®tj* 1. 3B. BUI ©brarg Nnrtlj OJarolttta Stat? This book was presented by Department of Agricultural Economics SPECIAL COLLECTIONS S457 Y6M3? 17?. This book must not be taken from the Library building. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from NCSU Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/ruraleconomyofy02mars Hr RURAL ECONOMY O F YORKSHIRE. vol. n. <—- T-ff^ — RURAL ECONOMY Henry C. T O F YORKSHIRE, COMPRIZING TH£ Management of Landed Eftates, AND THE PRESENT PRACTICE of HUSBANDRY IN THE AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS OF THAT COUNTY. By Mr. MARSHALL, THE SECOND EDITION, V O L. II. LONDON: printed Tor G. Ni col, Bookfeller to His Majefty, Pall Mall ; G. G.and J. Robinson, Paiernofter Row; and J. Debrett, Piccadilly. M,DCC,XCVI. ' (i? ANALYTIC TABLE O F CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. Sict. XV\ Wheat and its Management, i. Introdu&ory Remarks, I. Species, 2. 1. The Varieties of Winter Wheats, in Cultivation, here, 3. 2. Spring Wheat has been tried, 4. The proper Time of fowing it. II. Raifing Varieties, 4. Conjectures on the Origin of the prefent Varieties. The Gardener's Method of Seleftion. Inftance of?a new Variety being raifed, 6. The Method, in this Cafe, regiftered. General Remarks on Raiiingand Improving Varieties of Grain, 8. III. Preparing Seed Wheat, 10. Formerly Brine and Lime were ufed. Now a Preparation of Arsenic is in Ufe. The Mode of Preparation with Arfe- nic defcribed, 1 1 . The Expence of this Mode of Pre- paration, 13. JV, On the Mildew or Blight. Meflin not liable to it. Rye believed to be a Preventive. V«i. IL a Ssct, Co V TZ 11 % 14. F : r: Lame* Srf: ; 15. ■ Sect. XVIII. Oats and t ogement, [7. 7 ::e. 1 . : _ - : I rjracland Oz-.i ■. 1 vabubk Sort. 19. ". . _ - . . :o. rd. Defciption .■ rraclice, 21. : j fe 24. XX. 1 25. T : blilhed, in the Vale. id of drawing them, in Ufc, s& 5 " XX] R Jeed, 27. . le. t. Ss -gement, 28. ' are. ■ ~ent while Growing, 29. ." . - - EDCuLTOti propofed,3C. . :. A 1 :_7--:Hing de- '.. The Soil a C 1 1 : _ - , : 3 f . Climature is cold, for want of Shekel tkt prefenf State :: !:..:? ::- U2RAI Contents. xvu RURAL ECONOMY of this DISTRICT, 23S. I. The Eftates moftlj large, 239. II. Tenancy: Leai'es becoming commcn, III. Rent. Depends on Breaking up Sheep Walk, Remarks on this Subject. IV. Removals take place at Ladyday or Mayday, V. Buildings rnoitly fubftantial, 241. VI. Planting, 246. A Spirit lately evinced. The Beech recomrneaded, 242. VII. Farms, 243. VIII. Objeds of Hufbandry, 244. IX. Succeffion irregular. X. Manual Labor, 245. Few Day Laborers on the Woldi XL Team Labor, 245. Singular Practices of die Woidi. XII. Implements, 247. XIII. Manures. XIV. Harvesting. Every thing rno".n agaLr.ft the Standing Ccrr., and bound in Sheaves. XV. Farmyard Management, 24S. XVI. Markets. XVII, Turneps, 249. Rem a r k on Sodburning old Sward, for Tnr- neps. Application of Turneps, 250. Method of eating :hem of?, improper^ Net Hurdles de;cribed, 25 1. XVIII. Sheep, 251. Size of Flocks. Breed. Initance of a fatal Change of Breed, 2 5 1 XIX. RAB, xviii Content*. XIX. Rabbits, 252. Great Size c{ Warrer.5. Good Land appropriated 10 Rabbits, 253. General Economy of a Rabbit farm. Management of the Wold Warrens, 254. 1. The EfFeft of rich Soi's on Rabbits. 2. Burrowing Grounds. Uy on the Sides of Hi!!?. •ice, on a Flat. An Auger ufed in Making Burrow:, 25 :. 3. W?.rren Fences. Sod Wall the prevailing Fence. A Brook is not a Fence againil Rabbits. 4. Sort of Rabbits, 256. The SilverhairedingoodEfteem. 5. Method of Taking. With the Fold Net. With the Spring Net. With the " Tipe" or Trap, 2^7. The laft, a new and mafterly Method, de- fcribed. Sort the Trap Rabbits. The due Proportion of Males. Caution required in uiing Traps, 25?. The Numbers taken, at once, very great. 6. Markets, 259. For Carcafes. For Skins. Average Price. HOLDERNESS. Not examined in i- C7, 260. A Tranfient View in 179 1, 261. CLEVE- Contents. xix CLEVELAND. A View of the District, 262. Outline nearly oval. Extent more than 100 fquare Miles. Surface, nearly flat. Soil uniformly tenacio-i. Its Objects of Husbandry, 263. The Roid Team of Cleveland. TL?Di\c:lp:i::. and Merits of this angular T.;a"n T H E EASTERN MOREL ANDS. GENERAL VIEWofthhDlSTPJCT, 264. The Uncultivated Parts her--- e:;am-.r.ed. C'dmature extremely blc Extent, from 300 to 400 fquare M:!e;, 2:5. Foil: Production;, 2__. SabfoJ moitlv ^ar.i. formed into a. Pan. Soil, or I eri g, ia a Black Moor, 267. Remarks on the\ -oetable Mold of Mcv.v- tains. Natural Produce,. Heath and " Bent," ; Catalogue of rs. RURAL ECONOMY of this DISTRICT, 271. Liveftock. Proportion of Sheep to Ac: Prefer.t Value or" thefe Lands, z~z. The Improve rr tor. attempted, :;;. On the Novthero O;. ,2-5. HINT- xx Contents. HINTS for the IMPROVEMENT of the EASTERN MORELANDS of YORK- SHIRE, 277. The Principle of Improvement, 278. The Objects, Wood and Herbage. I. Plantations, 278. The Probability ofSuccefs, 279. The Sites proper to be planted. The Species of Trees. The Method of Planting. II. Cultivated Herbage, 280. The Obje£ls, Sheepwalk and Rabbit Warren, 2 S 1 . The Species of Herbage. Manures, 282. Underdraining. Watering. An Evidence of thefe Lands being improveable, The IMPROVEMENT of a Part of them offered to the Confideration of GO VERN MENT, 28 5. A LIST OF RATES I N THE VALE OF PICKERING, 2S7. PROVINCIALISMS OF EAST YORKSHIRE. Introductory Remarks on this Dialeft of the Englifh Language, 303. A Glofiary of more than a Thoufand Words, 305. THE RURAL ECONOMY O F i YORKSHIRE. *3- WHEAT. Introductory Remarks* IN NORFOLK, a corn country, whofe hufbandry may be taken as a ftandard for other light-land districts, I ftudied the various proceffes, of each arable crop, with attention ; and have endeavored to defcribe them with minutenefs. But to purfue a fimilar conduct, in a country where grass land prevails ; where corn is, of courfe, only a fecondary object ; and where* through the diveriity of foils, and the prefent Vol. II. B ftate D. H. HILL LIBRARY North Carolina State CoIUoa i WHEAT. ftate of inclofure, no regular management of* arable crops, fufficiently excellent to be held out as a pattern, is eftablifhed, — would be an impropriety. Neverthelefs, in a country where improvement ftands on tiptoe, eager to difcover and bring into practice every thing which wears the afpect of fuperior utility, it would be ftill more improper to pafs over the individuals of the arable crops, without notice. Their general management!^ been already defcribed, under the foregoing ge- neral heads. What remains to be done with refpevft to each crop is, to regiiter fuch particulars, as I judge may be of fer- vice, in the advancement of the plan under execution. The particulars which ftrike me as being^ noticeable, under the prefent head, are, I. The fpecies of wheat ; II. The railing of new varieties ; III. Preparing the feed; IV. An opinion refpecting mildew. I. The SPECIES of Wheat, cultivated at prefent in the Diflricl, are, I. Triticum Hybernum ; winter wheat : of which there are the following varieties : i . " Zealand Yorkshire. 3 I. " Zealand Wheat :" chaff white, with- out awns * ; ears fomewhat large ; grain white and full-bodied ; ltraw long and reedy. This fort is well adapted to weak and to middling foiled land. In a rich foil, efpe- cially in a moiit feafon, it runs too much to ftraw. 2. " Downy Kent :" chaff white, downy, and awnlefs ; ears of the middle fize ; grain white and fmall ; ltraw fhort. This kind is belt adapted to good land ; in which it ge- nerally yields abundantly, notwithstanding the fmallnefs of the grain?. 3. Common White Wheat. The two pre- ceding forts feem to have almoit baniihed the " old white wheat" of the Diilrict— the white Lammas of other districts. 4. Hertford/hire Brown. Chaff white,— grain red, — ltraw of a middle growth : re- fembling the Kentifi white CoJJj of Norfolk. 5. " Tcllow Kent." Chaff fomewhat red; grain white ! ears large ; it raw ltout. 6. Common Red Wheat. This, like the old white, appears to be now nearly ex- tinct. B 2 2. Triticum * All the varieties of Triticum Hyberr.um^ which I have yet obferved, have a few jfart awns, towards the- top of the ear. 4. WHEAT. 2. TR IT I CUM JEjlhum ; SUMMED wheat , — generally known by the name of UKfcitrd wheat. In the Whitby quarter of the Mor elands, this fpecies of wheat has been cultivated many vears. It was introduced into the Vale, a few years ago ; but it does not feem to gain an eftablimment here. It has, how- ever, been fumciently tried to afcertain the proper month of foxing : namely, April. IB RAISING VARIETIES. It is pro- bable, that time has tfee fame effect, upon the varieties cf wheat, and other grains, as it has on thofe of cultivated fruits, potatoes, and other vegetable productions. In every country, I find new varieties of corn gaining footing, and old ones giving place to them. Famion may influence a few individuals to introduce a new variety ; but it is not likely that faihion, alone, mould induce a body of profefiional huibandmen to difcard an old one. In gardening, varieties are endlefs ; and frefh ones * are annually making : not perhaps fo much by accident, as by induftry. Thus to produce an early pea, the gardener marks the plants which open nrfl into blof- fem, among the moil early kind he has in cuU YORKSHIRE. 5 cultivation. Next year, he fows the produce of thefe plants, and goes over the coming crop, in the manner he had done the pre- ceding year, marking the earlieft of this earlier kind. In a fimilar manner, new varieties of apples are raifed, by chooling the broadefr-leaved plants,- among a bed of feedlings, niing promilcuoufly from pippins. Husbandmen, it is probable, have here- tofore been equally induftrious in producing fre£h varieties of corn j or whence the end- lefs variety of winter wheats? If they be naturally of one and the fame fpecies, as Linneus has deemed them, they muft have been produced by climature, foil, or in- durtry ; for although nature fometimes fports with individuals, -the induilry of man is re^ quifite to raife, eftablith, and continue, a PERMANENT VARIETY. Of late, the railing of varieties has perhaps been little attended to. Transferring thofe already eftablifhed, from one part of the kingdom, or from one part of the world, to another, has alone, perhaps, produced the recent changes in the feveral Diftncrs. The only inftance in which I have had an oppor- tunity of tracing the variety down to the B 3 parent 6 WHEAT. parent individual \ has occurred to mc in this Diftrid. A man, whofe obfervation is ever on the wing in the field of hufbandry, having per- ceived, in a piece of wheat, a plant of un- common fixength and luxuriance, difFufing its branches on every fide, and fetting its clofely furrounding neighbours at defiance 5 marked it, and at harvefl removed it fepa- rately. The produce was fifteen ears, yielding fix hundred and four grains, of a ftrong-bodied liver-colored wheat, different in general appearance from every other variety I have feen. The chaff fmooth, awnJefs, and the color of the grain. The ftraw flout and reedy. Thefe fix hundred grains were planted, fingly, nine inches afunder, filling about forty fquare yards of ground ; not in a garden, or In a feparate piece of ground, but upon a clover ffcubble ; the remainder of which was, at the fame time, fown with other wheat, in the common way : by which means extra- ordinary trouble and dejlru5lion by birds were equally avoided. The produce of thefe forty yards was two gallons and a half, weighing twenty pounds ancj YORKSHIRE. 7 and a half, of prime grain, fit for feed ; be- fides fome pounds of feconds. One grain produced thirtyfive ears, yielding twelve hundred and thirtyfive grains. The fecond year's produce being fufHcient to plant an acre of ground, the variety was of courfe fufficiently eltablifhed. This, the fifth year, I have feen it grow in quantity -, but the feafon being moift, and the foil good, it was moil of it lodged, The crop upon the ground is abundant : feventy full mocks an acre. But the produce of Zealand wheat, in the fame piece, is equal to it j and, on examination, I think the grain of this is better, its fkin is fomewhat thinner, Neverthelefs, the variety under notice may rank with the firfl of the prefent day. For an inferior foil, it may perhaps be found highly eligible. It is obfervable, that the quality of this variety improves. Its color and fkin, this year, notwithstanding the unfavorablenefs of the feafon, are finer than they were the laft and the preceding years. B 4 General 8 WHEAT, General Remarks on raising and improving Varieties of Grain1. Its intrinfic value, however, would not have been a fufficient inducement for de- fcribing the circumftances of its rife, had not thefe circumftances pointed out, at the fame time, the practicability, as well as an eafy and fpeedy method \ of raifing new varieties, and of improving thofe that are already known. What deters Farmers from improvements of this nature, is principally the mifchievouft nefs of eirds -, from which, at harveft, it is fcarcely poffible to preferve a fmall patch of corn, efpecially in a garden, or other ground, iituated near a habitation. But, by carrying on the improvement, in a field of corn, of the fa?ne nature, that inconveniency is got rid of. In this fituation, however, the botanifi will be apprehenfive of danger, from the floral farina of the furrounding crop. But, from what obfervation I have made, I am of opinion his fears will prove groundlefs. No evil effecl of this nature occurred, in the in- ftance above recited, although the cultivation has been carried on among white wheat. But this need not be brought as an evidence : it is YORKSHIRE. g is not uncommon, here, to fow a mixture of red and white wheats together, and this, it is confidently ailerted, without impairing even the color of either of them. The fame mode of culture is applicable to the IMPROVEMENT OF VARIETIES; which perhaps, would be more profitable to the hufbandman, than railing new ones, and much more expeditious. Formerly, it was the practice, in the im- provement of cattle, to crojs with other breeds ; but modern breeders, who have brought the art to a high degree of perfection, purlue a different method : they pick out the faireft, of the particular breed or variety they want to improve, and profecute the improvement with the fe fekcJed individuals. In every field of corn, let the variety be ever fo pure, and ever fo well adapted to the foil and fituation, the fame inequality, in the beauty and goodnefs of individuals, is obferv- able, as in a herd of cattle ; and it is the bufmefs of the corn farmer to avail himfelf of fo fuitable an opportunity of improvement, by felecling Juch individual plants as excel in vigor and produffivenefs, under a moral cer- tainty that fuch individuals are peculiarly adapted to this foil and fituation. III. PRE* iz H E A T. III. PREPARING :EED\V?TEAT. In :'.-:?.: ..-.::.;.:/ X : .- :: lk, I have rrt-v: r.r.ti i:> i:r.:r: vtir.tn: ir the u:t c: fait :::^:re, a.: rrtvtrri ci _rf r..~: i"ir._:. litre, i :-r.r--ir rcir.tiy i; :v.:it n't :.. :.: :.._: purnne ; linrulai I mean i-. :: :rr Diitric:, in which, alone, I hflvc found arsenic ufed, as a preventive of thai troublefome F irrr.t :".-.-, brine and lime were :he ufual preparation, hm. nil are in almoft ft- rict of the Ifiand. How long arfenic has been in u:e, oc b ufe of it ;. I have not learnt with fuf- ficie r. : ux i : : : f . 0 q e peribn ( whole accu- racy might be fafelv relied an, were not his evidence corroborated by my own occasional obfervation) has ufed it more than twenty a variably, and with uniform fuccefs, Vit timet fay that, during that tlrr.t, he has not had a (mutty ear of wheat upon his farm; but he afierts* with confidence, that £nce he prepared feed v ith arfeni$ water, he has not experienced . itnible in- jury from :";r :. The I - riilar ifrength . :" evidence mig b : ained, pro- bably, from an hundrec) individiiab in this :.-.._-'.".'::. :h ::i. Its YORKSHIRE. u Its efficacy, I believe, is net doubted, by any one who has given it a fair trial ; but there are fome who, through apprehenfions of danger from the careleffnefs of fervants, or from their own abientnefs, or under an idea, that an arfenical preparation is hurtful to the feedfman, are fcrupulous about uling it. Whether the laft has, or has not, any foun- dation in truth is, at prefent, a matter in dif- pute. The peribn abovementioned has not, during his twenty years practice, experienced any inconveniency, either to himfelf, his fer- vants, or his live ftock ; not even to his poul- try. Nor have I heard of a fmgle accident having arifen, from the ufe of it, in any part pf the Diftrict. I do not "mean to comment upon this prac- tice : fuffice it for me to regiiter fuch facts as have occurred to me refpecting it, and to give the procefs; leaving the reader to form his own judgment, in regard to the propriety of ufing it. This preparation is made by pounding the arfenic, extremely fine, boiling it in water, diluting the decoction, and drenching the feed effectually in the liquor. In ftrictnefs, the arfenic ihould be levi- gated, fufficiently fine to be taken up and %vajhf4 12 WHEAT. wafoed over with water, reducing the fedi- rnent, until it be fine enough to be carried over in the fame manner. The ufual method of preparing the liquor js to boil one ounce of white arfenic, finely powdered, in a gallon of water, from one to two hours, and to add to the decoction as much water, or ftale urine, as will increafe the quantity of liquor to two gallons. In this liquor, the feed is, or ought to be, immerged, ftirring it about, in fuch manner, as to fatnratey completely, the downy end of each grain. This done, and the liquor drawn oft, the feed is conlicered as fit for the feed baiket, without being candied with lime, or any other preparation. If, however, any danger arife to the feedf- man, from fowing ktd thus prepared, (which I believe is merely ideal) it probably arifes from the fuperfluous moifhire of the feed, in this ftate, entering the pores of his hand. Candying the feed, with lime, would net only abforb the redundant liquor, but would render the feed more pleafant to the hand in .ng, and more diftinguifhable by the eye, lea caft upon the ground. A bufbcl YORKSHIRE. 13 A bufhel of wheat has been obferved to take up about a gallon of liquor. The price of arfenic is about fixpence a pound ; which, on this calculation, will cure four quarters of feed. If no more than three quarters be prepared with it, the coft will be only a far- thing a bufhel; but to this muff be added the labor of pounding and boiling. Never- thelefs, it is by much the cheapeft prepara- tion we are at prefent acquainted with. IV. THE MILDEW OF WHEAT. It is a received idea, in this Diftrict, that meslin,— provincially, " masihellbn," — (a mixture of wheat and rye, formerly a very common crop in this neighbourhood, and frill remains to be fo in the Moreiands) is never affected by the blight, or " mildew :" — and that the nature of rye is fuch, that a very fmall quantity of it, fowh among wheat, pre- vents this frequently deftructive effect. This, if well founded, is a moff interefting fact; not only in Husbandry, but in the- Vegetable Economy. I "regifler it, merely, as a popular opinion, among pro- femonal men. RYE. RYE. 1 6. RYE. THE OXLY SPECIES of rye, culti- vated in theie kingdoms, is the Se c al e cereal: of Linneus; of which two varieties are cul- tivated in this Dillxicc. i. Black Rye; formerly the only fort. 2. White Rye, or Dantzic Rye; in- troduced into this country, about half a cen- tury ago, and is now the almoil only kind which is cultivated. Before the ufe of lime was prevalent, :h rye was grown on the lighter lands, n the margin of the Vale; and, in the More fcarcely any other crops, than rye and oats, were attempted. Now, rye is principally confined to the Moreland dales ; and, eve*i there, the cheraticn of foils by lime has been inch, th?.t wheat is become the more prevalent crop. Nevertheless, on light fmdy Moreland foils, rye is generally more profitable than wheat ; and the bread which is made from a mixture YORKSHIRE. 15 mixture of the two grains, is here efteemed more wholefome, to perfons in general, than that which is made from wheat alone. *7* BARLEY. THERE ARE FOUR SPECIES of bar- ley, cultivated, more or lefs, in this Diflrict. Common barley, — hordeum difticbon, — long-eared barley. Battledoor barley, — hordeum zeocrithon, — fprat barley. Big, — hordeum 1'u/gare, — four-rowed bar- ley, or fpring barley. hordeum hexaftichon, — fix-rowed barley, or winter barley. The firft and the third are the forts which are, now, principally cultivated : the firft, in the Vale ; the third, in the Morelands ; or, in the Vale, when the feafon of fowing is driven very late. Formerly, " Battle - door barley" was a common crop -y but at prefent it is almoft out of cultivation. The winter barley is new to the Diftridtj and 16 S A R L E V. and it does not feem to be yet generally underftood, — that it ought to be fnvn in t; .v;v ■■■:-.. In the open field irate, barley was grown in the M wheat field," alternately with wheat. C nrch-:an;nance,re:be;h -. ancient husbandry of this crop, deferves to he re- gistered; as it ferves to ihew the dteranori which titr.e hi- :h;- :c.v;-: :: making, even in the bu::;:;h cr" huibanitr.en. Le.i :t/.:_--- . ' barley was not faleabie, until it wa: MALTED. Pub- lic malt-hcufes, and the bnfincfi cf a malt- lter, were equally unknown : every farmer malted ,h or fold it to a ne. borwfac had a malt kiln ; an out-omce neceuarv, in thole days, to every ccrjadera- :.e ram:. The fuel, ufed on this occafion, was chiefly brake:. car off the neighbouring commons : a certain day of cutting being firt, to prevent any man from monopolizing more than his in are. When malted, it was Saleable > and fche mrpl . s of the confumption of I ghbour- hood found a m rfcet at Vh ;;arbo- r: "an. ana :the: t-'.vr.i c: ahs D-.t::fb. YORKSHIRE. 17 Now, even public ?nalt houfes are unknown ; the entire bufinefs of malting being in the hands of profemonal maltsters; who buy the barley of the farmer, and fell him the malt which he may want for his own private ufe, as in moll other Diitricts. l8. OATS. LINNEUS includes the whole tribe of cultivated oats in the fpecies A.YEH A Jafiva. The VARIETIES formerly cultivated, in this Dift-rift, were the " slow oat" and the M hasty oat;" both of them con- fidered as of Scotch extraction. At prefent the forts principally in ufe are, I. " Poland oat :" a ihort, plump grain ; but the thicknefs of its fkin feems to have brought it into difrepute among atten- tive farmers. Moftly fingle 5 no awn; ltraw ihort. 2. " Friezland oats." Thefe appear to be, at prefent, the favorite of the country \ Vol. II. C and 18 OATS. and with good reafon : they afford more ftraw, and are thinner-fkinned, than the Poland oat. Moftly double ; the larger fome- times awned ; the awn placed high. 3. " Siberian oats," — more generally known by the name of Tartarian oats. This is evidently a diiKnct. species, unnotic- ed by Linneus. Each flower frequently con- tains three perfect florets ; never lefs than two, and a pedeftalled rudiment. Sometimes three perfect grains and a rudiment. The pani- cle, too, varies effentially from all the varie- ties of A VENA fat ha. AvenA arundinacea would be a proper term for it. The grains of this fpecies are thin and fmall ; the largeft awned ; the fmall ones awnleis , the ftraw tall and reedy. The reed oat may be faid to be, here, fairly in the hands of huibandmen -, a circum- ftance which I have not obferved, elfewhere. But it does not feem to be in fufficient eftima- tion, to lecure an eftablifhed footing in the Diftrict. The grain is light, and the fir an; too much like reed9 to be affected by cattle. The particulars which are noticeable in the cultivation of oats in the Vale are, The foil. The quantity of feed. The YORKSHIRE. 19 The produce. A lingular mode of thrafhing. SOIL. The rich lands, in the weftern divifion of the Vale, are peculiarly affected bv oats. There have been inftances of fowing: them, fix or feven years fuccellively, on the fame land. This, however, has been where the land has previoufly lain long in grafs. The foil, principally, a rich fandy loam; a foil Angularly productive of oats ; but not of iv heat : which, in thefe foils, generally runs too much to ftraw. QUANTITY OF SEED. Five or fix bufhels,and even a quarter of oats, an acre, are here fometimes fown ! On fome foils, it is found, that the more feed, the greater in pro- portion is the produce. A prudent man, how- ever, ought, in my opinion, to afcertain, by comparative experiments, the extent of his foil, before he fow, on a large fcale, more than fix bufhels of oats, an acre. PRODUCE. Ten quarters of oats, an acre, have been grown, on a piece of many acres. Seven or eight quarters, an acre, through- out a large farm, has not unfrequently been produced. One Vale farmer, laft year, fold and fent to market a thoufand quarters of oats. C 2 THRASH- ao OATS. THRASHING. A novel practice has of late years taken place, with refpec~t to the thrashing of oats : not in barns, or under cover, as heretofore, and as the operation is frill carried on, in every other part of the Mand ; but, in the field, or the ftackyard, IN THE OPEN AIR ! This new method of thraming oats, took its rife, probably, from the ordinary one of thrashing rape, in this diirrict (a procefs which will be explained, in its place) ; the oats, at the outlet, being all thrafhed on cloths. But, now, it is common, I find, to thrafh them on apiece of plain fwprd, or other level ground, without a cloth! it having been found, from experience, that if pigs and poultry be employed, to pick up the few which the broom leaves, the waite is inconfiderable. What pnay feem equally itrange, this bu- finefs is frequently done, at harveft ; the oats being carried immediately from the field, in which they grew., to market ! This, however, is lefs extraordinary when we are acquainted with the market, which is always open, for new cats, in this countrv. The manufacturing parts of Weil Yorkshire ufe principally oaten bread ; and new oats are coveted for oatmeal. This accounts for their YORKSHIRE. 21 their high price at harveft, here, compared with that which they bear, in other places ; and this was probably the inducement, which led to the fingular expedient under notice. The conveniency of thrafhing them, in the field, being by this means difcovered, the practice was eafily transferred from the field to the flacky ard. In one inftance, to which I more particu- larly attended, the operation was thus con- dueled. A cloth was fpread upon the ground (firft made fmooth) by the fide of the flack of oats (in a itackyard). A boy threw the fheaves, off the flack, upon the cloth. One man opened and fpread the fheaves, turned them when requifite, and threw off the ftraw when fufficiently thraihed. Four men being kept continually thrafhing. In another, the oats were carried from the field to a grafs inclofure, and flacked in a place convenient for the expenditure of the ffraw. In this cafe, the floor was a circle of clofe-paftured greenfward ; about ten yards diameter; the opened fheaves being fpread* in a ring, with their heads toward the center, eight or ten thrafhers trod this ring, with a flow pace. One fide fufficiently thrafhed, t}ie other was turned uppermoft, and the C 3 flraw 22 OAT S. flraw, at length, (hook off the circle. Wo- men were employed at the floor, while two men flacked the itraw, as it was thrown off; and while others were employed, on the op- pofite fide of the ring, in winnowing the oats, with a machine fan. In a third, the oats were carried immedi- ately out of the harvefl field to the thrafhing- floor, without a previous flacking. In this cafe, alfo, the floor was a ring of greenfward; —beaten firm and fmooth, with flails, before any corn was laid upon it. The wafle is little, compared with the expence of a cloth. The flraw was, in every cafe, flacked loofe ; to be cut out, as hay : the common pra&ice, I understand, when oats are thraih- ed abroad. When the flraw is thus freed from the corn, at harvell, and is flacked in good order, it fakes a heat in flack, and is laid to make excellent fodder. Cattle will ibme times get forward in flefh, upon fuch ftraw, alone. But this happens, in the rich-land quarter, mentioned above. And, query, has not a rich foil a fimilar effect upon the jlrars:, as it has upon the kay, which is grown upon it ? The hay of Lincolnshire or Gloceflerfhire will YORKSHIRE. 23 will fatten large bullocks, which that of Norfolk would barely fupport. The advantages held out, in favor of this method of thraming oats, are thole of difpatch, and the laving of barn room ; or the laving of carriage. A perlbn who had a large quantity of oats upon an off- farm, fome miles from his place of relidence, without a barn upon it, gave a milling a quarter for thralhing, in barvefii a buiy time. Had not this expedient been practifed, a barn mull: have been built, or an inordinate quantity of carriage would have been re- quiiite. The chance of bad weather feems to be the only objection to this practice. But there is always plenty of Itraw to cover up the am with ; and it is found bv experience, that a little rain upon the jlra-iv does not make it lefs affected by cattle ; at leaft not perceptibly. In some cases, the practice is, beyond difpute, highly eligible in this country ; and might, I have not a doubt, be profitably extended, to many other Diilricts of the Ifland. C 4 PULSE. 24 ? U L S E. I9. PULSE. NOTHING particularly noticeable has occurred to me, in this Dmrict, refoectin* any of the fpecies of cultivated pulfe ; except- ing that it is a pretty common practice to fow beans and peas (grey peas) together, under the name of " blendings." Some- times '* fitches" (probably a gigantic va- riety of the ervum lens) are fown among beans. Thefe mixtures are found to increafe the crop ; and the component fpecies are iy feparable, with the fieve. Formerly "lentils," the true erv lens, were a common crop in this neighbour- hood 5 but they are gone into difufe. TURNEPS. YORKSHIRE. 25 20. T U R N E P S. TWENTY YEARS ago, the turnep crop was a rtranger, in this Diitrict.. Even yet, it 13 far from being an eftabiiihed crop. Neverthelefs, there are fome men whom the fpirit of improvement has ilimulated to the turnep culture ; and who may rank among the belt, turnep farmers, in the king- dom y thole of Norfolk excepted. It muil not, however, be expected that, after the ample detail I have given of the Norfolk practice, much new matter can be collected, from the practice of this Diitrict. I have met with only one particu- lar which merits notice ; and which, though a fimple and eligible piece of management, I do not recollecl to have met with in Norfolk. In the inftance of practice under notice, the large]} of the turneps are drawn tarried T U R N £ P S. carried off, for fatting cattle ; and the fmall ones eaten upon the ground y withflieep; efpeci- ally -/:.'. ewes and lambs, in the (bring. This - : eafes very much the labor of drawing, tailing, &c. — and gives the fmall tnrneps the early part of :;-r; and to (boot freely in the fpring. If the final] ones be eaten off in winter, the foil is rendered free for the plow, as if whole had been drawn and carried off. And in this particular only, reits the fuperi- : : :v of the Yorkshire practice : one inftance off: Norfolk having been noticed, hich the large ones were drawn, and the fmall ones differed to itand until fpring. See folk, Seel. Tup.neps, Art. Draw-. 3- RAPE. YORKSHIRE. 27 21, RAPE SEED. THIS is the only Diftrift In which I have met with rape (Brassica napus — Colefeed) cultivated for its seed. It has long been the practice of the Vale ; where large quantities have been annually cultivated; and where the cultivation of it is, I believe, equal at leair to that of any other DiftriO. It therefore merits a full and minute de- icription, in this place. The requisite divilicns of the fubiect are, I. SuccelTicr.. II. Soil and Management. III. Manure and Management. IV. Semination. V. Management while growing. VI. Harveft management. VII. Market. I. SUCCESSION. Rape is generally fewn on sward. In the richer pans of the Vale. *S RAPE SEED. < Vale, it is fomctimes fown en fallow, like turnep; ; and, feme times, it is ventured upon the stubble of an arable crop ; but, ufllefs the foil be clean and rich, feidom with fuccefs. On maided sward, as that of commons, or old grazing grounds, it generally turns out a very profitable crop. II. SOIL, Sec. Various as are the soils q£ this Diitrict, it is /own on every spe- cies ; and, generally, with a fucceis propor- tioned to its rtebnefs ; the Jpccipc quality of the foil being con&iered as immaterial ; pro- vided it has lain long in sward ; and pro- vided the fward be reduced, and the foil ameliorated, by "paring and burning." See the Article Sodeurning. II;. 1MAXURE, &c. The alhes of the fward, with generally a fprinkling of lime, are the univerfal and only manure, for rape on fward. The allies, I believe, are principally depended upon for the rape ; the lime being rather intended for iucceeding ps. IV. SEaIINATION. The time of sowing, July : early enough to get a Itrong and late enough to prevent its running up tq Jicms the nrir autumn. Quantity o? seeDj one gallon an acre; ibwn gene- ra 11 v YORKSHIRE. 29 rally on the rough plit of one plowing (fee Sodburning) ; the feed being brufhed in, with a thorn harrow. Sometimes, the tops of the plits are lightlv fcarified, with a pair of tined harrows, before the feed be fown ; and ibmetimes they are neither harrowed before, nor fwept after the lowing ! V. MANAGEMENT WHILE GROW- ING. I have heard of one or more inftances of rape being hoed, with five or fix inch hoes, but that is not the practice of the country. Neither hoing, nor weeding, of any kind, I believe, is ufually bedowed on the rape crop. One practice, however, in this ftage of the management of rape, deferves notice. The practice here meant is that of " trans- planting :" namely, filling the vacant patches (with which rape too frequently abounds) with plants drawn from the parts that are overftocked. This work is generally done, by women, who put in the plants with dibbles. Plants thus removed feldom fail to take root ; but they ripen fomewhat later than the unmoved plants. Nevertheless, the practice is highly eligible . The S> RAPE SEED. The time of tranfplanting is October. If the whole, or a principal part of a land, or a large patch, — happen to mil'?, — the plow is fome times ufed in trir.iV.ir.: ing. In this cafe, the plants are laid, or placed in a leaning pofture, by women, in every fecond furrow, about a foot apart m the fur- rows. The roots are of courfe cove: the next plit ; and a fecond plit being ac : another row of plants are laid igainJI ::. The diltance, therefore, is about eighteen or twenty inches, by twelve j and th good r.d, is found to be lumcier" near. The expence of tranfplantir.r :: :hi5 ner, has been found, on accurate ; .:- vation, to be about four milling ;;= . namelv, eight women, at fiipenct a iay each. This expedient leads to an or which would, in my opinion, be PROVEMENTIN THE CULTURE OF RAPE SEEI>. The great objection to tl ad that which deters many judicious men from cul- tivating it, is the length of time it occ - the foil. Being fown in July : r A igi .:. the whole tribe of biennial weeds have tin. eitablim themi'elves, before winter] and not - -r5 YORKSHIRE. 31 being reaped, until July or Aaguft follow- ing, thev have time to mature and ihed their feed. The grafTes, and flrong-rocted weeds of every kind, likewiie gain, in that time, a degree of poiTeiTion, which is difficult to be let aiide. The foil, too, gets out of tilth, by lving fo long a time without plowing. One plowing, in autumn, would re- move, or greatly alleviate, thole evils. The biennials would thereby be extirpated ; the sralTes and itrono;- rooted weeds be checked j and the foil be preferved in tillage. The operation which (bikes me, as being fingularly eligible to be adopted, is that ot TRANSPLANTING THE WHOLE CROP. The method I mould propoie if this : draw, from the jirft land, a iurnciency of plants to plant the lajl land with, and bury their roots in a vacant ground, until. wanted. Plow the firlt land (thus burying the weeds and the refufe rape) and, at the fame time, ilock it, in the manner above defcribed, with plants, drawn from the fecond land. The £rit land flniihed, fupply the fecond with plants from the third, and fo on, till the whole be finifhed ; planting the lafl land with the Dlants in referve, ■ Be fides $t RAPE SEED. Beiides the advantages already fet forth, the entire piece would, by this means } be farnifhed with prime plants ; equal in firength -y and regular in diflance. Hence, the foil would not only be evenly occupied, but the crop would ripen equally; The large and uniform diflance of the plants, too, would give free admiflion to the hoe : — even a narrow kotje hoe might be ufed between the rows. 'Thus, the foulejl crop which farmers have to deal with, might, J or a f mall expence, be ren- dered a fallow crop of the fir ft eftimation. If ibdburnt land were managed in this manner, the firft or feed plowing ought to be very fhallcw,- acrofs the ridges (if any) ; and the fecond, or tranfplanting plowing, longway of the lands, acrofs the firft plow- ing ; gathering up the ridges dry againil; winter. A manured fallow, a rich wheat ftubble, or other land iurliciently clean, and in fuf- ficient heart for rape, might be planted with it in a iimilar manner ; railing plants for this purpofe in a detached feed bed. VI. HARVESTING. Rape is generally ripe in July; fooner or later, according to the feaibn. It is coniidered as fit for cutting when YORKSHIRE. 33 when the forwardeit of the feed has begun to turn black. It is univerfally cut with lickles, by women -, who, in the ordinary management of the country, lay it in broad thin "reaps," upon the tops of the Hubble ; which they generally cut about a foot high, or as high as the lower branches will allow. In thefe " reaps," — fhoves or open meaves, — it lies until the lap be pretty well dried out of the greeneft, and the ripeft is ready to open its pods. If it lie too long, much of the prime feed will be loll in the field ; if it be thrafhed too green, much will be left in the pods, and that which is thrafhed out will be difficult to cure. The METHOD OF THRASHING (which has been practifed in the Vale, perhaps, ever fince rape has been cultivated in it) will re- quire more defcription than I can well per- fuade myfelf to beftow upon it. But a pub- lic " rape-thrashing," conducted as it is in this country, is one of the moft ftriking fcenes which occur in the field of Rural Economy. Contending armies can fcarcely exhibit, to the diftant eye, greater tumult ; nor can the parade boaft. of better difcipline, Vol. II. D than ft RAPE SEED". than may fometimes be obferved, in a well conducted rane thrafhin^. If the quantity to be thramed be large, as twenty or thirty acres, the whole coun- try", for many miles round, are collected. The days of thrafhing are coniidered as pub- lic davs\ the lord of the harveit. keeping open fields for all who choofe to enter ; ample provmon of meat and drink being made, for this purpofe. A wake or a fair is not a fee rie of greater icllitv. It is not common, however, for unbidden guefts to go- to thefe rural meetings, without amirlng, or at leafl ofFering their fervices to ai'Iift, in forwarding the buiinefs of the day. But to make fure of hands, for the more la- borious departments, men and women are prcvioufry retained, with wages over and above the fpoils of the feaft. Alfo previous to the day of thrafhing, a " rape cloth," — " carrying-cloths," — and other ncceflaries, are to be provided. The cloths are in the hands of a few men, who . let them out, at fo much a day, or io much an acre. A rape cloth, of the largeir. fize, meafures twenty yards fquare : weighing more than half a ton weight. HeiTen is the ofual YORKSHIRE. 31 ufual material of which it is made. The hire of fuch a cloth is 1 5s. a day. Alfo, before the thrashing, the rape and the (babble are to be cleared away from the place (or places, if the piece be large) where the thrashing floor is to be made ; the clods being taken off, and the hollows filled up, where the cloth is intended to be laid. The buiinefs of the day is thus conducted : The men are divided into carriers, thrafhers, and floor-men. Women fill the carrying- cloths ; and bcvs hold them while rilling. Thefe cloths are made of canvas, about fix feet fquare, with poles fixt on two oppoiite fides (in the manner of a rolling map) ; openings being left, in the middle, between the poles and the canvas, for two men to run their arms through, one on either fide ; the poles retting, by their middles, on the men's moulders ; the cloth rilled with rape hanging between them. In thefe cloths the whole of the crop is carried to the thrashing floor. The flocr-men are divided into layers-on, turners, takers-oit, rake-men, riddlers, &c. £cc. Sec. The rape to be thralhed is ipread thin upon the cloth, in a circle, as large as the cloth will contain, D 2 The 36 RAPE SEED, The thrafhers move continually in this ring ; marching with a flow ftep, in pairs, and in two diviuons ; the individuals of each divilion following one another, as clefely as the nature of their employment will allow them. The firft diviilcn are preceded by the layers-on, and followed by the turners \ and : I fe upon the rear of the fee d r. iivifiod fol- the takers- ij who with, wcoden-tined forks make and i ftraw; which is piled in heaps, by others, with longer im- plements. Finally, the rake-men run c:t the feed, '.vith the heads of their rakes thruift before them ; forcing the feed into recefTes fonned within the ring, or upon the corners of the cloth •> where groups ci fillers, riddlers, fee. *xc. are emploved i rating the feed, from the principal part of the pods, and fhort .vs, which bear off in th ;; while enters are equally hu:V in. p : - towed feed into bag-, and carrying it :? the " pie" or the waggon. Toward i b of the day, when the llraw has r: tain piles j: ahnoft .: brightnefs ; when the field of em- .ment appears en its large. t icale ; when ev YORKSHIRE. 37 every department is in full work ; and when every individual is animated, and not yet fatiated, with the entertainments of the day -, the rape thrashing affords the contemplative mind a pleafing fight ; and would afford the pencil a picliurefque fubjecl:. The two divifions of thrafhers, moving in clofe phalanx, with flails nimbly brandifh- ing, fometimes in open view, fometimes par- tially hid among the piles of ftraw ; the clothmen bury and attentive to their various employments ; the team drawing off the loaded feed ; the carriers, from every hand, preffing to the thrafliing floor, with their feemingly cumbrous loads ; and the diftant groups of fillers, fcattered on every fide of the foreground ; could not fail of affording matter interefting to the painter •, efpecially jn a country where a fuitable offscape is fel- dom wanting. It were almof]: pity that a fcene, at once fo picture fque and fo truly ruftic, fhould fink into oblivion, as in all probability it will, in a fhort courfe of years. A more frugal management is growing into efleem \ and it is highly probable that, in a few years, public rape thrafliing will be difcontinued, and, in a few years more, be forgotten. D 3 The 3? RAPE SEED. The feed is cured (that is, takes the heat which is incident to all recent vegetables) in the chaff or pods — provincially, " pulls" — either on a barn floor, a granary, &c. or in W pies" built in the field, for this purpofe, with plaited ftraw. The form is that of a corn bufhel ; the diameter, (even, or eight feet; the height three or four feet. This large ftraw bafket-r like receptacle is filled with rough feed, to the brim, topped up, in a conical form, with ftraw, and the whole fecured with a coat of thatch. This is more generally done, when the markets happen to be low, at the time of thrashing ; as, in thefe pies, the feed may be kept any length of time.; provided a fufficient proportion of pulls be retained among it ; and provided the fize of thefe receptacles, and confequently the quantity of feed depofited In them, be not too large. When the feed has done heating, and a market offers, it is fold, carried to the barn, winnowed, and fent to market. The inconveniencies of public rape thrashing now require to be mentioned. The buftle and hurry, fo diflimilar to the placid routine of hufbandry, which are unavoidable on YORKSHIRE. 