in the county were hoed by women and
boys, at half the expense, and better than l.y men.
797
d. o (, \ o \ a
Hr~TE
quantity
series org
I )■ I i ..I ■ 1 .1 J
.. , l^P/*^
The broadcast culture of turnips, in the northern parts of the
county, was not inferior to any we ever.saw ; and in respect to
accurate, regular, clean hoeing, superior to what we ever ob-
served in Norfolk, Suffolk, or other turnip districts which w»
have frequently examined. {Bailey.)
Drilling turnips was first introduced to the county about
17S0. Drilling this, as well as other crops, evidently originateti
with Tull, whose first work. Specimen of a work on
Horse-hoeing Husbandry, appear*^ in 1731. It appears that
Craig, of Arbigland, in Dumfrieshire, began to dril turnips
about 1745 ; and next we find Philip Howard, of Corby, drill-
ing in 1755 ; and Pringle drilling " from hints taken fiom
TuU's book," in 1756 or 1757. William Dawson, who was
well acquainted with the turnip culture in England, having
been purposely sent to reside in those districts for six or seven
years, where the best cultivation was pursued, with an inten-
tion, not onlv of seeing but of making himself master of the
manual operations, and of every minutise in the practice, was
convinced of the superiority of Pringle's mode over every other
he had seen, either in N'ortblk or elsewhere; and in 1762.
when he entered to Fro!.nTiore farm, near Kelso, in Roxburg-
shire, he immediately adopted the practice upon a large scale,
to the amount of 100 acres yearly. Though none of Pringle'»
neighbors followed the example, yet, no sooner did Dawson,
an actual or rent-paying farmer, adopt the same system, than
it was immediately followed, not only by several farmers in his
vicinity, but by those ver>- farmers adjoining Pringle, whose
crops they had seen, for ten or twelve years, so much superior
to their own : the practice in a few years became general.
8. Grass.
Not much old grass in the county.
9. Woods.
Not very numerous, though a considerable demand for smalt
wood by the proprietors of the collieries and lead mines-
Artificial plantations rising in every part of the county.
10. Improvements.
Embanking and irrigation practised in a few places which
require or admit of these operations.
11. Live Stock.
Cattle the short homed, long homed, Devonshire, and wild
cattle.
Sheep, the Cheviot, heath, and long wooUed. The modern
maxims of breeding were introduced into the county bv one of
Bakewell's first disciples, CuUey, of South Durham, well kno« n
for his work on Live Stock, previous to which, " big bones"
and " large size" were looked upon as the principal criterion
of excellence, and a sacred adherence to the rule of never
breeding within the canonical degree of relationship ; but
those prejtidices are at this period, in a great measure done
away; arid the principal farmers of this district may now he
classed amongst the most scientific breeders in the kingdom,
who have pursued it with an ardor and unremitting attention
that have not failed of success.
Horses for draught brought from Clydesdale.
Goafs are kept in small numbers on many parts of the Che-
viot hills, not so much as an object of profit, but the shepherd
asserts, that the sheep flocks are healthier where a few goats do
pasture. This probably may be the case, as it is well known
that goats eat some plants with impunity, that are deadly
poison to other kinds of domestic animals. The chief profit
made of these goats is, from their milk being sold to invalids,
who come to Wooler in the summer season.
12. Political Economy.
Roads of whin or limestone, and mostly good. Manufac-
tures, gloves at Hexham, plait straw for cottagers' and labor-
ers' hats, and also for those of the higher classes. Woollens in
a few places ; and a variety of works connected with the coal
trade and mines at Newcastle. No agricultural societies, these
Bailey holds in little estimation ; but thinks if public farm*
were established in each county, and supported by a rate on the
income of its proprietors, they would be the mcst effectual
means of promoting agricultural improvemsnt.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF LANCASHIRE.
1119
702j. CUMBERLAND. 970,240 acres of mountainous district, remarkable for its picturesque beauty,
and also of late greatly imjiroved in its agriculture. The exertions of the late Bishop of Llandaff in plant-
ing, and of J. C. Curwen, Esq. in field culture, have contributed much to the improvement of this county,
which, as far as its soil and climate permit, may be considered as on a par with Northumberland. (Ge-
neral View, by J. Bailey, and G. Calley, 1804. Marshal's Review, 1808. Smith's Geological Map, 1824.)
1. Introductory Observations.
Pringle informs us that " trees and plants, being altogether
pa.ssive, accommodate themselves very slowly to a change of
climate; but the idea has been already thrown out, that even
those of the torrid zone mny be made to flourish in the northern
regions ; may be even gradually inured to the climate ; that the
climate itself may be changed for the better ; and that some
thousands of years hence, reposing under their own olive tr<-es,
future Britons may quaft' their own wine, or sip their own tea,
iweetened with the juice of their own »ugar-cane."
Pringle " found it impossible" not to mention to the Board
that he was remarkably well treatedwhenhesurveyed the county,
peculiar feelings of '
respect." Some of those feelings he voids on Sir John Sinclair,
which " filled him with peculiar feelings of pleasure and
in the following terms, " What gratitude is due to him (!) who
first called the attention of the nation to its most important
interests, and whose unremitted efforts are directed to promote
the good of his country ! How well does he deserve, ana what a
sure road has he chosen to immortal fame, that will survive the
ravages of time, and smile at the fleeting celebrity of martial
achievements I" " This," Marshal " observes, most assuredly
ineans,not him, but me."
In some preliminary ohserraiions to.this report by the Bishop
of Llandaff, are suggestions for settling poor people in cottagi-s
on the wastes, as has been done in Spain, and on the advantaijes
which would result from planting them, especially with ihe
larch and oak.
2. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate. Healthy, though subject to great and frequent falls
of rain, especially in autumn, which renders harvest late and
precarious : snow on the mountains for six or eight months.
Average rain at Keswick seventy inches.
Soil. Clays and loams on the better parts of the valUes and
•hill sides, and peat earth on the mountainous districts.
Surface. Beautifully aiwl greatly diversified, chiefly moun-
tainous, and incapable of being improved by the plough ; but
part of <he valley and plains are cultivatable soils.
Minerals. Chiefly coal, lime, and lead ore; there are also
black lead, copper, gypsum, lapis calaminaris, and excellent
slate and freestone.
Waters. Sixty-seven miles of sea-roast, several large and
small rivers, and the lakes well knoun for their beauty, and
the excellent char, trout, and other fish which some of them
produce.
3. Property.
Few counties where land is in such small parcels, and these
occupied by their owners. The annual value of these tene-
ments varyfrom 51. to Ml. a year ; generally from 1 51. to 30/.,
some few 1001. Largest estate in the county 13,000/. a year.
Tenure of by far th-- greater part of the county " customary
tenure," a species of vassalage, by which the holder is subject to
fines, heriots, and various services to the lords of manors. A
good deal has been enfranchized. Copvhold and leasehold are
rarely met with ; what is not customary is fieehold.
4. Buildings, Implements, Arable Land, S(c.
Approaching to that of Northumberland. A great many
young plantations rising on the sides of the mountains.
.O. Live Stock.
Cattle of various kinds ; breed of the county a small long
homed kind : but the most improved varieties are now intro-
dftred.
Sheep bred in the county the Herdwicks, a hardy mountain
sheep. Some horses bred by the farmer, and bees very com-
mon. In every parish the taking of moles is let at a certain
simi, and defrayed by a parochial rate per acre; a plan which
will soon eradicate this animal from the county.
6. Improvements.
Various kinds, as draining, watering, planting, &c. mad*
by Watson, Bishop of Llandaff, at Colgarth Park. Those
of J. C. Curwen, E^., of Workington, especially in feed-
ing and fatting stock, have made a distinguished figure
in the 'agricultural world since the publication of this re-
port. Curwen, in fact, mav be considered as the father of
the soiling and steamed food reeding in England. In spite of a
most ungrateful soil, and cold rainy climate, he pranages to
keep an extensive farm in the very best order, and what is rare
amongst gentlemen who are cultivators, to cultivate with pro-
fit. He is a warm friend to agricultural merit in every shape,
and one of the best hearted ot men.
7026. WESTMORELAND. 450,722 acres, chiefly of mountain and moor, but with some few tracts of
vale lands, cultivated or;capable of cultivation. On the whole it is naturallv the most unfavorable county to
agriculture or comfortable living in England, owing to its wet and cold climate, ungrateful soil and
rugged surface. {Pringle's General View, 1794. MarshaFs Rev. 1808. Smith's Geological Map, 1824.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate. S.W. winds and rains prevail for eight months in the
year: in 1792 eighty-three inches, medium forty-five or fifty
inches, which is twenty inches above the medium quantity
that falls in Europe. A"ir pure and healthy ; winters long and
severe. In 1791-2 thirty-six pounds were paid for cutting in
the snow ten miles of horse tract between Shap and Kendal.
The soil most prevalent on the low lands is a dry gravelly
mould, and peat on the mountains.
Surface. Mountainous and hilly, and in most places inca])able
of cultivation by the plough.
lUinerals. Some trifling veins of lead ; limestone in abund-
ance in most parts of the county ; excellent blue slates ; gyp-
sum used for laying floors; freestone; and marble near
Kendal.
Water. Several rivers and some lakes, corresponding in
beauty and products with those of Cumberland.
2. Property.
As in Cumberland; land-owners called statesmen, (for
estatesmen) as in Ireland.
3. Buildings.
Very indifferent; few mere cottages; the laborer and
mechanic generally reside in a small farm-house, and occupy
more or less land.
4. Occupation.
Farms small, and farmers, who are generally proprietors,
" live poorly and labor hard," in the fields in summer, and
weaving in winter ; wear clogs, the upper part of leather, and
the soles of birch, alder, or sycamore. The culture of arable land
is very limited, and, like that of grassland, was in a very back-
ward state at the time the reporter wrote, but gradually improv-
ing. Dairying in a small wav is generally practised, but little
attention to the sort of cow'or breeding. The Earl of Lens*
dale and Bishop of Llandaff have set the example. as to
planting.
5. Manufactures.
Woollen cloth or Kendal coatings, stockings, silk, gun-
powder, &c. A private carpet manufactory at L^wther, by the
Earl of Lonsdale:
7027. LANCASHIRE. 1,150,000 acres, included in a very irregular outline, extending above a de-
gree, or about seventy-four miles from north to south, containing mountainous and moory surface, and a
large portion of low, flat, or moderately varied lands, of good quality. The soil in great part sandy, and
chiefly in pasture. The early introduction and successful culture of the potatoe, distinguishes this county,
and also the immense extent of its cotton manufactures, and verv considerable foreign commerce from Li-
verpool- It is also the country of Brindley, the engineer. {Holt's General View, 1795. Dickson's General
View, prepared by Stevenson, 1815. Marshal's Review, 1808.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate. Air every where pure and salubrious, but on the
elevated parts cold and sharp; protected, however, by the
northern and eastern ranges of mountains from the N. and E.
winds ; not much snow or long continued severe frosts. In
1819-20, when the thermometer in gardens near London had
fallen ten degrees below Zero, that in the botanic garden at
Liverpool never fell to Zero. Average of rain in the county,
probably about fortv-two inches; in 1792, sixty -five ; and in
some years fifh'. From a register of the times during a series
of years, at wftich potatoes, asparagus, and gooseberries were
first brought to the Liverpool market, it appears that the differ-
ence between an early and late spring is not less than six
weeks.
Sml. On the mountains and moors rocky and peaty ; on the
northern part of the lowlands moist, cold, and rushy silt; on
the rest chiefly sandy loam.
Minerals. Principally coal, copi>er, lead, and iron ; the first
and last very abundant; there is also slate, grey-slate, and
flagstones, freestone, and limestone.
Waters. Seventy-five miles and upwards of sea-coast, and
several rivers and meres.
2. Property.
Very variously divided; a considerable number of yeomanry
from 10/. to 700/. per annum ; a general spirit for possessing
land and agricultural improvement ; tenures, as usual, chiefly
freehold.
3. Buildings.
Old farmeries the work of chance and random ; houses ofVen
there, formerly occupied by proprietors, and offices without
order or design, but various iiew erections on the most approved
plans ; cottages in many places comfortable, with good gardens,
especially those occupied by operative manufacturers and me-
chanics. Those in the less improved parts of wattled studd
work, plastered or wrought in with tempered cUy and straw ;
provincially " cat and clay."
4. Occupation.
Farms in general small ; education and knowledge of most
of the small occupiers very circumscribed ; larger farmers more
enlightened, and having more command of capital, are improv-
ing the culture of their farms.
5. Implements.
Little improvement, but the Northumberland plough and
Meikle's threshing machine introduced; horse pattens are
almost peculiar to this county, and are used in cultivating light
peaty soils.
7. Arable Land.
Less prevalent than grass; but great attention paid to th«
culture of potatoes, both by farmers andcotUgers; the former
generally cultivate in drills, and horse hoed ; the latter in bed*
or dibbled in rows, and hand hoed. The method of growmg
early potatoes, and several crops on the same soil in one season
has already been given. (4851.) Onions are cultivated e»te^
1120
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
IV.
sively near Warrington, and rhubarb mid madder have been
tried, and grown to very great .'perfection, but not so easily
dried and prepared for sale, as to induce a continuance of the
practice.
7. Grass Lands.
Extensive, but chiefly coarse upland pastures: some good
meadows and productive marsh lands. Application chiefly
the dairy for home consumption of milk and butter; not much
cheese made, excepting on the Cheshire side of the county.
8. Gardens and Orchards.
Excellent market gardens near most of the large towns.
Liverpool remarkably well supplied : great quantities of cab-
bages and onions used'by the shipping, and of dried herbs and
onions exported; the dried herbs sent to Africa. "There is a cer-
tain farm in Kirkbj, about el^ht miles north-east from Liver-
pool, the soil of a small part of which is a black loamy sand,
and which produces great quantities of early and strong aspa-
ragus, and another farm, a part of which is of the same nature
at a place called Orrel, about four miles north-west of Liver-
pool : both which produce this plant with less attention and
less dung than requisite in the rich vale of Kirkda'.e, about
two miles from Liverjjool, where the greatest quantity of land
in any place of this neighborhood is appropriated solely to
horticuUuie."
Gardens ofJUecluinics. "A small patch of ground appended to his
cottage, furnishes the weaver, smith, or carpenter with health
and pleasure, and contributes to his sobriety ; intemperance not
unfrequently proceeding from want of recreation to till up a va-
cant hour. This small space is devoted to nurturing his young
seedlings, trimming his more matured plants, contemplating
new varieties, in expectation of honors tlirough the medium of
promised premiums. Thus, starting at intervals from his more
toilsome labors, the mechanic finds his stagnating fluids put
in motion, and his lungs refreshtd with the fragrant breeze,
whilst he has been thus raising new flowers of the auricula,
carnation, polyanthus, or pink, of the most approved qualities
in their several kinds; and which, after being raised here,
have been dispersed over the whole kingdom. But not only
flowers, but fruit, have been objects of their attention. The
best gooseberries now under cultivation had their origin in the
county of Lancaster ; and, to promote this spirit, meetings are
aimually appointed at different places, at which are public
exhibitions of different kinds of flowers and fruits, and pre-
miums adjudged. These meetings are encouraged by master
trjidesmen and gentlemen of the county as tending to promote
a spirit which may occasionally be diverted into a rhore import-
ant channel. Those little societies for promoting the improved
culture of the gooseberry prevail most in the southern jiarts of
the countv- They have unquestionably had much influence in
bringing the different sorts of this fruit, and the currant, as
well as some others, to their present state of improvement.
The gooseberry both of the red and white kind, is now in most
places grown to a very considerable size, in some situations as
large as a pigeon's egg. This is chiefly effected by keeping the
plants much cut in their branches, and having well rotted rich
manure applied frequently about their roots, the land being
kept perfectly clear about them. The annual publications,
called The Manchester Gooseherry-hiok, and The Manchester
FlotmrJxtok, contain the names of the principal societies, and
of the prizes awarded each year, and a variety of other inform-
ation." Dickson, p. 428.
An orchard of sixty-four acres on the banks of the Irwell,
near Manchester, and some others in sheltered places near the
principal towns; but the prevailing west winds is much
against their increase.
9. Woods and Plantations.
A good deal of planting going forward in most parts of the
county, but not much old timber or copse.
10. Improvements.
Of moss bogs and marshes there is great extent, and we have
already noticed the principal modes of improving them. (4 183.)
A good deal of drining, paring and burning, and liming has
been done, and also irrigation i» several places. A good deal
of low sod embankment along the northern part of the coast,
especially at Rosshall, by Hesketh. It was proposed some years
ago to embank Lancaster and Ulverstone sands, by which nearly
40,000 acres of sandy soil would have been gained at an ex-
pense of 150,000/. or according to some much less ; but owing
to the difficulty of getting the small proprietors of hsheries,
and other trifling interests to agree, the idea was dropped at
the time, and not resumed. The proposed modes of procedure
for this and other intended embankments, are given in the re-
port. Boglands have been extensively cultivated by ihe cele-
brated Koscoe, of which s«me account has been already given.
(4191.)
11. Live stock.
Cattle, the Lancashire or long homed, made the basis of
Bakewell's improvements; a good many short homed also
bred, when the dairy is the object. Larger grass farms near
the popular towns, furnish milk ;' the smaller ones butter, and
the remote farms cheese. 100 cows kept in Wakefield's
dairy near Liverpool. Cheese made resembles that of Che-
shire, and chiefly from the long homed, or native breed.
Sheep not very common in this district.
Horees very generally bred of the strong team kind, stout
compact saddle horses, and middling size and bone for the
stage and mail coaches.
12. Political Economy.
Roads bad in most places, owing to the want of good mate-
rials, and the moist climate. In the coal tracts about Man-
chester, Bolton, and Wigan, the roads are all paved, as it was
thought no other would stand the heavy traffic on them.
These paved roads ar? said to be the most expensive, and most
disagreeable of any ; but they have here no other kind of ma-
terial that will stand heavy cartage.
An ingenious road- maker in the neighborhood of Warring-
ton, has of late exploded the common convex form, and adoi-t-
ed that of one inclined plane ; the inclination just sufficient to
throw off occasional water. The road between Worsley and
Chowbeat, was made in this form, but it was found not to an-
swer, as, though it threw off" the water, high and heavy
laden waggons were exposed to much danger of being over-
turned.
Various canals and iron railways; those of the Earl of Bridg-
water, the most celebrated ; but others of recent date mora
extensive. Many different manufactures ; cotton in its differ-
ent branches the most important; also, woollen, flax, iron,
and, in short, almost as great a variety as in Derbyshire. Seve-
ral agricultural societies; that of Manchester established in
1767.
7028. CHESHIRE. 655,600 acres of verdant surface, exclusive of upwards of 10,000 acres of naked
sands in the estuary of the river Dee. It is one of the most productive grass land districts in the kingdom,
the grass retaining its growth and verdure, in a great degree, during the whole year, owing.to Mie moisture
and mildness of the climate. The department of husbandry in which it excels is cheese making, and it
is also noted for its salt works from brine springs and rock. {Medges' General View, 1794. Holland's Gene-
ral View, 1806. Marshal's Review, 1809.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate supjiosed the most rainy in the kingdom.
General surface an extended plane, apparently thickly cover-
ed with wood. Barren hills on the eastern margin ot the
bounty.
Smla chiefly c'ayev or sandy ; clay prevails, but very general-
ly the two earths blended together, producing clayey loam,
and sandv loam.
Subsml chiefly clay, ormarl ; but also rammel, foxbench, gra-
vel, or red rock. Rammel is a composition of clay, sand, gravel,
and oxide of iron; it is in strata of from eighteen to thirty
inches, on white colored sand, or clay marl. Foxbench is iron
ore or oxide, which crumbles to pieces when exposed to the
air ; but is hard and rocky when under the soil, and is more
jninrious to trees than rammel, as it cannot be penetrated by
tlieir roots.
Minerals. Fossil salt and coal both extensively worked
There is also copper, lead, and freestone, but very little lime-
stone. Salt is made from brine springs, as at Droitwich (7007.),
and from beds of fossil salt. "The former have been worked
from time immemorial, and the latter from about 1670. By
the operation of blasting, and the mechanical instruments
usually employed in mining, the rock is obtained in masses of
considerable size, differing in form and purity. The purer
rock is pounded and use d without other preparation; but the
less pure is dissolved and refined in the same manner as brine.
• Water. Several rivers and rneres; the former are very
muddy after rains, and not remarkable for their fish ; but the
latter abound in pike, bream, perch, dace, suid eels.
2. Property.
Few counties of equal extent with so many wealthy land-
owners. Fifty proprietors resident in the county, with estates
of from three to 10,000/. a year, and as^any from one to .lOOO/.
" From the advantages which have been derived fiom trade,
and from the etftcts of the increase of taxes, which have pre-
vented a man living with the same degree of comfoit on the
■same portion of land he could formerly, many of the o'd owners
have been induced to sell their estates, and new proprietors
have spread themselves over the country, very different in
their habits and prejudices. It may be doubtful whe'her the
change on the whole has been disadvantageous. Leuid, when
transfei-red, is generally improved by its new possessor. With
a view, and often a more enlightened view, of its advantages
tnd resources, he brings with him the means and the disposition
to try experiments, and give to, his new acquisition its greatest
value. He feels the want of comforts and conveniences, which
custom had rendered familiar to a former occupier ; he builds,
drains, and plants ; and, by his spirit and example, stimulates
all around him to increased exertions.
S. Buildings.
Many noble mansions, especially that of the Earl Grosvenor,
at Eton.
Farm buildings, on the large dairy farms, in the middle of
the county, extensive and convenient ; in other places the
reverse ; and crowded in villages ; old buildings of shed work, ;
wattled work, and clay, and covered with thatch; new of
brick and slate. An excellent set of buildings (fi^. 798.) has
been erected at Bromfield, near Warrington, on the estate of
Sir P. Warburton. " A gentle descent from the ground at
the front of the house has afforded Beckett, the occupier of
this farm, the opportunity of conveying from a pond (a) a
small stream through the farm-vard, with which he irrigates
the meadows below, the buildings. The superior richness of
vegetation in these meadows furnishes abundant proof of the
advantage which Beckett derives from availing himself of this
assistance."
Beginning with the drrellinf^-hmue of this farmerj-, it contains
an entrance and passage (1), house place (2), servants' dining,
room {o), back parlor (4), dairv, with whey pans and sink
stone (5), room for the cheese after it is taken out of the salt (6),
milking-house and .salting-room (7), stairs to cheese-room (Sj,
parlor,' with cellar under (9), pantry (10). The immediate
appendages of the house chiefly connected with the dairy are
ranged on three sides of the inner yard (11), and consist of a
coal hou.se (12), wash-house, with pigeon-house over it (1.?),
pump (14), pipe to boiling pans (15), boiler for pig.meat(16),
privy (17), place for ashes (IS), privy (19), inner pig-cot (20),
outer pig-cot (21), passage (22), inner pig-cot (23), outer pig-
cot (24), inner pig cot (25), outer pig-cot (26), passage (27),
inner x)i'i-cot (28), outer-pi^ cot (29).
The farm-yard consists ot a court, containing a large duck-
pond and dunghill, surrounded by a broad passage, and en-
closed on the west, east, and south sides by buildings, the
north side being the wall of the inner yard. These buildings
consist of a cow-house (30), double cow-house (31), double
cow house (52), fodder-bin (33), cow-house (34 ), corn-bag (35),
threshing floor (36), corn-bag (37), corn-bag (38), corn-bag
(39), threshing-floor (40), corn-bag (41), cart-hovel, with
granary above it (42), stable (45), stal)le, or calf-cot (44), calf-
cot (4.5).
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF CHESHIRE.
1121
Coitaget much the same as in other counties; hnprovhig
with the age. All the intelligent persons whom Dr. Holland
txJnversed with, have invariably found, that the attachment of
a small portion of land to the cottage of the laborer has been
the direct means of rendering his situation in life more comfort-
sible and easy, and of inducing those habits of honest independ-
aoF^et
ance, of temperance, and of industry, which are most efficaci-
ous in promoting the happiness of individuals, and, conse-
quently, the general interests of society.
Lord Penrhyn'3 poultry-hovies, at Winhington, are supposed
the most magnificent that have ever been built. They are
United in a building which consists of a iiandsomel regular
front, extending about 140 feet : at each extremity is a neat
pavilion, with a large arched window. These .pavilioivs are
united to the centre of the design by a colonnade of small cast-
iron pillars, painted white, which supiJort a cornice and a
slate roof, covering a paved walk and a variety of diflerent con-
Teniences for the pouItr>-, for keeping eggs, com, &c. The
doors into these are all of lattice work, also )>ainted white, and
the framing green. In the middle of the front are four hand-
some stone columns, and four pilasters, supporting likewise a
cornice and a slate roof, under which and between the columns
is a beautiful mosaic hron gate ; on one side of this gate is an
elegant little parlor, l>eautifully papered and fiimished;
and at the other end of the colonnade a very neat kitchen, so
excessively clean, and in sut^h high order, that it Is delightful to
•view it. This front is the diameter or chord of a large semi-
circular court behind, round which there is also a colonnade,
and a great variety of conveniences for the poultry : this court
is neatly paved, and has a circular pond and pump in the middle
of it. The whole fronts towards a rich little field or paddock,
called the poultry paddock, in which the jioultry have liberty
to walk about between meals. It hajjpened while the reporter
was there to be their dinner time, at one o'clock. At this hour
a bell rings, and the beautiful gate in the centre is opened.
The poultry being then mostly w alking in the paddock, and
knowing by the sound of the be'.l that their repast is ready tor
them, tly and run from all corners, and rush in at the gate,
every one striving who can get the first share in the scramble.
At that time there were about GOO imultry of diftt>rent kinds, in
the place, and although so large a number, the semicircular
court is kept so very neat and clean, that not a speck of dung is
to be seen. This poultry place is built of brick, excepting the
pillars and cornices, and the lintels and jambs of the doors and
windows, but the bricks ate not seen, being all covered with a
remarkably fine kind of slate from his lordship's estate in
Wales. Theseslatesareclosely jointed and fastened with screw
nails, on small spars fixed to the brick; they are afterwards
painted, and fine white sand thrown on while the paint is wet,
which gives the whole an appearance of the most beautiful
freestone.
4. Occupation.
Farms vejj small ; a great many under ten acres ; only one
or two at 350 or 400 acres ; excluding all those under ten acres,
the average of the county may be seventy acres. Large and
. . ..^^
smalt farmers completely different characters; -different
their hablu, and, by consequence, m their Ideas. Industtr and
excellent management ofthe dairy-women of this county much
to be commended ; leases generally for seven years.
5. Implements.
Kotheram plough and other good implements. A short
strong scythe, with a blade twenty inches in length, and con-
cave m the middle, is used for scooping out the crowns of rush
stools.
6. Arable Lands.
In small proportion to the pastures. Cabbages a good
deal cultivated for cattle. Carrots near Altrin^am for the
Manchester market, and also seed for the London seedsmen :
Onions also for the Lancashire markets. The soil about
Altringham dry and loamy; the carrots large, coarse, and fit
I only for horses and cattle.
7. Grass.
Natural meadows numerous, rich, and fertile. They are
situated on rivers, which, from the frequency of heavy rains,
overflow and enrich them- Extent of upland pasture very
considerable; that on a tolerably stiff clay soil, especially with
a substratum of marl, is reckoned the best for the dairy ; more
mUk may be had from cows pastured on a rich loamy soil, but
it is esteemed inferior in point of quality. Many farmers com-
plain that their land is too rich for the dairy, by which the ad-
hesive properties of the cheese is diminished; feeding of cattle
little practised.
8. Gardens and Orchards.
(♦ood gardens to most of the farm-houses. " All the va-
^o rieties of raspberries, currants, strawberries, and gooseberries,
-*«? are to be met with in the farm and cottage gardens in Che-
shire. The culture of the latter firuit has been particularly at-
tended to of late years ; and there are several meetings in dif-
ferent parts of the county, where small premiums are adjudged
to those who produce, out of their own gardens, gooseberries of
the greatest weight. The common firuit trees, such as the
apple, pear, cherry, and plum, are likewise grown in almost
every garden. Of the latter kind, the damascene plum is by
much the most common ; and is an article of considerable pro-
fit to the cottager.
Ortharda not numerous, and rather on the declme.
9. Woods UTid Plantations.
Few of large extent, yet the quantity of timber very greatly
exceeds what would be a fair average for the kingdom at
large. In the northern and middle parts the number of trees
in the hedgerows and coppices is so considerable, that, from
some points of view, the whole county has the appearance of an
extensive forest. The most considerable ancient woods in
the Earl of Stamford's park at Durham Massey. Few spots
can boast such an assemblage of stately oaks; elms, and beeches.
During a storm of wind, on the 21st of January, 1802, several
hundred trees were torn up by the roots. One of these, when
barked, contained 403 feet of timber, and was sold at six
shillings and sixpence per foot, to the extent of 3734 feet. An
elm blown down at the same time measured 146 feet. A colo-
ny of herons had for ages fixed their residence on the sum-
mits of these trees ; but on one of them being torn up thev re-
treated to a neighboring grove of beeches, where they have
ever since enjoyed a secure abode.
A pltinlation of lOOO acres at Taxall, F. Jodrell, Esq. ; it was
planted by WTiite, the landscape gardener, of Woodlands,
Durham, at five pounds per acre, half the trees to be firs. Ex-
tensive plantations by Ashton, on Delamore forest.
Whitely, an ingenious tanner, at Ashley, near Knutsford,
made some experiments a few years ago with the twim and
ends of the boughs of oak, as a substitute for the bark. These
ground down, and used in the same way as the bsu-k, mani-
fested strongly astringent properties ; but the necessity there
was found to be for itheir immediate application, took away
ver\ greatly from their value ; and their use is now almost en-
tirely discontinued, though the plan at that time was adopted
by several other tanners^
10. Iniprovetnents.
Draining a good deal practised, especially with bricks and
stones; Paring and burning, marling, sanding, claying, and
liming, also practised ,to different degrees of extent. Sand of
advantage chiefly by altering the texture of the soil, as that
used contains no calcareous matter;
IL Livestock.
Present stock of dairy cows a mixture of the long and short
homed, the Derbyshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Welsh,
Irish, Scotch, and New Leicestershire cattle. Those cows
reckoned best which are bred on the farm. Calves reared from
the best milkers, and at two years old put to the bull. Cows
housed about the middle of November ; permitted to go dry ten
weeks before their time of calving ; usual drv foods, wheat,
barley, and oat straw, hay, and crushed oats. The two former
kinds of straw are found to make cows go dry much sooner
than the latter; and another generally allftwed etti?ct attri-
buted to such straw is, that more than the usual time will be
required to chum the cream of cows when so fed ; but wheat
straw is esteemed much more wholesome than barley straw,
as having less of those ettects attending it. Three or four
weeks before calving, hay ^ven ; and from calving to turning to
grassy some ground or crushed oats twice a day. The cows are
turned into an outlet (a bare pasture field near the buildings)
alxiut ten oVlocl in the morning, and housed again about four
in the afternoon the winter through, or earlier if they shewed
an inclination to return ; but have no fodder in the outlet.
Turning the cows out to grass in good condition is a matter
much attended to, in order that they may, as the term is,
" start well ;" for if a cow is not in good condition when turned
out to grass, or has been too much tried with barley straw, it
is a long time before she gets into full milk.
The ox-cabbage and Swedish lumip are the kinds of green
food most esteemed and cultivated in Cheshire. The former is
usually given to the cows when the after-grass is consumed ; it
is sometimes given in the spring to cows that have newly
calved. The large sugar-loaf cabbage has been occasionally
used, when the pastures begin to lail and the af\er-grass is not
ready : a circumstance which frequently happens, especially in
dry weather Turnips are given to the cattle in the winter,
while they are feeding on straw ; and as, at this time, no
cheese is made, any objection to their use, from the flavor
thev give to the milk, is of little consequence. The reporte*
made inquiries from several farmers, with a view of ascertain-
4 C
122
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
ln(5 whether the »taU fcedlne of their milch cows might not be
continued during the whole year, but he found the general
opinion to be against this practice ; though it did not appear
that any experiments, sufficient for the decision of the point,
had hitherto been made. It was suggested to him, how-
ever, that it would be an improvement upon the present ma-
nagement, to let the cows stand in their houses during the
heat of the day in summer ; where, by giving them a few cab-
bages or tares, the milk would continue forming, and the cat-
tle be defended from the gad-fly, which, by tormenting them
in the fields, frequently injures both the quantity and quality
of the milk.
Time of calving March and April. At calving-time the cow-
man, or the master, are frequently up two or three timps in the
course of a night, to see whether any thing is amiss. The racks
and mangers are every day well cleaned out, while due atten-
tion is paid to the appetites of the different beasts, and the
quantity of food is governed accordingly. After this is done,
the master himself, generally, goes round ftom stall to stall
iust before bed-time, and adds to or diminishes the quantity of
Ibdder as occasion may require
In makinf! butter the whole of the milk and cream is churned
together. Cheese made from the whey pressed from the curd
used in making cheese.
Cheese-making has remained stationary in Cheshire for many
years ; best size of cheeses sixty pounds. Cows milked during
summer at six o'clock, morning and evening. " The evening's
milk (of suppose twenty cows) having stood all the night in
the coolers and brass pans, the cheese-maker, in summer,
about six o'clock in the morning, carefully skims off the cream
from the whole of it, observing first to take off all the froth
and bubbles, which may amount to about a pint : this not be-
ing thought proper to be put into the cheese, goes to the cream
mug to be churned for butter, and the rest T)f the cream is put
into a brass pan. While the dairy-woman is thus employed,
the servants are milking the cows, "having previously lighted a
fire under the furnace, which is half full ot water. As soon as
the night's milk is skimmed, it is all carried into the cheese
tub, except about three-fourths of a brass pan full (three or four
gallons), which is immediately placed in the furnace of hot
water in the pan, and is made scalding hot ; the half of the
milk thus heated in the pan is poured also into the cheese tub,
and the other half is poured to the cream, which, as before ob-
served, was skimmed into another brass pan. By this means
all the cream is liquified and dissolved, so as apparently to form
one homogeneous or uniform fluid, and in that state it is
poured into the cheese tub. But before this is done, several
bowls or vessels, full of new milk, will generally have been
poured into the cheese tub, or perhaps the whole morning's
milk. Care is taken to skim off all the air bubbles which may
have formed, in pouring the new milk into the cheese tub.
The night and morning's milk, and melted cream, being thus
all put into the cheese tub, it is then ready to receive the ren-
The rennet and coloring being put into the tub, the whole
well stirred together, a wooden cover is put over the tub, and
over that is thrown a linen cloth> The usual time of coming is
one hour and a half, during wWch time it is frequently to be
examined: if the cream rises to the surface before the coming
takes ])lace, as it often does, the whole must be stirred together
so as to mix again the milk and cream, and this as often as is
rises, until the coagulation commences. A few smart strokes
on different sides of the tub, with the cheese ladder, &c. will
forward the coagulation, if it is found to be too long in
forming.
The I nrd is in the next place broke by the knife and hands, and
then left half an hour to subside ; then it is gently pressed, the
curd broken by the hand, and the whey laded out of the tub,
as it drains from the curd. Afterwards, the curd is broken in
a'brass pan and salted, and next put into the cheese vat, and
pressed with a sixty pound weight, till all the whey is removed.
It is then again broke, washed with warm whey, and finally
put in the'press under a weight or power of about 14 cwt.
After being forty -eight hours in the press, it is put in the salt-
ing tub, where it remains three days covered with salt ; it ii
then taken out and placed on the salting benches, where it i^i
turned once a day ; it is then washed in warm water with a
brush, and wiped dry with a cloth ; in two hours it is smeared
over with \vhey butter, and then put in the warmest part of
the cheese room. In the cheese room it is well rubbed, to
take off the sweat or fermentation which takes place in cheese
for a certain time after it is made, and turned daily for seven
days, and smeared with whey butter ; afterwards it is turned
daily, and rubbed three times a week in summer, and twice in
winter.
The cheese rooms are commonly placed over the cow-houses;
and this is done with a view to obtain that moderate and ne-
cessary degree of temperature so essential to the ripening of
cheese, to which the heat arising from the cattle underneath,
is supposed very much to contribute. On dairy farms, one wo-
man servant is kept to every ten cowsj these women are em-
ployed in winter in carding, spinning, and other housewifery
business; but in milking, the women, both night and morn-
ing, during summer, where large dairies are kept, are assisted
by all the other servants, men and boys, except the man who
drives the team.
Sheep little attended to in Cheshire.
Horses brought from Derbyshire and Leicestershire.
Hogs, a mixture of long and short eared breeds.
Poultry of the common kind abundant in most farms for
their eggs. Geese kept by the cottagers till midsummer or later,
and then sold to the farmers, who fatten them on their stub-
bles.
Bees to be found at many of the farm-houses, and at some of
the cottages.
12. Political Economy.
Roads bad; various canals, 'an extensive commerce of coal
and salt, and manufactures of silk, woollen, linen, and cotton.
An experimental farm established at Waverham, near North-
wich, by some gentlemen and farmers of the neighborhood,
but it was soon found so expensive and losing a concern as to
be abandoned. Those on the plan suggested by Bailey, (7024.)
seem the most likely to be effective and permanent.
Hampshire plough, an exti-aordinari'v
lire; the Sufrblk plough is used in th'e
bulky, clumsy struc-
_ . .J. th'e southern parts of the
eunty, and in the Isle of Wight. The patent Hampshire
faggon is formed by uniting two carts corresponding with the
fore and hind parts of a waggon, by bolting them together.
The thill of the hind cart passes under the bed, and rests on the
pillow of the fore-cart. The union is simple, yet so complete,
as to render this waggon as strong, if not stronger, than the
-common kind.
&. Arable Land.
Tillage difficult and expensive in the chaft: district, light
and easy in the vale cf Avon. Pease a good deal cultivated on
the chalks, especially the Marlborough grey or partridge ; the
<;barlton and pearl ; in warm situations they are drilled and
often sown before Christmas, or in January. " A considerable
jnystery still seems to hang over certain properties of these penso,
with regard to their iKiiliinf well for soup or porridge; good
boilers being sometimes sown upon fields which have never
been known to refuse yielding a produce possessing a similar
quality, but that effect afterwards ceasing, and a hard indik-
799
7029. HAMPSHIRE. A maritime county, which includes also the Isle of "Wight : the latter contains
94,000 acres, and the continental part of the county, 968,150 acres. The climate of this country being re-
markably mild, and the soil in many places being calcareous, and consequently warm, very early arable crops
are produced in some places, and pease grown better than in many districts. The culture of the county,
however, has little to recommend it, either in its tillage or pasturage. Its woods are extensive. {A. and
IV. Driver's General View, 1794. Vancouver's General P'iew, 1808. Warner's Isle of Wight, 1794. Mar-
shal's Review, 1817.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate generally mild.
Soil in the central parts, a strong flinty calcareous loam ; in
other parts generally gravelly, or sandy, and calcareous. "The
soil of the Isle of Wight is partly a clayey and calcareous loam,
and in part lighter.
minerals: none of any consequence ; potters' clay, sand, and
building-stone in different places.
Water scarce in dry seasons, in the chalk districts, where it
is preserved in tanks, and drawn up from wells 300 or 400 feet
deep. In some parishes after a long dry autumn, there has
been more strong beer than water. A good deal of fishing, on
the coast ; of eels after floods in the smaller streams ; and some
fish ponds on Bagshot Heath.
2. Property.
Largest estates on the chalky districts ; largest 8000^. per an-
num. Great bulk of the land's held and cultivated by yeoman-
r^ : tenures, copyhold, and leasehold, from the superior lords or
freeholders.
3. Buildings.
' Houses of proprietors numerous: farm-houses mostly of great
antiquity ; those of the larger kind were formerly grange ot
manor-houses ; out -buildings numerous, and generally ruin-
ous ; cottages often of mud ( provin. cut) walls, but better on the
whole than in some other counties. Some fanciful rustic struc-
tures as shelters or temporary lo<Igesfor cattle, in the forest
district, {fig. 799.)
4. Occupation.
Farms various, rather small.
' 5, Implements
soluble pea has been produced that continued for several suc-
cessive periods ; whilst on the other hand, land that had never
been known, or even suspected of being able to communicate a
boiling quality to its pease, would unexpectedly give to the
produce of a hard, and almost imgenetrable pea, all the pro-
exc
stated to be uniformly prwiuced, and in continued succession.
enetraoie pea
perties of being excellent boilers. Through all the cedar-co-
lored sand, and gravelly loams in Devonshire, good boilers are
The same kind of soil, and in every respect under similar cir-
cumstances in the Isle of Wight, will only occasionally, and by
accident as it were, produce good boiling pease. Some opini-
ons seem to refer this effect to a peculiarity in the seasons ; but
this cannot stand against a well known truth, that good boilers
are produced every season.
Saintfoin cultivated with success on the chalky soils, and very
productive. Hops on the borders of Surrey. A vineyard was
planted at Undercliff, in the Isle of Wight, bv the late Sir
Richard Worsley, in 1792, and an Anjou vine-dresser brought
over to attend it ; the extent was about two and a half acres,
and a light wine was made ; but in 1808, when M. Vancouver
called to see it, he foimd the vines had been grubbed up, and
the ground changed to a lawn of turf.
7. Gra,ss Lands.
The county famous for water ^meadows, which are well ma.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF WILTSHIRE.
1123
nasred, andrproductive ; they are chiefly In' the neighborhood
of >Vinchester, on the Itchen ; but tliere are iustanceii on mo»t
of the other rivers and utreanis.
8. Gar<h'/is and Orchards.
Kicellent market gardens |near Gosport and Portsmouth;
Portsea island noted tor its brocoli ; white-washed mud walls,
with copings of thatch used as fences, and for wall fruit in some
cases ; andfhiit wall* only half a brick thick, and waving at the j
rate of one foot in twenty in use. In other cost's angular walls
are in use, the angles being right angles, and the sides ten feet
each. The ailvantage in both cases, is the saving of bricks;
but it is evident they cannot be carried very high, nor, sub-
ject as they are to the driving and drawing of nails, can they
be of great duration. (See Kneyclitpcedia of Gardening, 1567-)
Orchards in various places, and cider made both in the coun-
ty, and in the Isle of Wight.
9. Woods and Plantations.
Extensive beechwoods on the chalk district, those of Ditch-
am grove very tine ; elm scarce in the county, but abundant in
Strathtieldsay Park (now the Duke of Wellington's). Oak
abundant in the New Forest flistrict, and many young planta-
tions there, and throughout t'le coimty. Cobbett raised a great
many American trees of various specfes at Botley. There are
several considerable forests, viz. tiie New Forest, Alice Holt,
Woolmer, and Bere.
TKe New Forest is situated on the south side of Hampshire ;
it was formerly bounded on the east by Southampton river, and
on the south by the British Channel, being near thirty miles
in length, and ninety in circumference ; but since the disaHbr-
estations by Henry the Third, and Edward the First, itsl>onnd-
aries are much reduced, and now only extend from (iadshill,
on the north west, to the sea, on the south-east about twenty
miles ; and from Hardley, on the east, to Kingwooil, on the
west, about fifteen miles"; containing within those limits abont
92,363 acres, the whole of which does not now belong to the
crown, as several manors and freehold estates, to the amount
of 24,797 acres, aie private property ; about 625 acres are
copyhold, belonging to His Majesty's manor of Lyndhurst ;
1004 acres are leasehold, held under the crown ; 902 acres are
encroachments; 1193 acres are held by the master. keepers
and groom keepers, attached to their respective lodges ; and
the remaining b3,844 acres, are the woods and waste lands of
the forest. The other forests are of much less extent and in.
teresl.
10. Improvements.
t Good examples of draining bv tapping, were exhibited by
Elkington, on Cadland Park estate : thestrata Iving at a small
angle witli the horizon, enabled the principles oF what is called
Elkington's mode of draining, to be carried completely into
effect. In the eastern part of the Isle of Wight, are' '
tracts of marshy ground^ the largest of which, Brading^aven,
containing about 900 acres, was granted by .Tames I. to one
Gibbs, a groom of the bed-chamber. The owners of the
chamber, who admitted the fatnous !^r Hu^h Middleton to a
share. They employed a number of Dutchmen to enclose and
recover the haven from the sea. The first taklngof it in cost
4000/, and 1000/. more was expended in building a dwelling
house, bam, water-mill, trenching, quicksetting, and other
necessary works ; so that, including the original purchase, the
total e\])enditure amounted to 7000/. But after all, ^e value
of the ground did not answer the expectations of the underta-
kers ; tor though that part of it adjoining Brading proved to-
lerably good, nearly one half of it was tbimd to be a light
running sand ; nevertheless, an incontestible evidence ap-
peared, by the discovery of a well, cased with stone, near the
middle of the haven, that it had formerly been good ground.
Sir Hugh Middleton tried,a variety of experiments on the land
which had been taken in, before he sold his share ; sowing it
with wheat, barley, oats, cabbage, and finally with rapeseed,
which last was alone successful: but the greatest discou-
ragement was, that the sea brought up so much ouze, weeds,
and sand, which choked up the passage for the discharge of
the fresh water. At length, in a wet season, when the inner
part of the haven was full of fresh water, and a higli spring
tide, the waters met under the bank, and made a breach.
Thus ended this expensive project; and though Sir John Og-
lander, who lived in the neighborhood, confesses himself a
friend to the undertaking, which, besides its principal object,
tended to render that part of the country more healthy, he
declares it as his opinion, that the scheme can never t* re-
sumed te any profitable purj^ose.
11. Live stock.
No exclusive breetl of cattle. The Sussex, Suffolk, Leicester,
Hereford, Devon, &c. are indiscriminately met with. Several
ox teams.
Sheep. In the Woodland district the heath sheep, old Hamp-
shire, or Wilts breeds, but most of the improved breeds also to
be met with .
The Horses used m teams generally large, heavy, inactive
animals. Small horses bred in vast numbers upon the heaths
and forests, and which have not improperly acquired the name
of heath croppers. Their ordinary height is about twelve
hands. They propagate indiscriminately upon these wastes,
where they seek their livmg throughout the year, and at four
years old may generally be purchase<l at about"five pounds.
TIk native Aog- of this county is a coarse, raw boned, flat sided
animal, agreeing in no respect with the idea entertained of it
in other parts of the kingdom. The great number fed for a few
weeks in the close of autumn,upon the acoms and mast which the
forests and other woodlands produce, in the county, and the ex-
cellent mode of curing hog-meat practised by the housekeepers,
have contributed in a far greater degree to establish that supe-
riority ascribed to Hampshire bacon, than any inherent excel-
lence in its native breed of hogs. Very, few, however, of the
genuine native hog are to be met with, the common stock
being either the native Berkshire breed, or a considerable pre-
dominance of that blood in the native swine of the county.
12. Political Economy.
Roads in general good, especially in the New Forest. Several
canals, and various manufactures and public works at |Port«-
mouth and other places.
adjoining lands contested this grant, which the king was very
earnest in supporting. After a verdict obtained in the Court of
Exchequer against the gentlemen of the island, Gibbs sold his
share for 2000/. to Sir Bois Thelwall, a page of the king's bed-
7030. WILTSHIRE. 878,000 acres of varied surface, partly chalky downs, and partly rich vale land ;
and both a corn and grass county, It produces excellent cheese and butter, fat cattle, pigs, and
store sheep. The agricultural report of this county was drawn up by T. Davis, steward to the Mar-
quess of Bath, at Longlent, a man of great experience as a land steward, surveyor, and farmer, and univer-
sally respected. He divides the county into two .districts, the south-east, and north-west, a very judi-
cious plan for giving correct agricultural information. {Davis's Wiltshire, 1794. Marshal's Review, 1809.)
^
7031. South Wiltshire.
Wiltshire downs contain about .500,000 acres of hilly sur-
face, mostly unenclosed and in commftn pasture ; the atm os-
phere cold and sharp, with a chalky soil, seldom varied by
patches of loam, sand, or other earths. There is scarcely
a river or brook in this district that is not applied in some way
or other to the purposes of irrigation.
1. Property.
Near large towns property is generally subdivided when sold :
in this district, when any is sold it is generally bought up by
such as are considerableproprietors, hence estates generally
large. Shape of the manors shews that many of them' were the
property of one lord ; each borders on, or contains a rivulet for
water and meadow, and a hill for wood, or where these were
wanting, they were supplied by a grant of those articles from
other property. Proprietors generally resident on tlieir es-
tates.
2. Buildings.
Faim-houses generally crowded together in villages, for con-
venience of water . Some of late years erected centrical to their
farms, by the Earl of Pembroke, and other proprietors ; wells
and ponds an imjrortant article in these erections.
3. Occupation.
Farms of two kinds; those in severalty or not subject to
rights of common, are from 150/. to 300/., and one or
two at 1000/. a vear ; customary tenements, subject to rights
of common, are "from 23/. to 46/. or 50/. per annum. Tncre
are exteasive sheep commons and cow commons,' to which
the occupiers of both descriptions of lands have a right to turn
in stock according to certain fixed and customary regulations.
Leases seven, fourteen, or twenty-one years.
4. Implements.
A heavy two wheel and one wheel plough in use ; the latter
sometimes with a foot instead of a wheel.
5. Arable Land.
An old error, that of over pulverising the uplands by too fre-
quent ploughings, by which the wheats were thrown out dur-
ing winter, or if they stood the winter, the March winds blew
away the earth from their roots, and " hanging by one leg,"
and thus not receiving any assistance from the coronal root,
the plants are weak in straw, and produce^ small thin ears,
any modes have been introduced to prevent this evil, by
Riving a sufficient texture and firnrmess to the land previous to
a wheat crop. The best farmers have made a point of getting
their lands dean ploughed by midsummer, and treading it as
firm as possible with the sheep-fold a long time before sowing ;
while the slovenly farmers have invented, and generally prac-
4
, tise, a very short and cheap way of attaining this firmness in
I the land. They rafter the land (as they callit), that is, they
plough half of the land, and turn the grass side of the plough-
ed furrow on the land fhat is left unploughed. They do uiis
I as soon as they can spare the fec-d of the summer-fi"eld, and
! leave it in that state till near seed time, when they harrow it
i down and plough it for sowing. Thisrafteris usually ploughed
; across the ridges, or what is better, diagonally; the latter
mode being less subject to drive the land up in heaps b^ore
the plough. The land thus raftered is sometimes ploughed
twice, but more frequently only once, previous to sowing ; and
after it is sown they drag it two, three, or four times, and har-
row it four, five, or six times. A very heavy kind of drag i*
used, and as Wiltshire Down farmers are very cautious of
ploughing their land too much, they make much use of these
drags instead of ploughing, and frequently let in tlieir seed-
wheat with them. This practice having been found to answer,
has been gradually improved upon. The down lands of thi«
district will not bear fallowing, especially in hot dry weather};
they are too thin and light already, and require rest. Two
years' rest for wheat is equal to the best coat of dung. Dung
may give the quantity, but rest must give the quality.
The course of crops' was formerly fallow, wheat, barley, oats ;
but now, even on the common fields, is wheat, barley, clover,
mowed one year, and fed two years, till it is necessary to plough
for wheat. Turnips, swedes, and rape grown for winter food
for^sheep, though less necessary than in districts less amply pro-
vided with water meadows. Error that of sowing too much
com.
Gfln/fjwnear Devizes, Lavington, Warminster, Westburv, &c
Many families subsist by this kind of husbandry, occupying
from two to five acres each ag garden ground. The produce
supplies the adjacent towns in the district, and Frome and
Bath, in the county of Somerset, with cabbage-plants, pease,
beans, carrots, turnips, and vast quantities of potatoes.
Orchards in some places, and cider made ; but as the distrirt
is famous for its barley and ale, the predilection for this beverage
renders the want of cider little felt.
Woods not numerous, but a great spirit for forming plania.-
tions; and some excellent remarks on the subject in the
Report.
IrrigiUion introduced into this district the-fend of the seven-
teenth, or the beginning of the eighteenth centurv. Many of the
most valuable and best formed meatlows, particularly those
in the Wylev Bourne, were made under the directions of
one Farmer Baverstock, of Stockton, Ixjtween the years 1700
and 1705.
Between 15,000 and 20,000 acres watered; its great value in
April Iwlween " hay and grass, bv which the farmer it *n
C 2
1124
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE
Part IV.
abled to hreed early lambs." As soon as the lambs are able to
travel with the ewes (perhaps about the middle of March), the
flock is nut into the water-meadows. Care is, or ought to be
taken to make them as drv as j.ossible for some days before the
sheep begin to feed them ; and on acrount of the quickness ot
the grass, it is not usual to allow the ewes and lambs to go into
them with empty bellies, nor before the morning dew is gone.
The general hours of feeding are from ten or eleven in the
morning till four or f^ve in the evening, when the fheep are
driven to the fo!d, which at that lime of the year is generally in
the bJirley fallow. The grass is daily hurdled out in portions,
according to the number of sheep, to prevent their trampling it
down ; but a few spaces are left in the hurdles, for the Iambs
to get through, and feed forward in the rich grass. One acre
of good grass will be sufficient for 500 couples foradav: the
great object is, to make the watpr-grass last till the barley
sowing is finished : the meadow is then laid up for hay.
The mater-meculon'S. of Orchcsinn, a village six miles N. W.
of Amesburv, have been long celebrated. What is called the
long grass of these meadows is the agrostis stohnifera or black
couch " one of the worst grassps," says Davis, " in its native
state which the kingdom produces, and the peculiar plague of
the farmers of that district. It usually abounds in such arable
land as is too poor to bear the white couch (Triticum reftens),
and is the general and almost only herbage of the old, bum.
baked, worn-out downs, and in that situation is so coarse and
wiry, that no cattle will eat it. It forms a thick tough cover-
ing over the lands which preserves itself, and destroys every
thing else. But in these meadows, when fed abundantly with
water, it is of a juicy nourishing quality, and makes the most
desirable hay in the district, particularly for sheei). These
meadows are not laid out in any regular form for watering,
the supply of water being too partial, but they depend entirely
upon the floods ; and being smiated at a sharp turn of a nar-
row part of the valley, the water makes an eddy, and deposits
its s<xiiments upon them.
The substratum of these meadows is an almost entire bed of
loose flints, in which the roots of grass freely run, and produce
strong succulent shoots, which fall down, and taking root at
the joints, send forth other shoots, which, in like manner,
drop and root again, so that the stalk is frequently eight or ten
feet in length from the original root ; and though the cup is
exceedingly thick, it is, perhaps, not eighteen inches in height.
But this grass, though verv abundant in those two meadows,
prevails in most of the meadows which lie below them on the
same stream; and whenever the winters are productive of
floods, the grass in all of them is abundant in quantity and suc-
culent in quality, and the hay is exceedingly nutritive ; but in
a year when wa'ter is scarce, their produce is extremely small,
and of a very bad quality.
On exaVnining other meadows in different bournes of this
district, we find the same grziss uniformly to abound in those
situated near the spring-heads, and which in some years have
plenty of wa'er, and in others none at all. The same remark
on its variation in quality and quantity, according to the wet-
ness cr dryness of the winter, is equally just. The most pro-
bable way of accounting for it is, that it is almost the only
grass common to water-meads that will stand wet and dry;
for though it nourishes most when under water, yet no dry
weather will kill it.
Lire Stock. Cattle few in this district ; oxen not generally
under the plough ; sheep the chief stock and the basis of the
Wiltshire Down husbandry; object, folding and wool; breed-
ing a ci n equence rathpr than a cause of keeping sheep.
Horses a h^avy very unsuitable breed; great error in principle
of breed frs here as every where among the old school, that of
enlarging the size of the animal.
703?. North Wiltshire.
Clim; te milder than that of the S. E. district ; soil not so
uniform ; under-stratum broken stones, and surface reddish
ca'careous loam.
Property more divided than in the eaet side of the county.
BuiUlhigs. Charlton, a noble pile, by Inigo Jones. Farms
generally enclosed, and chiefly under grass, and applied to the
making of cheese ; leases from fourteen to twenty-one years.
Scotch farmers. " Within these few years, several of the
great landholders in Wiltshire have introduced into this dis-
trict Scots farmers, who, from a supposed superior skill in the
science of agriculture, have leases for twenty -one years, with
scarcely any restrictions as to husbandry. The ancient pastures
are allowed to be broken up, buildings are erected for their ac-
commodation at a low rate of interest, and a degree of counte-
nance and patronage given to them above the other tenants cf
the day. These men give nominally a large rent for their
farms ; but as their maxim is to pay neither repairs, tithes, or
parochial taxes of any description (these dues and services being
ail included in the rent received bv the landlord), I have strong
doubts whether the advantages held out to the land-owners will
be ultimately any increase of net cash into their pockets. In
strong loamy counties, or in rich sands, I am aware much profit
may be made bv an economical system of husbandry in the til-
lage; but the practice of the Scots farmers not embracing sheep,
of water-meadows, will never make them rich on the Down
farms of Wiltshire; and if the Downs be broken up by the te-
nants, who have no stock to maintain them, the land and the
farmer will soon come to poverty together." { Dat'wl 74-6 ) A mong
these farmers was the unfortunate (lourlav, who was ultimately
ruined by the speculation. Of his farming we know nothing,
nor are we aware what description of Scotch farmers thev can
have been whose husbandry in an inland turnip district did not
embrace sheep. On the Earl of Suffolk's estate at Charlton,
some Berwickshire farmers were introduced in part through
our means, whose chief object was the sheep system. Lord
Suffolk, however, who is a' weak man, without an opinion ot
his own, got so alarmed bv his familv at the idea of breaking up
old turf, that he bought up the leases of these farmers almost
as soon as they were granted.
The arable part of this district is on the north-west verge,
being a part of the Cotswolds hills, and treated like them.
Grassland jirevails almost to the exclusion of arable on all the
wet and heavy lands : their management of late much improved
by draining, "manuring, winter burning, early mowing, and
feeding and mowing every piece of land alternately. The
grand object in these improvements is, to get ran early bite
for the cattle in the spring, and thereby, in fact, to shorten the
winter.
The cheese of this district was many years sold in the London
market by the name of Gloucester cheese ; but it is now per-
fectly well known bv the name of " North Wiltshire Cheese."
It was at first, doubtless, an imitation, and perhaps an humble
one, of that made in the vale of Gloucester, but it is now
allowed by manv to be at least equal, if not superior, to the
cheese of the favorite district of Gloucestershire, the hundred
of Berkeley.
Gardens not numerous ; some near Wootton Basset, for sup-
plying the markets of Cricklade, Cirencester, &c.
Orchards frequent as an appendage to farm-houses, but no
cider made.
Wood frequent in hedgerows, but not in masses.
Irrifration not common ; springs scanty, and land too ab-
sorbent ; alleged they produce coarse grass, but this is owing
to its not being mown in time.
6. Live Stock.
Cattle of the long homed breed ; Devons bred, and found
better for fatting, but it is questionable if they are so good for
the dairy. Breeding cattle not the fashion. " The dairy -m.en
say, that the advantages which their situation gives them of
sending their veal to I^ondon and Bath markets, makes it more
their interest to fat their calves than to wean them for stock ;
but the opponents of the long horned cows say, that the oxen
are generally so ugly, and the heifers frequently such had
ilkers, that the farrners are never certain of breeding such as
they would wish to keep ; and, therefore, they prefer buying
cows (of which they can have a choice) to breeding them, and
horses for the plough instead of (
Many sheep bred in the district ; some for folding, and others
purposely for fatting : for these purposes a kind to walk, and a
kind to stand still necessary : the Wiltshire answers the former
purpose, and the I-eicester the latter.
There are yet left in North Wilts a few flocks of the native
Wiltshire homed sheep, possessing qualities of perfection, both
for folding and fatting. They stand short in the lesr, with wool
under their bellies; are wide and heavy in the hind Quarter,
light in the fore quarter, and in all their offals, w ith the Ro-
man nose, and quick piercing eyes. These are in the hands of
a few farmers near Broad Hinton.
7. Political Economy/.
As applicable to both distncts it is observed, that the turnpike
roads are numerous and good in most places ; three canals ;
extensive woollen manufactures at Salisbui? ; also cutlery of
superior excellence there; carpets at Wilton, and fancy
woollens ; and of superfine broad cloths at a great many places.
No agricultural society, but many farmers and others are mem-
bers of the Bath and West of England Society.
7033. DORSETSHIRE. 512,154 acres of undulating surface, in great part chalky soil, and celebrated
from the time of the Romans for its pleasantness and fertility. Like Berkshire and some other counties,
it is called by the inhabitants the .garden of England. It is chiefly under grass, and is celebrated for its
breed of sheep, which bring three lambs in two years, and for its watered meadows, of which Boswell, of
this county, has given a valuable account. {Claridge's General View, 1195. Stevenson'' s General View,
1812. Marshal's Review, 1817.)
' 1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate dry and salubrious rather than mild and bland ;
supposetl colder since the elevated downs were denuded of their
native forests.
Soil chiefly chalk, next c'ay, then sand, and of loam,
gravel, &c. nearly equal and moderate portions. Chalky and
sandy soils of the uplands very thin.
No metallic mine* or cauls, but the peninsula of Portland four
miles and a half in length by two in breadth, one entire quarry
of Portland stone, so extensively used, especially in London.
Potters clay found in various parts of the county.
2. Prcyperty.
Estates large compared with those of other counties ; some
of the principal under the care of land surveyors, others of
lawyers. Tenures chiefly freehold and leasehold.
3. Bitildings.
Farm buildings as' in other coun'ies; generally ill situated,
built of stone, and covered with reeds or thatch.
4. Occupation.
Farms very large, 1 500 or 2000 acres of sheep farm being fre-
oiieritly to be met with. Many of the proprietors ^eat farmers.
vLases of twentv-one vears common till the beginning of the
resent century,' now for shorter periods.
5. Implements.
Two sorts of uncouth wheel -plough in use. Small's plough tried
one or two places ; from the diflnculty of ploughing flinty soUs
wheels are deemed an 'advantageous appendage to whatever
sort is adopted. Threshing, winnowing, and various other
modem implements introduced in a number of places. The
wattled hurdles of Dorsetshire consist almost invariably of ten
stakes, which the hurdle-makers drive into auger holes, that
are made for that purjiose in a piece of timber, which is sup-
ported at a convenient height from the ground by other pieces
of timber, and then the stakes are wattled. Stones set on edge,
and rublestone walls used as fences in various parts.
6. Arable Land.
Deep ploughing generally less approved of on the chalky
soils, and cross ploughing never practised, even for turnips ;
two or three horses form a team. Fallowing general all along
• the coast; but what is here termed a summer fallow, is, in
most cases, no other than a preparation of ley ground for a crop
of wheat, by ploughing it three or four times, the first plough-
ing being given in June or July, and sometimes as late as
August.
Upon|the thin chalky soils around Blandford, and upon the
hills in theneighborhoodof Abbey Milton, the course of crops
with the best farmers is as foUowK : viz. one-seventh of the land
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF SOMERSETSHIRE.
1125
is in saintfoin, and the>est of the arable is cultivateU in the ro-
tation of, one, wlieat; two, rye, winter barley, or winter
vetches, to be ted with sheep in the spring, and the whole fol-
lowed by turni|>s, rape, &c. ; three, barley or oats ; and four
and fi»e, artificial grasses, to be followed by wheat as before.
Upon the thin chalks and shallow flinty loams, wheat is gene-
rally sow^n on the back of a two years' clover ley, but even on
those thin soils, a ifreat deal issow*n after turnips, rape, &c. fwl
off with sheep early enough to sow it in the same autuinn, and
in most instances a good crop Is produced of a tine sample. On
the better sorts of chalky and gravelly soils, the same practice
nrevails, except upon the ley-ground, which continues in grass
out one year instead of two ; the wheat is taken after the first
year's ley, and is supposed to answer better than it would in the
second year, ui)on the latter description of soils. Old saintfoin
leys broken up without paring and burning. Hemp and flax
a good deal cultivated.
7. Grass.
300,000 acres, or about three-fifths of the county; 6000
acres of meadow in the chalky district irrigated. Application
of the meadows, fatting cattle, and of the uplands the dairy.
8. Gardens and Orchards.
Both are frequent appendages to farm-houses and cottages ;
some of the cotiage gardens are small enclosures taken from
the sides of the highways. The goosefoot (Chenopodium bonus
henrkus) cultivated by a few persoivs here, as in Lincolnshire
and elsewhere, and calculations made by Batchelor, to shew
what would be the expenses and profits of an acre for the Lon-
don market. The plant is greatly inferior to spinach, but
might be used as a substitute tor it in spring, as it is a peren-
Jiial, and very early in leaf. Sea cale, which grows on the
^hores near Burton, Is now generally introduced into the gar-
dens of farmers.
Orchards to the extent of 10,000 acres ; application cider ;
in making which hops are sometimes added to make it keep ;
proportion one pound to a hogshead. Twenty bushels of apples
will make a hogshead of cider.
9. fVoods and Plantations.
Timber scarce, and chiefly to be found in parks and hedge-
rows. Many young plantations lately made on^the heath
lands.
10. Improvements.
Irrigation carried to considerable extent and great perfection,
and one of the best books on the subject is by Boswell, of
Piddletown. A dry meadow of good quality is worth forty
shillings ; watered, sixty-five shillings per acre ; produce of hay
two loads i>er acre. The streams in Dorset are in general
shallow, and have a considerable fall ; the meadows are
nsrrowj'and the water is supplied with comparative regularity,
in consequence of its having to filter through immense masses
of chalk previous to its exit at the springs : and hence the pro-
cess of irrigation is much facilitated.
The «/ieep of Dorsetshire are well known as supplymg the
metropolis with house-lamb at a very early season. Parkinson
considers the Dorset ewe as the best homed ewe in the kingdom,
those.of Somerset excepted, and they are so nearly alike, that few
l)eople, exceiJtmg the natives of the two counties, would know
the difference. In the Isle of Portland there is a small breed,
which some contend is the true breed of the coimty.
Lowman, of Portland, observes, it is the practice there to fold
these dwarfish animals from Candlemas to iNIartintide, puttmg
them in late at night, and letting them out early in the morn-
ing. The mutton is deemed the best in England, and the wool
as good as the South Down kind. Some of them have been
purchased by sheep-breeders, with a view to obtain a cross be-
tween these and the Merinos. Both ewes and wethers are
kept, and generally till they are five years old; sometimes they
remain till a greater age, but tt is not thought a profiuble
method. Such a^ are fatted are put into a common, ^t the
northern part of the island, which is pretty good land, and
~ "'" there from the 12th of August to the 5th of November
on which day Pordand sheep-fair is held. All the sheep of the
island are kept pretty generally upon the commons from No-
vember the 21st to Candlemas. The Portland mutton is sold
by the quarter in general at ten shillings and sixpence. It is
never weighed, but would come to one shilling a jiound when
common mutton is only seven-pence: it seldom weighs more
than ten pounds a quarter. Several flocks of pure Merinos,
Down Merinos, and other breeds.
General managemeiU of sheep. The lambs which are bred for
the regular supply of the flock, are dropped at Christmas, or
soon afterwards, and the couples are kept in the best ewe-leazes,
&c. on grass, hay, and turnips, if necessary ; and such as have
watered meadows, depasture their sheep there, on the early grass ,
till old May-day, when the lambs are weaned, and the sheep
go to fold; but sometimes the two latter circumstances take
place as early as Leidy-day. The ewes are folded constantly,
and kept on the Downs, on artificial grasses and other pastures,
till near the ensuing Christmas, at which time they have
another crop of lambs, the rams having been put to the flock
about the end of July.
There is, probably, no part of England where the practice
of sheep-foldmg is more admired, or more earnestly pursued,
than in the county of Dorset. Fifteen dozen of hurdles, with a
like number of stakes and withes to confine them together,
will ^j[^ose a statute acre of ground, and will contain 1200 or
1300 sheep very commodiously. The hurdles are moved every
morning, consequently the same number of sheep will manure
an acre of land daily. The real value of the fold there is no
means of ascertaining; it is, undoubtedly, very beneficial
to the arable \axuX, but it has reduced the I)owns to a state of
poverty.
Ewes are generally kept till they are four years and a half
old, when they are sold to the dealers. A singular custom
prevails of coloring them with ochre, for which no other
reason is given than that of being able to distmguish them from
the Somerset sheep.
Ass£s were formerly kept by some farmers, but are now given
up, having been found destructive to hedges, &c. " It ap-
peared that six asses would plough as much land of any kind
in a given time as three horses, and four asses were sufficient to
plough broken land It is believed that two asses will i)erform
as much work as one horse, and th^ do it more conveniently
in the hilly part of the county, as they carry their lading in
panniers, where it would be difficult to use wheel carriages.
Geese kept on the com pastures in Purbeck, from an idea
that they promote the health of the cattle.
Bees kept in various-places ; does not answer to feed them ;
the only way to render them profitable is, after the honey-
season to destroy all hives under twenty jjounds weight.
11. Political Economy.
Roads of flint, and in general good : an iron railway, of three
miles and a half, for conveying potters' clay from Norden to a
place opposite Poole, where it is shipped for Liverpool. No
canals. Manufactures of flax and hemp at Bridport and Bea-
minster ; upwards of 2000 people employed in making sail-cloth,
cordage, sacking, tarpaulin, &c. ; tlannel at Shaftsbury, and
woollens at Lyme Kegis; twisting and making up law silk into
skeins at Sherbourne and other places ; shirt buttons exten-
sively, at Shaftsbury, Blandford, and the surrounding villages ;
the buttons made of wire and thread ; many thousands of chil-
dren in til is manufacture : wicker baskets, with a small hole at
top, called lobster pots, at various places on the coast, and a
variety of other articles. Many very imcommon provincial
terms used in this county.
7034. SOMERSETSHIRE. About one million of acres, chiefly of meadow and pasture land, hilly aJid
mountainous in some places, ^nd with marshes and bogs in others, but on the whole, though far behind in
arti.*icial culture, celebrated for its natural fertility. The climate is various, in general cold and
boisterous on the elevated parts, but almost without a winter near the sea. The county is divided into the
north-east, middle, and south-west districts, by its very able reporter, J.Billingsley, Esq. of Ashwick Grove.
(Billingsley's General View, 1797. Marshal's Review, 1817.)
7035. North-edst District.
Surface very irregular, intermixed with lofty hills and rich
fertile plains: climate various; soil chiefly clay, and in part
peat; application chiefly pasturage; sevo-al thousands of acres
overflown by the tide in the river Yeo; 40(X) acres protected by
a wall of stone and lime, elevated ten feet above the level of
the land within, but high tides frequently break over it and
make breaches.
MitieraU. Lead and calamine in the Mendip hills, but little
worked, for want of a proper level to carry off the water.
Coal abounds, and is worked for the supply of Bath, Wiltshire,
and Somersetshire: from 800 to 1000 tons raised weekly.
Property. Many large proprietors from 2000<. to 6000/. per
annum, but the greater part in the possession of respectable
yeomanry, from 50/. to 500/. a year.
Buildings. There are many splendid gentlemen's seats,
or namnted with extensive planUUons, in this district, and the
farm-houses and cottages are for the most part commodious
and comfortable; but on all the dairy farms, a shameful inat-
tention prevails in respect to outhouses and sheds for their
stock to retire to in the winter months. Cattle are almost uni-
versally served with their provender in the field ; and many
a dairy farmer, with twenty cows, scarcely makes, in the
whole winter, a quantity of dung sufficient to manure one acre
of land.
Occupation. Farms seldom exceed 200/- a year ; some of the
dairy farms are so small as not to exceed 60/. or 70/. per year ;
and many instances can be produced of such little farmers
bringing up a large family in a very respectable way. In such
instances, it is generally found that the wife undertakes the
•whole management of the cows, and the husband goes to daily
labor.
Implements. Plough with a foot or wheel ; spade with the
blade curved in its breadth, to prevent "adhesion of soil : it is
much narrower and longer than those used in other counties,
eighteen inches by six inches.
Arable land but in small proportion, and Utile attended to.
Teazles and woad grown for the clothiers ; })Otatoes cultivatetl
to a very considerable extent. The Reporter has known thirty -
4
two successive crops of potatoes. from the same field, and the
produce as good at the latter part of the term as at the begin-
ning. This will puzzle the theorist, with his peculiar sub-
stances of nutrition. A sack of potatoes is equal to 100 weight
of hay.
Grass, the predominating surface. " On the rich marsh land
near the Bristol Channel, the grazing system prevails. In the
vicinity of Bristol and Bath, the scythe is in constant use ; and
at a greater distance nothing is scarcely seen but the milking
pail : on the stone-brash, and freestone grit soil, saintfoin takes
the lead: next to saindbin, rye grass, marl grass, and white
Dutch clover are in deserved repute, when the land is intended
to remain some years in grass ; but when it is intended to
be ploughed again in the course of a year or two, broad clover
is preferred to all others.
Haij Tea, (837.) much in use, by which means it is consi-
dered as much nourishment is obtained, as if the hay were
eaten, while after boiling, the culms may be dried jmd used as
litter !
Market Gardens for the supply of Bristol and Bath. A cler-
gyman has eight oi ten acres of ninsery ground, the labor of
which amounts to 25/. per acre.
Orchards abound throughout the whole district ; the favorite
apple, both as a table and cider fruit, is tlie court of wick pip-
pin, a seedling from the golden pippin.
Woods and Plantations not numerous.
Live Stock. Cattle mostly short homed ; the long homed
breed of North Wiltshire have been tried, but the customary
breed preferred. Both cheese and butter made.
Hoads pretty good ; some canals ; woollen manufacture, ex-
tensive, and that of knit worsted stockings considerable.
7036. Middle District.
Between 4 and 5(K),000 acres of \'aried surface and soil, and
mild climate ; including a great extent of marsh and fen land,
great part of which has been drained and embanked. Half this
district occupied by the owners. Grass the chief jiroduct,
farms from 40/. to 6(X)/. per annum, partly grazed with heifers,
but chiefly by cows for the dairy : the cows let out to dairymen,
as in Dorsetshire.
C3
1126
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
Arahh Land, flax and hemp extensively cultivated, and also
turnips.
Orcltards numerous and verj productive; soil particularly
suitable ; plantations few.
Live Stock. Small cows, well fed, preferred for the dairv, and
the object chiefly cheese ; that of Cheddar much admired ; the
others in general sold in London as double Gloucester. A dairy
maid can manage the milk of twentv cows.
Roads excellent, especially from Wells to Bridgewater ; ex-
tensive woollen manufactures, many of hemp and flax, and
some of gloves.
7037. South West District.
Rough mountainous hills, and rich fertile slopes and plains ;
farms rathei- less than in the last district, but the husbandry
much the same ; more land in tillage ; mountains uncultivated,
and pasture with sheep and young bullocks; in the vicinity of
these hills, the principal com crop is oats.
Fences. The beech hedges around Hulverton, Dunster, &c.
are not only beautiful to the eye, and excellent fences and
shelter, but are a source of annual profit to the proprietors. The
banks on which they are planted, are six or i>even feet high.
and between four and five feet wide at the top ; the mouldering
of the sides is frequently prevented by a dry stone wall, four
feet high. There is no ditch ; and the hedge consists of three
rows of beech,'planted on the top of the bank, at about one
foot distance. Their growth is very rapid, and they seem to
defy the destructive qualities of the sea breezes, so fatal to the
white-thorn, and most other plants ; when at maturity, the
middle row is cut to the ground, and the outside rows plashed.
The quafitity of fuel supplied by these hedges is very consider-
able ; and the only objection that can be made to them is, that
the earth used in the construction of the banks is so consider-
able a quantity, that a large portion of the field is robbed of its
vegetable mattiT, and rendered for some years unproductive.
Some Norfolk fanners introduced on the Barnard estate,
and rhut)arb cultivated to great perfection by Ball, at Wil-
liton, near "Watchet. Many orclrards, and excellent cider
made ; not much wood, but elms attain to a large size in the
hedjjes.
Live Stock. North Devon cattle, and Dorset sheep used round
Taunton Dean ; oxen worked chiefly in yokes. Manufactures
at Taunton on the decline. A salmon and herring fisherv at
Porlack, Mmehead, and AVatchet.
7038. DEVONSHIRE. 1, 595,309 acres of strongly marked hilly surface, including the vale of Exeter,
•' the garden of the west," the Forest of Dartmoor, a barren waste, and North, West, South, and Ea.-^t
Devonshire, each with distinct features. The county is celebrated for its breed of cattle, its dairy, and its
orchards, and of late years for extensive improvements undertaken in Dartmoor, where is also the im-
mense depfit for 10,000 prisoners of war. {fig. 800.) {TyrwhUVs Tracts on the Improuements at Bart-
moor, 1819. Fraser's General Flew, 1794. Vancouver''s View, 1807. MarshaVs Review, 1817.)
800
J. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate in North Devon less mild than in South Devon, but
still myrtles are used as garden hedges ; in South Devon the cli-
mate is supposed more mild and salubrious than in any other
part of England.
Soil in great variety, but in general calcareous.
iiineruU. Some iron and copper worked, also freestone, lime-
stone, and mnrble, &c,
% Property.
Much divided, only a few large estates ; formerly letting for
lives much in use. "It has frequently happened, that in letling
an estate, the landlord agreed to discharge tithes and all paro-
chial payments. About the years 1800 and ISOl, the rent of
several estates in this'county was absolutely insufficient to meet
such disbursements, and consequently all the estates socircum-
ktanced, brought tlieir proivrietors in debt.
3 Buildings.
Houses of proprietors too generally going to ruin from non-
residence. *' Wedefy ingenui'y to plan and place farm-houses
worse than they are." " (icuden-walls, farm houses, liams,
stables, lime Vihis, village fences, and cottapes, are all built with
mud, and left without roueh cast, or white wash, to conceal
the native color of the loam."
4. Occupation.
Farms of all sizes from 10/.
to 600/. a year
5. Implements.
' Plough of the swing kind,
■with a wooden mould board.
Scarifiers, called tormentors.
Two sorts of grubbing mat-
tocks are in use {fig.iy{ila,b.),
one called the hoe mattock,
(n), and the other a two 1 ill
or double-bitted mattock (A).
Paring shovels (c) are very
well constructed. Com stacks
in harvest secured from the
sudden and Vieavy thunder
showers, to which this coun-
try is liable, by canvass cover-
ings, like those used in Mid-
dlesex for covering hay ricks.
6. Arable Land.
Much less than the grass
land; not much to be learn-
ed from its culture; artificial herbage not generally sown, and
rotations bad.
7. Grass Land.
In the low tracts of good quality ; application, breeding and
the dairy ; butter good, cheese m'diflertnt, and generally con-
sumed in the county.
8. Orchards, Woods, and Plantations.
Very abundant in most parts of the county, and excellent
cider made in the Herefordshire manner. Fruit trees rather
neglected as otherwise ; generally pasture beneath ; often in
the hedgerows.
The Forest of Dartmoor belongs to the Prince of Wales, and
is parcel of the Duchy of ("omwall : extensive imjirovtments have
lately been proposed, and in part cerrietl hito execution, under
the direction of Sir .1 . Tyrwhitt, the steward of the Duchy.
Extensive salt marshes on some parts of the coasU
9. Improvements.
Drainuig and irrigation not much practised. The Rev. M.
Fronde, of Darlington parsonage, communicated to Vancouver,
a mode of empiving tlie water from a pond without the ne-
cesity of attending to it personally when full. It is more matter
of curiositv than ingenuity or use. The water when the uond
is overflowing, flows by a gutter into a basin, suspended be-
yond the head, which when full, by means of a lever, raises
a plug at the bottom of the pond. After a tune, the box being
leaky, it becomes empty, and when the pond is nearly empty,
the plug re-drops in its place. If the plug were placed nearer
the surface of the water, it would in general cases be more
useful and less likely to lose the fish.
10. Live Stock.
The North Devon cattle well known for their superior adapt-
ation, both for feedintf and draught . For the uses of the dairy or
for milk, it is a breed by no means held in general estimation,
as their aptitude to look well (without being fleshy), is derived
from the peculiar nature of the animal, which disposes its se-
cretions in the accumulation of fat, rather than in the produc-
tion of milk. For the purposes of labor, this breed can no
where be excelled for docility, activity, or hardihood, in proof
of which no stronger circumstance can be adduced, than that
it is a common day's work, on fallow land, for four steers to
plotigh two acres with a double-furrow plough, and that a
general use is thus made of them, and for most of the other
purposes of draught in tlie county where thev were originally
found; and in others to which they have been since trans-
planted.
The rules generally pursued in breeding and raising this va-
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF CORNWALL.
1H7
luable animal, maj be eonslered as follow. The greatest num-
ber of calve:> fall between Candlemas and May, and i>ome much
later ; but among the best breeders, such late calves are not so
generally approved of. The usual mode of raising them, is to
let the calf suck as much as it will three times a day, for the
first week ; then bring it to the linger, and feed it with warm
new milk, in like maimer for three weeks longer. This is the
ordinary treatment for the lirst month, and the calf is then fed
for two months longer, twice a day, with as much warm
scalded skimmed milk as it will drink; when, gradually
abating its morning and evening meals, at the end of four
months the animal is weaned from all milk draughts, and left
to itself. Small portions of (inely pounded linseed cakes are
often used, and recommended to be mixed with the skimmed
milk, particularly in the first period of its being given in the
place of new milk.
The full sized Xorth Devon cow, when fattened to its frame,
will not exceed eignt score per quarter; and the ordinary
average of its ox, at five years old, and equally well fattened,
must not be rated Iiigher than three score per quarter above
the weight of its fattened mother.
The usual practice in this district, is to sell the steers, at
four or five years old, to the graziers in the county of Somerset,
who feed them for a supply to the Bath, Bristol, and London
markets. Very few in the proportion raised, are fed in the
district, which may in a great measure be ciscribed to the great
indilference hitherto manifested in the culture of green food for
a winter supply ; and for which, indeed, a sufficient reason may
be drawn, from the deplorable wet state in wliich the land!s
are suffered to remain trom the want of draining.
In South Devon we find a mixture of the North Devon with
a larger animal of the same kind, called the Old Marlborough
Ked. This breed is said to have originated from the South
Malton stock, although at this time they differ very materially
from them in size, and in having a dirty brown, or rather
blackish color at the ears, nose, and encircling the eyes, and in
all such parts as the orange hue prevails in the genuine
North Devon breed. A cross with this breed is however much
preferred, as it produces a greater aptitude to fatten in a given
lime, than is experienced in the South Devon stock, which in
all its points is a much coarser animal, and produces a greater
offal. There does not appear to be any particular choice with
rc'gard to color in this breed.
*'/«!«/), the Exmoor breed, a horned animal, with a moder-
ately Ion.:; staple of wool, which heretofore, and before the cloth
manufacture fled from this county into Yorkshire, was much
used by the clothiers of North and South Malton, Cullumpton,
Thorverton, Tiverton, and other places in the i ounty.
The sheep most approved in the division of Tiverton, are the
Bampton Notts. The Hrst cross of this breed with the New
Leicester is growing greatly in esteem, from its improving the
form, and bringing the animal three months sooner to market.
The sheep generally depastured on the moorlands, are the
Exmoor, Dartmoor, and the light liardy breed of the lower
moors and commons in the county. The autumnal rains fre-
quently ittundating the cold clay lands, are very apt to occasion
the caw, or rot among them, and which has been sometimes
experienced to an alarming extent.
The Merinos, Rylands, Downs, and other fashionable breeds
have been tried by amateurs ; but Devon is less a sheep than a
cattle countv. Native breed of hogs large, and long legged.
Horses, a small compact breed ; with the exception of the
farm-horses in Ireland, those in Devonshire have perhaps as
hard a measure of neglect and ill-usage dealt out to them, as
is any where to be met with in the united kingdom.
11. Political Ecorunny.
Had the roads of this county been laid out in the judicious
manner practised by the Indians of North America, they
would have been found to follow the water courses in all cases
where they might lead in their general direction, towards the
point assigned for carrying them. In doing this, infinitely
more judgment would have been'displayed, and a far greater
benefit secured to posterity, than in that which has been
adopted bv the original projectors of some of the most import-
ant and most frequented roads in this country. This is cUarly
demonstrated by the road between Barnstable and Chumleigh,
which, instead of being conducted through tlie valley of the
Taw, is carried over the highest brows of the river hills, where
the traveller is unceasingly compelled to ziscend and descend
the sharpest hilU in the county. The same may be said of the
road between Bidefbrd and Torrington, by the great omission
of iU not being carried along the foot of the river hills, and
through Uie valley of the Torridge river.
jimMfadurts of woollens of various sorts were formerly com-
mon ; but are at present on the declint ; many maniU^turet
and works employing numerous hands at Plymouth. Two
agricultural societies, but both ill attended and on-th« de-
cline.
Editcaiion of the Poor, or Loner Clcutei. Vancouver concludes
his report by some pages of observations which, happily, are
seldom equalled in illiberality, and viewing the subject as we
do, they compel as to look on him as an enemy to human na-
ture, and to turn from his book, his name, and memory with
feelings of dislike. " It is an incontrovertible truth," he
says, " that the restless disposition of the Irish, and their emi-
gration to America, is owing to their being generally instruct-
ed to read and write. The disposition of the Scotch and Ger-
mans to emigrate, arises from the same reason, and the Eng-
lish peas mt under the same influence, will be acted on in the
same manner." He " respectfully submits to the consideration
of the Honorable Board, the propriety of opposing any mea-
sure that may rationally be supposed to lead to such a fatal
issue."
Marshal, whose considerate and humane spirit justly objects
to the term peasantry, as at all applicable to the operative
classes ofBritain, has the following excellent remarks on this
subject.
With respect to the emigration of the Irish, " well it is," he
says, " for Ireland and America, that they do so. The one is
overstocked with the class that furnishes work-people ; the
other wants enlightened workmen. Of slaves and savages it
has enow. The unlettered Irish stay at home, to riot, plot,
andwiurder ; to commit acts of treason, stratagem, and spoil ;
or emigrate to England, to revel, awfiile, in outrage, and be
hanged."
On Vancouver's ideas on education, lie observes, " After
some other groundless arguments, the Reporter sums up in
Italics, and with the aid of foreign tongues, in the following
ultra-royal manner. ' In short, the peasant's mind should
never be inspired with a desire to amend his circumstances
by the quitting of his cast' (this, says M., is Hindoo),
' but every means the most tienevolent and feeling heart
can desire, should be employed to make that' situation as
comfortable and as happy to him as ]x>ssible ; and to which end
nothing more essential could contribute than by exciting a
gentral emulation to excel in all their avocations, even to those
of breaking stones for a lime-kiln, or for repairing the high-
ways.' 'Hear, hear!' says M. — 'This is English.' Good
heaven ! And is there an Englishman (or a Dutchman
— they are brothers in sentiment) with; nerve enough to
write the two first lines above quoted ! ! ! He surely could not
know that many men of ' the brightest genius,' and who are
much more estimable members of a community ; many great
and good men— have, in England, been moulded and nurtured
in the ' peasant cast. ' "
" Fortunately for society, in England, the writer's exotio
notions have not taken root. Seminaries, for civilizing the
children of the laboring classes, have been, and are rapidly
increasing."
" In a civilized nation, earl;^ schooling tends to reclaim
children from savage propensities, and to prepare them for
civilized society; inculcates a propriety of liehavior, one of the
very first lessons a child should be induced to learn in a civilized
nation. In the savage state, savage manners may be deemed a
virtue, as being, ..in that state, conducive to self-preserva-
tion."
" Attendance in a school inures children to a requisite d^ree
of restraint; and a division of time^ employs their minds, and
prevents idleness, and other vicious habits, from taking root ;
thus tending to raise them to the rank of rational beings.
While the unfortunate offspring of indigence, that are suffered
to loiter away their early days on commons, in lanes, and bye-
places, acquire habits of indolence and pilfering ; give a loose to
their own wills and unrestrained tempers ; commit acts of mis-
chief, and add to them the guilt of lying, (the seed-bed of
fraud) to screen them from correction."
" The discipline of a well-governed school impresses on
youthful minds subordination, industry, patience, and its
consequent, perseverance; and thus habituates them to receiva
instructions."
Where Vancouver is at present we do not know ; we hope he
may long live to witness the extension of education which is
now taking place, not only in this, but in alniost^ every country
santry, who may ever happen to read the above extracts, wi
ithei
and we hope all those whom he designates pea-
" .. - - - ill see
the necessity of fortifying themselves by knowledge.and good
conduct, against the degradation attendant upon ignorance and
vice.
7039. CORNWALL. A peninsular hilly surface, of 753,484 acres, remarkable for its mines, and of late
jjreatly improveii in its agriculture, the object of which is chiefly corn. It is the country of Sir H. Davy,
who may be considered as having eminently contributed to agricultural science by his agricultural che-
mistry. The inhabitants have been remarkable from the time of the Romans for their mildness and
complacency of temper, urbanity, Jjospitality, courteousness, and liberality. {Fraser's Cornwall, 17M.
Pargan's Cornwall, 1810. Marshal's Review, 1817.)
2. Property.
Very much divided, sulxlivided, and veiatiously intermixed.
Estates from twenty acres to .500 acres, very few exceeding
4001. per annum. Many gentlemen and clergymen in this
county occupy their own estates and glel)es, and keep their
grounds in a very superior state of cultivation. The manage-
ment of great estates is generally given to attomies.
Kntailed ettatet. " I was in hopes that I had been a singular
sufferer in Cornwall, from this kind of deceptive tenure; it
would then not have been worthy of notice ; but injmy excursions
through the county, I have met with fellow -sufferers, and with
others who are likely to become so. As such cases have oecur-
red, and mav occur again, it fjehoves every man, who is about
to occupy a farm for a term by lease, to make enquiry whether
it be an entailed estate or not ; l)ecause the possessor having
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate fike that of other peninsular situations lying far to
the south and west, inconstant as to wind and rain, and mild
as to heat and cold. Plants, shrnbs, and even the most hardy
trees on the sea-coast, sustain much injury from the violence of
the westerly wind, and the salt spray of the sea, which it drives
w ilh (treat force before it ; nence crops of wheat and turnips have
been totally destroyed. After a storm, the plants have their
roots much torn, and their leaves corroded and shrivelled as if
scorched, and taste of a pungent saltness. Trees and shrubs
shrink and lean away to the eastward, and appear as if clipped
by the gardener's shears. The only shrub which seems to bear
the sea air is the tamarisk.
Surjtice remarkably unennal ; ascents and descents toUow m
rapid succession ; some hills very steep.
Suit generallv slaty, and loamy, mixed in a manner that ren-
ders it almost impossible to designate tl>e boundaries and extent
of each. ^ .
Minerals chiefly tin and copper ; for the former Cornwall has
been famousfrom the remotest antiquity, as some think, from
the d<iyj of the Phoenicians.
4 C 4
the power of letting for his own life only, in case of his death,
the occupier is left entirely at the mercy of liis successor."
{Pargan's Survey, '2'i.)
3. Buildings.
Old farra-liouses of mud and thatch ; the lower dirisions »o».
sist of a kitchen, and an apartment dignified with the namt ef
1128
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
parlor, but called (provtnclalK) the higher side, a cellar ; and
dairy-room, but these latter are frequently under a lean-to roof ;
the rooms very low, not ceiled, and two bed-chambers over ; the
floors of the chambers are of oak plank ; the ground-floor, earth,
lime-ash, or flag-stone.
The farm-offices built of the same materials, consisting of a
bam, cow and ox sheds and hog-sties, stand in confusion about
the dwelling. The intervening and circumjacent ground is
called the farmer's town-place ; for as to that essential appen-
(iEige, a regular farm-yard, it is a convenience not often met
with in any part of the county.
Some good new farmeries erected centrically on newly inclosed
)ands. One for forty -sis acres h^ a very neat elevation, (jig. 802.)
^aMis
pnd the plan {^fig. 803.) contains a feeding place, into which the
turnips are carried (the cart being backed into it), and from
■whence the sheep and oxen are fed («); pl^cefor a yoke of oxen(o),
either for soiling or winter-
feeding : the oxen are tied to
posts (cc); there are troughs
for turnips (d) ; cribs, or
racks for hay or straw (e) ;
lean-to for store sheep (/) j
lean-to, in which half a
score sheep are kept to fat-
ten, the number being com-
pleted again as soon as any
are sold {g) ; fodder house,
used as a bam (A) ; open shed for tools (/); hanging doors
with bolt.in side, and through which the fodder is handed to
supply the cattle, and is thus kept always dry {k) ; door and
staircase leading up to the wool-chamber (/)• The stairs rise
quick so as to be quite out of the way of the ox feeding in
that side of the house.
Cottages. " I had occasion often, in my dreary walks, during
jny survey, to take shelter in some of these miserable dwellmgs,
?ind found the poor inhabitants busy in placing their bowls,
crocks, and pans, to catch the waters pouring in at the roof.
However, the meanest cottage generally has that great source
pf comfort, a garden, attach^ to i^." Some very comfortable
plans of cottages by Capt, Penson, of Ethy, are' described by th«
surveyor.
803
IK-' D^ 0 K3=
D4] Q
4. Occupation.
Farms from three or four to three or four hundred acres,
mostly from thirty to fifty pounds a year. Leases on rack-
rented farms generally from tourteen to twenty-one years.
5. Implements.
No country affords a greater variety of wheel and other car-
riages, The harvest waggon {Jig. 804.) has a lade before and
behind, and is open in the middle; it carries about 31X1,
sheaves of com. When drawn by hotses shafts are applied;
when by oxen, a pole. An arch of boards over the hind wheels
prevents the com from bearing on them.
The wain is another light useful carriage for carrying corn
and hay ; it consists of a light open long body, borne upon two
wheels ; a railed arch over the wheels prevents the load from
bearing upon them ; it will carry from 200 to 250 sheaves,
which are secured by ropes, it having no sides or lades.
A sledge for com, hay, or faggots [Jig. 805 a.) ; slide butt (6> j
quarry butt for earth or stones (c) ; dung-pots or dung-panniers.
(d) for dung or stones ; and panniers with hooks for faggot
wood and sheafed com (e> are also in use.
805
Box hand barrows, and grass barrows ( J!g. 806.) are also l
pn a few farms.
806
The Comish plough is a small swing plough with a straight
piece of wood as, a mould board.
Barn boards for threshing on are four or five planks laid
across beams, but about one third of an inch asunder, so that
the com as it is threshed may fall through and not be bruised.
In some places, wheat is separated from the straw by beating it
on a barrel or inclined plane, usually bv women. Fences gene-
rally made of stone, or raised banks of stone, slate, and earth
sometimes planked.
6. Arable Land.
The pilez, or naked oat, cultivated on wom-out ground; its
straw very fine, and reckoned nearly as good as hay. A quan-
tity of potatoes exported yearly ; but not enough of wheat
grown for home consumption.
7. Grass.
Chieflv near towns and villages on sheltered slopes, and the
uncultivated lands known as moors, downs, crofts, and wastes ;
some meadows watered.
8. Gardens.
Common to cottages and farms, and better attended to than
j)n most counties ; orchards also attached to many farms.
9. Woods and Plantationf not abundant. "^
10. Improvements.
Draining practised to a considerable extent, and one or Inst
examples of embanking.
The maritime situation of Cornwall presents the farmer witll
three valuable manures, fish, sea-sand, sea-weed. In some
years the farmers who live in the vicinity of fishing towns,
have an oj)portunity of buying the bruised and small pilchards :.
which being deemed unfit for market are rejected, and called
" cort'; " four cartloads of twelve bushels, are considered a»
the proper quantity far an acre. The nsual mode ot manage-
ment is to bury the coff in a pile of earth, deep enough to se-
cure it from dora and hogs, adding to the pile a suflScient
quantity of sand; well mixing and turning all together, after
having lain some months. Without this practice, the fislj
would not decay sufficiently for perhaps a year or two. The
fish are sometimes used alone; they are then spread thinly
over the ground before the plough, and turned under furrow^
One pilchard cut up small, will amply dress one square foot of
ground.
The old salt which has been used to cure the pilchard, and
judged to be no longer fit for that purpose, is advantageously
applied for a barley or a turnip crop ; twenty to thirty bushels
per acre. It is commonly hand sown, in the manner of com ;
and it should remain on the land five or six days before the
seed is sown. It is best adapted to light lands, particularly
furze crops. Twenty bushels per acre have been strewed over-
grass lands, and over a wheat crop, in the month of March,
with evident advantage.
Another article of manure obtained from this useful fish
is the liquor which drains from it while under the process
of curing, consisting of blood, brine, and some oil which
escapes, and which is caught in i)its ; the diligent farmer cart*
this away in casks, for the purpose of pouring over and mixing
with hisjiiles of earth and sand, which it greatly enriches.
11. Live Stock.
Devonshire cattle prevail, but it is only among the more en-
lightened and spirited breeders that the genuine North Devon
are to be met with. Cows are kept in winter in sheds open Uf.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF JERSEY.
1129
the south ; one of which for seven cows and a fatting ca\{{fig.
807.)> described by the surveyor, contains cribs for hay or straw
In winter, and lucem, vetches, &c. in summer (a) ; troughs for
turnips, potatoes, cabbages, &c. (6) ; beds or platforms for the
cows to stand and lie on (c) ; gutters sunk two or three inches
to receive the dung ((/) ; head-wav and feeding place (e) ; dark
place for fatting a calf (/) ; the division outside (g) for a cow
that has, or i:> near having, a calf. She is not tied up.
807
.
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Vbf
J"
I
h
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d
0 f
e
h c
i S
i
i
The cows are tied to posts by means of a strong chain and
rope, which by means of a ring runs on a long staple.
Oxen very generally worked both m plough and cart ; ihod
in brakes, and yoked in the bow.
Shety a mixed breed ; Cornish breed lost among crosses.
Hurset a small hardy active breed, well adapted to the hilly
nature of the county.
Cornish hoe always white, long-sided, razor-hacked animal ;
crossing by the Devon, SuiTblk, and Leicester breed, has taken
oft' length and sharjmess, and added breadth and depth ; a
mixture of Chinese and Suffolk is another variety.
12. Political Economy,
Public roads tolerably good ; lanes bad. Some traveller*
who met Pargan the reporter, hoped he would notice with re-
prehension, the straw-traps that the farmers lay in some of the
cross-roads, and which, concealing the deep ruts, endanger
their horses, gigs, and their own necks.
Manufactures few; some of woollen, carpets, and paper.
The three great staple commodities for export, are tin, fish,
and copper, the moor-stone, China stone for porcelain, barley,
oats, potatoes, and some wheat.
7040. The islands of JERSEY, GUERNSEY, ALDERNEY, and SARK, which lie in the Bay of St.
Michel, and torm the remnant of the ancient Duchy of Normandy, though naturally beloneine to the con-
tinent of France, yet, for nine centuries have been subject to the British Government. The agriculture
of all of them is nearly the same ; but we shall follow the Reporter to the Board of Agriculture in consi-
dering first, that ot Jersey, and next Guernsey. These islands are chiefly remarkable for their breed of
cattle, their parsneps, and the degree of perfection to which many plants arrive in the open air, which are
kept in England un'ier glass. [Quayle's General View, Sfc. of the Norman Islands, 1812.)
7041. Jersey. 39,580 acres of warm and rather moist climate, diversified soil, and features ; the soil is for
the most part hght, ontgranite or schistus, and there is some peat and marsh. No calcareous soil or rocks ;
granite and gneiss quarries worked; and granite pillars of fifteen feet in length extracted. Water
abounds ; and beUef is still.entertained in the efficacy of the diving rod for discovering springs
1. Property.
Minutely divided, and mostly m the hands of a resident
yeomanry. Some singular laws and customs as to tenures, as
for example, the retrait ligruiger, and reirait seigneurial imfuedal ;
also the legitimation of children not bom in wedlock, by the
marriage of their parents, as in Scotland, and most other
countries of Europe excepting England.
2. Buildings.
Those of all classes substantially built of stone, sometimes
rough cast, neatly lined in itnitation of squared stone work.
Farm-houses generally covered with thatch or pantiles. Cot-
tages generally of stone, with a vine in front.
3. Occupation.
Farms small, and fields dimmutive; farmers frugal, and
their wives good managers and industrious.
4. Imple?nents.
Plough with wheels, resembling that of Hampshire; some-
times clrawn by two bullocks, and six or eight horses ; a sort
of large plough used for ploughing deep, for parsneps, and
held in partnership by several farmers; instances of tliis plough
being drawn by six oxen, and sixteen horses, (p. 64.)
5. Enclosing.
Fields very small and irregularly shaped, and the fences of
high earthen mounds, often twelve feet wide at least, and six
feet high, crowned with a hedge, or timber tree* and pollards.
6. Arable Land.
Soil deep, and deep ploughing generally practised, but no
Improvement in it tor ages; no naked fallows. The spelt
wheat {Triticum speUa), here called tremais frumentum tri-
mestre, here enters into rotation ; it is sown in February, pro-
duces short stiff straw, is difficult to thresh, but never lodges.
Parsneps are grown by every farhier, and either by the spade
culture alone, b\ the plough and spade, or by the small and great
plough ; any soil in good heart and tilth suits them, but pe-
culiarly, a deep loam ; and in the same spot, generally are
raised beans, pease, cabbage, and occasionally potatoes.
When the ploughing or digging is completed, the field Is
once harrowed ; straight lines are then drawn acrass, by
means of a gardener's rake, u.sually from north to south; wo-
men then proceed with dibbles, and set the beans in rows, at
a distance of four inches, or five inches from bean to bean ; in
four, three, and sometimes in two ranks of beans, leaving in-
tervals of between five and six feet, between each of the sown
rows. In the use of the dibble and in dropjiing the beans, the
women have acquired considerable dexterity. In many in-
stances, they are followed by children, who drop into each
hole made by the dibble, after the bean, three or four pease;
the parsnep seed is then sown, at the rate of one-third to one-
sixth of a bushel to the acre.
The parsnep, not usually relished elsewhere as an article of
himmi fnod, is here consumed by all classes of people ; it is
eaten with meat, with milk, and with butter ; but not, as is
the common mode of using it as human food in England, with
salt fish ; or as in Ireland, together with potatoes.
The next most valuable application of this root is hog-feed-
[net ; at first it is given to the animal in a raw state, afterwards
boiled or steamed, and finally, for a week or a fortnight with
bean and oatmeal. A hog, treated ui this way, Ls sufficiently
fatted for kiUing in about six weeks. Its flesh is held superior
to that arising from any other Ibod, and does not waste in boil-
liiillocks are also fatted with parsneps, in about three months ;
their flesh is here considered of superior flavor to any other
beef, and commands, on that account, an additional half-
penny in the pound on the price. To milch-cows they are also
usually given; on this diet the cream assumes a yellow colour ;
by the accounts here given, it appears, in proportion to the milk,
to be more abundant, than when the animal is kept on any
other food whatever. When the cow receives at the rate of
thirtv-five pounds per day with hav, seven quarts, ale measure,
of tlie milk produce seventeen ounc.s of butier. It is generally
allowed, that the flavor of the butler is suiwrior to any other
produced in winter.
(icese are sometimes shut up with the liogs, to fatten on
parsneps, which they will eat raw. The root is also given
boiled; and for a week before killing, they .ire fed with oats
or barley only. Horses eat this root greedily; but in this
island it is never given them, as it is alleged, that when on
this food, their eyes are injured. About MorlaLs, horses are
not only ordinarily fed on i]>arsneps, but they are considered
as the biest of all food, superior even to oats.
Lucem a good deal cultivated, and found productive.
Hups to a moderate extent ; the reporter could not find that
the; tencrium scordonia was employed as a substitute, as rela-
ted in some botanical works. A species of cyperus (most Ukely
oarex aranaria), used for twisting into halters and other rope*.
7. Grass Lands.
Of very limited extent, but meadows very productive.
8. Gardens and Orchards.
Very productive, and in general carefully attended to. Chau.
montelle pears brought to great perfection, and with grapes,
bulbs of the Guernsey lily, parsnep seed, and some flower
seeds, sent to the London fruiterers and seedsmen.
Orchards generally attached to all farms. Jersev cider in
iliuch esteem, and a principal article of export. Most of the
farm-houses have large arched doors, made wide on purpose
for the passage of cider casks. A valuable work on the subject
of ciderby the Hev. F. Le Conteur, entitled Apercu tur la cul-
ture des Pmnmea, Jersey, 1S06. The pomeril, lamm^, noir-toit,
and gros-amer, the cider-apples at present in vogue.
9. Woods and Plantations.
Very limited extent, and the waste ground a little more so ;
only about 300 acres of rocky summits of hills; these might be
planted.
10. Improvements.
No calcareous manures found on any of the Norman islands.
Sea shells tried on clay with great advantage ; and sea weed*
(vrak whence vrack). Irrigation in a simple manner, practised
in the narrow vallies from time immemorial. Sea encroaching
in some places, and jetties and embankments proposed, but no-
thing done.
11. Live Stock.
Aldemey cattle well known. Though there can be n»
doubt that the breed was derived from the contiguous conti-
nental coast, yet it is not known that in any part of it at pre-
sent, the same breed is preserved in equal puritv. Next, per-
haps, to the possession otvraic, the treasure highest in a Jersey-
man's estimation, is his cow. She seems to be a constant ob-
ject of his thoughts and attention: that attention she certainly
deserves, but she absorbs it too exclusively ; his horse he treat.<»
unkindly ; his sheep most barbarously ;" but on this idolized
cow, his affections are rivetted as firmly as those of an eastern
Bramin on the same animal. It is "true that in summer
she must submit to be staked to the ground ; but five and .six
times in the day her station is shifted. In winter she is warmly
housed by night, and fed with the precious i>arsnep. When
she calves she is regaled with toast, and with the nectar of the
island, cider, to which powdered ghiger is added. Could she
be jirevailed upon to participate in all her master's tastes, there
is no doubt but that he would willingly bestow on' her the
quintescence of vniic itself.
To guard the jiurity of her genealogy, and to prevent others
from being conveyed to England, under the semblance of
Jersey cows, he has invoked the interference of the insular le-
gislature. t)n the Sth of August, 1789, an act of the States
passed, by which the importation into Jersey of cow, heifer,
calf, or bull, is prohibited under the i>enalty of aOOlivres, with
the forfeiture of boat and tackle. A fin? of fifty livres is also
imposed on every sailor on bcnrd, who does not inform of the
attempt. The orfending animal is to be slatightcred, without
mercy on the spot, and its flfsh distributed among the poor.
The same act of the States directs, that when cattle of the
enumerated descriptions are exported, a certificate of their be-
ing natives of the island is to accompanv them. On the
vessel's return, another certificate is required, that the same
identical number, and no more, have been landed.
There is indeed, at present, little d;mg(r of the occurrence
of that evil, which the Jersey-man so much deprecates, for
he will not siieedily become a convert to any heretical opinions
which he may happen to hear fi-om an Englishman ; for
in this, as in every thing else, it may be observed, that
the rooted opinions of a people are more powerful than any
law.
The oxen are distinguished >y rising to a stature and bulk
1130
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Paiit IV.
much superior to the frmale. Persons who have not »een any
other than Aldemey cows, would be surprised to witness
the size attained by some oxen of the same breetl, which may
be seen in the Jersey carts.
The object of the dairy is butter : the cows are milked thrice
a day from the middle of Ajjril to the middle of July, and
twice a day during the rest of the year; the milk is kept in
glazed earthen-ware dishes till it throws up the cream, which is
separated, kept five or six days, and then churned by itself.
The prime milkers are not generally exported. After the young
cow has borne a calf or two, it is sometimes significantly
remarked, " qu'elle est buniie your i Angletcrre ; " and she goes
to the cow-jobber.
As to the merits of the Jersey corvs the reporter observes, if
the palm can be contested with them by any, it will be by
a breed little known in the south, the Bunlop (in Ayrshire)
cattle, a cross betweun the short-homed and the Aldemey.
Sheep a bad shouldered coarse boned breed, small homed,
and between a black and brown color ; largest flock in the
island forty I weight of carcjise fifty pounds ; in the winter
many perish from want, and many by dogs.
Horses a hardy small breed, very ill treated.
Srvine, white, long-legged, flap-eared.
Geese axe plucked alive, when the feathers drop, as an article
of economy, and also to prevent the craiing-ground being in-
jured. It is also thought a relief to the animal.
Pigeotu. Here, as in France, the Droit de Colmnlner is at-
tached to certain residences; but not exclusively, as appeared
to be the case in Frant:e, to those held by a noble tenure.
Dees. The flavor of Jersey lioney highly vaunted, probably
from the numerous flowering plants, legumes, fruit trees, gar-
den plants left to seed, &c.
Iz. Political Economy.
Roads numerous, narrow winding, crossing each other, and
consequently intricate; flanked by high earthen fences over-ca-
nopied by trees. Jn rainy weather they are canals of mud. Two
carts meeting each other on the chemin du rot, could not pass ;
one or the other must back till it leached the nearest field;
gateway, or some other recess, to which it might retreat,
during the passage of the other. To this little circumstance in
their internal economy, and the disputes which it engendered,
may, perhaps, in part, be attributed the remarkable proficiency
of the Jersey populace m swearing.
Manufactures few : some boots, shoes, and cordage exported :
an oyster fishery to the east of the island. Knglish law as to
poor rates exists ; but as the poor are few, it is not necessary to
act on it. Dialect of Jersey a corrupted French, and a bad
English.
7042. Guernsey. A rocky hilly surface, of which 8000 acres are under cultivation ; the climate rather
moi.ster than that of Jersey, and the soil generally light, on granite, gneiss, or schistus. The operative
classes resemble those of England more than those of Jersey,
Agriculture much the same as in Jersey ; Guernsey fi^s much
esteemed. Some land embanked and sold with permission of
government, and the produce applied to improving the roads.
Live atock. Guernsey cattle are larger-boned, taller, in every
respect more stout and coarsely made than those of Jersey.
The front is wide, homs divergent and thick, but not long;
never with the graceful short curve observed m some Jersey
cattle, and in the short-horned breed. The dewlap is also
coarse and pendant. They axe deep-chested, and the carcase,
compared with their neighbors', more bulky. Their coat
is also not so fine : and the colors, though varying as in Jer-
sey, on the whole appear more dark. Some, but not so many,
are found cream-colored, and the breed may safely be pro-
nounced more stout and hardy. In one respect, a similarity
appears in the best milkers ineach island : these are observed
to have a yellow circle round the eye ; the hide yellowish ; and
in particular, the skin of the tail at its extremity appears of a
deep yellow, approaching an orange color. The same circum-
stance has been since observed to exist in good milkers of other
breeds ; but in Guernsey at least, on examination, this yellow-
ness is general and striking. The butter produced bv the
milk of each breed is also naturally of a rich yellow color.*
As to the question of superiority between the cattle of either
island, it is settled most decidedly by the inhabitants of each,
as may be supposed, in their own favor. The people of Jersey
have gone furthest in support of their opinion. By the third
section of their law, of 17.S9, respecting cattle, they expressly
apply " atuv iles voisines," the same penalties and restriction on
importation of cows, heifers, and bulls, as on importation from
any other quarter. Into (iuemsfiv, where no similar restric-
tions exist, Jersey cows have occasionally been imported. The
comparison between cows of each breed, as milkers, leads to
that result which, in the place where it is made, might be an-
ticipated.
>»ext it may be noticed, that though the exportation of
Guenxsey cows, compared with that of the same animals in
Jersey, is not extensive, yet that their price in Guernsey is
higher. One was noticed for which a farmer had odiered
a price of thirty guineas, for his own use ; and the offer refused.
As to the quality of the butter also, in each island, it may be
observed, that the preference is usually given to that of Guern-
sey. In this article indeed, in some degree the diiference may
arise from their different practices in the process of churning.
The cream is here left unskimmed, till the milk becomes coa-
gulated : on the third day milk and cream are churned toge-
ther. As little attention has yet been given to the improve-
ment of the breed of cattle, as in Jersey.
Roadt improved under the government of Sir John Doyle^.
Bricks and tiles manufactured, and some spirits, which for-
merly found its way into England, under the name of French
brandy.
Sect. II. Agricultural Survey of Wales.
7043. A hilly mountainous surface of 5,206,»00 acres, vi'ith a climate colder than that
of England, and more moist in the proportion of thirty-four, the average number of the
inches of rain which falls in Wales, to twenty-two, the number for England. The soil
is generally of an inferior description, and the great proportion of mountainous surface is
lit only for pasturage and planting. Little exertion was made in cultivation till the
middle of the eighteenth century : from that period to the present, agriculture has been
gradually improving. A general view of it, as in 1 809, has been published by the Rev.
W. Davis, of Montgomeryshire, whose work we shall adopt as our guide.
7044. NORTH WALES. 1,974,510 acres, chiefly of mountainous surface, in six counties, including the
Isle of Anglesea. The climate humid and cold in elevated situations, but warmer in the vales and near the
sea. The soil moory, coarse, clayey, and otherwise unfavorable in most places, excepting in the vales
on the banks of streams. Minerals chiefly copper, lead, and iron. The famous Mona and Paris Copper
Mines in Anglesea, have been worked since 1768 ; lead is chiefly worked in Flintshire. Excellent slate is
found in various parts of Caernarvonshire, and worked to a great extent, especially on Lord Penrhyn's
estate. Marble is worked in Anglesea, and limestone, freestone, and other stones and minerals abound in
different places.
1. Property. '
Estates from thirty shillings to 30,000/. The effect of the
custom of gavelkind, whicli obtained all over Wales, was a too
muiute division of property. Equality and poverty went hand
in hand. But when the custom was abolished, and alienation
permitted, an accumulation of property was the necessary con-
sequence, wliich became very prevalent in the two last centu-
ries : and havini; arrived at its maximum early in the eigh-
teenth century, it has, since that period, shown some instances
of retrogradation : but subdivision and accumulation of estates
will naturally fluctuate. Here are no petty lairds or tacksmen,
as in Scotland and Ireland.
