c*
THE
RURAL ECONOMY
O F
NORFOLK:
COMPRISING THE
Management of Landed Eliates
AND THE
PRESENT PRACTICE of HUSBANDRY
JN THAT COUNTY.
By Mr. MARSHALL,
(Author of MiNUTEsoF Agriculture, &C.1
Resident upwards of Two Years in Norfolk.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. L
LONDON:
printed for T. C A D E L L, in the STRANa,
M,DCC,LXX.XVn.
ADDRESS
TO THE
PUBLIC,
THE utility of full and faithful Re-
giflers of the prefent pradice of
Hulbandry, in well-cultivated Diftrids,
occurred to me about ten years ago j-^
when, in a journey of four or five hundred
miles through the central parts of the
Ifland, I experienced the inutiiity of a
tranjient 'uieiv ; but, at the fame time„
clearly favv' the advantages which would ac-
crue from a TVv'ELVE-MONTHS-RESlDENCE
in the immediate Dillrid; of the practice
to be regiftered. At that time, however,
I was too bufily employed in regiftering
my own practice * to think of extend-
"^ See Minutes of Agricultukf., in Svrrey.
A Z. ing
i?000833
iv ADDRESS.
ing my Regider, in anyway, to the prac-
tice of others. — But being fortunately re-
leafed from my connexion in Surrey, and
having prepared for publication my
Experiments and Observations con-
cerning Agriculture andthe^EATU-E.'R,
I found leifureto reflect more maturely on
the means of perfecting thefyflem, w^hich
I had, with much deliberation, iketched
out, and which I had in part filled up,
from my own pradlice.
In February 1780, I fubmitted to the
Society of Arts in London, as the firfl: So-
ciety,, profeflcdly Agricultural, in the
kifigdom, the following Plan.
PLAN
C V )
i» L A N
FOR PROMOTING
AGRICULTURE.
THE knowledge of Agriculture ei-
ther refults from experience, limply;
ot is acquired through the united efforts
of experience and theory.
Theory may facilitate, by analyzing
the fubjedt, and giving a comprehenfive
view of the fcienfcc in general ; — eluci-
date, by commenting on the experience
already acquired ; — accelerate, by pro-
pofing fit fubjeds for future invefl:iga«
tions 5— but cannot convey any certain
information without the aid and concur-
rence of experience.
The experience of Agriculture is ac-
quired through adequate obfervation,
cither on felf-pradice^ or on the prac-
tice of others.
The pradice of an individual, how^
ever, is generally limited to fome parti-
A ^ culat
vi ADDRESS
cular branch of management, on fome
certain foil and fituation -, and a general
knowledge of Agriculture mull: not be
expected from the pradtice of any one
man.
A man, nevefthelefs, who has fpent
a long life in the praftice of fome certain
department, muft necefiarily have ac-
quired a confiderable (liare of know-
ledge of that particular department :
and it is probable, that were the know-
ledge of the individuals who excel in
the feveral departments of huibandry,
— were the. knowledge of the ableft
farmers in the beft-cultivated parts of
the ifland colleded, Englifn Agri-
culture would be found, at this day, to
be far advanced towards perfedion.
But the individuals who excel in agri-
culture, are unknown to each other -,
and, if affociated, could not probably
communicate their knowledge, with
any degree of precifion : for their art
being the refult of habit, it is too fa-
miliar to be minutely defcribed. Their
farms
TO THE PUBLIC.
vu
farms are the only records in which it
is regiftered, and even there it is as
fleetins as the hour in which it is per-
formed. Nothing but actual obferva-
tion, and immediately regiflering in
writing the feveral operations, as they
pafs throughout the year, can render
the pradtice of individuals of extenfive
fervice to the Public.
In fhort, the art of agriculture muft
ever remain imperfe(ft while it is fuffer-
ed to languiih in the memory, and die
with the practitioner : Record, only,
can perpetuate the artj and System,
alone, render the fcience comprehen-
five *.
Mr. Marfhall has already fubmitted
to the Public a regifter of his own
pracftice during five years -, compre-
hending a plan for acquiring agricul-
tural knowledge, fyflematically, from
* What Dr. Johnfon fays of Language is applicable
to Agriculture -*' Didtion merely vocal is always
'* in its childhood. As no man leaves his eloquence
" behind him, the new generations have all to learn,"
'^joiitfiry to the IVfJtern IJlandi of StotlancL
A 4 feif-
vui ADDRESS
felf-pradtice -f; which plan is equally
applicable to the practice of others 3
provided the obfervations be performed
without remiffion, and by one who is
accuftomed to agricultural obfervation.
He has alfo endeavoured to trace out
the foundation of a fyfLem, fo far as his
Qwn pra<5tice has extended.
His present Plan is, to extend his
obfervations to the pradice of others;
more efpecially as it appertains to the
breeding, rearing, and fatting of cattle
to the dairy management, — to the
management of fheep, — to the drain-
ing and watering of meadows, — and to
the p-rafs-land, or ley-management in
o-enerah After he is become profici-
ent in thefe departments, his intentions
are to extend his survey of provincial
AGRICULTURE to the arable or plow-
management.
His intended mode of obfervation is
this : Having pitched upon the branch
of management to be ftudied, and the
4 See Experiments and Obfervations, as above.
diftria:
TO THE PUBLIC.
IX
diftrid: which excels in the pradice of
that particular branch, he propofes to
fix his place of refidence, during
TWELVEMONTHS, in a farm-houfe ; —
if poffible, in the houfe of the bell-
informed farmer in the diiirid pitched
upon ; and there, with daily attention^
minutely obferve and regifler the living
praftice which furrounds him : not the
pradice of theoretical, but of profef-
fional farmers ; or rather the provincial
practice of the diftrid, county, or coun-
try obfcrved ; neverthelefs attending to
improvements and excellencies, by
whomfoever pracftifed.
Nor is his plan confined merely to
obfervation : he means to acquire by
feif-pradice a competent knowledge of
the MANUAL OPERATIONS incident to
the department of huibandry which is
the immediate object of his fludy ; as
alfo to collect fuch implements and
UTENSILS as may appear peculiarly
adapted to the parpofes for which they
are feverally intended j not iketches nof
mcdehj
X A t) D R E S ^
nicdels, but the inftruments themfelvfes
which he has feen in common ufe 5
and of whofe ufes he has acquired, by
manual px'-adlice, an adequate know-
ledge.
In order tofurnilh himfelf with every
advantage which may forward his gene-
ral defign, his further intentions are to
employ his leifure in taking a com-
plete Review of written Agricul-
ture, from Fitz -Herbert, in 1534,
to the prefent time {excepting the
Works of fuch authors as may be living
at the time of cicfing the Review);
and, after his judgement has been ma-
tured by a furvey of provincial prac-
tice, to comprefs into as narrow a com-
pafs as may be, the ufeful information
relative to Britifh Agriculture, which
has been already recorded; whether it
appears in incidents and experiments
fuiiiciently authenticated, or in hints
which may furnifli fubjeds for future
experiment.
Briefly,— his plan is, reciprocally to
receive and to offer information ; — to
corn-
TO THE PUBLIC. ^
communicate provincial pradice to the
Public at large ; —to collect and com-
prefs the ufeful information which is at
prelent widely fcattered in almoft num-
berlefs volumes ; — and to reduce thefe
joint accumulations of agricultural
knowledge to fyftematic fcience : con-
fequentl}^ to offer to the prefent and
fucceeding generations a comprehenfive
System of English Agriculture,
as it now flands ; -and to raife it
on a balls fo ample and fcientific, as
that future acquifitions may be added
to it from time to time.
CN
xii A D j:> R E S S
ON THE EIGHTH of the fucceed^
ing month the Society were pleafed id
pals the following Refolutions t
" Resolvld,
** That the colkcling a general know-
*' ledge of the Agriculture of the king-
" dom, as propofed by Mr. Mariliall;
** may be highly ufeful.
** PvESOLVED,
" That as it is net the pradlice of* th^
** Society to adopt the execution of plarl^
" of this kind, the Societ}^ cannot engage
** in the undertaking.
" Resolved,
** That Mr. Marfhall have liberty to
" confult the Books of Agriculture in the
** poffeilion of the Society, and to infpedt
** the feveral Machines and Models in
" their repoiitories,"
THESE
TO THE PUBLIC
acu
THESE RESOLUTIONS, though
they afforded no real affiftance, ferved to
eftablifh the ufefulnefs of the plan. Ihe
means of carrying it into execution remain-
ed now the only object of cpnfideratlon.
An application to PARLIAMENT was
thought of, and ftrongly recommended ;
but at a time when public economy had
become a necellary and prevailing principle,
and when the immediate prefervation of
the flate called for every hour of parlia-
mentary deliberation, it would have beeai
highly improper to have attempted to
draw off the attention of Parliament to
any other objed:, however ufeful.
But being thus embarked, it was thought
advifeable to proceed fo far, at leafl, as to
make the Plan know?! to thofe whom it
particularly concerns ; — and it was ac-
cordingly communicated to feveral of the
principal Nobility, and to fome few Gen-
tlemen of landed Property. Its reception,
however, was not fuch as I confidered it to
be intitled to ; and in this fpecimen there
were fufficient grounds to convince me of
what might be expeded from Individuals.
- I have
XVI
ADDRESS
I therefore folded my Plan; — with,
however, a degree of relu5iance ; — becaufe
I was confident that, were it carried into
execution, it would be produdliveof much
public good ', — but without any fhare of
regret ; — becaufe I had fully difcharged
my duty to my Country, to m.-^ profejjion,
and to my f elf.
In Auguft 1780, I went down into
Norfolk, as agent to Sir HarbordHarbord's
eftate 3 — one of the firfl in that county.
The management of EJiates, though a
fifler-art to Agriculture, or the manage-
ment of Farms, was in a manner new to
me; and, though intimately connected
with my Plan, had never ftruck me, as
being, what it really is, an infeparable de-
partment of Rural Economy. Eftate-
Agency, it is true, has always been treated
of by writers as a dilHnd: fubjecft; but it
has generally been found proper to explain,
in the fame book, the leading branches of
Agriculture; for, beyond difpute, the ma-
nagement of an Eftate cannot be con-
duced
TO THE PUBLIC. ^t
dudled with propriety by any man unac-
quainted with the management of a
Farrn.
Norfolk is not more celebrated for its
iyftem of hufbandry, than for a fuperior
knowledge in the managemen|; of landed
Eftates, which is there reduced to a regu-
lar bufinefs.
I was Angularly fortunate in my fitua-
tion • I had not only an opportunity qf
feeing the effecfls of improper management
committed by thofe who had gone before
me ; but of profiting by my own experi-
ence (thereby much extended) in endea-
vouring to do away the evil effeds.
With refped: to husbandry, too, I had
every advantage : I had an opportunity of
employing my leifure in adual prad:ice,
on a large fcale : the Agency, of courfe,
afforded me an extent of country to
range over, and make my obfervations
upon, at will : and, I am happy in being
able to add, a number of fenfible men, —
fome of them at the head of their profef-
fion,^ — were always ready to give mc,
without
yvi
ADDRESS
without referve^ every information I afked
for.
Thus, — in a manner totally unforcfeen,
i — I became pofTeiled of an opportunity,
not only of extending my plan to an im-
portant purpofc I had not thought of, but
of executing the part I had propofed, in a
manner which the whole landed Interert:
could not, without an agency, have en-
abled me to have done.
I therefore embraced every opportunity
of regiflering the ufeful ideas which oc-
curred, whether in hufbandry, or in
eftate-agency : but (I think proper to
mention in this place) without any view
at that tifnCi of carrying the whole of my
plan into execution. At length, however,
iinding, that I could no longer conduct
the eftate, — in a manner, which, to my
own mind, appeared to be right ;— I loft
no time in finifhing a RegiAer of the
Rural Economy of the county ;j and, ii>
November 1782, Heft Norfolk.
Slaving thought it neceflary to fay this
much, in explanation of the following
work.
TO THE PUBLIC.
XVU
worki it would be a want of gratitu le
not to add, that, how greatly focvcr Sir
Harbord Harbord and myfelf might differ
upon matters oi Bicfmefs, I flatter myfelf
I fhall always retain a proper fenfe of the
perfonal civilities I had the honor of re-
ceiving, during my refidence at Gunton.
Before I clofe this Addrefs, it may be
proper to inform the Public, that it is my
intention, at prefent, to iiniili the pro-
pofed Plan, upon an enlarged bails ; hav-
ing now extended it, not only to the
Management of landed Estates,
but to Planting ; an art upon which,
fome time ago, I digefted my ideas, and
in which I have, fmce, had an opportunity
of extending m.y pradice : thus, purpo'
fing to refiore to their natural union the
THREE branches ofRuK AL ECONOMICS.
London, jft Ftb. 1727.
Vol. I.
CONTENTS
OF THE
F I R S, T VOLUME.
3
■TnIstrict,
■*-^ ESTA.TE3,
P
ige r
3.
6
3-
Farms,
—
8
^■.
Soils,
—
n
5-
Manures,
—
15
6. Fi-RMERS, Page 37
7. Workmen, — 4a
S. Horses, — 4^
9. Implements, 50
10. Taxes, — (Lj,
II. General Management of Estates.
66
j2. Buildings, — ^^ li ^^' ^^^^3^^» — 9^
13. Gates, — 9-i- 11 ^-S- Inclol'ures. — 116
16. Planting, and the Ma-nagement oFTimber, 119
17. General Management cf Farms,
12 c
18.
39.
^7-
23.
29.
50.
33-
Laying-out,
Succeffion,
>Soil-PiGcefs,
Manure- Pro.
Seed-Procers,
Wheat,
Barley,
Oats,
Peas,
Vetches,
Buck,
TURNEPS,
130
132
137
150
1.67
201
233
245
248
252
-5 5
■56
34. Cult. Grasses, 301
23.
Vegetating-Pro.
170
24.
Hai-veft-Proccls,
1S4
^5-
Farm -Yard
Management,
iScj
26.
Markets. —
195
5 5-
Nat. Grasses,
310
36.
Cattle, —
325.
37-
Sheep, —
362.
38.
Rabbits, —
373
39-
Swine, —
373.
40.
Poultry, —
375
41.
Decoys, —
277
42;
Bees. —
3S1.
Ltjt of Rates,
3^:
IV
THE
RURAL ECONOMY
O F
NORFOLK.
I.
THE DISTRICT.
THE County, confidered as a fubjcft
of Rural Economy, is aptly divifible
into East, West, and South-Norfolk.
The southern Hundreds partake of the
iSufiblk pra(ftice ; and, though well cultivated,
.do not exhibit, in its purity, the Norfolk
SYSTEM OF HUSBANDRY.
The western divifion is either marlhy,
low land, applied chiefly to the dairy, after
jthe manner of Cambrldgefliire ; or open fheep-
walks and extenfive heaths, whofe flock are
Vol, I. • B ilieep
2 DISTRICT. ;>
fheep and rabbits ; or ncwly-inclofed country
('chiefly of the laft defcription), in which no
general pLm of management has yet taken
place.
In East-Norfolk, alone, wz are to look
for that regular and long-eRablifncd fyficm of
pradlice which has raifed, defcrvedly, the
name of Norfolk hufbandmen ; and which,
in a principal part of ihis Dif-ritT:, remains
unadulterated to the prefent time *.
The climature of Eaft-Norfolk is cooler
than that of other Diftrids, in this Ifland,
fituated on the fame degree of latitude;
namely, fifty-three degrees. The feafons, here,
are from a week to ten dqys later than they
are in the neighbqurhood of the metropolis.
* The largeft fortunes have been made by fanners in
Weft-Norfolk : not, however, by any fuperior fyliem of
inanagement praftifcd in that divifion of the county ; but
through extenfive trads of flieep-walks, and other frejh
grounil^ held by individual.-, having been indcfcdy markJy
hrakrn npy and fubjccled to the mana^cmtnt rf E afl -Norfolk ;
ivhcre, farms being comparatively fmall, and having been
jnciofed, marled, and plowed, time immemorial, there was
j),ot room to make a Mallet, —a Dursgate, — or a Mar-
tin'. Viewing the (late of hufbandry in Well-Norfolk,
colleftively, it is much beneath that of the Difirid here def-
cribcd,
The
;. NORFOLK. |
The surface of this Dlftrict, though the
foil be dry, is an ahiiod uniform flat; except
a border toward the fea-coaft, which is broken,
and, in many places, bold and picl'urefque |
and, excepting the more fonthern Hundreds,
in which marflies, fens, and lakes, provinclally
?' BaOiiDs," fqme of them of considerable ex-
tent, abound.
The rivers of Eaft-Norfolk are fmall and
few in number; but its rivulets are nu-
merous;— -interfccling its flatted furface in a
fingular and happy manner.
Inland navigation's, Notwithflanding,
Jiowever, the fmallncfs of the rivers, the na-
tural flatnefs of the country renders them
capable of being made navigable: ihe Yare
furnifhcs a R iVER navigatiom between Yar-
mouth and Norwich ; as the Thyrn, called
the North River, does from Yarmouth, through
the Broads, to Dilham near North-Walfham ;
and out of this proceeds a canal na,vi-
pATioN to Aylefliam.
The roads, no.twithfLanding King Charles
v/as pleafed to fay the county of Norfolk
was only fit to be cut out into roads for the reft
yf his kingdom, are unpardonably bad ; —
B 2 narrow
4 DISTRICT. I.
narrow, fhaded, and never mended : they are
numerous, however, efpecially the bridle-
roads ; fo that a traveller, on horfcback, has
generally the choice of two or three ways,
of nearly equal length, to the fame place.
Not a foot of turnpike-road in the DiMridl ;
excepting the road between Nor'wich and Yar-
mouth.
The inclosures are, in general, fmal!,
and the hedges high and full of trees. This
has a fmgular efFtd; in travelling through the
country: the eye feems ever on the verge of a
foreft, which is, as it were by enchantment,
^continually changing intoinclofures and hedge-
rows. There is not, generally fpeaking, a
piece of wood-land or a coppice in the whole
Diflrid ; and even plantations are thinly and
partially fcattered. A common or a heath
(vvhich not unfrequently occurs even in this
part of Norfolk) is the only variety the face
of the country affords. Some remnants of
common-fields ftill remain ; bur, in general,
they are not larger than well-fized inciofures.
Upon the whole, Eaft-Norfolk at large may
be fald to be a very old-in'closed country.
Tn5
i: NORFOLK. 5
The towns of Ealt-Norfolk are few. AV-
wich. Tar mouth, and North-Walfcam, are its
principal markets. Ilut the fmaller ports
of Blakeney, Cromer^ and Munjley, are bene-
ficial in afTilting to draw off the produce of
the Diflrid: ; efpecially that of the northern
Hundreds.
For a particular defcription of the Flcg
Hundred, fee Min. io6.
Of the eaftern cdaft, fee Min. 112.
Of Blowfield Hundred and the Yarmouth
Marfnes, fee Min. 118,
ESTATES.
6 ESTATES. 2.
1.
ESTATES.
FORMERLY, in this Diilria:, were many
fmall Owners — Yeomen — provlncially called
" Hatcfmcp/' who cultivated their cwn eilates.
— I'hcre were infcances of entire pariihcs be-
ing occupied by this refpeclable clafs of
men. But, among other evil e.^efts of that
inordinate paffion for farming, which pre-
vailed fome years ago, the decline of the
indeoendency of this country is a ftriking
one.
I'he vecmanrv, heretofore indepemlant and
refpeilcd, feeing men, whom they had lately
held as their inferiors, raifcd, by an excef-
five prone which had recently been made by
farming, to a degree of affluence fnperior to
their own, and living in a Piyle of exnava-
gance their anceQoTs had been ftrangers to,-
became diiHrtisfied with the homelincfs of
their ficUation in life, and either launched out
into extravagances ill luited to their income,
or voluntarily fold their comparatively fmall
pa-
2'. NORFOLK. ^
patrimonies, in order that they might, agree-
iibly with the fafliion or frenzy of the day,-
become great farmers.
By this means many of thofe comfortable'
[ilaces which were thickly fcattercd over Eaft-
Norfolk, have fallen into the hands of men
of fortune ; and are now become united with
their laree eflatcs.
There are, neverthelefs, fome few fmall
bwners dill remaining : but very few of the
poilcflions, even of thofe, are freehold; the
COPYHOLD tenure being prevdlcnt through-
but the Diflridt; which contains fome very
txtenlive, and, even to this diiv, iuerative,
j'^iJANORS,
B ^ FARMS.
» FA R M S. 3.
FARMS.
THE FARMS of Eafc-Norfolk are princi-
pally inckfed-y there being, as has been al-
ready obferved, few common-fields at pre-
fent in this Dillrift ; and thele few are in
general very fmall ; ten, twenty, or thirty
acres ; cut into patches and fhreds of two
or three acres, down to half an acre, or,
perhaps, a rood each *.
But another fpecies of Intermixture, much
more difagreeable to the occupier, is here An-
gularly prevalent. It is very common for an
inclofure, lying, perhaps, in the centre of an
otberwife entire farm, to be cut in two by
a flip of glebe or other land lying in it ; and
fiill more common for fmall inclofures to
be fimilarly fituated*
Thefe inconveniencies have, no doubt, arifen
from common-fields having been inelofed by
* The central parts of the Diib-ifl: are more particulaily
fpoken of: towards the north coaft, feme pretty exteniive
common-fields ftill remain open; and fome fev^ in the fou-
thern Hundreds.
piece-
3. N O R F b L K. §
piecemeal, without the general confent of
the proprietors* They are, however, incon-
veniencies which fire evefy year decrealing :
many beneficial exchanges of intermixed lands
have lately taken place, and many more
equally advaniageoiis renuiin yet to be made
Cfee MiN. 4. on this fubjedt).
But notwithftanding thefe intermixtures r.nd
irregularities, ave. ftiU too prevalent, and not-
withftanoing fcattered and '' one-fided" farms
are fmgularly abundant, there are many com-
pa(ft ring-fence farms to be met with in the
Diflrifb,
The sizes of farms, at prefent, are of the
middle cail ; few under fifty pounds, and
fewer above three hundred pounds a year.
Formerly they were much faialler ; but the
numerous little places of the yeomanry having
fallen into the hands of men of fortune, and
being now. incorporated with their extended
eftates, are laid out into farms of fuch fizes,
as bell fuit the intereft, or the conveniency,
of the prefcnt proprietors.
The characteristic of farms, in this
Diilri6t, is, invariably, arable up-land ; — •
with, generally, a fjnail proportion of moory
ffrafs-
ta FAR M i §:
grafsland, called meadow. Many, however^
of the fmaller farms, and fome of thofe of
confiderablc fize, have no grafsland whatever
belon^ino: to them. In this cafe marshes,-
or GRAZiNG-GRbuNDS, at, pcrhaps, twenty
or thirty miles diftance:, arc frequently hired
by the occupiers of thefe farms.
But, viewing the Diftridt at large, the grafs-
land bears fo fmall a proportion to the arable j
that its leading charadteriftic is that Of art
ARABLE COUNTRT;
SOILS.
O R F O L K. It
4*
SOILS.
A SINGULAR uniformity ol" foil prevails
throughout this country : there h not, per-
haps, an aci-c in it which does not come
under the idea of a sandy loam.
Its qualityj however, varies widely, both
ns to texture and produ(flivcnefs. The nor-
thern part of the D lurid abounds with bar-
i-en heaths and unfertile iticlofures ; while the
fouthgrn Hundreds are principally covered
with a richer, deeper, highly produdlive foil.-
The foil, in general, however, may b^
termed fliallow : perhaps fix, perhaps fi\'idj
inches may be taken as the medium depth.
Inim^iately under the cultivated foil, a
liaid eruit — provincially "the pan" — occurs
nniverfally •, and under this fubftrata of va-
rious qualitieSj an unfathomable aczan of fa-nd
may be confidercd as the prevailing fubilra'
turn. In feme places a hungry gravrl, but
more frequently an abforbent brick-earth, is
the immediat;.' sus-soil.- Marl fometimes
rifes
fz SOI L s: 4:
fifes to near the furfacc, but fcldoiii fo high
is thc^^;?.
Ti^is fccms to be urlverfally ccnfidered a?:
a diftinfl fomething, poifonous in its nature,
and partaiving heither of the foil nor the fub-
foil. It is not my intention to ridicule this
received opinion; it may be welt founded;
but J to me, tne pan appcrars to be a pro-
dudlion not of nature, but of art ; or, to"
fpeak more accurately, a confe(juence of the
Norfolk culture carried on, time im.mem.orial,
with the Norfolk plow ;— whole broad flat
fhare being held in'-aiiably in a horizontal
pofirion, and (unlefs in fallowing) invari-
ably at the fame depth, the furface of the
fubfoil becomes formed, by the action of the
iliare, the prcffure and llidinp- of the heel of
the plow, and the trampling of the horfc, into
a firm, even floor, upon which che foil is turned,
and re-turned, in the fame manner p would
be, if fprcad on a floor of flone, or other
material.
But be this as it may, an^d whether the pan
be a natural or a fadtitious produ£lion,-— it is
a fadt well eftabliflied, tliat breaking it up
by plowing below the accufiomed depth, is
vtry injurious to luccceding crops.
Two
^ NORFOLK. 13
Two reafons may be offered in explanatioi|
of this effedt : the pan, year after year, and,
perhaps, century after century, has been a
receptacle of the feeds of weeds ; which, by
being trodden or ocherwife prefled into it,
have remained there, locked up from the fui>
and air, and, thereby, deprived of the powtr
of vegetation. But no fooncr are thefc feeds
releafed from tbcir confinement by being
brought to the furfacc wiih the plow, than
they vegetate in myriads to the annoyance
of the crop.
The other reafon is this : — the firm clofe
contexture of the pan renders it in a degree
water-tight; it is, at leaft, a check to the
rain-water, which finks through the foil ; prq-
longing its flay in the fphere of vegetation.
But the pan being broken, the filter is no
more ; and the rain, which is not imme-
diately retained by the foil, efcapes irretriev-
ably into an infatiable bed of fand, — or fome
other abforbent fubfoil.
For, if we except a few quickfands, which
occur on the margins of meadows, and the
peat-bogs which occupy their areas, there is nor,
-in the Diflrid:, an acre of retentive subsoil.
The
H
SOILS.
The Norfolk foil, however, is not vvithoiit
Its partial evils : — '' fcalds" are as pcniir
cious in Norfolk, as quickfands and fpringy
patches arc in cold-foiled countries; and,
what is vvorfe, they are, perhaps, incurable ;
while a partial retcntivenefs may be eafily
removed.
Thefe scalds are probably occasioned by
a partial abforbency ; namely, by a more abr;
forbent fubfoil being interfperfed in patches
among one which is kfs abforbent ; and, gene-
rally, perhaps, by " heads" or prominent
parts of the univerfal lubftru(3:iire fand, rifing
up through a ftratum of brick-earth ; in the
manner that ** heads of marl" flioot np to,-
wards the furface : as will be dcfcribed in
the next fecftion.
For iiiflances of the abforbency of th\?
Norfolk fubfoil', fee Mm. 59.
l-'or obfervations on the ditch-mould o'f
Is^'orfolk, fee Min. 77.
For obfervations on the foils of the Flcg
Hundreds, fee Mint. 106.
For general obfervations on the friability
of the Norfolk foils, fee Min. 106.
Fc-i
^. NORFOLK. i^
For obfervations on the foil of the eallcni
foaft, fee MiN. 112.
For obfervations on the foil of Blowfield
Hundred, fee Min. iiS.
For inftance of fcalds benig injured by
.|vei; weather, fee Min. 121.
MANURES.
UNDER this head I purpofe to enumerate
the different fpecies of manure ; and de-
fcribe, fo far as the obfervations I have been
able to make will enable me, their refpedtivc
natures.
The principal fpecies made ufe of in this
Diftridl are : —
Marl, Dung,
Clay, Compoft,
Mould, Teathe of cattle^
Lime, Sheep-fold,
Aflies, Soot, Rape-cake,
Malt-dufl, &c.
The
i6 M A N U R E S. 5.
I. The grand foflil manure of Norfolk is
MARL; through whofc fertilizing quality^
judicioiifly applied, lands, which feem by
nature to have been intended as a fcanty
maintenance for fheep and rabbits, are ren-
dered capable of fattening bullocks of the
largeft fize, and of finifl|ing them in the
high eft rnanncr.
There are, in this Diftrift, two fpecies pf
marl, very difcind: in their general appearances j
though their quality of fertilising be fimilar.
The central and northern parts of the
Diftrid: abound, upiverfally, with a wjliitiih-
coloured chalk-marl ; while the Fleg Hun-
dreds, and the eaftern coafl, are equally fortu-
nate in a ffrev-coloured clay-marl.
The firfl has, in all probability, been ip
vfc as a manure many pentpries ; there are
oaks of confiderable fize now going to decay
in pits which have obvioufly been heretofore
in ufe, and vyhich.a perhaps, flill remain in
uie, as marl-pits.
The ufe of clay-marl, as a mianure, feems
to be a much later difcovery ; even yet, there
are farmers who are blind to its good effed: ;
becaufe it is not 77jari, but ^' clav;" by which
name it is univerfaliy known.
Th-e
I-. NORFOLK. 17
The name, however, would be a thing of
ho import, were it not indifcrimlnately ap-
plied to uncftuous earths in general, whether
they contain, or not, any portion of calcareous
matter. Nothing is " marl" which is not
white J for, notwithftanding the county has
been fo long and fo largely indebted to its
fertilizing quality, her hufbandmen, even in
this enlightened age, remain totally ignorant of
its diftinguifhing properties : through which
want of information much labour and expence
is frequently thrown away.
One man feeing the good efFedt of the Fleg
clay, for inftance, concludes that all clays are
fertile ; and, finding a bed of flrong brick-
earth upon his farm, falls to work, at a great
expenee, te " claying :"^-while another, ob-
ferving this man's mifcarriage, concludes that
all clays are unprofitable; and, in confer
quence, is at an expenee^ equally ill-applied,
of fetching " marl'* from a great diftance ;
while he has, perhaps, in his own farm, if
judicioully fought after, an earth of a qua-
lity equally fertilizing with that he is throw-
ing away his time and his money in fetchinp-.
Vol. I. C This
it Manures, 5.
This is a flrong evidence of the utility of
chemical knowledge in the inveftigation of
fofTil manures.
Before I left the county, I coUeded a va-
riety of fpecimens of marls, clays, and foils
of different parts of it. Thefe, with a ftill
greater variety which I have colleftcd in
other parts of the kingdom, I hope to find
leifure, at fome future time, to analyze-, and,
from the refults, endeavour to draw fome ge-
neral inferences.
At prefent I Hiall confine myfclf to
1. The chalk-marl of Thorp-market, in
the Hundred of North-Erpingham ;
2. The clay-marl of Hemfby, in the Hun-
dred of Eaft-Fleg;
3. The foft chalk of Thorp-next-Nor-
wich J commonly called Norwich marl ; and
to
4. The hard chalk of Swaffham.
I. Chalk-marl of Thorp-Market.
The natural fituation of the white marls of
this Diftrld is Angular : they do not lie in
ftrata, as foflils in general do ; — nor in a con-
tinuation of rock^ like chalk and limeftone ;
but
§; N O R F O L K. i^
but in diftindt malTes, of different figures
and magnitudes, riling with irregular heads
toward the furface, and finking to, perhaps,
ten, perhaps, twenty feet deep, and fome-
times to a depth linfathomed. If the abyfs
'bf fand, in which they lie buried, could be
rendered tranfpareht, thefe clouds of marl
would, I apprehend, be feen fcattered under
the furface of this country, in refemblahce
bf the clouds of vapour, which we fre^
C|uentlyj in fummer, fee fufpended in the at-
mofphere.
^/6(? general appearance of thefe marls differs,
hot only in different beds or " jams ;'* but
the fame jam generally affords marl of diife-
irent appearances and qualities : the lipjper part is
lifually fouler and niore friable, while the lower
parts of the jam are of a purer, firmer, moxc
chalk-like nature ; and are ufually interfperfed
with " chalk-ftortes -^^ n^lmelyj lumps of
'chalk, firm enough to be ufed in writing ;
and with flints, fimiUr to thofe ufually found
in chalk-pits of other diftricls.
The fpccimen befbre me was taken from
l:he middle of a ten-foot jam. The general
appearance is that of a dirty, rough, friable
G 2 ci^alk 5
20 MANURES. 5.
chalk ; its colour being fomewhat darker, and
its contexture fomewhat fofter, and more brittle,
than the common writing-chalks of Surrey and
Kent.
In the open air, it hreaks readily, and in-
corporates freely with the foil.
In water, it falls in a manner inltanta-
neouily * ; but dijfolves not, in any proportion,
in this element -f.
In the fire, it lofes more than one-third of
its weight J, and burns to lime^.
* A piece of this zw^r/ plunged into water fell wida
a fmart crackling noife in a few feconds : but a fmall
piece of chalk contained in it, received no change frora
the water. Hence we have a fimple differential tcjl of thcfe
'two foflils.
■j- One hundred grains pulverized, dried, weighed,
placed in a filter, flooded repeatedly with cold and warm
water, dried, weighed; — received not the fmalleft per-
ceptible diminution of weight.
j A piece, weighing fifty grains, retained in a ftrong
fire three hours, loft eighteen grains and a half; weigh-
ing, when cool, thirty-one giainj and a half.
§ The pit from whence the fpeclmen made ufe of
ia this analyiis was taken, being worked as a lime-quarry,
1 had repeated opportunities of obferving the effect
of the lime, both as a manure and a'; a builJing-matcrial.
Its Itrength and operation, in both cafes, are, as far as
common obfervation can judge, limilar to thofe of the
chalk-limes of Surrey and Kcnu
In
^, NORFOLK, ar
In the acid of fea-falt, the principal part of
it is dijfolved, and taken up by the acid ; leav-
ing a fmall proportion, of grofs earthy matter,
undilTolved. Of one hundred grains of this
marl, — pulverized, dried, weighed, mixed with
water, and faturated with this acid, — eighty-
five grains pafs through the filter ; leaving a
rcfidue of fifteen grains : two-thirds of which
is palpable, confifting chiefly of fand and
flint; one-third a fine impalpable clay-like
matter ; mixing freely with water ; — fome
part of it fubfiding with reluxftance,
Afolutwn of fait of tartar,, add-ed to the fil-
tered liquor, precipitates the whole of the
diflTolved matter ; in a fnow-white powder :
which being retained two hours and a half in
a flrong fire, 1-ofes five-twelfths of its weight *,
and is concreted into a porous, friable ajh-
coloured mafs of quick-lime -, which being
re-fufpended in acid, and again precipitated,
regains the weight loft in the fire, and regains
lis fnowy whitenefs.
* Thirty grains of the powder, perfectly dried, loft
fomewhat more than twelve grains and a half; the lime,
when taken out of the crucible, weighing fomewhat lefs
jhau fcvcutcen grains and a half.
C 3 there-
22 MANURE S. 5.
therefore, it is highly probable, that the
fallible matter of this marl is a pure, or near-
ly a pure, cnlctirecus earth -^f.
We may therefore venture to fet down, as
the component parts of one hundred grains,
of this n:iarl, which may be taken as a fair
fpecimen of the \A.hite marls of thisDiftri^,
8 J grahij of chalk,
10 grains of fand,
5 grains of ciay.
2. The Clay-Marl of Hemsby.
In its mitural Jlate, it is fituarcd in extcn-
five bedsor jams of confiderable depth (feeMiN--
106). Its colour, when dry, fomewhat lighter
than that of fuller's earth, flightly tinged with
j'pecks of a yellowifh- brown colour : its ccn-
texture that of a gi'itty fuller's earth, inter-
fpcrfed with granules of white chalk.
•f The lime has a perceptible, but very i^aXni, yelloxvijh
t'nt. By the addition of a tindure of galls the ulti-
rnate filtered liquor becomes turbid : a Kvh:t' mucilnre
fjbfides ; leaviiig a tranfparent ^r<r3 liquor. A tliicftjre
of g'alls added lo the lime-water, before the addi'.ion of
the acid, has a fjmewhat fim.llar e;!"ei5l. But, prerious
tJ the calcination, tlnfture of galls produces no change
whatever upon this marl, eiilKr in a diluted or a dlflbh'ed
frate.
5, NORFOLK. ^3
In the open air, it breaks Into fmall fquares ;
and mixes freely with the foiU
In water ^ it falls readil)'' •, but dijfokes not.
In the fire t it burns to brick *.
In the add of fea-falt, part of it is diffolved ;
but the major part is indilToluble. Of one'
hundred grains, forly-three grains, only, pafs
through the filter ; leaving a refiduum of
iifty-feven grains; fifty grains of which is an
impalpable clay-like matter; the remaining
feven grains palpable ; chiefly fand ; but mixed
with fome beautifully-coloured granules and
fragments.
A folution of fait of tartar precipitates
the whole of the diflbluble matter ; which falls
of a pure white ; but dries to a fomewhat yel-
lowifh powder ; which in burning lofes exadlly
five-twelfths of its weight ; and concretes into
a mafs of fulphtir-coloured lime : Vv'hich being
* A piece weighing fifty-two grains was kept in a
flrong fire more than two hours. Its colour was changed
to "xfamt-reJ^ or flefh-colour ; its contexture to that of a
Jiard-burnt brick, unchangeable in water ; its weight forty-
grains. Being pulverized and faturated with the acid, the
filtered liquor aftbrdcd, by an addition of the alkali, -xgrey-
coloureJ mucilage, which fell reluctantly, r.nd dried to 9
pale cinnamon-coloured fubftancc.
C 4 again
?4 MANURES. |^
again diflblved and again precipitated, regains
the principal part of its original weight, and
lofes its yellow fhade j the precipitated matter
drying to 2.Jlone-coloiired powder.
From thefe circumflances it appears, that
the component parts of an hundred grains
of the clay of Hemlby, which may be con-
fidered as a fpecimen of the calcareous clays
ef the eaftern coaft of Norfolk,- — are
50 grains of clay^ probably containing
fomefmall proportion of iron^
43 grains of ^ fomewhat impure chalk;
7 grains o{ Jand; with an inconliderabk
admixture of coloured granules and
fragments,
100 grains,
^. Soft Chalk of Thorp-next-Norwich,
In its natural jtate^ — it is fituated in an ex-
tenfive bed, or rock ; forming a bank of the
river Yare. Its colour a yellowilh-white, or
pale draw colour : its contexture that of a
fufr, light, fmooth chalk, fufficiently firm, when
perfedly dry, to mark with *,
• It is obfervable, that the fpecimen under analyfis
Jias been taken from the quarry, and kept in a dry fitua-
tign^ ii^ore than four years.
^ NORFOLK. as
In the open air i".—
In water, it neither falls %, nor dijfohes.
In the Jire, it burns to lime, lofing one-
third of its weight in the fire.
In the acid of fea-falt, almoft the whole of
it is dilfolved. Of one hundred grains, ninety-
eight pafs through the filter; leaving only
two grains of refidue. Principally a dark-
brown ruft-like matter ; fine enough to lodge
itfelf in the pores of the paper, leaving only
^ few particles of fand upon the filter.
Afolution of the fait of tartar precipitates
the diffolved matter in a white mucilage, which
dries to a yellowifh -white powder ; which, being
retained three hours in a flrong fire, lofes
two-thirds of its weight, and is converted into
a friable mafs of yellowifb-white quick- lime :
which being re-difiblved and re-precipitated,
•f Having omitted to make an intentional ohfervation ovt,
this circumftance, I cannot fpeak to it politlvely ; bur, from
the fmall quantity ufually fet on, and the fhort time it lafts,
as. well as from general ohfervation, I believe, that it mixes
readily with the foil.
+ A piece, the fize of a hazel-nut, lay feveral hours in
^yatcr without undergoing the leaft change.
regains
26 M A N U 11 E S. ^
regains its weight, and falls in a fnoiv-ivbite
mucilage, which dries to a nearly white powder.
Therefore, one hundred grains of this chalk
contains.
Ninety-eight grains of a matter, diflbluble
in the acid of fea-fak, and is probably a
pure, or nearly a pure, chalk ; and.
Two grains of indiflbluble matter, whofe
properties I have not, yet, fufficiently afcer-
tained.
This chalk contains the greateft proportion
of diflbluble matter, — or, in other words, is
the purell calcareous earth, I have yet anaT
lyzed. The chalk of Betchworth-Hill (a
continuation of Box-Hill, near Dorking in
Surrey), celebrated as a manure (for which
purpofe it is fetched, twelve or fourteen miles,
by the farmers of SufTex), affordg a refiduum of
more than one-tenth of its weight : whereas the
fhalk of Thorp-next-Nprwich affords only
one-fiftieth.
4. The Hard Chalk of Sv/affhaa^.
In its natural fiate, it is fituated in an exr
tended rock, riung to near the furface, and
\i'orlccd ten or twelve feet deep, as a lime-
quarry.
^ NORFOLK. ^
quarr}'. Its cokur nearly white : its contextura
that of a hard Kcntifli chalk; but mellows, I
find, by keeping in a dry fituation. When taken
from the quarry (in 1782) it was too hard tQ
mark freely ; now (1786 J it is fufficiently foft
for the purpofe of writing.
In ''joater^ it remains perfe<5lly concrete.
In the acid of fea-Jdt, it, in a manner
wholly, diflolves ; the folution being almoft
limpid : but, in filtering, a foil of a dark-
brown colour, and a f^w (perhaps twenty) par-
ticles of fand are left in the filter.
A folution of fait Gf tartar precipitates
the dilTolved particles \m fiozv-iz^hite powder.
Therefore, this chalk is, in its natural fate,
NEARLY A PURE CALCAREOUS EARTH.
II. Mould. — Befides what come under the
idea of marls and clays, a variety of other earths
are induftriouily fought after by the Norfolk
hufbandmcn ; for the purpofe of bottoming
their farm-yards and dunghills ; with a view
to catch the drainage of the dung. The dung
andthem.ould are afterwards turned up and
mixed together ; by which means the mould
becomes faturated with vegetable juices com-
ipunicated to it by the dung : and it is a com-
moi^
aS MANURES. ^
mon obfervation, that the mould thus pre-
pared *' lies longer in the ground" — is a more
permanent manure, than the dung itfelf.
This is not improbable ; for crude unmixed
dung, buried in lumps, and diffolved in the
foil by heavy rains, is liable, no doubt, to
be carried away, in parr, below the vegetative
ftratum; efpeeially of a light foil : therefore,
to arrell and fix it, before it be carried upon
the land, feems to be, in the management of
fuch a foil at Icaft, highly judicious.
This piece of good management is talked
about in mod countries, and pradtifed perhaps
by fome few individuals ; but, in Norfolk, a
light land country, it is the univerfal pradliice*.
The principal fource of this mould — pro-
vincially, " manner"— is the fhovellino-s of
ditches; which, in this country, are found to
contain in themfelves a Angularly fertilizing
property. This rich mould is not compofed
of the fediment of the wafliings of the adjoin-
* I mean, to bottom dung-heaps with a ftratum of
WM)uld. It is not equally univerfal to turn over and mix the
«lung and mould together ; but this is frequently done by
jTOod hufbandmen. It is not, however, in every cafe,
eligible. A dung heap, formed in the fprhig^ for turnep%
w^uld, in a. dry feafon, be injured by fuch treatment.
ing
5, NORFOLK. jtf
ing inclofures ; many of the ditches perhaps
never having, from the time of making to
the time of fcouring, admitted a current of
water; but confitls altogether of dead weeds,
leaves of the hedge, and the mouldering of
the bank and the fides of the ditch.
The efFed: of the air of Norfolk upon the
Norfolk foil expofed in this manner is extraor-
dinary : the moft barren rufly fubftratum ex-
pofed for a few years in the face of a ditch -bank,
is changed into a rich black mould, of a ferti-
lizing quality. This change, in a greater or lefs
degree, takes place in every country; but I have
not obferved it, any where, fo obvious as it is in
this Diflrittl. Perhaps, the fea-air, adding upon a
loofe porous foil, may afTift in producing this
change. Be this as it may, it is an interefling
fact ; by which, perhaps, Norfolk hufbandmen,
at leafl, might profit (fee Min. 77. on this
fubjedt.).
Another fource of " manner" is ufdefs turf.
The backs of ditch-banks — the borders of fences
in general — the fides of lanes, and the nooks of
yards, &c. Sec. which, in other places, are fuf-
fered to remain, from generation to generation,
the nurfery of weeds, are, by the Norfolk far-
mers.
■5» MANURES: J:
mers, turned up into ridges, to rot the roots^
Sec. of the gtafs and weeds, and to receive the
melioration of the air ; which done, it is carted^
in due feafon^ to the par-yard or dung-heap.
Another fpecimen of manure much coveted
here is " mergin"— that is, the rubbilh of old-
buildings.;--Sea-ltone walls afford a great quan-
tity of this valuable article J which, from its
immediate effefljand its dutatiori, taken jointly^
is confidered j by fome, as being fuperidr to marl,
mould, or even dung itfelf ; efpecially Upon
fcalds, and hot burning foils. It is fometimes
mixed with dung ; but more commonly fet on
alone.
III. Lime is in good repute, though not in
general ufe, as a manure ; hufoandmen in Nor-
folk being, like hufbandmen in orher places,
t)f different opinions refpecting the value of
lime. This difference in opinion will ever re-
main while general conclufions are drawn from,
particular incidents. The effecT: of lime upon
different foils is as various as the foils them=
ielvcs ; and nothing but experiment can de-
lermine whether it will, or will nor, be benefi-
cial to a given foil,
it
5. NORFOLK. 3I
It is ufed by many judicious farmers, even
after marl, with fuccefs. Upon hot burning
foils it is generally found of the greateft effi-
cacy ; and is perhaps the moft efFed:ual cure of
" fcalds" which has yet been difcovered : from
thefe and other circumftances, lime is here
confidered as a cold manure.
IV. Ashes.— Thefe are not in eftimation as a
manure in this country : even thofe of the hearth
are in a degree negledted.
The meadows and fens abound with peat-
bogs, which in fome places would be confidered
as ineftimable fources of manure* The peat of
the meadows would no doubt afford an ample
fupply of afhes ; but thofe of the fens, being
wholly compofed of the roots, &c. of aquatics,
burn down to an inconliderable quantity of afhes,
of a white colour, and of a volatile nature,
like thole of paper. Kven the fmall quantity
they afford is not confidered, by men who fland
high in their profefTion, as a valuable manure.
Sod-burning is not, I believe, pradifed in any
degree : I never, at leafl, met with an inflance
of it ; nor, indeed, with any inflance in which
aflies were intentionally produced folely as a ma-*
nure; exeept one, in which ant-hill* were
burnt for this purpofe (fee Min^ 6.).
DUNC.
32 M A N U R E 1 p
V. Dung. — The quality of dung is here at-
tended to with greater precifion than in moil;
other Diftridts.
" Town-muck" flands firfl. Norwich affords
a fupply to the country round it ; while Yar-
mouth produces, for its neighbourhood, a
muck of a lingular quality.
Yarmouth is in a manner furrounded by
marlhes and thefea; ftraw, of courfe, becomes
there a dear article. This, and the vicinity of
the fea-fhore, has eftablifhed a practice, which
I believe has been in ufe time immemorial, of
littering ftables with fea-fand inftead of flraw^
As the bed becomes foiled or wet, freih fand is
fcattered on, until the whole is in a degree fatu-
rated with dung and urine: the ftall is then
cleared and a frefh bed of fand laid in. By thij
means muck of a quality Angularly excellerrt
is produced : it is fetched by the farmers of the
Fleg Hundreds to a very great diftance.
The " m.uck" of the " par-yard" too, is
efteemed of various qualities. — That of the fta-
ble, made from horfes fed on hay and corn, h
reckoned the bcfl : that hom fatting cattle th'e
next ; while that of lean cattle, and of cows in-
particular, is confidered as of a very inferior
qualit/j
j^; NORFOLK 3|
quality ; even though tiirncps make a part of
their fooci. The dung of fuch cattle, kept on
ftraw, alone, is efteemed of little or no value.
And, what may appear extraordinary to niany,
the muck froln the ftraw which is trodden,
onlv, is by Ibme thought to be better than that
from the ftraw \^hich is eattn by lean-ftock.
VI. CbM POST.— This iiiay be faid id be thfc
common manure of the DiftrliSl ; for there is very
little dung fet ori without being firft mixed, in
the yard, or in the field, with rriduld, marl,
or other ** manner." See Mould.
Sometimes a confiderable proportion of
"manner" is added to the dung : I have knowi?
a compoft of one part marl, one part mould, and
the third part diihg, ufed in comilibn, by a very
induftrious judicious farmer, with fuccefs.
It feems to be a fftd well-eftablifhed, that al-
though marl, alone, will not anfwer on land
which has been recently marled ; yet mixed
with dung, it produces a beneficial effed:.
VII. Teathe. — This is a provincial term,
Conveying a compound idea, for which we have
no Englifh word. When we make ufe of the term
Vol. L D fold
34 MANURE S. 5.
fold, as applied to the fertilizing effeft of llieep
pent upon land, we do not mean to convey an
idea merely of the fccces they leave behind
them, in this cafe, but alfo of the nrine, the
trampling, and perhaps of the perfpiration,
and the warmth, communicated to the foil by
the practice of folding. Teathe in like manner
is applied to the fertilizing effecft of cattle,
upon the land upon which they are foddered
with turneps or other food ; whether that fer-
tilizing effed: be produced by their dung — their
urine — their treading — or by their breath—their
perfpiration — and the warmth of their bodies.
This term is applied likewife to fheep and
other ftock : nor is it confined toftock (hut U]>
within narrow limits, but is extended to paftur-
ing flock; implying, collectively, the returns
which they make to the lands they departure.
The teathe of cattle is, like their dung,
cflimated according to the quality of the food,
and the quality of the cattle which confume
it. The teathe of fat heavy bullocks, at head*
keep, is eftcemed very beneficial to the lands
of Norfolk ; while that of cows and lean-ftnck
is, the '* jamming" apart, confidered of little
value.
VIII,
.^, N O R F O L K. 35
Vlir. Sheepfold — Tliereare fewfheep kept
m this Diftrld ; and the fold is not in ufc •, except
by ayety few principal farmers; and by fome
gentlemen who keep large trafts in hand. The
value of fheepfold is well iinderftood ; but the
main objedl of the Eafl-Norfolk husbandry is
bullocks' and the farmers, by their pradtice.
Teem well aware that Iheep among cattle are
unprofitable flock.
IX. Soot is in good repute; and, nearthetowns,
IS in ufc. Rape-Cake is alfo in good efteem,
in fomiC parts of theDiftridl; as are Malt-
'CooMBS', in places where they can be had at a
jeafonable price.
For the application, and the method of ap-
plying thefe various manures, fee the article
MANURE-PkOCESS.
For the method of raifing farmyard m amir e^
fee Farm-Yard Management.
F'br aninftanceof ^arw/^j ant-hilhiox manure,
fee MiN. 6.
For an inftance of utility of x\it fbG-uelling of
a Jh eepfold lo ^X2i{% land, fee Mint. io.
For an inftance of the ufe of fJjecpfcld to bar-
ley, fee MiN. II.
D 2 For
36 MANURES. ^
For experiments on different manures for
wheat, feeMiN. i8.
For a calculation on the value oi Jheepfold,
feeMiN. 1 8.
For experiments and obfervations on the
adion of lime^ fee Mm. 29.
For reflcdions on hullock-teathe, u^on the fair-
ftead of St. Faith's, fee Min. 31.
For a defcription of the Fleg-clay, fet
Min. 106.
For obfervations on the effedt of calcareous
earths on fliff land, fee Min. 106.
For a defcription of the marl and clay tf th^
coaji, fee Min. 112.
FARMERS.
6. NORFOLK. 37
6.
FARMERS,
I DO NOT mean to hold out the farmers of
Norfolk as a feparate order of men : farmers,
in every country, have, in their drefs, their
manner, their converfation, and their acquire-
ments, a ftriking refemblance : neverthelefs, in
every country, I find fome diflinguifliing cha-
radteriftic.
The farmers of Norfolk are ftrongly marked
by a liberality of thinking, and, in confe-
-quence, by an opennefs in their manner and
converfation. This may be accounted for;
many of them have been, and fome of them
flill are, rich ; this has led them to mix, in si
greater or lefs degree, with what is called the
World ; of which their leafes render them inde-
pendant. A tenant-at-will, be his riches what
they may, is a fubaltern in fociety ; in which
he dares not to mix, left his landlord, or his
landlord's alTociates, Ihould be pleafed to take
offence.
D 3 Thus
38: FARMERS. ^;
Thus the clergj', and thofe men of fmall
income who fall under the denomination of
country-'fquireSj arc in moft places looked up
to by farmers ; while in Norfolk they are con-
fidered, by the principal farmers at leaft, as be-
longing to the fame order of fociety^.
The
* As an inilance of the ccvplacetu y. and r^oJ-hr ceding (I
do not mean complaifance ox polite nefs) of the fupcrior chifs
of Norfolk farmers, I will relate the ctrcumflances of
dicportment which occurred to myfelf, at a farm-houfc, at
which I flept accidentally.
Our hoft having given ftrict orders, and fome perfonal
attenion, r^fpefting cur hories, the company were led
into a fpaclous kitchen, characterized by cleanlinefs and a
ohearful fire. A deeent upper-fervant prefcn'ed herfelf.