39 en thefe occafions, are difagreeable to moil men ; the expence, too, is fometimes un- reafonable ; the hazard by weather con- fiderable ; and the wade which is generally made by the over-ailiduoufnefs of unikilful volunteers, are all of them objections to the practice. Befides, the firaw and the pulls are, in this cafe, little lefs than wafted, being ufually burnt in the field for their afhes, which are very few in quantity, and the neat profit arifing from them ineomiderable. The feafon too is inconvenient : whether in hay time or harveft, every other employ- ment, however neceflary, bows to the rape thrashing. It were no wonder that inconveniencies, fuch as thefe, mould induce fenfible men to devife a more eligible management of this profitable crop. Yet fuch is the infatuation of an eftablifhed cuftom, that there has not, I believe, been an inftance of more than one (deviation, originating in the Vale, during the centuries of time which rape may have been cultivated within it. In this inftance, the rape was harvested as wheat ; — reaped, bound, mucked, car- ried into the barn, cured in the fir aw, and D 4 thraihed 4o R A P E S E E D. thraiTied out when markets and conveniency required. Binding it, while yet in a flexible ftate, fe- cured it from the waite, by medding, which is more or lefs incurred, by handling loofe reaps, in a dry parched flate, with the pods ready to open on the flighted touch. By Jetting it up in Hooks, the waile com- mitted by birds was much leiiened, efpecially that by wood pigeons, which, fettling upon the reaps, beat out tenfold what they eat ; whereas, in mucks, that which is beaten out runs down into the /heaves and is laved. In carryings a tali pole was fixed at each corner of the waggon, and a large cloth thrown over them, hanging in a bag to re- ceive the load, and to catch the ihedded feed. To prevent wafie in r ' . , the floor of the mow was covered with soft hay, which ltops the running of the feed, an i oft* which it may be eaiily gathered, or thrown upon the thraihing floor; whereas ftraw being more open, admits the feed to run down among it, and is the caufe of confiderable watte. The expeyicc, under this management, is comparatively much lefe, than it is in a public thrafhiog ; YORKSHIRE. 41 thrashing ; more efi - . lly, if the piece to be harvefted be fmall -, a ur or five acres, for inftance, which create as great a buftle, and caufe almofl as great an e;vr - nee, as twice that quantity. By an accurate account of the expence of five acres of rape, harvefted in the ufual man- ner, fome years ago, the expence appears to be 23s. an acre. The fame quantity would now, under the prefent price of living, and the prefent fiyle of treating upon thefe oc- cailons, cofr. from thirty to forty millings an acre. By an account, equally accurate and parti- cular, it appears, that four acres and three quarters, harvefted as wheat, a very few years fince, coft only 1 6s. 6d. an acre, tho' thrafhed out in harvefr, vReaping — three women, at Sd. each 2 o Binding — a man 2S. a boy 6d. 2 6 Carrying — three loads, at i8d. 46 Thrashing — three days in harvejl, at 2s. 6d, y 6 16 6 But the laving of expence is far from being the greatelt laving by this practice. The value of the straw, to cattle in winter, 42 RAPE SEED. winter, is found to be very conflderable. The Jtover (that is, the pulls and points of the ftraw broken off in thrashing) is as acceptable to them as hay ; and the tops of the Jiraw are eaten with avidity, " nearly equal to oat " ftraw, better than wheat ftraw." — If it be well got, the Smaller butts will be eaten up clean. The offal makes excellent litter for the farm-yard j and is ufeful for bottoms of mows, flacks, &c. &c. If we confider the nature of rape, how nearly it is allied to the turnep, and how grateful to cattle while in a green ftate, it is TiD wonder that the pods, and finer parts of the fterns mould be acceptable to them, in a ilate of drynefs. Setting fire to the whole in the field is a barbarous practice which ought to be exploded. Objectionable, however, as the- common mode of harveflmg rape, in this country, un- doubtedly is, it has, during time immemo- rial, been implicitly adhered to (the inftance iaft-mentioned only excepted) until this year (1787), when an improvement has taken place, which bids fair to efFecl a revolution, in this department of the hufbandry of the Vale. In Y O R K S H I R 7.. <£ In this sd method, the rape : BOUND IN SHEAFLETS, heat fheaves, with gre e of rape, or with long _::.:: or other with which the ftut abou; Thefe (heanets are laid li '.: f the ble to dry, not fet up in ilooks, above noticed. d they are hai-i \ th are, or : to be, tamed ; fully d STACKED lit THE Fill?. The fliea - .: to the ftack in fledges; each lledge being fiirniihed wit cloth 1 large » about four fee: above the b e, which hi and drawn by one horle. Thefe fiei;-: . that is to fay, the bags are rilled, by women, and are :n to the flacks, bybc • riding udoh the . ;. A large cloth is fpread by the fide ftack, for emptying the fledges u which is done by overturning them; lb that no time is loft, either by the fledges, or ftackers. A large field of rape is icon got together, in this way. When it is thus ficured in ftack, and has taken its .--".:: in tbejlraws it remains at the option 44. RAPE SEED. option of the owner to thrafh it when, where, and in what manner he pleafes ; that is, as markets, leifure, and other circumflances may direct him. It is obfervable, that rape feed, cured in flacky generally turns out a fine fample. One thing relative to this practice is too remarkable to pafs unnoticed. It has been an ejiablijhed, and, I understand, the ordinary prdBice, during many years, of a Diftrict (the Egton quarter of the Morelands) iituated not more than ten miles from that part of the margin of the Vale (Lockton) at which it this year made its entry ! This is a {hiking inftance of the flow pro- grefs, which practices in hufbandry, howfor ever excellent, have hitherto made, in txa-? veiling from one Diftrict to another. HOW ESSENTIALLY NECESSARY, THEN, IT IS TO REGISTER THEM, ACCURATELY AND FULLY, IN THE DISTRICTS OF THEIR ORIGIN, OR IN PLACES WHERE THEYHAVE REACHED THE HIGHEST DEGREE OF PER- FLATION, AND TO DISTRIBUTE SUCH RE- GISTERS, RECIPROCALLY, AMONG THE i \RIOUS DISTRICTS OF THE ISLAND. TIL MAR- YORKSHIRE. 45 VII. MARKETS. There are no oil mills in the Vale. The only market is Malton, from whence rape feed is fent, chiefly I be- lieve, into the manufacturing part of the county, where oil mills are numerous. The price, ten to thirty pounds a laft, of ten quarters. VIII. The PRODUCE of a middling crop is four quarters an acre : five quarters an acre have not unfrequently been produced. General Observations on the Cul- ture of Rape Seed. The fluctuation of price, which rape fe^d is fubject to, being in fome meafure, perhaps, influenced by the fuccefs of the Greenland fifhery, and the hazard to which the crop is expofed, render it in a degree uncertain. Frosts, in fpring, when rape is in blow, or in the critical ftate between the bloflbming and the formation of the pods, are its greateil enemies. In the fpring of 1783 much mif- chief was done by frofls, in May. One perfon had a piece of twenty acres almofl deftroyed by it. In the beginning of May, this crop promifed eight or ten pounds an acre : the foil rich, the crop on the ground good, and the price above par. In the wane of May, the twenty acres v/ere offered for twenty 46 RAPE SEED. twenty pounds ! a lofs of one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds, in one article,- and perhaps in one night ! But every crop is fubject to hazard, and to a fluctuation in price ; and although rape be liable to be cut off by froit, it rarely is de- ftroyed by that means. Upon the whole, it may be coniidered as one of the mod: pro- fitable crops in huibandry. There have been infbnces, en cold unproductive old paflure lands, in which the produce of the rape crop has been equal to the purchafe value of the land. This prcduetivenefs, or, in ether words, the profitableness of the rape crop, is, how- ever, held out by fome men as an objection to its culture, under an idea that it mull im- poverifh the foil. Does not every produBvue crop impoverijh the foil ? \ et who will argue that good crops are lefs eligible than bad ones ? A good crop enables the farmer to replenifh and meliorate his foil, with manure and tillage, which ought (generally fpeaking) always to be in proportion to the recent produdtivenefs of the foil, and to the ftate of foulnefs and tilths in which the nature of recent crops have placed it. if, YORKSHIRE. '4% If, in the culture of rape, the foil be per- mitted to lie undifturbed, either by the plow or the hoe, from feed time to harveft, fuf- fering weeds of every fpecies to mature and fcatter their feeds, and to gain an eftablifh- ment in the foil ; and if, at harveil:, the ftraw be burnt in the field, and the allies be fent to market, rape is in truth an impoverishing crop. But were the foil to be plowed, in autumn, and to be hoed during the enfuing fummer ; and were the flraw, <$cc. inftead of being burnt, to be confumed in the farmyard, as fodder and litter, I am of opinion that rape, in many cafes, would be the mofl eligible crop the farmer could make choice of*. POTA- * Whether oleaginous or farinaceous crops — wheth*r "five quarters of rape or live quarters ©f wheat an acre — incur the greater impoverishment of foil, is a fubjecr, which is yet in the hands of theory- While the food of vegetables,, and the vegetable economy at large, are fo little underftood, as they appear to be at prefent, all argument reflecting the comparative impoverifhment of the foil, by different fpecies of vegetable?, muft be futile. 43 POTATOES. 22. POTATOES. CONSIDERABLE quantities c: Potatoes are raifec, in the Di. trier, under furvey. Almofl cverr m^, let his farm be ever :o final!* cultivates : in the field : not in the ordinary method, praabiied in meft Diltridsoft riom: I rWc', but with the plow : a practice which been followed, invariably, for near a center.-: I do not mean to f :f it as a pracricc iliar to York::: ire ; but, I believe, there is do other c : lint r in which it evalent. It therefore merits partici '. It wOl b e ne :eir; ry :: : :r.ild -ately, I. The Sj r Variety. II. The Succeiuon. III. Tl I and Tillage. IV. The Manure ufe V. The Seed and Setting, VI. Cleaning the Crop. VII. Harveftinff. o VIII. Pre:":r- Roots. IX. Pro- YORKSHIRE. 49 IX. Produce. X. Markets ; or Application of Pro- duce. XI. The ErTeft of the Potatoe Crop on Soils. I. There is only one SPECIES of Potatoe «— solanum tuberofitm : — but the varie- ties of that fpecies are endlefs. Every county has its favorite kinds ; though very different from one another. To enumerate the forts, of any particular Diftrict, would be filling the page with barbarous terms, with- out conveying any ufeful information to the reader. The varieties of potatoes are tempo- rary, in every District; having their entrances and their exits. The rough-fkinned " Rufia taty" of this District was long a favorite 5 but is now, I believe, with many others that have flourished for a time, entirely loft. There is fome reafon to believe, that the difeafe, which has of late years been fatal to the potatoe crop, in this and other Diftricls, under .the name of the curl, or " curled tops," has arifen from too long a conti- nuance of declining 'varieties, Be this as it may, it appears to be an opinion, eftablimed here, by fome years experience, that frefi Vol. II. E varieties. 50 POTATOES. varieties, raifed from feed, are not liable to that difeafe. This matter, however, may not yet be fuf- ficiently afcertained, to be regiftered here as a fact. This difeafe made its appearance, fome vears ago, with more or lefs effect, in, I believe, every part of the kingdom. In fome parts of it, its continuance was mort ; its effects have ceafed ; and are now almoft forgotten. In one inilance (which I may have occaiion to mention in another place), its removal was, in all probability, owing to the introduction of new varieties. The Diftrict under furvey furnifhes a re- markable inftance, refpecting this difeafe. The Morelands are, at prefent, in a manner free from it, while the Vale is ftill, in fome degree, infected with it. Plants procured, from the Morelands, remain free from it, in the Vale, the firfi year ; but, being con- tinued, become liable to the difeafe. The difeafe of curled tops is feldom ob- vious, at the firit coming up of the plants ; but attacks- them as they increafe in fize ; the entire top becoming dwarfifh and fhri- velled, as if affected by drought, or loaded with infects : they neverthelefs live, and in- creafe, though flowly, in fize ; but the roots are YORKSHIRE. $t are unproductive. Some crops have been almoft wholly deftxoyed by this difeafe. Where the attack has been partial, weeding cut the difeafed -plants, as they failed, is faid to have had a good effect. And, it is /aid, the Morelanders got rid of the difeafe> through this means. The method of raising potatoes from seed is known to fome intelligent hufband- men, here. The prevailing method is this : — In autumn, when the apples are beginning to fall fpontaneoufly, they are gathered, by hand, and preferved, in fand, until fpring, when they are mafhed, among the fand, or among frefh mold ; feparating the feeds, and mixing them evenly with the mold. As foon as fpring fro lis are judged to be over, they are fown, in fine garden mold ; and, as fail as the plants get into rough leaf, and are flrong enough to be handled without injury, they are tranfplanted, from the feed bed, into another bed of frefh rich mold — in rows * which are kept clean, during the fummer. In autumn, bunches of fmall potatoes are found, at the roots of thefe plants ; varyino- in fize, the firft year, from the hazel nut to the crab. Thefe being planted, next fpring, produce potatoes of the middle fize -, but E 2 they $2 POTATOES. they do not arrive at their fulleit bulk, un- til the third or the fourth year. Where the ufe of the itove, or the garden- frame, can be had, this procefs may be fhortened. The feeds being (own within either of thefe, early in fpring, the plants be fit to be planted out, as foon as frofts are gone ; by which means the fize of the roots will be much increafed, the firir year ; and will, in the fecond, rife nearly to perfection. Potatoes, railed from feed, are a mifceiiany of endlefs varieties. Sometimes, thefe va- rieties are planted promifcuou fly ; fometi: particular varieties are feiected. In selecting varieties, from feedling potatoes, two things are to be attended to; the intrinsic quality of the pctatoe, and its productiveness. If thefe two de- niable properties can be found, in one plant, the choice is determined. To this lbecies of attention, and induftiy, we are indebted ;':: the many valuable kinds, which have been, and now are, diilributed throughout the IflancL It is obfervable, however, that varieties of potatoes like thofe of corn, are partial tp ir foils and fituations. Hence, the propriety of bujbandmen railing potatoes from YORKSHIRE. ss feed ; as by this means they obtain, with a degree of moral certainty, a fort adapted to ir owri particular foils and fituations . But it has been already obferved, that 5 degenerate : the old favorite forts of this Diftricr, were driven, until fome of the individual plants barely produced their feed a&aih. Whoever has attended clofcly to the work of taking-up potatoes, mult have obferved, great ins p.. the produftrocnefs of :il plants. The difference in the •ce of adjoining roots, where no dif- paritv of foil can influence, will fcmetimes be three cr four fold. Hence, it is evident, that each variety has its sub-varieties : through whoie means, it can hardly be doubted, the parent variety may be improved) and its cohti : be prolonged. Thus, the farmer has another mean in his power, of improving the quality and produc- tive nefs of his potatoe crop, by improving varieties, cr, in other words, see ec tin c, sub-varieties, fuperiorly adapted to foil and fituation. Every attentive cultivator of this valuable root rauft be acquainted with the wic e dif- ference, in neat profit, between a full and E 3 even 54 POTATOES. even a middling crop. The rent of land, the feed, and the labor are the fame, whether the produce prove great or fmall. How im-s prudent, then, to propagate an unproductive kind, when the means of obtaining a pro- ductive one are fo eafy and obvious. II. SUCCESSION. In the common prac- tice of the country, potatoes are cultivated as a fallow crop for wheat.- the cleaned part of a Hubble, or other ground, intended to be fummer fallowed for wheat, being fet apart for potatoes. They are feldom planted on sward ; the common predeceffor cf the potatoe crop, in molt other places. It is, however, underflood, here, that they do beft upon "fresh land;" that is, land which not been too long under the plow. III. SOIL and TILLAGE. Formerly, potatoes were confined to light friable loams: and the forts which were cultivated, in thofe days, might require this refraction : now, they are grown in all foils ; different varieties being found partial to different land. It is obferved, however, that let the fort be ever fo well adapted to the foil, beany cold land feldom gives light well flavored potatoes. The foil is broken-up, in winter or fpring, and worked-over, two or three times, with the YORKSHIRE. 55 the plow and harrow, as for turneps ; getting it as fine, as the nature of an early fpring fallow will admit of. IV. MANURE. Dung: generally long ftrawy dung ; which is fet in heaps, upon or near the patch to be planted ; previouily to the feed plowing. The y is twenty to thirty cart loads, an acre. V. SETS and PLANTING. Formerly, it was the common practice of the Diitxict to plant ivbok potatoes. In taking up potatoes, they were forted, into large, fmall, and Jets? which were of the middle lize. At prefent, that practice is, I believe, en- tirely laid aiide : it being the cuflom, now, to cut potatoes, into more than one fet : name- ly, middle-lized ones into two, large ones into three or four ; leaving the cuttings much larger, than is done in mol other Diftri where eight or ten iingle-eyed lets are fome- times cut out of one pctatoe. The reafon given for the life of large cuttings is, that the young plants may acquire, at die outlet, a ltxong vigorous habit, and thereby be enabled to throw out and maintain a furricient number of roots and branches. And the reafon I have heard given for uilng large potatoes, in preference E 4 to 56 POTATOES. to {mailer one?, is, that " large ones are more likely to produce large ones again." The reafbning, in both cafes, appears to be good. The. lets being ? re pared, the Jeed plowing is riven. In this plowing, the land-is laid up in rjdgets, fimilar to thofe in which gardeners leave the (oil, in the operation called trench- ing, when it is not intended to be imme- 2 :ped. The mdih of thefe ridgets depends on the judgement of the planter; from two and a half to three feet is the ufual width. This operation is performed with a com- mon plow, in the way in which rice- balking, Faltering, or half plowing, is ufually done; end- ag to leave the bottoms of the drills/;-. . . .: . and .:v. One itrong fe, if the foil be light and fine, or two horfc;. anc the other, if ctherwife, is the t m for this work. Horfes abreaft are apt to foul the drills. The ofual depth :: that af the : ted foil. In thefe drills, the lets are drcr:, by women , :: twelve to eighteen inches diitance, according to the judgement of the farmer. If the quantity of land be given, and the bomber of lets be indefinite, twelve inches may be a faffiricnt diitance j but if, as [s generally YORKSHIRE. 57 generally the cafe Jiere, the quantity of land be greater in proportion, than the number of fets, the farther they are planted afiinder, the greater will be the produce in proportion to the plants. While one party are planting, another are carrying on the dung, in fcuttles ; either fcattering it regularly along the drills, or ap- plying it partially to the plants; covering each fet with its due portion of manure. This may appear to be a tedious bufmefs ; it cer- tainly is a dirty one : but not fo tedious as inexperience may fuggeit.. If the loads be broken into three or four heaps, and thefe be diit.ribut.ed conveniently, five or fix wcmen will plant and cover an acre, a day, in this manner. The plow clofes the bufmefs of planting: the ridges are either returned upon the plants and dung, with a common plow, or are iplit, with a double-mold-board plow ; i:i either ci'~e, railing the foil into ridge ts., over the drills of potatoes. VI. CLEANING THE CROP. As foon as the young plants make their appear- ance, the land is harrowed, lengthway of the ridges ; to tear up the feed weeds which grew upon their crowns, and to fmother thole id the 58 POTATOES. the trenches, with the mold. In a fhort time afterward, the plow, with the mare broad and fharp, is run through each interval, and the rows cleaned with the hoe. In a few weeks more, the intervals are again ftirred, with the plow, throwing the earth towards the plants, and the hand hoing repeated. If leifure and the depth of the foil will permit, a fecond earthing may be given; and, when the plow and the hoe are no longer able to find admimon among the tops, hand weeding is, or ought to be, made life of. By thefe means, land may be as effectually cleaned from feed weeds, as by fallowing ; and no man, who has any regard for his own iRtereft, or for his character as a farmer, would ever think of planting potatoes, in a bed of couch and tbijiles. VII. HARVESTING. Formerly, pota- toes were taken up with the plow ; endea- vouring to get the mare below the potatoes, and to overturn the ridges. But, without great care, many potatoes were cut, in this operation, andmanymore unavoidably buried j fo that picking, again and again, was necef- fary; and, at laft, fome were left in the land. At prefent, the prevailing practice is to take them up with common dung forks : an operation YORKSHIRE. 59 operation which is, at once, effectual ; and which is by no means Co tedious, when pota- toes are grown in ridges, as when in the ordi- nary way, the entire ground is to be dug over. In ridges, the roots are diftincl, and are eafily laid bare ; being open on three fides, with free vent for the mold. The fork being forced down behind them, the whole nidus are at once expofed. VIII. The way of PRESERVING PO- TATOES, here, has been either to bury them, in deep pits, within the ground ; or to houfe them, in a barn or ether out-build- ing, guarding them on every iide with draw. The dangers to be guarded againft zxtfrofls and wet. At prefent, (the evil effects of deep pits having been difcovered) the growing practice feems to be that of laying them in long ridge-like heaps, upon the Surface of arable ground, and covering them up, with the furrounding foil, ridged-up in a roof-like form. A long arched vault, running end- way into the lide of a hill (or the fide of a pit or other hollow) with a door at the end, level with the ground below; with a road pyer the top ; and with one or more mooting holes, - ? : : a : : : i holes, fimik: to thofe of coal vaults u the ."::"::. ::" :: ■ / ■■ : -.: be it. e.i; :. MARKETE sr.d APPLICATION. In *" :? :::: •:: zr.t D'.:zriC". -•:• "-.■ •-:.-.-. ix:t~' -:z: At? in :he :::.-;• :he - : ;..:: ;*: :■:" r::i::e; :•: ^fcf£ extenfive. In //v> Diibid. z are almoft the only fpecies to which they are i r _ L - i . 5 .~.e :V.v i-e z'-j.-z- :: r?'.v:. But in the bottom of the Vale of York^ : Lite ";:::. beer. -:> - plied to be i atting of gattle. They are, I believe, invariably given to them : : ,eals of hay or ground ba the method of fatting, with potatoes, being liinilar to that of fatting, with tumeps. The quantity of pota- upon an acre, under the mar._ go- at above defcribed, I have not been .mate enough to afcertain, with fumcient [t is niuch leis than what arlfes oldgrals land, dug over with the ipade, sn.i f.Le- ■-■.:>_ rlir.:.., :: i: :h; ::>;:.: = :f tlk MIDLANI : : - . TIBS. ;;;. tub effect c? potai : - LAN! ' irious are the r.s of -:": l ne -'.- YORKSHIRE. 6i ferts that they are great impouerijkers of the foil-, that they are hurtful to the corn, and ruinous to the graft, which fucceeds them. Another is clearly of opinion, that they are friendly to com, and not enemies to grafs. The difpute may, perhaps, be fettled, fatis- factorilv, in this manner. The potatoe contains, indifputably, a great quantity of nuurimment ; and is therefore, perhaps, as indifputably, a great exhaufter of the foil. But the quantity of vegetable ncuriihment carried off, in the potatoe crop, is not the only cauie of exhauftion : it is notorious to common obferv?.tion, that this crop leaves the foil in a angularly friable fertile fate ; caufing an abundant produce of the crop which fucceeds it. If, taking the advantage of this prodigality of the foil, the hufbandman keeps cropping it, year after year, with corn, — and, when it will no longer anfwer his unreasonable ex- pectations, lays it down to grafs, — it is no wonder that it mould be unproductive : for having lavimed aii its riches en an ;. igr iteful occupier, it is oi ccurfe reduced to the ex- treme or poverty. On 62 POTATOES. On the contrary, — if, after a crop of pota-» toes well dunged for, only one cr two crops of corn be taken, and the land laid down to grafs, wb3e . rf . . .: ftaie of . , the pota- toe crop is, to vulgar apprehenfion at lealt, friendly to the crops which iucceed it. Hence it follows, that lard which has been cropped with potatoes mould, prefently after- ward?, be laid down to gra/s ; or ihould be tplenijbed, with a quantity of manure, proportioned to the degree of exbaujhn it has undergone. General Observations'. The value of potatoes as a FALLOW CROP, and a; an article of FOOD FOR CATTLE, compared with turneps and for :'.:e lame ru-oofes, may be th • s : Potatoes are maft nutritious, and, in opinion of thole who have ufed them, fat cat- Mich ■•.'.: \ I titer turneps or cab- . ;. r: ?, bti ing fc -cured from the cities cr winter, are a more certain article :. tkantocneps 0f cabbages: both of which are liable to periih, under an alternacv of froftand tha and the tumep, more pc r- ticularlv, YORKSHIRE. 63 ticularlv, is locked up, or rendered tfiffi to be come at, during a continuance of mow orfroil. Turneps and cabbages, if they oat- weather the Severities of winter, occupy the foil in the fpring, when it is wanted to be prepared for the fucceeding crop ; while po- tatoes, if properlv laid up, are a : may be continued without inconvc until the cattle be nniihed, or the grais has acquired the requiiite bite for hnifhing them in the field. On the other hand, potatoes are a difagree- able crop to cultivate : the planting is a tedi- cus dirty buiinefs -, and taking them \vp, may be called the hlthieil work of husbandry ; efpecially in a wet autumn ; and ftill more efpecially, on a tender teru : while, upon weak thin land, the extraordinary quan- tity of manure, which is requiiite, renders them impracticable to be cultivated, on a large fcale, in ordinary iituations. Upon the whole, i: appears to be evident, from the information I am at preie.it in feffion of, that the three crops under con- federation are each of them fuperiorlv eli- gible, when they are cultivated on the soils, to which they are peculiarly, and reipectivelv, adapted. A flrong 64 POTATOES. A ftrong tenacious foil is equally unfit for potatoes and turneps, while it is fingularly adapted to cabbages. Light, (hallow, unproductive foils are equal- ly unfit for potatoes* and cabbages ; while, with gocd husbandry, turneps may be grown on them with advantage. Rich, found, deep, iandy loams are accept- able to the three. But the pot a toe appears to be porlerTed of fome fuperior properties, which render it, at leait, an object of experi- ment, in clean rich soils, as a fallow crop on a large icale, and as a food of farm {lock. *3 FLAX. WITHIN the lafr. twenty years, a confi- derable quantify of rlax has been grown, in the Vale. The richer pax ts of it are not ill adapted to this crop ; but whether thefe are now gene over, or whether the re- :;:.:~tions of landlords have checked the fpirit of VbRKSHIRE. 65 of cultivation, the culture 6f it is, now* 6'viv. dently on the decline. The flax crop, however* being confined to a few individual Diftri&s, it may be proper to give the outline of its management, in this; although it cannot here be called a ftaple crop. I will juft mention, 1. The Species cultivated. 2. Soil and Succemon. 3. Soil Procefs and Manure; 4. Semination. 5. Vegetating Procefs. 6. Management of the Produce. 7. Markets. I. SPECIES. We have only one species of cultivated flax — linum ujitatijjimum. — The variety > cultivated here, is the blue* blow, or lead-coloured flax—- provincially, *' blea Line." II. SOIL and SUCCESSION. Flax re- quy-esamcH drysoil. Deep fatfandyloam is perhaps the only foil, on which it is here cultivated with advantage^ Old grass land, bearing this defcrip- tion, is confidered as the propereft matrix for line. It is not unfrequently, however, fowiioti arablelandj and, when the foil is in heart, Vol. II, F dry. 66 FLAX. dry, friable, and free from weeds, with good fuccefs. III. TILLAGE and MANURE. The soil process generally confifts of a Jingle plowing , whether of fward or of wheat ftubble. In the latter cafe, however, it is moftly bad management. If line be fown on old corn-la?id, it ought, in general, to be cleaned from weeds, and rendered / friable, by a well worked fallow. Manure is, I believe, feldom, if ever, fet on, immediatelv for the line crop. IV. SEMINATION, i. The time of sowing, May. 2. The preparation of the soil. Much depends on the ftate of the foil at the time of fowing. It mould neither be very wet nor dry ; and the farface ought to be made as fine as that of a garden bed. Not a clcd the fize of an egg mould be left unbroken. 3. Quantity of seed, two bufhels an acre. 4. Covering the Seed. Sometimes, the furface is raked (after being firft harrowed) with garden or hay rakes. If, at the fame time, the clods and other obstructions, which could not eafily be reduced, were drawn into the interfurrows, the operation would be ilill more complete. A light YORKSHIRE. i; A light hand roller, ufed between the final harrowing and the raking, would afTiil much in this intention. V. The VEGETATING PROCESS depends, chiefly, on careful weeding ; an operation which ought to be performed, with great icrupulouiheis. Hence, land which' is Town with flax mould be made as free from weeds as pomble ; otherwife, the expence of weeding, or the injury to the crop, becomes confiderable. If, through a droughty Jeajor., the plants come up in two crops ; or if, by any other accident, or by mifmanagement, the plants be too thin upon the ground, the crop is irre- parably injured. The nature of flax is fuch, that where it has room at the root, or whenever it gets its head above the plants which furround it, it fends out fide branches, and lofes, in a great meailire, its upward tendency. But its good- nefs, as a crop, depends on its running up, with one jingle ft alk, from the root to the feed. 'At ver height it ramifies , there the length of line terminates. The branches are necef- iarily worked oft in dremng ; and the llem itfelf, unlefs it bear a due proportion to the F 2 bulk 63 FLA X. bulk of the crop, is likewise worked out among the refufe. Hence, the neceflity of having an even, fill crop. Clods, before the fowing, by- making the feeds glance in falling, prevent the furface from being evenly feeded; and thoie which remain, when the feeds are in the ground, prevent them from riling regu- larly. The infant plants, unable to pierce the clod, form themfelves in a circle round it, leaving a vacancy in the center, favorable to their early ramification. This being the nature of the plant, 2.fecond coming up feldom rifes to profit; for, being overgrown by the fpreading plants of the firft crop, it remains weak, mort, and underling, and, at pulling- time, is left Handing upon the land. Thus, by a droughty feedtime, the entire crop may be fpoiled. Nor is drought the only enemy of flax: it is liable to injur}- from fpringfrojis-, and is fometimes attacked, even when it is five or lix inches high, by fmall white /lugs ; fre- qaeii ippuig off the leaves to the top, which, bending down with their weight, they will fometimes draw into the ground; thus in part checking, and ill part deltroying the plants. if. YORKSHIRE. 69 If, at the time of weeding, a piece of flax do not pro. mife fair for a crop, it is always bad management to beitow upon it further labor and expence. A crop of turneps, or of rape will generally pay much better, than fuch a crop of flax. VI. MANAGEMENT OF THE PRO- DUCE. I. The TIME OF HARVEST, in this climature, is generally the latter end of July, or the beginning of Auguft. 2. Criteria of Ripeness. If the crop be intended for line of the firft quality, the time of pulling is when the feeds are fully formed, but not yet ripe. \i the feed be fuf- fered to mature, the quality of the flax is lowered ; the filaments are harm, and the cloth, made from them, will not take a good color in whitening. 3. The " pulling" is dene by laying hold of the full-fized plants, near the top, and drawing them up, or rather breaking them off, by the roots. One hand is uled in pull- ing, while the other receives the handfuls ; until as much is collected, as both hands can grafp. Some trior t underling plants are then gathered for a band, with which a fheaflet is formed. F 3 4. Theft 70 FLAX. 4. Thefe fheaflets are collected into heaps, and immediately taken to the watering pit, in which they are completely immerg- ed ; firft- by treading, and afterwards by load- ing them with fods, or other heavy materials. The immerfion is, or ought. to be, care- fully attended to ; for that which happens to be expofed, above the furface of the water, is materially injured. The " iteeping" is continued a longer or fhorter time, according to the weather and other cireumftances. It ought to lie, until it be fufficiently tender, without being rot- ten ; but to catch this ftate requires a nicety of judgement, which can be learnt from prac- tice, only. It generally lies about ten days in fteep ; ibmetimes a fortnight. 5. From the " line pit" it is carried to the (< rating ground j" — a piece of unbroken aftergrafs, where the fheaflets are untied, and the flax fpread thin upon the grafs. It is calculated, that a full crop ought to cover as much ground as it grew upon. Here it lies until it be fufnciently "rated;" namely, un- til the more woodlike fubftance of the items will feparate, freely, from the filaments or fj ax- en fibres, while thefe remain yet untainted ; therefore the length of time of rating, like that YORKSHIRE. 71 that of ileeping, depends much on the wea- ther, and can be afcertained, only, by the daily cbfervation of a perfon, whofe judge- ment has been matured, by long experience. If, when it reaches this ftate, the weather be iuch, that it will not drv, as it lies upon the grafs, it is fet upon its butts, in parcels relembling fugar loaves, or large untied gaits. When dry, it is laid up, in a barn, or other convenient place, to be " fwingled," when leifure and conveniency will permit. 6. The " swingling" — (and, generally, the " flee ping" and the "rating") — is done by men who make a buiinefs of it ; travel- ling from place to place, wherever flax is under cultivation. The operation of fwingling is that of fe- parating the woody fubitance from the fila- ments. To effect this, the rough llubborn ftems are mangled in a '* break ;" an inllru- ment which breaks the brittle fubftance of the iiem — provincially, the " bun" — into fragments, without feparating them from the filaments. The feparation is effected by beating, or rather hewing the mangled flems againll: a " fwingling frock" — (an upright flout board or ilab) with a " lwingle hand" — or wooden broad-axe ; the hvingler, from F 4 time r? FLA X. time to time, drawing out the tow, c: f: broken filamer.m by means of a " foot- heckle" — (refembling the moll of the flai-r drefTers); — and thus uiinr, alternately, the (wingle-hand and the heckle, proceeds, until the line be rendered fit fix the flax-dreflcr 5 namely, until the principal part of the rrag- ments — prcvi;-.;:aliy, " ihivs" cr ihivers, — and the principal part c: the t: T c: :h ::; filaments, be extricated; when the flu p folded up into handles :":.- file. The fwingling is lane, by the Hone, a! i price proportioned :: the length and ftub- bornnei's a-f the :::~. Flax, which is :>.::: or tough, requires much more labor, than that which is longer, or from which the fhifen part freely. From eighteenpence to two millings, a iter h board and lodging, b given for ; ng: a": : at twentypence is the cemmen price. The ww4 il way la- bor:. '"A. MARKETS. A marmfactory cf coarfe liner. op in the Vale, a market 1; a: hand. The arice c: rpogh £ ax varie . with foreign market:, and .a.: rinfic :_-.ality. Seven t: eight (hillings : ::.a; ::*:": artee.n rmar.ds may. I believe, YORKSHIRE. 73 be confidered as a medium price. From thirty to forty flones, an acre, a middling crop. General Observations on Flax as a Crop, in England. From this fketch of the culture and ma- nagement of flax, it appears, that the good^. nefs of the crop depends in fome meafure upon its length ; and this upon its evennefs and clofenefs upon the ground. The ftems ihould be t all ,Jlr aight > zndfendir. Three feet high is a good length of item ; and the thickneis of a crow quill a good thick nefs. A fine ilalk affords more line, and fewer fhivers, than a thick one does. A tall, thickfet crop is therefore deferable. But, unlefs the land be good, a thick crop cannot attain a fufficient length of ftem. Hence, the folly of lowing flax, on land that is unfit for it. Neverthelefs, with a suitable soil, a fufjiciency of feed, evenly diftributed, and a fa-* vorable feafon, flax may turn out a very pro- fitable crop. The flax crop, however, has its disad- vantages : it interferes with harveft, and is generally believed to be a great exhauiter of 74 FLAX. of the foil, efpecially when it? feed is fuffered to mature *. Hence, its cultivation, la mge ought to be confined to rich grassland Districts, where harveft is a feco:: object, and where its exhauition may he rather favorable, than hurtful, to fucce:. arable crops -> by checking the too great rank- nefs of rich, freih-broken ground. It is alfo evident, from the foregoing out- line, that much judgement is requiiite to the right-ordering of flax. No man, therefore, ought to attempt its cultivation, on a large fcale, until he has himfelf iTudied the various proceffes, maturely, in a Diilrict where it is cultivated, cr has procured, from fuch a country, a perfon who is enured to them, by long practice. But no prudent man will put himfelf to either of thefe inconveniencies, before he has tried, by (mail experiments, whether his soil be fuiiiciently affected ey flax, to enfure, under r: magement, and a _d feafon, z moral certainty of a crop. * ;.-. , -.:v Qieafiets are ."-.: up in ftoafcs, in the field, ar.d, when dry, are c tied to :he barn, thrafhed;. rafrdj • ne flax. YORKSHIRE. 75 2,4. TOBACCO. SOME YEARS ago (moftly in the year 1782) large patches of tobacco, together amounting to many acres, were grown, in this Vale : and, in the Vale of York, a mil greater quantity was cultivated. In this DiflricT:, it did not excite the notice of legal authority : in the richer parts of the Vale, where the greateft quantity was raifed, it was cured, and manufactured, by a man who had formerly been employed, upon the tobacco plantations of America ; and who not only cured it properly, but gave it the proper cut, and finally prepared it for the pipe and pouchf But, in the Vale of York, the cultivators of it met with lefs favorable circumftances. Their tobacco was publicly burnt, and them- felves feverely fined, and imprifoned. Penal- ties, it was faid, were laid to the amount of thirty thoufand pounds *. This * The penalty, I believe, is 10L a rod, or 1600I, an acre ! 76 TOBACCO. This was enoujh to put a flop to the il- legal cultivation of tobacco. But, perhaps rather unfortunately, it has likewife put a flop to the cultivation of that limited quantity, which the law allows to be planted, for the purpofes of " phyfic and chirurgy." The quantity of land allowed to be culti- • vated for thefe purpofes is, I believe, half a rod, which is full fifteen square yards of ground; a patch of ground fuf- ficient, under proper management, to raife tobacco enough, for all the medical purpofes of a farm houie ; in which it is, on many occalions, ufeful. In cutaneous diforders of cattle and fheep, it is univerfally applied. I will, therefore, jult fet down fuch par- ticulars, reflecting its cultivation in this neighbourhood, as I collected in the autumn uf 1782. I had not an opportunity of feeing the plants on the ground. The species was probably Nicotiana rufticGy the English tobacco; fo called from the circumftance of its being the firfl fpecies cultivated in England. Tht feeds were procured at the feed mops, and handed about, from one cultivator to another.. The YORKSHIRE. 77 The feed-bed, as rich and fine as poflible. The time of forcing, as foon as the weather became warm enough, to make it vegetate : moftly, in April. When the feedling plants were ftrong enough to bear removing:, thev were tranf- planted from the feed-bed, to the patch on which they were intended to fland. In the practice of one, they were planted out in the quincunx manner, a foot alunder : in that of another, in rows, two feet apart, and one foot alunder in the rows. In both cafes, they were carefully AW, and kept free from weeds, during the fummer. In autumn, when the flowers began to drop off, they were cut and dried in the fiade. When dry, the leaves were picked off', and prejfed down clofe, in cafks or other veflels. The fpring of 1782 being late, the plants did not, upon weak foils, reach maturity be- fore the frofts began to fet in. Hence, a rich forcing: foil feems to be necefTarv to the cul- ture of tobacco, in this climate. The vegetation, however, may be greatlv- forwarded, by forcing the feedling plants, in a itove or hotbed, and tranfplanting them out, as foon as the fro its of fpringare ever. A. w CUL - 78 CULTIVATED HERBAGE. CULTIVATED HERBAGE. THE SPECIES of herbage, cultivated in this Diftrict, for the purpofes of hay and pafburage. are, QXover—trifoItuihpratenfe — red clover *. White clover — irifolium repens — white clover -f. Trefoil — medicago lupulina — yellow clo\ er, cr trefoil, or nonfuch. R y e g ra G — lolium perenne — ray grafs . Hay-feeds — bolcus lanatus— foft grafs. Rib- grafs — plant ago lanceolate — plantain. Cinquefoil— ■ I . r — fainfoin. Thefe fpecies are cultivated, feparatelv, or mixei, as foils and circuroilances point out. T4ie duration of the intended ley is the nrft * Red clover ; 2 cultivated variety of the meadow Trefoil. See Nat. Herbage. x White clovi lei variety of the creep- ing TItEFOIL. YORKSHIRE. 79 firft thing confidered ; therefore, the prin- cipal divifion of the fubjecl: is into I. Temporary leys. II. Perennial leys. III. Sainfoin ley. I. TEMPORARY LEYS. The annual ley, which is now common in mod parts of the kingdom, and the biennial ley, which is prevalent in Norfolk, are almoft equally ftrangers in this DiftricT:. Fallowing for wheat is ftill a common practice, here. Clover ftubbles are feldom ufed as matrices for that crop. An ill- grounded notion prevails, that wheat after clover breeds quicks ! If land be flocked with couch, when the clover is fown, the fucceeding wheat crop, no doubt, by occupying the foil fo long with only a tingle plowing, increafes the quantity. There is no worfe management than fowing wheat on a foul clover ley ; but this is no argument againft annual leys. If the land be clean, when the clover feed is fown, • it will as foon- breed fugar canes as quicks. In a grafs land country, however, clover leys are lefs wanted than tillage ; and, in the cooler better-foiled parts of the Vale, they may, perhaps, without much impropriety, be difpenfed £y CULTIVATED HERBAGE; diirer.fed with. But, on the drier trL:n> lolled lands, which lie upon the marginal height?, temporary leys would be found faff preferable, to the unproductive, ''meadow?," which now occupy a conflderable part of their furrace. The Norfolk ryftem of hulbandry :o me, to be angularly well adapted to the lands of the " high town? ;" the more productive parts of which ought not, in my opinion, to be permitted to bear more than two crops of grain, nor two crops of gra:~ , ^ceffively. II. MIXED PEREXXIAL LEYS. For- merly, i:: this as in other Districts, arable land was laid to ;:...-. by the mere ceifation of g. When land refitted to produce corn any longer, it wa? permitted to lie down to r,y: -y or, in oth ids, to lie walte. For vera] yean, it produced nothing but weeds; and thefe, of courfe, of the leaned kind.