Gentltmen of moderate income, and residing in the country,
transact the affairs of their own estates. Those of greater pro-
perty commit the whole care of rents, repairs, and contracts of
sale or purchase, to the management of agents; who, in gene-
ral, are persons well quali(i(.d for the undertaking, brought up
solely to the business, and make it a point of honor and inte-
grity to do justice to the landlord, and a ])oint of conscience
not 'to oppress the teiuint. Some of the lawyer agents, having
by their own indiscretion and rapacity destroyed the very tns
«!«<« of litigation in the people, necessarily diminished the num-
ber of their successors.
Only two copyhold tenements have been noticed in the whole
district. All the other estates are held either mediately or im.
Kiedlfttely in tapilt of the King, by a kind of mixed tenure, be-
I tween the feudal and allodial, going under the common appel-
lation of freehold.
2. Buildings.
Some fine castles, as Powys, Penrhyn, and Chirk.' Of farm-
eries, about seven in ten are in a very wretched state ; good
new ones in Anglesea, and Caernarvonshire, Flintshire, and
Merionethshire.
Cottages], in these and other counties are truly the habita-
tions of wretchedness. One smoky earth, for it should not be
styled a kitchen ; and one damp litter-cell, for it cannot be
called a bed-room, are frequently all the sjiace allotted to a
laborer, his wife, and four or five children. The consequences
are obvious ; filth, disease, and, frequently, premature death :
and tliey would be more obvious, had not these evils an almost
unsubduable vieor of constitution to encounter. Three-
fourths; of the victims of the putrid fever, perish in the me-
phitic air of these dwellings. However, in some parts, espe-
cially near lime works, mines, collieries, &c. the example of
one neat cottager is followed by others. Here, their dwellings
are frequently white-washed; their children are industrious
in collecting road manure, which is preserved within circles of
loose stones, for the use of their gardens. These minutiae,
though trifling, are worthy of record, as they are descriptive
of their general character.
Some exceptions in difTerent places, and especially on Lord
Penrhyn's estate. The reporter gives an excellent plan of a
Book I.
AGEICULTURE OF NORTH WALES.
1131
eottn^a for a cottage farm, and also plani of farms of differ-
ent sizes, adapted to such cottages. , , , .
The cortatft/ann Itoute {Jig. 808.) contain* a kitchen (a), bcd-
808
—
Vn
H 1
I
C
C
f
_J ■
a
12 □
d,
9
i"
H
l:
izL
room or parlor (i), pantry (e), bam-floor (rf), two bays (e
and f ), cowhouse (,jf), calving place and calf house (A), pigsty
(«), and stairs (k) to garret and bedrooms. , , ,
One roWflife ^(Jnre for Uie same house, and nme acres of land,
contains seven small enclosures (./i^. 809 «.). including the par-
den. One for six acres, contains six enclosures (6) includmg
the garden.
a 809 h
'■^^■^.■■g^>^»^^^.^-=»»'^ g'S^ygj^?-^
3. Occupation.
Largest farm of cultivable land about 600 acres, on the
mountains lOtK) acres and upwards, at one shilling, or one
shilling and sixpence per acre : size on the increase, and iid-
mitted to be favorable to wealth by the reporter, who adds
" yet that wealth should be valued, not in proportion to its
national aggregate, or quantity in tlie abstract, but as it is
widely and generally diffused. An analogy exists between
monopoly in all its forms, and a macrocephaloas consti'.ution,
which never can jHwsess the energy of a body symmetrically
proi>ortionate.
Farmers, properly so called, are, as we may naturally ex-
pect themjto,be, rat her too tenacious of old customs. It is, how-
ever, illiberal to charge them with obstinacy, in delaying the
adoption of pretended improvements; for, as it is not all gold
that glitters, neither is one half of the patent implements, and
machines, or one-tenth of the writings of visionary theorists,
better than lumber and trash ; for which the farmer should not
throw away his hard-earned money, before they are put to the
test of experience, by those who have opulence enough to bear
disappointment ; and who, from the advantage of superior
education, may be better quaUfied to form a judgment ot the
probable etfects. Show the farmers their true interest, and, in
general,' their minds are as open to conviction, and as suscep-
tible to reason, as any other class of men whatever.
Leaset out of repute. It cannot be denied that leases have
done gofxl in Scotland. We are, therefore, driven to the ne-
cessity of supposing, that the Scotch and Welsh tenantry are
very different kinds of beings. The circumstance that renders
the Welsh leases ineffectual, Ls the want of capital ; and what
enhances the evil of this want is, the ignorance of many farm-
cis in the right application of whf t small capital they have. By
tilling too many acres, thev, as well as the public, suffer loss in
every acre. Many a farmer, who has means barely sufficient
to manage a farm of 30/. a vear, tolerably well, thinks a farm
under lOtW. or 150/. beneath his notice ; and granting a lease
to such a tenant, who has not one-fourth of the capital requi-
site to carry on improvements, would be preposterous.
I>ord Penrhyn executed draining, fences, roads, and all im-
provements requested .by his tenants, and approved of by his
agents, at five pounds per cent, on their amount added to the
rent.
4. Implements.
The original Welsh plough, a clumsy wooden fabric, still in use
in Caernarvonshire, and a few places in other counties ; aliout
1G60, Lammas's variety of the Hotheram introduced, and now
common ; Scotch plou-h now generally known and approved ;
the other improved implements tried by the amateurs.
.f). Arable Land. , ^ , . ^
" That farmers convert too much of the lands which were
formerly in tillage, into pasture, is but a groundless cause of
alarm. ' Farmers should, and always will, consult their own
interests; and whether the conversion of their lands into
tillage or into pasture be found the most profitable to them-
selvS, the same will eventually be found most beneficial also to
The corn raised in North Wales not equal to its consumjition";
fallows general and defended as necessary. In Anglesea, a ro.
tation of five white crops in succession ; most of theni barely
return the expenses. Very little wheat pown, mam coin-
crop oats, and next barley. Scarcely any flax or hemp grown ;
iwtatoes iieginning to become a general crop. On the whole,
the inanai^emeiit of arable lancT wretched, excepting by the
amateurs or proprietors.
6. Gra^^s. , ,^. , ,
Land weU adapted for tillage ; is commonly left too long in
pasture ; bv which neglect it becomes mossy, and m some
instances covered with ant-hills. It has been said of some
meadow-lands in Wales, that a man may mow in them all day,
and carrv home his day's work at night. This may appear
hvperbolical; but it is so far true, that in some meadows the
mark of the swath never disappears ; and a mower may be cer-
tain of having followed the same line, to a half-inch width, for
twenty or anv numbfr of years back. In such meadows, the
trouble of raking the hay together is the great work of harvest.
In the ea»tem parts of the counties of Denbigh, Flint, and
Montgomery, consisting of the most fertile vales, the principal
, object of the farmers is to convert their hay and graKi, as much
I as much as possible, into butttr and cheese.
I In the hilly parts of the afore-named counties, and in Angle-
I sea, Caernarvon, and Merionydd, their peculiar province is to
I rear cattle, to be sold lean to the graziers of other districts.
1 There are but a few acres of land tfiat will fatten cattle ; the
vales of the Severn and Vyrnwy in Monmouthshire, the banks
of the Uee in Flintshire, and the vale of the Clwyd in Denbigh-
shire, are the principal places where the pastures afford suffi-
cient nutriment for that purpose.
7. Gardens.
Much wanted for the cottagers, especially in Caernarvon and
Merionethshire. Too many poor cottagers have not as much
as a leek or a potatoe, except what they either beg or buy. In
the greater part of the district, the planting of orchards would
be thought a very wrong application of the soil. On the bor-
ders of England are some orchards ; and in plentiful years, a
few farmers make either cider or perry for their own beverage.
8. IVoods.
Have been abundant in former times, especially in Anglesea ;
now very scarre there and in Caernarvonshire ; more in Den-
bighshire, especially round Chirk Castle, Wyniistay, Erthing,
Vale of Clwyd, &c. Extensive young plantations made in
these counties especially at Wyniistay and Ixird Penrhyn's.
A great deal of woods, and various young plantations in Meri-
onethshire and much timber, wood lands, and planta-
tions in Montgomeryshire, which will long be the best
wooded county in North Wales. Proprietors planting
upon a targe scae, and not raising trees from seed in
their own nurseries, formerly used to procure seedlings
of larch, firs, and pines, &c. from Scotland; but ow-
ing to their heating in close* bundles, and otherwise
l2Sel^ damaging upon the road, not above one-fourth, and fre-
f quentfy not above one-eighth, the number, could be ex-
; pected to grow. They are now more given to encourage
( nurserymen at home, and nurseries are accordingly esta-
'" blished in different parts of the district. " One and two-
year-old seedlings of all sorts of forest trees, nearly as
cheap as in Scotland, reckoning carriage, and one thou-
sand worth two of theirs." This is true when the tenderness
of seedlings, distance of carriage, and length of time, are con-
sidered. Williams, and other nurserymen, ensure trees of
their own growth and planting for a number of years."
9. Improvements.
A marsh of 3000 acres in the southern comer of the island of
Anglesea attempted to be embanked in 1790. The embank-
ment was brought forward from both sides at the same time,
and was intended to be joined in the middle of the marsh,
where the force of the tide was greatest: when within about
twenty roods of a complete junction, owing to some of the
proprietors withholding their dividends, the work was de-
serted, after expending nearly I'i.OOO/. and when a few pounds
more would have completed the whole, as the materials were
already carried on the spot. On the 23d of January, 1796, an
uncommonly high tide added twenty roods more to the breach,
in which state it now lies. The bank was made of furze fag-
gots, bound with double cordage, covered with sand, then with
sods, and on the sea-side with a stone pavement, eighteen
in.hes deep at the top, and diminishing to nine inches at the
bottom. It was fifty-one yards wide at the base, four yards at
the summit, and five yards high ; the slope of the sea-side to that
of the land-side, as seven to four.
The nnbanktneiit and improvement of Traeth-Mamr and
Traelh-Uychiinsaruls, between Caernarvon and Merionethshiies,
have been above 170 years in contemplation, and never yet
performed. In 1623, Sir John Wynne, of Gwydir, intended to
have brought over Sir Hugh Myddleton, the celebrated en-
gineer, to undertake the work ; but no materials were wasted,
save ink and paper. In the year 1719, some Dutch adventurers
made a proposal to the proprietors, but to no effect. In 1770,
the late Bell Lloyd, Esq., who was always active in works of
public utility, and others, brought the subject afresh under
consideration; at the same time proposing a /learer road
from London to Dublin, across the Traeth-Mawr sands, when
embanked. Golbome, the engineer, was sent down by the
Duke of Ancaster, and two estimates were made. The late
Dr. Worthington was peculiarly active in forwarding the
work. He had gone so far as to procure subscriptions to the
amount of 29,000/. and upwards, when the whole schen^e was
frustrated by the mean spirit and refractoriness of some neigh-
boring proprietors.
In 1809, W. A. JIadocks, Esq. M. P. having a considerable
estate on the Caernarvonshire side, and having there em-
banked Penmorva marsh with great profit (fip. 810 a.) and
founded the village of Tremadoc (/»), commenced embanking
the sands of Traeth-Mawr (c), by cairying out from both
shores an immense bank (</) of stony materials deposited and
left to find their own slope by the washing of the tides. The
two banks were within less than a furlong of being joined in the
middle ; but owing to the force of the tides, and the embar-
rassments of the very spirited proprietor, it was never com-
pleted.
The River Dee Company, established by Act of Parliament
in 1740 ; by several embankments made in the years 1734,1763,
1769, and 1790, on the river Dee, in Flintshire, to keep out the
tide and land-floods, they have lieen enabled to gain 3100 acres,
which are now covered with good crops of com, of lucem,
and of artificial grasses; and the whole redeemed waste is in-
corporated into a township, bearing the very appropriate name
ofSealand.
" In various parts of the coast of Anglesea, and the other man-
time counties of North VV ales, there ls still much to be done by
embanking. ( 'aemarvonshire has been eminently fortunate in
the acquisition of W. A . Madocks among its leading improvers.
Indeed, hLs improvements are of such magnitude and variety,
designed with such ta.ste, and execute<l with such facility, that
a minute report of them would appear, to those who have not
personally visited the iilace, more like the reveries of romance,
than the narrative of genuine description. In harbors, em-
bankments, canals, buildings, roads, plantations, and rural and
commercial improvements in general, nothing less than a Trt
Martoc Guirfe pamphlet c:m do justice to the founder.
10. Livestock.
Cattle and copper the staple e^iports of Anple.-,ea. ^\ hen
numerous herds arehoucht in the island for the Lnalish mar-
kets, they arc compelled to swim in Axo\et across the strait «
1132
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
the MenaS; and although numbers of the weaker sort are
sometimes swept down by the force of the current for some
miles, yet losses seldom or never hajipen. A chain bridge is
now erecting across this strait.
The characteristics of a choice Angleseaox, must agreein most
points with those of a Roman one, as described bv Columella :
coal-black color, with white appendai^es ; remarkably broad
ribs ; high and wide hips ; deep chest ; large dewlap ; flat
ftice; and long horns, turning upwards. Bakewell thought,
that in some points they were nearer his idea of perfection in
shape, than any other he ever saw ; his own improved breed
excepted. Some farmers aspiring at a select stock, by having
their he-calves gelt under their dams, their horns become of a
yellower color, longer, and finer than common ; and, upon the
whole, nearer the present idea of symmetry. The average
weight of their quarters, when fat, at three or four years old,
is from eight to eleven score pounds.
The promontory of Llevn and Evionydd, in Caernarvonshire,
having the same kind of undulated surface, though not al-
together so good a soil as Anglesea, has likewise a breed of
cattle similar in several of thpir characteristics.
The cattle in the remaining part of Caernarvonshire, and in
the whole of the county of Meirionydd, some few select stocks
excepted, seem to be diminutives ot the above breeds of Angle-
sea, Lleyn, and Evionydd; having nothing to recommend
them, save their extreme hardiness, and consequent cheapness
of rearing. The highlands of the counties of Denbigh and
Montgomery abouna with the same puny race. In the vales,
and in the county of Flint, the cattle are of a superior kind,
larger, and of all varieties of colors. The natives of the sea-
coast from Abergelen' to Holywell, and thence along the Dee
towards Cheshire, are reckoned very quick feeders.
Neither good butter nor cheese are made in North Wales by
ordinary farmers.
Sheep. The largest of the native breeds, is that of Anglesea ;
they have white legs and faces, and are generally without
horns.
The second kind of sheep in North Wales, is that peculiar to
the mountains. They have generally white faces and legs ;
some have horns, and others none. The smaller sort of them
weish from seven to nine pounds per quarter; and give wool
from three quarter of a pound, to one pound and a half.
The third kind is peculiar to the Kerry hills in Montgo-
meryshire ; being, perhaps, the only species in North Wales,
which produce perfect wool : that of every other Welsh
hreed bemg more or less mixed with coarse long hairs, called
\>y the manufacturers kemps, making the articles in which they
appear, of much less value. The characteristics of this breed
are, large woolly cheeks, white bunchy foreheads, white legs
covered with wool ; no horns, and a broad beaver-like tail.
They are very hardy, and comparatively tame ; being not so
much disposed to ramble as most other wild sheep. In shape,
however, they are far short of compact symmetry ; and were
this defect improved by the care and attention of the farmers,
the breed would be worthy of being universally adopted
throughout the principality, Thev weigh, when fat, from ten
to fourteen pounds per quarter. I'he average of wool, includ-
ing the whole flock, is ten stone, of fifteen pounds each, from
every 100 sheep.
The fourth kind is the black faced, and fine wooUed sheep,
bred on the Long Mountain, near Welsh Pool ; and on other
hills, on the borders of England, in a line from thence to
Wrexham.
The flavor of the mutton of the sheep feeding upon the
Llanymyneich and Porthywaen lime-rocks, is reckoned very
delicious, by the nice palated pupils of the epicurean school :
and their wool is as fine as any in England ; that of the Kye-
land breed, perhaps, excepted. A person in travelling through
the country, may observe several other kinds of sheep ; being
crosses from some or other of the above four distinct breeds :
but they are in general the offspring of chance and instinct,
without being directed by any choice or system.
The Merinos with their different crosses; the Leicester,
Downs, and others, bred by amateurs.
Horses. In Anglesea, for want of fences, the horses, as well
as the sheep, are commonly fettered. Were colts of the best
shaped breed in existence, thus fettered as soon as they are
weaned from their dams, and the practice used from generation
to generation, their natural gait and shape must necessarilv l)e
changed, at length, into awkwardness and deformity. Few
English stallions have as yet been introduced into the" island ;
and those that have, do not appear to have done much towards
improving the native breed.
In the county of Meirionydd, and the hilly parts of Mont-
gomeryshire, great numbers of ponies, commonly called mer-
lins, are reared. They are exceedingly hardy, having, during
winter as well as summer, only the range of the hills; from
whence they are never brought down until they are three years
old, and fit for sale. What has tended to, and will in time
destroy the shape and good qualities of this hardy race, is,
that in the proiiagation of their species they are Itft entirely to
chance and mstinct.
They are dJven from the hilLs to fairs, like flocks of ^vild
sheej); and the place of sale exhibits, in some degree, an am-
phitheatre, where manhood and ponyhood strive for the vic-
tory. When a chapman has fixed upon his choice at a distance,
the wrestler, being generally the seller's servant, rushes into
the midst of the herd, and seizes the selected animal ; which,
never before touched by human hand, struggles with all its
might to extricite itself; and in some particular situations,
both have tumbled topsy-turvy from the summit of a steep
hill down into a river beneath; the biped still continuing his
grasp, and the quadruped disdaining tamely to submit.
Another breed, somewhat larger than these, and probably
raised bv a series of crossing between the English and the na-
tives, are hardy, handsome, and exceedingly active. Some of
them are too small for the team ; but for the road, under mo-
derate weight, they have no rivals. " They will ascend and de-
scend our mountainous staircases" with the greatest agility ;
and without giving their riders, who have more fool-hardiness
than humanity, the trouble of alighting. The larger kind of
them is exceedingly well adapted for the team, on small or steep
mountainous farms ; where the great strength and sluggishness
of the heavy kind of horses would be egregiously misapplied.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF SOUTH WALES.
113S
The vales of Montgomeryshire have long been noted for an
excellent breed. Some attribute this superiority to a stud of
horses kept l).v Queen Elizabeth, at Park, near Caer Sws, in
the Severn vale ; and to others brought into this part of tlie
Robert, Earl of Shrewsbury.
: parts of the district, and farmers in the
vales of the three counties bordering on England, have for
some time fumished'themselves with excellent draught horses,
both for the coach and the waggon ; which, when the markets
are open, are sold in great numbers. They are generally either
black or hay ; strong, active, well made, and measure from fif-
teen to sixteen hands high.
A custom very injurious to the growth, strength, and sound-
ness of horses, prevails over the greatest part of the six counties,
that is, working them too young ; when their bones have not
attainted firmness from their cartilaginous state,! nor their
power of elasticity, contraction, and extension, which is neces-
sary to endure exertion and labor. Instances have, however,
occurred, of horses bein» worked from two to twenty years old,
without any apparent detriment, saving a diminution of their
natural size.
" The predilection which farmers mnnifest in favor of horse
teams, may, in time, reduce the nation to the dilemma of
ena<^ting a law to repeal the Mosaic, and enjoin the flesh eat-
able."
Tender fiirze, bruised with mallets, or ground in mills erected
for the purpose, was formerly a great article of fodder in the
counties, of Anglesea and Caernarvon. Farmers were then ac-
customed to sow furze for their horses ; and sometimes to let
the crop at a certain price per acre, which was frequently found
to pay better than a crop of wheat ; but Ceres at length seems
to have grown ashamed of such husbandry ; and the lands axe
in general converted to bear more useftil crops.
Hof^s. The original Welsh breed had small ears, which,
probably, bv a cross with the Berkshires, produced the slouch-
ed-eared hogs, which were lately general through the country.
They are slow feeders, and the rearing of them is now upon the
decline, and giving place to that of more improved breeds, es-
pecially Bprkshire.
Bees. " The ancient Welsh held these industrious insects in
preat veneration, and believed them to be of Paradisaical origin."
{Wotton's Leges Wallicte, p. 2.04). For this reason their priests
taught that the chanting of mass was not acceptable to the
Deitv, unless the lighted tapers were made of their wax. Out
of their dulcid scores they brewed their national liquor, me-
theelin, or the medicinal beverage.
When the country was almost one continual wilderness,
almost every hollow "oak was an apiary. Their nests on the
wastes werf the property of the lords of the soil, and rented by
some of their vassals. Ori freehold lands they were claimed by .the
respective proprietors. The discoverer of a swarm was entitled
by law to a reward of onepenny, if they were domesticated bees ;
and one penny and a dinner, or in lieu of these the whole of the
wax, if they were of the wild race. Whoever cut a tree upon
another person's property, 'in order to get at the nest of bees,
was to be amerced the full value of both tree and bees. The
respective prices of different swarms were ascertained by law.
Early swarms were reckonetl of full value by the first of
August ; such as swarmed after that day were notvalued above
four pence until the following May.
In comparison with the prices of other articles, at the lime
the Welsh laws were framed, bees seem to have been very dear,
and consequently scarce : but the price set upon them "by law
was much above the real price in commerce, between buyer
and seller. This was owing to the veneration they were held
In by the legislature ; and intended to deter the subject from
offending against the statutes made to preserve them. As a
confirmation of this opinion, every thing that lielonged to bees
had its value exaggerated in law : even a bee-hive was ap-
praised at two shillings, when a new plough without irons was
valued only at two-pence ; a cow forty -tight pence, a vearlirar
calf fourteen pence, and a suckling calf one penny. "
The sacred esteem in which bees were held, at "length declin-
mg, apiaries were gradually reduced to their present fewness of
"umber. However, several persons still execrate the profane act
of disposing of their bees for money ; but will, nevertheless, let
them out for one half share of the honey and wax, when they
are killed annually in autumn ; and the whole live stock to be
parted equally between them at the end of the fourth year."
In Wales, as in Poland, when spirits and beer beca"me more
common, the use of metheglln declined, and bees were neg-
lected. Hence, it may be inferred, that the veneration ?n
which this insect was held in these and other countries, was
owing to its affording almost the only, and, at all events, the
cheapest and most powerful means of indulging in that which
man, in all ages and countries has considered the summvm
bonvm of enjoyment, — intoxication : an enjoyment which, whe-
ther with Noah, it be procured legitimately from that " tran-
scendant liquor," wme; with the American Indians, from
eiver; or the Turks from opium, has this advantage over
all others, that it is more immediate, more {intense; that' it
is within the reach of every one ; that every one can have it to
the full ; and that for the enjoying which no man is envied
tUl. his neighbor.
11. Political Economy.
Great improvements have been made in the roads and
^ndges of late years, especially by Lord Penrhyn, Wynn,
Madocks, and Government, under the direction of "Tel-
ford. Previous to the year 1785, the annual exports of
slates from Lord Penrhyn's quarries at Dolawen, did not ex-
ceed 1000 tons: which," owing to the ruggedness of the road,
were conveyed from the quarries to the port, a distance of six
miles, in panniers on horses' backs. His Lordship formed a
new road, which gave immediate employ to about I'iO broad-
wheeled carts and waggons ; and from the quarries he extended
the road nine miles fiirther to Capel ( arig, through Nant-
ff'ranco, and the romantic interior of Snowdon, at his own ex-
pense, the whole tract being his property. The increase of the
slate trade caused his Lordship afterwards to have an iron
railway, the length of six miles, from Dolawen quarries to Port
Penrhyn.
The chain bridge now erecting across the Menai by Telford
will, when completed, be one of the most extraordinary
works of the kind in existence.
Of canals there are several, with stupendous aqueducts
and bridges. The aqueduct of the Elesmere canal, thrown
over the Dee, is the first in Europe. It was opened in Novem-
ber 1805.
manufactures chiefly b'ue cloth, blankets, flannels, and
Welsh plains or cottons. The best Welsh flannels manufac-
tured in Montgomeryshire. Welsh cottons made since the
time of James the First, have the warp of fleece wool, and the
woof a mixture of one-third or one-half of Welsh wool. Knit-
ting stockings and caps very general among the females of cot-
tages and small farms. Argillaceous schLstus is converted
into slates for the roofing of houses and other purposes, to a
very great amount within this district.
Pyrolignous acid extracted from brushwood, at Hope in Flint-
shire, for the use of cotton dyers. A variety of other manufac-
tures to a moderate extent. Several agricultural societies.
704.5. SOUTH WALES. Six counties, and some islets, comprising together 2,470,400 acres of hilly
and mountainous surface ; generally of a salubrious climate ; cold on the mountains ; but on the whole
more temperate than the air of North Wales. The soil argillaceous red loam, or calcareous, but ge-
nerally rich in the vales §nd declivities. Of minerals there is abundance of Iron, coal, lime, and a good
deal of lead.
school, as they call them, in sovereign contempt, who, in re-
turn, deride their puerilities, and, in their own quaint phrase,
style their ineffectual attempts to establish a system of improv
ed agriculture, ' a flush in the pan.' They doconsiderable good
in the vicinity they dwell in, by employing laborers; and by
their imported implements they open the eves of mechanics.
Most of the harm they do, is to themselves. They injure others
mostly by an exorbitant advance in the wages of servants, es-
pecially of such as pretend to be farnp-bailiffs. They give
double the wages that the old established farmers in the best
1. Property/ and Buildmfrs.
As in North Wales. In South Wales in general the custom
of white washing cottattes is prevalent. In Glamorganshire,
not only the inside and outside of houses, but bams and
stables a'so, walls of vards and gardens, the stone banks of
quickset hedges, and even solitary stones of large dimensions,
house blocks, &c. near the houses, are white washed. This
practice is traced to a very remo'e antiquity. ■ Diodorus Siculus
is quoted as mentioning the British custom of white-washing
houses. Gentlemen's seats are distinguishable from cottages,
not only by their si?e and plans, but also by their colors. In
Glamorganshire, gentlemen mix ochre with lime, to make their
seats of Isabella yellow. In the north of Pembrokeshire, &c.
the taste is reversed ; the cottages are of a very dingy color, and
gentlemen's houses are white washed ; the maxim is— not to he
what the lower classes are, not to coincide with the vulgar in
their practices.
2 Occupation.
Farms of all sizes ; two mountain farms of 1400 acres each ;
general run from .W to 100 acres, average of the district be-
tween" fifty and sixty acres. In the uplands, rearing of stock is
the main object, without neglecting the produce of the dairy ;
whilst they find convenience, though without profit, in a
scanty and precarious tillage. In the lowlands, or moist loams,
especially in the more humid climature of the western counties,
grazing is considered, and generally recommended, as most
profitable.
Upon an average of the whole, the district may be said to be
occupied in that kind of system called mixed husbandry ; breed-
ing, dairying, and tillage; varying in the proportion of each,
in difrere"nt places according to the imperiousness of existing
circumstances, which will be hereafter more fully explained.
Farmers may he classed, as proprietors farming a part of
their own estates, small proprietors or yeomen, farmers of the
old school, and book formers.
" Bmk farmers, the a-rialists of Marshal, are those who know
agriculture only by reading aliout it. Theory is their n< p/iw .
tUIra ; as they generally grow tired> before they are much ac-
quainted with practice. The practice of the country they
come to reside in is all wrong, and the inhabitants all savages.
They brfng ploughs and ploughmen generally from a distance ;
and" when the masters retire, the ploughmen return, and the
ploughs are laid aside. They hold the farmers of the old
cultivated counties, Salop or Hereford, &c., will give. They
have generally very exnlted notions of the value of land, and
the powers of soil. They read of the high returns of crops in
• po _ ^ ^^
England or elsewhere, and calculate there upon the vaJvTe of
land in the uplands of Wales; which, if they have farms to
let, makes it extremely difficult to deal with them. Their
opinion of manure depends on the book they have read last.
If .Tethro Tull is their favorite author, soil requires nothine
but ploughing and stirring. With A. lime is every thine ; with
his brother B. only a few miles distant, and on the same kind
of soil, lime is nothing.
3. Implements-
The Welsh plough is in common use ; and perhaps a more
awkward, unmeaning tool, is not to be found in any civilized
country. It is not calculated to cut a furrow, but to tear it
open by main force. The share is like a large wedge ; the
coulter comes before the point of the share sometimes, and
sometimes stands above it : the earth-board is a thing never
thought of, but a stick (a hedge-stake or any thing) is fastened
from the right side of the heel of the share, and extends to the
hind part of the plough: this is intended to turn the furrow,
which it sometimes performs, sometimes not, so that a field
ploughed with this machine, looks as if a drove of swine had
been moiling it.
The Rotheram and other improved ploughs are in use among
the proprietor and book farmers, and the Scotch plough S
coming into very general use. A gentleman, a naval officer, in
t'ardiganshire, introduced the light Rotheram, and insisted on
his ploughmen using them. As soon as he turned his back, the
new ploughs were dismissed the service, and the old ones were
brought into the field ; one day, in a rage, he committed the old
to the flames, and set the new ploughs a-going. Afterwards
taking a ride to cool himself, and returning, he found the new
1134
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
ploughs In the dhch, and old ploughs borrowed from the neigh-
bors atwork : the master then thinking it useless to persevere,
gave up the contest. " I have," said he, " seen various kinds
of human beings, in different parts of the globe, from latitude
ten to latitude fifty-four, but none so obstinately bent on old
practices as the Welsh."
H. liCwis, Esq., of Gallt y Gog near Caermarthen, being
equally unsuccessful in effecting a" revolution at once, tried the
plan of altering the old ploughs in a slight degree, and hopes, by
one alteration after another, at length to transform them into
Rotheram ploughs " unawares to his sturdy ploughmen."
Wa/reoru and clumsy two and three horse carts are in general
use ; almost every farmer of forty pounds a year rent has a wag-
gon. Single horse carts gain ground but slowly. They were
Introduced into the vale of Towy, several years ago, by Lord
Robert Seymour ; into Cardiganshire, by Thomas Johnes.Ksq.;
and into Brecknockshire, bv Sir Edward Hamilton.
A hay rake, with the head forming unequal angles with the
handles, is in use in Glamorganshire, the only advantage of
which is said to be that of not obliging the raker to step his
ftxrt backward at every reach.
4. Arable Land.
In general wretchedly managed, especially the fallows. The
reporter proposes to send farmers' sons to improved districts to
serve apprenticeships, as better than examples set by strangers,
which nave been tried without success. A patriotic land pro-
prietor brought what were considered as enlightened farmers
from Scotland into South Wales; but as Hassal very judici-
ouslv observes, " New practices in husbandry will be most
likely to succeed through the medium of the natives of the
country. They have an unconquerable dislike to every thing
introduced by strangers ; and not without some reason, as most
of the people who have come into this country from the
EngJish counties, and commenced farmers, were in bad circum-
stances at the outset, and therefore have not succeeded in their
undertakings ; and the natives, eager to reprobate any thing
new, readily attributed their failure to defective practice, rather
than to the real cause, want of capital. This obser\'ation will
be found to be generally true in every country. Few persons in
good circumstances can be tempted to migrate ; whilst others
of a different description are frequently under the necessity of
doing it ; and, generally, it can only tend to hasten their total
failure. Then the teaching of the natives, as recommended
above, would have a much superior effect in establishing the
doctrines of the new schools, than the introduction of any stran-
gers into the country.
The sand banks checking the progress of the tides into a flat
tract in Glamorganshire, in order to render them more firm,
they are matted with the roots of the sea tnat-weed (Arundo
areiiaria.) The hon. T. Mansell Talbot, binds each of his te-
nants, who rents land in the adjoining marshes, to give yearly
the labor of a day or more, in proportion to his holding, as a
kind of statute duty, for the planting of this reed ; and experi-
ence has proved its good effects.
5. Grass.
" By a correct map of the rivers of a district, with a scale of
their fall in a given number of furlongs or miles, and of the
mountains from which they flow, and those distinguished by
kinds of " quality colors," a geologist might give a fair estimate
of the quality of the soils and grasses of the respective valleys
intersecting that district, though anomalies frequently form
exceptions in vallies as well as on sideland places.
The practice of fogging pastures, almost peculiar to Cardi-
ganshire, has been already described (5255). Thereporter saw
a piece that had been fogged successively for sixteen years ; and
according to the tenant's information, was improving an-
nually. When land has been mowed too long, one year's fog-
fing is supposed to recover it. Mossv pastures are benefitted
y it. It replenishes the soil with seeds, that by this means are
suffered to ripen and shed on the ground; and it is said that
two years fogging will recover lands, let them be ever so run
out by tillage or mowing. Cattle used to fog, will quit hay
that may be given them, and clear away the snow with their
feet to get at the fog. The fields proper to be kept in fog, must
be of a dry, sound, and close soil ; the argillaceous rather than
the siliceous earths should prevail in it : but not so much as
to be over retentive of water.
The late Thomas Johnes, Esq., of Havod, observes, " Fog.
ging LS getting out of repute: it must have originated in
chance, and want of a summer stock of cattle."
Clover is grown in some few places for seed, which is separa-
ted from the heads in a common com mill, the upper mill-
stone being replaced for a time with a square piece of oak fur-
nished with eight wings studded with nails on their upper sur-
faces. These spokes, by their.rapid motion, soon beat out the
»eed.
6. Gardens.
On the maritime coast of South Wales generally very pro-
ductive ; those of the cottagers better attended to than in other
parts of the district ; a pleasing mixture of flowers, small fruits,
and vegetables.
Orchards in Radnorshire and Brecknockshire thrive well in
the vallies, but more especially in the v.iles of Wye and Usk.
Not much cider made, excepting on the Wye.
7. Woods and Plantations.
" It appears from old deeds, that estates were formerly sold
at an inferior price, in consequence of their being crowded
■with timber. Times are now changed."
There are a great many oak woods and coppices in hilly
parts of the district, and many thriving plantations In erery
part of it. It ii calculated that at an average six millions of
trees are annually planted ; if this lie the fact, it is probable
nine tenths of them either die or are doomed to come to nothing,
for at this rate, in fifty years, there would be 150 trees for every
acre in South Wales, which, added to the old wood and copse,
would give 300 trees, or enough to render the country one en-
tire forest.
8. Improvements.
Numerous inclosures have been made, and fencing, draining,
and, in some cases, watering practised as in other counties.
There are nearly 15,000 acres of fen and sands on the coast of
Cardiganshire, which are considered highly improvable, and
which it has been at different times in contemplation to em-
bsmk. Of one of the worst parts of this land, the late agricul-
turist Dr. Anderson, who was much with Johnes of Havod,
said he could make it carry wheat in five years.
9. Live Stock.
From ancient records itappears that the colors of Welsh cat-
tle were white, with red ears, like the wild breed at Chilling-
ham (GloO.) ; they appear to have been in a wild state so late as
the time of king Jonn. The present stock are of four kinds :
the coal -blacks of Pembrokeshire; the brownish blacks, or
dark browns, of Glamorgan ; the black runts of Cardiganshire,
Caermarthenshire, and the western parts of the counties of Bre-
con and Radnor; introduced bree<ls, from Herefordshire and
Shropshire, into the eastern and more fertile parts of Brecon
and Radnor.
Cows are kept for breeding,and making butter and skim-milk
cheese. Johnes heis proved, that at Havod, cheese may be
made at will, so nearly resembling Parmesan, Stilton, Glouces-
ter, or Cheshire, that the difference cannot be perceived by
good judges ; and that the whole mystery consists in various
modes of producing it from the milk.
The sheep of South Wales are of four kinds : mountctineers,
Glamorgan vEde sheep, Glamorgzm Down sheep, and crossed
and intermixed breeds.
Mountaineers occupy the hills in the several cotmties of the
district.
The Glamorgan vale sheep, is the only breed in Wales, not
introduced within memory of man, that produces combing
wool.
The Glamorgan Down sheep is a beautiful and excellent
small breed. Feeding upon the oldest and sweetest pastures
of the limestone tract, tneir mutton is superior in quality to
most, and inferior to none ; their wool is of the short clothing
kind, and fine. They are f;enerally jwlled.
With crossed and intermixed Irreeds many experiments have
been tried within the district, and most of them confessedly
without the expected success. Particular breeds of sheep have
their peculiar diseases, which continue in their constitution,
wherever they are removed. The limestone tract may be con-
sidered as the healthiest for sheep within the district, but even
there the imported modem breeds have brought with them
the scab, the toot-root, the goggles, maggots, and a long train
of diseases never heard of before in Wales : these are to be
ranked among the profits of commerce.
Horses. The small Welsh merlins or palfreys are now in many
parts nearly extinct : they are a pigmy race, and may now and
then be found in the hilly walks of the interior of the district.
There were formerly a very good breed of hardy strong punches,
fit for riding and walking upon the farm, being a cross between
a good-sized horse and the small merlins; and very useful they
were ; but the breed has almost been totally neglected and
lost : for they cross now too much with the large and sluggish
cart horses.
10. Political Economi/.
Roads as in North Wales, or worse. Road ploughs in use ;
a characteristic both of their state and of the nature of the
materials. Good limestone however in the coal districts, and
especially in Glamorganshire. Manuftictures of woollen in
many places; and, owing to the abundance of oak copses,
many hides tanned. Potteries on a large scale at Swansea,
Cardiff, and other places. Extensive iron and coal works,
lime works, and a slate quarry in Cardiganshire, &c.
The Lias limestone, (lime and iron combined, the stone of a
blueish or greyish color,) though found in many parts of Eng-
land, is no where so valuable as that at Aberthaw. When
burnt into lime, it is of a buff color, the characteristic, accord-
ing to the engineer, Smeaton, of all limes setting in water.
Lias limestone in all parts has a peculiarity of stratification
and exterior character, so that a rock of it may be known at a
distance. The strata are of various thickness, from a few
inches to a few teet ; and those commonly separated by a few
inches thickness of marley clay. The ferruginous ingredient
seems to be concentrated in the' interior part of each stratum ;
the outer sides thereof being more porous, and of a paler
color. In inland places the strata are burnt altogether, the
argillaceous as well as the ferruginous"calcite. Here, at Aber-
thaw, or other maritime coasts, the strata tumbled down,
within reach of the tides, are broken and rolled about, until
they are reduced to rounded pebbles or nodules, from a few
ounces to many pounds weight ; and these consist only of the
nucleus or kernel part, the more useless shell being \yom off
by the abration of the furious tides. These rounded lias peb-
bles are driven on shore in inexhaustible quantities.
Of agricultural societies there are several : that of Brecon,
instituted in 1755, the earliest in Britain after that of Edin-
burgh.
Sect. III. Agricultural Survey of Scotland.
7046. The surface of this country is estimated at 1 8,944,000 acres, in three natural divi-
sions. The first lies north of the chain of Highland lakes, which stretches from Murray to
Mull, and consists of little else than dreary mountains and some moors ; the second, or
middle division, extends from this chain of lakes to the rivers Forth and Clyde ; it is
mountainous, but cultivated in the vallies, and on the eastern shore to a considerable ex-
tent ; the remaining division is covered by hills with some mountains, but every where
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF SCOTLAND.
1135
cultivated or improvable, and highly favorable for most branches of agriculture. Though
Scotland, as elsewhere observed (771.) > was far behind England in cultivation, till the
middle of the last century ; it has now greatly outstripped that country, especially in
arable husbandry : a proof that this is the general opinion of enlightened men may be
deduced from the notices just given of the English and Welsh counties, in which it ap-
pears that the improvements introduced or attempted to be introduced on arable land,
are with few exceptions the implements and practices of Scotland. In the manage-
ment of meadows or old pasture, Scotland cannot be conspicuous ; as the climate
is not naturally calculated for that kind of husbandry. The winters are too long and
severe and the surface too irregular. In regard to live stock, the palm of improvement
is undoubtedly borne away by England ; but though there is not that enthusiasm in
Scbtland, nor such large prices given for capital specimens, it may be safely asserted
that breeding and feeding are conducted as systematically and successfully there as in
England. We shall glance at the different counties in the order of their proximity, begin-
ning with that containing the capital. It may be sufficient to mention here that leases
are universal in Scotland, most generally for nineteen years, often for twenty-one, some-
times for fourteen, but seldom for a shorter period. The poor are supported l)y volun-
tary contributions at the church doors, though an assessment on property, half paid by the
proprietors, and half by the tenants, may be made if necessary, which is very seldom the
case. Tithes were commuted for their value in land, and land's produce at an
early period. Every parish has a schoolmaster, who is paid jointly by the proprietors
and the farmers. There is a professorship of agriculture in the Edinburgh University,
ably filled by Dr. Coventry, a man of whom it may be truly said, that he is universally
esteemed and beloved.
7047 MIDLOTHIAN. 230,400 acres, one third hilly and inaccessible to the plough, and two thirds in
tillage pasture or wood. The store sheep farming is practised on the hills, and a mixed agriculture on
the low grounds. Green crops and potatoes are extensively cultivated for the Edinburgh market, and most
farmers are more indebted to the manure they receive in return, than to the soil, or superior skill ; many of
them are townsmen, amateurs, and speculative cultivators. The Dalkeith Farmers' Society, one of the
most useful that has been formed, and which still exists, belongs to this county j and in it also was
founded the British Wool Society, now extinct. {Robertson's Survey, 1795.)
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
Climate free from extreme heats or colds ; snow seldom falls
on the low parts of the country before December, lies from
three to ten weeks. In eight years, the greatest quantity of ram
that fell |in any year was 36.8. inches, and the least quantity
^■|(rf?mrch diversified; lands hanging to the north always
%^^!"a 'bed of coal extends across the county from
S W. to N.E. from seven to eight miles m breadth ; worked
foV two centuries. Limestone, freestone, granite, and whmstone
very abundant. Millstones in the parish of Pennycuick, jdso
marble. Some copper and iron ore, marl and jasper pebbles
""l^JJm^'sfreams inconsiderable. Esk ( V,k, Gael.) the largest
river; few fish from the rivers or streams, but abundance
from the firth or sea.
2 Property
About 540 eswtes in the county, divided by the reporter into
seven classes ; first class from two to 300W. or upwards ; fifth
^a^ 100/. and upwards ; sixth class, least properties ; seventh
c ass, properties of corporate bodi^. Total rental in 1795,
191,000/. ; Duke of Buccleugh the first proprietor.
3. Buildings. . , ., j
Many gentlemen's seats, and some fine rums of castles and
'%"r5/"^in*, as it is here called, consisted formerly of a
set of low buildings, in the form of a square, one side was occu-
^ed by the maste? himself, whose habitation was composed of
two or three dismal apartments, on an earthen floor, having a
\ow ceil ing and a few diminutive lights. On another side stood
hlSaniJn which the roof timbers, from the idea of giving
more strength, were built into the wall from the foundation ,
the wall itsllf Aot being more than five feet in height. Op^-
site to the bam were the stables and the byre, or cow-house.
The stables were totally without division, and the horses fed
in common; but the neat-cattle less P»^iYf^';f«f„«^^^°"■
fined to their stakes. The cottages occupied the remaining
sidfr in thlmidst of all lay the dunghill. Th^ buildings
were made of turf and stone altemateW, or with stone, and
clay for mortar: the roof of thatch, orot thatch and d.txX (turf
"'pW^^iSTowtthefirststyleofcommodiousness. Anex-
ample given of Gogarbank farm.
&tt4e* formerly very mean, now much improved.
Farms vary from 100 to 300 acres. Farmers divided mto
three classes ; speculators, converts from other Professions ;
industrious laborers who have acquired some property , and
farmers sprung from farmers. . . .^ c .»,„ t^„^ ♦!,„
SpeciuJor,. " In the immediate vicinity of the town, the
ereater part of the lands are cultivated, not by actual farmers,
but what may be more properly termed syieculators in agricul-
ture, people with whom farming is but a secondary object,
their chief employment being still what was their onginal pro-
fession, as bakers, brewers, innkeepers, or some other distinct
occupation; and who are oftener to he found m their town
lodemgs, or in their compting houses, than in the miast oi
their farms, attending to the operations of husbandry, one
««rt3in effect, which the speculations of this class produce, \%,
that the rent of land is raised above its natural level ; for, at
they have aU-ays some other business to live by, they are en-
abled to afford more rent ; and in fact give more than an actual
farmer, whose sole dependance is upon husbandry, is able to
pay ; while their exertions in agriculture, though in general
founded on good principles, commonly end in disappointment
to themselves, for want of that unceasing attention which is
indispensable to good cultivation, but which their other avoca-
tions prevent them from bestowing."
The moor-land farmem, as if in conformity to the soil, which
has undergone very little melioration, and to the climate, which
is naturally severe", seem still to retain astrong cast of the'man-
ners of their forefathers, and to live and toil under the same
uncomfortable circumstances. Their houses are damp, smoky,
and diminutive ; their fare simple and limited, and their
labors hard and even oppressive. But they have days of relax-
ation, in which they enjoy themselves at fairs and markets ;
their marriage festivities are almost boundless, and their fune-
rals are pompous and ostentatious. Religion is maintained
in all the austerity of Oliver Cromwell and the covenant.
These farmers are the only ones in a county containing a capi-
tal town, who are likely to better their condition. Being inured
to the practice of the most rigid economy, they will, when
translated to a warmer climate and more genial soil, very
forcibly feel a melioration in their circumstances ; and if they
have fortitude enough (as the first race of them generally will)
to persevere in their original habits of firugality. they may, by
dint of mere saving, at the rate, perhaps, of two and a half per
cent, yearly on their capital, accumulate, in a life-time, a sum
that may be esteemed considerable. But this thriving state
will only last during the first generation. Their sons, habitu-
ated in time to an easier mode of life, will, amid the great
luxury with which they are surrounded, lose their primitive
simplicity of manners, and with it the faculty of saving, on
which alone their prosperity depends.
4. Implements.
Old Scotch plough, long and heavy, and drawn by four or
six horses or oxen, and till about 1768, when Drs. Grieve and
Carlisle, clergymen, tried wheel ploughs of a lighter construc-
tion, which they had seen in use in Dalkeith Park. Soon
afterwards Small's improved plough came into notice.
5. Enclosing.
'So commons or common-fields. Hedges first planted about
1760.
6. Arable Land.
When ridges are raised high, they should not be laid sonth
and north, as the crop on the east side of .such ridge is com-
monly found very defective. The same thing holds in the
county of Lancaster.
7. Grass.
Very little permanent grass exclusive of the hills and moor
lands. Alluvial lands on the banks of streams so liable to
immense floods, bringing down soil, &c. that if in grass it
would often be much injured ; considered therefore more
profitable to keep them in com.
8. Gardens and Orchards.
Henry Prentice, who died about 1786, was the first who cul-
tivated white peas, potatoes, turnips, and sundry other culin-
1136
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
ary plants, on an extensive scale, for the Edinburgh market,
about the year 1746. Before that period, the supply was li-
mited to what could be carried in baskets ; his cart being the
first that appeared with kitchen stuff' on the streets. He even
raised cucumbers in the fields; but his cart load of these met
with so little sale, as not to encourage a repetition. Though
he died a pensioner on the poor's funds of the Canongate, his
name deserves to be noticed with respect, not only as having
introduced several of our best vegetables into cultivation, but
from his practice as a- cultivator, which was spirited and judi-
cious, however little it turned out to his own account.
Strawberries. About idOO acres on the banks of the Esk, and
chiefly near Roslin. Crop continued on the same ground
without end; but digging down and replanting every fourth
year. To change every twenty or thirty years esteemed a better
practice. Lands in nursery 200 acres. Mawer's hothouses at
Dairy, and hotwalls of his invention, figured and described.
The hothouses heated by steam. Mawer was a Lancashire
man, and formerly gardener and steward to the Earl of Aber-
corn. He was an excellent gardener and farmer; a man of
very general information and nighly respected. He was exten-
sively employed as a layer out of gardens and roads, and had
the general charge of the gardening and tree department on
some gentlemen's estates. The compiler of this Encyclopiedia
was his pupil, amanuensis, and draughtsman for the three years
preceding his death, which happened suddenly from apoplexy
in 1800.
9. Woods and Plantations.
About 5000 acres so occupied, the greatest part artificial, and
planted since 1750. Hedgerow trees never come to any thing for
want of shelter : belts do no good unless twenty rows thick at
least.
10. Wastes.
None : but extensive tracts very poor.
11. Improvements.
Draining well understood and extensively practised. Johns-
ton, who wrote an account of Elkington's mode of draining, a
native of the county. Edinburgh and Leith afford about
40,000 cubic yards of^street dung annually, which is commonly
laid on the lands within five miles of town. Horse dung,
however, carried twelve miles or further.
More need for weeding on the arable lands of this county than
in those of any other in Scotland ; supposed from more town
manure being used. The town manure contains the seeds
brought in from the country in hay and straw, which are of va-
rious kinds; but chiefly wild mustard, wild radish, dock,
thistle, poppy, couch grass, &c.
12. Live Stock.
Little attention paid to this department. Galloway and
Ayrshire cows preferred, and Clydesdale horses. Some buffa-
loes of the Mysore variety introduced by Col. Murray : not
supposed to turn to any advantage, either as milkers, or for
work, or the butcher, but form a variety in parks. Lord Mor-
ton subsequently introduced the quagga (Eqvtis quaggu) on
his park at Morton Hall forthe same purpose. Bees a very po-
pular species of live stock with all classes.
13. Rural Econotny.
Well supplied with work people from the highlands and Ire-
land. With the exception of some farm servants in the imme-
diate vicinity of Edinburgh, they are, in general, orderly and
moral. Children taught in the parish schools ; reading at one
shilling and four-ptnce, writing and arithmetic at two snillings
and sixpence^Jer quarter ; Latin, &c. in proportion. The cot-
tages of ploughmen consist generally of two rooms on the
ground floor, with a pigstye, and 100 square yards, or upw ards,
of garden ground. The furniture consists of two beds, a few
chairs or stools, table, chest of drawers, clothes press, &c.
and they are all ambitious of having a time-piece, if it were
only a cuckoo clock. The whole may be worth from ten to
twelve pounds. The Sunday's dress of a young ploughman
consists generally of a coat of^blue cloth, at five shillings and
sixpence the yard ; velveret vest, corduroy breeches, white cot-
ton stockings, calf-skin shoes with black silk shoe-knots, shirt
with ruffles at the breast, white nmslin fringed cravat, and a
hat worth eight or ten shillings. The shoe-knots and ruffles
are, indeed, rather uncommon, but all the other articles are
very much in use. They make a very good appearance, and
even pay attention to the fashion. In their food they still live
in much the same simple way as their forefathers. Oat-meal
forms the basis, or prmcipal part of their sustenance. They
have it regularly to breakfast and to supper, made into pottage,
which they eat with a small allowance of butter-milk. At
dinner they eat it in bread, in addition to their kale, a kind of
7048. EAST LOTHIAN. 190,363 acres of surface, under an exceedingly variable climate, the greater
part of excellent soil, and well adapted for cultivation, but the southern district, Lammermuir hilly
and mountainous, with a moory soil, severe climate, and chiefly under native grass and herbage. Some of
the most distinguished Scotch agricultural patriots, authors, and mechanics belong to this county as
Cockburn of Ormiston, Thomas sixth Earl of Haddington, Fletcher of Salton, Adam Dickson Robert
Brown of Markle, the projector, and for a long time editor, of the Farmers' Magazine, Somerville', author
of the agricultural Report, Meikle, inventor of the threshing machine, and various others. {Somerville' s
General View, 1805.
following summtr, which he carried through in spite of the
animadversions of his neighbors, who were divided in their
opinions as to the sanity of his mind, or the stability of his cir-
cumstances. The result of the experiment gave them a better
soup made of barley broth, Intermixed with greens and pot-
herbs. To this they add at times potatoes^ and fish of differ-
ent kinds : seldom wheat bread, and still more rarely butchers'
meat. This mode of living, in which, although with no great
variety, there is always abundance of food, seems to be very
conformable to the natural constitution of the people, as they
are found to go through their laVior without feeling them-
selves oppressed, and enjoy a state of health which is very sel-
dom interrupted. At an average, they are not above two days
sick in a year.
What is above stated refers chiefly to the condition of farm
servants, who are hired by the year, and whose principal em-
ployment is about the horses, in the fields, or on the road.
There is, however, another class of work people attached to a
farm, who are hired by the day, or by the week, and whose
employment is usually in jobbing about the bams, the fences,
or the water furrows. These are called laborers, and in their
circumstances and mode of living there is a considerable dif-
ference between them and the others.
Although their wages are in general at a higher rate than
the hiretl servants, yet they make not such a good appearance
in their dress, nor are so well seen to in their victuals, as these.
They are generally, as we term it, from hand to nwvth, always in
want; which seems to arise print ipallv from getting their
whole wages in money, from week to week, which leads them
continually to market, providing their daily sustenance ; a
province left generally to the charge of their wives, who, from
this constant running about, get into habits of idleness and
want of attention to that good housewifery which is the glory
of a decent cottager's wife.
The quantity of coal used by the common laborers is about
three fourths of a ton for each soul in the family yearly, by
farmers about two tons, and in families of the highest rank
about six tons. The price at the pit is from five shillings to
seven and sixpence the ton, according to its vicinity to Edin-
burgh.
Such was the state of things in 1795. Now (1825), at the
distance of thirty years they are, doubtless, matenally altered.
The use of wheaten bread is general ; butchers' meat mucli
more common, and cottages more commodious.
14. Political Economy.
Roads so bad previously to 1714, that wheel carriages for the
purposes of agriculture were very little used; even till 17G0
hay and straw carried to Edinburgh on horseback, and the
dung taken back the same way in bags. Sledges a good deal
employed in those times : they are mentioned in the turnpike
act of 1751, but unnoticed in that of 1755, which shows they
had been disused; a proof of the extraordinary progress of im"-
provement when once commenced, in consequence of a de-
mand or desire for it. Forced improvement goes on very dif-
ferently. The roads of this county now under one of the
M'Adam family. Some recent canals and rail-roads, (ilass,
ropes, and soap the chief manufactures. Iron works at Cra-
mond, where nails, spades, files, &c. are extensively fabricated.
Several paper mills, flour mills, and various minor manufac-
tories and works for local consumption.
1.'). Obstacles to Improvement.
Illiberality of landlords, game, thirlage, the dogs of Edin-
burgh, who greatly harass the sheep, the chief obstacles.
16. Miscellaneous Observations.
The Farmers' Society of Dalkeith, for the prosecution of
thieves and encouragement of agriculture, instituted in 1760,
still exists, and has done much good. It is composed almost
entirely of practical farmers. Small's plough, the winnowing
and threshing machines early noticed and recommended by
this society. The farmers in this county have long had in con-
templation to get instituted by legal authority, a society for
the creation and management of a pensionary fund for the
widows and orphans of farmers, on principles similar to those
which govern the widows' fund of the ministers of the Church
of Scotland.
An appendix to the report contains thirteen papers, some of
which are curious in an historical point of view ; and as-showing
how soon, in a rapidly improving age, a man's best ideas and
remarks are distanced by those of a few years afterwards. On^
of these papers describes the origin and progress of the British
Wool Society, which was begun in this cou'nty by Sir John
Sinclair, in 1791. The economy X)f Johnston's dairy is deserv-
ing of notice for accuracy in the details, and for new practices,
such as making butter from whey, feeding cows on whins, &c.
Macknight, another amateur, and Hepburn, an ingenious
landlord and cultivator, are also worth reading.
1. Property.
Generally in considerable estates ; the largest about 15,000/.
and not many under 100/. a year. Tenure generally of the
crown, (I.e. freeehold), some hold of subjects sujierior (copy-
hold), and some of the corporate towns of Haddington and
2. Buildings and Impletnenis.
It may be sufficient to state that they are such as we have
described in the Ijody of this work ^as of the !best description.
Farms generally large; medium of the county about 400/. a
vear ; highest 1500/. to 1800/. The first enclosures were made
about 1720; farmers were introduced from Holland in 1710;
the two-horse plough in 1772 ; and the first threshing machine
in 1786. Fallowing was introduced fi-om England about the
same time as hedges. The sixth Earl of Haddington was the
first proprietor, and John Walker, of Beanston, near Dunbar
the first farmer. He took the hint from some English travel-
lers, while they spent a night at his house, and with whom he
had a good deal of conversation upon the subject, so much to
his satisfaction, that he made an experiment upon six acres the
him to extend his next year's fallow break to twenty acres • soon
after which the practice began to spread, and so early as the
year 1724, fallowing upon all the deep strong soils was common
throughout the county, and has continued to be so ever since.
There can be no doubt that the early excellence of the East
Lothian agriculture was in a great measure owing to the intro-
duction of fallowing, which, together with the use of drill
crops, have continued to place it at the head of the Scotch
counties. Potatoes introduced to field culture about 1760-
turnips first by Cockburn, of Ormiston, about 1 720 ; re-intro-
duced and cultivated in the drill manner in 1760. Flax sown
from time immemorial, but chiefly on a small scale, and for the
home consumption of the country inhabitants. Every cottager
has a small quantity, from half a peck to a peck so\vn, the pro-
duce of which furnishes linen for the use of his family.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF EAST LOTHIAN.
1137
/^ttcern tried with the greatest care, but owing to the cli-
mate, it was found to produce less bulk of herbage than red
clover.
3. Grass.
Natural meadows and paftures are not admitted into the
East Lothian system of husbandry, as they are found only where
nature or certain local circumstances render them, in some
measure, unavoidable, and are never kept voluntarily, or from
an idea of profit. Many farmers fallow land to lie for a few
years in grass, especially where it has been exhausted by long
and imperfect tillage ; but fields of this description are not to
be ranked as permanent pastures, tor the object is to restore
them as soon as possible to a state capable of bearing com -crops
to advantage.
Cliwers introduced by the sixth Earl of Haddington and
Cockbum, about 1720 or 1722, but made little progress till
1740; now generally sown with rye grass. Application, graz-
ing, soiling, and hay, but chiefly soiling.
4. Gardens and Orchards.
Some few market gardens and nurseries, but the climate
does not admit of orchards, which are very rare. Every cottage
has a garden annexed, sufficient to produce the various
common kitchen vegetables for the cottager's family. This
class of people are remarkably attentive to the cultivation
of their little spots, and derive great advantage from them, at
small cost ; the labor is entirely performed after their ordinary
work is finished.
5. Woods and Plantations.
Scarcely any of the former, and none of the latter of any ex-
tent, excepting in gentlemen's parks. 800 acres on Tynning-
ham demesne, planted by the sixth Earl of Haddington, who
wrote a treatise on planting, about 1716. Osiers cultivated by
Sherrief, of Captain Head, for which, in 1803, he received the
gold medal of the Society of Arts.
6. Wastes and Commons.
Are in this as in other Scotch counties, generally enclosed,
which is here an easy matter in comparison to what it is in
England, in consequence of a general Act of Enclosure by the
Scottish Parliament in 1695.
7. Improvements.
Paring and burning little known, and not wanted, because
very little ground is kept long in pasture that can be profitably
employed in tillage, and new grass lands do not require these
operations.
One attempt at irrigation on a sandy waste near Dunbar, the
levels of which were taken by, and the water turned on under
the direction of the compiler of this work, in 1805.
8. Livestock.
The practice of East Lothian, in this department,'does not pre-
sent much that can be generally interesting. Grazing, in nine
cases out often, is carried on only as subservient to tillage, and
therefore held a secondary object by cultivators. Many cattle are
fed, but very few reared, in the county. Almost every person
who prcictises the sheep husbandry, in the lower districts, buys
and sells within the year. Some recent attempts have been
made to keep flocks of full bred sheep, and, there is reason to
Iwlieve, with considerable success ; but, taking the county gene-
rally, such attempts are of little importance.
Cattle. Every farmer keeps a small number of milch cows,
but few keep more than are sufBcient toftimish a regular sup-
ply through the whole year, of milk, butter, and cheese, lor
their own families. The same attention accordingly is not
paid to the kinds of cattle, as in other districts, where they
form a more important object of farm management.
A very considerable number of black cattle are purchased
annually at fairs and markets, to be wintered in the fold-yard,
or fed on turnips in the house. Cattle kqit for the dairy, or fed
for the butcher-market, comprehend all that are to be found in
the county , none are emploved in labor. Every part of
farm-labor, in which beasts are employed, is executed by
horses.
Sheep. Permanent flocks, and regular sheep management
may be said to be almost confin.d to the higher parts of the
county. In the low country they are kept chiefly to eat the
turnips, and sometimes sown grass, which is permitted to lie
a year or two for pasture. Flying flocks are therefore generally
kept ; and as soon as they are fattened for the market, which
is usually within the year, they are sold off. A considerable
number of lambs likewise are reared, only so far, however, as
to render them fit for the butcher.
A« the great object in the lower districts is feeding, little
attention is paid to psurticular kinds ; every farmer keeps those
which he thinks are likely to pay best for the food which they
consume. The black-faced, or Tweed-dale breed, are most ge-
nerally preferred for feeding on turnips, because they are most
esteemed in the market ; but many of the Cheviot breed are
likewise kept, and even some of the improved Leicester.
The kind of sheep bred, and most generally kept, in Lam-
mermuir, is the black-facetl, or more properly what is called
the brocked-faced, a sort of dirty looking mixture of black and
white; they are for the most part horned: when they are fed,
the wedders weigh from ten to twelve pounds per quarter, and
the ewes from eight to ten on an average.
The Bakewell breed has l)een tried, but not extensively ; in-
deed it does not seem well calculated either for the nature of
the climate or the quality of the food.
The Cheviot sheep were introduced several years ago, and
are kept with atlvantage in many places. It is not the general
opinion, however, that they can ever universally supplant the
native breed, or even become equally numerous, with profit.
Of horses very few are bred in the county, not one perhaps
in a dozen that are kept. In a district so well calculated for
raising com, it is more profitable to purchase horses, ready
for work, than to be at the trouble and expense of rearing
them. The farmers here are supplied with this part of stock,
chiefly from the dealers of Ayrshire and Lanarkshire, who col-
lect many of them in these counties, and procure not a few
from Ireland. The horses generally kept are of that moderate
size, which may be considered as equal perh^jis to any others
for combining strength with activity. They may be stated,
generally, to be about fifteen or sixteen hands high, and strong
built. Many teams are wellymatched, very handsome, capable
of great exertion, and kept in excellent condition.
One will liardly he at a loss to determine the character of a
ariner, from the condition of Iiis horses. Very line high bred
4
horses, exhibiting an appearance of teing prepared for U»e
market, may rather suggest the ideaof icUeness Uian of labor •
but, on the other hand, lean sjiiritless creatures, worn out bv
toil and hunger, are the certain indicatives of a bad farmer o"f
one who is not thriving, and does not deserve to thrive, u'he
man who uses bad instmments, camiot have his work well
done , and one imi^rtant and primary stej) towards good fann-
ing, is to keep the laboring stot;k in good condition. Horses
regularly fed and regularly wrought, will perform a great deal
ot labor without falling off either in strength or appearance •
it is of great importance, therefore, to distribute the labor as
equally as possible, through the various seasons of the year ;
and if, as must sometimes be the case, an extraordinary exertion
ought to be made, they are in a proper condition for rnaking it.
When horses do fall off, it requires much more to restore them,
than might have kept them in a good state.
Hogs are kept in considerable numl)ers in this county, at dis-
tilleries, starch works, mills, and breweries. Every farmer
keeps a few, chiefly for supi)Iying his own table, and the gene-
rality are able to sell some annuallv. Farm servants too, who
have houses, are generally allowed" to keep a pig for each fa-
mily, which adds greatly to their comfort.
Poultry, pi^emis, and bees kept to a moderate extent for home
use. Much land on the coast, which would be thought by
many unfit for any thing but rabbit warrens, now bears tumitw
and rye.
9. Rural Economy.
The»e are not, perhaps, in the island more active or correct
laborers, than the farm servants here, and certainly none more
sot)er and respectable; and this may, in a great measure, be
ascribed to the terms on which they serve. Those servants,
who lodge in the houses of their masters, are, generally speak-
ing, on the same footing here as in otlicr places; there is no-
thing, with respect to them, which merits particular notice.
A small proportion of farm servants, however, belong to this
class; married servants are uniformly preferred; those who
reside in theur master's house are, in many cases, not employed
in regular labor, but perform that sort of extra work, and
kind of household dmdgery, which requires some hands on
every considerable farm.
The far greater part of the regular labor is performed by
married servants, called hinds; a class more numerous here
than in other districts. These dwell in houses provided by
their masters, and receive their wages, wholly or chiefly in
kind ; the circumstances are so comfortable, under which they
are generally placed, ,-s to secure a full supply of such servants
at all times. They are more steady generally than young men ;
their families, and the property which they have acquired, give
them a sort of interest in their situations, and afford some se-
curity for their continuing longer in their places.
The hind occupies a house provided by his master, for which
his wife works in harvest; he has a cow kept all the year
round, generally ten bolls of oats, three boUs of barlev, two bolls
of pease, all of the best quality upon the farm, seed com ex-
cepted. He has likewise a peck of flax seed sown, and about
the sixteenth part of an acre of ground, well i)repare<), and
sufficiently dunged for planting potatoes ; his fuel is carried ;
he has his victuals during harvest, which is always four weeks,
sometimes six, and when he carries com to market, he has an
allowance, provincially called mags. Those who are employed
m sowing and building the com ricks have, besides the ordi-
nary wages, a pair of shoes and half a boll of wheat. On all
well managed farms, the labor is carried on regularlv at set
hours : and though it is not understood that servants, who
work horses, are absolutely exempt from extra work, vet they
are very seldom required to do any thing of this nature".
It is evident, that the value of hind's wages, in money, can-
not be accurately stated ; that must vary according to the mar-
ket price of the articles in which he is paid. On an average of
some years past, it could not be less than twenty-five pounds
sterling per annum.
The circumstance, which deserves particular attention with
regard to this class, and which renders their condition so much
more comfortable than that oi. the laborers in many other
places, is the receiving payment of their wages in the necessa-
ries of life. They are far more comfortable than those who
receive the same rate of wages in money, any where ; they are
generally more faithftil to their employers, and infinitely more
attentive to the interest of their families. They have all the
necessary articles of food continually at hand, and seldom need
to purchase any thing considerable, except shoes. Their wives
make linen from their own flax sufficient for their fami-
lies, and often cloth, for other articles of dress. The quantity
of com which they can afford to sell, with the surplus pro<luce
of their cows and hens, brings them as much money as fully
anwers every demand, and enahles them to give a better edu-
cation to their children, than is sometimes obtained by per-
sons, considerably above their condition, in some other paris of
the island. There are few of th*s class in East Lothian, who
cannot read, most of them can write ; none of them fail to
have their children instmcted in these necessary branches of
education, including the rules of arithmetiir. One sees, abtjut
every farm-house, a number of children, vigorous and healthy,
decently clothed, and exhibiting every appearance of being well
fed. Not an instance occurs of any of these people soliciting
relief from the public, unless they are bv some accident dis-
abled fi-om future labor, or overtaken by the infirmities of
age. Indeed the times which are hardest for the lower classes,
m general, are usually favorable for them, because the com
and other articles which they have to sell, bears a better price
while what they have to purcha^e is not so much affected.
The t-otlajje system, which found many advocates some time
ago, was inferior in every view of the matter to the maimer in
which laborers in agriculture are accommodated here. Many
of those who labored to introduce the new cottage system, de-
served all praise for the purity of their motives ; every friend
of humanity will honor them for the generous interest which
they felt in behalf of the laboring poor ; but if they had un-
derstood the condition of the hinds in this county, they would
have found out a much tetter plan for accomplishing their
object, than giving to every cottager land to produce his sub-
sistence. A hind here receives as much com as such a cot-
tager might be expected to raise, his labor is not interrupted
to his employer, nor himself worn out by extra and excess! \e
labor ; he has no care upon his mind, no rent to pay, no bad
seasons to dread, for whatevtr may he his master's crop, he is
sure of his full share. If the labwrer profit by this system.
1138
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Paut IV.
the employer and the public profit still more ; the employer
does not pay a man who wastes half his strength at other
work, nor rely on a servant who may sometimes disappoint
him, by attending to other concerns. The public must gain
in the mcreased quantity of human food produced, for without
doubt, an acre ofland occupied by a cottager, will not yield as
much at as little expense, as if it made part of a farm culti-
vated by a person with sufficient capital,
Were all the farm servants over the kingdom paid in kind,
it may be safely affirmed, from the experience of the places
where this practice prevails, that the advantage would be great
to themselves and to the public. The master might probably,
in some case, find it more convenient to give money, but heis
far more than recompensed for any trifling disadvantage at-
tending the other mode, by the valuable moral habits which it
is calculated to preserve. Every master, who properly under-
stands his interest, will admit, that he had better pay sober.
honest, and Industrious servants, than have those of a diffbrent
description almost for nothing. From their being accustomed
to pass little money through their hands, many of the farmers'
servants in this county acquire such habits of saving, that they
lay up a few jwunds for old age, or to meet any contingency
which may require more than their ordinary income.
10. Political Economy.
The first turnpike bill for Scotland was obtained for this
county in 1750. The main roads are on the whole good; but
the bye-roads still admit of much improvement. There are no
canals or railways; the commerce is chiefly in grain from
North Berwick and Dunbar. There are oyster and other fish-
eries on the coast ; and starch works, distilleries, and brew-
eries, but no manufactures deserving notice. No agricultural
society in the county ; but that of Edinburgh, the earliest in the
United Kingdom, was founded chiefly by gentlemen of this
county, and especially Cockbum of Ormiston.
7049. BERWICKSHIRE. 304,640 acres, chiefly of gently varied surface, but partly of hilly and moun-
tainous pasture. The soil in the cultivable part of thecounty, ischieflylight gravelly loam ; the mountain-
ous part, which occupies fully one-third of it, is a continuation of the Lammermuir hills. Climate com-
paratively dry, but cold and late. There are no metals or coal in the county ; very little lime, but some
stone-quarries of the trap and other coarse stones. Every one knows that this county is one of the best
cultivated, and most systematically managed of any in the island, and that its products are nearly
equally stock and corn. It is the county of Lord Kaimes, one of the greatest patriots and best agri-
cultural authoi-s, and the first to propose a board of agriculture. It is also that of Small, well known
as the improver of the plough. {Kerr's Berwickshire, 1808.)
1. Property.
No very large estates ; largest from 8000/. to 10,000/. a year.
Many of the owners reside on their estates; some farmers "have
, of late years become resj>ectable proprietors. Resident propri-
etors usually draw their own rents; and those who live at a
distance, employ an agent, or, if only temporarily absent, have
it sent in a bank bill. Proprietors and tenants live in harmonv
and mutual good will, the rents of the former progressively lut-
vancing with the improvements of the country, and the for-
tunes of the latter augmenting continually, by industrious and
judicious attention to improved agricultural practices, and to
the amelioration of live stock.
2. Buildines.
Farm-houses formerly of rough stone, clay, and thatch, now
greatly superior to the houses that were occupied by the mid-
dling gentry, forty or fifty years ago. An excellent" plan of a
farmery given ; but the cottages of the hinds appear uncom-
fortably small, and are calculated lor close panneled beds,
which, wherever health and cleanliness are objects, ought to
be discarded. These cottages contain only one apartment, and
a sort of dark lumber place, formed by the position of the pan-
neled beds. We much wonder that the reporter, who talks so
much of the commodiousness of the houses of farmers, should
not have displayed a little more feeling on the subject of the
accommodations of cottagers. These remarks apply more par-
ticularly to three plans of cottages, given in the general plan of
a farmery (PL facing \). 91.) A detached plan of a cottage
(Jin. 811.) is given, rather better arranged than these double
ones, but still, in our opinion, highly objectionable. It has
two windows, whereas the others have only one each. The
larger window is in the kitchen [(a), the smaller in the
811
back place (h) ; these are separated by two beds (c) ; in the
kitchen are shown a plate rack and dresser (rf), table (e), and
two chests {Jf ). In the lobby a place for coals ig). No water
closets in any of the plans.
3. Occupation.
Farms generally large, and held on lease for different pe-
riods, from ten to thirty years, but commonly for nineteen
years. Mode of culture aration and pasturage alternately.
" Under this system of alternation, judiciously conducted, it
may confidently be asserted] that a farm of 1000 acres will
raise as much grain as one of equal size entirely under per|)e-
tual tillage, and will produce in addition as much beeii and
mutton, and wool, as a separate farm of '200 or 300 acres under
permanent grass. If this estimation be well founded, of
•which the reporter has no doubt, this alternate system is ob-
viously of superior profit to the tenantry in the first place, to
the landed interest secondarily, by increased rents, and to the
public ultimately and always, in the proportion of at least
twenty-five per cent, beyond what can be produced from the
two branches separately pursued on the same extent of equal
land.
In the hill district, the lands are mostly occupied as breed-
ing sheep fiirms ; taking advantage of all the favorable pieces
of land, susceptible of cultivation, for raising a little grain to
supply the farmer's family, servants, and horses ; to afford
litter and fodder from the straw during winter, by which dung
is produced ; to apply that dung to raise turnips, to carry on
their sheep stock during winter; and, finally, to produce crops
of artificial or sown grasses, for hay and early pastures, and to
the great amelioration of permanent pastures.
In the neighborhood of towns and villages, various small
passessions, from two or three acres or less, to twenty or more,
are let on leases of various endurance, but mostly for short pe-
riods, to villagers who keep one or two horses, which they
chiefly occupy in leading materials for load makers, coals to
the other villagers, lime, or any such employment as may occur.
The great mass of the land throughout the county is let in
farms of every variety of size, from 40 to .50 acres, up to 1000
or more, to tenants on leases of fixed endurance, mostly for
nineteen years.
The character of farmers in a large district of counfry must
be various ; but those of Berwickshire are very generally most
respectable and intelligent, and their success has been de-
servedly proportional. They have almost universally risen
completely above the operative class in knowledge, education,
and manners, assimilating in every respect to the character of
country gentlemen. In every comer of the county they are
to be seen carrying on extensive and costly improvements, by
draining, enclosing, liming, and marling ; and by careful and
judicious improvements of their live stock, sheep, cattle, and
even horses, with all the eagerness and intelligence of com-
mercial speculators. They trust to the certain profits of future
years to reimburse their large expenditures with reasonable
profit, which they are enabled to do through the sufficiency of
their capitals, and the security of their leases. The former i.s
derived from their own successful and intelligent industry, or
that of their fathers, the latter from the good sense of the
landlords, in seeinjj their own interests most materially inter-
woven in the security and success of their tenants.
4. Implements.
No waggons or wheel ploughs, and though drilling turnips
is universal, only one or two sorts of drills in use. Few imple-
ments, and those of a simple construction, suffice for the best
practicians in every art.
5. Enclosing.
The cultivatable lands are universally enclosed and subdi-
vided into regular fields, generally by hedges ; but sometimes
by stone walls. In the mountain district, the farms are neither
enclosed nor subdivided. The boundaries of each farm are
indicated by landmarks, and round each farmery there are
^nerally two or three small fields for convenience or cultiva-
tion. Trees very generally planted in hedgerows ; hedges al-
ways cut with a bill in the wedge shape ; never clipped and
rounded, or broader at top than bottom ; the sure means of
hindering the production or side shoots, and in time producing
naked places and gaps in that part of the hedge.
6. Arable Land.
Ample details of the turnip culture in drills is given.
7. Orchards. Woods.
None of the former worth notice. Some native copses and
woods, and artificial plantations, but not much woodiness, ex-
cepting round gentlemen's seats.
8. Improvements
In this countv were begun about 1730, when Swinton of
Swinton drained, marled, and completely enclosed his whole
estate. Nearly about the same time, Hume of Eccles did the
same. Both of these gentlemen were actuated by the example
and acquaintance of Cockbum, of Ormiston ; Henry Home,
Lord Kaimes, was one of the early improvers of this county,
about 1746, at Kaimes, now Besborough. About 1750, the
ardor of enclosing and improving the land, spread generally
among the Berwickshire proprietors.
Paring and burning, irrigation and embanking not prac-
tised or required.
9. Livestock.
The cattle of Berwickshire are so much mixed by crossing,
as scarcely to admit of any particular description. Upon the
whole, they are short hometl, thin hided, and kindly feeders,
and have been much improved by crosses with bulls of the
Teeswater breed, which is the kind chiefly admhed in this
district. Generally speaking the oxen are not carried on to
any age, and they are never worked. They are well fed from
their youth up, and are generally fed off for market in their
fourth year, very few reaching five years old. Cows, on the
contrary, are generally old before they are fed off. Great
J
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF PEEBLESHIRE.
1139
numben of smaller cattle are bred upon the lower hills, and
are disposed of to f;raziers in the low country for feedine, either
on grass or turnips, or by a succ-ession of both ; aim many
Highland cattle of various descriptions, are bouf^ht in yearly
for consuming straw, or for feeding on turnips during winter,
and on grass m spring and summer.
The sheep bred in Berwickshire are of several kinds. In the
most exposed of the Lammermuir and Lauderdale hills, the
flocks are mostly of the black faced, or Tweeddale kind, and
are there exclusively kept for breeding. In the cultivated
tract, the new Leicester breed, in a great variety of degrees of
perfection, now universally prevails ; and it is believed that no
other known breed, in the peculiar circumstances of this
county, could be nearly so prohtable to the farmer. They re-
quire, however, always to have abundance of food, and easily
procured ; for, being short legged, heavy bodied, and carrying
a great weight of wool, they are unable to undergo much fa-
tigue or hardship, and do not thrive unless plentifully sup-
plied at all seasons. This supply, the agricultural system of
the district amply affords, and is Indeed "admirably calculated
for providing. On some of the best interior hills, and upon the
higher exterior lands, verging on Lammermuir and Lauderdale,
called the moor-edges, the Cheviot breed, or long sheep, are
kept. An intermediate breed between the Cheviot and Lei-
cester, usually called half bred sheep, is very prevalent upon
the best of Uiese situations. As a singular circumstance the
reporter records the case of a ewe of tliis c-ounty, wliich uro
duced eleven lambs in three succeeding seasons.
Horte*, as in East Lothian, brought from the west of Scot-
land.
10. Rural Economy.
Farm servants mana:;ed as in East Lothian, and, indeed
almost every where in the low country of Scotland. '
11. Political Economy.
Commerce chiefly grain, wool, and salmon; scarcely anv
manufactures, excepting the paper-mills. The salmon fishery
including Berwick bounds and the English side of the river'
employs about sevenu small boats, and nearly 300 fishermen.'
AH their fish are sold to a very respectable fraternity of traders
in Berwick, named coojiers, firom their former business of mak-
ing kits, and boiling the Hsh, which is now entirely discon-
tinued. By them the salmon are packed in ice, and sent to
London, to be disposed of by factors on commission. This em-
ployment of ice ;was first assayed by Messrs. Richardson, of
Perth, on the suggestion of George Dempster, of Dunnichen ,
Esq. who had accidentally read that such a practice was not
unusual in China.
7050. ROXBURGHSHIRE. 4-30,048 acres, of which about three-fifths, or 288,048 acres, are in sheep
pasture, and the remaining two-fifths, or 172,032 acres, are occasionally under the plough, except about
8000 acres occupied in woods, pleasure-grounds, and the sites of towns and villages. The surface
is exceedingly irregular, being in some places ninety, and in others. 2000 feet above the level
of the sea. The climate is equally various, and excessive rains, winds', frosts, and even hail and
snow are by no means uncommon in spring and harvest. The soil is chiefly moss or peat, but there is
also light calcareous soil, clay, and loam. Limestone abounds in most parts of the district, and coal has
been found, but is not worked. The agriculture of the arable lands is in all respects the same as that of
Berwickshire, and that of the pastures resembles the store farming of the latter county and East Lothian
Dawson, of Frogden, belongs to this county, and may be looked on as one of the greatest improvers of
British agriculture. {Douglas's Roxburghshire, 1794.)
peatedly raised, with less reason, against other Acts in no
respect so arbitrary and oppressive.
3. Gardens and Orchards.
Thrive better in the lower parts of this County than In those
on the east coast. At Meb-ose, Jedburgh, and Kelso, are the
remains of orchards planted by the priests several centuries ago
the pear-trees of which are very productive. Wonderftil
stories are told of theh: fertility. A single tree of the thorle
pear at Melrose has for these hfty years past yielded the interest
of the money .paid for the garden where it stands, and for a
house let for seven pounds sterling yearly. Another tree there
has carried fruit to the amount of three pounds annuallv
at an average for the same period. In the year I793 two
trees there brought to perfection about 60,000 pears, which
were sold for eight guineas. These'facts are well authenticated
There are also several more recent orchards near the saini»
places, and 15!0 acres of nurseries. Of these one of the oldest
and largest in Scotland is that of Messrs. Dicksons, of Hawick
4. PVoods and Plantations.
To the extent of 5290 acres ; nearly two-thirds artificial.
5. Live Stock.
Cattle, a mixed breed, as in Berwickshire. Sheep of the
Cheviot kind greatly improved by a cross with the Dishler
breed, introduced about 1 1 65, by Rolison, a pupil of Cullev
Merinos and other sorts have been tried, but sufB«ient timeha^
not elapsed to ascertain the result.
6. Rural and Political Economy.
Farm servants on the same plan as in East Lothian- Roads
improvmg ; no canaU ; little commerce, and almost no ma
nufactures.
1. Property. '
Generally in large estates, and little change of proprietorship
has taken place for many years. The largest about 80002. or
90001. a year.
2. Implements. Arable Latid.
Fannert, the reuorter states, were first made in this county
by one Rogers, a farmer, of a mechanical turn, near Hawick,
in 1733, or at least before 1737, who is said either to have seen a
model, or a description of one, which had been brought firom
Holland. (Report of Norihum.)
Aral>le land enclosed, partly by hedges and partly by walls of
loose stones, without mortar.
Ploughing with two horses, without a driver, was practised
in this county before it was in any other. It was taught by
Dawson, of Frogden, who introduced the drill ciUture, to
James Macdougall, farmer, at Linton, in Tweeddale, alive at
the time of making up the report : it spread rapidly afterwards
through the county, and the neighboringones of >i'orthumber-
land, Berwickshire.iEastl^thian, and Tweeddale. Potatoes
first planted in large beds about 1754 ; in 1768, in drills in the
fields. Tobacco, during the American war, was cultivated to
a considerable extent in the neighborhood of Kelso and Jed-
burgh, and in some other spots. Its produce was so great, that
thirteen acres at Crailing fetched 104/. at the low rate of four-
pence per pound, and would have brought more than three times
as much, had not an Act of Parliament obliged the cultivator to
dispose of it to (government at that price. This county lost
about 1500/. sterling by that .\ct, which passed while tlie
tobacco was growing; yet it excited jiot so much murmuring
and clamor among the sufferers as nave been elsewhere re-
7051. SELKIRKSHIRE. 160,600 acres almost wholly of mountainous surface, the lowest part 300
feet above the level of the sea ; many houses are 600 and some more than 1000 feet above its level. The
highest mountain is 2370 feet. These mountains are generally of granite or whinstone, and the surface
soil is commonly gravelly and dry. In the vallies are clay, peat, morass, and lakes. The climate is cold and
rather moist. There are no metals, nor coal, lime, or freestone. The most remarkable thing attending
this county is that its hills and mountains are almost every where clothed to their summits with sound
sheep pasture, of which there are estimated to be 148,000 acres ; 8800 acres in aration, 2000 in wood, and
the rest in gardens, houses, roads, lakes, &c. {Douglas's General View, 1796.)
Property m few hands, and in large estates. The farms are
large, and the leases generally shorter than on arable farms.
The sheep are a variety of the Cheviot produced by repeated
crosses with the native mountain black-faced breed. In all
respects the husbandry of this coun^ may be considered the
same as that of the mountainous districts of the preceding
counties. There is a viroollen cloth manufactory, and an ex
cellent porter brewery, by a pupil of Meux, at Galashiels
Some agricultural societies were attem|)ted in this and the
adjoining counties about 1793, but they were of very short
duration.
' 7052. PEEBLESHIRE or TWEEDDALR 229,778 acres, mostly of mountain, moor, and bog but
with about one-tenth part arable. The lowest part of the county is 400 feet above sea level, and grain is
cultivated to the height of 1000 feet. The climate is late, cold, and moist, and the soil moory, clayey or
sandy, according as the water is pent up ; the rocks of the mountains are freestone, granite, trap, or clay-
stone. The only minerals worth notice are lime, whinstone, and freestone. The general appearance of
the country is wild, and rather dull and dreary, as romantic or sublime. The agricultural survey of this
county is by the Rev. Charles Findlater, and it abounds with more valuable matter on political agricul-
ture, on leases, prices, restrictions, markets, &c. than any survey that has been published, without a single
exception. In fact, it was found to take such a masterly view of the moral incitements to agricultural
industry, that it was rejected by the Board, and the author was reduced to publish it himself. It has cer-
tainly, through the medium of the extracts from it published in the Farmers' Magazine, been the means
of enlightening thousands, both of farmers and landlords. The fundamental principle which Findlater
lays down and illustrates under the heads of leases, size of farms, usury, capital, dearth, monopoly, forestall,
ing, government interference, tithes, poor, and other topics, is, " That the best mode of insuring the invention
and prosecution of the most advantageous measures is, an arrangement which shall communicate to those
on whom their execution is devolved, a sufficient personal interest in their invention and execution." To
some he doubts not such views will be considered as foreign to the report of a county j whilst, to others
they will constitute its most essential value.
4D 2
1140
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
The state of property and husbandry of the country may be considered as the same as that of the other
mountainous districts. The black faced sheep are in almost universal use, excepting in milder situations,
where the Cheviot has been introduced. There is no commerce but by retail, and only some very trifling
woollen manufactures in the county.
In the Appendix an account is given of the improvement of the Whim, a flow-moss of 100 acres, twenty
feet deep, and at an elevation of 700 feet above the level of the sea. It was begun to be drained in 1731,
and in ten years a mansion was built, and surrounded by woods and pleasure-grounds, which shew, as the
Dukeof Buccleugh, the proprietor, intended, the wonderful influence of art over nature. " Tlie planta-
tions (originally extensive) have been improved and enlarged since the property came into possession of
the Lord Chief Baron ; and he has also greatly enlarged the house, adding a court of offices, upon a large
scale, and ornamented in front, extending also the lawn. The place has, upon the whole, an air of magni-
ficence. In the pleasure-grounds, there are several artificial pieces of water. East of the house (where
the soil is dry, and covered with sweet grasses) the surface is agreeably diversified by gentle swells, tufted
with trees. A wild wilderness walk, through a small wood, lands you upon the banks of an artificial lake,
with islands, covering an extent of six or seven acres of surface. "What chiefly strikes the visitor at
AVhim, is the strongly marked contrast betwixt the improvements of human art, and nature in her wildest
form, here found in immediate contact. Your ears are, at once, saluted with the warblings of the black-
bird and thrush, from the plantations ; and the wild notes of the plover, the curlew, the grouse, and other
moss birds from the flow-moss." {Findlater's Report, S^c. 1804.)
7053. DUMFRIESSHIRE. 644,385 acres of maritime, vale, and mountain lands, in the proportion of
1, 4, and 7. The climate is variable, comparatively mild, but moist. The soil of the maritime district is
li.?ht, and generally on sand, gravel, or rock; that of the vale ormidlanddistrictisgravelly, sandy or moory.
The mountains are of schist, whinstone, or red freestone, and thinly covered with corresponding soils or
moss. In some places they are covered with dry pasture, but more frequently with a mixture of grass and
heath. The principal metallic ore found in the county is lead ; but several others, as iron, copper, antimony,
&c. exist, and the latter has been worked. Coal has been found, but not in strata sufficiently thick to be
workable. Marble also and slate have been worked, and lime, freestone, and whinstone, in abundance.
There are several mineral springs in the mountain district, the principal of which is the spaw, at Moffat.
Fish, and especially salmon, are caught in moderate quantities in the Nith and Annan. The celebrated
improver, Craik, was a proprietor in this county, at Ardbigland, near Dumfries, now the property of his
son. IDr. Singer's General View, 1812.)
1. Minerals.
The lead mines occupy very barren grounds, remarkably
bleak and elevated; but they are a ^real fiind of industry and
riches, and they furnish a part of the county with an excellent
market for the surplus jp-ain produced in that part. Lead-
hills, with the mines, are in the county of Lanark, and belong
to the Earl of Hopetown, who draws about 7000/. a year from
these mines. Wanlockhead mine is in Dumiriesshire, belongs
to the Duke of Queensberry, and returns to the proprietor near
5000Z. a year.
2. Property
In large estates, owned by 453 persons. The Duke of
Buccleugn's estate of very great extent. Some estates are
managed by their owners, and others by commissioners having
power to let. In large properties it is common to entrust the
collecting rents, and arrangements relative to leases, buildings,
fences, and courses of crops, to factors residing on or near the
lands, who represent their constituents (if not personally pre-
sent) in county and parish meetings. Millar, of Dalswinton,
has gone over an estate of 5000 acres, in twenty-five years, and
•improved the whole of it, with the exception of a portion
which is now under process, and promises to be soon completed.
His plan is, not to farm his lands himself, but to prepare them,
by impiovement, for being let to farmers.
3. Buildings.
While the reporter expatiates on the ample accommodations
of the modem farm-houses in this and other counties, he gives
the following information as to cottages, which we regret to
tind seem by no means improved either in this or in other
parts of Scotland in the same ratio as the habitations of inferior
animals. " A common, and not inconvenient cottage, is put
up as follows; viz., stone and lime walls, seven feet high,
thirty-six feet long, and fourteen to sixteen feet wide within ;
the roof of Scots fir, which is preserved from the worm by
smoke, and covered with thatch ; a chimney at one end, and
an open passage for smoke in the other ; affording two apart-
ments below, one of them a kitchen, and a central apartment
opposite to the door ; the one end boarded over, and the other
open. Such a cottage may be erected for about 30/. or 40/. ;
and, with half a rood for a garden, it would let at 51. a year or
more, according to its finishing." Doubtless the reverend
gentleman makes but short prayers when he visits the sick in
such smoky cottages : — the surgeon may speak to bis patient
through the window. "•
4. Occupation.
Sheep farms from 300 to 3000 acres ; arable fkrms from 50
to coo acres. Leases universal, and generally for nineteen
or twenty-one years. Wilkie's variation of Small's plough is
in general use, as clearing the mould-board better in soft
soils. The Berwickshire system of culture is practised on the
turnip soils ; the East Lothian on such as are loamy or clayey ;
and the store system on the mountain district. The cattle are
of the Galloway breed, and sheep, Cheviots, or the black faced
mountain kind. More poultry is kept than in most other
counties, in order to consume the light grain. Many of the
fowls and eggs go to Edinburgh ; but the greater part of the
produce and sales in eggs go in small oval baskets, packed in
carts, to Berwick, for the London market. In one or two
mstances the holcus lanatus has been cultivated on reclaimed
bogs with success, but is intended to be succeeded by better
grasses as soon as they will bear them. The drill culture of
turnips was introduced bj Craik, about 1745. Drainijig has
been extensively practised ; irrigation in a few plac s, and some
embankments made on the Solway Firth, and the Nith and
Annan. There are few orchards. Some remains of coppice
and forest, which, according to appearances and authentic
records, seem in former times to have spread over great part of
the county ; and numerous young plantations. Some years
ago many young Scotch firs died from the attacks of the Teredo
finorum, as some suppose ; but the cause does not seem clearly
known. Some very large oaks, beeches, elms, ashes, and larch
firs, are described in the report.
^ 5. Improvements.
As a specimen we shall give some notices of what has been
J one on the estate of Mount Annan, by Gen. Dirom. The ex-
ent of Mount Annan estate is 2750 acres. The major began
his improvements in 1793, and planted before 1819, 168 acres.
Assisted in laying out a considerable extent of public road and
building bridges, the road passing through the estate. Made
an improvement in the construction of lime kilns, since per-
fected by Booker, of Dublin.(3589.) The lime quarried and dried
by means of a small stream from more elevated lands ; this
stream being made to turn an overshot wheel, which works two
pumps. The village of Bridekirk begun in 1800 (3575.) on the
new road, and where the river Annan affords ample falls for ma-
chinery. Farms arranged of different sizes, andf three eminent
farmers settled with a view to improvement. Cottage farms one
or two ; cottages ; improved stock on the demesne farm ; im-
proved farm buildings ; leases for fifteen 5rears ; stone quarries
opened, others drained and improved ; brick clay found, and
bricksmade; salmon fishery improved. Irrigation, florin, spring
wheat, moss composts, mole plough, and steaming apparatus,
introduced. A cross moss-cutting machine, invented by the
overseer, William HoUiday, for cutting the furrows across in
improving moor, instead of cross-ploughing, which is not only a
very laborious operation, but seldom succeeds in cutting them
into small enough pieces, so as to be afterwards easily harrowed.
This machine consists of two circular knives, if they may be
so called, six inches deep in the blade, with a blunt edge, fixed
upon and embracing the whole of the exterior circle of two
small broad wheels, and as they go round the knives cut the
furrows across. The axle and frame of a roller are used for
these wheels, so that the weight may be encreased by loading
the box of the frame, if it should be necessary to make the
knives cut through the furrows. It is dragged with great ease
across the ploughed moor by one horse ; and, when it is moist,
the furrows are cut through with the greatest facility, in pieces
of any length, according to the number of turns taken by the
machine. The furrows, when a little dry, are then turned
over by the brake (break) harrow, and being all cut into small
pieces, are in the best state for being retluced by repeated har-
rowing, or for being thrown together in heaps and burnt.
6. Weekly Reports.
" In carrying on the improvements which have been men-
tioned, at a considerable clistance from my general residence,
they have been greatly facilitated by reauiring my overseer, or
manager, to send me a weekly report of what was doing upon
the farm and the estate. It shows how the servants and horses
have been employed during every day, contains a journal of the
weather, and of the progress of "different works, and a state of
his receipts and disbursements during the week. These re-
ports, besides enabling one to judge of what is doing, and to
give any directions that may be necessary, are extremely
useful to refer to, and excite the overseer and servants to be
diligent in mv absence.''
Increase of population on the estate in fifteen years, 396;
viz. from 175 to 571 inhabitants. Total exi)ense of purchase
and improvements up to 1811, 30,000/. Cleat annual rental
at that time, 2000/. a year, exclusive of the value of timber and
of the mansion, garden, and hot-house, &c. as a gentleman's
residence.
7. Political Economy.
Improving roads, and some canals and railways ; some com-
merce by sea with the port of Dumfries ; manufactures incon-
siderable; paper, stockings by frames, muslin weavers. A
small iron-work at Kirkconnell, in which from three to four
dozen spades daily are made. Cotton spinning and weaving
in a few places. Carpet weaving, &c. " Salt, from the rich
est parts of the sea sleech, collected with horse drags, in dry
weather in summer, and then placed so as to tie washed aud
filtered, and the brine that runs out of it boiled."
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF AYRSHIRE.
141
7054. KIRCUDBRIGHTSHIRE, 561,641 acres, and WIGTONSHIRE 305,612 acres, possessing
great similarity of agricultural character, have been included in one report, as the district of Galloway.
The climate moist, but rather warm; in some parts of Wigtonshire in genial seasons, figs rijKJii
on the open garden walls. The soil and surface of Galloway is exceedingly various. Almost the
whole of Wigtonshire is very little elevated above the surface of the sea, but great part of Kircud-
brightshire is hilly and mountainous. The better soils are for the most part light, and of this and hazel
loam there is a considerable portion in "Wigtonshire. In some places in Kircudbrightshire it is clayey or
alluvial, and there is a great deal of peat-moss, and bog, as well as improved, or grass bearing peat. The
rocks of the county are argillaceous, granite, or whinstone, with some freestone. Some mineral veins
have been found ; and one of lead, near Gate- House of Fleet, was worked at the expense of the compiler
of this work for some time, but without success. In an agricultural point of view, Galloway is chiefly
remarkable for its breed of cattle. Gladstone, a millwright, who has invented a reaping machine, and
proposed some improvements on the threshing machine, and other implements, is of this district.
(SmUh's General View, 1810.)
More divided than in most of the counties of Scotland.
Largest estate, 30,000/. a year. Earl of Galloway's, in AVigton-
shire. Estates in general well managed ; landlords in general
advance monev at five, six, or seven and a half per cent, for
buildings, fences, drains, mineral manures, roads, &c. Dun-
bar, Earl of Selkirk, a disciple of Craik's, one of the first who
set the example of improvement, which has been persevered in
by the same femily to the present time.
2. Occupation.
In the moors, where breeding catMe and sheep is the object,
farms sometimes seven or eight miles square, some ten or
twelve. Arable farms 300 to 600 acres ; 200 acres perhaps the
average. Leases nmeteen or twenty. one years, to which the
late Earl of Galloway superadded the tenant's life. " From
this two good effects were supposed to result ; 1st. That the
landlord was freed from the expenses of buildings and repairs.
Jddly. That the tenant presummg (as we always do) on the
continuance of life, would be disposed to go on with his im-
firovements to the last. There is certainly, however, much
iberality in the idea."
3. Enclosing.
Galloway dykes (2835.) very generaUy in use; some useful
remarks on the necessity of bonding them sufficiently, and work-
ing the coping-stones to a flat under-surface.
4. Arable Land.
Till the middle of the eighteenth century, four and some-
times six horses yoked abreast in the old Scotch plough, and
tumbrils (carts with low wheels without spokes) and cars in
use; now all the improved implements; the husbandry of
East Lothian on the alluvial lands and loams, too heavy tor tur-
nips; that of Berwickshire on the turnip soils; cattle bred
on the mountains and moors ; carrots cultivated in some places,
and found to answer well ; florin uied on bogs ; some irriga-
sation; embanking near Wigton and at ICircudbright, and
much draining ; also paring and burning, and various other
means of improving bogs and flow mosses tried, in conjunction
with draining. Com in the late districts gaited. (2940.)
Barley is a good deal cultivated, and thin hot barley cakes,
from dough, baked the same morning, and spread first with
butter, and then with honey, and folded or rolled up (like the
teff" of the Abyssinians), form a ^art of the breakfast bread of
all who can atibrd it in Wigtonshire.
5. Orchards,
Rare. " Some proprietors furnish their tenants with fruit-
trees for their gardens, when they are willing to be at the
trouble of cultivating them. But, from the scarcity of fruit m
the country, and the idea that the plundering of an orchard is
a very venial trespass, such as do cultivate them, frequently do
not gather the fruits. In this we believe there is nothmg
peculiar to Galloway. There are a few market gardens and
several nurseries."
6. Woods and Plantations,
Of a very limited extent,' but rapidly increasing. John, Earl
of Stair, planted extensively at Mount Kennedy, in the Defi-
ning of the eighteenth century ; and Douglas, Earl of belkurk,
soon afterwards. The Earl of Galloway, the pesent Earl of
Selkirk, Murray of Broughton, and various others, are great
planters.
7. Livestock. „,_ ^ ,
The Galloway breed of cattle is well known. The breeders
perhaps, in general, understand the management of catUe as
7055 AYRSHIRR 664,960 acres of irregular but not mountainous surface, and clayey or mossy soil,
under a moist climate ; half the county bog, hilly pasture, or waste, and the rest chiefly under alter-
nate grass and" corn. The agriculture followed is in great part the dairy system ; Dunlop cheese, al-
ready described (6353.), being chiefly produced in this county. (Aiton's General View, 1811.)
1. Minerals. . ,
Coal and limestone are to be found in most parts of the
county, and there are several kinds of building stone, but no
metallic ores worth working, excepting iron. Coal is the sta-
ple mineral, and is exjiorted in large quanUties to Glasgow and
other townsj'along the west coast, northward and southward.
2. Buildings.
Some good castles and mansions, as Culzean, Loudon, Eg-
linton, &c. Farm buildings are improving, though but
slowly. Some neat elevations, and comfortable interiors on
Lord"Eglinton's estates; single, (/£«•. 812 n), and double (b).
Each of such cottages is surrounded by a neat garden, con-
taining a pigstye, pump, and bee-house ; and the house con-
tainmg a porch (1), kitchen, oven, and stair to bed rooms (2),
parlor (3), store closet (4), bed closet (5), pantry (C), coal
closet (7), back entrance (8), and water closet .(10), with two
garret bed-rooms over.
3. Occupation.
Farms small, from 50 to 150 acres, and their culture imper-
well as, or better than, most others in the kingdom. They all
know to distinguish a ^ood bull or a good cow from a bad one ;
and fail not to select from their own stock such as are best
adapted for the 'improvement of the breed : and from this gene-
ral attention, it no doubt arises, that the cattle in Galloway are
prett_y uniformly good. But among them have arisen no en-
thusiasts in the profession ; none who have studied it scienti-
fically, or dedicated their talents almost exclusively to this one
object. No fair test has yet been given, of what might be done
by a proper selection of the choicest individuals of Doth sexes,
for breeders, and uniting them in such a manner, as seemed
best calculated to diminish their faults and heighten their
properties, by crossing the progeny of these from time to time;
and still carefully pursuing proper combinations of the most
approved males with the finest females, till the improvement
was carried to the greatest perfection of which the breed is
sus(;eptible. No Bakewells, no CuUeys, no Ceilings have yet
appeared in Galloway ; who, with a skill, the result of long
study and experience, have united sufficient capital, and by
the success of their experiments have made great fortunes, and
transmitted their names to the most distant parts of the king-
dom. Few of the Galloway cattle (comparatively) are fed for
home consumption. Dairying with Ayrshire cows has lately
been mtroduced, and very good Dunlop cheese made.
The sheep for the low districts are of various breeds, those of
the highlands the same as in the mountain districts of the
counties already described. The South Down is found to
answer well in Wigtonshire, and also the Leicester.
Horses. Galloway formerly possessed a breed of horses pe-
culiar to itself, and in high estimation for the saddle ; being,
though small, exceedingly hardy and active. Accustomed to
a rugged and mountainous country, and never employed in the
draught, these were sure-footed, and travelled with spirit in
very bad roads. They were of a larger size than the ponies of
Wales, or the shelties of the north, being from twelve to four-
teen hands high. It is reported that this breed originated
from Spanish horses, which escaped from a vessel of the Ar-
mada, that had been wrecked on the shores of Galloway : but it
appears probable from some passages in Shakspeare, that tlie
Galloway horses were in repute at an earlier period. It is
much to be regretted that this ancient breed is now almost
lost. This has been occasioned chiefly by the desire of far-
mers to breed horses of greater weight, and better adapted for
the draught; and from the little value attached, in times of
tranquillity, to horses well calculated for predatory excureions.
As the soil and climate of Galloway are peculiarly adapted
for rearing horses, there cannot be a doubt that under proper
management, they would in general liecome excellent, and
add much to the value of its produce. Hitherto few more have
been bred than what is necessary to supply the demands of the
district.
Swine increasing since the introduction of potatoes ; and the
prejudice against eatuig the flesh common to this and most
districts of Scotland gradually declining. Ringing not prac-
tised, hut the two strong tendons of the snout cut by a slight
incision, about an inch and a half above the nose, when the
animal is about two months old.
Bees of this district produce honey equal, if not superior to
any in the world ; its excellence supposed to depend on the
profusion of wild flowers, especially white clover and heath.
Game abundant ; a few pteurmigans in the highest moun-
tains.
8. Political Economy.
Roads greatly improved of late, and somi
paper, and other manufactories introduced.
cotton, woollen.
feet and irregular, though rents aie high from the population
of the manufacturing towns.
4
4. Live Stock.
Horses are bred and sold under the general name of Lanark -
shire or Clydesdale, and are in great demand ; as are the Ayr-
shire cows for the Edinburgh and Glasf^w dairymen. Indeed
these cows are preferred to all others in most parts of the low
country of Scotland.
5. Woods and Plantations.
Most of the proprietors are extensive planters. On the Cul-
zean estate are extensive woods, raised in the face of the west
winds ; most of the trees lean to the east, excepting the com-
mon maple, which is generally erect, or nearly so, and is one of
the liest trees for an exposed sea coast. There are a few na-
tive conpice woods, and some fine old birch, ash, and oak frees
round tglinton Castle.
6. Improvements.
Captain Smith, the proprietor of a small place abounding
with peat bogs, about 1790, began to drain and dig, and lime
the surface, and succeeded in reducing the peat to a black mould,
and rearing tolerable crops of oats, potatoes, and clover. Af-
D3
142
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
ter five or six years
these bogs; but at
, he was able to venture horses and cattle on i The harbor, and other works carrying on at Ardrossaii, un-
firiit every operation was manual. | der the auspices of the Earl of Eglinton, and the harbor of
Troon, and the railway from thence to Kilmarnock, formed
almost entirely at the expense of the Duke of Portland, are
worthy monuments, no less of the enlightened judgment and
enerify, than of the wealth of these two patriotic noblemen-
The harbor will, when completed, be one of the safest, most
capacious, and most accessible on the west coast of Britain ;
possessing many advantages over the harbors in the Frith of
Clyde, situate in a narrow channel, which can be navigated
only when the wind blows from particular points, and which,
for upwards of twenty miles below Glasgow, is both shallow
and dangerous. A circular pier of 900 yards was finished in
1811, and every thing was then ready to begin the wet-dock,
which, according to Telford's plan, was to contain from 70 to
100 vessels, in water sixteen feet deep. The works have ra-
ther languished of late, and are not likely to be completed soon
without public aid. It was part of the Earl of Eglinton's
plan to raise a neat regular built town at Ardrossan, in which
some progress has been made ; and he has constructed excel-
lent baths, which draw to it a number of visitors at the proper
season.
The harbor at Ardrossan was only a part of the general plan,
and that from which, viewed by itself, the smallest advan-
tages perhaps were to be expected. The leading idea was to
open up a direct communication between Glasgow, Paisley,
and other large towns in the vicinity and the west coast, in-
stead of the present circuitous passage by the Frith of Clyde.
A canal was therefore to be cut from Glasgow to Ardrossan,
about thirty-one miles and half, at the estimated expense of
125,000/. Of this only a third has been yet executed, that is,
from Glasgow to Johnstone, and this part has cost about
90,000/.
"T Tt 1-f > r The harbor at Troon, connected, as it now is, with Kilmar-
7. Pohttcal Economy. nock, by means of an excellent railway, seems to possess almost
Carpet and other woollen manufactures at Kilmarnock ; all the advantages of that of Ardrossan, and promises to be-
threaa at Beith, cotton at Cathrine, iron at Muirkirk, salt come, in a much shorter period, of vast utility to the populous
and kelp on the shores, and earthenware and the usual minor country around it.
manufactures, as leather, hats, &c. at various places.
7056. LANARKSHIRE or CLYDESDALE. 556,800 acres, in great part mountain, moor, and peat-
bog, with a portion of friable loam, and some retentive clays. The climate is cold, moist, and unfavor.
able, exceptmg in the low vales, where vegetation is chiefly injured by spring and autumn frosts. Aver-
age of the rain which falls at Glasgow, 30.8 inches. The minerals are lead, ironstone, coal, limestone,
freestone, and whinstone, all worked to a considerable extent. The lead mines at Leadhills, have been
already noticed under Dumfriesshire. The husbandry of the county is chiefly distinguished for its breed
of horses, and for orchards, the latter a rare production in Scotland. John Naismith, the author of a work
on Industry, another on the Elements of Agriculture, and also of the Report, seems to have been a native
of this county. {Naismjth's General View, 1803.)
1. Property.
Three-fourths of the surface, the property of great land-
holders ; the rest much divided. Farm-houses and offices were
formerly very indifferent ; but in this as in other adjoining
counties, when the leases of forms fell in, the landlord gene-
rally enlarges or renews the buildings, as a necessary step to
getting the full rental value for the land- A good deal of
ground feued out to operative mecJianics, weavers, &c- for
building cottages.
2. Occupation
Much the same as in Galloway. Breeding farms are large,
and corn farms moderate. The mountainous district ia occu-
pied mostly with flocks of sheep : upon the ridges on the E. and
W. sides, where the ground is marshy, and less proper for sheep,
and the exposure too bleak to encourage the cultivation of com,
cattle are mostly pastured, and those generally milch cows zmd
their young, many of which are reared ; a small qiiautity of
corn only being cultivated, principally for the sake of winter
provender- The less rugged and less exposed parts are more oc-
cupied in the culture of com ; and the banks of the Clyde,
between Hamilton and Lanark, with orchards.
3. Gardens and Orchards.
GlJisgow is abundantly supplied with th« common culinarv
vegetables from market gardens. Otchards are chiefly found
in two districts in Scotland, in Clydesdale, and the Carse of
Gowrie. " The Clydesdale orchards lie mostly between the
bottom of the lowest iall of the river, and the mouth rfthe
south Calder. They are chiefly of applet, with a mixture of
pear trees, and some plumbs. Cherries are more rarely culti-
vated, being much subject to the depredations of birds. Few
of the orchards are large, but many small ones are planted up
and down the country. The whole may cover 340 acres or
upwards, and are on the incKease. The produce is very pre-
lus, the fruit being frequently destroyed in the blossom, by
•pring frosts and caterpillars. The value of the fruit is not
always in proportion to the number and size of the trees.
Those who cultivate the ground around the trees, taking care
not to injure the roots, and giving manure from time to time,
have finer fruit, and a much greater quantity in propor-
tion, than those who do not. Much also depends on adapting
the trees to the soil and exposure. These orchards are mostly
planted on very steep hanging banks, and on such they have
been found to succeed better than on plains, as subterraneous
water flows most quickly away. Most of them stand on soils
greatly cohesive, and on such the trees have been supposed to
be surer bearers than on open sandy soils : yet there are in-
stances of orchards, on friable and gravelly soils, uncommonly
productive. Plumb trees are generally planted round the verge
of the orchard, and are profitable, not only for the fruit they
bear, but for sheltering the other trees. The'depredations com-
mitted on the orchards are become more frequent and daring,
as the manufactures of the county have increased, and are a
great discouragement to this species of cultivation, particularly
that of small orchards, which cannot defray the expense of
watching in the night."
Besides the larger fruit, great quantities of gooseberries and
currants are cultivated, and, when well managed, are said to
pay very well. The gooseberry and currant trees are dug
around annually, kept on a single stem, and dunged every se-
cond year.
Copse, Woods, or native timber trees, are not abundant ; the
oldest trees are on the Clyde, in and near Hamilton Park and
Bothwel Castle. Many new plantations are forming in every
part of the county.
4. Live Stock.
Cattle a mixed breed ; the Ayrshire beginning to become ge-
neral. Oxen formerly employed in labor, and still used by a few
of the amateurs in spite of the better sense of their tenants and
bailifTs. Few sheep kept, excepting on the mountains, where
the black faced sort prevails.
The draught horses of Clydesdale have long been in high esti-
mation. Dealers from different parts of England come to the
Glasgow and Rutherglen markets to purchase them, and prefer
them to the Derbyshire blacks. Those of the upper ward,
where the greatest number are bred, are esteemed the best.
They have been much improved of late, and are still improving,
especially in size and weight.
Hogs. " A kind of Jewish abhorrence of swine seems to
have taken place, about the rigid times of the Reformation,
in the western counties of Scotland. They were unclean beasts ;
it was sinful to eat their flesh, and neither creditable nor pro-
fitable to keep them. And though these prejudices are now
pretty much worn out, pork is not yet, in general, a favorite
food, and, of course, the number of hogs kept and fed are not
considerable."
5. Political Economy.
The roads are in many places bad, but have lately been im-
proved ; though the materials be good and abundant, the wet
climate is much against them. There are several canals, the
river Clyde, navigable to Glasgow, and some railways. The
manufactures and commerce of Glasgow are of great extent
and well known. There is a corresponding agricultural society
there, and some minor societies.
7057. DUNBARTONSHIRE. 147,300 acres of exceedingly irregular surface, in two parts.distant from
each other six miles ; possessing little agricultural interest. The arable lands are of very limited extent, and
he chiefly on the banks of the Clyde and Leven : the greatest part of the county consisting of lofty moun-
tains incapable of cultivation. Coal, lime, freestone, and ironstone abound, and are extensively worked.
There is also ochre, schistus abounding in alum pyrites, which are made into copperas, and a large
quarry of blue^slate- Lochlomond is well known for its scenery. ( Whyte and Macfarlane's Report, 1811.)
1. Property. I houses. The most magnificent is Roseneath, the Duke of Ar-
Two large estates ; one exceeds .1000/. a year. One third of j g>'^» 1^""' •'J' Bonomi, in 1803 et seq. It is 184 feet long, and
the county under entail, which greatlv retards its improve- I ^^^ '" breadth, with two magnificent fronts, both ornamented
jnent. ) with columns of the Ionic order. On his Grace's farm, which
2. Buildings. J " cultivated in a very superior style, there is also a large set of
More than a eommon share of elegant villas and gentlemen's | ^'"" °^^^' '""nounted with a high tower. Common farta-
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF STIRLINGSHIRE.
1143
houses and cottAges formerly very wretched, beginnlnff to im-
iirove, but the progress slow. Dunbaiton bridge, 300 feet in
length anil twenty-five feet higli in the centre.
3. Occupation.
Average extent of arable farms fifty acres; sheep, or moun-
tain farms, average 600 acres. Farmers men of limited edu-
cation, without capital, and implicitly following the practices
of their forefathers. There exi.sts among the latx>nng . class
In this district, an inveterate attachment to the possession of
land. When a young man is disposed to marry, ne looks out
for a small farm, takes it at an extravagant rent, stocks it on
credit, and draws from it a scanty subsistence, while at theencl
of his lease his effects are often unequal to pay the debt whicli
has accumulated during its currency. In fact, the feudal state
of society has not entirely disappeared in this county. There
were lately, on many estates, and are still on some," farms let
to three or four tenants, as conjunct lessees, to be cultivated by
their united, or rather discordant exertions. Lands always let
on lease, seldom for a shorter period than nineteen years.