Supper was ordered, and a bottle of wine, ia a neat fafliion-
able decanter, fct upon the table, A fmart, but not
extravagant, fupper foon naade its appearance. The
houfekeeper waited in an adjoining room, and a maid-
fervantat the table, with a degree of propriety and deco-
rum frequently unfeen in the houfes of thofe who call
themfelves gentlemen. A trifling incident proved the
good-fenfe, if not the good-breeding, of our hoft and his
family. Forgetting that I was at the table of a Norfolk
farmer^ I alked for an article cf the fide-board which was
not at hand. The fervant went out of the room as if to
fetch it ; but inilead of returning, the houfekeeper came
in to make an apology for not happening to have it in the
houfe : flie withdrew : the maid-fcrvant returned ; while
the converfation went on \\*ithout any notice being taken,
9^:
6. NORFOLK. 39
The lower clafs of Norfolk farmers, hovf-
cyer, are the fame plain, men which farmers in
general axe, in every other country ; living in a
great meafure with their fervants. Another
clafs live in the kitchen v/ith their fervants, but
cat at a feparate table ; while the upper claffes
have their " keeping-rooms" and other com-
modious apartments.
In general they rife i>arly, breakfaft early,
and dine univerfally at twelve o'clock, at lealt
the fervants. This is well adapted to the Nor-
folk practice of going what are called twojour-
jiies a day vyith the plow-tearns: the men
reach home by dinner-time j and, having rc-
frefhed therpfelves and their horfes, are ready
to
or any obfervation whatever being made on tkc aukwai(i-
nefs of the circumftance,
In the mornhig when I returned from a walk, I found,
in a decently, but not extravagantly, furniflied parlour,
two tables fetout ; one with tea equipage, the other with
napkins, bread and butter, ham, raddiflics, &c. The
houfekeeper fat at the former, placed on one fide of the
room, and made tea ; xyhich was brought to us at our
table on the other : and this without the kail: fliew of
parade or formality. In fliort, the whole treatment had
lb much the air of that free and-eafy reception which I had
formerly experienced on the eftate of a Weft-India Planter,
^hat it was with fome difficulty I could believe myfclf iu
|he houfc of an Englifli farmer.
D4
4^ WORK U E N. ^.
to ilart again at one to two o'clock for the
altcrnoon jouihe\'.
For caufcs of their prefent decline with
rcfpt-a: to riches, fee Min. 58.
7<
VV O R K M E N
WORKMEN, here, as in other places, arc
divifible into yearly servants arid day-
LABOl'RERS.
At the public hiring of yearly servants,
ah excellent cuftom fubfifts in this Diftri<5t :
The High-Conllable of the Kundved in which
a flatute is held, holds, at the fame time and
place, what is called a " petty felTions j" at
which the hiring and its attendant circum-
flances are, or may be, regiftered ; which regiiler
becomes, in cafes of difpute, either between
mafter and fervant, or betv»'cen parifn and pa-
rifh, a iifcful record.
In reJ'peift to day-labourers, two remark-
able fircumflanccs are united ; namely, hard
^ ^^f O R F O L K. 4>
work and low wages ! A Norfolk farm- labourer
will do as much work for one Ihilling, as fomc
two mcrij in msny other place?, will (.\o tor
eighteen -pence each. There is an honeily, I
had almofl: faid an honour, about them, when
working by the day, which T have not been
able to difcover in the day-labourers of any
pther country.
For an evidence corroborating ihefe obfcrvar
j:ions, fee Mjn. 98.
For rcafons accounting for their adiviy, lee
JVIiN. 100.
For an inilance of i^ill greater exertion, fep
}Ais. 106.
H O R S 1: S.
4* HORSES. I,
8.
HORSES.
HORSES are the only beafcs of labour made
life of in the Norfolk hufbandry : there
is not, perhaps, one OX worked in the county.
The farm-horfes of Norfolk were, formerly^
^ fmall brown-muzzled breed ; light-boned •,
but flood hard work, and hard keep, in a remark-,
able manner; and two of therp were found
quite equal to the Norfolk plow in the Norfolk
Ibil.
Of late, ftallions, of the heavier black breeds,
of Lincolnlhire, Lelcefterfliire, &c. have been
fafliionable ; and at prefent (perhaps unfortu-
nately for the country) the true Norfpjk breed
is almoll entirely worn out.
I have heard fenlible old men regret this f
and complain heavily againft the prefent breed :
they eat up too much o.f their corn, and are not
fp a(5tive as their favourite " old fort."
The prefent breed, however, are by no means
heavy : on the contrary, being as yet a mon-
fj NORFOLK, 43
grel kind between the two breeds, they are,
compared with the elephants of Lincohilhirc,
a light, punch, adtive little horfe.
The lingular breed of Suffolk is at prcfcnt
the faihionable crofs •, and, to my mind, a very^
judicious one : for, although this flrange va-
riety of the equeftrj^n fpccies— or, to fpeak
from appearances, this half-horfe half-hog race
of animals — arc not fo handfome in harnefs as
the prefent beautiful breed of Leiceiterfliire ;,
they appear to me, from a knowledge of both
kinds, to be better adapted to the Norfolk
hufbandry. Their principal fault is a flatncfs
of rib : if this could be improved, they would,
in my opinion, be the firil breed of draught-
hprfes in the kingdom.
It is, however, the lighter, more active
part of them which is bell adapted to the Nor-
folk hufbandry. Had the original Norfolk
breed been croficd with thefe, inftcad of the
flugs of the Fens, the produce could not have
failed of being excellent.
Five horfes are here called a " teamer,"and
are ufually placed under the care of one
" teamerman ;" who, in more leifure-times,
plo.ws with two of them in the morning, and
with,
44 HORSES. 8.
with other two in the afternoon ; bur, in gene-
ral, a labourer, or a boy, works one pair of
them while the teamerman works the other
pair, two journies a day ; having always, in
this cafe, one horfe at reft.
But in feed-time, more particularly in
^' barley feel," the fifth horfe goes to harrow ;
every horfe upon the farm going to work at fix
or feven in the morning, and flays till twelve :
o-oes out again at one or two, and remains at
work till fix or feven.
In a waggon, upon the road, five horfes
are univerfally in u(c.
Whether upon the road, or on the farm, the
common pra<5tice is for the horfes to trot with
empty carriages.
Formerly, this admirable cnftom was carried
too far : inftead of trotting for difpatch, races
were run, at full fpeed, upon the road. The
lead was the goal contcr.dcd for ; a fore-horfei
which would, at a Vv'ord or a fignal, break out
at full fpeed, was, by the young men who took
delif^ht in the diverfion of " roadino;," confi-
clered as invaluable. Many waggons, and fome
necks, having been broken by this dangerous
amufcnienr, it is, at prcTcnr, a good deal laid
•tf»ttle j lhoi?gh no^ yet entirely left off. I have
mvfcif
t. NORFOLK. 4S
myfclf feen a race of this kind : a following
team broke out, upon a common, and, un-
mindful of the ruts, hollow-ways, and rough-
neffes, contended for the lead ; while the lead-
ing team as eagerly ilrove to keep it ; both of
them going at as full a gallop as horfes in har-
nefs could go, for a confiderable diflance j the
drivers Handing upright in their refpedive wag-
gons. The clofe of the race was the mofl dan-
gerous part of it i for fo foon as the fore-horfe
of the team which broke out, found that he
had gained the lead, he rufhcd eagerly into
the road ; which in that place happening to
be hollow, it appeared to me miraculous that
no mifchlef was done. Savage, however, as
this cufcom may feem, the prefent fpirit of ac-
tivity may be in fome meafure indebted to it;
and whenever it is wholly laid afide, I hope it
vt'iilbe from motives of prudence, rather than
from a v/ant of fpirit and Inclination to con-
tinue it.
The keep of horses in Norfolk, notwlth-
flanding the work they go through, is lefs ex-
penfive than that of other places, where large
unwieldy horfes feem to be kept for Hate, rather
than for labour. This, though prevalent iiv
many well- cultivated dillriifts, is an evident
abfurdity^
4^ HORSES; it
abfurdiry. There may be cafes, in which heavy
loads are to be drawn fhort dillances, and where
the number of horfes arc limited, as in Londbn ;
in which cafes heavy powerful horfes may be
eligible ; bur, from the obfervatidns I have
been able to make, a compadl horfe is much
fitter for the varied employments upon a farm ;
and, with refpedtto keep, a main Cdnfideratioii
in the choice of a farm-horfe, the advantage is
greatly in favour of fmall horfes. The prefent
breed in Norfolk, flill retaining a confiderjlble
portion of the original blood, are kept at half
theexpence at which many farm-horfes, in dif-
ferent parts of the kingdom, are fupported.
In the leifure-months of winter, barley-fliraw
is, in general, their only rack-meat ; and thro''
winter and fpring, they are fuppered up with
it •, cxccpr, perhaps, in the hurry of barley
feed-time -, againft which a referve of clover-
hav is made ; provided the teamerman does not
make away v/ith it before that time. A Nor-
folk farmer has a fimilar difficulty in prevent-
ing his men from ftealing hay, as thofe of other
countries have to keep them from pilfering
rnore than their allowance of corn.
I met with one inftance, in which a judicious
regulation was nL-jde, with refpedt to horfc-hay.
At
I. NORFOLK:. 4^
At Michaelmas, the mafler fets apart what he
confiders as a fufficient quantity to lad to thci
clofe of barley leecl-time. This allowance he
configns wholly to the care of his men; w^ho
never fail to hufband it in fuch a manner as to
have the neceffary refer ve at barley feel ; whereas
before he fell upon this regulation, his horfes
were either worked down to il^eletons, or he was
obliged to buy hay for them at that feafon.
With refpetfl: to corn, a bulhel each horfe, a
week', is, in the bufieft feafon, confidered as
an ample allowance ; in more leifure-times a
much lefs quantity fuilices.
Oats are the ufiuil horfe-corn-, but barley^
when cheap or unfaleable, is fomctimes o-iven
to horfes. In this cafe, it is, generally "w^/Z^^y*
that isj fteepcd, and afterwards fpread
abroad, for a few days, until it begin to vege-
tate ; and, in this crifis, is given to the horfes.
It is thought to be lefs heating, in this ftate,
than it is when given to the horfes in its natural
ftate.
Chaff is univerfally mixed with horfe-corn t
the great quantities of corn grown in this coun-
try afford, in general, a fufficiency of Tiatural
chaff; fo that cut chaff is not much in life :
the
4$ HORSES: ^i
the chaff, or rather the awns, of hurley, vvhlch'^
in ibmc places, are thrown as ufclcfs to the
dung-hill, are here in good eflcem as horfe-pro-
vender. Oat-chaff is deiefvedly confidered aS
being of a much inferior quality.
The fummer keep of horfes, is almofl wholly,*
clover : — fome few tares are grown, but the
quantity is inconfiderable.
Soiling horfei, in the flable^ is not here a prac-
tice ; except for baiting in the day-time •, the
Korfes being univerfally kept out at night; and^
generally, in clover-lays.
A Angular expedient to prevent their break-
ing pafture is here pradtifed : — Horfes inclined
to this vice are chained, two-and-tw^o, by the
fore-feet ; one end of a chain, about a yard
long, being faftencd with a faaekle to the near-
foot of one horfc, and the other end to the off-
foot of the other* This, however, though an
excellent way of preventing their rambling, is
a dangerous pradice : accidents frequently hap-
pen. I knew an inftance of two horfes, coupled
in this manner, falling into a marl-pit twenty
feet deep ; and though one of them miracu-
loufly efcaped, in a great meafure unhurt, the
other was mangled in a manner, equally iingularf
and
-#; NORFOLK. ^^'
and died on the fpot. Accidents apart, the
pradtice is a good one : horfes accuftomed to
be coupled in this manner, become, in aftriking
mannerj tra(ftable and civil to each other; fo
that their feeding and lleeping is not fo much
Interrupted, as in theory might be conceived.
Another practice, fingular I believe to Nor-
folk, is that of '' roping" horfes, not only in
common-fields but in inclofures : thus, inftead
bf turning the horfes loofe into a piece of clo-
ver, the practice is to tedder them upon it -,
beginning on one fide, arid clearing the herbage
as they gOi This is a middle way between
foiling and palluring : it faves the expence of
hiowing, and carrying to the ftable ; but does
tiot eat up the herbage fo clean as foiling does :
on the other hand, it is more faving of herbage
than pafturing is ; but there is not only trouble
ain^ expence, but a degree of rifk, in roping.
Vol. I t i M P L E-
50 I M P L E M E N T S.
I M P L E ISl E N T S.
I. TPIE WAGGONSof Norfolk are of the
middle fize and middle height : higher than
thofe of Gloucefterfhire ; but lower than thofe
of the midland counties. They are very nu-
merous : upon -a middle-fized farm, three or
four are ufually kept -, carts being feldom ufed
here (notwith (landing the levelnefs of the couri-
try) in getting in harveft. However, to ren-
der carts ufcful in harvefl — more efpecially it
waggons are wanted— a fingular expedient is
here put in pradlice. With a common dung-
cart and a pair of old waggon -fliafts and fore-
wheels, a carriage is formed ; which, partak-
ing both of a cart and a waggon, is called a
II. 'MAPHRODiTEi The points of the Ihafts
reft on the boifter of the fore-wheels, to which
they are faftened. A copfe, or fore-ladder^
fimilar to that which is fometimes fixed upon
a cart-fhafts, but longer, is alio fupported by
the boifter, projcdting over the horfe in front/
in the manner of the fore-ladder of a waggon j
the length and the breadth of the top of the
'« 'mapbrodite"'
'^. NORFOLK. 51
" 'maphrodlte" being the fame, or nearly the
fame, as thofe of a waggon. In a hilly conn-
try, where carts are in a manner iifclefs in
liarveft, thefe cart-waggons would be found
extremely convenient.
III. The carts of Norfolk have a fmgularitv
pertaining to them. The fliafts, inftead of
being fixed hinge-wife to the axle, or to the
bottom of the cart, are a continuation of the
fide-pieces of the bottom itfelf ': of courfe,
the Norfolk carts do not //// in the iTianner
in which carts in general do.
In fetting on manure, a long belly-bandl is
made ufe of ; fo that the fiiafts rife with the
fore-part of the cart ; the fliaft-horfe being
the only ilay to its tilting up entirelyo Nor
is this an uncommon circumilance ; the ihaft-
horfe, in this cafe, remaining upon his hind-
legs until he be drawn dowri again by the
fore-horfes. This, to common obfervation,
is an aukward and a harharous cuftom ; \ have
not, however, been able to hear of a fliaft-
horfe receiving any great injury frgm this
pradtice *.
* A broad foft belly-band, of leather or hemp, ought
however to be ufed on this occafion. The fliarp iron chains
^ * which
52 IMPLEMENTS. 9.
Marling, it is highly probable, brought it
into ule : the wcar-and-tcar of carts in this
rugged operation is cndlefs ; the fimpleft,
ftrongcO:, and Icaft expenfive cart has, of
courfe, been for ages, the fludy of Norfolk
hufbandmen ; and it is probable that a more
fimple, a ftronger, or a lefs expenfive cart can-
not be devifed than that above-defcribed ;
which is in common ufe in this Diftridt.
Carts of the common conftru6tion, of which
there are fome few ufed, here, for particular-
purpofes, are called tumbrels.
IV. The Norfolk plow is ftill more flngular
in its conftruftion than the Norfolk cart; and,
\vhat is equally fingular, it is, in a manner
wholly, confined to the county of Norfolk. The
firft I faw was at Thetford, and I do not recol.
led: to have feen one plow of any other con-
ftrudion while I remained in the country, nor
one of that conftruftion fince I left it.
It is true, this implement has been diftributcd,
at different times, in almoil every dlilrid in the
kingdom ; but it has not, I believe, been adopted
which are frequently made ufe of, are painful to the cje at
leaft.
in
^ NORFOLK. 53
in any one of them j — except perhaps in Not-
tingham Forell.
There Is no doubt of the excellency of tfje
Norfolk plow in cultivating the Norfolk foil ;
or any foil which is fimilar to it ; namely, a
(hallow, fandy loam, free from obftrudtionr.
But the width, and general fliape, of the fhare
render it utterly incapable of being worked in
a flrong foil, in which ftones or other obftruc-
tions abound : and the ufual manner of fetting
the hind part of the " plat'' or mould-board,
equally prevents it from turning, properly, a
deep fquare furrow.
The peculiarities of its conftrudlion are prinr
cipally thcfe : — the wheels are taller, and their
tackle more complex, than thofe of other fmall
plows; the form of the wheels themfelves
being, however, beautifully fimple. The fhare
is unufualiy broad, fiat, and blunt at the point.
The mould-bGard is not of wood, but of iron,
fometimes wrought fometimes cait * ; bein^ a
* C'afi-hon J]-ares have lately been invented, and a pa-
tent procured for them, by a perfon of Norwich, For
fKe rCoriblk plow, in the Norfolk foil, they appear from
E 3 t\js
54 I M P L E M E N T S. 5.
feparate Urong/)/^/^, twifted into a form refcm-
bling the mould-board of the modern little
plow of Yorkfliire and other Diftrids ; which, it
is probable, has been copied from the Norfolk
*' plat." Another thing remarkable in the
Norfolk plow, though not lingular to it, is
its having only one handle.
There are readers, perhaps, who will ex-
pcdt that a drawing and dlmenfions of the
Norfolk plow, and, perhaps, of the other im-
plements peculiar to the country, ought to
have been given in this work ; in order that
copies of them might have been made in
other Diflri5:s. The idea, in theory, is plau-
fible ; and I have myfelf, as writers in general
on the fubjed of hufbandry have, fpent much
time in the purfuit of it. Experience, how-
ever, has convinced me that, with refpcdt to
myfelf at leaft, it has been time ill- fpent :
I have found even patterns infufficient guides
to workmen : fo much depends on minutice
the fpccimens I have fcen of them, to be a valuable In-
vention. If they caa be mcAe fmn enough to Hand in a
fcony foil, and hard enough to retain a fufficlent edge ia
a gravel, they mull: prove, to agriculture in general, a
moft valuable acfjuiruion. Jan. 1787.
N in
^ NORFOLK. 55
in the conftruflion of the more complex
miplements of agriculture. Nay, the very
implement which gives rife to thefe obferva-
tions, conftrudted in Norfolk in the mod com-
plete manner, and furniilied with every ne-
cefTary appendage, has lain ufelefs upon a foil
it fuited, until a Norfolk plowman was fent to,
bold it ! How unreafonable, then, to expedc
utility from a drawing of it !
Thcfe circumftances are not fingular to the
Norfolk plow ; I have known them attend
other implements transferred from one part
of the ifland to another : and I will beg leave
to obfcrvc, herCj in general terms, that who-
ever wiflies to introduce an implement which
is in life in fome diftant Diilrid:, would do
well to have it not only canftrudted, but fct to
work, in the country where it is in ufe ; and
I will venture to add, that fuccefs cannot be
infured unlefs a perfon accuflomed to the work-
ing of it accompanies it, and fets it to work
in the Diftrict into which it is intended to be
introduced.
This is, no doubt, an expenfive way of
proceeding ; but it is a certain one : while
'9vcry other expedient is throwing away, or
E A at
.5^ IMPLEMENTS. 19,
at leafl: risking, a certain expence, without any
other certainty whatever.
Suppofe the Norfolk plow, for inftance, to
be tranfportcd one hundred miles, — and the
charges of a man, a horfe, and a light cart,
to be from fixpence to a fliilling a mile, — the
expence, — to a large occupier, in a country
where a fandy foil, free from obflrudions,
and with an ablbrbent fubfoil, is worked by
three horfes at length with a driver,— would
i^ot be an objcdl''^. Plowing with two horfes
without a driver, inftead of three with a
driver, is, perhaps, the greatefl faving which
can be introduced upon a farm : and, for the
foil abovementioned, it would be difficult to
conftrudt a better plow than that which is now,
and has been time immemorial, in common
ufe in Norfolk.
If I were to hazard an Improvement of the
J>«^orfolk plow, it would be the addition of an-
other handle ; and to change the pradlice of
driving with a whip (to rny mind a very auk-
ward bufinefs) to that of driving with whipt
* In thcfe clays of f^jiritcd improvements In hufbandry.
I'.hcn fifty to a hundred guineas are given for one year'*
rikic of a ram, five pounds for the introduft'on of a ufe-
f'il ira]lcmcnt cannot be deemed extravagant.
reins^
9» NORFOLK. 5^
reins, in the Yorkfhire manner ; a practice,
the excellency of whurh I have myfclf expe-.
rienced, in different Diftrids.
The Norfolk rein is one continued " line'*
pairing from the bridle of one horfe, through
a ftaple fixed on the undcrfidc of the handle of
the plow, to the hit of the other horfe ; the
plowman holding his plow with the left hand,
and carrying a ihort whip in his right. In diffi-
cult work the right hand, whip-and-all. Is ap-
plied to the handle of the plow-, the plowman
walking, in this cafe, inapofture and with a gait,
which, to aftranger, appears extremely aukward ;
and nothiY)g, but the want of another handle,
could render it fufferable to the plowman him-^
fdf.
The Norfolk line has, in fetting out a frcfh
furrow, a fceming advantage over whip-reins.
In this difficult work, at which the Norfolk
plowmen are fmgularly expert, the loofe part
of the line is gathered up in the right hand ; fo
that the plowman has, with the fmalleft- mo-
tion of his hand, one way or other, a perfedl:
command of both horfes ; but if, in this opera-
tion, he tie the two ends of the whip-reins
together, letting the left-hand one ride beneath
a pin,
38 IMPLEMENTS. ^
a pin, or in a hook, placed under the handle
for that purpofe, the advantage of the Norfolk
line is thereby fully 'obtained.
The Norfolk harrow is adapted to the foil —
light and Ihort-tincd. — Each harrow has its
horfe : — that is, each horfe draws a feparatc
harrow ^ — three or four harrows being fomc-
times drawn abreaft, without being, as in
other places, intimately connefted together.
V. The RCLLERof this country is very fimplc
and-j^ry light. This, coniidering the nature of
the foil, is extraordinary.
The farm-rollers, in general, have np {hafts — .
perhaps only two lopfe pieces of wood, about
two feet and a half long, with a hole near one
end, to receive the gudgeon of the roller, and
a hook or eye at the other, to hook the trace
to : ibmetlmes two rails are fixed in between the
two end- pieces, framewife, with two hooks or
ftaples in the front rail to hook the horfe to.
In evidence of the lightnefs of the Norfolk
roller, I do not recolledt to have feen more
than one horfe ufed in a common farm-roller ;
and this one horfe, befides drawing the im-
plement, has ufually carried the driver; it
being the fingular cuftom of this country to
" ride
9* N O R F a L K, 5|
*'ride at roll :" an employment, however, which
generally falls to the fliare of a young boy, or
^n old man.
Notwithflandlng the high degree of cultiva-
tion in v/hich the lands of Norfolk are un-
doubtedly kept, no country perhaps has Icfs
variety of implements.
There is not perhaps a ^r///, zhcrfe-hoe^ or
fcarcely a horfe-rake^ in Eaft- Norfolk. I favv
one fpikey-roller for the purpofe of indenting
the furface of a clover-lay once plowed for
wheat ('fee the article Wheat) : but this, I
i)elieve, was never in common ufe.
There is, however, one implement, received,
into the Norfolk hufbandry, which is probably
a Norfolk invention, and peculiar to the county :
I have not m.et with it, at leaft, out of this
country : — I mean the
yi. Snow-Sledge. — This beautifully fim-
ple implement isufed for uncovering turneps bu-
ried under a deep fnow. It is limply three deal
or other boards, from one to two inches thick,
ten or twelve inches deep, and (even to nine feet
long, fet upon their edges in the form of an
equilateral triangle, and llrongly united, \vith
nails or llraps of iroDj at the angles ; at one
(w I M P L E M E N T S. 9.
of which is faftencd, by means of a double
flrap, a hook or an eye, to hang the horfes to.
This being drawn over a piece of turneps covered
with fnow, forces up the fnow into a ridge on
each fide, while between the ridges a llripe of
turneps is left bare ; without having received any
material injury from the operation,
Vll. TimbertCarriaces. Although timber-
carriages may nor, in flridtnefs, be faid to belong
tp hufbandry, a defcription of them does pot fall
inaptly under the prcfent head. They are in
Norfolk, as In moft other places, of two kinds ;
the four-wheeled carriage — provincially, a
*-*drug •,''■— -and thepalrof wheels— provincially,
*' a gill." — The laft is moft in ufe; and of this
only I mean to fpeak : — not fo much pf its conr
llrud:ion, as of the manner qf ufing it,
The conftrudion of the Norfolk gill is fimi^
lar to that of the timber-wheels of moft other
countries : namely, a pair of tall wheels, with
a crooked axletree, furmounted by a block ; to
which axle is fixed a pair of lliafts, or fome?
times a fingle pole, only.
But the method of ufing them, here, is dif-
ferent from that which I have obferved in other
pkccs; where the only ufc they are put to is
to
c). NORFOLK. 6^
to raife fhe biut-cnd of a large timber to be
drawn a fliort dillance ; the top-end being fuf-
tered to drag behind upon the ground, to the
injury of the turf, or the road, it is drawn
upon.
. In Norfolk, alarge ftick of timber, or per-
haps three or four fi nailer ones, arc entirely
flung to the axle ; lb that.-, in drawing, no part
of them whatever touches the ground ; the
top-end being generally drawn foremoft, and
the end toward the horfes always the heaviefl.
The method of taking up a piece of timber
is this : the horfes being taken off, the wheels
are run, by hand, ailride the timber to be flung,
until the axle is judged to be a few inches be-
hind the balance-point : or, which is better,
a chain is lirft put round the timber, and the
wheels run up to it. It is difficult to afcertain
the exadt place of fixing the chain, by the eye;
neverthelefs, a perfon accuflomed to fling tim-
ber in this manner, will come very near the
truth. The chain hooked, and the axle brought
into its proper fituation, the fliafts, or pole, is
throw^n back in the ufual manner; the chain
carried over the block j brought round the
pole J its end made faflj and the fhafts or pole
^rawn
^2 I M P L E M E N T S. 9,
idravvn down again by the horfes ; by which
means the timber is lifted from the ground,
and fafpended to the axle.
If the required point of balance be not hit
lipon the firft trial, the fliafts are fuffered to
rife again, the chain is unhooked, and lliifted
to its proper fituation : the fliafts being again
pulled down, are bound, by an iron trace or
fmall chain, clofe down to the timber ; while
another fmall chain or trace is faftened round
the foremoft end to hook the horfes to ; ths
'team draijoing hy the timber^ not hy the pole or
Jhafis,
The utility of having a fuperbalance of
weight forward is twofold : — if the piece were
flung in exadl equilibrium, it would, upon the
iroad, be in perpetual vibration ; thereby render-
ing the pull unfteady, and extremely inconve-
nient to the horfes ; whereas by throwing the
"balance forward, the traces are condantly kept
down in their proper place, and the pull be-
comes uniform : if, however, too much weight
Were to be thrown forward, the draught of the
horfes would not raife the point from the
ground ; the frid:ion would, of courfe, increafe
the draught, and the road be at the fame time
burr^
^. NORFOLK. .63
hurt. It therefore follows, that the proi^er
weight to be thrown forward is enough to pre-
vent a vibration, but not fo much as to prevent
the point from being raifcd from the road bV
the draught of the horfcs upon level ground.
The other advantage by a fupcrbalance
forward, is gained in going down a hill; hi
Which cafe, the draught not being wanted^
the point, of courfe, falls to the ground, and
ferves as a pall to regulate the motion of the
carriage : if the fuperbaiance alone be ndi:
fufficient to check the too great rapidity of
the motion, the driver adds his own weip-ht;
Likewifcj if, in afcending a hill, th& balance
be lod ; he, in like manner, feats himfelf up-
on the fore-part of the load, thereby keeping
it down to its proper level.
This method of conveying timber may*
it is pofTible, be in v.k in other Diflriifts ; bur
I have not feen it pradifed any where except
in Norfolk. I know it to be an excellent, but
p.ot a common pradlice : I have, therefore,
"been induced to give this defcription of it.
TAXES.
€4 t A X E g. ie<
10.
TAXES.
UNDER this head I Ihall clafs
Land-Tax,
Tithe,
Poors-Rates.
I. The Land-tax, in this Diflri<fl, riJins at
about eighteen-pence to two fliillings upon
the prefent rents.
II. Tithe. The Dillrift is moflly tithcable 5
but tithe is here feldom taken in kind. The
rents paid. In three principal pariflies in thiir
neighbourhood, are :
North'lValJham, about two fhillings and nine-
pence, redtorial \ and oncfhiiiing, vicarial ; an
acre, all round.
South-Reps, about three {hillings each acre
of arable land, for reftorial and vicarial.
This parifh is allowed to be reafanably rented.
The redtor refides in the parifh.
North-Reps, for great and fmall, three fhil-
lings an acre all round j though much bad land
in the parifli.
N. B,
iu NORFOLK. 65
N. B. In Rozvtofi, a fmall parifh of poor land,
about two fhillings for corn and fallow, two-and-
■fixpence for clover and tVirneps, and one penny
half-penny for each cow and calf, as a modus
for meadow.
III. Poor's Rate. Intheyear 1782, and for
fome years preceding, the poor's rate of
North-tVa0Dam was about five fhillings and
fixpence upon the pound, rack-rent.
Soiab-Reps, three fhillings and fixpence upon
the rack-rent.
North-RepSj four fliillings upon the fame.
Rowloh, three fhillings upon the fame.
Erpinghamj (a confiderable parifh)three-and-
fixpence upon the fame.
It mufl be obferved, however, that the pe-
riod under notice being in the war, the wivee
and families of militiamen were a principal
caufe of raifing the poor's rates to the above
high pitch.
Vol. I. F n.
66 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. li.
II.
GENERAL MANAGEMENT
O F
ESTATES.
THE MANAGEMENT of landed eftates,
in this Diltri(ft, is condiided on a plan, which
is not generally known, and is feldom if ever
executed, in other parts of the kingdom ; where
receiving, twice a year, by a plain rent-roll, is
frequently the fum of management.
Formerly, it was the invariable praflice of
the Diftrift for landlords not only to build, but
to repair : alfo to furnilh gates ready-made ;
plant and cut hedges ; and even repair the
ditches of their tenants ; referving to them-
felves the hedge-wood ; and, in effed:, a degree
of poffefiion of the buildings and fences ; the
tenant having, of courfe, only a partial pof-
fefiion of the farm he rented. And the fame
fyftem of management, with fome few altera-
tions, prevails to the prefent time.
This
^1. N O R F O L K. 67
This renders the immediate fuperintcndcncy
bf a large eftate in Norfolk a bufy and unbroken
iccne of emplbymcnt. The iummcr-months
are not more actively employed in attending to
Repairs, than the winter-months are in th,e
management df Fe>ices.
But thefe and other articles I lliall confidei'
feparately ; comprizing under the prefent head
fuch general matter, only, as necefTuily occurs
npoii every leafed cltate.
I. Tenancy. Tenanls-ai-lvill hvc thinly feat-
tered. Leases, either for a iermy or from year-
io-year, are utiiverfal. Leaf es for life are rarely
heard of in this Diftri6l.
II. Term. The term, fornieriy, was twenty-
one years ; but the advance bf produce which
took place fbme years ago, producing, as it
fever will do, an advance of rent, the tenant
who had then juft entered on a leafe of twcnty-
bne years became, for a fcries of years, under-
tented : the confsquence is, gentlemen, in ge-
neral, refufe to grant leafes of longer term than
fourteen ye^rs, and many curtailed them to
feven years j a term, in my opinion, much too
ihott.
F 7 Article^;
6S AiANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. ir.
Articles from year-to-year are very prevalent,
efpecially among fmaller tenants ; and, in
many refpcds, they are preferable to a fhort
tcrmj which is a tie to both parties, without be-
ing, in general, advantageous to cither.
Marling is the principal improvement of a
Norfolk farm j but who would marl on a feven-
years leafe ? Where much marling is to be done^
fourtcn years is too fhort a term ; — and though
landlords may once have felt the inconveni-
encies of twenty-one years leafes, it is probable
that tenants, who have of late years taken leafes
of that length, will, before their expiration,
experience, in their turn, feelings of a fimilar
nature.
I'll. PiENT. The medial rent of the Difl:ri<5t
may be laid at twelve fhillings an acre : toward
the North coaft the foil is lighter and lefs pro-
dudtivethanitis in more central parts of the Dif-
tricl ; but on the Eaftern coaft and in the fouth-
ern Hundreds it is much more fertile, letting
from eighteen to twenty fhillings an acre.
In general, the Diftridt is very highly rented :■
there are lands in the kingdom, — I will venture
to fay within twenty miles of the metropolis,—
which lett at eight fhillings an acre, yet are, in:
their
jr. NORFOLK. 69
their nature equally fertile as thofe of Norfolk,
which let currently for ten to twelve fliillings.
Nothing can account for this but the fuperi-
ority of the Norfolk hu{bandry ; and the
quick difpatch which prevails in every departs,
ment of the Norfolk fyftem of management.
IV. Covenants. Covenants of leafes are, in
Norfolk, as in other Diftri.cls, various as leafes
themfelves : the particular circumftances of an
eftate, and the fpecial matter of agreement
between landlord and tenant, will ever produce
this variety, in a greater or lefs degree : ne-
verthelefs, every country has its natural cove-
nants, and its prevailing falhions, as to reftric-
tions and indulgences.
Thefe fafhions, however, alter ; and an Im-
prpven^ent has recently taken place, upon fome
of the firft eftates in Norfolk, with rcfpedl to
the REPAIRS of buildings and fences ; the tenant
now covenanting to pay half the workmen's
wages. This has two valuable eifecls : — the
tenant thereby pays a ftrifter attention to the
workmen employed ; and becomes more care-
ful of thofe things which, heretofore, he had no
intereft in preferving.
F 3 No
?o MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. ;i.^
V. No department of the' management of ai^
ellatc gives more uneafinefs to both landlord
and tenant than do i^emoyals, or exchanges of
tenants; and every covenant vvhi^h facilitates
this u.nplealdnt bufinefs is valuable. The fhift-
ing of tenants is no where condudled with
greater eafe than in Norfolk ; where, it is pro-
bable, leafes have been long in ufe ; and where
removals from farm to farm are become fa-
miliar.
VJ. The time of receiving rents, in Nor-
folk, is, pretty generally, Chriftmas and Mid-
iummer ; landlords giving their tenants three
months credit. Chriftmas, however, is of all
others the woifl time of the year for this pur-
pofe : many ferious evils arife from it (fee
MiN. 47, on this fubjecft). The firft of March
and the firfl of June appear to be the moft
eligible rent-days in Norfolk.
VII. The following heads of a lease will
place the general management of a Norfolk
eftate in a clear and comprehenlive point of
view.
They are not, either in form or fubftance,
copied, prccifely, from the leafe in ufe upon
any p.irticular eftate ; but exhibit, I believe, ^
pretty
if.
NORFOLK.
pretty faithful outline of the modern Norfolk
leafe.
Lanblord agrees, I. to lett, certain fpecl-
fied premifes, for a term, and at a rent, previ-
oufly agreed upon.
2. Also to put the buildings, gates, and
fences in tenantable repair.
3. Also to furnifh rough materials, and
pay half the workmen's wages in keeping them
in repair, during the term of the demife ;
wilful or negligent damage excepted.
4. Also to furnifli the premifes with fuch
ladders as may be wanted in doing repairs, or
in preferving the buildings, in cafe of high
wind, fire in chimneys, &c, (an excellent
claufe).
5. Also to furnifli rough materials for keep-
ing the gates, gate-pofts, ftyles, &c. &c. in
repair ; or to furnifli the materials ready cut out;
tenant paying the ufual price of labour for cut-
ting out.
6» Also to pay half the expence of fuch
fliores and ditches as he, or his agent, fliall di-
red: to be made or renewed.
Landlord reserves, i. all minerals, fofilis,
^larls, clays ; with liberty to^ work mines,
F 4 quarries
72 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. n.
quarries and pits, and to burn lime and bricks
upon the premifes ; likewife, to carry away
fuch minerals, &c. &c. ; excepting fuch marl,
or clay, as may be wanted for the improve-
ment of the farm.
2. Also, all timber-trees, and other trees
and woods, underwood and hedgewood ; with
liberty to fell, convert, char, and carry off
fuch timber, or other woods ; excepting fuch
thorns and bufhes as fhall be fet out by land-
lord, for making and repairing fences; pro-
vided the thorns, &c. fo fet out be cut in the
winter months ; excepting, however, out of
this provifo, fuch fevv as may be wanted in the
courfe of the fummer-months, for flopping
accidental gaps.
3. Also, full liberty of planting timber-
trees in hedges, or on hedge-banks ; with a
power to take to himfelf, after twelve months
notice given, fome certain number of acres of
land for the purpofe of raifing timber-trees,
other trees, or undervv'ood ; allowing the tenant
luch yearly rent, &c. for the land fo taken, as
two arbitrators fhall fix.
4. Also, a power of altering roads, and
of inclofing commons, or wafte lands, without;
the
|i. NORFOLK. 73
the controul of the tenant ; to which Intent,
all common-right is ufually referved, inform,
though feldom in effe^, to the landlord.
5. Also, the cuftomary liberty to view
buildings, do repairs, and, confequently, to
bring and lay materials.
6. Lastly, the right of fporting and de-
flroying vermin.
Tenant agrees, i. to pay the ftipulated
rent half-yearly ; and within thirty days after
it be due ; under forfeiture of the leafe ; and,
further, to pay the laft half-year's rent two
months, or a longer time, before the expira-
tion of the term.
2. Also, to do all carriage for repairs (with-
in a fpecified diftance) ; and to find all iron-
work and nails; and to furnifh wheat-flraw
for thatching ; and to pay half the workmens*
wages, and find them with fmall-beer.
3. Also, to do all ditching, &c. fet out
by landlord ^provided the quantity fet out do
not exceed one-tenth of the whole) ; and to
pay half the workmen's wages, and find them
in fmall-beer; and to defend with hurdles
QX otherwife, all fuch young hedges as fliall be
eX"
74 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. u.
exiX)rcJ, in Ipringand fummcr, toihe brovvzings
of pafluring-ftock.
4. Also, to make, or pay for making,
fvich gates, &c. as Hiail be wanted upon the
farm during the term of the demife ,• and to
hew, or to pay for hewing, all neceflary
gatc-pofts ; and to put down and hang, in a
workman-like manner, fuch gates and gate^
poils, at his own fole expence ; as well as
tecp all the old gates on the premifes in
tcnantable repair.
5. Also, not to affign over, nor, in any
other way. part with pofTeffion of his farm j
but to make it his conftant refidencc during
the term of the leafe. Nor to take any other
farm ; nor to purchafe any lands adjoining, or
intermixed with it ; without the licence an^
confent of landlord; under forfeiture of the
Icafe.
6. Also, not to break up any meadow,
pafture, or furze-ground, under the penalty of
ren pounds an acre a year. Nor to cut
*' fl-ig'^," that is, turves, under fifty {hillings
a hundred.
7. Also, not to lop or top any timber-
free, under the penalty of twenty pounds • nor
other
|i. NORFOLK. 75
pther tree, under ten pounds : nor cut under-
wood or hedgewood (except as before except-
ed) under ten pounds a load. But, on the
contrary, to preferve them from damage as
much as may be ; and, if damaged by others,
to give every information in his power, un-
der the penalty of twenty pounds,
8. Also not to take more than two crops
of corn without a whple year's fallow,- — a crop
pf turneps twice-hoed,— or a two years lay, —
intervening, under the penalty of .
9. Also to confume on the premifes al]
hay, fi;raw, and other ftovcr; and not to carry
off, or fufFer to be carried off, any part, under
pretence of being tithe compounded for, or
under any other pretence whatever, under the
penalty of ter\ pounds, for every load carried
off.
10. Nor to carry off, nor fuffer to be carried
off, any dung, muck, &c. under five pounds a
load.
11. Nor to impair the foundations of the
buildings round the dung-yard, by fcooping
out the bottom of the yard too near the build-
ings • but to keep up a pathway three feet
wide
?6 MANAGEMEMT OF ESTATES. u,
wide between the diing-pir and the foiinda'
tions (an excellent claufc).
12. Also, not to ftock any part of the
prcmifes with rabbits ; but to endeavour, as
much as may be, to deftroy them.
13. Also, during the lafi two years of the
leafe, not to take in any agiftment llock.
14. Also, in the lajl year^ not to fuffer
fvvine to go loofe without being yoked and
rung.
15. Also, in the laft year, to permit land-
lord, or in-coming tenant, to fow grafs-feeds
over the fummer-corn •, and to harrow then:^
in, gratis ; and not to feed off the young
graffes after harvefl.
16. Also, in the lafi year, not to fow Icfs
than • acres of fallow, of, at leaft, three
plowings and fuitable harrowings, with two
pints an acre of good, marketable, white-
loaf turnep-feed ; avd, in due time, to give
the plants two hoeings (<?;•, ;/ the crop mifs,
t-o give the falk'W two ey.tr a -plowings) in a
huiband-like manner ; and, at the expiration
of the term, to leave fuch turncps growing on
the premifcs ; free from wilful or negledful
injury;
U. N O R F O L K. f^
iiijury ; under the penalty of pounds an
acre.
17. Also, to permit landlord or in-
coming tenant to begin, on or after the firft
day of July, in the lajlyear, to break up the
two years lay (hereafter agreed to be left) for
wheat fallow, or any other purnofe ; amd to
harrow, ftir, and work the faid fallows ; and
to carry and fpread dung or other manure
thereon, without moleftation.
iSi. Also, in tht lafl year, to permit land-
lord, or in-coming tenant, to lay up hay, or
t)ther fodder, on the premifes, and to proted:
it thereon.
19. Also to lay up and leave upon the
premifes, at the expiration of the leafe^ all the
hay of the laft year (or of any preceding year,
if unconfumed at the expiration of the term)
except loads, which tenant is allowed to
carry off.
20. Also to lay up, in the ufual barns and
rick yards, the lall year's crops of corn \ to-
gether with the tithe, if compounded for ; a^d
to thrafh them out, in ■proper feafon\ and in
fuch manner that the ftraw, chaff, and colder
fhall be injured as little as may be.
2i Also,
7S MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. ii.
21. Also, at the expiration of the term, td
leave not lefs than acres of oUand of
two years laying (including that which may
have been broken up by landlord or in-coming
tenant) and which Ihall have been laid down iri
a hufband-like manner, after turneps or a fum-
mer fallow, and with not lefs than twelve pounds
of clover^ and half a peck of rye-grafs, feeds an
ac\"e — under the penalty of- pound an acre.
Also not lefs than acres of olland bf one
year's laying, to be laid doi^-n as above fpeci-
iied, under the penalty of pound an acre.
22. Also, at the expiration of the term;
to leave all the yard-manure, produced in the
laft year of the leafe, piled up in a hufband-
like manner^ on the premifes j excepting fuch
part of it as may have been ufed for the tur-
nep.crop ; and excepting fuch other part as
may have been ufed by landlord, or in-coming-
tenanr, for wheat.
23. Also, at the expiration of the term,'
to leave the buildings, ladders, gates, fences,-
■vvatet-courfes, &c. Sec. in good and tenantable
repair ; landlord in this, as in every other cafe,-
performing his part as above agreed to *.
* Also, upon fuch parts of an eilatc as lie near the refi-
denec of the owner, it is cuftomary for the tenant ro agree
to'
ir. NORFOLK. 79
Tenant to be allowed, i. the full value
of all the hay left upon the premifes, of the
iaft year's growth, or of the growth of any pre-
ceding year ; provided the quantity of old hay-
do not exceed — — loads.
2. Also the full value of the turneps left
on the premifes ; or the accuftomed price for
the plowings, harrowings, and manuring; at
his own option.
3. Also, the feedage of the lays broken up,
by the landlord or the in-coming tenant, from
the time of their being broken up until the
expiration of the term the cnfuing Michael-
mas; ALSO, for all damage arifmg in carrying
en manure or othcrwife.
4. Also, the feedage of the young clovers,
from harveft to Michalmas.
5. Also, the ufe of the barns and rick-
yards for fummer-corn until May-day ; and for
winter-corn until the firlt of July next cn-
fuing.
to furnifli, annually, a certain number of loads of flraw,
according to the lize of his farm ; Also to do the carriage
of a certain number of lo.tds of coals ; Also to keep dogs,
warn off fportfmen, and fuffer them to be profecuted in
his name : Remnants, thefe, of the ancient ba'e tenures
af foccage and villanage. ^
V
2i» Also,
io MANAGEA4f.NT OF ESTATES. jtl
6. Also, (by way of a confideration for the
ftovcr) the cuftomary price for thrafliing and
drefling thfe corn ; the landlord, or in-coming
tenant^ also carrying the fame to market,
gratis : provided the diftance required to b*^
Carried does not exceed — - — rriilesj and the
quantity required to be carried, at one journey^
be not lefs than coombs.'
All the above allowances to be referreti
to two arbitrators ; one to be chofen by each
party, in Michaelmas-v(reek • and the amount
awarded to be immediately paid down by thd
landlord, or the in- coming tenant.
For the method of conduding exchanges of
intermixed lands, in Norfolk, fee Mm. 4.
1t6x thfe time of receiving rents, fee Min. 47.
For the operation of a rife of rent, fee Min. 58.
For an inftance of improvement by rabbit-
warren, fee Min. 79.
For inftance of improvement by building-
leafes, fee Min. 106.
For aniMPROv i m ent by inclcfure, fee MtN. 137,'
V^ote, Befides the above particulars, refpefting the ge-
neral management of eflates, 1 find myfelf poffeffed of a
variety of others, on the more immediate connedlion be-
tween landlord and tenant j but they cannot, with ftrict
propriety, be publiflied in the prefent volumes.
12.
.J; N 6 R F a L K. St
12.
JBulLbiNGs and Repairs.
THE FARMERIES of Norfolk are, in ge-
neral, large and convenient. Many of them
have iDeen the refidencies of that yeomanry,
which; as has beeri already bbferved, is now
nearly extitift.
I. The DWELLING-HOUSE, in gcncralj Is com.
rnodious : kitchen and *' back-houfc ;" par-
lour; and, on the larger farms, a " keeping-
room," in which the mailer atid his family lit
^p-drt from the fervants.
11. The barns of Norfolk are fwperior to thofe
of every other county ; numerous and fpa-
cious. No farm has lefs than three thrafhing-
floors ; fome farms live or fix, and thcfe of
iinufual dimenfions. Twenty-four feet by eigh-
teen is confidered as a Vv'ell-fized floor •, twenty
by fifteen, a fmall one. Ifideed, a floor of Icfs
dimenfions is ill adapted to the Norfolk me-
thod of cleaning corn? which is uriivcrfally
effefted by caftii)g it with fhovels from one end
Vei., I. G of
S3 BUILDINGS. su
of the Hoor to the other. To obtain this ne-
ccflary length of floor, a porch, on one or both
fides of the barn, is almoft univerfal. A lean-to
porch, with double doors to let out an empty
waggon, and with a range of lean-to llieds or
hovels on cither fide, continuing the roof of
the barn, without a break to the eaves of the
porch and Iheds, is at prefent, defervedly, in
good eftimation.
III. Barn-floors are of plank, " lumps" (a
kind of bricks), or clay : the lafl are mofl pre-
valent ; and altho' they be confidered as inferior
to the firfl, they are in better eHecm in Nor-
folk than in moil other places ; for a Norfolk
farmer is aware that what he lofes by the han-
dle of his corn, thrafhed on a clay floor, he re-
gain.> by ttieafure ; for the lame duft which
gives the roughnefs of handle in the famplc,
prevents the corn, thus foiled by the clay's
beating up, from fettling fo clofe in the bufliel
as that which has been thraflicd on a clean
wooden floor.
IV. The stables are no way peculiar; except
in their having, in general, a " hay-houfe"
adjoining to them, inftead of a hay-chamber
over
i$: N o' R F d L It. J?|
river them; a cuftom which is at once waf^e-
tul both of hay and houfe-room : at prefenr,
however, it is the practice to raife ftables high'
enough to admit of hay-chambers over them ;
with floors, not of boards, but of clay ; which is'
cheaper, and, in other refpcds, much pre-
ferable to board floors.
V. Cow-HOUSES are unknown in a Norfolk-
farmery : a fmall " fuckling-placc" and a
" cnlves-houfe" are the only out-buildings ap-
propriated to cattle : except
VI. Bullock-sheds, which are fomctimes
(but not. generally) eredied ; more efpecialiy in
the fouthern Hundreds of this Ditlrid. See
MiN. 118.
Vri. The hoGsty of NorfollL is Angular -, tho*
hot particularly excellent : iriftead of creeping
into a pigfty, in the manner ufually done, a
Norfolk farmer walks into his " p1g-lioufe,"
at a door fimilar to thole of his other out-
buildings : the building is of courfe higher
and more expensive, but certainly more com-
modious, than in the ufual form.
VIII. Granaries are few : I faw none upon'
feparate pillars j and but very few over
G 2 IXv
t4 BUILDINGS, tU
IX. Waggon -SHEDS. Thefe in general are
commodious. I met with a cart-shed on an
admirable plan. The width equal to the cart
and fliafts ; open in front ; with a bank of earth
on the back part, about eighteen inches high,
and of fuch a width as juft to take the wheels
before the tail of the cart reach the back of
the flicd : the cart is backed in, the horfe taken
out, and the cart fuffered to tilt : the bank
receives the tail, while the Ihafts rife under the
eaves of the front — dry, — and out of the way of
cattle : the horfe is put in with equal facility :
the back band, which remains faft at both ends,
is entered into the groove of the laddie, and th^
Ihafts pulled down.
X. RicK-YARDS in general are fmall, owing
to the capacioufnefs of the barns. It is pretty
common, and very convenient, to have a rick
frame at one or both ends of the barn, with
a pitching-hole, in at which the corn is houfed,
•without the afiiitance of team-labour. Some-
times thefe ftacking-places at the ends of bams
are inclofed, without having a frame for the
ftack ; which being houfed immediately after
the firft clearing of the barn, the inclofure af-
terwards
n, NORFOLK. 85
tcrwards makes an admirable fold - yard for
calves or yearling cattle.
XI. Fold-Yards — provincially, "par-yards'*
iii general, are warm and fnug: the outer fence is
moftly " battoned ;" namely, made with pofts,
and three -or four wide ftrong rails, or " bat-
tons;" an inch to one inch and a half thick,
and eight or nine inches wide ; the lower ones
being placed clofe enough for an effedtual fence
againft fwine, Thefe in autumn are fometimes
lined with tall thorn-faggots, efpeciaUy on the
bleaker (ides. The area is parted into feparate
yards with common pofls and rails, to which
fimilar faggots (provincially, '* kidds") arc
faftened : this, at a fmall expence, keeps the
different fpecies of ftock feparate, and renders
their apartments comfortable.
XII. DiiiNKiNG-piTS, notwithftanding the
abforbency of the Norfolk foil, are common to
moft farm-yards. It feems probable that they
have, formerly, been made by art, and with
much judgment ; as in general they retain the
water very perfectly. At prefent, however, the
artj if known, is out of ufe ; indeed the rivu-
Q 3 LETS
?>'t> BUILDINGS. f^i
JUETS which abound in fo fingular a manner in
Norfolk, preclude, in fome meafure, the ufe of
artificial watering-places, except in or near
farm-yards : befides, Wells, in general, arefo
Jliallow, and their water fo excellent, that
both of them might, without extreme incon-
venience, be difpenfed with.
The BUILDING-MATERIALS of Notfolk are,
.-•r:!-.. Bricks, which are here manufactured
with great ikill. The materials are good : the
lubfoi], in many places, is naturally a very fine
brick earth, without any admixture being re-
quired.
Befides the common red brick, of which the
buildings of a farm are generally conflrufted,
Norfolk is celebrated for an admirable lihiteyOi
rather stone-coloured brick, which, except
on a near view, has all the efifecl of a well-colour-
ed ilone. Of this brick the firft houfes in the
xounty are built : for fo expert are the mould-
ers of this excellent material, that cornices
and even columns, with their pedeftals and
capitals, are form.ed of it.
This fuperiority in brick-making is, how-
ever, one of -thole efforts of neceffity, which
are frequently productive of excellency in in-
vention : there is not, generally fpeaking, a
(lone
12. NORFOLK. 87;
jlone in the county ; excepting a few flints,
thinly fcattcred among the foil; and excepting
the Jea-fione ; which, near the coaft, is ufed
inftead of bricks. J^f'^^-^t^^a^i^^A^/./XayJii/'j^vt-^i/^^^/^ trf
2. Sea-stones, however, are, in unfKilful */:^7itA*'
hands, a dangerous material to build with ; for,
being globular, their own weight, if the wall be
high and run up haftily, is fafficient to crudi it to
the ground : and, when carried up deliberately,
if the lime be bad, or the mortar injudicioufiy
made, fea- Hone- walls are liable to part; hav- !
ing nothing but the mortar to bind them to-
gether. Their durability is their beil recom-
mendation ; for, though the wall decay, the
flones flill are there ; and it is highly probable
that many of the ftoncs which were ufed in the
firil buildings of that material are flill in ufe.
When they are found among ruins, upon or
near the fite to be built upon, they may, if
fKilfully fet (and efpeciallv if the quoins and
jams be carried up with bricks), be a very eligi-?
ble buildine-niaterial.
Weather-boarding is made little ufe of in
Norfolk; — in ordinary buildings, clay-dauUng
fometimes is ufed as a fubftitute.
3. V/ith refpeft to the materials of the hcitse-
pAPrcNTER, oak is generally ufed for door and
G A. windo"
38 BUILDINGS. i^,
window-:frames ; alfo for waU.pl,ates and fills
pf every kind, and for beams, when it can be
had. But in a country where th,e growth of
pak is confined, in a great meafure, to the
hedgerows, it cannot be expected that a ful^
fupply gan be fpared for building. Aflj, and eln%
are ufed as fubftitutes j and, in a maritime
country, foreign timber is had at a reafpnable.
price.
