3oIm ^frams Pibrar^, IN THE CUSTODY OF THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. SHELF N° ADAMS }teU0 THE EXPERIENCED FARMER, v AN ENTIRE NEW WORK, IN WHICH THE WHOLE SYSTEM OF AGRICULTURE, HUSBANDRY, AND BREEDING OF CATTLE, IS EXPLAINED AND COPIOUSLY ENLARGED UPON; AND THE BEST METHODS, WITH THE MOST RECENT IMPROVEMENTS, POINTED OUT. BT RICHARD PARKINSON, OF DON CASTER IN THE COUNTY OF YORK. IN TWO VOLUMES. Vol. I. PHILADELPHIA: Printed by Charles Cist, North Second - Street. 1799. V. • . . . ., J . /*>/•** TO GENERAL WASHINGTON, late President of the United States. sir, X O Dedicate, with propri- ety, a Work which treats of one of the moft ufeful Branches of Hu- man Induftry and Speculation, fome- thing more is required to exiil in the obje£l of the Addrefs than mere Wealth and nominal Superiority. Liberality of Sentiment, exten- five Knowledge, and marked Phil- anthropy are the beft claims to that deference and refpeft which the ( iv ) the Good afford with pleafure, and the Bad cannot withhold in juftice. Known as you are, throughout the United States, for your enviable poffeffion of every one of thefe qualities, and equally diftinguifhed by your generous diffufion of an improved inheritance, I have in- fcribed to you the following Effay upon Agriculture, which you will receive with pleafure, hecaufe it may be ufeful to the Community. I have the honour to be, SIR, With the greateft refpeft and deference, Your moil devoted, And obedient, humble fervant, RD. PARKINSON. SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. JtilS Royal Highnefs the Prince of Wales His Royal Highnefs the Duke of York His Royal Highnefs the Duke of Clarence A Afkam, R D Mr. Knottingley, near Ferrybridge, Yorkfhire Allot, J Efq. Haigh Hall, near Pontefracl, Do. Alderfon, J, Mr. Dalton Brook, near Rotherham, Do. Allenby, Charles, Efq. Horncaftle, Lincolnshire Armitage, Sir George Bart. L. L. D. Kirklees, Yorkfhire Alderfon, Mr. Tickhill, Do. Arlington, Rev. Swinhop, Lincolnfhire Allenby, Samuel, Efq, Maiden well, Do. Allenby, George, Efq. Holbeach, Do. Allifon, Mr. John Akinfon, Mr. Jofeph, Levels, near Thorne, Yorkfhire Addifon, John, Efq. Sudbury Anfon, Thomas, Efq. M. P, St. James's Street, London B His Grace the Duke of Bedford, three copies Rt. Hon. Earl of Befborough Rt. Hon. Sir Jofeph Banks, Bart, K. B. LL, D. F.R.S. Rt. Hon. Lord Bavn-ing C vi J Browne, Mr. Robert, Markle, near Haddington,' Scotland Burns, Mr. Robert, Markle, Do. Do. Bell, J. T. Efq. Lincoln Banks, Mr. Do. Butt, W. Efq. New Bond Street, London Beaumont, T. R. Efq. M, P.Bretton Hall, York* fhire Boynton, Henry, Efq. Trin. Coll. Cambridge Boomer, Jac. Efq. Rotherham, Yorkfhire Beatfon, W. Efq. Do. Do. Benfon, Mr. J. Thorne, Do. Butler, Jofeph, Efq. Chefterfield, Derbyfhire Broadbelt, Mr. Robert, Thetford, Norfolk Boyce, Mr. Charles, Rondham, Do. Blyth, Mr. J. Louth, Lincolnshire Bateman, N. Mr. Killington, Yorkfhire Bowns, Charles, Efq. Bank Top, Barnfley, Do* Brackenbury, W. Efq. Clayton, Do. Beale, Mr. Samuel, Miffon, Do. Barraclough, Mr. W. Shaftholm, near Doncafter, Do. Brackenbury, Rev. Edward, Skendleby, Lin- colnshire Brackenbury, Richard, Efq. Afwardby, Do, Bourne, J. Efq. Dalby, Do. Bourne, Mr. George, Haugh, Do. Barber, R. N. Efq. near Lynn Barker, Mr. Jofeph, Holbeach, Do. Bell, Henry, Efq. Wallington, Lynn, Norfolk Beymond, J. Efq. Trewer, Carmarthen Blomefitld, Mr. F. Swaffham Bifh, Mr. John, Holbeach, Lincolnshire Browne, H. Efq. Lincoln C vu ) Barincher, R. N. Efq. Booth, G. Efq. Wainfleet, Lincolnfhire Bowles, W. Lifle, Efq. Donhead, St. Mary, Wilts Brownell, Mr. J. Rotherhacn, Yorkfhire Blyth, Mr. R. Doncafler, Do. two copies Buckley, Mr. J. Normanton, Nottinghamfhire Babb, Mr. Peter, Dalton Brook, Yorkfhire Brookes, Mr. Ifaac, Herringheath, Bury, Suffolk Bennett, J. Efq. Pitt Houfe, Wilts Brandford, Mr. J. Godwick, Heakingham Bagge, Thomas, Efq. Shadfet, Lynn, Norfolk Bower, H. Efq. Emanuel College, Cambridge Bradford, T.Efq. Woodlands, near Doncafler The Rt. Hon. Earl of Chcfterfield The Rt. Hon. Earl of Carlifle, two Copies The Rt. Hon. Earl Cholmondeley Clarke, Mr. John, Barnby Moor,Nottinghamfhire Clarke, John, Efq. Sheffield, Yorkfhire Conyers, John, Efq. Mount Street, London Chafe, Rev. W. Staverton, Northampton Colbeck, Mr. John, Balby, Doncafler, Yorkfhire Coltman, Thomas, Efq. Hornby, near Horncaftle •Cartwright, Charles, Efq. Marnham, Notts Chriflian, Mr. Benjamin, Burleigh, near Stam- ford Caflbn, Mr. W. Stubbs Hall, Yorkfhire Cooke, Bryan, Efq. M. P. Ouftone, Do. Cowlam, Mr. Samuel, Crowle, Lincoln Childers, C. W. Efq. Cantley, Yorkfhire Champion, Mr. W. Workfop, Nottinghamfhire Charley, Edmund, Mi D. Doncafler, Yorkfhire ( viii ) Cooke, John, Efq. Swinton, Yorkfhire Cooke, Rev. George, Sprodbro', Do. Cartwright, Mr. Thomas, Ulceby, Lincolnshire Cracrofc, Thomas, Efq. Weft Keal, Do. Clough, Mr. R. M. Gayton, near Loutn, Do. Clarke, C. M. Efq. Louth Do. Codd, Richard, Efq. Do. Do. Connington, James, Efq. Florncaftle, Do. Clitherow, Mr. Richard, Do. Do. Cartwright, Cant. Edmund, Brothertoft, Do. Coke, T. W. Efq. M. P. Holkham, Norfolk, two copies Colhoun, W.Efq. M. P. Wrotham, Do. Clarke, Edward, Efq. M. P. Wimbledon, Surry Crewe, J. Efq. M. P. Grofvenor Square, London Clowes, John, Efq. near Lynn Cooke, Mr. Henry, Lincoln Cracroft, T. Efq. Weft Keal, Lincolnfhire Copley, Thomas, Efq. Doncaiter, Yorkfhire Chefter, Mr. W. Thorne, Do, Cutfoitha, , Efq. Rorherham, Do. Colman, Mr. Thomas, Thorne, Do. Cooke, John, Mr. Lincoln Cooke, Sir George, Bart. Wheatley, Yorkfhire Cooke, George, Efq. Streethorpe, Do. Count La Tour du Pin, Greffin Hall, Norfolk Crew, John, Eiq. M. P. Crew Hall, Chefnire Cracroft, John, Efq. Hackthorne, near Lincoln D His Grace the Duke of Devonshire The Rt. Hon. Vifcount Admiral Duncan Dodds, Mr. Thomas, Scotland ( fe ) Davis, John, Efq. Loughbro', Leicefler Deane, M. Efq. No. i, Walton Place, Biackfriara Bridge, two Copies Dudley, Rev. H. B. Bradwell Lodge, SufTex Downs, J. Efq. Staverton, Northamptonfhire Dickins, Rev. Vv\ Do. Do. Deakin, Mr. Jofeph, Tinfley, Yorkftiire Dunhill, John, Eiq. Mayor of Doncafter, Do* Drummond, Rev. G. H. Rawmarfh, Do. Denton, Mr, John, Ferrybridge, Do. Dunhill, Mr. W. Grantham, Lincolnshire Deighton, Mr. John, Cambridge Day, Mr. Robert, Doncaftei", Yorkshire Dunhill, Mr. Rich. Newton near Doncafter, Do, Danfer, Mr. H. Barnfley, Do. Drake, Mr. T. Hobbis, Norfolk Dalton, Henry, Efq. Gainfbro', Lincoln (hire Dawfon, Mr. W. Tadcafter, Yorkshire Duncombe, T. Efq, Thurcroft, Do. two Copies Duncombe, C. S. Efq. Duncombe Park, Do. Deal J. J. Efq. Sharton, Dorfet Davis, Mr. J. Pall Mall, London The Rt. Hon. Earl of Egremont The Rt. Hon. Earl of Effingham Earnfhaw, Mr. F. Roole Elmhirft, W. Efq, Ouflethwaite, Yorkfhire Elmhirft, W. Efq. Stainiby, Lincolnfhire Elliot, Mr, John, UfTelby, Do. Everfon, John, Efq. Holbeach, Do. Evans, Mr. W. Narberh, Pembroke Evelyn, Sir Frederick, Bart. Wooton, Surry Earl, Mr. Thomas Avre. St. Laurence The Rt. Hon. Earl Fitzwiiliam TheRt. Hon. Earl Fortefcue Fofter, Mr. Thomas, Scaufby, Yorkfhire i Fawkes, F. Efq. Barmbro9 Grange, Do. Firth, Mr. A. Rawmarfh, Do. Fofter, Mr. T. jun. Doncafter, Do. Froft, Mr. John, Windfor, Berkfhire Fofter, Mr. John, Brampton, Yorkfhire Faulder, Mr. John, Sebergham, Cumberland Fifher, Thomas, Bawtry, Yorkfhire Frank, Bacon, Efq. Campfall, Yorkfhire Foljambe, F. F. Efq. Ofberton, Do. Foljambe, J. S. Efq. Aldwark, Do. Fydell, Thomas, Efq. M. P. Bolton Folkes, Sir M.Bart. M. P.HillingtonHal!,Norf. Fiddy, Mr. J. Fountain, Mr. , Norwich Fair, Charles, Efq. Jedburgh, Scotland Fen, Thomas, Efq. Sudbury. The Rt. Hon. Lord Gwydir The Rt. Hon. Lord Grantley The Hon. R. F. Greville, M. P. Greville, H. F. Efq. Skelbroke Park, Yorkftire Gray, Mr. Owen, March, Cambridgefhire Grofe, Daniel, Efq. F. A. S. Green, J, Efq. Cridling Park, Yorkfhire Garlick, W. Efq. Dodfworth, Do. Garland, W. Efq. Woodhall, Do. Gibbefon, R. fenior, Efq. Lincoln ( xi ) Gill, Mr. J. Excife Officer, Doncafter Gordon, , Efq. Kew Green Green, Mr. Thomas, Bentley, near Doncafter Graburn, Mr, W.Barton, Liqcolnfhire Gilby, Mr, John, Alford, Do. Gaze, Mr. L. Saltfleetby, Do. Gurney, Bartlet, Efq. Banker, Norwich Gofling, Francis, Efq. Do. London. George, G. B. Efq. near Lynn Gotterfon, Mr. John, Houghton, Norfolk Grefham, Mr. John, Barnaby, Do. Grant, Mr. John, Wickham, Llncolnfhire Grove, Thomas, Efq. Fen Houfe, Wilts Goldem, Mr. M. Bury, Suffolk Guife, Sir William, Bart. Higharn, Gloucefter H. The Rt. Hon. Lord Havvke, L. L. D. The Rt. Hon. Lord Harewood Sir Car. Haggerflone, Bart* Lady Haggerftone Sir Gilbert Heathcote, Bart* M. P. Hay, Robert, Efq, Scotland Holt, Rt. Efq. Stongton, Leicefterihire Harris, John, Efq. Bruen, Oxon Harris, Thomas, Efq. Belmont, Middlefex Hall, Mr. John, jun. Idles, Rotherham, Yorkmire Harrifon, H.B. Efq. Daventry,Northamptonfhire Hides, Mr. Samuel, Tathwell, Lincolnfhire Holland, S. Efq. Tenbury, Worcefter Hall, Mr. J. Ferrybridge, Yorkfnire Hopkinfon, F. Efq. Worcefter Hewitt, N. W. N, Efq. Bdham Houfe, York ( xii ) Hardy, Mr* J. North Witham, Lincolnfhire Higgins, Godfrey, Efq. Skellow Grange, York He pworih, Mr. j. Bramwith, Do. iHaffell, J. Efq. Hull, Do. Harneis Theo. Efq. Hawciby Lincolnfhire Halifax, Mr. W. Gay ten, Do. Hudfon, Mr. John, Afhby Thorpe, Do. Hodgfon. Mr. John, Saltfleetby, Do* Holbins, Mr. Henry, Nottingham Holman, Edm, Efq. Pownham, Norfolk Hide, John, Ejq. Lexham Hull, Norfolk Hay ward, Mr. W. Sudbury Hammond, Anthony, Efq. Weftacre, Do, Hughes, J. W. Efq. Hegil, Carmarthen Howel, John, Efq. Carmarthen Hill, Mr, John, Lexham, Norfolk Hobbes, T. D. Efq. Norwich Handley, Benj. Efq. Sieaford, Lincolnfhire Heald, Rd. Efq. Horncaftle Hutton, W. Efq. near Gainfbro' Hammond, Mr. Thomas, Whiflon, Yorkfhirc Hedges, Rev. Mr. Thryberg, Do. Hawton, Mr. Andrew, Scotland Harrilon, John, Efq. Norton Place Honywood, Sir John, Bart. Evington, Kent Hartley, Efq. Chrift Coll. Cambridge Holt, Mr. R. Langton, Leiceflerfhire Jerningham, Sir Will. Bart. GrefTin, Norf. i Cop. Jenkinfon, Mr. Thomas, Holbeach, Lincolnfhire Johnfon, Mr. Thomas, Crowle, Do. Johnfon, John, Efq. Sandtoft Grove, Do, ( xiiI ) Jones, W. Efq. Carmarthen Johnfon, Mr. John, Kempton Ingleby, Mr. W. Cheadly, StarTbrdfhire Johnftone, Rev. Mr. Ely Place Jackfon, Rev. Gilbert, D. D. Donhead, St. Mary's K The Rt. Hon. Earl of Kinnoul Knightley, Sir J. Fawfley Hall, Northamptonfhirc Knightly, Rev. T. Charlton, Do. Kent, Nathaniel, Efq. Craig's Court, London Kelly, W. Efq. Charles Street, Weftminfter Kirkham, Mr. John, Hagnaby, Lincolnshire King, Mr. John, Swaffham Key, Mr. John, Holbeach Kay, J. L. Efq. No, 10. Dover Street, Piccadilly The Hon. Ed w. Lafcelles, M.P. Harewood Houfe The Hon. Hen. Lafcelles, Efq. M. P. Do. Layton, Mr, William, Putney Lewin, Mr. Robert, Long Acre, London Leathes, S. Efq. Cornhill, Do. Lee, J aines, Efq. Carlton, Yorkfhire Lee, William, Efq. Grove, Do. Loxley, Mr. W. Sprodbro', Do. Lloyd, John, Mr. Bielfby, Lincolnfhire Lee, Sir W. Bart. HartwelJ, Buckinghamfhire Linton, John, Efq. Freeftone Letherland, Col. John Street, Adelphi, London Lowe, Rt. Efq. Oxton LiOe, Rev. W. B. D. St. Mary's, Wilts Lawes, Mr. W. Sharton, Dorfet Lay, Mr. James, Snettifhham Legard, Digby, Efq. ( xiv 3 M The Rt. Hon. Earl of Mansfield The Rt. Hon. Lord Melbourne The Rt. Hon. Lord Mexborough Malatrot, Mr. J. Doncafter, three Copies Mackie, Mr. W. Scotland Mott, Mr. John, America Mellifh, Henry, Efq. Cullumpton, Devon M'Dowell, Mr. Edm. New Bond Street, London Molyneux, Sir F. Bart. LL. D, Wellow, Notts Mackafon, Mr. Egham, Surry MafTingberd, T. Efq. Candlefby, Lincolnfhire Moody, Mr. Geo. Gringley, Nottinghamfhire Mitten, Mr. W. Badfworth, Do. Martin, J. Efq. Sandall, Yorkfhire Marfhall, W. Efq. Theddlethorp, Lincolnfhire Meeds, Mr. Edward, Mavis Enderby, Do. Maftingberd, C.B. Efq. Ormefby, Do. Milnes, R. S. Efq. M. P. Fryflone, Yorkfhire Maclean, L. M. D. Sudbury, Suffolk Macauley, F. Efq. Clough Houfe, Huddersfield Micklethwaite, John, Efq. Hilboro', near Lynn Mawkinfon, Mr. W. Holbeach, Lincolnfhire Mingay, Mr. Thomas, No, 8, Smithfield, London Money, Capt Wakhamftow Mills, John, Efq, Great Queen Street, Weftminfter N Newton, Charles, Efq. Rotherham, Yorkfhire Northey,W.Efq. Queen Street, May Fair, London Northey, W. Efq. Mortimer Street, London Nekhorpe, J. Efq. Grimfoy Hall, Lincolnfhire New bold, S. Efq. Sheffield, Yorkfhire Neviie, Syer, Rev. Great Waldmg, Suffolk ( xv ) O Orton, T. Efq. March, Cambridgefhire Oxley, Mr. John, Rotherham, Yorkfhire Oftliffe, Mr. Scarthing Moor, Nottinghamfhire Overton, Henry, Efq. Loverfall, Yorkfhire Oftler, Mr. R. Aylefby Caiftor, Lincolnfhire Oakes, Orbell Ray, Efq. Bury, Suffolk Ogden, Edm. Efq. Caftle Hill, Dorfetfhire O'Kelly, J, Efq. Cannons The Rt. Hon. Earl Poulett Parkin, Mr. Rotherham, Yorkshire Parkhurft, J. G, Efq, Hutton Lodge, Do. Parkhurft, C. Efq. Henrietta St. CavendifhSquare Prince, Mr. George, Salford, Worcefterfhire Pollen, G. A. Efq. M. P. Little Bookham, Surry Parker, J. Efq. Sheffield, Yorkfhire PafTinore, Mr. Thomas, Sheffield, Yorkfhire Philips, Mr. Edward, Towcefter Parker, Hugh, Efq. near Sheffield Peech, Mr. Samuel, Sheffield, Yorkfhire Parkin, Mr. Sheffield, Do. Parkinfon, Mr. J. jun. Afgafby, Lincolnfhire Payne, W. Efq. Frickley, Yorkfhire Pilkington, Sir Thomas, Bart. Chevit, Do, Parilh, Mr. J. Harrington, Lincolnfhire Pegge, Mr. Andrew, Scotland Fennel, Skelly, Efq. two Copies Paddy, Rev, Mr. Kelling Palmer, Mr. Samuel, Holbeach Powell, J. W. Efq. Lynn, Norfolk ( xvi ) Price, Barrington, Efq. Beckets. near Farrington R. His Grace the Duke of Rutland Rennie, Mr. Geo, Fantafie, Scotland Royles, Mr. Mansfield, Nottinghamihire Robinfon, Robert, Efq. Kenfington Roberts, Mr. J. Fetter Lane, London Rofs, Maj. Gen. Raynes, F Efq. Stonehill, Nottinghamfhire Randal!, James, Efq. Baden, Kent Robinfon:, John, Efq. Windfor Ramfden, T. Efq. Hampoie Ramfden, Sir John, Byram, York Ih ire Richardfon, W. Efq. Limber, Lincoln Rinder, Mr. J. Towes, near Louth, Do. RocklirTe, Rev. Francis/Weft Afhby, Do. Rockliffc, K?r. Samuel, Do. Do. Rinder, Mr. Robert, Skendleby, Do. Royce, Mr, John, Woodhamwaiter, EiTex Rowbotham, Mr. W. Holbeach, Linculnfhire Roe, Mr, John, Workfop, Nottinghamfhire Ramfden, Rd. Efq. Blamley, Leeds Robinfon, Mr. John, Doncafter Ramfden, Rt. Efq. Carlton, Nottinghamfhire Rutter, Mr. Epfom, Surry The Rt Hon. Earl of Scarborough Sir John Sinclair, Bart, LL.D. two Copies Seaton, Mr. Ger. Reednefs, Yorkfhire Sotheron, Col. Pontefracl:, ditto Stanhope, W. S. Efq. Cannon Hall, York ( XVJi ) Sayle, Mr, B. Wentbridge, ditto Smith, Mr. Shin-err, Mr. J. Scotland Savers, Mr. Alex, ditto Somerfville, Mr. A. ditto Stone, Mr. I. P. Loughborough Swiney, Mr. F. Stafford Smith, Mr. J. Margaret-Street, London Seaton, W. Efq. Cuckfield Spooner, VV. Elq.Rotherham, Yorkfnire Smith, J. Efq. Holbeck, Leeds Squire, Thomrs, Efq. Peterborough Sturtle, Mr. J. Witham-Common Sebright, Sir J. Bart. Bcachwood, Herts Stanley, Mr. Rd. Rotherham, Yorkshire Staniforrh, Mr. Sheffield, Ditto Sayle, Mr. B. jun. Brightfide, Ditto Skelton, Mr. Britwait, Ditto Sitwell, Sitwell, Efq. Reniihaw, Derbyfhire Spurr, Mr. J. Yews, near Doncafter, York lit, Plon. Lord Sefton Rt. Hon. Lord Somerville, P. B. A. Sampfon, Mr. John, Langron,Lincolnflure Wilts Syer, Rev. Neville, Great Waldngfield, Suffolk Scrope, J. Efq. Long Sutton, Lincolnfhire Styleman, H. Efq. Snettifham, Norfolk Smith, Mr. J. J. Michael-Grove, Sufllx Shelly, Sir John, Bart. Stanton, Mr. W. Cuckfield, Ditto Slator, Mr. William, Holbeach, Lincolnfhire Spencer, Mr. Rt. Hodfick Rt. Hon. Lord Stourton, Stourton-Houfe York Shillito, Mr. M. Beale, Ditto Shillito, Mr. J. Urldalc, Ditto ( xviii ) Shillito, Mr. John, Ickworth-Park, Suffolk Simpfbn, Rev. J. Hemfworth, Yorkfhire Swallow, Mr. Rd. Selby, Yorkfhire Stone, Mr. Crook, Norfolk, near Lynn Sawyer, Mr. J. Headlefey Smith, Mr, R. Lound, Nottinghamfhire Steel, Mr. J. Wooton Shaw, Jof. Efq. Epfom, Surry Sanxter, Mr, W. Horfeheath The Mod Noble the Marquis of Townfhend The Rt. Hon. Lord Tevnham Taylor, Mr. J. Cahklow, Yorkfhire ; a Mem- ber of the Ruffia Agriculture Society, St. Peterfburgh, two Copies Taylor, Mr. James, Treaten, Yorkfhire Taylor, Mr. Richard, Letwell, Ditto Tooker, Samuel, Efq. Rotherham, Ditto Thorpe, William, Efq. Gauber-Hail, Ditto TheliufTon,PJ. Efq.M. P. Rendlefham, Suffolk Taylor Mr. Jo. two Copies Taylor, Mr. John, Letwell Thew, Mr. Richard, jun. Wrangle Tudor, Henry, Efq. Sheffield, Yorkfhire Tatham, E. Dr. Reclor of Lincoln Coll. Oxford Travelyars, W. B. Efq. St. John's Coll. Camb. V Vollands, Rev. William, Hemfworth, Yorkfhire Veary, Mr. Wick ham Vyner, Rt. Efq. M« P. Gautby, Lincolnshire Vipan, Ben], Efa. Southeray, near Market Down- ham ( xix ) Underwood, Mr, W. Melton Mowbray W. Wafhington, General, Mount Vernon, America The Rt. Hon. Earl of Winchelfea Wright, John, Efq. Doncafter, Yorkfhire Wiikie, James, Efq. Scotland Walker, Mr. F. Ditto Wikinfon, Mr. T. Ridge, nearSkyms White, George, Efq. Newington-Hotife White, John, Efq. Soho-Square, London Whitehead, Mr. John, Whifton, Yorkfhire Willan, J. Efq. Hatton-Garden, London Willock, J. Efq. Golden-Square, Ditto Walker, Jof. Efq. Ealtwood, Yorkfiiire Walker, John, Efq. Rotherham, Ditto Walker, Thonus, Efq. Wencobank, Ditto Walker Samuel, Efci. Mafborough, Ditto Walker, J. Efq. Clifton, Ditto WhiteloekyMr. J.Brotherton, Yorkfhire, 2 Cop. Ward, St. Andrew, Efq. Hurton Pagnel, Ditto. Wood, Mr. George, Lincoln Webfter, Mr; Jofeph, Levels, York Hi ire Winn, Sir Rowland, Bart. Noftell, Ditto Wentworth, G. W. Efq. Wooley, Ditto White, Mr. W. Norwich Wrightfon, W. Efq. Cufworth, Ditto Wrroughton, Geo* Efq. Adwick, Ditto Woodcock, T. Efq. Doncafter, Ditto Wilkinfon, E. Efq. Pottertcn Lodge, Ditto Wilfon, C. Efq. Elmfall Lodge, Ditto Woody eare, John, Efq. Crcokhili, Ditto. Walker, Mr. W. Doncafter, Ditto ( xx ) Wilkinfon, Rev. W. Grafby, Lincolnfliire Whitworth, Mr. G. Beelfby, Ditto Walls, Rev, E. Boothby, Ditto Wood, Mr. R. Tathwell, Ditto Wood, W. Efq. Thorefby, Ditto Wright, Mr. Philip, Spilfby, Ditto Waldegrave, Rt. Efq. Bennington, Ditto Watfon, Edward, Efq. Kirton Fen, Ditto Wainman, Oglethorpe, M. D. Wifbeach Waller, T. M. Efq. Norwich Waite, Mr. No. 2, Old Bond Street, London Wiberforce, W. Efq. M. P. Hull Walker, J. E. Efq. Lynn, Norfolk Waterfon, Rev. Edward, Sleaford, Lincolnfnire Wray, Sir Cecil, Bart. Sumner Caftle, Ditto Wrangham, Rev. Fran. Hunmanby, Yorkfhire Walfh, Mr. J. Wright, W. Efq. Edinbutgh Weir, Mr. Peter, Ferrygate White, Mr. Moorfields, London Winfhip, Mr. J. Beelfby, Lincolnfhirc Wardlow, Henry, Efq. Cromer, Norfolk White, Mr. W. Norwich The Rt. Hon. Henry Willoughby The Rt. Hon. Lord Yarborough, two Copies Young, Arthur, Mr. S. B. A, Youle, Rev. A. Retford, Nottinghafhire Yarborough, Mrs. Campfall, Yorkfhire INTRO- INTRODUCTION. X HINKING it neceiTary,for the fatisfaftion of thofe who may perufe the following fheets, to fay fomething of myfelf, and of the means by which I acquired that knowledge of farming in general which is now fubmitted to a candid Public; I fit down to write this Introduction, which contains a concife account of my own life, fo far as refpedb the different occupations of a farmer, and of a breeder of all forts of ftock. My father rented a farm called Aby-Grange, fituate near Afford, in the county of Lincoln, which confided of about 400 acres ; a clay foil, much of it very poor land, chiefly ufed for the purpofe of breeding iheep, horfes, beads, pigs, &c. Vol. I. A My ( * ) My father was famed for the bed breed of black horfes — horfes of mod action and great- eft, power. The horned cattle were of a very good mixed breed, well inclined to feed* We ufed to draw eight pair of oxen to do the farm- ing bufinefs, and kept what may be termed a large dairy. The fheep, at one time, if not the bed, were certainly not much inferior to the bed iri this ifland. I fpeak of a period long before Mr. Bakewell's famous breed, which is fuppofed to have been produced from the dock of Mr. Stow, of Bi lib y, about four miles from the place of my birth. My father hired rams of Mr. Stow. We had very good pigs. Of grafs-land my father was an excellent manager ; by his great attention to furface-draining, he converted a farm remarkable for rotting fheep into a perfectly (bund and thriving padure. As a proof of this, he did not in the lad thirty years lofe a fcore of fheep, although in one year there was a general rot all over the ifland j but in that year he did not lofe more than fix, or fiven at the mod. My father hzd a farm at Salfleetby, one at Trudhorpe, and another at Skegned: thefc *hree farms were all in what is termed the Marshes, and confided entirely of grafs-land. < 3 ) It may, perhaps, convey forrie ufeful know- ledge, to inform the reader of the purpofes to which thefe farms were applied. The /r^>-water marfhes were proper for feeding cattle and fheep, and were far from be- ing bad for horfes. The /alt marfhes were much better for horfes, and excellent for old fheep. Upon horfes they ad as phyfic, and at the fame time make them fat ; but they are im- proper and unwholefome for fleers, and for all young flock, except horfes. Lambs feeding oa them will purge to death, whilft a young horfe will thrive in a mod aflonifhing manner. My father employed every means in his pow- er to inftruct me thoroughly in the bufinefs he practifed with fo much fuccefs, and neglecled no opportunity of gratifying the ardent defires he had of making me a complete farmer; and the ilrong propenfity he thought he difcovered in me, at a very early age, for the profeffion, en- couraged him to perfevere in his endeavours. He made me aftiil in performing every part of the farming-bufinefs from the time I was able until I quitted him ; and the experience I gained thus early from my own obfervations, joined to the inftructions of my father, enabled me when very young, to be a tolerably good ( 4 ) judge of the different forts of foil our feveral farms were compofed of. The Marjhes lay fome miles diftant from the home farm; and one part of my province be- ing the driving flock to and from them, it fre- quently fell in my way to hear from others opinions of the flock I was attending, my father being noted for good flock. Thofe opinions I carefully liflened to, and certainly profited by; as I had afterwards the opportunity of afcer- taining the value of them, and whether they were given with judgment, by feeing how the flock turned out, and how they fed. I alfo examined, with a minute degree of aN tention, the management of the different farms I paffed; which from the flow pace the flock travelled, I had ample opportunity of doing. My father took me a farm (of Mr. Vyner of Gautby) at Claythorpe, diftant about a mile from our houfe. Mr. Vyner being very averfe to ploughing, it was with much difficulty he was prevailed upon to fuffer me to plough forty acres; but by this improvement I was enabled to keep nineteen fcore of fheep upon the farm, that never before had maintained a greater number than thirteen fcore — a very material difference. I likewife kept many more beads and ( 5 ) and horfes than the old farmer my predecefibrs befides railing a quantity of corn. Four years afterwards I went to Afgafby, near Plorncaftle, in the county of Lincoln. This farm was unfavourable for flock of any kinds what were kept there required confide- rable afTiftance from art 3 as nature would of herfelf, in that fituation, furnifh but a fcanty allowance. It confided of four hundred acres of land, with right of common over the very extenfive and valuable commons of the eaft and weft fens. And here I acquired, though at a heavy expence, a thorough knowledge of the advantages and difadvantagcs of pafturing on commons. The plough-land of this farm con- fided in general of clay, with flints on the fur- face, covering a ftratum of white clay, inter- mixed with a fmall quantity of fand and flint. The methods purfued in agriculture, at that period of time, were turnips, barley, clover, and wheats and that rotation of crops is in fome places yet, though injudicioufly, perfe- vered in. I well knew the value of manure, and felt the want of it — confequently ufed every means within the compafs of my knowledge to pro- cure it. I formed fuch a refervoir, or recep, taclc ( 6 ) taclc, for the moifturc of the fold-yard, as- is defcribed in the body of this work: but I to- tally neglected the advantage of the green crop, the fold, and flail-feeding in fummer; which would have increafed the quantity of manure full one third — an acquifltion of confiderable eonfequence, independent of the faving in the food of the animals fo kept. By fuch increafe of manure, and the diftribution of it as recom- mended in this work, my farm would have been much more profitable. During eight years' refidence on this lad- mentioned farm, I became acquainted with the firft and mod refpeftable breedefs of fheep in the county: Mr. Chaplin, of Tathwell; Mr. Bourne, of Dalbyj Mr* Codd, of Ranby; and feveral others. With Mr. Chaplin I became particularly in- timate; and he introduced me to Mr. Bake- well;, by prevailing upon me to go to view the {lock at Difhley, and to hire a particular ram for him for the feafon. Glad of the opportuni- ty of converHng with a man of Mr. Bakewell's experience and acknowledged abilities, I with pleafure accepted the commiffjon. My ideas of flock at that time were, that none were valuable bur what were large. I had ( 7 ) had that feafon confiderably enhanced the va* Me of my own (lock (though in the time of the American war, when (lock of all forts fetched a low price), as I proved by the fale of fome drape-ewes. The average prices were from fix to feven millings per head, even of thofe by the moil famous breeders in the county. Bun one hundred of mine were purchafed of me, by Mr.FydellofBofton,at fifteen millings per head, with forty culls at thirteen fhillings per head. I had the vanity to confider my felt the firfl in rank as a breeder of fheep. It was not there- fore extraordinary for a man who entertained fo extravagant an opinion of himfelf, to glance fuperficially over the (rock of another -, who, from the envious difpofition too common in mankind, had many detractors amongfl male-* volentand interefted competitors. I am obliged to own (what now feems aimoft incredible to myfelf) I looked upon Mr. Bakewell's fheep with indifference, if not contempt. The firft objecls pointed out to me as worthy of notice, were eight tups, three heifers and calves, on a piece of land near the riGufe; but they appear- ed to me fo fmall, that I bellowed no more attention upon them than juft to perceive they were t 8 ) were beafts and (heep. I was fhewn more rams> and behaved with the fame cool indifference* I next got amongft the breeding ewes. With them were fome extraordinarily large Flanders mares, of a beautiful jet black, with remarka- bly long manes and tails : thefe caught my eye— their appearance (truck me forcibly ; but for the mares, I might have paffed over the mod valuable breed of (heep in this kingdom without noticing them ; fo totally were my ideas taken up by the large ram I had come in quefl: of. Stopping to look at the mares, fome ewes attracted my notice. I requeued the liberty of touching them ; which was readily complied with. The ewes were immediately put in a fold, that I might examine them at Feiture. According to my ufual cuftofn, I be- gan with the belt, and was much furprifed at the perfection of the (heep ; but how (hall I exprefs my aftonifhment at not being able, after touching the greater!: part, to find a poor one amcngft them ! I awoke as from a found deep, and was afhamecl of my (tupidity. I difcover- ed, in an inftant, the (beep of Mr. Eakev/ell to be far fuperior to my own, which I hadr until that moment, thought fome of the bed in the kingdom. My ( 9 ) My curiofity was ftimulated. I requeued to be fhewn the whole farm, having repeatedly- been told that Mr. Bakewell's fheep were put into particular pafiures for Jhew only, but that there were other paftures into which they were turned at night to feed ; and being rather afha- med of my carelefTnefs at the outfet, I deter- mined to beftow a minute examination upon every part of Mr. Bakewell's management that I fhould have the opportunity of infpedting during my ftay* The paftures in which the breeding ewes jufl mentioned were, being much beaten by the Flanders mares and the young beafts, would no doubt juftify the fufpicion that the (lock were only put in them for the purpofe of fhew. Before that time I had no idea of fuch thrift, or fuch difparity in the animals feeding. The largeft of my own flock were the fatteft ; I thought this to be the cafe every where. In going over the farm, I faw other animals valuable as the fheep in proportion : there were feme yellow cows, by far furpaffing any I had before feen, beautiful in the extreme, and uncommonly fat. The cabbages were un- touched^ Vol. I. B [ io J touched, the carrots unpulled, turnips unftot Ic- ed, the eddifh uneaten -3 a convincing circum- flance that no deception was ufed in their feeding. Returning towards the houfe, ] perceived whence the idle and malicious tales refpeel ing Mr. Bakewell originated -, and where lay the miftake of thofe who, without malice, had propagated the (lories. On a fmall piece of land were ten fheep, fix beads, and feveral horfes, all feeding on green fodder ! This was a novelty to me. I had not yet feen the principal objeel of my journey, the great ram : of courfe I was obliged to enquire particularly concerning hirru Immediately my curiofuy was gratified with a fight of that extraordinary creature, who appeared to me to be of the Tees -Water kind, with but a fmall ilrajn of the Bijhley in him. In the fame pafture with the ram were feveral of the largfrft ewes I had ever feen, and fome wethers, all of the Tees-Water kind. In my return I faw fome fmall rams, which I examined with care : one, a very fmall one, I took a particular fancy to. I dined C " ) I dined with Mr. Bakewell, and during four hours converfation with him, obtained more ufeful knowledge with refpeft to the breeding and management of (lock, than I had been able to acquire during all the time I had prac- tifed the bufinefs of a farmer. It is with gratis tude I acknowledge the obligations heaped upon me by that great, that intelligent, that ufeful man ; and I hope the precepts he after- wards took fo much pains to inftill into me, will prove beneficial to the public. I hired the large ram, and likewife one of Mr. Bakewell's own breeding. They were much efteerned and admired by all good judges in our neighbourhood. This journey totally removed many pernici- ous prejudices from my mind ; and from a con- viction of my error, I acquired the habit of not trufting too implicitly to appearances and to my own preconceived opinion ; which was of great advantage to me in my refearches after ufeful knowledge, ! left Afgaiby, and went to DoncaPcer ; where I foon after took a farm, which may truly be called an experimental one. A great many of the experiments there made are defcribed in this ( w ) this work, I was greatly encouraged to perfe- vere in my improvements, by the attention fhewn me by Sir John Sinclair, Bart. Prefident of the Board of Agriculture. That very ufeful and intelligent man, Mr, Robert Brown of Murkle in Scotland, had come to take a view of the agriculture of the weft riding of Yorkfhire. To him I got introduced ; and he, conceiving a favourable opinion of my knowledge of rural economy, recommended me to Sir John, who foon after did me the honour of calling upon me. Sir John was fo good as to fend me fome reports of the ftate of agriculture in the Lo- thians, &c. and fome other inftru&ive publi- cations ; the perufal of which raifed my ideas, and excited my curiofity fo much, that I was not fatisfied until I examined the modes of farming practifed there and in other parts of England and Scotland. — The refult of my ob- fervations, and of my own experiments, I have detailed in the following Treatife. I now muft make an apology to the reader for having dwelt fo long upon myfelf and my own concerns, which I truft his candour will not impute to egotifm — I defpife the character of an egotift : I only wifhed to point out the