4. Implements.
Curved harrows of a semicircular form are used by the best
farmers for dressing their |M>tatoe ridges. The diameter is
equal to the distance between the drills or ridges, generally
near three feet, and they are used, before the young shoot of the
potatoe springs, to dress the surface of the ridge, and destrov
any weeds which may have begun to appear. The highland
hand-harrow is still in use in some comers of the highland dis-
trict. It is about two feet long and fifteen inches broad, con-
sisting of three bulls, and as many cross liars, with twenty-seven
teeth, and two handles bent, like a hoop, with which it is
wrought. It is employed on bits of land, which have been dug
with the highland spade, either on account of their being too
steep to be tilled by the lalwr of a horse, or from their consist-
ing of a number ofsmall comers among rocks and large stones,
to which a common harrow could not find access. Wilkie's
wheel plough with a shiflitig muzzle {.fig. 813.) is used to clear
water fijrrows on wet lands ; and also for the common pur-
j)oses of ploughing strongs clays when wet ; the muzzle being
set so as both norses may walk" in the furrow.
5. Enclosing.
Gentlemen who pay particular attention to their hedges,
never allow them to be cut with shears. In place of that im-
plement, a hedge knife is used, with a short and slightly curved
blade, thick in the middle, and tapering to a thm and very
sharp edge on each side. By cuttmg always upwards, the
twigs are cut clean over without being bruised or cankered,
and the hedge is kej)t, of what is universally allowed to be the
best shape, broad and bushy at the bottom, and contracting to
a sharp ridge at top.
6. Arable Land.
Potatoes cultivatecl better than any other crop in the county,
and with the greatest success. They are planted on every va-
riety of soil, and thrive even on the stiffest clays where there is
a sufficient declivity to carry off the surface water, but a gra-
velly loam suits them best : about twenty tons of manure per
acre, is the common dressing. Drilling and dibbling are the
common modes in the lowlands, and hy large beds in the up-
lands ; average produce twelve tons, but eighteen are frequently
obtained.
7. Grass Land.
Some bog meadows, but no others ; some pasture fields
round gentlemen's houses, but none on lowland farms ; moun-
tains wholly in natural pasture, moss, heath, bog, and moor.
8. Woods and Plantations.
Copsewoods form a very important and prominent article in
the produce of this county. They cover some thousands of acres
of soil which would otherwise be altogether or nearly useless,
and yield an income to the proprietors, little inferior to what
they derive from their l)est arable land. The steep slo^iing
banks of Ijoch Lomond and Loch I^ng, where the bases of the
mountains run into the lake, are in many places covered witlj
them. The thin dry soil which appears in small patches
among the rocks, seems tp he partlculariy adapted to the growth
of oak coppice, which, from its suiierior value, is chieflv en-
couraged m such situations, while the molster and more Unfa-
vorable spots are allowed to be occupied by less valuable trees.
These are chiefly ash, yew, holly, mountafn-ash, birch, hazle.
aspen, alder, crab, thorn, and willow. The seven last kinds
are considered inferior in value to the rest, and commonly
known by the name of barren timber.
Copsewoods are cut from the twenty-second to the twenty,
fourth year : after the latter period, the bark of oak become*
hard and corky, and of less value to the tanner.
PlaiUaliofu very generally formed on the uplands. 1000 acres
planted at Luss previous to 1794. The Uuke of Montrose, a
great planter in Stirlingshire, and partly in this county, allows
SiOO Scotch pine, 400 larch fir, and 1000 hardwood trees to an
acre; prefers oak plants of several years' growth; and after
they have been established several years cuts them down, when
they push long and strong shoots. Plants by stellate slits, at
already described (3668.), as pits in a retentive soil only serve a*
a recei>tacle for water. Firs, pines, and all trees now regularlj
pruned. ■*
The finest tree in the county is an ash in Bonhill church,
yard. Its trunk is aliout nine feet high, and, where smallest,
upwards of eighteen feet in circumference. Of the three prin-
cipal arms into which it branches, the largest is eleven, and
the smallest near ten feet in circumference. The branches
spread in every direction with uncommon regularity, coveriiig
an area of near 100 feet in diameter, and the general aspect is
singulariy venerable and majestic. There are no data from
which its age can be conjectured. Near 100 years ago it was
remarked by Marsham of Stratton, near Norwich? a cele-
brated planter, as one of the first ashes he had seen; and a
tendency to decay in some 'of the boughs, seems to indicate
that it has stood there for several centuries.
Yew trees and hollies abound on the banks of Loch Lo-
mond. A yew at Rosedoe Is twelve feet round and very high :
one at Stockintibberttwenty -eight
fret round, and the top spreading
in proportion.
9. Improvements.
.Some proprietors have drained
bogs, and rendered them tolerable
meadows ; and drained and plant-
ed moors. Mosses sometimes
burned, the ashes ploughed in,
and!theland cropped with oat8,&c.
Irrigation by means of the rills
on the hill sides, tried in som«
on a small |scale, and some of considerable extent might be
formed with success.
10. Livestock.
Highland cattle from Argyleshire in general use; but little
feeding, dairying, or breetlmg of this sjiecies of stock. Sheep
of a small black 'faced kind, bred in the county to the extent
admitted by the upland pastures. Horses a small, hardy
breed.
Hogs increase as the prejudice against pork disappears. 200
fallow deer occupy two of the largest islands of Loch Lomond.
The stag, or red deer of the mountains, has disap)>eared since
the introduction of sheej). A few roes stil} inhabit the wood-
lands.
11. Political Economy.
Manufactures of iron, glass, cotton, paper, alkali, printing
and bleaching works, &c.
Window-glass manufactured extensively, and equal in qua-
lity to any in the kingdom. Pay ■'iO,000/. a year of excise
duties; employ 10,000 tons of shipping, and consume 1200
tons of kelp. The distillery of pyrolignous acid, at Milbum,
employs about seven hands, and consumes daily a ton of small
timber, chiefly oak, from which the liquor, a kind of coarse
vinegar, is extracted. The process beautifully simple. A
number of iron ovens, or retorts, are placed in a row, and filled
with the timber cut into small pieces A fire of coabi or char-
coal is kindled in a furnace attached to each, and by its heat
forces the acid to fly oflT in the form of vajwr. 1 his vapor
is conducted by a small tube proceeding from each retort, into a
refrigeratory or long metal pii>e, on which a jet of cold water
from above is continually falling. Here the add is condensed-
and runs from the end of the pi)ie in a considerable stream, of
a reddish brown color. Besides the liquor thus procured,
which is employed in mixing colors for the calico iirintersl
there is a considerable quantity of tar and charcoal produced
during the process, the value 'of which is esteemed equal td
the expense of fuel.
7058. STIRLINGSHIRR 450,560 acres, much diversified by rivers, mountains, woods, and vallies,
containing some rich alluvial soil, extensive peat-bogs or mosses, and some bleak hilly districts. The
culture of wheat and beans is the chief agricultural feature. Potatoes first cultivated in the fields in this
county, by Prentice, a farming gardener, at Kilsyth. (Belschc's General VicWy 1796.)
Principal river the Forth, and mountain Benlomond ; the lat-
ter a cone, upwards of 3262 feet high, of sheep-walk, lielong-
ing to the Duke of Montrose.
Lime, coal, ironstone, granite, whinstone, and freestone
abundant.
The carae lands constitute one of the most remarkable soils
in the county. They lie in a low situation on the banks of the
Forth, and extend about thirty miles in length, and two in
breadth, at an average. They are elevated from ten to
twenty-five feet above high-water mark, and a small portion
of them in some places is overilowed at times by the river.
The soil is universally allowed to be the alluvion deposited by
the Forth and its tributary streams, and consequently to be the
spoils of the higher grounds, through which the riveV takes its
course. It chiefly consists of a hazel -coloretl clay, a small
quantity of sand, and a pretty large mixture of once organized
matter. In some places are patches of till of various colors;
but not a stone, so large as to obstruct the plough, is to be
found. The soil of the best quality, when dug first from the
natural l>etl, is of a bright blue color, and of a substance re-
sembling the richest soan, and sometimes even serves as a sub-
stitute for fuller's eartti. In many places the clay is excel-
lently fitted for making bricks, tiles, and a coarse kind of
crockery ware. The depths are from five to fifty feet. The
subsoils are various, as a stiff brick clay, hard till, and .sea.
shells in a natural state. These beds of shells are from a few
inches to four yards in thickness; they are chiefly large
oysters, with a mixture of cockles, whellcs, and some other
shells at present found in the frith. These lands are ia farms
from 1.5 to 100 acres each. In the higher parts of the county
the extent is from 20 to 1000 acres.
Of mfurra above 90,000 acres.
Copjrice woods extensive, and plantations considerable.
Carron iron works of great extent, and well known. Large
cattle fairs held at Falkirk.^ Chief commerce the shipping of
Carron articles for London and other j>laces.
4 D 4
1144
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
7059 WEST LOTHIAN or LINLITHGOWSHIRE. 71,580 acres of gently varied surface, without
hil^or mountains -clayey soil, and rather cold and variable climate. The minerals are coal and lime in
abunL^erfreestone, whinstone, and some lead and iron, but the latter are not now worked. The coal
S CrowstonS has been worked for upwards of five centuries. In an agricultural view, this county is
of no interest. {Trotter's General View, 1811.)
Property is i» the hands of about forty proprietors.
Lord Stair is supposed to have introduced the culture
of clover, turnips, and cabl.ages, at Newliston, ui this
county, as early as 1720; and also the Rotheram plough,
for which purpose he sent a mechanic to England, to
acquire the art of constructing them. A hay drag, of a
very simple but convenient construction is used in this
county. Plans of a more decent form of cottages (.fe. 814.)
are given, than are to be found in some reports. Each
cottage consists of two rooms (a, h) ; the one to be used
as a kitchen has a space for two press or close beds (c),
and in the other room there is a space for one bed (</) ; in
each room is a cupboard (e), but no closet, which is a great
The' contrivance for making horses draw equally in
threshini< machines ('2fi3-2.), was invented in this county,
bv G. Henderson, of Bonhard. The culture pursued is the
E"ast Lothian husbandry on the clays, and the Berwick-
shire on the turnip soils. The chief commerce is from
the port of Borrowstonness, and there is scarcely any
manufactures, unless spinning, knittmg, and tambouring,
in private families may be named.
_e-
814
ana ana
n
7060. CLACKMANNANSHIRE. .30,720 acres, principally of carse land, on the north bank of the
river Forth ; but partly of hilly district, belonging to the Ochills. {Erskine's General View, 1795.)
The carse lands are very fertile; but part of the hilly and
moory district of little or no value. The agriculture is similar
to that of Stirlingshire. After the invention of the threshing
machine, one of the first was erected at Kilbagie, by George
Meikle, in 1787; it is driven by water. A curious source of
manure is found in this county. The moss floated down from
Blair Drummond (4196.), accumulates in the bays, and is
mixed as deposited, by the sea weed driven on shore by the
tide. This moss and weed is taken out and fermented with a
small proportion of stable dung; or the farmers spread it over
their cattle yards, and it forms most excellent manure. Thus,
what is a complete hindrance to improvement forty miles dis-
tant, is brought here by the river at no cost, and forms a most
valuable addition to the resources of the cultivator. Till 1760,
no wlieat was grown in this county, though it appears by old
abbev rentals that wheat was paid as rent at Cambus Kenneth,
so early as 1147. Now wheat enters into almost every rotation.
7061. KINROSS-SHIRE. 47,642acres, of varied surface, but generally low. There are extensive mosses
and muirs, and not much rich soil. Their agriculture is mixed, and of no great interest. ( Ure's General
View, 1795.)
Lochleven occupies ."^SOS acres ; three small streamlets
run into it, and the difference between its highest and lowest
surface, at different seasons, is three feet. The trouts of this
lake in high esteem ; those of the river Leven larger, weigh-
ing five pounds and upwards
■ Dr. Coventry, the learned Professor of Agriculture in the
University of Edinburgh, possesses an estate in this county.
where he sets an example of knowledge, industry, and good
management, to all his neighbors."
Adam, of Blair Adam, the son of the celebrated architect,
the most extensive improver in the county ; and draining, en-
closing, and esjiecially by planting larches, and building com-
modious cottages.
7062. FIFESHIRE. 322,560 acres, exhibiting almost every variety of surface and soil, from the moun-
tain to the plain, and from gravel to moss. The climate is generally mild, owing to the surrounding
waters ; and whatadds to the value of the county, both for culture and for the formation of country-seats,
it is rather drier than that of other counties equally far north. The agriculture is mixed, and may be
said to excel both in the corn and cattle department. The reverend reporter displays more than the
usual share of adulatory phraseology for that " highly patriotic individual, Sir John Sinclair", our " gra-
cious Sovereign," the Board of Agriculture and the Government, " chalking out to the people a path by
which they may rise to opulence and consideration." {Thomsoii's General View, 1 0.)
1. Geosraphical State and Circumstances. plough, called a ridder, (^^'.815 a.) adopted in some places.
Coal, lime, 'Vid the usual rocks abound ; iron-stone and 3"^ fo""*! '° '^'«'*'^ ^^^^ '^^ ^'"l^^'^ f^*"" *^^ '^°"^'«'^-
lead and copper ore abound, but none worked. Nearer
Burntisland, upon the shore, and also in some other parts of the
county, there are quarries of hard stone, of a dark color,
with the peculiar property of resisting the force of fire.
It will endure for many years, without being wasted or broken,
though exposed to tlie most intense heat. On this account it
is used for the soles of ovens, and for the sides of chimney grates.
Common and fire bricks manufactured of an excellent quality.
{Tlunmon's General Vlerv, 1800.)
2. Property/.
Estates moderate ; largest, 8000/. a year.
' 3. Buildings.
Few counties so richly studded with noblemen and gentle-
men's houses; about a hundred enumerated as deserving of
notice. Many magnificent buildings in ruins. Religious
houses, castles, and Falkland Palace. Farm-houses and cot-
tages formerly very bad, now greatly improved, and superior to
those in most counties.
4. Occupation.
Farms from 50 to 600 acres of arable lands, and some of
mountain pasture twice as large. Some of the largest and best
farmers are men who have emigrated from other counties to
this less improved district; but the greater number are sons
of local farmers, and not a few farms have been in the same
family for several generations. The reporter is an advocate
for corn-rents, a mode first revived in this county with the im-
provement of not taking the com, but payingin money, accord-
ing to the average prices. Leases for nineteen years; some
formerly for one or more repetitions of the period ; in general
the restrictions reasonable, for the managers of estates in this
county are generally resident factors, and not Edinburgh
lawyers.
5. Implements.
Ploughs with convex mould boards preferred for loose soils,
(>s\iecially when in a wet state ; tbev free themselves more readily
of the earth, and make a neater furrow. An addition to the
6. Grass.
One-(iflh of the county inaccessible to the plough, and ifi
store sheep and cattle pasture; some bog or coarse rushey
meadows on peat, and a few spots of good alluvial meadow.
7. Gardens and Orchards.
The remains of an orchard at Lindores, but none of modern
formation. Some market-gardens near the towns, but most
of the inhabitants have gardens of their own. Some good
nurseries. Sang, an eminent nursery-man, and manager of
gentlemen's plantations, — a valuable man to the county — has
introduced an excellent system of planting, pruning, and
draining. Some of the first private gardens m Scotland are in
this county, as that of Keith, Wemyss Castle, &c.
8. Woods
Not extensive, but young plantations very numerous and
well managed. More cellars and rare sorts of trees in Uiis
county than in any other.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF PERTHSHIRE.
1145
9. Live Stock. ^^
Black cattle of Fife .ong distinguished. The reporter has
heard an English dealer say, that a Fife buUock of forty
stone will bring an equal, and often a higher, price at the
London market than an English bullock ten stone heavier,
and equally fat. A good Fife cow wUl give from hve to seven
gallons of milk per day; from seven to nine pounds of butter,
and from ten to twelve pounds of cheese per week, tron weight,
for some months after calving. ,,,..,
Breweries, distilleries, flour and barley mills, frequent. The
linen manufacture extensive. Salt made from the sea.
Tanneries, vitriol, &c.
The Fife Farming Soaely and the Inverkeithing C/u6, sup-
character ; and such members as shall be found gnilty of crime*
and misdemeanors punishable by the laws of the land, are
liable to expulsion, and a total deprivation of all lienefit from
the Society's fund. No member can draw any thing from the
fund till it amounts to 500/. ; neither can any one be entitled to
any allowance, until five years after his admission. The allow-
ance fixed for a member fallen into distress or indigence, is
thirty shillings per quarter ; but this allowance is granted upon
the express condition, that he has not brought the distress upon
himself by drunkenness, or any other kind of disorderly con-
duct. And during the time he is receiving the allowance, if
he shall be found guilty of a dissolute or immoral behavior, it
is put in the power of the managers to deprive him of it.
The widow of a memljer is allowed twenty-five shillings
quarterly, so long only as she remains his widow, and main-
tains a good character. And the children,when no widow is left,
are entitled to draw the half of what their father contributed.
If a member shall die, and leave neither widow nor children,
his next heir, or whoever shall be apiwinted by him, shall be
entitled to the half of what he has contributed, after deducting
a proportional share of the expenses incurred by the society
since his entry. This society is, at piesent, in a very respect-
able and flourishing condition.
ported chiefly by formers, are considered useftil institutions.
The first was formed about six years ago, and at present
consists of nearly 200 members. The principal objects amed
at by this institution are, a mutual communication of disco-
veries and improvements in husbandry; common protection
against thieves and depredators who shall unjustly invade
their property ; and raising a joint stock or capital for the be-
nefit of their widows and children, and of members reduced to
distress or indigence. Members pay one guinea at their entry,
and half-a-guinea yearly. None are admitted but men of good
7663. PERTHSHIRE. 4,068,640 acres, almost every where mountainous, but with intervening vales
of strong clayey soils, fertile in corn ; some gravelly tracts, and many mosses, bogs, and moors. The
mountains on the southern side of the county, where thev are less high, are covered with pasture to the
summits ; those in the northern parts with pasture, heath, and copse. The minerals are coal, lime, free-
stone, slate, whinstone, granite, &c. the metallic ores, iron, lead, and copper, neither of which are at pre-
sent worked. This county serves to divide that part of Scotland on the south, which is generally adapted
to the raising of grain, from that of the north, which, with few exceptions, is more fitted for pasture. It
also divides those parts of the kingdom on the north, where firs abounded in former times, and are still
found in the mosses, from those in the south, which carried oaks and a variety of other wood, but no na-
tural firs. It is also the general boundary, in regard to coal and granite, though both are found to a
moderate extent, the former in the north, and the latter in the south. The husbandry of Perthshire is noted
for its clay, or carse land culture, and for its plantations of larch trees. Its great improvers have been, or
are. Lord Kaimes, the Duke of Athol, and Lord Bredalbane. {Dr. Robertson's General View, 1813.)
1. P roper tu.
Estates are of all sizes, but the greater number large. The
management of the great estates was uniformly committed
informer times to the factor or chamberlain; but agriculture
has become so much the amusement of the country gentlemen,
since the middle of the last century, that many of the proprie-
tors, besides the general sui)erintendance of their estates, have
a farm in their own possession, which they manage by an over-
seer. Many of our improvements in agriculture are suggested
by the gentlemen of the army, in consequence of their remarks
on the practice of other couMries. The gentlemen of the law,
during the recess of their cdtirts of judicature, turn much of
their attention to the cultivation of their estates ; and their
habits of application to the former study, quickens their ardor,
and ensures their success in pursuit of the latter.
- If the property be extensive, besides an overseer on the land-
lord's farm, there is generally a factor or steward, and some-
times two or more are appointed to manage the more distant
parts of the estate. In these cases, unless the landlord have a
turn for business, he is apt to lose sight of the detail of his own
affairs ; and if he be indolent, he has a good apology for neg-
lecting his interest, because he pays another person for taking
that charge off his hand. The prosperity of the estate, and the
comfort of the tenants, depend in these cases very much on the
disposition of the factor.
The boundaries of estates are marked according to the na-
ture of the country. In the vallies of the Highlands, different
l)roperties are sejiarated either by substantial stone-walls with-
out mortar (provincially dry stone dykes), or by a river, or a
brook, or a range of rocks, or some other natural limit. The
lower hills too are sometimes bisected by these walls; but
more generally by bounding stones, fixed in the ground, and
set up singly ; in other instances, if the stones be small, they
are piled in heaps. The higher mounUins are frequently di-
vided in a similar manner, especially when different proprie-
tors occupy the same side; but when they occupy different
sides of the same ridge or general line of mountain, as com-
monly hapiiens between parallel jjlens, their properties are
determined as wind and water divides, which means the line
of partition on the top of the mountain between the windward
and lee-side, or as it is still more nicely marked by the ten-
dency of rain water, after it falls upon the ground.
A great proportion of this county is freehold. Many of the
small proprietors hold of a subject superior. When a great
baron in the feudal times had occasion to borrow money, he
had recourse to wadsetts, or feued oil' a part of his property at
a quit-rent, which was greater or less, according to the amount
of the premium that was paid in hand. The wadsetts are paid
up ; but the feus, being irredeemable, remain.
iJ. Occupation.
Arable farms from 30 to 500 acres. Farms in the moun-
tains large, and their extent generally defined by miles. Leases
seldom shorter than nineteen years endurance. Kent in a
few instances, partly in money and parUy in the money va-
lue of com, on an average of two or three by-gone years, ac-
cording to the modem system. The culture requires scarcely
any remark, since there are only two kinds of aration in Scot-
land, that of the clay soils of East Lothian, in which a fallow
and altemate corn and green crops are introduced ; and that of
Berwickshire, which substitutes turnijis for fallow, and
allows from two to five years of pasture, according as the soil
is weaker or stronger as resting crops. A full account of the
clay land culture has been given by Donaldson. In the
mountainous region, cattle chiefly, and sheep to a certain ex-
tent, are bred and sold for feeding in the low arable districts,
and sent to the south of Scotland and England.
3. Gardens and Orchards.
In the Carse of Gowrie, a number (perhaps thirty jlof orchards
of apples and pears, the fruit of which is sold to the neighbor-
ing towns. A few other parts of the county adapted to open
orchards, as the banks of the Tay, Earn, &c. In the vallies of
the Highlands, geans and cherries alwund. The trees thrive
well, li*e long, and carry fmit of the finest flavor and most
savory taste. The cream colored cherry of Ardvorlich, and
the black gean of Castlemenzies, are highly esteemed in re-
spect of beauty and relish. ^
4. Woods and Plantations..
The Highlands of Scotland formerly covered with wood, as
the trunks of oaks and firs in the mosses, from that of Moss-
Hunders, near Stirling, to the bogs of Sutherland and Caith-
ness, decidedly prove. Planting did not become general in
Perthshire, till after the middle of the eighteenth century. The
county is now distinguished by its extensive tracts of larch,
common pine, and other trees, and by the enclosure of oak,
birch, and hazel ; copses and woods formerly left open to the
browsing of deer and cattle. Different accounts have been given
of the introduction of the larch into this county. Dr. Robert-
son states it, as " said to be brought to Athol, from Camiola,
by one of the Dukes of Argyle." According to others, the first
plan ts were obtained from' a nursery at Edinburgh, and planted
at Dunkeld in 1741, having been previously introduced into
Scotland, by.'Lord Kaimes, in 1734. (Encyclopwdia of Gardening,
7053.) Someof the first planted larches in the low grounds,
near Dunkeld, have grown to the height of 120 feet in fifty
years, which gives an average of two feet four and a quarter
inches a year. It is stated by the Duke of Athol, in a commu-
nication to the Horticultural Society, made in .Tune, 1820,
that on mountainous tracts, at an elevation of 1.500 or 1600
feet, the larch, at eighty years of age, has arrived at a size to
produce six loads (300 cubic feet) of timber, appearing in dura-
bility and every other nuality, to be likely to answer every
purpose, both by sea and Jand. (Hort. Tram. iv. 416.)
" The largest larches in Perthshire, or perhaps in several
counties around it, are at Monzie, the seat of General Camp-
bell, which measure five feet in diameter, and about fifteen in
circumference. There are larches of a great size at Blair
Drummond, Gleneagles, Rossie, and many other places in
Perthshire. Posts oflarch, which had been put into a moist
soil about fifleen years ago, seemed still to be fresh and strong.
It is only of late that this tree has been generally planted, and
its excellence known in this country. It is the most rapid in
its growth of any tree we have, and the most valuable s]>ecies of
the pine. It is closer in the pores, has fewer knots, and the
wood is more durable than the common pine, and withal it in-
creases double the nmnber of cubical feet, in any given time;
which is a sin^lar property. It may vie in growth and profit
with the Huntington willow, which has been said to buy the
horse, before any other tree could buy the saddle."
There is a natural Wr mood on the south side of Loch Ran-
noch which covers 2566 acres. One formerW existed on the
Bredalbane estate, but there are now only a few gleanings.
There are more oak woods, and of greater value, in this
county, than in all the rest of Scotland. The counties of Dun-
barton, Argyle, and Stirling, come next to that of Perth. The
copse of oak "is cut once in twenty -four or twenty -six years. A
few spare trees of the most promising appearance and of the
best figure are left at proper distances, from one cutting to an-
other, and sometimes for three or four cuttings. The straight-
est aie generally spared, without attending to this circ-um-
stance, that cTooked oak is more eagerly sought after by
ship-builders, and brings a higher price, than oak which is
straight. Yet, as coppice wood is the object, straight trees
injure it least. Scotch oak has been found in general too close
in the grain to liend into nlanks for the sides of ships, and even
for the same reason it is found to snap when used as ribs to a
shiji : its closeness in the grain is the efffect of slow growth,
owing to frequent checks by early and late frosts.
Before agricultural improvements were so well understood as
they are of late, or occupied so much of the attention of all
ranks in this country, many moorish tracts of land were deemed
incapable of cultivation, or of making a return in any other
way equal to Uieir being planted. Proprietors, even in the
Carse of Gowrie, and m the Stormont, being actuated
by tltis principle, about thirty years ago, plantetl the waste
lands of their estates with Scotch firs. They have now found
that this soil, by being wrought, will make good arable land,
and wilt be more profitably employed in tillage. Some thou-
, sands of acres have accordingly oeen cleared; the plantatiom
1146
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
rooted up ; and the soJl subjected to the plough, which now
lets at a progressive rent, in some cases amounting already to
twenty shillings the acre. Betwixt Coupar, Angus, and Perth,
a tract of thirteen miles, the plantations on two thousand acres,
upon both sides of the public road, have been grubbed up ;
and the operation is still going on, both there and in other
places. So nowerful is the principle of imitation, that we all
go frequently one way until we have gone too far. All men
can imitate example, but all men cannot reason so far as to
form a principle of action to themselves. In a certain degree
this operation is salutary, but if carried to excess, it will leave
the face of the country naked ; and, perhaps, in all cases, the
cost is not counted, nor the balance fairly stated between the
plantation and the produce arising from some poor soils by an
arable system ; yet it must be admitted, that no trees are equal
in value to com and grass, either to the landlord or the public,
where the cultivation of these can be prosecuted with success.
-5. Wastes.
The mosses and moors of this county are very extensive, and
great and successful efforts have been made for their improve-
ment. The most remarkable is that of Kincardine moss,
commenced by the late Lord Kaimes, and already described
(4196.). Draining, paring and burning, irrigating, embanking,
and all the different modes of improving land, have been prac-
tised ; and some, as draining and burning, to a very consider-
able extent.
6. Livestock.
Breeds of cattle very various ; none peculiar to the county;
Angus, Fife, and Argyle herds, common among the farmers.
EngUsh, Ayrshire, and most of the approved breeds of the
south tried by the proprietors. Breeding is the chief object,
and next the butter dairy.
Sheep. The ancient breed of sheep in this county were the
white faced. They were tew in number, compared to the flocks
at nresent ; and in the Highlands were housed in cots every
night in winter and spring. About fortv vears ago, the black-
faced or mountain breed was introduced "from the south, and
bought In, either when lambs, or at a year old. Their numbers
have increased beyond all exjiectation, since that time, over the
whole Highlands of Scotland. In gentlemen's enclosures, wt-
see different kinds, according to their fancy, or the superior
profit expected from one kind more than others.
Horsea. The original bteed were ponies, twelve to thirteen
hands high, and too light for two-horse ploughs. Four of
them were used abreast, as is still the case in some remote
places. In.the Carse of Gowrie and other lowland districts,
oxen were employed to draw the plough, till about 1779 ; and
the horses were only employed to harrow in the seed, to carry
out the dung, and bring home the com to the stack-yard.
Oxen discharged from the plough, it became necessary to pur-
chase larger horses than were then bred in the county ; and
the markets of Glasgow, Falkirk, Stirling, and Perth, were re-
sortcji to for that purpose ; which practice still continues.
At present some Northumberland stallions have been pro-
cured by proprietors, and lent to their tenants in order to raise
an improved breed.
Swine. The prejudice against swine's flesh was such, that
not many years ago no Highlander would touch it ; that is now
fast wearing off, and the culture of swine extending.
There is a rabbit warren at Dunkeld, and red deer and roes
m one or two places. There are also three or more kinds of
fallow deer in the county.
Bee* much attended to, and found profitable. Paterson of
Castle Huntley sows mignionette for his bees, which gives the
honey a most dehcate flavor. Rosemary does the same. The
honey of beans is pale ; the honey of heath brown. Their fla-
vor is also different.
7. Political Ecimmny.
Roads wretched before 1745 ; still onlv bridle roads in many
places of the interior. No canals ; salmon fishery to a great
extent on the Tay. Linen manufacture, bleaching, and va-
rious other manufactures and public works. The principal
salmon fishery is rented by Richardson from different proprie-
tors, and for the sum of 700(V. a year. There are five others,
which produce from 100 to 200/. a year.
7064. ANGUS or FORFARSHIRE. 532,243 acres, one half, or more, of clayey andalliivial lowlands,
and the remainder moiintein pasture, moor and bog. The climate cold, moist, and variable. It is both
an agricultural and manufacturing county, and in respect to antiquities, facilities of further improvement
natural productions, &c. of great interest. The botanic family of Don, are of this county. A most valu-
able report has been furnished by the Rev. James Headrick, and is the last of the Scotch reports which
has been published. (Headrick's General View, 1813.) .
|1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
The Grampian mountains abound in granite, which contains
topazes, or rock crystals. Quartz, mica, ) porcelain stone,
lead, limestone, slate, jasper, porphvry, breccia, and shell marl
occur in various places. The Loch of Forfar abounds with
shell marl, which is taken out by scoops, and thrown into
boats, by which it is conveyed to the shore. The scoop consists
of a large iron scraper, somewhat similar to the Dutch hoe,
which has a long wooden handle fastened into it, and a bag of
strong leather fastened by whip-cord around its rim. The bag
is perforated by small holes, to allow the water to drain off',
and has a thong at its bottom, by which it can be turned over,
and its contents discharged into the boat. After the boat is
firmly fastened by anchors, extended fiom each end, one man
forcibly presses down the scoop to the bottom, bv means of a
Jong pole, at the stem of the boat, while another man, by
means of a windlass, or wheel and axle, fixed in the opposite
end of the boat, drags the scoop along the side of the boat, by a
rope attached to it, and then raises it up to the boat's side,
where the contents of the bag are emptied into the boat.
When the boat has received her load, the marl is thrown out
upon a wooden platform at the side of the loch, to drain.
Sandstone JIags are very abundant in the neighborhood of
Arbroath, and are quarried and exported in great quantities.
Principal quarry, Carmylie ; the flags rise from three to six
inches of any portable dimensions. They are called slate stone
fla^, but are in fact sandstone in plates, coated with scales of
mica or tick, of a greyish blue color, and this mica occasions
their easy separation from each other. With very thin plates,
called slatestones, houses are covered ; they are laid in " plas-
ter lime" or moss {Sphafrnum jMustre), but thev seldom make a
roof that is water tight, and slate is now considered cheaper.
A most valuable property of the flagstone is, that when laid as
pavement on wet soil, they never show this on their upper sur-
face , so that they are excellent for paving kitchens, passages^
paths in hot-houses, &c. Coal searching for, at the time the
report was printing, but with no great hopes of success, the
district being considerably out of the boundary of the known coal
fields of Scotland. No minerals worked : various chalybeate
springs. No rivers, but a number of streams that are of inode-
rate size. Considerable sea, and some salmon fisheries. The
herring fishery has been tried in the open sea, and considerable
quantities taken in June, July, and August. Those earliest
taken were plump and fat, which shows that all former theo-
ries concerning this most nutritive and abundant of all fishes,
are erroneous, and how much it im]K)rts the interest of Bri-
tain, that the herring fishery should lie conducted according
to the Dutch method, in the deep sea, and, as in the Isle of
Man, from May to September. Garvies or sprats, and spir-
lings or smelts, abound in the Frith of Tay. The sprats
resemble herrmgs, though of smaller size, and different flavor.
They are taken in great quantities at Kincardine, and other
places near the junction of the Forth with its estuary, by nets
or wicker traps, sunk in the ebb of the tide. The smelts are
smaller than the sprats, and when fi-esh, emit a smell resem-
bling that of green rushes ; but when fried, make delicious
food. They are caught during spring, along the Forth, often
as far up as the Bridge of Stirling, by nets in the form of bas-
kets, fastened to the end of long jrales.
Haddocks, whitings, &c. cured by smoke, a practice first
suggested by Headrick, the reporter, in an essav published by
the Highland Soaety of Scotland. Dempster, o"f Dunnichen,
in this county, first suggested the idea of^ conveying salmon to
London, packed in ice. Reporter- remembers when servants
in the neighliorhood of Stirling used to stipulate that they
should not have salmon oftencr than thrice a week ; now they
seldom have them once a year.
JBvery river it said to have Us particular breed of ialmon. Thev
I have recourse to fresh water, to escape the attacks of seals,
otters, and porpoises, and to get rid of the sea-louse, a small
black animal, whose attacks seem to inflict upon them excm-
ciatmg tortures. A few gulps of river water, seem either to
kill the sea-louse, or to deaden the pain it inflicts. Salmon
never remain longer in fresh water than is necessary to effect
the purjioses which brought them there; but sometimes they
are suri>rised in the rivers by long droughts, and cannot get
over mill-dams, and other obstruction's which lie between
them and the sea. When this happens, they soon get lean
and mangy, and die, their bodies covered with white worms.
But in fresh water, they take various kinds of bait, and eagerly
catch at flies, and hence become a source of amusement to the
angler. During autumn, the salmon always run up the rivers
to deposit theur spawn.
The [sparvning of salmon seems to be a verv slow and labor-
ious process ; and they get very lean, and even become un-
wholesome food, while they are engaged in it. The scene of
this operation is generally where a stream begins to issue from
a stagnant pool, over a sandy bottom. They begin by digging
a hole in the bottom, by pushing the sand and gravel before
them with their snouts, m the direction of the current until
they raise it into the form of a bank, which checks the rapidity
ofthe current, while it allows the water to percolate slowly.
The male seems to exert himself most in this work ; and lie-
fore its commencement, his snout becomes longer and harder
than usual, while before it is finished, it is often worn entirely
away. While depositing their spawn, the male and female rub
their bellies upon each other ; the latter throwing out her roes,
or eggs, while the male emits among them a milky Juice,
which seems to effect their impregnation. After one stratum
of eggs is deposited in the artificial hollow descrilied, they cover
them with' light sand, to prevent them from being washed
away by the water ; and thus they form alternate layers of
eggs and sand, until the hollow be nearly filled up. The eggs
being dropped into a hollow place, are warmed into life by the
sun's rays, in early spring. The fry being then very small,
easily escape from their covering of loose sand, and soon ac-
quire the size of small fronts, and are called salmon fry, or
smolts; which seems to be a contraction of »n7n/e<«. The first
flood now washes them into the sea; and they are generally
swept from our rivers before the middle of.May.
Salmon trout, or grilses, which ascend the rivers towards the
close of the fishing season, are by some considered a distinct
species of fish ; but some Caithness fishers assured the re-
porter, that they proved bv experiment, that grilses are only
salmon of one year's growth. ( Ren. p. 103.)
The sea trout resembles the salmon, and frequents all the
streams where it abounds.
Fresh rvaier eels, contrary to the practice of salmon, breed in
the sea, and thrive and fatten in the fresh water lakes and
ponds. During summer, myriads of their young fry are seen
constantly ascending the fresh water streams, where they keep
near the sides, that they may avoid the current. In places
where they meet with interruption, such as behind a mill
wheel, they often accumulate in large masses, and frequently
make their way up the crevices of the building, or over the
dry land, until they reach the stream above, in which they
continue their course. The larger eels are caught in this
county, while they are descending the streams during autumn,
probably to deposit their spawn in the sea.
The observations of the reporter on various other species of
fish, and on salmon, and other fisheries, are, like every thing
which flows from his pen, new and interesting.
2. Propertif,
Much divided, largest estate 12,000/. a year : property at an
average, changes its proprietor every forty years. During the
dark night of superstition, a man could take no step respecting
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF ABERDEENSHIRE.
1147
his pmpcrt;, or liis domesDo conoenu,! without having half a
dozen, or a score of priests' to advise him : and he was obliged to
compound for the safety of his soul, and the security of liis pro-
perty, liy ample donations to the church. When a man died
without (j^anting these donations, it was presumed to lie his
intention to do so ; and what was originally an alms, or favor,
was claimed as a right. In our days, a man can hardly ven-
ture upon any step of importance, without having a posse of
lawyers at his elbow, and after all, often finds himself as far
from his purpose, as If he had not employed them.
3. Buildings.
Sixty gentlemen's seats enumerated : not many with hand-
some buildings. Farm-houses and cottages most wretched,
and slower of improvement than in most other counties.
4. Occupation.
Farms of all sizes, but chiefly small. On the Grampians,
estimated by the number of sheep they will maintain.
5. Implements.
Old Scotch plough still used in a few remote places, and foimd
an instrument well adapted for breaking up waste land that
is encumtered with the roots of shrubs, or with stones. At no
remote jieriod, it was usual to yoke four or six horses abreast
in this plough. The driver walked backwards before the
horses, and struck them in the face to make them come for-
ward. At present this plough is commonly drawn by four,
sometimes by six horses, which are yoked in pairs, and the
driver walks beside them. But, excepting for the purposes
already specified, the plough which was first invented by the
late Small, near Dalkeith, and from him named Small's
plough, is universally used.
A threahiiif; machine, of a very peculiar construction, adapted
to very high falls of water, erected at Howmuir, by Stirling, an
ingenious man ; but is not yet perfected, and if it were, could
never become general.
A pick or lever with a tread, used in the same manner as a
fork or spade, for loosening hard earth or gravel : in feet it may
be talleaa one pronged fork.
6 Tillage.
Fallowing general. Seed-wheat washed with a ley of soft
soai), to remove the smut. Potatoes introduced to the gardens
in 11 ib, but not to the fields for many vears afterwards. The
late Dr. Walker, Professor of Natural History in the Univer-
sity of Edinburgh, was in the habit, especially during years of
scarcity, of using yams in place of brefid in his own family.
He cut them into thin slices, and either brandered them on the
fire, or dressed them in the frying-pan with as much butter as
prevented the pan from burning. \Vhen dressed in this way,
their taste was very pleasant ; and they were used in all cases
where bread is commonly used.
7. Gardens and Orchards.
A great prejudice in favor of covering wall trees with
Woods and Plantations.
Few woods, but manv plantations. In the mossa the
trunks of large trees found.
9. Rural Economy.
Farm-servants live chiefly on oatmeal, and potatoes and
milk. Their breakfast is porridge, which is made by stirring
meal among boiling water, or milk, in a pot over the fire, with
a little salt ; and when Jt cools it is eaten with milk. Chr they
use broie, which is made by pouring warm water upon meal, in
a wooden dish, with a little salt, taking care to stn: it well. This
also is eaten with milk, or with beer, which is furnished in
place of milk, when the latter is scarce. Sometimes, when
thev are in a hurry, they mix the litjuid with the meal, in a
cola state. Their usual dinner is oat cake, with sometimes
butter or skimmed milk cheese, and milk. Their supper is
the same with breakfast, except that sometimes they use
sowens, or potatoes, in the place of porridge or brose. Butch-
er's meat is only used on particular occasions; and fish by
those who are near the rivers and the sea coast.
Much ridicule has been thrown on the Scotch, on account
of their immediate use of oat-meal. This has been repre-
sented as inflaming their blood, and producing their favorite
disease called the Scotch fiddle, and other cutaneous eruptions.
But oatmeal is as much used in some districts of England, as
in any part of Scotland ; and cutaneous eruptions are much
more frequent in some of these districts than thev are here,
where they are seldom or ever heard of. The latter ought
rather to be ascribed to dirty linen or clothing, than to oat-
meal, or any particular species of food. Oatmeal, when it is
sufficiently diluted with any sort of liquid, is known to be a
laxative aperient,wholesome, and atthe same time a strengthen-
ing food for those engaged in hsird labor. Engineers, who super-
intend the excavation of canals, have assurea^the reporter, that
those laborers who lived entirely upon oatmeal and milk, did a
third more work than those who used butcher-meat, beer, and
spirits. All of the former saved money, while many of the
latter involved themselves in debt. As this sort of work is
done by the piece, it affords a fair comparison, not only of the
wholesomeness of oatmeal in promoting health, but of its
power in supplying labor.
All families that have a house of their own, use tea and
wheaten bread. But among cottagers this is a rare, and always
a ceremonious entertainment, at christening and other solemn
occasions.
Several agricultural societies ; the first founded by Dempster
of Durmichen, an eminent improver. An account oithe native
plants and animals of the county by Don, the celebrated
Scotch botanist, who resided at Forfar, possesses great interest
for the naturalist. Indeed, the whole surrey ranks, in this
respect, with that of Farey of Derbyshire.
7065. KINCARDINESHIRE or MEARNS. 24.3,444 acres chiefly of mountain, but containing about
one-third of culturable surface. The climate is severe and chilly. The soil is gravelly, mossy, or clayey,
and scarcely any where naturally fertile. The only minerals are lime, found in a few parts, and granite,
whin, and freestone. Improvements commenced in this county about the middle of the eighteenth cen-
tury, and have since been carried on with great spirit {Robertson's General View, 1795.)
_ 1. Property,
^ In fewi hands : largest estate 40,715 acres, the rest in eighty
or ninety estates.
2, Buildings.
Some old farm-houses still remain, built of stone and turf,
and in all respects wretched ; but as leases are renewed, new
farmeries are erected on the most improved plans, with com-
modious dwelling-houses. So much cannot be said of the cot-
tages, which have undergone very little alteration in structure,
for a long tract of time. The habitation of the farmer may
have advanced in elegance antl accommodation a hundred
fold ; but the cottager still lives in the same simple kind of
fabric as his ancestor did in the most remote ages of civiliza-
tion. A cottage built of stone and turf, or more generally of
stone and clay, commonly consists, like the ancient farm-
house, of two apartments divided by the furniture. In each of
these there is a fire-place and a window. The fire is still
without a grate ; but the window has two, and in some cases
four, )ianes of glass. The house may be about thirty feet in
length, and twelve feet (seldom more) in breadth, in the in-
side. The walls never exceed six feet in height ; and the roof
is covered first with thin sods, and next with thatch, carefully
renewed from time to time, and tied firmly on with straw
roi)es. The whole has much the appearance of a low hay -sow.
Every cottager has a little garden or kail-yard. And many
of them bestow much care, and show no little taste in its cul-
tivation. Besides raising ditf'erent kinds of coleworts, cab-
bages, onions, carrots, &c. for the pot, they frequently have rows
of gooseberry and. currant bushes, together with roses and
other flowering shrubs. Some of them decorate the walls of
their houses with honeysuckles, or with ivy ; and in some in-
stances with cherry and apple trees.
The furniture of a Meains cottage consists, in general, of
two close wooden beds, which are so arranged as to make a
sei>aratioii between two apartments; one or two wooden
chests for holding clothes ; a cask for holding meal ; a set of
dairy utensils ; an iron \wX. or two for cooking the victuals ; a
girdle, or heating iron, for toasting the bread ; and a few
dishes, some of wood and some of stone ware. Two or three
chairs or stools, and a press or cupboard for holding the crock-
ery ware, and the bread, the cheese, the butter, and, at times,
the whiskey bottle. A tea equipage, on a small scale, has also
of late become an indisjiensable article of cottage furniture ;
for tea drinking has now found its way every where. It seems
to be a gentle si>ecies of ebriety, which sets the imagination and
the tongue at work, without incurring the imputation of
drunkenness, or breaking any one precejit, human or divine.
Wlierever it is once introduced, it keeps its ground as certainly
as snuft"or tobacco, and becomes nearly as inveterate a habit ;
but happily it serves as an article of food, at the same time that
it is a luxurious gratification. The value of a cottage furni-
ture may be estimated at from ten to twenty pounds.
■ ■ The cottagers are moderate and plain in their food ; but they
are not so in their clothing. Hardly any thing but English
manufacture will, serve them. At kirk and at market, it is
difficult to distinguish the man from the master, and still more
so, the maid servant from her mistress. Either the one or the
other have seldom less than five pounds worth of clothes, and
often twice that value, on their back atonc^.
The uitfa^'s of Laurence-kirk was founded by the late Lord
Gardenstone, about 17C0, and in 17S1 he procured a charter
by which it was declared a burgh of barony. "There is
an excellent inn here, with a library and museum for the
use of the traveller. There is a manufactory of sycamore
snuff -boxes ; and the lands in| the neighborhood have been
raised in value from ten shillinjjs to three and four pounds per
acre.
3. Occupation.
Arable farms of various sizes : many small ; some 400 or .'lOO
acres. Hill pastures let in tracts by the thousand acres. One
farm occupies .'50,000 acres. Leases formerly let on periods ol
two, three, and four times nineteen years, with sometimes a
life-rent after ; of late the term seldom exceeds nineteen or
twentv-one years, unless when great improvements are ex-
pected to be made by the tenants. The arable land is culti-
vated under judicious rotations, in which either tumiis or
fallow enters, according as the soil is light or clayey. The
mountains are devoted to the breeding of cattle. There are
few or no public gardens or orchards, but great extent of voung
l)lantations, and some patches of native birch and hazel cop-
nice. The cattle are a small, hardv, kindly feetling breed.
Horses of the Clydesdale variety are reared by many farmers,
and mast kinds of improved stock have been tried. Bees are
generally ke}>t. There is a good deal of sea fishing, and some
valuable salmon fisheries; but excejrting ropes, nets, canvass,
&c. there are no manufactories of any consequence.
7066. ABERDEENSHIRE. 1,270,744 acres, one-sixteenth of Scotland, and one-fiftieth of the area of
Great Britain. The surface for the greater part not very irregular, but hilly and mountainous in the dis-
trict adjoining Inverness-shire : the soil in general clayey and moory ; the climate milder in winter
than that of Middlesex, owing to the circumambient sea, but the summers short and cold ; the agricul-
ture assiduously pursued, and the products chiefly corn and cattle ; — great part planted with trees. The
report of the county is more than usually intelligent, and contains two preliminary sections, on the lessons
which other counties may derive from Aberdeenshire, and on the improvements which this county may
derive from others. Aberdeen exhibits a successful example of si)ade and plough culture combined, in the
small holdings of tradesmen, mechanics, cow-keepers and gardeners : ana may profit from other countieft
1148
STATISTICS_OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
southwards, by greater attention to collecting manure, not employing women and children in the lighter
operations of husbandry, and .limiting tenants to a certain number of subtenants. The celebrated Dr.
James Anderson, farmed extensively in this county, at Mounie, now the property of his eldest son. Alex-
ander Anderson Seaton, a distinguished horticulturist. {Keith's General View, 1811.)
above three feet deep ; secondly, a well-paved causeway of
granite ; thirdly, a bed of pure sand, one foot deep ; fourthly,
another causeway of granite ; and below the whole, a consider-
able depth of rich mould. No greater precaution could have
been taken to hinder the roots of the fruit trees from beinjj
injured, by piercing into a cold or wet subsoil.
9. Woods and Plantations,
In the higher division of Mar, occupy nearly 100 square
miles, in some places very thickly planted, and in others raised
by nature, at very different distances between the trees. Near-
ly one-third has been both enclosed and planted ; one-third
has been raised by nature, without either enclosing or plant-
ing the ground ; and the remainder has been surrounded by
fences for kegjing out the cattle, and then been stocked with
wood, raised from seed, either blown by the wind, or carried by
the rooks, who, by some instinctive impulse, carry the cones
of the Scotch pine in their bills, to pro viae habitations for their
offspring, at a remote period, when the seeds contained in
these cones become trees, in which they may build their nests.
1. Geographical State and Circumstances.
No metals, or coal, and very little limestone, but abundance
of excellent granite ; which is used for every sort of building at
home, and exported to London in great quantities. Besides
the durability, there is one other excellence attending the use
of this stone ; the expense of carving it has simpliiiea the style
of archite<:ture.
2. Property,
Much divided, only two or three large estates. Lord Aber-
deen's the most valuable, consists of 30,000 arable acres, and
^5,000 waste.
3. Buildings.
A number ofruined castles and religious buildings, and a
few handsome modem houses. An ample descriptive list of
gentlemen's seats, which are very numerous. Farm-houses,
formerly wretched structures of clay, turf, and thatch, are
now greatly improved; cottages improving. " Decent farm-
houses"' first began to be thought of about 1760. In 1794, Dr.
Anderson observes in his report of the county on which the
present one is founded, that they are " for the most part very
lX)or. This is," he adds, " hijghly impolitic. Nothing contri-
butes more to the content and conveniency of a farmer, than
good and well disposed buildings. It elevates his mind, gives
him spirit to pursue his operations with alacrity, and contri-
butes in many instances to augment his profits. I never yet
saw a thriving tenant who had not good houses. But on no
account should he be induced to expend that stock upon
building houses, which should be employed in extending his
own proper business. It ought always to be done by the land-
lord; and, in general, a good set of houses upon a farm, will
bring him much greater additional rent than the interest of
the money expended upon them. Nothing will prove such an
allurement as good buildings, and long leases on equitable
terms." Since 1794, whenjDr. Anderson wrote the above para-
graph, we have got farmers from Berwickshire, Angus,
JMeams, and other southern districts, who have taken farms in
Aberdeenshire, and many of whom have shown excellent ex-
amples in agriculture, as well as improved their own capital ;
ancl the native farmers of the county, in consequence of their
example, both in asking good houses, and in raising good crops,
are now in a much more flourishing situation.
4. Occupation.
The greatest diversity in the size of farms ; from six acres to
thousands : scarcely a mechanic, journeyman or master, who
has not a farm of one acre or two, or a garden ; besides the
produce, they find the labor highly conducive to health, by
counteracting the effect of indoor confinement, and prolonged
unfavorable bodily postures, or contaminating respiration.
5. Implements.
Turnips formerly sown from a small tin box, nine inches
long, and one inch square, with two or three holes at one end,
through which the operator shook out the seeds : thinned by
a part of the blade of an old scythe fastened to a bit of iron like
a common hoe ; the advantages of the latter are its sharpness,
but it is easily broke. A chLd's cradle rocked by water.
. 6. Enclosures.
Stone fences, or ditches and earthen banks, the common
fences : this frees the land from loose stones, which abotmd
every where, or serves to drain it.
7. Arable Land.
Potatoes, as well as various other improvements, first intro-
duced to field culture after the calamitous year, 1782 : not
liked by farmers so well as the turnip. The reporter tried vari-
ous experiments in distilling from potatoes, which cire recorded
in the Farmers' Magazine. Yellow turnips very .much sown,
and generally preferred by the cow-keepers. Ruta baga in
great repute, but requires to be earlier sown than the yellow,
and consequently does not admit of so thoroughly cleanuig the
ground. Carrot, beet, scorzonera, and other roots fermented
and distilled by the reporter, the best spirit and greatest
quantity from carrot. White beet grown, but foimd to yield less
produce than turnip, carrot, or cabbage.
8. Gardens and Orchards.
The county of Aberdeen is distinguished beyond any other
county in the island, for the preparatory branch of all good
gardening, viz., trenching the soil to a proper depth. We have
a numerous class of gardeners in the vicinity of Aberdeen, who
cultivate the lands in the neighborhood of that city, and
whose practice deserves to be generally known, fand generally
imitated.
They, in fact, are kitchen gardeners, seedsmen, and nursery-
men. They raise all sorts of roots for the inhabitants of the
cities of New and Old Aberdeen, various seeds for the use of
the country at large, and nurseries so extensive, and so care-
fully managed, that, l)esides serving the landed proprietors in I
the county, and the owners of villas near the towns, ithey ex-
I)ort considerable numbers of plants to England.
A few good private orchards ; the largest, that of Ferguson
of Pitfour, of ten acres. The site of it, nearly 600 years ago,
contained the Abbey of Deer, founded in 1218, and the garden
belonging to the monastery. It is a striking proof of the lux-
ury of the Romish clergy, and of their uncommon skill in the
raising of ftiiit-trees, that when Ferguson was laying out his
In these higher districts, wood grows so easily, that the prO'
prietor need only enclose an extent of hilly ground, and thus
shut out the cattle. The wind and the crows will in time sup-
ply him with seeds. But when these natural woods grow very
irregularly, it is found prudent to assist nature, by sowing, or
occasionally scratching into the soil, a number of seeds of
the trees which are wished to be reared in the vacant spaces.
The greater proportion of these woods consists of Scotch
pine, it grows slowly at first, but is very valuable. Where the
soil is most barren, and the trees grow very slowly, the wood
of the Scotch pine is of the best quality. A remarkable tree,
at Invercauld, was cut down about forty years ago ; and the
number of concentric circles near its root, viz. 229, showed
it to have grown and increased in size for 229 years, besides
the time that it continued stationary. Its wood was de-
clared, by all who saw it, to be much superior in quality to
any that had ever been imported from the north of Europe.
There are thousands of pine trees in Braemar, some of which
are nearly six feet in diameter, which are superior in point of
quality to any wood of that denomination that was ever im-
ported into any place in Great Britain.
10. Improvements.
Trenching has been already mentioned : within three miles
of Aberdeen, above ,'3000 acres trenched ; some acres paid HOI.
per acre, for granite bowlders for exportation. Practice of
trenchinfj very general throughout the county.
Irrigation adopted on poor iron-stone clay, not worth two
shillings per acre, but raised in value to two pounds. The
operator brought from Gloucester, by Ferguson, of Pitfour.
11. Livestock.
More cattle bred than in any other county. Scotch cattle
first improved by crossing some English cows sent down by
Henry VII. to his eldest daughter, Queen of James IV. The
produce was known as the Falkland breed. Williamson's
three brothers sell annually about 8000 head of cattle of vari-
ous breeds, in the south-country markets. They decidedly
prefer the true native, unmixed, and raised by good keeping,
to the mixture of the Falkland, or Fifeshire breed, with that
of this county ; and consider both these to be much superior to
the English, or to emy foreign breeds. They justly remark,
that the food, or keep should be always above the breed, and
not the breed above the keep. They consider the small high-
land cattle, which are generally bought by inferior dealers, as
too restless and impatient for feeding well. They prefer the
native low country breed to the larger ones, as they are most
easily maintained, more hardy in work, have flesh of the finest
Cin, and pay better in proportion to the goodness of their
p. Every succeeding generation, for the last thirty years,
has increased in size, and that, by good keeping ; the native
breed is double its former size (t. e. weighs at least double its
former weight), since the introduction of the turnip husban
dry. They are also decidedly of opinion, that wherever a
landed proprietor breeds more than one year for family use,
the stot should not be tied up, but allowed to feed loose, in or-
der to get gentle exercise along with his food, that the second
year he may be put to high feeding, and be tied up, and may
be continued with this high feeding as long as he seems to
thrive ; but that he ought to be killeil whenever he loaths his
food, or appears to be sickly, or not thriving.
The sheep few, and of a mixed breed. Horses are native po-
nies, or purchased from Clydesdale. Poultry very common ;
great demand for eggs, both for the Aberdeen and London
markets. Red deer m great numbers in Braemeu-, and roes in
the hills of Cromar.
12. Manufactures.
County long celebrated for its woollen manufactures. About
1660 Garden, of Gilconeston, a wealthy sheep farmer and ma-
nufacturer, had a daughter, who married Lieutenant Cadogan
of Cromwell's army, who afterwards was made a peer, and from
whom sprang the Dukes of Richmond and Leicester, Lords
Cadogan, Vemey, Holland, C. J. Fox,, and other emment
English families.
Woollen, linen, and cotton, now extensively manufactured.
Knitting of stockings and spinning lint formerly common, but
new orchard, he found in the Abbey garden, first, rich soil, ' little attended to since the introduction of machinery.
7067. NAIRNSHIRE and MORAYSHIRE. Forming together 512,000 acres of mountainous surface,
and some narrow arable vales, are included in one survey. The climate along the Moray Frith has always
been noted for its mildness, which is partly owing to its localities, and partly to the general prevalence of
a dry sandy soil. On the mountains the climate is more severe. Lead, iron, lime, marl, freestone, slate,
&c. are found, but the two first are not worked at all, and of the others, only the freestone, to any extent.
{Lister's General View, 1810.)
1. Property
In very large estates, as for example, those of the Duke of
Gordon, and|Earls of Findlater, Moray, Fife, and Lord Cawdor.
2. Buildings.
Considerable as has l)cen the alterations in the houses of
yiroprietors, it is nothing to that which has taken place in those
of farmers. Prior to the year 1760, in the dwellings of tenants
there were neither floors, ceilings, nor chimneys. In a few of
them, the low wall was rudely raised of stone, and clay mor-
tar, and had a small glass window ; in one only of the apart-
ments was any plaster, ,-md it was raked over the walls in the
most artless manner ; a loft, on which the roof rested without
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF SUTHERLAND.
1149
anv sidewall, distinguished a very few of the most respectable
habitations. There was, in general, but one fire (which
served all domestic occasions) in the apartment, where the ser-
vants and master, with his wife and maiden daughters, lived
and fed together. In the higher parts of the district matters
were much worse. Now upon every farm of any consider-
ation, the buildings are substantial, commodious, and neat.
3. Occupation,
As in Kmcardineshire ; but the arable lands being gene-
rally light, the turnip husbanchry is more prevalent. It; is a
singular fact, that in an island in a lake, Loughnadurb, in this
county, the turnip is found more plentifully in a wild state
than any where else in Britain. This island contains a for-
tress, and the reporter conjectures that turnips being intro-
duced at an early period from the continent, the small plot of
KTound within tlie walls could not be occupied by any crop
more convenient for its temporary inhabitants, than that of
turnips and coleworts. It may be conjectured that the last
crop, probably sown from 30U to 400 years agp, had never
been gathered. Until of late the turnips in this island sprung
up annually in a thick bed, without culture. The root, in
some favored situations, it is said, had been found of one pound
weight, but they resemble in general the wild kind, having a
long root, like a small radish, of acid juice, and a rough
jiointed leaf. Some plants of red cabbage were also distin-
guished among them. Both were used as pot herbs at the
tables of the country people, on which account they were some-
times raised in their gardens. When they began to run to
seed on this island, young cattle were ferried in to feed on
them. The Rev. Francis Forbes, minister of Grange, has
seen rentals of the family of Craigyvar, from which it appears
that turnips were paid as an article of rent, in the end of the
seventeenth century. The quantity (about aoo bushels) shows
that they must have been applied as food for cattle. By the
famine which unfortunately took place at that period, how>
ever, every agricultural branch of industry was so deranged,
that this important object, instead of being extended, was,
even there, wholly abandoned.
The cultivation of turnips, as a food for cattle, was first in-
troduced into this district, from the county of Norfolk, by the
late Earl of Findlater, about the year 17 GO.
When the artificial grasses and herbage plants were intro-
duced, only regular gardeners were employed to sow them :
now common coimtry operatives perform the operation. Few-
orchards; apples imported from England; a few natural
woods, and extensive artificial plantations. In general it may
be observed that in this as in the other counties of the North,
every description of improvement has been tried, and such as
are found to answer, as draining, burning, irrigation, planting,
road making, &c. carried to a great extent. All the im-
proved implements have been tried, and the reporter even pro-
poses an addition to them, in the form of circular harrows ;
the circle of cast iron^ and the tines of wrought iron, screwed
in or fastened with nuts and screws. (Seefg. 776.) There is a
good deal of fisiung carried ofa along the doast and in the Morav
Frith.
7068. The shires of ROSS, NAIRN, and CROMARTY, are three adjoining mountainous districts, con-
taining 2,204,800 acres. The soil is in general light, sandy, or peaty. Minerals of various kinds have
been found, but only building stones and lime are worked. (Mackenzie's General View, 1810.)
landlord agrees that the repairs shall be madelat the mutual
expense of himself and his tenant, the latter will thrive, and
the former will never have to demand his rent twice. The
present race of Highland tenants will yet find themselves much
happier, and more comfortable, in the capacity of servants to
substantial tenants, than in their present situation. The
dwellings of cottagers are not worse than those of the native
farmers. The same roof covers men, women, children, cattle,
dogs, pigs, poultry, &c. It must afford great pleasure to every
lover of his countrv, to observe the neat cottages that Me erect-
ing in every part of the country ; but it will be long ere the
people will learn the comforts of cleanliness and the use of
chimnies. In many places where these have been constructed,
the people do not use them, but prefer breaking a hole in the
roof of the house, and lighting their fire on the floor. Smoke
they say keeps them warm.
The occupation and management of land is the same as in
other mountain districts. Some grain, chiefly oats, is raised
in the low grounds, with root and herbage crops, and the pas-
tures are devoted to the breeding of cattle and sheep. Every
improvement is tried by the principal proprietors; and enlight-
ened farmers from the south of Scotland, accustomed to breed-
ing, induced to settle on their estates, by long leases and mode-
rate rents. From these the smaller native formers take an ex-
ample sooner than they would from the operations of iiropri-
etors, which they are apt to consider, as at least of dubious
value. When a rent-paying farmer, however, adopts plans
new to them, the Ccise is very different. Of woods in this dis-
trict there are very few, but many jilantations have been lately
made round gentlemen's seats, especially Lord Seaforth's.
The great post roads in this district have been made in part
by Government, and in part by the proprietors. There is a
cotton manufactory at Cromarty, and the reporter suggests the
idea of manufacturing tar, from the trunks of fir trees found
bedded in all the mosses of this and other Highland districts.
1. Property. i
Is in few hands, and till of late underwent but few changes.
There are no sources of information from which a precise j
knowledge of the state of agriculture in these and other j
northern counties, previous to the rebellion in the year 1745, |
can be derived; but from what it has been since that time, i
until about 1760, it may safely be concluded, that agricultural I
knowledge was neither sought for nor desired. The mode of
management which has been practised in these counties, and (
in other parts of the Highlands, and which has been handed j
down from father to son for many generations, is still to be
found in the midst of the most improved districts. We still '
see the arable land divided into small crofts, and many of the I
hills occupied as commons. On 'the west coast, particularly, ,
the ground is seen covered with heaps of stones, and large '
quantities are collected on the divisions between the fields, so
that a considerable portion of the land capable of cultivation,
is thus rendered useless, by the indulgence of the most unpar- '
donable sloth. The management of the native farmers is most
destructive. The soil of one field is dug away to be laid upon
another ; and crop succeeds crop, until the land refuses to yield
eny thing. It is then allowed to rest for a season, and the
weeds get time to multiply. Such, we must suppose, was the
system of farming before the rebellion ; we cannot imagine it
to have been worse.
2. Buildings.
The old Highland tenantry are universally ill accommo-
dated. They live in the midst of filth and smoke ; that is
their choice. But wherever farms have been laid out on a
proper scale, and are occupied by substantial and well edu-
cated men, we find the farm-houses and offices handsome and
commodious. Every proprietor who wishes to see his estate
rapidly improved, will erect suitable buildings at his own ex-
pense, before he invites a good tenant to settle upon it. The
interest of his money will be always cheerfully paia, and if the
' 7069. CAITHNESS. 395,680 acres, three-eighths of which is deep, mossy, and flat moors, covered with
heath ; three-eighths mounlain, moor, and some hilly pasture, and the remainder in cultivable land, lakes,
&c. There is very little wood, either natural or artificial : but excellent lime and freestone. On the
whole it is one of the coldest, wettest, and most dreary counties of Scotland ; and is in no way remark-
able, unless for being the scene ef Sir John Sinclair's practical attempts at improvement. Of these the
chief seems to have been the enlargement of the town of Thurso : of which, and of various other schemes,
ample information is given in the report, and in a number of appendixes to it by Sir .John himself. (Hen-
derson's General View, 1812.)
The principal farmers in the county tmder review, are in-
telligent gentlemen, who have been for some time in the
army, or followed other avocations, either in the southern
counties of Scotland, or in England, who work their farms
upon the principles of modem agriculture, as practised in the
southern counties of Scotland, as far as the state of the county,
as to climate, roads, the means of improvement, markets, &c.
will admit, but at a much greater expense than is done to
the southward, and of course much less benefit to themselves.
In general, they have ether sources of income, which enable
them to live in a social and comfortable state in society : they
are better educated than farmers paying a similar rent m Eng-
land; agricultural knowledge, therefore, is soon inculcated
amongst them.
The smaller class of farmers, with but few exceptions, are
industrious, sober, sagacious, and moral in their behaviour.
They have, unfortunately, a turn for litigation, and ex|)end
more money than they ought to do in law, by which their cir.
cumstances are often injured.
1. Property,
Is in few hands, and the Irish practice of tacksmen tenants
exists, and has existed from time immemorial in the county.
These tacksmen, as they are called, generally occupy a part
of the land themselves, and sublet the remainder to the small
farmers, for a certain money-rent, payments in fjrain, cus-
toms, and service (the latter in many cases unlimited), so as
to have, upon the whole, a surplus rent for the trouble and
risk of recovering their rack-rents from the sub-tenants.
A few young men from the south of Scotland have been
brought to this county, to superintend the nroprietor's farms
or domains, for the purjiose of introducing the practice of mo-
dem husbandry : these, from time to time, have taken farms
in this county ; but whether their agricultural skill was super-
ficial, or that they did not understand the mode of farming
best adapted to this cold and moist climate, they have neither
increased the crops, nor improved the landlord's farms placed
under their direction ; nor has their industry or skill produced
better crops on their own farms, than what is raised by a similar
class of the county farmers, who have never been out of it.
7070. SUTHERLAND. 1,872,000 acres, chiefly of mountain and moor ; and a climate about a fortnight
later than that of Edinburgh. The greater part of the county is the property of the Marquess of Stafford,
whose astonishing, masterly, and successful improvements, have been amply detailed in Loch's work,
from which we derived so much information for Staffordshire and Shropshire, and to which we again recur,
(Henderson's General View, Sfc. Loch's Improvements of the Marquess of Stafford, %c. 1819.)
The estates of Sutherland have only lately undergone that
change which began to operate in England as far back as the
reign of Henry VII. This change had for its object the crea-
tion of a middle class by the depression of the barons, and the
reign of Henry
tion of a middle class by the aenr
raising up of the next class of the community. This object
was gradually and successfully accomplished in England by the
time of Queen Elizabeth, and in the south of Scotland soon
after the union of the two kingdoms : but the Highlands, or
most northerly counties, underwent no change till the discom-
fiture of the Pretender, and the abolition of tlie heritable juris-
dictions then existing in the north, in 1747. This invaluable
act having brought the Highland chieftains within the pale of
the law, and placed them on the same footing as the other
genUemen.of the land, they began rapidly to acquire the same
tastes, to be occupied with the same pursuts, to feel the same
desires, and to liave the sameiwants as Iheir brethren in the
1150
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
south. In order, however, to Indulge these propensities, and
to be able to appear in the capital with due effect, it was ne-
cessary that they should convert their estates to that mode of
occupation most suited to their circumstances, and from which
they could derive the greatest income. Luckily in this, as in
every other instance in l>oIiticaI economy, the interest of the
individual and the prosperity of the state went hand in hand.
And the demand for the raw material of wool by the English
manufacturers, enabled the Highland proprietor to let his lands
for quadruple the amount they ever before produced to him.
These arrangements continued to be carried into efTect from
time to time, in the soutliem and central Highlands, up to
about the commencement of the French revolution war ; not
always' however, without serious resistance on the part of the
always-
people.
Horthem Highlands still remained to undergo that change
tvhich the rett (f tite island had already ado])ted. In this district
it naturally began to be followed in the counties situated near-
est to those into which it had already been introduced. In
Ross-shire, accordingly, it was underta'ken on a great scale, in
1792. The dissatisfaction produced was so great, that the most
serious affrays took place, and the military had to act, and
blood was shed before quiet was restored. Between that time
and 1815, the greater portion of the county of Sutherland, not
belonging to Ix)rd and Lady Stafford, was arranged according
to those plans so universally adopted. This ancient condition
of society prevailed longer on the estate of Sutherland, than in
any other part of the island, on account of its difficult access
across the Dornoch, and other friths, and the total want of
roads in the county till 1809. The estate of Sutherland
{Jig. SI 6 a, a, a) including the barony of Assynt, (b,b,b)
NORTHEB.K OCEATV
816
and the late purchases made by the Marquess of StafTordo is
computed to contain more than 800,000 acres. The estate of
Lord Reay (c) is more than half that extent. The residue of
the county belongs to different lesser proprietors (rf to n).
In 1809 was begun a line of road, conducted according to the
best principles of the art, and made in the most perfect man-
ner, from the town of Inverness by Beauly and Dingwall, to
the boundaries of the county of Sutherland ; two excellent
Rtone bridges, consisting of five arches each, having lieen-
built across the Beauly and Conon rivers. The two princi-
pal obstructions these roads had to contend with and to
surmount, were those which were occasioned byfthe two
frithsof Dornoch (_fig. 816. 1) and of Loch Fleet (2). The
former, especially,' presented obstacles of considerable mo-
ment, arising out of the width of the channel, and the want
of a proper foundation on which to construct a bridge. If ^
the 'same plan had been followed in this instance, which
has been adopted on the two southern ferries, namely, of
ascending to the point at which the frith terminates and be-
comes a river, it would have carried the road so much into
the interior, as to counterbalance those advantages which
are at all times obtained by the substitution of a bridge in
the place of the most perfect ferry which can be established.
To avoid either of these inconveniences, a very careful
survey of the whole frith was made, and the engineer,
Telford, determined to recommend the construction of an
iron bridge of magnificent dimensions [See an engraved viem
in the Ed. Encyc.) at Bonar, a point where the frith nar-
rows itself considerably ; and above which it again expands,
though not to its former dimensions. This structure con-
sists of an extensive embankment, with two stone arches of
fifty and sixty feet span respectively ; and one iron arch of
150feetspan. Itcost 13,97U. From this point, the heritors
of Sutherland have constructed a road (4, 4) to Tongue (c),
the seat of Lord Reay, situated upon the Northern Ocea n.
In many places, these roads are cut through the hardest
rock'; in others thev are obliged to be supported on bulwarks
of solid masonry. Expensive drains to protect them from the
mountain floods, and bridges over the innumerable streams
that rush from the hills in every direction, are required. These
must be formed of the most durable materials and the best i
workmanship, to resist the impetuosity of the torrents. No- I
thing will set this in so striking a point of view, as to state, that'
upon the projected road to Assynt, a distance of forty -six miles,
three bridges of three arches each, two bridges consisting of
one arch of forty feet span, five of twenty feet span, three of
twenty-four, six of eighteen, two of twelve, besides mam others
of inferior dimensions, would be required. On the Stafford
estate excellent inns, often combining farmeries, have been
built in a number of places at an enormous expense. As an
example, we may refer to one {,fig, 817.) cootaining an outer
817
-0-%
E
nnn
D D D
awn
*
nnn
lors, with movable partition for great occasions {c), principal
entrance (d), a small parlor (e), small room (/ ), kitchen (g),
back kitchen and servants' stair (A). Over are five bedrooms,
and nine garrets for beds.
Thus, in the course of twelve years, has the county of Su-
tharland been intersected, in some of its most Important dis-
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF SUTHERLAND.
1151
tricts, with roads. Fin point of execution sup«lor to most roads
In England. And owing to the equally jiraiseworthy exertions
(rf the counties of Ross and Invemesn, on the one hand, and of
Caithness on the other, the same perfect means of communica-
tion now exists, from the burgh of Inverness to the town of
Thurso upon the North Sea.
Fem dUtritia of Scotland jxuteis so small a proporiion of land
Jit for cultivatkm, compared with its extent, as Sutherland;
"and previous to the year 1 8 1 1 but even a small portion of that was
brought into cultivation. Each shore is fringed (if the expres-
sion may be used) with a narrow border of arable land, which,
on the south-east coast, extends from a few hundred yards to
about one mile in breadth : the interior consists entirely of
mountains.
The lands were let to tacksmen, a-s in Ireland, till in latter
times, when a certain district was let to the whole body of
tenants resident in each " town or township," who bound
themselves, conjointly and severally, for the payment of the
whole rent. This land was held, as expressed in Scotland,
" run rig," or like common field land in England.
The enect of this arrangement was to scatter thickly, a hardy
but not an industrious race of people up the glens, and over the
sides of the various mountains ; who, taking advantjige of
every spot which could be cultivated, and which could with
any chance of success be applied to raising a precarious crop of
inferior oats, of which they baked their cakes, and of bear,
from which they distilled their whiskey, added but little to the
industry, and contributed nothing to the wealth of the empire.
Impatient of regular and constant work, all the heavy labor
was abandoned to the women, who were employed, occasion-
ally, even in dragging the harrow to cover in tne seed.
To build their hut, or get in thf ir neats for fuel, or to perform
any other occasional labor of the kind, the men were ever ready
to assist ; but the great proportion of their time, when not in
the pursuit of game, or of illegal distillation, was spent in indo-
lence and sloth. Their huts were of the most miserable de-
scription. They were built of turf, dug from the most valu-
able portions ot" the mountain side. Their roof consisted of
the same material, which was supported upon a rude wooden
frame, constructed of crooked timber, taken from the natural
woods belonging to the proprietor, and of moss-fir dug from
the peat bogs. The situation they selected was uniformly on
the edge of the cultivated land, and of the mountain pastures.
They were placed lengthways, and sloping with thedeclination
of the hill. This position was chosen, in order that all the
filth might flow from the habitation without further exertion
upon the part of the owner. Under the same roof, and enter-
ing at the same door, were kept all the domestic animals be-
longing to the establishment. The ujiper portion of the hut
was appropriated to the use of the family. In the centre of
thisupper division was placed the fire, the smoke from which
was made to circulate throughout the whole hut, for the pur-
I)ose of conveying heat into its farthest extremities. The
effect being to cover every thing with a black glossy soot, and
tooroduce the most evident injury to the appearance and eye-
signt of those most exiH»sed to its influence. The floor was the
bare earth, except near the fire-place, where it was rudely
paved with rough stones. It was never levelled whh much
care, and it soon wore into every sort of inequality, according
to the hardness of the respective soils of which it was composed^
Every hollow formed a receptacle for whatever fluid happened
to fall near it, where it remained until absorbed by the earth.
It was impossible that it should ever be swej)t ; and when the
accumulation of filth rendered the place uninhabitable, an-
other hut was erected in the vicinity of the old one. The old
rafters were used in the construction of the new cottage, and
that which was abandoned, formed a valuable collection of
manure for the next crop.
The introdtidion qj'the potaioe, in the first instance, proved no
blessing to Sutherland, out only increased this state of wretch-
edness, inasmuch as its cultivation required less labor.
So long as this system just descTibed remained in full force,
no attempt could "be made to improve or meliorate the situ-
ation of these poor people. To better their condition, however,
to raise them from such a state of continual poverty and occa>
sional want ; to supply them with the means, and to create in
them the habits of industry, was, and is the bounden duty of
the owners of every such property. And it was not less their
duty to do so, because the same arrangement which was calcu-
lated to produce this salutary effect, was at the same time the
best suited to increase the value of their property, and to add
to the general wealth of the community.
The fmulamental principle of agricultural improvement in this
case was derived from no si)eculative reasoning, but from what
has actually taken place in a different but similarly circum-
stanced part of the kingdom.
It is well known that the borders of the two kingdoms were
inhabited by a numerous population, who, in their pursuits,
manners, and general structure of society, bore a considerable
resemblance to that which existed in the Highlands of Scotland.
When the union of the crowns, and those subsequent transactions
which arose out of that event, rendered the maintenance of that
irregular population not only unnecessary, but a burden to the
proprietor to whom the land belonged, the people were re-
moved, and the mountains were covered with sheep. So that
it had been for a length of time proved by the experience of the
stock farmers of those mountain tracts which comprise the
northern districts of England, and the southern parts of Scot-
land, that such situations were peculiarly suited for the main-
tenance of this species of stock. Taking this example as their
guide, experience had still further proved, that the central and
western Highlands of Scotland were equally well calculated
for the same end. Reasoning from this success, and observing
that the climate of Sutherland, owing to its vicinity to the
ocean, and to its being considerably Intersected by arms of the
sea, and much more moderate than this latter district, it was
fairly concluded that this county was even better fitted for this
system of management than tne heights of Perthshire and
rnvemess-shire. The inferior elevation of its mountains contri-
buted still further to this effect, and held out every encourage-
ment to -adopt the same course which had been pursued with
such success in both parts of the kingdom.
The propriety of converting the mountainous parts of the county
into sheep-rvalks was in this way rendered evident, provided the
people^could be at the same time settled in situations, where, I wealth, and where they should not l>e exposed to the recurrence
by the exercise of their honest industry, they could obtain a I of those privations, which so frequently and so terribly afflicted
decent UveUhood and add to the general mass of national | them, when situated among the mountain*.
1152
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
The principle (^ pj-oviding for tlie Umier dass of tenants by the
ettablishment of fisheries was thus derived. It had long been
known, that the coast of Sutherland abounded with many
different kinds of fish, not only sufficient for the consumption
of the country, but affording also a supply, to any extent, for
more distant markets, or for exportation when cured and
salted. Besides the regular and continual supply of white fish,
with whichSthe shores thus
abound, the coast of Suther-
land is cmnually visited by
one of those veist shoals of
herrings wfiich frequent the
coast of Scotland. It seemed
as if it had been {minted out
by nature, that the system
for this remote district, in
order that it might bear its
suitable importance in con-
tributing its share to the
general stock of the country,
was, to convert the moun-
tainous districts into sheep,
-walks, and to remove the
inhabitants to the coast,
or to the valleys near the
sea. Several sea-ports were
improved by the construc-
tion of piers {,fig. 818 a. )
and breakwaters (A); and
the plan of a town being
formed, the inn, church,
post-office, market-place, ,
and other public buildings,
were erected by Lord Suth-
erland, and the most libe-
ral encouragement given by
loans of money, grants of _ _
land at little or no feu duty, &c. to fishers, manufacturers,
tradesmen, &c. both on a large and small scale, to come and
settle there. Such is the policy of Lord Stafford's opera-
tions, in which he has expended, and continues to ex-
pend, independently of the cost of improvements on the
mansion {,tig. 819.) and park of Dunrobin, immense sums.
Happily the success has equalled the most sanguine ex-
pectations; but for the very interesting details of execu-
tion, our limits oblige us to refer to the^work of Loch, which'
819
7071. INVERNESS-SHIRK Upwards of 7,000,000 of by far the most mountainous region in
Scotland. It reaches from sea to sea on the main-land, and comprehends many islands, which are scat-
tered far and wide. The hills and moors were formerly covered with fir woods, the remains of which are
dug up in all the moors in abundance. The climate is rainy, mild on the west coast, but less so on the
east The soil of the vales is loamy or gravelly. The principal economical minerals are granite, lime-
stone, and slate, but lead, iron, marble, &c. have been found in different places. The county is remarkable
for its native fir woods, and for that stupendous national work, the Caledonian Canal, now nearly com-
pleted. Improvements were first commenced about Inverness by Cromwell's soldiers. (Robertson's Ge-
neral View, 1810.)
1. Properti/,
In few hands : largest. Lord Macdonald, of the Isle of Skye,
the only nobleman who resides in the county. The mountain
farms are large, and, as in similar cases, reckoned by miles, or
by the number of sheep they are supposed to carry.
2. Gardens and Orchards
To be found in a few places; and some old pear trees, planted
by the monks, are still in a bearing state at Beauly, and one or
two other places. There is an excellent fruit and forest tree
nursery at Inverness.
3. Woods and Plantations.
The Scotch pine, for the most part, took possession of the
south side of the valley, and made choice of a northern ex-
posure ; the birch, the hazel, and the oak, occupied the warm-
est side of every district, while the alder and a few ashes
ran along the streams. Not only the continental parts had
this natural mantle, but the islands of this country appear,
fVom the fragments of trees found in the mosses, to nave been
at some remote period, mostly, if not wholly, under forests.
The only remains of growing wood at present in the islands,
are at Portree and Slate, in Skye, and a little in the island of
Kaasa.
Trees were burned or felled to make room for men, by en-
larging the pasturage of cattle, and affording fresh siurface for
com. At present the Scotch pine covers more surface in this
county, than all the other kinds of trees taken together ; and
the natural pine woods of Inverness-shire exceed the quantity of
this wood growing naturally in all the rest of Britain. In
Strathspey alone, it is reported, upon authority which cannot be
called into question, that fifteen thousand acres of ground are
covered with natural firs. On the south sides of Locharkaig, of
Glengarry, of Glenmoriston, Strathglas, Glenstrafaras, and at
the head of Lochsheil, as mentioned above, the bounds of
country under this wood are reckoned by mUes, not by acres.
The oak woods of this county are not so large, nor so well taken
care of, as they are in Perthshire.
There are extensive birch woods, the timber of which is used
for fencing and the coarser articles of husbandry, and the bark
for tanning.
4. Live Stock.
Cattle are of the Skye or Kyloe breed, usually, however,
known as the Highland breed, and already described. (6120.)
The cows yield only half the quantity of.milk of the breeds of the
iow counties ; generally from two to two and a half gallons ;
but it is rich, and productive of butter of excellent flavor. The
diseases of Highland cattle are few. The manner of disposing
of cattle is as follows : "When the drovers, from the south and
interior of Scotland, make their appearance in the Highlands,
which always happens during the latter end of April, or the be-
ginning of May, they give intimation at the churches, that
upon a particular day, and in a central place of the district,
they are ready to purchase cattle from any who offer them for
sale. The drovers are of two descriptions : either those who
buy by commission for persons of capital, who, being diffident
of their own skill, or averse from fatigue, choose to remam at
home ; or those who purchase cattle on their own account.
Much address is used on both sides, to feel the pulse of the mar-
ket at these parochial meetings, before the price of the season
be mutually settled ; and it may happen, that many such small
trysts or meetings take place in different parts of the Highlands,
before the price be finally determined. The anxiety on both
sides is sometimes so great, that the cattle are given away upon
a conditional contract, that if the price rises within a limited
time, the seller will receive so much more ; but if the lean cat-
tle fall in value, the drover will get a reduction.
Sheep are extensively reared, and generally of the Linton or
Lammermuir black faced sort. The Cheviots are also very pre-
valent.
Horses either the native pony, or improved breeds from the
low countries farther south.
Roes are frequent In a wild state in all the woody and warm
glens.
5. Political Economy.
Roads and bridges have been going forward at the expense of
Government, ever since 1745, and earlier, and the Caledonian
Canal is well known for its magnitude and the excellence of its
execution. There are various hsheries on the lakes and coasts ;
but few manufactures.
As one of the ol>staclesto improvement,common to this and the
other Highland counties, and indeed to every county, the re-
porter mentions the stubbornness of thecommon people, in ad-
hering obstinately to old and slovenly habits, is no inconsider-
able obstacle. As men rise in years, the reluctance to make
any uncommon exertions, and particularly to introduce a
change into any thing, which relates to their personal accom-
modation, gradually grows upon them. Having been long ac-
customed to a certain course of employment, of gratification, of
lodging, of dress, and of food, they resist strenuously the re-
linquishment of any of these habits ; they move on in the cur-
rent of human life mechanically, like a wheel, without any ap-
parent alteration in their motion, unless it be accomplished by
some external force ; and if left to themselves, they never
change their course. This propensity to remain the same
men, and to retain the same customs, is more unconquerable
among the illiterate and ignorant, than among the learned or
enlightened part of mankind. By means of society, of conver-
sation, and of reading, the latter acquire an enlargement of the
mind, to which the former are strangers ; and if they be accus-
tomed to reflect on what they hear and see, they are always
more open to conviction. When that mulishness of the vulgar,
which is the child of ignorance, takes fast hold of the mind, it
becomes so obstinate, that it can seldom or never be removed.
Its universality would lead to the opinion, that it is an original
principle in the human frame , but its progressive influence,
which increaseth with age, and the apology which the \Tilgar
urge in their own defence, that their fathers did such
things before them, would imply that it is the effect of
imitation.
We cannot, however, hesitate for a moment in pronouncing,
that the general prosperity of the world is more promoted by
the steadiness of the vulgar, even when it amounts to obsti-
nacy, than it would by fickleness, and a desire of change. The
very existence of order, the continuance of established govern-
ment, the enjoyment of the comforts of society, the sweet en-
dearments of friendship, the exercise of the religious principle,
and many ofthe highest blessings of life, flow from the reluct-
ance against innovation, which, with such inveteracy, resists
new modes of cultivation in the management of soil.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF THE HEBRIDES.
1153
, 7072. ARGYLESHIRE, nearly two millions of acres ; the eleventh part of Scotland, and the thirtieth
of Great Britain, and nearly the whole of the Scottish kingdom from A. D. 503 to the subjugation of the
Picts 111843. The surface of the country is rough and mountainous : in the northern parts " alps piled on
alps hide their heads in the clouds." The climate is moderately mild, very moist in the vales and on the
coast, but cold and severe on the elevations. The soil of the vales is generally light ; the minerals are
lead, iron, coal, freestone, granite, limestone, slates, &c., but the two first are not worked at present. There
are numerous bays, inlets, and lakes, in some of which excellent fish is caught. The county is in no re-
spect remarkable in an agricultural point of view : it furnishes immense quantities of cattle and sheep
to the graziers and feeders of the south, and there are some oak coppices and artificial plantations.
(Smith's General View, 1810. )
In the hands of 156 o\vners. Farms of the smaller size
reckoned by acres, the largest by miles. One, supposed to
be the largest in Britain, is eighteen or twenty in length by
three or tour miles in breadth ; several contain fiom two to
six square miles : object, as in Inverness-shire, the breeding of
cattle chiefly, and next sheep.
2. Improvements
Have been made by most of the proprietors : some plans of
farmeries are given bv the reporter. One Ls circular, and con-
sists chiefly of cattle sheds ; but the elevation is of that mon-
grel Gothic, which is displayed in most of the modern Highland
chateaus. The fin share plough (2499.) was invented in this
countv by the reporter.
3. 'Woods and Plantations.
There are about 30,000 acres of coppice, chiefly oak, birch,
and hazel, which being now valuable for the bark, and the poles
• to be used as spokes for wheels, is beginning to be enclosed
from the sheep by stone walls. The Duke of Argyle Is the
chief planter, and his larch plantations are of preat extent,
and contain an immense quantity of valuable txmber. The
oldest and largest of the trees at Inverary are supposed to
have been planted by the Marquess of Argyle betwixt the years
1650 and 16C0. Those of the next largest size and age were
raised from the seed by Archibald Duke of Argyle (called a
tree-monper, by Walpole) in 174G or 1747. These consist
chiefly of larches, New England pines, spruce and silver flrs.
4. Live Stock.
Cattle the west Highland breed ; the best in the districts of
Argyle, Lorn, Hay, Colonsa, and Mull.
SAfty, till lately, much neglected.
Horses, a hardy native breed larger than the pony.
5. Political Economy.
Roads as in Inverness-shire. A canal from the coal works
in Campbelton to the sea : few manufactures. An agricultu-
ral society at Kintyre.
7073. The HEBRIDES, including Buteshire, are nearly 200 islands, containing 2,037,760 acres of rocky,
hilly, and, in some islands, mountainous country, with a severe, unsteady, moist climate, and a soil gener-
ally light. Almost all the minerals ai'e found with which the continental part of Scotland is furnished.
Slate, lime, granite, marble, and freestone, are in great abundance, and coal has been found in various
places, though it has not been successfully worked. Steatite, or soapstone, from which porcelain is manu-
factured i fuller's earth, and a great variety of other economical minerals, besides rare and curious spe-
cies, are found in different islands. {Headrick's Survey, 1796. Macdonald's General View., 1811.)
1. Property
In the hands of forty-nine proprietors; highest rental 18,000/.
and acres 312,500. A great many tacksmen. Those of Hay
are said to " combine with the spirit and elegant hospitality
indigenous in this countrv, the accuracy in dealing,
the punctuality in paying, and all the useful qualifi-
cations of first-rate low country farmers. It must not
be forgotten, in mentioning the order of tacksmen,
that they are exceedingly useful, and often necessary,
for maintaining good order and government in the
countrv. Without their aid, the eflbrts of the clergy
and oificers of justice would be painful and unavail-
ing ; and therefore they ought not to be rashly ba-
nished, were they to' be viewed in no other light than
merely as subsidiary to the police and moral admi-
nistration of the Isles.
2. Buildings.
Farm-houses throughout the Hebrides are either
houses of tacksmen, of tenants, or subtenants.
Tacksmen's houses, though still far belund those of
considerable farmers in the principal counties of
England and the lowlands of Scotland, are, how-
ever, in general, beginning to be tolerably decent and
comfortable : and on all the large estates they have
been very much improved within ,the last twenty-
five years. Most of them are now built of stone
and lime, and roofed with blue slates, two stories
high, and furnished with kitchens and other accommoda-
tions. In many instances, indeed, the office-houses are
still in a deplorable state, but even these are rapidly im-
proving ; and should tliis order of farmers exist for half a
century longer, their houses will, probably, be as commodious,
and their ofiice-houses as judiciously planned, as those of the
same description of men in any part of Great Britain.
The houses of the occupying tenants are, generally speaking,
Vfretched hovels, and those of the subtenants, nasty and mise-
rable beyond description. I'ennant describes them as habita-
tions made of loose stones, without chinmeys or doors, except-
ing the faggot opposed to the wind at one or other of the aper-
tures permitting the smoke to escape in order to nrevent the
pains of suffocation. Furniture corresponds : a jiot-hook hangs
ftom the middle of the roof, with a pot hanging over a grateless
fire, fiUed with fare that may rather be called a permission to
exist than a support of vigorous life : the inmates, as may be
supposed, lean, withered, dusky, and smoke-dried.
It cannot be denied, that this picture is, in some degree,
realized in a few of the Hebrides, even at the present day.
The cottages in the Hebrides are almost universally so mise-
rable, both in plan and execution, that they deserve mention
only as proofs, that a sensible and sagacious race of men may , by
a combination of unfavorable circumstances, not only lie gradu-
ally brought to endurepri vations, which, to their equals in other
countries, would seem intolerable, but also, in the course of
time, they mav lose the power, and even the will of surmount-
ing them, three-fourths of the 40,000 cottaeers of these
Isles live in hovels which would disgrace any Indian tribe ;
and many of them are found on islands of the first rank in
point of population and extent. At least, 7000 of the natives
of I^wis (for instance) know nothing of a chimney, table,
glass window, house flooring, or even hearth stone, by their
own experience at home ; and what we call their fiirniture is,
as may be imagined, wretched and scanty beyond description,
correspondmg with their shabby exterior.
In the woods of the Park at Bute were formerly fine speci-
mens of Swiss cottages and other fiaiicy^ wooden buildmgs.
(J%- 820.)
3. Occupation.
In estimating the size of Hebridean fkrms, the common plan
is to attend to uiree leading objects ; first, the number orlive
4
stock which the farms in question can maintain ; secondly, the
number of bolls of grain which can be sown, or of ploughs re-
quisite for their tillage ; and, thirdly, the quantity of kelp that
can be made upon them.
820
' Grazing farms, whether for sheep or cattle, must gradually be
enlarged; and kelp, or merely agricultural farms, must as
naturally become limited and confined in jwint of extent.
The hay on mam of the grass-farms, and sometimes the com
on arable grounds,; is obliged to be dried by hanging on poles,
trees, or rods, (fi;;. 821.) as in Sweden.
821
4. Itnpleynents.
Some are neariy peculiar to the Hebrides, as the caschrom
or crooked spade (fig. 822.), which, in two parishes in the
Isle of LewLs, entirely supersedes the use of ploughs in the
raising of com and potatoes. The great advantage of this in-
strument is, that it enables the ojierator to work in mosses or
bogs, where no horses can walk, land in stony ground inacces-
sible to the plough. Manv districts of Harris and of Skye
would be unsusceptible of tillage without it. Its sujieriority to
tlie common trenching spade, or to any tool which penetrates
the ground nerpendicularly, is very great, resulting both from
the ease with whuh the oiierator wields it, and the length of
the horizontal clod which its jHJwerful lever enables him to
turn over.
The risile, or sickle plough, a sort of paring plough, is
used for cutting the strong sward of old land, or the tough
roots of plants, which would otherwise greatly impede the
passage of the plough.
1154
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
The dom-maik, or ■wooden tongs, for drawing thistles, &c.
ifffers little from those in use in tncland. {fig. 254.)
dittfers little from those in use in England, {fig.
822
' 5. Arable Land.
Tillage is in its infancy over the Hebrides, In all the isles
northward of Mull, excepting half a dozen farms in Skye, a
part of M'Leod, of Rasay's estate, two farms m Uist, and a
little lately done in Lewis, near Stornaway, and by Campbell,
of Islay, on a small island between North Uist and Harris.
These improvements have been carried on within the last fif-
It would be rather ludicrous than usefiil to describe the til-
lage generally practised in the Hebrides; and, accordmgly, we
shall not dwell upon it, or insult the common sense of the na-
tives, by seriously requesting them to abandon the many barba-
rous customs which have so long disgraced their country. A
man walking backwards, with his face towards four horses
abreast, brandishing his cudgel in their noses and eyes, to make
them advance to their enemy, followed by a ristle plough em-
ploying a horse and two men, the three commonly altogether
supertluous, still followed by four horses, dragging clumsy har-
rows fixed by hair ropes to their tails, and almost bursting their
spinal marrow at ev^ry tug and writhing of their tortured car-
cases. All this cavalcade, on ground unenclosed, undramed,
and yielding at an average little returns for the seed sown, and
sometimes lost altogether by the depredations of cattle, or by
accident in a late harvest, is a barbarous spectacle, which must
gradually vanish. It will soon give way, as it has already done
in Islay,, Colonsay, and part of Skye, to improved systems of
tUlage. ' „ , , •
6. Gardens and Orchards.
It is not to be expected that much should be done in garden,
ing in a district of which by far the greater part of the projiri-
etors are non-resident, nor is the climate suitable for that art.
The winds are too violent, and the sun too shy of showing his
face. Until trees and other sorts of shelter become, therefore,
more general, the gardens and orchards of the Hebrides will
probably be little more than an empty name.
7. Woods and Plantations.
In the sixteenth century it appears most of these isles were
covered with woods, ancl even so late as Buchanan's time.
One exhilarating remark, however, occurs to the traveller who
traverses those bleak and woodless recesses, amidst the melan-
choly impressed upon him by comparing their present aspect
with the description which he reads in Buchannan and Monro,
namely, that where trees have formerly grown they will grow
again ; and that any regions which were once sheltered and
adorned by the hand of nature, may stUl be in a far higher de-
cree improved and embellished by the industry of man.
In Bute the late Lord Bute, in Islay Campbell of Shawfield,
and in Skye Lord Macdonald, have planted extensively and
successfully, and other proprietors are following the example.
8. Livestock.
The ancient Hebridean breed of cattle are now no longer to
be found. Some persons imagine it to be the Skye, others the
Mull, and others again the Lewis or Long Island variety. A
person habituated to accurate observations on cattle, can easily
distinguish those different breeds from one another, and all of
them from the larger breed now introduced into Islay, Colon-
sav, and some parts of the Long Island, especially Barray, by
persons who pay attention to so important a department of
agrestic economy.
Sheep. Only lately attended to. There are now three differ-
ent breeds to be met with in almost all the larger islands, viz.
1. The native aboriginal breed, common to the whole He-
brides, forty years ago, and still more numerous than the other
two breeds taken together ; 2. The Linton, or black faced
sheep of the south of Scotland ; and, 3. The well known tine-
wooUed Cheviot breed. The historian Laing, has a large flock
of Merinos in the Orkneys.
Horses. The Hebridean breed of horses resembles that which
we find in almost all countries of the same description of cli-
mate and surface. It is small, active, and remarkably durable
and hardy. It possesses the prominent marks of perfection in
this sort of animal, i. e. it is strong and nimble, of^a good form
and proper size for its work, healthy, patient, good tempered,
and very easily kept in good condStion. It is found in the
Highlands of Scotland, in Wales, Norway, Sweden, Switzer-
land, Tyrol, Hungary, and Transylvania, and, with Uttle vari-
ation in shape and size, in all the hilly districts of Europe.
The average height of what are deemed sizeable horses, is
from twelve to thirteen hands, but that of the lower tenants
horses in Mull, Jura, and the northern isles, rarely exceeds
eleven or twelve hands. They are handsomely shaped, have
small legs, large manes, little neat heads, and mamfest every
symptom of activity and strength. The common colors are
grey, bay, and black ; the last mentioned color is the favorite.
Kxcepting in Islay and in a few gentlemen's farms, not ex-
ceeding two dozen in number in all the Hebrides, very little has
hitherto been done for bringing this breed to perfection, or
preventing it from degenerating.
The breeding of horses for sale is not carried on to a consi-
derable extent in the Hebrides, nor does any of them export at
an average often years more than it imports, excepting Islay,
and perhaps Arran and Eigg.
Ho^s. Considerable numbers of hogs are now reared in the
Hebrides, where the ancient prejudice agfiinst pork has gradu-
ally vanished, since their more intimate connection with the
Lowlands of Scotland and England.
Goats, still maintain their ground on several islands, and in
certain circumstances constitute a valuable stock. But, wher-
ever wood is to be reared, and enclosures guarded and preserved
with attention, they must be banished; for, being more a
browsing than grazing animal, the goat will strain every nerve
to crop twigs and plants of every description, and is a mortal
enemy to every species of growing woods.
Nerv species, or varieties of stock. Exce))ting the ass, and
perhaps the mule, it is not clear that this extensive region
would gain by introducing any new sorts of domesticated ani-
mals ; indeed, the great want felt by the Hebrides is not that
of animals, but of food in winter and spring for those which
they possess. The native breeds of cows and horses are, per-
haps the very best possible for the country to support, and may,
by due attention to feeding, and to selecting the strongest and
handsomest pairs as breeders, be improved to an hidefinite
pitch of excellence. The breeds of sheep already recommended
and described may be improved, and reared to five times their
present numbers, without seriously injuring the agriculture or
other interests of the country ; and a vast accession of wealth
and food might accrue from breeding a comjietent number of
hogs, for which these isles, abounding in potatoes, are ex-
tremely well adapted. But all these improvements must go
on progressively and slowly, and they must iadvance in the
train of other agricultural and economical improvements.
9. Political Economy.
Roads much wanted, and, excepting in Bute, Islay, and Skye,
in a very wretched state. No iron railways or canals. No
equal portion of European population, not even excepting the
Russians, and most uncivilized Poles and Croatians, possesses
so few manufactures, as the people of the western islands of
Scotland. This is, among other causes, a principal source of
poverty and depression of the people. It makes the little mo-
ney actjuired by the fisheries, and drawn in exchange for Wack
cattle, kelps, and the other productions of the district, conti-
nually flow out of it, and prevents that gradual advancement
in wealth, comfort, and agricultural and economical improve-
ments, which are consjiicuous in all other parts of Scotland ;
and cilthough it does not absolutely keep these isles in a quies-
cent state, it greatly retards their progress.
Kelp, is a well known Hebridean manufacture, and is in an
advancing state. Macdonald, of Staff'a, is distinguished for
his attentions to this branch of Hebridean economy ; and has
accordingly preserved for his kelp a character, which enables
him to dispose of it at a higher jirice than the average of the
Hebrides obtains. This results principally from its being begun
early in summer, its being duly attended to in the carriage and
drying of the sea-weeds, and especially its being kept clean and
unmixt with clay, sand, stones, and all other impurities, which
greatly diminish the value of kelp on many Hebridean estates.
Sect. IV. Agricultural Survey of Ireland.
7074. IRELAND, the largest island in Europe next to Britain, contains above
20,000,000 of acres, much less varied in surface, soil, and climate, than the latter island.
There are several mountainous or hilly districts, chiefly in Ulster in the north, and
Munster in the south, and very extensive flat bogs in the middle districts, and upland
bogs or moors wherever there are hills or mountains. All these bogs, whether low or
high, are on good soil, which, indeed, may be considered in connexion with the moist
warm climate as their chief cause. Nine-tenths of the soil is a loam on a limestone
bottom, fertile, or capable of being rendered so at little expense ; the remainder is
chiefly thin clay on limestone. The bogs are here considered as mere coverings to soils ;
their surface exceeds 1,000,000 of acres. The climate is milder and more equable than
that of England ; and with the dry soil, as Wakefield remarks, is admirably adapted for
pasturage and occasional aration.
7075. Of the agricultural circumstances of Ireland generally, we have already given a
Book L
AGRICULTURE OF KILKENNY.
1155
condensed account (803. )> and shall here submit some brief notices as to each county.
These unavoidably present a degree of simeness incompatible with mucli interest or in-
struction. There are agricultural surveys of but a few of the Irish counties, so that
we have drawn our resources principally from the copious and highly interesting work
of Wakefield, and some more recent statistical writers and tourists.
7076. DUBLIN, 240,000 acres; one eighth in mountain and waste, a tenth in buildings, roads, rivers &c.
and tlie remainder in arable and pasture. {Archer's Statistical Survey, Sfc. 1801. Sup. Enqjc, Brit.) '
Dublin might afford the means of enriching a tract of several
miles around it, but its street dung is so little valued, that it is
sometimes brought to .Scotland by coasting vessels as ballast,
and much of it is thrown into the Liltey.
On the aralie lands, two crops of wheat in succession, and
after these two of oat-s, without fallow or green crop, are fre-
quently taken, according to Archer. Barley is not cultivatttl
extensively. The natural pastures are, with few exceptions, of
an inferior quality. There are few or no flocks of sheep in the
possession of farmers. In the city, and within four miles of it,
alH)ut 1600 cows were kei)t in May, 1801, according to Archer,
where there were formerly near 7000. The old Irish breed of
cows is almostlextinct, and their place is supplied by the sliort
horns and other breeds from England.
There is a considerable salmtm JUIiery on the LifTey, in
which also abundance of eel and pike are'caught. There are
sea fisheries of herrings, white tish of different kinds, and
oysters both in natural and artificial beds ; tlie shells of some of
the fed oysters have been found as large as a horse shoe.
The manufactures of the county are chiefly of linen of dif-
ferent kinds, but they are of little importance. The colonial
commerce with Dublin is considerable.
The climate of this county Is drier than that of some others ;
east and north-east winds are less frequent than in England,
but storms from the south-west and west are more frequent.
Average number of dry days in Dublin for ten years, 179 ; or
nearly half the year wet, and half dry.
The soil is generally shallow, and the substratum almost uni-
versally a cold clay. There is very little turf bog in the nor-
thern parts, but some considerable tracts among the mountains
in the south. No minerals or fossils of much value have been
discovered, or are now worked, but there are some good quar-
ries of freestone ; limestone, and limestone gravel, abound in
various parts.
lMik!ed jiroiteriy in this county is a much more marketable
commodity than in most other districts of Ireland. There are
here no large territorial domains. Leases vary in their terms,
but commonly include a life, for the pur]»oseof creating a vote.
Farms are in general very small near the city, seldom more
than twenty or thirty acres ; but at a distance, from 50 to 150
acres.
The farm buildings are, for the most part, very insufHcient.
Near the city, the fences are of white thorn ; but in the remote
parts, they are nothing more than a bafik and ditch. I^ime,
limestone gravel, and marl, are used as manures. The city of
7077. WICKLOW. 500,000 acres, in great part mountains and bogs, and without inhabitants.
zer's Survey qf VVicklow, 1801. Sup. Eiicyc. Brit.)
{Fra.
The cUmule so mild, that the myrtle flourishes in such pro-
fusion, as to have been sometimes used for making stable-
brooms. The common laurel, Portugal laurel, and arbutus,
attain a great size, and can scarcely be recognized to be the
same shrubs. Dublin is supplied "with early potatoes and
house-lamb from the sea-coast of Wicklow, the climate of
■which, according to Mr. Wakefield, is decidedly different from
that of the rest of Ireland. This is the only part of that coun-
try where he ever saw grapes growing out o"f doors.
MetiUlic ores are supposed to abound ; copper and lead have
been worked, and gold has been found.
There are no navigable rivers or extensive lakes. Some of
the streams precipitate themselves from considerable heights,
forming beautiful cascades; the most remarkable one is at
Powerscourt, where the water fells from a height of 360 feet.
jMiiikd pruperttj in the centre of the county in large estates :
7078. WEXFORD. 591, IGO acres, mountainous on the north and west, a light soil and tolerable cultiva-
tion on the east, and in other parts a cold stitt'clay, unimproved by culture. ( Wakefield. Frazer's Survey
of fVexford, 1807. Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
Earl FitzwilHam's nearlv 100,000 acres. The sea coast is
much divided and abounds with villas, the temi>orary residence
of the wealthy citizens of Dublin. " It appears to me," sajs
Wakefield, " to contain more gentlemen's seats than the same
space in the vicinity of IjonAoa." The common period of
leases is twenty-one years and a life. Potatoes, and all the
usual kinds of com, are cultivated ; but turnips, clover, and
other ameliorating crops, only partially. Marl, and limestone
gravel, are the imncipal manures. Irrigation is preu-tised. A
breed of fine wooUed sheep, peculiar to the mountains of this
county, exhibit the only traces of a distinct race of short- woolled
slieep in Ireland.
The lierring fishery in the bay of Wicklow is the best in Ire-
land after Galway. Flannels are extensively manufactured,
but scarcely any linen.
The dimaie Ls mild and favorable to the growth of timlier,
which abounds here more than in most counties. There are
some large myrtles in the open gardens.
The la>uled estates are large, from aOOO/. to 10,000/. a year,
and into farms of various sizes ; but there is little of that
mmute division which is conmion in other parts of Ireland ;
nor are there any rich grazing farms. Dairies, at which the
principal article is butter, are numerous, but generally under
bad management. The cows themselves are of a ven^ inferior
description; and the same character belongs to their sheep,
•which forms a very inconsiderable jjart of the live stock. In
their modes of cultivation, however, the fanners here are more
advanced than in many other parts of the island. The baronies
of Forth and Bargie have been long notetl for their great crops
of barley; beans," too, are cultivated with success, as well as
clover and turnips ; the drill system is common tor potatoes,
and preferred to cmy other method ; and lime, though brought
from a distance at a great expens*. and also marl, are very ex-
tensively employed as manure. The tenantry, including the
cottars, are accordingly in a much better condition, indus-
trious, provident, and many of them comparatively wealthy.
Here, as in Cork and Waterford, whole fields are kept undi-r
furze, which, in this mild climate, is pretty much used as fuel.
The bakers employ it for heating their ovens, of which a con-
siderable number are employed, as a good deal of wheaten
bread is consumed in these counties.
7079. KILKENNY. 510,000 acres mountainous, but with some rich and beautiful vales on the
banks of the Barrow, Suir, and Noire, and a climate so mild that in winter the thermometer seldom falls
below the freezing point, while in summer it ranges between seventy and seventy-five degrees. There is less
humidity than in Dublin and Wicklow, as well as less of the east and north winds. (Tighe's Survey qf
Kilkenny, 1802. Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
This county has many romantic situations, ornamented with
country seats ; and its flat districts, where the tillage farms are
more extensive than in most parts of Ireland, present a pros-
pect very different from what is often met with in that
country.
The snil is for the most part on limestone, and there are very
few Imgs. The largest colliery in Ireland is at Castle Coomer,
near the northern boundary of the county. It is a stone coal
raised in immense pieces, but of a sulphurous quality, which
renders it disagreeable, and sometimes noxious, and it is, there-
fore, less fit for being used in families. For this reason, and
also from the great exjiense at which it is raised, English coal
is used in preference, even within a few miles of the works.
There are several quarries of marble, chiefly of a black color,
of which a few tons are exported. Excellent sandstone and
manganese, and iron and lead ores, have been observed in
tlirterent parts.
Pntperly in land is in several large estates, and many of a
moderate' extent, not exceeding a rental of 2000/. a year. The
principal proprietors are Lords Bexborough, Clifton, and
Ormond. The leases are in general for three lives, and part-
nership leases are common, though prohibited on one of the
largest proi>erties. (hi this estate the tenant is allowed to
transfer his lease to one individual, but not to divide his
farm.
Of the hittljandry the most important department is the
dairy, which extends over the greater part of it. The most
considerable dairies arc in the district called the Welsh, or
Walsh Mountains, a tract of dry grassy land lit for tillage, but
still in its natural state, and not enclosed.' About 'itHKl Irish
Bicres of this land were held in 1800 by one family, who kejit
l'20cows. The rattle are not for the most jiart housed in I
tiinter, and only those that arc about the time of calving, get a |
4 E
little hay on the fields, -where the horses also are kept all the year.
They fatten pigs to the weight of five hundred weight. 'The
produce of the best dairies is one hundred weight and a half, or
three firkins of butter per cow, and each cow requires from one
and a half to three Irish acres. The practice of letting cows to
dairymen, which is common in Munster, is but little known in
Kilkenny, the cows belonging to the tlairymen themselves,
who, in some situations, breed them on their own farms, and
in others prefer buying them at a proper age. Too little atten-
tion is paid to cleanliness in their dairies, especially in the
northern tlistrict ; and for this reason, according to Wakefield,
though Irish butter, when fresh, is preferable to any in Europe,
yet it " is in the lowest estimation in the London market, as it
is almost always heavily salted, and verv fre<iuently tastes
smoky, fishv, and tallowy." The cattle of this county are a
mixed race From the native breed and the English long-homed.
few years by Messrs. Nowlan, the pro|>rietors of a woollen
factory, who have now 600 of the pure race ; and they find that
lK)th the quality and the weight of the fleece have improved
since the sheeji were imported. The usual com crojis are
raised here, but clover and other green crops not in a suitable
iroportion. It is the custom to work oxen intermixed with
ipli
Vet the fallows are better managed here than in any
horses, in teams of six, or three pair, deep, the oxen iilacetl fore-
most. Vet the fallows are better managed here tnaii in any
other part of Ireland. Irrigation has been" practiseil for many
years, but not extensively. {Sup. Encijc. Brit. Kilkeiint/.)
Salmon are causht in the rivers, and sent to Dublin packed
in boxes of ire. Woollen is the chief manufacture. Messrs.
Nowlan and .Shaw produce excellent superfine clotlis, from an
establishment as celebrated in Ireland as that of Owen at
Lanark is in i^cutland.
2
1156
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
7080. KILDARR 392,397 acres, four-fifths arable,
Survey of KUdarc,Wn. Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
Part of tJieBng of Allen and other similar tracts occupy a
large portion of the western side of this county. The surface is
varied by a numberof sm ill hills and gentle declivities, but for
the most part it is flat and nearly level ; and when viewed from
a commanding station, presents a rich, and, on the banks of its
rivers, a beautiful landscape. The Curragh of Kildare, ex-
tending to about 5000 acres, has been long celebrated for the
softness of its turf and the fineness of its pastures. But the
climate of Kildare is said to be more moist than that of any
other part of Ireland, which, if the statement be correct, is a
very unfavorable circumstance, as a clay soil prevails very
generally, and much of it is exceedingly tenacious of mois-
ture.
There are a few large c«^(rfe« in Kildare, particularly the Duke
of Leinstei's, which extends over a third of the county; and
several proprietors, according to Wakefield, have from 6000/.
to 7000/. a year. Yet many are less considerable, and property
meadow, and pasture, and the rest bog. {Rawson's
seems to be more divided here than in most of the other dis-
tricts in Ireland.
The common size of farms is from ten Irish acres to 200,
and these farms are frequently held in partnership. Large
farms, however, are less rare here than in the arable tracts of
the other counties. The leases Avere formerly for thirty-one
years, but are now mostly for twenty-one years and one life.
All parish and county taxes are paid by the tenant. With few
exceptions, the course of cropping is the same as it has been for
a century ; viz., fallow, wheat, oats. Potatoes are universally
cultivated. Oxen are employed in ploughing, and horses for
carriages ; but in many instances oxen and horses are mixed
together in the plough team, which sometimes consists of six,
and never less than four animals. A number of mules are also
kept on the farms.
There are several streams and two canals. A wo<>llen ma-
nufactory at Cellbridge : and a Catholic seminary at May-
nooth, for above 200 students.
7081. KING'S COUNTY. 457,000 acres, half of
arable, meadow, and pasture, of a medium quality,
Brit)
The Bog qf Allen occupies a considerable tract on the north-
east coast, and the mountains are on the side of Queen's
County. The soil of the arable land is either moorish or gra-
velly, the fonner productive in dry, and the latter in moist
seasons, but neither of them naturally fertile. Limestone and
limestone gravel, the means of their improvement, abound
6very where. The pastures, though in many parts fine, are
not luxuriant ; better adapted for sheep than cattle, and very
favorable to the growth of fine wool. Much of the mountain
district has an argillaceous soil, thickly interspersed with rocks
of sandstone, and a deep irreclaimable bog often occurs at its
base ; but towards the centre of this range, where limestone
prevails, there is much good pasture ; and here the base of the
hills, which is composed of a stiff clay, produces abundant
crops of com. ^ „ , .