4. Cover inqs are principally o^pan.-tik or of
reed -^—uridiUY Jlraw roofs remain; but, at pre-
fent, few new ones are put on.
Reed, is, at prefenr, the favourite roof; and,
is of all others fgood flate excepted) the moll
eligible for farm-buildings. A reed-roof, pro-
perly laid, will lie fifty years without touching;
and thirty or fprty more, with only adjufting
(" driving"- j. it, and levelling the hollows with a
little frefh reed. At an hundred }'^ars old it may
be relaid ; and will then, if laid upop the up-
per parts of the roof, laft through a confider-
able part of another century.
It Is principally cut from the margins of the
*' broads -" and is carried, perhaps, forty or
fifty miles into the central and northern parts of
the county.
A
}^. NORFOLK. 8^
A covering of reed is, in the lirft inftance,
coftly : but when its durability, and the high
degree of prefervation in which it keeps the
roof are taken into the account, it is of all
Others the cheapefl covering ; befules its being,
Vv^hether in the extreme of heat or cold, the
moft comfortable.
The price of reed, in the place of its growth,
is from three pounds to three guineas a hun-
dred ; containing fix fcore fathom; each fathom
(compofed of five or fix Reaves) rneafuring
fix feet in circumference. A hundred of reed
will cover five fquares of roof : the laying is
a halfpenny a yard, or four IhiUings and two-
pence a fquare ^ and the tar-rope and rods for
laftening it on, coft eightecn*pence a fquare :
fo that a covering of new reed co.fls about
eighjjeei'^ fhillings a fquare, containing one
hiraireii fquare feet; befides carriage, and
what is called "roofing;" namely, a cap of
wheat-ftraw placed upon the ridge, in a fome-
what fimilar manner, and for the famepurpofe,
as ridge-tiles are put on.
This capping, v/hich Is done in a mofl ef-
feftual, but in a tedious and expenfive, man-
gier, colts in materials and vvorkmanlhip about
fixteeii
^o BUILDINGS. T2.
lixteen-pence each foot in length ; which, upon
a roof of fixteen feet and a half fpar, is an ad-
ditional expence of four (hillings each fquare
of reeding.
The carriage is in proportion to the dif-
tance. Taking twenty miles as a medium dif-
tance ; and one fhilling a mile as a medium,
price •, the expence is twenty iliillings a " load"
of fixty fathom, or forty ihillings a hundred;
which hying five fquares is a further addition
of eight fliillings a fquare : therefore the
whole expence of a covering of reed fetched
twenty mileg may be laid at thirty Ihillings a
fquare *.
. X am the more minute on this head, as I fee
this valuable material entirely neglcdied, as a
covering for buildings, in molt parts of the
kingdom.
5. The FLaoRjNG-MATERiALsqf this Diflri(^
aye, for upper-floors, deal, afn, elm, znd poplar
^ards: fometimes clay is yfed for cottages, and
for common garrets; but, for the ground-floor,
fquare bricks, paving-tiles — — provincially,
*' pavements" — a.re, in farm-houfes, the almofl
univerfal flooring : even the beft rooms, of the
» For the method of laying reed and fcttingon the roof-
icg, fee Mix. 32.
firll
12. NORFOLK. 91
fn'ft farm-hoiife, are generally laijd with this ma-
terial; which is manufadured in an excellen;
planner, of various colours, and of various
dimenfions, from nine inches to eighteen inches
fquare. Two pavements of the lad dimenfion
make, for a common room, an excellent
Hearth.
6. Lime is m.adc from marl^ entirely ; this
Diftritt affordinor neither limellone nor chalk :
Weft Norfolk, however^ abounds with a fpecies
of hard foflil — provincially, ^' caulk" — a kind
of hard chalk — from Vvhich lime of a tolerably
good quality is burnt. See Manure, p. 26.
Lime is univerfally hirni with coals, and
oenerally in drawing- kilns: it cofts from feven
to eight Hiillings a chaldron Cmore or lefs ac-
cording to the diftancc of the carriage of the
coals), and is fold for nine fliillings to ten fliil-
lings a chaldron*.
Bricks are lurnt principally m kilns; few
\n clamps : the bottom of the kiln is always
fet with bricks; while the upper parts are occa-
fionally filled with tiles, pavements, and other
ware.
For
'* 1782. Oi.7. 26. Four chaldron and a half of coals (thirty-
fix bufheli) burned thirty-four chaldron thirty bufiiels of
liroe
^2 BUILDINGS. 12$
For the p-ice of huilding-maierials, &c. fee
LIST OF RATES.
For the method, and expence, of making
hay- chaml/er-floors with, clay, fee Min. 15.
For obfervations on the coping of gables,
fee Min. 25.
For the method of laying reedy and fctting
on ridge-capSj fee Min. 32.
For the method of laying ■pantiles on reed,
^c. fee Min. 33.
For obfervations on check-beams acrofs barn-
floors, fee Min. 35.
lime (thirty-two bufiiels). In general, however, thirty-
two chaldron is the produce of that quantity : this is
fomewhat more than /even chaldron of lime to a chaldron
pf fca coals.
One chaldron of coals and carriage four miles 1176
Labour, at twenty-perjcc a chaldron of lime^ - o 1 1 8
Jlorfc and cart for moving marl, - -010
£2 IQ z
Seven chaldron, at fcven fhili.ngs and two-
pence a chaldron, - - - £ 2 10 z
I have known a qitantity fold, for manure, at eight
fliillings a chaldron.
The chalk of Swaflfiiam yields about ^ve chaldron of
|imc (thirty-two bufiiels) to one chaldron of y?^?;oal5 (of
ihirry-fi.x buflicls)
For
>ft^ ISfORFOLK. ^
For obfervations on the utility of laying tiles
en mortar, fee Mi n. 48.
For obfervations on huttrejfes^ fee Min. 60.
For obfervations on x.\\q general management
of repairs, fee Miw. 64.
For the effects of a high wind, fee Min. 91.
For general obfervations on the refidenu of
'Workmen, fee Min. 92.
For defcription of a farm yard in Fleg, fee
Min. 106.
For obfervations on farm-yard walls, fee
Min. 115.
For obfervations onfea-jlone walls, fee M. 1 1(5.
For the defcription of a hullock-fhcd in
piowfield Hundred, fee Min. ii8»
For the method of building a hog-ciftcrn,
fee Min. 131.
.13'
g?, GATES And DEAt) FENCES. ij^
13-
GATES and DEAD FENCES.
IT has already been mentioned as a prac-
tice of Norfolk, for landlords to furnifh their
tenants with gates ready-made.
This, when an eftate is intended to be made
the moit of, and where the tenants, being un-
der leafe, have ho right to expedl other indul-
gences than the leafe gives them, is a goodf
praftice ; for when rough timber is allowed,
even though it be fet our, a deiigning tenant
will generally get the advantage, let the eflate
be ever h well looked after.
It is reafonable, however, and *s, now, oh
fome eftates cuftomary, in this cafe, to charge
the tenant for fawing and making up; alfo for
hewing pofls; and for fawing out fuch parts
of gates as are wanted for repairs -, which, as
well as putting doun pofts and hanging new
gates, is generally done at the expence of the
tenant, who fomctimeSj but not always, finds
^ate-ircns.
it
jj. NORFOLK, 95
It is a prafticc, not uncommon here, to drive
hooks on both fides the hanging-poft ; in order
that the gate may be Ihifred to this or that fide,
as the pafturing-ftock are fhifted : and fome,^
times I have feen two gates hung upon the
fame pod ; one on either fide : a moft effectual
guard, when both fides are in pafture.
The prevailing dead fence is battening
(lee fold-yard) ; the tenant being charged
for hewing pofts and fawing battons, in the
fame proportion he is for gates or gate-iluff j
namely, the full expence of workmanfhip.
Even STILES are frequently provided, and
charo-ed for, in the fame way, by landlords.
^ ' Ik
For an infl-ance of ivy being ferviceable to
^fea-Jione fence-wall ^ fee Min. 9,
For general obfervations on farm-yard fence-
'■jjalls, fee Min. 115.
For the method of fetting a furze-faggot
fence, fee Min. 135.
14.
gS L I V K H E D G E fe. i4i
14.
LIVE HEDGES.
THE WOODLANDS of Eaft Norfolk
being few, underwood, either Iti a'b;?^j or iri
coppices, is in a manner unknown. The
HEDGE-ROWS, aioHC, may be faid to furnilh the
Diflrit^ with timher, top-wood^ and under-
Old hedges, in general, al)ound with oak^
afh, and maple flubs, off which the wo6d is cut
ai'ery time the hedge is felled; alfo with pol-
lards, whofe heads are another ibiirce of fire-
wood; which, in a country where Coals can be
liad only by fl^a, is of courfe fought after : yet
it is a fadtj as iibtorious as it is interettihg, that
Eaft-Norfolk docs not experience, to any
degree of inconveniency, a warit either of tim-
ber or firewood ; although its entire fupply
may be faid^ with little latitude, to be fronf
kcdgeirows.
It is probably from this circumflance, that
Kedge-wood is fuficred to fland to fo great an?
t^ NORFOLK. 97
.age and growth as it does in Norfolk. Twelve
or fourteen years is coniidered as a moderate
growth ; twenty, and even thirty years it is
fometimes permitted to remain without cutting.
The ''' flubvvood," it is true, by this means ac-
quires a degree of utility and bulkinefs ; but
the " thorns" are in the mean time over-hung
and deilroyed.
It appears by the heads of a lease * that
the top-wood, the ftubwood, and the loppings
of timber, if any, belong to the landlord* They
are however, in general, of more value to the
occupier of the land than to any other perfon ;
beiides the tenant havino- a degree of claim to
the refufal of them ; and it is cuftomary to fell
them to him at a moderate valuation.
I. The method of valuing hedgewood is
as follow^s : the tenant having been confuked j
and the particular hedge or hedges to be felled, in
any given feafon, having been determined upon;
each top is (or ought to be) valued and minuted
feparately ; carrying the jlub'wocd in the eye
until fome certain quantity is gone by. But
a readier method is, 1 am told, fometimes prac-
tifcd ; namely, that of walking by the lide of
the hedge without particularizing the indivi-
* Page 73,
Vol. L H duals;
0 HEDGES. X4*
duals ; or, which is flill fliortcr, but dill Icfs
accurate — that of Handing at one end, and>,
by merely glancing the eye along it, putting
down a random valuation.
II. But valuing the tops and flub wood, though
done in the moll accurate manner, is by no
means all that is necclfary to be done in fctting
out what is called " ditching:" every timber-
tree, and every pollard, (landing in the hedge
to be felled, fliould be cautioufly attended to.
The timbers which are going to decay, or
which, to appearance, will receive injury before
the next fall of the hedge, fliould be mm-ked
to come down : if gate-pofls be wanted upon
the farm, fuch pollards as arc fit for that pur-
pofe fhoiild be fet out ; alfo all fuch pollards
as are already dead, or will not to appearance
bear a top equal to their prefent value, before
the next fail of the hedge, ought to be valued
to the tenant as fire-wood.
in. Other very material things to be attended
to, are the young oaklings rifing among the
hedge-wood ; as well as the " stands," and the
GROWING TIMBERS ,* which ought to bc pruned,
znd fei up, in fuch a manner, as to give freedom
to the hcdgc-and the herbage growing underthem ;
and
i4* N O R F O L K. q^
and at lihe fame time to encreafe their ovva
value, by giving them length and cleannefs of
ftem.
This part of the bufinefs, however, ought not
to be left to the ditchers j but ftiould be per-
formed by Ikilful woodmen, fent round for the
purpofe (fee Min. 5. on this fubjed).
It may be needlefs to add, that to go through
this various bufinefs properly, pafling once
along the hedge is not fufficient : the timbers,
pollards, and timberlings fhouid firfl be iri-
fped:ed, and, if requifite, marked j by which
means the quantity of fire-wood will be more
fully afcertained, and its valuation, by this
double view, be rendered more accurate**
* Left the reader fiiould think that I am here deviating
from the plan of this part of the work, by entering inta
the didaftic where defcription only was neceflary, more
efpecially as limilar direftions are fcattered in the Minutes ;
I beg leave toobferve, that the fubjedl appears to me to be
of fo much importance, and to have been fo llightly, if
at all, touched upon by writers, that it ought to be
placed in every point of view which will throw frefli
li^ht upon it. And although I may, in another work,
have treated very ful'y upon this fubjcft, I nevertlielefs
think it proper to detail, in this, the incidents and reflec-
tions which have arifen, immediately, out of my pradlicc
and oblcrvatioa in Norfolk.
H 2 The
ifoo HEDGE S. 14*
IV. The treatment or old hedges. The
hedge-wood being felled to the Itiib, and the
pollards headed, the ditch is fcoured to its ori-
ginal depth ; the beft of the foil being collcdted
into heaps on the brink of the ditch for the
ufe of the farmer, in bottoming his yard or
his dung-heaps, and the remainder laid to the
roots of the ftubs, or formed into a bank
behind them. On the top of the bank a brufh-
hedge is' fet as a guard to the back ; — while
fometimes the bottom of the ditch is pointed
(that is, narrowed to a point}, or filled with
thorns or other bufhes, — as a guard to the face
of the young hedge.
The laft, however, is feldom done, nor often
requifite ; for the Norfolk hufbandmen are
pretty obfervant in cutting thofe hedges, in any
given year, which face their wheat in that year ;:
by which means the young hedge'acqulres four
or five years growth before the inclofure, it is ex-
pofed to, becomes a fpring or fummer paf-
ture.
This is the ufual treatment of old rough
liedges in which pollards and flubwood abound,
and which conftitute the principal part of the
hedges of Eaft-Norfolk.
Therr
14; NORFOLK. xot
There are, however, m?iny plan ted l^edges;
fome of them very old : of thefe, a two-fold
treatment prevails : namely, that above-de-
fcribed; and another, lefs eligible, called
*' buckftalling ;" which is cutting off the hedge-
wood about two feet above the top of the
bank, and " out-hoiling/' that is, fcouring out
the ditch for manure ; without returning any
part of the foil to the roots of the hedge-wood.
But by a repetition of thefe bad pradices, the
bedges, fituated as they are in Norfolk, near
the top of an artificial bank, with a deep ditch
beneath them, are at length left deftitute of
mould to nourifli and fupport them, dwindling
away. Hub after flub, until they arje no longer
adequate as fences.
The practice of phjhing, or laying hedges,
is, in a great degree, unknown in this Diftrid',
I— Workmen, from countries where this is a
favourite and common pracflice, have been em-
ployed by gentlemen in this Dillrid: ; but the
fuccefs has been fuch as has rendered thofc to
whom it has become known, inveterate en^e-
mies to the prad:ice.
The unpardonable cuftom of hacking off
th& fide-boughs of tall hedges, leaving the
H 3 tops
•Ida HEDGES. 14.
tops to over-hang the young fhoots, is 'here too
prevalent. But fufTering the foil to be waflied
away from the roots, is not more deflrudtive
to a hedge than is this vile pradticc.
If *' kid" and " oven-fuci" be wanted, let a
hedtre which is full-g-rown be felled to the
flub. There is fcarcely a farm in the Diftridt
which is not more or lefs '■ wood-bound ;" that
is, injured by overgrown hedges ; which are,
year after year, receiving irreparable damage for
want of cutting; while the undergrown ones
are damaged by a lefs pardonable treatment.
The tenant's motive is founded in felf-inte-
reft : he gets fuel and " manner," without
•any contingent expence pr trouble; — and whe-
ther the hedge endure, henceforward, for one
or for two centuries, is not an objecl to him.
But as, at the expiration of his leafe, his farm
will be worth more or lefs, according to the
flate of its fences, it ought to be the efpecial
care of the landlord, or of his agent, to fee
that they are properly treated,
V. The method of raising new hedges in
Norfolk is a cheap one j and may be prat^ifcd
in
14-. N O R F O L K, 103
in any country where the foil is free from
ftones, and other obflruflions of the fpade.
The hedgling is defeaded on one fide by a
deep ditch, while the other Mq is fufficiently
guarded by the excavated mould formed into
a mound, and crefted with a ilout brufli-
bedge-, in the fetting of which the Norfolk La-
bourers, from conftant pradlice, are very profi-
cient.
It is a ftriking, and indeed an interefting
fad:, that hedges in Norfolk arc raifed with
good fuccefs, although neither poft, rail, flake
or eddcr be made ufe of in defending them.
- — And it tiiay be a moot point, whether a
want of underwood has given rife to this, as a
pradtice of necefilty ; or whether the prad:ice,
by rendering coppices lefs valuable, has been
a means of doing away, fo completely, the
woodinefs of this Difiricfl.
- But notwithftanding much praife is due to
the Norfolk method of defending young
hedges, the mode of planting, here in com-
mon ufe, is very reprehenfible. Inftead of the,
quickfets—provincially," layer"— being planted
in or near the foil which is to fupport it, they
are laid in near the top of the bank— perhaps,
H 4 two
I04 HEDGES. 14.
two feet above the natural level of the adjoin-
ing inclofure — and probably five feet above the-
bottom of the ditch : nor are they, there,
planted with their roots downward, in the man-
ner which nature didlates ; but with their
heads pointing into the ditch : and, to com-
plete the abfurdity of the bufinefs, the work-
man, in dreffing the face of the bank, fre-
quently draws "the back of his fpade down-
ward over the tops of the plants, prefling
them, of courfe, flat to the face, in which
they not unfrequently flick ! yet, he fays, he
thereby does no harm : and it is poffible he
ma^ be right ; but, to a perfon who has feen
any other method of proceeding, he appears
to be doing very wrong.
Neverthelefs, it is furprizing to fee the pro-
crrefs which quick, thus planted, will fometimes
Hiake the firft two or three years after plant-
ing : and this, probably, is the falfe light by
which the advocates for the method are led
away. The top of the bank 15 loofe nuide ground^
snd the upright brufli-hedge, by colleding
driving rains, fupplies it amply with moiflure.
But the fame rains not unfrequently afliil in
wafhing down the face of the bank, together
with
14. NORFOLK. 105
with the quick, into the bottom of the ditch.
Even the ordinary mouldering of the bank, by
frofts and moderate rains, leaves, in the courfc
of a few years, the roots entirely expofed.
Should the plants preferve their upright pofture,
they foon Icfe their vigour ; but it is no uncom^
mon thing to fee them hanging, perhaps by one
fibre, with their heads downward as;ain{tthe face
of the bank. Confequently, hedges which have
been planted in this manner are full of dead
gaps J and the plants which have furvived and
have got down to the natural foil are, by the
crowns of their roots being conftantly expofed.
Hinted and unhealthy. Whoever will be at the
trouble of making the obfervation, will find,
that the full-ftemmed luxuriant hedges, which
occur, more or lefs, in every part of theDiftricft,
(the Norfolk foil being naturally affecfted by the
hawthorn) but more particularly in the Fleg
Hundreds, have been planted at or near the
foot of the bank.
The reafon why a hedge planted low in ths
facioi the bank, does not fiourilh for a few years
after planting is obvious : the bank being fleep,
and without a break from top to bottom, it
{boots off the rain-water, which falls afrainft it,
into
I0& HEDGE S. 14.
into the ditch ; while that colle<5ted by the dead
hedge, above, is not fu^icicnt to moiflen it to the
bottom ; which is, of courfe, deprived of the
benefit oi rain-water. Befides this want of
moifturc, the fuperincumbent weight of the
bank is inimical to the tender fibrils of the
young plants; and their progrefs, fo long as
they remain confined under th.e bank, and
cramped with its prclTure, is of courfe flow.
But this difficulty once overcome; the roots
having once reached through the bank, and got
poffeffion of the adjoining inclofure; the plants
jlourilli amain; while thcjr principal roots bc-
. ing firmly and cooly fuuatcd, they continue 10
fiourilh, even in defiance of •■* buckftallins:"
and '^ out-holling."
It is nor my defire to cenfure the pra(flic<?s of
Norfolk hufDandmcn ; much lefs my intentioa
to aiai generally, at their infiruclion : I rather
hope to diffcminate over the Ifland the excel-
lencies of their management: neverthelcfs,
Norfolk, as every other Difirid: I have yet vi-
fitcd, has irs prejudices, and its want of pej/^c^
iio/jy in particular departments of management.
It may however be faid, and I believe with flricl
juilice, that no Diilrift has fczi-cr imperfections
than
^4. N O R F Q L K.
107
than Norfolk ; and what is fingularly to tlw
credit of the Norfolk hufbandmen, their per-
severance in pradifmg the method of planting
hedges above defcrlbad, may perhaps be called
ihtir only rooted prejudice.
The rcafon why quick, recently planted, at
the foot, and in the face, of a tall bank, is
checked in its growth, for the firfl two or three
years, is not more obvious than the method of
preventing it. If inftead gf laying-in the plants
in the immediate face of an unbroken bank,
they were to be planted on the back-part of
an offset^ or break in the bank, the evil effetfls
abovementioned would be removed : for, bv
this fjmple alteration in the formation of the
bank, the young plants become fupplied, at
once, with every thing neceffary to their fup-
port ; namely, moifture, air, and loofe earth
for the infant roots to flrike in.
This is not merely a theoretic plan : it is in
common pradtice in many parts of the king-
dom. ; and I have myfelf pradlifed it, in three
different and diftant parts of it, with fuccefs.
In Norfolk however, where hares are ver-
rain, fome caution is neceffary : the Ihelf
fhpuld not be made too wide ; and Ihould, while
the
tet HEDGES. 14.
the plants are young, be kept ftuck with bufhes,
to prevent the res from running along it.
^be^zeof the ditch is from three to five feet
wide — and two to three and half feet deep ; the
medium, four feet wide and three feet deep,
with a bank three feet high, forming what is
called •* a fix-foot dick." For an out-fide fence
aoainft a common or a road, five feet wide and
feven feet high, (meafuring from the bottom of
the ditch to the top of the bank when frefh-
made) is a more fuitable fence.
The price of a common fix-foot ditch is four-
teen-pence a rod (of feven yards), or one fhil-
ling a rod and beer, for making the ditch,
planting the layer, adjufting the bank, and fet-
ting the hedge.
the mean dijlance of planting quick is about
fix inches : the calculation is a hundred to three
rods ; the price four-pence to fix-pence a hun-
dred.
Thus, the whole expense of planting a quick-
hedge in Norfolk is not two-pence half-penny
^ yard ; while in many parts of the kingdom,
where two rows of pofts and rails are in com-
mon ufe, eight-pence to one Shilling a yard is
the ufual expenditure.
At
T4. NORFOLK. 109
At prefent, it is a pra£tlcCj though perhaps
not of long {landing, to fow furze-feed upon
the top of the bank, as a guard fuccefEve to
the brufh-hedge, and as a fourcc of kid and
fuel. The common way is to fow it upon the
back, at the foot of the dead hedge : this, how-
ever, is injudicious ; for the furze being of a
fpreading nature it is liable, after the hedge is
gone to decay, to over-run the quick. Many
line young hedges I have feen materially
harmed through an injudicious management of
the furze-hedge j which ought to ftand on the
hnckf not upon the top^ of the bank ; as in
this fituation it is a better guard to the bank
(which is liable to be feraped down by cattle and
fiieep), and lefs injurious to the hedge it is in-
tended to defend. About two-thirds of the
diftance between the foot of the bank and the
foot of the brufh-hedge -, namely, one- third of
that fpace from the foot of the hedge ; is a good
iituatk>n. But fee Min. 104, on this fub-
je<a.
I met with one inflance, and that in the
pradice of one of the firft men in the county,
of fu^ze-fecd being fown on what is called the
'' out-hoU,''
iio HEDGES. u.
" oLit-holl," namely, the outer bfink of the
Jitch.
This is a good guard to the face of
the hedge : and, if the fide towards the inclo-
fure be kept cut, to prevent their fpreading
into it, furzes, growing in this fituation, be-
come a fupply of fuel, without being an in-
cumbrance ; a ditch being always confidered
as irretrievable walie ; and this is the firft in-
ftancc I have met with of its being rendered
valuable by being cropped. It inftead of fow-
ing the furze-feed on the brink, it were drilled
on the flope of the ditch, there would be lefs
danger of the plants encumbering the adjoin-
ing inclofure.
A principal inconveniency of the Norfolk
mound-fence is the mouldering of the back
of the bank, for the firft two or three years
after making or repairing ; before it gets graf-
fcd over.
To obviate this I have had grafs-feeds fown,
after the bank was raifed, but before it was fini-
ilied, and the feeds dreffcd in with the back of
the Ipadc, in the finilhing operation of the
bank ; the fuccefs has been beyond exped:a-
licn ; in a few weeks the bank becomes green,
and
i^. N O K F O L IC in
and the firil: year furnifhes a fupply of ufeful
herbage; inftead of being, as It ufually is, a
nurftry of wing-feeded weeds. The back of the
bank in this cafe fliould not be made too ui>'
right. The beil feeds arc thofe of white clo-
ver (among which thofe of rye-grafs or other
graffes may be mixed) ; for this plant, by rnn-
ning upon the furface, and fbriking root at toe
joints, foon fojr.iS the rcquifite matt of her-
bage.
VI. Replanting WORN-OUT HEDGES. It wiH
be doing juflice to the Norfolk management
to mention a practice, which at prefent pre-
vails, of grubbing up old worn-out hedges,
and planting nevr ones in their flead.
In this cafe the old hedge is (or ought to be)
thrown down in autumn — that the foil may be
thoroughly foaked and tempered with the win-
ter's rains and frolls : — early in fpring the foot
of thc^ bank fliould be formed, and, In due fea-
fon, the layer put in, and the fence completed.
By this means a difgraceful nuifance is re-
m.oved, and a new flraight hedge obtained;
and this at a fmall additional expence. — The
roots alone, if the old hedge be full of large
ilub*, and loaded with ilem^ — will pay for
p-rubbingr :
Hi HEDGES.
t44
grubbing : I have known one let to grub upon
thefe terms. I have alfo known fixpence a
rod (of fcvcn yards) befides the roots given ;— *•
alfo, one fhilling a rod and the fmall roots.
The price of re-making — that is, fcouring
and banking up — an old ditch is nine-pence a
rod and beer ; fo that the difference between
re-making the old one and raifing a new one
is but three-pence a rod.
VII. Grubbing the borders of old hedges,
and turning up the leaves^ rough grafs, and top-
loil for manure, is much in practice •, and pro-
vided too much foil be not carried away from
the roots of the hedgewood, the pradtice is a
good one. The unplowed flip on the ditch-
lide is, generally, when the ditch is fcoured,
treated in the fame manner, and mixed with
the ihovellings of the ditch.
Thefe are pra<ftiGes, which, though valu-
able, arc in many parts of the ifland entirely
neglected ; the borders, on both fides, being
left as nurferies of weeds, whole feeds become
a nuifance, not only to the farm they
grow on, but to its neighbourhood.
VIII. The HEDGE-Vv'ooD ufually planted is
'xe'^;V^-/i?i'r» ; which, if properly planted, flouriflies
abundantly
NORFOLK.
113
abundantly in the Norfolk foil ; fome few bar-
ren fpots excepted; in which fituatlons furze
is the principal fence. Crab tree is fometimes,
though leldom, planted; but I have feen it
make a raj)id progrefs upon very poor foil ; and
for fuch it would, I apprehend, be found pre-
ferable to the hawthorn. Holly abounds in old
hedges ; growing very luxuriantly, and form-
ing an admirable fhelter for cattle in winter j
befides giving, in that bleak feafon, a chearful-
nefs and fancied (belter to the face of the coun^
try.
IX. Upon fome eflates it is the pra(ftice to put
in, when a new hedge is planted, a holly at every
rod, and an OAK-PLANT at every two or three
rods, among the white-thorn layer.
This is an excellent pradlice; provided the
young oaks be trained to a proper height be-
fore they be fuffered to form their heads. For^
in this cafe, they will become a valuable fource
of timber, without injuring, in any material de-
gree, the inclofures they grow between. It is
the roots of the afh and elm, and the tops of low
pollards, and tall over-grown hedge-woods,
which are injurious to the farmer, A timber-
oak, of fifteen to twenty feet item, does very
Vol. I. I little
114 HEDGES. f4.
little if any injury either to the crop, or the
hedge growing under it.
But if, on the contrary, the oaklings, thus
planted, be fufFcred to rife with more than on©
item, as ftubwood ; or, rifing fingly (which is
•feldom the cafe in a young hedge), they be
permitted to form their heads at eight or ten
feet high, with flat wide-fpreading tops, — they
lofe their intended value, and become nui-
fances, not only to the adjoining inclofures,
but to the hedge in which they grow. — Eli-
gible, therefore, as it is to plant young oaks
among hedgewood, the advantage to be ob-
tained from it refls wholly on the after-ma-
nagement.
For reafons why a tenant ihould not be fuf-
itrtd. to prwie timber-trees, fee Mi 3^. 5.
For refledlonson the time of cutting hedges,
fee MiN. 34.
For a propofed method of preventing-^nants
from deftroying hedges^ fee Min. 42.
For obfervations on ditches againji the fides of
hills, fee Min. 45.
For obfervations on ivied ditch-hanks, fee.
Min. 63.
For
14. NORFOLK. 115
For obfervations on thinning timbers, and on
/'iX'v;? timhers^ fee Min. %c^.
For obfervations on rsne'iDing worn-out
hedges, fee Min. 87.
For an inftance of a fufficient furze-hedge,
fee MiN. S8.
For general obfervations on timbers and pol-
lards in hedges, fee Min. 90.
For an inftance of ditches wajhed doijon by
rain, fee Min. 103.
For the method of fcwing furze-feed, with
general obfervations on furze-hedges , fee MiNa
104.
For the management of hedges in Fleg, fee
Min. ic6.
For refieclions on tke Midfummer-fhcot , fee
Min. 130.
I 2
ji6 I N C L O S U R E S. t5i
IS-
INCLOSURES.
THIS DIVISION of the county being prln-
eipally inclofed — fome heaths and a few com-
iiion-fields towards the north coaft excepted —
inftances of inclosure feldom occur. Two
inflances, however, have fallen fo far under
my notice, as to enable me to convey a'general
idea of the principles on which they were con-
duced.
One of them took place in the northern
part of the DiHridt. The fubjefls of inclo-
fure were a heathy wafte of feveral hundred
acres, of a tolerably good foil — (but, being
overgrown with furze, heath, brakes, and
other incumbrances, afforded little profit ei-
ther to individuals or the community) ; toge-
ther with two or three hundred acres of com-
mon-field land.
This inclofure was profecuted on the fame
liberal principles which raifed the Holkham
eflatQ,
IS. NORFOLK. ijy
eftate, and other eflates in Weft-Norfolk, to
their prelent ftate of pr<?du(5tivenefs. But as
the particulars which I procured, rerped:ing it,
will appear in a Minute at the clofe of the fe-
€ond volume, it is unneccflary to mention
them here.
The other took place (or was intended to
take place) in a more fouthcrn part of the
Diftrifl : the fubjeft, part of an extenfive
and (hiejiy harrot heath, belonging to feveral
furrounding pariJJjes, and iituated dijlan: frcm
manures. But here I am debarred, by motives
which I flatter myfelf arc a fufScient excufe
for my fiknce, from entering into further
particulars ; and my only reafon for intro.
ducingthe article inclosures into the prefent
volume was, to gain an opportunity of infer-
ring, from obfervations made in this Difl:ri<ft,
that very much depends, not only on the
MAMAGEMENT, but On the SUBJECT, Cr ficc, of
inclofure ^ and that lucrative and laudable as
inclofures in general are, or might be rendered,
it behoves men of landed property, and all
men concerned in thefe important tranfac-
tions, to fludy with fufficient attention the
I 3 NATUILAl
ii8 I N C L O S U R E S. 15.
NATURAL ABILITY of the objeft ill view,
and to raife their eftimate, with circumfpec-
tion, on principles of management fufE-
cienrly enlarged, to guard againft mifcarriages,
and fecure, with a degree of nnoral certainty, a
permanent improvement.
For fome account of the Fslbrigg inclofure,
fee MiN. 137.
PLANTING.
1 6,
PLANTING.
PLANTING is not only laudable as an art,
gr prefent of the higbcft importance to this
illand, but pleafurable as an amufemcnt.
In Norfolk, I had neither leifure nor oppor-
tunity of extending, on a large fcalc, 013/
prt^^tce in this art; but, as far as cbfirvation
could inform me, I had every advantage. A
pcrfon who had been regularly bred up as a.
nurferyman, and who was a credit to the art
he profelled, gave me every opportunity of
making myfelf fully acquainted with the bu-
fmefs of the nurfery, and the manual opera-
tions of planting : while a fuite of plantations,
of various ages, and in various Jiates, pafiing
; daily under my eye, afforded me an opportu-
I 4 tunity.
120 PLANTING. ^6.
tunity, equally fortunate, of making my ob-
fervations on what may be termed the theory of
planting.
But my mind being fufficiently employed on
the fubjedts of estate-agency and husbak-
CRY, I did not attempt, in Norfolk, todigeft my
ideas upon planting. I wasfatisfied with hav-
ing gained a general knowledge of the fubjeft,
and with having impreffed on my memory a
few leading principles.
Hedge-planting, and the management of
HEDGE-ROW TIMBER, I confidcred as infepara-
ble departrnents of the management of ellates
(io nearly are planting and eftate-agency allied) j
and therefore {ludied them with unremitted at-
tention. I was alfo led, in a few inftancgs, from
the efhate to the plantation, as will appear by
Ts/linutes made at the time of pradice ; and wa?
alfo induced to mJnute a few flriking incidents
which occurred to my obfervation.
But THE PROPAGATION OF WOOD-LANDS,
merely as fuch, not being a practice of the
Diftrifl, I had few opportunities of making
obfervations on that important fubjecSt. Orna-
mental plantations, about the rcfjdcncies of
men of fortune, are here, as in other Diftriifls,
falliipnabk ;
^6. NORFOLK. laf
fafliionable : nor, however, as objeds of orna-
ment nierely, but likewifc as nurferies of game.
But it being my intention to confine myfelf,
in this workj to utility, rather than to treat ei-
ther of ornaments or amufements, I will, under
this head, only beg leave to recommend to the
proprietors of landed ciiatcs in Eaft-Norfollc
to propagate coppice- woods on the fprlngy
mar.o-ins of meadows, and on thofe incorrisible
fwamps which occur in almoft every eflate ;
and to remove the woody hedge-rows, fo dif-
jxraceful to Norfolk as an arable countrv :
O J
raiiing, in the new-planted hedges, oak-tim-
bers, at fuitable dillances ; trainingthem up to
fuch height as will render the timber of the
greateft value, and do the land they grow in
the lead poffible injury. I will alfo beg leave
to intimate that the fpirit which, at prcfent,
very properly prevails of extirpating ash-tim-
ber from hcdge-rovv's, will, in all human pro-
bability, be productive of a fcarcity, in time
to come, of that necefliiry material in rural af-
fairs : and it is equally probable, that v/hoever,
at this time, propagates groves of ash, in
angles and vacant corners, will be incrciifing,
at 2, fmall expcncc, the value of their cflatcs,
and
122 P L A N T I N G. 16.
»nd be providing, at the fame time, a necejjkry
of life for the rifing community.
It now only remains to mention the method
of SELLING and taking down timber, in
this Diftrift.
The prevailing practice is to fell it {land-
ing, at fo much a ton when fallen ; mcafuring
the timber, down to fix inches timber-girt; the
top-iuood and x\\e. hark (of oak) becoming the
property of the purchafer; who is ufually at
the expence of takingr it down.
It is likewife cuftomary for the purchaftjr
to difpofeof the bark (oi oak), and fomcrimcs
the top-wood, by the fame admeafuremcnt ;
the prices of boijh varying according to the
proportion which the tops of the trees, under
fale, bear to their flems.
/& -^i^' X ^^'^ ^^'^''^ ^^ oak-timb€r,m J'jSi, was three
V~fjff^ J^ ^0 S^'>'''cas to three pound fifteen fhillings a ton,
if^^r^~7f^Jx.^ of forty feet : the price of cak-hark, from ten
d^ to twelve fhillings ; and of top-ivood, from
fcven to twelve lliillings, each load of timber.
The price of naked oak-timber, in the rough,
was fifteen to twenty-pence a foot.
l.-i-fod -^Tbe price o^ afJo timber^ 9iand\x\g, was forty to
fifty ihillings a ton : in the ftick, ninc-pcncc to
one fliilling a foot.
The
i6. NORFOLK.
123
The ehn of Norfolk is of little value; for
before it acquires a fize to be ufefuL it beoins to
decay at the heart; — perhaps, owing to the
lightnefs of the foil.
The ajh on the drier lighter foils appears
fluntcd and fliort j but in, and near, the meadows
and fvvamps, it is of a firm growth, and a good
quality.
The heechis very rare in this DlftricL: never-
thclcfs, I have fcen it, upon a fubftratum of
marl, of a beautiful growth, and confidcrabie
fjze.
The method of taking down timber, in
Norfolk, is uniform, and, perhaps, peculiar
to the country. It is called, very aptl)', grub-
felling ; the operation partaking both of grub-
bing and of felling with the axe, in the com-
mon way, above-ground; a method which is
wafteful of timber. The Norfolk Woodman,
therefore, fells below the furface of the
ground ; by cutting off the horizontal roots
clofe to the item ; which, inftead of fliorten-
ing, he, in tffed:, lengthens, by adding to it
a conical point, cut out of the crown of the
root : fo that by this way of proceeding, a
greater length of tiiuber is obtained, than by,
£rfl-.
J2+ P L A N T I N G. j6,
iirfl, grubbing, and, afterward, cutting off the
butt with a faw. Grub-felling is, no doubt,
the rnofl eligible way of taking down hedge-
row timber ; and this accounts for its being
the eftablilhed practice in Norfolk.
For an infla-nce of the circlimfpe<5tion requi-
(ite in pruning hedge-rozv timherSj fee Min. 5.
For an \x\^2.nct oi tappijjg young oak-plants,
in a negleded nurfery^ground, with a common
fpade, fee Min. '^6.
For an inflance of fuccefs in tranfplanting
Jcrgc oaks, fee Min. 37.
For general obfcrvations on the proper foi{
and lituation for the <?/?>, fee Min. 38.
For an idea relative to changing the crop of
timber in agiven fituation, fee Min. 81.
For obfcrvations on thinning hedge-row tim-
bers^ 2ind on tiL'in ilml^ers^ fee Mm. 85.
For general obfcrvations on the treatment of
timaers and pollards in hedges^ fee Min. 90.
For an infcance of thinning a tall mixed pla?!-
taticiiy v/ith obfervaticns on different _^//>^«Vj of
timbcr-rrces, and with reflexions on the after-
management of plaiiiations in general, fee
?.!iN. 95.
For obfervatlons on the Midjiimmer-poat y fee
G E N E R A L
17.
GENERAL MANAGEMENT
O F
FARMS.
THE PRINCIPAL OBJECTS of the
Eaft-Norfolk hufbandry are.
Bullocks,
Barley,
Wheat ;
the other produdions of the Diflricft being in a
great meafure fubordinate to thefe three ; from
which, chiefly, the farmer expe£bs to pay his
rent and fupport his family.
The bullocks are fatted chiefly on
Tl'rneps,
and fometimes finiihed with
Ry£-grass, and
Clover:
which laft are alfo raifed for horfes, ftore-
cattle, and the dairy,
Oat»
126 MANAGEMENT OF FARMS. 17,
Oats,
too, are raifcd in {mill quantities for horfe-
corn ; and
Buck *,
in great abundance, for pigs and poultry.
Some fc'.v
Peas
are alfo grown for fvvine, (^or are bought up
by the millers, to improve the eolou?- of their
vvheat-ilour) ; — and fome, but very few',.
Vetches,
for foilino: horfcs.
Weld,
Hemp -f,
Hops, and
CoLIi-SEED,
("the laft more particularly in Fleg) arc occa-
fionally raifed , but in inconfiderable quantities.
* Buck — pclygc;iHm fa^ntyrjim—hwcV wheat, or hranJt ;
its common naiiie in the fouthern hundreds of Eall-Nor-
folk ; but in thii { art of the county its only name is
Buck : indeed the addition ivhcat (prob.ibly a corrup-
tion of the Dutch iwf/) is abfurd, and altogether impro,
per.
f Some fmall quantities are ^rov/n iipca the eaftcrn
coaft.
Sheep
»?•
NORFOLK, 127
Sheep
can fcarcely be enumerated among the objegti
of the Eait-Norfolk hufbandry ^ and
Cows
are kept chiefly for the purpofc of breeding,
and the ufe of the family.
Swine and
Poultry
aMv well attended to ; and, in the fouthern
parts of the Diftrid, are carried, in great quan-
tities, to the Norwich and Yarmouth markets.
Rabbits,
though fome few warrens occur in Eafl-Nor-
folk, arc not a ftaplc produdion.
But before the particular praftices obferved,
and the procefies made ufe of, in obtaining, fe-
parately, thefe feveral productions, can, with
any degree of propriety, be defcribed ; — it
will be neceflary, firft, to premife fuch general
PROCESSES, and departments of management, as
do not pertain, efpeciaily, to any individual
OBJECT.
The general subjects neceffary tobepre-
mlfed on the prefcnt occafion, are.
The prevailing method of laving out
FARMS, in Norfolk.
The
I2S MANAGEMENT OF FARMS. ^-j.
The succession of arable cRori;, in this
Diftricl:.
The soil-process ; — or the Norfolk method
of putting the foil into a proper flate of cul-
tivation.
The manure-process; — or the general ap*
plication, and method of applying, manures
in Norfolk.
The seed-process; — .or general obferva-
tions on the different modes of fovving.
The vegetating-process ;■— or tEe fum-
mer care, protedtion, and management of
crops, in general, from feed-time to harveft.
The harvest-process ; — not the procefs of
harveiVmg any one particular crop ; but the
general bufinefs of harveft.
The farm-yard management; not a de-
tail of the barn-management and confumption
of one feparate fpecies of crop, nor the win-
ter-treatment of any one particular fpecies of
livc-ilock ; but a defcription of fuch general
bufinefs of the barn and farm-yard, as cannot
with the fmalleft degree of propriety be given
iind?r any one fpecies, — either of ftock, or
crop.
For
f^y. NORFOLK. 120
For obfervations on the Norfolk farmers
partiality to arable land, fee Min. 49.
For further obfervations on this fubjedt, and
of their negled of grafs-land, fee Min. 51.
For an evidence that the ftock of a farm
onght to be adapted to the given foil, fee
Min. 75.
For an evidence of the cheapnefsof the Nor-
folk pradice of hnfbandr)^ fee Min. ^S.
For the general management of the Fleg
Hundreds, fee Min. 106.
For an evidence of the excelk'ncy of the
arable management of Norfolk, fee Min. 112.
For an evidence of its being adapted to a
dry foil, fee Min. 114.
For the general management in Blowfield
Hundred, fee Min. iiS,
Vol. I, K. i^>
I3© LAYING-OUT FARMS. iZ,
1 8.
LAYING-OUT FARMS,
MANY of the prefent farms, efpeclally
thofe of confidcrable fize, have formerly lain
to perhaps two, three, or more feparate meffa-
ages J each, perhaps, occupied by its refpec-
tive owner : this, and the intermixture of pro-
perty already fpoken of, accounts for that abun-
dance of petty inclofures, — or " pightles" — fo
difo-raceful to Eafl-Norfolk as an arable coun-
ts
try.
It is, however, the prevailing fafliion at pre-
fent, when adjoining pightles belong to the
fame proprietor, or when they can, by ex-
changes, be brought into the fame hands, to
erafe the intermediate fences, and lay them in-
to inclofures proportioned to the fize of the
farm to which they belong.
This, namely, proportioning the fize of the
fisldsto that of the farm, is a matter to which
Norfolk hufbandmen at prefent are very atten-
tive. The fingular fyftem of hufbandry prac-
tifed
ISi NORFOLK; 131
tlfed in this Diftridl calls for a greater number
of divifions than arc neceffary in moft other
places. For although ah Eaft-Norfolk farmer
divides his farm into what he calls " fix Ihifts,"
to receive his principal crops in rotation, he
does not wifli for fewer than nineteen or twenty
arable divifions, in order that he may have an
opportunity of diftributing his turnep-crop over
different parts of his farm.
For fimilar reafons he does not clafs, but in-
termixes, his other arable crops.
This intermixture of crops renders driftways
neceffary ;— and they are no where more nu-
merous than in Norfolk.
Another important matter to which Nor-
folk hufbahdmen are attentive in laying-out
their farms, is that of endeavouring to lay their
" furlongs" north-and-fouth, that the fun may
have an equal influence on either fide the nar-
row ridges, upon which their wheat is almofl
linlverfally raifed.
K 2 S U C^
1-22 SUCCESSION. 19.
19.
SUCCESSION.
IN NORFOLK, as m other arable coun-
tries, hufoandmen vary more or lefs in the fuc-
ceffion of crops and fallows to each other.
But if we confine ourfelves to ibis Diflridl ;
namely, the north-eaft quarter of the county ;
we may venture to aflert, without hazard, that
no other Diftri(ft of equal extent in tlie kingdom
iis fo invariable in this refpeCt ; common-field
Diftrifts excepted.
It is highly probable, that a principal part of
the lands of this Diftridt have been kept inva-
riably, for at lead a century pad, under the
following courfe of cultivation :
Wheat,
Barley,
Turneps,
Barley,
Clover,
Rye-grafs, broken up abour
Midfummer, and fallowed for wheat, in rota-
tion.
Thus,
ig. NORFOLK. 133
Thus, fuppoiing a farm to be kid-out with
nineteen or twenty arable divifions of nearly-
equal fize, and thefe to be brought into fix re-
gular fiiifts, each (hift would confift of three
pieces ; with a piece or two in referve, at li-
berty to be cropped with oats, peas, tares,
buck; or to receive a thorough cleanfing by a
whole-year's fallow.
This courfe of culture is well adapted to the
foil of this Diftridt, which is much more pro-
dudlive of barley than of wheat ; and is in
every other refpedt, as will hereafter appear,
admirably adapted to that excellent fyflem of
management of which it is the bafis.
The foil of the fouthern parts of the Dif-
tri<fl being ftronger and deeper than that upon
which the foregoing courfe of crops is preva-
lent, it is better fuited to wheat ; and there th^
round of
Wheat,
Turneps,
Barley,
Clover,
is common ; though not in univerfal practice.
This difference in foil and management
renders it neccflary to confider the fouthern
K 3 Hun-
134 SUCCESSION. ig.
Hundreds of Fleg, South- Walfliam, and Blow-
field, as appendages, rather than as parts, of
the Dil>ri(ft moil immediately under defcrip-
tion : which is furnifhed with a lefs genial foil -,
namely, that fliallow, and fomewhat lightifh,
^fandy loam, which maybe called the common
covering of the county ; broken, however, in
fome places, by a richer, ftronger, deeper foil ;
and in others, by barren heaths and unproduc-
tive fands ; from which even the Hundreds
of Erpingham, Turnflead, and Happing, are
not entirely free ; though, perhaps, they en-
joy a greater uniformity of foil than any other
Diftricl of equal extent in the county.
This, therefore, is the fite be{l adapted to
the ftudy of the fyftem of management which
has raifed the name of Norfolk hufbandmen,
and which is ftill prefer vcd, inviolate, in this fe-
ci uded Diflrid. For a fhallow fandy-lpam, no
matter whether it lie in Norfolk or in any other
part of the kingdom, there cannot, perhaps,
bedevifed a better courfe of culture ; or, taken
ail in all, a better fyftem of management, than
that which is here in univerfal practice *.
* If any improvement of the prefent fyOcm can be madi,
it wcu'^d perhaps be by adopting the praiSticc of a judici-
OUSi
19- NORFOLK. 135
But excellent as this fucceffion of crops un-
doubtedly is, it cannot be invariably kept up j
for even a Norfolk hufbandman cannot com-
mand a crop of turneps or a crop of clover;
and when either of thefe fail, the regularity of
the fuccefiion is of courfe broken into.
If his turneps difappoint him, he either lets
his land lie fallow through the winter, and
fows it with barley, in courfe, in the fpring ;
or, more frequently, though lefs judicioufly,
fows it with wheat in autumn ; fometimcs,
though not always, fovving it with clover and
rye-grafs in the fpring; by this means regain-
ing his regular courfe.
If the clover mifs, the remedy is more dif-
ficult; and no general rule is in this cafe ob-
ferved. Sometimes a crop of peas is taken the
firfl: year j and the next, buck plowed under :
or perhaps a crop of oats are taken the firft
year, and over thefe clover fown for the fecond :
in either of thefe cafes, the foil comes round for
wheat the third year, in due fucceffion.
ous Hufbandman in the northern part of the Diftrift (Mr.
Edmund Bird, of Plumftead) ; who divides his farm into
feven, inflead of fix, fliifts ; his courfe of crops are the
fame as thofe of his neighbours ; his feventh fluft being
a U'hole-yc:jr'sy«//<?at' for wheat.
K 4 It
j^S SUCCESSION, 19.
It has already appeared in the heads of a
LEASE, page 75, that the Norfolk farmers are
reftrided from taking more than two crops of
corn fucceffively. At the clofe of a Icafc this
reflriftion may rometimes have a good cfted: ;
for ill-blood bet^veen landlord and tenant too
frequently leads a farmer to do what he knows
will, in the end, be injurious both to himfelf
and his farm. The crime of taking more than
two crops of corn fuccelTively is, however,
held, by farmers in general, In an odious light,
and is never pradtifed by a good farmer, un-
Iffs *' to bring into courfe," a fmall patch,
with fome adjoining piece •,-— or to regulate his
SOlh.
20. NORFOLK. J37
20.
SOIL-PROCESS.
IN THIS important department of huf-
bandry the Norfolk farmers are proficients. —
It is obfervable, however, that Norfolk being
an old-cultivated country ; and having been,
century after century, kept under a courfe of
arable management ; the difficulties of break-
ing-up rough wafte lands, and old leys, are,
at prefent, unknown ; the whole bufinefs of
thefoil-procefs being, now, the regular routine
of removing thofe foulnelTes, which all arable
lands are liable to ; and in putting the foil
into a fit ftate for the reception of the feed.
But thefe operations, fimple as they may
feem to unpradical obfervers, require much
fl<;ill and judgment; for on a proper conduct
in this department depends, confiderably, the
profit or lofs of an arable farm. And as the
Norfolk hufbandmen appear to me to be
mailers in this art, 1 will endeavour to convey
to my readers, in an ample manner^ their con-
dud:
ijS S OI.L-PROCES S. 20.
du<ft in this particular; in doing which, it will
be proper to conlider the followipig articles
feparately :
1. Plowing, 4. Cleanfing,
2. Harrowing, 5. Laying-up,
. 3. Rolling, 6. Draining;
and, previoufly, to give fome account of the
iingular praftice of this country, with refpe(5t
to the hours of work obferved, in every de-
partment of the Ibil-procefs.
The univerfal practice, I believe through-
out the county, is to go what is called " two
journies." In winter, when days are fhort,
the teams go out as foon as it is light, and re-
turn home at twelve o'clock to dinner : — go
out again at one, and remain in the field until
dark. In longer days, the cullom varies :—
the moil general praftice is to go out at feven
in the morning; — return at noon: — go out
again at two; — and return at feven in the even-
ing. Ten hours ; namely, five hours each jour-
nev J — are the longed hours of work ; except
in the hurry of barley feed-time, when thefe
hours may fometimes be exceeded.
The length of day is, therefore, not exceffive;
tut the work performed in fo fnort a time is
ex-
3Q, N O R F O L K, 139
extraordinary. The Norfolk plowmen always
do as much — in general, a great deal more —
in one journey, that is in five hours, — than
plowmen in general do in eight hours; which,
in moft parts of the kingdom, is the length of
the plowman's day.
This fadl, however, is no longer extraor>*
dinary, when we obfcrve their paces, rcfpec-
tively. Plow-tc?.ms, in general, travel at the
rate of one to two miles an hour ; whereas in
Norfolk they ftep out at not lefs than three to
four miles an hour ; and the fame, or a greater
agilltv, is preferved in the other departments.
I. Plowing. — Every thing is plowed with
two horfes, abreaft, driven and guided by the
plowman (fee Implements) ; and the common
day's work, except in wheat feed-time is two
acres! afad", this, which nothing but adlualob-
fervation could have taught me to believe.
The Norfolk hufbandmen pay due attention
to thejiate of the foil to be plowed, being care-
ful not to plow it too wet *, nor toa dry ; the
* The Norfolk plowmen have a fingular expedient to
prevent the foil when moift from turning up in whole gloliy
farrows, which they term *' fcoring ;" to prevent which
they tie a piece ©f ftrong rope-yarn round the plate or
mould-board ; which, by this means, is prevented from
gifting as a trowel upon the fpil.
latter
14© S O I L - P R O C E S 3. zo.
latter moft efpecially : not only becaufe their
plow and team are ill-calculated for flubbom
work ; but lel1:, in breaking up the foil at a
time when it is too dry to be cut clean with the
iliare, it fhould rife in clods, and thereby dif-
turb the " pan ;" which, upon every occafion,
-is held facred (fee Soil).
Jnftances of the mifchiefs of deep-plowing
are related : one of them by an old, and mofl
judicious hufbandman, to whofe opinion the
greateft deference and attention is due *. His
men having, in his abfcnce, plowed part of a
clofe when it was too dry, it broke up in large
thick clods ; the pan, which adhered to the foil,
being of courfe brought up to the furface.