fources ( *3 ) fources whence I derived my knowledge of the fcience I mean to treat of* — The height of my ambition is to be ufeful, and to convey my thoughts in fuch a plain, familiar ftyle, as fhall be perfectly intelligible to the practical farmer. Thb THE EXPERIENCED FARMER SECTION I. Method of making Fallows by having a Crop at the fame time, andfometimes Two Crops, with a Crop of Wheat the Jucceeding year. ON A CLAY SOIL. X? IRST year. A pea fallow, drilled and ma- nured. Second year. Wheat. Third yean Beans, drilled and manured. Fourth year. Either wheat or barley. Fifth year. Clover with a top-dreffing. Sixth year. Wheat. This is what I term a rotation of crops 5 and by manuring once in two years, each crop may be expected to turn out a good one. To pur- chafe manure (which in many fituations cannot be obtained) will not be neceffary; as, from the ( «« 3 the fuccefiion of crops laid down, the land's own produce will fupply a fufficiency. By mowing the flubble, throwing the roots and weeds into the refervoir (as will be defcribed hereafter) you will procure four loads of good manure per acre each time for the two drill crops, and fix loads of top-dr 'effing for the clo- ver j making together fourteen loads per acre for the fix years on an average. If there be a redundancy of manure, the overplus may be laid on the clover. The bean crop might per- haps take more manure than here allowed : but peafe will not bear a larger quantity, as they would be liable to run to flraw and yield but little. Should beans rife too high, it will be neceflary to top them with a fcythe in a ftraight fhaft; which is done at a trifling expence. But if garden beans be fown, they will not be liable to moot too fpindling, as they require richer land. When rape feed fells well, a crop might be thrown into this fort of land -, but although rape be in general reckoned profitable, in this in- ftance it could not turn to much greater account, fuppofmg a good return; for rape takes two years to p-oduce a crop on fallow lands, in the old husbandry. It muft be fown in the month C 17 ) month of Auguft, and will not be fit for reap-* ing until the following July or Auguft twelve months i confequently from the profit muft.be deducted two years rent, as the land lies idle fo long to receive its crop and take its fallow. On frefh or fward lands intended to be pared and burned in the months of June and July, it is certainly very proper and profitable to fow rape. SECTION II. A regular Rotation of Crop on different Soils, demonjlrating what the different Soils are by Nature intended for. ON A DEEP LOAM OR WHARP. FIRST year. The potatoe-fallow, manured, will turn out the mod profitable. Second year* Wheat. Third year. Drill beans, manured ; orpeafe. Fourth year. Barley. Fifth year. Clover, manured. Sixth year. Wheat. Rape might be fown on this land to advan- tage after the crop of peafe, if podded; and inftead of barley as before hinted. If rape be Vol* I, C fown ( »8 ) fown and reaped for feed, the ftraw muft be carefully (lacked up, to be ufed in the ftall or fold as litter for cattle. The ftalks and roots muft be all removed carefully from the land, and carried into the fold-yard, that the cattle may tread upon them all winter. By thefe means a great deal of manure will be gained, as they will imbibe the urine of the cattle; and the wheat crop will be better for the refufe being taken away. On a Sandy Soil. Firft year. Turnip fallow, drilled and ma- nured. Second year. Barleys or wheat, if the tur- nips are early eaten off. Third year. Peafe, drilled and manured. The fame year, Turnips in drills, if the peafe be podded. Fourth year. Barley. Fifth year. Clover, manured. Sixth year. Wheat, The drill crops fhould have four loads of manure each-, and the clover, as foon as the barley is removed, fix loads of manure or oompoft. On ( i9 ) On a Lxmt-fione Soil. Firft year. Turnip fallow, drilled and ma- nured. Second year. Barley. Third year. Peafe, drilled and manured. Fourth year. Wheat. Fifth year. Clover, manured. Sixth year. Wheat. By way of crofs-cropping, if the fourth crop iffere oats, it would be full as proper, and ufe- ful; fome oats being generally wanted on a farm. On Moor Land, or Peat. Firft and Second year. Rape for feed, with a drefling of lime. Third year. Wheat. Fourth yean Drilled and manured peafe or beans. Fifth year. Wheat. Sixth year. Oats. On a Poor Sandy Soil* Firft year. Fallow turnips, drilled and ma- nured. Second year. Barley. Third ( 2° ) Third year. Seeds, to be eaten by fheep for three fuccefiive years : but if once mown, to be eaten by fheep the other two years, and then fown with wheat or rye. This crop ought to be dibbled* On a Poor Limeftone. Firftyear. Turnips drilled and manured. Second year. Barley. Third year. Seeds, mown, or eaten by fheep, the next two years — then fown with wheat or oats dibbled. As the two lad fpecies of foil may be fup- pofed not capable of bearing a conftant rota- tion or fuccefTion of crops, they may be ufeful for breeding or feeding fheep : the foil will be enriched by keeping them upon it; and if, the laft year of the feeds, the farmer beftow a top-drefling of manure, from his refervoir of compofl prepared for that ufe, of from four to fix loads per acre; the benefit of fuch dreffing will appear in the wheat crop, and repay him well. N. B. The manure will proceed from the barley crop and firft year's feedb' mowing. Lccfe Gravelly Soil mufl be treated in the fame manner as poor fand* There are fome moor lands which are fandy, and C 21 ) and confequentiy proper to be eaten by fheep, in the fame manner as the two former foils, if they do not rot them. N. B. The mode and expence of preparing land for thefe crops will be explained in Section XLV. SECTION III. The proper method of making Manure, and bring- ing it with despatch to the greatejl degree of perfection ; Jo that the whole quantity may be put on the Land the fame Seafon, and Crops immediately grow thereon. ALL fold -manure ought to be moved from the fold every month orfx weeks. By letting it lie longer, the cattle will tread it fo hard in fome places as to prevent the regular putre- faction ; and if there come dry weather in the fpring months, it will rot only partially, and not equally: and it is a very defirable quality in manure to rot. It is therefore neceiTary to carry the whole from the fold-yard, and to throw it up in hills, fo that the rain and fnow may penetrate freely; which will caufe the ma- nure to ferment, and the fermentation produced by the heat of the dunghill will defcroy the feeds ( 22 ) feeds of noxious weeds as effectually as if they were boiled in water, and will render them as incapable of vegetation as if they had lain twelve months in a hill. It has been cuftomary with fome farmers, intelligent men in other refpects, to turn their manure over in the fold, in the fpring, in dry weather; and as it is dry and trodden down hard, they are obliged to cut it with a hay- knife, and throw it up in lumps : but, in heat- ing, the dry part will injure the moift, and pre- vent putrefaction. That, therefore, is not fo good a method j for the more it is fhaken about, and the lighter the hill is made, the quicker it heats and rots: and no fold-manure can be in a proper ftate to be laid on land till it has un- dergone a degree of fermentation. The manure thrown out at ftable-doors, if the cattle do not tread it down, may change into a proper ftate without being moved. The greater variety in the forts of manure, the better; fuch as the dung of pigs, horfes, cows, &c. By this method you may, in one or two months, make excellent manure, far exceeding that made by the common procefs, which re- quires fo much time and labour to bring it to perfection. The old farmer prides himfelfon having ( 23 ) having manure accumulated for a year at leaft preceding the ufe : but he is wrong to boafl of fuch management — it is falfe economy. The falts and oil, which conftitute the richeft part of the manure, evaporate ; and the juices drain from it, if it lie long after being taken from the fold-y*ard or refervoir. When roots of grafs, couch, ftubble-roots, rotten vegetables of mod forts, weeds from (landing pools and ditches, and almoft all kinds of refufe fluff, by being plunged in the refer- voir, are made into manure, it will take much longer time to rot it down; as, from its being made chiefly of weeds, and roots of weeds, they will be liable to grow again, efpecially if there be any couch-roots among them. Let the manure from the refervoir be work- ed dov/n very fine, and, when compofed of roots of weeds, laid as a tcp-drejfing on clover or feeds two years eaten ; for, were it put in drills, and covered with mould, there is danger of its again filling the land with weeds. It is well known the fmallefl piece of couch-grafs will, from its great fucculency, be liable to vegetate. I tried an experiment, by raking the couch clean from from the fallow in very hot dry weather, and had it carried into the fold-yard, where at the time ( 24 ) time upwards of one hundred pigs were, and continued feeding during the whole of the fum- mer, which was remarkably dry. The couch was of courfe much turned over by the rooting of the pigs. During the courfe of the winter •it v/as covered with horfe-dung, cow-dung, and a variety of matters by the different (lock turn- ed in, and by manure carried from the ftables and cow-houfes; and it remained in the fold- yard eleven months, and was afterwards ufed on the land fet with potatoes. A fmall quantity of the couch, notwithdanding. fprouted amongd the potatoes. Another very good mode of making manure (of which fome experiments have been tried under my direction) is, by driving Iheep out of the fold where they have been folded, to eat turnips in the day, and putting them at night into a itraw-fold, made purpofely for fheep. This no: only anfv/ers the purpofe of making manure, but alfo caufes the fheep to feed quick- er and confume lefs turnip; for when fheep leave turnips, they will eat ftraw by way of variety — as a well-fed citizen will devour a de- cent quantity of pudding after a few pounds of beef. Sheep lying in the fold littered with itr.iw, find thcmfelves much more comfortable than ( *5 ) than on a cold dirty layer, where turnips have been eaten off by them ; and were thefe fheep continued in the field, as many of them as could would creep into the hedge-bottoms for fhel- ter, and there drop much of their manure, which would be totally loll to the ufe of the land. For greater conveniency, you may make a fold in fome place near the turnip-field •, carry the ftraw into the fold, and put the lheep into it. It is proper to roufe the fheep and ftir them about in the fold before they are driven abroad in the morning. By this means they empty themfel ves -y and thus diforders incident to fheep at turnip may be frequently prevented, and a quantity of dung is faved which otherwife would be loft on the road to the turnip-field. 1 know a farmer who, by following the above rules, has this feafon made a confiderable quan- tity of manure of an excellent quality. By attending to the above directions, ma- nure in high perfection may be made in fix weeks or two months; and, inflead of ly- ing, according to the old cuftom, on the high roads, in hedge bottoms, fold-yards, &c. may, Vol. I. D by C 26 ) by drill-hufbandrv, be depofited in the land, and good crops of peafe, potatoes., beans, cab- bages, turnips, &c. be growing thereon, SECTION IV, By DrilUUufbandry, four Loads of Manure, pro- perty managed and applied \ will anjwer the purpofe cf fix teen Loads in the old Way of Hufbandry. BY drills being made two ktt afunder, and the drill fix inches wide at the bottom, there will be juft one fourth part of the ground co- vered with manure. Now, as fix inches mul- tiplied by four gives two feet, which will be the diftance from drill to drill, and as four mul- tiplied by four makes fixteen, it follows, that if the whole of the land had been covered with manure, fixteen loads would have been requi- red for what is as fully and beneficially per- formed by four ; that is, by one quarter 'of the quantity ufed by the old method of drefs- ing, fuppofmg it of the fame thicknefs and quality: and, as in the drills it is fo clofely laid in the earth, and the feed fown upon it/ the crop receives the whole of the benefit. It ( 27 ) It will be generally agreed, that beans, peafe, cabbages, &c. are by this method allowed a proper fpace to bring them to the greater! per- fection, and a fufficient quantity of manure to promote a ftrong vegetation : but by fpreading only four loads of manure in the old way, and fowing the feed broad-caft, the farmer will find himfdf greatly deficient in yield of corn, weight of turnips, cabbages, &c. compared with the crop produced by the new fyftem. Another great advantage attending my me- thod is, that the crop will have double earth to grow in, and that the land may be cleaned at the fame time it is growing, and bear a much better crop of wheat afterwards. Many other benefits will ariie from the ufe of this drill hus- bandry. By putting the manure in as here di- rected, the fun is prevented from exhaling mofc of its fine fubtile parts, fo conducive to, the nourishment of the plant: the earth, by cover- ing the manure, receives all the juices the ma- nure is capable of beflowing: whereas, .by throwing or fpreading it about upon the. land, perhaps the feed falls in one place, and in ano- ther the manure, which the fun and wind dries to fuch a degree that it becomes like ftraw again, as the fcantinefs of the crop too often makes evident. SECTION ( *S ) SECTION V. Method of making Drills, and putting Manure in them. THE beft method of making the drill is with the Rotherham or fwing-plough, by draw- ing a furrow down the land, then coming back without any furrow to the place you began at, and beginning there and drawing, by the fide of the firft furrow, another furrrow twenty-four inches diftant, in the manner land is wreft- baulked, and then coming up the firft furrow again. The firft drill is then finilhed. By this method the plough makes an open ridge, fo as properly to contain the manure. When this is done throughout the field, or as much of it as you choofes then, to put the manure in the drills, let the horfes go up one drill, and the cart-wheels up the two others. Going along the drills in this manner will injure them but little. The man in the cart may, if required, throw from the fame ftation manure into nine drills. The load of manure fhould be fuch as to go through the field in a ftraight line; as turning round with the cart would fpoil the drills: therefore no more drills muft be ma- nured than the load will go through with. My cufiom ( 29 ) cuftom is to have one man on the cart, and a woman, or boys and girls, to fpread the manure regularly along the drills. This is a good me- thod of proceeding. It is very eafy to count the number of drills contained in an acre of land -, and thus, if your carts are regularly filled, every acre of ground will be manured in an equal manner, which is not eafily done by the old method. SECTION VI. Beft Method of treating each Crop -, with the Sea- Jon for Sowing and Reaping. THE wheat crop may be fown from Sep- tember to January with nearly equal fuccefs. Late fowing in fome parts has anfwered fo well, that many farmers have fown fo late as Febru- ary ; but, in general, November will be found to be the bed month ; except where lands are liable to be flooded in the winter. That fore of land mould be fown as early as pofiible; becaufe,if the plants get weaned from the kernel, and take hold of the earth for fupport, water may continue upon them a long time, without much injuring them. But, if the land were flooded before the wheat comes up, it would be totally deftroyed. Land ( 3° ) Land liable to be flooded mould be foiy,n with a drill, for the following reafons : If a wet wincer be fucceeded by a dry fpring, the foil will become fo hard as very much to impede the progrcfs of the plant; and when rain falls, it penetrates the earth but partially. Were the fcarifier and horfe-hoe ufed, it would lighten the foil, and the rain would penetrate more generally. The fort of land we are now fpeakingof is very apt to abound with what is called fpry- grafs — a fpecies of grafs which comes up fo thick as to make abfolute fwards of the fpotsic grows in, which are generally the moifteft parts of the Meld. This kind of grafs robs the wheat- plants of their food or nutriment: and where it abounds, you mud expect but a fcanty crop of corn. As a remedy for this evil, fow the feed-wheat in drills, and in the interval betwixt d^ill and drill fcarify or horfe-hoe the land ; which will deftroy the grafs and weeds growing in the intervals, and pulverife the foil fo as to receive freely and equally the rain and dews. The wheat may be moulded by the hoe; which will make the plants vigorous, enable them quickly to cover and protect the ground from the ejects of drought, and enfure the fuccefsof ihecrop. h would likewise be a great Hiving towards ( 3* ) towards cleaning the land for the next year in the bean-fallow ; for fuch land may be con- ftantly managed, as above directed, with beans, and wheat. This kind of land is iikewife liable to crack, and to gape fo wide as to receive, to a confide- rable depth, the foot of a horfe, and confc- quently make it dangerous for man or bead to walk over it. The pulverizing it in the man- ner before mentioned, would in a great meafure prevent the cracking. Where the old fyftem is followed, beans very often fail of producing on this foil a good crop, owing to too much or too little moifture while growing. Oats profper on fome of this fort of land ; and a crop of oats may be taken after wheat, when the land is in good condi- tion ; but I do not approve of fuch cropping. Before the bean-fallow, the beans muft be drill- ed and manured ; and if you beflow^.v loads per acre in the drills, as before defcribed, the land will be far lefs liable to crack ; for, by moulding the beans, they will foon acquire (trength and fize fufficient to fhelter the land, and by keeping it fhaded prevent its cracking. In mv opinion, peas are more proper than beans for land fo circumftanced ; as, by lying down ( 3* ) down, they cover the ground more clofely and preferve a greater degree of moifture : but if you have a bean crop, and the beans run up too high, it will be advifable to top them with a fey the in a ftraight fhaft. A man would top them for fix pence per acre; and the operation would make them bear better. I muft repeat my predilection for peas on land liable to be flooded, as they are much Jooner ripe ; and the fhorter the time the crop is on the land, the lefs the danger of lofs by fuch floods : therefore the earlier the peas the better. I fee no reafon againft fowing garden- peas generally. I have always found them to produce the greatefl crop -, and if ufed, they would be equally cheap to the grower for feed, and furely more profitable, as they would boil, grind, into flour, and turn to great advantage by being gathered green at the beginning of fummer. Befides, as they are early off the land, it might be fcarified to make as perfect a fallow as the farmer could defire. By fuch a fucceflion of crops, the ftraw, flubble, &c. would produce fufficient manure to furnifh at lead tix. loads per acre every two years. I cannot advife the fowing of clover, or of any of the grafs-feeds, on this land, except wanted ( 33 ) wanted for pafture or meadow. If the foil here fpoken of, viz. clay, have had a large quantity of lime on it, there is no doubt but the lime may have injured it, and you may ex- pecl the ground to crack much, as moft forts, of lime impoverish land. A fandy foil, or a lime-ftone, is not difficult to till, being of a kinder nature than ftifFclay. I found that the bed time for fowing wheat on thefe foils was the month of November \ and the wetter the land, the more likely you are to fucceed. But if the land be clean, I do not recommend fcarifying the wheat in the fpring y but prefer treading with fheep early in tnarfea- fon. Bufh harrowing and rolling anfwer well gn thefe kinds or foil, Peas may be fovvn, if the weather prove fa- vourable, foon after Chriftmas. A month or fix weeks difference in the time of fowing is not very material ; but if fown early, the crop will be fooner ripe, and equally productive. You may (tir the mould about them till May : and by doing {o you will keep the ground as clear of weeds as if the peas had been fown late. Even in the month of May they may- be fown with advantage, if your land cannot be put in a proper condition before. Vol. I. E Beans ( 34 ) Beans may be Town in February, and until April. Barley is beft fown in March : late ibwing of barley makes the grain fmall and coarfe, and much inferior to that fown early : however, it may be fown from March to May. Oats may be fown from March to May. Clover-feed is beft fown with barley or oats, and harrowed in, as are all other feeds intend- ed for fward, &c, Bufh-h arrowing is a good way where feeds are fown. Having fpoken particularly as to the times of fowing, it may be necefTary to fay fomething generally as to the times both of '/owing and of reaping ; for, as fituations and feafons, which are the guides to both, vary fo much, no precife rules can be abfolutely laid down for either the one or the other. But one general obfervation may be made : Corn fown early is mod likely to fucceed, by having more time for tillering or branching, and from being fooner ready for reaping. Early fowing has fo many advanta- ges over the late, that, in my own practice, I have experienced a difference of one third in the amount of the produce, by the difference of a few days in fowing, upon land fimilar in every refpeft. Without doubt, it is beft to be as early as the feafon and the nature of the intended crop will admit of. SECTION ( 55 ) SECTION VII. The Method of fcarifying and making Land fit for Wheat after the other Crops are off. BY putting the manure, as before directed, into drills two feet afunder, it becomes neceffa- ry to crofs the drills to mix the manure well in the foil, and to pulverife it. The readied way to do this is, by Cook's fcarifier : but thofe who are not in pofTefiion of that ufeful machine, may fubftitute one of a fimple con- duction, which will be defcribed hereafter. Ploughing in this cafe is very improper. For jf there be a fmall quantity of couch-grafs, or of any other weed, the plough turns it down- wards, caufes it to fpread abundantly, and hides it ; fo that, when you come to plough for fowing wheat, the weeds are fet at liberty again to fprout out at a feafon when no weeds die. Cook's fcarifier draws out the roots of the couch-grafs at full length. The plough would cut them up, and turn them over, and confequently increafe the number of roots -9 the fmalleft bit of which will grow. By the fca-. rifier all other weeds, fuch as thirties, &c. are cut up, and, when harrowed, are eafily collect- ed together and carried off. . Strong ( 56 ) Strong clay-land, when in drills, may be fcarified, when a plough in a dry feaibn would have no good efFecl:, not even touch it in the old way of cultivating land. Crofs-ploughing of fallows, though fo frequently practifed^ is a mod pernicious cuftom; for, if it were pofftble to defire a crop of couch-grafs, ploughing in that manner, and harrowing after without rak- ing up the refufe, would mod effectually anfwer the purpofe. - SECTION VIII. A Calculation of Six Tears Expences of the Drill- Huf- bandryy according to the New Syftem> and of the Old, Jhewing the Dijhurfements for each. OLD SYSTEM. NEW SYSTEM. Firji year, Fallow* £* * d. Four ploughings and harrowings at 6s. each, -----i 40 Twelve loads of ma- nure at 8. per load, 4160 £6 Fir ft year. Turnips. £* *• d. Ploughing an inch and half deep, - o 4 0 Harrowing and rak- ing, rolling, &c. o 36 Ploughing twice, har- rowing, raking, &c. o 13 o Leading off reiule, o I o Seed and fowing, - b I 6 Making of drills, - o 26 Three times plough- ing the turnips, and hoeing, - - - - o 8 6 Six loads of manure, at 8s. per load, - z So £-i 2 G ( 37 ) OLD SYSTEM. Brought over - • - 6 o O St con J year, Barky, Ploughing, harrow- ing, and Towing, 066 Weeding ihe ctop, 006 'Third year, Beans, Ploughing, harrow- ing, a _ - o 49 Leading off refufe, o I o Fourth year, Wheat \ Scarifying, - - - - o 26 Ploughing, fowirg&c.o 6 o Weeding, - - . - © 03 Fifth year, Clover* Sixth year, Wheat, Ploughing and fow- inK» o 6 6 Weeding, - - 4 m 0 0 3 Balance in favour of the new fwler £ 7 *7 6 :l S o £8 5 6 ( 38 ) This calculation is made upon one acre of land from the old mode of fallowing once in every three years, or two crops and a fallow, which the old farmers call not running the land* With thofe I vary very much, as will be fhcwn more fully in Section XLV. The expences of the new mode are lefs by eight {Hillings than thofe of the old in die firft fix years ; and will fomewhat decreafe in the next fix years, except in manure, which will be more, as in my mode the refervoir and five crops of ftraw will produce nearly double the quantity. My manure is all raifed from the produce of the land it is laid on : but, to make his twelve loads, the old farmer robs the mea- dow or any piece of frefh land he is allowed to plough up. This is the principal caufe why fo many tenants are reitrifted from ploughing old fwards ; as they do not carry back the manure to its proper place. In all my calculations, I fuppofe that two loads of manure can be made from every acre of ftraw, if the crop be a good one. Therefore by the old fyftem (admitting the crop to be a good one, which frequently is not the cafe) there would be only eight loads of manure raif- ed in fixyears, and by the new, ten loads, even without the afliftance of the refervoir. But in the ( 39 ) the fecond fix years, if my plan be followed, I expert to have fourteen loads. In making the above ftatement I have fol- lowed the ufual mode of calculations upon agriculture, by charging the manure as an ex- pence 5 which, however, is very wrong, when it is not purchafed, but produced from the land* SECTION IX. TVbeat-CrQp through all the ft ages, Drill-Huf* bandry or Broad-Caft, Reaping, tfbrajhing, cutting Straw for Chaff, &c. TO fow wheat by the drill, fix pecks of feed are thought fufficient for one acre : but I fay, ten pecks 5 for broad-caft, twelve. Two men with one horfe will drill with Cook's machine eight acres in one day. By broad-caft, one man will fow twelve. To prevent the fmut in wheat, difTolve fait in water till an egg fwims in it : put your feed- wheat into the brine, and feparate the light grains that fwim at the top from thofe which fink. Some let it remain twenty-four hours in the brine : this I difapprove of, as it can produce no good, and bad confluences may enfue. When you have taken the wheat out of '< 40 ) of the fait and water, fprinkleit over with cham- berlie, or with water in which arfenic has been boiled (one pound to eight gallons of wateF ;) then throw on dry lime to make it fpread, and to prevent the birds, which do not like the lime, from eating it. Oats and barley may be pre- pared in the fame manner as wheat. The ar- fenic-water or chamberlie penetrates into the infected or damaged grain, deflroys the vege- tative power, and caufes it to rot in the ground; by which means more room is left for the found to grow. The operation with the chamberlie or arfenic-water is dangerous; and often almofl the whole crop is fpoiled by it. This will ap- pear from the following accident that happen- ed to me : the chamberlie, being taken from the bottom of the tub where it was kept, and confequently (tronger, killed the feed-wheat. I had deeped the wheat in fait and water over night, as is our ufual way, and then fprinkled it with chamberlie and lime. The time of fowing was from eight o'clock in the morning to four o'clock in the afternoon, The wheat that was fown at eight in the morning, fprung up the fame as that fown on the preceding day; but kept declining, and became thinner and thinner, until at lift fcarccly a tenth part grew. A ( 4i ) A fmall part of the field which had been left unfown, was finifhed the next day ; though in the night there fell much rain, and I had then an averfion to fowing any thing in wet weather. Being called from home for fome time, my firft purfuit, on returning, was to look how the wheat came up. To my great aftonifhment, that fown in the latter part of the firft day looked very ill ; I therefore enquired into the caufe -, and having great numbers of pigeons, I fufpe&ed they mud have eaten it. I confe- quently returned to the field, and on fearching into the mould, found thoufands of the grain rotting. The wheat being all of one quality, and all prepared alike, I was more than ever puzzled. Knowing, however, there mull be a caufe, I reconfidered the whole ; and at lad I remembered the rainy night. The tub which had the chamberlie in it was uncovered, the rain had fallen into it, and had lowered the ftrength of the chamberlie ; and confequently the wheat that was fown the laft day was by far the bed in the field. This circumftance had prevented me from afcribing the bad ftate of the wheat, to the chamberlie. But the chamberlie had certainly injured it, fo that the part fown before the men went to dinner, Vol. L F and ( 42 ) and that part fown after dinner, might be dif- tinguifhed to an inch. Had the wheat remain- ed unfown two hours longer, the chamberlie would probably have killed it all. The part fown after the rain was the bed crop at reap- ing. I have frnce tried twenty experiments by fowing in rain, or when land is wet ; and I always found it anfwer in the autumn. In fpring the practice is improper, as there is dan- ger of the land's fetting. Shearing or reaping with the fickle is mod generally pracYrfed in refpect to wheat when fit to cut ; but in fome parts they mow it — a me- thod I much difapprove of. Although reaping cods double the price of mowing, the differ- ence is much more than made up by the great faving of grain, and by the goodnefs of the draw for the purpofe of cutting into chaff : for by (hearing you have only the fine part of the draw, and it requires lefs carrying, and lefs room in the barn or dack ; and the dubble ferves for litter. If fhorn, the bed method of fecuring wheat in the field for harved, is to fet up ten fheaves againd each other, and hood or cap them. Hooding or capping will pre- vent the pigeons doing damage, and, by being a good guard againd rain, give an opportunity ( 43 ) to the corn of {landing a fufficient time in the ftook to be ready for the barn. Thrafhing is mod profitably performed by the machine, as will be explained in the follow- ing fection. It is needlefs to fay any thing here of chop- ping of draw ; as the operation is fo fimple and generally known, and frequently fpoken of in the courfe of the Work. SECTION X. Ufe of the Thrafhing- Machine. BY thrafhing with the machine, little corn will be left in the draw. I do not mean to de- fcribe the machine minutely : the inventor is ready to give particulars to thofe who choofe to apply to him. It is fufficient for me to fay, that by the operation of this machine the corn is to a certainty freed from the draw and all extraneous matter. Thrafhing with the flail is uncertain at the bed, even fuppofing the thrafher difpofed to do his work well ; for he may beat a long time and not meet with every head of corn, which with the machine it is fcarcely poflible to mifs. The grain waded by the ufe of the flail is beyond belief. One circum- dance ( 44 ) ftanceflruckme forcibly as to the wade of wheat by bad thrafhing. I had the curiofity, when in London (it was at the time her Royal Highnefs the Princefs of Wales lay in), to look at the Prince's horfes : fome ftraw was then drawing into the ftables, which I obferved to be very flovenly thrafhed. The court, or {table yard, was at the time covered with draw, on account of the Princefs's fituation : this of courfe was much beat by carriages j and when the litter was taken up, the ground was ftrewn with corn. I am of opinion, the corn loft by thrafh- ing