Landed property, is in large estates, and many of their owners
do not reside ; but much of the land is held on leases in per-
petuity, and the holders of these form a respectable class. The
pnncipal proprietors are I>ords Digby, Ross, and Charleville.
Farms wf re formerly verv large, not unfrequently of the ex-
tent of'AKK) acres, but their size has been diminished, antl
such a-s are considered large, do not now exceed on an average,
400 English acres. Many are as small as twenty acres, though the
medium size of the smaller class may be double this. Most of
the arable land is tolerably enc'osed, chiefly with hedges of
whitethorn, which grows here to a great size. Partnership
leases and sub-tenancy are less common than in some other
parts of Ireland, yet the condition of the tenantry and the
peasantry does not seem to be materially more improved. The
farm-buildings of every description are generally very bad, the
cottages 'in particular ; and yet those who have been long ac-
customed to these miserable cabins, are said to prefer them
to more comfortable dwelUngs, (/rg. 8'23.), which, after having
it bog, mountain, and waste; and the remainder
(Coote's Agricultural Society, 1801. Sup. Encyc.
been erected by some of the proprietors, were for some time
allowed to stand unoccupied.
Wheat, oats, barley, g23
and potatoes, are the
most common crops.
The average produce of
wheat is no more than
sixteen bushels ; of bar-
ley and oats, it is about
thirty-two bushels ; and
of potatoes, onlyfour tons
per acre. Both oxen and
horses are employed in
labor ; the plough is ,
sometimes drawn by !
only two of either, in a
few instances by two
heifers, yet this and
their other implements '
are not generally of a |
good construction. The
threshing machine has been in use
twenty years.
The 'leases were formerly for thirty-one years, or three lives,
but the more common period of late is twenty-one years, to
which the life of the tenant in possession at the end of it is
frequently added. Some tenants hold for lives renewable for
ever, paying a renewal fine equal to half a year's rent, or more,
on the fall of every life. Modem leases often contmn a prohi-
bition against alienating. Nothing is so much complained of
among the tenantry, as the mode m which tithes are collected.
There are no considerable manufactures, no fisheries, and
no minerals worked.
this district for about
7082. QUEEN'S COUNTY. 384,000 acres, generally of a level surface, three-fourths of which is of a
productive soil cultivated, and the rest, bog and waste. (Coote's Agricultural Survey, 1801. Sup. Encyc.
Brit.)
Coal of the Kilkenny kind, (7079.) is the only mineral work-
ed ; but there is iron ore, freestone, marble, &c. in different
parts. The Barrow and Nore are navigable rivers.
Estates are from 5000/. to 15,000/. a year, and upwards.
Some of the most valuable, having been let on perpetual leases,
afford a large income to the lessees. It is these lessees who
form the middle class of gentry, with clear incomes of from
100/. to 800/. per annum, obtained from tenants to whom their
lands ar.' sublet at rack-rent, and commonly in very small
farms. Here, and in King's County, Wakefield observed some
of the best farming in Ireland, with much more attention to a
systematic course of cropping, and to keeping the land in good
heart. Oxen and horses are used for the plough, the former
generally preceding the latter. A good deal of cheese is made
here for tne Dublin market. In other resj)ects, the rural
economy of this district does not differ materially from that of
the Irish counties already described.
The manufactures are linen and coarse woollens, but to no
great extent.
7083. CARLOW. 220,098 acres, of undulating surface, with some hills and mountains ; the lowlands,
a fertile loam, and the uplands, a liglit gravel ; one-tenth in mountains and bogs. ( Wakefield's Statistical
Account, ^c. Youngs Tour, ^c. Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
The minerals are various, but little known.
There are no large estates in this county ; and very little mi-
nute description of property. The hiring tenant is generally
the occupier, except of small pieces. There are some excel-
lent flocks of long wooUed sheep. Four sheep of the Irish
breed, and five of the English are called a " coUop," and three
coUops are allotted to two acres of the best land. For its
dairies, Carlow is not excelled by any county in Ireland. The
farmers spare no trouble or expense to procure good cows.
From twenty to fifty are generally kept ; and, during the sea-
son, each cow produces on an average about one hundred weight
and a half of butter. The dairy system pursued in Devon-
shire, Dorsetshire, and some of "the northern counties of Ire-
land, of letting cows to dairymen, is followed here ; but this
custom was more prevalent when the Catholics could not legally
purchase land, as they then employed their capital in hiring
cows. The butter made in Carlow is divided into three sortSj
according to its quality. The first in point of quality is sent to
Dublin and England, and thence exported to the East and
West Indies. It is highly esteemed in the London market.
where it is often sold as Cambridge butter. That of the se-
cond quality is exported to Spain, and the worst to Portugal.
It is all packed in large casks, weighing upwards of three
hundred weight.
There is not much wheat grown, and it is not of a bright
color, or very good quality : but the barley of Carlow is excel-
lent ; according to \ oung, the best in Ireland. At the time of
his tour, it was the only interior county which produced it ;
and at present more is grown here than in any other part of
the kingdom. It is principally consumed by the illicit distil-
leries in the north of Ireland, by the breweries and distilleries
at Cork, or by the malting houses at Wexford. The potatoes
grown in Carlow are excellent. There is little or no flax. The
county IS tolerably wooded. In the vicinity of Carlow, a great
many onions are grown, which are sold all over Ireland.
In Carlow, coarse cloth, reaping hooks, scythes, shears, &c.
are made. At Leighlin bridge, is one of the largest com mills
in Ireland, capable of grinding more than 15,000 barrels a
year.
7084. EAST MEATH. 617,600 acres, of low, flat, rich surface; a clayey or loamy soil on limestone or
gravel, with little wood, few mansions, and only one-twelfth of bogs, {Curwen^s Observations, 1818. Thom-
son's Survey of Meath, 1802. Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
The landed property of Meath is divided into large estates, a I perpetuity, which have now become more valuable than the
great many of which yield an income of upwards of 2000/. a | freeho' "
year, "rhese are for the most part jet out on leases of twenty
one years and a liffe; but
Grasin^' is, or was, till very lately, a more important objec-
some of them there are leases in ' in this county than tillage. Many persons fattened from '
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF CORK.
1157
to 500 cows in a season, besides bullocks and sheep. These
thev purchase at tlie beginnint; of the grass season, and dispose
of during the summer and autumn, as they are ready, instead
of Iceening a regular stock all the year. The pastures are c-on-
siderea too valuable to be applied to the rearing of stock.
Dairying is not carried to any extent, and the butter made
here is said to be held in little estimation. In some instances,
where farms are let out for the dairy, the landlord supplies a
succession of cows in milk, horses, and land, and the tenant
furnishes labor, utensils, &c. paying at the rate of from six
(•ounds to seven pounds ten shiflings per annum, for each cow.
The English long homed 'cattle were introduced many years
ago into this district, which now contains some of the best
specimens of the breed. The sheep are brought from other
counties, and, like the cattle, the same stock is kept only for a
season.
TiUngefamu are larger here than in most parts of Ireland ;
but according to Curwen, the system of management is little
better than on the small farms of other districts. The houses
and fences are for the most part of the worst description, es-
pecially the cabins of the farm laborers, which are miserable
asionally oat-meal; butcher-meat being rarely
used even among the farmers ; and, to add to their privations,
fuel is very scarce in ditt'erent parts of the county. An uniii-
terrupted succession of oats and other com crops for sevet a)
jears is common; in a few instances even for twenty years.
The common rotation is wheat, oats, fallow, potatoes, clover,
all witliout the application of manure. It is customary to
wort horses intermixed with oxen, of which six aie generally
yoked together, three pair deep, to a very ill-constructed
plough; yet, notwithstanding this management, the wheat
crops are in some parts excellent.
Manufactures do not atibrd employment to any considerablt
part of the jiopulation, though here, as in most |)arts of Ire-
land, that of Unen is carried onto some extent; and also the
weaving of cotton. On the Blackwaler and the Boyne there aru
several extensive tlour mills.
7085. WESTMEATH. 378,880 acres of surface. The surface of this district is exceedingly diversified
with woods, lakes, streams, bogs, and rich grazing lands j in no parts mountainous or flat, but gently
undulating or rising into hills of no great elevation; some of these are cultivated to their summits, and
others covered with wood, presenting, in several parts, some of the finest scenery in Ireland. ( IVakeJield's
Satistical Survey of Ireland. Sup. Encyc. Brit.) ,.
The principal river is the Shannon, and the lake Lough
Ree, full of wooded islands.
There are few large estates, but many gentlemen of mode-
rate fortunes, from iiOOO/. to 30(K)/. a . year, most of whom are
resident. The leases are commonly for twenty-one years and a
life, though in some instances for thirty-one years and three
lives. A great many line long-homed catUe, and long-wooUed
sheep occupy the grazing groimds, which extend over much of
the best part of the distiict. Tdlage is accordingly upon a
limited scale, though more com is raisea man the inhabitants
consume; and besides the crops common in other iplaces, flax,
hemp, and rape, are cultivated, with clover and turnips ; the
two latter, however, not generally.
Few or no manufectures.
7086. LONGFORD. 234,240 acres, in great part bog, mountains, and waste j the climate on an
average giving 140 dry days in the year. ( Wakefield, Sfc. Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
plough. It is chiefly occupied in grazing, in which the resi-
dent gentry almost exclusively employ the farms which they re-
tain ill their own Iiands. Some Uneti manufactures.
iMtided property is in estates of from 3000^. to 7000/. a year.
Leases are commonly for twenty -one years and a life. Farms
are, for the most part, very small, where tillage is the principal
object ; but only a small proportion of the district is under the
7087. LOUTH. 210,560 acres, mountainous towards the north, but in other parts undulating and fer-
tile, with little waste land, no considerable lakes, and a great number of gentlemen's seats, of which that
of Foster, a distinguished patriot, is the chief. ( Wakefield. )
productive. Yet, many of the tenants are in easy circumstan-
ces, well clothed, use meat in their families, and in every thing
but their houses and farm buildings, are in a condition superior
to that of their brethren in most other parts of Ireland. It is
common to renew the leases some time before the old ones ex-
pire, so that the tenants are not often changed ; but fines are
frequently paid on these renewals, which carry away much of
the capital that should be applied to the soil. I'ithes are very
seldom taken in kind ; their value is ascertained about the end
of harvest, and the tenants grant their notes tor the amount,
which, though payable in November, is in some (-ases not ex-
acted till almost twelve months after. 'I'he linen manufacture
is carried on to a considerable extent.
Landed property is in estates from 1500/. to 2000/. per an-
num. Farms are, in general, larger than in most other parts
of Ireland; but there are still many very small; in some pa-
rishes, scarcely one above twenty-five acres, and in others they
seldom extend to eighUv acres. As the land is chiefly occupied
in tillage, little attention is paid to the improvement of cattle
and sheep ; of the latter, though a few are kept on most farms,
the number is inconsiderable. Wheat and oats are the princi-
pal corn crops, barley being very little cultivated. The other
crops are potatoes, flax, and a little hemp. Clover and turnips
are almost confined to the farms of proprietors. It is only on
these that the general management is good ; that of the com-
mon farmers being, for the .most part, slovenly ; and their
lands requiring heavy dressings of lime and marl to keep them
7088. WATERFORD. 454,400 acres, the greater part hilly and mountainous, but rich and productive
on the south-east; the climate so mild, that cattle sometimes graze all the year round. {^Wakefield, Cur-
wen, Sfc. Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
Some very large estates, of which the most extensive belongs
to the Duke of Devonshire. Leases are commonly for'twenty-
one years and a life ; and on the banks of the rivers, where the
land is most valuable, farms are small. According to Wake-
field's information, " in this county, when tne eldest daughter
of a farmer marries, the faihei-, instead of giving her a poition,
divides his farm between himself and his son-in-law ; the next
daughter gets one-half of the remainder, and this division and
subdivision continues as long a» ihere are daughters to be dis-
posed of. In regard to male children, Uiey are lurried out into
the world, and left to shift for themselves the best way they
can." The rent is chielly paid from the protluce of the dairy,
which is conducted on a greater or smaller scale over all the
county, and from the pigs, which are partly fed upon its offals.
Some of the dairy farmers, most of whom are in easy circum-
stances, pay 1000/. a year of ren^ ; and a great deal of butter is
7089. CORK. 698,882 acres, of greatly varied surface; bold, rocky, and mountainous on the west, rich
and fertile on the south and east, romantic and sublime in many places, and one-fourth part waste.
{^Wakefield. Tawnscnd's Survey of Cork, ISIO. Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
made, even among the mountains, where small cows, suited to
the nature of the pastures, form Uie principal stock. In the
neighborhood of Watertbrd, cows were let for sixteen pounds,
eigiiteen pounds, and even twenty |)ounds for the season.
Tiiere are very fnvi sheep, and those of a bad description ; and,
comparatively, but a small portion is in tillage. Where lime is
used as a manure, it must be brought from a distance, as there
is no limestone to the east of Biackwater, and it costs upwards
of five pounds for an acre. Orchards are numerous on the
banks of tliis river, and extensive plantations of timber trees
have been formed in various parts. Furze is so much us«l as
fuel, that whole fields are kept mider tliis shrub for the pur-
pose.
Hogs are an important branch of trade at Milford Haven ;
gla:>s and salt the jirincipal manufactures.
The cthnate is mild, but a very general opinion exists that it
is changing for the worse.
The rivers of this county flow with rapidity for the most
jiart ; a circumstance unfavorable to their lieing rendered na-
vigable, but presenting many eligible situations for the erection
of^achinery.
The most ut^'ul fossils are limestone, marble, and slate ; coal
and ironstone liave been discovered, but not worked to any ex-
tent.
B»<a/c» are generally large ; tillage farms are very small, sel-
dom above Uturty acres ; and, when they are larger, often held in
partnership, and the shares of each further diminished by the
common |>ractice of dividing the paternal ))Ossessions among
the sons. The leases used to be for thirty-one years, or three
lives; but of late the term has l»een reduced "to twenty -one
years, or one life; and the farms, instead of being let out to
middlemen, who used to relet the Ijmd in small portions to oc-
cupiers on short leases or at will, are noW held in most cases
by the occupier from the proprietor himself. There is fiere the
usual minute division of tillage lands, cultivated by the spatle
in preference to the plough ; the usual deiiendence on potatoes,
as the common and almost exclusive article of foo<l ; with mise-
rable cabins, crowded with filth, poverty, 'and indolence. The
iTops are iwtatoes, in favorable situations succeeded by wheat:
4 £ 3
and oats, for one or more years ; sometimes ibarley follows the
wheat. Flax Is cultivated in many small patches. Hemp very
rarely. Turnips and clover are seldom to be seen on tenanted
lands. Sea-sand, sea- weed, and lime, form a useful addition to
the stable and farm-yard manure; which is, however, in many
<;ase», allowed to be washed away by the rains, and greatly re-
duced in value by careless management. Paiing and burning
is pracllsed in every part of the county, as an establised mode of
prepai-alion (or ilie first crop in Ibe" course. The implements
of husbandry are generally Iwd : the common Irish plough and
harrows, seldom f^irnis'ned with kon tines, drawn by horses or
mules, and in a lew instances by oxen ; wheel carriages have be-
come common. A considerable number of dairies are kept in
(he vicinity of the city of Cork, where the produce, in the shape
of butter and skimmed milk, finds a ready market. In general
the cows, w^bich are chiefly of the half Holdcrness breed, are
let out to a dairyman, at a certain rate for each, by the year ;
yet, many farmers conduct the business of the dairy tliemselves.
The average numlier of cows in a dairy_ may be from thirty to
forty. A few sheep are kept on every farm, commonly in fet-
ters, and upon the most worthless pastures. Proprietors have
introduced stranger breeds, and find them to answer ; but
sheep can never tK-conie an object of importance in a district
where farms are so small.
1158
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV,
Tithes.ofwhichnolnconslderableiKirtarelay property, are i The principal manufactures are sail-cloth, duck, canvass
cenerallv paid by a composition with the farmers. The usual and drilling ; osnaburKS tor negro clothing ; coarse woollens;
mode is "to have them valued liefore harvest, and to appoint days spirits at several large distilleries in Cork ; and gunpowder in
of meeting with the parishioners, tor the purpose of letthig the neighborhood ot the same city, the only manulactory of
them I tl'*' article in Ireland ; it belongs to Government.
7090. TIPPERARY. 1,018,240 acres, diversified with heaths, mountains, and fertile vales; of which
the Golden Vale is among the richest land in the kingdom. The climate so mild, that cattle graze out all
the year. ( Wakefield, ^c. Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
Minerals. Slate, lead, and coril are worked.
£;«<a<e« are of various sizes, some of them very large, biU a
greater number of a medium extent, worth from 4000/- to 6000/.
a year. Of the proprietors, the influence of I^ord Llandatf is
by far the most considerable, though several others have es-
tates worth from 10,000/. to 15,000/. a year and upwards. The
graziers here, as in Roscommon, have leasehold properties, fre-
quently of' much greater value than the freeholds, of which,
also, they often become the purchasers. Properties of this de-
scription, worth from 2000/. to 4000/. a year, are very corn-
Tillage farms, however, are generally of small extent, one of
ninety Irish acres being thought large ; yet the management
is, in many instances, more respectable than in most other
parts of Ireland. But the principal business is grazing, every
variety of this kind of land tieing found here. Leases are com-
monly for twenty-one years and a life. The cattle, which are
long-homed, may be ranked with the best in Ireland, and
many of the tine flocks of long-wooUed sheep are not inferior, in
Wakefield's opinion, to those of Leicestershire. The rich lands
produce a kind of flax, very different from that which is raised
in the north ; it grows to a great height, and appears to be ex-
ceedingly well adapted for sail-cloth.
The manufacture of broad-doth is carried on to some ex-
tent at Carrick ; and that of linen, worsted, and coarse wool -
lens, as branches of domestic industry. But the wealth of this
extensive district chiefly consists in its cattle and sheep, com,
and other land produce.
7091. LIMERICK. 683,800 acres, of low laying fertile lands, surrounded by higher grounds. ( JFa/f^eW,
ire. Sup. Encyc. Brit.) :
Landed i
iy is in large masses, generally let to tacksmen.
f prop^rfy IS III irtlf^e lllcia^iCA, feudally iCfc \m toi^Rom^ii,
on long leases,' and sub-let almost ad infinitum. The land
seems to be of greater yearly value than in most parts of Britain
at a distance from large towns ; for, according to Wakefield's
information, the green acres would have let, in 1808, for three
guineas the Irish acre, or almost forty shillings the English.
Considerable farms brought five guineas the Irish acre, and in
some instances more. 'The rent of the mountain land had in-
i-reased in a still greater proportion than the grazing and corn
farms. One grazier held land of the value of 10,000/. a year,
and in one season slaughtered in Cork, 800 head of cattle.
Many of the best long -homed cattle of the United Kingdom
are fattened here, and also a consideral)le number of sheep.
Two year old wethers sold then, without their fleece, at from
2/. 10«. to 3/.
Only a small proportion of the land Is in tillage ; the produce
of this, and some of the adjacent counties, in proportion to the
seetl, is stated by the same author to be at a medium : of wheat
ten, bear seventeen, barley twelve, oats nine, and notatoes ten-
Hemp was formerly cultivated extensively on the rich low
grounds, called the Carcasses, on the banks of the Shannon^,
but this tract is now occupied in grazing. Flax of an excellent
quality for sail-cloth, is still grown in several parts. The com-
mon term of leases is thirty-one years and three lives. Great
part of the provision and com trade is possessed by the city of
Limerick.
7092. CLARE. 771,365 acres, nearly half productive land, and the remainder moors, mountains, and
bogs, with more than 100 lakes intersi)ersed. The climate, though moist, is not unfavorable to health
and longevity; fevers, which sometimes prevail to a great extent here, being occasioned chiefly by the
dampness of the houses, and inattention to domestic and personal cleanliness. {DuttorCs Survey of Clare,
1808. Sup. Encyc. BrU.)
Limestone abounds, and coal, ironstone, black marble, lead,
&c. have been found, but not worked.
Landed prvj)erty is in a few large estates, of which the most
noted was that belonging to the Slarquess of Thomond's heirs,
lately sold and divided.
Theme qf' farms varies greatly. Those under tillage are
from one or two acres to fifty, but of the latter size there are
few. Grazing farms extend from 100 to 800 acres, several of
which, and sometimes in distant situations, are held by one in-
dividual. Frequently several persons join in the occupation of
an arable farm, and have about ten acres each. The general
terms ofleases, firom proprietors, is for three lives or thirty-one
years ; Sometimes, but not often, for three lives and thirty-one
years; twenty-one years or one life, and twenty-one years and a
life. The tenure of under tenants is variable, and often arbi-
trary.
All the different species of grain are cultivated with consider-
able success. Kape and flax, Ihe former chiefly for its seed,
and the latter for home manufacture, are sown to a moderate
extent. Potatoes occupy a part of every farm, and their cul-
ture is conducted v ith more care and judgment than that of
any other crop, though at a greater expense of time and labor
than would be thought necessary in most other places. In re-
gard to the kinds of crops cultivated, the greatest defect is in
what are called green crops, com being, with potatoes, the
chief and almost the only objects of attention to the arable
farmer; and turnips and cultivated herbage being either grown
on a very small scale, or, as is the case threughout the greater
part of the county, altc^ether disregarded or unknown. The
com crops thus necessarily follow each other, until the soil is
exhausted ; and where extra manure, such as sea-weed and sea-
sand, both of which are used as manure with good effect, can-
not be procured, it must be left in an unproductive state for
several years afterwards. Potatoes are in most cases planted
upon land that has been prepared by burning, and the same
crop is sometimes taken for two years more without manure ;
in the fourth year wheat fellows, and then rejieated crops of
oats, as long as they will rejilace the cost of seed and labor.
The implements in common use are sene»ally rudely con-
structed, and imperfect as well as expensive in their operation ;
in many parts, even where the soil is light and dry, the plough
is drawn by four horses abreast, with traces of rope and collar of
straw. But from the roughness of the surface, the poverty of
the tenantry, and the minute division of farm lands, the spade
is much more extensively employed than the plough, over all
the curable land of this county.
The pattnrea of the Carcasses or low groimds, on the rivers
Shannon and Fergus, are equal to the fattening of the largest
oxen. This rich tract extends from Paradise to Limerick,
about twenty miles, and is computed to contaui about 20,000
acres, of a deep, dark colored soil, over a bluish or black clay,
or moory substratum ; producing, owing to the indolence of its
occupiers, along with the most valuable herbage, a great quan-
tity of rushes and other useless weeds. The rtnt of this land
for grazing, was several years ago as high as 5/. per acre,
equal to about 3/. 2«. per'Knghsh acre, and for meadow, in
many instances, much more. These meadows are said to
produce at the rate of more than four tons of hay the English
acre. The cattle of this county are almost all long-horned,
good milkers, and very hardy. The sheep have been greatly
improved in shajie, by crosses with Leicester rams, but there is
a general complaint that the quality of the native wool has
been deteriorated. A vast number of mules are bred here ;
asses are very generally employed by the poorer classes : but
little attention is paid to the breed of horses, which has dege-
nerated.
Clare was formerly noted for its orchards, and for cider of a
very line quality, made from the celebrateil cackagee apple,
which is still 'found near the small town called Six Mile
Bridge. " An acre of trees," says Young, " yields from four to
ten hogsheads per annum, average six ; and, what is very uncom-
mon in the cider counties of England, yield a crop every year."
It does not appear from the latest accounts, that any considera-
ble quantity of this cider is now jiroduced here, though what
there is, seems to maintain its former character, and is held in
great estimation.
Manvfadures are yet in their infancy. All the linen made
in the county is used for home consumption.
7093. KERRY. 1,128,320 acres, more than three-fifths mountainous and waste ; the sea-coast and
islands being the most westerly land in Europe. Some of the mountains 3000 feet high. {Smith's History
of Kerry. Wakefield. Sup. Encyc. B^U., S(c.)
The mountains are chiefly occupied with young cattle and
goats ; sheep, ap])arently the most profitable animal in such
situations, are neither numerous nor of a valuable kind ;
and the little cultivation to be found here is so generally per-
formed with the spade, that, in some entire parishes, as Young
assures us, there was not a single plough.
The prevailing soil in the low grounds is clay, of different
qualities ; some of it seems to be a species of pipe clay, and
other sorts might be converted into bricks and earthenware.
Ettates are very large, both in extent and value, some of
them, according to Wakefield, worth 30,000/. a year. Leases
are in general for thirty-one years and three lives, and a consider-
ble portion of the whole county is let to partnership tenants.
Few of the tenants in the north quarter about Kerry-head oc-
cupy so much land as to require them to employ laborers ; they
pay "their rents by the sale of butter and pigs, andTiy turf which
they carry to Limerick. It is the practice for farmers to hire
large tracts, which they stock with cows, and these cows are
then let out to dairymen upon such terms as leave them but a
very small return for their labor. The best com land is about
Tralee, and towards Dingle, where more flax is raised than in
any other part of the county.
TThe principal articles which Kerry affords for export are its
raw produce, beef, butter, hides, and tallow. It does not raise
more com than is necessary for its home consumption, and
carries on no manufacture for sale, but that of coarse linen,
which is only on a small scale.
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF SLIGO.
1159
7094. ROSCOMMON. 556,847 acres of flat surface, in gome places sprinkled with rocks, and, in many,
interrupted by extensive bogs ; the richest land on limestone, and adapted either for aration or pasture,
{Wakefield. Sup. Encyc. BrU.)
Coal and iron works were formerly carried on, but are now
neglected.
Estates were once very large ; but they have been broken
•lown in some instances, by the granting of leases in perpetuity ;
a practice which has given rise to a class of landliolders, inter-
posed between a few great proprietors on the one hiuiU, and a
numerous body of cultivators on the other.
Some of the' best long-homed cattle and long-wooUed sheep
in Ireland fetl, but there are few dairies. During the late war,
its fine green pastures, under this management, afforded a very
ample rent, and tillage was therefore conducted on a small
scale ; but the plough has been more in request since the peace
both here and m ouier parts of Ireland ; and the soil of such
rich grazing laniU. requiring nothing more than the common
operations of tillage to yield large crops, the growth of com
throughout Ireland has lieen greatly increased; yet, within
these few years, agriculture was here in a very backward state.
" In Roscommon," says Wakefield, " I heard of horses being
yoked to the plough by the tail, but 1 had not an opportunity of
seeing this curious practice. 1 was, however, assured by Dean
French, that it is still common with two year-old colts in the
spring." Potatoes, oats, and flax, are the principal crops.
7095. G ALWAY. 1,659,520 acres of varied surface ; above a third part bogs, mountains, and lakes,
and very unproductive and thinly inhabited. {Dutton's Survey of Galway, 1S24. Wakefield. Sup.
Encyc. Brit., S[c.)
same occupier longer Ithan the time they are in tillage. The
pasture is held; in common ; and the elders of the village are
the legislators, who establish such regulations as may be judged
propCT for their community, and settle all disputes that arise
among them. Their houses stand close to each other, and
form what is here called a village."
The catUe of Galmatf are long-homed, and of an excellent
description, fully equal, in the opinion of Wakefield, to any in
England. But sheep term the most valuable part of their "live
stock ; " some of the first flocks in the world, " says the same
writer, " are to be found in tliis county." The crops are the
s^me as in other parts of Ireland, but potatoes are not cul-
tivated to so great an extent. They plant potatoes on an oat
stubble, or on ley that has been burned or manured, and follow
with wheat, bear or barley, or oats ; the latter kind of grain w
not unfrequently taken after wheat and barley. Paring and
burning the soil is very common. The greater part of the rent
of some of the estates on the shore is paid &om kelp, which is
prepared in large quantities.
In common with the greater part of Ireland, Galway em-
ploys some of its i)eople in the linen manulactixre, and it seems
to be the only manufacture in it worth notice.
The east part of the county is flat, warm, and fertile ; with
many seats, though none of note. Rivers and lakes aboimd.
Lough Reagh and Lough Contra are fine pieces of water ; the
latter is said to possess all the beauties that hills, woods, and
islands, can impart to that feature of landscape.
Several large estates, affording an income of from ."JOOO/. to
10,000/. a year, and upwards. One of these, the most exten-
sive in the British Isles, stretches along the sea-coast for seventy
miles. Only a small portion is held by absentees. A full third
of the land is let on partnership leases, to an indefinite number
of persons, very often twenty, who by law are joint tenants, and
entitled to the benefit of survivorship. The leases are com-
monly for three lives, or thirty-one years. •' These people,"
says Wakefield, " divide the land and give portions to their
children, which consist of a fourth or a fifth of what they call
' a man's share,' that is, of the land which originally belonged
to one name in the lease. A certain portion of the whole
farm, or take, as it is styled, is approptiated for tillage, and
this portion is then divided mto lots, perhaps twenty or thirty.
These lots are again subdivided into fields, which are parti-
tioned into small lots, each partner obtaining one or two
ridges ; but these ridges do not continue in the hands of the
7096. MAYO. 1,496,460 acres, in great part mountains, bogs, and lakes ; half heathy mountains, with
vallies very fertile, but neither woods nor plantations, excepting on one or two estates. (M' Parian's Sur-
vey of Mayo, 1802. Wakefield. Sup. Encyc. BrU.)
Many valuable fossils : iron formerly made, but discontinued
for want of fuel. Excellent slate ; and j)etrosilex semilucidus
similar to what is used in the English potteries.
The estates worth from 7000/. to 20,000/. a year ; but their
extent, owing to their containing a great proportion of waste
land, is still greater than in the ratio of their value.
The size of farms varies with the nature of the soil and sur-
face, but, though several hundred acres are sometimes let out
in one farm, yet, as the farms are commonly held in pjutner-
ship, the space allotted to each tenant is generally only a few
acres. As each of them keeps a horse, it is computed that there
is one for everv ten or twelve Irish acres. The leases are for
different periods, fifteen years, twenty-one years, and one, two,
and sometimes three lives, or thirty -one years.
Agriculture is in a very backward state. The plough com-
monly drawn by four horses abreast, is of the worst description,
and the harrows are often furnished with tines of wood, instead
of iron. It is still the practice, in the mountain district, to
yoke the horses by the tail. But, in some of the baronies, the
plough is seldom or never employed at all, the tillage being per-
formed by the spade ; and in others they use the spade in culti-
vating potatoes, and the plough only tor com. Yet potatoes,
oats, and,', on the sea coast, barley, are sown to a considerable
extent, and also fiax. Wlieat is cultivated only in particular
spots, and chiefly by proprietors, a few of whom have also intro-
duced turnips, pease, beans, rape, and cabbage. There is some
excellent grazing land for cattle in the barony of Tyrawley,
and good sheep pastures in Kilmain. Some graziers hold 3000
Irish acres. The English long-horned cattle, which were im-
ported by the principal proprietors, have greatly improved the
native breed.
The habitation of the laborers, or cottars, are in general
very wretched, and shared by them with their cow and pig.
7097. LEITRIM. 386,560 acres, one half bog, waste, and water, and the remainder dark fertile soil,
incumbent on limestone. {M' Parian's Survey of Leitrim, 1802, ffakefield. Sup. Encyc. BrU.)
Coal, ironstone, lead, copper, &c. are fotmd, but not worked.
Estates large, and nearly all the great proprietors are ab-
sentees. The leases are commonly for three lives, or thirty-one
\ears. Agriculture is here in a very low state. The tillage
farms are small, seldom exceeding fifty or sixty acres, and these
are almost always subdivided among a number of tenants. The
plough is very little used. The most common implement is the
lov, a kind of spade eighteen inches long, aliout four inches
broad at the bottom, and five or six inches at the top, where it
is furnished with a wooden handle about five feet long. The
first two crops are potatoes, wliich are followed by flax, and
then oats for one or more years. Clovers and other green crojw
are unknown in the practice of the tenantry. The county
raises grain and potatoes sufficient for its own consumption,
but exporU very little of either. Its cattle have been much
improved by the introduction of English breeds, to which
some of those now bred and reared in it are said to he not in-
ferior. There are no considerable dairies, yet a good deal of
butter is made throughout the district. The sheep are of the
native race, small, and but few in number.
About the beginning of the eighteenth century, Leitrim is
said to have been almost a continued forest. There is now lit-
tle wood in it, and no considerable plantations. The proprie-
tors, however, have of late paid some attention to this method
of improvement, and several large niurseries have been esta-
blished for the sale of forest and other trees.
There are several bleachfields, and some coarse potteries ;
and a number of jieople are einployetl in weaving. But the
linen made here, as well as the coarse woollen goods, is chiefly
for the use of the inhabitants themselves> The houses of the
lower classes are of the worst description ; even the more re-
cently erected farm buildings, including a little bam and cow-
house, do not cost more than ten or twelve pounds. Tturf i»
their only fuel, and potatoes and oaten bread the chief articles
of food, meat being used on extraordinary occasions only.
7098. SLIGO. 465,280 acres, a third part bogs, mountains, and waters, and the remainder fit for tiliagfr
or grazing. {M'Parlan's Smvey of Sligo, 1802. Wakefield, Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
The subsoil of a considerable tract a grey flag, provincially
leaclea, unfavorable to vegetation. Numerous streams and
lakes ; the wooded islands and scenery around Lough (iill, very
striking. On the Sligo and Moy, considerable salmon fisheries ;
trouts abound, and white fish on the shores.
Estates of almost every size. A few are worth from 500/.
to 9000/. a year; yet, a considerable proitortion of the county is
divided into small properties. The principal proprietors are
absentees. Farms vary in size, from three Irish acres to 500 ;
the larger farms, however, are not held by individual tenants,
but in partnership. The leases are for thirty -one jears and
three lives ; and, in some instances, for sixty-one years and
three lives, lieing, in'general, longer here than in other narts of
Ireland. Tillage-farming is still in- a very backward state.
The plough is worked by three or four horses yoked abreast,
directed by a man who walks backwards before thcin. Oats,
4
barley, and potatoes, are the principal crops. Of the tw« for-
mer, a great proportion is consumed in illicit distillation,
which, within these few years, was carried on in almost every
part of the cotmty. It was to the sale of the spirits that many
of the small tenants looked as the means of paying their rents.
In some parts, both cattle and sheep are ku|)t in considerable
numbers, and a great deal of butter is exported from the town
of Sligo ; but the land occupied in this way bears but a small
proj)ortion to the whole ; to grow com being the princijal ob-
ject. Limestone and limestone-gravel, which are in abundance
in most places, are in general use as manures ; also marl, and,
on the coast, sea-weetls.
The mumtfadures for export arc linen, salt, and kelp.
' The cabins, food, fuel, and clothing of the lower classes, seem
to be as uncomfortable as in any of the Irish counties.
E 4
II60
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
7099. CAVAN. 499,957 acres, almost entirely covered with hills ; the surtaee, soil, and climate, being
alike bleak and uncomfortable. (Cooie's Statistical Account Wakefield. Sup. Enc^c. Brit.)
Near Famham, the appearance of the country is favorable ;
the lakes there are picturesque, and communicate with each
other by a river. The fossils are various, but neglected.
Tvro estates are of 30,000 and 26,000 acres, besides these
there are none of very great extent. Nearly the whole of the
land is under tillage, but the agriculture in every respect is
very bad. The size of the farms is from 50 to 100 acres, but
these are generally subdivided into farms of from two to twenty
acres, which are re-let to the manufacturers or " cottars", who
pay a high rent for them, by means of their other employments.
Their principal object is to raise a sufficient quantity of oats
and potatoes to feed their families, and of flax to give employ-
ment to the women and children. Most of the land is dug
with the spade, and trenched : where the plough is used, they
put three or four horses to it ; and when Young visited the
county, he found that all over it, the horses were yoked to the
))loughs and harrows by the tail ; that practice, however, is
now disused. Almost the only grain sown is oats, which are
reckoned to be in the proportion of seventy to one, to all other
grain ,- there is scarcely any wheat. In 1809, there were 4500
acres of flax, from which 6500 bushels of seed were saved.
Though the very tops of the hills are tilled, yet it does not ap-
pear that this county produces more grain than is necessary for
its home consumption ; nor has the bounty on the inland car-
riage of com to Dublin, (increased the very trifling quantity
brought to that market. From the coldness and moisture of
the climate, all the com of Cavan is obliged to be kiln dried.
The stock farms generally consist of about 100 or 150 acres,
the farmers buy young cattle, and sell them again without fat-
tening ; a few, however, fat bullocks or sheep, but the latter
are very poor. There are very few dairy farms, though from
these, as they are in the richest parts of the county, a good
deal of butter is sent. Many pigs are kept by the cottars, and
near all the cabins are to be seen goats tethered to the tops of
the banks, or " ditches", as they are here called, which divide
the fields.
Cavan was formerly celebrated for its extensive woods, and
trees of an immense size ; but at present it is, in general, bare
of timber, except near Kilmore, Famham, and a few other
places, Wakefield remarks, that the ash is confined to parts of
this county, and to Tyrone and Fermanagh.
The linen manufacture is the staple. ,«,..~,
7100. FERMANAGH. 450,000 acres, in great part covered by water, and much of the rest of the sur-
face rugged and mountainous, but better wooded than other parts of Ireland. {Wakefield. Sup^Encyc.
Brit.)
The ash grows in the hedgerows; beeches come to a large
size, and also the yew, near Lough Eme ; and fir, oak, and
yew, are found in the bogs. The grand feature in the natural
scenery of this county is Lough Erne, which occupies about
one-eighth of the surface, and contains more than three hun-
dred islands. It contains most of the fish that are found in
other fresh water lakes, and is noted for its salmon and eels,
particularly the latter. Four of the eel weirs near the falls of
Beeleck, afford a rent of 10(3/. each.
Estaies aro large, three proprii?tors mentioned bv Wakefield,
have 13,000/. a year each, and other three from 6000;.to 7000/.
The leases are most commonly for twenty-one years and a life.
In the northern part of the county, the farms are larger and
more productive than in most other parts of Ulster. Oats, bar-
ley, potatoes, and flax, are the principal crops; very little
wheat, clover, or turnips being cultivated, except in small
patches near the towns. The high grounds are chiefly occupied
m rearing cattle, and much of the better pastures with dairy
stock. T*here are no large flocks cf sheep, and their breed of
this animal is of a very inferior description.
Linen seven-eighths wide, is mamifactured to some extent,
and there are several bleach-fields, which finish for sale the
linens sent to England. Illicit distillation is said to be very
general.
7101. MONAGH.'^N. 325,760 acres of low grounds, with detached hills, and a considerable space
occupied by bogs and small lakes. {Coote's Survey of Monaghati, 1801. Wakefield. Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
There are a. few large estates, but the greater part small ones,
many of which do not yield a free income equal to the ordi-
nary wages of labor. A few years ago, there were only 172
freeholders 'of 50/. and upwards, out of nearly 6000, most of
the considerable i)roprietors are absentees, and very little of
the landed property is in the hands of Catholics.
Farms were so small a few years ago, as not to average ten
Irish acres over the whole county ; and the management, as
might be expected, was exceedingly unskilful and unproduc-
tive. The spade was used much more than the plough: the
latter being an implement which, with the team required to
-work it, and the party to attend and direct it, could be brought
into action only by the united efforts of several tenants. The
general term of leases is twenty-one years, and a life, or some-
times three lives. The principal crops are oats, potatoes, and
flax, with wheat and barley in a small proportion ; these last,
however, extend over a much greater tract now than they did
a few years ago. They make a good deal of butter, but there
are no large dairies. Goats eire in greater numbers than sheep,
which is of itself a sufficient proofof the low state of its agri-
culture.
The linen manvfadure is said to have averaged twenty years
ago, about 200,000/. a year. It is carried on by the greater
portion of the inhabitants of both sexes, all the small farmers
being also weavers.
7102. TYRONE. 813,440 acres in great part mountainous, and containing, among other mountains,
Bessy Bell and Mary Gray, celebrated in song. The territorial value of this inland and northern district
is much inferior to that of most others. {M'Evoy's Survey of Tyrone, 1802. Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
Various valuable /om/s foimd, but not worked: the l)est pot-
tery in Ireland, near Dungannon. Lough Neagh, the largest
lake in Ireland, covers 110,000 acres, but is not celebrated for
its scenery.
Estates are of very great extent, many of them worth from
5000/. to 7000/. a year, and the productive or arable land di-
vided into very small farms, not often exceeding twenty Irish
acres. The chief proprietors are the Marquess of Abercorn,
Lords Belmore, Northland, and Mountjoy. The leases are for
various periods, thirty-one years and three lives, three lives,
and twenty-one years and a life. On some estates the land
passes through the hands of middlemen, in portions of various
sizes, till it reaches the actual cultivator, for the most part, in
very minute subdivisions. It is customary for several persons
to be concerned in one townland, which is held in what is
called rundale, the cultivated land being divided into shares,
which are changed every year, and the cattle pasturing in com-
mon, a system utterly inconsistent with profitable occupation,
or the amelioration of the soil and live stock. The cattle and
sheep are accordingly of a very inferior description ; and the
latter, which are not numerous, may frequently be seen teth-
ered upon the small pc tches of herbage which are interspersed
among the shares of these partnership concerns. The tillage
land, too, is more frequently stirred with the spade than the
plough ; and where a plough is used, the team, consisting of
horses, bullocks, and even milch cows, must be suppliea by
the contributions of three or four neighbors, who unite their
means for the purpose, each attendiiig the operation, lest his
poor animal should have more than his proper share of the la-
bor. Potatoes, oats, and flax, are the principal crops.
The linen manufacture is carried on to a great extent, and the
potteries and collieries employ a considerable number of
hands ; to which we may add illicit distillation, which prevails
throughout all the north-western counties of Ireland. The
food of the lower classes is oat-meal and'potatoes ; wheaten
bread and butcher meat never being used but on extraordi-
nary occasions.
7103. DONEGAL. 1,100,000 acres of ragged, boggy, and mountainous surface, with a cold, wet climate,
and neither woods nor ])lantations to shelter from the blast. {M'Parlan's Survey of Donegal, 1802.
Wakefield. Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
Landed property is in few hands.
Agriailture is in a very backward state in Donegal. The use
of the plough is confined to a small proportion of the cultivated
land, and is generally of a bad construction ; spade labor is pre-
ferred in most places. Barley is the chief grain crop, and it
is almost all used in distillation ; oats are only grown for home
consumption, and wheat is confined to a few favorite spots.
There are only two flour mills in the county. The culture of
flax is considerable in the barony of Raphoe, and is extending
even in the mountain districts. Potatoes are cultivated every
where ; turnips, clovers, and other green crops, are almost un-
known among the tenantry. Village or partnership farms still
abound, but farms now begin to be let to individuals as separate
holdings. In the low country they are from ten to fifty acres in
extent, and from 40 to 5(X) in the mountains. The fences are
commonly nothing Ijetter than ditches, with banks of turf or
clay, so that the cattle require to be herded while the crops
are growing, and in many parts they are allowed to graze pro-
miscuously as soon as the crops are removed. Sea-weed and
shell-sand are used as manures, but very little limestone, or
limestone gravel. The practice of paring and burning, so
common in many parts of Ireland, is seldom resorted to in
this county. Leases are granted for twenty-one years and a
life.
The staple manufacture of Donegal is linen. WomenTare
much employed in knitting stockings. Kelp is prepared along
the north-west coast ; and, during the fishing season, three or
four salt-pans tised to be kept in full work. But whisky, says
Dr. M'Parlan, particularly in the mountain region, and all
around the coast, is the chief manufacture. " It is by running
their barley into this beverage that they provide for one half^
year's rent. This is, therefore, a tax raised by the rich on.the
morals and industry of the poor." _
Book I.
AGRICULTURE OF ANTRIM.
1161
7104. LONDONDERRY. 510,720 acres, generally mountainous, fertile and, beautiful in' the vallies,
and containing every variety of soil. {Sampson's Survey of Londonderry, 1802, Wakefield. \Sup. Encyc.
Brit.)
The leases are for a great many different periods, though most
commonly for twenty-one years and one life.
The jiriiicipal _crops are jKitatoes, bsirley, oats, and flax.
Wheat IS not in general cultivation. Turnips are very rare
and sown grasses and clovers far from being common. No
uniibrm .rotation of crojis is recognised in practice, but it is
usual to take two crops of oats successively, and sometimes flax
the year following. Florin is the predominating plant in the
meadows, where it grows spontaneously with great luxuriance.
The live stock presents nothing worthy of particular notice.
Grazing grounds^e not,extensive, emd there are few dairies. On
the east side.of the Bawn there are two extensive rabbit-warrens.
The principal wianii/adure is linen; the value exceeds half a
million sterling, besides brown or unbleached linens.
Landed property. With the exception of lands belonging to
the church, and the towns of Londonderry and Coleraine, and
certain portions reserved by the Crown to be afterwards erected
into freeholds, the whole of Londonderry was granted by
James I. to the twelve companies or guilds of London. The
estates are therefore held from these companies, either in per-
petuity, or on determinable leases. The principal proprietors
or leaseholders are Lords Waterford and Londonderry, Conolly,
Ogilby, and the families of Beresford and Ponsonby.
The average tize iif J'aniu is from five to twenty Irish acres,
or at a medium little more than fifteen acres English. Whole
districts are sub-divided into patches of seven or eight acres,
but in a few situations there are farms of upwards of 300 acres.
7105. ARMAGH. 290,786 acres of varied and rather interesting surface of mountain, plain, and bog •
with rivers, streams, and lakes, and a climate mild for the latitude. {Coote's Survey of Armaeh 1804
Wakefield. Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
Marble of an excellent quality, and of great beauty, is wrought
in Armagh.
Estates in this county are not large, there being only seven or
eight proprietors who j)ossess them of the annual value of from
CAMOL to 10,000/. The farms also are small, being commonly
from five to twenty acres, and seldom exceeding tbrty or fifty.
Neither the arable nor the pasture husbandry of this county
present much that is worthy of notice. Potatoes, flax, and
oats, are the chief produce of the arable districts ; and those
are cultivated in a very rude and inferior manner, in conse-
quence of the ignorance of the farmers, and their want of
capital.
There are no extensive dairy farms, nor are there any farmers
exclusively in this branch of husbandry ; nevertheless a con-
siderable quantity of butter is made here. One hundred weight
per cow is considered as the average produce. The proportion
of th« milch cows to the size of the farms is, on small farms
under five ac-res, one cow; on farms exceeding five, and under
ten acres, perhaps two cows, seldom more. A considerable
number of cattle are reared. Prom the low country they are
sent to the mountain farms, and frequently afterwards sold in
the Scotch market. They are in general of a'small. stunted
breed. The native sheep are an awkward breed; the wool
coarse, and in small quantity ; very little of it is exposed to
sale, there being harcUy sufficient for domestic use. Goats,
swine, and poultry abound. Wild geese, swans, wild ducks,
and several other species of aquatic birds, are indigenous to the
lakes and rivers. Formerly bees were much attended to, but
at present they are neglected.
The rou<^ in general are bad; and, what is extraordinary,
the turnpikes are the worst, and the cross roads the best.
The principal manufacture is that of linen.
7106. DOWN. 558,289 acres, of which one-eighth are mountainous and waste, the remainder hilly
and productive, cultivated by small manufacturers, and embellished by plantations, bleaching grounds,
and neat white-washed habitations. The cUmate is variable, but not subject to extremes. {Dubourdieur's
Survey of Down, 1802. Sup. Encyc. Brit.)
grain, are grown on all soils; barley is usually sown after
potatoes, and also wheat to some extent on the coast. Of flax
they sow four bushels an Irish acre, and the medium produce
is fiCty stones. Rye and peas occupy but a smaU space. Lime,
marl, shelly-sand, and sea-weed, are used as manures. Paring
and burning are confined to the moimtains.
There are extensive meadorvs on the banks of the Bann and the
Laggan ; but the soil, except on the mountains, is thought to be
better adapted to tillage than pasture. A good many beasts are
fatted, but cows are the prevailing stock, kept in small numbers
on every farm. They are long-homed, thin in the sides, and deep
in tlie belly, but yield much mUk when well fed, and each of
them from 60 to as much as 120 poimds of butter in the year,
or about two-thirds of the medium produce of the butter dairies
of England. Sheep, in flocks of any size, are confined to the
mountain tlistricts. They are very small, many of them, when
fat, not weighing more than seven or eight pounds a quarter.
On the low ground there are a few, seldom exceeding half a
score, on almost every farm. A great number of hogs are fet-
tened ; many of them bred in the county , hut not a few brought
from the west of Ireland. The dry hills of this county, covered
with heath and odoriferous herbs, are well adapted to bees,
but the number of hives has greatly decreased within these
twenty years.
The principal manufacture is linen, which is carried on in
all its branches.
Landed property. There are some large estates, though in
general it is much divided, and has all the ditterent gradations,
from the most opulent nobleman to the tenant in peri)etuity
who farms his own land. Most of ft is freehold. The rental
was above the average rental of the best counties in Scotland,
as returned to the commissioners of the property -tax in 1811.
The farms may be divided into two kinds; the first, ;such as
are possessed by farmers who have recourse to no other branch
of industry ; the second, such as are held by weavers and other
tradesmen. The former run from twenty to fiitj-, and, in
some instjmces, so far as 100 acres; the latter are of every size,
from one to twenty acres. The rent is always paid in money ;
{lersonal services are never exacted. Some leases are rbr lives
and years, others for lives alone. Fences consist chiefly of a
ditch and bank, without quicks of any kind, or sometimes with
a few plants of furze stuck into the face of the bank ; but dry-
stone walls are frequent in the stony mountainous parts.
Great improvement has been made in its agriculture witliin
these twenty years. Threshing mills and two-horse ploughs
have been introduced. But it cannot be said that a good sys-
tem prevails generally, which the small size of the farms, indeed,
render impracticable. A regular rotation is rarely followed in
the crops ; fallows, clovers, and turnips, are upon a very small
scale; and from the greater part of the arable land, it is stlU
the practice to take crops of grain in succession, only partially
interrupted by potatoes, flax, and peas. Oats, the principal
7107. ANTRIM. 622,059 acres; on the east and north mountainous, destitute of plantations, and
abounding in bogs ; the other parts more level and fruitful, and the chmate drier than in some other
counties. {Newenham's Statistical Survey. Wakefield. Dubourdieur's Survey of Antrim, 1812. Sup.
Encyc. Brit.)
MineraU. Besides basalt, limestone, gypsum, coals, fossil-
wood, or wood-coal, sandstone, &c. are found. The fbssil-
wood, or wood-coal, in most places, is covered witli columns of
basalt, and is curious as explanatory of the origin of coal. Not-
withstanding the compressed state in which it is found, the
bark and knots are quite distinct, and the rings denoting tlie
annual growth of the wood may be counted. In some instances
the roots of the trees may be traced. Of the only two coal
mines which are wrought in the province of Ulster, there is
one in Antrim, at Bally Castle. The coals are bituminous,
and of a bad quality ; a great part of them are exjiorted.
Landed properly. Estates are in general freehold, being
either immetUate grants from the Crown, or held under those
grants. The exceptions are the properties under Uie see of
Connor. Some of the esutes are very large. The Marquess
of Hertford, and the A ntrim family, possess the fee of the major
part of the county. The former has 64,000 tureen acres ; that
IS, land capable of (tillage, and indei>endenUy of bog and
mountain. Most of the Antrim estate is let on peri>etuity, m
farms worth 2000/. or 3000/. uer annum. The other great
proprietors are the Marquess of Donegal, Lord Templeton, and
Lord O'Neil. The estate of Lord Templeton, however, is
only leasehold under the Marquess of Donegal, who lets his land
for sixty -one years and a life, but renews at the end of a few
years for a price.
'the farms are in general very small. The principal Seature
in the tiUage system is the potatoe fallow. The small size of
the farms, and, in some places, the rockiness of the soil, pier ludes
the use of the ordinary means of culture, and therefore a part
of the land is dug with the spade. The quantity of potatoe-land
is regulated by the quanUty of manure that can be coUectetl.
After potatoes, flax is sown, and the quantity of flax ground is
regulated by the abUity to purchase the seed. A crop of oats
furnishes tlie regular rotation. When the ground is exhausted,
it is turned forest, that is, it is suttered to lie till it is covered
with natural grass. Such is the most general plan of husbandry
pursued in Antrim. In those parts where the farms are too
large for the spade culture, the land i;, ploughed by three or
four neighbors uniting their strength; one suiiplying the
plough, and the others bringing a horse, bullock, or even a
milch cow. Wheat is a plant of very modem introduction in
Antrim, and very little of it is sown.
The most important crop is flax.
The cattle consist chiefly of milch cows, belonging to small
occupiers, of a small stunted breed. Sheep are very little
attended to ; and the few that are kept are of a very inferior
kind. Goats are numerous in the moimtainous parts of Uie
county. Pigs also are kept in great numbers.
This county by no means abounds with wood ; nor are fruit-
trees cultivated in great abundance, or with very much success,
ttl the apple, however, several new and valuable varieties
have lately been introduced, and advantageoiLsly cultivated.
Antrim has long been distinguished for its litven manufacture ,
but latterly the manufacture>f cotton has, in some i
supplanted it, esjiecially in the vicinity of Belfest.
There is a considerable salii)oa-fi$biii({ on the coast.
1162
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
Chap. IV.
Of the Literature and BibHography of Agriculture.
7108. lihe first books on agriculture were written by the Greeks before the Christian
sera, and by the Romans about the commencement of that period. Hesiod is the
only writer of the former people exclusively devoted to husbandry : the earliest Roman
author is Cato, and the latest, Palladius, in the fourth century A.D. The works of
these and the other agricultural writers of antiquity have been already enumerated (18.
and 44.), and the most interesting have lately been re-translated (7110. anno 1800).
7109. In the dark ages few books were written excepting on religion. The first
author which appeared on the revival of the arts was Crescentius in Italy, in the fifteenth
century ; and soon after, in the sixteenth, Fitzherbert in England, Etienne and Liebault
in France, Heresbach in Germany, and Herrera in Spain. Since these works appeared,
many others have been published in every country in Europe, especially in England,
France, and Germany. Though our business is chiefly with the works which have
appeared in Britain, yet we shall, after enumerating the chief of them, notice also what
has been done in other countries — many foreign works, especially of France, Germany,
and Italy, being familiar, either in the original or by translations, to the reading
agriculturists of this country.
Sect. I. The Bibliography of British Agriculture,
7110. A general view of the literature of British agriculture having been already
given (781.), we have here only to supply the bibliographical enumeration confirmatory
of that view. Of agricultural books very few at the present day are worth reading for
their scientific information ; they are chiefly to be considered as historical documents of the
progress of opinions and practices ; and this is the reason we have arranged them in
the order of their appearance, instead of classing them according to the subjects treated
of. Those who wish to see them so classed will be amply gratified by Watts*s
Bibliographia Britannica. In our list we have omitted many works on subjects be-
longing to political agriculture, as the corn laws, tithes, poor-rates, &c.; and also most
of those on veterinary surgery, horsemanship, bees, hunting, planting, &c. , as not strictly
belonging to the subject, and as being for the greater part, those on the veterinary art
in particular, worse than useless. In short, the improvements in chemistry, animal and
vegetable physiology, and the comparatively clear views of political economy which have
taken place chiefly since the commencement of the present century, have rendered most
books on agriculture, whether political or professional, not published within the last
ten years, of very little value, and a number of them more injurious than useful. In
our list those authors who have merely written articles published in the transactions of
societies, or in public journals or magazines, are seldom introduced, unless they
have also written separate works, and translations are in general omitted.
1532. Fitzherbert, Sir Anthony, a very learned
lawyer, and also known as the father of English
husbandry, was born at Norbury, in Derbyshire,
and died there in 1538. He was made judge of the
Common Pleas in the 15th of Henry VIII., and
•wrote several books on law.
1. The Book of Husbandry, very profitable and necessary
for all persons. Lond. 8vo.
2. Surveying; and Book of Husbandry. Lond. 1547. 8vo.
3. The Reading on the Statute 4 Edward I. De Extenta
Manerii. Lond. 15.'59.
1535. Benese, Sir Richard, Canon of Martin Ab-
bey, near London.
The Manner of Measuring all Manner of Land.
1557. Tusser, Thotnas, styled the British Varro,
was born near Witham, in Essex, 1515 ; received a
liberal education at Eton School, and at Trinity
Hall, Cambridge ; lived many years as a farmer in
Suffolk, and afterwards removed to London, and
published his exjierience in agriculture and gar-
dening. He died in 1580.
1. Five Hundred Points of good Husbandry. Lond. 4to.
2. Another edition entitled Five Hundreth Points of Good
Husbandry, suited to as many of Good Huswifere j with
divers approved lessons concerning Hops and Gardening.
Lond. LOTS.
1581. Mascall, Leonard, author of a work on
sowing, planting, and grafting trees, &c. 1572.
1. The iHusbandlye Ordering and Government of Poultrie,
&c. Lond. Svo.
2. The First Book of Cattel, &c. Lond. 1.596. 4to.
3'. A Booke of Fishing with Hooke and Line, and all other
instruments thereunto belonging : another of Sundrie Engines
and Trappes to take Polcats, Buzards, Rats, Mice, and all
other kindes of Vermin and Beastes whatsoever ; moste pro-
fitable for all Warriners, and suche as delight in this kinde
of sporle and pastime. I^ond. 1600. 4to.
1593. Markham, Gcrvase, Jarvisc, or Gervas. An
author, who wrote on a great variety of subjects
during the reigns of James I. and Charles I., and
died about 1685. He appears, says Harte, {Essays,
ii. 32.) to be the first Englishman who deserves to
be called a hackney writer.
1. The English Husbandman ; 2 Parts. Lond. 1613. 4to.
2. The Country Farmer. Lond. 1616. fol.
3. Farewell to Huslmndry. Lond. 1620. 4to.
4. Cheap and Good Husbandry, for the well ordering of
all Beasts and Fowls, &.c. Lond. 1631. 4to.
5. Enrichment of the VVeold of Kent, &c. Lond. 1631.
4 to.
1609. Butler, Charles, Vicar of Wotton, in Hamp-
shire, an ingenious writer on various subjects, was
born 1559 ; died 1647.
Feminine Monarchy ; or. The History of Bees, and the
due ordering of them. Oxon. Svo.
1626. Speed, Adam.
1. Adam out of Eden ; or. An Abstract of divers excellent
Experiments, touching the Advancement of Agriculture.
Lond. 12mo.
2. Husbandman, Farmer, and Grazier's Complete Instructor.
Lond. 1697. 12mo.
1635. Calthorpe, Charles.
The Relation between a Lord of a Manor and the Copy-
holder, his Tenant. Lond. 4to.
1638. Plattes, Gabriel, author of some tracts on
Gardening ; a poor man but a useful writer. Harte
says, he had a bold adventurous cast of mind, and
preferred the faulty sublime to faulty mediocrity.
As great a genius as he was, he was allowed to drop
down dead in London streets with hunger j nor had
he a shirt upon his back when he died. He be-
queathed his papers to Hartlib, who seems to have
published but few of them.
1. Treatise of Husbandry. Lond. 4 to.
2. Di-scourse of infinite Treasure, hidden since »he Worldly
beginning, in the Way of Husbandry, ^
Book I.
BRITISH WORKS ON AGRICULTURE.
]I6d
3. Discoverie'^of Bubterraneal Treasure, •viz. all manner
of Mines and Minerals, from the Gold to the Coal, &c. with
directions for the finding them. Lond. 1639. 4to.
4. Kecreatio Agricols. Lond. 1610. 4to.
5. Observations and Improvements in Husbandry, with
Twenty Exjieriments. Lond. 1653. 4to.
1642. Vermiieden, Sir C. a native of Holland, and
a colonel in Cromwell's army.
Discourse tou'.lnnR the Drevninp the great Fenns lying
within the several Counties of Lincolne, Northampton, Hun-
tinsdon, Norfolke, Suttblke, CambridRe, and the Isle of
Kly. 4to.
1645. HartHb, Samuel, an ingenious writer on
agriculture, and author of several theological tracts.
He was the son ot a Polish merchant, and came to
England, according to Weston, about 1640; but the
time when he died is unknown. He was a great
l^romoter of husbandry during the times of the
commonwealth, and was much esteemed by all in-
genious men in those days. Milton addressed to him
his treatise on education, and Sir William Petty
inscribed two lettets to him on the same subject.
Cromwell allowed him a pension of a hundred
pounds a year.
1. Discourse of Husbandry used in Brabant and Flanders,
shewinjj wonderful Improvements of Land there. Lond. 4to.
2. Legacy ; or, an Enlargement on the Discourse of Hus-
bandry used in Brabant and Flanders. With an Appendix.
1651. 4to. Lond.
."5. Appendix to the Legacy, relating more particularly to
the Husbandry and Natural "History ot Ireland. Lond. 1651.
4to.
4. Essay on the Advancement of Husbandry and Learn-
ing, witli propositions for erecting a College of Husbandry.
Lond. 1651. 4to.
5. The Reformed Husbandman ; or, a brief Treatise of the
Errors, Defects, and Inconvenience of our English Hus-
bandry, in ploughing and sowing for Com ; with the Reasons
and general Remedies, And a large, yet faithful Offer or
Undertaking for the Benefit of them that will joyn in this
good and public Work. Lond. 1651. 4to.
6. Design for Plenty, by a Universal Planting of Trees ;
tendered by some well-wishers to the Public. Lond. 1652.
bandry, both Foreign and Domestic. And a particular Dis-
course of the Natural History of Husbandry in Ireland.
Lond. 155U. 4to.
1649, BlUh, Walter, an officer in Cromwell's
army, who, with other English gentlemen holding
commissions at that time, was eminently useful in
introducing improvements into Ireland and Scot-
land.
1. The English Improver, discovering that some Land,
both Arable and I'asture, may be advanced Double and
Treble, and some Five and Ten-fold. I>ond. 4to.
2. The English Improver improved, or the Survey of Hus-
bandry surveyed. Lond. 1652. 4to.
1661. Evelyn, John, F.R.S. An eminent philo-
sopher and patriot, particularly skilled in natural
history and the fine arts, was born at Wotton, his
father's seat, in 1620 j and died, and was interred
there, in 1705-6.
1. Sylva ; or, a Discourse of Forest Trees. Lond. 1664. fol.
Dr. Hunter, of York, published an edition with copious notes
and numerous engravings.
2. Terra; a Philosophical Discourse of Earth, relating to the
Culture and Improvement of it for Vegetation, and the Propa-
gation of Pl.mts, as it was presented to the Royal Society,
April 29, 1675. Lond. 1675. fol.
3. Pomona; a Discourse concerning Cider. Lond. 1679.
fol.
4. A Spanish Drill Plough. {Phil. Trans. Abr. i. 457.)
1663. Strangckopes, Samuel.
Book of Knowledge, in Three Parts ; concerning Astrology,
Physic, and Husbandry. Lond. 8vo.
1665. Dodson, Colonel William.
The Design for the uertect Draining of the great Level of
the Fen, called Bedford I.evel, with Maps, &c. Lond. 4to.
1667. Cavendish, William, Marquis and Duke of
Newcastle.
A New Methofl and extraordinary Invention to dress
Horses, and work them according to Nature ; as also to per-
fect Nature by the subtilty of -Art. Lond. fol.
1669. Worlidjj;e, John, gentleman, author of some
works on gardening.
1. iSystema Agricultura, &c. Lond. fol.
2. Treatise ot Husbandry. liOnd. 1675. fol.
1670. Smith, or Smyth, John, commonly called
Captain John Smith, Governor of the English Plan-
tations, was born at Willoughby, in the county of
Lincoln ; died 1631.
England's Improvement revived, plainly discovering the
several ways of improving the several Sorts of waste and barren
Grounds, and of enriching all Earths, with the natural Quality
of all Lands, and the several Seeds and Plants which naturally
thrive therein observed, together with the Manner of planting
all Sorts of Timber Trees, and Underwoods, experienced in 30
Years' Practice ; in 6 Books, Ivond. 4tO.
1670. Reeve, Gabriel.
Directions to bis Son for the Improvement of Barren and
Heathy Land in England and Wales, Lond. 4to.
1673. Klrhy, Christopher.
Strange Ettect of Thunder and Lightning on Wheat and
Rje in the Granaries of Dantzic. {Phil. Trans. Abr. ii. HO.)
1674. Coxe, Daniel. M.D.
Improvement of Cornwall by Sea sand. (Phil. Trara. Abr,
ii.p. 206.)
1679. Beal, Dr. John, an ingenious English
divine and philosopher, was born in Hereford-
shire, 1603 ; died 1683.
Agrestic Observations and Advertisements. N. 374 and 384.
1678. Howard, Hon. Charles, of Norfolk.
On the Culture or Planting and Ordering of Saffron. iPhiU
Trans. Abr. ii. 423.)
1681. Langford, T. author of some tracts on
fruit trees.
1681. Houghton, John, F.R.S.
1. A Collection of Letters for the Improvement oS Husr
bandry and Trade. Lond. 4to.
2. Collections for the Improvement of Husbandry, relating
to Com.
3. A Catalogue of all Sorts of Earths ; the Art of Draining,
of Brewing, the Instruments of Husbandry : revised by R,
Bradley. Lond. 1727-8. 4 vols. 8vo.
1683. Lister, Martin, M.D. an eminent physician
and natural philosopher, was born in Buckingham,
shite about 1638, practised in London j died 1711-12.
He wrote various works.
1. On the Salt Springs of Worcestershire, StafTordshire, and
Cheshire, with speculations respecting Salt, &c. {Phil. Trant.
Ahr. iii. 10.)
2. Of Plants which mav be usefully cultivated for grass or
hay. 1696. [N. Abr, iv. 136.)
1684. Beaumont, John.
On a new way of Cleaving Rocks. {Phil, Trans. Abr. iii. p. 113.)
1685. Moore, Sir Jonas, Knight, F.R.S., avery re-
spectable mathematician and surveyor general of
his Majesty's ordnance, was born in Lancashire,
1617 ; died 1679.
1. History or Narrative of the great Level of the Fens called
Bedford Level ; with a large Map of the said Level, as drained ,
surveyed, and described. 8vo.
2. England's Interest, or the Gentleman and Farmer's
Friend. Lond. 1703. 8vo.
1694. Floyd, Edward.
1. Account of Locusts in Wales. {Phil.Trans. Abr. iii. p. 617.)
2. On the spontaneous Combustion of several Hay Stack^
&c. (//.. p. 618.)
1697. Donaldson, James, a native of Scotland,
and one of the earliest and most useful writers on
the agriculture of his country.
Enquiry into the present manner of Tilling and Manuring
the (iround in Scotland. Edin. 12mo.
1699. Meager Leonard, author of The English
Gardener and other works.
The My.stery of Husbandry. Lond. 12mo.
1707. Mortimer, John, author of some tracts on re-
ligious education. His works on husbandry were
translated into Swedish, and published.in Stockholm,
in 1727.
The whole Art of Husbandry in the way of Managing and
Improving Land. Lond. Svo.
1717. Laurence, Edward, brother to John Lau-
rence, a clergyman, author of a work on gardening.
(See A. D. 1726.)
The Duty of a Steward to his Lord ; with an Appendix on
Farming. "Lond. 1727, 4to.
1718. Barham, Henry.
1. Experiments and Observations on the Production of Silk
Worms in England. (Phil. Trans. Abr. vi. p. 426.)
2. An Essay upon the Silk Worm. Lond. 1719. Svo.
3. Observations on their Productions, and of the Silk in
England. 1719. {Phil. Trans. Abr. vi. 426.)
1718. Switxer, Stephen, an eminent gardening
author, layer out of gardens, and also a seedsman in
Westminster : died 1745. (See Encyc. of Gard- page
1102.)
Directions for Burning Clay for Manure. Lond. Svo. with a
plate of the Kiln.
1721. Bradley, Richard, F.R.S. and Professor of
Botany in the University of Cambridge, a most vo-
luminous writer on gardening, botany, &c. ; died
1732. (iJwcyco/Garrf. p. 1102.)
1. Philosophical Treatise of Husbandry and Gardening
Lond. 4to.
2. The Country Gentleman and Farmer's Monthly Director.
Lond. 1721. Svo.
3. Treatise concerning the Manner of Fallowing Ground,
raising of Grass, Seeds, and Training of Lint and Hemp.
Lond. 1724, 4to.
4. A Survey of Ancient Husbandry and Gardening, col-
lected from the Greeks and Romans ; 4 Plates. Lond. 1725.
Svo.
5 General Treatise of Husbandry and Gardening. Lond.
1726. 2 vols. Svo.
6. Exwrimental Husbandman and Gardener. Lond. 172C.
fol.
7. A Complete Body of Husbandry. Lond. 1727. Svo.
8. The Weekly Miscellany tor tlie Improvement of Hus-
bandry, Arts, and Sciences. 21 Nos. 1727. Svo.
9. 'The Science of Good Husbandry, or the Economy of Xe-
nophon, translated from the Greek. Lond. 1727. Svo.
10. The Riches of a Hop Garden explained, with the OI>- -
servations of the most celebrated Hop Planters in Britain. Lond.
1729. Svo.
1723. Salmon, William, M.D. a noted empiric,
who lived about the latter end of the 17th and be-
ginning of the 18th ccnturj'.
164
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE
Part IV.
baiu
1723. Molesworth, Robert, Viscount, ambassador
of William III. to the Danish court} bom at
Dublin, 1756; died 1725.
Considerations for Promoting Agriculture. Dublin.
1721 Benson, William, A.M. of Oxford, a critic
of some fame: was born in London 1682 j died
1754.
Virgil's Husbandry ; with Notes Critical and Rustic. Lond.
1726. Lawrence, John, M.A. author of The Cler-
gyman^s Recreation, a gardening work of use in its
time ; he died in Durham, 1732. {Encyc. of Gard.
p. 1102.)
The New System of Agriculture, being a complete Body
of Husbandry and Gardening in all the parts of them. Lond.
fol.
1729. Mackintosh, Roland.
Essay on Ways and Means for Inclosing, Fallowing, Plant
jng, &c. Scotland, and that in sixteen years at farthest. Edin.
Svo.
1730. Richards, John.
The Gentleman's Steward and Tenant of Manors instructed.
Lond. Svo.
1730. Rye, George.
Observations on Agriculture. Dub. 8vo.
1731. Tull, Jethro, was born in Oxfordshire ; he
was a barrister, and made the tour of Europe ; after
which he settled on his paternal estate, which he
cultivated with so much attention as brought on a
disorder in his breast ; he then went abroad, and
on his return, fixed his residence on a farm in
Berkshire, where he renewed his experiments in
horse-hoeing husbandry ; he died in 1740. His son,
John TuU, was an officer in the army, but ruined
himself by projects, and died in the Fleet, in 1764.
{Gent. Mag.)
1. Specimen of a Work on Horse-hoeing Husbandry. Lond.
4to.
2. New Horse-hoeing Husbandry ; or an Essay on the Prin-
ciples of Tillage and Vegetation, wherein is shown a Method
of introducing a sort of vineyard Culture into the Corn Fields
in order to increase their Product, and diminish the common
Expence by the use of Instruments,' described in Cuts, 1733.
fol.
3. Supplement to the New Horse-hoeing, &c. Lond. 1739.
1732. Ellis, William, a farmer at little Gaddesdon,
near Hempstead in Hertfordshire.
1 Practical Farmer, or Hertfordsliire Husbandman. Lond.
Svo
2 Chiltem and Vale farming explained. Lond. 1733. 8vo.
3 New Experiments in Husbandry. Lond. 1736. 2 vols.
Svo.
4. The Timber Tree Improved. Lond. 1738. Svo.
5. The Modern Husbandman ; or. Practice of Farming.
Lond. 1744. Svo.
6. The Country Housewife's Family Companion. Lond.
1750. Svo.
7. The Complete Planter and Cyderist. Lond. 1757. Svo.
8. Ellis's Husbandry abridged and methodized . Lond. 1772.
2 vols. Svo.
1737. AlMn, Eleazer.
1. Natural Historv of English Song Birds, and other Foreign
ones as are esteemed for their singing, with the Cock, Hen,
jmd Egg of each Species. Lond. Svo.
2. The History of Esculent Fish. 1794. 4to.
1737. Phillips, Robert.
Dissertation concerning the present State of the High Boads
of England, especially those near London, wherein is proposed,
a New Method of repairing and maintaining them. Lond. Svo.
1739. Trowel, Samuel.
Treatise of Husbandry and Gardening. Lond. Svo.
1744. Claridge, John.
The Shepherd of Banbury's Rules to know of the Change of
the Weather. Lond. Svo.
1756. White, Stephen, M. A., Rector of Holton, in
Suffolk.
Collateral Bee-boxes, &c. Lond. Svo.
1757. Home, Francis, M. D., Professor of Mate-
ria Medica in the University of Edinburgh.
The Principles of Agriculture and Vegetation. Lond. Svo.
1757. Lisle, Edward, Esq., late of Crux- Easton,
in Hampshire.
Observations on Husbandry. Lond. 2 vols. Svo.
1759. Stillingfleet, Renjamin, grandson to the
bishop of that name, and an ingenious naturalist and
miscellaneous writer, was born about 1702, died
1771.
1. Miscellaneous Tracts relating to Natural History, Hus-
bandry, and Physic. Translated from the Latin ; with notes.
Lond. Svo.
2. Calendar of Flora, Swedish and English, made in the
year 175.5. Lond. Svo. 1761.
1759. Mills, John, F.R.S., author and translator
of several works, and among others of Gyllinborg's
Natural and Chemical Elements of Agriculture, an
ingenious work for its time and country.
1. A Practical Treatise of Hu.sbandry. Lond. 4to.
2. A New and Complete System of Practical Husbandry.
Lond. 1763-5, 5 vols. Svo.
3. An Essay on the Management of Bees. Lond. 1766.
Svo.
4. An Essay on the Weather ; with Remarks on the Shep-
herd of Banbury's Rules for Judging of its Changes, and Di-
rections for Preserving Hives and Buildings from the fatal
efiects of Lightning. Lond. 1770. Svo.
5. A Treatise on.Cattle, &c. Lond. 1776. Svo.
1760. Hitt, Thomas, ,'gardener to Lord Manners,
at Bloxholme in Lincolnshire, and author of a me->
ritorious work on fruit trees.
A Treatise of Husbandry ; or the Improvement of Dry and
Barren Lands. Lond. Svo.
1760. North, Richard, nursery gardener, near
Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth. UEncv. of
Gard. 1805.) ^ -*
An Account of the different kinds of Grasses propagated in
England, for the Improvement of Com and Pasture Lands.
Lond. Svo.
1761. Rocque, Bartholomew, market gardener at
Walham Green, London. By advertisements and
other means, he brought the burnet into undeserved
repute. He sowed different sorts of grasses, and
when they had formed a turf, he sold them as spe-
cimens by the square inch. {Ency. of Gard. 1104.)
1. A Practical Treatise on Cultivating Lucerne Grass.
Lond. 4 to.
2. Some Hints relative to Burnet and Timothy Grasses.
Lond. 1764. Svo.
1761. Wark, Dr. David, Minister of Haddington.
On the Use of Furze in Fencing the Banks of Rivers. (Phil.
Trans, xi. 514.)
1761. Mordant, John.
The Complete Steward ; or the Duty of a Steward to his
Lord. Lond. 2 vols. Svo.
1762. Dickson, Adam, A.M., minister of Dunse
in Scotland. Considered a good classical scholar,
and an excellent practical farmer. He died before
The Husbandry of the Ancients was prepared for
the press, which is the occasion of some defects in
that work.
1. Treatise on Agriculture. Edin. Svo. This is one of the
best works on tillage that ever has appeared.
2. The Husbandry of the Ancients. Edin. 1778. 2 vols.
Svo.
1764. Ladnar, of Kroy, in Yorkshire.
The Farmer's New Guide. Lond. Svo.
1764. Randall, J., some time master of the Acade-
my at Heath, near Wakefield, Yorkshire.
1. The, Semi- Virgilian Husbandry, deduced from various
experiments. Lond. Svo.
2. Construction and extensive Use of a new invented Seed
Furrow Plough, suited to all Soils ; of a Draining Plough, and
of a Potatoe Drill Machine ; with tlie Theory of a Common
Plough : illustrated with 7 plates. Lond. 1764. 4to.
1765. Fordyce, George, M.D, F.R.S., a distin-
guished physician, and teacher of medicine in
London, was born at Aberdeen, 1736 ; died 1802.
Elements of Agriculture and Vegetation. Edin. Svo.
1766. Morgan, John, M.D., F.R.S. : died at Phila-
delphia, 1789.
Essay on the Expressing of Oil from Sun Flower Seed, &c.
(Trans. Amer. Sue. i. 305.)
1766. Homer, Henry, an excellent classical scholar,
was born in Warwickshire, 1752 ; died 1791.
1. An Essay on the Nature and Method of ascertaining the
specific Shares of Proprietors upon the Inclosure of Common
Fields. Lond. Svo.
2. An Inquiry into the Means of Preserving and Improving
the Public Iloads of this liingdom. Oxf. 1767. Svo.
1767. Young, Arthur, F.R.S., an eminent agri-
culturist. Secretary to the Board of Agriculture,
was the son of Arthur Young, a prebend of Canter-
bury, and author of An Historical Dissertation
of Cori-uptions in Religion. He was born in 1741.
He served his apprenticeship to a wine merchant ;
but on entering into the possession of his paternal
estate, near Bury St. Edmunds, he became a farmer;
and impoverished himself by experiments. After
this he set up as a teacher of others ; and in 1770,
published a volume called The Farmer's Calen-
dar i which was followed by a periodical work,
entitled The Annals of Agriculture, in which he
had the honor of having his late Majesty for a corres-
pondent. Young also made excursions through the
British islands, and on the continent, to collect in-
formation on subjects of rural economy. At length
a Board of Agriculture was established, of which he
was appointed secretary, with a salary of six hundrd
a year. He became blind some years before his
death, which happened February 20, 1820. His
works are numerous, and his travels amusing.
{Annual Biograjiliy.)
1. The Farmer's Letters to the People of England, &c.
Lond. Svo.
2. The Farmer's Letters to the Landlords of Great Britain.
Lond. 1771. Svo.
3. A Six Weeks' Tour through the the Southern Counties of
England and Wales. Lond. 1768. Svo.
4. Treatise on the Management of Hogs. Lond. 1769.
Svo.
5. A Six Months' Tour through the North of England.
Lond. 1770. 4 vols. Svo.
6. The Farmer's Guide in Hiring and Stocking Farms, &c.
Lond. 1770. 2 vols. Svo.
7. Rural Economy ; or Essays on the Practical Part of Hus-
bandry. Lond. 1770. Svo.
8. A Course of Experimental Agriculture. Lond. 1770.
2 vols. 4to.
9. The Farmer's Tour through the East of England. Lond.
1770, 4 vols. Svo.
Book I.
BRITISH WORKS ON AGRICULTURE.
1165
10. Oliservalions on the Present State of the Waste Lands m
Great Britain. Lend. 1772. 8vo.
11. Tour in Ireland; with General Observations on the
Present State of that Kingdom, made m 17/6-7-8 and 9.
Dub. 17S0. '2to1s. 8vo. .„ , ,. ^,^
1'2. An Essay on the Culture of Cole-seed for feedms Sheep
and Cattle. 8vo. , , . _, „ .
13. Annals of A«Ticulture, and other useful Arts. Pub-
lished in Nos. Burv St. Edmunds, 1790, 40 vols. 8vo.
14. Travels durinc the years 1787-8 and 9, undertaken more
particularly with a View of ascertaining the Cultivation,
VVealth, Resources, and National Prosperity of the Kmgdom
of France. Bury St. Edmunds, 179'2. 4to. 2 vols.
15. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Suf
folk ; drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1/97.
8vo.
16. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Lin-
coln; drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1799.
8vo.
17. An Enquiry into the Propriety of applying Wastes to
the Maintenance and Support of the Poor. Lond. 1801. 8vo.
18. The Farmer's Kalendar, containing the Business neces-
sary to be performed on the various kinds of Farms during
every month of the year. Lond. 1800. 4 vols. 8vo.
19. Essay on Manures. Lond. 1801. 8vo. , ^ ^.
20. General View of the Agriculture of Hertfordshire;
drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1804. 8vo.
21. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Nor-
folk. Lond. 1804. 8 vo.
22. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Essex.
Lond. 1806. 2 vols. 8vo.
23. General Report on Inclosures. Lond. 1807. 8vo.
24. General View of the Agriculture of Oxfordshire. Lond.
1808. 8vo.
25. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of
Sussex ; drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1808.
8vo.
26. Advantages which have resulted from the Establishment
of the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1809. Svo.
27. On the Husbandry of those celebrated BriUsh Farmers
Bakewell, Arbuthnot, and Ducket. Lond. 1811. Svo.
1768. Wildman, Tfiomas.
Treatise on the Management of Bees. Lond. 4to.
1768. Wall, Richard.
A Dissertation on Breeding Horses, upon Philosophical and
Experimental Principles ; being an attempt to promote there-
by the Breed of Racers and Horses in general ; with some ob-
servations on Foreign Horses. Lond. 8vo.
1768. Dossie, Robert, Esq.
Memoirs of Agriculture, &c. Lond. 3 vols. Svo.
1769. Weston, Richard, Esq., an amateur cultiva-
tor in the country, and afterwards a tract writer in
London ; died about the beginning of the present
century.
1. Tracts on Practical Agriculture and Gardening. Lond.
Svo.
2. Tracts on Alabaster, or Gypsum, describing lU powerful
effects as a very cheap manure, &c. Lond. 1791. Svo.
1770. Peters, Matthew.
1. The National Farmer. Lond. Svo.
2. Winter Riches. Lond. 1771. Svo.
1770. Cmnber, Thomas, L.L.D., Rector of Buck-
worth and Morborne, in Huntingdonshire, died
1778.
1. Free and candid Correspondence on the Farmer's Letters
to the People of England, &c., with the Author and Arthur
Young, Esq. Lond. Svo.
2. Real Improvement in Agriculture, on the principles of
A. Young, Esq. To which is added, a Letter to Dr. Hunter
of York, on the Rickets in Sheep., Lond. 1772. Svo.
1770. Hunter, Alexander, M.D., F.R.S.L. and E.
was born at Edinburgh, 1733 ; settled as a physician
at Gainsborough, at Beverley, and finally at York,
where he died, 1809.
1. Georgical Essays; in which the Food of Plants is parti-
cularly considered. Lond. 4 vols. Svo.
2. Outlines of Agriculture. York, 1785. Svo.
3. A New Method of raising Wheat for a series of years on
the same land. York, 1796 4to.
1771. Baker, John Wynn.
Experiments in Agriculture, made under the Direction of
the Dublin Society, in 1769 and 1770. Dub. Svo.
1774. Rin^sted, Josiah, Esq.
1. The Cattle Keeper's Assistant. I>ond. Svo.
2. The Farmer; comprehending the most interesting objects,
and beneficial practices, in the Culture of Wheat, Rye, Barley,
Oats, Buckwheat, &c. Lond. 1796. Svo.
1774. Varlo, C. Ksq.
A New System of Husbandry. Lond. 3. vols. Svo.
1774. Barron, William, F.R.S.E., Professor of
Logic and Belles Lettres in the University of St.
Andrews.
\ {Essays on the Mechanical Principles of the Plough. Edin.
Svo.
1775. Kent, Nathaniel, of Fulhara, Middlesex. He
studied agriculture in Flanders, and became an
eminent land valuer and agent. He was also for
sometime farm bailiff to George III. He died in
1818.
1. HinU to Gentlemen of Landed Property. I>ond. Svo.
2. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Nor-
folk ; drawn up for the Board of Agriculture and Internal
Improvement. Norwich, 1796. Svo.
3. Account of the Improvements made on the Farm in the
Great Park of His Majesty the King, at Windsor. {NichoUon't
./ourna/, Ui. 428.) 1799.
8775. Harrison, Gustavus, Esq.
Agriculture Delineated ; or, the Farmer's Complete Guide,
being a Treatise on Lands in General. Svo.
1775. Anderson, James, LL.D., an eminent agri-
cultural writer, was born at Hermiston, a village
near Edinburgh, in 1730, on a farm which his
parents had possessed for some generations, and
which he was intended to inherit and to cultivate.
He lost his parents at an early age, but his education
was not neglected J he studied chemistry under
Dr. CuUen, and soon leaving his farm near Edin-
burgh, took one in Aberdeenshire of 1300 acres,
wbicli, after improving and cultivating for twenty
years, he let, and enjoyed an annuity from it during
his life. He settled after leaving Aberdeenshire, in
the neighborhood of Edinburgh, where he pub-
lished the Bee, in weekly sixpenny numbers, till
it extended to 18 volumes. In 1797, he removed to
Isleworth, near London, where he published Recrea-
tions in Agricnllure, in six volumes, and his Des-
cription of a Patent Hothouse. Here he enjoyed his
garden, and died of a decline in 1808, aged 69.
Besides the works which bear his name, he wrote
the reviews of books on rural matters for the
Monthly Review for many years.
1. Essays relating to Agriculture and Rured Affairs. Edin.
Svo. Lond. 3 vols. Svo.
2. Miscellaneous Thoughts on Planting and Training Tim-
ber Trees, by Agricola. Edin. 1777. Svo.
3. An Account of the Present State of the Hebrides and
Western Coasts of Scotland, with Hints for encouraging the
Fisheries, and promoting other Improvements in these coun-
tries ; being the Substance of a Report to the Lords of the
Treasury. Edin. 1785. Svo.
4. A Practical Treatise on' Peat Moss, considered as in its
Nat-ural State fitted for affording Fuel, or as susceptible of being
converted into Mould, capable of yielding abundant Crops of
useful Produce, with full Directions for converting and culti-
vating it as a Soil. Edin.'1794. Svo.
5. A General View of the Agriculture and Rural Economy
of the County of Aberdeen, with Observations on the Meana
of its Improvement. Chiefly drawn up for the Board of Agri-
culture, in two parts. Edin. 1794. Svo.
* L6. a practical Treatise on Draining Bdgs and Swampy
Grounds ; with cursory Ktemarks on the Originality of Elking-
ton's mode of Draining. Lond. 1794. Svo.
7. Recreations in Agriculture, Natural History, &c. &c.
Lond. 1799. 6 vols. Svo.
1776. Home, Hewy, usually called Lord Kaimes,
an eminent Scotch lawyer, philosopher, and critic,
was born at Kaimes, in Berwickshire, 1796 ; died
1782. He farmed his own estate In Berwickshire
many years; he afterwards removed to Blair Drum-
mond, near Stirling, where he made various and
extensive improvements, the most important of
which was the clearing, cultivating, and peopling
great part of Flanders Moss. (See 4196.)
1. The Gentleman Farmer; being an attempt to improve
Agriculture, by subjecting it to the test of Rational Principles.
Edin. Svo.
2. Observations concerning Shallow Ploughing. {Ett.
Phyn. and Lit. iU. c. 68.)
1777. Clarke, Cuthbert.
The true Theory and Practice of Husbandry, deduced from
Philosophical Researches and Experience, &c. Lond. 4to.
1778. Forbes, Francis, gentleman.
1. The extensive Practice of the New Husbandry. Lond.
Svo.
2. The Improvements of Waste Lands. Lond. 1778. Svo.
1778. Wight, Andrew, a farmer in East Lothian,
and one of the earliest writers among that class in
Scotland.
The Present State of the Husbandry in Scotland. Edin.
6 vols. Svo.
1778. Black, James, of Morden, Surrey.
Observations on the Tillage of the Earth, and on the Theory
of Instruments adapted to this end. Lond. 4to.
1778. Marshal, William, Esq., a native of York-
shire, brought up to trade ; he was some years in
the West Indies, as a planter ; returned about 1775,
and took a farm in Surrey ; went down into Norfolk
as agent to Sir Haibord Harbord's estate in 1780 ;
he left this situation in 1784, and went and resided at
StafTord, near the junction of the lour counties of
Leicester, Warwick, Stafford, and Derby, where he
remained till 1786, occupied in collecting materials
for his Economical Smveys, and in printing some of
his works. From this time till about 1808, he re-
sided chiefly in Clement's Inn, London, in winter,
and visited diflferent parts of the country during
summer. He spent one summer in Perthshire,
chiefly on the Earl of Breadalbane's estates at Tay-
mouth ; and partly also on the Earl of Mansfield's
at Scone. He proposed arrangements for the tenant-
able land, and also the park and woody scenery on
various estates ; and finally retired to a considerable
property he purchased in his native country, in the
vale of Cleveland, in 1808, where he died at an ad-
vanced age in 1819, He was a man of little educa-
tion, but of a strong and steady mind ; and pursued
in the most consistent manner, from the year 1780
to his death, the plan he originally laid down ; that
of collecting and condensing the agricultural prac-
tices of the different counties of England, with a
view to a general work on iMnded Property^ which
1166
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV,
he publighed ; another on Agriculture, which he did
not live to complete ; and a Mural Institute, in which
he was supplanted by the Board of Agriculture.
1. Minutes of Asriculture, made on a Farm of 300 acres, of
Tarious soils, near Croydon, Surrey. Lond. ito.
2. Experiments and Observations concerning Agriculture
«nd the Weather. Lond. 1779. 4to.
3. The ;Rural Economy of Norfolk. Lond. 1788. 2 voU.
Svo.
4. The Rural Economy of Yorkshire. Lond. 1788. 2 vols.
9vo.
5. The Rural Economy of Gloucestershire. GIouc. 1789.
2 vols. 8vo. , , „„
6. Rural Economy of the Midland Counties. Lond. 1790.
2 vols. Svo.
7. Rural Economy of the West of England. Lond. 1796.
^2 vols. Svo.
8. The Rural Economy of the Southern Counties of Eng-
land. Lond. 1798. 2 vols. 8vo.
9. Proposals for a Rural Institute, or College of Agriculture,
and other Branches of Rural Economy. Lond. 1799. Svo.
10. On the Appropriation and Enclosure of Commonable
and Intermixed Lands. Lond. 1801. Svo.
■ 11. An Elementary and Practical Treatise on the Landed
Property of England, containing the Purchase and Improve-
ment of Landed Estates. Lond. 1804. 4to.
12. Treatise on the Management of Landed Estates. A
(jeneral Work for the Use of Professional Men, being an
Abridgment of the former. Lond. 1808. Svo.
13. A Review and Complete Abstract of the Reports of the
Board of Agriculture from the several Departments of Eng.
land. Lond. 1817. 5 vols. Svo.
14. Of the Black Canker Caterpillar which destroys the
Turnips in Norfolk. {PhU.Traiui.Abr.iiv.3S6.) 1783. .
1779. Girton, Daniel, of the county of Bucks.
The Complete Pigeon Fancier ; or a New Treatise on Do-
mestic Pigeons ; containing the most valuable Information
concerning the Nature, Properties, and Management of all
tiieir various Species. Lond. l2mo. Plates.
1780. Truster, Rev. John, LL.D., author of a
great variety of petty works on education, morals,
manners, and domestic economy. He was also a
farmer for some time. He published his works on
his own account, and by prudent conduct, lending his
money atannuity interest, speculating on theleasesof
houses, &c., contrived to realize a considerable pro-
perty, and for many years before his death to keep
his carriage and live in a very gentlemanlike style
at Bath.
1. Practical Husbandry, or the Art of Farming with a
Certainty of Gain. Lond. Svo.
2. On the Importance of a Farmer's Life, 1793. Svo.
1780. Boswell, George, a cultivator of his own
estate in Gloucestershire.
Treatise on Watering Meadows; wherein are shown the
many Advantages arising from that mode of Practice, parti-
cularly on coarse, boggy, or barren Lands. Lond. Svo.
1783. Raiey, William.
A Treatise on the Management of Potatoes. Lond. Svo.
1784. Small, James, a plough-wright and small
farmer in Roxburghshire ; but afterwards settled at
Edinburgh as an agricultural machinist.
Treatise on Ploughs and Wheel Carriages. Edin. Svo.
1784. Turner, Nicholas.
An Essay on Draining and improving Peat Bogs. Lond.
Svo.
1784. Cooke, James, a clergyman of Norfolk, in-
ventor of a new drill machine, for a long time
deservedly popular, and still preferred to most
others for drilling the cereal grasses, and hoeing
between the rows.
Drill Husbandry Perfected. 12mo.
1785. Stone, Thomas, lately a surveyor and land-
agent to the Duke of Bedford, died at Paris 1815.
1. An Essay on Agriculture, with a View to inform Gen-
tlemen of landed Property whether their Estates are ma-
naged to the greatest Advantage. I^ond. Svo.
2. General View of the Agriculture of the Comity of
Huntingdon. Lond. 1793. 4to.
3. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Bed-
ford. Lond. 1794. 4to. , ^ ^
4. General View of the Agriculture of the Coimty of Lm-
coln. Lond. 1794. 4to.
5. A Review of the corrected Agricultural Survey of Lin-
colnshire, by Arthur Young, Esq. Lond. 1800. Svo.
6. A Letter on the Drainage of the East, West, and Wild
Moor Fens. Lond. 1800. Svo.
7. Letter on the intended Drainings and Inclosures of the
Moor Fens in the County of Lincoln. 1801.
1786. Home, or Horn, John.
The Description and Use of a New-invented Patent Uni-
versal Sowing Machine, for Broadcasting or Drilling every
kind of Grain, Pulse, and Seed. Lond. Svo.
1786. Young, David, of Perth.
Natural Improvements in Agriculture, in Twenty-seven
Essays. Edin. Svo.
1786. Culley, George, born at Denton, in the
county of Durham. In 17G2 he went to Dishley
and remained some time a pupil with Bakewell : he
then returned and took the farm of Fenton, in
Northumberland, in 1767, and died in that county,
at Fowberry tower, in 1813, aged 79.
1. Observations on Live Stock ; containing Hints for chusing
and' improving the best Breeds of the most useful kinds of
Domestic Animals. Lond. Svo. - m _». u i j
2. General View of the Agriculture of Northumberland.
(See BaUey, J. A. D. 1797.)
1787. Ley, Charles, land surreyor.
The Nobleman, Gentleman, Land Steward, and Surveyor's
Complete Guide; in which is described every Circumstance
relative to the proper Management of Estates; comprehend-
ing the Duty and t)(fice of a Land Steward in all its Parts ;
with some useful Hints to Surveyors : also the Current Prices
of Estates throughout the Kingdom, by which any Gentle-
man or Steward may ascertain the exact Value of any
Estate whether in Fee, Copy, or Leaseliold. Lond. Svo.
1787. Winter, George, a practical agriculturist.
A new and compendious System of Husbandry ; containing
the mechanical, chemical, and philosophical Elements of
Agriculture. Brist. Svo.
1789. Falconer, William, M.D. F.R.S. physician
to the General Hospital, Bath, author of several
agreeable and interesting works on natural philo-
sophy, in which he has distinguished himself by
generalizing the subjects treated of.
An Essay on the Preservation of the Health of Persons
employed in Agriculture ; and on the Cure of Diseases inci-
dent to that way of Life. Lond. Svo.
1789. Adam, James, Esq.
Practical Essays on Agriculture. Lond. 2 vols. Svo.
1789. Bertezen, S.
Thoughts on the diiferent kinds of Food given to young
Silk Worms, and the Possibility of their being brought to
Perfection in the Climate of England, founded on Experi-
ments made near the Metropolis, i^nd. Svo.
1789. Wright, Rev. Thomas, Rector of Auld, in
Northamptonshire.
1. Account of the Advantages and Method of Watering
Meadows by Art, as practised in the County of Gloucester.
Lond. Svo.
2. The Art of Floating Land, as it is practised in the
County of Gloucester, shown to be preferable to any other
Method in use in this (Country; with minute and plain
Directions, and Three descriptive Plates. Lond. 1799. Svo.
3. On the Formation and Management of Floated Mea-
dows ; with Corrections of Errors found in the Treatises of
Messrs. Davis, Marshall, Boswell, Young, and Smith, on
the Subject of Floating. 1810. Svo.
1790. Naismith, John, an ingenious cultivator in
Clydesdale.
1. Thoughts on various Objects of Industry pursued in
Scotland. Edin. Svo.
2. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Clydes-
dale. 4to. 1794.
3. Observations on the different Breeds of Sheep, and the
state of Sheep Farming in the Southern Districts of Scot-
land. Edin. 1795. 4to.
4. Elements of Agricalture ; being an Essay towards esta-
blishing the Cultivation of the Soil, and promoting Vegetation
on steady Principles. Lond. 1807- Svo.
1790. Curtis, William, an eminent botanist, born
in Hampshire, 1746, died 1799 ; author of various
works on practical botany and the culture of plants.
Practical Observations on the British Grasses best adapted to
the laying down or improving of Meadows and Pastures.
Lond. Svo.
1790. Swayne, G. A.M. Vicar of Pucklechurch,
Gloucestershire.
Gramina Pascua ; or, a Collection of the Specimens of
the Common Pasture Grasses. Ix>nd. fol. 8 pages, and 6
plates.
1790. Sinclair, Right Hon. Sir John, Bart. LL.D.
M.P. Founder of the Board of Agriculture, author
of Tfie Code of Health and Longevity, and various
other ponderous compilations.
1. Report on the Subject of Shetland VVool. Lond. Svo.
2. Address to the Society for the Improvement of British
Wool, constituted at Edinburgh, 1791. Lond. Svo.
3. Account of the Origin of the Board of Agriculture, and
its Progress for Three Years after its Establishment. Lond.
179C. 4to.
4. Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Blight, the
Rust, and the Mildew. 1809. Svo.
5. An Account of the Systems of Husbandry adopted In
the more improved Districts of Scotland ; with some (Jbserva-
tions on the Improvements of which they are susceptible.
Edin. 1812. Svo., with numerous plates.
6. The Agriculture of the Netherlands. 1816. Svo.
7. The Code of Agriculture. Svo. 1820.
1792. May, Thmnas.
Minutes of Agriculture, and the Description of Machines
and Implements of Husbandry, in reply to Cooke's Anno-
tations. Lond. Svo.
1792. Clarke, Charles.
Treatise on the Earth called Gypsum. Lond. Svo.
1793. Claridge, John, ,of "London, an eminent
land valuer and agent.
General View of the Agriculture of the Coimty of Dorset.
Lond. 4 to.
1793. Elstobb, W.
Historical Account of the great Level of the Fens, called
Bedford I^evel, and other Fens, Marshes, and low Lands in
this Kingdom, and other Places. Lynn, Svo.
1793. Fullarton, Colonel.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of Ayr ;
with Observations on the Means of its Improvement. Edin.
1793. Lcbrocq, Philip, M. A. and curate of
The Outlines of a Plan for improving the Tract of Land
called the New Forest. I>ond. Svo.
1793. Fraser, Robert, Esq.
1. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Devon.
2. General View of the Agriculture and Mineralogy, pre-
sent State and Circumstances, of the .County of Wicklow.
Dub. 1801. Svo. . .
3. Gleanings in Ireland ; particularly respecting its Agri-
culture, Mines, and Fisheries. Lond. 1802. Svo.
Book I.
BRITISH WORKS ON AGRICULTURE.
1167
4. A Letter on the most effectual Means for the Improve-
ment of the Coasts and Western Islands of Scotland, and the
Extension of the Fisheries. Lond. 1803. 8vo.
5. Statistical Survey of the County of Wexford. DubUn.
1807. 8vo.
1794. Robson, James.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of Argyle,
and of the Western I'art of the County of Inverness. I.«nd.
4to.
1794. Eennie, George, Esq. an eminent East
Lothian farmer, and also a proprietor.
General View of the Agriculture of the West Riding of
Yorkshire, by Messrs. Rennie, Brown, and Shirrett. Lond.
4to.
1794. Quaule, Basil.
A General View of the Agriculture of the Isle of Man.
Lond. 4to.
1794. Pringle, A.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of West-
morland. Edin. 4to.
1794. Pornerot/, William Thomas.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of Worcester.
Lond. 4to.
1794. Pearce, WUUam, a land valuer and agent in
London.
(feneral View of the Agriculture of Berkshire. Lond. 8vo.
1794. Malcolm, W. J. and J. (ingenious land sur-
veyors) brothers to the London nurseryman of that
name.
1. General View of the Agriculture of Buckinghamshire.
Lond. 4to.
2. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Surrey.
Lond. 1794. 4to.
1794. Lowe, Robert, Esq. of Oxton.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of Notting-
ham. Lond. 4to.
1794. Lovoe, Alexander, Esq. of Woodend, Ber-
wickshire, an eminent land valuer and agent ; he
died about 1816.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of Berwick.
Ivond. 4to.
1794. Maunsell, William, LL.D.
Letter on the Culture of Potatoes from the Shoots. Lond.
8vo.
1794. Leatham, Isaac.
' General View of the Agriculture of the East Riding of York-
shire. Lond. 4to.
1794. Monk, John, of Bear's Combe, near Kings,
bridge, Devon.
1. An Agricultural Dictionary; consisting of Extracts from
the most celebrated Authors and Papers. Lond. 3 vols. 8vo. i
2. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Leices-
ter. Lond. 1794. 4to.
. 1794. North, Roger.
History of Esculent Fish, and an Essay on the Breeding of
Fish, and the Construction of Fish Ponds. Lond. 4to.
1794. Driver, Abraham and William, land sur-
veyors and agents, London.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of Hants.
Ijond. 4 to.
1794. Donaldson, James, land surveyor and land
steward for some extensive estates.
1. General View ot the Agriculture of the County of Nairn.
Lond. 4to.
2. General View of the Agriculture of Elgin and Moray.
■ 3. General Views of the Agriculture of the Counties of Perth,
Banff, Northampton, and Meaurns or Kincardine. Lond. 1794.
4to.
4. Modem Agriculture ; or the present State of Husbandry
in Great Britain. Edin. 1795-C. 4 vols. 8vo.
1794. Amos, fFiVZiawi, of Brothertoft, Lincolnshire,
farmer.
1. The Theory and Practice of Drill Husbandry, &c. Lond.
4to.
2. Minutes of Agriculture and Planting, &c. Lond. 1804.
4to.
1794. Davis, Richard, of Lewknor, land surveyor
and valuer.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of Oxford.
Lond. 4to.
1794. Davis, Thomas, Esq. steward to the Marquis
of Bath at Longleat ; a man of strong mind and
great integrity, universally respected ; he died about
1818.
General View of the Agriculture of Wiltshire. Lond. 8vo.
1794. Clark, John, F.S.A. land surveyor, Builth ;
and at Pembroke.
1. General View of the Agriculture of. Brecknock. Lond.
4to.
■i. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Rad-
nor. Lond. 1794. 4to. „ „
3. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Here-
ford. Lond. 1794 4to.
4. An Inquiry into the Nature and Value of Leasehold
Property. Glouc. 8vo.
1794. Hodgkinson, Joseph.
Instruction to Farmers on an Improved Method of Manage-
ment of Arable Ground. Lond. 8vo.
1794. Foot, Peter.
General View of the Agriculture'of the County of Middlesex-
lond. 4to.
1794. Fox, John.
1. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Mon-
mouth Brentf 4to.
2. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Gla-
morgan. Ix)nd. 1796. 4to.
1794. Put, William, of Pendeford, near Wolver-
hampton.
1. General View of the Agriculture of die County of Staf-
ford. Lond. 8vo.
1795. Mariott, WUUam, barrister at law.
The Country Gentleman's Lawyer, and the Farmer's Com-
plete Library. 8vo.
1795. Bonner, James.
Plan for speedily Increasing the Number of Bee Hives in
Scotland. Lond. 8vo.
1795. Holt, John, of Watten, near Liverpool, was
born in Cheshire 1742 ; died 1801.
1. (ieneral View of the Agriculture of the County of Lan-
caster ; with the Observations on the Means of its Improve-
ment. ; drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 8vo.
2._An Essay on the Curl of Potatoes.
1795. Erskine, John Francis, now Earl of Marr.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of Clack-
mannan. Edin. 4to.
1795. Robertson, the Rev. George, minister of
Dalmeny, near Edinburgh ; died there in 1801.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of Mid-
Lothian. Edin. 8vo.
1795, Hayes, Samuel, Esq. M.R.J. A. of Avondale,
Ireland.
A Kractical Treatise on the Management of Woods and
Copgices. Dub. 8vo.
1/94. Cochrane, Archibald, Earl of Dundonald, an
amateur chemist, and agriculturist.
1. A Treatise shewing the intimate Connection that subsists
between Agriculture and Chemistry. Lond. 4to.
2. The Principles of Chemistry applied to the Improvement
of the Practice of Agriculture. 1799. 4to.
1795. Macphail, James, twenty years gardener to
the Earl of Liverpool in Surrey, and author of The
Gardener^s Remembrancer, an esteemed work.
Hints and Observations on the Improvement of Agriculture.
Lond. 8vo.
1796. Kirkpatrick, H.
An Account of the Manner in which Potatoes are cultivated
and preserved, and the Uses to which they are applied in the
Counties of .Lancaster and Chester; together with a Descrip-
tion of a new Variety of Potatoes, peculiarly convenient for
forcing in Hot-houses and Frames. Lond. 8vo.
1796. Boi/s, John, farmer at Betshanger in Kent
A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Kent.
Lond. Svo.
1796. Anstruther, Sir John, Bart.
Remarks on Drill Husbandry. Lond. 8vo.
1796. Fox.^ William, attorney at law.
Remarks on various Agricultural Reports ; transmitted to
the Honorable the Board of Agriculture, in the Year 1794
Lond. 4to.
1796. Wright, Sir James, Bart.
Observations upon the important Object of preservmg Wheat
and other Grain from Vermin. Lond. 4to.
1796. Kirwan, Richard, LL.D., F.R.S.L. and E,
P.R.I.A., an eminent philosopher and various
author ; died about 1819.
On the Manures most advantageously applicable to various
Sorts of Soil, and the Causes of their Beneficial Influence in
each particular Instance. Lond. Svo.
1796. Lawrence, John, a veterinary surgeon.
1. Philosophical and Practical Treatise on Horses. Lond.
Svo.
2. The Sportsman, Farrier, and Shoeing Smith's New
Guide, being the Substance of the Works of the late C. de
St. Bel. 1796. Svo.
3. The Modern Land Steward. Lond. 1802. Svo.
4. A General Treatise on Cattle. Ix>nd. 1805. Svo.
5. The Fanner's Pocket Calendar, 1808.
6. The New Farmer's Calendar, 1809.
7. History and Delineation of the Horse in all its varieties,
with 15 engravings, by Scott. Lond. 1810.
1797. Morley, Christopher.
Practical Observations on Agriculture, Draining, &c. in
two Ivetters, addressed to Sir John Sinclair. Lond. 4to.
1797 Johnstone, John, land surveyor and drainer
at Edinburgh.
An Account of the most approved mode of Draining Land,
according to the System practised by the late Mr. Joseph El-
kington. Edin. 4to.
1797. Lawson,J.
Essay on the Use of mixed and compressed Cattle Fodder,
particularly adapted for Horses and Cattle on Shipboard, in'
Camps, or in Garrisons, with useful Tables, &c. Land. Svo.
1797. Dix, William Spier.
Remarks on a newly invented Patent Machine for clearing
Grain from the Straw, instead of threshing it with the Flail.
Lond. 4 to.
1797. Bailey, John, Esq. originally a schoolmaster,
afterwards steward to Lord Tankerville, a man of
enlightened mind, various useful and elegant ac-
quirements, and sound practical agricultural know-
ledge. He was much respected by all who knew
him.
1. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of
Northumberland, by J. Bailey and J. Culley. Newcastle. 8vo.
2. A General View of the Agriculture of Durham, &c.
Lond. 1811. Svo.
3. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Cuni-
berlaiid, Svo.
1798, Smith, Rev. John, D.D. minister of Kil-
brandon, in Argylcshire, afterwards one of the
ministers of Campbelton.
1168
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
A General View of the ARriculture of the County of Ar-
gyle. Edin. 8vo.
1198. Douglas, Eobert, D.D. Minister of Gala-
shiels.
A General View of the Agriculture of the Counties of
Roxburgh and Selkirk. Edin. 8vo.
1798. BiUingsley, John, Esq., of Ashwick Grove,
near Shepton Mallett.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of Somerset.
Bath. 8vo.
1798. Tatham, WiUiam.
1. Remarks on Inland Canals, the System of Interior Navi-
gation, and various Uses of the Inclined Plane. Lond. 4to.
2. The Political Economy of Inlimd Navigation, Irrigation,
and Drainage ; with Thoughts on the Multiplication of Com-
mercial Resources, and oii the Means of bettering the Con-
dition of Mankind by Construction of Canals. 11 Plates.
Lond. 1799. 4to.
3. Communication concerning the Agriculture and Com-
merce of America ; containing Observations on the Commerce
of Spain with her American Colonies in the Time of War.
Written by a Spanish Gentleman, and now edited with sun-
dry other Papers relating to the Spanish Interest. Lond.
1800. 8vo.
4. An Historical and Practical Essay on the Culture and
Commerce of Tobacco. Lond. 1800. Svo.
5. National Irrigation ; or the various Methods of watering
Meadows ; aflFording Means to increase the Population,
Wealth, and Revenue of the Kingdom, by an Agi'icultural,
Commercial, and general Economy in the Use of Water.
Lond. 1801. 8vo.
, 6. Auxiliary Remarks on an Essay on the comparative
Advantages of Oxen for Tillage in competition with Horses.
Lond. 1^01. 8vo.
7. Two Reports on the Navigation of the River Thames.
Lond. 1803. Svo.
1798. MidcUeton, John, Esq., land surveyor, l/m-
don.
1. A View of the Agriculture of Middlesex. Lond. Svo.
2. Observations on the various ICinds of Manure. {Nichol-
son's Journal, iii. 510.) 1799.
1799. Parkinson, Richard, of Doncaster, a farmer,
traveller in America, and afterwards steward to
Sir Joseph Banks, in Lincolnshire.
1. The Experienced Farmer. Lond. 2 vols. 8vo.
2. A Tour in America, in 1798, 1799, and 1800 ; exhibit-
ing a particular Account of the American System of Agri-
culture, with its recent Improvements. Lond. 1805. 2 vols.
Svo.
3. The English Practice of Farming, exemplified in the
Management of a Farm in Ireland. Lond. 1806. Svo.
4. Treatise on the Breeding and Management of Live
Stock. Lond. 1809. 2 vols. Svo.
5. General View of the Agriculture of Huntingdonshire.
Lond. ISll. Svo.
1799. Broion,Robert,Tlsq., farmer near Haddington,
one of the projectors, and for many years editor, of
the Farmers' Magazine ; a man of vigorous intel-
lect, energetic language, and an excellent bean
and wheat farmer.
1. General View of the Agriculture of the West Riding
of Yorkshire, surveyed by Messrs. Rennie, Brown, and Shirreft^
in 179-3. Lond. Svo.
2. Treatise on Rural Affairs; originally published in the
Edinburgh Encyclopsedia. Lond. ISll. 2 vols. Svo.
3. Letters on the Distressed State of Agriculturists. 1816.
1799. Banister, John, Gent, of Horton Kirby, in
Kent.
^ A Synopsis of Husbandry. Lond. Svo.
"" 1799. Pallett, T., land and timber surveyor.
Hints on Enclosing, Agriculture, Stewardship, and Tithes.
8to.
1799. Somerville, Right Hon. John, Lord. He died
at Vevay in Switzerland, on his way to Italy about
1815; was buried in the churchyard there, and after-
wards disinterred and brought to England.
1. Address to the Board of Agriculture on the Subject of
Sheep and Wool. Lond. Svo.
2. The System followed during the Two last Years by the
Board of Agriculture, &c. 1800. 4to.
3. Facts and Observations relative to Sheep, Wool, Ploughs,
and Oxen, &c. Lond. 1803. Svo.
1799. Robertson, James, D. D. minister at Cal-
landar, Perthshire.
1. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Perth.
Perth, Svo.
2. General View of the Agriculttire of Inverness-shire.
Svo.
3. General View of the Agriculture of Kincardineshire.
ISll. Svo.
1800. Owen, Rev. T., M. A. rector of Upton
Scudamen, Wilts.
1. The Three Books of M. Terentius Varro, concerning
Agriculture. Translated into English. Lond. 8vb.
2. Agricultural Pursuits. Translated from the Greek.
Lond. 1805. 2 vols. Svo.
3. Translation of the Fourteen Books of Palladius on
Agriculture. Lond. 1807. Svo.
1800. Washington, Gen. George, first president
of the United States of America, and commander
in chief of the armies, was born in the county of
Virginia, 1732 ; died 1799.
1, Letters from him to Sir John Sinclair on Agricultural
axiA other interesting Topics ; engraved from the original Let-
ters, so as to be an exact Facsimile of the Handwriting of that
celebrated Character. Lond. 4to.
2. Letters to Arthur Young, Esq., containing an Account
of his Husbandry, with a Map of hLs Farm ; his Opinions on
various Questions in Agriculture, and many Particulars of
the Rural Economy of the United States. Lond. 1801.
1800. Tuke, John, land surveyor.
General View of the Agriculture of the North Riding of
Yorkshire. 15 Plates. Lond. Svo.
1800. Thomson, Rev. John, D.D.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of Fife.
Edin. Svo.
1800. Stacey, Rev. Henry Peter, LL.B., F.L.S.
Observations on the Failure ot Turnip Crops. Lend. Svo.
1800. Parry, Caleb Hillier, M.D., F.K.S. physi-
cian, Bath. He cultivated his own estate, and
greatly improved the merino-ryland breed of sheep.