He immediately forefaw the efFcdl which,
I have not a doubt, followed. This patch,
from -no other apparent circumftance whatever,
could nor, with all his fl^iil and induftry, be
brought to bear a crop of any kind equal to that
of the reil of the clofe, for fix or feven years
afterward. The crops on this part were uni-
formly, and obvioufly, not only foul, but bad ;
and this, notvvithftanding an extraordinary al-
lowance of manure and tillage were, from time
to time, beflowed upon it.
• Mr. Arthur Bayfield, of Antingham.
From
20. NORFOLK. 141
From this and other inflanccs of a fimllar
kind, as well as from general obfervation, I
am convinced that to plow beneath the wonted
depth, would, under the lingular circumftances
of the Norfolk foil, be injudicious manage-
ment ; — unlefs fome ready method could be hit
upon of forming, at a greater depth, a frefh paia.
'The methods of -plowing are various.— Ipx
making fallows, the prevailing praftice of
plowing fleet and " fUll pitch," alternately, is
very judicious : it not only breaks and mixes
the foil more readily than the common pradtice
of plowing always the fame, or nearly the fame
depth ; but, in the firft two plowings, it ren-
ders the operations more eafy : the firft, being
thin, goes lighter off the fliare ; and the fe-
cond being always (except for turneps) a crofs-
plowing, the Ihare has frefli firm ground to lay
hold of, by which means the plow is kept
fteady to its work.
To increafe this advantage it is common, on
very thin foils, to break up fallows by " rice-
balking," or by " Hob-furrowing i" which are
nearly the fame operation performed in diffe-
rent ways.
In
14-2 S O I L - P R O C E S S.
20-.
In rice-balking, the '' flag"* is always turned
toward the unplowed ground, the edge of the
coulter paffing clofe to the edge of the flag laft
turned : whereas, in flob-furrowing, the flag is
turned towards the plowed ground, the coulter
pairing fifteen or fixteen inches from the laft
plow-furrow; — into which, in this cafe, the
edge of the flag hangs ; — and, in both cafes,
a flip of unplowed foil, of a width nearly
equal to that of the flag, is buried.
Thefe methods of plowing are not peculiar
to Norfolk ; but I know no Diflridt in which
they are fo commonly praflifed by farmers in
general as they are in this county. The firft h
mofl: in ufe : it is the neater, and, perhaps for
the Norfolk foil, the more eligible operation.
Another method of plowing pradtifed iii
Norfolk, but not peculiar to it, is " two-fur-
rowing :" — trench-plowing — double-plowing.
This is done with two plows, one following
the other in the fame place : it is, in the flial-
low foil of this Diftrict, a difficult operation ;
but the wheels and the broad-fliare of the Nor-
folk plow render it Angularly well adapted to
this bufinefs. The foil, perhaps not more than
- '•• The provincial term for the furrow turned.
four
>•.
NORFOLK. 143
four or five inches deep, is to be divided into
two thin flices, the under one being to be taken
lip thick enough to bury the firft, wlthovic
bringing up at the fame time any part of the
fubilratum or pan : and this I have fcen done
with great exadlnefs.;
^he price of plowing, with a plain, clean
furrow, is two Ihillings and fixpence an acre !
which is the current price of the country, and
the rate which is, I believe, almoft invaria-
bly adopted by referees between out-going
and in-coming tenants. This interefting fadt
alone, accounts for the comparative high price
of land in Norfolk. In many parts of the
kingdom, ten {hillings an acre is a price of plow-
ing, equally current. How much, thea, ic
behoves gentlemen of landed property to in-
troduce upon their eftates the prad:ice of plow-
ing WITH TWO HORSES, AND GOING TWO JOUR-
NiES A DAY, — where it is pracflicable ; and
where it is not, to endeavour, by other means,
TO LOWER THE EXPENCE OF PLOWING J and
thus by introducing a real improvement, add
a permanent incrcafe to their rent-rolls.
11. Harrowing. — In making fallovv's, it is
cuftomary to harrow prefenily before each plow-
ing ;
144 S O I L - P R O C E S S. 14.
ihg •, the operation being too frequently defer-
red fo long, that the feeds of weeds, fet at liberty
by the harrows, have not time to vegetate, be-
fore they are again turned under the foil, and
placed out of the fphere of vegetation.
This injudicious management is not how-
ever univerfal ; good farmers making a point
of letting their fallows lie a fufficient length of
time between the harrowing and the fucceed-
ing ftirring.
One admirable pradtice peculiar, I believe,
to Norfolk, is that of making the horfes trot ac
harrow : it being a cuflom, which is prevalent
throughout almoffc every department of this
operation, to walk the horfes againft the rife,
if any, and trot them back again in the fame
place. ,,,T'^^^ excellent pradice not only rids
work and difengages the root- weeds from the
harrow-tines, as well as from the foil, leaving
them loofc on the furface ; but levels the land,-
in a manner which would be difficult to de-
fcribe, and which obfcrvaiionj alone, can render
evident.
The day's work of a pair of horfes, walk-
ing one way and trotting the other, the har-
rows over-lapping fo as to give the ground at
full double- tine, is laid at about feven acres.
ilJ.
ao. NORFOLK. 145
III. Rolling. — Very little general matter
falls under this head. One circumftance, how-
ever, requires to be mentioned.
The roller, notvvithftanding the lightnefs
of the foil, and its pronenefs to be injured by
dry weather, is never ufed in Norfolk for the
purpofe of comprefllon. I never faw one ufed
by a farmer either upon fallow or upon a lay ;
rot even upon the firft year of a clover-lay to
fmooth the furface for the lithe.
The only ufes to which I have feen a roller
put, in this Diftrid:, are that of fmoothing the
furface before fowing, to prevent the feed from
running down too low, and that of fmoothing
it afterwards as a preparation for the iithe * :
and even this operation is performed with a
roller not more perhaps i^han feven or eight
inches in diameter ! a circumftance which I
confefs, I am no way able to account for: never-
thelefs, it would be rafhnefs to condemn an
eftablifhed practice, unlefs I could, from my
own experience, or from adequate obfervation
on the experience of others, prove it to be in-
eligible.
I cannot, however, refrain in this Inftance
from recommending to the Norfolk hufband-
* And fomet'mes wheat is rolled in autumn. See "VV^heat,
Vol. I. L men
^4^^ S O r L - P R O C E S S. at,-
men to try, by accurate and repeated experi-
ments, whether the rolling of fallows, lays-,
corn-crops, and ilicadows, with a heaTy roller,
would, or would not, be eligible management,
on the Norfolk foil,
IV. Cleansing plow-land.- — Tlie Nor-
folk method of cleaning fallows from " quicks"
and other root-weeds, is, when they arc dif-
cngaged from the foil, to draw them into " rirb-
ges"-^rovvs — ^with the fame hatrows with which
they were difengaged (neither horfe nor hand-
rakes being ev«r ufcd in the operation j. In this
cafe, the horfes, walking flowlyy ai=e driven
with reins-, the driver following the harrows,
and lifting tbem up, at ftated diftanees. The
" quicks" are thervihook into' heaps with fork?,-
aad either b^rnt in the clofey or carried off to^
digeft in large heaps, as the v;eather fuits, or the
j-udcment of the farmer may determine.
Jf it be right, in making a fallow, to burn or
carry c^ the roots of couch or other graflesy
this is perhaps as fmipi'e a procefs as can be
ilfed for the purpofe.
It is a general idea tliat marl helps to cleanfe'
th^ foil from quicks.
20, NORFOLK. 1^
V. Laying-up plow-land. — For wheat,
the foil is ufualiy gathered up into very narrow
ridges : but for every other crop it is laid into
wide flat " warps," or beds of about ten paces
wide ; without any regard being had to the na-
ture of the fubfoil : which, notwithflanding it
is, in general, fufficiehtly abforbent to admit of
.this pradlice, is fometimes too retentive, and
coldi to admit of it with propriety.
This kind of larid, however, feldoni occurs
in Norfolk ; and this circumftance may be a
good reafon why a Norfolk farmer is fo truly
helplefs on a wet cold-bottomed foil * ; and
may account, in fome meafure, for his generally
failing in his attempts to farm on any other foil
than that of his own country.
The idea of gathering the foil into ridges,
and finking crofs-furrows for the purpofe of
getting rid of the furfacc-waterj is unknown to
iiim : if the fubfoil is not thirfty enough to
drink up the rain-Vv^ater as fall as it falls, it lies
upon the warps, or makes its Way acrofs them
in a channel of its own.
This, however, even fuppofing the pradlice
to be without exceptions, is no heavy charge
* For a ftiiking inftance, fee Mi n. 114.
L z a^ainS:
148 S O I L - P R O C E S S. 20.
againfl the Norfolk hufbandmen, confidered
merely as fuch •, for the Norfolk foil in gene-
ral is fufficiently abforbcnt to require neither
ridge nor furrow.
But there are patches, efpeclally on the fides
of the fwells, and on the margins of the mea-
ddws, which are too retentive to admit of fuch
management ; and there 2iXG: fofne few hufband-
men, who are fufficiently attentive to furface-
drains for carrying off the fuperfluous rain-
v/ater ; or, if that be found infufficient, have
rccourfe to
VI. Under-draining. — This, however, is
a pradlice which is not of long {landing in the
Diflrid: ; but may, I make no doubt, be found
highly ufeful to many parts of it.
Under-draining has, hitherto, been chiejfly, I
believe, done with wood; there being no Itoncs
in the Diflridt ; except a few fmall flints ga-
thered off the land ; and except fea-ftones up-
on the coaft ; — either of which would, if pro-
perly ufed, be preferable to wood.
For
20.
\
NORFOLK. 149
For an inftance, and the method, of under-
draining with wood, fee Mix. 2.
For a particular foil-procefs for barley and
turneps, on a very thin light foil-, fee
MiN. c^^.
For an evidence of the excellency of the
Norfolk foil-procefs, fee Mi n. 98.
For an inftance of injudicious management
of a wet foil, fee Miw. 114.
For further obfervatlons on fallows, fee
the heads buck., turneps, barley, wheat.
L 3 n't*
Jfp MANURE-PROCES S. 2U
21.
MANURE-PROCESS.
THE PRINCIPAL MANURES fet on
upon the lands of this Diflridt appear, in page
13, to be,
1. Marl, clays, and other earths.
2. Dung, and compoHs formed v/ith it.
3. Lime.
4. Soot.
5. Rape-cake,
6. Malt-coombs.
I. Marling. Marl has been To long in ufe
in ikis Diftrid:, that there are few farms vvith-
out marl-pits upon, or near them ; fo that
fearching for marl is at prefent feldom requifite,
and the art of difcoverlng It not much ftudied»
The herb coltsfoot {ttifJago farfara) abound-
ing on the foil, is confidered as an indication
of a jam of marl being fituated near the fur-
face. But, whether this is, or is not, an in-
fallible guide, — time and accidents or inten-
tional refearches have not failed to difcover
beds
21, N O R F O L K. isi
beds of marl In a^mofl: every eftate, and, ia
fome places, on almofl every farm, fituated
fufficlently near tlxe furfacc to he worked
with advantage.
Of the quality of mar%s, a« has hctn already
cbfervcd, the Norfolk farmers are, in a great
meafiMre, uninformed. That which falls moft
•readily, and *' gets to work'* the fooneil, is
in the belt eiieem ; but, in general, the quan-
tity of " uncallow'* (namely, the coping, or
covering of earth, which lies upon the head,
-or jam) is more attended to ths.a the intdnfie
i]uality of the marl.
The deplb of uncalloffj is generally very un-
equal : perhaps, <jn the fame jam of marl it
will vary from one or two, to fix or eight, feet
deep, the furface of the jam ufually ri(ing inta
inequalities, termed heads.
The depth of the jam is equally uncertain : I
have feen one worked twenty feet deep ; but
in general, I believe, ten or twelve feet may
be reckoned a middling depth.
The bottom of the jam, being generally a
white abforbent fund, no pump or artificial
drain is requifite to free a Norfolk marl-pit
trpni water, which no fooner touches the fand
L 4 than
152 M AN URE-PROCESS. ar.
than it vanifhes, as through the grate of an
open drain.
In working a marl-pit, the top-foil is thrown
back for manure — the remainder of the un-
callow thrown to the bottom of the pit, and
levelled for the carts to fland upon. When
the jam is low, the marl is thrown immediately
from it into the carts ; but if it be too high for
this operation, piles arc driven in a row a few
feet from the face of the jam ; and, as foon as
a crack is formed, water is poured into it,
more efpecially when the marl is dry and ftub-
born ; and by this means many loads are thrown
down at once ; either to the bottom of the pit,
or on to a plat- form level with the body of the
cart ; into which the marl, in this cafe, is
thrown with great eafe. Taking up the bot-
tom of the jam is the moft difficult part of the
operation ; the marl being firft to be cafl up
on to the bottom of the pit, and afterwards to
be thrown into the carts. But bv thus bring:-
ing up the bottom, two valuable things a^e
obtained ; — a drain for the water, and a moft
convenient receptacle for the next line of un-
callow,]
Th?
21. NORFOLK. XS3
The labour bellowed on marl previous to its
being put into the cart, whether it be incurred
by throwing down, loofening by pecks, crows,
&c. or fetching up the bottom, is termed
" calling"— the adt of throwing it into the cart
being called " filling."— The price of cafting
is three-pence to fix-pence a load, according to
the circumllances of the pit (the uncallovv-
ing being generally done by the day) ; and the
price for filling two-pence to two-pence half-
penny, according to the fize of the loads car-
ried. I have known three-pence a load given
for filling and fpreading large loads : the price
of fpreading, alone, is about one fhilling an
acre. The number of loads carried out in a
day by one team, varies, of courfe, with the
difiance to be carried : when the pit happens to
lie in or contiguous to the ground to be mar-
led, thirty loads have been carried ; — but five-
and-twenty is, I believe, confidered as a good
day's work.
The quavtity fet upon an acre is equally va-
rious ; depending upon two things : — upon the
judgement of the perfon who marls ; and up-
on whether the land has, or has not, been mar-
led heretofore.
It
fS4 M A N U R E - P R O C E S S. 21,
It Is known, from common experience, that
land which has been recently marled receives
no apparent benefit from a fecond drefllng of
the fame manure : but it is equally well known
that, after fome length of time has elapfed, a
repetition of marling will generally anfwer.
It is a notion, pretty generally adopted,
that, in this cafe, the quintity ought to be
greater than it was the firfl or preceding time :
and it being formerly the praftice to fet on
a great quantity at once,-— feldom, perhaps^
lefs than forty loads an acre, — this notion has,
probably, deterred many perfons from doing
that which would have been ferviceable to
themfclves and their country.
But there is not, I believe, any general rule
known, refpecfling either lime or quantity : I
have had frequent opportunities of making
obfervations on a farm which affbrds a Ibiking
inftance en this fubjedt. Tv/o or three different
tenants had failed fucceffively on this farm;
though by no means high-rented. The greateft
part of it had, within the memory of man,-
been marled with not lefs, in all human pro-
bability, than forty loads an acre; and the
tenants who failed defnaired of reaping any
bpneftt from a fecond marling after fp llioit
n^
NORFOLK. 151
an interval of time : but this farm falling into
the hands of a more judicious tenant, he has,
l^y marling, ('and by other ads of good ma-
nagement) accumulated, iii little more than
twenty years, a farmer's fortune ; during which
time he has marled upwards of one hundred
acres; and has found, from long experience,
that twenty-five loads an acre is, notwith Hand-
ing the recent marUng, a fufhcicnt quantity.
I do not mean to intimate that the fame ma-
nagement would every where produce the lame
eflfedt; but I will venture to fay, that no man
having marl upon his premifes, ought to negled
to try its effe(5t, by accurate and repeated ex-
periments, upon every piece of land in his pof-
felFion, — without being led away by any re-
ceived notion,— or general rule.
The quantity fet on, upon land which is
not known to have been marled, or out of
which the marl is worn, is, at prefcnt, Icfs
than formerly.
In the fouthcrn Hundreds, to which marl is
obliged to be fetched a great diftancc, ten or
twelve loads are confidered as a drcffing ; iix
or eight arc frequently fet on.
In the more central and northern parts of
t|ie Piftrid:, where marl is common on ^Imoft
?verjr
156 AI A N U R E - P R O C E S S. 21.-
cvcry farm, twenty ta thirty loads a-n acre are
generally allowed, — and fomctimes forty loads.
When it is known, from experience, or
taken for granted without proof, that land,
either through a recent marling or other caufe,
is not improveable by marl alone, a fmall
quantity is frequently mixed up with dung ;
either by bottoming the farm-yard, or the
muck-hcapg, with it ^ or by mixing it layer
for layer with the dung in the heaps. In ei-
ther cafe, they are afterward turned up, and
thereby mixed more intimately together. —
With this preparation, marl has been founj
to anfwer, where, in its natural fiate, it had
no effefl.
The fymptom, or indication, of a piece
of land requiring to be marled, is taken from
the plants which prevail upon it. — " Buddie'*
ij:hryfanthemum Jcgetum — corn-marigold) is con-
sidered as a certain intimation that the land
it abounds upon requires to be marled.
"Smart-weed" (pclygonum Pennfyhanicum — pale-
flowered perficaria) is likewife an obfervable
fymptom. It is, I believe, an undoubted facl,
that Ujarl, in a manner, extirpates thefe plants
from the foil ; — and that " quicks" (triiicum
refens) are confidcrably checked by it.
With
ii. NORFOLK. 157
With refpedt to the cropy for which marl
is fet on, there is no general rule : it is fome-
times fet on for turneps, fometimes for barley,
and frequently upon the fecond year's lay for
wheat ; which lafl is, perhaps, the beft ma-
nagement.
The expence of marling varies with the quan-
tity fet on, the diftance to be carried, and the
flare of the pit. — Suppofe twenty-five loads an
acre to be fet on, the diftance from a quarter
to half a mile, and the expcnce of caftino-
three-pence a load ; and that a team draws out
and fets on the twenty-five loads in two days :
25 loads, at 6d. for cafling, filling, ^. s. d.
andfpreading - - o 12 6
Two days work of a team, at 10/. i o ©
Uncallowing, and extra wear and
tear of implements and tools -076
;C- 2 00
II. Dunging. The method of raifing dung
upon the premifes will appear under farm-
Yard MANAGEMENT,
The application of dung is, in the ordinary
pradtice of the Diftridt, to cLe turnep and
the WH^AT crops.
For
15^ MANURE-PROCESS. in
ForTURNEPS, the " ftable-muck" is ufually
carried out, from time to time, as it accumu-
lates, or as the weather anfwers, in winter ; and
the "par-muck," wanted for this crop, early in
the fpring ; and piled up in heaps in or near
the intended turnep-clofes ;-^a bottom being
previoufiy formed of marl, or " manner,**
about a foot thick, and neated up into a long,
fquare bed to fet the pile upon.
The method of carrying out farm-yard dungj
*' when a farmer wants to get bufmefs for-
^Ard," is generally this : Two fillers, a driver,
and an unloader, with fix horfes and three
carts, are a fet, for a fiiort diftance : one of
the carts being always in the yard — one on
the road- — and one at the dung-heap ; it being
a univerfal praftice, which prevails through-
out the Dlflridt, to fet the carts by the fide of
the heap and unload them with forks.
The crime of drawing the load on to the
heap is rarely committed in Norfolk. On the
contraryj every lump is carefully broken, and
the whole piled up light and even, with almoft:
as much c-are and attention as farmers, in fomc
places, befrow upon their hay-rick?.
The
±1. ^t O R F O L K. 159
The ordinary day's work of the fct above-
mentioned is twenty-five loads ; if the diflance
be very lliort, thirty loads are frequently car-
ried out : in this cafe, however, an additional
boy is reiljuired to afEfl: in levelling and form-
ing the heap.
The filling is generally done by the load ;— -
another admirable pradlicc : the price one
penny a load ; a llriking inflance of the low
wages and hard work of this country.
This prad:ice ought to be copied in every
country ; for it would, in moft places, be
cheaper to pay even three-pence a load, than
to have the dung cart filled by the day ; in
which cafe, the team is ever flanding idle until
ttie load be made up : whereas^ when the
filling is done by the load, that feldom hap-
pens. This accounts fufficiently for the extra-
ordinary number of loads carried in a day, h^
Norfolk.
For WHEAT, the remainder of the par-yard-
muck is generally, in the fpring, after the
cattle are turned out to grafs, turned up into
piles in the yards, where it remains until the
foil be prepared to receive it ;---the piles l^e-
ing by good farmers re-turned in the fummcr ;
i6d M A N U R E - P R O C E S S. u.
an operation, however, which is too frequently
negletled.
Or, inltead of turning the piles in the yard,
they are fometimes carried, at leifure-times in
fummer, on to the land, and there piled afrelh :
in either cafe, the compoft, by the time it be
wanted to be fet on, is thoroughly mixed and
digelled.
The method of fettin^ on dung Is fimilar to
that of carrying-out : and from twenty-five to
thirty loads are confidered as a day's work for
one team and two fillers : all fet on in hillocks.
The quantity fet upon an acre Is, of courfe,
proportioned to the quantity of land to be ma-
nured, and the quantity of dung to be fet on :
ten loads of good fpit-dung, or twelve to fif-
teen loads of compofl:, is, perhaps, the medial
quantity fet upon an acre, for turneps : — for
"ji'heat a fmaller quantity, and generally of a
worfe quality, is ufually allowed.
Some few farmers manure their clover-leys,
but this is by no means common \ the appli-
cation of dung being, as has been faid, in a man-
ner wholly to the turncp and wheat crops.
It may alfo be laid, in general terms, that
all the dung fprcad upon this Diflrid is plozved
in :
21. NORFOLK. i6i
in: WHEAT is fometimes !opdreJ/ed with it ; but
I have met with few inftances of that fpecies of
management.
III. Liming. It has already been obfcrvcd
under buildings an'P repairs, p^ige 91, that
the lime of this Diftridt is burnt entirely from
marl, with fea-coal, in drawing-kilns : at leaft
I never obferved a Handing kiln *.
The price varies, in a fmall degree, in dif-
ferent parts of the Diftridt : nine fhillings a
chaldron of thirty-two bulhels is a medium
price. See note, page 91.
L.ime, however, cannot, as has been before
obferved, be confidered as a common manure
in this Diflricft j and while men will continue
to draw general conclu(ion,s, from particular
incidents or cxperlmentf?, in matters of agri-
culture, more efpecidlly on the effe<fts of this
myfterious manure, they will ever be of dif-
ferent opinions. Until the operation of lime
upon foils, and vegetables, be better known
than it is at prefent, it is in vain to reafofi
about it.
* Namely, a kiln which is filled and bur-nt-out without
firawing oft any of the lime while burnin^^.
Vol. I. M ' If,
ito M A N U R E - P R O C E S S. 21.
Ifj by accurate and repeated experiments, a
giyen lime be found to have no profitable ef-
h£t upon a given foil, it would be abfurd to
continue to lay that particular lime upon that
particular foil. On the contrary, if, by a fimi-
lar courfe of experiments, a given lime be
found to a6t profitably upon [3. given foil, it
would be equally abfurd to let any argume>iif
howfoever plaufible, prevent a man from reap-
ing the advantage which fo fortunate a circum-
Hance has thrown in his way.
There may be foils in Norfolk upon which
the Norfolk lime would have no beneficial ef-
fect ; but that there are fome upon which it has
a beneficial effed:, I am certain ; not only from
my own experience, but from the practice of
fome of the beil farmers in the Diftxldl; and
this, too, upon lands which have been here-
tofore marled^.
If by lime, or any other fofiil or extraneous
manure, a Norfolk farmer could fecure a crop
of wheat without dung, the advantage would
be very great. The whole fyjftem of the Norfolk
management hinges on the turnep-crop ; and
'^his depends, in a great meafure, on the quan-
tity of dung. No dung, — no turneps, — no
it, NORFOLK. 163
bullocks, — no barley, — no clover, — nor teathe
upon the fecond year's lay for wheat.
How much then it behooves the Norfolk
hufbandmen, and turnep-farmers in general,
to trcafure up dung for the turnep-crop.
The lofs of a crop of wheat is only a lingle
lofs, and its efFedts momentary and certain ;
whereas the lofs of the turnep-crop deranges
the whole farm, and its effects may be felt to
the end of a leafe.
If it be found, from adequate experience,
that lime is infufficient to anfwer the defired
purpofe ; and if it be found neceffary to right
management that a certain quantity of wheat
Ihould be every year grown ; other fadlitious
or extraneous manures might, by a continued
fearch and a proper fpirit of indullry, be ob-
tained.
The general method of applying lime is to let
it fall in large heaps, and tofpread it out of
€arts upon fallowed ground, either 'for wheat
or for barley.
7he quantity ufually fet on — about three chal-
drgas an acre*
M 2 IV.
i64 A! A N U R E - P R O C E S S. m.
IV. Sowing Soot. Near towns foot is ufed
as a top-drcffing tor wheat, ia February or
March.
'The time of fovAng is confidered as very ma-
terial. If it be fown early, andthe froft catch
. it, its ftretigth is theFcby lowered : if late, and
Ro rain falls ta v/afk it in, it is thought to be
rather injurious than beneficial to the crop of
wheat. And it is not, in any cafe, found of
much, if any, fcrvicc to the fucceeding crop of
barley,
*The method of /(Hjohrg it is extremely fi-mple-,
and, in the only inilance I faw the fowing of
foot pradlifcd, her^, was very complete.
A favo-urable opportunity being embraced,,
<\'hen the wind blew gently and in the direc-
tion, o? nearly in the fame diredion, as the
lands or ridges lie, — the fame waggon which
brought it from Norwich, and which, until
the opportunity ofFersd, had ftood fafe under
cover, was dravvn^ in a furrow, againft th-c
wind ; while a man, {landing on the outlide of
tht waggon, fpread the foot, with a fhovel,
feveral yards wide, on either fide of him ; th«
height of his fituation at once enabling him
to fpread it wide, and cten. As he reached
the-
2fC NORFOLK. 165
the windward end of the lands, the team
wheeled round under the hedges, and took a
fr-efli width.
The quantitj fct on was forty bufliels an acre.
V. Manurin-c with rape-cake.-— Rapu-
cake is not a common manure in this Diftrift ;
but it is ufed by fome very good hufbandmen,
towards the north coafV : particularly by the
jiidicious manager mentioned, in this fedlion,
under the article marling *; who has not only
marled one hundred acres of land, which men
of lefs judgmiCiit than kimfclf confidered as
unimprovable by marl ; but ha<:, in the courfe
of about twenty )'ears, laid out eight
hundred pounds in rape-cake : and his fuccefs
is a ftriking evidence in favour of the doflrine
above held forth ; namely, that of applying
the dung wholly to the turncp-crop, and drcf-
fins for wheat with fome other manure.
He fetches the cake fevcn or eipht m/ilcs,
from Cromer or Blakeney ; where it cofls him
from forty fhillings to three pounds a ton ;
<^ith which he drcfles three acres. Being prC'
** IMr. Edmund Bu;d, of Plumftcad.
M 3 vioufly
|66 MANURE -PRO CESS. 2U
vioufly ground, or broken into fmall pieces, it
is fown, by hand, out of a common Tecd-box,
upon the lafl plowing but one of a fummer-
f allow, for wheat.
VI. Malt-dust. — This is the moft ge-
neral adventitious manure of the Diflridt ;
every malt-houfe furnifliing more or lefs of it ;
but the quantity, even upon the whole, being
fmall, it can only be of advantage to a fevy
^idividuals.
For obfervations on marling, in South-
Walfham Hundred, fee Min. §5.
For a propofed melioration of the foil by an
improvement in the foil-procefs, fee Min. 77.
For obfervations on *' claying," in Fleg, fee
MiN. 106.
For experiment on the time of manuring
grafsland, fee Min. 127.
For the expence of marling, by water-car^
riage, lee Min. 136.
22.
312. NORFOLK. i6;
22,
THE SEED-PROCESS.
I. BROADCAST may be faid to be the
<inly method of fownig in this Diltrift : — and
the plow fwith feme few exceptions) the only
implement ufed in covering the feed.
II. Drilling, notwithfianding the foil is
fo peculiarly adapted to this operation, is en-
tirely unpradlifed. The only exception to ran-
dom-lowing is,
III. Dibbling — provincially, 'Mabbing."-—
It is performed in two ways ; namely, by
■hand-dibbles, and by dibhing-r oilers : the lat-
ter however being in the hands of very few,
and being, I believe, ufed for wheat only,
they will be mentioned more particularly
.under that article. But hand-dibbles are ufed
for peas as well as for wheat. Indeed, in this
Diftri(5l, they are more in ufe for the former
M 4 than
r68 S E E D - P R O C E S S. 22.
than for the latter; the dibbling of which
cannot be faid to have yet gained a footing in
it : nor, perhaps, are the {hallow foils of this
part of the Diflridt adapted to the pradtice,
how excellent foever it may be upon deeper
richer foils. Neverthelefs, the pradice being
peculiar to Norfolk, (and the part of Suffolk
adjoining to Norfolk) I embraced every op-
portunity of gaining what information I could
iclpcding it, and was iingularly fuccefsful in
jiiy enquiiies ; the refults of which appearing
fully in Minutes made at the time of enquiry,
I forbear faying any thing further upon the
fubje£t in this place.
IV. State of the soil. — The hufbandmen
of Norfolk, not^vithftanding the natural dry-
nefs and lightnefs of their foil, are particularly
careful not to fow fpring crops when the foil is
what they call " cold and heavy." — When
they are under the ncccfllty of fowing under
this predicament, they endeavour to fow above
and harrow in the feeds -,- — whereas, If the
feafon be tolerable, it is a prevailing practice
to plow in almoft all kinds of grain. Whe^i
the foil is fccn to fmoke after a fnowcr at fun-
rife.
2i. NORFOLK. 169
rifcj it is confidered to be in a delirable flatc
for fcmination.
For the refult of experiments with Mr.
Duckett's Drill, fee Min. 19.
For obfervations on dibbling, fee Mm.
23, 26, 28.
For refledions on regulating the time of
fowing by the feafon rather than by the fun,
fee MiN. 125.
25. VE-
J70 VEGETATING-IROCESS. rr.
^3
VEGETATING -PROCESS.
I. IT HAS already been obferved, that
ROLLING crops is feldom praflifed in this coun-
try ; unlefs to fmooth the furl'ace, in a flight
degree, as a preparation for the fithe.
II. Hoeing is ftill Icfs in practice ; except
for TURNEps, and fometimes for the furrows of
WHEAT.
III. Hand-weeding is, however, carefully
attended to by farmers in general j and is,
generally, performed by the acre : — a pradlice
I have not met with elfewhere ; though moft
eligible to be adopted in every Diftrid : a far-
mer has not a more difagrecable ta(k than that
of attending to weeders by the day. The
price is, of courfe, proportioned to the foulnefs
of the crop to be weeded : — from fixpcnce tq
five Ihillings an acre is given.
IV.
513. NORFOLK. 171
IV. Stonh-picking clover-lay is alfo ge-
nerally done by the acre :— the price tVN'opence
to threepence [an acre ; the (quantity of ilones
being in general fmall.
V. The method of frightening rooks, in
pradice here, efpecially when they take to
patches of corn which are lodged before bar-
vefl, is fimply to {tick up a tall bough in the
part infefted : if a gun be fired near the place,
before the bough be fet up, this fimple expe-
dient feldom fails of being eifedtual.
If rooks make an attack after feed-time, or
when they take, generally, to the crop before
harvefl, a boy is fet to fcare them ; they
being feldom attempted to be fhot at in Nor-
folk ; where a notion prevails, and is perhaps
well-founded, that rooks are eflentially ufeful
to the farmer, in picking up worms and
grubs i efpecially the grub of the cock-
chaffer, which, it is believed, is frequently in-
jurious to the meadows and marfnes of this
j:ountry,
VI. But whether rooks Mre, or are not,
^ipon the whole, hurtful to the farmer, there
are
J72 VEGETATING-PP.OCESS. 23.
are, in Norfolk, three fpecies of animals, which,
on a certainty, are dcftrudtivc to him : thcfe
are Hares, Pheasants, and Sparrows:
the lafl of which are not Icfs difgraceful to
the farmers themfclvcs, than the two former
kre to their landlords ; and it would be
very difficult to fay, which of the three
would, to a well-wiflier to hufbandry, and a
ftranger in the country, appear the mod dif-
gufting fight. I confefs, that having pre-
conceived feme idea of the mifchiefs that muft
neccfiarily arifc from an inordinate quantity of
game, the clouds of fparrows which are fuffer-
cd to prey upon the produce of this country,
were to me the greater caufe of furprife,
Butlhameful as is the waftc arising from fpar-
rows, it isinconfiderablc, when compared with
the devaflation which is caufed by hares and
pheafants, in the neighbourhoods of kept-covers.
The turnep-crop, the main ftem of the
Norfolk hufbandry, fails a facrilice to hares:
The quantity they eai is confiderablc, but
fmall in comparifon with the wafie they create.
Before a hare will make her meal of turneps,
ihe will tafte, perhaps, ten, without meeting with
one to her tooth. Her method of tailing, is
to
.ij. NORFOLK. 173
to peel ofTa piece of rind, about the fize of a
Ihilling, upon the top of the turnep •, in order
that Ihe may, with nicer judgment, make her
effay upon the pulp : in doing this, a recep-
tacle is formed for the rain, and a wound
of courfe made for the froft to operate upon :
the part prefently becomes putrid ; in a few
weeks a general mortification takes place ; and
the turnep, thus partially bitten, is, as a/W,
entirely loft to the farmer, and to the com-
munity.
The wheat-crop fuffers principally from
-pheafants : they begin with it the moment it is
fown, and prey upon it fo long as it remains in
the field ; frequently follow it into the rick-
vard i and, in fevcre weather, into the barn-
yard : nay, I have known them, not fatisfied
with robbing the pigs and poultry, make their
entry into the barn itfelf ; where they have been
found, by the farmer or his labourers, feeding
in numbers upon the barn-iioor. Thcfe depre-
dations are not confined to wheat \ but are of
courfe extended to other crops.
The bar ley-crop fuffers principally from
bares; but upon this their mlfchiefs are not 1^
oenerai
174 VEGETATING-PROCESS. 23.
general as upon the tnrnep-crop. So long as
the barley keeps young and fucculent, they
feed promifcuoully ; but when it begins to run
up to ftem, they confine themfelves (if the
piece be too large to keep the whole of it un-
der) to particular parts ; which, by being kept
continually cropt as it fhoots, affords them a
frefli bite through the fummer ; fo that towards
the time of harvefl, when the crop begins to
change, patches of half an acre or an acre,
{till in a graffy (late, become confpicuoufly
fcattercd over the piece.
'Whether the crop be of barley or of wheat,
it receives, throughout, material injury by
the tracks made acrofs it.
Tfie clover, alfo, receives injury from W^/,
by the young heads being eaten down to the
crown in winter, and by the crop being check-
ed in thefpring ; thereby fuffcring the drought
to get polTeffion of the foil. But the clover-
crop receives flill greater injury from phsafants ;
which arc not content with the foliage, but
feed on the vitals of the plant; pecking out its
** heart," as it la emphatically called : aamely,
the center of the crov/n of the root.
It
i^. NORFOLK. 175
It is, indeed, an opinion among farmers,
who are unfortunately fixed near kept-covers,
tliat the pheafants do more injury to their clo-
vers, than they do eitb.cr to their turneps or
their barley ; or, fome are of opinion, even to
the wheat-crop; for the lofs of the clover
by pheafants, deranges their farm in a fimilar,
thoueh not in fo fenfible a manner, as the lofs
of their turneps by hares ; whereas the lofs of
the wheat, though great in the firft inftance, is
lefs injurious in its confequences.
To a perfon who has not been eye-witnefs
to the deftrudtion whch accompanies an inordi-
nate quantity of game, the quantity of damage
is in a manner inconceivable.
Let us fuppofe that a fuite of kept-covers
give protedion to five hundred brace of hares :
one hundred and fifty brace, it is confidently
afferted, have been counted, at onetime, on one
fide of a fingle cover. I have myfelf fecn
from fifty to a hundred brace under the eye at
once.
Let us further fuppofe, that five hares de-
vour, or deftroy, as much food as one of the fmall
heath flieep of this country : this, if we may^
depend on an accurate experiment made on the
quantity
176 VEGETATING-PROCESS. 2^3.
quantity of turnep eaten by one of thefe glut-
tonous animals in a ftate of confincmcntj is, as
the former, a reafonable fuppofitlon.
Any man, converfant in rural affairs, can form
fomc idea of the havock which two hundred
wild heath fheep, turned loofe into a fence-
lefs corn-country, muft neceffarily make among
the crops. But if, in addition to thefe, a thou-
fand head of poultry were at the fame tin^ kt
loofe, it would be no difficult matter for any
man to conceive a pretty ftrocg idea of the
confequences.
From what I hf.ve myfelf feen, and from
what I learnt from thofe whom woful expe-
rience has taught, I am led to believe, that
ichere are not Icfsthan one thoufand acres of tur-
neps, one thoufand acres of clover, o-ne thoufand
acres of barley, and one thoufand acres of wheat,
jinnually dertroycd, or materially injured, in this'
county, by hares and pheafants..
My calculaLlon is this: — Norfolk contains,,
as nearly as this calculation requires, one million,
acres of land. Suppofe that half the county
confifts of inaiflies, meadows, fneep-walks, and
other grafihmd;^, heaths, commons, wood-
lands.
23. NORFOLK. jjy
landsj roads^ and hedge-rows, there remains
five hundred thoufand acres of arable land.
This however is, I believe; too fmall a propor-
tion ; we will therefore, to eafe the calculation,
and to render it, perhaps, more accurate,
eftimate the quantity of arable land at fix hun-
dred thoufand acres ; which being divided
agreeably to the ccurfe of hufbandry m.oft
prevalent throughout the countyj affords, annu-
ally, one hundred thoufand acres of wheat, two
hundred thoufand acres of barley, one hundred
thoufand acres of clover, and from fifty to one
hundred thoufand acres of turneps.
I am clearly of opinion, that a quantity equal
to one acre in a hundred acres of wheat, to one
acre in two hundred of barley^ to one acre in
a hundred acres of clover, and to more than one
acre in a hundred acres of turneps, is wholly
dellroyed or irreparably injured by hares and
pheafants.
1 do not niean that a thoufand diflind" acres
of any of tlicfe crops can be picked out ; but
that there is, upon the whole, a dePtruclion
adequate to the produce, on a par, of a thou-
fand acres.
Vol. L N ioco
ijB VEGETATING-PROCESS. 23.
icoo acres of wheat, worth on a £. s. d.
par of crops, in a par of years,
61. 6,000 o o
loooacresof barley, at 4I. los. 4,500 o o
1000 acres of clover, and the
confequential damages 5,000 o o
750 acres of turneps, and the
confequential damages, at lol. 7,500 0 o
£. 23,000 o o
If we view this inordinate quantity of game
in a moral light, its evil confequences, whe-
ther we confider them in a private or a public
view, are ftill greater.
There are an hundred, perhaps five hundred,
men in this county whofe principal depen-
dence, for their own and their family's fup-
port, is on poaching. The coal-irade and
fifheries are not more certain nurferies of Tea-
men than kept-covers are of poachers. An
exceffive quantity of game is not more certainly
deftrudtive of the crops they have acccfs to,
than it is inevitably produftive of idlenefs and
diflionclly among the labourers of the neigh-
bourhoods Two or three lliillings for a phea-
fant, the ufual price, 1 undcrfland, given by.
the wholcfale dealers in Norwich, is a tempta-
tion.
2^. N O R i^* O L K. 179
lion, to a man who is not flri<ftly honeil and
induftrious, too powerful to be wkhftood.
For a while he p-oes on in lecurlty : but his
ways and his haunts being at length dilcover-
ed, he is taken ; and, if not knocked on the
head in his fciiffle wnth the keepers; fent to
gaol.
Having lain here his wonted time, he Tallies
forth again, not only a more defperate poacher,
but an incorrigible rogue, fit for any thing.
Having been two or three times taken, and
having lain upon the whole, perhaps, twelve
months in gaol ; having learnt to live by night,
and to idle and lleep away the day •, he cannot
reverfe his way of life; and he is become too
notorious to carry on, any longer, his trade
of poaching.
His cafe now becomes defperate ; and if he
is not fortunate enough to get into a gang of
fmugglers, he takes, of courfe, to houfe-
breaking, or feme other high-way to the gal-
lows.
Nor is this the fum of mifchief : — A gentle-
man who preferves an inordinate quantity of
game upon his eftate, is, in the nature of things,
perpetually in hot water, with the yeomanry and
N 2 mipor
i8o VEGETATING-PROCESS. aj/
minor gcnilemen of his neighbourhood. And for
what advantage ? A mere childifh gratification —
a toy. — The child has its bird of pith, the
fchool-boy his daws and magpies, ladies their
aviaries, and gentlemen their kept-covers -, —
merely for the fake of fhevving off the pretty
creatures •, or of faying that they have got them
in their pofftilion.
In point of real diverfion, kept-covers are
utter enemies* What hounds can hunt in
covers with a thoufand hares in them ? And
the diverfion of lliooting pheafants in a kept-
cover, is juft equivalent to that of lliooting
fmall-birds in a rick-yard, or poultry at a barn-
door.
Thefe obfervations do not arife from an anti-
pathy to rural diverfions, nor, I flatter myfelf,
from an overweening fondnefs for rural econo-
my. I have profeffed myfelf upon a former
occafion, and ftill profefs myfelf, a friend to
both; and as fuch I beg leave to intimate to
gentlemen of large eftates, that if, inftead of
laying wafte the lands immediately round their
refidences, they would Icattcr fmall covers over
different parts of liieir eftates ; more efpecially
by the fides of rivulets in which water-creiTes
abound j
23. N O R F O L K. iSi
abound; and if, inftead of employing in the
iliooting-feafon half-a-dozen keepers night and
dajr, at a great expence to themfelves, and to the
certain injury of the health of thofe whom they
employ in this hazardous and difgraceful bufi-
Jiefs, they would permit fuch of their tenants
as chofe to take out licences to fport upon their
rcfpedtive farms, and the unprotcdted farms in
their neighbourhoods ; I am clearly of opinion,
i am pofitive, they would have a fufficieitCy
of game, an increafe of diversion, an increafe
of income, and, what is of much more value
to a man whom fortune has placed above de-
pendency, an increafe of refpe<^ability and per-
fonal happinefs.
To fay that the game-laws are difgraceful to
•the laws of this country, would only be repeating
what has been faid a hundred times, and by the
firfb characters in it ; neverthelefs they ftill re-
main an abfurdity in Engliih jurifprudence*.
* At prefcnt a merchant cr monlecl man, let him be
worth an hundred thoufand pounds, and let him have an
hundred men of hmded property ready to give him permif-
fion to fport over their eltates and manors, he cannot do
it without being guilty of a breach of the laws of his coun-
try. Nay, this man, nor any man, though he be poffefTed of
N 3 the
i82 VEGETATING-PROCESS. 23.
The legiflature having lately thought fit to
make rural divcrfions an objedt of taxation, it
might now be impolitic to make game altoge-
ther what it ought to be — private propert)'.
Neverthelefs it Hill flrikes me, as it did long
before the licences for fporting were inftituted,
that game might be rendered a public and pri-
vate fTood.
Wherever perfonal property is afcertained,
there, alio, let a private property in game take
place; the property being invefled in the pro-
prietor of the land, not in the occupier of it;
and let every proprietor, great or fmall, have
a full and uncontroulable right to the game he
cznfnd upon his efiate.
But the moment he fteps off his ov/n land,
whether on to the private property of another,
or into a forefl or mixed property, though full
perminion be firfl had from the proprietor or
keeper, let him become liable to fine or im.pri-
tlie clear fee- fim pie cf a landed efiate of 99I. a year, remains
m the fame predicament. Whilft another man, perhaps
not worth a fhillinj-, but becaufe he has in his poffeffion
an efiate of one hundred a year, though mortgaged for
twice its valucj is entitled to the privilege of ranging with
iff^punit^'.
fonmentj
ii3, NORFOLK. 183
Ibnment; provided he do not annually pay,
towards the fupport of the ftate, five guineas,
or fome greater fum.
X.et this five guineas, or greater fum, qualify
him fully to fport on forefts, waftes, and all
undivided property, without leave from any
perfon whatever ; as well as to fport, with ■per-
miJfioHy over any man's private eft^te.
But, notwithflanding his qualification, let
him, for ftarting ganie, without permiffion,
upon private property, with intent to kill, be
guilty of an adt of larceny or felony, and, as
a larcenor or felon, let him be punifhed by the
ordinary laws of his country.
Objedions might be raifed to this plan j but
not one, I will venture to fay, which might
pot readily be obviated,
N
4
134 H A R V E S T - P U O C E S S. 24.
24,
H A R V E S T - P R O C E S S,
THE WHOLE bufuiefs of harvell is done
by harvell-men ; no part of" it, generally fpeak-
ing, being done by the acre.
The price of a harveft-man is thirty-five to
forty Ihillings for the harvefl, be it long or
ihort, with his full board fo long as harvefl-
work continues.
This is, in any year, a difagreeable circum-
flance ; and, in a long harvefl, extremely
tedious : in the backward harvefl of 1782 fome
farmers boarded their harveft-men feven weeks,
two or three of which, perhaps, they lay in a
great meafure idle.
What renders the expence exceflive, is not
altogether the number of appetites to be palled,
but the extravap-ant manner in which they are,
by cuftom, expetted to be gratified. In liquor,
however, the Norfolk labourers are lefs vvafle-
ful than are the labourers of fome other
places.
The
W. NORFOLK. 1S5
The dlfagrceablenefs of boarding ap?.rt (and
this might no doubt be avcided), the bufi-
nefs of harveft goes off with fingular ala-r
crity in Norfolk. Every man turns his
hand to any work which is going forward.
To whatever requires the quickeft difpatch,
whether it be reaping, mowing, cocking or
carrying, a farmer can direfl his whole force ;
pr fuch part of it as he may judge neccflary :
an advantage which cannot be had when reap-
ing and mowing are done by the acre ; the
reapers, more efpecially, being as ufelefs to a
farmer in this refpe^:, as if they were not em-
ployed upon his farm.
What adds effentially to the difpatch, and
confequently to the pleafure, of harvefl, is the
comparative alertnefs and activity of the Nor-
folk harvcftmen ; who, from four in the morn-
ing until dark, their meal-times excepted,
work, not as for their mafters, but as for them-
felves.
While, however, I thus pay due praife to
the laborioufnefs of the Norfolk workmen,
truth obliges me .to fay, that in many inflances
their work is done in a loofe, and, what in fome
j^laccs would be called, a ilovenly manner.
But
^86 H A R V E S T - P R O C E S S. 24.
But this is a natural, or at leaft a ufual, con-
fequence of difpatch. A man who reaps, for
inftance, from half to three quarters of an acre
a day, cannot be expefted to do his worl; fo
neatly, to lay his corn fo ftraight, and bind his
iheaves fo tightly, as he who only reaps one-third
of an acre.
Were it not for this extraordinary difpatch,
I do not fee how the crops of the Diftridt could
be harvefled. There are, it is true, a few
men, from Suffolk, Cambridgelhire, &c.
hired annually at Norwich, and brought intp
jt for the harvefl -, but their number is incon-
fiderable, compared with the numbers which
are employed in other arable countries ; where
they pafs from place to place, as the harvefl
ripens ; whereas here they are at the end of
their journey : an extenfive tradt of arable
country on one fide, and the fea on the other.
The befl refource which this country has is in
its numerous manufacturers, fome few of whon;
can, in neceffity, turn their hands to harveft-
work.
One cuftom of this country refpefting har-
veft-men is very reprehenfible. Their work is
confidered to be merely that of harveftingy
and.
24. NORFOLK. itj
and, if the weather be fuch that this docs not
afford them full employment^ they confidcr
themfelves as having, from ancient cuflom, a
right to refufe to do eyery other kind cf work.
It is, I am forry that truth obliges me to
relate it, no unufual thing for parities of
them to be playing at cards in a barn, while
the turnep-crop is receiving irreparable in-
jury for want of their alTiftance ; a crime, io
this country, which both mafter and men ought
to be equally ailiamed of : and it certainly
would be worth the farmer's while to give their
men an advance of harveft-wages, rather thaa
to fuffer fo difgraceful a pradice. Vv'^erc it not
for the manufacturers and other handicraft-
men, the later-fown crops of turneps would
fuffer greatly during harveil. Some years, it
is true, harveft-men have little leifure for tur-
nep-hoeing-; but, in .others, they have a great
deal ; and, in every year, a flrong morning dew,
or a flying Ihower at the time of carrying, afford
apt opportunities for this neceffary operation.
The pradice of trotting with empty carri-
ages has already been noticed : it is on no occa-
sion more valuable than in harvefl; and a cuf-
tom among farmers of driving their own har-
veft-carriages is not lefs excellent.
Loofe
i88 H A R V E S T - P R O C E S S, 24.
Loofc corn of every kind is univerfally trod-
den in the barn witii horfes ; and, what is per-
haps fingular to Norfolk, horfes are fometimes
employed in txeading large ricks.
Ricks in general, however, are carried up
too narrow and too high to be trodden with
horfes ; their roofs, more particularh^, being
frequently drawn up to an unneceffary and, in-
deed, ridiculous height ; thereby incurring un-
neceffary labour in topping-up, and an unnecef-
fary quantity of thatch and thatching.
The price of the laft, however, being in a
manner fixed at fix-pence a yard in length, be
the roof high or low, deep or fliallow, the lofs
jn this falls rather upon the thatcher than the
farmer.
For the minutiae of the harveft procefs, fee
the feveral crops : — namely, wheat, barley,
fee, &c.
25' N G R F O L >*. ,8^
FARM-YARD MANAGEMENT.
THIS HEAD may be divided into,
1. Barn-management; and
2. Straw- yard management.
I. Barn-management. — Every thlng^ 13
thraflied by the coomb of four bufhels ; little
or no thrashing being done by the day.*
It is obfervable, that notwithilanding the fpa.-
cioufnefs of the Norfolk barn-floor, the labour-
ers in general obje<fl to their thradiing two in a
barn -, rather choofing to work fmgly :— this,
perhaps, is principally owing to the particular
method of thrafning with two on a floor ; which
iSj to turn their backs on each other ; working
as feparately as if they thraflied on feparate floors :
the method of fl:andincr face to face, and eivinn-
llroke for flroke, being feldom if ever ufed.
Every thing is thraflied rough ; no ftraw
bound i even wheat-ftraw is ufually flioolc off
the floor, loofe, with a common pitchi-ng-fork.
* For the prices, fee List of Rate:.
The
j§o FARi\"!-YARD MANAGEMENT. ^f
The method of drelTing corn, here, is lingu-
lar, and, as an eflablifhed and invariable prac-
tice, is, I believe, peculiar to this country ;
in which there is not, perhaps, one fingle w/W-
fajt of ahy conilruftlon ; and I never faw the .
aatural wind made ufe of in the drefllng of
corn.
In Weft-Notfol-k, there are Ibme fail-fans-
but, in this Diftrift, the invariable practice is
to feparate the corn from the chaff, by throw-
ing it from one end of the jfloor toward the
other with a fhovel.
In this operation, the prime grain, being
heavieft, flics farthefl ; -the light corn and
** cofhes'" next ; to rhefe fucceed the broken
cars and prime chaff; and to this the fmall
chaff and dull-, which, being thrown againft a
gentle draught of air, when it can be had, is
generally carried back pretty plentifully to-
wards the face of the thrower, who ufually
guards his eyes with a crape or othcf partial
covering, 7? c ' - ^ ^ :
To avoid the inconveniency of the dufl as
much as may be, and to feparate as clean as
poffiblc the corn and chaff from the " colder,"
nam civ.
jt5. NORFOLK. ,,91
namely, the ears, fhort flraws, &c. — the rough
corn, after the flraw is Hiook off and raked
out in the ufual manner, is riddled through a
fine riddle upon a horfe placed near the Jcc-
ward-door ; by which means a principal pars
of the duft, and, if the draught of wind be
ftrong, much of the worft of the chafFis got rid
of. This not only renders the calling more
agreeable, but leflens the quantity to be
thrown.
The art of throwing is a flight which can
be learned from pradice, only. A light, hol-
low wooden ihovel is the tool made ufe of in
this operation. This is about half-filled with
Corn ; which, to make the caft more true and
certain, is fliook into the center of the mouth
of the iliovel. This is done by a fingle motion,
with the arms hanging ftraight down, as if
with an intention to eftimate the weight of the
corn in the fliovel. The cquipoife being thus
got, the contents are delivered by a fweeping
motion of tlie arms and the body ; fcatterin^
the. grain in a long, narrow heap, of a femi-
iunar form.
The chaff and the light grain being re-
moved, the broken cars and " coflies," name-
tg± FARM-YARD MAKAGEMENf . 2^.
ly, the heavy grains whofe chaff flicks td
them, arc feparated by a riddle and the wicker
knee-fan.
If the head-grain be not fufliclcntly cleanfed
by one calling, it is returned in a fimilar way
to the other end of the floor. — Finally, the
weed-feeds and fmall corn are feparated in the
tfual manner^ by the fkreen ; and the head-
grain meafured up, m a way as fingular as that
by which it is feparated.
In one pr.rt of the kingdom the bufiiel is fil-
led with a fhovel— in another with a fhoal—
Ih a third with a fievc ; but here no tool what-
ever is made iife of; the biifliel itfeif being
thruil into the heap, and then filled up and level-
led St for the fcriker with the hands alone ; un-
der a thorough convidtion that corn may be
meafured lighter in this way than in any other
way whatever.
All corn is fent to market in '* ccomb-bags,"
and generally with four buHicls in each bag.