- The wild birds were it? only occupier?. At length, however, the graife?. by fome myi- tcrious procefs of nature, would begin to make their appearance. But their progrefs was ilow : it was twenty years* perhaps, be- ; . re a full crop of th : : re in Bed. Before tlie cu. n of gralTes was ': rn,hl this Ilia::/ '':.:':. b/r::rcus manage- ment YORKSHIRE. Si mcnt was excufable ; but how this and other counties could continue it, more than half a century, after the cultivation of them was fully eftabliiried, in a county not far diftant from them (Norfolk), is a matter of fome aftonifhment. Thirty years ago, the culti- vated gralles were ftrangers in the Vale. The production of perennial leys was left wholly to nature ; and, even yet, there are fame few individuals, who remain bigots to Nature's practice. It is, no doubt, a fact, as notorious as it is interefting, that all the charming old grafs lands, with which this neighbourhood at prefent abounds, are of Nature's leying. For richnefs and variety of herbage (as will appear in the next lection) it is no where, perhaps, exceeded. It is alio notorious, that there has been very little, if any, well her- baged meadow produced, in this Diftrict, through the means of artificial grajjes. Striking, however, as thefe facts may be, they only afford matter of argument, do not bring proof, againft the cultivation of PERENNIAL LEYS. If a foil already exhaujled by corn crops, and foul through a want of tillage, be rendered ftill fouler, by having the feeds of weeds under Vol. II. G the Si CULTIVATED HERBAGE. the denomination of "hay-feeds," fawn over* it ; and if, added to this, the weedy crop, which fuch management mull: neceilarily afford, be mown, year after year, and the produce , carried off , it is no wonder that the fward, inftead of improving by age, mould annually go oft, and that the foil, at length, mould require to be given up again to the plow. On the contrary, if a foil, naturally fuited to grafs, in good heart, and thoroughly cleanfed, be fown with the feeds of herbage fuitable to its nature, and free from the feeds of weeds ; and if, for a few years, the young ley be paftured, during the fpring months, and the weeds and broken grafs be fwept down with the lithe, after Midfummer, a well herbaged durable ley may, en a cer- tainty, be produced, and this without one year's crop being loft. The duration of good herbage, how- ever, depends much on the nature of the soil, and much alio on the ft ate in which it has been kept. Land which has been kept in tillage, for centuries, is peculiarly affected by the gralles, which, under fuch circumftances, will flou.-ifh for a leneth of time 3 even on foils that are not peculiarly adapted YORKSHIRE. 83 adapted to them. Some of the grafs lands of this neighbourhood are now growing toward a century old j yet, notwithstanding they are generally mown, year after year, without intermifiion, they are fUll in a nourishing flate : not, however, I apprehend, entirely owing to the method in which they were leyed, but to the land having previously been long in a state of aration. Neverthelefs, I am of opinion, that the variety and clofenefs of the herbage under notice arifes, in fome meafure, from the method of leying. But taking this for granted, and admitting that the produce is fomewhat improved, or increafed, by an end- lefs variety, and an extreme clofenefs, of herbage, no man, without the pale of dotage, can confider this advantage, as a full compen- fation, for the lofs of, at leafr, ten years* crops* Of 'late years ', the art of leying land to grafs has, in this Diftrict, made rapid ft-rides toward perfection. In the choice of herbage, judicious hufbandmen are guided by the nature of the foil to be fwarded. On the fouthern heights, where the foil and fubfoil are calcareous, sainfoin is cultivated, as a perennial ley. G % In :■ Cultivated herbage. In the Vale, where the foils are non- cal- careous, a mixture of grafTes are cultivated for that purpofe. Formerly, " hayseeds" were in high e::::nation, and they have ltill fome few ad- vocates left. They confift either of a col- lection of gralTes and weeds, as collected from the hay-loft, or a lefs foul fe lection of the meadow soft grass ; which is cultivated, feparately, and thrafhed, as corn, for its feeds. But this is far from being an eligible grafs for cultivation, and is now entirely exploded by judicious hufbandmen ; among whom raygrass has, at length, grown into due estimation ; and has very properly fupplanted, in their efteem, the whole tribe of havfeeds*. Raygrass, neverthelefs, has ftill its ene- mies. But they are either men who are unacquainted with it, or who have been un* fortunate in their experience. If the feeds be foul (as is too generally the cafe) the herbage will of courfe be of a bad quality. If it be fufFered to run up, in the ipring, before ltock be turned upon it, much of * The growers 0f the feeds of the foft £rafs are the erfons who have profited by'lts cultivation. Eighty bu&els zn acre have been produced. YORKSHIRE. 85 of it will, no doubt, be left uneaten. If fuf- fered to ftand too long, before it be mown, its hay will, of courfe, be ordinary. Under bad management, even the wheat crop is un- profitable. But will nny man bring this as an argument againft the intrinfic quality of wheat, or againft its being proper to be cultivated, in foils and fituations to which it fe adapted ? The feeds of ray grafs fhould be wmnvwed, and freed from the feeds cf weeds, with the fame fcrupuloufnefs, that is bellowed on the feed of wheat, or other grain. If ray grafs be intended for pasturage, it ought to be eaten, as early in Jpring, as the rand will bear flock -, which ought to be fo proportioned, that it never be fuffered to rife above a moderate bite. . If it be mut up for hay, it ought to be mown, as foon as the feed-items are fully formed ; before the flowers come cut. If it be intended for seed, it ought to ftand until the flowers be fully blown. But it mult not be expected, in this cafe, that the firaw will prove hay. Who ever expected hay from oats or barley, which flood to mature the feedi G 3 £• S6 CULTIVATED HERBAGE. As zfpring food, raycrass is indifputa- bly preferable to every other grafs ; and, in autumn, it renews its nutritious bite. This property, added to its productivenefs, and to the facility with which its feeds may be collected in quantity, give it a decided pre- eminence to every other bladegrafs, at pre^- fent known, in thefe kingdoms. But raygrafs, like other early graffes, re- mains in a great meafure unproductive, du- ring the fummer months. This renders it improper to be fown alone, for pasturage. Wh ite clover, or other fummer herbage ; is requifite to be cultivated with it. All perhaps that is wanted, in addition to thefe, in order to render the bu.finefs of cul- tivating perennial leys as nearly perfect as common practice may require, is one or more summer blade grasses, of a nutritious quality and productive growth, and whofe feeds may be ealily collected, feparately, from the feeds of weeds. The meadow or tall fescue (fes- tuca elatior) is moft likely to anfwer the purpofe. The meadow poe (poa pratenfis) has fome properties which recommend it iTrongly; Jjut its feeds are net eafily feparable. Never- thelefs, YORKSHIRE. 3; thelefs, it might be worth fome pains to cuU tivate this grafs. It is ilrictly a j grafs. It blows furriciently late, and bears drought with uncommon hardinefs. I have feen it flourim,cn a wall, throughout iummer. And during the drought of 1 7S6, Mr. Curtis's botanic garden arlcrded a linking initance of its nature, in this reipecr. : it remained green, and in growth, while its neighbours were moll: of them fcorched up with drougnt. This Dillxict has adopted the narrow- leaved plantain, as Iummer herbage. As an article oipafturagg, for cattle and (heCpj it is in high elteem : it is not, however, well affected by horles ; and, as an article of bay, it is detrimental to the crop ; retaining its lap an unufual length of time ; and, when fully dry, falls into a imall compals, or is broken into fragments, and left behind in the field. An advantage of this plant is, that its feeds may be ealily procured, in an unadul- terated flate. A imall proportion of it may be eligible: it has now flood the teft of twenty years eftabluhed practice, and feems to be frill in good eitimation ; even among obfervant huibandmen. The mixture of seeds for a perennial ley varies, in this Diitricl, with the (pint and G 4 judge- SS CULTIVATED HERBAGE. judgement of the occupier. Some make choice of the cheapeft, and imagine a imall quantity to be iuificient : while others choofe thofe which are mort fuitable to their refpec- tive foils, and think they cannot throw on too many. The roofl prpmifing young perennial ley which I have leen, in the Vale, and which is ID the occupation of one of the largeft and farmen in it, was feeded with the fol- I : wing feeds, and proportions, an acre : name- lv, fourteen pounds of white clover ; and fijarteen pounds of red clover, trefoil, id raygrass, mixed in equal proportion ; : wei ght Bat the more general mixture is fourteen pounds of RED clover, white clover, trefoil and ribgrass, mixed in equal itities; with a builiel or two of ray grass, (own feparate'v. This, however, is an unnecefiary quantity of raygrass; a gallon to a peck, an acre, .TMOwed feed, appears in the above lance, as well as in the Norfolk practice, to b e a fa a 0 a i D 1 1 f fumcient. The after M a n a c- e M e n t of perennial is, in the ordinary practice of this Dis- trict, YORKSHIRE. S9 trict, as it is in that of moft other places, ex- tremely injudicious. General Remarks on Leying, and Breaking up Old Ley Grounds. Letting the land lie, eight or ten years, in worfe than a ftate of waile is very little wider from the line of right management, than mowing a young perennial ley, every year, and carrying off the produce. They are two extremes which ought to be equally avoided. One of them is giving up prefent profit, en- tirely, for future advantage : the other, re- gardlefs of future advantage, is grafping at prefent profit. In tenants at will, without confidence in their landlords, there may be fome excufe for fuch management. But they are not, per- haps, aware that, by fuch conduct:, they are deftroying that confidence which landlords ought to have in their tenants : thereby mili- tating againft themfelves and their profefiion. Landed gentlemen, in general, are tenaci- ous of their old grafsland; and with good realbn, even though it might, fcr a time, be worth thrice the value in a Mate of aration. An 9o CULTIVATED HERBAGE. An inilance occurs in this neighbourhood, in which a piece of old grafsland, broken up to arable, has thrown out its purchafe value, rafsland at the time of breaking up, in the ree crops. All fward, unlefs the foil be Angularly good, the management extraordinary, and the manuring? frequent, will in time become un- productive. Even the fward of well foiled commons, oft which no produce has been taken, is, when inclofed, found weak and un- profitable. .verrhelefs, it may be more prudent, in men of landed eftates, to hand down their old grafsland, to their fuccelTors, in the irate in which it is, than to permit it to be broken up and reduced, by improper treatment, to a ftate flill lefs valuable. And were there no tos of avoiding the evils of improper ma- nagement, in tenants, landlords would be nted in a rigid refufal of their re- :s, to break up fuch grafs-lands, though they were unproductive and unprofitable. But in the management of aneitate, grass lands and hedges fland in nearly the fame predicament. It is the tenant's intereft to injure them ; and the landlord's bufinefs, of courfe, to look to their prejerrcat'mi% if, •YORKSHIRE. 91 If, on a farm, already in due proportion, as to GRASSLANDand arable, the tenant re qu eft to break up a piece of unproductive fward, it might be faid to be a duty which the land- lord owes, to the community at large, to grant his requeft. But it is, at the fame time, a duty which he owes, to himfelf, and his fuc- ceffors, to oblige him to lay down to grafi an equivalent of arable land. Not, how- ever, a piece which has been exhaufted and rendered foul by a fucceilion of corn crops ; but one which is in heart, and has been duly cleaned by a whole year's fallow. Not, how- ever, by fowing it with foul feeds, or an im- proper affortment ; but (where due confi- dence cannot be placed in the tenant) with clean feeds, furnifhed by the landlord, at the tenant's expence. The after management calls equally aloud for the landlord's attention. If he volunta- rily fuffer it to be eaten with fheep, or to be poached with other flock, the firft winter; if he fuffer the tender bottom grafles to be fmothered, in their infant ftate, by the taller herbage running up for hay, or the foil to be exhaufted, by carrying off a crop during the fir ft three years ; or if he permit it, under ordinary circumftances, to be afterwards mown (except 52 CULTIVATED HERBAGE. (except fweeping off the weeds and broken grafs after Midfummer) oftener than every fecond year ; — he is doing injuitice, to him* felf and the community. It mud be underftood, however, that the management here recommended is applicable only to perennial leys of twenty, fifty, or a greater number of years : not to temporary leys of one, two, or even five or fix years, In this cafe, herbage becomes an arable crop, and calls for no other attention than that which the ordinary management of an eilate requires. III. SAINFOIN LEY. This is a peren- nial ley ; in the making of which both land^ lord and tenant are generally interested. The Diilrict under furvey is Angularly fa- vorable to the ftudy of fites fit for the culture of fainfoin. In fome parts of it, it is cultivated with great profit. In ethers, its culture has been repeatedly attempted, without fuccefs. The fineft fainfoin, I have feen, grows in the immediate neighbourhood of Malton. Three tons of hay, an acre, are faid to have been cut. I have ictn crops, which, to ap- pearance, would not afford )e{s~ The foil 2. dry calcareous loam, from ten to lty inches deep. Thejub 'ml a calcareous rubble, YORKSHIRE. $3 rubble, from two to three feet deep ; lying on an unfathomed rock of loft limeftone. (See Art. Manure.) One hundred grains of the cultivatedyar- f ace foil of ** Peafy Hill" affords twentyfive grains of calcareous matter. One hundred grains" of the earthy part of the fub foil, among which the plants of fain- foin, in all probability, principally feed, con- tain fiftynine grains of calcareous earth *. The analylis of the rock appears in Vol. I. Page 3*5- About Brompton, in the northeaft quar- ter of the Vale, good fainfoin is grown ; but, I believe, in no way comparable with that of Malton. * It has been conceived that fainfoin feeds on the {tones themfelves; not on the foil which is tnixt among them, or which covers them ; and this has ferved to account for the fuperiority of the fainfoin of Malton. But it feems much better adapted to the nature of plants to feed among foil, than in ftones; efpecially when the foil is of a nature fimilar to that of the ftones which mix among it. The lower part of the fubfoil, which forms the upper part of the rock, is compofcd of fmall ftones mixed with an efHorefcent mold, formed in the interfaces of the ftones, which mold is olmofi ivkcily calcareous ; fo that the plants, in this cafe, "have a fufficiency of calcareous matter to pafture among, Without feeding upon the ftones ; which, though fsfty carv not, in this cafe, be faid to be fcrou:. The 94 CULTIVATED HIR3AGE. The Jml is a b loam ; good turnep and barley land ; ; in depth. The fubfoUy a calcareous loam ; mixt with limeftone, cr with reditone, gravel; and ly- ing on a limeilone, or on a redilone rock. In either cafe, t. productive of fhnrbinj in proportion, it is laid, to the depth cf the foil j that is, the depth between the furface of the foil and the rock; Jailing twenty years, :. 7, according to the depth or" th . land. One hundrc I of the ■ foil (taken from tl veen mpton a \ yields ch re e grains of calcart ::. O d t h u d i .7 of an ad- joining inclofure, taken from the top of a loofe mixt-fh i .. at about eighteen :; dee , . teen grains of cal- . : i : earth. Th; i afa nature between that : I Lilt _. of Pickering (See Art. . L . i i . ' granite o£ a The nature, being 7es, or round . 7 : , .: ibftefb ...... .. One hundred grains. YORKSHIRE. 95 of this red/tone, collected among thejlj1 above analized, yields thirteen grains of calcareous matter. The ftone in this cafe porous ; fuf- ficiently open for the fibrils of plants to in- sinuate themfelves. In the neighbourhood of Picker i n g, fain- foin has been repeatedly tried ; but, I believe, without one inlTance of tolerable fuccefs. The plants, I underitand, rofe very well from the feed; but never got up to a crop; and in a fhort time difappeared. On examining a piece of limeflone land, which was fown with fainfcin, by my father, fome fifty or lixty years ago, I find, in one particular part of it, a few plants Hill fur- viving. To afcertain the nature of the pailurage, which could give fiich unufual longevity to thefe plants (fuppofing them to be remains of the originally cultivated roots), I dug down by the fide of two plants, which grew within a few inches of each other : one of them remarkably healthy, though not luxu- riant ; the other, a declining plant ; half of its top decayed. The roots fixuck downward, perpendicu- larly, and parallel to each other; throwing out a few fiender fide rootlets. Near 0 CULTIVATED HERBAGE. X:.'.: the thrthre, thev "-fr: ::: rntpir.ird h the roots of the burnet, and of the bur- net rofe (fee the next fe&ion); neither of At the depth of three feet, the root of the it . bot the fibrils, above, left to fiipport it. At fix tt, the vigorous plant reached the top of the rock ; or rather, the loole flones which lie upon the rock. The fields of pafhire of this plant w:- evi.t .:. The root was (imply a thong, rc;.:::L~2 V::r. ::: :: ':::::::. ; :_re::"r :V::r» the fize of a reed to that of a crow-quill. The r.rrL: ::. the he v.- ere hr.e -• hiir: excert it : : :tt: itf-;. - eii- rootlets were thrown out, into a thin ; r of fomewhat palilh-colored clay ; and except at about three feet and a half deep, a il:::..ir r:r.iif.::.tl:r. hii ::::. nt-iir. in i hhrh- lar b Jt paler-colored earth. At four feet, a general ramification had taken place ; the main root there feparating into large bran- ches ; ffaiking nearly horizontally ; not upon the top of a hard impenetrable rock (though upon a (lone of about fix inches over) t a flratum of frill paler clay ; fome three or four inches thick : a proof that it had here rr,et YORKSHIRE. 9? met with a foil fuitable to its nature ; only one of its rootlets (not thicker than a Hem of raygrafs) having attempted to go lower. In tefting the feveral ftrata, I find, that the three (earns of clay, alone, difcover fymptoms of calcareolity. Neither the topfoil, nor any of the intervening ftrata, appear to contain any thing of a calcareous nature ; excepting fome fragments of clean, hard limeftone, which mix, more or lefs-> with the whole. One hundred grains, of the uppermofl feam of clay, yield feven grains and a half of calcareous matter : one hundred of the mid- dlemofr, twentythree and a half grains : one hundred of the loweil ltratum, the main field of pafturage, twentynine grains. From the fum of this evidence, and from every part of it, it appears, demonftrably> that sainfoin delights in calcareous earth. And we may almoft infer, with equal certainty, that it will not fiourifi in a Situation, where both the foil and the fab- ftrata are deftitute of calcarecfity. In another part of the field, lad under notice, the rock rifes to within ten inches of the furface ; terminating in flat clean ftones, without any admixture of mold or efTloref- cent matter; and the foil periectly uncalca- Vol. II, H reous* 98 CULTIVATED HERBAGE. rcous. Here, not a Tingle plant of fainfoin is to be detected. The plants, probably, did not furvive the firil year. Much of the limeitone land, above Pick- ering, is of a iimilar nature. This accounts for the mifcarriages which have taken place. Neverthelefs, the tops of ibme of the lime- itone quarries (as the Caille Bank) termi- nate in loofe ft ones, mixt with grey effloref- cent mold, and have flfiures containing ef- rlorefcent matter, which, I rind, is purely cal- careous. Among thefe, fainfoin no doubt would rlourim. There may be confiderable patches cf this land ; and they appear to me to be well worth fearching for. To throw away feed, and perhaps two or three ; crops, merely on : . .~:ion, is highly im- pmdent. But a few hours, or a few days, expended in the fearch of a proper foil, might be time well employed. The great advantage of sainfoin, and that which diitinguiih.es it, in a ftxiking manner, fix er crops, is that of its feeding, principally, below the field of ordinary i bringing up, to the furface, vege- table matter, which, without it, would for ever have lain ufelefs to agriculture ; and en- riching the cultivator, with treafures, which, with- YORKSHIRE. 99 without its affittance, might as well have been fituated at the earth's center *. While he is annually reaping a crop of the moft nutriti- ous herbage, agriculture is at prefent ac- quainted with, his icil, fo far from being exhaufted, is, in all probability, gathering ftrength, to enable it to throw out, in future, a fucceriion of arable crops : belides the ad- ditional advantage, arifing from the quantity of manure, which he has been extracting from the bowels of the earth, by twenty or thirty crops of fainfoin. 26. NATURAL HERBAGE. General View of the Subject. In a Diftridl where permanent grafs lands prevail, and where arable crops may be con- iidered as fecondarv or fubordinate to this j main object of its hufbandry, grass lAnds * On the Malton fide of the Vale, the roots of fainfoin have been traced to the depth of twelve or fourteen feet. I have feen roots, which, ne3r the furface, have been as thick as an ordinary walking-cane. H 2 AND toe N A TUR'AL HERBAGE. a:-- thiir IfAMAGEMENT in entitled to particular 2: i, in a regiftci of the Run. Ec:r. :r.. :: fuch a Diftric~t, they re- : -e : be detail, and a penpieuotM ur- ::r. gement. Thii important brat :h of agriculture, as it : I :: „"t i in 1 under fur-- df :":: nates ml : the folic win 5 fubd e : I. Thr f permanent Gr^n Lands II. T:;e:r General Management; or the operation! common to the feveral fpecies, ral pur hkh they are appli III. The particuhr I [aoagement of Hay Grounds* IV. The Man : Grounds. I. The l^: oi •:- mds mull be in fome meafure indefinite, in a Dif- trieJ ..;t the :':.. varies, from the coldeft v to the moft fertile lcam, and from this D land in the bieakeft iitua- tion; and where natyral herbage abounds, and in every ::. Xe efs, .:. :..' : uarter of the Vale fendes tun cy, :hey may be reduced Id three CLASSESj l.iUU:..7, 2. Low* YORKSHIRE. 10s 1. Lowland Grafs. 2. Upper Grafs-Grounds. 3. Upland Grafs. t. Lowland Grass. The fitiiaiion of the grafs lands that fall under this denomi- nation, is in the low flat parts of the area of the Vale. In a ftate of nature, they were doubtlefs covered with water, the whole, or a principal part, of the year ; and fome of them are ftill (or were until very lately) liable to be overflowed, in times of floods. Thtfoil of thefe lands varies. Part of them are of a loofe loamy texture ; but, more gene- rally, they are of a clofe firm clayey nature ; fuch as we frequently find where large bodies of water have been accuftomed to lie. In fome places, efpecially on their upper mar- gins, the clay is covered with a ftratum of black vegetable mold; generated, probably, by the overflowings of fpring, while the land lay in a neglected ftate -, before mores and ditches were opened. The herbage varies with the ftate of occu- pancy, to which they have been fubjected, during, perhaps, a millennium of time ; name- ly, ever iince the firft laying out of the town- (hip. It is certain, at leaft, that, time im- memorial, and beyond all tradition or record, H 3 part 102 NATURAL HERBAGE. part of them have teen kept in a irate of COMMON PASTURE, — t:: ' - ..'.v CAR,— a term analogous with marjb cr ft?:, or the f Norfolk, — :;.. pdjiure gr the :her have been as conftantly kept in a irate of c : mowing ground, — provincial!;/ ing,— a term fynonimous with ■ , as ufed in molt Diitr.-T:. — namely, : ground. Thefe fang lands, : I :..'_'/: called, differ from the common mc of Gloceiterihire, and other coo tics, in the manner of diftribadon ; I . . ac : in fquare plots, bal in aths, ..: c ..: Dine fee: u od of half a mfle, perhaps, in length; and moltly in pairs-, without .:ny od ries, than what hai by conitant uk r- each] £ hol- low in the middle, and :..:'; fcc a ridge, on either fide. Some of this i ..1 remains openj parts of i: time :: :-~:e, in- clofed. The herbage of the lc •■:./:; : ? Pickering confifts, chi e foBow- j . la i : fj' to place , ace k frequeii :--. : per YORKSHIRE. 103 ings of this townfhip. Some of thofe, in the lower part of the lift, may not be pre- valent, in thefe open mowing grounds ; but are common on the fame foil, and in a fimilar iituation, where the land is inclofed, and may- have been paftured, and improved by drain- ing, &c. but has never been p hived. Provincial. Linnean. EngliJJ). Pig-leaves, — car dims pratenjis (of hudson), — meadow thiftle. Blue-caps, — fcabiofa fuccifa,< — meadow fca- bious. . fangulforba officinalis, — meadow burnet. juncus articulatus, — jointed rum. Clock-feaves, — fchanus nigricans, — black- headed bogrufh. cardamine pratenjis, - — common ladies- fmock. bet07iica officinalis *, — betony. Henpenny> — rbmantbus crijla-galli, — yellow rattle. Valeriana dioica, — marfh valerian. H 4 anemone * Betony. This is a common article of he bage, in the grafs lands of this Diitricr. j abounding, in almoil every rid in every fituation, from the marlli to the mountain. term Il'c:d Betony is ill applied to it; at leaft in tnis division of the Ifland. KA| N ATURAL HERB A G E. Pra ;K:iaL Lir. E 'zlijh, aic i - 1 '. . — wood anemone. junc us can , — gra G> rum* Orake&et, — an ..., — orchiles. Jer:- — : :•'....', — ledges. Hay-ieed-:, — -.•;.. .... ..:..:::.:, — meadow fcft- grafs. : ,— vernal. is, — common poe. c: :ina, — [ bentgrafis. frxsa ';:." ■. — trembling graift. hica durmfcula\ — hard fefcue. v.: ;.:r:..:.:. — purple melicgrafs. v, — bulbous catstail. -; nil ma& :ea. lotus cormkmlatus, — birdsfoot trefoil. longrooted hawk weed. .",— eye:' 5 iV.v-wort. '. — i-'.oie tongue. — idow fafTafras. — stuffed vetch. — milkw it. — marfl) louiewort. . — meadowfveet. . — I >iked willowherb .-, — common reed. MS pi YORKSHIRE. 105 Provincial. Line™. Bng lychnis fcs-cuculi, — meadow campion* Seaves,— -juncus efufus, — common rufh. Kernes,— juncus inflexus, — wire rum. cineraria palufris, — mar ill fleabane. Jiorfeknobs, — centaurca nigra , — common knobweed. achillea millefolium, — milfoil. Parnajfia paiujlris, — grafs of Parnaiius. cerajlium rculgatum, — common moufe- ear. potent ilia anferina, — filverweed. avenafavefcens, — yellow oatgrafs . lolium perenne, — raygrafs . Windleftraws, — cynofurus crifatus,— crefted dogstail. fejiuca elaiior, — tall fefcue. agrofiis alba,— creeping bentgrafs. alopecurus geniculates, — marm foxtail. fejiuca fluitans, — rlote fefcue . i^ulls foreheads, — air a c — marlh marigold. iris — yellow flag, Threefold, — m r, — bogbean, .;.':. ;*y, — maiih horfetail. : :, — white bedll:raw. ' i tga, — brooklime. :rcrefs. The YORKSHIRE. 107 The produce of this fbecies of old srafs land is much below par. The quality may be judged of, by the herbage it bears ; and the quantity, even on the inclofed parts, is not grqat. The parts, which yet remain as open common meadow, are frill lefs pro- ductive. The furface, in many places, is more than half of it occupied, by the fpread- ing leaves of the meadow thistle; and, in others, entire patches are covered with the bog rush. The medial produce about half a load of hay (if it merits the- name) an acre. The rent, five to eight (hillings. General Observations. Neverthe- lefs, it appears, demonstrably, from the patches of corn which are intermixed with this fpecies of grafs land, that its prefent un- produclivenefs is not fo much owing to the nature of the soil, or the situations, as to the age and the prefent quality of the HERBAGE. A ftronger inflance need not be produced, of the great impropriety, in feme cafes, of ob- ftinately withholding permiflion to break up old grafs land. Who, but a mere botanilt, can fee, with- out diiguft, his eitate occupied, by fuch a tribe jo8 NATURAL HERBAGE. tribe of -jKeds, as are here enumerated ? tU pecially when the means of extirpation are fo eafy, and fo profitable. Ail that is requi- site, to render the land of double its prefent value, is to annihilate the prefent fward, and raiie up a frelh one in its place : in doing which, if properly done, a courfe of corn cropa may be profitably taken. But neither the foil, nor the fi tuation, of lands of this nature, fits them for a continuance of arable crops. They ought to be ufed as a meansy only, of purging the foil from its impurities, and rendering it fit for the reception and nourifhment of herbage, 'ivhofe every blade and leaf is nutritive. In the inftance under notice, the reno- vation of the fward is, now, rendered eafily practicable. The Commimoners of Inclo- fure, for this townfhip, with a degree of judgement and fpirit which do them the greater!: credit, and for which the townihip will for ages be indebted to them, have funk a main drain, or more, through the center of thefe lowlands, every acre of which is now plowable j confeouentiy, every owner may now choofe, whether he will continue a fward of paluirrean weeds, equally unpro- ductive and innutriticus to ftock 5 or whether he YORKSHIRE. ^ he will convert this fward into nourishment for a courfe of corn crops, and then replace it with a turf of graffes and legumes, equally productive and nutritious. How many thoufand acres of land, in thefe kingdoms, now lie, or might eaiily be placed, in a fimilar predicament. II. UPPER GRASS GROUNDS. Thefe confifl: of the prime part of the common- field lands, which have been laid down to grafs, in the natural way that has been men- tioned. The situation is cool, but is, rn genera], dry enough to permit the foil to bear ftock in winter. The soil is a rich fandy loam : the cooler parts, deep, and mixed with a few pebbles ; the higher parts, Shallower, with a mixture of redftone's : equally productive of grafs and corn. The herbage confifts of the following plants. The laft twelve fpecies grow, prin- cipally, hear the hedges, or toward home- ftails ; but are fometimes found in the areas of fields, Windle- no NATURAL HERBAGE. Provincial. Linnean* Englijh. Windleftraws, — cynofurus crijiatus, — crefted dogs tail. daclylis glomerata, — orchardgrafs . agrofiis cajiina, — brown bentgrafs. aniboxanthum odoratum, — vernal. White grafs — bolcus /anatus, — meadow foft- grafs. Iriza media, — trembling grafs. avenajiavejcens, — yellow oatgrafs, Rye grafs — lolium peretme, — raygrafs . poa trivialis, — common poe. poa amiua, — dwarf poe. poa pratenfiS) — meadow poe. ahpecurus pratenfis, — meadow foxtail. a elatior, — tall fefcue. ■ica duriufcula, — hard fefcue. br: !is, — foft bromegrafs. tfvena eiatior, — tall oatgrafs. n ' : i ' -. -r:?ns — rough oatgrafs. agrc its papillaris > — fine bentgrafs. • murmum, — common barley - g:- juncus campeftris, — grafs rum. Rit ; wtago lanceolata, narrow plantain. Red clo v er, — trifolium pratenfe, — meadow tre: -~/.ite clover, — irifolium repens> — creeping trefoil. Trefoil, YORKSHIRE. in Provincial. Linnean. Englijh. Trefoil , — trifolium procumbent, — procumbent trefoil. lotus corniculatus ,— -birds foot trefoil. lathyrus pratenfis, — meadow vetchlin g. Fitches, — viciafativa, — meadow vetch. ranunculus acris, — common crowfoot. ranunculus repens, — creeping crowfoot. ranunculus bulbofus^ — bulbous crowfoot. leontodon taraxacum, — common dande- lion. leontodon hifpidum, — rough dandelion. hypochceris radicata, — longrooted hawkweed. Henpenny, — rlmianthus crijia-galli, — yellow rattle. betonica officinalis, — be tony . cerafiium vulgatum, — common moufe- ear. valentia cruciata, — crofs wort . prunella vulgaris, — fe If heal . Birds-eye, — vero?iica cba?ncedrys, — germander fpeedwell. ranunculus ficaria, — pilewort. Cowftriplings, — primula veris, — cowflip. Bairn worts, — be I lis perennis, — daifey. Cuifhia, — heracleum fpbondyliu?n, — cowparf- nep. Horfe- ill NATURAL HERB, n »^r L. Pmr:::.:\ L K:r:e knobs, — — me:. minis, — [■:::■: r.z- jacoSita, — con rag- rt. — Sourdccken, — rime: aa — ^::.;:;on for- rrl. •bells, — ;::.::..'. r, — common r". \ — : mr. r~:-r.: — [h .-- vetch. f --.■:. i — twofeeded tare. - — yellow goats~t beard. egri . — agrimofiy. ■ ■ . , — crowfoot crar. bffl. \l^j\i — .. — common mallow ■"-.--■-- -. — f .i mal- . : w . — '. • . • V. - ;>v, — : Orchard-* ;r.:.— :k. red dc vrticaA 2. — common nettle. The YORKSHIRE. 113 The produce is fuch as may be expedted, from the herbage, the foil, and the Jituation. An acre o£ fome of the lands, lying imme- diately round the town of Pickering* will afford pajiurage for a cow, from Mayday to Michaelmas ; not by being forced with ma- nure, but in its intrinfic nature. In general, three acres are allowed to two cows -, but they are of uncommon fize ; being nearly equal to three middle-fized cows.- The produce of bay is from one to two tons, an acre, in a common year. The qua- lity of the hay, if well made, is fine ; well affected by every kind of flock ; equally fit for cows and horfes. The rent, thirty millings to three pounds, an acre. The fummer pafturage of a cow* forty to fifty millings. III. UPLAND GRASS. In the unin- clofed ftate, this land was partly in arable field, partly in upland paflure, for cattle and fheep* The situation is hilly, rifing fome what abruptly, above the middle grounds. The fubflructure, a limeftone rock j rifing, in fome places, up to the foil, in others, a feam of redftone intervenes. Vol. II. I The ii4 NATURAL HERBAGE. The soil is loam, of different depths, mixed with redftone, or with limeftone rubble. Some parts of this land, where the foil is deep and the redftone ftratum two or three feet thick, may rank with the firft corn land in thefe kingdoms. The herbage, which prevails on the old fward of thefe uplands, may be feen in the following lift : Provincial. Linnean. Engl'ijh leontodon hifpidum, — rough dandelion. plantago media^ — middle plantain. bypochceris radicata, — longrooted| hawkweed. , leontodon taraxacum, — common dande- lion. Henpenny, — rhlnanthus crijla-galli, — yellow rattle. chryfanthemum leucantbemum, — oxeye daifey. Mountain flax, — linum cathdrticum, — purging flax. alcbemilla vulgaris, — ladies mantle. poly gala vulgaris ,-^milkwort. feftuca duriufcula, — hard fefcue. anthoxanthum odoratum, — vernal . White grafs, — holcus lanatust — meadow toft* grafs. avena YORKSHIRE. 11.5 Provincial. Linnean. EngUJh, avena pubefcens, -—rough oatgrafs. avena favefcens,— yellow oatgrafs. briza media,*- -trembling grafs. agrofiis carina, —brown bentgrafs; daclylis glome rat a, — orchardgrafs . poa triviality— common poe. Rye-grafs/— Solium perenne; — raygrafs. 'Windleftr&wSf—'-cynofurus crijlatus, -— crefted dogstaih poa pratenjis j-^-meadow poe* phleum nodofum, — bulbous catstaiL avena elatior,-— tall oatgrafs. fejlaca ovina, — fheep's fefcue. juncus campeftris, — grafs rum. carex , fedge, plantago lanceolatus, — narrow plantain,, Red clover, — trifolium pratenje, •** meadow trefoil. trifolium alpefire, — -alpine trefoil. White clover,-^— trifolium repens, -~- creeping trefoil. Txzfo\\.,-~*trifoHum agrarwm^hop trefoil. - lotus corm'culatus,- — birdsfoot trefoiL lathyrus prat en/is, — meadow vetchling* orcbus tuberofus, — bulbous pea. ant hy His vulneraria, — ladies finger. galium verum, — yellow beditraw. I 2 campanula rib NATURAL HERBAGE, P~:i.~.::6.'. Lima*:. Enrli/k. em 'a rctundifolia, — common bell- :: : wer. :acbanuedrysy — germander fpt t i- we!] e.p bra/id odontites, — red eyebright. e:-.c :: -.:■:.: :fr.c:.Kal::, — ccir.rr.cr: eye- brigbt i\: . — :r:;~T- :::. araftmm vtdgatumy — ,.::r.;:.cr. n:;uib- eir. betonica offians.. :. — betony- tr:. :.'..: ;:, '/.; ■;'.•, — it.rhti:. CowftripUngS* — frit mia .. , — cowflip; rmmma mt "...:-:.:, — pflewort Dc ;-ii:::r5. — ;r/.;.- t^e-v:::. — cd:*ey. : *- . :. — :rt. ^ •; -. '.'. •>/, — -.vile thyme. ::: ::. — crcrnr.z c:r.cu:-:~;h heknobs, — cerrtaurea ni^rsy — comm n kr.:zv.-eed. -..- Mcnhuacrisj — comtnon crowfoot. raw — creep ing crowfoot. fcabiofa arvenjis, — corn icabious. thioja cdumbariu, — mountain fca- bious. ::r — -:; Aow fca~ bious. YORKSHIRE. 117 Provincial. Linnean. Englijh, Vernuts, — hunium bulbocajlanum, — earthnut. achilk a millefolium, — milfoil. Seggrum^, — fcnecio jacobaa^ — common rag- wort. heracleum fphondylium, — cowparfnep . orchis mafcula, — male orchis, orchis morioy — fool's orchis. orchis uftulata, — upland orchis, ■poteriumfanguijorba, — upland burnet. origanum vulgare,— -wild marjoram. J pi ret a filipendula, — drop wort, agrimotiia eupatoria, — agrimony. Valeriana officinalis, — medical valerian. marrubrium 1 uhare, — horehou nd . fanicula europ&ay—fomcle. gentiana centaurium, ^-centaury gentian, refeda luteola,- — weld, ere pis tecloru?n> — fmooth erepis, Jlellaria graminea, — meadow ftarnower. licia cracca, — bluetufted vetch. ervum hirfutwn ,— ^twofeeded tare. geranium robertianwn, — fUnking cranes- ■ ' bill. geranium diffeclum, — jagged cranesb .11. geranium cicutariumt — hemlocklea^ed cranesbill. fberardia arrcenfis, — field merard. I 3 hieraccum ji8 NATURAL HERBAGE, provincial. Linnean. EngH/h. bieraceum pihcella, — - tnoufeear hawk* weed. aphanes arvenjis, — parfleypert. Breckens, — pteris aquilina, — brakes ; fern. £ur thiflle, < — carduus lanceolatus, < — fpear thiftle. carduus nutans, — nodding thiftle. carduus eriophorus, — woollyhcaded thiiHe, ferratula arvenjis, — common thiflle. Red thiftle^cariiuuspa/ujtrisj-^mzrih thiftle, car/ma vulgaris,- — carline thiftle, Ruftbunif-^-onom's arz-en/is, — reftharrow. Cat- whin, — -rofa fpinojijpma, — burnet rofe. The produce, in a dry year, little or nothing. On a par of years, half a ton of bay an acre. The ordinary allowance for a fummer pajlurage of a cow, two or three acres. The rent ten to thirty {hillings. Land bearing this defcription is entirely unfit for perennial ley. Arable crops, inter- mixed with temporary ley, are much more fuitable to its nature. II. The GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF GRASS LAND, in this country, now reauires to be regiftered. The YORKSHIRE. 119 The objects are hay and pajtura^e ; each of which will require to be feparately con- sidered. But there are certain operations, which are common to them beta, and which demand a previous consideration. Theie are, 1. Draining, 2. Clearing,. 3. DreiTing. 4. Weeding, 5. Manuring. 1, 2. Draining, Clearing. Thefe two operations have been already fpoken of, fufficiently, under the general management cf arable land j excepting fo far as re- lates to clearing a*way anthills. Here, as in mod: places, this operation is too much neglected. When practiied, the hills are either taken orT with a paring ipade, or perhaps a plow, level with the furround- ing fward, and carted into hollows Sec, fowl- ing the hilliteads with hayfeeds ; or, in one inltance, I law the cap of the hill 6fft taksn oiF thin, and, when the body of the hill was removed, the cap was laid upon the hilhlead. But this is ineligible. No implement can come upon the lurface to dreis it ; and the caps are liable to be miiplaced, by cattle and other ilock. I 4 The ne NATURAL HERBAGE. The practice of g e l d i N g * has lately been introduced. The greater! nicety of the art, I find, lies in clearing away the Jkirts of the core effectually j fo that when the flaps are returned, a rim, rifing above the furrounding furface, be not left, for the molding fledge, or other implement, to lay hold of. If this operation be performed in autumn, the frofts and rains. of winter will temper the cores, and, in the firft dry weather of fpring, the molding fledge will readily reduce them, and lodge them at the roots of the grafs. If the operation be imperfectly done, or the lumps of core remain flubborn, a heavy roller mould be run over the furface, before the molding fledge be ufed. No man, who has attended to the quality of the herbage of a?:t bills, needs any argument to convince him of the propriety of beftow- ing a little attention, on the mojft eligible means of extirpation. 3. Dressing meadow?. The Vale hufbandmen :;e peculiarly aiT:duous, in this department of the management of grafs lands, which, in the ipring of the year, engages much of their attention. The dung and molehilh f See Norfolk — Mar. 50, YORKSHIRE. j2i molehills are generally fpread, repeatedly, and the ftones and wood affiduoufly gathered off. The ground, intended for hay, is more particularly attended to ; but pafture grounds are paid their mare of attention. " Molding," that is fpreading dung and molehills, is either done wholly by hand, with a " molding rake ;" namely, a fhort flat- headed rake, with four flat teeth (a tool not uncommon in other Diilricls) ; cr by the means of a " molding fledge" (fee Imple- ments), an implement introduced into this country, fome twenty or thirty years ago. The flrft molding is given, the firft dry days of fpring j generally about Canciemas. Old molehills are found to get heavy, and iirm, by lying ; and if horle dung be not broken while moift, it is difficult to be re- duced *. The * I have met with one inftance of molding pajiure grounds* at Michaelmas^ (when ftcck is here ufaally tranf- ferred from pafture grounds to aftergrafs) a practice which ought to be univerfally adopted. The furface is, then, generally open enough to admit the dung which is fpread upon it ; whereas, in fpring, being lpread over a furface, faturated with water, it is probable that much of it is waihed aw ay, with heavy rains, or difftpated by frcfts. Molding, in eaily autumn, is fimilar, in its effects, to the practice of manuring grafs land, at that feafon. 122 NATURAL HERBAGE. The foil mutt become firm, before the fledge can be ufed with propriety. After the furface has been polifhed by this, it is finally looked over, with the rake ; efpecially round the borders, where the fledge may have left it unfinished. Hand molding is done, entirely, by women. Their wages 6d. a day. This may be a proper place to mention an opinion, which I have met with in this Dif- trict, refpecting moles. A man, whofe examinations are feldom fuperficial, is clearly of opinion, that moles are ufeful to the farmer. And, under this idea, he has not had a mole killed, upon his farm, during the laft twenty years ! He be- lieves them to be ufeful, in draining the foil, in communicating air to the roots of plants, in raifing frelh mold upon grafs land, and in killing worms ; which, he conceives, feed upon the roots of grafs and corn. That moles are ufeful to cold ftrong-texiured land, and to grafs land in general, is probably a fact -, and this may account for tne opinion under notice ; which was formed on foil of that defcription ; or on grafs land of a more loamy nature. But YORKSHIRE. 123 But admitting that moles are ufeful spaa cold ftrong grafs land, it does not follow that they likewife are ufeful, on lig'fct, tbm-fii!ed, arable land. Their mifchiefs, here, are too obvious to be overlooked With refpect to worms, too, moles are probably miichievous. No evidence, I ap- prehend, has ever been produced of their feeding on the roots of vegetables. I fpeak of to e common earthworm; not of the grubs of beetles, £cc. They are faid to draw es and other vegetable fubrtances into the ground ; but to what end is oalv con- .red. It mav be in purfuance of the wiieft dictates, and fof the I mention this fubj^dt, becaufe I believe it is new to the public ; and I mention it in this curfory way, becaufe I have not y:t had opportunity of lludving it maturely. It ap- pears to me, however, a fubjecl of the importance in Rural Ecc ..inly as we are habituated to think of this i. drudge, the profperity of the ve . and animal creation may hinge upon it. Its na- tural hiltcry appears, to me, a fubjtd: of fuf- ricient importance, to engage the attention of any man, let his abilities and pretenlicn: be :t they may : and it is a fubject which any i24 N A T D R A L HERBAG E. any man of leifure may apply himfelf to, without difficulty. 4. Weeding grass land. This de- partment of the grails land management is too little attended to. Bed; of the com mm t are too dree ueatly I'-rrerec :■:■ feed inpaihircs, to the great aniiaoce ?: the neighbourhood; meadows ana pailures are, not unfrequenthr, difgraced with the dock -, a weed which requires much lefi indufby to extirpate it. I met with an iaftanee of a meadow, foul m the extreme with bm/ru .:.:, cured by pas- turing it repeatedly with. /keep, in the ipring. : I have known killed in the fame ner. I likewife met with an inftance, here, of a bed of being d< i by -., .. • or y. The fed was, a large patch of dock», as thick as they could grow upon the : - 5 -.able to the bite ofiwine dome rhicb wilJ feed W them with lity ; and bat they ..:: was repeatedly . _ rd, zz:..-?: twice or thrice in a ihm- I c a fucce^QO : years. A: length, lifhed as by 1 ; and were fuc- - . d : ] finer grailes. P. YORKSHIRE. 125 Perhaps y neither the (wine nor the lithe could be faid, with itrictnefs, to have killed thefe docks; which, it appears to me evi- dently, died of age. No vegetable is ever- lafting. Some are annual, fome are biennial, others perennial. But the age, or natural lire of perennial herbs, has not perhaps been attended to. We may, however, take it for granted, without experience, that all .plants, which propagate their ipecies by feed alone, mav be fubdued by perfevering to prevent their feeding. All that we want to know, from experience, is their feverai degrees of :\'ity ; in order that we may calculate the dirrerence, between the expence of heading them, from time to time, and that of deitroy- ing them, at once, by the more expenlive procefs of eradication. 