with the flail is more than would pay for thrafhing it all over the kingdom by the ma- chine. The only plaufible objection to the thrafh- ing machine I ever heard, is the expence at- tending the making and ufing it. But, the firft expence will be counterbalanced by the faving in the erection of barns ; as one of a moderate fize will be furhcient, where it is now neceffary to build two or three of great extent. And thofe who object to the expence of working it know nothing of the matter. Experiments have been made upon what has been left by the flail, as well thrafhed as men could do it : and on having it done over again by the ma- chine ( 45 ) chine worked by one horfe, it has been found to pay well for the trouble. Every machine mud be worked by fome power -, and whether the power is applied by by means of living animals, by fire, wind, or water, the effect will be the fame. The ufe of water is attended with the lead expence j but it is confined to oarti "ular fuuations. Wind is Uncertain, e< . co a proverb. Fire, in coun- tries where coal is cheap, may be applied to great advantage ; fleam-engines being now improved to a degree of perfection that hereto- fore they were thought impoflibie of attain ing„ They are dangerous, however, where flraw is concerned. But the power moft generally ufed to put the thrafhing-machine in motion, is that of living animals. A farmer intending to erect one of thefe machines, will no doubt proportion if to the fize of his farm, and to the quantity of corn he means to thrafh ; though, indeed, the power may be applied to many other ufes. The dimenfions of this machine may be fuch as to work with one horfe only ; or it may be large enough to work with half a dozen, where the farm is very extenfjve, and expedition is neceMary. The ( 46 ) The machine will require five pair of hands to work it. But let not the farmer be alarmed at the number of hands mentioned ; for one woman and four children will eafily work one upon a middling fcale. The method is as follows : One takes the fheaf from the mow ; another unties, fpreads, and lays it on a place proper for the third per- fon, whofe bufinefs it is to feed the machine. This third perfon muft be a fteady one. A fourth takes away the flraw. Fifthly, a boy to drive the horfe : but when the horfe becomes ufed to his work, a driver will be unneceflary. Be the fize of the farm more or lefs, there are almoft always horfes to be fpared for work of this kind, which may be fo contrived as to be done at a leifure time. But fuppofing the farm fo large as to employ a machine worked with five horfes -, it is highly probable that on fuch a farm there may be brood-mares, kept folely for the purpofe of breeding: it would be good economy to ufe fuch mares when the foals are taken from them, which is ufually done in the thrafhing-feafon. Such a practice would encourage the breeding of horfes ; and the mares fo ufed would raife their foals well, and lofe no time. But ( 47 ) But the farmer is not confined to the ufe of horfes -, the employing oxen, or young growing fleers, would be profitable -, as in that cafe they would earn their meat. It is no doubt plea- fant to the farmer to derive a reafonable profit from all the animals he keeps j which might be the cafe here. It is a miftaken notion to fuppofe that the ufe of this machine will decreafe the demand for labour. On the contrary, it will afford employment for children, who, unlefs they are placed in the neighbourhood of manufacturing towns, confume their youth in idlenefs, and contract a habit of pilfering -, beginning per- haps with hedge- breaking, and progrefiively proceeding to crimes of a capital nature. An honeft man, fond of work, and inured to induf- t'ry, will always meet with encouragement* SECTION XL Different Sorts of Gram proper for different Soils. WHEAT will grow upon almofl any foil, with proper care and management 5 but it profpers beft upon a clay, loam, or wharp. Barley ( 48 ) Barley delights in Tandy or gravelly foils, or lime-ftone ; yet, if a clay foil be well mana- ged, it will produce the bed barley for the pur- pofe of making malt ; for when properly ma- nufactured, malt made from barley that has grown on clay-land is found to be more abun- dant in that faccharine juice in which confifts its value for the brewer. Barley will not thrive on moor-land, or peat-earth -, nor does it like alow and wet Gtuation. Oats will grow upon any foil, but bear the heavieft and fined crops upon gravel or fand. Fen-lands will produce abundant crops of oats, as will in general all low land, if of a good qua- lity. Lime-ftone land very feldom produces large crops of oats ; neither is a (tiff clay fa- vourable to the propagation of this grain. Beans fucceed bed on a clay foil, loam, or wharp. With manure and proper management they will grow on any foil ; but on few fo well as on clay. Peas will grow and profper on almoft any foil. They will produce abundantly, and with lefs manure than any grain I ever made trial of. Tares will thrive well on ail foils -3 they grow fpontaneouQy on poor foils of a dry nature. Garden-peas ( 49 ) Garden-peas I have lately found to bear the winter much better than the field-pea, with the fame treatment. But they all require a lit- tle manure. Four loads per acre will produce upon a middling foil a good crop. SECTION XII. Turnip -Culture in all the different Stages ; with the great Advantage of the Drill. TO raife turnip-feed in the bed manner, you muft pull up, from the field where they flood all winter, fome turnips of the mofl approved forts (I prefer the white-top, or the flone-tur- nip), and plant them in a fmall fpot of ground — a dozen will produce plenty of feed, Preferve that feed, and fow it in fome convenient place, to raife feed for your whole crop the next year* Put them in drills, and do not hoe them -, but draw them out by hand, leaving fuch plants as take the lead. When they have appled or turned, carefully pull out every improper tur- nip. By following the above method, your feed will be more vigorous, will vegetate with lefs moifture, and produce ftronger and hardier plants. It is ufual at prefent to tranfplant a Vol, I, G large ( So ) large quantity of turnips to raife feed for the whole crop, which practice is more expenfivc and very injurious •, for, by pulling the turnip and planting it again, you deflroy the tap-root* and weaken the turnip's ftrength and vigour, fo that the feed from it mull be of an inferior quality. By drilling the turnips it is highly probable every plant will grow to perfection, if the ma- nure be properly depofited ; and, by making the drills, a hollow place is left, which will both attract and retain moifture ; and likewife made the plants from the heat of the fun, and thus deprive the fly, which is fo dangerous an ene- my to the turnip, in fome meafure of her fa- vourite fituation* Drilling likewife empowers the farmer to fow the feed much thicker ; and it is much lefs liable to be all devoured by the fly when fo fown, than when fuperficially fcat- tered by the broad-caft. By the latter method the feed is fprinkled unequally -, and by adven- titious circumftances (fuch as a puff of wind, or part of the feed falling on a hard clod high- er than the reft of the land, and rebounding to a diftance from the fpot it was intended to to be depofited upon) it is poflible a large fpace may { 5* ) may be left nearly void, or perhaps with only a plant or two. Now it too often happens that the mifchievous fly attacks the very plants fo thinly fown, and by deftroying them leaves a large fpace of ground uncovered. It is cer- tainly a mod difficult tafk regularly to cover the land by the broad-caft : on the contrary, by the drill-method the feed will all fall into the hollow part, and the mould (efpecially if harrowed with the bufh-harrow) will be fo fine- ly pulverifed, as to afford immediate nourish- ment to it ; by which means the plants will get quickly forward. And when they are ready* for hoeing, it will not require fo expert a hand to divide them •, and it will be eafierto choofe the mailer plant, which is of great importance in a crop of any kind. When they are planted in rows, any boy, girl, or woman, may do the bufinefs effectually ; and as this operation is performed at a feafon of the year when men have generally full employment in other branch- es of husbandry, it is convenient to the farmer that women or children may anfwer his purpofe, and that at a cheaper rate than taking men from more important concerns. After ( 52 ) After the turnip has acquired fufficient flrength to bear ploughing the earth from the plants, it mud be done without delay. The firft ploughing will add fufficient earth to the plant according to the then fize. The turnips may be made to grow to what fize the farmer choofes (according to the rrature of his foil) by only leaving them from fix to twelve inches afunder in the rows : and he may at any time add earth fufficient to prevent their rotting by frofi: in winter. This often occafions great lofs : but the farm- er may eafily guard againfl: it, by covering them properly with mould ; for he may plough as often as he choofes, and at his leifure, after the turnips are up -, and in the rows he may pluck up the weeds any time before they get into feed. Turnips fown as above directed fland moid in fummer and dry in winter. The fecuring a crop by laying from four to fix loads per acre of manure, as heretofore de- fcribed, inftead of twelve, is too great an ad- vantage to beneglecled, , In eating turnips off with fheep, great lofs is frequently fuftained from want of proper ma- nagement -, but more particularly in the broad- call,. ( 55 ) caft, where the cuftom is to give fheep a large fold of turnips. Perhaps frofl comes on im- mediately, and continues fome days -, a fall of fnow probably fucceeds : in fuch cafe, even the mod obftinate advocate for the old method certainly mufl allow she drill to be far prefer- able j as it would be eafy to have fheep-pens or turnip-trays made and fet in fuch a manner as to form a kind of trough, moveable of courfe. The bar or tray mult be fet near the far fide of the row of turnips ; and a board, from ten to twelve inches broad, with two or three flakes (longer or fhorter according to the depth of the foil) nailed to it, mufl: be fixed on the fide where the fheep are to eat -, for the narrower the fpace the turnips are enclofed in, the better. It may pofiibly be feared left the fheep fhould get in amongft the turnips fenced off. I fay, no. For, fuppofing the turnips to take up a regular fpace of twelve inches, the trough may be made not much more than a foot wide at bottom, doping upward : and the tray or bar may incline towards the fheep and hang over the trough, or part where the turnips are, and prevent them from getting into it, By ( 54 ) By this means fheep might have their food quite clean ; and by fetting off only the quan- tity neceffary for the day, they would eat their portion with avidity, and not dung upon it, and fpoil more than they eat. Every animal has a natural antipathy to its own excrement : can we then fuppofe fuch clean feeders as fheep an exception to the general rule ? Even their lying down upon their food gives thefe delicate creatures difguft -, and they have fo great an averfion for what they have lain upon, that, unlefs impelled by hunger, they will not meddle with it. Will any farmer indifcriminately ufe certain utenfiis of his bed-chamber for the purpofes to which thofe of his kitchen are ge- nerally applied ? The opulent farmer, who may chance to read this, will probably exclaim : " This method may fuit a man who has a fmall flock j but what am I to do with thoufands and tens of thoufands of fheep V* I anfwer: Examine the difference in expence, you will find my method cheaper than driving your thoufands or tens of thoufands from ten to fifty miles from home. For, befides the lofs of manure, and the wafte of turnip, you will not be able to fee them, per- haps, ( 55 ) haps, above once in a month ; and though your fhepherd be a careful fellow, the flock will be diminifhed by difafters which they would not have been liable to under the eye of the matter. By keeping the fheep at home, in the manner before defcribed, they will tread the ground regularly, and confiderably enrich the farm by depofiting their manure where it ought to be ; and, on the loweft calculation, three flieep may be kept this way to two by the old method — perhaps even double the number : and by obferving the regularity recommended above, they will fatten much fooner than by the old fyfterm It is well underftood in feeding cattle, horfes, pigs, &c. that if you lay a redundancy of food before them, they will not, in many inftances, feed fo well: they eat juft fufficient to fatisfy nature, and wafte the reft. If the fheep were driven into ftraw-folds, they might breakfaft on draw, which would caufe them to retain the turnips longer in their flo- machs, and thus to fatten fooner. Meanwhile the fhepherd and boy might be moving the fold a row farther^ or, if found more convenient, they might move the fheep early in the evening to C 56 5 to the draw-fold, and at that time fhift the pen. Where there are both feeding fheep and flock fheep, it would be advifable to give the feeding fheep rather more than fufficient for the day, and the next day to turn the flock fneep into the fold to eat up what the others had left. By this method, a man may foon judge what length of turnips to give to the fheep, fo as to commit little or no wafte. The advantage of my method will appear from the following calculation: Suppofe two hundred fheep to employ one man and one boy every day. I agree, the boy might be fuper- fiuous in the old way ; but allow one Shilling per day for him. The fame quantity of turnips I eftimate to keep three fheep where only two were kept before. Three hundred fheep will then be kept where only two hundred were kept. Reckoning the profit on one hundred fheep at two-pence weekly per head, it will amount to 16s. %d. per week; and deducting from it the extra charge of feven fhillings for the boy, there remains a clear profit of ys. 8d. per week. If the flock is larger, the profit will increafe in proportion; as a man and boy can manage four hundred fheep. Two hundred are r 57 ) are fufficient to be fed together: but if four hundred were equally divided, a man and boy could manage both flocks. But I am of opinion, that even two fheepmay be kept by my method for one in the old way* IffOjthe money would be i/. 13J. 4^ per week, which in twenty weeks would amount to 33/. 6;, 8d. which fum would more than clear the expences of the boy, and of the extraordinary pen the firft feafon. Where cattle are to be fed on turnips, they may be treated in the fame manner as fheep, provided the land be dry. Having fo plainly demonftrated thefuperiori- ty of turnip-culture by the drill, it would be fuperfluous to fay more of the broad caft. The latter method will, I hope, be exploded by every farmer who can prevail upon himfelf to give the former a fair trial. To render what is above recommended more eafy and no lefs profitable, it may be proper to plant, along with the tur- nips, in the middle of the field, a proper fpace (proportioned to the fize of your ftock) with potatoes, which might be taken up at the pro- per feafon -3 and the vacant ground would ferve fof the fheep to pafs to and fro to eat their food/ Vol, I. H To ( 58 ) To preferve the potatoes fromfroft, make them into what we call a pie: a term well underftood in Yorkfhire; but perhaps not very intelligible in other parts of the Ifland. For the manner of making fuch a pie, fee Section XVII. Potatoes might be given to the fheep in frofty Weather, when it would be difficult to move the trays or pens. They might be given in the fpace where the turnips had been. If you have more potatoes than neceffary for the Iheep, you may feed milch-cows with them; as milk and butter are far better from potatoe-food than turnips. In fact, potatoes are excellent food for cattle of all kinds. SECTION XIII. B eft Method of Seeding Land; Quantity necejfary and proper Sort for every Soil. THE bed method of fowing feeds, if with barley or any fpring crop, is to fow them after the corn is in, and the ground is harrowed to a fine mould. After fowing them, it is a good method immediately to bufh-harrow, and to roll the earth, for from want of fuch precau- tion many of them fail of producing the ex- pected ( S9 ) petted crop ; as, not being fufficiently fixed m the earth, they are liable to be over-fcorched by the fun, or deftroyed by birds or otherwife. This rolling and buih- harrowing not only pre- vents, but likewife aflllls in reducing the mould to a more equal degree of finenefs and fmooth- nefs. On land of any kind, intended for pafrure, my practice is to fow four bufhels of rye-grafs, ten pounds of trefoil, and ten pounds of white clover, per acre. If the land is intended to be mown, and it is required to have rye-grafs , one or two pecks of that feed is fuflkient, with ten pounds of red clover, and fix pounds of trefoil, per acre. If the rye-grafs is omitted, but the crop in- tended for mowing ; fourteen pounds of red clover, with fix of trefoil, per acre, will be neceffary. If feeds are fown in fpring, upon land fown with wheat the preceding autumn, the follow- ing method will befl cover them. Harrow the land, if it will bear it, and roll it immedi- ately after, If the wheat is to be eaten with fheep, fow the feeds; then lay on fuch a num* ber of iheep as will tread the land fufficiently within two or three days. A large flock will eac ( to ) cat the wheat within that time, and tread the feeds into the earth far better than if you put in half the quantity of fheep, and let that half re- main double the time ; for they eat the weakeft wheat firft, and let the ftrong alone : therefore the greater the number of fheep the better. When they are taken out, bufh-harrow and roll immediately. Of faintfo.n fow not lefs than five bufhels, and from that to eight bufhels, per acre, though four bufhels is the ufual quantity : for as faint- foin is intended to be mown for a number of years, the difference in the expence of the feed, at firft fowing, is trifling, when it is confidered, that by fowing the quantity recommended you may get every year one ton of hay more per acre, than by fowing four bufhels only. I never knew an inflance of a crop of faintfoin, or any other grafs, being injured by fowing the feed thick* Saintfoin mould be fown in a clean fallow, upon a fpring crop, and harrowed in and rolled immediately. Almoft any fort of foil that has a rocky bottom, or a white clay, is proper for it ; but it will not thrive well except upon land with a firm bottom. Saintfoin certainly finds food < 6i ) food in ttone, as in the foil it is partial to there can be little or no food in the furface, efpeci- ally for fuch a number of years* I have been told that where ftone-quanries have been made after faintfoin has grown on the land, the roots have been found to llnkefeveral fctrt down into the rock. This is a profitable herb, far exceed- ing any yet propagated on poor land : no other is fo beneficial to the farmer, according to the value of the land it is fown upon •, but great care muft be taken, if manure be laid upon it, that fuch manure be as clear from grafs-feeds of different kinds as poMible; for faintfoin is very liable to be injured by adventitious feeds getting amongft it. Pigeons' dung, rape-dull, malt-combs, foot, or almorc any hand-manure, are proper. Saintfoia, if properly fown, and on fuitable land, will bear good crops from ten to fourteen years; may be eaten with fheep for three years afterwards, and will maintain three times more ftock than the produce of the land in the natural (late. I have known it mown for fourteen years. The fir ft year there will always be a thin crop; but the fucceeding ten year, it has yielded upwards of two tons per acre, on land which ac uis time is not worth more C 62 ) more than five {hillings per acre for any other ufe. Saintfoin ought always to be preferved for mowing. The method of treating it is as follows : — If fown in the fpring with barley ; when the barley is mown, the flubble muft be left high. It would be much better if the bar- ley were fhorn, as the ftubble would then afford fhelter for the plant during winter. Rake the Hubble off in the fpring; but put no flock upon it from the time of harvefting the barley to the time of mowing the firft crop, which, as I laid before, will not be abundant. In the month of September there will be after-grafs, which may be depaftured by fheep and bcarts, but not by horfes. Sheep muft not be kept on it after the froft fets in ; for, by eating too near the root, at the latter end of the year they will do the plant much injury. This cautioa is, therefore, abfolutely neceffary. No ftock muft be put upon this grafs in the fpring; and it will be ready to mow early in fummer, moft probably in the beginning of June. It muft not be fuffered to grow too long before it is mown, or many bad confe- quences may enfue; for the root is thereby exhaufted, and the duration of the plant much fttort- ( h ) ihortened. If full blown, the fpirituous and nourifhing juices are fpent and loft, the Tap is impoverifhed, and the hay deftitute of that rich- nefs which it pofTefles when cut early. Bur, above all, it mould be mown before any of the flowers begin to decay. It is impofllble to get this kind of hay over-green; but care mud be taken that it be well dried. Very moderate care will fuffice for that purpofe, as from the ftalkinefs of the plant the air has a freedom of circulation when the hay is in fmall cocks. But if it be laid up rather green, it will be ad- vifeable to have a chimney or vent-hole, from the bottom to the top of the rick, through which thefuperfluous moifture may exhale ; and when the heating is over, the rick mud be thatched. All ricks of this hay perfectly dried ought to be thatched with as much expedition as pofilble after they are made. That which is put into the rick perfectly dried, will cut out of a green colour; but that which has been laid up over- moift, will be liable to heat much, and confe- quently become brown. Saintfoin (fo much efteerned in France, that our Gallic neighbours have canonized it by adding the epithet holy) is for horfcs undoubt- edly the bed hay hitherto known. Many farmers ( 64 ) farmers keep them the whole winter upon it without much corn, and the horfes are fat and fine as hunters. Poft-horfes thrive well upon it, and, next to corn, nothing will keep them in fuch good heart. It is excellent for fheep, but not proper for cows. If the crop has been fuffered to remain until it was ripe,and the hay be thrafried for feed, it is ftill fit for horfes, and may- be cut into chaff, and will give as much nourifh- mentas treble the quantity of chaff from flraw. If the farmer has a redundancy of feeds after thrafhing, they may with great advantage be given to horfes in lieu of corn, in the propor- tion of three to four. By mowing this grafs early in the fummer, the eddifh, or after-grafs, will fpring imme- diately, and be foon fit to be depaftured ; and the flock may be taken out fooner in the Autumn, It has been objected, that faintfoin is a great impoverifher of land; but I requeft thofe who have adopted fuch an opinion upon truft, to keep a debtor and creditor account : for I infift that no plant in ufe will improve land fo quickly, with {o great a profit, at fuch a fmall expence. If we confider, that two tons of hay will make three loads of excellent ma- nure; allowing one load of flraw to litter thtf horfes, ( 6S > horfesy there will remain two loads of manure, yearly to the account of the faintfoin, for each acre. The poor land upon which this hay is. grown would not produce one ton of hay from natural grafs in ten years; but by being fown with faintfoin it is capable of raifing within that period twenty loads of manure of an ex- cellent quality. In the natural ftate of the land, it would not raife more than one load of manure in ten years, and even that of fuch a quality as to be worth little or nothing. When faintfoin is exhaufted and ploughed up; from the faintfoin ley the firft crop ought to be wheat dibbled, or peas. If you plough early in the winter to let the froft act upon the land ; and in the fpring drill, and manure with four loads per acre of its own manure, and fow the peas as directed in feet ion XLV, & productive crop would follow. We have now, for the ten years, fixteen loads of manure remaining on hand for each acre. The next winter a fallow for turnips . Debit for fix loads more manure per acre for a crop of turnips, drilled and eaten off with fheep, which would put the land in a proper ftate for barley and clover. We can then afTbrd to manure the Vol. L I young ( 66 ) young clover in the autumn, with the remain- ing ten loads; but five loads made into com- poft would be fufficient, and bring a very luxu- riant crop; and there being fo much manure in the land, we may expect good wheat* After this we fhall have another turnip fallow ; and having lent to the farm in general a crop of pea-ftraw, a crop of barley-ftraw, a crop of clover, and a crop of wheat-ftraw, all this frufF may raife ten loads of manure. We therefore call for fix loads for each acre again, and have another turnip crop, then barley and grafs-feeds for fheep, if required. Now we have four loads of manure (or nine, if the com- poft be ufed in the clover crop) owing to every acre of land; we have received no intereft for the ufe of the ten crops of faintfoin manure, nor of the peas> barley, clover or wheat; the intereft of fuch manure being lent during that time. If we fay, four loads per acre ought to be paid in lieu of intereft, it will be much be- low the quantity: but we will eftimate it at only four loads, and we fhall then have eight loads(orthirteen)to lay on our young grafs-feeds, which are to be depafcured by fneep for two years and then ploughed up again, &c. After C *7 ) After this fair ftatement, who fhall fay fairtt- fein is detrimental to land ? But, as a further elucidation, we will fuppofe a gentleman to grant his tenant a leafe for twenty-one years, with free liberty to follow the method here laid down -, and another gentleman to retain the fame quantity of land in the natural ftate, for the like term of twenty-one years. We allow frefh land to bring more luxuriant crops than old going land ; but I dare fay every one will allow tire land that has been fown with faint- foin, which is now ready to enter upon in frefri feeds with eight loads of manure upon it per acre, will at leaft feed ten ewes and lambs on each acre for two months, four fheep for the reft of the fummer, and two from that time until Chriftmas, Now on the other hand, what will the land of the fame quality do in the natural ftate ? During the twenty-one years it has not kept any thing in the winter feafons, and not more than a fheep per acre in fummer. The fuperior advantages arifing from a rota- tion of faintfoin, and other crops for twenty- one years will appear clearly from the follow- ing ftatemerits, Account ( 68 ) Account of Expences and Profit on an Acre of Land, fown with Saintfoin and other Crops, according to my Method. Cr. by PRODUCE. Dr. to EXPENCES. lit Year, Turnips, £. '■ * To paring and burn- ing I O To ploughing and feed 060 To hoeing O 5 0 To rent O 5 O To afleffment o s o £.2 ad Year, Barley. To ploughing and fowing 060 To feed, three bufli, o lOO To faintfoin feed 2 10 O Torentandaffeflmento 100 By turnips £. * i. 2 12 6 £.2 12 6 By three quarters of barley, at 25*. per quarter 3 15 O £3 16 o 3d Year, Saintfoin. TorentandaflefTment o 10 o To mowing, &c. 056 Co 15 6 4th Year, Sai ntfoin. The expence will be the fame fo long as the field is in faintfoin 0156 £0 15 6 Cl 9 o £-3 U O By one ton iaintfoin hay 400 C4- o o By two ton of faint- foin hay 800 By eddifn O 10 O C$ *o o C** 17 6 ( *9 ) Dr. to EXPENCE. Cr. by PRODUCE. Brt.over£.j 9 o 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th,ioch, nth, 1 2th, 13th, 14th, which is ten years ex- pences. £. s. d. Rents, aflefTments, &c. 15^. 