The 772eafure of Norfolk is about eight gal-
lons and a half to the bulliel, and twenty-one
coombs to the lad : that is, one coomb, or one
bufhel, in twenty is thrown in. This cuftom
has probably been introduced by the corn-fac-
tors,
26. ' NORFOLK. ^93
tors, under a pretence of lofsof meafure in fend-
ing their corn to market. B^ this as it may, >-i^ /
the allb'warice is made to the corn-buyers only : ' '
for in dealings between farmer and farmer for
feed, &c. the *^ bare" meafure only is given.
It is a pradice among Norfolk farmers, as
prevalent as it is judicious,, not to ftore up dief-
fed corn ; but either to let it remain in the itrsLw,
br, if this be wanted, to keep it ai few weeks
in the chaff till a fair market offers ; frequently
flowing it av/ay in a fecefs cut out of the face
of th6 mow, for this purpofe.
ir. STKAw-YARf) MANAGEMENT— The Nor-
folk hufb'andmen are, in general, very attentive
to fcparating their ftdck in the flraw-yard. For
this purpofe their '^ par-ya'rds" are j>^r/^i^ into
fundry divifioris with faggots, in the manner
already mentioned under the fubjedt Repairs.
One divifion is fet apart for the cows — an-
other for the '* buds" or yearlings, — fometimes
ai third for the two-year-olds, — and, when tur-
rieps are brought into the yards, a fourth for
the bullocks.
By this judicious rriariagement the weak is
placed out of the power of th.e ftrdng, and the
Vol. L O colder
:?94 FARM-VARD MANAGEMENT*. i^
-colder and befl of the ftnuv may be given to
fuch as require the befl keep.
Sometimes the ftravv is given to the cattle in
" bins;" fometi;T.cs laid in heaps ; and frequent-
ly for bullocks at turnep, it is fcattered loofe
about the yard.
Upon the whole, the Norfolk farmers may
be faid to be wafteful of flraw -, moire efpecj-
-ally at the beginning of the winter, when it is
frequently thrown into the- empty yard entirely
-wafte as to fodder : this, however, is not looked
upon in fo improvident a light in Norfolk as
in moil other places ; for here a notion of the
utility o-f having plenty of ftraw among dung
prevails fo flrongly, that the flraw which is eaten
by cattle is confidered by feme men, as being
in a manner wafled' as to manure.
For fui^her obfervationsoivthis fubjeft, fee
vMiN. 73.
2&.
'-.f^
m NORFOLK: 195
260
MARKETS.
NORFOLK, taken colledively as a county^
is fingularly well-fituated for markets : the
Norwich manufaftdry is produdive of a re-
gular internal confumption ; while Yarmouth^
Lynn, the fmaller ports, Smithfield and St.
Ives, takeoff the furplus produce.
Smithfield is the grand market for cattle
and fheep, and the sea-ports for barlev.
Wheat is principally bought up by the mil-
lers, and the furplus of what is confumed in the
country fent to the london market in flour.
Some wheat in grain is alio fent to Bear-Key.
With refpeft to veal, pork, lamb, and fome-
times mutton, a lingular pradlice prevails in
Norfolk; moft efpecially at the Norwich
market, which is fupplied with the above
articles entirely by the farmers ; who, for fif-
teen or twenty miles round, are moft q( them
capable of drcffing a calf, a lamb, or a fheep ;
^hich, with poultry made ready for the fpir,
O 2 are
196 M A R K E T S. 0.6.
arc carried weekly by themfclves, their wives,
their daughters, or their fcrvants, to Norwich
market ; which, whether for plenty or neat-
nefs, is, I believe, beyond all comparifon, the
firft in the kinfrdom.
o
Thefe articles arc brought to market in pan-
niers— provincially, " peds*' — either on horfe-
back, or in market- carts (a convcniency which
few farmers are not pofTcffed of) and placed in
rows in the *' ped-markct;'* a fpacious triangu-
lar area in the center of the city ; the market-
women fitting in a row on one fide of the pcds,
\\''hile the other fide is left free for their
cu Homers.
Whether viewing the ncatnefs of the market-
women themfelves, the delicacy of their wares,
or the clevernefs which, through habit, many
of them are miftreffes of in the difpofal of
them, the Saturday's market of Norwich ex-
hibits a very agreeable fight.
It 13 not necelTary to add to this account of
the ped-markct, that the bufinefs of a butcher
in Norwich is confined, in a great mcafure, tO"
beef and a little mutton. Indeed the trade of
a butcher is not, in any part of the county, a
o-ood one; the principal farmers butchering
their
tt: NORFOLK. 1^7
their own meat ; and the fmaller ones who kill
for the ped-markets, living chiefly on the oif^
and the unfold joints.
The corn-market of Norwich is likewife a
very capital one. But the bufmefs being chiefly . >,
done at the Inns, it makes no Ihow. The river '/
Yare, which is navigable from thence to Yar-
mou:h, affords an eafy conveyance of the fur-
plus corn bought up at Norwich, for the Lon-'
don market.
The principal market of ibis Diftridtfsthatof
North-Walsham ; — a very good one: great
quantities of barley and wheat are bought up
weekly, and the fyrplus of the home confump-
tion either fent down the north river naviga-
tion to Yarmouth, and from thence ihipped
off for the London or other market ; or is deli-
vered by land carriage atCROMERor MiJNSLEy,
and there (hipped off.
"When the ports afc open for exportation,
great quantities of corn are fent immediately
from Norfolkto Holland, and other foreign
MARKETS.
One general obfervation remains to be made
refpedting the markets of Norfolk : they are in
geixeral afternoon-markbtsj no bufinefs be-
Q 3 ing
t^^ MARKETS. 26,
ihg done in the corn-marker, at leaft, u»til
three or four o'clock in the afternoon. The
market of Norwich is, however, an exception
to this cuftom, and there may be other fore-
noon markets in the count)'.
Many conveniences and advantages accrue to
the farmer from afternoon-markets : he has all
the morning to himfelf : he dines with his fa-
niily ; and fees his rnen at work, and his
teams out for their afternoon journey, before
he fets off for market. His market-expences
are curtailed, and a habit of lounging out a
whole day, idly, prevented. The only incon-
veniency incurred by afternoon'markets, to a
farmer, is the necejjity of returning home in
the dark of winter's evenings : this, however,
is an inconveniency which farmers in general
who go to market at ten o'clock in the morn-
ing 'Voluntarily difpenfe with. The Inn-keepers
may be faid to be the only fufferers by afternoon-
mar kets.
The Fairs of Norfolk are not fo confider-
able as they are in fome other counties; ex-
cept the fair of St. Faith's, which is one of
the largeft fairs in the kingdom.
5A3t
ji6u NORFOLK. 199
But as I made a point of attending feme of
the principal fairs, and of minuting the ob-
ferv^ations which ftruck me vvhilc they were,
frefh in the memory, I forbear faying any thing
further refpedting them in this place ; but
refer to the Minutes themfelves ; which. I pub-
lifti the rather, as nothing gives a more lively,
and juft idea of what may be called the
ECONOMY OF LIVE-STOCK in a given Diftrid:,
than the bufinefs which pafTes at the fairs of
that Diftrid:. Belides, fairs and markets are
the great ftumbling-blocks to gentlemen-far-
mers ; who, through want of affability, or
want of cournge, remain in general entirely
ignorant of the bufinefs of fairs and markets ;.
even when they have made conliderable pro-
grefs in the bufinefs of the farm. — This is my
only motive for giving the minutias of the
Minutes as they (land in my Minute-book ; for
on a fubjed: fo totally new as this is, I believe,
to written agriculture, every incident becomes
valuable ; I mean to thofe, whom, in this par^
ticular, I moft efpecially wilh to inform.
For obfervations on St. Faith's fair (1781),
f&e MiN. 27.
O 4 Fof
■zop MARKETS. 26.
For obfervatiqns on Holt fair, fpe Min. ^9.
For obfervations on Walfliam cqrn-markcr^
fee Min. Zo.
Fdr pbrervations on Aylefliam fair, fee
P4iN. 94.
For obfervations on Norwich clover-feed
marker, fee Min. ioi.
For obfervations on \yalfham fair, fee
Min. 105.
For obfervations on Worftead fair, fet^
MiN". 107.
F'or obfervations on Ingham fair, fee
Min. J12.
For general obfervations on Norfolk fairs,
fee MiM. 1 12.
For obfervations on Cavyfton fhecp-fliqw,
fee M?N. 123.
For obfervations on St. Faith's fair (1782),
fee Min. 134.
For fundry obfervations on Smithficld mar-
ket, fee the article Bullocks.
n^
^7 N 0 R F Q iv K. ftot
WHEAT.
IN TAKING a fyflematic view of the cuU
Jiireof this crop, it will be proper to conlider,
1. The fpecies of wheat ufually cultivated
in Norfolk.
2, The foils on which it Is ufually grown t.
3, The fucccffion ; or the crop, 6fc. which
wheat ufually fucceeds, in the manage-
ment of Eall-Norfolk.
4. The foil-prpcefs, 1
c. The manure-procefs, I
^ nri r , r 2^^ prattice tor
6. The feed-procefs, 1 J^^^^ .^^ ^^_
7. The vegetating procefs,
8. The harveft-procefs,
9. The farm-yard procefs, ^
10. The markets for wheat,
)- wheat in Nor-
folk.
I. The species. — The long-eflabliflied
?< flock" of this country is the ^' Norfolk
5:ed,"— which is faid to weigh heavier than any
Other wheat which has yet been introduced
• The ?i/lANijREs applied for Wheat appear under art.
JylA-NURK-Paocr-s.
102 . WHEAT. 7-^1
into the county. Irs appearance, however, is
very much againU this afTertion ; for it is a
very long bodied, thin grain, partaking more
of the Ihape of rye, than of wcU-bodied
wheat.
A favourite new fpecies has lately been in-
troduced, under the name of the *^ Kentilh
"white colh." The grain is plump and red j
but the " coih," or hufi-:, white ; refembling
very much the velvet wheat of Surrey gnd
Kent. The " cad," or yield of this is allowed
TO be greater than that of the ** old red," —
and the millers begin to like it nearly as well j
— though, on its firft inrroduction, fome fif-
teen or twenty years ago, they were, or afFed-
ed to be, prejudiced againfl: it.
A remarkable circumflance is faid to take
place, refpefting this fpecies of wheat, when
ibwn repeatedly in Norfolk. Though the
colh be perfe(5lly white on its introdudlion, and
though it be fludioully kept feparare from the
red cofh •, yet, by being repeatedly fown, year
after year, it lofes the fairnefs of its huiks ;
which firft become "pied,'* and, at length,
change entirely to a clear red, refembling
thofe of the old Norfolk ftock. I have feen
them in their pied flate, and have been aflurcd
by
Ij, NORFOLK. 2A3^
by men of obfervation, that they acquire thia
|late, though kept perfeftly feparate from the.
rci^l-coih variety. If this be really Jv fa<^, it is
a llriking evidence p-f the power of foils and
fituations, in eftabliOiing what the botaqiUs
call varieties, \n the vegetable kingdom.
II. The soil. — In this, as in moft other
Diflriifls, wheat is fown on almoft every fpccies
of foil. But the farmers here, as in other
places, too frequently find out, at harveft,
that a full crop of barley, or oats, would
have paid them better than half a crop of
wheat.
In the northern parts of this Diftrid: there
are many very light-land farms, — and fome
in the central parts of it — which pafs under
the denomination of barley-farms : and on
which the occupiers judicioufly content them-
felves with a fmall proportion of wheat.
But the fouthern parts of the Diftridl, and
^he fouth-eaft parts of the county in general,
enjoy a ftronger, richer foil, well adap^d to
the propagation of wheat.
III. The succession. — In the regular courfe
«f hufbandry, the wheat-crop fucceeds inva-
riably
2C4 WHEAT. lyj
rlably the fceond yearns lay ; but, as has been al-
ready intimated, the regular fuccefTion is in a
greater or fmaller degree broken into by
farniers in general ; and it fometimes happens
that wheat is fown on the frjl yearns lay —
fometimes after peas, or after huk harvejled
or buck plowed under, or turneps, or fome-
times on a " right-out fummerly,'* or,
fiimmer fallow. But it may be faid, without
Jiazard, that three-fourths, perhaps nine-
tenths, of the wheat fown in this part of the
Diftrid, is fown on the fecortd yearns lay,
IV, Soil-process, — This varies with the
nature and ftate of the foil, — the nature of the
preceding crop, — the circumftance of the
farm,— and the ikill and judgment of the
farmer.
I, The prevailing practice is to make a
•* t^ackward fummerly"- — a fort of GHtamnal
fallow — of the second yxar's lay.
When feed is fcarcc, the fecond year's lay .
is fometimes fown on the ^' flag;'* that is^
upon the unbroken furrow of one plowing',
cf}>ecially if the ^tQd. be intended to be dtb-
plcd vn. But, for b road ca(l-fo wing, neither
the
■5-7. NORFOLK. 20$
the depth of the Norfolk foil (except in
feme few places) nor the conflru6tion of
the Norfolk plow, will admit, with any degree
of propriety, of this (in many parts of the
kingdom) moft excellent prad:icc.
TUE BACKWARD SUMMERLY of the SECOSD
year's lay, is made in different ways.
Some farmers plow only twice ; rice-balk-
ing the firft time very fleet. When the flag is
rotten, they harrow acrofs and fet on the
muck ; and, the laft plowing, go a fuil depth ;
kying the foil in " warps-," or wide flat beds,
on which they fow the feed above-furrow.
This, however, is confidcred, as it really is
for wheat, a ilovenly practice.
Others plow three times : the firfl fleet ; the
fecond a full pitch ; the laft of a mean depth ;
with which laft plowing the feed is plowed m
under-furrow. The foil is harrowed between
the plowings, and the dung in this cafe fei
upon the fecond harrowing, and plowed in with
the feed.
But the pra(5lice of thofe who excel in their
profeflion, andwhoare, in their neighbourhoods
looked up to as fuperior huft)andmen, is this :
»!^ \V ii t A r
27,
Kis fccond year's lays having finiihcd hi^
bullocks, and brought his ftock-cattle, and
hories, through the fore-part of the fummcr ;
and his firft year's lays having been mown, and
ready to receive his flock ; the farmer begins
to break up his '■' olland" for v;hear, by rice-
balking them as fleet as pofTible, fo as to
carry an even regular furrow ; embracing his
opportunity when the furface has bcenmoiftened
by a fummer fnower.
In this rice-balked flate his fummerlies
remain until the wane of harvefl: •, when his
torn being chiefly in, and his horfes more at lei-
fure, he harrows, and afterwards plows his fum-
merlies acrofs the balks of the firfl plowing ;
bringing them up this feCond plowing the full
depth of thfc foil.
On this plowing he fpreads his manure;
harrows, and immediately " fcalcs'* it in by
another fleet plowing.
This third plowing has feveral good effeds :
it mixes, effedually, the foil and the manure,
__cuts off and pulverizes the upper furfaces of
the furrows of the fecond plowing ; and by
doing this, moft effedtually eradicates or fmo-
th<^rs fuch weeds as had efcaped the two
former
37- NORFOLK. a^y
former earths ; and, at the fame time, by
excluding the air from the under-parts of thofe
furrows, renders the whole aa mellow and fri-
able as a fummer-fallow.
In this (late it lies until feed-time; when it
is harrowed, foiled, fown, and gathered up
into ridges of fuch width as is agreeable to
the nature of the foil, or the ildll or fancy of
the farmer.
Thofe of fix furrows are the moft prevalent ;
but there are verv good farmers who lay their
wheat-land into four-furrow, and others into
ten-furrow, ridges ; which lail they execute ih
a ftyle much fuperior to what might be ex-
pedted from whsel-'plovjs.
■ But the fix-furrow work is that in which
the Norfolk plowmen excel. It is generally
performed with three plows in this manner ;
the firft fetsout the ridge, the fecond takes the
middle-bout, and the laft makes up the furrows.
The bed: plowman is of courfe put lafl, the
fecond firft, and the worft takes the middle-
bout. The firft plit is fometimcs turned par-
tially back by the fecond, by letting theolf-
horfe go 'back in the firft^made furrow; and
fometiaies- the firft furrow is left entirely open,
by
4o8 W H E A T. 27;
by letting the oif-horfe go back out ©f the firft
furrow. The lafl way makes the ridges wider,'
and rids more ground ; but the firft ftirs the
ground better, and is thdught tb diftribute the
feed more evenly. The plowman who goes laft:
and makes up the furrd'AS, divides his horfeg
by means of a Idng " horfe-tree^'* or middle
whipping ; io that each of them takes an out-
fide furrow^ while he and his plow alone oc-
cupy the furrow he is making up. This an-
fwers two good purpofes : — it gives the plow-^
man a free fight, and prevents the horles from
treading the ridges. If the fdil be wet and
pioach)''^ fome judicious farmers divide the mid-
dle-bout horfes in the fame manner. The horfes
are of courfe fomewhat aukward at firft fetting-
outj but they foon become tradable, and much
more fteady than when they ilagger about and
joftle each other in the fame furrow. The
four-furrow ridges are plowed in a fimilar man-
per by two plows.
There are feveral advantages arife from tKi^
tiiethod of laying-up narrow ridges. The
\\'hole bufinefs is carried on in regular pro-
grelfion. The feeds-riian -begins on one fide
^f the clofe, and fows towards the other with
ds
27» NORFOLK.
239
as little interruption as he could do for one
plov/. For although two or three plows are
employed in the fame piece, there are no frefh
fettings-out, nor any crofs-work at lafl -, favc
fuch as is neceflarily given by the figure of the
field. There is much time faved (more efpe-
cially when wheel-plows are ufed) in altering
the plows,* and the whole piece is equally well
executed ; each ridge being fet out^ and each
furrow made up,- by the fame men.
The Nbrfolk plowmen, when plowing in
wheat, ca'rry very narrow furrows; fo that a fix-
furrow ridge, fet out by letting the ofF-horfe
return in the firft-made furrow^ does not mea-
fure more than three feet eight or nine inches.-
2. After the first year's lay the feed
is generally fown on the flag.
3. After peas, the farmer gives one two
three or four plowings, and manages in every
other refpedt the fame a's he does after the
fecond year's lay.
4. After buck harvested, he is more con-
fined in refped: of tune, and feldom gives more
than two, fometimes but one, plowing. If
he plow twice, he fpreads his manure on the
Hubble, fcales it in fleet, harrows, rolls, fows
and gathefs up the foil a mean depth into
Vol, I, P narrow
119
WHEAT. afi
narrow work. If he plow but once, he, m
like manner, fpreads his manure on the ftub-
ble ; and, what Teems very extraordinary to a
ftranger, fows his feed among his manure;
plowing the whole in together, and gathering
his foil up into narrow ridges ; as if it had un-
dercronc the operations of a fallow.
There is, however, one very great evil at-
tends this method of fowing wheat after
buck ; efpecially where rooks are numerous.
The buck which is neceffarily Ihed in harvell-
infy the crop, and which is, of courfe, plowed
under with the manure and feed-wheat, vege-
tates the fucceeding fpring, and becomes a
%veed to the wheat ; and, what is of ftill worfe
confequencc, (hould rooks get a haunt of it,
they will not only pull the buck up by the
roots, but the wheat-plants likewife ; fo as to
leave large patches almofl deftitute of plants.
But, by firft fcaling in the manure and felf-fown
buck very fleet, and harrowing the furface
fine, the buck vegetates, and the evil confe-^
quence is thereby, in a great meafure, prevented.
5. After buck, plowed under. — This,
as well as the preceding, is a favourite prac-
tice among good farmers ; and the Norfolk
plowmen perform the operation of plowing the
crop under in a mallerly ftyle. They fvveep it
down
NORFOLK.
211
down l^y the means of a bruili or broom, made
of rough bufhes fixed to the front of the
'^ fickle-tow ;" or fore-tackle of the plow, be-
tween the wheels ; fo as to bear down the buck
without lifting the wheels of the plow from the
ground. To prevent this, Vv^hen the buck is
ftout, it is firft broken down by a roller, going
the fame v/ay as the plow is Intended to go.
A good plowman will tuck it m fo completely,
that fcarcely a ftalk can be feenl
The furface is, fometimes, harrowed and
rolled after plowing : fometimes left rough ;
the former is perhaps the mofl eligible ma*
Jiagement.
In either cafe, the foil remains in that f^ate
iintil after harveft, when it is harrowed and
taken up a full pitch, acrofs the warps.
At feed-time, it is harrowed, — rolled,—
fowed, — and ufually gathered up into " narrow
work," in the mariner above defcribed.
6. After summer-fallow. — The praflice
of fummer-fallowing feldoni occurs in this
Diftrict ; — turneps or buck being generally in-
troduced as a fubfiitute for it. However, when
land has been worn-down by cropping, and is
much run to *' beggary" and weeds, a " right-
©ut fummerly" is efteemed by many judicious
P 2 hufbandmen
212 WHEAT. 27.
huibandrticn as good management ; and is, it
feems, fince the late failure of the turnep-crops,
gaining ground every year.
The clofe of a fummer-fallow is the fame as
that of a backward-fummerly : the manure Is
fcaled in with the lall: plowing but one, the
feed plowed in moderately deep, and the foil
gnthered into narrow ridges by the laft plow-
ing.
7. After turneps. — In general, the foil
is plowed a mean depth, and the feed fown over
the firft plowing : if, however, the turneps be
got offearly,the weeds are fometimes firfl fcaled
in, and the feed plowed under with a fecond
plowing, gathering the foil into narrow ridges.
General observation. — Excellent as the
Norfolk pradtice of hulbandry may be, taken
all in all, it feems in this place neceflary to
obferve, that although there are fome fuperior
hufbandmcn who put in their wheat-crops in a
mafterly ftyle, a very confiderable part of the
land fown with wheat in Norfolk, is llovened
over in a moft unfarmer-like manner.
The fecond year's lays in general are broken
up too late, and receive too inconfiderable a por-
tion of tillage to bring them into a hufband-like
{late.
Were
t7. NORFOLK. 413
Were a Kentiih, or any other good wheat,
farmer, who had heard much of the fupe-
riority of the Norfolk hufbandry, to ride thro'
Eaft-Norfolk hi the month of November, he
would experience fome difficulty In conceiving
himfelf travelling In a country of which fame
has fo long fpoken loudly. It is true, he would
not unfrequently be ftruck with a beauti-
ful objed ; — a kind of fluted frize-work, or
any other ornament to the face of the country
his fancy might pidure to him ; but he would
not lefs frequently be difgufted with the fight
of fields which he would little fufpeft, on a
curfory view, to be fown wdth wheat. He
would rather, at firft fight, take them for
rough fallows, on which flieep had been fod-
dered with hay they could not eat ; the whole
furface being flrewed with tufts of roots and
fiems of withered graffes, and with grafl'y clods
of every fiiape and dimenfion *.
* There are, neverthelefs, men who argue in favoi
of this management; and, were it prudent to fow wheat
on very light *' running fands," it might be proper to
preferve part of the *' wreck," as it is well termed, to
prevent the fand from being run together by heavy rains •
but foils of this nature are, as has been already obferved,
generally improper for wheat.
P 3 In
214 WHEAT. 27.
In their culture of barlej'' and of turneps,
the Norfolk hufbandmen, no doubt, excel ;
but, taken colled:ively as a body of profcffional
men, they cannot, defervedly, be ranked
among wheat-farmers.
Neverthelefs, there are, as I flatten myfelf-
fully appears by the foregoing detail, fomc
hufbandmen in Norfolk who merit no part
of this cenfurc ; their management being, per-
haps, the befc that art can devife for the foil
they act upon : while, therefore,. I condemn
them as a body (for reafons which I flatter my-
felf are obvious), I mean to except, with all
due refpeft, a number of individuals.
V. The manure- process.— Land which
has been recently marled or clayed, requires no,
further addition; — nor has land which has
received fifteen or twenty loads of dung and
mould for turneps, — the firft year's lay having
been teathed in autumn, and the fecond fed
off, — any need of another dreffmg for Vvheat.
Where the foil is good, and the wheat apt to,
run too much to flraw, fome few judicious
farmers fet their manure upon the young
plover, thereby checking the effcd of rank-
nefs to the wheat,
• • But
$7- NORFOLK. 2IS
But the molT: general praftice is to fpread
the manure upon the broken ground, in the
manner defcribed in the laft fedlion ; or, if
the feed be fown upon the flag, to fpread it on
the turf and plow it under ; or to fpread it on
the plowed furface, and harrow it in with the
feed, as a top-drefling.
The lafl: I have feen done in the following
judicious manner. Three or four bouts are
firft plowed in the middle of each warp,
forming a narrow bed of plowed ground, wide
enough to fet the manure upon, but not too
wide to be received between the wheels of the
cart ; which, in fetting on the muck, run in
the plow-furrows on each fide the bed. The
manure is then fet in hillocks upon thefe
plowed flips ; the warps are iiniihed-plowing ;
the manure fpread over them j — the feed fown ;
. — and the whole harrowed in together.
By this management the manure goes on
with eafe to the team, and without the newly-
plowed ground being cut to pieces by the
wheels of the cart, or torn about by the feet of the
horfcs ; for the cart being always, as it were, on
the nail, the horfes have no obftacles to ftruggle
againfl:. In a wet feafon this pradice is Angu-
lar ly eligible,
P 4 The
2l6 W H E A T.
^f'
The quantity of manure fet on for wheat is
generally lefs than that fet on for turneps. Of
dung eight to ten cart-loads (as much as
three horfes can conveniently draw) an acre is
reckoned a tolerable drcffing. Of lime, three
to four chaldrons an acre. Of rape-cake, a ton
to three acres. Qi Jhot, about forty bulhels an
acre.
For obfervations on xht fp.ecies of manure for
wheat, fee the article manure-process.
VI. Seed-process. — In defcribing this dcr
partment of the culture of wheat, it will
be neccffary to perfpicuity, to confider, fepa-
rately,
1 . The time of fowing ;
2. The preparation of the feed;
3. The method of fowing;
4. The quantity of feed ;
5. The method of covering;
6. The adjuftment of the foil.
I. The time qf sowing. -~An orthodox
farmer never thinks of beginning " wheat-feel'*
iJntil after St. Faith's fair-, which is held on
the 17th of Odober. So prevalent^ indeed.
ay. NORFOLK. 217
is this cuflom, that, perhaps, nine of ten
of the farmers in Eaft-Norfolk begin to
fow wheat between the 17th and 24th of O6I0-
ber; — and continue till the beginning of De-
eember ; — fometimes even until Chriflmas. If
they finifh in November, they confider them-
felves in very good time. W heat fown in the
ordinary broadcaft manner is, however, here
fpoken of : for dibbling or fetting of wheat,
Michaelmas is efteemed the heft time.
The reafon which the Norfolk hufbandmen.
give for fowing their wheats fo late, compared
with the pra6tice of other light-land counties,
is, that their early-fown wheats are liable to
be winter-proud, and run too much to ftraw;
whereas their late-fown crops afford lefs ftraw,
but a greater ^' call'' more efpecially, on land
which has been recently marled.
This laft idea, perhaps, accounts for the
origin of their prefent time of fowing. The
prefent practice of hufbandry, in Norfolk,
was eflablifhcd a century, perhaps two or three
centuries, ago ; and has been handed down
from father to fon with but very little improve-
ment or alteration. The prefent time of fow-
ing was, o.f cQurfe, fixed when the land was
full
5tiS WHEAT. 27.
full of marl, and was no doubt judicioufly
founded on experience. Marl, however, has
now, in fome mcafure, loft its efficacy ; and
it feems probable, that not only the time of
fowing wheat, but the very fyftem of Norfolk
hufbandry will require, ere long, to undergo
a confiderable change. Suffice it, however,
in this place to fay, that there are fome fen-
fible, judicious men, who already fee the folly
pf waiting for St. Faith's fair, before they
begin to fow their wheat.
2. Preparing the seed.' — The ordinary
method of preparation is to fteep the feed in
brine, and candy it with lime, in a way limi*
lar to that praftifed in other counties ; and,
probably, with the fame effed:.
There are, however, men in this county
who fpeak with firmnefs and confidence of that
they can prevent, by a preparation of the feed,
the fmut or ** brand" of wheat. They, like,
wife, feem clearly of opinion, that all wheat
would naturally become fmutty, if not checked
by a proper management of the feed ; but that
v/ere it become, through negled, as black as-
(mutitfelf, they would engage in three years
tiaie to eifecl a radical cure. The firft year, it
%1. NORFOLK. zii^
is alloxved, there will many grains cfcape ; the
fecond fome ; but the third year, there will not
^•emain in the whole crop one ** brandy" ker-
;iel.
This is fpeaking clofely to the point, and
(ieferves a hearing. Th e procefs, though fimple,
is truly chemical; and the idea, I flatter myfelf,
totally new to written agriculture.
Their method is this : Inftead of difiolving
^he fait in a large proportion of water, in order
to form a brine to fteep the wheat in ; it is dif-
folved in a very fmall quantity of water ; — ■
barely enough to bring on the folution. With
this li(iuid fait the lime is flaked ; and with this
faline preparation, in its hotteft ftate, the wheat
is candied ; having previoufly been moillened,
|"or the purpofe, with pure water.
I fliall not, here, comment on this procefs ;
but only obferve, that the wheat-crops of the
perfons who pride themfelves on this pradice,^
are, in general, freer from fmut, than thofe of
their neighbours.
3. The mode of sowing. — Bro^dcaft is the
prevaling pradlice. Dibbling, or fetting, is
in much ufe on the Suffolk fide of the county.—
Pibbling and fluting rollers are alfo ufed by
fome
ftiflr WHEAT. 47;
fonie few individuals. But what is remarkable,
drilling is, in a great meafure, unknown in
Norfolk ; notwithftanding the foil is fo pecu-
liarly adapted to that pradllcc.
It appears under the foil-procefs, that plow-
ing in the feed under-furrow, is the favorite
mode of fowing wheat in Eaft-Norfolk. It is
done in this manner.
The land, having been harrowed down level,
and the furface rendered fmooth by the roller,
the head-plowman (\i at Icifure) " fets out the
warps;" that is, marks out the whole piece into
narrow divifions, or ftripes, of about a ftatutc
rod in width. This he does by hanging up
his plow in fuch a manner, that no part of it
touches the ground except the heel, which
ilides upon the furface, and makes a guide-mark
for the feedfman. If the plows are all cm-
ployed, the feedfman will fet out the warps
himfelf, by drawing a piece of wood or other
thing behind him, fo as to make a mark to
fpw by.
This method of fetting out the feedfman's
work, when he has no interfurrows to fowb)',
'is very accurate, and much preferable to the
Kcntifh method of fowing, by Hicks fet up iq
the
«-7«
NORFOLK. 221
the form of a lane ; for, there, much depend^
upon the eye; whereas, by the Norfolk method,
the feedfman fees to an inch how far he has
fown, and where each handful ought to fall; he,
of courfe, leaves no flips unfown, nor gives
others double feed.
If the foil be intended to be gathered into
fix-furrow ridges, the feedfman fows, on the
warps, about two-thirds of his feed; — if into
four-furrow work, fomewhat lefs than two-
thirds *.
The plowman then begins to fet out his
ridges, the fame way that the warps are drawn ;
but without any regard either as to their
ilraightnefs, or their width ; they being in-
tended merely to diredt the feedfman, not the
plowman. In fix-furrow work, the middle-
bout plowman follows next, and after him the
feedfman, ftraining the remainder of his feed
in the trenches made by the middle-bout
plow ; which is called " fowing the furrows."
The head-plowman follows laft , — covers up
the feed, and finiflies the work. In four-fur-
row work, the two firft furrows are fown, and
the ridgelets made up in a fimilar way,
* See MiN. 67, on this operation.
The
^^4 W H E A To Kf.
The ufc of fowing the furrows is to give
the outfidcs of the ridgclets their due pro-
portion of feed ; thereby preventing the inter-
furrows from being left too wide and naked of
plants. Some farmers fow only one of the
"dutfide furrows ; namely, that toward the
Worked ground •, and this is undoubtedly the
more requifite buifinefs ; for the feed on thi^
fide having been all gathered up by the pre-
cedin<5' furrow, the crumb or fhovelling of the
inter-furrow is left naked; and there would, of
courfe, be no feed buried under it, if it were
not thus fown by hand, in the preceding plow-
furroW-.
In fix-fur row work, three plows employ a
fecdfrnan^ and finilh about three afcres a day'.
In four-furrow work, two plows find employ-
ment for a feedfman, — there being, in thi^
cafe, more furrows to be fown,— and finifli
about two acres.
The dibbling^ "dabbing," or fettingof wheat;
is confined principally to the country about
\Vyndham, Attlcbury, Buckcnham, Harling,
■V ficc. In the other Diftrids of Norfolk it is
but little known, and no where panifedi,
though fometimes tried by way of experi-
'*'^"'- The-
a;. NORFOLK. 223
The propriety of the pradice depends upon
circumftances; fuch as the price of labour, the
price of the feed, and the quality of the foil.
There feems, however, one thing always ef-^
fentially needful ; that is, a good foil. And
this may, in fome meafure, account for the
flow progrefs which it has made in the more
northern parts of Eafl-Norfolk ; but why it
fhould not gain ground in the Blowfield,
South-Walfham, and Flegg Hundreds, is a
matter of furprize. Perhaps, nothing but the
fandiion of cuflom and fafhion is wanted to
render it, in this well-foiled quarter of the
county, the univerfal practice.
For a full account of this procefs, fee the
MiN. 23. 26. 28.
^he Dibbling- Roller is made fomewhat ^mllaf
to the common fpiky roller ; wqthj however^
thefe diflindions : it is in itfelf fhorter, and
the fpikes, inftead of Handing perpendicular
to the circumference, are bent obliquely
thereto, that they may leave fmooth and clean
indentures, without pulling up or breaking
the flags. Between each row of fpikes is a
fcraper to difengage the roller from the mould,
which is apt to ftick between the fpikes, and
which
224 WHEAT; 2^
which in moifl; weather renders it wholly ufc-
lets. The feed is Town broadcaft over the in-
dentures, and fwept in with abufh-harrow.
1 have feen wheat come up very well after
the fpiky roller ; but an implement which a
Ihower of rain renders ufelefs, feems ill-adapted
to the bufinefs of fowing wheit in November*.
4. Quantity of seed. — Three bulliels an
acre, broadcafl, is the favorite quantity df
feed-wheat; without much regard being had
to the time of fowing.
This accounts in fome meafure for the want
of fuccefs in the early-fown wheats; Three
bufhels of feed fown in September is equal to
four or five buihels fown the latter end of
November. It is no wonder, then, that the
flraw fliould prove llender^ and the grain light J
for the plants being too numerous, and the foil
weak and Ihallow, though perhaps in fufii-
cient heart to pufh the plants through the win-
ter and fpring, the vigour of the foil is fpent
before harveft, and the ears of courfe abridged
of half their load. "Whereas, had there been
a due proportion of plants, the exhauftion
during winter and fpring would have been lefs,
and the flrength of the foil referved for the
* The fluthig roller I did not meet with.
more
27- NORFOLK. 22$
more material purpofe of perfecting the plants
at harveft.
5. Covering the seed. — The feed fown
over the rough furrows of the firfl or fecond
plowing is covered in the \ifual manner with
tined harrows : generally with two finall har-
rows and two horfes led by a boy, and fome-
times guided with a plow-line ; the man or
boy following the harrows to lift them up, and
difengage them from the rubbifh, which too
frequently incumbers them.
That fown after the hand-dibbles or the dib-
bling-roller is fwept in with a bufh-harrow,
made of a gate, hurdle, &c. wattled with
thorns or other bulhes.
6. Adjusting the soil. — The fubfoil of
Norfolk being in general of an abforbent
nature, crofs-water-furrows are in many in-
flances unnecefTary : however, where the fub-
foil is a brick-earth, which is not unfrequently
the cafe, crofs-furrowing becorries abfolutely
neceffary to good managem.ent, though not
always put in practice.
Some neat hufbandmen roll their ^' wheat-
figgs" immediately after fowing, A common
roller takes two ridges ar once, the horfes draw-
VotL. L Q^ ing
226 W H E A T. «7.
ing in the furrow between them. This gives
an immediate neatnefs ; renders the crop beau-
tiful at firft coming up ; anticipates the labour
of rolling in the fpring; and thereby precludes
the danger of unlocking the weed-feeds at that
vegetative fcafon of the year.
VII. The vegetating-process. — Hand-
•weeding is the principal labour beflowed upon
the wheat-crop between feed-time and harvefl.
If the interfurrows be wide and thin of plants,
or if the crop be otherwifc broken, the hoc is
fometimcs, but very rarely, ufed.
Feeding wheat in the fpring, though It can-
not be called a common practice, is, never-
thelefs, frequently done ; efpecially when
fpring-feed is peculiarly fcarcc, as it was in the
fpring of 1782; when almofl all the wheats
in the country were fed off: not by fheep, as is
ufually the cafe, but by every other fpecies of
live ftock. See Min. 106.
If wheat abound with " red weed" — pop-
pies— ■fw'me are frequently turned upon it to
eat out this troublefome weed ; which they will
do, with little or no damage to the wheat.
For
ip NORFOLK. 227
For the method of fearing rooks •, and
obfervations on game ; fee the general fubjedt
VJEQETATING-PaOCESS.
VIII. The harvest-process. — i. The
TIME OF WHEAT - HARVEST, in Norfolk, is
fomewhat late^ The feafons are later, here, than
they are in the more fouthern provinces, and
the Norfolk farmers, in general, fuffer their
wheats to ftand until very ripe. In fome of
their fmall *' woodbound pightles," they are,
indeed, under a degree of necelTity of letting
it fland until it can be cut and carried imme-
diately • for fliould it, in this fituation, re-
ceive much wet in the Ihock, they would find
it difficult to get it dry again, before it re*
ceived confiderable damage.
2. The method of harvesting. Wheat, as
has been obferved, is feldom cut by the acre ;
every farmer providing harveftmen fufficient to
get in his crops.
It is, almoil unlverfally^ "fhorn'* with
fickles ; either with or without teeth, as beft
fuits the hand or the fancy of the " Ihearer."
Of narrow work, each man takes his rigg ; a
Hiethod which makes the work go on regular-
CL2 ly
228 W II EAT. 27.
ly and with great conveniency to the workmen.
Sometimes each man binds his own eorn ; but
more frequently, two-and-tvvo lay together;
the firft making the band, the latter binding
the iheaf. If they work fingly, they drive the
corn before them with their feet, until having
colledled a fheaf, they flop and bind it up.
This method is more expeditious than that
of delivering the handfuls in detached reaps
or fhoves, which, in this narrow work, would
be tedious to gather up V but, in appearance
at leaft, it is wafleful, and at the fame time
conveys, to a ftranger, an idea of llovenli-
nefs. The bands are, in general, knotted ;
the fheaves made of indeterminate Hzes ; tied
loofcly, with the band about the middle; fet
tip in fliocks, as clofe as they can fland^ and
with generally a fheaf placed at each end, as
if ftudioufly intending to exclude the air en-
tirely from getting into the fhock. No
caps or head-fheavcs are ever made ufe
of. If the crop be tall, the flubble is lefc
eighteen inches or two feet high.
Unworkmanlike as all this would feem to a mzn
of Kent, the Norfolk reapers have one quali-
iicatioh which, in fome meafure, atones for
theil'
27. N O R F O t K. a29
their fins of undoubted flovenlinefs : a com-
mon hired harveftman, who is not working
for himfelf, but for his raafter, will clear
with his own fickle, one day with another,
from two to three roods of wheat ; in propor-
tion to the ftoutnefs of the crop.
If the flieaves receive much rain in th«
jfhock, they are, the firfl fine day, fet out
fingly, in order to have the benefit of the fun
and air ; which, in the clofe flate in which
they are ufually huddled together, it^ is
impoffible for them to receive. This is by
no means fo tedious an operation as theory may
fuggefl ; but is, when the fheaves are very
^vet, an eligible expedient.
3. An excellent regulation is common, ^^
this Diflrid, refpecling gleaners ; everyi.
parilh, or parifhes in general, referving their f
fcartered corn for their own parilhioners.yThis
is not only equitable ; but refcues the farmers
from thofe clouds of gleaners, which, in fome
countries, ftroU about from parifh to parilli.
But, even with this regulation, the number of
gleaners which are fometimes feen collediecj
. together, is Ihameful ; generally including a
(number of ftrong healthy young women, who
Q^ 3 wojil4
230 WHEAT. a?:
would be much more laudably employed, as
they are in other Diflridls, in aflifting to reap
the crop. Some farmers allow the gleaners
to follow the Ihearers ; but, in general, they
are not permitted to enter the clofe until the
ihocks are out of it.
4. Laying ue the wheat-crop. Formerly
the wheat-crop was put entirely into the fpa-
cious barns, with which this Diftridt abounds;
a wheat-rick being a phenomenon : of late
years, however, pillar-frames have been con-
flrudled ; and wheat-ricks are now no longer an
uncommon fight.
5. Wheat-stubbles. — Notwithftanding the
length which flubble is generally left, it is
feldom mown for ftable litter : the general prac-
tice being to throw turneps upon it, in autumn,
and, when the bullocks have trampled it
down, to pull it into " rucks" with a pair of har-
rows, and carry it home as litter for the yards.
IX. The barjt-majjagement. — After what
has been faid already, on this fubjeft, under
|he general head farm-yard-management,
little remams to be added here.
Wheats.
jsy. N O R F O L K. 23?
Wheat-ftraw, being of lefs value, in Nor-
folk, than in moft other places ; owing to the
great quantity of reed uied in thatching; lefs
care is obferved in thrafhing wheat, here,
than in places where it is either fold for litter,
as about London, or where it is in general ufc
for thatch, as in moft parts of the kingdom :
even when it is intended for thatch, it is
thraflied rough, and {hook off heads-and-tails ;
it being the univerfal pradice of thatchers,
here, to blend their ftraw, and draw their
jhatch.
X. Market. — This, alfo, has been noticed
in the general articles : fuffice it, therefore,
here to add, that Norfolk abounds with corn-
mills ; — the fmall ftrcams which are very
abundant in this country, are convenient rc-
fources for water-mills : befides which, num-
bers of windmills are difperfed over the face
of the country •, fome of them very capital and
coftly. One lately ered:ed in this Diftridt is
faid to have coft twelve hundred pounds.
For obfervations on the effecl of herbery on
\yjieat, fee Min. 13.
Q.4 F«'
232 W H E A T; Jijf*
For an Inftance of mowing wheat, fee
MiN. 14.
For an experiment with different manures
for wheat, fee Mi n. 18.
For an experiment on the mode of fowing^
fee MiN. 19.
For the origin and method of fetting wheat,
fee MiN. 23.
For further obfervations on fetting, fee
MiN. 26 and 28.
For the method of plowing for wheat againft
fheafantSf fee MiN. 41.
For an inftance of fowing wheat hetween-fur-
roWf fee Min. 43.
For an exception to the common method
of fowl fig wheat in four-furrow work, fee
Min. 67.
For obfervations on the praftice of feeding
wheat, fee Ml N. 106.
For an experiment made by planting herhery
among wheat, fee Min. 133.
%%, BARLEY.
^% NORFOLK. a^^
28.
BARLEY.
THIS SUBJECT llkewlfe requires to be
divided into the following articles :
1. Species, 6. Seed-procefs,
2. Soil, 7. Vegetating procefs,
3. Succeffion, 8. Harveft-procefs,
4. Soil-procefs, 9. Barn-management,
5. Manure -procefs, 10. Market.
I. Species. — The common long-eared bar-
ley {hordeum vulgare) is the prevailing and al-
moft only fpecies of barley fown in this Di-
itria:.
II. Soil. — The Norfolk foil is peculiarly well
adapted to this crop : even the lighteft of it,
if it be in fufficient heart, will bear tolerable
barley -, and the ftrongefl is not too heavy for
this grain ; which is no where produced in
greater perfeftion than in Norfolk j whofe
barlev
^34 BARLEY. ^^i
barley is coveted for feed throughout the
kingdom.
III. Succession. — In the grand routine,
barley fucceeds wbeai and turneps ; and in
'feme very light land farms, k is fown inflead
cf wheat, after the fecond yearns lay.
IV. Soil-process. — i. After wheat;-—
the ftubble having been trampled down with
bullocks at turneps, and wheat-feel being
€nifhed, the farmer begins to i^ fcale in his
^^eat fiubbles" fjor a winter fallow for barjey.
If the land lie in narro\y work, the ridgelets
are fplit ; if in warps, the ground is likewife
plowed clean, but very fleet. The beginning
©f March, the land is harrowed, and prefently
^fter the farmer ** takes up hiswheat-ftubbles'*
by a full-pitch crofs-plowing ; or, if the feafoii
be wet and the foil heavy, he reverfes the
ridges. In April he harrows, and begin?
.•'■flirring for barley,** with another full-pitch
plowing, lengthway ; generally gathering the
foil by this plowing either into five-pace, or
into ten-pace warps ; in which it lies until
feed^tirue ; — when it is harrowed ; rolled ;
[faiwn ^
a8, NORFOLK, 23^
fbwn ; plowed fleet; reverfing the warps, and
*5 flading down" the furrows, — fo as to ren-
der the entire furfape as even and level as
way be.
2. After turneps,-— the foil is generally
broken up as fail as the turneps are got off;
if early in winter, by rice-balking ; if late,
by a plain plowing. The general practice, if
time will permit, is tq plow three times ; the
firfl fleet the fccond fulUpitch ; the laft a mean
depth ; with which lad the feed is plowed in.
But when it is late before the turneps are
got off, different ways of management are fol-
lowed, according to the Hate of the foil, and the
feafon, and the judgement of the farmer.-—
Sometimes the ground is only plowed once, and
the feed fown ab©ve ; but more frequently it Is
broken by three plowings, as above j notwith-
itanding, perhaps, the farmer has not more
;hah a week to perform them in.
This at firfl fight appears injijdicious manage-
ment : the plowings being fo quick upon each
other, neither the root-weeds have time to
wither, nor the weed-feeds to vegetate ; yet a
principal part of the moiflure of the foil (a
fhing peculiarly valuable in Norfolk at that
time
236 B A R L E Y. 2?,
time of the year) is neccffarily exhaufted. But
this being a frequent practice of fome of the
bcH farmers in the Dillrift, we may rell: affurcd
that two plowings and harrowings are not
wantonly thrown away. The Norfolk farmers
in general are mailers in the art of cultivating
barley. They feem fully aware of the
tendernefs of this plant in its infant ftate,
and of its rootlings being unable to make
the proper progrefs in a com pad: or a cold
foil : they therefore ftrive by every means in
their power to render the foil open and pul-
verous. To this intent it is fometimes two-
furrowed, and fometimes a fourth earth is
given ; efpecially in a cold wet feafon.
The backward fpring of 1782 tried their
ikill : fome lands were two-furrovred twice^
over, laying the foil up in ridgelets, dry and
hollow ; fo that two or three fine days fitted it
for the reception of the feed 5 breaking under
the feed-plowing as fine as afhes.
Nor is this caution confined to ^' turnep-bar-
ley," but is extended more or lefs to " flubble-
barley ;" which, however, does not require (o
great a degree of care; the foil in this cafe being
kept open, in fome meafure, by the undigefted
ftubble.
tt NORFOLK. 237
Hubble, and the roots of grafles and other weeds,
which a turnep-fallow is, or ought to be, free
from.
This, perhaps, accounts fully for the fuperi-
ority of ftubblc-barlies, overthofe produced by
a well-tilled well-manured turnep-fallow : a
myfterious fadt which cannot, perhaps, be ex-
plained on other principle.
3. After lay, — the turf is generally-
broken by a winter-fallow, and the foil treated
in other refpeft, as after wheat. (For an excep-
tion fee MiN. 57.)
V. Manure-process. — Barley is feidoni
manured for ; except when fown after lay 5
'■when it is treated as wheat. After turneps,
no manure can be requiiite ; nor after wheat,
if this has been manured for : if not, the tur-
nep-crop following immediately, the barley is
left to take its chance j unlefs the opportunity
be embraced for winter-marling.
VI. Seed-process. — i. t i me of sowing.--
Notwithftanding the drynefs of the Norfolk
foil, barley may be faid to be fown late, in this
Diftrid. There is little fown before the mid-
dle of April, and the feed-time feldom clofes
lantit
i^i BARLEY. 28.
until towards the middle of May. The tinie
of fowing, however, depends in fome meafure
on thefeafon; which, with refpefl to fowing
barley, is more attended to in Norfolk than
perhaps in all the world befide. Until Linnasus
hit upon the idea of fowing by the foliation of
trees, the republic of agriculture never heard
of any other guide to the time of fowing than
the almanack ; which is ftill followed impli-
citly in every Diftridt in this kingdom except
Norfolk : where a maximj probably as old
as the prefent fyllem of husbandry, Ihews
that her hufbandmen are not inattentive to the
foliation of trees with refpeft to the proper
feafon of fowing; their maxim importing, that
the fowing of barley ought to clofe with the
foliation of the oak :—
a When the oak puts on his goflling grey,
*' *Tis time to fow barley night and day j'*
that is, when the oak puts on that fallow aj)-
pearance which it does at the time the buds
are breaking, a few days previous to the cx-
panfion of the leaves, no time fhould be loft
in getting the feed -barley into the ground 5
that
ftS, NORFOLK. 23^
that being the happy juncture which ought to
be embraced.
In the backward fpring of 1782, barley was
Ibwn in June, with confidence, and with luc--
eefs : I have by me a fample of exceedingly-
good barley, produced from feed fown, by
an experienced hufbandman, the fourth and fifth
of June. See note to Min, 125, for remarks
on this incident.
2. Preparing the seed. — I never met
with an inftance either of fortifying it againil
difeafe, or of fleeping it to forward its vegeta-
tion in a dry feafon, or a backward feed-time.
This is flrong evidence, though not a proof,
that fleeping feed-barley with intent to pro-
mote its vegetation, has no beneficial efied:.
3. The method of sowing. — All fown
broadcaft ; and almofl all under-fiirrow ! that
is, the furface having been fmoothed by the
harrow and roller, the feed is fown and plowed
under with a fhallow furrow : a circumftance
this, which, until I obferved it in Norfolk,
had never occurred to me, either in pradicc
or theory ; though admirably adapted to a
light dry foil ; and, indeed, to any foil which
is light enough to produce good barley ;
pro-
j^j, BARLEY. 28.
provided it be rendered Sufficiently fine, and
the feed be not buried too deep.
"Wheiher through general cuftom, or from
particular experience, the Norfolk farmers are
very partial to this method of putting in their
barley : however, if the feafon be wet, and
the foil cold and heavy, good farmers not un-
frequently fow barley above. And, in all pro-
bability, the diflinftion is well founded. In a
dry fpring and fummer, fowing under muft, to
all human reafoning, be eligible -, and in a cold
fpring, or when the foil is rough with clods,
fowing above may be equally good manage-
ment. Neverthelcfs, I have known a judicious
farmer give, under thofc circumftances, an
earth extraordinary, rather than not have an
opportunity of plowing in his ked.
In a forward fpring, and when the laft piece
of turneps happens to be eaten off late, the
ground is fometimes, at a pinch, obliged to
be plowed only once, and to be fown above ;
but, even in this cafe, there are men who arc
not at a lofs for an expedient. Inilead of turn-
ing over the whole thicknefs of the foil at
once, they " two-furrow" it, and fow betix;een j
in the manner dcfcribed in Min. 43.
Thi^
2».- NORFOLK. 241
This method, if the under plit be fuffici-
ently moiil: and mellow to break kindly with
the harrow, appears to be moft eligible ma-
nagement.
4. The quantity of seed. — Three bufliels
an acre may be taken as the nearefl medium
quantity of feed-barley.
5, 6. Covering^ — adjusting. — Whether or
not grafs-feeds be fown over the barley, the
furface is harrowed, prefently after the lall
plowing ; and, when the barley is up, run
over with a light roller,
VII. Vegetating PROCESS. — Kandweeded.
VIII. Harvest-process. — i. Time of cut-
ting. Barley, like wheat, is generally fuffered
to Hand until it be very ripe.
2. Method of cutting. — It is univerfally
mown into fwath ; — with a fmall bow fixed at
the heel of the fithe. — Cradles are not in ufe ;
and the north-country method of letting it up
in finglets, is unknown.
3. Method of drying. — If barley receive
■wet in the fwath, it is treated in a fingular
method in Norfolk. It is not turned, but
Vol. I. R '' lifted:''
ii42 B A H T- E Y. 28.
^'■lified:'' — that is, the heads or ears are raifed
from the ground, either with a fork or the
teeth of a rake ; thereby admitting the air
underneath the fwaths ; which, though they
be fufFcred to fall again immediately, do not
fall fo clofe to the ground as they lay before
they were lifted ; the air having free admifilon
xmder them. This method of lifting is thought
to ftop the ears from vegetating nearly equal
to that of turning ; which requires more la-
bour ; befides breaking and ruffling the
fwaths; which, by repeated turnings, lofe
their fliffncfs, becoming weak and flabby,
and liable to fall into clofe contaft with the
ground ; in which ftate the corn prefently be-
gins to fprout. When the fwaths are become
thoroughly dry, and ftiff on the upper fide,
they are then turned^ that the other fide may
be got into the fame flate ; and, if the wea-
ther be fuitable, rendcrrd fit for
4. Cocking. — This is never done until a
fair profpedt of carrying offers itfelf ; it being
efleemed in Norfolk, as it is in the fouthern
pounties, negligent management to leave bar-
ky all night in cock. The method of cock-
ing, or, as it is provincial ly, and more pro-f
pcrly,
tt. NORFOLK.