Facts and Observations, tending to shew the Practicability
and Advantage to the Individual and the Nation, of producing
in the British Isles, Clothing-wool equal to that of Spain ;
together with some Hints towairds the Management of fine-
wooUed Sheep. Lond. Svo.
1800. Dalrymple, William, Esq.
Treatise on the Culture of Wheat. Lond. Svo.
1800. Darwin, Erasmus, M.D., F.R.S., an emi-
nent physician, philosopher, and poet, was born
near Newark, in Nottinghamshire, 1731 : died
1802.
Phytologia : or, the Philosophy of Agriculture and Gar-
dening. Lond. 4to.
1800. Pontey, William, nurseryman and forest
prunerjto the Duke of Bedford ; originally a kitchen
gardener, now a director of plantations, and other
improvements.
1. The Profitable Planter. Huddersfield, Svo.
2. The Forest Pruner ; or. Timber Owner's Assistant.
Lond. 1805. Svo.
1801. Hoyte, Henry, land-surveyor.
An Essay on the Conversion of Soils. Lond. 4to.
1801. Renton, George, a farmer near Edinburgh.
The Grazier's Ready Reckoner; or, a Useful Guide for
buying and selluig Cattle. Svo.
1801. Coote, Sir Charles, Bart.
1. Statistical Survey of the County of Monaghan. Dublin.
Svo.
2. Statistical Survey of the County of Armagh. Dublin,
1804. Svo.
1801. Scott, Edmund, miniature painter of Bright-
helmstone.
Proceedings of the Sussex Agricultural Society, from its
Institution to 1798 inclusive; together with Engravings of the
Prize Cattle for that Year, from Drawings made by actual Ad.
measurement, fol.
1801. Scott, W^., of the Inner Temple.
Every Farmer his own Lawyer, &c. Svo.
1801. Duncumb, John, A.M., of Cambridge.
1. Essay on the best means of applying Pasture Lands, &c.
to tl»e production of Grain, and of re-converting them to Grass.
Lond. Svo.
2. Survey of the Agricultural and Rural Economy of Here-
fordshire. Lond. 1805. Svo.
1801. Archer, Lieutenant Joseph.
Statistical Survey of the County of Dublin. Dub. Svo.
1802. M'Evoy, John.
Statistical Survey of the County of Tyrone. Dub. Svo.
1802. WParlan, James, M.T).
1. Statistical Survey of the County of Donegal. Dub. Svo.
2. Statistical Survey of the County of Leitrim. Dub. 1802.
Svo.
3. Statistical Survey of the County of Sligo. Dub. 1802.
Svo.
4. Statistical Survey of the County of Mayo. Dub. 1S02.
Svo.
1802. Thompson, Robert.
■■ Statistical Survey of the County of Meath.
1802. Alderson, John, M.D., physician at Hull
On the Improvement of Poor Soils in Answer to the follow-
ing Question : " What is the best Method of cultivating and
improving Poor Soils, where Lime and Manure cannot be
had?" Lond. Svo.
1802. Bartley, Nehemiah, Esq., secretary to the
Bath Agricultural Society.
Some cursory Observations on the Conversion of Pasture
Lands into Tillage, and, after a certain Course of Crops, relay-
ing the same into Pasture, &c. Lond. Svo.
1802. Sampson, Rev. G. Vaughan, A.B., M.R.I.A.,
rector of Aghanloo, in the diocese of Derry.
Statistical Survey of tlie County of Londonderry. Dub.
Svo.
1802. Dubourdieu, Rev. John, rector of Annahilt.
Statistical Survey of the County of Down. Dub. Svo.
Statistical Survey of the County of Antrim. Dub. 1812.
'1802. Tighe, William. Esq.
statistical Observations relative to the County of Kilkenny.
Dub. Svo.
1802. Bell, Benjamin, F.R.S.E., surgeon, Edin-
burgh.
Essavs on Agriculture. Edin. Svo.
1802. Findlater, Rev. Charles, minister of the
parish of Newlands, in the County of Peebles ; a
man of sound views of political agriculture.
General Survey of the Agriculture of the County of Peebles.
Edin. Svo.
1803. Banks, Sir Joseph, Bart, K.B., president of
the Royal Society, F.R.S.E., F.A.S., M.R.I. A.
1. A Report of the State of His Majesty's Breed of Fine
Wooled Spanish Sheep, for the Year ending Michaelmas, 1803.
(Mc.JoKr.vi. 277.1804.)
2. A Short Account of the Causes of the Diseases in Com,
called by Farmers the Blight, the Mildew, and the Rust. With
Plates. Lond 4to. 1805.
3. An attempt to ascertain the Time when the Polatoe
Book I.
BRITISH WORKS ON AGRICULTURE.
1169
{Solamtm iulterotum) was first Introduced into the United King-
doms, with some Account of the Hill Wheat of India. {Trans,
Uort.Soc.i.H. ISl.'i.)
1803. Carpenter, J., Worcestershire.
A Treatise on Practical and Kxperiinental Agriculture.
Stourbridge, 2 vols. 8vo.
1803. Munninesy Rev. Thomas Crowe.
An Account of Experiments for Drilling and Protecting
Turnii)s, in the years 1800, 1801, and 1S02. Lond. Svo.
1803. I^estcr, William, farmer in Linfcolnshire, and
afterwards a mechanist and engineer in London ;
inventor of a thrashing machine on the rubbing
principle.
1. <)l)servations on the Utility of Cuttini^ Hay and Straw,
and of Bruising (^orn for Feeding Animals ; with a Descrip-
tion of the best Machines for that Purpose. Lond. Svo.
'2. The Economy of the Bam ; or, a Dialogue between a
Farmer and an Economist, on the Separation and Preserva-
tion of Corn. Lond. 1811. 4to.
.-5. A Histor, - - -
cable to Agriculture
4. Description of a Machine for Washing Potatoes, and
other Esculent Roots, for feeding Cattle. ( Nic. Joiir. xxx. 336.)
1811.
1804. Greaves, William, agriculturist, of Sheffield.
Treatise on Natural and Practical Agriculture. Loud.
Svo.
1804. Batchelor, Thomas, farmer,
tieneral View of the Agriculture of Bedfordshire. Svo.
1804. Knapp, J. L., Esq., F.L.,and A.SS.
Gramina Britannica, or Kei)resentations of the British
Grasses; with Remarks and occasional Descriptions. Lond.
4to.
1804. Wisset, Robert, Eso.
A Treatise on Hemp. Lond. Svo.
1804. Dickson, R. W., M.D., of Hendon, Middle-
sex, author of various works. He died in London in
penurious circumstances in 1824.
1. Practical Agriculture. Plates. Lond. 2 vols. 4to.
2. AgriculturaJ Magazine ; or Farmer's Monthly Journal of
Husbandry and Rural Affairs, &c. From July 1807, to De-
cember 1808. 3 vols. 8vo. Discontinued.
3. The Farmer's Companion ; being a complete System of
Modern Husbandry. Lond. 1811. 4to.
4. An improved System of Cattle Management. I<ond. 1822.
2 vols. 4 to.
1804. Forsyth, Robert, Esq., advocate, Edinburgh,
author of Elements of Moral Science, and other
esteemed philosophical works.
Principles and Practice of Agriculture systematically ex-
plained ;being a Treatise compiled for the fourth Edition of
the Encyclopaedia Britannica, revised and enlarged. 2 vols. Svo.
1805. Luccock, John, woolstapler at Leeds.
1. The Nature and Properties of Wool illustrated; with a
Description of the English Fleece. Lond. 12mo.
2. An Essay on Wool : containing an Examination of the
present Growth of Wool in every District throughout the
Kingdom, and the Means pointed out for its Improvement.
1807.
180.5. Pearson, George, M.D.,F.R.S., senior phy-
sician to St. George's Hospital, lecturer in chemis-
try, and on the theory and practice of medicine in
London.
A Communication to the Board of Agriculture, on the Use
of Green Vitriol, or Sulphat of Iron, as a Manure; and on the
Efficacy of Paring and Burning depending partly on Oxide of
Iron. Lond. 4to.
1805. Somerville, Robert, usur^eon in Haddington,
and for some time joint editor with Brown of
Markle of The Farmer's Magazine ; he died in 1803.
General View of the Agriculture of East Lothian. Lond.
Svo.
180.5. Alton, William, sheriff-substitute for the
middle ward of Lanarkshire, author of various
papers in The Farmer's Magazine.
1. Essay on the Origin, Quantities, and Cultivation of Moss
Earth. Glasg. Svo.
2. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Ayr,
w ith Observations on the Means of its Improvement. Glasg.
1811. Svo.
3. General View of the County of Bute, &c. Glasg. 1816.
Svo.
1805. Barber, WUliam, a London architect
1. Farm Buildings; containing Designs for Cottages, Farm-
hoiLses, Ijodges, Farm-yards, &c.. Six Plates. I^ond. 4to.
2. A Description of the Mode of Building in Pis^. 1806.
4 to.
180.5. Hood, Thomas Sutton, Esq.
A Treatise on (iyjisum ; on its various Uses, and on its Ap-
plication as a Manure. Svo.
1805. Malcolm, James, land surveyor to the Prince
of Wales, &c.
A Compendium of Jlodem Husbandry, &c. Lond. 3 vols.
Svo.
1806. Smith, William, engineer and mineralogist,
a man of extraordinary exertion and merit, more
esjx^cially as having been the first to compose a
geological map of England, and also most valuable
county geological maps.
1 . The Improvement of Boggy Land by Irrigation, as carried
into effect by him. Lond. Svo.
2. Observations on the Utility, Form, and Management of
Water Meadows, and the Draining and Irrigating I'eat-bogs ;
with an Account of Prislcy Bog, and other eiitraordinarv Itn-
provements conducted for the Duke of Ikdford. Lond. ISO'J.
4, Geological Table of British organized Fossils, igig.
5. County Geological Maps. ISly.
1806. Ainslie, John, a, land surveyor at Edin-
burgh.
1. Tables for computing the Weight of Hay, Cattle, &c., by
Measurement. Lond. 12mo.
2. Farmer's Pocket Companion. Edin. 1812. Svo.
1807. Vancouver, Charles, land valuer.
1. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of
Devon. Lond. Svo.
2. General View of the Agriculture of Hampshire, including
the Isle of Wight. 1811. Svo.
1807. Rudge, Rev. Thomas, B.D.
Survey of the Agriculture of the County of Gloucester.
Lond. Svo.
1807. Hogg, Jaffws, the Ettrick Shepherd, author
of some poetical pieces, and Scotch novels.
_The Shepherd's Guide. Edin. Svo.
1807. Holla?id, Henry, Esq. M.B., honorary mem-
ber of the Geological Society. Author of Travels
in Greece, and other works ; an eminent London
physician.
General \"iew of the Agriculture of Cheshire. Lond. Svo.
1807. Rawson, Thomas James, Esq.
Statistical Survey of the County of lUldare. Dublin, Svo.
1807. Headrick, Ja7nes, a clergyman in Angus-
shirej-an excellent chemist, and agricultural phi-
losopher.
1. View of the Mineralogy, Agriculture, Manufactures, and
Fisheries of the Island of Arran, &c. Edin. Svo.
2. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Angus.
1808. Tibbs, Thomas, farmer.
The Experimental Farmer. Svo.
1808. Coventry, Andrew, M.D. professor of agri-
culture in the university of Edinburgh. A learned,
ingenious, and most benevolent man. He cul-,
tivates his own estate in Kinross-shire, and is
extensively employed as a land valuer, and rural
counsellor.
1 . Discourse Explanatory of the Nature and Plan of a Course
of Ivectures on Agriculture and Rural Economy. Edin. Svo.
2. Observations on Live Stock, in a Letter to Henry Clive,
Esq. Edin. Svo.
1808. Gray, Andrew, a retired machinist at Edin-
burgh.
Plough-wright's Assistant ; or, a Practical Treatise on various
Implements employed in Agriculture; illustrated with 16
Engravings. Edin. Svo.
1808. Beddoes, Thomas, M.D., bom in Shrop-
shire, 1760, was lecturer in Boton, at Oxford, and
afterwards physician at Bristol, where he died,
1808.
1. Good Advice for the Husbandman in Harvest, and for all
those in Labour in Hot Births ; as also for others who will
take it in Warm Weather. Svo.
2. On the Means of fortellixg the Character of the Summer
Season, and the Benefits to be expected from the Cultivation
of (irasses which vegetate at low temperatures. (Nic. Jour. v.
131.) 1802.
1808. Bakeuiell, Robert, Esq., an eminent geolo-
gist and mineralogist, author of Travels in the Ta-
rentaise, S^c, an instructive and entertaining work,
published in 18i^.
Observations on the Influence of Soil and Climate upon
Wool, with an easy Method of improving the Quality of
English Clothing Wool, and Hints for the IManagement of
Sheep, &c. ; with occasional Notes and Remarks by the Right
Hon. Lord Somerville. Lond. -Svo.
1808. Button, Hely, Esq. landscape gardener.
1. Statistical Survey of the County of Clare. Dublin, Svo.
2. Statistical Survey of the County of Galway. Dublin,'1824.
Svo.
1809. Curwcn, John Christian, M.P. of Workington
Hall, Cumberland, a great agricultural patriot,
father of the soiling and steaming systems in Eng-
land, and an excellent man.
1. Hints on the Economy of Feeding Stock, and bettering
the Condition of the Poor. Lond. Svo.
2. A Tour in Ireland. 2 vols. Svo. 1819.
1809. Stevenson, W. Esq. M. A. librarian to the trea-
sury, author of various works, and a writer in the
principal encyclopaedias.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of StUney.
Lond. Svo.
1809. Mackenzie, Sir George Stewart, Bart.
F.R.SS. L. and E.
A Treatise on the Diseases and Management of Sheep.
Lond. Svo.
1809. Price, John, grazier, of Romney Marsh.
A Treatise on the Breedmg and Mcmagement of Sheep.
4to.
1809. Greg, Thomas, Esq. an amateur cultivator
in Hertfordshire.
1 . Letter to the Boanl of Agriculture on Ploughing heavy
and wet Land. Lond. Svo.
2. Reiwrt of hU System of Farming. 1811. Svo.
1809. Kerr, Robert, surgeon, F.R. and A.SS.
Edinburgh, an excellent naturalist and general
scholar ; died 1814.
Sutistical, Agricultural, and Political Survey of Berwick-
shire. Svo.
1810. navies, Walter, A.M.
A General View of the Agriculture and Doiucctic Economy
of North Wales. Lond. Svo.
4F
1170
STATISTICS OF AG RICULTURE.
Part IV.
1810. Hunt, Charles Henry, Esq.
Treatise on the Merino and Anglo-Merino Breeds of blieep.
Lonii. 8vo.
1810. Townsend, Rev. Horatio, M.A. rector and
vicar of the union of Kilgariffe in the diocese of
Ross, and of Carigaline in the diocese of Cork.
Statistical Survey of the County nf Cork. Dublin, 8vo.
1810. Williamson, Capt. Thomas, upwards of 20
years in Bengal.
Agricultural Mechanism ; or, a Display of the several f ro-
pertiei and Powers of the Vehicles, Implements, and Machmery
connected with Husbandry. Lond. 8vo.
1810. Adams, George. ^ ^ „
A New System of ARriculture and Feeding Stock. Lond. 8vo.
1810. Brury, Charles, of Nottingham, apparently
a sort of charlatan agriculturist.
1. A Farmer's recent and important Discovery of a System
for improving Land and augmenting Crops of Corn, &c.
2. Recent and important National Discoveries. Lend. 1813.
8vo. ^
1810. Parish, John, Dumfries.
A Treatise on Florin Grass. 8vo.
1810. Edgeworth, Richard Lovell, Esq. F.R.S.
and M.R.I.A., civil engineer, resident at Eilge-
worth Town, Ireland, author of various works.
An Essay on the Construction of Roads and Carriages.
Lond. 8vo.
1811. Morley, John, of Blickling, in the county
of Norfolk.
Cheap and profitable Manure, Lond. Svo.
1811. Lee, H. P. Esq., Maidenhead Thicket.
Description of a New Threshuig Machine invented by him.
{Nicholson's Journal, xxix. 274.)
1811. Livingston, Chancellor.
An Essav on Sheep; with additional Remarks, by William
Cobbett. Lond. 8vo.
1811. Macdonald, James, M. A.
General View of the Agriculture of the Hebrides. Svo.
1811. Morgan, J. It., farmer and land surveyor.
(isneral View of the Agriculture of the County of Cornwall.
Lond. Svo.
1811. fVhite, Rev. Andrew, and Duncan Macfar.
Ian, D.D.
General View of the Agriculture of Dumbartonshire. Glasg.
8vo. .^ .^
1811. Keith, George Skeene, D.D.
A (ienei-al View of the Agriculture of Aberdeenshire, 8vo.
1811. Smith, Rev. Samuel.
General View of the Agriculture of Galloway. Lond Svo.
1811. Henderson, Robert, farmer at Broomhill,
near Annan, Dumfriesshire.
Treatise on the breeding of Swine and curing of Bacon ; with
Hints on Agricultural Subjects. Edin. Svo.
1811. Parey, John, sen., mineral surveyor. A man
of sound views and great experience.
(ieneral View of the Agriculture and Minerals of Derby-
shire. Lond. ^ vols.
1811. Loudon, John, F.L.S , H.S., landscape gar-
dener, author of the Encyclovcedia of Gardening,
and other works; born in Lanarkshire in 1782,
began to practise in 180.3 ; to farm extensively in
Oxfordshire in 1809, and in Middlesex in 1810;
travelling on the continent in 1813-14-15, again in
1819, now residing at Bayswater.
Designs for laving out Farms and Farm Buildings in the
Scotch Stvle, adapted to Englaral ; comprising an Account of
the Introduction of the Berwicfehite Husbandry into Middle-
sex and Oxfordshire. Lond. 4to.
1811. Gooch, Rev. W. , . r .
General View of Uie Agriculture of Cambridgeshire. Lond.
Svo.
1812. Trotter, James, farmer.
General View of the Agriculture of West Ixithian. Svo.
1812. Bald, Robert, civil engineer at Alloa.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of Mid-
Lothian. Svo.
1812. Strickland, H, Esq., of Brighton.
A treneral View of the Agriculture of the East Riding of
Yorkshire. Lond. Svo. "
1812. Singer, Rev. William, D.D., minister of
Kirkpatrick.
General View of the Agriculture, State of Property, and
Improvements in the County of Dumfries. Edin. Svo.
1812. Henderson, J.
General View of the Agriculture of the County of Caithness.
8vo.
181.3. Walker, W.
An Essay on Draining Land by the Steam Engine. Lond.
Svo.
1813. Davy, Sir Humphrey, president of the Roval
Society, LL.D., V.P.R.I., RR-S., Edin. M.R.I.A.,
&c.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry ; in a Course of Lec-
tures for the Board of Agriculture. 4to. and Svo.
1813. Horner, T., Esq., land surveyor, a man of
great genius and ability in various departments of
prawing and pictorial description.
Description of an improved Method of delineating Estates.
Lond. Svo.
1813. Nmhy, Thomas.
Remarks on the^Mangel-Wurzel fMangold Wurzel),or Root
of Scarcity, with Directioiu for its Culture Load. Svo.
1814'. Johnson, John.
Short Es»ay on A^cultural Improvements ; shewing, as the
first Object, the great need thereof. Svo.
1814. Shirre.tr, John, farmer at Captain Head, near
Haddington, Scotland, afterwards a land agent, and
finally steward to a nobleman near Stirling.
1. General View of the Agriculture of the Orkney Islands.
Edin. Svo.
2. Method of Slacking Turnips to preserve them through
the Winter. (Nicholsmi's Journal, xiii. 268.)
1815. Huish, Robert, Esq., of the Imperial Apia-
rian Society at Vienna.
A Treatise on the Nature, Economy, and Practical Ma-
nagement of Bees. Lond. Svo.
1815. Dodd, Ralph, civil engineer.
Practical Observations on the Dry Rot in Timber. Jjmd.
Svo.
1815. Moubray, Bonnington, Esq.
A Practical Treatise on the method of Breeding, Rearing,
and Fattening Domestic Poultry, Pigeons, and Rabbits. Svo.
1815. Little, John.
Practical Observations on the Improvement and Manage-
ment of Mountain Sheep and Sheep Farms. Svo.
1815. Simpson, Pindar.
Treatise on the Cultivation of Mangold Wurzel, as Winter
Food for Cattle. Lond. Svo.
1815. Birbeck, Morris, Esq., formerly a farmer in
Suffolk, now an extensive proprietor and resident
cultivator in the Illinois. Drowned there in 1825.
1. Notes in a Joumev through France from Die]ipe, through
Paris and Lvons to the Pyrenees, and back through Toulouse
in 1814, describing the Habits of the People, and the -Agri-
culture of the County. Svo.
2. Notes in a Joumev in America, from the Coast of Vir-
ginia to the Territory of Illinois. Lond. 1818. Svo.
1815. Hornby, Thomas, Esq., surgeon, York.
Dissertation on Lime, and its use and abuse in Agriculture,
embracing a View of its Chemical Effects. Svo.
1816. f'anderstrcetsn, T.
Improved Agriculture, and the Suppression of Smuggling,
Property Tax, and Poor's Rates, &c. Lond. Svo.
1816. Anderson, William, farmer, Angusshire.
Observations on a new Mode of Stacking Corn, jieculiarly
adapted to Wet Seasons ; recommending a Plan, successfully
practised, by which corn may be stacked with advantage soon
after being cut down. Svo.
1818. Macwilliam, Robert, Esq. architect and sur-
vevor, London.
An Essay on the Origin and Operation of the Dry Rot ; to
which are amiexed, Suggestions for the Cultivation of Forest
Trees, and an Abstract of the Forest Laws. 4to.
1819. Radcliffe, Rev. T.
A Survey of the Husbandry of Ea.Htem and Western Flan-
ders, made under the Autliority of the Dublin Farming
Societv. Svo.
1819. Williams, T. W.
The Farmer's Lawyer ; containing the Whole of the l^aw
and local Customs in regard to Agricultural Possessions, Pro-
perties, and Pursuits. Svo.
1819. Swinbourne, R.
The Farmer's New and Complete Account Book.
1819. Blackie, Prands, first gardener, and after-
wards steward to T. W. Coke, Esq. of Holkham.
1. A Treatise on the Management of Hedge and Hedge-
row Timber. 12mo.
2. On the Economy of Farm Yard ' Manure, &c. 12mo.
1820.
3. On Mildew, and the Culture of Wheat. 12mo. 1821.
■ 4. On Smut in Wheat. 12mo. 1822.
1820. Rigby, Edward, M.D., F.LS.
■ 1. Framlingliam, its Agriculture, &c., including the Econo-
my of a small Farm. Svo.
2. Holkham, its Agriculture, &c. Svo. 1821.
1820. Grisenthwaite, William, apothecary, of
"Wells, in Norfolk.
A new Theory of Agriculture, in which the Nature of Soils,
Crops, and Manures is explained, many prevailing prejudices
are exploded, and the Application of Bones, Gy!>snm, Lime,
Chalk, &c. determined on scientific Principles. l5imo.
1820. Beat son. Major- General Alexander ^ for-
merlv governor of St. Helena,
A Description of a new Agricultural Implement; which,
by the Power of One Horse, performs a Variety of Operations
in Cultivation, at the Rate of Three Acres per Day. Svo.
1820. Mather, John, Castle Hill, Carse of Cowrie.
The Farmer and Land Steward's Assistant ; or, a Sjiecimen of
Farm Book-keeping, exhibiting in a concise and simple Form,
the Transactions in the arable, grazing, and woodland De-
partments ; a general Cash Account ; and an Account of the
Charge and Discharge ujKm each Department ; the Whole
selected from Books of real Business. 4to.
1820. Johnson, Cuthbert William.
An Essay on the Uses of Salt for Agricultural Purposes,
with Instructions for its Employment as a Manure, and in
the Feeding of Cattle, &c.
1820. Towne, L.
The Farmer and Grazier's Guide. Svo.
1820. Burroughs, Edward, Esq.
Essavs on Practical Husbandry and Rural Economy. Svo.
1822. Salisbury, W. formerly a botanical nursery-
man, now a private teacher of botany, &c.
The Cottager's Agricultural (Companion, 12mo.
1822. Munro, Colonel Innes.
A Guide to Farm Book-keei>ing, founded upon actual
Practice, and upon new and concise Principles. Roval Svo.
1822. Napier, Hon. William John, F.R.S. Edin.
post captain in the Royal Navy ; a vice-president
of the Pastoral Society of Selkirkshire, &c.
Book I.
FRENCH WORKS ON AGRICULTURE.
1171
A Treatise on Practical Store Farming, as applicable to the
Mountainous Hefjion of Ettrick Forisit, and the I'aiitorui
l)istrict of Scotland in general. With KiiKravinga. 8vo.
1822. Donald, It.
A New System of National and Practical Agriculture ; witli
Hi.its for improving Est.ites. I^nd. 8vo.
1822. Cleg/torn, James, Esq. formerly a jiractical
farmer, now editor of T/ie Farmer's Magazine, author
of the article " Agriculture" in the supplement to
the Encyc. Brit., and of various articles in that
work. One of the best modern writers on agricul-
ture.
On the depressed State of Agriculture. Edin. 8vo.
1823. Ftiirbum, John.
A Treatise upon Breeding, Rearing, and Feeding Cheviot,
and Black Failed Sheep in high Districts ; with Observations
on laving out and conducting a Store Farm, &c. Edin. 8vo.
1823. Loiv, David, Esq.
Oljservalions on the present State of Landed Proi>erty, and
on the Prospects of the Landholder, and the Farmer. Edin.
«vo.
1824. Morlce, Francis.
An Essay on Agriculture, and th« Management of Landed
Estates. Lond. 8vo.
1824. Sinclair, George, r.L.S., F.H.S. formerly gar-
dener to the Duke of Bedford, at Woburn, now of
the firm of Cormack, Son, and Sinclair, nursery-
men. New Cross, Deptford.
Hortus Gramineus Woburnensis ; or, an Account of the
Resulls of various Experiments on the Produce and FatteninK
i'roperties of ditterent Grasses, and other Plants used as the
Food of the more valuable domestic Animals; instituted by
John Duke of Bedford. To which is added, an Ap)>endiz,
pointing out the different Grasses best adapted for the Manu-
facture of Leghorn Bonnets, &c. Lond. Hoyal 8vo.
1824. Hester n, C. C Esq. M.P.
Practical Remarks on the Management and Improvement
of Grass Land, as far as relates to Irrigation, VVintcr-tlooding,
and Drainage ; in a Letter to the Land Owners, &c. of the
County of Essex. Ix)nd. 8vo.
1824. Slaney, Robert N. Esq., barrister.
Essay on the benelicial Direction of Uuial Expenditure.
Lond. 12mo.
Sect. II. Bibliography of Agriculture in Foreign Countries.
7111. Numerous works on agriculture are ;,published in the French and German
languages, and a considerable number in the Italian ; but a much greater proportion of
these are translations from British authors than original works. Very few agricultural
books have been printed in the Dutch, Flemish, Danish, Swedish, Polish, Spanish, or
Portuguese languages, and scarcely any in those of Russia or Hungary. We shall
notice the principal French, German, and Italian works, exclusive of translations, and
add a few American books.
SuBSECT. 1. Bibliography of French Agricxdture.
7112. 0/" iv»encA 6ooi-5 on fl^^ricw^/wre we have given a selection only : those who wish
to see a complete list are referred to the Bibliographie Agronomique, Paris, 8vo. ; in
which are given the titles of upwards of 2000 works, including translations and books
on gardening. A general idea of French culture in all its branches may be obtained
frova. the Nouvenu Cours Coniplet (C Agriculture, 16 vols. 8vo., (edition of 1821.) com-
piled by the members of the Section of Agriculture of tlie French Institute, each of
whose names are given to the articles he contributed.
1529. Eticnne, Charles, et J. Liehault, physicians.
Etienne,i.<?. Stephanus or Stephens, in thebeginning
of the sixteenth century published various small
tracts on Gardening and other rural topics ; and in
1529 he c(.llected them together and published them
tjiider the title of Prccdium Ilusticum, treating of
gardens, trees, vines, fields, meadows, lakes, forests,
orchards, &c. Having married his daugliter to
Liebault, also a physician, they afterwards studied
agriculture conjointly, and published the Maison
liustiqiK, the modern editions of which are still the
most popular agricultural works in France.
1. Preedium Rusticum ; in fol. >
2. L'Agriculture et Maison Rusfique. Paris, in 4to. 1570.
1569. Hesson Jacques, of Dauphiny.
De I'Art et Science de trouver surement les Eaux, Sources et
Fontaines cachdes sous Terre, autrenient que par les Moyens
Vulsaires lies Agricultcurs et Architectes, in Ito.
1.083. Hegetnon, Philibert, a lawyer born at Cha-
lons-sur-soane. Died in 1595.
La Colombiere et Maison Rustique, contenant une Descrip-
tion des Dou/.e Mois et des Ouatre Saisons de I'Annfe, avec En-
seignemeiit de ce que le Laboureur doit faire par chaque
Mois. Paris, in 8vo.
lt)02. Letcllier.
Brief Discours contenant la Mani^re de nourrir les Vers k
Soie, &c. A vec de Belles Figures. Paris, in 4to.
1604. Laffenas, Barthelemy de, valet de chambre
to Louis XIII.
La Fa<,on de faire et semer la Graine deJf driers, les ^l^ver et
replanter, gouverner les Vers k Soie au Climat de France. Paris,
in 12mo.
1607. Vinet, Elic, a learned professor at Bour-
deaux, author of a wprk on land surveying.
Iia. Maison Chamjiestre et Agriculture. Paris, in 4to.
IQ(^. Putin, Charles, son of a physician of that
name.
Traits des Tourbes Combustibles. Paris, in 4to.
1703. Liger, Louis, born ia58, died in 1717. In the
latter part of his life he seems to have been a book-
seller, or an author by profession.
1. Dictionnaire General des Termes propres k l'.4griculture,
avec leurs DeKnitions et Etymologies. Paris, In I'imo.
'i. La Nouvelle Maison rusti<iue, ou Economic Gdn^rale des
Biens de la Campagne. Paris, 2 vols, in 4to. 1705.
3. Jy'Economie (ien^rale de la Campagne, ou Nouvelle Mai-
son rustique. 1702.
4. Nouveau Systcme d'AgrlcuKure. .'5 vols, in Svo. 1775.
1749. Boucher, d'Argis, Antonine- Gaspard, advo-
cate and author of some works on jurisprudence.
f'(xlc Rural, ou Maximes et R^glemens conccrnant les Biens
de la Canipagne, 2 vols.
^ 1749. A4aumur, Rene, Antoinc Ferchault, sieur de.
a learned naturalist, bom at Rochelle in 1683, died
in 1757.
Art et Pratique de I'Art de faire Adorer, en toutes Saisons,
des Oiseaux Domestiques de toutes espdces. Paris, Imprim.
Royale, 3 vols, in l2mo. avec fig.
1750. Hatrtel, Du Monceau, Henry Lewis du, a
famous French writer on Rural Economy and Vege-
table Physiology, was born at Paris, 1700 : died there
1782.
1. Traits de la Culture des Terres. Par. 6 vols. 12mo.
2. Siemens d'Agriculture. Par. 1764. 2 vols. l2mo.
3. Trait6 de la Conservation des Grains, et en Particuller du
Froment. Par. 1754. 12mo.
4. Traite des Arbres et Arbustes, qui se cultivent en France,
en pleine terre. Par. 1755, 2 vols. 4to.
5. Traits complet des Bois et des Forf ts Par. 1 758, 6 tom.4to.
6. Des Semis et Plantations des Arbres, et de leur Culture-
Par. 17G0. 4to.
7. Histoire d'un Insecte qui devore les Grains de TAugou-
mois. Par. 1762. 12mo.
8. De I'Exploitation des Bois, ou Moyen de tirer parti dev
Taillis demi Fut'ayes et hautes Futa\es. Par. 1764. 2 vols. 4to.
9. Memcire sur la Garence et sa Culture, in 4to. 1765.
10. Du Transport, de la Conservation, et de la Force du Ocis
1767. 4to.
1751. Desbois, Francis Alexander Aubert de la
Chesnaie, a laborious Dictionary-maker j was born at
Ernie in the Maine, 1699 ; died 1784.
Dictionnaire d'.-Vgriculture. 2 vols. Svo.
1755. Blavet, librarian to the Prince of Conti.
Essai sur I'Agriculture Modeme. Paris, in 12mo.
1753. lyiet, du, of Bourdeaux, a zealous agri-
cidturist, author of several works. He died in
1791.
Dissertation sur la Cause qui corrompt et noircit les Grains de
Ble dans les tjpis, in 4to.
175a Hastfer, F. TV.
Instruction sur la Mani^re d'fl^ver et de Perfectiohncr le«
Betes k Laine. Paris, 2 vols, in 12mo.
1760. Alletz, Pons Augustin, an advocate, and in-
defatigable compiler.
L'Agronome, ou Dictionnaire portatif du Cultivateur. 2 vol*,
in Svo.
1760. Buch'ox, Pierre Joseph, a physician, and
member of several societies ; born at Metz in 1731,
died in great distress at Paris in 1807. He wrote
above three hundred volumes relative to medicine,
agriculture, the veterinary art, and natural history.
A plant (Buchoziana) was named after him by
L'Heretier.
1. Lettre sur la M^thode de s'enrirhir promptement et d«
conserver .sa Sant^ par la Culture des V^dtaui. in Svo.
2. I^ttre sur le BliJ de Sniyrne, in Svo. 1768.
3. Histoire des Insoctos nuisiblcs a I'Homnie, aux Boitiaux.
&c. in 12njo. 1781. ^
F2
1172
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
4. Manud iisuel et rJoonomtque des I'lantes, oontenant leur
I'ropri^t^ uour les Usiiires (jconoiniques. I'aris, in 12mo.
17S'-i.
5. Histoire des Insectes utiles h rifomme, aux Animaux et
aux Arts. Paris, in l2nio. 1785.
fi. Trait<5 de la Peche, ou I'Art de soumettre les Poissons a
rBmpire des Hommes, Pr&(id(5 de I'Histoire Maturelle de ces
Animaux, in 12nio. 17SC.
7. Dissertation sur la Betterave et la Poirfe, Icur Culture,
M^thode pour en tirer du Sucre, tkc, fol. 1787.
8. Dissertation sur le Cochon, in fol. 1781).
9. Dissertation sur le Lin de SiWrie, in fol. 1789.
10. Dissertation sur la Taupe ; les Moyens de la prendre. In
fol. 1790.
11. Dissertation sur le Tiraee de la Soie, In fol. 1792.
12. Manuel Tabacal et Stemutatoire des plantes, ou Traitd
des Plantes qui sont propres a fdlre «5t»?muer, avec la Mani^re
de cultiver le Tabac, de le preparer, et de juRer de ses bons
Effects dans la Societe, in 8vo. 1799.
13. Manuel Territorial des Plantes, In 8vo. 1709.
14. Manuel V^t«5rinaire des Plantes, in 8vo. 1799.
15. M^moire sur le Bl^ de Hinyme,surile BI6 de Turqule, le
Millet d'.Afrique, et la Poherbe d'Abyssini^, Plantes Alimen-
taires pour I'Homme ; in 8vo. 1824.
16. Memoire sur la Mani6re de former des Prairies Natu
relies, in 8vo. 1805.
nci). TurbUly,^ Louis-Franqois-Henri de Menon,
Marquis de, a proprietor in Anjou, who had been
in the army, but who retiretl to his estetes and
broke up and improved a number of acres, of which
he published an account, well known at that time
in England. Arthur Young, when in France in
1787, was anxious to visit the Marquis ; but after,
with difficulty, finding out the estate of Turbilly,
he found the Marquis had died in 1770, having
ruined himself by establishing a pottery. There is a
very interesting account of this visit in Young's
Tour, part I. p. 294, et seq.
1. M^nioire s6r les DtSfrichemens. in 12nio.
2. Pratique des Defrichemens. Paris, in 12mo. 1701.
1761. Guillot, Julien-Jean-Jacqiws.
Discours sur les Branches d'Agriculture les plus avantageuses
h la Province de Norinandie.
IIBI. Neuve-Eglise, Louis- Joseph Bellepiere de.
An officer in the army.
1. L'Agronomie, ou Corps complet des Principes de I'Agri-
culture, &c. 8 vols, in 8vo.
2. Boussole Agronomique, ou ie Guide des Laboureurs, in
8vo. 17G2.
17G2. Desplaces, Lavrent-Benoist.
1. Preservatif contre rAsroinanie, ou TAfp-iculture rdduite
a ses vrais Principes. I'aris, in 12mo.
2. Histoire de I'ARriculture ancienne, extrait e de I'Histoire
Naturelle de Pline, avec des Eclaircissemens et des Hemarques.
12mo. 1765.
1762; Despontmlers.
L'Art de s'enricliir promptement par I'AgricuIture. Paris,
12ino.
1762. Lafaille, Clement, advocate, and member
of several societies.
1. Memoire sur les Moyens de multiplier aisfement les
Fumiers dans le Pays d'Auiiis.
2. Essai sur I'Histoire naturelle de la Taupe ; sur les dif-
ft'-rens Moyens qu'on j)cut employer pour la dL-truirc. La
llochelle, in 12mo. fig. 1768.
1762. VEtang-de-la-SallCy Simon-Philibert de, of
Rheims, a lawyer.
Des Prairies artiticielles, ou Moyens de i)erfectionner I'Agri-
cuIture dans toutes les Provinces de France, surfout en
Champmfne, par I'entretien et le renouveIlement.de I'Engrais
avec im Trait(5 sur la Culture de la Lu/erne, du Trifle, et du
Sainfoin, et une Dissertation sur I'Exportation du BW. Paris.
Svo. ^
1763. Bnrthez de Marmorieres, an olficer, secre-
tary of embassy, and member of various societies.
Memoires d'ARriculture, &c. 8vo.
1763 Duverge, a physician of Tours.
Analyse chemique des Terres de la Province de Touraine,
des ditterens Engrais propres h les ameliorer, et des Semences
convenables h. chaque esp^ce de Terre. Tours. Svo.
1763. Franqois, Nicholas, de Neufchateau, mem-
ber of the Institute, the Senate, &c., a distinguished
member of the Paris Agricultural Society, and
author of numerous papers in their memoirs.
1. Avis aux Cultivateurs et Pro))ri^taires de Troupeaux,
fcur I'Amelioralion des Laines. Paris. Svo. an vii.
2. Essai sur les Moyens de tirer le narti le plus avan.
tajjeux de I'Exploitation d'un Domaine borne, ou SystC-me
d'Agriiulture pour les petits Proprietaires. Neufchateau.
Svo. 1790.
,". Fs«ai sur la ndcessitd et les IMoyens de faire entrer dans
rinstruction publique I'Enseisneinent de 1' Agriculture; lu a
la SociiSt^ d'Agriculture de la Seine, <S-c* Svo. 1802.
4. Rapport sur le Perfectionnement des Charrues, fait i
li Soci^t^ Libre d'Agriculture du Departement de la Seine.
Paris, Svo
5. llC'',)ertoire universel et raisonnc; d'Agriculture. Paris.
12mo. 1804.
1763. Prefontaine.
Maison Rustique h rUsage des Habitans de la partie de la
France ^uinoxiale, connue sous le jN'om de Cayenne. Svo.
1763. Tkieraf. An officer of the royal forests,
author of some tracts on gardening.
Instructions familidres en forme d'Entrelien sur les prin-
< il)aux Objets qui conccniant la Culture des Terres. I'aris.
17(k IkHrand, Elie, a clergyman at Orbc, in
Switzerland, and member of various societies.
1. Tralte ile rirrigatlon des pres. 12mo.
2. Elemens d'.Afjriculture, fondt's sur les Faits et les rai-
sonnemens, h I'Usage du Peuple de la Campagne. Svo.
1774.
1764.. Bert rand, Jean, brother of Elie B.
De I'Ean relativement k I'Economie Rustique, ou Traite de
I'Irrigatlon des jires. Lyons, l2mo.
1764. Dupont, of Vemouns, formerly a member
of the constituent assembly.
1. I^ettre sur la Difti^rence qui se trouve entre la (irande
et la Petite Culture. Soissons, Svo.
2. .loumal d'Agriculture, &c. Svo. 1766.
176.5. Chaiubray, Louis, Marquis de, an amatcui'
apple grower and cyderist.
L'Art de Cultiver les' Pommiers, les Poiriers et de faire
les Cidres, selon I'Usage de Nonnandie. Paris, 12nio.
1765. Sarcey-de-Sutiercs, an officer in the army,
and " gentilhomme servant" of the king.
1. Agriculture exp^rimentale Ji I'Usage des Agriculteurs,
Fermiers, et I<aboureurs. Paris, 12nio.
2. Cours complet d'Agriculture, ou Leeons periodiques sur
cet Art. 1788.
1768. LesOros-de-la-Versane, Lotiis, of Marseilles.
Traits de la (iarance, ou Rccherches sur tout ce qui a
Rapport k'cette Planle. Svo.
1768. Marchand, Jean-Henri.
Les D^assemens Champetres. 2 vols. 12mo.
1768. Palteau, GuiUaume-Louis Fonnanoir de, of
Sens, author of a work on bees.
Observations et Exp<!riences sur diverscs Parties de I'Agri-
cuIture. Sens. Svo.
176.9. Chanvallon, a clergyman.
Manuel des Champs ou Recueil choisi, instructif et amu-
sant de tout ce qui est le plus Utile et le plus N^essalre pour
vivre avec Aisance et ^gr^raent k la Campagne. Paris.
12mo.
1769. De Breze.
Es-sai sur le Haras, ou Examen des Moyens propres pour
^tablir, diriger et faire prosp^rer les Haras : suivi d'une
Methode fecile de bien Examiner les Chevaux que I'ont veut
acheter. Svo. fig.
1769. Rigand de Vlsle, of Crest, in Daunhiny,
Memoire sur la Culture de I'Esparcette, ou Sainfoin. Paris*
Svo.
1769. Sieuve.
1. Memoire et Journal d'Observations sur les Moyens de
garantir les Olives de la piqtire des Insectes, et nouvelle Me-
thode pour en extraire I'Huile plus abondante par I'Xnvention
d'un Moulin" domestique, avec la Maniere de la j;arantir de
toute Rancissure. Paris, 12mo.
2. Memoires sur diverses Constnictions en Terre ou Arcile,
propres k faire iouir les petits^M^nages de I'Economie des com-
bustibles. Poitiers, Svo. 1804.
1770. Amiot, Le P. missionary at Pekin.
Reflexions sur I'AgricuIture et sur ceux qui s'y consacrent,
tiroes de I'iiloge de la \''ille de Moukden et de ses Environs :
Po^me compost par Kien-Long, Empereur de la Chine et de
la Tartarie, actuellement regnant, traduit in Fran^ais p.ir le
P. Amiot, et public par M. Deguignes, Membre de I'Academie
Royalo des Inscriptions et Belles I^ettres, et I'rofesscur <les
I^angues Orientales au College Royale. Paris, Svo. Cet
Ouvrage est curieux soas plus d'un rapport.
1770. Beaunie, Anthony, an eminent French che-
mist, was born at Senlis, 1728 ; died 1805.
Memoire sur les Argiles, ou, Recherches sur la Nature de
Terres les plus proi)res a I'AgricuIture, et sur les Moyens de
fertiliser celles qui sont Steriles. Paris, Svo.
1770. Riem.
Encycloi>^ie Econoraique, ou Svstfime g^ndral d'Economie
rustique, contenant les meilleures I'ratiques pour fertiliser les
Terres, la conservation des (Jrains, &c., par quel(|ues i\Iem ■
bres de la Socidtd d'Agriculture de Berne. Yverdon, 16 vol>.
Svo.
1772. Roxier, Franqois, born in Lyons, in 1734, and
killed there on the 29th Sejrtember 1793, during the
siege of that city, by a bombshell, which buried his
shattered remains in the ruins of the a])artinent
which he occui)icd ; he began his career as an
author by writing in the Journal de Physique et
d'Histoire Naturelle, of which Gauthier Dagoty was
editor. He next occupied himself wiih his agricuh
tural or rural dictionary, the work by which
he is chiefly known. He cultivated a farm
near Bcziers, which Arthur Young went to see
when on his tour in France in 1787 ; but the Abbe
had left it on account of the Bishop of Beziercs, who
kept a mistress somewhere near, and for his more
commodiously visiting her, gbt a road made across
the farm at the expenceofthe province. This oc-
casioned a quarrel between the Abb(? and the Bishoj),
which ended in the former being obliged to quit his
farm. The Abbe, like all other men who depart
from common practices, was looked on as a fanciful
and wild cultivator, and because he paved his stables
and cow houses, it was reported by his neighbors
that he paved his vineyard. He wrote a great
many works, chiefly on agriculture.
1. L'Art duMaf;on piseur, extrait du Journal d'Observa-
tions sur la Physique, in 12mo.
2. Traitd do la meilleure Maniere de culfiver la Navctte et
le Colsa, et d'en extraire une Huile Lepouillee de son iiiau-
vaise (ioiit et de son Odeiir dc'sagteable. Paris, in Svp. 1 774.
3. Cours Complet d'.Agricullure, Theorique, l'rali(|ue,
Economique, etc. ou Diclionnaivc universel d'Agriculture. 12
vols, in 4to. 179C.
1773. Bexon, Gabriel Lco}x>ld Charles Ame, a
Book I.
FRENCH WORKS ON AGRICULTURE.
1173
miscellaneous writer, was born at Remiremont,
1748 ; died at Paris 1784 : he had a great turn for
Natural History, and assisted BufFon in the latter
volumes of his great work.
1. Le .Syst^me de la Fertilization, 8vo.
2. Catechisme d' Agriculture, ou iJiblioth«?que des Gens de
la Campagne. 1773. l'2ino.
1773. Trother.
' L'Art de Fertiliser les Terres et de preserver de la Gel^,
commod^ment et a pen de frais, les Arbres et Arbrisseaux,
les Vignes, Ike. Mdthode d'Kducation nationale et Particulifere.
Paris. 3 vols, in 8vo.
1774. Leroup;e, a friar of the order of Citeaux, in
the abbey of Trisay.
Principes de Cuiti vateur, ou Essai sur la Culture des Champs,
&c. avec un Traite abrdfje des Maladies des Cultivateurs, de
leurs Bestiaux,etdes Rem(!des pour les Gu^rir. 2 vols, in 12mo.
1778. Buliard, died at Paris in 1793.
Aviceptolojjie Fran^aise, ou Traite gdneral de Toutes les
Ruses dont on peut se servir, pour prendre les Oiseaux qui sont
en France. Paris, in l'2mo.
1779. Ameithon, Hubert Pascal, a librarian in
Paris, and member of the legion of honour.
Journal d'Agriculture, &c. depuis Janvier. 1779 ; jusqu'en
Decembre, 1783. Paris. 15 vols, in 12mo.
1779. Maupin, valet de chambre to the queen of
Louis XVI.
1. I/.\rt de laVigne, contenant une nouvelle M^thode
(iconomique de Cultiver la Vigne. in 8vo.
a. Avis sur la Vigne, les Vins et les Terres. in Svo. 1786.
3. Almanach, ou Manuel des Vignerons de lous les Pays.
Paris. inSvo. 1789.
1780. Bouthier, advocate at Vienne in Dauphiny.
Ije Citoven a la Campaiine ou R^ponse k la Question : quelles
sont les Connaisances N^cessaires a un Proprietaire qui fait
valoir son Bien pour vivre a la Campagne d' une Maniere
utile pour lui et les Paysans qui I'environnent ; dans le cas
oil les Proprietairas ne demeureut point dans leurs Biens,
quelles seraient ^galement les Connaisances Necessaires pour
tpie les Cur&, independainment de leurs Augustes Fonctions,
pussent etre utiles h leurs Paroissiens. G^ndve. in Svo.
1780. Copineau, Abbe.
Orni'hotrophie artificielle. Paris, in 12mo. avec fig.
1780. Mallei, Robert Xavier, author of various
works on gardening and rural subjects.
Precis Eldmentaire d'Agriculture, iVc. Paris, in 12mo. an iii,
1781. Pannentler, Antohie Augustiu ; born 1737,
at Montdidier, in the department of La Somme,
one of the most distinguished chemists and careful
philosophers which have appeared in France ; author
of a great numlier of works, and co-operator in
many others, as the Annates de Chimie, Nouveau
Cours d'Agriculture; he is mayor of Enghien, and
has a small garden there, richer stocked with rare
plants than any other in Europe of its size. (See
Encyc. of Gar d. p. 1119.)
1. Kecherches sur les V«5getaux Nourrissans, qui dans les
Tems de Disette, peuvent reinplacer les Alimens Ordinaires.
Paris, in Svo.
2. IM^thode facile pour Conserver a peu de Frais les Grains
et les Faiines, in 12mo. 1784.
3. Observations sur les Moyens de maintenir et de r^tablir
Salubrite de I'Air dans la Demeare des Animaux Domestiques.
an xii.
4. Instruction sur les Moyens de rendre le BI(5 Moucheti;
propre ii la Semence. Imp. roy. 1783.
5. M(5moire sur la Conservation et I'Usage des Bles de Tur-
quie. Bordeaux, in 8vo. 1785.
G. Memoiresur les Semailles. 1790.
7. Memoire sur la Nature et la Maniere des Engrais.
1791.
8. Memoiresur les Clotures.
9. Traits sur les Pommesde Terre, in Svo. 1795.
10. Avis sur la Culture et les Usages des Pommes de Terre
in Svo.
1 1. Traits du Mais, in 12mo.
1782. Berthelot, engineer to Louis XVI.
La Mecanique appliquee aux Arts, aux Manufactures, h. I'Ag-
riculture et a la (juerre. Pa^is. 2 vols, bound, in 4tq. tig.
1782. Cadet de Faux, Antoiiie Alexis, a distin-
guished patriot, founder of various useful institu-
tions, and author of many projects for the public
advantage, which have been carried into effect witii
success ; author of and co-operator in many econo-
mical publications.
1. Avis sur les Dies germ^s, in Svo.
2. Biblioth6que des Proprietaires ruraux. Journal d'Econo-
niie Rurale et Domestique ; par une Society de Savans et de
Proprietaires.
1782. Parmentier, Deyeux, and others. See
1781.
BibliothequePhvsico-Economique, instructive et amusante,
h rUsage des Vilies et des Campagnes, (Paris, published
monthly) 12mo. GS vols, to 1823.
1784. Dumonf, Coursct, of Boulogne, where he
cultivates his own estate of Courset, and has pub-
liished a useful gardening work. {Encyc. of Gard.
p. 1121, A.D. 1802.)
M(5ir.oires sur I'-Vgnculture du Boulonnais, et des Cantons
Maritimes voisins. Boulogne, in Svo. '
1115. Chahert, Philippe, inspector general of vete-
rinary schools, and member of the legion of honor.
1. Instruction sur la Maniere de conduire el gouverner les
Vaches I^actjeres, in Svo.
2. Alteration du I«iit de Vaclie, d&>ignue sous le Nom de Lait
bleu, in Svo. 1805.
4
1786. Servieres, B. de.
Instruction sur la Manit5re de cueilllr les Feuilles des Arbres
de les conserver et de les donner i manger aux Bestiaux : Pub-
li^e par Ordre du Boi. in Svo.
1787. Amoreux, a physician at Montpelier.
^ 1. Memoire sur les Haies destinees k la (Cloture des Pres, des
Champs, des Vignes et des Jeunes bois. Paris, in Svo.
2. Memoire sur la N^cessite et les Moyens d'Ameliorer
TAgriculture dans le district de Montpellier, Avignon, &c. in
Svo.
1787. Erousoniiet, Pierre-Marie Auguste, member
of the legislative assembly, of the commission of
monuments, and author of a number of papers in
the Memoirs of theParis agricultural society.
1. Ann<Je rurale, ou Calendrier i I'Usage des Cultivateurs.
Paris. 2 vols, in 12mo.
2.^FeuiUedu CulUvateur. 8 vols, in 4to. 1788.
1789. Cliquot, Blervache, of Reims, inspector of
manufactures and commerce.
L'-Vmi du Cultivateur, ou Essais sur les Moyens d Ame-
liorer en France la Condition des Laboreurs, des Joumaliers,
de^Hommes de peine,vivant dans les Canipagnes, et celle de
leurs Femmes et de leurs Enfans. Paris. 2 vols, in Svo.
1789. Varenne, de Fenille, P. C, horn at Bresse,
and condemned to die by the revolutionary tribunal
at Lyons in 1794, a zealous agriculturist, and much 4
respected.
1. Observations, Ex|)^riences,et M^moires sur rAgriculture
et sur les Causes de la Mortalite du Poisson dans les Etangs.
Lyons, in Svo. fig.
2. Observations sur les Etangs, in Svo. 1798.
."5. Ouvres d'Agriculture de Varenne Fenille, troisi6me et der-
ni6re Partie; M^moires et Exjj^riences sur I'Agriculture, et
particuli^rement sur la Culture etl'Amelioration des Terres
le Dessechment et la Culture des Etangs et des Marais, la Cul-
ture_et I'Usage du Marais, &c. in Svo. 1808.
1790. Cotte, L. a i)riest of the oratory author of
some meteorological tracts.
1. Lemons ^lementaires d'Agriculture, par Demandes et par
IWponses, k I'Usage des Enfans, avec une Suite de Questions
sur I'Agriculture. in 12mo.
2. Catechisme a I'Usage des Habitans de la Campagne, sur
les Dangers auxquels leur Sant^ et leur Vie sont Exposes, &c.
in 12mo. 1799.
1790. Dubois, J. 5., author of an interesting memoir
on the hay forks made of the forked branche's of the
nettle tree in common use in the south of France.
Feuille d'Agriculture, d'Ecohomie Rurale et Domestique, a
I'Usage des Proprietaires, &e. in 4to.
1790. Mayet, Etienne.
Memoire sur les Moyens de mottre en Culture, la plus Avant-
age use les Terrains sec et arides, principalement ceux de la
Champagne, in Svo.
1791 Abeille, F. of Toulon.
Observations de la Society d'Agriculture, sur la Question
suivante, propos^e par le comite d'Agriculture et de Commerce
de I'Assembl^e Nationale; I'Usage des Domaines conj^able
est il Utile ou non aux Progr^s de I'Agriculture. in 8vo.
1791. Lamoignon Malesherbes. Chretien Gtiil-
laume, a statesman, born at Paris, 1721, guillotined
1794 ; he was esteemed a patriot, a man of correct
morals and elegant taste.
Id^es d*un Agriculteur Patriote sur le Defrichement dea
Terres incidtes, s^ches et jnaigres, connues sous le Nom de
Landes, Garrigues, Gatines, Friches, &c in Svo.
1791. Paillet.
Instructions sur la Plantation, la Culture et la R^colte du
Houblon. in Svo.
1791. Tessier, Henri Alexandre, professor of agri-
culture and commerce in the central schools ; he
has paid great attention to the Merino breed of
sheep, and the Angora variety of goat, of which go-
vernment has ))Ut a large flock under his care.
1. Avis aux Cultivateurs, sur la Culture du Tabac en France,
Publiee par la Socie-le Royale d'Agriculture. Paris, in Svo.
2. Journal d'Agriculture a TUsage des Habitans de la Cam-
pagne. in Svo. 1791.
3. Annales de I'Agriculture Fran?oise, by M. M. Tessier &
Box. 12 Numbers annually, or 4 vols. Svo.
4. Instruction sur les Moyens de detruire les Rats des .
Champs et les Mulots, Publiee par Ordre du Ministre de Tin-
terieur, in Svo.
5. Memoire sur I'lmportation h France des CheSvres k
de duvet Cachemere. Svo. pp. 32. Paris, 1819.
1792. Cointereaux, Fraiicois, an architect, but
more occupied as an author.
1 . Architecture Rurale, &c. Paris, in Svo.
2. Cours d'Architecture rural pratique, &c. in Svo. avec
figures, 1792.
3. Les Erreurs de mon Si6cle sur I'Agriculture, 1793.
4. Almanach peri>etuel des Cultivateurs. Paris, in }2mo.
1791.
5. Nouveau Traits d'Economie Rurale, in Svo. 1803.
6. Des nouvelles Bergeries, de ce qui les consUtue Iwnncs
et tres salubres, in Svo. 1805.
7. Des nouvelles Dispositions et Constructions des Faisan-
deries, et des Movens de Multiplier les Faisins, avec la Ma-
nitre d'elever les 6iseaux, &c. 1805.
8. Ecole d'Architecture Rurale. Lyon, in Svo. an iv.
9. La Ferme. in 4to.
10. Nouveaux Murs de Terrasses solides et durables, et qui
dispensent de celle Profusion de Materiaux qu'on y emploie ;
Ouvrage utile it totis les Pays ; princixJalement aux Archilpcts,
Ing^nieurs Mason.s, et tovLs" Proprietaires, Agens, et Fermiers.
in Svo. 1S05.
11. TraitiJ de I'ancien Pjs6 des Romains, &c. Traite qui
1174
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. "
Part IV
ndique les QualitUJs, dcs terrcs propres au PIs^, les Enduits,
&c. Traits" sur les Manufactures et les Maisons de Cain-
uagne. Traits qui enseif^e le nouveau Pis6, la Maniere de le
taire lors des Pluies, des Neiges et des Frimas. 8vo.
1792. Olivier, G. A.
M^moire sur la Cause des Recoltes alternesde I'Olivier ; du
tort que les Oliviers ^jirouvent I'Ann^ de la Mauvaise Recolte.
Moyens de se procurer des Recoltes annuelles et diminuer
le Nombre des Insectes Rongeurs des Olives. Paris, in Svo.
1794-. Belnir, A. P. Julienne de, an engineer, for-
merly in the service of Holland and Prussia : he
has written also on military subjects.
Mdmoire sur les Moyens de parvenir & la nlus gnmAe Per-
foction de la Culture et de la Suppression
Jachdres. in
1794. Bertrand, inspector general of roads and
bridges.
Avis importantjSur I'Economie Politique et Rurale des Pays
de Montaenes, et sur la Cause et les Effets progressivs des
Torrens, &c. Paris, in Svo.
1794. Fontalard, Jean Francois de, of Lorrain.
Principes raisonn^s d' Apiculture, ou I'AgricuUure d^mon-
tx6e pat les Principes de le'Chimie Economique, d'aprSs les
Observations de plusieurs Savans ; Ouvrage traduit en Fran^ais,
sur la Version I^atine de Jean Gottschalk Valerius de Stock-
holm. Paris, an ii.
1794. Hazard, Jean Baptiste, veterinary surgeon
of Paris, and member of several societies ; Madam
Huzard is the principal agricultural bookseller of
Paris, as Harding is of London.
1. Essai sur le Maladies qui affectent les Vaches laitiires
des Environs de Paris, in 8vo.
2. Comte rendu & I'lnstitut de la Vente des Laines, et de 1 61
Betes du Troupeaii National de Rambouillet, faite in prairial,
an ix. in 4to. 1801.
3. Comte rendu i la Classe des Sciences, Mathematiques et
Physiques de I'lnstitut National des Ameliorations qui se font
dans rEtabUssement Rural de Rambouillet, et Princiuale-
ment de celle de Betes & Laine et de laVente qui a eu lieu le 26
prairial, an xi. in 4to. ISO.'?.
1794. Preaudeau, Chemilly Eugene.
Des Haies consid^r^es comme Clotures; de leurs A vantages
et des Moyens de les obtenir, in Svo.
1795. Cels, Jacques Martin, member of the Insti-
tute, of the Paris agricultural society, &c.
1. Annuaire du Cultivateur, ou Repertoire universel d'Ag-
riculture, in 4to.
2. Avis sur les Recoltes des grains.publi^epar leConseil d'Ag-
riculture du Minist^re de VInterieur. Paris, in Svo. (an vi.)
3. Instruction sur les Effets des Inondations et d^orde-
mens des Rivieres, relativement aux Prairies, aux Recoltes de
Foins, in Svo. 1S02.
1797. Gilbert, Francois- Hilaire, born at Chatelle-
rault, in 1757, died at St lldefonso, near Madrid,
in 1800, when in search of a flock of merinos ; a
man of great zeal for agriculture.
1. Instruction sur les Moyens les plus propres a assurer la
Propagation des Betes A Laine de Race d'Espagne et la conserva-
tion de cette Race dans toute sa puret^, publide pai le Conseil
d'Agriculture, in Svo.
2. M^moire sur la toute du Troupeau National de Rambouil-
let, la Vente de ses Laines et de ses Productions disponibles. in
4to. 1797.
3. Recherches sur les Espdces de Prairies artificielles qu'on
peut cultiver avec le plus d'A vantage en France. • Paris, in
12mo. 1799.
1798. Barbe-Marhois, of Metz, who filled various
civil offices, and was a grand officer of the legion of
honor.
1. Culture du Trdfle, de la Luzerne et du Sainfoin. Metz, in
Svo.
2. La Ri(;hesse des Cultivateurs, ou Dialogues entre Benia-
min .lach^re et Richard Trdfle, Laboureurs. sur la Culture du
Trifle, de la Luzerne, et du Sanfoin. in Svo. ISO.'?.
1799. Lasleyrie, Charles-Pliilibert-de, member of
various literary, philosophical, and agricultural so-
cieties, an active patriot and general philanthro-
pist.
1. Traits des B?tes^ Laine d'Espagne ; leur Voyages, la Tonte,
le Lavage, et le Commerce des Laines, les (^auses qui donnent la
tinesse aux Laines : auquel on ajout^ I'Historique des Voyages
que font les Moufons des Boucnes-du-Rbone et ceux du Roy-
aume de Naples; I'Origine, lesSucc^s, I'Etat actuel du Troii-
t>eau de Rambouillet, et les Moyens de propager etdeconser-
■ver la Race Espagnole dans toute sa purely, in Svo.
2. Histoire de I'lntroduction des Moutons A laine fine d'Es-
pagne dans les divers Etats de I'Europe, et au Cap de Bonne-
Esp^rance; Etat actuel de ces An^naux; diffirentes Maiii^res
dont on les ^Idve, les Avantages qu'en retirentl'AgricuIture, les
Fabriques, el le Commerce. 2 vols, in Svo. 1803.
^. Mdmoires sur diflferens points d'Economie Rurale. Paris,
an viii.
4. Du Cotonnier et de sa Culture, ou Traitd "sur le diverses
Eso^ces de Cotonniers, sur la Possibility et les Moyens d'accli •
mater cet Arbuste en France, sur sa Culture dans diff'^rens
Pays, principalement dans le Midi de I'Europe, et sur les Pro-
priety et les Avantages econoiniques-industrieli!, et commer-
ij^iux du coton. Paris, in Svo. avec Planch. 1808.
0. Collection de Machines, d'lnstrumens, &c. employes dans
PKconomie, Rurale, Domestique, et Industriale, d'apr^s les
dessins faits dans diverses parties de I'Europe. 2 vols, in 4to.
200 Planches avec Texte. Paris, 1820.
1800. Dncouedic, a great bee master.
Notice sur les Tourbieres et sur le Maniere de les exploi-
ter ; avec 1 Art d'en cr^er dans toutes les Propriety Rurales,
pour angmenter la Quantity des Engrais'et des Combustibles.
las of Vjlaine. Svo.
1800. Fabre.
Essai sur la Throne des Torrens et des Rivit^res, contenant
les Moyens les plus simples d'en enipfcber ;<;< Kaviiges, d'en
retrecir le Lit. ct d'en facilitcr la Navigation. Paris, ;n 4to.
1801. Dralet, of Toulouse, consorvatcur of forests,
member of several societies. In 1810, his Mole
Catcher had gone through nine editions. {Bibliog.
Aaronomique, 315.)
L'Art du 'Taupier. in Svo.
l':iul. Lacosfe, of Plaisance, professor of Natural
History at Clermont-Ferrard, and afterwards of
morals at Toulouse.
Quelques Observations concernant I'Agriculture dans les
Montagnes du Department du Puy-de-D6me, in Svo.
18G£. Daubenton, Jean Louis Marie, co-operator
with Buffon in the composition of his Natural
History. " Buffon," says Cuvier " only listened to
his imagination, while Daubenton always dreaded
the influence of that frailty of his mind "
Instruction pour les Propri^taires de Troupeaux, avec d au-
tres Ouvrages sur les Moutons et sur les Laines, in Svo.
1802. Fromage de Feugre, C. Michel F., veterinary
professor of Alfort, and author of many works on
his profession.
Des Chenilles, des Avoines, etdes Moyens d'emp^cher leur
Ravages. Paris, Svo.
1802. Pictet, Charles, of Geneva, one of the con-
ductors of the Bibliotheqite Britannique.
1. Faits et observations concernant la race des Merinos
d'Espagne a Laine superfine, et les Croisemens, in Svo.
2. Quelques faits concernant la Race des Merinos d'Espagne,
a Laine superfine. Gen6ve, in Svo. fig..an viii.
3. Comparison de trots Charrues. Svo. pp. 128. avec planche.
G(5ndve. 1S23.
1802. Rauch, F. A., engineer of roads and bridges.
Harmonie hydro v^g^tale et Metdr^ologique ou Recherches
sur les Movens de recreer, avec iios Forets, la Force des Tempe-
ratures et ia Regularity des^Saisons par des Plantations raison-
n^es. 2 vols, in Svo.
1803. Depradt, D., archbishop of Malines, ambas-
sador of Buonaparte at Warsaw, and, since the
restoration of the Bourbons, author of various poli-
tical works, which have excited considerable interest.
De I'Etat dela Culture en France, et de ses Ameliorations.
2 vols, in Svo.
1803. Dourches, Charles, member of several socie-
ties.
1. Traite des Prairies etdu leurs Irrigations, in Svo.
2. Apereu General des Forets. 2 vols, in Svo. (an xiii.)
1803. Sinety, Andre Louis Esprit, membti oi sevc-
ral societies.
L'AgricuIture !dn Midi, ouTraite d'Agriculture propre aux
Departemens Meridionaux, &c. Marseille, 2 vols, in 12mo.
1804. Jacquiri, M. E.
Instructions sur I'Economie rurale et domestique anx Habi-
tans des Campagnes, Publiees par la Societe d'Agriculture du
Departement des Deux-S6vres. in Svo.
1805. Aigoin, member of the Agricultural Society
of Iveree.
Memoire sur I'Ameiioration du Troui)eau de Merinos et de
Betes a Laine indigenes etabli i la Mandria de Clhivas, Departe-
ment de la Loire, et sur les progres de I'Agriculture dans ce
domaine. in Svo.
1805. Tollard, Claude, a physician, member of
various societies, and who visited most parts of the
continent ; afterwards a nurseryman near Paris, and
finally a corn merchant.
Traite des vegetaux qui composent I'Agriculture de I Em-
pire Franf;ais, &c. in 12mo.
1806. Bagot, member of the Agricultural Society
of the Seine.
1, Memoire sur les Produits du Topinambour, Compares
avec ceux de la Luzerne, et de plpsieurs racines legumineuses.
Paris.
2. Annales de I'Agriculture Francaise, contenant des Obser-
vationes et des Memoires sur toutes les Parties de I'.Agriculture.
1807. Gacon Bufour, Marie Armande Jeanne.
Dictionnaire Rural llaisonne, dans lequel on trouve le Detail
des Plantes Preservatives et curatives des Maladies des Bes-
tiaux.
1807. Morel de Vinde.
Memoire sur I'ExacteParitejdes Laines Merinos de France et
des I>aines Merinos d'Espagne, suivi de quelques eclaircisse-
mens sur la vraie Valeur que devraient avoir dans le Commerce
les Laines Merinos Franeaises. in Svo.
1807. Prevost, Benedict
Memoire sur la cause immediate de la Carie ouCharbon des
Bies, etde plusieurs autres Maladies des Plantes et sur les Pre-
servatives de la Carie Montauban. in Svo.
1809. Calvel, Efiennne, member of the Museum
of Toulouse, and of other societies, author of various
scientific works on rural subjects
Memoire sur I'Ajonc ou Genet epine jx considere sous le Rap-
port de Fourrage, de I'Ainendement dt-s Terres Steriles et de
Supplement au Bois. Paris, in Svo.
1812. Thouin, M. Andre, Le Chevalier de, profes-
sor of culture in the University of Paris ; author of
various memoirs on gardening and agriculture, in-
serted in the French encyclopedias, dictionaries,
and periodical works, and in the transactions of their
learned bodies ; an excellent man, and esteemed one
of the first gardeners in Europe. He died in 1824.
(See Encyc. of Gard. p. 1117.)
Description de I'Ecole d'Agriculture Pratique du Museum
d Histoire Xaturelle 4to.
1816. Bonneniain, a physician, member of several
societies.
OD.-iervations sur I'Art de faiie ecloreret, a eiever la Volaille
sans le gecours des Poules, ou Exainen des causes qui oiit p«
Book I.
GERMAN WORKS ON AORICULTURE.
1175
empecher aux diverse* Tentatives qui ont ^ttf ftiites en En-
rope, pour imiter les Egyptiens. raris, in 8vo pp.36.
1816. Chatelain, le Chevalier, a cavalry officer.
M^inoire sur les Chevaux Arabes ; I'rojet tendant k au(t-
menter et k ameliorer les Clievaux en France ; Notes sur 1«!S
dirterentes llac«s qui doive nt etre preferees a ce sujet, &c. &c.
Paris, 8vo.
1817. Bornot, M. A., a notary at Savoisy.
Pratique raisonn^ de la Culture du Trefle et de Sainfoin,
Paris, 8vo. pp. 100.
1818. Avrouin, Foulon, mayor of Semblancjay.
Es.<>ai sur les defrichemens des LandeS) et 1« desuchement
des Marais. Tours, 8vo. pp. 40.
1819. Lullin, Ch. J. M.
Des Prairies artiticielles d'^te et d'hiver ; de la Nourrlture
des Br^bis, et de< ameliorations d'une Ferine dans les Environs
de Giinive^ 2d <^it. revis6e et coiisiderableineut auginentee.
G^n^ve, 8vo. pp. 532.
1819. Peyrouse, Baron Pkot de La.
A Sketch of the Agriculture of a District in the South of
France. Translation with Notes. 8vo.
1819. Filleneiiue, Comte Louis de.
Kssai d'un Manuel d'Agriculture ou Exposition du Sysf6me
de Culture suivi pendant 19 ans dans le Doinaine d'Hanterive,
Commune de Cartres, Departement du Tours. Toulouse, 8vo.
pp. 908.
1819. Yvart, A. Victor, member of the Institute,
and one of the writers in the Nouveaux Cours d'Afrri-
culture, &c.
1. Excursion Agronomique en Auvergne, principalement
aux Environs des Monts d'Or et de Puy-da-Dome ; suivie de
Recherches sur I'Etat et I'lniportance des Irrigations en
France. Paris, Svo. pp. 218.
2. Considerationes gen^rale et particuliires sur la Jachdre
et sur les meilleurs Moyens d'arriver graduellement ii sa
suppression avec de grand Avantages. Imprim6 par ordre de la
Soci^t^ Royale et Centrale d' Agriculture. Paiis, Svo. pp. 220.
avec planches. 1822.
1820. Audouin, Maurice.
Expose du Projet d'^tablissement d'une Fernie experiraen-
tale dans chaque Departement du Royaume. Paris, Svo.
pp. 8.
1820. Crud, Le Baron E. V. B. the translator of
Thaer's works from the German.
Economie de I'Agriculture. G^n6ve, 4to. pp. 414.
1820. Deslandes.
Elemens de I'Agriculture et des Sciences qui s'y rapportent,
He. Paris, 2 vols. 12mo. pp. 600.
1821. Guillaume, Ch.
Instrumens aratoires, inventus, perfectionn&, dessinfei, et
praves. Par Ch. G. Paris, oblong folio, pp. 28. avec 12
planches.
1821. Lajons, M. de, mayor of Atigat.
Abr(5g^ elementaire d' Agriculture pratique,' d'apres les
principes de Rozier, Arthur Young, Duhamel, &c. ; principes
appli(Hi& a la Nature du Solles Pyrenees, h sa Temperature,
&c. Toulouse, 8vx). pp. .'>.'52. avec tig. ^
1822. Adamson, Madame Aglae.
La Maison du Campagne. Paris, 3 voU. ISmo. pp. 1098. *
18Q3.~Franc^s, Aine.
L'Art "de la Stercoration, ou tes Loisirn d"un Agriculture
Practicien r^tir^ k la Campagne; M^thode pour fabriquer
une Ouantit^ immense de Fumiers qui dureront 8 Ans, tandis
que les Fumiers ordincures sont evapor^ dans deux ann^w.
Toulouse, Svo. pi>. 48.
1822. Morel de Ciiide, peer of France.
1. (Juelques Observations pratiques sur la Th^rie des Assole-
mens. Paris, Svo.
2. Essal sur les Constructions rurales dconomiques nontenant
leurs PlaiiSj Cou))es, Elevations, Details, et D^vis etablls aux
plus has Prix possibles. (Les details de Constructions et divis.
par A. L. Lusson, Architecte.) Paris, in folio, pp. 40. avec 36
planches.
1822. Morosttes, Baron de.
Essai sur les Aloyens d'ameliorer I'AgricuUure en France,
particulidrement dans les Provinces les Moins riches, et notam-
ment en Soulogne, Paris, 2 vols. Svo. pp. 932.
1822. Thicry, P. J. (officier comptables du d^p6t
royal d'etalons de Stwsbourg.)
iViemoire sur l'.\melioration des Chevaux en Alsace, par le
croisement des Races et I'Education, et particuli6rment sur le
Moyens de les jireserver de la C^cite. M^moire Couionn^, &c.
Strasbourg, 4to. pp. IGO. 1822.
1822. Polignac, Comte Charles de.
Itajiport au Roi sur les Tronpeaux de pure Race, erpliquant
les Motifs et le Developpemens des nouveaux Principes
d'Administration pratiques dans son etablissement rural de
Calvados. Svo. Caen, 1822.
1823. Chapfal, Comte, a distinguished chemist
and statesman, who cultivates a considerable part
of his own estate.
La (^himie ai)))liquee k I'Agriculture. Paris, 2 vols. Svo.
1823. BosCfTk. vice president de la Socifet^d'Agri-
culture du Dents.
1. Itapport sur I'emploi du Platre en Agriculture fait au
Conseil lioyal d'.A griculture. Paris, Svo. pp. 108.
2- Traite Elementaire de Physique veg^lale appliqu^e k
I'Agriculture. Paris, 1824. Svo. pp. 110.
1824. Dubois, Louis.
Cours complet et siniplifie d'Agricultiira et d'Economie
rurale et domestique. Paris, 6 vols. 12mo.
1824. Mathieu de Dombasle, C. J. A.
Annalus Agricoles de Roville, ou Melanges d'Agriculture,
d'Economie rutale et de Legislation Agricole. Premiere
livraison. Paris, Svo.
1824. Mortemarf-Boisse, le Baron de.
Recherches sur les differentes Races des Betes h Laine de
la Grande Bretagne, et particuli^rement sur la nouvelle Race
de ijeicestershire. Paris, Svo.
J 824. Polonceau, M.
Notice sur les Ch6vres Asiatiques a Duvet du Cachemere, et
sur un premier Essai tente pour augmenter leur Duvet, el lui
donner des Qualit^s nouvelles, &c. Paris, Svo.
1825. La Societe d' Agriculture de Paris.
Annuaire de la Society Royale et Centrale d'Agriculture .
Svo. {Continued Annually.)
SuBSECT. 2. Bibliography of German jlgricvlture.'^
7113. The German agricultural works are as numerous as those of the French,
but chiefly translations, and these, for the most part, from the English. We have given
a very limited selection, the German language being less generally understood than
either the French or Italian. In forest management [Forstwissenschnft) the German
bibliography is very rich, and it is chiefly these books, and descriptions of local practices,
which can be of any interest to the British cultivator. The older German vi^orks in
rural affairs are enumerated in HaWer'^ Hibliogra phi/ ; and the modern ones, and new
editions in Ersch's Handbuch der Deutsclien Litteratur, and the Leipsic Catalogues^
published annually. Thaer of Moeglin is decidedly the highest in repute as an autlior,
and Sickler's Deutsche Landwirthschitfty a voluminous work, will give a general idea of
every part of German husbandry.
1578. HeresbachiJis, Conradus, counsellor to the
Duke of Cleve ; was born in 1508, died in 1576.
He wrote various theological works, besides his
Rei RustioE, libri iv., which was published in 1570,
and his Legum rusticarum, et operarum persingulos
Menses digestte, in 1595. The former was trans,
lated by Baruaby Gooch, of Lincolnshire, with the
following title:
Foure Boolces of Husbandrie, containing the whole Art and
Trade of Husbandrie, Gardening, Grafhng.and Planting, with
the Antiquitie and Commendation thereof. Newly Englished
and incf eased by Bamebe (iooge. Esquire. At London, 4to.
1578. Leaves 194, besides the Dedication, Epistle and Table
At the beginning ; and ( )lde English Rules in Verse for pur-
chasing Lamle, at the end.
His authorities extend from the Bible and doctors
of the church, througii the Greek and Roman
writers. Homer, Cato, &c., to the moderns as low
as Ruellius, Fuchsius, Matthiolus, Cardanus, and
Tragus. He subjoins a list of his friends and others
who assisted him. S. Nich. Malbee, M. Cap. Byng-
ham, M. John Somer, M. Nicas. Yptzwert, M.
Fitzherbert, M. Willi. Lambert, M. Tusser, M. Tho.
Whetenhall, M. Ri. Deering, M. Hen. Brookhull,
M. Franklin, H. King, Richard Andrews, Henry
4 V
Denys, William Pratto, John Hatche, Philip Par-
tridge, Kenworth Daforth.
The work is in dialogue. The persons are Cono,
a gentleman retired into the country ; Rego, a
courtier; Metella, wife of Conoj and Hfermes, a
servant
1591. Colerus,J.
1. Calendarium oeconomicum et perpetuum. WittebergsB.
" 2. Economiae p.ars prima, qua tractatur quemadmoduin
bonus ceconomus famulos suos regere debet et bona sua augcre
potest per verias honestas artes, et utilia compendia circa res
domesticas, Agriculturum, Fiscatum, Aucupia, Venaliones et
Vinearum Culturum. Wittebergiie, 4to- 1393.
1592. Porta, J. B.
Villffi, lib. xiii. Francofurti, 4to.
1735. Zeigerus, Antoine.
Introductio rationalis i\d a-conomiam et artem perfiriendiB
Agricultura,', in quii methotlus exponitur experientia contir-
mata omnegenus agrorum sine consueta stercoratione fecuii-
dandi. 4to.
1754. Ecl-harf, J. Gli. von.
Exixirimental Oekonomie uber das Animalische, V'«^^abi-
lische, und Mineral Reiche, oder vollstandige llaushaltungs
und Landwirthschaftsicutist. Jena, 1734. Svo.
17t>(). Der Schweizer.
Gesdlschaft in Bern Sammluni; von Larflwirth^chaflliilien
4
1176
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part IV.
Plngen; oJer Abhandluugen und BeobachtunRen durch die
ekonomische Gesellschati in Bern fjesaniinelt. Zurich, 8vo.
1762. Wkgand,J.
Wohlerfahrner Landwirth ; oder Anleitung wie der Land-
wirthschafts Oekonoraie zu verbessern. Wien, 8vo.
1766. Cramer, John Andrew, died 1777.
Anteitung zura Forst-wesen. Brauiiscli. fol.
1766. Derieule.
M^moires de I'Agriculture en gen^rale, et de I'Agriculture
de Polosne en particulier. Berlin, Svo.
1769. Liidersi Ph. E.
Grundriss einer zu errichtenden Ackerschule, in welcher
die Landjugend zu einer riclitigen Erkenntiiiss und Uebung
im Landbau engefuhrt und zubereitet werden konne.
Flensburg, Svo.
1773. Kruniix, J G.
Okonomische technologische Encyklopadie, oder allgemeines
System der Staats, Stadt, Haus, und Landwiithschat't in Al-
phabetischer Ordnung. Berlin, Svo.
1775. Albrecht, J. F. E.
Zootomische und Physikalische Entdeckungen von der in-
nern einrichtung der Bienen, besofiders der art ihrer begat-
tung. Gotha, 8vo.
1775. Stickow, G. Adg.
" Abhandlung vom Nutzen der Chemie zum Behuf des bilr-
gerlichen Lebens und der Oekonomie. Mannheim, Svo.
1779. Borcke, H. A. Grafen, Count de.
Account of the Management of his Estate of Stargordt, in
Pomerania. Berlin, 4to. in German.
1780. Christ, J. L.
Patriotische Nachrichten, &c. ; or, Patriotical Accounts
and Instructions concerning the profitable Culture of Tobacco,
and more especially of that called Asiatic Tobacco. Francf.
Svo.
1781. Rossig, Karl Glo, author of some works on
gardening and forest management.
Versuch einer pragmatischen Geschichte der Oekonomie,
Polizey und Camajralwissenschaften, seit dem 16 ten Jahr-
hunderte, bis auf unsere Zeiten. Deutscliland Leipzig, Svo.
2. Die Geschichte, der Oekonomie der vorzUglichsten I^an-
der und Viilker der altern mittlem und neuem Zeit in einem
kurzen EntwUrfe dargestellt. Leipzig, Svo. 1798.
1784. Hillenbrand, Ant.
Erste Aufangsgriinde der zur Landwirthschaftnijthigen Me-
chanik. Wien, Svo.
1784. Hqfmann, Gli. Bd. Freyherr von.
Die Landwirthschaft fur Herrn und Diener. Prag. Svo.
17&5. Fischer, C. F. J.
Geschichte des Deutschen Handels, der Schifffahrt,Fischerey,
Erfindungen, KUnste, Gewerbe, der I^andwirthschaft, Polizey
des Zoll-MUnz-und Bergwesens, der Staatswirthschaft und
des Luxus. Hannover, ii vols. Svo.
1786. Hartis, Fr. Grafen von.
Historische ifttersuchung Ul)er die Aufnahme und den
Verfall der Feldwirthschafl bey verschiedenen Volkem. Prag
nnd Wien, Svo.
1786. Rixhaub.
Brevis rei rusticse Descriptio. Giessen, 12mo.
1790. Hartix, Georges-Louis.
Observations Historiques sur les Progr&s et la Decadence de
I'Agriculture chez differens Peuples. Vienne, 5 vols. Svo.
1791.
Kleine Schriften zur Stadt-und Landwirthschaft von der
Okonomischen Gesellschaft in Bern herausgegeben. Zurich,
Svo.
1791. Nan, Bh. Seb.
Theoretisch praktisches Handbuch fiir Oekonomie, Berg-
baukunde, Technologie und Thierarzneywissenschaft (m
Alphabetischer Ordnung) von einer Gesellschaft bearbeitet
Zurich, Svo.
1792. Bose, K. Ad. H. von.
Katechetische Unterricht zum Feldbau oder fireundschaft-
liche Gesprache uber die vorzilj;lichsten (Jegenstande der
alten und neuen Landwirthschaft; nebst einem Anhange,
■wie die Wohn-und Winhschaftsgebiiude unf kleinen Ritter-
^tem und grossen BauergUtern bequem und wohlful anzu-
legen. Halle, Svo.
1792. Riem,J.
1. Monathlich i)raktisch Skonomische Encyklopadie fiir
Deutsche, oder zusanimenhangender Lehrbegriff der gemein-
niltzigen praktisclien Wirthschat'tskunde, &c. Leipzig,
Svo.
2. Modell Magazin fiir Oekonomen ; oder Abbildunpen und
Beschreibungen der nlitzlichsten und bequemsten Gerath-
schaften, Werkzeuge und Geschirre fUr Haushaltung, Land-
wirthschaft, Viehzucht, &c. Leipzig, 1802, 4to. mit KUp-
fem.
1794. Stumpf, G.
Biographie und Schicksale des okonomisch cameralistich-
en Instituts zu Jena ; mit den niithigsten Documenten. Jena,
8vo.
1796. Huber, Francis, member of the Society of
Natural Philosophy and Natural History of Ge-
neva.
Nouvelles Observations sur les Abeilles, addressees h. M.
Charles Bonnet. Par. 12mo.
1796. Zekmens, Cp. H. Adf. von.
System der Land vfirthsch aft, nach pliysischen und chemis-
schen Grundsatzen behandelt, und durch lange Erfahrungen
geprilft. I^eipzig, Svo.
1797. Fischer, H. L.
Katechismus der Haushalt und des Ackerbaues zum Ge-
rauch in SchulMi. Braunschweig, Svo.
1797. Krantz, Guillamne.
De I'AgricuHure comme Source principale du Bien-etre et
de la Prosperity d'une Nation. Vienne, Svo.
1798. Thaer, Alb., of the establishment of Mo-
gelin in Prussia, one of tJie most enlightened Ger-
man agriculturists, author of numerous works, all
in high repute. (572.)
1. Einleitung zur Kenntniss der Englischen Landwirth-
schaft. Hannover, Svo.
%. Vermischte liandwirthschaftliche Schriften aus der drey
ersten Jahrgiingen der Annalen der niedersachischen Land-
wirthschaft, ansgewahlt und anszugsweise in Ansehung der
eignen Arbeiteii verbessert. Hannover, Svo. 1806.
3. Grundsatze der rationellen Landwirthschaft. Berlin,
4to. 1809.
4. Annalen der nie<lersachsischen Landwirthschaft herausge-
geben von der Braunschweifrfschen I^andwirtiischafts (re-
sellschaft durch Alb. Thaer und J. Ivr. Benecke. Zelle. Svo.
I7<J9.
1799. Anton, K. Glo.
Versuch einer (ieschichte der deutschen Landwirthschaft
von den Sllesten Zeiten bis zu Ende des 15 ten Jahrhunderts.
Gorlitz, Svo.
18(/a Ruckert, G. C/u Alb.
Bemerkune Uber Thaers Einleitung zur Kenntniss der
Englischen Landwirthschaft. Wien, Svo.
1800. Steinde/, A. H. von.
Bemerkungen uber Thaers Schreibcn, &c. Leipzig, Svo.
1801. Huber, P., of Lausanne, in Switzerland,
and son of Francis, previously mentioned.
1. Memoirs concerning the Influence of the Air, and
several gaseous Substances, on the Germination of various
kinds of Grain. Geneva, Svo.
2. K«cherches sur les Moeurs des Fourmis Indigenes. Par.
1810.
1802. Costa, Ch.
Essai sur 1' A melioration de I'Agriculture dans les Pays
Montueux, et en particulier dans la Savoie. Svo.
1802. Eschenbach, Ch. Ghld.
Kunstmagazin der Mechanik und technischen Chemie ;
Oder Sammlung von Abbilddungen und Beschreibungen er-
probter Maschinen, zur VervoUkommnung des Ackerbaues,
der Manufacturen und Fabriken. Leipzig, 4to.
1802. Gotthard, J. Ch.
Das Ganze der Landwirthschaft; ein Systematisches Lehr-
buch filr Oekonomen, so wie fllr jeden, der sich dieser Wis-
senschaft widmet. Mainz, Svo.
1803. Engel, Lud. Hm. Hs. von.
An wendung der Englischen Landw irthschaft auf die Deutsche
und beide gegen einander gestellt nach Thaer's Einleitung.
Leipzig, Svo.
18()3. Hermbstadt, Sgm. F.
Archiv der Asricultur-Cnemie, fUr denkende Landwirthe ;
oder Sammlungen der wichtigsten Entdeckungen, Erfahr.
rungen und Beobachtungen in der Physik und Chemie, &c.
Berlin.
1803. Weber, F Bd.
Handbuch der okonomischen Literatur ; oder Systematische
Anleitung zur Kenntniss der Deutschen okonomischen Schrif-
ten, die sowohl die gesammte Land-und Hauswirthschafl,
als die mit denselben verbundenen Hiilts-und Nebenwissen-
schaften angehen ; mit Angabe ihres Ladenpreises und Be-
merkung ihres Werths. BerUn, Svo.
1804. Richter, K. F.
1. Chemisch Oekonomisches Taschenbuch fiir Wirthschafts-
beamte, oder Darstellung der chemischen Elementargesetze
welche mit der Oekonomie in der engsten Verbindung stehen.
Chemnitz und Leipzig, Svo.
2. Historische, Tabellarische Darstellungen der in jedem
Monathe vorkommenden Landwirthscliaftlichen Arbeiten :
auf jedes Jahr anwendbar, fur Rittergutsbesitzer, Pachter
und Verwalter. Chemnitz und Leipzig, fol. 1804.
1805. Sickler, F. Chi L., son to the celebrated
German pomologist, and author of some interesting
gardening works. (See Encyc. of Gard. p. 1126.)
Le Spirodiphire, ou Char a Planter le Bie, avec deux planch.
Paris, Svo.
1808. Fellenberg, Emmanuel, of the celebrated
agricultural establishment in Switzerland already
noticed (343.)
1. Rapport k S. Ex. le Landamman et a la Diete des 19
Cantons de la Suisse, sur les Etablissemens agricoles de M.
Fellenberg a Hofwyll, par M. M. Heer, &c. Paris et Geneve,
Svo.
2. Vues relatives a I'Agriculture de la Suisse, et aux Mo-
yens de la perfectionner. Geneve, 1808.
."5. Anstaltcn der schweitzer Landwirthschaft und des
zweckmassigsten Mittels sie zu vervoUkommnen. Carlsruhe,
Svo. 1S09.
1808. Escher, von Berg.
Briefe iiber die Fellenbergische Wirthschaft zu Hofwyl.
Zurich, Svo.
18C8. Theress, Thdr.
Theoretisch-Praktisches Handwiirterbuch der geSanimten
Landwirthschaft ; oder Anweisung zur Kenntniss, Behand-
lung und Beniitzung aller Landwirthschaftlichen (Jegen-
stande; als des Feld-und Gartenbaues, der Viehzucht, &c.
Gottingen, Svo.
1809. Hoffmann, A.
Ueber Fellenbergs Wirthschaft in Hofwyl ; nebst Anmer-
kungen und eine Nachschrift von Alb. Thaer (aus den An-
nalen des Ackerbaues). Berlin, Svo.
1809. Schcffold, L.
Berichtigimg des helvetischen National Rapports ilber die
IJandwirthschaf^Iichen Anstalten des Herrns Em. Fellenbergs
zu Hofwyl. Erlangen, Svo.
1809. Trantman, Cp.
I.«hrplan der landwirthschaft. Wien, Svo.
1810. Schonlentner, M.
Nachrichten Uber die kimigliclie Land*irthschaftschule in
Weihenstephan und Uber das dort eingefiUirte Thaerschc
Ackersystem. MUnchen, Svo.
Book I.
ITALIAN WORKS ON AGRICULTURE.
1177
SuBSECT. 3. Bibliography of Italian Agricvlturc,
7114. A number of Italian agricultural works have been published : such as they are,
perhaps more of them are original than the books of the French or Germans, because
the culture of other parts of Europe is but ill adapted for Italy. The vine, olive, mul-
berry, orange, and the irrigation of lands, have a good deal occupied the Italian writers.
Re may be reckoned their general' and popular author, and his Nuovi Elementi, 4 vols.
8vo. 1815, and Annali del Agricultura, &c. 22 vols. 8vo. to 1814, will give a good idea
of Italian husbandry and gaardening, the two arts in that country being for the most part
combined.
1471. Crescentius, Crescenzio, or De Crescentiis,
was born at Bologna about 1233 ; died 1320.
1. Opus Ruralium Commodorum sive de Agricultura, libri
xii. Augsburg, fol.
2. De Agricultura, Omnibusque riantarum et Animalium
Generibus. Basil, 133S.
1496. Bertochiis, Dionysius, of Bologna, who
printed some very early works at Vicenza.
Scriptores de Re Kuitica. Tlus contains the Agricultural
works of Columella, Varro, Cato, and also of Valladius, &c.
1546. Alamanni, Lui<ri.
Delia Coltivazione. Home. 8vo.
1564. Gallo, Agostino.
1. Ledieci giomaie della vera Agricoltura, e Piaceri della
Tilla : in Dialogo. Bresc. ap. Cr. B. Hozitola. 4to.
2. La Vinti Giornate dell' Agricoltura, e de* Piaceri deUa
villa. Turin, 1579. 4to.
1622. Sodcrini, Giovanvettorio, e Bernardo Dava-
%ati.
Coltivazione Toscana delle viti e d' alcuni alberi. Aggiuntovi
coltivazione degli olivi, di Pietro Vettori. Firenze. Ito.
1628. eastern, Benedict, an Italian mathematician,
and the particular friend of Galileo, was born at Bre-
scia, in the year 1577 ; died about 1640.
Treatise of the Mensuration of Running Waters ; also Let-
ters and Considerations touching the Draining of Fens, Divi-
sions of Rivers, &c. Translated by Thomas Salisbury. Lond.
•ItiCl. tbl. Pubhshc^ at Rome in 1628.
1651. Fanara, Vincenzo.
I/Kconomia del Cittadino in villa. Roma, in 4to.
1718. Borro, Ales^' ndro del.
Dimostrazioni e prove sopra I'Altivita, ed liso vantaggioso
del Gran Coltro. Milano, in 4to. tig.
1736. Aquino, Charles d\
Nomenclator AgriculturtE. Romee, in 4to.
1758. Gavellus, Nicholas.
Storia distinta, e curiosa del Tabacco, concernante la sua
scoiierta, la Introduzione in Kuropa, e la Maniera di coltivarlo,
conservarlo, e prepararlo. Pesaro. 8vo.
1764. Alamanni.
La Coltivazione e gli epigrammi, coUe Api di Gio. Rucellai,
ed annotaz. Parma, in 1 2nio.
1767. Cattaneo, Giacomo.
I Delia Idroi)isia de' Gelsi. Milano, in 8vo.
\ 1772. TareUo, Cafnillo.
r. 1. Ricordo d* Agricoltura colle note del Padre Scottoni. Ve-
nezia, in 4to. j „ ,
2. Ricordo d' .Agricoltura corredato d* Annotazioni da Paolo
Sangiorgio. Milano, 1816, in Svo.
. 1776. Canciana.
Sdggi sopra la Leglslaz^one propria alle arti dcU' Agricoltura.
Udine, in Svo.
1777. SalvimGio.
Istruzionc al suo fattore di campagna, in cul si da una plena
notizia di tutto cio ch' appartiene alia niaggior promozione dell'
arte agraria, e suoi metodi, ec. V'enezia, in Svo.
1778. Cantuni, Carlo Antonio.
Istruzioni pratiche intomo all' Agricoltura, e tenuta dei Bi-
gatti. Berg, in Svo.
1778. Castellet, Constans.
Istruzioni circa il modo di colUvare i gelsi, di allevare i ba-
chi da seta, e di iilar le sele, con nuove applicazion e retles-
sioni. Torino, in Svo.
1778. Bidet, M.
Trattato sopra la coltivazione delle viti ; del modo di fare 1
vini e di governarli. V'enezia, in Svo. fig.
1780. Bertrand. ■
Elementi di Agricoltura fondati sut fatti e sui raziocinii ad
uso delle persone di campagna. Vicenza, in Svo.
1780. Carrera Antonio.
Dissertazione sull' Economia Rurale. V'enezia, in 8vo.
1781. Bruano7ie, Gio.
1. Trattato delle razze de' cavalli, col discgno della fabbrica
della regia mandra di Chivasso, e quello dei pascoli e prati.
Torino, in Svo. fig.
2. Boometria, o sia della conformazione estema del corj>o
delle bestie bovine, delle loro bellezze e difetti, e delle avver-
tenze da aversi nella loro coinpra. Torino, 1802, in Svo.
3. Ippometria, o sia della conformazione estema del Cavallo,
dell' Asmo e del Mulo, delle loro bellez/.e e difetti, e delle atten-
zioni da aversi nella loro compra. Torino, 1802, in Svo.
1785. Amoretti.
. 1. Istruzioni pubblicate della Societa Patriottica di Milano,
intomo ad alcuni quesiti della medesima proposti per 1' anno
178,";, in 4lo.
2. Della coltivazione delle patate e loro uso. Milano, 1801,
in Svo, fig.
.". Delle Torbiere esistenti nel diparlimenfo d' Olona e Umi-
trofi, e dei loro vantaggi ed usi. Milano, 1807, in 4to.
1.' Coltivazione delle Api nel Regno d* Italia. Milano, 1811.
in Svo. fig.
5. Della Torba e della lignite nel Regno d' Italia, Milano,
in Svo. fig.
6. Domande relative all' Agricoltura. Mil. in 4to.
1785. Barbara, Marco.
Esperimenti sopra il grano fermentato, ed altre agrarie sco-
perte. Milano, in Svo.
1790. Rocca, Abbe Delia, vicar general of Scyros.
"I'rait^ complet sur les Abeilles, &c. i. e. A Complete Trea-
tise Tfn the Management of Bees, as prac;ised at Scyros, together
with an Account of that Island. Paris. Svo.
1791. Caronelli, Pietro.
1. Apotegmi Agrarii, o sia istruzioni per via di massime
tratte dalle opere de* due insigni agronomi Catone e Varrone.
Venezia, in Svo.
2. L' Agricoltura Italiana ridotta in proverbi, ovvero istru-
zioni per via di massime tratte dalle opere de' due insigni agro-
nomi Catone e Varrone. Venezia, 1807, in Svo.
1793. Lastri, Proposto.
Calendarj dodici, o sia Corso completo d' Agricoltura pratica.
Venezia. vol. iv., in 8vo.
1798. Comparetti.
Saggio sulla coltura e governo dei Boschi. Padova, in Svo.
1798. Doria, Luigi.
Istituzioni georgiche per la Coltivazione de' grani ad uso
delle canipagne romane. Roma, in Svo. fig.
1800. Livy, Cav.
Three Memoirs on Agriculture; 1. On the Use of the Alga
Marina in Agriculture and in the Arts; 2. On the Treatment
of Vines ; 3. On the Economy of the Flour which (lies away
in the Mill, and during the separation of the Bran. Palermo.
1801. Simonde, J. C. L., a distinguished literary
character who formerly managed an estate in the
Vale of the Arno.
Tableau de I'Agiiculture Toscane. G^n^ve.
1802. Fiibbroni, Adamo.
Dissertazione sopra il quesito : indicare le vere Teorie, con le
quali devono eseguirsi le stime doi terreni, ec. Firenza, in
Svo.
2. Delia economia agraria dei Chinesi. Memoria. Venezia,
1802, in Svo.
1802. Targioni, Luigi.
1. Lezioni ai Agricoltura specialmente Toscana. Firenze,
vol. vi., in Svo.
2. Memorie su I'Agricoltura, la Pastorizia, e I'Applic
dei Naturali prodotti agli asi degli abitanli dell' ItaUa, ed alia
loro industria. Najwli, 1814. vol. ix., in Svo.. fig.
1803. Carradori, Gioachino.
Delia fertilita della terra. Pisa, in Svo.
1803. Vallee, Alexandre.
Instructions ^lementaires d'Agriculture, ou Guide N(;cessaire
au Cultivateur, traduit de I'lteilien de Fabbroni.
1804. Ronconi, lenazio.
Dizionario d'AgricoUura, o sia la Coltivazione Italiana, in
cui si contiene la coltura e conservazione dei diversi prodotti
riguardanti le terre seminalive, i prati, i boschi, le vigne, ed i
giardini, ec. Venezia, Vol. v., in 8vo.
18a5. Piacenza, Giovanni.
Nuovo metodo di fare le misure dei fieni, a che si aggiunge
qual sia la migliore Agricoltura de' prati. Milano, in Svo.
1807. Barelle, GiuscpjH'.
1. Della Malatiia della Goipe del grano turco. Milano, in
Svo. fig.
2. Sajreio intomo la Fabbricazione del Cacio detto Parnii-
giano. ivlilano, 1808, in Svo.
3. Monografia Agronomica dei Oereali del Frumento,
trattato diviso in tre (larti. Milano, 1809, in Svo., con rami e
tavole.
1807. BiroU, Giovanni.
1. Del riso, trattato economico rustico. Milano, Svo.
2. Trattato di Agricoltura. Novara, 1812, vol. iv. in 8vo.
con tavole.
1807. Galcotte, Francesco.
Meiodo per migliorare ed accrescere 1' Agricoltura nello
stato di Parmaf Parma, in Svo.
1807. Gautk'ri, Giuseppe, inspector of wockIs and
forests to the Viceroy of Lombardy, author of a tract
on forests. (See Encyc. of Gard. p. 1128.)
1. Delia ruggine del Frumento. Milano, in Svo. fig.
2. Dei vantaggi e dei danni derivanti delle capre in con-
fronlo delle viecore. Mil. ISKi, in Svo.
1808. Abbate, Antonio.
Coltivazione dei Bigatti o sia Metodo pratico j)er farli na«-
cere, coltivarli nei varii i)eriodi della loro vita, e fabbricame
la semente. Milano, Svo.
1808. Re, Filippo, librarian to the Patriotic Society
at Milan, afterwards in the employ of Government,
at Turin, where he died in 1820 or 1821 . He wrote a
great number of works on rural and Economical
subjects.
1178
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.
Part JV.
1. Elementi di economia oampestread uso de* Lioet. Mila-
no, in 8vo. carta tina.
'2. Annali dell' Agricoltura del regno d' Italia comlnclatl In
(fennajo 1809. e terminate in GiiiKno, 1814, fascicoli 66, for-
manti '22 toI. in 8vo. con circa 30 rami e tavole.
3. Del Cotone, e delle avvertenze per ben coltivarlo.
Milano, 1811,in8vo.
4. Nuovi Elementi di Agricoltura, volumi 4 in 8. Dedicati
a.S. A. K. Francesco IV d' Este, Duca di Modena, ec. ec.
5. Dei Ijetami e delle altre sostanze adoperate in Italia per
niii;Uorare i terreni e del come profittarne ; Saggio. Milano,
1815, in 8»o.
6. Saggio sopra la Storia e il Coltivamento dell' Erba Medica.
Milano, 1817, in 8vo.
7. Saggio storico sullo stato e suUe vicende dell' Agricoltura
Antica dei paesi posti fra I'Adriatico, I'Alpe, e I'Appennino,
aino al Pronto. Mil. 1817. 8vo.
, 1807. Tupputi, D.
Reflexions sur I'Ktat d,e 1' Agriculture et de auelques autres
parties de I'Administration dans le Hoyaume de Naples, sous
Ferdinand IV. i pr^^dees d'une Introduction ou Coup-d'-neil
sur I'ancien Etat de ce Pays, et suivies d'un Memoire intitule,
Recherches sur la Plante vulgairement nomm^e Storta dans le
Royaume de Naples, in 8vo.
i8U9. Arduinio, Luigi.
1. Memoria intorno la coltura ed usi economici del Cino-
suro Corakan. Mil. 8vo. fig.
2. Nuovo metodo per estrarre lo xucchero dalle canne dell'
Olio di Cafreria. Padova, 1811, 8vo. fig.
1809. Tozzetti, Oct. Targ., M.D., professor of agri-
culture at Florence, and director of different national
establishments there.
1. Dizionario dei Nomi diBotanica e di Agricoltura, Latino-
Italiano e Italiano-Latino. Firenze, 2 vols. 8vo.
2. I^Kioni d' Agricoltura. Firenze, 6 vols. 8vo.
1810. Benetti, Santo.
L* accorto Fattor di Villa, o sia Osservazioni utili ad un fat-
tore per il governo delta Campagna e per la sopraiiitendenza ai
Coloni. Venezia. 8vo.
1810. Spadoni, Paolo.
\. Modo di collivare il Napo Silvestre detto volgarraente
Ravizzone, e del metodo di cavarne 1' olio alia maniera dei
Bolognesi. Venezia. 8vo
2. Dello stabilimento, piantagione e conservazione delle
slepi, con il disegno per ben formarle. Venezia, 1810. 8vo.
1811. Alhertazzi, Jacopo Antonio.
11 Padre di famiglia in casa ed in campagna. Milano, toI. vi.
12mo.
1811. Giadnto, P. Carlo, professor of botany m
Malta
Agricultural Essays, adapted to the Island of Malta. Mes-
sina.
1811. Lampadius, Augusta Guglielmo.
Esperimenti sopra lo zucchero di Barbabietole. Novara.
8vo.
1811. Losana, Matteo.
Delle Malattie del Grano in erba non ctirate o ben conos-
dute. Carmagnoli. 8vo.
1811. Bassi, Agostino.
1. II Pastore bene istruito. Milano. 8vo. ""
3. Dell' utility ed uso drt Pomo, di Terra, e del metodo
migliore di coltivarlo. Lodi, 1817. 8vo.
1812. Dandolo, Vincenzo.
1. Nuovi ceniii suUa coltivazione de' Pomi dl Terra, e van-
taggi della medesima, rapporto al ben essere dell' itomo e
dello stato, Lettera al Cav. Filippo Re. Como. Svo.
2. Enologia, ovvero I'Arte di fare, conservaie, e far ■»iag-
giare i vini del Regno d' Italia. Milano, 1812, vol. ii. 8vo.
fig.
1812. Lullin, J. M.
1. Almanach du cultivateur du Leman. G^nfeve, Svo.
2. Delle "raterie artificial! d'estate e d' invemo, del autri-
mento delle pecore e miglioramento di una tenuU. Firenze,
1817, vol. ii. 8vo.
3. Des prairies artificielles d' ^fd et dliiver.de la nourriture
desbrebiset de 1' ai*ilioration d'une ferme dans les environs
de Geneve. Paris, 1819. Svo.
Gagliardo, G. B.
Catechismo agrario per uso dei curatl di campagna e de'
fattori delle ville. Napoli, terza edizione, eon ziggiunte. Svo.
1815. Gallizioti, Filippo.
Sulla dimora alia campagna dei ricchi possidenti e dell'
utility dell' istruzione degli ecclesiastici neil' agricoltura.
Firenze. Svo.
1815. Malenotti, Ignazio.
II padrone contadino, osservazioni agrario-critiche. Colle.
Svo. fig.
1816. Finorchi, Anton. Maria.
Regole teoriche-jiratiche e rustico-legali per fare le stime dei
predj rustici. Firenze. Svo.
1816. Ricci, Jacopo.
1. Catechismo Agrario. Firenze. Svo.
2. Del jfino, delle sue malattie, e dei suoi rimedj, e dei
mezzi per iscoprirne le falsificazione ; dei vini artificiali, e
della fabricazione dell' aceto. Svo.
1816. Onorati, Niccola Columella.
1. Delle patate, loro coltura, uso economico, e maniera di
fame il pane. Milano. ISmo.
2. Saggi di economia campestre e domestica pel dodici mesi
dell' anno, ad uso degli agricoltori, dei pastori, e di altra gente
industriosa. 18mo.
3. De" Vinaccioli e del modo di estrame 1' olio, e di altri
vantaggi che si possono attenere da' medeslmi. A'apoli, 1818.
Svo.
1817. Landeschi, ■, parish priest of Saint
Miniato.
Saggio di Agricoltura, con note di Antonio Becchi. Firenze.
Svo. fig.
1818. Ferrario, G. A.
L'Agente in Campagna o sia regola esperimentata per mi-
gliorare i prodotti d' ogiii genere d' Agricoltura secondo le terre
del regno d'ltalia ; opera accommodata all' intelligenza de'
contadini per loro maggior profitto. Milano. Svo.
1818. Gialdi, Giuseppe.
Lezione proemiale d'Agricoltura practica ragionala. Parma.
Svo.
1818. Redolji, Cosimo.
Memoria sopra un nuovo metodo per ottener la farina di
patate ; suU' orzo, suU' acido muriatico, sulle zuppe r
piiche, e suUa ruggine del grano. Firen. Svo.
SuBSECT. 4. Of the Bibliography of the Agriculture of the other Countries of Europe.
7115. Germany and Britain are the only countries in Europe in which it answers to
print agricultural books for the sake of the indigenous readers. In Britain education is
so general among the middling and lower orders, that reading among them is a necessary-
convenience of life : in Germany, education and reading are equally general and essen-
tial ; and consequently in either of these two countries, a book will pay by its sale within the
country. But this is not the case in any other European country. In France the mass
of the people do not read, but books printed there pay because they are in a language
more universal than any other, and perfectly understood by all men of education in
Europe. Italian books pay, because they are enquired for by the agriculturists of the
south of France, all Spain, and in part of Spanish America.
7116. Spanish and* Portuguese books on agriculture are in much too limited a demand for production-
The earliest Spanish author is Herrera in 1596; and there are scarcely half a dozen since. After the
most particular researches of a book agent at Madrid, he was only able to send a list of translations, and
the transactions of the Economical Society of Madrid, who have also published Herrera's work with
notes within the present century. In 1815, a professor at Madrid published Leiones de Agricultura
explicadas en el Jarden Botanico, 2 tomes, 4to. An anonymous author, Disertaciones sobre varios Piantos
Agronomicos, 1 torn. 4to. Of Portuguese books we could hear of none.
7117. Of Flemish and Butch books on agriculture there are scarcely any. These languages are very
limited, and every reader in Holland or Flanders understands French or German. Many works have
been published in the low countries in J^atin and French, but these cannot be considered indigenous. The
few Dutch works on culture belong almost all to gardening, [Encyc. of Gar. 7695.) The result of our corres-
pondence with Amsterdam is a Nieuwe Naamlijst van Boeken, Sfc, from which we see little worth taking.
There are several translations from British works on culture, and French veterinary books, and the
following seem the latest on husbandry.
MagazijQ van Vaderlandschen Landbouw, door J. Kops, Commissaris tot den Landbouw, 6 deelen
kompleet met register.
Aanwijzing ter verbetering van de Akkerbouw en Landhuishoukunde, in de Nederlanden, door Pro-
fessor A. Bruchausen, in 2 deelen. •
De Boeren Goudmijn, of kunst, om van verschillende soorten van Landerijen, het meeste nut te trek-
ken, meer Vee te kunnen houden, en andere Wetenswaardigheden tot den Landbouw, door J. F. Ser-
rurier en J. Kops, met platen.
7118. Of Swedish and Danish hooks on agriculture, there are necessarily very few ; these languages
being of very limited use, and the mass of the people too poor to be able to afford to read about
ordinary matters, or what they consider as already well known to them. The time such a people give to
reading will be devoted to religious subjects, heroic and romantic poetry, or history. The universities of
Book I.
POLICE AND LAWS OF AGRICULTURE.
117^
Stockholm ami Upsal every one knows has produced some useful naturalists ; some of those have written
tracts on agricultural improvements, especially on planting fruit trees {Frukt-Trad.) and cultivating culi-
nary vegetables {Kocfis-och Krydd). A few of such works we have enumerated in our Bibliography of
Gardening (7696.), but we can scarcely find any fit to be inserted here as agricultural. The Natural
and Chemical Elcfnents of Agriculture, by Count Gustavus Adolphus Gyllenborg, a learned Swedish
statesman, were translated by John Mills in 1770, and may be considered as the prototype of Davy's Jgri-
cultural Chemistry.
7119. Of Polish and Russian books on agriculture it may be easily conceived there are very few. Some
translations from French works were made into the Polish language under Fred. Augustus' II.; but few
or none since that time; the German or French being universally understood by the reading class. Books
of agriculture in the Rdssian language could be of little use. The only things printed in that way there
are in the transactions of the Economical Society of Petersburgh, by foreigners resident there, and in
Latin or German. The best informed Russian nobles read French or German like the Poles. There is
an agricultural society at Warsaw, who occasionally print their transactions.
SuBSECT. 5. Agricultural Bibliography of North America.
7120. There are a few American books of agriculture, and republications there of
most of our best works on the subject. Dean's New Englaiid Farmer s Dictionary j
and Dwight's Travels, may be considered as giving an idea of the husbandry of that
part of the country ; and Roughley's Jamaica Plttnter, of the agriculture of the West
India Islands. A number of interesting papers on the subject will be found in the
transactions of the American, New York, Philadelphia, and other societies.
1744. Bartram, John, M.D., Philadelphia.
On the Salt Marsh Musell:()n Oyster Banks and the Fresh
Water Musell of Pennsylvania. (Phil- Trans. Abr. ix. p. 70.)
1754. Flemyng, or Fleming, Malcolm, M.D., of
Brigg.
A Proposal in order to demonstrate the Progress of the Dis-
temper among Homed GatUe: supported by Facts. York,
«vo.
175.'>. Belgrove, William.
A Treatise upon Husbandry and Planting. Boston, New
England, 4to.
1764. Elliot.
Kssays upon the Husbandry in New England. Lond. -Jto.
1779. Carver, Jonathan, Esq., born in America
in 17.32 ; died at London 1780, in great poverty.
A Treatise on the Culture of the Tobacco Plant, with the
Manner in which it is usually cured, adaptetl to Northern
Climates, and designed for the Use of Landholders of (ireat
Britain, with two Plates of the Plant and its Flowers. Lond.
8vo.
1789. Antill, Hon. Edward, Esq., of New Jersey.
1. An Essay on the Cultivation of the Vine, and the Making
and Preserving of Wine, suited to the different Climates of
North America. {Armric. Traiu. i. 181)
'2. The Method of curing Fiks ; and Observations on the
raising and dressing of Hemp. (lb. i. 266.)
1789. Bartram, Moses.
Observations on the Native Silk Worms of North America.
^AmeHcan Tram. i. 294.)
1789. Carter, London, of Sabine Hall, Virginia.
Observations concerning the Fly-weevil that destroys the
Wheat ; with some useful Discoveries imd Conclujiions.,
{Tram. Armric. Soc. i. 274.)