6d. per year 7 15 o I 7 15 ° 15th, 16th, 17th, Depaftured with Sheep. Rent and affeffment for three years 1 10 o ■ /•I 10 o 18th Year, Peas in Drills, or Wheat dibbled. To ploughing and harrowing o 76 -To four loads of ma- o 3 6 nure, leading, &c. To feed peas,one fack I 3 0 To rent and affefT- ment o 10 o To reaping and thrafhing 050 £.2 6 o £l9 o 0 Brt. over^iS 17 6 50 s. 4. By ten yearshay and eddifh, at ^8 10/. per year 85 O o £m o o By one ewe and lamb per acre, for three years 3 0-0 £3 o o By three quarters of peas 6 -o o By ftraw 1 00 £-7 O O £.113 17 6 C 7° Dr. to EXPENCE. Cr. by PRODUCE. Brt. over £.ig 00 19th Year, Twrnips, £• '• d To two ploughings and harrowing o 15 O To drilling 026 To manure, leading fix loads 046 To lowing feed, and harrowing o I O To hoeing o 3 O To three ploughings 046 To rent and afleff- ments o 10 o £<* o 6 20th Year, Barley. To ploughing and harrowing 066 To one lack of barley o 12 6 To one quarter of rye-grafs, and ten pounds of white clover and ten pounds of trefoil 2 10 o £*3 9 O 21ft Year, in Seeds. To rent and afleff. xnenc o 100 £.0 10 o £-H '9 ^ Profit in 21 yearSj£.ioo J 8 o £-llS '7 6 Bt.overj£.ii3 17 6 By turnips 3 o o £3 o o By barley, four quar- ters, at 25s. per quarter 500 £•5 ° ° By profit on fheep 4 o o £A o o £.125 17 6 ( 71 ) Account of Expcnces and Profit on an Acre of Land, left in its natural State. Dr. to EXPENCE. Cr. by PRODUCE. To rent and afTeff- ments for twenty- one years 10 10 o To profit in twenty- one years 5 50 £-*5 J5 o By twenty-one years herbage, one ewe and lamb, on an acre in thefummer, and nothing in the winter jr £. s. d. re o £*ls 15 o There is then a clear profit of £.100 i%s. upon one acre by my method of cropping, for twenty-one years, I do not think it is poffible to apply this fort of land to a better purpofe, when a farm can fpare a proper quantity of it for that ufe. In the natural ftate it has paid j£.5 5^. in twenty-one years, which isjuit 5r. per acre, and as much as can be expected. Red clover ought not to be fown but where the land is intended to lie for only one year. It is, in my opinion, the bed preparation for wheat, when the ground it is fown upon is per- fectly clean; but by no means fo, when the land is foul and full of couch-grafs, &c. The feed fhould be fown with the fpring crop of barley ( -'* ) barley or cmts. The clover crop- lies eighteen months, after which only one ploughing will be-requifite before the field be fown with wheat. The wheat will be about ten months on the ground ; and it will be two months after the crop is reaped-, before it be fallowed for tur- nips, &c i which together makes a period of thirty months for one ploughing. By letting the clover crop lie 18 months, the couch -grafs gets a very (Irong root •, and, when the land is ploughed for wheat, and the foil lightened, that pernicious weed will fpread rapidly around. Therefore all poffible care fhould be taken to clean the field thoroughly, before it is fov/n with turnips, and made ready for barley and clover ; for, if you neglect the opportunity of doing it at that time, you will not have another before April three years after. Red clover is properly a native of a clay foil ; but will fucceed upon almoft any, in proporti- on to the goodnefs of the land. It is improper to be fown with grafs-feeds, when intended for paflure or meadow ; for, as it has a root not only very large, but likewife very broad at the bottom ; and as it tillers very much, it muft of courfe obilrucl: their growth. Trefoil is very proper ( 73 ) proper to be fown with red-clover ; as trefoil grows with a fmall vine-like fibre, which runs up with the clover fomething like rodded peas. By that means, the crop, from the fupport it receives from the clover, becomes fuller and more weighty, and the hay much better than it pofiibly could be without fuch aftiftance. Clover may be depaftured in the autumn by fheep; and even in fpring, if abfalute neceflity fhould require it ; but it is better, if poflible, not to admit them to it at that feafon. The beft crop of clover I ever had was from letting turnip- fheep run at leifure upon a field of it, for about four months in the winter. It confjfted of about twelve acres, fituated at the corner of a fixty acres* walk : and being fhort of fencing, and the reft of my clover very good, I thought I would run the rifk of fpoiling the twelve acres. Three hundred fheep ran upon it until the twentieth of February. They v/ere then moved from it, and at the time they were ta- ken away, you could not, at a few yards diftance difcover the piece to have been clover— in fome places, not even if you walked over it. But when it was mown, it turned out, as obferved above, the molt abundant crop I had ever ob- Vol.I. K tained. ( 74 ) tained. I do think, there were two tons and a half per acre. On the above experiment I have to remark, that the fheep, by running and lying on the clover, and there depofiting their excrement, deprived the barley land of its manure ; and that it furnifhes a ftrong proof of what manure is capable of performing; for, had thofe twelve acres been eaten by only as many fheep as they would have kept, the crop in all probability had been fpoiled* When clover is to be followed by wheat, it is better to mow it twice in one fummer -, as mowing will not only clear the land of weeds, but will render it more mellow, and pulverife it for the reception of the wheat. For, if the ground were at that feafon of the year, after the firfl mowing, totally covered with a flack of draw, it would produce better wheat. I once had a proof of this, by flacking fome woodkids or faggots upon a part of the land where clover had been mown once. The flack remained until the time of fowing wheat ; and on the fpot where it flood was by far the befl wheat in the field. I have had many inflances of clover being better for twice mowing. I have tried experi- ments, C 75 ) ments, by eating one part with fheep all the fummer, cropping or mowing a part, fencing another part, and eating with fheep after mow- ing. Another I mowed once, and then at- tempted to get feed from the after-crop. The feafon fetting in wet, I mowed and took it off for manure into the fold-yard. I then plough- ed the land, and fowed it the next day ; and that part of the field produced by far the bed crop of wheat, in refpecl both to quantity and goodnefs of grain. I have ploughed the fecond crop of clover in -, but I never found any bene- fit from that. When you intend the red clover for hay, you mufl watch very clofely in refpect to the time of cutting ; for, fhoud you mow it too foon, and the weather turn out wet, the crop would quickly receive damage, and be a long time getting ready for flacking. If on the con- trary you let it (land too long, until the leaf^ which is the beft part of the clover, begins to fall, it makes the ftalks ftumpy, andyoufuffer great lofs by the dropping of the leaf, and by the wafle of the mod pleafantand nutritivepart of the hay. It certainly is preferable to be ra- ther too foon, than too late, in mowing. For, though ( 76 ) though clover fhould be harvefted dry, it fhould be preferved green, fo as to admit of one fourth part of wheat-ftraw being added to and flacked with it, by alternate layers of hay and ftraw. The confequence of this management will be, that, from the fweating of the clover in the (lack, the ftraw will imbibe the fubtil odoriferous effluvia of the plant, and be in fome degree impregnated with the oily vapour that exhales from the clover, which without fuch precaution would be diflipated and loft. When fuch hay and ftraw are cut together, they make better food than clover and ftraw cut feparate- ]y into chaff. For, from the quantity of oil this plant abounds with, and from the frothinefs of its nature, it is not advifable to give a horfe deftined to work hard too great a quantity, without an allay of one half ftraw, to cool him and aflift in promoting a regular digeftion. Great care muft be taken to put no more ftraw into the ftack than the clover will bear, fo as not to prevent the whole from taking a regular and neceflary heat, This method is attended with another advantage ; you may ftack your clover without fear of danger from heating to excefs, many days fooner than you otherwife ( 77 ) otherwife could have done. When I fpeak of giving an equal quantity of ftraw with the clo- ver to horfes, I do not mean that as much ftraw as clover fhould be put in the (lack ; for thai; would entirely prevent it from heating. As clover is not much fafer in the cock than in the fwathe, the method I recommend will be found ufeful ; for, as foon as the clover is fit to cock, you may Hack it, and by that means often fave the crop, inftead of running the rifle of many days' delay, by waiting to ftack it ac- cording to the old method. I have found it beneficial to fow rye-grafs with clover, by way of making it hardier to harveft; but rye-giafs is an enemy to the fol- lowing crop of wheat, and wheat-ftraw is more beneficial when put in the flack. Rye-grafs is a fort of grafs I am very partial to: but no doubt I mail find many differ from me in opi- nion. However, I by experience know that one acre fown for fheep with rye-grafs, white clover and trefoil, will maintain a proportion of three to two fheep more than with any other kind of grafs, or mixture of grafTes, I know of. When I fay of three to two, I mean for twelve months •, as rye-grafs is both the earlieft and the ( 73 ) the lateft. In the fpring it cannot be eaten too early, if the animals can but live upon it; for, if it be fuffered to fpindle, it will be exhaufted before the fpring, or bell feafon is over : on the contrary, if eaten clofe, it will keep continually springing, as cabbages fprout after being cut; and the more it is eaten, the more it will grow. At the time when the rye-grafs is fo very luxuriant, the white clover is totally concealed in the ground, but the trefoil makes fome fmall appearance ; and when the rye-grafs has done all that can be expected, the trefoil fprings up and becomes food for the fheep; after which the white clover fucceeds, and in like manner fupplies the fheep or cattle. When the white clover is done, the rye-grafs again fprings up, and continues growing all winter, if the weather prove tolerably open. At all events, it will grow if any grafs can grow. If you intend it for meadow, and fow one fack upon an acre, it will be like throwing the feeds of the trefoil and white clover away; as rye-grafs, by fpringing fo early and by fmother- ing the land, prevents the others from growing to any degree of perfection. The ( 79 ) The feed of rye-grafs is rarely to be found pure. Much of what is fold is, in general, a mixture of fwine-grafs, couch, and feveral other noxious forts : and this is the reafon why this feed is fo generally difliked, and why rye-grafs is faid to fill land full of twitch or couch- grafs. But this is an erroneous opinion; for rye-grafs will no more produce twitch than it will produce wheat. Therefore, the farmer muft either have fown the feeds of twitch with the feeds of rye-grafs ; or, at the time he prepared the land, muft have left the plants or feeds of twitch in the ground. The fact is, that great pare of the feed fold for rye-grafs, is in reality chiefly that of twitch ; for this kind of feed is mod: frequently raifed by the lower fort of farmers, who, not having money fufficient to purchafe (lock for the purpofe of eating the herbage, meadow it and let it (land for kcdy crops of which it will produce for many years. But, if there be any twitch when the rye-grafs is firft fown, the twitch, as being more luxuriant, will increafe the faded and in length of time get into fole pofTefiion of the field. At prefent, there is very little land in England without twitch, I know no herb which increafes ( So ) increafes io rapidly, or which it is fo difficult to deftroy. To enable the farmer to diftinguifh rye- grafs, it will be necefTary to defcribe the feed. Real rye-grafs has feed fornething like rye, ftiort and black-hearted, very full of flour and very heavy, as it will weigh from eight to nine Hone per fack, reckoning fourteen pounds to the ftone, and four bufhels Winchefter meafure to the fack. The feed of couch-grafs is longer and lighter, the root of the plant joints, and fo do the branches* and it is fo fucculent that every joint will emit a root. There are a great many fpecies of it. As this plant is fo abun- dant, the earth no doubt is ftrongly impregnated with the kcd} which renders the total eradica- tion of it nexttoimpoiTible. But yet, although it cannot be totally deftroyed, it may by good management be kept tmder. On my return from valuing an eflate in the county of Lincoln, I pafTed over forne land rented by a farmer* and there faw the moil pro- lific crop of twitch I ever before had met with. i believe that had the roots been carefully col- lected, dried and ftacked, they would have proved more abundant, and formed a much larger ( 3i ) larger ftack than any quantity of hay that could have been raifed from the fame piece of land by the art and induftry of man. The roots, in light foils, run in a moil aftonilhiag manner, much more than I thought pofllble, until I faw the above-mentioned field. I was told how- ever, that it had been fown with what had been called rye-grafs feed, and that the farmer had likewife fold as fuch the feed produced from it. No wonder twitch is fo common ! I do not fuppofe one fingle acre of rye-grafs in the kingdom is to be found without it; becaufe fo little care is taken in felecting the feed, in the choice of which much knowledge and great circumfpection are neceflary. Rye-grafs is a very fine grafs with a fmall bufhy root, full of fibres, but fhort ; and, when the land is plough- ed up and fown with corn, may be deftroyed with as much eafe as clover. But as it feeds every year, there will undoubtedly be much of the feed flied, which will appear in the enfuing crops. Rye-grafs is thought to impoverifh land ; but (allowing this to be true, which in many cafes may be owing to the quantity of twitch fown with it) the returns, and the great quan- Vol, I. L tity ( «* ) tity of flock maintained by it, fully compenfate for what it takes from the land. It may not be fo proper to ibw wheat after rye-grafs, as it is a fort of white crop like wheat, and requires the fame kind of nourifhment. It may be bet- ter followed by a crop of peas : but I prefer wheat dibbled. Rye-grafs, if mown for hay, fhould be cut when in blofTom, and got in green. The hay made from it does not heat or fweat much, and is very good for horfes, but not for fheep or cattle. If it is fuffered to (land too long before it be cut, the feeds rob the plant of the juices, and leave it no better than wheat or rye- draw. Clay land is mod proper to raife the feed of rye-grafs upon : as twitch-grafs does not de- light in, and may with more eafe be cleared from, fuch foil, than from any other. I have known a llrong clayey land laid down very full of the roots of twitch-grafs j and, by the fuc- ceeding fummer proving dry, and fheep tread- ing the ground, and eating the grafs bare, it has, ■when ploughed up, been nearly clear. Rye-grafs is not fo proper to be fown for mowing, for it tillers very little, but readily fhoots ( 83 ) ihoots up ; and if depaftured, it will branch for a long time before it runs into feed. To prevent this, you muft crowd it with different kinds of (lock, fuch as fheep, beafts, and horfes i and if of different ages, they will be more like- ly to clear the land by eating the crop clean off; for if it be fuffered to run to feed, the root becomes exhaufted* If, in fpite of the (lock you have put on, you find a difpofition in the grafs to ked9 increafe the number of hor- fes, which are the only animals that are fond of it when feeding ; and you may diminifh the number of fheep, for in that (late of the plant they derive but little nourifhment from it, as few leaves are then left upon the ftem j which is one reafon for fowing trefoil and white clover with it* Trefoil is efteemed a bitter plant, and fheep are thought not to be fond of it -, but I muft own that nothing within the compafs of my ex- perience has led me to adopt this opinion. Trefoil grows about a month earlier than white-clover, and long before the rye-grafs h exhaufted. It is improper to be fown alone, except for the exprefs purpofe of raifing feed. There are no foils proper for trefoil but what will ( 84 ) will produce rye-grafs and white-clover. Hay- made from trefoil only is a pretty hay, but not very abundant in the produce, I am of opini- on I could raife more trefoil on any given quan- tity of land, by fowing rye-grafs amongft it than without ; for, as before obferved, trefoil, like the vine and pea, wants fupport from fome ftronger fubftance it may cling to. For this reafon it will alfo profper well with red-clover, around which its tendrils will twine like wood- bines in a thorn hedge. I alfo do believe that the crop of clover will be very little lefs in quantity or weight from the trefoil growing amongft it. The after-grafs of trefoil is worth very little ; for which reafon fome people recommend it to be followed by wheat. But I can afTert from continued experience, that land intended for wheat cannot poflibly be too much fmo- thered with crops of every fort. White clover is thought to be an herb that fheep are very fond of: I believe they may ; but I do not efteem it much* It is a tardy plant, and yields but a fmall quantity of hay in comparifon with many others. In quality it is of a fattening nature (which may partly arifc ( 35 ) arife from its fpringing fo late in the feafon) ; but I never found it fuperior in any refpect to red clover; nor do I think it near fo ufeful. Red-clover, when made into hay, is excellent food for all forts of animals. White-clover grows only about two months with any degree of vigour, and requires much warmth before it fprings up. It will grow upon any foil -, for all foils contain its feed. The barren commons near Buxton in Derbymire, when limed, will produce fine white clover : and we are fure that no feed has been fown upon it except by the hand of Providence ; for it is well-known that lime paries through the fire before it is ufed as manure, and confequently cannot con- tain feed of white-clover or of any other plant* The uncultivated land in North-America abounds with white-clover. The earth, indeed, feems to have been impregnated with its feed from the creation ; as any kind of land, when manured, will produce it. From curiofity, I took a dry clod of clay, pounded and fifted ir, and found white-clover feed. I then put the whole of the pulverifed matter into a garden-pot, and had the fatisfaclion of feeing white-clover fpring up* Almoft every herb delights more in one kind ( 26 ) kind of foil than in another : but I believe white-clover to be the leaft partial of any. Few animals like the nap of white-clover : you fee it in every pafture remain until the feed is per- fectly ripe, when it drops on the land and re- mains until by ibme movement of the earth a fmall fermentation is caufed, and vegetation takes place* One load of manure put in a ftate of fermentation into the land, is of double the value of the fame quantity, after it has been fuffered to lie until all fermentation is over, and has fhrunk to one half its bulk. White-clover has been by fome fuppofed to caufe the rot in fheep. But in that cafe all the land in the world, capable of feeding fheep, muft caufe the rot. On the contrary, I am of opinion this diftemper is not occafioned by any fort of herb, but by a kind of egg or fpawn, frequently depofited in very fmall ftagnant iwamps of water. Thefe the fheep fwallow, and are not able to digeft : the liver affords them a neft in which they are hatched, and where the animalcula produced from them dwell, derive nouridiment from the blood, and increafe in bulk. Having faid (o much on the three plants, rye grafs, trefoil, and white-clover, under their feparate ( 87 ) feparate heads; we mall now confider thern jointly. It is well known that all land will be more profitable by having a green crop one year, and a white crop another; and fo on al- ternately : therefore, as rye-grafs is a kind of white crop, like wheat or rye, and drawing a nourifhment different from that of trefoil or clover; it will, no doubt, be admitted that the three are proper to be fown together, and that they are thus likely to be more productive than any one of the forts fown feparate ; for they affift each other, like true friends, throughout the feafon. Rye-grafs, by far the hardieft, peeps forth and foon rears its head in the fpring: as the mild weather advances, trefoil comes for- ward : and laftly the warm feafon ufhers in white-clover. At the time the white-clover approaches to maturity, the fun has a fcorch- ing power extremely detrimental to it : but the mifchief is prevented by the made which the bent of the rye-grafs affords it. Hay-feeds are very properly fo called; for they are indeed the feeds of hay, and confe- quently a collection of good, bad, and indiffe- rent fluff. They are fcarce ever to be met with frtc from a noxious mixture. How mould it C S8 ) it be otherwife ? By far the greater! part of them are collected at inns in market-towns. The matter of the inn buys the coarfeft hay he can procure, for fear his cuftomers' horfes fhould over-gorge themfelves. One may often hear fome of thefe landlords fay : " 'That hay is too good for our market-horfes," So he buys any rubbifh, provided it is not mouldy. The oftler thrafhes the hay before he gives it to the horfes, and fells the feeds as part of his perquifites. Can the buyer then wonder at having a plentiful crop of twitch and other baneful weeds? To procure the hay-feeds clean, the meadow ought, in fummer, to be moil: carefully weeded, The matter, or a man in whom he can confide, fhould watch with a fbricTh eye over the people employed to weed; and the grafs fhould be fuffered to ftand fufficiently long to ripen the feed before mowing, fo as not to heat over much in the ftack or mow. Seme of the feed will of courfe be deftroyed by the heat: but it is the bufmefs of the grower to take care that as little be damaged as poiTible. When u ttack of good hay is opened, the bett judge can hardly diftinguifh the feeds that will grow from thofe ( 89 ) thofe which have been fpoilcd by too much heat: neither is it an eafy matter to afcertain the exact degree of heat neceffary to the per- fection of hay. Unlefs the farmer can depend upon his feed, how is he to know the quantity proper to be fown per acre ? It is very common to hear him complain : " I fowed fuch a quantity of feed upon the land; but very little has grown [** Perhaps the feed was good for nothing — the land may not have been in a proper condition to receive it — or frofts may have deftroyed it„ The miffing of a crop is mod probably owing to want of care in the procefs -, for we know that feed will vegetate when put properly into the earth, provided the heart or germ of fuch feed be not injured. It may not be fuperfluous to obferve, that hay-feeds, although light in themfelves, have confiderable gravity compared with the chaff or hulls which inclofe them. It is the cuftom to drefs thefe hay-feeds by a gentle wind ; and the very lighteft are fold, though they confift of fcarce any thing but chaff. The fower feat- ters, perhaps, eight bufhels of this fluff per acre. But, alas ! he fcratches his head with Vol. I. M aftonifh- C 90 J dftonifhment at having miffed a good crop* However, as we take it for granted he fowed little elfe than chaff, had he fpread eighty bufhels per acre, the difappointment would have been nearly the fame. When I firft commenced farmer I did like my neighbours, and pinned my faith upon him who was mod efteemed as a good manager. When I faw fome extraordinarily good grafs, I enquired how the owner managed it. I foon found that men of acknowledged abilities and experience differed in practice; and it (truck me that it might be poffible to form a fyftem of my own, that I might avoid fome things which they were wedded to by cuftom, but which I faw flrong reafons to difapprove. In fhort, being determined to think for myfelf, I tried a great number of experiments, and never ventured to recommend any new method to others until 1 had full proof of its efficacy from my own trials. In time of feed-fowing a dealer will offer hay-feeds for fale, and will affert their good- nefs, though all his knowledge centres in having looked at them. If they are fair to the eye, that, in his opinion, conftitutes perfection. From '( 9i ) From the character I bear amongft the f?uv irers of that part of the country I dwell in, I am fuppofed to underftand feeds; and I have b$?n frequently applied to by the dealers or venders for my approbation of their wares; as they thought, that, if they could obtain my re* commendation, they would find a ready market for them. I mud own that I have frequently diverted myfelf with the embarraflment of thefc dealers, by taking out a feed promifcuoufly, and enquiring the name of it. " Indeed, fir, I cannot tell," is generally the anfwen What will it produce ? " Oh, fir ! that is quite un- certain." Nor does he know any one except the rib-grafs, which is the plantain with a long leaf, and which of all gratfes I think the very worft. It would he a good method, and eafily ac- complifhed, if a perfon would pick from a good meadow fome of the very beft feed; then drefs a fmall piece of land perfectly clean, as much fo at lead as you would for the choiceft flowers in the garden ; fow your feeds, and fave the' produce. They will quickly increafe fuffici- ently to fow a large field ; and by a proper degree of attention in eradicating weeds you C 9* ) will foon have mod excellent grafs, and a ecu ftant fupply of good hay-feeds, fuch as are not now to be met with. In all probability nothing in the farm would be found more advantageous than a meadow of fuch fort of grafs ; for, if the farmer had more feed of this kind than ne- ceflary for his own immediate ufe, he would find purchafers in plenty who would be glad to get it by paying a good price. Indeed, I re- commend to the pofieffor of a farm of consi- derable fize to grow all his own feeds of every fort or denomination -, as it is a fafe way, and a great faving. There are men who are bigoted to an opi- nion abfurd in the extreme : They fay, the fold, for many reafons, which will be ex- plained hereafter. Yellow-clover is a fort I do not like; it being of a very poor nature, and its increafe not abundant, its leaf fmall, and its ftalk like wire. SECTION XV. Culture of Potatoes fully explained, by a ne Pigs, Sheep, &V. Beft Method of treating Stock fo kept, by giving the Animals different Food at the fame time. THE forts of potatoe moft productive to the planter, are, the ox-noble, the manly, the cham- pion, and the clufter-potatoe. The red-nofe kidney requires a good foil ; but is apt to curl at top, fo as to make it a precarious crop, unlefs the fort is frequently changed- There are many forts of potatoes befides thofe which I have enumerated -, but amongft the fpecies into which this root is fubdivided, Vol* I* O none, ( 106 ) none, in my opinion, is (o produ&ive as tfie ox-noble, nor any To good for the table as the -kidney, I fpeak of the forts now in ufe: but it is highly probable that by experiments in raifing from feed, we may at fome future time obtain potatoes fuperior to any at prefent known. The belt method of preferving potatoes is to make them into what is termed a pie. To make the pie, choofe a dry piece of ground, dig it about eight inches deep, and lay the fods or mould fo taken out bankwife on each fide the intended pie; which will prevent the pota- toes from running about. Let the pie be from fix to nine feet wide at the bafe, and the fides fronting the eaft and weft; one end only being expofed to the north. Raife it as high as you pleafe, diminifhing it to a fharp ridge, like the roof of a houfe or barn* If it be brought to a fingle row at the top, the pie will be the better for it. You muft then cover the heap, firn: with ftraw, and then with mould regularly a foot thick : but if you add a greater thicknefs, you will better infure the fafety of your pie from intenfe frofts, which, if furrered to penetrate, would fpoii the whole. After incrufting your pie ( "W ) pie with a fufficient covering of mould, it will be mod advifeable, as it is abfolutely neceffary to keep the contents dry, to thatch it in the fame manner as a corn-ftack. This will caufe but little trouble, and effectually exclude rain and froft. Some, it is true, do not thatch them, and they may anfwer without : but it is fafeft: not to omit that precaution; and I never think the trifling expence thrown away. To waft potatoes, carrots , &c> — Take avef- fel made in the form of a barrel-churn. The fides mud be compofed of pantile-laths, or fomething like them, nailed to the two ends, at fuch a did ance from each other as to prevent the carrots or potatoes from falling out, and to fuffer the water to pafs freely through. A door muft be left on one fide, to put the carrots in and let them out at. The verTel is hung over a fquare tub of wa- ter, fo that about one half of it, and of the car- rots, is immerfed in water. You muft turn it quickly round; and by thefe means you will foon warn great quantities of potatoes, carrots, turnips, &c. Fix the verTel over the tub in fuch a manner that when you have fufficiently warned your potatoes, you may lift it from the part '( io8 ) part k turns in, to a higher one near to one fide of the tub. Then open the door of the vefTel, turn it round, and deliver the potatoes into a wheel-barrow. Potatoes ihould not be given to horfes in large quantities : I do not approve of working horfes being fed with them. Young horfes may thrive very well on po- tatoes: but it will be advifeable to give them cither fome cut draw or other dry food at the time, as they are too juicy and cold of them- felves, although horfes are very fond of them. Many people boil or fleam potatoes for horfes, cattle, &c. but I do not approve of that prac- tice, as they flick in the teeth of the animal, and are difagreeable. I think it would be bet- ter if they were only jufl warmed through. If cattle be fed on potatoes, chaff or chopped flraw fhould be mixed with them, as they are liable to choak with eating potatoes alone. There have been numberlefs accidents of that kind : therefore precaution is neceflary. Giving too large a quantity at one time may prove of great detriment: this caution mufl be attended to, not only in refpect to potatoes, but many forts of green food, fuch as the dif- ferent ( *o9 ) frrent kinds of clover, faintfoin, lucerne, &e: &c. In is, indeed, not furprifing that animals fhould over-gorge themfelves, when the food is green and lufcious to their tafte : but I had once a fine young horfe, who, by flipping his halter in the (table, got to the corn-bin, and fo immoderately fluffed himfelf with oats, that he was unable to digeft them, and died within lefs than twenty-four hours. Dry food given at intervals, whilft they feed occafionally upon green, will be found the beft method of treat- ing thefe kinds of animals: always taking care to be profufe in neither fort. Sheep are very fond of potatoes ; yet I never knew them over-feed upon them : butdoubtlefs they may, as they frequently do upon turnips. Cows fed with potatoes produce much bet* ter milk and butter, than when they eat cab- bage or turnips. SECTION XVIII. Method of harvejiing Grain of all Kinds, with Proofs from afiual Experiments. THE reaping corn from ten to fourteen days earlier than my neighbours, is an advan- tage I have lately attended to. As corn begins to ( "0 > to decay firft at the root, all the nourifhment it can afterwards receive while it (lands uncut muft be derived from the ftraw. The dews may feed the grain at one time.; but, when nearly ripe, and the root gone, the fun and "wind have fo much power as to ripen it too quickly, or to fcorch it up before its natural period of maturity. How often do the old farmers complain, that the feafon of harveft is fo dry that the corn will all be fmall ! There would be little caufe for this complaint, if they- cut the corn earlier, and put the fheaves into (looks in the field, which would fecure it from the ir.tenfe heat of the fun, and from thofe vio- lent winds that fo frequently occafion great lories by fhaking the grain out of the ear be- fore reaped. Once, by chance, riding on the road about harveft-time, I faw a field of wheat that had taken the mildew. This is known by the ftraw being of a remarkably deep green, and, inftead of dying, appearing to revive and acquire a greater verdure; which plainly indicates that the nutritive fap Magnates, and that the grain receives from it no further nourifhment. Nor does it, after fuch appearance comes on, ever receive ( III ) receive any, cr grow larger. The ftraw be* comes fpoited aiid black. The fooner then it is cut, the better I took twelve ears of the wheat, which, as likewife the ftraw, were green as grafs, and mildewed. A great deal of rain had fallen the fore part of the day, but the wheat-ears were pretty dry. I tied them in a, bunch, intending to hang them up in fome dry place to ripen ; but on my return home forgot, and thought no more about them. My great coat, being ufed only when there was reafon to expect rain, was hung up in a hall ; and feveral weeks afterwards, on putting my hand into one of the pockets, I found the ears of wheat, which immediately brought the circumftance to my recollection* The ftraw ilill remained green. I rubbed out the grain; and, to my aftonifh- ment, never faw better. It was fine in colour, and well filled; but what remained in the field I took thefe ears from, was very fmall, and of little value. From this it would appear, that were wheat cut on the appearance of the mildew, and fet in the field in fmall flacks of about a cart-load each, fo as neither to heat nor mould, it might render it much better than is done by the me- thod ( "2 ) thod new pracYifed. Indeed the mildew in wheat is like the mildew on all other things. It is caufed by damp in the foil. Very warm dry fituations feldom have any mildewed wheat : as in a warm dry room your paper or linen is not mildewed ; confequently, after your wheat is perceived to be getting into that flare, the fooner it can be preferved from it the better. I had taken at the fame time twelve ears of wheat from an adjoining field riper, which I put in the other pocket of my great coat. Thefe laft, though at the time of gathering they ap- peared fo much fuperior to thofe which had taken the mildew, did not turn out nearly fo good as the others. The reafon appeared plain to me : the ripe wheat had flood too long, and the wind and fun had fhrivelled it up, and caufed it to be fmall. From the above circumftances I have ever fince been partial to cutting wheat when the ftraw appears of a reddifh eaft, or fome of it green, and the joints are full of lap : and it al- ways has fulfilled my expectations; for the iiraw, if intended for chaff, will be better, the flour much fairer and heavier; and if intended for fine flour, it will grind into broad bran much ( "3 ) much better than that harvefted according to the old method. I do not however think that wheat which has not taken the mildew ought to be cut fo green. Rye fown along with wheat is a great pre- ventative of the mildew; for rye is of a much drier nature, and mod certainly prevents fo much damp rifing to the ftraw of the wheat, It is evident the damp rifes upwards; for if you build a houfe upon a wet or damp foundation, all the fun and air in the univerfe will not fuf- ficiently make it comfortably dry and warm. You will find fwamps on a field more fubject to mildew than the more elevated parts. I have fown rye mixed with wheat upon one piece of a field, and on the next wheat only -, and the wheat amongft the rye was fcarcely damaged, and the other in a very bad condition from the mildew. As the damp from the earth is the principal caufe of this malady in corn, the bed remedy is to drain the land, and to lay on it