H3
perly, called—" gathering," — is, in Norfolk,
performed in a particular manner. Some fmall
part may be gathered by men, with " gather-
ing-forks.''— common corn-forks ; — but the
principal part of the barley-crop is gathered
by women, with " gathering-rakes :" — ^nanie-
ly, ftrong rakes, with long teeth— with which
the fwaths are rolled up into wads of about a
a pitch, or fork-full, each, the women at the
fame time raking the fwath- Heads. This rids
work, faves men, and puts the barley into a
convenient form for pitching •, a roll hanging
better together upon the fork, than a cock
made up in layers in the Kentifh manner.
5. Carrying. — Generally two pitchers and
two loaders ; who load with the hands only :
wci)men take after the carriage : men, at lei-
fure-times, rake the ftubble with drag-rakes :
trot with empty carriages : — tread mows, and
fometimes ricks, with horfes : frequently make
a f^ well," — that is, carry up a flue or chim-
ney, in the middle of a barley-rick ; and fome-
times, when the feafon is catching, ufe the
fame judicious precaution in a *' gulph," or
mow, in a barn.
E. % IX. Barn-
fi44 BARLEY. 28.
IX. Barn-management. — See the general
head.
X. Market. — Befides what is fhipped off
to the London and other markets, a confider-
able quantity is malted in the country ; both
for a market and for home-confumption : this,
however, is fmall, compared with that of
other countries of equal extent and populouf-
nefs : fmuggled fpirits leffen the quantity ;
— and the quality of malt-liquor, in Norfolk,
is lower than in many parts of the kingdom ;
the " harveft beer" excepted; which is ufu-
ally brewed in Odober, and kept round till
the enfuing harveft.
For an in (lance of fhecp-fold being of
great ufe to barley, fee Min. ii.
For an experiment with lime for barley, fee
Min. 29.
For a fin^jlar foil-proccfs for barley, fee
Min. c;7.
29.
29. NORFOLK. 24S
OATS.
THE QUANTITY of oats grown in tb'n
Diftridt is inconfiderable, when compared with
that of barley.
The only species I haveobferved is a white
oat, of a quick, growth, and probably of
Dutch extraction.
They are grown occafionally on all soils ;
but moft frequently on cold heavy land, or on
very light unprodutftive heathy foils.
Oats mofl frequently succeed wheat or
olland-barley ; but there are no eftablillied
rules refpeffting any part of the culture of this
time-ferving crop.
The SOIL-PROCESS is ufually the fame as
that for barley : the ground being, generallyj
broken by a winter fallow of three or four plow-
ings ; oats, however, are fometimes fown on
one plowing.
The SEED-PROcESs, too, is frequently the
fame : except that oats are more commonly
fown above>furrow than barley is. The time
R 3 of
246 O A r S. 2^i
of fowing oats is generally made fubfcrvient to
that of fowing barley ; fome being fown be-
fore ; others after bai ley-feel : an uncommon
circumftance. I have feen oats fown in June •,
and it is remarked by men of obfervation,
that oats fown late, grow ripe earlier than bar-
ley fown at the fame time. This Ibews that
the Norfolk-oats arc of a quick-ripening kind.
Tht quantity of feed from four ro five bufhels
an acre.
I met with one reiiiarkable inftance refpc(ft-
ing the culture of oats. The furface of a
piece of groundj which had been fown feveral
days with oats, but which were not yet up,
was " run," by heavy rains, into a batter ; and
baked by fucceeding dty days to a cruft ; fo
that the owner defpaircd of a crop : he there-
fore, as an expedient, plowed the ground ;
turning the oats, notwithftanding they had
begun to vegetate, under a fleet furrow. The
iuccefs was beyond expectation.
This operation, however, was not altogether
a game of hazard : there being, it feems, a
farmer, fomewhere in the Diftrict, who ufes it
in common practice ; plowing in his oa4:s v.'ith
a very fleet fiirrow; and, after they have
*• chicked/'
29- NORFOLK, 247
" chicked," but before they appear above-
ground, turns over the foil a full pitch : and
he is faid to find his account in this Angular
management.
Two things are, undoubtedly, obtained by
this pra(5tice : weeds of every fort are either
totally deftroyed, or fufficiently checked to
give the corn an opportunity of gaining full
pofleflion of the foil ; which, by this opera-
tion, if performed in proper feafon, acquires
a degree of porofity, giving a degree of free-
dom to the rootlings of the young plants,
which, perhaps, no other procefs could give.
The opennefs and freedom communicated
by this operation, feems to be fingularly well
adapted to the infant plants of barley;
which, it is highly probable, might frequently
receive benefit from this extraordinary opera-
tion.
The HARVEST-PROCESS, — BARN-MANAGE-
MENT, &c. of oats, are fimilar to thofe of
barley;
R 4 50- P E A S.
24? PEAS. 3c.
PEAS.
PEAS cannot be called a flaple crop of thi»
country : neverthelefs they are every year
'grown, in greater or fmaller quantities ; ac-
cording, perhaps, to the demand of the pre-
ceding year, and according to the comparativ'e
prices of peas and barley; which, in Norfolk,
may be called rival crops ; peas being ufually
fown on v;heat-ftubbles, or on light-land lays,
which, in the common courfe of culture, are
objcdis of the barley-crop.
The very low price of barley in the winter
1 781-2 fickened the farmers of that crop; and, in
thefpringof 1 78 2, more peas were fown in Faft-
Norfolk, than, perhaps, had ever been known iii
any preceding year. This circumflance afford-
ed me a favourable opportunity of making
remarks on the different modes of cultivation
made ufe of in producing this crop; which, as-
will appear by the following fketches, has nor,
iiere, any fcttJcd mode of culture appropriated
to
p, NORFOLK. 24^
to it. Yet no crop, perhaps, affords greater
proofs of the ingenuity of the Norfolk huf-
bandmen, and of their talent for expedients,
than that which is now before us,
B-» — m dibhled * feven pecks of white peas
an acre, on olland, once-plowed, in flags, " as
*'_^wide as he could whelm them." Two rows of
holes on each flag -, the holes about three inches
apart in the rows ; namely, *' four holes in the
*' length of the foot," one pea in each hole.
Gave 4s. 6d. an acre for " dabbing;" and
hired *^ droppers*' by the day (children be-
longing to the parilb) ; which coft him about
4s. an acre more. The men offered to dibble
and drop for 9 s. — The foil free from floneSo
Finiilied 27 Feb.
H d foived four bufliels an acre of
white peas, broad-calt ; on harley-jlubhle, after
turncps — the clover miffing. Soil light and
fliallow. Finiflicd 1 March.
M s dibbled two bufliels of Vv'hite peas an
acre on wheat -Jlubble. Gave 8s. an acie for
dabbing and dropping. Finiflied the begin-
ning of March.
* Dibbling : for parriculars refpa^ting thi^ operation,
fee MiN. a^
S »
aic? PEAS. 36*
S —\-\fon-ed{ouY biiflicls, broad-caft^ on
ellandi — part once-plowed; part rice-balked,
and afterwards plowed a mean pitch j the whole
Ibwn above- furrow, and rolled before fowing.
G — n dibhkd two buihels on olland ; the
price four Ihilllngs a bufhcl for dabbing and
dropping : about three holes and a half in a
foot : one pea in each hole. Flags narrow,
D 1 dibbles nine pecks oh any thing
which is in heart. Gives any price to have
them done well, and put in thick. His dib-
bled peas, lafl year, produced ten coomb an
acre: dibblrs, about twenty acres this yeat :
almofldone; 21 March.
F r has fawn upwards of twenty acres
this year on wheat-fiuhhky infiead of barley :
fows four bufhels of white an acre. Plows
three or four times, and plows in the feed un-
der-furrow. Finifhed 2 April.
B r [owed four bufliels of white an acre,
broad-caft, on a 'xheat-jiuhhle winter-fallowed :
hamely,fcaled in — two-furrowed acrofs— Itirred
'--harrowed — fowed-— and 'plowed tindery about
three inches deep; the outfide furrows fown,
and fladed down, and the whole harrowed
acrofs once in a place the beginning of
ApriL
B-^d
3^
NORFOLK. 2$i
H-^dfozvs three buflicls of grey peas, broad-
caft, the beginning of April. Ke thinks three
builiels of grey are equal to four of white.
B d, on light tliln-lklnned olland^ dib-
bled part with two buihels an acre ; and two-
furrowed the reft with three bufhelSj/^cc;^ by
hand between the furrows; each of them about one
inch and a half thick ! The Norfolk plow iin-
gularly adapted to this work ; and, in loofe bro-
ken ground, the procefs would be excellent;
but, in whole ground, the back of the firft fur-
row being fmooth, and the peas round and ilip-
pery, they do not reft where they fall, but roll
more or lefs into the feams and hollows, not-
withftanding the operation was, in this inftance,
performed in a mafterly ftyle.
Thus it appears that various ways are prac-
tiled in putting in the pea-crop ; but, from thofc
and other inftanccs, I may venture to dra'.v two
general inferences. Lays are feldom plowed
more than once for peas; and the feed is, in gene-
ral, DIBBLED IN, upon the flag of this one plow-
ing. But STUBBLES ate, in general, broken by
a winter-fallow of three or four plowings ; the
feed being eown- broad-cast ; and plowed im,
about three inches deep, with the laft plowhig.
VETCHES,
45i VETCHES, 31,
n T ■'
VETCHES.
WHEN we confider the nature of the
Norfolk foil, and the excellency of the Nor-
folk hufbandry, we are, at the firfl fight, fur-
prifed that vetches arc not more in ufe, as
fummer-food for farm-horfes ; — and nothing,
perhaps, but the cftablifhed prevalence of
clover can account for it. Clover is not only
inown for foiling horfcs in the ftable; but,
as has been already noticed, horfes are fre-
quently "roped'* or teddered on clover; as
well as turned upon it loofc.
This prafticc was, probably, eftabliflied
when clover was new to the foil, and the crops
of courfc large and luxuriant ; and it was then
no doubt the moft eligible management : never-
thelefs, it may, now, when the foil is no
longer the favorite of clover, be worth the at-
tention of farmers, of the prelent day, to try
whether more vetches, and proportion;ibly lefs
clover, would not be the moft eligible
management.
32.
32. NORFOLK. as»
BUCK.
BUCK is an objed of the Norfolk culture,
in a two-fold light. It is propagated as grain,
and as manure : and it will be proper to view
it in thefe two lights. However, the main in-
tention of its propagation, whether as a crop,
or as a melioration of the foil, being the fame;
namel)^, the cleanfing of foul land ; it will be
convenient to keep the two obje<Ss in nearly
the fame point of view.
I. With refpecfl to species, there Is only
one; this grain having not yet, I believe, run
into any varieties fufficiently llriking to have
dillinguifhing names appropriated to them.
II. It is fown almoft indifcriminately on all
fpecies of soils; except that light poor land
has the preference : indeed, it is to this fpecies
of foil that buck feems moft efpecially
adapted.
III. It
254 B U C K. 3^,
III. Ic likewlfc SUCCEEDS every fpccics of
crop; the ftate of the foil, as to fouhiefs and
poverty, being generally more attended to
than cither the nature of the foil or the crop
it bore laft.
IV. The soil-process depends upgn the
ftate of the foil, and the intention, jointly :
if the foil be tolerably clean, and the buck be
intended to be plowed under as a manure, jt i^
fovvn on one plowing : but, in general, the
ground is broken, as fpr barley, or peas, t*
forward the fallow, and fecure a crop.
V. The seed-process is the fame for b,oth
intentions ; excepting that, for a crop, the
feed is fown firft ; namely, immediately after b^r-
Iey:feel : and that intended to be plowed under,
is fown as foon afterward 5 as the ground is in
a flate fit to receive the feed. It is univerfally
fown above- furrow. The quantity of feed fix
pecks to two buflicis an acre.
VI. No VEGETATING-PROCESS takes place :
the growth of buck is fo rapid as to outftrip
and fmothcr almofl every fpecies of weeds;
aq excellency peculiar to this crop.
Vli. This
32. NORFOLK. 255
Vlf. The method of PLOWING buck under,
and the after- management of buck-fallows,
have been defcribed under the article wheat.
VIII. For the harvest-process of buck,
we refer to the head barley ; the harveft-
inanagement of both crops being fimilar.
IX. The FARM-YARD MANAGEMENT of
harvefled buck is alio fimilar to that of bar-
ley ; except that the flravv being fit for litter,
only, and the grain being wanted for the fat-
ting of pigs, in autumn, and the beginning of
winter, it is frequently thrafhed out prefently
after harveft, before the live-ftock are taken
into the yards.
X. Markets. Notwithftanding it is highly
probable that there is more buck grown annu-
ally in Norfolk, than in the other thirty-nine
counties of the kingdom, it is all confumed
in the neighbourhood of its growth. It is the
uoiverfal food of fwine and poultry ; both of
which it fats quick and well. It is fome-
times crushed for pigs, and fometimes given
to them whole : in this pafe, however, fome
judicious
25^ BUG K. 32^
judicious hulbandmcn mix a few oats or peas
with it, in order that the iwinc may grind ic
down the more effcdlually, and thereby pre-
vent its paffing through them whole.
1 >^
T U R N E P S.
THE TURNEP-CROP is the grand bafis
of the prefent fyftem of Norfolk hufbandry.
X lliall, therefore, endeavour to defcribe its
culture as amply as comprehenfivenefs will
permit. In doing this it will be neceflary to
coniider,
1. The fpecles, 5. Manure-prccefs,
2. The foil, 6. Seed-procefs,
3. The fuccefiion, 7. Vegetating-procefs,
4. The foil-procefs, 8. Application.
I. Species. — There are four different fpecies,
or, perhaps, I'ariefies of one fpecies, fown in
Norfolk.
I. TlfE
33. NORFOLK. 257
1. " The Commont white stock," — white-
loaf — white-round — white-rind — or, as it is
called in marly places, the Nor folk turnep.
2. ** The purple stock." This, in its iKape
^nd the manner of its growth, is {imilar to
the common turnep ; but its rind is of a dark
red or purple colour, its fize, in general,
fmaller, arid its texture clofer and firmer than
that of the common white .{lock ; arid it is al-
lowed to fland the winter better, and to pre-
ferve its firmnefs and fucculence later in the
fpring, than the common turnep. But it
feems to be a fad: well-eftablilhed, that the
purple turnep is not fo well affcdcd by cattle
as the bther fpecies : this circumftance, added
to the fmallnefs of its lize, confines its culture
within narrow limits.
3. " The green stock." This fefembles,
ftill more, the common white turnep; from
which it differs principally in the colour of its
rind. It is in tire hands of very fcvv : thcfe few,
however, fay that it is preferable to the com-
mon flock.
4. " The pudding stock*.'* This, in
its Ihape, is fo perfedlly different from the
* The tankard- turnep of the m'dland counties.
Vol. I. S com-i
^5^ T U R N E P 5. 33.
common fort, that it might well be ranked as
a diftindt /pedes. Inftcad of fpreading itfelf
flat upon the ground, or burying itfelf parti-
ally in the furface-mould, it rifes in a cylin-
drical form, eight, ten, or twelve inches high ;
ftanding in a manner wholly above-ground ;
generally taking a rough irregular outline, and
a fomewhat reclining pofture. In colour, con-
texture, and quality, it refembles very much
the common turnep ; of which it is by much
the mofl formidable rival. Indeed, for early
fowing, to be eaten off in autumn, this long-
rooted fpecics fcems to gain a preference even
to the common white-rounds : the roots are
of quick growth, — acquire a great fize, — and,
ftanding wholly above-ground, are readily
drawn; or, if eaten off by llieep, are con-
fumed with little wafle ; the refufe fhells being
fmaller than thofe of broad flat turneps half-
buried in the ground.
But this very circumftance renders them
wholly unfit to be fo'.vn as a fpring-food ; for,
{landing, as they do, cxpofed on the furface,
they become liable to the attack of every
froft; and, from annual experience, it is
known that they fuffcr fooner, and more, from
the
33- NORFOLK. 259
the feverltics of winter than the commom
WHITE-ROUND STOCK ; wliich, taken all in all,
is, I believe, the beft fpecies of turncp known,
at prefcnt, in thefe kingdoms.
II. Soil. Turneps are Ibwn on every
fpecies of foil in ufe as arable land. It is ob-
fervable, hdwever, that the ftronger, heavier
foils, of the fduthern parts of this Diftridt,
will not bring turneps freely without marl ;
tvhich^ perhaps, by rendering the foil more
friable, and confequently lighter, fits it for the
tender fibrils of the turnep-plant in its infant-
flate; or, perhaps, the marl itfelf is accept-,
able to this luxuricus plant.
Be this as it may, marl is found highly bene-
ficial to the crop ; and the faft proves, that a
foil by nature ungenial to turneps, may in
fome cafes be rendered agreeable to them,' by
art. See Min. 136.
III. Succession. In the regular coiirfe of
management, turneps fucceed barley after
wheat; and in this part of the Diftridt, where
the hexennial round is obfcrved with confider-*
able regularity, they feldom fucceed any other
S ?. crop;
i^o T U R N E P S. 33.
crop ; excepting fonie few Ibwn on wheat or
pca-ftubblc after harvefl ; but this 13 not a
general prad:ice,
IV. Soil-process. — i. The farnier having
finifhed fcaling hi his wheat-flub bles for bar-
ley, he begins about Chrillmas, to break up
HIS BARLEY-STUBBLES for tUmepS.
In this inftance, he quits his general rule of
beginning to break up a fallow with a fleet plow-
ing; for, in breaking up a turnep-fallow, he
goes the full depth of the foil — " turning it
" up a full pitch to take the winter." — His
motive in this, as in moft <5ther cafes, is a good
one. In this inftance, indeed, his pradice
obvioufly proceeds from a degree of necef-
lity ; his general plan of management not al-
lowing him time to plow his turnep-fallows
more than once, during the winter-fcafon.
For, no fooner has he given them this one
plowing, than his wheat-flubbles require lo be
taken up for barley j which, with his other
ipring-crops, engage every hour of his tinje,
until the clofe of fpring feed-time.
2. This iini(hed, he begins to take up his
TURN£P FALLOWS. In doing this, too, he deviates
from
35-
N O R F O L K. 261
froQi general praftice ; for the fecond plowing
of a turnep-fallow is notacrofs but length-way.
But here, likewifc^ he adts from a degree of
jiecefiity ; for the firft plowing having been
given the full depth of the foil, there is no
whole ground left for tte plow to lay hold of
in crofs-plowing; and the flags, of courfe foul,
having lain fome months unmoved, are become
too tough to be cut readily with the coulter j
but would, of courfe, drive into rucks before
ihe plow.
3. This loofe woolly flate of the turnep-
fallows is, however, fometimes leflened by har-
rowing them in the b.eginnipg of April ; and,
while the lays are Ihut up, throwing tur-
ners upon them for bullocks ; the treading of
which gives the foil a degree of firmnefs, and
renders the fecond plowing more tolerable.
4. The teams, from the middle of May to
the beginning of July, are almoft wholly em-
ployed in plowing, harrowing, and manuring
the turaep- grounds : for the fecond plowing
finilhed, and the furface fmoothed with the harr
iow, a THIRD PLOWING IS given.
5. This plowing, being well reduced with
the harrow, and the root-weeds coUeded, and
S 3 burnecj
262 T U R N E P S.
ZS-
burned or carried off, the dung is fet on, and,
if time will permit, fcaled in fleet by a
FOURTH PLOWING.
6. After which, the foil and manure are in-
timately blended with the harrow; and, in
due feafon, the seed-plowing takes place.
The fourth plowing is, however, fre-
quently omitted ; either through want of
time or other reafon ; the manure being in
this cafe turned in immediately with the feed-
plowing, which, in either cale, is of a
mean depth. The former is, no doubt, to
appearance, the moft hulband-like practice,
and, in a light foil and moift feafon, may be
the mOil: eligible m.anagement ; — but, in a
dry time, and on a ftout clofe-textured foil,
the latter, provided the manure be finely
broken, and evenly fpread, may be more
eligible. SeeMiN. 71. on this fubjedl.
V. Manure-process.— I. The species of
manure which is principally depended upon
for turneps is " muck ;" — that is, dung, with
a greater or fmaller admixture of mould,
marl, &c. — Malt-cocmbs are in good repute ;
and oil-cake is fometimes ufed by fome few in-
dividuals ;
33. NORFOLK. 263
dividuals ; but it may be fald, that nine ticrcs
of ten of the tiirneps grown in Eaft-Nor-
folk are manured for with '^ muck." The
quantity of malt-coombs made in the county is
inconfiderable, when compared with the num-
ber of acres of turneps annually fown in it ;
— and rape-cake is principally confined to the
north coafl : nor are either of thefe manures
equal to the tafl< of keeping up the foil thro*
the barley and the two grafs crops ; much
lefs of aflifting to fupport it under the fuc-
ceeding crop of wheat, in the manner which
may reafonably be expedted from a proper
dreffing of dung ; the whole quantity of which,
made upon a given farm, ought, in my opi-
nion, to be applied folcly to the turnep-crop :
and, if the foil require fupport under the
■wheat, let it be affifted with lime, malt-dufl,
foot, oil-cake, or other light manures ; which
may not be only adequate to fecuring a crop
of wheat, but may be more or lefs ferviceable
to the fucceeding crop of barley. This has
already been mentioned •, but I think it merits
a repetition in this place.
2. The QTTANTiTY of dung fet on for a
crop of turneps, generally depends on the
S 4 quantity
264 T U R N E P S. 33.
quantity on hand, and the quantity of turnep-
ground to be manured : there is little danger
of fetting on too large a quantity : ten to fif-
teen cart-loads of good muck are confidered as
a fair drefflng. Of oil-cake, about a ton to
three aqres : of malt-cocmbs, fifty or fixty ; — •
and of foot, forty or fifty bufiiel$ an acre.
For the method of carrying out, compoft-
ing, and fetting on muck, fee the article
MANURE-PROCESS,
VI. The seed-process.— I. The time o?
SOWING depends upon the application.— When
they are intended for early confumption, they
are fown as foon as the foil can be got into pro-
per order for them : but if they be intended tp
ftand the winter, the beginning of July is
thought to be early enough. The moft ge-
neral rule is, to begin to fow about a week
before Midfummer, and continue fowing, from
time to time, until about a fortnight after
Midfummer ; — fay, from the feventeentli or.
eighteenth of June, to the fevcnth or eighth of
1%
33. N Q R F O t. K. 2&^
It is a fadt well afcertained, that late-fovvn
turneps (land the winter better than fuch as arc
fown early ; which are fubjca: to the blight -,
liable to be rotted by much wet, as well as by
froft; and become tough and woolly in th|
ipring, when the later-fown pnes are in full per-
fedlion.
If a Norfolk farnier could infure his iirll
fowing, he would fow later than he now does ;
but liable as the turnep-crop is to numerous
accidents and mifcarriagcs, it is prudent to
have a week or two in refcrve for a fecond
fowing, in cafe the firft fowing fhould fail.
2. Old feed is fpmetimes prepared by keep-
ing it in water, in order to forward its vegeta-
tion ; but this is by no means a general prac-
tice. Experiments have been tried on coating
the feed with fqlphur, foot, &c. as a fecurity
agalnfl the " fly ;" but the refults have not
been fuch as to eftablifli any praiSlice of this
nature ; the feed, whether old or new, being
vfually fown dry, and unprepared.
3. The method of sowing is univerfally
broad-caft. The feed-plowing having been
gpne over, once in a place, with the harrow,
the feed is fown with a wide high call, the
feedfman
266 T U R N E P S. 33.
feedfman going twice over the ground ; agree-
ably to the prevailing, tliough nOt the gene-
ral, method of fowing.
4. The quantity of seed, two pints an
*crc.
5. The feed is covered by two tines of a pair
of light harrows, ufually drawn " backward;'*
that is, wrong-.end-foremofl, to prevent the
tines, which are generally fet fomewhat point-
ing forward, from tearing up the clods, and
burying the feed too deep. The horfes are
univerfally walked one way, and trotted back
again in the fame place. This is an excellent
euftom ; the quick zigzag motion of the
harrows at once affifting to level the furface,
and to diftribute the feeds more evenly,
VII. The vegetating-process. Turneps
are univerfally hoed : and, unlefs they be fown
very late, are generally hoed twice.
I. The diftance of time between the fow-
ing and the. first hoeing is very uncertain;
depending on the foil and the feafon : the fize
of the plants is the only guide.
If turneps be fuffered to grow too large
Lefpre they be ho.ed, the plants are difficult
33. NORFOLK. nh-j
to be fet out fingly, and are liable to be
drawn up by weeds ; thereby acquiring a
flender upright tendency ; whereas their na-
tural growth, in their infant-flate, is procum-
bent, fpreading their firft leaves on the ground,
and taking the form of a rofe.
If the hoe be put in too foon, the plants
which are fet out are liable to be buried, and
their tender rootlings difturbed, in the act of
fetting out the neighbouring plants.
The critical Hate obferved by judicious
hufbandmen, is, when the plants, as they lie
fpread upon the ground, are about the fize
of the palm of the hand : if, however, feed-
weeds be numerous and luxuriant, they ouf>-ht
to be checked before the turnep-plants arrive
at that fize ; left, by being drawn up tall and
ilender, they Ihould acquire a weak fickly
habit.
2. The method pr hoeing turneps is diffi-
cult tp defcribe : nothing but pradtice can
teach it: — and, like other manual arts, it
ought to be learnt in youth.
A boy in Norfolk, by the time he is the,
height of a hoe, begins to make ufe of one ;
f onfequently, every man who has been bred to
country-
56§ T U R N E P S. 33,
country-bufmefs i^ a turnep-hoer j yet not al-
ways, even with this advantage, an expert
one.
The operation J to be performed quick and
well, requires a quickncls of eye, and a dex-
terity of hand, which every man is not favored
with : while fome men catch the proper plants
to be fmgled, an4 fet them out, with a rapidity
and neatnefs of execution, very plpafing to the
pbferver.
The hoe is generally drawn round the plant,
with a long fweeping ftroke ; and, when the
plants are fmall, this is the only ftroke that car^
be ufed v/ith propriety j but, when the plants
are out of danger of being buried, a fliort
ftraight ftroke is more expeditious, and, ih
the hands of fome few, makes tolerably good
work.
Upon the whole, it matters not which way
the operation be performed, provided the
ground be ftirred, and the weeds eradicated ;
the plants fet out fingly, and at proper dif-
tances.
3. The proper distance depends upon the
foil, and the time of fowing •, jointly, and fe-
paratcly.
Tyrneps
55. NORFOLK. 269
Turneps fown, early, in a vich produftivc
foil, require to be fet out wider than thofe fown
late, on a foil of a contrary nature.
If the foil be at par, the time of fowing
ought to regulate the diftance : if this be at
par, the nature or flate of the foil Ihould be
the regulator.
Thefe rules, however, felf^evident as they un-
doubtedly are, are not attended to by thegenera-^.
lity of farmers -, who, led away bylong-ellablilh-
ed cuftom, or by the interelled perfuafions of
their labourers ^farmers in all countries being
more or lefs warped by the opinion of their
workmen) fuffer their turneps to be hacked
out fourteen or fifteen^ or perhaps eighteen
inches afunder, without any regard to the ftate
of the foil, or thefeafon of fowing*
This praftice was eftablilhed while the Nor-
folk foil was full of marl, and new to turneps ;
and when, it is probable, eleven or twelve
inches in diameter was no uncommon iize ;
with tops proportionally large and fpreading :
and fourteen or fifteen inches might, then, be
a proper diftance.
But, no'.v, when the efficacy of marl is lef-
fenedj and the foil no longer the favorite of
tornepsj
270 T U R N E P S. S3-
turneps, which feldom reach more than (zYCii
or eight inches in diameter, it is ruinous arid
abfurd to continue the prafticc.
But the prcfcnt price of hoeing was likewife
eftabliflicd when large turneps were grown,
and when wide hoeing might, perhaps, be pro-
per; and a workman cannot, at the prefent
low wages, afford to fet out the plants at a
Ihorter diftance ; for though, in either cafe, he
ftir the whole ground, yet the more plants he
has to fingle, the more tedious the operation
becomes.
If the plants be fet out at eighteen inches —
each fquare yard contains four plants : but^ at
twelve inches, the fame fpace of ground con-
tains nine plants: fo that in this cafe the hoer
has more than twice the number of plants to
fingle and fet out.
But does it not follow that the farmer has
more than twice the number of turneps to fat
Kis bullocks upon ? and is not this interefting
fad a fufficient inducement to farmers in ge-
neral to break through a cullom whofe original
foundation no longer cxifts, and to filence the
perfuafions of their men by an adequate ad-
vance of wages ?
There
33- NORFOLK. 271
There are men, whofe good fenfe and dif-
cernment have fhewn this matter to them in
its true light, and who are fully aware that the
*' proof" of their turncp-crop depends more
on its " tightnefs" than on the fize of the plant.
And it is the practice of thefe men I wifh to
hold out in llriking colours, in order that it
may become the general prad:ice of the Dif-
tridl ; as well as to endeavour to do away a per-
nicious idea which has gone abroad refpefling
this part of the culture of turneps, in Nor-
folk ; where good farmers do not fuffeu their
turncps to be fet out fifteen or eighteen inches
apart! but rather from ten to fourteen, ac-
cordingly as circumftances point out ; and ac-
cording to the lituation of the plants with fe-
jpeA to each other.
Thus, if tlu-ee plants fland in a line, the
two outer ones fourteen inches afunder, the
intermediaic one is, of courfe, taken out :
but fliould two healthy plants ftand in a wdde
vacancy, ihoufands of which vacancies gene-
rally occur in every piece of turneps, they are
both of them fuffered to remain, though they
ftand not more than fix or eight inches from
each other : for^ when the tops have room to
fprea<l
271 f it II N E P S. 3J;
fprcad and wax large, the roots will encreafe
in proportion ; and it is well known t6 thofe
who make obfervations oil the growth of tur-
neps, thatj when the rdots of two plants, thus
iituated, fvvell out till they touch each bther^
they become flat on the fide in cohtadV, but
continue to fpread on every bcher fide^ as if
not incommoded by their contiguity ; which^
indeed, has one good efFeft : for, in endea-
vouring to preferve their rotundity, they force
each other into a heeling pofture, thereby
giving their tops more freedom of exparifion ;
and it fecms to be an undoubted fadt^ that the
vigour of a given plant will ever keep pace
with the {ize and number of its leaves.
This leads us to a general rule for afcertain-
ing the proper diflance of turncp-plants ;
which ought to be fuch as will give them room
to keep themfelves in a ilate of vigour and full
growth ; without leaving any fpace of ground
unoccupied by, or thinly filled withj leaves.
And this leads us round to the firft pofition^
— that the diflance ought tb be in proportion
to the ftate of the foil and the time of fowing.
For, fuppofing a root of fix inches diameter
to require a fpace of twelve inches fquarc,
to
33. NORFOLK. 27^
to dlffufe its top in, the top of a root of ten
inches would be crouded in the fame fpace ;
while one of a fmaller fize would leave the
vacancy unfilled. And as turneps in this Dif-
tridt, now, run from four to eight inches in
diameterj twelve inches may be taken as a pro-
per medium dijiance.
To talk of precife diftancesy of turneps fown
broadcaft, would be ridiculous, and befpeak
a want of knowledge of the fubjedt : if a piece
of turneps be examined after hoeing, though
done by a workman, the variety of diftances
is endlefs ; fcarcely any two interfpaccs being
the fame.
4. With refpedt to the second hoeing, lit-
tle can be faid j thefirft being a guide to this :
the main purport of it is to loofen the mould,
and draw it in fotue mcafure to the roots of the
plants; to reduce the weeds effedually; and
to fingle fuch plants as have been left double
by the firft hoeing; as well as to remove fuch
as have been milled j or, having been buried
in the Iddfe mould in moift weather, have
(truck root again in improper places.
It would be well, if at the time of the fccond
hoeing fome of the fupcrnumerary plants could
Vol, I. T be
i74 T U R N E P S. 3:3:.
be tranfplanted into the vacant patches, in the
manner that rape-plants are ulually done. This,
however, cannot be praftifed v.'ith profit : tur-
nep-plants may be got to live, but not to thrive
after tranfplantation. Docs it not, therefore,
behove the turnep-grower to fee, that, in the firft
hoeing, no artificial vacancies be added to thofe,
which too frequently abound, accidentally, or
for want of a proper quantity of feed, in almoft
every turnep-ground ?
On the contrary, a fupernumerary plant may
be removed on a certainty, and without addi-
tional labour or expence ; for the ftroke which
loofens the foil, and eradicates the remaining
weeds, difplaces a fupernumerary plant. Is it
not, therefore, unpardonable management to
fet out the plants too thin the firft hoeing?
The workmen, fome farmers, and theorifts
in general^ holdout a plaufibleidea, which has
fome fmall degree of truth in it : namely, that
if the plants are not fet out regularly the firft
hoeing, they cannot afterwards be regulated.
This, in rows of drilled turneps, would
have fome weight ; provided every plant which
was left could be infurcd to live, and become a
thriving plant. But, in a field of turneps fown
at
33. NORFOLK. 2jS
at random, there is no fuch thing as regularity
of dillance ; and, here, the notion has little ©r
no foundation.
Nor is regularity here neceflary : for, fup-
poling nine plants to grow in a yard fquare, it
appears to me a matter of fmall confequence,
whether they ftand exactly a foot apart ; or
whether fome of them be fifteen and others
only nine inches afunder ; provided they be fo
diftributed, that their tops fill up a fquare yard
of fpace above them : for, in the fame mannet
as the tops of plants feek out for air and head-
room above, in a fimilar manner do their roots
feek out for food and moifture below.
I grant, that if I had my choice, I would pre-
fer an exaift regularity of diftance ; but I would
much rather forego the mental gratification,
than give up three or four turneps in i
yard fquare of ground.
Upon the whole, it flrikes mey that the ob-
jeft of the firlt hoeing, inftead of being that of
fetting out the plants at e^Cadt and wide dif-
tances, Ihbuld be merely that of checking the
weeds, and thinning the plants, to prevent their
crowding each other; and that the regulation
of dillances fhould be left in a great mcafure to
T z the
273 T U R N E P S. 35.
the lall hoeing : in the firft, {hy reafon of the
tnany accidents young turnep-flants are liable to)
it is a work of hazard and uncertainty ; in the
fecond, not only proper diflanccs, but proper
plants, may be chofcn, with a degree of cer-
tainty and fafety.
With refpedt to timing the fecond hoeing,
it ought to be given before the leaves become
too large, to prevent the plants from being pro-
perly fjngled and fet out, or the weeds from
being effedually cleared away ; but the longer
they {land before the laft hoeing, the more effec-
tually will the weeds be overcome.
r. The length of the hoe fliould be in pro-
portion to the medium diftance between the
plants, and this to their expelled fize.
The Norfolk hoes are, at prefent, out of all
proportion to the prefent fize of plants ; and,
confequently, out of proportion to the proper
medium diftance. I have meafured them nine
inches and a half; there are many, 1 believe,
of ten inches long : too long, in my opinion,
for any turneps I have feen in Norfolk, by at
lead two inches.
It is the hoer*s intereft to work with a long
hoc ; for in a foil free from obftrudions, the
larger
33. NORFOLK. 477
larger the hoe the quicker he gets over the
ground, and the fewer plants he has to fet out ;
but unfortunately for the inattentive farmer, his
interefl: is, in this cafe, in direct oppofition tq
that of his workmen.
There are, however, as has already been
jobferved, fome good farmers who pay proper
attention to their turnep-hoers, and who are
well aware that a little attention, and a fhilling
an acre extraordinary, bellowed upon the hoe-
ings, is no objedt when compared with the
difference between " a thight" and a thin crop of
turneps ; — between a crop worth forty Ihillings,
and one worth four pounds an acre. The ex-
pence of rent, tillage, riianure, and feed is, in
cither cafe, the fame.
6. The prefent PRICE is fix {hillings an acre
for the two hoeings, which are almoft always
let jointly : if they be feparated, the firft is frorrj
)three {hillings and fix-pence to four ihillings ;
jthe laft froni two Shillings to two Shillings and
fix-pence.
Thefe are low prices v;hen compared with
thofe of other countries, where eight fliillings,
ten fliillings, or twelve fliillings, an acre, are
given for the two hoeings. But there are two
T 3 reafons
278 T U R N E P S. 33.
reafons for this difparity. In Norfolk every
countryman is a turnep-hoer, and is generally
expert, compared with thofe of other places ;
where hoeing turneps is a myflery, known only
to gardeners, and a few individuals who, though
inexpert, have it in their power to make their
own prices. The other is the friability of the
Norfolk foil^ and its freenefs from obftruc-
tions; while foils, in general, are either in them-
felves flubborn, or contain ftones or other ob-
flrudtions of the hoe.
8. The ^APPLICATION. Turneps are either
pultivated
For feed.
For fale, or
For confumption.
I. Seed. — Many farmers raife their own
feed ; though this is not a general pradice ;
yet moil good farmers, who are curious in their
flock, either raife itthemfelves, or have it raifed
from their own flock by a labourer or other
neighbour.
The Norfolk farmers are mailers in the art
of railing turnep-fced, in which, as in many
other fubjecls in hulbandry, their ideas are re-
parkably clear and accurate. It is generally
underfloods
33. N D R F O iL K. 275
underftaod, in other parts of the kingdom, that
n^ turnep-feed is fit to be fown which has not
t)een raifed from tranfplanted roots. But not
fo in Norfolk, where feed is frequently raifed
ffom untranfplanted turneps.
It is a fad: well underftood by .every hufbajid-
man, here, that If the feed be gathered repeat-
edly from iLintranfplante.d roots, the plants from
this feed will become " coarfe-necked" and
" foul-rooted;" — and the flelh of the root itfeljF
will become rigid and unpalatabje. On the
contrary, if it be gathered, year after year,
from tranfplanted roots, the jjecks will bepome
too fine, and the fibres too few ; the entire
plant acquiring a weak delicate habit, and the
produce, though fwcet, will be fmall. For
the neck,or on-fet of the leaves, being reduced
to the fize of the finger (for inftance), the num-
ber and fi^e of the leaves will be reduced in
proportion; and in a fimilar proportion will
the number and fize of the fibrils be reduced.
From a parity of reafoning it may perhaps be
inferred, that when the neck acquires a thick-
nefs equal to that of the wrift, the fize of th?
foot will be in proportion,
T 4 With
28o T U R N E P S. 33.
With refpeft to the fibres or rootlings, this is
a juft inference; but with refpedt to the ^/^/i*,
it is in great meafpjre erroneous. For a few
generations the fize of the bulb will keep paqc
with the increafe of leaves and fibres ; but after
having once reached the limits, which nature
has fet to its magnitude, it begins to revert
to its original ftate of wildnefs, from which
to its prefent ftate it has, beyond difpute, been
raifed by tranfplantation.
The farmer has therefore two extremes, both
of which he ought to endeavour to avoid. The
one is difcoverable by the thicknefs and coarfe-
nefs of the neck, the fcaley roughnefs of the
top of the bulb, the thicknefs of the rind in
general, the foulnefs of its bottom, and the
forkednefs of its main or tap-root : the other,
by the flenderncfs of the neck, the finenefs of
the leaves, and the delicacy of the root. The
former are unpalatable to cattle, and are there-
by creative of wafte : the latter are unprodu£tive ;
are difficult to be drawn ; and do not throw out
fuch ample tops in the fpring, as do thofe which
are, by conftitution or habit, in a middle ftatc
between thofe two extremes.
There
33' NORFOLK. ^^^
There Is not, however, an)^ general rule re-
fpecfllng how many years turneps ought to be
tranfplanted fucceffively, and how often they
ought to be fuffered to run up from the feed-
bed : the foil and fituation have, and other cir-
cumftances may have, influence on the habit
or conftitution of vegetables as of animals; and
the farmer muft attend alone to the flate of the
turneps themfelves. Whenever he judges thac
by repeated tranfplantation they have paflcd
the acmeof perfedlion, have palTed that height
to which nature has faid, " So far fhalt thou go,
and no farther," then it is his duty and intereft
to let them run up to feed without tranfplanta-
tion.
In Norfo.lk it has been found, from long ex-
perience, that tranfplanting two, three, or four
years, and letting the plants run up the third,
fourth, or fifth, will keep the ftock in the de-
iired ftate.
The time of tranfplanting is from old Chrift-
mas to old Candlemas.
In the choice of plants, the farmer is not
guided by lize ; but '^ picks the cleaned
plants," without regard to the fize : or, more
accurately fpeaking, he makes choice of fuch
as
2^2 T U R N E P S. 3|,
as are near, but not at, or above, the flate of
p€rfe(ftion. In almoft every piece of turnep
there are plants in various ftates : much judg-
ment, therefore, is rcquifite in the choice of
plants,
*fhe choice of foil and fituation for this pur-
pofe is pretty uniform ; a piece of good ground,
near a habitation, being generally pitched
upon.
But tU method, of "planting is various : the
plants are generally fet in rows ; but the dif-
tance between the rows, and between plant and
plant in the rows, is uncertain. I have mea-
f\]red the rows.fixteen or eighteen inches apart,
a.nd the plants eight or ten iiiches afundcr. I
have alfo obferved them planted in two-foot
rows, and twelve inches in the rows. But the
practice of a man who indifputably ftands
near the head of his profeffion, is to plant
them in rows about two feet afunder, without
any intermediate fpa^e in the rows ; in which
the plants Hand in contiguity.
^be 'vegetating-proeefs confifts in keeping the
intervals clean-hoed •, and when the feed verges
towards ripenefs, in preferving as much of it as
poffible from birds. If the plot be large, a boy
^f, NORFOLK. 2S3
is generally employed to fcare them. When
the plot has been fmall and near the houfe, I
have known a fimplc expedient ufed for this
intent with fuccefs. On a flender poft, riling in
the midft of the patch of feed, was fixed a
bell ; from which a line pafTed into the kitch-
en; in the mod frequented part of which hung
the pull. Wht)ever pafled the pull, rung the
bell ; fo that in a farm-houfe kitchen, where a
miftrefs and two or three maids were fome of
them almoft always on the foot, an inceflant
peal was kept up ; and the birds, having no
refpite from alarms, forfook their prey.
2. Sale. It is not a pradtice among the
generality of farmers to raife turneps for falej
neverthelefs there are every year more or few-
er fold. Little farmers, who want conveniency
or fkill, and larger ones who want money to
lay in a proper flock, or who from the prices
of flock and turneps, comparatively, judge it
more eligible to fell than to *' graze," — fell
their turneps to thole who have judgment,
money, and fpirit to buy flock.
Sale-turncps are ufually confumed on the
premifTes they grow upon. Sometimes the
tiiyer andfometimcs th^ feller draws the crops,
and
ag4 T U R N E P S. 33*
and tends the cattle ; for which fometimes the
one and fometimes the other finds draw.
The medium price of amiddlingcropof tur-
nepsisabout50J. auacre; but the price isfubjedt
to great and fudden fluduations ; as will appear
in MiN. 6S.
3. Consumption. This is the grand pur-
ppfe for which the turnep-crop is principally
Gukivated.
Turneps are almoft univerfally " pulled y
that is, drawn up by the roots. The pradlice of
hurdling them off with iheep, as they fland^
the almofi only pradtlce of other countries, is
not in ufe in Norfolk. I do not recollei^ to
have obferved one inftance of this pra(5lice, un-
lefs when the turneps were very fmall, or very
thin.
But the Norfolk pradlice is not more fingular
with refped to the mode of application, than
with refpecl to the fpecies of flock to which
turneps are applied. In moft places sheep are
the chief confumers; but, here, cattle are
almoft the only objed of the turnep culture. I
fpeak more particularly of thepradice of this
Diftrid : in which, as I have before intimated^,
the
3J. NORFOLK. 285
the genuine fyftem of Norfolk hufbandry is
pradllfed.
There are three ways of harvefiing the tur-
nep-crop :
A. Drawing and carting off the whole crop.
B* Drawing and diflributing the whole ovef
the turnep^ground.
C. Carting off half, and diflributing half.
The two lafl, however, are in ufe only where
(beep are the fole or joint confumers. The
firft, therefore, may be called the general prac-
tice: and it is probable that nine-tenths of
the turneps grown in Ealt-Norfolk are har-
veiled in that way.
A. Carting-off the whole. This pro-
cefs merits a minute defcription.
a. The time of drawing commences about
Michaelmas, and continues until the plants be
in blow.
b. The procefs of drawing. This, in fevere
weather, is an employment which nothing but
euftom could reconcile, to thofe whofe lot it is
to go through it : namely, flout lads and youths;
whofe hands are frequently fwelled until the
joints are only to be difcerned by the dimples
they form ; neverthelefs, I have not heard an
i-nftanc&'
286 T U R N E P S. ,^3.
inflance of ill confequence from this circum-
fiance.
Their method of pulling, when the tops will
bear it, is very expeditious : they pull with both
hands at once ^ and, having filled each hand,'
(one on one fide of them, the other on the
other) they bring the two handfuls together
with a fmart blow, to difengage the foil frbnl
the roots ; and, with the fam[e motion, throw
them jointly into the cart.
If the tops be cut off by the froft, or if
this be in the ground, they are pulled with
" crooms" — two-tined hooks;
If a deep fnow bury the roots, it Is removed
with the fnow-lledge (fee Implements).
It is cuftomary to begin pulling under the
hedges, clearing the head-lands and fide-lands
firft ; and then, if the whole crop be carried
off, to begin on one fide, and clear the ground
progrefiively for the plow.
If the area be broken into, — a lane is made
for the horfe and cart, by drawing the tur-
neps ; and, while their tops remain fueculent
and valuable, fetting them in double handfuls
on each fide the road ; by which means
the tops are preferred as free from dirt and
taint
33. N O R F O t K. 2S7
taint, as if the handfuls were thrown immedi-
ately into the cart.
It is cuilomary, in drawing turneps, to cleai"
them away entirely, great and fmall : I met
with one inftance, however, and that in the
pradlice of a good hufbandman, of the fmall
ones being left upon the ground : not more to
encrcafe in fize, than to throw out tops in the
fpring ; it being obfervable, that a fmall turnep
fends up a top nearly equal to that of one
whofe bulb is larger. There is one inconve-
niency arifing from this practice : the plow is
prevented from entering upon the foil until
late in the fpring; and this, upon fome foils,
is an unfurmountable objection. Upon land,
however, which Vv'ill bring good barley with
one plowing after turneps, it may be very eli-
gible management.
c. ^he method of giving them to cattle. This is
threefold.
Firft, They are thrown on flubbles, grafs-
lands, and fallows, to cattle abroad in the
fields.
Second, They are given in bins, in the
ftraw-yard, in which the cattle go loofe.
Third, They are given to cattle tied up in.
houfes or under Iheds.
The
aS8 T U R N E P S. 2i'
The JjrJ} is the prevailing practice : perhaps j
three-fourths ; perhaps, a greater proportion
of the bullocks fatted on turneps in this Dif-
tridt are fatted abroad in the fields.
The general pradtice is to begin with the
wheat-ilubbles, on which turneps are ufually
thrown until they be broketi up for fallow for
barley. The next throwing-ground is fre-
quently the barley-ftubbles, which receive
the bullocks as the wheat-ftubbles are fcaled
in ; and retain them until they, in their turn,
are broken up for turnep-fallow. Frdm
about Chriflmas until the beginning of Aprilj
the clover-lays, only, are thrown upon : and
after thefe are fliut up, (in order to acquire a
bite of rye-grafs for the unfinifhed bullocks,)
the turnep-fallows, fometimes, become the fcene
of throwing.
Thefe rules, however, are not always ftridly
obferved : fome farmers objediing to throw
turneps on land intended for turneps the en-
fuing year, under an idea that it is produftive
of the Anbury. In this cafe, the clover-lays
fucceed the whcat-flubbles, fome part of theni
being kept open until the turnep-crop be
finifhcd in the fpring. Young clovers are
feme-
33« NORFOLK. 289
Ibmetlmes thrown upon; but this is feldom
done, unlefs there does not happen to be a
clover-flubbie in the neighbourhood of the
turnep piece ; and even then, it is conlidered
as bad management ,* unlefs the feafon be very
dry, and the furface lound.
In a wet lealon, tlie Norfolk farmers, even
on their dry foil, are fometimes put to incon-
veniences for clean ground to throw upon 5 and,
notwithftanding the value of teathc, when the
land will bear the bullocks, I have known a
farmer aflc leave of his neighbour to let him
throw turneps upon an adjoining piece of found
olland ; rather choofing to lofe his teathc
than check his bullocks.
Hence, in laying out a Norfolk farm, it
is proper to endeavour to intermix the crops
in fuch a manner that a piece of turneps fhall
have, at leafl:, two pieces of lav in its neio-h-
bourhood.
The method of throv/ing turneps is fimilar
to that of fetting on manure ; the carts be-
ginning on one fide of a clofe, and working
regularly to the other ; giving every part an
equal fliare ; and never throwing twice in the
fame place, until the' whole has been gone over.
Vol. 1. U At
290
T U R N E P S. zi.
At the beginning of the throwing-feafon^
while grafs is ft'ill in plenty for lean flock, it is
ufual to keep the fatting-cattlc conflantly
in the fame piece of wheat- if ubble, giving
them a frefli fupply of tmneps every day, or
every two days at fartheft.
But the clover-ftubblcs being cleared from
grafs, and the flore- beads beginning to want
afTiftance from turneps, the fatting-cattle have
their " follov\-crs," — that is, rcaring-cattle : —
lean bullocks, cows, or llore-lhecp follow
them to pick up their leavings.
In this cafe it is convenient to have three
«' fliifts," that is, three pieces of throwing-
ground, going on at the fame time : — one for
the head beails, one for the followers, and a
third empty to throw in. Two pieces, or two
divifions of the fame piece, are indifpenfibly
ncceffary.
Sometimes a row of hurdles is run acrcfs a
th rowing-piece to divide the " bullocks" from
the " followers;" and I have known abo-y em-
ployed for the lame purpoie.
Good farmers are very attentive to having
the turneps thrown evenly and thinly ; it being
a hiaxim, that while a bullock is breaking one
turnep.
5;J. NORFOLK:. 291
turncpj ht ihonld no:: have it in his power to
tread or dung upon another. This, however,
is fcldd'ii efTecfluallv p-U-i'ded n^ainft. If tur-
neps be fcattered a yard afunJ.cr, they are not
ill throv;n : it is too common to lee them
throvv^n in " rucks" and " ringes" by half
dozens tO'^ethcr.
They are thrown by hand, by a boy {land-
ing in the cart, which keeps going on as he
throvVs them our, — xvi:h their tops and tails 011,
as they were drawn out of the piece.
Bullocks at turneps abroad, are fometimcs,
when the diftanCe is not too great, driven into
t^e ftraw.yard at night ; — and fortietimcs have
a little draw jrlven them under the heds:e of
o o
the throvving-piece, Vvhere they fieep, entirely
abroad* See Min. 6g,
The quantity of ftraw carried to them is
Tery fmali-, b-eing meant merely to " clean thcr
mouths" from the dirt of the turneps ; which,
alone, are depended upon for bringing the
cattle forward.
It is indeed an inrerefting fa£l^ that not one
in ten of the high-finifhed bullocks, which are
annually fcilt to .^'mithfield-market out of Nor-
folk, taile one handful of hay ; or any other
U 2 food.
igi T U R N E P S. 3^
food, whatever, than turncps and barlej'-flraw ;
excepting fuch as are finiflied with rye-grafs in
the fpring ; and excepting Ibme few fatted by
fuperior graziers, who make a point of giving
their bullocks at turncps a little hay, towards
fpring, when the turneps are going off, before
the rye-grafs lays be ready to receive them.
An excellent prad:ice, this, which ought, if
poflible, to be univerfally copied : for without
this precaution, bullocks are liable to receive
a check between turncps and grafs.
Thtficond method of fatting cattle with tur-
neps is, to keep them in a loofe ftraw-yard ;
giving them turneps in clofe bins; namely, a
kind of fmall cow-crib with boards, or bars
nearly clofe, at the bottom.
Thefe bins are diftributed about the yard,
and the turneps ufually put into them whole %
but, in this cafe, they are always " tailed" —
that is, have their tap-root lopped off— in the
field J and, uniefs the tops be frefh and palatable,
they are ufually " topped-and-tailed," giving
to the fatting bullocks the bulb only ; the
tops, if eatable, being given to ftore-cattle.
Bullocks in the yard have fometimes their
ftraw given them in cribs ; and fometimes have
it
33. NORFOLK. 293
it fcattered in little heaps about the yard, two
or three times a day : the quantity of it eaten
is in either cafe fmall ; and, v/ith the latter
management, the yard becomes evenly littered
without further trouble.
This method of fatting bullocks on turncps
is fomewhat more troublelbme than that of
throwing to them abroad ; which, if the foil
be dry enough to bear (lock, and light enough
to require ''jamming," — is perhaps, upon the
whole, the mod eligible management : but in
a df ep-land f.tuation, and m a wet, or a fcverc
feafon — the yard, if it be kept dry and well
littered, is the more comfortable place ; efpe-
cially if it be provided with open flieds for the
cattle to take llielter under in inclement fea-
fon s.
The tearhe of bullocks abroad is no doubc
highly ferviceable to land ; efpecially to a light
foil ; while bullocks at turneps in a yard well
littered make a great quantity of good ma-
nure.
The ihh'd method is to keep the cattle tied
up in hovels, or under open llieds, with
troughs or m.angers to receive the turneps ;
which, in this cafe, are frequently " chopped ;''
U 3 that
294 T U R N E P S, 33.
that is, cut into Jliccs •, or more generally,
though perhaps lefseligibl)', into quarUrSy with
a faiall hedging-bill, or other chopper, upon a
narrow board or (lool, with a baflcet under-
neath to catch the pieces a3 they are chopt off.