1790. Dean, Dr.
New England Farmer's Dictionary.
18(X). Destere.
La Science du Cultivateur Americain : Ouvrage destine
aux Colons et aux Commer^ans. 8vo.
1801. Bordley, J. B.
Essays and Notes on Husbandry and Rural Aflairs. Phila-
delphia, Svo.
1812. Barton, Benjamin Stnith, M.D., professor of
natural history and botany in the university of
Philadelphia.
On the Native Country of the Solanum Tuberosum, or
Potatoe. {N!c. Jour. xxxi. 290.)
1823. lioughley, Thomas, nearly twenty years a
sugar planter in Jamaica.
'1 he .Jamaica Planter's Guide ; or, a System for Planting
and Managing a Sugar Estate, or other Plantations in that
Island, ana throughout the British West Indies in general.
Illustrated with interesting Anecdotes. Svo.
Higgins, Jesse, of Delaware.
A Method of Drainmg Ponds in Level Groimds. {Tram.
Americ. Soc. vol. .1. p. 3'i.5.)
Greenway, Dr. James, of Dinwiddle County, in
Virginia.
Of the Beneficial ESects of the Cassia Chamojcrista, in
recruiting worn-out Lantts, and enriching such as are naturallT
Poor. (2YaiM. Americ. Soc. iii. p. 226.)
Chap. V.
Of the Pr(fessional Police and Public Laws relative to Agriculturists and Agriculture,
7121. liy Professional Police, we mean those associations which agriculturists have formed
at different times and in different manners for mutual benefit or instruction ; and also
those institutions for the same purpose established by the legislature, or of such a nature
as to be considered public, or national : by laws we allude to those special legislative
enactions which affect more particularly agriculture ; these are so numerous that we
must refer the reader to his lawyer or law dictionary.
7 1 22. There are few or no agricultural lodges, of the nature of those of masonry or
gardening. In Scotland it would appear something of this kind had existed among
ploughmen at one time, as the passwords and initial ceremonies are talked of in some of
the counties by old men. In Forfar, Kincardine, Banff, &c. it is not uncommon for
ploughmen, as well as various descriptions of operatives, to belong to gardener's lodges.
In the southern districts where sheep farming is followed, there are some shepherd's so-
cieties for mutual interchange of experience, and aid in case of losses of such sheep as
are the shepherd's penjuisite : there are some ploughmen's clubs in different places, and
various associations among them of the nature of benefit societies, but these do not come
under the description of professional.
7123. Agricultural societies for interchange of knowledge are of modern date, but
they have increased rapidly since 1794 : the number at present or lately existing in the
British isles, is at least equal to the number of the counties. Societies of this description
1180 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV.
arc either general, as the board of agriculture and society of arts ; national, as the High-
land society and Dublin institution ; particular, as the Bath and West of England so-
ciety ; provincial, as county societies ; and parochial, as being limited to a few individuals
within one parish ; of this kind are farmer's clubs, ploughing societies, &c. In regard to
the end in view, these societies either embrace the arts in general, the rural arts in gene-
ral, or some branch of the rural art, as agriculture ; or some department in that branch,
as live stock, sheep, wool, &c.
7124. All these societies hold meetings at stated periods; most of them offer pre-
miums for particular objects, — specimens of vegetable or animal culture or produce
— agricultural operations, — moral and professional merits, as servants, &c. ; some of them
form a library and museum of models or full sized implements — a few publish transac -
tions, and one or two, as the Dublin society, send out itinerant ploughmen and agricul-
tural mechanics to instruct practical farmers. These societies are almost wholly
supported, and the fund for premiums raised by the subscriptions of members, and by
voluntary donations, legacies, &c. ; but some, as the board of agriculture and the Dub-
lin society, have received assistance from government.
7125. Of English agricultural societies the oldest is the society of arts founded in
1754, by Lord Folkstone, Lord Romney, Dr. Hales, and Shepley. They have pub-
lished many volumes of transactions, awarded immense sums in premiums, and, on the
whole, done much good. (See Rees's Cyc art. Society.)
7126. llie Bath and West of England society was founded in 1777, for purposes simi-
lar to those of the London society of arts : they have published some valuable volumes
of transactions, and distributed various rewards, &c. {Bees' s Cyc. ^c.)
7127. The board of agriculture was founded under the authority of government about
1793 ; much was expected from this board, but, excepting the publication of the county
reports, and the general attention which it called to agriculture, it may well be asked
what advantages arose from it. Their Communications, in several quarto volumes, con-
tain fewer valuable papers in proportion to their total number than either the London
society of arts, or the Bath societies publications; in short, it has been ably shewn in
The Farmer s Magazine, and the article agriculture in the supplement to the Encyc.
Brit. , that the board never directed its efforts in a manner suitable to its powers and
consequence ; and that instead of discussing modes of culture, its attention ought to
have been directed to the removal of the political obstacles to agriculture, and to the
eliciting of agricultural talent by honorary rewards, &c. No idea is more erroneous
than that of such a board, or any other doing much good by a national " experimental
farm." Horticulture is much better adapted for improvement in this way than agriculture,
but a few years will shew whether the immense garden of the London Horticultural
Society will answer the expectation of the subscribers.
7128. Of Welsh societies there are only two or three of inferior note, which have been
already noticed in the topography of the country.
7129. Of Scotch societies tlie principal now existing are the Highland society and the
Dalkeith farming society.
7130. The Highland society of Scotland was established in 1785, to enquire into the
state of the Highlands, to consider the means of their improvement, and the preservation
of their language; it is chiefly supported by the subscriptions of its members at a
guinea each, a year, and a grant of 3000/. from government, soon after its establish-
ment. It has published 5 vols, of prize essays and papers, and now extends its prizes
to all the low counties of Scotland. {Farm. Mag. vol. 16 — 316.)
7131. O/'/m/i 5octe<ies the principal are the Dublin society and the Cork institution.
7132. The Dublin society was established in 1731, and incorporated in 1749. Arthur
Young observes, that it was the parent of all the similar societies now existing in Europe ;
but the Edinburgh agricultural society, as we have seen, (775. and 801.) was established
nearly ten years before. The Dublin society, in its present advanced state, is one of the
most complete establishments of the kind that exists. {Bees^s Cyc. art. Dublin.)
7133. The farming society of Ireland -was established under the patronage of the Dublin society in 1800.
The object is to improve the agriculture and live stock of the kingdom. {Archer's Dublin, IfiO.)
7134. The Cork institution, for applying science to the common purposes of life, ori-
ginated in private subscriptions about the beginning of the present century ; it has since
been incorjjorated, and received the assistance of government, has a house, large botanic
garden, and under its auspices are delivered lectures on chemistry, botany, agriculture,
&c. ; it is not, however, in a flourishing state, and has never been of much use.
7135. The principal county societies in the three kingdoms have been noticed in the
topography of agriculture : many of them were established several years before the board
of agriculture.
7 136. The only other institutions for the improvemcfit of agriculturists and agriculture are
public professorships : of these there is one in the university of Edinburgh, established
Book II. FUTURE PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE. 1181
in 1795; one in Dublin, supported by the Dublin society; one in Cork, and one is
destined to be established at some future period in Oxford, agreeably to the will and
donation of Dr. Sibthorpe (7004,), professor of botany there.
BOOK II.
OF THE FUTURE PUOGRESS OF AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN.
7137. The improvement of agriculture, like that of every art, manufacture, or com-
modity, necessarily depends on demand and production : a powerful or effectual
demand will ensure produce, and excellent produce will, to a certain extent, create da-
mand. A general nicety of taste in coach or saddle horses will call forth a superior
description of these animals, and superior animal5"will tempt purchasers ; if the inhabi-
tants of any district who live chiefly on barley or oats, indicate a preference for wheat, and
a willingness to pay for that grain, wheat will be produced, and so on. Again, as the
object of every individual who engages in art or trade, is to acquire gain, the advance-
ment of an art will depend mainly on the profits it affords ; an art or occupation which
affords less than the average profits on capital, will only be followed by such as, from
habit or other reasons, cannot apply themselves to any thing better, but extra profits will
command both capital and skill. From these considerations it is obvious that the im-
provement of agriculture depends on the profits on capital employed in it, on the taste
of those who purchase its products, and on the knowledge of those who are engaged in
agriculture as a profession. The first subject would lead us further into political
economy than would be of much use in a work of this kind, and therefore we sliall limit
ourselves to a few remarks on the other topics.
Chap. I.
Oftlie Improvement of Agriculture hy refining the Taste of the Purchasers of its Products,
and increasing the Knowledge of Agricultural Patrons.
7138. The desire of being comfortable is the first step towards improvement ; but be-
fore any thing can be desired, we must know what it is. Men rest satisfied with what
they have when they know of nothing better, and therefore one of the main sources of
improving the taste both of those who purchase agricultural produce from necessity, and
those patrons of agriculture who purchase jointly from necessity and choice, is the in-
crease of knowledge. Could a taste for wheaten bread and butcher meat be introduced
generally among the operative classes in Scotland and Ireland, the advantages to agri-
culture would be immense. Could the same persons be taught to desire a greater
degree of cleanliness, light and warmth in their cottages, a greater variety of potherbs,
salads, fruits, and flowers in their gardens, and handsome dresses for their wives and
daughters ; how great the general benefit ! Much may be done to bring about tliis change,
by the opulent who are willing to reside on their estates and to take a little trouble.
Building good and comfortable cottages, and attaching proper gardens, and stocking
them with trees and plants from the demesne garden; oflfering little premiums, or
marks of distinction for keeping them in the nicest order, and for decently clothed,
well-bred children, would soon have a sensible effect ; attending to that kind of education
which consists in teaching infants civility and politeness, with mutual respect and re-
straint as occasion requires ; and teaching grown children how to work at almost every
thing likely to come in their way, as is done in the improved German and Swiss schools,
would, independently of reading and writing, do a great deal to soften and humanize
the peasant mind. Encouragement should be given to save money for unforseen wants,
or age ; and the certain effects pointed out of early marriages, followed by numerous
offspring. These and a variety of similar means would be productive of some change of
taste in tlie operative part of rural society.
7139. The introduction (f manufacturing establishments, wherever it could be properly
done, would contribute to the same effect : those who work at manufactures, and even
common mechanics, generally live better, and are better clothed and lodged than the
common country laborer ; therefore their example would be of use in introducing a
salutary degree of luxury, ** Tlie endeavoring to impress on the minds of the lower
1182 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Pabt IV.
classes, the propriety of being contented with the simplest and cheapest fere, h extremely
pernicious to the best interests of mankind. Enconiums ought not to be bestowed on
those who are contented with mere necessaries : on the contrary, such indifference ought
to be held disgraceful. A taste for the comforts, the enjoyments, and even the luxuries
of life, should be as widely diffiised as possible, and if possible, interwoven with the
national character and prejudices. This, as it appears to us, is the best mode of attempt-
ing the amelioration of the condition of the lower classes. Luxuries, and if you will
have it so, even wasteful habits, are incomparably better than that cold, sluggish apathy,
which would content itself with what can barely continue mere animal existence." " In
those countries," Ricardo judiciously observes, " where the laboring classes have the
fewest wants, and are contented with the cheapest food, the people are exposed to the
greatest vicissitudes and miseries : they have no place of refuge from calamity ; they
cannot seek safety in a lower station ; they are already so low that they can fall no
lower. On any deficiency of the chief article of their subsistence, there are few sub-
stitutes of which they can avail themselves, and dearth to them is attended with
almost all the evils of famine." (Sujj. Encyc. Brit. art. Com Laws.) Such is the case
in Ireland, where amidst the germs of the greatest riches and luxury, the inhabitants
are contented to live on less than any other people in the world.
7140. The taste of the superior patrons of agriculture is to be improved by visiting the
best cultivated districts, reading agricultural works, attending agricultural societies, and,
above all, by cultivating a farm, and establishing on it a systematic order and regularity
in every detail. Let such observe the hedges, gates, verges of fields, and the beautiful
rows of turnips, of Berwickshire or Northumberland ; the correctly drilled beans of
East Lothian, and the live stock of Leicestershire. But few are the proprietors of lands
who either employ a proper bailiff' or demesne steward; and of those who do, how few
who do not limit and fetter them in their operations, or else neglect them and leave them
to sink into that supine state in which the uppermost wish is to enjoy the comforts of
the situation with the least possible degree of exertion ! Some proprietors desire to have
their home farm managed with a view to profit, as the cheapest way of getting hay,
straw, mutton, &c. ; these are sordid patrons : a home farm ought to combine an elegant
orderly style of management, high kept horses, harness, implements, &c., well clothed
servants, and every thing in a superior style to what is seen on common farms. Par-
ticular attention ought to be paid to the buildings, which ought to combine archi-
tectural design, fitness, strength, and elegance ; the roads ought to be like approaches
to a mansion ; the hedges like those of gardens, and the green verges round the fields
kept mown like lawns or grass walks, and the ditches, bridges, and gates in correspond-
ing neatness ; the finest trees ought to be encouraged in proper situations, and correctly
pruned, and substantial watering places formed and kept supplied. Every operation on
plants, or the ground, performed in a garden-like manner, and no individual of any
species of stock kept, of which a drawing might not be taken and preserved as a beauty.
Even the dress and deportment of the servants on such a farm ought to harmonize with
the rich culture, orderly display, and high keeping of the whole.
Chap. II.
On the Imjyrovement of Agriculture hy the better Education of those who are engaged in it
as a Profession.
7141. By education is generally understood that portion of knowledge which is
c.l)tained at schools ; but in a more extended sense (as Mills observes) it may be de-
fined the means which may be employed to render man competent for performing
the part which he undertakes to perform in life with increased satisfaction to himself
and others. Education may thus be considered as extending to every thing which
operates on the body or mind, from the earliest periods of our existence to the final
extinction of life. It is unnecessary here to embrace the subject in its full extent,
but M'e shall offer some remarks on the education of practical men in general,
on the professional education of an agriculturist, and the general conduct and economy
of his life.
Sect. I. On the Degree of Knowledge which may he attained by Practical Men, and on
the general Powers of the human Mind as to Attainments.
7142. Thel-noivledgeof languages, history, geography, arts, sciences, and literature,
wliich an agriculturist, whether a ploughman, shepherd, bailiff', steward, or rent-paying
Book II. IMPROVEMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 118S
farmer, dailj occupied with his' profession, may acquire, provided he begins at the ear-
liest moment, say at fifteen years of age, and continues to employ his leisure hours in
reading till he is twenty or twenty-fite, is by no means inconsiderable ; not that he can
or need become learned ; but, if desirous, he may become generally intelligent, render
himself fit, as far as conversation is concerned, for good society, prove instructive and
entertaining to others by his conversation, and provide a reserve fund of enjoyment, by
laying up a store of ideas for reflection in misfortune, disease, or old age.
7143. The utility of knowledge to that part of mankind who are doomed to a life of
mechanical labor, or rather who suffer themselves to be doomed to it, has been questioned ;
it is said to render them dissatisfied with their condition, to produce various other evils, and
at all events in no way to add to their happiness or the good of society. To a man whose
business in life is the mere mechanical performance of operations which any other ani-
mal might perform if furnished with hands, education is doubtless less necessary, than
to a man whose business is to direct the operations of others ; but it does not follow,
that though less necessary, it may not be highly useful : if, for example, it renders him
dissatisfied with his condition, it will, at the same time, be more likely than any thing
else to lead him to some proper mode of improving it ; or if almost unimprovable,
education certainly will be more likely than a state of ignorance to teach patience and
submission, by enabling him to reflect on the folly of grieving at what is inevitable,
and the consequences of committing what is unjust or criminal to relieve himself.
" The low Irish," Marshal remarks, " are suflRciently dissatisfied with their condition ;
those who know how to alleviate it by emigration, go to Britain or A merica ; those who
know nothing, stay at home, commit acts of violence, and are hanged."
7144. To decide as to the utility oj knoioledge to the operative parts of society would
perhaps require a previous decision of the question, "what constitutes happiness?" The
general answer is, the exercise of all our faculties of body and mind : every one who
has lived thirty or forty years in the world, knows that there is no such thing as abso-
lute happiness : the prince de Ligne, a man of great natural parts, with every advan-
tage of person, birth, and wealth, and in favor at all the courts of Europe ; fond alike
of war, literature, gallantry, and agriculture, and who lived to be upwards of 90 years
of age, has left on record that he was only perfectly happy two or three times in his life,
and only for a few minutes each time. Forsyth (Principles of Moral Science^ vol. i.
chap. 1.) says, happiness is a thing not to be thought of, and all that men and women
can do in order to make the most of their existence, is to occupy themselves and make
progress in whatever they engage in ; progress in enjoyment, or approximation to happi-
ness may therefore be obtained.
7145. The utility of knowledge to every human being is consequently, in our
opinion, unquestionable, on the mere principle of adding to enjoyment ; nor do
we believe that there is more danger from excess of knowledge in any particular class
of society, high or low, than there is from excess in their eating or drinking. A
number of men possessed of property or power by inheritance, favor, or chance,
who are very conscious that they never could have acquired those advantages I)y
the common competition of talent and industry, and who are in fact M-rapt up in selfish-
ness, are naturally jealous of the progress of knowledge ; their secret maxim is to keep
down the lower orders, "and to impress on their minds only the duties of loyalty, religion,
and, as Vancouver adds, hard work. This monopoly ofpower and knowledge, however,
cannot be maintained for ever, and in every country is found rapidly yielding to the
general progress of society. It is only those who have to dread this progress tliat fear the
diffusion of education and liberal principles.
7146. The terms knowledge and ignorance are entirely relative : the knowledge of a
modern chemist's porter would have subjected him to be hanged and burned in the days
of the first popes ; and any bricklayer's laborer of the present day who reads the Lon-
don newspapers, has more correct ideas of the principles of political economy, than
nine-tenths of the nobility in Russia and Spain. It is impossible to set limits to the
knowledge which may be obtained by those who are destined even to the most severe
and constant labor ; the intelligence of the miners in Scotland and Sweden may be
referred to as proofs. The miners at Lcadhills have a regular library and reading
society, and the works they make choice of are not only histories, voyages, travels, &c.
but even works of taste, such as the British classics, and best novels and romances.
Tlie degree to which knowledge will prevail among any^ class of laboring men, will
depend jointly on their own ambition ; on the demand for or reputation in which know-
ledge is held, and on the opportunities of acquiring it. A dull, stupid person, with
little native activity, will never desire to know more than what enables him to supply
the ordinary wants of life ; but where the workmen of any art are required to have
technical knowledge of any particular kind, they will be found invariably to possess it.
Thus carpenters and masons require some knowledge of the mechanical principles of
1184 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV.
architecture, and working engineers of the strength of Materials ; and these kinds of
knowledge are acquired by them without an hour's interruption of their daily labor^^;
on the contrary, the habit of evening study renders them more steady, sober, and indus-
trious than other workmen ; than bricklayers and paper hangers, for example, whose
employments require much less intellectual skill. If every cook-maid, before she could
obtain a first-rate place, were required to be able to read Apiciiis Redivivus in the ori-
ginal tongue, there would be no want of learned cooks ; and if no bailiff could obtain
a first-rate situation who had not written a thesis in Greek, or who had not made the
tour of Europe, there would soon be found abundance of bailiffs so qualified. A Cale-
donian, when he comes to the low country, soon acquires the English tongue, and if he
has been taught latin, thus knows three languages. The servants at the inns on some
parts of the continent, frequented by different nations, often acquire a moderate know-
ledge of three or four languages : a late custom-house oflScer on the island of Constadt,
spoke and wrote ten languages ; and the bar-maid at the hotel de Londres, at which we
lodged in Moscow, in 1814, could make herself intelligible in Swedish, Russian, Polish,
German, French, Italian, and English.
7147. The certain way of obtaining anything, i& to he impressed with the necessity of
possessing it, either to avoid the evil of being without it, to satisfy the desires of others
as to ourselves, or our own desires. There is scarcely any thing that a rational man
can desire that he may not obtain, by maintaining on his mind a powerful impression of
the necessity of obtaining it ; pursuing the means of attainment with unceasing perse-
verance, ^and keeping alive that enthusiasm and ardor which always accompany power-
ful desires. All may not acquire by the same degree of labor, the same degree of emi-
nence ; but any man by labor may attain a knowledge of all that is already known on
any subject, and that degree of knowledge is respectable j what many never attain to,
and what few go beyond.
7148. The grand drawback to every kind of improvement is, the vulgar and degrading
idea that certain things are beyond our reach ; whereas the truth is, every thing is at-
tainable by the employment of means ; and nothing, not even the knowledge of a
common laborer, without it : there are many things* which it is not desirable to wish
for, and which are only desired by men of extraordinary minds ; but let no man fancy
any thing is impossible to him, for this is the bane of all improvement. Let no young
ploughman, therefore, who reads this, even if he can but barely read, imagine that he
may not become eminent in any of the pursuits of life or departments of knowledge,
much less in that of his profession : let him never lose sight of this principle — that to
desire and apply is to attain, and that the attainment will be in proportion to the appli-
cation.
Sect. II. Of the Professional Education of Agriculturists.
7149. In order that a professional man should excel as such, every other acquirement
must be kept subservient to that of his profession. No branch of knowledge should be
pursued to any extent that, either of itself, or by the habits of thinking to which it gives
rise, tends to divert the mind from the main object of pursuit ; something, it is true, is
due to relaxation in every species of acquirement ; but judicious relaxation only serves
to whet the appetite for the vigorous pursuit of the main object. By the professional edu-
cation of agriculturists, we mean that direction of their faculties by which they will best
acquire the science and manual operations of agriculture, and we shall suppose agri-
cultural pupils generally, to have no other scholastic education than some knowledge of
reading, writing, and arithmetic.
7 1 50. Alt young men loho intend embracing agriculture as a profession, whether as plough-
men, bailiffs, stewards, land valuers, or rent-paying farmers, ought to undergo a course
of manual labor for one or more years, in order to acquire the mechanism of all
agricultural operations : when the pupil is not destined for any particular county,
then he should be sent to a farmer in a district of mixed agriculture ; as for example.
East Lothian, where he would, if placed in a wheat and bean culture farm, see at no
great distance the turnip system and feeding, and a few miles off, the mountain
sheep-farming or breeding : when the pupil is intended to be settled in any particu-
lar county, he ought to be sent to a county as near as possible of similar soil and
climate, where the best practices are in use, as from all the turnip counties, pupils
should go to Northumberland or Berwickshire ; from the clay counties to East
Lothian, or the carse of Gowrie ; from a mountainous district to the Cheviot hills,
and Tweed ale, &c.
7151. , The term of apjrrenticesMp completed, the future time of the pupil ought to be -
regulated according to the ultimate object in view : if he is intended as a ploughman,
shepherd, or hedger, perhaps to introduce new practices in other counties, he may re-
main for a year or two longer with other mastei^ in the same district, in order not
Book II. EDUCATION OF AGRICULTURISTS. 1185
merely to acquire but to habituate himself to all the improved operations and practices.
If he is intended for a bailiff, then, after having been two years in one character of
farm, let him engage himself for a second two years in a district of an opposite or at
least of a different character ; and for a third two years, on a tliird character. There
ai-e, as already shewn, only three different descriptions of farming in Britain ; the bean
and clover, or clay land farming, which includes feeding, by soiling ; the turnip farming,
which includes feeding both by soiling and pasturage ; and the hill, or mountain, or pas-
ture farming, which includes all the varieties of breeding. A young man therefore of
ordinary intellect, who has worked two years in East Lothian on a clay farm, two years
in the lower Berwickshire, or in the low part of Northumberland, and two years on
the Northumbrian hills, must have a very competent knowledge of that part of agricul-
ture, known as farming or husbandry.
7152. The higher branches of agriculture, or what may be called the engineering,
valuing, and estate agency departments, can only be completely acquired by first going
through the course above described, as suitable for bailiff's and common stewards, and
next, placing themselves under an eminent steward, land valuator, drainer, road en-
gineer, iiTigator, &c. as the case may be : makir>g choice of a steward who has exten-
sive woods and plantations, and also, if possible, some quarries, fisheries, or even mines
under his care, and of a land valuer or drainer in full employment When a solid
foundation is laid, by a thorough practical knowledge, of all the operations of common
agriculture, the higher part is attained with ease, and may be practised with confidence ;
but, on the contrary, when young men who know nothing of common country work are
sent direct from school, or from an attorney's office, to a land steward or agent, in
order to acquire the art of managing landed estates, the worst consequences may be
dreaded, both to the proprietors and the occupiers of the territory which may be sub-
jected to them. The condition of many estates and tenants, managed by attornies, may
be referred to in proof of our assertion.
7153. Young men intended as rent-jiaying farmers^ after two years' labor as common
servants, should be kept as assistant bailiffs on other farms, till they are at least 25 years
of age : no young man, in our opinion, ought to be put in a farm on his own account,
or employed as a master bailiff*, at an earlier period.
7154. In all cases ivhen young men are destined for particular picrposes, they should
be sent chiefly to particular districts ; as for example, young men intended for road-
surveyors, to where roads are best managed— drainers to a draining country — em-
bankers to Lincolnshire — warpers to tlie Humber — irrigators to South Cerney — hedgers
to Berwickshire — woodmen and foresters to Dunkeld, or Blair, Athol, &c. It would
contribute much to the improvement of agriculture in the backward counties, if landed
gentlemen would prevail on their tenants to send their sons as apprentices, or even as
ploughmen, or farm laborers, to the improved counties ; or where there are lads brought
up by the parish, to send them there with a view to their acquiring tlie use of the im-
proved implements.
7155. irhatever be the kind of professional knowledge to be acquired, tlie means of at-
tainment is the pupil's paying such attention to what he sees and hears as to fix it in his
memory. One of the first tilings, therefore, that a young man should do, is to cultivate
the faculty of attention, which he may do every hour of the day, by first looking at an
object and then shutting his eyes, and trying whether he recollects its magnitude, form,
color, &c. ; whether he would know it when he saw it again, and by what special mark
or marks he would know it or describe it. When he goes from one part of the farm to
another, or is on a walk or journey, let him pay that degree of attention to every thing
he sees and hears, which will enable him to give some account of them when returned
from his walk or journey ; and let him try next day, or some days afterwards, if he can
recollect what he had seen then, or at any particular time and place.
7156. The attention to be exercised in such a way as to impress the memory, and
enable the observer or hearer, not only to recollect objects, but to describe them, must
be exercised systematically. A thing or a discourse must be attended to, not only as a
whole, but as a composition of parts, and these parts must be considered not only as to
their qualities of dimension, color, consistency, &c. but as to their relative situation and
position. To be able to give an account of a town or village, for example, the first thing
is to get a general idea of the outline of its ground-plan, which may be done by looking
from a church tower, or adjoining hill ; next, its relative situation to surrounding
objects, as what hills, or woods, or waters join it, and in what quarters ; next, the di-
rection of the leading street or streets must be noticed ; then the intersecting or secon-
dary streets, the principal public builcL'ngs, the principal private ones, where the lowest
houses and narrowest streets are situated, and what is the character of the greater num-
ber of houses composing the whole assemblage.
7157. To treasure up in the mind the characteristic marks of particular varieties and
subvarieties of stock is a most important part of an agriculturist's professional education.
4 G
1186 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV.
To do this effectually, some knowledge of sketching is of great use, and, if possible,
oufrht to be acquired by every person intending to fill the situation of bailiff or steward.
The knowledge of soils, plants, and their culture, is a very simple business compared
■with the knowledge of stock, which is not only of difficult and tedious acquirement
but easily forgotten or lost : for one gentleman's bailiff that knows any thing of stock
there are at least a score that know nothing.
71 58. In connection with professional studies, the pupil may find it necessary, if his edu-
cation has been neglected, to go on at his leisure hours with all the usual branches of edu-
cation, either assisted by books alone, or by books and the best assistance he can procure.
If his school education has extended to arithmetic, mensuration, mathematics, and draw-
ing, he should occupy himself in acquiring a knowledge of botany, zoology, geology, and
mineralogy, without a tolerable knowledge of each of which, he will ever be in the
dark among modern agriculturists, and in reading books on the subject. Next, let him
study the various arts and manufactures that have any relation to agriculture, and store
his mind with all he can acquire from one of the best general Encyclojicedias, as that of
Rees, or the Encyclopaedia Britannica, with its excellent supplementary volumes. If
he will go farther, and if he wishes to know the extent to which he may go, he may
consult what we have advanced on the subject of education in the Encyclopcedia of
Gardening.
Sect. III. Of the Conduct and Economy of an AgriculturisC s Life.
7159. Apian for the general conduct of life should be fixed on by every one when he
arrives at manhood, and steadily pursued for the time to come ; most commonly such a
plan is formed by the parents soon after the child's birth, and at the latest, when the boy
is taken from school. The boy arrived at manhood, however, is entitled to examine
this plan, and amend it, or devise another more congenial to his own notions ; but the
risk of any change of this sort by persons so young and inexperienced is so great, that
no youth ought to venture on it without the utmost consideration and the firmest per-
suasion in his own mind : where the parent has done bis duty, such changes of plan will
not often be attempted, for, by the early infusion into the mind of a child, ideas of the
pursuit that is intended for him, a taste for that pursuit or employment will grow up
with him, and become as it were his own natural inclination. This will happen in most
cases, but in some children the bias or force of nature for some particular purpose is so
strong, that by no parental intreaties or reasoning can it be overcome ; even where a
sense of duty has induced compliance with a parent's wishes for a time, the dormant in-
clination has at last broke out and taken the lead. In such cases, the parent may
generally conclude, that where the pursuit or purpose is not bad, the force of natural
inclination will be more likely to command success than the influence of parental au-
thority, and that a pursuit or business, commonly of little profit or repute, will be more
profitable and respectable when followed by a genius powerfully impelled to it, than a
profitable and reputable business followed by any one against their inclination.
7160. Tfie plan and conduct of l?fe is inmost cases defcrmined by accidental circumstances. The son of
the laboring man grows up without any regular training or education for a particular end, and finds him-
self at the age of manhood engaged in rural labor, and apparently incapable of any other ; his notions and
his ambition are so limited that he dare not venture to desire a change for the better, for no man ever
desires that which he thinks impossible to attain, and the mere idea of this impossibility, however erro-
neous, effectually restrains the attempt at improvement. The life of the ploughman or laborer, much as
it differs from that of a man of eminent natural powers and superior education, is capable of much amelio-
ration by being directed to a suitable end or object as the ultimatum, or in other words, by proceeding on a
plan ; plan indeed, as we have elsewhere observed, {Encycof Gard. 2nd edit. 7778.) is predestination, as
conduct is fate.
7161. The greater part of manMnd enter on life without anyjixed plan or object in view, or if they form
some general notion of acquiring wealth or distinction, they form no plan by which it is to be accom-
plished ; the consequence is, that such persons after blundering on through their best years, arrive at the
end without having gained anything but experience, now of no use to them. No man is born in posses-
sion of the art of living, any more than of the art of agriculture ; the one requires to be studied as well as
the other, and a man can no more expect permanent satisfaction from actions performed at random, than
he can expect a good crop from seeds sown without due regard to soil and season : when we look round
and observe the quantity of misery in the world, the greater proportion is, or seems to be, the result of a
want of plan, or of a bad plan of life : how many parents are unsuccessful in their struggles to maintain a
large family, the result of too early marriages : how many find themselves arrive at old age with no
other resource for support but charity, the consequence of want of foresight in expenditure : how many-
are suffering under poverty, brought on by their own want of frugality, or positive extravagance ; or
imder disease from excesses and irregularities committed in the hey-day of life : and how many among
those not born to inherit property, who, at no period of their life, have any other alternative between
hard labor and deficient food, than disease and wanl.
7162. Want of plan may not in every case be the cause of all this misery, because, accident enters into
life for something, both in the unfavorable as well as the favorable side of the question; but we have
no hesitation in asserting, that want of plan, as a cause of misery, is as ninety-nine to a hundred : any
plan at all, even a bad plan, is better than none, because those who set out on any plan will, in all pro-
bability, sooner discover its errors, if a bad one, and correct them, than those who set out on no plan, will
discover the want of one, and form a good plan. The young man who is just setting out in life, may well
tremble at the consequences of proceeding on the journey without the guide of a judicious plan ; this plan
he must form him.self, because he alone feels what he wants, and what he can do to gratify them j— all
that we can do is to offer a few hints.
7163. in. order to he able to form a plan it is previously necessary to determine the object to be attained
Book II. ECONOMY OF AGRICULTURISTS. 1187
by it : happiness is the object of every action of human life, and consists in the gratification of certain
wants and desires ; some of these desiderata are peculiar to youth, and others to old age, but many, as
clothing, food, rest, relaxation, entertainment, &c., begin with the earliest, and continue to the latest
period of life : all these gratifications are i)rocuretl by labor; in savage life, by hunting, fishing, and
gathering fruits, till the man, no longer able for these labors, is obliged to lie down and die of want :
in civilized society, they are also obtained by labor ; but here, what is called property, exists, and man,
in the vigor of his days, when the supplies of his labor are greater than the demands of his wants and
desires, or when he chooses not to gratify the latter to the full extent admitted by the former, can, as it
were, embody a part of his labor, to be made use of when he is no longer able to j)erform it with ease : a
man in this case is said to arrive at independence, instead of want, as in the case of the savage ; or of
beggary, as in the case of the improvident.
7164. Independence is the grand object which every man destined to live by the exer-
. cise of his labor or talents ought to have in view. At certain periods of life, when the
imagination is vivid, and health and spirits in their utmost vigor, some may prefer
present enjoyment, mere animal gratifications, or imaginary distinctions, amatory con-
quests, titles, rank, military glory, high literary or professional reputation : it is a noble
attribute of our nature to prefer these to mere accumulation of money ; but a great
■warrior, poet, or painter, arrived at old age and want, if the latter be brought on by
common improvidence, will not find himself surrounded by many marks of distinction ;
and though it may possibly be some consolation to him that the three or four letters
composing his name, will be sometimes pronounced together after he is dead, yet it will
not be much.
7165. The exercise of his jrrofesdon is the most rational mode in which an agricul-
turist, of whatever grade, can pursue independence ; only extraordinary circumstances
can justify a change of profession ; in common cases it indicates a want of steadiness of
character, or a want of success, and the latter is commonly attributed to want of skill ; it
is better, therefore, to pursue unremittingly the profession to which we have been edu-
cated, even though we should not be very successful in it, than to risk an infringement
on character by adopting another. The practice of agriculture, as we have already seen,
(6925.) is carried on by three different classes, serving, commercial, and artist agricultu-
rists : on each of these classes we submit a few hints to aid them in forming a plan of
life, and regulating their expectations.
7166. The greater number of agriculturists must ever belong to the lower grades of the serving class ;
and act as ploughmen, herdsmen, shepherds, hedgers, woodmen, and laborers of all work. These
form the greater proportion of mankind in every civilized country, and must ever remain the
bulkiest material in the social fabric. Comparing one age and country with another, however,
there may be the greatest difference in their intellectual and physical condition. The ploughman
of Russia is but a remove from his horse. The ploughmen in different parts of Britain are as in-
telligent as their employers : in Scotland they have the Bible by heart, are familiar with the history
of their country, and not ignorant of its literature : they lead a laborious life, but they enjoy the
inestimable blessings of health, sound sleep, and peace of mind, till the latest period : they are almost
always indei>cndent, either from their labor, their savings, or in old age or sickness, from the
assistance they receive of their children in return for what was laid out on their education. These men
are as happy relatively to their capacity for happiness as any other class whatever ; if their measure is
smaller, it is as full as the largest ; for the essential materials of comfort and happiness are the same in all
classes, and in all classes a man's wants and wishes accommodate themselves to the means of gratifying
them. The rich have no wants, and their desires, for the most part, are no sooner expressed than grati-
fietl ; the pains and pleasures of life are neutralized into a kind of insipidity, till ennui brings on disease,
which to this class becomes a blessing, by procuring for them the occupation of taking medicine, the duty
of attending to the doctor's regulations, and the pleasures of convalescence. ;
7167. The plan of life suitable for the operative agriculturist may very well be founded
on the condition of this class of men in the northern counties of Northumberland, Ber-
wickshire, East Lothian, and others. We have already (7048. and 7049.) described the
manner in which farm servants are hired, lodged, and paid in these counties : the es-
sence of the mode consists in the employer providing the employed with comfortable
cottages and gardens, and paying them chiefly in the necessaries of life, in so much meal
or flour, so much ground to grow potatoes, and flax or hemp, a cow's keep, the run of a
pig— if a shepherd, so much wool, or so many sheep, the loan of a team to bring home
coal or other fuel, and a certain proportion of money. By this mode of payment the
operative countryman is always sure of a comfortable home and food, sure of milk^
butter, meal, bread, and potatoes, the produce of a pig, poultry, and bees, and of the
produce of his garden ; and this, however high may be the prices of these articles in the
public market. All country servants hired by the year might be accommodated and
paid more or less in this manner ; and to this mode of life and payment they ought to look
forward as the ultimatum of their grade in the scale of operative agriculturists. By
prudent conduct, in regard to the increase of their family, and by frugality, they may
live in decency and comfort, educate one or two children, and save someUiing for old
age, or unforeseen occurrences.
7168. The day laborer who has no particular employer^ and probably no fixed residence, is much
less comfortable than the yearly servant ; in England more especially, under the present system of poor
laws and parish management, which is calculated to degrade him, and effectually to prevent any attempt
at improving his condition. If, as Slaney observes, " by unremitted industry, he has been enabled to do
without parochial relief, and bring up his children decently, it is as much as could be expected ; for an
attack of illness, or the temporary loss of employment, he is in general totally unprepared ; he thinks not
much of the morrow, and, as it stands, it is perhaps well for him that he does not anticipate evils which
he cannot prevent : every one knows how beneficial to the community, how advantageous to the indi.
4 G 2
1188 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV.
vidual, the hope of bettering his condition in life is : it cheers him in adversity, encourages his industry,
promotes his content, yet from this hope the major part of the agricultural laborers of England are
excluded ; they toil indeed, but it is to continue, not to better their existence." {Essay on the beneficial
direction of rural expenditure, p. 170. ; see also the succeeding chapters of these judicious and intelligent
essays.)
7169. The plan qf life for the directive class q/" a^ncM^/Mm^s need hardly be pointed out ; the rise from
a farm bailiff to a steward's bailiff, or to a demesne bailiff or steward, and thence to the general steward or.
factor of an estate, is an obvious object of ambition. In another direction he may rise through the differ-
ent gradations of the commercial agriculturist, or, adopting the rank of counsellor or artist, he may be-
come a salesman, appraiser, timber or land-surveyor, land-valuer, agent, or agricultural engineer : rarely,
however, can he attempt the veterinary profession, or those of draftsman, autlior, or professor.
7170. The remuneration to which a directive agriculturist is naturally entitled, should be regulated by his
professional abilities and experience ; that which he will commonly receive will be regulated by the
quantity of agricultural talent and experience in the market ; it ought always to be such as will preserve
him in a distinct class from the operatives, and render it worth his while to be honest, assiduously atten-
tive to the interest of his employer, and of a polite and obliging manner. A handsome salary to such a
servant is wise economy.
7171. The object of the artist or counsellor agriculturist, may be either to ascend to the rank of author or
professor, conditions of more honor than profit ; or to realize property and become a proprietor cultivator.
For a rent-paying farmer, no artist or author is at all adapted.
7172. The legitimate object of a commercial agriculturist is to rise in the different grades of his class, and
become either a large farmer, a gentleman farmer, or, best of all, a yeoman, or proprietor cultivator (jyto.
prietaire cultivateur).
7173. The profits to which a commercial agriculturist is entitled, comparatively to that of
other commercial men, are theoretically determinable by the risk attending the employ-
ment of his capital, and the skill requisite to prosecute his art; but practically, this remu-
neration will depend on the quantity of skill and capital in the market. The risk attending
capital employed in the culture of the useful products of the soil , is evidently less than the
risk of capital employed in many or perhaps most manufactures ; and the skill requisite
to enable any one to become a farmer, according to the customary practices of the
country surrounding him, is less than that required for almost any branch of manufac-
ture. In consequence of these things, there are men every where ready to become
farmers ; hence the profits of farming are naturally less than those of most other pur-
suits ; but to counterbalance this, the farmer has several advantages peculiar to his
profession. First, from the nature of his residence in the country, which assumes a cer-
tain degree of consequence, from its connection with a considerable group of out-offices ;
these, surrounded by a garden, orchard, fields, woods, and other rural scenery, all in his
occupation, and inhabited by servants in cottages, horses, cattle, sheep, and other domestic
animals, all in subjection to him ; all these things give him a degree of consequence both
real and apparent, and assimilate him more nearly to a lord of the soil, and to that sort of
rural retirement and independence, the object of almost every commercial man's ambition,
than any other mode of life short of the thing itself. Secondly , many trades and professions
preclude (according to general prejudices) their followers from being gentlemen ; whereas,
though every farmer is not a gentleman, yet any gentleman may become a farmer,
without in any degree lowering his rank and character ; a farmer may, therefore, if he
chooses to adopt the habits and manners of a gentleman, be reckoned as such.
Thirdly, the farmer's products are in universal demand, and he is sure of a market at
some reasonable rate, a fact otherwise with many manufactures. Fourthly, he is sure
of a home, of the necessaries of life, and in general, of most vigorous health. Fifthly,
he is generally a man of more parochial influence than the tradesman or manufacturer.
7174. No farmer ever makes a fortune by his profession : the utmost exertions of the
most skilful and industrious men in the most improved districts, seldom do more than
enable them to keep pace with the tiines; and the great majority, in all countries, lead a
life of great labor and anxiety, and end as they began. No farmer, in a general way,
can raise more than one corn crop in a year, and in this respect, the farmer of Russia
and Poland has the advantage of the British farmer ; for the lands of the former being
'from five to eight months under snow, all root-weeds are destroyed, and the ground so
loosened by the frosts and thaws, as to require very little stirring for the seed ; the rapid
summer which succeeds ripens all annual plants that will grow there, nearly as well as in
England, and better than in many parts of Scotland and Ireland. The British farmers,
however, have the great advantage of perpetual pastures, owing to the mildness of our
winters, but still no art of mail will shorten the period of animal gestation, and originate
a lamb or a calf in shorter periods than 5 months and 40 weeks. How often does the
tradesman or manufacturer turn his capital in that time ? ITiere are three varieties of
professional farmers, however, which occasionally realize some property ; the grazier
who feeds with oil cake, grains, and other artifical foods ; the dealer in corn or cattle,
who has the art to buy at a falling and sell at a rising market; and the dealer or jobber in
farms, who sublets or sells his lease, or in purchases of land, who subdivides and sells es-
tates. The profits of the first are not great, and those of the two last are attended with
great risk : the only farmer whose lot is to be envied, lives under a landlord who does not
take the full marketable price for his lands : such as Burdet, Coke, Bedford, Northum-
berland, and many others in the south, but few in the north or the west.
KALENDARIAL INDEX.
Though agricultural operations, in general, require less nicety as to the exact time of
performing them than many of those of gardening, yet there are exceptions in respect to
some field crops; for example, beans and turnips. It is proper to observe, therefore,
tliat the almanac time in this kalendar is calculated for the meridian of London ; but as
a kalendar of nature is given for the metropolitan district, the almanac time may, in
every part of the empire, be varied to suit the local climate and vegetation.
In general, other circumstances being alike, four days may be allowed for every de-
gree, or every 70 miles north or south of London ; in spring, operations may be com-
menced earlier in that proportion southwards, and-later northwards ; but in autumn the
reverse, and operations deferred as we advance southwards, and accelerated as we pro-
ceed to the north. In every case allowing a due weight to local circumstances.
Our notices under each month extend only to a few of the leading features of country-
work ; — to attempt to insert every thing, or even most of the things that require attend-
ing to, we conceive impossible ; and, if it could be done, quite useless. A man will
always act better when guided by his own judgment, tlian when following implicitly
that of another. Kalendars should only be considered as remembrancers, never as
directories.
JANUARY.
Weather
at
the Ther-
mometer.
(ireatest
Variation
from the
Average.
Average
of.thi
Barometer.
Quantity
of Rain.
REMARKS.
A cold January is reckoned seasonable ; the air being
is a little atxjve or below the freezing point ; winter-
cold is generally less felt by animals than that of March.
Winds often prevaU diuring this month. The kalendar
of animated nature is much more to be depended on
than the vegetable kalendar; for, excepUng the catkins
on trees, the state of the other plants during this month
depends much on the character of the preceding autumn.
London -
Edinburgh
Dublin -
35 9
34 5
39 92
6
29 .56 ^
<29 194
29 721
1.957 inch.
2.994
2.697
1. Kalendar of Animated Nature round London. .
In the first meek : shelless snails {helix), and earth-worms
{lumbricui terrestris) appear.
Secorul week: redbreast (motacilla rubicola) whistles, nut-
hatch [sitta europxa) chatters, missel thrush {turdus viscivorus)
sings, and wagtails (motacilla alba etjlava) appear.
Third meek: the common lark {lUauda arvensis) congre-
gates.
Fourth week : snails {helix hortensis) and slugs {Umax ater et
hijalimu) abomid in sheltered parts of gardens ; the hedge
sparrow (motaci7/(< »io</u/</ri«) whistles, ^he large titmouse (/)aru«
nuijor) sings, and flies appear on windows.
2. Kalendar of Vegetable Nature round London.
In the first week: some plants accidentally in flower; and
others, as the laurustinus, continued From December.
Second week: winter aconite {eranthis hyemalis), Christmas-
rose {Itdeborus fdetidws) in flower, and hazel (coryliis avelltina)
catkins banning to appear: common honQsuckle {lonicera
periclymenum) buds begm to appear.
Third week . primrose {primiUa inilgans) flowers in sheltered
.places; daisy {bellit perennis), and chickweed {alsine media)
begin to flower.
Fourth meek: mezereon (dnvhne mezerem) begins to flower;
and sometimes spurry {spergiUa arvatsis), pansey {viola tricolor),
white scenteil violet {viola odorata), arch-angel {lamium ru-
brum), and coltsfoot {tuisUago purpurea el odorata) show bios,
soms.
3. Farm-yard. (2740.)
Attend to cattle, whether in the open yard on straw and a few
turnips, (4898.) in hammels for feeding, (6177.) or in stalls,
(6174.) See that the weak are not driven from their proper
share of green food by the strong ; notice any in bad condition,
and put them in a place by themselves for a few weeks. When
the hay or straw is of inferior quality or flavor, sprinkle
with sail water, which will make it more palatable.
Threshing (2961.) goes on pretty regularly at this season for
the sake of a supply of straw. In s<jme districts it is conmion
to thresh an hour everv morning with candle-light during the
three winter months, "the candles being hung up in lanterns.
See that the gudgeons and other places are kept oiled, and
the teeth of wheels greased or soai)ed, or coated with anti-
attrition.
Implements not now in use may be repaired, also harness
greased, ropes spliced, and various evenini; jobs executed,
where it is customary to work a part of the winter evenings.
Men's lodge. (3856.) In some distiicts the unmarried farm-
servants have a common living room in tlie farmery, with a
sleeping-room over, or sleei>ing-rooms over the horses. It is
the duty of the farmer or bailitt" to see that these young men
are properly occupied during the long winter evenings. A
portion of every man's time will be taken up in mending his
clothes or shoes, and sometimes in oiling and cleansing horse
harness ; the rest they ought to be encouraged to pass in read-
ing, or otherwise instructing themselves. One may read aloud
to the rest; one may instruct the others on any subject
4 G 3
master may be got in for an hour or two every evening, who
would teach them all. A master suitable for this purpose will
often be found among the married servants, or among the
village mechanics. To serious studies may be joined recreati-ve
ones, such as the flute, violin, story-telling, singing, speech-
making, dramatic attempts, &c. The bailitt' or farmer should
occasionally come and examine e.ich lad, and bestow some
mark of approbation on the most deserving.
4. Live Stock. (5546.)
store farms (6451.), whether of sheep or cattle, require con-
siderable attention during the winttr and spring months to
supply straw and hay, with such green food as can be spared,
to stock on scanty pastures ; and to shelter during storms, espe-
cially of snow.
Lambs are dropped during this month by the Dorset sheep,
and near London are generally kept in the house and fed. <6483.)
These require regular attention.
Co/ t)e«. fatting at this sea.son (6167.) should be kept very
clean, and their supplies of milk liberal. Calves to be reared
as stock should never be dropped sooner than April.
Pigs (6538.), poultry (6680.), and stock in general, should be
kept in good heart "at this season, otherwise in the spring
months they will be fit for nothing, and hsdf the simimer
will elapse before they recover the bad effects of winter starv-
ation.
Fish, when the ponds are covered with ice, require attention,
to break holes to admit air. (68()0.)
liees if dormant do not require to be fed ; but if the weather
is so mild, or thev are placed in so warm a situation as to occa-
sion their flying about, they should be examined, to ascertain if
feeding be requisite. (6827.)
5. Grass Lands. (5086.)
Dry soils and uplatuls should alone be stocked with cattle or
young horses at this season. (5257.) Sheep sliould not be
allowed to graze either on wet marshy meadows or on young
clovers. (5005.) Grass lands, under a system of irrigation, may
now be kept covered. (405S.) Clayey soils and others not pro-
perly drained should now have that operation eliectually jier-
formed on the surface (3973.) or under it (3961.), according to
circumstances.
Worms (6921.) on some soils do considerable injury to grass.
Where the labor is not considered too much, .ind there is a
water barrel at any rate, they may be killed by mixing powder
of Ume with the water, at the rate of one pint to ten gallons.
On lawns, and in small paddocks, or in the care of Fcrme
ortufes getting rid of worm casts is an object worth attending
to, and this month, February, and October, are the best seasons
for the operation.
6. Arable Lands. (4548.)
PLiugh when the soil is not too wet. Lead out dung and form
field cfunghills, also corniest heaps, with j>edt or other mat-
ters. See that :drains, ditches, and water-turrows tuu freely,
and answer their respective ends.
1190
KALENDARIAL INDEX.
.PKOtM (4764.) are In some dry situations planted In the last
week of the mwnth ; and also pease, and sometimes oats, are
sown. On the whole, however, it is better to defer the beans
and pease till the first and second weeks of February, and the
oats till the two last weeks of that month.
Spring wheat of the common kind {4G22.) may be sown where
the soil is suitable.
7. Fences (2767.), Boads (S280.), and Drains.
(3909.)
Harvthimu may be planted in fence-lines, in any of the differ-
ent modes. (2780.) Ditches, walls, palings, and all other
fences of the common kind may be formed ; but none where
hollies or other evergreens are to be used. Repair by the differ-
ent modes. (2794.) Roads and drains may be formed at aU
times and seasons.
8. Orchards (3770.) and Hop-grounds. (5393.)
Frtine trees and free them of moss, 'miere digging rou nd
_t »_-^= •__■ ».!, jj g gji^jj season. Stake and tie
each tree is practised,
newly planted trees. Plant orchards.
hop plantations. (6400.)
Trench groimd for
9. Wood Lands and Plantations. (3627.)
Prepare the soil for planting. Plant deciduous hard wooded
trees in mild weather. Plant and sow the larger tree seeds,
■whether in places where they are finally to remain, or in
nursery -grounds.
Fell timber and coppice not valuable on accoimt of its bark.
Stock up roots, stack them, and char them.
Prune deciduous trees; fill up vacancies. Cut 'hawthorn
hedges. (2790.) Gather any tree seeds not before gathered.
Drain wood-lands and cut paths or other openings required
through them, the leaves being now off the deciduous sorts.
FEBRUARY.
Weather
at
thTlfe;!^
mometer.
Greatest
Variation
from the
Average.
Average
of the
Barometer.
Q:uantity
of Rain.
REMARKS.
This month (the spring; or sprmd kale month of the Sax-
ons) is usually subject to much rain, or snow ; either is
accounted seasonable : the old proverb being, " February
fill dike with either black or white." Round London,
the sap in vegetables shows evident symptoms of motion
about the middle of the month, and sometimes a week
earlier. The animal kalendar, and inflorescence of native
trees for this month will generally be found very correct.
London -
Edinburgh
Dublin -
42 3
36 6
43 78
5
29 94
29 556
30 091
0-873 inch.
1-269
2-24
^ 1, Kalendar of Animated Nattire round London.
In the first meek : bees (apis mdlifera) come out of their hives,
cnats (culex) play about, insects {insecta) swarm under sunny
hedges, and the earth-worm {lumbricus terrestru) lies out ; hen-
chaffinches (/nngitfa) flock, and the song-thrush, or throstle
{turdus tmtsicus), and common lark {alauda arvensis) smg.
Second rveek : the buntings {emJberiza allja\, and Imnets [fnn.
eilla linata), appear in flocks; sheep {oms aries) drop their
lambs ; geese {anas anser) begin to lay.
Third rveek: rooks {corvus fnigilegus) begin to pair, and re-
sort to their nest- trees; house-sparrows (fniiplla doinestica)
chirp, and begin to build; the chaffinch U'ringiUa, cxlebs)
sings. ...
Fourth meek : the partridge (tetrao perdnx) begms to pair,
the blackbird (turdus merula) whistles, and the wood-lark
{alauda arvensis et arborea) sings ; the hen {phasianus gallus)
sits.
; 2. Kalendar qf Vegetable Nature round London.
Jn the first meek : the snowdrop [galanthus nivalis), whin {ulex
europceus), white deadnettle (larmum album), polyanthus (pri-
mula veris) flowers ; and the elder {samiiucus nigra), and some
roses and honeysuckles begin to expand their leaves.
Second meek : common crowfoot (ranunciUus repens), dande-
lion (leontodon taraxacum), and the female flowers of hazel
{coryhis avellana) apjiear.
Third meek .- veronica agrestis in flower ; many of the poplar
and willow tribe show their catkins ; and also the yew {tawits
baccata), alder {alnus communis), the tulip {tulipa), crown im-
perial (fritillaria imperialis), and various other bulbs, boldly
emerging fVom the ground.
Fourth meek .- the erica camea, wood strawberry {fragarui
vesca), some speedwells {veronica), the groundsel, and some-
times the stocks and wall-flower {cheiranthus) in flower. Some
sorts of gooseberries, apricots, and peaclres, beginning to open
their buds.
8. Farm Yard. (2740.)
See last month. In taking in stacks to thresh, destroy ver-
min as much as possible (6855.). Clear away the bottoming of
straw, faggots, or other temporary matter, and leave the site
perfectly neat and clean : the poultry will pick up what grains
may have dropped. Be vigilant in keeping stock of every de-
scription in order; wintering cattle by frequent supplies of
fresh straw and turnips, or other roots ; horses by soimd com,
and good pease-straw, or clover -hay, dispensing as much as
possible with wheat and oat straw. The evening food should,
occasionally at least, be of carrots or potatoes.
Poultry now lay freely, and if some indicate a desire to incu-
bate, so much the better where an early brood is an object.
Men's loilge. There are still a good many hours fcr mental
improvement.
4. Live Stock. (5546.) *
Sheep generally begin to lamb during this month, and re-
quire unremitting attention from the shepherd. (6381.) At-
tend to feeding lambs as before (6483.), and to milch cows
(6183.) and fattening calves (6167.)
5. Grass Lands. (5086.)
See last month. Manures, where applied to grass lands,
may be laid on at this season ; and such old mossy lands as are
to be broken up, may now be pared with a view to burning
next month.
The watering of meadows in warm situations may be partial-
ly left off towards the middle of the month, to encourage the
growth of the grass. (4056.)
6. Arable Lands. (4548.)
Beans should be put in during this month. (4764.) Pease for
podding, and for a ripened crop may be sown at different pe-
riods (4739.), and tares for soiling or seed. (4795.) Oats sown
from the middle of this month to the middle of March (4694.),
unless on very old turf, where they may be sown later. It is a
common, but erroneous opinion, that old grass lands intended
to be broken up and sown with oats or beans, should be plough-
ed as early as possible, so as the frost may have some effect on
the furrow before seed time. But this, though most plausible,
is most dangerous doctrine, it lieing found from experience,
that lands so ploughed and sown, are always more subject to
have the plant of com destroyed by the grub, wire worm, or
other larviE. The only safe mode with such lands, is not to
plough them till about the middle of March, and then to
plough/sow, and roll immediately afterwards. It would ap-
pear that by this practice the larvae of insects are buried so
deep, that they have not time to reach the surface before the
grain has germinated and grown out of the reach of their at-
tacks, or probably they may be so deeply buried as to be obliged
another season under ground; it being known to
.), Drains, Ditches
sects, Uke the seeds of many plants, will, when buried too deep,
or otherwise placed in circumstances not favorable for their
immediate hatching or gennbiation, remain there, retaining
their principle of life till they can make their way, or are by
accident placed in circumstances favorable for their develope-
ment. The safest plan, however, to break up old grass land,
is to pare and bum. (5278.)
Spring wheat of the common kind may now be advantage-
ously sown (4603.), and barley is also sown in some warm spots
in the last week of the month.
7. Fences (3909.), Roads \
{Ti&l.), Ponds (4130.)
Hedges may be planted (2785.), grown ones prunetl (2788.),
old ones plashed or cut down (2794.), and imperfect ones re-
paired. Walls built (2831.), water fences, and ponds form-
ed (4130.).
8. Orchards (3170.) and Hop-grounds {5393.)
See last month.
9. Wood Lands and Plantations. (3627.)
As in last month. Where there is a nursery store, nut and
kernel tree seeds may now be sown.
MARCH.
WeaUier
at
Average of
the Ther-
mometer.
Greatest
Variation
from the
Average.
Average
of the
Barometer.
Quantity
of Rain.
REMARKS.
The beginning of March usually concludes the winter ; and
the end of the month is generally indicative of the suc-
ceeding spring ; according to the proverb, " March comes
in hke a lion, and goes out like a lamb." The Saxons
called this montli the lengthening month, 'in allusion
to the increasing of the days. This is a laborious and try-
ing month, both for men and cattle engaged in field oper-
ations.
London -
Edinburgh
Dublin -
46 4
41 7
44 09
4
30 20
»28 886
29 707
0-716 inch.
1-455
2-364
1. Kalendar of Animated Nature rou7id London.
1)1 the first meek : the ring-dove {columba palambus) coos ;
the white wagtail {motacilla alba) sings, antl the vi^llow wagtail
{nvilticillafiarn) appe;irs. The i-arthworm {lutnliricusierrestris),
and the snail {hclii), and sivig (lijnax), engender.
Seamd neck i tiie jackdaw {corvus nionueJiila) begins to come
to churches ; the tomtit {pants ran-ideus) makes its spring note ;
brown wood-owls {strix uliila) hoot ; and the small tortoist-
shel I butterfly ( papilio urticu-, L.) appears.
Third week: the marsh titmouse (pan(« palustrts) begins hi>
notes. Various flies {nnisrn) .ippear. The fox {cnnis rulpu\
smells rank. T he turkey-cock {mtlcag^is gaUo-pavv) struts and
gobbles.
KALENDARIAL INDEX.
1191
. Fourth rveek : the yellow hammer (emherixa citnndla) and
tKecn wood-iiecker ( victa viridie) sing ; rooks, ravens (corva),
and house-i>if;eons {culumba:) build; the goldfinch {fmifnlUi
carduelis) sings. Field crickets (scambani*) open their holes;
and the connhon ilea ( puUx irritant) a|>i)ears.
2. Kalendar of Fcgetable Nature round London.
In thefirit meek : various species of the pine, larch, and fir
tribe in full flower ; the rosemary {roaemarimu qfficiruilis), the
■willow {salLv) and bay (laurus nobilU) in blossom ; various trees
and shrubs beginning to open their buds.
Second fveek : the common honeysuckle (lontcera pencli/me-
num), and some roses in leaf; crocus vemus, and other sub-
species, and some scillae m (flower. Pilewort {Jlcaria), and
creeping crowfoot {ranvnculus reveiu), hepatica, and elder
(tambitctu nigra), sometimes in leaf.
Third iveek: saxifraga oppositifolia, tbraba vema, daphne
pontica, and coUina; and lonicera nigra, in flower.
Fourth week : the peach, nectarine, apricot, corchyrus ja-
ponicus, pyrus, japonica, crown imperial, saxifraga crassifolia,
buxus sempervirens, and othsr plants, in warm situations, in
flower, or just advancing to that state.
3. Farm Yard. (2740.)
Wintering cattle should be liberally supplied with food from
this time, till they can be wholly turned to grass: as straw and
hay gets drier at this season, more should be given, and the
supply of turnips, or other roots, rather increased than diminish-
ed. Where oil cake, brewers' grains, and similar articles can
be obtained, they are valuable auxiliaries. Fatting cattle
(6183.) and milch cows (6174.) require continued attention to
food, cleanliness, and moderate exercise. Working horses
must be kept in good condition ; if they fall off now, they will
not recover themselves for several months. Potatoes may now
be cut into sets, preparatory for next month.
4. Livestock. (5546.)
Shesjj now drop their lambs freely ; and none pay better
than such as are turnip fed at this time, and finished off in
April, on forward pasture. As turnips begin to run to flower
about this time, they are apt to prove more than usually laxa-
tive,'and therefore the stock suppUed with them should have an
extra supply of hay.
5. Grass Lands (5086.)
Meadows intended for mowing (5197.) should now be shut
up, their surface having been freed from stones or other extra-
neous matters, the furrows or water gutters made completely
effective, and, if the weather will permit, the surface bush-har-
rowed and rolled. Meadows which have been flooded during
winter will, in favorable situations, shew a considerable crop
of grass by the beginning of this month. Turn off the water
a week or ten days, till the surface gets firm : then feed with
ewes and lambs, giving a little hay in the evening. Calves may
also be turned on these meadows, but nothing heavier. The
best mode is to hurdle off the grass in strips, in the manner of
eating turnips .or clover in the places of their growth. Moles
(6921.) and worms (6854.) are best destroyed at this season.
6. Arable Lands. (4548.)
There are few hardy seeds , whether of agriculture or garden-
ing, that may not be committed to the soil during this month.
Spring wheat of the common kind (iGO."?.) may still be sown ;
but if possible, not later than the middle of the month, oats
(4650.), rye (4694.), barley (4659.), canarv cam (5485.), buck
wheat (5490.), beans (4764.), pease, tares, &c.
Clover and rye grass (4985.) may now lie sown among young
wheats after naked fallows, or among spring com in lands m
good heart jmd fine tilth.
Field beet (4926.), carrots (4962.), parsneiis (4951.), and
Swedish turnip should be sown the last fortnight of the month,
provided the land is dry enough to be sufficiently cleaned, and
pulverized to the depth of at least a foot. It more frefjuently
happens that this cannot be got done till the beginning of April,
and hence this class of seeds are seldom got in before the mid-
dle of that month. The carrots should be first sown, and the
Swedish turnip will bear to be the latest. Lands intended for
IMJtatoes, cabbages, turnips, transplanted Swedish tumij), and
other plants of the Brassica kind should be brought forward by
such ploughings, cross ploughings, and workings with the grub.
I)er, as tlieir nature and state may require. It is one great ad-
vantage of the common white turnip, that it admits of two
months more time for preparing the soil than other root or
Brassica crops. Summer or wheat fallows require at least one
furrow in course of the month.
7. Fences {Ti^.),Roads (3280.), and Drains (3909.)
Thorns and other hedge plants may be put in, but the earlier
in the month the business is completed the better. This is an
excellent season for makmg or repairing roads (347.'S.), drains,
ponds, embankments, &c. the ground being still moist, and the
days sufficiently long to admit of a man's laboring ten hours,
or froifr six to six. In January, the ground is often too wet, or
frozen, or covered with snow, and the days too short for advan-
tageous day labor. In July and August the ground is too dry
and hard for spade work, and day labor high on account of the
proximity of hay time and harvest.
8. Orchards (3770.) and Hop-grounds. (5393.)
Finish pruning fruit-trees (3798.), and also digging round
their stems, if that is practised. (3806.) WTiere young orchards
are grazed, see that the guards or fences to the single trees are
in repair.
Form plantations of hops (5393.), and open up and dress the
hills of esUblished plants, retiuning the moiUd to their roots.
(5116.)
9. Wood Lands and Plantations. (3627.)
In the tree nursery, finish sowing acorns, keys, nuts, mast,
berries, stones. Sow also the lighter trees, as ])oplar seed
(where it can lie got), willow, birch, alder, elm, &c. Trans-
plant from the seed bed, or from narrow to broader intervals,
and attend to other parts of the usual routine culture.
New planiatiotis may still be planted, endeavoring if jiossible
to finish putting in deciduous trees with the month ; using Uie
puddle in dry weather (.'5666.), and fixing by water (3667.)
Where large trees are introduced, the latter generally require to
be staked.
Evergreens of the harder kinds, as the Scotch pine, spruce fir,
&c. may be transplanted in the last week of the mpnth, but not
safelv before. They are often put in during any of the winter
months, but the result shews the impropriety of the practice.
Fill up blanks (3683.) in young plantations and hedges, and
fell timber, cut over coppice woods, and thin out young woods
as in last month. When plantations are to be raised from seed
where they are to remain for timber (3G45.), this is the month
for most seeds, but April is better for the pine and fir tiibe.
Sow the others in the second or third week of the month, and
if resinous trees are to be mixetl, a sprinkling of their seeds
can be sown over the others in April.
APRIL.
Weather
at
Average of
the Ther-
Imometer.l
Greatest
Variation
from the
Average.
Average
of the
Barometer.
Quantity
of Rain.
REMARKS.
The weather of this month is distinguished by the rapidity
of its changes. It is generally stormy, intersi>ersed with
gleams of sunshine, hail, snow, .some frost, and occa-
sionally violent storms of whid. It is a month of the
utmost activity to the cultivator of arable land, who
during its course finishes the sowing of spring corns
and grasses, and begins that of roots and leaves.
London -
Edinburgh
Dublin -
49 9
46 3
51 125
3
29 77
29 873
92 909
1.460 inch.
2.414
2.561
1. Kalendar of Animated Nature round London.
In the first week : the viper {coluber lienu) and woodlouse
{oitiscui dsellus) appear: the misseltoe-thrush {tnrdus vUcivorus
liairs; frogs {rame) croak and spawn, and moths (pludamie)
Second rveek: the stone curlew {charndrius wdicnemus) cla-
mors; young frogs {rami femporaria) a)>pear. The pheasant
{phasianus) crows; the trout \salmo truila) rises; and spiders
(aranea-) abound.
Third week : the crested wren {motacilla regulut) sings ; the
blackbird {tardus menda), raven {con^is corax), pigeon {columba
ditmestica), hen {phasianus gallus), and duck (aiMs boscha) .sit;
various insects appear ; and the feldfare (iurdus pilaris) is still
here.
Fourth week: the swallow {hirundo rvstica) returns; the
nightingale (nuiOjcilla lucinia) sings ; the bittern {ardea rolellaria) '
makes a noise ; the house martin (hirundo urbica) appears ; the
black -cap {motacilla utraaipilta) whistles; and the common
snake (colitber nairix) appears.
2. Kalaidarof Vegetable Nature round London.
In the first week: the daffodil {mrcissus pseudo-imrcissus),
the garden hyacinth {hyacinthus oriintalis), the wallflower
{cheiranihus cheiri), the cowslip (primula officinalis), the i)eri.
winkle {vinca), sloe (prunus spinosa), and various other herbs
and trees in flower.
Second week : the ground-ivy {^tecoma hederacea), gentianella
{gentiaTUi acaulis), pulmonaria virginica, the auricula, iberis
semperviren-s, oinphaloides, vema, and mbst of jthe common
fruit-trees, and fruit-shrubs in flower.
Third week : some robinine, andromedoe, kalmiic, and other
American shrubs ; daphne laureola, ulmus campestris, chryso-
plenium opiwsititblium, mercwrialis p enni pnd other planu
in flower.
4
Fourth week : the beech {figus) and elm {ulmus) in flower ;
ivy-berries drop from the racemes ; the larch in leaf, ^md the
tulip and some white narcissi and fritillaries in flower.
3. Fann-yard. (2740.)
This month will in most situations terminate the wintering,
of cattle in the straw-yard. Straw is now very dry, fherefore-
tumijis, or other green food or roots, should be added in pro-
jwrtion.
Horses should be kept in high order on account of the hard
work and extra exertion often required of tliem during this
mynth. If there are carrots or inilatoes to steam for them
once a day, that will greatly aid hay and com ; if not, steam a
part of the hay.
The accidental supplies of foo<l for store pigs and poultry are
less abundant during this month, because less time can U;
spared for threshing. There are fewer wintering cattle, and
the yards are generally now cleaned out for the field dung-
hills.
4. Live Stock. (5546.)
The end of this month is a good time for mares to foal (5960. ),
and they should have the horse accordingly. (3965.) Attend
at the proi)er periods first to moderate working, and then to
entire ease before foaling time. (6972.). .
Con's must still be well f<-d with roots or steamed food, within
doors, letting them taste the grass occasionally towards the end
of the month. (6183.)
Sheep and lamia generally require a good deal of artificial food
during the first half of this month. When the tumiiis are
exv>eniled, clover hay, grains of liarley which have been m.ilfedv
rape cake or linseetl cake, are the next resources. (5472.f-
About the' end of the month they may be turned on the pas-
tures, and then it is that mutton generally drops in pric«: — a
hint to the farmer to sell all he can in tlie «arly port of April
G 4
1192
KALENDARIAL INDEX.
Where there are wattr-meadows, the sheep and lambs -will
have been taitening on these during the whole of the month,
— an immense advantage to a farmer.
PmiUry of most kinds have now hatched their broods, and re-
quiie looking after, to see thev do not injure one another, nor
are attacked by stronger enemies.
5. Grass Lands. (5086.)
See that the fences are keyit up, and the gates regularly shut
and fastened ; as cattle newly let out are very apt to wander,
and more ready to break through fences than when the herbage
is more abundant.
Water-msadoTVS (4053.) are generally shut up for hay about
the end of the month, the ewes and lambs being then turned
on young artificial grasses, or common provincial pastures, in a
sufficiently forward state.
Monnnf^-meatlowa of the common kind (.5197.), and clovers,
and mixed grasses for hav, should be hand-picked, bush-
harrowed, and rolled, early in the month, and then shut up for
the scythe.
6. Arable Lands. (4548.)
Finish sowing all the S])ring corns (4659.), pease, tares,
lucem (5025.), saintfoin, and all other herbage, plants, and
grasses. (5086.)
Summer rvheat (4602.) may be sown during the whole of the
month, also barley in late situations (4659.), pease for late pod-
ding, and under peculiar circumstances, tares for cutting
green in October and November.
Manvfudorud plants, as woad, madder, flax, hemp, mustard,
&c. ; oil plants, as rape, poppy, and such plants as are grown
for medicmal purjioses or peculiar uses in domestic economy,
as rhubarb, liquorice, buck or beech-wheat, cress, &c. may all
be sown or planted from the middle of last to the middle of
this month. The first week in April will, in the (greater num-
ber of seasons, soils, and situations, suit the most of them.
Carrot (4962.), field beet (4926.), parsnep (4951.), and Swed.
ish turnip (4880.), if not sown the last week of March, should
be finished during the first ten days of April. A bed of Swedish
turnips should be sown in the garden for transplanting in
the field by the end of the month, or the first week in May.
The last fortnight of the month is the best season for planting
potatoes (4825.) ; in the earliest situations this is soon enough
tor a full crop ; in the latest the middle of May will answer
better. For very early crops for the supply of summer markets,
dry rich sheltered fields may be i)lanted in March. In the
moors of Scotland they often plant in June, and still have a
crop : there the potatoe is alike obnoxious to late spring and
early autumnal frosts.
7. Fences (27b7.). Roads (^
and Drains.
All these should have been put in order before, so as to leave
the hedger of the farm (6929.), and the laborer of all-work
(G926.), time to assist in getting in planted crops, as potatoes,
cabbages, &c. in the fields, cropping the garden, mowing, or
otherwise dressing the orchard, shrubbery, lawn, or such
..-1 1 .. 1 __ jj^g farmer indulges in
8. Orchards (3770) and Hop-grounds. (5393.)
In some cases fruit-trees may be so overrun with insects
towards the end of the month as to make it worth while to burn
wet straw under them ; but this rarely happens before the
middle of May, and even then farm orchards may almost
always be, left to the birds and vigor of the trees. Hops are
generally poled in this month, and the ground between the
hills afterwards stirred with the cultivator or nidget eis it is call -
ed in Kent. (5417.)
9. Wood Lands and Plantations, (3627.)
All planting and pruning of deciduous trees should Ik;
finished the first week of the month. Afterwards the planting
and pruning of evergreens may commence ; first the common
pine and fir, and afterwards the holly, yew, and other forest
evergreens. (3655.) If these can be watered, and staked, so
much the better. Barking oaks may in some warm situations
be felle<l the last week of the month, but May is the more ge-
neral time. (37-18.)
MAY.
Weather
at
-mfer°-'
mometer.
(Greatest
Variation
from the
Average.
Average
of the
Barometer.
Quantity
of Rain.
KEMARKS.
Vegetation now goes on with great vigor, though there
are often very cold and even frosty nights, which ma-
terially injure the blossoms of fruit-trees, and sometimes
the young shoots of the hop and potatoe. Man, in com-
mon with other animals, being now full of life and vigor,
the consummation of animal desire is frequent; but
marriage is better deferred till September, when the
offspring will be bom in the May or June following, a
season of the year when the poor man can better support
the expenses of an accouchement than hi the cold month
resjHindent to marr'aL'es in ]M<iv.
London -
Edinburgh
Dublin -
56 61
.50 4
62 193
2 5
30 02
29 585
3« 061
0.794 Inch.
1.945
1.812
1. Kalendar of Animated Nature round London.
Ire the Jirst week: the titlark {alavdu pmtensia) sings, the
cuckoo (cuculus canortis) is heard ; the gudgeon-(oroWKii» gobio)
spawns; the redstart {motacUla phcemcurus), swjft (iarunda apiis),
white-throat (motacUla sylvia), and stinging-fly (conopa calci-
ant ifortdca rubra), the laughing wren (motaciUa curucca), the
common flesh-fly (musca vomitoria), the lady-cow (cocrinella
Inpunkaia), grasshopper lark {alauda locusUe vocce), and willow-
wren (motacMa lalicaria), appear.
Third meek: the blue flesh-fly (musca votnitoria) appears;
black snails {helix nigra) abound, and the large bat appears.
Fourth meek: the great white-cabbage butterfly {papilio
brassiae), and dragon-fly {tibella 4-maculata) appear, the glow-
worm shines, and the ifem-owl, or goat-sucker {caprimulgus
europceus) returns.
I 2. Kalendar of Vegetable Nature round London.
In the fast meek : geum urbanum, artemisia campestris ; lily
of the vall^ (convallnria tw«j«/w),.water-violet {Iwttmuo palustris),
tulip-tree (liriodendron tulipifera), and numerous other j)lants in
flower.
Second rveek: the oak, ash, sweet chestnut (fagus cactanea),
hawthorn (mespilus oxyacantha), the common maple (acer cam-
pestre), horse-cnestnut (cescvlus hippocastanum), barberry (ter-
heris imlgaris), and the ajuga reptans in flower.
Third meek: the water scorjnon -grass, or forget-me-not
{mmsolis scorpioides), lime-tree (tilia), milk-wort (polygaia
tnilgaris), nightshade (airnpa belkulona), and various American
shrutis in flower, and rye (secnle hybernum) in ear.
Fourth meek : oaks, ashes, and beeches now generally in l^af,
nd the mulberry {morus nigra) beginning to open its buds.
The cinnamon rose, and some other hardy roses in flower ; and
also the bramble (nihus fnititoms), moneywort (lysiimtchi
nummularia), columbine {aquilegia viUgaris), and various other
trees and shrubs in blossom.
• 3. Farm-yard. (2740.)
Feeding and wintering on straw and roots generally ends,
and soiling (5004.) or pasturage (5017.) commences, in the
first fortnight. Where high-flavored milk and butter are pre-
ferred to quantity, then pasturage on dry -bottometl uplands is
to be preferred ; but where quantity and richness is the object,
soiling with clover and tares, and two or three hours' pastur-
age per day, for the sake of exercise, is the preferable system.
Even on farms where there is nothing to mow but old meadow,
soiling with that will be found more economical than pastur-
ing it. A field of meadow in good heart, mown and eaten
green, will, at a rough estimate, produce treble the quantity of
milk it would have done if jiastured, and four times as much
as it would do in the form of^dry hay.
The yards and pits arc generally cleared of dung, urine, fic.
at tliis'seaion; and if no soiling goes on, they should be kejit
clean during the summer, excepting what room is required for
the dung of the few stock which are there constantly, as
I'igs and poultrj', or occasionally, as horses while harnessing,
&c,
4. Live Stock. (554G.)
In turning cattle to grass, consider the different systems of
pasturing (5240.) ; adopt what jsuits your circumstances, and
pursue it regularly. See that water is not wanting to each
field (4127.) ; nor shade, rubbing posts, and shelter. (6256.)
Lean stock are generally dear during this month, from the
number of i)ersons who buy in juid feed off on grass. When
cattle or sheep are verv numerous, they are found to feed better,
and do less injury to the grass, in small herds or flocks than in
large ones.
Mures may have the horse during the first week, but not
later, considering the season of parturition. (5968.)
5. Grass Lands. (5086.)
As most grasses send up their flower-stalks during this
month, it is of importance so to stock pastures, as to eat these
down. This is onlif to be accomplished in recently sown down-
lands by overstocking, and not then completely if rye-grass pre-
vails. When grass-lands are to be mown, the best crop of hav
will be obtained by not pasturing after the middle of April.
Some may think that where cattle and sheei) are fetl till May
or June, the stalks left will come in as hay ; but as such fields
cannot be mown till the end of July, the stalks have long be-
fore shed their seed and become dry, and so shrivelled as to be
unfit'for food.
Where paring and burning is wanted, this is a favorable
season. (2971.)
Waier-mcadoms having been eaten down in April, are gene-
rally watered for the first three or four weeks of this month, to
bring forward the crop of hay. (4096.)
6. Arable Lands. (4'348.)
Summer wheat (4602.) and grass seeds (4602.) may still be
sown, but not profitably after the first week or ten days.
Swedish turnip (4889.), marygold, and yellow turnip, may be
profitably sown, and also early crops of common white turnip
where the soil is clean and duly prepared. (4887.)
The preparation o{ turnip fallows is the great business of this
month, and next the stirring of naked fallows (4568.), and the
culture, by horse and hand hoes, of corns and pulse in drills,
m late situations potatoes may be planted durmg the whole
month (4843) ; and hemp and flax sown during the first fort-
night. (5292. and 5327.) Tares for successional supply. (4795.)
7 Fences (2767.), Beads (3280.), and Drains.
(3909.)
Clean young hedge-mws. (2789.) Drains may now \>e advnn-
tageoubly designed, as the -I'rings sliow themselves more ton-
KALENDARIAL INDEX.
1193
splcuousl; during winter. The rest in this department is mere
routine.
8. Orchards {STiO.)and Hop-grounds. (5393.)
Grajled trees should l>e looked over occasionally, and any that
the clay has droppetl from reiovered. Remove suckers and
superfluous side shoots.
Stir and clean the hop-plutUatums ; place the poles, tie the
vines where necessary, and towards the end of the month,
•when Uie number of shoots wanted have taken the lead, cover
the Btool or centre of the plant with a smaU hill of soil, to pre-
vent It from sending up more shoots.
9. Wood Lands and Plantations. (3627.)
Continue to bark oak trees,' and. also the larch, and such
others as are adapted for the farmer (3740), but finish, if pos-
sible, by the middle of the month. Keep newly-planted large
trees properly staked, and all kinds of cultivated ground clear
of weeds.
JUNE.
Weather
at
fh7^rTer°5
mometer.
Greatest
VariaUon
from the
Average.
Average
of the
Barometer.
Quantity
of Rain.
REMARKS.
The weather is sometimes cold at the beginning, but is
generally agreeable and steady towards the middle of the
month. By observing the columns indicating the great-
est variation of the thermometer in each month, it will
be seen that it varies, in London, only two degrees in
June, which is less tlian in any of the preceding months.
In July and August the variation is the same ; but in
March and October it is twice as much.
London -
Edinburgh
Dublin -
63 22
57 2
58 76
2
29 93
29 666
30 06
0.332 mch.
1.935
0.860
1. Kalendar qf Aniinated Nature round London.
In the Jirtt meek : the sedge-sparrow {passer anmdinacea), the
tly-catcher (muscicapa atricapula), the wasp (vespa vulgaris),
and several species of the bee and butterfly appear.
Hecuiul week: the "burnet moth (sphhucjilipetulula), and forest-
fly {hippobosca equina) appear ; bees swarm.
Third meek: several flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, and
other insects appear.
Fmirth meek: insects abound; and singing-birds begin to
retire to the woods, and leave oft' singing.
2. Kalendar of Vegetable Nature round London.
In the first meek : water-lilies (nymphma, et nuphar) flower ;
also iris pseud -acorus, anthemis cotula, polygonum persicaria,
malva rotundifolia, and numerous other plants.
Hecmid meek : the vine, raspberry, and elder in full flower ;
also various Scotch roses (rcwa spitiosissima), broom {spartium),
nettle {urtica), and wheat in the ear.
Third meek : the orchis, epilobium, iris xiphium and xiphi-
oides, the hardy ixiae and gladioli, and a great variety of garden
and Held plants in flower; also the wheat and many of the
lierries in abundance; voung shoots of trees and shrubs have
nearly attained their length. Oats and barley in flower ; blue-
bottle, scabious, {ceidaurea cyanus), and numerous others in
bloom.
3. Farm.yard. (2740.)
Soiling is the principal operation now going forward (5004),
and requires the utmost attention to the cleanliness of the
animals, whether fatting cattle, feeding milch cows, or
horses.
4. Live stock. (554a)
Wash and shear shee^i (6441.); examine flocks individually
as to the fly (6436.) ; see to shade for every description of stock
■when the weather is hot. Bees swarm during this and next
month.
5. Grass Lands. (5086.)
Hay-making is now a principal business (5006. and 5217.)
Any tussocks or flower-stalks (bents) which appear, not-
wit!istanding the elose feeding of April and May, should
now be mown (5201.); thistles and similar weeds cut out
close by the root (5542.); pare and bum as in May (2971.)
clean out ponds, water-courses, wells, &c. See that clovers,
tares, or other soiling crops are mown close to the soil.
6. Arable Land. (4548.)
Great part of the turnip process goes on during the three
first weeks of this month and the latter half of May. (4876.)
Dung fallows and otherwise bringthem forward (4508.); drain-
infj (3909.), levelling, altering ridges, &c., as the case may re-
quire ; weed broad-cast crops, and stir the soil between such
Warning, where it can be practised, may
(4117.); thin out the fiist sown turnips.
as are m
now be commenced
(4893.)
7. Fences (2767.), Roads (3280.), and Brains.
(3909.)
Weed hedges, but avoid clipping them, which 'only creates a
close surface of feeble shoots, that in the end becomes so thick
as to exclude light and air from the central stems, and occa-
sions their languishing and death. (2792.)
Dig and otherwise prepare materials for rojids (3386.) and
drains. (3963.)
8. Orchards (3770.) and Hop-grounds. (5393.)
Insects, or other effects of what are called blights, can seldom
be destroyed on so large a scale as that of the farm-orchard or
hop-garden. Burning weeds or wet straw, litter, &c. will do
something ; and on a small scale, washing with lime-water,
soap-suds, tobacco-water, or a mixture of these, will prove
effectual. (3440.) Those who tie the binds or vine of the hop
to the poles, instead of leaving them to nature, have generally
completed the operation by the middle of the month. In
some early sjxjts the superfluous, shoots are cut off" about the
end of the month.
9. Wood Lands and Plantations. (3627.)
The wood-man is now r hiefly employed in trussing up the
branches of barked trees, and o'therwise disposing of what is
unlit for timber purjwses. (3745.) Old cojwes or stools of trees,
woods, or hedges, may now be advantau'eously stocked up,
stacked, and, when dry, charred for fuel. (3762.)
JULY.
Weather
at
mometer.
Greatest
Variation
from the
Average.
Average
of the
Barometer.
Quantity
of Rain.
REMARKS.
This was called hay month by the Saxons ; and though
hay-making near London is generally finished in June,
yet in places where manure is less abundant, it is chiefly
made in this month. The fanner's prosjiects as to
crop may now be determined as to almost every arUcle
cultivated.
Edinburgh
Dublin -
66 3
60 6
61 13
2
29 89
29 445
29 929
2.194 inch.
2.546
2.614
1. Kalendar of Animated Nature round London.
In the first meek : the cuckoo (cucidus canonis) leaves oft' sing-
ing ; the stone-curlew {charudritis adicmrtmt) whistles occasion-
ally late at night, and the golden-crested wren {im)tacilla regu-
iiis) now and tnen chirps.
Heemul meek: the quail {tetraoferrugtneiu) caUs; the cuckoo-
spit, or firog-hopjier {cicada spumaria) abounds.
Third meek : young frogs migrate. Hens moult.
/••utirth meek : the great horse-fly (tabanus bovimts) appears ;
and partridges fly.
2. Kalendar of Vegetable Nature round London.
In tlie first meek: enchanter's nightshade {dram lutetiana) and
lavender {lavendula spica) in flower, and pinks and carnations
in full bloom.
Secuiul meek : the fallen star (tremella nosioc) appears ; also
puff-balls {lycoperdon bovista), and sometimes the common mush-
room {aganctts campestris).
Third meek: raspberries and gooseberries rii)e, iiotatoes in
flower, asparagus in berry, the lihums in jierfection.
Fourth week : the trullle {tuber cibarimn) now hunted, or dug
up in commons and forests; nightshade (solanum Jiurriim),
di.-vil's bit .saiiiiiDM siiccita), bumet-saxifrage {pimi>ineUa taju-
ijraga), antla jjreat number of plajits in flower.
3. Farm-yard. (2740.)
As in June; between hay and com harvest is generally
a very good time for the farmer to make a tour to observe
more extensively the practices of his own district, and to wit-
ness those of other districts.
4. 5. Live Stock (5546.) and Grass Lands. (5086.)
Lambs are now weaned (6428.) when not fattened off; at
first they require the richest keep. As green food will now be
abundant, every anim.-U about a farm that can live and thrive,
or answer its end by the soiling system, should be so treated.
The weather teing hot, cattle or sheep in fieliLs must be fre-
quently looked to, as to shade, water, and abundant keep.
hurterlng from thirst, or a want of food, they are very ajit to
break through fences, which at this season is more than usually
injurious, on account of the state of the com crops.
6. Arabic Lands. (4548.)
Attend to weeding, hoeing, and ot*ierwise moving the soil
between rowed crops, more especially potatoes and turnips.
Towards the end ot the month, the first-sown white turnips
will be in a state to thin out; and a farther thinning may
be advantageously given to field beet, carrots, ^:c. at this sea-
son. Where iiease are sown for podding, they will n«w b« iu
1194
KALENDARIAL INDEX.
abundance for gathering ; In warm situations sooner. Buck
wheat may now be. sown for autumnal food for game. (3490.)
jRoads (3280.), and Drains.
7. Fences (2767.),
(3909.)
As in^ June.
8. Orchards (3770.) and Hop-grounds. (5393.)
Cherries, strawberries, gooseberries, &c. where grown as
field-crops, are now in gathering, and towards the end of the
month, fallen apples and plums for tarts. Hop-grounds are
looked over, and the sui)erfluous vine pruned off, &c. In.Kent
and other places these prunlngs are often a perquisite of tha
pruner, who lays them aside as fodder for cows.
9. Wood Lands and Plantations.
'~ As in June; and prune the gean, which at other seasons is
apt to bleed. (.'^692.) This season answers perfectly for pruning
all sorts of trees, and if their leaves and spray were an ob jeit for
fodder, as in Sweden and Italy, no doubt it would be preferred.
(3691. and 3G93.) Wounds in trees do not now bleed as they
sometimes do in spring and autumn, and they heal, and are
in part covered over with beurk, before the approach of winter.
(3^96.)
AUGUST.
Weather
at
Average of
the Ther-
mometer.
Greatest
Variation
from the
Average.
Average
of the
Barometer.
Quantity
of Ram.
REMARKS.
This is the bam, or harvest numth of the Saxons; and, as
every body knows, the busiest month of the aKriculturist.
It is, in consequence, the most profitable season f9r the la-
borer and his family , who are generally in full employ, and
at an increase of wages,^ or perquisite, for four or six
weeks at this season.
London -
Edinburgh
Dublin -
65 85
60 6
62 82
2
30 06
29 828
30 172
0.824 inch.
1.996
5.858
1. Kalendar of Animated Nature round London.
In the first meek: flying-ants (/orwtJca) appear ; bees kill their
drones; and the swallow-tailed butterfly (papUio machaon)
appears.
Second week: young martins {hirumlo urbica) and swallows
{hirundo rustica) begin to congregate, and swifts (hirundo apus)
to depart; the-whame, or h\xTiel-i\y (astrus bovis) lays eggs on
horses.
Third meek : the black-eyed marble butterfly {papilio semele)
appears. Various birds reassume their spring notes.
Fourth meek : the nuthatch {sitta eurvpata) chatters, the stone-
curlew (ckaradrius asdicnemns) whistles at night, the goat-
sucker {caprimulgus europams) and young owls (strijc uluta)
make a noise in the evening; robin-redbreast [nwiaalta nibicola)
sings ; and rooks roost on their nest-trees.
2. Kalendar of Vegetable Nature round London:
Inthefirst meek: melilot (trtfoliivm officinale), rae (ruta graveo-
lens), yellow succory {picris hieracioides), huidock (arctium lappa)
in flower ; the bread-corns ripe.
Second meek: wild clary {salva verbenacea), meadow-rue
(Ikalictruxn fiavum), jiloughman's spikenard (conyza squarrosa),
and various other natives in flower.
Third meek : the mallow (malva), lavatera, hollyhock {alcca
rosea), and lobelias, among the garden-flowers; and the poly-
gonums and potamogetons among the wild plants now m
Fourth meek: the autumnal crocus (colchicum atdumnale),
aster, solidago, senecio paludosus, teasel (dipsacus fullonum), and
various other plants in flower. The earlier varieties of all the
hardy kernel fruits ripe.
3. Farm-yard. (2740.)
The rick-yard should now be attended to (2744.); stack-
stands repaired or put in order : bottoming of faggots, and
straw or rape haulm got together ; thatch in readiness, and
ropes made. (2947-)
At any spare period the teams may be employed carting out
the summer-made dung to the wheat &Uows, or to form field
dunghills for spring crops, &c.
4. Live stock. (5546.)
Select the stock of laTnJjs to be kept as breeders. (64,^4.)
Swine commonly bring their second litter of pigs in this month,
which, owing to the dropping com, is generally one of abund-
£lnt keep, both for them and jwultry. Farmers in some i>laces
look to the stubbles as a source of good food for their cows, as
others do to the fallows for keep for their sheep. Where
either is the case, the culture must be of a very mferior de-
scription.
5. Ch-assLand. (5086.)
■Where meadoms axe manured, that operation generally goes
on after the hay is removed, or during winter ; the surface in the
former case being hard with drought, and in the latter by
frost. Aftergrass should in general be shut up and reserved for
later keep, and in some cases as a winter resource. Keep down
weeds, tussocks, anthills, &c. Turn the water on meadow-
lands as soon as the hay is removed, and let it remain till a
third crop is in forwartlness. (4058.)
6. Arable Lands. (4548.)
Weed and stir among green crops, earth up potatoes (4863.),
but by no means turnips, as that operation only prevents them
from attaining a full size. (4893.) Reaping co'mmences in all
the southern districts in the first week of this month, and in
some by the middle of .Tuly. When the operation is executed
by day-work, the most unremitting inspection of the master is
necessary ; and even when the greatly preferable mode of reap-
ing by tlie acre is adopted, he should be continually in motion
from one party to another, to see that the operation "is performed
low and clean.
Naked faltxnvs in late situations receive the seed furrow dur
ing this Bionth, excepting in cases where the seed is ploughed
in, an operation generally referred to the middle of September.
Sow cabbage-seeds (4969.) for plants to put out in Anril next.
Sow turnips after early pease which have been poddecl (4753.),
or early cut>wheat, tares, cabbages, &c. or after hemp and flax,
which are generally pulled by the middle of this month. (5292.
and 5327.) (irass seeds sown alone at this season (4925.) will
generally succeed better than at any other; they germinate
as well in spring, but the heats of July often bum up the
tender plants.
7. Fences {^67.), JRoads (3280.), and Drains.
(3909.)
As in the twoprecedmg months.
8. Orchards (3770.) and Hop-grounds. (5393.)
Apples and plums of some sorts are now ripe. Grafts may in
general be untied. Budding performed, and pruning, if de'sir-'
able, as observed last month under woods and plantations.
9. Woodlands and Plantations. (3627.)
See last month.
SEPTEMBER.
Weather
at
Average of
the Ther-
mometer.
Greatest
Variation
from the
Average.
Average
of the
Barometer.
Ouantity
of Rain.
REMARKS.
The temperature begins now to decline and to vary; the
nights begin to lengthen, and heavy dews and dimi-
nished transpiration and evaporation promote the growth
of grass, herbage, plants, and especially turnips. This
is still a busy month with the agriculturist; in the
warmest situations he is finishing harvest-work, and in
the latest commencing it. Animals of most sorts are
now fat; fruits are ripe; honey abundant; and most
products of the earth in perfection and plenty.
Ixmdon -
Edinburgh
Dublm -
59 63
54 3
59 35
3 5
30 09
29 739
30 239
0.482 inch.
3.470
3.021
1. Kalendar of Animated Nature round London.
Inthefirst meek: young broods of goldfinches (frinpilla'car.
durlis) appear. The linnet {frinf^lla Hnnta) congregates. The
bull (/xM tamvs) makes his slirill autumnal noise ; and swallows
{hirundo rustica) sing.
Second meek: common owls (strix fiammen) hoot. The
saffron butterfly {papilio hrjale), and willow red under-wing
moth iphaltena pacta) appears. Herrings (clupea harengus) are
HOW cheap.
Third meek : the ring ou/Ie {tiirdus torqimtus) appears. The
fly-catcher (muscicapa atricanilla) withdraws.
Fourth meek : the stare [siumiis vulgaris) congregates. The
wood-lark (alauda arborea) sings. The woodcock (scolopax
rusticola), and feldfare [turdus pilaris) appear; and the swallow
( kirundo rustica) departs!
2. Kalendar of Vegetable Nature round London.
In the first meek : the fungus batotus albus appears, travel-
ior's joy {clsmatis alba), and parnassia palustris in flower.
Second meek : catkins of the hazel and birch formed ; blossoms ,
and green, red, and black berries found on the bramble at the
same time. licaves of the sycamore, birch, lime, mountain-
ash, and elm begin to change color.
Third meek: the ivy (Aerfera helix), laurel (primus lauroce-
rasus), and furze {nlex europieus) in flower.
Fourth rveek : hips, haws, and nuts ripe. Leaves of plane-
tree iplaianus) tawny ; of the hazel, yellow ; of the oak, yellow-
ish-green ; of the sycamore, dirty brown; of the maple, pale
yellow; of the ash, fine lemon ; of the elm, orange ; of the haw-
thorn, tawny yellow ; of the cherry, red ; of the hornbeam,
bright yellow ; of the willow, hoary.
3. Farm-yard. (2740.)
The rick-yard is now the chief scene of operations, in getting
earlier croji's thatched (2948.) and later ones stacked. (3035.)
In all operations in this department attend, as far as circum-
stances will permit, to neatness. In the case of a proprietor or
amateur, neatness, order, and high keeping are essential in
every department.
KALENDARIAL INDEX.
1195
4. Live Stock. (5546.)
' There is fjenerally abundance of ftit cattle and sheep In the
market during this and next month. Ltan stock, esj>eciallv
crones and wedders, are now broucht in, and wintered or fei
ott" on turnips. Wintering cattle (6177.) also about the end of
the month. Poultry and pigs are now fat, and honey may be
taken from bee-hives.
5. Grass Lands. (5086.)
As in August. Newly sown gra.ss lands should now be
sparingly fedi in order to strengthen the plants for the winter.
6. Arable Lands. (4548.)
This is the chief season for sowing wirrter wheat, whether on
naked fallows or after clover, tares, rape, or early crojis of pease
and beans. Potatoes are generally not taken up till the end
of the month, in which case the sowing after that crop is later.
. (4613.) Sow tares to stand the winter (4795.), and grass seeds
for permanent pasture, or a hay croip next season wUl succeed
on good soils, if sown before the middle of the month. (4995.)
7. Fences (2767.), Roads (3280.), and Drains.
(3909.)
Routine operations of mending, &c. as before.
8. Orchards (SlIO.) and Hop-grounds. {5SidS.)
Githex fruits for immediate sale, the keejiing sorts not being
yet ripe. (3776.) Walnuts for pickling not later than the tirst
week. (37S9.)
Hop-pickinff and dryinf;, in the districts where this plant is
much cultivated. Is the great business of the month. (5425.)
9. Wood Lands and Plantations. (3627.)
Routine operations as in the two or three preceding months.
plant evergreens during the three last weeks, and deciduous
trees the last ten days. (3655.) .
OCTOBER.
Weather
at
Average of
the Ther-
mometer.
Greatest
Variation
from the
Average.
Average
of the
Barometer.
Quantity
of Rain:
REMARKS.
The weather of this month is very uncertain. Before
those rams, snows, or frosts which constitute the practi-
•- three weeks of settled weather; sometimes these weeks
are in October, sometimes partly in Novemter. These
weeks afford a last resource for bringing forward neg-
lected operations.
London -
Edinburgh
Dublin -
52 81
49 7
51
' 4
29 69
29 339
29 76
2.027 inch.
3.334
2.798
1. Kalendar of Animated Nature round London.
In the _ first week, the red-wing [turdus iliaait) arrives.
Snakes and vipers burv themselves.
Scanid meek : hooded crows {corviis comix) and wood-
pigeons {columba palumJnu) arrive ; hen-chaffinches (frin^la
Calebs) congregate, and prepare for migration, leaving their
males in this country.
Third meek : the sni^ {scolopar ^allinago) appears in the
meadows. Wild-geese {anas sytvestns) leave the fens, and go
to the rye-lands.
k Fourth meek : the tortoise {tesiudo ffrceca) be^ns to bury him-
self in the ground ; and rooks visit their nest-trees. Some
larks (fllauda) sing, and the woodcock {scohpax rusticola) re-
turns. Spiders' webs aboimd.
2. Kalendar of Vegetable Nature round London.
In the .first meek : strawberry-tree (arbutus unedo), holly {'lex
aquifolium), (IJhina hollyhock {alcea chimnsis), and China aster
{aster chinensis), in bloom.
Secoiui meek : catkins of some species of sails formed ; leaves
of the asp almost Jill off; of the Spanish chestnut, yellow ; of
the sugar-maple {acer saccharinum) scarlet ; of the common
birch, yellow and gold ; and of the weeping-birch, gold and
bright-red colored.
Third meek : clematis calycina in flower. Some horse chest-
nuts and acacias quite denuded of leaves. ,
Fourth meek: various plants, especially annuals, continue
in flower. Leaves of marsh-elder [sambucus ebulus), of a fine
pink ; of stag's- horn sumach, of a purplish-red ; of the
American oaks, of line shades of yellow, orange, red, and
purple.
3. Fantuyard. (2740.)
This is the season of rural plenty, affording an opportunity,
both to men and animals, for laying in a large stock of health,
to enable them to support the severity of the coming winter.
Operatives should now buy in their winter stores of potatoes,
fuel, ftc. and ridge up their garden ground, not^under crop, for
the winter.
I [Com crops being generally in the rick-yard by Michaelmas,
and the root and herbage crops not taken being at or near ma-
turity, the first of October is the most .suitable season for a
farmer to take stock and ascertain his annual profit or loss.
Michaelmas being also the most general term of entry and
removal, especially in the case of arable farms, is another
reason why agricultural accounts are conveniently made up to
tliis i>eriod. (4509.) Examine your household accounts, and if
your ex^ienses have exceeded your income, or even come up to
it, look over the particulars with vour wife or housekeejier, and
see on which you can retrench. This is an essential process for
all who would prot-eed in life with any thing like peace of
mind, or the permanent respect of their neighbors. (4545.)
Remember that very small indeed is the net income of a rent-
paymg agriculturist.
Michaelmas is also the general term for hiring farm servants
l)y the year; but the seldomer agricultural operatives are
changed the better, unless in the case of senseless, indolent,
or viciously incUned persons, who degenerate tmless frequently
removed.
4. Livestock. (5546.)
Cattle and sheep not sufficiently fatted on grass or herbage
whether by pasturage or soiling, should now be put on other
food, to complete them for the butcher. Oil-cake, grains, tur-
nips, carrots, or, in default of these, bruised com may lie used.
The same observations may be applied to hogs, which are ge-
nerally m good condition at this season. (6570.)
Hog porridge. A mixture of oatmeal and water, or any
other meal and water, left till it becomes sour, as practised by
the millers in the northern counties, will feed Ihogs rajiidly ;
but milk and pease meal make the finest pork in the world.
The teams wnich have been soiled during summer, may now
be put on hay, straw, and carrots, or other roots, by degreei.
5. Grass Lands. (5086.)
Where these are manured, this is ;
ration (5208.) ; choose dry weather.
good season for the ope-
se that ploughing land in autumn destroys the eggs or
of insects (6916.), or the seeds of weeds; on the con-
6. Arable Land. (4548.)
Potatoes (4825.), carrots (4926.), field beet (4962.), parsneps
(4961.), and Swedish turnips, may now be taken up and
housed, and the ground sown with wheat. This grain (4599.),
rye (4650.), barley (4659.), in some situations, and tares (4795.)
may still be sown in the milder districts. Embrace every op
portunity to give the first furrow to fallows (4568.), whether
for green crops or otherwise. In general all lands that are to
have two or more furrows before they are sown or planted,
should be ploughed as soon as possible after harvest ; but not
so lands that are to be sown on one furrow, which are better
ploughed in January and February. It is a great mistake to
suppose r
larva; of
trary, it may often, by giving them a deeper covering, preserve
them better from the winter's frost, or, what is mucn more de-
structive, from being devoured by birds. There are few sub-
jects less generally understood than the economy of nature in
regard to the eggs of insects and worms. (Turn to 6863. and
6921.) See that water furrows and drains run freely, and that
fences and gates are in repair.
7. Fences (2767.), Roads (3280.), and Drains.
(3909.)
Hedges may now be ailvantageously planted (2785.), grown
onespruned (2790.), old ones plashed (2796.), and imperfiect
ones repaired. (2800.) The Northumberland practice as to
hedges (7024.) well deserves the study of the more southern
agriculturist. Roads and drains may be made or rejiaired at
this season, and in spring, with better effect than during th«
heat and drought of summer. Road materials now bind
better, and land-springs show themselves more distinctly.
8. Orchards (3770.) and Hop-grounds. (5393.)
The mnter fruits may now be gathered, and either spread in
an airy loft or upper floor, there to remain till used, or sweated
in heaps, to extract a part of their moisture, and then buried
in dry sand, or packed in close boxes or ca.sks, to be Itept in a
cool and dry cellar. (1797. and Eucyc. of Gardeitin^, 2289.)
Fntit trees of every kind may now be planted (3793.) and
pruned. (3798.)
Hop-picking is generally completed the first week of the
month ; and as soon afterwards as convenient, the vine an»l
poles removed, and the latter stacked till next spring. (5432.)
Young hop plantations may be formed (5398.), and the soil
among established grounds manured and ploughed. (54 11.)
9. Wood Lands and Plantations. (3627.)
Hedges and plantations of evergreen trees may he made durin;;
the first week of the month ; and no period of the year isi
better for transplanting all kinds of hardy shrulis.
Timber ami coppice may be felled, and in general every ope-
ration preparatory to planting, as well as the oi)eration itself,
may go forward.
NOVEMBER.
Weather
at
Average of
the Ther-
mometer.
Greatest
Variation
from tlie
Average.
4 ^
Average
of the
Barometer.
Quantity
of Rain.
REMARKS.
This is the tvind}/ month of the Saxons ; it is generally
also cold and moist, and one of the most disagreeable
for the lal)oring agriculturist ; but he may console himself
with the shortness of the day, and hail the approach of
evening, when he may lay a-side his wet dress and fortify
his mmd bv converse with l)ooks. or enjoy the comforts
of his fire-side, mi\ the sol.ice of^ his wife and childrwi ;
reading to or otherwise instructing them, or mending
his boots or shoes.
London -
Kdiiil>uri;h
Dublin '-
44 44
41 1
43
29 68
29 (!38
29 74
2.527 inch.
4.514
0.391
1196
KALENDARIAL INDEX.
1. Kalendar of Animated Nature round London.
In the first meek : the buck (cermu caprilua) p-unts.
Secmtd week: the golden plover (charadnm pluvialU) ap-
pears.
TlUrd, week: snails [Umax) and slugs {helix) bury them-
selves.
Fourth week: greenfinches {frin^la montifringiUa) flock.
The winter moth {geometra brumaria, Sam.), and the common
flat-body moth {geometra applatta, Sam.), appear in gardens
about the end of the month.
2. Kalendar of Vegetable Nature round London.
In the first week : a few plants in flower, by accident, chiefly
annuals, according to the season.
Second week : the fungus helvella mitra appears. Lauris-
tinus in flower.
Third week : calycanthus prsecox in flower.
Fourth week : some primroses show flowers at this season ;
and some plants, unnaturally in flower, still continue if the
weather is temperate.
3. Farm-yard. (27'tO.)
Wintering cattle are now introduced to the straw yards (2740.)
or trammels (2677.), and others to stalls for feeding or fatting.
Live stock in general ought to be kept in good condition at this
season, otherwise they are apt to fall off towards spring.
Threshing goes on at intervals to supply straw. (2961. and
2625.)
4. Uve Stock. (5646.)
See &rm-yard.
5. Grass Lands. (5086.)
Mantire in dry weather (5208.) ; turn the water on meadows
adapted for irrigation (4058.); destroy anthills (5202.); drain
by surface gutters, or other means, where that operation i&
requisite; clear out water furrows for the same purpose; admit
cattle and horses only on the driest pastures ; see that sheep
have shelter, and especially Dorset ewes likely to lamb next
month.
6. AraMe Land. (4548.)
See that water furrows and drains run unobstructed ; plough
and cart out manure, (as weather and other circumstances
permit. '
7. Fences (2767.), Roads (3280.), and Drains:
(3909.)
As in last month ; and see that they are in effectual repair,
and fairly used.
8. Orchards (3770.) and Hop-grounds. (5393.)
Complete the operations of last month, where interrupted,
deferred, or neglected.
9. Wood Lands and Plantations. (3627.)
As in last month, excepting when the weather is unfavorable.
Felling all kinds of timber and coppice not adapted for barking
for the tanner, may now j>o on freely. (3740.) Willows for
baskets may be cut over (3738.), and baskets, hampers, crates,
and hurdl^, made by the woodman and hedger.
DECEMBER.
Weather
at
4;^er°'
mometer.
Greatest
Variation
from the
Average.
Average
ofthe^
Barometer.
Quantity
of Rain.
REMARKS.
Winter month. Sax. Cold but dry. The agricultural oper-
ations are chiefly of the laborious kind ; but the days are
short and the nights long. In the last week the young
oiierator should examine himself as to his professional and
intellectual progress during the bye-past year, and form
plans for further improving himself for the year to come.
Knowledge is a lever by which a man may raise himself
as high as he desires.
London -
Edinburgh
Dublin -
41 4
38 9
36 34
3
29 64
29 66
29 723
1-124 inch.
2-598
2-916
1. Kalendar of Animated Nature round London.
The mole {talpa europtea) throws up hillocks. The Decem-
ber moth (eriogaster popult, Sam.) appears about the begin-
ning, and the yellow-line quaker (nuctua fiavilinea, Sam.),
about the end of^the month.
2. Kalendar of Vegetable Nature round London.
Some of the last month's plants continue in flower, accord-
ing to the weather.
3. 4. FarmYard (2740.), and Live Stock. (5546.)
Threshing, and otherwise preparing com and straw for the
market, and the use of the working, fattening, wintering, and
store stock are the main operations. Next, the regular supply
of live stock with food, and cleaning and littering them. Fat-
ting stock should be particularly attended to, especially house
lamb (6486.) and calves v6167.)
The supply of turnips for cattle and sheep is liable to be in-
terrupted by severe frosts, if the precaution of housing a quan-
tity (4904.), or setting them (4905.), is not taken in time.
Where oil cake, rape cake, or dust, (5472.) brewers or distillers'
grains (4686.) aire used, supjJies must be secured ; and where
hogs or cattle are fed on meal and water mixed and soured, a
quantity must always be kept in mixture; as a week or ten days
in temperate weather, and a longer period during frost, is re-
quisite to induce the fermentation.
5. Grass Lands. (5036.)
See that they are not poached: that water furrows, gutters,
drains, and ditches are in repair ; and where manuring is prac-
tised, cart it out in frosty weather where there is no danger of
injury from the feet of horses or cart wheels. Unless labor fs
very cheap, carting earths or earthy composts on grass lands
will not pay the expenses ; they produce more effect on arable
lands.
6. Arable Lands. (4548.)
See that all the modes of drainage are effective. (3957.)
Plough and cart out manure according to weather and other
circumstances.
7. Fences (2767.), Roads (3280.), andBrains. (3909.)
Plant hedges (2784.) and build walls only in temperate
weather, as frosty air injures the roots of plants, and freezes
humid mortar, thereby effectually preventing its setting.
Roads and drains may he made and mended in all weathers
that admit these operations.
8. Orchards (3770.) and Hop-grounds. {5S93.)
Clear old trees of moss or misletoe; but prune only in mild
weather. Dig and dung at any time.
9. Wood Lands and Plantations. (3627.)
Fell timber or copse of sorts not adapted for barking. (3740.)
Stock or grub up tree roots, stacking them for fuel or charcoal.
(3762.) Trench, dig, or otherwise prepare ground for jilant-
ing ; but lift plants from the nursery, and re-insert them in
plantations only in mild weather, and when the soil does not
poach by treading, &c. The rest as in November.
GENERAL INDEX.
N.B. The Numbers refer to the Paragraphs, not the Page.i, excepting in the case of the List of Authors,
where they ref&r to the page and the year in which the Author published : in, such cases the word page,
and letters A. D. are prefixed. »-
JiBBATE, Antonio, his work on agriculture,
page 1177, AD. 1808.
Abeille^ F., his work on agriculture, page 1173. A.U.
1791.
Abele poplar, the largest in England, 6996.
Aberdeenshire, agricultural survey of, 7066.
Aberdeenshire cattle, 6126.
Abstergent remedies, in farriery, are those used for
the purpose of resolving or discussing tumors and
concretions on the joints and other parts of ani-
mals. They mostly consist of volatile, stimulant,
and saponaceous matters, 5906.
Abyssinia, agriculture of, 1041.
Acclimating tender animals, 6634.
Acclimating vegetables, 1728.
Account books of farmers, 4509; journal, 4512;
cash-book, 4514 ; stock, 4520 ; books for a common
farmer, 4521.
Acids of plants, how obtained, and their uses, 1397 ;
oxalic acid, 1398 ; acetic acid, 1399 ; citric acid,
1400 ; malic acid, 1401 ; gallic acid, 1402 ; tartaric
acid, 1403 ; benzoic acid, 1404 ; prussic acid, 1405 ;
composition of vegetable acids, 1406.
Adam, James, Esq., his work on agriculture, page
1166. A.D. 1789. ,,^^
Adams, George, his work on agriculture, page 1170.
A.D. 1810.
Adanson, Madame Aglae, her work on agriculture,
page 1175. A.D. 1822.
Africa, agriculture of, 1040 ; Abyssinia, 1041 ;
Egypt, 1045; IMahoraetan states, 106«; western
coast, 1077 ; Cape of Good Hope, 1087 ; eastern
coast, 1114.
Age of horses, criteria of, 5956 ; deceptions prac-
tised, .5958.
Agricultural authors of England during the six-
teenth century, 231.
Agricultural circumstances of Italy during the time
of the Romans, 63.
Agricultural edifices, 2657 ; buildings for live-stock,
2661 ; repositories and working places, 2688 ; far-
mer's dwelling house, 2712; cottages for farm
servants, 2718 ; stack-yard, and other yards, 2740;
farmeries, 27.57.
Agricultural encampments of Morocco (figured).
Agricultural establishment of Hofwyl, near Berne,
343.
Agricultural establishment of Rossore, in Tuscany,
297.
Agricultural establishments by Buonaparte, 376.
Agricultural fete of the Chinese, 1(K)4.
Agricultural implements, 2.373 ; tools, 2374 ; in.stru-
ments, 2401 ; utensils, 2433 ; hand maclnnes, 2447 ;
tillage iini)lemcnts, 2477.
Agricultural implements, on the choice of, 4486.
Agricultural implements of the Romans, 109;
plough, 110; cultivator, 114; harrow, 115; rake,
116; hoe, 117; spade, 120; reaping-hook, 123;
threshing implements, 124.
Agricultural implements of Flanders, 498.
Agricultural implements, their invention in Egypt,
Agricultural labors of the simplest kind, 2884.
Agricultural operations, 2875.
Agricultural oiierations, mixed manual, 2946.
Agricultural operations of Flanders, 508.
Agricultural operations of order and management,
3123.
Agricultural operations of the Romans, 126.