manure of the dried nature, fuch as bones, afhes, &c. There are other proofs of the damp from the earth caufmg the mildew j fuch as, that other -white corn is not fo much, or feldom at all, at- Vol. I. P tacked ( "4 ) tacked by it. Wheat being iown in autumn, ana lying fo long on rhe land, the foil has not fo good an opportunity to get dried after the winter, by being expofed to the fun and air. It may likewife be obferved,that, in years when the feafon has caufed the leaf to be more abun- dant, and to fmother the land the moft, the mildew is moft prevalent. Late crops are more given to this malady; and the caufe is the foil's getting damper. I do not recollect to have feen fpring wheat take the mildew ; owing, I fuppofe, to its lying a lefs time on the ground. Oats for meal, if early reaped, are much finer in colour-, the ftraw is better ; and there is lefs lofs in the field. Barley, by being cut foon enough, becomes much better for making; even though cut fo early that fome part of it may not be ripe. Were you to let it (land until it were all ripe, it would flill differ in refped to the dying or ripening of part; confequently, when wetted to undergo the necefiary procefs for malting, as it died at different times, fo will it have dif- ferent times of refurrection or fprouting. Kill- ing it all at one time by art, may enable the maltfter ( 1*5 ) maltfter by art again to revive it, perhaps on the fame day — a defireable acquifition in mak- ing malt to perfection ; for if one grain begins to vegetate before another, part will be ready for the kiln before the reft; and when the maJtfter hopes to have the whole in a proper ftate for drying, thofe grains which had firft vegetated would be acre-fpired, and the fac- channe quality be reduced at lead one fifth — a lofs which would be heavily felt by the brewer. In peas — a great advantage arifes from cut- ting early. The draw, being full of leaf, makes excellent fodder; and, if there be wet weather, it does not occafion the pods to open fo foon. I do not approve of (hearing peas, or tying them up; a mode chiefly made ufe of in Scot- land. By drilling with manure, the draw will be very long, and of courfe require a different method of reaping. My peas were from ten to twelve feet long, laft year, podded from top to bottom, and yielded fortv bufhels per acre: a very great produce, as they were of the Haft- .ings kind, which are very fmall. They were reaped with fickles, ripping them up for a few feet, then pulling them from the (landing ones, laying ( I* ) laying the green end down, and the bottom upwards, and lapping the pods as much inwards as poflible. By this method, the green part dried gradually : and pigeons, which frequently deftroy much of this crop if they can get to the pods, were prevented from doing ?ruch damage. It is beft to mow barley, and lei it lie in the fwath for forne days before you flieai it; aa every poflib-Je precaution fhouid be ufed to pre- vent mow-heating. Oats are beft mown, and bound in fheaves after the icy the, and left upon the ground, not fet up in ftooks, as commonly pracYifed. But the people who bind them mufl give them a turn over; as the fide they tie them on would readily receive the wet, but on the other fide it cannot get in. By laying that fide upwards, no rain will injure them for a long time ; and they will harveft much quicker than in the ftook ; as the wind will have a free paiTage through the bottom, which requires the moil air: whereas, if fet in the ftcok, it would be a long while before they were fit to carry; and if left in the fwath, mould the weather prove wet, great part would be loft by turning over. Beans ( "7 ) Beans are generally mownj but I approve of pulling them up: as the roots are very in- jurious to a wheat-crop, fo much fo as to pre- vent wheat being Town; on account of fnails crawling into the land anddeftroying the wheat* The expence is little different* They fhould be tied up in fheaves with wheat- ftraw* Tr -ley frand till the leaf decay, tie them looiely in fmall bunches, and fet them up in frcoks (four Iheafs to the ttook) in the field, where they will foon be fit for carrying home ; for the leaf be- ing gone, the wet will not remain upon them, and the bean will retain its proper colour, which otherwife would become black. Let them be flacked upon a belfry or tuffel, and they will receive for a long time no injury, as the air freely penetrates. SECTION XIX. Method of prefer ving Crops, after reaped, to the greateft Advantage, when Barns are not large enough for Juch Crops* TO preferve corn expeditioufly and fafely, muft no doubt be defireable. On a fine day, when corn is ready to be carried, it is an ex- cellent ( »8 ) cellent method to (lack it in the field where it grew; for by fo doing you will probably fe- cure as much in one day, as you would have bee>n able to carry home in four ; or, if the dif- tance be confiderable, perhaps in a week. And if rain mould come the next day, or foon after, and continue, this manner of proceeding may be of very great convenience and advantage; it may make in the corn the difference of good, and of good for nothing', but to a certainty that of good and indifferent. It may not perhaps be unneceflary to fay how a flack mould be conftructed, fo as to be liable to the lead inconvenience. Begin to make the middle of the ftack firft, fo that, when it is taken in, the middle muft be fulieft: the outfide fheaves will then ac~t as thatch; and even if the Hack were not thatched, no com- mon rain of Ihort duration could injure one fo made. But fuppofing it tolerably, or what the thatcher would call well thatched, it is poflible rain may penetrate; but if it did, the corn would receive little injury, as the moifture, from the conftruclion here laid down, would entirely ooze out: nor can rats, mire, or many other vermin which frequently caufe havock amongft corn do fo much damage in a flack fo made. Another ( »9 ) Another advantage attending the making of a flack in an open field is, that the grain by the free circulation of air becomes foon dry, and preferves the original fweetnefs-, whereas in confined places, fuch as flack-garths, where great numbers of ftacks ftand clofe together, or in barns, the air frequently ftagnates, and the corn becomes mufty, or acquires a putrid frriell. The above method will be found to anfwer for corn in general. SECTION XX. The Author's Opinion on Transplanting Wheat : Reafons why it muft prove beneficial, TRANSPLANTING of wheat, fo as to fet a whole field, is not likely to become a ge- neral practice: but circumftances frequently occur where it may be attended with fome be- nefit. For example, when fome misfortune happens to a part of the field, a diligent ob- ferver will generally difcover fome i'pots to have miffed, and to be thinner than the others. Whatever may have been the caufe of the ground's C 120 ) ground's not being regularly covered, whether the wheat's having been deftroyed by water in the winter, or from any other accident -, the farmer may always find fome part of the fame field from whence he may draw plants without doing any harm •, and if he be a neat hufband- man,he may fill up the vacancies by tranfplant- ing from thofe fpots where the plants are fo thick as to injure each other. SECTION XXI. Advantage of Dibbling Wheat. THE great advantage of dibbling wheat is in the treading of the light land by people pafs- ing and repairing; for the regularity of fowing is not fo great, children often dropping in twenty grains inftead of four. I much approve of the pra&ice on all flag land or fwards plough- ed up for clover, hay, &c. ; for the men or women ftepping backward upon every furrow to make the holes, and the children to depofit the wheat, tread the land down fo that it has an immediate connection with the ramel. The grain is depofited where it ought to be, in the belt f 121 ) beft of the furface foil, about three inches afunder every way, and about one inch and half deep in each furrow •, fo that it juft reaches the beft part of the furface foil to derive its fupport from. Should your ploughman turn- ever twelve inches, four rows of wheat ought to be fet on each furrow : and to do this, the iron or dibble might have two prongs. It is not indeed ufual to plough the furrow twelve inches broad : but, for dibbling, I do not think the furrow can be too broad, provided the plough clears her way and lays it flat. The feed in the broad-caft falls where it ought not to do, betwixt the furrow, where the foil being light continually keeps dropping from the root, fo that it is left without proper nourimment, by which means the growth of the plant is retard- ed, and the produce diminifhed. On the con- trary, when dibbled, the root flands upon the firm earth, and the worms or grubs, &c. are in fome meafure deprived of the immediate op- portunity of feeding on it. Eight pecks of feed might, if properly de- pofited, be fufficient for dibbling one acre. Ten pecks is what I mould ufe. I am no friend to the faving of feed; as on every experiment Vol. I. Q^ I have ( m ) I have tried, the lofs of produce in both draw and corn greatly furpaffed the value of the feed faved. Some ufe in dibbling only fix pecks per acre. But this certainly is too fmall a quan- tity; for many of the grains fall by the fides of the holes, and grow not up to perfection. However, among dibbled wheat you will find the feweft fmall and light ears. The expence of dibbling is with fome an ob- jection. Individually it cofts money; but pub- licly it cofts nothing, becaufe it is done chiefly by women and children, who mud be main- tained from the produce of the earth ; and is it not better that the women and children mould work for their meat and clothing, than to have it found them for nothing ? And in the pro- per feafon for dibbling wheat there is no other fort of work for them. The expence is from 9^. to 10s. 6d. per acre. Some may fay, and lay them in the bottom of the furrow; as that would prevent all kinds of grafs or weeds from making their appearance : and then the broader the furrow the better. Dibbling of fpring-corn, where land is liable to fet or bake, may be attended with fome of thefe inconveniences. Therefore, judgment is required in the fpring to diflinguifh the fort of land proper for dibbling. Oats, peas, and beans ought all to be dibbled -, as harrowing them brings them to the top as it does ftones: and it is impoflible to cover them properly, but by dibbling or drilling. The neceffary operations for dibbling are as follow: Plough the land in broad furrows as deep as the foil will admit, afterwards roll it. Then a man or woman takes a couple of irons, and going backwards makes two holes at one time, one with each hand. The dibbling-irons are fixed to handles of a proper length: and the point mult be fo contrived as to make the holes one inch and a half wide, and one inch and a half deep : then put in the feed about four grains in each hole : then bufh-harrow two or three times lengthwife, and then acrofs the lands. If a flock of fheep were driven acrofs the i 124 ) the field, it would be of great life, as the feet of the fheep would tread the earth into the holes where the feed is depofited, and prevent the water from lodging in them. After the fheep are removed from the field; bufh-harrow again. SECTION XXII. Ufe and Advantage of Drilling Wheat. DRILLING of wheat is a great faving of grain. No one can doubt of this affertion being a fact; as by it the feed may be put in- to the ground in a regular manner, either as to depth or diftance. It may likewife be made ufe of for all other kinds of grain: and I think the faving of feed would be at lead one third. As to fcarifying afterwards, that feems of little ufe except in land that is apt to bake and crack — See Section VII. There cannot be a doubt but all corn ought to be depofited a certain depth in the ground, and at certain diftances : therefore, to do that, the land mufl be firft pulverized and made ready to receive its crop ; and then the corn put ( 125 ) put in it. It little matters by what mode this is done; the more fimple the better. The drill-roller does its work with as much defpatch as any thing I have feen, and fully as well. It may be neceflary to defcribe it (fimple as it is) to thofe who have not feen it. It is a roller, of any given length, made of wood, with nicks cut in it about fix inches afunder, as deep as your timber will properly admit. The edges mud be fhod with iron rather iharp, that when it rums round it may make fmall furrows or drills proper for your grain to fall in. You muft fow it broad-caft, and bufh-harrow the land after-wards. As to depth, you muft add more weight to your rollers, if you fee it not penetrate far enough. It is a good way to fix at the back-part of the roller fomething to clean out the nicks, or rhey will clog up and not make drills fufficiently deep to receive the grain. I have ften fome very regular good crops, that had been fown in this way. SEC ( "6 ) SECTION XXIII. What Horfes mofi proper for Hujbandry ; Injtrufiions for Breeding them ; of their Shape, Afiion, &c, THE horfe ufed in hufbandry ought to be larger, but in other refpedft like the road- horfe: and, inftead of walking two or three, miles an hour, he ought to walk four or five. In that cafe, he would be able both to plough more land in a given time, and would work in the cart or waggon with more difpatch, when wanted. In harveft time a nimble and ftrong horfe is valuable. In drawing manure into the field, or corn to market, the farmer will alfo find his account in flrength and activity: for, as the draught in all thefe cafes is light one way, fuch horfes would do their bufinefs with fpeed. The fmall farmer need not with this kind of horfe keep an idle one -> he might carry his matter to market, and plough the remainder of the week. This is the fort of horfe proper for a gentleman's heavy coach: therefore, if the farmer fnould determine to breed, and take a little pains to rear horfes of bone and action, it would C 127 ) would not only prove advantageous to himfelf, but ufeful to the public. Thefe horfes fhould be bred to be from fif- teen to fixteen hands high, fhould walk light five miles an hour, trot twelve; and if one now and then turned out rather low, he would not- withstanding fetch a good deal of money for carrying fome heavy gentleman. Horfes of this defcription are hardy, and re- quire lefs food to fupport them than the long- waiftedwafhy things of fafhion, which fome half connoifTeurs in horfe- flefh are fo fond of. The general opinion is, that, if a horfe is put to draw, it will make him (tumble. If he is over-weighted and worn down, this pofiibly may be true : but keep a horfe above his work, and he will be no worfe for the faddle. I have a proof of this in a mare I now ride. She is of the breed I recommend. I bought her, when fhe was four years old, out of a man's team, which he worked for hire. He had drawn her two years very hard, yet fhe has carried me (though I ride nineteen ftone) nine years, and has never once been down with me, although I have ridden her over as dangerous roads as any in the kingdom— in Derbyfhire, Chcfhire, Lan- ( "8 ) Lancafhire, Weftmoreland, &c. I do not now think her, as to fafety, in any refpect worfe than when I bought her: en the contrary, I realJy think her better. I gave eighteen pounds for her, which was thought too high a price by fome who pretended to be judges: but 1 have many time fince been bid fifty pounds for her, and once abfolutely fold her for fixty; but the gentleman to whom I fold her, at my own earneft requeft, let me have her again for the fame money* She will carry my weight ten miles an hour with eafe. I have ridden her from Lincoln to Doncafter, which is forty- two miles, within five hours. This mare was bred from one of the cart kind, and got by a blood-horfe. The fervice me has done makes me fo flrenuoufly advife breeding this fort of horfes, which will in all probability turn out fo ufeful to the breeder and to the public, SECTION XXIV. Defcription of a Road-Horfe ; particular A5fion necejfary for the Eaje and Safety of the Rider. THE road-horfe fhould have a final! head, a quick eye, with a nfing forehand or neck; his flioulder to be call into his back, not very fine in ( "9 ) in the chine. His back mud be ftraight, not over fhorr. Let him be high in his ribs, and ftraight in his hind quarters, his hucks lying clofe or round with his rib, and his tail (landing ftraight with his quarter; thick in his thigh, and broad in his bread; fhort in his legs, with his fetlock very ftiort ; a good round hoof, not over fteep. He fhould rather ftand a little out with his fore toes, and his hind feet the fame; for by that pofition he is both ftron- ger and fafer. He cannot move with one leg too near the other, provided he does not cut. For, when a horfe moves, he muft have two legs off the ground : therefore by keeping his legs near each other he is ftronger. By one leg on the ground being perpendicular, and his toes ftanding a little out, he is much fafer: if he makes a trip, he does not fo foon lofe his balance, or get over his knee. The fhorter he fteps the better, if he is but quick ( for light moving is equal to ftrength ); and by keeping his legs under him, he does not tire like a horfe who overfteps and fatigues himfelf. Nor does he beat the ground (o hard ; fo that his feet and legs laft much longer. Vol, I. R SEC ( 130 ) SECTION XXV. heft Method of Shoeing the Road-Horfe, to em- power him to travel with Eqfe and Comfort to himjelf THE foot of a horfe mould be kept in the fame form it had when he was foaled ■, the toe fhort, and the heel up. The fhoe fhould not be longer than the hoof of the toe, and the leaft that is pofiible in the heels* For, if you fhoe him much longer at the heel than the cor- ner, that part of the fhoe acts like a lever be- hind his heel, as if you meant to lame him by prizing it with a crow, or bar of iron. Indeed the fhoe of a horfe ought to cover little or no more ground than his foot would if not fhod; for if it does, it will only ferve to break his hoof, draw out the nails and loofen the fhoe; as, if he treads the leaft uneven, which is fre- quently the cafe, the fuperfluous iron acts in the way juft mentioned. If the horfe's hoof is naturally hollow, the fhoe fhould be thickeft near the ed^e or nail- holes. If he have a flat, or what is termed an oyfter foot, the fhoe on the contrary ought to be difh- ed, ( '3* ) ed, as in that fort of foot the quick lies near, and of courfe he muft be tender. Bar Ihoes are proper for fuch feet. SECTION XXVI. Defcription of the Dray-Hotfe, and the Stage* Waggon-Horfe to travel, D R AYS require the flowed movement ia a horfe. The burthens are generally excef- fively heavy ; in London ftreets particularly, where no fwiftnefs, but great power is required to move the immenfe weights drays are often loaded with. Horfes for this purpofe, there- fore, fhould be very broad-breafted, and thick in the fhoulders, which fhould not lie back- ward. Nor fhould the fore-hand be up as re- commended in the road-horfe; for, by holding up their heads, they would be choaked by the collar, as they would, if fo formed, draw too much by the throat, and their wind being thus flopped, would be in danger of falling down. The neck of a dray-horfe is not the better for being long. If his head be fmall, he is likely to be of better thrift ; but then on the other hand, a fmall head is fometimes a fign of a lively C tit ) lively fpirit, which makes a horfe not fteady in drawing ; and it is a great fault in a dray-horfe to be quick or hafty in temper. Like all hor- fes, he mould be chofen with fhort legs, and good ftrong hoofs* He ought to be thick in his thighs, and large in bone: but I can fee no neceffity for that great quantity of hair fo fre- quently met with upon the legs of thefe ani- mals. I am of opinion, that, in refpefl to ufe, he would be better without that fuperfluous ornament: but perhaps, the dealer would not give fo good a price for him without the hair, as with: therefore, as breeders, like other men, mud look to their profit, they will no d^ubt continue to rear fuch horfes as will fetch moft at market, and think more of fhow than real ufe j for a redundancy of hair is not a fure in- dication of ftrength. Moft of the obfervations laid down refpee\- ing the dray-horfe are equally applicable to the ftage-waggon horfe. His fhape and make, however, mull not be exactly the fame; for, as the waggon-horfe is required to travel, he muft partake of the nature both of the true dray-horfe, which originally was a native of Flanders, and of the true Englifh coach-horie, a breed unknown anywhere but in this ifland. A ( *53 ) A quicker movement is required for a ftagc- waggon than for a dray, and fomething more of fpirit in the horfe. A true dray-horfe could not lad long in a waggon -, as he is rather too heavy. SECTION XXVII. Opinion on Draught Oxen ; the Sort for Juch UJe. THE Devon ox is a pattern, as to make and mape, for all draught-oxen The Devon- fhire ox is better formed to move than any fort I have feen, excepting the Scotch ox, called the Fifefhire ox, which is made better in refpecl to walking than any other; for he has the bed feet I ever met with. The Welfh ox is in ma- ny refpects fimilar to the Scotch. The ox moftly ufed by our farmers is of the Tees-water or Durham, and the Holdernefs fpecies. The Devon/hire oxen are as good, if not better feeders than any fort I have yet feen : they attain very heavy weights, and cut up as fine as any, without exception. The Fifefhire fattens net fo quickly as the Devonfhire 0x5 but, when fat, is equally de- licious. The ( 134 ) The Tees-water ox is proper for heavy draughts, is much larger in fize, and will pa/ better for his keep. He may draw from the age of two to that of eight ; if fattened when two years old, he may weigh about forty ftone -, if made fat at the age of eight, he will weigh ninety (lone or more. Suppofing beef at feven millings per (lone, the difference between fiaughtering him at the age of two, and at that of eight years will be as 14/. to 31/. ioj. that is, 17/. 10s. for the keep of the ox for fix years, which is 2/. i8j. and a fraction per year. Now it is well known the horfe frequently decpeafes as much in value. But is not that the farmer's fault ? For horfes may be made to pay for their meat as well as oxen. A mare, for example, may breed a foal, and do a great deal of work; in the winter at this rate fhe may be reckoned at about 61. per year. In fummer an ox is kept at a cheap rate, and may fupply her place. A young horfe, bought in with judgment, and worked eafily, will pay two guineas per year, on the lowed eflimate. A horfe will not thrive upon fuch food as will keep an ox > but if you work an ox with a horie Mq by fide, the ox mull be fed with corn in the winter. After all, the advantage is clearly on the C i3S ) the fide of the ox ; unlefs you fell the horfe when he comes juft into his prime. For, if you wear the horfe out, his flefh is fit only for the dogs, and the carcafe with the fkin will not fetch more than a dozen or fifteen mil- lings, whilft an ox will fetch from 10L to 30/. or perhaps much more. I think that farmer the beft manager who keeps both horfes and oxen for draught ; for he will thus be enabled to fend the moil commodities to market from any given quantity of acres of land, There is a fort of oxen which I have not yet defcribed, which are the long-horned or Cra- ven kind: thefe oxen are bad workers, but in general pay bell when killed very young — at the age of three years, for example. Therefore they feldom draw or plough much. The Irifh oxen, whith refpect to working, are very fimi- larto the Craven kind. It has been afferted that an ox will plough as much land in any given time as a horfe: but that is impofilble, if the horfe be of the right fort for the plough. The horfe would certainly walk over three miles while the ox walks over two, therefore would plough three acres of land whilft the ox ploughs two acres. I believe, that ( 136 ) that at prefent the ox does as much Work in any given time as the horfe ; but that is either the fault of the matter or the man ; for the maf- ter mud either have provided a horfe of very flow movement, or the man muft be very idle. I will undertake to find a man and pair of hor- fes to plough three acres while another man and a pair of oxen ploughs two acres, for twelve months together* But then we muft confider the difference of expence in their feeding, and of the value of the carcafe of the worn-out horfe and the worn-out ox, as has been re- marked above. Both are very ufeful, and ought always to form part of the ftock of a farm of confiderable extent* A man in a very fmall farm, confiding of from eight to twenty acres fhould work his milch-cows, or fuch as he may be rearing for that purpofe. By tilling his fmall quantity of land to advantage, he might keep eight or ten cows, and get fifteen acres of corn every year; which, at 10I. per acre, would make 150/. be- fides the profit of the cows, which might be managed in fuch a way as to injure them ve- ry little, as there are fo many to do fo little work, The ( 137 ) The dXj I will allow, is not the moft pleaf- ant aninial to\ do hufbandry bufinefs with : the farmer's fervant will difcover as much differ- ence between the horfe and ox in this refpecl* as he would between the horfe and afs, were he obliged occafionally to ufe both for a jour- ney: but the pleafure of the fervant in that cafe has been more confidered than the profit of the farmer. The horfe pafTes quickly over the ground; and, in a bad feed-time, when land is liable to/?/, become hard, or over- wet, getting the feed in quickly in the proper fea- fon is of infinite confequence to a crop; and> Oxen being flow, the farmer muft either employ an extra number of them, or beftow more time in fowing his crop, or in doing any other kind of bufinefs. SECTION XXVIIL Milch-Cows proper for the Dairy, and fir Fattening. THE cow which gives the mod milk h not the cow which fattens the faded:. It is impoffible me can vie in flefh with the cow which gives only a fmall quantity, and whofe food is principally applied to the fattening of Vol. I S her. ( 138 ) her. The draining of nutritive juices by milk- ing mud, with very few exceptions, keep the milch-cow down: and the fame obfervation will hold good refpecting the quick-feeding or fail-fattening cow, which will always be found to be fcanty of milk. The features of good milch-cows, and of thofe for fattening, are nearly the fame. A cow for milking ought to have a fmall head, a thin hide, fine chaps, a fmall tail, the thighs thin, and of fmall bone. Her paps mould hang fquare ; the udder mould be round, and not flefhy; her milk-vein very ftrong. The vein called the milk-vein runs upwards from the udder towards the huck. There are cows of a different defcription, which yet are good milkers: but the above fort will be found of moft general ufe. Some very ill-fhaped cows give a large quantity of milk -, but, for the moft part, they have a fmall tail and thin chaps. The cow with a difpofition to fatten faft dif- fers from the milch- cow by the milk-vein being much fmaller, and the udder appearing lefs, and of courfe containing lefs milk: her hide, if thick and mellow, is a fign of her thriv- ing; and what is termed a thin or paper hide covers generally a poor animal and a bad thriver. SEC- ( 139 ) SECTION XXIX. Method of Fattening Calves to the left Adva ntage: TO make calves fat in the fpeedieft manner, take the milk from the cow and boil it, and let it fland to be cool enough for the calf to drink.' By this method the flefh will become white without bleeding , the veal will be juicy, have a good flavour, and be much better for eating, than the calf whofe juices had been fo much exhausted and dried by frequent bleedings, that the flefh has no more nourishment [ in it than the pith of a willow-flick* It is very proper to give the calf in the middle of the day a ball or two mixed up with common gin, which not only will promote fleep, but will prevent the milk from turning four on his ftomach, and like- wife keep his body regularly open. A fmall glafs of gin is fufficient to wet flour enough for two balls y and no other ingredients are re- quired. Thefe balls are not to be ufed before the calf is a month old. The calf cannot be kept in too clofe a place: he fhould be well bedded with clean ftraw; and the place where he ftands fhould be made flanting, fo that all wet ( 14° ) wet immediately run off; for, if he lies wet, he lies cold ; and great care ought to be taken that he lie dry and warm. I have fed a calf that at the age of thirteen weeks has produced, when flaughtered, 8/. 19J. 6d. This calf weighed feventy pounds per quarter. — See An- nals of Agriculture, No. 155, p. 557. SECTION XXX. life of Sheep in Improving Land: the great Profit arifmg therefrom. SHEEP are the mod profitable of animals; as they not only increafe in flefh much quicker than mod others, but pay a yearly tribute to the owner by their fleeces. They fupply us with a ftaple commodity, which employs an infinite number of people at home, and pro- duces a moll beneficial trade abroad. Where fheep eat the herbage, they manure land very regularly, and caufe the grafs to come finer after than when eaten by any other animal I know, except deer. Sheep by nature are cleaners of land. To maintain themfelyes, they will eat every kind of ( Mi ) of weed, except nettles and thiftles, and confe- quently eat to greater profit than any other animal. The lofs in fheep is attended with lefs lofs of property than generally attends the Jofs of other animals which are accounted as flock by the farmer: the fkin at every age is of fome value; and fo is the flefli in many in- ftances, when you have a careful and attentive fhepherd. They are very prolific, and begin breeding early. I have bought a drape-ewe in September, and by the September following with two lambs fhe paid clear profit 3/, 16^ when fold to the butcher. 1 bought her in at 1/. 4^. She fold for 2/. 5^; the fleece for 5J. ; the two lambs for 1/. 5^. eachj which together- makes five pounds. Deducting then the origi- nal coft of 1/. 4 s. I have a clear balance of 3/. i6j-. Two fuch ewes would bring 7/. i2j, profit : one acre of good land would keep them, and fufficient bite be left for a horfe or beaft to defray all expences. By expending 2/. 8j. in the purchafe of two. iheep, a clear profit may be gained of 7/. 