5. Manuring grass lands. The dung cart is feldom drawn upon grafi land. The quantity of dung which is made in the Diirrict (fee Farmyard Man.) is final! \ and is chiefly applied to arable lands ; while the collecting of mud, roadftuff, and other materials, meliorating to grafs land, is Shame- fully neglected. Foddering on grafs, in winter, is c depended uocn, as an equivalent for its ex- hauition 126 NATURAL HERBAGE. hauftion by bay ; and pajhcred ground is con* fidered as iranding in no need of extraneous aifritance. If a piece of mown ground were to have the whole of the crop returned to it, in fod- der, and in a proper manner, it is probable, that fuch ground might be repeatedly mown, without being materially exhaurted. But the foddering mould certainly be general to the whole piece; beginning on one fide, and teat ting it regularly, in the Norfolk manner, (fee Norfolk, Article Turneps), until the oppolite fide be reached : not. partially, under the hedge, as is molr.lv the cafe, here. The hedges are, no doubt, crept to for fhelter : in windy weather, efpecially, hay will not lie in an expofed place : but, cer- tainly, the hedge ought to be coniidered, as a refource to fly to, in ftormy weather ; re- turning to the area of the field, whenever the ftorm may abate. The cood effect of foddering, on any grafs land which will bear the treading of flock in winter, is evident to common obfervation. The great danger to land, which is mclined to tenacity, is that of its being- caught in t.fe drought of fprrig ; befcre the fward be re- lieved by rams cr by frofh ; wiuch, by tem- pering YORKSHIRE. 127 paring the furface, is obferved to releafe the grailes from their confinement, in the foot- fteps of fiock. On fuch land, the foddering mould not be continued too late in the fpring. On light-land grafs, many advantages arife from this practice. The fodder is laid up, and the manure carried on, at a final] expence. The contexture of the foil is improved, and mofs (the greateit enemy of land of this de- icription) checked or deilroyed, by the tread- ing of flock. There can be no doubt that, in fome cafes, and under proper manage- ment, flacking hay in the field, and foddering with it on the land it grew on, may be per- fectly eligible. Much depends upon the nature of the land, and much upon whether the given piece of grafs, or the arable land in the fame occupation, is moft in want of me- lioration. But advantageous as this management may be, in fome cafes, to light-fan J gr\iiy a linking initance of the inutility of teathing /hjr' fa ■:.:', in 'winter, with meep, occurred in this neigh- bourhood. A piece of low cold retentive (but well fheltered) Ingland was foddered upon, during a fucceiiion of fevere weather, until its furface was black with dung. Great ex- 123 NATURAL HERBAGE. expectations ct improvement were formed 5 but no leniible benent whatever followed. Fiom this and other inilances of a fimilar nature, it is more than probable, that tcaihing clofelv textured land, in wiater, is equally ineligible as manuring it, in winter ; an im* propriety which I am fully convinced of, from my own practice ; and which all coun- tries are beginning to be aware of. I am afraid, however, that the principal part of the little manure which is fet upon grafs lands, in this Diftrict, is carried on during the frofts of winter ; the worir time invention can de- Fife. Lime is, in the general idea of the country, rather injurious, than beneficial, to grafs land, iences are produced againlt it ; but they 1:1 not conclusive : the trials, which are faid have been made, were on cold retentive foils > the leaft likely, perhaps, to be im- proved by lime. To corn crops, lime is moll meficial, en cry warm foils ; and fome re- c ent experience here fhews, that on fuch foils .■ is beneficial ^o grzCs. A quantity of lime having been fcattered accidental!;7 on fward, it was obferved to in- jure the herbage, confiderably, for the firil three or four years. This of courfe corro- borated YORKSHIRE. 129 borated the opinion of its being injurious to grafs. But, in a few years more, this inci- dental patch became much fuperior to the reft of the piece, it lies in; and has, now, continued to be fo, for fome years. The foil, a middle loam, on a rocky lubitratum. This led to an experiment with a fmaller quantity ; namely, four chaldron, an acre, on a piece of declining moffy fward, on a burning fand, in an upland iituation. This experiment was made, laft autumn. The prefent ftate of it is ftriking (Sept. 1787). The entire countenance of the land is changed : the fward has acquired a dark- green healthy color; and, already, the mofs has moftly disappeared : wh.le tr;e remainder of the piece (the whole eaten with fheep) is covered with a fleece of mofs, intermixed with parched, flraw-colored herbage Thus far, and as far as one experiment reaches, this under notice is, deciiively, in favor of lime being beneficial to a fcorching up- land foiL For reviving the productivenefs of old fheep walks and rabbit warrens, lime may* perhaps, be found a mcft profitable manure. A remarkable incident occurs, this year, (1787) near Pickering* Part of the com- VoL.II, K mon NATURAL HERBAGE. j mon has been, I believe, time immemorial* in uie as 2 whitening ground — p:er.::.- cially, '* bleaching greens*" — The (oil, drift fand left by k which frequently over- r thofe greens ; the fubfoil gravel; left, in ail probability, by the brook, in (hi:: -el, from time to time. Never the iuch was the fuperfidal appearance of this le it was died as a whitening ground, that the Commiffioners under the Inclofure valued the land (lair, rummer a dry feaibn) at forty :: fifty ihillings rent, an ai . the bleaching bci ,; diicon- zd, it his turned out not worth fifty ;e, an acre rhftanding the uncom- mon ? : e : ' h . b egc :ation h - here elfe, manifcfl The parts .ere the w ive ufually . are evident to common obfervation : (carcelyabladeof graft has, mis v-.i.-. ;~ itfelf UDon them. E e :he iedees and _r palu:. ads, which a::e::;:>t to grow, all not able to hide the dead-loc/ fand, among which they are rooted. The foil, nal rntly ry. bow b J. * ban... -ted r By the ..v., v has been ufed in bleaching I Or by. the YORKSHIRE. 131 watering, which it has heretofore conflantly had, through the fummer ? Or by the ivarmth of the ivebbs j which, acting as a gardener's frame, has induced the foil to exert itfelf beyond its natural ftrength ? The effect is well afcertained ; but, evident and interefting as it is, it appears to me difficult to be accounted for, fatisfactorily. III. MANAGEMENT OF MOWING GROUNDS. All old grafs land, which is ptvum, is here called " meadow j" whether its lituation be low or high, dry or moift. It is merely a term in contradiftinction to pas- ture, or " fummer-eatep" ground; which name it may take the enfuing year -y it being a pretty common practice to mow and fum- mer-eat, alternately. This, however, is far from being a gene- ral practice ; the fame lands will be mown, and others will be ufed as cow pafture, for feveral years fuccemvely. But on the lands which are defcribed above, as upper grafs grounds, an alternacy, though not perhaps annual and regular, generally takes place. In defcribing this department of Manage- ment, a fourfold divifion of the fubject will be requifite. K 2 I. Spring NATURAL HERBAGE, i. : tagement; 2 . Having ; ;. Aftergrafj ; 4- Wi; i. Spring Maya t or Mz Dows. Thr general rraccice is to " eat" them, until the ftock is transferred to the palture grounds, and the ; finally ■ ?. for Kay, In this climatufe, the practice is i: diciois. ft throws h. .time too backward, in a common vear. An; ■ r :..:: fet in earlv, the ground, having no covering, r :':. ::..'■ the crop of boft pe :.;:. there:." Aliened. r/rrev. ;.::: the me:::?- -- ? fed to be :r.:--~r. ire teruru- iouily freed from :":::/.. early in the fpri not a Spring moot is cropped. This :s the :r extreme: and, if the land will bear ftock, is alio :er. :b:ing feed : ::ls del:: TpL -; :h:: which would be of iervice t: feck. Land may, in general, be eaten, until old LAD YD AY, Or the MIDDLE OF APRIL, with- out injuring the crop of bay. Earlv we and the ranker grafles, are checked; by 'ich YORKSHIRE, 133 which mean6 the better bottom grafTes are iuffered to rife and ripen with them. 2. Hay Harvest. To give a minutial account of this department of the grafsland management, it will be requifite to confider, feparately, the following fubdivmons : 1 . Mowing ; 2. Making ; 3. Preferving. 4. Expenditure. 1. Mowing. This is done chiefly by the " day mowing," which is an inaccurate acre ; fometimes more, but generally lefs than a ftatute acre ; old inclofed meadows having been reckoned, from time imme- morial, fo many " day mowings 5" and whe- ther they are, in reality, a greater or lefs number of acres, they are coniidered as fo many days' works. The wages for mowing, one milling to eighteen pence, a day, and board. Little or no mowing is done by the acre. A, man ieldom mows more than his day's mowing -, which, if he be a good hand, he perforins in a few hours, in the morning and eve- ning ; generally lying by, in the middle of the day. K 3 The 134 NATURAL HERBAGE. The Yorkshire mowers labor hard, dur- ing the inort hours they work : their fithes are of uncommon length, and they take their fwath of unufual width ; feldom lefs than three yards ; fome of them ten or eleven feet wide. They invariably " keep ftroke;" that is, all ftrike together as one man ; a practice which is at kail pleating to the looker-on. 2. Making. All countries, I find, abound in bad haymakers ; and fome are deftitute of good ones. The country under furvey may be faid to be above mediocrity ; and that is as much as can be faid of it. Quantities of hay are annually wailed, and ilill greater quantities unneceiiarily injured, through bad management. It is feldom tedded fufficient- ly ; is frequently expofed, all night, abroad, in catching weather ; and, in fuch weather, is too often carried before it be dry. A lingular expedient is here practifed to get it (as it i? intended) out of harm's way. This is to put it into " pikes," or ilacklets, of about a load each, before it be ft: to be put into flack ; and, too frequently, before it ht fit to be pat into large cocks. This is conndered as a middle ftage ; in which it is to YORKSHIRE. 135 to take a partial heat, and becomepreparcd for the flack. If hay be free from external mciflure, yet too full of fap to be truitcd in ltack, "piking" it may be of great ufe. But it is more gene- rally made ufe of, as a flovenly expedient, for getting hay out cf hand, in a tedious feafon. In this cafe, however, it is rnoftly mifchie- vous. I have feen thefe pikes, when opened out to be carried to the fbck, white with mould, black with rottennefc, and of every intermediate color, excepting that which alone is defirable. In the belt, practice of the Diilrict, the grafs, in fine weather, is tedded after the i.icsvers; or, in fhowery weather, as foon as a fair op- portunity offers. In the evening, unlefs due confidence can be placed in the weather, it is put into cocklets — provincially, M hippies ;" made in different ways ; fome being fet up hollow, wiih the foot and the head of the rake ; others, in the common way, with forks. As the hay has advanced in drynefs, the hip- pies are increafed in lize. When a fair opportunity offers, and the grafs is perfectly dry, the hippies are M hin- dered 5" that is, broken out into beds, in the ufual manner ; turned j and again got up into K 4 cocklets, 156 NATURAL HIF^AjI. cocklets, of faeli 6*f requires. When -, the hay i made into 1 .-_; . namely, abcu: eight z: ten to the load; hcr.es being fa times uied in thtl ::;::.:::;, See (be Article. When the crop is inter led :o be ftacked : the p iefce it grew on, the firil-made part rally lranch ; , until the whole, or the principal part of the remain- der, be ready far the itack ; wh .this means, is never expofed abroad in its firtt, rs : a rircomfrance, however, which is too commonly flittered, by lefs judicious bay* ih;:"erf. 3. Preferr..:: H.: T'r.e mof: prevalent bice |i : ftack :: in the field; either for purpofe of foddering with it on the :r to be fetched home, m f::::\ ther, or when wanted. Much, h: - f rr. rned :c the be meilall, at hay : fame to be llacked ; others to be h: lat- ter a prz: hen room czr. c : urea :- entry be*had, feems :: ;:c d estimation, [tisat sqcc _■: I mil fthe • her3 and probably into the place, in which it will be wanted: the mui:.:.::- of houfed which YORKSHIRE. 157 which is talked of in fome places, is not per- ceived in this. The practice of stacking hay in the field adds much to the eafe and difpatch of hay time. If the flack be placed in the cen- ter of the ground, a coniiderable part of the hay may be collected, without the trouble of loading it on a carriage. If it be in large cocks, it is fomctimes drawn to the (lack, with one horfe ; by means of a cart rope, put underneath the Hurts of the cock on the fides, and above the fkirts on the back part; giving the bend of the rope fuf- ficient hold of the hay, to prevent its being drawn from under the cock. The two ends of the rope-pafs to a pair of names ; to which one end is fixed, the other being kept in its place by a wooden pin. When the cock arrives at the rick, the peg is drawn, and the rope is difengaged. If the hay be abroad, it is rowed in the ufual way, and is fometimes drawn together with a long pole (fix or eight feet long), with a rope palling, from each end of it, to the names ; a man Handing or preffing upon the pole, to keep it down to its work, and make it clear the ground as it goes. This however, though iimple, is a difficult bulinels. More complex 138 NATURAL HERBAGE. complex implements, of various conilruc* tions, have therefore been contrived, for this purpofe. Thefe implements are alio ufed in cocking \ and, when the quantity of dry hay is great, and hands fcarce, it eafes and expedites the bufinefs very confiderably. For, in this cafe, the main burden of the hay is drawn together by the team, the rakers having only the bared ground to rake over ; following the implement, and drawing the rakings to the part to be cleared, by the next fweep of the implement -, beginning on one fide of the piece, and proceeding, in this regular and expeditious manner, to the other; leaving the hay in large rows, eafily to be cocked; or to be dragged to the {lack ; or loaded ; as occa- iion may require. This expedient, however, is far from being in general practice. "When the ground near the flack is clear- «d, and the Hack has rifen too high to be con- veniently forked upon, from the ground, the putikirts of the field are drawn together in carriages. Jn the befi: practice of the Diitrict, the flack, if not very large (which field flacks feldom are), is never begun upon, until a f/.mciency of hay be dry, to get it above the eaves, YORKSHIRE. 139 eaves, the firft day. If the whole be ready, the middle of the flack is rounded up, and the remainder fet in tall " pikes," by the fide of it, ready to be laid en, the firft fine day after the flem be ftirriciently fettled. This appears, to me, to be bringing the bufi- nefs of laying up hay, in the field, as near per- fection as the nature of it will admit. Field flacks are, I believe invariably, made round. The favorite form, at pre lent, feems to be that of an egg ; a form, perhaps, of all others the moft beautiful, but by no means the moft convenient*. When the hay has done heating, the flack is finally topt up, its roof adjufted and raked, and its top capt with thatch -, the principal part of the roof being left naked. In a country where thatching the entire roof is the eftablifhed cuftom, this would ap- pear negligent management. In this coun- try, to bellow thatch and thatching, upon the whole, would be deemed a wafteful extrava- gant practice. It would be dirHcult to fay, with * In Cleveland the oppofite extreme prevails. The turr.ep is there the archetype. If hay flacks be made round, a form between the egg and the turnep is preferable to either extreme; but, in my ©pinion, a barn is the befl model for a hay ftack. i±o NATUJUX HERBAGE. with certainty, which is the better practice j much depends on a plenty cr fcarcitv cf ftraw. Either of them is good, if properly exc c ..:,":. Field Sacks are firtnd with large hurdles, provmciaily **. nack-bars ;"' refembling the gate hurdles of fomc Diifoicts, and the cattla hurdles of c'r f. Being placed in a ring, and united together with pins palling through the heads, they form an arch, and become a fimple and fumcient fence aeainit every kind of rtock. 4. Expen '"Rj.-:, There is no re gu-, kr 1 or hay, in the Diftricx.. It is fel- dom fild, but in times of fcarcitv. It is :>med, en the premiies : chiefly |n the home, but partly in the field; a prac- Eke which has already been fpoken of. 1. Aftergrass. The expenditure of :::f-_r..is, in this country, is rrincioallv on Led . . " : ; ft me on dry fatting cows, and ". ,:i: en, thrown ud from work, in the fpring, and :.:.'.::.td with aftergrafs. Time of Breaking. In fome places, cattle ... .-.e4 into meadows, as foon as the crop if cut c: mem. This is fouling the ground iow any advantage to the cattle, which will YORKSHIRE. ft* will not, cannot, eat the jiubble of mown ground *. In this country* the oppofite extreme of management is too prevalent. Aftergrass, provincially, " fog," is fcarcely ever broken, till after Michaelmas ; is fometimes hoarded up, till near Martinmas, before it be turned into. In the latter cafe, half of it, perhaps, is walled. Whether the weather prove wet or froity, one of which may realbnably be expected, at that time of the year, cattle de- ftroy as much long overgrown afcergrafs, with their feet, as with their mouths. Wherever they tread, in wet weather, the grafs is fouled ; wherever they ftep, when froir. is on the ground, the grafs they tread on is deitroyed. General Remarks on the Manage* ment of Aftergrass. It is a matter of furprize that no country has yet adopted an economical expen- diture of aftergrass. I have met with fome faint attempts, in the practice of individuals, in different places; but nothing of a regular ccniirmed eftablifhed practice. There * But fee West of EkgLand, Ati. AFTiRGRAss. j42 NATURAL HERBAGE. There is one leading principle of manage- ment, which is eafy to be obferved, and by which alone, perhaps, half the prefect wafle mi^ht be avoided. This is the felf-evident and fimple one of not fuffering cattle to re- main at rdgkts y on aftergrafs, nor of permit- ting them to return to it, in the morning> labile froji remains on the ground. In ftrictnefs, they ought never to be fuf- fered to lie down among it, but mould be re- moved, as foon as their appetites are palled. Even this, when the expenditure is on cows, is not dimcult. But fatting cattle may, per- haps, require mere indulgence. Thefe, however, might, without injury, be let out, in the evening, into an adjoining ftubble or pafture ground, and be fuffered to return in the morning, with very little extraordinary otion cr trouble. Cows might be folded in a yard, cr kept in the houfe, or in the field, as circurnfr.an.ces might require. Grafs which has been trampled under foot, in the manner defcribed above, neceffarily remains, in winter, an encumbrance to the iurface. If the ground be foddered upon, fome of it will of courfe be worked off by cattle -y and horfes will eat a ftill greater friare of it. Still, however, the fward will be ragged YORKSHIRE. 143 ragged in the fpring ; a circumftance that ought to be avoided. In the early part of fpring, aftergrafs ought to be level -, that is, either entirely hare, or covered with a fuffi- cicnt even bite of unfoiled aftergrafs, or winter-freed pafturage. Two of the moil intelligent rural econo- mics of thefe kingdoms make a point of faving autumnal grafs, for fpring feed ; and they are probably right when they aflert, that it is the molt certain, and, on the whole, the belt, fpring feed, which is, at prefent, known. On thefe principles, the right manage- ment of aftergrafs is evident. The for- wardeft ought to be broken, fufricientiy early, to be eaten, without wafte, before winter fet in j and the lateft, that is to fay, the fhorteft, fhould be fhut up for fpring feed. If after- grafs be too long and groffy, it is apt to lodge, and rot upon the ground in winter. There- fore, on rich land, it ought to be more or lefs fed, before Michaelmas ; and then, while of a due length, to be fhut up during winter. IV. PASTURE GROUNDS. The ma- nagement of pafture grounds requires to be fubdivided into 1. Spring Management. 2. Stocking. 3. Summer Management. 1. Spring 144 NATURAL HERBAGE. i. Spring Management. In the or- dinary practice of the Diilrict, pafrures arc fhut up, in winter, or earlv in the fpring, and kept free from ftock, until Old Mayday* General Remarks on the Spring Management of Grass Lands. This appears to me to be bad manage- ment. At Old Mayday, in a common year* and on an ordinary foil, there is a fufficient bite, over every part of the furface. Cattle of courfe cboofe the better herbage. They have no inducement to crop the --weeds and codrfer gra[fesy which they fuffer to run up to feed, thereby, in the initant, encumbering the furface, and, in the confluence, in- creafing their quantity ; thus tending to leifen, in a twofold w^ay, the proportion of NUTRITIOUS HERBAGE. Even fuppGiing the fward to be perfectly tret from weeds and coarfe graifes, it is bad management to fuiter flock (store stock) to be turned upon a full bite. They cannot, if duly flocked, keep the whole of it under. Much of it will inevitably run up to feed, forming tufts and uneaten patches, which (if not removed with the fithe) remain, during the YORKSHIRE. 14$' the fummer, as ufelefs to the grazier, as if they were not included within the limits of his paftures. They are fo much wafle ground. The quantity of grazing furface, or, in other Words, thefize of the paflure, is leiTened, in proportion to the quantity of J} ale herbage. On the contrary, if ftock be admitted into paftures, while the early weeds are yet in a tender fate, and before the furface be covered with Setter herbage, every weed will be cropped, and every part be equally eaten. Even rufes, when they nrft fhoot, are eaten freely by cattle and hcrfes ; efpecially the latter. The cowparfnep, ragwort, knobweed, and other grofs early plants are, on their firft emeriion, devoured greedily by cattle and fheep. But changing weeds into nutriment, and increafing the quantity of pa/luring furface, are not the only advantages arilmg from breaking paftures, early, with itore cattle. The cattle themfelves are benefited, by being removed, by degrees, from dry meat to fuc- culent herbage ; and thereby, in all human probability, preferred from many diforders, which cattle are liable to, on their bein£ iirfl turned out to grafs in the ipnng. Vol. II. L It r45 NATURAL HERBAG E. It will be faid, that, under this manage- ment, paiture grounds require to be flocked .:T, than in the ufual practice. For a few day?, immediately after Mayday, the pafture will be comparatively jbart (a cir- cumftance, perhaps, favorable to cattle when firlr. turned out wholly to ; :, after- :;, the advantage will be evidently in favor of early breaking ; inafmuch as the iffurface is thereby encreafed. It is therefore demonilrable, that, under this management, paftures maybe locked thicker, than in the common practice. Fatting cattle, which are forward in flelh, ar_:i ire intended to be fi with grafs, may require a at the firft turn- ing out. But for cows, working oxen, ring CATTLE, and lean cattle, inter to be on grafs, a I jU bite, at the firil ;ing out, is net requiiite. Another obi eerier:, which maybe made to early grazing, i: that of laying the land open to the drou , too, is in td to pa , an ill g a. It is notorious to common a, that cows milk, . general thrive, beyond expectation, in droui r. It is not the length of YORKSHIRE. 14} grafs, but the quantity of nourifiment it con- tains, which makes cattle pay for their paf- turage. In dry feafons, medicinal waters are ftrongly impregnated, and fruit expofed to the fun in fuch feafons, is fweeter and more highly flavored, than it 'is in a moid: feafon, or a lliady fituation ; but the diftillers of ef- fential oils are the beft judges of the effects of feafons on herbage . The richnefs of vegetable productions appears to be in proportion to the quantity of heat , in -the im?nediate fphere of their vegetation. Thus the richnefs of fruit is increafed, by the re- flection of the wall ; and it ftrikes me that the richnefj of grafs is increafed, by the re- flection of the foil. Long grafs fhades the" foil and deftroys the reflection. The fhorter the grafs the ftronger the reflection, and, confcquently, the richer the herbage. But the longer the grafs, the fooner the cattle fatisfy their hunger, and lie down to reft. A MEDIUM, therefore, is obfervable. The due length depends upon the nature of the flock, the nature of the foil, and the nature of the feafon. Rich grafs goes farther than that which is watery and weak. A good grazier tooks to the condition of his L 2 cattle, t48 NATURAL HERBAGE. cattle, rather than to the length of their pafture. Thefe obferyations are drawn from my own experience, as well as from the practice of one man in this Diftricl, who, by early flocking, keeps not only his rough paftures, but even his yards, in a great meafure level, and free from encumbrance. OldLadyday to theMiDDLEOF April, according to the progrefs of fpring, appears to me, at prefent, as the befl time for fiutting up mowing grounds and opening paftures. 2. Stocking pastures. The /pedes and the quantity require to be feparately con- sidered. No fettled rules, with refpect to the mix- ture of fpecies, are here obferved. It is ge- nerally underftood, that horfes and cattle, in- termixed, will eat grafs, cleaner, than either fpecies will, alone ; not fo much from their feparately affecting different graffes, as from the circumilance of both fpecies diiliking to feed near their own dung. Horfes, it is true, appear partial to parti- cular patches of fward ; but, on clofe exa- mination, I have never been able to difcover any peculiarity, in the foil, or the herbage, of thefe barely eaten fpots ; which are, I ap- prehend, YORKSHIRE. 149 prehend, fird eaten to the quick, fortuitoufly, and are afterwards kept down, through their peculiar fiveetnefs, owing to the peculiar fiort- nefs of the herbage. Hares and rabbits, in the neighbourhood of kept covers, keep down patches of barley or other corn, in a iimilar manner, and through fimilar motives. Befides this unfair manner of feeding, the horse is difliked in paftures, on account of the worthleffnefs of the dung of horses, at grafs. This, when the fuperior value of their dung, in the ftable, is confidered, appears fomewhat paradoxical. The idea, however, is not confined to this DiftricT:, nor to this Ifland ; it prevails, I am well informed, in America, and more or lefs, perhaps, in every place, where hufbandmen cbferve, inatten- tively. The idea has, no doubt, fome foundation.- The dung of horfes, dropped on grafs in fummer, fqon undergoes a change. Its fub- ftance is prefently fcooped out by infects ; nothing but a porous bundle of undigested vegetable matter being left. If infects not only eat horfe dung, but fly away with it out of the field, it is in reality loft, to that parti- cular field ; but if, what is mofl likely, they L 3 drop *50 NATURAL HERBAGE. drop it again, near the place where it was taken up, and, at length, find a grave, for their own bodies, among the grafs, the occupier of the land fuftains no 1c Sheep, I believg, are feldom mixed, ht: either with cows or f rattle. They eat lefs fairly than horfes, which itick to parti- cular patches ; while £heep run ever and nibble out the choiceft morftis of the entire piece. They are generally kept alone, ex- cept on commons, and are, on this fide of : Yale* properly confined to the uplands, the moll natural pafture of lheep. With regard to the aggregate quantity of stoci: :le to 2. given p hulbandmen, here, as in other places, differ in their opinions. Extremes are moftly in- judicious. The impropriety of locking too thin has already been flh but lay iiock too thick is a ft impropriety. Broken gi v be mown for hay ; but the eviis of overlooking are not eafily repaired: once checked do not readily regain a thri ing habit. I have . p ^not in this . : entire pre dace oi the land it is an error wh ittaj far :jo freque- tly tall Intu, Tne middle :o be atten- tv YORKSHIRE. iSi tively fought after. Nothing but experience, 0:1 the given ground, can point it out. In obtaining this experience, it is always prudent to begin on the fafe lick ; or, in other words, to underftock, rather than overilock, the firit year. 3. Summer management of pas- tures. In this department of the grafs land management, the Diltrict under furvey is deficient. No f:ifimg of flock -, no head (lock andjbl/owers « hot fa tares, with the ikhe. In the ordinary practice of the country, ftock are turned into pallure grounds, at Mayday, and there remain im- pounded, until Michaelmas ; or until h-arveil be in ; when the head itock are transferred to the mowing grounds, and the ordinary flock to the irubbles, to partake of the u average :" a provincial term for the eatage of arable land, after harvelt ; a term probably originating in the ancient commonfield ma- nagement* I have already intimated, that it is not my intention to make the prefent a didactic work. Neverthelefs, where I find what appears to me caufe of cenfure, it may be right to men- tion what I think would be a means of doing it away, L 4 General 15* NATURAL HERBAGE. General Remarks dm :::: Man.-. mmt 01 summeb pastures. The grassland management is no longer a iub:e,: which is new :c me. bad a considerable (hare of experience, in my own practice, and have alio r.idopportur.: of obferving, on a large l'cale, the practice of others, in different and diftant D.::::::s. I will therefore give, here, in as few words as r::":ble, zjlctcb of my pre lent ideas, refpeft- ing the proper n::r._^e::.c::: of summes PASTURES. Much depends on situation, and much on water. There are cafes (many :: :hem in this Diftritt] :h the ilock are, through neceffity, confined daring the Sum- mer in one grafs pound. Cafes like rhefe can only be lamented, not remedied. There are ethers which wil] admit of only toco di- viner.-; that is, ;:" v.- a predicament infinkelv preferable to the firft ; b'Jt not al- together defira: I all cafe:. where lotting cattle or dairy s make a part dJ the hick, and -.'•'r.t:t .tion, foil, and water will permit, e- iuite of grazing grounds ought, in my idea, to YORKSHIRE. ;Sj to COnfift of THREE COMPARTMENTS. One for head flock (as cows or fatfing cattle), one for followers (as rearing or other lean flock), and the third to be fhut up to frefheo. for the leading itock. If, at the time of fhifting the followers, there be much Jeedy herbage left upon the ground, it ought to remain until they be ihifted ; and to be mown as hay during the receis. But if, at that time, a few weeds, and a httle feedy herbage only be left, they ought to be swept down, with the lithe, a few days before the removal of the lean flock ; which will not fail, in this cafe, to lick up even the fharpeft thirties, while they are in the foft flaccid flate, to which mowing prefently re- duces them. Finally, I am clearly of opinion, that, let the paflure coniifl of one, two, or more com- partments, not a weed ought to feed, nor a tuft of ftale grafs be mitered to fland, in a paflure ground; which ought once, at leafl, during the fummer, to be levelled with the si the ; thus, at a fmall expence, con- verting weeds into nutriment, and WASTE GROUND INTO AFTERGRASS. HORSES. 154 HORSE S, 27. HORSES. Introductory Remarks, YORKSHIRE has Ion* been celebrated for its horfes. Fitzherbert, who wrote two hundred and fifty years ago, mentions his going to Rippon fair, to buy colts. Tne influence of cMmature, on the confti- tution, or changeable part of the nature of animals, is a matter difficult to be demon- Pirated. There are men who deny it. — > Neverthelefs, ftrong evidences of its exiftence may be drawn, from the animal under con- sideration. No man has yet been able to breed Ara- bian horfes, in England; EngliJJj horfes, in France or Germany ; nor Tor kp ire horfes, in any other Diftrict. of England. Some good horfes, no doubt, are bred every year, in dif- ferent parts of the kingdom ; but they are few, in proportion to the number of bad ones bred, in thofe parts. In YORKSHIRE, 155 In Norfolk, the breeding of faddle horfes has been repeatedly attempted, without fuc- cefs. Yorkshire ftallions have been, and ftill are fent, into Norfolk, in the covering feafon. The foals may be handfome, but they lofe their form as they grow up. On the contrary, in Yorkihire, let the fcal, when dropt, be ever fo unpromifm^, it will, if any true blood circulate in its veins, ac- quire fafhion, ftrengtk, and activity, with its growth. Thefe circumftances feem to account for the fuperiority of Yorkshire- bred horfes ; and furnifh an evidence, that air, water, foil, or herbage, has an influence on the conili- tution or changeable properties of animals. The Diftricl more immediately under fur- vey may, perhaps, be confidered as the firft, in the county, for the breeding of horfes. Neverthelefs, it cannot, even here, be called a univerfal practice. Men are led into it by accident or caprice. It would be difficult to afcertain the exact number annually bred. The Vaie, the Wolds, and Holdernefs, probably employ a hundred ilallions. One hundred mares are confidered as" the full complement for one. horfe. 156 HORSE S. fe. Some of them, perhaps, do not get fifty. On this calculation, there are from five to te:: thouiand horles bred, between :..; Eaftern Mbrelands and the Humber *. It: will now be aeccnar? :: c :::nder fepa- pately, i . The breed. 2. The me:' : : :: breeding. ;. Th: :::.:':: i l: :r. -'.-.:?. r-v.r. ^ O A. 4.. T ':.. c . The m n ent of worked hon"c s , in this Dl:::i:~:. I. H7^LD. Thirty years ago, strong saddle horses, fit for the road only, were the ; r i r. : : _ a I b re - i of the Yale* During the laft twenty years, fome capital o nters bai e been bred in it. This change principally effected by one hone, Jalap j a fuil-bred horfe ; whole pedigree and performances are well known upon the turf. r :; llill living ; and, what is remark - !e. ' : n, . : the . re cf thirty, covered several :;._:... His leap rV. z guineas each, for * This grounded oa Ktde ; nH be difficult to aicertaiu : - District. YORKSHIRE. I57 for blood mares ; two guineas for " Chap- men's" mares *. But notwithstanding the credit which the Vale has juflly acquired, of late, by its hunt- ers, the breed is, at prefent, changing to fafhionable coach horses; namely, tall, jftrcrig, overlized hunters* The breed, there- fore, may be laid to have increafed in fize, rather than to have undergone a change. In 1783, the ftallion (hows exhibited beautiful groups of animals, active as the greyhound, and fpirited as the lion. This year (1787) the mows were comparatively fiat and fpirit* lefs : a mere parade of troopers. There may be feveral reafons, for the alte- ration which is taking place, in the breed of horfes in the Vale. — The Jalapian breed has degenerated ; very few of the fons of this celebrated horfe have been good flock-get- ters. Another reafon, and perhaps a better, is the unfitnefs of high-bred hunters, for beads of burden and draught. Not only brood mares, but growing horfes, are ufed in hufbandry. The operation of plowing with two horfes requires ftrength : {lender horfes are unfit for it ; but a three or four- year * He died in December 1787, fince this article iva9 written. 158 HORSE 5. year old coach horfe may be occasionally uled ; and, in cafes of deformity or lamenefs, may be continued as a farm horfe. If to this be added, the extravagant prices which defcription of coach horfes have recently borne, the Vale farmers may be right in propagating the breed*. Let this be as it mav, they are mod: af- faredly wrong, when they give encourage-* tnent :: the Fen Breed, the " Howdenmack" of black cart hor?es, which I am forry to fee worming their way, into the Vale. The breed of gr^v rats, with which this liland has of late vears been overrun, are not a greater pert in it, than the breed of black fen horfes: at leaft, while cattle remain fcarce, as they are at prefent ; and while the neih of horfes continues to be rejected as an article of hum m food. Let the Vale formers continue to plow h coach h >rfes, s cxen in carriage : a breed of horfes better ca._ alated for eating thanwe. hole tender. cv is to ren- their shivers :. Qaggifh as themfelves, ire id . to the prefent rents of the [folk has already experienced the evil * 1 EfOLDE&NEgs bW been longer in :.i bexfes. YORKSHIRE. '59 jonfequences of encouraging :ed; ::r.d I hone this country will not latter by the lame indifcretion . It is laughable enough to fee a {lender half-bred mare, who perhaps, a few years ago, received the embraces of ip or his offspring, bending under the weight of a cumbrous animal, whofe very legs, in ail their admired roughnsfs, are nearly equal in fize to the body of her for- mer gallant. Xo wonder that monllers, having not their likenefs in nature, ihould be the produce of fuch unnatural amours. II. BREEDING HORSES. From what has been faid respecting the fuperiority of Yorkihire horfes, it will, no doubt, be ex- pected that great attention is paid to breed- ing ; and that the myiteries of it will be dif- cloled; while, perhaps, others have con- ceived that their fuperiority is more owing to the art of breeding, than to the geniality of climature. I ihould be lorry if truth ob" me to difcover the misjudgment of toy readers ; and feel myielf aukwardly circum- ilanced in being under the neceliity of dif- clof -.g the miiconducl of my countrymen. In -it parts of the kingdom, the .ling of rai s is reduced almoin to fcience. In the Midland counties, the breed- • . f6d HORSES. ing of cart horfes is attended to with the fame afliduity, as that which has of late years been beftowed, on cattle and fheep ; while the breeding of faddle horfes, hunters , and coach iforfes; is aim oil entirely neglected ; is left almofl wholly to chance ; even in York- mire ! I mean as to females. A breeder, here, would not give five guineas for the bell brood mare in the kingdom; — unlefs me could araw, or carry him occasionally to market; nor a guinea extraordinary for one which would do both. He would fooner breed from a rip, which he happens to have upon his premifes ; though not worth a month's keep. But how abfurd. The price of the leap, the keep c£ the mare, and the care and keep of her progeny, from the time they drop to the time of fale, is the fame, whether they be fold from ten to fifteen, or from forty to fifty pounds each. Superior excellency may be laid to depend upon the mare. There is an inftance, in this neighbourhood, of the offspring of one mare being fold* to dealers, for four or five hundred pounds. What are a few guineas in the firit purchafe of a good mare ? and what are a few days plowing, or a few rides to market, YORKSHIRE. 161 market, compared with the difference be- tween a race of good and of ordinary horfes ? It appears to me evidently, that much re- mains to be done, in this department of Rural Economy. Good stallions may be had for money ; and the different hunts, in the fouth of England, will, fo long as they re- main, be a fource of mares, moil fuitable to the purpofe of breeding capital hunters. Mares lamed, or ftiffencd by fevere exercife and improper treatment, are generally to be bought, in the neighbourhood of thefe hunts, at moderate prices. And mares, fit for the breeding of coach horses, are to be met with in every county- The prefent prices, given for hunters and coach horfes, and, more efpecially, the de- clenfion of the breeding of the former, are incitements fufficient, to induce men of fpirit to make an attempt. Nothing appears to me to be wanting, but a Bake well, to take the lead* While the nation remains in its pre fen* (late of refinement, horfes for the ; thejield are in a degree neceliarv ; . racers and cart Lwrfes might, with tefe inconve- niency, be difpenfed with. Vol. II. M lb* i62 .'HORSES. The King's Plates have probably had their life, in improving the Englifh horfe, in a I let a mare, which I rode into the country in 1782, run out to M 4 grafs, 168 HORSE S. grafs, on leifure days, and lie in the houfe, at nights. The confequenqe was unfavorable, and fufficientiy ftriking to induce me to minute the circumftances, at the clofe of the occurrence. As the fa bj eel appears to be of confi- dcrabie importance, I will here copy the Minute. "1783, March a. There are, perhaps, fewhorfes which will bear to be hunted, one day, and turned out to grafs the next. My brother's practice is to let his horfes run at grafs, in the middle of the day, throughout winter. In conformity with this plan, mine was turned out in the daytime, whenever I did not want to ufe her. On my arrival here, in November laft, "though I had rode her a journey of two hundred miles, me was as fkt as a mole, and her carcaie round as a barrel. In the early part of winter, I rode her a good deal, and {hewed her the hounds, generally once a week. With this exercife, I was not farprifed at her (hrinking. But having more lately given hereafe, — in order that me might recover her flefh and fpirits,— -without find- ing any alteration, I had good reafon to think that it was not altogether the work, but the treatment, which kept her down ; for, with all YORKSHIRE. all the indulgence I could give her, her G ten days ago, were clapped together, and her hide (luck as clofe to her ril , as it it had been glued to them. Her appetite for dry meat at I as gone. She would let her corn lie in die manger untouched ; the for tiie time I have had her — fix years — has ever been a remarkable good feeder. had fome blood taken from her, but me ilill remained the fame. Sirfpe&ing that hang- ing after the grafs was the only caufe of her, ill thriving, me has for the laft ten days been kept entirety in the hotrfe. Her ikin is alreadv locfe and fiiky, end me calls for corn every time the {table door i? opened. The r day flic wanted fpurs. Now me is all fpiri: turned out a mare, which he had hunted the day before, to grafs, on a cold da y. She got a violent cc 'zed er limbs ; and it has been with great i frculty he has faved her. began to turn out a valuable mare, which h i ccca- fionaily -y but finding le refufed her dry meat, he difecntinued it ; and now finds that ihe has taken to her hay and corn, again. My brother's horle, ufed to it as he has bttn from his infancy, and as he con- stantly H O R S E S. r.-:::'..- . e a common hack a hunter, •• There -.■ . I ' n ya horfe, LtQ vioic • ...:uld not be e: - (c - at grafs, in ievere weather. It takes them )ff their dry meat ; and he: w'-\:'.;i:vzi .:.-.. it i ly probable, morr . fuffei :..:::/. pinching cold, md may be more liable tc - by acute difo: than hcrfc> wh - more mo- derate ex ., - - whole frames are leis jced. A !.: ich has been enured to thole tr untie heat ; i cold will, no doubt, bear them better than one which has always been ufed to a warm liable ; and h,, certainly, :.._';: not to be expoled to ;"J::.;:-.:r:-.U:::c.-: ..-."". .. ."". . rrcate:;. on. ,% ' . ■:;•. that letting a horfe ran .:.:, . winter, keeps his legs L.iLT.t: ir.l :7.::i 1 apple than landing al- the ftabie. My mare was not frefher on her legs, at :; ..: yean i, than ihe has bee:, this renter. Arj i be - : . - - days, when the . . . t.7a . . ....... place to hay l ::.., it gnus, 1 am of opinion it would YORKSHIRE. i7, would be of great fervice to them. Hoties .which are unavoidably expo fed to tranfitions from heat to cold — as hunters frequently are, in fauntering by the fide of a cover, after a hard run — ought, indisputably, to ftand in a cool ftable, and to be expofed to the open air on leifure days, fo far as the ftate of perfect health and vigour will permit : but no far - then" I make no comment on the foregoing facts and reflections. I infert them as a caution to the inexperienced : and as hints to thofe who wifh to hit the HAPPY MEDIUM of treatment. Turning out horses to grass in the spring, I met with an idea, in this Dinxict, respecting the ftrit turning out of a horfe entirely to grafs, which deferves to be ge- nerally known. When a horfe is thrown up, or turned out at nights to grafs, in the fpring of the ^ear, it is common to choofe the ftrrcnpuk of a fine day to do it ir\. The natural confequence is, the horfe fills his belly, during the Jkmjbme% and lays down to reft, in the cold of the- night -f thereby, probably expofing himfelf \d diforders. A much : C A i T t K A much Better practice pre-:-.:. here; The hone, i . af being tamed rat la tb* morning, is turv.ri om .~ The . and (kept in - - _"■.-. ' . of me . 28. C A T T L E. I.N" 7 J jRY REMARKS. IX A SEQUESTERED V.. ..- I ..::?. csd f dc ex: \::ed: ;k. :iofed ftate if this Vale, I chiefly, to :::: ; ;:.:n. and a I In the Wefl and s of the Vale, which h been I L is " It BOKSE6 A? . i.-.. They kept, atf inyap -:r- e:. :. r- Y 0 R. KT$ H I R S. 173 been inclofed, time immemorial, and which, until of late years, have always lain in a irate of rough grafs, great numbers of young cattle were reared, fcr tale. Converting the lower lands to arable, in- clofing the Commons, and laying the arable fields ft> grafg, hive wrought a coniiderabie change, in what mav be called the economy of live stock; more :ally in the economy of cattle. Dairies have increafed ; grazing has been introduced; and rearing has declined. Thus far, however, the Vaie may be faid to have reared its own flock ; excepting feme few scotch cattle, which are annually brought into it, for the purpoie of clearing rough paftures in winter j and to be fatted on fecondary grazing grounds, the enfuing iiimmer. To crive an : :e idea of the nature and management of cattle, it? this Diftri£t, it will be proper to d i&. into tour principal divifiens : nam. 1. The Species, or breec 2. Breeding Cattle. 