■J'he turnep in this operation is held by the
top ; which, when wholly difengaged from the
root, except the coarfe part immediately about
the crowr, is thrown afidc for the ftore-cattle.
The tap-root and bottom-rind are iliced off
vviih the fiifl llroke, and fuffered to drop on
one fide the fKep •, fo that the fatting-cattle, in
this cafe, have only the prime part of the
bulb.
This accounts for the quick progrefs which
" fhcJ-buUocks" fometimes make ; efpecially
in cold weather. Baton account of the extraorr
dinary attendance they, in this cafe, require, —
not only in cutting the turneps, but in littering
and cleaningout their ftalh, — befides the checks
which they are liable to receive in clofe muggy
weather— -the pracftice is feldom followed b7
large farmer3 in i/:is Diftritl i unlcfs to pufli
forward fome particular individuals.
Among little farmers, who have leifure and
inclination to tend their ov/n fheds, the prac^
> tig?
33- N O Pv F O L K. 2.9S
licc is not uncommon ; 2nd much depending on
care and management in this bufincfs, they
may, probably, find their account in it. Un-
der this trcatmenr, tlie cattle have a little
barley-draw given them, from time to time,
to clean their mouths, and dry up the fuper-
fluous juices of the turncp^
Sometimes {hed-bullocks are '' blown up"
with pollard and barley-meal ; but this is con-
fidered as an unfair practice by the butchers
m Smithfield, who prefer turneps and hay in
winter, and rye-grafs in the fpring, to every
ether kind of fatting.
In the fouthern Hundreds of thas Diflrid:,
the foils of which are, in general, too tender
to bear cattle with propriety in a wet feaibn,
the yard and the flied are more common re-
ceptacles of bullocks than ihey are in i^ij
neighbourhood.
In Blowfield Hundred, a commodious bi^^t
expenfive (lied prevails : it has one main ad-
vantage over the little hovels in which bul-
locks are fometimes cooped up : the lofty,
fpacious area in which the bullocks breathe,
^ilbrds them a plentiful lupply of frelh air,
U 4 and
296 TURNERS. 33.
and keeps their bodies in a due degree of tem-
perature.
For a defcription of one of thefc (hcds, fee
MiN. 118.
B. Drawing and DisTRiBuTn:G the whole
CROP over the turnep-ground. This be-
ing only in ufe where a large flock of flieep is
kept and few bullocks are fatted, it is feldom
practifed in Eaft-Norfolk. It differs from the
ordinary method of hurdling off turnens, in
that the fheep, inftead of being put upon the
plants as they {land, are kept back upon the
cleared ground, upon which the turneps are
thrown. But as, in this cafe, the turneps
mufl either be thrown in part over the
ground already fouled by the fheep ; or be
confirled to a fpace iimilar to that off which
they are drawn ; — by which means the princi-
pal intention of drawing is fruftrated ;— a
third method of harveiling has been invenied :
namely,
C. Carting off half and distributing
HALF. This ingenious method is, I belieVvT,
of modern invention ; and is now chiefly prac-
tifed by a few capital farmers, who lat large
quantities both of cattle and flicep.
Ill
33- NORFOLK. 297
In this cafe, the headlands and fidclands
being cleared, the area is drawn and carried
off, warp for warp ; leaving the piece in ftripes,
about ten paces wide.
The firft drawing is expended on the bul-
locks in one or other of the ways already de-
fcribed ; while the remaining flripes are draw^n
and fcattered over the entire ground for Iheep.
By this means the principal intention of
drawing is obtained j namely, that of diftri-
buting the turneps evenly and thinly ; fo that
u'hile one Is eaten, another may not be foiled :
a principle which, it may be taken for
granted, is well founded ; as it is (Iriiflly and
invariably attended to by good farmers in ge-
neral.
This advantage, however, does not appear
to me to be the only one obtained by drawing
turnep for Iheep in the fold.
When a fiock of fheep are turned upon a
fiiift of {landing turneps, the firft thing they
do is to run over the whole ; and, then, to
eat fuch of the tops as they have not tram-
pled down in running over them. While
they are doing this, they (land upon the roots :
which, being firm in the ground, and f.at on
the
298 T U R N E P S.
35-
the top, are no way inconvenient to ftand upon.
But v\han is worfe, if the foot happen to fall
near the edge of the turncp, the fliarpr.efs of
the hoof, and the fixed fuuarion of the root,
renders it liable to be barked, as well as
fouled^ and rendered unfavoury to this falli-
dious animal.
On the contrary, if fhcep be put upon
drawn turneps, their tops may be in fome mca-
fure injured, but their roots cannot; for being
round, and lying loofe upon the furface of the
ground, they afford no foot-hold to Hand upon.
And, if the hoof be put upon the edge, the
turnep rolling with the ilightefi: touch, the
foot flips, and the rind is faved. Thus the roots
in this cafe, inftead of being foot-flools become
ilumbling-blocks to the fnccp •, which, care-
fully avoiding the turneps, ftand, in this cafe,
entirely upon the ground; which, under thcfe
circumftances, is left almoft wholly free for
their feet; the turneps touching it with a fmall
portion of their circumferences only j whereas,
in their natural ftate of growing, they occupy
a confiderable portion of the furface.
For
33- NORFOLK. 299
For obfervations on Jieeping the feed^ and
rcfciving^ fee Mi n. 3.
For obfervations on the turnep-caterfillar,
fee MiN. 12.
For obfervations on the grub and Mhry,
fee MiN. 20.
For an inftance of the *' Jly* being checked
by the fneep-fold, fee Min. 21.
For preventatives of the Jnhuryy fee
Min. 22.
For experiment with lime for turncps, fee
Mm, 29, ^
For the j a^«///y of turneps eaten by bullocks
in the yard, and calculation on their p; educe
value, fee Min. c^6.
For an incident refpedting the ** proof" of
turneps ♦, and reafons accounting for it by a
particular foil-procefsy and clofe bocingy fee
Min. 57.
For a fimple way of frejerving turneps m
winter, and refl-edlions upon it, fee Min. 61.
For inllances of the price of turneps, fee
Min. 63.
For cpniparative obfervations on fl^ed and
sut-door bullocks, and on the praftlce of in-
dii'iduals in fatting bullocks on turneps, ice
Min. 69,
For
^00 "I* U R N E P
33-
For SLpznicuhrfeed-proce/s, fee Min. 71.
For the pradlice of fundry individuals in the
confumption of turneps on Jlore-cattle, fee
Min. 74.
For an opinion refpedting the great ufe of
turneps to <r^'ix;j in the fpring, fee Min. ^^t,.
For a defcription of the manner in which
bullocks break their turneps, fee Min. 84.
For obfervations on the expenditure of tur-
neps in Fleg, fee Min. 106.
For further obfervations on the turnep Cater-
pillar, and of the 1'enthredo which produces
them, fee Min. 122, 124, 129, and 132.
For further obfervations on the application
of turneps, fee the article Bullocks, and the
Min. from thence referred to.
34. CUL.
34. NORFOLK. 301
34-
CULTIVATED GRASSES.
UNDER THIS HEAD it will be proper
to confider,
I. The fpecics,
7.. The foil,
3. Succellion,
4. Seed-procefs,
5. Vegetating-procefs,
6. Firft-year's lay,
7. Second-year's lay.
I. Species. The cultivated grafles of this
Diftrid: are.
Darnel, — lolium perenne, — rye-grafs ;
Clover, — trifolium praienfe., — red clover ;
Suckling, — trifolium repensy — white clover ;
Black nonfuch*, — trifolium agrarittm, — trefoil
hop-clover, — or yellow clover ;
Suffolk grafs, — poa annuay—dwzrf meadow-
grafs.
* By " bl.ick nonfuch" is meant trefoil in the hufk ;
in rontradiftin^ion to darnel, which is frequently called
*• white"
pi CULTIVATED GRASSES. -4.
The firfl two are the prineipal grafi/js fawn
in the regular courfe of hufbandry ; but gcnc-^
rally with fome admixture of the third or
fourth fpecies ; the laft is fown only when a
perennial lay is intetided ; a thing which is
feldom attempted in this Diflrid.
A new fpecies of ptodudlve nutritive grafs
would be very acceptable to the hulbandry of
Norfolk ; whofe lands, to ufe the provincial
phrafe, are " tired of clover *."
If we confider the length of time which
clover has been fucceffively fown on the Nor-*
folk foil, this circumftance is not extraor-
dinary ; as it has likewlfe taken place in Dif-
trids where the cultivation of clover is a more
modern pradice than in Norfolk •, where it
has been cultivated time immemorial.
A fmall inclofure near Ayleiliam is fliewn as
the firft piece of land which bore clover in
*' white nonfuch." TrGfoil-fced fixed from the hull:, U
called '* hulled nonfuch."
* I made a trial of rib-grafs {phntago Idnccolatus)^ but
gained no credit from the experiment : for although fh's
gr:ifs be fown in confiderable quantities iu fome parts of
the kingdom, it is in Norfolk conlidcrcd a- a weed : the
fact is, horfes do not affeft it ; and thefe are the princi-
pal confumera of the clover-crop, in this coUntiy.
this.
34. N O R P^ O L K. ^oj
this Diilri£t. But even this circiimflance is
now become merely traditional ; no perfon now
living being able to fpeak to it with certainty.
It is obfervable, however, that land, though
it be no longer the favorite of clover, will
bring up the feed perfeclly well ; and, if the
plants are not cut off in their infant flate, will
fupport them through the winter, with vigour
and apparent healthfulnefs. But in the fpring,
Vvhen the plants begin to v/ant a more ample
fupply of nourilhment than the foil is enabled
to furnifh them with, they droop and dwindle,
and frequently, in a few weeks, entirely die
away.
Even on the freilieft foils clover feldom
ftands more than one year ; going off entirely
the fecond fpring ; leaving the darnel (unlefs
fome other grals be fown) in full poffeffion of
the foil.
This circumflancc, however, is no great in-
convenience in the prefent fyflem of Norfolk
hufbandry : if the clover afford a fulnciency of
herbage and hay, the firit year, its chief duty
is done : ryc-grafs having been found, from
long experience, to be of all other graffcs, yet
cultivated, the belt for iinifhing turneped
bullocks
304 CULTIVATED GRASSES. 34.
bullocks ill the fpring ; not only as being early
and produdtive ; but as being of an uncom-
monly " forcing," that is, fattening nature.
Its duration, however, is tranfient ; and
fuckling, or other fummer grafs, is ufcfui to
keep up a bite for the ftore-cattle, until the
fecond-year's lays be broken up for the wheat-
fallow.
II. Soil. They are fown Indlfcriminatcly
on every fpccies.
III. Succession. They arc ralfed ahiioft in-
variably with barley after turneps ; fonietimes,
but not ufually, they arc fown over wheat
after turneps.
IV. Seed-process. — i. The time or sow-
ing grafs-feeds is fomewhat Hngular. It 15
not immediately after the fowing of the barley i
nor after it is up ; but generally, between the
fowing of the barley and its appearance above-
ground.
This, on a dry foil, and efpccially in a dry
feafon, appears to a ftranger extraordinary
managemept; and why the moifture which 13
turned
34-
NORFOLK. 305
turned up to the furface by the feed-earth of
the barley fhould be fuiFered to evaporate be-
fore the grafs-feeds are lodged among it, is
rather inexplicable ; unlefs it be intended to
gain a frelh advantage over the root-weeds ^
which have been harrowed up in covering the
barley.
Or, perhaps, the practice has been eflablifhcd
on a Hill broader bafis. It has, perhaps,
been found, from long experience, that the moi-
fture turned up by the feed-plowing of the
barley, is, fometimes, fufficient to bring the
o-rafs-feed into a ftate of vegetation, without
being able to fupport them through a continu-
ance of dry weather : whereas by fuffering the
furface-mould to dry before the feeds be fown
in it, they lie in a ilate of fafety until rain
falls ; while the barley, being buried deeper,
gets up to Hiade the tender feedlings ; and at
the fame time gets, as it ought to do, the af-
cendency of the grafs-feeds.
2. Preparation of the seed. I did not
meet with an inftance of any preparation being
made ufe of, in this Diftrid:.
3. Method of sowing. The different
forts are ufually mixed and fov/n together ;
Vol. I. X the
;i6b CULTIVATED GRASSES. 34^-
the quantity of ryc-grafs being fmall ; the
feedfman taking care to jftir them up, from
time to time, to prevent the fmalleft and
heavieft from fettling at the bottom of the bowl
or hopper.
4. Quantity of seed. — This varies with
the quality of the feed, and the opinion of
the farmer : half a peck of rye-grafs ! and /<?
tBe dinount of twelve or fourteen pounds of
clover, an acre, may be taken as the medium
quantity : if two or three pounds of fuckling,
or three or four pounds of " hulled nonfuch,**
or a proportional quantity of " black non-
fuch," be fown, the quantity of red clover is
proportionably lefs.
5. The feeds are generally covered with a
pair of fniall harrows, drauai backward, to
prevent the teeth from tearing up the clods,
difturbing the barley, or burying the grafs-
feeds too deep.
V. Vegetating-process. The " young
feeds" are fludioufly kept (:a\\\ fheep the firfl
autumn and winter. They arc, however, eaten
freely with young ftock and other flore-cattle ;
and for conveniency huve fometim-es turneps
thrcwn
34^ NORFOLK. 307
thrown upon them : but this, as has been ob-
ferved, is not a general practice j nor is it
efteemed a judicious one ; unlefs the foil be
very firm and the feafon dry. They are fome-
times top-drejfed in winter, with dung or com-
poft J but this is a pradice confined to a few
individuals. In the fpring of the firft year,
they are univerfally /(?;/^./)/V/^^<^; but, extraor-
dinary to relate, they are rarely, if ever, rolled
either the firft or the fecond fpring,
VI. First-year's lay ^i. This is gene-
rally SHUT UP in the month of April, and
either fuffered to ftand for hay ; or is paftured,
or roped upon, by the working-horfes. See
HORSES.
2. Clover-hay is mown with the fame
fithe, and is lifted or turned in the fame man-
ner, as BARLEY. The great Angularity re-
fpefting the treatment of clover-hay, in Nor-
folk, confifts in its being univerfally mada
into large cocks, as foon as it is weathered
enough to prevent its damaging in thefe
cocks ; in which it frequently ftands a week,
©r, perhaps, a fortnight.
X 2 B/
3o8 CULTIVATED GRASSES. 34.
By cocking It in this manner before it be-
comes too crifp, the leaf and the heads are
favcd ; but heavy rains fomctimes do it great
injury in this ftate. From Highter rains and
tranfient Ihowers it is, however, much fafer
in thefe large cocks (four, five, or fix of
which will generally make a load), than in
fwaths ; whofe furfaces being large in propor-
tion to their bulk, and their fituation being
low, are liable to receive damage from every
ihower ; while the furfaces of large cocks are
comparatively fmall, and, their fituation be-
ing elevated, the wet is licked up by the firil
breeze of wind.
Clover is feldom mown more than once ;
except for feed; the fecond crop being ufually
eaten-ofF with flore-cattle ; for which the
clover-ftubbles are neceiTary receptacles, after
the rye-grafs lays are broken up for wheat.
3. Raising seed-clover is not a pra(flice
@f this Diftridt. The principal part of that
which is fown in it is raifed in Suffolk, and
the Suffolk-fide of Norfolk •, the quantity faved
in this part of the county being fmall, com-
pared with the quantity fown. SeeMiN. loi,
VII. The
34. NORFOLK. 309
VII. The second-year's lay. This is in-
variably partured (unlefs fomc fniall ihare
be fuffered to ftand for darnel-feed) ; the fpring
Ihoot being ufually expended in " topping up**,
turneped bullocks : for which purpofe no
other vegetable is, perhaps, fuperior to rye-
grafs.
Store-cattle follow the bullocks (which ge-
nerally are all fent to Smithfield by the middle
of June), and keep poflefllon ef the fecond-
year's lays, until they be broken up for wheat,
in July, Augufl, September, or Odlober, agree-
ably to the soiL-PRocEss made ufe of fof
WHEAT ; which fee.
For an inftance of fowing clover in au-
tumn, fee MiN. 24.
For an account of Norwich clover- feed
'market, fee Mi n. ioi.
For a fingular effea: afcribed to clover, in
Fleg, fee Min. 106.
X 3 35. N A.
310 NATURAL GRASSES. 3^.
35-
NATURAL GRASSES.
IN DESCRIBING the management of the
different kinds of Grasslands, it will be ne-
ceffary to treat feparately of each species,
namely,
I . Grazing-groundsj,
o.. Meadows^
3. Marfhes,
4. Fens.
I. GRAZiNG-GROUNDS.T^If we except the
parks and paddocks of men of fortune ; who,
through economy or falhion, have, in general,
difparked their deer, and converted their parks
and paddocks into fheep-walks and grazing-
grounds ; we find very little upland grafs in
ibis Diftrid: : I recollect only one piece, of any
extent, in the occupation of farmers.
There are two caufes of this fcarcity of natu-
ral giafsland : the foils of this neighbourhood,^
an4
34. NORFOLK. 311
and of the entire county, taken in a genenl
point of view, are of a quality ungenial to the
natural grafles. If a piece of arable land be
laid down to grafs, in the courfe of a very few
years it becomes moffy and unprodu&ive, and
calls aloud for the plow and harrow.
The other is, the high price which corn bore
a few years ago. This urged the farmer to in-
creafe his arable land to the ftretch : not only
UPLAND grafs, but even bogs appear to have
been fubjedtcd to the arable procefs; though, in
their prefent ftate, too moift and chilly to bear
even the finer graffes ; much more to fupporc
and mature profitable crops of corn.
This is far from beino- intended as a sreneral
cenfure of the anxiety of the Norfolk hufband-
men to increafe the quantity of arable land;
for I am of opinion, that there is fcarcely an
acre of land in the county which is not worth
more under the Norfolk fyflem of aration than
it would be in any other flare ; except the Mea-
dows, the Marshes, and the Fens ; which I
am equally clear in opinion ought to be im-
proved as grafsland, or as fources of turf,
reed, ozicrs, fedge, or other aquatic and palu-
llreap produdions ; and ought not, under apy
X 4 pretence
3T2 NATURAL GRASSES. 35.
pretence whatever, to be attempted to be re-
duced to arable land.
n. Meadows. The fpecies of grafsland
which paffes under this denomination in Nor-
folk, is confined to thofe bottoms, or vallies,
which accompany, almoft uniformly, the rivu-
lets which abound in Eaft N'orfolk,
Thefe vallies vary in width and depth. In
fome places the bed of the rivulet is funk
deep and narrow, in an almoft level furface ;
fo that the arable land comes down to its brink :
in others, the valley is v/ide, and the bottom
fiat; and, in this cafe, the fides of the valley
are fometimes low with an eafy fvvell, fome-
, times bold and lofty : this however is feldom
the cafe ; the Norfolk meadows in general
lying in gentle dips a few feet below the level
of the upland, and from half a lurlong to two
or three furlongs wide.
This dip, gentle as it may be, fubjecfls them
in general to a pernicious redundancv of fub-
terranean moifture.
The Norfolk foil, in general, is, as has
been repeatedly obferved, of a nature unufually
abforbent J drinking up the rain-water as fall
as
35. NORFOLK. 313
as it reaches the earth : a flood is feldom heard
of in Norfolk. The waters thus abforbed are
liable to be obfcrudted by beds of marl and
ciav : if an cbilrudlion take place on the verge
of a valley, the waters obftrudted ouze out,
or attempt a paffage, on its fides ; and rife, or
attempt to rife, out of its bafc. Thus, land-
fprings, quick-fands, hanging tumours, and
bogs occur in almoft every meadow : and
where none of thefe actually take place, a
coldnefs ufually prevails in every part of the
area (except in very dry feafons) ; owing to
the lownefs of the fituation, compared with
the neighbouring upland ; whofe abforbed
waters, though they fink beneath the corn-
mould, and though they may meet with no
particular obftrudtion, yet, in a wet feafon,
a-re, in all human probability, collected, more
or lefs, at the depth of a few feet below the
fur face.
Be this as it may, the chilnefs which pre-
vails in the lower parts of the meadows, de-
ftroys or checks the better grafifes, and pro-
duces or encourages alders, fedge, ruflics,
and the v/hole tribe of paluflrean weeds : while
the
314 NATURAL GRASSES. 35.
the upper margins are productive of furze,
fern, and ant-hills.
Such, from fituation, is the natural fiat e of
the Norfolk meadows •, and lorry I am to add,
that, with a few exceptions, fuch is their pre-
fent ft ate.
Admirer as I am of the arable management
of this country, and cautious as I wifli to be
of cenfuring, without caufe, any department
of its rural economy; I cannot refrain from
condemning, in full terms, its grafsland
management.
Having, however, minuted my fentiments
on this fubjedt, as they occurred from time to
time, in the courfe of my obfervation or prac-
tice ; I fhall, in this place, only give a fketch
of the prefent management, fuch as it is, and
draw what appears to me the general outline of
improvement.
In winter, or towards fpring, when the land-
fp rings are flowing and the bogs full of water,
a few paltry grips are, fometim.es, made acrofs
fuch parts of a meadow as arc no longer able
to bear pafturing -flock : thefe grips being
ufually run in a perpendicular direction, from
the rivulet toward the upper margin.
But,
35. NORFOLK. 315
But, frequently, even this is omitted -, or,
if once done, is fo long neglected, that its
effea is loft.
Befides this faint attempt at improving the
fubftratum, the rufhes and other tall weeds on
the furface are fometimes fwept down with the
iithe •, — and fometimes left to enjoy their natu-
ral right. — Thus much as to imp'ovements.
With refpeft to thea/es to which thefe mo-
rafles are applied, they are principally confined
to that of keeping young cattle from ftarving :
cows are fometimes trufted in them ; but in
general their furfaces are too rotten, and their
herbage too rank, for this fpecics of flock :
and common prudence, refulting from dear-
bought experience, generally prevents the far-
mer from trufting either his Iheep or his hq^-fes
in his " meadows ;" — left the former ftiould be
fubjedted to the rot, an4 the latter be fmothered
in the peat-bogs.
When the young cattle have picked out the
little grafs they can find, — the fedge and other
aquatic weeds of the bogs are fometimes mown,
and carried oft" by hand, for litter ; and fome-
times fuffered to die and rot on their native
bogs, whofe depth is thereby annually in-
creafed.
3i6 NATURAL GRASSES. 35.
crcafed. Upon the founder better parts, the
rufhcs and rough grafs arc, fometimes, made
into a kind of coarfe ha}', for whiter -foddet
for flore-cattlc.
The common rental price of meadow-land
is, from five lliiliings to ten Ihillings an acre ;
and, in their prefent Hate, it is their fuH rental
value ; taking one year with another : in a
very dry feafon they are frequently, on a par,
worth ten Shillings an acre to a farmer ;
paflurage of any kind being, in that cafe, fin-
gularly valuable in Norfolk ; but, in a com-
mon year, they are not, in their prefent flate,
1 apprehend, worth, on a par, more than
fevcn ihillings an acre.
If we confider the natural fituation, and the
prefent flate of the Norfolk meadows, the
following IMPROVEMENTS fpontancoufly offer
themfelves.
1. Draining the furface and fubflratum from
fuperfluous moifturc.
2. Clearing and levelling the furface-
mould, and incrcafing its contexture and firm-
ness.
3. Improving the (quality of the pro-
duce, by GRAss-SEEDSj or, by planting.
4. h\-
<
35. NORFOLK. 317
4. Incrcafing the quantity, as well as the
quality of the herbage, by manuring and
WATERING.
The laft, namely, wateking, is a praftke
entirely unknown to the generality of Norfolk
hufbandmen. Indeed, until the furface of
their meadows be adjufied, and the fubter-
ranean "waters removed, a knowledge of the
pradiice would be ufeleis to them.
Without this advantage, ffreat as it would
be in addition, 1 will venture to afiert, from
an extraordinary attention to this fubjedt, that
the prefent rental value of the meadows of
Eafl-Norfolk might be doubled ; and this ac
the expence of one-third of the improved
value. 1 will venture to go farther, and give
it as my clear opinion, that the meadow-lands
of Eaft-Norfolk, with a limilar proportion of
expence, might, on a par, be improved ten
fhillings an acre.
We have, in a former fecflion, eftimated
the number of arable acres in Norfolk, to be
fix hundred thoufand. Suppofing the propor-
tion of arable to meadow-land to be as twenty
to one (ten to one would, perhaps, be a nearer
proportion) the number of acres of meadow
will be thirty thoufand, which, at ten faiilings
an
3i8 NATURAL GRASSES. 35.
an acre, is fifteen thoufand pounds; from
which take one-third for the expence of im-
provcnienr, the remainder is ten thoufand
pounds, the neat annual improvement.
If to the IMPROVEMENT of draining, Sec.
that of WATERING wcrc added, in placej
where it is pradicable, at a moderate expencCj
this annual increafe might be very confider-^
ably augmented.
In a country where landed gentlemen are fo
minutely, and fo ftrenuoully, attentive to their
own intereft, it is aftonifbing they dd not feC
about fuch real improvements as would, in the
itiftant, render them refpedable, and bring,
in the end, a durable increafe to their rent-rolls ;
rather than continue to dwell upon thofe,
which have already brought down fo much
diftrefs upon their tenants, and obloquy upon
themfelve^.
However, with refpedl to the improvement
of Hieadows, the tenants are equally culpable
with their landlords : even a twenty-one yearns
leafe is not enoug-h to encourasre them to make
the rcquifite improvement.
The fadl is, the landlord and tenant are
jointly interciled-, and the expence in tiiis, as
in
35' NORFOLK, 31^)
in almofl: all cafes of improvement upon a
kafed eflate, onght to be joint. On granting
a leafe, the landlord ought to advance, or
allow, fome certain fum of money towards
the improvement ; which he, or his agent,
ought to fee executed, according. to agreement,
previoufly entered into by the tenant.
III. Marshes. This fpecies of natural
prafsland is, on the eaftern fide of the countv.
confined to the neighbourhood of Yarmouth ;
where an extenfive tradt of marfhes lie on the-
banks of the Breydon ; which, formerly, was
probably, an arm of the fea, but is now a
mere dilatation of the Yare ; which, at Yar-
mouth, regains the river-form. This valuabJe
trafl of land, with its prefent {late and appli-
cation, being fully defcribed in Minute iiS,
it is unneceffary to dwell upon it in this place.
IV. Fens. Under this head I clafs the
fwampy margins of the rivers and lakes which
abound in the fouthern part of this Diftrid",
Their natural produce is reed, gladdon *■%
{edo-e, rushes, and other aquatic and paluftrean
* Gladdon—TvPHA latifolia et ^r-^z/^/^'/i/ri^,— cats- tail.
p.lants 3
320 NATURAL GRASSES. 35.
plants ; their upper fides being frequently out
of the water's way, affording a proportion of
grazable land : hence, probably, they are
provincially termed *' marflies." This, how-
ever, is not only contrary to the common ac-
ceptation of the term ; but th-e produce and
principal ufe of a fen are totally different from
thofe of a grazing marih.
The profits of a fen arifc, in general, from
Reed and gladdon, cut for thatch, for build-
ings ;
Sedge and rulhes, for litter ; and thatch, for
Kay and corn-ricks, and fometimes for build-
ings ;
Coarfe grafs, for fodder, and fometimes for
pafturage ; — and
Peat for fuel *.
The laji, if made the moft of, is a very va-
luable article, — as appears in Min. 54.
* The proprietors of manors are alfo proprietors of the
fifli in fuch parts of thofe frefli-water lakes as lie within
their refpeftive manors ; and the right of fifliing is fre-
quently let ©ft" to men who make an employment of taking
the pit.e (fome of them of immenfe fize) and other fifli
with which " the brdads" abound.
The
35- NORFOLK. 321
The life and value of Reed have been fpokcn
to, amply, under the head Buildings and
REPAIRS.
Gl^ddon is of a fimilar ufc, but \ck
value ; its duration being much Ihorter than
that of reed.
The other articles require no explanation.
For an inflance of burning ant-hills, fee
MiN. 6.
For an inftance of a grazing-groand being
more nutritious to heifers than to fteers, fe^
MiN. 39.
t'ov the Norfolk method of opening drains:^
fee MiN. 44.
For the method of " gelding" ant-hills^ fee
MiN. 50.
For general obfervations on Norfolk mea-
dovjs, fee Min. 51.
For general obfervations on /<?»;, fee Min. 54.
For a ftriking inftance of the prefent bad
management of meadows, fee Min. 6^.
Fot the method of ciftting r^ f^, fee Mi m. 89.
For a llriking improvement of meadow-\zx\d^
fee Min. 96.
For £i defer iption of the Tarmonth marjhe'i^
&c. fee Min. 118.
Tow I. ¥ Be-
34t NATUR.\L GRASStS. 35^.
Beficlcs thcfc Minutes on provincial praflicc,.
I find fome relating to a fpecies of grafsland,
different from any of thofe above-enumerated i.
namely, a young perennial lay ;. the herbage
principally rye-grafs and wh ite- clover ;. the foil
a tolerably rich loam ;. the ficuatjioH' cooler
than that of Norfolk arable land in general j
but warmer than what is called meadow;
forming a fuite of dairy-groiands ; which, lying
round the houfe I reftded in, fell immediatdy
under my own eye -, and the management of
them was frequently conduced under my own
diredtions. See Min, 108.
For inftance of profit by mowing the broken:
^rafs of paftured land, fee Mm. 7.
For an evidence of Jheep being inimical to-
cows, fee Min. 8^
For the eflTedtof the Jhovellinzs of ajheepfold
upon grafsland, fee Min. 10.
For an experiment on the time (ff manurhj^
grafsland, fee Mm. 127.
^6, CATTLE.
3^ NORFOLK. 323
3^-
CATTLE.
IN TREATING of this fpccies of live-
ftock, it will be proper to confider, feparately,
1. The fpecies, or breed.
2. Cows, and the management of the dairy.
3. Rearing cattle.
4. Bullocks, or fatting-cattle.
I. The species. The prefent breed of
cattle, in this Diftridf, is not kfs peculiar
to the country, than its breed of horfes was
formedy (fee horses), and is ftrongly marked
with the fame leading charadlers.
The native cattle of Norfolk are a fmall,
liardy, thriving race •, fatting as freely, and
finilhing as highly, at three years old, as cattle
in general do at four or five.
They are fmall-boned, — Ihort-legged,—
round-barrelled, — well-loined,' — thin-thighed,
— clean-chapped ; the head, in general, fine,
and the horns clean, middle-fized, asd bent
Y 2 up.
3S4 C A T T L E, -36.
upward : the favourite colour, a blood-red,
with a white or a mottled face.
The breed of Norfolk is the Herefordlhire
breed in miniature ; except that the chine and
the quarter of the Norfolk breed are more
frequently deficient.
This, however, is not a general imperfec-
tion. I have feen Norfolk fpayed heifers feitt
to Smithficld, as w^ell laid up, and as full in
their points, as Galloway or Highland " Scots"
ufually are ; and, if the London butchers be
judges of beef, there is no hzxxtr fiefioed beafls
fent to Smithfield-market.
Thefe two qualifications; namely, the fu-
perior quality of their flefli, and their fatting
freely at an early age, do away every folid ob-
iedllon to their fize and form. Neverthelefs,
it might be advifeable to endeavour to improve
the latter ; provided thofe two far fuperior
quali-fications were not by that means injured.
But it pnight be wrong to attempt to increafe
the former, which feems to be perfectly well
adapted to the Norfolk foil.
The medium weight of a well-fatted three-
year-old is forty ilone ("of fourteen pounds
<rach)i
Bulls
3i^. NORFOLK. 3^2^
Bulls of the SufTolk polled breed have, at
different times, been brought into this Di-
^ridt : and there are feveral inllances of the
Norfolk breed being croffed with thefe bulls.
— -The confequence is, an increafe of fize, an4
an improvement of form : but it is much to
be feared, that the native hardinefs of the
Norfolk breed, and their quality of fatting
quickly, at an early age, are irjured by this
jnnQVation ; which was firfi: iritrpduced by
c^entlemen, who, it is probable, were unac-
quainted with the peculiar excellency of the
true Norfolk flock ; and the mongrel breed,
which has arifen from t|)e crofs, yet remains
in the hands of a few individuals.
A few years ago, a Highland Scotch bull
was brought into this neighbourhood, by a
map who Hands high in the profeflion of
grazing ^ and who has crolied his pwn flock,
pf the true Norfolk breed, with this bull.
The produce of this crpfs proves^ that if the
genuine breed can be improved, by apy ad-
mixture of blood whatever, it is by that of
the *' Highland Sept." The chine is, by this
crofs, obvloufly improved; and the hardinefs,
as well as the fleih, and pronenefs to fat at a
Y 3 certaiji
326 CATTLE. ^
certain cge, cannot receive injury from this
admixture. Tlie only thing to be feared from
it is, that the flock will not fat fo eirJy^ as
will that of the genuine breed; and, if the
opinion of the oldefl:, graveft, and I had al-
moft faid, the bed farmer in the Diflrirt has
any weight in this cafe^ this evil effect is much
no be appreihendcd : he is clear in that a
'• Scot*' does not fat kindly even at three years
old ; much lei's at t-jco \ at which age many
hundred head of cattle are annually fatted in
this country. - ; -■.-
The facft appears eviderftly to be, that the<
Norfolk hufbandmen are in pofTciljon of a
breed of cattle, admirably adapted to their
foil, climature, and fyftem of management :
and let them crofs with caution ; left by mixing
they adulterate; and, in the end, lofe, irre-
trievably, their prefent breed of cattle; as
their forefathers, heretofore, loft a valuable /
breed of horfes ; the lofs oF which can, now,
be -only lamented.
If, through the laudable fpirit of im.prove-
raent, attem.pts be made with foreign breeds,
they ought to be made with caution. But,
from what I have fecn and know of the Nor-
folk
35. NORFOLK. 327
folk ftock, and wliat I have fince feen of the
improvement of the breed of cattle, in
other counties, it appears to me, evidently,
that nothing more is wanted to improve the
form of the prcfent breed of cattle in Nor-
folk than a due attention to the breed itfelf.
While fiich cows, and fuch bulls, as I have
■fometimes feen, arc fuffered to propagate their
deformities, no wonder fome valuable points
Ihould be lowered. But if, in the reverfe of this
- unpardonable negledt, men of judgement and
>eaterprize would make a proper feledion ; and
Vkfould paj?- the fame attention to X-hc Norfolk
"breed as is paid to the long-horned breed, 115
the midland counties, and to the Ihort- horned,
in the north of Yorkfhire ; — every poirht might
beyond a doubt be filled up, and the prefent
- Valuable qualities be at the fame time retained.
But the great caufe of negle^ m the breed-
ing of cattle in Norfolk, is, that men of judge-
ment and fpirit rather choofe to purchafe of the
Scotch drovers, or of their poor and induflri-
ousbutlefs judicious neighbours, than to go
themfelves through the tedious round of rear-
ing. However, if we confider the prefent uni-
5t?erfal fcarciry of cattle (iy86^, and that the
Y 4 Scotch-
328 C A T T L E. 36.
Scotchmen, through recent improvements in
their plan of hufbandry, arc now enabled to
fat a part of that ftock, which formerly they
drove wholly tothefouthward; it feems highly
probable that the Norfolk graziers will, hence-
forward, find their advantage in encreafing,
and improving, their own breed ; and th^y
^iiay reft alTured, that he who firft fets about its
improvement will have it, in his power to keep
the. lead ; and reap, of courfe, the higheft ad-
- vantage.
II. Cows. — The prime intention or keep-
ing cows in this country is the rearing of young
flock; — the produce of the dairy, unlefs in the
neighbourhood of large towns, being a fe-
condary objedt.
But the number of cows kept, even by the
rearing-farm.ers, is few : eight or ten may be
confidered as a middling dairy of cows upon
a middle-fized farm ;— I mean on the eaft fide
of the county.
In Weft-Norfolk, efpccially on the marlh-
hnd fide towards Cambridgeftiire, large dairies
of cows are kept, for the purpofe of making
butter ; which is fent weekly to London under
the denomination of Cambridge butter.
This
36. NORFOLK. 3^20
This is a fortunate circumftance ro the Eaft-
Norfolk breeders, who draw an increafc qf
rearing-calyes from that quarter of the county :
whofe dairymen, in their turn, are benefited,
in being by this means enabled to get riddance
of their calves, at an early age ; jobbers mak-
ing it a bufinefs to transfer them from one iide
of the county to the other.
By this means, and by buying up the calvqs
of cottagers, farmers, and gentlemen of the
neighbourhood, who do not rear their own, an
Eaft-Norfolk. breeder is able to rear a greater
number of calves than the pumber of his cows
amount to.
Ten or twelve calves may, perhaps, be con-
fidered as the medial number reared at prefent,
on a farm of one hundred and fifty pounds to
two hundred pounds a year.
In the neighbourhood of Norwich and Yar-
mouth, cow-keeping is frequently applied to
the Fatting of calves for the ped-markets
(fee Markets).
Alfo, in the neighbourhood of thefe and
other towns, Butter becomes an objed of
fale.
Cheese
53*9 C A 1^ T L E. 3&,
Cheese is .likewife an article of the ped-mar-
kct ; where it is generally Ibid in a crude re-
;cent ftate ; elpccially in the fpring and early
part of the fummer ; when it is bought up at
a, few weeks, perhaps at a few days old, by
the working-people ; of whom at that feafon of
• the year it is the principal food.
With refpedt to the management of the Nor-
folk dairy-women, and their ikill in butter
' zr.d cheefe making, little ^an be faid which
v.'iU redound to their credit. However, in
extenuation, it may be faid, and with truth>
that rank meadows, and new lays, in fummer,
snd turneps in winter and fpring, are ill calcu-
lated for producing the delicacies of the dairy :
and it may be added, that where perfedtion
«annot be hoped for, emulation lofes its effcd:.
Befides, cuftom has been very kind in recon-
-c.iling their countrymen to thofe things v;hich
a ftranger revolts at ; lb that they have, now,
> no motive for endeavouring to correftthe rank-
.Hcfs of their butter, or the rancidity' of their
cheefe.
Ncverthclefs, in one thing they are ex-
tremely culpable : this is in fuffering their
..icheefes to be devoured, year after year, by a
r|>ecie«
34. NORFOLK. 3.3'x
fpccies of maggot peculiar, perhaps, to this
coi^nty, with every appearance of tamcnefs and
refignation ; as if they were confcious of its
being a judgment upon their evil manage-
ment.
But even, in this cafe, cuftom is friendly
to them : for fuch is the depravity of tafte,
\vhen ied away imperceptibly by habit, that
even the maggots themfelves arc to fome
grateful.
This, however, is only a palliation of their
crime ; for, not unfrequently, the entire dairy,
except the ordinary Ikim-cheefe, is mor,e ' or
lefs affetted ; fo that, before Michaelmas, the
cbeefes would be literally fo many bags of
maggots, were they not fold off, and con-
fumed, at an age, at which, in any other coun-
try, they would not be ranked among human
food. I have myfelf fcen a dairy of cheefe —
that is, the ftock then left on hand — in total
ruins before that time. An Eafl-Norfolk
cheefe, found and whole at Chridmaa, is a
rarity; by Lady-day, there is not, generally
ipcaking, a pound of Norfolk cheefe, nor even
a handful of maggots, to be purehafed in the
ViMii.
I am
m C A T T L E. 36,
- I am the lef? refcryed in my cenfures of the
Norfolk dairy. women in this refpec^, as I
know, from my own expcri>-nce in the count}',
that the evil which is here fpoken of, and which
is a caufe of great and unneceflary hardfliip to
the labouring poor, in the winter ii^onths, ori-
ginates, principally, in a want of attentiotj
and management. But having in that cafe, as
jii others relating to my own experience, mi-
nuted the circumftancfis, as they occurred, or as
icon as a regular Minute could be formed of
|:hem, I Ihall not enlarge upon the fubjeQ:,
^^re, but refpr to Minute 108.
III. Rearing cattlc.— This fubjedt calU
for a threefold divifion.
1. Calves,
2. Yearlings,
3. Two-year-old^.
•^ I. Calves. The rearinsr of cattle is be-
come, in my opinion, a lubjecl of the firfl
importance to this country : a univerfal and
growing fcarcity of neat flock is experienced,
more or lefs, throughout the kingdom. I have
therefore paid more than common attention to
the rearing of calves ^rhe firft and mpft diffi-
cult
36. N O R F d L K. 333
cult part of the bufinefs) In this Difl:r*i<5l : not
only as behig a primary objed; in the Eaft-
Norfolk fyftem, bnt becaufe the praclice here
iSj in many refped:s, peculiar to the country.
The number has already been mentioned iil
general terms : it varies, however, with the
quantity of meadow or other natural grafsland
belonging to a given farm ; and fometimes,
but not always, with the time at which the
cows happen to come-in.
The time of reading. — '^omQ farmers " bring
up" all the year round ; — rearing every calf
lie has dropt. Others rear in winter, only ;
fatting his fummcr calves for the ped-markets ;
or, at a diftance from them, for the butcher;
Norfolk farmers, in general, begin early in
winter to rear their calves : fome fo early ag
Michaelmas ; in general, if their cows come
In, before Chriftmas : not only as being fully
aware of the advantage of rearing early ; but
in order that they may rear as many of their
own calves as poffible ; " drove calves" being
always hazardous, and fomctimes fcarce.
No dlftindlion is made as to fex : males and
females are equally objetrs of rearing, and are
both, occafionally, fubjefted to caftration ; it
bsins
334- CATTLE. 36,
being ^ prevailing cuftom to fpay all heifers
intended to be fatted at thrcc-year-old ; but
fuch as are intended to be finifhed at two-year-
old are, I believe, pretty generally left "open :"
as are, of courle, fuch as are intended for the
dairy.
There are two reafons for this pradice :
they are prevented from taking the bull too
early, and thereby fruflrating the main inten-
tion ; and by this precaution they lie more
quietly — are kept from roving — at the time of
fatting. This may be one reafon why fpayed
heifers are thought to fat more kindly at three-
year-old, and to be better fleflied, than open
heifers.
The method of treatrdent remains now to be
explained. — This depends in fome meafure on
the time of rearing : the winter calves require
more milk than the later-dropt ones do.
The general treatment of a calf dropt at
Chriftmas may befaid to be this : fucks, twice
a day, the firft fortnight : has the pail, twice
a day, for the next month or fix weeks : and
once a day, for a month or fix weeks longer : —
with hay in a rack, and turneps in a manger j
and, fometimes, with cats and bran among
the
,6. NORFOLK. 335
the turneps : which laft^ after a calf has taken
freely to them, ferves as both meat and drink.
In this confifls the chief peculiarity of the
Norfolk method of rearing calves : which may
bc faid to be with milk and turneps : the ialt
a fpecles of food, which, in every other part
of the kingdom, is, 1 believe, entirely neg-
ledted, or unthought of.
As foon as the weather gets warm' enough^
the calvcs are turned out, in the day, among
the fatting bullocks, or on to a patch of tur-
neps, or upon a piece of wheat, or a forward
grafs-piece, and houfed again at night : until,
the days growing long, and the nights warm,
and the clover and darnel have rifen to a ful!
bite, they are turned out altogether y and con-
tinue to have the firft bite of every thingv
which is good and palatable tathem^ through-.
out the furamer.
This, as beforememioned, may be called
the general treatment of calves dropt^it Chril!:-
mas ; but as the managements of no two far-
mers are exadtly the fame, I made it my bu-
linefs to attend to the pradlice of individuals ;
and as the refult of my obfervations appear in
Mjnutes 53, and 70, I Ihall refer the reader to
thqfe
33') CATTLE. 36.
thofe Minutes for further particulars on the
fubjcft.
2. Yearlings. The lattermath and bub-
bles being finiflied, the yearlings — proviiv
dally " buds," — are put to turneps : either as
followers to the bullocks, or have fome frefh
turneps thrown to them : in either cafe, they
fleep in the par-yard, and generally have a fe-
parate par allotted them ; though fometimes
they are parred with the two-year-olds.
In the yard, the beft of the " ftover" is al-
lowed them^ and, perhaps, a little ordinary
hay : it being a maxim; pretty generally
adopted among good farmers, to keep their
young ftock as well as they can the firft
winter.
In fpring, and fummer, they follow the
"bullocks, and run in the meadows * or, if
thefe be wanting, are fometimes fent out to
fummer 2:rafs in the marflies or grazinor-
grounds. For the agiftment price, fee the
List of Rates.
3. Two-year-olds. Run in the ftubbles
and broken grafs till Chriftmas, or until tur-
neps can be fpared them ; when they generally
follow the bullocks. In winler, they are
always
36. NO R F O L K. 337
always " parred" at night ; fometiines with
the cows ; fometimes with the buds ; fome-
times alone* Good farmers generally keep
them feparate :■— if parred with the buds, they
rob them ; if with the cows, they are liable
to be ** horned," and are never at reft : except
while the cows are eating up the beft of the
fodder*
< Some farmers, when turneps rUn ihort, " put
out" their two-year-olds in winter : and others,
when they are plentifulj " graze," that is, fat
their two-year-olds.
In general, however, they are " kept over-
year," on meadows or lays, or are fent to the
marfhes or grazing-grounds, as fituations ^nd
circumftances point out; and, at Michael-
mas, are put to turneps as fatting-cattle.
The agiftment price for two-year-olds, from
May-day to Michaelmas, varies with the keep.
See List OF rates. For further particulars
fee the Minutes referred to below,
IV. Bullocks *.— This is the grand obje(ft
to which every part of the Norfolk hufbandry
more
* *' Bullocks." — This is a gisricral term, in Norfolk, for
all kinds of cattle at turneps, or other food, with an in-
.Voi. I. 2. tention
3j8 CATTLE. 3^
more or lefs tends, and which diflinguifhcs it,
ind has long diflinguifhed it, from the huf-
bandry of all other countries.
The praftice of fatting bullocks on turncps
IS, however, now beginning to creep into
every part of the kingdom : but it may b«
faid to be flill in a flatc of infancy every
where, except in Norfolk; and an accurate
account of the practice of this parent-county
cannot fail of being ufeful to every other tur-
nep-land Diflridb.
Impreffed with this idea, I fpared no pains,
HOT let Hip any opportunity, of making my felf
acquainted with the fubjcdl. The refult of
my obfervations and enquiries I regiftered as
they occurred, and appear in the Minutes.*
AU, therefore, that remains to be done in this
place, is to make a general analyfis of the fub-
tcntlon of being fatted ; whether they be oxen, flcerf,
heifers, or cows. A fimple general term is much wanted
in this cafe ; and, although the term bullocks may not be
entirely free from objeftion, I ftiall, in this place, adopt
it, Dr, Johnfon defiues it "a young bull;" but the
mod general acceptation of it, at prefent, is--*'an aged ox."
Upon the whole its meaning is vague, and it may without
much impropriety, be applied to fatting and fatted cat-
tle.
j6. NORFOLK. 339
jed^i and to delineate its outline, fo as to place
it in a regular and clear light ; and thereby
prepare the reader to go through the Minutes
with the greater eale and advantfgc.
The four grand divifions of the fubjefb
are,
1. The fpecles of bullocks fatted,
2. The method of obtaining them.
3. The method of fatting them.
4. The method of difpofing of them.
I. Species. — The oniyafpecies of cattle fal?i
fed in Eaft-Norfolk may be faid to be ** homc-
breds" and " Scots." Some ** Irifh beafts"
have, at different times, but not regularly,
been brought into the country, and have ge-
nerally done very well. In Weft Norfolk,
great numbers of Lincolnfhire and Yorkfliire
oxen were formerly, and fome few, I believe,
«re now, fatted ; but in this Diftridl they have
always been confidered as much inferior t«
the Scotch and home-bred (lock.
H0ME-BR£DS COnfifl of
Steers,
Spayed heifers.
Open heifers.
Barren cows,
" Running; calves."
o
Thft
340 .CATTLE. 36.
The laft is a fpecies of fatting;cattlc pecu-
liar, perhaps, to this country. They are
calves, which arc fuffered to run with their
dams until they be a twelvemonth or more
old : the cow being all the while at " head-
keep,*' of which the calf partakes, as well as
of the milk of its dam : which, herfelf, in the
mean time, generally gets fat enough to be ,
fent to Sraithfield, with her calf (perhaps, as
heavy as herfelf) by her fide.
The Scotch cattle fatted in Norfolks
confill of
" Galloway Scots j" other
" Lowland Scots j"
" Highlanders ;»
" Ille of Skys."
"The Galloway Scot is large, thick, fliort-lcgged,
moftly hornlefs, and of a black or brindled
colour : the flefh well grained ; and the form
altogether beautiful; — chine full ; — back broad
and level ; — quarter long and full at the nache j
round barrel ; — deep girt ; — and the bone,
head, and chap, in general, fine.
This I apprehend is the genuine original
Galloway Scot ; and a principal part of the
bullocks brought into Norfolk under that name
are
3^. N O R F O L K. 341
are of this defcription : — but the droves are
generally adulterated with a mongrel fort; —
the produce of a crofs with the iong-horned
breed.
This fpecies of adultery is fald to be com-
mitted and encouraged by the nobility and
landed gentlemen of the countries they are
bred in ; but the fa6l appears to be, that they
have already one of the iinefl breed of cattle
in the world upon their eftates ; and it behoves
them to hand it down to pofterity as pure at
leaft as they received it. In this age of im-
provement, it might be laudable to endea-
vour to improve it to the utmoft : not,
however, by foreign admixtures-, but by
giving the mod beautiful females to the
moll beautiful males of their own breed.
They appear to me to have much to lofe,
but nothing to gain, from croffing, — not even
witli the prefent long- horned breed of the
midland counties.
This fpecies of Scotch cattle appears to be
originally of the county of Galloway, which
forms the fouthern extremity of Scotland ;
but they are now, it is faid, propagated in other
Z 3 parts
342 CATTLE. 3$.
parts of the Lowlands, efpecially in the rich-
land counties of Lothian, in the neighbour-
bood of Edinburgh. I have known them fat-
ted to eighty flone ; and have been informed,
from authority which I have no reafon to
doubt, that they have been known to reach
near one hundred ftone (of fourteen pounds
each). •
Lowland Scots. The ordinary breed of
ilackcattki in the Lowland counties, are aiizc
below the Galloways, — and appear to be a
mixture between thefe and the Highland Scots.
Sixty Hone is a good weight for a Lowland
Scot. His form and inclination to fat partake
of the Galloway breed : the former, however,.
is feldom fo near pcrfedion as is that of a true
Galloway Scot. Lowland Scots ar€ fome of
them horned, fome of them polled : their colour
black, or brindled, or dun.
Highland Scots. This feems to be a diftin(!t
breed. The fize is beneath that of the Lowland
Scot : forty to fifty ftpne is the ordinary weight
©f a Highland Scot. In form, iiefh, and fat-
ting quality, the " Highlanders'' refemble
inuch the Galloway Scots ; except that theiF
^acj^s in general arc coarfer, their bone pro-
portionably
3^. NORFOLK. 34J
portionabiy larger, and in that they have, in
general, but not always, horns,— of the mid-
dle fize, and moftly bent upward, — like thofe of
the Welfti cattle — but finer.
In general appearance there is a (Irong re-
femblance (their horns apart) between the
Highland Scots and the black cattle of North-
Wales ; but with refpeft to flefli and fatting
quality, — the main objefts, — the companion is
greatly in favour of the Scotch breed ; which
the gentlemen of North-Wales are faid to fetch
annually out of Scotland, or to buy them up
at the Englifh fairs, to be fatted for their own
tables.
The IJle of Skys appear to be only a variety
of the Highland bfeed ; contraded by foil, or
climature, or both. They are, in point of fize,
the loweft in the gradation. But with regard
to flefli, fatting, and growth while fatting,
they may be faid to fl;and foremofl:. I hav^
known an Ifle of Sky Scot, bought at two years
and a half old for lefs than forty fliillings, reach,
in about twenty months, to forty-five ftone *.
At that ageiheir "growth" in England is
afl:oni{hing ; owing, perhaps, not more to
* But thi? was the head bullock of a lot of hajf a
Xcoxe, and Is, perhaps, a lingular inftancc*
Z 4 .their
|44 C A T T L E, ^,
their nature, than to a change of climature,
and a change of food. Much, however, de-
pends upon their age. If they be intended for
immediate fatting, four years old is the pro-
perefl: age. An Ifle of Sky or a Highland Scot
at two or three years old will grow, but he will
not fat; at five or fix he will fat, but he will
r.ot grow, while fatting, equal to a four-ycar-
pld bullopk. At this age the weight of lileof
Sky Scots, when fat, varies, from twenty to
forty ftone.
Thefe are the four fpecies, or varieties, of
cattle which are brought by the Scotch dro-
vers to the Norfolk fairs, and which are boup^ht
o
up and fatted by the Norfolk farmers, under
the foregoing names. There may be other
breeds, and admixtures of cattle, propagated
in Scotland ; but not being fent to this market,
they are foreign to the prefent fubjed:.
2^ The method of obtaining bullock?
ior fatting. — This is either by
Rearing, or by
Purchafe.
Some farmers rear all their own fattingrftock i
others purchafe the whole. But the more ge-
neral practice is to rear part, and buy in parr.