12/. I know of no other animal that will do as much upon one acre of land with fo little rifque of capital ; ( 142 ) capital; as, in cafe of accident, you in aM probability have the chance of feveral lives, and the original coft is but trifling. SECTION XXXI. Defcription cf the left Sort of Sheep, with In- ftruttions for Breeding them; the Sort of IVool required^ and how to promote the Growth of it. THE Difhley fheep are without difpute the bed. The breed is now fo univerfally fpread over this iiland, that it might be thought fuper- fiuous to defcribe them -, but as this work may poflibly be read in other countries befides Eng- land, I think it neceflary to give a fketch of this very ufeful animal* A true Difhley Iheep from the top of the back, that is, from head to tail, refembles the back of a tortoife; the head is fmall ; the neck or crag particularly fo, and fo fhort that, when the flieep is hung up by the heels, you cannot fee any neck; the fat and flefh fo completely covering it that the fore-quarter appears as if joined to the head. The bread is remarkably wide or broad ; the car- ( 143 ) carcafe not very long; but the rib (lands up well ( that is, high and round), fo that by lay- ing your hand upon him you will perceive an extraordinary breadth. He is much inclined to accumulate flefh upon the back : the fat of many of them upon the ribs and fides hangs in fuch a manner as to caufe what is called the fore- flank and the neck-vein to be larger than you can grafp with your hand; fomething like a bullock's flank, but very frequently fuller, ex- cept it be a very fat bullock. I have {^en mutton of this kind cut fix inches deep on the rib. In his twift he will be fo cloven between the legs as almoft to touch his camerils. In fhort, the offal ( fuch as the fhanks, neck, and head ) of this fort of fheep, which weighs from thirty to forty pounds per quarter, will weigh but few pounds ! And what renders it (till more an objecl: of profit is, that it not only eats lefs than any other kind, but from its propensity to thrive becomes fat much fooner. Were thefe fheep kept poor upon thin lands, on commons of a dry gravel or limeftone foil, until they were four or five years old (as fome of the Downs and Scotch fheep are), and then made fat, I have no doubt but the mutton would C *44 ) would be full of gravy, and the befl in the" world; as they are remarkably juicy and fine- grained. Many gentlemen have obferved to me that fheep of this kind are liable to get over- fat; and that the flavour of the mutton is not fo delicate as that of fome other forts. My anfwer is, that fheep of this kind are at prefent in the hands of the bed feeders, as well as breeders ; and as the price of the ram is very high, great care is in general taken of the off- fpring — fuch care that they are frequently kept fat the whole time they live, fometimes too muchfo; which caufcs their flefli to become ilrong: and this I believe to be the cafe in all animals when they attain a certain age. I had a ftriking proof of this, in regard to the flavour of flefli, in a very poor pig which my father bought of one of his labourers. The pig had been given very young to the man by my fa- ther and was of the fame litter With fome we were then fatting: they were all fed in the fame ftye, and with the fame food : the poor pig fattened aftonifhingly fail, and was afterwards found to be as iuperior in flavour to the others, as Scarborough mutton b to the large Lin- colnffiirc or Tees water iheep, 1c ( H5 ) It is fo likewife with fowls, a proof of which I alfo had. When I lived at Afgafby, in the vicinity of the Eaft and Weft Fens, the general opinion of my neighbours was, that a fen-goofe, from drinking the ftagnant water in the pools, and living on grafs, would always be found rank, or at leaft very flrong, food. I went with the tide of opinion, and for a long while fan- cied I had a particular averfion to fen-geefe : but, the making of experiments might be termed my hobby-horfe : and, on feeing by accident thirty fen-geefe, compofed of nothing but fkin and bone (for they were deftitute of flefh and feathers), the fituation of the half-flarved| pig rufhed fo forcibly upon my memory, that I was induced to buy the whole flock* I put them in fold amongft fome cattle, where there was no water to fwim in. What water they got came from a pump — a very pure fpring. Their food was barley (for the cattle were fed on nothing but barley-flraw) ; nor could they get at any thing elfe. After the geefe had re- mained about a month at this food, I had one killed and drelTed — a better never was eaten, and not one of the thirty but was equal to the firft. There is another prejudice, which fup- Vol It T pofes ( 146) pofes that pulling the feathers whilft alive makes the goofe rank : but thofe I fpeak of, had been pulled thrice at lead. It is the quality of the food that determines the tafte of the flefh; this one more inftance may elucidate. Whillt in Lincolnfhire, a man one day at market fold two of the fattefl geefe I had ever feen. My curiofity was ftimulated : I was anxious and inquifitive to know what means were ufed to give them fo great a quan- tity of flefh and fat. The vender allured me they had eaten nothing but grafs; I thought this muft be a much cheaper method than the one we practifed, which was to give them as many oats almoft as they were worth when kil- led j and I hoped that from thenceforth I might eat my roaft-geefe, or my goofe-pie, upon cheaper terms than formerly. I had then fome at grafs, which, though not fo fat as thofe the man fold, were yet fatter than any I had fed on corn : but when my goofe came to be put to the fire, I foon refolved upon returning to myxoid method of feeding with corn-, for al- though this, in common with the reft of my geefe in the field, had as fine a ftream of wa- ter as is in any part of England to fwim in, no fox, ( 147 ) fox, or any other kind of vermin, if put down to roaft, could ftink worfe than my grafs-goofe. She fed on a rich pafture, and fandy foil. It has been thought by fome to be very in- different what pigs feed upon, provided they eat and get fat. — A circumftance that once happened to me may ferve as a caution to. the feeder of pigs, in refpedt of pigs nearly fit for Slaughtering. I had upwards of forty pigs feed- ings The gardener pulled up fome onions, and threw the tops ( confiding of a barrow-ful ) to the pigs. Two days after, I had one of the pigs killed, and in the fry perceived a ftrong tafle of onions: I had recourfe to the cook for an expla- nation; but fhe was entirely ignorantof the caufe. I then applied to the pig-feeder, who readily told me what the gardener had done. The pigs had been confined in a fold, and had no food but fuch as grains and brewers5 wafn. The re- maining part of the pig killed I had faked and hung to dry : but it proved to be uneatable, and we threw it away. I mention thefe circum- ftances, to warn the farmer how necefiary it is to give fweet food to fuch animals as are inten- ded far the table. But ( m* ; But to return to fheep. In one refped they partake of the nature of oxen: — I mean that the fmall breed is finer in flefh than the large. A fheep of the Welfh breed, which fhall not weigh more than fix pounds per quarter, will prove of fuperior grain to a Tees-water of fix- ry pounds per quarter. In like manner, a Scotch bullock of twenty (tone will be finer flefh than one of the Durham or Holdernefs breed of one hundred and twenty flone: and this rule will hold good in mod animals ufed by us as food. Having faid fo much on flefh, we fhall now fpeak of the wool, which undoubtedly is finefb on the fmalleft kind of fheep. But the fine- nefs of the wool is not the certain confequence of a diminutive carcafe: the food is the prim- ary caufe. I have witnefled a fheep from Spain put upon the rich land in Lincolnfhire near Boflon ; and in two years this very fheep, the fined to be procured in Spain, clipped a very unufeful kind of fleece, with more hair than wool. The rich land here referred to is more adapted to the growth of the combing fort of wool, which is the mod: valuable of all, as it yields by far the greater! quantity. From four good ( M9 ) good wethers may be clipped two tods of wool, the wool being frequently fourteen inches long. Allowing, then, one acre of land to keep, during winter and fummer, fix fheep, we have fix {tone of wool, which, at one guinea per tod, amounts to 3^ is. 6d. But two acres of this land fre- quently feed a beaft likewife: therefore, if a bead pays feventy fhillings by feeding for one fummer on two acres, by allowing thirty-five fhillings for one acre, you have an aggregate fum of 7/. This kind of land is managed at very little expence : and the profits are great at prefent. Sheep on the land laft-mentioned are better when of a larger fize, than thofe kept in places diftant only a few miles from a good mar- ket. Sheep of a year old or under cannot bear the fatigue of driving from one to two hundred miles, like thole which by age have acquired their full vigour \ and the expence offending a large or fmall one to market is the fame* The large fort of fheep pay for their food by the great increafe in bulk, and will live and thrive on lands improper for fattening cattle and other kinds of fheep. Of fuch land there are large quantities in the Lincolnfhire mar- Hies. And the wool, from fituation and for profit ( »5«) profit, is there required to be of a fort fit for combing, and ought to be as nearly as pofiible of one length and hair, of an open mellow na- ture, about ten inches long, even at the top, fo as to have little or no tag; as the tag is not only wade, but expenfive in cutting off. The food of fheep in thefe marfhes is furprifingly apt to promote the growth of the above fort of wool •, and produces it fafter than any- other kind of land in England. When the large fheep feed upon barren foils of a very cold nature, their wool is fettered to- gether and grows into what are called cots, and decreafes to half the value of what it would have been in a good rich pafture. For poor foils, fomething better than moors or mountains, the bed fort of fheep is the DifliJey. On fuch foil their wool will be fhor- ter and weigh lefs; which is occafioned by fuf- fering hardfhips, and by the want of rich food. The pafture not being fufficient to fatten them; they may be fed with turnips and feeds, which, when good, are excellent for fheep, and oaufe them to produce more wool. Having defcribed the fort of wool mod pro- per for very good, and for indifferent land, I (hail now (hew what is molt proper for moun- tains oi: heaths. The ( '5' ) The fort of wool on fheep feeding in fuch places ought to be very fine •, the finer the bet* ter; the length from one to two inches* It mud be very thick fet : in fact, it cannot be too much fo 5 for the coat preferves the carcafs on the bleak unfheltered mountain. It may now be neceffary to remark, that any fort of wool may by attention and manage- ment be raifed on the fame fort of carcafs, and on almoft all foils i but the nature of the foil will moil affuredly in a great degree prevent the wool from attaining the higheft perfection. Salt-water land, or land taken from the fea, will produce more wool and of a much heavier nature, and whiter in colour, than any other land whatever. According to the condition of the fheep in refpecl: to flem, land fown with grafs-feeds, or fuch as is liable to rot fheep, generally produces white wool. In the latter inftance, the white- nefs of the wool may be attributed to the great lofs of blood the fheep may fuffer by flowks in the liver. At Claythorpe, during my four years' refidence, I never faw taken out of a fheep fed in that parifh one liver free from flowks and eatable. Sheep ( M* ) Sheep will fatten on many foils that yet are not congenial to the growth of wool; the wool will be dull, not white and oily, and will weigh light in refpecl to the bulk of it. SECTION XXXII. The great Ufe of breeding Sheep to fuit different Soils -, with Rules drawn from Experience how to breed the Sort required. IN breeding fneep to fuit different foils there is another confideration to be attended to by the farmer, which is that of flocking land with fuch a fort as will fuit his fituation in refpedt to diitance from his market. The Difhley fheep fuits almoft all foils, and will profper wherever there is any thing to eat. It has been generally faid, the Difhley fneep did not pro- duce fat lamb, but I have proved the contrary. I had a lamb, got by a Difhley ram out of a Northumberland ewe, that when five months old, weighed twenty pounds per quarter, and altogether fetched forty fhillings. This lamb was killed in the month of September. Here ( *53 ) Here perhaps I may be told that Mr. Bedel, of Foot's-cray in Kent, very frequently can fell a lamb of lefs than one third the weight of the one I mention for 3/. 3^ But we are to confider the different expence of paf- ture-lamb and houfe-lamb ; and that he con- fines himfelf entirely to the breeding of the latter for the London epicures to furnifh their tables with at Chriftmas. To return to my lamb : Had he had from one to two hundred miles to travel, he would! have loft a great deal of weight and value, A two or three years old wether or ewe certainly would notdiminifh fo much by the fame jour- ney : but if you can bring a lamb to fetch the value of a two or three years old fheep, the return of money will be quicker, and the profit more confiderable. The large Lincolnfhire fheep is proper for fome foils. The flefh of this kind of fheep is of a courfe fubftance ; and though not inclined to feed fo quickly as the Difhley, he does not when fat, wade fo much in fize by travel- ling to market. His frame is larger, but his flefh not fo delicious, or ufeful to the breeder in refpect to value; and there will be found, U in ( «54 J in the fame weight, much more lean and much more bone than in a Difhley fheep.: A la- bourer or hard-working man may prefer a joint of lean rank Lincolnfhire mutton to the Difh- ley, that will cut from five to fix inches deep of firm fat ; but he will not find an equal weight of it fatisfy fo many hungry chil- dren as the Difhley fat mutton* Wichout doubt there exifts a very confiderable difference amongft that fpecies we term Lincolnfhire fheep. Some of them, when driven the dis- tance of one hundred miles from their native paflures, appear to be little better than car- rion : but if thofe fheep, when intended to be kept until they were three years or three and a half old, or at lead till they were three times clipped, had a little more attention be- llowed with judgment upon them, they would be found to produce more wool, and retain their flefh much better. The Wiltfhire fheep and the Hertfordfhire fheep I do not treat of, being no judge of them. They are chiefly for folding : and the folding of fheep I do not like; it is robbing Peter to pay Paul, j Of ( 155 ) Of the tall flenderfheep from the mountains, fome will thrive and fatten on a rich foil with luxuriant paflure ; others are not to be made fat by any means. The fquare fhort- legged breed from the fbreih or downs, will live on barren land, and bite the clofefl of any ; and with good keep they will foon be fit for the butcher, but not very fat. I am of opinion, all fheep, according to their firft value, might be improved equal to the pifhley or long-woolled fheep. The Downs fheep are the mod ufeful and profitable next to the Difhley -, and had as much atten- tion been paid to them by a fet of men equally capable as the breeders of the Leiceflerfhire fheep, they might have been brought to equal perfection. They appear to be equally profit- able on fome foils capable of producing card- ing-wool. They are good-fiefhed fheep, and will bear more hardfhips on dry land than any long-woolled fheep. They are naturally active, and fome of them quick feeders. There are fome of the Welfh fheep very ufeful. Thefe fore of fhort-woolled fheep would never be made profitable in the Licolnfhire marfhes. The ( ISO Thb Norfolk fheep are of a great iize, and fometimes profitable : but perhaps few ftieep fcre better kept ; their winter food being fu- perior to that of any other country, and their layer continually dry. No ftieep likes or will £rofper on wet land. The fort called Lincoln- fhire-flieep do the beft upon fuch land. SECTION XXXIII. *Tbe cheapefi and moft expeditious Method of fee ding fheep. THE cheapeft and moft expeditious method of feeding fheep in the winter is to give them rape, cole, or turnips, in penns or trays, as explained in Section XII. p. $9* Rape and cole fliould be eaten in the fame way as the turnips. The folding in a ftraw- fold would doubtlefs fave hundreds of ftieep which die of the refp or red-water. The lofTes fuftained in the Lincolnfliire fens are innumer- able for want of fuch caution. See Section XXXIV. The ( *57 ) The cheaper! food in fummer upon good land is grafs, although not the mod fattening. Good feeds fatten them quicker upon mode- rately good foils, fuch as do not carry more fheep than can thereon do well -, for it often happens that upon too luxuriant land fheep thrive but indifferently, by their being fuch numbers feeding on it until it actually ftinks of them. Great advantage would arife from feeding fheep in the fummer on green food, in the fame manner as is defcribed for horfes, beads, &c. Green tares and cabbages, &c. would be very quick-fattening and cheap food* SECTION XXXIV. DiJ orders incident to Sheep -, with the Methods of Cure. ONE of the moft extraordinary diforders to which fheep are liable is called the red-water Or refp. This difeafe undoubtedly is brought on by the ftomach and bowels being overload- ed with food too much abounding with juices. Turnips c 158 ) Turnips will give it to fheep, as likewife will rape or colej fo will eddifh, young clover, or any kind of grafs where rich manure has re- cently been laid on the land. I had twelve acres of clover, with one hun- dred ewes and lambs upon it. I intended to fow the field with turnips -, but, the weather being dry, I could not plough it. In order to be ready againft wet weather came, I had the manure carried on the land. A. twenty-four hours' rain fell ; and the next day three ewe$ were dead with the red- water, though both ewes and Jambs had been conftantly there for fome weeks without a fingle accident* It may be necefTary to obferve that the manure was taken out of the fold-yard, and confifted chief- ly of rich horfe-dung, cow-dung, pig-dung, &c. It was laid in heaps, fo that, when the rain came, the furrows ran with a black-coloured wa- ter, the juices of the manure. Since this acci- dent I have heard and known of many fimilar, and from the fame caufe. I caution the farmer againd putting fheep upon land newly manu- red, especially if with frefh dung: it makes the plants to be over fucculent for the animals* bowels. To ( *59 ) To cure the red-water, the bed remedy 1 know is foot from pit-coal, mixt up with fait water, or with fait and chamberlye. Mix fo much fait with water that an egg will fwim ; and put for every lheep a large fpoonful of foot : flir the ingredients well together, and let them remain until the following day, or about twelve hours. Give three large fpoonfuls for a dofe to each fheep early in the morning, after it has been kept from food the preceding night. Re- peat the above dofe every fifth or fixth day, if the fheep are much affected by the diforder, and you will find the medicine an effectual re- medy. I hardly ever knew it fail of working a perfect cure. Raifing the fheep at night, and driving them about fo as to caule them to empty themfelves, is another good and fimple remedy; for a fheep, being a greedy animal, fills his ftomach with food ; and, being naturally indolent, he lies a considerable time in one polture, which prevents a proper digeftion, which moderate exercife would effectually promote. It is not uncommon for the coats of the itomachs to be fo diftended as to burft fome of the many fan- guiferous veffels with which they fo amply a~ bound, ( i6o ) bound, and whofe ufe is to fecret the liquor gaftricus, or liquor of the flomachs. By an ac- cident of this kind I have had fheep die fud- denlyj and have upon a clofe examination in- to the caufe of their death, taken from two to three gallons of red-water from the infide of one fheep. The bowels were full of this wa- ter, which feemed tinged with blood, and emit- ted a very putrid fmell. Part of the flelh was in a mortified flate, and flunk horridly, which it will do even before life has left the fheep. The above prefcription will not fail of rid- ding the animal of this terrible diforder. The firft object is to cleanfe the bowels, and brace the ftomach: the fait does the one, and the foot, I fuppofe, the other. This diforder feldom happens in the fummer, unlefs to a fheep who gets over-caft; for a fheep does not lie flill in fummer above four hours in the four-and-twen- ty : but in winter he lies ftill full half the time, that is, twelve hours out of the twenty-four. This diforder may be totally prevented by following the method before laid down for fattening fheep with turnips or cole, that is, by moving them into the ftraw-fold at night. Do this early in the evening; and you may eafily raife C i6x ) raife them before you go to bed and with little trouble give them the quantity of exercife which may be thought neceflary. The giving of frefh folds of turnips in the evening fre- quently brings on this diforder, and occafions almoft immediate death, efpecially if the fheep have been kept rather fhort of food for fome days before* I have known fifty fheep in one hundred die of it in the courfe of one winter. If by adminiftering the medicine here recom- mended, and by ufing the ftraw-fold, five only of the fifty had been faved, it would well have paid the trouble attending their cure. It is very neceflary that fheep fhould be care- fully attended, that, on the firft fymptoms of the above or any other diftemper, remedies may be applied, and a cure attempted in time. There is a diforder in fheep called the turn or giddy. This diforder proceeds from a bleb of watery matters formed upon the brain. Some people attempt a cure by opening or trepanning the fkull, extracting the bleb, and then clofing the parts again : but this operation, however eafy to an expert furgeon, is too diffi- cult and dangerous to fucceed in the hands of fuch clumfy operators as are generally employ- ed on fuch occafions : and fix out of feven of Vol. I. X the C 162 ) the patients die under their hands* I have cured great numbers of this diforder by a very eafy and fimple method, I take the fheep by the ears, which I pull violently, and then e*ut off as clofe as poflible to the head : this is the bed remedy I ever tried ; and the trial is never attended with danger. I do not pretend to explain how this effects a cure : it is fufficient for me to affert the fact. Perhaps the violent pulling of the ears may difturb the collection of watery matter ; and the cutting them clofe to the head may give vent to it by the hae- morrhage which follows of courfe. Whatever may be the caufe, the remedy is pretty fure. It was by accident I difcovered this more perfect cure for the giddy. When I lived with my father, one of our lamb-hogs had taken the turn, I ordered the mepherd to catch it, that I might cut off the ears. When fheep have this diforder, they will frequently turn round for a long time together, have a flupid heavy look, quit their companions and feed by themfelves. You may go very near them before they difcoveryouj which feems to indi- cate that they lofe their hearing. But as foon as they become fenfible of your approach, they will ( i<% ) will run as fwift as they did before the aiforder feized them. The fhepherd went behind to catch it : but the moment the lamb perceived him, it ran away, and continued running for about ten minutes. It was an excellent chace, and afforded fine fport, which I relifhed highly. The fhepherd, who was a famous runner, was terribly enraged againft the poor lamb ; and, as foon as he overtook it, began to pull and twirl it mofl violently round by the ears. As it was at a confiderable diflance when he caught it, he had full time to gratify his revenge. I immediately cut off the ears, and in two days the lamb was perfectly cured. I had fucceeded pretty well before the time now fpoken of, in curing the diflemper by only cutting off the ears : but repeated prac- tice has proved to me- in the mod fatisfadory manner, that pulling the ears violently before they are cut off is the beft method of enfuring the cure : you may depend upon faving nine out of ten, at leafl. I have never known this diforder to return after having been once cured. Thofeewes which have or have had this dif- order are no wcrfe for breeding, as the lambs do not take the diforder from their dams. The ( 1 64 ) The foot-rat is a difeafe which will attack numbers at the fame time. Sheep, when feed- ing on a hot fandy foil, are very liable to con- tract it, from the particles of fand or gravel getting into their feet; as likewife in wet weather, when the grafs is long. If one fingle fheep fhould be attacked by the diforder, it would be advifeable to feparate him immediate- ly from the reft at. the time of folding ; for, if the fhepherd does not ufe fuch precaution, he may expect a great part of the flock to be infected by the fheep treading on each other's feet. I had from a gentleman a ram who had the foot-rot, and I was fo negligent as to put him in the month of September, with fifty ewes, upon land where I never knew fheep to be troubled with the difeafe ; nor had the ewes been affected before. I had before known that it was contagious, or what fhepherds czWfmit- tingy though I did not fuppofe it was fo dange- rous. I thought the worft confequence that poflibly could enfue would be the giving me a little trouble : and I am fond of trying experi- ments. A great number of the ewes caught the diforder : nor could I get them entirely clear the whole year 5 although I attended them ( 165 ) them clofcly myfelf during the progrefs of their cure. However valuable a tup might be, I would not accept of him as a gift for the purpofe of going with ewes, were he troubled with the foot-rot, unlefs I cured him firft. The method of cure is as follows : Pare the foot with great care, fo as not to injure the quick : look narrowly for the gravel, which is often fo much inclofed that it is difficult to extract it -, and when that happens, the animal will fuffer great pain, and fpeedily decreafe in flelh. Where the gravel is, the hoof will be very hard, hot, and dry* In paring the foot, you muft be careful not to cut lb much as to make it bleed; for that will retard the cure. Take blue vitriol -, pound it very fine, and apply it to the part affected. Some ufe for this purpofe the blue vitriol-water, which is eafily procured at the chemifts' or apothecaries* fhops, and is made by diflblving three ounces of blue vitriol, and two ounces of alum, in a pint and a half of vinegar-, and afterwards adding two ounces of firong fpirit or oil of vitriol, and letting it (land for ufe. Some ufe with fuccefs, clear fpirits or oil of vitriol alone : but, from the violence of this remedy, it muft be ( 166) ufed with the greatefl caution. Any ftrong aftringent, fuch as aquafortis, &c. may like- wife be applied with advantage. Much rain will, no doubt, frequently oc- cafion this diftemper, efpecially if the pafture be of a hot burning nature, and the grafs long and luxuriant. The long continued wet opens the pores of the feet and caufes them to fwell : and, on the return of the hot weather, they are luddenly contracted, and inclofe fand and other noxious matters. Indeed what we call by the general term of foot-rot differs widely in refpect to caufes or fymptoms; and each variety of the difeafe requires a different treat- ment. In fome cafes, on examining the fheep's foot, you will find it much inflamed between the claws, and a fubftance fomethingfimilar to wax inclofed in little bags. To cure this, get a fmall hook made of ftrong iron-wire, with a handle; put the hook in the hole which you will find formed by nature : take faft hold of the fkin, and pull it towards you, fo that you may, with a fnarp knife, cut round the hook and take the bleb or matter clean out. Drefs the wounds by applying tar with about one fixth part of verdegris, and a little fait, well mixed ( »«7 ) mixed together. Take care to rub this com- pofition in between the claws, and it will effect a cure* The Jcab is adiforder in fheep which is eafily cured. It is a cutaneous difeafe, fomething like the itch amongft men. If it be of a mild fort, and the cure be attempted in time, to- bacco-water (or river-water ftrongly impreg- nated by fteeping tobacco in it) will remove ir, without rifk ; for, as this lotion is perfectly ino- fenfive, the fheep may be warned with it with- out much danger. If the difeafe is of the more virulent kind, the cure is performed by an application of the common blue ointment of the ihops, which is compofed of quickfilver and hog's-lard, in the proportion of two ounces of quickfilver to fixteen ounces of the lard j and may be had, ready made for ufe, at any chemift, druggifr, or apothecary's, as there is generally a large demand for this ointment for other purpofes than that of curing the fcab in fheep. A pound of the ointment will be fjfficienc for four fheep* It is very necefTary that the greatefi: caution fhould be ufed in applying this oint- ment, molt efpecially if ewes have lambs fuckins ( 168 ) fucking them : the fucking their mothers and hot weather will bring on or occafion faliva- tion, and prove fatal to the lambs, A friend of mine once had a very heavy lofs on falving his ewes at clipping day. My method is, to lay on the ointment in very fmall quantities, in fheds four inches afunder, and to rub it into the fkin as perfectly as poffible. This ointment in clumfy injudicious hands kills many fheep in hot weather : but I do my fheep lightly over with it at the latter end of every feafon, at an expence of two-pence per head, to deftroy fags and lice. It is a great preferver of wool, whereas mercury-water is apt to clot and fpoil it. There are diforders which are called the meagrimsy rickets, and rubbers. Thefe difeafes are fuppofed by many to arife from breeding from the fame fort of fiieep a long time toge- ther on the fame land : but this opinion was fully confuted by Mr. Bakewell ; for he perfe- vered in breeding from one fort of fheep on the fame foil, for a confiderable number of fucceffive years, without any inconvenience of the kind. However ( 169 ) However, when fheep are once infected, it is certain that, if the farmer will then perfift in breeding from the tainted flock, he will run the rifque of lofmg his whole flock ; for thefe difeafes are undoubtedly hereditary. I there- fore advife the farmer, fo foon as he perceives the diftemper gaining ground, to change the breed ; as no perfect cure has ever, to my knowledge, been performed by any means hitherto employed. When a fheep is attacked by the meagrims, the fymptoms are, cocking his tail like a well- nicked horfe : he will canter like a lady's pad ; and if you clap your hand upon his back, he will immediately drop down ; which feems to indicate that the diforder is feated in the back of the animal. Rickets are fo much like mea- grims, that I have never been able to dif- tinguifh the one from the other. When a fheep has the rubbers, it occafions fuch an itching that, if he can get near a poft, a tree, or any thing proper for his purpofe, he will rub himfelf to death — he will neglect his food and fall into a regular decline, and be two, or three months dying* Heavy Vol. I Y ( I-;© ) Heavy lofles have been fuftained from the havoc made by the above diforders, which lhould be carefully guarded againft. When a fheep is attacked by the diforder called the black-leg ; if he be fat, the fooner you kill him the better -, I never knew one cured* You will firft perceive a black fpot near the ftifle joint, and the fheep will become fo lame as fcarcel.y to be able to move : this fpot generally increafes very rapidly, and foon turns to a mortification* I have tried fomentations and many other remedies ; but all in vain. I mult own that I have never heard a rational explana^ tion given of the caufe of this diforder -, nor can I account for it. I have fometimes been tempt- ed to attribute the appearance of the diforder to fome external injury by a blow : but on re- flection I have dropped that opinion : for it cannot be a bruife. It is more probable that it is caufed by the bite of fome venomous rep- tile, as it often happens that a number of (heep have it in t"he fame paflure. Blindnefs in {heep is a very common difeafe, and is brought on by a cold falling into the eyes. The mod difagreeable confequence enfuing from it is the danger of the fheep's drowning himfelf, ( W ) himfelf, if there fhould be a pond or other receptacle for water in the pafture. What will cure blindnefs in one animal, will no doubt be good for the eyes of another. I make an ointment with honey and verdigris, called diftilled verdigris, finely pounded. 