3. Rearing $. Fatting ca. I. BREED. t;4 C A t T L t. I. BREED. Within the memory of a per- fon now living ,* namely, about feventy years zgo ; the ancient breed of black cattle, which probably once prevailed throughout England *, and whole name is itill very im- properly ufed in (peaking of cattle :;; reueral, were the only bree By fheprefent brec "."ales and the Weft of Scotland : moitiv " all black ;" but ::;me ■ u white faces :" moftly "homed , fc at feme of them " humbled/' that is bomlefs. To thefe fucceededa black and whi r £ breed; probably a variety of the original ipeci?--. Butftill the <; r«/ cvw'i w /.'-:' was confidered as medicinal i and many inveterate diforders were doubtlefs cared with it : : is to fay, by a perfeverance in milk diet. The black mottle?, probably a tfanfient fort- were fucceeded by the longhor.nid or f< Craven breed :"" the probable ori g is f the pre- lent celebrated breed of the V D mi counties. But, in a country where the buunefs cf aration was carried on principally h this breed was found extra Horns a yard lone weie not only trouble- feme, * ftntfie West of- England, Art. Cattl: YORKSHIRE. 175 fomfc, but dangerous, in yoke ; efpecially in the narrow roads and hollow ways, with which the Diflrict formerly abounded. Ac- cidents were frequently happening to them ; by getting their horns entangled in the hedge or the bank ; fometimes breaking off their horns ; but more frequently breaking their necks. This was a fufficient inducement for adopting the shorthorned cr "Holdernefs breed :" probably of Dutch extraction. This change took place fome forty cr fifty years ago : and the morthorned breed llill pre- vails ; though it has undergone feveral al- terations, fince its firft introduction. The firft variety of this fpecies of cattle, which I can recollect, was a thick, laree- boned, coarfe, clumfy animal : remarkably large behind, with thick gummy thighs. Always flefhy, but never fat ; the fejb being of a bad quality. This, however, was not the worft : the monftrous iize of the buttocks of the calf was, frequently, fatal to the cow. Numbers of cows were annually loir, in calving. Thefe monftefs were fiigmatized with the opprobrious epithet " Dutch a — a." This was probably the worfl breed the Vale ever knew. The CATTLE. Tik " :" :. " Dutch breed" : i In the courie of t. e has . the hind qv /.ccd* rwl the impi - . - ral crofiingSi but cl ig the . • . : :: c: their nei. :k. It i "■' : rj i ef- icCzi: - . . \i i | - -a::i . uddle ford but :. — ...... Th . as vreila m . . . ... . v [the .._.. Y 6 R It S H,I R E: i7f Even the Dutch buttocks were probably bred in England. The Holdernefs breed, on their firft intro- duction into the Vale, were faid to be thin- quartered, too light behind, and too cdarfe before \ large moulders, coarfe necks, and deep dewlaps. This form being found dis- advantageous to the butcher, encreafing the quantity of the coarfer parts, and reducing the weight of the prime pieces, the breeder endeavored to enlarge the hind quarters ; and had he flopped when he had got to the happy medium, he would have wrought a good work. But the fafhion was fet j — " cloddy" bullocks were in eftimation ; and their evil qualities were overlooked, until they were rendered too obvious ; and the confequences above mentioned had taken place. The form and Jize of the present breed of the Vale may be feen, in the follow- ing dimenfions of a working ox, rifing five years old ; above par as to form, but fome- what beneath it in point of fize. Height, at the withers, four feet eleven inches. * • of the briiket, from the ground, twenty inches. Smaller!: girt, feven feet four inches* ♦ Vol. II. N Largeft i78 C A T T L E, Largeft girt, eight feet five inches. Greatest width, at the moulder, twentytwo and a half inches. ■ at the hips, twenty three and a half inches. • at the round-Bone, twentyone inches. Length from forehead to nache, eight feet five inches. — — the center of the ihoulder- knoh to the center of the hip bone, four feet one inch. ■ • the center of the hip bone, to the extremity of the nache, twentytwo inches. Length of the horns, fourteen inches. Width of the horns at the points, twentytwo inches. The eye full and quick. The head and neck clean. The bone fomewhat large. The chine and buttocks full. The fleili foft and mellow to the hand. The color blocd-red, marked with white. But a variety, new to the Vale, is now creeping into it: the Tees-watik breed > — a variety of the morthorned breed. This variety is eitubiiihed on the banks of the Tees, YORKSHIRE. 179 Tees, at the head of the Vale of York, and is held out as the " true Yorkshire ihort- horned breed." Be this as it may, much at- tention has been bellowed on ita eftablifh- ment -, and it appears to be, at prefent, a moil: valuable breedof cattle : Valuable, I mean, to the grazier and the Butcher : the bone, head, and neck fine ■> the chine full ; the loin broad ; the carcafe, throughout, large and well falhioned ; and the flefh and fatting quality equal, or perhaps luperior, to thofe of the prefent breed of the Vale ; which, however, appear to be more athletic , and fitter for the yoke or b&rnefs* In forming that variety, a horn, verv dif- ferent from that which is prevalent in the Vale, has been produced. The " buckle- hern" is, in this cafe, as in the other, fome- what lengthened ; but xhzfaftionable horn, on the banks of the Tees, is a clubbed down- hanging horn, as if, in forming it, a dalh cf Craven blood had been thrown in. And it might be made a moot point ; whether th$ horns of the two breeds, now particularly un- der notice, have been produced by fafhion alone ; or whether the Teeswater horn may not have been altered, from the original lhort horn, by a flight intermixture of the Cr. N 2 breed ; ltd C A T T L £. breed i and er the Holdernei^ tweed, :ich the Vale c :: ndiipntaWy originated, may net have had a fibular ad- mixture of the middiehorned blood*. I wifb :: trace the origin and progrefs of the dirrere::: bj : ^-ttle in the Hand; but I find it will fa Hcuit talk to d The hc ft criterion for diiti::- guiihing the diffi r e ies (if the term be icable) ofc tdi I: is a permanent T be color, though changeable; and neither the firm nc: the ~ \£are permanently characteristic :'. The : cumflance of a red cow's milk*' being ..::: .1; ::-.::.:.-.. v. r ..- :r.t " = :A:;e ::' rei c..::.:. Ai- g that tfce. red . were of either of die breeds rnentionsd, (that is to Jay, of the native red breed of the fouthe: : this Ifland, fee West of E N : LAKo] zr.i ::...: :r. y - e: : ~ :-.ti .: : zr.t .:: ?-:.i rreei. :: :t-i.'.v :':'.'. .-••■ ;. :r..".: :".:: c'-i/_-= v ." '-.if :.;.;.:>.• :^;: rl.ic?, : ; : : ag examined, with fome attention, the U breed? its to me the ooft faris- :...::• r.rr.-.t: .:"_;:. .;-:..-_- :":.- :'-.: '.:..:. _ .:':'.<•:?, i ::.: '::. - - ■ . . . . i: .:'H::::.::.:.:::::A.: : -:-"." est Of :, for YORKSHIRE. 181 chara&eriftic of any particular fpecies. G ood form and good flefh may be found, in every fpecies j though they are by no means equally prevalent, nor equally excellent, in all. But a horn fix inches long was never yet produced by the Craven breed ; nor one a yard long by the Holdernefs breed. And the middle- horned breed of Herefordmire, Sufiex, and other parts of the Ifland, appears to be as diitinct a fpecies as either of the former. Thefe are my only reafons for being fo minutely descriptive of the horns of cattle. I am not a bigot to horns of any mape or length. I would as foon judge of a man's heart by the length of his fingers, as of the value of a bullock by the length of his horns. IfhisfeJJj be good and well laid on, and his offal be proportionably fmall ; if he thrive well, fat kindly at an early age, or work to a late one if required ■> I would much rather have him entirely without horns, than with any which enthusiasm can point out, The doctrine of horns has long appeared to me as a fpecies of superstition, among Farmers, and as a craft, convenient to leading breeders ; in eftablifhing their refpective fyjlein:. N 3 But CATTLE. Bu: Left I (herald b fe to repent of raihneis, in If v -J of honi I 'v.ll here allow them all the merit which, in my opinion, truth them to. The horn ha been mentioned perma- nent .:::::: charade? ttle. HE* rrion. Thus, fuppofing - male and female of fupe- rioi :.:m and rlefh, and :t:em- -. other is the her:. ::' the :.:..- v rallv i: , no matter v ..': or long, lg or falling and fup- ) be ei; Lbli.r.ti ::: ::: r- .:.;.. it is high] that the horns of the ac :o be ch: he true . by :: : rioi . as a criterion. Bat it is radii rns remain the flefh and tattk ; quality dge- more upon the : the : ... .:. \e length . ■ . . . : . F:: it is a - . that the -iidividu may YORKSHIRE. 1&3 may have exactly the fame horns, without having exactly, cither the lame famion, or the fame nefn. If there be any criterion or point of cattle, which may be iHy depended upon, as- a guide to the grazier, it is the eye, not the horn. The eye is a mirror, in which the nd habit, at leaft, may be feen, with a degree of certainty. II. BREEDING. From the foregoing view of the breeds of cattle, in the Vale, it appears, that confiderable attention has long been paid to the art of breeding ; and it has increaied much of late years. 1. Bulls. A bull show has lately been :liihed, in Eail Yorkfhire : a prize medal varded to him who produces the belt voung bull : an admirable inftitution, which will doubtlefs be of laiting benefit to the . .try. In the Vale, there is an instance of a gentle- £Mr. Hill of Thornton) keeping one of the beft of theie mown bulls, for the ufe of his tenants : a liberal practice which might well be adopted, by other country gentlemen -3 andj more particularly, by men of large ef- | N 4 2. Breed- 1 84 CATTLE. 2. Breeding Cows. This fubjed re^ quires to be fubdivided into, i. Rearing. 2. Purchafing. 3. Treatment. 4. Difpofal. 1 . Rearing. It has already been faid, that the Vale ftill continues to rear its own flock. The rearing of co :c s will appear, in the next fection, under the general head Rearing Cattle. 2. Pur chafing Corns. Though a dairyman may in general rear his own cows, he mult be fortunate indeed, if he never have occafion to purchafe a cow. The favorite points of a milking cow, here, are a thin thigh, a lank thin-fkinned bag hanging backward, teats long, and fufficiently free of milk without fpilling it, dug veins large, and horns yellow. I will not vouch for the infallibility of all thefe points ; but this I can fay, that I never noticed a cow, with a thick flelhy thigh, which was a good milker. The dimcnjhns of the handfomeft cow, I have feen, of the true Vale breed, riling five years old, and within a few months of calving, are as follow : Height YORKSHIRE. tig Height at the withers, four feet five inch. ■ of the brilhet, eighteen and a I inches. Jleftgirt, (even feet one inch. Large ft girt, nine feet two inches. Width at the moulder, twe e and a half inch hip?, twe: inches. — — roundb:::e, nineteen inches. Length from forehead to nache, feven feet five inchc ■ the center of the fhoulderknob to the center of the hackle, three feel eleven inches. the center of the hio bones to the out of the nache, twentyene inches. Length of the hen: . I Width at the points, eighteen and a half inches. Head, neck, and leg, as » or. Chine full, and back level. Color, a darkiih red. mottled with white. :. 'T . Here, as in all countries where gr .rives place to the dairy, milked cows are indulged with the befl the farm will afford. The beit land for ire, in iummer ; the head of the fog, in autumn j and, generally, hay moil of whiter. fits i85 C A T T L £. This practice has already been noticed. If the prefent breed of cows require hay, when thev give no milk, it is a depreciation of their value as milking cows. Be this as it may, there is certainly one difadvantage of the Vale breed of cows, which, I believe, is common to all the va- rieties of the fhorthorned breed. This is their difficulty in calving. For, notwith- standing the flefiinefs of the hind quarter has been Sufficiently done away, the bones frill remain. The loin is ilill broad, and the hips frill protuberate ; perhaps too much, either for feemlinefs or ufe. An improper treatment of the cow may encreafe the difficulty. A cow can fcarcely be too lew in fleih, a month before fhe calves. Good keep, three weeks or a month before calving, gives due ftrength and a fluili of milk. The caufe may be difficult to point out with precilion ; but the effect is well alcertained. It is a fact, that ihorthorned cows feldom calve without afjiftance. The hour of calving is watched, with obitetric fohcitude ; the perfon who has the care of them frequently fifing in the night, and fometimesTitting up with them, the night through. From con- ftant YORKSHIRE. 187 flant obfervation, however, a ikilful dairyman will judge, at bedtime, the hour of calving, fufficiently near, to knqw whether it will be neceilary for him to rife, before his ufual hour. 4. Markets for Cows. Milking cows arc moftly fold, at the neighbouring fairs, r,vi:b calves by their jides. Sometimes, but not frequently, they are fold as incahcrs. The medial price of a cow and calf, on a par of the laft ten years, has been feven to nine pounds. Dry cows — provincially, " drapes" — are either fold, at the fairs, to jobbers, who buy them up for the Midland orSouth-of-England graziers, or are fatted, on the dairy farm, with aftergrafs, turneps, &c.' — The medial price of a lean " drape," of the Vale breed, on a par of the laft ten years, has been five to iix pounds. III. REARING. This deoartment of the fubjecl: is naturally broken into three ftages ; rearing cattle requiring different kinds of treatment, at different ages. 1. Calves, i. Time of rearing. Can- dlemas to Old Ladyday. 2. Points of a rearing Calf. The form I pafs over, in this place, as not having met with > itii CATTLE. te definition of it, in this coun- try: where md the color feem to be :: in general, than the form. A •• that is, a :uzzk, :, is considered . larkj poi ig a tender animal: on th •, a black or brown muzzle, Areemed a iigii A c 11 A a .' te is generally rejected, white cattle are of a ten- der nature ; A are peculiarly iubject to I that they are ciiiiked by - iflbciates ! The finert ox, I ever knew, "the Hcldernefs breed, was white. The A A: ox, I ever Aw, of the Tees water breed, One of the fineft cows, now in Neverthelefs, valuable ent to the butcher, merely becauie they are The imalleft f color : the tip cf an ear, red or . from profcription : under a notion, nc :, that it hardens their na- :nds them Aomlice; and renders m acceptable to their companions : a y:::r, which is not confined to this Diftridt j YORKSHIRE. 189 Diitricr. j but which ought, in my opinion, to be univerfally exploded . 3. Cafi rating Calves. Oxen, id this country at leait, are lubjecl: to a lloppage in the inteitines ; owing, it is believed, to the " blood firings" of the ; left in the body, at the time of caitxation. The fadl feems to be, that the difcrder is generally caufed, by a link of the inteftines being thrown (in playing, it is iuppofed) acrofs a cord or membrane, in the hind part of the abdomen ; and the cure is radically effected, by breaking it : an operation which is not unfrequentlv performed -p. If * 1796. The wild Cattle of ChilUngbam Park, in Northumberland, are uniformlv white ; except the infides of their ears, which are of a brown color. f I remember to have once feen this operation ; and have lately heard it minutely delcribed, by a perfon who has repeatedly performed it. It is fimple and fafe. An orifice, large enough to admit the hand, being made in the coats of the abdomen — 01 the near or left fide — (between the ribs, the buckle, . 2 inteftines are d forward into their natural filiation, and the ftring broken : otherwife, the animal is liable to a repetition of the fame diforder. The fvmptoms are reillelThcfs, with attempts (but not violent, I believe) to beat the belly with the hind legs ; and with a ftoppage of the foeces ; nothing palling through the body but a white flimy matter. In many places, I apprehend, this diforder is not well under flood j being miftaken for fome other internal dJbrder, Death is the certain confequence* 193 C A T T L E. I: dr. bz really t^z^zzl, by a firing of the tcfticle, indexteroufly left in the . much caution is re<] lifite peration. : .- .- . t : . : ed cutter perf : : 1 1 b Ki":.".: ad :u: i* - (emina] cord— the " nature ftring," — he forced hi? finger and thumb upwar^ v ere into the body of the calf, (which on its legs during the operation) A •• bL::d ftrir.g'' r : fc art ~efi in long : the point of it appearing, not abrupt, is if roken .7; but fine as a thread _: ii 4. ~ - . ■ - y - .._._ "This .:. :h- ■;;_:.. if i irerent individuals. En an inibmce which, perhaps, may be doh- i-drrri ai i fair breciuten, the treatment i> . : — The call never fucks its dam; but n from the teat, given to it, twice : in a pail, — from the time :: ir buy, until :: be ;. :.:.:.;':.: :: bare-:- v/eek? old. At that age, the calves begin to h half ilk and half (kirn milk, i : :._\a: :: : ; . ■ : . raw milk) for about thre e ger : .a :::: :.b daina auib. :::: nii'k . 1 water, itb perhaps a little catmeai : YORKSHIRE. 191 . it Hour ftrowed over it * ; and with hay, in the early part of the feafon ; or grais, as loon as faring puts in. In the latter end of May, or the beginning of June, according to the time of their being dropped, they are turned away to grafs and water, only, for the fummer ; with fometimes rape herbage, in autumn. 2. Yearlings. Young cattle are, I be- lieve, invariably homed, the rirlt winter : — generally loofe ; and are indulged with the belt hay the farm will afford. Their fum- mer paiture is fuch as conveniency will al- low them : moilly of a fecondary nature. In the open-field llate, the common was their fummer pafture. 3. Twoyearold cattle. The fecond winter, cat ltraw is the common fodder of young cattle. They are generally tied by the neck, in hovels, or under meds. Their fummer pailure, commons, woody wartes, rough grounds, or whatever bell fuits then- owner's conveniency. At * Sometimes, a fmall quantity cf lin'szzd jzlly i- mixt with thin milk and \v?.ter, and is found of great fer- vice ; their fkins remarkably fleek and filkv. I too much be ufed, it is liable to make them fcour, 192 CATTLE. At two years old, the steers — proviri- daily, M ilots," — are generally familiarized to the yoke, but are not, by good hufbandmen, worked much, at that age. At two years old, alio, the heifers — pro- vincially, " whies," are generally put to the bull. This, however, is not an invariable practice. In the (bate of commonage, they were frequently kept from the bull, until they were three years old: now, in the ftate of inclofure and improvement, and at the prefent high rents, they are frequently fuf- fered to take the bull, when yearlings ; bring-in^ calves at two vears old. General Remarks ok bringing Heifers into Milk. This is an intereftlng fubje nt. Vol. II. O Much, fo4 CATTLE. Much, however, depends upon keep. A flarveling heifer will not take the bull, at a year old. Nor ought any yearling heifer, which has taken the bull, ever afterwards, to be ftinted in keep. If me be ill kept, wh: with calf, there will be danger at, cr after, the time of her calving. If afterw:- pinched, there will be danger of her not taking the bull the next year. Hence, we may infer, with a degree of fafety, that the propriety, or impropriety, of bringing heifers into milk, at two v. .. .".d, depends, pri:. . upcn soil ar._ situ- ation. On a good foil, and in a genial climature, in which heifers do not experience a check, from the time they are dropt, they ought, I am clearly of opinion, to be permitted to t_. the bull whenever nature prompts them. But, in iefs genial iituations, where lean ill herbaged lands are to be paitured with voung cattle, it appears to me equally evi- dent, that heifers ought not, in ftri&nefs of management* to be fuffered to come into milk, before they be three years old. IV. FATTING CATTLE. Although grazing ha , of late years, gamed fome foot- ing in u.e Vale, it does not vet fall under the deno* YORKSHIRE. 195 denominatioo of a grazing country. A detail of management mull: not, therefore, be ex- pected : and the only incident of practice, which has occurred to my notice, and which appears to be entitled to a place in this re- gifter, is the following ; at once, evidencing the propriety difinifoing highly, and giving a favorable fpecimen of iho. Yorkshire BREEDS OF CATTLE. The fubjecl of this incident is a COW, which was bred and fatted in this neigh- bourhood. Her dam was of the improved breed of the Vale, with an admixture of the Craven or longhorned breed. Her lire a Teeswater bull of the fjrft blood ; being leaped athalf-a-guinea a cow ; which, twelve years ago, was a very high price. From the time of her being dropped, me Was remarked as a good thriver; me came in, at three years old j had one cow calf, which was reared, and three bulls, all of which died before they were three weeks eld ! they being feized, about that age, with a numbnefs in their limbs ; foon dying- with jellied joints, and fymptoms of a general mortification. Like moil high bred cows, me milked well for a few weeks after calving; O 2 but, i96 CATTLE. but, afterwards, fell oft her milk, and gene- rally got to be good beef, about Michaelmas. After her lart calf, (in 1782) ihe was milked until Auguit ; when (he was tolerable beef; worth, at the then low price of beef, about ten pounds. In autumn, ilie had aftererafs ; in winter, turnep?, hay, and cat- Lheaves (in the houfe), but no ground c In March :;c:- me was fold for twenty pounds, to return one guinea : coj ilie paid more than fix millings, a w cek, for fatting. Her dimenficns, a few cays before me was Slaughtered, were theie : Height about four feet fix inches (net ac- curately taken). Smalleit. girt feven feet fix inches. Largeft , irt nine iett. Length frcm moulder-point to hu-. four feet. Le: th frcm huckle to the extremity _: the two feet two inches. Wis th at the huckles frcm out to out, two feet two inches. Her boms fine ; of a whitifh-grey color ; fharp ; fomewhat refembling the Craven horn ; but fhorter ; and turned upward at the points, in the middle-horn manner : her head YORKSHIRE. 1$) : fmall and clean 5 her leg* fliort, and her bone throughout fine. Her points as to fatnefs were not all of them full. Her kernel was fmall, and her ler bare ; her fore-dug and flc ex lary ; her chine and kin were v. laid upj one dimple, but not regularly cloven ; me was not what is called fit Upon : but her rib, her buckle, and her UOrbe, were very good; and hcrtwtft remarkable"; bulging out in an extraordinary manner •. She proved as follows : the quarters equal ; exactly eighteen ilones each ; together fe- ver, ty two ilones (fourteen pounds each) ; the tallow eight {lanes ; the hide feven ilones. O 3 The * Ta : 01 cXttlf, ibing their J»oiNT« with in . is not merely a matter of curiofity. Nothing matures the judge -il}'j gives a more adequate idea of the due proportion of ths .ock. I never-, however, unde;it.ood that the at of catt] where, to com- 1 until UteJ lire, I am told, the / own beef, carry luring tapes to market with them. The butcher, by co..ftant practice, may be a match for the grazier, with h:s alone : but it is certainly prudent, in the clothier, to take his meafure with him alfo. A weighing machine would, however, in this cafe, be a much fafer guide. One, fixed in a tingle ft. 1 , opening with -roIding-dx>."$ to : . wou.d be a good append- age to any market-place. i93 CATTLE. The weight is not remarkably great -, but, that a fmall cow mould lay it on, in /even months, is extraordinary, General Remarks on the present ScarcityofCattle, in tkisIsland. The prefent dearr.efs, arifmg beyond dif- pute from a realjcarcity, of cattle appears to be a matter of ferious import to the com- munity. Had it not been for the immenfe influx of Irifh cattle, which have, during the laft three or four years^ poured into this Ifland, the grazing grounds could not have been fully flocked ; nor the markets well fupplied. There is not, generally fpeaking, any aged cattle left, in this kingdom. There can be only two reafons of this fcarcity : either the consumption of beef mult have lately increafed, or the rearing of cattle muft have diminijhed > or the effect mult have been produced, by the joint operation of the two caufes. I wifh to bring the matter to a rational iffue \ and have endeavoured to collect evi- dences in the Diitricts I have vifited. This Dutric~t affords two, which appear to be ad- miflible. Twenty YORKSHIRE. - Twenty or thirty years ago, there was not, for the imaller markets of this Diilrict, a Hngle cattle killed (except upon ibme extra- ordinary occalion) during the winter, fpring, or fummer months. In autumn, paiticu'. in the month of November, considerable numbers were butchered, to be ialted and nun? for winter oroviiion ; " hunq-beet " being formerly, a (landing diih, not only in this, but in other Districts *. But the num- ber which were then killed, in autumn, was fmall, compared with the much greater num- bers that are, at preient, butchered in the Diilrict; every market of which is, now, plentifully fuppliedwkh. beef, the year round; and this, notwithstanding considerable quan- tities are ilill hung in autumn. The mar- ket of Maltcn might wellvieVith the London O 4 markets. * Hanging Beef. Formerly, before tbe cuMva of turner- od of cattle; and before tha ufe of oil-cake, & c countries, at a diftance from marines, fei : "• •• . - land Diftnds ; the 7 aere noticed1 was a I necijlty. The only opportunity the hulbandrun hid of die fa If-ftarved cc m tore condition, was in the wane of fummer, with the aft igra& of the common rr. the ftubbles of th conmori fields: theie done, bis foorces o£ fatting we e*. a Bq& wkhout a pombiiity of renewal, until the w~.e of th. eo- fuing fummer. rr.irketr. I:" - ".- be confumed in the Diftricr wi-. ;:::y yzzri ; _ : ., the evidence h g---- Twenty ox thirty yean ago, great c:i-~ tides of young ftc i in the pommon paftures, and in the rough ::: nods of the marines, and other central parts of the Vale, were annually feet out of it. The nun of lean oxen, tc if o£ the country, was very confiderable. Now, the Vale, perhaps, barely res.- ::i own flock. A few young cattle may go out of it e year ; but a number of Scotch and fome Irifh beace, and generally more or fewer . oung cattle frcm the Teeswater quarter, are an- nually brought into it. A few lean oxen, (few in : mparifbn with what formerly went out) with fome barren cows, ir.d a furplus : it cattle, driven to the ports of Whitby and irbcrcugb, may be laid to be the only cattle which rj e, at present, . to market. Tne caufes ofth: decline are theincreafe c: horfes, the iccreafe of tillage in the lower parts of the Vale, and the increafe ©f the dairy upon its margin: ir. :r.::ti:e - : ir - _' ^rounds in the richer parts, and, tbrough- ' u:, ::: ir.z:zz:\ . ::"ztt:. T: YORKSHIRE. 201 This, too, may be fairly admitted, as a cir- cumftantial evidence at lead:, of a growing fcarcity of cattle, at prefent, in theie king- doms. I mean a fcarcity comparatively with the prefent confumption. 29* THE DAIRY. BUTTER being a principal object of the Vale hufbandry, a feparate fection may with propriety be afligned, in this cafe, to the Management of the Dairy ; — whofe pro- ductions, in the Vale under furvey, are the following : I. Calves, for the butcher, and for rearing. II. Butter, for home confumption and the London market. III. Skim-cheefe, for home confumption. IV. Hog liquor. I. CALVES. The rearing of calves has been fpoken of in the lafr. fecticn. The fatting of calves belongs properly to this. Thvre i-2 DAIRY MANAGEMENT Th«fe i> i pra&iee, pretty common in this h b onrhood, thou |h not general , which merit? notice, from its Angularity, rather than from its excellency. I". mis practice, the calf never fucks its data ! which, from the time of b it calving, is milke i into a pail, and the warm milk immediately given to the calf; which, never having had the teat, (oz-\ learn: to drink The chief reafc n |iven for this oraclice b, that the cow. does not pine after her calf; fo much, at leafr, a; when it is permitted to : ber, Foe rearing calves, I cin fee r.c matei objection to tl that of ad- diti . which :; ftill more encreafed a that way ; the time be. iger in this cafe : and it feems to 3\ved, that calves do net fat fo kindly, with the pa2, as, when they fuck the cow ; nor is it, probably, fo good for the udder of the cow, II. GUTTER. Great quantities of butter . e annually fent out of the Vale. Many thousand firki . (ent, from Maltoa j and the produce :: the weft end of the Vale gce> principally, to York. The fraternity of eheefemon-gers, in Lon- 2oHi have agents, placed in iifferent nrt? of YORKSHIRE. aQ3 the country, ftiled " fearchers," who probe and examine the quality' of every firkin; and mark it firft, jecmd, third, or " greafej* according to its intrinfic quality. ThzJirJIs zn&fecmds go to the London market; the « greafe" to the woollen ma- nufactory in the weft of York/hire. There are << weighers" likewife employed, to check the weight of each firkin, each of which has its maker's name brande4 upon it. Thefe are wife regulations : the fearchers' mark is a guide for the Lcndon dealer, as the farmer's name is for the country «f factor." If it will not bear the fearch, the faclor has a clue to the farmer; if, on its arrival in London, it do not anfwer the mark, it is re- turned upon the fearcher. After what has been faid, in the Rural Economy of Norfolk, on the fubjeft of buttermaking, there is nothing, in the, practice of this Diftrid, entitled to mi- nute defcription. There are, neverthelefs, a few particulars which may merit notice. Cleanliness, the ba'fis of good manage- ment, is well attended to in moft dairies ; per- haps too clofely in fome. Formerly, the milk was fet wholly in deep wooden bowls, almoft femi- to* DAII Y MANAGEMENT :?~:-z\z'::\i: : 2 wcrfe :''.:rr. could not be well devifed. Now, it is .7- principally, in i — prorincially, " lead-t :: :: 1 fiat ffc How form j a 1 rnuc'. better .-'.culated for ri:;":r.g the crzguaa *. Thefe leads m */<&/, as often as they ifed, and, in coi 1 tjcttttrwi about once a month. Bat this hi; been id, in the practice of one whole clean- is cannc is to .: ;: churned next : fcottriri The efiecl is not i b tt the buttei will r :: keep ; g rancid, her lead . _-..-.- once a year; about ilayday : an4 1 . -- nd ; not v.-ith . ie ec - ... hefc . it let off, ribrc iigb a h r ..- r- leavi g Qje crezrr. in the lead. The roodea . :•- . a DC fcawing die |j loofe •wide le_c; pipe, (even or c iches jut yret it, Fhe : ils :' t lis pipe is n cche :. :: is to : : nit tie cailk to fta ■without endan : : - n j pipe being a . ':. ird •-- ■ - - - iperturc YORKSHIRE. - c with felt ; the common material ufed in (touring lead bowls *. The barrel churn is now chieflv in ufe* 4 An improvement has lately been made in its form. Formerly, the ftaves were nearly itxaight ; now they are bent ; the churn being made confiderably bulging. Bv this means a churn, large enough to churn a firkin (56 lb.) at once, may be uied to churn three or four pounds The entire quantity of the cream, though fmail, being collected in the bulge, receives its due agitation. The *' /landing churn," an aukward utenlil, feems to be going out of ufe. A barrel churn, two feet and a half long, two feet diameter* it the mouth, and twentyone inches at the ends, with darners fix inches wide, will churn either a firkin, or a few pounds, of butter. The price of fuch a churn is about fifty millings ; iron hoops, cranks, frame, Sec. inclufive. The firkins are made in the neighbour- hood, at very low prices (price of a u whole " firkin," * I mention this circumflance, a: many {< greafe firkin** fnay be made through the means here noticed ; and, if the evil effect be «aufcd by a foiution of the particles of itad, loofened by the fcouring, the butter, if eaten in a recent flate, may be of itiii worie coniequenca. kol da:?/: management. f.:l-;::t, weighing 1 5 lod. tois. — ofa* " half firkin," weighing "-• ■ Bd. to od.). The ftares and heads of ath ; the hoops • rncipally of hazle. Ed putting rev. :;::;?, the firkin i: fcalded i b z (b '. : c d on the Review fl • to id • Gdt is ftrcwed at the bottom ; the butter z: tr.eaded in; covered at the tc lod headed op for mar- ket. The "frit gathering u generally Sent to KAJtKCT, in the fpring, in a ftate; the '■ UBDmet batter" (namely, thai gathered e:t tlte litter end :: May and the be- naming :: November) is ient, front time to it's or the farmer's conve- aiency requires j x is tomefimes kept to t. elcte : \ :n, and e_::led at once to et. T fa e PR ice e f n - k J n - , for - th e bft ten e:t:. has been 2 zs. Ill E-K. Skim cheefe — provin- ce heefe' ' — is the natural ac- com : : Hitter dairy. In the l:\ver ■arts . . : :. the banks Rye. fom are mac: , and oi .1 to thofe of Gloucei YORKSHIRE. 207 Gloucefterfhire. But on the marginal parts toothc . . 1 giving rftoti YORKSHIRE. 209 IV. HOG LIQUOR. The whey of ikim milk is only a lean beverage for fwine ; but mixt with buttermilk, a tolerable food is formed. Pigs, however, are only grown, feldom fatted, with the " fwillings" of the dairy. The PRODUCE of a good Cow, in a common year, is thus calculated : A rearing calf - 0150 3 firkins of butter*, at 30s. 4 10 o I cwt. of ikim cheefe, at 1 3s. o 90 Milk and whey for hogs o 10 o £-6 4 o 3°- SWINE. THE HUSBANDRY of fwine has un- dergone a total change, in this part of the Diftridt, within the lait thirty or forty years. Formerly, there was fcarcely a breeding •sow in the Vale. The entire fupply of frore Vol. II. P pigs * A large dairy of cows, in which heifers are intermixt. feldom turn out three firkins each. Two and a half is, I believe, efteerned a good produce ; taking the dairy round. il6 S W I N E Z.. asj from the Wolds, through the me- dium : tvfalton market. Now, they axe bred wholly in the Vale. T bf bee d : a tally changed. The \Vvi prs were of the white, gaunt, lang-ieg^ec ::::. . i: to have been, :h::r-r.-!y, the prevailing kind throughout the kingdom. Now, the r.aek-fandvBerk- Qflre breed is prevalent j with a mixture, . as |o :h:: places, a: the oriental There i: a variety of die la::, the indivi- daali cf which have : ■• : -.err valuable pro- perties. They are remarkably cad ! and quiet; of a dilpoiiti::. lirecUy erpoiite to tha: wiLinef: '-~i :e::ci:y, which I have ex- perienced in other varieties :f this race of animals, in different part! :: the [flancL Their other good quality is that of their/. freely; not only upon the better rralles, but upon lbme of the more nc eeds ■; par- :iv the dock. This is a propettj iwine, which is \ _::h attending to, by the breeders of this fpecies o: c k . The G I H I ? A 1 M A M &GEMEMT of fwine, in the Vale, h . en :: a a change . Formerly, the Wold pigs which were not fatted, for home cc: ._. were lelumcd to YORKSHIRE. 211 to Malton, fully grown and flemy, but not fat ; and were there fold, to drovers, who bought them up, probably, for the diftillers, ftarch- makers, &c. of the metropolis. Now, the furplus, which is much greater than for- merly, are fatted, butchered, and fold whole, to bacon makers ; who fait and dry them, for the London and Weft Yorkihire markets. 3*- SHEEP. Their general Economy* THERE ARE FEW large flocks kept in the Vale. The farms are chiefly fmall, and the commons are, now, moftly inclofed, Almoft every farmer, however, keeps a few ; fo that, on the whole, the number kept is confiderable. The general economy of fheep is here very fimple. Every man, let his number be great or fmall, rears his own ftock : his ftore P 2 flock 212 SHEEP. flock (In the inclofed parts of the Vale) con- fining of ewes, — hoggards,- and fhearling wedders ; his returns being in fat lambs,—* two-fhear wedders, (lean or fatted on turneps, hay, &c.) and aged ewes. In the richer parts of the Vale, fhearling wedders are fatted. But, in the More lands, and upon the heights of the northern margin, where con- liderable flocks are kept, efpecially in the more central parts of the Morelands, a dif- ferent economy prevails. The lambs are all reared, and the wedders generally kept, until they be three or four years old ; moftly felling them and the aged ewes, lean, in autumn, to the Vale farmers : or, if the walk — provincially, the " heaf" — be good, they will ibmetimes get fat enough, upon the heaths, for the butcher. The particulars to be noticed, in this place, are I. Breed. II. Rearing. III. Treatment. IV. Markets. I. BREEDS. The old common flock of the vale was a thin-carcafed, ill formed, white- faced, hornleis breed. This (perhaps a weak dege- YORKSHIRE. 213 degenerate variety) has of late years been io much improved, as no longer to bear marks of its former degeneracy. 1 fpeak of the more highly improved flocks of the Vale. The old bale blood may frill be detected, in the flocks of lefs attentive breeders. The improvement has been effected, by the introduction of rams of the Leicefterfhire, and the Teeswater breeds ; the former pur- chafed, or hired, of Mr. Cully of Nor- thumberland (afpirited and fuccefsful difciple of Mr. Bakewell of Leiceftermire) ; and the latter of Mr. Collins, and other attentive breeders, in the neighbourhood of Darling- ton, on the banks of the Tees. Fortunately, perhaps, for the Vale, two of » its moil confiderable farmers, to whom it is principally indebted, for its prefent improved breeds of flock, dilfer in their opinions refpecting the fuperior excellency of thefe two breeds of fheep ; each of them pro- pagating, and encouraging, his own favorite breed. Both of them are excellent, though pei% haps widely different in their origin. Of the Leiceftermire breed I fay nothing, in this place, as I may, hereafter, have occafion to P 3 fpeak H4 SHEER fpeak of it fully *. The Tecs water breed falls within the intention of the prefent work. The " mud" fheep have been inhabitants of the banks of the Tees, time immemorial. I remember them, twenty years ago, of enor- mous fize, refembling, when their wool was in full growth, the fmaller breeds of cattle, rather than fheep. Their fefi, neverthelefs, was of an excellent quality ; their w -od (as long wool) fine, and of an uncommon length, fmgularly adapted to tha^worfled manu- factory, I The prefent fafhionable breed is confi- derably fmaller, than the original kind j but they are flill much larger and fuller of bone, than the Leicefterirrire breed. They bear an analogy to the morthorned breed of cattle, as thofe of the Midland counties do to the longhorned. They are not fo compact, nor fo neat in their form, as the Leicefter- fhire fheep ; neverthelefs, the excellency of their rlefh and fatting quality is not doubted j and their wool ftill remains of a fuperior ftaple. For the banks of the Tees, or any pther * See the Rural Economy of the Midland Counties, firft published in 1790. YORKSHIRE. 2/5 other rich-land country, they may be Angu- larly excellent *. The Morel and breed of fheep has always been very different from that of the Vale, and has not varied, perhaps, during a fuc- ceffion of centuries. It is peculiarly adapted to the extreme bleaknefs of the climature, and the extreme coarfenefs of the herbage. They live upon the open heaths, the year round. Their food heath, ruih.es, and a few of the coarfeft gralTes ; a pafture on which, perhaps, even' other breed of fheep of this kingdom would ftarve. The Moreland fheep refemble, much, the Scotch fheep, which are fometimes brought into the Vale -f : their horns wide ; the face P 4 black * In this Difrrict, the Leiceflerfhire fheep appear to gain a preference. One leading breeder lets out a confi- derable number of rams every year ; and has already got the prices to ten or fifteen guineas, for the feafon. f 1796. I had conceived this variety of black faced sheep to be of Scotch extraction, before I had had an op- portunity of examining the breeds of Scotland. But there are circumftances which render it more than probable, that they travelled northward, from the mountains of Yorlcfh-re and Weftmoreland, to thofe of the South of Scotland : from whence they are now travelling in the fame direction ; — and have, within tfcefe few years, made th.ir firft entry into the Highlands j where they are fupplanting the fhort- tailed ai6 SHEEP. black or mottled ; in countenance and general appearance, very much refembling the Nor- folk breed ; except that their wool is fome- what longer, and much coarfer, than that of the Norfolk fheep. The covering of their buttocks is mere hair, refembling the fhag of the goat, rather than the wool of meep. But this is considered as a mark of hardirtei , and the Moordale ihepherds prefer a coarfe- wooled fhaggv tup *. The carcafes of thefe theep are fmall ; not much larger than the heath meep of Norfolk : the ewes, mode- rately fatted, weighing from ieven to ten pounds, the wedders ten to fourteen pounds, a quarter. U. BREEDING. The common time of putting ewes to the ram, in the Vale, is from old Michaelmas to the latter end of October i tailed or Shetland breed; which havelong . ~xA inhabitants of the Northern mountains ; as the long-la or Cheviot Dreed have been, in much probability, of the Southern and ftill remain in fail pofeffion of part of borders: where, it is pojEble, the introduction oi" the « black face^ might ilill be traced. The fubjeS, though no, irnf aterefti g to what 1 AGRICULTURAL HifTlRY. * ijqb. A nrrutnftaoce, which alone, perhaps, has d?- bafvd their wool, . aft from die Norfolk YORKSHIRE. 217 October ; bringing them in, the latter end of March, or the beginning of April. In the Morelands, the latter end of November, or beginning of December, is chofen for the time of putting to, in order that the mows may be pretty weli over, before the time of lambing. If twin lambs be preferred, the ewes are put to fuperior keep, a few weeks before the ram be admitted. This, likewile, brings them in nearer together, than when they are put to the ram, in low condition. It is alfo underilood, by attentive fhepherds, that ewes ought to have an increafe of keen, a few weeks previous to their lambing ; but lefs judicious iheep matters think it fumcient to put them to good keep, as they drop their Jambs.. This, however, is a faulty practice. If there be any mvftery in the rearing of £heep, it lies in giving the ewes a FLOSH of milk, at the time of lambing. This cannot be done without putting them to good keep, a fortnight or three weeks, before that time. An additional fupply of milk cannot be com- jnanded in a few hours. The carcafe of the ewe, as well as her udder, may require to be faturated, 2i8 SHEEP. faturated, at the time of lambing, leit, in the interim of preparation, the lamb be flinted or ed. Another practice, to which attentive breeders pay due regard, is that of trim- ming— provinciallv, " docking" — breeding ewes, 2? early in the fpring as the ftate of the weather will permit. I have feen the bas;s of ewes (of the modern breed) fo heated with the dung and urine, which hung about them, as to become chafed to running fores. The bag ought to be trimmed, a few weeks before lambing (when the ewes are put to frefh keep), and- the tail and buttocks, as ibcn as warm weather fet in. Gen. Obs. on breeding Flocks. To render the breeding of lheep profitable, much attendance and attention is requiilte. A 'ftw ewes, therefore, cannot be worth the notice of any man, except a fmall pains- taking farmer, who has little elie to attend to. I have feen more labor and attention thrown away, upon a fcore of ewes, than tbeir whole produce was worth. A ewe flock, large enough to employ a fhepherd, is, in many fituations, the molt profitable frock. Ill, MANAGE- YORKSHIRE. 219 III. MANAGEMENT OF STORE SHEEP. The only particular of manage- ment, which is here entitled to notice, is that of drefling them in autumn, with tar and greafe — provincially, ft salving;"— the tar and greafe, with which they are anointed, heing aptly enough termed fahe. How the practice was firft introduced, into the Difrrict under furvey, dees net ap* pear to be at prefent known, though not of more than fifty years ftanding*. The intention of this practice is to kill lice, prevent the fcab, and make the wool grow ; and another idea, I believe, is, that it fortifies the fkin againfl the feverity of the winter's cold. Whether it anfwer all or any of thefe in- tentions I will not affert. Whatever may be its effects, it has now been the invariable practice of the Diftrift, for near half a cen- tury. I have not at leaft met with more than one man who has deviated from it, through principle. This * 1796. This pra&ice travels with the mountain breed of black aced (heep ! But what I have fcen done, in Scotland, was executed in a manner much inferior to that pf the Eaftern Morelands of Yorkfhii c. wm SHEEP. This deviation, however, is made by one who feldom acts from caorice. He does not wholly deny its ufe, but thinks its effect is vtry tranfient. He has found tobacco water more effectual againft vermin ;— oil of tar, if cautioully ufea, a fafe and certain remedy of the fcab j — and is of opinion, that falving is of little if any ufe to the growth of the wool : he allows that it may encreafe the hi of the wool, in proportion to the quan- tity of dirt it contracts, but thinks it does not add to the quantity. Whether it does or does not may, never- theless, be a moot point : — ointment rubbed, on a recent fear of a horfe, is believed to affift the hair in growing. Pcniatum is allowed to encourage the growth of the human hair j and it is probabl? that falve may have effect on the growth of wool : the only doubt with me is, whether the advantages, upon the whole, are adequate to the expence. This is a matter difficult to be afcertained : I can fay, that the fcab does not appear to be lefs prevalent, in this, than in other Dntricts : and it appears probable, to me, that, notwith- ftanding the prefent pre valency of the prac- tice, it will in time wear away. I wil], ne- verthelefs, YORKSHIRE. 