36. NORFOLK. 34I
Much depends upon fituation ; but more, per-
haps, upon judgemcut : and ftill more, per-
haps, upon an ample and regular fupply of the
means of purchafe. — It is allowed that the af-
fluent fortunes, which were formerly made by
fome few Norfolk farmers, were chiefly ac-
quired through a fuperior ik\\\ in the purchafe
of ftock ; fcconded by a full fupply of money ;
bv which means they were aKvays able to time
their purchafe to the beft advantage. But in
men of inferior judgement, and who have
not money at their command to purchafe when
the price of flock is low, it is undoubtedly
prudent to rear the whole, or a principal part,
of their own ftock ; for, in doing this, they
travel a beaten track, and tread on fure ground,
'The purchafe of homebreds is chiefly at the
fairs ;— or at the breeders houfes ; or on the
^' caftle hill" at Norwich, where there is a
weekly market ;^-fometimes pretty full of
different forts of livp ftock,
The purchafe of Scots is, in this Diftrift,
chiefly at the fair of St. Faith's, a village near
Norwich -, to which the Scotch drovers bring
annuallygreatnumbers.— rSecMiN. 27. and 134.
Thefc
:t4& cattle. 3§.
Thefe Scotch dealers have a fucccflion of
fairs, which keep them fome months in the
tountry ; during which time a continued flrcarh
of cattle is kept flowing from its various fourccs
in Scotland to its general efflux : which is judi-
cioufly removed from place to place, that the
diffufion may be the more regular and eafy.
The fale begins the 9th of September, at
Harkfion, in South-Norfolk ; where its flay is
about a fortnight. From Harlefton it moves on
to Wolfpty in Suffolk ; and returns to Sechingy
near Lynn in Norfolk, the loth of Odobcr.
Prom Scchc it is removed to St, Faith's (its
grand flation) near Norwich, the 17th of
Oftobcr. Its flay, here, is uncertain : a fort-
night, or three weeks, or as long as the de-
mand lafls. There is a fair at Halsfworth, a
few miles within Suffolk, the beginning of
November ; but this feldom, I believe, clofes
altogether St. Faith's fair. The 22d of
November it recommences in Norfolk at
Hemp ton-Green, in the northern part of Wefl-
Norfolk : where continuing a week, or longer
time, it is finally removed to Hoxone, on the
borders of Suffolk, the beginning of Decem-
ber •
36. NORFOLK. j^f
ber; and there continues open until near
Chriflmas.
Eaft-Norfolk, as obferved above, is princi-
pally fupplied at St. Faith's. The northern
Hundreds fometimes draw an additional fupply
from Hempton-Grccn ; and the fouthern ones
from Halefworth and Hoxone ; which, with
the other fair in Suffolk, lie within the reach
of the Norfolk farmers.
The Highlanders and lile-of-Skys are chiefly
jor wholly oxen ; but the Galloway, and other
Lowland Scots have a mixture of fpayed
heifers ; a fpecies of fatting-cattle which is
covetted by judicious graziers.
The moft common age is four years old ;
)but many of the Scotch cattle brought to thefe
fairs are probably much older : fome of them
have been worked : even fome of the " High-
landers^' are faid to be worked at the collieries.
There are alfo many three-year-olds, and Tome
two vears old or under. Thefe are bought to
be kept " over-year" in the meadows, marfhes,
and grazing-grounds.
For the fame purpofe, tworyear-old home-
breds are alfo purchafed, the firil day of thefe
and at other fairs.
But,
34.S CATTLE. ^
.. But, for immediate fatting, the defired ages
are three years old for homebreds, and four
years old for Scots.
3. The method of fatting.— This has
been already fpoken to in defer! bing the appli-
cation of TURNEPS; to which the reader is
referred ; as well as to the Minutes mentioned
at the clofe of this article, for individual prac-
tice. It will neverthelefs be proper in thi$
place to take a general view of the fubjed;
thereby endeavouring to place it in a light as
perfpicuous as may be. The firft thing to be
coniidered js,
lC\i^ proportion of bullocks to a given quan^
tity of turneps. This depends on the fize of
the bullock, and the quality of the turneps.
The general calculation is a middle-fized bul-
lock to an acre of good turneps. Taking tur-
iieps on a par, a fatting-bullock and a follower
come, perhaps, nearer the real proportion.
The time depends on the growth of the tur-.
rveps and the pofTeffion of the bullocks : the
hc^mebreds are ufually put to turneps about
Michaelmas : the Scots as foon as they arc
purchafed. It is obXervable, here, that not-
^i'ith Handing a Scorch bullock, efpecially of-
th$
3^. N O R F O L K. ^4$
thefmaller kind, never faw, perhaps, a turnepj
yet, when thrown to abroad, in company with
two or three homebreds, he generally foon learns
to break his turneps. Some particular bullocks,
however, will receive a check before they take
to them.
The place for fatting bullocks on turneps is
either
The field.
The yard, ' i
Sheds, or hovels.
, The firft requires leaft attendance and atten-
tion, and is highly beneficial to light land :
the fecond makes a great quantity of manure,
but a wafle of ftover : the laft requires lefs
litter ; but incurs a greater portion of labour.
In a dry, open feafon, bullocks at turneps
do belt abroad : in wet, pinching weather,
befl under cover.
Out of thefe eflablifhed fads arifes an ob-
vioully eligible plan of management, where
circumftances will admit of it. In autumn, io
long as the weather continues moderate, let
bullocks remain abroad ; but, whenever it fets
in very wet, or very fevere, take them up
wnder cover ; — and there let them remain
until
35* CATTLE. 3d.
until they be finilhcd ; or until the warnnth of
fpring calls them abroad again.
But the moft eligible method of fatting
depends on a variety of circumftances :
The foil and (ituation ;
The conveniencies in the yard ;
The feafon ; and
The fpecies of flock to be fatted.
Cattle which have been accuftomed to lief
abroad in a fevere climate, will ftand the winter
in the field better than thofe which have been
ufed to a Iheltered yard, in a warmer climate.
No general plan of management can, there-
fore, be laid down. All that can be done is,
to point out the various modes in ufe, and
leave every man to confider well his own par-
ticular circumftances, and make his election
accordingly.
4. The markets for bullocks. The con-
fumption is divided between the metropolis
and the county. The proportion I never heard
gueffed at. Perhaps three-fourths, perhaps
no more than two-thirds, of the bullocks fat-
ted in Norfolk, are fcnt to the London
market*^
Norfolk
y
36. M O R F O L K. 3SI
Norfolk is a populous county; not mor«5
through the Norwich manufadory, which
difFules itfelf over a principal part of it, than
from the circumllance of Norfolk being an
arable country.
The 'places of fale are,
Smithfield ;
St. Ives * ;
The fairs ; and
The farmer's yard.
Bullocks for the London market are chiellj
fent dired:ly to Smithfield : many, however,
go by the way of St. Ives ; and fome few
are bought up in the country by the Londoa
dealers.
Thofe fent to London and St. Ives are put
under the care of drovers, and generally fold
by the falefmen of the rcfpedive markets.
Some farmers follow their bullocks to thcfc
markets ; and fometimes, but very feldom,
iland the market tRemfelves.
The advantage of fending bullocks by the
way of St. Ives is, that if that market prove a
bad one, they are driven on to Stevenage ; and
M this does notfuit, are driven through to the
* St. Itcs, iR Huntino;donfliir2.
London
354 C A t T L t. ^6i
London market. But while they are thus
driven from place to place, they are not only
accumulating expences, but arc Ihrinking in
carcafe. From the north-wefl quarter of the
county coniiderable numbers of bullocks are^
1 believe, driven to St. Ives, and there is one
drover from the northern part of this diflridl.
But the grand market for bullocks fatted in
Eaft-Norfolk is Smithfield : to which, in the
feafon, they are driven weekly, or twice a
week ; according to the fupply, and the ftages
of the feafon.
Smith of Erpingham has long been the
common drover of tMs Dillrid:. He generally
begins, about Candlemas, to go once a fort-
night : in the latter part of February, and the
month of March, once a week : in April^
May, and June, generally twice a week : and
in Auguft or September, he ufually makes
one or two journies to takeoff the furplus of
the home confumption, and the " harveft beef/*
fatted in the marlhes, grazing-grounds, and
lays, during the courfe of the iummer.
His place of rendezvous is St. Faith's; where^
or in his road to it, the farmers meet him
with their rcfpedlve lots.
For
36.
N O P. F O L K.
353
For the Monday's market, he fets out from
St. Faith's on. Sunday, and reaches Londoiv
the Sunday following. The diflanceone hun-
dred and twelve miles.
At Mile-End he is met by the falefmen ;
who mark, and take, from that time, the
charge of the lots which are refpedlively con-
ligned to them. Sometimes the choice of a
falefman may be left to the drover ; but, in
general, every farmer has his ovv^n falefman.
If the owners of the bullocks do not attend
the market themfelves. It is the drover's duty
to fee (were it poffible) that juftice be done to
his employers ; and to receive the neat pro*
ceeds from the falefmen ; who deliver ac-
counts in this form :
-" Three Tuns, Smithfield..
Seven bcafts fold for Mr. — the loth day of June 17S2.
Selling (at IS. 6d.) o 10 6
Tell 6: expcaces 021
Help - - - 019
Grai's ---000
Drover, J. Smith, i 15 o
Paid vourfelf - 86 o 8
I Waterman
I Beeton
I Andrews •
I Sevvell
I Alexander
I Brown
I Brown
- 1+
0 0
13
0 0
12
10 0
12
0 0
12
0 0
12
0 0
13
0 0
£^^
10 0
^88 10 o
(Signed) S— 1 P-n,
Beat]: and iheep falefman."
Vol. I.
A a
The
354 CATTLE. 36*
The cxpences are, and have been for many
years, invariably the fame ; namely, feven fliil-
lings and a penny half-penny a bullock, — oreat
or fmall ; unlefs when very large heavy bul-
locks are fent off, a day or two before the
drove, as they fometimes are to cafe them on
their journey ; in which cafe the expence of
the drift is fomewhat more.
Thefe accounts, which are payable at the
falefmen's bankers, are delivered to the owners
of the bullocks, if they attend ; if not, to
the drover ; who formerly brought down the
whole amount in money -, but now, princi-
pally, in bills, at a fhort date, upon the Nor-
wich bankers.
The drover's place of payment in this neigh-
bourhood is North-Wallham ; the firft market- .
day after the fale^ The farmers go to his Inn,,
where their accounts and eaih are ready for
them. See Min. 117.
Minutes on breed.
For an inftance of the excellency of the
JJlcof'Sky-Scois, fee Min. 40.
For an opinion comparative between the
Scoick and the Norfolk breeds, fee Min. 69.
For
36. NORFOLK. 355
For an evidence in favour of the Suffolk
breed, fee M in. 69.
For an opinion that a three-ysar-old Norfolk
will fat as kindly as a four-year-old Scot, fee
MiN. 72.
For an inftance highly in favour of the Irijb
breed, fee Min. iio.
For an inftance of the excellency of the Nor-
folk breed, fee Min. 119.
Minutes on general management.
For an inflance of a grazing-ground being
more friendly to heifers than to fleers, fee
Min. 39.
For reflecflions on the rearing of cattle, fee
Min. 53.
For obfervations on the pradtice of diftribut-
Ing rubbing-pofts in paftured and teathed in-
clofures, fee Mm. 66.
For an inftance of the number and fpccies
of cattle kept on a middle-lized farm, fee
Min. 70.
For general obfervations on the winter ma-
nagement of ftore-cattie, fee Min. 74.
A a -2 Mi-
356 CATTLE. j&.
Minutes on cows and the dairy.
For inflanccs of Iheep being unfriendly to
cows, fee MiN. 8.
For an opinion that turneps are an excellent
food for cows in the fpting, fee Min. 8^.
For general obfervations on cheefe-making,
fee Min. io&.
Fdr general obfervations on making butter,
fee Min. 109.
Minutes on rearing cattle.
For an evidence that young flock will pay
for good keep, fee Min. 46.
For a method of rearing calves, fee
Min. 53.
For an evil effeft of not fpaying heifers
clean, fee Min. 69.
For various methods of rearing calves, fee
Min. 70.
For obfervations on the winter-management
of young flock, fee Min. 74.
Minutes on bullocks.
Species.
For the comparative value of different heids
of cattle for fatting, fee Minutes on breed,
above referred to.
For
36. NORFOLK. 357
For obfervations on fatting the Norfolk
breed at one-year-old, as " running calves,"
fee MiN. 69,
For refleitions on fatting them at two-years-
old, fee MiN. 112.
Buying.
For an account of the Scotch bullock-fair of
St. Faith's, fee Min. 27. and 134.
For an inftance of buying the Norfolk breed
at Holt fair, fee Min. 0,1^.
For general obfervations on buying bul-
locks, fee Min. 1 10.
For further information on this fubjcfl, fee
Mjn. 113.
Fatting.
For a fingular circumftance of the grazing-
grounds of Fouliham being more nutritious to
heifers than to fleers, fee Min. 39.
For an incident on the fatting of Ifle-of-Sky
Scots with great fuccefs, fee Min. 40.
For an incident on the quantity of turneps
eaten, and the procefs of fatting bullocks in
the yard, fee Min. ^6.
For an incident on the proportion of bul-
locks to turneps in the field, fee Min. p^j.
A a 3 For
358 CATTLE. 36.
For obfervations on flied and out-door bul-
locks, fee MiN. 69.
For various inftances of individual pradice,
fee MiN. 6^.
For a method of curing fufflation, fee
MiN. 72.
For the manner in which bullocks break
their turneps, fee Min. 84.
For obfervations on Ihed and out-door bul-
locks, in fevere weather, fee Min. 93.
For an incident of pradtice particularly at-
tended to, fee Min. 97.
For further obfervations on this incident,
fee Min. 102.
For fome account of the Fleg grazing, fee
Min. 106.
For further obfervations on the aboveinen-
tioned incident of pradice, fee Min. iio.
For a further progrefs in the fame incident,
fee MiN. III.
For an inftance of bullocks doing well at
grafs, though the weather was wet, fee Min.
For fome account of grazing in Blowfield
Hundred, and in the Yarmouth marlhes, fee
Min. 118.
35* NORFOLK. 359
Selling.
For an inilance of fale at Smrthfield, fee
MiN. 102.
For an account of Walfliam bullock-fair,
fee MiN. 105.
For an account of Worflead bullock-fair,
fee MiN. 107..
For another inflance of fale, and the uncer-
tainty of Smithfield-marker, fee Min. hi.
For an account of Ingham bullock-fair,
fee Min. 112.
Obfervations on a lot fent off to Smichfield,
fee Min. 113.
For the drover's method of paying the farmers^
■with obfervations on that lot, fee Min. 117.
Profit,
For an inftance of great profit by the lile-
of-Sky Scots, fee Min. 40,
For calculations of profit, from the quantity
of turneps eaten in the yard, fee Min. c^6.
For a calculation on the quantity eaten in
the field, fee Min. 57.
For an inftance of low profit by Scots, fee
Min. 102.
For fundry inflances of great profit by
Scots and Irilh cattle, fee Min. ho.
A a 4 For
36o CATTLE. 36.
For an evidence that profit depends chiefly
on management, fee Min. iio.
For another inftance of moderate profit by
Scots, fee Min. hi.
For an inftance of great profit by home-
breds, fee Min. i 19.
It may be proper to obferve, that the in-
fbances of prcfit, which are here adduced, are,
taken collectively, much above par. If, in a
common year, a bullock, of forty (lone, pay
half a crown a week for fatting, he is thought
to have done tolerably well. Suppofing him
to take fix months '* time j" and, in that time,
to eat an acre of turneps ; the grofs produce,
on this calculation, will be three pounds five
ihiliings ; from which dedudl fifteen fhlUings
for ftraw and attendance, the remainder is
fifty iliillings for the neat produce of the tur-
neps ; — exclufive of the value of the teathc,
or the dung, ar.fing from the confumption.
But it being evident (at leaft to my mind)
that very much depends upon management, I
am clearly of opinion, that, by a judicious
attention to breeding, or a proper choice in
purchafing;-*by laying-out farms convenient-
36. NORFOLK. 361
ly, and adapting the mode of fatting to the
given foil and fituation ; — by finifhing the bul-
locks highly, and condudling the fale judi-
cloufly, the prefent par price of two fhil lings
and fixpence a week, for a bullock of forty
ftone, might be raifed without extraordinary
exertion, to three Hiillings or three Hiillings
and fixpence a week : — and, confequently, the
neat par produce of an acre of turneps, on
the above calculation, to three pounds, or
three pounds ten fhillings an acre. To this
muft be added the teathe, which, upon
the lighter lands, is one of the main fupports
of the Norfolk fyftem of hubandry.
ZT^ SHEEP*
362 SHEEP. 36.
SHEEP
NO CIRCUMSTANCE in the Norfolk
hulljandry furprized me more than that of find-
ing the country in a manner deilitute of Iheep.
In one of my journies to Gunton, I purpofely
rode, on horfeback, through the center of the
county — by Thetford, Watton, Dereham,
Reepham, &c. in order that I might catch a
general idea of its rural economy.
From the nature of the foil, and from the
prevalence of the turnep-hufbandry, I had
conceived it to be the land of fheep : but
from the time I crofled the river at Thetford,
until I arrived within a few miles of the end
of my journey, I did net fee onejheep !
In the north-weft quarter of the county,
confiderable flocks are kept : but in the eaftern
and fouthern divifions the number kept, in the
fummer months, is trifling ; except upon
commons, or about the refidences of gentle-
rnen : and, except upon fome few capital
farms.
316^. NORFOLK. 36$
farms, upon which over-year flocks are kept.
But Eafl-Norfolk farms, in general, are, in
the months of July, Auguft, and September,
as free from fheep as elephants ; — except, per-
haps, fome few kept on until harveft for,
what is called, " harvefl-beef ;" namely, to
be killed for the v/ork-people in harveft.
In and round the park of Gunton, a confi-
derable flock was kept ; and it is chiefly from
obfervations on this flock, that I gained my
information refpeding the Norfolk breed of
flieep.
The BREED of Norfolk horfes was not for-
merly, nor its breed of cattle at prefent^ more
Angular than is its breed of sheep j which,
it is highly probable, has long been preferred
in purity ; — ^-I mean without adventitious mix-
ture of blood.
There are two varieties of this species of
flieep : the one larger (weighing from fif-
teen to twenty-five pounds a quarter j which is
the common flock of the county : — the other
fmaller (from ten to fifteen pounds a quarter),
which are bred chiefly upon the heaths in the
neighbourhood of Brandon and Methwold, in
the fouth-weil quarter of the county. Thefe go
W
3.64 SHEEP. 36.
by the name of " heath-lhcep ;" but differ in
no refpcdt from the coaimon fort ; except in
that of their being fmallcr, and in that of their
wool being finer.
The charadteriftics of a Norfolk Iheep arc
thefe :
The carcafe long and flender.
The fleece fhort and fine.
The legs long, and black, or mottled.
The face black, or mottled.
The horns — of the ewes and wedders, mid-
dle-fized, and fomevvhat firaight : refemblins:
thofe of the Dorfetfliire ewes, fo well known,
now, in different parts of the kingdom, as the
mothers of houfe-lamb ; — but thofe of the
rams arc very large, long, and fpiral, like the
horns of the Wihfhire ram.
The loin of a Norfolk llieep, of the beft
mould, is wide, and the hind-quarters fuf-
ficientiy large for the general make ; but the
fore-quart§4:s, in general, are very deficient.
The fnoulders low, the back aukwardly high,
and the chine fliarp, and unfightly.
This is, at lead, too generally the cafe ; I
have, however, feen fome of them with tole-
rable backs ; and I am confidently of opinion,
that
ib, NORFOLK. 365
that if the Norfolk breeders of fhecp would
pay lefs attention to their " countenances"
(that is, the colour of their faces) and more to
their carcafes, the prefent breed, viewed in a
general light, might be very highly improved:
not, however, by the introdudion of (trange
breeds, and unnatural croffings ; but by a
judicious choice of the males and females of
their own breed ; — which, taken all in all, even
at prefent, appears to be (ingularly well adapted
to the foil and fyftem of management prevalent
in this country.
They may be bred, and will thrive, upon
heath and barren fheep-walks, where nine-
tenths of the breeds in the kingdom would
flarve : they fland the fold perfectly w^ell : fat
freely at two years old : bear the drift, remark--
ably well, to Smithfield, or other diflant mar-
kets ; and the fuperior flavor of the Norfolk
mutton is univerfally acknowledged.
Therefore, the Norfolk huibandman, in
their fheep, as well as in their cattle, have much.
to lofe : and the almoft only thing they have
to gain is a better chine; which, with a judi-
cious attention to their own breed, might be-
yond
366 SHEEP. 36.
yond a doubt be obtained, without hazarding
any of their prefent advantages.
The long-wooled breeds of Lincolnfhire,
Huntingdonfhire, and Leicefterfhire, have of
late been attempted to be introduced, by gentle-
men, in different parts of the county ; and
mong-rels have been reared from a mixture of
the two breeds : but neither the country, nor
the gentlemen themfelves, are likely at prefcnr,
to gain either advantage or credit from their
experiments : faving that praife which is due
to every experimentalifl in agriculture.
It is far from being my intention to check
the laudable fpirit of experimenting ; but in
this, as in almoft every other cafe, I wilh that
it ihould be condu6led with caution : a valu-
able breed of flock, adapted to a given foil
and lituation, is ati acquifition of ages ; but
let their fuperior excellencies be what they
may, a few years are fufficient to lofe them,
perhaps, irretrievably.
I am an admirer of the prefent beautiful
breed of Leicefterfliire flieep ; which, as to
form, are undoubtedly fuperior to any other
breed in the kingdom, and are admirably
adapted to the foil and fituation they are bred
in ;
36. NORFOLK. 367
in ; as well as to every other rich inclofed grafs-
land country ; and confequently may not be
unfit for the paddocks of gentlemen in this or
any other country ; nor, perhaps, altogether
improper for the £^-Norfolk farmers, who
keep only a few Iheep, for the purpofes above-
mentioned. But, taken in a general light, as
a breed for the county at large, they appear to
me to be wholly unfit. — I believe they will not
live upon the heaths, and open, extenfive, un-
produdive Iheep-walks of Weft-Norfolk, {o
well as the prefent breed of heath -Iheep of that
country : / know they will not ftand the fold fo
well, nor travel fo well to the London market,
nor fell for fo much by the pound when they
arrive there, as will the prefent breed of Nor-
folk fheep in general ; which, aukward in form
as they undoubtedly are at prefent, appear to
me, from a knowledge of different breeds, to
be better adapted to the foil, fituation and
fyftemof management of the county at large,
than any other breed at prefent exiiling in the
Ifland.
The general economy or fyftem of ma-
nagement of Iheep in this country is mentioned
in MiN. 122, on the Iheep -Ihow of Cawfton;
in
368 SHEEP. 36.
in which alio the particular practice of this
Diftridt is lb far pointed out as relates to the
lambs and crones bought at that fair ; which
with thofe of Kenninghall and Kipping, alfo
held in the fummer months, form the grand
communication between the two (ides of the
county.
If a farmer do not lay in his intended ftock at
thefe fairs, he buys hoggards at the fpring
fairs ; letting them run in the fallovvs, lays,
and ftubbles until autumn ; and finilhing them
with turneps the enfuing winter.
For the method of fatting them on turners,
fee that article.
For the admeafuremcnt of a Jljeep-JoU, fee
MiN. I.
For an evidence of Iheep being inimical to
cows, fee MiN. 8.
For an infcance of advantage oi jloeep-fold to
barley, fee Min. it.
For an experiment and obfervations on the
time of putting the ram to the ewes, fee
MiN. 17.
For an experiment Wiih fieep-fold {ox wheat,
fee Miyi. 18.
For
37- NORFOLK. 369
For an incident of fheep-fold checking the
turnep-fly, fee Mim. 21.
For an evidence that different breeds o^ fheep
afPedt different fpecies oi food, fee Min. 75.
For obfervations on ewes lamhingj fee
Min. 76.
For an inftance of the effedt of good keep
on young lambs, fee Min. 78.
For an incident on crojpmg Leicefterfhire
ewes with a Norfolk ram, fee Min. 82.
For an inftance of prolificknefs in the Norfolk
breed of Iheep, fee Min. '^6.
For an inftance of cutting nV^zV-lambs, fee
Min. 99.
For a further evidence of an almoft total
privation of ftieep in Eaft-Norfolk, fee
AiiN. 106.
For obfervations on Ca-jojion Jheep-Jhow, fee
Min. 123.
Vol. I. B b 38. RAB-
^Q R A B B I T 5. 38.
38.
RABBITS,
THE SOIL of this county, viewed at large,
might be termed a rabbit-ibil ; and it is highly-
probable that, before its prefent fyftem of buf-
bandry took place, a confiderable part of it
was occupied by this fpecies of live flock.
Ac prefent, however, they are, in this DiA
trid, wifely confined to the hcathlets, and the
barren hills upon the coaft. A level country
is unfit for rabbit-warrens, but convenient for
the plow : on the contrary, rabbits delight in
the fides of fandy hills ; which, where turn-
wrift plows are not in ufe, are extremely incon-
ven'ent for tillage ; and, when cultivated, are
generally unprodu6tive.
The rabbit, on level ground, finds it diffi-
cult to make its burrow ; the excavated mould
is all to be dragged upward to the furface :
hence a piece o{ ground, altogether level, can
feldom be {locked fuccefsfuUy with rabbits;
unlef^
3l^, ' NORFOLK. 371
unlefs it be firft laid up, by art, at a great ex-
pence, into inequalities.
On the contrary, againft the fide of a fteep
hill, the rabbit has no difficulty to encounter :
the declivity affords him a ready vent for his
mould; his work \s dXX down-hill : and — unlefs
the foil be too flubborn, or too rocky, for the
rabbits to work freely among, — a broken hilly
country may generally be flocked with advan-
tage ; provided a tolerable market for the car-
cafes can be had within reach.
There are, perhaps, few fandy or other
loofefoikd hills, which would not pay better in
rabbit-warren than under any other courfe of
hufbandry.
For an inflance of an improvement by con-
verting unproductive fandy hills into rabbit-
warrens, fee Min. 79.
B b 2 59. SWINE.
372 SWINE. 39.
39-
S V/ I N E.
THE NUMBER of fwlne reared and fat-
ted in Norfolk is very confiderable : the dairy
in fummer, the ftubbles in autumn, and the
barns and ilables in winter, furnifh a conflant
fupply of fuftenance ; while the great quanti-
ties of buck raifed in this country furnilhes
an ample fource of fatting.
In Norfolk, however, as in other Diflridls,
farmers differ widely about the proper number
to be kept, upoa a given farm, under given
circumflances. It may neverthelefs be faid
that, ..i general, they are fully aware that a
moderate number well-done-to, are more pro-
fitable, in the end, than a greater number
badly kept ; — yet there are fome few men,
even in Norfolk, whofe half-ftarved herds are
nuifances to the neighbourhoods they are kept
in ; without affording either pleafure, or ex-
traordinary profit, to their refpedive owners.
The
39- NORFOLK. 373
The fpecles of fvvine, which formerly was
iiniverfal throughout the countr}-, is, like the
Iheep, a ilcnder long-legged animal; but, like
thofe, is of quick growth, and prone to fat at
an early age : I have feen them, at fix months
old, near three quarters grown, and as fat as
pigs in general are, at nine or twelve. Their
fize is not large : fifteen to twenty ilone (four-
teen pounds) is a good weight for a fat well-
grown hoa;.
But the '* old original fort" is now nearly
lofl ; the Chinefe and Berkflilre breeds have of
late been introduced ; fo that, at prefent, Nor-
folk exhibits the fame motley mixture of
breeds, which may be feen in almofl every
other county in the kingdom.
Farmers in general rear their own pigs :
keeping, according to the fizc of their farms,
one or more fows, which in general are fatted
young, and /payed before they he fatted : through
which means their flefh is thought to be much
improved.
They are fatted almoft univerfally on buck ;
which is fometimes cruflied, and fometimes
given to them whole. It is a quick good fat-
B b 3 ting;
374 S W I N E, 39,
ting ; fomewhat fimllar to barley ; not fo good
as peas.
The confuniptlon lies principally with the
county : fome few, but I believe no great num-
ber, are fent to the London market.
They are in general killed as porkers, — and
either carried to the ped- market, or pickled
for family-ufe : not put down in tubs, for keep-
ing, in the fouth-of England manner ; but only
immerged in brine, for prefent ufe ; and in this
manner are continued to be temporarily prefer-
ved, from time to time, throughout the year :
a fpecies of hou{hold management I have not
met with elfewhere.
For a fingular inftance of fatting hogs loofe
in a yard, fee Min. 52.
41. POULTRY.
4P. NORFOLK. 37$
P O U L T Pv
V
NORFOLK. 13 celebrated, and juflly, for
its TuRKiES. The fpccles is large ; their flefli,
neverthelefs, fine ; and the number reared
greater than that produced in any other Dif-
trid: of equal extent ; owing, perhaps, to one
circumftance. It is underftood, in general,
that, to rear turkies with fuccefs, it is neceffary
that a male bird fliould be kept upon the fpot,
for the fame purpofe that a gander, a drake,
or a male fowl is kept; namely, to impregnate
the eggs individually. This deters not only
cottagers, who are afraid of the expence of
keeping a gluttonous turkpy-cock the year
round, but many farmers, who diilike the noife
and troublefomenefs of thefe animals, from
breeding turkies. But the good houfewives
of this country know that a daily intercourfe
is unneceflary ; and that, if the hen be fcnt to
a neighbouring cock previous to the feafon of
exclufion, one aft of impregnation is fufficient
B b 4 for
375 P O U L R Y. 4».
for one brood. Thus relieved from the
expence and difagrecablenefs of keeping a
male bird, moil little farmers, and many cot-
tagers, rear turkics. This accounts for the
number : and the fpccies, and the food they
are fatted with (which, I believe, is wholly
buck) account for their fuperior fize and qua-
lit,'.
With refpe^t to geese, dltcks and fowls
of this country, nothing is noticeable; ex-
cept that they are, in general, below the
common fize, and that it is a pradlice to put
young goflings upon green wheat : a piece of
houfewifery which perhaps is peculiar to the
country.
Poultry of every fpecies are fold, in the mar-
kets, ready picked and ikewered fit for the fpit ;
and are, in general, fo well fatted, and drciled
up in fuch neatnefs and delicacy, as fhew the
Norfolk-houfewives to be midreffes in the arc
of managing poultry.
41. DECOY?.
41. NORFOLK. 377
41.
DECOYS.
THE LAKES, and large pools, which
abound in the fouthern Hundreds of Eafl-
Norfolk, are the nurferies of innumerable
flights of wild-fowl, of various fpecies, but
principally ducks ; which are taken in great
numbers in decoys, formed on the margins of
thefe waters ; and which, in eligible fituations,
may well be coniidered as objedts of rural
economy.
Much judgment is requifite in forming and
managing a decoy. A gentleman in this
neighbourhood had a perfon out of Lincolnfhire
to make one for him. But, after a great ex-
pence of cutting pipes, fixiag fkreens, nets,
&c. it proved unfuccefsful. The pipes were
too ilraight, too clofe and confined, and too
narrow at the mouth ; without any banks for
the wild-fowl to baik upon. Upon the whole,
it was too mu:h like a trap to be taken.
The leading principles of a decoy are thefe.
The
378 DECOYS. 4^
The wild-duck is a very fliy bird, and de-
lights in retirement. The firft ftep, therefore,
is to endeavour to make the given water a
peaceful afylum, by fufFering the ducks to
reft on it undifturbed. The fame love of con-
cealment leads them to be partial to waters
whofe margins abound with underwood and
aquatic plants : hence, if the given water is
not already furniflied with thefe appendages,
they muCt be provided ; for it is not retire-
ment, alone, which leads them into thefe rc-
ceffes, but a fearch after food, alfo.
Neverthelefs, at cci-tain times of the day,
when wild-fowl are off their feed, they are
equally delighted with a fmooth, grafly mar-
gin, to adjull and oil their plumage upon.
On the clofe-pallured margins of large wa-
ters frequented by wild-fowl, hundreds may
be ften amufing themfelves in this way : and,
perhaps, nothing draws them fooner to a
water than a conveniency of this kind : —
hence it becomes effentially necelTary to fuc-
cefs to provide a -graily, fhelving, fmooth-
ihavcn bank at the mouth of the pipe, in order
to draw the fowl, not onlv to the water at laroc,
1»ul to the dclired part of it.
Having,
41. N O I?- F O 1^ K. 379
Having, by thefe means, allured them to
the mouth of the pipe, or canal, leading from
the water to a tunnel net, fixed at the head
of it ; but hid from the fight, among trees
and aquatic plants ; — the difficulties now re-
maining are thole of getting them off the
bank into the water, without taking wing •
and of leading them up the pipe to the fnare
which is fet for them.
To get them off the bank into the water,
a dog (the more he is like a fox the better)
fleals from behind a fkreen of reeds, which is
placed by the fide of the pipe to hide the de-
coyman, as well as his dog, until the fignal
be given. On feeing the dog, the ducks rufh
into the water; where the ixjild-fowl confider
themfelves as fafe from the enemy which had
afTailed them.
But among the wild-fowl, a parcel ('per-
haps, eight or ten) of decoy-duds have mixed,
and were,-probably, inftrumental in bringing
them, with greater confidence, on to the bank.
As fooH as thefe are in the water, they make
for the pipe ; at the head of which they have
been conilantly fed ; and in which they have al-
ways found an afylum from jhe dog. The
wild-
S?o DECOY S. 41.
wild-ducks follow; while the dog keeps dri-
ving behind ; and, by that means, takes off
their attention from the trap they arc en-
tering.
As foon as the decoyman, who is all the
while obferving the operation through peep-
holes in the reed-lkreen, fees the entire fhoal
under a canopy net, which covers and inclofes
the upper part of the pipe, he fhews himfelf ;
v'hen the wild-fowl inftantly take wing ; but
their wings meeting with an impervious net,
mftead of a natural canopy formed of reeds
and bullrufhes, they fall again into the water,
and, being afraid to recede, the man being
clofe behind them, pu(h forward into the tail
of the tunnel-net which terminates the
pipe *.
This being the ufe of the pipe, its form be-
comes obvious. It ought to refemble the out-
let of a natural brook, or, a natural inlet or
creek of the principal water. The mouth
ought to be fpacious, and free from confine-
* I was told by the proprietor of a decoy, who is him-
felf fond of the diverlion, and whofe veracity I have no
reafon to doubt, that he has, la this way, caught " nine
dozen at a pufu."
ment.
41'
NORFOLK. 381
ment, that the wild-fowl, on their firft rufhing
into the water, and while they have yet the
power of recollecftion, may be induced to be-
gin to follow the tame ducks; and for the fame
purpofe it ought to be crooked, that its in-
ward narrownefs, and nets, may not, in the
firft inftance, be perceived. The lower part of
a French horn is confidered as the beft form of
the pipe of a decoy.
One material circumftance remains yet to be
explained. It is the invariable nature of wild-
fowl to take wing with their heads toward the
wind ; and it is always imprudent to attempt
to take them in a decoy, unlefs the wind blow
down the pipe : for, while their enemy is to
leeward of them, they have lefs fcruple to go
up the pipe, making fure of an efcape by their
wings : but what is of flill more confequence,
if the wind fet up the pipe, when they take
wing under the canopy net, fome ef them
would probably efcape (a circumftance always
to be dreadedj, and thofe which fell again into
the water would fall, of courfe, wdth their
heads toward the wind, and would, with greater
difficulty, be driven into the tunnel.
This
3§2 DECOYS. 4^.
This clrcnmftance is fo well known, by de-
coymen in general, that every decoy is, vvheri
circumftances will admit of it, furniftied with
three or four different pipes, pointing to dif-
tin6t quarters of the horizon, that no oppor-
tunity may be loft on account of the wind.
42. BEES.
42. NORFOLK. 3^3
42.
BEES.
A CONSIDERABLE quantity of hone^^
Is colledlcd In Norfolk ; but, In general, it I5
of an Inferior quality : owing, as it is gene-
rally believed, to the quantity of buck which
is annually grown in this country, and which
is highly grateful to bees j affording them an
ample fupply of honey.
It does not, however, appear clear to me,
that the inferior quality of the Norfolk honey
is owing to its being collected from this plant.
It rcfembles, in colour and fmell, the honey of
the north of England, colledted froni the
heaths, moors, and fells, which abound In
that part of the ifland : and It appears to me
probable, that the brownnefs and ranknefs of
the Norfolk honey is owing to the fame caufe ;
namely, heath ; — which not only abounds on
the little heathy wafics, which occur In ai-
moft every part of the county ; but feems to
be a natural production of the foil in p-eneral :
fie^
3S4 BEES. 42..
frequently nfing, even in good foil, on ditch-
banks, and other uncultivated places ; fo that
the evil, if not wholly, is, in part, occafioned
by the heath -, which, it is a notorious fad,
affords much honey, but of a bad quality.
I will not, however, infer from this, that
buck is produdive of fine honey, and that it
has no fhare in the debafement of the Norfolk
honey. The flowers of buck have no doubt
^pwerful, hifcious (mtW, which is difagreeahle
to many people ; but are not thofe of beans
equally powerful, equally lufcious, and to
fome perfons equally difagreeable ? I only
wifh that the evil effed of buck upon the
quality of honey, may be doubted, until it be
froved, by accurate experiments.
For an inftance of a depopulated hive being
taken poITcfiion of by a new colony, fee
MiN. 126,
LIST
1 s
O F
HATES AND PROPORTIONS
I N
NORFOLK,
THE MOTIVE for forming a reglfler of
rates and proportions was, principally, my
own pradice. A man who fits down to
pradtife in a Diftridt whofe cuftoms he is a
ftranger to, has many difficulties to encounter.
An ignorance bf the current prices of mate-
rials, labour, and produce^ is not one of the
leaft; and he finds it expedient to make him-
felf acquainted with thefe particulars, as foon
as pofiible.
Vol. L C e Uy
386 L I S T O F R A T E S.
My motive for endeavouring to pcrfcdt the
lifi:, and for publifliing itj is three-fold. Firfl;,
it will be a proper, and, in fomc mcafure, a
neceflary, appendage to the prcfent volumes.
Second, it may be a guide to the inexperienced:
A gentleman, or any man, who undertakes
the management of an eftatc, or a farm, with-
out having been regularly initiated in the em-
ployment, (lands, in his own country, in a
iituation fnnilar to that v/hich a praftitioner
finds himfelf in, when he firlt enters a frefh
Diftrift : and the prefent lift may not be found
ufeful to the inexperienced in Norfolk, only j
but may ferve, in fome meafure, as a guid'e
to thofe in other counties : for although the
prices of labour and produce vary in every
Diftrift ; yet an authentic regifter of thofe of
any one, may ferve to lefTen the number of im-
pofitions which gentlemen are liable to, on
their firft entrance into the field of pradicc.
And, laftly, a colleElion of regifters of rates
of labour, in different and diftant Diftrifls,
will not only be a flill better guide to
the beginner ; but may be found ufeful to
praditioners in general ; in afiifting them to
regulate their refpedive liUs of prices.
The
NORFOLK. 387
The particulars which I coUefted In Nor-
folk fall, aptly, under the following heads.
I. Bricklayers work.
1. Materials.
2. Labour.
3. Proportions.
II. Carpenters work.
1. Materials.
2. Labourers.
III. Thatchers work.
1. Materials.
2. Labourers.
3. Proportions. *
IV. Woodlands and Hedges.
1. Produce.
2. Labour.
V. Husbandry.
1. Yearly-fervants.
2. Day-labourers.
3 Road team-work.
4. Soil-procefs.
5. Manurc-procefs.
6. Seed-procefs.
7. Vegetating-procefs.
8. Harveft-procefs.
9. Barn-management.
10. Markets.
J I. Grafsland.
C c 2 L ERICK-
el
. i; J
588 LIST OF RATES.
I. BRICKLAYERS WORK.
I. Materials.
Common red bricks*, 15 to i6j. a thoufand.
Hard-burned, 16 to 17J. a thoufand.
Stone-coloured, 21 to 23^. a thoufand.
Flooring-bricks, 9 inches fquare, %s. a
hundred.
12 inches fquare, i8j. a
hundred.
iS inches fquare, 50;. 2
hundred.
f! .^^^ Common pan- tiles, gos, a thoufand.
^•*<}lazed pan-tiles, 905". a thoufand.
Plane-tiles, i6j. a thoufand.
Ridge-tiles, 80J. a thoufand.
Pipe-drain bricks, 14 to i8j. a hundred.
*' Dreeps"— offset bricks, 20J. a thoufand.
*' Lumps" — barn-floor bricks, 30J. a thou-
fand.
■ — large ditto, 50J. a thoufand.
Old bricks (half-bricks, half-bats), 12s. a
thoufand.
Old foundation-blocks (rough maffes of
brick and lime cemented together^, 2j. 6^. a
load.
• Gage,— nine inches long ; four inches and a quarter
wide ; and two inches and one-eighth thick.
Calting
NORFOLK. 389 /
Cafling and carting the clay, and miking 'f^
and burning bricks, 7^. a thoufand.
pantiles, '^os. a thoufand.
Taking down brick walls, and cleaning the
bricks, is. 6d. a thoufand ; reckoning two
bats for one brick.
Cleaning loofe bricks, 2S. 2. thoufand.
Price of fea-Ilones, is. to is. 6d. a load.
Pulling: down old fea-flone walls, and clear-
ing and forcing the ftones, c^s. a fquare flatute
rod (namely, about 30 fquare yards).
Lime, 95. to los. 3^. a chaldron (of 32,
bufhels).
Calling and carting marl and burning it intcft
lime, i8i. and beer, ov lod. a chaldron.
One chaldron of coals (36 bufliels) burn 7
chaldron of lime (32 bufliels).
Clay IS. a load.
Hair, is. to 14^. a bufhel.
Sap laths, 14^. a bundle.
Pantile laths, 'js. a bundle.
2. Labour.
Journeymen's wages, lod. and beer, or
is. lid. a day.
Labourer's wages, is. and beer, or is. ^d,
a day.
C c 3 Lay-
t:'
-'1 ^
350 L I S T O F R A T E S.
^ #V Laying bricks, \od. a fquare yard, (of
* ' 14 inch work; that is, one and a half brick
thick).
Foundation, \s. (the fame thicknefsj.
Labour and linae, 20J. a yard.
Laying pan-tiles on inter-laths and mortar,
4^. a fquare (of loo fquare feet).
Plaiflering, id. a fquare yard.
Ceiling, ^d. a fquare yard.
Rendering (that is, one coat of plaiflering)
between fpars, \d. halfpenny a yard.
Laying brick floors in mortar, 3^. a yard.
) Q^ ^ '^ Laying barn-floors ^^ith clay, ^d. halfpenny
to 6d. a yard.
Laying hay-chamber-floors with ditto, ^d.
/ halfpenny to 6d, ■■'.
• ^ ^> 4 Daubing on ftudwork, ^d. halfpenny a yard.
, |i Stopping and plaiflering old daubing, id. a
yard,
3. Proportions.
A fquare yard of 9 inch work (that is, a
brick in length thick) takes about one hundred
and twenty bricks (the gage I'mall),
One chaldron of Norfolk lime will lay about
two thoufaiKi bricks.
* Tcmi;ering the cby and drcflinj the floor incUided.
Oft-
NORFOLK. 391 / "^V ^
One load of fea-flones will pave about tea
Iquare yards.
One load of clay will lay (in the Norfolk
manner^ about eight fquare yards of barn-
floor.
II. CARPENTERS WORK.
I. Materials. .^
Oak timber as it (lands, 3/. 3^. to 4/. 2l 0^ {^ ^
toad fof forty feet). ^
Ditto in the flick, 50J. to 60s. a load. ''
AHi as it (lands, 40^. to 50J. a load of 44 ^Uf . ,
feet ; allowing 4 feet for bark.
f
Ditto, in the (lick, 30J. to ^os. a load of
44 feet.
Poplar, as it (lands^ 30;. to 40J. a load of
44 feet.
Alder, as it (lands, 20J. to 30J. a load of ^ , / 2 "/
44 feet.
2. Labour.
Journeyman-carpenter's wages, iSi. and -<
beer, or 11 d. a day,
A foreman-carpenter's wages, 25. and beer,
or IS. ^d. 2l day.
A joiner's wages, is. 3^. and becr'T'or is. 6d.
a dav.
C c 4 IIL
39* L I S T O F R A T E 5.
III. THATCHERS WORK.
I. Materials.
Reed, 3/. to 3/. 3J. a hundred fathom (oi'
6 feetj.
Cutting and binding reed, 25J. a hundred.
Cutting and binding gladdon, 30J. a hun-
dred.
Taking off old reed and binding it, los. a
hundred.
New " tar-rope" (three flrands), y, 6d, to
4J. a flone (of fourteen pounds).
2. Labour.
Day's work of a man and boy, 2S. 6d.
Laying reed, a halfpenny a foot ; or, 4J. 2</.
a fquare.
Laying ftraw, the fame.
Setting on *' roofing," ^d. to ^d, a foot In
length.
3. Proportions.
A hundred of reed covers five fquare ;
A load of ftravv about two fquare.
A fquare of reed takes about five pounds of
tar-rope.
A load of flraw will make about 25 feet of
*« roofing.'*
IV.
NORFOLK. 393
iV. WOODLANDS AND HEDGES.
,'JiL, I. Produce. ^
For prices of timber, fee Carpenters work,
^ n Oak bark, loj. to 12^. each load of timber. c^F^. /^^
,^ Top-wood, 8 J. to lOJ. each load of tim-
ber.
Round wood, (the naked boughs) 12s. to
155. a waggon-load *.
/^ ^ Bakers faggots, 15^. to 1 8 j, a hundred (of
cne hundred and twenty j.
Spray faggots, \%s. to 14J. a hundred (of
one hundred and twenty).
^^ *' Bufhel blocks -i"-"—!©/. a load (of forty
blocks).
2. Labour.
" Grub-felling J" tirnber from n. to i8i. 2. /" ,, ^
load of timber, together with the " ground-
firing;*' that is, the roots.
• A full waggon-load of round -wood piled up rough
(not cut into lengths) meafured on a par, nine feet long,
four and a half feet wide, and faur and a half feet high.
i[ Rough firing blocks cleft out of decayed pollards,
roots, or other offal wood ; each block \tt\v^<gfutpofcd to be
the fize of abufliel.
J fartially grubbing.— See Plaxting,
Cuttin":
394 L I S T O F RA T E S.
Cutting off the round-wood, ij. a load.
Tying wood-faggots, is. 6s. to 35. a hun-
^/ • ^ ' dred (of fix fcoi c).
Tying furze-faggots, is. to 2j. 6d. a hun-
dred (of lix fcorcj.
•* T" Rivinebufhel blocks, 4/. a load.
Riving half-bufhel blocks, ^s. to 6j. a load
(of eighty blocks).
Rivins: half-bufliel from fhort ends, when
little fawing is wanted, 4J. a load.
Riving fmali billet, i^. a fcore.
Riving plaiftering-laths, 6^. a bundle.
Tolerably good white-thorn layer, at 4/. a
thoufand.
Oaken layer, three or four years old, to
lay into hedges, is. a hundred.
"= Gathering hawsy 8^. a bufhel.
Gathering acorns, is, a bufhel.
Gathering afh-keys, 6^. a bufhel, heaped
and preffcd down *.
Double-digging two fpits and a crumb, is.
a fqnare rod (of fv^ven yards\
Price of furze-feed, icd. a pound,
* Thefe prices vary of coiirfe with the plenty or fear-
city of the d'fi'crcnt articles in a given year. The above arc
iow prices.
Making
NORFOLK. 395 "* '
Making anew fix-foot ditch, planting quick, /^ / / ($
and fetting a hedge, \s. and beer, or 14^. a
rod ("of feven yards).
Rc-making an old ditch, fcoiiring, facing,
backing, and letting a hedge, -id, to \od. and
beer.
Cutting thorns, u. a waggon-load.
Backing and hedging, 5J. a rod.
Backing without hedging, 3 J. a rod.
Grubbing up hedges and borders, 6i. to
15. a rod and the " fmall firing," that is, the
chips and fmaller roots. Seep. 112.
V. HUSBANDRY.
1. Yearly-servants.
Yearly wages of a head man, 8 to lo/.
Yearly v-'agcs of a fecond man, 4 to 6/.
Yearly wages of a harrow-boy, 40J.
Yearly wages of a woman, 3/. to 3/. 3J.
Yearly wages of a girl, 30 to 40J.
2. Day-labourers.
Day-wages of a common man *, in winter,
ij. and beer.
Day-wages of a common man, in fummer,
15. \d. and beer.
* A reamer man. 13 allowed u. a week extra, for " horfc
nionej'."
Harve(^
&»
/ ^f
'tfl C ^ J96 L I S T O F R A T E S.
Harvcft-wages, 35 to 40J. and board during
harvcft, whether it be ihort or long.
Day-wages of a woman, 6d. and beer, and ii>
harvefl alfo board.
* ** 3. Road Team-work.
/ O ^ Five horfeSjOne man and waggon, loj. a^day*".
Teamer-man's road-allowance, 6d. a day's
journey.
4. Soil-process.
Plowing, — whether it be breaking up a fal-
low or flirring it, is. 6d. an acre for man and
horfcs.
Seed-plowing (efpecially for wheat in nar-
row ridges) feldom done by the acre.
5. Manure-process,
0* fj Caf^ing marl, 3^. to 6d. a load f .
* Inftance cf four horfes one man and two waggons in
Jiay time, for 75; ^d. a day.
f One individual gives 4</. in leifure-tiines, and bj. in
tumep-hoeing, a load for cafting ; befides the uncallow-
ing, which he pays for extra by the day. One man and big
lioy fill twelve loads a day ; the team (five horfes one man)
carry iog that number a fliort dillance. Total espence
about i8(/. a load.
Another gives 3^/. 104^. for caiHng (befides uncallow-
mg).Ateam carries fix loads about half a mile. One man
fills by the day.
Filling
NORFOLK. 397
Fining marl, id. a load.
Spreading marl, ^d. to is. an acre.
*« Outholling" (Icouring out the rich mould
from the bottoms of ditches), id. to 2</. a rod
(of feven yards).
" Turning up borders," (that is, digging
up the top-foil, and laying it in a ridge with
the o-rafs-fide downwardj id. a rod, for a
vard wide, if free from roots or other ob-
Urudlions.
Filling mouldj—generally done by the day.
Turning up muck in the yard, — by the
lump.
Turning muck-heaps, id. 2. loadl
Filling muck, id. a load.
Spreading muck, 8^. to 10^. an acre.
6. Seed-process.
Wheat, generally fown by the day.
Barlev, Sec. id. an acre.
7'urneps, id. an acre.
Clover and rye-grafs (mixed), id. an acre.
7. Vegetating-process.
Hoeing turneps, — firll hoeing, 3.^. ^d. x.o^.
— fecond hoeing, is. to 2J. 6iZ. — the two
hoeings, 6s. an acre, and beer.
Weeding, 6d. and beer •, ox 6d. to cj. an acre.
Stone-picklr.g, id. an acre,
8,
/'^'^
39S L I S T O F R A T E S.
8. Harvest-piiociss.
/ Mowing; clover and rvc-^rafs, is. to iZJ.
*• •• an acre and beer.
Mowing g-ra/s, i Sd. to 2 id. an acre, and beer.
Sweeping broken grafs in pailures, &c.
about IS. an acre.
^ ^ Reaping wheat, 5 to 6 or 7^. an acre.
Mo'.ving barley, &c. is. an acre.
Dras-raking, id. an acre.
Thatching ricks, Sd. a fquare ; or more
eommonly 6d. a yard, in length, for both fides,
whether the roof be deep or fhallovv'.
9. Barn-laeour.
M ^^ Thrafliing wheat, about is. a coomb, and
beer.
y^ Thralhing barley, oats, and buck, 6i. to S^,
* / a coomb, and beer.
^ A Thrafhing peas, 9J. a coomb, and beer.
•^ Thrafliing clover-feed, 6j. a builiel.
Sifting cleaned corn, id. a coomb.
Skreening and putting up fuch corn, dd. a
laft.
Cutting chalf, iSi. to 20 J. a fcore ; or \^d. 2
day and board ! (the machine in ufe a bad one.)
10.
NORFOLK. 399
10. M.ARKETS.
The Norfolk bulhel, eight and a quarter
gallons.
Eighteen Hone a coomb, of four bufnels, is
efteemed a good weight for wheat: twenty
fione has been produced ; that is, fixty-thrce
to feventy pounds a bulliel, of eight and a
quarter gallons j or about fixty-one to lixty-
eight Winchefter.
II. Grassland.
Agiftment price for thefummer; namely,
from May-day to Michaelmas ; in marfhes or
grazing-ground, at head-keep ; —
For two-year-olds and fmall Scots, 30J. to
35^-
For yearlings, i8j. to 21s.
Agiftment price for the fummer ; in mea-
OS.
dows, or at fecond grafs ; —
For two-year-olds, iSj. to 20s.
For yearlings, 10s. to 11s.
Agillment-price, by the week, in fummer ;
For bullocks, at head-grafs, 2s.
For fliecp, at head-grafs, ^d,
Agiftment
403 List OF RATES;
Agiflment price, by the week, after Mi-
chaelmas ;
For fatting cattle, at head, is. 6d.
For two-year-olds, dry cows, &c. at
fecond grafs, is*
For yearlings, at fecond grafsj 8^.
For jQieep, zd.
Cutting open drains in moory meadows^
three feet wide, 2d. to 4^/. a rod (of feven
yards), and beer.
Scouring fuch drains annually, a halfpenny
a rod.
Scouring main drains (five or fix feet
wide) annually, id. a rod.
Scouring main drains the fecond year^
2d. 2L rod.
Scouring main drains the third year, ^di
a rod:
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
Jyy^ut 21
'3
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