Agricultural operations of the scientific kind, 3053;
measuring land, 3054 ; taking levels, 3059 ; divid-
ing and laying out lands, .'3066 ; estimating weight,
power, and quantity, 3078 ; estimating value, 3083 ;
professional etiquette as to plans and reports, 3106.
Agricultural operations with plants, 2903.
Agricultural operations with laboring cattle, 2992 ;
for the care of live stock, 2993 ; on the soil, 2998 j
with the crop, 3034.
Agricultural produce of the Jews, 36.
Agricultural servants, choice of, 4492 ; bailiflf, 4493 ;
ploughman, 4494 ; shepherd, 4502 ; laborers,
4.503 ; apprentices, 4505.
Agricultural servants of the Romans, 85.
Agricultural societies, number of, in England and
Wales, by Farey,
Agricultural survey of England, 6991.
Agricultural survey of Scotland, 7()4<).
Agricultural survey of the British jsles, 6989.
Agricultural writers of antiquity, 7.
Agricultural writers of the Romans, 44.
Agriculture, as affected by civil, political, and 're-
ligious circumstances, 1244 ; civilization and re-
finement, 1245 ; political state of a country, 1246;
religion, 1247 ; natural character of the people,
1248.
Agriculture, as influenced by geographical circum-
stances, 1222 ; climate, 1222 ; culture, 1224.
Agriculture, as influenced by physical circum-
stances, 1232 ; temperature and light, 1233 ; ele-
vation, 1234; soil, 12;37 ; moisture, 12-38.
Agriculture as practised in Britain, 3142.
Agriculture, British, literary history of, 781 ; Tull,
Bradley, Stillingfleet, Harte, Young, Marshall,
&c., 781; Donaldson, 782; Belhaven, 783 ; Max-
well, 784 ; Adam Dickson, 785 ; Lord Kaimes,
786 ; Wight, 787 ; Farmer's Magazine, 789 ; so-
cieties, 790 ; professorships, 791 ; county reports,
793 ; Sinclair, 794.
Agriculture, British, professional history of, 755 ;
drill liusbandry, 756 ; live stock, 765 ; implements
and machines, 770; Small's plough, 770 ; improv-
ing leases, 773; agricultural societies, 775; drain-
ing, 776 ; threshing machine, 777 ; farmeries,
780.
Agriculture, British, statistics of, 6923 ; present state
of, 6924 ; different descriptions of men engaged m
its practice, 6925 ; different kinds of farms in Bri-
tain. 6981. ^ ^ -„
Agriculture, British, topographical survey of, 6989.
England, 6J)91 ; Wales, 7046; Scotland, 7046;
Ireland, 7074; (See the different counties of
each, and under each county the following heads.)
1. Geographical state and circumstances ; 2. State
of property ; 3. Buildings ; 4. Mode of occupation;
5. Implements; 6. Enclosing; 7. Arable land;
8. Grass lands; 9. Gardens and orchards; 10.
Woods and plantations; 11. Improvements ;iz
Live stock; 13. Rural economy; 14. 1 9''^^^^
economy ; 15. Obstacles to improvement ; lo. Mis-
cellaneous observations ; 17. Means ol improve-
ment.
1189
GENE AL INDEX.
Agriculture, 'British,' political history of, 742 ; laws
on wool, 743 ; on corn, 744 ; roads, 750.
Agriculture considered as a science, 1259 ; object of
the art, 1261 ; mode of instruction preferred, 1262 ;
mode of study recommended, 1263.
Agriculture, history of, during the middle ages, 179.
Agriculture, history of, in ultra European countries
during the middle ages, 257.
Agriculture, in regard to the state of society, its
divisions, or kinds, 1249 ; agriculture of science,
1250 ; of habit, 1251 ; Barbarian culture, 1251 ;
economy of savages, 1253.
Agriculture, its classical history, 4.
Agriculture, its geographical divisions, or kinds,
1227 ; agriculture of irrigation, 1228 ; of manures
and irrigation, 1229 ; of draining and manures,
1230 ; fishing and hunting, 1231.
Agriculture, its history among ancient and modern
nations, 2.
Agriculture, its history from the deluge to the es-
tablishment of the Roman empire, 5.
Agriculture, its origin and history, 1.
Agriculture, its physical divisions, or kinds, 1239 ;
agriculture of water-fed lands, 1240; of sun-burnt
lands, 1241 ; of mountains, 1242 ; of plains, 1243.
Agriculture, its traditional history, 2.
Agriculture, literary history of, in England during
the seventeenth century, 246.
Agriculture of Abyssinia, 1041.
Africa, present state of, 1040.
Algiers, 1069.
Amazonia, 1218.
Ancient Greeks, 17.
Ancient Moors, 689.
Arabia, 870.
Asia, present state of, 846.
Asiatic Turkey, 847.
Asiatic islands, 1012.
Australasia, 1012.
Austria, 607.
Bachapins of the south of Africa,
1112.
Babylon, 36.
Bavaria, 603.
Benin, in Africa, 1080. •
' Birman empire, 921.
Bootan, 1007.
Borneo, 1020.!
Brazil, 1207. '
Britain, 1254; considered geogra-
phically, 1255; physically, 1256;
socially, 1257.
Britain after the Norman conquest,
204.
Britain during the Anglo-Saxon dy-
nasty, 196.
Britain from the fifth to the seven-
teenth century, 195.
British isles, modern history of, 741.
British possessions of North Ame-
rica, 1166.
Bushmans of Africa, 1113.
Cambodia, 943.
Canada, 1167.
Canary islands, 1120. '?
Cape Breton, 1171.
Cape of Good Hope, 1087.
Cape Verd islands, 1119.
Carolines, 1032.
Carthage, 38.
Cayenne, 1215.
Celebezian islands, 1023.
Chili, 1214.
Chinese empire, 951.
Chinese Tartary, 1005. ;
Cochin China, 944.
Congo, 1082.
Cuba, 1173.
Denmark, 588.
Eastern coast of Africa, 1114.
Egypt, 8.
Empire of Morocco, 1072.
England in the early part of the six-
teentli century, 221.
European Turkey, 729.
Foulahs of Africa, 1078. *
France from the fifth to the seven-
teenth century, 185.
France, present state of, 373.
Friendly Islands, 1039.
Germany, present state of, 543. '
Germany from the fifth to the seven-
teenth century, 192. ;
Agriculture of Hanover, 581.
Hindustan, 877.
Holland, and the Netherlands, 417.
', Independent Tartary, 865.
Ireland, 795.
Island of Ceylon, 914.
Isle of Bourbon, 1117.
Italy during the middle ages, 180.
Italy, present state of, 260.
Jamaica, 1174.
Japan, 946.
Java, 927.
Jews, 29.
Ladrones, 1031.
Laos, 942.
Loango, 1081.
Madagascar, 1115.
Madeira, 1121.
Mahometan states of the North of
Africa, 1066.
Malacca, 938.1
Manillas, or Phillippine isles, 1022.
Marquesas, 1033.
Mauritius, 1116.
Mexico, 1150.
Modern Egypt, 104.5.
Moldavia, and WaUachia, 738.
Moluccas or Spice Islands, 1024.
New Britain, New Ireland, the Solo-
mon Isles, New Caledonia, and the
New Hebrides, 1027.
New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia,
1170.
New Holland, 1025.
New Zealand, 1028.
North America, present state of,
1127.
Nubia, 1165.
Otaheite, 1035.
Papua, or New Guinea, 1026.
Paraguay, 1206.
Patagonia, 1219.
Pelew isles, 1030.
Persia, 850.
Peru, 1203.
Phoenicia, 37.
Poland, present state of, 628.
Polynesia, 1012.
Portugal, 728.
Prussia, 563. j
Romans, 42.
Russia, 645.
St. Helena, 1118. "
Sandwich isles, 1034.
Savoy, 347.
Saxony, 596.
Scotland from the eleventh to the
thirteenth century, 208.
Siam, 939.
Sierra-Leone, 1079.
South America, 1201.
South American islands, 1220. "
Spain, 688.
Sumatra, 1013.
Surinam, 1216.
Sweden and Norway, their present
state, 665.
Switzerland, present state of, 326. ,
Terra- firma, 1202.
Thessaly and Albania, 736.
Thibet, 1006.
Tonquin, 945.
Tripoli, 1067.
Tunis, 1068.
United States, 1130.
1 Van Dieman's Land, 1029.
Wales from the fifth to the seven-
teenth century, 197,206.
Western coast of Africa, 1077.
West India islands,1172.
Agriculture, present state of, in Europe, 259.
Agriculture, present state of, in ultra European
countries, 845.
Agriculturists, commercial, 6939 ; jobbing farmers,
6939; itinerant agriculturists, 6940 ; cottage far-
mers, 6941 ; poultry farmers, 6942 ; garden far-
mers, 6943 ; seed farmers, 6944 ; orchard farmers,
6945 ; hop farmers, 6946 ; milk or cow farmers,
6947 ; dairy farmers, 6948 ; graziers, 6949 ; stock
farmers, 6950 ; store farmers, 6951 ; hay farmers,
6952 ; corn farmers, 6953 ; wood farmers, 6954 ;
quarry farmers, 6955 ; mine farmers, 6956 ; sal-
mon or river farmers, 6957 ; commercial or pro-
GENERAL INDEX.
1199
fessional fanners, G958 ; gentlemen farmers, 6959 ;
yeomen farmers, 6{m ; farming landlords, 6961.
Agricultural counsellors, artists, or professors,
69(H ; land measurer, 6962 ; agricultural salesman,
6963 ; appraiser, 6964 ; land-surveyor, 69(55 ; tim-
ber-surveyor and valuer, 6966 ; land-valuer, 6967 ;
land-agent, 6968 ; agricultural engineers, 6969 ;
veterinary surgeon, 6970 ; agricultural draftsman,
6971 ; agricultural author, 6972j professor of agri-
cultural science, 6973.
Agriculturists, patrons, 6974 ; amateur, 6975 ; con-
noisseurs, 6976 ; employers, 6977 ; amateur far-
mers, 6978 ; noblemen and proprietor farmers,
6979 ; noblemen and gentlemen improvers, 6980.
Aigoln, , his work on agriculture, page 1174.
A.D. 1805.
Ainslie, John, his works on agriculture, page 1169.
A.D. 1806.
Alton, William, his works on agriculture, page 1169.
A.D. 1805.
Akee tree (figured), 1186.
Alamanni, , his work on agriculture, page 1177.
A.D. 1764.
Alamanni, Luigi, his work on agriculture, page 1177.
A.D. 1546.
Albertazzi, Jacopo Antonio, his work on agriculture,
page 1178. A.D. 1811.
Albin, Eleazer, his works on birds and fishes^ page
1164. AD. 1737. j
Albrecht, J. F. E, his work on agriculture, page
1176. AD. 1775.
Albumen, how obtained, and its uses, 1380.
Alcarazas, or water pitcher, of Spain, 725.
Alderney cattle, 6128.
Alderney, agriculture of, 7040.
Alderney and Guernsey cattle, 7040.
Alderson, John, his work on agricultiure, page 1168.
A.D. 1802.
Algae, or sea weeds, their utility, 1307.
Algiers, agriculture of, 1069.
Alkalies, how and from what plants obtained, 1474;
utility of, 1475.
Alletz, Pons Augustin, his work on agriculture, page
1171. AD. 1760.
Almond, its culture in France, 412.
Almond, culture of, at the Cape of Good Hope,
1096.
Aloe socotrina (figured), its culture in Spain, 702.
Aloes, their culture and application at the Cape of
Good Hope, 1097.
Alterative medicines for live stock, 5881.
Amazonia, agriculture of, 1218.
Ameithon, Hubert Pascal, his work on agriculture,
page 1173. AD. 1779.
America, agriculture of, 1130.
Amiot, L. P., his work on agriculture, page 1172.
A.D. 1770.
Amoretti, -, his works on agriculture, page 1177.
A.D. 1785.
Amoreux, , his works on agriculture, page 1173.
A.D. 1787.
Amos, William, his works on agriculture, page 1167.
A.D. 179t.
Amos's expanding horse-hoe and harrow, 2547.
Amphibious animals cultivated, 6798 ; esculent frog,
6817 ; treis frog, 6818 ; tortoises, 6819.
Analysis of soils, 2083.'
Anatomy and physiology of the bull family, 6227.
Anchovy pear (figured), 1186.
Anderson, William, his work on agriculture, page
1170. A.D. 1816.
Anderson, James, L.L.D., his works on agriculture,
page 1165. A.D 1775.
Androgynous animals, 1248.
Andouin, Maurice, his work on agriculture, page
1175. A.D. 1820.
Angora goat, 6583.
Angular sided hinged harrows, 2570.
Angus, or Forfarshire, agricultural survey of, 7064.
Animal chemistry, or the substances which enter
into their composition, 1879 ; carbon, 1881 ; hy-
drogen, 1882; oxygen, 1883; azotic gas, 1884;
phosphorus, 1885; sulphur, 1886; fluoric acid,
1887 ; muriatic acid, 1888 ; iodine, 1889 ; potash,
1890; soda, 1891; ammonia, 1892; lime, 1893;
magnesia, 1894 ; silica, 1895; iron, 1896; manga-
nese, 1897; compounds of organization, 1899;
gelatine, 15)00 ; albumen, KK)2 ; filsia, 1904 ; ex-
tractive, 1905 : mucus, 1907 ; urea, 1908 ; sugar,
1909; oils, 1910; spermaceti, 1911 ; ambergrease,
1912 ; fat, 1913 ; tallow, 1914 ; acids, 1916 ; fluids,
1919 ; solids, 1920.
Animal food, sparing use of, by the Chinese, 983.
Animal kingdom, study of, with reference to agri.
culture, 1799 ; systematic zoology, 1801 ; animal
anatomy, 1806 ; animal chemistry, 1879 ; animal
physiology, 1927 ; pathology, 1954 ; 'geographical
distribution of animals, 1962; uses, ia85: culture.
1993.
Animals, different modes of killing for use, 2046 ;
pithing, 2047 ; slaughtering, 2048 ; Jewish modes,
2050 ; killing accidentally, 2051 : preparation be-
fore killing, 2052.
Animals, feeding of, for extraordinary purposes,
2038; fattening fowls for the London markets,
2040 ; enlarging the liver of fowls, 2041 ; Roman
epicures, 2042 ; early lamb, 2043 ; milk and eggs,
2044 ; hard labor, and long journeys, 2045.
Animals noxious to agriculture, 6846 ; mammalia
6847 ; birds, 6860 ; insects, 6862 ; worms, 6921.
Animals of the bird kind used in agriculture, 6672.
Animals, principles of improving the breeds of,
1994 ; form, 1996 ; lungs, 1997 ; chest, 1998; pel-
vis, 1999 ; head, 2000 ; neck, 2001 j muscles, 2002 ;
bones, 2003 ; nourishment, 2005 ; crossing, 2006 ;
breeding in-and-in, 2014 ; Bakewell and Culley,
2019.
Animals, principles of rearing, managing, and feed-
ing, 2020 ; food, 2021 ; air and exercise, 2022, 2030 ;
taming, 2023 ; feeding, 2024 ; mastication and
cooking, 2027 ; salt, 2028 ; heat, 2029 ; water, 2031 ;
tranquillity, 2033 ; cleanliness, 2034 ; comfort, 2035 ;
health, 2036 ; farriery, 2037.
Animals reared by the Romans, 148.
Animals tender to acclimate, 6634,
Animals, the technical description of their parts,
nomenclature, and classification, 1801 ; descrip-
tions, 1802 ; names, 1804 ; classification, 1805.
Animals, their application or uses, 1985 ; laborers,
1986 ; food, 1987 ; clothing, 1990 ; medicine, 1991 1
arts, 1992.
Animals, their circulating system, 1934.
Animals, their digestive system, 1928 ; thirst, 1929.
Animals, their duration, diseases, and casualties,
1954 ; endemical and epidemical diseases, 1956 ;
epizootics, 1957 ; fasting, 1959 ; mutual destruc-
tion, 1959.
Animals, their external anatomy, 1807; cuticle,
1808; mucus, 1809; corium, 1810; muscular web,
1811; cellular web, 1812 ; hairs, 1814; wool, 1815;
feathers, 1821 ; horns, 1822 ; beaks, 1825 ; hoofs,
1826; claws, 1827; nails, 1828; spurs, 1829;
scales, 1832 ; shells, 1833 ; crusts, 1835 ; secretions
of the skin, 1837 ; sweat, 1840 ; carbon, 1841.
Animals, their geographical distribution, 1962;
heat, 1963 ; seasons, 1964, 1977 ; casting the hair,
1965 ; moulting, 1966 ; distribution of color in the
animal kingdom, 1967 ; migration, 1969 ; birds of
passage, 1971 ; torpidity, or hybeniation, 1974;
food, 1976 ; situation, 1979 ; rapacity, 1980 ; num-
ber of animals described, 1983 ; British fauna,
1984.
Animals, their muscular structure, 1855 ; grasping;
1858 ; suction, 1859 ; cementation, 1860 ; muscu-
lar motions, 1861; standing, 1862 ; walking, 1863;
leaping, 1868 ; flying, 1870 ; swimming, 1871 ;
positions of sleep, 1874.
Animals, their nervous structure, 1875; brain,
1876 ; functions of the brain and nervous system,
1878.
Animals, their osseous structure, 1844 ; periosteum,
1845 ; bones, 1847 ; cartilage, 1850 ; joints, 1853 j
ligaments, 1854.
Animals, their reproductive system, 1936 ; business
of the female, 1937 ; of the male, 1937 ; viviparous
animals, 1938 ; eggs, 1939 ; insects, 1941 ; birds,
1947; androgynous animals, 1948; gemmiparous
animals, 1949 ; hybridous animals, 1950.
Anotto bisca orellana (figured), 1205.'
Anstrulher, Sir John, Bart, his work on agricuU
ture, page 1167. A.D. 1796.
Ant, wasp, and bee insects, 6904.
Ant-hills, modes of removing, 5203.
Ants, mode of poisoning in the West Indies, 1183.
Antelope family, 6624; common, 6625; chamois,
antelope, or goat, 6626 ; Scythian, 6627 ; nilgau,
6628.
Antill, Hon. Edward, Esq., his works on agriculture,
page 1179. A.D. 178.9.
Antisocial habits of plants, its influence on their dis-
tribution, 1736.
Anton, K. Glo., his work on agriculture, page 116fi,
A.D. 1799.
Antrim, agricultural survey of, 7107.
Aphis or plant louse, 6884.
Apiary, 2687.
Apparatus for the preparation of food for cattle,
2650.
1200
GENERAL INDEX.
Apples suitable for orchards, 3777, 3781.
April, weather and agricultural operations to be
performed in, page
Apterous insects, 6911.
Aquino, Charles d', his work on agriculture, page
1177. A. D. 1736. J"
Arabia, agriculture of, 870 ; surface, 871 ; products,
872; cultivated plants and trees, 873; livestock,
874 ; horse, 875 ; implements and operations,
876.
Arabian horses, history of, 875.
Arabians, royal stud of, in France, 393.
Arable farming of Wiltshire, 7031.
Archer, Lieutenant Joseph, his work on agriculture,
page 1168. A.D. 1801.
Arduinio, Luigi, his works on agriculture, page
1178. A.D. 1809.
Areca palm, culture of, in Sumatra, 1017.
Argyleshire cattle, 6119.
Argyleshire plough, 2499.
Argyleshire, agricultural survey of, 7072.
Armagh, agricultural survey of, 7105.
Arrow-root, Maranta arundinacea, culture of, in
the West Indies, 1194.
Artificial climates, formation of, for plants, 1735.
Artificial springs, to form, 4156.
Ashes, spreadingNpf, 2979.
Ashes of vegetables, how obtained, used, and the
proportions afforded by different plants, 1472;
analysis of ashes, 1473.
Ashes of soils, theory of their operation, 2137 ; of
wood, 2179, 2238 ; of clover and rye-grass, 2232.
Asia, agriculture of, 846.
Asiatic islands, agriculture of, 1012.
Asiatic Turkey, agriculture of, 847 ; climate, 848 ;
mountains, 849.
Ass, 6087 ; different breeds of, 6090 ; training, 6093 ;
anatomy and physiology, 6095; diseases, 6096;
shoeing, 6097.
Ass of Persia, 859.
Ass among the Romans, 105.
Asses of Egypt, 1061.
Assafoetida, from what plant obtained, 1456.
Astragalus bceticus (figured), cultivated in Austria
as a cofiee plant, 617.
Astringent medicines for live stock, 1881.
Atmosphere, its influence on vegetation, 2265.
Auger for under-draining, 2431.
August, weather and agricultural operations to be
performed in, page
Australasia, agriculture of, 1012.
Austria, agriculture of, 607 ; state of landed property,
608; management of extensive domains, 609;
crown lands, 610; implements, 612; produce, '613 ;
vine, 614 ; tokay wine, 614, 615 ; silkworm, 617 ;
bees, 618; live stock, 619; horned cattle, 620;
horses, 621 ; swine, 622 ; poultry, 623 ; tortoise,
snail, &c., 624 ; forests, 626.
Ava, or intoxicating pepper, its cultivation in Bor-
neo, 1021.
Avalanches, 325.
Aviary, 6795.
Avrauin, Foulon, his work on agriculture, page
1175. A. D. 1818.
Awn separating machine, 2649.
Axe, saw, wedge, hammer, &c., used in agriculture,
2414.
Ayrshire, agricultural survey of, 7055,
Babylon, its agriculture, 136.
Bachapins, their agriculture, 1112.
Backing a horse, 5988.
Back-raking, an operation so called by farriers. It
consists in anointing the hand very well with any
sort of oil or lard, and introducing it gently into
the horse's fundament, fetching out by little and
little the hardened excrements, when he has got
a cholic, and there is reason to suspect that it pro-
ceeds from hardened faeces in the rectum. In this
operation the farrier should introduce his hand
! and arm as far up as he well can. The properest
person to do this is one who has a hand and arm of
the smallest size, 5874.
Bacon and pork, to cure, 6576.
Badger, to destroy, 6853.
Bagging ; see Reaping.
Bagot, his works on agriculture, page 1164. A. D.
1806..
Bailey, John, Esq., his works on agricuUurc,"page
1167^ A. D. nmi
Baker, John Wynn, his work on agriculture, page
'1165. A. D. 1771.
Bakewell, some account of his farm and farming,
7013.
Bakewell, his practice in breeding animals.
Bakewell's farm Dishley described, 7013.
Bakewell, Robert, Esq , his work on agriculture,
page 1169. A. D. 1808.
BakewelVs improvements 'on live stock, history of,
765.
Bald, Robert, his work on agriculture, page 1170.
A. D. 1812.
Ball, in farriery, a well known form of medicine,
for horses or other animals, which may be passed
at once into the stomach. It is a mode by which
those substances which are in a solid state, may
be thrown into the stomach, and which could not
be properly effected in any other way. They
should be made of a long oval shape, and about
the size of a small egg, being conveyed over the
root of the tongue by the hand, 3863.
Balls and drinks, mode of giving, to horses, 5863.
Balls, cordial, cough, &c., used in veterinary prac-
tice, 5889.
Balsams what, from what plants obtained, and how
used, 1457; Benzoin, 1448; Storax, 1459; Styrax,
1460; Balsam of Tolu, 1461; Balsam of Peru.
1462.
Bamboo, its uses in Hindustan, 895.
Banana, Musa paradisiaca (figured), 1165.'
Banister, John, his works on agriculture, page 1168.
A.D. 1799.
Banks of rivers, to guard, 4038.
Banks, Sir Joseph, Bart. K.B., his works on agricul-
ture, page 1168. A. D. 1803.
Barbara, Marco, his work on agriculture, page 1177.
A. D. 1785.
Barbe, Marbois, his works on agriculture, page 1174.
A. D. 1798. ^
Barber, William, his works on farm buildings, page
1169. A. D. 1805. 6 » I' 6
Barelle, Giuseppe, his works on agriculture, page
1177. A. D. 1807.
Barham, Henry, his works on the silkworm, page
lifts. A. D. 1718. * *^'^
Bark for tanners, its valuation, 3767.
Barking trees, 3748 ; instruments, 3748; drying and
preparing the bark, 3749.
Barley bread of Kircudbrightshire, 7054.
Barley, culture of, 4659 ; species and varieties, 4^60 ;
soil, 4671; sowing, 4676'; harvesting, 4682 ; produce
4685 ; uses, 468ft «», , i
Barns for corn, 2689 ; for hay, 2698.
Barometer, its variations in different parts of the
world, 2279.
Barron, William, F.R.S.E., his essays on the plough
page 1165. A. D. 1774. ^ ^
Barrows, 2449 ; wheel, 2449; sack, 2450 ; hand, 2451
Bar-shoe for horses, 5932.
Barthez, de Marmorieres, his work on agriculture,
page 1172. A. D. 1763.
Bartley, Nehemiah, Esq., his work on agriculture.
page 1168. A. D. 1802.
Barton, Benjamin Smith, M.D., his work on agri
culture, page 1179. A. D. 1812.
Bartram, Moses, his work on agriculture, page 1179.
A. D. 1789.
Bartram, John, M.D., his work on agriculture, page
1179. A. D. 174i. * *"
Baskets, 2436 ; seed basket, 2437.
Bassi, Agostino, his works on agriculture, page
1178. A. D. 1811.
Batchelor, Thomas, his work on agriculture, page
1169. A. D. 1804.
Bavaria, agriculture of, 603.
Beal, Dr. John, his work on agriculture, page 1163.
A. D. 1679.
Bean, its culture, 4764; varieties, 4766; soil, 4768;
sowing, 4774; harvesting, 4784 ; produce, 4788; use,
4790.
Bean dibble, 2469, 2571. %.,
Bean drill, 2471, 2561.
Beatson's cultivator, 2538.
Beatson, Major General Alexander, his work on
agriculture, page 1170. A. D. 1820.
Beaume, Antony, his work on agriculture, page
1172. A. D. 1770.
Beaumont, John, his essay on cleaving of rocks,
page 1163. A. D. 1684.
Bed in irrigation, 4087.
Beddoes, Thomas, M.D., his works on agriculture,
page 116.9. A. D. 1808.
Bedfordshire, agricultural survey of, 6999.
GENERAL INDEX.
1201
IJee,'common, 6827 ; apiary, 6828 ; varieties of bees,
6829 ; hives, feeding, 6833 ; protecting, 6834 ;
, swarming, 6835 ; taking the honey, 6837 ; partial
deprivation, 6837 ; total deprivation, .6838, suffo-
cation, produce and profit, 684<).
Bee-hives, 6830; material, 6830 j size, 6831 ; Polish
hive, (J832.
Bees, culture of, in North Wales, 7044.
Bees, culture of, in Poland, 637.
Bee, wasp, and ant insects, 6904.
Beetles, 6872 ; weevil, 6874 ; black cockroach.
Beetwhite or mangold, culture of, 4962.
Beggars of Flanders, 535.
Bclair, A. P. Julienne de, his work on agriculture,
page 1174. A. D. 1794.
Belgrovc, William, his work on agriculture, page
1179. A. D. 1755.
Bell, Benjamin, F.R.S.E., his work on agriculture,
page 1168. A. D. 1802.
Belly, diseases of, 5791.
Bend in irrigation, 484.
Benesc, Sir Richard, his work on agriculture, page
1162. A. D. 1535.
Bcnetti, Santo, his work on agriculture, page 1178.
A. D. 1810.
Benin, agriculture of, 1080.
Benson, William, A.M., his work on agriculture,
page 1164. A. D. 1724.
Berkshire waggon, 2622.
Berkshire, agricultural survey of, 7005.
Bertexcn, S., his work on silkworms, page 1166. A. D.
1789.
Bertliclot, his work on agriculture, page 1173. A. D.
1782.
Bertochus, Dionysius, his work on agricultuie, page
1177. A. D. 149a
Bertrandy his work on agriculture, page 1174. A. D.
1794.
Bertrand, Jean, his work on agriculture, page 1172.
A. D. 1764.
Bertrand, Elie, his works on agriculture, page 1172.
A. D. 1764.
Berwickshire, agricultural survey of, 70i9.
Besoms, 2395.
Betel leaf, piper betle ( figured), its culture and pre-
paration in Sumatra, 1016.
Beverston wheel-plough, 2;j12.
Bcxon, Gabriel Leopold Charles Ame, his works on
agriculture, page 1172. A. D. 1773.
Bibliography of agriculture in foreign countries,
7111.,
Bibliography of French agriculture, 7112.
Bibliography of German and Italian agriculture,
7113, 7114.
Bibliography of Spanish and Portuguese agriculture,
7116.
Bibliography of Flemish and Dutch agriculture,
7117.
Bibliography of Swedish and; Danish agriculture,
7118.
Bibliography of Polish and Russian agriculture,
7119.
Bibliography of British agriculture, 7110.
Bibliography of American agriculture, 7120.
Bidet, M., his work on agriculture, page 1177. A, D.
1778.
BUlinaslcu, John, Esq., ".his work on agriculture,
page 1168. A. D. 1798.
Binot or ribbing plough, 2501.
Binot, an agricultural implement of Flanders, 500.
Birch-wine, how obtained and manufactured in Der-
byshire, 7014.
Birds, singing, to rear, 6793; curious or remarkable
birds, 6796.
Birds injurious to agriculture, 6860; kite, 6860;
crow, 6861 ; granivorous birds, 6861.
Birds employed in agriculture, 6672.
Birds of luxury cultivated by farmers, 6763.
Birds of Amazonia, 1218.
Birdsfoot trefoil, 5083.
Birkbcck, Moris, Esq., his works on agriculture, page
1170. A. D. 1815.
Birman empire, agriculture of, 921.
Biroli, Giovanni, his works on agriculture, page
1177. A. D. 1807.
Bitter, principle, from what plants obtained, and
how used, 1395.
Black soil, its influence in absorbing heat, 2108.
Black, James, his work on agricultui;e, \y&%e 1163.
A. D. 1778.
Blackwater in cattle, 6263.
Bladder, inflamiriation of, in cattle, G264.
Bladder, inflammation of, 5814.
4
Blaikie, Francis, his works on agriculture, page 1163.
A. D. 1819.
Blaikie's inverted horse-hoe, 2544.
Blanks in plantations to fill up, 3683.
Blast or hove in sheep, 6511.
Blavct, his work on agriculture, page 1171, A. D.
1755.
Bleeding horses, 5878.
Blight in plants, 1653 ; from cold and frosty winds,
1655 ; from vapor, 16,56 ; from fungi, 1657.
Blistering, 5870 ; sweating or liquid blisters, 5872.
Blisters used in veterinary practice, 5890.
Blith, Walter, his works on agriculture, page 1163.
A. D. 1649.
Block plough drill, 2562.
Blood or bog spavin, 5841.
Blood, theory of its operations as a manure, 2188.
Blood rot in sheep, 6513.
Blood ray ; see Dysentery. 6267.
Bloody urine in horses, 5815.
Blown or hove in cattle, 6258.
Boabab tree, Adaiisonia digitata, 1083.
Bog of Allan in Ireland, 807. \
Bog meadows, their management, 5213.
Bog spavin, 5841.
Bogs of Ireland, 807.
Bogs, to improve, 4183.
Bombyx mori (figured), silk moth, its culture in
France, 409.
Bone spavins and splints, 5838.
Bones, their nature and uses, 1845.
Bones, grinding of, for manure in Derbyshire,
Bonnemain, his work on agriculture, page 1174.
A. D. 1816.
Bonner, James, his plan for beehives, &c., page
1167. A, D. 1795. y * v^
Book farmers, or jerialists, 7045.
Books of accounts for farmers and bailifft, 4)509.
Booker's lime-kiln, 3589.
Bootan, agriculture of, 1007.
Borche, H. A. Grafen, Count de, his work on agri-
culture, page 1176. A. D. 1779.
Bordley, J. B., his work on agriculture, page 1179.
Borer of soils, 2428; of peat, 2430; draining auger
2431.
Boring for .water, 4148 ; at Tottenham, at Ravens-
croft park, 4148.
Borneo, agriculture of, 1020.
Bornot, M. A., his work on agriculture, page 1175.
A. D. 1817.
Borro (del) Alessandro, his work on agriculture,
page 1177. A. D. 1718.
Bosc, his works on agriculture, page 1175. A. D.
1823.
Bosc, K. Ad. H. von, his work on agriculture, page
1176. A. D. 1792.
Bosmell, George, his work on agriculture, page
\\m. A. D. 1780.
Boucher, d' Argis, Antoine Gaspard, his work on
agriculture, page 1171. A. D. 1749.
Bouthier, his work on agriculture, page 1173. A. D.
1780.
Bowels, inflammation of, 5797.
Boys, John, his work on agriculture, page 1767. A. D.
• 1796.
Brabant scythe in use in Flanders, 503.
Bradley, Richard, F,R,S., &c., .his works on agri-
culture, page 1163. A. D. 1721.
Brake or levelling harrow, 2573.
Braxy or dysentery in cattle, 6267.
Braxy in sheep, 6515.
Brazil, agriculture of, 1207 ; vegetable productions,
1208; lines, 1208; ijiecacuanha, 1209; pot tree,
1210; pine apples, 1211; mandiocca, 1212; live
stock, 1213 ; musk ox, 1214.
Bread fruit of Otaheite (figured), 1037.
Breaking and training cattle among the Romans ,
98.
Breaking machine for roots, 2474.
Breaking stones, 2885.
Breast hoe, or breast plough, 2391.
Breeds of animals, how to improve ; sec AnimaU
199'1.
Breeding farms, 5974.
Breeding of horned cattle, 6144.
Breeding stock, choice of, 4-470 ; Cline's opinions ,
4476.
Breeding among the Romans, 94.
Breeding in-and-in, physiologically considered,
1014.
Brewery and distillery plants, sulMtitutcs for, 5456. ;
H
1202
GENERAL INDEX.
Bridge, portable, for live stock, 6996.
Bridle sores, 5778.
Britain, agriculture of, after the Norman conquest,
204.
Britain, agriculture of, from the fifth to the seven-
teenth century, 195.
Britain, agriculture of, during the Anglo-Saxon
dynasty, 196.
British isles, modern agricultural' history of, 741 ;
political history, 742; professional history, 755;
literary history, 781.
British fauna, or catalogue of British animals, 1984.
British North America, agriculture of, 1166 ; Ca-
nada,'ll67.
British flora, distribution of, 1759 ; perfect plants,
1761 ; imperfect plants, 1762 ; introduction of
exotics, 1770 ; purchasable plants, 1772.
Broken wind, 5789.
Broken knees in horses, 5837.
Broom, field culture of, 5080.
Broussonet, Pierre-Marie-Auguste, his works on
agriculture, page 1173. A. D. 1787.
Brown, Robert, his works on agriculture, page 1168.
A. D. 1799.
Brugnone, Gio, his works on agriculture, page 1177.
A. D. 1781.
Bruising machine, 2467.
Buchoz, Pierre Joseph, his works on agriculture,
page 1171. A. D. 1760.
Buckinghamshire, agricultural survey of, 6998.
Buckwheat, 4736. 5499.
Buckwheat, culture of, in Flanders, 456.
Budding plants, 1621.
Buffalo, 6279.
Buffalo of Hindustan, 898.
Buffalo of Egypt, 1059.
Buliard, his work on agriculture, page 1173. A. D.
1778.
Bull or ox family, 6105 ; see Ox.
Bull family, anatomy and physiology of, 6227.
Bunias orientalis (figured), culture of, 5084.
Buns, the stalks of hemp from which the bark or
woody matter has been taken off, 5334.
Buonaparte, agricultural societies, &c., established
by him, 376.
Burnet, culture of, 5064.
Burning clay, operation of, 2981; theory of burnt
clay as a manure, 2982 ; common method by kilns,
2985 ; improved method, 2987 ; burning with
quicklime, 2989.
Burroughs, Edward, Esq., his work on agriculture,
page 1170. A. D. 1820.
Bush harrow, 2576.
Bushmans, their agriculture, 1113; spade, 1113.
Bustard, Otis tarda, 6756 ; little bustard, O. tetrax,
6756.
Butler, Charles, his work on bees, page 1162. A. D.
1609.
Butter, making and curing of, 6320.
Butter of Epping, 6187.
Butterflies, 6889; chrysalis state, 6891 ; perfect in-
sect, 6892 ; British butterflies the most remark-
able, 6893.
Buttermilk, 6379.
Cabbage tribe, field culture of, 4969.
Cabbage, its culture and application in China, 980.
Cabbage tree of the Pellew isles (figured), 1030.
Cabbage tree beetle of Surinam (figured), 1217.
Cactus opuntia (figured), Indian fig, 703.
Cadet de Vaux, Antoine Alexis, his works on agri-
culture, page 1173. A. D. 1782.
Caithness, agricultural survey of, 7069.
Calendarium florae, principles of forming, 1629; uses
of, 1630.
Calf pens, 2678.
Calkins, or turn-ups, in frost-shoeing of horses, 5937.
Caloric, how distributed in the animal kingdom,
1967.
Calthorpe, Charles, his work relative to the lord of
a manor and his tenant, page 1162. A. D. 16&'5.
Calvel, Etienne, his work on agriculture, page 1174.
A. D. 1809.
Calves, fattening of, 6187.
Calves, diseases of, 6278.
Calving, 6276.
Cambodia, agriculture of, 943,
Cambridgeshire, agricultural survey of, 7001.
Camel of Persia, 859.
Camel of Hindustan, 904.
Camel family, (>()30 ; dromedary, Arabian, Bachian,
6630; lama, 6()31.
Camellia sasanqua, one of the tea plants of China,
965.
Camellia bohea, black tea of China, 962.
Camellia viridis, green tea of China, 962.
Camellia oleifera, oil-bearing tea plants, 967.
Camelopard, 6632.
Camphire tree, and its application in China, 971.
Camphor, from what plant obtained, how, and its
uses, 1463.
Campo morto, farm of, near Rome, 303.
Canada, agriculture of, 1167 ; soil, 1168 ; products,
1169.
Canals, their formation, 3526 ; utility, 3527 ; line or
route, 3533 ; canal companies, 3539 ; execution of
the works, 3544.
Canals and embankments of modem Egypt, 1048.
Canary grass, 5485.
Canary islands, agriculture of, 1120.
Candana, his work on agriculture, page 1177. A. D.
1776.
Canker in the feet of horses, 5858.
Canine madness, 6660 ; raging madness, 6661 ; dumb
madness, 6662 ; preventive treatment, 6663.
Canis, or dog family, 6635 ; see Dog.
Cantiini, Carlo Antonio, his work on agriculture,
page 1177. A. D. 1778.
Caoutchouc, or India rubber, from what plants ob-
'" tained, and how, 1464.
Cape of Good Hope, agriculture of, 1087 ; climate,
1088 ; surface, 1089 ; soil, 1090 ; landed property,
1091 ; farms, 1092 ; products 1093 ; vine, 1094 ;
Constantia wine, 1095 ; almond, 1096 ; aloe, 1097 ;
tobacco, 1098 ; live stock, 1099 ; implements and
operations, 1106 ; agriculture of the native tribes,
1108; of the unimproved Hottentots, 1109; Hot-
tentot huts and cattle, 1109, 1110 ; bachapins, 1112 ;
Bushmans, 1113.
Cape Verd islands, agriculture of, 1119.
Cape Breton, agriculture of, 1171.
Capparis spinosa (figured), the caper plant, its cul-
ture in France, 384, 413.
Caprification of the fig in Turkey, 732.
Capulet of the hock in horses, 5843.
Carbon, as an article of vegetable food, 1510.
Carbonic acid gas in the atmosphere, 2271.
Carlow, agricultural survey of, 7083.
Carolines, agriculture of, 1032.
Caronelli, Pietro, his works on agriculture, page
1177. A. D. 1791.
Carp, 6801.
Carpenter, J., his work on agriculture, page 1169.
A. D. 1803.
Carradori, Groachino, his work on agriculture,
page 1177. A.D. 1803.
Carraway, 54521
Carrera, Antonio, his work on agriculture, page
1177. A. D. 1780.
Carriage in irrigation, 4077.
Carrot, its culture, 4926 ; varieties, 4927 ; soil, 4928 ;
sowing, 4935; taking the crop, 4942; produce,
4944 ; use, 4945.
Carrot, culture of, in Flanders, 467.
Carse lands of Stirlingshire, 7058.
Cart of Hindustan, 907.
Cart of Paris, .398.
Cart of Russia, 662.
Cart of Rome, 302 ; of Flanders, 507 ; of France,
398.
Cart, Scotch (figured), 770.
Cart of modern Greece, 736.
Cart-sheds, 2707.
Carts, 2608 ; for one or two horses, 2609 ; Scotch
one-horse cart, 2611 ; Scotch two-horse cart, 2612 ;
improved two-horse carts, 2613 ; corn cart, 2614 ;
dray cart, 2615; quarry cart, 2617; three- wheel
cart, 2618.
Carts of Yorkshire, 7021 ; figs. 794 and 795.,
Carter, Landon, his work on agriculture, page 1179.
A. D. 1789.
Carthage, its agriculture, 38.
Carthamus tinctorius, cultivated in Egypt, 1057.
Carver, Jonathan, Esq., his work on agriculture,
page 1179. A. D. 1779.
Cassava or manioc, Jatropha manihot, 1116.
Castcllct, Constans, his work on agriculture, page
1177. A. D. 1778.
Castelli, Benedict, his work on agriculture, page
1177. A. D. 1628.
Casting, the operation of throwing a horse down :
•' it is done as follows : having brought him upon
-GENERAL INDEX.
1305
some even ground that is smooth atwi soft, or into
the barn upon soil straw, take a long rope, double
it, and cast a knot a yard from the bow ; put the
bow about his neck, and the double rope Iwtwixt
his fore legs; about his hinder pasterns, and under
his fetlocks : when you have done this, slip the
ends of the rope underneath the bow of his neck,
and draw them (juick, and they will overthrow
him ; then make the ends fast j and hold down
his head, 58CA.
Castor wheel horse-hoe, 2545.
Castration, docking, nicking, and cropping, 5877.
Casualties of animals, 1954.
Cat, Felis catus, 6668.
Catarrh or influenza in cattle, 6248.
Catarrhal fever in horses, 57fi5.
Catch drain in irrigation, 4086'.
Catch-work meadows, 4!095.
Caterpillars, different sorts, 6866 ; gooseberry, 6920.
Cato, M. Porcius, his works on agriculture, 45.
Caftaneo, Giacomo, his work on agriculture, page
1177. A. D. 17t)7.
Cattle of Aberdeenshire, 7066.
Cattle surgery, 6272.
Cattle hammels and sheds, 2677.
Cattle obstetrics, 6275.
Cattle of Piedmont, careful mode of feeding, 269.
Cattle of Devonshire, 7038.
Cavan, agricultural survey of, 7099.
Cavendish, William, Marquess and Duke of New-
castle, his work on horses, page 1163. A. D. 1667.
Cavia cobaya, or Guinea pig, 6614.
Cavy ; see Cavia, 6614.
Cayenne, agriculture of, 1215.
Celebezian islands, agriculture of, 1023.
Cels, Jacques Martin, his works on agriculture, page
1174. A. D. 1795.
Ceratonia siliqua, thecarobbean, or St John's bread,
or locust tree of the bible (figured), 1078.
Cereal grasses, culture of, 4596.
Cervus, the deer family, 6616 ; C. elephas, 6617 ;
C. capreolus, 6618; C. dama, 6619; C. alces, 6622:
C. tarandus, 6623.
Ceylon, agriculture of, 914 ; soil, 915 ; cultivation,
916 ; implements, 917 ; farm yard, 918 ; embank-
ment, 919.
Chahert, Philippe, his works on agriculture, page
1173. A. D. 1785.
Chaflfcatter, 246&
Chambray, Louis, marquis de, his work on agricul-
ture, {lage 1172. A. D. 1765.
Chamerops humilis^ the fan palm, its culture in
Spain, 704.
Chamois .goat, Antelope rupicapra, 6626.
Chamomile, 5.523.
Chamomile, culture of, in Derbyshire, 7014.
Clianvallon. his work on agriculture, page 1172. A. D.
1769.
Chaptal, Comte, his work on agriculture, page 1175.
A. D. 1823.
Charcoal, wha4:, litrw manufactured ; in what pro-
portions afforded by different plants, 1467 ; proper-
ties of charcoal, 14(58.
Chatclain, Le Chevalier, his work on agriculture,
page 1175. A. D. 1816.
Cheese, Gruydre, how made in Switzerland, 342.
Cheese-making, process of, 6335.
Cheese-making in Cheshire, 7028.
Cheese mite, 6913.
Cheese presses, 6310.
Cheese, Parmasan, how made in Lombardy, 270.
Chemical analysis of soils, 2083.
Chemistry of animals, 1879.
Chermes insect, or plant louse, 6885,
Cherries suitable for orchards, 3788.
Cheshire, agricultural survey jaf, 7028.
Chiccory, 5503.
Chiccory, culture of, .5074 ; in Italy, 273.
Chili, agriculture of, 1204 ; plants, 120.5.
Chillingham castle, wild breed of cattle at, 6130.
Chinese Tartary, agriculture in, 100.5. .
Chinese com mill, 913.
Chinese empire, agriculture of, 951 ; Dr. Abel's
opinion of Chinese agriculture, 952 ; Dr. Barrow's,
95;3; Livingstone's, 954; dimato, 955^ surface,
956 ; soil, 9.57 ; landed property, 958 ; agricultural
products, 959 ; tea districts, 960 ; oil plants; 967 ;
; tallow tree, 9f)8 ; wax tree, 909 ; camphire tree,
: ,971; oak, 972; maiden-hair tree, 973; cordage
plant, 974 ; cotton, 975 ; silk worm, 975 ; ground-
■ nut, 977; water chestnut, 978 ; millet, 979; cab-
bage, 980; live stock, 982; wild animals, 984;
bird», 985 ; fisheries, 986 ; implements, 987 ; one-
4H
rations, 988; tillage, 989; manures, 991 : retiring
houses, 999; terrace cultivation, 1001; forests,
1003 ; row culture general, 1002 ; national aericul-
tural fete, 1004.
Chocolate tree, Theobroma (figured), 1206.
Christ, 3.^ L., his work on agriculture, page 1176.
A. D. 1/80.
Chronic cough, 5788.
Chronic founder in the feet, S850.
Churning, process of, 6322.
Churns, different kinds of, 6311.
Circulating system of animals, 1934.
Cicer arietinum (figured), the chick pea, 406.
Cichorium intybus (figured), chiccory, cultivated as
an herbage plant in Italy*, 273.
Cider, its manufacture, 3809; gathering the fruit,
3810; mixing, 3811; grinding, 3812; pressing,
3815; fermenting, 3816; barrelling, 3817 ; stum-
mmg, 3820 ; bottling, 3821 ; machinery and uten-
Bils, 3824 ; mills, 3826 ; press, 3831 ; cloths, 3832 :
vats, 3833 ; casks, 3834.
Cider mills, different kinds of, 382a
Cinnamon, Laurus canella, 1208.
Citron, as grown in Persia, 856.
Cistus, ladaniferus (figured). Gum cistus, its use in
Spain, 710.
Clackmannanshire, agricultural survey of, 7060.
Clap or strain in the back sinews of horses, 5833.
Clare, agricultural survey of, 7092.
Claridge, John, his work on agriculture, page 1166.
A. D. 1793. ^
Claridge, John, his work on the changes of the
weather, page 1164. A. D. 1744.
Clark, John, F.S.A., his works on agriculture, oaite
1167. A. D. 1794. *^*
Clarke, Charles, his treatise on gypsum, page 1166.
A. D. 1792. *^**
Clarke, Cuthbert, his work on agriculture, page
1167. A. D. 1777.
Clarke's draining plough, 2519.
Classification of soils, 2067 ; by Sir H, Davy, 2068 :
by Thaer, Thouin, and Fellenberg, 2070.
Claveau, or sheep pox, 6505.
Clay, to dry and burn, 2981.
Clcghorn, James, his work on agriculture, page 1171.
A. D. 1822.
Cleaning roots, 2901.
Cleaning cattle, 2994.
Climate in respect to the culture of vegetables, 1790.
Climate of Britain, study of, 2369.
Cline, Henry, Esq., his theory of improving the breed
of animals, 2014.
Clipping, 2919.
Cliquot, Blervache, his work on agriculture, page
1173. A. D. 1789.
Cloathing arts, plants grown for, 5291.
Clotted cream, 6375.
Clouds, their effects relating to the atmosphere and
vegetation, 2249.
Clouds, their nomenclature, by Luke Howard, 2289.
Clover family, culture of, 4985 ; species and varieties,
4986 ; soil, 4!)92 ; sowing, 4995 ; taking the crop,
5003 ; making into hay, 5006 ; produce, 5018 ; seed.
Clover and turnips, their introduction, as agricul-
tural plants, into England, 235.
Clydesdale, agricultural survey of, 7056.
Clymer's plough, 250.5.
Clystering in veterinary surgery, 5874.
Clysters used in veterinary medicine, 5895.
Coal mines, 3.580,
Coal strata of Durham, 7023 ; fig. 796.
Cob, a kind of wicker basket, made so as to be car-
ried on the arm. Hence a seed-cob, or seed-lip, is
a basket for sowing from, 24;37.
Cochin China, agriculture of, 944.
Cochineal, culture of, in Mexico, 1164.
Cochineal, or coccus in.«ect, 6887.
Cochrane, Archibald, Earl of Dundonald, his works
on agriculture, ike, page 1167. A. D. 1795.
Cochburn, of Crraiston, a great improver, 772.
Cock-roach, 6878 ; black-beetle, 6879.
Cocoa tree, Cocos nucifera (figured), its culture and
application in Hindustan, 888.
Cocoa root, or eddocs. Arum and Caladium, various
species, culture of, in the West Indies, 1192.
Cock and hen, 6(j83 ; game cock and hen, 6684 ;
Dorking variety, 66S;i; Poland cock and hen,
6686 ; every -day, (ml ; bantam, 0688 ; Chittagong
or Malay, 6689; shackbag, or Duke of ly.-eds,
6690; Spanish, 6691; breeding «)f gallinaceous
poultrv, 6692 ; general management, CA'B^ ; moult-
ing, ()700 ; hatciiing, 6702 ; products, 6706 ; fat-
2
[204
GENERAL INDEX.
• tening, 6710 ; different sorts of food, 6714, Cram-
ming, different modes of, 6718 ; pinioning, 6723.
Coffee, culture of, in Java, 933.
Coffee tree (figured), culture of, in the West Indies,
1900.;
Coffee plants of Austria, 617.
Coffin joint, strains of, in horses, 5835.
Cointereaux, Francois, his works on agriculture,
■ page 1173. A. D. 1792.
Cold, theory of excluding, by slight coverings, 2254.
Coleopterous insects injurious to agriculture, 6871-
Colerus, J., his works on agriculture, page 1175.
A. D. 1591.
Colic in horned cattle, 6265.
Colic, gripes, fretor guUion, 5805.
Colic red, or interitis, 5797.
Coloring matter of plants, how obtained and used,
1388 J blues, 1389; reds, 1390; yellows, 1391;
browns, 1392.
Cotte, L., his work on agriculture, page 1173. A. D.
1790.
Colts, deceptions practised with by horse dealers,
5958.
Columba, the pigeon, 6764.
Columela, L. J, Moderatus, his works on agriculture,
48.
Comber, Thomas, L.L.D.,his workson agriculture,
page 1165. A. D. 1770.
Comblcs, a mode of warping practised in Italy, 267.
Common drill barrow, 2470.
Common field, laying out of, 4213.
Commonable lands, their origin and kinds, 3234;
principles of appropriating and dividing, 3247.
Comparetti, his work on agriculture, pagell77. A. D,
' 1798.
Composts, their formation and uses, 4593 ; meadow
bank middens, 4595.
Condition of horses, 5754.
Congo, agriculture of, 1082.
Constantia wine, history of, at the Cape of Good
Hope, 1094.
Contraction in the feet, 5851.
Conversion of grass lands to arable, 5261 ; rotation of
crops, 5279.
Convolvulus batatas (figured), Spanish or sweet
potatoes, 238.
Convolvulus edulus, cultivated in Japan for its tu-
bers, 949.
Cooke, James, his work on agriculture, page 1166.
A. D. 1784.
Cooke's corn drill, 2552 ; three-row drill, 2554.
Coops for poultry, 6679.
Coote, Sir Charles, Bart., his works on agriculture,
page 1168. A. D. 1801.
Copineau, Abb^, his work on agriculture, page 1173.
A. D. 1780.
Coppice woods of Flanders, 529.
Coppice woods, season and modes of cutting and
managing, 3739.
Cordage plant of China, Sida tiliEefolia, 974.
Coriander, 5449.
Cork, what, from what plants obtained, how manu-
factured and used, 1465.
Cork-tree in Spain, 726.
Cork, agricultural survey of, 7089.
Com stands, 2746.
Com, its preservation in granaries or other stores,
principles of, 1797.
Com screen, 2435.
Com drills, 2552.
Corn bam, 2689 ; English com barn, 2690 ; thresh-
ing floor, 2691 ; threshing mill bam, 2697.
Corn, invention of its culture, 11.
Corn measures, 2443.
Com bin, 2441.
Corn sacks, 2444.
Corn laws, history of, 742.
Corn laws first introduced in England, 240.
Corns in the feet of horses, 5853.
Cornwall, agricultural survey of, 7039.
Corstorphin cream, 6373.
Costa, Ch., his work on agriculture, page 1176. A. D.
1802.
Cottage buildings, their arrangement, 3872 ; trades-
man's cottage, 3873, 3878 ; double cottages, 3874,
3876 ; cottages for laborers, with cow-house and
piggery, .3877 ; picturesque cottages, 3879 ; entrance
lodges, 3880.
Cottage gardens of Cheshire, 7028.
Cottage gardens, premiums for their cultivation in
Buckinghamshire, 6998.
Cottage huts of Finland and Lapland, G71.
Cottage system on the Trentham estates, 7011,
Cottage system of East Lothian, 7048 ; of Berwick-
shire, 7049.
Cottage lands, to lay out, 3835 ; size, 3836 ; cottage
farms, 3839.
Cottage or cabin of Ireland, 815.
Cottages of Egypt (figured), 1062.
Cottages, their establishment on estates, 3569.
Cottages of Flanders, 538.
Cottages of Sweden, 671.
Cottages of Nubia, 1065.
Cottages in Switzerland, 335.
Cottages of China, 956.
Cottages of Moldavia, 739.
Cottages of Ayrshire, 7055 ; fig. 812.
Cottages of Berkshire, 7005 ; fig. 777.
Cottages of Kincardineshire, 7065.
Cottages of West Lothian, 7059; fig. 814.
Cottages of Cornwall, 7039.
Cottages of Dumfrieshire, 7053.
Cottages for farm-servants, 2718 ; accommodation,
2719, 2720 ; smallest size, 2720 ; double cottage and
cow-house, 2721 ; Wood's seven principles for con-
structing cottages, 2722 ; walls of cottages, 2731 ;
stairs, 2732 ; ornamental cottages, 2734.
Cotton plant, culture of, in Jamaica, 1188.
Cotton, culture of, in Sumatra, 1019.
Cotton plant, Gossypium herbaceum (figured), cul-
ture of in Italy, 318.
Cotton plants of China, 975.
Couch grass rake, 2595.
Cough in sheep, 6509.
Cough, chronic, 5788.
Course of a river, to change, 4045.
Coventry, Andrew, Esq., M.D., his works on agricul-
ture, pge 1169. A. D. 1808.
Covers for stacks, 2750.
Cow, criteria of one of superior excellence, 6138.
Cow, club for purchasing, 7022.
Cow of Tunis (figured), 1068.
Cows for the dairy, management of, 966.
Coxe, Daniel, M.D., his work on agriculture, page
1163. A.D. 1674.
Cracks and grease in horses, 5845.
Cramer, John Andrew, his work on agriculture,
page 1176. A. D. 1766.
Crane fly, or wire worm, 6907.
Craw or cray fish, 6841.
Cream, different preparations of, 6369.
Crescentius, Crescenzio, or de Crescentiis, his works
on agriculture, page 1177. A. D. 1471.
Cress, 5501.
Cricket, 6881.
Cromarty, agricultural survey of, 7068.
Crone, an old ewe, 6413.
Cropping, nicking, and docking in horses, 577.
Crops, rotation of, for different soils, 4549; strong
deep lands, 4558 ; their clays, 4561 ; peat soils,
4562 ; light soils, 4563.
Crops cultivated by the Romans, 148 ; cereal grasses,
148 ; legumes, 149 ; herbage plants, 150 ; manufac-
torial plants, 152 ; ligneous crops, 153 ; fruits,
154.
Crossing the breed of animals, physiologically con-
sidered, 2006.
Croton sebiferum, the tallow tree of China, 968.
Crud, Le Baron, E.V.B., his work on agriculture,
page 1175. A. D. 18£...
Cuba, agriculture of, 1173.
Cuckoo spit. Cicada, 6883.
Cud, loss of, in cattle, 6269.
Culinary vegetables, culture of, m Flanders, 485.
CuUcy, George, his works on agriculture, page 1166.
A. D. 1786.
Culley, George, his practice in breeding animals,
2015.
Cultivated lands, to improve, 4207 ; farms and farm
lands, 4210.
Cultivating the soil with pronged implements, 3019.
Cultivators, 2527.
Culture, ;its general effect on vegetables, 1730; on
culinary vegetables, 1731 ; fruits, 1732 ; plants of
ornament, 1733.
Culture of corn, its invention, 11.
Culture of grasses, 5086.
Cumberland, agricultural survey of, 7025.
Curb of the hock in horses, 5843.
Curds and cream, 6371 ; curds and whey, 6370.
Curtis, William, his work on agriculture, page 1166.
A. U. 1790.
Curwen, John Christian, M.P., his works on agri-
culture, page 1169. A. D. 1809.
Cuscuta europsea, or dodder (figured), 172.
Custard apple, Anona tripetala, (figured,) 1165. .
GENERAL INDEX.
1205
Cutting in the feet of horses, 58(50.
Cutting, SDliJ ; draw cuts, 29lC) ; pruning, 2917. *"
Cyperus esculentus f(figured), cultivated in Austria
as a coffee plant, 617.
Cyprinus auratus, or gold fish in China, 986.
D.
Dairy and'its management, 6282; principles of milk,
6284; dairy house, furniture, and utensils, 6297;
milking and management of milk, 6315 ; making
and curing butter, 6320 ; cheese-making, 6335 ;
catalogue of cheeses and other products of milk,
6349.
Dairy house, diflfbrent plans for, 6300. I
Dairy furniture, 6297.
Dairy utensils, 6297.
Dairy at Woburn, 6999; fig. 775.
Dairy, management of, Gloucestershire, 7006.
Dairy cows, management of, 966.
Dairy of Ireland, 829.
Dairy of Switzerland, 342.
Dairy, its economy, 5546.
Dairies of Lombardy, 270.
Dairies, public, in Savoy, 359.
Dairies of Flanders, 516.
Dairies of France, 394.
Daisey, or staggers in cattle, 6270.
Dalri/mple, William, Esq., his work on agriculture,
page 1168. A. D. 1800.
Dandolo, Vincenzo, his works on agriculture, page
1178. A. D. 1812.
Dartmoor, forest of, 7038.
Darwin, Erasmus, M.D., F.R.S., his work on agri-
culture, page 1168. A. D. 1800.
Date tree, its culture and uses in Hindustan, 894.
Daubenton, Jean Louis Marie, his work on agricul-
ture, page 1174. A. D. 1802.
Davis, Thomas, Esq., his work on agriculture, page
1167. A. D. 1794.
Davis, Richard, his work on agriculture, page 1167.
A. D. 1794.
Davis, of Longleat, his opinions as to horses for
labor, 4469.
Davies, Walter, A.M., his work on agriculture, page
1169. A. D. 1810.
Davy, Sir Humphry, Pres. R.S., L.L.D., V.P.RI.,
F.R.S., Edin. M.II.I.A., &c., his elements of agri-
cultural chemistry, page 1170. A. D. 1813.
Dawson, Wm. Esq., of Gradcn,t.thc father of the
turnip husbandry of the Northj was bom at Har-
ixirton in Berwickshire, in 1734, inthe same parish
which gave birth to the poet Thomson. He went
to Englandattheageof 16, and studied the agri-
culture of Norfolk for nine years. In 1759 he
returned, and took a lease of the fanr of Frog-
den in Roxburghshire. He there introduced the
culture of turnips in drills, the practice of plough-
ing with two horses without a driver, and a bet-
ter mode of applying lime to lands ; improve-
ments of incalculable importance. This benevolent
character maintained teachers for the children of
his farm-servants at his own exi>ence. In 1814,
was published his " Causes of the Poverty of Na-
tions," a work which proves the soundness of his
principles in political economy. He died in July,
1815, in his 81st. year. (See F. Mag. vol. xvi. p. 1()9.)
780 4591. 7024.
Day fly, 6898.
Day laborers of Flanders, 534.
Dean, Dr., his work on agriculture, page 1179. A. D.
1790.
De Brexe, his work on agriculture, page 1172. A. D.
1769.
December, weather and agricultural operations to
be performed in, page 1196.
Deceptions practised by dealers as to the ages of
horses, 5958.
Decortication of trees, 1649.
Decoys for wild ducks, how to form, 6743 ; pipe,
(T745 ; management, 6744.
Deer family or cervus, 6616 ; see Cervus.
Deer, to fatten, 6620.
Deer, to castrate, 6621.
Deer husbandry, 6620.
Demesne lands, choice of site for, 3263.
Denmark, agriculture of, 558; landed property,
558; farmhouses, 5.59.
Dcpradt, D., Archbishop of Molines, his work on
. agriculture, page 1174. A. D. 1803.
Der SchuKizcr, his work on agriculture, page 1175.
A. D. 1760.
4
Derbyshire, agricultural survey of, 7014. '
Desbois, Francis Alexander Aubert de la Chesnaie,
his work on agriculture, page 1171. A. D. 1751.
Deslandes, his work on agriculture, page 1175. A. D.
1820.
Desplaces, Laurent Benoist, his works on agricul-
ture, page 1172. A. D. 1762.
Despommiers, his work on agriculture, page 1 172.
A. D. 1762.
Dcstere, his work on agriculture, page 1179. A. D.
1800.
Detached property, to consolidate, 3228.
Devonshire, agricultural survey of, 7038,
Devonshire cream, 6374.
Devonshire cattle, 6112.
Dew, theory of, by Dr. Wells, 2297.
Diabetes, profuse staling or pissing evil, 5816.
Diarrhoea or looseness, 5804.
Diarrhoea in horned cattle, 6266.
Dibber, potatoe, 2397 ; common, 2398.
Dickson, R. W., M.D.,his works on agriculture, page
1169. A. D. 1804.
Dickson, the Rev. Adam, A.M., his translations of
the Roman agricultural authors, 52; his works
on agriculture, page 1164. A. D. 1762.
Digestion in animals, physiologically considered,
1928.
Digging, 2887.
Digging or forking up crops, 2945.
Digitaria sanguinalis (figured), or Polish millet, its
culture, 4726.
Dipterous insects, 6905.
Directive language used to horses, 5985.
Diseased feet, shoeing of, 5938.
Diseases of the horse, 5754; see Horse, diseases
of.
Diseases of the feet in horses, 5848 ; founder, 5850 ;
contraction, 5851 ; pumiced foot, 5852 ; corns,
5853; running thrush, 5855; sand cracks, 5856;
jjricks, 5857; quitter and canker, 5855; treads,
5859 ; cutting, 5860.
Diseases of the hop, 5440 ; the flea, 5441 ; fly, 5442 ;
moth, 5443 ; honey dew, 5444 ; mildew, 5445 ;
blights, 5446 ; fire-blast, 5447.
Diseases of plants, 1652; blight, 1653; from cold and
frosty winds, 1655; vapor, 1656; fungi, 1657;
smut, 1658; mildew, 1659; honey dew, 1660;
dropsy, 1662; flux of juices, 1664; chilblains, 1668;
gangrene, 1669 ; etiolation, 1671 ; suffocation,
1672 ; contortion, 1677 ; consumption, 1679.
Diseases of poultry, 6757 ; catarrh, 6759; fractures,
6760 ; gargle, 6761 ; vermin, 6762.
Diseases of horned cattle, 6244.
Diseases of calves, 6278.
Diseases of animals, physiologically considered,
1954, 1960.
Dishley sheep, 6393.
Dishley, the farm of the Bakewells, some account
of, 7013.
Distemper in horses, 5765.
Distribution of vegetables, 1687.
Diuretics used in veterinary medicine, 5903.
Dividing lands, 3066; commons, 3067.
Dix, William Spier, his work on agriculture, page
1167. A.D. 1797.
Docking, nicking, and cropping in horses, 5877.)
Dodd, Ralph, his observations on the dry rot, page
1170. A.D. 1815.
Dodson, Col. William, his work on draining land,
page 1163. A.D. 1665.
Dog family, Canis familiaris, 6635 ; English sheep-
dog, (M'&i ; sheep-dog of Scotland, 6(j39 ; mastiff,
6640 ; bull-dog, 6641 ; terrier, 66^12 ; pointer, set-
ter, and spaniel, 6643; breeding and rearing of
dogs, 6646; diseases, 6647; asthma, 6648; sore
eyes, 66;30 ; cancer, 6652 ; colic, 6653 ; cough,
66.54 ; distemper, &\!i5 ; fits, O^ ; inflamed bowels,
6658 ; inflamed lungs, (5659 ; madness, (5660 ;
mange, (5(5(35 ; worms, 6&i6 ; worming of whelps,
6(5(57.
Dog tic, 6913.
Dogs of the Romans, 108.
Donaldson, James, his works on agriculture, page
1167. A.D. 1794.
Donalilson, James, his work on agriculture, page
1163. A.D. 1697.
Donald, R., his work on agriculture, page 1171.
A.D. 1822.
Donegal, agricultural survey of, 7103.
Doria, Luigi, his work on agriculture," page 1177.
A.D. 1798.
Dormouse, 6615.
Dorsetshire, agricultural survey of, 70"33.
H 3
1206
GENERAL INDEX.
DogSie, Ilobcrt, Esq., his work on agriculture, page
1165. A.D. im
Double mould-board plough, 2500.'
Double share plough, 2496.
Double furrow plough, 2498.
Douglas, Robert, D.D., his work on agriculture,
page 1168. A. D. 1798.
Dour dies, Charles, his works on agriculture, page
1174. A.D. 1803.
Dovecot, 6773 ; see Pigeon-house.
Down, agricAiltural survey of, 7106.
Dragging, 2893.
Dragon fly, 6897.
Draining, history of, 3909 ; general theory of the
causes of wetmess in lands, 3910 ; boggy land, 3929 ;
hilly lands, 3941; mixed soils, 3944; retentive
soils, 3949 ; mines, quarries, and pits, 3955 ; for-
mation and materials of drains, 3957 ; implements
peculiar to draining, 3985 ; season, 3980.
Draining, theory of its effects on soils, 2141.
Draining ploughs, 2518; Clarke's, 2519; Grey's,
2520 ; gutter plough, 2521 ; mole plough, 2522.
Draining auger, 2431.
Draining among the Romans, 143.
Draining on the Trentham estates, 7011.
Drains, different sorts of, 3961 ; of conveyance, 3962 ;
of collection, 3963; boxed and rubble drain, 3964;
brick drain, 3965 ; gravel or cinder drain, 3967 ;
wood drain, 3968 ; spray drain, 3969 ; straw drain,
S970 ; turf drain, 3971 ; triangular sod drain, 3972 ;
hollow furrow drain, 3973; earth or clay pipe
drain, 3974 ; turf \y\\^ drain, 3975 ; Cheshire turf
drain, 3976 ; mole drain, 3977 ; wheel drain, 3978 ;
wheel gutter drain, 3979 ; season for forming drains,
3980 ; duration, 3982 ; expense, 3983 ; enemies of
drains, 3984.
Dralety his work on agriculture, page 1174. A. D.
1801.
Draught machine, 2458; More's, 2459; Braby's,
2460.
Drill watering machine, 2564.
Drill culture by TuU, history of, 756.
Drill culture, history of, in Dumfrieshire, 7053.
Drill barrow, 2470 ; turnip barrow drill, 2472.
Drilling, 3025.
Drill roller, 2563.
Drilling turnips, history of, in Northumberland,
7024.
Drinks and balls, mode of giving, in veterinary sur-
gery, 5863,
Drinks used in veterinary medicine, 5901.
Driver, Abraham and William, their work on agri-
culture, page 1167. A.D. 1794.
Driving cattle in a threshing machine, 3033.
Driving carts and waggons, 3031.
Dromedary of Arabia, 874.
Drury, Charles, his works on agriculture, page
A.D. 1810.
Dry rot, cause of, 3755.
Dublin, agricultural survey of, 7076.
Dublin society, establishment of, 801.
Dubois, Louis, his work on agriculture, page 1175.
A.D. 1824.
Dubois, J. B., his work on agriculture, page' 1173.
A.D. 1790.
Dubourdien, Rev. John, his works on agriculture,
page 1168. A.D. 1802.
Duck, Anas boschus, 6733 ; varieties, 6734 ; Rhone,
673;); Aylesbury, 6736; canvas -backed, 6737;
Muscovy, 6738 ; breeding of ducks, fT739 ; incuba-
tion, 6740 ; fattening, 6742 ; decoys for wild ducks,
how to form, 6743.
Ducks of Aylesbury, 6998.
Ducks, rearing of, in China, 983.
Ducket's skim coulter plough, 2494.
Ducouedic, his work on agriculture, page 1174. A.D.
18(X).
Du Gard, his observations on killing animals by
pithing and slaughtering, 2047.
Dumfriesshire, kgricultural survey of, 7053.
Dummond, a wedder sheep, (i413.
Diimont, Courset, his work on agriculture, page
1173. A.D. 1784.
Dunbartonshire, agricultural survey of, 7057.
Duncumb, John, A.M., his works on agriculture,
page llt». A.D. 1801.
Dung, 2210; see Manures of animal and vegetable
origin.
Dung yards and pits, 2741.
Diuig drag, 2.387.
Dun robin House, 7070, fig. 819.
i)iipont„ his works ou agriculture, page 1172. A.D.
i7(i4.
Duration of animate physiologitsiUy considered
1954.
Durham, agricultural survey of, 7023.
Durion, a fruit of Hindustan, 896.
Dutch, or short-homed breed of cattle, 6109.
Dutton, Hely, Esq., his works on agriculture, page
1169. A.D. 1808.
Duvergc, his work on agriculture, page 1172. A.D.
1763.
Dyeing and thread plants, substitutes for, 5389.
Dysenteric inflammation, 5801.
Dysentery in sheep, 6515.
Dysentery or braxy in horned eattle, 6267.
Earth borer, 2428 ; of peat, 2450 ; draining auger,
2431.
Earth, estimating the expense of excavating and re-
moving, 3082.
Earth track, 2388,
Earth walls, different sorts of, 2845.
Earths afforded by plants, 1476 ; lime, 1477 ; silica,
1478 ; magnesia, 1479 ; alumina, 1480 ; metallic
oxides, 1481.
Earths, as ingredients of vegetable food, 1505.
Earths and soils considered with reference to culture,
2054; formation of soils, 2055; surface earth,
2059 ; rocks, how converted into soils, 2061 ; peaty
soils, 2062 ; classification of soils, 2067 ; genera,
2068 ; species, 2069 ; table of genera, species, and
varieties, 2070 ; discovering the qualities of soils
by the plants which grow on them, 2072 ; by ana-
lysis, 2083 ; mechanically and empirically, 2087 ;
uses of the soil, 2095 ; improvement of soils, 2112 ;
pulverisation, 2113; compression, 2122; fallow-
ing, 2124 ; alteration of the constituent parts,
2130 ; incineration, 2133 ; by water, 2141 ; by at-
mospherical influence, 2150 ; by rotations of crops,
2154.
East Lothian, agricultural survey of, 7048.
East Meath, agricultural survey of, 7084.
East Riding of Yorkshire, agricultural survey of,
7022.
Eastern coast of Africa, agriculture of, 114
Eboulement, 330 ; of Mount Grenier, 331.
Eckhart, J. Gli., von, his work on agriculture, page
1175. A.D. 1754.
Economical societies of Spain, 694,
Economy of live stock and the dairy, 5546.
Eddoes, Arum and Caladiuni, various species, 1186.
Edgeworth, Richard Lovell, Esq., ¥. R. S. and
M.R.I.A,, his essay on roads, page 1170. A. D.
1810.
Edible tubers, cultivated in China. 976.
Education, Mr. Farey's ideas on, /014.
Education, Mr. Vancouver's ideas on, 7038.
Eel, 6812.
Eels, natural history of, by Headrick, 7064.
Eggs, preservation of, in Derbyshire, 7014.
Eggs of insects, different sorts, 6864; to destroy,
6920.
Egypt, ancient, its agriculture, 8 ; its embankments,
12 ; landed property of, 13 ; soil of, 14 ; agricul-
tural productions of, 15.
Egypt, modern, agriculture of, 1045; climate and
surface, 1046 ; fertility, 1047 ; limits of cultivated
Egypt, 1048; landed property, 1049; occupiers,
1050; products, 1051; rice, 1052; wheat, 1053;
flax, 1054 ; hemp, 1055 ; sugar cane, 1056 ; fruit
trees, 1057; live stock, 1058; buffalo, 1059;
horses, lOfiO ; asses, 1061 ; camel and drome<lary,
1062; implements, 1063 ; operations, 1064 ; Nubia,
1065.
Elaboration of the sap of plants, 1524; of carbonic
acid, 1530 ; oxygen, 1531.
Electricity, its influence on vegetation, 2260 ; artifi-
cial electricity proposed by Darwin and Williams,
2262,
Elephant of India, 903.
Elevation, its influence on vegetables, 1699.
Elkin»ton, Mr, Joseph, the drainer, some account
of, 7012.
Elliot, , his work on agriculture, page 1 179.
A.D. 1764.
Ellis, William, his works on agriculture, page 1164.
A.D. 1732.
Elstobb, W.,hi8 account of fens, &c., page 1166. A.D.
1793.
Elymus arenarius, gcniculatus and sibiricut
(figured), 4206,
GENERAL INDEX.
1207
Embanking, 3337 ; history, 3998 ; general principles,
40()1 ; pressure of still water, 4002; situation of
1*e bank, 4004; direction, 4005; construction,
*)()6 ; materials, 4007 ; drains and floodgates,
4(K)8.
Embankments, different kinds of, 4016; earthen
wall, 4017; mound, 4018; mound and puddle wall,
4024 ; mound with reversed slopes, 4025 ; mound
faced with stones, 4026 ; mound and wicker hedge,
4027; sea wall, 4028; embankments of Holland,
4031.
Embankments, when first formed in England, 239.
Embankment in Ceylon, 919.
Embankments of ancient Egypt, 12.
Embankments and canals of modern Egypt, 1048.
Embankment in the Isle of Wight, 7029.
Embankments of Cambridgeshire, 7001.
Embankments in Lincolnshire, 7016.
Embankments in North Wales, 7044.
Embankments of Flanders, 440; of Snaerskirke,
near Ostend, 441.
Embrocations used in veterinary practice, 5906.
Emigration to independent America, and other
places, comparative.view of, 1148.
Enclosing plantations', 3643.
Endemical diseases of animals, 1956.
Engel, liud. Hm. Hs., von, his work on agriculture,
page 1176. A.D. 1803.
England, agricultural survey of, 6991 ; Middlesex,
6992. (See the other counties.)
England, agriculturists of, 6925 ; laborers, 6926 ; ap-
prentices, 6927 ; journeymen, 6928 ; hedger, 6929 ;
, woodman, 6930 ; head ploughman, 6931 ; farm
bailiff, 6932; bailiff and gardener, 693'3; forester,
6934 ; land steward, 69.'>5 ; under steward, 6936 ;
demesne steward, 6937 ; court farmer, 6938.
England, agriculture in, during the early part of the
sixteenth century, 221.
England, agriculture in, during Queen Elizabeth's
time, 22.3.
En pise, or rammed earth walls, 2848.
Epidemic fever or pest, 5767.
Epidemical diseases of animals, or epizooties, 1956.
Epilepsy, 5769.
Epping butter, 6187.
Jirs/dne, John Francis, Earl of Marr, his work on
; agriculture, page 1167. A.D. 1795.
Hschenbac//, Ch. Ghld., his work on agriculture,
page 1176. A.D. 1802.
Eschcr, von Berg, his work on agriculture, page
1176. A.D. 1808.
Essex, agricultural survey of, 6996.
Estate, management of Sir Joseph Banks's in Lin-
cohishire, 7016.
Estimating the value of work and materials, 3083.
Estimating weight, power, and quantity, 3078.
Elienne, Charles and J. Liebault, their works on
agriculture, page 1171. A.D. 1529.
European Turkey, agriculture of, 729 ; climate, 730.
Evelyn, John, his works on agriculture, page 1163.
A.D. 1661.
Execution of improvements, how to conduct, 4238.
Exhalation of plants, 1526.
Exotic vegetables, their introduction into Britain,
1770; in the reign of Edward VI., Mary, Eliza-
beth, &c., to George III., 1770.
Extract, what, from what. plants obtained, and its
application, 1382; extract of catechu, 1383; of
senna, 1384 ; of quinquina, 1385 ; of saffron, 1386 ;
uses of extracts in medicine, 1387.
Eyes of horses, diseases of, 5770.
Fabbroni, Adamo, his works on agriculture, page
1177. A.D. 1802.
Fabre, , his work on agriculture, page 1174. A.D.
18(X).
Faggoting, 2968.
Fairbairn, John, his work on agriculture, page 1171.
A.D. 1823.
Falconer, William, M.D. F.K.S., his essay on the
preservation of the health of persons employed in
agriculture, &c., page 116'o. A.D. 1789.
Fallow deer, C. dama, 6619.
Fallows, working of, 4568.
Fallowing, theory of, 2124 ; origin of fallows, 2129.
Fallowing among the Romans, 128.
Farcy and glanders, .'>823.
Far<!i, John, sen., his work on agriculture, page
1170. A.D. 1811.
4U 4
Farish, John, his treatise on florin grass, page 1170.
A.D. 1810.
Farm cottages, 2718 ; see cottages.
Farm offices of Cornwall, 7039.
Farm servants, management of, in East Lothian,
7048 ; state of, in Mid Lothian, 7047.
Farm servants, diet of, in Angusshire, 7061.
Farm yard dung, management of, 4580.
Farm servants of Flanders, 533.
Farm yards ; see Farmeries.
Farm lands, to shelter by plantations, 4223.'
Farm lands, their culture, 4547 ;.general processes,
4548.
Farm lands, to lay out, 3882 ; roads, 3883 ; size of
efilds, 3885; square fields, 3897; oblong fields,
3898 ; hedge row trees, 3899 ; gales, 3901 ; drainage
and water courses, 3902; example from a newly
enclosed common, 3903.
Farm houses in Flanders, 537.
Farm houses of Tuscany, 284.
Farm houses of the emigrants to America, 1138,
1146.
Farm house, octagonal, of the Duke of Bedford,
6999; rectangular, 6999, fig. 774.
Farm houses of the Marquess of Stafford, in Staf-
fordshire, 7011 ; of the Anson's there, 701L
Farm houses of Middlesex, 6992.
Farm houses of Norfolk, 7003.
Farm management, 4508 ; keeping accounts, 4509;
management of servants, 4522 ; arrangement of
labor, 4534 ; domestic affairs, 4545.
Farm management of the Romans, 71.
Farmery of the Earl of Chesterfield, 7014.
Farmery in the Netherlands, plan of, 432.
Farmeries of Scotland (figured), 780 ; of Tuscany, 284.
Farmeries, their arrangement, 2757; requisites,
2758; for mixed husbandry, 2759; small size,
2760 ; larger, 2761 ; a Berwickshire farmery, 2762 ;
for an arable farm on a large scale, 2763, 2764 ; a
Staffordshire farmery, 2765.
Farmeries, to arrange and lay out, 3851 ; Sidera
Hall, 3855 ; a Northumberland example, 3857 ;
Fearn, 3858 ; KnoUwall, .3860 ; Newstead, 3861 ;
Berwickshire example, 3863 ; Middlesex example,
3866, 3868; anomalous design, 3869; meadow
farm, 3870; turnip farm, 3871.
Farmeries of Cheshire, 7028, fig. 79a
Farmeries of Mid Lothian, 7047.
Farmeries of Kincardineshire, 7065.
Farmeries of Berwickshire, 7049.
Farmeries of East Lothian, 7048.
Farmeries of Northumberland, 7024, fig. 797.
Farmeries of the nomadic agriculturists of Morocco,
107.5.
Farmeries of Mexico, 1160.
Farmeries of Jamaica, 1179.
Farmers, personal character and expectations of
4447.
Farmers among the Romans, 60.
Farmers of Tuscany, 285.
Farmers of Germany, 546.
Farmers of Flanders, their domestic circumstances,
531.
Farmers of Mid Lothian, 7047 ; of Berwickshire,
7049.
Farmers of North Wales, 7044.
Farmers, to improve ; see Improvement of farmers.
Farmer's dwelling house, 2712; smaller size, 2714;
larger, 2715 ; second degree, 2716t
Farmer's society of Dalkeith, 7047.
Farmery of Cevlon, 918.
Farming lands of France, 388 ; corn farming, 38a
Farming society of Fife, 7062.
Farming, Scotch, in Oxfordshire,.7004.
Farming in Ireland, 812.
Farms, British, different kinds of, 6981 ; cottage
farms, 6981 ; working mechanics, 6982 ; village
tradesmen, 6983 ; town and city tradesmen, 6984 ;
of wealthy citizens, 6986 ; of demesnes, 6987 ; of
professional farmers, 6988.
Farms, selection, hiring, and stocking of, 4.351 ; cir-
cumstances of the farm, 4352 ; climate, 4353 ; soil,
4.'378; subsoil, 4395; elevation, 4399 ; character of
surface, 4404 ; asjiect, 44(H) ; situation in regard
to markets, 4408 ; extent, 4416 ; tenure, 4421 ;
rent, 4425 ; taxes and other burdens, 4437 ; other
particulars, 4445 ; ]KTsonal character and expec-
tations of the farmer, 4-147 ; capital required, 4454 ;,
choice of live stock, 4-162.
Farms and farmeries of the Romans, 72.
Farriery, its influence on the health of animals.
2037.
Fattening of calves, 6167.
1208
GENERAL INDEX.
Fattening horned cattle, 6174.
Feam, farm of, 3858.
Features of plants, as an index to their native coun-
try, 1738.
February, weather, and agricultural operations to
be performed in, page 11 9().
Feeding animals, principles of, 202-i.
Feeding cattle, operation of, 2995.
Feeding animals for extraordinary purposes, 2038.
Feeding tub or trough, 2438.
Felis catus, the cat, 6G68.
FellenAerfT, Emmanuel, his establishment at Hof-
wyl, 343 ; his works on agriculture, page 1176.
A.D. 1808.
Felling timber trees, 3752 ; preparation, 3754.
Fen lands of Cambridgeshire, 7001.
Fences, hedges, compound sorts, 2803 ; single hedge
and ditch, 2803 ; hedge and bank, 2804 ; Devon-
shire fence, 2806; hedge with posts and rails, 2807;
hedge and dead hedge, 2808; hedge and wall
fence, 2809; hedge and row of trees, 2811; hedge
md belt of planting, 2812 ; hedge and corners
planted, 2813 ; furze fence, 2814.
Fences, hedge kinds, 2780; dead hedges, 2781; live
hedges, 2782 ; choice of hedge plants, 2783 ; pre-
paration of the soil, 2784 ; age of the plants, 2785 ;
assorting the plants, 2787; dressing and pruning
the plants, 2788 ; after management of tlie hedge,
2789; pruning, 2790; management of old hedges,
2794.
Fences used in agriculture, 2767 ; situation, 2768 ;
kinds, 2771.
Fences, walls, 2831 ; dry stone, 2832 ; land stones,
2833; quarried stones, 2834; galloway dike, 2835 ;
stone and lime, 2836 ; stone and clay, 2837 ; stone
and clay dashed with lime, 2838 ; dry stones lipped
with lime, 2839 ; dry stones lipped and harled,
2840 ; dry stones |)inned and harled, 2841 ; dry
stone and paling, 2842 ; bricks, 2843 ; frame walls,
2844 ; turf walls, 2845 ; stone and turf walls, 2846 ;
mud and straw, 2847 : rammed] earth or en pise,
2848 ; stamped earth, 2849.
Fences, ditch or drain kinds, 2772 ; open ditch, 2774;
simple ditch, 2775; double ditch, 2776; bank of
earth, 2777 ; ha-ha, or sunk fence, 2778 ; double
ditch and hedge, 2779.
Fences, palings, 2815; nailed paling, 2816; hori-
zontal paling, 2817 ; upright lath paling, 2818;
liorizontal paling, 2819 ; chain fence, 2820 ; rope
fence, 2821 ; hurdles, 2822 ; wattled fence, 2824 ;
paling of growing trees, 2825 ; sliingle fence, 2826 ;
worked fence, 2827 ; park paling, 2S30.
Fences for plantations, 3643.
Fences of Sweden, 670.
Fencing among the Romans, 144.
Fermanagli, agricultural survey of, 7100.
Fermenting of manures, theory of its effects, 2205.
Ferrario, G. A., his works on agriculture, page
1178. A.D. 1818.
Ferret, 6671.
Festuca fluitans, manna grass, its culture in Russia,
656.
Festuca fluitans, its culture as a grain, 4733.
Fetlock, strains of, 5835.
Fever in sheep, 6503.
Fever in horned cattle, 6245 and 6254.
Fever medicines used in veterinary practice, 5909.
Fibrina, obtained from the papaw tree, 1381.
Field beet, culture of, 4962.
Field gate of Holland, 421.
Fields, shape and size of, to improve, 4218, 4221.
Fifeshire cattle, 6124.
Fifeshire, agricultural survey of, 7062.
Fig, its culture in France, 411.
Figs, culture of, in tlie Morca, 732 ; caprification, 732.
Filtration of water, 4158.
Findlatcr, Rev. Charles, his work on agriculture,
page 1168. A.D. 1802.
Finland, agi-iculture of, 668.
Finlayson's rid plough, 2504.
Finorchi, Anton Maria, his work 'on agriculture,
page 1816. A.D. 1816.
Fiorin hay, to make, 5229.
Firing, in veterinary surgery, 5873.
Fischer, H. L., his work on agriculture, page 1176.
A.D. 1797.
Fischer, C. F. J., his work on agriculture, page 1176.
A.D. 1785.
Fish, subjected to cultivation, 6798 ; carp, 6801 ;
tench, 6803; gudgeon, 6805; perch, GSOO; pike,
6808; gold fish, 6809; minnow, 0810; trout and
salmon family, 6811 ; eel, 6812.
Fish, castration of, 6815.
Fish, culture of, in Berkshire, 7005.
Fish ponds, construction of, 6799.
Fish ponds of France, 397.
Fisheries, their establishment on estates, 3594 ; ma-
rine, 3595 ; river and lake fisheries, 3605.
Fisheries, kinds of, 3595; herring, 3596; cod or
white fishery, 3597 ; turbot,3598; mackerel, 3599;
soles, dories, mullet, &c., 3600; stickleback, 3601 ;
pilchards, 3602 ; lobsters, crabs, &c., 3603 ; oyster,
3604 ; salmon, 3605 ; trout, 3623 ; crawfish, 3625 ;
leech, 3626.
Fisheries of Sutherland, 7070.
Fishery, art of, in China, 986.
Fistulous withers, 5780.
Fitxiierbcrt, Sir Anthony, his works on agriculturCj
page 1162. A.D. 1532.
Rail, 2399.
Flax, its culture and management, 5292 ; pulling,
5304; rippling, 5308 ; watering, 5311 ; breaking
without watering, 5320 ; flax seed jelly, 5325.
Flax, its culture in Egypt, 10.i4.
Flax, culture of, in Flanders, 472.
Flea, Pulex, 6912.
Flemyng, or Fleming, Malcolm, M.D., his works on
agriculture, page 1179. A.D. 1754.
Flexible tube, 2442.
Flies, dragon, 6897; day fly, 6898; spring fly, 6899 ;
gall fly, 6901 ; saw fly, 6902 ; gad fly, 6906 ; crano
fly, 6907 ; flesh fly, 6908 ; Hessian fly, 6908, and
6862; cheese fly, 6908; gnat,fly,ffi09; spider fly,
6910 ; forest fly, 6910.
Flints, 3389.
Floating land, 4110.
Floating islands in Mexico, 1154; in New England „
1155.
Floods, injuries by, to guard against, 4038.
Flowing meadows, 40SKf.
Floyd, Edward, his works on agriculture, page 11631
A.D. 1094.
Fluke worms in sheep, 6528.
IHux, slimy, — see Dysentery.
Fly, common, 6908.
Foals and mares, treatment of, 5976.
Fogs, their influence on the earth, 2250.
Folds for cattle of the Hottentots, 1110.
Fomentations in veterinary surgery, 5865.
Fontalard, Jean Francois de, his work on agricul-
ture, page 1174. A.D. 1794.
Food of plants, 1495; water, 1496; gasscs, 1497.;
extent, 1502; salts, 1504; earths, 1505; carbon,
1510.
Food of horses, 6015.
Foot, Peter, his work on agriculture, page 1167. A.D.
Foot of the horse, physiology of, 5747.
Foot rot in sheep, 6523.
Foot stoppings for horses, 5918.
Founder, or chronic founder, in the feet, 5850.
Forbes, Francis, Gent., his works oa agriculture,
page 1165. A.D. 1778.
Fordyce, George," M.D. F.R.S., his work on agri-
culture, page 1161. A.D. 1765.
Forests of Sweden, 684.
Forests and woodlands of Flanders, 519.
Forests of Poland, 636.
Forests of Russia, 661.
Forests of Austria, 626.
Forests, culture of, in Germany, 555.
Forests of the Morea, produce of, 735.
Forests, culture of, in Spain, 726.
Forests of Persia, 864.
Forests of Mexico, 1162.
Forests of China, 1003.
Forest culture of France, 401.
Forking, 2892.
Forks, 2379.
Forsyth, Robert, Esq., his work on agriculture, page
U69. A.D. 1804.
Foul in the foot, in cattle, 6272.
Foulahs of Africa, agriculture of, 1078.
Fowls, anserine or aquatic, 6732 ; duck, 6733 ; goose,
6746; swan, 6752; bustard, ()756; gallinaceous,
6680 ; diseases of, 6757.
Fowls, mode of feeding, so as to enlarge their livers,
2041.
Fowls, mode of fattening for the London market,
2040.
Fox, 6848 ; to shoot, 6849 ; to take with a hook, &c.
6850.
Fox, John, his works on agriculture, page 1167
A.D. 1791.
Fox, William, his work on agriculture, page 1167.
A.D. 17!J6.
GENERAL INDEX.
1209
France, agriculture of, from the fifth to the seven-
teenth centuiT, 185.
France, present state of agriculture in, 373 ; progress
from the time of Louis XIV. to the present time,
374; state during the revolution, 37rt; surface,
376; soil, 380; climate, 381; landed property,
387; farming lands, 388; corn farming, 389;
meadows, 3iK) ; sheep, 391 ; beasts, 392 ; dairies,
394; poultry, 395; swine, Sm-, fish ponds, 397;
implements and operations, 398 ; plants cultivated,
400; forests, 401 ; vine, 407 ; mulberry and silk
worm, 4<)8 ; olive and other fruits, 410.
Frances, Ain(5, his work on agriculture, page 1175.
A.D. 1822.
Francois, Nicolas, his works on agriculture, page
1172. A.D. 17(33.
Fraser, Robert, Esq., his works on agriculture, page
1166. A.D. 1793. •
Free-martin, a term signifying a barren heifer,
that has been a twin with a bull-caJf,
French's turnip drill, 2556.
Fret, colic, gripes, or gullion, 5805.
Friendly islands, agriculture of, 1039.
Frog, esculent, 6817.
Frog hopper, 6883.
Frog, tree, or singing fVog, 6818.
Fromagc-de-Feugre, C. Michel F., his work onagri-,
culture, page 1174. A.D. 1802.
Frontal worms in sheep, 6527.
Frost, theory of, 2306.
Frost shoes for horses, 5936.
Fruit trees in orchards, 3776.
Fruit trees in Switzerland, 338.
Fruits among the Romans, 146.
Fuci, or sea-weeds, their culture and manufacture,
5529.
Fucus lichenoides, and other sea-weeds ei-.ten in
Cochin China and China, 944.
Fucus saccharinus (figured), 1307; palmatus (fi-
gured), eduUs (figured), 1307.
Fuilarton, Col., his work on agriculture, page 1166.
A.D. 1793.
Fuller's thistle, its culture, 5339.
Fumigations used in veterinary practice, 5913.
Fungi, or mushroom tribe, their utility, 1310.
Furrow roller, ^83.
Furze or whin, culture of, 5076. ^
Gacon Dufour, Marie- Armande-Jeanne, his work
on agriculture, iKige 1174. A.D. 1807.
Gad fly, 6906.
GagUardo, G.B., his work on agriculture, page
1178. A.D. 1813.
Gaiting, operation of, 2940.
Galcotti, Francesco, his work on agriculture, page
1177. A.D. 1807.
Gall in sheep, 6515.
Gall fly, 6901.
Gallinaceous poultry, 6680.
Gallizioli, Filippo, his work on agriculture, page
1178. A.D. 1815.
GaUo, Agostino, his works on agriculture, page
1177. A.D. 1564.
Galloway dyke, 2835.
Galway cattle, 7054.
Galway, agricultural survey of, 7095.
Gamboge gum, in Cambodia, 943.
Garden farms of Essex, plan of, 6996.
Gardens of laborers' cottages, 2756.
Gardens and orchards of Middlesex, 6992.
Gardens of mechanics in Lancashire, 7027.
Gases as ingredients of vegetable ^food, 1497.
Gates appropriate to agriculture, 2850; principles of
construction, 2851 ; timber gates, 2856 ; iron
gates, 2857 ; i)illars of gates, 2858 ; fastenings,
2860; swing gates, 2864; trcssel bar gate, 2866;
slip bar gate, 2867 ; chained slip bar gate, 2S6S;
wicket gate, 2869 ; styles, 2870 ; style of falling
bars, 2871; folding gate, 2873; Clarke's sash
gate, 2874.
Gathering, operation of, 2900.
Gantit'H, Giuseijpe, his work on agriculture, page
1177. A.D. 18U7.
Gavcl/us, Nicholas, his work on agriculture, page
1177. A.D. 1758.
Geese, how to feed, so as to enlarge their livers,
2041.
Gemmiparous animals, 1949.
Geograpliical position, its influence on vegetables,
1688.
Geographical distribution of animals, 1962.
Geology considered with reference to agriculture,
2055.
Germany, present state of agriculture in, 543:
general view, 544; Denmark, Greenland, and
Iceland, 558; Prussia, 563; Hanover, 581;
Saxony, 596 ; Bavaria, 603 ; Austria, 607.
Germany, agriculture of, from the fifth to the seven-
teenth century, 192.
Germination of the seeds of plants, 1486 ; physical
phffinomena, 1493 ; chemical phtenomena, 14SH.
Ghee, an article of diet in Hindustan, made from
the milk of the buffalo, 898.
Giacinto, P. Carlo, his work on agriculture, page
1178. A.D. 1811. '
Gialdi, Giuseppe, his work on agriculture, page
1178. A.D. 1818.
Gid in sheep, (5524.
Gilbert, Francois-Hilaire, his works on agriculture,
page 1174. A.D. 1797.
Girdling trees, 1642.
Girton, Daniel, his treatise on pigeons, page 1166.
A.D. 1779.
©laciers, or ice hills, 334.
Glanderous rot in sheep, 6508.
Glanders and farcy, 5823.
Glossology, or the study of the names of the parts
of plants, 1266.
Gloucestershire waggon, 2621.
Gloucestershire, agricultural survey of, 7006.
Gluten, how obtained, manufactured, and apphed,
1378; its great importance in forming bread,
1379.
Gnat, 6909.
Goat, 6582; Angora goat, 6583; Syrian,'6584; cha-
mois, 6585 ; goats of Wales, 6586.
Goat,*chamois, in Switzerland, 341. [
Goat of Hindustan, 901.
Goggles in sheep, 6524.
Gold fish, 6809.
Gold fish of China, 98a
Gooch, Rev. W., his work on agriculture, page 1170.
A.D. 1811.
Gooseberry caterpillar, to destroy, 6920.
Goose, Anas anser, 6746; varieties and species,
6747; Spanish, Embden, Chinese, Canadian,
6748; breeding, 6749; rearing, 6750; feathers,
■" 6751 ; swan, 6752 ; Muscovy goose, 6752.
Gossypium herbaceum (figured), cotton plant, its
culture in Italy, 318.
Gotthard, J.Ch., his work on agriculture, page 1176,
A.D. 1802.
Grafting and budding, 1621.
Granadilla passiflora (figured), 1165.
Granary, 2699 ; commercial, 2702 ; perpetual, 2703.
Grass seed harrow, 2572.
Grass shoes for horses, 5935.
Grass lands, their management, 5196; meadows,
5197 ; for irrigation, 5199 ; uplands, 52(X).
Grass lands, their conversion to arable, 5261 ; rota-
tion of crops, 5279.
Grasses, their culture, 5086 ; tall growing or hay
grasses, 5092 ; hay grasses of temporary duration,
5093 ; hay grasses of permanent duration, 5105 j
pasturage grasses, 5124 ; grasses exjjerimented on
at Woburn, 5146; best grasses for straw plait,
5193.
Grasses, forage and pasture, enumeration, proper-
ties, and culture, 5086. 5195 ; for the purposes of
plait, 5193.
Grasshopper, 6882.
Gravel, 3391.
Gravel and stone in horses, 5817.
Gray's seed harrow for wet weather, 2574.
Gray, Andrew, his work on agriculture, page 1169.
A". D. 1808.
Grease and cracks in horses, 5845.
Greaves, William, his work on agriculture, page
IKiy. A. D. 1804.
Greece, modern agriculture of; see Thessaly, 736.
Greg, Thomas, Esq., his work on agriculture, page
1169. A. D. 1809.
Greek, ancient, their agricultural implements, 24.
Greeks, ancient, their agricultural products, 27.
Greeks, ancient, their agriculture, 17.
Greeks, ancient, landed proj)erty among, 21.
Greenland, agriculture of, 562.
Grecnivay, Dr. James, his work on agriculture,
page 1179.
Grey's draining plough, 2520.
Griescnthwaitc, William, his work on agriculture,
pageim. A.D. 1820.
Gripes, colic, fret or gullion, 5805.
1210
GENERAL INDEX.
Grooming of horses, 6039. '
Ground nut, Arachis hypogseaof China, 076.
Growth or dcvelopement of vegetables, physiology
of, 1537.
Grubbers, 2527.
Grubbing mattocks of Devonshire, 7038.
Guava of the Mauritius (figured), Psidium pyrife-
rum, 1116.
Gudgeon, 6805.
Guernsey and Alderney cattle, 7040.
Guernsey, agricultural survey of, 7042.
GuUlaume, Ch., his work on agriculture, page 1175.
A. D. 1821.
Guiltot, Julien Jean Jacques, his work on agricul-
i ture, page 1172. A. D. 1761.
Guinea grass, Panicum polygonum (figured), 1186.
Guinea hen, Numidia, 6730.
Guinea pig, 6614.
Gullion, colic, gripes or fret, 5805.
Gum, what and how obtained, 1369 ; uses, 1371.
Gum arable tree. Mimosa nilotica (figured) 1079. "
Gum resins, from what plants obtained, and Jiow
manufactured and used, 1446 ; galbanum, 1447 ;
ammoniac, 1448 ; scammony, 1449 ; opoponax, 1450 ;
euphorbium, 1451 ; olibanum, 1452 ; sagapenum,
1453; gamboge, 1454; myrrh, 1455; assafoetida,
1456.
Gutta Serena, 5771.
Gutter in irrigation, 4085.
Gutter draining plough, 2521.
Gypsum, theory of its operation on soils, 2229; in-
troduced to America by Franklin, 2230.
H.
Ha ha, or sunk fence, 2778.
Hail, theory of, 2308.
Hainault scythe, mode of mowing with, 2936.
Hainault scythe in use in Flanders, 502.
Hair, its nature and properties, 1814.
Maniel, Du Monceau, Henry Lewis du, his works
on agriculture, page 1171. A. D. 1750.
Hampshire wheel plough, 2513.
Hampshire, agricultural survey of, 7029.
Hand barrow, 2451.
Hand drill machines, 2468 ; for beans, 2469 ; turnips,
2470.
Hand hoeing, 2894 ; between rows, 2895.
Hand raking, 2896.
Hand turnip roller, 2473.
Hand threshing machine, 2453.
Hanover, agriculture of, 581 ; agricultural society
founded by Geo. II., 582; landed property, 583;
occupiers, 585; sheep, 589; bauers, farming of,
594.
Hard labor, how to feed and prepare an animal for,
2045.
Hare warren, near Banstead Downs in Surrey, 6613.
Hare, 6612.
Harnessing cattle, 2996.
Harrison, Gustavus, Esq., his work on agriculture,
page 1165. A. D. 1775.
Harrowing, growing corn among the Romans, 140.
Harrowing, 3020.
Harrows, 2568; common, 2569; angular, " 2570 ;
rhomboidal, 2571 ; grass seed, 2572 ; brake or level-
ling harrow, 2573; Gray's seed harrow, 2574;
bush harrow, 2576.
Harrows, circular, 7002.
Harrows, improved form of, 7014.
Hartlg, Fr. Grafen von, his work on agriculture,
page 1176. A. D, 1786.
Hartiz, Georges Louis, his work on agriculture,
page 1176. A. D. 1790.
Hartlib, Samuel, his works on agriculture, pag&1163.
A. D. 1645
Hastier, F. W., his work on agriculture, page 1171.
A. D. 1756.
Hatches in irrigation, 4079.
Hatted kit, a preparation of milk, 6376.
Hawks, and hawking, 6797.
Hay, to truss, 2950.
Hay knife, 2408.
Hay swoop, 2598.
Hay stands, 2749.
Hay tedding machine, 2597 ; 5225.
Hay tea, to make, 5234.
Hay stacks, their formation, 5226 ; salting, 5233.
Hay from bog meadows, 5229 ; from florin meadows.
Hay-making among the Romans, 138. '
Hayes, Samuel, hi§^work on wootls, &c., page 1167.
A. D. 1795.
Hayward's cultivator, 2537.
Heading down trees, 3699.
Head main in irrigation, 4080.
Headrick, James, his works on agriculture, page
1169. A. D. 1807.
Heat, its agency in vegetable culture, 2246.
Heat, its influence on the distribution of animals,
1963.
Hedge bills, 2413 ; Blackie's bills, 2415.
Hedge fences, compound sorts, 2803 ; see Fences.
Hedge shears, 2410.
Hedge fences, 2780 ; young, 2781 ; old hedges, 2794.'
Hedges of Durham, 7023; of Northumberland,
7024. ,
Hedges, old, to manage, 2794 ; cutting down, 2795 ;
filling up gaps, 2800; mending defects, 2801.
Hedging and ditching, 2967.
Hegemon, Philibert, his work on agriculture, page
1171. A. D. 1583.
Helix pomatia (figured), snail cultivated in Hun-
gary, 624.
Hemipterous insects, 6877.
Hemp, its culture and management, 5327 ; sowing,
5330 ; pulling, 5332; watering, 5334.
Hemp, its culture in Egypt, 10o5.
Hempseed oil, its uses, 1418.
Henderson, J., 'his work on agriculture, page 1170.
A. D. 1812.
Henderson, Robert, his work on agriculture, page
1170. A. D. 1811.
Hepatitis, or yellows, 5810.
Herbage plants, culture of, 4982; nutritive products
of, 4984.
Herding, or tending cattle, 2993.
Herefordshire and Sussex cattle, 6114.
Herefordshire, agricultural survey of, 7009.
Heresbachius, Conradus, hisJ work on agriculture,
page 1175. A.D. 1578.
Hermhstadt, Sgra. F., his work on agriculture, page
1176. A. D. 1803.
Hertfordshire and Kentish wheel ploughs, 2514.
Hertfordshire, agricultural survey of, 6297.^
Hesiod, his poem on rural aflairs, 18.
Hessian-fly, 6862.
Hesson, Jacques, his work on agriculture, page 1171.
A. D. 1569.
Hide-bound in horses, 5822.
Higgins, Jesse, his work on agriculture, page 1179.
Highland cattle, 6118.
Hill farm, to shelter, 4237.
HUtenbrand, Aut, his work on agriculture, page
1176. A. D. 1784. ^
Hindustan, agriculture of, 877 ; climate and surface,
878 ; soil, 879 ; landed property, 880 ; agricultural
products, 881 ; sugar cane, 882 ; indigo, 883 ; silk-
worm, 884 ; poppy, 885 ; tobacco, 886 ; oil plants,
887; palm trees, 888; dates, 894; bamboo, 895;
sheep, 896 ; pastures, 897 ; live stock, 898 ; ox, 899;
fruits, 900; goat, 901 ; swine, 902; elephant, 903;
camel, 904 ; predatory animals, 905 ; implements
and operations, 906 ; cart, 907 ; irrigation, 908 ;
harvesting, 912.
Hinny, 6098 ; see Mule and hinny.
History of agriculture during the middle ages, 179.
History of agriculture, 1 ; see Agriculture, and the
diftercnt names of countries.
Hut, Thomas, his work on agriculture, page 1164.
A. D. 1760.
fibrfsAjMsora, Joseph, his work on agriculture, page
1167. A. D. 1794. "
Hoe scythe or thistle hoe, 2549.
Hoeing turnips, history of, in Northumberland,
Hoeing, by hand, 2894.
Hoes, hand, 2389.
Hoes, horse, 2539 ; see Horse hoe.
Hoffmann, A., his work on agriculture, page 1176.
A. D. 1809.
Hofsmann, Gli. Bd. Freyherr von, his work on agri-
culture, page 1176. A. D. 1784.
Hofwyl, agricultural establishment of, near Berne,
343.
Hog, 6530 ; see Swine.
Hog, a wedder lamb after being weaned, 6413 ; shear
hog, a hog of two years, 6413.
Hog styes, 2680.
Hogg, James, his work on agriculture, page 116tt,
A. D. 1807.
Hoggit, or hog sheep ; see Hog. ^
GENERAL INDEX.
121:
HotM. Henry, usually called Lord Kames, 786 ; his
works on agriculture, page 1165. A. D. 1776.
Humr, Francis, M.D., his work on agriculture, page
1164. A. D. 1757.
Home, Sir Everard, his observations on killing ani-
mals bv pithing, 2049.
Homer, Henry, his works on agriculture, page 1164.
A. D. 176d
Homestals ; see Farmeries,
Holcus sorghum (figured), or Indian millet;, iti cul-
ture, 4727.
Hollarid, Henry, Esq. M.D., his work on agriculture,
page 1169. A. D. 1807.
Holland, presentstate of agriculture in, 418; climate,
418 ; landed property, 419 ; pasturage and dairy
management, 420; implements and operations,
421.
Holt, John, his works on agriculture, page llffZ.
A. D. 1795.
Honey dew, a disease of plants, 1660.
Hood, Thomas Sutton, Esq., his work on gypsum,
page 1169. A. D. 1805.
Hoofs of animals, their nature and properties, 1826.
Hoof liquid of veterinary practice, 5914.
Hop, culture of in Flanders, 477.
Hop, its culture and management, 5393 ; soil, 5396 ;
planting, 5401 ; after-culture, 5408 ; manuring,
5411 ; earthing, 5412 ; dressing, 5413 ; poles, 5417 ;
taking the crop,5425 ; drying,5429 ; bagging, M3V,
usual produce, 5435 ; diseases, 5440 ; duty 011 hops,
5448.
Hopt\ of Rankeillor, a great improver, 778.
Hornby, Thomas, Esq., his dissertation on lime,
page. 1170. A. D. 1815.
Home, or Horn, John, his work on agriculture,
page 1166. A. D. 1786.
Horned cattle, 6104 ; working of, 6125 ; diseases of,
6244 ; fattening of, 6174 ; breeding of, 6144 ; rear-
ing of, 6152 ; anatomy and physiology of, 6227.
Hornless or polled breed of cattle, 61 15.
Homor, T., Esq., his method of delineating estates,
page 1170. A. D. 1813.
Horns of animals, their nature and properties, 1822.
Horse family, character and history of, 5548 ; horse,
varieties of,5550; Arabians, 5550 ; Spanish horses,
5552 ; French horses, 5^53 ; Flemish, 5554 ; Dutch,
5555 ; German, 5556; Polish, 5557 ; Russian, 5558 ;
Swedish, 5559 ; British, 5560.
Horse, British varieties of, 5560 ; race horse, 5561 ;
hunter, 5563; hackney, 5564; old English road-
horse, 55G5 ; Irish road-horse, 5567 ; Cobs, Gal-
loways, and ponies, 5568 ; British draught horses,
5.570; black horse, 5571; Cleveland bay, 5572;
Suttblk punch, 5573; Clydesdale horse, 5574;
Welch horse, 5575, Galloway, 5576 ; small horse
of the highlands, 5577.
Horse, organology, or exterior anatomy of, 5578 ;
organs of the head, 5580 ; trunk, 5596 ; fore-extre-
mities, 5608 ; ^hinder extremities, 5622 ; color of
horses, 5625.
Horse, anatomy, or osseous structure of, 5630;
anatomy of the head, 5631; of the trunk, 5637;
of the extremities, 5644.
Horse, physiology, or functions of, 5660 ; general
functions, 5661 ; blood vessels, 5671 ; absorbents,
5680 ; nerves and glands, 5681 ; integuments, 5G85 ;
the head, 5692 ; the ear, 5694 ; the eye, 5697 ; the
nose, 5700 ; the mouth, 5708 ; the neck, 5716 ; the
chest, 5718; the abdomen,, 5725 ; the organs of
generation, 5739; the feet, 5747.
Horse, diseases of, 5753 ; in and out of condition,
5754 ; inflammatory diseases, 5757 ; diseases of the
head, .'5769; diseases of the neck, 5780; of the
; chest, 5783 ; of the skin, 5818 ; glanders and farcy,
5823 ; diseases of the extremities, 5828 ; diseases
of the feet, 5848.
Horse, veterinary operations on, 5861 ; treatment of
wounds, ;5862 ; balls and drinks, 5863 ; fomenta-
tions and poultices, 5865 ; setons and rowels, .58t)8 ;
blistering and firing, 5870; clystering and physick-
ing, 5874; castration, nicking and docking, 5877 ;
bleeding, 5878, pharmacopeia, 5879.
Horse pattens, 5939.
Horse breeding and management of, in Yorkshire,
7021.
Horse hoeing husbandry, origin'and history of, 756-
Horse hoeing, 3023; turnips, 3024.
Hor.se hoes, 2.')39 ; Scotch, 2540; Northumberland,
2.W1 ; Wilkie's, 2.')42 ; Blaikie's, 2544; Morton's,
2.54.5; Amos's, 2547; castor Wheel hoe, 2548;
thistle hoe, 2.549.
Horae stubble rake, 2594.
Horse raking, 3030.
Horse fly, 6910.'
Horsemanship, art of, 0003. '
Horses, shoeing of, 5925.
Horses, criteria of good qualities, 5940 ; breeding
of, 5960 ; rearing, 5975 ; training of, 5984 ; art of
horsemanship, 6002 ; feeding, 6015 ; stabling and
grooming, 943.
Horses, management and working, 6045; of the
hunter, 6056; of the race horse, 6046; of riding
horses, 6063; of horses in curricles and coaches,
6072 ; of cart, waggon, and farm horses, 6074._
Horses, as laboring animals, 4468.
Horses of Hungary, 621.
Horses of Arabia, history of, 875.
Horses, Cleveland bays (figured), 780.
Horses of the Romans, 107.
Horses of the Cape of Good Hope, 1104.
Horses of Egypt, 1060.
Hot yellows in sheep, 6513.
Hottentots' bread, Elephantopus (figured), 1111.
Hove, blast, or wind colic in sheep, 6511.
Hove, or blown in cattle, 6258.
Hoiigkfon, John, F.R.S., his works on agriculture,
page 1163. A. D. 1681.,
House cricket, 6881.
Housing roots, 3049.
Howard, Hon. Charles, his work on agriculture,
page 1163. A. D. 1678.
Hoi/te, Henry, his work on agriculture, page 1168.
A. U. 1801.
Huber, Francis, his work on agriculture, page 1176.
A. D. 1796.
Huber, P., his works on agriculture, page 1176.
A. D. 1801.
Huish, Robert, Esq., his treatise on bees, page 1170.
A. D. 1815.
Hungarian horses, 621 ; grand huras, or breeding
stud, 621.
Hungarian sheep, 621.
Hunger, 1930.
Hunger rot in sheep, 6521.
Hunt, Charles Henry, Esq., his treatise on sheep,
page 1170. A. D. 1810.
Hunter, Alexander, M.D., F.R. SS. L. and K, his
works on agriculture, page 1165. A. D. 1770.
Hunting shoe for horses, 5933.
Huntingdonshire, agricultural survey of, 7000.
Hurdles, 2822.
Hutches, or boxes for rabbits, 6602.
Huts of the improved Hottentots, 1109.
Huts of the native Hottentots, 1108, 1109.
Huxard, Jean Baptiste, his works on agriculture,
page 1174. A. D. 1794.
Hybernation of animals, 1974.
Hybrid productions in vegetables, how formed, 1598 ;
supposed limits, 1601 ; anomalous eflects, 1602.