221 verthelefs, here give a detail of the procefs ; not to prolong its continuance, but to me- morize a practice, which, at prefent, gives cold and dirty employment to thousands, fome weeks, in every year. The mixture is eight pounds of butter (of the fecond, third, or fourth quality — fee ar- ticle Dairy) to one gallon of tar. The butter being diflblved, the two ingredients are poured into a tub or other veflel, and ftirred, for fome time, with a long wooden fpatulaj agitating them violently, and uniting them intimately together. The general guide is to keep flaring, until the butter has regained its flifThefs, furficiently, to hoid the flirring flick erect in the ointment ; which, when quite cool, is of the confiflence of but- ter in warm weather. Some put the tar pre- vioufly into the " falve-tub," and flir that, alone, until it lofes its blacknefs, acquiring a mellow yellowifh hue ; then add the diffolved butter, and continue ilirring until the flick fland on-end. If the butter be heated too much, it is thought to injure the tar : it mould be barely oiled. The time of falving is from Michaelmas to Martinmas. The 522 SHEEP. The method is this : the feet of the fheep being bound, it is laid upon a bier — provin- cial! v, a M creel" — (about fix feet long — two feet wide in the middle — twentyone inches toward the ends — with four le^s about two feet Ion?). The " falver" fits aitride of one end of the creel, the moulder of the fheep reding againfl his thigh ; its head under his arm. He begins the operation by parting, provincially, " ihedding," the wool, from the withers to the tail, leaving a itraight open " £hed" or cleft in the wool, the whole length of the iheep. This cleft ought to be perfectly ftraight, and clear at the bottom ; a form which practice only can give it. It is made by taking the wool in the hands, and pulling it aiunder ; giving llraightnefs to the cleft, with the thumbs. The fifiure made, and the wool prelTed down flat on either fide with the hands and wriits, the workman takes a piece of ointment, the fize of a large hassle-nut (from a kind of dim formed out of a block of wood in the ihape of a cheefe), upon xhejulc of the end of his fore finger, and applies it to the (kin cf the fheep ; driving it along the bottom of the fried, (feme fix or eight inches, till the whole be expended,) with YORKSHIRE. 223 with a degree of fleight which experience alone can teach : the perfection of the art lies in diftributing the ointment, evenly, and in applying it entirely to thtfiin of the ani- mal, without fouling the zjooI, except imme- diately at the root. One " finger-full" being expended, another and another is ap- plied, until the whole length of the firlt. fried be finifhed : when a fecond cleft is made, about an inch or an inch and a half from the firft. In making the fecond, and every fuc- ceeding fhed, the fingers of urne hand are kept in the laft-made cleft, by which means an experienced workman is enabled to make the partings, parallel with each other. To- wards the back of the fheep, the fheds are made clofer to each other, than they are beneath -its barrel ; where the wool being thinner, the fcab is lefs liable to make its attack. Ten or twelve lheep, of the middle fize, are efteemed the dav's work of one man. His wages, and board, fifteen to eighteen- pence, a day. The expence is thus calculated : thirty fhe^p take eight pounds of butter (feconds, thirds, 224 SHEEP. thirds, or greafe), worth on a par fburpence halfpenny a pound 3 o One gallon of tar - 10 Labor - - 7 <6 7 6 Five {hillings, a fcore, or threepence, a fheep. IV. MARKETS. Well Yorkshire is the principal market for Wool. Formerly, a manufactory of coarfe woollen cloth was carried on, in the Eafrern Morelands 5 but, at prefent, it is almort wholly laid afide. The following are the weights and values of the fleeces, of different breeds of fheep, in the Diftrid : Moreland ftore ewes, one and a half pound, at 4d — 6 d each ! aged wedders, fatted in fthe Vale, two and a half pounds, 4d — 1 od. Ewes of the old Vale breed, fummered on a common, four pounds, at 6d — 2s. Two iheer wedders of the fame breed, four and a half pounds, 2s. 6d. Ewes of the improved breed, fummered in inclofed grounds, feven pounds, at 5d — 3s*. Wool * None of the fheep, froai which the above fleeces were taken, werefklved. YORKSHIRE. 225 Wool is here fold by xhtjlone offeventcen pounds. The markets, fo; c ar'cases, are the mar- ket towns in the neighbourhood, and the ports of Scarborough and Whitby. The price of mutton, in the markets of the Vale, ten years ago, was twopence halfpenny to threepence a pound. This year (1787), fourpence to fourpence halfpenny a pound. But the moft fubftantial evidence, I have anv where met with, of the recent rife in the price of live flock, may be taken from the Moreland ftore fheep ; a fpecies of flock which has undergone no change whatever, either by breeding, or by cultivation. • The price of Moreland ftore ewes, ten or fifteen years ago, was two millings and fix- pence to five ihillings, a head. This autumn, they were fold for eight millings and fixpence. The price of Moreland ftore wedders, the fame diilance of time ago, was fix to eight ihillings, a head. This autumn, i^iey have been fold for fourteen (hillings ! Vol. II. Q^ RABBITS. 126 RABBITS. 3*- RABBITS. THE VALE affords few rabbit warrens. The northern margin is the only part of it adapted to this fpecies of liveflock. At Dalby, there are two pretty large warrens. At Lockton there is one now " planting/' And there are pther parts of thefe heights which might be profitably flocked with rab- bits. In general, however, property is too much intermixed to admit of an improve- ment, which is Angularly adapted to the na- ture of thefe high grounds. In fituations where the ground*, as well as the fed, is luitable to rabbit warren, and where an extent of it, fufhciently large, can be collected together in one property, there is a very ftrong ^eafon why it may be profitably flocked with rabbits, The * See Norfolk ; Art. Rabbits, YORKSHIRE. 227 The hide of a bullock (of lbme breeds) is not worth more than one twentieth of his carcaie. The fkin of a meep mav, in full wool, be worth from a fixth to a tenth of its ^ carcafe. But the fur of a rabbit is worth twice the whole value of the carcaie. There- fore, fuppoling the rabbit to confume a quantity of food, in proportion to its carc:fe, it is, on the principle offered, a fpecies of flock nearly three times as valuable as either cattle or fheep. This theory is ftrongly corroborated, by an incident of practice. One of the warrens of this Dift.ric"r. contains eighteen hundred acres of furface ; moil of it covered with a black Moreland foil ; part of it a barren dead gravel ; fome little of it a thin limellone loam ; not worth perhaps, on a par, for the common pur- pojes of ' hnjbandry , a milling an acre -3 never- thelefs, thefe eighteen hundred acres are let, as a rabbit warren, for three hundred pounds, a year ! I will not pretend to fay, that the warren, here alluded to, is worth three hundred pounds a year, nor arTert that it is not worth a milling, an acre, to a huibandman. If it be worth two hundred and fifty pounds, as a warres, and fuppoling it to be worth even Q^Z two 12% POULTRY. two {hillings an acre, as a farm, it fall is a fufficient evidence of the profitablenefs of rabbit warrens, in proper fituations. As I fhall, in giving a fketch of the hus- bandry of the Wolds, have occalion to fpeak; fully of this fpecies of frock, it is needlefs to dwell on the fubject, here. 33- POULTRY. NOTHING fufficiently ftriking has oc- curred to me, in this Diftrift, reflecting the management or the breeds of poultry, to ex- cite particular notice. The different fpecies, and the management' of them, are on a par with thofe of the Ifland in general. BEES. YORKSHIRE; 129 34- SEES, THIS may be called a Bee country;— efpecially the Morelands, and the northern margin olH^e Vale ; where great numbers of bees'-JiaTe been ufually kept, and great quantities of honey colle&ed ; chiefly from the flowers of the heath, which afford an abundant fupply ; but the produce is of art inferior quality -t brown and fbongly fla- vored. In hives, fituated between the heaths and the cultivated country, a finking contrail: is obfervable, between the fpring and the au- tumnal combs. The former are gathered wholly from the meadows, pafture lands, trees, and cultivated crops -, the latter, en- tirely from the flowers of the heath -, none of the fpecies of which begin to blow, until late in the fummer. The combs of the Q^ 3 former ggfl BEE S. former will be nearly white as fnow : and the honey limpid almoft as the pnreft oil. Thofe of the latter, brown, and the honey, they yield, of the color and confiftency of melted rofm. This difference is molt {biking, when the hive is carried, in autumn, from the lower parts cf the marginal heights, into the Moreland dales, to be filled up with honev ; a praclice which, lingular as it may appear, has been followed with luccefs. In the winter of 1782-3, a general mor- tality took place, among the bees of this country. Many bee keepers loft their whole ilock. I remember to have feen, in the fpring of 1783, twelve or fifteen empty ftones, in one garden, without a fingle fur- viving hive. But the muverfilify of the destruction, uncommon as it was, being iuch as no one can remember, was not fo remarkable as the manner in which it was ejected. The bees were obferved to dwindle away, by degrees ; though they had plenty of in their hives > at length vanishing ; v. ... . >er- haps, a confiderable quantity of honey re- mained unexhaurt; A man who has paid fome attention to bees, and whofe ideas are frequently -.veil- ::. .ir.ccw, YORKSHIRE. 231 grounded, was of opinion that the effect entirely owing to the want of a luccelTion of young bees ; under a luppofition that the year preceding had not been a breeding year ; and that the bees which dwindled away, in the fpring, were the old bees dying of age. There may be fome truth in this opinion ; the unufually backward, and extremely wet, fpring and fummer of 1782, might check the breeding of young bees j but it is unlikely that it mould wholly put a flop to it ; and that not one hive in ten mould have bred a fingle bee. For, under this argument, the young ones, though few, would, with an ample ftore of honey, have furvived. In the courfe of the fpring of 1783, an incident led me to a theory, which feems to explain the phenomenon, more fully. Being attentive to a female fallow which was in blow, I obferved that bees were equally bufy among its flowers, as they were among the male catkins of a neighbouring tree. This induced me to confider the nature of the materials they collect, and to reflect on whether the different parts of generation, even in hermaphrodite flowers, may not Q_4 afford BEES. afford them diitinct materials. Honey, it is well understood, is collected from the htSaftiOn, Wax may well be confidered as a colle&ion of the viicid mucus of the piJM&imi as bee -bread appears to be merely a collection of the farina of the fLvncn. It is well understood, : keepers in general, and is allerted by Wildman hir - ielf, that bees cannot live without bread. That they cannot be kept al: :.rc honey done, is, I believe, well afcei rained. But honey which has bee*] prefled hard from a comb, containing /.:-.:.;.; us u bunej^ is confidered as a fafe and certain relief to them, when their own it ores are exhaulied. Admitting that bt ..ire bread, i as honev, to luppor: them in winter; and admitting that bee* a collection of the itaminec .a of flowers ; the phe- nomenon under notice is eaiilv exr'ainable. It is well known, that flowers are tenacious of their parts of generation, in a rainy fea- :i ; expdfing them with caution. NtM it mere expofure tha: fits :he itamina for the purpcfe of the bee. The anthers muit be burit by the fun, before the bee can load i:c YORKSHIRE. 235 its thighs with the contained farina : which being expofed, is liable to be warned away, or fhook down, by the firft heavy mower. Hence, the collection of bee-bread, in a moilt fhowery feafon, muft be very precarious and inconfiderable. But the collecting of wax and honey de- pends lefs on the weather. For the flower once open, the bee has free accefs to the nec- tary and piftil, whofe productions are lefs liable to a mower than is the farina. Be- fides, it is, I believe, a fact which is not doubted, that bees collect honey from what are, perhaps, improperly called honey dews, as well as from flowers. From thefe premirTes, we may fairly, I think, draw the following conclufion. The fpring and lummer of 1782 being extremely wet, (fee Norfolk) a dearth of bread took place. But, through in- tervals of dry weather, or through a plenti- fulnefs of leaf honey, the collection of hone y was fufficiently ample. While the bread lafted the bees lived. Nor did they, when it was confumed, die at once, as when their entire flore is exhaufled. The honey pro- longed their lives for a time ; proportioned, perhaps, O 1 4 BEES. perhaps to their reipective ages or confu- tations j the individuals following each other, as difeafe and famine overcame them ; un- til the whole periihed : not through a want of honey ; but for the want of a more lub- ftantialf staff of life. THE THE WOLDS of YORKSHIRE. GENERAL VIEW O F THIS DISTRICT. THE SITUATION and general ap- pearance of the Yorkshire Wolds have been given. Their Outline is nearly a circle, whole diameter is about twenty five miles. Their Extent, including their ikirts, 500 fquare miles, or more than 300,000 acres. The SUBSTRUCTURE of thefe hills, is probably a uniform rock of hard chalk 5 riling, in moil places, to near the fiuface. The immediate SUBSOIL is generally a chalkyrubble, of varied depth and contex- ture, intervening between the rock and the foil . The 236 WOLDS. The prevailing SOIL is a calcareous loam ; varying in depth and produclivenefs. The Northeaft quarter of the Wolds is covered with a thin infertile foil ; applied to fheepwalks ; much of it being overrun with furze and heath -} refembling the inferior downs of Surrey. On the contrary-, a mallow valley, which extends fome conilderable diftance, between Malton and Burlington, including the town- fhips of Duggleby, Kirby* Lutton, Helper- thorp, Weaverthorp, Foxholes, Woldnew- ton, &c. with a fmall rivulet running through it (delightful fummer fituation !) enjoys a rich deep loamy foil j ftrong enough for" wheat, and chiefly under the plow. On the higher Wolds, the foil is a lighter loam, from fix or eight inches to a foot deep $ mod of it well adapted to the crops of tur- neps, barley, and fainfoin ; but has formerly lain, and ftill lies in great quantity, in fheep- walk and rabbit warren. The CLIMATURE of thefe hills is cold : owing in fome meaiure to their prefent na- kednefo. The north and eafl winds, pouring, in upon them, from the lea, and, acrofs the- Vale, from the Moreiand Mountains, fweepi over their furface without a break. The YORKSHIRE. 537 The seasons, here, are fomewhat earlier, than in the Morelands j but later, than in the Vale, or on the Howardian hills. The perfect drynefs of the fubftratum of the Wolds is the only advantage they have, at prefent, in refpect to climature. INCLOSURE. Formerly, the Wolds, whether parcelled out in common field, or dilpofed in more entire properties, lay en- tirely open j excepting a few fmall yards, about the villages. The Eaft-Wold Valley ftill lies in a (late of common field. But, on the higher Wolds, fome fpirited attempts have lately been made at inclofure, THE THE RURAL ECONOMY 0 F THIS DISTRICT. IN giving A SKETCH OF THE RURAL economy of the wolds, the following particulars will be entitled to notice : I. Eftates. XI. Team Labor. II. Tenancy. XII. Implements. III. Rent. XIII. Manure. IV. Removal. XIV. Harvefting. V. Building. XV. Farmyard J VI. Planting. Management. VII. Farms. XVI. Markets, ion. Objects of XVII. Turneps. Hufbandry. XVIII. Sheep. IX. Succeffion. XIX. Rabbits. X. Manual Labor. ] [. ESTATES, YORKSHIRE 239 I. ESTATES. The laid* ot the Wolds be, longchiefly to large own rs; being moftly occupied by tenants -, few ol them, I believe, being in the hands of yeomanry ; as they are in the Vale, and a great part of the More- Jands. II. TENANCY. Upon the larger farms leases are become common. Some of/.'- years ; which is confidered as too fhort a term : fome fourteen^ which good tenants feem to be fully fatisfied with. III. RENT. Upon the larger farms, fix to twelve millings an acre. The rent de- pends, chiefly, on whether the tenant has, or has not, liberty to break up old jl:eep walk, with which the larger farms moftly abound. Thefe lands, in a flats ofJwarJ, may not be worth more than five (hillings an acre. But having lain, a fucceiilon of ages, in a ilate of grafs, they are many of them, for a courfe of years, worth five times that rent as arable land. No wonder landed gentlemen are tenacious of thefe old grafs lands. They are treafuries, whofe keys they would be blameable in de- livering up, without a fuitable confideration. But 24» WOLD S. But they are frill more blameablein obttinately depriving themfeives and the community of the ufe of them. The fineft farm upon the Wolds is intolerably cramped, through an ill judged prohibition from breaking up the fheepwalks, of which it principally coniifrs. The tenant cannot winter his fheep upon the farm. He has not a furnciency of arable land, to grow turneps in proportion to his fummer feed. It is not paying twenty pounds a week for fheep feed, which conftitutes the evil in this cafe ; but the circumftance of having his flocks fcattered about the country, perhaps ten or fifteen miles from his farm, during the winter months. A genera! permiffion for breaking up can only be dictated by folly or neceflity. A due proportion is all that is at prefent requifite. IV. REMOVALS. The time of chang- ing tenants is Ladyday or Mayday. On large farms, moftly Ladyday ; the wheat on the ground being valued by referees. On ;mall farms, Mayday ; the fpring crops being likewife fown by the outgoing tenant, and valued with the wheat, by referees. V. BUILDINGS, YORKSHIRE. 241 V. BUILDINGS. A number of new farmeries have, of late years, been erected upon the Wolds. The plan offosie of them fimple and eligible. The dwelling houfe, to the weft j barns and ftable, on the north ; ftack hovels, for cattle and implements, on the eaft ; forming a fquare ftraw yard, open to the fouth ; faving a high brick wall, with tall boarded gates ; altogether well adapted to the bleaknefs of the fituation. At the top of Garton hill, the dwelling houfe is fimple and fnug ; becoming its ufe and fituation ; with low leantos -, enlarging the roof, for the purpofe of collecting rain water : a plan which ought to be univerfally adopted on thefe bleak and waterlefs hills *. VI. PLANTING, Sir Chriftopher Sykes may, I believe, claim the honor of being the firft fuccefsful planter upon the Wold Hills. Attempts had formerly been made; but with- out fuccefs : owing, perhaps, more to the Jmallnefs and the thinnejs of the plantations, than to any other mifmanagement. Sir Chriftopher, I am well informed, is now contracting, or has contracted, with a Vol. II. R nurfery- * For obfervations on the Wold Ponds, fee the Art. Drinking Pools. i42 W O L D S. nurferyman, for upwards of five hundred acres of planting ; to be finilhed in ten years : an undertaking which muft do him infinite credit. It is, perhaps, to be regretted, that Sir Chriftopher's plantations confill chiefly of the pinus tribe ; moftly of Scotch Fir ; the moft worthlefs of timber trees. As a fkreen to better plants, it may, in bleak fituations, have its ufe. But the beeck, to which the foil of the Wolds is peculiarly adapted, would be more acceptable to pofterity ; and would afford much greater ornament to the Wold Hills. If raifed from the mall, with due care, there can be no doubt of its fucceeding, on thefe Heights. The Welch mountains abound with it in their bleaker! afpecls. Other gentlemen are railing skreen plantations, and live hedges, in a jnoft fpirited manner. In one inilance, I obferved three rows of hedgewood, planted about two feet apart, and defended by a row of polls and rails, on either fide : the bank, in which the polls ftand, appearing to have been formed of the fubllratum of chalk rubble ; a flip of foil on either fide being thrown in between the 1 rails, YORKSHIRE. 243 rails, to give encouragement to the hedge plants. In other inftances, the foil has been cleanfed by a turnep fallow *. The plants, when I faw them, were vigorous, and in high keeping. The inclofures, a$ yet, are moftly large : forty or fifty acres. But mould the fpirit of planting continue to diffufe its influence^ over thefe hills, the fize of inclofures will in time be lefiened. Should a time arrive when the higher fwells mall be crowned with wood, and the intervening vallies be inter- fered with living fences ; forming inclofures of eight or ten acres ; the climature of the Wolds will be rendered fome degrees of latitude more genial, than it is at prefent ; and the productivenefs of the foil be doubly that which it has hitherto been. VII. FARMS. Many of them very large. Mowthorp and Coldham are near two thoufand acres each ; Crome thirteen or fourteen hun- dred acres -y all of them charming arable farms ; fuch as would [if properly Jheltered) let in Norfolk, for fourteen or fifteen (hil- lings an acre. R 1 VIII. OB- * Gathering the cultivated foil into an evenly round* wide ridge, would, I apprehend, be found eligible. 244 WOLD S. VIIL OBJECTS OF HUSBANDRY* t. Stock; — principally, fieep and rabbits. Few cattkf except what are purchafed, in autumn, for the purpofe of railing manure j being fold off in the fpring, chiefly to the graziers of Lincolnshire* Some horfes are bred ; but the more general practice is to buy in colts, at a year old, and to keep them until they be three or four; felling them, at that age, to country dealers : or otherwife to keep them till five years old, and make them up for the horfe mows* 2. Crops. Prin- cipally oats ; but much barky and fome peas are grown ; and, in the vallies, wheat. But, upon the high wolds, the largeft farmers, until of late years, bought their bread corn. The old turf, when newly broken up, throws out immenfe crops of oats ; and is, I be- lieve, in general, equally productive of rape. Instances are mentioned, in which the firft crop of rape has been equal to the purchafe value of the land. Turneps, clover, an&Jain- foin, are alfo Wold crops. IX. SUCCESSION. No regular fyliem of management, with refpect to the fuccef- fion of crops and fallow, is, in any part of the Wolds, to be found in general practice. Upon the thinner- foiled fwells, the prevailing practice YORKSHIRE. 245 practice is to break up, by fodburning, for turneps ; oats two years ; barley and grafs feeds, letting the land lie down again to grafs. In the vallies, where wheat is grown, tur- neps, barley, clover, wheat, has of late years gained fome footing. X. MANUAL LABOR. The Wolds are thinly inhabited. The refident laborers are few, compared with the work to be done ; efpecially in harveft j when numbers flock to it, from the furrounding country. In lefs bufy feafons, the work is done, moftly, by yearly fervants ; the few laborers being, in winter at leaft, chiefly employed in thrafh- ing : for which employment, the cottagers are fometimes hired, by the winter half year. The wages for thrashing, iixpence to eight- pence, a day, and board ; or fourpence to fivepence, a quarter of oats, and board. The Wold farmers, generally fpeaking, board all their workpeople. XI. TEAM LABOR, The hearts of labor are principally horses, of the laddie or the coach horfe breed. A few oxen are fometimes ufed about home. The method of ufmg draught horfes, upon the Wolds, is lingular ; whether they be ap- plied to the waggon or the plow. R 3 The 246 W OLDS. The Wold waggon is fumithed with a pole, fimilar to that of a coach ; and the horfes are applied in a manner fnnilar to coach hcrfes. Four horfes are the u-fual team ; the driver, on ordinary occafions, ridingon the near- fide wheel-horfe -y generally trotting with the empty carriage. At plow, the fame four horfes, in the fame harnefs, are, in ilrong work, invariably ufed without a driver ! the plowman guiding the four with reins : a practice which is, per- haps, peculiar to the Yorkshire Wolds. In lighter work, as in ftirring a fallow, two horfes only are ufed. But, in this cafe, a practice equally fingular is prevalent. A third horfe, drawing a light harrow, is fattened on the oft fide of the plow horfes -, the plowman driving the three. This, in breaking up. turnep grounds, or in other fpring fallowing, is a good practice on dry land ; which, by this means, is got perfectly fine, at a fmall expence (the harrow in this cafe being ufually drawn by an old worn-out horfe, or by a two or three-year- old colt), and immediately as it is plowed, by which means the feed weeds have full time to fpend themfelves. But, in winter, and YORKSHIRE. 247 and in fummer, the practice is pernicious. A fallow cannot lie too rough, in thofe feafons, The hours of work are long. In fpring feed time, the plow teams will fometimes flay out from fix to fix ; the plowmen having their dinners carried to them, in the field ; the horfes remaining all day without a bait, and with only a fmall allowance of corn when they reach the ftable ! neverthelefs, in light work, and in a bufy feafon, each horfe plows near an acre a day. What breed of black horfes can ftand hardfhips like thefe ? XII. IMPLEMENTS. The waggons are high and aukward. The plow is of the old ftraight-moldboard conftrudtion. Both of them call loudly for improvement. The turnwrest plow is much wanted upon the Wolds. XIII. MANURE. Yard dung and sheep teathe are the principal manures. Soot and fome lime are alio in ufe. Rape cake would, perhaps, be found a valuable manure upon the Wolds. XIV. HARVESTING. All oats and barley, and much wheat, are mown, againfl the (landing corn ; bound in fheaf ; and fet up in flooks, at the time of mowing. The Wold farmers follow this practice, as being R 4 lefs j48 WOLD ;. lefs tedious than that of gaiting, as in the Vale (fee Sect. Harvesting), and lefs walteful than that of hajveiting loofe, in the Souths of-England manner. XV. FARMYARD MANAGEMENT. Straw is all confumed in open chiefly in double racks, fupported by four legs. No cattle are fattened by the head j nor any ltraw (except wheat draw J bound. The st raw yard stock are, chic, aged oxen, of the ihorthcrned breed, bought at Glanfbrd-bridge and other fairs, in au- tumn; and fold, in fpring, to iobbers or ziers, who fometimes buy them up in wi: on fpec , to be delivered in fpring. Thev leave about twenty millings, a head, for wintering. Bu; much depends upon judgement in buying them in. XVI MARKETS. M ABriffield, both of them navigation towm$, and Burlimgton, a sea port, are the principal markets for csrn. The Derwent bein^ made navigable, manv years, before the navigation oi the Hull was extended to Dnifkld, Malton was once the principal market. But, a; prefent, Driffield, an improving place, takes the lead. At Malton, the corn tiade is in ;he hands of a few ::. who can gcoenrifr YORKSHIRE. *49 generally make their own price. At Dri£, field, the buyers are numerous, and moftly fatfors, who purchafe by commiflion. By the low commiflion of iixpence a quarter, fome of the factors are faid to make three or four hundred pounds a year ; a ftriking evi- dence this of the great quantity of corn which is grown upon thele Wolds, XVII. TURNEPS. The turnep'crop may be faid to be flill a new thing {o tlie Wolds ', i}Ot more than of twenty years ilanding, though Angularly adapted to the foil ; and notwithstanding it has, in Norfolk, whpfe coaft may almoft be feen from thefe hills, been an efbblifhed object of culture, more than a century ! At prefent, this crop is in full eflimation, being considered as the moft folid bafis of the Wold hulbandry, Turneps generally succeed fivardf fod- burnt, and once plowed, very fleet ; or perhaps pnly rice-balked. No manure, and only once hoed. Remark, This, at firft fight, may appear to be a loofe mode of culture ; but not fo if we duly conflder its bafis. If the turf be of a good age, and the foil of a tolerable quality, »o other manure than its afhes is required s and 25© WOLD S. and fward which has been fodburnt, and only once plowed, is much lefs liable to foul the crop with weeds, than land which has been under tillage. Upon the whole, it ap- pears, to me, to be a practice well adapted to the Wolds, where old fward is abundant, and where extraneous manures are difficult to be procured. The application of the turnep crop is almoft wholly to iheep, which are folded upon the ftandtng turneps ; a practice that cannot be defended, and with only om fiock ; a practice which is ftill more cenfurable. It b no wonder that the Wold fheep, at turneps, mould be fubject as they are to diforders : today, fatiated with the tops and the belt of the pulp y tomorrow, pining over the fhells, with only half their fill; and part cf what they pick up, weeds and dirt. The next dav, glutted with a fiulh of frem turneps. If turneps be eaten up clean, a head feck and filloweri are indifpenfably neceifarv, to common good management. If it be requi- site to eat off turneps, with one flock c: fheep, one third of the crop at leait ought, in like management, to be It-it on the ground as manure *; The * s, See the Practice of Norfolk, Vol.1. Sc3:.Turneps. YORKSHIRE. 251 The fence of the sheep fold is generally of network, made of finall cord ; the fize of the mefhes four to fix inches ; the width or height of the fence about three feet ; fup- ported bv (takes, eight or ten feet afunder. The coil, fburpence to fourpence halfpenny, a yard. But " net-hurdles" are more com- monly hired (of rope makers) than purchafed. The price is a milling to eighteenpence, a week, for a hundred yards. About home, " bar-hurdles" are fometimes ufed ; but- nets, being lighter carriage, are generally ufed at a diitan.ee. For iheep which are hornlefs, as the Wold fheep invariably are, netted folds are very eligible. XVIII. SHEEP. The flocks of the Wolds are fome of them very large. Onz, at lealt, fo high as two thoufand ; eight or nine hundred of them ewes ; the reft wed- clers and yearlings. The breed is a variety of the longwooled kind. Some of them very handibme, re- fembling the prefent breed of Leiceitermire, but more active. The wedders will fat a^ two-ihear (that is, two to three years old) to thirty pounds, a quarter. Produce about fix pounds of wool : the length, ten to thirteen inches. Some 551 WOLD S, Some years ago,' a crofs of this breed, with the large breed of Lincolnshire, was intro- duced upon the Wolds, to the great lofs of ibme of the Wold farmers. One of them calculates to have loir, ieven hundred pounds, by a diforder in the head, called the " me- grims," which this ill judged crofs were lubjecr. to. Ke returned again to the Wold breed, and the diibrder left his flock. Remark. Every country appears to Jiave a naturalized flock — of iheep at kali:. By neglect, this Hock will degenerate. By care, it may be improved ; either by the faireft of its own individuals, or by thofe of a idred variety ; not by an alien bweed. XIX. RABBITS. The Wold warrens are numerous, and fome of them verv exteniive. Coldham warren is at prefent, I beli« the largeii upon thefe Welds ; and, proba- bly, the moif. valuable warren, in the Iiland. The Coldham farm contains about nineteen hundred acres; and, fpeaking generally, it is all warren : not, however, wholly appro- priated to rabbits, a flock of fix to eight hun- dred Jhcep being kept within the warren walls ; principally, however, on one lide of the warren, awav from the burrowing jr rounds. Tl YORKSH-IRE, *$$ This appears to be a practice peculiar to the Wolds *, where better foil is appro- priated to rabbit warrens, than is perhaps in any other part of the Ifland. The Coldham warren, in point of foil, is moft of it worth ten to twelve (hillings an acre ; fome of it fifteen or fifteen millings -f-. As thefe better parts become molly, they are inclofed by a fod wall, the furface pared and burnt, and the foil broken up for arable crops* Having afforded a fuccefiion of crops of corn, tur- neps, &c. they are fown with grafs feeds, and again thrown open to the rabbits and fheep. In 1 70;, there were about two hundred acres of this farm under the plow, befides fome little iheepwalk, which lay without the warren walls. The warfen therefore, at that time, contained fifteen to iixteen hun- dred acres : and, adjoining to Coldham, are two more coniiderable Warrens j fo that there are, perhaps, three or four thoufand acres of tolerably good land, lying together, and ap- propriated principally to rabbits. To * Of Yorkfhire and Lincolnshire, whole hills likewik abound much with rabbit warren. f But the prefent bleaknefs of \hz fituaticn renders it of little more dun, half the value. J54 WOLDS. To give a general idea of the manage- ment of the Wold warrens, the follow- ing divifion of the fubjedt will be requifite : i. Soil. 4. Species. 2. Burrows. $. Taking. 3. Fences. 6. Markets. 1 . Soil. There is a difad vantage in flock - ng a rich foil with rabbits : a flufh of grafs, after a dry feafon, is found to produce a fcouring ; which fometimes carries off great numbers. 2. Burrowing ground. Upon the high Wold?, the burrows are moitly on the fide; cf hills : at Cold ham, principally in one deep valley ; whofe fides are fteep ; giving the rabbits great freedom in working. The foil, in this cafe, about eight cr ten inches deep ; under this a chalky rubble, of fome inches thick, lying on a chalkftone rock; The burrows are in the fiibfoil, between the fell and the rock, and chierly toward the tops cfthe hills*. But at Driffieldgreets, near Driffield,- v.here there are two large warrens, the fur- :^ce is a dead fiat ; neverthelefs, the warrens are well flocked and productive ; a proof that * Tboufands of daws build their ncfts in thefe burrow^ to the great annoyance of the nhi YORKSHIRE. 255 that a fiat fiirface may, in fome cafes, be pro- fitably flocked with rabbits. The foil, in this cafe, is a light fand or gravelly loam. In flocking a warren, whether the furface be flat or hilly, artificial burrows are made, to reconcile the rabbits to the ground, and to preferve them from vermin, until they have time to make their own burrows. In making thefe burrows, an improvement has lately, I believe, been hit upon. They are bored with an auger of a diameter large enough to make a burrow of a fufncient width. In a level warren, thefe augers mav, from time to time, be found ufeful. 3. Warren fences. The common fence upon the Wolds is fed wall, capped with furze, or of late with ftiff frraw, form- ing a kind of thatch *. The warrens near Driffield are fenced with paling ; an expen- live fence in the outfet, and always under repairs. A brook, though ever fo deep, is found to be infufficient as a fence againft rabbits : one fide of Driffieldgreets warren is bounded by a brook ; but it is neverthelefs fenced with paling. When the rabbits can evade this, they readily fwim the brook. 4. Sort * Reed would be found admirable in this intention. 25& WOLDS. 4. Sort ofRABBiTS. Untilof late year?, the common grey rabbit — probably the na- tive wild rabbit of the Ifland — was the only fpecies. At prefent, the fiher-bairerl rabbit is fought after, and has, within the few lafl years, been introduced into moft warrens *. The fkin of the grey rabbit is cut ,♦ that is, the " wool" is pared off the pelt, as a mate- • whereas that of the filver-haired rabbit is drejjed zsfur; which, I underfland, goes principally to the Earl; Indies. The color is a black ground, thickly interfperfed with fiflffle white hairs. The fkins of this variety fell for about four /hillings* a dozen, t€ than thole of the common fort ; a fuffi- cient inducement, this, for propagating it. 5. Mithodof taking Rabbits. The I warrenen have three ways of catching their rabbit; : —with fold nets — with fpring ' : — and with *{ tipes j" a fpecies of trap. The fold nets are fet about midnight, be- tween the burrows and the feeding grounds j the rabbits being driven in, with dogs, and ed in the fold, until morning. Thsjprmg tut% when ufed, is, I believe, generally laid round a hay ftack, or other place, where rabbits collect in numbers. The * Some of the Lincolnshire warrens 3 it is God, are _dy wholly decked with this variety. YORKSHIRE. 257 The trap is a more modern invention. It confifts of a large pit or ciftern, formed within the ground, and covered with a floor; or with one large falling door, having a fmall trapdoor toward its center, into which the rabbits are led by a narrow muce. This trap, on its firft introduction, was fet moilly by a hay flack ; hay being, at that time, the chief winter food of rabbits ; or on the outride of the warren wall, where rabbits were obferved to fcratch much, in order to make their efcape. Since the cultivation of turneps, as a winter food for. this fpecies of ftock, has become a practice, the fituation of the trap has been changed. Turneps being cultivated in an inclofure* within the warren, a trap is placed within the wall of this inclofure. For a night or two, the muce is left open., and the trap kept covered (with a board or triangular rail), in order to give the rabbits the requifite haunt of the turneps ; which having got, the trap is bared, and the required number taken. In emptying the ciftern, the rabbits are forted : thofe which are fat, and in feaibn, are flaughtered ; thofe which are lean, or out of condition, are turned upon the turneps to improve. Vol, II. S At 358 OLD & At the ckfe of the feafon, the buc the docs are . in a fimilar way: the bucks are flaughterc J ; the does turned loole to breed. O n e i : A i e , I underftanc. . fidered as Sufficient for six or seven fe- les i and the nearer :' ey can be brought to this proportion, the greater itock o: yc may be ex le&ed . ; the na of the males [unnatural as it may feem) to deftroy their young ; more y. per- : their proportional number is too great. Great precau: ite in the ufe of thefe bra r ; . If t : q many rabbits be adm:: . at once. ftern be kept clofe c for a few hours, : V. rrbcation and inor- . heat i ace, and the carcafes, at fcj arc ipoiled. Many thoufand car. through this means — The trap :re watched; and. when the required number are caught, the mucfi i ued, or the trap covered. Seme idea of the produce of the VV r:; may be gathered, from the great num iiich are frequently {Laughters, a: once. Five or i .-a ccuole h not unfrequeni "v. been Qaughtered in one night: and, it is laid, that, when the two Driffield YORKSHIRE. 259 Driffield warrens lay together, there was once an inftance of fifteen hundred couple being killed at one {laughter. 6. Markets for Rabbits. York, Hull, and the neighbouring towns, for car- cafes : Glanford-bridge and Malton, for fkins ; which are cut by furriers, who reiide at thofe places, and who find a market, for their wool, in the hat manufactories of Lon- don and Manchefter. Sometimes, the ikins and carcafes are fold together, to huckfters, or other wholefale dealers. The average price, for the feafon, about two millings a couple. The price of carcafes, in the neighbourhood of the war- rens, eightpence to tenpence a couple4 S 2 HOLDER- 26o HOLDERJfESS. HOLDERNESS, THIS is the only Diftricl: of the county I have not been in. I have repeatedly looked over its furface, and been upon its borders ; but never entered its area. I purpofed to have gone ever it, this year (1787), but the Vale employed my whole attention, during fumrner ; and the extreme wetnefs of the autumn would have prevented me from vi- fiting a low country, at that feafon, had lei- fure permitted it. The objecls of hufbano'ry, and the means of obtaining them, are, I have always under- stood, iimilar to thofe of the Vale of Picker- ing : neverthelefs, Holdernefs may have its partial excellencies ; as almoft every Diilrict has, in a greater or lefs degree. The north-weft quarter is appendant to a line of marginal villages ; fituated molt de- firably on the fkirts of the Wold hills ; but no way excellent, I believe, in their plan cf manage- YORKSHIRE. 261 management, Neverthelefs, the coajl of Holdernefs may merit furvey. 1796. In March 1 791 (in my way to London), I had the honor of paying a tran- sient vifit to the late Mr. Constable ofBurton Conftahle, an ancient family refidence, fitu- ated near the center of this Diftrict. The elevation and surface of HoU dernefs are extremely different, from what they appear to be, when feen from the more elevated fummits of the Wold hills. Hoi - dernefs is a true Vale or upper-ground Dif- trict, rnnilar to the Vales of Glocefler, and to the richer Diftricts of the Midland Coun- ties. *Xhz furface is broken into fwells and hollows, but never defcends to low land ; the area of the Diftrict being free from marfhes and fens. Towards the mouth of the Hum- ber, fame considerable extent of marfh lands occur, and in entering Holdernefs, from Hull, a flat of rich marfhes, fome two or three miles wide, are crofted ; and between Hull and Beverly, a coafiderable extent of ftn lands lie a difgrace to the county ; but not particularly to Holdernefs ; whofe lands rife out of the way of waters, and whofe climate is healthy, as that of other Diftricts of a fimi- lar nature. S 3 The if2 CLETELA N D. The soils are various and much intermix!, as frequently happens in V*k Diftricts ; in general, they are very productive. And the : : a a A sement, from whit I few of it, is above mediocrity. CLEVELAND. CLEVELAND is (mail, comparatively. with the other Diftrifh :: EaiT Ycrkfhire. To the eaft, :: terminates in a broken coun- try; mi Mi the northern margin of the The outline, if the broken count: nearly oval. The extent of the greater diameter being at the ihorter about ten miles; containing, within its area, I one huii :. about (event - tl The lfaci .: per- fectly free from -..-; - true '. '". the Ltvcn j YORKSHIRE. g6j running in a valley, fame feet bel, general furface. The soil, almo:t invariably, a tenacious clay. Good wheat an i land* The OBJECTS OF HUSBANDRY cor:;, butter, bacon, r fg cat- tle, and horses ; varying but httle, in its objects, from the Yale of Pickering ; exce that Cleveland partakes more corn country. Some peculiarities of the CI i prac- tice have been already mentioned. One which mar/. trongly, and which dirtm- guiihes it, from every other Dii.riit I ! obferved in, re to be noticed. The roa: m of Clevc is, uni- ", the : ■:. Notwith- iding the 3f ids of the roads, in a wet n, there i •, in the country. The three hones are, invariably, . two-and-one ; nam boric in I , the other twe pair before it : the whole beinc; i bv leathern reins, and driven with a Ions:- thonged \vh ':e coach manner, Th nrobab :he indlirnej retched* into CLEVELAND. intc : parti of the coun- ty of Durham. The latter, which has long fceen the chief der :t of the Cleveland farm interior parts of the :icr, more than thirty miles ; the teams going and re lg without a relt, except- ing traniient baits upon the road. The rule, when ecing empty, is to tret two mile* and feed one -, the driver riding in the carriage the two miles, and walking by the fide of his horfes the one ; baiting them with hay, out of his hand, as they go along the road. When loaded, he keeps feeding, whenever he finds the horfes will eat a thful of hay. Corn is alfo carried in thefe journies ; and given in bags, hung upon the horfes' heads, in the manner in which hackney coach horfes are fed, upon the ftands in London. Horfes, thus ufed, will ftand thirty miles every day. The . ve, colored coach horfes. The C] be tre road even- ■ .;.: ft handy; and, for a / V . and long hzirnies, per- = team, that invention -rting. THE THE EAST ERN MORELANDS O F ro R KS H 1 RE. T HE SITUATION of this Diftrift was given, in describing the county at large. And, in giving a more minute de- scription of the Vale of Pickering, the More- lands are mentioned as bleak mountains, covered with heath, and interfered by cul- tivated dales. Thefe dales have been already noticed, as appendages of the Vale ; (b far as they are noticeable. What I pro- pofe, under the prefent head, is, to give fome account of the mountains, and their un- cultivated VALLIES. The CLIMATURE of the Morelands is extremely bleak j feveral degrees of latitude colder, than the Vale of Pickering ; where rain, or perhaps open weather, will fre- quently prevail, while the Morelands are covered with mow. The The extent ofti - ::-.-. including the hills of Ha MB ledc to foil >f length, bv te:: oi breadth. Excluding the doxtitateb Pales, : tain from three to four hu ired :': ran; mile : G n 1 d to thre. : . . _ _ .:::- _:: HEATH . The F - >It PI : '5 - :he:c r FREE-STONE, (of - _ \ng ■.. too free] .;...:/• rifes the ...;:::; ^ying, ; ces, : iveground, blocks : c me of them of : fize. - ::*;:a: h:: . ■ . t: :: found . Sen: it pan \ ._::.: g real ie on the :".:.:_: : Iron isfc and copper has been] 2 i: allum 5 :-:.