1 dip a duck's feather in the ointment, and gently apply it to the eye. The feather you make ufe of cannot be too foft : or, if a fkin be formed on the eye, you may put a little of the verdigris into a quill, and blow it on the eye. This diforder will cure of itfelf, if let alone ; but will caufe the carcafs of the iheep to fhrink very much. The while Jkity in fucking lambs, is cured by a table fpoonful of runnet or yearning put into about half a pint of milk juft taken from the cow, and given immediately j that is, be- fore the milk has time to turn into perfect curds and whey, as the cure depends upon the milk getting into the rumen or firft flomach before it becomes completely turned. Tnis diforder is the efFedl of a cold, and generally feizes the lamb about the time he begins to eat plenti- fully of grafs, and to fuck lefs milk. The ( 11% )' The green-Jkit is another diforder in lambs. If you put a green willow round its neck, it will effect a cure. To deftroy maukes in fheep, take two ounces of mercury fublimate pounded, one pint of fpirits of turpentine, and one gallon of water : mix the whole well together, and fhake it up every time you ufe it. It is a good way to wa(h the wool affecled in clean water after the maukes are taken out : and, if they have penetrated the fkin, rub on the part a little tar, to prevent the mercury from doing in- jury. After the wool is wafhed, you mud apply fome more worm-water, or the flies will ftrike the part again. For fly-beatings or galling, the part muft be covered by fome means with cloth ; and it is proper to hopple the fheep behind, if it be upon his head, to prevent his fcratch- ing. The hoppling will not prevent his thriv- ing. SECTION ( 173 ) SECTION XXXV, The proper Time for putting the Ram to the Ewes; with the Method of treating the Ewes when Lambing. THE bed time for putting the ram to the ewes is about the tenth of October : if for early fat lambs, the beginning of September, when they have only grafs to feed on. The fpace of five weeks is a fufHcient time for the ram to remain with the ewes When ewes feem ready to yean their lambs, great caution fhould be ufed by the fhepherd. He mould not be over-forward in giving them affiftance, but fuffer nature to complete her work. Much damage has arifen from impa- tience or haftinefs of temper on fuch occafions : I therefore recommend the waiting with cool- nefs the proper time. Circumftances fometimes arife, where help may be neceflary, but nature will aft fufficiently her own part ninety-nine times in the hundred. If an ewe gives ill from lambing, I always found fpirits of turpentine applied to the parr, and good nurfing with caudles, &c. to be the bed remedies. SECTION ( 174 ) SECTION XXXVI. Sheep-Shearing: Reafons why the Time Jkould vary according to Situation. IN fituations near woods, which common- ly abound with flies, thofe galling enemies to new-ihorn fneep, they fhould be clipped the beginning of June. But in open countries, downs, or marfhes it is advifable to clip late-, for there they will not be much in danger of being galled by thofe flies which fo cruelly infeft them near woods or thick hedges -, and as great part of the fheep may be intended to be made fat and fold that feafon, by clipping late you obtain a greater quantity of wool. The hot weather occafions wool to grow faft from the free circulation of the natural oil; and July, in my opinion, will be early enough to commence (hearing in the laft-mentioned fituations. SECTION ( i75 ) SECTION XXXVII. Method of treating Sheep before Shearing, by Wajhing the Wool: Reafons why they fhould go a certain 'Time in the Wool between Wajh- ing and Shearing. SHEEP fhould be warned ten days at lead, and not more than fourteen days before clipping, the fheep are not fuffered to reft at leaft ten days between the wafhing and clipping of them, the wool will not have recovered the nat- ural oil which has been expelled or fqueezed out together with the filth in warning; and it will be dry and hafk. Although the wool, if clipped wet, would, when firft taken from the iheep, weigh more than if clipped dry; yet, after keeping it a little, you will find it con- fiderably lighter than what has been taken off the fheep dry. A fleece fhorn wet will foon diminifh in weight : one taken offdry will not. The reafon is obvious — The water which the wool imbibes by warning, foon evaporates; water being an heterogeneous intruder, and foon expelled; whilft oil, one of the compo- nent principles of wool, obftinately retains its natural fituation. If ( *76 ) If you fuffer fheep to go longer than four- teen days between walhing and clipping, the wool will be liable to receive injury by dirt or filth; which will diminifh the value, though it may add to the immediate weight. It will be of advantage to houfe the fheep the night be- fore clipping ; they will then fweat much, and rub againft each other; which will not only add weight to the wool, but alfo foften it, give it a finer appearance, and abfolutely render it bet- ter. However fome men may defpife thefe niceties (as they may term them), they will find their account by pra£tifing them. Provide yourfelf with a bottle of fpirits of turpentine -, and if the fhearer fnip the fkin in fhearing, twift a bit of wool round a flick, which dip in the bottle, and dab on the wound. Apply then a fmall quantity of tar to the part, which will keep off the flies, and turn the rain. The lambs, four or five days after their mo- thers are clipped, will be found to have the fags and lice. Thefe vermine may bedeflroyed by a lotion compofed of arfenic mixed up with water and foft foap. The following is a re- cipe for making the lotion : Two pounds of ar- fenic boiled in a fmall quantity of water, which after- ( !# ) afterwards maybe increafed to the quantity of twenty gallons by adding fo much more water. In this mixture diflblve two pounds of foft foap: you then will have fluff fufficient to warn a number of lambs. The readiefl method is to put it in a tube large enough to contain a lamb : and the fhepherd muft have an affiftantj for one perfon muft lay hold of the fore legs of the lamb, and with the other hand take hold of the crown of the head $ as the head muft on no account be immerfed in the wafh, fince fwal- lowing a very fmall portion would inevitably poifon the lamb. Let the afilftant take hold of the hind legs, and in this manner dip the lamb, which need not remain longer in the tub than is fufficient to wet his wool An empty tub muft be at hand, to let the lamb ftand in to drain the water from the wool, or he would carry away a great quantity of fuperfluous water with him. When the lamb is placed in the tub to drain, the men muft with their hands wring the wool, to force out the wet. The tub laft mentioned muft be frequently emptied. Vol.. I Z SECTION ( 178 ) SECTION XXXVIII. Dejcripiion of a Ram proper to get the befi Stock. THOSE who wifh to reap great profit by breeding, fhould beftow a particular attention in the choice of a ram : for by a good choice their wifh is moll likely to be gratified ; by a bad choice, they at beft are fure to receive little emolument, and perhaps may fuffer great lofs. The male animal communicates his good or bad qualities to his offspring. To prove this, I have tried many experiments with fwinc and dogs. By putting to a long-eared fow, firft a long-eared lean boar of the fame kind, and then a tunky fhort-eared one, I have procured at the fame litter two fpecies of pigs,- which, though all fuckled together and kept alike, ever after remained difiimilar and diftinft : thofe by the fhort-eared boar fastened with as little keep as I ever faw : the others by the long-eared fire were lean, and could not be ( »79 ) be made fat without a very large quantity of food. Refpe&ing the produce of the above fow, it proves that when a fow is brimmed by one boar, if you fend her to another, me will in aM probability have more pigs* This fow had twelve pigs, ten long-eared white ones, and two tunky black ones. The fow was white and long-eared i the boar the fame. The tunky boar was black. A man who has but one fow, and is defirous to have fome roaft- ing pigs, fome of a fmall kind for pork, and fome of a large kind for profit, may in all probability have them at the fame litter. As a fow gives more milk the firft month than afterwards -, it would do well to kill a few pigs off at the expiration of that time : the fow would rear the remainder better, and at lefs expence. And if two fows are kept in- ftead of one, the roafting-pigs would nearly be clear gain. With grey-hounds I have made fimilar trials, A very middling bitch, if put to a capital dog, breeds a good-running dog : but put the beft bitch to a bad -running dog, the whelps will be good for little or nothing. It is my opinion3 C 180) opinion, that race-horfes are the eafieft to breed of any, as the male and female are fo fu/Hciently tried that they cannot vary much. There are no general rules without exceptions ; but fewer in the following than any — which muft prevent their becoming fat* Hunters and race-horfes would, from the quantity of meat they eat, be as fat as pigs, if exercife did nor keep them down. It would be Angular to fee an Irifh labourer, accuflomed daily to run up and down a ladder four flories. high, over-loaded with flefh : a fat alderman is not a very great curiofity. Therefore, were cattle tied up, and fuffered to enjoy reft, by eating their food in peace, they would feed more heartily, and the mown food would not be liable to be fpoiled by dunging or flailing upon it ; which muft happen to a confiderable part when cattle feed in the field. Red-clover, if intended for horfes to feed upon, fhould be brought into the fold-yard or flable; as animals of weight by treading upon a plant of fuch a pulpy nature will fpoil much more than they eat. To be convinced of this, let ( **9 ) let the old farmer put four horfes upon an acre of clover to departure it, and let him keep an account of the number of days the piece keeps the four horfes. Then let him keep the fame number of horfes in the ftable, and feed them with the clover mown from a field of the fame extent. He will find the horfes which have depaftured to have deftroyed three times as much with their feet as with their mouths — befides the lofs of that manure which they would have made by being fed in the flail or fold. We will now confider the objections com- monly made againft ftall-feeding. The firft will be, that clover is not fit to cut fo early as it is to departure. The fecond objection is the trouble of cutting and fetching it home. The firft objection I allow — it is a real incon- venience -, as the month's keeping in May is of great value : but if we, the preceding year, make into hay a proportion fufficient for that month or until the clover gets ftrong enough to mow, the difficulty is got over. To the fecond objection I fay, that the trouble of fetching home the clover is little more than that of driv ing the horfes to and from the ( ^90 ) 3l 19 P If the eddifh pays the aiTeflments of dif- ferent kinds, it is as much as can be expected. I then bought not lefs than forty pounds worth of hay, exclufive of the expences enu- merated. The weekly allowances of corn were two quarters of oats and nine bufhels of beans. Next winter when I ufed chopped ftraw, I (tinted them to a ihorter allowance of fix bufhels of beans, and dropped the ufe of oats. For fix fuccefive weeks I gave them potatoes: but, having found one horfe dead in the (table, and in a few days another very ill, I dropped the ufe of that kind of food : though I am (till in doubt whether the potatoes were the caufe •of his death. As horfes are remarkably fond of the root, my man might perhaps give them too great a quantity. The ( 198 ) The horfe which was found dead feemed to have died without pain. He had eaten up all the food given him over night* The men left the ftable at nine o'clock in the evening, and, at their return next morning before fix, found him lying in fuch a pofture, that they thought him only fleeping: he had not in the lead difturbed his litter, which he mud have done had he flruggled. I will now ftate the difference in refpect to keep for two winters. Expences according to the Old Method. £. h d. To hay 71 19 © % Quarters of oats weekly— 104 quarters, at ih ioj. 1 56 00 9 Bufhels of beans weekly — 486 bufhels, at 6j* 140 8 o £.368 7 o Expences. ( *99 ) Exfences according to the Improved Method. £♦ s. d. To fix acres of wheat-fcouge at %L is. per acre u 12 6 Allowing 1/. is. per acre for the wheat, which is by far more than it is worth, as many farmers would not have accepted of it for thrafhing 6 60 Six acres of oats, at 10/. 10s. per acre 63 o y Cutting ftrawj one man, fifty-two weeks, at us. per week 3*4 o Six bufhels of beans for fifty-two weeks, at 6s. 93 13 o The fum total £.206 14 © £. s. d. Firft method 368 7 o Improved ditto 206 14 .0 Balance in favour of ■ the Improved Method 161 13 o £.368 7 o : I - The ( 200 ) The work of the horfes was nearly the fame each winter. Twice in every week fix of the nine were ufed to go from Doncaf- ter to Sheffield with a waggon loaded with about 800 gallons of ale. The weight of the waggon and ale exceeded fix tons ; con- fequently each horfe had full one ton to draw for his fhare. The diftance between Don- cafter and Sheffield is eighteen miles, which made in the aggregate feventy-two miles per week y but they frequently had to go a mile beyond Sheffield. The journey to Sheffield and returning home took up moil commonly 22 hours : the fpare days they were employed either going out with ale, or at plough. I could perceive no difference in refpect to the condition of the horfes between the years they were fed according to the firft method, and thofe they were fed, according to the improved method, with (travv, &c. They performed their work well each year; and they certainly had enough to do. It may not be unnecefTary to obferve, that great part of thofe winters in vvhirh the horfes were fed with draw, each horfe worked his dray, which weighed about twenty-two hun- dred ( 201 ) dred weight : but I found this hurt the horfes' backs very much, and therefore gave it up. In the year 17939 I erected a mill for the purpofe of grinding oats and beans for my horfes. But I was much difappointed : for, contrary to my expectations, I found this to be the worft of all methods; though I perfevered in it for fome time, thinking it might anfwer in the end. At firft I gave the number of horfes before mentioned two quarters of oats and nine bufhels of beans a-week, only a little broken: they foon loft their flefh. I then had both oats and beans ground to meal : but the horfes appeared worfe. Sufpedting that the men poflibly might rob the creatures of their corn, I rofe early and attended them whilft eating their corn, both morning and evening : but, in fpite of all my vigilance, they continued decreafing in flefh. Still I thought it impofllble the corn fhould become worfe by being ground. My men, however, did not like the trouble of grinding: and a3 at the time we were much hurried with bufi- nefs, they fometimes neglected it, and at length gave it up entirely 3 which I was not forry for. I was really afhamed of this fchemej Vol. h C c for t 202 ) for it had coft me upwards of twenty pounds to erect the mill* I do not here eftimate the value of the power given to the mill- work, as that part was made already for the brewery. 1 could not in any manner fatisfaclorily ex- plain to myfeif why corn fhould be fo much worfe for grinding -, but I faw, a fhort time after, another proof that it really is fo. I had occafion to go a journey ; and, the weather being fine, I got upon the box with the ftage- coachman. He had a pair of very fine leaders in excellent condition, which I took notice of and praifed : but the coachman faid, I fhould fee them fo tired before they got to the end of theflage, that he fhould be hardly able to whip them on. I expreffed my furprife at this, as it was but a fifteen miles flage, and afked him whether his horfes were foft. He replied, No ; it was the fault of his mailer, who had bought a quantity of bran, and mixed it with ground oats and beans $ which food made the horfes fo weak, that in fuch hot weather as we then had they could fcarcely crawl after they had gone three or four miles* " You will prefently fee them,'' added the man, fC in fuch a miferably relaxed condition, they will be ( *°3 ) be as white as your fhirt, and fweat in fuch a manner as ro make one pity them." The corroborating evidence of the coachman con- vinced me of the caufe of my horfes looking fo bad : but, being defirous of hearing whether the coachman was capable of giving any rea- fon for his affertions, I told him, I always underftood that it was bed to feed horfes with ground corn. " Then you underftood wrong, mafter," faid he ; " for I know my horfes have been much weaker fince they have been fo fed/' "But/' faid I, "probably they have lefs now than when they fed upon unground corn." He replied. " No -, for they have all they will eat.3' As this man had fpent his life amongft horfes, in his youth was brought up in the (ta- ble, afterwards a poft-boy, and then a coach- man, I had the curiofity to enquire of him how the different matters he had lived with ufed to keep their horfes. Amongft the number he mentioned, there was one who made ufe of chopped ftraw, with one third of faintfoin and beans, but no oats ; and whofe horfes perform- ed their work better and were ftronger than any others he had ever met with. He faid, that for middle-aged horfes the beans were not fpfel ( 204 ) fplit; but for the very old, or the very young, they were, and that the harder the beans the better. The quantity of beans given with the faintfoin and ftraw appeared very fcanty to me ; but the coachman allured me they were fully fufficient, lam now convinced that ground corn is not proper to be given to working horfes. If a horfe (lands in the ftable, he will fatten on bran, which will not fupport him if he has common exercife,ashis carcafe will foon mow. A horfe will fatten fooner at grafs in a good pafture, than in a ftable on the beft of corn; but in the latter he acquires a firm hard flefh which will bear work ; and in the former only a wafhey foft flefh, which diminifhes with tri- fling exercife. In fhort, a horfe that {lands in the ftable to be made up, will fatten with al- moft any thing, I have tried carrots, pota- toes, bran-pafte, &c. but the great defidera- tum is to keep working horfes well and cheap; and, in thirty years* experience, I never yet have found any thing equal to chopped ftraw with com* I have tried beans in the draw; and excel- lent food they yield after Candlemas. Peas are C 205 ) are improper 5 for pea-ftraw is fo crooked as to prevent the cutting it fnort enough, and the horfes will throw it out with their nofes. Great part of the favings arifing from the ufe of wheat-ftraw depends much upon the man who cuts the ftraw, and him who gives it to the horfes. For, if the man who ferves the horfes will not give them a little at a time; but, on the contrary to fave himfelf trouble, throws in one fKuttlefull after another, and continually keeps the manger full, the horfe in that cafe will not thrive, and, inftead of faving, the food recommended will prove ex- penfive. If a fmall quantity at a time were thrown in, the horfe would be enticed to feed; and chopped ftraw, mixed as before directed, would be found to anfwer every purpofe. Let the horfe continually have a clean man- ger. When he flrft comes into the (table, he will eat the ftraw greedily by itfelf, if you put but a fmall quantity in : when you find he be- gins to tire of ftraw, give him a few beans with it ; always taking care to deal out with a very fparing hand, until he is full enough ; which is eafily known to an obferving feeder. In my opinion, if to a quick-feeding hungry horfe ( 206 ) horfe you were to fpread a quartern of oats with an equal quantity of chopped draw, over the bottom of the manger, in fuch a manner that he mud take fome time in licking them up, and be obliged of courfe to chew every oat-, it would anfvver the purpofe of twice the quan- tity of the fame corn thrown into the manger on a heap. For, in the latter inftance he would fwallow the oats whole, and they would pafs through him without being properly di- geftech Chopped ftraw is good for making a horfe chew and take pains with his food ; and I infill upon it, that he will thrive better on it than on any quantity of corn and hay from na- tural grafs, aiven in the ufual manner. Some horfes will eat this kind of food (till better if it be watered in a tub, before you put it in the manger. If you take a horfe out of a grafs field in the morning, and give him, according to the cuftom of moll farmers, a feed of corn, and immediately afterwards ride or plough with him, or give him any fatiguing or hard ex- ercife, the corn will be of little ufe, as it will quickly pafs oft with his grafs. But, if you with more judgment give him the fame quantity ( 207 ) quantity of corn over-night, it will then, from the inactivity of the animal, have time to di- geft in his ftomach. SECTION XUV. Method of Soiling hor/es for Husbandry ; and the great advantage arifing therefrom in Sum- mer, WE have repeatedly taken pains to incul- cate the advantage of ufing chopped draw: and in no one inflance will the farmer find it more highly beneficial than in mixing full half draw cut with the green fodder* It is as bread to meat with human beings ; it imbibes the redundant juices of the green food, attenu- ates the vifcofity of the humours in the body, promotes the circulation, and the difcharge of noxious and excrementitious matter, and affords a mod wholefome nourishment to the horfe, as the fleeknefs of his coat will bear witnefs. Soiling a horfe with green food only is very apt to engender corrupt humours in the fto- mach, ( 203 ) mach, and renders the animal too laxative to fupport any hard work or violent exercife : fuch food pafTes fuddenly through the horfe ; and this crudity is mod erroneoufly termed quick digeftion, not knowing that digeftion means the diffolution of the food fo minutely as to enable it to enter the vefifels and circulate with the mafs of blood, A horfe will eat any fort of grafs, when mown and laid before him in the (table or fold. The bent left in paflures where oxen and fheep feed, would thus feed a number of horfes , as likewife the grafs and weeds under trees or hedges. Some tether a horfe in thofe places : this is better than nor eating the grafs at all. But nothing is fo good as mowing -, as by that means the horfe makes manure, and the grafs grows finer. On the contrary the part on which the horfe is tethered, ^ets coarfer and coarfer ; for he depofits all his urine and dung upon the very fpot of ground where he ought not. Road-fides, and all places where weeds and fmall quantity of grafs grow, are worth mowing, were it only for making ma- nure.— Indeed, weeds in highways ought al- ways ( *°9 ) ways to be cut down, to prevent the feeds fhaking; for thiftle-feed will blow for miles. There are in fome fields near London more thirties than corn, from neglecting, I fuppofe, to deftroy them before the feed ripens. If the above cautions were attended to, there would be no want of manure in places where the produce of the land is confumed upon the farm. There are many other advantages attending the foiling horfes in the ftable : but as they have been frequently fpoken of in this work^, it is needlefs to fay more here. Vol.1. Dd SECTION ( 21° ) SECTION XLV. Obfervations made by the Author in valuing Ef- t ate s for different Gentlemen^ describing the Old and New Syftem of Hujbandry : with Debtor and Creditor Account : the great Advantage of the New Syftem, in many inftances from 50/0 100 per cent. MY firft obfervation is upon a tillage farm in the neighbourhood of Doncafter, confifting of 139 acres, I (hall firft defcribe the man- agement, and next the method which ought to be purfued. To make each as clear as pofiible, I lay down the following debtor and creditor account, beginning with the Old Syftem. Rotation of Crops u/ed under the Old Syfiem* Dr.to EX FENCES. Cr. by PRODUCE. To 23 acres wheat, ploughing, fow- ing, &c. at 7s. per acre - Seed, 23 loads, at 1 8s. per load - 20 Reaping, leading, &c. at ios. per acre - - - ir - 8 I o 14 0 :0 o 40 5 o Wheat, 23 acres, at 7 loads per a- cre, at igs. per load - - - 144 13 o Barley, 9 ditto, at 4 qrs. per acre at 25s. per quarter 45 O O Oats, 23 ditto, at \ qrs, per acre at I 2s. per quarter ^40 245 2 ~. ( 211 ) I O 3 9 ° 3 3 ° 5 i2 6 3 12 o - 2 14 o Dr.toEXPENCES. Brought over 40 5 c Thrafhing, dref- iing, 161 loads j at is. per load Mowing ftubble 3s. per acre - q acres of barley, ploughing, &c. at 7s. per acre - Seed, 4quar. 4.bufh. at 25s, per quar. Reaping, leading, &c. at 8sf per acre - Thrafhing, &c 36qrs, at is. 6d4 per qr, - 23 acres oats, ploughing, &c. at 7s. per acre . Seed, I4qrs. 3 bufh. at i2s,per qr. - 8 Reaping, leading, &c« at 6. per acre 6 18 ° Thrafhing, &c. 92 qrs.at is. per qr. 4 I* O 4^ acres of beans* ploughing, &c. at 7s. per acre - I H 6 Seed,2qrs. 2 bufh- els, at 24s. per quar. - - - - 2 14 C Reaping, &c at 8s. per acre - - I 16 C 22 acres hay, har- vefting, at 5sf per acre - 300 8 1 o iz 6 Cr. by PRODUCE. £"<*. Brought over 245 2 o Beans \k ditto, at 3 ditto per acre, at 24s. per qr. - 16 4 O 592 ac. under plough 20 in fallow 59£ in grafs 1 39 total quant, of acres* 50s acres ftraw,&c. at 1/. per acre - 59 100 12 ditto hay, at 1 ton per acre, 4/. per ton - - 48 Profit on 5 cows, at 5/* 5s. per cow 26 Profit a bull makes per annum - 5 9 wethers - - 18 20 fat lambs - - 15 Wool, 30 fleeces, at 3s. each - 4 1 horfe (fuppofe) fold in 2 years, will be the half of a horfe in this year's profits - 8 Pigs - ». - - 5 O O 5 O 5 o o o o o 10 o o o o o £104 16 £45° 16 a ( trt ) £. Brought over 104 iO acres fallow, four times plough- ing, &c. at 5s. 6d. pei acre - - 22 1 42 loads of manure at gs. per load - 56 16 Rent - - - no o AiTelTments, at $s 27 10 320 7 i?o 8 4 o o 450 16 Rotation of Crops Dr, to EXPENCES. ] cr • £' *' 20 Acres t ^ Turnip Fallow. 2 ploughing, &c; p carrying flitch ' off, &c. at 7s. each 14 6 loads manure per acre, leading on* &c. 8s. per load 48 Drilling at 2s. 6d, per acre % Seed, 6d, per a^re o Hoeing, and 3 times ploughing, 2s, each time per acre - 6 2C Acres Wheat 0,^>p. Ploughing, fowing, &c. 7s. per acre - 7 Seed, 20 loads, 1 gs. per load - - \ Brought over, 450 16 o o o o 10 10 800 c Errors excepted. £450 16 o under the New Syjlem. Cr.ty PRODUCE. . £• : d. 20 acres turnips, at 4I. per acre 80 20 ditto wheat, 8 loads per acre 18s. per load 144 20 ditto peas, at 1 2 loads per do. 12s. per load 144 o O 2Q ditto barley, at 4 qrst per ditto, 25s. per qr. - loo 20 ditto clover, at 2 ton per ditto, 4I. per ton - 160 20 ditto wheat, at 8 loads per ditto, 18s. per load - 144 go acres ftraw, 20s. per acre *> 80 d> o o o c o c o o £96 o o o o o o o o o o £ 852 o 0 ( ai3 ) 96 O G - - - - 10 00 - 8 ° o 300 Brought over, Reaping and lea- ding, ics, per a- cre 160 loads thrafii \ ing, &c. is. per load Stubble mowing &c. 3s, per acre, 20 Acres Peas Crop* Ploughing, harrow- ing, &c, twice, 7s, per acre each - 14 Seed 10 quarters, at 32s. per quarter 16 Drill. 2s. 6d. per acre - - - 2 10 O 4loads manure per acre, leading, &c. at 8s per load - 32 o O 3 ploughings perac. is. 6d.perac. each 4. 10 o Reaping and thrash- ing 240 loads, at Sd. per load 20 Acres Barley Crop. Ploughing, &c. and fowing, 7s. per ac. 7 Seed, 4 buih. perac. at 15s. per qr. 12 1 Clover-feed, 141b. trefoil, 61b. Reaping and lead- ing, at 8s. per ac, Thrafhing, &c. 30 qrst Is, 6d, per qr. 6 c c o o 800 o o 8 10 c 800 o o £236 o o Brought over. 85 2 Profit brought from account of 10 acres managed according to New Syllem See p. 216 - 80 O s. J. o o £932 o o ( 214 ) c s. d. Brought over - 236 a c Brought over 20 Acres Clever- Grafs. 6 loads manure per ac. 8s. per load 48 0 0 Mowing, &c. twice, 6s. per acre I2 0 c 20 Acres Wheat 1 Crop. Ploughing, lowing, &c. 7s. per acre 7 0 0 Seed, 20 loads, 18s. per load 18 0 c Reaping and lead- ing, 10s, per ac. 10 0 0 Thrafhing, &c. at is* per load 8 0 0 Stubble mowing 3s. per acre 3 0 0 Rent and afieff- ments 137 10 c 479 10 0 Profit - ■ 452 16 c £932 0 c Errors excepted 932 O O £932 O O We will fuppofe the farm-houfes, barns, and buildings in general, together with the fences on the whole farm, to occupy by ad- meafurement nine acres of land. There will then remain ten acres for fupport of the cows, horfes, &c. The bed method to make the ten acres aniwer that purpofe will be to fow three and a half of them with winter tares ; two ( 215 ) two and a half with fummer cabbages, and potatoes under them ; and the remaining four with fpring tares : or you may fow part of them with buck-wheat. I mean thofe ten acres to fupply the place of the 59I acres al- lowed for the fame ufe in the Old Sydem, al- ways fuppofing in both cafes that the build- ings, fences, &c. take up nine acres. Thefe ten acres will moft certainly coft fomething tilling and managing : bur, if care- fully looked after, they will maintain forty- head of cattle and horfes in fummer, with the afiidanceof chopped draw, as before defcribed: and the farmer will have one hundred and twenty acres of draw, clover, Sec. where he had before in the old method only fifty-nine and a half; and he may be certain that every crop by this management will be more bulky, and his quantity of manure continually in- creafe by keeping forty head of cattle and horfes in the fold, winter and fummer, not to mention pigs. As the food I have recom- mended is too rich for breeding dock, if the farmer keeps fix cows, as before mentioned, he will want twenty-fix feeding beads, which may average at five guineas each; but much more ( *i6) more may be made — he may make two re- turns. However, as the profits accruing by this method may appear incredible to thofe who fet their faces againft any innovation or improvement, I will explain myfelf by a debtor and creditor account. We will fuppofe the ten acres to be at firfb fet with potatoes to make the land ready and clean for the tares, Sec. Carry the profit on the potatoes to the general account, as it is part of the crop for the firfb year of the New Method. New Syjlem on Ten Acres of Potatoes* Dr. to EXPENCES. £• '. d Ploughing 10 acres at 7s. per acre 3 10 O 120 facks of pota- toes for feed, at 3s« per fack 18 o C Harrowing at diffe- rent times, zs.per acre - - 1 o c Ploughing up, at 5s per acre - - 2 IOO Profit carried to the Gen, Account of one year's profit 80 o c £105 O 0| Cr. by PRODUCE, By 10 acres, fold at 1 ol, i os. per acre 1C5 O O £105 o c ( **7 ) N. B. The potatoe crop is fuppofed to be fold on the land, as it is difficult to calculate expences when they are fold by the farmer at market, or he Would make more than double the fum mentioned; for one hundred facks, at 2s- per fack, would be 15/. per acre, which would be 150/. : but, if well fet and managed, he would have an hundred and fifty facks per acre. Ten Acres of Land \ &c. managed by the New Syftem. Dr. to EXPENCES. I Cr. hy PRODUCE. £.s,d & '. d. 3£ acres ploughing By the profit on 32 harrowing and beafls, at an ave- fowing, at 7s. rage of 5 1, 5 s. per acre 1 46 per beafl l£g 00 Seed tares, 2 bush- els per ac. at IOS, per bufhel, and I peck of rye at 6d pr. peck 3 n 0 1 1 acre of cabbages ploughing, &c# ys. per acre O 10 6 2£ acres drilling, at 2s« 6d> per acre 063 £5 J3 0 £t6? 0 £ Vol.1 E e ( "8 ) Brought over - Plants which muft be railed on a feed- bed. 4lb. of feed, at 6s. per lb. digging the garden and fcw- ing Planting; at $s. per acre 4 acres, 3 times ploughing- and fewing, at 7s, per acre Manure for 10 ac. every year, at 4 loads per acre, at 8s. per load 5 x3 c Brought over 19c o 12 6 4 4C £* «7 8 8 d o o o o o 0 4 o 0 0 10 o £«*5 >8 ( *33 ) Dr. to EXPENCES- | Cr. by PRODUCE, Ert. over 6/8 8 third; 14 Acres barley, ploughing, 7/. per acre 4 18 o Seed, 4 bufhels per acre, i/« 5*. per quarter 8 1$ o Clover-feed, 14 lb. per acre, at 6d. per lb. : 6 lb, tre- foil, ^d. per lb. 5 19 o Reaping and lead- ing, 8/. per acre 5120 Thraihing 56 quar- ters, is. 2d. per quarter 3 5 a FOURTH. 14 Acres clover, mowing, &c* 6s, per acre 440 6 Loads manure per acre, 8s. per load 33 12 o FIFTH. 14 Acres wheat, ploughing, &c. 7/, per acre 4180 Seed, 3 bufhels per acre, $s, per bufhel Io 10 © Reaping, &c. iOs. per acre 700 Thraihing, &c. 56" quarters, is. $d« per quarter 4134 Stubble mowing, 3/. per acre 2 20 Brt. over £* '.* 1125 18 Q Vol. I, £.i6z 17 4 Gg £.1125 18 © Or.t, EXPENCES. I Cr, ij, PRODUCE. £♦ '. * 1 £ s. J. Brt. over 162 17 4 Brt, over 1125 18 0 SIXTH. 14 Acres beans, ploughing, &c. js< per acre 4 18 0 • Drilling it. 6d. per acre 1 15 0 6 loads manure per acre, 8/. per Id. 33 12 0 3 times plough- ing is. 6 Total of the Cr. fide £ 43 18 O Total of the Dr, ditto 2 5 II 3 Profit on one acre of land for fix years £17 6 9 ( 246 ) f From the above calculations the reader will find, that by the old fyftern the farmer gets no more by his farm than i/. gs. 5 <£ profit upon j one acre of land in fix years, or 4*. and iof^. per acre yearly. The expence of labour 13 cal- culated higher in the above ftatement than it aftualiy coils him, or he could not pay his rent and maintain his family. Now the profi: by the new fyftem is, in the fame fpace of time, ijL 6j. yd. which makes ih 17 s. c^-d. yearly per acre, in the fix years rotation of crops — more than 100 per cent, in favour of the new fyftem. There is in the above eftate an open pafture called the Horfe-car, which is let at 2s. 6i.per ] acre ; and the tenants fay it is of no fervice to them ; but, under proper cultivation, 5/. per acre yearly profit might be derived from it. — * Then the tenant may well be furprifed when he is charged a new rent of 1/. 3/. per acre, though he now pays only 15^.5 and indeed he is very high-rented according to the fyftem of agriculture he follows* The lofs fuftained over two thoufand acres of land is 29,625/. in fix years. If that num- ber ( 247 ) ber of acres were let at i/. 8/. per acre, there would be an advance of 13J. per acre, which would raife the fum of 7800/. for the tenants to pay in fix years* That fum deducted from 29,625/* will leave them a profit of 21,825/. Thefe calculations may ftagger the reader; but they are founded on fads. By a proper rotation of crops, the above profits would arife to landlord and tenant, even without the ad- vantage of green fodder in fummer. By a judicious management the farmers in Eaft Lothian are enabled to pay 3/. and 4/. per acre. If a man who lives by gardening, were to dig his land one year in three, and in the third year raife no crop, he would be confider- ed as a madman* But the two crops and a fal- low are dill worfe ; as it robs the land of one third of its manure. This may be called open- ing the eyes of the landlord : but it is like wife greatly to the tenant's advantage. SECTION ( 248 ) SECTION XLVL The Author's Opinion upon a General InclofurS of Commons ; proving Commons in their pre* /era State to be Nuifances, and a great Injury to the Community at large. SOME knowledge of commons will mod probably be allowed me. The reader may re- collect that in the Introduction to this Work I informed him o' my having lived at Afgafby in Lincolnfhire : in confequence of the farm I there occupied, I enjoyed a right of common on the Eaft and IVeji-Fen; and I had ample op- portunity of informing myfelf both as to the ufe and abufe of commons, from being one of the land-jury at a court held twice in every year, once for the purpofe of hearing com- plaints, and once for impofi ng a fine for abufes, fuch as flocking without right, &c« About Lady-day I fent into the Weft-Fen three hundred hogs (that is, fheep one year old, which nave never been (horn). I hired afhep- herd to attend them, and put them on the fame walk the farmer ufed who occupied the farm prior to my coming to it. In lefs than a week, ii ( 249 ; in fpite of the care my own fhepherd certainly took, my.fheep were difperfed over a fen confid- ing of twelve thouiand acres. Their difperfion is eafily accounted for. There always are near commons an indubi- ous ingenious let of men, whofe bufinefc it is to look after flock for hire, and of: en for men who have no right of common. But, be that as in may, the better the flock do under their care, the more employ they get. Therefore it becomes the intereft of thefe fhepherds to di- flurb every neighbouring flock, to make more room for fuch as are committed to them; and as they all have an intereft to do the fame thing, it becomes a combinar :on of unjufl doers. Men of this defcription are awake while others of an oppofite difpofition fleep. Call upon any of thefe fellows in the day time; if you find them at all, it muft be in bed. They rife with the owl, and, like that bird, feek their prey by night. Late in the evening, one of thefe men mounts his horfe, and, accompanied by three or four dogs, goes amongll your fheep. He general- ly takes a few of thofe under his care, by way of excufe, and will drive half a dozen of them into Vol. I. I i ( 250 ) into the middle of your flock, when they have lain down to reft for the night : he then fets the dogs a-barking ; your pafture fheep, un- ufed to fuch alarms, rife in a fright and run dif- ferent ways. Having effectually difperfed the flock, he collects his own fheep, with the addi- tion of as many of yours as he can drive away with them j and he takes care to remove them fome miles from the fpot- When your ihep- herd comes to the ground in the morning, ex- pecting to find the fheep where he left them over night, he is moft fadly difappointed ; fcarce any of the flock being to be found. He enquires of other fhepherds for his loft fheep. They, who are for the moft part what is term- ed up to the bufinefs, in return afk him the marks upon your fheep; and, having received from him fufficient information to know them, will direct him any way but the right. The man probably rides about the whole day without meeting with the objects of his fearch : both he and his horfe are forely fatigued by fruitlefs- ly wandering many miles. The peregrination is recommenced the next day, to as little pur- pofej for by that time it is moft probable fome part ( «5* ) part of the flock has been driven many miles another way : but in the courfe of a week more your fheep will be fo completely fcattered, that you will have the fatisfa&ion, ride which way you will, of feeing fome of them* Your fhepherd may be one of whofe honefty and capacity you before have had fufficient proofs, and in this refpect no more to be bla- med than yourfelf. He has only been a dupe to thofe fellows who praftife the trade of fheep- herding for feveral mailers. He tells you (which is molt probably true) that he has taken every means in his power to keep your fheep together -, but they range fo much that he muft have another horfe, and he mud be allowed corn. By this time expences run high : the horfe, if fold, would fetch lefs by four pounds from the violent exercife he has undergone j and you may add the fhepherd's wages, and the keep of the horfe. But the mifchief does not end here. In June the fheep are to be wafhed, and, when brought upon the farm, are found to have the fcab : twenty are dead, and ten are miffing. You have two hun- dred and feventy fheep remaining of the three hundred ( 252 ) hundred* Several extra expences are incurred from many of your fheep having been pound- ed, &c. Of thofe which died the fkins are nearly deftroyed by dogs. Now, we will fuppofe thefe fheep to have been regularly joifted on good grafs at id. per head per week, from Lady-day to the begin- ning of June — a period of ten weeks : that would amount to 37/. lew. The fhepherd's wages, at 12J. per week, comes to 6/. On the other hand, Jet us fee what lofs we may have fuffered by the fheep put on the common dur- ing the fame fpace of time. £. s. d. The fhepherd's wages, at 1 2S. per week, will be - - -600 Corn for two horfes, each 8j. per week - - - - 800 Twenty fheep dead, at 25J. each 25 o o Lofs on two horfes decreafed in value - - - - 800 276 fheep curing of fcab, at $d. per fheep - - - '39° 276 ditto decreafed in value from common keep, $s. - 69 o o Fines for iheep pounded, &c. only eilimated at 5 J. - - 050 LoiTes and Expences - £119 14 o The ( *53 ) The whole expence of joining, or properly keeping the fheep will be 3jl. los. at 3d. per head per week : and adding the ex- pence of the fhepherd, which is certainly over rated at 61. you have a toral of 43 10 o We will allow two fheep loft by death or accident, at 25s. a 10 o Suppofe twenty-two fkins, as they mud have been torn by dogs, or ocherwife damaged, fold for 3 10 o £49 IO ° By fubtrafting the 49/. 10s. from 119/, 14J. you will have a balance of 70/. 4*. which is the lead profit you will reap from the difference of keering three hundred fheep in a proper man- ner inftead of turning them upon the common. 1 have chofen the ten beft weeks in the whole year for the purpofe of flocking the commons mentioned ; for, if you fend fheep there later, you will be flill a greater lofer. The commons will then be covered with innumerable flocks of geefe. In ( *54 ) In June numbers of cattle and horfes are turned loofe upon them ; by which as much is loft as by fheep. The horfes get full of bots, or the fmall needle worms, or, in dry fummers, of fand. A horfe of mine, which had run upon the common in fummer, died, and I was defi- rous of knowing what occafioned his death. — On opening him, upwards of a peck of fand was found in his great ftomach or bag. In mild winters, horfes which have run the fum- mer in the fens do bed there in winter s for, as all horfes feeding on low grounds get the bots or grubs, which are natives of fuch grounds ; fo, while the horfes continue there eating green food, the bots and worms do him little m'ifchief, as they will prefer that kind of nutriment to what they might get by preying upon the ani- mal. But when the horfe quits grafs, and is taken to dry meat, the bots and worms begin to devour his vifcera. They gnaw his intef- tines, they confume the chyle, and prevent the proper fupply to the blood, which afTumes much the fame appearance as the blood of rotten fheep. His head begins to fwellj and fo do his (255) his legs, andlbme get what is called the felteric. The greater the quantity of corn and dry meat you give him, the worfe he becomes ; and the only method left to fave him is to keep him on grafs. If you have carrots or potatoes, they would anfwer much bettter than corn or any dry food. I have loft feveral horfes by this fortofdiforder : from the defi re of collecting manure, I have put them into a draw-fold, which I now know to be a certain method of defpatching them quickly. Chopped ftraw, which I have hitherto fo (Irongly recommended as the moft wholefome and cheapen: food, is here rank poifon — a proof that there is no rule without an exception, I have felt it to my coil. When any of my horfes died of this diftemper, or, in fa 61, of any other, I generally opened them by way of practice j and I have frequent- ly found the principal ftomach or bag, as the farriers term it, nearly eaten chrough by thefe deftruclive vermin: none which died of the bots but had the coat of the ftomach nearly de- ftroyed. If you turn beafts upon a common, at a year old, and give them ftraw in the win- ter, they will increafe in age, but very little in fize ( *s* ) fize when three years old: confequently there is little gain. If I wanted to (lock the Fen, I fhould prefer doing fo without having a right ; for, by apply- ing to one of the Fen fhepherds, he would take a decent number at a cheap rate, I have kr ow n men have flock in the Fen who had neither houfe nor land in the county. A Fen fhep- herd will render the qualified man's right of little value; and, whilft he will aflifl in driving away flock legally put on the common, he will, if properly fee'd, be particularly careful of the property of flrangers. Now, were this com- mon inelofcd, it would produce an incredible quantity of corn, to the great benefit of the country at large : ic would feed a vafl number of cattle ; and it would alfo afford employment for a number of perfons who now follow little bufinefs but that of thieving. The draining of the fwamps in fo large a trad of flat country is a matter of the utmofl importance in refpecl to the health of the inha- bitants : and the neceffary dividing of the land (fuppofing the whole to be inclofed) would by ditches nearly effect the purpofe, and do it effectually ( *57 ) effectually with the aflldance of a. main drain and an outfall. I have mentioned the bed common in Eng- land : and even that common, I infift upon it, is no better than a nuifance. Commons are harbours and nurferies for thieves. I was on the jury when three men were indicted at York aflizes for flealing fome fheep from commons in Craven : and it came out in proof upon trial, that thefe men had dealt largely, though not pofTefTed of a capital. Their trade was thiev- ing: and they were ingenious men in their way, all of one family, father and two fons. The elded fon patted for a jobber in fheep : and the father, with the youngeft fon, lived nine miles diftant from him. The elded fon col- lected a tolerable flock, by dealing a fiLgle (heep from thofe he was difpofed to favour j two or three from other people, and fo on. He would likewife buy a few, then mix them all together, and drive them to the old man's farm. Thefe fheep were but of fmall value, worth from five to feven fhillings each -, which de- terred the owners from incurring the expence of a profecution : although many of the fuffer- ers Vol. I. K k ( *58 ) 1 crs knew where to find theirproperty. Thefe men therefore followed the trade of fheep-fleal* ing with impunity. When one of the owners was afked by the Judge, " why he did not not fwear to a certain fheep when firft he difco- vered it in the poflefTion of the old man y he anlwered, " he was afraid of the confequences." On the Judge's enquiring what were the con- fequences he meant; he replied, " that he was afraid of incurring a heavy expence." They were all convicled. Now, were thefe commons inclofed, fuch men as have been juftdefcribed could make no gexcufe for trefpaffing upon a perfon's property; j it would be more difficult to get amongft an- other man's flock of fheep, and they would be much more eafily detedled after a robbery. Prevention is allowed to be better than punifh- ment: the breedof thieves — a breed with which this country is overftocked — would be dimi- '. nifhed by inclofures: by inclofures would the national wealth be augmented, and of courfe benefit accrue to the community at large. SECTION ( 259 ) SECTION XLVIL Experiments in Agriculture^ according to the New Syjlem. IT will be remembered, that I have before recommended lowing the garden peas in pre- ference to the field peas. They are more like- ly to produce a good crop, becaufe they are more hardy than field peas. I put the early Charlton pearls, and the dwarf marrow-fats in the ground nearly at one time, and in the fame manner in every refpect as the Hading pea, which I have found to get forward fader than any other field pea. Garden-peas of all forts will, like turnips, thrive much better in the open field than in a garden ; and the method laid down under the head Pea Fallow is much fuperior to what is generally praclifed by the gardeners. I have had cabbages much more forward, and better in every refpect, than what are to be found in gardens: at the fame time they were treated, as explained under Cabbage-Fallow. — Were this mode of culture attended to, it would ( 260 ) Would create a greater plenty of vegetables, and in all probability reduce the price. What has been faid of peas and cabbages, is equally applicable to beans. But the rooks are fo fond of them, and deftroy fuch quanti- ties, that the farmer may fometimes be difap- pointed of a good crop — a circumftance which has happened to me -y for I have found it im- poflible to k?ep thefe voracious birds off, al- though I had a woman conftantly in the field for the purpofe. I had an excellent crop of onions, fown broad- caft, entirely managed by the plough and har- rows. The greateft produce of wheat I have had has been upon fallow, from fowing under fur- row as near i ~ inch deep as it was pofllble to plough. The method is as follows : Harrow the land very fine, and then make a mark with the plough upon the place where the ridge is intended to be. Then fow the wheat, and turn a furrow over it. Then continue fowing down the furrow after the plough. A boy or a girl is much better than a man or a woman for any of this fort of work. By being nearer to the ground ( lt>l ) ground they are lefs liable to fcatter the feed to one fide of the furrow; for, if the wind blows, it is apt to mifs the part intended. A boy or girl will fow an acre for 6d. ; and if the ploughman be attentive, they may be made to do it in a very regular manner. It is eafy to afcertain the proper quantity for one furrow. Knowing the length of the lands and the width of the furrow intended to be ploughed, you may calculate the number of furrows in each acre. Then dividing by the number of fur- rows the quantity of wheat intended for each acre, the quotient will be the exact quantity for each furrow. There is a drill for this fort of fowing, but I have not feen it acl. There is only one thing I diflike in this method, viz. the danger of the ploughman's covering the wheat too deep; which is a very great fault. For the wheat either rots in the land and never gets up, or is liable to canker during the winter, in the fame manner as you will fee celery in a garden. The wire-worm often bears the blame. I have very minucely examined thofe plants that are eaten in two : and in the winter 1 have very feldom found the worm $ but very fre- quently ; ( 26z ) quently the plant cut in two by the froft and wet weather : and it may be obferved that it is moftly in very fevere winters that wheat is deftroyed by what is called wire-worms. Lad winter I had nine acres all Town with the fame fort of wheat; but the land differently treated. Of the nine acres there had been one acre and a half of peas for podding; with four loads of manure on it. In the midft of thefe, half an acre of beans, with four loads of manure.— ■ There had been four acres of potatoes, with eighteen loads upon each acre — two acres and a half of peas, with four loads of manure per acre — and half an acre fown broad-caft with field peas, and fix loads of manure on it. The wire-worm, fo called, was more or lefs deftrucl:- ive in proportion, as more or lefs manure was laid'on each part of the field. Where the beans had grown in the middle of the peas, there was a remarkably fine crop; but on both fides, in fome places, where the land was the moft wet by nature, although very well griped and drain- ed, more than half of the wheat was deftroyed from want of a lufficient quantity of manure to give vigour to the plants. Beans are generally fuppofcd ( 263) fuppofed to impoverifh land more than peas ; yet, in the above experiment, the bean-land, although potatoes, another impoverifher, had grown among the beans, produced by the af- fiftance of the manure the beft wheat. Indeed, on tillage land, I have always found good ma- nure properly applied to bear crops accord- ingly* Experiments on a Farm at Sprodborougb. In the year 1791 1 had only nine acres of land, on which I kept nine horfes, two cows, fourteen fheep, and one hundred and thirty pigs ; all fed with grains, except the fheep. The fheep, notwithstanding their being intermixed with the reft of the flock, became very fat. The lambs I fold at 21s. per head -, and fome of them were afterwards fold for breeding at il. 11s. 6d. apiece. One of the cows coft 11/. with her calf in May : I fold her in Octo- ber for 13/, after taking her milk: In the year 1792 I took a farm confiftingof twenty-eight acres of pafture, at4l. per acre — eighteen acres of tillage-land laid down with clover, at 2%s. per acre — ten acres in grafs, ac 26s. ( »64 ) 16 s. per acre — two acres in wheat, at 26s. per acre. The rent of the new farm was 152/. 6j, per year: that of the nine acres of grafs 3/, per acre. The whole was tytheable, except the twenty-eight acres of pafture. My method of grazing and cropping was as follows : The pa- flure of twenty-eight acres ufed to be regularly flocked by my predeceflbr with nineteen beafts and four horfes, but no fheep. I put into it twenty beads, fourteen horfes, twenty ewes, and twenty-feven lambs. Finding it over- flocked, I took in the nine acres of meadows. I fattened forty beafts in that fummer. The twenty ewes and twenty-feven lambs paid 50/. 1 6s.— See the Agricultural Reports of York* lhire. The eighteen 'acres of clover were mown once — the ten acres of fward ploughed up and fown with oats — Clover bad — oats middling. Two acres of wheat, bad. In the year 1793— In the feed ing-pafture - fourteen cows, thirty ewes, forty-fix lambs, and fourteen horfes, which all did well as be- fore.— The eighteen acres, wheat; bad, only 2 10 bufnels — ten acres peas, good ; two acres of turnips good 5 fold at five guineas per acre. In (26j ) In 1794 — In the feeding-pafture fourteecn cows, fourteen horfes, fifty ewes, and fixty-four lambs. All did well — the lambs uncommonly good. In the eighteen acres, fix acres of pota- toes in drills three feet afunder — the forts fet, the kidney, ox-noble, manly, champion, red- apple, white-apple, and lemon, which produced a good crop — the ox-noble, ninety facks per acre ; the manly, eighty ditto ; the red-apple, eighty ditto ; the white, feventy ditto; the kid- ney, fifty ditto*, the lemon, forty ditto. At one corner of the fix acres was a piece of fward I took from the high road, dug by the fpade, and fet with potatoes. Ten fquare yards were planted in the lazv-bed method, and ten yards fquare by digging the land and fetting in drills, as is ufual; the land being all manured The lazy-bed method raifed fixteen (lone four pounds : the drills at eighteen inches afunder, feven flone five pounds. From this experi- ment I have improved much in the manner of fetting potatoes. The other twelve acres oats, bad ; The ten acres and two acres being put into one field; fix acres of wheat, good : fix acres barley, middling. The nine acres re- mained meadow. Vol. I. LI In ( %ee ) In the year 1795 the ufual flock in the feeding-pafture. In this year I had a lamb thai weighed twenty pounds per quarter when fix months old — all the reft uncommonly fat. Kine acres, meadow. Of the eighteen- acres-field, fix acres (where potatoes had grown the preceding year) wheat good. The wheat was fown under furrow an inch and half deep; except one acre, two inches and a half deep, which yielded lefs by nine bufhels per acre — the quantity fown four bufhels on part of the five acres ; on the other part, three bufhels — the latter the btft wheat; but not much differ- ence in yield — the quantity thirty bufhels per acre. In 1795 the finall worm did much da- mage in the wheat crops in the ear : mine was much affected. Six acres potatoes, fet every furrow, as directed in this Work — four acres of the fix fown with rape among the potatoes* The ox-noble potatoe was planted on five of the acres ; and the black-apple on one of them — thefe bad : the ox-noble, where the rape was not fown, as good as ever I faw ; one hun- dred and ninety facks per acre — where therape was fown with them, only fifty facks. The black (*67 ) black apple, although no rape was Town among them, produced only thirty facks. The black- apples fuit wet land, being remarkably hard. I found, that by fowing rape among them I had loft one hundred and forty facks per acre ; and I received only zl. \os. from feeding (beep with the rape. The other fix acres wheat, with the fame quantity of manure as the fix a- cres of potatoes, and three ploughings after the oats — produce eight bufhels lefs than on the fix acres where potatoes had preceded the wheat. The twelve-acre field, oats^-eight bufhels per acre fown — the belt crop I ever faw of the Tartarian fort— fix feet high regu- larly, and the thickeft on the ground perhaps ever feen. In the year 1796 I had in the feeding-pafture fourteen cows, fourteen horfes, fifty ewes, and fixty-feven lambs. The fuperfluous grafs was mown thegreateft part of fummer, and given to the horfes in the (table, I found t'ciG cows and fheep do much better* There was a Scotch cow amongft them, which the May twelve months before coft five guineas. She was with calf— fold her calf for fevenxeen fhillings (263 ) (hillings when fat. The cow was a good milk- er, and was milked within fix weeks of her be- ing killed — weighed thirty-fix (lone, nine flone of fat — fold for fixteen guineas. I have found, from repeated trials, that the fmall Scotch cowsconfume, on an average, one fifth lefs than a large cow of the Tees-water kind. This year I had a calf, which at the age of thirteen weeks weighed nineteen ftone twelve pounds and a half, and had fucked no other cow but its own mother. — I increafed my farm by nine acres, which had had oats the year before up- on flag-land or fward ploughed up. I raifed on thefe nine acres the following crops : one acre and half of Charlton peas, very good — one rood of Windfor beans, bad — one rood of long-podded beans ; bad crop, the rooks had eaten the feed. The long-pods yielded fifteen bufhels and a half; the Windfor, nine bufhels and a half. Potatoes under them, twenty-five facks — Two acres and an half of Halting peas drilled ; very good, forty bufhels per acre. Half an acre of field-peas fown broad-caft : good, produce fifteen bufhels. Four acres of potatoes; produce one hundred and ninety facks ( **9 ) facks per acre, In the cighteen-acres field, .fix acres wheat, where potatoes grew the year be- fore ; good, forty-eight bufhels per acre- twelve acres of oats, middling. The twelve- acre field, wheat, good; thirty-two bufhels per acre. Thefe crops (except the oats, which were kept to cut for horfes, cows, &c.) were fold on the ground for ten guineas per acre, and paid the purchafer well, I had all the ftraw, chaff, &c. In 1797, in the month of May, I quitted this farm. At that time the nine acres, where potatoes, beans, &c. had grown the preceding year, were in wheat : every other land drilled by Mr. Cook himfelf, with one bufhel per acre; the reft fown broad-caft with three bufhels per acre — the produce of that fown broad-caf; about three to one more than that of the dri . ed. There was a very great crop of whei: f the broad-caft. Of the eighteen acres, e :. acre and a half in cabbages, and pota:oes ri- der them — two acres in early potatoes— five acres and a half in garden pea<=- - acres in Hading peas — fix acres o es, o* no- bles— one acre of long-podded beans^ with po- tatoes ( *7° ) tatoes under them. The crop was fold at 200/. in the month of May. The greateft part of the above experiments being treated of feparately in other parts of this Work, I have here only concifely dated the ro- tation of crop?. It may not be unneceflary to obferve, that, at the time I quitted the farm, the eighteen acres field was a perfect garden, with fcarcely a weed in it : but in the month of July a perfedl wildernefs ; and I may ven- ture to affert that, for want of beftowing from 5/. to 10/. on the different crops, there was 100/. lefs profit derived from the field, than might have been expected if proper manage- ment had not been wanting. Moreover the land is in a rude improper date for wheat •, and in the old mode of agriculture will require a fallow. Therefore it will make the difference of the following fum, in eighteen acres of land, in two years. Lofs ( »7« ) Lofs for want of proper management this year iool. and expences of four plough- ings to make the land ready for wheat next year, 24I. 12s. £ 124 12 o Lofs of eighteen acres of wheat, at fix quarters per acre, at 56s. per quarter, which might have grown on the land next fummer, without fallow; deduc- ing for feed and fowing igl. i8«. for ploughing, 5 1. 6s. and for reaping oj. 179 10 o 304 2 o Deducl the fumfaved 10 10 o Lofs in two years by an improper me- thod of managing, on eighteeen acres £ 2g^ 12 O The above ftatement plainly fhews how plans of improvement may be rendered abortive by neglect It is fomethinglike building a houfe and never finiSiing it. I have known the late Mr. Bake well's fheep bought by different peo- ple ; and for want of care and management they have foon degenerated. SECTION ( 272 ) SECTION XLVJII. The proper Sort of Pigs ; and the heft Method of Breeding them. PIGS are of various kinds ; and the choice of the fort fhould be regulated by the treat- ment they are to receive. The Chinefe breed with fhort ears are mod profitable, when fuffer- ed to range at full liberty in woods : and even in paftures, they will not only live, but get fat with grafs ; but they will not thrive in the fty or fold with grains or inferior food. I tried fome experiments on the Chinefe pigs. I had a mod remarkably fat one of that breed. A gentleman who faw it> and who was famous for breeding that kind, fent me a boar and two gelts. I kept the fows for fome time in a fold, with from fifty to a hundred of a fort, which will be defcribed hereafter: they were larger than the Chinefe, and weighed from twenty to twenty-five (lone each. Mine, though fo much larger than the Chinefe breed, became fat, whilft they remained lean. I then moved them, and gave them better food ; when they foon became nice pigs, and paid well for the meat they ( 273 ) they ate. But although one was killed at the ao-e of three years, fhe weighed only ten (lone : the other was killed when four years old, and ilie weighed only twelve flone. It is to be ob- ferved, that the laft-mentioned one was always the largeft : it was not its being one year older than the other that gave it the advantage in weight; for thefe fort of pigs foon arrive at their full growth, and the increafe of weight is then according as the animal is more or lefs fat. I have always found the Berkshire pigs with a crofs of the Chinefe the bell for all ufes — Such pigs, when full grown, will weigh thirty flone with a moderate quantity of food. I put up a very poor fow, taken from her firfl litter of pigs, and which had been fuffered to remain fo longas to leave herfcarce any thing butfkin and bone : however, I determined to fatten her, becaufe fhe had got a trick of killing fowls. — The higheft price bid me for her in this condi- tion was one guinea and a half. I gave her nine bufhels of peas at %s. 6d. per bufhel, When killed, fhe weighed feventeen (lone, and at that time pork fit for bacon was worth from js. to 7 s. 6d. per flone: therefore, at ys. per Vol. I. Mm ftone ( 274 ) ftcne only, there was a clear profit of 2/. i6sl for the trouble of feeding. I have had many more proofs of the extraordinary thrift of pigs of this fort, which I originally bred from a Berkfhire fow and a Chinefe boar. The firft of them, a fow fed and killed at Burton-upon- Trent, was twenty four inches wide upon the back, and weighed forty-feven (tone. They may be faid to grow until they are two years old : but the growth of pigs, like that of other animals, depends upon the manner in which they are kept. It will be found that, although pigs in fome cafes are the molt profitable anhnals, yet they feldom will pay for corn or any other kind of food which the farmer can difpofe of at a good market. They eat what no other animals will touch: therefore, with a trifling addition of bet- ter food, they will thrive very well. To keep them on corn, the expence would foon exceed the profit expected. In fact, I know of no ani- mal except a horfe that will pay for corn. — See Section XXXL page 144. and Section XXXVIII. page 178. SECTION ( 275 ) SECTION XLIX. Great Ufe of Pigs in Fold-yards. PIGS not only pick up the refufe of the fold- yard, and thrive upon it ; but, befides depofit- ing their own dung, they rout the litter about in fuch a manner as to break and fhorten the ftraw, from which, by chewing it, they derive nourifhment. By routing and trampling over the yard, they mingle the materials, and caufe the m anure to imbibe an equal quantity of moift- ure, in fuch a manner as could fcarcelybe done by any other means ; thus bringing it fpeedily to perfection. I do not now fpeak of the Chi- nefe breed : they are of little ufe in this re- fpecl, as they rout very little. Strong or large pigs of the Berkfhire or of the long-eared kind are the fltteft for making manure in the fold- yard : And to caufe them to do this properly^ they ought to be kept in good condition, and one day in every week nothing given them to eat, by which means they would effectually turn the manure ; for in a fhort time pigs will be to feed in the folds, the thrafhing machine will leave nothing in the draw for them to eat* END OF THE FIRST VOLUME*