Hybridous animals physiologically considered, 1950.
Hydatids, or staggers in sheep, 6524.
Ice, theory of, 2311.
Iceland, agriculture of, 562.
Ichneumon insect, 6903.
Implements for irrigation, 4062 ; line, red, and
breast plough, 4063 ; spades, 4064 ; crescent, 4065;
turf knife, 4066 ; wheelbarrows, 40tJ7 ; handbar-
rows, 4068 ; scythes, 4070 ; forks and hacks, 4071 ;
water proof boots, 4072.
Implements and operations of P'rench agriculture,
398.
Implements of the ancient Greeks, 24.
Implements of agriculture, their invention in
Egypt, 10.
Implements of British agriculture, 2373.
Implements and machines of Cornwall, 7039.
Implements peculiar to draining, 3985 ; scooij, 3986;
8novel,.3987 ; sod knife, 3988; draining spades,
3989 ; borers, 3991 ; auger, 3992 ; horizontal auger,
399.5.
Improved quarry cart, 2617.
Improvement ol farmers, 4243 : by books, 4244 ; by
schools for their children, 4245 ; by examples of
good culture, 4246; by personal attention, 4248 ;
by conversation, 4249; by encouraging leading
men, 4250 ; by an experimental fann, 42^51.
Improvement of lands in culture, 4207 ; see Culti-
vated lands.
Improvement of estates already more or less im-
proved , see Cultivatetl lands.
Improvement of waste lands, 4159 ; see Waste lands.
1212
GENERAL INDEX.
Improvements, general cautions in making, 4254.
Improvements, execution of, 4238.
Improvements, general obstacles to, in the high-
lands, 7071.
Improvements in Sutherland, 7070.
Improvements, public, of Ayrshire, 7055.
Improvements in Berwickshire, history of, 7049.
Improvements of General Dirom in Dumfriesshire,
7053.
Improving leases the foundation of Scottish agricul-
tural improvement, 744.
Incontinence of urine, 5815.
Independent Tartary, its agriculture, 865 ; climate,
866 J surface, 867 ; soil, 868 ; tillage, 869.
Indian corn, or maize, its culture, 4734.
Indian millet, Holcus sorghum (figured), its culture,
4727.
Indigo, culture of, in the West Indies, 1189.
Indigo, Indigofera tinctoria (figured), its culture
and application in Hindustan, 883.
Indigo and sugar, attempt to cultivate, in Italy, 58.
Infanda tree, its uses in Congo, 1084.
Inflamed liver in sheep, 6513.
Inflammation of the kidnies, or red water in cattle,
6262.
Inflammation of the liver in horses, 5810.
Inflammation of the bladder in cattle, 6264.
Inflammation . of the brain in horses, or phrenitis,
5760.
Inflammation of the bowels, 5795.
Inflammation of the lungs, 5783.
Inflammation of the stomach in cattle, 6256. 6260.
Inflammation of the lungs in cattle, 6255.
Inflammation of the liver, or hot yellows in cattle,
6261.
Inflammatory fever in horse diseases, 5785 ; general,
5785; local, 5759.
Influenza, or catarrhal fever in horses, 5765.
Influenza, or catarrh, 6248.
Insects subjected to cultivation, 6821 ; silkworm,
or moth, 6822 ; honey bee, 6827 ; craw or crayfish.
Insects injurious to agriculture, 6862 ; physiology of
insects, 6863 ; coleoptera, 6871 ; hemiptera, 6877 ;
neuroptera, 6896; hymenoptera, 6900; diptera,
6905 ; aptera, 6911 ; operations[for,destroying, 6916.
Insects, to subdue, 6916; preventive operations,
6917 ; palliative, 6918 ; destructive, 6919.
Interitis, or red colic, 5797.
Inverness-shire, agricultural survey of, 7071.
Ipecacuanha root, Cephaelis ipecacuana, 1209.
Ireland, agricultural survey of, 7074.
Ireland, agricultural circumstances of, 7075.
Ireland, agriculture of, 795 ; in the reign of James I.,
797 ; under Cromwell, 800 ; Dublin society, 801 ;
climate, 804 ; territorial surface, 805 ; soil, 806 ;
bogs, 807; landed property, 809; leases, 811;
farming, 812 ; rent, 813 ; implements and opera-
tions, 824; dairy, 829; poor, 831 ; middlemen, 834 j
tythes, 836 ; fertility of the country, 844.
Irish cattle, 6129.
Irrigation in Hindustan, 908.
Irrigation, 4053; history, 4054; soils and situations
suitable, 4056; advantages, 4061; implements,
4062; terms made use of, 4074; preparation of
surfaces, 4096; warping, 4117.
Irrigation among the Romans, 141.
Irrigation in Lombardy, 267.
Irrigation in Mexico, 1157.
Irrigation, theory of its effects on soils and plants,
2145 ; surface irrigation, 2146 ; subterraneous irri-
gation, 2147 ; warping, 2148.
Irrigation, subterraneous, 4124.
Irrigation, practice of, at Trentham, 7011.
Irrigation first introduced in Cambridgeshire, 7001,
Irrigation and draining, Jessop's ideas on, 7011.
Irrigation, Parkinson's opinion of, 7017; Loch's
opinion of, 7011.
Isle of Bourbon, 1117.
Isle of France, or Mauritius, agriculture of, 1116.
Italy, present state of agriculture in, 260 ; in Lom-
bardy, 262 ; in Tuscany, 276 ; in the Maremmes,
298 ; in the Neapolitan territory, 312.
Italy, agriculture of, during the ihkldlc ages, 180.
Italy, agricultural circumstances of, during the time
of the Romans, 63.
Itch mite, 6913.
Jackall of India (figured), 905.
Jacquin, M. E., his work on agriculture, page 1174.
A. D. 18(W.
Jamaica, agriculture of, 1174; landed property, 1175 ■
overseers of estates, 1176; head driver, 1177;
laborers, 1178 ; buildings, 1179 ; overseers' house,
1180; lime kiln, 1181; houses of the slaves, 1182 j
live stock, 1184; agricultural , operations, 1185;
productions, 1186 ; fruits, 1186 ; sugar cane, 1187 ;
cotton plant, 1188; indigo, 1189; coffee tree,
1190 ; cocoa root, 1192 ; plantain, 1193; Indian ar-
row root, 1194 ; other plants, 1195 ; Guinea grass
and Scotch grass, 1198; vermin, 1199.
January, weather and agricultural operations to be
performed in, page 1189.
Japan, agriculture of, 946.
Jatropha manihot, cultivated in Sierra Leone, 1079.
Jaundice in sheep, 6514.
Java, agriculture of, 927.
Jelly offlax seed, 5325.
Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark, agricultural
surveys of the islands of, 7040; Jersey, 7041;
Guernsey, 7042.
Jerusalem artichoke, field culture of, 4980.
Jewish modes of killing animals, 2050.
Jewish vineyard, 33.
Jews, their agriculture, 29.
Jews, landed property among, 31-
Jews, their agricultural produce, 35.
Johnson, Cuthbert William, his work on agriculture,
page 1170. A. D. 1820.
Johnson, John, his work on agriculture, page 1170.
A. D. 1814.
Johnstone, John, Esq. his work on draining land,
page 1167. A. D. 1797.
Juices of plants, physiologically considered, 1470.
July, weather and agricultural operations to be per-
formed in, page 1193.
June, weather and agricultural operations to be
performed in, page 1193.
K.
Kali plant, Salsola kali (figured), 1120. '
Keith, George Skeene, D.D., his work on agricul-
ture, page 1170. A. D. 1811.
Kelp, or sea weed, its growth and manufacture,
5529.
Kent, agricultural survey of, 6995.
Kent, Nathaniel, Esq. his works on agriculture, page
1165. A. D. 1775.
Kentish and Hertfordshire wheel ploughs, 2514.
Kerr, Robert, surgeon, F.R, & A.S.S., his work on
agriculture, page 1169. A. D. 1809.
Kerry, agricultural survey of, 7093.
Kidney bean, its field culture, 4821.
Kildare, agricultural survey of, 7080.
Kilkenny, agricultural survey of, 7079.
Killing animals, different modes of, considered, 2046.
Kincardineshire, or Meams, agricultural survey of,
7065.
King's county, agricultural survey of, 7081.
Kinross-shire, agricultural survey of, 7061,
Kirby, Christopher, his work on the effects of
thunder and lightning on wheat, &c., page 1163.
A. D. 1673.
Kircudbrightshire, agricultural survey of, 7054.
Kirkpatrick, H., his work on agriculture, page 1167.
A. D. 1796.
Kirwan, Richard, Esq., LL.D., F.R.S.L. and E.
and P.R.I. A., his work on agriculture, page 1167.
A. D. 1796.
Kitchen garden of the farmer, 2754.
Knapp, J. L, Esq., his work on grasses, page 1169.
A. D. 1804.
Knees, broken, in horses, 5837.
Knollwall farm, 3860.
Krantz, Guillaume, his work on agriculture, page
1176. A. D. 1797.
Krunitz, J. G., his work on agriculture, page 1176
A. D. 1773.
Kyloe breed of cattle, 6120.
Laboring animals of the Romans, 93 ; their food,
100; breeding, 94; breaking and training, 98;
working, 101.
Lacoste, his work on agriculture, page 1174. A. D.
1801.
Lactometers, 6310.
Ladders, 2448.
Ladnar, his work on agriculture, page 1161, A. D
1761.
GENERAL INDEX.
1213
Ladroncs, agriculture of, 1031.
LafaUle, Clement, his works on agriculture, page
1172. A. D. \im.
Laffcms, Barthtlemy de, his work on agriculture,
page 1171. A. D. 16()4.
Lajons, M. de, his work on agriculture, page 1175.
A. 1). 1821.
Lama Camel, 6631.
Lamb, house or early, how produced for the London
market, 2043, see Sheep.
Lambert's mole plough, 2523 ; Weir's improvement
on Lambert's working power, 2524.
Lambs, diseases of, &c. 6529 ; see Sheep-
Lamoignoiij Malcsherbes, Chretien-Guillaume, his
work on agriculture, page 1173. A. D. 1791.
Lampadius, Augusto Guglielmo, his work on agri-
culture, page 1178. A. D. 1811.
Lampas, or mouth disease, 5777.
Lanarkshire or Clydesdale, agricultural survey of,
7056.
Lancashire, or long-homed breed of cattle, 6108. 1
Lancashire, agricultural survey of, 7027.
Land guard for river banks, 4041.
Land levelling machine, 2587.
Land surveying required of the agriculturist, 3054.
Landed property, tenures of, 3144 ; see Tenures.
Landed estates, to lay out, 3224 ; consolidating de-
tachetl property, 3228 j appropriating commonable
lands, 3233 ; choice of a site for the demesne, 3263 ;
roads, 3263.
Landed property, management of, 4262; superin-
tendants, 4264 ; steward, 4265 ; resident manager,
4267 ; acting manager, 4268 ; land reeve, 4276 ;
under steward, 4277 ; law assistant, 4278 ; land
surveyor, 4280 ; place of business, 4281 ; duties of
managers, 4296 ; general principles of business,
4297 ; management of tenants, 4303 ; letting farms,
4309 ; species of tenancy, 4310 ; rent and covenants
of a lease, 4326 ; receiving rents, 4337 ; keeping
and auditing accounts, 4343.
Landed property throughout Germany, 545; in
modern Egypt, 1049; in Jamaica, 1175; at the
Cape of Good Hope, 1091 ; in the United States,
1134 ; in Sweden, (uQ; in Spain, 698 ; in ancient
Egypt, 13; of Persia, 853; in Poland, 629; among
the Jews, 31; in Java, 931; in Hindustan, 880;
in China, 958; in Russia, 653; in Switzerland,
328 ; among the ancient Greeks, 21 ; in Austria,
608 ; among the Romans, 53 ; in Holland, 419 ;
in Savoy, 348 ; price of, among the Romians, 169 ;
in Ireland, 809.
Landed property, its valuation, 3165 ; its purchase
or transfer, 3212.
Landcschi, his work on agriculture, page 1178. A. D.
1817.
Lansford, T., his work on agriculture, page 1163.
A. D. 1681.
Language used to horses, 5^.
Laos, agriculture of, 942.
Lark, Alauda, 6791.
La Society d' Agriculture de Paris, its work on
I lagriculture, page 1175. A. D. 1825.
Lasteyric, Ch3.x\c& Philibert de, his works on agricul-
ture, page 1174. A. D. 1799.
Lastri, Proposto, his work on agriculture, page 1177.
A. D. 1793.
Laurence, Edward, his work on agriculture, page
1163. A. D. 1727.
Lawrence, John, his wMks on agriculture, page
1167. A. D. 1796.
Lawrence, John, his work on agriculture, page 1164.
A. D. 1726.
Lawson, J., his work on agriculture, page 1164.
A. D. 1797.
Lavendar, 5521.
Layers of plants to propagate by, 1819.
Laying out farm and cottage lands, 3835; size of
farms and cottage lands, 3836; cottage farms,
3839; farmery, 3851.
Leases granted to farmers, different species of, 4310;
at will, 4311 ; from year to year, 4.312 ; for a term
of years certain, 4313 ; for lives, 4:314 ; for twenty
years, 4322 ; perpetual lease, 4323 ; rent and cc
venants, 4326.
Ijcases, origin of, in Scotland, 749.
Leases in Ireland, 811.
Leases, long, or improving, the foundation of the
progress of agriculture in Scotland, 744.
lA^atham, Isaac, his work on agriculture, page 1167.
A. D. 1794.
Leaves of plants, their great importance in elabora-
ting the sap, 1524.
Leaves of plants to propagate by, 1616.
Lcbrocq, Philip, M. A., his plan for improving the
New forest, page 1166. A. D. 1793.
Lee, H. P., Esq., his description of a new threshing
machine, page 1170. A. D. 1811.
Leech, medicinal, 6845.
Leguminous field plants, their culture, 4737 ; nutri-
tive products of leguminous plants, 4738.
Leicestershire, agricultural survey of, 7013.
Leitrim, agricultural survey of, 7097.
Lemon of Abyssinia (figured), 1042.
Lentil, its culture, 4815.
Lepidopterous insects, 6888.
Lerouge, his work on agriculture, page 1173. A. D.
1774.
Lesbros-de-la-Versane, Louis, his work on agricul-
ture, page 1172. A. D. 1768.
Lester, William, his works on agriculture, page
1169. A. D. 1803.
L'Etang, de la SaUe, Simon Philibert de,his work on
agriculture, page 1172. A. D. 1762.
LeteUier, his work oji agriculture, page 1171. A. D.
Ifi02.
Lettuce, field culture of, 4981.
Levelling harrow or brake, 2573.
Levelling harroAv, 2590.
Levelling staff, 2425.
Levelling machine, 2587.
Levels, 2420 ; masons' level,;2421 ; water level, 2422 ;
American level, 2423 ; square level, 2424.
Levels, to ascertain, 3059.
Lever, 2374.
Ley, Charles, his work on the management of estates.
&c., page 1166. A. D. 1787.
Lichen rangiferinus (figured), reindeer moss, 675.
Lichen rocella (figured), the archil or dyers' moss of
the Canary islands, 1120.
Lichens or lichens, utility of, 1308.
Liger, Louis, his works on agriculture, page 1171.
A. D. 1703.
Light, its agency in vegetable culture, 2246.
Light, 2258.
Liglit in respect to the culture of vegetables, 1792.
Light, its influence on the distribution of vegetables,
1726.
Lightning, theory of, 2328.
Lime, application of, 4588 ; mixture of with earth
and dung, 4593 ; application of, byjDawson of Frog-
den, 4591.
Lime kilns, different kinds of, 3587.
Lime kilns of Jamaica, 1181.
Lime, burning of, 3587 ; kilns, 3588.
Lime, theory of its operation on soils, 2218; see
Mineral manures, different species of, 2217.
Limerick, agricultural survey of, 7091.
Limes of Brazil (figured), 1208.
Limestone of South Wales, 7045.
Limestone to burn in kilns, 3587 ; in heaps, 3590;
to reduce by pounding, 3591.
Lincolnshire, agricultural survey of, 7016.
Line and reel,*2416.
Linlithgowshire, agricultural survey of, 7059.
Linseed cake, theory of its operation as a manu
2173.
Liquid manure of Flanders, 474.
Liquorice, 5516.
Lisle, Edward,. Esq., his works on agriculture, page
IIW. A. D. 1757.
Lister, Martin, M.D., his works on agriculture, page
1163. A. D. 1683.
Literature and bibliography of British agriculture,
7108.
Little, John, his work on agriculture, rage 1170.
A. D. 1815.
Live stock, choice of, 4462 ; for the purjioses of la-
bour, 44(^5 ; oxen, 4464 ; horses, 4468 ; for breeding,
4470 ; for feeding, 4482.
Live stock, history of liakewell's improvements on,
765.
Live stock, buildings for, 2661.
Live stock, economy of, 5546.
Live stock of Herefordshire, 7009.
Live stock of Flanders, 510 ; horse, 511: shoeing,
&c., 513.
Liver, chronic inflammation of, 5810.
Liver diseases, in horses, 5810.
Livingston, Chancellor, his essay on sheep, page
1170. A.D. 1811.
Livy, Cav., his work on agriculture, page 1177. A. D.
1800.
Loango, agriculture of, 1081.
Loch, James, Esq., his work on the improvements of
1214
GENERAL INDEX.
the estates of the Marquees of Staffbrd, 7010; his
opinion as to hedgerow timber, 3900.
Locked jaw, or tetanus in horses, 5763.
Locked Jaw, or tetanus in cattle, 6'271.
Lombardy poplar, the oldest in England, 6996.
Londonderry, husbandry of, 799 ; agricultural survey
of, 710i.
Long journeys, how to feed and prepare animals for,
2045.
Long-homed, or Lancashire cattle, 6108.
Longford, agricultural survey of, 7086.
Looseness, or diarrhoea, 5804.
Lord Somerville's drag-cart, 2615.
Losana, Matteo, his work on agriculture, page 1178.
A. D. 1811.
Loudon, John, F.LS. H.S., his work on agriculture,
page 1170. A. D. 1811.
Louse, Pediculus, 6912.
Louth, agricultural survey of, 7087.
Zotc, David, Esq., his work on agriculture, page
1171. A. D. 1823.
Lowe, Alexander, Esq., his \?ork on agriculture,
page 1167. A. D. 1794.
Lowe, Robert, Esq., his work on agriculture, page
1167. A. D. 1794.
LmccocIc, John, his works on wool, page 1169. A. D.
1805.
Lucern, culture of, 5025.
Luders, Ph. E., his work on agriculture, page 1176.
A. D. 1769.
Luliin,J. M., his works on agriculture, page 1178.
A. D. 1812.
Lyilin, Ch. L M., his work on agriculture, page
1175. A. D. 1819.
Lungs, inflammation of, 5783.
Lupin, its field culture, 4822.
Lycopodium complanatum (figured), 677.
M.
Machine for reapitrg clover heads, 2005.
Machine for mowing clover, 2606.
Machines for reaping^ and gathering crops, 2591 ;
horse rakes, 2592 ; haymaker, 2597 ; hay swoop,
25^ ; Teapifflg machines, 2.599.
Machines for sowing and planting, 2551 ; Cooke's
corn-drill, 2552 ; Norfolk corn drill, 2.553 ; Cooke's
three-row drill, 2554; French's turnip drill,
2556 ; Northumberland one-row drill, 2557 ; bean
drill, 2558 ; Weir's bean drill, 2559 ; bean dibbler,
• 2561 i block plough drill, 2562 ; drill roller, 2563 ;
drill Watering machine, 2564.
Machines for laying land level, 2587 ; British, 25^ :
Flemish, 2589.
Machines for washing roots, 26;>3.
Machines for threshing and cleaning corn, 2(S5.'""'
Machines of deportation, 2607; carts, 2608; wag-
gons, 2619.
Machines for steaming food, — see Steaming ma-
chines.
M' Adam's theory and practice of road making,
3333.
MacdonaUl, James, M.A., his work on agriculture,
page 1170. A.D. 1811.
M'Evoff, John, his work on agriculture, page 1168.
A.D. 1802.
Mackenzie, Sir George Stewart, Bart. F. R. SvS.
L. & E., his work on sheep, page 1169. A.D. 1809.
M'Parlan, James, M.D., his works on agriculture,
page 1168. A.D. 1802.
MacphaiL James, his work on agriculture, page
1167. A.D. 1795. ^
MacwiUiam, Robert, his essay on the dry rot, page
1170. A.D. 18ia
Madagascar, agriculture of, 1115.
Madder, its culture and management, 5350.
Madder, culture of, in Flanders, 479.
Madeira, agriculture of, 1121 ; system of cultivation,
1122; vine, 1123; wheat, 1124; live stock, 1125;
fruits, 1126.
Madness., canine, 6660.
Magnesian limestone, theory of its operation on
soils, 2227.
Mahogany tree, Swietenia mahogani (figured), 1173.
Mahometan states of the north of Africa, agricul-
ture of, 1066.
Maidenhair tree, Salisburia adiantifolia, in China,
973.
Maize, or Indian corn, its culture, 4734.
MaiKe, culture of, in the West Indies, 1197.
Maize (figured), its culture in America, 1145.
Mtlt
Malacca, agriculture of, 938.
Malignant fever in horses, 5767.
Malignant epidemic, or murrain, in sheep, 6507- ' "
Mallenders and sellenders, 5836.
Malcolm, James, his work on agriculture, page 1169.
A.D. 1805.
Malcolm, W. J. & J., their works on agriculture-
page 1167. A.D. 1794.
alenotti, Ignazio, his work on agriculture, page
1178. A.D. 1815.
Mallet, Robert Xavier, his work on agriculture,
page 1173. A.D. 1780.
Malting barley, process of, 4687.
Mammalia noxious to agriculture, 6847.
Management of landed property, — see I^anded pro-
perty, management of.
Manager of a landed estate, 4264; his duties, 4296.
Mandiocca, cassava, or manioc, Jatropha manihot,
its culture in Brazil, 1212 : in various countries,
1073.
Mandrake (figured), 1057.
Mange, 5818.
Mango (figured), 1186.
Mangold root, or mangold wiirzel, culture of, 4962.
Mangostan (figured), a fruit of Hindustan, 896.
Manillas, or Philippine Islands, agriculture of,
• 1022.
Manioca, Jatropha manihot, see Mandiocca.
Manna, festuca fluitans, its culture in Russia, 656.
Manna, cultivation of, in Calabria, 323.
Manual labors of agriculture, 2876.
Manual operations of agriculture of a mixed kind,
2946.
Manufactories, their establishment on estates, 3567,
Manufactures and trades in Derbyshire, enumera-
tion of, 7014; 1st, on animal products of the
country : 2d, animal substances imported : 3d, on
vegetable productions of the country: 4th, on
vegetable substances imported : 5th, on mineral
products of the country : 6th, on mineral sub-
stances imported, 7014.
Manure, its collection and preservation in China,
991 ; vegetable ashes, 992 ; plaister of old kitchens,
993; night soil, 994; dung and urine of animals,
995 ; lime, 996 ; mixture of soils, 1000; applica-
tion of manure in China, 997.
Manures of animal and vegetable origin, their dif-
ferent species, 2169; green succulent plants,
2170 ; rape cake, 2171 ; malt dust, 2172 ; linseed
cake, 2173; sea weeds, 2174; dry straw, 2175;
woody fibre, 2176 ; inert peaty matter, 2177 ; tan-
ner's spent bark, 2178; wood ashes, 2179; ma-
nures from animal substances, 2180; muscles,
2181; fish, 2182; oily substances, 2183; bones,
2184; horn, 2185; hair, 2186; blood, 2188; urine,
2191; night soil, 2195 ; dungof fowls, 2197; dung
of cattle and sheep, 2199; dung of horses, 2201 1
soot, 2204.
Manures, management of, 4579; farm yard dung,
4580 ; lime, 4588 ; composts of earth, lime, and
dung, 4593; meadowbank middens, 4595.
Manures of mineral origin, 2213 ; theory of their
operation, 2214 ; different species, 2217.
Manures, to preserve, ferment, and apply, 2205.
Manures, 2161 ; of animal and vegetable origin,
2162 ; of mineral origin, 2213.
Manures in use in Flanders, 487.
Manuring among the Romans, 129.
Maps of estates, different modes of finishing, 3106.
March, weather and agricultural operations to be
performed in, page 1190.
Marchand, Jean-Henri, his work on agriculture,
page 1172. A.D. 1768.
Mares, treatment of, during pregnancy, 5971.
Mares and foals, treatment of, 5976; weaning the
foal, 5977 ; gelding, 5981.
Marian grass, or spurry, Spergula arvensis, 475.
Marine plants used in agriculture, .'5528.
Market garden of Mellor in Derbyshire, perfection
and utility of its arrangement, 7014.
Markham, Gervase, Jervise, or Gervas, his works
on agriculture, page 1162. A.D. 1593.
Marking with the line, 2889.
Marking plough, 2503.
Mari, as known to the Romans, 130.
Marl, use of, at Trenthara, 7011.
Marquesas, agriculture of, 1033.
Marriott, William, his law book relative to agri-
culture, page 1167. A.D. 179.5.
Marshall, William, Esq., his works on agriculture,
page 1165. A.D. 1778.
Mascall, Leonard, his works on poultry, &c. mge
1162. A.D. 158J.
GENERAL INDEX.
1215
Materia^, to estimate their value, 3085.
Mather, John, his worlc on agriculture, page 1170.
A.D. 1820.
Mathieu de Dombasle, C. J. A., his work on agri-
culture, page 1175. A.D. 1824.
Mattock, — see Pick.
Maunsell, William, L.L.D., his work on agriculture,
page 1167. A.D. 1794.
Mauphi, his works on agriculture, page 1173. A.D.
1779.
Mauritius, or Isle of France, agriculture of, 1116.
Maxims of farm management among the Romans,
157.
Maxwell, an eminent Scottish improver and writer,
784.
May, weather and agricultural operations to be per-
formed in, page 1192.
May, Thomas, his work on agriculture, page 1166.
A.D. 1792.
Mayet, Etienne, his work on agriculture, page 1173.
A.D. 1790.
Mayo, agricultural survey of, 7096.
Mead, brewing of, in Poland, 642.
Meadow lands of France, 390.
Meadow lands, management of, 5197; irrigated,
5199; upland meadows, 5200;— see Irrigation,
and Pasture lands.
Meadow hay, process of making, 5217; hay tedding
machine, 5225 ; stacks, 5226 ; hay of bog mea-
dows, to make, 5229 ; hay of liorin, 5232. ,
Meadow water, how to construct, 4104.
Meadow bank middens, how to form, 2177.
Meadowbank middens, 4595.
Meadows, irrigated, 4093; flowing, 4094; catch
work, 4095.
Meager, Leonard, his work on agriculture, page
1163. A.D. 1699.
Mearns, agricultural survey of, 7065.
Measuring chain, 2427.
Measuring land, 30;>4.
Mechanical operations common to all arts of manual
labor, 2877 ; lifting, 2878 ; carrying, 2879 ; draw-
ing, 2880; pushing or thrusting, 2881 ; wheeling,
Medicago falcata (figured), or Swiss lucern, 5026l
Medicines for horses and cattle, 5879.
Megrims, 5769.
Meikle's threshing machines, 2638; smut machine,
2648 ; awn separator, 2649.
Melampyrum pratense (figured), cow wheat, 424.
Melilotus officinalis (figured), used to scent the
Gruy^re cheese, 342.
Melon, winter, its culture in France, 415.
Mens' sleeping rooms, 2710.
Menzies, Michael, inventor of the threshing ma-
chine, 777.
Merino sheep, history of their introduction to Bri-
tain, 769 ; treatment of, tj4<)7.
Merino or Spanish sheep, 64<)7.
Merino sheep, when introduced into France, 375.
Merto7i's universal drill plough and harrow, 2545.
Mesta, or united flock of sheep ; a term applieil to
the Merino flocks in Spain, 716.
Metaliferous ores, 3593.
Metayers of Lombardy, 265 ; of the Neapolitan ter-
ritory, 313.
Mexico, agriculture of, 1150; climate, 11.50; sur-
face, 1151; soil, 11.52; floating fields, 11.5t; irri-
gation, 1157; maize, 1158; field labors, 1159;
woods, 1102; breeding of animals, 1163; Mexi-
can cochineal, 1164; fruits, 1165.
Middle horned cattle, 6111.
Middlemen in Ireland, 834.
Middlesex, agricultural survey of, 6992.
Middleton, John, Escj., his works on agriculture,
page 1168. A.D. 1798.
Mid-lothian, agricultural survey of, 7047.
Migration of animals, 1969.
Mildew, a disease of plants, 1659.
Milk, its management, 6316.
Milk, its chemical properties and general principles,
6284.
Milk, different preparations of, 6369.
Milk barrow in use in Derbyshire, 7014, fig. 792.
Milk syllabub, 6377.
Milk tankard, 7005, fig. 778.
Milking, and the management of milk, 6315.
Millet, Holcus sorghum, its culture in China, 979.
Millet, different kinds of, and their culture, 4721.
Mills for raising water in Flanders, 444.
Mills, their establishment on estates, 3561 ; steam
mills, 3564 ; water mill, iBcM ; grist mills, 'i5^.
Mills, John, F.R.S., his works on agriculture, page
Mineral kingdom, its study with reference to agri-
culture, 2053 ; earths and soils, 2054 ; manures,
2161.
Mineral manures, different species of, 2217 ; alka-
hne earths, 2217; lime, 2218; burnt lime, 2219;
quick lime, 2220 ; mild lime, 2221 ; effect of lime
on wheat crops, 2222 ; general principles for ap-
plying lime, 2223; diflerent kinds of limestone,
2225 ; magnesian limestone, 2227 ; gypsum, 2229 ;
phosphate of lime, 2235 ; bone ashes, 2236 ; saline
magnesia, 2237 ; wood ashes, 2238 ; soda, 2239.
Mineral manures, 2213.
Mineral manures, theory of their operations on soils
and plants, 2214 ; saline, 2214.
Mineral poisons, 5792.
Minerals and mines, — see Mines.
Mines and minerals, their establishment or work-
ing on estates, 3578; coal mines, 3580; lime-
stone, chalk, and stone, 3584 ; salt, 3592 ; metals,
3593.
Mining plough, 2497.
Mtnnow, 6810.
Mint, 5524.
Mites, cheese, 6913.
Models of estates, 3119.
Moisture, in respect to the culture of vegetables,
1791.
Moisture, its influence on vegetables, 1699.
Moldavia and Wallachia, agriculture of, 738.
Mole, to destroy, 6854.
Mole traps, 2475.
Molesworth, Robert, Viscount, his work on agri-
culture, page 1164. A.D. 1723.
Moluccas, or Spice islands, agriculture of, 1024.
Monaghan, agricultural survey of, 7101.
Monk, John, his works on agriculture, paee 1167
A.D. 1794.
Monkies of Congo, 1086.
Monmouthshire, agricultural survey of, 7008.
Moore, Sir Jonas, Knt F.R.S., his works on agri-
culture, page 1163. A.D. 1685.
Moors, to improve, 4181.
Moose deer, C. alces, 6622.
Morasses and bogs, to improve, 4183.
Morayshire, agricultural survey of, 7067-
Mordant, John, his work relative to stewards, page
1164. A.D. 1761.
Morel de Vinde, his works on agriculture,'page 1174.
A.D. 1807 and 1822.
Morel, Phallus esculentus (figured), 1310.
Morfoundering or catarrhal fever in horses, 5765.
Moriran, 3ohn, M.D. F.RS., his works on agricul-
ture, page 1164. A.D. 176a
Morice, Francis, his work on agriculture, page 1171.
A.D. 1824.
Morley, Christopher, his work on agriculture, page
1167. A.D. 1797.
Morley, John, his work on manure, page 1170. A.D,
1811.
Morocco, agriculture of, 1072; manure and culture,
1073 ; live stock, 1074 ; nomadic cultivators, 1075.
Morogues, Baron de, his work on agriculture, page
1175. A.D. 1822.
Mortemart-Boisse, le Baron de, his work on agri-
culture, page 1175. A.D. 1824.
Mortimer, John, his work on agdculture, page 1163.
A.D. 1707.
Moss cutting machine of General Dironi, 7053.
Mosses and bogs, to improve, 4183.
Moths, 6894.
Moubray, Bonnington, Esq., his treatise on poultry,
page 1170, A.D. 1815.
Mouldebaert, an implement for levelling, iii use in
Flanders, 501.
Moulding sledge, 7022.
Mountainous and hilly grounds, to improve, 41i)0.
Mouse, to destroy, 6859.
Mouse traps, 2475.
Mouth ill, or lampas, 5777.
Moutiers, salt works of, 370.
Mowing, 2930; grain, 2931; grass, 2932; weeds,
2934; weeds in river-s, 2934; with the Hainalt
scythe, 2936.
Mulberry, culture of, in Tuscany, 287.
Mulberry, its culture in Hindustan, 884.
Mulberry, its culture in France, 408.
Mulberry, culture of, in Germany, 550.
Mule, among the Romans, 106.
Mule and hinny, 6098; breeding, 6102; shoeing,
6103.
Mules of Persia, 859.
1216
GENERAL INDEX.
Munnings, Rev. Thomas Crowe, his work on agri-
culture, page 1169. A,D. 1803.
Munro, CoL Innes, his guide to farm book-keeping,
page 1170. A.D. 1822.
Murrain or pest,;5767 ; in sheep, 6507 ; in cattle,;6249.
Muscovy duck. Anas Moschata, 6738.
Mushroom, Agaricus campestris (figured)j 1310.
Music, its influence on the stag, 6617.
Music, its use in fattening pigs in Mexico, 1163.
Mustard, cultivation of, in Yorkshire, 7021.
Mustard, culture of, in Hindustan, 887.
Mustard, its. culture as an oil plant, 5475 ; for other
purposes, 5479.
Mustella ferro, the ferret, 6671.
Myoxus glis, the dormouse, 6615.
Myrrh, from what plant obtained, 1455.
N.
Nairnshire, and Morayshire, agricultural survey of,
7067.
Naismith, John, his works on agriculture, page 1166.
A.D. 1790.
Naked disease in sheep, 6521.
Nan, Rh. Seb., his work on agriculture, page 1176.
A.D. 1791.
Napier, Hon. Wm. John, F.R.S. Edin., his treatise
on store farming, page 1170. A.D. 1822.
Narcotic principle, from what plants obtained, and
how used, 1396.
Neat, or horned cattle, 6104.
Neck, diseases of, 5780. 5782.
Neglected plantations, to imnrove, 3718.
Nelumbium, its culture in China, 977.
Nests for poultry, 6679.
Netherlands, agriculture of, 422 ; secret of Flemish
husbandry, 425 ; climate and surface, 427 ; landed
property, 430 ; farmeries, 431 ; arable lands, 435 ;
fallows, 436 ; polders, or embanked lands, 440 ;
rotations, 445 ; crops, 453.
Neuropterous, or nerve-winged insects, 6896.
Neuve-Efrlise, Louis-Joseph Bellepiere de, his works
on agriculture, page 1172. A.D. 1761.
New Britain, agriculture of, 1027.
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, agriculture of,
1170;; Cape Breton, 1171.
New Caledonia, agriculture of, 1027.
New Forest in Hampshire, 7029.
New Hebrides, agriculture of, 1027.
New Holland, agriculture of, 1025.
New Ireland, agriculture of, 1027.
New Zealand, agriculture of, 1028.
New Zealand hemp, 1028.
Newby, Thomas,^ his work on the mangel wurzel,
page 1170. A.D. 1813.
Newstead farm, 3861.
Nicking, docking, and cropping, in horses, 5877.
Night soil, as a manure, 2195.
Nilghau, or white-footed antelope, 6628.
Norfolk, agricultural survey of, 7003.
Norfolk cart and waggon, 2623.
Norfolk wheel plough, 2516.
Norfolk horse rake, 2593.
Norfolk drill roller, 2584.
Norfolk corn drill, 2553.
Noria, or bucket wheel of Spain (figured), 723.
Noria of the Alps (figured), 368.
Norland, or North Highland, cattle, 6122.
Norman clergy great agriculturists, 205.
North, Richard, his work on agriculture, page 1164.
A.D. 1760.
North, Roger, his history of esculent fish, &c., page
1167. A.D. 1794.
North America, agriculture of, 1127 ; climate, 1127 ;
surface, 1128; general character, 1129; United
States, 1130; Mexico, 1150; British possessions,
1166 ; West India islands, 1172.
North Riding of Yorkshire, agricultural survey of,
7021.
Northamptonshire, agricultural survey of, 7018.
Northumberland turnip drill, 2555 : one-row drill,
25.57.
Northumberland horse hoc, 2541.
Northumberland, agricultural survey of, 7024.
Nottinghamshire, agricultural survey of, 7015.
Notts, or hornless sheep, 6;}94.
Nova Scotia, agriculture of, 1170.
November, weather and agricultural operations to
be performed in, page 1195.
Nubia, agriculture of, 1(M)5.
Nutmeg tree, culture of, iu the Spice islands, 1024,
Nutrition of vegetables, 1511 ; see Vegetable nu-
trition.
O.
Oak of China, 972.
Oak tree, Phcenix dactylifera, culture of, in Persia,
855.
Oat, culture of, 4694 ; species and varieties, 4695 ;
soil, 4706; sowing, 4709; harvesting. 4713; kiln-
drying oats in Russia, 4714 ; use, 4718.
Obea, or eating dirt, a practice among West India
slaves, 1199.
Obstetrics in cattle, 6275.
Occupation of land in Savoy, 350.
October, weather and agricultural operations to be
performed in, page 1195.
Oil of almonds, its manufacture, 1411.'
Oil of poppy, its uses, 1417.
Oil mills of the Chinese (figured), 967, 968, 989.
Oil plants, 5458.
Oil plants of Hindustan, 887.
Ointments used for horses, cattle, sheep, &c., by
veterinary practitioners, 5921.
Olea europea (figured), the olive, 731.
Olive, its culture in France, 410.
Olive, its culture in Spain, 706.
Olive, culture of, in Tuscany, 289.
Olive oil, how manufactured, 1410.
Olives, 731 ; almonds and carobs, 733 ; forests, 736.
Olivier, G. A., his work on agriculture, page 1174.
A.D. 1792.
Onornti, Nicola Columella, his works on agricul-
ture,.page 1178. A.D. 1816.
Operating with the cultivator, grubber. See, 3019.
Operations of agriculture, 2875 ; manual labors and
operations, 2876 ; operations with laboring cattle,
2992 ; scientific operations, 3052.
Opthalmia, 5771.
Orange and pomegranate in Spain, 710.
Orange, its culture in France, 414.
Orange in Persia, 856.
Orchard attached to the farmery, 2755.
Orchards, their formation and management, 3770 ;
soils and situations, 3771 ; sorts of trees, 3776 ;
manner of planting, 3793 ; cultivation of farm
orchards, 3797 ; gathering and keeping of orchard
fruits, 3807.
Orchards of Clydesdale, 7056.
Orchards of Herefordshire, 7009.
Orchards of Glovicestershire, 7(X)6.
Orchards of Roxburghshire, 7050.
Orchards of Worcestershire, 7007.
Orchis, or Salep plant, 5526.
Orkney and Zetland cattle, 6123.
Ornamental cottages, 2734.
Orobanche major (figured), broom rape, a noxious
weed in the clover grounds of Flanders, 463.
Osier grounds, their management, 3738.
Otaheite, agriculture of, 1035 ; soil, 1036 ; produce,
1037 ; live stock, 1038.
Over-reach, or treads on the feet of horses, 5859.
Ovis strepsiceros (figured), the Hungarian sheep,
619.
Owen, Rev. T., M. A., his work on agriculture, page
1168. A.D.-1800.
Ox or bull family, 6105 ; varieties, 6106 ; criteria of
qualities in the bull family, 6135.
Ox of Hindustan, 899.
Ox of Thibet, Bos grunniens, 869.
Oxen of Abyssinia, 1043.
Oxen of the Romans, 100.
Oxen as laboring cattle, 4164.
Oxen, shoeing of, 6219.
Oxen, working of, 6125.
Oxfordshire, agricultural survey of, 7004.
Oxygen as a constituent part of the atmosphere,
2274.
Oyster fisheries, 3604.
Oysters, breeding and rearing of, near Naples, 325. ]
P.
PaUlet, , his work on agriculture, page 1173.
A.D. 1791.
Pails, 2'13y.
Paling fences, 2815.
Palladius, R. T. E., his work on agriculture, 50.
Pallet, T., his work on agriculture, page 1168. A.D.
. 1799.
GENERAL INDEX.
1217
Palmyra, its culture and application in Hindustan,
893.
Palteau, Guillaume Louis Formanoir de, his work
on agriculture, page 1168, A.D. 1768.
Pan, a term applied to the bed or flooring upon
which the cultivated soil lies or is placed. Mr.
Marshall, in speakingof the Norfolk soils, remarks,
that " immediately under the cultivated soil, a
hard crust, provincially * the pan,'' occurs univer-
sally. And under this an unfathomable ocean of
Band may be considered as the prevailing substra-
tum. In some places a hungry gravel, but more
frequently an absorbent brick earth is the imrae-
diate subsoil."
Pane, in irrigation, 4083.
Panicum miliaceum (figured), or cultivated millet,
its culture, 4724.
Panicum germanicum (figured), or German millet,
its culture, 4723.
Panicum Italicum (figured), or Italian millet, its
culture, 4725.
Papaver, or poppy, culture of, in Flanders, 460.
Papua, or New Guinea, agriculture of, 1206.
Paraguay, agriculture of, 1206.
Paring and burning, mode of performing the opera-
tion, 2971 ; implements, 2973 ; fenny districts,
2974 ; western counties, 2975 ; season, 2976 ;
depth, 2977 ; spreading the ashes, 2979.
Paring and burning soils, theory of, 2134.
Paring wheel-plough, 2517.
Park fences, 2829.
Parkinson's cultivator, 2535.
Parkinson, Richard, his works on agriculture, page
1168. A.D. 1799.
Parmentier, Antoine Augustin, his works on agri-
culture, page 1173. A.D. 1781.
Parmentier, Deyeux, and others, their work on
agriculture, page 1168. A.D. 1782.
Parmesan cheese, how made in Lombardy, 270.
Parry, Caleb Hillier, M.D., F.R.S., his work on
agriculture, page 1168, A.D. 1800.
Parsley field, culture of, 5081.
Parsnep, culture of, 4951.
Parsnep, culture of, in Jersey, 7041.
Parted cast-iron roller, 2580.
Partridge, 6786; quail, 6787; red grouse, 6788,
black grouse, 6789 ; lark, 6791.
Partridge, Tetrao perdix, 6785.
Pastures, their management, 5239 ; feeding pastures,
5240; weeding, 5242 ; harrowing, 5243; removing
ant and mole hills, 5244 ; manuring, 5245 ; teath-
ing, 5246; stocking, 5247 j fogging, 5255 ; water,
5255 ; salt, 5255.
Pastures of Hindustan, 897.
Pastures, their improvement by tillage, 5261 ; rota-
tion of crops, 5279.
Pastures, mountainous, their management, 5257.
Pasturing corn among the Romans, 140.
Patagonia, agriculture of, 1219.
Patin, Charles, his work on agriculture, page 1171.
A.D. 1663.
Pattens for horses, 5939.
Paved roads, 3439.
Pavements of Arbroath, 7064.
Pea, its culture, 4739 ; varieties, 4740 ; soil, 4745 ;
sowing, 4747 ; harvesting, 4752 ; produce, 4755 ;
use, 4759.
Peacock, Pavo cristatus, 6731.
Pearce, William, his work on agriculture, page
116^ A.D. 1794.
Pears suitable for orchards, 3782. 3784.
Pearson, George, M.D., F.R.S., his work on agri-
culture, page 1169. A.D. 1805.
Peasantry of Ireland, 830.
Peat, how to convert to manure, 2177.
Peat mosses or bogs of Ireland, 807.
Peat mosses, bogs, and morasses, to improve, 4183.
Peaty soils, how formed, 2062.
Peebleshire, or Tweeddale, agricultural survey of,
7052.
Pelew isles, agriculture of, 1030.
Pelt rot in sheep, 6521.
Pendro, a disease in sheep, 6524.
Penguin, or wild pine apple, Bromelia penguin, a
hedge plant of the West Indies, 1196.
Pepper plant. Piper nigrum (figured), its culture
and application in Sumatra, 1014 ; white pepper,
how prepared in Sumatra, 1015.
Perch, 6806.
Peripneumonia, or inflamed lungs in sheep, 6508.
Persia, agriculture of, 850 ; surface, 851 ; soil, 852 ;
landed property, 853 ; agricultural products, 854 ;
fruits, 855 ; saltn« deserts, 857 ; live stock, 858 ;
mules, 859 ; quail hunting, 800 ; implements and
operations, 861 ; pigeons, 862 ; arable culture
863 ; forests, 864. *
Perspiration of plants, 1527.
Perthshire, agricultural survey of, 7063.
Peru, agriculture of, 1203.
Pest or murrain in horses, 5767.
Peters, Matthew, his works on agriculture, page
lltij, A.L), 1/70.
Peyrouse, Baron Picot de la, his work on aericul
ture, page 1175. A.D. 1819. -K^cui-
Pharmacopeia in horses and cattle, 587'J.
Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus, 6779; varieties
678;); breeding, 6781 ; stocking, 6782; feeding*.
6784; fancy pheasante, 6785. **
Phillips, Robert, his work on roads, page 1164. A.D.
1737.
Phoenicia, its agriculture, 37.
Phrenitis, or inflammation of the brain in horses
5760. *
Physicking of horses, 5874 ; process, 587a
Physiology and anatomy of the bull family, 6227 '
Physiology and anatomy of the sheep, 6497
Physiology of insects, 6863; egg.s,6864; caterpillars
6866; chrysalis or pupa state, 6867; sexes, 6868 •
duration, 6869; scientific arrangement, 6870. *
Phytography, or the naming and describing of plants,
Piacenza, Giovanni, his work on agriculture, naee
1177. A.D. 1805. » F s*'
Pick or mattock, 2375.
Picking, 2886.
Pictet, Charles, his works on agriculture, naee 1174
A.D. 1802. ,i«Kcii/*.
Piers to guard river banks, their construction 4040
Pigeon, Columba, 6764 ; variety, 6765 ; stockine*
6767; breeding, 6768; food, 6770; salt, 6771 •'
cleanliness, 6772 ; pigeon houses, 6773 ; diseases
of pigeons, 6777 ; laws respecting pigeons, 6778.
Pigeon houses of Persia, 862.
Pigeon dung, its importance in Persia, 862.
Pigeon houses, 6773.
Pigeonry, 2686.
Pigs of the Cape of Good Hope. 1105.
Pike, 6808.
Pilchards, use of, as manure in Cornwall, 7039
Pilchard fishery, 3602.
Pincers, or thistle drawers, 2394.
Pine woods in Inverness-shire, 7071.
Pining in sheep, 6517.
Pinus pinea (figured), its seeds eaten in Italy.
395. ''
Pitch and tar, from what plants obtained, and how
manufactured and used, 1429.
Pithing animals described, and physiologically con-
sidered, 2047.
Pitt, William, his works on agriculture, page 1167
A.D. 1794.
Plague, a disease of hogs in Poland, 642. j
Plaister of Paris ; — see Gypsum.
Plans, different modes of finishing, 3106. '
Plant louse, Aphis, 6884.
Plantain, Musa sapientum (figured), 1027.
Plantain, Musa paradisiaca, culture of, in the West
Indies, 1193.
Plantain or rib wort, culture of, 5070.
Plantations, 3627 ; soils and situations for trees
3631; trees, 3638; formation, 3642; enclosing!
3643; planting and sowing, 3645; mixture of
sorts, 3669 ; culture of the soil, 3679 ; filling up
blanks, 3683 ; pruning and heading down trees,
3687; thinning, 3709; neglected plantations, 3718;
diseased trees, 3724 ; products ot trees, 3734 ; fel-
ling and cutting, 3739; barking, 3748: valuinir
trees, 3763.
Plantations in North Wales, 7044.
Planting, 2906 ; seeds and tubers, 2907 ; plants, 2908 •
preparation, 2909 ; insertion, 2910. '
Planting trees, different methods of, 3659.
Plants, their products; —see Vegetable products.
Plants grown for medicinal purposes, 5510; saffron
5511 ; liquorice, 5516 ; rhubarb, 5518 ; lavender*
5521 ; thyme, wormwood, &c., 5522 ; chamomile*
5523; mint, 5524; valerian, 5525; salep or orchis!
5526..
Plants grown for their produce in oil, 5458 ; rape
5459; mustard, 5475; poppy, 5476; sunflower!
5477.
Plants cultivated for their roots or leaves, 4823-
their nutritive products, 4824, *
Plants cultivated for the arts and manufactures
5290 : for tlie clothing arts, 5291 i brewery and
distiliery, 5392.
4 1
1218
GENERAL INDEX.
Plants used in the brewery and distillery, their cul-
ture, 5392 ; the hop, 5393.
Plants, their systematic distribution, 1740.
Plants, study of, 1264 ; — see Vegetable kingdom.
Plants, their food, 1495; water, 1496; gases, 1497 :
extract, 1502 ; salts, 1504 ; earths, 1505 ; carbon,
1510.
Plants used in domestic economy, 5478 ; mustard,
.5479 ; canary grass, 5485 ; buckwheat, 5499 ; cress,
5501 ; chiccory, 5503; tobacco, 5505.
Plants used in the clothing arts, 5291 ; substitutes
for, 5389.
Plattes, Gabriel, his works on agriculture, page
1162. A.D. 1638.
Plough of Arcadia, 731.
Plough of Tonquin, 945.
Plough of Yemen, 872.
Plough of Hindustan, 906.
Plough of the Romans, 110 ; wheel ploughs, 113.
Plough of Osterobothnia, 682.
Plough of Erzerum, 861.
Plough of the Samnites, 682 ; of the ancient Egyp-
tians, 10. 682.
Plough of Castile, 723 ; of Valentia, 111.
Plough of Virgil, 112.
Plough, Small's, or Scotch (figured), 770.
Plough of Ceylon, 917.
Ploughing, 2998 ; general principles and rules, 2999 ;
kinds of, 3002 j relatively to time, 3016 ; season,
3018.
Ploughing grass lands, 5261 ; rotation of crops, 5279.
Ploughing among the Romans, 127.
Ploughing in Roxburghshire, 7050.
Ploughing match at Trentham, 7011.
Ploughman, Roman, his qualities, 88.
Ploughman's lodge or bothy, 2709, 2710.
Ploughmen of Mid-Lothian, their dress and diet,
•7047.
Ploughs with wheels ; — see Wheel ploughs.
Ploughs of China, 987.
Ploughs, swing, their construction, 2481 ; by Bailey,
2482 ; by Small, by Vetch, 2482 ; other kinds, 2491 ;
Soraerville plough,2492 ; turn-wrest swing plough,
2493 ; Ducket's skim coulter plough, 2494 ; double
; share plough, 2496 ; trenching plough, 2497; dou-
ble furrow plough, 2498; Argyleshire plough,
t 2499 ; double mould-board plough, 2.%0 ; ribbing
' plough, 2501 ; single hoe plough, 2502 ; marking
plough, 2503; Finlayson's rid plough, 2504; Cly-
mer's plough, 2505.
Pliny, C. Secundus, his natural history, 49.
Plum, winesour variety, 7020.
Plums suitable for orchards, 3787.
Pneumonia, or inflammation of the lungs, 5786.
Poison tree of Java, 936.
Poisons, mineral, 5792.
Poisons, vegetable, 5794.
Poland, present state of agriculture in, 628 ; landed
property, 629 ; post-houses and farms, 630 ; vil-
lages, 630 ; climate, 631; surface, 632; arable cul.
ture, 633 ; implements and operations, 634 ; live
stock, 635 ; forests, 636 ; bees, 637 ; brewing mead,
642.
Polecat, to destroy, 6851,
Pole evil, 5773.
Polisnac, Comte Charles de, his work on agricul-
ture, page 1175. A.D. 1822.
Polled, or hornless cattle, 61 15.
Polonceau, M., his work on agriculture, page 1175.
A.D. 1824.
Polynesian Islands, agriculture of, 1012.
Polytrychum commune (figured), one of the most
universal of vegetables, 1746.
Pomeroy, JVHham Thomas, his work on agriculture,
page 1167. A.D. 1794.
Pond, in irrigation, 4088.
ponds, to construct, 4130 ; ponds of Gloucestershire,
4136 ; Derbyshire artificial meers, 4137.
Pontey, William, his works on trees, page 1168.
A.D. 1800.
Poor, education of, in Devonshire, 7038.
Poppy, its culture as an oil plant, 5476.
Poppy, its culture in Hindustan, 885.
Poppy oil, its uses, 1417.
Pork and bacon, to cure, 6576.
Porpoise, the enemy of the salmon, 3613.
Porta, J. B., his work on agriculture, page 1175.
A.D. 1592.
Portable or hand-threshing machine, 2453.
Portugal, agriculture of, 728.
Pot tree of Brazil, Lecythis ollaria, 1210.
Potatoe, its culture, 4825 ; history, 4826; varieties,
4832; soil, 4839; planting, 4843 ; taking. the crop,
4856; storing, 4859; produce,' 4864 ; application-
4867 ; diseases, 4874.
Potatoe, culture of, in Lancashire, 7027.
Potatoe in Hindustan, 881.
Potatoe, culture of, in Flanders, 465.
Potatoe dibber, 2397.
Potatoe setscoops, 2417 ; Edinburgh setscoop, 2418.
Potatoe drill, 2469.
Potatoes in Durham, 7023.
Potatoes, their first introduction to England, 1565.
Potatoes, culture of, in Ireland, 826.
Poultices in veterinary surgery, 5867.
Poultry houses, 2682.
Poultry houses of Lord Penrhyn, 7028.
Poultry houses, their furniture and utensils, 6673.
Poultry, gallinaceous, 6680; anserine or aquatic,
6732; diseases of, 6757.
Poultry yard, 2752.
Poultry yard of the Earl of Chesterfield in Derby-
shire, 7014. •
Pounding limestone, 3591.
Preaudeau CkemUly, Eugene, his work on agricul-
ture, page 1174. A.D. 1794.
Prefontaine, , his work on agriculture, page 1172.
A.D. 1763.
Preservation of vegetables, principles of, 1797.
Pressing plough or roller, 2515. 2585.
Prevost, Benedict, his work on agriculture, page
1174. A.D. 1807.
Pric(?, John, his treatise on sheep, page 1169. A.D.
1809.
Pricks in the feet of horses, 5857.
Pringle, A., his work on agriculture, page 1167.
A.D. 1794.
Pristly water meadow described, 4107.
Products of plants ; — see, Vegetable products.'?
Profits of farming among the Romans, 166.
Profuse staling, or diabetes, 5816.
Pronged tillage implements, 2527 ; their merits, 2528.
Propagation of plants ; — see Vegetables, their pro-
pagation.
Pruning knives of Java, 935.
Pruning of hedges, 3705.
Pruning, 2916 ; objects of, 2923 ; growth, 2924 ; les-
sening bulk, 2925 ; modifying, 2926 ; adjusting,
2927 ; renewal, 2928 ; curing diseases, 2929.
Prussia, agriculture of, 56A ; institution of Moegelin,
565 ; farm of Moegelin, 572 ; sheep, 574 ; cows,
576 ; ploughs, 577 ; threshing machines, 578 ; cul-
ture of the vine, 579.
Puceron or aphis, 6884.
Puckeridge, or wornals in cattle, 6274.
Pumiced foot, 5852.
Pumpkins, or vegetable marrow of Cochin China,
(figured), 944.
Pumps, kinds of, 4154.
Purging medicines used in veterinary practice,
5915.
Quail, Tetrao, 6787 ; grouse, red, 6788 ; black, 6789 ;
cock of the wood, 6790.
Quail, hunting of, in Persia, 860.
Quails of Tonquin (figured), 945.
Quarries, their establishment or working, 3587.
Quassia, or bitter of porter, 1217 ; cabbage tree beetle,
1217.
Quayle, Basil, his work on agriculture, page 1167.
A.D. 1794.
Queen's county, agricultural survey of, 7082.
Quercus suber (figured), the cork tree, treatment of
in Spain, 726.
Quittor and canker in the feet of horses, 5858.
Rabbit, 6591; warrens, 6593; tame rabbits, 6600 }
rabbit house and hutches, 6601 ; varieties of tame
rabbits, 6603 ; breeding, feeding, &c., 6604.
Rabbitry, 2685.
Racing shoe for horses, 5934.
Rack and manger for colts in use in Leicestershire,
7013 ; in Derbyshire, 7014.
Radcliff, Rev. T., his work on agriculture, page 1170,
A. D. 1819.
Rail roads, 3459.
Rain, theory of, 2300; phaenomena, 2301; cause,
2302 ; quantity, 2303.
Rain water, to collect, 4129.
GENERAL INDEX.
1219
Hakes, 2380; hay rako, 2381; corn rake, 2382;
stubble rake, 2384 ; daisey rake, 2385; drill rake,
2386.
Raking by manual labor, 2896.
Raking with horses, 303().
Haley, William, his work on agriculture, page 1166.
A. D. 1783. a ,^a
Rammed earth, or en pise walls, 2848.
Randall, J., his works on agriculture, page 1164. A.D.
1764.
Rapacity of animals, its influence on their distribu-
tion, 1980.
Rape, culture of, in Flanders, 457.
Rat, domestic, to destroy, 6855 ; field rat, 6859.
Rat traps, 2475.
Ranch, F. A., his work on agriculture, page 1174.
A. D. 1802.
Rawson, Thomas James, Esq., his work on agricul-
ture, page 1169. A. D. 1807.
Ray, or rubbers in sheep, 6522.
Re, P'ilippo, his works on agriculture, page 1177.
A. D. 1808.
Reaping, 2937 ; bagging, 2938 ; shaving and stacking,
2939; gaiting, 2940 ; pulling, 2944.
Reaping among the Romans, 132.
Reaping hooks, 2406 ; Hutton's hook, 2407.
Reaping machine of the Romans, 133.
Reaping machines, history of, 2599; Boyce's 'ma-
chme, 2600 ; Plucknet's, 2601 ; Gladstone's, 2602 ;
Salmon's, 2603 ; Smith's, 2604 ; clover pods reap-
ing machine, 2605; clover mowing machine, 2606.
Rearing animals, principles of, 2020.
Rearing of horned cattle, 6152.
Reaumur, R^n6 Antoine Ferchault, sieur de, his
work on agriculture, page 1171. A. D. 1749.
Red clover, culture of, in Flanders, 46.3.
Red water, or inflammation of the kidnies in cattle,
6262.
Red water in sheep, 6504.
Redolfi, Cosimo, his work on agriculture, page 1178.
A. D. 1818.
Reed, mode of thatching with, 295.3.
Reeve, Gabriel, his work on agriculture, page 1163.
A. D. 1670.
Rein deer moss (figured), 675.
Rein deer, C. tarandus, 6623.
Rennet, its kinds and uses, 6337.
Rennet of Dutch cheese, 6340.
Rennic, George, Esq., his work on agriculture, page
1167. A. D. 1794.
Rent of land in Ireland, 813.
Renton, George, his work on agriculture, page 1168.
A. D. 1801.
Reports on improvements or valuations, 3121.
Reproductive system of animals, 1936.
Resinous trees, season of pruning^ 3695.
Resins, what, from what plants obtained, and how
used, 1427; rosin, 1428; pitch and tar, 1429;
mastick, 1430; sandarach, 1431; "elemi, 1432;
tacambac, 1433 ; labdanum, 1434 ; opobalsamum,
or balm of Gilead, 1435 ; copaiva, 1436 ; dragon's
blood, 1437; guaiac, 1438; Botany Bay resin,
1439 ; green resin, 1440 ; copal, 1441 ; anim^,
1442 ; lac, 1443 ; bloom, 1444 ; use of resins, 1445 ;
gum resins, 1446.
Retiring houses of China, 999.
Rhomboidal harrow, 2571.
Rhubarb, 5518.
Ribwort plantain, culture of, 5070.
Ricci, Jacopo, his works on agriculture, page 1178.
A. D. 1816.
Rice, its culture, 4735.
Rice, culture of, in Egypt, 1052.
Rice in Hindustan, 881.
Richards, John, his work on stewards and tenants,
page 1164. A. D. 1730.
Richter, K. F., his work on agriculture, page 1176.
A. D. 1804.
Ricinus communis (figured), the castor oil plant,
849 ; cultivated by the Chinese, 970.
Rick yard, 2744.
Ridging, 2891.
Riem, his work on agriculture, page 1172. A. D.
1770.
Riem, J., his work on agriculture, page 1176. A. D.
1792.
Rigaud, de 1' Isle, his work on agriculture, page 1172.
A. D. 1769.
Right/, Edward, M.D. F.L.S., his work on agricul-
ture, page 1170. A. D. 1820.
Ring bone, 5840.
Ilingsted, Josiah, Esq., h\% works on agriculture,
page 1165. A.D. J 774.
41,
Rippling, 2966.
Rising of the lights in sheep, G508.
Rivers, to change their course, 4045. '
Rivers, guarding of their banks, 4038.
Rizhatib, his work on agriculture, page 1176. A D
1786.
Road, one on an inclined plane near "Warrington,
7027.
Roads, concave, in Derbyshire, 7014.
Roads of Sutherland, 7070.
Roads, their different kinds, 3286 ; national or high,
ways, 3287 ; parochial, 3288 ; lanes, 3289 ; estate
roads, 3290; farm roads, 3291 ; horse roads, 3292;
foot paths, 3293; railroads, 3294; paved roads,
3295 ; planked roads, 3296; approach roads, 3297.
Roads, their formation, 3280 ; kinds, 3286 ; direc-
tion, or laying out of roads, 3299; form and
materials, 3317 ; wear or injury of roads, 3318 ;
M' Adam's theory, 3333 ; paved roads, 3439 ; rail-
roads, 3459; preservation and repair, 3473.
Roads, origin of their improvement in Scotland,
750. ... *
Roads of Java, 937.
Roaring, or pneumonia, 5787.
Robertson, James, D. D., his work on agriculture,
page 1168. A.D. 1799.
Robertson, Rev. George, his work on agriculture,
page 1167. A. D. 1795.
Robson, James, his work on agriculture, naee 1167.
A. D. 1794.
Rocca, Abbd Delia, his work on bees, page 1177.
A. D. 1790.
Rocks, how converted into soils, 2061.
Rocky surfaces, to improve, 416-3.
Rocque, Bartholomew, his works on agriculture,
page 1164. A. D. 1761.
Roe deer, C. capreolus, 6618.
Rollers, 2578 ; common, 2579 ; parted cast iron roller,
2580; spiky, 2581; roller and wat^r box, 2582;
furrow roller, 2583 ; Norfolk drilling roller, 2584;
pressing plough or roller, 2585.
Rolling, 3(^8 ; grass lands, 3029.
Roman agriculture, profits of, 166.
Roman agricultural writers, 44.
Roman agriculture as a science, 170 ; its extent in
other countries, 174 ; in Germany, 175 : in Britain.
176; its decline, 17a
Roman farmers, 60.
Roman plough, 110.
Roman ploughmen, their qualities, 88.
Roman servants, 88 ; their wages, 89 : their food,
91.
Romans, landed property among, 53.
Romans, their agriculture, 42.
Romans, their villas, 75.
Romans, their maxims of farm management, 157. .
Romans, their farms and farmeries. 72.
Romans, their farm management, 71.
Romans, their agricultural implements, 109. ■
Romans, their agricultural operations, 126 ; plough-
ing, 127 ; fallowing, 128 ; manuring, 129 ; sowing,
131; reaping, 132; threshing, 135; hay making,
138; weeding, 139; harrowing, 140; watering,
141.
Romans, their agricultural animals, 93 ; bulls, 95 ;
cows, 96; oxen, 101; asses, 105; mules, 106:
horses, 107 ; dog, 108 ; sheep, 108.
Romans, their beasts of labor, 93.
Ronconi, Ignazio, his work on agriculture, paoe 1177.
A. D. 1804.
Rood's convertible waggon, 2624.
Root breaker or bruiser, 2474.
Root house, 2704.
Rope twister, 2396.
Rope twisting machine, 2457. '
Rope twisting, 2947.
Roscommon, agricultural survey of, 7094. '
Rosin, from what plants obtained, and how manufac-
tured and used, 1428.
Ross, Nairn, and Cromarty, agricultural survey of
the shires of, 7068.
Rossig, Karl Glo, his work on agriculture, page
1176. A. D. 1781.
Rossore, agricultural establishment of, in Tuscany,
297.
Rot in sheep, 6502. 6518.
Rotation of crops, theory of its beneficial effects,
2154 ; by Sir H. Davy, 2155 ; by Yvartand Pictet,
2158 ; influence in destroying insects by Olivier,
2160.
Rotation of crops in Saxony, 599.
Rotations of crops in Lombardy, 272 ; in Tuscany,
282.
1220
GENERAL INDEX.
Rotations of crops, 4549 ; «ee Crops.
Rotations of crops in Flanders, 445.
Rotations of crops in Spain, 712.
Roughlq/, Thomas, his work on agriculture, page
1179. A. D. 1823.
Row culture of China, 1002.
Rowels, 5869.
Roxburghshire, agricultural survey of, 7050.
Rozier, Francois, his work on agriculture, page 1172.
A. D. 1772.
Rubbers or ray in sheep, 6522.'
Rubus chamsemorus (figured), cloudberry, 680.
Ruckert, G. Ch. Alb., his work on agriculture, page
1176. A. D. 1800.
Rudge, Rev. Thomas, B.D., his work on agricul-
ture, page 1169. A. D. 1807.
Running thrush in the feet of horses, .5855.
Runners of plants, to propagate by, 1617.
Russia, agriculture of, 645 ; climate, 647 ; landed
property, 653 ; farmeries, 654 ; villages, 654 ; agri-
cultural products, 655; fruits, 659; live stock,
660 ; forests, 661 ; implements and operations, 662.
Rutlandshire, agricultural survey of, 7017.
Rye, culture of, 4650.
Rye, culture of, in Finders, 455.
Rye, George, his work on agriculture, page 1164.
A. D. 1730. .
Sack barrow, 2450.
Saffron. 5511.
St. Helena, agriculture of, 1118.
Saintfoin, culture of, 5042; soil, 5044; sowing,
5047 ; taking the crop, 5052 ; produce, 5055.
Salisbury, W., his work on agriculture, page 1170.
A. D. 1822.
Salivation in horses, 5793.
Salmon, natural history of, by Headrick, 7064.
Salmon, 6811.
Salmon fishery, 3605.
Salmon fishery of the Tyne, 7023; of the Tweed,
7024.
Salmon, William, M.D., his work on agriculture,
page 1163. A. D. 1723.
Salop, from what plants obtained and how manu-
factured, 1375.
Salt, use of, in Cornwall, 7039.
Salt mines of Cheshire, 7028.
Salt works of Droitwich, 7007-
Salt mines, 3592.
Salt works of Moutiers, 370.
Salting hay, 5233.
Salts, as ingredients of vegetable food, 1504.
Salvini, Gio., his work on agriculture, page 1177.
A D. 1168.
Samnite plough, 682.
Sampson, Rev. G. Vaughan, his work on agricul-
ture, page 1168. A. D. 1802.
Sand cracks in the feet of horses, ,5856.
Sandwich Isles, agriculture of, 1034.
Sap, ascent of, in plants, 1513.
Sap of plants, what, and how obtained, 1469.
Sarcey, de Sutieres, his works on agriculture, page
1172. A. D. 1765,
Sark, agricultural survey of, 7040.
Savoy, agriculture of, 347.
Savoy, peasantry of, 350; occupation of land, 352
leases, 357 ; pasturage, 358 ; public dairies, 359
vineyards, 361 ; walnut trees, 362; tobacco, 366
salt works of Moutiers, 370.
Saw fly, 6902.
Sawing, 2914.
Saxony, agriculture of, 596 ; culture of the vine and
silkworm, 597; sheep, 598; rotation of crops,
599 ; cows, 600.
Scab in sheep, R522.
Scalding mixture for the pole-evil in horses, 5917.
Scarifiers, 2527.
Scheffold^ L. his work on agriculture, page 1176.
A. D- 1809.
Schonlentner, M., his work on agriculture, page
1176. A. D. I8ia
Scientific operations required of the agriculturist,
Seirpus t^berosus (figured), its culture in China,
978.
Scotch farmers in Wiltshire, 7032.
Scotch or Small's plough (figured), 770.
Scotch cart (figured^ 770.
Scotch plough with two wheels, 2507 ; with one
wheel, 2508.
Scotch scarifier, cultivator or grubber, 2533.
Scotch horse hoe, 2.540.
Scotland, agriculture in, during the sixteenth cen-
tury, 226. 241.
Scotland, agriculture of, from the eleventh to the
thirteenth century, 208.
Scots grass, Panicum hirtellum (figured), 1186.
Scoft, W., his law book relative to agriculture, page
1168. A. D. 1801.
Scott, Edmund, his work on agriculture, page 1168.
A. D. 1801.
Scour in sheep, 6515.
Scouring in sheep, 6516.
Scouring or diarrhoea in horned cattle, 6266.
Scraper, 2392.
Scraping, 2897.
Screening or sifting, 2899.
Scuttle, the name of a shallow basket or sort of
wicker bowl much used in the barn and for other
purposes. The large ones have handles, but the
small ones are without them.
Scythe, Hainault, or Flanders, 502.
Scythe, Brabant, 503.
Scythe, cra<lle, of France, 398.
Scythes, 2403 ; Hainault scythe, 2404 ; cradle scythe,
2405.
Sea-weed eaten in Cochin China, 944.
Sea-weed, or kelp, its growth and manufacture,
5529.
Sea-weeds, theory of their operation as a manure,
2174.
Sebright, Sir J. S., his theory of improving the
breed of animals, 1995.
Seed basket, 2437.
Seed, its impregnation, 1592 ; hybrids, 1598 ; cross-
ing, 1599.
Seeds of plants, their germination, 1486 ; physical
pbaenomena, 1493; chemical phenomena, 1494.
■ Selkirkshire, agricultural survey of, 7051.
Sellenders and mallenders, 5836.|
September, weather, and agricultural operations to
be performed in, page 1194.
Servants, their management, 4522.
Servants of the Romans, 85; their wages, 89; food,
91.
Servieres, B. de, his work on agriculture, page 1173.
A. D. 1786.
Sesamura orientale, cultivated by the Chinese,
970.
Sesamum orientale (figured), cultivated as an oil
plant bv the Romans, 150.
Setons, 5868.
Shab or scab in sheep, 6522.
Shaddocks of Madeira (figured), 1126.
Shear hog, a wedder lamb in his second year, 6413.
Shearine of sheep, 6436.
Sheep, 6381 ; varieties, 6384 ; criteria, 6410 ; breed-
ing, 6414 ; rearing, 6429 ; folding, 6468 ; fattening,
6478 ; merinos, 6489 ; anatomy and physiology of
sheep, 6497 ; diseases, &501.
Sheep of North Wales, 7044.
Sheep, WiHshire, 7032 ; of Dorsetshire, 7033.
Sheep, how treated in France, 391.
Sheep of Hindustan, 900.
Sheep of the Cape of Good Hope, 1101.
Sheep (merino) of Spain, their management, 714.
Sheep tic, 6913.
Shifts, such parts of a farm as are allotted for the
reception of either stock or crops. It is also a
term applied to the rotations of cropping lands ;
thus, we have three, four, five and six coarse
shifts, 4549.
Shirreff, John, his woiJcs on agriculture, page 1170.
A. D. 1814.
Ship timber, how to produce bends for, 3700.
Shoe, improved form of, for horses, 5926: bar shoe,
5932; hunting shoe, 5933; racing shoe, 5934;
grass shoe, 5935 ; frost shoe, 5936 ; calkins, 5937 ;
horse pattens, 5938.
Shoeing and shoes for horses, various methods and
kinds, 5925.
Shoeing of oxen, 6219.
Shoeing of horses, 5925; improved mode, 5926;
various modes, 5927. 5932.
Short horned or Dutch cattle, 6109. ,
Shoulder strains in horses, 5828.
Shovel, 2377.
Shovelling, 2888.
Shropshire, agricultural survey of, 7010.
Siam, agriculture of, 939.
GENERAL INDEX.
1221
luckier, F. Ch. K, his work on agriculture, page
117a A, D. 1805.
Siddow pease, i. e. such as boil freely, 7006.
Sidera Hall farm, 3855.
Sierra Leone (mountains of the lions), agriculture
of, 1079.
Sieves, 2434.
Sieuve, his works on agriculture, page 1172. A. D.
1769.
Sifting or screening, 2899.
Silk worm or moth, 6822 ; treatment of the mul-
berry, 6824 ; produce of the worms, 6825 ; culture
of silk in England, 6826.
Silk worms in China, 985.
Silk worm, culture of in Austria, 617.
Silk worm, its culture in Hindustan, 884.
Silk worm, its culture in Spain, 709.
Simonde, J. C. L., his work on agriculture, page
1177. A. D. 1801.
Simpson, Pindar, his treatise on the mangel-wurzel,
page 1170. A. D. 1815.
Sinclair, G., F.L.S., F.H.S., his work on agricul-
ture, page 1171. A. D. 1824.
Sinclair, Kt Hon. Sir John, Bart, LL.D., M.P.,
his works on agriculture, page 1166. A. D. 1790.
Sinety,AnAx€ Louis, Esprit, his work on agriculture,
page 1174. A. D. 1803.
Singer, Rev. William, D.D., his work on agricul-
ture, page 1170. A. D. 1812.
Singing birds, 6792^; breeding and rearing, 6794 ;
aviary, 6795.
Single hoe plough, 2502.
Skeleton of the sheep, 6498.
Skim milk, 6378.
Skin, diseases of, in horses, 5818.
Slaney, Robert A., Esq., his work on agriculture,
page 1171. A. D. 1824.
Slaughtering animals, physiologically considered,
2048.
Slide for conveying mountain timber, 339. .
Sligo, agricultural survey of, 7098.
Slimy flux, see Dysentery, 6267.
Slips of plants, to propagate by, 1618.
Slugs, to destroy, 6922.
Sluice, 4075.,
Small, James, his treatise on ploughs, &c., page
1166. A. D. 1784.
Small's plough (figured), 770.
Smith, Rev. John, D.D., his work on agriculture,
page 1167. A. D. 1798.
Smith or Smyth, John, his work on agriculture,
page 1163. A. D. 1670.
Smith, William, his works on irrigation, page 1169.
A. D. 1806.
Smith, Rev. Samuel, his work on agriculture, page
1170. A. D. 1811.
Smut, a disease of plants, 1658.
Smut machine, 2648.
Snail, edible, 6843.
Snails and slugs, to destroy, 6922.
Snow, its influence in retaining heat, 2257.
Snow, theory of, 2309.
Soai)er's waste, its theory as a manure, 2243.
Social habit of plants, its influence on their distri-
bution, 1736.
Society of improvers in Scotland, their history,
775.
Soderini, Giovanvettorio, e Bernardo Davazati,
their works on agriculture, page 1177. A. D.
1622.
Soil borer, 2428 ; of peat, 2430 ; drainihg auger,
2431.
Soiling with clover, 5004.
Soils, see Earths and Soils, 2054.
tjoils, their influence on the distribution of vegeta-
bles, 1711.
Soils, their improvement by incineration or burn-
ing, 2134.
Soils, their aeration or fallowing, 2124.
Soils, influence of the weather on, Sl.'K) ; solar in-
fluence, 2151 ; shelter, 2152; shade, 21.53.
Soils, how to discover by chemical analysis,
2083.
Soils of bad quality, 2099.
Soils, their use to vegetables, 2095.
Soils, influence of color on, 2108.
Soils, their pulverization, 2113.
Soils, how to discover their qualities mechanically,
2087.
Soils of excellent quality, 2104 ; at Ormiston, at
Mersea, 2104.
Solar rays, their influence on vegetation, 2259.
Solomon isles, agriculture of, 1027.
Somersetshire, agricultural survey of, 7034: North,
east district, 7035 ; Middle district, 7036 : South,
east district, 7037.
Somerville, Right Hon. John, Lord, his works on
agriculture, page 1168. A. D. 1799.
Somerville, Robert, his work on agriculture, naee
1169. A. D. 1805. ^^^
Somerville plough, 2492.
Soot, as a manure, 2204.
Soot, theory of its operation as a manure, 2242.
Sore throat, 5781.
Sour cream, 6372.
South America, agriailture of, 1201 ; Terra Firma.
1202 ; Peru, 1203 ; Chili, 1204 ; Paraguay, 1206 ;
Brazil, 1207; Cayenne, 1215; Surinam, 1216;
Amazonia, 1218 ; Patagonia, 1219.
South American islands, agriculture of, 1220.
Sowing, 2912 ; broadcast, 2913.
Sowing among the Romans, 131.
Sowing of plantations considered, 3645.
Spade, 2376.
Spade of the Bushmansof Africa, 1113.
Spadoni, Paolo, his works on agriculture, page 1178.
A. D. 1810.
Spain.'agricuUure of, 688 ; Moors, 689 ; sugar-canes
of the Moors, 690 ; climate, 695 ; surface, 696 ;
soil, 697; landed property, 698 ; agricultural pro-
ducts, 700; olive, 706; vine, 707; sugar-cane,
708; cotton, 711; rotations of crops, 712; live
stock, 713; merino sheep, 714; agricultural im-
plements, 723 ; operations, 724 ; forests, 726.
Spanish or Merino sheep, 6407.
Spaying, the operation of castrating the females of
different kinds of animals, as sows, heifers, mares,
&c. in order to prevent any future conception,
and promote their fattening. It is performed by
cutting them in the mid flank, on the left side,
with a sharp knife or lancet, in order to extirpate
or cut oflT the parts destined for conception, and
then stitching up the wound, anointing the part
with tar salve, keeping the animal warm for two
or three days. The usual way is to make the in-
cision in a sloping manner, two inches and a half
long, that the fore-finger may be put in towards
the back, to feel for the ovaries, which are two
kernels as big as acorns, one on each side of the
uterus, one of which being drawn to the wound,
the cord or string is cut, and thus both taken
out, 6162.
Speed, Adam, his works on agriculture, page 1162.
A. D. 1626.
Spergula arvensis (figured), spurry, 475.
Sphynges or hawk moths, 689^!.
Spider, common, 6914 ; red spider, 6913. .
Splints and bone spavins, 5838.
Splitting, 2921.
Spring fly, 6899.
Springs, to collect, 4128.
Spurry, culture of, 5079.
Spurry (figured), Spergula arvensis, culture of, in
Flanders, 475.
Stable, 2662 ; farm stables in Scotland, £667 ; horse
hammels, 2675.
Stacey, Rev. Henry Peter, LL.B., F.L.&, hisLwork
on agriculture, page 1168. A. D. 1800.
Stack borer, 2412.
Stack covers, 2750.
Stack funnels, 2749.
Stack guard or cover (figured), 3047.
Stack stands of stone and iron, 2747.
Stack yard, 2744.
Stacking stage, 3048.
Stacking hay, 3044 ; hay stacks of Middlesex,
3046
Stacking wood for fuel, 2969.
Stacking corn, 3035 ; rules, 3036 ; unsheavcd corn,
3041 ; sheaved corn, 3042.
Stafford, Marquess of, his improvements in Shrop-
shire, 7010.
Stafford, Marquess of, his improvements in Suther-
land, 7070.
Staffordshire, agricultural survey of, 7011.
Stag deer, Cervus elephas, 6617.
Staggers in horses, 5761.
Staggers, daisey, or turning in cattle, 6270.
Staggers, gid, or turnsick in sheep, 6524.
Stair, Earl of, an active improver, 775,
Stands for corn, 2745 ; for hay, 2748.
Starch, from what plants obtained, and how manu.
factured, 1374, 1375; uses, &c., 1376, 1377.
Statistics of British agriculture, 6923.
41 3
1222
GENERAL INDEX.
steaming machines, 2651 ;1 steairiers on a grand
scale, 265i2|; economical steaming and ', washing
machines, 2653, 2654; boiling machines, 2655;
baking ovens, 2656.
Steaming house, 2705.
Steel-yard, 2465.
Steindel, A. H. Von, his work on agriculture, page
1176. A. D. 1800.
Stevenson, W., Esq., his work on agriculture, page
1169. A. D. 1809.
Steward, see Manager.
Stillingjleet, Benjamin, his works on agriculture,
page 1164. A. D. 1759.
Stipa tenacissima, the esparto rush, 701.
Stirlingshire, agricultural survey of, 7058.
Stirring with the grubber and other pronged imple-
ments, 3019.
Stirring the soil among the Romans, 139.
Stocking of farms ; see Farms.
Stomach staggers, 5795.
Stomach, inflammation of, in sheep, 6510.
Stone, Thomas, his works on agriculture, page 1166.
A. D. 1785.
Stone and gravel in horses, 5817-
Stone walls, differerit sorts of, 2831 ; see Fences.
Store sheep husbandry, 6450.
Strain in the shoulders of horses, 5828 ; in the whirl-
bone, 5830 ; in the stifle, 5832 ; in the back sinews,
5833 ; of the leg, 5834 ; of the fetlock and coffin
joints, 5835.
Strangehopes, Samuel, his work on agriculture,
page 1163. A. D. 1663.
Strangles, vives, or ives, 5774.
Strangury, or suppression of urine, 5815.
Strata of England (figured), 2056.
Straw, to truss, 2951.
Straw rope makmg, 2947.
Straw plait, best grasses for, 5193.
Straw house, 2706.
Straw-yard, 2751.
Strawberries, culture of, in Midlothian, 7047.
Strickland, H., Esq., his work on agriculture, page
1170. A. D. 1812.
Stud and mud, houses built of frame work filled
in with clay and straw mixed instead of brick,
work, 7038.
Stump/, G., his work on agriculture, page 1176.
A. D. 1794.
Sturdy in horses, 5799.
Sturdy in sheep, 6524.
Styles, 2870 ; see Gates.
Substances obtained from plants ; see Vegetable Pro.
ducts.
Subterraneous irrigation, 4124.
Suckers of plants, to propagate by, 1620.
Suckow, G. Adf his work on agriculture, page 1176.
A. D. 1775.
Suffblk, agricultural survey of, 7002. -
Suffolk cattle, 6117.
Sugar and indigo, attempt to cultivate in Italy, 58.
Sugar cane, culture of, by the ancient Moors, 690.
Sugar cane, its culture in Spain, 708.
Sugar cane, its culture in Egypt, 1056.
Sugar cane, culture of, in Jamaica, 1187.
Sugar cane, its culture and manufacture in Hin-
dustan, 882.
Sugar, from what plants obtained, and how manu-
factured, 1372 ; different uses of sugar, 1373.
Sugar from beet root, manufacture of, in Flanders,
470.
Sugar plants of Austria, 617.
Sumatra, agriculture of, 103.
Sun flower, its culture as an oil plant, 5477.
Surfaces, preparation of, for irrigation, 4096,
Surfeit in horses, 5818.
Surgery in cattle, 6272.
Surinam, agriculture of, 1216 ; principal products,
1217.
Surrey, agricultural survey of, 6993.
Sussex and Herefordshire cattle, 6114.
Sussex, agricultural survey of, 6994.
Sutherland, agricultural survey of, 7070.
Swan, Anas olor, 67.52; varieties or species, 6753 ;
rearing, 6754 ; feathers and down, 6755.
Swayne, G., his work on grasses, page 1166. A. D.
1790.
Sweden and Norway, agriculture of, 665 ; climate,
666 ; surface, 667 ; soil, 669 ; landed property,
670; cottages, 671; agricultural produce, 674;
iar, 678; berries, 680 ; live stock, 681; imple-
ments and operations, 682 ; harvesting, 683.
Sweeping, 2S98.
Swelled neck, 5782.
Swinhourne, R., his fanner's account book, page
1170. A. D. 1819.
Swine, 6530 ; varieties, 6538 ; breeding and rearing,
6561 ; fattening, 6570 ; curing pork and bacon,
6576 ; diseases, 6581.
Swine of France, 396.
Swine, mode of breeding and rearing in Mexico,
116.3.
Swine of Paraguay (figured), 1207.
Swine of Hindustan, 902.
Swine, wild, Lady Salisbury's breed of, 6997.
Swing ploughs, 2479.
Swiss cantons, present state of agriculture in, 327.
Switzer, Stephen, his work on agriculture, page
1163. A. D. 1718.
Switzerland, state of landed property in, 328.
Switzerland, agriculture of, its present state, 326.
Syrian goat, 6584.
Systematic botany, study of, 1266 ; glossology, 1266 ;
phytography, 1269 ; taxonomy, 1275.
Tagbelt in sheep, 6517.
Tag sheep; see Hog sheep.
Tanners' spent bark, how to convert to manure,
2178.
Tannin, from what plants obtained, and in what
proportions, 1393 ; its utility, 1394.
Tar, from what plants obtained, and how manufac-
tured and used, 1429.
Tare, its culture, 4795 ; varieties, 4796 ; soil, 4799 ;
sowing, 4801; reaping, 4806; produce, 4809 ; ap-
plication, 4811.
Tarello, Camillo, his works on agriculture, page
1177. A. D. 1772.
Targioni, Tozzetti, his works on agriculture, page
1178. A. D. 18P9.
Targioni, Luigi, his works on agriculture, page
1177. A. D. 1802.
Tatham, William, his works on agriculture, page
1168. A. D. 1798.
Taxonomy, or the classification of plants, 1275.
Tea plant, culture of, in China, 961 ; gathering the
leaves, 962 ; various species grown as tea plants,
962 ; curing and sorting the leaves, 963 ; sorts of
black and green tea, 9ftt ; select sorts of tea, 965 j
Chinese substitutes for tea, 966.
Tea districts of China, 960.
Teazle, or fuller's thistle, its culture, 5339.
Teeth, diseases of, 5636. 5779.
Teeth of horses, as indicative of age, 59.56.
Temperature, its influence on the distribution of
vegetables, 1690.
Tench, 6803.
Tenures of landed property, 3144; in England,
3145 ; Scotland, 3157 ; Ireland, 3163.
Terra Firma, agriculture of, 1202.
Territorial property, its kinds and tenures, 3144 ;
its valuation, 3165.
Tessier, Henri Alexandre, his works on agricul-
ture, page 1173. A. D. 1791.
Tetanus, or locked jaw in horses, 5763.
Tetanus, or locked jaw in cattle, 6271.
Thaer, Alb. his works on agriculture, page 1176.
A. D. 1798.
Thaivc, a ewe in the second year, 6413.
Thatching, 2948 ; with straw, 2949; stubble, 2950 ;
reed, 2953.
Thatching knife, 2411.
The Hebrides, agricultural survey of, 7073.
The fox, 6848 ; mole, 6854 ; mouse, 6859 ; rat, 6855 ;
polecat, 6851 ; weasel, 6852 ; badger, 6853.
Theress, Theodore, his work on agriculture, page
1176. A. D. 1808.
Thessaly and Albania, agriculture of, 736.
Thibet, agriculture of, 100(i
Thick wind, or pneumonia, 5786.
Thierat, his work on agriculture, page 1172. A. D.
1763.
Thiery, P. J., his work on agriculture, page 1175.
A. D. 1822.
Thinning, 2905.
Thirlstane store farm, 6451.
Thistle hoe, or hoe scythe, 2549.
Thistle pincers, 2394.
Thompson, Robert, his work on agriculture, pag^
1168. A. D. 1802.
GENERAL INDEX.
1223
Thomson, Rev. John, D.D., his work on agriculture,
page 1U)8. A. D. 1800.
Thoroughpin or blood spavin, 5841.
V'ouhi, M. Andre, le Chevalier de, his work on
agriculture, page 1174. A. D. 1812.
Thread and dying plants, substitutes for, 5389.
Three wheeled cart, 2618.
Threshing machines, history of, 2625 ; machine by
Menzies, 2627 ; Dumblane, 2628 ; Elderton, Smart,
2629 ; Meikle, 2630 ; improvements on the thresh-
ing machine of Meikle, 2631 ; mode of yoking,
2632 ; winnowing machines, 2633 ; advantages of
threshing machines, 2634 ; Meikle's two horse
mach)ne,2638; Meikle's water threshing machine,
2640 ; Meikle's machine for water or horses, 2641 ;
Meikle's machine for wind or horses, 2642 ; Mei-
kle's machine for steam, 2643 ; portable machines,
2644 ; Weir's two horse power portable machine,
. 2645 ; machines by Lester on the rubbing princi-
ple, 2646 ; by Forrest, on the rubbing and scutch-
ing principle combined, 2647.
Threshing machine, Meikle's, in Hertfordshire,
6997.
Threshing by the flail, 2961 ; whipping out, 2965.
Threshing among the Carthaginians, 136.
Threshing machine, history of its introduction, 777.
Thr sning among the Romans, 135.
Threshing machine for a manual power, 2453.
Threshing mill barns, 2697.
Threshing floors, to form, 2691.
Throat, diseases of the, 5781.
Thunder, theory of, 2322.
Ttbbs, Thomas, his work on agriculture, page 1169.
A. D. 1808.
Tighe, William, his work on agriculture, page 1168.
A. D. 1802.
Tillage implements, 2478.
Tillage of China, 989.
TilM, du, his work on agriculture, page 1171. A. D.
1755.
Timber, its conveyance in Switzerland by a raoun-
tain slide, 339 ; by floating, 340.
Timber, its valuation, 3763 ; disposal by sale, 3769 ;
price, 3768.
Time book, form of, 3140.
Tipperary, agricultural survey of, 7090.
Tithes in Ireland, 836.
Tobacco, its culture in Hindustan, 886.
Tobacco, its culture at the Cape, 1098.
Tobacco, its culture and manufacture, 5505.
Tobacco, culture of, in Yorkshire, 7021.
Tobacco, culture of, in Roxburghshire, 7050.
ToUard, Claude, his work on agriculture, page 1174.
A. D. 1805.
Tonquin, agriculture of, 945.
Tool house, 2708.
Topographical survey of agriculture in Britain, 6989 j
(see the different counties.)
Torj)idity of animals, 1974. "
Tortoise, common, 6819 ; mud tortoise, 6820.
Tortoise of Hungary, 624.
Towne, L.,, his Farmer's Guide, page 1170. A. D.
1820.
Townsend, Rev. Horatio, M.A., his work on agri-
culture, page 1170. A. D. 1810.
Tradesman's yard in the farmery, 2753. .
Training of horses, 5984.
Tramel, an instrument or device, made sometimes
of leather, but more usually of ropes, fitted to the
legs of horses to regulate their motion, and teach
them to amble, 5997.
Traps for vermin, 2475.
Tratmann, Cp., his work on agriculture, page 1176.
A. D. 1809.
Treads^or over-reach on the feet of horses, 5859.
Trees, their products, how used or disposed of,
3734.
Trees, table of, for different soils, 3639.
Trees, diseased or injured, their treatment, 3724.
Trees, management of, by the Romans, 145.
Trees, leaves of, used as fodder for cattle in France,
492.
Trees, their importance to a landed estate, 3627.
Trench in irrigation, 4081.
Trench drain in irrigation, 4082.
Trenching, 2890.
Trenching or raining plough, 2497.
Trenching plough, 2497.
Trentham estates, improvements on, 7011 ; charities
at, 7011.
Trifolium Alcxandrinum, the clover of Egypt,
1051.
Tripoli, agriculture of, 1067.
Trothevt his work on agriculture, page 1173. A. D.
1773.
Trotter, James, his work on agriculture, page 1170.
A. D. 1812.
Trotting of horses, 5991.
Trout, 6811.
Trowel, Samuel, his work on agriculture, page 1164.
A. D. 1739.
Truffle, Tuber cibarium (figured), of Hungary,
1310.
Trunk, in irrigation, 4076.
Truster, Rev. John, LL.D., his "works on agricul-
ture, page 1166. A. D. 1780.
Trussing hay or straw, 2950.
Take, John, his work on agriculture, page 1168.
A. D. 1800.
Tull, Jethro, his work on agriculture, page 1164.
A. D. 1731.
TuU's system of culture, histoi^y of, 756.
Tunis, agriculture of, 1068.
Tupputi, D., his work on agriculture, page 1178.
A. D. 1808.
Turbilly, Louis Francois Henri de Menon, Mar-
qyjs de, his works on agriculture, page 1172. A. D.
1760.
Turf spade, 2378.
Turkey, Meleagris gallipavo, 6724 ; varieties, 6725 J
breeding, 6726 ; fattening, 6728 ; feathers, 6729.
Turkies, American, 7014.
Turn of water in irrigation, 4089.
Turner, Nicholas, his essay on draining, page 1166.
A. D. 1784.
Turning or staggers in cattle, 6270.
Turnip, its culture, 4876 ; varieties, 4878; soil, 4885 ;
sowing, 4889 ; summary of turnip culture, 4894 ;
taking the crop and applying it, 4895 ; produce,
4907 ; to raise seed, 4909 ; diseases, 4913.
Turnip, history of, in Northumberland, 7024.
Turnip chopper, 2456.
Turnip drills, 2555.
Turnip roller, 2473.
Turnip tray, 2440.
Turnip hoeing, 3024.
Turnip, culture of, in Flanders, 464.
Turnip barrow drill, 2472.
Turnip sheer, 2455.
Turnips and clover, their introduction as agricultu.
ral plants in England, 235.
Turnips, their introduction to Surrey, 6993.
Turnsick or sturdy, 5769.
Turnsick in sheep, 6524.
Turn-wrest swing plough, 4493.
Tusser, Thomas, his works on agriculture, page
1166. A. D. 1557.
Tweeddale, agricultural survey of, 7052.
Tyrone, agricultural survey of, 7102.
United States, agriculture of, 1130 ; climate, 1130;
season, 1131; surface, 1132; »oil, ll.'J3; landed
property, 1134; dividing and seUing lands, 1135;
price, 1136; lands not yet cultivated, 1138; prac-
tice of new settlers, 1139; political circumstances,
1141; agricultural products, 1142; live stock,
1143 ; operations, 1144 ; civil circumstances, 1146 ;
domestics, 1147; emigration, 1148.
United States as compared with Van Dieman's land,
1149.
Upas, or poison tree of Java, 936.
Urinarium, 2743.
Urinary organs of horses, diseases of, 5812.
Urine, bloody, or strangury, 5815.
Urine, cisterns of, Flemish farmeries, 434.
Urine, incontinence of, ,'3815.
Urine drink used in veterinary practice, 5905.
Urine, suppression of, .5815.
Urine, theory of its operation as a manure, 2191.
Valerian, 552.5.
Valerian, culture of, in Derbyshire, 7014.
Valisneria spiralis, singular economy of, 1591.
Vallec, Alexandre, his work on agriculture, page
1177. A. D. 1803.
Valuation of trees and plantations, 3089. 3763.
Valuation, purchase, and transfer of landed pro-
perty, 314).
Valuing labor and materials, 3083 ; farming stock.
1224
GENERAL INDEX.
3086; leases, 3094 : landed property, 3099; mines
and minerals, 3105.
Vancouver, Charles, his work on agriculture, page
1169. A. D. 1807.
Vanderstrceten, F., his work on agriculture, page
1170. A. D. 1816.
Van Dieraen's land, agriculture of, 1029.
Van Diemen's land as compared with the United
States, 1149.
Varenne de Feuille, P. C, his works on agriculture,
page 1173. A. D. 1789.
Varloy C, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1165.
A. D. 1774.
Varro, M. Terentius, his works on agriculture, 46.
Vegetable anatomy, 1278 ; external structure, 1279 ;
internal structure, 1311.
Vegetable chemistry, 1365; compound products,
1369; simple products, 1484.
Vegetable culture as derived from the study of the
nature of vegetables, 1786.
Vegetable geography and history, 1687 ; geographi-
cal distribution, 1688 ; physical distribution, 1689 ;
civil distribution, 1727 ; picturesque distribution,
1736; systematic distribution, ; 1740; economical
distribution, 1747 ; arithmetical distribution, 1758 ;
distribution of the British flora, 1759.
Vegetable kingdom, study of, with a view to agri-
culture, 1264 ; systematic botany, 1266 ; vegetable
anatomy, 1278 ; vegetable chemistry, 1365 ; func-
tions of vegetables, 1485 ; vegetable pathology,
1638; vegetable geography and history, 1687;
principles of vegetable culture, 1786.
Vegetable life, its character, 1623 ; counteraction of
chemical affinity, 1623 ; excitability, 1624.
Vegetable nutrition, 1511; introsusception, 1512;
ascent of the sap, 1513 ; motion of the sap, 1514 ;
elaboration of the sap, 1523 ; descent of the sap
when elaborated into proper juice, 1533.
Vegetable oils, 1407 ; fixed oils, 1408 ; fat oils, 1409 ;
drying oils, 1414 ; volatile oils, 1419.
Vegetable physiology, or the functions of plants,
1485 ; germination of the seed, I486 ; food of the
vegetating plant, 1495; process of nutrition, 1511 ;
development or growth, 1537 ; sexuality, 1589 ;
impregnation of the seed, 1592 ; propagation of
the species, 1606 ; checks to propagation, 1622 ;
character of vegetable life, 1623.
Vegetable products, 1369; gum, 1369 ; sugar, 1372;
starch, 1374 ; Salop, 1375 ; gluten, 1378 ; albumen,
1318 ; fibrina, 1381 ; extract, 1382 ; coloring mat-
ter, 1388; tannin, 1393; bitter principle, 1395;
narcotic principle, 1396 ; acids, 1397 ; oils, 1407 ;
wax, 1420; resin, 1427; rosin, 1428; pitch and
tar, 1429 ; gum resins, 1446 ; myrrh, 1455 ; assa-
fetida, 1456; balsams, 1457; camphor, 1463;
caoutchouc, or India rubber, 1464; cork, 1465;
wood, 1466; charcoal, 1468; sap, 1469; juices,
1470 ; virtues, 1471 ; ashes, 1472 ; alkalies, 1474;
earths, 1476 ; other substances, 1483.
Vegetable poisons, 5794.
Vegetables employed in human economy, their dis-
tribution, 1747 ; bread corns, 1748 ; edible roots,
1749 ; oleraceous herbs, 1750 ; fruits, 1751 ; fruits
of the East Indies, 1752; of China, 1753; of
Africa, 1753 ; of South America, 1754 ; flowers,
1756 ; timber, 1757.
Vegetables of various kinds cultivated in China,
981.
Vegetables, their systematic distribution, 1740;
jJants of visible sexes, 1741 ; sexual parts indis-
tinct, 1742 ; monocolyledoneas, 1743 ; dicotyledo-
neJE, 1744 ; natural orders of Jussieu, 1745 ; uni-
versal plants, 1746.
Vegetables, their natural decay or death, 1681 ;
temporary organs, 1682 ; leaves, 1683 ; ' flowers,
1684 ; fruit, 1685 ; permanent organs, 1686.
Vegetables, their diseases and casualties, 1638 ;
wounds and accidents, 1639 ; diseases, 1652 ; na-
tural decay, 1681.
Vegetables, principles of preserving for future use,
1797.
Vegetables, their propagation, 1606 ; by seeds, 1608 ;
by gems, 1613 ; bulbs, 1614 ; buds, 1615 ; leaves,
1616 ; runners, 1617 ; slips, 1618 ; layers, 1619 ;
suckers, 1620 ; grafting and budding, 1621 ; causes
limiting propagation, 1622.
Vegetables, their growth or development of parts,
1537 ; elementary organs, 1538 ; composite organs,
1540 ; annual shoots, 1541 ; root, 1542 ; pith, 1543 ;
wood, 1544 ; perennials, 1545 ; circulation of
juices, 1550 ; decomposite organs, 1551 ; anoma-
lies of vegetable development, 1559.
Vegetables as indicating the nature of the soils they
grow on, 2072; argillaceous, 2074; calcareous,
5075 ; siliceous, 2076 ; ferrugineous, 2077 ; peaty,
2078 ; saline, 2079; aquatic, 2080 ; very dry, 2081,
Vegetables, their sexuality, 1589 ; economy of aqua-
tics, 1591.
Vegetation as influenced by the atmosphere, 2265 ;
water, 2266 ; carbonic acid gas, 2270 ; oxygen and
azote, 2274; gravity of the atmosphere, 2279;
temperature, 2283; vapor, 2288; clouds, 2289;
dew, 2297 ; rain, 2300 ; frost, 2306 ; hail, 2308 ;
snow, 2309 ; ice, 2311 ; wind, 2313; thunder, 2322 ;
lightning, 2328.
Vegetation as influenced by weather, 2245 ; heat
and light, 2246; electricity, 2260; water, 2263;
solar rays, 2259.
Vegeto-ariimal matter, a term applied to one of the
principal constituent parts of the farina or floor
of some vegetable seeds. It is found in the
largest proportion in grain, especially wheat, ex-
isting in a state of mechanical mixture with mu,
cilage or starch.
Vermueden, Sir C, his work on draining land, page
1163. A. D. 1642.
Veterinary operations on horses, 5861.
Veterinary pharmacopeia, 5879.
Villa of the Romans, /5 ; its division, 81.
Villages, their establishment on estates, 3573; Bride-
kirk, 3575 ; village seaport, 3577.
Villages of Switzerland, 336.
VUleneuve, Comte Louis de, his work on agriculture,
page 1175. A. D. 1819.
Vine, its culture in France, 407.
Vine, culture of, in Lombardy, 274; in Tuscany,
290.
Vine, culture of, in Austria, 614.
Vine, culture of, in Saxony, 597.
Vine, its culture in Spain,"707.
Vine, culture of, in Prussia, 579.
Vine, culture of, at the Cape of Good Hope, 1094. ^
Vine, culture of, in Madeira, 1123.
Vine, its culture in Switzerland, 337.
Vinet, Elie, his work on agriculture, page 1171.
A. D. 1607.
Vineyards of Savoy, 361.
Vineyards of the Jews, 33.
Virgil, his poems respecting agriculture, 47.
Virgil, plough of, 112.
Virgilian husbandry, a term made use of by some
authors to express that sort of husbandry, the
precepts of which are so beautifully delivered in
Virgil's Georgics. Formerly the husbandry in
this country was Virgilian, as is shewn by the
method of paring and burning the surface, of raf-
tering or cross ploughing, and of the care in destroy-
ing weeds, upon the same principle, and by much
the same means. In those parts along the south-
ern coast, where the Romans principally inha-
bited, not only the practice, but the expressions,
are in many respect the same with those of the
ancient Romans ; many of the terms used by the
ploughmen being of Latin origin ; and the same
with those used by those people on the like occa-
sions. Tull, who has established a new method
of husbandry, observes, that it is upon the whole
so contradictory to this old plan, that it may be
called the antivirgilian husbandry, and that no
practice can be worse than the Virgilian, 47. 112.
Virtues of plants, physiologically considered, 1471.
Vivos, ives, or strangles, 5774.
Viviparous animals, 1938.
W.
Waggon of the Cape farmers, 1106.
Waggons, 2619 ; Gloucestershire waggon, 2621 ;
Berkshire, 2622; Norfolk, 2623; Rood's patent
waggon, 2624.
Wales, agriculture of, from the fifth to the seven-
teenth century, 197.
Wales, agricultural survey of, 7043 ; North Wales,
7044 ; South Wales, 7045.
Walker, W., his essay on draining land, page 1170.
A. D. 1813. "
Walking as a movement of the horse, 5990.
Wall, Richard, his dissertation on breeding horses.
page 1165. A. D. 1768.
VVal
Wallflower, culture of, 5082.
Walls, their influence in producing heat, 2256. •
Walls, see Fences.
Walnut trees in Savoy, 359.
Warbles, 5820.
Ware, in irrigation, 4074.
GENERAL INDEX.
1225
Wark, Dr. David, his work on agriculture, page
1164. A.D. 1761.
Warp, a slimy deposit let fall upon land by the sea
tides in particular situations. The term is also
sometimes applied to the ooze or slimy matter
thrown up by the sea, 2148.
"Warping, theory of its effects on soils, 2148.
Warping, 4117; history and theory, 4118; effects,
4119; season, 4121.
Warrens, rabbit, extent, stocking, &c., 6593.
Warts, 5821.
Warwickshire, agricultural survey of, 7012.
Wash, medicines used by veterinary practitioners,
5919.
Washing of sheep, 6441.
Washington, General George, his works on agricul-
ture, page 1168. A. D. 1800.
Wasp, bee, and ant insects, 6904,
Waste lands, to improve, 4159 ; mountainous and
hilly grounds, 4160; rocky surfaces, 4163 ; woody
wastes, 4172 ; moors, 4181 ; peat mosses, bogs and
morasses, 4183 ; marshes, 4197 ; downs and shore
lands, 4203.
Water, its component parts, 2263 ; state of, in the
atmosphere, 2266.
Water meadows of the Romans, 142.
Water meadows of Orcheston, 7031.
Water, to procure for live stock, 4127.
Water, boring for, 4148.
Water, its decomposition by plants, 1532.
Water, its influence on the distribution of veget-
ables, 1702.
Water, as an article of vegetable food, 1510.
Water for farm yard and domestic purposes, 4157.
Water melon (figured), of Egypt, 1057.
Water, to filtrate, 4158.
Waterford, agricultural survey of, 7088.
Watering, 2911.
Watering arable lands, 4124.
Watering land by machinery, 4111 ; by sea water,
4112.
Watering machine for roads, 3494.
Watery head in sheep, 6524.
Wax, from what plants obtained, manufactured,
and used, 1420 ; butter of cacao, 1422 ; butter of
cocoa, 1423; butter of nutmeg, 1424; tallow of
■ croton, 1425 ; wax of myrtle, 1426.
Wax tree of the Chinese, 969.
Weaning a foal, 5977.
Weasel, to destroy, 6852.
Weather and climate, their influence on veget-
ation, 2245.
Weather, art of prognosticating, 2331 ; by the
moon, 2334 ; barometer, 2340 ; hygrometer, 2354 ;
pluviometer, 2360 ; thermometer, 2365 ; prece-
dent, 2367.
Weather of Britain, study of, 2369.
Weber, F. Bd., his work on agriculture, page 1176.
A. D. 1803.
Wedder sheep, a castrated male, 6413.
Weeding tools, 2393; pincers, or thistle drawers,
2394.
Weeding among the Romans, 139.
Weeding, 2904.
Weeds or plants injurious in agriculture, 5538 ;
relative weeds, 5539 ; absolute weeds, 5540 ; pe-
rennial weeds, 5542.
Weighing machine, 2461 : Weir's, 2463 ; for sacks,
■ 2464.
Weighing cage, 2461.
Weir's improved cultivator, 2534.
Weir's expanding bean drill, 2559.
Weir's manuring one row turnip drill, 2560.
Weir's improved hay or corn rake, 2596.
Weld, or dyers' wood, its culture and use, 5377.
Wells, 4140 ; digging, 4141 ; steining, 4142 ; use
of the auger in well digging, 4144 ; raising water
from, 4153.
Wells of China, 987. *
Wells of Persia, 863.
Welsh cattle, 6127.
West coast of Africa, agriculture of, 1077.
West India islands, agriculture of, 1172; Cuba,
1173; Jamaica, 1174; other West India islands,
1200.
West Lothian, or Linlithgowshire, agricultural
survey of, 7059.
West Riding of Yorkshire, agricultural survey of,
7020.
Western, C. C. Esq., M. P., his work on agriculture,
page 1171. A. D. 1824.
Westmeath, agricultural survey of, 7085.
Westmoreland, agricultural survey of, 7026.
Weston, Richard, Esq., his works on agriculture.
page 1165. A. D. 1769. *
Wexford, agricultural survey of, 7078.
Wheat, culture of, 4599 ; species and varieties, 4601 ;
soils, 4612 ; sowing, 4626 ; dibbling, 4630 ; har-
vesting, 4636 ; produce, 4641 ; uses, 4644,
Wheat, culture of, in Flanders, 454.
Wheat, culture of, in Egypt, 1053.
Wheat, dibbling of, in Norfolk, 7003.
Wheel barrows, 2449.
Wheel ploughs, 2506 ; Scotch plough with wheels,
2507; Wiikie's single horse wheel plough, 2508:
Beverston plough, 2512 ; Hampshire.plough, 2513
Norfolk wheel plough, 2516; paring plough, 2517
draining ploughs, 2518.
Wheels, relatively to the wear of roads, 3474.
Whey, 6380.
Whim, a flow moss so called, improvement of, 7052.
Whin, or furze, culture of, 5076.
Whinstone, 3390.
Whipping out grain, 2965.
Whirlbone strains, 5830.
White, Stephen, M. A., his work on bees, page 1164.
A. D. 1756.
White, Rev. Andrew, and Duncan Macfarlane,
D.D., their work on agriculture, page 1170. A. D,
1811.
White beet, culture of, in Flanders, 469.
White beet, or mangold wtirzel, culture of, 4962.
Wicket gates, 2869 ; see Gates. .
Wicklow, agricultural survey of, 7077.
Wiegaud, J., his work on agriculture, page 1176.
A. D. 1762.
Wight, Andrew, his work on agriculture, page 1165.
A. D. 1778.
Wild boar, 6531.
Wild breed of cattle, 6130.
Wild men and women of Malacca, 938.
Wild pine apple, a hedge plant of the West Indies,
1196.
Wildman, Thomas, his treatise on bees, page 1165.
A. D. 1768.
Wiikie's horse hoe and drill plough, 2542.
Wiikie's horse hoe and drill harrow, 2543.
Wiikie's wheel plough, 2508.
Willey, Andrew, professional turnip sower in
Northumberland, 7024.
Williams, T. W., his farmer's law book, page 1170.
A. D. 1819.
Williamson, Captain Thomas, his work on agricul-
ture, page 1170. A. D. 1810.
Wiltshire, agricultural survey of, 7030; South
Wiltshire, 7331 ; North WUtshire, 7032.
Wind, theory of, 2313.
Wind broken in pneumonia, 5789.
Wind colic in sheep, 6511.
Winnowing corn among the Romans, 137.
Winnowing machine, 2452.
Winter, George, his work on agriculture, pace 116S.
A. D. 1787.
Wire worm, or crane fly, Tipula, 6907. 6921.
Wisset, Robert, Esq., his treatise on hemp, page
1169. A. D. 1804.
Woad, culture of, in Flanders, 483.
Woburn dairy, 6999, fig. 775.
Wood or woody fibre, physiologically considered,
1466.
Wood, its culture and management, 5364.
Wood louse, Oniscus, 6915.
Woodlands, 3627. 3629.
Woodlands and forests of Flanders, 519."
Woods and forests in Switzerland, 339.
Woods and plantations of Dumbartonshire, 7057.
Woods and plantations, judicious management of, in
Derbyshire, 7014.
Woods and plantations of Cheshire, 7028.
Woods and plantations of Aberdeenshire, 7065.
Woods and plantations of Perthshire, 7063.
Woodward, or land reeve, 4276.
Woody wastes, to improve, 4172.
Wool, its nature and properties, 1815.
Wool shears, 2409.
Worcestershire, agricultural survey of, 7007,
Working horned cattle, 6125.
Working classes, amelioration of, in Sutherland,
7070.
Working classes, education of, in Devonshire, 7038.
Worlidge, John, his work on agriculture, page 1165.
A. D. 1669.
Worm tribes injurious in agriculture, 6921 ; slug,
6922 ; snail, 6922.
Worm under the horn, a disease in sheep, 6524.
Worms, common, to destroy, 6922.
1226
GENERAL INDEX.
"Worms In liorscs, 5809. '
Worms in sheep, 6527.
Worms subjected to cultivation, 6821 ; leech, 6845 j
edible snail, 6843.
Worms in use as food by the Chinese, 944.
Wornalls or puckeridge in cattle, 6274.
Wounds and accidents, of vegetables, 1639; inci-
sions, lt540; boring, 1641; girdling, IML' ; frac-
ture, 1643 ; pruning, 1644; grafting, 1645 ; filling,
1646; destruction of buds, 1647; of leaves, 1648;
decortication, 1649.
Wounds in horses, treatment of, 5862.
Wright, Sir James, Bart., his work on agriculture,
page 1167. A. D. 1796.
Wright, Rev. Thomas, his work on agriculture,
page 1166. A. D. 1789.
Yam, Dioscorea sativa, culture of, 1193^'
Yarrow, culture of, in Derbyshire, 7014.
Yellows, or liver disease, 5810.
Yellows in cattle, 62f« ; hot, 6261.
Yeoman, a term applied to the first or highest de-
gree of plebeians in this country. The yeomen
are proi)erly freeholders, and such as cultivate
their own lands. This useful and important class
of society has been within these few years con
siderably lessened, 7172.
Yoking draught animals, 2997.
Yorkshire, agricultural survey of, 7010.
Yoimg, Arthur, F.R.S., his works on agriculture,
page 11(54. A. D. 1767.
Young, David, his work on agriculture, page 1166.
A. D. 1786.
Yvart, A. Victor, his works on agriculture, pagr
1175. A. D. 1819.
Zea mays, or India com, its culture, 4734.
Zetland and Orkney cattle, 6123.
Zchnuriis, Capt. H. Adj. Von., his work on agricul.
ture, page 1176. A. D. 1796.
Zcigerus, Antoine, his work on agriculture, page
1175. A. D. 1735.
Zizania aquatica (figured), or Canadian millet, its
culture, 4732.
Zizyphus lotus, culture of, in Tripoli, 1067.
Zizvphus paliurus (figured), a hedge plant in Italy,
2&1
Zoology, 1801 ; see Animals.
THE END.
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