-. ii is ■:._'.::' ::.: pattern More-; :h _!:.:c, I : . !. . • . . : : .V. Iflan i great part ciEuriic, v.i:h ill:~. The imm - lia; : :US£C IL i pan or cam* \ refembling : ifty balf-c . - :. -.-:: ...:.' .-.:-.- ! : : bv 'T w.-:: :: ir. : ::. YORKSHIRE. 2b? The SOIL is invariably a black moor • — : apparently, a mixture of vegetable mold and land j reiembling the moory foil of tens. Linneus, I think, calls this fpecies of foil the depauperated foil of heaths ; but en what grounds I know not. The moor of fens ap- pears, obvioufly enough, to be compefed of the decayed roots and other parts of vegetables 3 with a greater or lefs proportion of find and mud, walhed in among them, while in a Hate of growth. But how a fimilar matter could be formed, on the tops of mountains, is lefs obvious. Never thelefs, mountain moor Las eveiy appearance ofavEGETAEii mold. This mold, which covers a principal part oi the mountains of the Iiland, appears to me a molt interesting fubject of inveftigation. It varies, greatly, in regard to depth. On the " lew moors," where it has probably been repeatedly pared off for fuel, it barely covers the find or gravel of the fubfoil : but, upon the higher more diitant fwells, the co- vering ot foil is thicker ; frequently, fix en c ne to two feet deep, of what is called " fat moor." In the vallies, particularly towards their heads, are peat bogs of feveral feet deep; buried in which, trees of great iize have fometimes been found. The _ a ELANDS The NAT jjh\1 ?;.c:v: - the mere k : of theie mountains — ter.ned, provincial!}*, the " high moors" — is principal] be a t b , interfperfed with patches of :i bent ;" together with the common . and other aquatics, in the valiies, and on the bogs with which even feme of the fwells ind. But it the fee: efthefe iwells, andonthe fi ces of the cliffs which terminate them to the fouth, a up ;...: the top of the marginal heights, v hich, when they fhoot far to the northward, as between Newton and Caw- thorn, are covered with black ioil and heath, — a . • of the better grades, with a va~ be found grc iitu- . . infei . ' I '_ ... UtJ :;:• .. - . j its life . -.-: Lin ^ommc - - — ccmi hea — ■ ■ ■ : .-'-; ----- — Bneleaved heath iBx> — trofsleaved heath. - — - '..-,— he ii.i : ,-ih. • es, — . -. — ibft nifh. Moor YORKSHIRE. 269 Provincial. Linnean. Engtijh. Moor palms, — eriophorum, — cotton rum. Gale, — my rim gale, — fweet gale. J\impt$,—ifumpertN communis, — common ju- niper. Cranberrv, — vatcinium r, — cranberry: Bleaberry, — vaccinium myrtillus, — common whortleberry. White clover, — trifolium repens^ — creeping- trefoil. Cheefe-cake grafs, —lot us a Uust — birds- foot trefoil. "Bent grafs, — nardusjir'.S:.:, — mat grafs. aira f.exuofa, — heath airgrafs. meltca car idea, — purple melicgrafs. 9X f — early airgrafs * ? .:.:: ::tum, — vernal, zu 'media, — trembling grafs. eynojurus crijiatus, — Grafted dogstail, feftuca duriufcula, — hard fefcue. fejiuca bromoides ? — barren fefcue 5 um perenne, — raygrafs . daolylis glomermta, — orchardgrafs. ha/cus mollis,— *couchy foftgrafs. . . . c clematis, — common eye- bright. orobui * It was late in fummerj before I rr Some of the early plants had feeded, and their lpecific cha- racters were of courfe become doubtful. 27* MORELANDS. Llnnean. Englifi. Orobus tubercfus, — bulbous pea. gaiium I'eritm, — yellow beditraw. galium montanum, — mountain bedilxavr.; fcabiofa fucclfa, — meadow fcabious . rumix acetofella, — fheep's forrel. ■prunella vulgaris, — felf he al . tormtntilla erecla, — common tormentil. potent iihi reptarts, — common cinquefoil. clftus helianthemum, — dwarf ciftus. thymus ferpyllnm, — wild thyme. poteriwm fanguiforba, — upland burnet. fpiraa fJipendula, — dtopwort. achilka millefolium, — milfoil . Hypericum perforatum, — common Saint* johnswort. carlina Vulgaris, — carline thiftle. carduus palujiris *, — marfh thiflle. p ten's ajuilind, — brakes. THE * This thiflle has no other fpecific difference, which I have been able to difcover, from carduus palujiris, than the thicknefs of its ftem ; which, upon thefe dry barren bkak hills, will fometimes be equal in fize to the largeft walking cane. There is a variety of it with white flowers* THE RURAL ECONOMY O F . THIS DISTRICT. iHE STOCK of the Mofekiids is orin- QipdMyfoccp. Upon the "high-moors" they are the only flock. On the lower bor- ders, and on the margins of the cultivated dales, young cattle are kept upon them, a confiderable part of fummer. But, in a ge- neral light, sheep may be taken as the flock of the Morelands ; and though they be thinly flocked, the number on the whole is con^ fiderable. In flocking thefe mountains with fheep, the general calculation is, I believe, one fheep to ten acres. The number therefore kept, on the foregoing calculation, is twenty to thirty thoufand. Thefe fheep live entirely upon the "moor," from their being a year old, until the time of their being fold off; which, formerly, was not until they were four or five veers old The £72 M OREL A N D S. The yearly profit of a Moreiand fheei5 (very fmall, fee Art. Sheep), allowing for attendance, hazard *, :" • and a little hay in winter, when the heath is buried in ihow, mav be laid at two killings and iixpence, a head +. Confequently, the yearly produce : - the herbage, at prefent, is threepence an acre; at which rate much of it was iralued, by the CommitTioners, under the Pickering Bill of Inclofure J. The * A Moreiand farmer reckons that, if half the mi he breeds reach a market, he has tolerable luck. t This Calculation is made on the advanced price a {been have borne, on a par of the lail ten rears. are who afiert, that, if attendance were rigidly no osaS >, from keeping fheep on thefe heaths. But the number of Utile for titms which have been made in the M . principally, it is believed, by keeping deep, contradict this aiTertion. X Befides the hcrbcze, th-; :h is pared c:~. furface and cut out of the bogs, may be confide:; :. : : : :- fent, as a fpe: ce. The Pic--:, -j g moor a) talents, cor.::, r.'.r g r^enty acres or upward, are now felling, for ten pounds each. The fee fimple of three of thefe altatments, containing near one hu . the other day, for thirty pou: YORKSHIRE. 273 The IMPROVEMENTS whichhave been attempted, among thele hills, require now to be mentioned. The late Sir Charles Turner ranks higher! as an improver of the Morelands. But Sir Charles's lite of improvement is not a fair fpecimen, of the two hundred thoufand acres of uncultivated heath, which are the immediate fubjecl: of difcuffion. Keldale *, the principal fite, is a valley iiTuing out of Cleveland. The bottom, which has formerly been inclofed, is a rich loam, of great depth ; but had been rendered unproductive, for want of draining. The fides of the valley are varioufly foiled ; moftly bog, or a fat moory foil, formed probably by fprings, with which the whole valley abounds, and which, having trickled down its iides from age to age, have clad them in vegetable mold. Keldale, at the time Sir Charles un- dertook its improvement, was a neglefted valley, whole fills were full of bit rh 'fie riches, and required nothing, but an improvement of their fiuifiil, to render them highly pro- ductive. Had the improvements of this valley been let about, with deliberation,- and carried on Vol. II. T with * The Valley of Spring?, a;4 -• (ELANDS. with judgement and nrmnefs, the profits in- fing from it would have been e.ieedingly great. Eve;: :.-_ :'::- '.::-. : :.'...: they were conducted, the improvement muft have greatly exceeded the cxpence. In the ipring of 1783, w h e n I G 1 w I h e m , Sir C b ides had let off one farm of one hundred and fifty pounds a year (contaiiung about one hundred and fifty acres !) and had then built, o: building. three or four more Qibnantia] :irm- houfes. :;:::". ar fire of Sir Chai r ".early allied of mountain, which e fide :: the The foil is partly black moor; in part, of a brown loamy nature; itural quality to the *' high moors ; and equal* if not fu- perior, :: . Ic : ;: oncultivaled heath, ; nds. In l _ : : . the .his hill '. been inclcfed with and part of it had, in the outfet, been iinibrtJUiiatcly broken up :.: :. But the rich loan. lie being found to be better adapted to arable crops, this was prudently laid down to graft ; a ipecia 01 crop much bettei f-i:c-d, YORKSHIRE. 275 fuited, than corn, to fiuch a foil, in fuch a fituation. The inclofing of Kempfwidden was evi- dently premature. Had Sir Charles begun at the bottom of Keldale ; climbing by de- grees up its fides •, reaching, in due procefs of time, the tops of the hills; what amufe- ment and profit might have been reaped from the undertaking ! The attempts which have been made, on this fide of thefe mountains, remain to be noticed. About twenty years ago, the inclofure of Middle ton, whole pariih extends into the Morelands, gave freedom tD the fpirit of improvement. The fit e which was principally chofen, for the eflays that have been made, were the lower Hurts of the Moreland hills, under the northern fteep of the limeftone heights. This fituation was in a degree of ilielter, was near the cultivated country, and the foil, in that valley, is better than it is higher up the fides of the hills. The principle of improvement was to extend the cultivated country into the Morelands. Corn was of courfe the main object. The heathy ivajfes were confidered as grafs com- T 2 mons) 276 More lands. tnons -j which ufually are, and generally ought to be, converted into arable land, and kept in that ftate, for a courfe of years, after their inclofure. The method of brcakhig-up was either by paring and burning, or by fallowing ; which latter was performed in a lingular manner. The heath being previoufly linged off, the land was plowed, and fuffered to lie unftirred in rough furrow, for two years, in order to give the roots of the heath time to rot. The third year, it was ftirred as a fallow ; and the fourth year, cropped. The manure, ufed, was invariably lime ; which is burnt, in quantity, near the fite of improvement. The quantity fet on, three to fix or feven chaldrons, an acre. The crops wheat, rye, oats, potatoes, tur- neps. Red clover does not nourifh : it will rife very well from the feed, but generally goes off, the firft winter. And raygrafs has been cautioufly ufed, left it mould foul or im- poverifh the land ! The refult of thefe experiments, fome of them on a pretty large fcale, is, fome fmall fortunes have been funk, and fome larger ones have been injured. I have not come at any YORKSHIRE. *77 any thing like proof, of even one inftance, in which the improvement has been adequate to the expence. Hints for the Improvement of the Eastern Morel ands of Yorkshire. From thefe premifes, we may fafely infer, that the two hundred thoufand acres of land, under notice, are unimproveable ; or that the attempts at improvement, which have hitherto been made, have been ill conducted ; or that the principle of improvement has hitherto been erroneous. Unprepared as I am with felf-practice, in the cultivation of thefe waftes, it would be rafhnefs in me to dictate a general plan of improvement ; but having fome general knowledge of improvements of this nature, and having beflowed fome confiderable fhare of obfervation and attention, on the Diftrict under confideration, it might be wrong to fupprefs the reflections which have occurred to me, refpecting its improvement, In a kingdom whofe limits are not extenlive, two hundred thoufand acres of furface becomes an object, of national importance -, and on whether they lie in a ftate of wafte, or in a T 3 ftate 278 M ORELANDS. ftate of productivenefs, the welfare and hap^ pinefs of many individuals may depend. The PRINCIPLE OF IMPROVE- MENT is what I mall more particularly fpeak to ; and in doing this, I mall keep the high moors — not the heathy upper margin cf the limeitone heights — principally in view. It appears, to me, that to attempt, at pre- fenty to crop thefe heaths with corn, is inju- dicious in the extreme. To begin with car- rying off the means of productivenefs, in the fhape digram, (which the cultivation of corn implies) from a foil which, it is to be feared, naturally contains them in very inconfiderable quantity, is irreconcileable with common prudence. The productions which ftrike me, as eligible to be propagated, at preient, on thefe heaths, are woiand herbage. I. PLANTATIONS. There are evi- dences, but no proof, of thefe hills having been iormerly covered with i .cod. The trees which are itill found in the peat bogs are a pretty itrong evidence. And part of thefe hiiis being included within the ancient .: Pickering, is a corroborating cir- cumftance. That YORKSHIRE. a;9 That trees, if properly chofen and properly managed, would grow on thefe hills, is, I believe, beyond difpute. And I am clearly of opinion that, if they be imprtnxabk% planting is the firlt ftep, which ought to be taken, toward their improvement. Woodlands, if once extended, would not only afford imme- diate ihelter to flock ; but would, in all hu- man probability, change the climature of thefe bleak fweils, fo far as to give due en- couragement to the herbage that might be cultivated upon them. Where the furface is ftrowed with large (tones, planting feems to be the only pro- bable mean of improvement. Where the furface is free, ikreens of wood are principally wanted. The Scotch fir and the birch might be employed to break off the North and the Eaiterly winds. The Norway spruce d the larch, and, in all probability, the lk, might, with due care, be reared in the more genial afpecls *. Much would depend upon M A nage m ent. — In Keldale, and onKempfwidden,the pine- T 4 tribe * 1790. The LAB.CQ ought to prevail, in the bleJccr niore expofed fituations. The Highlands or Sco:'.zr.tL afford ample teftimony of its excellency, in fuch fituations, j8o M O R E L A N D S. tribe and oaklings were dibbled in, among the ftanding heath. No wonder they mif- carried. To enfure fuccefs, the ground mould be trenched with the fpade ; or be prepared with the plow ; and the plants be put in with the nurieryman's beft care. Not finglv, or widel . fcattered j but in numbers, and in clofe order *. There is a natural warmth in vegetable as in animal life. One tree is raifed with diffi- culty, in any titration which is inclined to bleaknefs ; but plant a number, in cloie or- der, and the difficulty is overcome. They net only create among themfelves, by their natural warmth and perforation, a frefh at- mofphere ; but affiir. each other, in with- flanding the attacks of the winds, and other enemies. II. CULTIVATED HERBAGE. If !.::!s be in -lie by hu/bandry, the principle cf improvement appears, to me, to be that of removing the heath (wholly or in t part), and replacing it with berbaget ::ed to fuch y?5.v:. a; is bell iuited to the and fituation. SI * For the method of Pkntir.z, on the Highlands of Scotland, fee Planting and Rural Ornament, Section Grove?. YORKSHIRE. 2S1 :he floe I to thele hilh ; and t!:: (hot penlive way of brin into a ftate of sheep walk and ra: this principle of imprc require The He:t:i, it is more than p \n- not be overcome without a A fimilar degree c :e for h 1 *. The species graj/es, the legumes, and The hardieft of the two former may be I in the foregoing lift, The ft ra : the /*#/ principally, in the ' ■-. Is j but there is one peculiarity of ar- ticulation which is noticeable ; as being a ftranger in the eltablimed pronunciation; though common, I believe, to the northern counties. This is in the articulation of the letter /, in butter, viatter, and all words of a ilar termination ; alio in tree, trace, tread, and ail words a::d iyllabies beginning with The articulation, in thefe cafes, is between irticulation of the /, and that be th j the tongue being prefTed hard again it. the teeth and the gums, jointly ; not (tightly touching the gums alone, as in the ordinary articul :f the t. I notice this as a provincialifm ; and know no better tejft of a jiort hem prxruinciatijt than this peculiarity. In * The letter d takes the fame angulation in frmilar whenever it is fubjoi r.ed with r or tr. YORKSHIRE. z-i9 In the pronunciation of vowel?, that of o long, as in , bole, more, is nril no- ticeable. A mere provincialiil of Eaft York- fhire knows no inch found ; nor can he, without much practice, pronounce it. In the provincial dialed! it takes four diftLnir. vocal founds ; namely, eea, an, ooa, a, — ac- cording to the confonants it is joined with in compofition. Thus Hone is pronounced Jleean j yoke, yauk \ bole, booal; more, mere. The diphthong ea, which formerly, it is probable, had a diitinct vocal found aLfigned it, in the Engliih language, but which feems to be, at prefent, entirely unknown to the Engliih tongue, is Itill in common uie, in the dialect under notice. In the eitabliihed pro- nunciation, break is become brake j great, grate ; tea, tee ; fea, fee ; but, here, they are uniformly pronounced by a vocal found, between the e and the a long. The a long is generally, but not invariably, changed into eea ; as, (take, Ueam\ late, leeat \ or into a Jb or t, as, b tack ; make, mack. The ejbort, before / and n, is lengthened by the^' con articulated as in yet, yes, V- PROVINCIALISMS. you : thus, well (a fountain) becomes iveyl *, to (ell, to fiyi% men, meyn ; ten, teyn : in one cafe it changes into e long ; as, well (the adverb ), weef* Th n has the eflablifhed pro- ttion. Before gbt it generally changes into e long ; as, night, neet ; bright, breet ; right, rcct : before /, into a broad (as in father, half, and before the letter;-) ; as, mile, maal; ftile, . ::d does not, in any cafe, take, in ftridnefs, the modern found; which is a diphthong competed of a broad 'and e : where- as i" :.:.': found, here, is the accepted ibund of t Jbort lengthened by the y co?ifo- natit * ; as, white. - : to write, to : a mode of pronunciation which per- han_- icm'.tr'v was in general uie, but which nc is to be confined to provincial cia- ie&s, m is not at leait heard in fafr.ionabk bug us ge. Tn . k cha :-r: into u long ; as be:/.. . \t ; to icok, to luke: before t.J>m,t,b, generally * I: -T ■: ■:■'.:. (bund . though it is by no beans . found of that vowel. I have neverthe- : tr to give it the eftabjiihed power in the GJaffiuy* The . . ."■; I nettle, tat the fame reafou, though YORKSHIRE. 301 generally into ea long ; as boots, beats ; fool, feal ; broom, bream ; tooth, teath ; be-, fore r, moftly into ee -, as floor, fleer 5 door, deer. 01 before d generally becomes au ; as, old, aud ; cold, caud ; wolds, wauds: in one in* ftance the / is mute ; as, hold, bod. In words ending in ault or alt, the / is like- wife mute, the termination becoming in both cafes aut $ as fault, faut ; fait, Jaut ; malt, maut *, The * This brings to my mind a circumftance which de- ferves notice ; as it ferves to (hew the procefs of corruption, or as others perhaps will have it, refinement, of languages. There are, in many cafes, two diftincl provincial languages jn this Diftricl: : one of them fpoken by the lower clafs, — more efpecially of old people, — the other by the fuperior clafs of provincialifts. The.firft I fhall call the vulgar tongue (though in all probability the purer language) ; the other the middle dialed. Thus the Englifli word matt is, in the vulgar tongue maut, in the middle dialect, melt : Malton^ in like manner, becomes Maut on and Melton. All fyjlables formed with 0 long have three diftinft pronuncia- tions: thus booal in the vulgar tongue, ball in the middle dialed!:, and bole in the Englifli language, convey the fame idea. Creeac, crake, crow; father (the a fart), faithcr, father, are other inftances. In a few generations, it is probable, the prefent vulgar tongue will be loft, and the prefent middle dialect will then, of courfe, become the vulgar tongue, 333 PRO VINCI ALIS MS. The ou changes, almofl invariably, into £2 ; as, fa*ar>jbor ; cur, oor ; houfe, hoofe, moufe, moofe. ' The wo is fubjecl: to a limilar deviation ; as, bowls, booh ; power, poor 3 flower,/;;/- ; bow, boo ; cow, c 5?. Thefe are the principal part of the more regular deviation? in the pronunciation of the Eait-Yorklhire dialect.. To go thro' its anomalies would be an endlefs tallc : fbme of them will appear in the following glossary > in the forming of which, I have been induced, to break through my original plan, with refpect to provincialisms; which was, and indeed frill is, to confine my- felf, merely, to fuch words as relate more es- pecially to Rural affairs. But finding, in this particular injtance, a declining language, which is unknown to the pub- lic *, — but which, it is highly probable, con- tains more ample remains of the ancient LANGUAGE * Except feme fragments of it, which were collected on the banks of the H umber (at the moft extreme dif- tance from what may be confidered a? the fource of the ■.) by Mr. Brokefby, and communicated to Mr. Rat ; who has preferred them in his Collection of Lei ^.l Words. YORKSHIRE. 3:3 LANGUAGE of the CENTRAL PARTS OF this Island, than any other which is now fpoken, — I was willing to do my beft en- deavour towards arretting it, in its pre lent form ; before the general blaze of fa;h:cn and refinement, which has already its dawn, even over this fecluded Diitricl, fhall have buried it, irretrievably, in ob- fcurity. PRO- N C I A L I S M S : F EAST YORKSHIRE. * ' In this Glofisrr, ay before a :: ■.■■ ■-;:-.- ..: :hr : ~. ;.;.'; r_i :r.e i::r-.ei, in man. *, with the eJKal, or _ 7 . ~ ~ : I .". 1 -1 f » «, v>* ajizmuKiy as iu laic: , «m«, : 7 -■ Z7 ZT.i r- - - • _ . ; _ _.'.". -'■-"•■ • ~ ~ ' -~ ' ~ ~M~z. . i ; "*. 1'V . .r '-1' 2 .- " ;':•-..:.-''.. ■■■_-'. v.;-.::"- z '.■■': Z.zi zzr-var. Lv.ic .:' j _,*,- •-■._■; •• ir.i c .'. :r. .•:. :.-.; / .'.■■■:!£-, 15 :.-. ret:. :: ;. :, .:■':.:. :, :: :; ::;,.:.: :::.:,'//:, •-;.;'. zzzr.z'7td c: :' . ; a.".:. . _ :. v /. r: i J .'.'.;..".- :~::~ti z: .' :::-t: and j ccMfaumt. : .: :.-.-. :::::.• : . ;, is i". >.:: . ; i-.Yiiiii.y ,'. ,--3 as in food, cea, a ampfimJ of ce and a Jbort. Z ..- .-.".: :.'.r ....:.. t :>:!:i : :!-:■: : r :-"r"i;:.g-- i ' : '..err. ; f::::j:.-; : .r ..._ .: _:.:::.;- •- Lie : Z.'-.z, which has been mentioned. Where there is room : ambiguity, the quantity is lpecified. 72 : :_\\ . . : : :-: I -- _' '.::Z.. -.:-:-; :~.e V Li ■:: . .:■:-.:— "t '■'■'...-. Ki'.ir.v.t.'f, ir.i ±t y.y~i:i.2r* :....;. . .'• -it ._-t : .^:;:: ;_: _i _ ..is ztriiZ. ::_:;, YORKSHIRE. 30$ A. IBOOX; above, in the general fenfe. J_V_ To ADDLE ■, to earn by working : fc he cannot addle his bread." ADDIW1SSEN ; to be fent about addiwiffen, is to be fent on a fool's errand :—an expreflion which is nearly obfolcte. AIGER ; an impetuous tide. See West of England, Prov. Boar. AIRTH; quarter j as, " in what airth is the wind ?" AISK ; lacerta vulgaris ; the evet, or land newt. AITHER; a plowing; as, the firft or fecond aither; the fame 2s cirtb of fome places, and earth of others. ALLFARE; for good- and- all: ff he is gone for all-fare." AME LL ■, between ; as, " amell fix and feven o'clock." AXAXTERS, or ANTFRS ; left-, or for fear 5 — cc ananters it mould rain." ANCHOR i the chape of a buckle. ANENST, or OYER-AXEXST ; oppofite. ANGLES ; the holes or runs of moles, field mice, &c. AR ; a cicatrice, or fear left by a wound. ARF, or ARF1SH ; feme what afraid. ARK ; a kind of large chert or bin, with divifions within, formerly uicd for laying up drefled corn; a fort of moveable granary. ASS; afhes. ASS CARD; fire-fhovel. ASSLE; query, a corruption of axis, or a natilit word ? ajsie-tcotb, a. grinder; a/sie-free, the axis of a carriage-wheel, but of no ether wheel; nor is it ever applied without the termination tree. Vol. n. X Perhaps 3cS PROVINCIALIS l| S. Pe: applied to the wheel of a car- riage, :.5 a pedant : corruption of this word. AT ; who, whom, or which, in the rclatrvt fenft : i: is, perhaps, a contraction . '% the man at we met" — " the man at fat next ysa — " the houle at we • S ee W H : a :-; . AVERAGE ; the pafturage of common r.el-: o:her ftnbbles, a:':cr AUM ; elm. AUMAS ■, ao alms. B. BACKBEERAWAY ■/;.;; ; the bat, BACKSTOX; (that is, VSbigftatt) aftate, b in an iron frame over the fire, to bake cake? upon. BADGER; a hick.":::. BAIRX ; a child. BA1RXWORTS; /:/.;. ;■ f:es. BALKS (pror. :. :-.;;„ :..•:.•'. a rough :hambe: in an cur-bu^aing. BAM ; a joke ; fun. To BAM j :c play the ; ake , : BAXD i a rope: hence Iand-m ac£e* ; rope- maker. BAR FAX: a boric-collar, BARGUE5 i ; a hob f the Kigheft ntdei . terrible :.: a/re;":. :.:._ iaaded with chains : tw ndous : itne. BASS j a matt of any I BAT j a blow : her.ee BATS; a bearing: u aa h ;. : ... : .. baa give thee a beating. BAL F ; weii gi . a« a boy or •. :u:h. ioBAUTER; to trample] in a clowmfli man- ner; or as horfes tread down grals, or groa corn. BEACE; cattle j the plural of beaft BEACE; YORKSHIRE. 307 BEACE ; a cattle ftall. To BEAL; to bellow, as an ox. BECK ; brook (the common term). BEDDING j litter, of horfes or cattle. BEELD; fhelter; alfo the caufe of ihelter; a clump or fkreen of trees, planted for the pro- tection of (lock, is called a beeld. BEELD ING; building; perhaps the diminutive Of BlELD. BEE-SUCKEN; applied to the afh, when its bark is cancerous, black, and turgid* BELI'VE ; (the i long) in the evening. BENT i a fpecies of rufh which grows on the Moreland hills : Juncus Jquarrcfus. BESHAUP ; make hafte. BINK j a bench, common at the doors of cottages j generally made of flones ; fometimes or of earthj and planted on the top with camomile. BIRDS EYE ; veronica chamadrys \ germander fpeedwell. BISSLINGS, or BIS SUNG -MILK; the firft milk of a newly calven cow. BITER, or Billybiterj motacilla atricapilla, the blackcap. BLACK-NEBB'D-CROW; conms corone, the carrion crow. BLAKE i yellowifh: the color of bees- wax. To BLASH j to fplafh. BLASHYi wet, dirty, fplafhy; as, « blafhy weather." BLEA i dufky blue, or lead color. BLEABERRY j vaccinium myrtillus, common whortleberry. BLfcB ; a blifter ; or airbubble. BLENDINGS j peas and beans grown together as a crop. BLUEMILK ■, fkim-milk. X 2 BUNDERS, pt PROVINCIALISMS. BLINDERS, or BLINDING-BRIDLE (the/ fhert) ; blinkers for draught horfes. BLIND MOUSE ; forex araneus, the fhrew moufe. BLUE -CAPS; Jcabicjajuccija\ meadow fcabious; devil's-bit. BLUFF ; chubby ; having a red, full, firm face j fpoken of a boy or girl. To BLUNDER ; to jumble, or difturb, fo as to foul ; as the water of a pool, or liquor which has depofited a fediment. BOGGLE j an inferior hobgoblin, or anything frightful ; hence to boggle, as a horfe. BOG VIOLET ; pnguiada vulgaris ; butterwort. BONNY ; pretty, handfome, beautiful. To BOOAC ; to reach, to keck. BOOK ; fize or bulk ; a word in common ufe. BOOv ; going p re fently ; as, " he is boon to market." BOORLY; lufty; grofs and large made, withibme . desreeofcomelinefs; as, aboorlymanorwoman. BOTCHET j fmafl-beer mead. $OTTRY; elder: a " bottry tree." BOWKERS ; an interjection, expreffive of a low degree of furprize. BR A KENS; pteris aquilina-, brakes; fern. BRAND NEW ; or Brandspander newj fire- new, — never ufed. BRANT; fteep; as a hill, or a road (the com- mon epithet). BRASS; halfpence. JBRASHY; fmall, rubbimly; as refute fuel. To BRAY ; to pound, or to break fmall ; as lime- ftones for the kiln, &c. BRECKENS. See Brakens. BREEA ; the brink or bank of a brook or river. BREEKIN ; the fork, or divifion of a tree ; and, figuratively, of the thighs. BR EERS ; brambles and briars. BRIDE-DOOR.; « to run for the bride-door," is to ftait for a favor, given by a bride, to be rua for. YORKSHIRE. 309 for, by the youth of the neighbourhood j who wait at the church door until the marriage cere- mony be over, and from thence run to the bride's door. The prize a ribbon, which is worn, for the day, in the hat of the winner. If the diftance be great, as two or three miles, it is cuftomary to " ride for the bricle door." BRIDE-WAIN i a carriage loaded with houfhold furniture and utenfils, travelling from the bride's father's to the bridegroom's houfe. Formerly, great parade and ceremony were obferved on this occafion. The wains were drawn encirely by oxen, whofe horns and heads were ornament- ed with ribbons. Ten or perhaps twenty pair of oxen have, on great occafions, aflifte.i in drawing a bride-wain. A young woman at her fpinning-wheel is feated on the center of the load. In palling through towns and villages, the bride's friends and acquaintance throw up articles of fur- niture, until the "draught," be it ever fo'power- ful, is at lead feigned to be over-loaded i and at length is "fetfaftj" generally, however, by fome artifice, rather than the weight of the loading ; which, neverthelefs, has on fome occafions been fo confiderable, as to require feveral wains to carry it. BRIMMING i a fow, when fhe will take the boar, is faid to be a brimming ; and the boar is laid to brim her. BROCK ; cicada Jpumaria , the cuckowJp.it infect. il He fweats like a brock.'* To BROG ; to browze upon ; — >to crop j as cat- tle are wont to top underwood, BROO ; the forehead ; and hence the upper part of a hill, refembling the forehead. BROACH ; the fpire of a church. BUCK HEADING; cutting off live hedge-thorns, fence-height. X 3 BUCKLE- 3:o ?K 0 VINCI ALIS M S BUCKLE-HORNS ; Cr.cr. z:zz\\ti '-.::-;, rurr.- BUFE BUFFET-TOOL BULLHEAD i the fiftj, asttus gtku, the miller s BULLS-FOREHEADS; .:;-- :r A /.: ; turfy BULLSPINA, ::.z z::~ ,/ : -.r-.'.'.z ex.::;, the chaf- To"bUM; t-Ej.r.i sii '• bumming nouV— Ae " burr.rAe ztt :" mi: :i, :.-. : bj.m T.ir.g :::. BUMMLE-3EE ; .:: :: ';" V "-'j '"• - "--"_.: 2 :C ; E-"M'MlE-:::iE£, :;.: :'.--: ::' '- - zznble i BUN, 1','tCK-':, ^: AAA"- C:t~. 7: BUNCH ,':: A A:, v-AA. the toe : hcr.cf BUNCHCLOT; - :-;-::, :r. c=:...:r. .. i A:-A BURA)ENBAND , i he.-Dtn bsy-bir.::. BURKi bctwUM*-. the birch. B _ A- "I H.STLr. ; :iri„u: .i-.-.r.'.i:^: , fpei: : : . e . H ; me box ::" me r.ive cAa. carriisc: wheel. B-5X: : bum. BUTTER-LA/?; , .fd&rii, the bittern. E - »ER >.e_. ,;•::. ; :uli* ;:zi " a cl >g of wood." CLOG-SHOES ; wooden (hoes j or rather fnoes with wooden foils. CLOSE-TEAP; a mnlefheep, with both tefUcles within the barrel. See Hung tea?. To CLOW j to pull together, rpi ith the arms ; or to labor iri a vulgar, furious manner. CLUBS TER ; mufteia erminea ; the ftoat. To CLUNTER ; to make a rude noife, with ths feet, in walking. To COBBLE ; to {lone ; to throw ftones, dirt, cr fno'.v balls. COBBLES; pebbles; round flones found in the foil. Alfo the fmall boats of nfhermen. COBBLET.REES ; double fwingie-trees, whip- pin?, or fplinter-bars. COBBY i merry; cheerful. COD ; pod j peafe or bean b are well hung with pods, are faid to be well fi codded." COLLIER; bi "us, the black 1 wallow, or iwifc. COMMOTKER (perhaps c^moiber) y a god- • mother. CONNY; clever; neat; tidy ; agreeable. COOL ,or COWL ; a iwelling railed en the head, by a blow from a cudgel, or other hard weapon. COOP ; an ox carr, witl . body, and without " lhelvings," for carrying manure, ^cc. itill inufe. To COOR ; to crouch or iit upon t.:e haunches. COO^COT; ccii-.mi.i : , z:.- v.ood-pigeon. COPING (pronounce- r)j the covering of a ftone quarrv. «* COPPIN; 3*4 ??- 3 V IN* CI A LIS MS. ~ 3PP"W; one ridglet of a fwhi of yarn. CORNBIND; polygonum convolvulus ■ climbing jjock weed : alfo ccnvchulus arum/is ; corn con^ v-]- J. JS. CIOcE [proooanced 4&oace)i an inebfure; ii c": '■ • "• -- ■•' ~.-.. .ch implies an opes commie □ " c 1 1 . To COTTER i to pntaagfei a^ thicad, or the COT fRFL i the Eg of an iron boh. COUSIV BETTY; a feaak : .angeling, rral or ^untcrfc : who goes about the country, to ex- ; is ihe dots to Dev3.-,fhire, under r ., • Bc _. lfBCi COVv'CLAGS ; bundles of dirt, hanging to the buttc cks of betde or fneep; or to the coats of gems. (SOWDYi pert; fafickfeme. T COWLj bo gather, rakej or fcrape together. gOWLPRESS; a lever. QO W Lr-R A KE ; a mud fcraper. COW-MIG; Lie drainage of a cowhoufe, or dunghiH. T^ COW ' ; to change ■, to fviao. CO".VS-AN~D-CALYE5 \ mrwfk m iVwh. cue-. COWSTRIPLJNGS; primula wis ■, c-owflips. COWTHERED fthe th foft as \n tkfje) ■, re- .-:: r m iifeaft or coldnefs. C C - T IE ; a fhort thick hair rope, v. ith a wooden and4fe eye formed in the other ; h:: fling the ■ i»d legs of a cow, while rail ahg. CRAB-HULUNQS] the reftduum in making vt ■ ioe. To CRACK; to brig; to fpeak highly of, or recommciK] ftroagrf: u the crack of the country.** pftAKE ' --5 '•'-- ;v i 2 crow of rook. CRAKE- YORKSHIRE* 315 CRAKE-FEET; writes; orchifes. CSULKE-WEEDEEifcandexpeffa-venerisi fhep- herds needle. CRAMBLES ; large boughs of trees, off which the faggot wood has been cut. CRANKY; checked linen : " cranky apron ;" a checked linen apron. To C REE ; to feethe j to pre-boil, as rice, &c. CREEL ; a kind of bier, ultd for flaughtering and falving fheep upon. CROFT ; a iinall inclofure ; larger than a yard , but fmaller than a " close." CROOK (pronounced cruke) ; a hook ; as, a " yat-cruke ;*' a gate-hook. CROUCE; pleafed,fatisfied, happy, in good fpirits. To CROWDLE (diminutive of to crowd) ; to creep clofe together, as children round the fire, or chickens under the hen. To CRUNKLE ; to tumble or rumple, as linen or other cloaths. CUFF OF THE NECK; the loofe kin, on the neck of a dog, &c. by which he is ufually held. CUP-ROSE ; pap aver ; poppy : (an apt name). CUSHIA (the u long); heradeum Jphondylium j cowparfnep. D. To DAFFLE ; to confufe, or render ftupid : it is alfo ufed in the neuter fenfe ; " he daffies," he wanders, or falters in his fpeech or converfacion. Hence, DAFT ; ftupid, inapt j oppofed to quick and fenfible. To DAG ; to fprinkle with water ; as linen, &c. DAITLE (thzt'is day-tale); by the day; as " daitle- man," a day labourer; " daitle-work, work done by the day. To DANDER ; to caper; perhaps the diminu- tive of to dance. DAP; 316 PROVINCIALISMS. DAP j fledge, fully feathered ; as young birds in the neft. To DARK; toliften. DARKENING; dwik; the cionngin of the day, DAU; doughy, underbaked. To DAUL; tt worn out with fatigue or rcpe- tition. fuD-hA; to dp; as, " vrtnnot ye dea*c r" will you no; do i: : DEAF ; Rafted, or barren ; as a deaf ear of corn; or a deaf nut; namelv, a nut without a kernej. DEA-NETTLE; golcc.fi s u;;= pfiticn: ' j HORiEKNOBS ; centaur e& nigra \ knobweed ; knapweed. HOST-HOUSE (pron. wcjtrkcufc) ; a farmer's \nn at market. HOTCH , job, or bufmefs : " thou's meead a bafe hotch on't." To HOTTER ? to make, as a carriage on a rous;h uonev road. HOTTER Y i rough, as a road, To YORKSHIRE. 327 To HOVER 5 to ib.v ; to wait for : cc Wfll you hover nil I come :" The HOUSE ; the fitting room, or fore kitchen. HOW ; a round hillock ; perhaps fom natural knoll ; but j The Moreland (Wells abound HOWSA'YE i an : n, conveying a de- gree of ex ing has been in doubt; as " I have dorrc it, To HOWZE ; to lade, as y.ater. HOYT ; a a fool. HUBBLESHEW; a hubbub, a tumultuous af- HUFFIL; a ringer-bag. HUFIL (the o long wc _r. To HUG ; to c. roos load. The HUKE ; the hUtkle, or hip. HULLT (: .g) ; ftrix: the owl. HUMBLED ; horrdefs -, fpoken of cattle and fheep. HUXG-TEAP; a male fheep, or ram. See Closz-tzap. EIURX ; the vacancy between the fides cf a wide cottage : >.-, and the roof of the houfe. To HURPLE i to ftkk up the back, as c ^er a hedge, in cold weather, HYVIX ; r: j- To JAUP (:•. n ) -, to make a noife like liquor a clofe veflel, To JAUP {v.a.) ; to jumble; as the fediment t .t clear of bottled TEWDICOW; atfcineUa l-pm :he lady- bud. Y ± ^YEL i 328 PROVINCIALISMS. JEWEL j the ftarling or treftle of a wooden bridge, ILK ; each ; every j as, " ilk other houfe." - ILL-TURN ; mifchief, harm, or misfortune : a word in much ufe. IMP ; an eke placed under a bee hive. The IN-EAR, or NEAR ; the kidney. ING j meadow s low mowing ground. See Car. INMEATS ; the pluck, or edible parts, of the vifcera of animals. INOO i prefently (perhaps a contraction of even now). JUST NOO (that h,ji'.Jl new) ; immediately, inr ftantly. K. To KEAK ; to lift behind, as a vicious horfe. To KEDGE ; to gluttonize, KEEAL, or kale ; broth ; pottage. KEEAL POT ; porridge pot. KEEANS ; fcum, or mother^ of ale, &c. KELD (vulg. keyld) ; a fpring; or perhaps a ge- neral name for a river or brook which rifes abruptly : hence the names of places ; as, keld-* bead, the head of the river Cofta ; keldbolm, near the efflux of the Dove ; bdl-keU-t>eads the head of an emergent brook, near Kirby- moorfide. KELK ; a thump ; a home blow ; or a dead fall ; whetiher by accident, or by wreilling. See SOiS. KELTER ; Hate, condition ; fpoken of cattle, and ludicroufiy of men. KELTER ; condition. " He is in good kclter," he is in good cafe. To KEN (vulg. to keyn) ; to know : a word in common ufe. " Do you ken him ?" Do you know him. KENSB ACK i YORKSHIRE. 329 KENSBACK ; a thing known by fome linking mark is laid to be a keafback. To KEP ; to catch ; as a ball, or as ra from the eaves cf a hoi. KERN ; cl\v.:n (probab th). KET ; carrion ; and hence a word of reproach*. KIDS ; faegots. KIE ; cows; the plural of cc c; KIM LIN ; a large dough tub. KIN ; a chop in the hand, ccc. KIND ; friendly, intimate. " They are as kaand as brothers. KINK ; a fit, or paroxifm ; as, a "kink of la-. ter," a violent fit of laughter : hence KINK-COUGH ; the hooping cough. KIPPER-, nimble. KIRK ; church ; ftill pretty common in the vul~ gar dialect. KIST; chefl. KITE ; a vulgar name for the belly. KITLING ; kitten, or young cat ; Catling. KITTLE ; tickliih ; fenf.ble to the fiighteil touch; actuated by the moft frivolous motive ; unliable; tottering. To KNACK ; to attempt to fpeak the eflablifhed language ; or to fpeak it arrectcdly. To KNARL ; to knaw. KNOLL ; the top, or uppermoil fwell, cf a hill is called the knoll of t^t hiii. L. LAATLE ; little. To LABBER j to dabble in water. LAFTER ; the whole of the eggs, laid between two fcparate broodings, of the hen or goofe. To LA IK ; to play, as children ; or at cards, cr . other game. LAIROCK i ;: PROVINCIALISM [ROCK irk, X LAI - to feck >neral i LA] -KLE boha, : of a maid fervant. LAI expreffi : Tie little fur- pri; THREE ] [ I-AVAR' : LI.-. LEA E AD j :o cany on a wag- g :;:.. ay. See West of Eng- .-. : milk leads, £S. : bafket ; a chaff bafket. To 1 :E ; to relax ; as a cow when near ir » le, limber, Die ; as a fan r an ;_3LD; . 1 1 . out, or feparate, by i ; as I - \des; th coun- ' - zr. U .... : of the fpinning- to fret nuts from their ; ; a word of indifference. «< A 'ad YORKSHIRE. 33* vf Aa'd as leeve gang as flay ;" I would as foo* go as ftay. A word in common ufe. LEER ; a barn (growing into difufe). LEYLANDS ; lands in a common field, laid down to grafs ; oppofed to plowiands, or fuch as are kept under tillage. To LIB ; to geld male lambs and calves (horfcs and pigs are " gelded"). To LIE LEY ; to lie in grafs ; as lands in a com- mon field. See Leylands. To LIG ; to lie v along. "They lig together," they fleep together. To LIGHT ; to reft, depend, or rely. " It is not to light on ;" it is not to be depended upon ; it is not fafe to fettle or reft on. LIN ; tilia europaa^ the lime or linden tree. LING ; erica ; the common name for heath. LINTON ; the main beam of a wide cottage chimney. LISK ; the flank of a borfe. To LITE : to wait ; as, " Will you lite o* ma' V Will you wait for me ? LOADSADDLE ; a wooden packfaddle. LOBSTROUS LOUSE; cnijcus afellus, the wood loufe. LOGGIN ; a trufs of long ftraw. LOOAN, or LOOANiN ; a lane. To LOOK ; to weed ; or rather to difweed ; as corn, or young woods. LOOP; the thimble of a gate or door. "Loops and crukes ;" hooks and thimbles : alfo a ditch in knitting. LCP ; -pulex irritansy the flea. A LOW ; a flame, or blaze ; as the low of a candle. LOWCE (that is, Icofe) ; freed from fervitude. LOW ND ; loo, ftillj calm, under fhelter ; oppofed to windy. To 2p PRO VIN CI ALI SMS. To LOWP • to leap. LUG ; a handle or ear of a jug, &c. alfo, ludi- crc\.fly, the ear itfeif. LUND ; a name of ilinted common paftures, in the Vaie of York ; and of one or more in the Yale of Pickering. J^. Analogous with Ham ? See Gloczstershirej alio. West of Eng- land. M. MACK •, fort ; fpecies ; as, what mack of corn, or flock. MAINSWEAR* to fv.ear falfely ; to com- mit perjury. MAIZ ; a kind cf large light hay bafket. MANG ; a mafh of bran, malt, £cc. MAR; a mere, or imall lake. MARK-EEN ; the eve of St. Mark, when the apparitions of thofe, who fhall die in the enfuing year, are feen to walk to the church where they mail be buried : certain perfons " watching the kirk" to know the fate of their fellow parifhion- ers. If the watcher go to fieep, at the critical ment (the ftroke of twelve), he himielf is :med to die, within the year. Thefe things are, or lately were, ftedfaicly believed. RROWS ; fellows i fpoken of oxen, Sec. &zc. MASHELSONi a mixture of wheat and ryej Qih. lUF ; a brother-in-law. MAUKSj maggots. MAUL; a beetle; as, a "clodding maul;" a ■ MAULS ; ma'rj*, mallows. LJM; mciivjw, attended with a degree of dry- nel D : - ... • , To YORKSHIRE. To MAUNDER, Co tali grumbli 5t manner -t as a changeling, or as a ;'.. fervant : to mu::er. \DOW ; any ground fhut irp to be mown ; in contradiftinction to pafture. MEALS ; mold : earth ; foil. MEANS ; propc MEEA; the plural of more; analog: enow ; as, " m MEEAL1N (mid. dial. 'in) ; an oven broom. MRU, (vulg. msyl) ■, a malle:. MELL-SUPPER, or MEYL-SUPPER ; a lupper given to farm work-people, at the : of harveft ; a harveft-home. MENNOT ; ciprinus pboxinus, the n MENSE ; manners ; creditablenefs. MENSEFULj mannerly, decent, neat. MERCURY; arfenic. MET; twobufhels. MET POKE ; a narrow corn bag, to co: buihels. MEW ; a mow of corn or hay. MICKLE (vulg. tong.) ; much : {c Is there mic- kle ti' dea r" Is there much to do r MIDDEN; adunghilL MIDGE ; cu - final! e MILNER ; miller. To MINT ; to make a feint ; to aim without in- tending to hit; alfo to hintj difta itly, at i'omc- thing defiren1. MISTEACHED (pron. ); fpoile; proper treatment ; vicious, as a hoj MITCH (mid. dial); much. MITTENS j gloves with only one hi? f fingers. MOQR-PAWMS ; (that is, M .Mowers of er'iTpboruMi the cotton rufli ; whicii the heath-ftieep, in die fc^ng, ftray a from 3 ?4 PROVINCIALISMS. from their accuftomed " heafs :" — returning to them, when thek Sowers go off". MOOTER j toil taken at" a mill for corn. To MOOT-OUT •, to break out into hole: old clothes. MORTAR ; loamy foil, beaten up wit merly uied in building ordinary wafc ; ^coiftra- diilinction to u lime," — " lime-and-fand," or cement. ! lOLD (pron. to mowd) ; to :': mole- hii- MOWDHILL •, molehill. I : : WD1WARP i talpa ear noie* DY; mi Ifo demure (perhaps MOZE ; lake c . . mof: and other a : MUCK; dung, mat To MUCK, or to MUCK-OU ftalls oi £v > MUCK1 I 5 togL MUD SHEEP; fceej : >e Teef breed. MUFFS ; mitt?. MUN •, muft : « A MUNNOT, c g ;** Th l To MURL (v. a.) • to cru . .. FF ; nave of a wheel. NAF*HIiaD •, blc : a :c a « naj To NAFFLE5 to trifle; tc -.: in a • ner. NANTPTEj a -. the r NAPPERY VVARE'i crockery wa china, &c. NkT5 YORKSHIRE. 235 NAT ; a ftrav 6. NATTLES ; glands, or kernels, in the fat of beef, cr ether butchers ir.e::, XE\F: the fill. NEAFFUL; handful. NEB ; the beak of a bird. NEEAH ; no, to a negative queftlon allied : u is he not come ?" "neeah." Anal affirmation h. NEESTj next: neare::. ToXTEZEn to fheeze (the ancient pronuncia- tion). To NESSLE, or Nestle ; to fidget i | as unfledged neftlings! NIFFY NAFFY ; trifling. See To SafA NITHERED ; (the ijheri as in ) . pcrilh- ing with cold. NOW T FOOT OIL; an torn the feet of cattle. NOWT-HERD ; 3er of cat- tle ; newt-herd. (T A here •> */ O. OLD-FARRAXD (v frond); old-fa- fhicned bac ' :h. OLD MILK : rl::m milk. ^ ■ OX3 uied for as, <: nowthef on 'em ul tevl . ;" neiti ' me. ON -STAND .. .- :..: : - -q die incoming tenant. rner has rightfully farm. ORLING ; a ftinted yoi .;. OSKINj an px-gang ; a qui r (hare of com :ld laafi, proj haps, to the PROVINCIALISE 5J die f:ze of the fields, and the number of me the given townfhip, at the time the fields • ere fet out, or apportioned among the houfes. To O VERGE'! (pronounced ewer git} ■, to over- ad. ERGA1T ; ftile place, or imperfect gap, in edge j alfo a < place, acrofs a bn : OX. Ox.VCI tn. • :- L*B :: difl ::lt to define); a fhe ckj in a hollow, P. PAC DAI .mafj - anging ferv.- j is) ; the male catkins ic fallov. rn in .:) on Palm Sunday. .ade, on : t ay3 o: the s To Pi - N . : a learner : c: He pan PANE u*. i 3le. -BUI seating; den- - PARZ - - I ration; curfe ontr.ee. (Q^- .on thee?) " ; arch j .s fheep.' j i a kind of merrymak- . :tar, green field ".: ..... ... * To YORKSH IRE. 337 To PET ; to indulge ; to fpoil by over-indul- gence. PET ; a child fpoilr by improper indulgence. PET LAMB ; a Iamb reared by hand ; a cade lamb. To PICK ■, to pufh, or fhove, with the arms or body : " He picked me down." To PICK UP , to vomit. PICKS; the fliit of diamonds, in cards. PIE ; a receptacle for rape feed. See Vol. II. p. 38. To PIE ; to pry ; to peep^ flyly and watchfully ; perhaps as the mr.gpie. PIG GIN j a fmall wooden drinking veffel ; now diluted. PIGLEAVES; carduus pratenfis \ meadow thiflle. PIKE; a ftacklet, or loadcock, of hay. See Vol. II. p. 134. A PILE of GRASS; a blade of grafs. PISSIBEDS j the only name for leontodon tarax~ acum ; dandelion. PLANE-TREE; acer pfeudo platanus 3 fycamore, PLOOK; a pimple. To PLUE ; to plow. PLUFE ; a plow. PODDISH; broth; pottage. POO AC ; a narrow corn bag. POPPLE ; agrcfiemma githago ; cockle. POST-AND-PAN. Old half-timber buildings are faid to be poft-and-pan. POT-KELPS ; the loofe bow or handle of a por- ridge pot. PREACE ; eftimation : fuch a perfon or thing is in " great prcace," or highly valued. PRICKER ; a brad awl. PRICK Y URCHIN i erinaceus europaus*, the hedge hog. PROD ; a fhort fpike : hence PROD ; a goad for driving oxen. See Gad. To PROD ; to poke, or prick, with a prod. Vol. II. Z To 338 P R O V I N C 1 A L I 5 M 3. To PROP DEE i to poke out, or feel for, or fetch out, with a long V :k or other inftrument. PROOD T MLIER (provincial of Proud Tay- lor) ; the ordinary name of firingUia carduahs; the goldfinch. PL BBLE ; plump, full-bodied, as corn. PULL rnaffof rape, and other pulfc. PULSEYj a poultice. PURE :le, agreeable -, as "pure warm," " : EC. PURELY -I:'-.; — cc How do you do r" — u Purely, thank you PURL ; the pit of a fpinning wheel, on which To PUZZOMj topoifon. QUEER; the choii of a church. QUICKS; mrepaui couch-grafs. See Whicks, R. To RAIT ; :•: - :: v-re::: tv.zzr.r.Z ir.tr:. :z:.i: : tr. Hay is I to be raited, when it has iieen r ::po- cirher. See ■he A-:. " : - . ■_.-.. RAITCH ; a line or lift of i hone's face. RAM i fmelling or tailing ftrong; qucre, as the RAM ; c'.'::c:r. :■. ■/:;:: 'r. RANK ; Banding in clofe order j thick upon the gi d nd, as corn in the field, or trees in a Wood. RAXXLEBAUK ; a wooden bar, or balk, laid acrois the chimney of a cottage, to hang the ^looks on. RAT TEN" j vtus rattus, &c. the rat. REAPS; YORKSHIRE. fcg REAPS; parcels of corn laid along upon the ftubble, by the reapers^ to be gathered into . fheaves, by the binder *. RECKLING ; the laft of the farrow j an underling. RECKON i pot hooks, of a particular make. RED T AIL ; motac'illa fhcenicurus -, the redilart. REEANG'D ; dilcoloured in ftripes ; lifted. REEK ; fmoke ; a word in common ufe. RENKY ; tall and athletic j fpoken of youth ; alio of voun^ cattle. RESHES 'y.juMcus infiexus \ wire rufh. See Seaves. REZZLE ; wtufida vulgaris ; the weezle. To RIE ; to turn corn in a fieve ; bring-ins: the " capes" into an eddy. To RIFT ; to eructate. RIGG j ridge, as of land ; alfo a long narrow hill. RlGGEN ; ridge of a roof. RIGGEN TREE ; a piece of timber laid along the ridge of a roof, to fupport the heads of the fpars: an unneceiiary piece of timber with which all old roofs are loaded. RIGGIL, or Rig; ridgil. To RIGHT (pron. rett) ; to comb, as the hair of the head is combed, or righted ; and a comb, merely for this purpofe, is called a " reetin keeam." RIMS ; the fteps or ftaves of a ladder. To RINGE ; to whine, as a dog. RINGTAIL ; falco fygargus ; the hen-harrier. To RIPPLE -, to fcratch, or tear, lighdy ; as with a pin, or a thorn : or rather, perhaps, to raile up and roughen the furface, by fuch accident. To ROIL; to play the male romp ; fpoken of a , rude playful boy. ROLL ; a wreath, placed on the head, under the * Hence, doubtlefs, the terms reapxvg and reuf^s of the fouthern provinces; yet, there, the reaps are no»v temed ihoves ; while in the nenhern provinces, the act ot reaping is termed shearing. Z 2 milking 340 PROVINCIALISMS. milking pail, &c. to keep it Heady, and prevent its bearing partially. ROOAC, or ROKE ; a kind of fmoke ; a Ipecics of mift, fog, or fmall rain. ROOP ; a hoarfenefs. ROOTER ; a kind of rufhing noile ; or a rough attack ; as a violent guft of wind ; or arx rufhing into company, abruptly, or To ROW j to rake or ftir about, as afhes in an oven. RO'WENTREE; Jorbus aucu: mountain forb ; improperly mountain am. To ROWT ; to low as cattle. ROWTY; rank j overgrown, as beans or other coin. RUD -, red ochre j ufed in giving a temporary mark to iheep. RUDSTAKES ; ftakes te which cattle are fatten- ed in the houfe. To RUMMLE (that is, tc ; to make a low rumbling noife, as the bull when he is agi- tated or difpleafed. RUNNEL j anil. RUNSH ; jln apt s anxnfis; wild muftard; char- lock. RUSH (of grafs or corn) ; a tuft, knot, clufter, or croud of plants : perhaps ana with RUSH ; a meeting ; a merrymaking ; a re RUSSELL'D : apple. RUSTBURN ; row. I : Hoo " bng faan r" "A year fa. .an. SACKLESS ■, idiot:: kfs, inofTcniive per. YORKSHIRE. 341 SAD; heavy, applied to bread; deep or dark, applied to color. SAIM ; hog's lard. SAL; (bafl. To SALVE SHEEP ; to drefi them v. ind greafe. To SAM j to curdle milk for cheefe, &c. « When do you lam :" When do you let your milk ? or, When do you make cheek ? SARKj Aii SA.UF ,fali:. i fallow. SAUFY ; v. id a rainy feal SAUL ; a kind of moth. 5CALDERED; chafed, bliftered, or partially excoriated, whethrr by ., heat, or corro- fion: perhaps, it is di rzoffcal us) as applied to the leproiy of the hcadj in chil- dren. SCALDERIXGS } the under-burnt cores of done lime : the furfaces of which peeling off, in icales or fnells, as thofe of a leperous fore. To SCALE; to fpread or leaner; as manure, gravel, or c [ fe materials. SGOW ; the fhcatn of a horfe. SCAR, a precipice faced with rock. To SCRAUT ; to fcratch, with a nail, or ::' fharp- pointed tool. SCROGS ; itunted Ihrubs ; as the hazle browzed bv cat:.;. To SCUD ; to clean or fcrape with a" spitti To SCUG : to hide. In SCUGGERY ; in fecrecy ; hid, as from crc tors. SCUTTLE; a Ihallow baiket or wicker-btfwli much in uie, here, in the b *her de- partments of huibandn : the Wrger lizes with, the fmaller without, handles. SEASONSIDE5 ; a dry, iiow-paced, fly fcBow. SEA YES 3 haw effufus ; the foil rum. Z 3 SEED- 342 PROVINCIALISMS. SEEE GRASS; cultivated herbage; grafs raifed from feed, in cor.tradiftinction from natural srafTes. SEER ; fure, or affure; as, << Aa wean't, aa feer tha' ;" I won't, I allure thee. SFG, or BULLSEG ; a caftrate bull. SEGGKUMS ; faiecio Jacob aa ; ragwort. SEGS ; czrices ; fedges. SEN; fclf: "Aa'll dea't mi' fen;" I'll do ic myfelf. To SET; toy>£?, or accompany part of the way. To SET AG.ilT ; to let loofe a horfe, &c. un- intentionally. See Gait. SETTER ; a feton, or iffue in cattle. SETTERGASS ; helleborus fietidus j a fpecies of bear's foot ; ufed in making " fetters/' or iffues in cattle. SEW j a few (sowing, in like manner, is pro- nounced, as it is Hill written, sewing). SEWER ; a large ditch, or water fence \ an arti- ficial shore. See Vol. I. p. 181. To SHACK (that is, to fhc.ke) ; to fried, as corn at harveft. SHACK-FORK (that is, Jhake fcrk) j a wooden fork, for making flraw off the barn floor ; generally made of a forked ozier; the tines or branches about two feet long, and one foot wide at the points. SHACKLE OF THE ARM ; the wrift : hence, probably jkc.ck.les \ tha: is, irons for the fhackles ; ihackle irons. SHADE ; a fhed for fuel, &c. SHAFT ; handle ; as " fork-maf:"— " fpade- fhafc." SHANDY i a little crack-brained; fomewhat crazy. To SHEAR ; to reap, or cut corn, with a fickle, or a reaping hook. To SHED i to part ; as wool, or the hair. SHEEP- YORKSHIRE. 343 SHEEFCA'DE, or CADE (pron. tanQs tea- ms reduvUs -, the large fheep loufe. SHEEPSALVE; taivand-greafe, for dreffing fheep with. See Vol. II. p. 219. SH F EPSTA'RNEL ; fturmts vulgaris \ die ftar- linq;. SHtXVINGS; moveable fide-rails of a waggon or cart ; put on for a top load, and taken off for a bodv load. SHIBBAXJDSj fhoe-ftrings. To SHILL; to fhelh and more generally to feparate : taking off the floughs or fkins of oats, in order to make oatmeal, is called pilling them ; turning a fmall quantity of milk into curds and whey is ctikdfli&ng it ; to fever fheep is to fiill them. SHOT-ON ; rid-of : cc He can't git mot on't :'* he cannot difpofe or get rid of it. To SHURL s to Aide, as upon ice. See To Slither. SIDE ; long, deep \ fpoken of a roof, cloaths, &c. To SIDELONG j to tetter, as a preventive from ftraving, or breaking palrure j by chaining a fore and' a hind foot of the fame fide together. See To Hopple. SIDEWAVER ; the purlin of a roof. To SIE ; to ftretch ; as a rope, gloves, &C. SIKE ; fuch, in its general fenie. SILE (vulg. Saal); a milk-ftrainer. To SILE ; to ftrain, as frefh milk from the cow. SILE-BRIGS ; milk-ftrainer holder j the cheefc ladder of Glocefterihire, ice. SILLS ; the Ibafts of a waggon or cart. SIN j fince, when it precedes the rime expreffed j as, " I have not leen him Cm Tuefday." To SIND ; to rinfe, or waih out j as linen, or a milking pail. To SIPE ; to ooze, or drain out (lowly. SINSA A'N j fince, when fpoken indefinitely, or when the time is ur.derftoodj as, " I have not Z 4 fecn 34.4 P R O V I X C I A L I 5 M 5. feen him finfaan ;M I have nor feen I . c, or fince :' t tunc SITTINGS : v. Dts. To SIZ ; t: SKELL ; a I formed of two opp : the reft. To SKI Tc SKELP ; to • . e bottorr hand, IP , a deep, round, coarfe bafket. To SKERL ; to fcream. :, or a woman in d To SKEYL ; to lean or ::""_-? ; to r fore -part of a can to moot I t SKEYLD; pa: (helled. To SKIME (vula. ToSKB \ ::r. . LEj :•: a i SKRELDj a border; or n: hr.z, c: of clod ::ipice. i meat. .CKj a r frriali reil l of a rope. : (hake irom its coicr b e, or f; It is not cc I onenfiye. SLED; a fledge. EAlS at : the fmut of c e^r which is To SLIrE OFF; to draw off fup, ; as fi;in from the body. YORKSHIRE. 343 To SLITHER (ijbcrf, as in hither) ; to Aide, a$ down a rope, a ladder, or the fide of a hill. See To Shurl. SLOT : any broad,/.:.' wooden bar j diftin<3 from ajfavir, which i? always rm SLL'DDER, or Sluther; loofe, broken, flip- pen', pappy matter ; as curds and whey, loofe. fat, mud, ccc. SLUSH: m To ^MIT ; to infect (perhaps to finite) » in com- mon ufe. SMITTIXG ; infectious j catching, as a difeafe. SMOOT ; a hair muce -, or any fmall gap or hole in the bottom of a i.r.:_;- : hence, To SMOOT ; to creep under or through, as a hare or llicep through a hedge. To SMOOTH (vuls:. to_ talk) ; to iron wafhed linen. To SMURK i to fmile; to look plea and \ To SXAPE ; to filer.ee, check, or at 1 eaficnj as a barking dog, .or a miichievous child. SNECK ; the latch of a door, or a gaze. SXEYYER . Q nd neat. To SNI£KLE, or Sniggle; to fnare, as hares. gNOCKSNARLSj 1 runs into kinks, is laid to run up j :kiharls, SX'OD ; fmoofh, e- ._:. To SNOOAC ; to fmell * manner, as a hound. SOCK; the fhare of a p] rm). SOKE (vSiz.fccac); ed by a mill, for grinding all . ie Eorn which is ulcd within the manor or to in *, * Sere trials at law, re a place ; I have ger. . . n cair. has no ging to i:, founded, or a bsli be roc To PROVINCIAL!; M S. To SO 0 t a pain the hand, Li ftriking with a : mer o bcfiie : to jar, SORT : tt.it.: . :: ~ _ :-.: :'" • to fell with a fo(s . — to fali plump ; whether the weight be live or dead : kelk is applied more pa and anim: S i to lap, as a dog. S : : r.T : J TIN ; r:imat acetca j forrel. L to pull about in water j as Iheep in the walh-pool, Sec. . : .": /..: ::' • :e .. - . to injure by forcing the legs too afunder; as ca::.r i flippery roads ap- ed equallv to men and zr heelpiece of a flioe. lN (mid. dial, to Jpar. :■:) \ to Ftai id. dial, tojpaz pay ; as a ft S. L (vulg. Speyl) ; a ba: /'*"— . ulg. tofpejLUr) ; to fpell, : ; a iplinter, or thin piece of wood. SPEN I 'D ; pied, as :izxlc. dried fruit ; as raifins, curra : i zr'.i. -, timber (lands (not common). SPJ , a fpaddle, or little fpade. : s quill. * :o break hay out of :" Bo ted. roSl ".aihcrfrr.rir. ::h irnall fpots. rad. - young wood raifed from the lie fallen timber-tr; S ^U - B ; a couch, common in moil " farm- large hurdles, with which hay ftacks in tnc field are generally fenced. STAGS: YORKSHIRE. 347 STAGS; young horfes. STALL ; a doorlels pew of a church. STALLED; fatiat/rd with eating. To STANG ; to Ihoot with pain. STANG ; a long pole *. STARK ; ftifT; tight ; not lax : as a ftark rope i ftark with fevers exercife. To STAUP ; to lift the feet high, and tread hoh vily, in walking. STEA THING ; a lath and plaifier partition. ToSTECK; to Ihut, as a door or a gate. STEG j a gander. STEPPED ; fomewhat beaten, as a path. STEPPIXGS, or Stepping Stones-, large (tones, placed in the fhallow of a brook ; for foot pai- fengers to ftep over, " d^yshod." STEVVON ; a loud voice. ST1DDY (that is,Jteady)i the common name of an anvil. STIFE i ftrong rafted ; as maiz pudding, or bean cake j the latter a food formerly in ufe, here. STOCK j liveftock. STOCK i the cuter rail of a bedftead ; or the front fide of a bed, which is placed ag. alL STOOKi fnuck 3 twelve (heaves of com, letup together, in the field. * To ride the staxg. A cuftcm, whichy&w men, I hope, will cenfure, has prevailed, in this country, time imme- morial, and is ilill, I fir.d; prevalent. T. " riding che ftang ;" and is ufed as a reproof tc who beats his wife ; or (when it happens) to ;. bo bea;s her huiba.'.i. The ceremony is that of placing a man, or a boy, nj long pole, borne en men's ih-ulders, e the hou'ie of the delinquent ; the rider repeatir.r EHcverfes, applicable to the occafion. If fch and ineffecl al, the ceremony is repeated, with llronger marks c: c. In flagrant and obftinate c-iles, tr.e door has been anaded, the offender leized, and the ptinithment of the d ided to the difgrace of the ftang. Some inveterate cafes, it Teems, have recently yielded to this remedv. STOOP; 3^3 PROVINCIALISMS. STOOP j apoftj as, "ayatftoop," agatepc • and rails,'"' pods anc STOI • corn R ; to rife up in clouds, as fmoke-, dufl, a fall of (how, STOX i a fteer> or young ox. ST O VEX ; a .' the flool of a . STOWER ; a ftaff, or round (lick ; as, « a heck- ftc rack ftaff. To ST RAM ASH: to en.":, or break irrepara- STRAND ; a kennel, or cccanonal rill, caufed falling rain ; which, when heavy, " makes the un:" a Ipecies cf shore (fee Vol. I. p?.gc i:i.) with which it is not analogous ir. fenfe, only, but in that of being applied :o the irgin of the lea, which are wafh- the tide. STREEAj ft;-. STRICKLE ; an appendage of the fithe ; the tool wh letted; made, here, in a pe- : a fquare piece ot wood, work- ed off at one end tr a point ; the other end forms a handle : the . d with the point cf a fickle ; greafed \ lard ; and i derc rrofa grit-firone, in one .ir part of the Eaftern . from whence it is carried, as far as le Humber, for this ufe ; u f " LEA AND." To STRIP; to ira the a] ; ftrokings. SI LUM; the hole ;:. log 6:c. to keep STRTJNT j YORKSHIRE. 349 STRUNT ; the dock of a horfe, independent of the hair ; alfo the tail of Oaughtered cattle or fheep, when the flrin is taken off. To STUB ; to 2;rub up flumps of trees and mrubs. STUNT ; ftubborn ; not ealy to be bent j as, a " ftunt child," a ftubbom child; a " ftunt flick," a thick fnoit ii-ck. STUPID ; obftinate (the common epithet). To STURKEN ; to ftiffen, as melted greafe. STURKS ; yearling cattle. STY j a ladder (the common term) *. SUD i mould. SUMMER COLT ; when the air is {^en m a calm hot day to undulate, near the furface of the oround, and appear to rife, as from hoc embers, the phaenomenon is exprefTed by laying, :11. To SWARM ; to climb the naked ftem of a tree, with the arms and knees c. SWARTH ; fward ; whether of grafs land, or of bacon. Hence, probably, / To SWASH, or Swash-over-, to fpill by waves ; as milk or water, agitated to a pail. - * Stile is probacy the diminutive of this term : the fti!e of this diftricl is u i medoftwoflio at the top ofethe fence; where they iw, in the Saltier maimer ; the upper ends (without Reps) ferting as handles. ,„ m __,„ SWATCH ; v5o P R O V IN C I A LI S 14 §. \ 7 C H : a partem, or finail fpecimen of c cut ofifthe end ece ; a!fo a dyer's tally. T SWATTE R \ to fpill or throw about water, as geefe and ducks do, in drinking, and fecc T; SWAT pronounced foxy) ; to ride up plank or pole, moving on a fulcrum (as children are •••-:.:_ Perhaps the belt exemplification of the eftabli(hed verb. . ; to wa. ;wn upon b EEATH ihort g widths, in m . ig SWEET-MART 5 mujtela martes ; the marten.. Src FOUL-MAJLT. SWIDDEN i ::• :;r~°. Of bum off, as heath, &c. To S WEDGE •, to (mart violendy j as a burn, or recent wound. I LL ; a : : tt of mallow tub. LUNGS i hogwafh. "ILL TLB ; :_-7z :-. INE THISTLE ; .:::,.:, :':..• To SWINGLE : '.':-- - .-:.". ::_::. SW NGLETREEj fpiinterbar ; whippin. ^ YKE , rook ; more particularly, I believe] in a low boggy Gtuation. T. T TALL ; do fettle, cr ..idled to a fttna- : . r . 82 - ::. an: :j a p] ;j a ;> near'/' &C. TAISTttELs a tafcal TAWS : rr.: : . name. TEA . :: : a.= , '• p.d Am ziar- ::a':," pv: Arr.t more :. ::. TEA : YORKSHIRE. ZSi TEA ; too ; as, « Aa'll gang, tea ;" I'll go, like- wife. TEAM ; an ox chain, pafling from yoke to yoke. To TEAM ; to pour, as water : alio to unload, as hay or corn. TEAM ; empty ; as, " a team waggon," an empty waggon. TEAP ; tup ; a ram. TEATHY ; peeviih ; as children when cutting the teem. To TED. See To Spread. TEEAT ; the head in difhabiile ; the hair in mats, or COTTERS. To TEEAV : to paw, and iprawl, with the arms and legs. TEMCE ; a coarfe hair fieve, for feparating the inferior flour from the bran. To TENG ; to fling ; as the bee, or the adder. TENG'D ; a difeaie in cattle ; conceived to be occafioned by a fmall red fpider Hinging the fauces, or root of the tongue. The animal voids faliva, (wells, and prefently dies. An eggy broken upon the part, is ccnfidered as a remedy i if applied in time. To 1 ENT ; to tend, as fheep or ether flock. To TENT ; to icare or frighten -, as, to " tent the birds" from corn. To TEW •, to work as mortar, YORKSHIRE. w TITTER ^foonerj rather: "I would titter go than ttay. — « I was there titter than you." K " &»SJ"l'<™ r go to them. lUKbhR ; old furnitures, orhoiifchold eoods. *° Li a m»£ huff, or flight refentment. 1 UJ l r ; unftcady in temper, flighty. See Hoit J hence, perhar ^eitym T T^V„E;l\VHAL£D ; VeVerd tritiam repots; couchgrafs. WHIE ; a heifer, or young cow. WHIG ; acidulated whey ; fometimes mixed with butter milk ; and v. : herbs, to give it fiavor : formerly, perhaps, the ordinary fummer beverage. WHILK : ; as, " whilk will you have ?"— not ufed in the relative fenfe. See At. WHIMLY ; fufdy •,. filendy, or with little noife. WHINS ; ... f 5 furz. WHISHT ! hum ! Glencc ! WHISHT : Qlent j applied either to a company or to a machine, 6cc. WHITE-XLBB'D CROW i corvus frugikgus j the roc . . To WHITE ; to cut or fhape wood, with a knife. WHITE WITCHES •, fupericr beings in human fhape, who formerly inhabited this quarter of the ifland ; with power (and will, when properly applied to) of counteracting the wicked inten- tions of the magic art. They are frill faid to in- habit the more extreme parts of the West of England ; which fee. WHITTLE ; a pocket knife. WHOOR (mid. dial. Wheer); where: the latter is probably the pronunciation ; the for- mer, perhaps, is of Britijh origin. WIDDYi YORKSHIRE. 357 WIDDY ; a with, or withy. WIKE •, the corner of the mouth or eye. WIKES ; temporary marks ; as boughs fet up, to divide fwaths to be mown, in the common ings ; alfo boughs, fet on haycocks, for tithes, &c. &c. WILF ; Jalix alba ; the willow. WINDER; window. To WINDER ; to clean corn with a fan. WINDLESTRAWS; cynofurus criftatui -\ crefted dogftail. WIND YBAGS ; a talking, rattling, noify fellow. WINNOT (mid. dial.) ; will not. WIZZENED ; withered ; fhrivelled. WOOD WES H ; genifta tinttoria •, dyer's broom. WOONKERS ; an interjection of furprize. WOTCHAT •, orchard. WOTS j oats. To WRAX ; to ftretch the body in yawning ; or as cattle do when they rife. WUMMLE ; an auger. To WUN ; to live, or abide ; as, i- 333- ■ of Lowland Plants, ii. 103. . — ; — ! of Upper Grafs, land Plants, ii. no. ■■ of Upland Plants, n. 114. of Moreland Plants, ii. 268. Cattle, Section of, ii. 172. of the Vale, their Hiftory, ii. 174. , Wild, N. ii. 189. — — -, Remarks on their Scarcity, ii. 198. Cements in Ufe, in the Vale, i. 101. of Pickering Cattle analyfed, i. 103. -■ , General Remarks on, i. 109. Millfuggefted,i.xi5. Chamber Barn, an Inftance cf, i. 119. Chamber INDEX. Chamber Barn Floors, Re- marks on, i. 119. Characteristics of Farms, i. J4I. Cheefe and its Management, ii. 2c6. Churn of the Yale, ii. 205. Citterns for Rain Water de- fcribed, i. 132. Cleveland, its Situation, i.4. — — — • , Dirtricl of, ii. 262. Climature of the Vale, i. 12. • of the Wolds, ii. 236. — — r— of the Wolds Im- provable, ii. 243. ■ . -. of the Eaftern Morelands, ii. 265. Clover, Remarks on, as a Matrice of Wheat, ii. 79. Comroifiloners of Ir.clolure, Rerr.arks on, i. --. Common Fields, the Ar- rangement of, in the Yale, i.4.3. Common Right, its Limits, i.63. — Lands, their IntereftinCommons, i.72. -Houl~es,their Intereft in Commons, i.74. ■ ■ Sites, their Intereft in Commons, i.75. Commons, Origin of, i. 5^. Confidence or Leafes necef- fary, i. 24. Copings of Ridges, i. 128. of Gables, i. 1 29. - — s — , Method of Laying, i. 130.. Copyhold Tenure, i. 20. Corn Weeds, Catalogue of, Country Banks, Remarks on, i. 370. County divided into Dif- tri&s, i. 1. conude red as a Sub- ject of Survey, i. 7. Courfe of Practice, in the Vale, i. 277. , Remarks en, i. 27F — , on the Wolds, ii. 244. Covenants in the Vale, i. 34. Cows, Article of, ii. i8x. , Dimenfionsof, ii. 196. Crabtree, as a Hedgewood, i. 198. Cultivated Herbage, Se&ion of, ii. 78. — propofed for the Morelands, ii. 280. Curd Mill defcribed, N, ii 208. Curltops, Difeafe of, noticed, ii.49. Cutting Potatoe Setts, ii. 55. D. DAIRY, Se&ion of, ii. 201. Deal, as a Material of Build- ing, i. 101. Defending young Hedges, i. 204. Denizen Rights of Common, an Inftance of, i. 86. Dimensions [ H D I X". ItimB&m if • Yak Cc, ii. 177. - of a Vale Cow, EARTH WOBJ ; Re- mark:: on, ii. I : | "*■ l*~m , ^ , . Eafl Yorkshire and its Di, - of Cattle, Re- maris on, >. u- 197. » « ... Dafpcfal of Timbw, 1. 234 c , . ,» rc#. j„ .-.. . ^ tagesasaSabieaotStudy, Diftncts of the County, i.x. ;~ J Pocks dsfiroyed by Swn4 Eai^mM or by Mowing, ii. 124.. • Dogs, as a Species of Ye> _ I p tv «"»' L r-- of, ii. j6$- _- defcrufiivc t: ... ; v. m -... .. Ifettud 0f i- 345- Making, i. 131. • , a Tax on, p.- : ; :.".:. Eeonoaiy'of Bees, Rer i. :-' on, ii. : Dormant Lands, their Right Elder, as a Hedgewood, of Commnnigr , L61. i. 199. Prs;_ res, Remarks E * ban&ments, Remarks en, on, L i8| i. 183. Drinking Places, Sedion of, Eftates and Tenures, Section i. 136- of, i. 18. ■ - -- Pooh, Method of on the Wolds, £ - Making, L 133 Extent of the Vale, i. 10. , GeneralRe- *-• ■■ of tkel lime- marks on, i. 157. lands, ii. 266. Drying Bark, i. :z3. Extirpation of Weeds, i. j ;f Dung, Article of, i. 350. -, Remark* on Rai: i. 366. p — - of Horfes, Remarks * ' on, ii. 14^. Yards, Rerr.2-.ks cr., FALLEN TIMBER, Ar- i. -.■ - tide of, i. i:g. .owing, Remarks on, i- y acy farm Koufes, Re- tics o% i. : 16. I N D E X. F.-.n I ■ i- -5+. Farm Building, i. — — - Lands, their Hhtory in the Vale, i. *7*. . Yard Management in the Vale, i. }6i. the Wolds, ii. --- • Farms, Seftion of, i. 2:9. . , Size; of, i. 239. — — of the Wolds, ii. = 43- Farmeries cf the Vale.i.i 16. Farmers, Section of, i. 242. -, General Remarks on, i. 242. Farmery, a Plan of, foggeft- ed, i. 121. Fatting Cattle, ii. 194. Feliincr Timber, Method x)f, i. 22-. Fences of New Inclofures, a Remark on, i. 79. — — , Section of, i. 190. Fence Walls, and the Me- thod of Con(lruction,i. 194. Fencing, a Regulation re- (peeling, in an Ir.clofure H'], i. 89. Fefcue, Meadow, as a Ley Herbage, iL 86. Field Wells, L 168. Fitzherbert, Judge, Noteon, i. 45. Flax, Seaionof, ii. 64- , General Remarks on, as a Crop in England, Floors of Cement, Method of Making, i. 1 35* Foddering on Graii, Re- marks on, ii. 125. Foreft Lands, on Reel ing, i. 296. . Trees proper for a Drained Moor, i. 236. Forms of Leafes, i. 39. Foflil PiodnAions 0: :/.e EafternMorelanda,u.26& Frafts, Effects of, in low Si- tuations, N. i. -'■' ■ Fuel of ancient Townfhips, i. JBD, Fur of Rabbits, Remarks on, ii. 256. Furze Grounds,on Clearing, i. 29-j. G. GABLES, Coping* ofii*^ Gaits, Method ofSetSng up, i- 353- Gaitirr, RemaAs on its Origin, N. i. 355- Ga:e;, on Hanging, with Pivots, i. 191. ——-, on the Height of, i. 1 , : . of Inclofure recommended, i. 94* Ge: gementofEi- tates, i. 22. . of Grafs Lands, ii. 1 iS. General Principle of Inclo- fur1; sd, i- i4- General INDEX- eralPriaciph of lr - fore inferred, i. g - rral Remarks on Lay- it 1 «- — • - G:: - 1 — ^— — C ..... : > at La* ■ I - (xt Form- ing and. Repaying of — .- en the Treatment of H. : : : : '-'-'■ . ii men, 1. 24.2. on tbe V. ":^:_.:'.""..c:.w-:.-.- .:--> L ;:3. . Contractions of Ploars, L z~- . en Scd- fcu.-irg : : i on Re- claiming Forefi Lands, i. :.-. .. ,- - tare of Rape S . ■ ■ on . on I and Urea! . on Break- . _ ; >ld ^ . land, ' . on S;ack- ■ on the ■:t~tzi : : -'-■■'-- I _ : • ■ on .: of Grafs land, ii. 144. >— — on the Management of Sun Paftores, iL 1-2. on the Breeding of H $9- or. ii. i-- - ■ or. C .v.'.; ::' ::.t Vale, ii.J-4. - I N D E X. General Remarks on the prefent Scarcity of Cattle, ii. 19?. " Geological Remark on the Vale of Pickering, i. 5. " ' ■ en the Rivers of the Vale, i. 13. on the Northern Margin, i. 281. Granary over a Barn Floor, an Instance of, i. 123. Grafles, Cultivated, ii. 78. Grafs lands, Remarks on breaking up, i. zjS. "" ■"-> General Re- marks, on Leying and Breaking up, ii. 89. — , Section of,ii. 99. -» Observations on Breaking up, ii. 107. — , General Ma- nagement of, ii. 118. — improved by Lime, ii. 129. ..their Spring Ma- nagement remarked on, ii. 144. -, Remarks on Breaking up, ii. 239. H. HANGING BEEF, the an- cient Practice of, N.ii. 199. ' — Gates, on Pi- vots, i. 191. Harvefting, Section 0^1.348. — — with the Sickle, i-349- Harvefting with the Sithe> i. 351. ■ Barley and Oats, General Remarks on, »• 357- ' on the Wolds, ii. 247. Hay, on Stacking in the Field, ii. 137. — — , Expenditure of,i'. 140. Harveft of the Vale, ii. 133. Seeds much cultivated, ii. 84. Stacks, Remarks on their Form, ii. 139. Hay wards recommended, i. 21s. Hazard of Farming, Inftance of, 11. 45. Hedgekeepers recommend- ed, i. 214. Hedgerow Timber, Section of, i. 2 1 j. "~ — ^General Remarks on, i. 2 17. Hedgewoods, i. 198. Hedges of Lanes, Remarks on their proper Height, i. 179. , Stake and Edder, i. 196. • ■ , Living, i. 197. , Planting, L 200. -, eld, various Treat- ments of. i. 20S. — -, General Obferva- tions on their Treatment, i. 210. , Method of Planting, on the Wolds, ii. 2.12. I ;fers, INDEX. Heifers, General Remarks on bringing them into Milk, ii. 192. Herbage, Cultivated, ii. 78. . of Low Lands, ii. loz. . of Upper Grafs Grounds, ii. 109- of Upland Graf;, n. 1 14. Hog Liquor, ii. 209. Holdernefs noticed, i. 6. , Diftrift of, ii. 260. Holly, on the Time of Tranfphnting, i. 399. Horns of Cattle, Remarks on, ii. 1 So. Horie Dung-, Remarks on, ii. 149. Horfes, as Pearls cf Draught, compared with Oxen, i. 249. — — — ,Seaion of, ii. 154. Hunters, General Remarks on their Treatment, ii. 167. Hurdles of the Wolds, ii. 25 1 . Hufbandry, itsHiftory in the Vale, i. 272. I. JALAP, his Services to the Vale, ii. 156. Implements, Seftion of,i. 25 2. — — — — of the Wolds, ii. 247. Improved Method of Har- vefting Rape, ii. 39. Improvement, in the Mode of Slaking Lime, pro- pofed, i. 336. «■ of the Royal Wades, Praftical Remarks on, i. 297. of the Culture of Rape, ii. 30. of the More- lands attempted, ii. 273. of the Eaflern Morelands propofed, ii. 277. Improving Varieties of Po- tatoes, ii. 53. Inclofures, Seclion of, i. 45. — — — 1 — in the Vale, Hif- tory of, i. 46. , State of, in the Vale, i. 16. ■■' ' -, General Princi- ple of, i. 54. ■ ', by Exchanges, 1. 91. >, by private Corn- mifiion, i. 92. -,by Act. of Parlia- ment, Remarks on, i. 92. - ' ■ , a General Law of, recommended, i. 94. -, State of, on the Wolds, ii. 237. Incruftation, an In fiance of, i. 310. Indulgences to Tenants, their Effed, i- 23. Ingland, its Nature, ii. ioz. Inland INDEX. Inland Navigation of the Length of Leafes, i. 31. Vale, i. 1+. Lentils formerly cultivated, «. .. , a re- ii. 24. markable Site for, i. 15. Leys, Temporary, ii. 79. ——.-Ports, i. 7. — — , Perennial, ii. jo. Interefts in Commonable , Sanfoin, ii. 92. Lands enumerated, i. 95. Lime, as a Manure, i. 312. — — , Method of Burning, i.317- -- , Coil and Price of, K* I 3*4- . _.~. *n e « • r , Application of, 1.326. KELDALE, Defcnption of, • ^ f^ on ^TX KemplViddon, Defection J^'jjJ^ rfGnfi »*."£*** I An Land, ii. 12S. ting's Rates Remarked on, ^ £ ^^ ^ ^.^ "' ' *" -j o-n c- ,<< ing Grounds, ii. 129. kubymoorhde Rillof,;. 56. ^^ 0fthe Vale, Knarefborough Iccloiare . ■* L gi* LimeKiinoftheValci.31-. . , Further Re- t marks, i. 32 1. L* . .. of Brotherton, LABORERS of the Wolds, .^-Jj*4* -, , v_. Limeftones oi We v aie, 11. 2^5. I.amb,.onFrocaringTwi«, ^'/^^of, ;. ^g. ilu'wtmtmi Aeir Limi. of Common Rigta. Manazement, *■ *8. T . ' , t? j cs> 1 .«.<• t ■ , u r ■ « Lir.ieed, asaFoodofCalve?, Lands, Purchanng, 1. 29. "^ *» Laying Land to Grafs, An- ■■ !9J- .. • at ,^ «f ;; B. Lilt or Rate*, 11. 2S7. cient Method or, u. bo. .- . ' _. . T , f ci - Lord ot tne Soil, his Right . Lands acrois slopes, X'V1 , - ofcommonage, j. 05. 1'3°+* - ., ■ ■-, his Intereft Levies or Confidence necei- farv i 24.. m Commons, 1. 70. ,' ■ t .1. • .v~ . ,hisaifrVned — — , their Length in the - ' . a yale> i# 3I> Share in the Sinnington , Forms of, i. 39- Inclofure Bill, L 86. oftheVate digefted. Lowland Grafe, u. 101. 1. 40. I N D E X. M. MAKING Kay, ii. 1-4. - -r L164- Malrir.g formerly done by Farmers, ii. 16. ManagementofFn;::- . i .;;. — — , a Ge- neral Principle of, i. loo. ~ Dd :-;. ■ — of Ground;, ii. M-Cc arts, L 27. *~ ■ ■ ; 1 ival foggefled, i. ; . L 3. ^ge- Kent, i. - "■ of the :_-. Markets for Fallen Tir. i. 228. of the Valt, i. 369. ■ ofthV Marl of Newton Da i. 307. ■ of Li N. i. ;::. -. Ml C Glens, i. 132. ■ Floors, i. 1 ; - ■ L*-. ire par.t- i. 136. Dri.-.k- i-.g Poofs, i. Cond — bod of For- \- g ; - £ Re. pairing Roads, :. 1-0. — — — — Draining Marih — •— — — Builcino- J. • m Rechimk vp.ough Grounds, i. 2 ■ — Burning Li-.:", :. : : ~. ■■ *-:- She?r._-. i -52. Saeaves, i. — Winnowing wi;h c 362. ■ R - - : _ ". I — - jrain, ii. 6. ~ i ii. 11. 1 Oats, r, ii. 21. i - - : — Tl Rape, — Raiii-g Potatoes 51. ' I" Va- ::. 53. -•-- ::: 2 ii. I : :. Hay in the Field, ii. 137. 16: - I N D E X-. Method of Making Skim Cheefe, ii. 207. •— Salving Sheep, ii. 221. * Taking and Sort- ing Kabbits, ii. 2.57. Mice, on the Method of De- fttoyi^g, i. 340. Middleton Inclofure Bi'l, i. co. MiJdew of Wheat, Remarks on, ii. 13. Mi k Leads, Deicription of, N. ii. 204.. -, on Scouring, ii. 204. Minerals of the County, i. 8. Molding Grafsland, ii. 121. — Sledge and its Con- ftruftion, i. 262. Moles, Remarks on, ii. 122. Moory Soil, as a Site of Planting, i. 234. ofHeaths,ii.267. Morelands,Improvementsof, attempted, ii. 273. propofed, ii. 2-7. Morelar.d Sheep defcribed, ii. 215. Mortar Floors, Method of Vaking, i. 135. Moffy Land improved by Lime, ii. 129. Mowing Corn> for Sheafing, Grafs, ii. 133. Grounds, Method o: Drefling, ii. 120. ., Manage- ment of, ii. 131. Mudd Sheep, ii. 214. Vol. II. N. NATURAL Advantages of Eaft Yorkshire, i. 9. — Diftrias of the County, i. 1. Herbage, Sec- tion of, ii. 99. Woods, Section of, i. 219. Nett Hurdles defcribed, ii. 251. Newtondale Well, Waters of, i. 3c 8. o. OAK, as a Material of Build- ing, i. 115. Oats and Barley, Remarks on Harvefting, i. 357. — — , Section of, ii. 17. — — , a New Method of Thrafhing, ii. 20. Obje&s of the Ya!e Huf- bandry, i. 275. of the Wold Hus- bandry, ii. 244. Operations in Rural Archi- tecture, i. 123. Origin of Commons, i. 54. Ornamental Appearance of the Vale, i. 17. Ox of the Vale, Bimenfion& of, ii. 177. Oxen, B b INDEX. 0*en, as Beafts of Draught, their Hiftory in the Vale, i. 24$. *— --compared with Horfes, as Beafts of Draught, i. 249. r— — , their Treatment in the Vale, i. 250, P. PANNAGE of ancient TownfMp, i. 70. Pantiles and their Manufac- ture, i. 99. Planting Hedges in the Vale, i. 200. m, — ,- on the Wolds, ii. 242. ■ 1 a Moory Soil, an Inllance of, j. 233. ■ - Trees on the Wolds» — — — , Method of Laying, i. 1 26. Paper Money, Remarks on, i.370. Paring and Burning, i. 284. Pafture Grounds, General Management of, ii. 143. *■ ■ — , General Remarks on their Summer Management, ii. 152. Peeling Bark, i. 227. Perennial Leys, ii. 80, PetrefadUve Waters, Re- marks on, i. 308. Plan of Management of parms, i. 272. Plantain, as a Ley Herbage, ii. 87. Plantations, Seclian of,i. 23 r# « of Eaft York- mire, i. 2/2. propofed, on the ii. 241. Plow of the Vale, i. 257. Plows, Remarks on their Conftruftion, i. 257. plowing with Rein6, i. 502, Plow Team of the Vale, its Hiftory, i. 32. Pickering Caftle noticed, i. I02. Pickering, Townfhip of, de- fcribed, i, 48. — — r Inclofure Bill, Hiftory of, i. 49. Farther Remarks on,i%7j. Piking Hay, ii. 134. Poe, Meadow, as a Ley Her- bage, ii. 86. Pools, Artificial, Method of Making, i. 137. Pod and Rails, as a Tempo- rary Fence, i. 195. Potatoes, Section of, ii. 48, ■ -, Varietiesof, Tem- porary, ii. 49. -, Method of Raifing from Seed, ii. £1. — Plants, Remarks on Cutting, ii. 55. their Eifecls on Morelands, ii. 278. Land, ii. 60. ■ compared withTur- rjepsand Cabbages, ii. 62. Poultry, INDEX. Poultry, ii. 228. Preparing Seed Wheat with Arfenic, ii. to. Private Bills of Inclofure, their attendant Evils, i . 5 1 . Production of the Vale, i. 1 7. ■ of the More- lands, ii. 268. Prognoltication, a Part of a Farmer's Bufinefs, i. 269. Progrefs of Spring in 1787, i. 27c. Propagation of Timber, a Remark on, i. 23 J. Proprietors, in the Vale, i. 1 9. Provincial Surveys, their Utility, ii. 44.. Pulfe, Section of, ii. 24. Purchafe of Lands, i. 29. QUANTITY of Approba- tion requifite for an In- clofure, i. 96. R. RAPBITS,Sec"tionof,ii.226, « of the Wolds, 11. 252, Rabbit Warren propofed, as an improvement of the Morelands, ii. 281. Railing Woods from Acorns, i. 220. • Y rdManure,i.366. Rape, Section of, ii. 27. — — , Method of Tranf- planting, ii. 29. — — Culture, Improvement of, fuggeited, ii- 30. — , General Re- marks on, ii. 45. ■i.. Thralling defcribed, ii. 33. Rates, Lift of, ii. 287. Rati, Remarks on their De- flructivenefs, i. 343. Ray Grafs, Remarks on, ii. 84. Rearing Cattle, ii. 187. Receiving Rents, i. 38. Reclaiming Foreft Lands, Remarks on, i. 296. -Rough Grounds, i. 284. Red Cow's Milk, its Efficacy, ii. 174. Reed Oat, Remarks on,ii. 18. Registers of Rural Practices, their Utility, ii. 4^. Remarks on Estimating the Rental Value of Farms, i. 25. — on Manor Courts, 11. 2s7. - Trap defcribed, 1*7* .- Warrens, their i. 29c Prchtablenefs, ii. 227. Ma- nagement of, ii. 254. - onPurchafingLand* . on the Rental Va- lue of Lands, i. 32. B b 2 Remarks I N D E X. Remarks on the Time of Re- • move... » on Denizen Rights of Commonaje, i. 06. • on Chamber Sa. ns, 1. 1 19. Re mar!-:; cr. Liming Li~i: i. 528. ■ on Fallowing., i. 33S. — — — -- cr.V.>eiir.g,i.339. ■ cnrheDearaciive- Barn I i. 124. — —--on Birr. . !;•;: Gra- naries, i. 124. — on the proper -, L I-S. -- or River Embank- ment, i. i E :, cr. - ;::":: oefi »f Rats, i. 345. ■ on Reaping, by V.'cr.er. i. 5; :. onShucki-g,i. ; ;;■. ■*• on the Conf-mp- tion cf S:r£\r, i. \z 5. -- MB Ra::":r.2; Varie- f Grain, ii. 4.. on Arfenic, as a firoio ftcorns, i, 2 c. en I ~e of Timber, i. : : on the E.7 r.a;. ii. 1 : . on Rye, as a Pre- Frc.:, N. i :;-. c- the Sizes of ventm of Mildew, ii. 15. ■-- or. F>.:i:V.:r.gOa^ Farms, i. 2;j. — on R-.icng Ysad D-r.e, i. ; — on a Wei — on Public Rap* Thrashing, ii 36. on Declining Va- — — — on Coar.tr y i. i. 3-c. — — cr. an extra :;e::: .1. 49. — cr. £otatOe Set*, ii 55. c- tre Efted Potatoes on Lard, ii. to. on the Growth of nary I , :. -' 1. i : - - on Breaking op ■ - or. r!i-<, ii. 6~. :ver as a vit, ii. 79. cr. Laying G:a:; Lands, ii ttz's as a Reins, or. . Ley tlerbir?, ii. :^. on :..- Food cf ... ■ :_ on Pefre:'. :. 50S. Sanfoin, ii- 95 . -- :r the ~'c'.e,:i. 1 zz. on Earths 0 rn 11. i% Re marks INDEX. Remarks on Foddering on Grafs, ii 125. on the Longevity of Plants, ii. 125. on Whitening Grounds, as deftru&ive to Grafs, ii. 129. -- on tne Time of Remarks on the Fur of Rab- bits, ii. 2p. — — — on the unnatural Difpofition cf Kabbics, ii. 258. on improving Shutting up Grassland Lr Hay, ii. 132. on the Spaying of Mares, ii. 162. -- ontheDutch Breed of Cattle, ii. 175. — on the Natural Difpofitions of Swine, ii. 210. on Blackfaced Sheep, ii. 215. on Breedin; Flocks, ii. 218. on Salving Sheep, ii. 219. on Rabbi:s, as an Article of Farm Stock, ii. 227. . on the Food of Bees, ii. 231. on Breaking old Sheep Walks, U- 259 — on the Climature of the Wolds, ii. 243 on the Tumep Culture of the Wolds, ii. 2+9. on Eating ofr Tur- neps, ii. 250. on Changing the Breed of Sheep, ii 252. . — on the Dang of Horfes, ii. 149. Heaths, ii. 27$. Removals in t.;e Vale, i. 35. , on the Wolds, ii 240. Rent, a .Medium of, the moil eligible, i. 25. , in the Vale, i. $2. ■ , on Rec ivi g, i. 38. , on the Wolus, ii. 239. Rental Value of the More- lands, ii. 2" 2. Repairs, Covenants refpecV ing, i. 34. Refpringing Timber Trees, Method of, i. 22*. Ribgrals, as a Ley Herbage, ii. 87. Ridge Stores, i. 129. Rignt of S-il coniidered, i. 72. Rill, -Ardncial, Method of Making, i. 162. Rill of Kirbyrr.oorfide, i. 1 66. River Embankments, Re- marks on, i. 183. , In- fiances of, i. 187. Rivrs of the Count", i. 7. of the Vale, i. 13. Ronds, Se&ion of, i. 168. of the Vale, their Hif- tory, i. 168. , -., General Remarks on Forming and Repairing, i 170. B b 3 Roads. INDEX Roads, the proper Width of, i. 178. Road Hedges, Remarks or., i. 179. — - Men recommended to Parifhet, i. 177. — — Team of Cleveland, ii. 263. RoughGrounds,on Reclaim- ing, i. 284. Royal Walks, Practical Re- marks on Improving, i. 297. Rural Arehite&ore, a Ge- neral Principle in, i. 1 »6. . , Ope- rations in, i. 125. r Surveys, their Utility, ii. 44. Rye, Seftion of, ii. 14. s, SALE by Auelion, Remarks on, i. 226. Salving Sheep defcribed, ii. 219. Sanfoin, Article of, ii, 92,' ■ , its Advantages as a Crop, ii. 95. ■ , its favorite Field of Pafturage alcertaintd, ii. 95. Scarcity of Cattle, Remarks on, ii. 198. Seaports, i. 3. Seed Frccds, Sedtion of, Semination, Sedion 0^.33 1. Servants," their Wages and Treatment, i. 244. — , the Time of Chan« gir.g, i. 245. Setting Sun, its Ufe in Prog- noftics, i. 268; » up Single Sheaves> i- 353- Sheep worried by Dogs, i- 345- — deftrucYive to certain Weeds, ii. 124. — - — , Section of, ii. 211. — — -, their Hiftory in the Vale, ii. 2 1 2. — —- of the Morelands, ii. 21;. ■*■— - ofScotland,N.ii.2i^ • of the Wolds, ii. 251. •— — -,Remarkon theDanger of changing the Breed, ii. 252. — — -, as the Stoek of the Morelands, ii. 271. ■r Walk propofed, as an Improvement of the More- lands, ii. 281. Shores and Embankments, Seftion of, i. 181. - " ■ ,Definition of,N.i. 1 8 1 , Shucks, Remarks on, i. 350. Sinr.ingtcn Inclofure Bill, i. 14. Skim Cheeie, Method of Making, ii. 207. Skreen Plantations recom- mended for the Wold«, ii. 242. Slaking Lime, an Improve- ment propofed, i, 330. Sledges of the Vale, i. 261. Slope'. I N D B K. Slopes, on the Method of Plowing, i. 304. Slugs Enemies to Flax, ii,68. Smut prevented by Arfenic, ii. 10. Single Sheaves, Method of Setting up, i. £j$. Sites of Houfes, their Rights of Commonage, i. 61. Situation of the Vale, i. 10. *"•> of the Wolds, ii. 235. •* of the Eaftern Morelands, ii. 265. Sizes of Farms, Remarks on, . J- »39- Sodburning and the Method of Practice, i. 284. - ■ ' — , an Innovation in, i. 288* General Ob- fervations on, i. 29 1, -- Tough Sward, its Utility, i. 2c Soils of the Vale, i. 10, *— — , and their Manage- ment, i. 279. * , Variety of, a Stimulus to Ingenuity, i. 281. .«■ 1 of the Wolds> ii. 236. *—— of the Eaftern More- lands, ii. 267. , Sorting Hedge Plants, i.202* Rabbits, ii. Spaying Fillies intimated, Ii. 163. Spirit of Improvement, a Stimulus of, i. 281. Spring, 1787, Progrefs of, I 270. Stacking Hay in the Field, Remarks on, ii. 137. State of Inclofure, in the Vale, i> 16. Straw, Method of Binding* i. 361* -, Expenditure 0^1.364. ■•ri -1 Remarks on its Con- fumption, i. 365. Steers, Age of Breaking in, ii. 192. Stocking Pafture Grounds, ii. 148. Stones, as a Material of Building, i. 98. Subfoils of the Vale, i. 281. ■ - of the Wolds, ii.235. ■■ ' ■ of the Eaftern More- lands, ii. 266. Subftrudure of the Wolds, ii.235. Sub- Varieties of Potatoes, on felecVing, ii 53, Succsftion, in the Vale, i.277. , Remarks on, i. 278. , on the Wolds, ii. 244. Summer, a remarkably wet one, i. 270. Surface of the Vale, i. 10. ■ Angu- larly Flat, i. 13. Sward, on Breaking up, L 299. Swine deftruclive to the Dock, ii. 124. ■ ' ■ ■ , Section of, ii. 209. TAX 1 N D E X. T. TAX on C Team of the V '-iter -od of. Karr i j 5. Teaching Gr:. ' - :-.'. Rem* ii. 128. Tee;vra:er freed of O ii. : . ::. 214. Temporary L-; Tena • "• ■ - • , of the WoM>, -59- Tit -:~e Term of L ] : . Thralhing Oat.-, a new Me- 3 ] of, ii. : :. _ Rape; M:-. of, ii ] ;. -. :.-::• Tim . . .' . -, Carri tge . i. ;;:. ■b~ '■ - Tipeoft Tidies, en Getting oat Land :r L Towolhips of ■ Towr.ftiips, farther en Lay. ing out, i. "T. — — ■ - . C com- mon Farm, i. ang r'.zl i. 205. "■ ' .r t . ::.;-. p for taking R3I t i. 80. Tarnej ! 25 , in bant ; : ii.6;. -- Twin Lambff, cr ii. : : -. Li. 1 9: . CNDE KING, la, 1L109, V. VALE of York ddb 1. 3. . leering, a fingular Paffxge of Country, i. 5. . — , G ., ia Valuing -• D E Valuing Timber, Method of, i. 2:6. Varieties of Wheat, on Rai- fing, ii. - ■ ' , an In- ftance of Railing, ii. ;. m. cf Grain, Improv- ing of, ::. 9. ■ 0: are Temporary, ii. ^9. -, S< Vegetable Economy, Con- u. 46. ■- — M^li of Heaths, ii. 267. Vegetation, Extraordinary Strength of, i. :_ i . Vermin of the Yale, YV. WAGGONS c: i. 2,-2. — ■ -, Remarks or, their Width of Running, i. 253. of the '■" Method of Dia ii. 24.6. Walls of Fields, on :. thodofCo Water Ci.terns, i. 152. W-;er= ;:\\ :. 308. Way Reaves rccoumc Weather, 5c L 167. Weeds ai .ilr.~G.-r.: ■ ! , Remarks on,i. 339. ^tle Marke: X. ::. ; -. i. 16$. . S ation of, Di- '•'etaod of Harrefting, i. 349. of, ii. 1. 1 - ietiea cf, ii. 4. I x ———, Remarks on the ". :;. 1 :. ... It of, N. ':. : : :. ting ?rl- : and . the Vale, . . . . Reap- ing, : 19. . I S" D £ v ''?-:. y :■-:-'. . : : : —» Rem* .-.•.: : ?.zj- _, : : " • ■ *•-« ::~:'-: :.'::.- :-- br YARD Management^ 364, Woo of Fleeces, YeajiLnj Cattlt . ij_ 224* ^ eomanry Bmaeroos in the Woros, Remarks 00, ii. ::• • - C i. 19. Workpeople, Sedioa c:', , their C^araa**- bi|4 i*ja m the Vale, i, 545. ■ of the Wold*, TABLE OF REFERENCE FROM THE FIRST to the SECOND EDITION. *$» The References, between the feveral Provincial Reg:fteir, being, in the firft Editions, to their refpedtive Pagis ; and the Pages of the'e Volumes being now considerably altered, I have thought it right to form the following Table, to affift the Reader who may have the firft Edinon of any of the oth=r Re- giftcrs, to refer to the Pages of this Edition. VOL. I. «J *J *< *j if «J w" •i J ^ J '•i ^5 ■0 ^ '~3 '■£ ^ '•6 -3 'S •3 H3 (rl W M w w W f9 Id w H W H « -o « •0 « -O ^; — c: •c 3J -0 m t* « m rt M rt rt I I 61 57 135 > 25 208 204 263 248 334 3J4 2 a 62 58 158 , 28 209 20? 264 24? 335 3'5 1 3 64 60 141 1 31 210 205 265 250 337 316 5 4 65 (1 I46 1 35 212 207 266 250 337 3i7 1 i 67 63 I46 1 36 -13 20S 26S 25' 339 3>* 68 64 149 ■ 39 215 2IO 269 253 34i 323 9 8 69 65 151 1 4i 216 til 272 25' 342 321 lo 9 72 68 154. ] 44 219 *J3 274 25- 346 324 12 IO 75 7° 156 i 46 219 214 278 26: 347 326 33 IO 75 7i l6o ] 4-9 220 215 279 2 5: 343 327 14 12 76 71 163 | 52 222 217 281 264 349 32S 14 13 77 22 164 1 53 2 24 181 284 267 3 52 330 j6 14 78 73 167 1 56 225 182 286 26^ 353 331 18 17 79 74 168 I 57 225 183 287 2" IS* 332 19 18 8o 75 I70 1 59 226 183 288 -7i 355 333 23 22 81 7a 174 1 62 2 30 1S7 290 272 361 3 38 24 2 3 S2 77 *75 1 64 232 189 292 274 362 339 25 24 85 80 176 1 65 233 1 9c 294 275 377 340 26 25 i9 83 178 ! 67 *34 219 196 277 381 343 27 26 9° s4 J79 68 235 220 297 278 3 32 344 28 27 96 90 180 1 6g 236 221 298 278 383 345 »9 2S 97 00 181 ] 69 238 223 298 279 384 347 30 29 98 91 181 70 *39 224 300 2?I 3?7 34* 31 29 99 92 182 i 171 240 225 301 2«3 390 35i 32 31 101 94- 183 :i 241 226 303 a 84 39i 352 33 3i 102 95 185 7<5 242 127 304 284 392 353 34 I* 103 96 189 '77 243 227 3?5 28 c 393 3 5* 35 33 105 98 190 178 243 228 307 28S 39+ 3 55 37 35 107 99 191 [79 244 229 308 28? 396 35T 38 36 io3 IOI 152 [81 245 230 310 200 399 359 40 38 Hi 103 194 t90 246 231 3i4 294 400 361 4i 39 H7 109 195 r9i 247 232 316 296 401 362 42 39 123 115 198 '94 248 233 318 298 4">3 364 43 40 124 116 199 r?5 250 *35 323 302 405 366 48 45 125 116 200 t96 253 236 3-4 304 407 367 5° 4' 126 118 201 197 2 54 239 325 305 409 369 51 4* 127 119 202 r98 256 241 327 30- 410 370 53 53 130 122 204 soo 257 242 328 30- 411 371 57 54 *1* 123 205 " :oi 2*9 244 330 309 58 56 J33 124 206 - S02 260 245 33» 311 e"o 56 I 154 125 207 102 262 H7 333 31- TABLE OF REFERENCE FROM THE FIRST to the SECOND EDITION VOL. II. ^3 '■£ M P* s3 (4 w mi - M -5 (4 - -3 -0 <3 « 13 IS « -0 M - -a I 3 54 107 103 i6*"3 i5' 202 2O9 24~8 238 2 1 55 in 107 165 iJi 203 j8- 249 239 4- 4 57 54 "3 108 167 16 204 188 249 243' 6 6 58 55 "3 IC9 168 16: 205 189 251 8 I 59 56 1:7 1 * 3 169 162 206 252 ■44 10 11 61 57 118 "3 171 164 ' 191 = 53 245 ii i) 62 59 I 22 11S 172 208 19- :SS --- 13 13 &* 60 123 12? 173 - - 194 1 ' 249 14 14 65 61 J-5 120 «S 196 259 16 15 68 64 125 122 1-5 22 6 197 260 25» 17 16 69 6 5 " 123 178 27 "5 222 261 252 ll 17 228 - 180 220 214 264 20 i<. -: h 130 181 H 221 22 5 265 255 22 2: - 132 : : ; 183 - 226 269 260 24 23 -- 1 33 128 184 ■' 223 22- 262 26 24 79 i35 J3i 185 - - 224 21S ----- 261 27 25 82 - 137 1 5: 186 27? 225 219 ^-75 264 29 2r 83 ~ 138 J?3 187 : ' 2 = 7 ; : '77 267 U So 14a !35 188 jS- 229 2-3 268 :' : S5 81 14: 136 181 230 224 282 272 S : r 86 82 M-5 140 190 1*1 231 225 285 --: 35 33 88 c j 148 ( 191 «*3 : ; 1 226 287 1 I ■ 41 3? 91 86 -" 151 184 '33 -■' 288 «•* 39 92 87 1+8 J43 194 1S6 -35 209 289 -' 45 43 ' 88 149 143 J95 i03 22S 291 2S1 47 44 95 9c 154 14S 156 - 10Z 229 282 47 45 97 S2 156 150 197 - 104 = 39 230 295 5° 47 99 9+ 157 *S*\ 29S : ic ■ 240 233 207 287 51 4? KM 95 -60 154 200 : to€ 244 235 29J 52 5c I33 9P 161 J55 201 '. toS 246 si 51 105 99 162 i56\ 202 ; ,oS 1 2 + 7 :-: